offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinners, to wit, because
such sinners, when converted, are apt to love him most. The Jerusalem
sinners were they that outstripped, when they were converted, in some
things, all the churches of the Gentiles. They ‘were of one heart, and
of one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the things which he
possessed was his own.’ ‘Neither was there any among them that lacked:
for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and
brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at
the apostles’ feet,’ &c. (Acts 4:32,35). Now, show me such another
pattern, if you can. But why did these do thus? Oh! they were Jerusalem
sinners. These were the men that, but a little before, had killed the
Prince of life; and those to whom he did, that notwithstanding, send
the first offer of grace and mercy. And the sense of this took them up
betwixt the earth and the heaven, and carried them on in such ways and
methods as could never be trodden by any since. They talk of the church
of Rome, and set her, in her primitive state, as a pattern and mother
of churches; when the truth is, they were the Jerusalem sinners, when
converts, that out-did all the churches that ever were.
Seventh, Christ Jesus would have mercy offered, in the first place, to
the biggest sinners, because grace, when it is received by such, finds
matter to kindle upon more freely than it finds in other sinners.
Great sinners are like the dry wood, or like great candles, which burn
best and shine with biggest light. I lay not this down, as I did those
reasons before, to show, that when great sinners are converted, they
will be encouragement to others, though that is true; but to show, that
Christ has a delight to see grace, the grace we receive, to shine. We
love to see things that bear a good gloss; yea, we choose to buy such
kind of matter to work upon, as will, if wrought up to what we intend,
cast that lustre that we desire. Candles that burn not bright, we like
not; wood that is green will rather smother, and sputter, and smoke,
and crack, and flounce, than cast a brave light and a pleasant heat;
wherefore great folks care not much, not so much, for such kind of
things, as for them that will better answer their ends.
Hence Christ desires the biggest sinner; in him there is matter to work
by, to wit, a great deal of sin; for as by the tallow of the candle,
the first takes occasion to burn the brighter; so, by the sin of the
soul, grace takes occasion to shine the clearer. Little candles shine
but little, for there wanteth matter for the fire to work upon; but in
the great sinner, here is more matter for grace to work by. Faith
shines, when it worketh towards Christ, through the sides of many and
great transgressions, and so does love, for that much is forgiven. And
what matter can be found in the soul for humility to work by so well,
as by a sight that I have been and am an abominable sinner? And the
same is to be said of patience, meekness, gentleness, self-denial, or
of any other grace. Grace takes occasion, by the vileness of the man,
to shine the more; even as by the ruggedness of a very strong distemper
or disease, the virtue of the medicine is best made manifest. ‘Where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound’ (Rom 5:20). A black string
makes the neck look whiter; great sins make grace burn clear. Some say,
when grace and a good nature meet together, they do make shining
Christians; but I say, when grace and a great sinner meet, and when
grace shall subdue that great sinner to itself, and shall operate after
its kind in the soul of that great sinner, then we have a shining
Christian; witness all those of whom mention was made before.
Abraham was among the idolaters when in the land of Assyria, and served
idols, with his kindred, on the other side of the flood (Josh 24:2; Gen
11:31). But who, when called, was there in the world, in whom grace
shone so bright as in him? The Thessalonians were idolaters before the
Word of God came to them; but when they had received it, they became
examples to all that did believe in Macedonia and Achaia (1 Thess
1:6-10).
God the Father, and Jesus Christ his Son, are for having things seen;
for having the Word of life held forth. They light not a candle that it
might be put under a bushel, or under a bed, but on a candlestick, that
all that come in may see the light (Matt 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16;
11:33). and, I say, as I said before, in whom is it, light, like so to
shine, as in the souls of great sinners?
When the Jewish Pharisees dallied with the gospel, Christ threatened to
take it from them, and to give it to the barbarous heathens and
idolaters. Why so? For they, saith he, will bring forth the fruits
thereof in their season. 23 ‘Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of
God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the
fruits thereof’ (Matt 21:43).
