Chapter VII
That it was not only fit that Christ should be man, but such a man as to be
like us in the matter and substance of his body And to be like us in his
production and birth, to be born of a woman, as we are. What are th*
reasons of this What is the reason why Christ, though born of a ivoman,
is yet without sin. Why he is man, and of the Jewish nation.
Now seeing lie was thus to be a man, let us consider what manner or kind
of man every way qualified was fittest in this business, and we shall find
that such a man did God every way make him ; for he must have a human nature fitted for him on purpose : Heb. x. 5, Wherefore when he cometh
into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a
body hast thou prepared me. A body hast thou fitted me, so some read
it, adaptasti, fitted him with a body for the purpose. And indeed if for all other works God chooseth out fit instruments, then surely for this great work of all works else ; and accordingly divines call his human nature instrumentum Deitatis, the instrument of the Godhead. It is not every kind
of body will fit him for this purpose of reconciling. Some schoolmen have
thought that not any other human nature but that which was assumed could have been assumed ; sure I am a greater fitness could not have been in any, and all to make up this his personal fitness for a mediator full, that in him
all fulness might be found to dwell.
Now concerning what qualifications are to be in him for this work, we have
this general rule given us here in Heb. ii. 17, That it became him in all
things to be made like to us who were his brethren ; so as the liker he should be to us, the fitter mediator he should be for us, and that for the
very reasons before mentioned, that because justice admitted of a commu
tation, it would yet come every way as nigh to have a full and proportion able satisfaction as could be. As satisfaction must be made in a nature of the same kind, by man, not an angel, so in such a nature a man as should be as near akin to us, and like us, as the matter would possibly permit, so as the business of reconciliation be not hindered nor evacuated by it ; for then he should have lost his end.
First, Whereas he might have been a man of the same nature with us,
consisting both of body and soul, and yet have been created immediately, as Adam was, out of nothing, yea, or out of matter in heaven (as some do
dream), as his body itself is now heavenly and spiritual, and therefore
* the heavenly man, 1 Cor. xv. 48, 49 : yet that he may be like to
called
us, he will take human nature of the same lump with ours, and out of which ours is taken. So here in Heb. ii. 14, He took part of the same ; the same flesh and blood that we have ; and again, ver. 11, Both he that
sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one : he says, not only that both are one for nature and kind, but all are
* of one, that is, one lump and mass, that so he might be a little the more akin to us, our country man, being made of the same earth we are of. If he had been made of
heavenly matter he had been countryman to the angels rather, for heaven
is their country ; yea, he had been utterly a stranger to us, though of the same nature ; as a man dropped from heaven would be, as some conceive Melchisedec his type to have been. And the reason there given is proper and pertinent, for he was to sanctify us ; and he that sanctifies and they that are sanctified it is meet they should be of one. The ground of this
CHAP. VII.] OF CHKIST THE MEDIATOR. 57
reason is taken from that of the Levitical law, by which the first-fruits sancti
fied the whole lump or mass which those fruits were taken out of ; and they by this sanctified the rest, because they were of the same lump or mass, as
it is expressed, Rom. xi. 16, For if the first-fruit be holy, the lump is
: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. They were not only of the same species of creature that the rest were of, but growing out of the same earth that the rest of the fruits did. Now Christ, as he is called
alsojholy
thefruit of the womb, Luke i. 42, so the first-fruits, : 1 Cor. xv. 20, But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits ofthem
that slept ; which, though spoken of the resurrection only, yet holds in
all, even to his very nature. He is in all things wherein he is like us the
first-fruits, and therefore is to be made like us in all, that he might be the
first-fruits. And he was to sanctify others of mankind ; and this he had
not so fitly and correspondently, according to the law of nature, done, had
not both they and he been all of one. And besides God meant not to create anew any of mankind, and therefore he made woman of man rather than of
nothing, intending to make out of Adam all which he meant to make, even
Christ and all. But then,
Secondly, He might have been made of the same lump, if made of some
man, in that manner as Eve was out of Adam, made of a rib, or some such
part of mankind. But he resolves to come nearer yet, and to be made as
like in all things as may be, and therefore he will be made of the same kind of matter that we all are made of, even of seed, which is the quint essence, the elixir of man s nature, intimum substantial ; and therefore the
* the seed of the woman : Gen. iii. 15, And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. So Acts xvii. 26. God hath made mankind all of one blood, that so they might love one another ; and he will have this man that is to be our redeemer to be of the same blood, that is, of seed, which is the blood of man concocted to an height, and therefore he
