This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. Searching, reading, printing, or downloading EEBO-TCP texts is reserved for the authorized users of these project partner institutions. Permission must be granted for subsequent distribution, in print or electronically, of this text, in whole or in part. Please contact project staff at eebotcp-info@umich.edu for further information or permissions.
The first time that God the FATHER spake from Heaven was at our Saviour's Baptism; when the Heavens were ope∣ned, and a Voice came from thence, which said, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased. iii. Luk. 22. In which words there are two things very
remarkable, which plainly testifie to the Truth of those two now mentioned, that LIFE is in his Son, and that we shall partake of it.
I. That He calls Jesus his SON, and his beloved Son. Which being spoken from heaven in such a glorious manner as the Gospell describes it, must needs signifie him to be his SON in the most eminent sense; for it was never said to any Angel in this sort, Thou art my Son, my beloved Son. This declared him to have the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in him bodily, to be invested with his own authority and power, and to be that Seed promised who should bless all the World: which is a thing too great for a∣ny one to doe but for GOD himself. It was by an audible voice from heaven that the Angel of the Lord called to A∣braham, to tell him the LORD had sworn by himself, that in his seed all the nati∣ons of the earth should be blessed. xxii. Gen. ver. 15, 16, 18. And so now, to shew us the Seed was come who should be such a great Benefactour to mankind, the LORD himself speaks by a voice from Heaven, declaring Jesus to be his SON, the Authour of that Universall
Bliss which he had promised. Which tells us plainly enough that LIFE is in him: (which is one of the things that St. John affirms upon this Record:) for else he would not be such a Son as he now de∣clared him, able to bless all Nations. Who it is manifest had him not for their visi∣ble Leader, as the Israelites had Moses and Joshua to give them a temporall in∣heritance; and therefore were to have his spirituall Divine Benediction in ano∣ther world, where He is the authour of e∣ternall Salvation to all that obey him.
And lest you should imagine this to be merely a collection of mine own, which I have forced out of these words, I will refer you to our Saviour's own interpreta∣tion of them in that speech of his v. Joh. 26. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. Here he teaches us to argue, that, if he be the SON of God, as this voice said he was, then he is by the same voice declared to have LIFE in himself; be∣cause the Father hath so, whom his SON, his onely SON, doth perfectly resemble. And he teaches us withall, that this is a power communicated to him, as he is the Christ: for he saith the Father hath given
him to have life in himself, and that (as you reade in the next verse) because he is the Son of man; that is, the great per∣son he promised to send of the seed of Abraham. Now we reade of no other time when the Father might be said to have given him this power, but now, when he owned him for his SON, and anointed him, as you shall hear, with the Holy Ghost, to preach the glad tidings of immortal life. Now God the Father sea∣led and authorized him to be the person, to whom we must repair for the meat that endureth to everlasting life. vi. Joh. 27. He declared him now to be the bread of God, as he calls himself, which gives life to the world, ver. 33. the bread of life, ver. 35. the living bread, ver. 51. the manna which came down from heaven, and nourishes to eter∣nall life: in short, to have all things com∣mitted to him, that whatsoever things the Father doeth, these also, you may be sure, the Son doeth likewise. v. Joh. 19. He doeth them 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, after the same equality and perfect likeness of power: (as Greg. Nazianz * 1.1. expounds the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 likewise in this place.) So that we need no more doubt of his ability, then we do of God the Father's, to give eter∣nall life to all his followers.
II. And that he will imploy his power to make us partakers of it, (which is the other part of the Record concerning this Eternal Life,) is manifest from the next part of this voice of God the Father, which said, in thee I am well pleased. He expresses here, that he takes a singular delight in this person, and bears such a dear affection to him, that there is no∣thing he will deny him. Now that here∣by is denoted also his exceeding great love and good will towards all those that belong to his Son, you may be soon satis∣fied, by observing that these are the very words wherein God declares his loving∣kindness towards his Church in the days of Christ, lxii. Isa. 4. There the Lord calls her 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Hephzi-bah, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, (as some Greek versions render it,) my delight is in her. That's the reason he himself gives of her name, as it there fol∣lows, for the LORD delighteth in thee. Where the LXX use the very word in which this voice from heaven is recor∣ded, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, for the LORD is well pleased in thee. From whence I think it reasonable to conclude that, the same thing being said of both, God de∣clared his delight in all Christians, and the pleasure he will take in bestowing his
benefits on them, when he declared him∣self to be well pleased in this his dear Son, whom they acknowledge for their Lord and Master. He tells us by this voice, that he will be reconciled to us, and, for∣getting our ill behaviour towards him, will espouse us to himself (as it follows in the Prophet) in the tenderest love, and rejoice to bestow his choisest favours on us.
And that this is no inference merely wrung from these words, or a notion of my own contrivance, you may presently agree, if you consider that thus John Ba∣ptist, in all likelihood, understood them. For seeing Jesus, a little after he had ba∣ptized him, coming towards him, he cried out, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. i. Joh. 29. And again, the next day after this he pointed two of his Disciples unto Jesus, and said in part the very same words, Behold the Lamb of God, ver. 36. Now what is it to be the Lamb of God, but to be a Sacrifice of God's own appointment, so pleasing and acceptable to him, that it obtains all the ends for which it was offered? And what is it to take away the sins of the world, but by overcoming all the temptations to
which Adam yielded, and being obedient even to the death, to restore us unto a right of entring Paradise again, from whence our Sins have excluded us? to open the Kingdom of heaven to all belie∣vers, by removing, as I may say, the fla∣ming Sword; that is, taking those obsta∣cles out of the way that debarred us from approaching to the Tree of life? This, no doubt, is the compleat meaning of Carrying away the sins of mankind, which are the onely impediments that hinder us from the enjoyment of immor∣tality: and therefore being gone, we have free leave to return to it. Now John the Baptist had no other ground that we can find for this Conclusion, but onely this Voice, which I proved he heard, from the Father, concerning the pleasure which he took in his Son. Whereby he did as good as affirm, that his delight in Jesus, who delighted to doe his will, was so great, that he would re∣store us into his ancient love for his sake, and be perfectly appeased and reconciled to us by his means: so that we should be no longer banished from his blessed presence, but by the forgiveness of our sins be placed again in that happy state, from which we had stood so long exiled.
Orat. 36. p. 584. D.