saith the soul, the law hath killed me to itself, “I through the law am
dead to the law” (Gal 2:19). The law is another thing than I did think
it was. I thought it would not have been so soul-destroying, so damning
a law! I thought it would not have been so severe against me for my
little sins, for my playing, for my jesting, for my dissembling,
quarreling, and the like. I had some thoughts, indeed, that it would
hew great sinners, but let me pass! and though it condemned great
sinners, yet it would pass me by! But now, would I were free from this
covenant, would I were free from this law! I will tell thee that a soul
thus worked upon is more afraid of the Covenant of Works than he is of
the devil; for he sees it is the law that doth give him up into his
hands for sin; and if he was but clear from that, he should not greatly
need to fear the devil. O, now every particular command tears the caul
of his heart; now every command is a great gun well charged against his
soul; now he sees he had as good run into a fire to keep himself from
burning, as to run to the law to keep himself from damning; and this he
sees really, ay, and feels it too, to his own sorrow and perplexity. 14
3. The soul also now is killed to his own righteousness, and counts
that but dung, but dross, not worth the dirt hanging on his shoes. O!
then, says he, thou filthy righteousness! how hast thou deceived me!
How hast thou beguiled my poor soul! (Isa 64:6). How did I deceive
myself with giving of a little alms; with abstaining from some gross
pollutions; with walking in some ordinances, as to the outside of them!
How hath my good words, good thinkings, good meanings, as the world
calls them, deceived my ignorant soul! I want the righteousness of
faith, the righteousness of God; for I see now there is no less will do
me any good.
4. It is also killed to its own faith, its notion of the Gospel, its
own hope, its own repentings, its own promises and resolutions, to its
own strength, its own virtue, or whatsoever it had before. Now, saith
the soul, that faith I thought I had, it is but fancy; that hope I
thought I had, I see it is by hypocritical, but vain and groundless
hope. [These things would be too tedious to enlarge upon]. Now the soul
sees it hath by nature no saving faith, no saving hope, no grace at all
by nature, by the first covenant. Now it crieth out, How many promises
have I broken! and how many times have I resolved in vain, when I was
sick at such a time, and in such a strait at such a place! Indeed, I
thought myself a wise man once, but I see myself a very fool now. O,
how ignorant am I of the Gospel now, and of the blessed experience of
the work of God on a Christian heart! In a word, it sees itself beset
by nature with all evil, and destitute of all good, which is enough to
kill the stoutest, hardest-hearted sinner that ever lived on the earth.
O, friends, should you be plainly dealt withal by this discovery of the
dealing of God with a sinner when He makes him a saint, and would
seriously try your selves thereby, as God will try you one day, how few
would there be found of you to be so much as acquainted with the work
of God in the notion, much less in the experimental knowledge of the
same! And indeed, God is fain to take this way with sinners, thus to
kill them with the old covenant to all things below a crucified Christ.
Six reasons of this discourse.
1. Because otherwise there would be none in the world that would look
after this sweet Jesus Christ. There are but a few that go to Heaven in
all, comparatively; and those few God is fain to deal with them in this
manner, or else His Heaven, His Christ, His glory, and everlasting
happiness must abide by themselves, for all sinners. Do you think that
Manasseh would have regarded the Lord, had He not suffered his enemies
to have prevailed against him? (2 Chron 33:1-16). Do you think that
Ephraim would have looked after salvation, had not God first confounded
him with the guilt of the sins of his youth? (Jer 31:18). What do you
think of Paul? (Acts 9:4-6). What do you think of the jailer? (Acts
16:30-32). What do you think of the three thousand? (Acts 2:36,37). Was
not this the way that the Lord was fain to take to make them close in
with Jesus Christ? Was He not fain to kill them to everything below a
Christ, that were driven to their wits’ ends, insomuch that they were
forced to cry out, “What shall we do to be saved?” I say, God might
have kept Heaven and happiness to Himself, if He should not go this way
to work with sinners. O stout-hearted rebels! O tender-hearted God!
2. Because then, and not till then, will sinners accept of Jesus Christ
on God’s terms. So long as sinners can make a life out of anything
below Christ, so long they will not close with Christ without
indenting; 15
But when the God of Heaven hath killed them to everything below Himself
and His Son, then Christ will down on any terms in the world. And,
indeed, this is the very reason why sinners, when they hear of Christ,
yet will not close in with Him; there is something that they can take
content in besides Him. The prodigal, so long as he could content
himself with the husks that the swine did eat, so long he did keep him
away from his father’s house; but when he could get no nourishment
anywhere on this side of his father’s house, then saith he, and not
till then, “I will arise, and go to my father,” etc.