first title and appellation he was known by unto the sons of men was
is not only called a man, but the Son of man, Mat. xvii. 12. Eve, though made out of man, was not filia hominis, a daughter of man ; nor Adam, though a man, yet not a son of man ; no. In the genealogy, Luke
iii. 38, Adam is called the son of God ; but Christ is to be the Son of man
as well as man, and that by being made of seed, which all men are made
of; and so inHeb. ii. 16, He took not the nature of angels, but the seed
of Abraham. And the reason is given in the next verse here, that he
might call us brethren, and not be ashamed of us. A brother is more than of the same nature, it notes one made out of the same blood. And God would have the same blood run in his veins that runs in ours. And
this fitted him the more to be a redeemer, and to have right to do it by the Levitical law also, for it was proper to a brother to redeem, and a
stranger could not : Levit. xxv. 25, If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem
it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. So that the church comes to have her wish : Cant. viii. 1, Oh that thou wert as my brother, &c. For so Christ is. Yea,
Thirdly, He will come yet nearer, even in the manner of his production, or being made a man, as like as may be to that of ours, as near as possibly might be, so as not to take infection. He will be made of seed, even by a conception, and lie in the womb, and grow up there, from a tear, a drop, by degrees, as man doth, and be born, and be a suckling as we, as Ps.
58 OF CHRIST THE MEDIATOB. [BOOK II.
viii. 2 speaks of him, and therefore he is called the fruits of the womb : Luke i. 42, And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And more
expressly, Luke i. 31, Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, speaking to Mary. You see Christ is like to us in being produced both by the same way, and to lie in the same place, that secret and dark chamber that all mankind lies in. Conception is the ground seil (as I may call it) of our nature, which sin had infected, and it was rotten and cor
rupted, and from it the leprosy was spread over all the walls of this build
* In sin my mother conceived me, says David, Ps. li. 5, and Christ
ing
coming to repair and restore us from the very foundation, sanctifies that
very way of production, conception, and consecrates the curious room and
privy chamber that all mankind lies in. Man is said by the psalmist to be
curiously wrought in the lower parts of the earth, Ps. cxxxix. 15 ; and Christ descends even thither, that so he may ascend the higher. He takes
his flight thus low, in that he ascended, he descended first into these lower
parts of the earth, which surely is part of the apostle s meaning, in com
* Now that he ascended, what is
: Eph. iv. 9, 10,
paring it with that psalm
it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth ? ver. 10,
1 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. And that we may be where he is, as he
prays, John xvii. 24, he will condescend for a while to be where we were, enclosed in the womb. And that we may come to his place, his mansionhouse in heaven, his Father s house, he will first come down to our place, our mother s house, for such is the womb. And therefore he is still called
1 the seed of the woman, and made of a woman ; Gal. iv. 4, 5, But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law ; ver. 5, To redeem them that were under the
law, that we might receive the adoption of sons ; to the end that he might be fitted to redeem us. This reason is expressly added there, that he
might redeem us that were under the law. And this woman was yet a
virgin, as you shall see by and by, A virgin shall conceive : Isa. vii. 14, Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign ; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. One reason of it, besides that which I shall anon give, might be, that God would take a new course in the rearing up this human nature, differing from what was taken afore. If he had made him out of man, or the rib of a man, so he had made the woman .before ; if out of nothing, so he had made the first man before. But to make him of a woman, and the seed of the woman, by conception, without man, this was a new thing in the earth, as the prophet speaks, Isa. xliii. 19. And God herein kept some further correspondency also with man s sinning, that (as was observed before) as by a man came
death, so by man should come the resurrection ; God observed a propor tion in it. So here, a woman afore destroyed us, and was first in the
transgression ; nevertheless, both she and we shall be saved by her child-
bearing, or that child-bearing (as some interpret that place, 1 Tim. ii. 15). And Adam laid all the blame on the woman (reflecting withal on God)
: Gen. iii. 12,
* And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with
me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And therefore God presently, to meet with him, says, The seed of the woman, not the man, shall break the serpent s head ; as if he had said, Thou hast laid the fault on me for
giving thee a woman, because she hath been the occasion of thy fall ; but
I will be even with thee (but it is in mercy, as God s revenges on his chil-
CHAP. VII.] OF CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 59
dren are). Thou shalt have cause to thank me more for this woman, than thou now hast done ; for the seed of the woman shall break the serpent s
head; and so doth God reprove him, and for his unthankfulness puts the honour upon the woman.
