I desire you therefore to remember this. It is the first sermon of our Saviour Christ after his resurrection, and therefore forget not to think of God as a Father and Christ as a Brother. Indeed, whatsoever comfort is in any relation, God and Christ have taken it on them. A father is more comprehensive than any other title : Christ is Father, and Husband, and Spouse. And God is our Rock and Shield ; and whatsoever is comfortable he hath taken on him, and in Christ we may command him to be so. And if we had ten thousand worlds, they could not be compai'ed to the comforts that arise from hence, that we can call God, Father. It is more to us, if we could improve it in our spiritual trade for heaven, than if we had a thousand worlds, especially in days of affliction and in the hour of death. For it improveth whatsoever is in the bowels of God for poor distressed souls. When nothing else will comfort, this will comfort, if we can say to God, ' Father.' Though we cannot make a distinct prayer, yet if we can say ' Father,' God can pick matter out of our broken language. Now Christ is ascended up to heaven, he doth us more good than he did when he was upon the earth. The sun in the firmament yieldeth us heat and comfort ; but if it were nearer it would do us hurt, or if further ofi" it would aot do us so much good. God hath placed it, being a common light of the world, high, to enlighten inferior bodies, and to convey influence by means into them. And so Christ, the Sun of righteousness, being ascended and advanced to heaven, doth more good than on earth. And therefore saith he, ' It is for your good that I ascend.' It is for our good that we have Christ in heaven, to appear there for us.
* I ascend to my Father, and to your Father.' ' Father' is here taken personally, not essentially ; though it be true in that sense, ' to my Father,' as the first person of the Trinity especially. Christ may well say, ' I ascend to my Father ' now ; for he was risen again, and was mightily declared to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead. ' Thou art my Son; this day I have begotten thee;' that is, this day have I declared thee, Rom. i. 4, and Heb. i. 5. It is said of things, fiHut, cum pate/iunt, they are done when they be open, and declared to be done. Christ was the Son of God when he rose again, because he was discovered by his glorious resurrection to be so indeed. And therefore Christ may well say after his resurrection, * I go to my Father, and your Father.' Observe from hence, that God in Christ is our Father. We say, relations are
456 A HEAVENLY CONFERENCE.
i.unima: enlilatis* they are little entities founded upon others, hut they are maxima; conseqiienti(C , of great concernment.
I beseech you, before I leave the point, give mo leave to go on a little further in this, to shew that wonderful mercy, that admirable goodness which the tongues and hearts of all the men in the world, and angels in heaven, are not able to express ; that love of God which is contained in the relation he hath taken on him in Christ to be our Father.
(1.) Consider irho, and uhom. "Who, the great God, that hath the Son to solace himself in. He did not adopt us because he wanted sons. He had sons of his own, and sons of his love to solace himself in. What need he have took traitors, rebels, enemies, to make them his sons ? Oh it is a marvellous advancement of our nature, that God should in Christ become our ' Father,' It is said, Ps. cxiii. 6, ' God abaseth himself to behold things below ;' and indeed so he doth, with reverence be it spoken to his great majesty : he abaseth himself in regard of things below, in regard of us worms of the earth, that be enemies, yea, devils by nature. For many, ye shall see the devil in them, in their lying and opposing of goodness. And God will always have some amongst men, to shew otliei's what they would be, if God left them to themselves. God abaseth himself to behold things below. Not that it is a diminution of majesty to do it, but God in Christ hath stooped so low, that he could go no lower, and he is advanced as high in our nature as can be. How could God become a man, a curse, God in the second person with us, God in the first person to be so near to us as a Father, and God in the second person to make him a Father, to be so low as Christ was, which is to be as low as hell itself.
(2.) Consider to whom this message is sent. He is your Father, even a Father to you the disciples, now you are disconsolate. God owneth us for his children at the worst. He took our condition notwithstanding all our infirmities. When we be pronest by a work of the Spirit to condemn ourselves, then God is nearest to justify us. When the poor prodigal said, ' I am unworthy to be a son, make me an household sex'vant,' you see how the father entertaineth him, Luke xv. 19. So the poor publican dareth not lift up his eyes, and yet went away justified, Luke xviii. 13. David, when he could not pray, but murmur and rebel, and said in his heart all men are liars, ' yet thou heardest the voice of my prayer,' Ps. cxvi. 11 ; even then, when he could not pray, but groan and sigh to God : ' I said, I am cast out of thy sight, yet thou regardest the voice of my prayers ;' when he said, out of a murmuring spirit and rebelliousness of nature, I am cast out of thy sight — a speech that tended to desperation, — yet God heard the voice of his prayer. When Job said, ' I clothed myself in dust and ashes,' God said to him, ' I have accepted thee,' Job xlii. 6, 8. When we by the Spirit think ourselves unworthy to be accepted, or to look to heaven, or to tread upon the earth, then God looketh on us worthy in his Son ; and never more worthy than when we acknowledge our own unworthiness. * Go tell my disciples,' at this time when they had dealt so unworthily, ' I go to their Father.'