Because justice being once satisfied doth not use to call for the debt
again. No; let never such a sinner come to Jesus Christ, and so to God
by Him, and justice, instead of speaking against the salvation of that
sinner, it will say, I am just as well as faithful to forgive him his
sins (1 John 1:9). When justice itself is pleased with a man, and
speaks on his side, instead of speaking against him, we may well cry
out, Who shall condemn? 2. Because there is no law to come in against
the sinner that believes in Jesus Christ; for he is not under that, and
that by right comes in against none but those that are under it. But
believers are not under that—that is, not their Lord, therefore that
hath nothing to do with them; and besides, Christ’s blood hath not only
taken away the curse thereof, but also He hath in His own Person
completely fulfilled it as a public Person in our stead. (Rom 7:1-4).
3. The devil that accused them is destroyed (Heb 2:14,15). 4. Death,
and the grave, and Hell are overcome (1 Cor 15:55; Hosea 13:14). 5.
Sin, that great enemy of man’s salvation, that is washed away (Rev
1:5). 6. The righteousness of God is put upon them that believe, and
given to them, and they are found in it (Phil 3:8-10; Rom 3:22). 7.
Christ is always in Heaven to plead for them, and to prepare a place
for them (Heb 7:24; John 14:1-4). 8. He hath not only promised that He
will not leave us, nor forsake us, but He hath also sworn to fulfill
His promises. O rich grace! O free grace! Lord, who desired Thee to
promise? who compelled Thee to swear? We use to take honest men upon
their bare word, but God, “willing more abundantly to show unto the
heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel,” hath “confirmed it
by an oath: that by two immutable things,” His promise and His oath,
“in which it was impossible for God to lie,” or break either of them,
“we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay
hold upon the hope set before us” (Heb 6:17-18). I will warrant you,
God will never break His oath; therefore we may well have good ground
to hope from such a good foundation as this, that God will never leave
us indeed. Amen.
Third. Not only thus, but, 1. God hath begotten believers again to
Himself, to be His adopted and accepted children, in and through the
Lord Jesus (1 Peter 1:3). 2. God hath prepared a kingdom for them
before the foundation of the world, through Jesus Christ (Matt 25:34).
3. He hath given them an earnest of their happiness while they live
here in this world. “After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that
holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until
the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His
glory,” and that through this Jesus (Eph 1:13,14). [These things are
more fully laid down in that part of the book which containeth the
discourse of the privileges of the new covenant]. 4. If His children
sin through weakness, or by sudden temptation, they confessing of it,
He willingly forgives, and heals all their wounds, reneweth His love
towards them, waits to do them good, casteth their sins into the depths
of the sea, and all this freely, without any work done by men as
men—Not for your own sakes do I do this, O house of Israel, be it known
unto you, saith the Lord, but wholly and alone by the blood of Jesus
(Eze 36:23,23). 5. In a word, if you would see it altogether, God’s
love was the cause why Jesus Christ was sent to bleed for sinners.
Jesus Christ’s bleeding stops the cries of Divine justice; God looks
upon them as complete in Him, gives them to Him as His by right of
purchase. Jesus ever lives to pray for them that are thus given unto
Him. God sends His Holy Spirit into them to reveal this to them, sends
His angels to minister for them; and all this by virtue of an
Everlasting Covenant between the Father and the Son. Thrice happy are
the people that are in such a case!
Nay, further, He hath made them brethren with Jesus Christ, members of
His flesh and of His bones, the spouse of this Lord Jesus; and all to
show you how dearly, how really, how constantly He loveth us, who, by
faith of His operation, have laid hold upon Him. [These things I might
have treated upon more largely].
[Further Arguments and Objections answered].
I shall now lay down a few arguments for the superabundant clearing of
it, and afterwards answer two or three objections that may be made
against it, and so I shall fall upon the next thing.
First. God loves the saints as He loves Jesus Christ; and God loves
Jesus Christ with an eternal love; therefore the saints also with the
same. “Thou hast loved them as Thou has loved Me” (John 17:23).
Second. That love which is God Himself, must needs be everlasting love;
and that is the love wherewith God hath loved His saints in Christ
Jesus; therefore His love towards His children in Christ must needs be
an everlasting love. There is none dare say that the love of God is
mixed with a created mixture; if not, then it must needs be Himself (1
John 4:16). [You must not understand that love in God is a passion as
it is in us; but the love of God is the very essence or nature of God].