I have often marvelled at our youth, and said in my heart, What should
be the reason that they should be so generally at this day debauched as
they are? For they are now profane to amazement; and sometimes I have
thought one thing, and sometimes another; that is, why God should
suffer it so to be? At last I have thought of this: How if the God,
whose ways are past finding out, should suffer it so to be now, that he
might make of some of them the more glorious saints hereafter. I know
sin is of the devil, but it cannot work in the world without
permission: and if it happens to be as I have thought, it will not be
the first time that God the Lord hath caught Satan in his own design.
For my part, I believe that the time is at hand, that we shall see
better saints in the world than has been seen in it this many a day.
And this vileness, that at present does so much swallow up our youth,
is one cause of my thinking so; for out of them, for from among them,
when God sets to his hand, as of old, you shall see what penitent ones,
what trembling ones, and what admirers of grace, will be found to
profess the gospel to the glory of God by Christ.
Alas! we are a company of worn-out Christians; our moon is in the wane;
we are much more black than white, more dark than light; we shine but a
little; grace in the most of us is decayed. But I say, when they of
these debauched ones that are to be saved shall be brought in—when
these that look more like devils than men shall be converted to Christ
(and I believe several of them will), then will Christ be exalted,
grace adored, the Word prized, Zion’s path better trodden, and men in
the pursuit of their own salvation, to the amazement of them that are
left behind.
Just before Christ came into the flesh, the world was degenerated as it
is now: the generality of the men in Jerusalem were become either high
and famous for hypocrisy, or filthy, base in their lives. The devil
also was broke loose in hideous manner, and had taken possession of
many: yea, I believe, that there was never generation before nor since,
that could produce so many possessed with devils, deformed, lame,
blind, and infected with monstrous diseases, as that generation could.
But what was the reason thereof, I mean the reason from God? Why,
one—and we may sum up more in that answer that Christ gave to his
disciples concerning him that was born blind—was, that ‘the works of
God should be made manifest’ in them, and ‘that the Son of God might be
glorified thereby’ (John 9:2,3; 11:4).
Now, if these devils and diseases, as they possessed men then, were to
make way and work for an approaching to Christ in person, and for the
declaring of his power, why may we not think that now, even now also,
he is ready to come, by his Spirit in the gospel, to heal many of the
debaucheries of our age? I cannot believe that grace will take them
all, for there are but few that are saved; but yet it will take some,
even some of the worst of men, and make blessed ones of them. But, O
how these ringleaders in vice will then shine in virtue! They will be
the very pillars in churches, they will be as an ensign in the land.
‘The Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his
people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an
ensign upon his land’ (Zech 9:16). But who are these? Even idolatrous
Ephraim, and backsliding Judah (verse 13).
I know there is ground to fear, that the iniquity of this generation
will be pursued with heavy judgments; but that will not hinder that we
have supposed. God took him a glorious church out of bloody Jerusalem,
yea, out of the chief of the sinners there, and left the rest to be
taken and spoiled, and sold, thirty for a penny, in the nations where
they were captives. The gospel working gloriously in a place, to the
seizing upon many of the ringleading sinners thereof, promiseth no
security to the rest, but rather threateneth them with the heaviest and
smartest judgments; as in the instance now given, we have a full
demonstration; but in defending, the Lord will defend his people; and
in saving, he will save his inheritance.
Nor does this speak any great comfort to a decayed and backsliding sort
of Christian; for the next time God rides post with his gospel, he will
leave such Christians behind him. But, I say, Christ is resolved to set
up his light in the world; yea, he is delighted to see his graces
shine; and therefore he commands that his gospel should, to that end,
be offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinners; for by great
sins it shineth most; therefore he saith, ‘Begin at Jerusalem.’
Eighth, and lastly, Christ Jesus will have mercy to be offered, in the
first place, to the biggest sinners, for that by that means the
impenitent that are left behind will be, at the judgment, the more left
without excuse.
