240 THE SPIRITUAL JUBILEE.
say, ' Who sliall lay anything to our charge ? ' He that is our surety is dead. Dead '? Nay, risen again ; nay, ascended, and sits at the right hand of God. Therefore now the conscience of any Christian may make that interrogation and bold demand there. It may stand out any that dares to oppose the peace of his conscience, now that he may say. Who is it ? It is God-mau that died. It is Christ that died in our nature, and hath raised that nature of ours again, and is at the right hand of God. Who shall lay anything to our charge ? The Spirit of life in Christ, quickening him, hath quickened us together with him; so that now we may boldly demand we are freed from our sins, because our Surety is freed from all.
All this was for our good. What Christ did, it was not for himself, but for us. And in his birth, and life, and death, and resurrection, we must consider him as a public person, and so go along with all that he did as a public person. Whatsoever may be terrible to us, we must look upon it first in Christ. If we look upon the corruption and defilement in our nature, look upon the pure nature of Christ. His nature was sanctified in his birth, and he is a public person : therefore this is for me ; and though I be defiled in my own nature, and carry the remainders of corruption about me, yet the Spirit of life in Christ sanctified his nature, and there is more sanctity in him than there can be sin in me. When we look upon our sins, let us not so much look upon them in our consciences, as in our surety, Christ. When we look upon death, look not upon it in ourselves, in its own visage, but as it is in Christ, undergone and conquered : for the power of the Spirit of life in Christ overcame death, in himself first, and for us, and will over- come in us in time. When the wrath of God is on our consciences, look not upon it as it is in ourselves, but as undergone by Christ, and as Christ, by the Spirit of life now in him, is raised up, not from death alone, but from all terrors. ' My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? ' See Christ, by the Spirit of life, quickened from all ; not only bare natural death, but from all enemies thou needest to fear. From the law : it is nailed to his cross ; he now triumphs over it ; and from sin : he was a sacrifice for it ; and from the wrath of God : he hath satisfied it, or else he had not come out of his grave. So whatsoever is terrible, look on it in Christ first, and see a full discharge of all that may affright thy conscience, and trouble thy peace any way. See him in his death, dying for every man that will believe. Consider him in his resurrection as a public person, not rising himself alone, but for all us. Therefore in 1 Pet. i. 3, there is an excellent place, ' Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to an inheritance immortal, undefiled,' &c. ; and so go along with him to his ascension, and see ourselves ' sitting with him in heavenly places,' as St Paul speaks, Eph. ii. 6. Oh this is a sweet meditation of Christ ! to see ourselves in him, in all the passages of his birth, and life, and death, and resurrection, and ascension to glory in heaven ; for all that he did was as a public person, as the second Adam. But now, before the Spirit of life in Christ come to free me, I and Christ must be one ; there must be a union between me and Christ ; I must be a member of Christ mystical. For as Christ quickened his own body, every joint when it was dead, because it was his body, so he quickens his mystical body, every member of it. But I must be a member first ; I must not be myself severed from Christ. There- fore, the law of the Spirit of life which is in Christ, the first thing it doth (nest to impetration* and obtaining of happiness), it works application : * That is, = procuring by prayer, entreaty, or request. — G.
THE SPIRITUAL, JUBILEE. 241
for these two go together, impetration and appHcation. Christ by his death obtained all good, and by his resurrection he declared it ; but there must be an application to me. Now this Spirit of life which is in Christ, which quickened him and raised him up, and all for my good, must apply this to me.
The grace of application it is faith. Therefore this must be wrought in the next place. How doth the law of the Spirit of life free me ? Because first it freed Christ, therefore me. But that is not enough, except there be application. Therefore the law of the Spirit of life works faith in me, to knit me to Christ, to make me believe, that all that he hath done is mine ; and the same power that raised Christ from the dead, works the power of faith and application. For we must not think that it is an easy thing for a carnal man to believe, to go out of himself, that it is salvation enough to have salvation, by the obedience of another man. No. Both in the Ephesians and Colossians, in divers places, it is St Paul's phrase, that the same power ' that raised Christ from the dead,' must raise our hearts, and work faith in them.* For as the good things that faith lays hold on are wondrous good things, even above admiration almost ; that poor flesh and blood, a piece of earth, should be an heir of heaven, a mem- ber of Christ ; that it should be above angels in dignity : as the things are super- excellent things, even above admiration in a manner, so the grace that believes these things, it is a strange and excellent, and admirable grace, that is faith. Therefore faith must be wrought by the law of the Spirit of Christ ; by the ministry of the gospel. This is the grace of application, when a man goes out of himself ; when he sees himself first in bondage to his corruptions, to Satan, and to death ; and then sees the excellent way that God hath wrought in Christ to bring him out of that cursed estate ; then he hath by the Spirit faith wrought in him. And indeed the same power and Spirit that quickened Christ from the dead, must quicken our hearts to believe in Christ. It is a miracle to bring the heart of man to believe. We think it an easy matter to believe. Indeed, it is an easy matter to presume, to have a conceit, but for the soul in the time of temp- tation, and in the hour of death, for the guilty soul to go out of itself, and cast itself upon the mercy of God, who is justly oftended, and to believe that the obedience of Christ is mine, as verily as if I had obeyed myself, here must be a strong sanctified judgment and a mighty power to raise the soul, to cast itself so upon God's mercy in Christ. So that besides the obtaining salvation by Christ, there must be a grace to apply it ; and this faith doth.