Obj. Yea, but now in the fourth place, you will say, this kindred is too
nigh, he had better have married our nature further on , and at a greater distance ; for thus he is in danger to be made sinful. Doth not the
psalmist say, In sin my mother conceived me, Ps. li. 5. Doth not the
apostle say, And such an high priest became us as was separated from
sinners ? Heb. vii. 26. Why, then, the work of our redemption will be
spoiled by this way of conception of Christ, and he be unfitted for the work.
But for answer, though there is a concipiet, yet not a genitm est ; though there is a conception, yet not a generation. It is conception upon genera tion defiles. Man begets in his image, but Christ was not begotten, but conceived only. He comes so near, you see, that it is but the cutting of a
hair keeps him from being infected ; and so though he will have the same
substance, yet separate from sinners, as there the separation means quantum ad culpam, as to sin ; non naturam, as to nature. And therefore though he
will be conceived in the same place we are, and be of the same substance with
us, yet not after the same way ; and it is not the substance that defiles, or the place, but the way of framing our natures. We are framed by genera tion of man and woman, he but by conception only of a woman, but made
* conceived by the Holy Ghost ; so in Luke i. 25,
by the Holy Ghost ; so in our Creed,
< The Holy Ghost shall overshadow thee ; and Mat. i. 20, That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. Not ffxzefiuriKuc, but
6/j<tt/o-jy/;cw, as the builder framing and forming his body. Therefore it is not said he was begotten of a woman, but made of a woman, non genitus, sed
factits, and therefore he is called The man from heaven, though the matter of his body was from earth, 1 Cor. xv. 47, 48. And to this purpose it is
^ Christ s human nature and ours, A body hast thou prepared me ; that is, God did it, and not man by generation, which is the ordinary way of producing men, and the only way of conveying sin. The parents, they are therefore said to beget a man, not because they afford matter and stuff , but because there goes a
observable, that Heb. x. 5 is with difference spoken of
forming power, vis plastica, as philosophers call it, that doth prepare the
matter, form it, and, to use the word which is here, doth xarafr/s*, articu
late it for the soul, which is the utmost they do, and for which they are said to beget, and wherein the \eryformalis ratio of generation lies. Accu
rately therefore to distinguish this production of the human nature of Christ from the ordinary, though he useth the same word, that signifies the manner of making our bodies by way of articulation, yet he expresseth it as done by another hand, Thou hast prepared it, the Holy Ghost performing that which the vis plastica, or forming power, in all other generations useth to do. Luke i. 35, And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost
shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee : therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God. That though the matter is the same, and this formed by articulation, as ours is, yet it is done by the power of the Most High, and therefore exempted from sin ; therefore he adds, That holy one that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. For because genera tion by men is the only way of conveying sin, and fheformalis ratio of genera tion lies in that vis plastica, whereby a parent forms the birth (as philosophy
60 OF CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. [BOOK II.
teacheth), therefore his body, though made of the same matter, seed, that ours is, and that seed articulated into the same shape ours is, yet because by another hand, the power of the Most High, therefore he is a holy one
separate from sinners, his body being a tabernacle which God pitched, not man, Heb. viii. 2. Not of this building, not built as man s is, not by the same hands, as Heb. ix. 11, But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with
hands, that is to say, not of this building. Man reared it not, nor jointed
it, nor framed it, but A body hast thou (0 God) prepared. And therefore
this body was of a virgin without a father, that as Melchisedec is said, Heb.
vii. 3, to be without father and mother, so Christ as man was without
father, and as God without a mother, who is therefore the stone cut out of
the same quarry with us, but without hands, Dan. ii. 45, that is, the help of nature, or by a man. And it was necesssary ; for, 1. Otherwise his human nature had been a person (the inconvenience of which you heard afore) for terminus genemtionis est persona. What is pro duced by generation is a person. And, 2. He had otherwise had two fathers, which nature abhors, that one per son should have two fathers.