God’s Word has two edges; it can cut back-stroke and fore-stroke. If it
doth thee no good, it will do thee hurt; it is ‘the savour of life unto
life’ to those that receive it, but of ‘death unto death’ to them that
refuse it (2 Cor 2:15,16). But this is not all; the tender of grace to
the biggest sinners, in the first place, will not only leave the rest,
or those that refuse it, in a deplorable condition, but will also stop
their mouths, and cut off all pretence to excuse at that day. ‘If I had
not come and spoken unto them,’ saith Christ, ‘they had not had sin;
but now they have no cloke for their sin’—for their sin of persevering
in impenitence (John 15:22). But what did he speak to them? Why, even
that which I have told you; to wit, That he has in special a delight in
saving the biggest sinners. He spake this in the way of his doctrine;
he spake this in the way of his practice, even to the pouring out of
his last breath before them (Luke 23:34).
Now, since this is so, what can the condemned at the judgment say for
themselves, why sentence of death should not be passed upon them? I
say, what excuse can they make for themselves, when they shall be asked
why they did not in the day of salvation come to Christ to be saved?
Will they have ground to say to the Lord, Thou wast only for saving of
little sinners; and, therefore, because they were great ones, they
durst not come unto him; or that thou hadst not compassion for the
biggest sinners, therefore I died in despair? Will these be excuses for
them, as the case now standeth with them? Is there not everywhere in
God’s Book a flat contradiction to this, in multitudes of promises, of
invitations, of examples, and the like? Alas! alas! there will then be
there millions of souls to confute this plea; ready, I say, to stand
up, and say, ‘O! deceived world, heaven swarms with such as were, when
they were in the world, to the full as bad as you!’ Now, this will kill
all plea or excuse, why they should not perish in their sins; yea, the
text says they shall see them there. ‘There shall be weeping-when ye
shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the
kingdom of heaven, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come
from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the
south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God’ (Luke 13:28,29). Out
of which company, it is easy to pick such as sometimes were as bad
people as any [that] now breathe on the face of [the] earth. What think
you of the first man, by whose sins there are millions now in hell? And
so I may say, What think you of ten thousand more besides?
But if the Word will not stifle and gag them up—I speak now for
amplification’s sake—the view of those who are saved shall. There comes
an incestuous person to the bar, and pleads, That the bigness of his
sins was a bar to his receiving the promise. But will not his mouth be
stopped as to that, when Lot, and the incestuous Corinthians, shall be
set before him (Gen 19:33-37; 1 Cor 5:1,2).
There comes a thief, and says, Lord, my sin of thefts, I thought, was
such as could not be pardoned by thee! But when he shall see the thief
that was saved on the cross stand by, as clothed with beauteous glory,
what further can he be able to object? Yea, the Lord will produce ten
thousand of his saints at his coming, who shall after this manner
‘execute judgment upon all, and so convince all that are ungodly among
them—of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken
against him’ (Jude 15). And these are hard speeches against him, to say
that he was not able or willing to save men, because of the greatness
of their sins, or to say that they were discouraged by his Word from
repentance, because of the heinousness of their offences. These things,
I say, shall then be confuted. He comes with ten thousand of his saints
to confute them, and to stop their mouths from making objections
against their own eternal damnation.
Here is Adam, the destroyer of the world; here is Lot, that lay with
both his daughters; here is Abraham, that was sometime an idolater; and
Jacob, that was a supplanter; and Reuben, that lay with his father’s
concubine; and Judah, that lay with his daughter-in-law; and Levi and
Simeon, that wickedly slew the Shechemites; and Aaron, that made an
idol to be worshipped, and that proclaimed a religious feast unto it.
Here is also Rahab the harlot, and Bathsheba, that bare a bastard to
David. Here is Solomon, that great backslider; and Manasseh, that man
of blood and a witch. Time would fail to tell you of the woman of
Canaan’s daughter, of Mary Magdalene, of Matthew the publican, and of
Gideon and Samson, and many thousands more.