I say, this is the reason, therefore, why men come no faster, and close
no more readily, with the Son of God, but stand halting and indenting
16 about the terms they must have Christ upon; for, saith the drunkard,
I look on Christ to be worth the having; but yet I am not willing to
lose ALL for him; all but my pot, saith the drunkard; and all but the
world, saith the covetous. I will part with anything but lust and
pride, saith the wanton. But if Christ will not be had without I
forsake all, cast away all, then it must be with me as it was with the
young man in the Gospel, such news will make me sorry at the very
heart.
But now, when a man is soundly killed to all his sins, to all his
righteousness, to all his comforts whatsoever, and sees that there is
no way but the devil must leave him, but he must be damned in Hell if
he be not clothed with Jesus Christ; O, then, saith he, give me Christ
on any terms, whatsoever He cost; though He cost me friends, though He
cost me comforts, though He cost me all that ever I have; yet, like the
wise merchant in the Gospel, they will sell all to get that pearl. I
tell you, when a soul is brought to see its want of Christ aright, it
will not be kept back; father, mother, husband, wife, lands, livings,
nay, life and all, shall go rather than the soul will miss of Christ.
Ay, and the soul counteth Christ a cheap Saviour if he can get him upon
any terms; now the soul indents17 no longer. Now, Lord, give me Christ
upon any terms, whatsoever He cost; for I am a dead man, a damned man,
a castaway, if I have not Christ. What say you, O you wounded sinners?
Is not this true as I have said? Would you not give ten thousand
worlds, if you had so many, so be you might be well assured that your
sins shall be pardoned, and your souls and bodies justified and
glorified at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ?
3. The Lord goeth this way for this reason also, that it might make the
soul sensible what it cost Christ to redeem it from death and Hell.
When a man cometh to feel the sting and guilt of sin, death and Hell
upon his conscience, then, and not till then, can he tell what it cost
Christ to redeem sinners. O! saith the soul, if a few sins are so
terrible, and lay the soul under such wrath and torment, what did
Christ undergo, who bare the sins of thousands and thousands, and all
at once?
This also is one means to make souls tender of sin (it is the burned
child that feareth the fire), to make them humble in a sense of their
own vileness, to make them count everything that God giveth them a
mercy, to make much of the least glimpse of the love of God, and to
prize it above the whole world. O sinners, were you killed indeed [to
sin], then Heaven would be Heaven, and Hell would be Hell indeed; but
because you are not wrought upon in this manner, therefore you count
the ways of God as bad as a good man counteth the ways of the devil,
and the ways of the devil and Hell as good as a saint doth count the
ways of God.
4. Again, God is fain to go this way, and all to make sinners make sure
of Heaven. So long as souls are senseless of sin, and what a damnable
state they are in by nature, so long they will even dally with the
Kingdom of Heaven and the salvation of their own poor souls; but when
God cometh and showeth them where they are, and what it is like to
become of them if they miss of the crucified Saviour, O, then, saith
the soul, would I were sure of Jesus; what shall I do to get assurance
of Jesus? And thus is God forced, as I may say, to whip souls to Jesus
Christ, they being so secure, so senseless, and so much their own
enemies, as not to look out after their own eternal advantage.
5. A fifth reason why God doth deal thus with sinners it is, because He
would bring Christ and the soul together in a right way. Christ and
sinners would never come together in a beloved posture, they would not
so suitably suit each other, if they were not brought together this
way, the sinner being killed. O, when the sinner is killed, and indeed
struck dead to everything below a naked Jesus, how suitably then doth
the soul and Christ suit one with another. Then here is a naked sinner
for a righteousness Jesus, a poor sinner to a rich Jesus, a weak sinner
to a strong Jesus, a blind sinner to a seeing Jesus, an ignorant,
careless sinner to a wise and careful Jesus. O, how wise is God in
dealing thus with the sinner! He strips him of his own knowledge, that
He may fill him with Christ’s; He killeth him for taking pleasure in
sin, that he may take pleasure in Jesus Christ, etc.
6. God goeth this way with sinners, because He would have the glory of
their salvation. Should not men and women be killed to their own
things, they would do sacrifice unto them, and instead of saying to the
Lamb, “THOU ART WORTHY,” they would say their own arm, their own right
hand hath saved them; but God will cut off boasting from ever entering
within the borders of eternal glory; for He is resolved to have the
glory of the beginning, the middle, and the end; of the contriving, and
saving, and giving salvation to them that enter in to the joys of
everlasting glory (Rom 3:27; Eph 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; Rev 5:9). “That they
might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that
He might be glorified” (Isa 61:3). I might have run through many things
as to this; but I shall pass them, and proceed.
