BOOK 3. THE PROMISE.
CHAPTER 2.
3.2.2. Of Considering Jesus in that Respect.
Of Considering Jesus in that Respect.
We must consider Jesus carrying on the great work of our salvation in that dark time; it is not enough to study it, and know it, but we must seriously muse and meditate, and ponder, and consider of it, till we bring it to some profitable issue. This is the consideration I mean, when we hold our thoughts to this, or that spiritual subject, till we perceive success, and the work do thrive and prosper in our hands. Now, to help us in this.--
1. Consider Jesus in that first promise made to man, "It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel," Gen. iii. 15. When all men were under the guilt of sin, and in the power of Satan, and when thou, my soul wert in as bad a case as any other, then to hear the sound of this glad tidings, then to hear of Jesus a Saviour and Redeemer, sure this was welcome news! come draw the case nearer to thyself, thou wast in Adam's loins; suppose thou hadst been in Adam's stead; suppose thou hadst "heard the voice of the Lord walking in the garden," suppose thou hadst heard him call, Adam, "Where art thou," Peter, Andrew, Thomas, where art thou? What? "Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?" Gen. iii. 8, 9, 11. Why then appear and come to judgment, the law is irrevocable, "in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die," Gen. ii. 17. There is nothing to be looked for but death temporal, and death spiritual, and death eternal, O! what a fearful condition is this, no sooner to come into the world, but presently to be turned over into hell? For one day to be a monarch of the world, and of all creatures of the world, and the very next day to be the slave of Satan, and to be bound hand and foot in a darksome dungeon? For a few hours to live in Eden, to enjoy every tree of the garden, "pleasant to the sight, and good for food," and then to enter into the confines of eternity, and ever, ever, ever to be tormented with the devil and his angels? It is no wonder, if, "Adam hid himself from the presence of the Lord God, amongst the trees of the garden;" Gen. iii. 8. O my soul! in that case thou wouldst have cried to the rocks and to the mountains, "Fall on me, and hide me from the face of him that sitteth on the throne," Rev. vi. 16, 17. If God be angry, who may abide it? "When the great day of his wrath is come, who shall be able to stand? And yet despair not, cheer up, O my soul: for in the very midst of wrath, God is pleased to remember mercy; even now when all the world should have been damned, a Jesus is proclaimed, and promised: and he it is that must die according to the commination, for he is our surety; and he it is that by death must overcome death and the devil," "It shall bruise thy head," said God to Satan, q.d. Come, Satan, thou hast taken captive ten thousand of souls, Adam and Eve are now ensnared, and in their loins all the men and women that ever shall be from this beginning of the world to the end thereof; now is thy day of triumph, now thou keepest holy day in hell; but thou shall not carry it thus, I foresaw from all eternity what thou hast done; I knew thou wouldst dig an hole through the comely and beautiful frame of the creation; but I have decreed of old a counter-work, out of the seed of the woman shall spring a branch, "And he shall bruise thy head/ he shall break thy power, lie shall tread thy dominion under foot, he shall lead thy captivity captive, he shall take away sin, he shall paint out to men and angels the glory of heaven, and a new world of free grace. In this promise, O my soul, is folded and wrapped up thy hope, thy heaven, thy salvation; and therefore consider of it, turn it upside down, look on all sides of it, view it over and over: there is a Jesus in it; it is a field that contains in the bowels of it a precious treasure; there is in it a Saviour, a Redeemer, a Deliverer from sin death and hell; are not these dainties to feed upon? Are not these rarities to dwell on in our meditations?
