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MEMORIAL LIBRARY
EASIER, 1906
Shelf No.
STACKS +
Register No.
THE
WORKS OF THOMAS M ANTON, D.D.
VOL. XL
COUNCIL OF PUBLICATION.
W. LINDSAY ALEXANDER, D.D., Professor of Theology, Congregational
Union, Edinburgh.
JAMES BEGG, D.D., Minister of Newington Free Church, Edinburgh.
THOMAS J. CRAWFORD, D.D., S.T.P., Professor of Divinity, University,
Edinburgh.
D. T. K. DRUMMOND, M.A., Minister of St Thomas's Episcopal Church,
Edinburgh.
WILLIAM H. GOOLD, D.D., Professor of Biblical Literature and Church
History, Reformed Presbyterian Church, Edinburgh.
ANDREW THOMSON, D.D., Minister of Broughton Place United Presby
terian Church, Edinburgh.
General 4?ftttor.
REV. THOMAS SMITH, D.D., EDINBURGH.
THE COMPLETE WORKS
OP
THOMAS MANTON, D.D.
VOLUME XL
CONTAINING
SEVERAL SERMONS UPON THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER
OF ST JOHN;
ALSO
SERMONS UPON THE SIXTH AND EIGHTH
CHAPTERS OF ROMANS.
LONDON:
JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
1873.
PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
CONTENTS.
SERMONS UPON JOHN xvii. continued.
MM
SERMON XXXIII. " And for their sakes I sanctify myself," &c.,
ver. 19, .... 3
, ? XXXIV. "Neither pray I for these alone," &c.,
ver. 20, .... 15
XXXV. "That they all may be one," &c., ver. 21, . 23
XXXVI. " That they all may be one," &c., ver. 21, . 32
XXXVII. "That they all may be one," &c., ver. 21, . 43
XXXVIII. " And the glory which thou gavest me, I
have given them," &c., ver. 22, . 54
XXXIX. " I in them, and thou in me," &c., ver. 23, 62
XL. " I in them, and thou in me," &c., ver. 23, 76
XLI. " Father, I will that they also whom thou
hast given me be with me where I
am," &c., ver. 24, . , 89
XLII. "Father, I will," &c., ver. 24, . . 102
XLIII. " righteous Father, the world hath not
known thee," &c., ver. 25, . . 114
XLIV. "And I have declared unto them thy
name," ver. 26, . . .131
XLV. "And I have declared," &c., ver. 26, 141
PAGE
vi CONTENTS.
SERMONS ON EOMANS vi.
PAGI
SERMON I. " What shall we say then ?" vers. 1, 2, . 153
II. "Know ye not, that as many/' &c., ver. 3, . 162
III. " Therefore we are buried with him," &c., ver. 4, 171
IV. " For if we have been planted together," &c.,
ver - 5 > ... 181
,, V. " Knowing this, that our old man is crucified,"
&c., ver. 6, . . . . IQI
VI. "For he that is dead is freed from sin," &c.,
ver - 7 > . . . 201
VII. " Now, if we be dead with Christ," &c., ver. 8, . 211
VIII. "Knowing that Christ, being raised from the
dead, dieth no more," &c., vers. 9, 10, . 220
IX. "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be
dead,"&c., ver. 11, . . 228
X. "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal
body," & c ., ver. 12, . . 236
XI. Neither yield ye your members as instruments
of unrighteousness," &c., ver. 13, . 246
XII. " For sin shall not have dominion over you " &c.
Ver ' U > . 256
XIII. For sin shall not have," &c., ver. H, 266
XIV. " For sin shall not have," &c., ver. 14, 2 74
XV. "For sin shall not have," &c., ver. U, . 286
XVI. "What then? shall we sin, because we are not
under the law," & c ., ver. 15, . .299
XVII. "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield your
selves," & c ., ver. 16, . . 307
XVIII. "But God be thanked, that you were the ser
vants of sin," & c ., ver. 17, . . 317
CONTENTS. Vll
MM
SERMON XIX. " Being then made free from sin, ye became the
servants of righteousness," vers. 18, 19, . 327
XX. "For when ye were the servants of sin," &c.,
ver. 20, ..... 336
XXI. " What fruit had ye then in those things ? " &c.,
ver. 21, 343
XXII. " But being made free from sin," &c., ver. 22, . 352
XXIII. " And the end everlasting life," &c., ver. 22, . 363
XXIV. For the wages of sin is death," &c., ver. 23, . 370
SERMONS ON ROMANS vm.
EPISTLE DEDICATORY, . . . . . .383
SERMON 1. " There is therefore now no condemnation," &c.,
ver. 1, . . . .385
II. " For the law of the spirit of life," &c., ver. 2, . 395
III. " Hath made me free," &c., ver. 2, . .412
IV. " For what the law could not do," &c., ver. 3, . 420
V. " That the righteousness of the law," &c., ver. 4, 430
VI. " For they that are after the flesh," &c., ver. 5, 438
VII. " For they that are after the flesh," &c., ver. 5, 448
VIII. " For to be carnally minded is death," <kc., ver. 6, 459
IX. " Because the carnal mind is enmity to God," &<x,
ver. 7, 469
X. " So then they that are in the flesh cannot please
God," &c., ver. 8, . . . . 473
XI. " But ye are not in the flesh, &c., ver. 9, . 484
SERMONS
UPON THB
SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER OF
ST JOHN.
VOL. XI.
SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII.
SERMON XXXIII.
And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified
through the truth. JOHN XVII. 19.
THIS is the second argument ; he had urged their commission, now his
own merit. Justice might interpose and say, They are unworthy ;
but Christ saith, ' I sanctify myself for them.' He dealeth with the
Father, not only by way of entreaty, but merit ; and applieth himself
not only to the good- will of the Father, as his beloved one, but to his
justice, as one that was ready to lay down his life as a satisfaction.
In the text are two things :
1. A meritorious cause, 'And for their sakes I sanctify myself.'
Where
[1.] Quis, the person, who is represented under a double notion as
an efficient cause, ' I sanctify ; ' and as the object-matter, ' Myself ; '
the person sanctifying and sanctified, the author and the object, the
efficient and the material cause of this sanctification.
[2.] Quid, the action, what he did, wyid%a), ' I sanctify.'
[3.] Pro quibus, the persons for whom this was done, ' For their
sakes ; ' not for himself, he needed it not, but for their sakes, virep
2. The effect of Christ's sanctifying himself, ' That they might be
sanctified through the truth.' Where
[1.] The blessing intended, ' That they might be sanctified.' It is
bonum congruum, for in all things Christ must Trpwreveiv, ' have the
pre-eminence ; ' it is bonum morale, not that they might be rich,
happy, glorious, but sanctified ; it is bonum speciftcativum, such as
maketh an evidence ; for none can make comfortable application of the
benefits of redemption but the sanctified, who have grace and holiness
infused in them, and do devote and consecrate themselves to serve
God in holiness and righteousness all their days.
[2.] The means, manner, or end, eV d\r)deia ; it may be rendered
through the truth, in truth, or for the truth; all which readings admit
of a commodious explication.
(1.) As the means, ' Through the truth,' as the rule and instrument ;
4 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XXXIII.
the word accompanied with the virtue of Christ's death is that which
sanctifieth.
(2.) The manner, * In truth,' or truly, in opposition to legal purifi
cations by the use of the ceremonies of the law, which were but a shadow
of true holiness : Heb. ix. 13, 14, ' For if the blood of bulls and goats,
and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the
purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who
throughthe eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge
your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God ? ' And in
opposition to counterfeit sanctification : Eph. iv. 24, ' And that ye
put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and
true holiness ;' such as is sincere, true, and real.
(3.) The end, ' For the truth,' that they may be consecrated, set
apart, and fitted for that function of preaching the truth. The con
text seemeth to justify this. From the whole observe
Doct. That Christ did set himself apart to be a sacrifice for us,
that we might be sanctified by the means appointed thereunto.
I shall explain this point by opening the text.
First, I begin with the meritorious cause, ' And for their sakes I
sanctify myself.' Where (1.) The agent, I ; (2.) The act, sanctify ;
(3.) The object, myself; (4.) The persons concerned, for their sakes.
First, The agent, ' I sanctify myself.' In other places it is ascribed
to the Father and the Spirit. To the Father : John x. 36, ' Him hath
the Father sanctified, and sent into the world.' To the Spirit : Acts x.
38, ' How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and
with power/ He did not only frame the human nature of Christ out
of the substance of the Virgin, but adorned it with gifts and graces
fit for his office and work. And here Christ saith, ' I sanctify my
self.' All the persons in the divine nature concur to this work.
The Father sanctifieth and sets him apart by his decree and desig
nation ; the Son sanctifieth himself, to show his willingness and con
descension; the Spirit sanctifieth him by his operation, furnishing
him with meet graces and endowments that were necessary for that
singular person who should redeem the world. Christ's sanctifying
himself falleth under our consideration, and doth show partly his ori
ginal authority, as a person of the Godhead, coequal with the Father
and the Spirit : ' Whatsoever the Father doeth, the Son doeth also,'
John v. 19. Partly his voluntary submission ; as the Father did con
secrate the Son to the office of mediator, and the Spirit qualified him
with all fulness of grace, so did Christ consecrate himself, as being a
most willing agent in this work, and did really offer himself to become
man, and to suffer all that misery, pain, and shame that was neces
sary for our expiation. The scripture often sets it forth to us : Eph. v.
2, ' Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given him
self for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling
savour.' ^ He did not do this work by constraint, but of a ready mind.
When it was first propounded to him in God's decree, Heb. x. 9,
Then he said, Lo, I come to do thy will, God ! ' And before the
time was come about when he should assume the human nature into
the unity of his person, he feasted himself with the thoughts of that
salvation which he should set afoot in the habitable parts of the earth:
VER. 19.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn.
Prov. viii. 31, 'Rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth, and my
delights were with the sons of men.' When the incarnation was
passed, then he longed for the time of his passion: Luke xii. 50, ' I
have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be
accomplished !' So willing was he to do and suffer that whereunto he
was sent : Luke xxii. 15, ' With desire have I desired to eat this pass-
over with you before I die ; ' that passover, because it was the last, the
forerunner of his agonies. His heart was set upon that work. ^ His be
haviour in his death showed how willingly he did undergo it : John
xiii. 1, 'Having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them
unto the end ; ' then was his bitter work, but that did not abate his
love. The heathens counted it a lucky sacrifice that went to the altar
without struggling and roaring ; certainly Christ did meekly suffer
what was imposed on him for the expiation of our sins : Isa. liii. 7,
' He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her
shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.' A swine whineth
and maketh a noise, but a sheep is dumb; this was the emblem
chosen to represent Christ's meekness and patience. Salt cast into
the fire danceth and leapeth with a kind of impatience, but oil riseth
up in a gentle flame ; so Christ suffered, not only with patience, but
delight. He did not lay down his life by constraint, but died by con
sent : John x. 18, ' No man taketh my life from me, but I lay it down
of myself ; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up
again.' Now this endeareth our obligation to him, that he would
consecrate himself to the work of the mediatory office, and to that end
assume the human nature into the unity of his person, and so willingly
condescend to all that sorrow and pain that he was to endure for our
sakes, and offer himself up as a sacrifice for our sins ; being for a while
without the actual sense of his Father's love: ' My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me ? ' Mat. xxvii. 46.
But more distinctly let us consider the greatness of his sufferings,
his willingness to endure them.
1. The greatness of his sufferings. His passions, take them in the
very letter, were sore, but they were heightened by the delicacy of his
temper ; never any man suffered as he did, because never such a man.
A blow on the head is soon felt because it is a principal member, and
so more sensible than other parts of the body. A slave is not so
sensible of blows and stripes as a nobleman of a tender and delicate
constitution. Our Saviour Christ was of a more delicate consti
tution than any other; his body was immediately framed by the
Spirit in the Virgin's womb. Lawrence on the gridiron, Stephen when
stoned, could not be so sensible as Christ on the cross. None of the
martyrs suffered what he did. Christ had a particular knowledge of
all sins committed in the world, past, present, and to come, and a par
ticular sorrow for them; which was the greater by how much the
more he prized the honour of God. His love towards him was infinite,
his hatred to sin infinite, his apprehension of his Father's displeasure
clear ; all which made his soul heavy to the death. Our sins were more
burdensome to him than his own wounds. No man's understanding
is so great as to apprehend what Christ felt ; Christ himself can only
give us an account of the greatness of his sufferings. David confessed
G SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [&ER. XXXIII.
' that his sins were more than the hairs upon his head ;' yet he saith,
' Cleanse me from secret sins ;' implying many had escaped his notice
and knowledge. How great was the burden of Christ, that was the
Lamb bearing the sins of the whole world ! Neither did Christ suffer
pains only for sins, but to make a purchase of spiritual blessings ; and
yet the price exceeded the value of that which was bought.
2. His willingness to suffer for us. Christ was so set upon his
passion that he called Peter Satan for contradicting it : Mat. xvi. 23,
' Get thee behind me, Satan, for thou art an offence to me.' When
Jonah saw the storm he said, ' Cast me into the sea ;' this storm was
raised for his own sake ; but when Christ saw the misery of mankind
he said, Let it come on me. We raised the storm, Christ was cast in
to allay it ; as if a prince, passing by an execution, should take the
malefactor's chains and suffer in his stead. Christ bore our sorrows ;
he would have this work in no other hands but his own. His earnest
ness to partake of the last passover showeth his willingness ; he had
such a desire to see his body on the cross, that Judas seemed too slow,
not diligent enough. Christ saith, John xiii. 27, ' That thou doest, do
quickly.' It is not an approbation of his sin, but a testimony of his
love ; every day seems long. If Christ had been to suffer so much for
every man as he did for all mankind, he would have done it ; there
wanted but a precept, there wanted not love ; his heart was much beyond
his sufferings, as the windows of the temple were greater and more
open within than without, 1 Kings vi. 4. If Paul, that had but a drop
of grace, could ' wish himself accursed from Christ for his brethren,
his kindred according to the flesh/ Rom. ix. 3, how much more willing
was Christ ! Surely then we should as readily consecrate ourselves to
his service. Christ saith, ' Lo, I come to do thy will, God/ Heb.
x. 9 ; and it becometh every Christian to make an unbounded resigna
tion of himself to God : Acts ix. 6, ' Lord, what wouldst thou have me
to do?'
Secondly, The act, ayidfa, ' I sanctify.' Things are said in scrip
ture to be sanctified when they are set apart, and fitted and prepared
for some holy use.
1. As it signifies to separate, or set apart from a common to a holy
use, as the sacrifices under the law were separated and chosen out of
the flock or herd, the best and the fairest, such as were without spot
and blemish, and. then designed for this holy use of being an offering
to God, so was Christ separated for this use, to be the great sin-offering,
or sacrifice of atonement for the whole congregation : 1 Peter i. 19, 20,
'Ye were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of 'a lamb
without blemish and without spot/ When was Christ so sanctified ?
He did sanctify himself when he accepted the conditions of the covenant
of redemption, Isa. liii. 10-12 ; and visibly at his baptism he did pre
sent himself among sinners as our surety, and offer himself to the
Father to pay our ransom, which God accepted, for he declared him
self well pleased with Christ, as standing in our room Mat iii 17
' Lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased. Ordinary baptism is a dedication to God. So Christ's
baptism was a dedication of himself to the recovering of the lost world
to Uod. And then a little before his death in this prayer, ' I sanctify
VER. 19.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 7
myself ; ' afterwards in his agonies, ' Not my will, but thine be done ;'
at his death he offered up himself, Heb. ix. 14, ' Who through the
eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God.'
2. It signifieth his qualification and fitness ; he did fit the human
nature with all habitual and actual holiness. In this sense Christ did
sanctify himself ; as God, he fitted himself for this work.
[1.] There was the innocency and purity of his human nature, with
out any stain of corruption, and therefore he is called ' that holy thing,'
Luke i. 35. This holiness was necessary in regard of himself, other
wise his human nature could not be assumed into the unity of his
person, for God can have no communion with sin, no more than light
and darkness can agree together. It was necessary in regard of his
office, that he might satisfy for our sins : Heb. vii. 26, ' Such an high
priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from
sinners.' The priest of the gospel must be sinless, because of the
excellency of the sacrifice, that the priest may not be worse than the
sacrifice. While things were carried in type and figure, and a beast
was offered in sacrifice, a sinful man sufficed ; but now the satisfaction
was really to be made for us, and sin done away, and we were to be
made really holy, our priest was to be holy, harmess, undefiled. It is
for our comfort that Christ was sanctified ; his original sanctity is a
remedy against our original sin and impurity. When we are troubled
with our natural deformity, it is comfortable to think that God looketh
upon us in Christ, who was holy by nature ; it is a comfortable hope
that the corruption of our nature is covered in God's eyes, and shall be
diminished more and more.
[2.] His actual holiness in his conversation. The business of the
mediator was to commend obedience, and he hath done it by his own
example, and the way that he took to recover us to God : Rom. v. 19,
' As by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the
obedience of one shall many be made righteous / Phil. ii. 5, ' Let the
same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus/ Some dislike such a
particular application ; we have need of all Christ's properties, and we
should make use of all. Why doth the scripture set it down, but to
show that he is fit to remove sin original and actual ? As a covetous
man looks on a piece of gold, or we on a thing that we delight in, we
turn it on every side. The first Adam was by God's institution a
common person, in him sinning the world sinned ; the second Adam
was a public fountain of holiness, who is an infinite person as well as
a public person.
Thirdly, The object, 'I sanctify myself;' not an angel to do this
for us, but himself. Under the law the priests offered bulls and goats,
while they themselves remained untouched, but Christ offered himself.
As God he was priest, as man the sacrifice. As there was love in the
priest, so there is worth in the sacrifice. Christ was both priest and
sacrifice; it was himself that he offered as a recompense to angry justice.
Otherwise we might say, Here is the person sanctifying, but where is
the sacrifice ? As Isaac said to his father, Gen. xxii. 7, ' Behold the
fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt-offering ? ' It
is good to see in what nature Christ was the priest, and in what nature
the sacrifice. In his divine nature the priest, for ' he offered himself
8 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [$ER. XXXIII.
through the eternal Spirit to God/ Heb. ix. 14. In his human nature
principally he was the sacrifice ; for it is said, Heb. x. 10, ' We are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for
all.' The godhead could not be offered, for who can offer himself, or
any other thing to himself ? And, besides, the thing sacrificed must
be slain, for it is blood shed which was given to God upon his altar.
In this respect it is said by Christ, John vi. 51, ' The bread which I
will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world/ And
when he had instituted the eucharist in memory of this great sacrifice,
he mentioneth his body broken and given, and his blood shed. Yet
because the priest and the sacrifice is one, the value of this sacrifice
ariseth from the divine nature. It is ' the blood of God,' Acts xx. 28,
that is, of the person who was God.
Fourthly, The persons interested, ' For their sakes.'
1. Negatively, not for himself; he needed it not, he had no sin to
expiate, nor happiness to purchase anew. The scripture never speaks
of Christ's doing anything for his own sake, but still of his love to us.
His incarnation was for us : Isa. ix. 6, ' To us a child is born, to us a
Son is given.' His obedience was for us : Gal. iv. 4, 5, ' But when the
fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman,
made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we
might receive the adoption of sons.' His death was for us: Dan.
ix. 26, ' The Messias shall be cut off, but not for himself/ Our Lord
died, not for himself, but for his people : Isa. liii. 4, 5, * Surely he hath
borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of
our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed/ He was
made nothing for himself, but all things for us. Christ's merit for
himself is an unworthy doctrine. Bellarmine saith, Ghristus prceter ea
bona quce suis laborious peperit, meruit etiam sibi corporis gloriam,
et nominis excdtationem. But if Christ were to merit for himself, his
obedience was not voluntary, but due ; and what could be merit which
was not from his conception due to him ? It is true Christ solaced
his human soul with the consideration of consequent glory : Heb.
xii. 2, ' For the glory which was set before him, he endured the cross,
and despised the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the
throne of God/ But we cannot thence infer a merit. A prince dis
guised in a foreign country may solace himself with the honour and
happiness he shall enjoy at home : Phil. ii. 9, ' Wherefore God hath
also highly exalted him/ Aio, ' wherefore,' noteth a consequent in
order of time : Christ was ' first to suffer, and then to enter into elorv '
Luke xxiv. 26.
If you say, Christ, as man, was bound to be subject, as a reasonable
creature, to God his maker ; as the son of Abraham, he was compre
hended m the covenant made with that people : I answer
[1.] If his human nature was bound to be subject, yet not his per
son, actiones sunt suppositorum. The human nature was taken into
his person, and the divine nature could do more to free the human
nature than the human nature to oblige the person to obedience.
Christ pleadeth his freedom as God's son: Mat. xvii. 26, 'If of
strangers, then are the children free/
VBR. 19.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 9
[2.] The human nature, as a creature, was to be subject to God,
and guided by him, as being an inferior ; but whether to a law of
God is justly doubted ; for the law is given to mere men for their
weakness, for the instruction of good and the restraint of bad; and
therefore his being subject to the law was voluntary, and not neces
sary ; if it were necessary, there could be no merit in it : Luke xvii.
10, ' So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are
commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants ; we have done that
which was our duty to do.'
[3.] Again, Christ voluntarily brought himself into this condition
merely for our sakes; as a man that removeth his dwelling into
another country for his friend's sake, while he is in that country, he is
bound by the laws of it, but merely for his friend's sake ; or, as a
surety, free before, when he cometh into bonds, he must discharge the
debt, but all is for his friend's sake ; so Christ ' was made under
the law' Gal. iv. 4. He that makes himself a servant to free his
friend is bound to service ; yet his making himself a servant is meri
torious. In short, if Christ had done aught for himself, he had been
his own redeemer, mediator, and saviour. Christ came into the world,
sanctified his nature, lived and died for our sakes ; it is for our benefit
and behoof, to effect our salvation. His human nature needed no
thing but what might accrue to him by the dignity of his person.
2. Positively, ' For their sakes.' The apostles are chiefly coDcerned
in the context, who were sent into the world upon a peculiar message
and errand ; but all the elect are intended, partly because it is pre
sently added, ver. 20, ' Neither pray I for these alone, but for all that
shall believe in me through their word ;' partly because it is a common
benefit, and what doth not concern the apostles as apostles, but is
common to them with others, must be extended to all ; for their sakes
he doth wholly consecrate himself, and set himself apart for his people's
benefit, that he might be theirs ; it was for their weal, not for his own,
that he might be their mediator and sacrifice. Christ was wholly set
apart for our use ; as mediator, he had no other work and employment
but to procure our salvation. How doth this engage us to make use
of Christ, for otherwise his undertaking is in vain, if we do not
improve him for those ends and purposes for which he doth set apart
himself ; even as the sun would shine in vain if we did shut up our
selves in a dark place, and did not enjoy the light and comfort of it,
and the brazen serpent would in vain be lifted up upon the perch and
pole, if none that were stung would look upon it. Oh ! let not Christ
be a Christ in vain : 2 Cor. vi. 1, ' We then, as workers together with
him, beseech you that you receive not the grace of God in vain.' If
he wholly gave up himself to be a fountain of grace, holiness, comfort,
and glory in our nature, and did fit himself to justify and sanctify
us, and we never look after the benefit, we make him to be a Christ
in vain.
Secondly, We come now to the end, effect, and fruit of it, ' That they
might be sanctified through the truth.'
First, The benefit, or blessing intended, ' That they also might be
sanctified.' Where
1. Observe, it is bonum morale, not that they might be rich, happy,
10 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [$ER. XXXIII.
great, glorious in the world, but 'that they might be sanctified.'
When Christ was on the cross, he neither wanted wisdom to choose,
nor love to intend, nor merit to purchase the highest benefits, and
those which were most necessary for us ; but that which he had in his
eye was our sanctification : Eph. v. 26, ' He loved the church, and
o-ave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it ;' and Heb.
xiii. 12, ' Jesus, that he might sanctify the people, suffered without
the gate.' All his aim was to recover us to God, and dedicate us to
God ; for he came to repair the ruins of the fall, and save that which
was lost : Luke xix. 10, ' The Son of man came to seek and to save
that which was lost/ And we were first lost to God before we were
lost to ourselves ; as appeareth, Luke xv., by the parable of the lost
sheep, which was lost to the owner ; and the lost groat, which was lost
to the possessor ; and the lost son, which was lost to the father. Our
misery is included ; but the principal thing intended was, that God
hath lost the honour of the creation.
2. It is bonum congruum: 'I sanctify myself, that they may be
sanctified.' The scripture delighteth in these congruities : Heb. v.
8, 9, ' He learned obedience by the things that he suffered : and being
made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation to all them
that obey him.' As there is a suitableness between the seal and the
impression, so between Christ and his people. In all things Christ
must irpwTeveiv, he must have the pre-eminence. We have the
blessings of the covenant, not only from him, but through him. Christ
was elected : Isa. xlii. 1, ' Behold my servant whom I have chosen,
my elect in whom my soul delighteth ; ' so are we. Christ was justified :
1 Tim. iii. 16, ' God manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit ;' so
are we. Christ was sanctified, and we, in conformity to him, are sancti
fied also, as in the text. Christ rose again, ascended, and was glorified ;
so do we he as the elder brother and first heir, and we in our order.
3. It is bonum specificativum. It showeth the parties, or that sort
of men to whom Christ intended the benefit : Heb. x. 14, ' For by one
offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified ;' them
and no other : the godly themselves, while unconverted, and lying in
their sins, have not the actual benefit of Christ's redemption.
But in what manner are we sanctified ? Christ consecrated and
sanctified himself as a sin-offering ; but we are sanctified and conse
crated as a thank-offering ; Christ to do the work of a redeemer or
mediator, we to do the work of the redeemed. We are set apart for the
Lord, to glorify him in all holy conversation and godliness.
Secondly, The means of applying and conveying this benefit:
' Through the truth,' eV aX^deLa. It may be rendered ' through the
truth,' ' in the truth/ or ' for the truth ;' all which readings admit of
a commodious explication.
1. In the truth, or truly, in opposition to legal purifications, which
were but a shadow of true holiness : Heb. ix. 13, 14, ' For if the blood
of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean,
sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot
to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living
God ? ' Or in opposition to counterfeit sanctification : Eph. iv. 24,
VER. 19.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 11
' And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in
righteousness and true holiness.' Some only are sanctified externally,
as they are in visible covenant with God : Heb. x. 29, ' And hath
counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an
unholy thing.' They live among his peculiar people ; others are
really renewed and changed by his Spirit, and turned from a sinful life
to God, making conscience of every commanded duty, and aiming at
his glory in all things.
2. For the truth, that they may be consecrated, set apart, and fitted
for that function of preaching the gospel. This is agreeable to the
context, which limits this part of the prayer to the apostles.
3. Through the truth, as we render it, and fitly, considering the
1 7th verse, ' Sanctify them through the truth ; thy word is truth ; '
through the word, by which the virtue of Christ's death is applied to
us. There are certain means and helps by which Christ bringeth
about this effect : Eph. v. 26, ' That he might sanctify and cleanse it
by the washing of water, through the word.' The word ofFereth this
grace, the sacraments seal and confirm it to us. So John xv. 3, ' Ye
are clean, through the word which I have spoken to you.' The word
of command presseth it : Ps. cxix. 9, ' Wherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way ? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.' The
word of promise encourageth us : 2 Cor. vii. 1, ' Having therefore these
promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all the filthiness
of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God/ And the
doctrine of Christ's blood holds out the virtue whereby it may be done :
1 John i. 7, ' The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
bin.' And it exciteth faith, by which the heart is purified : Acts xv.
9, ' Purifying their hearts by faith.'
Use 1. Information. It informeth us of divers important truths.
1. That in ourselves we are polluted and unclean, or else what
needed there so much ado to get us sanctified ? This is needful to
be considered by us : Job xv. 14, ' What is man that he should be
clean ? and he that is born of a woman, that he should be righteous ? '
That is, man by nature is neither clean nor righteous, destitute of
purity by nature, and uprightness of conversation. They are ill ac
quainted with man who think otherwise ; for if we consider his earliness
in sinning, his easiness in sinning, his constancy in sinning, and the
universality of sinners, we may soon see what his nature is ; and the
fountain being so corrupt, the streams or emanations from it are defiled
also.
2. That nothing can cleanse us but the blood of Christ. Can man
cleanse himself ? Job xiv. 4, ' Who can bring a clean thing out of an
unclean ? not one.' Can that which is corrupt cleanse itself ? or that
which is enmity to holiness promote it ? Or can the word do it with
out Christ ? Good instructions may show a man his duty, but cannot
change the bent of his heart. Christ needed not only to be sent as a pro
phet, ver. 18, but must sanctify himself as a priest and sacrifice, before
this benefit could be procured for us, as in the text. There was no pos
sible way to recover holiness, unless a price, and no less a price than the
blood of the Son of God, had been paid to provoked j ustice for us. He must
sanctify himself, give himself, before we can be sanctified and cleansed.
12 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XXXIII.
3. That they do not aright improve the death of Christ that seek
comfort by it, and not holiness. He died not only for our justification,
but sanctification also. There are two reasons why the death of Christ
hath so little effect upon us ; either he is a forgotten Christ, or a mis
taken Christ. A forgotten Christ : men do not consider the ends for
which he came : 1 John iii. 5, ' Ye know that he was manifested, to
take away our sins ; ' and ver. 8, ' To this purpose was the Son of God
manifested, to destroy the works of the devil ; ' to give his Spirit to
sinful miserable man. Now things that we mind not do not work
upon us. The work of redemption Christ hath performed without our
minding or asking ; he took our nature, fulfilled the law, satisfied the
lawgiver, merited grace without our asking or thinking ; but in apply
ing this grace, he requireth our consideration : Heb. iii. 1, ' Wherefore,
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle
and high priest of our profession.' Our faith : ' Believest thou that I
am able to do this for thee ? ' Our acceptance : John i. 12, c To as
many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sous of
God.' But the other evil is greater, a mistaken Christ ; when we use
him to increase our carnal security and boldness in sinning, and are
possessed with an ill thought, that God is more reconcilable to sin
than he was before, and by reason of Christ's coming there were less
evil and malignity in sin, for then you make Christ a minister and
encourager of sin : Gal. ii. 17, ' For if, while we seek to be justified by
Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore the
minister of sin ? God forbid ! ' You set up Christ against Christ, his
merit against his doctrine and Spirit ; yea, rather you set up the devil
against Christ, and varnish his cause with Christ's name, and so it is
but an idol-Christ you dote upon. The true Christ ' came by water
and blood,' 1 John v. 6 ; ' Bore our sins in his body on the tree, that
we, being dead unto sin, should live unto righteousness,' 1 Peter ii. 24.
And will you set his death against the ends of his death ? and run
from and rebel against God because Christ came to redeem and recover
you to God ? Certainly those weak Christians that only make use of
Christ to seek comfort, seek him out of self-love ; but those that seek
holiness from the Kedeemer have a more spiritual affection to him.
The^ guilt of sin is against our interest, but the power of sin is against
God's glory. He came to sanctify us by his holiness, not only to free
our consciences from bondage, but our hearts, that we may serve God
with more liberty and delight. This was the great aim of his death :
Titus 11. 14, ' He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from
all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good
works. Thus did Christ, that the plaster might be as broad as the
sore ; we lost in Adam the purity of our natures, as well as the favour
of God, and therefore he is made sanctification to us, as well as right
eousness, 1 Cor. i. 30.
4. With what confidence we may use the means of grace, because
they are sprinkled with the blood of Christ. Christ hath purchased
grace such a treasure of grace as cannot be wasted ; and this is dis
pensed to us by the word and sacraments. The apostle doth not say
barely he died 'to cleanse us/ but ' to cleanse us by the washing of
water through the word;' and here, 'that we might be sanctified
VER. 19.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 13
through the truth.' Christ hath established the merits, but the actual
influence is from the Spirit : Titus iii. 5. 6, ' According to his mercy
he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost ; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ.' And
the means are the word and sacraments, whereby the Spirit dispenseth
the grace in Christ's name ; ordinarily the gospel, which is ' the mini
stration of the Spirit/ 2 Cor. iii. 8. If we come to the Father, we need
his grant : Kev. xix. 8, ' And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine
linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.'
All cometh originally from his merciful grant ; but God would not
look towards us, but for Christ's sake. If we look to the Father, he
sendeth us to the Son, ' whose blood cleanseth us from all our sins,'
1 John i. 7. If we look to the Son, he referreth us to the Spirit ;
therefore we read of 'the sanctification of the Spirit,' 2 Thes. ii. 13.
If we wait for the Spirit's efficacy, he sendeth us to Moses and the
prophets, where we shall hear of him. Therefore we may with en
couragement pray, read, hear, meditate, that all these duties may be
sanctified to us.
5. If holiness be the fruit of Christ's death, it maketh his love to be
more gratuitous and free. For all the worth that we can conceive to
be in ourselves, to commend us to God, is in our holiness. Now this
is merely the fruit of grace, and the merit of Christ, and the gift of his
Spirit in us. We wallow in our own filthiness, till he, of his grace,
for Christ's sake, doth sanctify us by his Spirit. Both the love of God
and the merit of Christ is antecedent to our holiness : ' He hath loved
us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and made us kings
and priests to God, and to the Father,' Kev. i. 5, 6. And the Spirit's
work is not lessened, as if it were no great matter : 2 Peter i. 3, ' Accord
ing as his divine power hath given unto us all things that appertain
unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called
us to glory and virtue.'
6. We learn hence the preciousness of holiness ; it is a thing dearly
bought, and the great blessing which Christ intended for us. We do
not value the blessings of the covenant so much as we should. Christ
was devising what he should do for his church to make it honourable
and glorious, and this way he took to make it holy.
[l.j It is the beauty of God ; for God himself is ' glorious in holi
ness,' Exod. xv. 11, and ' we are created after his image, in righteous
ness and true holiness,' Eph. iv. 24. The perfection of the divine
nature lieth chiefly in his immaculate holiness and purity.
[2.] It is that which maketh us amiable in the sight of God, for he
delighteth not in us as justified so much as sanctified : Ps. xi. 7, 'For
the righteous Lord loveth righteousness, his countenance doth behold
the upright.' When, upon the account of Christ's merits and satisfac
tion, he hath created a clean heart in us, and renewed a right spirit, then
he delighteth in us. It is his image makes us amiable, and therefore
we should make it our great desire and care to be as holy as may be.
[3.] Much of our everlasting blessedness lieth in it : Eph. v. 27,
'That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot
or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without
blemish.'
14 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XXXIII.
[4.] It is a great part of our salvation by Christ : Mat. i. 21, c Thou
shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins ; '
Acts iii. 26, ' Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent
him to bless you, in turning away every one of you^from his iniquities.'
[5.] It is a means to the rest. Communion with God and Christ
here : 1 John i. 6, 7, ' If we say that we have fellowship with him,
and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in
the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another/
And everlasting fruition of God hereafter ; Acts xxvi. 18, ' That they
may receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among them which
are sanctified by faith that is in me ; ' Heb. xii. 14, 'Without holiness
no man shall see God.'
7. It showeth us who are partakers of the benefits and fruits of
Christ's death : Heb. ii. 11, ' For both he that sanotifieth, and they
that are sanctified, are all of one ; wherefore he is not ashamed to call
them brethren ; ' Heb. x. 14, ' For by one offering he hath perfected
for ever them that are sanctified ; ' perfected, but by degrees. The elect
themselves, whilst they are unconverted and remain in their sins, have
not the actual benefit of Christ's redemption. Our dying Lord had an
actual intention in due time to sanctify, and accordingly doth regenerate,
justify, sanctify all those who shall have benefit by his death. But
who are the sanctified ? It is to be considered positively and reLi-
tively. Positively, it is to be renewed to God's image : Titus iii. 5,
' He saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the
Holy Ghost ; ' 2 Peter i. 4, ' That by these we might be made par
takers of the divine nature." This is the great work of the sanctifying
Spirit, to make us like God, and to work in us those graces whereby
we may be qualified and inclined to live to him. Kelatively, to be
sanctified is to be separated from a common to a holy relation and
use. This is seen in three things inclination, dedication, and use.
[1.] Inclination towards God. This is the immediate fruit of grace,
called conversion, or turning to God ; the new nature tendeth and
bendeth to him.
[2.] Dedication : 2 Cor. viii. 5, * They first gave their own selves to
the Lord, and unto us by the will of God ; ' Horn. vi. 13, ' Yield your
selves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your mem
bers as instruments of righteousness unto God.' This is in entering
into covenant with God.
^ [3.] Use is nothing but the exercise of this disposition and inclina
tion, called ' living to God/ or performance of this dedication : 1 Cor.
vi. 19, 20, ' What ! know ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God , and ye are not
your own, but ye are bought with a price ? therefore glorify God in
your bodies and souls, which are the Lord's ; ' Zech. xiv. 20, ' In that
day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS TO THE
LORD.' By the latter there is a difference between us and others :
1 John v. 19, ' And we know that we are of God, and the whole world
lieth in wickedness.' And between us and ourselves.: 1 Cor. vi. 11,
' Such were some of you ; but ye are washed, but ye are justified, but
ye are sanctified, in the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of
our God.' This must be more explicit every day.
VER. 20.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 15
Use 2. Direction in the Lord's supper. Here we come to remember
Christ's sacrifice, and to interest ourselves in the fruits of it.
1. To remember Christ's sacrifice. As the elements are set apart
for a holy use, so was Christ sanctified. All sacraments represent
Christ dead. Baptism : ' We are baptized into his death/ Horn. vi. 3.
In the Lord's supper ' We show forth his death till he come,' 1 Cor.
xi. 26 ; his body was broken, his blood shed. Christ would institute
a representation of his humiliation rather than of his glory, to repre
sent his love to us ; it was for our sakes rather than his own honour ;
to represent what concerned us.
2. To interest ourselves in the fruits of it. Look after the fruits
of it.
[1.] Bewailing your unholiness, both in heart and life, that you
were so long trained up in the knowledge of Christ's truth, and did so
little love God, and live to him ; that God hath opened a fountain for
sin and for uncleanness, and you are no more cleansed to this very day ;
and have gotten so little of the sanctifying Spirit, as if you were
strangers in Israel.
[2.] Hunger and thirst for this grace, his renewing, as well as recon
ciling grace : Mat. v. 6, ' Blessed are those that hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be filled.' Desire it earnestly.
OJ.] Lift up your hearts with confidence and hope, when the sacrifice
hrist is represented to you, because God hath accepted this sacrifice,
and is well pleased with it : Isa. liii. 4, 5, ' Surely he hath borne our
griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. For he was wounded for our trans
gressions, he was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of our
peace was upon him ; and with his stripes are we healed.' We have no
reason to despair of the cure, that Holy Spirit who sanctified our head,
who had no sin, by preventing sin in his conception, and anointed him
to his office, is able to enlighten, convert, sanctify us also.
[4.] Praise him for so much grace as you have received, that he
hath inclined your hearts to his blessed self : 1 Peter i. 3, ' Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his
abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ; ' at least that he made
you serious.
[5.] Dedicate yourselves to God, to walk before him in all new
obedience: Rom. xii. 1, 'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.'
SERMON XXXIV.
Neither pray 1 for these alone, but for them also which shall believe
on me through their word. JOHN XVII. 20.
<
HERE Christ enlargelh the object of his prayers, which is propounded
(1.) Negatively ; (2.) Positively.
16 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XXXIV.
First, Negatively ; by which the restraint is taken off. Which
showeth
1. Christ's love. He had a care of us before we were yet in being,
and able to apply these comforts to ourselves. We were provided for
before we were born, there is a stock of prayers laid up in heaven.
Christ, as God, foresaw that the gospel would prevail, notwithstanding
the world's hatred, and that many would yield up themselves to the
obedience of the faith ; therefore to show that they have a room in his
heart, they have a name in his testament. As parents provide for
their 'children's children yet unborn, so doth Christ remember future
believers, as well as those of the present age, and pleadeth their cause
with God, as if they were standing by, and actually hearing his prayers
for them. It was Esau's complaint, ' Hast thou but one blessing,
my father ? ' when he came too late, and Jacob had already carried
away the blessing. We were not born too late, and out of due time,
to receive the blessing of Christ's prayers. Hath he no regard to us ?
are his thoughts wholly taken up with the believers of the first and
golden age of the church ? Certainly not. ' I pray not for these
only, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.'
We, that now live hundreds of years after they are dead and gone,
have an interest in them. ' Increase and multiply,' was spoken to the
first of the kind of all the beasts ; and to the end of the world all
creatures do produce and bring forth after their kind by virtue of this
blessing. Christ doth not only speak of the first of the kind ; but, that
we might be sure to be comprised, he telleth us so in express words.
Certainly much of our comfort would be lost if we were not compre
hended in Christ's prayers, for his prayers show the extent of his
purchase.
2. The honour that is put upon private believers ; their names are
in Christ's testament ; they are bound up in the same bundle of life
with the apostles. Here is a question, whether this passage relateth
to the foregoing requests, or else to these that follow ? What part of
the prayer hath this passage respect to ? Answer I suppose to the
whole ; it looketh upward and downward. The middle part of the
chapter doth chiefly concern the apostles and disciples of that age ;
some things are proper to them, yet there are many things in common
that concern us and them too. He had lately said, ' I sanctify myself
for their sakes ; ' he would not have that restrained. In the latter
part of the chapter all believers are more especially concerned ; yet
some passages are intermingled that do also concern the apostles : ver.
22, ' The glory which thou hast given me, I have given them ; ' ver.
25, ' They have known that thou hast sent me ; ' ver. 26, ' I have
declared my name to them, and will declare it/ Thus you see we are
partly concerned in all the prayer. It is a great favour that he would
make mention of us to God. As David, when about to die, did not
only pray for Solomon his successor, but for all the people, so doth
Christ not only pray for the college of the apostles, to whom the
government of the church was committed upon his departure, but for
all believers to the end of the world. He prayeth for the apostles, as
intrusted with a great work, and liable to great danger and hatred ; but
yet he doth not neglect the church.
VER. 20.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvir. 17
Secondly, Positively; the persons for whom he prays. They are
described by their faith, and their faith is described by the object of it,
' That believe in me ; ' and by the ground and warrant of it, ' Through
their word.'
And so the points will be two :
1. That believers, and they only, are interested in Christ's prayers.
2. That, in the sense and reckoning of the gospel, they are belie vers
that are wrought upon to believe in Christ through the word.
Doct. 1. That believers, and they only, are interested in Christ's
prayers.
Though Christ doth enlarge the object of his prayers, yet he still
keepeth within the pale of the elect. He saith, ver. 9, ' I pray not for
the world ; ' and now, Trepl rtov Tria-reva-ovToyv, ' for them that shall
believe in me.' He doth not pray for all, whether they believe or no,
but only for those that shall believe. Now this Christ doth, partly
because his prayers and his merit are of equal extent : ' I sanctify my
self for their sakes ; ' and then, ' I pray not for these only, but for them
that shall believe in me through their word ; ' Horn. viii. 33, 34, ' Who
shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justi-
fieth ; who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us ;' 1 John ii. 1, 2, ' If any man sin, we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the
propitiation for our sins.' His prayers on earth do but explain the
virtue and extent of his sacrifice : he sueth out what he purchased, and
his intercession in heaven is but a representation of his merit ; both
are acts of the same office. Partly because it is not for the honour of
Christ that his prayers should fall to the ground : John xi. 42, ' I know
that thou hearest me always.' Shall the Son of God's love plead in
vain, and urge his merit, and not succeed ? Then farewell the sure-
ness and firmness of our comfort. Now Christ's prayers would fall to
the ground if he should pray for them that shall never believe.
Use 1. It is much for the comfort of them who do already believe.
You may be sure you are one of those for whom Christ prayeth, whether
Jew or Gentile, bond or free. Particulars are under their general.
How do we prove John or Thomas to be children of wrath by nature ?
All were so. So Christ prayeth for all those that shall believe, as much
as if he had brought them forth, and set them before God by head and
poll. And if Christ prayed for thee, why is not thy joy full ? Why
did he speak these things in the world ? It is a copy of his interces
sion. Christ would show, a little before his departure, what he doth
for us in heaven ; he sueth out his purchase, and pleadeth our right in
court. It is a sign we have a room in his heart, because we have a
name in his prayers. And what blessings doth he seek for ? Union
with himself, communion with him, in grace here, in glory hereafter.
It is 'a comfort against all temptations, doubts, dangers ; you are com
mended to the Father's care.
Use 2. It is an engagement to others to believe. If he had com
manded some great thing, ought we not to have done it ? This comfort
cannot be made out to you till you have actual faith ; however it is
with you in the purpose of God, yet you cannot apply this comfort till
VOL. xi. B
13 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SEE. XXXIV.
you believe. If a man should make his will, wherein rich legacies
should be left to all that can prove a claim, by being thus and thus
qualified, would not every one put in for a share ? Believe, believe ;
this is the condition.
Use 3. It showeth the excellency of faith. Those that have an
interest in Christ's prayers are not described by their love, their obed
ience, or any other grace (though these are necessary in their place),
but by their faith ; and the godly are elsewhere called ' of the house
hold of faith.' Wherever our implantation into Christ, or participation,
of the privileges of his death, or our spiritual communion in the church
is spoken of, the condition is faith. It is a grace that sendeth us out
of ourselves, to look for all in another. It is the mother of obedience.
As all disobedience is by unbelief, so all obedience is by faith. First
he said/ Ye shall not die ; ' and then, ' Ye shall be as gods.' First he
seeketh to weaken their faith in the word ; they could not be proud
and ambitious till they did disbelieve. Therefore, above all things let
us labour after faith. Our hearts are taken up with the world, the
honours and pleasures of it ; these cannot make us happy, but Christian
privileges will ; all which are conveyed to us by faith.
But let us come to the second point.
Doct. 2. That, in the reckoning and sense of the gospel, they are
believers that are wrought upon to believe in Christ through the word.
Here is the object, Christ ; the ground, warrant, and instrumental
cause, and that is the word. The warrant must be distinguished from
the -object ; the warrant is the word, and the proper object of faith is
Christ, as considered in his mediatory office. Sometimes the act of
faith is terminated on the person of Christ, and sometimes on the
promise, to show there is no closing with Christ without the promise,
and no closing with the promise without Christ ; as in a contract
there is not only a receiving of the lease or conveyance, but a receiving
of lands by virtue of such a deed and conveyance. So there is a
receiving of the word, and a receiving of Christ through the word ;
the one maketh way for the other, the promise for our affiance in
Christ. Faith that assents to the promise doth also accept of Christ ;
there is an act terminated on his person. Faith is not assensus axiomati,
a naked assent to the propositions of the word, but a consent to take
Christ, that we may rely upon him, and obey him as an all-sufficient
Saviour.
But now let us speak of these distinctly.
First, Of the object, that is, to believe in Christ. There is believing
o/Christ, and believing in Christ. He doth not say, Those that believe
me, but, Those that believe in me through their word. Believing Christ
implieth a credulity and assent to the word ; and believing in Christ,
confidence and reliance. Once more, believing in Christ is a notion
distinct from believing in God: John xiv. 1, 'Ye believe in God,
believe also in me.' Since the incarnation, and since Christ came to
exercise the office of a mediator, there is a distinct faith required in him,
because there are distinct grounds of confidence ; because in him we see
God in our nature, we have a claim by justice as well as mercy, we
have a mediator who partaketh of God's nature and ours, and so is fit
to go between God and us.
VER. 20.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvu. 19
Briefly to open this believing in Christ, it may be opened by the
implicit or explicit acts of it.
1. There is something implicit in this confidence and reliance upon
Christ, and that is a lively sense of our own misery, and the wrath of
God due for sin. All God's acts take date from the nothingness and
necessity of the creature, and from thence also do begin our own
addresses to God. God's acts begin thence, that he may be all in all ;
from the creation to the resurrection God keepeth this course, and then
the dispensation ceaseth, for then there is no more want, but fulness.
Creation is out of nothing ; providence interposeth when we are as
good as nothing ; at the resurrection we are nothing but dust ; God
worketh on the few relics of death and time. So in all moral matters,
as well as natural, it is one of his names, ' He comforteth those that are
cast down.' When he came to convert Adam, he first terrified him :
' They heard the voice of God in the garden, and were afraid,' Gen. iii.
10. He delivered Israel out of Egypt when their souls were full of
anguish. We are first exercised with the ' ministry of the condemna
tion,' before ' light and immortality are brought to life in the gospel.'
And still God keeps his old course ; men are first burdened and sensible
of their load before he giveth them ease and refreshment in Christ.
At the first gospel sermon preached after the pouring forth of the
Spirit, Acts ii. 37, ' They were pricked in their hearts.' Christ's com
mission was to preach the gospel to the poor and broken-hearted and
bruised : Luke iv. 18, ' The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
the Lord hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor ; he hath
sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the cap
tives, the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that
are bruised.' This is the roadway to Christ. And all our addresses
to God begin too thence. Man is careless : Mat. xxii. 5, d/LteX^o-avre?,
' They made light of it ; ' and proud : Horn. x. 3, ov% virerd^a-av,
' They have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God/
The Israelites were not weary of Egypt till they were filled with
anguish. Adonijah, when he found himself guilty of death, ' he laid
hold on the horns of the altar.' The prodigal never thought of return
ing till he began to be in want, and to be soundly pinched. There
fore, till there be a due sense and conviction of conscience, it is not
faith, but carnal security. In short, we can never be truly desirous
of grace, we cannot prize it, ' we do not run for refuge,' Heb. vi. 18.
We are not earnest for a deliverance till there be some such work.
There are two things keep the conscience quiet without Christ
peace and self, carnal security and self-sufficiency.
[1.] It is hard to wean men from the pleasures of sense, and to make
them serious in the matters of their peace ; before Christ and they be
brought together, they and themselves must be brought together. This
God seeketh to do by outward afflictions, that he may ' take them in
their month,' as the ram was caught in the briars. In afflictions men
bethink themselves : 1 Kings viii. 47, ' If they shall bethink themselves
in the land whither they are carried captives/ &c. It makes them to
return upon themselves, how it is between God and them. If afflic
tion worketh not, he joineth the word ; it is ' a glass wherein we see
our natural face/ James i. 21. God showeth them what loathsome
20 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XXXIV.
creatures they are, bow liable to wrath. Or if not, by the power of his
Spirit upon their consciences ; their reins may chasten them ; they
cannot wake in the night, or be solitary in the day, but their hearts are
upon them ; so great a matter is it to bring men to be serious.
[2.] Self. When the prodigal began to be in want, ' he joined him
self to a man of that country,' Luke xv. 15. We have slight promises
and resolutions, and all to elude the present conviction ; long it is ere
the proud heart of man is gained to take Christ upon God's terms.
Convinced men are brought in, saying, ' What shall I do ? ' Acts ix.
6. Then let God write down what articles he pleaseth, they are will
ing to subscribe and yield to any terms ; as softened pewter, let it be
never so bowed and battered, is receptive of any shape and form. This
is the implicit act, or that which is required in believing, that a man
should be a lost undone creature in himself, ready to do what God
will have him.
2. The explicit acts, when a soul thus humbled casts itself upon
Christ for grace, mercy, and salvation. This may be explained with
respect to the two great ordinances, i.e., the word and prayer, which
are, as it were, a spiritual dialogue between God and the soul. In the
word, God speaketh to us ; in prayer, we speak to God. God offereth
Christ to us in the word, and we present him to God in prayer. So
that the acts of faith are to accept of Christ as offered, and then to
make use of him in our communion with God ; and by this shall you
know whether you do believe in him.
[1.] Accepting Christ in the word. Faith is expressed by receiving
him : John i. 12, ' To as many as received him, to them gave he power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name/ Ke-
ceiving is a relative word, and presupposeth God's offer. Art thou
willing to take Christ upon these terms ? Yes, saith the soul, with
all my heart ; I accept him as a sanctiner, as a saviour, and I can
venture all in his hands. Then you answer God's question. How
often doth God lay forth the excellences of Christ, and none regard
him ? But a poor hunger-bitten conscience prizeth him, receiveth him
with all his heart, and entertaineth him in the soul with all respect
and reverence. This is to take Christ, to accept him as Lord and
Saviour upon God's offer. As when Isaac was offered to Kebekah,
' Laban and Bethuel answered, saying, The thing proceedeth from the
Lord ; we cannot speak unto thee good or bad,' Gen xxiv. 50 ; they
consented to take him, because they saw God in it. So they see God
tendering Christ, in the word, and they are willing to take him upon
his own conditions.
[2.] By making use of him in prayer. The great use of Christ is
that we may come to God by him : Heb. vii. 25, ' Wherefore he is
able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him.' We
must make pur approaches to God for supplies of grace, in the con
fidence of his merit. It is a great fault in Christians that they do so
little think of this act of faith. We are busy about applying Christ
to ourselves. The great use of Christ is in dealing with God : Heb.
x. 19, ' Having therefore boldness, brethren, to enter into the holiest
by the blood of Jesus/ Every prayer that you make with any con
fidence and liberty of spirit, it cost Christ his heart's blood. He knew
VER. 20.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 21
that guilt is shy of God's presence, as the malefactor trembleth to come
before the judge : Eph. iii. 12, ' In whom we have boldness, and access
with confidence, through the faith of him.' Surely the apostle speaketh
dejure, not what is de facto. We have low and dark thoughts, as if
we had no such liberty purchased for us ; Trapprja-lav exopev, we may
be free with God. It is the fruit of Christ's purchase. Christ's name
signifieth much in heaven.
Use. Can you thus believe in Christ, take him out of God's hand ?
No ; I cannot apply Christ. I answer Yet disclaim, when you cannot
apply : Phil. iii. 9, ' And be found in him, not having my own right
eousness, which is after the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God through faith.' And apply
yourselves to Christ when you cannot apply Christ to you ; that is, cast
yourselves upon Christ. You have warrant enough from the word.
There is an adventure of faith when there is no persuasion of interest :
2 Tim. i. 12, ' I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that
he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that
day/ The venture is grounded on God's free offer of him to all sorts.
When we rest on him, because we know he is ours, that is another
thing ; there is trust, that is a fruit of propriety : 1 John v. 13, ' These
things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of
God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe
on the name of the Son of God.' But the adventure is grounded on the
offer, as a child holds fast his father in the dark ; mariners cast anchor at
midnight. And ripen faith more ; all faith draweth to particular applica
tion. The lowest degree is a desire to lay hold on Christ as our Saviour ;
this is the tendency and aim of the least faith, though we do not leap
into full assurance at first ; as a man that climbeth up to the top of the
tree, first he catcheth hold of the lowest boughs, and so by little and
little he windeth himself into the tree till he cometh to the top.
Secondly, The next thing is the warrant or instrument, ' Through
their word/ It is not meant only of those that heard the apostles in
person. By ' their word ' is meant the scripture, which was not only
preached by them at first, but written by them ; as Paul saith, Rom.
ii. 16, 'In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus
Christ, according to my gospel ;' that is, which I have published and
delivered to the church in writing : John xv. 16, ' Ye have not chosen
me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you that you should go and
bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain/ By their ' fruit '
is meant the public treasure of the church, the scriptures, and that
remaineth in all ages until Christ come ; as the Jews were children of
the prophets, that never heard them, Acts iii. 25. So were we con
verted by their word.
Now I shall handle the necessity, use, and power of the word to
work faith.
1. The necessity of the word preached ; it is the ordinary means.
It is a nice dispute whether God can work without it. God can
enlighten the world without the sun. It is clear ordinarily he doth not
work without the word ; we are bound, though the Spirit is free : ' How
shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard? and how
shall they hear without a preacher ? ' Horn. x. 14. It is the means to
22 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SEE. XXXIV.
convey faith into the hearts of the elect ; it is as necessary to faith, as
faith to prayer, and prayer to salvation. It is a means under a promise.
You see how necessary it is ; they that voluntarily neglect the means,
put a scorn upon God's institution. Men will say, I can read at home.
Are you wiser than he ? Men think that, of all other things, preach
ing might best be spared ; and of all offices, hearing is least necessary.
The ear received the first temptation ; sin and misery broke in that
way ; so doth life and peace. The happiness of heaven is expressed by
seeing, the happiness in the church by hearing. This is our great
employment, to wait upon the word preached ; next to Christ's word,
it is a great benefit to have the word written ; next to the word written,
the word preached. Christ sent ' first apostles, then pastors and
teachers.' God could have converted Paul without Ananias, taught
the eunuch without Philip, instructed Cornelius without Peter. Do
not hearken to those that cry up an inward teaching, to exclude the out
ward teaching ; as if the external word were but an empty sound and
noise, as the Libertines in Calvin's time. Faith, confirmed by reading,
is usually begotten by hearing.
2. The use of the word : it is our warrant. What have we to show
for our great hopes by Christ but the word ? It is our excitement, a
means and instrument to show us God's heart and our own, our natural
face, and the worth of Christ, the key which God useth and openeth
our hearts by. Ministers are Christ's spokesmen ; if we will not open
the ear, why should God open the heart ?
3. The power of the word is exceeding great. It is ' the power of
God to salvation/ The first gospel sermon that ever was preached,
after the pouring forth of the Spirit, had great success : Acts ii. 41,
' The same day there were added to the church about three thousand
souls.' It was a mighty thing that an angel should slay 185,000 in
one night in Sennacherib's host ; but it is easier to kill so many than to
convert one soul. One angel, by his mere natural strength, could kill
so many armed men ; but all the angels in heaven, if they should join
all their forces together, could not convert one soul. There were single
miracles of curing one blind or one lame ; ay ! but the apostle's word
could work three thousand miracles : 1 Cor. iii. 5, ' Who is Paul, and
who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord
gave to every man?'
Why doth God use the word ? I answer Because it pleased him :
1 Cor. i. 21, ' It pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save
them that believe.'
[1.] It is most suitable to man's nature. Man is made of body and
soul, and God will deal with him both ways, by internal grace and
external exhortations. Man is a reasonable creature ; his will is not
brutish ; God will not offer violence to the principles of human nature.
Man is not only weak, but wicked ; there is hatred as' well as impo-
tency. God will overcome both together, by sweet counsels, mixed
arguments which the heart of
man could not have found out.
[2.] It is agreeable to his own counsels to try the reprobate by an
VER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 23
outward rule and offer, wherein they have as much favour as the elect ;
they shall one day know ' that a prophet hath been among them/ and
so be ' left without excuse,' Horn. i. 20. The rain falleth on rocks as
well as fields ; the sun shineth to blind men as well as those that can see.
[3.] It commendeth his grace to the elect. Their faith must be
ascribed to grace. When others have the same means, the same voice
and exhortations, it is the peculiar grace of God that they come to
understand and believe. Whence is it that the difference ariseth ?
that whereas wicked men are by the word restrained and made civil
(there being a use of wicked men in the world, as of a hedge of thorns
about a garden), they are by the same word converted and brought
home to God ? It is from the grace of God.
Use. Examination. Is our faith thus wrought ? Every one should
look how he cometh by his faith, by what means. True faith is be
gotten and grounded upon the word; it is the ordinary means to
work faith. The word will be continued, and a ministry to preach
it, as long as there are any to be converted. The gospel alone re-
vealeth that which may satisfy our necessities ; it giveth a bottom for
faith and particular application, as being the declaration of God's will.
It is the only means sanctified by Christ for that end : John xvii. 17,
' Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth ; ' James i. IS.
' Of his own will begat he us, through the word of truth/ The con
dition of those is woful that want the gospel, or put it from them :
Acts xiii. 46, ' Seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves
unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles/ If faith be
of the right make, the word will show thee once thou hadst none, and
that thou wert not able of thyself to believe. Beseech the Lord to work
it in thee.
SERMON XXXV.
That they all may be one ; as fhou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee,
that they also may be one in us : that the world may believe that
thou hast sent me. JOHN XVII. 21.
WE have seen for whom Christ prayeth. Now let us see what he
prayeth for ; their comfortable estate in the world, and the happiness
of their everlasting estate in heaven. With respect to their estate in
the world, Christ mentioneth no other blessing but the mystical
union, which is amplified throughout, ver. 21-23. Here he beginneth,
' That they may be all one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee.'
He had before prayed for the apostles, ' That they may be one, as we
are one,' ver. 11 ; and now, 'Let them all be one/ The welfare of the
church is concerned, not only in the unity of the apostles, but of pri
vate believers ; you had need be one as well as your pastors. Many
times divisions arise from the people, and those that have least know-
lege are most carried aside with blind zeal and principles of separa
tion ; therefore Christ prayeth for private believers, ' That they may
be all one,' &c.
24 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XXXV.
In which words there is
1. The blessing prayed for, ' That they may be all one.'
2. The manner of this unity, illustrated by the original pattern and
exemplar of it, 'As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee;' the
ineffable unity of the persons in the divine essence.
3. The ground of this unity, the mystical union with Christ, and
by Christ with God, ' That they may be one with us/
4. The end and event of this union, ' That the world may believe
that thou hast sent me.'
First, From the blessing prayed for, I observe, that the great
blessing Christ asketh for his church is the mystical union of believers
in the same body ; ' Let them be one,' one in us, and ' as thou in me,
and I in thee.' All these expressions show that the mystical union is
here intended. ' Let them be one,' ev, that is, ev aS>/j,a, as it is else
where explained, that they may grow together in one body, whereof I
am the head, or one temple. It- is sometimes set out by ' one mystical
body/ sometimes by 'one spiritual temple/ One body : Col. ii. 19,
'And not holding the head, from which all the body by joints and
bands, having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth
with the increase of God ; ' Bom. xii. 5, ' We, being many, are one
body in Christ, and every one members one of another ; ' Eph. i. 22,
23, ' And gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
which is his body/ And one temple : Eph. ii. 20-22, ' And are built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief corner-stone ; in whom all the building fitly framed
together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord * in whom you also
are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit/
' One, as thou in me, and I in thee/ Christ doth not say that they
maybe one in another ; l that e/jLTTep^coprja-^ doth not agree to them ;
but in the mystery of the Trinity it denotes the union between the
divine persons. ' One in us/ that is, by the communication and in
habitation of that Spirit which proceedeth from us. Our union is from
God, in God, and to God; from the Spirit, with God, through Christ.
Let me now inquire (1.) What it is ? (2.) Why it is so valued
by Christ?
First, What it is ? There is a union with Christ the head, and
between the members one with another. I shall speak of both,
though but little of the latter, because I handled it ver. 11.
1. There is a union with Christ the head. That ye may conceive
of it, take these propositions.
[1.] The whole Trinity is concerned in this union. By the com
munion of the Spirit we are mystically united to Christ, and by Christ
to God. The Father is, as it were, the root, Christ the trunk, the
Spirit the sap, we the branches, and our works the fruits, John xv.
This is the great mystery delivered in the scriptures. Christ doth
not only ' dwell in us by faith/ Eph. iii. 17, but ' God dwelleth in us,
and we m God/ L John iv. 16, and 'the Spirit dwelleth in us;'
Bom. vni. 11. We are consecrated temples, wherein the whole
Trinity take up their residence. We are children of God, members
of Christ, pupils to the Holy Ghost ; God's family, Christ's body, and
1 Qu. ' in one another ? ' ED.
VER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvir. 25
the Spirit's charge. We are united to the Father as the fountain of
grace and mercy, to the Son as the pipe and conveyance, and the
Spirit accomplished and effecteth all. The Father sendeth the Son
to merit this grace, and the Son sendeth the Spirit to accomplish it;
therefore we are said ' by one Spirit to be baptized into the same body/
[2.] Though all the persons be concerned in it, yet the honour is
chiefly devolved upon Christ the second person. Christ, as God-
man, is head of the church upon a double ground because of his
two natures, and the union of these in the same person. It was need
ful that our head should be man, of the same nature with Ourselves :
Heb. ii. 11, 'He that sanctifieth, and they that are sanctified, are of
one ; ' the same stock. It were monstrous to have a head and members
of a different nature ; as in Nebuchadnezzar's image, the substance of
the head and body differed ; the head was of fine gold, the arms of
silver, the belly and thighs of brass, the legs of iron, part of the feet of
clay ; here was a monstrous body indeed, made up of so many metals
differing in nature and kind. But Christ took our nature that he might
be a suitable head, and so have a right to redeem us, and be in a
capacity to give himself for the body, and sympathise with us. All
these are fruits of the Son's being of the same nature. And again,
God he needed to be, to pour out the Spirit, and to have grace suffi
cient for all his members. Mere man was not enough to be head of
the church, for the head must be more excellent than the body ; it is
above the body, the seat of the senses, it guideth the whole body, it is
the shop of the thoughts and musings. And so Christ the head must
have a pre-eminence ; in him ' the fulness of the Godhead dwelt
bodily, that we might be complete in him,' Col. ii. 8, 9 ; and ' it
pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell,' Col. i. 19.
The grace of God is most eminent in him, as life is most eminent in
the head. Now there must be a union of these two natures in the
same person. If Christ had not been God and man in the same
person, God and we had never been united and brought together ; he
is ' Emmanuel, God with us,' Mat. i. 23. God is in Christ, and the
believer is in Christ ; we have a share in his person, and so hath God ;
he descendeth and corneth down to us in the person of the mediator ;
and by the man Christ Jesus we ascend and climb up to God. And
so you see the reason why the honour of head of the church is de
volved upon Christ.
[3.] Whole Christ is united to a whole believer. Whole Christ is
united to us, God-man, and whole man is united to Christ, body and
soul. Whole Christ is united to us ; the Godhead is the fountain,
and the human nature is the pipe and conveyance. Grace cometh
from him as God, and through him as man : John vi. 56, 57, ' He
that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in
him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father,
so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.' God is a sealed
fountain, his humanity is the pipe, so that his flesh is the food of the
soul. Christ came from heaven on purpose, and sanctified our flesh,
that there might be one in our nature to do us good, that righteous
ness and life might pass from him, as sin and death from Adam ; but
our faith first pitcheth upon the manhood of Christ, as they went into
26 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiB. XXXY.
the holy place by the veil. And then a whole Christian is united to
Christ, body and soul. The soul is united unto him, because it re-
ceiveth influences of grace, and the body also is taken in; therefore the
apostle disputeth against fornication, because the body is a member of
Christ: 1 Cor. vi. 15, ' Shall I then take the members of Christ, and
make them the members of an harlot ? God forbid ! ' It is a kind
of dismembering and plucking a limb from Christ ; you defile Christ's
body, the disgrace redounds to him. And hereupon elsewhere doth
the apostle prove the resurrection by virtue of oar union with Christ :
Bom. viii: 10, 11, 'If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of
sin ; but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit
of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his Spirit, that dwelleth in you.' You may die, but you shall not
be brought to nought, because the body hath a principle of life in it ;
it is a part of Christ, and he will lose nothing: John vi. 39, 'And
this is the Father's will, which sent me, that of all which he hath
given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the
last day.' As plants live in the root, though the leaves fade, and in
winter they appear not, so doth the body live in Christ. So that it
is a ground of hope, and a motive to strictness, that you may not
wrong a member of Christ, nor seek to pluck a joint from his body.
[4.] The manner of this union. It is secret and mysterious : peja
fiVanjpiov, Eph. v. 22, ' This is a great mystery ;' not only a mystery,
but a great mystery ; ' but I speak concerning Christ and the church/
It is a part of our portion in heaven to understand it : John xiv. 20,
' At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me,
and I in you.' When we are more like God, we shall know what it is
to be united to God through Christ. Here believers feel it rather
than understand it, and it is our duty rather to get an interest in it
than subtly to dispute about it.
[5.] Though it be secret and mystical, yet it is real ; because a
thing is spiritual, it doth not cease to be real. These are not words,
or poor empty notions only, that we are united to Christ ; but they
imply a real truth. Why should the Holy Ghost use so many terms ;
of being planted into Christ ? Horn. vi. 5, ' For if we have been
planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the
likeness of his resurrection ; ' of being joined to Christ ? 1 Cor. vi.
17, ' He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit ; ' of being made
partakers of Christ ? Heb. iii. 14, ' For we are made partakers of
Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.'
Do these terms only imply a relation between us and Christ ? No ;
then the emphasis of the words is lost. What great mystery in all
this ? Why is this mystery so often spoken of ? Christ is not only
ours, but ' he is in us, and we in him/ God is ours, and we dwell in
God : 1 John iv. 13, ' Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he
in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit ; ' and ver. 15, ' Whoso
ever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him,
and he in God/ It is represented by similitudes, that imply a real
union as well as a relative, by head and members, root and branches,
as well as by marriage, where man and wife are made one flesh. It is
VER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvir. 27
compared here with the mystery of the Trinity, and the unity of the
divine persons, though not dKpi/3&$. It is not a notion of scripture,
but a thing wrought by the Spirit : 1 Cor. ii. 13, ' Which things also
we speak,' &c. It worketh a presence, and conveyeth real influences.
[6.] It may be explained as far as our present light will bear, by
analogy to the union between head and members. The head is united
to the body primarily, and first of all by the soul. Head and members
make out one body, because they are animated by the same soul, and
by that means doth the head communicate life and motion to the
body. Besides this there is a secondary union, by the bones, muscles,
nerves, veins, and other ligaments of the body, and upon all these by
the skin, all which do constitute and make up this natural union.
Just so in this spiritual and mystical union there is a primary band
and tie, and that is the Spirit of Christ : 1 Cor. vi. 17, ' He that is
joined to the Lord is one spirit ; ' that is, is acted by the same Spirit
by which Christ is acted, and liveth the same life of grace that Christ
liveth, as if there were but one soul between them both. The fulness
remaineth in Christ, but we have our share ; and ' he that hath not
the Spirit of Christ is none of his.' But over and above there is a
secondary bond and tie, that knitteth us and Christ together, which
answereth to the joints and arteries, by which the parts of the body are
united to one another, and that is faith, and love, and fear, and other
graces of the Spirit, by which the presence is kept in the soul. Thus
I hare a little opened this mystery to you.
2. There is a union of the members one with another. A little of that.
[1.] The same Spirit that uniteth the members to the head uniteth
the members one to another. Therefore the apostle, as an argument
of union, urgeth the communion of the same Spirit : Phil. ii. 1, 2, 'If
any fellowship of the Spirit, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded,
having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.' As Christ is
the head of the church, so the Holy Ghost is the soul of the church, by
which all the members are acted. As in the primitive times : Acts iv.
32, ' The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one
soul.' And this is that that Christ prayeth for here, that they may all
be one, in the communion of the same Spirit, that they may be of the
same religion, and have the same aim, and the same affection to good
things.
[2.] From the communion of the Spirit, there is a secondary union
by love, and seeking one another's good, as if they were but one man ;
wherever dispersed throughout the world, and whatever distinctions of
nations and interests there are, they may love and desire the good of
one another, and rejoice in the welfare, and grieve for the evil of one
another : Ezek. i. 24, ' When the beasts went, the wheels went, and
when the beasts were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted
up over against them ; ' and the reason is given, ' for the spirit of the
living creature was in the wheels.' The same spirit is in one Christian
that is in another, and so they wish well to one another, even to those
whom they never saw in the flesh: Col. ii. 1, ' For I would that ye
knew how great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and
for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.' What wrestlings
had he with God, and fightings for their sakes, even for them that
28 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XXXV.
had not seen his face in the flesh ! So careful are the members one of
another.
[3.] This love is manifested by real effects. Look, as by virtue of
union with Christ there are real influences of grace that pass out to us,
it is not idle and fruitless, so by virtue of this union that is between
the members there is a real communication of gifts and graces, and
the good things of this life one to another. If the parts of the body
keep what they have to themselves, and do not disperse it for the use
of the body, it breedeth disease, as the liver the blood, the stomach the
meat ; the liver imparts blood to the veins, and the stomach sends the
food abroad into its proper vessels and channels ; so God's children
impart their spiritual or temporal gifts as the body needeth. When a
famine was but prophesied, the disciples thought of sending relief
according to their ability to the brethren of Judea, Acts xi. 29. It is
never right but when there is this forwardness to distribute and com
municate according to the necessities of the body.
Secondly, Why Christ valueth it so much as to make it his only
request for believers in the present state ? I answer We can never
be happy till we have a share in this union.
1. Because God hath instituted the mystical union to be a means to
convey all grace to us, grace to us here, and glory hereafter ; we receive
all from God in it, and by it. Christ without us doth not save us,
but Christ in us. Christ without us is a perfect Saviour, but not to
you ; the appropriation is by union. Generally we think we shall be
saved by a Christ without us. He came down from heaven, took our
nature, died for sinners, ascended up into heaven again, there he maketh
intercession ; all this is without us. Do not say there is a Saviour in
heaven ; is there one in thy heart ? Col. i. 27, ' Christ in you the
hope of glory.' He doth not say, Christ in heaven the hope of glory,
though that is a fountain of comfort, but Christ in you : 1 Cor. i. 30,
' Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption/ Whatsoever is
imputed or imparted, light, life, grace, glory, it is still in him. Still
look to Christ within you. It were a merry world to carnal men to
be saved by a Christ without them. Christ without establisheth the
merit, but Christ within maketh application : 2 Cor. xiii. 5, 'Know
ye not your own selves, how that Christ is in you, except ye be repro
bates ? ' Unless first or last he be in you, though disallowed for the
present, he will be of no advantage to you. You have nothing to show
till you feel Christ within you. All the acts of his mediation must be
acted over again in the heart. His birth ; he must be born and formed
in us : Gal. iv. 19, ' My little children, of whom I travail in birth
again, until Christ be formed in you.' His death : Kom. vi. 4, ' There
fore we are buried with him by baptism into death.' His resurrec
tion: Col. iii. 1, ' If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things
that are above.' His ascension : Eph. ii. 6, ' And hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.'
His intercession : Bom. viii. 26, ' Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our
infirmities ; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought,
but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered.' The acts without us do us no good unless we have
the copy of them in our own hearts.
VER. 21. J SERMONS UPON JOHN xvir. 29
2. It is the ground of that exchange that is between Christ and us ;
we communicate to him our nature, our sins, and troubles, and Christ
communicateth to us his nature and merits and privileges. What hath
Christ from thee ? Thy nature, thy sins, thy punishments, thy wrath,
thy curse, thy shame ; and thou hast his titles, his nature, his spirit,
his privileges. All this interchange between us and Christ is by virtue
of union. All interests lie in common between Christ and the church ;
he taketh our nature, and is made flesh, and we are made ' partakers
of the divine nature/ 2 Peter i. 4. He is made the Son of man, we
the sons of God ; he had a mother on earth, we a Father in heaven ;
he is made sin, we righteousness : 2 Cor. v. 21, ' Who hath made him
to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him/ He was made a curse that we might have the blessing of
Abraham: Gal. iii. 13, 14, ' Christ hath redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us ; for it is written, Cursed is
every one that hangeth on a tree ; that the blessing of Abraham might
come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ/ Thus he imparteth his
privileges to us, and assumeth our miseries to himself. He hath a
share in all our sorrows, and we have a share in his triumphs ; he is
afflicted in our afflictions, as we ascend in his ascension : Eph. ii. 6,
' He hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus/ We live by his life : Gal. ii. 20, ' I live, yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me/ &c. And we are glorified by his glory.
He suffereth with us in heaven, and we reign with him on earth ; he
suffereth. with us, non per passionem, sed compassionem, not that
glorified Christ feeleth any grief in heaven, but his bowels yearn to an
afflicted member, as if he himself were in our stead ; and we are set
down with him in heavenly places, because our head is there, and hath
seized upon heaven in our right. It is a notable expression : Col. i.
24, ' Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up, va-repTj^a
ffXtyewv Xpiarov, that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ in my
flesh for his body's sake, which is the church/ Christ and the church
are considered as one person, whose afflictions are determined by pro
vidence ; thus much the head must suffer, thus much the members.
Christ suffered his share, and we ours in our turn. In short, Christ
suffereth no more in the body that he carried to heaven, but in his body
that he left upon earth. Every blow that lighteth on a member,
lighteth on his heart : Acts ix. 6, ' Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me ? ' Christ was in heaven at that time ; how could he say, ' Why
persecutest thou me ? ' Did he climb up into heaven, and war upon
Christ in the midst of his glory ? No ; Saul persecuted the Christians,
and them Christ calleth me, his mystical body. As in a throng, if some
body treadeth upon your foot, the tongue crieth out, You have hurt
me ; the tongue is in safety, but it is in the same body with the foot,
and so their good and bad are common ; for though Christ's person be
above abuse, he still suffereth in his members ; and he that persecuteth
the church persecuteth Jesus Christ.
3. If once interested in the mystical union, then they are safe, pre
served in Jesus Christ : Jude 1, ' Sanctified by God the Father, and
preserved in Jesus Christ ;' ver. 24, ' Now unto him that is able to keep
you from falling/ &c. The union is indissoluble ; that is a cabinet,
30 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiB. XXXV.
where God's jewels are kept safe. If a member could be lost, Christ's
body could be maimed ; as the union between the two natures could
not be dissolved ; it was the body of Christ in the grave ; there was a
separation between his human body and human soul, yet both still
remained united to the divine nature ; so this union cannot be dissolved.
You may as well sever the leaven and the dough, when they are
kneaded together, as separate Christ and the church when once united.
Impossibile est massam a pasta separare. Christ will not suffer his
body to be mangled ; the cutting off of a joint goeth to the quick.
Use 1. To press us to look after an interest in this great privilege.
It is the main work of your lives. To move you, consider the honour and
the happiness of them, that they are thus one with God through Christ.
1. The honour. What am I, to be son-in-law to the king ? What
are you, to be members of Christ ? Christ counteth himself to be
incomplete and maimed without us : Eph. i. 23, ' The church is his
body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.' How are we ifK^pw^a
avrov, ' the fulness of him ' ? It relateth not to his personal perfec
tion. Take Christ absolutely as God, and he is a person most perfect
and glorious. Before the assumption of the human nature, before any
creature in the world was made, there was enough in Christ to satisfy
his Father's heart. Nay, take him relatively as mediator, what doth
Christ want ? Doth the body give aught of perfection to the head ?
No ; ' The fulness of the godhead dwells in him bodily,' and ' he filleth
all things/ But taken in his mystical person, Christ mystical, as head
and members are called Christ : 1 Cor. xii. 12, ' As the body is one,
and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being
many, are one body ; so also is Christ/ So he is not perfect without
his body, as a head without members is not perfect. Now, what an
honour is this, that he accounteth himself imperfect without us ! And
till all his members be gathered in, we are not grown up to the state
wherein Christ is full : Eph. iv. 13, ' Till we all come to the unity of
the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ/ Christ's
mystical body hath not its complete stature till all the saints be gathered.
This honour is not put upon the angels ; they are servants, but not
members. He did not take their seed to be a head to them, nor die
for them, nor took them for his members, as he doth us : Prov. viii. 31,
' Kejoicirig in the habitable parts of the earth, and my delights were
with the sons of men/ He left the company of angels to dwell with
us ; his heart was set upon our good, that, next to the title of Son of
God, he valueth this of being head of the church. He purchased it
with his blood. He loveth his mystical body above his natural, for he
gave his natural body to redeem the church, which is his mystical
body ; as husbands love their wives as their own body. Q Christians !
is not this a mighty privilege ? We are not only his, but him, and
Christ knoweth us and loveth us as parts of his own body, and will
glorify us not only as his clients and servants, but members ; all the
injuries and wrongs done to the church, Christ taketh it as done to
himself. Wicked men they are his footstool ; Christ is over them,
but not as a mystical head. As the head of a king is lifted up above
all his subjects, and governeth them, and weareth the garland of honour,
VER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 31
but in a peculiar manner it governeth and guideth his own natural
body ; so Christ is ' head over all things to the church,' Eph. i. 22.
Certainly this is a great honour put upon poor worms. What are the
fruits of it ? We are interested in all Christ's communicable privileges ;
we need not stretch it too far, it is ample enough of itself. Some
things are incommunicably proper to Christ, neither given to man nor
angel ; as the name above all names, to be adored, to be set at the
right hand of God, to be head of the church, the Lord our righteous
ness. But other things are communicated to us, first to Christ, and
then to us. Christ is one with the Father, and a poor Christian, though
never so mean, is one with Christ. Christ is called ' God's fellow,'
Zech. xiii. 7, and every saint is Christ's fellow : Ps. xlv. 7, ' Thou hast
anointed him with the oil of gladness above his fellows.' The Father
loveth him because he is the express image of his person, and delights
in the saints because they are the image of Christ. God is his God
and our God, his Father and our Father ; where Christ is, they are,
because they are a part of his body. Alas ! we should count it
blasphemy to speak so, if the word did not speak it before us.
2. The happiness : ' In him the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth
bodily.' There is a sufficiency in Christ for all his members. We
have all things in him, which is as good as if we had it in our hands,
and better ; for he is a better steward and keeper of the treasures of
wisdom, grace, and comfort, than we are. If he hath it, it is for our
use ; for Christ is full as an officer to impart life, sense, and motion to
all the body. It is the office of the liver to impart the blood to the
veins ; it were monstrous and unnatural to keep it. As a treasurer, it
is his office to pay money out upon all just demands : Ps. xvi. 2, 3,
' My goodness extendeth not to thee ; but to the saints that are in the
earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.' Thou shalt
not be forgotten, for the care of Christ extendeth to every member.
To neglect a member is to neglect ourselves. If a man could forget a
child, yet certainly he could not forget his members. This is your re
lation to Christ; if he hath bid the 'members to take care one of
another,' 1 Cor. xii. 25, what will the head do ? These grounds of
comfort and faith you have.
Use 2. How shall we know that we have a share in this mystical
union ? I answer By the Spirit of Christ : 1 John iv. 13, ' Hereby
know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us
of his Spirit.' There is a communication of the Spirit ; so Eom. viii.
9, ' Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his ; '
his creature, but not his member ; a limb of Satan, not a member of
Christ. Christ's Spirit is poured on all his brethren ; it is shared
among them, it is given to every member as soon as they are added to
Christ's body.
Now, how shall we know whether we have the Spirit of Christ ?
Ans. By life and conformity.
1. Life and stirring. A man may know whether the Spirit of
Christ be dwelling in him, as a woman knoweth whether the child in
the womb be quickened, yea or no, she knoweth it by the stirring ; so
you may know whether the Spirit of Christ be in you by its working.
They are no members of Christ that are not quickened by the life of
32 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XXXVI.
grace ; i there is no withered member in his body. If a member of a
lingering l body be dead and numb, we rub it and chafe it to bring heat
and spirits into it again : so do you feel any grace, any spiritual love ?
Gal. ii. 20, ' I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; and the life
which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.' As we know there is life by
the beating of the pulses, so there is spiritual life when there is a
striving against corruption, complaining of it, sighing, groaning under
it, seconded with a constant endeavour to grow better. These sighs
and groans are in the greatest desertion.
2. Conformity. Where the Spirit of Christ is it fashioneth us into
the likeness of Christ : 2 Cor. iii. 18, ' We all beholding as in a glass
the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.' It maketh us to represent
Christ, to be such as he was in the world, meek, holy, humble, useful,
as if Christ were come again to converse with men. If you are acted
with an unclean, proud, carnal, wrathful spirit, who is it that dwelleth
in you ? whose image do you bear ? There is a changing, transform
ing power that ariseth from this union, that we delight to do the will
of our Father, wherein the conformity lieth chiefly. We shall be
humble, meek, gentle: Mat. xi. 29, 'Learn of me, for I am meek and
lowly of heart;' thinking humbly of ourselves, not aspiring after
greatness. This spirit is a spirit of obedience, enabling us to look to
our Father's glory and commandment in all things. We shall have
compassionate melting hearts to the miseries of others, as he had
bowels yearning to see sheep without a shepherd.
SERMON XXXVI.
TJiat they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in tliee,
that they also may be one in us : that the world may believe that
thou hast sent me. JOHN XVII. 21.
SECONDLY, I am now to handle the second branch, the pattern of this
unity, ' As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee.' It is elsewhere
compared three times in this chapter: ver. 11, iva o)cnv eV, icadfos
9?//,et9, 'that they may be one, as we are;' ver. 22, /ea#o>5 17/4619 ev
eV/iei>, ' that they may be one as we are one ; ' and here, Kadws o-v
irdrep ev e/iot, Kayo) ev o-ol, ' as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee.'
They are not only one, but in one another. It is that which divines
call Trepi^fop^aL^, the intimate inhabitation or indwelling of the per
sons in one another, without any confusion of the several subsistences.
Such is the unity of the divine essence, that the Father dwelleth in
the Son, the Son subsisteth in the Father, and the Holy Spirit in both,
without any confusion of the personalities. Now this is propounded
as the pattern and original exemplar of the mystical union. The
Arians conclude, out of this place, that there is not a unity of essence
among the divine persons, but only a unity of love and concord, such
1 Qu. 'living'? ED.
VER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 33
as is between us and Christ, and among believers one with another ;
o/noiovaia, not ofMoovaia. As doth not imply an exact equality, but
only a similitude or answerable likeness. In the mystical union there
is a kind of shadow and adumbration of that unity which is between
the persons of the Godhead. So when man is said to be made after
the similitude and likeness of God, it doth not imply a universal and
exact equality, but only some conformity and similitude of men to
God. So, ' Be ye holy, as I am holy ; ' ' Be ye perfect, as your
heavenly Father is perfect.' It is good to note that in the letter of
the text Christ separateth his own unity with the Father from that of
the creatures. He doth not say, ' Let us be all one ; ' but, ' Let them
be all one.' Again, he doth not say, ' As thou art in us, and we in
thee ; ' but, ' As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee/ Hie suam
potentiam, et Patris a nobis secerneret. Again, in the next clause, he
doth not say, ' One with us/ but ' in us.' There is no common union
wherein he and we agree. The note is
Doct. That the mystical union carrieth some resemblance with the
union that is between the Father and the Son.
Here I shall show (1.) The unity between God and Christ; (2.)
Wherein the resemblance standeth.
First, The unity between God and Christ. There is a twofold
union between God and Christ. God is in him, and one with him, as
the second person of the Trinity, and one in him as mediator.
1. As he is the second person of the Trinity, there is a unity of
essence, intimated by this Trepi^wprja-i^, or mutual inhabitation. Christ
is not the Father, but in the Father ; to confound the persons is Sabel-
lianism ; to divide the natures is Arianism. He doth not only say,
' The Father is in him,' but, ' He is in the Father,' to note a consubstan-
tial unity, that they both communicate in the same essence. At once
he showeth the distinction that is between the Father and the Son,
and the unity of essence that is between them. And as they are one
in essence, so one in power : John x. 28-30, ' I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all,
and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and
my Father are one.' They work by the same power. They are one
in will and operation, their actions are undivided ; what the Father
doeth, the Son doeth, though by an operation proper to each person :
John v. 19, ' What things soever the Father doeth, these also doeth the
Son likewise.' They are one in love ; the Son lay in the bosom of the
Father : John i. 18, ' No man hath seen God at any time ; the only-
begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared
him/ It is a phrase that expresseth intimacy. There is a mutual
complacency and delight in one another. They are equal in dignity
and power, and must not be severed in worship : John v. 23, ' That
all men should honour the Son as they honour the Father : he that
honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent
him.' Thus God and Christ are one, as Christ is the second person.
This is the great mystery, three and one, and one and three. Men
and angels were made for this spectacle ; we cannot comprehend it, and
therefore must admire it. luminosissimce tenebrce ! Light, dark-
VOL. XT. c
34 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XXXVI.
ness ! God dwelleth in both ; in light, to show the excellency of his
nature ; and in darkness, to show the weakness of our apprehension.
The Son is begotten by the Father, yet is in the Father, and the
Father in him ; the Spirit proceedeth from them both, and yet is in
both ; all in each, and each in all. They were the more three because
one, and the more one because three. Were there nothing to draw
us to desire to be dissolved but this, it were enough : John xiv. 20,
' At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me,
and I in you.' It is no small part of our portion in heaven. For the
present, how much cause have we to bless God for the revelation of
this mystery! Let us adore it with a humble faith, rather than
search into it by the bold inquiries of reason. It is enough for us to
know that it is so, though we know not how it is. God were not
infinitely great if he were not greater than our understanding.
2. Christ and God are one as mediator. There is a personal union
of the two natures. The Father may be said to be in him, because
the divine nature is in him ; he is Emmanuel. In Christ there are
two natures, but one person. His blood could not be the blood of
God if the human nature were not united to the second person of the
Trinity. It is so united that the human nature is the instrument.
As the hand is man's instrument, not separated from the communion
of the body, as a pen or knife ; it is man's instrument, but yet a part
of himself ; so is Christ's human nature joined to his divine nature,
and made use of as the great instrument in the work of redemption.
So that the human nature is a temple ' in which the fulness of the
Godhead dwelleth bodily/ Col. ii. 9. Now because of that union, the
natures are in one another, and dwell in one another, as the soul
dwelleth in the body, and the body is acted and enlivened by the soul.
Hence the flesh of Christ is called the flesh of God, and the blood of
Christ is called the blood of God : Acts xx. 28, ' Feed the Church of
God, which he hath purchased with his own blood/ God was made
man, but not man made God ; because God was a person of himself,
that assumed Hesh, and united it to himself. All his actions are the
actions of God-man, and so have a merit and a value. The human
nature is a passive instrument, but the divine nature giveth it a sub
sistence, necessary gifts, and honour. Besides all this, there is a
union and consent of will in the work of redemption ; the Father's
acts and Christ's acts are commensurable; God loveth Christ, and
Christ obeyeth God.
Secondly, The resemblance between the mystical union and the
unity of the persons in the divine nature. The Spirit is indissolubile
trintifitis vinculum, as one saith, the eternal bond of the Trinity. So
among believers, it is the Holy Ghost who joineth us to Christ.
Christ, as one with the Father, liveth the same life that the Father
doth; so do we, as one with Christ: John vi. 57, 'As the living
Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father ; so he that eateth
me, even he shall live by me.' It is a close union, beyond conception,
but yet real; ours is also close, hard to be understood: John xiv.
20, ' At that day ye shall know that I am in the Father, and you in
me, and I in you.' There is the highest love wherewith the Father
and the Son love one another. Believers have a room in Christ's
VER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 35
heart, as Christ in the Father's bosom ; they love Christ againj* that
loved them first. The union is everlasting, for in the divine nature
there can be no change ; Christ's mystical body cannot lose a joint. It
is a holy union ; be one as we are one, holy as we are holy ; so infest ours
be with one another. An agreement in evil is like that of Herod and
Pilate, who shook hands against Christ. In the divine persons there
is order and distinction ; the unity of the Trinity doth not confound
the order of the persons ; they are one, and still three, the Father, the
Word, and the Spirit, from whom, in whom, and to whom are all
things; they keep their distinct personalities, and distinct personal
operations. The unity of the church doth not confound the order of
it ; there are diversity of gifts and ministrations, but one body. The
persons of the Godhead mutually seek the glory of one another ; the
election of the Father maketh way for the redemption of the Son ;
and the redemption of the Son for the application of the Holy Spirit,
and so upward : John xvi. 14, ' He shall glorify me, for he shall
receive of mine, and shall show it unto you ;' and John xiv. 13, 'And
whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father
may be glorified in the Son;' Phil. ii. 9, 'Wherefore God hath
highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name.' So in
the spiritual union, Christ puts honour on the church, and the church
honours Christ ; they throw their crowns at the Lamb's feet, and the
members are careful of one another : 1 Cor. xii. 25, ' That there be
no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same
care one of another.' To endear us one to another, Christ did not
only leave us the relation of brethren, but of fellow-members ; we are
not only in the same family, but in the same body. Brothers that
have issued from the same womb, and been nursed with the same
milk, have defaced all the feelings of nature, and been divided in
interests and affections ; Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, are sad pre
cedents; but there is no such strife between members of the same
body. Who would use one hand to cut off another ? or divide those
parts which preserve the mutual correspondence and welfare of the
whole ? At least, brothers have not such a care for one another ; each
liveth for himself, a distinct life apart, and studieth his own profit and
advantage ; but it is not so in the body, each member liveth in the
whole, and the whole in all the members, and they all exercise their
several functions for the common good.
And the resemblance between the mystical and the personal union.
In the hypostatical union, our nature is united with Christ's nature ;
in the mystical union, our person with his person. In the hypo-
statical union, Christ matched into our family ; in the mystical union,
the soul is the bride. It is an honour to the whole kindred when a
great person matcheth into their line and family, but more to the
virgin who is chosen and set apart for his bride. Thus Christ first
honoured our nature, and then our persons; first he assumeth our
nature, and then espouseth our persons. In the hypostatical union,
two diverse substances are united into one person; in the mystical
union, many persons are united into one body. In the hypostatical
union, Christ was a person before he assumed the human nature ; the
body is a passive instrument, &c. ; in the mystical union, on Christ's
36 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XXXVI.
part active, on ours passive. Christ is in us, in that he liveth in us,
governeth us, maketh us partakers of his righteousness, life and spirit ;
we are in him, as branches in the tree, rays in the sun, rivers in the
fountain. The divine nature is a person by itself, and can subsist of
itself; the other is only taken into the communion of his person.
The human nature communicates nothing to the divine, but only
serveth it as an instrument ; so we communicate nothing to Christ,
but receive all from him. Both are wrought by the Spirit ; the body
natural of Christ was begotten by the overshadowing of the Holy
Ghost, so this union is wrought by God's Spirit. By the first, Christ
is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh ; by the second, we are bone
of his bone and flesh of his flesh ; there cometh in the kindred by
grace: Heb. ii. 11, 'For both he that sanctifieth and they that are
sanctified are all of one ; for which cause he is not asjiamed to call them
brethren.' He is of the same stock with all men, but he calleth none
brethren but those that are sanctified ; none else can claim kindred of
Christ, he will own no others. The hypostatical union is indissoluble;
it was never laid aside, not in death ; it was the Lord of glory that
was crucified, it was the body of Christ in the grave. So it is in the
mystical union ; Christ and we shall never be parted. In death, the
union is dissolved between the body and the soul, but not between us
and Christ ; our dust and bones are members of Christ. In the hypo-
statical union, the natures are not equal ; the human nature is but a
creature, though advanced to the highest privileges that a creature is
capable of; the divine nature assumed the human by a voluntary
condescension and gracious dispensation ; and being assumed, it
always upholdeth it and sustaineth it ; so there is a mighty' difference
between us and Christ, between the persons united. Christ, as head
and prince, is pleased to call us into communion with himself, and to
sustain us, being united. In the hypostatical union, the human nature
can do nothing apart from the divine ; no more can we out of Christ :
John xv. 5, ' I am the vine, ye are the branches ; he that abideth in
me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit ; for without
me ye can do nothing/ In the hypostatical union, God dwelleth in
Christ crw/iariKw?, Col. ii. 9, ' In him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily.' In the mystical union, God dwelleth in us
Trvevpa'TiK.ws, 1 John iv. 4, ' Greater is he that is in you, than he that
is in the world.' The hypostatical union is the ground of all that
grace and glory that was bestowed on the human nature, without
which, as a mere creature, it would not be capable of this exaltation ;
so the mystical union is the ground of all that grace and glory which
we receive. By the hypostatical union, Christ is made our brother,
he contracted affinity with the human nature ; by the mystical union
he is made our head and husband, he weddeth our persons. As by
the hypostatical union there is a communion of properties, so here is
a kind of exchange between us and Christ : 2 Cor. v. 21 , ' For he hath
made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him.' As the honour of the divinity
redoundeth to the human nature, so we have a communion of all
those good things which are in Christ.
Use 1. Let us strive to imitate the Trinity in our respects both to the
VER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvu. 37
head and our fellow-members, that you may neither dishonour the
head nor dissolve the union between the members. Christ useth this
expression to draw us up to the highest and closest union with him
self and one another.
1. In your respects to the head.
[1.] Let your union with him be more close and sensible, that you
may lie in the bosom of Christ, as Christ doth in the bosom of God. Is
Christ in us as God is in Christ ? are we made partakers of the divine
nature as he is of ours ? that you may say to him, as Laban to Jacob,
Gen. xxix. 14, ' Surely thou art my bone and my flesh ; ' that you may
feel Christ in you : Gal. ii. '20, ' I am crucified with Christ : neverthe
less I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and
gave himself for me.' This mystery is not only to be believed, but
felt.
[2.] In your care not to dishonour your head : 1 Cor. vi. 15, ' Know
ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ ? Shall I then take
the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot ?
God forbid!'
[3.] By your delight and complacency. You should make more of
the person of Christ: Cant. i. 13, ' A bundle of myrrh is my beloved
unto me ; he shall lie all night between my breasts.' Keep Christ close
to the heart, delight in his company, and in frequent thoughts of him.
This should be the holy solace of the soul.
[4.] By your aims to glorify him. The Father studieth the honour
of Christ, so doth the Spirit. Thou art his, and all thine is his.
Christ hath a title to thy wit, wealth, estate, strength, to all thou hast
or canst do in the world. Dost thou spend thy estate as if it were
not thine, but Christ's ? use thy parts as if they were not thine, but
Christ's ? Use thy parts as Christ's.
2. To your fellow-members. Walk as those that are one, as Christ
and the Father are one, seeking one another's welfare, rejoicing in one
another's graces and gifts, as if they were our own ; contributing
counsel, assistance, sympathy, prayers for the common good, as if thy
own c^,se were in hazard ; living as if we had but one interest. This
is somewhat like the Trinity.
Use 2. Let it put us upon thanksgiving. No other union with us
would content Christ but such as carrieth some resemblance with the
Trinity, the highest union that can be. In love to our friends we wear
their pictures about our necks ; Christ assumed our nature, espouseth
our persons ; how should we be ravished with the thought of the
honour done us ! We were separated by the fall, and became base
creatures ; yet we are not only restored to favour, but united to him.
Thirdly, The ground of this union, ' One with us.' By the mystical
union we are united to the whole Trinity. Our communion with the
Father is spoken of, 1 John i. 3, ' That ye also may have fellowship
with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son
Jesus Christ.' Communion with the Son : 1 Cor. i. 9, ' God is faith
ful, by whom we are called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ
our Lord.' And communion with the Spirit : 2 Cor. xiii. 14, ' The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the com-
38 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiB. XXXYI.
munion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.' To distinguish
them accurately is very hard, only thus in general. We must have com
munion with all or none. There is no coming to the Father but by
the Son : John xiv. 6, ' I am the way, the truth, and the life ; no man.
cometh to the Father, but by me/ None can come to the Son but by
the Father : John vi. 44, ' No man can come to me, except the Father,
which hath sent me, draw him.' And none can come to both but by
the Spirit. Unity is his personal operation : Eph. iv. 3, ' Endeavour
ing to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.' The Father
hath a hand in it, Christ hath a hand, the Spirit hath a hand.
Well, then, let us bless God that we have such a complete object for
our faith as Father, Son, and Spirit. The Father bestoweth Christ on
us, and us on Christ, as marriages are made in heaven. The meri
torious cause of this union is Christ the mediator; by his obedience,
satisfaction, and merit ; otherwise the Father would not look upon us ;
and the Spirit is sent from the Father and the Son to bring us to the
Father by the Son. The Spirit worketh this union, continueth it, and
manifests it. All the graces of God are conveyed to us by the Spirit ;
the Spirit teacheth, comforteth, sealeth, sanctifieth ; all is by the Holy
Ghost. And so are all our acts of communion ; we pray by the Spirit ;
if we love God, obey God, believe in God, it is by the Spirit, that
worketh faith, love, and obedience. We can want nothing that have
Father, Son, and Spirit ; whether we think of the Father in heaven,
the Son on the cross, or feel the Spirit in our hearts. Election is of
the Father, merit by the Son, actual grace from the Holy Ghost : 1
Peter i. 2, ' Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience, and sprinkling of
the blood of Jesus Christ.' Our salvation standeth on a sure bottom ;
the beginning is from God the Father, the dispensation through the
Son, the application by the Spirit. It is free in the Father, sure in
the Son, ours in the Spirit. We cannot be thankful enough for this
privilege.
Fourthly, The end and issue, ' That the world may believe that thou
hast sent me.' By the ivorld is not meant the unconverted elect, for
Christ had comprehended all the elect in these words, ' Neither pray I
for these alone, but for them also which shall believe in me through
their word,' ver. 20. The matter of his prayer is, ' That they may be
one,' &c. ; and the reason, ' That the world may believe that thou hast
sent me.' So that by the world is meant the reprobate lost world,
who shall continue in final obstinacy. By believing is meant not true
saving faith, but common conviction, that they may be gained to some
kind of faith, a temporary faith, or some general profession of religion ;
as John ii. 23, 24, ' Many believed in his name, when they saw the
miracles which he did ; but Jesus would not commit himself unto
them, because he knew all men ; ' and John xii. 42, 43, ' Nevertheless
among the chief rulers also many believed on him, but because of the
pharisees, they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the
synagogue : for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of
God.] There believing is taken for being convinced of the truth of his
religion, which he had established, though they had no mind to pro
fess it ; or if so, yet they did not come under the full power of it.