Third. That love which is always pitched upon us, in an object as holy
as God, must needs be an everlasting love. Now the love of God was and
is pitched upon us, through an object as holy as God Himself, even our
Lord Jesus; therefore it must needs be unchangeable.
Fourth. If He with whom the Covenant of Grace was made, did in every
thing and condition do even what the Lord could desire or require of
Him, that His love might be extended to us, and that for ever, then His
love must needs be an everlasting love, seeing everything required of
us was completely accomplished for us by Him; and all this hath our
Lord Jesus done, and that most gloriously, even on our behalf;
therefore it must needs be a love that lasts for ever and ever.
Fifth. If God hath declared Himself to be the God that changeth not,
and hath sworn to be immutable in His promise, then surely He will be
unchangeable; and He hath done so; therefore it is impossible for God
to lie, and so for His eternal love to be changeable (Heb 6:13-18).
Here is an argument of the Spirit’s own making! Who can contradict it?
If any object, and say, But still it is upon the condition of
believing—I answer, The condition also is His own free gift, and not a
qualification arising from the stock of nature (Eph 2:8; Phil 1:28,29).
So that here is the love unchangeable; here is also the condition given
by Him whose love is unchangeable, which may serve yet further for a
strong argument that God will have His love unchangeable. Sinner, this
is better felt and enjoyed than talked of.
Objection First. But if this love of God be unchangeable in itself, yet
it is not unchangeably set upon the saints unless they behave
themselves the better. [The first objection].
Answ. As God’s love at the first was bestowed upon the saints without
anything foreseen by the Lord in them, as done by them, Deuteronomy
9:4-6, so He goeth on with the same, Saying, “I will never leave thee
nor forsake thee” (Heb 13:5).
Objection Second. But how cometh it to pass then, that many fall off
again from the grace of the Gospel, after a profession of it for some
time; some to delusions, and some to their own sins again? [The second
objection].
Answ. They are all fallen away, not from the everlasting love of God to
them, but from the profession of the love of God to them. Men may
profess that God loves them when there is no such matter, and that they
are the children of God, when the devil is their father; as it is in
John 8:40-44. Therefore they that do finally fall away from a
profession of the grace of the Gospel, it is, first, because they are
bastards and not sons. Secondly, because as they are not sons, so God
suffereth them to fall, to make it appear that they are not sons, not
of the household of God—“They went out from us, but they were not of
us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt,” mark that, “no
doubt,” saith he, “they would have continued with us: but they went
out,” from us, “that they might be made manifest that they were not all
of us” (1 John 2:19). And though Hymeneus and Philetus do throw
themselves headlong to Hell, “nevertheless the foundation of God
standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His” (2
Tim 2:17-19).
Objection Third. But the Scripture saith that there are some that had
faith, yet lost it, and have made shipwreck of it. [The third
objection]. Now God loves no longer than they believe, as is evident;
for “he that believeth not shall be damned.” So then, if some may have
faith, and yet lose it, and so lose the love of God because they have
lost their faith, it is evident that God’s love is not so immutable as
you say it is to every one that believeth.
Answ. There are more sorts of faith than one that are spoken of in
Scripture—
1. There is a faith that man may have, and yet be nothing, none of the
saints of God, and yet may do great things therewith (1 Cor 13:1-4).
2. There is a faith that was wrought merely by the operation of the
miracles that were done in those days by Christ and his followers—“And
many of the people believed in Him.” How came they by their faith? Why,
by the operation of the miracles that He did among them; for said they,
“When Christ cometh, will He do more miracles than these which this man
hath done?” (John 7:31).
The great thing that wrought their faith in them, was only by seeing
the miracles that He did, John 2:23, which is not that saving faith
which is called the faith of God’s elect, as is evident; for there must
not be only miracles wrought upon outward objects to beget that—that
being too weak a thing—but it must be by the same power that was
stretched out in raising Christ from the dead; yea, the exceeding
greatness of that power (Eph 1:18,19). So there is a believing, being
taken with some marvelous work, visibly appearing to the outward sense
of seeing; and there is a believing that is wrought in the heart by an
invisible operation of the Spirit, revealing the certainty of the
satisfaction of the merits of Christ to the soul in a more glorious
way, both for certainty and for durableness, both as to the promise and
the constancy of it (Matt 16:17, 18).
