Inf. 4. Hence be convinced of the great efficacy that is in all gos~ pel ordinances duly administered : For Christ having received full commission from his Father, and by virtue thereof having instituted and appointed these ordinances in the church, all the power in hea- ven is engaged to make them good, to back and second them, to confirm and ratify them. Hence, in the censures of the church, you have that great expression, Matth. xviii. 18. " Whatsoever ye bind " or loose on earth, shall be bound or loosed in heaven." And so, for the word and sacraments, Matth. xxviii. 18, 19, 20. %< All power " in heaven and earth is given unto me : Go therefore, fyc. They are not the appointments of men ; your faith stands not in the wis- dom of men, but in the power of God. That very power, God the Father committed to Christ, is the fountain whence all gospel institutions flow. And he hath promised to be with his officers, not onlv the extraordinary officers of that age, but with his mi- nisters, in succeeding ages, to the end of the world. O therefore, when we come to an ordinance, come not with slight thoughts, but with great reverence, and great expectations, remembering Christ is there to make all good.
Inf. 5. Again, here you have another call to admire the grace and love, both of the Father and Son to your souls : It is not lawful to com- pare them, but it is duty to admire them. Was it not wonderful grace in the Father to seal a commission for the death of his Son, for the humbling him as low as hell, and in that method to save vou. when you might have expected he should have sealed your 'Mittimus for hell, rather than a commission for your salvation ? he might rather have set his irreversible seal to the sentence of your damnation, than to a commission for his Son's humiliation for you. And no less is the love of Christ to be wondered at, that would accept such a commission, as this for us, and receive this seal, understanding fully (as he did) what were the contents
SERM. VI. THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. 95
of that commission, that the Father delivered him thus sealed^ and knowing that there could be no reversing of it afterwards.
O then, love the Lord Jesus, all ye his saints, for still you see more and more of his love breaking out upon you. I commend to you a sealed Saviour this day ; O that every one that reads these lines might, in a pang of love, cry out with the enamoured spouse, Cant. viii. 6. " Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy " arm; for love is strong as death, jealousy is cruel as the grave; " the coals thereof are coals of fire, which have a most vehement " flame."
Inf. 6. Once more ; Hath God sealed Christ for you ? Then draw forth the comfort of his sealing for you, and be restless till yc also be sealed by him.
1. Draw out the comfort of Christ's sealing for you. Remem- ber that hereby God stands engaged, even by his own seal, to al- low and confirm whatever Christ hath done in the business of our salvation. And on this ground you may thus plead with God : Lord, thou hast sealed Christ to this office, and therefore I depend upon it, that thou allowest all that he hath done, and all that he hath suffered for me, and wilt make good all that he hath pro- mised me. If men will not deny their own seals, much less wilt thou.
2. Get your interest in Christ sealed to you by the Spirit, else you cannot have the comfort of Christ's being sealed for you. Now the Spirit seals two ways, Objectively and Effectually ; the first is by working those graces in us, which are the conditions of the promises : the latter is by shining upon his own work, and help- ing the soul to discern it, which follows the other, both in order of nature, and of time. And these sealings of the Spirit are to be distinguished, both ex parte subjecti, or the quality of the person sealed, which always is a believer, Eph. i. 13. for there can be no reflex, till there have been a direct Act of faith ; and ex parte materia?, by the matter of which that comfort is made : which if it be of the Spirit, is ever consonant to the written word, Isa. viii. 20. And partly ab effectis, by its effects : for it commonly pro- duces in the sealed soul, great care and caution to avoid sin, Eph. iv. 30. Great love to God, John xiv. 22. Readiness to suffer any thing for Christ, Rom. v. 3, 4, 5. Confidence in addresses to God, 1 John v. 13, 14. and great humility and self-abasement; as in Abraham, who lay on his face when God sealed the covenant to him, Gen. xvii. 1, 2, 3. This, O this brings home the sweet and good of all, when this seal is super-added to that.
96 THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. SEEM. VII.
Of the Solemn Conseckation of the Mediator.
John xvii. 19. And for their sokes I sanctify myself.
tiESUS Christ being fitted with a body, and authorized by a commission, now actually devotes, and sets himself apart to his work. In the former sermon you heard what the Father did ; in this you shall hear what the Son hath done towards the farther ad- vancement of that glorious design of our salvation : He sanctified himself for our sokes. Wherein observe, (1.) Christ's sanctifying of himself. (2.) The end or design of his so doing.
1. You have Christ's sanctifying of himself. The word ayia?w is not here to be understood for the cleansing, purifying, or making holy that which Was before unclean and unholy, either in a moral sense, as we are cleansed from sin by sanctification ; or in a cere- monial sense, as persons and things were sanctified under the law ; though here is a plain allusion to those legal rites ; But Christ's sanctifying himself, imports, (1.) His separation, or setting apart to be an oblation or sacrifice. So Beza, nempe ut sacerdos et victima, as the priest and sacrifice. I sanctify myself, imports, (2.) His con- secration, or dedication qf himself to this Jtoly use and service.* So the Dutch Annotations, I sanctify myself, (i. e.) / give up myself
for a holy sacrifice. And so our English Annotations, / sanctify, (i. e.) I consecrate and voluntarily offer myself a holy and un- blemished sacrifice to thee for their redemption. And thus Undef the Law, when any day, person, or vessel, was consecrated and de- dicated to the Lord, it was so entirely for his use and sendee, that to use it afterward in any common service, was to profane and pol- lute it, as you see Dan. v. 3.
2. The end of his so sanctifying himself \for their sokes, and that they might be sanctified^'] where you have the Finis cujus, the end for whom, for their (i. e.) for the elect's sake, for them whom thou gavest me ; and the Finis cm, the end for which, that they might be sanctified. Where you also see that the death of Christ wholly respects us ; he offered not for himself as other priests did, but for us, that we may be sanctified. Christ is so in
* To sanctify, is to separate or set apart for divine uses. Brentius on this place.