rather drink of some muddy dirty Water, that I may not fee my Face: So it is with poor Sinners, they would fain drink the Kennel-Water of their own Duties; for they are afraid to come to Christ for fear of feeing their own Faces, for fear of feeing themselves undone and miferable; and therefore the Soul cries out, will God look on me? Will so righteous a God entertain me ? If I were better, if I could but get my Heart to break, and could have my Heart inlarged, I would come to Christ; but shall I a filthy Sinner think to have Grace and Righteousness? Thus poor Sinners would be trading with their own Coin and when their own Duties; they are very unwilling, that all their own Duties should be cast down; but faith Paul, That I counted to be gain, I found loss for the Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ. O let me be found in Chrift, now let me put off my own Rags; now let me live on nothing of my own, but on Christ; Rom. x. 3. For they being ignorant of God's Righteousness, and going about to establish their own Righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the Righteousness of God. And in Rom. ix. They were prone to their own Righteoufness and would not come to Chrift for Righteousness; in ver. 31. 32. But Ifrael which followed after the Law of Righteousness, hath not attained to the Law of Righteousness, wherefore? Because they fought it not by Faith, but as it were by the Works of the Law, for they stumbling at that Stumbling-Stone. They stumbled, they could not lay down all their own Works, all their own Righteousness. In Point of Justification, they stumbled at the Righteousness of Faith; they would be justified by 1 by the Deeds of the Law, which juftified no Man, but condemns every Man. All Sinners are proud and poor; they would not be beholding to Christ for all. They would apprehend fome worthiness in themselves to be accepted of God. Secondly, Sinners are very poor and very ignorant; they think to get out of Debt fome other way than by Chrift, or by the help of Chrift; they are like a poor Man that is in debt, he trades and thinks to get out of debt; but the Business is so carried, that he runs further in debt; so one comes to him, and tells him, you do not get at all out of debt by your trading, pray confider - how poor you are, and rest no longer on your own trading to bring you out of debt; but if you will come along with me, I will bring you to one, will pay all your Debts for you. The glorious Gofpel that reveals the Lord Jesus Chrift, calls Sinners to accept of him, as poor, miferable, undone Sinners, who are deeply indebted to God, acquaints them that Jesus Christ hath paid a full Price for them to fet them free. John viii. 36. The Son Shall make you free, then shall you be free indeed. Yet poor Sinners, they think they have something to trade with; they think if they could but pray more, or remember Sermons more, they should get out of God's Debt, but they take a wrong course, for all that they can do, they do but run further into debt; by all you can do, you will never get out of debt, if you have not a Righteousnefs in Christ, you will never be accepted of God; you must lay down all your own, and as a poor Sinner lay hold on Christ; as the Merchant-Man fells all the goodly Pearls to buy this Pearl of Price. Well might Paul say, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; I live upon E 3 upon him, to him, I live in him, I was so poor I could never get out of debt by all that I could do; therefore I defire to be found in Christ alone. Many are complaining, they cannot do this or that, as if they would get out of debt by their own Works; but now Christ is rich enough to make up all your Loffes: When a Man hath one to repair and make up all his Loffes, he may well depend on him. Rom v. from the 15th ver. to the End. But not as the Offence, so also is the free Gift. For if through the Offence of one, many be dead; much more by the Grace of God, and the Gift by Grace, which is by one Man, Jesus Christ, bath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that finned, so is the Gift; for the Judgment was by one to condemnation; but the free Gift is of many Offences unto Justification. For if one Man's Offence, Death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of Grace, and of the Gift of Righteousness, shall reign in Life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the Offence of one, Judgment came upon all Men to condemnation; even so by the Righteousness of one, the free Gift came upon all Men unto Justification of Life. For as by one Man's Disobedience many were made Sinners; so by the Obedience of one, shall many be made Righteous. 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. Here you fee, whatever the Offence of Unrighteousness and Sin and Condemnation is, there is Life and Righteousness by Jefus Christ to make up the Breach : All that lay hold on Christ, shall have Righteousness ousness and Life by him: For as Sin and Death reigned in Adam, so Life and Righteousness reigns in Christ, and is imputed to the Sinner by him; so that Christ is rich enough to make up all Loffes. Alas! It is not in ourselves to do this. In the first Adam there is Death and Condemnation, and Unrighteousness, and Guilt and Wrath; here now must be one to fatisfy, here must be one to bring in Righteousness, and Life, and Grace, and that more than Sin; but where is that Man that his Righteousness and Grace abounds more than Sin ? Man cannot do this himself, he must have one that hath an All-fufficient Righteousness and infinite Grace, that may present him to the Father to be accepted, that the Grace of God, the Gift of Life and Righteousness may overcome and wrap up the poor Sinner wholly in it, that he may be without Spot or Wrinkle. If it be so, that in Christ you shall have all your Loffes made up and repaired, should you not live on Chrift for all you want? Are you finful? Chrift is righteous; are you dead in Sin? Christ hath brought Life and Immortality to light; have you finned to a great height? Christ's Merit is above all your Sin; where Sin hath abounded, Grace doth much more abound; where Sin hath abounded, there is a fuperabounding Grace, fuperabounding Righteousnels, and superabounding Life. Adam receiv'd the Promise of the Woman's Seed before he had done any Work or Sacrifice, to the End that God's Truth might stand fast, namely that we are justified before God altogether without Works, and do obtain Forgiveness of Sins merely by Grace; who so were able to believe this well and stedfastly, the fame were a Doctor above all the Doctors in the World, said, Luther again, All E 4 All Hereticks have failed in this Point, that they do not rightly understand nor know the Articles of Justification; how we are justified before God: for if that were loft, then manifold Errors of Neceffity would ensue. O then, how rich is Christ! How rich in Merit to pay God all that is due to him from the Sinner! O faith one, I am a great Sinner; faith another, I have great Imperfections in my Duties; I am fo carnal, fo dead, so wandering, fo indifferent; I am afraid to come to God, I am fo finful: Why, poor Soul, here is a Chrift for you to live upon; here is Righteousness for Sin, Life for Death, Pardon for Condemnation: Then go to Christ, lay hold of him by Faith as given of God to you, and then you will fsay with Paul, For me to live is Christ. Secondly, As Christ is rich enough to repair all your Loffes; to you are inrich'd with all the Treasure of Christ, 1 Cor. iii. ult. For all is yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's. As if he should fay, have you a Christ with God? Is your Chrift God's Son, and is he Heir of all Things? Then all is yours? Paul and Apollos and Cepbas are all yours; all the Ministers of Christ are fent for the Good of the redeemed ones, all that are Christ's: Then the Saint may say, Is all mine? Is Life mine? Yes, Life is yours; for while you live, you shall live a fanctified Life: Well, but is Death mine? Many are afraid to die; Yes, Death is yours; Death is made your Friend; Death is conquered in Chrift; and when Death comes, you need not be afraid to entertain your Lord's Meffenger, that he sends to fetch you Home to his Glory: Death is fent to fetch you out of your Houses of Clay to meet your Redeemer, |