Alas! alas! I say, what will these sinners do, that have, through their
unbelief, eclipsed the glorious largeness of the mercy of God, and gave
way to despair of salvation, because of the bigness of their sins? For
all these, though now glorious saints in light, were sometimes sinners
of the biggest size, who had sins that were of a notorious hue; yet
now, I say, they are in their shining and heavenly robes before the
throne of God and of the Lamb, blessing for ever and ever that Son of
God for their salvation, who died for them upon the tree; admiring that
ever it should come into their hearts once to think of coming to God by
Christ; but above all, blessing God for granting of them light to see
those encouragements in his Testament; without which, without doubt,
they had been daunted, and sunk down under guilt of sin and despair, as
their fellow-sinners have done. But now they also are witnesses for
God, and for his grace, against an unbelieving world; for, as I said,
they shall come to convince the world of their speeches, their hard and
unbelieving words, that they have spoken concerning the mercy of God,
and the merits of the passion of his blessed Son, Jesus Christ.
But will it not, think you, strangely put to silence all such thoughts,
and words, and reasons of the ungodly before the bar of God? Doubtless
it will; yea, and will send them away from his presence also, with the
greatest guilt that possibly can fasten upon the consciences of men.
For what will sting like this?—‘I have, through mine own foolish,
narrow, unworthy, undervaluing thoughts, of the love and ability of
Christ to save me, brought myself to everlasting ruin. It is true, I
was a horrible sinner; not one in a hundred did live so vile a life as
I. But this should not have kept me from closing with Jesus Christ. I
see now that there are abundance in glory that once were as bad as I
have been; but they were saved by faith, and I am damned by unbelief.
Wretch that I am! why did not I give glory to the redeeming blood of
Jesus? Why did I not humbly cast my soul at his blessed footstool for
mercy? Why did I judge of his ability to save me by the voice of my
shallow reason, and the voice of a guilty conscience? Why betook not I
myself to the holy Word of God? Why did I not read and pray that I
might understand, since now I perceive that God said then, He giveth
liberally to them that pray, and upbraideth not’ (James 1:5).
It is rational to think, that by such cogitations as these, the
unbelieving world will be torn in pieces before the judgment of Christ;
especially those that have lived where they did or might have heard the
gospel of the grace of God. Oh! that saying, ‘It shall be more
tolerable for Sodom at the judgment than for them,’ will be better
understood (Luke 10:8-12). This reason, therefore, standeth fast;
namely, that Christ, by offering mercy, in the first place, to the
biggest sinners now, will stop all the mouths of the impenitent at the
day of judgment, and cut off all excuse that shall be attempted to be
made, from the thoughts of the greatness of their sins, why they came
not to him.
I have often thought of the day of judgment, and how God will deal with
sinners at that day; and I believe it will be managed with that
sweetness, with that equitableness, with that excellent righteousness,
as to every sin, and circumstance and aggravation thereof, that men
that are damned, shall, before the judgment is over, receive such
conviction of the righteous judgment of God upon them, and of their
deserts of hell-fire, that they shall in themselves conclude, that
there is all the reason in the world that they should be shut out of
heaven, and go to hell-fire: ‘These shall go away into everlasting
punishment’ (Matt 25:46).24
Only this will tear [them,] that they have missed of mercy and glory,
and obtained everlasting damnation, through their unbelief; but it will
tear but themselves, but their own souls; they will gnash upon
themselves, for that mercy was offered to the chief of them in the
first place, and yet they were damned for rejecting of it; they were
damned for forsaking what they had a propriety in; for forsaking their
own mercy.
And thus much for the reasons. Second, I will conclude with a word of
application.
THE APPLICATION.
First, Would Jesus Christ have mercy offered, in the first place, to
the biggest sinners? Then this shows us how to make a right judgment of
the heart of Christ to men. Indeed, we have advantage to guess at the
goodness of his heart by many things; as by his taking our nature upon
him, his dying for us, his sending his Word and ministers to us, and
all that we might be saved. But this of beginning to offer mercy to
Jerusalem, is that which heightens all the rest; for this doth not only
confirm to us, that love was the use of his dying for us, but it shows
us yet more the depth of that love. He might have died for us, and yet
have extended the benefit of his death to a few, as one might call
them, of the best-conditioned sinners, to those who, though they were
weak, and so could not but sin, yet made not a trade of sinning; to
those that sinned not lavishingly. There are in the world, as one may
call them, the moderate sinners; the sinners that mix righteousness
with their pollutions; the sinners that, though they be sinners, do
what on their part lies—some that are blind would think so—that they
might be saved. I say, it had been love, great love, if he had died for
none but such, and sent his love to such; but that he should send out
conditions of peace to the biggest of sinners; yea, that they should be
offered to them first of all; (for so he means when he says, ‘Begin at
Jerusalem’;) this is wonderful! this shows his heart to purpose, as
also the heart of God his Father, who sent him to do thus.
