Doct 3. The true heirs of promise, with wliora God hath pawned liis word and oath to do them good eternally, are such as have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before them.
In the description there are two parts, ' flying for refuge,' and ' taking hold of the hope set before them.' The one relates to their justifica- tion, or their first acceptation with God in Christ, ' Flying for refuge ; ' the other i-elates to their carriage after justification, ' To take hold of the hope set before them.' To open both these —
I. For the first branch, ' Flying for refuge.' It is an allusion to the cities of refuge spoken of under the law. God provided six cities of refuge for them to fly to that were guilty of casual homicide, that, killing a man by chance, they might avoid the fury of the avenger of blood. These cities of refuge were a type of Christ. In the open- ing of which, I shall show two things — (1.) That Christ is a believer's city of refuge ; (2.) That believers must run into him.
1. That Christ is a believer's city of refuge, or the alone sanctuary for distressed souls. These cities are spoken of Num. xxxv. 11-14, Josh. XX., and Deut. xix. . Now the comparison or resemblance between Christ and these cities is very obvious. Look, as God appointed cities of refuge to fly to, so Christ is of God's appointing to be a sanctuary for distressed souls. These cities were built upon hills and mountains, that they which fled to them might ever keep them in sight ; so Jesus Christ is set forth : Rom. iii. 25, ' Whom God hath set forth to be a jiropitiation for our sins.' And the apostles which did hold forth Christ are compared to ' a city upon a hill,' Mat. v. 14. Christ is lifted up in the preaching of the gospel, to be seen of all. Thei'e was a cause- way, with stones set up to guide them, a direct path, that the man- slayer might fly thither : Deut. xix. 3, ' Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land into three parts, that the slayer may flee thither.' The cities were so established that they might have a short and direct way to them, and that their escape might be more easy ; so the way to Christ is clear and open, that we may not miss of him who is alone the support of our souls ; and God hath appointed some that were as stones to signify to us that this is the way : Zech. ix. 12, ' Turn ye to the strongholds, ye prisoners of hope ;' by the minis- try of man he hallooeth, as it were, after us : Isa. xxx. 21, ' Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying. This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.' Again, they were ordered so that in half a day one might recover one or other of them from any jiart of the land or corner of the land ; so God is made near to us in Jesus Christ : Rom. x. 6-8, ' Say not in
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thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven ? (that is, to bring Christ down from above), or, Who shall descend into the deep ? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead) ; but what saith it ? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart ; that is, the word of faith which we preach.' Our refuge doth not stand at a distance ; the gospel hath brought him near to us. In the gospel Grod doth so plainly aud fully show the way of salvation, that we need not seek further ; Cluist is at hand to do us good. Once more, these cities of refuge were all cities belonging to the Levites, partly that the tribe of Levi might be the more esteemed and loved of all Israel, but chiefly that they might not be lurking holes of wicked and flagitious persons, but a school as well as a sanctuary, where persons that lived there in exile might be instructed in the law of God ; so whoever comes to Christ for refuge must come also for instruction, to be taught and instructed in all the ways of God : Micah iv. 2, ' Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he w^ill teach us of his ways.'
Other things are spoken of these cities of refuge, but I now come to- the persons that had slain a man by chance, and were not guilty of malice prepense ; they fled thither as for life, for fear of the avenge-r of blood ; so do we even ' fly from wrath to come,' Mat. iii. 7, as if the wrath of God were at our heels. And whoever ran to the city of refuge was to be received ; the gates were always open, for Jew or foreigner ; the sojourner was capable of the privilege as well as the natives : Num. XXXV. 15, ' These six cities shall be a refuge both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them, that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.' So John vi. 37, ' He that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.' The arms of the Lord's mercy stand open to receive us. And when they were once received, they were safe, and might enjoy their privilege without molestation, unless they went out of the limits and bounds of the city, then it was death : Num. xxxv. 2G, 27, ' But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, wdiither he was fled ; and the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer, he shall not be guilty of blood.' So when wrath makes inquisition for sinners, they are never safe but so long as they are ' found in Christ,' Phil. iii. 9. Christ must not be made use of only at first, but for ever. And here they were to remain until the death of the high priest, Josh. xx. 6, who was herein a type of our great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by his precious death wrought out a perfect reconciliation between God and us, and procured the full pardon of all our sins, and a perfect liberty from the pursuit of God's wrath : John viii. 36, ' If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.' I mention these things because it is very comfortable to compare the law and the gospel. Look, as though you know a man well, yet you delight to view his picture, so though Christ be more clearly represented in the New Testament as a sanctuary for souls, yet it is good to look upon his pic- ture, and the shadows of Christ under the law.