And in preparing this nature of Christ, the Holy Ghost sanctified that
matter, and purified it, as goldsmiths do gold from the dross. And his
business being to part sin and our flesh, it was fit he should take such
flesh as, though once sinful, yet now sin was parted from it. It is gene ration defiles, for that which is born of the flesh is flesh, John iii. 6, and
that as from a man, by whom sin is conveyed ; but it follows in the same
place, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Now, of Christ it is said
that which is conceived in thee is of the Holy Ghost : Mat. i. 20, But
while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife : for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. It is not the matter nor the place we are conceived in defiles, but
the being begotten by a man in the ordinary way of nature, upon which
the law of nature seizeth, by which a man is to beget in his own likeness. And therefore the difference of the phrase used here in Heb. ii. 11, of
Christ and us ; and that in Rom. v. 12, speaking of our coming from Adam, is observable. Here, in Heb. ii. 11, Christ and we are said to be
of one, that is, of one lump ; but the phrase that is used, Rom. v. 12, when the apostle speaks of the propagation of original sin, runs thus, By one man sin entered, because all came by and of that one man. And
therefore though Christ be made a Son of Adam, Luke iii. 38, as made of
that substance and matter derived from him, yet not in regard of the same
way of conveying that matter, by fleshly generation of a man, which is the
natural channel of convejdng his image and original sin. And yet,
Fifthly, To make up this disproportion, he will in all other respects be
yet the more like to us ; and seeing he must not take sinful flesh, yet he
will take the likeness of sinful flesh, as Rom. viii. 3, For what the law
could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own
Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh. He partakes of flesh and blood, Heb. ii. 17 ; and by flesh and blood are meant infirmities of all sorts, he excepts sin only, a body passible ; he
might have had a body exempted from all sufferings or misery, but he would not. And this assumption of frail flesh was the first part of satis
faction for sin, and the condemning sin in our flesh is attributed to it,
CHAP. VII.] OF CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 61
Rom. viii. 3. He took not indeed personal infirmities, as sickness, but what were common to man s nature ; he did bear dolores nostros, our
griefs, not of John or Peter, not such evils as came from the particular sins of men, but such as flowed from the common sin of man ; nor such
as do spring from sin, as not despair, though fear ; and those he took was
to shew his love, and as they were part of the curse, that he might be able
to pity us, and that he might suffer and die and feel the pains of death, in
all which he was left to infirmity ; as you have it, 2 Cor. xiii. 4, For
though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God : for we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the
power of God toward you. And so in this text, he was partaker of flesh and blood, that is, of the infirmities of man s nature, as well as of the
nature ; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of
death, that is, the devil. If he had not taken this frail flesh, he could not have died.
Hitherto you have heard every way what manner of man he was, and such as in all respects was fittest for him to be, in all things. But there
are two things yet to be added, and both such as will make him yet fitter. I add them that you may every way see a fulness in it. Therefore,
Sixthly, Man s nature, you know, was diversified into two sexes, male and female. Now, which of the two was the fittest for him to assume ? And this is a distinct consideration from all the former. Of the two, a male was fittest ; and such was he. It is not so directly in the text, and
yet all that is spoken of him runs in the masculine gender, him and he ; and so this is included : Mat. i. 21, Thou shalt bring forth a son, and, ver. 25, she brought forth her first-born son ; and so Luke ii. 22. For he was to be our high priest, and consecrated to God as holy, and so
thereby to sanctify his brethren, as Heb. ii. 11 hath it; and so was the
* Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. And again, all his other offices required it. He was to be a prophet, and to teach God s will first, Heb. ii. 2, 3, and for ever to be in the great congregation; and a woman is not to teach in the church. He was to be a king, and to
first male child by the law, which is on purpose noted, Luke ii. 23,
rule his church ; and a woman is not to usurp authority over the man. He was to be a husband, and his church a spouse ; and only a male could
fitly bear that relation. And besides all this, there was this further har mony in it, that as by the male, the man, not the woman, sin is said to
enter into the world, Rom. v. 19 ; so by the man we should be restored. And thus indeed both sexes came to share in this honour the male, in that Christ himself is a man ; the female, in that she yet was the instrument
of bringing him forth into the world. He is of the woman s seed, but of man s sex, that so both male and female might be all one in Christ Jesus.