2. Consider Jesus in that next promise made to Abraham; "I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee," Gen. xvii. 7. In respect of this covenant Abraham is called "the father of the faithful," Rom. iv. 11. And they which are of the faith, are called the children of Abraham, Gal. iii. 7. And, O my soul if thou art in covenant with God, surely thou dost by faith draw it through Abraham, to whom this promise was made; for "if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise," Gal. iii. 29. Consider what a mercy is this. That God should enter into a covenant with thee in the loins of Abraham. God makes a promise of Christ, and inclusively a covenant of grace, in his comforting Adam, but he makes a covenant expressly under the name of covenant with Abraham and his seed: O muse, and be amazed! What, that the great and glorious God of heaven and earth should be willing to enter into a covenant; this is to say, That he should be willing to make himself a debtor to us? O my soul, think of it seriously; he is in heaven, and thou art on earth; he is the Creator, and thou art his creature; "Ah, what art thou, or what is thy father's house, that thou should be raised up hitherto?" The very covenant is a wonder, as it relates to God and us, what is it but a compact, an agreement, a tying, a binding of God and us? When Jehoshaphat and Ahab were in covenant, see how Jehoshaphat expresseth himself, "If I am, as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses," 1 Kings xxii. 4. So it is betwixt God and us; if once he gives us the covenant, then his strength is our strength, his power is our power, his armies are our armies, his attributes are our attributes, we have interest in all; there is an offensive and defensive league (as I may say) betwixt God and us; and if we put him in mind of it in all our straits, he cannot deny us. As it was with the nations allied to Rome, if they fought at any time, the Romans were bound in honour to defend them, and they did it with as much diligence, as they defended their own city of Rome; so it is with the people allied to God, he is bound in honour to defend his people, and he will do it if they implore his aid; how else? Is it possible God should break his covenant? Will he not stir up himself to scatter his and our spiritual enemies? Certainly he will. Thus runs the tenor of his covenant, I will be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee." This is the general promise, I may call it the mother-promise that carries all other promises in its womb; and we find a Jesus in this promise, consider that it is God in Christ that is held forth to us in this phrase, I will be as a God to thee: O sweet! here is the greatest promise that ever was made, Christ, God is more than grace, pardon, holiness, heaven; as the husband is more excellent than the marriage robe, bracelets, rings, the well and fountain of life is of more excellency than the streams; Christ Jesus the objective happiness, is far above a created and formal beatitude, which issueth from him. O my soul! is not this worthy of thy inmost consideration? But of this more in the next.
3. Consider Jesus in that promise made to Moses and the Israelites, "I am the Lord thy God, that brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Much hath been said to the promise before, as matter of thy consideration: but, to contract it, consider in this promise the sufficiency and propriety.
(a). Here is sufficiency, it is a promise of infinite worth, an hid treasure, a rich possession, an overflowing blessing, which none can rightly value; it is no less than the great and mighty, and infinite God; if we had a promise of a hundred worlds, or of ten heavens, this is more than all; heaven indeed is beautiful, but God is more beautiful, for he is the God of heaven, and hence it is that the saints in heaven are not satisfied without their God; it is a sweet expression of Bernard, "As whatsoever we give unto thee. Lord, unless we give ourselves, cannot satisfy thee; so whatsoever thou givest unto us. Lord, unless thou givest thyself, it cannot satisfy us;" and hence it is. That as God doth make the saints his portion, so God is the portion and inheritance of his saints. Consider the greatness, the goodness, the all-sufficiency of this promise, "I am the Lord thy God!" no question but Moses had many other rich promises from God, but he could not be satisfied without God himself; "if thy presence be not with us, bring us not hence," Exod. xxxiii. 15. And no wonder, for without God all things are nothing; but in the want of all other things, God himself is instead of all: it is God's alone prerogative to be an universal good. The things of this world can but help in this or that particular thing: as bread against hunger, drink against thirst, clothes against cold and nakedness, house against wind and weather, riches against poverty, physic against sickness, friends against solitariness; but God is an all-sufficient good, he is all in all, both to the inner and outward man. Are we guilty of sin? There is mercy in God to pardon us. Are we full of infirmities? There is grace in God to heal us. Are we strong of corruptions? There is power in God to subdue them in us. Are we disquieted in conscience? There is that Spirit in God that is the comforter, that can fill us with joy unspeakable and glorious; and for our outward man, all our welfare is laid up in God, he is "the God of our life," Psalm, xlii. 8. He is "the strength of our life," Psal. xxvii. 1. "He is a quickening Spirit," 1 Cor. xv. 45. Which, though it be in regard of the inner man; yet there it is spoken of the outward man, which the Lord shall quicken after death, and doth new keep alive by his mighty power, for "in him we live, and move, and have our being," Acts xvii. 28.
