pangs and troubles, "In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children:" so it is, and must be in our spiritual birth, there is usually (I will not say always, to such or such a degree) many pangs and troubles, there is many a throb, and many a heart ache ere Christ can be formed in us. 3. When Christ was born, there was discovery of many of the glorious attributes of God; then, "Mercy and truth met together, and righteousness and peace kissed each other;" then especially was a discovery of the goodness, and power, and wisdom, and holiness of God. So when this new birth is, we must look upon it as a glorious discovery of those lovely attributes. As, 1. Of his mercy, goodness, love; how often is this called his grace, and the riches of his grace? Christian! you that know what the new birth means, do not you say, The goodness of God appears in this? Surely it was God's goodness to make a world, but this is the riches of his goodness to create a new heart in you, when man by sin was fallen, he might have been thrown away as refuse, fit fuel for everlasting flames; it might have been with mankind as it was with devils, in their deluge God did not provide an ark to save so many as eight persons, not one angel that fell was the object of God's grace; and that God should pass by all those angels, and many thousands of the sons of men, and yet that he should look upon you in your blood, and bid you live, O the goodness of God! 2. As of the goodness, so in this new birth there is a discovery of God's power; and hence it is called, "A new creature," Gal. 6:15. The very same power that framed the world, is the framer of this new creature; the work of conversion is set forth by the work of creation; God only creates man, and God only converts man; in the creation God said, "Let there be light, and there was light;" in our conversion, God saith, "Let there be light," and presently the same God shines in our hearts: nay, this power of conversion, in some sense far passeth the creation, "To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed," Isa. 53:1. The Lord puts to his arm, his power, his strength indeed in conversion of souls: when he made the world, he met with nothing to resist him; he only spake the word, and it was done; but, in the conversion of a sinner, God meets with the whole frame of all creatures opposing and resisting him, the devil and the world without, and sin and corruption within; here then must needs be a power against all power. 66 3. As of the power and goodness of God, so in this new birth there is a discovery of the wisdom of God. I might instance in many particulars; as, 1. In that the regenerate are mostly of the meanest and most contemptible persons, Not many wise, not many noble," &c. 1 Cor. 1:26. 2. In that many times God takes the worst weeds and makes the sweetest flowers, thus Paul, Zaccheus, the publicans and harlots. 3. In that the regnerate are of the fewest, and least number, "Many are called, but few are chosen." 4. In that God chooseth such a time to be his time of love, wherein he usually discovers many concurrences of strange love meeting together, read Ezek. 16:4,5,6.8,9. In all these particulars is his wisdom wonderful. 4. As of the goodness, power, and wisdom of God, so in this new birth there is a discovery of the holiness of God. If a clod of earth, or piece of muck should be made a glorious star in heaven, it is not more wonderful than for a sinner to be made like an angel, doing the will of God: it argues the holiness of God, and his love of holiness, to make man holy; he tells us, That "without holiness none shall see God;" and therefore first he will make us holy, and then he will bring us to himself. O here is a blessed conformity! as Christ was born let us be new-born. 66 7. Christ, after his birth, did and suffered many things in his childhood, (I should be too large to speak to every particular) so should we learn to "bear God's yoke even in our youth," Lam. 3:29. It is good to imitate Christ even betimes, "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them," Eccl. 12:1. Do we not see by experience, what a blessed thing a gracious and an holy education is? "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it," Prov. 22:6. O ye parents, that ye would do your duties, and in that respect imitate Joseph and Mary, in their care and nurture of the holy child Jesus; and O ye children, that ye would do your duties, and imitate Jesus the blessedest pattern that ever was, that as you grow in stature, you also might grow in favor with God and man," Luke 2:52. Observe him in the temple, when he was but twelve years old, see him in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions; children while little (if but capable of instruction) should with their pa rents wait on God in the midst of our assemblies; Moses told Pharaoh, they must have their young ones with them to the solemn worship, Exod. 10:9. And when Joshua read the law of God to the children of Israel, they had their little ones with them in that solemn assembly, Josh. 8:35. Observe Christ also in Nazareth, where, during his minority, he was ever subject to his parents; so, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right," Eph. 6:1,2. Not only the law of God, but the gospel of Christ makes mention of this, "Honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise;" I know the subjection of Christ extends