wholly to themselves and to their own free wils either to ratifie it or infringe it so making his decree like a Noveriut universi If men believe not persevere not then the election must be void Otherwise if they believe and continue to the end it must remain in full power strength and vertue I say that this corrupt opinion which is so confidently vented now adayes may not take with any of you I shall lay down some arguments against it and answer others that are brought for it This universal and conditional election overthrows the end of God all which he aims in all his Counsels and Decrees and in all his dispensations viz. the glory of his free grace This was that which the Lord had in his eye when he appointed men to glory even that he might make known the riches of his own glory on those which he prepared to glory as you have it Rom. 9.22 Now how shall he attain this end by choosing all men to Salvation if they will themselves how is the glory of his mercy magnified and advanced where is the freeness of his grace more to one man then another since he doth alike for all electeth all alike to glory and salvation prepareth heaven no more for one man then another so that if any man be saved he may thank himself he may glory in himself and not in God And therefore it is very notable that the Apostle making this the end of the decree of God viz. the glory of his grace withall discovers that he electeth men to life not according to their wills as they will either choose it or refuse it but according to his own Eph. 1.5 6. Having predestinated us by Jesus Christ to the praise of the glory of his grace How so according to the pleasure of his will To shew that he works freely in the business without impulsion or provocation from external causes And so he must if he will atttain his end If it be to the glory of his grace it must be according to the pleasure of his will So afterwards ver 11 12. We are predestinated that we should be to the glory of his grace And to this end we are predestinated according to his purpose who worketh all things after the Counsel of his own will If he will glorifie his grace in this business we must be saved according to his will and pleasure and not according to our own His will must have the first and greatest stroke in this mercy This universal and conditional election as it overthrows Gods end Vse 2 so it hinders our duty It cannot choose but wonderfully cool and dead our hearts in rendring thankfulness to God when we consider with our selves that he hath done no more for us in this business of election and salvation then he hath for all the world Our Saviour Christ endeavouring to quicken his Disciples to thanskgiving shews them the priviledge and the preferment which they had in the mercy of the Lord Mat. 11.25 and 13.16 17. And the same course the Prophet David takes with Israel Psal 147.19 20. He shewed his word to Jacob his statutes and his judgements to Israel He dealt not so with other Nations and therefore you are specially engaged to praise the Lord. And certainly that soul shall find it self most quickned and enlarged to the praises of the Lord that sees his special and peculiar favour to it self which millions are rejected from Oh will the soul consider with it self in such a case Why hath God pitched on me neglecting others whence was it that he took me into his decree what did he see in me more then in those whom he laid by why he did choose me In our elections who are men beloved there is something still that carries and inclines us to a choice Some fitness in the object of it some relation to our selves some motive or inducement that prevails upon us But now my brethren we are all alike to God in the act of his election we lay together in the same corrupted Mass all weltring in the same blood and tumbling in the same gore and when he came to choose a little number in comparison of those he left Oh what a mercy was it that he should pitch on thee and me which if he had not done we had been lost for ever Truly my brethren did we sit down and weigh it well in our advised and deliberate thoughts it would transport and carry us beyond our selves It would make us to break out with the Apostle Eph. 1.3 4. Blessed be God who hath chosen us us who deserved no more then others who were no fitter for his choice then others And yet us when he hath rejected others Oh blessed be the Lord for this mercy But now my brethren none of this if all be chosen to salvation with this condition that they will accept it they may have it if they will The damned reprobate in hell by this account hath as much reason to be thankfull as the triumphant Saint in heaven Why may this wretched Catiffe say God did as much for me as him only indeed I did not so much for my self And may the glorified Saint in heaven say The Lord hath done as much for those in hell as ever he hath done for me He hath elected them as well as me and he hath assisted them as much as me for he is to all alike only they have not used their own free-wills as well as I have done and this is the only cause that they are damned and I am saved And therefore I wil ever thank my self and not God At least I have no greater cause to think him then the damned have If there be any difference between them and me it is not God that made it but my self God did for them and me alike And that they are not in the same condition with me the only reason is because we did not for ourselves alike And therefore they are every way as much obliged and bound to