O my soul, that thou wouldst but ruminate and meditate, and consider this promise in all thy wants and discontents; when means fail, and the stream runs no more, O that thou wouldest then go to the fountain, where the waters run sweeter, and more sure; for as Joseph said to Pharaoh, It is not in me, God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace," Gen. xli. 16. So may silver and gold, and such things, say to thee. It is not in us; God shall give enough out of himself; have God, and have all; want God, and there is no content in the enjoyment of all; it was the apostle's case, "as having nothing, and yet possessing all things," 2 Cor. vi. 10, Surely he lived to God, and enjoyed God, and he was an all-sufficient good unto him. God may be enjoyed in any condition, in the meanest as well as the greatest, hi the poorest as well as the richest: God will go into a wilderness, into a prison with his people, and there he will make up all that they are cut short of, thy discontents therefore arise not from the want of outward means, but from want of inward fellowship with God; if thou dost not find a sufficiency, it is because thou dost not enjoy him who is thy all sufficient good. O stir up faith, and consider the covenant, think seriously on this promise, "I am God all-sufficient, I am the Lord thy God."
(b). Here is the propriety of saints, "the Lord thy God," O what is this that God is thy God? Heaven and earth, angels and men, may stand astonished at it, What? that the great and mighty God, God Almighty, and God all-sufficient should be called thy God? It is observable what the apostle speaks, "God is not ashamed to be called their God," Heb. xi. 16 . Would not a prince be ashamed to take a beggar, a runuagate, a base and adulterous woman to be his wife? But we are worse than so, and God is better than so; sin hath made us worse than the worst of women, and God is better, holier, higher than the best of princes; and yet God is not ashamed to own us, nor ashamed that we own him as our own, I am thy God. It is as if the Lord should say. Use me, and all my power, grace, mercy, kindness, as thine own; go through all my attributes, consider my Almighty power, consider my wisdom, counsel, understanding; consider my goodness, truth, faithfulness, consider my patience, long-suffering, forbearance; all these are thine; as thus, my power is thine, to work all thy works for thee, and in thee, to make passage for thee in all thy straits, to deliver thee out of six troubles, and out of seven; my wisdom is thine, to counsel thee in finy difficult cases, to instruct thee in things that be obscure, to reveal to thee the mysteries of grace, and the wonderful things contained in my law; my justice is thine, to deliver thee when thou art oppressed, to defend thee in thy innocency, and to vindicate thee from the injuries of men. What needs more? O my soul, think of these, and all other God's attributes; say in thyself, all these are mine; nay, more, think of God in Christ (for otherwise what hast thou to do with God in the covenant of grace?) and say in thy heart, Jesus Christ is mine, my Saviour, my Redeemer, my Head, my elder Brother; his doings are mine, and his sufferings are mine; his life and his death, his resurrection and ascension, his session and intercession, are all mine: nay, more, if Christ be mine, why then all good things are mine in Christ; I say in Christ, for they come not immediately, but through the hands of a sweet Redeemer, and though he be a man who redeemed us, yet because he is God as well as man, there is more of God and heaven, and free love, in all our good things, than if we received them immediately from God. Ravens have their food, and devils have their being from God by creature-right, but we have all we have from God in Christ by covenant-right; this surely, this very promise is the main and principal promise of the covenant; it is the very substance, soul and life of all; O then how careful should thou be to improve the strength of thy mind, thoughts and affections on this only subject?
