A heavenly conference between Christ and Mary after His resurrection. Wherein the intimate familiarity,…

had not some of them denied Christ, and had they not all forsaken him? and yet notwithstanding, go tell Peter, and tell them all, I go to their Father, and their God. So that the interest that a soul hath in Christ, who hath true faith, though a weak faith joined with many ¹infirmities, the interest he hath in Christ is not broke off, as you see by the example of the Apostles. And therefore I beseech you, let us comfort our selves in this, labouring for a particular faith, and then labour to maintain our interest notwithstanding our infirmities and faults, notwithstanding ⟨p. 211⟩our sins past. Let not Satan rob us of our claim, that God is our God, and Father in Christ. Let us learn of Christ, we cannot have a better pattern. What doth Christ on the Cross, when he had the sins of all the believing world upon him, and had there been ten thousand times more, it had been all one, to so infinite a person God-man, he had made full satisfaction to Gods justice. But having so much upon him, did it take away his claim of God, as his God? It did not, but still he said, my God, my God. Was it a claim that did him any good? was it a useful claim? yes, for it was made good by his Resurrection and Ascension, and therefore he might well say, I go to my God, and your God. I have overcome the wrath of God due for sin, and therefore ²when I that had all the sins of the world upon me, acknowledged God, to be my God, and underwent the burden of Gods wrath, and satisfied for all sin, you may well say my God, not only from the pattern of Christ, because he did so, but as a cause; I may say so, now because Christ said ⟨p. 212⟩so then; for he hath fully satisfied his Father, who had laid that burden on him: you therefore that have particular burdens of your own sins, and have not that other; but have a conscience troubling you, it is for good, because if you believe, that is taken away. But put case you had the guilt of your own sins, and of many sins beside, what is that to this of Christ, who had the guilt of all sin? And therefore let no guilt hinder you from a spirit of faith, to say, my Father and my God. Is Christ ascended to Heaven, to be a mediator of intercession to appear before God; for whom? is it not for sinners? what work is there in Heaven for a mediator, if we were not daily sinners?