God as I am Vse 3 This universal and conditional election doth in some respect set up man above God God for his own part chooseth all men to salvation he would have all men to be saved How comes it then to pass whence is it that they are not saved Because they will not themselves God will and they will not who carries it in this business Their will takes place and not Gods The will of God you see by this opinion is ordered and disposed by the will of man He chooseth all men on condition but his final resolution and absolute determination is suspended upon the operation of the will of man He is at liberty to make it good or make it void at his pleasure If he will be saved he may if not he must be damned though God for his part have ordained him to salvation What is this but to make God in some respect an underling to man to make the will of
Why should we not rejoyce to resign all to him and to be under his authority and jurisdiction as the Prophet counselleth us Zach. 9.9 Rejoyce greatly O daughter of Sion and why so because thy King cometh to thee and he is just Even so say I to you my Brethren God is a very just and righteous God and he desires to be received and entertained by you That you would set your gates open that he may enter and sit upon the Throne in your hearts Say to him now Ride on Lord because of thy righteousness Come in Lord and take command of us We would willingly be ruled by such a just and righteous Prince as thou art Vse 4 Is God a very just and righteous God Where then shall the wicked and ungodly appear What will they do who are unrighteous when the time of judgement comes who have lived in the continued and voluntary breach of all his laws what will they plead why they should not be condemned Me thinks the justice and the uprightness of the Judge should astonish and affright them who have so ill a cause so bad a matter to be heard before him If they whose hearts and lives are full of all unrighteousness be judg'd with just and righteous judgement if they receive according to their works what think you will their portion be Ah my Beloved lay it seriously to heart you that run out with the intemperate you that oppress and grind the poor that are abominable and disobedient and to every good work reprobate how will you hold up your heads when the day of reckoning cometh and all your sins shall be laid open in their colors when God shall bring every work to judgement and every secret thing when he shall rip up all your close abominations and all your secret wickednesses that never any eye saw when the books shall be laid open and all the black bills read when God shall say to the Ministers of vengeance Go give them now according as their works have been Look how much they have sinned and how much wickedness they have committed so much sorrow and torment give them Oh then what wringing of hands what renting of hearts what cries and lamentations will there be able to make a Rock relent and a Flint to fall asunder and yet God will stand out immoveable against them all for he is a righteous God nothing will bend him from the rule of Justice And as this serves for terrour to the wicked so for comfort to the Vse 5 righteous that God is such a just and righteous God But you will say What reason have we to rejoyce in this Quest For if we have but justice from him we are certainly undone for what have we deserved but death and ruine To this I answer If we have justice from him we are well enough Answ and this we shall be sure to have and therefore let us take comfort I speak not now of such a justice as respects the merit of the work for this we are delivered from but I speak of such a justice as respects the truth of his promise by which he hath engaged himself that he will forgive our sins that he will reward our labours that he will punish all our enemies and if he keep his word with us as he is bound to do in justice I hope we are in a very good case His righteousness lies at stake for all those by reason of his Covenant and Engagement to us Indeed before he made the Covenant he was free he might have done according to his own pleasure But having made it he is bound he is held to it and may not vary Now he must forgive our sins or else he is unrighteous as the Apostle John insinuates in 1 Joh. 1.9 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins Now he must reward our labours or else he is unjust as the Apostle Paul speaks Heb. 6.10 The Lord is not unrighteous to forget our work and labour He doth not say the Lord is not unmerciful but the Lord is not unrighteous Now he must give us everlasting rest and render everlasting trouble to our enemies and that upon the same ground And therefore saith the same Apostle 2 Thes 1.6 It is a righteous thing with him to render tribulation to them that trouble you and to you that are troubled rest with us So that you see the justice and the righteousness of God which is a ground of horrour to the wicked yet it is a ground of comfort to the godly It is very ill for them it is very well for us that God is such a righteous God It is their loss and it is our gain And the cause is manifest for he proceeds with them according unto such a justice as respects the merit of the work and he proceeds with us according unto such a justice as respects the verity and truth of his promise And therefore though ungodly men have cause to fear and tremble at it yet we have reason to rejoyce at it And this is clearly intimated by the Prophet David in the fore-alledged place which