There is now but one thing left, and that is, seeing God hath appointed several bounds to man s habitation, though all are made of one blood, of what country or kindred of men was it fittest for our Redeemer to be of ? God pitched it on what of all was fittest, that he should be of the seed of Abraham. This Heb. ii. 16 you see also hath it; and so I could not but take notice of it. As he took the nature of man, not of angels, so he took the seed of Abraham more eminently than of any other nation; although he had by some of his progenitors Gentiles blood in him, yet he was of Abraham in a lineal descent: Roin. ix. 4, 5, Who are Israelites, to whom
pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises ; ver. 5, Whose are
62 OF CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. [BOOK II.
the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over
all, God blessed for ever. Amen. I will not mention any other reason of this, but what is proper to set out his fitness the. more for this work. It was well for us that he took Abraham s seed, for so in him all nations were blessed, as was the promise, Abraham being father of all the faithful. But especially he was thereby engaged to keep the whole law for us ; for Abraham s seed were all to be circumcised, and he that was circumcised was a debtor to the whole law : Gal. v. 8, For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. And so the law will take hold of him, and so hereby he was made under the law ; and this was one reason why he was a male child also, for they only were circumcised. Thus you see Christ hereby engaged to keep the law
for us, yea, to satisfy for sin ; for the ceremonial law was a bond against us, which he must cancel and destroy.
CHAPTER VIII,
The Uses. Since God hath thus Jilted us with a Mediator, we may be assured that he will fit us with all other things. Let us choose Christ to be our only Saviour, and trust in none but him. Is he God ? Let us not then fear or
doubt. Hath he taken our nature ? Let us admire his love in this, and consider our own privilege. Let us endeavour to Jit our natures all that we can for fellowship with him.
We will now come to uses of all this. And surely the doctrine of Christ
will afford many ; for his person is the most useful of any in heaven and
earth. I deferred the uses until the last, that so you might view the frame of the doctrinal part, as set together without separation.
I. The first uses shall be from this, That God chose him to be mediator, because of his fitness above all other.
1. Hence learn and be assured, that that love which thus fitted thee with a Saviour, will much more fit thee with all other things which thou hast need of. Thou shalt have the fittest condition, the fittest calling, the
* food convenient, as Agar speaks
fittest yoke-fellow, the fittest estate,
: God will fit thee in everything. Thus he sought out a meet help for Adam, Gen. ii. 20. The fulness of fitness in Christ to be a saviour is a pawn for fitting and suiting thee with all things else ; for he that gave Christ gives all besides : Rom. viii, 82,
* He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things ? And believe that as all things do meet in Christ, and
nothing is wanting that may make him a fit and meet saviour for thee, so
all things shall conspire, all things shall suit and kiss each other ; sins,
afflictions, mercies, yea, all God s dealings shall work together for thy good. Be quiet therefore, and trust him in all ;
* lean not, as Solomon says, to thine own wisdom, Prov. iii. 5. Thou knowest not what is fittest for
thee, as the sons of Zebedee did not when they asked for a place that was not fit for them. The physician knows what is fit for his patient better than he himself does ; and so does God. He takes measure of thy spirit, and knows the composition of it ; and so orders his prescripts accordingly. We cannot judge what is fit for us, God only can. If thou hadst seen Christ in the flesh, poor and despised (as he was whilst on earth), thy carnal heart would have judged him as unlikely and as unfit a man to be
CHAP. Yin.] OF CHEIST THE MEDIATOR. 63
the saviour of the world as the Jews did ; Isa. lii. 14, His countenance was so marred. Thou wouldst never have thought that a carpenter s son
should build God a church ; that a man unlearned should be the prophet of God s people. The Jews refused him as an unfit stone to be laid in
their building, whom God had yet hewn out on purpose, as being only fit
to be made the head stone of the corner, as a stone elect and precious :
Isa. xxviii. 16, Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion
for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure
foundation : he that believeth shall not make haste ; 1 Pet. ii. 6, 7. And
as much mistaken are men in judging of their own condition.