Second. Now, the soul being thus killed to itself, [The soul that hath
the right work of God upon its heart, is not only killed to itself, but
also made alive to Christ]. its sins, its righteousness, faith, hope,
wisdom, promises, resolutions, and the rest of its things which it
trusted in by nature; in the next place, it hath also given unto it a
most glorious, perfect, and never-fading life, which is—
1. A life imputed to it, yet so really, that the very thought of it in
the soul hath so much operation and authority, especially when the
mediation of it is mixed with faith, as to make it, though condemned by
the law, to triumph, and to look its enemies in the face with comfort,
notwithstanding the greatness of the multitude, the fierceness of their
anger, and the continuation of their malice, be never so hot against
it.
This imputed life—for so it is—is the obedience of the Son of God as
His righteousness, in His suffering, rising, ascending, interceding,
and so consequently triumphing over all the enemies of the soul, and
given to me, as being wrought on purpose for me. So that, is there
righteousness in Christ? that is mine. Is there perfection in that
righteousness? that is mine. Did He bleed for sin? it was for mine.
Hath He overcome the law, the devil, and Hell? the victory is mine, and
I am counted the conqueror, nay, more than a conqueror, through Him
that hath loved me. And I do count this a most glorious life; for by
this means it is that I am, in the first place, proclaimed both in
Heaven and earth guiltless, and such an one who, as I am in Christ, am
not sinner, and so not under the law, to be condemned, but as holy and
righteous as the Son of God Himself, because He Himself is my holiness
and righteousness, and so likewise having by this all things taken out
of the way that would condemn me.
Sometimes I bless the Lord my soul hath had the life that now I am
speaking of, not only imputed to me, but the very glory of it upon my
soul; for, upon a time, when I was under many condemnings of heart, and
feared, because of my sins, my soul would miss of eternal glory,
methought I felt in my soul such a secret motion of this—Thy
righteousness is in Heaven, together with the splendour and shining of
the Spirit of Grace in my soul, which gave me to see clearly that my
righteousness by which I should be justified from all that could
condemn, was the Son of God Himself in His own Person, now at the right
hand of His Father representing me complete before the Mercy-seat in
His Ownself; so that I saw clearly that night and day, wherever I was,
or whatever I was a doing, still there was my righteousness just before
the eyes of Divine glory; so that the Father could never find fault
with me for any insufficiency that was in my righteousness, seeing it
was complete; neither could He say, Where is it? because it was
continually at His right hand. 18
Also, at another time, having contracted guilt upon my soul, and having
some distemper of body upon me, I supposed that death might now so
seize upon as to take me away from among men; then, thought I, what
shall I do now? is all right with my soul? Have I the right work of God
on my soul? Answering myself, “No, surely”; and that because there were
so many weaknesses in me; yes, so many weaknesses in my best duties.
For, thought I, how can such an one as I find mercy, whose heart is so
ready to evil, and so backward to that which is good, so far as it is
natural. Thus musing, being filled with fear to die, these words come
in upon my soul, “Being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24). As if God had said,
Sinner, thou thinkest because that thou hast had so many infirmities
and weaknesses in thy soul while thou hast been professing of Me,
therefore now there can be no hopes of mercy; but be it known unto
thee, that it was not anything done by thee at the first that moved Me
to have mercy upon thee: neither is it anything that is done by thee
now that shall make me either accept or reject thee. Behold My Son, who
standeth by Me, He is righteous, He hath fulfilled My Law, and given me
good satisfaction; on Him, therefore, do I look, and on thee only as
thou art in Him; and according to what He hath done, so will I deal
with thee. This having stayed my heart, and taken off the guilt through
the strength of its coming on my soul, anon after came in that word as
a second testimony—“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works,” of righteousness which we have
done, “but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Tim 1:9). And thus is the
sinner made alive from the dead, being justified by grace through the
righteousness of Christ, which is unto all and upon all them that
believe, according to the Scriptures—“And the life which I now live—it
is by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for
me” (Gal 2:20). “I lay down my life for the sheep.” “I am come that
they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”
(John 10:10,15). “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to
God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be
saved by His life. That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might
grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our
Lord” (Rom 5:10,21).
2. This life is not only imputed to him that is wrought on by the
Spirit of Grace—that is, not only counted his, but also there is put
into the soul an understanding, enlightened on purpose to know the
things of God, which is Christ and His imputed righteousness (1 John
5:20) which it never thought of nor understood before (1 Cor 2:9-11).