VER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 39
But how is this the fruit of the mystical union ? The fruits of the
mystical union are four, to this purpose :
1. Holiness : ' Whosoever is in Christ is a new creature,' 2 Cor. v.
17. Sanctification is a fruit of union : 1 Cor. i. 30, ' For of him are
ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
ganctification, and redemption.' And it is a means to convince the
world : Mark v. 16, ' Let your light so shine before men, that they, see
ing your good works, may glorify your Father which is in heaven ; '
1 Peter ii. 12, ' Having your conversation honest amongst the Gentiles,
that whereas they speak evil of you as of evil-doers, they may by your
good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visita
tion ; ' 1 Peter iii. 1, ' Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own
husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may, without the
word, be won by the conversation of the wives.'
2. Unity : 1 Cor. xii. 13, ' For by one Spirit we are all baptized into
one body.' To endear us to himself, and to one another as fellow-
members, Christ would draw us into one body : John xiii. 35, * By this
shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to
another.' Aspice ut se mutuo diligunt christiani ! Oh ! the mighty
charity that was among the primitive Christians : Acts iv. 32, ' And
the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul/
Divisions in the church breed atheism in the world.
3. Constancy in the profession of the truth : Jude 1, ' To them that
are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and
called.' We are preserved in Christ as wine in the hogshead, being in
the cabinet where God's jewels are kept. Now this is taking with the
world.
4. Special care of God's providence. God keepeth them as the
apple of his eye : Dan. ii. 47, ' Of a truth it is that your God is a God
of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing he could
reveal unto you this secret ; ' 1 Cor. xiv. 25, ' And thus are the secrets
of his heart made manifest, and so falling down on his face, he will
worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth ; ' Dan. iii. 28,
' Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, who hath
sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have
changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not
serve nor worship any god, except their own God ; ' Dan. vi. 27, ' He
delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven
and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions ; '
Josh. ii. 11, ' And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did
melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because
of you ; for the Lord your God is God in heaven above, and in earth
beneath ; ' Acts v. 12-14, ' And by the hands of the apostles were many
signs and wonders wrought among the people, and they were all with
one accord in Solomon's porch ; and of the rest durst no man join him
self to them : but the people magnified them, and believers were the
more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.'
Doct. That the general conviction which the lost world hath of the
truth of Christianity is a very great blessing to the church. Christ here
prays for it, ' Let them be one ; ' and why ? that the lost world, who
are left out of his prayer, ' may believe that thou hast sent me ; ' that
40 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XXXVI.
they might not count Christ to be an impostor, nor the doctrine of the
gospel a fable. And what Christ prayed for he had promised before ;
for as good men of old did suit their prayers to their foregoing sermons,
so did our Lord Jesus Christ suit this prayer to his foregoing sermon
made to his apostles. What did he promise to them ? John xvi. 8-11,
' If I depart, I will send the Comforter unto you ; and when he is come,
he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
Of sin, because they believe not on me. Of righteousness, because I
go to my Father, and ye see me no more. Of judgment, because the
prince of this world is judged.' This is a difficult place ; the meaning
is this : In the context you will find the apostles were troubled about
Christ's departure, and their going out into the world to preach the
gospel, for they apprehended their service difficult ; their master (for
whom they stood) despised, and looked upon as a seducer and mock king
among the Jews, their message very unpleasant, as contrary to the
carnal interests of men. Now for a few weak men to be left to the
hatred and opposition of a proud, malicious, ambitious world, they that
were to preach a doctrine contrary to the lusts and interests of men,
and go forth in the name of a master that was despised and hanged on
a tree, what shall they do ? 'Be not troubled,' saith our Saviour. He
lays in many comforts, and among them, that the world shall be con
vinced : ' The Spirit shall convince the world of sin,' &c. Observe
1. The act, 'He shall convince/
2. The object, ' The world.'
3. The particulars, what he shall convince them of, ' Of sin, of right
eousness, and of judgment.'
4. The means, ' By the Spirit.'
5. The effects of this, and how this was accomplished, and what a
mighty confirmation this was of the apostles' testimony.
1. Consider the act, ' He shall reprove, or convince ; ' not convert,
but convince ; whereby is meant not only his offering or affording
sufficient means which might convince men, but his actual convincing
them thereby ; even the reprobate world shall be so convinced as they
were put to silence, that they shall not easily be able to gainsay the
truth ; nay, some of them shall obtain the profession of it. And yet
the Holy Ghost goeth no further with them than fully to convince
them ; the work stoppeth there, they are not effectually converted to
God. As many carnal men, that remain in an unregenerate condition
to the last, may have many temporal gifts bestowed on them, where
by they may be made useful to the real and true believers, and have
strange changes and flashes of conscience for a while, yet it went no
further ; therefore the apostle saith, Heb. vi! 4, 5, ' They were en
lightened, and had tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers
of the Holy Ghost ; and have tasted the good word of God, and the
powers of the world to come.'
2. The object of this work of the Spirit. Whom shall he convince ?
' The world.' It is notable the church is not spoken of, but the world.
Now the world is either the unregenerate and unconverted world, or
else the reprobate and lost world, who finally persist in their unbelief
or want of saving faith. This mad raging world shall be convinced, and
so their opposition taken off, or their edge blunted, and they made
VER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 41
more easy and kind to his people, though they are but convinced, and
continue still in a state of nature. Nay, some of them shall join with
them, and be made greatly useful to them ; therefore they need not
fear though all the power and learning in the world were against them
at that time.
3. The particulars whereof they are convinced, ' Of sin, of righteous
ness, and of judgment.' Grotius and other interpreters observe there
were three sorts of causes of actions among the Jews, Trepl apaprias,
concerning criminal matters, or Trepl SIKCUOO-VVT)?, in defending the just
and upright, or Trepl Kpicre(o<>, in urging the law of retaliation for damage
done. Sometimes there was a suit commenced to know whether a man
were a criminal or no ; at other times, if any man had been wronged,
there* was a suit commenced concerning righteousness and innocency,
and the man was acquitted in court. Sometimes there was an action
concerning judgment, and that was concerning retaliation, giving eye
for eye, tooth for tooth, recompensing the party wronged concerning
damage done. So here, the Holy Ghost at his coming should be the
advocate of Christ against the world, who had rejected and crucified
him. One action that he should put in against the world was con
cerning sin, whether Christ or the despisers of his grace were guilty of
a crime. It would appear in the issue that not to believe in him was
a sin, as well as to transgress the moral or natural law. The second
action was concerning righteousness, to vindicate his innocency, though
he suffered among them as a malefactor, in that he was owned by God,
and taken up into heaven, as a clear testimony of his innocency. The
third action was that of judgment, or punishing injurious persons by
way of retaliation ; that those which struck out another's eye or tooth
were to lose their own, or he that had wronged another man in his
substance should lose as much of hi& own. This action he had against
Satan, who with his instruments had put Christ to death ; now ' the
prince of this world shall be judged ; } retaliation shall be done upon
him, his kingdom destroyed, his idols and oracles battered down, and
put to silence and under disgrace. And thus the Spirit should come
to convince the world that it was a sin not to believe in Christ, who
was a righteous and innocent person; and the devil, which did the
wrong, should have right done upon him, that he should be destroyed,
and his kingdom demolished. All these we have, Acts v. 30, 31, ' The
God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, and hanged on a
tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a
saviour, to give repentence to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.' The
first question was concerning sin, whether Christ died as a malefactor,
or whether he was a true prophet ? and whether it was not a sin in the
Jews not to receive him ? That was the point in controversy between
the apostles, in preaching the gospel, and the world that denied this.
The next question was concerning righteousness, whether Christ was
a righteous person ? Now, Christ being exalted at God's right hand,
was thereby owned to be a righteous person, that though he was hanged
on the tree, yet he was justified and exalted at the right hand of God.
The other controversy was concerning judgment, whether Christ were
a base person, or one exalted to be a prince and a saviour, exalted
above Satan, and all things that are called god in the world ? Now
42 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XXXVI.
the Spirit shall convince the world ' that the prince of this world is
condemned/ and that Christ is the prince and saviour, and he must be
owned and exalted, and his kingdom set up everywhere. ^ Thus when
poor men were to bait the devil, and hunt him out of his territories,
and oppose themselves against the tradition of the nation, there is a
mighty Spirit set up, and he shall convince the world ; those that are
not really and heartily gained, he shall convince them of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment.
[1.] 'Of sin, because they believe not in me.' The Spirit shall
convince them that Christ is the Son of God, the great prophet and
true Messiah ; and so it is a sin to reject him and his doctrine ; that
unbelief is a sin as well as the breach of the moral law ; and that the
Lord Jesus Christ is to be owned as a mediator, as well as God as a
lawgiver. All will grant that a breach of the law of God is a sin ;
but the Spirit shall convince that a transgression against the gospel
is a sin, as well as against the law.
[2.] ' Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye shall see
me no more.' That Christ did not remain in the state of the dead,
but rose again, and ascended, and liveth with the Father in glory and
majesty ; and therefore that he was not a seducer, but that righteous
one ; and so, however he was rejected by men, yet he was owned and
accepted by God, and all his pretensions justified, and so might suffi
ciently convince the world that it is blasphemy to oppose him as a
malefactor, and his kingdom and interest in the world : there needeth
no more to persuade men that he was that holy and righteous one.
[3.] ' Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.'
The devil is the prince of this world : Eph. vi. 12, ' The ruler of the
darkness of this world ;' and he was condemned by virtue of Christ's
death, and judgment executed upon him by the Spirit : John xii. 31,
* Now shall the prince of this world be cast out.' He was foiled and
vanquished by Christ, and by the power of the gospel ; was to be
vanquished more and more, by silencing his oracles, destroying his
kingdom, recovering poor captive souls, translating them out of the
kingdom of darkness into a state of holiness, liberty, light, and life ;
the usurped power he had over the blind and guilty world is taken
from him ; now his judgment shall be executed.
4. The way and means whereby this should be brought about,
by the coming of the Spirit, or the sending the comforter. When he
came, the disciples and messengers of Christ had large endowments,
whereby they were enabled to speak powerfully and boldly to every
people in their own tongue, &nd to endure their sufferings and ill-usage
with great courage and fortitude, and to work miracles, as to cure
diseases, cast out devils, to confer extraordinary gifts, to silence Satan's
oracles, and to destroy the kingdom and power of the devil, and to
establish a sure way of the pardon of sins, and bring life and immor
tality to light, preaching that truth which should establish sound
holiness, and helping to restore human nature to its rectitude and
integrity. And by this means he should convince the world of sin,
of righteousness, and of judgment.
5. Consider the effects, suitable both to his promise and prayer.
The Acts of the Apostles are a comment on this. Many of the elect
YER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 43
were converted. At the first sermon after the pouring out of the
Spirit, all that heard the apostles discoursing that Jesus was appointed
to be Lord and Christ, were ' pricked in their hearts/ and convinced,
Acts ii. 37, 38. This was not conversion, for they cried out, ' What
shall we do ? And Peter said, ' Kepent, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.' Three thousand were con
verted by this sermon, and five thousand at another time, Acts iv. 4,
when they preached boldly in the name of Jesus ; yet others were
only convinced, pricked in heart, though they had not yet attained to
evangelical repentance ; some that remained ' in the gall of bitterness
and bond of iniquity ; ' yet they admired the things the apostles did,
and desired to share with them in their great privileges : Acts viii.
18, 19, 'When Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles'
hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying,
Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may
receive the Holy Ghost.' Yea, and some that were upon the benches
and thrones, and sat as judges, were almost persuaded to be chris-
tians by a prisoner in a chain ; as Felix : Acts xxiv. 25, ' As Paul
reasoned of righteousness, and temperance, and judgment to come,
Felix trembled.' And Agrippa : Acts xxvi. 28, ' Almost thou per-
suadest me to be a Christian.' Some were forced to magnify them,
who had not a heart to join with them : Acts v. 13, ' And of the rest
durst no man join himself to them, but the people magnified them.'
Some would have worshipped them, who were yet pagans : Acts xiv.
11, ' And when the people saw what Paul had done, they said, The
gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.' Some were
astonished at what was done by the apostles : Acts viii. 13, ' Then
Simon himself believed also ; and when he was baptized, he continued
with Philip, and wondered, beholding the signs and miracles which
were done.' Some marvelled at their boldness : Acts iv. 13, ' Now
when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that
they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled, and they took
knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.' What ! is this
cowardly Peter, that was foiled with the weak blast of a damsel ?
Nay, their bitterest enemies were nonplussed in their resolutions, when
they had to do with them, and were afraid to meddle with them :
Acts iv. 16, 'What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a
notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that
dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.' So far the bridle of
conviction was upon the reprobate world.
SERMON XXXVII.
That they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us : that the world may believe that
thou hast sent me. JOHN XVII. 21.
HAVING proved the point, I shall examine why Christ should be so
44 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XXXVII.
earnest to have the world convinced, that he should put this into his
prayer, ' That the world may believe that thou hast sent me.' The
reasons are, partly in respect of himself, partly in respect of the elect,
partly in respect of the world.
First, In respect of himself.
1. It is much for Christ's honour that even his enemies should have
some esteem of him, and some conviction of his worth and excellency.
Praise and esteem in the mouth of an enemy is a double honour, more
than in the mouth of a friend. The commendations of a friend may
seem the mistakes of love, and their value and esteem may proceed
from affection rather than judgment. Now it is for the honour of
God and Christ that his, enemies speak well of him, and that they give
an approbation to the gospel. Many spake highly, of God that never
received him for their God. Nebuchadnezzar was forced to confess,
Dan. ii. 47, ' Of a truth it is that your God is a God of gods, and Lord
of kings;' Deut. xxxii. 31, ' Their rock is not as our rock, even our
enemies themselves being judges.' His enemies speak well of him.
The church commendeth God, as they have cause, ' Who is like unto
the Lord our God in all the world ?' But now they might seem par
tial, and therefore God ! will extort praise from his enemies ; those,
that are apt to think of Christ as an impostor and seducer shall see
the reality of their religion. It was an honour to Christianity ' that
the people magnified the apostles/ though they had not a heart to run
all hazards with them, Acts v. 13.
2. It is for the clearing of his process at the last day. The
heathens, being convinced by God's works, are avairo\6^rirot, ' with
out excuse,' Eom. i. 20 ; ' God hath not left himself without a witness,'
Acts xiv. 17. So those that live within the sound of the gospel, though
they do not come under the power and dominion of the Christian faith,
yet they have such a conviction of it as shall tend to their condemna
tion at the great day. All those whom the Lord arraigns at the last
day, 'they will all be speechless,' and have nothing to say for them
selves, Mat. xxii. 12. At the day of judgment our mouths will be
stopped, as being condemned in our own conscience ; then the books
shall be opened ; and one of the books opened is in the malefactor's
keeping, the sinner's conscience; they are avTOfcaraKptroi. God's
providence is justified by the conviction of their own hearts. It is a
question which is the greatest torment, the terribleness of the sentence
which shall be passed upon wicked men, or the righteousness of it.
You know the apostle tells you, ' When the Lord Jesus shall come in
flames of fire, to render vengeance to the world,' 2 Thes. i. 7, 8,
there are two sorts of persons he shall meet with,' Them that know
not God,'' that is, heathens, which did not take up what they might
know of God from the course of nature, from the knowledge of their
eye and ear ; and ' Them that obey not the gospel/ them that lived
within the sound of the gospel, and heard much of it ; they were con
vinced, they had some kind of knowledge and belief of it, yet they
would not let their hearts be subject, and give up themselves to it. It
clears the Lord's process ; if men continue ignorant and opposite to
the grace of the gospel, by this means they are left without excuse ;
therefore, that he might be clear when he judgeth, the world shall be
VER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvir. 45
convinced and brought to a temporal persuasion ' that thou hast sent
nie ;' the old conviction that remaineth with them shall justify God.
Secondly, With respect to the elect ; for all is for the elect's sake.
The world would not stand if it were not for their sakes. Time would
be at an end but that God hath somermore that are not called, and the
number of the elect is not fully accomplished. When all the pas
sengers are taken in, the ship launcheth forth into the main ; so we
should all launch forth into the ocean of eternity if all the elect were
taken in. He prays with respect to them, ' that the world may be
lieve/ How doth this concern them ?
1. Their conviction conduceth to others' conversion. Many of the
Samaritans possibly would not believe if Simon Magus, their great
leader, had not been convinced : Acts viii. 10, ' To him they all gave
heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great
power of God/ If the word can gain such a one but to the conviction
of the truth, though he be an enemy to it in his heart, yet it is a
mighty means to further the conversion of the elect. The conviction
of the world, it is a rational inducement, it is a door by which the
gospel entereth. It is no small advantage that Christianity hath
gotten such esteem as to be made the public profession of the nations ;
that potentates have counted it the fairest flower in their crown to be
styled the defender of the faith, the catholic king, the most Chris
tian king. By all kind of means is this to be promoted, to bring men
to a general confession. Though it be no great benefit to them as to
the world to come, yet it is a help to the elect, that they are under
such a conviction ; for if Christianity were still counted a novel doc
trine, a hated doctrine, and were publicly hated, maligned, opposed,
and persecuted, what would become of it ?
2. For the safety of the church. Though God doth not change
their natures, yet he breaketh their fierceness, that they may not be
such bitter enemies ; and so persecution is restrained ; and when there
is a restraint, and he ties their hands by conviction, we enjoy the more
quiet. Alas ! what wolves and tigers would we be to one another if
the awe of conviction and the restraints of conscience were taken off!
We owe very much of our safety, not to visible force and power, but
to the spiritual conviction that is on the hearts of men, by which God
bridles in the corrupt and ill-principled world, that they cannot find in
their hearts so much to molest it as otherwise their natures would
carry them to, but that the gospel may have a free course, and the
gathering of the elect may not be hindered ; for God's conviction is
the bridle he hath upon them, to keep them from doing hurt ; though
they be not converted, yet they shall be convinced. Acts v., Gamaliel
being convinced, the apostles obtained liberty of preaching ; Pliny,
moved by the piety of Christians, obtained a mitigation of the perse
cution from Trajan; and such halcyon days might we expect if
Christians would walk more suitable to the privileges of the mystical
union ; they would dart a great deal of reverence in the minds of men,
and would be more safe than they are ; for when the wall of visible
protection is broken down, a Christian merely subsists by the awe that
is upon the consciences of men. Wicked carnal men, as they have a
slavish fear of God, which is accompanied with hatred of God, so they
46 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XXXVII.
have a slavish fear of the saints, only their hatred is greater than their
fear. When you abate of the majesty of your conversation, and be
have not yourselves as those that are taken into the mystical body of
Christ, and have the communion of the Spirit, when you do not walk up
suitably to your spiritual life and privileges, then the hatred of your
enemies is increased, and their fear lessened ; whereas otherwise their
fear which ariseth from thence is a mighty restraint. How often are
we disappointed when we expect to beat down opposite factions by
strife and power ! More good is done by conviction, and the church
hath greater security and peace, when they subsist by their own virtue,
rather than by force of arms. I remember, in ecclesiastical history,
when Valens the Emperor railed against all the defenders of the god
head of Christ, he did not meddle with Paulinus, out of reverence to
him, for he was a very holy strict man ; none durst lay hands upon him.
3. Many times they profess and join to the church, and so we have
benefit by their gifts and abilities, authority and power ; for God doth
his church a great deal of good by carnal men. Conviction may
bring them as far as profession ; and the temporary faith of a magis
trate, though carnal, may be a protection to Christianity ; as a hedge
of thorns may be a good fence about a garden of roses. If they are
men of parts, they may help to defend the Christian doctrine, as a
living tree may be supported by a dead post ; and the gifts of carnal
men are for the use of the body, as the Gibeonites joined to Israel,
and were made hewers of wood and drawers of water ; or as the car
penters who helped to build Noah's ark perished in the flood ; or as
negroes that dig in the mines of knowledge. God may employ them
to bring up that which may be of great use and profit to the world ;
they may help to build an ark, for others, though they themselves
perish in the water. We would not refuse gold from a dirty hand,
neither are we to slight the benefit of carnal men's parts ; for the com
mon profession of Christianity that they are under, though they are
slaves to their lusts, yet it is a real benefit and help to the saints.
4. They serve for a warning to the saints. When this conviction is
strong upon them, and grows to a height, by the stings of conscience
and horrors of them that die in despair, God warneth his people.
Though we would bear off the stroke, yet God knows how soon this
fire may be kindled in our own breasts ; when men see what convic
tions will do, being stifled and not complied with, and men live not
according to their light, it is a warning to others. As a slave is many
times beaten to warn a son of his father's displeasure, and naturalists
tell us a lion will tremble to see a dog beaten before him ; so do the
children of God tremble at the convictions of wicked men. Oh ! the
horrors of their conscience declare what God hath wrought upon them,
though few take little 1 notice of it.
Thirdly, In respect to the world itself, this conviction serveth both
to lessen and increase their judgment. The terms seem to be opposite.
1. Sometimes to lessen their judgment. Certainly the degrees of eter
nal punishment are not equal ; there is irepiaaorepov Kpipa, Mat. xxiii.
14, 'a greater judgment;' there is a hotter and a cooler hell; there
are few stripes, and many stripes. In the world to come, ' it is more
1 Qu. 'much'? ED.
VEK. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 47
tolerable for some than for others,' Mat. xii. 41. The condition of the
Ninevites was made more tolerable by the conviction wrought by
Jonah's preaching, because there was a temporal repentance; they
humbled themselves for a while, though they were frighted to this re
ligiousness. Aristides, Cato, and other moral heathens, their condition
will be more tolerable than those men that live in a way of brutish
and filthy excess. So there are many convinced that have helped the
church, and been friendly to religion; when others have oppressed
and opposed the ways of God, they have been a hiding-place, a shelter,
a countenance, a protection to the people of God ; these shall not
lose their reward : they have many blessings in this world, though
they continue carnal, and live and die in their sins. I suppose the
more they comply with these convictions, their condemnation shall be
lessened, though not taken away. This advantage they have, ut mitius
ardeant, they shall have a cooler hell.
2. Sometimes to increase their judgment. Those that maliciously
oppose this conviction, they hasten their own condemnation, and
heighten it. Then it will be a sin to them with a witness, when they
knew their master's will and did it not : James iv. 17, ' Therefore to
him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.'
They carry this conviction to hell with them, and it is a part of their
torment ; this is the worm that never dies. Oh ! what a terror will
it be for them to think, I had a better estate discovered to me ; I knew
somewhat of the ways of God ; and now I am shut out for ever and
ever ! There is ' a worm that never dies,' as well as ' a fire that shall
never be quenched,' Mark ix. 44, There may be a conviction, so
much as to enable a man to speak to others, yet he may be a worker of
iniquity, and cast out of Christ's presence. How will this increase
their torment ! Their knowledge serveth but to damn them the more.
The characters are indelible, and are not extinguished by death. To
all other torments there is added the gnawing of conscience. Look,
as in the elect there is such a spark kindled as shall never be extin
guished ; their knowledge they get here is not abolished, but perfected,
and the joys of the Spirit begin their heaven ; a witnessing excusing
conscience to the elect is the beginning of heaven ; so in hell, con
science will be always raging and expostulating with you fool that
I was, to neglect so great salvation which others enjoy ! If I had
lived civilly at least, it had been better with me than now it is. As
they know more of God than others do, so their judgment will accor
dingly be greater. And you know not how soon God may kindle this
fire in your bosoms, who for the present sleep on carelessly in your sins.
Use 1. This may serve to persuade us that the conviction of the
world is a great blessing, and conduceth much to the advancement
of Christ's kingdom, without any visible force, with mere spiritual
weapons, in despite of all opposition which can be made thereunto.
The corrupt and ill-principled world cannot stand out against the evi
dence of the truth, when it is soundly preached, and in the demonstra
tion of the Spirit. We have too slight an opinion of the weapons of
our spiritual warfare : 2 Cor. x. 4, ' The weapons of our warfare are
not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strong
holds.' Surely they are more mighty to pull down strongholds thaa
48 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XXXVII.
we are aware of. The Spirit of the Lord, though he will not convert,
yet can so put to silence, and bridle the opposition that carnal men
make, that it shall be ineffectual. It concerneth God in honour to go
thus far on with the world for the promoting of his kingdom, and that
they may not go on with a high hand to oppose and crush it. And
this doth also evince the truth of the Christian religion, such convic
tions accompanying the preaching of it. And God doth not wholly
discontinue this dispensation now. There are ordinary operations of
the Spirit, where the gospel is preached, which do convince the world.
The careless professor owns the same creed, the same Bible, and the
same baptism, and that is a mighty help and advantage.
Use 2. It informeth us of the love and care of Christ ; he would
omit no blessing that conduceth to the church's good. He would have
those convinced whom he doth not convert, that we may have no
stumbling-block in our way to heaven. It was a question, ' Have any
of the rulers believed in him ? ' John vii. 48. Alas ! when the powers
of the world are against the people of God, the world is apt to think
hard of Christ, and many stumble at this rock of offence. Now, that
we may have the help of their power, and authority, and counte
nance, and the gifts of carnal men, the Lord will put them under some
conviction of the truth of Christianity. Christ would not only give
us the benefit of our fellow-saints, but of carnal hypocrites, as the
moon hath no light in itself, yet it giveth light to others ; though they
have no grace in their hearts, yet they have notable parts, and they do
a great deal of good, and that our pilgrimage might not be wholly
uncomfortable. If all the world were divided into two ranks, as Jere
miah's basket of figs, Jer. xxiv., were either very good or very naught,
there were no living in the world, if all were pagans or Christians.
No ; some must come under a temporary faith, that the people of God
may live more commodiously. It is the wisdom of providence that
there is a middle party, that are as a screen between the extremely
wicked and the saints ; they are not so bad as the worst, because they
are convinced more, though not converted. Christians ! in Christ
all things are ours, not only the elect, who are our companions and
fellows in the same grace, but also the reprobates are ours. The more
civil and convinced sort of the world are for our good, and do much
serve the uses of the church ; and the worst sort of reprobates serve for
our exercise and trial, for the awakening more serious grace in us by
their oppositions, and for the heightening our privileges; the more
evil they are, the more cause have we to bless a good God that hath
made us better.
Use 3. It presseth us not to slight, nor yet to rest in these convic
tions, and in this temporary faith.
1. Do not slight your convictions and remorses of conscience.
Though all convinced men are not converted, yet there are none con
verted but they are first convinced. A temporary faith, taken up
upon common inducements, makes way for a saving faith ; as the
priming of a post makes it receptive of better colours. Whereas, on
the other side, slighted convictions, though you smother them now,
will be felt another day ; it is but a wound skinned over, and slightly
healed, that festers into a dangerous sore. Twenty years were past,
VER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 49
and there was no remembrance of Joseph ; but when his brethren
were in distress, conscience wrought: Gen. xlii. 21, 'And they said
one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that
we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would
not hear him ; therefore is this distress come upon us ; ' they were
convinced of some wrong done to him. Convictions are forgotten,
smothered, neglected ; conscience speaketh no more, but it writeth
when it doth not speak ; and when the mists of the soul are a little
cleared and scattered, all is legible ; that which they thought was for
gotten cometh to light, and those old convictions break out with
violence, to our horror and trouble ; therefore slight them not.
2. Do not rest in these convictions. Thus it may be with repro
bates ; they may be convinced of the best way, almost persuaded, but
not altogether. The young man was not far from the kingdom of
heaven ; he was near, but never entered. Some civil men are upon the
borders of grace. Do not rest in this estate.
How shall I know I am only convinced, and not converted to God ?
Ans. Thus:
1. If sin be discovered, but not mortified ; if there be no endeavour
to get it removed. As a March sun raiseth aguish vapours, but
cannot scatter them, as when the sun gets up into its height, so con
viction discovers sin, but doth not help us to mortify it : Kom. vii. 9,
' For I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment
came, sin revived, and I died.'
2. When we have wishes, but no practice, slight and cold desires.
Oh ! when shall this sensual heart be made heavenly ! this worldly
heart put into a better frame ! But no serious looking after it, nor
waiting upon God, that we may obtain those things we desire.
Balaam had his wishes and good moods : Num. xxiii. 10, ' Oh, that
I might die the death of the righteous ! and that my latter end may
be like his ! ' Vellent sed nolunt ; they would and they would not
empty velleities. They would fain have grace, but they will not be at
the cost of continual attending upon God till he work it in their hearts.
And they are ineffectual glances ; wishing without working obtains
nothing. These are like early blossoms in the spring, that put forth
lustily, but are soon nipped, and never come to fruit.
3. Negatives without positives. Men do not hate Christ, nor the
people of God ; but do they love them ? 1 Cor. xvi. 22, ' If any man
love not the Lord Jesus Christ/ &c. It is not enough not to hate
Christ, but are your hearts carried towards him ? So many do not
oppose the ministry of the gospel. Ay ! but they neglect the message
of the gospel, they content themselves with a few flying thoughts
about Christ, heaven, and the blessed things that are to come, like the
glance of the sunbeam upon a wave : Heb. ii. 3, ' How shall we escape
if we neglect so great salvation ?' It is not said, If we contemn, resist,
undermine it. No ; they are not of that rank, but they are of a more
plausible rank and sort of people ; they would countenance the pro
fession of godliness, but neglect the duties of it. There are two sorts
of men some are well-willers to good things, some open malicious
persecutors. In some, natural hatred is more allayed, though all hate
it, but there is a despite in neglect ; as the neglect of things worthy
VOL. XL D
50 SEKMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XXXVII.
and great argue a scorn and contempt, as well as the malicious
refusal. To be neutral and cold, indifferent to God and sin, is to be
an enemy.
4. There is an inward approbation many times, without an outward
profession, or without such a constitution of soul as to choose these
things for our portion. Alas ! many that are convinced approve
things that are excellent : Rom. ii. 18, ' Thou knowest his will, and
approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of
the law ; ' Acts v. 13, ' And of the rest durst no man join himself
to them ; but the people magnified them/ An honourable esteem
they had, but they could not endure the severity of discipline, as being
afraid because of the case of Ananias, who paid so dearly for a little
dissembling. So many are not far from the kingdom of God ; they
approve things that are good, but they have no mind to take hazard
and lot with Christ.
5. If there should be a profession, there is no power. The net draws
bad fish as well as good. There are mixtures in the church. Many
revere godliness, but were never acquainted with the virtue and power
of it. Many have an excellent model of truth, and make a profession
as plausible and glorious in the world as possibly you can desire ; yet
they never knew the virtue of this religion, it never entered into their
heart : 1 Cor. iv. 20, ' For the kingdom of God is not in word,' stands
not in plausible pretences, ' but in power ; ' 1 Thes. i. 5, ' For our
gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power.' You know
the state of men were represented by Christ in the parable of the two
sons : Mat. xxi. 28-30, 'A certain man had two sons, and he came to
the first, and said, Son, go to work to-day in my vineyard. He
answered and said, I will not : but afterwards he repented and went.
And he went to the second, and said likewise : and he answered and
said, I go sir, and went not.' Oh ! there be many that say, ' I will go/
that pretend fair, that are convinced so far as to make a profession,
yet never bring their hearts seriously to addict themselves to God, to
walk in his ways and keep his charge ; there is no real change of
heart, no serious bent of soul towards God.
6. If there be some real motions, as there may be in temporary
believers, for we must not think all is hypocritical, yet it is not entire:
Mark vi. 20, 'Herod did many things, and heard John Baptist gladly/
His heart and his profession went a great way together, till he was to
part with his bosom lust. John was safe till he touched upon his
Herodias ; then conviction grows furious, and he turneth into a devil.
Therefore take heed of mere conviction.
Use 4. To press the children of God to express such fruits of their
union with Christ that they may convince the world. Christ prays
not only that the world may be convinced, but that it might be by
those that are real members of his mystical body, that they may have
a hand to further it. What are the fruits of the mystical union, that
you may convince the world ?
1. Love and mutual serviceableness to one another's good. When
we live as members of the same body, that have a mutual care for one
another, then we shall bring a mighty honour and credit to religion,
and can with power give testimony to the truths of Cnnst : Acts ii.
VER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN XVIL 51
44, ' And all that believed were together, and had all things common.'
When Christians were of one mind and heart, they had all things
common. Oh ! it is a mighty convincing thing when all those that
profess godliness labour to carry on the same truths and practices.
Divisions breed atheism in the world. The Lord Jesus knew it, and
therefore he prays, ' Let them be all one, &c., that the world may
believe that thou hast sent me.' We never propagate the faith so
much as by this union. Divisions put a great stop to the progress of
truth. When contrary factions mutually condemn one another, it is
a wonder any are brought off from their vain conversations. The
world is apt to think there is no such thing as religion*, and one sort
is no better than another ; they see the world cannot agree about it,
therefore they stay where they are.
2. Holiness and strictness of life and conversation ; there is a con
vincing majesty in it ; natural conscience doth homage to it wherever
it findeth it ; therefore live as those who are taken up into fellowship
with God through Christ. Herod feared John Baptist. Why?
Because he was a strict preacher? No ; but because he was a just
man, Mark vi. 20. When you live thus holily, and ' accomplish the
work of faith with power/ then the Lord Jesus is ' glorified in you/
2 Thes. i. 11, 12.
3. When you can contemn the baits of the world, and allurements
of sense, this is a mighty argument to convince the world that you
have higher and nobler principles you are acted by, and better hopes
you are called to. Though you have not divested and put off the
interests of flesh and blood, for you are not angels, yet you can be
faithful to God and Christ. The world admireth what kind of temper
men are made of : 1 Peter iv. 4, ' They think it strange that you run
not with them into all excess of riot.' They have the same interests
and concernments, and yet how mortified ! how weaned are they from
those things which others go a- whoring after ! Sure they have a
felicity which the world knoweth not of ; they dread and admire this,
though they hate you.
4. A cheerfulness and comfortableness in the midst of troubles and
deep wants, when you can live above your condition, ' take joyfully
the spoiling of our goods/ Heb. x. 34, and bear losses with an equal
mind ; for you are not much troubled with these things ; then you
live as those that are called to a higher happiness.
5. To be more faithful in the duties of your relations. The fruits
of the mystical union run to every part of the spiritual life. None
commend their religion so much as those that make conscience of the
duties of their relations, that they may carry themselves as becomes
Christians, husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and
servants. So poor servants make the doctrine of the Lord Jesus
Christ comely : Titus ii. 10, ' That ye may adorn the doctrine of God
our Saviour in all things/ And the apostle saith, men that do not obey
the word, may without the word be won by the conversation of their
wives, 1 Peter iii. 1. Worldly men have been much gained by the
lives of religious persons. Thus you propagate the truth by carrying
yourselves usefully in your relations. This hath been ever the glory
of religion, as it was in the primitive times. Austin makes this
52 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SEE. XXXVII.
challenge, UH tales imperatores ? &c. Let all the religions in the
world show such emperors, such captains, such armies, such managers
of public treasury, as the Christian religion. The world was convinced
there was something divine in them. Oh ! it is pity the glory of
religion should fall to the ground in our days, and that the quite con
trary should be said: None such careless parents as those that seem
to be touched with a sense of religion ! None so disobedient to
magistrates, none such disobedient children to parents, as those that
seem to be called to liberty with Christ ! Therefore, if you would
honour Christ, and propagate the truth, keep up this testimony and
convince the world.
6. A constancy in the profession of faith. You should live as if
Christ and you had one common interest. Sure they believe Christ
was sent from God, and able to reward them, else why should they
sacrifice all their interests for his sake ? It is said, Rev. xii. 11, ' The
saints overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testi
mony, and they loved not their lives unto the death.' Eeligion had
never thrived, and spread its branches far and near, had it not been
watered by the blood of the martyrs. Christ began and watered the
plant by his own blood ; and then the martyrs kept watering it till it
began to be rooted and had got some esteem in the world ; and now it
spreads its boughs, and yields a shadow and refreshing to the far
greatest part of the world. When men take up principles that will
not warrant suffering, or are changeable and pliable to all interests,
and wriggle and distinguish themselves out of their duty upon all
occasions, it doth mightily dishonour Christ, and make religion vile,
and harden the world, and feed their prejudices against the truth.
What is the reason the ways of God have so little honour in the eyes
of the world, so little power upon the hearts of men ? Professors are
so fickle and changeable, this maketh them suspect all, and so return
to their old superstitions and vanities.
Now, that you may do so, I shall bind it upon you by some further
considerations.
1. Consider you are God's witnesses to keep up truth in the world,
to bring them on to conversion, or at least to some temporary faith :
Isa. xliii. 10, ' Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am he.'
God appealeth to those that have most communion with him, for the
truth and reality of his grace. If a man would be satisfied in a thing
that he knoweth not, to whom should he go for satisfaction but to
those that have most experience ? Well, if the world would be satis
fied is union with Christ a notion or a real thing, ye are my witnesses :
2 Cor. iii. 3, ' Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ.'
In an epistle a man writes his mind. The scriptures they are Christ's
epistle, and so are Christians. The world, that will not study the
scriptures, are to be convinced and preparatively induced by your lives.
Every Christian is to be a walking Bible. It is a dangerous tempta
tion to atheism when Christians, that pretend themselves near and dear
to God, are scandalous, and let loose the reins to every corrupt affec
tion. He that took a Christian in an act of filthiness cried out,
Christiane ! ubi Deus tuus ? In the scripture there is Christ's mind
in words ; in a Christian there is Christ's mind written in deeds in his
VER. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 53
conversation. You are to be a living reproof ; as ' Noah condemned
the world by preparing an ark,' Heb. xi. 7. There was something in
it, when he was so busy in preparing an ark, with so great cost and
charge ; it was a real upbraiding of their security and carelessness ; so
when men are so diligent and busy in working out their salvation with
fear and trembling, it is a real reproof to the carnal and lazy world.
2. Consider, if you do not convince the world, you justify the world ;
as Israel justified Sodom, Ezek. xvi. 52. The wicked hold up their
ways with greater pretence, and are hardened in their prejudices. You
put an excuse into wicked men's mouths. What a sad thing will it be
when they shall say, Lord, we never thought they had been thy servants,
they were so wrathful, proud, sensual, self-seeking, factious, turbulent,
hunting after honours, and great places in the world : Rom. ii. 23, 24,
' Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking of the law
dishonourest thou God ? for the name of God is blasphemed among
the Gentiles through you/' Carnal professors will blush at the last
day, when they shall consider how many they have hardened by their
examples, unsettled by their loose walking ; how you have disgraced
Christ, and taken up his name for a dishonour to him. It is this
that makes the Hams of the world to laugh ; you cannot gratify them
more.
3. Consider the great good that cometh by it. For the present, you
stop the mouth of iniquity : Titus ii. 8, ' That he that is of the con
trary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you/ It is
the duty of Christians not only to approve themselves to God, but, as
far as they can, to wicked men, to take off all advantage from the
world, to confute their slanders, to muzzle the mouths of carnal men,
that they may have no occasion to speak against the ways of God and
the professors of Christianity. Carnal Christians open profane mouths ;
their slanders shall be put upon your score, who give them too much
matter and occasion to speak. Do not say, They are dogs ; what care
I if they bark ? The awe that is upon wicked men is one means of
the church's preservation ; therefore you must justify wisdom : Mat.
xi. 19, 'But wisdom is justified of her children/ Justification is a
relative word, it implieth condemnation ; the world condemns the
ways of God, and people of God, of fancy, fury, faction. Now you
must justify them ; at least, you will leave them without excuse, and
furnish matter for the triumphs of God's justice at the last day,
and so will have further cause to applaud the counsels of God, when
you sit on the bench at the last day. For as in the last day you shall,
together with Christ, judge the world by your vote and suffrage 1
Cor. vi. 2, ' Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world ? ' so
now you must convince them by your conversations. It is a sad thing
men walk so as it cannot be said, Where is the malefactor, and where
is the judge? You should condemn them, as by the difference of
your lives, so by the heavenliness pf your hearts.
54 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XXXVIII.
SERMON XXXVIII.
And the glory luliich iJiou gavest me I have given them ; that they may
be one, even as we are one. JOHN XVII. 22.
CHRIST had prayed for the union of believers in one mystical body :
here is an argument to enforce that request, ' The glory which thou
hast given me, I have given them,' &c. His act is urged as a reason,
because of that consent of will that is between him and the Father ;
Christ would have his gift ratified by the Father's consent, as if he had
said, Deny not what I have granted them.
For the meaning of the words, all the difficulty is, what is meant
by the glory here spoken of ? Some say by glory is meant the power
of working miracles, that is called the glory of God: John xi. 40,
' Said I not, If thou wouldst believe, thou shalt see the glory of God ? '
that is, a glorious miracle wrought by him. When Christ wrought a
miracle, John ii. 11, ' He manifested forth his glory.' And so they
limit it to the apostles, who had gifts of miracles, and were fitted to
succeed Christ upon earth : thus many of the ancients. By the glory
of God is sometimes meant the image of God : Rom. iii. 23, ' All have
sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God ;' so 2 Cor. iii. 18, ' We
all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image, from glory to glory.' That glory which
we lost in Adam and want by nature is restored to us in Christ. Some
by glory understand the Spirit, who is called ' a Spirit of glory,' and
was given to Christ without measure, and from him to us, as a means
of union between us and Christ, and between us and believers. Others
understand it of the honour of filiation ; as Christ was a son by nature,
so are we by grace : John i. 14, ' We beheld his glory, the glory as of
the only-begotten of the Father ; ' and ver. 12, ' As many as received
him, to them gave he, egovalav, power to become the sons of God/ It
is an honour : it is a means of union. Adoption maketh way for
union with Christ, and Christ left us the relation of brethren, that we
might love one another, for we are brethren. But by glory I suppose
is meant rather the happiness of the everlasting state, which is usually
called glory in scripture ; and so it is taken, ver. 24, ' Father, I will
that they also whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am,
that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me.' And there
is the most perfect union with Christ ; and we that expect one heaven,
should not fall out by the way. Eph. iv. 4, one of the bonds is ' one
hope.' All the difficulty is, how was this given them ? The disciples
were upon the earth, and the greatest part of believers were not then
in being. Ans. Christ acquired a right, and left us a promise; he
would not go to heaven till he had made it sure to us by deed of gift ;
this then I conceive to be the meaning. It is not good to straiten the
sense of scripture ; yet some one is more proper : adoption, gift of the
spirit, new nature, eternal life, you may comprise all.
1. Observe, Christ's care to make us every way like himself, as
far as our capacity will bear ; like, but not equal. The reiteration
showeth his care, ' Let them be as we are ;' and ' The glory which thou
hast given me, I have given them.'
VER. 22.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 55
What resemblance is there between us and Christ ?
1. Between us and Christ as the eternal Son of God.
2. Between us and Christ as mediator.
First, Between us and Christ as the eternal Son of God. Christ is
the essential image of the Father, therefore called ' the image of the
invisible God/ Col. i. 15, and the character or ' express image of his
person,' Heb. i. 3 ; and we are God's image by reflection. If there
be two or three suns appear, one or two are but a reflection. There
are some strictures in us. Christ is one with the Father, and we
with him ; a poor Christian, though never so mean, is one with Christ.
Christ is called ' God's fellow/ Zech. xiii. 7, and every saint is Christ's
fellow : Ps. xlv. 7, ' God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the
oil of gladness above thy fellows.' The Father loveth him because
he is the express image of his person, and the Father delights in the
saints because they are the image of Christ : ' The Father himself
loveth you/ John xvi. 28. A man that loveth another, he loveth
head and members with the same love. Christ is the Son of God,
so are we ; it was his eternal right and privilege ; our title cometh by
him : John xx. 17, ' I ascend unto my Father, and your Father/
First, he is Christ's father, and then ours; his by nature, ours by
adoption, otherwise we could not have it.
2. But this likewise chiefly respects the glory that was given to
Christ as mediator. As God communicateth himself to Christ as
mediator, so doth Christ communicate himself to his members.
Christ, as man, was begotten by the Holy Ghost ; and the same
Spirit begetteth us to the life of faith. The new nature is formed in
us by the Spirit, as Christ was formed in the virgin's womb : Gal. iv.
19, ' My little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ
be formed in you.' All his moral excellences are bestowed on the
saints : 2 Cor. iii. 18, ' We all beholding as in a glass the glory of the
Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as
by the Spirit of the Lord.' If a picture be well taken, it makes us
know him whom it represents ; we see the lineaments of his face as
if he were present ; so doth a Christian express and show forth the
virtues of Christ : 1 Peter ii. 9, ' Ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, that ye should show forth the praises of
him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light/
There is an answerable impression to his mediatory actions, and a
spiritual conformity to them : Horn. vi. 4, ' Therefore we are buried
with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk
in newness of life;' Phil. iii. 10, ' That I may know him, and the
power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being
made conformable unto his death ; ' Eph. ii. 6, ' And hath raised us
up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus ;' a dying in his death, a living in his life, an ascending in his
ascension ; dying to sin, rising to newness of life ; our ascension is by
thoughts, hopes, and resolutions. We resemble him in his afflictions,
it is a part of our conformity : 2 Cor. iv. 10, ' Always bearing about
in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Christ
might be made manifest in our mortal flesh/ An afflicted innocence
56 SEKMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SEE. XXXVIII.
and meek patience is a resemblance of Christ. And as in this life we
resemble Christ in his actions and passions, so that a Christian is as
it were a spiritual Christ, so in the life to come we resemble him in
glory. Christ, after he died, rose again, and so do we ; the same
Spirit raiseth us that raised Christ. He ascended into heaven accom
panied with angels ; so are we carried by the angels into Abraham's
bosom. In heaven he liveth blessedly and gloriously, so do we ; Christ
hath a kingdom, so have we : Luke xii. 32, ' Fear not, little flock ;
it is your Father's pleasure to give you the kingdom.' At the last day
his human nature will be brought forth with a majesty and glory suit
able to the dignity of his person : ' So shall he be admired in his saints,'
2 Thes. i. 10. Then the mystery of his person shall be disclosed ; so
shall the mystery of our life : Col. iii. 3, 4, ' For ye are dead, and your
life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall
appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.' Christ judgeth
the world ; so do the saints : 1 Cor. vi. 2, ' Know ye not that the saints
shall judge the world ? ' Mat. xix. 28, ' Ye which have followed me,
in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his
glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes
of Israel.' ' The second time Christ shall appear without sin unto
salvation,' Heb. ix. 28. So we shall be then disburdened of all the fruits
and effects of sin, ' which shall be blotted out when the times of
refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord,' Acts iii. 19. We
are like him in his offices, kings, priests, and prophets, but in a spiritual
manner, to rule our lusts, to minister in holy things, and to instruct
our hearts. Thus you see there is a conformity in grace and glory.
Now Christ is thus earnest to make us like himself, partly out of
his own love ; he cannot satisfy his heart with giving us any inferior
privilege. Whatever he had and was, it was for our sakes ; as man,
he received it for us : Ps. Ixviii. 18, ' Thou hast received gifts for
men ;' compared with Eph. iv. 8, ' He gave gifts unto men/ His
life, righteousness, and glory is for our sakes. Wherefore doth Christ
make himself like unto us, but that we might be like unto him ?
Partly in obedience to God's counsels and decrees : Korn. viii. 29,
' For whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate, to be conformed
to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many
brethren.' There is wisdom in it, primum in unoquoque genere est
prcestantissimum. Christ is the example and pattern set forth by God,
and that in our nature ; he is the second Adam, a new root, and it is
meet that head and members should suit, otherwise it is monstrous.
Use 1. It showeth who are Christ's, they that are like him ; there
is a conformity between them and Christ, first in grace, and then in
glory. Here we are like him in soul, in regard of disposition and
moral excellences, and in body, in regard of afflictions and weaknesses.
Hereafter we shall be like him in soul and body in a glorious manner ;
here in holiness, hereafter in happiness. He beginneth with the change
of the soul ; the resurrection is Trdhiyyeveala, a regeneration, Mat.
xix. 28. Then we shall be perfectly renewed ; our carnality is done
away by grace, our corruption and mortality by glory. All things are
there made new, new bodies, new souls. Glory, it is but the full
period of the present change and transformation into Christ's image :
VER. 22.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvu. 57
2 Cor. iii. 18, ' We are changed into the same image, from glory to
glory.' Glory is but the consummation of grace, or our full conformity
to Christ, or that final estate which is suitable to the dignity of the
children of God. Therefore every one that looketh for eternal life in
Christ, must be like him in this life ; they are partakers with him of
glory hereafter, because followers of him here. Therefore see, art
thou like Christ ? hast thou the image of Christ ? that is our title.
Alas ! many are not conformable, but contrary to Christ. Christ spent
whole nights in prayer, they in gaming and filthy excess ; it was meat
and drink to him to do his Father's will, but it is your burden.
Christ was humble and meek, you are proud and disdainful, vain in
apparel and behaviour. Were you ever changed ? Till you resemble
Christ here, you shall never be like him hereafter.
Use 2. It presseth us to look after this conformity and likeness unto
Christ. It is the ground of hope ; you cannot otherwise think of death
and judgment to come without horror: 1 John iv. 17, 'Herein is
love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment ;
because as he is, so are we in the world.' David was not ashamed to
own his followers when he was crowned at Hebron, so neither will
Christ be ashamed of us if we have followed him. If you profess
Christ, and be not like him, Christ will be ashamed of you : Heb. ii.
11, ' For both he that sanctifieth, and they that are sanctified, are all
of one ; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.'
He is not ashamed to own the saints : if one of your name were
stigmatised, and branded with a mark of infamy, you would be
ashamed to own him. To this end :
[1.] Eye your pattern. Christ's life should be ever before your eyes,
as the copy is before the scholars : Heb. xii. 2, ' Looking unto Jesus,"
&c. He hath set forth himself in the word to this end and purpose.
[2.] Often shame thyself that thou comest so much short : Phil. iii.
12, ' I follow after, if I may apprehend that for which also I am appre
hended of Jesus Christ.' Alas ! we do but lag behind ; Christ is a great
way before. We have so excellent a pattern, that we may never want
matter for humiliation and imitation. It is a good sign to desire to
come nearer the copy every day.
2. Observe our glory for substance is the same that Christ's is. In
the degree there is a difference, according to the difference that is
between head and members. The head weareth the crown and badge
of honour, and the eldest son had a double portion. So doth Christ
TTpwreveiv, excel in degrees of everlasting glory, but the substance is
the same ; therefore we are said to be ' co-heirs with Christ,' and ' to
be glorified with Christ,' Eom. viii. 17. Christ and we hold the same
heaven : 2 Tim. ii. 11, 12, ' If we be dead with him, we shall also live
with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.' More particu
larly, our bodies are like his glorious body: Phil. iii. 21, ' Who shall
change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious
body, according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things
to himself.' When the sun ariseth, the stars vanish, their glory is
obscured ; but it is not so here. Christ's coming doth not eclipse, but
perfect our glory ; the more near Christ is, the more we shine. And
so for our souls, they see God and enjoy him ; though not in that same
58 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XXXVIII.
latitude and degree which Christ doth, yet in the same manner they
solace themselves in God : ' We shall be like him, for we shall see him
as he is,' 1 John iii. 2. When we behold him in the glass of the
gospel we are transformed, much more when we see him as he is. As
the iron held in the fire is all fire, so we, being in God and with God,
are more like him, have higher measures of the divine nature. So our
privileges are the same with Christ's : Eev. iii. 21, ' To him that over-
cometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also over
came, and am set down with my Father in his throne.' We sit upon
his throne as he doth upon his Father's ; there are two thrones men
tioned for our distinct conceiving of the matter ; as God is over all, so
is Christ, and then we next.
Use 1. It is a great comfort :
1. Against abasement. Will any one believe that these poor crea
tures, that are so slighted, and so little esteemed in the world, shall
have the same glory that Christ hath ? 1 John iii. 2, ' Beloved, now
are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be.' The world thinketh meanly and contemptibly of the condition of
Christians ; in the world we are like him in afflictions, by that means
we hold forth the life of Christ : 2 Cor. iv. 10, ' Always bearing about
in the 1 body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus
might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.'
2. Against weaknesses and infirmities of the flesh ; those saints that
have now so many infirmities shall be made like Christ, and crowned
with perfection. There is nothing less than grace at the beginning, it
is as a grain of mustard-seed, a little leaven ; but it groweth still, as a
child groweth in favour more and more, and as the light increaseth to
the perfect day. This should comfort us against all our weaknesses
and infirmities : Ps. xvii. 15, ' As for me, I will behold thy face in
righteousness ; I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.'
Use 2. It informeth us :
1. That our condition in Christ is in this regard better than our
condition would have been if Adam had stood in innocency. Adam
could only convey to us what he ha(J received ; but Christ is a better
root ; we have in Christ whatever we lost in Adam, the first root, and
more, more than we lost. Christ, being God-man, must needs have
the image of God in greater perfection ; now we are not renewed to
the image of the first Adam, but of the second. Oh ! the depth of the
divine mercy and wisdom, that hath made our fall to be a means of
our preferment !
2. It informeth us what we may look for, even for what Christ is in
glory ; we have a glimpse of it in his transfiguration, in his giving the
law. Let our thoughts be more explicit about this matter.
Use 3. It is an engagement to holiness. We expect to be as Christ
is, therefore let us not carry ourselves sordidly, like swine wallowing
in the mire : 1 John iii. 3, ' And he that hath this hope in him puri-
fieth himself, even as he is pure/ We expect a sinless state, not a
Turkish paradise. That body that is made an instrument of whoredom
and drunkenness, shall it be like Christ's glorious body? Those
affections that shall be ravished with the enjoyment of God, shall they
be prostituted to the world ? and that mind which is made for the
VER. 22.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 59
sight of God, serve only to make provision for the flesh ? shall it be
filled with chaff and vanity ?
3. Observe that glory is the fruit of union, as well as grace. The
spiritual union is begun here, but it is accomplished in the next life.
Here we are crucified, quickened, ascend, and sit down with Christ in
heavenly places : Eph. ii. 5, 6, ' Even when we were dead in sins hath
he quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together,
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus ; ' Col. i.
27, ' Christ in you the hope of glory.' Christ in us will not leave till
he bringeth us to heaven. In this life we cannot come to him ; the
state of mortality is a state of absence ; therefore Christ will come to
us, but with an intent to bring us to himself, that we may be where
he is : ver. 24, ' Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given
me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory.' He
cometh to us where we are, that at length we may be where he is. It
is the Lord's method to bring us from death to life, from misery to
happiness, by degrees ; thousands of years cannot make up that which
was lost in an hour ; till the resurrection all is not perfected, we do
not fully discern the fruits of our union with Christ.
Use 1. To help us to conceive of the mystery of union. Some men
fancy that as soon as we are united to Christ we are actually glorified
in this life. It is true Christ is equally united to them upon earth as
to . them in heaven ; he that reigneth with the church triumphant
fighteth with the church militant ; but there is a difference in the
degree of influence and dispensation. In the blessings that he con-
ferreth upon them, he respects their different condition, and poureth
out of his own fulness as they are able to bear. The reason of this
different influence is, because they are conveyed to us voluntarily, not
by necessity : Phil. ii. 13, ' It is God which worketh in you, both to
will and to do, of his good pleasure.' He gives more or less comfort,
grace, joy, as he pleaseth ; his grace floweth into his members, not by
a necessity of nature, but according to his own pleasure. Give him
leave to handle his mystical body as he handled his natural body.
His natural body grew by degrees, and the capacity of his human soul
was enlarged by degrees, else how could he ' increase in wisdom as
well as stature ' ? Luke ii. 40. There was a perfect union between
the divine and human nature at first, yet the divine nature manifested
itself by degrees, not in such a latitude in childhood as in grown age.
Sothough there is a perfect union between Christ and the soul at first
conversion, yet the influence of grace and comfort is given out according
to the measure of our capacity. All believers upon earth are united
to Christ, yet all have not a like degree Of manifestation and influence.
As all the members of the body are united to the same head, and
animated by the same soul, yet all the members grow according to
the measure of a part ; we cannot expect a finger should be as big as
an arm. So all that are united to Christ receive influences according
to their capacities ; those that are glorified, glorious influences ; those
that are militant, influences proper to their state.
Use 2. It serveth to quicken those that are united to Christ to look
for 'greater things than they do yet enjoy : John i. 50, ' Thou shalt
see greater things than these ; ' another manner of union and com-
60 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SEE. XXXVIII.
munion with God through Christ. There is a mighty difference
between our communion with God here and there. The saints in
heaven have union with God by sight, as the saints on earth by faith :
2 Cor. v. 7, ' For we walk by faith, not by sight ; ' and faith cannot go
so high as feeling and fruition. Now we are unfit for converse with
God, because of our blindness and darkness, as men of weak parts are
not fit company for the strong. But then our faculties are more
enlarged. Grace regulates the faculty, but it doth not alter and
change the faculty. God's communications are more full and free,
and we are more receptive. Here we have dark souls and weak
bodies ; the old bottles would break if filled with the new wine of
glory. At Christ's transfiguration, 'the disciples were astonished,
and fell on their faces,' Mat. xvii. 6 ; but in heaven, the sight of
Christ's glory will be ravishing, no terror. Here we are amazed at
the sight of an angel ; but there is a perfect suitableness between us
and God, and therefore a more perfect union and communion. God
more delighteth in the saints, as having more of his image ; and the
saints more delight in God, as being freed from sin. God loveth to
look on what he hath made when he hath raised a worm to such an
excellency. It is there continued without interruption ; here our
communion with God is sweet, but short, it cometh by glimpses ; but
there it is for ever and ever, not only in regard of duration, but con
tinuance without ceasing. The Spirit of God came on Samson at
times. In heaven there is nothing to divert us from the sight of God ;
we are withdrawn from all other objects, that we may study him alone
without weariness
Use 3. It directeth us in what order we should seek these things ;
first grace, then glory : Ps. Ixxxiv. 11, ' The Lord will give grace and
glory;' Ps. Ixxiii. 24, 'Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and
afterwards receive me to glory;' Eph. v. 26, 27, 'That he might
sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water, by the word, that he
might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or
wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without
blemish.' Here the first lineaments are drawn by the Spirit of
sanctification, whilst the soul remaineth in the body, as a pledge of a
more perfect, state : ' God hath called us to glory and virtue,' 2 Peter
i. 3. As they were to go through the temple of virtue to the temple
of honour.
4. Observe, there is no privilege which we have but what Christ
enjoyed first. Christ had it all, and from him we have it ; he was the
purchaser and the natural heir ; it is in us at the second-hand ; we are
elected, sanctified, glorified in and through him. Whatever is in us
that are members, it is in our head first; first God, then Christ as
mediator, and then we. All good is first in Christ, he receiveth it,
and conveyeth it. We ascend ; why ? because he ascended first ;
we sit in heavenly places, because he did first.
Use 1. In times of desertion, when we see nothing in ourselves, look
upon Christ as a depositary, the first receptacle of grace ; he is justi
fied, sanctified, ascended, glorified ; and encourage thyself to take hold
of Christ, that thou mayest have all these things in him.
Use 2. To be thankful to God for Christ : ' Blessed be the God
VER. 22.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 61
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,' Eph. i. 3. Let us
never bless God for what we enjoy, but still remember Christ.
Use 3. It presseth us to get a union with Christ : 1 Cor. iii. 22, 23,
* All are yours, for you are Christ's, and Christ is God's ; ' that we
may not look on Christ as an abstracted head. All that Christ hath,
he hath it for us.
5. Observe from those words, 'I have given them;' it may be
objected that we see no such matter ; Christ's members are poor
despicable dust and ashes, more afflicted than others. How then can
it be said, This glory ' I have given them' ? Ans. Christ hath
acquired a right. Observe, the glory that is given to us by Christ is
as surely ours as if we were in the actual possession of it : John iii.
36, ' He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life.' How
hath he it ?
[1.] He hath it in capite : it is done in regard of Christ, with whom
we make one mystical body. The most worthy part of the body is in
heaven, the head is there : Eph. ii. 6, ' And hath raised us up toge
ther, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ.' We are
already glorified in Christ, though not in ourselves. Christians take
possession in their head, as Christ hath taken possession in their
names.
[2.] They have it in the promises. The promise is the root of the
blessing ; you have a fair charter to show for it. God standeth bound
in point of promise. God is very tender of his word ; you will see it
in all the other promises when you put him to trial. The promise of
God is but the declaration of his purpose : Heb. vi. 17, 18, ' Wherein
God willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the
immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two
immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, ye may
have strong consolation.' You have a lease to show for it ; a man
doth not carry his inheritance upon his back.
[3.] They have the first-fruits of it, which differ only in degree from
glory : Rom. viii. 23, ' And not only they, but ourselves also, which
have the first-fruits of the Spirit ; even we ourselves groan within our
selves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.'
We have the earnest in hand. That portion of the Spirit which we
have received is given us for security. Wherefore this fitting and
preparing, these groans, are grounds of confidence. If a vessel be
formed, it is for some use. All this would else be lost. And do you
think God will lose his earnest ? The beginnings we have here are a
taste and pledge ; here we sip, and have a foretaste of the cup of bless
ing. Union with Christ, joys of the Spirit, peace of conscience, are
the beginnings of heaven. They that live in the provinces next to
Arabia have a strong scent of the odours and sweet smells of the
spices that grow there ; so the church is the suburbs of heaven ; the
members of it begin to smell the upper paradise. The comfortable
influences of the Spirit are the taste, and the gracious influences are
the pledge and earnest, of our future inheritance.
Use 1. Let us bless God aforehand : 1 Peter i. 3-5, ' Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his
62 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SEE. XXXIX.
abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incor
ruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven
for us, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salva
tion.' The inheritance is kept for us, and we for it. We can never
want matter to bless God ; if we have nothing in hand, yet we have
much in hope.
2. Let us wait with more confidence ; we have no cause to doubt ;
we have God's word and pawn ; as sure as Christ is in heaven, we
shall be there.
3. Let us be there in affection, in earnest groans and desires, in
frequent thoughts : Horn. viii. 30, ' Whom he did predestinate, them
he also called ; and whom he called, them he also justified ; and whom
he justified, them he also glorified.
4. Let us not fear changes ; all changes will end in that which is
best for us.
SERMON XXXIX.
/ in them, and tliou in me, that they may ~be made perfect in one ; and
that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved
them, as thou hast loved me. JOHN XVII. 23.
CHRIST'S request for union is again repeated, with the advantage of
another expression, to declare the nature of it. So that in this verse
we have
1. The nature of the mystical union.
2. The end of it ; with respect to believers and the world ; their
conviction of Christ's mission, and the Father's love to the disciples.
"First, The nature of this union further declared, ' I in them, and
thou in me.'
Here first observe, that one union is the ground of another. Christ
and the Father are one, and then Christ and we are one, and then we
are one, one with another. The assumed nature is united to the
divine essence in Christ's person ; and so he, as mediator, is one with
the Father ; and then we by the communion of the Spirit are not
only united to the head, but to our fellow-members.
There are two unions spoken of in this verse.
1. With God, that is implied ; the Father is a believer's as well as
Christ : John xiv. 23, ' My Father will love him, and we will come to
him, and make our abode with him.' Why then doth Christ say, ' I
in them ' ? Not to exclude the Father ; for he presently addeth, ' Thou
in me.' Christ speaketh as mediator, to show that he is the cause,
way, and means. He is the Jacob's ladder: John i. 51 ' Verily I say
unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven opened, and the angels of
God ascending and descending upon the Son of man/
2. There is a union with Christ immediately ; that is formally ex
pressed, ' I in them.' And then between us and others of the same
body, ' That they may be made perfect in one ; ' all drawn up into
VER. 23.]
SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII.
63
unity with God in Christ. First, God descendeth in the person of
Christ, and then we all ascend by Christ, and come up to Ga again.
Thus the personal union maketh way for the mystical, and tn mystical
for our joint communion with God in the same body. This is the
great mystery that hath been driving on from all eternity, the Father
is the beginning and ending, and Christ the means. All influence
cometh from God through Christ, and our tendency is to him through
Christ : 1 Cor. viii. 6, ' To us there is but one God, the Father, of
whom are all things, and we in him ; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom are all things, and we by him.' All mercies come to us, and
our services and respects go to God, through Christ. The reason is,
we are departed from God by sin ; so that God is removed from us,
and God is against us, at a distance, and at an enmity ; and we are
fugitives and exiles, as Adam ran away from God before he was
banished out of his presence. Therefore Christ is not only a meri
torious cause of the union that is between us and God, but also the
bond and tie of it. To satisfy God offended, this he might do as a
Saviour without us ; but to be a means of influence on God's part, and
respect and service on ours, to convey grace, and return service, he must
be in us : 'I in them.' As exiles, we are taken into grace and favour
by the merit of Christ ; and as fugitives, we are brought into unity
again by his Spirit working in us. Therefore it is said : Eph. i. 10,
'That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and
which are on earth, even in him.' There God descendeth, and we
ascend. All the scattered elect are brought into a body, to receive
influences of grace from God as a fountain, through Christ as a con
veyance. So Eph. ii. 18. ' For through him we have an access by one
Spirit unto the Father.' All believers are united into a body by the
communion of Christ's Spirit, that by Christ they may perform service
to God, and receive grace from him.
Use. Is to prize Christ as mediator, and to make use of him in your
addresses to God. Heathens had many ultimate objects of worship,
and many mediators ; we have but one.
1. If you perform anything to God, do it in and through Christ, 'in
whom he is well pleased,' Mat. iii. 17. A holy God will accept nothing,
but as tendered in Christ's name. We cannot endure the majesty of
his presence : Col. iii. 17, ' And whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do
all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father
by him ; ' by the assistance of his grace and dependence upon his
merit, that is to do all in Christ's name. We are made amiable to
God in Christ; out of Christ we are odious to God: Ps. xiv. 2, 3,
' The Lord looketh down from heaven upon the children of men, to see
if there were any that did understand and seek God. They are all
gone aside, they are altogether become filthy ; there is none that doeth
good, no, not one.' Once God looked on the creatures all good, but
that was in innocency ; after the fall he looked on the creatures, and
all are become filthy ; it is not meant of any particular sort of men, but
all in their natural condition. The apostle bringeth that place to prove
the universal corruption of nature, Kom. iii. 10, that is, out of Christ.
But as he looketh on us in Christ, so we are amiable ; he is well-pleased
64 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVI I. [SflR. XXXIX.
in him : it is proclaimed from heaven, that we might not be afraid to
go to God.
2. If you expect anything from him, you must expect it in Christ.
Christ is not only the meritorious cause, but the means. All we look
for is not only from him, but in him. As God first loveth Christ, then
loveth us ; he is the primum amabile, the first beloved of all ; so he is
first in Christ, and then in us ; he is primum recipiens, the first object
of blessing and grace : 1 Cor. iii. 22, 23, ' All are yours, for you are
Christ's, and Christ is God's.' We have it at second-hand, Christ
cometh between God and us, to convey the influences and bounty of
heaven to us. Therefore it is said : 2 Cor. i. 20, ' All the promises of
God in him are Yea, and in him Amen.' God doth whatever we desire
him, in him. God doth not bless us as persons Distinct from Christ,
but as members of his body. There is as much need of the union of
our persons to the person of Christ, as there was of the union of the
human nature to the divine nature. Christ must be in us, as well as
God in Christ ; we must be Christ's as well as Christ is God's. The
mediator hath an interest in God, and you must have an interest in
the mediator. Look, as by the personal union, Christ merited all for
us ; so, by the union of persons, he conveyeth all to us. Christ could
not suffer till he had united our flesh to his godhead ; and we cannot
receive the virtue of his sufferings till he unites our person to his
person.
Secondly, Observe, Christ is in us, as God is in Christ. The two
unions are often compared in this chapter ; and here it is said, ' I in
them, and thou in me.' How is God in Christ ? By unity of essence,
and by constant influence ; and so is Christ in us. (1.) God is in
Christ by unity of essence, or co-essential existency ; Christ and He
communicates in the same nature : ' The fulness of the godhead dwelt
in him bodily/ Col. ii. 9. Now there is something which answereth
to this in the mystical union ; there is a communion of spirit between
us and Christ, though not the same nature. The same Spirit dwelleth
in Christ acofiariKws, bodily, that is, essentially ; in us TrvevpaTuews,
spiritually ; we partake of the divine nature in some gifts and qualities.
(2.) By constant influence. God is in Christ by a communication of
life, virtue, and operation.
1. The Father is the perpetual beginning, foundation, and root of
life to Christ as mediator : John vi. 57, ' As the living Father hath
sent me, and I live by the Father ; so he that eateth me, even he shall
live by me.' So is Christ to us : Gal. ii. 20, ' Nevertheless I live ; yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life that I live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself
for me.'
2. The divine essence sustained the person of Christ as mediator.
The humanity could not subsist of itself, but by constant influence from
the godhead : Isa. xlii. 1, ' Behold my servant, whom I uphold.' Christ
had constant sustentation from the Father ; he upheld him, and carried
him through the work. So are we ' preserved in Jesus Christ,' Jude 1.
We have not only the beginning and principle of life from Christ, but
constant support. We can no more keep ourselves than make our
selves ; all things depend upon their first cause.
VER. 23.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 65
3. The Father concurreth to all the operations and actions of Christ,
and so the Father is in Christ as he worketh in him : John xiv. 10,
' Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me ?
The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself ; but the Father,
that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.' The divine power was in
terested in Christ's works as mediator, especially in the miracles that
he wrought to confirm the truth of his person. So is Christ in believers,
as he worketh in them all their works for them : John xv. 5, ' I am the
vine, ye are the branches : he that abideth in me, and I in him, the
same bringeth forth much fruit ; for without me ye can do nothing.'
He doth not say, nihil magnum, no great thing ; but, nihil, nothing
at all. Thinking is the most sudden and transient act ; sure the new
nature there may get the start of corruption. But, 2 Cor. iii. 5, ' Not
that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves,
but our sufficiency is of God.' Actions are more deliberate, there is
more scope for the interposition of corrupt nature ; but of ourselves we
cannot think a good thought.
What use shall we make of this ?
Use 1. If Christ be in us, as God was in Christ, let us manifest it as
Christ did. Christ manifested the Father to be in him by his works :
John x. 37, 38, ' If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not ;
but if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works, that ye may
know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him/ Works and
miracles exceeding the power and force of nature showed that Christ
was a divine person ; sure the Father is in him, or else he could not do
these works. So St James puts hypocrites upon the trial, ' Show me
thy faith by thy works,' James ii. 18. Do we do any works exceeding
the power of corrupt nature ? That would be a proof of Christ's work
ing in you. When Jacob counterfeited Esau, Isaac felt his hands.
So what are your works ? If you walk as men, do no more than an
ordinary man, that hath not the Spirit of God, where is the proof of
Christ's working in you ? Many boast of Christ in them ; if Christ
were in them, he would be there, as the Father was in Christ ; they
would bewray it by their operations. You may know what is within
by what cometh out ; if Christ be within thee, there will come out
prayer, sighs, and groans for heaven, fruitful discourses, heavenly walk
ing, a mortified conversation ; all this cometh out, because Christ is
within. But now, when ye belch out filthy discourses, rotten com
munication, there is nothing cometh out but vanity and sin, how
dwelleth Christ in you ? are these the fruits of his presence ?
Use 2. Learn dependence upon Christ. All the power we have to
work is from Christ. Whence hath the body the vigour it hath to
work, and to move from place to place, but from the soul? And
whence hath a Christian his power but from Christ ? We derive all
our strength from Christ. We are as glasses without a bottom ; they
cannot stand of themselves, but they are broken in pieces. Christ can
do all things without us, but we can do nothing without him, as the
soul can subsist apart from the body ; Christ hath no need of us, but
we cannot live and act without him. Sine te nihil, in te totum possumus
Phil. iv. 13, ' I can do all things through Christ, which strengthened
me.' The apostle doth not speak it to boast of his power, but to pro-
VOL. XI. E
66 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [&ER. XXXIX.
fess his dependence. It was never seen that a father would cast away
the child that hangeth on him.
Thirdly, I shall now speak of Christ's being in believers apart, that
I may a little enforce this argument. How is Christ in believers ?
We must not go too high, nor too low. It is not to be understood
essentially, so he is everywhere, and cannot be more peculiarly in one
than in another : ' Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ? or whither
shall I flee from thy presence ? ' Ps. cxxxix. 7. He is here, and there,
and everywhere, in heaven, in earth, in hell. Personally he is not in
us ; that cannot be without a personal union ; if the Spirit were per
sonally in us, that would make us to become one person with the Holy
Ghost, as the divine and human nature make but one person ; but
mystically, with respect to some peculiar operations which he worketh
in us, and not in others. Christ is in us as the head is in the members,
by influence of life and motion ; not such influence as tendeth to life
natural so natural men live in him, move in him, and have their being
in him; the^e is a union of dependence between God and all his
creatures ; but influence with respect to life spiritual. In short, Christ
is not only in us as in a temple or house that is one way of his being
in us, therefore he is said ' to dwell in our hearts by faith/ Eph. iii.
17, but he is in us as the head in the members, and as the vine in
the branches, John xv. 1, where there is not only a presence, but an
influence. Once more, he is not only in us in a moral way, in affec
tions ; his heart is with us, and our heart is with him, and his love and
his joy is in and towards us : Prov. viii. 31, ' Kejoicing always in the
habitable parts of the earth, and my delights were with the sons of
men ; ' but he is in us in a mystical and gracious way : John xvii.
26, ' That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and
I in them.' He is in us as the soul is in the body, to give us life, sense,
vigour, and operation.
Use 1. To press us to labour after an interest in this privilege, that
Christ may be in us. It is the saddest mark if Christ be not in us :
1 Cor. xiii. 5, ' Know ye not that Christ is in you, except ye be repro
bates ? ' reprobates disallowed of God.
Let me press it :
1. If Christ be not in us, the devil is : Eph. ii. 2, ' Wherein in time
past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience.' Man's heart is not a waste ; it is occupied
by Christ or Satan. The children of disobedience are acted by the
devil and governed by the devil. Those that are cast out of the church,
which is a figure of cutting off from communion with Christ, were
given up to Satan, to show that he reigneth there where Christ doth not
take possession ; the devil entereth into them, and sendeth them head
long to their own destruction.
2. Where Christ is, there all the Trinity are : John xiv. 23, ' We
will come unto him, and make our abode with him ; ' there is Father,
Son, and Spirit. Such an one is a consecrated temple, wherein God
taketh up his residence. They do not only come as guests, to tarry
with us for a night, as the angels came to Abraham, Gen. xviii. 2 ; or
as friends come to visit, and away, and so leave more sorrow on their
VER. 23.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 67
departure than joy in their presence ; but they will abide with us for
ever. Heaven is where God is ; this heaven we have upon earth, that
all the persons take up their abode in our hearts. God knocketh at
the door of a wicked man's heart, but doth not enter, much less have
his abode and residence there. Here is the Father as a fountain of
grace, Christ as mediator, and the Spirit as Christ's deputy, to work all
in us. This is his second heaven, one above the clouds, and another
in our hearts. Oh ! what a condescension is it, that God should not
only pardon us, and admit us into his presence hereafter, be familiar
with us, when we have put on our robes of glory, but dwell in us here !
When Christ was about to go to heaven, and his disciples were troubled
at it, then he leaveth us this promise. We cannot go to God, but
God will come to us, not only give us a visit, but take up his abode
in us.
3. Wherever the Trinity are, there is a blessing left behind. The
presence of earthly princes is costly and burdensome, because of their
train and the charges of entertainment ; but the Trinity are blessed
guests ; they never come but bring their welcome with them, and a
blessing in their hands. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost do not
come empty-handed. The Son of God came to Abraham with two
angels, but he came not without a gift, a promise of a child, though
their bodies were dry and dead, Gen. xviii. Wheresoever Christ came
in the days of his flesh, he left some mercy behind. While in the
womb of the virgin, he came into the house of Zacharias, and
Zacharias and Elizabeth his wife were both rilled with the Holy Ghost,
Luke i. 41. He came into Peter's house, and brought deliverance for
Peter's wife's mother from a fever, Mat. viii. 15. He came to Caper
naum, and brought with him to the man sick of the palsy health
for his body and a pardon for his soul, Mat. ix. 2. He came to the
house of Jairus, and raised his daughter, ver. 23. He came to the
house of Zaccheus, and brought salvation with him, Luke xix. 9.
Everywhere wherever he went, trace him, you will find he left a bless
ing behind him. Laban thrived better for Jacob, the house of Obed-
Edom for the ark. In these short visits Christ left a blessing, but in
a gracious soul they have a perpetual residence ; it is fit these blessed
guests should have good entertainment.
4. It is a pledge that we shall have more : ' Christ in us the hope
of glory,' Col. i. 29. He dwelleth in us to fit us for heaven. It is
heaven begun ; it makes our exile a paradise. It is still growing, till
it cometh to a complete presence in heaven. Where he is once in
truth, there he is for ever. Temples built may stand forsaken, but God
never forsaketh his spiritual temples.
Use 2. Direction. What must we do that Christ may be in us ?
1. Make way for him. Empty the heart of all self-confidence.
When the heart is full of self, there is no room for Christ : Phil iii. 8,
9, ' Yea doubtless I count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of
the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteous
ness which is of God by faith/ First, there must be a cutting off from
68 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XXXIX.
the wild olive-tree by a sound conviction ; we must know what strangers
we are to the life of God. Was there a time when we were convinced
of this ? Eph. iv. 18, ' Having the understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them,
because of the blindness of their heart.' How can a man that was
never convinced of the sadness of his estate say, Not I, but Christ ?
2. Wait for him in the ordinances. Where should a man meet with
Christ, but in his ordinances, in the shepherds' tents ? All the ordi
nances have an aspect upon our union with Christ, either to begin or
continue it. God offereth him to us in the word : 1 Cor i. 9, ' God is
faithful, by whom ye are called to the fellowship of his Son Jesus
Christ our Lord.' We are entreated to take him. As long as they
see nothing but man in it, it cometh to nothing ; but many times, in
hearing, they see God in the offer : the matter is of the Lord, as
Bebekah yielded out of an overruling instinct. So for the religious use
of the seals. We are ' baptized into Christ/ Gal. iii. 27. It is the
pledge of our admission into that body whereof Christ is the head.
God is aforehand with us ; we were engaged to make a profession of
this union, before we had liberty to choose our own way. Let us not
retract our vows, and make baptism only a memorial of our hypocrisy,
to profess union when there is no such matter : I profess to be planted
into Christ by baptism, but I feel no such matter. Oh ! you should
groan for this ! Then for the supper of the Lord : 1 Cor. x. 16, ' The
cup of blessing which we bless, OVK\ rcowowia, is it not the communion
of the blood of Christ ? The bread which we break, is it not the com
munion of the body of Christ ? ' Under the law the people could not
eat of the sin-offering, but only the priest ; for the same reason they
were forbidden to eat sacrifice and drink blood : Lev. xvii. 11, 12, ' For
the life of the flesh is in the blood ; and I have given it to you upon
the altar to make an atonement for your souls ; for it is the blood that
niaketh an atonement for the soul. Therefore I said unto the children
of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood ; ' compared with Mat. xxvi.
26, ' This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many
for the remission of sins.' The priest was to become one with the
sacrifice, to figure Christ's person ; but now atonement being made,
another union is necessary, of sinners with the sacrifice. Nothing is so
one with us as that we eat and drink ; it becometh a part of our sub
stance ; it resembleth that strait and near conjunction between us
and Christ. This is a means appointed to engage us to look after this
union ; here we come to profess it, to promote it ; it is a means unde<r
a blessing.
3. Keceive him thankfully. Oh ! what am I, and ' whence is it to
me that the mother of my Lord should come to me ?' Luke i. 43 ; that
Christ should come to me, and dwell in my heart !
4. Entertain him kindly ; be careful to preserve the motions, quick-
enings, comforts of his Spirit. This is the respect we should show, to
be sensible of accesses and recesses, and accordingly suit our carriage.
Rejoice in his presence ; such a precious guest must be observed.
Grieve when you, do not feel the comforts of it : Cant. v. 4, 'My be
loved put in his hand at the hole of the door, and my bowels were
moved for him.'
VER. 23.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 69
Use 3. Examine whether Christ be in you or no. You may know
it:
1. By his manner of entrance. Christ is not wont to come into the
heart without opposition. The devil is loath to be dispossessed : Luke
xi. 21, 'When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are
in peace/ Christ came into the temple with a whip to drive out the
money-changers. He cometh to rule alone.
2. By the fruits of his abode life, fruitfulness, tendency.
(1.) Life. It will stir and quicken you to good duties:. Gal. iii.
20, ' I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.' He is a living foun
tain of vital union.
(2.) Fruitfulness of soul : John xv. 2, ' Every branch in me that
beareth not fruit, he taketh away; and every branch that beareth
fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit ;' and ver. 4,
' Abide in me, and I in you : as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine, no more can you, except you abide in me.'
(3.) Tendency (1.) To heaven. Heaven is the place of our full
enjoyment of him. They do not admire worldly excellences: Luke
xix. 8, ' Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor ; and if
I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore
him fourfold.' The woman left her pitcher, John iv. 28 ; Matthew
followed Christ. (2.) To God's glory as our last aim ; their aim is
according to their principle.
Secondly, I come to the end of this union.
1. With respect to believers, ' That they may be made perfect,' &c.
2. With respect to the world, and their conviction, ' That the world
may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast
loved me.'
First, With respect to believers, ' That they may be made perfect in
one,' TeT\.eia)fj,evoi ei<? ev. This oneness is either with God or with one
another. Both are included in the mystical union; we cannot be
united to the head, but we must also be united to the members. The
golden cherubims did so look to the ark and mercy-seat, that they did
also look one towards another, Exod. xxv. 20. So in this union, as we
respect God and Christ, so we must also look to our fellow-members :
' Let them be perfect in one ;' let them all centre in God, which is the
creature's perfection.
Observe, our perfect happiness lieth in oneness, in being one with
God through Christ. I shall evidence it to you in a few particulars.
1. Since the fall man's affections and thoughts are scattered :
Eccles. vii. 29, 'God hath made man upright, but they have sought out
many inventions.' When man lost his happiness, he sought out many
inventions. A sinner is full of wanderings, as a wayfaring man that
hath lost his direction turneth up and down, and knows not where to
pitch ; or the needle in the compass, when it is jogged, shaketh and
wavereth, and knoweth not where to rest, till it turneth to the pole
again. There is a restlessness in our desires ; still we have new pro
jects, and know not where to pitch ; are not content with what we do
possess ; this is not the pole where we rest. Qucerunt in vanitate crea-
turarum quod amisserunt in imitate Creatoris. A river, the further it
runneth from the fountain, the more it is dispersed into several
70 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [&ER. XXXIX.
streams. Blindness maketh us grope and feel about for happiness, as
the Sodomites did for Lot's door. We change objects, striving to
meet with that in one thing which we cannot find in another, as bees
fly and go from flower to flower ; we seek to patch up things as well
as we can.
2. In all this chase and distraction of thoughts there is no content
ment in the vast world, nothing that can satiate the heart of man.
Transitory things may divert the soul, but they cannot content it.
After Solomon's survey, Eccles. i. 2, ' Vanity of vanities, saith the
preacher ; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.' He had made many ex
periments, but still found himself disappointed, and disappointment is
the worst vexation.
3. This distraction continueth till we return to CJ-od again : 1 Peter
ii. 25, ' Ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the
shepherd and bishop of your souls.' There is no safety but in the
fold. God, who is the principle of our being, is the only object of our
contentment. We began in a monad or unity, and there we end.
God is the boundary of all things : Kom. xi. 36, ' For of him, and
through him, and to him, are all things ; to whom be glory for ever,
Amen.' In him, or nowhere, the soul findeth content. He is our
first cause and our last end. There are some scrictures and rays of
.goodness in the creature, but they cannot satisfy, because there we
have happiness by parcels ; it is dispersed. Nothing is dispersed in
the creature but what is re-collected in the creator ; there is all in him,
because all came out from him.
4. The great work of grace is to return us to God again, that we
may pitch upon him as the chief object and centre of our rest : Jer.
xxxii. 39, ' I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may
fear me for ever.' It is the great blessing of the covenant; this one
heart is to pitch upon God as the chief object and centre of our rest,
otherwise we are troubled with divers cares, fears, and desires. Thus
grace worketh upon us. But the distance lieth not only on our part,
but God's. Before God and the creature can be brought together,
justice must be satisfied. Christ came to restore us to our primitive
condition : 2 Cor. v. 19, ' God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself.' The merit of Christ bringeth God to us, and the Spirit
of Christ bringeth us to God. It is as necessary Christ should be
united to us, as we to God.
5. Our happiness in God is completed by degrees. In this life, the
foundation is laid : we are reconciled to him upon earth ; but the
complete fruition we have in heaven ; there we are fully made perfect
in one. Here there is weakness in our reconciliation : we do not
cleave to him without distraction ; there are many goings a-whoring
and wandering from God after our return to him. And here, on God's
part, our punishment is continued in part. God helpeth us by means,
at second and third hand. We need many creatures, and cannot be
happy without them ; we need light, meat, clothes, house. Our life
is patched up by supplies from the creature. But there ' God is all,
and in all,' 1 Cor. xv. 28. We find in God whatever is necessary for
us without means and outward helps. There ' God is all, and in all ;'
he is our house, clothes, meat, ordinances. We have all immedi-
VER. 23.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 71
ately from God, and ' in all ; ' all are made perfect in one. We can
not possess any thing in the world except we encroach upon one
another's happiness. Worldly things cannot be divided (Without
lessening ; and we take that from others which we possess ourselves.
Envy showeth the narrowness of our comforts. But there the happi
ness of one is no hindrance to another, all are gratified, and none
miserable ; as the sun is a common privilege, none have less because
others have more. All possess God as their happiness without want
and jealousy.
Use. If to be drawn into unity and oneness with God be our hap
piness and perfection, then take heed of two things (1.) Of sin,
which divides God from you ; (2.) Of doting upon the creatures,
which withdraweth you from God.
1. Of sin, which maketh God stand at a distance from you : Isa.
lix. 2, ' Your iniquities have separated between you and your God,
and your sins have hid his face from you.' As long as sin remaineth in
full power, there cannot be any union at all. ' What communion hath
light with darkness ? ' And the more it is allowed, the more it hin-
dereth the perfection of the union. What is the reason we do not
fully grow up to be one with God in this life, that our communion
with him is so small ? Sin is in the way ; the less holy you are, the
less you have of this happiness, such unspeakable joys, lively influ
ences of grace, and immediate supplies from heaven. In bitter afflic
tions, we have most communion with God many times ; that is nothing
so evil as sin ; as afflictions abound, so do our comforts.
2. Of doting upon the creatures, which withdraweth your heart
from God. The more the heart is withdrawn from God, the more
miserable. Let the object be never so pleasing, it is an act of spiritual
whoredom. Sin is poison, creatures are not bread : Isa. Iv. 2, ' Why
do you spend your money upon that which is not bread ? and your
labour for that which satisfieth not ? ' It cannot yield any solid con
tentment to the soul. These things are short uncertain things, beneath
the dignity of the soul. There is a restlessness . within ourselves,
and envy towards others ; they are not enough for us and them too.
Not for us ; if enough for the heart, not for the conscience. If God
do but arm our own thoughts against us, as usually he doth when the
affections are satisfied with the world, he will show you that the whole
soul is not satisfied ; therefore he awakeneth conscience ; as children
catch at butterflies, the gawdy wings melt away in their fingers, and
there remaineth nothing but an ugly worm. Desertion is occasioned
by nothing so much as carnal complacency. Many times the object
of our desires is blasted ; but if not, God awakeneth conscience, and
all the world will not allay one pang.
You may understand this oneness with respect to our fellow-mem
bers ; and so you may understand it jointly of the completeness of the
whole mystical body, or singly of the strength of that brotherly affection
each member hath to another. There is a double imperfection for the
present in the church ; every member is not gathered, and those that
are gathered are not come to their perfect growth. So that ' let them
be perfect in one,' is that the whole body may attain to the integrity
of parts and degrees.
72 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XXXIX.
First, Let us take it collectively ; that they may all be gathered into
a perfect body, and no joints lacking.
Observe, that all the saints of all places and all ages make but one
perfect body. In this sense the glorified saints are not perfect without
us : Heb. xi. 40, ' God having promised some better thing for us, that
they without us should not be made perfect/ It is no derogation, for
Christ is not perfect without us. The church is called ' The fulness of
him that filleth all in all/ Eph. i. 23. They are, as to their persons,
perfect, free from sin and misery, made perfect in holiness and glory ;
but not as to their church relation. So Eph. iv. 13, ' Till we all come to
the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ/
All the body must be made up that Christ mystical may be complete.
Now there are some joints lacking ; all the elect are not gathered.
Use 1. See the honour that is put upon the saints ; the saints on
earth, and the saints in heaven make but one family : Eph. iii. 15, ' Of
whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named/ In a great
house there are many rooms and lodgings, some above, some below, but
they make but one house ; so of saints, some are militant, some trium
phant, and yet all make but one assembly and congregation : Heb. xii.
23, ' We are come to the general assembly, and church of the first
born, which are written in heaven ; ' we upon earth are come to them.
Our Christ is the same, we are acted by the same Spirit, governed by
the same head, and shall be conducted to the same glory. As in the
state of grace some are before us in Christ, so some are in heaven
before us, their faces once as black as yours. We have the same
ground to expect heaven, only they are already entered.
Use 2. It is a ground of hope, we shall all meet together in one
assembly: Ps. i. 5, ' The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous/ Now the saints are
scattered up and down, where they may be most useful ; then all shall
be gathered together ; then shall be that great rendezvous, when the
four winds shall give up their dead ; then the wicked shall be herded,
they shall be bound up in bundles, as straws and sticks bound up
together in a bundle serve to set one another on fire, Mat. xiii. 40-42 ;
adulterers together, and drunkards together, and thieves together, and
so increase one another's torment. So all the godly shall meet in a
congregation, and never be separated more. You do not only groan
and wait for it, but the departed saints also : Rev. vi. 9, 10, 'I saw
under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God,
and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud
voice, saying, How long, Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge
and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ?' As in a
wreck, those that get first to shore are longing for and looking for their
companions. This is the communion between us and saints departed ;
they long for our company, as we for theirs ; we praise God for them,
they groan for us ; we long and wait, by joint desires, for that happy
day.
Use 3. It is an engagement to the churches of all parts to maintain
a common intercourse one with another. All maketh but one body.
We should pray for them whom we have not seen in the flesh, Col. ii.
VER. 23.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 73
2, and send relief to them, as the church at Antioch to Jerusalem
when the famine was foretold, Acts xi., latter end ; and, as God giveth
opportunities, meet and consult for one another's welfare. But the
world is not ripe for this yet.
Use 4. It giveth you assurance of the continuance of the ministry as
long as the world continueth. As long as the world continueth there
are elect to be gathered : 2 Peter iii. 9, * The Lord is not slack con
cerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering
to us- ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should
come to repentance.' The ship tarrieth till all the passengers be taken
in, and then they launch out into the deep. The great aim of Christ in
keeping up the world is to make his body complete ; and as long as
the elect are to be gathered, the ministry is to continue : Eph. iv. 11,
12, ' He gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and some, evange
lists ; and some, pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.'
The workmen are not dismissed till the house be built.
Secondly, Understand it singly and severally, ' That they may be
made perfect in one ; ' that is, that there may be a perfect oneness
between member and member of Christ's body, or a brotherly affection
which one member hath to another.
Observe, no less union will content Christ but what is perfect. This
was the aim of his prayers ; then strive for it, wait for it.
1. Strive for it : 1 Cor. i. 10, ' Now I beseech you, brethren, by the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and
that there be no divisions among you ; but that ye be perfectly joined
together in the same mind, and in the same judgment.' We should
all strive together, as if we had but one scope, one interest, one heart.
We should grow up to this perfection more and more. Oh ! what
conscience should we make of keeping the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace ! If we are not one in opinion, yet we should have one
aim and scope. Let us concur in one object and rule, and as far as
we have attained to the knowledge of it, let us walk together.
2. Wait for it. The perfection of our communion is in life eternal.
Here it is begun, we are growing to the perfect day : Prov. iv. 18,
' The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and
more unto the perfect day.' Ibi Lutherus et Zuinglius optime con-
veniunt. We are going thither where Hooper and Ridley, Luther and
Zuinglius, shall be of a mind. In heaven they are all of one mind,
one heart, one employment ; there is neither pride, nor ignorance, nor
factions to divide us, but all agree in one concert.
Secondly, The end as to the world, their conviction, 'That the
world may know that thou hast sent me, and that thou hast loved
them as thou hast loved me.' When is the world convinced, and
how ? I shall answer both together In part here, and fully hereafter.
1. In part here, by Christ's being and working in them, by the life
of Christ appearing in their conversations.
2. Fully and finally at the last judgment, by the glory put upon
them. The reprobate world shall know, to their cost, when they
shall see them invested with such glory, that they were the darlings
of God.
74 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XXXIX.
But of what shall the world be convinced ? Of Christ's mission
and the saints' privileges, that Christ was authorised by God as the
doctor of the church, and the saints are dearly beloved of God.
Observe, there are two things God is tender of, and two things the
world is ignorant of his truth, and his saints.
1. God prizeth these above all things.
[1.] His gospel; and therefore would have the world convinced that
Christ was sent as a messenger from the bosom of God.
[2.] His saints ; and therefore he would have them convinced of his
love to them, and that he hath taken them into his protection, as he
did the person of Christ. What should people regard but these two,
especially since God hath put his little ones to nurse, and bid them be
wise to learn his truths ?
2. The world is most ignorant of these two ; of the divine authority
of the gospel, and therefore they slight it, and refuse it as much as
they do ; and of the dearness of his saints, therefore they persecute
and molest them, and use them hardly. The world may be well
called ' darkness,' Eph. v. 8, because they are ignorant of two things
which do most concern them.
But let us speak more particularly of that wonderful and myste
rious expression, ' That thou hast loved them, as thou hast love,d me.
Observe three things (1.) That God loveth Christ ; (2.) That God
loveth the saints as he loved Christ ; (3.) That Christ would have the
world know so much, and be convinced of it.
Observe, first, that God loveth Christ as the first object of his love :
' This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,' Mat. iii. 17. He
is his dear Son: Col. i. 13, 'Who hath delivered us from the power
of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.'
God saw all the works of his hands that they were good. He de-
lighteth in the creatures, much more in his Son. He loveth Christ
as God, and as mediator, as God-man.
1. As God ; so he is primum amdbile, the first object of his love, as
his own express image, that represents his attributes exactly. He is
the first Son, the natural Son, as we are adopted ones ; and so his soul
taketh an infinite contentment in Christ, before hill or mountain were
brought forth : Prov. viii. 30, 31, ' Then was I with him, as one
brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing tlway
before him, rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth/ &c. As two
that are bred up together take delight in one another.
2. As mediator ; he loveth the human nature of Christ freely. The
first object of election was the flesh of Christ assumed into the divine
person: Col. i. 19, 'It pleased the Father that in him should all
fulness dwell;' it deserved not to be united to the divine person.
When it was united, the dignity and holiness of his person deserved
love. There was the fulness of the godhead in him bodily, the Spirit
without measure, all that is lovely. And then, besides the excellency
of his person, there was the merit of his obedience ; he deserved to be
loved by the Father for doing his work : John x. 17, ' Therefore doth my
Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again ; '
that was a new ground of love. Christ's love to us was a further cause
of God's love to him. Thus you see how God loveth Christ.
VER. 23.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 75
Use 1. It giveth us confidence in both parts of Christ's priestly
office his oblation and intercession. His oblation: Mat. iii. 17,
' This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." God hath
proclaimed it from heaven that he is well pleased with Christ stand
ing in our room, thovfgh so highly offended with us, and with him for
our sake : Eph. i. 6, ' To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein
he hath made us accepted in the beloved/ All that come under his
shadow will be accepted with God. He is beloved, and will be ac
cepted in all that he doeth ; his being beloved answereth our being
unworthy of love. Surely he will love us for his sake, who hath pur
chased love for us. His intercession : if the Father loveth Christ, we
may be confident of those petitions we put up in his name : John xvi.
23, ' Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it
you.' Our advocate is beloved of God. When we pray in the name
of Christ, according to the will of God, our prayer is in effect Christ's
prayer. If you send a child or servant to a friend for anything in
your name, the request is yours ; and he that denieth the child or ser
vant denieth you. When we come in a sense of our own unworthi-
ness, on the score and account of being Christ's disciples, and with a
high estimation of Christ's worth and credit with the Father, and that
he will own us, that prayer will get a good answer.
Use 2. It is a pledge of the Father's love to us ; and if God gave
Christ, that was so dear to him, what can he withhold ? Kom. viii. 32,
' He that spared not his own Son, but gave him up to the death for
us all, how will he not with him also freely give us all things?' He
spared him not ; the Son of his love was forsaken and under wrath ;
and will he then stick at anything ? God's love is like himself, in
finite ; it is not to be measured by the affection of a carnal parent.
Yet he gave up Christ. Love goeth to the utmost ; had he a greater
gift, he would have given it. How could he show us love more than
in giving such a gift as Christ ? John xvi. 22, ' The Father himself
loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came
forth from God.' God hath a respect for those that believe in Christ,
and receive him as the Son of God.
Use 3. It is an engagement to us to love the Lord Jesus : 1 Cor.
xvi. 22, ' If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be
Anathema maranatha.' Shall we undervalue Christ, who is so dear
and precious with God ? Let us love him as God loved him.
1. God loved him so as to put all things into his hands: John iii.
35, ' The Father loveth the Son, and hath put all things into his
hand/ Let us own him in his person and office, and trust him with
our souls. He is intrusted with a charge concerning the elect, in
whose hands are your souls : 2 Tim. i. 12, 'I know whom I have
believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I
have committed to him against that day.'
2. God hath loved him, so as to make him the great mediator to
end all differences between God and man. God hath owned him
from heaven : Mat. iii. 17, ' This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased/ Do you love him so as to make use of him in your
communion with God ? Heb. vii. 25, ' Wherefore is he able to save
to the uttermost all that come unto God through him, seeing he
76 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SEE. XL.
ever liveth to make intercession for us.' That is the sum of all
religion.
3. God loveth him so as to glorify him in the eyes of the world :
John v. 22, 23, ' The Father judgeth no man ; but hath committed
all judgment to the Son, that all men should honour the Son, even as
they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth
not the Father that hath sent him.' Do you honour him ? Phil. i.
21, e/iol TO fjv XptcrTo?, 'To me to live is Christ,' should be every
Christian's motto. This is love, and not an empty profession. Christ
will take notice of it, and report it in heaven ; it is an endearing
argument when the Father's ends are complied with : John xvii. 10,
' And all thine are mine, and mine are thine, and I am glorified in
them/
SERMON XL.
/ in them, and tJiou in me, that they may be made perfect in one ;
and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast
loved them, as thou hast loved me. JOHN XVII. 23.
I COME now to the second observation, that God loveth the saints as he
loved Christ.
The expression is stupendous ; therefore divers interpreters have
sought to mitigate it, and to bring it down to a commodious inter
pretation.
First, Ka6w, as, is a note of causality as well as similitude. He
loveth us because he loved Christ. Therefore it is said : Eph. i. 6,
' He hath made us accepted in the beloved.' The elect are made lovely,
and fit to be accepted by God, only by Jesus Christ ; accepted both in
our state and actions as we are reconciled to him ; and all that we do
is taken in good part for Christ's sake, who was sent and intrusted
by the Father to procure this favour for us, and did all which was
necessary to obtain it. The ground of all that love God beareth
to us is for Christ's sake. There is indeed an antecedent love showed
in giving us to Christ, and Christ to us : John iii. 16, ' For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son That whoso
ever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'
The first cause of Christ's love to us was obedience to the Father ;
the Son loved us, because the Father required it ; though after
wards God loved us because Christ merited it. All consequent benefits
are procured by the merit of Christ. The Father, that is first in order
of persons, is first in order of working, and can have no higher cau^e
than his own will and purpose. And besides, there is an obligation
established to every person. Absolute elective love is the Father's
property and personal operation ; but then his eternal purpose is
brought to pass in and through Jesus Christ. In the carriage of our
salvation, Christ interposeth ; so we are chosen in him as head of the
elect, Eph. i. 4, pardoned, justified, sanctified, glorified in and through
him. All these benefits and fruits of God's love are procured by Christ's
VER. 23.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvu. 77
merit ; not only as it is the more for the freedom of grace that the
reasons why man should be loved should be without himself, and so
the obligation is increased ; and not merely neither for the greater ful
ness of our comfort ; for if God should love us in ourselves, it would
be a very imperfect love, our graces being so weak, and our services so
stained. But whence should we have this grace at first, which is the
object of his love ? He could never find in us any cause why he should
love us. God could not love us with honour to himself, if his wisdom
had not found out this way of loving us in Christ. There was a double
prejudice against us our nature was loathed by God's holiness, and
then God's justice had a quarrel against us.
1. For God's holiness. What communion could there be between
light and darkness ? God is holy by nature, and we are sinners by
nature. Nature being corrupted, God cannot love it, unless he see it
in such a person as Christ is : Ps. v. 4, 5, ' For thou art not a God that
hast pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with thee. The
foolish shall not stand in thy sight, thou hatest all workers of iniquity ; '
not only the work, but the person. Therefore we are hidden in him,
found in him ; as when a man loathes a pill, we lap it up in some
thing which he affects. God abhorred the sight of man till found
in Christ.
