Corollary 1. This shews, in the first place, the incomparable ex- cellency of the reformed Christian religion above all other religions, known to, or professed in the world. What other religions seek, the Christian religion only finds, even a solid foundation for true peace and settlement of conscience. While the Jews seek it in vain in the law ; the Mahometan in his external and ridiculous obser- vances ; the Papist in his own merits ; the believer only finds it in the blood of this great Sscrifice ; this, and nothing less than this, can pacify a distressed conscience, labouring under the weight of its own guilt. Conscience demands no less to satisfy it, than God de- mands to satisfy him. The grand inquest of conscience is, is God satisfied ? If he be satisfied, I am satisfied. Woful is the state of that maji, that feels the worm of conscience nibbling on the most
150 THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. SERM. XI*
tender part of the soul, and hath no relief against it ; that feels the intolerable scalding wrath of God burning within, and hath nothino- to cool it. Hear me, you that slight the troubles of con- science, that call them fancies and melancholy whimsies ; if you ever had had but one sick night for sin, if you had ever felt that shame, fear, horror, and despair which arc the dismal effects of an accusing and condemning conscience* you would account it an unspeakable mercy to hear of a way for the discharge of a poor sinner from that guilt : you would kiss the feet of that messenger that could bring you tidings of peace ; you would call him blessed, that should direct you to an effectual remedy. Now, whoever thou art, that pinest away in thine iniquities, that droopest from day to day under the present wounds, the dismal presages of con- science, know that thy soul and peace can never meet, till thou art persuaded to come to this blood of sprinkling.
The blood of this sacrifice speaks better things than the blood of Abel. The blood of this sacrifice is the blood of God, Acts xx, 28. invaluably precious blood, 1 Pet. i. 18. One drop of it in- finitely excels the blood of all mere creatures, Heb. x. 4, 5, 6. Such is the blood that must do thee good. Lord, I must have such blood (saith conscience) as is capable of giving thee full satisfaction, or it can give me no peace. The blood of all the cattle upon a thousand hills cannot do this. What is the blood of beasts to God ? the blood of all the men in the world can do nothing in this case. What is our polluted blood worth ? No* no, it is the blood of God, that must satisfy both thee and me.
Yea, Christ's blood is not only the blood of God, but it is blood shed in thy stead, and in thy place and room. Gal. iii. 13. " He " was made a curse for us." And so it becomes sin-pardoning blood, Heb. ix. 22. Eph. i. 7. Col. i. 14. Rom. iii. 26. and con- sequently, conscience-pacifying, and soul-quieting blood, Col. i. 20. Eph. ii. 13, 14. Rom. iii. 26. O bless God, that ever the news of this blood came to thine ears. With hands and eyes lifted up to heaven, admire that grace that cast thy lot in a place where this joyful sound rings in the ears of poor sinners. What had thy case been, if thy mother had brought thee forth in the deserts of Arabia, or in the wastes of America I Or that if thou hadst been nursed up by a popish father, who could have told thee of no other remedy when m distress for sin, but to go such a pilgrimage, to whip and lash thyself, to satisfy an angry God ! Surely the pure light of the gospel shining upon this generation, is a mercy never to be duly valued, never to be enough prized.
Corollary 2. Hence also be informed of the necessity qfjuith, in order to a state and sense of peace with God: for to what purpose is the blood of Christ our sacrifice shed, unless it be actually and personally
91 RM. XT. THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. 151
applied, and appropriated by faith ? You know when the sacrifices under the law were brought to be slain, he that brought it was to put his * hand upon the head of the sacrifice, and so it was ac- cepted for him, to make an atonement, Lev. i. 4. not only to sig- nify, that how it was no more his, but God's, the property being transferred by a kind of manumission ; nor yet that he voluntarily gave it to the Lord as his own free act ; but principally it noted the putting off his sins, and the penalty due to him for them, upon the head of the sacrifice : and so it implied in it an execration, as if he had said, upon thy head be the evil. So the learned ob- serve ; the ancient Egyptians were wont expressly to imprecate, when they sacrified ; if any evil be coming upon us or upon Egypt, let it turn and rest upon this head, laying their hand, at these words, on the sacrifice's head. And upon that ground, saith the f Histo- rian, none of them would eat of the head of any living creature. You must also lay the hand of faith upon Christ your sacrifice, not to imprecate, but apply and appropriate him to your own souls, he having been made a curse for you.
To this the whole gospel tends, even to persuade sinners to ap- ply Christ, and his blood to their own souls. To this he invited us, Matth. xi. 28. " Come unto me all ye that labour, and are " heavy laden, and I will give you rest." For this end our sacri- fice was lifted up upon the altar ; John iii. 14, 15. " As Moses " lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man ¥ be lifted up : that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, " but have everlasting life." The effects of the law, not only upon the conscience, filling it with torments, but upon the whole person, bringing death upon it, are here shadowed out by the stingings of fiery serpents ; and Christ by the brazen serpent which Moses exalted for the Israelites, that were stung, to look unto. And as by looking to it they were healed ; so by believing, or looking to Christ in faith, our souls are healed. Those that looked not to the brazen serpent, died infallibly ; so must all that look not to Jesus, our sacrifice, by faith. It is true, the death, of Christ is the meritorious cause of remission, but faith is the instrumental applying cause % ; and as Christ's blood is necessary in its place, so is our faith in its place also. For to the actual remission of sin, and peace of conscience, there must be a co-operation of all the causes
* And he shall put his hand, signifying that he casts his sins and the punishment due to them, upon the head of the victim ; as among the Greeks tif rqv aunt XttpaX^v, upon his bead, is a kind of imprecation. Drusius and Menochius.
\ It is a rule, that where there is a total and «ufficient cause in act, there the effect must needs follow. But if they be partial causes, then the causes which suo ««ed in order, do not produce their complete effect, umtil the last cause be in act.
152 THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. SERM. XT.