2. Is Christ every way so fit a saviour ? Then choose him, and rest in him alone. It is necessary that a saviour you should have ; for otherwise
you perish ; and it is as necessary that you should have Jesus Christ, or
else you must have none : for there is, there can be, no other. But yet, sup pose you should have your choice of many, nay, suppose there were as many saviours as men to be saved (as many as the papists would make), yet he so transcends, that if ye all knew him, you would all make choice of
him, and refuse all others. As who is a god like to our God ? so, who
* There is none besides him. What do you therefore mean, to stand demurring and deliberating whether
is a saviour like to our Saviour ? Isa. xliii. 11,
you should take him or no for your Lord and King, as the most men do ? Do you look for any more such Christs, or can you have a better, a fitter saviour ? Let
vthis encourage you also to be willingly subject to him. What greater motive can there be to this, than that of all princes he is the
fittest to be thy king (and none fit to be king of saints but he), and of all husbands he is the fittest to rule over thee ? It grieves no man, nor do
any think much to be subject to such a governor as all men with one con
sent acknowledge to be most fit for them : The people rejoice, says Solo mon,
* when the righteous are in authority, Prov. xxix. 2. Now that the Lord Christ is King, let the earth rejoice, and the multitudes of the isles be glad, Ps. xcvii, 1.
II. The second sort of uses may be taken from this, that our saviour is God.
1. Is he who is thy saviour God ? Then fear not to commit thyself to him. Thy God is thy saviour. If God will justify (though there were no mediator), who should lay anything to thy charge ? Rom. viii. 33.
Surely none would open their mouths against you ; The Lord that chooseth Jerusalem rebuke thee, said the angel unto Satan, Zech. iii. 2 ; but if God
will also be thy mediator, and die for thee, then much more art thou safe :
1 Who shall condemn ? as the apostle says, It is Christ that died. Do you know and consider who he is that died for you ? It is even
* Christ that died, Rom. viii. 34 ; who in the beginning of the next chapter, he
* God over all, blessed for ever.
* In his days Judah shall be saved, Jer. xxiii. 6. It shall be so, says the prophet,
tells them, is
* for his name is Jehovah our righteousness.
* Say to the feeble of heart, Fear not : for your God will save you, Isa. xxxv. 4. When princes will themselves in person go into the field, how doth it encourage their subjects and soldiers ? Now Jesus Christ, who is God, came down into the field himself:
* Who is this that comes from Bozrah? Isa. Ixiii. 1. It is I, says Christ, that am
mighty to save. The heathens thought that if their gods should but come down, they were sure of the victory. Now God came down, and was found amongst us as a man, and is become a Captain of salvation, Heb. ii. 10 ; therefore let fear have no entertainment with you.
64 OF CHKIST THE MEDIATOR. [BOOK II.
Only in the second place, 2. If he be God ; although this may raise your hearts not to fear dis
couragements (I speak to you whose hearts are set to be saved), yet it may withal strike the greatest and most awful dread upon your spirit, and pro voke you to fear this your saviour, and not to deal presumptuously with
him, nor to slight him, and play fast and loose with him, thinking you may have salvation at any time. No ; he is God ; and
* God will not be mocked, Gal. vi. 7. You must carry yourselves towards him as towards God him
self. Because Christ came to be a saviour, and hath a nature so full of
meekness, therefore men think to deal with him as they please. But, as God elsewhere says, Ps. xlvi. 10,
* Be still, and know that he is God.
Therefore, when God sent him before the Israelites, Exod. xxiii. 21, he bade them
* beware of him, and provoke him not ; for, says he, he will not
pardon your transgressions (that is, he will not pardon you upon any other than gospel terms and limits)
* for my name is in him : that is, he is God
as well as I, and therefore will not suffer you to lie in such sins as cannot stand with the rules in his word, and yet pardon you. Think not to deal
so with him. He will save you upon no other terms than I myself would
by him. And therefore the apostle, when he had shewn how Christ was God as well as man, in the first and second chapters to the Hebrews, to
* he might be a faithful high priest to God, as well as
* a mer
the end that
ciful high priest to men (ver. 17 of the second chapter), that is, such a
saviour as was not so made up all of mercy to men, but that withal he is
as faithful to God. From this therefore the apostle in the third chapter makes this use, and bids them consider what an high priest they have
(ver. 1), who was and will be faithful to God that appointed him, ver. 2. And he bids them to consider this, to this end, not to neglect the present opportunity of salvation, and think to put Christ off for the present, and come in to him when they please, in that he is so merciful a saviour. But
* the Holy Ghost says, To-day, if ye will hear
(says he, ver. 7) consider, that as
his voice, harden not your hearts ; so take heed how there be in you an
evil heart, to depart from him, he being the living God, ver. 12. Kemember how he dealt with the Israelites in the wilderness (his Father s name being in him), and how he sware against them, and said, They should not enter into his rest. Read the whole chapter, and you will find
this use made of it, as by the apostle elsewhere it is. So, 1 Cor. x. 4, 5, 6, I would have you, brethren, says he, ver. 1, to consider that our fathers had Christ for their captain, as we have (ver. 4), and they had him offered unto them in the ordinances ; but they tempting him,
* with many of them God was not well pleased ; that is, Christ was not well pleased (for, ver. 9,
* destroyed them
they are said to have tempted Christ), and he, being God,
in the wilderness. For in that he was God, he would not be so dealt
withal by them. These things therefore are examples unto us (as he there
concludes that discourse), that we may know and consider what a saviour we have to deal withal : who, as he is man (and therefore you might expect
all mercy from him), so he is God also, and will be faithful unto God to
save men, but this upon his Father s own conditions. And if we seek not
salvation according to his own rules, he will take part with his Father
against us, for his Father s name is in him. And yet, 3. Withal we may fetch this ground of encouragement against the guilt of great sins for time to come, that he is God, therefore able to pardonois.