2. God's justice had a quarrel against us. God dealt with man by
way of covenant, and so hated man not only out of the purity of his
nature, but out of justice; his righteous anger was kindled because of
the breach of the covenant. When subjects are fallen into displeasure
with their prince, such an one as the king loveth must mediate for them.
So ' God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,' 2 Cor. v.
19. How cometh God, who seemed to be bound in point of honour
to avenge himself on sinners, to be reconciled ? In Christ he received
satisfaction. God was resolved to manifest an infinite love to man, but
he would still manifest an infinite hatred against sin ; which could not
be more fully manifested than by making Christ the ground of our
reconciliation. Thus the wisdom of God hath taken up the difference
between us and his holiness, and between us and his justice, that so
divine love may be like itself, not blind, but rational. This was the
great prejudice how could the holy God, the just God, who is not
overcome with any passion, love such vile and unworthy creatures as
we are ? The question is answered he loveth us in Christ, and for
Christ's sake.
Secondly, Take the particle Ka6a>s, as, in the ordinary acceptation.
So it signifieth srnilitude and likeness ; but then it signifieth not an
exact equality, but some kind of resemblance : ' Be ye perfect, as your
heavenly Father is perfect,' Mat. v. 48 ; ' One as we are one.' So here
(1.) There is a disparity ; (2.) A likeness.
1. A disparity ; for in all things Christ hath the pre-eminence, both
as God and as mediator.
[1.] As God ; he is most perfect, in whom God hath found all com
placency and delight : Prov. viii. 30, ' Then I was by him, as one
brought up with him ; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always
before him.' He was God, we are creatures ; he the natural Son : Ps.
ii. 7, ' Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten thee.' We the
78 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [$ER. XL.
adopted children : John i. 12, ' To as many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God.' God's love to Christ was
necessary, ours is a free dispensation : John iii. 16, ' God so loved the
world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'
[2.] As mediator ; so he is the first beloved. God loves Christ as
the first object of his love ; after Christ, he loveth those that are
Christ's. The relation begins with him: John xx. 17, 'Go to my
brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your
Father, unto my God and your God/ He is loved as the head of the
mystical body, we as members ; the head first, then the members. He
is loved for his own sake, we for his.
2. Yet there is a likeness. God loveth us with a like love.
[1.] Upon the same grounds nearness and likeness.
(1.) Nearness. He loveth Christ as .his Son, so he loveth us as his
children : 1 John iii. 1, ' Behold what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.' There
is a threefold ecce in scripture. (1.) Ecce demonstrantis, as pointing
with the finger : John i. 29, ' The next day John seeth Jesus coming
unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the
sin of the world.' It referreth to a thing or person present, and it
noteth the certainty of sense, as there he pointed at him as present ; or
to a doctrine, and then it noteth the certainty of faith : Job v. 27,
' Lo this, we have searched, so it is ; hear it, and know thou it for thy
good ; ' believe it as a certain truth. (2.) There is ecce admirantis,
as awakening our drowsy minds more attentively to consider of the
matter ; as Lam. i. 12, ' Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like
unto my sorrow.' So here, entertain it with wonder and reverence as
an important truth. (3.) Ecce exultantis, vel gratulantis, as rejoicing
and blessing ourselves in the privilege : Ps. cxxi. 4, ' Behold, he that
keepeth Israel, he neither slumbers nor sleeps/ Now all these take
place here. Behold it with faith and confidence, as a certain truth ;
behold it with reverence and wonder, as a high dignity ; behold it
with joy and delight, as a blessed privilege : as it is a certain truth, we
should believe it more firmly ; as it is an important truth, we should
consider it more seriously ; as it is a comfortable truth, we should im
prove it more effectually, to our great joy and satisfaction in all condi
tions. The wisdom of God findeth out relations between God and us,
to establish a mutual love between us. He would be known, not only
as our creator, but our father ; and indeed none is so much a father
as God is. Earthly parents have but a drop of fatherly compassion
suitable to their finite scantling ; never had any such bowels and affec
tions as our Father which is in heaven. If we look to his fatherly
bowels, none deserve th the title but he : Isa. xlix. 15, ' Can a mother
forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the
fruit of her womb ? yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget thee ; '
Mat. vii. 11, ' If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, how much more will your Father which is in heaven give
good things to them that ask him ? ' Ps. xxvii. 10, ' When my father
and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up/ Certainly
God excelleth all temporal relations ; never father had such bowels
VER. 23.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 79
and affections. We were never in the bosom of God, to know his
heart ; but the only Son of God, that came out of his bosom, he hath
told us tidings of it, and hath bidden us come boldly and call him
Father. ' When ye pray, say, Our Father.'
(2.) Likeness is another ground of love. God loveth Christ, not
only as his Son, but as his image, he being ' the brightness of his
glory, and the express image of his person/ Heb. i. 3. So he loveth
the saints, who are by grace renewed after his image : Col. iii. 10,
' And that ye put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge
after the image of him that created him ; ' and who are thereby made
' partakers of the divine nature/ 2 Peter i. 4. We lost by Adam the
image of God and the favour of God ; now, first his image is repaired
in us, then his love and favour is bestowed on us ; without this we
could not be lovely in his eye, for we are amiable in the sight of God
by reason of that comeliness he has put upon us.
[2.] There are like properties.
(1.) It is free. So was God's love to Christ's manhood ; as much
of his substance as was taken from the virgin was chosen out of grace.
Christ for his whole person deserved love, but as to his human nature,
he was himself an object of elective love as we are ; and this being as
sumed into the unity of his person, Christ was set apart by God for the
work of mediation: Isa. xlii. 1, ' Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine
elect in whom my soul delighteth ; I have put my Spirit upon him.'
Choice supposeth the preferment or acceptance of one, and refusal of
another ; so was Christ chosen as man. This the virgin acknow-
ledgeth : Luke i. 48, ' He hath regarded the low estate of his hand
maid.' He had done her an honour, the greatest that was done to
any of his servants, among which she acknowledged herself the un-
worthiest. So much of the substance of the virgin as went to the
person of Christ, and his human soul, was chosen out of mere grace.
Nay, in his divine person there was a choice which is to be referred
to the wisdom and pleasure of the Father : Col. i. 19, ' It pleased the
Father that in him should all fulness dwell.' The same account as
is given of our salvation : Mat. xi. 25, 26, ' I thank thee, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so,
Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.' So is God's love to us
free and undeserved ; his love is the reason of itself ; he loved us be
cause he loved us : Deut. vii. 7, S, ' The Lord did not set his love on
you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any peo
ple ; but because the Lord loved you.' There is the last cause, God's
act is its own law and reason, we can give no other account.
(2.) It is tender and affectionate. There is a full complacency and
delight in Christ : Mat. iii. 17, ' This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well-pleased.' His heart was taken up with him, he was full of
contentment in him ; as a husband is called ' the covering of the eyes/
because a woman should look no further. So Prov. viii. 31, ' I was
daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.' So tenderly affec-
tioned is God to the saints : Isa. Ixii. 5, ' As the bridegroom rejoiceth
over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee ;' then affections are
in their reign and height. So tender is God of his people : Zech. ii.
80 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XL.
8, c He that touclieth you, toucheth the apple of his eye.' The eye is
the most tender part, and so is the apple of the eye. Can there be a
more endearing expression ?
(3.) It is eternal. Christ as mediator was loved before the Lunda-
tion of the world in God's purpose : John xvii. 24, ' Father, I will
that they also whom thou hast given me may be with me where I am,
that they may behold my glory that thou hast given me ; for thou.
hast loved me before the foundation of the world/ And in loving
Christ he loved us ; and in choosing Christ as head of the church,
the members were included in that election, for head and body cannot
be severed. This grace was given us in Christ before the world be
gan : 2 Tim. i. 9, ' Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy
calling ; not according to our works, but according to his own pur
pose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began.' Some are not called as soon as others, but all are loved as
soon as others, even from eternity. God's love is as ancient as himself,
there was no time when God did not think of us, and love us. We
are wont to prize an ancient friend ; the ancientest friend we have
is God, who loved us not only before we were lovely, but before we
were at all. He thought of us before ever we could have a thought of
him ; after we had a being in infancy, we could not so much as know
that he loved us ; and when we came to years of discretion, we knew
how to offend before we knew how to love and serve him ; we cared
not for his love, but prostituted our hearts to other things. Let us
measure the short scantling of our lives with eternity, wherein God
showed love to us. As to our beings, we are but of yesterday ; as to
the constitution of our souls, we are sinners from the womb; and
when we are convinced of it, we adjourn and put off the love of God
to old decrepit age, when we have spent our strength in the world,
and wasted ourselves in deceitful and flesh-pleasing vanities. Now
it should shame us when we remember God's love is as ancient as his
being. Some look after God sooner than others ; but if you look after
God never so soon, God was at work before us ; those that began
earliest, as Josiah, John Baptist, find God more early providing for
their eternal welfare.
(4.) It is unchangeable ; as to Christ, so to us ; from eternity it
began, to eternity it continueth : it began before the world was, and
will continue when the world shall be no more : Ps. ciii. 17, ' The
mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting, upon them that
fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children.' It is
man's weakness to change purposes; we have good purposes, but they
are suddenly blasted ; but God's eternal purpose, that shall stand.- We
are mutable, and frequently change, out of the levity of our nature
or the ignorance of futurity ; therefore upon new events we easily
change our minds ; but God, that seeth all things at once, cannot be
deceived ; the first reasons of God's love to man are without man,
and so eternal. Among the persons of the Godhead, the Son loveth
because the Father required it ; the Father, because the Son merited
it ; and the Holy Ghost, because of the purpose of the Father ; and
the purchase of the Son abideth in our hearts, to preserve us unto
God's use, and to keep afoot his interest in us.
VER. 23.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvu. 81
Thirdly, There are the like fruits and effects of it. I shall instance
in some which are like his love to Christ.
1. Communication of secrets. All things are in common amongst
those that love one another. Said Delilah to Sampson, Judges xvi. 15,
' How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me ?
thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein
thy great strength lieth.' Now Jesus Christ knoweth all the secrets of
God: John i. 18, ' No man hath seen God at any time ; the only-
begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared
him.' Christ, lying in the Father's bosom, knoweth his nature and
his will. So it is with the saints : John xiv. 21, ' He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me ; and he
that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and
will manifest myself to him.' As God manifested himself to Christ,
so Christ will to us. Christ hath treated us as friends : John xv. 15,
' Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what
his Lord doeth ; but I have called you friends, for all things that I
have heard of my Father, I have made known unto you/ The know
ledge of God's ways is a special fruit of his love.
2. Spiritual gifts. God's love to Christ was a bounteous love : John
iii. 34, 35, ' God giveth not the Spirit by measure to him : the Father
loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hands.' God's love
was showed to Christ in qualifying the human nature with such ex
cellent gifts of grace. As to us, God's love is not barren ; as a fruit of
God's love, Christ received all things needful for us. You will
perhaps say, as they replied to God when he said, ' I have loved you,
Wherein hast thou loved us?' Mai. i. 2, because he hath not made
you great, rich, and honourable. If he hath given us such a proof
of his love as he gave to Christ, namely, such a measure of his Spirit
as is fit for us, we have no reason to murmur or complain. The
Spirit of illumination is better than all the glory of the world : Prov.
iii. 32, ' The froward is an abomination to the Lord ; but his secret is
with the righteous.' The Spirit of regeneration, to convert the heart
to God and heaven : 1 Cor. ii. 12, ' Now we have received, not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is of God, that we might know
the things that are freely given us of God.' The Spirit of consolation,
to evidence God's love to us, and our right to glory : 2 Cor. i. 22, ' Who
hath sealed us, and given the earnest of his Spirit in our hearts ; ' 2 Cor.
v. 5, ' Now he that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God,
who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.' As the end of
his love to Christ's human nature was to bring it to heaven, so the end
of God's love to us is to sanctify us, and so to make way for glory.
3. Sustentation, and gracious protection during our work and service.
This was his love to Christ : Isa. xlii. 1, ' Behold my servant whom I
uphold ; ' ' I am not alone, my Father is with me,' John viii. 16. His
enemies could not touch him till his time came: John xi. 9, 'Are
there not twelve hours in the day ? If any man walk in the day, he
stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.' As long as
the time of exercising his function here lasted, there was such a provi
dence about him as did secure him from all danger ; and till that time
was past, and the providence withdrawn, he was safe ; and when that
VOL. XI. F
82 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SEE. XL.
was out, and he seemed to be delivered to the will of his enemies, all
the creatures were in a rout, the sun was struck blind with astonish
ment, the earth staggered and reeled. So God will carry us through
our work, and keep us blameless to his heavenly kingdom ; but if we
are cut off by the violence of men, all the affairs of mankind are put
in confusion, and carried headlong, besides the confederacies of nature
disturbed, and divers judgments (as in Egypt, and the land of the
Philistines) ensue ; odium in religionis professores ; the world shall
know how dear and precious they are to God.
4. Acceptance of what we do. God accepted all that Christ did ;
it was very pleasing to God : Eph. v. 2, ' Walk in love, as Christ also
hath loved us, and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to
God for a sweet-smelling savour.' In every solemn sacrifice for the
congregation, the blood of it was brought unto the mercy-seat with a
perfume ; but Christ's sacrifice received value from his person, he being
one so dear to God, so excellent in himself. This kind of love God
showeth to us, the persons of the upright are God's delight; and then
their prayers : Cant. v. 1, ' I am come into my garden, my sister, my
spouse ; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice, I have eaten my
honeycomb with my honey.' Though our services are mingled with
weaknesses and imperfection, they shall be accepted : ' But the sacri
fice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, much more when he
bringeth it with an evil mind,' Prov. xv. 8.
5. Keward. Christ was gloriously exalted ; after his sufferings he
entered into glory, and was conducted to heaven by angels, and welcomed
by the Father, who, as it were, took him by the hand : Ps. ii. 7, 8,
' Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I
will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts
of the earth for thy possession.' So if we do what he did, we shall fare
as he fared : John xii. 26, ' If any man serve me, let him follow me,
and where I am, there shall my servant be : if any man serve me,
him will my Father honour.' When we die, we shall be conveyed to
heaven by angels : Luke xvi. 22, ' The beggar died, and was carried
by angels into Abraham's bosom;' our souls first, -then our bodies:
Phil. iii. 21, ' Who shall change our vile bodies, that they may be like
unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able
even to subdue all things to himself/ And at last we shall have a
solemn welcome into heaven : Mat. xxv. 21, ' Well done, good and
faithful servant ; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make
thee ruler over many things ; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.'
Christ is not only purchaser, but first possessor, and is gone into heaven
to prepare a place for us, to which he will at last bring us : John xiv.
2, 3, ' In my Father's house are many mansions ; if it were not so, I
would have told you : I go to prepare a place for you ; and if I go to
prepare a place, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that
where I am, there ye may be also.'
Use 1. Information, to show what ground we have of patience,
comfort, and confidence.
1. Of patience in afflictions from God. Would we be loved other
wise than Christ was loved ? We see in the person of Christ that
love may stand with fatherly correction. Christ was beloved by God,
VER. 23.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvu. 83
yet under poverty, disgrace, persecution, hunger, thirst, &c. When
Christ was hungry, the devil came unto him : Mat. iv. 3, ' If thou be
the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.' So he
taketh advantage of our troubles and afflictions to make us question
our adoption ; but we may retort the argument : Heb. xii. 7, 8, ' If
ye endure chastisement, God dealeth with you as with sons ; for what
son is he whom the father chasteneth not ? But if ye be without
chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not
sons/ Brambles are not pruned, but vines. God loved Christ in the
lowest degree of his abasement, as much as at other times. Shall I
desire to be otherwise beloved of God than Christ was ? Nay ; God's
love may stand with sad suspensions of soul-comforts : Mat. xxvii. 46,
' My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? ' The natural Son
was in the love of God when at the worst ; God loved him still, though
he appeared to him with another face ; as the sun is the same when
it shineth through red glass, only it casts a more bloody reflection.
God had one Son without sin, but none without suffering.
2. Comfort when we meet with ill-usage in the world. Our Lord
Jesus prayeth that the world may be convinced that God loved them
as he loved Christ. When the world entreated Christ ill, how was
the world convinced that God loved him ? There was an eclipse at
his death, which was a monument of God's displeasure : Mat. xxvii.
54, ' When the centurion, and they that were with him watching
Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things which were done, they
feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.' So when
Christ's members are evil-entreated, there are public monuments of
God's displeasure, the courses of nature are altered, droughts, inun
dations, pestilences, famines, unseasonable weather, confusions, &c.
If this be not, when God smile th, though the world frowneth, you will
convince them by bearing up with courage and confidence. The more
the world is set against us, the more do the fruits of his love appear
before men.
3. Confidence in the midst of dangers and temptations. When once
we are assured of God's love, what shall separate us from it ? Horn,
viii. 38, 39, ' For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things
to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able
to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord/
Can anything alienate God's love in Christ ? If it were God's love in
us, that were an uncertain ground of hope ; but it is God's love in
Christ. Get but an assurance of his love, and you will never be
ashamed. What can alienate the heart of God from you, while you
are faithful to him, and have the sure pledge of his love, his Spirit in
your heart ? Love or hatred is not known by anything that is before
us. But if you have a heart to seek him, fear him, obey his laws ;
this is the favour of his people, and this was his love to Christ.
Use 2. Direction.
1. Whereby chiefly to measure God's love ; by his spiritual bounty :
John iii. 34, 35, ' God giveth not the Spirit by measure to him. The
Father loveth the Son, and hath given, all things into his hands/ So
the gifts and graces of the Spirit are the special effects of his love ;
84 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XL.
for he loved us as he loved Christ, and thus he manifested his love to
Christ : Ps. cvi. 4, ' Eemember me, Lord, with the love that thou
bearest to thy people/ When one gave Luther gold, he said, Valde
protestatus sum, me nolle sic a Deo satiari. Be not satisfied till God
love you with such a love as he loved Christ. Inward excellences,
though with outward crosses, these are the best fruits of his love ; a
heart to seek him, to fear his name, to obey his laws, an understanding
to know his will. God's love is best known by the stamp of his Spirit,
that is his mark set upon us. Let us leave outward things to God's
wisdom. Love or hatred is not known by all that is before us. Let
us labour for a share in his peculiar love : Ps. cxix. 132, ' Look thou.
upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those
that love thy name.' Lord, I do not ask riches, nor glory, nor pre
ferment in the world ; I ask thy love, thy grace, thy Spirit. Doth
our Saviour care for outward things ? Other things are given pro
miscuously, these to his favourites. God's love is conveyed through
Christ : Eev. i. 5, ' To him that loved us, and washed us from our
sins in his own blood.' He loved us, and sanctified us : Eph. v. 25,
26, 'Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church, and gave
himself for it, that he might sanctify and. cleanse it with the washing
of water by the word/ Nothing more worthy, nothing more suitable
to Christ's love.
2. It directeth us what to do when we are dejected through our
own unworthiness. Look upon God's love in Christ. If God did
take arguments and grounds of love from the creature, where would
he have found objects of love ? God hath proclaimed it from heaven :
Mat. iii. 17, ' This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ;'
and ' We are accepted in the beloved,' Eph. i. 6. Jesus Christ is
worthy ; desire ' to be found in him, not having thine own righteous
ness.' Lord, for the merits of thy blessed Son, accept of me. Christ,
being beloved of the Father, is the storehouse and conduit to convey
that love to his people.
Use 3. Exhortation, to endeavour after the sense and apprehension
of this love in our own hearts. Surely this is our duty ; for Christ
afterward saith, ver. 26, ' That the love wherewith thou hast loved me
may be in them.' There is a love of God towards us, and a love of
God in us ; so Zanchy, citing the text. His love, ergo nos, towards
us, is carried on from all eternity ; but nondum in nobis, it is not in
us, but in time. He loved us before the foundation of the world,
though we know it not, feel it not ; but now this love beginneth to be
in us when we receive the effects, and God is actually become our
reconciled Father in Christ. God's love from everlasting was in pur
pose and decree, not in act. God's love in us is to be interpreted two
ways both in the effects and the sense. In the effects, at conver
sion : Eph. ii. 4, 5, ' But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great
love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses
and sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.' In the sense, when
we get assurance, and an intimate feeling of it in our own souls. Both
are wrought in us by the Spirit : Rom. v. 5, ' And hope maketh us
not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by
the Holy Ghost, that is given to us.' A man may have the effects,
VER. 23.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 85
but not the sense. God may love a man, and he not know it, nor feel
it. But we are to look after both. Therefore I shall do two things
(1.) Press you to get the sense; (2.) Speak to the comfort of them
that have indeed the effects but not the sense.
First, I shall press you all to get the sense and comfortable appre
hension of this love, that God loved you as he loved Christ.
1. Motives. The benefits are exceeding great.
[1.] Nothing quickeneth the heart more to love God. Certainly
we are to love God again, who loved us first, 1 John iv. 19. Now
though it be true that radius reflexus languet, that God loveth us
first, best, and most, yet the more direct the beam, the stronger the
reflection ; the more we know that God loveth us in Christ, the more
are we urged and quickened to love God again : 2 Cor. v. 14, ' For
the love of Christ constraineth us.' And this consideration is the
more binding'; if you expect those privileges which Christ had, you
must express your love by suitable obedience : John vi. 38, ' I came
down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that
sent me ;' John iv. 34, ' My meat is to do the will of him that sent
me, and to finish his work ;' John viii. 29, ' And he that sent me is
with me ; the Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those
things that please him.' You must love him as Christ loved him.
Will you sin against God, that are so beloved of him ? Thus we
must kindle our hearts at God's fire, for love must be paid in kind.
[2.] It maketh us contented, patient, and joyful in tribulations and
afflictions : Kom. v. 3, ' And not only so, but we glory in tribulations
also;' and 1 Peter i. 8, 'Whom having not seen, ye love ; in whom,
though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeak
able, and full of glory.'
[3.] Nothing more emboldeneth the soul against the day of death
and judgment than to know that God loveth us as he loved Christ,
and therefore will give us the glory that Christ is possessed of : 1 John
iv. 17, '-Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness
in the day of judgment, because as he is so are we in the world ;' the
greater apprehension we have of the love of God in Christ, the more
perfect our love is.
2. Means that this may be increased in us.
[1.] Meditate more on, and believe the gospel. It is good to bathe
and steep our thoughts in the remembrance of God's wonderful love
to sinners in Christ : John xvii. 26, ' I have declared to them thy
name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me
may be in them, and I in them.' Fervency of affection followeth
strength of persuasion, and strength of persuasion is increased by
serious thoughts.
[2.] Live in obedience to the Spirit's sanctifying motions ; for this
love is applied by the Spirit : Kom. viii. 14, ' For as many as are led
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God ;' compared with 16th
verse, ' The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirits, that we are
the children of God.' The Spirit obeyed as a sanctifier will soon
become a comforter, and fill our hearts with a sense of the love of
God.
[3.] Take heed of all sin, especially heinous and wilful sins : Isa.
86 SEKMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XL.
Ixix. 2, ' Your iniquities have separated between you and your God,
and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear ; ' Eph.
iv. 30, ' And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed
to the day of redemption.' Otherwise you may lose the sense of God's
love once evidenced. Men that have been lifted up to heaven in com
fort, have fallen almost as low as hell in sorrow, trouble, and perplexity
of spirit. One frown of God, or withdrawing the light of his counte
nance, will guickly turn our day into night ; and the poor forsaken
soul, formerly feasted with the sense of God's love, knoweth not whence
to fetch any comfort and support.
Secondly, I shall seek to comfort them that have but the effects,
not the sense. For many serious Christians will say, Blessed. are they
who are in Christ, whom God loveth as he loved Christ ; but what is
this to me, that know not whether I have any part in him or no ? To
these I will speak two things (1.) What comfort yet remaineth;
(2.) Whether these be not enough to evidence they have some part
in Christ:
1 . What may yet stay their hearts.
[1.] The foundation of God still standeth sure : ' The Lord knoweth
those that are his,' 2 Tim. ii. 19. He knoweth his own, when some of
them know not they are his own ; he seeth his mark upon his sheep,
when they see it not themselves. God doubteth not of his interest in
thee, though thou doubtest of thy interest in him ; and you are held
faster in the arms of his love than by the power of your own faith ;
as the child is surer in the mother's arms than by its holding the
mother.
[2.] Is not God in Christ willing to show mercy to penitent believers ?
or to manifest himself to them as their God and reconciled Father ?
Did not his love and grace find out the remedy before we were born ?
And when we had lived without God in the world, he sought after us
when we went astray ; he thought on us when we did not think on
him, and tendered grace to us when we had no mind and heart to it :
Isa. Ixv. 1, ' I am sought of them that asked not for me ; I am found
of them that sought me not.'
[3.] Hast thou not visibly entered into the bond of the holy oath,
and consented to the covenant, seriously at least, if thou canst not say
sincerely ? Or dost thou resolve to continue in sin rather than accept
of the happiness offered or the terms required ? Then thou hast no
part in Christ indeed. But if thou darest not refuse his covenant, but
cheerfully submittest to it, then God is thy God : Zech. xiii. 9, ' I will
say, It is my people ; and they shall say, The Lord is my God.' If
thou consentest that Christ shall be thy Lord and Saviour, thou art a
part of the renewed estate whereof Christ is the head.
[4.] If thou wantest a sense of his love, because of thy manifold
failings, it is unreasonable to think that all will end in wrath, which
was begun in so much love. If he expressed love to thee in thy
unconverted estate, and hath brought thee into God's family, will he
destroy thee, and turn thee out again upon every actual unkindness ?
The Lord doth gently question with Jonah in his fret : ' Dost thou
well to be angry ? ' Jonah iv. 9. When the disciples fell asleep in the
night of Christ's agony, he doth not say, Ye are none of mine, because
VER. 23.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvir. 87
ye could not watch with me one hour ; but rather excuseth it : Mat.
xxvi. 41, ' The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.' This
great love of God overcometh all the unkindness of his children.
2. What may evidence they are concerned in this love.
[1.] There is some change wrought in you ; thou art now no despiser
of God and his holy ways ; the heart of thy sensuality, pride, and
worldliness is broken, though too much of it still remaineth in thee.
Now it is good to be in the way to a further progress ; and we begin
with mortification : 2 Cor. v. 17, ' If any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature : old things are passed away, behold, all things are become
new.' Every change for the better is either the new creature or a
preparation to it.
[2.] The gift of the sanctifying Spirit is more prized by thee than
all the riches and honours in the world. Now without holiness we
cannot esteem holiness, and practically prefer it about other things.
God loveth Christ as he bore his image ; so he loveth us as we are sealed
by the mark of the Spirit : Ps. cvi. 4, ' Kemember me, Lord, with
the favour that thou bearest unto thy people : visit me with thy
salvation ;' and Ps. cxix. 132, ' Look thou upon me, and be merciful
unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.'
[3.] Thou lovest and preferrest Christ's people, and that for their
holiness, and therefore seekest to discountenance all sorts of wicked
ness : Ps. xv. 4, ' In whose eyes a vile person is contemned ; but he
honoureth them that fear the Lord.' He laboureth to discountenance
all sorts of wickedness, and desireth to bring goodness and godliness
into a creditable esteem and reputation, and payeth a hearty honour
and respect to those that excel therein : so Ps. xvi. 3, ' But to the saints
that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.'
He doth value them, and esteem them, above the greatest men in the
world, because they are so loved, prized, and set apart by God.
[4.] You labour more and more to be such, whom God loveth as
he loved Christ. Jesus Christ was the express image of his person ;
we strive to be such in the world as Christ was, 1 John iv. 17, hating
what God hateth, and loving what God loveth ; then we make it our
business to walk as he walked, 1 John ii. 6, doing his will, seeking his
glory. God loved Christ for that spirit of obedience that was in him,
who shrunk not in the hardest duties, but, whatever it cost him, was
faithful in his work.
Observe, thirdly, that God would have the world know so much, and
be convinced of this great love which he beareth to the saints : ' That
the world may know that thou hast loved them/ &c.
1. The necessity of the world's knowledge.
[1.] Because the world is blinded with ignorance and prejudice
against the children of God ; they cannot, or rather will not see :
1 Cor. ii. 14, ' But the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God : for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he
know them, because they are spiritually discerned.' They will not see,
because they have a mind to hate.
[2.] The life that floweth from this union is a hidden thing : Col.
iii. 3, ' For our life is hid with Christ in God/ It is hidden, because
maintained by an invisible power ; the spiritual life is hidden under
88 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XL.
the veil of the natural life : Gal. ii. 20, ' The life which I now live in
the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave
himself for me.' It is obscured by infirmities. The best show forth
too much of Adam, and too little of Jesus. It is hidden under afflic
tions : Heb. xi. 37, 38, ' They were stoned, they were sawn asunder,
were tempted, were slain with the sword : they wandered about in
sheep-skins, and goat-skins ; being destitute, afflicted, tormented ; of
whom the world was not worthy/ &c. ; and the world's reproaches :
2 Cor. vi. 8, ' By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report ;
as deceivers, and yet true.'
2. The means whereby the world is convinced.
[1.] The promises of the word show God's great love to the saints,
and hereby he hath engaged himself to do great things for them :
2 Peter i. 4, ' Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.'
He hath engaged to pardon their sins, accept their persons, sanctify
their natures, keep them blameless to his heavenly kingdom, and finally,
to translate them to glory : Deut. xxxiii. 29, ' Happy art thou,
Israel : who is like unto thee, people saved by the Lord, and who is
the shield of thy excellency ! thy enemies shall be found liars unto
thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places;' Ps. cxliv. 15,
' Happy is that people that is in such a case ; yea, happy is that people
whose God is the Lord/
[2.] By the visible fruits of the mystical union. The gift of the
Spirit cannot be hidden, they have a power and presence with them
which others have not : 1 Peter iv. 14, ' The Spirit of glory and of
God resteth upon you/ They live contrary to the course of this world,
so as to become the world's wonder : 1 Peter iv. 4, ' Wherein they
think it strange that you run not with them to the same excess of riot/
And reproof : Heb. xi. 7, ' By faith Noah, being warned of God of
things not seen as yet, moved with fear prepared an ark for the saving
of his house, by the which he condemned the world/
[3.] By the wonderful blessings of God's providence ; they are
hidden in the secret of his presence, strangely preserved : Ps. iv, 3,
' But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself ; '
not only as instruments of his glory, but as objects of his special
favour and grace.
[4.] This is more fully seen for the utter confusion of the wicked
at the last day : 2 Thes. i. 10, ' When he shall come to be glorified in
his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe/ Now it is for
their conviction or conversion, then for their confusion ; these are those
whose lives we judged madness, and ways folly !
3. Why Christ was so earnest that the world should know this.
[1.] To restrain their malice : 1 Cor. ii. 5, ' Had they known it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory/ If God loveth
believers, it should stop the violence and malice of .the world against
them; they are the beloved ones of God whom they malign, and
against whom their heart riseth.
[2.] It stirreth them up to come out of their wicked condition, that
is, out of a state of nature : Ps. vii. 11, ' God is angry with the wicked
every day/
VER. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 89
[3.] To put in for a share in this blessed estate, that they may be
some of those whom he loveth as he loved Christ.
Use 1. Caution to the carnal world. Do not hate those whom God
thus loveth. To you they are accursed, but God counteth them
precious : Isa. xliii. 4, ' Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou
hast been honourable, and I have loved thee.' To you they are the
scurf and offscouring: 1 Cor. iv. 13, 'We are made as the filth of
the world, and the offscouring of all things to this day/ But to God
they are jewels : Mai. iii. 17, ' They shall be mine, saith. the Lord, in
the day when I make up my jewels.'
Use 2. Advice. to the children of God, to promote the conviction
and conversion of the carnal : 1 Peter ii. 12, ' Having your conver
sation honest amongst the Gentiles ; that whereas they speak against
you as evil-doers, they may by your good works which they shall
behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.' Herein you imitate your
master, and your own safety lieth in it.
SERMON XLI.
Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me
where I am ; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast
given me : for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
JOHN XVII. 24.
WE have hitherto seen Christ's prayers for the happiness of his church
in the present world ; now he prayeth for their happiness in the world
to come. His love looketh beyond the grave, and outlasteth the life
that now is ; he cannot be contented with anything on this side a
blessed eternity. Glory as well as grace is the fruit of his purchase,
and therefore it is the matter of his prayers. Every verse is sweet,
but this should not be read without some ravishment and leaping of
heart. One saith he would not for all the world that this scripture
should have been left out of the Bible. Certainly we should have
wanted a great evidence and demonstration of Christ's affection.
Every word is emphatical. Let us view it a little.
Here is a compellation, a request, and the reason of that request.
The compellation, ' Father.' In the request there is the manner, how
it is made, ' I will.' The persons for whom it is made, ' That they
whom thou hast given me.' The matter of the request, in presence
and vision, ' Be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory.'
Or the matter is everlasting happiness, which is described by the place
of enjoyment, and our work when we come thither. Now the reason
of all is, the Father's eternal love to Christ, and in Christ to us, ' For
thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world.'
First, The compellation, ' Father.' The titles of God are usually
suited to the matter in hand. Christ is now suing for a child's portion
for all his members, and therefore he saith, ' Father.' God is Christ's
father by eternal generation, and ours by gracious adoption, whence
our title to heaven ariseth. And therefore it is called an inheritance :
90 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SsR. XLI.
Col. iii. 24, ' Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of
the inheritance.' It is not simply wages, such as a servant receiveth
from his master ; but an inheritance, or a child's portion, such as chil
dren receive from parents. And it is very notable the apostle there
speaketh of servants, who are saved, as God's sons. So our waiting
for glory is expressed by / waiting for the adoption,' Horn. viii. 23,
because then we have the fruit of it. We hold heaven not by merit,
nor by our purchase, nor by privilege of birth, but by adoption. The
ground of expectation is put for the matter of expectation, ' waiting
for the adoption.' And now we wait, because now we have/ws hcere-
ditatis ; then we have possession.
Use 1. This notion represents the freeness of grace in giving us
glory ; we do not receive it as a debt, but as a gift. Nothing is more
free than an inheritance. It was purchased by Christ, but it was given
to us ; we receive it by virtue of his testament, and the Father's pro
mise. It is called an ' inheritance,' Eph. i. 18, ' What is the riches of
the glory of his inheritance in the saints ;' an inheritance cometh freely,
and without burden and incumbrance. Thus we hold heaven by all
kind of titles ; we have it by purchase, and we have it freely. Christ
maketh the purchase, and we possess the gift. It is a greater security
to our hopes when we can look for heaven from a merciful Father and
a righteous judge ; it is just, Christ having paid the price. Therefore
it is called, ' The gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord,' Kom. vi.
20. It is the Father's gift, but for the greater honour to God, and
security to us, it is Christ's purchase.
Use 2. It showeth the neceessity of becoming sons to God if we
expect heaven. Children can only look for a child's portion. The
world is a common inn for sons and bastards ; but heaven is called
' our Father's house ;' none but children are admitted there : John iii.
3, ' Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God/
Seeing is often put for enjoying ; yet the word is emphatical ; they
shall not have so much as a glimpse of heaven, but are cast into ever
lasting darkness. A man should never be quiet till he be one of the
family, and can evidence his new birth. As they were put from the
priesthood as polluted that could not find their genealogy, Ezra ii. 62,
so, if you cannot prove your descent from God, you are disclaimed,
and reckoned not to God's, but to Satan's family.
Use 3. It teacheth God's children with patience and comfort to wait
for this happy estate : Kom. viii. 23, ' And not only they, but ourselves
also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan
within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of
our bodies.' You do not yet know what adoption meaneth ; the day
of the manifestation of the sons of God is to come : 1 John iii. 3,
' Behold, now are we the sons of God ; but it doth not appear what
we shall be.' ' It doth not appear,' therefore wait. There is the
spirit of an heir and the spirit of a servant, as we read of the ' Spirit
of adoption.' A servant must have something in hand, pay from
quarter to quarter ; they do not use to expect their master's possession ;
but an heir waiteth till it fall.
You may look upon the compellation as an expression of Christ's
hearty good- will. When he sueth for our glorification, he iinproveth
VER. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 91
all his interest in God, ' Father, I will.' When he pleadeth for him
self, he useth the same compellation, ver. 1, ' Father, glorify thy Son ;'
ver. 5, ' And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self/
Thus here Christ's heart is much set upon the happiness of his mem
bers ; if there be any more endearing title, the Spirit of God here will
use it : Father, if I can do anything, or have any room in thy heart
or affection ; ' Father, I will/ &c. When we would prevail, Christ
biddeth us urge our interest : ' When ye pray, say, Our Father,'
Luke xi. 2 ; so doth he. When we mediate for others, we are wont
to mention our relation, as a circumstance of endearment ; so doth
Christ expressly mention his relation when his requests are of great
concernment.
Secondly, The next circumstance is the manner of asking, 0t'\<o,
' I will,' a word of authority, becoming him that was God and man in
one person, who knew the Father's will, who had made a thorough
purchase, and so might challenge it of right. So some observe he
doth not say eptorco, but OeXw. But possibly it may bear a softer sense
in this place ; and thus is 6e\a> used elsewhere : Mark x. 35, BeXopev,
' Master, we will that thou shouldest do to us whatever we desire thee ; '
if that look like an expostulation, or a capitulation rather than a
request. See Mark vi. 26, 0e\aj, ' I will that thou give me by and by
in a charger the head of John the Baptist ;' Mark xii. 38, ' Master,
OeXofjiev, we would see a sign from thee/ Briefly, then, it doth not
express his authority so much as the full bent of heart ; only because
he useth the word will, and because at least the manner of expression
carrieth the force of a promise, which, if it be backed with his prayers,
cannot fall to the ground ; we may thence
Observe the certainty of our glorious hopes. If ' I will' be not a word
of authority, it looketh like a testamentary disposition. Christ was
about to die, and now he saith, ' I will/ When Christ made his will,
heaven is one of the legacies which he bequeatheth to us. This was
his last will and testament, ' Father, I will/ You have the very words
and form of a testament : Luke xxii. 29, ' I appoint unto you a king
dom, as my Father hath appointed unto me ;' Bear 107] pi, the only
word we have for a testament. Heaven is ours, a legacy left us by
Christ.
But what power had Christ to dispose of it ? Let me clear that by
the way, since he saith, Mat. xx. 23, ' To sit on my right hand, and on
my left, is not mine to give ; but it shall be given to them for whom
it is prepared of my Father/ Christ's power of disposing is not denied,
but he showeth only to whom it is given, not for by-respects, but
according to God's eternal will and purpose. In the original the
words run otherwise than they do in our translation, OVK eariv e^ov
Bovvai, u\\a ols ijTolfiacrTat VTTO rov irarpo^ pov. There is no ellipsis
which some have fancied ; and it should be rendered thus, ' It is not
mine to give, save to those for whom it is prepared of my Father/
He doth not deny degrees of glory, he doth not deny his own power
to distribute them, but only asserts that he must dispose according to
his Father's will ; not for outward and temporal respects of kindred
and acquaintance, but as God hath given to every man his measure.
Certainly Christ's will standeth good to all intents and purposes ; for
92 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLI.
as God he hath an original authority, and as mediator he doth nothing
contrary to his Father's will ; he is tender of that, as you see in the
place alleged ; so that the objection confirmeth the point.
Use 1. It is comfort to us when we come to die ; thou hast Christ's
will to show for heaven. When God's justice puts the bond in suit
against us, then let faith put Christ's testament in suit. There is an
old sentence against us, ' In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die/
Gen. ii. 17, confront it with Christ's prayer. In life we should provide
for death, and a comfortable departure out of the world. Hear for the
time to come ; it is good to have our comforts ready. Can a dying man
have a sweeter meditation than Christ's words ? ' Father, I will that
those whom thou hast given me may be with me where I am.' We know
not how soon we may go down to the chambers of death, and become
a feast for the worms. When we come to make our own will, we
should think of Christ's ' Father, I will/ &c.
Use 2. It is an engagement to holiness. That is a part of Christ's
will : 1 Thes. iv. 3, ' For this is the will of God, even your sanctifica-
tion/ How can I plead his will in one thing and not in another ?
Hereditates habent sua onera. Legacies have their burdens annexed.
Christ will have an action against us if we do not fulfil his whole will ;
as a man that sueth for what is left him by will must take care that
his claim be not invalidated. Did Christ ever say, I will that all that
live as they list should at length come to heaven for all that ? No ; but,
' I will that all those whom thou hast given me/ &c. And therefore
Thirdly, The next circumstance is the parties for whom he prayeth.
It is as necessary to know for whom Christ prayed as for what ; it is
not enough to hear of a privilege, but we must consider which way
our claim and interest doth arise. For ' those which thou hast given
me ;' that is, for all the elect, who are intended in this expression.
Observe, that there is a certain number given to Christ which cannot
finally miscarry, but shall come to glory. But of that in former verses.
1. Who are given hath been already discussed. The elect are given,
those that come to him from the Father : John vi. 37, ' All that the
Father giveth me shall come to me/ They are given before all time,
and therefore in time they come, and actually accept of grace. And as
they come to him, so they keep there, for of those he can lose nothing :
ver. 39, ' And this is the Father's will that hath sent me, that of all
which he hath given me I should lose nothing/
2. But how are they given ? By way of reward, and by way of
charge ; the one as his work, the other as his wages.
[1.] By way of reward : John xvii. 6, ' Thine they were, and thou
gavest them me/ They were given to be members of his body, subjects
of his kingdom, children of his family; Christ hath a special and
peculiar interest in them. This was the bargain which he made with
God, that he should be head of the renewed state. This was all the
honour and benefit accruing to Christ by the covenant of redemption :
Isa. liii. 10, 11, ' He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands ; he shall see of the
travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied/ Christ was pleased with the
bargain. Nothing could be added to the greatness of his person, who
was the eternal Son of God, equal with the Father in glory and honour ;
VER. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 93
yet he was pleased to account it a good purchase to have a special title
and interest in us, and rested satisfied, having gained sufficient by all
his expense of blood and merit. We are all Benonis, sons of sorrow
to him.
[2.] By way of charge : John vi. 37-39, ' All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me, and he that cometh to me I will in no wise cast
out ; for I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the
will of him that sent me ; and this is the Father's will which hath sent
me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but
should raise it up again at the last day.' God calleth Christ to account
for the elect, and his number and tale must be full. The elect are
given to Christ, not by way of alienation, but oppignoration, that he
may guide them safe to glory ; as the shepherd must give an account
of the sheep to the owner that sets him awork. And so doth Christ at
the last day : Heb. ii. 13, ' Behold I and the children which God hath
given me.' God looketh narrowly what is become of the elect ; not one
of the tale is wanting.
Use. Are you of this number ? If you be given by God, you give
up yourselves to him. Our faith is nothing else but our consent to
God's eternal decrees. All the Father's acts are ratified in time by the
creatures' consent. God giveth by way of reward and charge ; so there
is a committing and a consecrating both together.
1. Committing yourselves to Christ : 2 Tim. i. 12, ' I know whom I
have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which
I have committed to him against that day ; ' rrjv TrapaKaTadijKTjv /j,oi>,
by an advised act of trust. Can you put your souls into his hands ?
The Father is wiser than we ; he knew well enough what he did when
he left us in charge with Christ. It argueth a sense of danger, a
solicitous care about the soul ; and then an advised trust, grounded on
the belief of Christ's sufficiency. Many think their souls were never
in danger, therefore they are not careful about putting them into safe
hands. Canst thou venture upon eternity on such assurances ? Well, I
have trusted Christ with my soul. Oh ! it is the hardest matter in the
world to trust Christ with our souls advisedly and knowingly. Pre
sumption is an inconsiderate act, a fruit of incogitancy, and therefore
very easy.
2. Consecrating: Kom. xii. 1, 'I beseech you, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service ;' yield up your
selves to Christ. So David : Ps. cxix. 94, ' I am thine, save me/
Personal dedication showeth God's act is not fruitless. In a serious
self-surrender, we must give up ourselves to God ; not with any reserva
tion, to use ourselves as our own, but absolutely to be at God's dispose,
to live and act for him. Christians ! if you would clear up your
interest, this is your duty, for this is but making good his grant to
Christ. It goeth under the name of our deed, but it is God's work in
us. The altar, the sacrifice, the fire is sent down from heaven. It is
God's giving, still the receiving is on our part ; for by renouncing self,
we enjoy self most. Do we out of a sense of duty thus give up our
selves ? Do we make good our vows ? God lendeth us to ourselves,
to be employed to his honour.
94 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XLL
Fourthly, The next thing is the matter of the request. Presence,
and the beatifical vision, as the fruit of that presence.
First, ' That they may be where I am ;' that is, where I am accord
ing to my humanity presently to be ; for he doth not speak of the
earthly Jerusalem, where he was then visibly and corporally.
Observe, first, it is no small part of our happiness that we shall be
there where Christ is. Now Christ is with us, but then we are with
him. It is the inchoation of our happiness that he is with us graciously :
' I am with you to the end of the world,' Mat. xxviii. 20. It shall be
the consummation of our happiness when we shall be with him. Thus
it is often expressed : 2 Cor. v. 8, ' We are willing rather to be absent
from the body, and to be present with the Lord.' So David expresseth
our state of blessedness: Ps. xvi. 11, 'In thy presence is fulness of
joy, and at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore/ This
makes heaven to be heaven, because Christ is there ; as the king makes
the court wherever he is, it is not the court maketh the king : John
xii. 26, ' Where I am, there shall my servant be.' It is our happiness
to stand always in our master's presence, a happiness that wicked men
are not capable of, because of their bondage and estrangement from
God. Therefore Christ telleth the carnal Jews, John vii. 34, ' Where
I am, thither ye cannot come.' Wicked men have no grant, no leave
to come. Paradise is still closed up against them with a flaming
sword : and they have no heart to come, because they cannot endure
the majesty and purity of his presence.
But when shall we be there where Christ is ? Presently after death
our souls shall be there, and at the resurrection, body and soul together.
1. Presently after death the soul is where Christ is. So Paul
thought : Phil. i. 23, ' I desire to depart, and to be with Christ ; ' that
is, with him in glory, otherwise it were a loss of happiness for Paul to
be dissolved. It is a sorry blessedness to lie rotting in the grave, and
only to be eased of present labours, for God's people are wont to reckon
much on their present service and enjoyment of God, though it be
accompanied with affliction. Paul was in a strait, and he saith it is
TroXXft) iiaX\.ov Kpelacrov, much more better to be dissolved. A stupid
sleep, without the enjoyment of God, is far worse ; what happiness
were that, to be in such a condition wherein we do nothing and feel
nothing ? God's children are wont to prefer the most afflicted condi
tion with God's presence above the greatest riches and contentment in
his absence : ' If thou goest not up with us, carry us not hence,' Exod.
xxxiii. 15. Better be with God in the wilderness, than in Canaan
without him. Therefore Paul would never be in such a strait, if this
drowsy doctrine were true, that the soul lay in such an inactive state
of sleep and rest till the resurrection. He would be no happier than
a stone, or the inanimate creatures are. Again, Luke xxiii. 43, ' This
day shalt thou be with me in paradise,' saith Christ to the good thief.
Some, to evade this place, refer this day to \eyrn ; but the pointing in
all the Greek copies confute th it, as also the sense of the place : aripepov
answereth to the thief's words, ' Remember me when thou comest into
thy kingdom.' Christ promiseth more than he asketh, as God doth
usually abundantly for us above what we can ask or think. He had
reference to Christ's words to the high priest, ' The Son of man shall
VER. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 95
come in his glory.' Now, saith Christ, I will not defer thy desires so
long ; heavenly joys attend thy soul. And others seek to evade it by
the word paradise ; it is a Persiac word, but used by the Hebrews for
gardens and orchards, and by allusion for heavenly joys : the allusion
is not only to the delights of an ordinary garden, but Eden, or that
garden in which Adam was placed in innocency. The fathers fancied,
secreta animarum receptacula, et beatas sedes. But it is put for heaven
itself in other places : 2 Cor. xii. 2, ' He was caught up into the third
heaven,' which he presently calls paradise, ver. 4. So that presently
souls, upon their departure out of the body, are immediately with
Christ. Thus it is said, Luke xvi. 22, ' The beggar died, and was
carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom ; ' presently, in the twink
ling of an eye or the forming of a thought ; which is a great comfort
to us when we come to die ; in a moment angels will bring you to
Christ, and Christ to God. The agonies of death are terrible, but there
are joys just ready ; and as soon as the soul is loosed from the prison of
the body, you enter into your eternal rest : it flieth hence to Christ, to
be there where he is. To be short, certainly men enter upon their
final state presently as soon as they die : 2 Peter iii. 19, ' He went and
preached to the spirits in prison ;' compare it with Heb. xii. 24, ' To
the spirits of just men made perfect.' How can souls be perfect if
they lie only in a dull sleep, without any light, life, joy, or delight, or
act of love to God ? We see the very present refreshments of sleep are
a burden to the saints, because they rob us of so much time, cheat us
of half our lives.
2. Completely at the resurrection. Believers consist of body as well
as soul. Now it is said, ' That they may be there ;' that is, their whole
self shall be there where Christ is. And so it proveth the resurrection,
and the translation of our glorified bodies into heaven. So our Lord
showeth that our being there where he is shall completely be after his
second coming : John xiv. 3, ' And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again and receive you to myself ; that where I am,
there ye may be also.' Christ and we that are one cannot always live
asunder ; if he have any glory, we must have part of it ; and therefore
he will come again and take us to himself, that as coheirs we may live
upon the same happiness : Kom. viii. 17, ' And if children, then heirs,
heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ ; if so be that we suffer with
him, that we may be also glorified together.' As Joseph brought his
brethren to Pharaoh, he bringeth us to God. As he took part with
us in nature, so he will have us take part with him in glory.
Now the happiness of it will appear
[1.] By the place, the third heaven, or paradise ; as there was the
outward court, the holy place, and the holy of holies. The spangled
firmament is but the outside and pavement of that house where Christ
and the saints meet. When we look upon the aspectable heavens, we
may cry out, as David in his night-meditation, Ps. viii. 4, ' Lord, what
is man, that thou art mindful of him ? and the son of man, that thou
visitest him ? ' The church is but Trpodvpov teal irpodv\Lov, the portal,
as one saith, and entrance into heaven. If the visible heavens so affect
us, how glorious is it within !
[2.] The manner of bringing us thither : ' I will come again and
96 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XLI.
receive you to myself/ John xiv. 3. Christ will not send for us, but
come in person to fetch us in state, which will make our access to
heaven the more glorious. Christ will come to lead his flock into
their everlasting fold, to present his bride to God, decked and appar
elled with glory. How glorious a sight will it be to see Christ and all
his troops following him, with their crowns upon their heads ! to see
the triumphant entrance into those everlasting habitations, and to hear
the applauses of the angels ! Ps. xxiv. 7, 8, ' Lift up your heads, ye
gates, and be ye lift up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory
shall come in. Who is this King of glory ? The Lord strong and
mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.' That was a private and a per
sonal entry at his ascension ; but now it shall be public and glorious ;
now death the last enemy is destroyed, then he is the Lord mighty in
battle indeed.
[3.] Our perpetual fellowship with Christ in the presence and glory
of his kingdom. Pray mark, there is a presence, and that is much,
that we are called to heaven as witnesses of Christ's glory. The queen
of Sheba said of Solomon, 1 Kings x. 8, ' Happy are thy men, happy
are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that
hear thy wisdom.' They that stand before the Lord and see his glory
are much more happy. Zaccheus pressed to see him ; the wise men
came from the east to see him. It is our burden in the world that
the clouds interpose between us and Christ, that there is a great gulf
between us and him, which cannot be passed but by death ; that God
is at a distance ; that our enemies often ask us, Where is your God ?
Now we shall be happy when we shall be in his arms, when we can
say, Here he is ; when our Redeemer is ever before our eyes, Job xix.
26, to remember us of the grace purchased for us, and we are as near
as we can desire. Now we dwell in his family. David envied the
swallows that had their residence in the temple : ' One day spent in
thy courts is better than a thousand spent elsewhere,' Ps. Ixxxiv. 10.
Then we shall always be about his throne, and we shall for ever feed
our eyes with this glorious spectacle, Jesus Christ : his body shall be
in a certain place, where all shall behold it. The three children
walked comfortably in the fiery furnace, because there was a fourth
there, the Son of God : Dan. iii. 25, ' Lo, I see four men loose, walking
in the midst of the fire ; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of
God.' Again, this presence maketh way for enjoyment. It is not a
naked sight and speculation ; we are in the same state and condition
with Christ: Rom. viii. 17, 'Heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus
Christ.' We shall be like him. Servants may stand in the presence
of princes, but they do not make their followers fellows and consorts
with them in the same glory. Solomon could only show his glory to
the queen of Sheba, but Christ giveth it us to be enjoyed. And all
this is perpetual and without change and interruption : 1 Thes. iv. 17,
* We shall be for ever with the Lord.' We are then above fears, no
more eclipses of God's face, no more trouble because of God's absence.
Here we complain ; the spouse sought Christ about the city : Cant. iii.
3, ' Saw ye him whom my soul loveth ? ' Here we are forlorn orphans,
and often without his society. Upon earth his converse was so accep
table, that the apostles were loath to hear of his departure. Now it is
VER. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 97
for a few days, he is not always abiding with us ; then we shall never
be glutted, God is always fresh and new to the glorified saints.
Use I. To show us the love of Christ ; his heart is not satisfied till
we be in like condition with himself : Luke xxii. 30, ' Ye shall eat
and drink at my table in my kingdom.' The greatest love that David
could show to his friend was to admit his children to his table : 2 Sam.
ix. 7, ' Thou shalt eat bread at my table continually/ said David to
Mephibosheth ; and to Barzillai, 2 Sam. xix. 33, ' Come over with me,
and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem.' And when he would
honour Solomon, 1 Kings i. 33-35, ' He put him upon his own mule,
and caused him to sit on his throne.' So we be at his table and on
his throne : Kev. iii. 21, ' To him that overcometh will I grant to sit
with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down
with my Father in his throne.' We enjoy the same blessedness which
Christ doth. Adam was in paradise, we in heaven ; Adam with the
beasts of the earth, we with God and holy angels ; Adam might be
thrown out, we never. It is no matter if the world deny us a room
to live among them ; they cast us out many times, but Christ will
take us to himself.
Use 2. If the presence of Christ be no small part of our happiness,
let us more delight in it here. We enjoy his presence in ordinances :
Ps. xvii. 15, ' As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness ; I
shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness;' Ps. Ixxxiv. 10,
' A day in thy courts is better than a thousand ; I had rather be a
doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of
wickedness.' This is heaven begun, to be familiar with Christ in
prayer and hearing, &c. Let us often give him a visit. Oh ! shame
thyself when thou art loath to draw near to God. Dost thou look for
heaven ?
Use 3. Be willing to die, Why art thou backward to go to Christ ?
Would Christ pray for an inconvenience? You shun his company
when he desireth yours, and he desireth your presence for your own
sakes, that you may be happy. Love brought Christ out of heaven,
that he might be with us ; he thought of it before the world was :
Prov. viii. 31, ' My delight was with the sons of men." He longed for
the time ; when will it come ? We are to go from earth to heaven,
from conversing with men to converse with angels ; why are we so
loath to remove ? What could Christ expect but hard usage, labour,
griefs, and death ? He came to taste the vinegar and the gall ; we
are called to the feast of loves, to the hidden manna, to rivers of plea
sures. If you love Christ, why should you be unwilling to be in the
arms of Christ ? Let him be unwilling to die that is loath to be there
where Christ is. Love is an affection of union, it desireth to be with
the party loved, and can you be unwilling to die ? Death is the
chariot that is to carry you to Christ : Gen. xlv. 27, ' When Jacob
saw the waggons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of
Jacob revived.' What is there in the world to be compared with
heaven ? Either there must be something in the world to detain us,
or it is the terribleness of the passage, or else a contempt of what is
to come, that you are unwilling to die. If you have anything in the
world more worthy than Christ father, or mother, or wife, or friend,
VOL. XI. Q
98 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLI.
or brother, or present delights it is a sign of a carnal heart : Ps.
Ixxiii. 25, ' Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none on
earth I desire besides thee/ Can you say so without dissembling ?
Quit them all then. It is not the company of angels, but Christ ; it
is not wife, children, relations (these must be loved in God, and after
God) ; nothing within the circuit of nature, none so worthy as Christ.
Now you are put to the trial when sickness cometh, and you see
death a-coming ; Christ hath sent his waggons, his chariots, to see if
we be real. Or is it the terribleness of the passage ? Doth nature
recoil at our dissolution ? Where is your faith ? ' Death is yours,'
1 Cor. iii. 22. Christ hath assured you, and will you not trust his
word ? You love him little when you have no confidence in his word.
Or else contempt of things to come ; then why was all this cost to
prepare a place for you ? Why came Christ to lay down his life to
purchase that which we care not for ? What needeth all this waste ?
Christians! hear for the time to come. We know not how soon we
may be sent for and put to the trial ; it is good to be resolved, that
we may say, The sooner the better.
Observe, secondly, Christ taketh great delight in his people's com
pany and fellowship. His heart is much set upon it.
1. I shall give you some demonstrations and evidences of it.
2. Reasons.
First, Evidences.
1. His longing for the society of men before the creation of the
world: Prov. viii. 31, ' I rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth,
and my delights were with the sons of men.' Though Christ de
lighted in all the creatures, as they were the effects of his wisdom,
power, and goodness, yet chiefly with men, that are capable of God's
image, and upon whom he should lay out the riches of his grace. He
thought on us before the world was, and longed for the time of his
incarnation : When will it come ?
2. In that he delighted to converse in human shape before the
incarnation : Zech. i. 10, ' The man among the myrtle trees ; ' who is
also called, 'The angel of the Lord,' ver. 11.
3. He took pleasure to spend time busily among them, whilst he
was with them in the days of his flesh : John ix. 4, 5, ' I must work
the works of him that sent me while it is day : the night cometh,
when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the
light of the world.' His affection to the service made him go up and
down doing good to men ; he would not leave this ministration to his
servants, but would do it in person as long as he was in the world :
John i. 14, ' The word was made flesh, and dwelt among us/ Christ
did not assume our nature, as angels assumed bodies for the present
turn, but lived a good space of time, and conversed with men.
4. When it was necessary he should depart, he had a mind to
returning before he went away and removed his bodily presence from
us ; his heart is upon meeting and fellowship again, of getting his
people up to him, as in the text, or his coming down to us : John xiv. 3,
'And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
receive you to myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.'
5. Until the time that that meeting cometh, he vouchsafeth us his
VER. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 99
spiritual presence : Mat. xxviii. 20, ' Lo, I am with you always to the
end of the world.' Whatsoever part or age of the world we fall into
in this life, we are with Christ, and Christ with us ; not only with the
church in general, but with every believer. With the church or
assemblies of his people : ' Where two or three are gathered together
in my name, I am in the midst of them,' Mat. xviii. 20. With every
particular believer : Christ is said ' to dwell in our hearts by faith,'
Eph. iii. 17. There is a near familiarity between Christ and every
believer ; every sanctified heart is a temple wherein he keepeth his
residence. As God he is everywhere ; as to his human nature, the
heaven of heavens contain it ; as to his gracious operation, and especial
influence, so he dwelleth in the hearts of his people. He is with us
in our duties : Exod. xx. 24, ' In all places where I record my name,
I will come unto thee, and bless thee.' Christ is present to entertain
ns ; we go to meet with Christ. In our dangers : Isa. xliii. 2, ' When
thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; and through
the rivers, they shall not overflow thee : when thou walkest through
the fire, thou shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flames kindle upon
thee.' The Son of God was with the three children in the furnace.
When left alone, they are not alone. He would never have gone from
us if our necessities did not require it. It was necessary that he
should die for our sins, that they might not hinder our believing and
coming to him. It was necessary he should go to heaven. If our
happiness lay here, he would be with us here, but it doth not ; it is
reserved for us in the heavens ; therefore he must go there to prepare
a place for us, that we may be ever with him.
6. When gone away he will tarry no longer than our affairs require ;
as soon as he hath done his work, he will come again and fetch us.
When our souls are with him, that doth not fully content Christ ; he
will come and fetch us into heaven in our whole persons, and then
Christ and we shall never part more : 1 Thes. iv. 17, ' And then shall
we ever be with the Lord.' Thus Christ is never satisfied till our
communion be perfect and perpetual, till we are all with him in one
assembly and congregation : Ps. i. 5, ' Therefore the ungodly shall
not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the
righteous.' Then all the elect shall meet in one general assembly,
that Christ's mystical body may be fully complete ; not one member
of his mystical body is wanting.
Secondly, Keasons.
1. Negatively ; there is not any want in himself, nor any worth in
us. We are worthless and wretched ; Ps. xiv. 3, ' They are all gone
aside, they are altogether become filthy, there is none that doeth good,
no not one ; ' Titus iii. 3, ' For we ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living
in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.' Christ hath no
need of us, he was happy without us ; he lieth in the bosom of his
Father, and hath been his delight from all eternity, and hath ten thou-
.sand times ten thousand angels to attend him. What want hath he
of poor worms ?
2. Positively ; his affection and relation to them. Affection and
self-inclination; they are the members of his body: John xiii. 1,
100 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XLI.
' Jesus having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them to
the end.' There are both motives ; he hath loved them, and they are
his own.
[1.] He hath loved them, and love is all for union and near com
munion : Deut. vii. 7, 8, ' The Lord did not set his love on you, nor
choose you, because ye were more in number than any people, but
because the Lord loved you.' He hath no other reason but his own
love ; and therefore he will not leave till he hath brought them to their
final happiness.
[2.] They are his own by election, purchase, resignation. They
resign themselves to him, and so he hath a peculiar interest in them.
He provideth for his own, they are members of his mystical body ;
' The fulness of him that filleth all in all,' Eph. i. 23. Mystical Christ
is not complete and full without them, though' Christ personal be
every way full and complete.
Use 1. Keproof. You see how Christ standeth affected to the
society of his people, and so are all that have Christ's Spirit ; as Moses
chose rather to surfer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy
the pleasures of sin for a season,' Heb. xi. 25. It is better to be
afflicted for a season with God's people, than to live with the wicked
in pleasure for a season ; both are for a season. But there are a sort
of men whose spirit and practice is very contrary to this of Christ ;
who cannot abide the presence, much less the company and com
munion, of the saints. Christ cannot rest in heaven without the
saints ; and these men count themselves in a prison when they are in
good company ; it is their burden and trouble to have a restraint upon
their lusts, to be confined to gracious discourse about heaven and
heavenly things. Nay, their very presence is an eyesore. As in some
of the commonwealths of Greece, they had their petalism and ostra
cism for men when they grew eminent and worthy, the baseness of
popular government not consisting with conspicuous virtue ; so these
cannot endure holy strictness, or a size of grace above their dead-
hearted profession.
Use 2. Comfort against the scorn and contempt of the world.
Though you are cast forth as the sweepings of the streets, yet you are
dear and precious with Christ. That company which is so disdained
and rejected in the world is longed for by Christ ; therefore ' let us go
forth to him without the camp, bearing his reproach,' Heb. xiii. 13.
The world casts us out, but Christ takes us to himself
Use 3. Let us prize the communion and fellowship of Christ. It
is but reason that we should prize that company that is so necessary
for us, such a blessing to us. If he value ours, he is worthy of love,
and he is our head ; let us long to be witli him. But wherein ?
1. By looking after communion with him for the present. Cer
tainly there is such a thing ; the world looketh upon communion
with Christ but as a fancy, as many among the heathens pretended to
a secrecy with their gods; but the saints know the reality of it:
1 John i. 3, ' And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with
his Son Jesus Christ.' Certainly there is such a thing as this. Now,
this is either constant and habitual, or solemn and special.
[1.] Constant and habitual, as he dwelleth in our hearts by faith;
VER. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 101
where Christ doth take up his abode and dwelling in the heart, renew
ing them by his Spirit, as the fountain of life : Gal. ii. 20, ' Neverthe
less I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.' And the seed and hope
of glory : Col. i. 27, ' Christ in you the hope of glory ; ' maintaining
and defending them against all temptations : 1 John iv. 4, ' Greater is
he that is in you than he that is in the world.' There is no necessity,
in order to the spiritual use, that his body be in the sacrament, received
into the mouth and stomach ; his human nature is locally present in
heaven, but his Spirit is in us as a -well of life. This is our constant
communion with him.
[2.] Solemn and special, in holy ordinances. Our souls should run
upon this, how we may find Christ there ; as the spouse sought her
beloved throughout the whole city : Cant. iii. 2, 3, ' I will arise now,
and go about the city, in the streets, and in the broad ways ; I will
seek him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him not.
The watchmen that go about the city found me, to whom I said, Saw
ye him whom my soul loveth ? ' So doth the believing soul long to
see Christ. If he longeth for our presence, we should desire his pre
sence, and to enjoy as much as we can of it here in the world. It is
heaven begun : ' As for me, I shall behold his face in righteousness,'
Ps. xvii. 15. Not only to have bare ordinances, but to meet with God
there, that we may never go from him without him. This is to begin,
heaven, to give Christ a visit, to be familiar with Christ in prayer, to
seek after him in the Lord's supper, and never go from God without
God : Ps. Ixiii. 1, 2, ' God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee :
my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and
thirsty land, where no water is. To see thy power and thy glory, so
as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.' That glimpse he had once found
made him long for more : Ps. Ixxxiv. 1, 2, ' How amiable are thy
tabernacles, O Lord of hosts ! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for
the courts of the Lord ; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the liv
ing God.' Spiritual communion will at last end in glory. You may
change place, but not company.
2. Long to be with him, and to have immediate communion with
him in heaven : Phil. i. 23, ' I desire to depart, and to be with Christ ;'
not to wish for death in a pet, to put an end to your troubles. Men
look upon heaven as a retreat. Nay, do not merely look upon heaven
as it freeth you from the torments of hell or the curse and vengeance
of God, but as it givethyou communion with Christ : 2 Cor. v. 8, ' We
are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body,
and to be present with the Lord.' Therefore upon this account be
more willing to depart. You that are old, and within sight of shore,
wait for the happy hour. You that are sick, be forward to prepare for
home. You that are young, you may live long, but you cannot live
better than with Christ ; be ready when God shall call you.
(1.) There is far more reason why we should long for Christ than
Christ for us. He desireth your presence for your own sakes, that you
may be happy ; he is not solitary without you. You have all the rea
son in the world to be willing to go to Christ ; the sooner the better.
(2.) If you have the hearts of Christians, you will do so: Rev. xxii.
17, ' The Spirit and the bride say, Come.' If you have heartily con-
102 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SEE. XLII.
sen ted to Christ, you will do so : Gen. xxiv. 58, ' They called Kebekah,
and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man ? and she said, I will
go.' Christ saith, ' I will that they shall be where I am ; ' and the
soul saith, I will be ever in a posture longing, waiting for this happy
time. The children of Israel eat the passover with staves in their
hands.
(3.) Experience puts us to this ; such as have any communion with
Christ here will long after the completing of it in heaven : Rom. viii.
23, ' And not only they, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of
the Spirit ; even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.'
(4.) If we desire it not, it is a sign of some corruption, too great an
inclination to the pleasures and contentments of the world. Lot lingered
in Sodom, Gen. xix. 16. Or that you have lost your evidences, and so
think to appear before him as malefactors before a judge.
SERMON XLII.
Father, I will that they also ivhom thou hast given me be with me
where I am ; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast
given me : for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
JOHN XVII. 24.
SECONDLY, Now I come to our work and employment in heaven, ' That
we may behold his glory.'
Observe, our work, or rather our happiness in heaven, mainly con
sists in -the sight of Christ's glory : 1 John iii. 2, ' Beloved, now are
we the sons of God, but it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but
this we know, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we
shall see him as he is.' We see him now under a veil, then in person :
1 Cor. xiii. 12, ' Now we see but through a glass darkly, then face to
face.'
Here I shall show (1.) What is this glory ; (2.) What it is to be
hold this glory ; (3.) Why our happiness lieth in it.
First, What is this glory ?
1. The excellency of his person. The union of the two natures in
Christ's person is one of the mysteries that shall then be unfolded :
John xiv. 20, ' At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and
you in me, and I in you.' How he is God-man in one person, how
the Father, Son, and Spirit are one. We were made for the under
standing of this mystery. God had happiness enough in himself ; he
made creatures on purpose, angels and blessed men, to contemplate his
excellency. ;
2. The clarity of his human nature. It is happiness enough to see
Jesus Christ upon his white throne : Rev. xxii. 4, ' They shall see his
face, and his name shall be in their foreheads/ We shall be eye
witnesses of the honour which the Father puts upon him as mediator.
It will be a wonderful glory; we want words to make it intelligible ;
the visible sun hath scarce the honour to be Christ's shadow. We
VER. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 103
may guess at it by his appearance on Mount Sinai, when he gave the
law, Exod. xix., compared with Heb. xii. 18, 19 ; by the transfigura
tion, Mat. xvii., when the disciples were astonished ; by the glimpse
given to Paul, when a light from heaven shined round about him,
Acts ix. 3 ; Paul was three days without sight, and could neither eat
nor drink ; by those emissions of light and glory, John xviii. 6, ' As
soon as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell
to the ground.' All these apparitions were formidable, but in heaven
they are comfortable. We are more able to bear it, the natural
faculties being fortified ; and we come to consider it as a glory put
upon him for our sakes.
Secondly, What is this beholding ? It is either ocular or mental.
1. Ocular ; our senses have their happiness as well as the soul ;
there is a glorified eye as well as a glorified mind : 2 Cor. v. 7, ' We
walk by faith, not by sight.' He doth not mean present sense, and the
present view of things ; the life of faith is sometimes oppfosed to that ;
but now he meaneth our privileges in heaven. Job pointed to his
eyes : Job xix. 26, 27, ' Though after my skin worms destroy this
body, yet in my flesh shall I see God ; whom I shall see for myself,
and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.' We shall see that
person that redeemed us, and that nature wherein he suffered so much
for us. God intendeth good to the body, he hath intrusted it with
the soul, and the soul with so much grace, that he will not lose the
outward cask and vessel. There is a glory to entertain our eyes in
heaven ; not only the beautiful mansion, and the glorious inhabitants,
but the face of the Lamb. We shall be always looking on that
book.
2. There is mental vision or contemplation. The angels, that are
not corporeal, are said ' always to behold the face of our heavenly
Father/ Mat. xviii. 10. Angels have no eyes, yet they see God.
When we are said to see God, it is not meant of the bodily eye ; a
spirit cannot be seen with bodily eyes. And therefore God is called
aoparos, ' the invisible God/ Col. i. 15. And seeing face to face is
opposed to knowing in part : 1 Cor. xiii. 12, ' Now we see through a
glass darkly, then face to face ; now we know but in part, then we
shall know even as also we are known/ The mind is the noblest
faculty, and therefore it must be satisfied in heaven, or else we cannot
be happy. It is the mind maketh the man ; it is our preferment above
the beasts that God hath given us a mind to know him. Man is a
rational creature, and 'there is as great an inclination to knowledge in
the soul as in beasts to carnal pleasures. Drunkards may talk of their
pleasures, and the gratifications of sense ; but the pleasure and delight
of the soul is knowledge. And besides this general capacity, there is
a particular inclination in believers by grace ; and therefore, that we
may be completely happy, the mind must be satisfied with the sight
of God.
Thirdly, Why our happiness lieth in beholding Christ ?
1. It is the cause of all our fruition and enjoyment in heaven.
2. All fruition and enjoyment is resolved into it again.
1. It is the cause of all our fruition in heaven. Ocular vision
maketh way for mental, and mental vision for complete holiness or
104 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLII.
conformity to God, and conformity for love, and love for delight, and
delight for fruition.
[1.] Ocular vision maketh way for mental. We go to heaven to
study divinity in the Lamb's face : Eev. xxii. 4, ' They shall see his
face, and his name shall be in their foreheads.' There is an assembly
sitting round about the throne, and the Lamb is in the midst of them,
and there, by looking upon his face, they learn more of God. We need
no other books than beholding his glory. We converse with Christ
that we may know more of God. Thus we come to knowledge with
out labour and difficulty ; Christ in his glory an$l eminency is bible
enough.
[2.] Mental vision maketh way for likeness and conformity to God.
Knowledge in this life changeth us : Col. iii. 10, ''And have put on the
new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that
created him/ Much more are we sanctified and made holy by the
light of glory. The sight that we have of Christ in the gospel trans-
formeth us: 2 Cor. iii. 18, ' For we all with open face, beholding as
in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image,
from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.' By looking
upon Christ through the light of the Spirit we are made like him ;
but now in glory, when we see him face to face, we are more like him :
1 John iii. 2, ' We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.'
Moses, by conversing with God, his face shone. As a glass held up
against the sun, the image and brightness of the sun is reflected upon
it ; so the more we behold Christ, the more we do bear the image of
the heavenly ; TTJV o-fyiv dvaxpawvofjbevos, saith Basil, he dyeth his own
spirit with a tincture of glory.
[3.] This light and conformity maketh way for love, that is, know
ledge increaseth love. As light is, so is love ; our affection is still
according to the rate of our knowledge. In this world love is but
weak, because light is imperfect ; we love little, because we know
little : John iv. 10, ' If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is
that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked, and
he would have given to thee living water.' And conformity is a
ground of love, it is the highest pitch of love to love God out of the
communion of the same nature. The lowest love is to love him out
of interest, as the highest love is to love him out of a principle of
holiness, not because he is good and bountiful, but because he is holy.
Whilst holiness is weak, love is imperfect. We wander and estrange
ourselves from him, and go a- whoring from him, for there is some
suitableness between us and the creature as long as flesh remaineth ;
but when we are perfectly holy, there is no suitableness between us
and anything but God, and the saints and angels which partake with
us of his image. And we love the creatures for the need we have ot'
them, as well as the suitableness of them to us ; but when we are
likened to God in holiness and in happiness, we are above these wants,
we are above all baits and snares, so that our love is entirely carried
out to God.
[4.] Love maketh way for delight. Can a man cleave to God, and
not rejoice in him ? Rejoicing in God is not only a duty but a reward:
Isa. Iviii. 14, ' Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.' The
VER. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 105
saints love God, and delight in him, in his essence and being, as much
as in their own glory. This maketh heaven comfortable. It would
be a torment to a carnal heart to be always thinking of God, and
employed in acts of love and service to God ; but the saints delight in
him, they delight in his presence, and in their own happiness, because
God is glorified in it. There is an inconceivable delight in seeing,
knowing, and being beloved of God.
[5.] Delight maketh way for fruition ; for the more we delight in
God, the more doth God delight in us, and giveth us the actual
fruition of himself for our blessedness, so that we are fully satisfied.
It is fruition maketh us happy. We can only speak of it in general
terms, the filling up of the soul with God, and of the ' glory that
shall be revealed in us/ Rom. viii. 18. We are in God, and God in
us ; as fire in iron that is red hot, it seemeth all on fire. Thus can
we prattle a little, and darken counsel with words.
2. Backward again. Fruition maketh way for delight. We enjoy
God to the full, therefore we delight in him. We are bidden to re
joice in our pilgrimage : Phil. iv. 4, ' Rejoice in the Lord always, and
again I say, Rejoice.' God hath made our work a part of our wages,
to train us up by degrees. But now, when we come to heaven, we
enter into our master's joy. It is our only work in heaven ; painful
affections have no more use. And joy maketh way for love ; these
mutual endearments pass between God and us to increase love. We
delight in God, therefore we are never weary of him. And love
maketh way for likeness, and light for likeness, eadem velle et nolle.
There is the most perfect imitation and resemblance of God, because
the most perfect love. And for light, there is light in this fire ; blunt
iron, if it be made red hot, pierceth deeper than a sharp tool : we
have but one object. And likeness maketh way for knowledge : Mat.
v. 8, ' Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.' A dusky
glass doth not give a perfect representation. Ignorance is the fruit of
sin. Man never knew less than since he tasted of the tree of know
ledge. Holiness clarifies the eye : ' We shall be like him, for we
shall see him as he is,' 1 John iii. 2. There is little proportion be
tween God and men, and therefore we do not know him ; when we
are conformed to God, we are in a greater capacity to understand his
nature. And then light, or mental sight, maketh way for ocular
sight, that we may look upon Christ. It is a sweet employment to
see the brightness of the Father's glory in Christ's face ; there is God
best to be seen at the rebound and by reflection ; it is a delightful
spectacle.
Use 1. To ravish your hearts with the contemplation of this happi
ness. Oh ! what an affective sight is Christ's glory !
1. The sight itself is a privilege.
2. That we shall be able to see it with comfort.
1. The sight itself is a privilege. Abraham had a sight of his
incarnation, when it was a thing long after to come, and it filled him
with joy : John viii. 56, ' Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my
day ; and he saw it, and was glad.' Simeon saw him when he was a
child, and then said, ' Now it is enough ; ' Luke ii. 29, 30, ' Now, Lord,
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word ; for
106 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SEE. XLII.
mine eyes have seen thy salvation.' Zaccheus climbed up into a tree
to see him. When he was grown up, Luke xix. 4, yet then he went
up and down as the carpenter's son. Many saw Christ in person that
had no benefit by him. So to see him by faith and spiritual illumin
ation fills the soul with joy : 1 Peter i. 8, ' Whom having not seen, we
love ; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice
with joy unspeakable and full of glory/ To know Christ by hearsay
is lovely and glorious ; but now what will it be to see Christ in the
midst of angels and blessed saints face to face ? He is another manner
of Christ than ever we thought him to be. It is ravishing to behold
him in ordinances ; feasts are poor things to be spoken of to that.; but
yet there is a veil upon his glory. Oh ! that there should be such a
glorious spectacle provided for us ! It is God's own blessedness to see
himself and enjoy himself.
2. That we are able to behold it, and that with comfort. That we
are able to behold it : The world is a dark place, and we are weak
creatures ; our eyes now are like the eyes of an owl before the sun ;
we cannot take in a full representation of his greatness, nor bear the
lustre of his majesty. God is sometimes represented as dwelling in
light, to show the lustre of his majesty : 1 Tim. vi. 16, ' Who only
hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach
unto.' And sometimes as dwelling in darkness, as noting the weakness
of our apprehensions : Ps. xviii. 11, ' He made darkness his secret place ;
his pavilion round about him were dark waters, and thick clouds of the
sky.' We are dark creatures, and can but guess ; all is mystery and
riddle to us. The children of Israel cried out, ' We cannot see God
and live ;' Deut. v. 25, ' Now therefore why should we die? for this
great fire will consume us ; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God
any more, then we shall die.' God is fain to dwell in the heavens,
and fix his throne there ; his glory would drive us to our wits' end,
the very happiness of heaven would not be a mercy upon earth. And
then, that we may behold it with comfort. God in Christ is not
formidable. Wicked men shall see Christ, but they shall see him as
a judge ; but, saith Job, with these eyes shall I see my redeemer :
Job xix. 25-27, ' I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall
stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin,
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God ; whom mine
eyes shall behold, and not another's.' Every time we look upon Christ,
we have the liveliest and sweetest sense of God's love, it bringeth to
remembrance his passion and sufferings. Wicked men shall see him
as a judge to their terror, as Joseph's brethren were ashamed to look
on him, they cannot hold up their guilty heads ; but we come to
behold our best and beloved friend, to see him that laid down his life
for us : John xv. 13, ' Greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friend/ To see such a friend will be
comfortable.
Use 2. Strive to get an interest in so great a privilege. Who are
those that shall have an interest in it ?
1. They that are careful to serve Christ here : John xii. 26, ' If
any man serve me, let him follow me ; and where I am, there also
shall my servant be ;' ' His servants shall serve him, and they shall see
VER. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvir. 107
his face,' &c., Eev. xxii. 3, 4. Those that have suffered with him
and sighed with him, that have owned him now, a hidden Christ,
shall have the honour to behold him a glorious Christ ; they that
encourage themselves with these hopes, One day I shall see Christ :
Ps. xxvii. 13, ' I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the good
ness of the Lord in the land of the living.' The true land of the living
is heaven ; the world is but the valley of the dead, or the place of
mortality. The queen of Sheba took a long journey to beholxl the
glory of Solomon, which yet was but a temporal, fading, and earthly
glory.
2. They that begin their happiness here make it their study to know
Christ : John xvii. 3, ' This is life eternal, to know thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent;' there is the foundation
and the beginning of it. Study Christ in his natures, person, offices ;
this is fit work for saints. Saith Moses, Exod. xxxiii. 18, ' Show me
thy glory. ^
[1.] It is an increasing light, but to the wicked it is a growing
darkness ; CTKOTCK; egarepov, ' outer darkness,' Mat. xxv. 30 ; there they
are held in chains of darkness. You love darkness better than light,
and you shall have darkness enough one day. Now there is a thick
curtain and veil drawn between you and Christ, and hereafter there
will be a deep gulf; but our work in heaven is to behold Christ's
glory. Can a man look for it, and not follow on to know the Lord ?
None shall have a sight of Christ hereafter that do not know him now.
[2.] It must be such a light as carries proportion with the light of
glory, that is, an affective, transforming light.
(1.) An affective light. Many may study to warm the brain, but
not the heart : Horn. ii. 20, ' Which hast, popfav TT?? yva>ae(os, the
form of knowledge, and of the truth in the law.' They may discourse
more exactly than a good Christian, have a map and model of truth
in the brain ; they dig in the mines of knowledge that Christians may
have the gold. Do you see him with any affection ? Do you strive,
above all things, to see his face ? Ps. xxvii. 4, ' One thing have I desired
of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of
the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and
to inquire in his temple.' It is David's unicum, Moses' ravishment,
when he saw God's back parts : Exod. xxxiv. 9, ' If now I have found
grace in thy sight, Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go amongst us.'
That is one effect of the sight of God ; a man would not be without
his company : ' I pray thee go amongst us ;' as Absalom said, 2 Sam.
xiv. 32, ' Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Where
fore am I come from Geshur ? It had been good for me to have been
there still : now therefore let me see the king's face ; and if there be
any iniquity in me, let him kill me ; ' as if he should say, Let him kill
me rather than deny me the king's face. Prize this above all the
world : Ps. iv. 6,7,' Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance
upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time
that their corn and their wine increased ; ' Ps. Ixxx. 3, ' Cause thy face
to shine, and we shall be saved.'
(2.) It is transforming : 2 Cor. iii. 18, ' We all with open face,
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the
108 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLII.
same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.'
Light and grace do always go together. It is such a looking upon
Christ as Laban's sheep looked upon the peeled rods in the gutter ; it
maketh us more like Christ. Sight worketh upon the imagination in
brute beasts ; shall not the eye of faith be more strong to change than
natural imagination ? A bare empty contemplation will do you no
good ; those that find themselves to be the old man still, let them
have never so much knowledge, it is no sign of grace, nor of an interest
in glory.
Use 3. Let the foresight of this glorious estate wean thee from all
inordinate affections to human and earthly glory. There is ' the lust
of the eyes/ 1 John ii. 16. By the eyes we fire our hearts. Doth a
stately glorious house allure thee ? What is this to heaven, the palace
of God, and the mansion of blessed spirits ? Do' glorious garments
and apparel bewitch thee ? What is this to our robes of righteous
ness, and those garments of salvation wherewith the saints shall be
clothed in the day of the manifestation of the sons of God ? Doth the
face of earthly majesty astonish thee ? What will it be to behold the
Lord Jesus in all his majesty and glory ? As the sun puts out the
candle, so thould the forethought of these excellences extinguish in us
carnal desire, and dissolve the enchantment that would otherwise
bewitch our souls, and make us impatient under the cross. Beware
of the vanity of the eye, if it be consecrated to behold Christ's glory.
Fifthly, The next thing is the reason of all this, the Father's eternal
love to Christ, and in Christ to us : ' For thou hast loved me before
the foundation of the world,' that is, from all eternity, as the phrase
is often used in this sense in scripture. But how was Christ loved
from all eternity ? I answer Partly as the eternal Son of God :
Prov. viii. 21-30, before the mountains were settled, before the hills
were brought forth ; partly as mediator, designed from all eternity,
and so ' loved before the foundation of the world,' as he was ' slain
before the foundation of the world,' Kev. xiii. 8. Christ was our
mediator from all eternity ; not only before we were born, but before
ever he came in the flesh. To the eyes of God all things are present,
nothing is past, nothing is to come. But why is this made a reason ?
I answer It is a reason :
1. Of the last clause; the glory given to Christ is a fruit and evi
dence of God's eternal love to him as mediator ; for so he is considered
here ; for whatever was given to Christ was given to him as mediator,
for to the divine nature nothing can be given ; though the Father be
the fountain of the godhead, yet he is not so properly said to give
glory to Christ as God, because he loved him.
2. Of the whole verse, and so you may conceive it either thus, that
he improved his whole interest in the Father, conjuring him by his
infinite and eternal love, or rather from love to himself inferreth love
to us ; thou hast loved me, and them in me ; for we also are loved
before the foundation of the world : Mat. xxv. 34, ' Come, ye blessed
of my Father, inherit a kingdom prepared for you before the founda
tion of the world.'
The point to be discussed is, the eternity of God's love to Christ,
and in Christ to us.
VER. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 109
1. The eternity of God's love to Christ, as God, as his Son ; the
love of parents to children is but a shadow of it. We are finite, so
are our affections. As his image : Heb. i. 3, ' Who is the brightness
of his glory, and the express image of his person.' Likeness is the
ground of love. God loves Christ, not only as like him, but as being
of the same essence with himself : 1 John v. 7, ' For there are three
that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost,
and these three are one.' There is no created instance to answer it :
all that we love are without us, but Christ is of the same essence with
God. Then he loveth him as mediator and head of the church. He
doth not only love us in Christ,. but in a sort he loveth Christ in us,
because of the complacency that he took in his obedience : John x.
17, ' Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life
that I might take it again.' God did therefore eternally love him,
and glorify his manhood for his love to us.
2. In God's loving Christ he loved us. We are elected in him. before
the foundation of the world : Eph. i. 4, ' According as he hath chosen
us in him before the foundation of the world.' When God chose
Christ to be mediator, he chose us in Christ. This is the method of
the divine decrees. God from all eternity resolved to create man pure
and innocent, but with a changeable will, to permit him to fall ; and
he resolved on the remedy, Christ, and in Christ to receive them to
grace, and accept them to life again. First he loveth Christ, and then
us in him ; as a king doth not only love a subject that hath done him
service, but all his friends and kindred, they are brought to court, and
preferred for his sake.
3. This love to us was eternal also : 2 Tim. i. 9, ' Who hath saved
us, and called us with an holy calling ; not according to our works, but
according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began.' So Titus i. 2, ' In hope of eternal life,
which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.' But
how then are we children of wrath by nature, the elect as well as
others ? Eph. ii. 3, ' And were by nature children of wrath, even as
others.' Ans. That showeth the merit of the natural estate, not the
purpose and decree of God. There are vessels of wrath, viz., the re
probate ; and children of wrath, viz., the unregenerate elect ; and
children under wrath, viz., children of God under desertion. It notes
not what God hath determined in his everlasting counsel, but what we
deserve by nature and in the course of his justice.
Use I. It is a ground of hope why we may look for everlasting life,
because of God's eternal love. So it is urged here. There are two
grounds of hope the eternity of his love, and his love to Christ.
1. The eternity of his love. From eternity it began, and to eternity
it continueth ; before the world was, and when the world shall be no
more : Ps. ciii. 17, ' The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to
everlasting, upon them that fear him ; and his righteousness unto
children's children.' It is the weakness of man to change purposes ;
God's love is not fickle and inconstant. We have good purposes, but
they are speedily blasted, but certainly God's eternal purpose shall
stand. So that the great foundation of our hope is, the immutable
love of God the Father. He that seeth all things at once cannot be
110 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SEE. XLII.
deceived ; we are ignorant of futurity, and therefore upon new events
change our minds. Whatever falleth out, God repenteth not : Bom.
xi. 29, ' For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.' His
ancient love continues still. We have many backsliding thoughts ;
we think to love God, but new temptations carry us away, and so we
are fickle and changeable ; but God changeth not, he cannot deny
himself.
2. His love to Christ, which is the ground of his love to us. It is
the wisdom of God that the reasons why man should be loved should
be out of man himself, in and among the persons of the godhead. The
Son loveth us, because the Father requireth it ; and the Father loveth
us, because the Son merited it ; and the Holy Ghost, that proceedeth
from the Father and the Son, loveth us, because of the Father's pur
pose and the Son's purchase. And then the Holy Ghost's work is a
new ground of love. As long as the Son is faithful to the Father, and
God regardeth the obedience of Christ and the work of the Spirit, we
are sure to be loved. But will not such an absolute certainty make
way for looseness ? It is possible it may with a carnal heart, for the
very gospel is to some the savour of death unto death, but to the elect
it cannot be. The great gift of God's eternal love is holiness : Eph.
i. 4, ' According as he hath chosen us in him, before the foundation of
the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in
love.' And so for Christ's love : Eph. v. 25, 26, 'Christ loved the
church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it
by the washing of water by the word.' And the Holy Ghost worketh
us to this very thing: 2 Thes. ii. 13, 'Through sanctification of the
Spirit.' If we turn a wheel round, the wheel of necessity must run
round. If God loveth us eternally, we must be holy. There is not
only a necessity of precept, but of consequence ; he hath not only com
manded it, but it must be so.
Use 2. It commendeth God's love, that you may admire it. Kemem-
ber it is eternal, of an old standing ; and all that is done to us in time
are but the issues and fruits of eternal love.
1. It is eternal, as ancient as God himself. There was no time when
God did not think of us and love us. We are wont to prize an ancient
friend : the oldest friend that we have is God ; he loved us, not only
before we were lovely, but before we were at all ; he thought of us
before we could have a thought of him. In our infancy we could not
so much as know that he loved us ; and when we came to years of dis
cretion, we knew how to offend him before we knew how to love him
and serve him. Many times God is not in all our thoughts, when he
is thinking how to bless us and do us good. Let us measure the short
scantling of our lives with eternity, wherein God showeth love to us.
We began but as yesterday, and are sinners from the womb ; the
more liberal we find God to be, the more obstinate are we, yet he
repenteth not of his ancient love. Certainly if God should stay till he
found cause of love in us, we should never be loved.
2. Look to the effects of his love in time. We receive new effects
of his love every day, but all cometh out of his ancient and eternal
love in Christ ; though the effects be new, the love is ancient. It is
good sometimes to trace God in the paths of his love, by what strange
VER. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. Ill
providences our parents came together, that we might have a being,
how wonderfully were we preserved, that we might not be cut off in
our natural estate ! How were we converted many times, when we
did think of no such matter ! Everlasting love sets itself awork : Jer.
xxxi. 3, ' I have loved thee with an everlasting love ; therefore with
loving-kindness have I drawn thee.' What could move God when
Paul was in the heat of his persecution ? How wonderfully did God
take us in our month, send afflictions to stop the course and career of
sin ! 1 Cor. xi. 32, ' For when we are judged, we are chastened of the
Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world/ How many
disappointments did we meet with in a carnal course ! As David said
to Abigail, 1 Sam. xxv. 32, 33, ' Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
which sent thee this day to meet me. And blessed be thy advice, and
blessed be thou which hast kept me this day from coming to shed
blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.' Oh 1 how
sweet is it to see eternal love in all that befall eth us ! It will be our
speculation in heaven ; we shall know as we are known, and be able to
interpret all the windings and circuits of providence.
Use 3. It shameth us that we adjourn and put off our love to God
till old age. When we have spent our strength in the world, and
wasted ourselves in Satan's work, we dream of a devout retirement.
Oh ! consider, God's love to us is as ancient as his being ; and are not
we ashamed that we should put off God till the latter and more de-
crepid part of our lives ? It is a commendation to be an old disciple,
and God loveth an early love : Jer. ii. 2, ' Thus saith the Lord, I re
member thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals ;'
before our affections are prostituted to other objects. Under the law,
the first-fruits were the Lord's ; he should' have the first. God's
children are wont to return love for love, and like love ; therefore let
it be as ancient as you can. Do not say, Art thou come to torment me
before my time ? and dream of a more convenient season.
Use 4. It teacheth us to disclaim merit.
1. God's love was before our being and acting. Paul, out of a less
circumstance, concludeth election not to be of works : Rom. ix. 11,
' For the children being yet unborn, neither having done good or evil,
that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of
works, but of him that calleth, it was said, The elder shall serve the
younger.' God's election is before all acts of ours ; therefore we
deserve nothing, but all is from God. It is not a thing of yesterday ;
our love is not the cause of God's, neither is it a fit reward and satis
faction.
Object. But doth not God foresee our good works, or at least faith
and final perseverance ? He knew who would believe the gospel, who
would live holy, and who would remain in their sins.
I answer If this were true, there were not such a gracious freedom
in grace. It is true God foreseeth all things that shall be, but first he
fore-ordaineth them. Prescience includeth and supposeth preordina
tion. Things are not because they are foreseen ; but they are fore
seen, because they shall be. From predestination issueth faith, sancti-
fication, perseverance. So that we are not chosen because we are holy,
but to be holy : Eph. i. 4, ' According as he hath chosen us in him
112 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLII.
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, and with
out blame before him in love.' And to be rich in faith : James ii. 5,
' Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this
world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which he hath promised
to them that love him ? ' As Paul saith of himself, 1 Cor. vii. 25, ' I
give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be
faithful ; ' not that God foresaw that he was so. Our ordination to
life is the cause of faith : Acts xiii. 48, ' As many as were ordained to
eternal life believed.'
2. When we were, we were not lovely ; there was nothing to excite
God to show us mercy. Our natural condition is described, Titus iii.
3, ' For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived,
serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, aTvyrjToi,
fua-ovvres aXX^Xou?, hateful, and hating one another.' All are abomin
able and worthy of hatred, yet one hateth another, as if he were lovely,
and the other only abominable.
There are two causes of self-conceit; we have not a spiritual dis
cerning, and are partial in our own cause, and guilty of self-love.
[1.] We have not a spiritual discerning, a-Tvyrjroi ; we are filthy,
deformed, hateful in the eyes of God, stink in the nostrils of God. If
we see a deformed creature, overgrown with scurf and sores, or a stink
ing carcass, we turn away the head in great abomination, and cry,
Oh, filthy 1 yet we are all so before God. A toad, a stinking carcass,
cannot be so loathsome to us as a sinner is to God. If a man had but
a glass to see his own natural face, he would wonder that God should
love him. Indeed we have a glass, but we have not eyes. What
could God see in us to excite him to show mercy ? God is not blinded
with the vehemence of any passion ; yea, the object is uncomely, un
comely to a spiritual eye, much more to the Father of spirits.
[2.] Self-love blindeth us, /uo-oCz/re? d\\rj\ov<;. If men would hold
together, and like one another, all would be well ; but now we cannot
love one another and live with one another in safety, we seem such odd
creatures. Fratrum concordia rara est. We are hateful creatures to
God, to angels, to devils, to ourselves.
Object. But some are more civil and refined.
Ans. It is true natural corruption doth not break out in all with a
like violence ; but a benumbed snake is a snake, a sow washed is not
changed. As when the liver groweth, other parts languish ; one great
lust intercepteth the nourishment of other corruptions.
Object. But do not some use free-will better than others ? Sure God
loveth them more !
Ans. No ; ' Not according to the works which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us/ Titus iii. 5. God's original
motives to do good are from himself.
Use 5. We are not to measure God's love by temporal accidents.
That which cometh from eternity, and tendeth to eternity, that is an
evidence of his special love : Eccles. ix. 1, ' No man knoweth either
love or hatred, by all that is before him ; ' ' The pleasures of sin are for
a season,' Heb. xi. 25, and afflictions are for a season ; but spiritual
blessings in heavenly places, which come from heaven, and tend to
heaven, which have no dependence upon this world, whether it stand
or no, these evidence the best love, God's special mercy. Why, they
VEU. 24.] SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. 113
were devised before ever the foundations of the world were laid, and it
is most of all showed when the world is at an end. Therefore moderate
your desires of earthly things, which the apostle calls ' this world's
goods,' 1 John iii. 17 ; they are of no use in eternity. And bear
afflictions with more patience ; you do but lose a little for the present,
that you may be safe for ever. Hie ure, hie seca, ut in ceternum parcas.
Use 6. It presseth us to get an interest in this eternal love. How
shall we discern it ?
1. By the scope and aim of your lives and actions. Do you labour
for another world ? 2 Cor. iv. 18, ' While we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen : for the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are
eternal,' pr) O-KOTTOVVTWV r^av. What is your heart set upon, and
what do you make your scope and aim ? A child of God prayeth.
professeth, in order to eternity. A man shall know his general scope
by what satisfieth him. Are you contented with the world, to have
your names written in earth, to have your whole portion in this life, for
other things you will give God a discharge ? Luther would not give
God an acquittance, valde protestatus sum me nolle sic a Deo satiari.
Grace must have eternity, for it would fain answer God's love ; it would
live for ever, for ever to praise God and serve God. All the world will
not satisfy it without this eternal enjoyment of God.
2. Have you an eternal principle ? Is there a life begun that cannot
be quenched ? Is the immortal seed conveyed into your hearts ? 1
Peter i. 23, ' Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incor
ruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.'
Then certainly thou art loved from eternity, for thou hast a pledge of
it. First or last there is a work wrought in their souls, that can never
be undone and disannulled, something that is of an everlasting nature.
And therefore what seeds of eternity hath God planted in your hearts ?
Common graces and moral virtues, these are of no long continuance ;
the soul must have an abiding work, an immortal work.
3. You may know it by this : you will be much in trial, whether
this be wrought in you or no, whether there be such an eternal prin
ciple conveyed into your hearts. Morality is puffed up, never suspects
itself, and common grace puts us into good moods, now and then gives
eome tastes and flashes : Heb. vi. 4, 5, ' They were once enlightened,
and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the
Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of
the world to come.' Morality doth not labour to see that all is sure
and safe, and common grace only gives us some taste and flashes ; but
a child of God is looking after the unction that will abide, the seed
that remaineth ; and is careful to see that there is grace, and to be
increasing in grace, and is always examining whether it be real.
VOL. XI.
114 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLIII.
SEKMON XLIII.
righteous Father, the world hath not known thee : but I have knoivn
thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. JOHN XVII.
25.
OUR Lord had laid down the object of his prayers and the matter of
them, and now he comes to the reasons, though in such affectionate
addresses to God we should not be anxious in stating the method.
Some conceive this a doxology ; as Mat. xi. 25, 26, 'I thank thee,
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things
from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even
so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.' He had fully dis
charged his office as a prophet, and therefore giveth thanks. But I
rather look upon it as a part of the supplication. He had made his
will and testament, and now allegeth the equity of it. Here
1. A compilation, ' righteous Father/
2. The qualification of the disciples for that glory which he sought
for them, saving knowledge. Which is illustrated
[1.] By its opposite, the affected and obstinate ignorance of the
world, ' The world hath not known thee.'
[2.] By its efficient and exemplary cause, ' But I have known thee.'
First, A compilation, ' Kighteous Father.' In which there is an
irgument secretly couched, for always titles of God are suited to the
matter in hand. It is brought to show the reason why the world is
excluded the participation of heavenly glory, and the equity in be
stowing it upon the elect. He had before called him ' Holy Father,'
now ' Kighteous Father.'
God is just and righteous two manner of ways in a legal and in an
evangelical sense. In a legal sense, his justice is rewarding men
according to the merit of their actions. Thus he dealeth with the
reprobate lost world. In the evangelical sense, God's righteousness
doth not regard the merit of their actions, but the state of the person ;
and judgeth them rather according to what they have received than
what they have done. And so God dealeth with the elect and repro
bate ; the one are rewarded according to their works, the other
according to their state, evidenced by their works ; to both God is
just. So that I might
Observe, first, that in the condemnation of the world, God is just,
though they remain in blindness.
1. Because God hath done enough ; God is aforehand with them ;
they have more means than they use well. The Gentile world had
light enough from the creatures to convince them of the true God :
Rom. i. 19, 20, ' Because that which may be known of God is mani
fest in them, for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible
things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
godhead; so that they are dva7ro\6<yr)Tnt,, without excuse.' Yet they
would not acknowledge the true God. The Jewish world had miracles
enough to convince them of the true Messiah : John xv. 24, ' If I had
VER. 25.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 115
not done among them the works that no other man did, they had not
had sin ; but now they have both seen and hated me and my Father.'
The carnal world within the pale of the church have had means
enough to be better ; and though it be blind in the things of God, yet
the Lord is clear : Isa. v. 4, ' What could I have done more for my
vineyard than I have done ? ' in point of external administration.
The Lord loveth 'to be clear when he judgeth,' Ps. li. 4, compared
with Rom. iii. 26. In all debates he loveth the victory : Isaiah Ixv. 2,
' I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people,
which walketh in a way which was not good, after their own thoughts.'
None goeth to hell for want of warning : Mat. xxiii. 37, ' Jerusalem,
Jerusalem ! thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are
sent unto thee ; how often would I have gathered thy children together,
as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not.'