4. Consider Jesus in that promise made to David, "He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure," 2 Sam. xxiii. 5.
(a). An everlasting covenant, consider this in the internal efficacy, and not in the outward administration, it is Christ that hath built and prepared a kingdom that shall never fade, a spiritual and an heavenly kingdom which shall never cease; and as he hath prepared it, so, if thou believest, he hath entered into a covenant with thy soul, to bestow it on thee; it is an everlasting covenant, and he will give thee everlasting life.
(b). It is ordered in all things: the covenant of grace is so marshalled and ordered, that it stands at best advantage to receive and to repel all thy objections. Many and many an objection hast thou raised; how often have such thoughts been in thee, "Oh! I am miserable, I shall not live but die, my sins will damn me, I am lost forever; and again, If God hath made with me a covenant, why then I have something to do on my part, for this is of the nature of the covenant to bind on both parts; but, alas, I have failed! I can do nothing, I can as well dissolve a rock, as make my heart of stone an heart of flesh; I can as well reach heaven, with a finger, as lay hold on Christ by the hand of faith?" Have not such arguings as these been many, and many a time in thy heart? O consider how the covenant is ordered and marshalled in respect of the Author of it, of the persons interested in it, of the parts of which it consists, of the end and aim to which it refers; and in some of these, if not in all of these, thou wilt find thy objections answered, removed, routed.
(c). It is sure, God is not fast and loose in his covenants, heaven and earth shall pass away, before one jot or tittle of his word shall fail. Consider, O my soul, he both can and will perform his word, his power, his love, his faithfulness, his constancy, all stand engaged. What sweet matter is here for a soul to dwell upon? What needs it to go out of other objects, while it may find enough here? But especially, what needs it to bestow itself upon vain things? O that so much precious sand of our thoughts should run out after sin, and;»o little after grace, or after the covenant of grace!
5. Consider Jesus in that new covenant or promise, which God made with Israel and Judah; I will put my law into their inward parts, and write it in their hearts and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his brother, and every man his neighbour, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more," Jer xxxi. 33, 34. Oh what an error is it, that there is no inherent righteousness in the saints. That there is no grace in the soul of a believer, but only in Christ? Is not this the ordinary scripture phrase, "I will put my Spirit within you," Ezek. xxxvi. 27. And the water that I shall give you, shall be in you a well of water springing up into everlasting life," John iv. 14. And "the anointing which you have received of him abideth in you," 1 John ii. 27. And, "Christ in you the hope of glory," Col. i. 27. Observe how "the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels," Ezek. i. 20. So that when the Spirit went, they went, and when the spirit was lifted up, they were lifted up; even so is the Spirit of Christ in the saints, acting and guiding, and framing, and disposing them, move and walk according to his laws. "The kingdom of heaven is within you," saith Christ, Luke xvii. 21. And, "I delight to do thy will, O my God, saith David, yea, thy law is within my heart," Psal. xl. 8. O my soul thou art in covenant with God, besides the indwelling of the Spirit, there is a certain spiritual power, or principle of grace, which Christ by his Spirit hath put into thy heart, enabling thee in some measure to move thyself towards God. And this principle is sometimes called a new life, Rom. vi. 4. Sometimes "a living with Christ," Rom. vi. 8. Sometimes, "a being alive to God," Rom. vi. 11. Sometimes, "a revealing of his Son in man," Gal. i. 16. And sometimes, "a putting of the law into our inward parts, and a writing of the law within the heart," Jer. xxxi. 33. O consider of this inward principle, it is an excellent subject worthy of thy consideration!
(a). "I will be their God, and they shall be my people;" Consider God essentially, and personally, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost; God in himself, and God in his creatures: this very promise turns over heaven, and earth, and sea, and land, and bread, and clothes, and sleep, and the world, and life, and death, into free grace. No wonder if God set this promise in the midst of the covenant, as the heart in the midst of the body, to communicate life to all the rest; this promise hath an influence into all other promises, it is the great promise of the new r covenant, it is as great as God is, though the heavens and the heaven of heavens be not able to contain him, yet this promise contains him, God shuts up himself (as it were) in it. "I will be their God."