to his particular calling, and this also is for your imitation; in obedience to his supposed father, the holy child would have a particular employment; something must be done for the support of that holy family wherein Jesus lived, and to that purpose he puts to his own hands, and works in the trade of a carpenter; such as will live idle, and without a calling, that serve for no other use but to devour God's creatures, and to make a dearth, O how unlike are they to Christ Jesus? It is noted for a grievous sin, and a chief part of the corruption of our nature, to be unprofitable to the generation with whom we live; "They are altogether become unprofitable, there is none that doeth good," Rom. 3:12. Religion and grace wherever it prevaileth, makes men profitable, and, in this respect the poorest servant and drudge may have more comfort in his estate, than the greatest gentleman that hath nothing to do but to eat, and drink, and play. Thus far we have looked on Jesus as our Jesus in his incarnation, or his first coming in the flesh. Our next work is to look on Jesus carrying on the great work of man's salvation, during his life, from John's baptisin, until his suffering and dying on the cross. 29 For the Life was manifested, and we have seen it. 1 John 1:2. In this piece, as in the former, we must first lay down the object, and then direct you how to look upon it. The object is Jesus carrying on the work of man's salvation, during the time of his life. Now, in all the transactions of this time, we shall observe them as they were carried on successively in those three years and a half of his ministerial office, or if you will in those four complete years before his passion and death. For the first year, and his actings therein, the evangelist Mark 1:1. begins thus, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God," q. d. The beginning of that age of the world, which the prophets pointed out for the time of the good things to come; or the beginning of the exhi bition and completion of that gospel, which in respect of the promise, figures and signification, was from the beginning of the world. This beginning of the gospel, the prophets sometimes expressed by the term of the last days. "And it shall come to pass in the last days," Isa. 2:2. Micah 4:1. Sometimes by the term of the acceptable year of the Lord, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord," Isa. 61:1,2. Sometimes by the term of the kingdom of God, "And in the days of these kings, shall the God of heaven set up a king. dom, which shall never be destroyed," Dan. 2:44. Sometimes by the term of a new heaven, and a new earth, "Behold I create new heavens, and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered, nor come in mind," Isa. 65:17. Howsoever it is called, this is concluded, that the be ginning of the gospel is not to be reckoned froin the birth of Christ, but from the beginning of the ministry and preaching of John the Baptist; "From the days of John the Baptist, (saith Christ) the kingdom of hea ven suffereth violence; for all the prophets, and the law prophesied until John," Matth. 11:12,13. And when the apostles were ready, in the room of Judas, to choose a new apostle, it is said, That "of those men which companied with them all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out amongst them, beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was taken up, must one be ordained to be a witness," Acts 1:21,22. And Peter preaching to Cornelius, and his friends, he tells them, "That the word (or gospel) was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached," Acts 10:37. And see but how immediately these words follow, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; as it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee," Mark 1:1,2. I know, that John's ministry was six months before Christ's; and yet that now was the beginning of the gospel; it appears, 1. In that baptism, (which was only used amongst the Jews for the admission of proselytes or Heathens to their church) is now published, and proposed to the Jews themseives showing, 1. That now they were to be entered and transplanted into a new profession. And, 2. That the Gentiles and they now were to be knit into one church and body. And, 3. It appears, in that the doctrine and preaching of John, was in a different strain from the literal doctrine of the law, as it is taken in the sense of the Jews; for that called all for works and for exact performar ce, "Do this and live:" but John called for repentance, and for renewing of the mind, and for belief in him that was coming after, disclaiming all righteousness by the works of the law; so that here was new heavens, and a new earth begun to be created, a new commandment given, a new church founded, justifica tion by works cried down, and the doctrine of faith and repentance advanced and set up. Hence one observes, (Lightf. Har. of the four Evan.) That the evangelist Luke 3:1,2. points out this year in a special manner; it was the fif teenth year of Tiberius Cæsar, at which time (says he) Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, Philip was tetrarch of Iturea, Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, and Annas and Caiaphas were high priests. And then, even then, The word of God came unto John the Son of Zacharias in the wilderness. See how exact the evangelist seems, that so remarkable a year of the beginning of the gospel might be fixed and made known to all the world. In this respect I shall begin the first year of Christ's life, with the beginning of John's preaching, which was six months current before the ministry of Christ; and in the compass of this first year, I shall handle these particulars. 