2. They have not done their part. They dally with means, scorn
wisdom ; their weakness is wilful, and their blindness affected. The
things of God must be spiritually discerned. But they are folly to
them : 1 Cor. ii. 14, ' For the natural man receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he
know them, because they are spiritually discerned/ There is not only
an impotency, but a scorn ; there is a positive enmity, as well as an in
capacity : John iii. 19, ' This is the condemnation, that light is come
into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their
deeds were evil.' Man is in love with his own misery ; when we should
hate sins, we hate the light that discovereth them. An ignorant
people love a sottish ministry ; the faithful witnesses are the world's
torment : Eev. xi. 10, ' These two prophets tormented them that
dwelt on the earth.' The world would fain lie down upon the bed of
ease, and sleep. Light is troublesome to sore eyes. Ignorant priests
are the people's idols ; the blind lead the blind, and they both fall
into the ditch. They do not only err in their minds, but err in their
hearts ; the one is sad, the other worse. It is evil that we do not
know, it is doubly evil that we desire not to know : Job xxi. 14,
' Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the
knowledge of thy ways.' Spiritual blindness is worse than bodily.
When Elymas was stricken blind, he desired somebody to lead him by
the hand, Acts xiii. 11. We count it our happiness to have fit guides ;
but in spiritual blindness it is quite otherwise ; we cannot endure a
faithful guide : ' the prophets prophesy lies and the people love to have
it so.' Blind people are all for blind guides.
Use 1. Let it set God clear. He loveth to have it so. When he
corneth to judgment, 'the books shall be opened,' Eev. xx. 12. We
are apt to quarrel his justice, for leaving so great a part of the world
in the dark. Remember he is aforehand with means, and they love
the state they are in. God leaveth no man without a sufficient con
viction and witness of himself.
Use 2. Let sottish men know that God is not all mercy and all
honey. Usually our desires transform God into that shape which we
fancy. A libertine would have God all mercy and all patience, be
cause he desires him to be so. Affections make opinions: Ps. 1. 21,
' Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself.' But
116 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SEE. XLIII.
be not deceived ; to the blind world God will be severe, but just : Isa.
xxvii. 11, ' It is a people of no understanding ; therefore he that made
them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will
show them no favour/ Ignorance is fatal and deadly to the heathens :
2 Thes. i. 8, ' In flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know
not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.'
We pity them, and say, Poor ignorant creatures ! We Jiate a
drunkard, but we pity an ignorant man. But God is very angry with
them, because he knoweth the wickedness of their hearts, how many
means they have withstood, and how much light they have abused.
God doth not measure sins by the foulness of the act, but by the
unkindness and ingratitude of it. The blind and the lame are equally
an abomination to the Lord. To want knowledge is as bad as to
want obedience ; it will be no excuse.
Object. Ay ! but they have good meanings, and surely God will
not deal in justice and rigour with them: we are ignorant, but our
heart is good.
Ans. Prov. xix. 21, ' Without knowledge the heart is not good.'
Ignorance is so far from being the mother of devotion, as the Papists
say, that it is the great hindrance of it. Simple credulity may be
more awful and scrupulous, as men in the night have many fears ; but
God loveth rational service, not blind obedience : 1 Chron. xxviii. 9,
' And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and
serve him with a perfect heart and a willing mind.' Worship with
out knowledge is but a blind guess and loose aim, as Christ reproveth
the Samaritans for worshipping they knew not what, John iv. 22.
Certainly we are not so sensible of the danger of ignorance as we
should be. Men live sensually, and die sottishly, and then perish
eternally ; they live by guess at best, and some devout aims ; and
when they come to die, they die by guess, in a doubtful uncertain way ;
like men that leap over a deep gulf blindfold, they know not where
their feet shall light.
Observe, secondly, that God is not only merciful, but just, in the
reward of the godly or glorifying the elect. Christ is praying and
arguing for heavenly glory, and he giveth God the title of ' Righteous
Father.' You shall see all your privileges are made to come from
righteousness. Pardon of sins, which is one of the freest acts of God,
and wherein he discovereth most of his mercy : 1 John i. 9, ' If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' This is the mystery of divine
grace. So also for eternal rewards : 2 Thes. i. 6, 7, ' Seeing it is a
righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that
trouble you.' You will think that it is righteous indeed that God
should punish the wicked ; but read on : ' But to you who are
troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed,' &c.
But how is God's righteousness and justice interested in our rewards ?
1. Partly it is engaged by Christ's merit. Though to us it be
mere grace, yet as to Christ it is just, Christ's satisfaction being equi
valent to the violation of God's majesty, and therefore it is just to
pardon us. It is just for the creditor to forgave the debtor when the
surety hath paid. So Christ's blood is not only \vrpov, a ransom, but
, a price. It is just with God to glorify us; Christ's
VER. 25.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 117
righteousness giveth us a right. This reason you have, Eom. iii.
24-26, 'Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption
that is in Jesus Christ ; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation,
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remis
sion of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. To de
clare, I say, at this time his righteousness ; that he may be just, and
the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.' God being satisfied by
Christ, can be gracious to the creature without disparagement to his
justice ; the mediator interposeth, his satisfaction is accepted. This
was that the wise men of all times busied themselves in, how God
could do good to the creature without disparagement to his justice.
But all their devices were frustrate ; Christ alone bringeth the blood
to the mercy-seat.
2. God is fast bound by his own promise : James i. 12, ' Blessed is
the man that endureth temptation ; for when he is tried, he shall
receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that
love him.' And it is a part of justice to make good his word. Pro-
mittendo se facit debitorem. The qualification being supposed, we
may challenge him upon it : Ps. cxix. 49, ' Remember thy word unto
thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope/ He biddeth
us put him in remembrance he hath drawn us to these hopes : 2 Tim.
iv. 8, ' Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not
to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.' Upon
which Bernard noteth, Paulus expectat coronam justiiice; sed justitice
JDei, non sues : justum est ut reddat quod debet, debet autem quod
pollicitus est. It is just with God to pay what he oweth, and he oweth
what he promised. Therefore Chrysostom saith it was o-re^ai/o? eXeou?
Kai SiKaioo-vwrrs. We may say to God, Eedde quod promisisti, though
not Eedde quod debes.
3. By positive ordinance, that every man shall receive according to
the kind of his work, the wicked according to their wicked actions, and
the good according to their good actions : Mat. xvi. 27, ' Then he shall
reward every man according to his works.' Now, lest any should think
it is meant of wicked men only, the apostle tells us, 2 Cor. v. 10,
' Every one shall receive the things done in his body, according to that
he hath done, whether it be good or bad.' God is not arbitrary in his
judgment, it is the rule of process. All shall be rewarded in the gene
ral, quoad genus, according to the kind of their works ; wicked men
quoad meritum, because eternal punishment is due to evil works, out
of the nature of the works ; but for the godly, the kind of their works
is judged, but not in rigorous justice ; they shall not be weighed
in the balance, then all would be found wanting, but brought to the
touchstone. Vce laudabili vitce hominum, si (remota misericordid)
discutias earn, saith Gregory. And the apostle, James ii. 12, 'So speak
ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.'
Use 1. See how careful God is to preserve the honour and the awe
in us of his justice, even in his rewards of grace. God will be just ;
he is very careful to preserve the notions which the creature hath of
his own essence inviolable. He will not exercise mercy to the preju
dice of his justice ; there must be some way to represent him still a
righteous Father.' God would give his own Son to the death that he
118 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLIII.
might appear righteous. God will not love * that honour. Therefore
stand in awe, and sin not, lest thou come short of the grace offered in
Christ ; lest you find him just in a legal sense, while you abuse the
mercy of the. gospel.
' Use 2. It is to give us a sure ground of hope : Heb. vi. 10, ' For
God is not unrighteous, to forget your work and labour of love.' That
which is most terrible in God is the pawn and pledge of our salvation.
Conscience, which is God's deputy, is never satisfied till God be satis
fied ; for this thought cannot be plucked out of our minds, that God
is an avenger. If we had not a sufficient satisfaction, we should
always be troubled. Wherewith shall he be appeased ? Micah vi. 6,
7, ' Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the
high God ? Shall I come before him with burnt-pfferings, with calves
of a year old ? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or
with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall I give my first-born for my
transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ? ' If a
poor creature were in debt, and haling to prison, and a king should
say, I will engage my whole revenue but I will pay it, how would this
comfort him ! Certainly Christ was responsible enough. We are not
so cheerful in his service as we should be, now justice is made our
friend. Make use of it in great dejections and pangs of conscience :
Job xxxiii. 24, ' Then he is gracious to him, and saith, Deliver him
from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom.' When the
ram was taken, Isaac was let go. God will show mercy to our persons,
for justice is satisfied in our surety. You have a double claim and
hold fast upon him in every court ; you may come before the tribunal
of justice as well as the throne of grace. When you are fainting in
service, encourage yourselves : ' Verily there is a reward for the right
eous,' Ps. Iviii. 11. One day or another the saints shall be rewarded,
their labour and service shall not be lost.
Secondly, The qualification, saving knowledge ' These have known
that thou hast sent me.' It is urged as a reason why they should
behold his glory hereafter, because they make it their care to know
God in Christ here. Here are two propositions :
1. The only way to come to blessedness is by the knowledge of the
true God.
2. There is no knowledge of the true God without the knowledge of
Jesus Christ as mediator.
First proposition, That the only way to blessedness is by the know
ledge of the true God. This I prove
1. Because the foundation of the eternal state must be laid in this
life. Now the foundation and superstructure must carry a proportion.
What is the great happiness of heaven, and the blessedness of the
creature ? The beatifical vision ; and therefore we must begin it here
in knowledge, and in the study of God : John xvii. 3, ' This is life
eternal, to know thee the only and true God ;' that is, this is the
beginning of life eternal. When there is a saving light in the soul,
there is a spark kindled that will never be quenched. In the barn
corn doth not grow, but in the field. Here we labour after knowledge,
there we enjoy the perfection of it ; and according to the degrees of
1 Qu. ' lose ' ? ED.
VER. 25.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 119
knowledge and grace we attain in this life, so will be our happiness
hereafter. The state of the wicked is a growing darkness : Mat. viii. 12,
' The children of the kingdom shall be cast out into utter darkness,'
et? TO CTACOT09 TO e^(OTepov. What is that ? A darkness beyond a
darkness in tenebras ex tenebris infoeliciter exclusi : they shall be cast
out from one darkness into another. Here they are under the dark
ness of ignorance and sin, and there they shall be under the darkness
of horror and terror for evermore. The state of the wicked in helHs a
darkness that grows out of a darkness ; here they are dark, and care
not to know God, or know his ways, and the mists of darkness are
reserved for them for evermore. But now the state of the godly is
an increasing light : Prov. iv. 18, 'The path of the just is as the
shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.'
Look, as the just do increase, and go on from knowledge to knowledge,
till they attain the light of glory, as the sun climbeth up to the top
of the meridian by degrees, so the way of the wicked is darkness ;
they go on from darkness to darkness, and the mist of darkness is
reserved for them. Ignorance makes way for sin, and sin for hell.
They are hastening downwards from darkness to darkness, and we
hasten to the perfect day, from grace to glory.
2. There is no serving or enjoying of God but by knowledge. I do
not plead for a naked knowledge, and an inactive speculation, but such
as is accompanied with faith, love, and obedience, otherwise it is no
true knowledge. No knowledge, no faith : Kom. x. 14, ' How shall
they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? ' We must know
what Christ is before we can trust him with our souls. Would a
woman accept of a man when she knows not what he is, nor from
whence he came ? Can the soul rest itself with Christ, and venture
its salvation upon him, till it knows what he is ? 2 Tim. i. 12, ' I
know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to
keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.' Faith
is an advised act, it is a child of light. Presumption is but a blind
adventure, an act that is done hand-over-head, without advice and
care ; but faith certainly presupposeth knowledge. The blind man
speaks reason in this, when Christ asked him, ' Dost thou believe on
the Son of God?' John ix. 35. He answered, ver. 36, 'Who is he,
Lord, that I may believe on him ?' And then for love. No know
ledge, no love. An unknown object never affects us. Love proceeds
from sight. Those that have a sight of the excellences of God, by
the light of the Spirit accompanying the word, they love the Lord.
And then where there is no love, there is no knowledge : 1 John iv.
8, ' He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love.' And then
for worship and obedience, that is also the fruit of knowledge ; that
worship which is performed to the unknown God is never right. As
those fruits that grow out of the sun are crabbed and sour, so all such
acts of worship as proceed not from light and knowledge are not right
and genuine. There cannot be a greater preservative from sin than
knowledge : 3 John 11, ' He that doeth evil hath not seen God.' Cer
tainly he that makes a trade and course of sin was never acquainted
with God : 1 John ii. 4, ' He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not
his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him/ And there
120 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [&ER. XLIII.
can be no enjoyment of God without knowledge, neither in a way of
grace nor in a way of comfort. Not in a way of grace : there can be
no grace without knowledge ; if we be renewed and changed, it is by
knowledge : Col. iii. 10, ' And have put on the new man, which is
renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.' If
we be strengthened in affliction, and enabled for the duties of every
condition, it is by knowledge : Phil. iv. 12, ' I know both how to be
abased, and I know how to abound ; everywhere and in all things I
am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and
to suffer need.' All communications of grace are conveyed by light.
Nor can there be any enjoyment of God in a way of comfort without
light and knowledge. Fears are in the dark ; till we have a distinct
knowledge of the nature and tenor of the covenant we are full of
fears .and doubts, which vanish as a mist before the sun when know
ledge is wrought.
Second proposition, There is no knowledge of the true God without
the knowledge of Christ as mediator. For two reasons :
1. Because God will accept no honour from the creature but in and
through Jesus Christ : John v. 23, ' That all men should honour the
Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the
Son honoureth not the Father that hath sent him.' God hath
revealed himself in Christ, and you make God an idol if you think of
him otherwise.
2. Because God out of Christ is not comfortable, but terrible. The
fallen creature cannot converse with God without a mediator. As
waters, which are salt in the sea, strained through the earth, are
sweet in rivers, so are the attributes of God in and through Christ
sweet and comfortable to the soul ; for we cannot draw nigh to God
without a screen.
Use. To press us to get knowledge. The more knowledge, the
more a man ; the more ignorant, the more brutish : Ps. xlix. 20,
' Man that is in honour, and void of understanding, is like the beasts
that perish.' And again, as knowledge doth distinguish you from
beasts, so the knowledge of God doth distinguish you from other men ;
to know God is your excellency above other men : Jer. ix. 23. 24, ' Let
not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man
glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches. But let
him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth
me, that I am the Lord,' &c. As if he had said, If you will needs
glory, it is not who is most wealthy, nor most mighty, nor most wise,
but who hath the greatest knowledge of God in Christ. Above all,
know God in Christ, that is most comfortable. Horrible est de Deo
extra Christum cogitare. It is a horrible thing to think of God out
of Christ. God in Christ is the greatest mercy the world was ever
acquainted with ; this is a speculation fit for angels: 1 Peter i. 12,
' Which things the angels desire to look into ;' Eph. iii. 10, ' To the
intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places,
might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.' And
therefore much more should it be the study of saints. But do not rest
in a naked contemplation ; there is ' a form of knowledge/ Kom. ii.
20, as well as ' a form of godliness,' 2 Tim. iii. 5, which is nothing
VER. 25.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 121
else but an artificial speculation, a naked model of truth in the brain,
which, as the winter sun, shines but warms not. But what is true
knowledge ? How shall we discover it ? I answer 1. It must be a
serious prudent knowledge, &c. [See on ver. 8.]
I now come to speak to the illustration of this qualification of saving
knowledge. It is illustrated
1. By its opposite, the affected and obstinate ignorance of the world,
' The world hath not known thee.'
2. By its efficient and exemplary cause, ' But I have known thee.'
The first illustration is from the opposite ignorance and obstinacy
of the world, ' The world hath not known thee.'
Why is this alleged ? I answer Partly to show the reason why
' they should be otherwise dealt withal than the blind world. As if he
had said, By thy righteous and wise constitution, thou hast appointed
different recompenses to men of different states ; but now ' they have
known thee,' but ' the world hath not known thee.' Partly to com
mend their acknowledgment of Christ, the world neither knowing nor
believing, yea, rather hating and persecuting thee. In the original
there is /cat, though ; so that, neither hindered by fears nor snares,
the rulers and great men were against the acknowledging of Christ,
the multitude blind and obstinate ; yet the disciples knew him, and
owned him as the Messiah, or one sent of God.
Observe, first, that it is exceeding praiseworthy to own Christ when
others disown him and reject him, to own him in the midst of the
world's blindness and madness against him. Now he is publicly
received among the nations, it is no great matter to own him now ; as
those that followed Christ in his lifetime for the loaves, John vi. 26,
when honours, and conveniences, and interests, look that way. But
to own him then, when the powers of the world, the heads and rulers
of the church are against him, when the stone is refused by the
builders, this is praiseworthy.
Now the reasons are two. It is a sign God hath a great love to
them, and it is a sign of their great love to God ; of his choice, and
their sincerity. There are two things hinder us from the sight of
truth prejudices and interests. Now it is a sign of the special direc
tion of God's Spirit when we can overlook prejudices ; and it is a sign
of our unfeigned zeal when we can deny interests.
1. It is an argument of God's love to us. This looketh like elec
tion : Mat. xxiv. 24, ' If it were possible, they shall deceive the very
elect.' There are some favourites whom God taketh into his special
care, that he may show them his counsel, and lead them into all truth.
In times when error is so countenanced, and appeareth with a plausible
face, it is a matter of great skill to find out the truth. There are
some choice ones to whom God manifests himself, when others are
left to perish in their own ways. So it is said, Ps. xxv. 14, ' The secret
of the Lord is with them that fear him.' By the secret of the Lord
is not meant the counsels of his providence ; they are revealed but to
a few, to the prophets ; this is a promise common to all that fear him ;
therefore by it is intended the counsels of the word ; those that are
his favourites, that lie in his bosom, they shall know his secrets ; as
the disciples, when they would know anything of Christ, pointed to
122 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XLIIL
the disciple whom Jesus loved : John xiii. 23, 24, ' Now there was
leaning on Jesus' bosom one of the disciples whom Jesus loved.
Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it
should be of whom he spake.'
2. It is an argument of our sincerity, to own God in times of public
contest, when it is dangerous to own him. There are some times when
God crieth, ' Who is on my side ? ' Exod. xxxii. 26, when he calleth
upon us to manifest ourselves, and providence calleth for a public
acknowledgment. Errors by God's permission are sent into the world
to try us. The Lord trieth you to see if you will be led by every fancy,
and swim with the stream. Many times the delusion is very strong,
that our trial may be the greater ; so 1 Cor. xi. 19, ' There must be
heresies, that, So/a/tot, they which are approved may be made manifest
among you.' Winds are let loose to try who are chaff, who are solid
grain ; especially an error backed with power, as when a tree is shaken,
rotten apples fall down ; such times discover hypocrites : Prov. xxvi. 26,
* Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be showed
before the whole congregation.' But now it is a great argument of
sincerity to own the truth, when the error is so plausible, and the in
convenience is great : 1 Kings xix. 10, ' I have been very jealous for
the Lord God of hosts : because the children of Israel have forsaken
thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with
the sword ; and I, even I only, am left ; and they seek my life to take
it away.' When we are left alone to contest, that is a great trial.
Use 1. Information.
1. That true zeal is not seen so much in fighting with antiquated
errors, as in being ' established in the present truth/ 2 Peter i. 12, h
rfj Trapova-r) aA/^e/a. The present truth of that age was to acknow
ledge Christ to be the Messiah. When truths are upon the stage,
then to give our testimony to them, this is to be God's witnesses. To
declaim against the errors of former ages is but a safe and wary zeal.
The Jews that opposed Christ yet pleaded for the prophets slain by
their fathers. Corah, Dathan, and Abiram were as hateful to them as
Judas to us ; but they had no eyes to see for the present. Christ taxeth
the hypocrisy of them that maligned the living prophets, and garnished
the tombs of the dead, Mat. xxiii. 29. It is no thank to own Christ
in the day of his exaltation, as when he is opposed and slighted. Old
truths are only opposed by natural prejudices, but present truths by
carnal interests.
2. That it is a great folly in them that will profess nothing till the
world be agreed. Laziness is apt to pretend want of certainty. This
is the old prejudice. Chrysostom bringeth in a heathen disputing I
would fain become a Christian, but there are so many divisions among
you, that I know not what to choose. Men are loath to put themselves
to the trouble of prayer and search, and would have all fitted to their
hands, and therefore, till all be agreed, keep themselves in a wary
reservation. Should a traveller stand still because he meeteth with
many ways? Jer. vi. 16, ' Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the way,
and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk
therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls/ Or should a man that
is sick refuse physic till all physicians be of one mind ? It is your
VER. 25.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 123
duty to search, and it is praiseworthy to own Christ in times of
contest.
3. It informeth us that a multitude is no excuse, because all went
that way. We should own Christ though the world know him not,
though it hate him, though it persecute him. We should have an
eagle eye. The old world was not spared for the multitude ; there
were but eight persons of another judgment. We often presume that
many eyes see more than one, and so spare the labour of examination ;
but one man that hath the use of his eyes seeth more than a thousand
blind men ; and often-times it falleth out that a few find the true way :
Mat. vii. 14, ' Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth
unto life, and few there be that find it.' Therefore it is brutish to
follow the track We should examine, because mostly the world is
out, and the multitude followeth that which is evil ; nay, it is rather a
ground of suspicion ; the most are not the best.
Use 2. It presseth us to be more earnest to get a clear and satis
factory knowledge in the controversies of the age, in the truths that
are now upon the stage. To that end
1. Desire the direction of Christ, and consult with him. As the
woman of Samaria, John iv. 20, ' Our fathers worshipped in this
mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought
to worship/ Whether Zion or Gerizim ? Present it often to Christ.
Prayer is the best way to get satisfaction, and our doubts are best solved
by consulting with the oracle. You can have no certain light from
men without his illumination.
2. Search and prove all things : 1 Thes. v. 21, ' Prove all things,
hold fast that which is good.' We should stand in the ways and see :
Jer. vi. 16, ' Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where
is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.'
We should be able to render \6<yov, 1 Peter iii. 15, ' A reason of the
hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.' And we have iBiov
trrrjpvypka, ' a steadfastness of our own/ 2 Peter iii. 17. We must not
only regard the consent of others, but our judgments must be balanced
with sound and weighty grounds, otherwise we shall be carried about
with every wind of doctrine, when the posture of interest is changed,
or a new opinion is started. Non exploratis traditionum rationibus
probabilem fidem portant. Such men have no principles.
But must we not hold fast what we have received ? must we always
be searching, and keeping ourselves in a wary reservation, and be
never settled ? I answer
[1.] For principles and fundamental doctrines, we are not to doubt
of them : Deut. xii. 30, ' Thou shalt not inquire after their gods, say
ing, How did these nations serve their gods ? even so will I do like
wise.' It is dangerous to loosen foundation-stones, though with an
intent to settle them better. Here we should be at a certainty.
[2.] For lesser truths, when they are already cleared, and God hath
taught them, it is good to hold fast what we have already received,
and not to loosen the assent, or keep the soul suspensive, out of a
jealousy or supposal that something may be said against what we now
hold. ' Ever learning, and never coming et9 eTriyvwcriv, to the know
ledge of the truth,' But in case of actual doubt, it is good to search.
124 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XLIII.
Doubts smothered make way for atheism or hardness of heart.
Therefore, in cases of anxiety, it is good to bring things to an issue.
Smoke maketh way for flame.
[3.] In your choice, be not swayed with interests, nor vulgar pre
judices, nor vile affections.
(1.) Not with interests. God puts us to trial, to see if we can love
a hated truth. The world is a blinding thing : 2 Cor. iv. 4, ' The god
of the world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.' Why
is Satan called ' the god of the world ' ? He throweth the dust of the
world in our eyes, and then we cannot see. We easily believe what
we readily desire, and are loath to search when we have a mind to hate.
Let the weights be never so equal, yet, if the balances be not equal,
you can never judge of the weight of anything. When the mind is
prepossessed and infected with interests, we are not capable of making
a right judgment ; as the water, when it is muddied, doth not render
and represent the face.
(2.) Not with vulgar prejudices, as prepossessions of custom and
long tradition, the opinions of holy and learned men, general consent,
pretences of a stricter way. Men would fain judge upon slight grounds,
without entering into the merits of the cause, to save the pains of study
and prayer. This is but to put a fallacy upon yourselves. Some are
against novelty, and when the ways of God are revived, they are
hardened, they will not change ; as if there were no obstinacy as well
as constancy, obstinacy in the bad angels, as well as constancy in the
good. Others are swayed by the opinions of godly learned men, whose
persons they have in admiration. There is no ipse dixit in the
church but the Lord's. It is observed that the corruptions of the
Koman synagogue were occasioned by admiration of some venerable
pastors of that church. Paul withstood Peter to the face, Gal. ii. 12,
when his credit and example was like to do hurt. Others are swayed
by general consent ; but it is dangerous following the multitude ; the
world hath been against Christ, when a few only have owned him.
Others by pretences of a stricter way : Col. ii. 23, ' Which things
have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship and humility, and
neglecting of the body.' This is to be wiser than God, and to judge
the law.
(3.) Not by vile affections, pride, passion, envy. Pride, or an over
weening opinion of our own wit and learning: John ix. 40, 'The
pharisees said, Are we blind also ? ' Proud persons, as the great
rabbies, will not seem to be in an error. Men choose rather to be
wicked than to be accounted weak. So envy at others, when men can
not be admitted into such places as they affect ; and that puts them
upon error and opposition : 1 Cor. iii. 3, ' For whereas there is among
you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as
men ? ' So passion, revenge, and discontent. The devil worketh
much upon spleen and anger, when offence is taken, whether justly, or
upon supposed occasion, it mattereth not. Many in spite and stomach
have turned atheists or heretics. Carnal Ham, when cursed of his
father, began the way of atheism.
Observe, secondly, that the reprobate world can never have any
true knowledge of God : ' The world hath not known thee.'
VER. 25 ] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 125
1. The reprobate world can go as far as nature can go : 1 Cor. ii.
14, ' The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned ; ' avdpwiros ^V^IKO^, not <rdpKi/co<;.
There are two reasons urged by the apostle a natural incapacity
and a positive enmity. (1.) A natural incapacity. He supposeth a
sufficient revelation : ' They are spiritually discerned.' There must
be a cognation between the object and the faculty. Spiritual things
lust be seen by a spiritual light. Sense, which is the light of beasts,
cannot trace the workings and flights of reason ; we cannot see a soul
or an angel by the light of a candle. So that the object must not
only be revealed, but there must be an answerable light in the faculty.
There is light enough, but we have not eyes. There needeth not a
plainer revelation. David prays, not that God would make a plainer
rule, but open his eyes : Ps. cxix. 18, ' Open thou mine eyes, that I
may behold wondrous things out of thy law.' The understanding
must be opened, as well as the scriptures : Luke xxiv. 45, ' Then
opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scrip
tures.' (2.) Positive enmity : ' They are foolishness to him.' He
looketh upon the things of God and solid piety as frivolous and vain.
When Paul came to Athens, they called him babbler : Acts xvii. 18,
' What will this babbler say ? ' The same disposition still remaineth
in natural men. Though the truths of religion, by long tract of time,
and by the consent of many ages, have obtained credit, yet men
nauseate spiritual truths and the power of godliness. A stomach ill
affected by choler casts up wholesome meats ; so do they scorn strict
ness and the holy ways of God.
2. Experience shows it. Take mere nature itself, and, like plants
neglected, it soon runneth wild ; as the nations that are barbarous,
and not polished with arts and civility, have more of the beast than
of the man in them : Jude 10, ' What they know naturally, as brute
beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.' Suppose they use
the spectacles of art to help the native light of reason with industry,
yet their eyes are blind. How erroneous in religion were the civil
lations ! Eom. i. 22, ' Professing themselves to be wise, they became
fools ;' very foolish in matters of worship. The Komans placed fear,
human passions, and every paltry thing among their gods. The ruder
and more brutish nations worshipped only the sun and thunder, things
great and wonderful. And still now we see great scholars given over
to fond superstitions. Nay, go higher ; suppose, besides the spectacles
of art, nature be furnished with the glass of the word, yet we see
reat scholars very defective in the most useful and practical points.
ficodernus, a teacher in Israel, knew not regeneration, John iii. 10.
Usually they delight rather in moral strains than mysteries of faith,
and err in one point or another ; usually in the controversies of their
age, they are blinded by pride or interest, are loath to stoop to truth
revealed, and so are outstarted by the vulgar. Surgunt indocti et
rapiunt ccelum, &c. they dispute away heaven while others surprise
it. Nay, suppose they had an exact model and proportion of faith,
and do pry into all the secrets of religion, as it is possible to do with
the common light and help of the Spirit, which is as far as a reprobate
126 . SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLIII.
can go ; yet all this is without any change of affection, without any
favour or relish of truth. This speculative and artificial knowledge
doth not change the heart.
But here is an objection ; many carnal men have great parts, and
profess the knowledge of the true God. I answer
[1.] The greatest part of the world lieth in ignorance ; they are
born in darkness, live in darkness, love darkness more than light, and
are under the powers of darkness : Eph. vi. 12, ' The rulers of the
darkness of this world.' The devil hath a large territory over all the
blind nations.
[2.] Carnal men, that own the true God, and profess him, yet in a
scripture sense they do not know him. For knowledge not being
affective, it is reputed ignorance : John viii. 54, 55, ' Of whom ye say,
that he is your God. Yet ye have not known him, but I know him :
and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you ;
but I know him, and keep his saying.' It is a lie to pretend to know
ledge without obedience : 1 John ii. 4, 5, ' And hereby we know that
we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know
him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is
not in him.' For all their great parts, they are but spiritual fools ;
they have no true wisdom, avorjTol. So are all carnal men : Titus iii.
3, ' We ourselves also were sometimes foolish,' out of our wits. They
do not understand things spiritual, and such as tend to maintain
communion with God ; they love and do those things with delight
that are against all reason, hurtful to body and soul. Natural men
are sometimes represented as fools that judge amiss, sometimes as
infants that know nothing : Isa. xxviii. 9, ' Whom shall he teach
knowledge ? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine ? they
that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breast.' Some
times as beasts, that are incapable of understanding : Ps. xxxii. 9,
* Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, that hath no understanding.'
Fools they are in their choice that prefer a nut or an apple before a
jewel ; they spend all their time in looking after riches, and honours,
and such kind of things as do not conduce to eternity ; for carnal
pleasures forfeit their souls, and yet think themselves very wise. In
their course they make war with heaven, and enter into the lists with
God, as if they were stronger than he. In their presumption, they
give out themselves for the sons of God, when they are the devil's
children ; as if a man, born of a beggar, should pretend to be the son
of a king. Fools and madmen challenge all lands as theirs, so do they
all promises and comforts. Within a little while experience will show
them to be fools ; their eyes are never opened to see their folly till it
be too late : Luke xii. 20, ' Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee ; ' Jer. xvii. 11, ' As a partridge sitteth on eggs, and
hatcheth them not, so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall
leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.'
There is no fool to the carnal fool; godly men are only wise, that
are wise to save their souls.
Use. It informeth us
1. Of our misery by nature. For as the reprobate lost world are,
so are we all by nature ; we have no knowledge of the true God : Job
VER. 25.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 127
xi. 12, 'Vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild
ass's colt.' We. are apt to think ourselves angels, but we are beasts.
Every one affects the repute of wisdom ; we would rather be accounted
wicked than weak. If a man were born with an ass's head, or were
monstrous and misshapen in his body, this were sad. It is worse to
be born with the heart of an ass, to be born like a wild ass's colt, with
such gross and rude conceits of God and holy things. This is our
estate by nature.
2. The danger of ignorance ; it is the state of the reprobate world.
It is good to think of it, partly that we may avoid it ourselves, and
strive for knowledge; partly that we may be thankful if we have
obtained knowledge ; and partly that we might pity others, as Christ
wept over Jerusalem : Luke xix. 41, 42, ' And when he was come near,
he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even
thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace !
but now they are hid from thine eyes.' It is one of God's sorest
judgments ; when the Lord hath left threatening other things, then he
threatens a blind heart and a vain mind. The great reproach that
Nahash would lay upon Israel was to put out their right eyes. The
great design of the god of this world upon the men of this world is to put
out their eyes, that they might not come to the knowledge of the truth.
3. Positive ignorance is a sign that we are of the world ; I mean,
where we have means and opportunities to the contrary, and do not
come to the knowledge of God, and of his ways : 1 John ii. 13, ' I
write unto you little children, because ye have known the Father.'
God hath no child so little but he knows his Father. The blind
world knows him not ; when there is night in the understanding, or
frost in the heart, it is a sign of a worldling ; when men are ignorant,
unteachable, and do not grow in knowledge. God's children many times
may be ignorant, and do not profit according to their advantages :
John xiv. 9, ' Have I been so long with thee, and yet hast thou not
known me, Philip ? ' that is, not known so distinctly God the Father,
and me, as coming out from him. But God's children are not alto
gether unteachable.
4. We have no reason to trust the judgment of carnal men in
matters of godliness, for they do not know God. Can blind men judge
of colours ? I urge it, that you may not be discouraged though the
world scoff at holiness. Who would take notice of the judgment of
fools ?
5. That ignorance is not only the badge of silly weak persons, but
of great men, and those that are carnally wise : Mat. xi. 25, ' I thank
thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.'
Whatever parts they have, they have no saving knowledge of God.
The godly man is the only knowing and wise man ; all others they
are but fools, however they swell with an opinion of knowledge, and
count it a reproach to be so called.
The second illustration is by the efficient and exemplary cause of
our knowledge, ' But I have known thee/ &c. All along our likeness
to Christ and unlikeness to the world is asserted.
Observe, that Christ's knowledge is the pattern and cause of ours.
128 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLIII.
We have all things at the second hand : ' I have known,' and ' they
have known.' All the candles are lighted at this torch ; or, to use a
comparison more celestial, all the stars receive their light from the
sun. Therefore he ia called, ' the Father of lights,' James i. 17, and
' the Sun of righteousness/ Mai. iv. 2.
Christ giveth us knowledge two ways by his word and by his
Spirit. Now none is fit to establish the word, none to pour out the
Spirit, but Christ.
1. None can give us a sufficient revelation of the Father but Christ,
that came out of his bosom, that knew all. his counsels: John i. 18,
' No man hath seen God at any time ; the only-begotten Son, which is
in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.' Our knowledge is
by the senses, by sight and hearsay. Now no man hath seen God,
but Christ, that was God-man, who came out of his bosom. So Mat.
xi. 27, ' No man knoweth the Son but the Father ; neither knoweth
any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will
reveal him.' To know him perfectly and comprehensively, so neither
men nor angels know him. To know him originally, so as to esta
blish a revelation with authority, and so as fit to offer the light and
knowledge of him to the creature, so none but Christ knows him ; our
faith is built on God. Human authority begets but a human faith
and credulity. It was necessary that in the bede-roll of gospel
preachers the Son of God should have the first place, that in the latter
times he should preach to us by his Son, that the ultimate resolution
of faith might be into divine authority : John vii. 29, ' But I know
him, for I am from him, and he hath sent me ; ' and John x. 15, ' As
the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father/ It is for our
confidence that the full discovery of this doctrine was reserved for the
Son of God.
2. None else can give us a capacity to learn. Jesus Christ is such
a teacher, that he doth not only give the lesson, but the wit and skill
to learn : 1 John v. 20, ' We know that the Son of God is come, and
hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true/
No matter what the scholar is, when we have such a master. We
use to inquire whether any one hath a capacity to learn. He openeth
the scriptures, and openeth the understanding to learn : Luke xxiv.
27, ' And beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded unto
them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself ; ' and ver.
45, ' Then opened he their understandings, that they might under
stand the scriptures/ There is a double veil upon the doctrine and
upon the heart ; Christ removeth both.
Use 1. If that the true knowledge of God is only to be had from
Christ, it directeth us in the use of all ordinances to look up to him ;
there must our trust be fixed, in reading, hearing, meditating. We
must use helps and means, else we tempt God, but our trust must
be elsewhere. In reading, Ps. cxix. 18, ' Open thou mine eyes, that I
may behold wondrous things out of thy law/ There are wonders in
the law, but our eyes must be opened to see them, otherwise we shall
have but a superficial and literal knowledge, when men think to find
more in books than in Christ. So in hearing, cathedram habet in
ccelis : Isa. ii. 3, ' Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the
VER. 25.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvir. 129
Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his
ways.' You come to the word to be taught by man, and yet not to be
taught by man ; in obedience you use the means, but your confidence
is on Christ, that you may hear his voice to the soul, that he that
brought the gospel out of the bosom of God may bring it into your
hearts. The dial is of no use without the sun ; except the sun shine,
you cannot see what is a-clock by the dial ; so in meditation and
study ; Christ is ' Wonderful, counsellor,' Isa. ix. 6 ; Prov. viii. 14,
' Counsel is mine and sound wisdom ; I am understanding, I have
strength.' How are men befooled that go forth in the confidence of
their own wit ! Flesh and blood are apt to stumble in God's plainest
ways. Carnal hearts turn all to a carnal purpose : Prov. xxvi. 9, ' As
a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the
mouth of fools.' The same cloud that was light to the Israelites was
darkness to the Egyptians. Luther calleth the promises ' bloody
promises,' through our perverse applications. Truth is only renewing
as taught by Christ : Eph. iv. 21, ' If so be that ye have heard him,
and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.' We cannot
tell how to master corruptions without this. The light of common
conviction is like a March sun, that draweth up aguish vapours ; it
discovereth sins, but cannot quell them. We should be apt to for
sake truth upon every temptation, unless it were for Christ's teaching :
Ps. cxix. 102, ' I have not departed from thy judgments, for thou
hast taught me;' 1 John ii. 20, ' Ye have an unction from the holy
one, and ye know all things.' When men lead us into truth, others
may lead us out again. Those that have made trial can best judge
of the difference between being taught of God and men : 1 Cor. ii. 4,
' My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.' When
the arrow cometh out of God's quiver, it sticketh in our sides. Then
we see truths with application.
Use 2. It teacheth us how to direct our prayers to Christ. Seek to
him with confidence, and with all earnestness of affection.
1. With confidence ; we despair many times because of our block-
ishness: Col. ii. 3, 'In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge.' Hidden, not that they should not be found out, but
because they are seen by the eye of faith : hidden, because deposited
there, to be dispensed to us. God made Christ a storehouse to furnish
all our necessities : 1 Cor. i. 30, ' Of him are ye iii Christ Jesus, who
of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption.' Wisdom to give us spiritual illumination. Be not
discouraged ; it is not the pregnancy of the scholar that prevaileth
here, but the excellency of the teacher. If Christ be the teacher, no
matter how dull the scholar be. Pride in parts hath been a hind
rance, but simpleness hath never been a hindrance : Ps. xix. 7, ' The
testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple ; ' Jer. xxxi.
33, 34, ' I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts : and will be their God, and they shall be my people : and they
shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his
brother, saying, Know the Lord , for they shall all know me from the
least of them to the greatest of them, saith the Lord ; ' Mat. xi. 25,
VOL. XI. I
130 SEKMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLIII.
' I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast
hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them
unto babes.' God can give to shallow and weak people great under
standing in spiritual things, as he cured him that was born blind,
John ix.
2. With earnestness : ' Cry for knowledge, and lift up thy voice for
understanding,' Prov. ii. 3. Many times God withholdeth knowledge
that we may cry for it, especially when the case is doubtful and
litigious. John wept when the book was sealed with seven seals,
Kev. v. 4. We need to cry for all grace, but especially for saving
knowledge. Let us groan and sigh when we are in the dark.
[1.] Consider the necessity of knowledge. The blind man cried
after Christ, because he knew what it was to want eyes : Luke xviii. >
41, 'Lord, that I may receive my sight.' We are not sensible of
our natural blindness as we ought to be. There is ignorance and
folly in all, but treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ. If we
are not ignorant, yet we are indiscreet. Men know not how to guide
and order their course. Certainly if you were acquainted with your
selves, you would not hold your peace.
[2.] Consider the excellency of knowledge. All knowledge is
excellent, as all light is comfortable. Knowledge is your excellency
above the beasts ; that you have receptive faculties capable of knowing
and understanding things, that you are intelligent creatures, this is
your advantage above the beasts. But saving knowledge is far more
excellent, even the knowledge of God in Christ. This is the glory of
a man : Jer. xxix. 23, 24, ' Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
neither let the mighty man glory in his might ; let not the rich man
glory in his riches ; but let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he
understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord/ &c. If men should
be able to dispute of everything that might be known, from the highest
star to the lowest shrub, this knowledge is nothing to the knowledge of
God in Christ, which is far better than all the knowledge of the ques-
tionists and disputers of this world. The fear of God, that is the best
excellency, and that is it which Christ teacheth. I observe the provi
dence of God in that one thing, viz., Solomon had wrote many books
of philosophy which are not extant, when the books of some heathens,
as Aristotle's book de Animalibus, &c., are extant ; but his books of
the fear of God are preserved by a special providence, not one of them
lost. We may want the other without any loss of true wisdom, but we
cannot want these. And therefore you are more concerned in the get
ting of saving knowledge than you are aware of. Light was the first
creature that God made, so it is the way by which all grace is wrought
in the soul ; for in all communications of grace God beginneth with
the understanding : Jer. xxxi. 19, ' After 1 was instructed, I smote
upon my thigh.' He makes the creature to submit to his providence,
to be contented in all estates and conditions : Phil. iv. 12, ' In all
things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and to suffer need/ God draws you to Christ, but his drawing is
accompanied with a teaching : John vi. 44, ' No man can come to me,
except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him ;' ver. 45, ' And they
shall be all taught of God, Every man therefore that hath heard,
VER. 26.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 131
and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.' God's drawing is
not a blind force, but there is a teaching with it. God loves rational
service, not blind obedience ; and therefore cry for knowledge, and
run to Christ that he may teach you, and lead you into the paths of
righteousness.
SEKMON XLIV.
And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it ; that
the love loher.ewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I
in them. JOHN XVII. 26.
THIS is the second reason, taken from the benefits Christ had bestowed
upon them. Here is his gift and his aim. In the first, what he had
done, what 1 he will do. Where (1.) Quid, the manifestation of his
Father's name; (2.) Quibus, to whom, principally to the apostles, and
from them to believers ; (3.) Quomodo, ' I have/ that is, by his minis
try upon earth ; and ' I will,' in the pouring out the Spirit, and his
discourses with them after the resurrection. All that needeth expli
cation is, What is meant by God's name ? Ans. The use of names
from the beginning was a distinction to separate creature from crea
ture by their appellations. At first Adam gave names to the beasts,
that their species and kinds might be distinguished, for beasts are dis
tinguished only by their herds and kinds. But the names which men
bear are individual and particular ; man being an excellent creature,
made for rule and commerce, and therefore is to be known not by his
kind, but name. But now, what is God's name ? Where there are
many, there is need of names ; but where there is but one, the singu
larity is distinction enough. But yet God hath his name, by way. of
distinction from creatures ; so we have a negative name, removing the
imperfections of the creature, and to distinguish him from those
Xey6//.ei/o6 0eot, gods that are so called. And his name is a jealous God:
Exod. xxxiv. 14, ' For thou shalt worship no other God ; for the Lord,
whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,' And by way of notification,
that we may conceive of him aright, as names are not only distinctive,
but 8r)\(0TiKa TWV TrpayftaTcov, as Damascene. So all that by which
he is known or distinguished, that is his name ; and so God hath many
names, because one cannot enough express him. His works are a part
of his name, but chiefly his word, the doctrine concerning his essence
and will : Ps. cxxxviii. 2, ' Thou hast magnified thy word above all
thy name ;' there he hath made himself most known. In creation and
providence we may read much of God, but in the bible more ; and
chiefly his word of promise and covenant, which is that theatre upon
which his mercy and truth is discovered, which is the representation
wherein God delighteth. And again, the covenant, as it is revealed in
the gospel, is a chief part of his name, for his name was secret before
the New Testament dispensation was set afoot : Judges xiii. 18, ' Why
1 Qu. ' in the second, what, &c. ' ? ED.
132 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLIY.
askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret ? ' There was little
known of the Trinity, of the Son of God, the incarnation of the Son
of God, &c.
First point, That one great privilege of the gospel is to know God
by his right name.
1. I shall show you how God's name and title hath been often
changed and altered, because he would acquaint his people with his
full name by degrees : Exod. vi. 3, ' I appeared unto Abraham, unto
Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my
name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.' First to Ahrabam, to
distinguish him from idols and false gods, El Shaddai ; then ' Jeho
vah,' as giving being to his people, making good his promises ; after,
' God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob,' as relating more
to the covenant ; then, ' God that brought them out of the land of
Egypt,' Exod. xx. 2 ; then, ' God that brought them out of the land
of the north ;' then, ' the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ;'
before that, ' the Lord our righteousness,' Jer. xxiii. 6. The Jewish
church knew little of the doctrine of the Trinity, distinction of the
persons, quality of the mediator. God proclaimed his name : Exod.
xxxiv. 6, 7, ' The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-
suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression and sin.' But the
way of pardon was not then so fully discovered. Some names God
hath from everlasting, as Eternal, Infinite ; some relate to the present
state, as Creator, Lord, God in covenant, the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob.
2. What the gospel especially doth discover more of God.
[1.] The distinction of the persons in the Godhead. At the baptism
of Christ the whole Trinity was sensibly present ; the Son in the body,
the Father in the voice, and the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove.
This was the mystery brought upon the stage.
[2.] The incarnation of Christ : 1 Tim. iii. 16, ' God manifest in the
flesh/ The world was acquainted with this great help to piety. The
Jews had a temple ; here is a temple wherein the Godhead dwelleth
bodily : Col. ii. 9, ' For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the God
head bodily/
[3.] The attributes of God are more amply declared. Every excel
lency of God hath its proper theatre where it is seen. In the gospel
all are discovered, but chiefly mercy, justice, and truth. His power
and his wisdom are seen in the world, but more in the gospel ; the
heavens do not declare half so much of the glory of God as the word
and doctrine which Christ brought out of the Father's bosom : 1 Cor.
i. 24, ' Christ the wisdom of God, and the power of God/ There is
truth : 2 Cor. i. 20, ' For all the promises of God in him are Yea,
and in him Amen/ The greatest assurance of his faithfulness was his
sending Christ ; that which we expect is nothing so difficult to believe
as the incarnation of the Son of God ; his second coming is not so un
likely as his first ; if he came to suffer, and to purchase, he will come
to reign. His wisdom in joining God and man together in the person
of Christ, justice and mercy together, comfort and duty together in the
covenant of grace ; two natures, two attributes. God loseth no honour,
VER. 26.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 133
man wanteth no encouragement. God showeth his justice : Kom. iii.
26, ' To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness, that he might
be just, and the justifier of him which belie veth in Jesus.' While the
sacrifices continued, God only showed patience and forbearance ; his
holiness and hatred of sin, by laying it on Christ, punishing it in
Christ ; his wrath, the most dreadful sight of God's wrath is upon
Golgotha ; God spared not his Son. But his grace, that was on the
top : Titus iii. 4, ' But after that the kindness and love of God our
Saviour towards man appeared/ This is the attribute that beareth
sway in the gospel. Mercy is in office ever since the fall ; there was
not so much kindness to man discovered in innocency ; God did good
to a good man, there was no mercy to enemies then ; there man was
made after God's image, here God is made after our image and like
ness. Mercy and grace comes now to show itself to the world.
Use. Let us admire and study more the name of God in the gospel.
The first letter of Christ's name is Wonderful. He is a mystery that
is worthy our contemplation. The angels have known more of God
since Christ was revealed : Eph. iii. 10, ' To the intent that now unto
the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by
the church the manifold wisdom of God.' Let it take up your thoughts,
set your minds awork : Heb. iii. 1, 'Wherefore, holy brethren, par
takers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of
our profession, Jesus Christ.' There cannot be a more affective,
humbling and heart-changing consideration.
Second point, That none can discover this name of God but Christ,
none authoritatively, none perfectly.
1. None authoritatively can fix his name by which he shall be
known among the creatures. The imposition of names implieth supe
riority ; the less is named of the greater. Adam had this favour to
name the beasts, as having authority over them : Gen. ii. 19, 20, ' And
out of the ground the Lord formed every beast of the field, and every
fowl of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call
them, and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the
name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of
the air, and to every beast of the field.' Now God is over all, there is
no higher to name him, therefore he nameth himself. Jesus Christ,
who is the very image of God, he corneth and declareth his name :
'My name is in him,' Exod. xxiii. 21. He is God, and therefore
authoritatively fixeth the name of God, establisheth the gospel as the
rule and direction of the church.
2. None can so perfectly discover him. Our hearts are too narrow
to conceive of God, and our tongues too weak to express him : Prov.
xxx. 4, ' What is his name ? and what is his Son's name ? if thou
canst tell.' Who knoweth his pedigree exactly ? Who knoweth his
being ? Who hath been in his bosom to discover him, so as Christ
hath done ? We must have a borrowed light to see him.
Use 1. Sit down with this revelation which Christ hath left in the
church ; there is enough to instruct faith, though not to satisfy curi
osity. In things not revealed, a simple nescience is better than a bold
inquiry; there is enough for service and adoration. Let not reason
prescribe to faith. He were not God if he were not incomprehensible.
134 SEKMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SEB. XLIV.
Should worms make their own apprehension the measure of divine
truth ? It is not so, because I cannot understand it ; by a candle m
the nio-ht, I cannot see it, therefore it is not. Some things are to be
received from divine testimony, though we cannot fully conceive of
them. Let us bless God for the word, and take heed unto it as to a
light shining in a dark place. It is God's mercy that Christ came
from heaven with a commission to discover so much to us. It is a ray
of the face of God in Christ. Here, is God's heart discovered to us,
and our hearts to ourselves.
Use 2. When you consult with the gospel, make use of Christ,
is to discover his Father's name ; he taught the gospel, not only on
earth, but in heaven : ' I have declared thy name, and will declare it.'
Non loquendum de Deo sine lumine. There is no saving knowledge
of God from ourselves. Christ is called ^0709, the interpreter of his
Father's mind. It is dangerous to set upon the knowledge of the
mystery of the gospel in the strength of our own gifts and parts, to
rest merely on the study of books and human helps. The gospel is
God's riddle, which none but himself can expound. Beg the Spirit of
revelation ; you cannot have a knowledge of it without a revelation
from Christ. We do not improve Christ's prophetical office so much
as we should : we think he must pacify our consciences, subdue our
affections ; but we do not look after knowledge, but think to get it by
our own industry.
Third point, Christ doth not convey all knowledge, or the full notice
of God's name at once. The knowledge that is originally in Christ is
not communicated to us but by degrees, that it may increase more, like
the good householder, that brought out the best at last : John i. 50,
'Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest
thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.' Partly to keep up
our dependence and respect, lest a satiety grow upon us. When there
is no more use of a thing, then we contemn it. Man is a creature that
is led by hope rather than by memory. Still God keepeth the best till
last; there is a perpetual use of Christ's prophetical office, that he
may declare more. Partly to conform us to himself and to the church :
'Christ increased in wisdom and stature,' &c., Luke ii. 40, 52. His
human capacity was enlarged by degrees. The church grew by de
grees. There was a nonage ; then it was ' the seed of the woman ; '
afterwards, ' in thy seed/ &c. ; to ' Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Then
it was told what tribe, ' The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,'
Gen. xlix. 10 ; afterwards of what family, to David ; that ' a virgin
shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel,'
Isa. vii. 14. At last, ' Behold the Lamb of God,' John i. 29. Partly
that he might suit his dispensations to our capacity. God will not
violate the course of nature. Our life is hidden in Christ. You do
not teach university learning to a boy ; Christ dealeth with us as we
are capable, according to our receptivity : ' We are made meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,' Col. i. 12.
Use 1. Comfort against present defects. Though you are ignorant
of some mysteries of religion, do not despond ; Christ doth not give
you all at once. There is a double comfort ; God will accept our
weakness, and we have a head in whom is all fulness. As our life is
VER. 26.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvu. 135
hidden in Christ, so is our wisdom hidden. In the text you see Christ
hath undertaken for our growth ; we have a teacher that will carry
us on from one degree of knowledge to another. Therefore- let us
not be discouraged, though we know little, and our parts be weak
and insufficient.
Use 2. It presseth us to grow in knowledge : 2 Peter iii. 18, ' But
grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.' There is more to be learned. Do not say, I know as much
as they can tell me ; we never know so much but we may know more ;
there is no stint to knowledge. If there be a measure of grace beyond
which we cannot pass, the apostle would not say, ' Grow in grace and
knowledge.' Therefore be conscionable and careful in the use of
means. We must not rest in our low and imperfect measures, nor
always keep to our A, B, C. We must grow till we come to heaven,
and then there will be no more growing. A formal man is where he
was (as a picture), doth not increase in stature. The way to keep
what we have is to increase our store. Gifts that lie idle and inactive
suffer loss and decay ; an active nature, such as man's, must either
grow worse or better. It is an ill sign when we are contented with a
little. Light groweth to the perfection of glory ; our reward is in
creased in the other world : Col. iii. 16, ' Let the word of God dwell
in you richly in all wisdom.' It is the worst of poverty to have a poor
understanding. Grace is multiplied through knowledge : 2 Peter i. 2,
' Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of
God, and of Jesus our Lord.'
Fourth point, Christ maketh one mercy to be the pledge of another.
I have declared, and I will declare. He is never weary of well-doing ;
his love is infinite, and cannot be wearied, and his grace is infinite,
and cannot be spent. Men waste by giving, their drop is soon spent ;
but the oftener we come to God, the more welcome we are. Our faith
is sooner tired than God's bounty, for he doth not waste by giving. I
AM, is God's name ; he is where he was at first, he is never at a loss ;
what he hath done, he can do, and will do : God's providence is new
and fresh every morning : ' God is one,' Gal. iii. 21 ; he is always
like himself. The creatures soon spend their allowance, but he is
where he was at first. But it chiefly holdeth good in spiritual mercies ;
the least drop of saving grace is an immortal seed ; it will grow,
it will increase; it is a spark that cannot be quenched, it is the
pledge of more grace. Therefore where Christ hath begun to work
for thee in some sparks of saving grace and knowledge, he will go on
in his work ; where he is the Alpha, he will be the Omega ; where he
is an author, he will be a finisher : Heb. xii. 2, ' Looking unto Jesus, who
is the author and finisher of our faith/ The apostle would have us
confident of this : Phil. i. 6, ' Being confident of this very thing, that
he that hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of
Christ/ God's first work is an earnest, and God will not lose his
earnest ; it is the very first-fruits of the Spirit, and he gives it as a
pledge of more grace to follow.
' That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and
I in them.' In the whole verse Christ showeth what he had done,
what he would do, and with what aim. His end was twofold to
136 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLIV.
make way for application of God's love and his own presence as a
vital principle in their hearts ; God's love and union with himself.
I shall speak now of the first. Whence
Observe, that one great end why God's name is manifested in the
gospel is that his love may be in us.
First, I shall inquire what it is to have his love in us. I shall give
you several observations upon the phrase.
1. Observe, ' That the love,' &c. He doth not say, that they may
have pardon, sanctification, or grace, or comfort in them, but love in
them. Obs. God's love in Christ is the ground of all other favours
and graces whatsoever. The spring of all is love, and the conveyance
is by union, which containeth two truths :
[1.] That all the goodness that is in us cometh from the love of
God in Christ. We are loved into holiness, loved into pardon, loved
into grace : Isa. xxxviii. 17, ' Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it
from the pit of corruption,' or thou hast loved me from the pit. He
loved his church, and sanctified it : Eph. v. 25, 26, ' Christ loved the
church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it
it with the washing of water by the word ;' Kev. i. 5, ' To him that
loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.' Our holiness
is not the cause of love, but the fruit and effect of it. There can be no
other reason for anything we receive. So 2 Thes. ii. 16, ' Now our Lord
Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, who hath loved us, and
hath given us everlasting consolation, and good hope through grace,'
&c. There was no other cause, there could be no other cause ; not
necessity of nature, moral rule, or any former merit and kindness.
Not necessity of nature ; God hath always the same love ; not bound
by any external law and rule ; who can prescribe to him ? Not by
any merit or debt, because of the eternity of his love, antecedent to all
acts of the creature. There should be no other reason for the honour
and majesty of God and our comfort.
[2.] That we have not only the blessings and benefits, but the love
itself: 1 John iii. 1, ' Behold what manner of love is this that the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of
God ! ' Not showed us, but bestowed upon us. We have blessings
from his heart, as well as his hand ; by his blessings in us, his love is
in us ; we may gather thence that we are beloved of God, and no
benefit is to be valued unless God's love be in it. What good will the
possession of all things do us if we have not God himself ? The love
is more to be valued than the gift, whatever it be. God giveth this
love to none but special friends ; he giveth his outward love to enemies.
He accepteth not our duties unless our hearts be in them, and our love
be in them ; so we should not be satisfied till we can see love in the
blessings that we receive from God, that they come from his heart as
well as his hand. There are chastisements in love, and blessings given
in anger, salted with a curse.
2. Observe, ' That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be
in them.' He had before said, ' Thou hast loved them as thou hast
loved me;' now, 'Let this love be in them.' The love of God is
sometimes said to be in Christ, sometimes in us. Sometimes in Christ :
Rom. viii. 39, ' Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be
VER. 26.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 137
able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord/ Sometimes in us : 1 John iv. 9, ' In this was manifested the
love of Christ towards us,' 17 aydirij rov Xpio-rov ev r^lv, ' because
that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might
live through him.' We are the objects, and Christ is the ground. To
make it sure, it is in Christ ; and to make it sweet and comfortable, it
is in us. God doth not love us in ourselves out of Christ ; there would
be no ground and reason for his love, but in Christ ; and there is an
eternal cause and reason why he should love us.
3. Observe, there is a love of God towards us, and a love of God in
us. So Zanchy citing this text. His love erga nos, towards us, is
from all eternity ; his love in nobis, in us, is in time. These differ ;
there was a love of God towards us, so he loved us in Christ before
the foundation of the world, though we knew it not, felt it not. But
now this love beginneth to be in us, when we receive the effects of it,
and God breaketh open the sealed fountain : 1 John iv. 16, ' And we
have known and believed the love that God hath to us.' And there
fore it must be distinguished. God's love from everlasting was in
purpose and decree, not actual : Horn. ix. 11, 'That the purpose of
God according to election might stand.' So Eph. i. 11, ' Being pre
destinated according to the purpose of him that worketh all things
after the counsel of his will.' We are loved from eternity, but not
justified from eternity. Certainly the elect are in a different condition
before and after calling : 1 Cor. vi. 11, ' Such were some of you, but ye
are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.' Secret things belong
to God, but revealed things to us. Whatever thoughts God hath
towards us, yet we know it not till his love be in us. We are to judge
of our estates according to the law. It is true God is resolved not to
prosecute his right against a sinner that is elect, but he is not actually
acquitted from the sentence of the law till he actually believeth. We
are not qualified to receive a legal discharge from the condemnation
of the law till we be actually in Christ : Kom. viii. 1, ' There is no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.' And whatever God's
purposes may be towards us, we cannot but look upon ourselves as
under a sentence of condemnation, and ' children of wrath/ Eph. ii. 3 ;
that is the misery of our present estate. Before we know God as a
Father in Christ, the love of God is towards us, but not in us.
4. Observe again, God's love is in us two ways in the effects, and in
the sense and feeling. These must be also distinguished ; for God's
love may be in us in regard of the effects, when it is not in us in
regard of sense and feeling. It is in us in the effects of it at conver
sion, as soon as we begin to live in Christ. Where Christ liveth and
dwelleth in us by faith, the love of Christ is there too. His love may
be in us in the sense and feeling when we have the assurance of it :
Rom. v. 5, ' The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost, which he hath given to us,' that they may feel it in their hearts,
that God loved them in Christ. There is the work of the Spirit, and
the witness of the Spirit ; both are intended in that expression ; chiefly
the latter, such a sense of God's love as stirreth up joy, and thankful
ness, and hope. The precious ointment gave no savour while it was
138 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII.
shut up in a box, till it was poured out ; so God's love, while it is kept
secret, it yieldeth no reviving fragrancy. These two differ, for many
have the effects of God's love, but not the sense ; and the effects of
love do always abide, for it is an immortal seed ; but the sense of love
is flitting and changeable. Nothing can separate us from the love of
God in Christ, yet the love of God in Christ is often beclouded, over
cast, and interrupted ; and some have more effects, though less sense ;
the most shining years are not always the most fruitful ; a man may
have greater increase of grace though less comfort. Observe, for your
comfort, that Christ prayeth for both ; he hath prayed not only for
grace, but for assurance, that we may feel ourselves beloved by the
Father. The Lord delighteth not only to love us, but to assure us of
his love. It is no comfort to a blind man to hear of a glorious sun or
brave shows ; he cannot see them.. God would .not leave us in the
dark, but give us an experience of his love.
Secondly, How this ariseth from the manifestation of God's name
in the gospel.
1. The knowledge of God is a means to kindle our respects to God.
2. To convey the influence of his grace to us.
1. It is a means to kindle our respects to God ; as trust : Ps. ix. 10,
' They that know thy name will put their trust in thee.' Men are
ignorant of God's goodness, mercy, and truth, and therefore they make
so little use of him. Usually fears are in the night ; doubts come
from ignorance of the tenor of the gospel. If we did believe those
things to be true which are revealed concerning his mercy and love to
sinners, we should trust in him. Fire once kindled would burst out
of itself into a flame ; so did we once savingly know God's name, there
would be more trust and confidence in God : Isa. 1. 10, ' Who is among
you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that
walketh in darkness, and hath no light ? let him trust in the name of
the Lord, and stay upon his God.' We are overwhelmed with diffi
culties and straits, for want of studying God's name. So also for
love : Cant. i. 3, ' Thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do
the virgins love thee/ Ignoti nulla cupido. Love springeth from
knowledge. In the beams of the sun there is a mixture of warmth
and light. We know not the gift of God, and therefore our bowels
are not troubled. Did we but see him as he is, it would set us all
on fire.
2. It is the means to convey all the influences of grace to us : 2 Peter
i. 2, ' Grace and peace be multiplied unto you, through the knowledge
of God, and of Jesus our Lord.' God worketh upon us as rational
creatures, agreeably to an intelligent nature, and so nothing can be
wrought unless knowledge go before. A house, the more the windows
stand open the more it is filled with light ; so the more knowledge,
the more is the capacity of the soul enlarged to receive comfort and
grace. Guilty nature is full of fears, more presagious of evil than of
good, and therefore it must have clear grounds of comfort and hope.
But you will say, How comes it to pass that persons of great know
ledge want comfort, and have no sense of God's love ? I answer It
is not the light of parts, but of the Spirit : ' I have declared,' &c.
It is God's prerogative to settle the conscience : ' I create the fruit of
VER. 26.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 139
the lips ; peace, peace,' &c., Isa. Ivii. 19. The gospel is a sovereign
plaster, but God maketh it work. Our own thoughts do nothing,
unless God put in with them.
Use 1. It informeth us of a double duty.
1. To study God's name. It would settle the conscience to meditate
upon those declarations which Christ haih made of his will. Deep
thoughts fasten things upon the Spirit, and musing maketh the fire to
burn. How hath God declared himself ? We may trust him upon
his word : Ps. civ. 34, ' My meditation of him shall be sweet ; I will
be glad in the Lord.' We should oftener find sweetness if we did
oftener meditate of God. It is sweet thus to enlarge our thoughts
upon the promises and comforts of the gospel.
2. To apply it. When God's name is proclaimed and made known
to thee, urge thy own soul with it : Horn. viii. 31, ' What shall we say
to these things ? ' Job v. 27, ' Lo this, we have searched it, so it is,
bear it, and know thou it for thy good.' This is Christ's aim, that
knowledge should beget love in them. Knowledge without application
doth no good ; we must take out our share. The riches of God's
goodness are laid open to us for this end and purpose, that we may
feel what is expressed : ' We have known and believed the love that
God hath to us,' 1 John iv. 16. It is no presumption ; it is the great
end why the gospel was written. Wicked men are too forward and
presumptuous of God's love ; they continue their ungodly courses, do
those things which offend him, and yet are persuaded that God loveth
them. God's children pray against their sins, and fight against their
sins, and yet after all cannot be persuaded of it. There is a fear of
presumption, and a fear of security. (1.) A fear of presumption ; as
some say, I am not worthy ; it is as if you should say, I am too poor
to ask or receive an alms, too filthy to be washed : say not so, for this
is the way to make you worthy. (2.) Of security ; this is to say, If I
take the physic, I shall be sick ; whereas it is not by applying Christ
that we are endangered, but by an insensibleness of our misery. If
thou feelest thy misery, there is no danger of security ; it is not every
thing will satisfy a sensible sinner, not every slight comfort.
Use 2. Examination, whether you have gotten benefit by the gospel.
Is God's love in you? Have you any fruits or feeling of his love?
Can you say God loveth you ? All God's children cannot feel his
love ; but have you the fruits of his love ? The feeling of his love is
to be improved immediately to thankfulness, and the fruits of his love
are to be improved by spiritual discourse to confidence. The present
argument will afford us ground of search and inquiry.
1. Things without us are excluded, they can be no evidence or
argument of God's love. It is love in them. It is the common error
of the world to be led with false evidences. Many think God loveth
them, because he spareth them, and followeth them with long-suffering
and patience, and maketh them thrive in the world, and blesseth them
with the increase and fatness of an outward portion. Ay ! but love
and hatred cannot be known by the things that are without us ; it
must be something within us must discover it, Eccles. ix. 2. All
things come alike to all. Some are fatted to destruction, and con
demned to worldly felicity, God will give them enough, Jer. xvii. 13.
\
140 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLIV.
'All that forsake thee, shall be ashamed; and they that depart from
me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord,
the fountain of living waters.' Worldly happiness may be God's curse ;
they shall be written in the earth, they shall have happiness here, that
have none hereafter. On the other hand, there are some whose names
are written in heaven ; and though they have little of outward com
forts, yet that is matter of joy : Luke ix. 20, ' Bather rejoice, because
your names are written in heaven.' We must have a better evidence
than things without us before we can see our names in those eternal
records, and be assured that God loves us. When God only gives
things without you, it is a sign you are only hired servants. You
have your reward, and are satisfied ; and when you die, your best days
are at an end ; there is no inheritance kept for you ; as Abraham gave
Ishmael and the rest of the sons of the concubines' gifts and portions,
but he reserved the inheritance for Isaac. This is so far from an
evidence of love, that it is rather a sign of hatred, if your hearts are
herewith satisfied. Nay, as it excludes and cuts off all outward things,
so it cuts off all outward profession, as baptism and hearing of the
word ; for where the heart is not washed, baptism is but the monu
ment of your unfaithfulness and breach of vows. And so for hearing
of the word, it is but like Uriah's letters ; he thought they contained
matter of preferment, but when opened, they contained matter of
danger, for he was to be set in the fore-front of the battle to be
destroyed. So when you think to come to God with these pleasing
excuses, it is matter of condemnation, because you have heard so
much, and profited nothing. Here is no evidence without you of the
love of God.
2. Things within are excluded. There are some moral inclinations,
mere instincts of nature, which God hath left in men out of his
common bounty and pity to human society : Horn. ii. 14, 15, ' For
when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things
contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto them
selves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts.' These
moral inclinations, by which we avoid gross sins, are not an evidence
of God's love. Again, there are gifts for the use of the body. Hypo
crites may have a great share in them. Achitophel and Saul had
excellent gifts ; but this is not an evidence of God's love. How did
God love Christ ? Herein was a great evidence of God's love to Christ ;
he loved him, and ' gave the Spirit to him without measure,' John iii.
33, 34. So we know his love by his Spirit, that he hath given to us
to witness our justification, and to work our sanctification. The gift
of the Spirit we may know by his witness, and by his work.
1. His witness. Hast thou a full testimony of thy adoption? Kom.
viii. 16, ' The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirits that we are
the children of God.' It is such a certainty as ariseth from gospel
grounds, working joy and peace, stirring up to thankfulness and love
to God, which you have in God's way, by praying, reading, hearing,
meditating. I confess there is something lower, that may be called the
witness of the Spirit. There are expressions and impressions. Have
you not some secret impressions of confidence and liberty in prayer,
and resolutions to wait upon God ? Doth he not stir you up to cry,
VER. 26.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 141
Abba Father, put you upon often calling upon God, and waiting upon
God ? There is something in your heart that carries you to God.
These impressions are a kind of witness and testimony of the Spirit,
though you have not those actual testimonies of God's favour.
2. His work. Have you the work of the Spirit ? What is that ?
The work of the Spirit is to sanctify and cleanse : Eph. v. 25, 26,
' Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify
and cleanse it.' It is the greatest sign of God's anger and wrath that can
be to live and die under the power of sin, not to be sanctified, not to be
cleansed, not to be washed from sin. And therefore are you sanctified,
cleansed, and washed ? Kev. i. 5, ' To him that loved us, and washed
us from our sins in his blood.' Is there any care of obedience stirred
up in your hearts ? The Spirit will cause us to grow in obedience :
John xiv. 23, ' If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my
Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode
with him.'
3. There is one thing more in the expression, ' that the love where
with thou hast loved me may be in them,' and that is, If God love
thee, thou canst not but love him again : 1 John iv. 16, ' For we have
known, and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and
he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him/ If thou
lovest God, his people, his ordinances, and delightest in communion
with him, his love is in thee. These are the fruits and effects of it.
Use 3. To press us to labour after the sense of his love. We should
go to heaven as comfortably and as richly as we can ; not only creep
thither, but labour after ' an abundant entrance,' 2 Peter i. 12. Though
it is not always our sin to want it, yet it is our duty to strive after this
sense of God's love in us. The sense of God's love, it is the flame of
faith : Gal. ii. 20, ' I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; and the
life which I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself for me.' It is the ground of our love
to him again: 1 John iv. 19, ' We love him, because he first loved us.'
The more full and direct the beams are cast upon any solid body, the
stronger the reflection. It is the life of joy which enlargeth our
hearts in thankfulness. It is our stay in afflictions, and our strength
in duties, especially in prayer. How can we call God Father, unless
in custom and hypocrisy, except we have some sense of our adoption ?
Therefore labour after the sense of his love, that it may be in you.
SEEMON XLV.
And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that
the love ivherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I
in them. JOHN XVII. 26.
'AND I in them.' This is the next aim of Christ, the mystical union.
This is fitly coupled with the former privilege. God's love is the
fountain of all mercy, and mystical union is the means of conveyance.
The Father's love and the Son's inhabitation are elsewhere conjoined:
142' SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLV.
John xiv. 23, ' My Father will love him, and we will come unto him,
and make our abode with him/ God's love cannot be in us unless
Christ be in us, nor Christ be in us without the Father's love.
God loveth the elect freely in Jesus Christ, and therefore giveth us his
Spirit to work faith in our hearts, that Christ may dwell there, and
be one with us, and we with him : love is the rise of all. And again,
without the perpetual residence of Christ in the heart," we cannot have
a sense of God's love. Again, from this conjunction we may learn the
presence of the whole Trinity in the heart of a believer, as in a conse
crated temple. The love of the Father it is in us, by the Holy Ghost
given to us : Bom. v. 5, ' The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us.' Now we have not only
the Holy Ghost to assure us of the love of God, but we have Christ as
the head and fountain of vital influence. Once, more, 'I in them.'
Christ doth not only communicate gifts of grace to us, but himself.
Observe that the gospel is made known to us to this intent, that
Christ may be in us ; or, this is one great privilege of the gospel, that
Christ may be in us by a perpetual residence, as a principle and
fountain of the spiritual life.
First, What is meant by Christ's being in us ? How can one man
be in another ? I shall answer
First, Negatively ; how it is not to be understood, that we may
remove all false, gross, and unworthy thoughts.
1. It is not contiguity that we speak of, but union. Two pieces of
wood lying together are not united. Christ is in heaven, we on earth ;
there is no contiguity, and if there were, it would not cause a union.
There is indeed a union of contact, as when two hands are joined to
gether, which may resemble this union ; for there is a mutual or
reciprocal apprehension ; Christ apprehendeth us, and we him : Phil,
iii. 12, ' If that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended
of Christ Jesus.' He taketh hold of us by his Spirit, and we take hold
of him by faith. But of this by and by.
2. It is not a congregation, as things may be gathered together ; as
stones in a heap, they are united, or gathered into one heap, but they do
not act one upon another. And therefore the Holy Ghost doth not
resemble our union with Christ by stones in a heap, but by stones in a
building, that afford mutual strength and support to one another, and
Christ to the foundation and corner-stone, which beareth up all the
rest : 1 Peter ii. 5, ' Ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual
house ;' and Eph. ii. 20-22, ' And are built upon the foundation of
the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner
stone, in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an
holy temple in the Lord ; in whom you also are builded together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit.' Only here is the difference,
that is but a union of art, not of nature ; and though stones orderly
placed do give strength and beauty one to another, yet they do not
communicate life and influence ; therefore the Holy Ghost saith, ' Ye
are as living stones.'
3. It is not representation only, as all persons are in their common
person and representation. This is a part of the privilege ; we are in
Christ as our surety and common person. He impersonated and
VER. 26.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 143
represented us upon the cross, and doth now in heaven, where he
appeareth for us as our agent and leiger with God. Thus what is
done to him is done to us. This is the judicial union ; but this is not
all, for thus we may be said to be in Christ, but he cannot be said to
be in us, ' I in them.' There is influence as well as representation.
4. It is not an objective union, aut unio occupationis; as the object
is in the faculty, the star in the eye that seeth it, though at thousands
of miles' distance ; and what I think of is in my mind, and what I
desire is in my heart, as a scholar's mind is in his books ; when the
mind is occupied and taken up with anything, it is in it. So when I
fear God, my mind is with him ; when I love God, my heart is with
him. But this is not all, partly because such an objective union there is
between Christ and hypocrites, they may think of him, and know him.
But this union is rather subjective ; it maketh us to live in Christ, and
Christ liveth in us. Partly because then we should be no longer
united to Christ than we do actually think of him, whereas Christ's
being in us implieth a perpetual residence : Eph. iii. 17, ' That Christ
may dwell in your hearts by faith.' Dwelling doth not note a transient
thought, a short visit, but a constant stay and abode : John xiv. 23,
fcal fiovrjv Trap avTw TroiijaofAev, ' We will come unto -him, and we will
make our abode with him.' There Christ fixeth his seat and residence.
5. It is not merely a relation between us and Christ. He is not
only ours, and we are his; but he is in us, and we in him. The
resemblance of head and members doth not relate to a political body,
but to a natural body. I am sure the case is clear in root and branches,
John xv. 1-3. And relations do not need such bands and ties as con
stitute this union. There the Spirit and faith, and then secondarily
other graces.
6. It is not only a consent or agreement ; Christ agreeth to love us,
and we to love him : ' My love in them,' and ' I in them ; ' they are pro
pounded as distinct. Confederation maketh way for union.
7. It is not a union of dependence merely, such as is between the
cause and effect. The effect dependeth on the cause, and is in the
cause, and the cause is in the effect. This is general to all creatures ;
for it is said, Acts xvii. 28, ' In him we live, and move, and have our
being.' Such a union there is between God and all creatures. And
not merely a dependence in regard of special and gracious influences.
That doth much open the privilege ; but that is not all, for then our
union would be immediately with God the Father and the Spirit on
whom we depend. And so a union there is between God and the holy
angels. And Christ is in an especial manner the head of the church ;
it is a notion consecrated for our conjunction with him.
8. It is not merely a communion in the same nature. So he is Im-
manuel, God with us. But he saith, ' I in them.' He not only came
into our natures, but he must come into our hearts. This union is
common to all, though I confess it is only reckoned and imputed to
the sanctified : Heb. ii. 11, ' For both he that sanctifieth, and they
that are sanctified, are all of one ; for which cause he is not ashamed
to call them brethren.' And to the children of God : Heb. ii. 14, ' For
asmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also
himself took part of the same/
144 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SfiR. XLV.
9. It is not a mixture, as if Christ and we were confounded, and
mingled our substances together. That is a gross thought, and suiteth
with the carnal fancies of a corporeal eating his flesh and drinking his
blood. We are not mixed, his substance with ours, and ours with
his ; he remaining still a distinct person, and we distinct persons.
10. It is not a personal union, as of the two natures in the person of
Christ. We are not united to Christ so as to make one person, but one
mystical body : 1 Cor. xii. 12, ' For as the body is one, and hath many
members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one
body, so also is Christ.' The whole is Christ mystical, but every
believer is not Christ.
Thus I have endeavoured to remove all gross and unworthy thoughts.
But now
Secondly, Positively. What it is. I answer-^ We cannot fully tell
till we come to heaven ; then we shall have perfect knowledge of it ;
then Christ is all in all : John xiv. 20, ' At that day ye shall know
that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you.' Then our
union is at the height. But for the present we may call it a union of
concretion and coalition, for we are av^vroi, ' planted into him,'
Kom. vi. 5, and KoXX.cofjievoi,, 'joined to the Lord/ 1 Cor. vi. 17. It is
immediately with Christ ; we are united to Father and Spirit, but by
Christ, as the foot is united to the head, but by the intervention of
other members ; so we are united to the Father and the Spirit, but by
Christ ; as an arm or foot of the Son belongeth to the Father, but as
the Son belongeth to the Father. The love of the Father is the mov
ing cause of it, the Spirit is the efficient cause of it, but it is with
Christ. And it is by way of coalition, as things are united so as
they may grow and live in another, as the branches grow in the vine,
and the members, being animated and quickened by the soul, grow in
the body ; so are we united with Christ as our vital principle, that we
may live and grow in him, that we might live in him : Gal. ii. 20, ' I
live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; ' and grow in him : Eph. iv. 15,
16, ' But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things,
which is the head, even Christ. From whom the whole body fitly
joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,
according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh
increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in love/ So that this
is enough in general to call it a union of concretion and coalition, such
a union whereby Christ remaineth and liveth and dwelleth in us as a
vital principle. As the soul is rov fyavros o-coyLtaro? atria KCU dp-^r}, a
cause and principle of life to the body, so is Christ to us. Before God
breathed the soul into Adam, his body, though otherwise organised
and formed, lay but as a dead lump, without breath and life ; but no
sooner was the soul put into him, but he began to live. So Christ,
being mystically united, enableth us to live, to act, to grow, and increase
more and more. More particularly to open it to you is hard, because
it is a great mystery. Life* natural is a mystery not sufficiently ex
plained, much more life spiritual. But now
1. I shall show how it is wrought and brought about, and in what
order ; for there is a difficulty there to be cleared. For since union is
said to be by faith : Eph. iii. 17, ' That Christ may dwell in your
VER. 26.] SEUMONS UPON JOHN xvn. 145
hearts by faith , ' and faith is an act of spiritual life, it seemeth there
is life before our union with Christ ; so that this union seeineth to be
the effect rather than the cause of the spiritual life ; and some say it is
the effect of the beginning, and the cause of the continuance and
increase of it, and conceive the order thus : That Christ is offered in
the gospel, and by receiving Christ we come to be united to him, and
then to be possessed of his righteousness, and receive further influences
of grace ; and that the first beginning of spiritual life is not from
union, but regeneration, by virtue of which faith is given to us, that
we may be united to Christ. But I suppose this method is not right.
Briefly, then, for the manner and order how it is wrought, take it thus :
Union it is by the Spirit on Chrises part, and faith on ours ; he be-
ginneth with us as the most worthy, as having a quickening and life-
making power in himself : 1 Cor. xv. 45, ' The last Adam was made
Trvev^a IWOTTOIOW, a quickening spirit/ By the Spirit he infuseth
spiritual life, the first act of which is faith ; that is the first grace that
acteth upon Christ, and maketh the union reciprocal, that so in him
we may have righteousness and grace : Phil. iii. 9, ' And be found in
him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God
by faith.' All graces flow from union with Christ, so doth faith. Be
lieving is an act of the spiritual life, but it is at the same instant of
time, and not before. The first band of union is the Spirit, for the gift
of the Spirit is the cause of faith, and every cause is before the effect in
nature, though not in time ; for, posita causa in actu, ponitur effectus.
But the Spirit is not given us in the least moment of time before the
being of faith ; for the Spirit being infused, immediately excites faith
to take hold of Christ.
2 What is that act of faith by which we close with Christ ? I
answer The apprehending, embracing, taking hold of Christ : ' To as
many as received him,' &c., John i. 12, trusting him with our souls ;
that is the faith that gives us an interest in gospel privileges. But
what is this receiving Christ? I answer Eeceiving presupposeth
offering ; it is a consent to what is offered, an accepting of what is
given. Eeceiving is a word used in contracts, arid noteth the consent
of one part to the terms which the other offereth. The scripture
ohiefly delighteth in the similitude of the matrimonial contract. As a
woman accepteth a man for her husband, so do we receive Christ.
When a man's affections are set upon a woman, he sendeth spokesmen
to tell her of his love, and that he is ready to give her an interest in
himself, and all that is his, if she will accept him for an husband. So
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the heir of all things, sendeth messengers
to treat and deal with us about a spiritual marriage, to tell us how he
loved us, gave his life for us, established an everlasting righteousness,
whereby we may be accepted with God, and that he is ready to bestow
it upon us, if we will receive, and honour, and obey him as Lord and
husband ; which if we do, then we are interested in this great privilege.
Yea, Lord, I give up myself, body and soul, to thee, and I take thee
for Lord and husband. For these are the terms : Hosea iii. 3, ' Thou
shalt not be for another man, so will I also be for thee/ You will
think this is easy, because you do not understand what it is to receive
VOL, xr TV
146 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLV.
Christ. Alas ! Christ stretcheth forth his hands to many that never
take him by the hand again : Isa. Ixv. 2, ' I have spread out my hands
all the day to a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that is not
good, after their own thoughts.' He inviteth, clucketh, spreads his
wings, but to no purpose, till he puts his fingers upon the handles of
the lock : Cant. v. 4, ' My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the
door, and my bowels were moved for him.' Herein he differeth from
ordinary suitors, that he doth not only woo and invite, but draw by
the secret and prevailing power of his Spirit ; he must enlarge the
heart and open the hand, or else we shall not receive him. Why t
what is there in this receiving ? A renouncing of all others : ' Thou
shalt not be for another.' Christ findeth us entangled with a former
love of the world, addicted to carnal pleasures, in covenant with death
and hell ; this must be renounced, for God is jealous, and cannot
endure a rival ; it is spiritual adultery to have any thought of other
lovers ; as when the ark was brought into the house, Dagon was thrown
to the ground. Christ will be entertained alone ; you must not only
renounce your former loves, but hate them. In ordinary marriages, if
a woman loved one, and afterwards marry another man, it is enough
that she withdraw her former love, though she be not an enemy to him
whom before she loved. In some covenants, if you come off from such
a side, it is enough. But here is a league offensive and defensive :
when we receive Christ as our captain, his enemies must be our enemies ;
if as dear as a right hand, or a right eye, it must be cut off and plucked
out. And again, Christ himself is to be received, not his gifts and
benefits ; you must not come to him as to a physician, to give ease to
the conscience, but as a husband ; not marry the estate, but the man ;
otherwise you do not take what God offereth. He hath given us his
Son, and all things with him : Eom. viii. 32, ' He that spared not his
own Son, but gave him up to the death for us all, how will he not with
him also freely give us all things ? ' The father doth not offer the
portion merely, but his daughter, and the portion with his daughter ;
as you cannot have life without the Son, so you cannot have the Son
without life, and you must receive him gladly. Marriage importeth
not a forced, but a free consent ; you do not receive Christ as a land
receiveth a conqueror for prince and king against their will, but as a
woman for husband, as being convinced her state will be much bettered
by him. So doth the soul receive Christ, as knowing in whom we be
lieve, and what we enjoy by him: Ps. Ixxiii. 25, ' Whom have I in
heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides
thee.' Neither angels in heaven, nor any creatures upon earth are so
lovely, and fit for the soul's love and trust. You cannot live without
him. If a woman can live without a husband, she doth well if she
marrieth not, saith the apostle, 1 Cor. vii. 8 ; but you cannot, you are
undone for ever if you have him not. And you must receive him
sincerely to obey him, and serve him as Lord and husband, and not be
ashamed to own him : Acts ii. 41, ' Then they that gladly received his
word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them
about three thousand souls/ When articles are agreed and sealed, and
the marriage completed, a woman is content to go into her husband's
house, and leave her kindred, and father's house ; so must you profess
VER. 26.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvu. 147
Christ openly, and then live in constant communion with him. This
is to receive Christ ; and is this easy ? Can all this be done till God
enlarge the heart ? my Lord ! I am willing to receive thee ; do thou
open and enlarge my heart so to do.
Again, it is expressed by apprehending Christ: Phil. iii. 12, 'If that
I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ
Jesus;' by taking hold of him, leaning upon him : Ps. xxii. 8, ' He
trusted in the Lord,' or rolled himself upon the Lord ; by running for
refuge : Heb. vi. 18, ' Who have fled for refuge, to lay hold upon the
hope set before them ; ' as Joab laid hold on the horns of the altar, or
the man that casually killed another ran to the city of refuge ; by a
being found in him as in an ark, when the flood came upon the
world : all which expressions imply a sense of danger. This effect of
faith is sensible in a time of trouble, bodily or spiritual, as things are
more sensible one time than another. Horses draw the coach, but
down the hill apace. The strength of an anchor is seen in a storm,
the courage of a soldier in a fight. The child runneth and claspeth
about the mother when anything affrighteth it.
Sometimes it is expressed by coming to Christ, and coming to God
by him : Heb. vii. 25, ' Wherefore he is able to save unto the uttermost
all those that come to God by him ;' by choosing Christ as mediator,
owning him, and consenting to God's eternal decrees, that he is alone
a sufficient mediator. This was represented by laying hand on the
head of the sacrifice : Lev. i. 4, ' He/ that is, he that brought the
sacrifice, ' shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering, and
it shall be accepted for him, to make an atonement for him/ q. d.
This is me, I deserve to die, but here is my sacrifice. All prayers
were to be made in or towards the temple : 1 Kings viii., Deut. xii.
13, 14, ' Take heed that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every
place that thou seest ; but in the place which the Lord shall choose in
one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there
thou shalt do all that I command thee.' Daniel his windows being open
towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and
prayed, and gave thanks to God, Dan. vi. 10 ; he would not omit that
circumstance. In all our addresses to God we must make use of Christ.
Sometimes it is expressed by committing ourselves to him : 2 Tim.
i. 12, ' For I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he
is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day.'
It is an advised act, it is fit the soul should be in safe hands. We are
sensible that as long as this life lasts we are subject to many trials and
changes ; therefore we put our souls into Christ's hands, in a confidence
of his all-sufficiency. It is a knowing trust.
Use 1. To press us to mind this great privilege, ' Christ in us.'
This should be our chief care. We cannot mortify sin till we be in
Christ; he is our sa notification. We can have no security against
God's wrath till then : Acts iv. 12, ' Neither is there salvation in any
other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men
whereby we must be saved/ Whatever shifts they made against the
flood, it would not serve, nothing but the ark could save them. Make
this the business of your lives; wait upon the word and other ordinances
with this aim ; improve providences to this end, to draw you the nearer
148 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SER. XLV.
to God by Christ. Let this be the constant breathing of your souls :
' Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ; for whom I have suffered the
loss of all things, and do count them but dung that I may win Christ,'
Phil. iii. 8. Measure all the business and employment of your lives
by this. A tender mother that nurseth her child, she hath other work
to do, but still she remembereth her child ; when she awaketh, she
thinketh of her child; when she is abroad, when employed in the
affairs of her family, her mind is on her child : God is pleased to
resemble his love to us by this. So a true Christian saith, My work is
to get into Christ. When he is about business of the world, he still
remembereth that this is his great care, and it must be minded every
day ; when he rlseth, when he goeth to sleep, this should run in his
mind. This is TO epybv, his work : John vi. 29, ' This is the work of
God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.' All other business
is Trape/xyov, his by-work, that he may get or lose it. Make more room
for Christ in the soul.
Use 2. Examination.
1. Is Christ in you ? Who liveth there, and worketh, Christ or
Satan ? These two divide the world between them, the strong man,
and the stronger than he. The heart of man is not a waste. Christ
ruleth in the church, and the devil in the world ; and yet all that are
in the church are not in Christ : John xv. 2, ' Every branch in me
that beareth not fruit he taketh away.' They that are where Christ
is in honour will make a general profession. The devil hath a great
party in the church. Therefore, who is in you, Christ or Satan ?
Satan is in all carnal men ; their hearts are his forge or work-house :
Eph. ii. 2, ' According to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience ; ' 2 Cor. iv. 4, ' The
god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.'
He blindeth them, and hardeneth them, and leadeth them captive by
their own lusts. Consider there is no neutrality. We are under Christ
or the devil. The devil is a spirit ; he possesseth men when they do
not feel him. He is called ' the prince of the power of the air ;' and
infected air is drawn in without pain, and we get a disease before we
feel it, and die of a pestilent air. Were you never changed ? Conver
sion is a dispossession. The devil is in all the children of disobedience.
Did you ever consent to choose Christ for your mediator and Lord
and king ? When you refuse Christ offered, the devil is most ready
to entertain you, and to enter into you, and possess you the more
securely. There is a tradition upon your refusal ; God giveth you then
up to Satan, to be blinded and hardened. Therefore consider this,
observe your course. Some are Satan's slaves, they that walk in the
ways of their own hearts, and according to the lusts of the world :
John viii. 44, ' Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your
father ye will do.' Satan's mark and brand is upon them that live in
malice and envy against God and good men. Satan was a murderer
from the beginning ; in filthiness and uncleanness, he is an unclean
spirit ; in railing, swearing, cursing, whose tongues are set on lire of
hell; tempting, seducing, lying. Satan is a liar, and a tempter,
enticing to drink and gaming.
VER. 26.] SERMONS UPON JOHN xvu. 149
Again, is Christ in you? A great deal of bran will remain, if we
use too coarse a bolter. Doth Christ dwell in your hearts ? You will
know it by the effects of his presence.
[1.] Doth Christ fill the heart ? So great a guest is enough ; the
believer desireth no more to his peace of conscience, joy, and complete
blessedness. There is a full acquiescency of the soul in Christ ; he
desireth above all things to enjoy him. There is avrapKeia : 1 Tim.
vi. 6, ' Godliness with contentment is great gain.' There is nothing
in heaven or earth that can fill the hungry soul of man but Jesus
Christ. He that hath his heart full of Christ, all things seem base
and vile to him ; a little portion of the world serveth his turn. They
are cheap things to Jesus Christ after which the world runs a-whoring :
1 Sam. xix. 30, 'And Mephibosheth said, Nay, let him take all,
forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his house.'
Mephibosheth is contented to see the king's face in peace. They have
the pearl of great price ; there is little room for other things. Christ
filleth every corner of the heart: Phil. iv. 12, 13, ' I know both how
to be abased, and I know how to abound ; everywhere and in all things
I am instructed, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth me.'
[2.] He ruleth, and acteth, and swayeth all these. He doth not
dwell as a stranger or guest in another's man's house, or as an inmate,
but as a lord in his possession ; therefore he still directeth, counselleth,
quickeneth, destroyeth the kingdom of Satan, reneweth us more and
more, dwelleth in us as the king of glory. Where the Spirit of the
Lord is there is liberty, light, joy, strength, peace.
2. What entertainment do you give him ? The more faith is
enlarged, the more room hath Christ in thy heart. With great cheer
fulness should you receive him, not always frowning ; he looketh for
reverence, not constant mourning. Do not grieve him by sin, by such
things by which the wrath of God cometh upon the children of
disobedience. If an earthly king lie but a night in a house, what care
is there taken that nothing be offensive to him, but that all things be
neat, clean, and sweet. How much more ought you to be careful to
get and keep your hearts clean, to perform service acceptably to him ;
to be in the exercise of faith, love, and other graces, that you may
entertain, as you ought, your heavenly King, who comes to take up
his continual abode and residence in your hearts ?
SERMONS
TJPOlf THB
SIXTH CHAPTER OF THE ROMANS.
SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI.
SEKMON I.
What shall we say then ? sliall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound? God forbid ! How shall we, that are dead to sin, live
any longer therein? KOM. VI. 1, 2.
THE drift of the apostle in this chapter is to show that free justification
by faith in Christ greatly tendeth to promote holiness ; which he first
proveth from the tenor of Christianity, and then exhorteth the justified
to get, increase, and exercise this holiness in all their actions.
In these words there are three things
1. An objection supposed.
2. A rejection of it with abhorrence and indignation.
3. A confutation of it.
1. The objection is a preposterous inference from what the apostle
had said, chap. v. 20, ' That where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound.' The apostle propoundeth it by way of interrogation, ' What
shall we say then ? shall we continue in sin that grace may abound ? '
The words may be conceived as a slander raised by Jewish prejudice
to make the doctrine of the gospel odious, as if it did foster people
in sin an unjust calumny ; or as a temptation incident to loose,
carnal, and careless Christians, who are apt to abuse grace, and have
such wretched reasonings in their own hearts, that they might take the
more liberty to sin, that the grace of God might thereby appear more
illustrious and abundant. You may therefore look upon it as pro
duced either as a check to an objection already made, or as a preven
tion of an abuse that might afterwards be made.
2. He rejecteth this inference as absurd and -blasphemous, by a form
of speech familiar to him, Gal. ii. 17, Kom. iii. 6, 31, ^ yevoiro ; let
this thought be far from us, or, this is a thing that all Christian hearts
should abominate.
3. Paul's reason against it, or confutation of it, represented in an
emphatical interrogation, ' How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any
longer therein?' Where observe
[l.J That to continue in sin, and live longer in sin, are equivalent
expressions ; for in the objection the expression is, ' Shall we continue
in sin ?' But in the apostle's answer and argument to the contrary,
it is, ' Can we live any longer therein ? '
154 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SttR. I.
[2.] Observe that before grace we lived in sin ; for when he saith,
' any longer,' he implieth that we were given to sin, enslaved by sin
before ; but shall we continue this course ? Far be it from us to think
so, or say so, much more to do so.
[3.] Observe the argument lieth here, ' We that are dead/ &c. All
that have given their names to Christ are, or should be, dead to sin.
Now, to be dead to sin and live in sin are davcr-rara, things incom
patible ; the dead are no longer alive.
Because this is the strength of his argument, it will be good to in
quire what it is to be dead in sin. In the strict and rigorous notion, he
is said to be dead who is utterly deprived of all sense and motion, that
they are altogether without all feeling and motion of sin ; but this
strict sense will not stand here ; therefore I must tell you the word
relateth to the baptismal engagement, as the following verses abundantly
do declare : ver. 3, ' Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized
into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death ? ' Baptism referreth
to Christ's death, and we are baptized into the likeness and power of
his death; the meaning of that ordinance is to signify our dying to sin
and rising to newness of life ; this is that which every Christian
knoweth, if he be but a little instructed in the principles of his religion.
Well, then, every good Christian is dead to sin by vow and obligation,
therefore cannot, should not, live any longer therein. There is a
double undertaking in baptism one on God's part, the other on ours ;
the undertaking on God's part is to give us the sanctifying Spirit of
grace, to quell the reign of sin ; the undertaking on our part is by the
Spirit to mortify the deeds of the body. Now some make conscience of
this solemn vow and promise, others do not ; the apostle considereth
not what is done, but what ought to be done ; he speaketh de jure, of
the vow and obligation we are all bound ; not de facto, of the event,
not what always cometh to pass. All Christians are bound to be dead
to sin, and every good Christian is actually dead to sin, which, though
it hath some life and being left, yet it retaineth not its sovereignty
and dominion over him. Some conceive this latter sort intended;
omve? direddvo/Mev rfj dfj,apTia, as many of us as have died to sin : but
rather he considereth the right than the fact. Christianity doth oblige
all at their first entrance into the profession of it to renounce the reign
and dominion of sin, and break the power of it yet more and more, so
that it dieth, though a lingering death, as Christ did upon the cross.
Doct. That to take occasion to live in sin from free grace, or God's
mercy to sinners in Christ, is an inference most unjust, absurd, and
blasphemous, and that which all Christians' hearts should abominate.
Here in the text such an inference is mentioned with a denial
joined with a detestation of the thing denied ; the very thought and
first mention of it ought to be entertained with abhorrency.
1. I will prove that the corrupt heart of man is apt to draw such a
consequence.
2. I will prove the three charges
[1.] That it is very uujust and ill grounded.
[2.] Absurd and contradictory to Christianity.
[3.] Wicked and blasphemous.
First, That the corrupt heart of man is apt to draw such inferences
VERS. 1, 2.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 155
from the doctrine of grace. In the general, carnal men are ill skilled
at reasoning about spiritual matters. Solomon telleth us, Prov. xxvi. 9,
' That a parable in a fool's mouth is like a thorn in the hand of a
drunkard.' As a drunkard with a sharp thorn grievously hurts him
self and others, neither his mind nor hand can do their office when the
man is distempered with drink ; so it is with men intoxicated by sin ;
witness those contrary and different conclusions, which the carnal
and spiritual will draw from the same principles. From the stated
course of nature the scoffer said, 2 Peter iii. 4, ' Where is the promise
of his coming ? for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as
they were from the beginning of the creation.' David reasoneth the
quite contrary way : Ps. cxix. 89-91, ' For ever, Lord, thy word is
settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations : thoti
hast established the earth, and it abide th. They continue this day
according to thine ordinances : for all are thy servants.' So 1 Cor. xv.
32, ' If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus,
what advantageth it me if the dead rise not ? Let us eat and drink,
for to-morrow we shall die ; ' with 1 Cor. vii. 29, 30, ' But this I say,
brethren, the time is short : it remains that both they that have wives
be as though they had none ; and they that weep, as though they wept
not ; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not ; and they
that buy, as though they possessed not.' So 2 Sam. vii. 2, ' The king
said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar,
but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains ; ' with Haggai i. 2, ' This
people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should
be built.' So 2 Kings vi. 33, ' Behold this evil is of the Lord, what
should I wait for the Lord any longer ? ' with 1 Sam. iii. 18, ' It is the
Lord, let him do what seemeth him good.' So Mary Magdalene, upon
Christ's pardoning her sin, was more abundant in duty and mourning
for sin : Luke vii. 47, ' Her sins, which were many, are forgiven ; for
she loved much ; ' and in the text, the directly contrary conclusion is
drawn ; ' sin, because grace doth abound ;' make work for pardoning
mercy. But particularly, it is very natural to us to abuse the gospel,
and plead God's grace to quiet and strengthen ourselves in security
and sin ; the thoughts of men do easily incline them to such con
clusions. That which hath been may be ; that this hath been appear-
eth by the writings of the apostles, who everywhere seek to obviate
this abuse ; and also by evident reason.
1. We all affect liberty to a degree of licentiousness. This is
natural to us, as appeareth by our distaste of Christ's strict laws : Ps. ii.
3, ' Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from
us ; ' and our ready hearkening to seducers, ' who promise liberty,
though they bring us into bondage to sin,' 2 Peter ii. 19, and we be
the more enslaved to baseness and filthiness.
2. The flesh taketh all occasions to indulge itself, and that it may
be done in a plausible cleanly manner, and with less remorse from
conscience, it catcheth at every pretence to countenance it. Some
times it makes use of bodily austerities as a compensation for their
sins ; and so hypocrisy, superstition, and profaneness grow on the
same root. The sensual nature of men is such that it is loath to be
crossed, which produceth profaneness ; for therefore do men indulge
156 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. I.
themselves in all manner of sensuality, because they are loath to deny
their natural appetites and desires, and row against the stream of
flesh and blood ; but if nature must be crossed, or else they cannot
palliate their carnal indulgences, then they will not-mortify the lust,
but afflict the body for a while, and in some slight manner, which
produceth hypocrisy, and we excuse the partiality of our obedience by
some outward shows of strictness ; as Isa. Iviii. 5, ' They afflict the
soul for a day, or bow down the head like a bulrush ; ' and so in the
external actions of other duties. That this deceit may be more strong,
they exceed in outward observances, and that produceth superstition,
or some byelaws of our own, by which we hope to expiate our sins ;
as to whip and gash ourselves : Micah vi. 6, 7, ' Wherewithal shall I
come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God ? shall I
come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old ?
will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thou
sands of rivers of oil ? shall I give my first-born for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ? ' On the other side, if
men's temper, education, and strain of religion carry them to another
way, and they are all for the grace of the gospel, without the rudi
ments of men, the devil knows how to charm and lull souls asleep in
sin by that way of profession also ; and so many take liberty to sin
under the pretence that God may have more occasion to exercise his
mercy ; and our proneness to please the flesh is countenanced by pre
sumptions of grace, and the supposition of unreasonable indulgences
of God to the faulty creature : Ps. 1. 21, ' These things hast thou done,
and I kept silent ; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one
as thyself.' God will not be so severe as is commonly imagined ; and
so lessening God's holiness, they abate their reverence of him : Ps. Ixviii.
