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النشر الإلكتروني

DOCTRINE.

That peace which Christ, when he died, left as a legacy to all his true saints, is very diverse from all those things which the men of this world bequeath to their children, when they die.

I. Christ at his death made over the blessings of the new covenant to believers, as it were in a will or testament.

II. A great blessing that Christ made over to believers in this his testament was his peace.

III. This legacy of Christ is exceeding diverse from all that any of the men of this world ever leave to their children when they die.

I. Christ at his death made over the blessings of the new covenant to believers, as it were in a will or testament.

The new covenant is represented by the apostle as Christ's last will and testament. Heb. ix. 15, 16. “ And for this cause he is the Mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator." What men convey by their will or testament, is their own estate. So Christ in the new covenant conveys to believers his own inheritance, so far as they are capable of possessing and enjoying it. They have that eternal life given to them in their measure, which Christ himself possesses. They live in him, and with him, and by a participation of his life. Because he lives they live also. They inherit his kingdom; the same kingdom which the Father appointed unto him. Luke VOL. VIII.

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xxii. 29. "And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me." They shall reign on his throne, Rev. iii. 21. They have his glory given to them, John xvii. And because all things are Christ's, sɔ in Christ all things are also the saints,' 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22.

Men in their wills or testaments most commonly give their estates to their children: So believers are in scripture represented as Christ's children. Heb. ii. 13. "Behold, I, and the children which God hath given me." Men most commonly make their wills a little before their death: So Christ did, in a very special and solemn manner, make over and confirm to his disciples the blessings of the new covenant, on the evening before the day of his crucifixion, in that discourse of which my text is a part. The promises of the new covenant were never so particularly expressed, and so solemnly given forth by Christ in all the time that he was upon earth, as in this discourse. Christ promises them mansions in his Father's house, chap. xiv. 1, 2, 3. Here he promises them whatever blessings they should need and ask in his Chap. xv. 7. xiv. 23, 24. Here he does more solemnly and fully than any where else, give forth and confirm the promise of the Holy Spirit, which is the sum of the blessings of the covenant of grace. Chap. xiv. 16....xvii. 26....XV. 25....xvi. 7. Here he promises them his own and his Father's gracious presence and favor. Chap. xiv. 18....xix. 20, 21. Here he promises them peace in the text. Here he promises them his joy. Chap. xv. 11. Here he promises. grace to bring forth holy fruits. Chap. xv. 11. And victory over the world. Chap. xvi. 33. And indeed there seems to be no where else so full and complete an edition of the covenant of grace in the whole Bible, as in this dying discourse of Christ with his eleven true disciples.

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This covenant between Christ and his children is like a will or testament also in this respect, that it becomes effectual by, and no other way than by, his death; as the apostle observes it is with a will or testament among men. For a testament is of force after men are dead. Heb. ix. 17. For

though the covenant of grace indeed was of force before the death of Christ, yet it was of force no otherwise than by his death: So that his death then did virtually intervene ; being already undertaken and engaged. As a man's heirs come by the legacies bequeathed to them no otherwise than by the death of the testator, so men come by the spiritual and eternalinheritance no otherwise than by the death of Christ. If it had not been for the death of Christ they never could have obtained it.

II. A great blessing that Christ, in his testament, hath bequeathed to his true followers, is his peace. Here are two things that I would observe particularly, viz. That Christ hath bequeathed to believers true peace; and then, that the peace he has given them is his peace.

1. Our Lord Jesus Christ has bequeathed true peace and comfort to his followers. Christ is called the Prince of Peace. Isai. ix. 6. And when he was born into the world, the angels, on that joyful and wonderful occasion, sang, Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace; because of that peace which he should procure for, and bestow on the children of men; peace with God, and peace one with another, and tranquillity and peace within themselves: Which last is especially the benefit spoken of in the text. This Christ has procured for his followers, and laid a foundation for their enjoyment of, in that he has procured for them the other two, viz. peace with God, and one with another. He has procured for them peace and reconciliation with God, and his favor and friendship; in that he satisfied for their sins, and laid a foundation for the perfect removal of the guilt of sin, and the forgiveness of all their trespasses, and wrought out for them a perfect and glorious righteousness, most acceptable to God, and sufficient to recommend them to God's full acceptance, and to the adoption of children, and to the eternal fruits of his fatherly kind.

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By these means true saints are brought into a state of freedom from condemnation, and all the curses of the law of God.

Rom. viii. 34. "Who is he that condemneth ?" And by these means they are safe from that dreadful and eternal misery which naturally they are exposed to, and are set on high out of the reach of all their enemies, so that the gates of hell and powers of darkness can never destroy them; nor can wicked men, though they may persecute them, ever hurt them.... Rom. viii. 31. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" Numb. xxiii. 8. "How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed!" Verse 23. "There is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel." By these means they are out of reach of death, John vi. 4....ix. 50, 51. "This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die." By these means death. with respect to them has lost its sting, and is no more worthy of the name of death. 1 Cor. xv. 55. “O death where is thy sting?" By these means they have no need to be afraid of the day of judgment, when the heavens and earth shall be dissolved. Psal. xlvi. 1, 2. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed; and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." Yea, a true saint has reason to be at rest in an assurance, that nothing can separate him from the love of God, Rom, viii. 38, 39.

Thus he that is got into Christ, is in a safe refuge from every thing that might disturb him; for this is that man spoken of, Isai. xxxii. 2. "And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest: As rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land" And hence they that dwell in Christ have that promise fulfilled to them which we have in the 18th verse of the same chapter. "And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places."

And the true followers of Christ have not only ground of rest and peace of soul, by reason of their safety from evil, but on account of their sure title and certain enjoyment of all that good which they stand in need of, living, dying, and through

out all eternity. They are on a sure foundation for happiness, are built on a rock that can never be moved, and have a fountain that is sufficient, and can never be exhausted. The covenant is ordered in all things and sure, and God has passed his word and oath, "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us." The infinite Jehovah is become their God, who can do every thing for them. He is their portion who has an infinite fulness of good in himself. "He is their shield and exceeding great reward." As great a good is made over to them as they desire, or can desire or conceive of: Yea, as great and sweet as they are capable of; and to be continued as long as they desire; and this is made as sure as they can desire: Therefore they have reason to put their hearts at rest, and be at peace in their minds.

Besides, he has bequeathed peace to the souls of his people, as he has procured for them and made over to them, the spirit of grace and true holiness; which has a natural tendency to the peace and quietness of the soul. It has such a tendency as it implies a discovery and relish of a suitable and sufficient good. It brings a person into a view of divine beauty, and to a relish of that good which is a man's proper happiThe soul ness; and so it brings the soul to its true centre. by this means is brought to rest, and ceases from restlessly inquiring, as others do, who will shew us any good; and wandering to and fro, like lost sheep, seeking rest, and finding none. The soul hath found him who is as the apple tree among the trees of the wood, and sits down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit is sweet unto his taste. Cant. ii. 2. And thus is that saying of Christ fulfilled, John iv. 14. "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst." And besides, true grace naturally tends to peace and quietness, as it settles things in the soul in their due order, sets reason on the throne, and subjects the senses and affections to its government, which before were uppermost, and put all things into confusion and uproar in the soul.

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