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be cancelled. He hath performed the conditions on his part ; and there- fore make it good on thine own part. And being-:'- the Spirit hath shamed thee for thy sins, what can the devil say ? What saith Paul ? ' It is God that justifieth ; who shall condemn ?' Rom. viii. 33. If God, the party offended, do justify, who shall condemn ? It is Christ that died. That is not enough. ' That is risen again.' That is not enough. It is Christ that rose again, * and sitteth at the right hand of God for us,' and maketh intercession for us. ' Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's, elect ?' Let the devil accuse what he will, Christ is risen, to shew that he hath satisfied; and is now in heaven, there appearing for us. Oh that we had hearts large enough for these comforts ! then should we never yield to base temptations.
It is against the pleasure of God that we should be disconsolate ? There- fore we wrong our own souls, and sin against our own comfort, w^hcn we let the reins loose by inordinate and extreme sorrow. We lose that sweet- ness that we might enjoy, by giving way to discomfortable thoughts. Indeed, if a man examine his life from the beginning of his conversion to the end thereof, he may thank himself for all his trouble. The sin against the holy gospel is a kind of rebelHon against God, though we think not so, when we will not be comforted, nor embrace grounds of comfort when we have them. The comforts of God ought not to be of small esteem to us. The sweet comforts, large, exceeding, eternal comforts of God, we ought to esteem of them as they be ; and therefore our Saviour Christ sendeth to them speedily.
All Scripture is to this end, for consolation, even the Scripture that tendeth to instruction and direction, that so men may be in a state of com- fort ; for cordials are not good, but where there is purgation before. So all Scriptures that are purging, to tell us our faults, they be to bring us unto a comfortable condition. Other Scriptures, that tend to instruct our judgments and settle us in faith, what is the end of all, if wo walk not comfortably towards God and strongly in our places ? Therefore, when we look not to comfort and joy in all conditions, we abuse the intendments! of God.
But, I beseech you, make not a bad use of it ; for if you know it to be so, if it worketh not graciously in you, and winneth you to respect God the more, and love him that is thus indulgent and gracious, but go on in offending conscience, and break peace off, then at length conscience will admit no comfort. Many that have excellent comforts have made havoc of their consciences, and will go on in spite of ministers, in spite of their consciences and God's Spirit joined with conscience. At length it is just with God to give them up to despair, wicked sinners that trample the blood of Christ under their feet. But for all other that strive against corruption, and would be better, it is a ground of marvellous comfort.
I shall come to the message itself. Tell them, ' I ascend.' He speak- eth of that as present which was surely to be. So we should think of our future estate as if we were presently to go to heaven. Faith hath this force, to make things to come present. If we could keep it in us, and exercise it, could we live in any sin ? But that it is distant, that is the cause of sinning. We put off things in a distance. If it be at the day of judg- ment, that is far off; and therefore they will not leave their present plea- sure for that that shall not be, they know not when. But look on things in the word of a God that is Jehovah, that giveth a being to all, who * That is, ' seeing,' or ' it being so that.' — G. f That is, ' intentions.' — G.
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hath spoken of things to come as if present, and then you will be of another mind. Faith is the privilege of a Christian, which maketh things afar off present. No wicked man but would leave his swearing and profane- ness if he saw the joys of heaven and pains of hell ; and it were no thanks to him. But to believe God on his word, that these things shall be, that is the commendations of a man, and the excellency of a Christian above another man. Another man doth all by sense ; but the Christian will trust God on his word. ' I ascend,' saith Christ.
We must not think of the ascension of Christ as a severed thing from us, but if we would have the comfort of it, we must think of it as ourselves ascending with him. Think of Christ as a public person and surety for us, and then we shall have great comfort in that, that he saith, ' I ascend.' God prepared paradise before he made the creature. He would have him to come into a place of honour and pleasure. And so God, before ever we were born, provided a place and paradise for us in heaven, that we might end our days with greater comfort. We may be straitened here. Many a good Christian hath scarce where to lay his head ; but Christ is gone to prepare a place for them in heaven. And this may comfort us in the con- sideration of all our sins ; for sin past, and for corruption present, and sin that we may commit for time to come. For any thing that is past, if we confess our sins to God, he will forgive them. ' The blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sins,' 1 John i. 7, even from the present corruptions that attend on us. We have one that stands between God and us as a surety ; and he will give us his Spirit to subdue our corruptions, and at length make us like himself, a glorious spouse, Eph. v., 27. If we were perfect men, we need not a mediator ; and this may teach us comfort, rather because we are sinners, and daily subject to offend God. We have one to make our peace for time to come ; if we sin, we have an advocate, 1 John ii. 1. When Christ taught us to pray, ' Forgive us our daily tres- passes,' he supposed we should run daily into sins, Mat, vi. 12. We have an advocate in heaven every day to stand between God and us, to answer God,\to undertake that at length we should cease to offend him ; and for the present, we are such as he shed his precious blood for ; and he appeareth for us by virtue of his death, which is a marvellous comfort. We think if we commit sin there is no hope. But what needs a media- tor, but to make peace between the parties disagreeing ? If all things were made up between God and us, what need of an intercessor ? But God knoweth well enough we run into daily sins, by reason of a spring of corruption in us, which is never idle. And therefore we may daily go to God in the name of our advocate, and desire God for Christ's sake to pardon, and desire Christ to intercede for us. Let us therefore shame ourselves.