19-21, ' Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even
the God of our salvation, Selah. He that is our God is the God of
salvation, and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death. But
God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such
an one as goeth on still in his trespasses/ He seeketh to obviate their
conceit, how great soever the riches of his bounty and grace offered
in Christ be, yet he is irreconcileable to those that cease not to follow
a course of sin.
3. This conceit is strengthened in us, because many that profess
Christianity live licentiously. All sins propagate their kind, and
among others, abuse of grace. We see others have great hopes and
confidence in Christ, notwithstanding their carnal and worldly course
of living, and self-love prompteth us that we may hope to fare as well
as they ; and so we leaven one another with a (Jead, loose, carnal sort
of Christianity, instead of 'provoking each other to love and good
works/ Heb. x. 24. Self-love is very partial, and loath to think evil
of our condition. Now this cannot be justified by the laws of Chris
tianity, yet it is often justified by the lives of Christians : after this
rule they live in the world, and we think we may do as others do.
4. There is another cause, that is, Satan, who abuseth the weakness
of some teachers, and the ignorance of some hearers, to misapply the
grace of the gospel and the comforts of justification, to countenance
their sins. The devil knoweth we will not receive his doctrine in his
VERS. 1, 2.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 157
own name, and therefore doth what he can to usurp the name of Christ,
and to obtrude his commands upon us in the name of Christ, and so
conveyeth poison to you by the perfume of the gospel ; and if he can
set Christ against Christ, his merits and inercy against his government
and Spirit, his promises against his laws, justification against sanctifi-
cation, he knoweth that he obtaineth his end and purpose, that the
gospel, which was set up to destroy the works of the devil, will be a
means to cherish his kingdom in the world. And on the hearers' part,
he abuseth them also ; carnal hearts turn all into fuel for their lusts,
and with the more pretence if they can allege a dispensation from God
himself to serve and please the flesh, and no harm shall come of it.
A little trusting in Christ shall serve the turn, though they live never
so impure lives. I ascribe all this to Satan, because all error is from
him, who is the father of lies, who often obtrudeth upon the simple
credulity of Christians his own gospel instead of Christ's, and by a
partial representation of Christ's gospel destroyeth the whole.
Secondly, I come now to make good the charge.
First, That this inference is very unjust and ill-grounded. The
pretence here are those words of the apostle in the two last verses of
the former chapter : * Moreover the law entered that the offence might
abound ; but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, that
as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord.' These
words yield no such consequence. To evince which (1.) I shall state
the meaning of those words ; (2.) Show the unjustness of this illation
from them.
1. For the meaning, the apostle showeth the law was given to the
Israelites by Moses, not that they might be justified thereby, but that
sin and punishment, to which we are liable by reason of sin, might the
better be known ; and so the grace of God in Christ, which justifieth
us, notwithstanding the grievousness of sin, might be the more esteemed,
and we might the more earnestly fly to it for sanctuary and refuge, and
the curse might drive us to the promise. For there are two things
which the law discovereth
[1.] The multitude and heinous nature of our offences : ' It entered
that sin might abound;' not in our practice, but in our sense and
feeling, as being more apparent, and awakening more lively stings in
our consciences. If a rugged and obstinate people sin the more, that
is not the fault of the law, but of our corrupt nature, which always
tendeth to that which is forbidden : ' It only took occasion from the
commandment,' Rom. vii. 8. The proper effect of the law was to give
us more convincing and clear knowledge of duty and sin, or to be a
means to aggravate sin, to render it more exceedingly heinous, as being
against an express law of God's own giving, with great majesty and
terror.
[2.] The other use of the law is to give us an awakening sense of
the punishment due to sin, as it exposes us to temporal and eternal
death, ver. 21 ; and so our deliverance and life by Christ might be
more thankfully accepted, who by his mercy hath taken away the
condemning and reigning power of sin, by granting pardon of it, and
power over it ; so that as a great and mortal disease maketh a physician
158 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [$ER. I.
famous if he cureth it, so sin maketh the grace of Christ more conspi
cuous and glorious.
2. The injustice of the illation.
[1.] There is a difference between causa per se, and causa per acci-
dens, a cause and an occasion. Though the abounding of sin helpeth
to advance grace, it is not of itself, but by accident, by God's over
ruling grace ; therefore it is a desperate adventure to try conclusions,
to drink rank poison to experiment the goodness of an antidote, or to
wound ourselves mortally to try the virtue of a plaster. God made
advantage of the sins of the world for the honouring of his grace in
Christ ; but they that presume to sin greatly, that God may pardon
greatly, run a desperate adventure, whether God will pardon them
or no.
[2.] There is a difference between the remission' of sins past, and
allowance of sin future. Our fixed purpose must be not to sin, but if
we sin, we have the use of God's remedy : 1 John ii. 1, ' My little
children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not. And if any
man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous/ If God made advantage of sins past to honour his grace,
we also by sins past may make an advantage for a renewed use of faith
in our Redeemer, and renewed desires and expectations of pardon by
his intercession ; but it is a wrong conclusion to think we may heap up
new sins for time to come, and still make more work for pardoning
mercy, and be content to offend God again, that he may still be
pardoning, and we never forsake sin. In short, we must not sin that
grace may abound ; but when we have sinned, we must make use of
abounding grace. Faith and repentance may draw good out of sin
itself, to make the remembrance of it a means of our hatred and morti
fication of sin, and of more gratitude to our Redeemer ; but not to take
liberty to indulge sin, antedating our pardon before the fact.
[3.] It is contrary to all ingenuity, and love to God or Christ. This
is the difference between faith and presumption, or a sound and a blind
confidence of pardon by Christ, namely, that faith maketh us hate sin,
and presumption maketh us secure and bold in sinning, and slightly
to pass it over with little remorse and reluctancy when we are guilty
of it. He who presumeth doth the work of an age in a breath. God
is merciful, Christ died for sinners, and all our confidence must be in
Christ. But the true believer is more affected with sin ; as ' she wept
much and loved much to whom much was forgiven,' Luke vii. 47 ;
and Ezek. xvi. 63, ' That thou mayest remember, and be confounded,
and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am
pacified towards thee, for all that thou hast done.' They express their
gratitude for remission of sin by a careful keeping from it. Pardoning
mercy maketh God amiable to us, and his laws acceptable, our duty
sweeter, and sin more grievous.
Secondly, It is absurd and contrary to the doctrine of grace : true
Christianity is of a far different make from this conceit.
1. It is not consistent with the grace that goeth along with pardon,
for God sanctifieth all those whom he justifieth : we receive, together
with the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost : 1 Cor. i. 30,
' Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
VERS. 1, 2.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 159
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption ;' 1 Cor. vi. 11,
' But ye are washed, but ye are justified, but ye are sanctified in the
name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.' These are in
separable, the application of the merit of Christ and the gift of his
Spirit, which reneweth us to the image of God, and mortifieth the life
of sin in us ; the heart broken with compunction seeketh this double
benefit : 1 John i. 9, ' If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness ; ' as a
malefactor that hath a leprosy on him needs not only a pardon, but a
medicine ; and in a broken leg not only ease of the pain is desirable,
but that the bone be set right. Therefore we are both justified and
sanctified ; continuing in sin cannot consist with the truth of regenera
tion.
2. It is contrary to the order of God's grace in the new covenant,
who requireth of us faith and repentance if we would be partakers of
Christ. Now, to continue in sin is to be under the bondage of it, with
out restraint, or any change of heart and life.
[1.] It is against faith. Take it for assent, it is a belief that he will
save all those that submit to be sanctified and ruled by him in order
to their salvation : Heb. v. 9, ' Being made perfect, he became the
author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him.' If you hope to
be saved by him, and will not be ruled by him, you do not believe
Christ, but the devil ; for if you believe Christ, you must believe that
you cannot be saved unless you be converted : Mat. xviii. 3, ' Except
ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into
the kingdom of heaven.' Take' faith for acceptance of Christ, it is a
hearty consent both of subjection to him and dependence upon him as
the saviour and redeemer of the world. The mediator's blessing is ' to
turn every one of you away from your iniquities/ Acts iii. 26 ; he is a
saviour ' to save his people from their sins/ Mat. i. 21 ; to say nothing
of ' receiving Christ the Lord/ which the scripture presseth, Col. ii. 6.
[2.] It is against repentance, which implieth a sorrow for sin, with
a serious purpose to forsake it.
(1.) There is in it godly sorrow, 2 Cor. vii. 10. This is requisite to
check the sensual inclination, or love of pleasure, which is the heart,
root, and life of all sin : it dies when our affection to it dies. In re
pentance with bitterness of soul we bemoan ourselves for offending
God ; now if we lick up our vomit again, and go round in a track of
confessing sin and committing sin, our hearts are not sound with God ;
we undo that which is done, and so ' build again the things we have
destroyed, if while we seek to be justified by Christ, we are still found
sinners/ Gal. ii. 17, 18. A man that truly seeks after pardon, seeks
with it the ruin and destruction of sin. Sin was his greatest trouble,
the burden that lay upon his conscience, the grievance from which he
sought ease, the wound which pained him at heart, the disease that his
soul was sick of. Is all this real ? What will you say if this man
should delight in his former trouble, and take up his burden that he
groaned under, and prefer it before liberty, to tear open the wounds
which were in a fair way of healing, willingly relapse into the sickness
out of which he is recovered with so much ado ? if he should desire
the bonds and chains again, of which he was freed by infinite mercy?
160 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. I.
Surely then you may question the reality of. all that he hath done. In
the anguish of our souls we groaned under sin as the heaviest and most
intolerable burden we could ever feel. Now, should we stoop to it, and
take it on again, after it was lifted from our backs, who would pity us ?
(2.) There is a renouncing and forsaking of sin : it is called ' Be-
pentance from dead works/ Heb. vi. 1 ; not only repentance for but
from them. The heart is so turned from sin, that it is turned against
it : we do not repent of the sins we still live in. Now, if grace be dis
pensed in this order, what more contrary to the tenor of the gospel
covenant ?
(3.) This faith and repentance are solemnly professed in baptism,
which is the initiating ordinance, wherein we profess to be baptized
into the death of Christ, that is to say, to express the virtue, to be con
formed to the likeness of it, and die unto sin. When we first gave our
names to Christ, our baptism strictly obligeth us to continue no longer
in sin ; it is a vowed death to sin ; therefore, if we continue in it, we
renounce or forget our baptism, 2 Peter i. 9 ; if we wallow again in
the mire after we are once washed, all that is done in baptism is but a
nullity or empty formality. That is the apostle's argument here, ' How
shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein ? ' There you
solemnly renounced sin, that you might have no more commerce with
it than the dead have with the living ; therefore, for us to continue in
sin, and indulge sin, is to break our solemn covenant with God. You
have promised to give neither mind, nor heart, nor sense, nor any
faculty or member of soul or body to accomplish it, but so carry your
selves as if you were dead. And besides, you deprive yourselves of the
grace of the covenant which you might have. If you did not ponere
obicem, you might be delivered from the reigning power of indwelling
sin ; therefore you must carefully see that it have not the upper hand
in your souls, that the flesh be made subject to the spirit, that the
reign and dominion of sin be indeed broken, that you run into no wil
ful sin, and walk with all holy strictness and watchfulness.
(4.) It is contrary to God's design to call us out of our sinful estate
to sincere reformation. This was God's end, that we that fly from
him as a condemning God might return to his love and service as a
pardoning God : Ps. cxxx. 4, ' There is forgiveness with thee, that thou
mightest be feared.' He pardoneth what is past upon condition of
future obedience ; he calleth us to repentance : Acts xvii. 30, ' Now he
commandeth all men everywhere to repent ; ' not to encourage them to
continue, or go on a minute longer in a course of sin, or flatter them
with hope of impunity if they do so : Ezek. xviii. 30, ' Eepent, and
turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be
your ruin ; ' Isa. Iv. 7, ' Let the wicked forsake his way, and the un
righteous 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.'
Thirdly, It is wicked and blasphemous.
1. Because, as much as in you lieth, you make Christ a minister of
sin, or an encourager of sin : Gal. ii. 7, ' If while we seek to be justified
by Christ, we are found sinners, is Christ a minister of sin? God
forbid.'
VERS. 1,2.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS VL 161
2. They prevent the highest institution in the world for the recovery
of men to God : Jude 4, fjueraTldevTes, ' turning the grace of God into
wantonness.' The gospel is the only way of taking away sin ; you
make it the only way to countenance sin. Grace is there taken for
objective grace, viz., grace held forth to us in the doctrine of the gospel.
The doctrine of the gospel doth not tend to make men sinners, nor
encourage them to lay aside all care of holiness or good works.
Use 1. Caution against this ahuse.
1. Be not prejudiced against the doctrine of grace, as if it yielded
these conclusions. It is a misunderstood and misapplied gospel ; the
world hath not a right understanding in this mystery. Christ came
into the world to save sinners, but not to reconcile God to our sins, to
make him less holy, or his law less strict, or sin less odious ; and his
free pardon is not to encourage us to go on in our sins ; but a wicked
heart, like a spider, will suck poison from those flowers from whence a
bee sucketh honey.
2. Let us not give occasion to others to think so, either (1.) By
entertaining opinions that may countenance this abuse, as the setting
up a naked dependence on Christ without a care of holiness, or Christ's
merit against his Spirit ; relying on his reconciling, and neglecting his
renewing grace ; that we are justified before we repent or believe ; that
all sins past, present, or to come are pardoned at once ; that we need
not trouble ourselves with scruples about offending God ; that the
greatest confidence of our own good estate is the strongest and best
faith. (2.) Nor by practices. Christians must be most averse from,
sin, and all enormous practices, else you dishonour Christ in the world ;
but let the blame and shame lie on us, and not on the gospel.
3. Let us not harbour this mistake in our own bosoms. We are
marvellous apt to do so ; but hereby we forfeit the comfort and privilege
of Christians, and it concerneth God to avenge the quarrel of his grace
against us. Now harbour it we do, if we grow more careless and
negligent in duties, less circumspect in our conversations, less humble
for sins, and venture upon them with greater boldness and security.
If you think you need to be less troubled for sin, less earnest and
watchful against it, as if since Christ died for the expiation of it, it
were a smaller matter than before to sin against God, you are guilty
of this abuse.
Use 2. To exhort you to three things.
1. To carry yourselves as those that are dead to sin ; be sure that its
dominion and reign be broken, and its strength and power every day
more weakened ; you subdue it thoroughly root and branch, and let
your minds be more intent on this, that you may not sin : 1 John iii.
9, ' Whoso is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth
in him ; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.' See how this
is fulfilled in you, and what conscience you make of your baptismal
vow every day.
2. Honour grace. You should not only esteem it, and advance it in
your minds, but set forth the glory of it in word and deed : Eph. i. 5,
12, ' Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, that we
should be to the praise of his glory.' The whole strain of your life
VOL. XI. It
162 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. II.
and conversation should be to the praise of grace, that our actions
might speak for it, though we be silent. To this end consider, God
hath trusted you with the honour of his grace, therefore you should
be eminently much better than other men : Mat. v. 16, ' Let your light
so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify
your Father which is in heaven,' 1 Peter iii. 9, and set forth the genuine
and kindly workings of it.
3. Fortify your minds against this abuse, which is so natural to us.
[1.] God's principal will is that we should obey his laws rather than
need his pardon. The precept is before the sanction, before sin came
into the world ; he pardoneth, that we may return to our duty, Heb.
ix. 14 ; Luke i. 74 ; Rev. v. 9, 10 ; therefore to make wounds for Christ
to cure is not the part of a good Christian.
[2.] Remember what was Christ's main design : 1 John iii. 5, ' To
take away sin/ not to take away obedience. Many think, though they
sin never so much, their pardon will be ready and easy. Oh no ! not
so lightly, when you wilfully and presumptuously run into sin.
[3.] Loose, carnal, and careless Christians, that wallow in all filthi-
ness, and hope to be saved, are rather of the faction of Christians than
of the religion of Christians : 2 Tim. ii. 19, ' Let every one that nameth
the name of Christ depart from iniquity ;' 1 Peter i. 17, 18, ' Pass the
time of your sojourning here in fear, forasmuch as you are not redeemed
with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversations,,
received by tradition from your fathers ; but with the precious blood
of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot/
SERMON II.
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ,
were baptized into his death ? ROM. VI. 3.
In the former verse the apostle confuteth the preposterous inference,
which some drew, or might draw, from free justification, or God's
mercy to sinners in Christ, by this argument It cannot be so, that
men should continue in sin because grace aboundeth, for all Christians
are dead to sin ; at their first entrance upon the profession of Chris
tianity they take upon themselves a vow or solemn obligation to die
unto sin. Now what he had asserted there, he proveth it in this
verse, that such is the tenor of the baptismal engagement : ' Know ye
not that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized
into his death ?'
In the words there is
1. A truth supposed, that those who are baptized are baptized into
Christ.
2. A truth inferred, that they that are baptized into Christ are
baptized into 'his death.
3. The notoriety of both these truths, ' Know ye not ? '
[1.] For the first, the phrase of being baptized into Christ is again
repeated, Gal. iii. 27, ' As many of you as are baptized into Christ,
VEE. 3.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 163
have put on Christ ;' it noteth our union with him, or ingrafting into
his mystical body. We are not only baptized in his name, but baptized
into him, made members of that mystical body whereof he is the head.
[2.] For the second, are ' baptized into his death ;' the meaning is,
baptism principally referreth to his death, that we may have communion
with it, expect the benefit of it, express the likeness of it.
[3.] For the third, ' Know ye not ? ' It is that which every Chris
tian knoweth, if he be but a little instructed in the principles of his
religion ; those bred in the church neither are nor can be ignorant
of this truth : therefore the doctrine of grace opens no way to licen
tiousness.
Doct. Sacraments are a solemn means of our communion with the
death of Christ. Where is to be shown
1. What is communion with Christ's death.
2. That sacraments are a solemn means thereof.
First, What is communion with Christ's death. It signifieth two
things
1. Something by way of privilege, a participation of the benefits
and efficacy of Christ's death.
2. Something by way of duty and obligation, namely, a spiritual
conformity and likeness thereunto, by a mortification of our lusts and
passions.
1. We are partakers of the benefits of his death when we receive
pardon and life, begun by the Spirit, and perfected in heaven. Pardon :
Eph. i. 7, ' In whom we have redemption by his blood, even the remission
of sins.' The same death of Christ which is the meritorious cause of
our justification is the cause of our sanctification also, Titus iii. 5, 6 ;
Eph. v. 26 ; as it took away the impediment which hindered God from
communicating his grace to us, and opened a way for the Spirit of
grace to come at us, and seal our adoption : Gal. iii. 13, 14, ' Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us ; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree :
that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles, through
Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith ; ' Gal. iv. 5, 6, ' To redeem them that were under the law, that
we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God
hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba,
Father.'
2. Christ's death bindeth us to renounce sin, and by submitting
to baptism we profess to take the obligation upon us to die unto sin
and unto the world more and more, to show ourselves to be true
disciples of the crucified Saviour, as we are when we express the
likeness of his death, ver. 5 ; and elsewhere the apostle telleth us, Gal.
ii. 20, ' I am crucified with Christ.' He is a Christian indeed that not
only believeth that Christ is crucified, but is crucified with him ; that
is, doth feel the virtue, and bear the likeness of his death ; for Christ's
death is the pattern of our duty. This likeness is seen in two things :
[1.] In weakening and subduing sin ; so it is said, Gal. v. 24, ' They
that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts ; '
they have in their baptism renounced these things, and they fulfil their
vow sincerely and faithfully : there we bind ourselves to die unto sin,
164 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. II.
and Christ bindeth himself to communicate the virtue of his death unto
us, that we may fulfil our vow, and ' by his Spirit mortify the deeds of
the body,' Bom. viii. 13.
[2.] In suffering for righteousness' sake, and obeying God at the
dearest rate, as Christ's undergoing the death of the cross was the
highest act of his obedience to God. This is also called ' conformity to
his death ; ' and ' the fellowship of his suffering/ Phil. iii. 10. This is
participation of or communion with his death. Christ intended to
wean his people from the interests of the animal life ; therefore, as
soon as they enter into his family, or are listed in his warfare, they
must resolve to renounce all that is dear to them in the world, rather
than be unfaithful to him. Christ puts this question to the two brothers
that would fain have an honourable place in his kingdom : Mat. xx.
22, ' Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall flrink of ? and to be
baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with ? ' They thought
of dignities, of being nearer to Christ than others in honour, and Christ
puts them in mind of sufferings that should befall them, wherein they
might rejoice that they were partakers with him. But mark, here is
a plain allusion to the two sacraments, which are signs and tokens of
grace on God's side, and we on ours bind ourselves to imitate Christ
in his patient and self-denying obedience. This is communion with
his death.
Secondly, That the sacraments are a solemn means of this commu
nion. Here are three things :
1. That union with Christ is the ground of our communion with him.
2. This union and communion is signified and sealed by the sacra
ments.
3. That both the sacraments do chiefly refer to Christ's death.
1. That union with Christ is the ground of communion with him.
This is evident everywhere ; for it is said, 1 Cor. i. 30, ' But of him are
ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteous
ness, and sanctification, and redemption/ We are first ingrafted into
Christ, and then partake of his influence, and he conveyeth to us all
manner of grace; and is the cause both of our justification and sanctifi
cation and final deliverance. So 1 John v 12, ' He that hath the Son
hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life.' Christ is the
first gift ; first God giveth Christ to us, and ' with him all things,'
Kom. viii. 32. Christ himself is the first saving gift ; and therefore,
before we can have spiritual live, we must have Christ himself, who is
offered to us in the promises of the gospel, principally and immediately
to be received by us, and with him all his benefits, as the members
receive sense and life and motion from the head, and the branches sap
from the root. We have not what he hath purchased unless we have
him first ; as we are not possessors of Adam's guilt till we are united
to his person by carnal generation, so not of the grace of the Kedeemer,
till united to him by effectual calling. In short, Christ hath purchased,
and the Father hath given, all things into Christ's own hands ; the
gifts and graces of the Spirit are not intrusted with ourselves, but him ;
we have so foully miscarried already, that God will no more trust his
honour in our hands ; we have nothing but what we have in and from
the Son. The Spirit dwelleth in Christ, and there it can never be lost ;
VER. 3.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 165
he dwelleth in Christ by way of radication, in us by way of influence
and operation. We have many disputes about the inhabitation of the
Spirit, The Spirit is not given to any believer immediately, but to
Christ, and to us derivatively from Christ. Therefore the Spirit is
called ' the Spirit of Christ,' Horn. viii. 9, and ' the Spirit of his Son/
Gal. iv. 6, and ' it is Christ liveth in us/ Gal. ii. 20, and ' as head of
the church he filleth all in all/ Eph. i. 22, 23. From this great cistern
the waters of life come to us, and not immediately from the Godhead ;
and it is our head which doth communicate and send to all his mem
bers from himself that Spirit which must operate in them as they have
need : this grace our mediator distributeth to all his members.
2. That this union and communion is signified and sealed by the
sacraments, and so they are special means to preserve and uphold the
communion between Christ and us. Baptism is spoken of in the text,
and that is called ' a being baptized into Christ/ and is elsewhere said
to be 'a putting on Christ ; ' and here, ver. 5, avpfyvroi, ' a being
planted together in the likeness of his death ; ' and 1 Cor. xii. 13, 'By
one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, and are all made to drink
into one Spirit/ The union is begun by the Spirit, but sealed in
baptism, then carried on by the same Spirit, and further sealed in the
Lord's supper. Our first implantation is represented by baptism, which
is a solemnisation of the new covenant, whereby the party is solemnly
entered a visible member of Christ and his church. It is carried on
by the same Spirit. The Lord's supper is a seal of that communion :
ovxl tcotvuvia ; 1 Cor. x. 16, ' The cup of blessing which we bless, is
it not the communion of the blood of Christ ? the bread which we break,
is it not the communion of the body of Christ ? ' There is not only a
solemn commemoration of the death and passion of our Lord Jesus
Christ, but a participation of his benefits ; it is the communion of his
body and blood. There is a difference between a historical representa
tion of Christ's death, and a spiritual communion of his blood and
body. Now the Lord's supper is a holy rite instituted ei? adfun)fffff,
'in remembrance of him,' and also to convey to us the benefits of
Christ's death. Well, then, you see this union and communion is
signified and sealed by the sacraments. Baptism is our first implan
tation, and the Lord's supper concerneth our growth and nourishment.
The external and visible incorporation is by baptism, or profession of
the Christian faith, which all visible Christians have: John xv. 2,
' Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away,
and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may
bring forth more fruit.' The real and saving union belongeth to the
regenerate, who really believe in Christ, in their hearts Christ dwelleth :
Eph. iii. 17, ' That Christ may dwell in 'your hearts by faith ; ' and
love is requisite : 1 John iv. 16, ' God is love, and he that dwelleth in
love dwelleth in God and God in him ; ' and new obedience : 1 John
iii. 24, ' He that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him and he
in him; and hereby know we that he abideth in us by the Spirit
which he hath given us.' This is the sum then : Christ maketh his
first entrance into us by his Spirit, who regenerateth us ; this is figured
in baptism ; continueth his presence by faith, love, and new obedience,
which are exercised and quickened by the Lord's supper.
166 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. II.
3. The sacraments do chiefly relate to our communion with Christ's
death, as appeareth
[l.j By the interpretation of both in scripture. Baptism is explained
in the text ; the chief thing represented is his death ; and by what is
said, 1 Cor. i. 13, ' Is Christ divided ? was Paul crucified for you ? or
were ye baptized in the name of Paul ? ' Whence I gather, that for
any to have been crucified (made a curse and a sacrifice to God) for
us, would draw an obligation upon us to be baptized into his name.
And that one peculiar reason of our being baptized into the name of
Christ was his having been so crucified for us. The Lord's supper is
explained, 1 Cor. xi. 26, ' As often as ye eat this bread and drink this
cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come.' The use of the Lord's
supper is a solemn commemoration and annunciation of the Lord's
death. We annunciate and show it forth with respect to ourselves,
that we may anew believe and exercise our faith ; with respect to
others, that we may solemnly profess this faith in the crucified
Saviour with a kind of glorying and rejoicing ; with respect to God,
that we may plead the merits of the sacrifice of his own Son with
affiance, expecting the benefits thereof, which are pardon and the
sanctifying Spirit. Thus you see Christ hath instituted two sacra
ments which represent him dead, not one to represent him glorified.
This signification may be confirmed by the types of the old law. The
sin-offering was not to be eaten by the people at all, and the sacrifice
of thanksgiving was not to be eaten the third day after it was offered,
Lev. vii. 16-18 ; the eating of the peace-offerings, wherein they rejoiced
before the Lord, and gave him thanks, was a solemn feast like the
Lord's supper ; now they might eat it the same day in which it was
offered with acceptation, but not on the third day, then it was unlawful.
The eating it the same day taught them to hasten, and not delay, but
with speed, while it is called to-day, to be made partakers of Christ, to
eat his flesh in faith, and to be thankful for his grace. The longest
time was the second day ; the third it could not be eaten, not only
upon a natural reason, that the flesh might be eaten while it was pure
and sweet, for by the third day it might easily putrify in those hot
countries; but upon a mystical reason, to foreshadow the time of
Christ's resurrection, whose rising from the dead was on the third day :
' And the third day I shall be perfected,' Luke xiii. 32. So our feast
on the flesh and blood of Christ representeth his death rather than his
resurrection. Well, then, Christ hath appointed two sacraments which
represent him dead, but none that represent him glorified ; for sacra
ments were instituted in favour of man, and for the benefit of man,
more directly and immediately than for the honour of Christ exalted.
Therefore in these ordinances he representeth himself rather as he
procured the glory of others than as possessed of his own glory, and
would have us consider rather his death past than his present glory.
His death is wholly for us, but his glory for himself and us too. For
understanding this, we must distinguish between what is primarily
represented in the sacraments, and what is secondarily and conse
quentially. It is true the consideration of his humiliation excludeth
not that of his exaltation, but leadeth us to it. Primarily and properly
Christ's death is represented in the sacraments, and consequentially
VER. 3.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 167
his resurrection and exaltation, as those other acts receive their value
from his death as to our comfort and benefit, as his resurrection and
intercession. We remember his death as the meritorious cause of our
justification and sanctification, but his resurrection as the public evi
dence of the value of his merit ; according to that of the apostle : Bom.
iv. 25, ' He died for our offences, and rose again for our justification ;'
therefore primarily and directly ' we are baptized into his death,' and
in the Lord's supper ' we show forth his death/ by which he satisfied
divine justice for us ; but secondarily and consequentially we remember
his resurrection, which showeth that his satisfaction is perfect, and
God, who is the judge and avenger of sin, could require no more of
Christ for the atonement of the world. While the punishment
remaineth in the guilty person or his surety, the debt is not fully paid;
but the taking our surety from prison and judgment showeth that
provoked justice is contented. So in baptism, the immersion or
plunging in water signified his death, and the coming out of the water
his resurrection ; and in the Lord's supper we annunciate his death ;
but because we keep up this ordinance till he come, we imply his
resurrection and life of glory, therefore we do but consequentially
remember it. So it is for Christ's intercession ; it is but a representa
tion of the merit of his sacrifice, and receiveth its value from his death :
Heb. ix. 12, 'By his own blood he entered into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us.' Our high priest now appearing
before God, and representing the value of his sacrifice for all penitent
believers, the foundation was in his death. As this is true of the
cause, so it is true of the benefits procured by that cause ; the great
benefit which we have by Christ is salvation, which consists in the
destruction of sin, and a fruition of those things which by God's
appointment are consequent upon the destruction of sin, namely,
eternal life and happiness. Now as these things are consequent upon
the destruction of sin, so baptism and the Lord's supper signifieth and
sealeth them ; but consequentially its primary use is to signify the
destruction and abolition of sin by the death of Christ ; as for instance,
' We are baptised for the remission of sins,' Acts ii. 38, and Acts xxii.
16, ' Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins ;' and in the Lord's
supper, Mat. xxvi. 28, ' This is my blood of the New Testament, which
is shed for many for the remission of sins.' So that you see these
benefits are more expressly signified in baptism and the Lord's supper,
the resurrection of the body and eternal life more remotely and conse
quentially. The death of Christ first purchased for us justification
and sanctification, therefore they are first represented directly and
primarily, baptism and the Lord's supper represent these especially ;
so now you see why the apostle saith, ' Ye are baptized into his death. 1
[2.] By the rites used in both these ordinances. Baptism signifieth
the death and burial of Christ ; for immersion under the water is a
kind of figure of death and burial, as our apostle explaineth it, ver. 4,
' Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death;' and the
trine immersion, the threefold dipping used by the ancients, is
expounded by them, not only with reference to the Trinity, Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, in whose names they were baptized, Mat. xxviii.
19, but the three several days, wherein Christ lay buried in the grave,
168 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SBR. II.
as Athanasius expoundeth it, and many others interpret it as a simi
litude of Christ's death for three days. So for the Lord's supper:
Luke xxii. 19, 20, ' He took bread, and brake it, and gave it to them,
saying, This is. my body, which is given for you ; this do in remem
brance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup
is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you.' His body
is represented as dead and broken, and so proper food for our souls, his
blood as poured out and shed for us. Well, then, here we remember
Christ as dying on the cross rather than as glorified in heaven.
[3.] By reason it must needs be so.
(1.) With respect to the state of man, with whom the new covenant
is made. It is made with man fallen and a sinner ; therefore baptism
and the Lord's supper imply our communion with Christ as a redeemer
and saviour, who coraeth ' to save us from our sins,' Mat. i. 21, and
nothing can save us from our sins but a crucified saviour. Therefore
these ordinances imply a communion with his death : Heb. ix. 15,
' For this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by the
means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the first testament, they which are called might receive the pro
mise of eternal inheritance.' So here the intervention of his death was
the way and means to expiate former sins, and that penitent believers
might have eternal blessedness instated upon them by way of inheri
tance ; therefore the most obvious thing represented in these seals of
the new covenant must be the death of Christ.
(2.) With respect to the great benefit we stand in need of, which is
the destruction of sin, which hath a double malignity in it ; for sin is
considerable under a double respect as it damneth or as it defileth ;
as it rendereth us obnoxious to God's justice, or as it tainteth and
staineth and defileth our faculties. Christ considereth sin under this
double respect, and maketh none partakers of the benefit which cometh
by him whom he freeth not from sin, both as to the guilt and power ;
by his death our sins are expiated before God, and so pardoned ; and
also the Spirit, or a new and holy nature is put into us, whereby the
reigning power of sin is broken and taken away ; not only the guilt of
sin, which is opposed to blessedness, but the reign of sin, which is
opposed to holiness. We can never be completely happy till we get
freed from the punishment which sin hath made our due, and also get
that sin destroyed which would involve us in new guilt. God, who i&
a just and wise disposer of his grace, will not give impunity where sin
remaineth in its full strength. Now this being the nature of our
recovery, we ought to seek communion with Christ's death, that we
may obtain both pardon and the gift of the Spirit, and be justified
and sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our
God; or (which tendeth to the same effect) that we might feel the
virtue of Christ's death, and express the likeness of it.
(3.) With respect to the value of Christ's death, which is often
recommended to us under these two considerations (1.) As a won
derful act of love ; (2.) As a price and ransom paid for our souls, and
the blessings we stand in need of.
(1st.) As a wonderful act of condescending love : Gal. ii. 20, ' He
loved me, and gave himself for me ;' Eph. v. 2, ' Who hath loved us,
and given himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet-
VER. 3.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 169
smelling savour ;' Kev. i. 5, ' Who loved us, and washed us from our
sins in.his own blood.' Christ's death is the greatest instance of his
love, and sacraments are a memorial of his love to us, and therefore
must needs principally relate to his death, for so they axe most apt to
work upon our souls.
(2d.) They are the price paid for the blessings we stand in need of,
and so breed confidence in us. The great benefit is the destruction of
sin, as I said before ; for the great occasion of this mystery of grace
was our fallen estate, which brought sin and misery upon us. But the
Son of God came ' to take away sin/ 1 John iii. 5, by dying an accursed
death to propitiate God to us, and make way for the more liberal
effusion of his mercy. Well, then, if poor creatures have any awakening
sense of their deep misery, what should they look after, or bless God
for, when they solemnly come to accept the covenant, but the death of
Christ ?
(4.) The mutual respect that is between both sacraments ; for Christ's
death, and the immediate benefits which result thence, are represented
both in baptism and the Lord's supper in a way proper to each. Bap
tism signifieth our first entrance into the evangelical state, and the
Lord's supper our growth and progress therein. Both are necessary.
(1st.) Baptism, that .our consent to depend upon God for the benefits
of the new covenant, and perform the duties thereof, may be more
solemn and explicit; for all the sincerity of our after-obedience doth
very much depend upo.n the seriousness of our first consent ; therefore
it is meet that we should be strengthened with such a bond, that we
should be baptized into the death of Christ : that act is an act of love,
it may bind us to love him to the death, who hath loved us first, and
in all temptations cleave to him, performing our covenant-resolution
and consent with all fidelity all the days of our lives. And as it is the
ground of our confidence and the price of our blessings, we may com
fortably depend upon God for the gift of the sanctifying Spirit, and that
he will afford all necessary help to us in the use of those means which
he hath appointed, that we may receive the grace and Spirit of God by
virtue of this help.
(2d.) The Lord's supper is necessary to confirm and strengthen both
our resolutions and dependence ; for nothing is more fickle and uncer
tain than the heart of man. Men are of several sorts and sizes ; three
I shall mention. Good Christians, who have a clear and undoubted
right to the privileges of the new covenant ; yet they stand in need of
the Lord's supper, that they may give Christ a new and hearty welcome
in their souls by the solemn remembrance of his love, and also have
their right solemnly confirmed and ratified, that their confidence and
joy in the Lord may be quickened and increased, Acts viii. 39. Or
else lapsed believers; these come by the solemn remembrance of Christ's
death to be set in joint again, and restored to God's favour, whilst both
they and God renew the promise of the destruction of sin, 1 Johnii. 1.
Another sort are weak, wavering, doubtful Christians, James i. 8, who
come because of their imperfect estate, that they may be confirmed
and strengthened, that the comfort of their Christianity may be more
explicit, and their resolutions against sin fortified, that they may more
glory in the death and cross of Christ, feeling the effects of it in their
170 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. II.
own souls, Gal. vi. 14, and look upon Christ, not simply propounded
as dead, but as dead for them, and themselves dead with him..
Use. Here is direction to us about the improvement of our com
munion with Christ, to look more to the effect and fruit of sacraments ;
have we the communion of his death ?
1. Of your baptism. Do you live as one that is washed from his
sins, that is baptized into the death of Christ ? What virtue have
you to quell sin ? What likeness do you express ? Baptism is the
best preparation for the Lord's supper ; if you have the fruit of that,
you may more comfortably come to the other : John xiii. 8, ' If I wash
thee not, thou hast no part with me.' We are utterly unqualified and
unprepared for the Lord's supper if we be not washed. Now though
no man can say his heart is clean, yet every good Christian maketh
conscience of his baptismal vow ; he purifieth himself as Christ is pure ;
the work is a-doing. If this conscience be not in us, the whole action
is lost to us, yea, will bring a judgment upon us. What do we come
about but the destruction of sin ? Is it really your burden ? Have
you not only a wish but a will to get rid of it ? If so you have been
labouring in it, you desire solemnly to remember Christ's death, to
strengthen your resolutions, and increase your dependence, that in
these means you may meet with more encouragement ; then come and
see what Christ will do for you.
2. As to the Lord's supper, your great business here is to comme
morate Christ's death, who is evidently set forth, and as it were
crucified before your eyes. Now you do not commemorate his death
as a tragical story, but as a mystery of godliness, and therefore you
are to look to the end of it, which is the destruction of sin. This is
what man needeth, this is that which God ofFereth.
[1.] This is needed by man ; we are undone for ever if sin be not
destroyed. We may take up the church's words: Lam. v. 11,
' The crown is fallen from our head ; woe unto us, that we have sinned ! '
If we had a broken-hearted sense of what we have brought upon
ourselves by sin, we would more prize our remedy : we come to be
saved from sin, and so by consequence from wrath and hell. And
shall we be cold in such addresses to God, while we have so much sin
in us?
[2.] This is offered by God. His great intention of sending Christ
into the world was to be ' a propitiation for our sins ; ' 1 John iv. 10,
' Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent
his Son to be the propitiation for our sins ; ' and therefore he set him
forth in the gospel : Kom. iii. 24, ' Whom God hath set forth to be a
propitiation through faith in his blood.' How is it offered ?
(1.) It is dearly purchased, by the death of Christ ; that was the
price paid for our ransom, which both commendeth his love Rom. v.
8, ' But God commendeth his love to us, in that while we were yet
sinners Christ died for us ' and assureth our confidence : Rom. viii.
32, ' He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all,
how shall he not with him also freely give us all things ?'
(2.) It is freely offered : Isa. Iv. 1, ' Ho every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and
eat, yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price;'
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 171
Kev. xxii. 17, ' And the Spirit and the bride say, Come, and let him
that heareth say, Come, and let him that is athirst come ; and whoso
ever will, let him take the water of life freely.' These blessings come
freely to you, though they cost Christ dear.
(3.) It is surely sealed arid conveyed to every penitent believer ; for
God by deed and instrument reacheth out to every believer the body
and blood of our crucified Saviour, or the benefits of Christ's death.
To others it is a nullity ; the whole duty is lost to them who regard
iniquity in their hearts. Therefore resolve without any reservation to
devote yourselves to God, always to watch and strive against sin.
SERMON III.
TJierefore we are buried ivith him by baptism into death ; tliat like as
Christ ivas raised up from the dead by the glory oftlie Fatlier,
even so iue also should walk in newness of life. ROM. VI. 4.
THE words are a proof that we are baptized into Christ's death. The
apostle proveth it by explaining the rites of baptism. The ancient
manner of baptism was to dip the parties baptized, and as it were to
bury them under water for a while ; and. if baptism hath the figure of a
burial, but with a hope to rise again, then it signifieth two things
Christ's death and resurrection, the one directly and formally, the other
by consequence ; and our communion with him in both : ' Therefore
we are buried with him in baptism/ &c.
In the words the apostle speaketh
1. Of something directly and primarily signified in baptism, ' We
are buried with him,' &c.
2. Of something by just consequence and inference thence, ' That
like as,' &c.
1. That which is primarily and directly signified in baptism, ' We
are buried with him in baptism into his death.' The like expression
you have, Col. ii. 12, ' Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye
are risen with him.' The putting the baptized person into the water
denoteth and proclaimeth the burial of Christ, and we by submitting to
it are baptized with him, or profess to be dead to sin ; for none but the
dead are buried. So that it signifieth Christ's death for sin, and our
dying unto sin. You will say, If the rite hath this signification and
use, why is it not retained ? I answer Christianity lieth not in cere
monies ; the principal thing in baptism is the washing away of sin :
Acts xxii. 16, ' Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins ;' that
may be done by pouring on of water as well as dipping. Other things
were used about baptism then, as the stripping themselves of their
clothes, even to stark nakedness ; whence came the notions of putting
off and putting on so frequently used : Eph. iv. 22, 24, ' That ye put
off concerning the former conversation the old man ;' and Col. iii. 9,
10, ' Seeing ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put
on the new man,' &c. ;' Gal. iii. 27, 'As many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ' Now none rigorously urge
172 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. III.
the continuance of these ceremonies; as long as the substance is
retained, we may not quarrel about the manner.
2. That which was signified with just consequence and inference
is ' our conforming to Christ's resurrection.' Baptism referreth to this
also as a significant emblem, for the going out of the water is a kind
of resurrection, so it signifieth Christ's resurrection and ours. Now,
our resurrection is double to the life of grace spoken of here, and
called the first resurrection, or to the life of glory ; baptism relateth to
that also, 1 Cor. xv. 29, ' Else what shall they do who are baptized for
the dead ? ' Baptism is a putting in and taking out of the water, or a
being buried with a hope to rise. The former is intended here, our
rising to the life of grace. All this abundantly proveth that those
which are dead to sin cannot live any longer therein.
In the latter clause the pattern of Christ's resurrection is first pro
pounded, then applied, the protasis, trie apodosis.
1. The protasis, or the proposal of the pattern, ' Like as Christ was
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father.'
2. The conformity, or similitude on our part, ' Even so we should
walk in the newness of life.'
First, In the pattern propounded you may observe two things :
1. Christ's state after his burial, ' He was raised up from the dead.'
2. The efficient cause, ' By the glory of the Father ; ; that is, by his
glorious power, as it is explained, 2 Cor. xiii. 4, ' He was crucified
through weakness, but he liveth by the power of God ; ' and elsewhere
by ' the glory of God,' is meant ' his power/ So John xi. 40, ' If thou
wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God,' that is, his
power in raising Lazarus to life. The agreement to this purpose is
observable of Eph. iii. 16, ' That he would grant you according to the
riches of his glory to be strengthened with all might ; ' with Col. i. 11,
' Strengthened with all might according to his glorious power.' And
this power doth effect that great change in us. which fits us for the
new life ; as Eph. i. 19, 20, ' And what is the exceeding greatness of
his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his
mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him
from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly
places ; ' Col. ii. 12, ' Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are
risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath
raised him from the dead.' It is the mighty operation of God that
beginneth this life in us ; the same power raiseth. us first to a new life,
then to a glorious eternity.
Secondly, The apodosis, wherein it is applied, 'Even so we also
should walk in newness of life.' The similitude holdeth good in these
things :
1. As the resurrection of Christ followed his death, so doth newness
of life our death to sin.
2. As Christ was raised to a blessed immortal life by the glorious
power of the Father, so are we renewed and quickened by the same
power.
3. The effect of the new birth is mentioned ; our walking in new
ness of life, rather than regeneration or the new birth itself, which yet
is signified by baptism, and Christ's resurrection is the pattern and
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 173
cause of. The similitude holdeth good in the power, and in the new
state of life, which supposeth such a principle.
DocL That baptism strongly obligeth us to walk in newness of life.
1. Let me speak of the nature of this new life.
2. How strongly we are obliged by baptism to carry it on through
the power of God.
First, This newness of life, it may be considered
1. In its foundation, which is the new birth or regeneration ; for till
we are made new creatures we cannot live a new life : John iii. 5, 6,
' Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God : that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit ;' 2 Cor. v. 17, ' If any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature : old things are passed away ; behold, all
things are become new.' A bowl must be made round before it can
run round ; all creatures are first made and fitted for their use before
they can perform the operations belonging to that creature ; so a new
being and holy nature is put into us, and we are powerfully changed
before we can live unto God. Man's nature is not in such a condition
as to need some reparation only, but is wholly corrupt. Therefore we
must be born again, there must be a change of the whole man from a
state of corruption to a state of holiness, and a principle of new life
must be infused into us, whence flow new actions and delights.
2. The first regeneration consists of two parts mortification and
vivification. Mortification doth conquer the fleshly inclination to
things present, and vivification doth quicken us to live unto God.
There is need of both. Of mortification, that we may die to the flesh
and to the world, for there is a seducing principle within, and a tempt
ing object without : within there is the flesh, without the world ; we
die to both. To the flesh : Gal. v. 24, ' They that are Christ's have
crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts.' To the world : Gal.
vi. 14, ' God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I unto the
world.' While the mind and heart is captivated to the flesh, we can
never cease to sin. There is need of vivification, that you may live to
God ; for the recess from the world is not enough, unless there be an
access to God ; and therefore the immediate principles that carry us to
God are love kindled in us by faith in Christ. For the new creature,
being interpreted as to vivification, is nothing else but faith working
by love. Compare Gal. v. 6, ' In- Christ Jesas neither circumcision
nor uncircumcision availeth any thing ; but faith worketh by love,'
with Gal. vi. 15, ' In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircum
cision availeth any thing, but a new creature/ These two, faith and
love, are the principles and springs of all Christian practice and con
versation. You are never changed till the heart be changed ; and the
heart is never changed till the will and love be changed. Well, then,
it is not enough to die to sin, but we must walk in newness of life ; both
must be minded ; but we begin first at mortification, and then proceed
to the positive duties of a new life. Holiness consists not in a mere
forbearance of a sensual life, but principally in living to God ; the
heart of it within is the love of God, its inclination towards him,
delight in him, desire after him, care to please him, loathness to offend
174 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VJ. [$ER. III.
him ; and the expression of it without is the exercise of grace according
to the direction of God's word. Yea, these two branches are not only
seen at first, but every step of the new life is a dying to sin, and a
rising to newness of life, a retiring from the world to God.
3. As to the rule, which is the infallible revelation of God, delivered
to the church by the prophets and apostles, comprised in the Holy
Scriptures, and sealed by miracles and operations of the Holy Ghost,
who was the author of them. The new creature is very inquisitive to
know God's will : Horn. xii. 2, ' And be not conformed to this world ;
but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may
prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.'
Grace is sometimes called light, and sometimes life, for there is direc
tion in it as well as inclination. This light we have from the word
and Spirit. In the word our duties are determined, and the new
creature is naturally carried to the word ; it is the seed of that life it
hath: 1 Peter i. 23, 'Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but
incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever ;'
and it is the rule of acting and exercising this life: Gal. vi. 16, 'As
many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them,' &c. There is
a cognation between the word and the renewed heart : Heb. viii. 10,
' I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their heart ; '
as the stamp and impress answereth to the seal, or the law within to
the law without, the law written on the heart to the law written on
tables or in the Bible.
4. As to the end, which is the pleasing, glorifying, and enjoying of
God ; it is a living to God : Gal. ii. 19, ' I through the law am dead to
the law, that I might live unto God ;' 1 Cor. x. 31, 'Whether there
fore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God ; '
2 Cor. v. 9, ' Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we
may be accepted of him.' A new life inferreth new ends and pursuits,
the new being obligeth us ' to be to the praise of his glorious grace/
Eph. i. 12.
5. The properties of it.
[1.] It is a godly life, as beginning and ending in God, and carried
on by those who are absolutely devoted and addicted to him : 2 Peter
iii. 11, ' What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation
and godliness ?' It is called ' the life of God/ Eph. iv. 18. It is from
God and for God ; you live by him and to him ; in others, self is the
principle, measure, and end.
[2.] It is a holy life, measured by the pure word of God : Ps. cxix.
140, ' Thy word is very pure, therefore thy servant loveth it;' Rom.
vii. 12, ' The law is holy, and the commandment is holy, and just, and
good;' not by our own natural inclinations, or the fashions of the
world, but God's direction : 1 Peter i. 15, ' As he which hath called
you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation ;' Luke i. 75,
' That we should serve him in holiness and righteousness before him,
all the days of our lives/ The inclinations are planted in us by God's
first work : Eph. iv. 24, ' That ye put on the new man, which after
God is created in righteousness and true holiness.' They are directed
by his word, all moral duties being comprised in those words, holiness
or dedication to God, righteousness, performing our duties to men :
VER. 4.]
SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI.
175
Acts xxiv. 26, ' Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a con
science void of offence toward God and toward men/
[3.] It is an heavenly life : Phil. iii. 20, ' Our conversation is in
heaven.' Our great work is to prepare for everlasting life, seeking,
rejoicing in that endless happiness we shall have with God ; a living
for or upon the unseen everlasting happiness, as purchased for us by
Christ, and freely given us of God. We live for it, as we seek after
it with our utmost diligence : Acts xxvi. 7, ' Unto which promises the
twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come.' We
live upon it, as fetching thence all our supports, solaces, and encou
ragements : 2 Cor. iv. 18, ' While we look not at the things which are
seen, but at the things which are not seen ; for the things which are
seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.'
Secondly, How strongly we are obliged by baptism to this kind of
life. Baptism hath three offices, it representeth, sealeth, undertaketh ;
it representeth as a signifying sign, sealeth as a confirming sign, under
taketh as a bond, wherewith we bind ourselves when we submit to it.
1. What it representeth, primarily and principally the death of
Christ, and secondarily his resurrection, the one in order to the
other.
[1.] The death of Christ, which is the meritorious cause of all the
grace and good which is communicated to us in this or any other
sacrament or mystery of the gospel. We are told, 1 Peter ii. 14,
' That he himself bore our own sins in his body on the tree, that we,
being dead to sin, might be alive to righteousness.' I told you before
that Christ's death may be considered as an instance of his love, or as
the price paid for the blessings of the new covenant ; as an instance'
of his love it worketh morally, as the price of our blessings meritori
ously ; as it worketh morally and exciteth our gratitude, we should
not go on in that course which brought these sufferings on Christ, but
live holily, in gratitude to him, and kindness to ourselves, lest we bear
our own sins, which are so hateful to God. This consideration we
exclude not ; but to make this all the sense of the place, no Christian
heart can endure ; therefore we go to the second consideration, as the
price and ransom of our own souls, and of the blessings we stand in
need of. He purchased grace to mortify sin, and quicken us to the
duties of holiness, that the love of sin might be weakened in our hearts,
and we might be quickened to live to God in the Spirit. Now, if this
be represented in baptism, then surely it strongly obligeth us to improve
this grace for those ends and purposes ; and that this is represented is
evident, for in the apostle's interpretation baptism is a sort of burial ;
and first it is a commemoration of the burial of Christ, who, when his
soul was separated from his flesh, he was buried, his sacred body was
laid up in the chambers of the grave. This was necessary not only in
compliance with the types Mat. xii. 40, ' As Jonah was three days
and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth.' Christ was found to
be the true Messias by his resurrection from the dead, as Jonas was
authorised to be a true prophet of the Lord by his miraculous deliver
ance. Prophecies of this you may see : Ps. xvi. 9, ' My flesh also shall
rest in hope ;' Isa. liii. 9, ' He made his grave with the wicked, and
176 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. III.
with the rich in his death/ but also this was necessary for the con
firmation of the reality of his death past, and the verity of his resurrec
tion suddenly to follow. Therefore in baptism the truth of his death
is represented as the ground of all our hopes.
[2.] The next thing which is represented is the truth of his resur
rection. Christ, that purchased this grace, is risen to apply it ; he is a
saviour merito et efficacia ; his merit immediately depended on his
death, and his power for effectual application (though mediately on
that too) depended immediately on his resurrection ; for Christ rose on
purpose to turn men from their iniquities : Acts iii. 26, ' God having
raised up his Son Jesus, hath sent him to bless you, in turning away
every one of you from his iniquities/ Christ's resurrection hath a
twofold regard (1.) It is a pattern ; (2.) It is a pledge.
(1.) It is a pattern of our rising from the death Of sin to newness of
life. If Christ, that was dead and buried, rose again, and cast off the
burden of our sins, which for our sakes he undertook, or cast off the
form of a servant, we must not only be dead and buried, but we must
rise also. Christ's resurrection is everywhere made a pattern of the
new birth : 1 Peter i. 3, ' He hath begotten us to a lively hope by the
resurrection of Christ from the dead ;' that is the influential cause and
pattern of it. So 1 Peter iii. 21, ' The like figure whereunto even
baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of
the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God), by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.' Anima non lavatione, sed responsione
sancitur. The soul is dedicated to God to live a new life, not by the
water, but by the answer to the demands of the new covenant, and this
is by the resurrection of Christ
(2.) As it is a pledge of his power, by which that great change is
wrought in us : Eph. i. 19, 20, ' And what is the exceeding greatness
of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of
his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him
from the dead.' To convert souls to God there needeth a mighty
working of efficacious power, which exceedeth all contrary power which
might hinder and impede that work. Men by nature are averse from
God ; the devil seeketh to detain them from him, and his powerful
engine is the world. But now, if they are to be raised as Christ was
raised, what can oppose this work ? So that we have not only the
merit of his humiliation, but the power of his exaltation. And besides,
that this power is likely to be exercised for us, we may consider that
Christ is said to rise by his own power :. John ii. 19, ' Destroy this
temple, and in three days I will raise it up ;' John x. 17, ' I lay down
my life, that I may take it again ; ' and to be raised by the power of
his Father, which noteth authority to rise again, and having fully
done his work, upon which account he is said ' to be" brought again
from the dead,' Heb. xiii. 20 ; and the apostle inferreth from thence,
ver. 21, ' Being made perfect in every good work to do his will, working
in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ.'
Now, if both these be implied in baptism, it doth mightily oblige the
parties baptized to look after the effect of these two acts of Christ's
mediation ; for Christians should not only believe the death and resur
rection of Christ, but feel it : by the merit of his death and efficacy of his
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 177
resurrection we obtain this new life, and both are the causes of our
dying to sin and living to God.
2. What it sealeth or confirmeth. The new covenant, wherein God
hath promised the gift of the Spirit, to renew, sanctify, and heal all
those that enter into it. We have the grace to destroy sin by virtue
of the death and burial of Christ, but the promises are in the new
covenant. That the new covenant is sealed in baptism, see Mat. xxviii.
19, 20, ' Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you ;' Mark
xvi. 1 6, ' He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that
belie veth not shall be damned.' Now the great promise of the new
covenant is the Spirit to renew and cleanse the soul. Surely this is
properly signified in baptism : John iii. 5, ' Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'
And Titus iii. 5, ' According to his mercy he saved us, by the washing
of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.' As the body is
washed with water without, so is the soul cleansed by the Spirit
within ; as at the baptism of our Saviour, the descending of the Holy
Ghost upon him was a visible pledge of what should be done after
ward ; for at his baptism the fruit of all baptisms was visibly repre
sented; we are admitted children of his family, as Christ was declared
to be ' the well-beloved Son of God,' Mat. iii. 17 ; and we have the
Spirit of his Son : Gal. iv. 6, ' Because ye are sons, God hath sent
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father/ As
God promiseth ' to pour out water on him that is thirsty, and floods
on the dry ground,' so to ' pour out his Spirit on the seed, and his
blessing upon thy offspring,' Isa. xliv. iii. And the Spirit itself is
figured by water : John iv. 14, ' Whosoever shall drink of the water
that I shall give him, shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall
give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
life ;' John vii. 37, ' If any 1 man thirst, let him come unto me and drink ;'
Kev. xxii. 17, > Let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let
him take the water of life freely/ Now, unless we will receive this
grace in vain, we are bound to wait for and obey the Spirit's motions,
either by way of restraint or excitation : Rom. viii. 13, 14, ' If ye
through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live ; for as
many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God ;' we that
pretend to come to God for this promise of the Spirit, as in baptism
we do : Acts ii. 38, ' Eepent, and be baptized every one of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost.'
3. It obligeth, as there is a kind of undertaking to show forth the
likeness of Christ's death and resurrection by our submission to it.
Our receiving baptism implieth two things (1.) A public and open
profession ; (2.) A solemn bond, wherewith we bind our souls.
[1.] A public and open profession, wherein we profess a communion
with Christ's death and resurrection, or to die and rise with Christ.
In the general, that baptism is an open profession ; for it is required
as a sign of the faith that is in our hearts : Eom. x. 10, ' With the
heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
VOL. XI', M
178 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [$ER. III.
is made unto salvation ;' and Mark xvi. 16, ' He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned ;'
Acts ii. 38, ' Kepent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of
Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost/ As circumcision was the badge of the Jewish pro
fession, so is baptism of the profession of Christianity. Therefore the
Jews are called circumcision, and we are called the purified people ;
Titus ii. 14, ' Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from
all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good
works;' and 'those that are purged from their sins/ 2 Peter i. 9.
And more distinctly what we profess is plain and evident in this
ordinance ; we profess to die and rise with Christ.
(1.) Death ; yea, in the text not only and simply to be dead, but to
be buried with Christ. If baptism expresseth an image of burial, and
every burial supposeth death, not only of Christ, but us, surely we are
bound not only to die unto sin at first, but to make our mortification
more thorough and constant ; for as burial uoteth the continuance of
Christ's death, so should we persevere and increase in the mortification
of sin, for burial is a continued dying to sin. We should not only
renounce and give over all the sins of our former lives, but persevere
in this resolution, and increase in our endeavour against sin daily. A
Christian living in sin, and serving his lusts, is like a spectre and ghost
arisen out of the grave.
(2.) So for Christ's resurrection. In this ordinance we profess to
rise again with Christ, and therefore should not only put off the old
man, or body of sin, but have an earnest impulsion within ourselves to
the duties of holiness, and be breathing after, and pressing on yet more
and more to the purity and perfection of the heavenly estate : Phil. iii.
14, ' I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God
in Christ Jesus.' Well, then, unless those that are baptized into
Christ change their course of life, all their profession is but an empty
formality, a mockery, a mere nullity as to reward, not as to punish
ment : ' Their circumcision is made uncircumcision/ Rom. iii. 25. As
Avhen God came to reckon with his people : Jer. ix. 25, 26, ' Behold,
the days come, saith the Lord, that I will punish the circumcised with
the uncircumcised ; Egypt, Judah, and Edom with the children of
Ammon and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell
in the wilderness ; for all these nations are uncircumcised in flesh,
and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.' Circum
cision was the sign and seal of the new covenant to them, as baptism
is to us ; they were distinguished from other nations that were without
it, and this prerogative they stood not a little upon : Gen. xxxiv. 14,
' We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircum
cised, for that were a reproach unto us.' They quarrelled with Peter :
Acts XL 3, ' Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with
them.' Now, to cut off this presumption, God telleth them this was
a sorry stay for them to trust to ; for he intended shortly to hold a
visitation wherein he would proceed against wicked persons without
difference, whether circumcised or uncircumcised, and would deal
impartially with the one and the other, because the one were such in
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 179
heart as the others were in flesh. The outward rite is of no force and
worth in God's account .
[2.] It is a bond wherewith we bind our souls. It is enough to
evidence that, because it is ' an answer to the covenant,' 1 Peter iii. 24.
As there God undertaketh to renew and strengthen us, and give us
grace by his almighty power, so we undertake to improve this grace,
and to put off the old man, that we may walk in newness of life ; and
covenant-engaging is the most solemn engaging : Ezek. xx. 37, ' I will
cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of
the covenant.' As also by analogy : Gal. v. 3, ' I testify to every man
that is circumcised that he is a debtor to the whole law/ He obligeth
himself to the whole economy of Moses. So by parity of reason, he
that is baptized is a debtor to the law of faith. And so debtors is the
word used by the apostle : Kom. viii. 12, ' Therefore, brethren, we are
debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.' A covenant-bond is
sacred as that of an- oath or vow. A solemn promise made to God
hath the nature of a vow : Num. xxx. 2, ' If a man vow a vow to the
Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break
his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth/
Now, if it be not performed, we violate God's ordinance, and are
infringers of the oath sworn to Christ, and so are to be reckoned among
the perfidious rather than the faithful. Besides, take it in the notion
of a dedication, or consecration, or yielding ourselves to the Lord.
Every consecration implieth an execration, whether it be formally
expressed or no. Sometimes it is expressed : Neh. x. 29, ' They
entered into a curse, and into an oath to walk in God's law/ Now
see if this holds not good in the new covenant ; consider the tenor of
it : Mark xvi. 16, ' He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,
but he that believeth not shall be damned/ Therefore the bond of
the covenant is a strict bond.
Use 1. Is matter of lamentation that so many are baptized into
Christ, and yet express so little of the fruit of his death or resurrection.
Alas ! the rabble of nominal Christians live in defiance of the religion
which they profess, and are angry with those that would reduce them
to the strictness of it. They are alive to sin and dead to righteousness ;
as if they had promised rather to continue in their sins than to renounce
and disclaim them, and were in covenant with the devil, the world, and
the flesh, rather than Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; as if they had
vowed to be utterly unlike to Christ. Now, it will go ill with them in
the judgment, worse than with heathen, because they knew better, were
obliged to do better, had grace to do better, in offer at least. We
laugh at the rudeness of one bred up at the plough, but are sorely
displeased at the ill-manners of one bred in places of more refined
conversation. The heathens were never buried with Christ in baptism,
never professed to be dead to the world or alive to God ; but Christians
are under a solemn engagement, and if they had the courage to set
about their duty, would God be wanting to them ?
Use 2. To persuade you to make conscience of your baptismal vow,
and to observe and perform it with all good fidelity, and that in both
parts of it.
1. Dying to sin ; you are not only dead, but buried. Oh ! do not
180 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. Ill-
neglect the mortifying of your sins. You think it hard to renounce
sensual delight and pleasure, but better lose the pleasure of the senses
than incur the pains of hell. That is that which our Saviour teacheth
us : Mat. v. 29, 30, ' If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast
it from thee. For it is profitable for thee that one of thy members
should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee/ &c.
Literally that place cannot be taken ; no man ever yet hated his own
flesh, nor can he lawfully hate it ; this is contrary to the sixth com
mandment. For a man to hurt his body to prevent his sin is to run
from one fire into another, to be guilty of murder to prevent adultery ;
the fault is not in the eye, but in the heart : Mat. xv. 19, 'For out of
the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts,
false witnesses, blasphemies.' If the right eye were plucked out, the
left eye might easily transmit the temptation. Metaphorically you
may take it for the principal members of the body of sin, beloved
lusts. But the meaning is, it is better to be blind than damned, to
lose their senses than lose their souls, much more to deny the pleasures
of sense. You may say, If you allow yourselves a little liberty, the
danger is not great ; you should say rather, The pleasure is not great,
therefore mortify your sins.
Motives.
[1.] Till sins be mortified they easily break out again : 2 Peter ii.
20, ' For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world, through
the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again
entangled therein and overcome,' &c. Their heart is in secret league
with their lust, which is never thoroughly dissolved.
[2.] Your consolations will be but small. Mortification breeds joy
and peace, especially the mortification of a master-sin : Ps. xviii. 3,
' I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity/
A man showeth his uprightness in mastering this sin. The dearer
any victory over sin costs you, the sweeter will the issue be. Volun
tarily and allowedly to commit a know T n sin, or omit a known duty,
maketh our sincerity questionable : James iv. 17, ' Therefore to him
that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin/
[3.] Crosses will be many : Hosea v. 15, ' I will go and return to
my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face : in
their affliction they will seek me early ;' Isa. xxvii. 9, ' By this there
fore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this is all the fruit to
take away his sin/
[4.] Doubts will be troublesome. To obey Christ a little and the
flesh more is no true obedience, and such will have no rejoicing of
heart : Job xx. 12-14, ' Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth,
though he hide it under his tongue, though he spare it, and forsake it
not, but keep it still within his mouth, yet his meat in his bowels is
turned into poison, and becomes the gall of asps within him.' Sin
proveth bitter and vexing till we leave it, and sinners still have a secret
sting within.
[5.] The heart is benumbed and stupefied: Heb. iii. 13, 'Hardened
through the deceitfulness of sin ;' that is the sorest judgment, to
become stupid.
YER. 5.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 181
2. To walk in newness of life.
[1.] It is the most noble life the nature of man is capable of; it is
called 'the life of God/ Eph. iv. 18. It floweth from the gracious
presence of God dwelling in us by the Spirit, which engageth us in the
highest designs.
[2.] It is the most delectable life : Prov. iii. 17, ' Her ways are ways
of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.' We live upon God as
represented to us in a mediator, and avoid the filthiness, delusions,
vexations of the world and the flesh.
[3.] It is the most profitable life ; it is a preparation for and intro
duction into eternal life : Horn. vi. 22, ' But now being made free from
sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and
the end everlasting life.'
SERMON IV.
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, ice
shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. ROM. VI. 5.
HERE the apostle proveth that continuance in sin cannot be supposed
in them that are really and sincerely dedicated to Christ in baptism,
from the strict union between Christ and them, and their communion
already thereupon with him in his death. They are 'planted into
Christ,' and particularly ' into the likeness of his death ; ' therefore the
virtue and likeness of his resurrection is communicated to them :
' For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we
shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.'
In the words (1.) A supposition; and (2.) An inference.
1. The supposition proceedeth on two grounds. One is taken from
the general nature of sacraments, that they signify and seal our union
and communion with Christ. The other from their direct and imme
diate use, our communion with his death.
2. The inference and consequence drawn thence, that ' we shall be
also planted into the likeness of his resurrection.' The reason of the
consequence is, because if we have indeed communion with Christ in
one act, we shall have communion with him in another ; for the one
doth but make way for the other, the death of sin for the life of holi
ness. But what is this likeness of his death', and this likeness of his
resurrection ? (1.) The likeness of his death hath been already
explained to be a dying to sin and to the world, as the fuel and bait
of sin : ' Our old man is crucified/ ver. 6 ; and ' The world is crucified
to us, and we to it/ Gal. vi. 14. Not that we are utterly dead to all
the motions of sin, but the reign of it is broken, its power much
weakened. (2.) What is this likeness of his resurrection ? There is
a twofold resurrection a resurrection to the life of grace, and to the
life of glory. The one may be called the resurrection of the soul, the
other the' resurrection of the body. Both are often spoken of in scripture.
The first is spoken of here ; our being quickened when we were dead
in trespasses and sins, and raised from the death of sin to newness of
182 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. IV,
life, ver. 4. But though regeneration or resurrection to the life of
grace be principally intended, yet resurrection to the life of glory is
not altogether excluded ; for the one is the beginning of the other, and
the other surely followeth upon it by God's promise. The joys and
bliss of the last resurrection are the reward of those who have part in
the first resurrection, and are raised to holiness of life. When the
apostle had first said, Phil. iii. 10, ' That I may know him, and the
power of his resurrection,' he presently addeth, in ver. 11, ' If by any
means I may attain to the resurrection of the dead.' When once we
are raised from the death of sin to the life of grace, then the benefit
reacheth further than to anything within time ; it accompanieth a man
till death and after death, and preserveth his dust in the grave, that
it may be raised into a body again ; and so in body and soul we are
made partakers of the glorious resurrection of the 1 just. So Eph. ii. 5,
6, ' He hath quickened us together with Christ, and raised us up
together with Christ.' The one expression signifieth our regeneration,
the other our rising to glory. First he quickeneth us by his converting
grace, and then glorifieth us by his rewarding grace. All that I shall
say concerning this double resurrection may be referred to these three
considerations :
[1.] That both are the fruit of our union with Christ, his raising us
to a new life, and his raising us to the life of glory : Rom. viii. 11, ' If
the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he
that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal
bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.' The same Spirit that we
received by union with Christ doth first sanctify our souls, and then
raise our bodies.
[2.] That the one giveth right to the other : Rom. vi. 8, ' If we be
dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also rise with him ; ' that
is, live with him in glory: Rom. viii. 13, 'If ye through the Spirit
mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.'
[3.] That when we are fully freed from sin, then we attain to the
full resurrection. Somewhat of the fruit of sin remaineth in our bodies
till the last day, but then is our final deliverance ; therefore it is called
' the day of redemption,' Eph. iv. 30. Well, then, the meaning is, if
the fruits of his death be accomplished in us, we shall be sure to partake
of all the fruits of his resurrection.
Doct. That union with Christ, sealed in baptism, inferreth a confor
mity or likeness both to his death and resurrection.
This point I will lay forth to you in these five distinct consi
derations.
1. That there is a strict union between Christ and believers.
2. That this union is signified and sealed in baptism.
3. That this union sealed in baptism inferreth a likeness or confor
mity to Christ.
4. That this likeness and conformity to Christ is both with respect
to his death and resurrection.
5. If with the one, by infallible consequence it must be with the
other.
First, That there is a strict union between Christ and believers.
It is represented in scripture by many metaphors. I will look no
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 183
further than that of the text. The similitude is taken from a graff,
which becometh one plant with the tree upon which it is engraffed,
and draweth the sap of life and fruitfulness out of it. So we are
united to Christ as the stock, and receive the Spirit from him, as the
graff doth the sap from the root. The apostle's word is avpfyvToi,
' we are planted together.' We are not so planted together as one
tree is by another, sicut arbor inter vel juxta arbores ; thus a whole
orchard is planted together ; but the one is planted into another, as
the branch is into the stock and root. Trees that are planted by one
another may be said to be planted together in regard of situation and
place ; but a slip planted into a stock is planted together in regard of
sustentation and influence. Once more, this being planted together is
not in regard of time, for now some, now others are planted into it ;
but in regard of union. All first or last are planted into Christ ; they
do not all live together in one age, nor are they converted at one time,
but they all live in Christ. But because similitudes do not every way
square with the thing which they are brought to represent, let us see
wherein this similitude of a graff is like or unlike the mystery set forth
thereby.
1. Let us take notice of the difference and dissimilitude!
[1.] In ordinary engraffings the stock is base when the plant is
noble and generous, as when the branch of a choice apple-tree is
planted into a crab-stock. But the case is quite otherwise here ; all
the goodness is in the stock or root ; we were ' branches of the wild
olive-tree,' Bom. xi. 17 ; or ' the degenerate plants of a strange vine,'
as the prophet speaketh, Jer. ii. 21. Men, when they engraff, seek out
the choicest slips or plants, and are wont to send far and near for
such ; but God maketh another choice of plants, wild by nature, who
can bring forth no good fruit of themselves, and graffeth them into
Christ the mediator, ' That they may be filled with the fruits of right
eousness, which are by Christ Jesus to the praise and glory of God,'
Phil. i. 11.
[2.] Be the slip generous or base, if it be dead, the engraffing is in
vain. Though the stock be never so lusty and growing, it cannot
quicken a dead slip. But it is otherwise here : Eph. ii. 1 , ' And you
that were dead in trespasses and sins, yet now hath he quickened.'
[3.] The graff bringeth forth fruit according to its own nature and
its own kind ; but here the graff is changed by the stock, and followeth
the nature of the stock : ' We are made partakers of a divine nature,'
2 Peter i. 4, and so live to God ; this fruit belongeth to the stock, and
wholly cometh from his influence.
2. Let us see the likeness and resemblance.
[1.] As the branch and stock make one tree, so we that are cut off
from our old root, and planted into Christ, become one with him : ' I
am the vine, ye are the branches,' John xv. 5. We are one with him,
not by way of adhesion, as ivy cleaveth to the oak, and receiveth
nourishment from it ; but by way of insition and implantation : there
is a closer union between the graff and the stock than there is between
the ivy and the oak.
[2.] In regard of influence, as plants receive moisture and juice
from the root, so do we receive nourishment from Christ. As the
184 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. IV.
apostle speaketh of the covenant-stock : Kom. xi. 17, ' Thou partakest
of the root and fatness of the olive-tree ;' meaning it of the privilege
of ordinances and means of grace, which the Gentiles did partake of
by becoming Abraham's seed by faith. So it is true of the mediator,
or the root and head of the renewed estate ; we partake of his fatness,
without which we should soon die and wither : John xv. 4, ' As the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more
can ye, except ye abide in me.' The Spirit by the grace of the
Kedeemeris distributed to believers, as juice to the branches, as long
as they abide in their stock, and are not cut or broken off. It is not
a bare imitation, but influence.
3. The effects are life, growth, and fruitfulness.
[1.] Life : 1 John v. 12, ' He that hath the Son hath life, and he that
hath not the Son hath not life.' We have no life. but as planted into
Christ, who is our root ; both the life we have and the life we hope for
cometh from him : Gal. ii. 20, ' I am crucified with Christ : neverthe
less I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in ine : and the -life which I
now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave himself for me.'
[2.] Growth : Col. ii. 19, ' Not holding the head, from which all
the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit
together, increaseth with the increase of God.' Every member doth its
part, but the influence, whereby they increase, is from the head. Now
our growth is either in mortification, when by degrees we get more
strength to kill sin, or in vivification, or our rising more and more to
newness of life.
[3.] Fruitfulness : John xv. 5, c He that abideth in me, and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit ; ' and the wisdom that is
from above is said to be full of good fruits, James iii. 17, that is,
plentiful in acts of holiness, obedience, and love : to do a little good
may be more from chance than nature. Well, then, from the whole
we see that the power of dying to sin and walking in newness of life
is derived from Jesus Christ, and he should have the praise of all ; for
he merited these benefits for us, and efiecteth them in us by his Spirit,
which we receive by virtue of union with him.
Secondly, That this union is signified and sealed in baptism. I will
not speak much of this, because I handled it before in another verse.
Only let me mind you that there is a visible external professed implan
tation into Christ, and an internal and real implantation : the one is
by baptism, the other is by the Spirit ; both together make complete
baptism : 1 Cor. xii. 13, ' For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one
body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free ; and
have been all made to drink into one Spirit/ One alone is the baptism
of water, the other the baptism of the Spirit. The one inferreth an
obligation, the other produceth an inclination, to die unto sin and to live
unto God. And therefore (1.) Let us speak of baptism ; and (2.)
Of regeneration.
1. Of baptism, which inferreth an obligation. All those that profess
faith in Christ, and an interest in him, are by baptism taken into the
number of his disciples, and visibly joined into his church : Acts ii.
41, ' Then they that gladly received his word were baptized, and the
VER. 5.J SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 185
same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.'
And therefore they are bound to rise from the death of sin to the life
of grace, and to make use of the virtue purchased by Christ's death,
and evidenced by his resurrection, to this end and purpose, and to use
all good endeavours to subdue sin ; and a double woe and curse shall
befall us unless we verify and make good this vow and profession by
our constant practice. And therefore all the members of the visible
church are to be put in mind that they are planted into the likeness
of his death, and engaged to walk in newness of life : 1 John ii. 6,
4 He that saith he abide th in him, ought to walk also as he walked/
Not only he that abideth in him, as a real member of his mystical
body, but he that saith he abideth in him. All that profess com
munion with Christ, their profession bindeth them to a resemblance of
Christ, otherwise their baptism is but a mockery, and their profession
a dissembling and counterfeit respect to Christ's name and memory.
It may be said to them, as Alexander said to one that bore his name,
but was a coward, Either lay aside the name, or put on greater courage.
So either do as Christians, or do not pretend to be Christians.
2. As to regeneration figured by baptism. In regeneration there is
planted in us, or put into us, a principle destructive of sin, and impul
sive to holiness. Now the working and urging of this principle should
not be restrained or obstructed.
[1.] As to the destruction of sin, the checks of the new nature should
be observed: 1 John iii. 9, ' Whosoever is born of God doth not com
mit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he
is born of God/
[2.J As to the perfecting of holiness, where the life of holiness is
begun, we should give way to its operations ; and when the new nature
would break out with operations proper to itself, we should obey these
motions : 1 John ii. 5, ' But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is
the love of God perfected ; ' that is, breaketh out into its consummate
and perfect effect. So 2 Peter i. 8, ' For if these things be in you and
abound, they make you that you shall be neither barren nor unfruitful
in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ/ Grace in its vigour will
put you upon fruits becoming a Christian ; this vigour should not be
quenched, which is our internal baptism.
Thirdly, This union sealed in baptism inferreth a likeness and con
formity to Christ. I prove it thus :
1. Surely we are cut off from our old stock, and planted into a new
one to better our condition, that it may be otherwise with us in Christ
than we were when we merely belonged to Adam. This improvement
of our estate and condition cometh from our being planted into a new
stock, and partaking of his virtue and influence, and that inferreth a
likeness : 1 Cor. xv. 49, ' As we have borne the image of the earthly,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly/ As we grew upon our
natural root, we were like Adam ; but when cut off and planted into a
new root, we are made like Christ. How like Adam? Gen. v. 3,
' Adam begat a son in his own likeness ; ' corrupt man begat a corrupt
son, mortal man begat a mortal child. So by proportion we may
conceive of the image of the heavenly, first made holy, then happy
creatures. In the first we had the seed and pledge of death and cor-
186 SERMONS UPON ROMAN'S VI. [SER. IV.
ruption, and in the second the seed and pledge of incorruption, immor
tality, and life.
2. Christ was fit to be a pattern to whom all the rest of the heirs of
promise should be conformed, for this reason, because he was the head
of the renewed state. Primum in unoquoque genere est mensura et
regula cceterorum the first and best in every kind is the measure and
rule of the rest. He is a fountain of grace set up in our nature : Rom.
viii. 29, ' He hath predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his
Son, that he might be irpwroTOKos, the first-born among many
brethren/ that principal new man to whom we might be conformed.
In every case wherein one thing beareth the image and likeness of
another, there must not only be similitude, but deduction, or a means
of conveying that likeness. Both are in Christ, therefore Christ is set
up as a pattern in our nature, who lived among men in the same flesh
that we have, to teach us a life of holiness and patience, and contempt
of the world.
3. The sameness of the Spirit in head and members doth evidence
this. For the Spirit worketh uniformly in both : Rom. viii. 9, ' But
ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be the Spirit of God
dwell in you.' The sap of the stock doth all. Now, if the stock be
the good vine, the fruit must be as the sap is, the branches must bring
forth grapes. Christ as the root communicateth to us not only the
fruits and effects of his death and resurrection, but also the likeness of
it, in a way proper for our reception. We partake of the likeness of
the root by analogy and just proportion, and what was done to Christ
literally is spiritually done to us. He died for sin, we die unto sin ;
he rose to live unto God, so do we in our way here upon earth, as we
seek his glory and do his will.
Fourthly, That this likeness and conformity to Christ is carried on
with respect to his death and resurrection. To clear this it is good to
see wherein our likeness to Christ consists. He was to be a pattern to
us in three things (1.) His graces ; (2.) His states ; (3.) The special
acts of his mediation.
1. His graces. There are certain graces wherein we resemble God,
as wisdom, purity, holiness, goodness, and truth ; in these God himself
is our pattern : Mat. v. 8, ' Be ye perfect, as your Father which is in
heaven is perfect.' There are other graces that help us in the duties
of subjection to God, as faith, patience, humility, self-denial, and
obedience ; in these we cannot have the pattern from God, for God is
over all, and subject to none, therefore in these Christ is a pattern to
us. As, for instance, humility : Mat. xi. 29, ' Learn of me, for I am
meek and lowly in heart.' For obedience : Heb. v. 8, ' Though he
were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered/
For patience and self-denial: 1 Peter ii. 21, 23, 'Christ suffered for
us, leaving us an example, that we should follow his steps. Who, when
he was reviled, reviled not again ; when he suffered, he threatened not ;
but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.' Thus in his
graces must we resemble him.
2. In his states of humiliation and exaltation, wherein we must be
content to follow him, who first suffered, and then entered into the glory
that he spake of. His people are usually afflicted, persecuted, slandered ;
VER. 5. SERMONS UPON KOMANS vr. 187
now they must suffer all for the hopes of a better life, because therein
they do but ' follow the captain of their salvation, who was made perfect
through sufferings,' Heb. ii. 10 ; ' And if we suffer with him, we shall
also be glorified together/ Kom. viii. 17. So 2 Tim. ii. 11, 12, ' If we
be dead with him, we shall also live with him ; if we suffer, we shall
also reign with him ;' 2 Cor. iv. 10, ' Always bearing about in the body
the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made
manifest in our mortal flesh.' And in many other places, where
Christ's pattern is urged to bespeak our patience and encourage our
hopes, that we may bear his cross after him, with a hope of those
endless joys which our Eedeemer now possesseth. He first ' endured
the shame/ Heb. xii. 2, and was misrepresented in the world as we
are, but at length was vindicated, being mightily ' declared to be the
Son of God with power/
3. In the special acts of his mediation, which are his death and
resurrection. These are of special consideration; for these are not
barely a pattern propounded to our imitation, but have a great influ
ence upon our dying to sin and living to holiness. To clear this, let
me note to you that effects of grace in us are ascribed to those acts of
Christ's mediation which carry most correspondence with them. Thus
our mortification is referred to Christ's dying, and our vivification to
his resurrection unto life, our heavenly-mindedness to his ascension ;
so that all Christ's acts are spiritually verified in us. We die to sin
as Christ died for sin, and rise again to newness of life as Christ,
rising from the dead, liveth a new kind of life to what he did before.
Let us a little state the dependence of the one upon the other. Our
acts depend on Christ four ways (1.) As the effect on the cause ; (2.)
As the thing purchased on the price ; (3.) As the copy on the pattern ;
(4.) As the thing promised on the pledge thereof.
[1.] As the effect on the cause. By the same virtue by which
Christ was raised from the dead, by the same almighty power are we
raised to newness of life; the same almighty power is engaged for
working grace, and carrying on grace, and perfecting grace, in believers,
which wrought in Christ when he was raised from the dead : Eph. i.
19, 20, ' According to the working of his mighty power, which he
wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead ; ' compared with
Eom. vi. 4, ' Like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory
of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.'
[2.] As the thing purchased on the price. All Christ's actions have
an aspect on his merit. The foundation was laid in his death. This
resurrection evidenceth that this purchase holdeth good in heaven, and
that his merit, ransom, and satisfaction are perfect : Kom. iv. 25, ' Who
was delivered for our offences, and rose again for our justification/
[3.] As the copy on the pattern or original. Christ dying and rising
in our nature is a pattern to which all the heirs of promise must be
conformed, as the apostle telleth us, 1 Cor. xv. 23, ' First Christ, then
they that are Christ's/
[4.] As a thing promised on the pledge thereof. Christ dying is a
pledge of our dying to sin ; and his rising a pledge of our rising to
holiness first, and glory afterwards ; therefore our old man is said to
be ' crucified with him/ Eom. vi. 6, and we are said to ' sit down with
188 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. IV.
him in heavenly places,' Eph. ii. 6. It is already done in the mystery,
arid shall be surely done in the effectual application in all that belong
to God.
Fifthly, If there be a likeness to his death, by infallible consequence
there shall be a likeness to his resurrection. Those that are dead with
Christ shall also live with him: Gal. ii. 20, 'I am crucified with
Christ, nevertheless I live.' Where sin is mortified, there is a new
life engendered, which will at length end in the life of glory. It must
needs be so for these reasons :
1. Christ is not divided; those that really partake with him in one
act, partake with him in all ; it is a necessary consequence. The death
of sin and the life of holiness are the two branches wherein we profess
our communion with Christ in his death and resurrection, and there
fore these cannot be sundered ; we must reckon upon both, or else we
have neither: Horn. vi. 11, ' Likewise reckon ye yourselves also to be
dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our
Lord.' In our dying to sin Christ's dying is conspicuous in us, and his
resurrection in our walking in newness of life ; as it was with him, so
must it be with us.
2. God doth not love to leave his work imperfect. Now imperfect
it would be, if, besides ceasing to do evil, we should not learn to do
well : Amos v. 14, ' Seek good, and not evil, that you may live;' and
again, ver. 1 5, ' Hate the evil, and love the good.' Their affection to
good must be evidenced by their cordial detestation of evil, and their
hatred of evil must kindle their affection to good. This is perfect
Christianity. It is said of the foolish builder, that ' he began, and was
not able to make an end/ Luke xiv. 30. Our conversion is complete
when there is a turning from sin to God.
3. That the temper of our hearts may carry a meet proportion with
the divine grace. Duty is the correlate of mercy. Now grace and
mercy are not only privative, but positive : Gen. xv. 1, ' I am thy
shield, and thy exceeding great reward ;' Ps. Ixxxiv. 11, ' The Lord
God is a sun and shield ; the Lord will give grace and glory ; no
good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.' So
the godly man is described, Ps. i. 1 , 2, ' Blessed is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law ol
the Lord, and in that law doth he meditate day and night.' There is
not only an abstinence from gross sins, but an earnest love to God and
his ways : Kom. viii. 1, ' Who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit'
4. This is the end of mortification. God subdueth sin to make way
for the life of grace: 1 Peter ii. 24, ' That we, being dead to sin,
should live unto righteousness/ Dying to sin is made a step to the
life o righteousness. So Heb. ix. 14, ' 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 to serve the
living God ?' We are hereby freed from clogs and impediments.
;5. Sin is the better mortified when life is introduced ; for the love
of God doth most engage us to hate evil : Ps. xcvii. 10, ' Ye that love
the Lord hate evil.' Life is sensible of what is contrary to it.
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 189
Use 1. Information. It informeth us of divers truths.
1. Except a man be turned from sin to holiness, he is not made a
partaker of Christ; and therefore, while he lives in sin, cannot be
justified, or have any right to pardon : he that continueth to live in
his sins shall die in his sins, and miserable shall his portion be for ever.
Well, then, be persuaded, if we would have the comfort of Christ's
death, we must be changed into the likeness of it.
2. How much it concerneth every Christian to be cautious and
watchful. For he is to remember this within himself, I am to repre
sent Christ's rising and dying ; the death of sin must answer the death
of Christ, and the new life his resurrection. Now, is Christ's dying
and rising seen in us ? We were never implanted into him, unless it
be so. Therefore, unless we will declare to the world that we have no
union with Christ, we must endeavour after holiness. What maketh
so many atheists in the world, but because so few Christians discover
the fruit of their baptism ? They live as if they were wholly alive to
sin and the world, and dead to righteousness.
3. That they have not yet attained to true Christianity that content
themselves with abstaining from gross sins, but make no conscience of
loving, serving, pleasing and glorifying God, or preparation for the
world to come. They do no man wrong, but have no care of com
munion with God. Paul could say, e'/iol TO tfiv Xpia-Tos, ' To me to
live is Christ,' Phil. i. 21, meaning, that he had no other object and
employment for his life but Christ and his service. But these wholly
live to themselves ; a true Christian can say, Bom. xiv. 7, 8, ' None of
us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we
live, we live unto the Lord ; and whether we die, we die unto the
Lord ; whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's.'
Use 2. Is exhortation, to press you
1. To die unto sin. All that profess themselves Christians are by
obligation dead. Oh ! do not keep it alive after you have undertaken
its death ; charge your consciences with your baptismal vow. Besides,
Christ hath purchased grace enough for the subduing and mortifying
of sin, and we have engaged ourselves to improve this grace. The
ordinances call upon us every day to do it yet more and more, the word
and sacraments, with the dispensations of which there go some motions
of the Holy Ghost : Neh. ix. 20, ' Thou gavest them also thy good
Spirit to instruct and teach them.' Oh ! quench not his motions, dis
obey not the sanctifying Spirit. If this grace hath taken hold of your
hearts in any sort, and you are affected with the offers of it, you are
bound to improve it the more : Col. iii. 3, ' For ye are dead ; ' ver. 5,
' Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth/ You
are dead by vow and covenant, dead by grace offered, dead by grace
received. Habitual mortification maketh way for actual. Habitual
mortification is when the heart is turned from sin, so that it is turned
against it. Actual mortification consists in the resisting and suppres
sing its motions : Horn. viii. 13, 'If ye through the Spirit mortify the
deeds of the body, ye shall live.' Once more, none are in such a
dangerous condition as those who have begun the work, and then give
it over : 2 Peter ii. 20, ' For if after they have escaped the pollutions
of the world, through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus
190 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SEP.. IV.
Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end
is worse with them than the beginning/ Those that fall from a
common work make their condition more uncomfortable. For real
believers the reign of sin is broken, its strength and power much
weakened by grace, but still it is working and stirring : Gal. v. 17,
' The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh,
and these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the
things that ye would do ; ' Eom. vii. 23, ' I see another law in my
members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into
captivity to the law of sin that is in my members.' Therefore still you
must take care of this work.
Means.
[1.] Be sensible of the evil of sin. When once we begin to make
light of sin, we lie ready for a temptation. God doth not make little
reckoning of sin ; Christ's death showeth it : Eom. viii. 3, ' 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/ Infants' death showeth it : Eom. v. 14, ' Nevertheless
death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned
after the similitude of Adam's transgression/ The punishment of the
wicked showeth it : Eom. ii. 9, ' Tribulation and anguish upon every
soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile/
The smart of God's children showeth it : Prov. xi. 31, ' Behold the
righteous shall be recompensed in the earth'; much more the wicked
and the sinner/
[2.] Earnestly resolve against it in the strength of Christ : 1 Peter
iv. 1, ' Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind ; for he that hath suffered
in the flesh hath ceased from sin/ The mind is hereby fortified.
Christ's dying engageth them to it. Christ hath suffered for it, and
we are bound to subdue the flesh, and deny the pleasures of it.
[3.] Seriously endeavour against it, according to the advantages the
Spirit giveth you. A conscientious atterider on the ordinances of God
hath many motions and helps.
2. To walk in newness of life, or to express the likeness of Christ's
resurrection. The spiritual resurrection is described (1.) By the
cause of it : John v. 25, ' The hour is coming, and now is, when the
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall
live ; ' in the spiritual sense that power was already executed by him,
in raising sinners out of the grave of sin, for he saith, ' It now is/ It
is the voice of Christ awakens, as, ' Lazarus, come forth/ Do not then
delay ; do not say, It is too soon : Heb. iii. 15, ' To-day, if ye will hear
his voice, harden not your "hearts/ (2.) The nature of it ; as to the
first grace : Eph. v. 14, ' Awake thou that sleepest, arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give thee light ; ' awake as a man out of his wine.
As to the progress of it : 1 Cor. xv. 34, ' Awake to righteousness, and
sin not/ Eouse up yourselves out of this drowsy condition of sin to a
lively exercise of grace. (3.) The tendency and end of it: Col. iii. 1,
' If ye then be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where
Christ sitteth at the right hand of God/
VEIL 6.] SEHMONS UPON ROMANS VI. 191
SERMON V.
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of
sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
EOM. VI. 6.
IN this verse the apostle explaineth how we are planted into the like
ness of Christ's death, ' Knowing this, that our old man is crucified
with him,' &c.
In the words
First, A truth represented, ' That our old man is crucified with him.'
Secondly, The manner of applying and improving this truth.
For the former branch
1. Christ's undertaking, ' Our old man is crucified with him.'
2. The fruit and end of it, ' That the body of sin might be destroyed.'
3. The obligation lying upon us,.' That we might no longer serve
sin/ Or,
[1.] What Christ doth, he was crucified, and our old man crucified
with him.
[2.] What the Spirit doth, ' That the body of sin might be destroyed ; '
that is, the reign of it broken, the power of it weakened yet more and
more, acts prevented, habits cast off.
[3.] What we must do, ' That henceforth we may not serve sin.'
Doct. That the reign of sin would be sooner broken if we did
seriously consider and believe the great end of Christ's death and
undertaking on the cross.
This will appear (1.) By explaining the several branches of the
text ; (2.) Giving reasons.
first, In the explication take notice of the truth represented, which
is expressed in three branches
First, What Christ doth, or his intention and undertaking on the
cross, ' Our old man is crucified with him.' Where observe
1. That sin within us is called an ' old man/ partly because it is
born and bred with us ; it had its rise from Adam's fall, and is ever
since conveyed from father to son unto all who are descended from
Adam: Kom. v. 12, 'Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all
have sinned; ' Ps. li. 5, ' Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin
did my mother conceive me.' Partly because this natural corruption,
which we inherit from the first man, is opposite to that new man which
cousisteth in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness : Eph. iv. 22,
24, ' That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man,
which is corrupt, according to the deceitful lusts : And that ye put on
the new man, which after Grod is created in righteousness and true
holiness ; ' and Col. iii. 9, 10, ' Seeing that ye have put off the old man
with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in
knowledge, after the image of him that created him.' So that the old
man is that perverse temper of soul which was in us, before we had
the knowledge of Christ, or embraced him by faith. Partly because it
is an antiquated thing, as is upon the declining hand, and hasteneth in
192 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. V.
the regenerate (as men in their old age) to its own ruin and destruc
tion : 2 Cor. v. 17, ' Old things are passed away, behold all things are
become new ; ' 1 Cor. v. 7, ' Purge out therefore the old leaven, that
ye may be a new lump/
2. This old man must be crucified ; that is the kind of death which
it must die. Sometimes the destruction of sin is called a mortifying
of sin, that implieth a putting to death in the general, or a killing the
love of sin in our souls ; sometimes a crucifying of sin, that showeth
the particular kind of death we must put it to, and this for a double
reason partly to show our conformity and likeness to Christ's
crucifixion, partly because it expresseth the nature of the thing itself.
The cross bringeth pain and death : so is sin weakened by godly
sorrow, which checketh the sensual inclination. The strength and lite
of sin lieth in a love of pleasure, and one special means to mortify it
is godly sorrow : 2 Cor. vii. 10, ' For godly sorrow worketh repentance
to salvation, never to be repented of.' Those that have tasted the bitter
waters are more easily induced to forsake all known sin. Well, then,
sin must be crucified. A man fastened to the cross suffereth great pain,
his strength wasteth, and his life droppeth out with his blood by
degrees. So sin is not subdued but by constant painful endeavours ;
not by feeding the flesh with carnal delights, but by thwarting it,
watching, striving against it, bemoaning ourselves because of it, and so
by degrees the love of it is not only weakened, but deadened in our
souls. If it be tedious and troublesome, nothing that hath life will be
put to death without some struggling : we must be content to suffer in
the flesh; Christ suffered more, and hone but ' he that hath suffered in
the flesh ceaseth from sin,' 1 Peter iv. 1. You make it more painful
by dealing negligently iu the business, and draw out your vexation to
a greater length : the longer you suffer the Canaanite to live with you,
the more doth it prove a thorn and goad in your sides. Our affec
tion increaseth our affliction ; your trouble endeth, and your delight in-
creaseth, as you bring your souls to a thorough resolution to quit it.
Quam suave mihi subito factum est carere suavitatibus nugarum !
No delight so sincere as the contempt of vain delights. The crucified
man's pains end when death cometh.
This old man was crucified with Christ. This phrase and manner
of speech is difficult, and therefore must be explained.
[1.] That Christ was crucified for us in bonum nostrum, for our
good, is past dispute with Christians : ' Surely he hath borne our griei's
and carried our sorrows,' Isa. liii. 3 ; he endured the punishment which
sin had made our due.
[2.] That he stood before the tribunal of God representing us, and
so died loco et vice omnium nostri, in the room as well as for the good
of his people, should as little be doubted : 2 Cor. v. 14, ' For if he died
for all, then were all dead ;' that is, in him : he died not on the cross
as a private, but a public person.
[3.] Christ died not only to expiate our guilt, but to take away the
power of sin ; at least, the end of Christ's suffering and dying on the
cross for our sins was to purchase grace that we might crucify sin,
that is, forsake it with grief and shame : Heb. ix. 26, ' Now once in the
end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI.
193
himself ; ' that is, not only to expiate the guilt of our sins, but to
abolish the power of them. He came to redeem us from the slavery of
sin : Titus ii. 14, ' Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us
from all iniquity.'
[4.] As soon as we are regenerated and converted to God, there is a
oloser application of the death of Christ ; we partake of the influence
and fruit of his merit and purchase, and the benefit is made ours ; and
so our old man is said to be crucified with him. The merit of his
passion beginneth then to take place, so that every good Christian can
ay, ' I am crucified with Christ/ Gal. ii. 20 ; our old man beginneth
then to receive its death-wound ; so that we are not the same men
we were before, being made partakers of the fruit of Christ's death.
Secondly, The fruit of it, or what the Spirit is to do ; that is intimated
in the next clause, ' That the body of sin might be destroyed.' Here
(1.) What is meant by the body of sin ; (2.) In what sense it is
.said to be destroyed.
1. What is meant by the body of sin ? Ans. By the body of sin
is meant the whole stock and mass of corruption, which is called a
body of sin.
[1.] Because it is composed of many sinful passions and disorders,
as the body is of divers members : Col. ii. 11, 'In putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh ; ' and again, Col. iii. 5, ' Mortify your mem
bers upon the earth.' It is not meant of the natural, but sinful body ;
for it follows, ' Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil
concupiscence and covetousness, which is idolatry.'
[2.] Because they are executed by the body : Kom. vi. 12, ' Let not
sin reign in your mortal bodies;' and Kom. viii. 13, 'If ye through
the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.' Sin is gotten
within us by the soul, but it hath taken possession of the body ; the
gate of the senses let it in, and other powers of the body are as ready
to let it out.
2. In what sense it is said to be destroyed ? The duty is ours, but
the grace is from God ; it is done on God's part by the Spirit, but it
is our duty : Kom. viii. 13, 'If ye through the Spirit mortify the
deeds of the body, ye shall live.' Both agents carry it on to such a
degree in this life as it may not reign in us. On God's part there
needeth no more merit to get sin destroyed but that of Christ, nor
a greater power than that of the Spirit to subdue it : and by degrees
the work is accomplished ; its reigning power is taken away by con
verting grace, its very being is abolished by his final perfecting grace.
The same Spirit that begun it at first ceaseth not to work till it be
wholly abolished in us. On our part, we must yield up ourselves to be
renewed by him, and obey his sanctifying motions, till our cure be
perfectly wrought. Observe here
[1.1 It is the whole body of sin must be quitted and put off; not
actions only, but lusts : 1 Peter ii. 11, ' Dearly beloved, I beseech you
as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against
the soul.' Not some parts only and branches, but all sin. As the
body compasseth about, and encloseth the soul, so doth the body of
sin enclose us. The corrupt mass is made up of many sins ; it is an
impure body that hath many members : now all these must be mortified.
VOL. XI. N
194 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. V.
[2.] It must be carried on to such a degree that sin may lie
a-dy ing. We must not cease to oppose sin till it be destroyed, not only
scratch the face of it, but seek to root it out. Christians are said to
destroy sin four ways :
(1.) Proposito, in the settled purpose of their hearts, as Christ ceased
not till he had done his work ; so a Christian : 1 Peter iv. 1, ' Foras
much as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves
likewise with the same mind ; for he that hath suffered in the flesh
hath ceased from sin.' Now a work is spoken of as done when it is
thoroughly purposed to be done ; as a fire is said to have taken a
house when it hath only taken a little corner of the house, because
if it be not quenched, it will in time consume all. There is a fixed
purpose to get rid of it.
(2.) Voto, in desire, in their constant prayer accompanied with hearty
groans : Rom. vii. 24, ' wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver
me from the body of this death ? ' Ps. cxix. 133, ' Order my steps in
thy word, and let not any iniquity have dominion over me/ Nothing
less will content them than a total extirpation of sin.
(3.) Conatu, they have begun it with a mind to finish it, and are
always thwarting and curbing the desires of corrupt nature : 1 Cor.
ix. 27, ' I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest after
I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.'
(4.) Eventu, the work is not only really begun, but they have some
success in it, and while it is a-doing, they have the comfort of it.
The reign of sin is broken : Rom. vi. 14, ' Sin shall not have dominion
over you ; for you are not under the law, but under grace/ They are
somewhat enabled to prevail over it, so far that there is a manifest
difference between them and the carnal ; whilst others cherish their
lusts, and make provision for them, they crucify them, and are freed
from that base servitude.
Thirdly, What man must do, or the obligation lying upon us, ' That
henceforth we should not serve sin/ Here observe
1. The word ' henceforth/ We did before serve sin ; before re
generation We were all slaves : Titus iii. 3, ' Serving divers lusts and
pleasures/ There is a double notion of servitude intimated in scrip
ture, and confirmed by the practice of all nations. One is of those
that yield up themselves, by their own consent and willing subjection,
in bondage to another, of which that text speaketh, Rom. vi. 16,
' Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his
servants ye are whom ye obey. These are servants by consent, that
yield up their time and strength and life to be disposed of by another,
to whom they have sold themselves. The other is of that slavery
which is introduced by conquest ; as those that were taken in war
were at the dispose of him that took them. That is spoken of, 2 Peter
ii. 19, ' While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the
servants of corruption ; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same
is he brought in bondage/ The first deliver up themselves as servants
and slaves by their own consent ; the other by conquest : for by the
law of nature victory giveth dominion, and though men had a mind to
do otherwise, they cannot help themselves. Both notions express the
reign of sin, and our servitude under it, which is both voluntary and
VER. 6.]
SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI.
195
unavoidable ; at first it is voluntary, afterwards unavoidable ; they
first yielded up themselves, and then are overcome by their base and
brutish lusts, and so lose all liberty and strength of will to help them
selves. First willingly and by our own default we run into it, and
afterwards we are captivated, and though we are convinced of better,
we shall do that which is worse, being overcome by our lusts. Though
they see their duty, they are not able to perform it, they have some
kind of remorse and trouble, but they cannot help or free themselves.
2. Observe that the gospel looketh forward to the time to come.
It respecteth not what believers have been before conversion and
turning to God ; but thenceforward they must forsake their sinful
lusts, and turn to God. So 1 Peter iv. 2, ' That he no more should
live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the
will of God/ Time is short, work is great, since it is not enough for
a Christian to cut off 'one member, but the whole body of sin must be
destroyed, and they have been too long dishonouring God, and
destroying their own souls, and cherishing divers lusts in themselves.
Therefore now they should more earnestly set about the mortifying
of sin. Now, as this is an encouragement to those that have long
been serving their base lusts and vile affections, and been eminent in
wickedness, so it is an engagement to them to double their diligence
for the future to serve God, by virtue of their deliverance by Christ :
Heb. ix. 14, ' 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 to serve the living God?' Luke i. 74,
75, ' That we, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, might
serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all
the days of our life/ If the gospel doth not look backward, surely it
looketh forward, it obligeth us to be more assiduous and serious in the
study of holiness after conversion, that, if it be possible, they may
restore the Lord to his honour, reclaim those whom they have hardened
in sin, and get their own hearts more loosened from it, since custom
hath deeply rooted it in them.
3. Observe the apostle saith, 'That we should not serve sin/ It is
one thing to sin, another thing to serve sin. Though sin doth remain
in the godly, it doth not reign in them : to serve sin is to yield willing
obedience to it. This may be done two ways :
[1.] When men slavishly lie down in any habit and course of sin.
There is 17 ev Ka/cla SiaTpiftr), a way of sinning, as David, Ps. cxxxix.
24, ' See if there be any way of wickedness in me.' David would not
be corrupt in any of his ways. And again, Ps. cxix. 29, ' Kemove
from me the way of lying.' Some are given to one sin, some to another ;
some covetous, others sensual ; some proud, others brutish ; there is
some iniquity they regard in their hearts and make much of, and
indulge in themselves, and so grow slaves to that imperious lust.
Now, whatever good properties we have otherwise, we must take heed
of any one perverse habit or evil frame of spirit, lest it hamper us and
make fools of us, and make us liable to be caught again after some
show of escape. A beast escaped with a halter is easily caught again ;
so this lust indulged will bring us into our old bondage.
[2.] When we willingly indulge any presumptuous acts ; for, John
196 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [&ER. V.
viii. 34, ' He that committeth sin is the servant of sin.' If we allow
ourselves to commit any one gross sin, we serve it. Other sins steal
into the soul by degrees, but these at once; therefore we must take
heed that we run not .wilfully into these inordinacies, and yet hope to
escape the danger.
Now, all this must be improved by us : TOVTO <ywu>GKovTes, ' know
ing this.' The word signifies (1.) Knowledge ; (2.) Consideration ;
(3.) Assent.
1. Knowledge, understand this. This is of use here ; for ignorance
of Christ and his gospel is a great cause of sin, whereas a sound know
ledge produceth mortification. Ignorance causeth men to become
brutish : 1 Peter i. 14, ' Not fashioning yourselves according to the
former lusts in your ignorance ; ' 1 Cor. xv. 34, ' Some have not the
knowledge of God ; I speak this to your shame.' ' On the other side,
knowledge is a help to mortification, provided it be sound, and such a
knowledge both for matter and manner as it ought to be. For matter,
that it be a thorough knowledge : Eph. iv. 20-22, ' But ye have not
so learned Christ, if so be that ye. have heard him, and been taught by
him, as the truth is in Jesus, that ye put off concerning the former
conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful
lusts.' If men were thoroughly instructed in the Christian doctrine
they could not so easily sin against God ; but a partial knowledge
encourages our boldness in sinning. For manner, it must be lively :
2 Peter ii. 20, ' If after they have escaped the pollutions of the world
through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ;' John
viii. 32, ' And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make ye
free ;' Jer. xxxi. 19, ' After that I was instructed, I smote on my
thigh : I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the
reproach of my youth.' It is but a form of knowledge, not the lively
light of the Spirit, which doth not break the power of our lusts.
2. It may import consideration, and so ' knowing this' is seriously
considering this. Many truths lie by neglected, unimproved, for want
of consideration, and that is the cause of men's sins ; they consider not
God's benefits : Isa. i. 3, ' The ox knows his owner, and the ass his
master's crib ; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider ;'
nor his judgments : Job xxxiv. 27, ' They turned back from him, and
would not consider his ways;' that is made the reason of their sin;
' they consider not his ways/ that is, the ways of his providence towards
them and others. If men did consider and ponder with themselves
how hateful sin is to God, with what severity he will punish it, what
obligations they have to the contrary, it would much check the fervour
of their lusts, and they could not go on so quietly in a course of disobe
dience against God ; but they do not seriously consider what they are
a-doing. Above all, the death of Christ should be considered by us ;
as, 1 Peter i. 18, 19, ' Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversations,
received by tradition from your fathers ; but with the precious blood
of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.' If men
would know, that is, ponder these things in their hearts, and discourse
with themselves, why was so great a price given for our reconciliation,
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 197
but that sin might be destroyed, and the great makebate between God
and us removed out of the way ?
3. Knowing is often put for assent ; for faith is not a doubting, but
a certain knowledge. And this enliveneth every truth. If you do
believe that Christ came to take away every sin, you have no reason
to cherish it. The word wouketh not till it be believed : Heb. iv. 2,
' To us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them ; but the word
preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that
heard it.' But then it worketh mightily and effectually ; for it cometh
not to us in word only, but in power : 1 Thes. ii. 13, 'Ye received it
not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which
effectually worketh also in you that believe.' And more particularly
in mortification ; for it is ' faith that purifieth the heart,' Acts xv. 9.
Where the Christian doctrine is really entertained and received by
faith, it taketh men off from their old sins : 1 Peter i. 22, ' Seeing you
have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit.' The
obedience of the truth is nothing else but faith wrought in us by the
Spirit upon the hearing of the gospel ; this produceth in us that purity
of heart and life which becometh Christians.
Secondly, I will give you the reasons. The death of Christ may be
considered as it worketh morally, or as it worketh meritoriously. As
it worketh morally, it hath a full and a sufficient force to draw us off
from sin ; as it worketh meritoriously, it purchaseth the Spirit for us.
As it worketh morally, it layeth a strong engagement upon us; as it
worketh meritoriously, it giveth great encouragement to oppose and
resist sin, and set about the mortification of it. So that the true way
of subduing sin is by serious reflection on the death of Christ, which
we shall consider (1.) As it is a strong engagement; (2.) As it is a
great encouragement.
1. As it is a strong engagement ; and there
[1.] It is a pattern to teach us how to deny the pleasures of the
senses. Pleasure is the great sorceress that hath bewitched all the
world, and that which giveth strength to all temptations : James i. 14,
' Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and
enticed.' There is some sensitive carnal bait which first inviteth, and
then draweth us from our duty ; and all the charms sin hath upon us,
are by the treacherous sensual appetite, which is impatient to be crossed.
So when another apostle speaketh of a revolt to the carnal life after
some partial reformation, he giveth this account of it : 2 Peter ii. 20,
' After they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the
knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again
entangled and overcome.' Before men be overcome by temptation,
they are first enticed by the apprehension of some pleasure or profit
which is to be had by their sins, by which apprehension the danger of
committing the sin is covered and hid, as the fisher's hook is by the
bait ; that is the metaphor there, epTrXaKev-res rjTT&vTai, lapse again
into the slavery of the former sins, which they seemed to have escaped.
Therefore till we are dead to the sensitive lure, and can be content to
suffer in the flesh, and to deny the satisfactions of the animal life, we
shall never avoid the slavery of sin, nor know that our old man is
crucified. Now what is more powerful than the consideration of the
108 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. V.
death and example of Jesus Christ ? In his whole life he was a man
of sorrows, and so taught us to contemn the world, and the pleasures
of the flesh ; but especially at his death, when pain was poured in upon
him by the conduit of every sense, there ' he pleased not himself,'
Horn. xv. 3, but conquered the love of life, and all the natural content
ments of life, that he might please God, and procure our salvation.
Now we have not the spirit of our religion till we grow dead, not only
to the pleasures of sin, but the natural pleasures of life, yea, life itself,
and can submit all to God's glory.
['2.] As it is an act of love, which should beget love in us to God
again, which lovs will make us tender of sinning. There are many
aggravations of sinning ; but the greatest of all is because we- sin
against so much love as God hath showed us in our redemption by
Christ. Sin is aggravated by the greatness of the person against
whom it is committed, against the infinite majesty of God ; as to
strike an inferior person is not so heinous a crime as to strike a magis
trate or prince ; but this will not hold in all cases, for foul indignities
and grievous wrongs offered to meaner persons are a greater offence
than the omission of a ceremony to a prince, as if a man through
ignorance of the customs of the court should not be bare before his
chair of state. Therefore take in the other consideration of the infinite
goodness and love of God towards us in Christ ; this doth exceedingly
aggravate our sins. They are acts of unkindness : ' After such a
deliverance as this is, -shall we again break thy commandments ? '
Ezra ix. 13, 14 ; after a deliverance out of Babylon, out of hell. To
sin against the infinite goodness of a creator by eating the forbidden
fruit, we see what mischief it brought upon mankind ; conscious of
this transgression, the first actors hid themselves from God's presence.
But what is it to sin against the infinite goodness of a Kedeemer, who
came to recover us from this thraldom and bondage, and to draw us
to himself with the cord of love ? He chose rather to suffer the
punishment due to our sins than to suffer sin still to reign in us, whom
he loved more dearly than his own life : Gal. ii. 20, ' Who loved me,
and gave himself for me ; ' Kev. i. 5, ' To him that loved us, and
washed us from our sins in his own blood/ Now, if after this mani
festation of his love we shall still continue in sin, the heinousness of
our offence is greatly increased.
[3.] Christ's death is the best glass wherein to view the deadly
nature of sin. It was so great and heinous an evil in the sight of
God, that nothing but the blood of the Son of God could expiate it :
Rom. viii. 3, ' 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.' Jesus Christ must
come and suffer a shameful death ; this painful, shameful, accursed
death of the Son of God showeth God's displeasure against sin, and
what it will cost us if we allow it, and indulge it in our hearts and
lives ; for if this be done in the green tree, what shall be done in the
dry?
[4.] It showeth us also what a great benefit mortification is. This
among others was intended by him, and moved him to bear our sins
in his body on the tree : 1 Peter ii. 24, ' Who his own self bare our
VER. 6.-] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 199
sins in his body on the tree, that we, being dead to sin, should live
unto righteousness.' To remember a good turn done by a friend, and
not to prize and value it as we ought, is rather to forget than to
remember his friendliness. So here, if we do not prize Christ's
benefits, we undervalue his death, and a lessening of the benefits is a
lessening the price. Now one of the chief of them is to take away sin,
and to break the reign of it in the heart of his renewed ones. This
argument seemeth to be urged, 1 Peter i. 18, 19, 'Forasmuch as ye
know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and
gold, from your vain conversations, but with the precious blood of
Christ,' &c. If there be a liberty purchased and bought at so dear a
rate, and then proclaimed, and we will not accept it, it is a plain
slighting the benefit we have by Christ.
[5.] The sins of Christians, who profess a coinmunion with his
death, are more criminal and scandalous than the sins of heathens.
They never heard of the Son of God, that came to redeem them from
their vain conversations at so high a rate as his own precious blood.
They never were called solemnly to vow integrity of life and conversa
tion, as a service due to that Redeemer, as is done by Christians in
baptism. All this we believe, and this some have done, and yet dis
obeyed our master's will. Heathens had no expectation of any
gracious immortal reward, feared no dreadful doom nor sentence after
death. We are hedged in within the compass of our duty both on the
right hand and the left : on the right hand with the hopes of a most
blessed everlasting estate ; on the left, with the fears of an endless and
never-dying death : all which are included in our baptism, and so, if
all be not mockery, our old man is crucified with Christ.
[6.] A Christian's living in sin is a greater injury to Christ than the
persecution of the Jews that crucified him, because we daily and
hourly do that which is more against his holy will. The rule for
measuring the greatness of our personal injury and wrong is the
opposition which the act includeth to the will and liking of the party
who is displeased and wronged. Well, then, which is most displeasing
to Christ, his dying for sin, or our living in sin ? Surely his dying
for sin, as an act of obedience to his father, or love to us, was very
pleasing to Christ : Ps. xl. 8, ' I delight to do thy will, my God,
yea, thy law is within my heart.' He is more willing to suffer death
for us than to suffer us to live and die in our sins. You will say, That
is not the case we speak of, not the submission of Christ, but the Jews'
act. But this will not lessen the argument, if we compare the Jews'
act with our disobedience ; that was against his human life, this is
against his office. Now, as Christ preferred his office above his
human and natural life, so those that neglect his office or contradict
his office are more offensive to him than those who did wrong to his
natural life. Therefore those that profess Christianity, and yet live
in their sins, do more wrong to him than Judas, or Annas and
Caiaphas, or any that had a hand in his death merely as such. They
did wrong to Christ indeed, as Cain did to Abel when he took away
the life of his innocent brother ; and these personal wrongs are more
unpleasing to his holy will as the Son of God than unto the affections
of his human nature as the son of David, as sins against God more
200 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. V,
than as injuries against a man. But for us, who pretend to adore and
worship him, our crime is the more horrid, because we build those
things again which he came to destroy, and so evacuate the fruit of
his sufferings, and make his office of no effect, and thereby take part
with the devil, the world, and the flesh against him.
2. As it is a great encouragement, as Christ's death was the merit
and price by which grace sufficient was purchased to mortify and
subdue our old man. The work of mortification is carried on in the
hearts of God's people by the Spirit, and the Spirit is also purchased
by the death of Christ: Titus iii. 5, 6, 'According to his mercy he
saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our
Saviour ;' Gal. iii. 14, ' That the blessing of Abraham might come
on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we 'might receive the
promise of the Spirit through faith.' The Spirit worketh as Christ's
Spirit, that he might be glorified by the full extent of his merit ; and
in the use of means we may comfortably expect the virtue of Christ
crucified. We are not obliged only, but enabled, and are convinced
of faulty laziness and despondency; if we do not resist sin, it is a sign
we affect our slavery. It is not want of power, but of will.
Use 1. It informeth us that Christianity is the only true doctrine
that teacheth us the right way of mortifying sin : ' Haman refrained
himself,' Esther v. 10. Moral instructions cannot reach the root of
this woful disease, so dark are our minds, so bad our hearts, so strong
our lusts, so many are our temptations ; but the doctrine, example,
merit, and Spirit of the Lord Jesus will do the work.
Use 2. Direction. Let us often and seriously consider the death of
Christ, and the great condescension of the Son of God, who came and
suffered in our nature an accursed death to finish transgression and
make an end of sin. As the leper was cleansed by the blood of the
slain sparrow dropped into running water, Lev. xiv. 5, 6, this signifies
the cleansing of us sinners by Christ, who, as the bird that was killed,
'was put to death in the flesh,' but as the living bird 'was quickened
by the Spirit,' 1 Peter iii. 18 ; and 2 Cor. xiii. 4, ' He was crucified
through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God.' The dropping
the blood of the slain sparrow into running water representeth Christ,
'who came by water and by blood,' 1 John v. 6. Blood noteth,
Christ's satisfaction, running water the Spirit : John iv. 14, ' The
water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing
up into everlasting life ;' John vii. 38, ' He that believeth on me, out
of his belly shall flow rivers of living water/ The living bird was to
be dipped in the blood and water, and then to be let go in the open
field up to heaven, Lev. xiv. 8. The scaping of the bird noteth the
resurrection of Christ ; his flying in the open field with bloody wings
in the face of heaven, his intercession, or representation of his merit
to God, and herein is all our confidence.
Use 3. Caution. Let us not serve sin.
1. See you be dispossessed of every evil habit and frame. Many
profess obedience to God, but still retain the yoke of sin ; as Israel, de
livered out of the house of bondage, returned in their hearts, wishing-
themselves there again, Acts vii. 39. The league between them and
VER. 7.] SERMONS. UPON ROMANS vi. 201
their lusts is not fully dissolved ; so that though they forsake many
sins, yet not all their sins ; they keep some beloved sin : Ps. xviii. 23,
' I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.'
Herod would not part with his Herodias ; so they return like the dog
to his vomit.
2. See you resist actual temptations. God calleth to you, Jer. xliv.
4, ' Oh ! do not this abominable thing that I hate.' Conscience calleth
to you, as David's heart smote him ; it is time to stop then. Is this
becoming your solemn vow ? Will it consist with the love of God ?
Use 4. It puts us upon self-reflection. Do I know that my old
man is crucified with Christ ? There is a knowledge of faith and a
knowledge of spiritual sense.
1. Have you experimentally felt the power of his death : Phil. iii.
10, ' That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and
the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his
death. 5 Is the body of sin destroyed, or at least considerably weakened ?
2. Whom do you serve, God or sin ? Have you changed masters ?
Are you as free from sin as before from righteousness ? And do you
as much for God as before for sin ? Horn. vi. 19, 20, ' As ye have
yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto
iniquity, even so now yield your members servants to righteousness
unto holiness ; for when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from
rightousness/
SERMON VI.
For he that is dead is freed from sin. ROM. VI. 7.
THE words are a reason to prove what was asserted in the former
verse. Two things were there asserted (1.) That their old man is
crucified with Christ ; (2.) That therefore we must not serve sin.
This the apostle proveth. This reason is taken from the analogy be
tween death natural and death spiritual. He that is dead naturally
is freed from the authority of those who formerly had power over him ;
human slavery endeth with death. In the grave * the servant is free
from his master/ Job iii. 19. Death levelleth the ranks of persons, and
the imperious lord and master hath no more privilege than his vilest
slave and servant. So he that is dead to sin is delivered from the power
of sin acting formerly in him, ' For he that is dead is freed from sin.'
In the words (1.) A subject ; (2.) A predicate.
1. A subject, ' He that is dead/ A man may be said to be dead
properly and naturally, or improperly and metaphorically.
[1.] Properly and naturally, when the body is deprived of the soul :
James ii. 26, ' The body without the spirit is dead.'
[2.] Improperly and metaphorically, for death spiritual ; and this
either with respect to unbelievers, who are said to be dead in sin :
Eph. ii. 1, ' You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and
sins ; ' and ver. 5, ' Even when we were dead in sins hath he quickened
ns together with Christ.' And therefore, when we come out of that
202 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. VI.
estate, we are said ' to pass from death to life,' 1 John iii. 14 ; or, with
respect to believers, who are dead to sin : Col. iii. 3, ' For ye are dead.'
Keal believers are dead, not in sin, but to sin, the dominion arid reign
of it being broken, though it be not totally subdued. This is here
intended.
2. The predicate, ' Is freed from sin/ The word SeSt/eaiWat, the
vulgar hath justificatus est a peccato. Beza, with many of the ancients,
liberatus est. Our translation hath both ; in the text, freed ; in the
margin, justified. Whether you take one or the other word, it im-
porteth deliverance from the yoke and dominion of sin, so as not to
obey its motions and commands. For the apostle doth not speak here
of the forgiveness of sin, but the abolition of its power and dominion ;
for it is brought as a reason why those whose old man is crucified with
Christ should not serve sin ; and the word justified -is the rattier used,
because one justified and absolved by his judge is also released and set
free from his bonds ; so are we.
Doct. That freedom from sin is the consequentof our dying with Christ.
I shall handle (1.) The nature of this freedom from sin ; (2.)
The degree to which we attain in this life ; (3.) The value of this
benefit ; (4.) How it is the consequent of our dying with Christ.
First, The nature of this freedom from sin. I told you before it is
an exemption from the dominion and reign of sin.
1. We quit the evil disposition and temper of our souls ; we are dis
possessed of every evil habit. Our first work is to put off the habit,
and then the act ceaseth. The apostle telleth us, 1 Peter ii. 11, 12.
' Dearly beloved, abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul,
having your conversation honest amongst the Gentiles/ &c. In vain
do we lop off the branches till the root be first deadened. The life
and reign of sin lieth in the prevalency of our lusts within ; all out
ward sins "are but acts of obedience to the reigning lust.
2. We renounce our former course of living ; after the habits, we
are free from the acts. We do not, and durst not to live in sin ; the
former conversation is cast off, as well as the former lusts : Eph. iv.
22, ' That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man,
which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.' Sin must not
break out in our conversations ; for it is but a deceit to think we have
quelled the lust when the acts appear as frequently and as easily as
they did before. A change of heart will be made manifest by a
change of conversation. So 1 Peter i. 14, ' As obedient children, not
fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.'
They must not shape and mould their actions and endeavours accord
ing to the sinful motions of their corrupt nature. So 1 Peter ii. 12,
' Having your conversation honest.' If sin be weakened in the heart,
the fruit of it will appear in the conversation.
Now this freedom is expressed by a word that signifieth justification,
and fitly
1. Because of the nature of justification, in which there are two
branches liberatio a poena, and acceptatio ad vitam. The punishment
incurred by the fall is pcena damni and pcena sensus, the loss and
the pain. Both may be considered as in this life, or the life to
come. To begin with the highest and most dreadful part of the pun-
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 203
ishment, the loss of God's eternal and blessed presence, or the fruition
of him in glory : Mat. xxv. 41, ' Depart, ye cursed.' The pains are
those eternal torments which are appointed for the wicked when they
shall fall immediately into the hands of an angry and offended God :
Heb. x. 31, ' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God.' But in this life we must also consider the loss and pain. The
pains are all those miseries and afflictive evils which came into the
world by reason of sin. The loss is loss of God's image : that threat
ening, ' Thou shalt die the death,' Gen. ii. 17, implied spiritual death
as well as temporal and eternal. Now we are justified when we are
freed from punishment, and among other punishments from the pun
ishment of loss, when God giveth us the blessing which sin had de
prived us of. As for instance, when he giveth us the sanctifying Spirit,
this is called 'a receiving the atonement,' Eom. v. 11. We had for
feited it by sin, and God, being pacified in Christ, doth restore it to us.
Man brought upon himself spiritual death by sin, and the gift of the
sanctifying Spirit is the great and first act of God's pardoning mercy,
and a means to qualify us for other parts of pardon. Though the
thing be plain of itself, yet to make it more clear to us
2. Let us distinguish of the kinds of justification. There is a two
fold justification it is either constitutive or executive.
[1.] Constitutive justification is by the new covenant, when those
who submit to the terms are constituted or made righteous : John v.
24, ' He that heareth my word, and believeth in him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed
from death to life.' There is God's grant, and whosoever can make
good his claim hath a right to justification by God's own grant ;
according to the law of grace, he is one freed from sin.
[2.] Executive, when God accordingly taketh off' all penalties and
evils, and giveth us all the good which belongeth to the righteous or
justified ; as in the case in hand, when God giveth us the Spirit to
break the power and reign of sin ; and therefore so often in scripture
is God said to sanctify us as a God of peace, or as a God pacified and
reconciled to us in Jesus Christ : Heb. xiii. 20, 21, ' Now the God oi
peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great
jshepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you
that which is well-pleasing in his sight ; ' 1 Thes. v. 23, ' And the very
God of peace sanctify you wholly/ &c. ; 2 Cor. v. 18, ' And all things
are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ.' This
God doth as a judge, acting according to the rules of government con
stituted in the new covenant, upon the account of the merit of Christ,
and our actual interest in him.
Secondly, As to the degree, how far we are freed from sin.
1. All the justified and converted to God are freed from the reign of
it. The flesh, though it remaineth, is made subject to the Spirit,
which by degrees doth destroy the relics of sin ; for it is said of the
justified : Kom. viii. 1, ' There is no condemnation to them that are in
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.'
2. The more obedient we are to the motions of the sanctifying Spirit,
the more power we have against sin : Gal. v. 18, ' If ye be led by the
204 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. VI.
Spirit, ye are not under the law/ under the irritating power and curse
of it. Many sins are in a great measure left uncured as a part of our
punishment. We should have more of his Spirit ; and so more of his
grace to mortify sin, if we did mind more the covenant we have made
with God as our sanctifier : but degrees of grace may be forfeited by
our unworthy dealing with the Spirit : Eph. iv. 30, ' Grieve not the
Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed to the day of redemption.' He
seeketh by degrees to fit us for our everlasting estate and final deliver
ance from all sin, and the consequence of sin : 2 Cor. v. 5, 'Now he
that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God, who also hath
given to us the earnest of his Spirit.' And therefore he must not be
obstructed in his work while he is preparing the heirs of promise afore-
hand unto glory, lest we lose not only the comfort of our future hopes,
but also be set back in the spiritual life, and so grieve both our sancti
fier and our comforter.
3. If we fall into heinous wilful sin, God manifesteth his displeasure
against the party sinning by withdrawing his Spirit. This was the
evil that David was so much afraid of : Ps. li. 10-12, ' Create in me a
clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away
from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore
unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me by thy free Spirit/
In which expressions he desireth that God would not withdraw his
grace and the influence of his Holy Spirit, which by that heinous sin
he had so justly forfeited. This is the sorest judgment on this side
hell, to be deprived of communion with God in point of grace. Though
it may be not a total separation from his presence and grace, yet it is a
degree of it, when God is strange to us, and suspendeth all the acts of
his complacential love, leaving us dull and senseless, that we have no
heart or life to anything that is spiritually good. Yea, if after such
scandalous falls, we repent not the sooner, God may deliver us up to
brutish lusts ; the evils are lesser and greater according to the rate of
our sins or neglects of grace. These penal withdrawings of his Spirit
should therefore be observed ; for God showeth much of his pleasure
or displeasure by giving and withholding the Spirit. His blessing and
favour is showed this way : Prov. i. 23..' Turn ye at rny reproof : be
hold I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and I will make known my
words unto you.' But when God is refused, or neglected, or highly
provoked : Ps. Ixxxi. 11,12, ' My people would not hearken to my voice,
and Israel would none of me ; so I gave them up unto their own
hearts' lust, and they walked in their own counsels.' This is more
than all the calamities of the world.
4. Where the work is really begun and duly submitted unto, we
have hopes of a better estate, it still increaseth towards that perfect
blessedness, when we shall be ' without spot and blemish, or any such
thing,' Eph. v. 27. What a life do God's holy ones live in heaven,
who are wholly freed from sin ! There is no worldly mind, nor pride,
nor passion, nor fleshly lust to trouble them. Here many wallow in
their own dung, others are in a great measure defiled and blemished ;
but there they are freed, not only from the reign, but being of sin.
Hath God been so kind to them in glory ? And will he not do the
same for us also ? There is none in heaven by the first covenant, all
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS VL 205
that are there come thither as sanctified and justified by Jesus Christ,
and in the way of his pardoning grace. Surely since we have the same
Redeemer, depend upon the merit of the same sacrifice, and wait for
the same Spirit in the use of all holy means and endeavours, he will
not be strange to us. Christ is willing if we are willing ; there you
will find it sticketh, he came to take away sin, but we will not give way
to his Spirit ; we are neither sensible of our sickness, nor earnest for a
cure, at least a sound cure. We seek ease and comfort more than the
removing of the distemper ; but if we were thoroughly willing, will
he fail a serious soul ? It is Christ's office to expiate sin, and destroy
it ; his blood was shed for his church for this purpose : Eph. v. 26,
' That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by
the word.' For the same end he intercedeth now in heaven : Heb. vii.
25, ' Wherefore lie is able also to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.'
He that hath undertaken this work counteth it his honour and glory
to perform it : Eph. v. 27, ' That he might present it to himself a
glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but
that it should be holy and without blemish ; ' and Jude 24, ' Now unto
him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory with exceeding great joy.' It is matter
of rejoicing not only to us, but to him.
Thirdly, The value of the benefit ; surely it is a great mercy to be
freed from the power of sin, and to have our enthralled souls set at
liberty.
1. Because sin is the cause of all the controversy and variance be
tween God and us : Isa. lix. 2, ' Your iniquities have separated between
you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he
will not hear/ This is the abominable thing which he hateth : Jer.
xliv. 4, ' Oh, do not that abominable thing which I hate ! ' It is sin
that maketh the great distance between man and God, not in position
of place, for so he is everywhere present, with bad and good ; but in
disposition of mind and affection of heart ; it hath caused him in anger
to withdraw his gracious presence from you. Would you not be glad to
have the great difference between God and you compromised and takea
up, and all enmity to cease between you and heaven ? It can never be
till sin be mortified as well as pardoned ; for till man be converted, as
well as God satisfied for the breach of his law, there is no due pro
vision made for our entering into fellowship with him ; we shall stand
aloof from him as a holy, sin-hating, and condemning God, and so have
no heart to communion with him.
2. It is a defacing God's image in us, and a bringing in of a contrary
image, the image of the devil. God's image is defaced while we live
in sin : Rom. iii. 23, ' We have all sinned, and are come short of the
glory of God.' By the glory of God there is meant his image, not his
glorious reward, but his glorious image ; as 1 Cor. xi. 7, ' The man
is the image and glory of God, and the woman is the glory of the
man ;' that is, hath some likeness of his power and majesty. Simili
tude and likeness is often called glory. So 2 Cor. iii. 18, ' We all with
open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed
into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the
206 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [$ER. VI.
Lord.' Now this is lost, which is the beauty, as sin is the deformity of
the soul ; and on the contrary, the image of the devil is introduced
into the soul, as we are proud, envious, revengeful : John viii. 44, ' Ye
are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He
was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh
of his own ; for he is a liar, and the father of it.' The properties of
the devil like us much better than the excellences of God. Now, is it
not a great mercy to be freed from this disposition and temper of
heart, especially since image, favour, and fellowship go together ?
3. It disableth us for God's service. While we live in sin, we are
not only weak, but dead. Let us take the softest notion : Rom. v. 6,
' When we were yet without strength,' &c., that is, unable to perform
any obedience to God, sick and weak, yea, in a dangerous estate. A
heart under the power of sin is feeble and impotent : Ezek. xvi. 30,
' How weak is thine heart, seeing thou dost these things, the work of
an imperious whorish woman ? ' The strength of the disease is the
weakness of the person that suffereth it ; so the strength of sin is the
weakness of the soul that cannot break the force of their own passions
and affections, but are easily led away by temptations, have no
strength left to do the will of their creator, to overcome temptations
to sin, to govern their own passions and affections, but are at the beck
of every foolish and hurtful lust, pride, sensuality, worldliness, carnal
fear, sorrpw, &c.
4. It not only disableth us for our duty, but setteth our hearts
against it : Rom. viii. 7, ' The carnal mind is enmity against God, for
it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.' It dis-
liketh his government, riseth up in defiance of his strict laws, so that
man is a perfect rebel to God. If this law be enforced by external
messengers : Hosea iv. 4, ' Let no man strive nor reprove another, for
this people are as they that strive with the priest.' It is to no pur
pose to seek to reclaim them, for they would admit of no admonition ;
for they opposed their teachers, urging not their own private sugges
tions, but the sentence of the law of God ; slight all those that would
oppose their growth arid continuance in sin ; are enemies to them that
tell them the truth. So in the checks of their own consciences : Rom.
vii. 23, ' I see another law in my members warring against the law of
my mind, and leading me captive to the law of sin and death that is
in my members.' Sin sets up a commanding power, in direct opposi
tion to the dictates of conscience. So for the spirit : Gal. v. 17, ' The
flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and
these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the
things that ye would.' Now, to be freed from this enmity and oppo
sition to God, and averseness from all that is good, is certainly a great
mercy, and this we have by a due improvement of the death of Christ.
5. It is not a distant evil, but in our bowels, always present with
us, hindering that which is good : Rom. vii. 21, ' When I would do
good, evil is present with me ;' urging us to that which is evil ; there
fore called, Heb. xii. 1, ' Sin that doth so easily beset us.' This inbred
corruption is ever with us, lying down arid rising up, at home and
abroad ; it is ready to open the door to all temptations : James i. 14,
U. 7.J SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI.
' Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and
enticed.' It poisons all our comforts and mercies, and strengthens
itself against God by his own benefits, while it useth them ' as an
occasion to the flesh,' Gal. v. 13. It corrupts all our duties, distract
ing us with vain thoughts in prayer : Mat. xv. 8, ' This people draw-
eth nigh to me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips ;
but their heart is far from me/ It choketh the good seed : Luke viii.
14, ' That which fell among thorns are they which, when they have
heard the word, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and
pleasures of this life, and bring forth no fruit to perfection.' It makes
our abode in the world dangerous : 2 Peter i. 4, ' Having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust.' It maketh us lazy and
negligent in our callings. It turneth our table into a snare, while we
glut ourselves with carnal delights, and oppress our bodies, when we
should refresh them ; and maketh us inordinate in all that we enjoy
and do. Therefore, to get rid of such an enemy surely is a great
mercy.
G. Till you get rid of sin, there is a thorn in your foot, so that you
will have no ease nor comfort till you set yourselves to destroy every
sin of heart and life, and make it your principal care and daily busi
ness. For if you live in wilful sin and negligence, you are unwilling
to be delivered, and so lose all comfort of justification and hope by
Christ. While you cherish sensual lusts, which you should mortify,
all the promises in God's book will not yield you one dram of com
fort, nor help you to assurance : you may complain long enough be
fore you have ease, for this still lieth against you, ' You regard ini
quity in your hearts/ Ps. Ixvi. 18. Conscience must be better used
before it will speak peace to yt>u. They only that have cast off the
yoke of sin are freed from the guilt of it ; they that give way to sin
are not justified. Justification is opposed both to the condemnation
of a sinner, and to the condemnation of a hypocrite. A sinner is
justified from his sin by faith in Christ only, if his faith be sincere ; if
he still indulge sin in his heart, and be a servant of sin, he is still
liable to be condemned, both as a sinner and a hypocrite ; for he re
mains a sinner still, and is a hypocrite, inasmuch as he pretends to
that faith by which he should be justified from all his other sins,
while he hath it not.
Fourthly, How is it a consequent of our dying with Christ ? There
are two sorts of men that profess communion with Christ's death
(1.) Those that are visibly baptized into his name ; (2.) Those that
are really converted to God ; the professed or penitent believer, or the
nominal and real Christian.
1. The visible professor. It is his duty to look after freedom from
sin. All Christians do visibly profess by virtue of Christ's death to
die unto sin ; they are dead by profession, they are dead by their bap
tismal vow and undertaking ; but this is but in word, not in deed, in
show, not in power, if they do not rnind these things. The careless
Christian forgets the obligation of baptism, though he doth not re
nounce it : 2 Peter i. 9, ' He is blind and cannot see afar off, and hath
forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.' Christianity calleth
him out of those pollutions that he walloweth in, and affordeth him
208 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. VI.
great helps to avoid them ; but he undervalueth all, and is little
affected with that pardon and life which is offered in the new cove
nant, and which by his baptism he seemed and was esteemed to have
a right unto ; and, as a purblind man cannot see things at a distance,
they are so intent upon things worldly and sensual, that they forget
the purification of their souls, or due preparation for the world to
come. Now we cannot say de facto that such a man is actually freed
from sin, for he is not truly dead with Christ ; but de jure, of right,
he should mind this dying to sin, that he may no longer serve sin : he
cannot comfortably conclude himself to be pardoned or sanctified, or
one who is made a partaker of this grace ; it is not his privilege to be
freed from sin, but because of his engagement to Christ it is his duty.
2. The next sort is the real convert, or penitent believer, who is
indeed dead with Christ ; it is both his duty and his privilege : he
hath not only undertaken to die unto sin, and to renounce his former
course of life, but hath seriously begun it, and by the power of the
Spirit of Christ carrieth on this work daily ; so that by virtue of
Christ's dying he is dead, and so really is, and is also reckoned to be
one that is freed from the dominion of sin. So the apostle's speech
in the text is exactly parallel with that, 1 Peter iv. 1, ' He that hath
suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin ; ' he that is dead, that is,
spiritually dead here, is the same with him ' that hath suffered in the
flesh ; ' freed from sin, that is, is absolved from sin, not in regard of
guilt but power, is the same with ' hath ceased from sin ' there ; so
that one place doth explain another. But let me prove
[1.] It is his duty to be cleansed from sin, or freed from the do
minion of sin ; for it is brought to prove that he must no longer serve
sin.
(1.) All our communion with Christ is by the Spirit of Christ.
Now wherever the Spirit comes to dwell, he doth infuse a principle of
grace, which doth not only strive against sin, but conquer sin, at least
so far as to take away the dominion of it: Gal. v. 16, 17, ' Walk in
the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh ; for the flesh
lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh ; ' therefore
they cannot serve sin as they did before. There are two principles in
us, and accordingly there are two desires, the one proceeding from the
flesh, the other from the spirit, which are so opposite one to another,
that what the one liketh, the other disliketh, and whatsover you do in
compliance with the one, you do it in opposition to the other ; but
that which is in predominancy is the spirit, which rebuketh the
carnal nature and principle in us.
(2.) In our conversion to Christ there is included an aversion from
sin ; and therefore it must not bear sway and command, and influence
our actions, as it did formerly. It is called ' repentance from dead
works,' Heb. vi. 1 ; not for them only, but from them. It breedeth
not only a sorrow, but a loathing and forsaking of the sin we repent
of. Many will say they are sorry, and do repent for sin which they
have committed; but all kinds of sorrow do not evidence true re
pentance : there is a sort of repenting and sorrow for sin in hell ; all
do repent and are sorry for sin at last. When a sinner hath sucked
out all the carnal sweet that is in sin, and the sting only is left be-
YER. 7.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 209
hind, no .wonder if he be troubled : this is attrition, not contrition, not
a sorrow that ariseth from love to God, a sorrow that doth not break
the force of sin ; they go on still, there is no change of heart or life.
(3.) There must be a difference between a man carnal and regene
rate ; and what is the difference, since sin remaineth in both ? The
one serveth sin, and the other serveth God. Though we cannot do all
that we would and ought, yet something must be done to distinguish
you from the carnal world. Wherein do you differ ? Certainly if
there be no difference, the godly would be ungodly, and as bad as
others. But the difference is manifest ; and what is that difference ?
1 John iii. 10, ' In this the children of God are manifest, and the
children of the devil ; whosoever doth not righteousness is not of
God.' He that doth sin is of the devil, and he that is born of God
sinneth not, that is, not customarily, frequently, easily, as the carnal
and ungodly do, who are carried away with every return of the temp
tation. In short, they conquer gross sin, and are always striving
against infirmities, and that with some effect and success. A holy
life is the proper and genuine product of this discriminating grace.
2. It is his privilege ; being crucified with Christ, he hath a right, and
not a right only, but his justification is executed and applied to him
by the gift of the sanctifying Spirit, which is the surest token of God's
love, and the true effect of his approbation, adopting us into his
family : Gal. iv. 6, ' Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the
Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.' The mission
or sending down of the Holy Ghost was the visible pledge of Christ's
making the atonement, and the sending him into our hearts, of our
receiving the atonement.
The work being begun by converting grace, there is the less for
confirming grace to do, and ' God, that hath begun a good work, will
perform it to the day of Christ,' Phil. i. 6. He will not fail the serious
and sincere Christian, that doth still continue to make use of his grace.
In short, they are dead, as they entered into a solemn covenant with
God to die unto sin, which they make conscience of ; they are dead, as
they have a contrary principle of life within them, which they neglect
not, but improve ; they are dead, as they often and solemnly meditate
on Christ's death, as the price of their blessings and pattern of their
obedience ; they are dead, as they seriously attend upon the ordinances
of God, and all holy means which he hath appointed to communi
cate to them the fruits of Christ's death ; and therefore the Lord
vouchsafeth further grace, whereby they may be more and more freed
from sin. Let a man be but serious in his Christianity, especially in
this matter, that is, daily renew his repentance for his old sins, thank
fulness for the pardon of them, watchfulness against the like for the
future, and it will be no nice case to determine his condition ; he will
soon appear to be one freed from the reign of sin.
Use 1. To inforn> us of the intimate connection between all the
parts and branches of the grace of the gospel. We are absolved and
discharged from the power of sin as well as from the guilt of it. All
will grant that justification respects the guilt of sin ; but the apostle
telleth us here, that justification respects the power of sin also. The
penalty was the loss of God's image as well as of his favour ; so that
VOL. xi. o
210 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. VI.
pardon is executed and applied when our natures are sanctified and
healed. The privation of the Spirit being the great punishment, the
gift of the Spirit is a great branch of our absolution, and so Christ's
reconciling and renewing grace fairly accord and agree.
Use 2. Direction. What we should do to be freed from sin.
Meditate upon and improve the death of Christ, that we may be
planted into the likeness of it : ' For he that is dead is freed from sin/
When we commemorate his death, we do it not only to increase our
confidence of deliverance from the flames of hell, but to encourage and
engage ourselves to the mortifying of sin, and to make it more hateful
to us. What can stand before the all- conquering Spirit of Christ ?
Certainly Christ came to renew the world, as well as to redeem it from
the curse : Titus iii. 5, 6, ' He saved us by the washing of regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.'
Use 3. Exhortation.
1. To be dead with Christ. All that are baptized into Christ have
undertaken to accompany him in his death, so far as to die unto sin
and the world. To die unto sin is under our consideration. Once let
it receive its death-wound, the privilege is great, freedom from the
guilt and dominion of sin, from the curse of the law, the wrath of God
and eternal death. Let the remembrance of Christ's death breed con
fidence in us ; thence I expect all my strength. Oh ! let us be dead to
sin, let us never more have a favourable thought of sin, or slight
thoughts of God's justice, or be fond and tender of the flesh (as if it
were so great a matter to gratify it), or despair of mortifying sin more.
2. Let us demonstrate ourselves really to be freed from the power
of sin, and never more permit ourselves to live in it, or be acted by it.
Who are they that demonstrate themselves to be freed from sin ?
[1.] Those whose settled purpose is not to sin : 1 John. ii. 1, ' These
things I write unto you that ye sin not.' A carnal man non proponit
peccare, a renewed man proponit non peccare; a carnal man doth not
purpose to sin, but he doth not purpose against sin ; but the godly
purpose not to sin in good earnest. Do you loathe yourselves for past
sins ? Are you truly desirous to get rid of sin ? Is it a benefit or
burden Christ offereth to you ?
[2.] They are watchful that they may not sin: Ps. xxxix. 1, 'I
said, I will take heed to my ways, that I offend not with my tongne ; '
Prov. iv. 23, ' Keep thy heart with all diligence ; for out of it are the
issues of life,' especially to watch over those corruptions and inclina
tions which are the strongest in them.
[3.] They are striving and endeavouring to get more victory every
day. You must not only strive against sin, but conquer the predom
inant love of every sin. Every man that hath a conscience may strive
against evil before he yield to it, while he liveth in it ; but if it be
your daily endeavour to mortify the flesh, and master its opposition to
the Spirit, and you so far prevail as to live, walk, and be led by the
Spirit, so that the course and drift of your life is spiritual, then do you
demonstrate yourselves to be freed from sin.
VER. 8.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 211
SERMON VII.
Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live
with him. BOM. VI. 8.
THE apostle now proveth the second part, that we are planted into
the likeness of his resurrection. He proveth it as a necessary con
sequent of the antecedent privilege, ' Now if we be dead with
Christ,' &c.
In the words (1.) A supposition ; (2.) The truth thence inferred ;
(3.) The certainty of the inference.
1. The supposition, there
[1.] The thing supposed, ' Being dead with Christ.' What that is
we have explained already. All that I shall now add is, that in scrip
ture it implieth two things
(1.) Conformity with Christ in his sufferings. So we have a saying
like that in the text : 2 Tim. ii. 11, ' It is a faithful saying ; for if we
be dead with him, we shall also live with him ; ' which presently is
explained, ver. 12, ' If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.'
(2.) It implieth mortification of sin. So it is understood here, if
we have communion and fellowship with his death, for the mortifi
cation of sin.
[2.] The term of proposal, conditionally, ' If we.' The particle */
hath sometimes the notion of a caution : See that ye be dead with
Christ ; sometimes it is a note of relation, when one privilege is
deduced from another ; as here, if we partake of the effect and likeness
of his death in dying to sin, we shall partake of the effect and likeness
of his resurrection in being quickened to live in holiness and righteous
ness all our days. Dying to sin, and newness of life, are inseparable ; if
we have the first, we shall have the other also ; they are branches of
the same work of regeneration, and both proceed from the same cause,
union with Christ.
2. The truth hence inferred, ' We shall also live with him.' This
is meant both of the life of grace and of the life of glory, regeneration
and resurrection ; the one is to newness of life, the other is to ever
lasting bliss and happiness. Regeneration is the Spirit's begetting us
to the image and nature of God our heavenly Father ; and resurrection
is for the perfecting of that likeness ; which is, it is true, perfect in part
here, in the soul : 2 Cor. iii. 18, ' We all with open face beholding as in.
a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from
glory to glory, as even by the Spirit of the Lord/ Hereafter both in
body and soul : Phil. iii. 21, ' Who shall change our vile body, that it
may be fashioned like unto his own glorious body, according to the
wonderful working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself/
As to degrees : 1 John iii. 2, ' When he shall appear we shall be like
him, for we shall see him as he is.' As to kinds, both in holiness and
happiness : 1 Cor. xv. 49, 'As we have borne the image of the earthy,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly/ Now we are conformed
to his image in afflictions : Rom. viii. 29, ' He hath predestinated us to
be conformed to image of his Son/ We look like him in the form of a,.
212 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. VII.
servant, then we shall be like him as the Lord from heaven heavenly.
Therefore the life of glory in heaven must not be excluded.
3. The certainty of the inference, Triarevo/jbev. It is not a matter
of opinion and conjecture, but of faith ; we are certainly persuaded of
the truth of it. We must distinguish of this truth ; for it may be con
sidered two ways
[1.] As a general maxim or proposition ; so it is absolutely true,
f Those that are dead with Christ shall live with him.' This is an
article of faith to be believed fide divina.
[2.] As it is applied to us, or as it is ground of our particular
confidence ; so it is true hypothetically or upon supposition, and our
confidence can be no greater than the evidence of our qualification :
' If we be indeed dead with Christ, we in particular shall also live
with him.' It is but a rational conclusion from two premises ; one of
which is of divine revelation, the other of inward experience, namely,
that ' I am dead with Christ,' therefore ' I believe that I shall live
with him." It is an act both of faith and reason, an act of faith by par
ticipation, as it buildeth on a principle of faith.
Doct. Those that are dead with Christ have no reason to doubt but
that they shall also live with him.
1. I shall speak of the condition, ' If we be dead with Christ.'
2. Of the benefit, ' They shall live/ spiritually and everlastingly.
3. Of our certain apprehension, ' We believe.'
First, of the presupposed condition, ' If we be dead with Christ/
1. Who are dead with Christ.
2. How necessary this order is. The one will show us that it is
not an over-strict, but a comfortable condition ; the other, that it is a
condition absolutely necessary to subsequent grace.
1. Who are dead with Christ ?
[1.] Such as own the obligation which their baptism and profession
puts upon them; that 'reckon themselves dead indeed unto sin/ Kom.
vi. 11 ; that make account they are under a vow and bond, wherewith
they have bound their souls. The careless mind it not ; but sincere
Christians acknowledge that the debt lieth upon them, they being
solemnly engaged to Christ to do it. The apostle saith, Kom. viii.
12, * We are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh/ As the
Jew by circumcision is bound to observe all the ritual of Moses, Gal.
vi. 3, so Christians by baptism are bound to crucify the flesh and obey
the Spirit. What say you ? Are you at liberty to do what you list,
or under a strict bond and obligation to die unto sin ? Let your lives
answer for you.
[2.] They make conscience of it, and seriously address themselves
to perform it : Gal. v. 24, ' They that are Christ's have crucified the
flesh with the affections and lusts ; ' they have begun to do it, and still
go on to do it more and more ; for this is a continued action, not the
work of a day, but of our whole lives. They have not only retrenched
the desires of the flesh, but seek to mortify and subdue them, and per
form their promise so solemnly made to God.
[3.] They obtain the effect in such a degree that the reign of sin is
broken, though sin itself be not utterly extinct in us. They do no
longer live in their old slavery and bondage, as those do who obey
VER. 8.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 213
every foolish and hurtful lust that bubbleth up in their hearts. A
man's condition is determined by what is in the throne habitually, and
governeth our lives and actions. There are two warring principles in
us, full of enmity and repugnancy to each other the flesh and the
spirit; but one reigneth, which constituteth the difference between
the carnal and the renewed. In the carnal, flesh reigneth ; but in the
regenerate the Spirit hath the mastery, and is superior and most
powerful ; so that a Christian showeth himself to be spirit rather than
flesh ; otherwise it could not be said, ' That which is born of the
Spirit is spirit,' John iii. 6. The acts of sin are disowned acts, and
he may say with Paul, ' It is not I, but sin that dwelleth in me.' Sin
is against the bent and habit of our wills.
[4.] They subtract the fuel of their lusts, as they wean themselves
from earthly things, and show such contempt of the world that the
good things which they enjoy by God's allowance are not a snare to
them. For the apostle saith of those that set their affections on
things above, and not on things on earth, ' Ye are dead, and your life
is hid with Christ/ Col. iii. 2, 3. It is the divine and heavenly life
which they seek to live. Well, then, here is a brief and plain descrip
tion of those who are dead with Christ in four things (1.) They
make conscience of their solemn vow in baptism, wherein they pro
mised to put off the former lusts of their ignorance, and the corrupt
conversation that flowed from them. (2.) They are busily at work in
it, and it is their daily endeavour. (3.) They prevail so far that sin
is a-dying, and grace groweth in strength and power. (4.) They con
tinue faithful in that purpose ; and their savour of earthly things is
deadened, and their hearts are still working towards God and heaven.
2. It is a condition absolutely necessary to obtain subsequent grace.
For
[1.] The graces of the Spirit cannot thrive in an unmortified soul ;
therefore then we set about our duty in the right order when we begin
with mortification in the first place, and thence proceed to the positive
duties of the new life. Faith will not thrive in a proud, unhumbled,
impenitent heart : John v. 44, ' How can ye believe, which receive
honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from
God only ? ' Nor will the love of God ever bear sway where sensual
and worldly love is in such strength and prevalency : 1 John ii. 15,
' If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.'
Vain pleasures divert us from our great hopes, or the pleasures that
are at God's right hand for evermore : 1 Peter i. 13, ' Be sober, and
hope to the end.' Sobriety is a holy moderation or sparing use ot
worldly delights ; they behave themselves as in their journey. Well,
then, we must die before we can live in purity and holiness, and seek
that glory which Christ now enjoyeth with God in heaven. We must
put off our old rags before we can put on the garments of righteous
ness.
[2.] The longer corruption is spared it groweth the worse ; for the
more it venteth itself by inordinate and sinful desires, the more it ac-
quireth strength, and secures its interest more firmly in the soul.
Every act strengtheneth the habit, and then it groweth into an invete
rate custom : Jer. ix. 3, ' They bend their tongues for lies, but they are
214 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [$ER. VII.
not valiant for the truth upon the earth ; for they proceed from evil to
evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.' Therefore the apostle : 1
Peter iv. 2, 3, ' That he should no longer live the rest of his time in the
flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past
of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles,
when we walked in licentiousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings,
banquetings and abominable idolatries.' Alas! sin is too deeply
rooted and ingrained in our natures already, and that hindereth the
coming on of the divine life ; either we never receive the grace of re
generation, being so stiffened and hardened in our sins, or else it hath
more corruption to grapple with, so that all our days there is more to do
to keep it alive in our souls.
[3.] Till sin be mortified, the good we pretend to is but a covering
and hiding of our loathsome lusts: James iv. 8, ' Cleanse your hands,
ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.' Many being
taxed for their evil and inordinate life will say, they hope their hearts
are good. If the heart were good, the life would be better ; the sinner
must cleanse his hands. Others are plausible in their carriage, but
their fleshly and worldly lusts were never soundly mortified, therefore
hypocrites must cleanse their hearts. Here the operation of the
Spirit beginneth. Our Lord saith, Mat. xxiii. 25, 26, ' Cleanse first
that which is within the cup and the platter, that the outside may be
clean also.' Many external acts may be counterfeited, or overruled
and influenced by by-ends ; the purity of the outside is loathsome to
God without the purity of the heart. Pharisees are compared to
' whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are
within full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness ; so ye outwardly
appear righteous unto -men, but within are full of hypocrisy and iniquity,'
Mat. xxiii. 27, 28. So Luke xi. 44, ' Ye are as graves which appear
not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them ; ' not as
a grave when new, but a grave when overgrown with grass. The Jews
buried out of the city in the fields ; they thought themselves defiled
by coming too near the dead. Men may be fair in outward guise and
show, but in heart the most noisome and polluted that can be. So that
mortification is necessarily requisite to vivification ; we must die be
fore we can live.
Secondly, Let me open the benefit, ' We shall also live with him.'
Here
1. Observe how grace is followed with grace, one part with another.
God loveth to crown his own gifts, and we are endeared to him by his
own mercies. So it is in the general : Zech. iii. 2, ' Is not this a brand
plucked out of the fire ? ' But some mercies draw on other mercies,
and are given in order to them, as mortification in order to vivification,
grace in order to glory. God giveth the one that he may give the
other ; he maketh one degree of grace a step to the other.
2. Observe how grace is followed with glory, 'We shall also live
with him.' One and the same word expresseth both ; life spiritual
and eternal is but one life. It is good to observe how many ways the
scripture sets forth the connection between the life of grace and the
life of glory. Sometimes by that of the seed and crop : Gal. vi. 8,
' He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.'
VER. 8.] . SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 215
No seed no crop; now is our seed-time. Sometimes the first-fruits
and the harvest, for the offering of the first-fruits dedicated the
whole harvest : Kom. viii. 23, ' We ourselves, who have the first-fruits
of the Spirit/ &c. Sometimes to the fountain and the stream, or the
river losing itself in the ocean : John iv. 14, ' He that shall drink of
the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst ; but the water that
I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water springing up into
everlasting life.' Sometimes of the pledge and earnest with respect to
full and actual possession : 2 Cor. i. 22, ' Who hath also sealed us,
and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.' Sometimes to the
beginning and accomplishment, or the degree with the top and height.
Life is begun by the Spirit, and perfected in heaven. There is a
mighty suitableness between life spiritual and eternal : John xvii. 3,
' This is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom thou hast sent.' The life of grace consisteth in knowing and
loving God, and the life of glory is the everlasting vision and perfect
love of God. Now we are changed by the sight of faith : 2 Cor. iii. 18,
' We all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord ; ' then we shall be changed by the beatifical vision :
1 John iii. 2, ' When he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall
see him as he is.' Our life here and life there is but one life, begun
here, and perfected there ; here are manifold imperfections, but there
is complete blessedness. Sometimes as the morning to high noon, or
light of the perfect day : Prov. iv. 18, ' The path of the just is as the
shining light, that shineth more and more to the perfect day ; ' here
the day breaks, but it is but a little. Sometimes to a man and a child :
1 Cor. xiii. 10-12, ' But when that which is perfect is come, that which
is in part shall be done away. When I was a child I spake as a child,
I understood as a child, I thought as a child ; but when I became a
man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass
darkly, but then face to face ; now I know in part, but then shall I
know even as also I am known.' As it is in the change of ages, so is
it between this and the other life. Now all these things show both
the sameness of the life, and also the necessity of one degree of grace
to another.
3. Observe how fitly this is mentioned as a help to mortification ;
we should sweeten the tediousness and trouble of the work by thinking
of the life that will ensue.
[1.] The life of grace. Conscience calleth upon you for your duty
to your creator ; and lust hindereth it. Now is it not a great advan
tage to have a vital principle to incline us to God ? By the life of
grace we are enabled in some measure to do what is pleasing in his
sight : Heb. xii. 28, ' Let us have grace whereby we may serve God
acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.' Set about mortification,
and you shall have this grace. This should be a great consolation to
us, who are so often vexed with guilty fears because of the neglect of
our duty.
[2.] The life of glory. Pleasures, honours, and profits seem great
matters to a carnal heart, and can do much till you put heaven in the
balance against them ; as Moses did, Heb. xi. 26, ' Esteeming the
216 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. VII.
reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he
had respect unto the recompense of reward;' he looked off from
one object to another. Alas ! when we think of this life, all that we
enjoy here is nothing, and should do nothing upon us to gain us from
God and our duty to him. We should have such thoughts within
ourselves. Shall I take these pleasures instead of my birthright?
For this preferment shall I sell my part in heaven ? Shall I cast
away my soul for this sensual delight ? The devil usually prevaileth
over men when heaven is forgotten and out of sight. Sure the baptismal
vow and engagement hath little hold upon us : 2 Peter i. 9, ' He is
blind and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged
from his old sins/ These things are fitly coupled.
[4.] Observe how we have all with Christ ; we die with him, and
we live with him. As we mortify sin by virtue of that grace which he
purchased for us by his death, so we hold heaven by his gift, or the
grant of that covenant which he hath confirmed by his blood. His
dying is the pattern of our mortification, and his life of our happiness
and glory. If by his example we first learn to die unto sin, according
to his pattern and example we shall have a joyful resurrection to eternal
life, for still we fare as Christ fared. He would not be a pattern to us
only in his worst estate, but in his best also ; we shall be partakers of
the same glory which Christ hath at the right hand of the Father, and
as we shall live eternally so we shall eternally praise our Redeemer, who
deriveth influence to us all along, both in dying and rising.
Thirdly, The certain apprehension we have of this, ' We believe/
Here I shall handle (1.) The necessity of this faith ; (2.) The grounds
of it ; (3.) The profit of believing this.
1. The necessity of believing.
[1.] This life is not matter of sense, but of faith, whether you take
it for the life of grace, or the life of glory.
(1.) The life of grace. If you consider the nature of it, which is of
the order of things spiritual, and men that judge according to things
of sense see no glory in it : 1 Cor. ii. 14, ' The natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, neither can
he know them, because they are spiritually discerned/ Alas ! the rich
preparations of grace, which God hath made for us in the gospel, a
carnal heart hath no savour for them nor value and esteem of them,
is nothing moved with the tender 'and offer; we must have a higher
light to see these things. Besides, .the new nature is hidden under
manifold infirmities and afflictions.: Col. iii. 3, ' Your life is hid with
Christ in God ;' and 1 John iii. 2, ' It doth not yet appear what we
shall be/ Once more, it is God's gift, and a matter full of difficulty
for them to apprehend that are sensible of their own vileness, and are
daily conflicting with so many lusts ; that they should be quickened
and enabled to live to God is a matter which they cannot easily believe :
' Shall these dead bones live ? Lord ! thou knowest/ Ezek. xxxvii. 3.
It is a hard matter to persuade them that have a great sense of the
power of their bewitching lusts that they shall ever overcome.
(2.) For the life of glory, that is also a matter of faith, because it is
a thing future, unseen, and to be enjoyed in another world : ' Now
VER. 8.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 217
faith is the substance of things not seen, and the evidence of things
hoped for,' Heb. xi. 1.
[2.] The person, office, and power of our Kedeemer are all mystical
truths : John xi. 25, 26, ' I am the resurrection and the life ; he that
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever
liveth and believeth in me shall never die: believest thou this ?' that
Christ is able to raise the dead to life again now or hereafter.
[3.] The matter is difficult to be believed, that after worms have
consumed this flesh it shall be raised again in glory, and at length
reign with Christ for ever. Therefore Abraham's faith is so often
propounded to the faithful, ' who considered not his own body now
dead, nor yet the deadness of Sarah's womb/ Kom. iv. 19 ; and the
apostle showeth us that such a kind of faith shall be ' imputed to us
for righteousness,' ver. 24, who believe Christ's resurrection, and then
ours. All this showeth the necessity of faith in this case.
2. The grounds of believing this blessed estate, which is reserved for
the mortified.
[1.] The infinite love of God, which prepared these mercies for us :
Luke xii. 32, ' Fear not, little flock ; it is your Father's good pleasure
to give you a kingdom ;' and 1 Cor. ii. 9, ' Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which
God hath prepared for them that love him ;' Mat. xxv. 34, ' Come,
ye blessed of my Father, inherit a kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world.' God prepared this glory for us, and by
degrees traineth us up for it.
[2.] The everlasting merit of Christ : Heb. ix. 15, ' For this cause he
is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death for the
redemption of transgressions that were under the first testament, they
which are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.'
It is by his means that we are redeemed from the guilt and power of
sin, and have an eternal inheritance stated upon us. It behoved Christ,
for the honour of the divine government, by the intervention of his
merit and intercession, to satisfy God's justice, and acquire unto us
those things which love and mercy had prepared for us, and among
other things that blessed and glorious estate which is to be enjoyed
upon the resurrection. This is made sure to the heirs of promise by
the death of Christ, which is of everlasting merit, called therefore, ver.
12, ' everlasting redemption.'
[3.] The almighty power of the sanctifying Spirit both to change
the soul and raise the body. To change the soul, which is made an
act of omni potency : 2 Peter i. 3, ' According as his divine power hath
given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through
the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.' There
fore it is often compared to creation, which is a making things out of
nothing. To raise the body, as he did Christ's : Kom. i. 4, ' And
declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection from the dead ; ' and will raise the bodies
of the faithful, in whom he once dwelled : Eom. viii. 11, ' He that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his Spirit that dwelleth in you ;' Phil. iii. 21, ' Who shall also
change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious
218 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. VII.
body, according to the wonderful working whereby he is able even to
subdue all things to himself.'
[4.] The immutable covenant or promises of the gospel, which always
stand firm and stable : 2 Cor. i. 20, ' For all the promises of God in
him are Yea, and in him Amen ; ' Heb. vi. 18, ' That by two immut
able things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have
strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope
that is set before us.' Hope is put for the thing hoped for, that is, the
glorious estate which is reserved in heaven to be enjoyed there ; this
hope ' is set before us ' in the promises, as the prize which we must
seek after and the blessedness we must aim at. We ' lay hold upon
it ' when we consent to God's offer, and we ' fly for refuge ' to take
hold of this hope ; for it is our sanctuary and safety, as the city of
refuge was to him that was pursued by the avenger of blood. This is
ground of strong consolation in all fears, troubles, and sorrows, in the
midst of the infelicities of this life. This consolation is secured by
'two immutable things,' God's promise and oath, which are as un
changeable as his nature; these cannot fail or frustrate our hopes;
these give us security of enjoying what we hope, or receiving the reward
promised to us.
[5.] The unquestionable right of the mortified, or those that are dead
with Christ. There is nothing wanting but the clearing up of our
right and title. Now the Christian faith proposeth and showeth much
good to them as real members of Christ's mystical body : Kom. viii. 13,
' If ye through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live ; '
and till this be done the whole design of grace is at a stand ; we can
not upon other terms expect everlasting blessedness from Christ.
3. The profit of believing.
[1.] It strengthens our reason, and helps it to maintain its authority
and government against sense and appetite. Eeason is a middle
faculty, that standeth between things above and things below, and it
may be either debased by sense or elevated by faith. The one is easy,
because corrupt nature carrieth us to things pleasing to sense, which
are near at hand, and carry a great suitableness to our fancies and
appetites. The other is difficult, because it dependeth on supernatural
grace, for the Spirit's illumination is necessary to faith : 1 Cor. ii. 12,
' Now we have received, not the spirit which is of the world, but the
Spirit which is of God, that we may know the things that are freely
given to us of God.' Therefore here lieth the benefit we have by faith,
to take us off from the life of sense, and to mortify the desires of the
flesh, which the nearness of things sensible is apt to irritate and stir
up in us.
[2.] The more we believe the stronger and greater is our consola
tion ; as, for instance, our comfort under crosses is more abounding :
2 Cor. iv. 14, ' Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus, shall
raise us up also by Jesus ; ' 2 Cor. iv. 18, ' While we look not to the
things which are seen, but to the things which are not seen ; for the
things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen
are eternal.' Our courage against death is more strong : 1 Thes. iv.
18, ' We shall ever be with the Lord.' Our diligence in duties is more
unwearied : 1 Cor. xv. 58, ' Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye
VER. 8.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 219
stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for
asmuch as you know that your labour shall not be in vain in the
Lord/
Use. Let us now improve these things that we have been delivering
to you.
1. Let us make great conscience of the first part of our duty, ' If we
be dead unto sin.' See that the work of regeneration be once begun.
The first virtue we receive from Christ is ' the likeness of his death ; '
that will make way for other things. Christ is dead ; let us be dead
with him, that to us he may not die in vain. And when it is once
begun, let it be carried on to a further increase ; adhere still to Christ's
dying, and persevere both in your diligence and your dependence.
Diligence ; do not give over your endeavours of mortifying sin till it
be quite gone. Dependence ; that you wait for the power of his Spirit,
which his death merited for us.
2. As to life, let us encourage ourselves with the hope of it ; the
same grace that hath begun will also finish the work, when we are
prepared by living the life spiritual in the midst of conflicts and temp
tations. Therefore, while you are studying to please God, wait for it
[1.] With patience. Christ after his resurrection was not presently
glorified ; there must be a time to wean us from worldly happiness :
' To make us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in
light/ Col. i. 12 ; ' Vessels of mercy which he had afore prepared unto
glory/ Kom. ix. 23. In time you shall be delivered ; see that you have
the beginning and first-fruits, and that you daily grow in grace.
[2.] With earnest longing : Kom. vii. 23, ' wretched man that I
am ! who shall deliver me from this body of death ? ' 2 Cor. V: 2, ' In
this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house
which is from heaven/
3. As to faith.
[1.] Fix it, and be at a greater certainty against all doubts and
fears, not only as to your interest, but the truth of the promise of
eternal life. These doubts may stand with a sincere faith, but not a
confirmed faith ; we have much of the unbeliever in our bosoms.
Venture all your happiness temporal and spiritual upon this security.
[2.] Improve it ; it is the work of faith to overcome the world and
the flesh : 1 John v. 4, 5, ' This is the victory that overcometh the
world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he
that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God ? ' to overrule our sense
and appetite, and to teach us to make nothing of all that would dis
suade us against our heavenly interest : Acts xx. 24, ' But none of these
things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I
might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received
of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God/ This is
the true mortification.
220 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. VIII.
SERMON VIII.
Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more;
death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he
died unto sin once ; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
EOM. VI. 9, 10.
THAT I may the better explain the drift of these words, let us take the
apostle's method along with us. His intent is to prevent an abuse of
the doctrine of the gospel, which publisheth the free grace of God to
sinners : ' Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.' From
hence some did infer that therefore under the gospel they might take
liberty to sin ; the more their sins were, and the greater they were, the
more they should occasion God to manifest the abundance of his grace
upon them. The apostle answereth this
1. By way of detestation : ' Shall we continue in sin that grace may
abound ? God forbid ! '
2. By way of confutation. The argument by which he confuteth it
is our baptismal vow and engagement : ' How shall they that are dead
to sin live any longer therein?' To clear this, he explaineth our
baptismal vow in the two branches of it, dying to sin, and living to
righteousness; the one direct, and the other consequential. Directly,
' We are baptized into the death of Christ,' ver. 2, but so as that ' we
also rise again to newness of life,' ver. 4, 5, for we are united to Christ
as dying and rising, and we are by virtue of the union to express a
conformity to both : ver. 5, ' For if we have been planted together in
the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resur
rection.' He proveth the former part, ver. 6, 7, ' Knowing this, that
our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be
destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin, for he that is dead is
freed from sin.' The latter he begins to prove, ver. 8, ' If we be dead
with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.' How live
with him ? As our spiritual death was answerable to the death of
Christ, so our spiritual life must be answerable to his resurrection from
the dead ; as we have a copy and pattern for the mortifying sin in his
death, so we have also a copy and pattern for newness of life in his
resurrection ; and therefore we do not in vain believe that we shall live
spiritually and eternally with him : ' Knowing that Christ, being raised
from the dead, dieth no more ; death hath no more dominion over him.
For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he
liveth unto God.'
The better to state the analogy and proportion between Christ's
resurrection and our rising to the life of grace first and then of glory
afterward, the life of Christ after his resurrection is set forth by two
things (1.) The perpetuity or immortality of it ; (2.) The perfection
and blessedness of it.
First, The perpetuity and immortality of it is delivered in three
expressions
1. Actual dying again is denied: 'Christ, being raised from the
dead, dieth no more.' Christ's resurrection was not a return to a single
VKRS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 221
act of life, or life for a while, to show himself to the world, and no
more ; but to an immortal endless estate.
2. His further liableness or subjection to death is denied : ' Death
hath no more dominion over him.' That is thus expressed for two
reasons
[1.] Death had once dominion over Christ; when he gave up him
self to die for us, he for a while permitted, yea, subjected himself to
the power of it; but Christ overcame death, and put an end to its
power by his resurrection : Acts ii. 24, ' Whom God raised up, having
loosed the pains of death, because it was impossible that he should be
holden of it'
[2.] To show that Christ died not only to expiate sin, but to take
away the dominion and power of it in believers ; therefore it is said,
' Death hath no more dominion over him,' he took away sin, by which
death reigneth ; he did enough both as to the satisfying God's justice
and our deliverance.
3. Any further need of his dying again is denied : ' In that he died,
he died unto sin once ; ' that is, he hath done his work ; his death
needeth not to be repeated ; he died to sin once, not in regard of him
self, for in him was no sin, but as charged with the sins of his people ;
he sufficiently took away sin, both as to guilt and power.
Secondly, The perfection and blessedness of his life is intimated:
' In that he liveth, he liveth unto God.' This expression may imply
either the holiness of his life in heaven, or the blessedness of it.
1. The holiness. When Christ was raised from death to life again,
he liveth to God wholly, seeketh to promote his glory in the world ; he
liveth with God and to God ; with God, as he is set down at the right
hand of majesty, and administereth the mediatorial kingdom for his
glory, as indeed God hath a great deal of honour from Christ as
mediator: Phil. ii. 11, 'That every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.'
2. The blessedness of it. Christ always lived to God, even before
his death : John viii. 29, ' And he that sent me is with me. The
Father hath not left me alone, but I do always those things that please
him/ Why, then, is he said after his resurrection to live to God?
Ans. As freed from our infirmities; he liveth a glorious life : Luke
xx. 28, ' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living ; for all live
to him ;' though they do not live to the world, they live to God.
Those that are departed out of this world have another life ; the souls
of the just are already in the hands of God, and their bodies are sure
to be raised up at the last day. So Christ liveth to God.
Doct. That the due consideration of Christ's being raised from the
dead doth mightily promote the spiritual life in us.
This will be evident if we consider what advantage we have by
Christ's resurrection.
1. It evidenceth the verity of Christian religion, and that Christ was
no deceiver, for his resurrection is a sufficient attestation to the dignity
of his person and offices : Eom. i. 4, ' Declared to be the Son of God
with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by his resurrection
from the dead ;' Acts xvii. 31, ' He hath appointed a day in which he
will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath
222 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. VIII.
ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he
hath raised him from the dead/ This is a strong and undeniable
argument that Christ is the Son of God, the saviour and judge of the
world. Where lieth the force of the argument ? Christ died in the
judgment and repute of the world as a malefactor ; but God justified
him. when he would not leave him under the power of death, but raised
him up, and assumed him unto glory, thereby visibly declaring unto
the world that the world was mistaken in him, that he was indeed
what he gave out himself to be, the Son of God, and the judge of the
world, to whom is given power ovqr all flesh, either to save or destroy
them, according to his covenant. This argument suppose th
[1.] That there is a God, sufficiently represented to us by other
means.
[2.] That whatsoever exceedeth the power of nature, or course of
second causes, is done by this God.
[3.] Among all the miracles, this of raising a dead man to life is the
greatest ; the cure of a disease is not so much.
[4.] That if this be done to a person unjustly accused and condemned
in the world, it is a justification of his cause before all the world, and
a sure mark of divine testimony.
[5.] The cause between Jesus Christ and those that condemned him
was, that he made himself to be the Son of God, and saviour and
judge of the world ; this he evidenceth himself, and this was preached
by his disciples. Surely the supreme and just governor of the world
would not justify a cheat and imposture, and so far permit the devil to
deceive in his name as to change the course and order of nature, and
so far directly to work against it as to raise a man from the dead. Now
it is a mighty advantage to the advancement of the spiritual life to be
sure of the religion that requireth it at our hands, much of it being
against the inclination of corrupt nature ; for then there is no tergiver
sation or excuse, as if our rule were uncertain, or that we did trouble
ourselves more than needeth us of absolute necessity.
2. It showeth us the perfection of his satisfaction ; there needeth no
other sacrifice to abolish sin ; for it is said in the text, ' In that he
died, he died unto sin once,' and elsewhere the unity of the mediator
and the sacrifice is pleaded to show the perfection of it. The unity of
the mediator : 1 Tim. ii. 5, ' There is one mediator between God and
man, the man Christ Jesus;' and Heb. x. 14, 'By one offering he
hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified ; ' and Heb. ix. 28,
' Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many/ The ground of
this argument standeth thus : That Christ came to take away sin, the
benefit which the world needeth. Either he hath done it sufficiently,
or not done it ; if sufficiently, we have 1 what we desire ; if not, it must
be either because other mediators were necessary to supply his defects.
But where are they ? Who can challenge this honour as authorised
by God, and recommended to the world as Christ was ? Or what can
they do beyond what he hath done ? No ; there is but one mediator.
Or else because another sacrifice or offering was necessary, because
this could not attain its end, then Christ needed again to undergo
death ; for the single sacrifice did not the work, which was the taking
away of sin. But this was enough to ransom all souls ; no other
VERS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 223
propitiatory sacrifice was necessary. Why, how doth it appear ? By
the resurrection ; for when Christ was raised from the dead, our surety
and mediator (which were the qualities he took upon himself) was let
out of prison, and dismissed, as having done what he undertook :
Isa. liii. 8, ' He shall be taken from prison and from judgment.' The
debtor may have confidence the debt is cancelled when the surety is
let out of prison and walketh freely abroad. When Christ is risen
from the dead, and advanced to a glorious condition, surely his merit
is full enough, and he hath a perfect release and discharge, as having
done his work, and needeth no more to come under the power of death,
which is a great encouragement to us to set about the destruction of
sin. Christ hath paid a full ransom to purchase grace to make our
endeavours effectual.
3. It is a visible demonstration of the truth of the resurrection and
life to come. For Christ, who would be an example to us of all pain
ful and self-denying obedience, would also be a pattern of the glory
and felicity that should ensue. Therefore, after a life of holiness and
sufferings, he died and rose again, and entered into the glory that he
spake of, which is a great encouragement to us to follow his steps ;
for all this is a pledge of what shall be done in us. It is said, 1 Peter
i. 21, ' That God raised him from the dead and gave him glory, that
our faith and hope might be in God.' The resurrection of Christ,
and the consequent honour and glory put upon him, is the great prop
and foundation of our faith and hope. Certainly it much concerneth
us to believe the truth of the resurrection and the reality of the unseen
glory, else all holiness, patience, self-denial, and practical godliness
would fall to the ground. Now, when our teacher, who hath told us
of these things, hath given sufficient evidence of the truth of them in
his own person, by his own rising from the dead, and his own ascend
ing into glory, it helpeth mightily to silence the objections of unbelief.
The thing is not incredible nor impossible. Christ in our nature did
arise from the dead, and ascend up into heaven ; nay, it is not only
possible, but certain ; for Christ is risen and entered into glory as our
forerunner, Heb. vi. 20, to make the way accessible to us, and to
seize upon it in the name and right of all true believers, and secure a
landing-place for them after the storm of this world is over. When
ever they die, their place is ready for them, there is a friend on shore
ready to receive them. So elsewhere : 1 Cor. xv. 20, ' Christ is risen
as the first-fruits.' His resurrection is a certain proof that other men
shall have a resurrection also, as by a handful of the first-fruits the
whole harvest was blessed and consecrated to God. The first-fruits
did not bless the tares, the cockle or the darnel, or the filthy weeds
that grew among the corn, these are not carried home into God's barn ;
but penitent believers may be confident of a joyful resurrection. If
we be reconciled by his death, we may much more expect to be saved
by his life.
4. Christ by his resurrection is the cause of our life ; for Christ
liveth in heaven as a quickening head, who will give the spirit of
grace to all his members, to change their hearts, and to bring them
into the life of God : John xiv. 19, ' Because I live, ye shall live also.'
Christ is the fountain of all life. The life of believers is derived from
224 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. VIII.
the life of Christ, without which it could not subsist. If he had
remained under a state of death, he were not in a capacity to convey
life to others, and so had neither been a fountain of grace or glory to
us ; therefore his resurrection is the fountain -cause of our living to
God ; having first purchased grace for us, he is risen to apply it, and
bring us into possession of it. Therefore he sendeth his Spirit into the
hearts of his people, even that same Spirit by which he was raised up
to a new life : Rev. i. 18, ' I am he that liveth and was dead, and
behold I am alive for evermore.' He liveth for ever to make and keep
us alive. Now this is a mighty encouragement to us, that we live by
virtue of Christ's endless life. When the fountain faileth, the stream
may be dried up, but that cannot be, and therefore we are encouraged
to expect our supplies from him.
5. Christ's life after his resurrection is a pattern of ours, both as to
the immortality and perfection of it.
[1.] The immortality. Christ, when he rose again, rose to an
eternal immortal life. He shall die no more ; he is no more obnoxious
to death. The phrases that express the immortality of Christ's life
are suited to our case, that he may the better be propounded as a
pattern to us, both of what we ought to endeavour ourselves, and of
what his Spirit doth work in us.
(1.) Being raised, he dieth no more. We should once so fix and
settle our hearts to live to God that we should no more return to our
old course and our old bondage. There are some who are always
dying, and rising, and dying again, that return to their old sins, and
lick up their vomit, and after they are washed wallow in the mire.
These never died in good earnest, for then they would so die unto sin
once as not to revert to it any more ; but to be repenting of sin, and
committing of sin, and then repenting and committing again, showeth
our mortification is not sincere. A bone often broken in the same
place is very hard to be set again. Relapses make our case to be
more dangerous ; if it be into open sinful courses, it showeth our
repentance is not sincere. Men are sick of sin ; but when that trouble
is over, they presently are as bad as they were before : Prov. xxiv. 11,
' As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.'
Their hearts were never changed, their renounced sins and fleshly
practices are as dear to them as ever. True repentance will produce
a constant perseverance in well-doing ; but if the unclean spirit
returneth, after it seemed to be cast out, Luke xi. 24, we never parted
in good earnest. Was your repentance sincere, and will you taste of
the bitter waters again ? Indeed we must distinguish of relapses.
(1st.) As to the degrees of sin, there are infirmities which we can
not avoid while we are in the body ; and there are iniquities which we
can and ought to avoid. A man that is troubled with vain and
distracting thoughts in prayer may be troubled again, but of gross and
wilful sins we never soundly repented if we cease not from them, fnaa--
fjiara Kocrpnv, ' the pollutions of the world,' spoken of 2 Peter ii. 20.
Doth a man repent of his uncleanness that often faileth into it, as
often as the occasion returneth ? So again
(2d.) As to !he seasons of sinning, we must distinguish between the
acts repeated before any repentance professed or after. An issue
VERS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vr. 225
when it is new made, before the orifice of the wound be well closed,
may bleed afresh after it is bound up. So before we are thoroughly
recovered, sin will be breaking out ; as in Lot's double incest ; Samson's
returning often to Delilah, when God had rebuked him for his sin ;
Peter's treble denials ; his heart was not thoroughly touched and
moulded as yet ; this was as one continued sin.
(3d.) As to the manner of the return, if it be frequently, readily,
easily, this will infer a habit ; for a habit serveth ut quis facile,
iucunde, constanter agat. Now though some sins solicit us more
than others, yet uprightness requireth that we should keep ourselves
from our iniquity : Ps. xviii. 23, ' I was also upright before him, and
I kept myself from my iniquity/ So that repentance which consists
only in sorrow for sin, and such trouble for it as doth not mortify it,
is but like thawing a little in the sunshine, or giving weather, soft at
top and hard at bottom. True repentance is a thorough change of
heart and life ; therefore to repent and go on still in our trespasses is
no sound repentance.
(2.) Death hath no dominion over him ; so should not sin have over
us. After all our care sin will be troublesome, but it must be kept
out of the throne. If men forsake not known wilful sins, they are
wicked men ; sin reigneth, and the power of it is no way broken ;
therefore let it not have dominion, so as to draw you to a sensual life,
or command your thoughts and affections, or ingross your time and
strength : Ps. xix. 13, ' Keep back thy servant also from presump
tuous sins ; let them not have dominion over me, so shall I be upright
and free from the great transgression.' As to the merit, there needeth
not another sacrifice ; and to the conveyance and making over the
blessings of the gospel, there needeth not another covenant. So as to
the application, there needeth not another regeneration or total con
version unto God ; as also our baptism, which is the sign of it, needeth
not to be repeated or reiterated, though the acts of our faith and
repentance need often to be repeated. For all known sins it is expressly
required ; for sins of ignorance and lesser escapes, they are pardoned
of course, and as they are retracted in a general repentance. Well,
then, let us so rise to newness of life as never to return to our old sins
again, at least let them not have dominion over us. Baptism is the
sacrament of our regeneration and implanting into Christ, and recep
tion into God's family ; and as we are born but once, so we are but
once new-born. Being once received into God's family, we are never
cast out thence : being once adopted into the number of his children,
we are never disinherited. No ; ' The gifts and calling of God are
without repentance/ Kom. xi. 29.
[2.] As to the perfection and blessedness of it, ' In that he liveth,
he liveth unto God.' This is
(1.) A pattern and copy of the spiritual life here upon earth.
(2.) A pledge and assurance of our glorious life in heaven. The
one is our duty, the other is our reward.
(1.) The spiritual life is a living to God, as Christ liveth with God
and to God. As mediator he liveth with God, is set down at his
right hand ; so should we live in communion with God, be much and
often in company with him ; in our whole course we should always
VOL, XI, P
226 SERMONS UFON BOMANS VI [SER. VIII.
set him before us, walking as in his eye and presence : Ps. xvi. 8, ' I
have set the Lord always before me.' It is his law we live by, in his
presence we stand, his work we do, his glory we seek ; for our great
end is the pleasing and glorifying of God : Gal. ii. 19, ' For I through
the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God ; ' Rom. xiv.
7, 8, ' For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself ;
for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we
die unto the Lord ; whether we live therefore or die, we are the
Lord's.' Christ gave us a pattern of a holy, obedient, and heavenly
life in his conversation here on earth ; and in heaven we must still
write after his copy ; we must be Christ's, as Christ is God's, and then
all things are ours : 1 Cor. iii. 23, ' All are yours, for you are Christ's,
and Christ is God's/ Wholly devote your time and strength and service
to him. God must be your solace and your strength, and your begin
ning, end, way and all. When you awake, you should be still with
him, Ps. cxxxix. 18 ; all the day long you should keep in his eye :
Prov. xxiii. 17, ' Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.'
In all your actions, your intention must be to please and glorify him :
3 Cor. x. 31, ' Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye
do, do all to the glory of God.'
(2.) Our glorious life in heaven ; that is a living unto God indeed,
for there we have nothing else to mind but God. We are admitted
before the throne of his glory, to be with him for evermore. Now, if
Christ be there, we shall be there also ; for if we follow him, we shall
fare as he fared : John xii. 26, ' Where I am, there shall my servant be ; '
John xvii. 24, ' Father, I will that those also whom thou hast given
me may be with me where I am.' So John xiv. 3, ' If I go and pre
pare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself,
that where I am there ye may be also.' Our Saviour desireth to have
the faithful in heaven with himself ; it is a thing which his heart is
set upon ; and he presents the efficacy of his merits and obedience to
this end and purpose, that the great work of the restitution of lost
man may obtain its end and effect, and his mystical body may be
brought together to one place, that they may ever laud and praise
and glorify God. Many in the world cannot endure the presence and
company of the saints; Christ cannot be in heaven without them.
Now the spiritual life issuing itself into the heavenly is a great
encouragement to us to go on in our duty and obedience.
Use. Let us often and seriously think of him ' who died for our
offences, and rose again for our justification,' Kom. iv. 25, and im
prove it
1. For the destruction of sin. Christ died that he might destroy sin,
and take away sin. If he had not fully done his work, he could not
rise again, or, if risen, he needed to return once more to die. But
Christ dieth no more ; death hath no more dominion over him. By
raising up Christ, God showeth that he received the death of his Son
as a sufficient ransom for our sins, and all that believe in him shall
have the comfort of it. If he had remained in death, or were still
obnoxious to it, his satisfaction should not have been perfect, neither
should he have been able to apply the virtue and comfort of it to us ;
but now, who shall condemn when God justifieth ? when Christ is
VERS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 227
dead, 'yea, rather risen from the dead,' &c., Kom. viii. 33, 34. If
Christ hath paid our debt and borne our sorrows so far that no more
is required of him, surely God will never reverse that pardon which
was sealed with Christ's blood. The curse and condemnation are ter
rible indeed, but he hath taken them away, and given us a free dis
charge.
2. For the new life ; Christ is both the cause and the pattern of it.
His Spirit is the cause of it, and his life in heaven is the copy after
which we must write.
[1.] His Spirit is the cause of it, who quickeneth our dead souls;
therefore if you be entered into God's peace, have sued out your atone
ment, you may expect to be saved by his life : Rom. v. 10, ' If when,
we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life ; ' that is, by
him who now liveth, and sitteth at the right hand of God, and there
intercedeth for grace necessary, that we may live unto God. He that
intercedeth wanteth no will ; and he that saith that all things are put
into his hands, wanteth no power.
[2.] Christ is the pattern of this new life which we are to live in
the world. Christ is the great agent to promote God's kingdom and
glory ; but his Spirit engageth us in the same design. As long as we
live, we should live unto God ; we are raised up from the grave of sin,
that we should be to the praise of his glorious grace. The Christian's
life is a life whereby we glorify God. See this life be begun in you, and
see it perfected more and more. Be Christ's, as Christ is God's : Heb.
vii. 25, ' He is able to save unto the uttermost all those that come unto
God through him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for us.'
Christ liveth ; we need not doubt of a supply. He gives life as creator
to the smallest worms : ' In him was life/ John i. 4. He can quicken
us when dead and dull ; he came into the world for this purpose:
John x. 10, ' I am come that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly ;' and he is gone out of the world to
heaven for this purpose : Eph. iv. 10, ' He ascended far above the
heavens, that he might fill all things." He is filled with the Spirit to
communicate it to his members ; he is not weak when we are weak,
but able to do above what we can ask or think.
3. As concerning the life of glory, we have it by Christ also : 1 John
v. 11, ' This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and
this life is in his Son.' The door which is shut against us by our sins is
opened by Christ. Let us follow his precepts and example, and depend
upon his grace, and you cannot miscarry. Christ hath brought life
and immortality to light, assured us of an endless happiness after
death. Heathens had but a doubtful conjecture of another life ; we
have an undoubted assurance, and that is some great stay to us.
4. Concerning the troubles and afflictions that we meet withal. As
to the troubles of the church of God, he is alive and upon the throne ;
he can never cease to live and reign : Ps. ex. 1, ' The Lord said unto
my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy foot
stool.' The enemies of his kingdom must bend or break, first or last.
5. Against death. Christ hath broken the power of it ; as it hath
no dominion over him, so it cannot totally seize upon his members ; in
228 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. IX.
their better part they still live to God as soon as they die ; and as to
their bodies, ' The body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life
because of righteousness/ Kom. viii. 10, 15 ; 1 Cor. xv. 55-57, ' O
death, where is thy sting ? grave, where is thy victory ? The
sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law ; but thanks be
to God, who hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ ;'
Job xix. 25, ' I know that my Eedeemer liveth, and that he shall stand
the last day upon the earth,' &c. But what is this to us ? As it hath
no dominion over him, so not over us ; the power is broken, the sting
is gone. If our flesh must rot in the grave, our nature is in heaven.
Christ once died, and then rose again from the dead. Now this doth
mightily secure and support us against the power and fears of death,
that we have a saviour in possession of glory, to whom we may com
mend our departing souls at the time of death, and who will receive
them to himself ; one that hath himself been upon earth in flesh, then
died and rose again, and is now in possession of endless blessedness.
He is lord of that world we are going into. All creatures there do him
homage, and we ere long are to be adjoined to that dutiful happy
assembly, and partake in the same work and felicity.
SERMON IX.
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive
unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. ROM. VI. 11.
THE protasis or foundation of the similitude was laid down ver. 9,
10 ; the apodosis or application of it to the case in hand in this verse.
The foundation is Christ's example and pattern, dying and rising ; now,
after this double example of Christ's death and resurrection, we must
account ourselves obliged both to die unto sin and rise again to new
ness of life : ' Likewise reckon ye also yourselves/ &c. In which words
1. Our duty, which is conformity or likeness to Christ dying and
living.
2. Grace to perform this duty, eV TO> Xpio-ry T^o-oD ro> Kvpiw
jjfjiwv, through or in Jesus Christ ; by virtue of our union with him we
are both to resemble his death and resurrection.
3. The means of enforcing this duty, \oyl^re, reckon ; Vulgar,
existimate ; Erasmus out of Tertullian, reputate, consider with your
selves ; others, colligite et statuite.
Doct. That all who are baptized and profess faith in Christ dying
and rising from the dead are under a strong obligation of dying to sin
and living to God through the grace of the Redeemer. Here
1. I shall consider the nature of the duties of being dead to sin and
alive to God.
2. The correspondency ; how they do answer the two states of Christ ;
as Christ dieth to sin for the expiation of it, and after death reviveth
and liveth to God, so we.
3. The order ; first death, then the resurrection from the dead ; so
first dying to sin, then being alive to God.
VER. 11.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 229
4. The certain connection of these things ; if we die we shall live,
and we cannot live to God unless we be dead to sin ; neither can we
die to sin unless we live to God.
5. In the two branches the apostle opposeth God to sin.
First, The nature of the work. It consists of two branches, ' dying
to sin,' and ' living to God,' mortification and vivification.
1. Mortification is the purifying and cleansing of the soul, or the
freeing it from the slavery of the flesh, which detaineth it from God,
and disableth it for all the duties of the holy and heavenly life. The
reign of sin was the punishment of the first transgression, and is taken
away by the gift of the Spirit upon account of the merit of Christ.
However, it is our work to see that sin die. It dieth as our love to it
dieth ; and our love to sin is not for its own sake, but because of some-
pleasure, contentment, and satisfaction that we hope to find in it ; for
no man would commit sin or transgress merely for his mind's l sake ;
mere evil apprehended as evil, cannot be the object of our choice.
Now, then, our love to sin dieth when our esteem of the advantages of
the carnal life is abated, when we have no other value of the pleasures,
honours, and profits of the world than is fully consistent with our duty
to God, and may further us in it. .Therefore we are dead to sin when,
we endeavour more to please God than to please the flesh, and mind
more our eternal than our temporal interests : Horn. viii. 5, ' They that
are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh ; but they that are
after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit/ What we mind and value
most showeth the reign of either principle, the flesh or the Spirit.
2. Vivification, or living to God, is the changing of the heart by
grace, and the acting of those graces we have received by the Spirit of
regeneration. All that have received the gift of the spiritual life are
bound to exercise it, and put it in act by loving, serving, and obeying
God : 2 Peter i. 3-5, ' According as his divine power hath given unto
us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the know
ledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given-
unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might
be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that
is in the world through lust ; and besides this, giving all diligence, add
to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge/ &c. They that have
received grace are not to sit down idle and satisfied, but to be more
active and diligent in the exercise of grace ; and whatever remaineth
of their lives must be devoted to God. To live to God implieth two
things
[1.] To fulfil his commands with a ready mind, and so they are said
to live to God who show themselves ready to obey him in all things t
Ps. cxii. 1, 'Blessed is the man that feareth God, that delighteth greatly
in his commandments ; ' not who is greedy to catch all opportunities
of pleasure and profit and worldly preferment in the world, and careth
not how he cometh by them ; but is most observant of God's will, and.
careful to follow it ; he that delighteth to know, believe, and obey
God's word.
[2.] To glorify his name ; for as we receive power from the Spirit
of Christ to live as in the sight of God, so also to the glory of God.
Sin, till it be killed and mortified in us, as it disposeth us to a wrong
1 Qu. 'sinning's ?' ED.
230 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. IX.
way, so to a perverse end, to seek happiness in the satisfaction of our
lusts; but grace wrought by God inclineth us to God: Phil. i. 11,
' Filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Christ Jesus, to
the praise and glory of God.' As they do good, so to a good end, not
for any by-respect, but to please and honour God.
Secondly, The correspondency ; it is such a dying and living as doth
answer Christ's dying and living. We must oo die and forsake sin as
that we need not to die any more. We may never return to our sins
again, so as that they may have any dominion over us; and that is done
when sin hath its death- wound given it by a sincere conversion to God,
then ' we put off the body of the sins of the flesh,' Col. ii. 11. Though
the final death be not by and by, yet, as a man is said to be killed
when he hath received his death-wound, so he that, never reverts to his
old slavery is said indeed to be dead unto sin. On the other side, for
our new Christian life, we are to take care that it may be eternal,
carried on in such an uninterrupted course of holiness as may at length
end in everlasting life. When we are first converted, we see that man
.was made for other things than he hath hitherto minded ; therefore
we resolve to seek after them, and so must persevere in living to God,
till we come to live with him. God or none, heaven or nothing, must
serve our turn : Ps. Ixxiii. 25, 'Whom have I in heaven but thee,
and there is none on earth I desire besides thee.' Nothing else will
satisfy and content the soul. When we live from an everlasting prin
ciple to an everlasting end, then we live to God as Christ did.
Thirdly, The order is to be regarded also. We first die to sin, and
then live to God ; for till we die to sin we are disabled from the duties,
and incapable of the comforts of the new life.
1. We are disabled from the duties of it ; for without mortification.
the duties will be unpleasant and unacceptable to you, as being against
your carnal inclination and design : Rom. viii. 7, ' Because the carnal
mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be.' We may affect the repute of religion, but can
not endure the work of religion. And besides, sin allowed and indulged
begets a trouble in the conscience, and then no wonder if we be loath
seriously to exercise ourselves unto godliness ; for when the bone is
out of joint, and the wound unhealed, a man certainly hath no mind
to his work. The apostle telleth us : Heb. xii. 13, ' That which is
lame is soon turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed.' A
worldly carnal bias upon the heart will make us warp and decline from
our duty. There can be no spiritual strength and vigour of heavenly
motion whilst sin remaineth unmortified ; for the love of ease and
worldly enjoyments will soon pervert us. Well, then, sin must be
mortified before we can live unto God. On the other side, grace cureth
sin, as fire refresheth us against the cold, and health taketh away sick
ness : so far as God is admitted, Satan is shut out : Eph. iv. 25,
'Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neigh
bour ; ' and as Christ is valued, worldly things are neglected and be
come less in our eyes : Phil. iii. 8, ' Yea, doubtless, and I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I do
count them but dung, that I may win Christ ; ' as heavenly things are
VEB. 11.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 231
prized, the world is undervalued. When grace hath recovered the
heart to God, the world, that first stole it from God, is despised ; but
the first work of grace is to cast out the usurper, and then set up God.
Darkness goeth out of the room when light comes in, so doth the love
of the world depart as the love of God prevaileth in the soul.
2. While sin prevaileth and reigneth in the soul, we are incapable
of the comforts of the Spirit, and are full of bondage and guilty fears ;
afraid of God, that should be our joy and delight, deprived of any
sweet sense of his love ; for the Spirit of adoption is given to those
that obey him: Rom. viii. 13-16, ' If ye through the Spirit do mortify
the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear ; but ye have received the Spirit of
adoption, whereby ye cry Abba, Father. The Spirit itself also beareth
witness with our spirits, that we are children of God.' Others are
tormented between their corruptions and convictions, and can have no
boldness in their access to God, nor freedom in their commerce with
him.
Fourthly, The certain connection of these things ; this ' dying to
sin,' and this ' living to God/ must be both evident in us, for they are
intimately conjoined. A man cannot remain in his sins, and be a Christian
or a believer, or accounted one that is in Christ, and hath right to the
privileges of the new covenant ; these, ' have but a name to live, and
are dead/ Eev. iii. 1. Again, on the other side, some never break out
into shameful disorders, but yet love not God, nor do they make it
their business to obey him ; they never felt the power of the heavenly
mind, or make conscience of living godly in Christ Jesus; as the
pharisees' religion ran upon negatives: Luke xviii. 11, ' God, I thank
thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
or even as this publican.' These seem to be dead to sin, but are alive,
whilst worldly things sit nearest their hearts.
Fifthly, The apostle opposeth God to sin, that by the consideration
of both masters we may return to our rightful Lord. It is otherwise
expressed elsewhere : 1 Peter i. 24, ' That we might die unto sin, and
live unto righteousness ;' but here it is, die to sin and live to God ;
and this for two reasons
1. That Christ came to restore us to our rightful Lord and master.
Sin and the devil and the world are usurpers, and therefore are exauc-
torated ; we are no longer bound to serve them ; but God hath a right
to require love and service at our hands : Acts xxvii. 23, ' The God
whose I am, and whom I serve.' He hath a title by creation, as our
proper owner : Ps. c. 3, ' Know ye that the Lord he is God, it is he
that hath made us, and not we ourselves ; ' by redemption : 1 Cor. vi.
19, 20, ' Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price ; there
fore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.'
Christ came to recover us from our slavery.
2. To show the disadvantage between having sin and God for our
master. What is more filthy than sin, and more mischievous than
sin, and more holy and beneficial than God ? To serve sin is a
brutish captivity, and will prove our bane in the issue ; but to serve
God is true liberty, and it will be our present and eternal happiness :
232 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. IX.
Eom. vi. 22, ' But now being made free from sin, ye have your fruit
unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.'
Secondly, The grace to perform this duty : ' Through our Lord
Jesus Christ.' We are to die to sin and live to God, not only ex
prcescripto Christi, according to the precepts of Christ, which every
where run strongly against sin, and pleading God's right with us ; nor
only ex imitatione Christi, to imitate our pattern and example, that
we may be like Christ in these things, and express his dying and rising
in our conversations; but virtute Christi, by the power of Christ's
grace, as by the force of his example. This power of Christ may be
considered as purchased, or as applied, or as our interest in it is
professed in baptism.
1. As it is purchased. He died and rose again to represent the
merit of his death to God, that he might obtain grace for us to kill sin
and live unto God, and that in such a continued course of obedience,
till we live with God : 1 Thes. v. 10, ' He died for us, that whether we
wake or sleep, we should live together with him ; ' i.e., io redeem us
from all iniquity, and to preserve us in our obedience to eternal life.
While we wake, or are alive, we live with him, and when we sleep, after
we are dead, we still live with him ; we live a spiritual life here, and
afterward an eternal life in glory. So that place, which otherwise hath
some difficulty in it, may be expounded by Eom. xiv. 8, 9, ' Whether
we live, we live unto the Lord ; or whether we die, we die unto the
Lord ; whether therefore we live or die, we are the Lord's.' For this
Christ died.
2. As it is applied. It is applied by the Spirit of Christ, by virtue
of our union with him. Jesus Christ is the root and foundation of
this life, in whom we do subsist ; for it is in the text, eV XpicrTw 'Irjaov,
and in the context it is said, ver. 5, ' We are planted into his likeness ;'
so that this conformity is the fruit of our union, and wrought in us by
his Spirit, which is the sap we derive from our root.
3. As our interest in him is professed in baptism ; for then we are
visibly graffed into Christ : Gal. iii. 27, ' As many as are baptized into
Christ have put on Christ.' Thence an obligation resulteth ; we ought
to be like him. So that in short, the sum of the whole is this : the
precepts and example of Christ do show us our duty ; the grace whereby
we perform it is wrought in us by the Spirit, by virtue of our union
with Christ ; and our baptismal engagement bindeth it on our hearts.
Or thus ; it is purchased by Christ, effected by the Spirit, sealed and
professed in baptism, which partly bindeth us to our duty, and assureth
us we shall not want grace, but have help and strength from Jesus
Christ.
Thirdly, The means of improvement, \oyl^ere, ' reckon yourselves.'
It may be inquired why the apostle saith not simply, ' we are dead,'
or ' be ye dead indeed,' but ' reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto
sin,' &c. Shall our reckoning ourselves dead or alive make it so ?
Ans. (1.) Let us consider the import of the word; (2.) Why it is used.
1. For the import of the word. It is equivalent with ryivwo-Kovre*;,
ver. 6, Triarevofjiev, ver. 8, etSore?, ver. 9 ; what they signify this
signifieth. It is an act of judgment; the power of the mind is put
forth in it.