(b). "They shall he my people, i.e. they shall be to me a peculiar people," Titus ii. 14. The word hath this emphasis in it, that God looks upon all other things as accidents in comparison, and his substance is his people: they are his very portion, "For the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob is the lot of his inheritance," Deut, xxxii. 9 . They are his treasure, his peculiar treasure, his peculiar treasure above nil people; "If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me, and above all people, for all the earth is mine," Exod. xix. 5. Observe, O my soul. All the earth is mine, q.d. All people is my people, but I have a special interest in my covenanted people, they only are my portion, my peculiar treasure. "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria the work of my hands: and Israel mine inheritance," Isa. xix. 28. I have made all people: Egypt, and Assyria, and all the world is mine, but only Israel is my inheritance: the saints are those that God satisfies himself in: the saints are those that God hath set his heart upon: they are children of the highest God, they are the spouse that are married to the Lamb: they are nearer God in some respects than the very angels themselves, for the angels are not in a mystical union so married to Christ, as God's people are. Oh the happiness of saints; "I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
(c). "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." Consider of this! Oh poor soul, thou complainest many a time of thy weakness, then knowest little or nothing: why, see here a glorious promise, if thou art but in covenant with God, thou shalt be taught of God, and then thou shalt know God far more clearly than the Jews of old, he will open to thee all his treasures of wisdom and knowledge, lie will bestow on thee a greater measure of his Spirit, So that out of thy belly shall flow rivers of living waters," John vii. 38. We say, a good tutor may teach more in a day, than another in a week, or a month, now, the promise runs thus, "That all thy children shall be taught of God," Isa. liv. 13. Not that private instruction, or public ministry must be excluded; we know these are appointed under the New Testament, and are subordinate to the Spirit's teaching; but that the teachings of God do far surpass the teachings of men, and therefore the knowledge of God under the New Testament shall far surpass that under the Old: herein appears the excellency of Christ's prophetical office, "He is such a Prophet, as enlightens every man within, that comes into the world; he is such a Prophet as baptizeth with the holy Ghost and with fire, John i. 9., 33. "He is such a Prophet as makes men's hearts to burn within them, when he speaks unto them," Luke xxiv. 32. He is such a Prophet, as bids his ministers, "Go, teach all nations, and I will be with you: and I will make you able ministers, not of the letter, but of the Spirit," Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. He is such a Prophet, as teacheth inwardly, clearly, experimentally, and sweetly: no man in the world can say this, or do this, but Jesus Christ, the great Prophet of the church, whom God hath raised up like unto Moses, or far above Moses, O my soul, consider if thou art thus taught of God!