"Were he mere man, though he had our nature, yet he would not endure us. So much mercy as serves to pardon us, never entered into the heart of any
CHAP. Vin.] OF CHRIST THE MEDIATOH. 65
mere creature : I am God, not man, therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. But the human nature of Christ being united to the Son of
God, his will in pardoning doth accompany the divine will, and goes along with it ; and as in all acts else, so in forgiving, it is able to hold pace with him.
III. A third sort of uses are taken from this, that he who is God hath took our nature, our whole frail nature, unto himself, in that humbled way mentioned.
1. Admire we the love of God towards us, which (if ever it was shewn
in anything) is shewn in this ; and therefore this is made the great act of
love, his emptying himself, and becoming nothing, as it were, that he
being equal with God, took upon him the form of a servant. Solomon made a wonder of it, that he whom the heavens of heavens cannot con
tain, should vouchsafe to dwell in temples made with hands, 1 Kings
viii. 27. But this is nothing to his being personally united to the human
nature, and to dwell bodily and personally in it, and so to be made one with
the house in which he dwells, and which he himself built, that is, he to be
made a creature, who made all creatures. It is to be admired that God would ever have it said that a creature was God, and that God is become a
* The Word was made flesh. For him to be made a creature is more than for us to become nothing, or for an
creature ; yet so it is said, John i. 18,
angel to become a worm. It is therefore made a mystery, a great mystery, that all stand aghast at, as well angels as men (and this opoXvyovfievus, even with one consent), that God should be manifest in the flesh : 1 Tim. iii.
* And, without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness : God was
16,
manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto
the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. And if he be made a creature, let him be made the best of creatures, an angel, there
being such nobleness in them above what is in us. Their perfections are
the measure of ours, and our perfection is expressed but by being like to them. Our estate in heaven is to be ug ayysXoi,
l as the angels. Like
wise the chiefest wisdom in any man is but as an angel s (as it is said of
David). They for their substance are spirits, and therefore in a nearer
degree of assimilation unto God, they are the fitter matches for him who is a spirit. Again, if he will assume anything of ours, let it be our souls only, for our bodies are vile bodies, Philip, iii. 21. But such was his love to
us, that he will take both, because he means to redeem both, and to make our bodies glorious like his own body. And how doth the apostle in this, Heb. ii. 16, set forth his love in this, that ou SJJTOU, at no hand he took
upon him the nature of angels, though he could have done it easily, and with more personal honour, but he would in no wise entertain a thought of it. Such was his love to us, that he refused that match, his heart being fixed on us. He lets principalities and powers go, and hath respect to
the lowness of his handmaid, Luke i. 48, the mean estate of our nature. But yet, if he take our nature, let him take it at its best, whilst in a state
of innocency ; let him marry it in its prime, and (as the high priest was to
do) when it is a virgin uncorrupted, unpolluted with sin or misery, or rather,
let him take it such as it is now in heaven, all glorious. But he will, out of his love to us, take our nature on him when it is at the worst, and then make it glorious, and us like him. When we are traitors, and out of favour, he will marry flesh and blood out of our stock and kindred, so to bring us
into favour again. Was it not unparalleled love in Jonathan then to love
David, when he was in disgrace with his father ? Much more would it have VOL v. E
66 OF CHEIST THE MEDIATOR. [BOOK II.
been for him, out of his love to David, as then to have married one of his
children. How exceeding much more then is the love of Christ towards us ?