VER. 11.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 233
2. The use of it here.
[1.] It is actus mentis cogitantis ; it is an act of the mind considering
or meditating upon this matter, and the effect here mentioned doth
much depend upon meditation as the means. The weightiest things
work not if they be not thought of ; therefore we must not slightly
pass over this mystery of Christ's dying and rising, but consider how
they concern us, and what we were before regeneration, and what we
are now to be, who profess to follow our Kedeemer unto glory.
[2.] It is actus rationis concludentis, an act of reason concluding
from due premises, and inferring that this is our duty. Because the
heart is averse from God, we need positively to determine upon rational
deductions that it is our unquestionable duty ; for we must certainly
know a thing to be our duty before we will address ourselves to perform
it ; and herein reason is a good handmaid to faith, for sanctified reason
ever concludeth for God ; whilst it improveth principles discovered by
faith, it is our light to discover many things evident by natural light ;
it is our instrument to improve other things which it cannot discover,
but depend on God's revelation. We ponder and weigh things in our
minds, then determine what is our duty. So that reckon is by reason
collect ; as often in scripture : 1 Cor. x. 15, ' I speak as to wise men ;'
ye have reason, ' Judge ye what I say.'
[3.] It is actus fidei assentientis ; it is the syllogism of faith. It is
not the bare knowledge, nor the bare discourse of these things doth
make them operative and effectual ; but as faith is mingled with them :
Heb. iv. 2, ' The word preached did not profit them, not being mixed
with faith in them that heard it.' This is not matter of conjecture or
opinion only, but of faith, to own the obligation which dependeth on
the authority of Christ, which is a supernatural truth ; to believe the
power which doth assist us, which is also a matter of pure faith, and
seemingly contradicted by sense. For though mortification and vivifi-
cation be begun in us, yet because of the troublesome relics of corruption,
to reckon ourselves with any degree of confidence and trust to be dead
unto sin and alive unto God is an act of faith ; the thing is not liable
to external sense, and internal sense contradicts it, we being oppressed
with so many remaining corruptions.
[4.] It is actus fidei applicants. We must not only know and dis
course of these things, but apply them to ourselves. The best and
the most profitable knowledge is in applying general truths to a man's
own case : ' Likewise reckon ye yourselves also to be dead unto sin,'
&c. This is a truth which concerneth us in mortification : I profess
faith in Christ, am baptized with Christ, I must die unto sin. Omnis
operaiio est per contactum the closer the truth, the more effectual
the operation : Rom viii. 31, ' What shall we say to these things ?'
[5.] It is actus judicis decernentis ; we do determine, This we must
do or be undone : 2 Cor. v. 14, 15, ' We thus judge, that if one died
for all, then were all dead ; and that he died for all, that they which
live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which
died for them, and rose again.'
[6.] It is actus voluntatis consentientis ; this death and life is much
promoted by the firm purpose and resolution of our minds : 1 Peter
iv. 1, ' Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm
234 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. IX.
yourselves likewise with the same mind ; for he that hath suffered in
the flesh hath ceased from sin.' The sum of the whole is
(1.) That we should think of it seriously ; and here many are defec
tive, who little think of dying to sin or living to God; all their
thoughts are how they may please the flesh : Rom. xiii. 14, ' To make
provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof ; ' or thrive in the
world : Luke xii. 17, 18, Kal Sie\oy%eTo, ( And he thought within
himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to
bestow my fruits ? And he said, This will I do : I will pull down my
barns, and build greater, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my
goods.' Or as those, James iv. 13, ' To-day or to-morrow we will go
into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell and get
gain ;' and so their great work lieth neglected.
(2.) That by reason we should so evidence it to ourselves to be our
duty that we should make conscience of it. A sluggish heart needs
to be awakened by plain and evident conclusions ; for wherefore was
reason given us ? to lie asleep ? No ; we must argue and conclude for
God, that we may bring it to this issue, that either we are flat rebels,
or must do those things he hath given us in charge.
(3.) We must assent to those principles of faith from whence this
conclusion is deduced by necessary consequence, as namely
(1st.) That Christ is set up as a pattern, to whom all the heirs of
promise must be conformed.
(2d.) That our conformity is mainly seen in resembling his two
estates, his dying to sin and living to God.
(3d.) That our baptism obligeth us both by way of dependence and
obedience. By way of dependence, waiting for his grace, whereby this
conformity and likeness may be accomplished. By way of obedience,
using all those holy means and endeavours that conduce to this end
and purpose ; faith assenteth, reason concludeth.
(4.) We must resolve upon it as an unquestionable duty, that we
may not play fast and loose with God. For the judgment determining
and the will consenting make up the strength of resolution, which in
this case is very necessary, because we are likely to be assaulted with
many enemies ; and seeing we are too often secure, and forgetful of
our work and welfare, therefore we must stand fast in the purpose of
our own hearts still to pursue this work till it be finished. Those who
are regenerated by the Spirit surely will have such reasonings in them
selves, and are not only in profession, but indeed (as the word is in the
text) dying to sin and living to God. And it is ordinary in scripture
to exhort by affirming, that is, to speak of the duty of believers as
already done by them, thereby to assure them it shall be done, and to
oblige them the more strongly to the endeavour of it.
Use. To press us to two things (1.) To regard your duty ; (2.)
To own the grace of Christ.
1. To regard your duty of dying to sin and living to God. The
arguments to press it are these
[l.J From the work itself, which is so noble and excellent, that if
there were no benefit to ensue, it were enough to engage us. It con
sists in these four branches and parts
(1.) To have the sensitive appetite subject to reason, which is
VER. 11.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 235
nothing else but to have the order of nature preserved, or that man
should carry himself rather like a man than a beast, not serve divers
lusts and pleasures, but be governed by his reason and conscience.
Now, it should not be a hard precept to us to persuade us to walk upon
our feet rather than our heads ; let the head guide the body, and the
feet obey its direction ; put reason in the throne.
(2.) To have reason illuminated and rectified by faith, which dis-
covereth things to us out of the ken and view cf reason : Heb. xi. 1,
' Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of
things not seen.' The heathens had the highest opinion of those who
were admitted into secrecy with their gods, and had things revealed to
them which other mortals could never have known. This honour have
all his saints : ' They shall be all taught of God,' John vi. 45 ; higher
mysteries than nature could discover.
(3.) That this faith should make us alive to God, or enable and
incline us to persevere in our duty to him. Faith is our life as begun :
Gal. ii. 20, ' The life that I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the
Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.' As consum
mated: Heb. x. 38, 'Now the just shall live by faith;' the Spirit
working in us a practical fiducial assent to the saving truths of the
gospel, or affiance on God according to the promises, doth beget life in
us, or a resolution to obey God, whatever it cost us.
(4.) That this faith working by love doth incline and enable us to
live accordingly. The property of faith is ' to work by love,' Gal. v. 6.
Now see what these two graces do. The property of love is to incline
us to God, it is the bent and bias of the soul ; and the property of faith
is to enable us by presenting greater encouragements to the holy and
heavenly life than the world and the flesh can produce to the contrary.
Now, is this a toilsome and tedious life, to have appetite governed by
reason, reason elevated by faith to the sight of God and the other
world, and faith acting by love and hope, which incline us to God and
heaven, and fortify and strengthen us against all the delights and
terrors of sense ? This is nothing but dying to sin and living to God.
[2.] From the consequent benefits, which are
(1.) Pardon of all their sins ; these have an interest in Christ, a
pardon sealed by his blood. They that die to sin and live to righteous
ness have passed from death to life, not only as death to sin implieth
corruption, but condemnation, or the righteous sentence of the law
dooming it to death: Horn. viii. 1. 'There is therefore now no con
demnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
flesh ; ' there is dying to sin : ' but after the Spirit ; ' there is living
to God.
(2.) These are adopted into God's family, and have the privileges
and right of children ; for adoption followeth regeneration : John i.
12, 13, ' But as many as received him, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God/
(3.) These have communion with the Father, by the Son, through
the Spirit: 1 John i. 7, ' But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship one with another.' For God's children have
236 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. X.
the Spirit of adoption : Gal. iv. 6, ' Because ye are sons, God hath sent
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.'
(4.) That Spirit dwelling in us worketh us to further holiness and
joy ; for he is both a sanctifier and a comforter. As a sanctifier, he
doth further enable us to die to sin, and ' mortify the deeds of the
body,' Horn. viii. 13 ; and to live to God : Gal. v. 25, ' If we live in the
Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit ; ' and so the duty is a reward in
itself. As a comforter, he doth assure us of our interest in God's love :
Horn. viii. 16, ' The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that
we are the children of God ; ' and it causeth us to live in the foresight
of everlasting happiness : 2 Cor. v. 5, ' Now he that hath wrought us
for the self-same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest
of the Spirit.'
(5.) Entrance and actual admission into glory : John iii. 3, ' Except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,' compared
with ver. 5, ' Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can
not enter into the kingdom of God ; ' Mat. v. 8, ' Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they shall see God ; ' Heb. xii. 12, ' Without holiness DO
man shall see God.'
2. Own the grace of Christ, without whom we can do nothing
acceptable to God. Lapsed man is unable not only to redeem himself,
but unable to live unto God without the grace of the Redeemer ; he
doth sanctify us by his Spirit, and change our hearts, and is a Saviour
to us, not only by merit, but efficacy. To be a sanctifier is his office,
which he hath undertaken ; and it is his glory to perform it ; we only
work under him. Which teacheth us
[1.] Humility. Whatever good things believers have which con
cern spiritual and heavenly life, they are beholden only to Christ for
it. We can never die to sin, nor live to God, but only through Christ,
and Christ not only enlightening, but sanctifying. A speculative error
vanisheth as soon as truth appeareth ; but lust is a brutish inclination,
bare reason cannot master it.
[2.] Thankfulness and love to Christ, by whom we have all our
grace and look for all our glory.
[3.] Dependence ; he is ready to give us grace : Phil. iv. 19, ' But
my God shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory, by
Christ Jesus.'
SERMON X.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal l>ody, that ye should obey it
in the lusts thereof. ROM. VI. 12.
THE apostle having undeniably proved that the justified are dead to
sin, he now beginneth Irs exhortation that we should not obey sin by
indulging bodily fusts. The exhortation is short, but of great weight,
' Let not sin therefore reign,' &c.
In the words take notice
1. Of the illative particle, therefore, which leadeth us to the prin-
YER. 12.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vr. 237
ciples from whence the duty is inferred, namely, the tenor of Chris
tianity, which is considered (1.) As professed by them, for they have
submitted to baptism, and so are obliged to die unto sin and live unto
God ; (2.) As having obtained its effect in them, as in charity he pre-
sumeth them to be regenerated or real believers, and therefore chargeth
them with this duty ; for Christ's grace must not lie idle in the soul.
2. The duty to which they are exhorted is to take care to prevent
the reign of sin, which is described and represented
1. By the seat of it, ' In your mortal body.'
2. The nature of it, ' That you should obey it in the lusts thereof.'
To obey bodily lusts is the reign of sin.
Doct. That Christians are strictly obliged to take care that sin
get not dominion over them by the desires and interests of the mortal
body.
1. Let me explain this point.
2. Give you the reasons of it.
first, In explaining this doctrine, I shall handle three questions
1. Why is sin said to reign in our bodies rather than our souls ?
2. Why doth the apostle call it our mortal body ? the use of this
term; and
3. When is sin said to reign ?
First, Why is sin said to reign in our bodies rather than in our
souls ? And again ' lusts thereof/ avrov, as agreeing to ow/ia-ri, not
avrff^, as relating to a^apria.
1. Negatively, it is not to be understood that sinful lusts are only in
the body, or have their original only from the body, and not from the
soul ; for that is repugnant to what Christ saith : Mat. xv. 18, 19,
' Those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the
heart, and they defile the man ; for out of the heart proceed evil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blas
phemies.'
2. But positively, he saith * In your body.'
[1.] Because these lusts mostly manifest themselves in the body, and
belong to the body and the flesh. Therefore the apostle saith, ' Mortify
your members which are upon the earth,' Col. iii. 5 ; and Eom. vii.
23, ' I see a law in my members warring against the law of my mind ;'
James iv. 1 , ' Lusts that war in your body.' When the devil would set
up a kingdom in the hearts of men, he doth it by the body ; for what
is nearer and dearer to us than our bodies ? And things present and
grateful to the bodily senses promote his designs ; these blind our
minds and corrupt our hearts, and entice our affections, so that we
follow ' after them earnestly, with the neglect of God and our precious
immortal souls. There are various desires, according to the variety of
objects which tend to please and gratify the flesh, by occasion of which
sin doth insinuate itself into us.
[2.] Because they are acted and executed by the body or outward
man, and therefore are called ' the deeds of the body,' Rom. viii. 13.
Now, though some sins are seated in the mind, as heresies, yet they
are works of the flesh : Gal. v. 19, 20, ' Now the works of the flesh are
manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lascivious-
ness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife,
238 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. X.
seditions, heresies ; ' because usually they begin at falseness of the
heart, and are bred in us by some corrupt affections, such as pride, vain
glory, self-seeking, &c. : Gal. ii. 18, ' Puffed up with his fleshly mind.'
And for sins of omission, they arise in us from some inordinate sensual
affection to the creature, which causeth us to omit our duty to God.
But generally most sins are acted by the body. Therefore, as in grace,
or in the dedication of ourselves to God, the soul is included when the
body only is mentioned : Rom. xii. 1, ' Present your body as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.'
All the service we perform to God is acted by the body ; so in the
destruction of sin : ' Let it not reign in your body/
[3.] Because the disorder of the sensual appetite, which inclineth us
to the interests and conveniences of the bodily life, is the great cause
of all sin ; and therefore man corrupted and fallen ,is represented as
wholly governed by his sensual inclinations : Gen. vi. 3, ' For that man
also is flesh ; ' and John iii. 6, ' That which is born of the flesh is
flesh ; ' as if he had nothing in him but what is earthly and carnal.
Our souls do so cleave to the earth, and are addicted to the body, that
they have lost their primitive excellency ; our understandings, will, and
affections are distempered by our senses, and enslaved to serve the
flesh, which is a matter well to be regarded, that we may understand
why the scripture so often calleth sin by the name of flesh, and some
times a body ; or it is said ' to dwell in the body,' not as if the under
standing and will were not corrupted and tainted, but to show how
they are tainted and corrupted, that this corruption which hath
invaded human nature cometh chiefly, though not only, from the
inordinancy of our sensual appetite. I will prove it by two con
siderations
(1.) One is a supposition. Suppose that original sin, so far as it
concerneth the understanding and will, consisted in a bare privation of
that rectitude that should be in these faculties (I do not say it is so,
but suppose it were so), yet as long as our senses and appetites are dis
ordered, which wholly incline us to terrene and earthly things, this were
enough to cause us to sin ; as a chariot must needs miscarry where
the driver is weak, sleepy, negligent, and the horses unruly and dis
orderly. So here, we have not so much light and love to higher
things as will restrain the sensual appetite. The understanding hath
no light : 2 Peter i. 9, ' But he that lacketh these things is blind, and
cannot see afar off ; ' Eph. i. 18, ' The eyes of your understandings
being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling/
&c. The will hath no love : 1 Cor. ii. 14, ' The natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him,
neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.' And
therefore, man, that obeyeth his bodily lusts and desires, must needs be
corrupt and sinful.
(2.) The other is an assertion ; that there are habitual, positive,
inordinate inclinations to sensual things both in the understanding
and will ; for ^povt^fia crdpKos, ' The carnal mind is enmity against
God,' Eom. viii. 7. The mind doth not only befriend the lusts of the
flesh, and seek to palliate and excuse them, but opposeth whatever
would reduce us from the love of them. And the will is biassed by
VER. 12.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 239
such sensual inclinations : 1 Tim. vi. 10, ' For the love of money is the
root of all evil.' Our reason doth often contrive and approve sin, and
the will embraceth it. So that you see the reason why sin is said to
reign in our bodies, because of the strong inclination of our souls to
present things, or things conducing to the contenting of the flesh, or
gratifying the bodily life.
Secondly, Why doth the apostle say, ' In your mortal bodies ' ? I
answer For sundry reasons.
1. To put us in mind of the first rise of sin ; for sin brought in
death : Horn. v. 12, ' As by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned.' And so while we live this mortal bodily life, we are subject
to these desires, swarms of sinful motions and inclinations to evil remain
within us, we are prone to them, and give way to them, and are too
slack in the resistance of them, and through the ignorance and inat-
tentiveness of our minds cannot discern or distinguish between what
regular nature desireth and lust craveth. There are lawful desires of
the body, and prohibited desires of the body ; through the crafty convey
ance between the understanding and the false heart, we easily give way to
what is inordinate, under the pretence of what is lawful and convenient,
and so insensibly slide into compliance with the plain prohibited desires
of the body. Lust is headstrong, and the empire and government of
the will feeble, and so we are led on to obey them ; that is, we become
servants and slaves to sin. And though the regenerate be delivered
from the power of sin, yet much of this corruption remaineth in them
for their exercise and humiliation ; and if they be not watchful, and
obey not the motions of the Spirit, it will soon recover its power, and men
will be brought into their old slavery and captivity : Gal. v. 16, 17,
' Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh ; for
the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit lusteth against the
flesh.' So that this mortal body giveth sin many advantages.
2. This term, mortal body, puts us in mind of its punishment ; it
tendeth to death and destruction. We considered it before as it pointed
at the rise, now at the fruit itself. The apostle telleth us, Kom. viii.
10, ' The body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of
righteousness/ He speaketh there of believers, or those who have the
Spirit of Christ dwelling in them, who, being once sinners, the punish
ment of sin, death, befalleth them, and so their bodies must die and
return to dust, yet they shall live a happy and blessed life both in
body and soul. If they labour to mortify and suppress sin, and return
sincerely to newness of life, though they are still mortal and subject
to corporal death because of sin, yet it shall not be eternal death. The
renewed soul is a partaker of eternal life, and shall always live with
God in glory, and though the body be put off for a time, yet in time
it shall be partaker of this life also.
3. To show us the transitoriness of these delights. You gratify a
mortal body with the neglect of a precious and immortal soul ; now
the mortal body should not be pampered with so great a loss and
inconvenience to our souls. All the good things which the flesh airneth
at, they perish with the mortal body, but the guilt and punishment of
this disorderly life remaineth for ever. All fleshly pleasure ceaseth at
240 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. X.
the grave's mouth, and wealth, pleasure, carnal rest, worldly honour,
are no longer of use to us when we are to be laid in the dust. One
would think this should cure the mad desires of all mortal creatures :
1 John ii. 17, ' The world passeth away, and the lusts thereof; but he
that doeth the will of God shall endure for ever/ When we come to
die, neither can the thing do us good, and the very lust and desire
is gone, and is bitter in the remembrance of it. Pray, how little can
all the world then do for you ? When you have most need of comfort,
the taste of these things is gone, and the sting remaineth ; the pampered
flesh must then be cast into the dust, and all its pleasure will then be
at an end ; which will be a doleful day to those that had their good
things here, and all their portion in this life. When that is gone
which is so much valued and sought after, and the true felicity forfeited
because it was undervalued and contemned, how will they be ashamed
of the folly of their perverse choice ! Therefore, if we would joyfully
bear, or contentedly yield to the dissolution of our bodies, we should
now master and mortify the desires of the flesh.
4. To show that in this state of mortality and frailty we may prevent
the reign of sin. Many will say, We are frail creatures, we are not
glorified saints ; the desires of nature are impetuous. Ay ! but you
may resist them, and that with success. The mortality of the body
doth not excuse sin, but aggravate it, that for a little brutish pleasure,
that is, but for a while, we will forfeit eternal joys, and run the hazard
of eternal pains. But can we avoid the pleasing of desires so natural ?
Yes ; many that live in the flesh do not live after the flesh ; their
reason is not enslaved by sense, but illuminated and directed by faith
to higher things. The apostle produceth himself as an instance :
Gal. ii. 20, ' I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself
for me.' And he speaketh no more of himself than what is common
to all believers. Surely they may or can, if they be not wanting to
themselves, ' crucify the flesh with the affections and passions thereof ;'
yea, they have, if they are true believers : Gal. v. 24, ' They that are
Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.' Indeed,
nothing seemeth harder and harsher than for men to get such a victory
over their own flesh, and to contradict motions that are so pleasing.
They are not stocks and stones, they say ; how is it possible to be so
dead to the interests of the animal life as not to be moved, and some
times greatly moved, with these things, which either gratify or dis
please the flesh ? I answer, in Christ's words, Mat. xix. 26, ' With
men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' There is
the Spirit of Christ to change our natures, and the Spirit of Christ to
direct and influence our motions, and ordinances and means appointed
to convey this Spirit to us, as the word, which revealeth better things,
sacraments which assure to us our great hopes, and oblige us to live
auswerably ; there are many providences to deaden the taste of the
flesh, and train us up for better things in another world, and we are to
be watchful, serious, heavenly.
5. To show that the tediousness of our conflict and this troublesome
resistance shall endure but for a little while. All our business is that
VEK. 12.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 241
sin may not reign in our mortal body ; there will a time come when
' this mortal shall put on immortality,' 1 Cor. xv. 53 ; and long before
that 'our spirits must return to God that gave them/ Eccles. xii. 7.
Now, the more we think of another life, the stronger we are against
sin ; the troublesome part of our duty is but while we are in the flesh
or in the world ; and if we can but escape the corruption that is in the
world through lust, we shall be happy for ever.
Thirdly, When is sin said to reign ? I answer In general, that is
said to reign which attaineth the chief power in the soul, and parti
cularly sin is said to reign
1. Negatively, when it is not opposed, or but slightly opposed. We
must take in this part of the description, because there are contrary
principles in us. There is no question but fleshly lusts will solicit you ;
but your business is to inquire whether you oppose them. It may be
you do ; for it cannot be imagined that whilst a spark of conscience
remaineth alive in us, a man can apparently be tempted from his duty,
but his heart will give back a little ; but an ineffectual striving will
not acquit us ; even the unregenerate have a remnant of natural know
ledge and conscience, which in its measure resisteth sin as light resisteth
darkness, as is seen in the Gentiles : Bom. ii. 14, 15, ' For when the
Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in
the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves ; which
show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also
bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing, or else
excusing one another.' And where supernatural revelation is added,
it may do more ; for Christians know what is evil more than heathens
do, and so ' may escape through the knowledge of Christ the common
pollutions of the world,' 2 Peter ii. 20, or be much troubled if they fall
into them ; and God may give unto many some common internal grace
of the Spirit, Heb. vi. 4, 5, which may occasion many convictions of
the evil way they walk in. But the business is, whether there be such
a principle of resistance set up in the soul, that 'you walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit' ? Bom. viii. 1, so that your hearts are habitually
bent to God, and your course of life is altered, you dare not wittingly
nor willingly give way to any known sin, or live in the neglect of any
known duty (as they do that live in any customary practice of sin,
or constant neglect of God), or ordinarily break out into enormous
offences. It may be, after all your care, caution, watchfulness, resistance,
you may be overtaken or overcome by some violent temptation, and
may feel in yourselves some infirmities ; you find you are guilty of
many idle thoughts, passionate words, unwary practices ; but what
is this to iniquities ? So those that say they relent, and stri-ve, and
have many wishes to be better, but still continue in a carnal and
ungodly life, these do but sin against conscience, and never conquer
the sin which they strive to resist ; till the opposite principle be the
ruling principle for the main bent of your hearts and course of your
lives, the opposition and striving is but ineffectual. If there be no sin
but what you are truly desirous to know, and no sin but what you
are truly desirous to get rid of, so that the chief est care of your hearts
and endeavour of your lives be to serve and please God, and it is
your daily desire and endeavour to please God, and master its rebellious
VOL. xi. Q
242 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [$ER. X.
opposition to the Spirit, and you so far prevail that for your drift and
course you are not led by the flesh, but the Spirit, then you are sincere
and upright with God ; otherwise you must not think every striving
will excuse you, if it be such a striving as may consist with the
dominion and customary practice of sin. There are few wretches so-
bad but they may have some wishes that they could leave sin, especially
when they think of the inconveniences that attend it, and conscience
may strive a -little before they yield, but they live in it still. A Chris
tian striveth, but cannot be perfect ; there are infirmities : but the con
vinced sinner striveth, but cannot live holily ; there are iniquities. This
striving hindereth not the dominion of sin, because he doth not con
quer and master it so far but that it breaketh out in a gross manner ;
his striving cometh not from the renovation of the Spirit, but the con
viction of his conscience, which is ever condemning his practices.
2. Positively, when we obey it and follow it, and do that to which sin
enticeth us. For the end of sin's reign and empire is our obedience ; the
commands and urgings of it are in vain if you obey them not, but rather
rebuke and suppress them. Now we may obey bodily lusts two ways
[1.] By the inward consent of the mind ; for what sins you would
do you have done in God's account, though the outward act follow not :
Mat. v. 28, ' He that looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath already
committed adultery with her in his heart,' though you be impeded
and hindered in the action. The life and reign of sin is in the heart,
in the love of the heart, though it may be it may not appear in out
ward deeds. Restraint is not sanctification. Practices may be
restrained by by-ends ; but if you like the sin in your hearts, you let
it reign, and do not oppose it by gracious motives. Your hearts are
false with God if his empire be not set up there. Therefore obey not
the lusts of the body, that is, consent not to them; if they arise and
bubble up in your hearts, let them be disowned and disliked. We are
to 'abstain from fleshly lusts/ 1 Peter ii. 11, before they break out
into our conversation. For the governing of the heart, and the regu
lating of the life are two distinct acts of our obedience to God ; they
are required indeed, the one in order to the other, but you must be
careful of both. Your love to God and his law must be showed by
abominating the motions that would draw you to the contrary : Ps.
cxix. 113, 'I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love.' The first
motions are sins, for they proceed from corrupt nature ; we had none
such in innocency ; and the consent is a further sin, because then you
begin to give way to its reign. The delightful stay of the mind
showeth our love to it ; these pauses of the mind come from sin, are sin,
and tend to further sin : James i. 15, ' Then when lust hath conceived,
it bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death.'
[2.] The execution of these motions by the body, when sin is
brought to her consummate effect : Micah ii. 1, ' Woe to them that
devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds ; when the morning is
light they practise it, because it is in the power of their hands/ This
is a sign of the reign of sin ; too much room being given to sin in the
heart, that it obtains a mastery there ; it violently and effectually
commands our practice, which, if it be a scandalous enormity, it
makes sin to reign for the present. Lesser evils steal into the throne
VER. 12.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 243
by degrees, and leaven us with a proud, worldly, or carnal frame of
heart ; but gross sins invade the throne in an instant, at least for the
present, making fearful havoc and waste of the conscience, and the
repeated acts show our state.
Secondly, That Christians are strictly obliged to take heed that sin
get not dominion over them.
1. By the light of nature, which is in part sensible of this disorder
which hath invaded all mankind, namely, an inclination to seek the
happiness and good of the body above that of the soul. The very
make and constitution of man showeth his duty. Man is composed of
a body and a soul, both which parts are to be regarded according to
the dignity of each. The body was subordinated to the soul, and both
soul and body unto God ; his flesh was a .servant unto his spirit, and
both flesh and spirit unto the Lord ; but sin entering, defaced the
beauty, and disturbed the harmony and order of God's creation and
workmanship. Man withdrew from subordination to God his maker,
seeking his happiness without God, and apart from him, in earthly
and worldly things ; and also the body and flesh is preferred before
the soul, and reason and conscience enslaved to sense and appetite ;
understanding and will are made bond-slaves to the lusts of the flesh,
which govern and influence all his actions ; his wisdom, mind, and
spirit as it were sunk into the flesh, and transformed into a brutish
quality and nature. This many of the wiser heathens saw, and
sought to rectify. Maximus Tyrius calls our passions and appetites rov
Brj/j,ov, the tumultuous populacy or common people of the soul, which
must not be left to their own boisterous violence, but be kept under
the law and empire of the mind. Philo the Jew calleth them TO
6ff\.v, the woman part in man, in opposition to reason, which he
maketh to be the masculine part; Simplicius, TOV 7rai8a, the child
in us, which needeth more staid heads to govern it ; and some, irepi-
Trefyov i|ru^?7<? /juepos, the foot part of the soul ; as it is a monstrous
disorder if the feet be there where the head should be, so it is for us
to serve divers lusts and pleasures, when we should be governed by
reason. The stoics generally, TO Qrjpiov, the bestial part in us, which
they counted the man, as if the beast should ride the man, as Socrates
expressly calls reason ^vio-^ov, the rider or chariot-driver, as the body
and bodily inclinations the horses. Now if the light of nature taught
the heathens, who knew little of the cause and malignity of this
vitiosity and disorder, to observe this, and labour under it, surely
Christians are more strictly bound to curb the flesh, and moderate the
lusts and passions of it. We know more clearly what an evil it is to
love the creature above God, the body more than the soul, the world
above heaven, riches, honours, and pleasures more than grace and
holiness ; as the light of Christianity befriendeth the light of nature in
this point, we may see clearly how great a disorder it is to obey or
fulfil these bodily lusts to the wrong of God and the soul, and that
the true honour and dignity of a man consists in the victory which he
hath over himself ; and that to pamper the flesh is not our honour,
but our disgrace ; and that these irregular desires should not be grati
fied, but mortified.
2. Christian piety, or the tenor of our religion, requireth it of us.
244 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [$ER. X.
The drift of this religion is to recover men out of their apostasy, and
to promote true genuine holiness in the world ; to dispossess us of the
beast, and that man, being restored to man, might be also brought
back again to God ; or, in short, to draw us off from the animal life
to life spiritual and eternal. As appeareth
[1.] By the precepts of it, which mainly tend to enfore self-denial,
mortification, recess from the world, that we may not miscarry in our
obedience to God by our bodily lusts : Mat. xvi. 24, ' If any will
come after me, let him deny himself ; ' Col. iii. 5, ' Mortify therefore
your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness,
inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is
idolatry.' The whole drift and business of this religion is to drive out
the spirit of the world, and to introduce a divine and heavenly Spirit :
1 Cor. ii. 12, ' Now we have received, not the spirit- of the world, but
the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things which
are freely given to us of God.' That part of the world which is mad
and brutish is enslaved to.lower things ; but the other part, which hath
submitted to the healing institution of Christ, should be wise and
heavenly. The cure which Christ intended was of the great disease of
mankind, which was that the immortal soul, being depressed and tainted
by the objects of sense, doth wholly crook and writhe itself to carnal
things, and instead of likeness to God, the image of a beast was im
pressed upon man's nature, and the divine part enslaved and embon-
daged to the brutish.
[2.] By its promises : 2 Peter i. 4, ' Whereby are given unto us
exceeding great and precious promises ; that by these you might be
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is
in the world through lust,' 2 Cor. iv. 18. That man may seek his
happiness in some higher and more transcending good than the beasts
are capable of, something that suits with his immortal spirit. In
short, to draw us off from things we see and inordinately love to a
glory and blessedness wholly unseen and future.
[3.] By the grace provided for us, namely, the Spirit of Christ, whose
great design is to free man from a state of subjection to the flesh, and
by overcoming the lusts thereof to make him ready for all the graces
and duties of the spiritual life : Eom. viii. 5, ' They that are after the
flesh do mind the things of the flesh, and they that are after the Spirit,
the things of the Spirit' He is first renewed by this Spirit : John
iii. 6, ' That which is born of the Spirit is spirit ; ' and then acted
and assisted by him : Eom. viii. 13, ' If ye through the Spirit mortify
the deeds of the body, ye shall live ; ' Gal. v. 25, ' If we live in the
Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.'
[4.] By being baptized into this religion we are bound to this strict
care ; for in our baptism we did solemnly renounce the devil, the
world, and the flesh, as the usurpers must be thrust out before the
rightful lord can take possession : Josh. xxiv. 23, ' Put away the
strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the
Lord God of Israel ; ' and we are dedicated to Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost, as our creator, redeemer, and sanctifier ; as before, ' We
are to count ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God,'
ver. 11. Now, it is the greatest hypocrisy that can be to be under
VER. 12.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 245
this solemn obligation to God, and let sin reign in us. Baptism is a
sign and seal of grace on God's part, and on ours a bond of duty ; on
God's part, that he will cleanse and wash away sin: Acts xxii. 16,
' Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins.' On our part, it
obligeth us to do what in us lieth to destroy sin, a bond never to be
forgotten by us : 2 Peter i. 9, ' He hath forgotten. that he was purged
from his old sins.'
Use 1. To humble us, that we have so much forgotten our solemn
covenant, so much cared for the body, and so little cared for the soul ;
that time and heart hath been so much taken up about those things
which belong to the present life. The mortal body is minded at
every turn, and how much may the immortal but neglected soul com
plain of hard usage ! We profess subjection to the gospel, and therefore
should { seek first the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof,
and all these things shall be added to us,' Mat. vi. 33 ; but we walk
too much according to the course of the carnal careless world : Eph.
ii. 2, 3, ' Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of
this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that ruleth in the children of disobedience ; among whom also we all
had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind.'
2. Strengthen the bonds, and anew devote yourselves to obedience :
ver. 13, ' Neither yield you your members as instruments of unright
eousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive
from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto
God.' Bind yourselves for time to come, to make it your work not to
indulge the flesh, but save your souls : Heb. x. 39, ' For we are not of
them that draw back to perdition, but of them that believe to the
saving of the soul/
3. Take great heed that sin reign not by bodily lusts.
[1.] The necessity of this. These lusts are represented as deceitful :
Eph. iv. 22, ' That ye put off concerning the former conversation the
old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.'* And as
violent and imperious : Rom. vii. 20, ' Now if I do that I would not,
it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me ; ' both together :
James i. 14, ' Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his
own lust and enticed.' We are by subtlety blinded by the delusions
of the flesh, and it is always endeavouring to get the throne, and hurry
us to destruction, and seeking to divert us from the love of God ; the
more we indulge them the more imperious they are, the more caution
and resolution therefore is necessary.
[2.] The danger of not doing it.
(1.) They do not only unfit us for God, but for human society :
James iv. 1, 'From whence come wars and fightings among you?
Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members ? '
They make you disquiet all others near you, as dogs snarling at one
another for a bone or piece of carrion.
(2.) They destroy the welfare of our bodies ; the part gratified is
depressed by them : Prov. xiv. 30, ' A sound heart is the life of the flesh,
but envy is the rottenness of the bones ; ' Prov. v. 11, ' Thou shalt
mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed.'
246 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [&ER. XI.
(3.) These lusts war against the soul. The perfection of the soul
consists in the image of God, which is defaced by these lusts ; yea,
against the graces and motions of the Spirit : Gal. v. 17, ' The flesh
lusteth against the Spirit ; ' against the comfort of the soul, which
dependeth on the holy sanctifying Spirit ; he .is grieved when his work
is hindered in us.
,(4.) These lusts oppose our everlasting felicity and happiness, when
to gratify the flesh we run the hazard of losing soul and body for ever.
(1st.) By efficiency : they steal away our hearts from God, take up
our time, turn our thoughts from the one thing necessary. The great
end of faith is the saving of the soul ; they make it the great end of
their living to pamper the body. They put heaven away from them,
sell it for a trifle ; in effect, bid God keep his heaven* to himself : Heb.
xii. 16, ' Profane Esau for one morsel of bread sold his birthright.'
(2d.) By desert : Gal. vi. 8, ' He that soweth to the flesh shall of
the flesh reap corruption ; ' Rom. vi. 13, ' Neither yield ye your bodies
as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin.' God is provoked, and so
our damnation is sure. They spend their strength, time, estates on the
service of fleshly lusts ; surely these can look for nothing but everlasting
perdition.
SERMON XL
Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto
sin, but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from
the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto
ROM. VI. 13.
HERE is the second branch of the exhortation, which concerneth
vivification ; for expressly the apostle speaketh to them as those that
are alive from the dead. This part of the exhortation is propounded
negatively, ' yield not/ &c. ; positively, ' but yield,' &c.
1. The negative is necessary. For further declaring the sense of
which, he had said before, ' Let not sin reign in your mortal body/
The body is mentioned as the seat of sin for two reasons
[1.] Because these lusts gratify the body and bodily life, and so per
vert the soul ; that is spoken to there.
[2.] Because they are executed by the body ; this is spoken to here
If they gain the consent of your minds, yet ' yield not your members
as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin ; ' let them not be acted by
your bodies.
2. Positively it is expressed, ' But yield yourselves unto God/ There
observe the order set down. First, ' Yield yourselves unto God ; ' then,
' your members as instruments of righteousness unto God/ The general
dedication is the ground of the particular. First, I am God's, then I
bestow my time and strength for God ; first, we give ourselves to him,
riot in part, but in whole, to serve him with all our heart and all our
might and strength ; then sometimes the outward or inward man, as
the nature of the business calleth for.
VER. 13.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 247
3. In both take notice
(1.) Of the two opposite masters, ' sin and God.'
(2.) The opposite employments are ' righteousness/ and ' unright
eousness/
(3.) The instrument used by both, and that is ' the body/ or ' the
members of the body/
[L.] The two masters, sin and God; the one is a usurper, the
other is our rightful and most gracious Lord. God is our proper Lord,
for he is our creator, and therefore our owner and governor ; and he is
our most gracious Lord jure beneficiario ; he hath obliged us to him
by many benefits ; so that a Christian should say, as Paul did : Acts
xxvii. 23, ' His I am, and him I serve/
[2.] The two? employments, unrighteousness and righteousness.
Unrighteousness is put for all evil works and actions ; for all sin is
unrighteousness, whether committed against God or man. By sin we
deal unrighteously with God, whom we disobey and dishonour : Mai.
i. 6, ' If I be a father, where is mine honour ? If I be a master, where
is my fear ? ' We deny God his due. We deal unrighteously with
ourselves, whom we defile and destroy : 1 Cor. vi. 18, ' He that com-
mitteth fornication, sinneth against his own body ;' and Prov. viii. 36,
' He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul/ And also in
many sins we hurt our neighbour, either in soul, body, goods, or good
name, as is evident. On the other side, holiness is righteousness, or
giving God his due. Righteousness is sometimes taken strictly for
that grace which inclineth us to perform our duty to man ; as 1 Tim.
vi. 11, ' Follow after righteousness, godliness/ &c. ; Eom. i. 18, ' The
wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and un
righteousness of men/ Sometimes largely, for newness of life, for all
those holy actions which are required of a Christian : 1 John ii. 29, ' If
ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth right
eousness is born of him/
[3.] The instrument used in both is the body, or the members of the
body ; for our body is of a middle nature, which may be used well or
ill ; and the members of the body are weapons with which the soul is
armed to do well or ill ; and it is notable that the word used by the
apostle is not opyava, instrumenta, as we render it in the text, but
ovrXa, weapons or arms, as we translate it in the margin. The work
on both sides is a kind of warfare.
(1.) They that serve sin or indulge bodily lusts, fight for sin and the
devil against God and their own salvation : 1 Peter ii. 11, 'Abstain
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul ; ' Kom. vii. 23, ' I see
another law in my members \farring against the law of my mind/
While ye suffer the body to be thus employed, ye wage war against
God, whether ye know it, or own it, yea or no.
(2.) The other work is also a warfare ; our graces are called, ' Armour
of light/ Eom. xiii. 12. Though you fight for your duty, you must per
form it.
Doct. That sincere Christians should not suffer, themselves to be
employed by sin, but offer up and present themselves to God to do his
will.
1. Let us explain the duty.
248 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XL
2. Show you the necessity of it.
First, In explaining the duty here enforced, let me observe to
you
1. That there are two masters which divide the world between them
sin and God. Every man doth serve one of these, but no man can
serve both. Every man serveth. one of these sin or righteousness,
God or Satan ; for there is no neutral or middle state ; either their
time and strength is spent in the service of the flesh, or in the service
of God : Horn. viii. 5, ' They that are after the flesh do mind the things
of the flesh ; and they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit:
Gal. vi. 8, ' They that sow to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corrup
tion ; but they that sow to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life ever
lasting.' Now it concerneth us to consider what or who it is that em-
ployeth us. Our bodies are worn out, and the vigour of nature is daily
spent ; but in what ? In pleasing the flesh in that which it craveth,
or in serving, pleasing, and glorifying God ? The prophet saith, Isa.
Iv. 2, ' Wherefore do ye spend your money for that which is not bread ?
and your labour for that which satisfieth not ? ' Every man is at the
cost and expense of his -time and labour, and bestoweth it on something
or other ; but in what ? Do not think of compounding the matter ; for
as every man serveth one of these masters, so no man serveth both :
Mat. vi. 24, ' No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate
the one and love the other ; or else he will hold to the one and despise
the other ; ye cannot serve God and mammon.' They both require
our full strength, and both command contrary things ; therefore, as a
man cannot go two contrary ways at once, so he cannot obey these two
masters. If sin reign in our souls, it draweth all things into obedience ;
the consent of your minds is not enough to satisfy it, but it will employ
the body to fulfil its cravings, and especially those two adjuncts of the
bodily life, time and strength. And grace doth the like ; the faculties
and powers of the soul and body must be employed one way or another ;
they cannot lie idle in such an active, restless creature as man is.
[2.] Both these services are entered into by consent, fitj^e Trapia-Tdvere,.
a\\a Trapaarrjaare. (1.) Some men pronely yield up themselves to
do what sin would have to be done ; therefore they are said ' to give
themselves to work wickedness ; ' and where sin is vehement and
obstinate, they are said ' to sell themselves to work wickedness / and
in other phrases : Eccles. viii. 11, ' The heart of the sons of men is
fully set in them to do evil ;' Eph. iv. 19, ' They have given them
selves over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.'
When they have cast off all remorse of conscience and fear of God's
judgments, with full consent they abandon themselves to their brutish
lusts and filthy desires, there is no check nor restraint can hold them.
But this is when sin is grown to a height, e^e-^vdrjaav : Jude 11,.
' They have ran greedily/ &c., as water is poured out of a bucket.
But generally in all sin there is a voluntariness, if not a wilfulness in
it, as a stone runneth down hill because it is its own proper motion.
(2.) To God we consecrate ourselves with a thorough consent of will :
Kom. xii. 1, ' I beseech you by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your
reasonable service ;' and 2 Cor. viii. 5, ' And this they did, not as we
VER. 13.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 249
hoped, but first gave their ownselves to the Lord, and unto us by the
will of God.' Hapacrrrja-are, the word either alludeth to servants,
who stand before or in the presence of their lord and master, to show
their readiness to be commanded or employed by him ; so present
yourselves to show your readiness to obey all the commands of God ;
or in allusion to the sacrifice, which was presented before the altar, in
token that the party did design it, and with it himself, to God ; so do
we yield up ourselves to God ; bodies and souls, all that we are and
have, we resign it to him. There is this difference in both these resig
nations the devil's servants do not what they do in love to him, but to
their own flesh ; but Christ's servants do what they do in love to him
as well as to themselves ; they know him, and love him ; he is not a
master to be ashamed of. The giving up ourselves to sin is a concealed
act ; we would not be seen in it ; for there is somewhat in their own
hearts to check it and condemn it, some conscience of good and evil,
as also a fear of blame from God and the world ; and so men do it
covertly ; but do we give up ourselves solemnly and professedly.
[3.] The service of sin should not be allowed by us. (1.) Partly
because sin is a usurper, whereas God hath a full and clear right both
to our bodies and our souls, for he made them both. Sinners, so far
as they own a God and their obligations to him, cannot but look upon
sin as a disorder, for it alienateth our subjection from him to whom it
is due. All sinners are not atheists, and therefore can never get off
this conviction that God is their owner, for he is their maker, and
framed them for such a use and end, namely, to keep his laws ; there
fore, to lend or give their bodies to sin is disloyalty and rebellion
against the great and just sovereign of the world : 1 John iii. 4,
' Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law ; for sin is the
transgression of the law.' Men do not only say, but notionally know,
that God is their owner ; but if they did practically improve it, the
reformation of the world would not be so desperate a cure as it is ; but
alas ! ' professing to know God, in their works they deny him,' Titus i.
16. Their lives are quite contrary to their notional acknowledgment
of God. What could they do more or worse if there were no God ?
Eeason will tell us that it is impossible for us to be our own, for we
neither made ourselves, nor can we subsist of ourselves for one moment.
All wicked men are God's, whether they will or no ; yea, the devils
themselves not excepted ; they are his against their wills, and therefore
do not live as his. (2.) Sin is God's enemy, and ours too ; it destroy eth
us while it seemeth to gratify us : ' The end of these things is death,'
Rom. vi. 21. Now he is a traitor to his country that supplieth the
enemy with arms : you wrong God, and wrong your own bodies and
souls ; therefore, ' yield not your members as weapons of unright
eousness unto sin.' It is a miserable thing to be traitors to God and
ourselves : ' Thy destruction is of thyself, Hosea xiii. 9 ; our misery
is of our own procuring. God is not to be blamed, but our own
perverse choice ; we cherish a serpent in our bosoms, that will sting us
to death.
[4.] Since sin cannot challenge any just title to us, it is unques
tionably our duty to yield up ourselves to the Lord. Let us see in
what manner it is to be done.
250 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VL [SfiB. XI.
[1.] It must be done with hearty and full consent of will. In the
covenant of grace God demandeth his right to be given him by your
consent ; it is indeed a due debt, but it is called a gift : ' My son, give
me thy heart,' Prov. xxiii. 20 ; because you become his people not by
constraint, but by consent : Ps. ex. 3, ' Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power ; ' and therefore it is resembled to marriage, than
which nothing should be more free and voluntary : Cant. ii. 16, 'lam
my beloved's, and my beloved is mine.' Thus freely and willingly
should we resign ourselves to him.
[2.] It must be out of a deep sense of his love and mercy : Bom. xii.
1, 'I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice,' &c. ; and especially his great love in
Christ : 2 Cor. v. 14, ' For the love of Christ constraineth us, because
we thus judge/ &c. There must be thankfulness in the resolution to
become the Lord's, for no bands will so strongly hold us to our duty
as the bands of love ; when the soul is filled with admirations of his
grace, and the ravishing sense of the wonders of his love in Christ, we
do most kindly, heartily, and thoroughly surrender ourselves to God.
[3.] It must be with grief and shame, that his right hath been so
long detained from him, and that we have wasted so much of our
time and strength in the service of sin : 1 Peter iv. 1-3, ' Forasmuch
then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise
with the same mind ; for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased
from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh
to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our
life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we
walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings,
and abominable idolatries.' Therefore we should the more earnestly
make restitution. Oh ! how sad a thing is it to grow old and grey
headed in the devil's service, and to spend the fresh and flower of our
time so vainly and unprofitably ! Alas ! how hath our time, strength,
and parts been wasted and unprofitably employed ! Let us at length
seek to do as much for God as ever we have done for sin.
[4.] This resolution must be full and entire, of all that you are and
have. All your faculties : 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20, ' Ye are not your own, ye
are bought with a price ; therefore glorify God with your bodies and
souls, which are God's.' All that the soul can do and the body can
do, it is all due to God, and all to be devoted to him. In every state :
Rom. xiv. 7, 8, ' For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to
himself ; for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, or whether we
die, we die unto the Lord ; whether we live therefore or die, we are
the Lord's.' Whatever you are and have, you must have that and be
that to God ; living, dying, sickness, health, in prosperity, in adversity,
in every action : Zech. xiv. 20, 21, ' In that day shall there be upon
the bells of the horses HOLINESS TO THE LORD, and the pots in the
Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar, yea, every pot in
Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts.' There
must be God's impress on all we do, our civil and sacred actions. All
reserves are hypocritical. What one faculty you keep back from God,
you do what you can to cut it off from his blessing. Would you be
contented if God should take the soul to heaven and leave the body
VER. 13.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 251
in hell, or the contrary ? What estate is not given to God is not
sanctified ; what action is not ordered towards him as our last end is
not rewarded, so that you give all, or none rightly.
[5.] The end why we give up ourselves to God is to be governed,
disposed, and ordered by him, to be what he would have us to be, and
to do what he will have us to do, to submit ourselves to his disposing
will, and subject ourselves to his commanding will.
(1.) To submit ourselves to his disposing will, or the dominion of
his providence. Let God carry you to heaven in what way soever he
pleaseth ; if by many afflictions, or sharp pains, and infirmities of body,
you dare not prescribe to God. You must say, as Christ, Heb. x. 5, 6,
' A body hast thou prepared for me ; lo, I come to do thy will.' God
is wise, and knoweth that if we had a more healthy body, we might
be in danger of neglecting the soul ; or if we had more of the world,
we should neglect heaven. Therefore you must except nothing out of
your resignation ; better the body be pained than the soul lost ; the
thorn that sticketh in the flesh may occasion rich experiences of grace.
It may be God will have you to glorify him by martyrdom : Phil. i.
20, ' Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by
death;' that is, either by living in the body to preach the gospel
longer, or signing the truth with his blood, if he died. So see David's
resignation : 2 Sam. xv. 26, ' Let the Lord do unto me what seemeth
good to him.' So we should humbly submit to the good-will of God :
Dan. iii. 18, ' But if not, be it known unto thee, king, that we will
not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image that thou hast set
up.' They yielded their bodies to be burned, that they might not serve
any gods but the Lord.
(2.) To subject ourselves to his commanding will, or to do what he
will have us to do. This is principally considered here ; we give up
ourselves to God, that our bodies may be employed as instruments of
righteousness. All external duties, or fruits of our love to God in
Christ, are acted by the body ; therefore we resign up ourselves to him
to obey him in these things. Surely it is meet that God should rule
the creatures that he hath made ; therefore we should be able to say, as
the psalmist, Ps. cxix. 94, ' I am thine, save me, for I have sought
thy precepts.' One that maketh conscience of his resignation to God
will be careful both to know and do his will. Paul, as soon as he was
smitten with conviction, cries out, Acts ix. 6, ' Lord ! what wilt thou
have me to do?'
[6.] When you have thus dedicated yourselves to God, you must use
yourselves for him ; for the sincerity of our dedication is known by
our use. Many give up themselves to God, but in the use of them
selves there appeareth no such matter. They use their tongues as
their own to talk what they please, their hearts as their own to think
and desire what they please, their bodies, their wealth, their time, their
strength, as if it were all their own, and the hand of consecration had
never been upon them : Ps. xii. 4, ' Our tongues are our own; who is
lord over us?' This is the language not of their mouths, but of
their lives ; these reassume the possession of that which they had sur
rendered to the Lord. No ; you have, as to disposal, lost all property
in yourselves, and must look upon yourselves ever after not as your
252 SERMONS UPON KOMANS VI. [SER. XI.
own, but God's ; they are ' vessels set apart for the master's use/ 2
Tim. ii. 21 ; and accordingly we must ' live not to ourselves, but to
God;' 2 Cor. V. 15, 'And that he died for all, that they that live
should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him that died
for them, and rose again.' Nothing must be alienated from him, but
used as he shall direct and appoint. All your powers and faculties are
his, and to be employed for him.
Secondly, Let me show you the reasons of it. They are taken from
the right God hath in you and to you. Justice requireth that we
should give every one his own, to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,
to God the things that are God's. We do but restore to God that
which is his before when we give up ourselves to him. Now we are
God's
1. By his creating us out of nothing : ' It is he that hath made us,
not we ourselves,' Ps. c. 3. Surely God hath a propriety in all that
we have; for we have all by his creating bounty, as the potter hath
power over his own clay. So hath God in all the vessels which he
hath formed, ' he formed them for himself.' If the husbandman may
call the vine his own which he hath planted in his own ground and
noil, God may much more call the creature his own, which he hath
made. The husbandman cannot make the vine, but only set it and
dress it : but we are wholly and solely of him and from him, and
from nothing else, and therefore we should be wholly and solely for
him, and nothing else.
2. By preservation. God is Lord of all, because he preserveth all :
Neh. ix. 6, ' Thou, even thou, art Lord alone ; thou hast made heaven,
the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things
that are therein, and thou preservest them all, and the host of heaven
worshippeth thee.' Preservation is the continuance of our being by his
providential influence and supportation : Acts xvii. 28, ' For in him we
live, and move, and have our being ; ' Heb. xi. 3, ' Through faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that
things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.' If
we could any moment exempt ourselves from the dominion and influence
of his providence, we might be supposed to be exempted in that moment
from his jurisdiction and government ; but man wholly depending on
God for being and preservation, we cannot lay claim to our time and
strength, not for one minute or moment ; for we can hold neither body
nor soul, nor anything that we have, a minute longer than God
pleaseth. If you will serve yourselves and please yourselves, live of
yourselves if you can.
3. By redemption. That right is pleaded, 1 Cor. vi. 20, ' Ye are not
your own, ye are bought with a price ; therefore glorify God with your
bodies and souls, which are God's.' By creation and preservation we
are God's ; but redemption constitutetli such a new right and title as
doth not only strengthen the former, but also is comfortable to us. If
a slave were not killed outright, but continued a day or two, though
he died by the stripes given him by his master, there was no plea or
accusation could be commenced against the master for the life of his
slave, Exod. xxi. 21 ; he was his money, that is, purchased by his
money. God hath bought us at a higher rate than money : 1 Peter i.
VEK. 13.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 253
18, 'For ye are redeemed not with corruptible things, as silver and
gold, from your vain conversations, received by tradition from your
fathers ; but with the precious blood of the Son of God, as of a lamb
without spot and blemish.' Therefore the redeemed are bound to serve
him that ransomed them. All our time and strength belongeth to the
Redeemer, who hath ransomed us from the worst slavery, the bondage
of sin and Satan, and with the greatest price, his own blood. This was
Christ's end : Rom. xiv. 9, ' For to this end Christ both died, and rose
and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.'
4. Christians have owned this right by their covenant-consent. Our
bodies and souls were consecrated to Christ when we gave up our names
to him in baptism : ' Thou enteredst into covenant with me, and be-
camest mine/ Ezek. xvi. 8 ; then were we enrolled in God's cense-book :
Isa. xliv. 5, ' One shall say, I am the Lord's ; and another shall call
himself by the name of Jacob ; and another shall subscribe with the
hand to the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel/ By
voluntary contract and resignation we gave up ourselves and all that
is ours to God. Baptism is our sacramentum militare, our military
oath ; we were then listed in his warfare and service. When Christ
was baptized he was consecrated as the captain of our salvation,
and then presently after his baptism he entered into the lists with
Satan. We are entered as private soldiers ; now it is treachery and
breach of covenant if, after we have owned and acknowledged God's
right in us, we shall alienate ourselves from him, and use ourselves for
ourselves at our own list and pleasure.
5. By regeneration, whereby we are actually taken info Christ's pos
session, and fitted for his use. This right is pleaded in the text, ' As
those that are alive from the dead, yield up yourselves to God.' There
is a double argument in it.
[1.] As it puts an obligation upon us. It is by the tender mercies
of the Lord that you are recovered out of the death of sin to the life of
grace : Eph. iv. 4, 5, ' God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love where
with he hath loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins,
hath quickened us together with Christ/ We that were once wretched
and miserable, liable to death, utterly disabled for the service of our
creator, that he of his grace hath called us and quickened us, and
made us alive, who were formerly dead, we have this spiritual life from
him and for him ; this should be an everlasting obligation upon us,
while we have a day to live, to remember God hath renewed you for
himself.
[2.] As it puts an inclination into us. Men that are raised to a new
life are fitted to do him service ; they are delivered from the power and
death of sin, have received grace to serve him acceptably ; the new
creature is fitted for the operations that belong to it : Eph. ii. 10, ' For
we are the workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus to good works,
that we might walk therein. The withered branch is planted into the
good vine-stock, that it may live again, and bring forth fruit unto God ;
so that if we have been made partakers of this mercy, we are bound,
and we are inclined ; this shows God's propriety in us, that he ex-
pecteth to be honoured by us.
Use 1. Information.
254 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XI.
1. It shows how vain the plea was of those libertines in Calvin's
time (against whom he is justly severe) and their adherents, who
thought they might serve sin with their bodies, as long as they did dis
like and disallow it with their souls, they were safe enough. They
were wont to say, Non ego sed asinus meus it was their drudge the
body that sinned, not they. No ; the apostle saith, ' Give not up your
members as weapons of unrighteousness,' -fee., and elsewhere, ' Glorify
God in your bodies and souls, which are God's.' And the apostle
pleadeth the dignity of the body, and how it is defiled by fornication
and other inordinances, 1 Cor. vi., per totum.
2. That it is not enough to abstain from evil, but we must do good ;
for the apostle saith, ' yield not/ and then ' yield.' So the apostle
saith, 2 Tim. ii. 21, ' If a man therefore purge himself from these, he
shall be a vessel of honour, sanctified and meet for the master's use,
and prepared unto every good work.' So 2 Cor. v. 15, ' And that he
died for all, that they that live should not henceforth live unto them
selves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.' They are
sinners that hide their talent in a napkin, though they live not in
apparent gross sins ; all that time and strength that is bestowed on sin
is used against God ; but what is idly and impertinently lost is not used
for him. Both deprive God of his right ; the one alienate their time
and strength, the other mis-spend it. Some do not run into gluttony,
drunkenness, oppression, adultery (these apparently use their bodies as
weapons of unrighteousness), but they do not live to God, and so are
defective in the other part.
3. It showeth what care we should take how we employ our bodies ;
for the members of the body are instruments of the soul, to execute
that which it willeth and desireth, and sin without the body is unfur
nished with arms. But chiefly two things should we take care of in
the body, the senses by which we let in sin, and the tongue by which
we let out sin, for it is the interpreter of the heart.
[1.] For the senses, a Christian should not be guided by his senses,
but by his reason and conscience as sanctified by grace. Our Lord
would teach us that it were better to want senses than gratify them
with an offence and wrong to God, against them that cannot deny the
pleasures of senses : Mat. v. 29, 30, ' If thy right eye offend thee, pluck
it out, and cast it from thee ; for it is profitable for thee that one of
thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be
cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast
it from thee ; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members
should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell/
Better be blind than by wanton gazing run the hazard of damnation ;
not that we should maim ourselves, but, of the two, count it the less
evil. Therefore, to want the sinful pleasure should not be so grievous,
when we should be content to want the sense itself. The far greatest
part of the world are merely guided by their senses, because the far
greatest part of the world are unconverted and unsanctified, and the
world is full of allurements to the flesh, and the more we enjoy the
good things thereof, the more is corruption strengthened within us :
and as the heart stands affected, sensitive objects make a deeper or
slighter impression on us. Some temptations, which are nothing to
VER. 13.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 255
.another, may be great matters to some, who cannot deny themselves
without great difficulty. Therefore when such temptations as suit
with our fancies and appetites assault us with more than ordinary
potency, we must remember sense is not to be the ruling power in our
souls, but grace. Sometimes sin is brought to our hands, and the bait
is played to our mouths ; as Josh. vii. 21, Achan saw, coveted, and
purloined the wedge of gold ; Prov. vi. 25, ' Lust not after her beauty
in thy heart, neither let her take thee with her eyelids ;' 2 Sam. xi. 2.
David saw Bathsheba, and so his heart was fired. In short, sense is
an ill and dangerous guide ; it was never given for a judge or coun
sellor to determine or direct, but an informer to represent the outward
forms of things ; partly natural, to inform us of things profitable or
hurtful to the outward man ; partly spiritual, to transmit the objects
of God's wisdom, power, and goodness to. our minds, or to be the
ordinary passage by which the daily effects of God's love and mercy
are conveyed to our hearts. God instituted them for helps, but we
make them snares. Well, then, better want senses than gratify them
with the displeasure of God : to lose an eye is a far less evil than to
lose a soul.
[2.] For the tongue. The apostle saith it produceth a world of evil.
It hath a great use in religion, to vent the conceptions of our minds
to the praise and glory of God : James iii. 9, ' Therewith bless we
God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made
after the similitude of God.' In the general, think of this ; every
member must be an instrument of righteousness : is my tongue now
employed for God or for Satan ? when you are apt to run into censur
ing, detraction, vain and frivolous talk.
Use 2. To press you to this solemn dedication of yourselves to God,
entirely, unreservedly, irrevocably.
1. God giveth himself to you in covenant, Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, all their infinite goodness, wisdom, power, &c. ; and will not
you give yourselves wholly to God ?
2. You are already absolutely, wholly his, and will not you consent
that he shall be your God, and you his people ? That is all that is
wanting : Jer. xxiv. 7, ' And I will give them an heart to know me,
that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people, and I will be their
God; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.' This
God worketh by his renewing grace.
3. You are never so much your own as when you are God's, not as
to disposal, but as to enjoyment : 1 Cor. iii. 23, ' All are yours, and
ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's.' There lieth your safety, glory,
and happiness ; it is the foundation of all obedience, and of all com
fort. (1.) Of obedience, you will not easily yield to temptations ; a
Christian hath this answer ready, I am dedicated to God : 1 Cor. vi.
15, ' Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ ? Shall
I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of
an harlot ? God forbid ! ' Nor will you stick at interest : 2 Cor. viii. 5,
' They first gave their ownselves to the Lord, and unto us by the will
of God.' (2.) Then for comfort: John xiv. 1, 'Let not your hearts
be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me;' 1 Tim. vi. 8,
' Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content ;' 1 Peter v. 7,
256 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. XII.
' Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.' This .easeth
you of all your cares and fears, you are God's ; nay, it secureth you
against eternal miseries : John xii. 20, ' Where I am, there shall my
servant be.'
Use 3. To put us upon self-reflection. Is your dedication to God
sincere ? If so
1. In the whole course of your conversation you will prefer his
interest before your own, and when any interest of your own riseth up
against the interest of God, you will set light by it, as if it were nothing
worth, and then no self-respects will tempt you to disobey God, though
never so powerful ; no hire draw you to the smallest sin, nor danger
fright you from your duty: Dan. iii. 17, 18, ' Our God whom we serve
is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver
us out of thine hand, king. But if not, be it known unto thee,
king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship thy golden image
that thou hast set up ; ' Acts xx. 24, ' But none of these things move
me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish
iny course with joy.' If we can but forget ourselves and remember
God, he will remember us better than if we had remembered ourselves.
We secure whatever we put into God's hands, and venture in his
service.
2. You will make conscience how you spend your time and strength ;
God keepeth account : Luke xix. 23, ' Wherefore gavest not thou my
money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine
own with usury ? ' So you will keep a faithful reckoning, how you
lay out yourselves for God, what share he hath in all things we have
and do. God observeth, so must we, whether God have his own, and
we do not defraud him. Whose work are you a-doing ?
3. You will have a liberal heart ; you will think no service too
much, or loss too great for God : Phil. i. 21, ' For me to live is Christ ;'
all other things come from God. Certainly you must not put him off
with what the flesh will spare.
SERMON XII.
For sin shall not have dominion over you ; for ye are not under the
laio, but under grace. ROM. VI. 14.
THE apostle had exhorted them to mortification, ver. 12 ; to vivification,
ver. 13 ; in both to caution that sin may not usurp the power and place
of God, who alone should command and govern both our souls and
bodies. To fight for sin is to fight against God, which should be a
horrid thing to Christians, who should employ all their powers and
faculties to keep up God's interest in their souls, by maintaining that
new life that is given them by God. If we have any weapons or
instruments, they should be employed for God, and not for sin, because
sin was not their lord now as heretofore ; it neither had, nor shall have
dominion over you. If a man should speak to any city (suppose in
Hungary, or other frontier of Christendom), newly freed from Turkish
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 257
slavery, Care not for the commands and threatenings of the Turks
any more, they do not lord it over you as they were wont to do ; the
very same is the argument of the apostle; sin hath not the same
strength against you which before it had, now you are regenerate and
alive from the dead. Nay, he speaketh with more advantage of
expression than any can in an outward case. Sin hath not, sin shall
not have, dominion, &c., if you keep striving and fighting against it ;
this tyrant shall not recover the kingdom in you which he hath lost,
but you shall become victorious by Christ. There are two things
which encourage us to fight (1.) The goodness of the cause ; (2.)
The assurance and hope of victory. The cause is good ; for the busi
ness in debate is, to whom we should yield up ourselves ? to sin, or to
God ? or in whose warfare we shall employ the faculties and powers
of body and soul ? If we take to God's side, the victory is clear, that
grace which hath freed us from the tyranny of sin is able to free us
still, that we shall no more come under that bondage. Strive we must,
for unless we fight and make good our resignation, sin will reign ; but
let not the sense of our weakness discourage us in our endeavours
against sin : though there be some relics of the flesh, yet the sanctifi-
cation of the Spirit shall prevail, and therefore it is laziness and
cowardice if we do not strive duly against sin : ' For sin shall not have
dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace.'
In the words observe
1. The privilege of the renewed and striving Christian, 'Sin shall
not have dominion over you.'
2. The reason of the certainty of it, ' For ye are not under the law,
but under grace.' This reason is both negatively and affirmatively ex
pressed.
[1.] Negatively, ' For ye are not under the law.'
[2.] Positively, 'But under grace.' Both expressions have their
proper emphasis, as you will see by and by.
1. The privilege of the renewed and striving Christian.
[1.] That the renewed Christian is here considered is plain from all
the foregoing context. He speaketh of those that were ' dead unto sin,'
ver. 2, not only in profession and baptismal vow, but really by virtue
of their union to Christ, ver. 5. But how is a Christian dead unto
sin ? Not so as that it should be wholly extinguished in us, but so as
that it is a-dying, and the victory is sure to those that strive against it.
Again, he speaketh of those 'that are alive from the dead,' ver. 13,
had a new life begun in them, and have renounced sin, and effectually
presented and resigned up themselves to God's use and service.
[2.] That the renewed Christian is here considered as striving, be
cause they are the same persons who were exhorted, ver. 12, ' not to
let sin reign ; ' what is here a promise is there an exhortation. Again,
they were such as had presented their members and faculties to the
Lord as oVXa ^iKaioavvr]^, ' weapons or instruments of righteousness.'
Now, what are weapons but for warfare ? They had undertaken in their
covenant resignation not only to work, but fight for God. Eom. xiii.
12, the graces of the Spirit are called ' armour of light.' Christ doth
array us non ad pompam, sed ad pugnam not for show, but use. A
Christian can do no good, but he must fight first. Again, carnal in-
VOL. XI. R
258 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. XII.
ferences are rejected with indignation : ver. 15, ' What then, shall we
sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace ? God forbid !'
and therefore the Christian here is not considered as loose and lazy, but
as warring and fighting against sin. Once more, the argument here
implieth it, ' Ye are under grace,' which impelleth and urgeth us to
resist sin and the lusts thereof. God giveth power to overcome it. So
then the apostle's purpose is to exhort the renewed Christian strongly
to resist sin, because through grace he is sure to carry away the victory ;
whilst we work and concur with our wills and endeavours, ' God work-
eth in us both to will and to do,' Phil. ii. 12.
2. The reason of it
[1.] Negatively expressed, ' Ye are not under the law.' By the law
is meant the covenant of works, which requireth exact obedience, but
giveth no strength to obey ; the law requireth what we must do, but
giveth no power to do what it commandeth ; it forbiddeth sin, and
denounceth judgment ; it terrifieth by its threatenings, and raiseth a
tempest in the conscience ; but it doth not afford us any help and
relief, and so rather irritateth and provoketh the power of sin than
suppresseth it : Kom. vii. 8, ' Sin taking occasion, wrought in me all
manner of concupiscence ; for without the law sin was dead.' As a
river swelleth the more it is restrained by any let or dam, so is corrup
tion stirred, and then a man is discouraged, giveth over all endeavour
of repressing it. So 2 Cor. iii. 6, ' The letter killeth, but the Spirit
giveth life.' The first covenant did only denounce and aggravate our
condemnation, and put us in despair.
[2.] Affirmatively and positively expressed : ' But under grace,' under
the new covenant, or under the grace of Jesus Christ, who hath not
only redeemed us from the guilt of sin, but also from the power of sin.
The grace of remission is our encouragement, and the grace of sancti-
fication our help and relief.
(1.) The grace of remission is a great encouragement, freeth us
from the bondage of despairing thoughts, which weaken our endeavours ;
therefore the apostle opposeth the spirit of power to the spirit of fear.
Christ offering a pardon upon repentance, doth strengthen our hands
in our work.
(2.) The grace of sanctification is our help. God, by his Spirit,
giveth life and strength to do what he requires of us, and power to
resist sin, that we may overcome it : Rom. viii. 2, ' The law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death ;' 1 John v. 4, ' Whosoever is born of God overcometh the world,
and this is the victory whereby we overcome the world, even our faith.'
Lux jubet, gratia juvat the law commandeth, but grace helpeth.
Doct. That sin should not, and shall not, reign over those who are
under the sacred power and influence of Jesus Christ.
1. Dejure, it should not reign over them ; it hath no right to rule,
it is a usurper. They who are redeemed by Christ should bind this
duty upon their hearts, charge themselves with it, to take heed that
sin doth not reign. It was once our lord and master, but we have
changed masters, and profess ourselves now to be dead to sin and alive
unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord ; therefore we should strive
against it, lest it recover its old dominion over us.
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 259
2. De facto, it is not fully obeyed ; it doth not absolutely get the
victory, and bear rule in our hearts, but is weakened more and more in
them who have given up themselves to the regimen and government
of grace. Here
[1.] What is the dominion of sin ?
[2.] What need the children of God to take heed it be not set up in
their hearts ?
[3.] What hopes and encouragements they have by the gospel or
grace of Jesus Christ whilst they are striving against it ?
First, What is the dominion of sin ? That will be best known by
some distinctions and propositions.
1. We must distinguish between the being and reign of sin. The
apostle doth not say, ' Ye shall not sin any more, because ye are not
under the law, but under grace ;' but ' sin shall not have dominion over
you/ it shall not get the better. Sin doth remain and dwell in the
saints, though not reign over them ; as the beasts in Dan. vii. 12, their
dominion was taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season
and time. It is cast down in regard of regency, but not cast out in
regard of inherency ; grace doth not wholly extinguish it, but only repel
the motions of it. Sin will rebel, but it shall not reign ; they do not
give way to it, nor actually obey and embrace the commands of it ; they
do not do all that sin would have them to do. If the apostle had said,
Let not sin be in your mortal bodies, as long as we carry flesh about us,
he would not have expected the exhortation to have been fully answered ;
but he saith, Let it not reign, which as well can as it ought to be com
plied with.
2. Sin doth reign when either it is not opposed, or when it is opposed
weakly and with a faint resistance. Where it is not opposed, there it
remaineth in its full strength ; and where it is opposed weakly, and
without any victory and success, it argueth only a sense of duty, but
no effect of grace.
[1.] Sin reigneth when it is not opposed, when a man doth yield up
himself to execute all the commands thereof, and doth fulfil and obey
its lusts ; as the ambitious, the worldly, and the voluptuous do what
soever their lusts command them, with a miserable bondage, yea, they
willingly walk after it : Prov. vii. 22, ' He goeth after her straightway
as an ox to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks.'
Sin is as a guest to evil men, but as a thief and robber to the godly,
welcome to the one, but the other would not have it come into their
hearts. It is one thing to wear a chain as an ornament, another as a
bond and fetter ; to give way to sin, or to have it break in upon us ; to
put it on willingly, or to have it put and forced upon us. It may be
they may be sensible of it, they may purpose not to do it, or may com
plain of it ; but this is a constant truth, that we oftener complain of
sin than we do resist it, and oftener resist it than prevail against it.
It is not enough for men to see their sins, or blame them in themselves,
or to purpose to amend them and forsake them, but they must strive to
overcome them, and in striving, prevail. But we speak now of the
first complaining of sin. There is a double deceit of heart, whereby
men harden themselves in complaining of sin without resistance of it.
(1.) Either men complain of other sins, and not the main, as if a man
260 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XII.
should complain of an aching tooth when the disease hath seized upon
the vitals ; or of a cut finger when at the same time he is wounded at
the heart ; of wandering thoughts in prayer when at the same time the
heart is habitually averse or estranged from God, through some idols
which are set up there : Ezek. xiv. 3, 5, ' Son of man, these men have
set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling-block of their
iniquity before their face ; should I be inquired of at all by them ? '
and ver. 5, ' That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart,
because they are all estranged from me through their idols.' They
complain of want of quickening grace, when it may be they want con
verting grace, as if we would have the Spirit of God to blow to a dead
coal. So when we pray for strengthening grace, when we should ask
renewing grace, and confess only the infirmities of the saints, when we
should bewail the misery of an unregenerate carnal estate ; and we
cry out of some incident weaknesses, when we should first see that our
habitual aversion from God is cured. As Moses pleaded many things
why he should not be sent to Egypt, he was not eloquent, and the like :
Exod. iv. 19, 'Go return into Egypt, for all the men are dead which
sought thy life ; ' he had never pleaded this, but God knew where the
pinch was, and that was the main ground of his tergiversation, and
therefore gently toucheth his privy sore. So some complain of other
things, this and that is amiss, but the main thing is neglected and
lightly passed over. (2.) We rather complain than give over sin
ning ; resistance is certainly a greater evidence of a sincere heart than
complaining. We should not be so haunted with temptations if we
did resist more : James iv. 7, ' Eesist the devil, and he shall flee from
you.' Satan only hath weapons offensive, as fiery darts ; he hath none
defensive, as a Christian hath, namely, sword and shield ; and we should
not be so much troubled with the ill consequents of sin. Who will
pity that man that complains of soreness and pain, and doth not take
the gravel out of his shoe ? If you wound and gore yourselves, no
question but your smart and trouble is real, you do not complain in
hypocrisy ; but who is to be blamed ? your business is to remove
the cause. We read of the young man, Mat. x. 22, ' He was sad at
that saying, and went away grieved, for he had great possessions.'
His grief was a real grief, but the cause was in himself ; he would have
Christ, and yet keep his love to the world still ; so many complain of
their lusts, not as a burden, for they indulge them, but because of their
inconvenience ; they cannot reconcile their sense of duty with those
corrupt affections which it apparently disproveth.
[2.] When it is opposed weakly, and with a faint resistance. It is
not enough for men to see their sins, and blame them in themselves,
or purpose to amend and forsake them, but they must strive to over
come them, and in striving prevail, for otherwise sensuality carrieth it,
because our reason and will make too weak an opposition. Jesus
Christ our head and chief resisted Satan's motions with indignation,
' Get thee behind me, Satan ; ' so must we. When we speak faintly and
coldly, the devil reneweth the assault with the more violence ; there
fore our resistance must be valid and strong. Many purposes there
are that come to nothing, because they are not deep and serious:
Pharaoh in his qualms proposed to let the children of Israel go ; and
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 261
yet, when it came to it, he would not let them go : Saul purposed in
his heart not to kill David, yea, bound it by an oath ; yet afterwards
he attempted it, 1 Sam. xix. 6, compared with 10 and 11. So many
times they purpose to avoid the sin by which they have been foiled ;
but when the temptation returneth, they are overborne with it, as
marsh ground is drowned with the return of every tide. Many are
persuaded that sin is evil, as contrary to God and hurtful to them
selves ; hereupon they have some mind to let it go, yea, some wishes
and weak desires, that Christ would save them from it ; yet still have
a love that is greater than their dislike, the bent of their hearts is more
for it than against it, and their habitual inclination is more to keep it
than leave it. Therefore we must look not only to our endeavour, but
to the success that we have against sin ; for if our will were more
strong, and our endeavour more serious, we should have more success ;
if there were a firm ratified resolution of mortifying and crucifying
every sin, and an endeavouring against sin with all speed and diligence,
the old man would more decay in us, and the life of grace be set up
with greater power and efficacy. I would not leave this point without
distinct information.
(1.) Then, there are certain unavoidable infirmities which the saints
cannot get rid of, though they fain would ; such as the apostle speaketh
of, Rom. vii. 19, ' When I would do good, evil is present with me.'
As those swarms of noisome and unsavoury thoughts, which are injected
on a sudden, and do hinder us and distract us in the best employment,
wandering thoughts in the time of prayer, never distinctly consented
to, rash words spoken of a sudden, sudden unpremeditated actions. In
these cases watching and striving is conquering, for you do prevail in
part, though not in whole ; it preventeth many of them. Of this
nature are want of degrees of love to God, and that liberty and purity
in his service which the holy soul aimeth at, and the first stirrings and
risings of corruption in the heart.
(2.) There are a smaller sort of sins, as the sins of daily incursion :
James iii. 2, ' In many things we offend all of us/ There is no man,
so exact but his watch is intermitted, and then he will be sinning ;
other cannot be looked for in this state of frailty wherein we now are.
We bewray too much dulness, weariness, formality in our duties to
God, our domestic crosses put us into fits of anger and discontent ; in
our public actions some intermixture of hypocrisy and vainglory, some
high-mindedness in our prosperity, some distrust and uncomely dis
quiet of spirit in our adversity. Our Lord telleth us, John xiii. 10,
' He that is washed, needeth not save to wash his feet.' They that are
in a holy state, by walking up and down in the world, in the several
businesses and employments thereof, contract some filth, which must
be washed off every day by a renewed application of the blood of
Christ, which is the fountain God hath opened for uncleanness.
Though the saints do not (like swine) voluntarily wallow in the
puddle, yet in a polluted world they contract some filth. In this
case, every failing must make us more wary and watchful, and teach
us wisdom, that we do not lapse another time.
(3.) By the sway of great and headstrong passions, some that make
conscience of their ways in the general may fall into sins more heinous,
262 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XII.
but they do not make a trade of it, or settle in such an evil way. To
lapse ordinarily, frequently, easily into these sins, will not stand with
grace. The saints may fail in their duty strangely on occasions, as
David, Peter, Lot, &c. ; as a man sailing into France, a tempest may
drive him into Spain, or some other country. Their face is towards
heaven, but a sudden passion may drive them another way ; as the
wicked are good by fits, but evil by constitution. So the children of
God, the constitution and bent of their hearts is towards God ; for a
fit or so they may do things misbecoming the new nature, but as soon
as awakened, they retract their sins by a special repentance : Ps. li. 3, 4,
' For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy
sight.'
[3.] As sin in general should not bear sway in our hearts, so no one
sin should have dominion over us : Ps. cxix. 133, ' Order my steps in
thy word, and let not any iniquity have dominion over me ; ' neither
this nor that. One sin allowed may keep God out of the throne, and
may keep afoot Satan's interest in the soul. Certainly he that is in
the state of grace lieth in no known sin. Every known sin sets up
another god and lord, and all his actions will have an evil tincture
from that sin ; every action will be levelled with the main thing
which he affects, be it what it will be ; therefore it is dangerous to
know anything to be sin, and yet to go on still to commit it, though it
be not in materia gravi, in a heinous case ; as for instance, vain
speeches, wanton gestures, &c. ; he knoweth it is a sin to be idle ; it
cometh into his mind ; his conscience telleth him that he should not,
yet he will : so for immoderate gaming, as to the expense of time or
money, if one convinced that he should not yet will use it ; these lesser
failings persisted in, and kept up constantly against the light and
checks of conscience, may amount to a dangerous evil. Surely all that
fear and love God should be very tender of displeasing and dishonour
ing him. The domination of acts of sin is dangerous ; though they
be not settled so as to damn him, yet they may cause God to afflict
you, hide his face from you, and humble you with a sense of his
displeasure. Small sins continued in against checks of conscience may
do us a great deal of harm, and get the upper hand of the sinner, and
bring him under in time ; after, if habituated by long custom, so as he
cannot easily shake off the yoke, or redeem himself from the tyranny
thereof, they steal into the soul insensibly, and get strength, as multi
plied acts ; but gross presumptuous sins by one single act bring a
mighty advantage to the flesh, weaken the spirit, advance themselves
suddenly.
[4.] As particular sins get into the throne by turns, sometimes one
sometimes another, so there are evil frames of spirit that do more
directly oppose the esteem and sovereignty and power of God in the
heart ; as those three mentioned : 1 John ii. 16, ' The lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eye, and the pride of life ; ' either voluptuousness or the
inordinate love of pleasures, when men make it their business to gratify
their senses, and glut and throng their hearts with all manner of de
lights ; or else are surprised with an immeasurable desire of heaping
up riches, or affectation of credit and honour. Now these evil frames
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 263
of heart should be the more watched and striven against, because these
sins rise up against God, as he is the last end and chief good ; they set
up idols instead of God, mammon instead of God. All that are carnal
and unsanctified are under the power of these : Luke viii. 14, ' That
which fell among thorns are they, which when they have heard, go
forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life,
and bring forth no fruit to perfection ; ' they never carry on religion
to any good effect and purpose. And there are none of God's children
but need constantly to be mortifying and subduing them. As in a gar
den the weeds will grow, because the roots are not quite plucked up, so
there must be a constant mortification, because they are natural to us,
and the back bias of corruption is not wholly taken off, even in the
most mortified of God's children.
[5.] There is a dominion of sin, which is more gross and sensible,
or more secret and close. More open ; for though sin doth reign in
every one by nature, yet this dominion doth more sensibly appear in
some than others, who are judicially given up to be under the visible
dominion of sin, as the just fruit of their voluntary living under that
yoke, and are set forth as warnings to the rest of the world, as men
hung up in chains of darkness ; they are apparently and in conspectu
hominum instances of this woful slavery ; every man that seeth them,
and is acquainted with their course of life, may without breach of
charity say, There goeth one who declareth himself to be a servant to
sin. This may be either as to sin in general, or to some particular
sin.
(1.) To sin in general. Whosoever he be that, instead of trembling
at God's word, scoff eth at it, and maketh more account of the course
of this world than of the will of God, of the fashions of men than of
God's word, and thinketh the scorn of a base worm, that would deride
him for godliness, a greater terror than the wrath of the eternal God,
and the love of his carnal companions is prized as a greater happiness
than communion with Christ, and, instead of working out his salvation
with fear and trembling, runneth into all excess of riot, or carelessly
neglects his precious soul while he pampereth his vile body, and doth
voluntarily and ordinarily leave the boat to the stream, and give up
himself to serve his corruptions without resistance or seeking out for
help ; this man is without dispute, and in the eye of all the world, a
slave to sin : Rom. vi. 16, ' Know ye not, that to whom ye yield your
selves servants to obey, his servants ye are, whether of sin unto death,
or of obedience unto righteousness ? ' It is an apparent case ; a man
that giveth up himself to go on in the way of his own heart, restraineth
himself in nothing which it affects, is one of sin's slaves. So our Lord
Jesus : John viii. 34, ' Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever com-
mitteth sin is the servant of sin ; ' there needeth no further doubt nor
debate about the matter. He that goeth on in a trade of sin, and
maketh that his work and business in the world, never seriously looking
after the saving of his soul, this soul is one in whom sin reigneth.
(2.) To some particular sin. As we have instances of carnal wretches
in the general, so of some poor captive souls that remain under the full
power and tyranny of this or that lust, and are so remarkable for their
slavery and bondage under it that the world will point at them, and
264 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. XII.
say, There goeth a glutton, a drunkard, an adulterer, a covetous world
ling and muckworm, a proud envious person ; their sin is broken out
in some filthy sore and scab, that is visible to every common eye and
view, either their covetousness or gluttony, or ambitious affectation of
greatness, &c. Observers may truly say, There is one whose god is his
belly, a slave to appetite : 2 Peter ii. 19, ' While they promise them
selves liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption ; for of
whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.'
They grow proverbial for giving up themselves wholly to such a
conquering and prevailing lust. As in natural things, several men
have their distinct excellences, some are famous for a strong sight,
some for an exquisite ear, some for a nimble tongue, some for agility
of body ; so these have some notable excess in this or that sort of sin.
Or as the saints of God are eminent for some special graces, Abraham
for faith, Moses for meekness, Job for patience, Joseph for chastity,
Timothy for temperance ; so these have their notorious and contrary
blemishes.
2. There is a more secret and close dominion of sin, that is varnished
over with a fair appearance. Men have many good qualities, no
notorious blemishes, but yet some sensitive good or other lieth nearest
the heart, and occupieth the room and place of God; that is, it is
loved, respected, and served instead of God, or more than God. That
which is our chief est good or last end is our god, or occupieth the
room of God : Mat. vi. 24, ' No man can serve two masters ; for either
he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one,
and despise the other : ye cannot serve God and mammon ;' John v.
44, ' How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and
seek not the honour that cometh from God only ?' Luke xiv. 26, ' If
any come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and
children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot
be my disciple.' We must be dead not only to carnal pleasures, but
to relations, estate, yea, life and all ; nothing on this side God must sit
nearest the heart, nor bring us under its command and power : 1 Cor.
vi. 12, ' I will not be brought under the power of anything.' We are
besotted and bewitched with some temporal thing, cannot part with it,
or leave it for God's sake, or notwithstanding all the mischief it doth
to his interest in the soul : though a man serve it cunningly, closely,
and by a cleanly conveyance, yet all his religion is to hide and feed
this lust.
[6.] There is a predominancy of one sin over another, and the
predominancy of sin over grace. In the first sense renewed men may
be said to have some reigning corruption or predominant sin, namely,
in comparison of other sins. That such predominant sins they have
appeareth by the great sway and power they bear in commanding other
evils to be committed or foreborne accordingly as they contribute to
the advancement or hindrance of this sin ; as in the body, a wen or
strain draweth all the noxious humours to itself, and thereby groweth
more great and monstrous. It appeareth also by the frequent relapses
of the saints into them, and their unwillingness to admit admonition
and reproof for them, and sometimes their falling into them out of an
inward propensity, when outward temptations are none, or weak, or
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 265
very few. Well, then, there are some sins which are less mortified
than others, or unto which they are naturally carried by constitution,
or education, natural inclination, or course of life. Thus David had
his iniquity : Ps. xviii. 23, ' I was also upright before him, and I kept
myself from mine iniquity ; ' whether it were hastiness or distrust of
the promise, or also an inclination to revenge himself, some sins that
men savour, or withstand less, or which are more urgent and impor
tunate upon them, and steal away their hearts most from God, the
great pond into which other rivulets or streams of sin do empty
themselves, or that bough or limb which taketh away the nourishment
from all the under-shrubs, that which is loved and delighted in above
other sins, and when other sins will not prevail, the devil sets this
a- work, as the disciples looked on the disciple whom Jesus loved:
John xiii. 23, 24, ' Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of the
disciples whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned unto
him that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.' Well,
then, in regard of other sins, one may reign and sit in the throne of
the heart, or be loved more than another ; but not in regard of predo
minancy over grace, for that is contrary to the new nature, that sin
should have the upper hand constantly and universally in the soul.
For any one thing, though never so lawful in itself, habitually loved
more than God, will not stand with sincerity : Luke xiv. 33, ' Whoso
ever he be that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple/
If we must not keep our natural comforts, certainly not our carnal lusts.
To love anything apart from Christ, or against Christ, or above Christ,
is a dispossessing of Christ, or a casting him out of the throne.
[7.] There is a twofold prevalency and dominion actual or habitual.
Actual is only for a time, habitual for a constancy ; though a regenerate
man be not one that lets sin reign over him habitually, yet too often
doth sin reign over him actually, as to some particular acts of sin.
(1 .) The habitual reign of sin may be known by the general frame
and state of the heart and life, where it is constantly yielded unto, and
not controlled and opposed, but beareth sway with the contentment
and delight of the party sinning. Men give the bridle to sin, and let
it lead them whither it will, and generally walk after the flesh, and
not after the Spirit. No doubt that is peccatum regnans, cui homo
nee vult, nee potest resistere; the sinner hath neither will nor power,
because usually after many lapses into heinous sin, God giveth up men
to penal or judicial hardness of heart ; they first voluntarily take on
these bonds and chains upon themselves ; these are said ' to walk after
their own lusts,' 2 Peter iii. 3 ; ' to continue or live in sin/ Eom. vi. 2 ;
' to be dead in trespasses and sins,' Eph. ii. 1 ; ' to serve divers lusts and
pleasures/ Titus iii. 3; 'to draw on iniquity with cart-ropes,' Isa. v. 18 ;
to addict and give up themselves to a trade of sin with delight and
consent. But, more closely, the reign of sin is never broken till the
flesh be made subject to the Spirit ; that will be found by examining
every day what advantage the Spirit hath gotten against the flesh, or
the flesh against the Spirit, how providences and ordinances are blessed
for that end, or for the weakening of sin ; for every day the one or the
other gets ground. Dough once soured with leaven, will never lose
the taste and smatch, but the sweetness of the corn may prevail above
266 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XIII.
it. Sin dwelleth in the heart, but doth it decay ? Gal. v. 16, ' This
I say, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.'
(2.) Actual sin may now and then get a victory over the faithful,
but not a full quiet reign. Sin actually prevaileth when we do that
which is evil against our consciences, or yield pro hie et nunc to obey
sin in the lusts thereof. It gaineth our consent for the time, but the
general frame and bent of the heart is against it. In short, when sin
is perfected into some evil action, or ' lust hath conceived and brought
forth sin/ James i. 15, that, is, some heinous offence, for that time no
question it hath the upper hand, and carrieth it from grace, and the
flesh doth show itself in them more than the Spirit. A man may
please a lesser friend before a greater in an act or two, but every
presumptuous act of sin puts the sceptre into his hands. Note, that
the predominancy spoken of in the former distinction and this do
much prejudice a Christian, waste his conscience, hinder his joy of
faith ; and if not broken in time, or we sin often, we cannot be excused
from the habitual reign of sin. Note again, every dislike doth not
hinder the reign of sin ; it doth constantly govern our lives, though
there may be some resistance.
SEEMON XIII.
For sin shall not have dominion over you ; for ye are not under the
law, but under grace. KOM. VI. 14.
SECONDLY, I now come to handle the second general. There is a
necessity incumbent upon them
1. From their own proneness and proclivity to fall into sin.
2. From the mischiefs arising from reigning sin.
3. From the unsuitableness of it to their renewed state.
4. They cannot otherwise maintain their hopes of glory.
First, Because of their own proneness and proclivity to this evil.
That appeareth
1. Because there is sin still in us, a bosom enemy which is born and
bred with us, and therefore will soon get the advantage of grace, if it
be not well watched and resisted, as nettles and weeds, which are kindly
to the soil, and grow of their own accord, will soon choke flowers and
better herbs, which are planted by care and industry, when they are
neglected and not continually rooted out. We cannot get rid of this
cursed inmate till this outward tabernacle be dissolved, and this house
of clay be crumbled into dust, like ivy gotten into a wall, that will not
be destroyed till the wall be pulled down ; the Israelites could not
wholly expel the Canaanites ; and therefore we are the more obliged
to keep them under. Our nature is so inclinable to this slavery, that
if God subtract his grace, and we be altogether negligent, we shall
soon rue the sad effects of it.
2. It is not only in us, but it is always working in us, and striving
for the mastery. Sin is not as other things, which, as they grow in
age, they grow more quiet and tame. No ; it is every day more active
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 267
and stirring : James iv. 5, ' The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to
envy.' It is not a sleepy, but a working stirring principle : Kom. vii.
8, ' Sin wrought in me all manner of concupiscence.' If it were a dull
and an inactive habit, the danger were not so great ; but it is always
working, and putting forth itself, and seeking to gain an interest in
our affections, and a command over all our motions and actions.
Therefore, unless we do our part to keep it under, we shall soon revert
to our old slavery. It is like a living fountain, that poureth out waters,
though nobody cometh to drink of it; though there be nothing to
irritate it but God's law and the motions of his Spirit, there is a
continual fermentation of the corrupt humours in our souls.
3. It is always warring, as well as working : Rom. vii. 23, ' I see
another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and
bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members/
Sin seeketh to deface all these impressions of God which are upon the
heart, which bind the conscience to holiness, and to stifle all these
motions that tend to it. That it may alone reign in the heart without
control, it sets itself in direct opposition against all those dictates of
conscience, and holy motions and inspirations, that the sinner may be
fully captivated to do what the flesh requireth to be done by him ;
therefore it must be kept under as a slave, or it will get up as a
tyrant and domineer. One sin that we least suspect may bring us
under this slavery. It doth not only make us flexible and yielding to
temptations, but it doth urge and impel us thereunto. We think and
speak too gently of corruption when we think and speak of it as a tame
thing, that worketh not till it be irritated by the suggestions of Satan.
No ; it riseth up in arms against everything of God in the heart.
4. The more it acteth, the more it getteth strength, as all habits
are increased by multiplied acts ; and when we have once yielded, we
are ready to yield again, as a brand that hath been once burned is
more apt to take fire a second time: Deut. xxix. 19, 'And it come
to pass, when he heareth to words of this curse, that he bless himself
in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagina
tion of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst.' After men have once
committed a sin, they are more vehement to venture on it again ; at
first we cannot get down sin so easily, till a habit and custom hath
smoothed it to our throats. Well, then, this bondage is daily increas
ing, and more hard to be prevented. By multiplied acts a custom
creepeth on us, which is as another nature, and that which might be
easily remedied at first groweth more difficult to be subdued. As
diseases looked to at first are easy to be cured, but when once they
become inveterate the cure is more desperate, so are sins before we are
hardened into a custom : Jer. xiii. 23, ' Can an Ethiopian change his
skin, or the leopard his spots ? then may ye also do good who are
accustomed to do evil.' No means will then prevail to work it out of
them, or bring them to any good ; the more we sin, the more are we
enthralled to sin, as a nail, the more it is knocked, the more it is
fastened into the wood. A sinner is often compared to a slave or
servant ; now there were two sorts of servants or slaves such as were
so by covenant and by their own consent, or such as were so by conquest
or surprisal in war. The first similitude is used, Rom. vi. 16, ' Know
2C8 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XIII.
ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants
ye are whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness.' The other servant by conquest is spoken of, 2 Peter ii.
19, ' For of whom a man is overcome, of the same also is he brought
into bondage.' Now these notions I would rank thus : every carnal
man at his first entrance into a course of vanity and sin is a servant
by consent, hire, or contract, for he doth consecrate his life and his
love, his time and his care, his actions and his employments to please
his lusts ; we first willingly and by our own default give up ourselves
to this course. But the customary sinner by conquest, that hath so
crippled and maimed his faculties that he cannot be at liberty if he
would, then they grow complete slaves to their lusts, as captives in war
are servants to their conquerors ; for whilst they do voluntarily and
ordinarily give up themselves to serve the devil and, their own corrup
tions without resistance, or crying to Christ for help, they are very
bond-slaves and held in chains of darkness, till the supreme judge
execute deserved wrath upon them. Augustine complaineth, Ltgatus
eram, non ferro alieno, sed mea ferrea voluntate, velle meum tenebat
inimicus, et me mild catenam fecerat et constrinxerat me Lord, I am
bound, not with iron, but with an obstinate will ; I gave my will to
mine enemy, and he made a chain of it to bind me, and keep me from
thee ; quippe ex voluntate perversa facia est libido ; et dum servitur
libidini, facta est consuetudo ; et dum consuetudini non res istitur, facia
est necessitas a perverse will gave way to lustings, and lusting made
way for a custom, and custom let alone brought a necessity upon me,
that I can do nothing but sin against thee. Thus are we by little and
little enslaved, and brought under the power of every carnal vanity.
Well, now, put all together ; are these things spoken of ourselves or of
another ? Is it so indeed, that there is such a warring ? and are we
not obliged to be watchful and careful ?
Secondly, From the mischievous influence and heinous nature of
reigning sin.
1. When sin reigneth, it plucketh the sceptre out of God's hands,
and giveth it to some vile and base thing which is set up in God's
stead ; as the setting up of a usurper is the rejection of the lawful king.
The throne belonging to God must be kept for him alone ; therefore
every degree of service done to sin includeth a like degree of treason
and infidelity to Christ. Our Lord telleth us, Mat. vi. 24, ' No man
can serve two masters ; for either he will hate the one, and love the
other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other : ye cannot
serve God and mammon/ As no man can serve two masters, God and
mammon, so every one serveth one of these, God or mammon, for the
throne is never empty ; but between both of them you cannot divide
your heart. Neither dominion nor wedlock can endure partners ; so
that by cleaving to the one, you refuse and renounce the other. To
serve God is to give up a man's mind, and heart, and whole man, to
know and do what God requireth, whatever be the consequences. Now
this doth necessarily imply a renunciation of all those things which
cross and contradict the will of God, be it devil, world, or flesh. So to
serve mammon is to give up a man's mind, heart, endeavour to find
out and follow after the riches, honours, and pleasures of the world,
YER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 269
whatever may come of it. He that would serve God must do nothing but
what God alloweth him in the matter of pleasure, profit, or preferment,
or any other thing ; for God is not well served unless he be served as
a master commanding and governing all our actions. On the other
side, he that serveth the world giveth God only what the world and flesh
can spare, so much religion, strictness, and good conscience as will stand
with his carnal ends and affections ; for then the world is served as a
master when men dispose of themselves and all their concernments,
and rule themselves and please themselves, according to that fleshly and
worldly appetite and fancy that governeth them ; and God is no further
loved, obeyed, pleased, than that love of honour, profit, or pleasure will
give leave. Well, then, by this you may plainly see that the setting
up of any lust to reign is a laying aside and a deposing of God ; for if
a man be bound absolutely to resign up himself to the will and disposal
of God, and to obey him, and love and serve him with all his powers,
and this man on the contrary giveth up himself into the hands of some
carnal affection of his, be it pride, sensuality, or love of worldly things,
and this ruleth him, and this governeth him, and this he studieth to
please and gratify, certainly these pleasures, or profits, or honours are
set up in God's stead ; it is a plain refusing one, and a cleaving to the
other, a despising God and Christ, and a preferring the world and
Satan. And it will not help the matter, though we profess Christ to
be the Lord : all formal titles are a mockage : Mat. vii. 21, ' Not every
one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven ; '
Luke vi. 46, ' And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things
which I say?' Many who profess Christ to be their Lord, are as
true bondmen to Satan as the heathen who offered sacrifice to him ;
and a drunken and unclean Christian is as true a servant to the devil
as the votaries and worshippers of Priapus, or Bacchus, or Venus ; for
he doth as absolutely command your affections as he did theirs ; and
though you are Christ's by profession, yet you are Satan's by possession
and occupation, and the bond of your servitude is altogether as firm
and as strong, though it be more inward and secret, than their rites of
worship. Neither will it help the matter, that as you do not profess,
so you do not intend so ; though we do not formally intend this, yet
virtually we do, and so God will account it ; it is finis operis, though
not operantis. If a wife be false to her husband's bed, will it be excuse
enough to say she did not intend to wrong him ? or will such a saying
excuse a subject that is disloyal to his prince, and sets up a usurper ?
Well, then, what horror should this beget in our minds ! and what
care should we take that sin may not reign !
2. The reign of sin is mischievous to us. Sin, when it once gets the
throne, it groweth outrageous, and involveth us in so many incon
veniences, that we cannot easily disentangle ourselves, and get out
again.
[1.] This is one, that it turneth the man upside down, and degradeth
and depresseth him to the rank of beasts. A brutish worlding, that
once gratifieth his carnal affections, is but a nobler kind of beast ; he
employeth his reason to gratify his appetite, and puts conscience under
the dominion of sense, and so inverteth the whole nature of a man :
270 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. XIII.
Titus iii. 3, ' Serving divers lusts and pleasures.' The worldly bait
taketh advantage of the brutish part, when reason is asleep, and then
the beast rideth and ruleth the man, and reason becometh a slave to
sensuality.
[2.] This servitude is so burdensome as well as base, and attended
with so much pain and shame, that those that know the service of sin
(as we all do by sad experience) should use all caution that it never
bring them into bondage. Again the apostle dissuadeth from the reign
of sin by this argument : Horn. vi. 21, ' When ye were the servants of
sin, ye were free from righteousness; what fruit had ye then in those
things whereof ye are now ashamed ? ' As if he had said, You have
full experience of the service of sin, and the fruits of it ; what fruit
then ? Before you had a contrary principle set up in your hearts,
you are ashamed now ; that is, now ye know better 1 things, but what
fruit then ? Nothing but toils, and gripes, and fears, and sad twinges
of conscience ; for what other thing can be expected of him that every
day liveth within a step of hell ? The devil hath one bad property,
which no other master hath, how cruel soever, and that is, to plague
and torment them most who have done him most continual and faith
ful service. Those that have sinned most have most horror, and every
degree of carnal indulgence hath a proportionable degree of fear and
shame and punishment. I speak nothing all this while of the wasting
of estate and health, of the loss of credit and interest, of the cost and
pains which the drudgery of sin puts men upon ; many suffer more hard
ship in Satan's service than any man in God's ; their sin costs them
dearer than any martyr ever endured to go to heaven. Lastly, the
reward of all is everlasting destruction : Rom. vi. 21, ' For the end of
these things is death ; but being made free from sin, and become the
servants of righteousness, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end
everlasting life.' After all your time and strength hath been spent in
the pursuit of vanity, what is the issue but everlasting horror and
punishment ? Oh ! then, when you see the bait, remember the hook ;
when you hear the serpent hiss, see its sting ; and reckon that ever
lasting death is attending the eating of forbidden fruit. When it
seemeth most pleasant to the eye, let not the pomps and vanities of the
world entice you into a forgetfulness of God, before whom you must
appear as your judge ; nor of your immortal souls, which must one day
be rent from the embraces of the body, and will survive them, and be
commanded into the everlasting regions of light or darkness, ease or
sorrow. Hell and heaven are not matters to be trifled with, nor should
we easily hazard the feeling of the one, or the loss of the other.