1. The preaching of John Baptist. 2. The baptism of Christ Jesus. 3. The fasting and temptation of Christ in the wilderness. 4. The first manifestation of Jesus by his several witnesses. 5. Christ's whipping the buyers and sellers out of the temple. Observe, that every of these four years, I shall end at one of the passovers, of which we read during Christ's ministry; as of the first passover, John 2:13. Of the second passover, in John 5:1. Of the third passover, John 6:4. Of the fourth passover, John 13:1. And first, of the first year to the end of the first passover. SECT. II. Of the preaching of John the Baptist. 1. For the preaching of John the Baptist: now it was that the gospel began to dawn; and John, like the morning star, or the blushing day, springing from the windows in the east, foretels the approaching of the Sun of righteousness; now it was that he laid the first rough, hard und un hewn stone of the building in mortification, self-denial, and doing violence to our natural affections. I read not that ever John wrought a miracle, but he was a man of an austere life; and good works convince more than miracles themselves. It is storied of one Pachomius, a soldier under Con. stantine the emperor, that his army being well near starved for want of necessary provision, he came to a city of Christians; and they of their own charity relieved them speedily and freely; he wondering at their so free and cheerful dispensation, inquired what kind of people those were, whom he saw so bountiful? It was answered, They were Christians, whose profession it is to hurt no man, to do good to every man. Hereupon the soldier convinced of the excellency of this religion, he threw away his arms, and became a Christian, and a saint. To this purpose, I suppose, John the Baptist spent his time in prayer, meditations, affections, and colloquies with God, eating flies, and wild honey in the wilderness, that he might be made a fit instrument of preparation and dissemination of the gospel of Christ. In his sermons, he sometimes gave particular schedules of duty to several states of persons, he sharply reproved the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and impiety; he gently guided others into the ways of righteousness, calling them the "straight ways of the Lord;" and by such discourses and baptism, he disposed the spirits of men for the entertaining of the Messias, and the doctrine of the gospel. John's sermons were to the sermons of Jesus, as a preface to a discourse. But observe this, that his most usual note was repentance, "The axe to the root, the fan to the floor, the chaff to the fire:" as his raiment was rough, so was his tongue: and thus must the way be made for Christ in stubborn obstinate hearts: plausibility, or pleasing of the flesh is no fit preface to regeneration; if the heart of man had continued upright, Christ might have been entertained without contradiction; but now violence must be offered to our corruptions, ere we can have room for grace; if the great way-maker do not cast down hills, and raise up valleys in the bosoms of men, there is no passage for Christ: never will Christ come into that soul, where the herald of repentance, either on one motive or other hath not been before him. Shall we hear that sermon which John preached in his own words? Matth. 3:2. in brief gives it in thus, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand:" these are the words when he first began to preach the gospel of Christ; and indeed we find Christ himself doth preach the same doctrine in the same words, "Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," Matth. 4:17. And when Christ sent out his disciples to preach the gospel, he commanded them to preach the same doctrine also, "Go ye, preach, saying, Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," Matth. 6:12. and 10:7. In this sermon we must observe these two parts, here is, 1. A duty. And 2. A motive to this duty. 1. The duty is, Repent; it is not a legal but an evangelical repentance that is here meant: indeed the law strictly takes no notice of repentance, but the gospel: true, and thorough, and consummate repentance is a gospel grace. 2. The motive is this," For the kingdom of heaven is at hand." This phrase, "The kingdom of heaven;" hath several acceptations, and accordingly it hath occasioned some differences. 1. Sometimes it is taken for that glorious condition of the other world: this may be implied; but this I suppose few understand to be the sense of this place. 2. Sometimes it is taken for the church of Christ; q. d. Repent, for now the pedagogy of the Jews is expiring, or breathing its last, and the church of Christ is at hand, a people that shall bear the very style of Christians; that shall profess Christ, and close with Christ as their Saviour and Messiah: of which church that you may be a part, prepare for it, repent. 3. Sometimes it is taken for the spiritual kingdom of Christ, in opposition to those earthly temporal kingdoms, which bore the sway, and domineered over all the world with cruelty and tyranny, before Christ's coming: of this Daniel, |