3. There is a faith of a man’s own, of a man’s self also; but the faith
of the operation of God, in Scripture, is set in opposition to that,
for, saith He, you are saved by grace, “through faith, and that not of
yourselves,” of your own making, but that which is the free gift of God
(Eph 2:8).
4. We say there is an historical faith—that is, such as is begotten by
the co-operation of the Spirit with the Word.
5. We say there is a traditional faith—that is, to believe things by
tradition, because others say they believe them; this is received by
tradition, not by revelation, and shall never be able to stand, neither
at the day of death, nor at the day of judgment; though possibly men,
while they live here, may esteem themselves and states to be very good,
because their heads are filled full of it.
6. There is a faith that is called in Scripture a dead faith, the faith
of devils, or of the devil; they also that have only this, they are
like the devil, and as sure to be damned as he, notwithstanding their
faith, if they get no better into their hearts; for it is far off from
enabling of them to lay hold of Jesus Christ, and so to put Him on for
eternal life and sanctification, which they must do if ever they be
saved (James 2:19,26).
But all these are short of the saving faith of God’s elect, as is
manifest; I say, first, Because these may be wrought, and not by that
power so exceedingly stretched forth. Secondly, Because these are
wrought, partly, (1.) By the sense of seeing—namely, the miracles—not
by hearing; and, (2.) The rest is wrought by a traditional or
historical influence of the words in their heads, not by a heavenly,
invisible, almighty, and saving operation of the Spirit of God in their
hearts.
7. I do suppose also that there is a faith that is wrought upon men
through the influence of those gifts and abilities that God gives
sometimes to those that are not His own by election, though by
creation; my meaning is, some men, finding that God hath given them
very great gifts and abilities,—as to the gifts of preaching, praying,
working miracles, or the like—I say, therefore do conclude that God is
their Father, and they are His children; the ground of which confidence
is still begotten, not by the glorious operation of the Spirit, but by
a considering of the great gifts that God hath bestowed upon them as to
the things before-mentioned. As thus, (1.) the poor soul considers how
ignorant it was, and now how knowing it is. (2.) Considering how vain
it formerly was, and also now how civil it is, presently makes this
conclusion—Surely God loves me, surely He hath made me one of His, and
will save me. This is now a wrong faith, as is evident, in that it is
placed upon a wrong object; for mark, this faith is not placed
assuredly on God’s grace alone, through the blood and merits of Christ
being discovered effectually to the soul, but upon God through those
things that God hath given it, as of gifts, either to preach, or pray,
or do great works, or the like, which will assuredly come to nought as
sure as God is in Heaven, if no better faith and ground of faith be
found out for thy soul savingly to rest upon.
As to the second clause of the objection, which runs to this effect,
God loves men upon the account of their believing, I answer, that God
loves men before they believe; He loves them, He calls them, and gives
them faith to believe—“But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great
love wherewith He loved us,” when? when we believed, or before? “even
when we were dead in sins,” and so, far off from believers, “hath
quickened us together with” Christ, “by grace ye are saved” (Eph
2:4,5).
Now, also, I suppose that thou wilt say in thy heart, I would you would
show us then what is saving faith; which thing it may be I may touch
upon a while hence, in the next thing that I am to speak unto. O they
that have that are safe indeed!
SECOND. WHO AND HOW MEN ARE ACTUALLY BROUGHT INTO THE NEW COVENANT.
The SECOND thing that I am to speak unto is this—WHO they are that are
actually brought into this free and unchangeable grace; and also HOW
they are brought in.
Answ. Indeed, now we come to the pinch of the whole discourse; and if
God do but help me to run rightly through this, as I do verily believe
He will, I may do thee, reader, good, and bring glory to my God.
The question containeth these two branches—FIRST. Who are brought in;
SECOND. How they are brought in.