There is nothing more incident to men that are awake in their souls,
than to have wrong thoughts of God—thoughts that are narrow, and that
pinch and pen up his mercy to scanty and beggarly conclusions, and
rigid legal conditions; supposing that it is rude, and an intrenching
upon his majesty to come ourselves, or to invite others, until we have
scraped and washed, and rubbed off as much of our dirt from us as we
think is convenient, to make us somewhat orderly and handsome in his
sight.25 Such never knew what these words meant, ‘Begin at Jerusalem.’
Yea, such in their hearts have compared the Father and his Son to
niggardly rich men, whose money comes from them like drops of blood.
True, say such, God has mercy, but he is loath to part with it; you
must please him well, if you get any from him; he is not so free as
many suppose, nor is he so willing to save as some pretended gospellers
imagine. But I ask such, if the Father and Son be not unspeakably free
to show mercy, why was this clause put into our commission to preach
the gospel? Yea, why did he say, ‘Begin at Jerusalem’: for when men,
through the weakness of their wits, have attempted to show other
reasons why they would have the first proffer of mercy; yet I can
prove, by many undeniable reasons, that they of Jerusalem, to whom the
apostles made the first offer, according as they were commanded, were
the biggest sinners that ever did breathe upon the face of God’s earth
(set the unpardonable sin aside); upon which [fact] my doctrine stands
like a rock, that Jesus the Son of God would have mercy, in the first
place, offered to the biggest sinners. And if this doth not show the
heart of the Father and the Son to be infinitely free in bestowing
forgiveness of sins, I confess myself mistaken.
Neither is there, set this aside, another argument like it, to show us
the willingness of Christ to save sinners; for, as was said before, all
the rest of the signs of Christ’s mercifulness might have been limited
to sinners that are so and so qualified; but when he says, ‘Begin at
Jerusalem,’ the line is stretched out to the utmost; no man can imagine
beyond it; and it is folly here to pinch and spare, to narrow, and seek
to bring it within scanty bounds; for he plainly saith, ‘Begin at
Jerusalem,’ the biggest sinner is the biggest sinner; the biggest is
the Jerusalem sinner.
It is true, he saith, that repentance and remission of sins must go
together, but yet remission is sent to the chief, the Jerusalem sinner;
nor doth repentance lessen at all the Jerusalem sinner’s crimes; it
diminisheth none of his sins, nor causes that there should be so much
as half an one the fewer; it only puts a stop to the Jerusalem sinner’s
course, and makes him willing to be saved freely by grace; and for time
to come to be governed by that blessed word that has brought the
tidings of good things to him. Besides, no man shows himself willing to
be saved that repenteth not of his deeds; for he that goes on still in
his trespasses, declares that he is resolved to pursue his own
damnation further.
Learn then to judge of the largeness of God’s heart, and of the heart
of his Son Jesus Christ, by the Word; judge not thereof by feeling, nor
by the reports of thy conscience; conscience is ofttimes here befooled,
and made to go quite beside the Word. It was judging without the Word
that made David say, I am cast off from God’s eyes, and ‘shall perish
one day by the hand of Saul’ (Psa 31:22; 1 Sam 27:1). The Word had told
him another thing; namely, that he should be king in his stead. Our
text says also, that Jesus Christ bids preachers, in their preaching
repentance and remission of sins, begin first at Jerusalem; thereby
declaring most truly the infinite largeness of the merciful heart of
God and his Son, to the sinful children of men. Judge thou, I say,
therefore, of the goodness of the heart of God and his Son, by this
text, and by others of the same import; so shalt thou not dishonour the
grace of God, nor needlessly fright thyself, nor give away thy faith,
nor gratify the devil, nor lose the benefit of God’s Word. I speak now
to weak believers.