[8.] There is no imputation but by union. All interest is founded in union : Gal. iii. 27, ' As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ;' all his merits and satisfaction are theirs, as if performed in their own persons : 1 Cor. i. 30, ' Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." We are interested in all, as we are in him ; by being one with Christ we put him on.
[9.] There is no union but by faith ; then God receives us into grace : Rom. X. 10, ' With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.' It is the ordination of God that this grace should unite us to Christ, and so give us a right to all that is in Christ ; indeed it is the fittest grace to receive the fruits of union. I confess there is a moral union by love that gives comfort ; but faith begins the mystical union, and so gives safety.
] 2 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SeR. XIX.
SERMON XIX.
By ivliich he ohtained witness that he ivas righteous, God testifying of his gifts — Heb. xi. 4.
Now I come to the second doctrine. AC rj<;, 'by which' may be referred to Ovaia or Triara ; and I referred the righteousness to faith, and the testimony to the sacrifice. For the clearing of which you may remem- ber, I observed that in this duty of sacrifice the two brethren did appeal to God, and put it to trial, whom the Lord would choose and design to be head of the blessed seed and race ; and the Lord by fire from heaven, which was the then visible testimony of acceptance, determined the matter on Abel's side ; besides, the apostle proveth that the solemn testimony of his righteousness was first given to him by God's witness- ing of his gifts. Whence I observe —
Voct. 2. That upon the raised operations of faith with other graces in solemn duties, we usually receive the testimony of righteousness in Christ, or acceptance with God.
Abel's testimony was extraordinary, by fire from heaven ; but still God is not wanting to witness concerning the services of his people : all is not left in the dark, and to the decision and revelation of the last day. Instead of those outward dispensations, we now receive an inward testimony of the Spirit, and upon the exercise of grace God giveth us this testimony. Now there are two special seasons of the exercise of grace on our part, and so of the manil'estations of comfort on God's part ; there is the season of afflictions and the season of duties ; and in both God's people receive from him the solemn witness and seal of the Holy Ghost. In afflictions when we need comfort, and in duties when we seek comfort, we have the sweetest experiences of the testimony of the Spirit, Upon afflictions, you have it set down : Heb. xii. 11, ' After- ward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby.' The sweet and last fruit and issue of it is peace of conscience ; so Rom. v. 3-5, ' Tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed ; ' upon what ground ? ' Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.' Affliction puts us upon the exercise of grace, and the exercise of grace occasioneth sweet experiences of God in our souls, by which hope is more and more kindled ; and this is ratified by the confirmation of the Spirit.
But we are to speak of experiences in solemn duties, wherein God is wont to open himself to his people, and all jealousies and misunder- standings between him and his servants are cleared up ; and there he breaks in upon them sensibly for the furtherance of their joy.
I shall prove this is God's wonted course — (1.) By the experiences of the saints ; (2,) By the promises of God ; (3.) By several arguments and reasons.
1. By the experiences of the saints. When the scriptures were written, God's ways were extraordinary, and therefore most of the instances are extraordinary ; but however, we do not urge the manner, but the thino: itself. The leadins: instance shall be that of Joshua the
VeR. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 13
high priest. When he was ministering before the TiOrd, it is said, Zech. iii. 3, 4, ' Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel ; and he answered, and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him ; ' and God gave this testimony to him, * I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.' I know that visional type doth mainly respect the restoration of the church of the Jews, the church of the Jews being represented in Joshua, who was the chief-officer of the church ; however, there is something moral in it. In the time of his ministration his filthy garments were taken away, which is the usual emblem of sin in scripture, and cliange of raiment is put on him, which is an emblem of the righteousness of Christ applied and put on by faith, as it is ex- plained by the Spirit of God himself. So Cornelius, Acts x. 3, it is said an angel came about the ninth hour to assure him God had taken notice of his graces and duties : ver. 4, ' Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.' Note the circumstance of 'the ninth hour/ which was one of the hours of prayer : Acts iii. 1, ' Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour,' which this proselyte observes ; and therefore about the ninth hour, in the middle of his prayers and devo- tions, an angel comes to him and assures him what acceptance he had found. So the prophet Daniel : chap. ix. 20, 21, 'And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin,' &c.; 'yea, whilst I was speaking in prayer, the angel Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touclied me about the time of the evening-oblation.' The Spirit of God placeth a great deal of emphasis upon this circumstance. At the very instant of prayer, when he was earnestly pleading with God, God answers his request, and an angel is despatched to come and certify to him his acceptance ; God overtakes his duty by a speedy return of mercy. That way of assurance is extraordinary ; but God's wonted course is many times to give in a solemn assurance of his favour in the very time of our prayers ; so Acts iv. 31, ' When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.' Mark, in the very time and act of their prayer there is a mira- culous descent of the Holy Ghost upon them ; the instances are singular and extraordinary, yet there is some analogy and proportion between them and ordinary cases. Though God's dispensations be now more spiritual, yet they are very sensible still ; though we cannot <?xpect voices, raptures, shakings, oracles, and angels, yet we may expect to hear the trumpet of the assemblies, which the psalmist expresses by the ' joyful sound,' Ps. Ixxxix. 15 ; that is, the testimony of the Holy Ghost and spiritual experiences, as will appear more fully by the next head.