[FIRST. Who are brought in?] The first is quickly answered—“Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” Jewish sinners, Gentile
sinners, old sinners, young sinners, great sinners, the chiefest of
sinners. Publicans and harlots—that is, whores, cheaters, and
exactors—shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (1 Tim 1:15; Rom
5:7-11; 1 Cor 6:9,11; Matt 21:31). “For I come not,” saith Christ, “to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17).
A sinner in the Scripture is described in general to be a transgressor
of the law—“Whosoever commiteth sin, transgresseth the law; for sin is
the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). But particularly; they are
described in a more particular way, as, 1. Such as in whom dwelleth the
devil (Eph 2:2,3). 2. Such as will do the service of him (John 8:44).
3. Such as are enemies to God (Col 1:21) 4. Such as are drunkards,
whoremasters, liars, perjured persons, covetous, revilers,
extortionists, fornicators, swearers, possessed with devils, thieves,
idolaters, witches, sorcerers, conjurors, murderers, and the like (1
Cor 6:9,10; 2 Chron 33:1-13; Acts 2:36,37; 9:1-6; 19:9; 1 Tim 1:14-16).
These are sinners, and such sinners that God hath prepared Heaven,
happiness, pardon of sin, and an inheritance of God, with Christ, with
saints, with angels, if they do come in and accept of grace, as I might
prove at large; for God’s grace is so great, that if they do come to
Him by Christ, presently all is forgiven them; therefore never object
that thy sins are too great to be pardoned; but come, taste and see how
good the Lord is to any whosoever come unto Him.
[SECOND.] The second thing is, How are these brought into this
Everlasting Covenant of Grace?
Answ. When God doth in deed and in truth bring in a sinner into this
most blessed covenant, [Come to the Touchstone, sinner]. for so it is,
He usually goeth this way—
First. He slays or kills the party to all things besides Himself, and
His Son Jesus Christ, and the comforts of the Spirit. For the clearing
of this I shall show you, 1. With what God kills; 2. How God kills; 3.
To what God kills those whom He makes alive in Jesus Christ.
1. [What God kills]. When God brings sinners into the Covenant of
Grace, He doth first kill them with the Covenant of Works, which is the
moral law, or Ten Commandments. This is Paul’s doctrine, and also
Paul’s experience. It is his doctrine where he saith, “The ministration
of death, written and engraven in stones—the ministration of
condemnation,” which is the law, in that place called the letter,
“killeth” (2 Cor 3:6-9). The letter, saith he, killeth; or the law, or
the ministration of death, which in another place is called “the voice
of words” (Heb 12:19), because they have no life in them, but rather
death and damnation, through our inability to fulfill them, doth kill
(Rom 8:3; 2 Cor 6). It is his experience where he saith, “I was alive”
that is, to my own things, “without the law once,” that is, before God
did strike him dead by it, “but when the commandment came,” that is, to
do and exercise its right office on me, which was to kill me, then “sin
revived, and I died,” and I was killed. “And the commandment,” or the
law, “which was ordained to” be unto “life, I found to be unto death.
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it
slew me” (Rom 7:9-11).
2. But how doth God kill with this law, or covenant?
1. By opening to the soul the spirituality of it—“The law is
spiritual,” saith he, “but I am carnal, sold under sin” (Rom 7:14). Now
the spirituality of the law is discovered this way—
(1.) By showing to the soul that every sinful thought is a sin against
it. Ay, sinner, when the law doth come home indeed upon thy soul in the
spirituality of it, it will discover such things to thee to be sins
that now thou lookest over and regardest not; that is a remarkable
saying of Paul when he saith, “Sin revived, and I died.” Sin revived,
saith he; as if he had said, Those things that before I did not value
nor regard, but looked upon them to be trifles, to be dead, and
forgotten; but when the law was fastened on my soul, it did so raise
them from the dead, call them into mind, so muster them before my face,
and put such strength into them, that I was overmastered by them, by
the guilt of them. Sin revived by the commandment, or my sins had
mighty strength, life, and abundance of force upon me because of that,
insomuch that they killed me (Matt 5:28).
(2.) It showeth that every such sin deserveth eternal damnation.
Friends, I doubt there be but few of you that have seen the
spirituality of the law of works. But this is one thing in which it
discovereth its spirituality, and this is the proper work of the Law.