Which understanding being enlightened and made to see such things that
the soul cannot be contented without it lay hold of and apply Christ
unto itself so effectually; I say, that the soul shall be exceedingly
revived in a very heavenly measure with the application of this imputed
righteousness; for thereby it knoweth it shall find God speaking peace
to itself, with a fatherly affection, saying, “Be of good cheer, thy
sins are forgiven thee”; the righteousness of My Son I bestow upon
thee; “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through
thee,” thy “flesh,” “I have sent forth My only Son, and have condemned”
thy sins in His flesh (Rom 8:3). And though thou hast gone astray like
a lost sheep, yet on Him I have laid thine iniquities; and though thou
thereby didst undo and break thyself for ever, yet by His stripes I
have healed thee. Thus, I say, the Lord causeth the soul by faith to
apply that which He doth by grace impute unto it, for thus every soul
more or less is dealt withal; the soul being thus enlightened, thus
quickened, thus made alive from that dead state it was in before, or at
least having the beginnings of this life, it hath these several
virtuous advantages, which they have not that are dead in their sins
and trespasses, and under the law—
[Advantages possessed by the quickened].
First. It seeth what a sad condition all men by nature are in, they
being in that state which itself was in but a while since; but now by
grace it is a beginning to scrabble 19 out of it; now it seeth “the
whole world lieth in wickedness,” and so liable to eternal vengeance,
because of their wickedness (1 John 5:19). Ah, friends, let me tell
you, though you may be ignorant of your state and condition, yet the
poor, groaning, hungering saints of God do see what a sad, woeful,
miserable state you are in, which sometimes makes them tremble to think
of your most lamentable latter end, your dying so, and also to fly the
faster to their Lord Jesus, for very fear that they also should be
partakers of that most doleful doom. [Like as the children of Israel,
who fled for fear when the ground opened its mouth to swallow up Korah
and his company]. And this it hath by virtue of its own experience,
knowing itself was but awhile ago in the same condition, under the same
condemnation. O! there is now a hearth blessing of God that ever He
should show to it its sad condition, and that He should incline its
heart to seek after a better condition. O blessed be the Lord! saith
the soul, that ever He should awaken me, stir up me, and bring me out
of that sad condition that I once with them was in (Psa 103:1-3). It
makes also the soul to wonder to see how foolishly and vainly the rest
of its neighbours do spend their precious time, that they should be so
void of understanding, so forgetful of their latter end, so senseless
of the damning nature of their sins. O that their eyes were but
enlightened to see whereabouts they are! surely they would be of
another mind than they are now in. Now, the soul wonders to see what
slender pins those poor creatures do hang the stress of the eternal
salvation of their souls upon. O! methinks, saith the soul, it makes me
mourn to see that some should think that they were born Christians; and
others, that their baptism makes them so; 20 others depend barely upon
a traditional, historical faith, which will leave their souls in the
midst of perplexity. That they should trust to such fables, fancies,
and wicked sleights of the devil, as their good doings, their good
thinkings, their civil walking and living with the world. O miserable
profession, and the end thereof will be a miserable end!
But now, when the soul is thus wrought upon, it must be sure to look
for the very gates of Hell to be set open against it with all their
force and might to destroy it. Now Hell rageth, the devil roareth, and
all the world resolveth to do the best they can to bring the soul again
into bondage and ruin. Also, the soul shall not want enemies, even in
its own heart’s lust, [But this is but for the exercise of his faith.]
as covetousness, adultery, blasphemy, unbelief, hardness of heart,
coldness, half-heartedness, ignorance, with an innumerable company of
attendants, hanging, like so many blocks, at its heels, ready to sink
it into the fire of Hell every moment, together with strange
apprehensions of God and Christ, as if now they were absolutely turned
to be its enemies, which maketh it doubt of the certainty of its
salvation; for you must understand, that though a soul may in reality
have the righteousness of the Son of God imputed to it, and also some
faith in a very strong manner to lay hold upon it, yet at another time,
through temptation, they may fear and doubt again, insomuch that the
soul may be put into a very great fear lest it should return again into
the condition it once was in (Jer 32:40). O, saith the soul, when I
think of my former state, how miserable it was, it makes me tremble;
and when I think that I may fall into that condition again, how sad are
the thoughts of it to me! I would not be in that condition again for
all the world. And this fear riseth still higher and higher, as the
soul is sensible of Satan’s temptations, or of the working of its own
corruptions. Ah! these filthy lusts, these filthy corruptions. O that I
were rid of them, that they were consumed in a moment, that I could be
quite rid of them, they do so disturb my soul, dishonour my God, so
defile my conscience, and sometimes so weaken my hands in the way of
God, and my comforts in the Lord; O how glad should I be if I might be
stripped of them (Rom 7:24). Which fear puts the soul upon flying to
the Lord by prayer for the covering of His imputed righteousness, and
for strength against the devil’s temptations and its own corruptions;
that God would give down His Holy Spirit to strengthen it against the
things that do so annoy its soul, and so discourage it in its way, with
a resolution, through grace, never to be contented while [until] it
doth find in itself a triumphing over it, by faith in the blood of a
crucified Jesus.