3. The mischievous influence and heinous nature of reigning sin
appeareth in this, that it rendereth your sincerity questionable ; yea,
rather it is a sure note of a carnal state, where it is habitual. There
will be pride, earthliness, and sensuality dwelling, stirring and work
ing in the best of God's children ; but it hath not its wonted power
over them. Christ will not reckon men slaves by their having sin, nor
yet by their daily failings and infirmities, nor by their falling now and
then into foul faults by the violence of a temptation, unless they settle
in a constant trade of sin, and set up no course of mortification against
it. Though there be not a good man upon earth that smneth not, yet
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 271
surely there is a difference between the regenerate and unregenerate.
There are some 'whose spot is not as the spot of God's children,'
Deut. xxxii. 5. There is a difference between sins. God gave the
priest under the law direction how to put a difference between leprous
persons, some of which were unclean, others clean, Lev. xiii. 38, 39 ;
there was some leprosy that spoiled the skin, but did not fret the flesh,
which the priest was to pronounce clean. God showeth himself hereby
merciful to the infirmities of his people, not esteeming every spot and
deformity in them as malignant sin ; so ver. 23, 'If the bright spot
stay in his place, and spread not, it is a burning boil, and the priest
shall pronounce him clean ; ' to wit, from the contagion of leprosy ;
which signified, that though the signs and marks of sin which God
hath healed by forgiveness remain still, yet, if they spread not, that is,
reign not in our mortal bodies, they shall not be imputed to us, but
forgiven : ' Because we are not under the law, but under grace/ On
the other side, if the spot were turned bright, and deeper than the
skin, the priest was to pronounce him unclean ; ver. 25, ' And if it
did spread much abroad, the priest was to pronounce him unclean ; it
was the plague of leprosy,' ver. 27. And again we read in ver. 44,
' When the priest was to pronounce him utterly unclean, his plague
was in his head.' If to infirmity there be added malignity and pre
sumption, it maketh the sinner a spiritual leper in the sight of God ;
and ' he did rend his clothes, and make bare his head, and cry out,
Unclean, unclean,' ver. 45, importing thereby humble and penitent
acknowledgment, or broken-hearted representing of our sin and misery,
or sense of our own plague and grief : and he was to dwell alone till
he was healed, ver. 46 ; that is, he was deprived of communion with
God till a thorough cure was wrought in him. As it was in the
ordinances of the law, so it is true also in the gospel. There is a dif
ference between sins and sins, and sinners and sinners ; there is a
difference between dimness of sight and blindness, between numbness
and death, between want of sense and want of life, between slumbering
and sleeping, between slipping into a ditch and tumbling ourselves
headlong into the mire ; so there is a difference between infirmities
and iniquities, a failing out of ignorance and weakness and some
powerful temptation, and a running headlong unto all ungodliness.
God's children have their failings, but a burning and earnest desire to
be freed from them ; in others there is a wallowing in sin without any
care of remedy ; in the one it is a failing in point of particular duty,
in the other a rebellion. Judas and Peter both sinned against their
master ; the one denied him, the other betrayed him ; the one was
overcome by fear, the other inclined by covetousness of a little money ;
the one plotted,. the other was surprised. A purpose and a surprise are
two different things ; the one went out and wept bitterly, the other was
given up to raging despair. David did not make a trade of adultery,
nor bathe himself in filthy lusts. Noah was drunk by not knowing the
force of the juice of the grape. They do not lie in this state, but seek
to get out of it by repentance. Closer discoveries I reserve to the use.
Thirdly, My next argument is the unsuitableness and uncomeliness
that sin should reign in Christians, who are Christ's, and should live to
him, and for him. It misbecometh them as they profess themselves
272 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [&ER. XIII.
to be Christ's. We have no power to dispose of ourselves, being wholly
his by purchase and covenant.
1. By purchase: 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20, 'Ye are not your own, ye are
bought with a price.' Quod venditur transit in potestatem ementis
the buyer hath a power over what he hath bought. We were lost,
sold away, had sold ourselves against all right and justice ; but Christ
was pleased to redeem us, and that with no slight thing, but his own
blood. Now how can you look your Redeemer in the face at the last
day ? If you have any sense and belief of Christian mysteries, you
should be afraid to rob Christ of his purchase : 1 Cor. vi. 15, ' Shall I
take the members of Christ, and make them the members of a harlot ?
God forbid ! ' He hath bought us to this very end, that you may be
no longer under the slavery of sin, but under his blessed government,
and the sceptre of his Spirit : Titus ii. 14, ' He hath redeemed us from
all iniquity ; ' that was his end, to set us at liberty, and free us from
our sins ; and therefore, for us to despise the benefit, and to count our
bondage to be a delight and privilege, this is to build up again that
which he came to destroy, to put our Redeemer to shame, to tie those
cords the faster which he came to unloose ; and so it is as great an
affront and disparagement of his undertaking as possibly can be.
Therefore let not sin live and reign.
2. We are his not only by purchase, but by covenant : Ezek. xvi. 8,
' I entered into covenant with thee, and thou becamest mine.' We
wholly gave over ourselves to his use and service. This covenant was
ratified in baptism, wherein ' we were planted into the likeness of his
death,' Rom. vi. 3-5. How into the likeness of his death? To die
unto sin, as he died for sin ; that is explained by the apostle, ver. 9,
' Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more
dominion over him.' His resurrection instated him in an eternal life,
never to come under the power of death again ; so are we to rise to a new
life, never to return to our sins again. Now shall we rescind our bap
tismal vows, and after we have resigned ourselves to Christ, give the sove
reignty to another ? The hands of consecration have been upon us, and
therefore to allow ourselves in any course and way of sinning is to
alienate ourselves, and to employ ourselves not only to a common, but
a vile and base use. When Ananias had dedicated that that was in
his power, and kept back part for private use, God struck him dead in
the place, Acts v. ; and if we alienate ourselves, who were not in our
own power, and were Christ's before the consecration, of how much
severer vengeance shall we be worthy ! God complaineth of the wrong
of parents, Ezek. xvi. 20, that they took sons and daughters born to
him, and sacrificed them to be devoured by Moloch. Children born
during the marriage covenant were his ; they were circumcised, and so
dedicated to him ; yet they gave them to Moloch ; as many parents
dedicate their children to God by baptism, and bring them up for the
world and the flesh. This is verily a great sin in parents ; but we are
more answerable for our own souls, when we have owned the dedi
cation, and ratified it by our own professed consent ; and if we shall
willingly yield to the world and the flesh, and suffer them to have a
full power and dominion over us, how do we defy Christ, whom yet
in words we profess to be our Lord 1 It is said, Gal. v. 24, ' They
VER. 14.] SEUMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 273
that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts
thereof.' How shall we interpret this scripture, and reconcile it with
the carriage of most Christians ? Dejure all will grant that they should
crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts thereof ; but the apostle
seemeth to speak de facto, ' they have,' and that maketh the difficulty.
All true Christians indeed have done so. Christians in the letter are
bound to do so ; and let them look to it how they will answer it to
Christ another day. All in their baptism have renounced the desires
of the flesh, and the passions of it also ; they are engaged to do it ;
and all that are serious and real have begun to do this act of mortifying
sin, and must go on yet more and more to smother the endeavours and
effects of it. Because this is a momentous business, and it is charged
on us ' as we are Christ's,' as we profess ourselves to be so, and take
ourselves to be so, let us see what it importeth. They must ; all are
bound ; they really have crucified the flesh, mortified and deadened
the root of corruption, that it shall not easily sprout and put forth its
lustings. Carnal nature in them is weakened, it is not so vigorous
and stirring as it was wont to be ; there is some preventing of the first
risings, though sin dwell in them, and work in them. So far all that
are Christ's have put to death their fleshly corruption. But now, as
to the several ways of venting of it, expressed by Trddrj and errdhfUat,,
either by sinful passions, as malice, envy, hatred, variance, emulation,
wrath, strife, they do in a great measure and considerable degree get
above these ; or by lust is meant all fleshly and worldly desires, which
carry us out of the pleasures, and profits, and honours of the world,
the pleasing baits and enticements of sense ; they are dead to these
also ; all motions to uncleanness, intemperance, ambition, love of riches
and vain pleasures : all the children of God have actually begun this
work, and are still suppressing these things ; for they have resigned
their hearts for Christ to dwell in, and they are advancing his sceptre
and rule continually, for they have given up themselves to be guided
by him. Whether they be pleasant sins or vexatious evils, the heart
of a Christian is set against them ; and therefore you see how unsuitable
it is for those that are Christ's, his redeemed ones, and his covenanted
ones, to give way to the reign of sin.
Fourthly, My last argument to evince this necessity that is incum
bent on the people of God, that this dominion of sin be not set up in
their hearts, is because otherwise they cannot maintain and keep up
any lively hope of glory. That I shall evidence by some scriptures :
Kom. vi. 8, ' If we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also
live with him.' If we die to sin so as never to allow it, or to return
to the love and practice of it any more, then the Christian faith
promiseth some good to us, we have hopes of living with Christ, or a
joyful resurrection to eternal life ; for the Christian life is an entrance
and introduction into the life of glory. So Kom. viii. 13, 'If ye
through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.' The
scripture is plain in setting down the characters of those that shall go
to heaven or to hell, and very decisive and peremptory : ' If we live
after the flesh, we shall die.' It doth not say, if we have lived after
the flesh ; for that would cut off the hope of all the living. One man
was first good, and after bad, as Adam ; another never bad, always
VOL. xi s
274 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [^ER. XIV.
good, as Christ ; of all the rest, none ever proved good who was not
sometimes bad ; we all live after the flesh before we come to live after
the Spirit. But if we do still accommodate ourselves to obey and fulfil
the motions of the flesh, Christ speaketh no good to such. But now,
see the promise of God to those that keep mortifying of sin, striving
against sin; ' they shall live,' not only the life of grace, for surely by
their progress in mortification vivification is furthered and increased ;
as we grow dead to sin, we are more alive to righteousness ; but the
life of glory is a greater boon than we can deserve, as much as we can
desire, more than we can make any part of requital for. There is
scarce any one scripture by which a man may sooner come to a decision
of his spiritual estate than this, for it puts it to a short issue ; prevent
the reign of sin, and your title to everlasting glory will not be so dark
and litigious ; make conscience of subduing and suppressing the secret
inclinations and desires of the flesh by the Spirit, and you have by
warrant of scripture a full and sufficient evidence. All the deeds of the
flesh must be mortified before we can see our interest ; though not
universally and totally, yet still we must go on with it. Sin is mortal
if it be not mortified ; so that a necessity is laid upon us of killing our
lusts, or being killed by them. The apostle doth not say, ' If the deeds
of the flesh be mortified in you through the Spirit ;' but ' if ye through
the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body/ We must not dream of
a mortification to be wrought in us without our consent or endeavours,
as well whilst we are asleep as whilst we are waking, as if it were
wrought in our cradles, whilst we are passing our time in childish
play and pastime, or should be done in our riper age, without any
careful watch over our works and thoughts ; or it may be by a sluggish
wish or slight prayer, as if this would master sin. No ; all renewed ones
must seriously address themselves to the work; the flesh must be
mortified, and mortified it must be by us through the Spirit, if we
would cherish the hopes of eternal life. The Spirit alone giveth
victory, but we must be active in it ; for his grace and powerful
victorious work doth not license us to be idle, but rather calleth for
an assiduous, diligent, and faithful use of means. The less earnest
the conflict is between the flesh and the Spirit, the longer will the old
man live in us, and our peace and hope will be the more doubtful ; but
the more serious our endeavours are, the sooner shall we come to a
determination in the great affairs and interests of our precious and
immortal souls.
SERMON XIV.
For sin shall not have dominion over you ; for ye are not under the
law, but under grace. KOM. VI. 14.
THIRDLY, The hopes of victory and success through the grace of Jesus
Christ. Now many things there are which give us hopeful encourage
ment in our conflicts with sin.
1. The undertaking of our blessed Redeemer. Freedom from sin
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 275
was a part of that salvation which lie purchased for us : Mat. i. 21,
' He shall save his people from their sins ; ' Titus ii. 14, ' Who gave
himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity.' It is not
only an evidence, but a, part, yea, a principal part, as those means which
have a more immediate connection with the end are more noble than
others which are more remote. The last end is the glory of God. Now
our conformity to God, and the holiness and subjection of the creature,
is a nearer means to it than our comfort and pardon. Christ's end was
to fit us for God's use, and therefore his business was to sanctify and
free us from sin : 1 John iii. 8, ' For this purpose was the Son of God
manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil,' iva \vcrp,
which signifies to dissolve, untie, unloose a knot. This was the end of
his coming ; and will he come in vain, and miss of his end ? The
work of the devil is to bring us into sin and misery, and the Lord
knoweth we are miserably entangled in the corruptions of our own
hearts ; we know not how to loose these knots. Christ came for this
purpose to untie them for us, and surely he cannot miss of his purpose
if we consider the merit of his humiliation, what a price hath he paid
for sanctifying grace ! 1 Peter i. 18, 19, ' Ye were not redeemed with
corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation,
received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.' So great a
price was given, not only to heighten our esteem of the privilege, but
also to increase our confidence while we are endeavouring and striving
against sin. Christ wanted not any merit to make the purchase suffi
cient and effectual. Or if we consider the power of his exaltation ;
having paid our ransom, he is let out of the prison of the grave, gone
into heaven, and is fully commissioned and empowered to instate us in
this blessing of freedom from sin : Eph. iii. 20, ' Unto him that is able
to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according
to the power that worketh in us.' Now what an encouragement is this
to keep under that enemy which Christ hath done so much to slay and
destroy ! What is his business now in heaven, but to sit at the right
hand of God, and see the fruits of his mediation accomplished ? Those
indeed that cherish that which Christ came to dissolve, as much as in
them lies they seek to frustrate the undertaking of Christ. But now,
whilst we are striving and warring upon sin, and seek the destruction
of it, we are engaged in the same design Christ is, and therefore may
have the more confidence of his help, and receiving the fruits of his
purchase ; his great intent was to bring us back unto God, and saving
us from sin, not in sin ; and your heart is upon the same thing.
2. The new nature put into us ; you have an opposite principle to
check it : 1 John iii. 9, ' Whosoever is born of God doth not commit
sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is
born of God.' Since Christ hath intrusted us with such a talent as the
new nature, and hath put grace into our hearts to resist sin, it is our
duty not to suffer it to be idle and unfruitful. Though there be in the
regenerate a seed of corruption, yet that is or should be mortified ;
there is also in them a seed of grace, and that is to be cherished. Now
surely where this is, sin cannot carry a full sway, and break out without
stop and interruption ; for the new nature will appear by way of check
276 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SflR. XI V.
and dislike ; one that hath a new nature cannot make sin his trade,
custom, and delight. Why ? Because his seed abidethin him, which
is the principle of grace wrought in him by the Spirit of God. There
is a settled, fixed frame and bent of heart towards God, and so by
consequence against sin, for it is irreconcilable with the motions and
tendencies of the new nature to live in sin ; and therefore it is as
natural to the new nature to hate sin as to love God : Ps. xcvii. 18, 'Ye
that love the Lord, hate evil.' There is an irreconcilable hatred and
enmity against sin. There is a twofold hatred odium abominationis
and odium inimiciticc. The hatred of abomination or offence is a turn
ing away of the soul from what is apprehended as repugnant and pre
judicial to us : so to sin is repugnant and contrary to the renewed will ;
it is agreeable and suitable to the unregenerate, as draff to the appetite
of a swine, or grass and hay to a bullock or horse. 'Now, there being
ia all those that are born of God this kind of hatred, it must needs
weaken sin; for the mortification of sin standetli principally in the
hatred of it. Sin dieth when it dieth in the affections, when it is an
offence to us, and we have an antipathy against it, as some creatures
have one against another. The new nature is a divine nature, 2 Peter
i. 4 ; in some measure it hath the same aversations and affections which
God hath; we hate what he hateth, love what he loveth : Prov. viii. 13,
' The fear of the Lord is to hate evil : pride, and arrogancy, and the evil
way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.' There is another kind of
hatred, odium inimicitice. Now this hatred is nothing else but a
willing evil or mischief to the thing or person hated, out of that dislike,
offence, and distaste we take against them : Ps. xviii. 37, ' I have pur
sued mine enemies, and overtaken them ; neither did I turn again till
they were consumed/ This is different from the former, for there may
be an aversation or an offence from some things, which yet I do not
malign or pursue to the death. But by this hatred also do the
regenerate hate their sins ; they hate sin so as to mortify and subdue it,
and get it destroyed in themselves : Rom. vi. 6, ' Knowing this, that
our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be
destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin ; ' Gal. v. 24, ' They
that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts
thereof.' Grace within will not let a man alone in his sins, but rouseth
up the soul against it, non cessat in Icesione peccati, sed exterminio ;
it is still taking away somewhat from sin, its damning power, its
reigning power, its being : Rom. vii. 24, ' wretched man that I am !
who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? ' They would be
free from all sin, groan under the relics of it as a sore burden ; there
fore certainly the new nature, which hath such a lively hatred against
sin, must needs give us a great advantage against it. I would not
flatter you with the show of an argument, nor put you off with a half
truth ; therefore I must needs tell you, that though the former things
alleged be true, yet
[1.] You must not forget the back-bias of corruption and the flesh,
which still remaineth with us, and is importunate to be pleased ; and
though it be not superior in the soul, yet it hath a great deal of strength,
that still we need even to the very last to keep watching and striving :
the best of God's children must resolve to be deaf to its entreaties and
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 277
solicitations, and not accommodate themselves to please the flesh:
' Not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignor
ance,' 1 Peter i. 14 ; that is, they must take heed they do not cast their
conversations into a carnal mould, and suffer their choices and actions
to be directed and governed by their lusts. ' In your ignorance,' when
you knew not the terror of the Lord, nor sweetness of the Lord,
you could not be deterred from delighting in this slavery ; your lusts
influenced all your actions, and you wholly gave yourselves to the satis
faction of your sinful desires, shaping and moulding all your actions
and undertakings by this scope and aim, The apostle's word is very
emphatical, /A?) (Tva-^i^arL^o^evoi rat? Trporepov tiridvutais, though
now you have more knowledge, more grace to incline your hearts to
God, and so by consequence against sin, yet former lusts are but in part
subdued, and therefore our old love to them is soon kindled, and 'the
gates of the senses are always open to let in such objects as take part
with the flesh ; and there is a hazard in the best of complying with the
sinful motions of corrupt nature, and therefore you must not so take it
as if there were no need of diligence, and watching, and striving, and
constant progress in mortification. Even holy Paul, mortified Paul,
saw a continual need of beating down the body, lest after he had
preached to others he himself should be a castaway, 1 Cor. ix. 27.
This great champion, after so many years' service in the cause of
Christ, was not secure of the adversary which he carried about with
him ; and therefore, though we speak of the advantage of the new
nature, it is only for our encouragement in the conflict ; there is still
need of caution, that we do not revert into our old slavery. And though
it be troublesome to resist the pleasing motions of the flesh, yet there
is great hopes of success ; we do not fight as those that are uncertain ;
the grace given us is a fixed rooted principle, and the lusts we contend
with are but the relics of an enemy routed and foiled, though not
utterly and totally subdued. Though there be a contrary principle in
us, that retaineth some life and vigour, yet surely in the regenerate it
is much abated ; there is not such a connaturality and agreement be
tween the heart and sin as there was before ; grace is a real, active,
working thing, and where the new nature doth prevail, certainly ' old
things are passed away,' 2 Cor. v. 17. Every creature acteth according
to its kind, the lamb according to the nature of a lamb, and a toad
according to the nature of a toad , as a thorn cannot send forth grapes,
nor a thistle produce figs, so, on the contrary, vines do not yield haws,
nor the fig-tree thistles. Men, now they have renewed principles, can
not be at the power Satan, nor at the command of every lust, as they
were before. How are all things become new, how are old things
passed away, if it should be so, if they had the old thoughts and designs
still, the old affections still, the old passions they used to have, the old
discourses, the old conversation ? Surely grace will not let a man
alone, nor give him any rest and quiet, if he should act and walk
according to the old tenor and manner. Certainly the grace given
serveth for some use, and giveth some strength.
[2.] I must interpose one consideration more for the full understand
ing of this truth. That grace is operative indeed, a real, active, work
ing thing ; but yet it doth not work necessarily, as fire burneth, or
278 SEUMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XIV.
light bodies move upward, but voluntarily ; therefore it must be excited
and stirred up, both by the Spirit of God, ' who worketh in us both to
will and to do/ Phil. ii. 13, and by ourselves ; we must ava^wrrvpelv,
' stir up the grace of God that is in us/ 2 Tim. i. 6 ; we must still be
blowing up this holy fire, as the priests do the fire of the altar, stilt
keep it burning ; and its motions must be hearkened to and complied
withal : Gal. vi. 16, ' Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the
lusts of the flesh.' Cherish and obey the directions of the renewed
part, and this will keep the carnal part under ; so that though the
motions of it be not totally suppressed, yet they shall not be completed
and fulfilled, not so easily consented unto, nor so often break out into
shameful acts ; but as these are slighted, sin reigneth.
3. The Spirit of sarictification still dwelling and working in us.
Herein the law was a dead letter ; it only afforded us bare instruction,
without the help and power of grace ; but the gospel is ' the ministra
tion of the Spirit/ 2 Cor. iii. 8. There is a life and power which goeth
along with every gospel truth, to enable us to do what it requireth of
us. The renewed certainly feel this benefit by it ; and the truths of
the gospel, which to others' taste are like ordinary running water, cold
and spiritless, are to them like strong water, comfortable and full of
virtue : strong water and running water are alike for colour and show,
but not for virtue and taste. All that repent and believe in Christ
have the gift of the Holy Ghost : Acts ii. 38, ' Kepent and be baptized
every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins,
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost/ He dwelleth arid
resideth in their hearts, and is the great cause of the mortifying of sin :
Kom. viii. 13, ' If ye through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body,
ye shall live/ The Spirit will not without us, and we cannot without
the Spirit, subdue our sinful inclinations. At first indeed he worketh
upon us as objects, as a Spirit only moving upon us, but afterwards
he worketh by us as instruments, as a Spirit indwelling. At first
he regenerateth us and converteth us, when we were dead and wholly
senseless. Man at first was a passive subject, when the Holy Ghost
infused life, and made him partaker of a divine nature. We were by
nature all dead in trespasses and sins, did not only deserve death by
original sin, but did also deserve to be denied the grace of Jesus
Christ by some following actual sins ; but when we were all equally
involved in misery, the secret working of divine grace did begin the
difference : Eph. ii. 4, 5, ' God, who is rich in mercy, for his great
love wherewith he loved us, even when were dead in trespasses and
sins, hath quickened us together with Christ : by grace ye are saved/
This saving grace is not given to all, though all have many both ex
ternal and internal helps sufficient to make them better ; that any
have his special efficacy and converting grace is the mere favour and
bounty of God ; if any want it, it is long of themselves, because by
their neglect and abuse of common grace they deserve that want.
Well, then, at first God giveth the Spirit, and all his purifying and
sanctifying works upon the soul are by his mere grace, which the
gospel offereth to all, till they exclude themselves ; but then, after we
are converted, we shall have more sins to remove by further sanctifi-
cation, now the Spirit dwelleth in us to give us his special assistance.
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 279
But more closely consider (1.) The necessity of the Spirit's concur
rence ; (2.) The encouragement we have thereby.
[1.] The necessity of the Spirit's concurrence; we cannot begin,
carry on, and accomplish the work of mortification, without the oper
ation, help, and power of the Spirit.
(1.) That we cannot begin it is evident, because before conversion
we were 'dead in trespasses and sins,' Eph. ii. 1, had only a life of
resistance and enmity against God and the work of his grace left in us :
Bom. viii. 7, ' The carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be ; ' and we were under
the power of the devil, who holdeth the fallen creature in bondage till
he be dispossessed : Luke xi. 21, 22, ' When a strong man armed
keepeth the house, his goods are in peace ; but when a stronger than
he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all
his armour .wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.' There is no
faculty in man that can work the cure. The understanding is dark, and
blind, and weak ; if it warn us of our duty, it cannot break the force
of sin, Rom. i. 18. The will is enslaved to corruption. Now nothing
will seek to destroy itself, but rather to preserve that life that it hath ;
therefore the heart of man, which is by nature corrupt, wedded to the
interests and concernments of the flesh, will never seek to mortify and
subdue the flesh ; for a thing will never be opposite to itself. The
scripture saith, John iii. 6, ' That which is born of the flesh is flesh.'
A man wholly addicts himself to sin while under the power of corrupt
nature, and a sensual carnal heart cannot make itself holy and heavenly.
But
(2.) After conversion, when grace and the principles of a new life
are put into us to weaken sin, yet still we need the help of the Spirit,
partly because habitual grace is a creature, and therefore in itself
mutable ; for all creatures depend, in esse, conservari, et operari, upon
him that made them : Acts xvii. 26, 'In him we live, and move, and
have our beings.' If God suspend the influence, the fire, which is a
natural agent, burneth not, as in the instance of the three children
who were cast into the fiery furnace ; if necessary agents, much more
voluntary agents ; and if there be this dependence in natural things,
much more in supernatural. Therefore grace still dependeth on God's
influence, and there must be a concurrence of the Spirit to maintain
what he hath wrought : Phil. i. 6, ' Being confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until
the day of Jesus Christ/ Partly because it doth not totally prevail
in the heart, but there is opposition against it, there is flesh still : Gal.
v. 12, ' The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the
flesh, and these are contrary the one to the other, so that you cannot
do the things that you would.' Habitual grace non totaliter sanat, it
worketh not a perfect but a partial cure upon the soul. Therefore
there needeth new grace to act, and guide, arid quicken us still, and to
stir up the principles of grace in us. Partly because this grace, as it
meeteth w r ith opposition from within, so it is exposed to temptations
from without, from Satan, who watcheth all advantages against us.
Now when temptation cometh with new strength, we must have new
grace to oppose it : Heb. iv. 16, ' Let us come boldly to the throne ot
280 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. XIY.
grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of
need/ x"P iv et ' 9 evxaipov ftoyQeiav. Adam had habitual grace, but he
gave out at the first assault. When a city is besieged, the prince who
would defend it doth not leave it to its ordinary strength, and the
standing provisions which it had before, but sendeth in fresh supplies
of soldiers, victuals, and ammunition, and such things as their present
exigence calleth for. So doth God deal with his people ; his Spirit
cometh in with a new supply, that they may the better avoid sin, and
stand out in an hour of trial. So from the world, which is continually
obtruding itself upon our embraces, and it is hard to ' escape the cor
ruption that is in the world through lust/ 2 Peter i. 4. The new
nature was given us for that end, and also the Spirit of God is neces
sary : 1 John iv. 4, ' Ye are of God, and have overcome the world ;
for greater is he that is in you than he that is in* the world.' The
Spirit is necessary, as against the terrors, so the delights of it : 1 Cor.
ii. 12, ' We have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit
which is of God, that we might know the things which are freely
given to us of God/ that so the world may not corrupt us, nor entice
us to affect its riches, honours, and pleasures above God and the con
science of our duty to him.
[2.] There is great encouragement to us to set upon the work of
mortification, because it is carried on by the help and power of the
Spirit. If we were to grapple with sin in our own strength, then we
might sit down and despair and die ; but the Spirit is appointed for
this end, and purchased for us by Jesus Christ, for all that come to
him with broken hearts, and do not by their carelessness, negligence,
or other sin, provoke the Lord to withdraw his exciting grace. If you
do humbly implore his assistance, wait for his approaches, attend and
obey his motions, you shall find what the Spirit is able and willing to
do for you. He is able surely, though you are ready to say, I shall
never get rid of this naughty heart, renounce these bewitching lusts.
There are none so carnal but he can change them, and bend and
incline their hearts to God and heavenly things : 1 Cor. vi. 11, ' Such
were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are-
justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God/
He can turn swine into saints, a dunghill into a bed of spices. None
should give way to sottish despair ; God never made a creature too
hard for himself. And when he hath begun an interest for God in
our souls, he can maintain it, notwithstanding oppositions and temp
tations: Phil. i. 6, 'He that hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.' God is willing to give the-
Spirit to them that ask it, as a father is to give a child what is neces
sary for him : Luke xi. 13, 'If ye then, being evil, know how to give
good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ? ' Be careful you
do not grieve the Spirit, and make yourselves incapable of his help :
Eph. iv. 30, ' Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed
to the day of redemption.' The Spirit of God will not forsake us unless
we forsake him first. The Spirit is grieved when lust is obeyed before
him, when his counsels and holy inspirations are smothered, and we yield
easily to the requests of sin, but are wholly deaf to his motions. If
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS YJ. 281
so indeed, he ceaseth to give us warning, and to renew and continue
the excitations of his grace. Water once heated congealeth the
sooner ; so they are most hardened who have been notably touched
with his sacred inspirations, but go a quite contrary way. But the
renewed need not doubt of his help ; for God hath promised the Spirit
to them, to cause them to walk in his ways : John xiv. 16, 17, ' I will
pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may
abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world
cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him ; but ye
know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.' Well, then,
do not complain, but up and be doing against sin. Laziness pretendeth
want of power ; but is anything too hard for the Spirit of the Lord ?
It is a lamentable thing to see what a cowardly spirit there is in most
Christians, how soon they are captivated, and discouraged with every
slender assault or petty temptation, and their resolutions are shaken
with the appearance of every difficulty. This is affected weakness,
not so much want of strength, as sluggishness and cowardice and want
of care. Men spare their pains, and then cry they are impotent, like
lazy beggars, who personate and act a disease, because they would not
work. Surely ' where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty/ 2
Cor. iii. 17. Many are not able to stand before the slightest motion of
sin, because they do not stir up themselves, and awaken that strength
which they have, or improve that which God continually vouchsafeth
to them by the motions of his Spirit. It would be more for your com
fort to try what you can do in resistance of sin, than idly to complain
for want of strength. The two extremes are pride and sloth. Pride
is seen in self-confidence, or depending upon our endeavours and
resolutions ; and sloth in a neglect of the grace given, or help afforded
to you. Christians should improve present strength against sin, and
still labour to get more. Every conquest will increase your strength
against the next assault, and one limb of the body of death mortified
is a means to cause the rest to languish by consent.
4. The next encouragement is the promises of the gospel, which
secure this benefit to us ; and surely the watching and the striving
person may take comfort in them. There are two sorts of promises,
some that do assure of necessary assistance, some that speak of
arbitrary assistance ; as Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27, ' A new heart also will I
give you, and a new spirit will I put within you ; and I will take away
the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my
statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.' Now such
promises must be improved, for the covenant of God is the ground of
our stability. Adam had a seed of grace, but it was not secured by
promise, and therefore he sinned it away. The victory is assured to
us by promise : Kom. xvi. 20, ' The God of peace shall bruise Satan
under your feet shortly.' In ordinary conflicts it is a good rule, Non
ceque glorietur accinctus ac discinctus; but a Christian may triumph
before the victory, for all those who are really and earnestly striving
against sin are sure to conquer. These promises may be pleaded to
God, as his own words by which he hath invited our hope ; and to
ourselves in case of fainting and discouragement, that we may not
282 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. XIV.
coldly set upon the practice of Christianity. Let us depend upon
God's promise, as Paul : 2 Tim. iv. 18, ' And the Lord shall deliver
me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly
kingdom, to whom be glory for ever and ever, amen.'
5. There are certain ordinances whereby this grace is conveyed to
us. The Spirit joineth his power and efficacy with the proper insti
tuted means for the subduing of sin. The word is a powerful instru
ment, which the Holy Ghost useth for the cleansing of the soul from
sin : John xv. 3, ' Now ye are clean through the word which I have
spoken unto you ; ' yea, for the killing of sin, therefore it is called
' The sword of the Spirit.' When we come to hear, some new con
sideration is still given out for the further sanctifying of the heart :
John xvii. 17, ' Sanctify them through thy truth ; thy word is truth.'
In prayer we come to act faith and repentance, looking up to God for
help ; and with brokenness of heart mourning over our corruptions :
Zech. xii. 10, ' I will pour upon the house of David and upon the
inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplications, and
they shall look upon him whom they have pierced, and they shall
mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in
bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.' By
every prayer offered in the brokenness of our hearts sin receiveth a
new wound. So the sacraments ; as in the Old Testament, circum
cision signified a sanctifying of the heart : Detit. xxx. 6, ' And the
Lord thy God w r ill circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, that
thou mayest live ; ' and the paschal lamb was a type of Christ, ' Who
taketh away the sins of the world,' John i. 29. So baptism and the
Lord's supper. Baptism signifieth the washing away of sin : Acts
xxii. 16, ' Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins ; ' and he
that liveth in sin forgetteth, that is, neglecteth his baptism : 2 Peter
i. 9, ' He hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins ; ' as for
getting the law is neglecting the duty of it : Ps. cxix. 153, ' I do not
forget thy law ; ' he carrieth himself as if he were never baptized, for
baptism is a vowed death to sin. So for the Lord's supper. Every
serious remembrance or meditation of Christ's death should quicken
us anew to crucify sin, and to make it hateful to our souls. (1.)
As it representeth the great act of Christ's condescending love, which
is a moving forcible argument to persuade us to deny our inordinate
self-love : 2 Cor. v. 14, 15, ' For the love of Christ constraineth
us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all
dead, and that he died for all, that they which live should not
henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for
them, and rose again.' (2.) It is a viewing the heinousness and
odiousness of sin there represented to us in the agonies and sufferings
of Christ ; the more we consider of them, the greater apprehensions
should we have of the evil of sin, the exactness of God's justice, the
terror of his wrath : Horn. viii. 3, ' 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.'
Christ was made sin for us, and then endured these things : 2 Cor. v.
21, ' He hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vr. 283
might be made the righteousness of God in him.' When we look
upon sin through Satan's spectacles, or the cloud of our own passions
or carnal affections, we make nothing of it ; but it is a terrible spec
tacle to see the fruit of sin in the agonies and sufferings of Jesus
Christ, which are there represented to us, 'as if he were crucified
before our eyes,' Gal. iii. 1 . Oh ! never have slight thoughts of sin
more. (3.) As it implieth a solemn mutual surrendry between Christ
and us: Cant. ii. 16, 'I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine/
Christ giveth himself and his grace to us, as our redeemer and saviour.
We accept Christ and his benefits upon his own terms, and surrender
ourselves to him, as his redeemed ones, with thankfulness for so great
a favour and benefit : Bom. xii. 1, ' I beseech you, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service/ Now all this
must needs be a great weakening of sin, both the remembrance of
Christ's love, the representation of his great sufferings necessary for
the expiation of it, and our solemn renewed dedication of ourselves to
God and his service, and doing this in a holy duty instituted by God
for this end and purpose ; for the Spirit of God works by the appointed
means, and the use of instituted duties is no fruitless labour, for God
would not set us a-work in a duty that should yield no profit and
benefit to us.
6. Providences are sanctified to this use, as helps and occasions of
subduing sin ; as afflictions, which do remove the occasions and sub
tract the fuel of sin, and awaken seriousness for the future : Isa. xxvii.
9, ' By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this is
all the fruit to take away his sin;' 2 Cor. xii. 7, 'Lest I should be
exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there
was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet
me, lest I should be exalted above measure/ The thorn in the flesh
was given to mortify his pride. By these kind of dispensations the
Spirit worketh serious humiliation, and brokenness of heart maketh
sin odious to us. These are ordered with exact wisdom and faithful
ness: Ps. cxix. 75, '0 Lord, I know that thy judgments are right,
and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me ; ' and they are accom
panied by the Spirit ; therefore God is said to teach us out of his law
when he chastiseth us : Ps. xciv. 12, ' Blessed is the man whom thou
chastenest, Lord, and teachest him out of thy law ; ' Job xxxvi. 10,
' He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they
return from iniquity ; ' the rod is made effectual by the Spirit's motion.
Object. Some have frequently resolved to forsake their sins, but their
resolutions have come to nothing ; they have striven against it, but as
a great stone that is rolled up hill, it hath returned upon them with
the more violence, or as a man rowing against the stream, the tide
hath been strong against them, and they have been forced the more
back ; yea, they have prayed against sin, yet found no success, and
therefore think it is in vain to try any more.
Ans. 1. If all the premises are true, yet the inference and conclu
sion is wrong and false ; for we are not to measure our duty by the
success, but God's injunction. God may do what he pleaseth, but we
must do what he commandeth. Abraham obeyed God, ' not knowing
284 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XIV.
whither he went,' Heb. xi. 8. Peter obeyed Christ's word : Luke v. 5,
' We have toiled all the night, and caught nothing ; howbeit at thy
command we will let down the net.'
2. Though the first attempt succeed not, yet afterwards sin may be
subdued and broken. In natural things we do not sit down with one
trial or one endeavour: 'A man that will be rich pierceth himself
through with many sorrows,' 1 Tim. vi. 10 ; and after many miscar
riages and disappointments, men pursue their designs till they com
plete them. And shall we give over our conflict with fleshly and
worldly lusts, because we cannot presently subdue them? That
showeth our will is not fixedly bent against them. Therefore let
no man excuse himself, and sit down in despair, and say, ' I am not
able to master these temptations or corruptions. This is like those,
Jer. xviii. 12, ' They said, There is no hope, but we'will walk after our
own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil
heart/ Do not throw up all ; thy condition is not hopeless.
3. God's grace is free, and his holy leisure must be waited; for it
was long ere God got us at this pass, to be sensible and anxiously
solicitous about our soul-distempers. Grace is not at our beck : ' The
Spirit bloweth when and where he listeth,' John iii. 7. We must still
lie at the pool for cure, nor pettishly fret against the Lord, or cast off*
our duty, because he blesseth not our first essay.
4. Grace is ready, as it is free. He that begun this work, to make
us serious and sensible, will carry it on to a farther degree, if we be
not impatient. Surely ' the bruised reed will he not break, and smok
ing flax will he not quench,' Mat. xii. 20. Bemoan thyself to God ;
as Ephraim : Jer. xxxi. 18, ' I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning
himself thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bul
lock unaccustomed to the yoke. Turn thou me, and I shall be turned,
for thou art the Lord my God.' He is not wont to forsake the soul
that waiteth on him, and referreth all to the power and good pleasure of
his grace : Isa. xl. 30, 31, ' Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
and the young men shall utterly fall : but they that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles,
they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.'
5. Examine whether you seek the Lord with your whole heart,
and you have done your endeavour. You say, you purpose, you strive,
you pray, but yet sin increases ; there is a defect usually in these pur
poses, in these strivings, in these prayers.
[1.1 Let us examine these purposes.
(1.) These purposes are not hearty and real, and then no wonder
they do not prevail. There is a slight wavering purpose, and there is
' a full purpose of heart/ Acts xi. 23. If thy purposes were more full
and strong, and thoroughly bent against sin, they would sooner suc
ceed. Is it the fixed decree and determination of thy will ? When
you are firmly resolved, your affections will be sincere and steadfast,
you will pursue this work close, not be off and on, hot and cold, and
unstable in all your ways. If the habitual bent of your hearts doth
appear by the constant drift of your lives, then is it a full purpose.
(2.) This purpose may be extorted, not the effect of thy judgment
and will, as inclined to God, but only of thy present fear, awakened in
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 285
thee on some special occasion. Many are frightened into a little reli
giousness, but the humour lasts not long : Ps. Ixxviii. 36, ' Neverthe
less they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him
with their tongues ; for their heart was not right with him, neither
were they steadfast in his covenant.' Ahab in his fears had some re-
lentings, so had Pharaoh ; the Israelites turned to the Lord in their
distress, but they turned as fast from him afterwards ; they were re
solved not from love, but fear ; so these resolutions are wrested from
you by some present terrors, which when they cease, no wonder that
you are where you were before. Violent things will never hold long ;
they will hold as long as the principle of their violence lasteth.
(3.) It may be thou restest in the strength of thine own resolutions.
Now God will be owned as the author of all grace : 1 Peter v. 10, 11,
' But the God of all grace, who hath called us into his eternal glory
by Jesus Christ, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory for
ever and ever, amen.' Still we must have a sense of our own insuffi
ciency, and resolve more in the strength and power of God ; the grace
of Jesus Christ you must rely upon, both for confirming and perform
ing your resolutions, as knowing that without him you can do nothing.
Men fall again as often as they think to rise and stand by their own
power : there is such guile and falsehood in our hearts, that we cannot
trust them. The saints still resolve, God assisting : Ps. cxix. 8, ' I
will keep thy statutes ; forsake me not utterly ; ' and ver. 32, ' I will
run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.'
[2.] As to striving, let us examine that a little, if it be so serious, so
diligent, so circumspect as it should be.
(1.) That is no effectual striving when you are disheartened with
every difficulty, for difficulties do but inflame a resolved spirit, as stir
ring doth the fire. No question but it will be hard to enter in at the
strait gate, or to walk in the narrow way. God hath made the way to
heaven so narrow and strait that we may the more ' strive to enter in
thereat,' Luke xiii. 24. Now, shall we sit down and complain when
we succeed not upon every faint attempt ? Who then can be saved ?
This is to cry out with the sluggard, ' There is a lion in the way.'
Should a mariner, as soon as the waves arise, and strong gusts of wind
blow, give over all guiding of the ship ? No ; this is against all the
experience and the wont of mankind.
(2.) This striving and opposing is but slight, if not accompanied
with that watchfulness and resolution which is necessary. Many pre
tend to strive against sin, yet abstain not from all occasions of sin. If
we play about the cockatrice's hole, no wonder we are bitten. Never
think to turn from thy sins if thou dost not turn from the occasion of
them. If thou hast not strength to avoid the occasion, which is less,
how canst thou avoid the sin, which is greater ? He that resolveth not
to be burnt in the fire must not come near the flames. Job made a
covenant with his eyes that he would not look upon a maid, Job xxxi.
1. ' Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of
evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away,' Prov.
iv. 14, 15. Evil company is a snare. Our Saviour taught us to pray,
' Lead us not into temptation ; ' he doth not say, into sin ; the tempta
tion openeth the gate.
286 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [&ER. XV.
[3.] For praying, we oftener pray from our memories than from our
consciences, or from our consciences as enlightened rather than hearts
renewed by grace. Prayer, as it is the fruit of memory and invention,
is but slight and formal, words said of course, a body without a soul ;
as dictated by conscience, it may be retracted by the will ; timebam ne
me exaudiret Deus. Or at best they are but half desires, faint wishes,
like Balaam's wishing, which will never do good : ' The soul of the
sluggard desireth, but hath nothing.' God never made promise that
such wishes should be satisfied.
SERMON XV.
For sin shall not have dominion over you ; for ye are not under the
law, but under grace. BOM. VI. 14.
USE 1. Of reproof, to reprove
1. The security and carelessness of many, that never look to the
state of their hearts, nor regard whether Christ reigneth or sin reigneth,
or at least do not take good heed which way things tend to the
greatening or increasing of God's interest or Satan's in their souls.
Many count a holy jealousy or heedful watchfulness to be but precise-
ness, and that we make more ado than needeth, and make the lives of
Christians burdensome, when we press them to a constant watchfulness
and holy jealousy of themselves. No ; this is no burden, but a bless
ing : Prov. xxviii. 14, ' Blessed is the man that feareth always.' Sin
gaineth upon us for want of taking heed at first. They that see no
need of this caution are little acquainted with the practice of godliness,
or the state of their own hearts, have not a due sense and apprehension
of the danger of displeasing God, or of their own proclivity and prone-
ness to sin ; therefore live by chance and peradventure, and leave them
selves to be transported by their own affections, to do anything which
occasions and temptations invite them unto. Were we as sensible of
the dangers of the inward as outward man, we should surely stand
more upon our guard, and resist the first motions and tendencies
towards a sin ; certainly we would not give such harbour and indul
gence to our corruptions as usually we do, lest we nourish and foster a
viper in our own bosoms, which will at length sting us to death.
Surely it is no wisdom to tarry till the death-blow cometh ; an inclina
tion to evil is best mortified at first, and the longer we dally and play
with a temptation, the harder will our conflict be.
But when may we be said to omit our watchfulness ?
[1.] When we grow bolder with sin, and the temptations and
occasions of it, and think we have so good a command of ourselves, and
can keep within compass well enough, though we cast ourselves upon
tempting objects and occasions unnecessarily, and without a call.
Surely these men forget themselves and the danger of sin, as if they
had some special amulet against it, which the people of God had not
in former times. They know exactly how far they may go in every
thing, even to the cleaving of a hair, and will not lose one jot of their
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 287
liberty, and seem to make a sport of it, to show how far they can go,
and how near the pit, and not fall in. They can allow themselves in
all kind of liberty for lascivious songs, wanton plays, and yet look to
the main chance well enough ; please themselves with all kinds of froth
and folly, yea, sometimes execrable filth, yet never any kind of infec
tion cometh near their hearts. Alas ! poor deluded creatures ! they
that do all that they may will soon do more than they should ; and
those that come as near a sin as possibly they can without falling into
it, cannot be long safe ; yea, and they are infected already, that have
so little sense of the strength of sin and their own weakness^ I con
fess some are more liable to temptations than others, but yet all need
watchfulness for their preservation ; for sin is not extirpated and rooted
out of any. And again, when I am in my calling, I am under God's
protection, as a subject is under the protection of his prince, travelling
in due hours on the highway ; but none can presume their knowledge
is so sound, their faith so strong, their hearts so good to God, as to
think no hurt will come when they cast themselves voluntarily upon
occasions of sin.
[2.] When you make a small matter of those corruptions which
were once so grievous, even intolerable to you : Kom. vii. 24, '
wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this
death ? ' You lose tenderness of conscience, remit of your care.
[3.] When you content yourselves with the customary use of holy
duties, though you find no profit nor increase of grace by them, rather
perform them as a task, than use them as a means to get and increase
grace. Nunquam abs te absque te recedam. Lord, I will never go
from thee without thee : Gen. xxxii. 26, ' I will not let thee go, except
thou bless me.'
[4.] When you neglect your hearts, grow strangers to them, find
little work to do about them. Every Christian findeth work enough
from day to day to get his heart quickened when it is dead, enlarged
when it is straitened, prepared when it is indisposed, to be made seri
ous when it is vain and frothy, cured when it is distempered, settled
when it is troubled and discomposed ; but sin becometh easy, and con
science becometh patient and quiet under it. Surely you are not
watchful, and mind not your covenant vow.
2. It reproveth those that hope to have sin subdued and kept from
reigning, though they never strive against it. It is the striving Chris
tian which is here encouraged, those that have given up themselves to
Christ's conduct, and to fight in his warfare. Many run of their own
accord into sin, others make no opposition against it. Now Christ
undertaketh not to keep these. The captain of our salvation only
taketh charge of his own soldiers, to lead them safe to eternal glory
and happiness ; others are excepted. Grace received from him is of
little use to us if we fight not. Therefore, besides watching, there
must be resisting. This resistance must be
[1.] Earnest and vehement, such as cometh from a hatred of sin as
sin. The light of nature will rise up against many sins, especially at
first, as sin is a disorder and inconvenience ; but this is but partial and
soon tireth ; but the resistance required of Christians is such as ariseth
from a constant hatred : Rom. vii. 15, ' That which I do I allow not ;
288 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [&ER. XV.
for what I would, that do I not ; but what I hate that do I.' When
Eve speaketh faintly, the devil reneweth the assault : Gen. iii. 3, ' Of
the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God hath
said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.' She
speaketh too warmly, and with an impatient resentment of the re
straint, and too coldly of the commination. God had said, ' In dying
ve shall die.' A faint denial is a kind of a grant. Our Lord rebuketh
the devil with indignation : Mat. iv. 10, ' Get thee behind me, Satan.'
[2.] It must be a thorough universal resistance. Take the little
foxes, dash out the brains of Babylon's brats. The devil would frighten
you by propounding great sins at first, but he approacheth by degrees ;
therefore, Eph. iv. 27, we must not ' give place to the devil.' You set
open the door to Satan by yielding a little. A temptation is better
kept out than gotten out ; when he hath but the narrowest passage or
least opportunity, he seeketh to re-enter, and seat himself in the heart,
and exercise his former tyranny, and doth excite the person to commit
more sin. When the stone at the top of the hill beginneth to roll
downward, it is a hard thing to stay it. I '11 yield but once, saith the
deceived heart ; but the devil chargeth us further and further, till he
hath left no tenderness in our conscience ; as some that thought to
venture but a shilling or two, by the secret witchery of gaming have
played away all their estates.
[3.] It is not for a time, but perpetual. It concerneth us not only
to stand out against the first assault, but a long siege. What Satan
cannot gain by argument, he seeketh to gain by importunity ; but ' re
sist him, steadfast in the faith,' 1 Peter v. 9 ; as Joseph's mistress
spake to him day by day, Gen. xxxix. 10. Deformed objects, when
we are accustomed to them, seem less odious. As you rate away an
importunate beggar, that will not be answered. To yield at last, is to
lose the glory of the conflict.
Now many resist not. You may know it
(1.) When you cannot bring your hearts to let sin go, though con
science worry you, and condemn you for it, as many men sin while
their hearts condemn them : Rom. i. 18, Kare^ovTwv, 'they hold the
truth in unrighteousness/
(2.) When you slightly purpose hereafter to amend, but do not pre-,
sently resolve: Acts xxiv. 25, 'And as he reasoned of righteousness, tem
perance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and said, Go thy way
for this time, when I have a convenient season I will call for thee.'
The contrary you may see in David : Ps. cxix. 60, ' I made haste and
delayed not to keep thy commandments.'
(3.) When you do not consent to the necessary effectual means of
your recovery, which, if you were truly desirous to get rid of sin, you
would do. They that will not use the means, do not desire the thing :
Prov. xxi. 25, ' The desire of the slothful killeth him, for his hands
refuse to labour.'
(4.) When in actual temptations you interpose not a strong dissent
or negative, either by serious dislikes, or rebukes, deep groans, hearty
defiance, or strong arguments, which are the several ways of resist
ance.
Use 2. Exhortation, when God affordeth to poor captivated sinners
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 289
such help, if they will but take it, and make use of it in time ; surely,
then, we should watch and strive. And that I may deal the more
effectually in this use, I shall distinctly unfold the duty of watching
and striving, the means to curb and check sin.
First, Watching.
1. The spring and rise of it in the soul are these three fundamental
graces of faith, fear, and love ; otherwise it is but moral prudence and
caution, which will be too feeble a restraint to sin, unless it be animated
and inspired with these graces.
[1.] Faith puts upon watchfulness; that faith which looketh to
things to come, and maketh them in a manner present to the soul ; it is
a realising sight: Heb. xi. 1, 'Now faith is the substance of things
hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.' The more lively sense
we have of the concernments of another world, and the more mindful
we are of our eternal enjoyments, the more watchful. In every sin it
is our eternal enjoyments are in danger, and heaven and hell are not
things to be sported with, or ventured and put to hazard for a little carnal
satisfaction. Many expound that, Eph. vi. 12, ' We wrestle with spiritual
wickedness in high places,' ev eirovpavio^, ' about heavenly things,' for
the word places is supplied ; it is in the original only in or for the
heavenlies. The main quarrel between us and Satan is about high
and heavenly things, which tend to the honour of God and the eternal
good of our souls ; it is not our temporal and worldly, so much as our
spiritual and heavenly concernments which are struck at. The devil
would fain cheat us of our souls, our God, and our happiness, and by
propounding some base and unworthy trifle deprive us of everlasting
glory. Now, a man that hath a sense of eternity deeply impressed
upon his heart, and hath ' made eternal things his scope,' 2 Cor. iv. 18,
he hath his eyes in his head, is careful not to lose his interest in and
hope of these things, who knows that the whole world will not coun
tervail the loss of his soul, and that one glimpse of heaven's glory and
happiness doth so much outshine all the pomp and gaudy vanities of
the present life, that he dareth not let his heart linger after these
things, lest he should forget or neglect those better things. He is
cautious of ' coming short of the heavenly rest/ which his eye and his
heart is upon, Heb. iv. 1. But they whose faith about these things is
either weak or none at all are bold and venturous, as if there were no
such danger in sins and temptations ; they forget God and their souls,
and the great account they must give of all their actions to their im
partial judge, and the eternal recompenses of heaven and hell, into
which all the world shall at last issue themselves.
[2.] Fear, or a reverent and aweful regard of God's eye and presence ;
they are afraid to do anything unseemly in his sight : Gen. xxxix. 9,
' How can I do this wickedness, and sin against God ? ' How will
God take it to be affronted to his face ? As Esther vii. 8, ' Will he
force the queen before me in the house ? ' So, shall we give vent to
our sin when God seeth and heareth ? void our excrements in his
presence ? The Israelites were commanded to march with a paddle :
Deut. xxiii. 12-14, ' Thou shalt have a place also without the camp,
whither thou shalt go forth abroad. And thou shalt have a paddle
upon thy weapon, and it shall be when thou wilt ease thyself abroad,
VOL. XI. T
290 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XV.
thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back, and cover that which
cometh from thee. For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of
thy camp to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee ;
therefore shall thy camp be holy, that he see no unclean thing in thee,
and turn away from thee/ The master's eye makes the servant
diligent ; the presence of a reverend man will hold us in some order.
If Gehazi had known that the spirit of Elisha went with him, would
he have run after Naaman for a reward ? 2 Kings v. 26 ; his pro
phetic spirit went with him. We can no more be removed from
the presence of God than from our own being ; he is the continual
witness and judge of our conversations ; he seeth us in secret as well
as in public. Now, when the soul is habituated to this thought, how
aweful and watchful shall we be ? Ps. cxix. 168, 'I kept thy precepts
and thy testimonies ; for all my ways are before thee.' The sense of
his presence is the great ground of watchfulness. God is not so shut
up within the curtain of the heavens, but that he doth see and hear
all that we do or say ; yea, he knoweth our thoughts afar off.
[3.] Love to God maketh us tender of offending him, for it is a
grace that studieth to please ; the soul is jealous of anything which
looks like an offence to those whom we love. Others are not troubled
though they sin freely in thought, foully in word, frequently in their
daily practice, because an offence to God seemeth as nothing ; they
have no love to God : Ps. xcvii. 10, ' Ye that love the Lord, hate evil.'
It is a loathsome thing to them ; to a gracious heart it is argument
enough against sin that it ' is the transgression of the law,' 1 John iii.
4 ; and he inferreth it out of love to God, ver. 1, ' Behold what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us/ &c. They have such
a deep apprehension of God's love to them in Christ, that it breedeth
an awe upon them, or a fear to offend : Ezra ix. 13, 14, ' After all
that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing
that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve,
and hast given us such deliverance as this ; shall we again break thy
commandments ? ' Josh. xxiv. 31, ' Israel served the Lord all the
days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua,
and which had known all the works of the Lord, which he had done
for Israel/ What ! offend God, who is so blessed a being, who created
us out of nothing, of whose mercy we have tasted every moment, who
preserveth and delivereth us continually, from whose goodness we
expect all our blessedness ! Is our deliverance by Christ of less value
than all our temporal deliverances ? Will not love draw the same
inferences and conclusions from it ? Caution doth not arise out of a
fear of anger, but a loathness to offend.
2. The time when this duty is to be practised ; always ; it isnever
out of season. Conscience must still sit porter at the door, and ex
amine what goes in and out. If men neglect their watch but for a
little while, how soon doth sin get an advantage against them. Lot,
that was chaste in Sodom, miscarried in the mountains, where there
was none but his own family. David, whose heart was so tender that
it smote him for cutting off the lap of Saul's garment, falleth into so
deep a sleep afterwards that his conscience was silent when he had
defiled it with blood and lust. The tears and sorrows of many years
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 291
may perhaps not repair the mischief which one hour may bring unto you.
You have need to watch after the sense of your duty hath been revived
upon you. Satan loveth to snatch the prey from under Christ's own arm :
' He entered into Judas, after the sop,' John xiii. 27. After solemn
duties, how soon do people miscarry ! As soon as the law was given
with terrible thunderings, the people do presently miscarry by worship
ping the golden calf, Exod. xxxii. ; and the priests in the very day of
their consecration, in the beginning and first day of their ministration,
offered strange fire to the Lord, Lev. x. After some escape from sin
we need to watch that we be not entangled therein again: 2 Pet. ii.
20, ' If after they have escaped the pollution of the world through
the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again
entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them
than the beginning.' As under the law, a sore rising as a boil, when
it was healed, might afterward break out again, and turn to a leprosy,
Lev. xiii. 18-20 ; so sins, after we seem to be healed of them, may re
turn, and make us worse than before. As Christ saith to the man
cured : John v. 14, ' Behold, thou art made whole ; sin no more, lest
a worse thing come unto thee.' In prosperity we need to watch ; it is
hard to carry a full cup without spilling, and to live at ease and yet
to keep up a due and lively sense of our duty. And in our adversity,
when the course of temptation is altered, we are strangely surprised ;
every condition bringeth its own snares with it : ' Ephraim is a cake
not turned,' Hosea vii. 8. Those who are most advanced in a state of
grace, they need still to watch : Mark xiii. 37, ' What I say unto you
I say unto all, Watch.' We are never past this care ; this is the great
difference between Christian and Christian ; one is more watchful than
another.
3. Against what we must watch.
[1.] Generally against the three grand enemies of our salvation, the
devil, the world, and the flesh.
(1.) Against Satan ; for he hath laid his ambushes and enterprises
against us continually, and by his spiritual nature hath advantages of
being near us, when we are little aware of him : 1 Peter v. 8, ' Be sober,
be vigilant ; for your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he may devour.' Satan is ever watching, there
fore you should watch. You give him the greatest advantage by your
folly and negligence ; now the apostle saith he would not give him
any advantage : 2 Cor. ii. 11, ' Lest Satan should get an advantage
of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices.' He is unwearied in
his motions, lays his designs deep, takes all advantages and occasions
to destroy us. If the devil were either dead or asleep, or had lost
his malice and power, then we need not stand so much upon our
guard.
(2.) Against the world ; for we are bidden to ' deny worldly lusts,'
Titus ii. 12. Not only ungodliness must be watched and prevented,
but our inclination to worldly things. See how these two are matched ;
for when we fall off from God we take to the creature: Jer. ii. 13,
' My people have committed two evils, they have forsaken me the foun
tain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns,
that will hold no water ; ' and ' Christ died to deliver us from this
present evil world/ Gal. i. 4. Here lie all the baits, and , snares, and
292 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XY.
dangers ; pass but safe through these flats and quicksands, and we
shall soon arrive to the haven of eternal glory. The great virtue and
proper effect of the cross of Christ is seen in crucifying us to the
world : Gal. vi. 14, ' God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and
I unto the world/ When the fashion of worldly glory is spoiled, and
it seemeth less lovely in our eyes, then the cross of Christ hath pro
duced its effect upon us, and the spiritual life advanceth apace. It is
the world that is an enemy to God, and quencheth and abateth our
love to him: 1 John ii. 15, 'Love not the world, neither the things of
the world : if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him ; ' James iv. 4, ' Know ye not that the friendship of the world is
enmity with God ? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world
is an enemy of God.' Some temporal good lieth nearest our hearts,
and God is not our chiefest good and last end, wherein lieth the life
of all religion. It is the world that diverts us from our duty, that
hinders the vigour and perfection of the life of grace : Luke viii. 14,
' They which fell among thorns are they which, when they have heard,
go forth and are choked with cares, and riches, and pleasures of this
life, and bring no fruit to perfection.' It is the world that makes us
grudge at the strictness of Christ's precepts : Mat. xix, 22, ' When
the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for
he had great possessions.' It is the world that tempts us to
live in a slight way, as other careless creatures do about us. It is
the world that maketh us slightly mind heavenly things, and affect a
life of pomp and ease here : Luke xvi. 25, ' Son, remember that thou
in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things.' It is the world that
enticeth us to stay by the way and neglect our home, that maketh the
impressions which arise from the belief of another and better world to
be weak and inefficacious : 2 Cor. iv. 4, ' In whom the God of this
world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the
light of the glorious gospel of Christ, which is the image of God,
should shine on them.' Well, then, we cannot be watchful enough
against the sly insinuations of the world. When it seemeth too
sweet and amiable to you, the devil is at your elbows, enticing your
souls from God ; when the things of this world begin to be represented
as more sweet and delectable than God, and holiness, and heaven, and
you are ready to value your happiness rather by worldly prosperity
than by the favour and friendship of God, and you are more indif
ferent, and can contentedly live without a sense of his love, but your
desires are more urgent and strong after an increase of temporal en
joyments, when you affect to grow rich in this world, and neglect to
grow rich in grace, oh ! then Christians have need to stand upon their
guard, mischief is near, and unless it be prevented, will prove the bane
and everlasting ruin of your souls.
(3.) The flesh must be watched against. The flesh is importunate
to be pleased, and will urge us to retrench and cut off a great part of
*,hat necessary duty which belongeth to our heavenly calling ; yea, it
will crave very unlawful and unreasonable things at our hands. It
may be not at first ; but if you continue to gratify sense and brutish
iippttite witli an uncontrolled license, it is impossible that you should
keep within the bounds of your duty. Therefore, unless you keep a
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 293
constant government over your senses and appetites, how shamefully
will you miscarry ! Therefore, as you love your souls, you must
'abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,' 1 Peter ii. 11.
For whilst you keep gratifying and pleasing the flesh by the excess of
lawful delights, you do but strengthen your enemy, increase corruption
in heart and life, provide fuel for Satan's temptations, and jostle God
out of the throne, and finally hasten your own eternal ruin. If you
would keep sin under, you must cut off the provisions of the flesh, not
cater for them : Kom. xiii. 14, ' Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil
the lusts thereof.' If you would resist Satan, you must be ' sober and
watchful/ 1 Peter v. 8 ; that is, sparing in the use of worldly delights.
If you would preserve God's interest, and reserve the throne of your
hearts for him, you must take heed that the pleasures of the animal
life be not too much indulged, for these will soon secure their interest
in our affections : 2 Tim. iii. 4, ' Lovers of pleasures more than lovers
of God.' If you would not have your consciences benumbed, and grow
forgetful of spiritual danger, you must set a guard upon these outward
delights : Luke xxi. 34, ' Take heed to yourselves, lest a.t any time your
hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of
this life, and so that day come upon you unawares;' 1 Thes. v. 6,
' Let us watch and be sober.' There is a strange infatuation and
senselessness groweth upon you, and though we keep up a show of
religion, yet we feel little of the life and power of it. They indispose
us for our Christian warfare, quench all our sense of heavenly things :
1 Peter i. 13, ' Be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be
brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.' These delights
that offer themselves in our pilgrimage make us forget our journey, as
lewd servants sent to a market or fair spend all their time and money
at the next inn. We are strangers and pilgrims, that is the apostle's
argument : 1 Peter ii. 11, 'Dearly beloved, I beseech you, as strangers
and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.'
We may bait here, as in a house of entertainment, but so as to set
onward still on our journey, that it may be a refreshment, not an
hindrance. Certainly they that would make progress in their journey
to their heavenly home should meddle sparingly with sensible delights,
though lawful in themselves. Certainly they who make their corrupt
inclinations their ordinary guide and rule, and the satisfying thereof
their ordinary trade, miscarry shamefully, and shipwreck all their
hopes of glory.
[2.] More particularly, the object of our watching are these things
(1.) Our thoughts, which are sin's spokesmen, and make the match
between the soul and the object : Prov. iv. 23, ' Keep thy heart with
all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.' If we do not take care
what thoughts we have, and whereunto they tend, the heart is entangled
before we are aware ; our lusts stir up thoughts, and these thoughts
entice the heart ; and whilst we muse and sit abrood upon them, these
cockatrice eggs are hatched. It is musing maketh the fire to burn ;
and when the fire is kindled, then the sparks begin to fly abroad ; men
execute what the heart contriveth, and finish it without stopping :
James i. 14, 15, ' Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of
his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth
forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.' There we
294 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XV.
read of the manner of the birth, or bringing forth of sin. Some
pleasurable lure, represented by sense, awakeneth the lust; that
draweth off the heart from God and heavenly things : then lust con-
ceiveth by thoughts, as the eggs are hatched by incubation ; then it is
a full-grown sin, and so they go on to the very last, till they drop into
hell. Oh ! then, suppress the musings, the vain and sinful thoughts ;
for whilst you dandle sin in your minds with a secret consent, liking,
or a pleasing musing, the mischief increaseth, the stranger becometh
your master.
(2.) You must watch against occasions. It is ill sporting with
occasions, or playing about the cockatrice's hole, or standing in harm's
way. Many say their infirmities make them run into such or such
sins ; but if they were minded to leave their sin, they would leave off
evil company, and all occasions that lead to it. We are often warned
of this : Prov. iv. 14, 15, ' Enter not into the path of the wicked, and
go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it,
and pass away ;' Prov. v. 8, ' Remove thy way far from her, and come
not nigh the door of her house.' The wisdom of God thought fit to
give us these directions ; they that think they have so good a command
of themselves that they shall keep within compass well enough,
though they venture upon the occasions of sin, converse with vain
company, frequent the haunts of the wicked, go to plays, and entertain
themselves with dalliances, refuse none of the blandishments of sense,
surely they are not acquainted with the slipperiness and infirmity of
human nature, know not what the new creature meaneth, nor what a
tender thing it is to preserve it in strength and vigour. Is sin grown
less dangerous ? or have men gotten a greater command of themselves
than they were wont to have when the Scriptures were first written ?
Surely man is as weak as ever, and sin as dangerous. Why then
should we venture upon evil company, and the places where they
resort, and go too near the pit's brink, and freely please ourselves with
the allectives of sin, and apostasy from God, such as are wanton plays,
idle sports ? Is there no infection that secretly tainteth our hearts ?
(3.) Against all appearance of evil : 1 Thes. v. 22, ' Abstain from
all appearance of evil/ Some things, though not apparently evil, yet
they have an ill aspect, as being unsuitable to the gravity of our holy
calling, or the strictness of our baptismal vow and covenant made
with Christ, or as being things not practised by good men who most
seriously mind heavenly things, or have been usually abused to sin,
and so are not of good report, to be sure do rather blemish religion
than adorn it. Christ's worshippers should be far from scurrility,
lightness, vanity in apparel, words, deeds; and they should avoid all
things that look towards a sin. It is notable under the law, that the
Nazarite who was not to drink wine was not to eat grapes, moist nor
dry, nor to taste anything that was made of the vine-tree, from the
kernels even unto the husk : Numb. vi. 3, 4. A Christian that hath
consecrated himself to God, and hath made such a full and whole
renunciation of all sin, should exactly take care to avoid every occa
sion and provocation to evil, every appearance of evil, not only the
pollution of the flesh, but ' the garment spotted with the flesh,' Jude 23.
(4.) Watch to prevent the sin itself. The actual reign of sin maketh
way for the habitual. The progress is this ; temptations lead to sin, for
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 295
there are few of us but discover more evil upon a trial than ever we
thought we should before, as the piercing and broaching of a vessel show-
eth what liquor is in it ; and small sins lead to greater, as the small sticks
set the greater on fire ; and greater sins lead to hell, except God be the
more merciful, and we stop betimes. Well, then, watch against the
sin itself, for every foil maketh you suffer loss. Sin cometh to reign
by degrees, and a man settleth his neck to the yoke by little and little.
It is not easy to fix bounds to sin, when it is once admitted, and given
way to. Water, when once it breaketh out, will have its course ; and
the gap once made in the conscience will grow wider and wider every
day. A little rent in the cloth maketh way for a greater ; so, if we do
not take heed of small sins, worse grow upon us. The fear of God
and sense of sin is lessened by every sinful act, and conscience loseth
its tenderness, and our feeling decayeth. The best stopping of the
stone is at the top of the hill ; when it beginneth to fall downward it
is hard to stay it. The deceived heart thinketh, I will yield a little ;
and the devil carrieth them further and further, till there is no tender
ness left in the conscience. As in gaming there is a secret witchery, a
man will play a little, venture a small sum, but he is wound in more
and more and entangled ; so men think it is no great matter to sin a
little. A little sin is a sin against God, an offence to him ; and there
fore why do not you make conscience of it ? And it will bring other
mischiefs along with it, as it disposeth the heart to sin again.
(5.) Watch against the mischief of heinous or presumptuous sins.
When you venture to do any foul thing against apparent checks of
conscience, any small sin may get the upper hand of the sinner, and
bring him under in time, after it is habituated by long custom, so that
he cannot easily shake off the yoke, and redeem himself from the
tyranny thereof; but these steal into the soul insensibly, and enslave
us, as they get strength by multiplied acts. But presumptuous or
heinous sins, by one single act, bring a mighty advantage to the flesh,
and weaken the spirit or better part, and advance themselves suddenly
into the throne : Ps. xix. 13, ' Keep back thy servant also from pre
sumptuous sins, let them not have dominion over me : then shall I be
upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression/ The
regenerate, if the Lord do not keep them from temptations, or do leave
them in temptations, may fall into most scandalous sins against the
light of their consciences, and for the present are under wof ul slavery
and inconvenience. David representeth the utmost mischief of these
kinds of sins, as afraid (with the fear of caution) it might tend
thereto. Now if a man, nay, a child of God, may possibly fall into
scandalous sins, being enticed by the pleasure or profit of them, and
for the present be blinded, then, after any heinous fall there should be
a special mortification or weakening of sin ; because when we are
gotten to that height, sin will break out again in the same or other
kind, as a venomous humour in the body, heal one sore, and it breaketh
out in another place. After some notable fall or actual rebellion
against God, it is good to come in speedily, to prevent hardness of
heart by all holy means, that we may not settle in an evil course ; it
is not enough to ask pardon, to forbear the act, but you must mortify
the root of the distemper. There are three things in sin culpa,
296 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. XV.
reatus, macula. The fault is continued as long as the act is repeated ;
you are in danger of this till the breach be made up between God
and you ; as Lot doubled his incest, the orifice of the wound was not
yet closed ; and Peter doubled and trebled his denials, whilst the
temptation was yet upon him/ and he had not recovered himself by
repentance ; Samson's folly and inordinate love to women twice be
trayed him, Judges xvi. 1-4. The guilt continueth till repentance, and
suing out pardon in the name of Jesus Christ : 1 John i. 9, ' If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' Though a man should forbear
the act, yet unless he humbleth himself before God, and in a broken
hearted way applieth himself to his mediator and advocate, the guilt
is not done away. But besides, there is the blot, or the inclination to sin
again; the evil influence of the sin continues till we mortify the root, and
the core of the distemper be gotten out. Take for an instance Jonah,
the prophet ; the original reason of his tergiversation from his call was
a fear of being ashamed, and found false in those threatenings which
he was to denounce in the name of God ; this maketh him run away
from his duty, and it cost him dear ; for a tempest pursued him, and
he was thrown into the sea, and swallowed up of a whale or great fish.
Well, he being disciplined, confesseth his fault, repenteth his forsaking
his call, begs pardon, is delivered, addresseth himself to his work.
God interposeth by the prerogative of his grace upon the humiliation
of the Ninevites, and then Jonah is all in a fury, his old reasons return :
Jonah iv. 1, 2, ' Was not this my saying when I was yet in my
country ? ' &c. Therefore, it is not enough to bewail or discontinue the
sin, but we must lance the sore, mortify the root of the distemper, till
all be well. This was the reason of Christ's speech to Peter : John
xxi. 15, ' Simon Peter, lovest thou me more than these ? ' that is, more
than the rest of the disciples present. Peter had boasted, Mat. xxvi.
33, ' Though all men be offended because of thee, yet will I never be
offended.' Now saith Christ, ' Lovest thou me more than these ? '
He reflecteth upon his former conceit of himself and singular under
taking. Peter had wept bitterly for the fact of denying his master ;
Christ would try if the cause were removed. The evil of the saints'
apostasy and defection will never be cured thoroughly unless the
fountain-cause and root of it be cured and continually watched over.
His making comparisons and lofty conceit of himself was that which
occasioned his former fall ; therefore Christ, to see what he did think
of it, and whether it did continue with him, puts him this question.
Peter was grown more modest than to make any comparisons now ;
his sad fall taught him sobriety, not to boast of himself beyond others.
(6.) You are to watch against evil customs, that you do not lose
your tenderness of conscience. Conscience, as the eye, is soon offended.
The least dust, if it get into the eye, will pain it ; so will conscience
smite for lesser failings and exorbitancies ; but afterwards when you
make bold with it, it is like the stomach of the ostrich, which digesteth
iron, or like a part or member of the body which is seared with a hot
iron, it hath no feeling, 1 Tim. iv. 2 ; or like freezing water, which at
first will not bear a pin, but afterwards it freezeth and freezeth, till it
bear a cart-load. So men lose their tender sense by frequency of sin-
VER. 14.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 297
ning. Therefore it is some degree of mortification to prevent the
custom, and the hardness of heart that comes thereby. When a mem
ber is sprained or out of joint, if you let it alone and delay to set it, it
never groweth strong or straight ; so the longer corruption is spared,
the worse it groweth, and requireth 1 more strength. Therefore, at
least let not your hearts settle in a course of vanity or disobedience unto
God.
(7.) Take heed of your darling sin. We are more tender of one sin
than another : ' It is sweet in our mouths, and we hide it under our
tongues,' Job xx. 12 ; there is most pleasure and profit in it. This is
the sin which is most apt to prevail, and settle into a tyranny in the
soul ; and your uprightness is tried by your watching and striving
against it : as Ps. xviii. 23, ' I was also upright before him, and I kept
myself from mine iniquity : ' Unless we humble ourselves more for this,
watch against this, strive against this, it will be our ruin, and prove
the ground of our apostasy in a time of temptation. There is some
secret vent which all men have for their corruptions, or some postern
or back-door by which Satan usually enters. Now this sin should be
always in your eye, for the strength of other sins dependeth upon love
to this : ' Fight not against small or great, but against the king of
Israel,' 1 Kings xxii. 21. You should be most jealous of your hearts,
lest they miscarry by this sin, and labour to increase in the contrary
grace. He that will not spare his darling, 2 he hateth no sin indeed.
Secondly, For striving, this is required of us also ; for we are bidden
' to stand against the wiles of the devil,' Eph. vi. 11, ' To withstand,
that after all we may stand,' ver. 13. A stout and peremptory
resistance of Satan's temptations is required of us in order to victory.
The more we yield to sin, the more it tyranniseth over us : Mat. xii.
45, ' Then goeth he and taketh with himself seven other spirits more
wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there, and the last
state of that man is worse than the first/ The more Satan is resisted
the more he loseth ground : James iv. 7, ' Eesist the devil and he will
flee from you.' Christ promiseth the crowns to those that will fight
manfully : Eev. ii. 10, ' Be thou faithful unto the death, and I will
give thee a crown of life.' Therefore do not basely yield, nor lazily sit
down, as if the work were already done.
But what is this striving ? It implieth two things (1.) An avowed
defiance ; (2.) A courageous resistance.
1. An avowed defiance. The first preparation of it is the resolution
of the mind, or the dedication of ourselves to God. When we are re
generate, we renounce the devil, the world, and the flesh, and bid de
fiance or proclaim an eternal feud and hostility against them, declare
ourselves enemies to these three.
2. A courageous resistance ; for after that time we are fearfully
assaulted, and in continual warfare with Satan : 1 Peter v. 8, ' Be
sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion,
continually walketh about, seeking whom he may devour ; ' with the
world : James iv. 4, ' Know ye not that the friendship of the world is
enmity with God ? whosoever therefore will be a friend to the world
is the enemy of God ; ' with the flesh : Eom. vii. 15, ' For that which
1 Qu., "acquireth?" ED. " Qu., " will spare his darling sin ?" ED.
298 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XV.
I do I allow not ; for what I would, that I do not ; but what I hate,
that do I ; ' there is the strife described. Now we resist
[1.] By strength of resolution : Dan. iii. 18, ' We will not serve thy
gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up ; ' Ps. xxxix.
1, ' I said I will take heed unto my ways, that I offend not with my
tongue.'
[2.] Partly by hazarding our temporal interests : Heb. xii. 4, ' Ye
have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin;' Rev. xii. 11,
' They overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their
testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death.'
[3.] By opposing gracious considerations : Gen. xxxix. 9, ' How
shall I do this wickedness, and sin against God ? ' 1 John ii. 14. ' Ye
are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have over
come the wicked one/ by opposing reasons out of scripture, or arguing
strongly against sin.
[4.] By praying, or crying strongly for help, when we are sensible
of the burden of sin : Rom. vii. 24, ' wretched man that I am ! who
shall deliver me from this body of death ? '
[5.] But chiefly by being acquainted with all the Christian armour,
and the use of it. We must not go one day unarmed, but be armed
cap-a-pie with the helmet of salvation, which is hope, the breastplate
of righteousness, the girdle of truth, the shoes of the preparation of
the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit. The
apostle beginneth with
(1.) ' The girdle of truth,' whereby is meant a sincere and honest
intention to be what we seem to be. Satan useth wiles ; but we must
not imitate our adversary in deceit, but labour for truth of heart, which
as a girdle is strength of the loins.
(2.) ' The breastplate of righteousness,' which is a principle of grace
inclining us to obey God in all things, or a fixed purpose and endea
vour to give God and man their due. This secureth the breast or
vital parts.
(3.) ' The feet must be shod.' We meet with rough ways as we are
advancing to heaven ; and soldiers had their greaves or brazen shoes,
to defend from sharp-pointed stakes, fixed by the enemy in the ground
over which they were to march. This preparation is a readiness of
inind to suffer anything for Christ ; this is built on the gospel of peace :
Acts xxi. 13, ' Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and break
my heart ? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at
Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus ; ' 1 Peter iii. 15, ' Sanctify
the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer
to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with
meekness and fear.' We must be ready to confess Christ in persecu
tions and dangers. When we have a sense of our peace and friend
ship made up between God and us by Jesus Christ, and our great and
eternal interests are once settled, what need a believer fear ?
(4.) ' The shield of faith,' which covereth the whole body, a sound
belief of the mysteries of the gospel, and the promises thereof, especi
ally a clear sight of the world to come. They that have such a faith
see a sure foundation to build upon. On the one side the righteous
ness of Christ, or the promises of the gospel to a penitent believer of
VER. 15.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 299
pardon, of strength to maintain grace received, and finally of eternal
life ; on the other side, threats to impenitent and sensual persons.
(5.) ' The helmet of salvation/ which is a well-grounded hope of
eternal life : 1 Thes. v. 8, ' But let us who are of the day be sober,
putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet the
hope of salvation.' This maketh a Christian hold up his head in the
midst of all encounters and sore assaults. He that often looketh above
the clouds, and expecteth within a little while to be with God in the
midst of the glory of the world to come, why should he be daunted ?
(6.) ' The sword of the Spirit.' This is a weapon both offensive
and defensive ; it wardeth off Satan's blows, and maketh him fly away
wounded and ashamed. If Satan saith, Oh ! it is too soon to mind
religion ! he hath the word ready, Eccles. xii. 1, ' Kemember thy crea
tor in the days of thy youth.' If that it is too late, then, John iii. 16,
' God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.' If that his sins are too great, or too many to be pardoned, then,
Isa. Iv. 7, ' 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/ If Satan
tempt him to live sensually, Bom. viii. 13, ' If ye live after the flesh, ye
shall die/ If to defile himself with base lusts, 1 Thes. iv. 3, 4, ' This
is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from
fornication; that every one of you should know how to possess his
vessel in sanctification and honour/ If to a negligent careless pro
fession, then, Phil. ii. 12, ' Work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling ; ' 1 Thes. ii. 12, ' That ye would walk worthy of God, who
hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.' If to despondency and
fainting, 2 Cor. xii. 9, ' My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength
is made perfect in weakness.'
SERMON XVI.
What then f shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but
under grace ? God forbid. ROM. VI. 15.
HERE the apostle preventeth an absurd conclusion, which might be
inferred by people of a libertine spirit from what he had said in the
former verse, either from the first or the last clause, the privilege or
the reason. From either, carnal men might collect what might be
matter of security to them in sin ; either because of the privilege, ' Sin
shall not have dominion over you ; ' therefore they might let loose the
reins ; sin should not reign, and consequently not damn ; or else from
the reason, ' Ye are not under the law, but under grace ; ' the negative
part might seem to infer an exemption from the duty of the law ; the
positive, 'but under grace/ which provideth pardon for the lapsed,
they might infer hence that therefore they might sin impune, without
any fear of punishment. So that, in short, three doctrines of grace are
apt to be abused.
300 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XVI.
1. The free pardon or exemption from condemnation which the new
covenant hath provided for sinners ; therefore they might sin securely,
no harm would come of it.
2. The liberty and exemption from the rigour of the law, which re-
quireth things impossible at our hands under the penalty of the curse ;
as if this had freed us from all manner of bonds and ties to obey God,
' They were not under the law.'
3. The doctrine of perseverance, as if they might do what they list ;
the covenant of grace would secure their interest, and whether they
watched or strived, yea or nay, sin should not have dominion over
them. All these are rejected as unreasonable conclusions. ' What
then ? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under
grace ? God forbid.'
In the words we have
First, An interrogation, to excite us to regard what conclusions we
draw from Christian privileges, ' What then ? ' that is, what do we
conclude thence ?
Secondly, A faulty inference or conclusion is mentioned, ' Shall we
sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace ? ' Where
1. The inference itself, 'Shall we sin?' that is, let us continue in
sin, or serve sin, or not strive against sin.
2. The ground whence it is inferred
[1.] From the evangelical state negatively proposed, ' Because we
are not under the law/ as if we were exempted from the rule of the
law because we are exempted from the rigour of it.
[2.] From the evangelical state positively proposed, ' But under
grace.'
(1.) The grace of justification ; we may indulge sin, since the
gospel offereth a pardon or freedom from condemnation.
(2.) The grace of sa notification by the Spirit ; God will maintain
our right, though we mind it not, and so we turn the grace of God
into looseness or laziness.
(3.) The brand upon this conclusion, or his abhorrence specified ;
it is not only unreasonable, but impious, /*?) VGVOLTO ; far be it from
believers thus to conclude
(1st.) Because the conclusion is unreasonable, being a distortion of
true doctrine, or of the grace of the gospel.
(2d.) It is ungrateful. What ! be more licentious for God's grace ?
It is the most abhorred use of God's mercy that is imaginable.
Doct. That it is a manifest abuse of the new covenant so much
as to imagine that it countenanceth any licentiousness or liberty
in sin.
I shall first prove it by two arguments
1. From the design or end of God in setting up this new transac
tion with mankind.
2. From the tenor and constitution of it.
Secondly, Shall vindicate those doctrines of free grace, which may
most seem to occasion such thoughts in the hearts of men.
1. From the design of God in setting up this new covenant, which
was to recover lapsed man from the devil and the world unto himself,
that he might not wholly lose the glory of his creation ; which ap-
VER. 15.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vr. 301
pearetli by manifold expressions in scripture : Luke xix. 10, ' The
Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost/ Now we
were lost first to God ; as Luke xv., the lost groat was lost to the
possessor, the lost sheep was lost to the owner, the lost son lost to the
father : these two last parables show that they were also lost to them
selves ; but that is but a consequent ; the primary sense is, they were
lost to God, and therefore Christ came to recover them to his obed
ience. But to leave parables, it is said expressly, Kev. v. 9, ' Thou
hast redeemed us to God by thy blood,' that we might not only be
admitted into his friendship and favour, but fitted for his service, and
that he might ' bring us to God,' 1 Peter iii. 18 ; by which is meant
not only to reconcile us unto God, but bring us into a state of subjec
tion and obedience to him. Christ is set up as a mediator and lord
of the new creation, to the glory of God the Father : Phil* ii. 11,
' That every tongue might confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father ; ' that his interest in his creatures might be
secured. And the kingdom of the mediator is subordinate to the
kingdom of God ; all the authority and power which Christ hath as
mediator, to enact laws and make a new covenant, is to bring men back
again to the obedience of God upon more comfortable terms. Our
subjection to him is not vacated or made void, or only reserved, but
established on more comfortable terms, as we have grace given us for
the pardon of failings, and the effectual help of his Spirit to incline us
to obedience.
2. From the tenor and constitution of it. As to the precepts, it
begins with faith and repentance, and is carried on in the way of new
obedience or holiness. None are admitted to the first privileges but
those that repent. Upon Mary's repentance Christ said, ' Her sins,
which are many, are forgiven her,' Luke vii. 47 ; ' Him hath God
exalted to be a prince and a saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and
forgiveness of sins,' Acts v. 31. Now repentance is a serious fixed
purpose of returning to the obedience we owe to God. And the last
privilege, eternal glory, we have it not without holiness : Mat. v. 8,
' Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God ; ' Heb. xii. 14,
' Follow peace and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.'
All the intermediate privileges do expressly require or imply holiness :
Ps. Ixxxiv. 11, ' For the Lord God is a sun and a shield ; the Lord
will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from
them that walk uprightly.' So that from first to last it is a holy
covenant, as it is called Luke i. 72. Yea, it is holy, not only with
respect to what it requireth, but with respect to what it promiseth.
It promiseth the Holy Spirit to sanctify us : Acts ii. 38, ' Kepent and
be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the re
mission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost ; '
Ezek. xxxvi. 25, ' Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you
shall be clean, and from all your idola will I cleanse you ; ' 1 Cor. vi.
11, ' Such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are justified,
but ye are sanctified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit
of our God.' And the heaven of heavens is perfection of holiness : 1
John iii. 2, 3, ' Beloved, now are we the sons of God, but it doth not
yet appear what we shall be ; but this we know, that when he shall
302 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SfiR. XVI.
appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is ; and he
that hath this hope purifieth himself as he is pure ; ' Eph. v. 27,
' That he might present it (the church) to himself a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be
holy and without blemish.' Once more, the aim of it is to promote
holiness : 2 Peter i. 4, ' Whereby are given unto us exceeding great
and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the
divine nature ; ' 2 Cor. vii. 1, ' Having these promises, dearly beloved,
let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God ; ' Luke i. 75, ' That we might serve him
a<o/3w?, without fear ' (that is the great privilege of the new covenant),
'in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our lives.'
In short, the covenant dealeth only with a holy people, and excludeth
the profane and unclean : the holy covenant must have a holy people
suitable to it, or else it speaketh no good to them. If you be not
holy, you have no part in Christ, nor interest in his covenant : Acts
xx. 32, ' And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word
of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an in
heritance among them that are sanctified ;' Acts xxvi. 18, ' To open
their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan unto God, that we may receive forgiveness of sins, and
an inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in
me.' Well, you see the whole scope and great 'drift of the covenant
is to promote holiness.
It remains, secondly, to vindicate those doctrines of grace that may
seem to occasion these imaginations.
1. God's freeness and readiness to pardon. The law threateneth
punishment, but grace offereth pardon and impunity ; therefore men
let loose the reins ; they think mercy will pardon all and discharge all.
But this is a wretched abuse.
[1.] Though pardon be offered to penitent sinners, yet it is on pur
pose that they may forsake their sins, and timely return to the obed
ience of God : Ps. cxxx. 4, ' There is forgiveness with thee, that thou
mayest be feared ; ' that they may not stand aloof from God as a con
demning God, but return to his fear and service. It is offered to
prevent despair, not to encourage us in sin ; so that you quite pervert
the end of the offer.
[2.] This pardon belongeth only to the penitent. The offer is made
to all, but none have an actual right to it till they repent : Isa. Iv. 7,
' 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; ' and Prov.
xxviii. 13, ' He that covereth his sins shall not prosper ; but whoso
confesseth and forsaketh them shall find mercy.' All sinners are to
be told that God is ready to pardon ; but all sinners are not to believe
that their sins are pardoned, for this is an act that belongeth to God as
a governor and judge. Some things God doth as a free Lord, and
there ' it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of
God thatshoweth mercy,' Horn. ix. 16. Other things God doth as a
righteous judge and governor, according to the law of commerce
between him and his creatures ; there it is, ' So run that ye may
VER. 15.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 303
obtain,' 1 Cor. ix. 24. To apply this to the case in hand. Pardon
of sins is an act of judicature, dispensed upon certain terms ; gracious
and free they are indeed, but terms and conditions they are still,
without which we have no right to pardon, or are not qualified to
receive it. All the privileges of the gospel are a benefit, but a benefit
dispensed on certain terms, such as our sovereign Lord was pleased to
prescribe.
[3.] They are expressly excluded that securely go on in sin : Ps.
Ixviii. 21, ' But he will wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy
scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses.' That excep
tive participle but relateth to what was said of God before. Now,
twice before God is called a God of salvation : ver. 19, ' Blessed be
the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salva
tion, Selah ; ' and ver. 20, ' He that is our God is the God of salvation ;
but he will wound,' &c. A man that goeth on still in his sins is
reckoned an enemy to Christ, whatever he be by outward profession,
and as an enemy he shall be dealt with. The God of salvation, or the
merciful Saviour, will not save him, notwithstanding all that lenity
and goodness which he showeth to them that are sincere. The God
of salvation will strike home upon their hairy scalp, that is, utterly
destroy them. Therefore, when men go on in a state of impenitency,
either ignorantly, or against conviction of conscience, upon a presump
tion that God's mercy shall bear them out, they make the God of all
grace their enemy ; his justice is against you, and his mercy will not
help you. By the law is the knowledge of sin, and by the gospel you
are excluded from pardon, till you break off your sins by repentance:
and the more sin you commit, the further off you are from salvation,
every sin is a step further : Ps. cxix. 155, ' Salvation is far from the
wicked, for they seek not thy statutes ; ' a pari, salvation is near to the
righteous : Horn. xiii. 11, ' Now is your salvation nearer than when ye
first believed.' Every man, every day, is a step nearer to heaven or hell.
2. The second doctrine abused is exemption from the rigour and
curse of the law, ' Ye are not under the law, but under grace.' There
fore men take a liberty to sin ; they are not under the law. But we
must distinguish how we are, and how we are not, under the law.
[1.] We are still under the law as a rule of obedience ; so the apostle
saith, 1 Cor. ix. 21, ' Not being without law to God, but under the
law to Christ.' The apostle still ruled his actions by law, both the
law of God and the law of Christian charity. To be in this sense
without law, is either to make us gods or devils. If you plead it de
jure, of right, it is to make the creature a god ; for it is impossible any
created thing can be without law ; that were to make it supreme and
independent, as if its own will were its rule, without liableness to be
called to an account by another. Saul proclaimed, 1 Sam. xvii. 25,
' That whosoever would encounter the Philistine, his house should be
free in Israel ;' but it is as impossible to free the creature from subjection
to God, as it is from dependence upon him. If you plead it de facto,
this were to make us devils, to live in direct opposition to God, and
rebellion against him, or exempt us from his authority : Ps. xii. 4, ' Who
have said, With our tongues will we prevail : our lips are our own ;
who is lord over us ? ' Thus every creature must be under a law.
3(H SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XVI.
[2.] There is a good sense in which we are said not to be under the
law ; as here in the text, and Gal. v. 18, ' If ye be led by the Spirit,
ye are not under the law ; ' that is, not under the condemning power
of it, spoken of Horn. viii. 1, ' There is therefore no condemnation to
them that are in Christ ; ' or the irritating power of it, spoken of Horn,
vii. 5, ' While we were in the flesh, the motions of sin, which were by
the law, did work in our members, to bring forth fruit unto death ; '
namely, as it did rigidly exact duty from us, and gave no strength to
perform it. Well, then, we may from hence see what liberty we have
by grace. There is a twofold liberty a holy and blessed liberty, and
a wicked and carnal liberty.
(1.) The holy liberty is to be freed from the power of sin and the
curse of the law, that our enthralled spirits may be set free to love,
serve, please, and delight in God ; and so, ' Where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is liberty/ 2 Cor. iii. 17. And for tnis end we are freed
from the law as a covenant of works, which required what to us becomes
impossible : Eom. viii. 2, ' The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
hath made us free from the law of sin and death ; ' and freed us also
from the burdensome task of ceremonies, which God thought fit to impose
in the church's nonage : Gal. v. 1, ' Stand fast therefore in the liberty
wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with
a yoke of bondage.' These ceremonies did revive the sense of trans
gressions, and the curse due to them.
(2.) The sinful liberty is a freedom from righteousness, as the
apostle calleth it, Horn. vi. 20, ' When ye were the servants of sin, ye
were free from righteousness ; ' from a voluntary subjection to God and
his holy laws, a desire to be free from that strict and holy manner of
living which God commandeth, or to be at liberty to sin against God,
or please the flesh and follow our own wills, to be merry, wanton,
lustful, worldly, to eat and drink what we have a mind to, to game,
and roar, and riot, and revel, and in the general to live as we list,
without being curbed by so precise a law as God hath given us. Now
I will show (1.) That this is not liberty; (2.) That Christ never
came to establish it ; (3.) That the contrary is the true liberty.
(1st.) That this is not liberty. For libertas non est potestas volendi et
faciendi quod veils, sed volendi etfaciendi ea quce lex divinajubei it is
not a liberty to live as we list, but to live as we ought : Ps. cxix. 45,
'And I will walk at liberty, for I keep thy precepts.' Man affects the false
liberty, and is impatient of any restraints : Ps. ii. 3, ' Let us cast away
his bands and cords from us ; ' they would do what they please without
check and control. But all this is but delusion and mistake. In reality
they live the freest life that lie under the bonds of duty, that make
conscience of praying to and praising God, and walking with him in
the stricter course of holiness. Carnal liberty is but a thraldom of
slavery ; for these we are disabled from pursuing our great end, which
is to be everlastingly happy in the enjoyment of God. They that
indulge this liberty dare not call themselves to an account for the
expense of their time and employments, which every wise man should
do, nor think seriously of death, or judgment, or heaven, or hell, but
presently they feel a horror and torment in their minds.
(2d.) Christ never came to establish this liberty ; for he came to
VER. 15.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 305
bring us back again in heart and life to God, from whom we had
fallen, to fit us to obey the law of God, by healing our natures : Heb.
viii. 10, ' This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel,
after those days, saith the Lord ; I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they
shall be to me a people.' The great blessing of the gospel is grace to
keep the law, not liberty to break it ; and all new creatures are enabled
to keep it, not in absolute perfection, yet with a sincere obedience :
Eph. iv. 24, ' And that ye put on the new man, which after God is
created in righteousness and true holiness ;' Luke i. 75, ' That we
should serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before
him all the days of our lives.'
(3d.) The more we set ourselves to keep the law, the more we enjoy
God and ourselves.
First, The more we enjoy God ; for the more obedient we are,
the more pleasing we are to him and amiable in his . sight : Prov. xi.
20, ' They that are of a froward heart are an abomination to the Lord ;
but such as are upright in their way, are his delight ; ' Ps. xi. 7, ' The
righteous God loveth righteousness, his countenance doth behold the
upright.' God delighteth in us not so much as pardoned, but as sanc
tified. They have most communion with him : 1 John i. 7, ' If we
walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one
with another ; ' they have most of the favour of God, and fellowship
with him.
Secondly, The more also we enjoy ourselves. Sin is a wounding
thing; nature looketh upon it as a disorder, therefore where it is
allowed it breedeth fear, which is a bondage the wicked are never
freed from, though they do not always feel it : Heb. ii. 15, ' And
deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject
to bondage.' But now the more we set ourselves to keep the law of
God, the more happiness and serenity in our own souls : Ps. cxix.
165, ' Great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing shall
offend them ; ' partly from the consciousness of having done their
duty, partly as their interest is more clear, and so their comfort more
full and strong.
3. The doctrine of perseverance, ' Sin shall not have dominion over
them/ whether they strive against it, yea or no ; and so, instead of a
resolute resistance, they cherish presumptuous security. There is a
holy confidence which the sincere cherish, not to slacken duty, but
increase it ; such as that of Paul, 2 Tim. i. 12, ' For the which cause
I also suffer these things, nevertheless I know whom I have believed,
and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have com
mitted to him against that day.' This is trusting ourselves in God's
hands, and keeping his way. But there is a presumptuous security
also, when men think they are past all danger, and so look upon
cautious watchfulness as a needless thing, whereas the scripture press-
eth it everywhere. Now, to prevent this, consider
[1.] The union of ends and means. The sincere convert shall be
kept blameless to God's heavenly kingdom, but he is kept in God's
way. All God's purposes are executed by fit means. God had assured
Paul, ' That there should be no loss of any man's life among them, but
VOL. xi. u
306 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [$ER. XVI.
only of the ship,' Acts xxvii. 22 ; yet afterwards he telleth them,
'Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved,' ver. 31. How-
could that assurance given to Paul from God, and Paul's caution stand
together ? God, that decrees the end, hath appointed means whereby
he will execute his decree. Well, then, God having showed us in hi
word what means are necessary to such an end, there is a necessity of
duty lying upon man to use those means, and not to expect the end
without them. God intended to save all in the ship, yet the mariners
must abide in the ship ; we must not pervert God's order. You shall
not fall away and revert into your old slavery ; but you must remem
ber you have given up your bodies as instruments of righteousness
unto God.
[2.] Among other the means required by God, there are these
two things to be considered fear of falling, and the danger of back
sliding.
(1.) Fear of falling: Heb. iv. 1, 'Let us therefore fear, lest a pro
mise being left us of entering into his rest, any of us should seem to
come short of it;' 1 Peter i. 17, 'Pass the time of your sojourning
here with fear ;' Phil. ii. 12, ' Work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling/ Fear is careful and solicitous. What fear is this ?
A fear of caution : 1 Cor. x. 12, ' Let him that thinketh he standeth,
take heed lest he fall.' Of reverence : Jer. xxxii. 40, ' I will put my
fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.'
(2.) The danger of backsliding is often represented to believers to
increase their caution ; as Christ said to his own disciples, John xv. 6,
' If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered,,
and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.'
The danger of apostasy is represented to them to confirm their standing,
or laid before them to make them afraid of defection. So Heb. x. 26,
27, ' If we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the
truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful
looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation which shall devour the
adversaries.'
(3.) The promise and exhortation go together, that we may carry
an even hand between despair and presumption. Compare ver. 12,
' Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, that ye should obey
it in the lusts thereof,' with the text, ' Sin shall not have dominion
over you.' We must not presume because of the filthiness of our
hearts, and the number of the snares that are still before us ; we must
not despond because of the unchangeableness of God's covenant love.
Let us improve the grace we have received, that we may continue in
it. The act is ours, but the help is God's. To sin upon a confidence
that we are sure to persevere is to cease persevering, and to fall away
because we are sure not to fall away, which is a contradiction.
Use of information. It informeth us
1. No doctrine is so sound but a corrupt heart will abuse it ; there
fore as much as in us lies we must prevent these misinterpretations.
2. How prone sinful men are to take all occasions to indulge liberty
to sin; being naturally bent to licentiousness, they pervert Christ's
holy doctrine to this end.
3. With what abhorrence we should entertain anything that lessens
VEK. 16.] SERMONS UPON ROMANS vi. 307
the necessity of the creatures' subjection to God, or doth befriend sin,
or enticeth you to make light of obedience ; yea, though this should
be done with the most glorious pretences of grace, it is but poison
ministered by a perfume.
4. What caution and watchfulness we should use over our own
thoughts and inferences. Every one draweth one conclusion or other
from the gospel ; what use do you make of it ? Many that will not
say so, that we should sin because we are not under the law, but under
grace, are apt to think and do so. And since it is natural to us, we
should be provided of a remedy.
[1.] Let every sacred truth be digested into holy love and practice.
Love : 2 Cor. viii. 1, 2, ' Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing
yet as he ought to know.' Practice : 1 John ii. 4, ' He that saith, I
know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth
is not in him.' When truth is turned into love, it is turned into a
new nature, and deeds discover the reality of our opinions more than
words.
[2.] Let no mystical truth be set up to avoid God's unquestionable
natural right to govern his creature, or to infringe the rights of the
godhead, as to set up Christ against the moral law, as if that were
abrogated; and if no law, no transgression, no sin, no duty, no judg
ment, no punishment, no reward.
[3.] Do not set up Christ against Christ : Heb. v. 9, ' And being
made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation to all them
that obey him.' Do not set up his merits against his law, he is Saviour
but to those that obey him.
SERMON XVII.
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his
servants ye are to wliom ye obey ; ivhether of sin unto death, or
of obedience unto righteousness? ROM. VI. 16.
IN this verse the apostle proveth that it is unreasonable and absurd to
conclude that we may sin because we are not under the law, but under
grace. Why ? Because it destroyeth the state to which we pretend,
for men cannot be under grace that serve sin. He proveth it by a
general maxim, evident by the common reason of mankind, ' Know ye
not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye
are,' &c. So that in the words we may observe two things
1. A general maxim evident by the light of nature.
2. The application of it to the matter in hand.
1. The general maxim, that whatsoever or whomsoever a man
voluntarily obeyeth, he maketh it or him his proper lord and master.
There take notice of
[1.] The evidence of it, ' Know ye not,' q.d., you may easily know
this by the common course of affairs of the world. Here four things
are evident
308 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SER. XVII.
(1.) That omnis servus est alicujus domini servus that every
servant hath some particular lord and master.
(2.) That the interest of this particular lord and master is grounded
upon some special t 