2. For all which, as we should admire his love, so withal we should consider our privilege by having our nature so advanced. What a pawn and pledge of love is it to us, to have one of these bodies of ours made more glorious than all the angels ? To whom charge is given, when he
* comes into the
* worship and adore him, Heb. i. 6. Who is to have them, and
world, to
all things else put under his feet, and is to be their Lord and judge, and
they all but to be his guard. What a prerogative is it that our nature should be in him made higher in court than any queen can be in the court of any king ; and thus it is, seeing he is one in person with God, not in conjugal relations only, and the rest of his brethren are advanced to be his queen, and the angels to be but his and her guard and servants. And as this is
the privilege of our nature, so some of the ancients have thought, that the
revealing of God s purpose in it unto the angels before their fall was the
occasion of the same, and that their casting out of heaven was a punishment of their proud stomaching of the honour done unto our nature, that it should be advanced so far above them (as the apostle speaks, Eph. i. 21). And
it should teach us not to dishonour and defile this nature (which God hath
so honoured) with intemperancy, uncleanness, or any base or noisome lusts.
It also may encourage us to come with boldness to the court of heaven and
throne of grace, for that our nature is chief in favour there. Heb. iv. 14,
* Seeing we have so great an high priest passed into the heavens, let us hold
fast our profession. And seeing he was man, touched with our infirmities,
let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may find
grace and mercy in time of need. When one of a kindred is advanced and made a favourite at court, how will every one of his alliance (though never
so far off) challenge kindred of him, and seek favour by him, and hope to be advanced too ? And Christ is not ashamed of us, his poor kindred ; but being allied to us by his nature, he deigns to call us brethren, and is
grieved that we come no oftener to him, with petitions of favour to be put up by him. And he not only called us brethren, when himself was with us in a poor estate here below, and lived in our houses amongst us, but
likewise when he was risen again, and thereby entered into possession of
his kingdom. Even then the first message that he sent, and the first words
that he spake, were those in John xx. 17, Go to my brethren, and say unto
them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, &c. You see his pre ferment alters him not ; after his resurrection he calls them brethren. We should therefore improve this our affinity and kindred with him ; he took
it on him for that very purpose. And,
3. In that he took upon himself such a human nature as should be every way fit for the business of mediation that he was to perform for us, let us endeavour to fit ourselves all that we can, for communion and fellowship with him. The reason why we live here absent from him so long, though contracted to him already, is, to be fitted for his bed in heaven, and for
everlasting embraces. Even as Esther was a long while preparing for Ahasuerus his bed, so are we here in preparing for glory ; as it is, Eom.
ix. 23, And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels
of his mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory. The bride dresseth
herself here in this life ; Rev. xix. 7, Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour unto him : for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready, and prepares to meet her Lord, with whom she must
live for ever. And look, as he took our nature, let us take his ; labour we
CHAP. VIII.] OF CHEIST THE MEDIATOR. 67
to be changed into his image, being made partakers of the divine nature. As he took our whole nature, to save the whole of it, so let us consecrate the whole to him, and be sanctified throughout in body, soul, and spirit ; as 1 Thess. v. 23, Cleanse we ourselves from all pollution of flesh and
spirit, soul and body, 2 Cor. vii. 1. And as he came as near in likeness
to our nature (as was shewn) as possibly he could, in conception, in birth, and in everything, yet so as he might avoid sin, so should we come as near
to him as is possible. Be we like him in all things. In his power and
prerogative indeed we cannot ; they are as incommunicable to us, as our
sin was to him ; but in graces and in holiness we may, in meekness and
humility we may. And as he took up our infirmities, so take we up his cross ; be we willing to be made conformable to him in sufferings for him. And as his human nature subsists wholly in the second person, losing its own proper personal subsistence to be one with him, and to become a fit instrument together with him of our salvation ; so be we content to lose ourselves and our own personal proprieties, to subsist only in him and to
him, and to be for ever serviceable unto his glory.
68 OF CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. [BOOK III.