(d). "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more." Consider of this. "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered," Rom. iv. 7. Consider, O my soul, suppose thy case and thy condition thus: as thou livest under laws of man, so for the transgression of those laws thou art called to account; the judge weighs, and gives an impartial and just judgment, he dooms thee to the axe, or rack, or wheel; and because of the aggravation of thy crime, he commands thee to he tortured leisurely, that bones, sinews, lights, joints might be pained, for twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years: that so much of thy flesh should be cut off every day; that such and such a bone should be broken such and such a day; and that by art the flesh should be restored, and the bone cured again; that for so many years, as is said, thou mightest be kept every day dying, and yet never die; that all this while thou must have no sleep, nor ease, nor food, nor clothing convenient for thee; that whips of iron, lashes and scourges of scorpions, that racks, wheels, caldrons full of melted lead should be the prepared instruments of thy continual, horrible, terrible torments; in tills case, suppose, a mighty prince by tin act of free and special grace should deliver thee from this pain and torture, and not only so, but should give thee a life in perfect health, should put thee into a paradise of pleasures, where all the honours, acclamations, love and service of a world of men and angels should await thee, and where thou should be elevated to the top of all imaginable happiness, above Solomon in his highest royalty, or Adam in his first innoceney; were not this a mercy? Wouldst thou not think it the highest act of grace and love, that any creature could extend to his fellow-creature; And yet, O my soul, all this is nothing but a shadow of grace in comparison of the love and the rich grace of God in Christ in the justification of a sinner. If thou hast a right to this promise, "I will forgive thy iniquity, and I will remember thy sins no more," that thou art delivered from eternal death, and thou art entitled to an eternal kingdom. O know thy blessedness aright! consider how infinitely thou art engaged to God and Christ, and mercy, and free grace! this promise sounds forth nothing but grace and blessing? grace from God, and blessing on us; it is grace, because nothing but grace and mercy can forgive: it is grace, because God, if he will, hath power in his hand to revenge; he doth not pass by sin as men do offences, when they dissemble forgiveness; they may forgive, because they have not power to avenge: it is otherwise with God, "To me belongs vengeance, and recompence, saith God," Deut. xxxii. 35. He is able to destroy, and yet he chooseth to forgive. This is his name, "Strong and gracious," Exod xxxvi. 4.
O my soul, thou art apt to complain. "What? Will the Lord forgive my sins? What reason hath God to look on me, to pardon me, to pluck me as a fire-brand out of the fire of hell? Why should God forgive me?" But now consider (if thine heart be humbled), the Lord will do it.--
(i). "Because he delighteth in mercy," Micah vii. 18. It is a pleasure to God to forgive sins: never did we take more pleasure, nor so much pleasure in acting and committing of sin, as he doth in the pardoning of sin; he is "the Father of mercies," 2 Cor. i. 3. He delights ill mercy, as a father in his children; it doth him good to see the fruits of his own mercy, in taking away the sins of his own people.
(ii). Because it is his purpose, which he hath purposed within himself from all eternity : this was the great design of God (as you have heard) to make his grace glorious in those whom he intends to save, lie will have "the praise of the glory of his grace," Eph. i. 6. He will not lose his glory, he will be "admired in his saints," 2 Thess. i. 10. He wall make the world to wonder, when it shall be known what sin hath been committed by them, and pardoned by him. And hence it is that God's people are called vessels of mercy, ec That he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy," Rom. ix. 23. For, as vessels are, or may be filled up to the brims, so the vessels of mercy, shall be filled with mercy up to the brim, that the riches of his glory in the pardon of sin may be seen and known to the wonder of all the world.
(iii). Because it is his nature and inclination to pardon sin. This appears,
- In the proclaiming of his name, "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," Exod. xxxiv. 6.
- In his gracious invitations, "Come unto me," saith Christ, Matth. xi. 28. If sin burden you, I will ease you.
- In his patience and waiting for repentance he waits to this very end, That, he might be gracious, and that he may have mercy, for the Lord is a God of judgment," Isa. xxx. 18.
- Because it is his promise to pardon sin, "I, even I am he that blots out thy transgression for my own sake, and will not remember thy sins," Isa. xliii. 25. This promise of pardon, is one of the great blessings of the covenant of grace; you hear the words in this very expressure of it, "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more," Jer. xxxi. 34.
Now, come, consider, O my soul, of every particular in this gracious covenant, and, O! be serious in thy consideration; surely there is too much expence of thy spirit upon vain, and transitory and worldly things. Alas! alas! thou hast but a short time to live, and the strength of thy mind, that i call for, it is the most precious thing thou hast; O then let the business and activeness of thy mind, let the inmost thoughts, and deep affections be acted and exercised on this subject; be careful that none of these waters run besides the mill. If God and Jesus, and all thy-good be included here, why should not thy whole soul be intent on this? Why shouldest thou spend it on the creature? Why should not thou be so subject to carnal griefs, and fears! Surely all these are fitter to be fixed on God in Christ, on Jesus in a covenant of grace.