it crosseth
their own inclinations and ways.

Sermon XXII.

1 John ii. 1.--"My little children, these things write I unto you,
that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the
Father,", &c.

Christ Jesus came by water and by blood, not by water only, but by blood
also, and I add, not by blood only but by water also, chap. v. 6. In sin
there is the guilt binding over to punishment, and there is the filth or
spot that defileth the soul in God's sight. To take away guilt, nothing so
fit as blood for there is no punishment beyond blood, therefore saith the
apostle, "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin,"
Heb. ix. 22, and for the stain and spot, nothing is so suitable as water,
for that is generally appointed for cleansing. And some shadow of this the
heathens had, who had their lustrations in water, and their expiations by
blood,(249) but more significantly and plainly, the Jews, who had their
purifications by sprinkling of water, (Num. viii. 7.) and expiations by
sacrificing of slain beasts. But all these were but evanishing shadows;
now the substance is come, Jesus Christ is come in water and blood; in
water, to cleanse the spots of the soul, to purify it from all filthiness;
and in blood, to satisfy for sin, and remove the punishment. You have both
in these words of the apostle, for he labours to set out unto us the true
Christ, whole and entire, "these things I write unto you, that ye sin
not." Here is the proper end of the water--and "if any man sin, we have
Christ a propitiation for our sins." Here is the blood--the end of the
blood is to save us, the end of the water is that we sin not, since we are
saved. He came in the blood of expiation, because we had sinned. He came
in the water of sanctification, that we might not sin. His blood speaks
peace to the soul, and the water subjoins, "but let them not return to
folly." His blood cries, "behold thou art made whole." And the water
echoes unto it, "sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee," John v. 14.
These two streams of water and blood, which are appointed for purity and
pardon, run intermingled all along, and so the proper effects of them are
interchangeably attributed to either of them; "he hath washed us in his
blood," (Rev. i. 5; vii. 14.) "and the blood of Christ cleanseth us from
all sin." Then, certainly, this blood cannot be without water, it is never
separated from it. The proper effect of blo