(3.) God, with a discovery of this, doth also discover His own Divine
and infinite justice, of which the law is a description, which backs
what is discovered by the law, and that by discovering of its purity
and holiness to be so Divine, so pure, so upright, and so far of from
winking at the least sin, that He doth by that law, without any favour,
condemn the sinner for that sin (Gal 3:10). Now, when He hath brought
the soul into this praemunire,13 into this puzzle, then,
2. He showeth to the soul the nature and condition of the law as to its
dealings with, or forbearing of, the sinner that hath sinned against
it; which is to pass an eternal curse upon both soul and body of the
party so offending, saying to him, Cursed be the man that continueth
not in everything that is written in the Book of the Law to do it; for,
saith the law, this is my proper work; first, to show thee thy sins;
and when I have done that, then, in the next place, to condemn thee for
them, and that without all remedy, as from ME, or anything within my
bounds, for I am not to save any, to pardon any—nay, not to favour any
in the least thing that have sinned against me; for God did not send me
to make alive, but to discover sin, and to condemn for the same. Now,
so soon as this is presented to thy conscience, in the next place, the
Lord also by this law doth show that now there is no righteous act
according to the tenor of that covenant that can replieve him, or take
him off from all this horror and curse that lies upon him; because that
is not an administration of pardon, as I said before, to forgive the
sin, but an administration of damnation, because of transgression. O,
the very discovery of this striketh the soul into a deadly swoon, even
above half dead! But when God doth do the work indeed, He doth, in the
next place, show the soul that he is the man that is eternally under
this covenant by nature, and that it is he that hath sinned against
this law, and doth by right deserve the curse and displeasure of the
same, and that all that ever he can do will not give satisfaction to
that glorious justice that did give this law; holy actions, tears of
blood, selling all, and giving it to the poor, or whatever else can be
done by thee, it comes all short and is all to no purpose (Phil 3). I
will warrant him, he that seeth this, it will kill him to that which he
was alive unto before, though he had a thousand lives. Ah, sinners,
sinners, were you but sensible indeed of the severity and truth of
this, it would make you look about you to purpose! O, how would it make
you strive to stop at that that now you drink down with delight! How
many oaths would it make you bite asunder! Nay, it would make you bite
your tongues to think that they should be used as instruments of the
devil to bring your souls into such an unspeakable misery; then also we
should not have you hang the salvation of your souls upon such slender
pins as now you do; no, no; but you would be in another mind then. O,
then we should have you cry out, I must have Christ; what shall I do
for Christ? how shall I come at Christ? Would I was sure, truly sure of
Christ. My soul is gone, damned, cast away, and must for ever burn with
the devils, if I do not get precious Jesus Christ!
3. In the next place, when God hath done this, then He further shows
the soul that that covenant which it is under by nature is distinct
from the Covenant of Grace; and also they that are under it are by
nature without any of the graces which they have that are under the
Covenant of Grace; as, (1.) That it hath no faith (John 16:9). (2.) No
hope (Eph 2:12). Nor none of the Spirit to work these things in it by
nature. (4.) Neither will that covenant give to them any peace with
God. (5.) No promise of safeguard from His revenging law by that
covenant. (6.) But lieth by nature liable to all the curses, and
condemnings, and thunderclaps of this most fiery covenant. (7.) That it
will accept of no sorrow, no repentance, no satisfaction, as from thee.
(8.) That it calls for no less than the shedding of thy blood. (9.) The
damnation of thy soul and body. (10.) And if there be anything
proffered to it by thee, as to the making of it amends, it throws it
back again as dirt in thy face, slighting all that thou canst bring.
Now, when the soul is brought into this condition, then it is indeed
dead, killed to that to which it was once alive. And therefore,
3. In the next place, to show you to what it is killed: and that is,
1. To sin. O, it dares not sin! it sees Hell-fire is prepared for them
that sin, God’s justice will not spare it if it live in sin; the Law
will damn it if it live in sin; the devil will have it if it follows
its sins. [Here I am speaking of one that is effectually brought in].
O, I say, it trembles at the very thoughts of sin! Ay, if sin do but
offer to tempt the soul, to draw away the soul from God, it cries, it
sighs, it shunneth the very appearance of sin, it is odious unto it. If
God would but serve you thus that love your pleasures, you would not
make such a trifle of sin as you do.