out all the weeds of their duties, and makes them acceptable to God. 3. As one that hath renewed the commands of God unto them with mighty obligations unto obedience. So the apoftle 2 Cor. v. 14, 15. the love of Christ constrains us, of which afterwards. 4. They confider him as God equal with his Father, to whom all honour and obedience is due, so, Rev. v. 14. But these things I have not long fince opened in another treatise dealing about the worship of Chrift as Mediator. This then the faints do in all their obedience; they have a fpecial regard to their dear Lord Jefus. He is on all these accounts and innumerable others continually in their thoughts: his love to them, his life for them, his death for them, all his kindnefs and mercies conftrains them to live to him. 2. By labouring to abound in fruits of holiness; as he deals with us in a way of bounty, and deals out unto us abundantly, fo he requires that we abound in all grateful, obediential returns to him; fo we are exhorted to be always abounding in the work of the Lord, Cor. xv. 58. This is that I intend; the faints are not fatisfied with that measure that at any time they have attained, but are still preffing that they may be more dutiful, more fruitful, to Christ. And this is a little glimpfe, of fome of that communion which we enjoy with Chrift. It is but a little from him, who hath the least experience of it, of all the faints of God: who yet hath found that in it, which is better than ten thousand worlds; who defires to spend the refidue of the few and evil days of his pilgrimage, in pursuit hereof, in the contemplation of the excellencies, defircableness, love and grace of our dear Lord Jefus and in making returns of obedience according to his will: to whofe foul in the midst of the perplexities of this wretched world, and curfed rebellions of his own heart, this is the great relief, that he that fhall come, will come, and will not tarry; The Spirit and the Bride fay come; and let him that readeth fay come; even fo come Lord Jefus. CHAP. VI. 1. Of communion with Chrift in purchafed grace: purchafed grace, confidered in refpect of its rife and fountain. The first rife of it, in the obedience of Chrift Obedience properly afcribed to Chrift. Two ways confidered; what it was, and wherein it did confift. Of his obedience to the law in general. Of the law of the Mediator. His habitual righteousness how neceffary, as also his obedience to the law of the Mediator. Of his actual obedience or active righteoufnefs. All Chrift's obedience performed as he was Mediátor. His active obedience for us. This proved at large, Gal. iv. 4, 5. Róm. v. 19. Phil. iii. 19. Zach. iii. 3, 4, 5. One objection removed. Confiderations of Chrift's active righteoufnefs clofed. Of the death of Christ, and its influence into our acceptation with God. A price: redemption what it is. A facrifice. Attonement made hereby. A punishment. Satisfaction thereby. The interceffion of Chrift; with its influence into our acceptation with God. UR process is now to communion with Chrift, in purchased grace: as it was before propof ed. ed. That we may know him, and the power of his refurrection and the fellowship of his fuffering, and be made comformable to his death, Phil. iii. 10. By purchased grace I understand all that righte oufnefs, and grace which Chrift hath procured, or wrought out for us, or doth by any means make us partakers of, or beftows on us for our benefit, by any thing that he hath done, or suffered, or by any thing he continueth to do as Mediator. 1. What this purchased grace is, and wherein it doth consist. 2. How we hold communion with Chrift therein: are the things that now come under confidera tion. The firft may be confidered two ways. 1. In refpect of the rife and fountain of it. in Chrift. 1. The obedience of his life. 2. The fuffering of his death. 3. His continued interceffion. All the actions of Christ as Mediator, leading to the communication of grace unto us; may be either referred to these heads, or to fome things that are subservient to them, or confequents of them. For the nature of this grace wherein we have communion with Chrift flowing from these heads and fountains, it may be referred to these three. 1. Grace of juftification or acceptation with God, which makes a relative change in us, as a state and condition. 2. Grace of fanctification or holiness before God, which makes a real change in us, as to principle and operation. X 3. Grace 3. Grace of privilege, which is mixed, as we fhall fhew, if I go forth to the handling thereof. Now that we have communion with Chrift in this purchased grace, is evident on this fingle confideration; that there is almost nothing that Chrift hath done, which is a fpring of that grace whereof we fpeak, but we are faid to do it with him. We are crucified with him, Gal. ii. 20. we are dead with him, 2 Tim. ii. 11. Col. iii. 3. and buried with him, Rom. vi. 4. Col. ii. 12. we are quickned together with him, Col. ii. 13. rifen with him, Col. iii. i. He hath quickned us together with Chrift and hath raifed us up together, and made us fit together in heavenly places, Eph. ii. 5, 6. In the actings of Christ, there is by virtue of the compact between him as Mediator and the Father, fuch an affured foundation laid of the communication of the fruits of those actings, unto thofe in whofe ftead he performed them, that they are faid, in the participation of those fruits, to have done the fame things with him. The life and power of which truth, we may have occafion hereafter to inquire into. The first fountain and fpring of this grace wherein we have our communion with Chrift, is firft to be confidered: and that is the obedience of his life concerning which it must be declared. 1. What it is that is intended thereby; and wherein it confifteth. 2. What influence it hath into the grace, whereof we speak. To the handling of this, I fhall only premise this obfervation: namely; that in the order of procurement, the life of Chrift, (as was neceffary:) precedeth his death, and therefore we fhall handle it in the first place: but in the order of application, -the the benefits of his death are bestowed on us, antecedently in the nature of the things themfelves, unto thofe of his life; as will appear, and that neceffarily from the state and condition wherein we are. 1. By the obedience of the life of Chrift, I intend the univerfal conformity of the Lord Jefus Christ, as he was, or is in his being Mediator, to the whole will of God; and his compleat actual fulfilling of the whole of every law of God, or doing of all, that God in them required. He might have been perfectly holy by obedience to the law of creation, the moral law, as the angels were: neither could any more as a man walking with God be required of him. But he fubmitted himself alfo to every law or ordinance that was introduced upon the occafion of fin, which on his own account he could not be fubject to; it becoming him to fulfil all righteoufnefs; Mat. iii. 15. as he spake in reference to a newly inftituted ceremony. That obedience is properly ascribed unto Jefus Christ, as Mediator, the fcripture is witness, both as to name and thing, Heb. v. 8. Though he were a Son yet learned he obedience, &c. yea, he was obedient in his fufferings, and it was that which gave life to his death, Phil. ii. 8. He was obedient to death; for therein he did make his foul an offering for fin, Ifa. liii. 10. or his foul made an offering for fin as it is interpreted ver. 12. He poured out his foul to death, or his foul poured out its felf unto death. And he not only fanctified himself to be an offering, John xvii. 9. But he alfo offered up himself, Heb. ix. 14. an offering of a sweet favour to God, Eph. v. 2. Hence as to the whole of his work, he is called the Father's fervant, lfa, xlii. 1. and ver. 19. And he profeffes of himself that he came into the world. X 2 |