366 Book IV. JL.oottmg unto jjefu.s. Chap.2.sea. 3 . --~--------~~~----~~--~~-------- MarkHJ· Jews rhemfelves could fay, Hehath done allthefethiwgswrll, hcm,tksthb;;h;he dt~f t: hear, andthedt<mb~o fpMk: .Surely ~e had doneallrhmgs well; hdblled the winds, and calmed the feas; w1th the fpmle of hJS mouth he cut·ed the blind; be raifed the dead, be prayed all night; be gave _grace, and he forgave fins; and by his death he merited for his Saints everblling ltfe: :why the_n lhould he dye, that bath done all thiugs well ? no wonder 1f p,[ate Object agamfl thefe malicions ones, Wh4t evil bath he done l Ibid. 7: For their reduplication on his r~ply, _they ~rycd out the more, faying, let him be , crucified. Inflead of provmg fome evtl agamfl htm, they cryed om the more · as Luk£ LuKe >3· '3· They-were inflant with loud voice!; they made fuch a clamour, that the earth ~ang wit!~ It,. the cry was doubled, and redoubled, C:mcifte him, crucifie him; twice cruciftehim, as If they thought one crofs too lmle for him. 0 inconllant favour of men! rhe.ir An– ~hem_s of f!ofarma, and Benedillm nor long lince joyfully fpoken, are now turned into prnng hideous nores, Let him be crucified. And now is Pilate threatned into another ver. 23. opinion, tl~ey req11ire his judgment ; and the voices of them, and of the chief P~ieft pre– NJt. '7· '4· vaded; fo lt follows, and when he faw he could prevail nothing, bm th~t rather a mmult w.u m11de, why then Barabb.u is releafed unto ·them, and Jefus is delivered to be fcourgrd. I would not dwell too long on Pi/ate, the high Priefts, and Jews, the ipplication is the life of all.-now thenVfe. 1. Give me leave to look amongft our felves, is there not fome or other amongfi us that prefer Barabb.u before Jefus? 0 yes! thofe that lifien to that old mutinous Mur– therer in his feditious temptations; thofe that reject rhe bleifed motions of God's own Spirit, in his tenders and offers of grace; thofe that embrace the world with irs plea– fures and profits, and make them their portion; all rhefe chufe Barabb:u, and reject Jefus Chriil; little do we think that every wilful act of fin, is a fedition, a muriny againfl our fouls, another Juda; Galilemthat llirs up all the paffions of our mind againfl: our Jefus. I cannot but think what drawing, 'llld foliciting of our fouls is made by 'Vertue andvice in our pa£fage towards that other world; on the one hand ihnds vice Wifd. ,,6, 7 , with all her falfe deceits, afld Batteries, her temptations are Jl:rong, Come let"' en,'oy the S, 9· good things that are prefent, and let llf (jeedily ufo tht cuatures as in yomh, let m fillottr [elves withcoftly wine andointments, and let rto fowerof the fpring pafs by us, let us crown our [elves !Vith rofe· buds before they bt withered, let rtone of mgo wirho11t hi; part of jollity, let us leave tok!ns of o11r joyfulnefs in eVt'fJ place, for this is o11r pDYtion, andMr lot j; this. On the other hand Jl:ands Verttte,' or Grace with all the promifes of future happinefs, the Prov. s.n,te, poinrs at J elus, and cries, 0 come 11nto Chrift and live; wifdomis better than rubies, her 19. frt<it i; better than gold, yea than fine gold, and her revenue than choice ftlver; they thdt . love Chrijl ]hall inherit fubftance, 11nd he will fill them with trcafisres, -n with durable riches. But oh how many thoufands, and ten thoufands neglect this cry, and foll9w 'Vice? what millions of men are there in the world that prefer B~rabbas before Jefus? if we proclaim it in our Pulpits that Ch-rijf is the chiefejlof ten thosfands, rim he is fairer than all the children of men, that he is the Standard-bearer, and there is none like to him : that if you will have but Jefus Chrilt, you need no more; yet do not many of you fay in your hearrs as Pilatehere, What fh~ll I do with Jcfus that ;, called Chrift ? or as the devils faiddfewhere, What have we to do with thee Jefus tho11 Son of God? ~ay, bath not many rimes the fecret grudgings of your reluctant fouls accounted the grac1ous offers of fpeedy repentance to be but as a coming of Chrijl to torment )'Oil ~eforc )'our time? Why alas, what is rhis now but to prefer Barabbas before Jefus ? you that f~ear as the devil bids and as Chrifl forbids, you that prophane Sabbaths, that revel, drtnk to excefs, or it m~y be todrunkennefs, furely your vote goes along with the Jews, Not this man, bm Barabba!. 2. Give me leave to look on the love and mercy of God in Chrill; our Jefus was not only content to take our nature upon him, but to be compared with the greatell malefa– ctor of rhofe times; and by publick fenrence, yea votes and voices of the_pevple to be pronounced a greater delinquent, and much more worthX of death than wtcked B_arab– bas. 0 the love of Chrill! we read in Leviticus, that 111 the daye• of the cleanlmg of the Leper, the PrieJl: was to take two Birds (or two Sparrows) alive, _and the one of Lcvt.q.4.;, them mu[[ be killed, and the other being kept alive, mull only be dipt m the blood of f• 7 ' the· Bird that wasllain, and fo it muft be let loofe into the open field. Barabbas fay fome . bur all Believers fay we are that Jive Sparrow. and Jefus Chrift is the Sparrow ' - J · , that
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