indeed is very notable to this purpose Psal 96. ult Let the heavens rejoyce saith he and so on And why so for he shall judge the world with righteousness and the people with his truth Observe it well the world with righteousness the people that stand in opposition to the world his people with his truth The world with such a righteousness as looks upon the merit of their works His own people with such a righteousness as looks upon the truth of his promise His people with his truth Righteousness and truth do kiss each other O let the people of the Lord rejoyce that they shall have righteous judgement that God will do according to his promise and his Covenant with them when the great day of retribution cometh That he will in this respect be just and righteous to forgive them and reward them Let them be glad of this for ever Vse 6 I have but one thing more to add and that shall be a word of humble Admonition to the Deputies and Ministers of God Preached at the Assize Superior and Inferior Magistrates to labour to conform themselves to him in this respect and to be just and righteous as he is They are under him and for him and therefore should endeavour to be like him Honorable and Beloved the Land abounds with wickedness of every kind there is much unrighteous dealing everywhere with God and man This calls for righteous dealing from them that bear the Sword of Justice that these abominations may be purged out and that our breaches may be yet repaired In such a time as this when there are such abuses such blasphemies such prophanations of the day and Ordinances of the Lord such swearing drunkenness uncleanness incest c. as former ages have not equal'd Justice should flow down like water to wash away this filth from us and
Christ He loves to see him set up and to see him made glorious and that not only as he is his Son in whom his very soul delighteth but as it hath been his decree and purpose from eternity to have him glorified You hear it hath been the design of God to glorifie his Son Christ and a design on which his heart is set and so the promoting of it by your means must needs be very pleasing to him you may be sure that he will vote it to be acceptable service And even as they that hinder and oppose this great business are opposites to God so they that further and promote it close with him and carry on his business and he will take it very kindly at their hands to have a thing which he is so intent upon brought to pass by their means These things may stir us up my Brethren to comply with God in this great Design of his touching the glorifying of his Son Christ John 17.1 That thy Son may also glorifie thee SO we have done with the two first particulars considered in our Saviours Prayer so far as it concerns himself the rise of it from whence he takes occasion to present it to his Father together with the matter of it or the thing which he desireth of the Father That he may be glorified And we are now arrived at the third and last the Reasons with which he presseth and enforceth this request of his and they are many and of great importance The first is taken from the end why he desireth to be glorified or to have glory from the Father viz. that he might be enabled to bring glory to the Father Father glorifie thy Son that thy Son also may glorifie thee The second Argument is drawn à congruo from the congruity it was but meet and congruous that he should be glorified or that he should have glory from the Father seeing he had power from him He had received power from him and therefore it was fit that he should have glory too for power and glory ought to go together And therefore on this ground our Saviour urgeth it you see Father glorifie thy Son as thou hast given him power over all flesh As thou hast given him power so be prevailed withall to give him glory too the concomitant of power The third is drawn from the deserving Cause Christ had glorified the Father and therefore thinks himself worthy to have glory from the Father I have glorified thee on earth I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do And now O Father glorifie me with thy self and so on At this time I shall pitch on the first Argument with which our Saviour presseth this request of his and it is taken from the end why he desireth to have glory from the Father viz. That he may be enabled to bring glory to the Father Glorifie thy Son that thy Son also may glorifie thee Me thinks he seems to intimate he could not glorifie him much in the condition he was in at present he was in such a state of ignominy and abasure and contempt in relation to the world that he was not capable of bringing in the Father any considerable honour while he remained in this case And therefore he entreats the Father to raise him and advance him that he may do as much for him again Father glorifie thy Son that thy Son also c. So then as we have formerly observed that it is the Design of God the Father to glorifie his Son so hence we may observe DOCTRINE That it is the desire of Christ to have glory from the Father to this end that he may bring glory to the Father You see he begs it only upon this account Father glorifie thy Son What that he may detain and keep it to himself No that he may return it to the Father That thy Son also may glorifie thee If thou wilt glorifie me thou shalt be no loser by it no thou shalt have it back again and that with profit and advantage too thou shalt be glorified by me I will not keep the glory which thou layest out upon me in my own hands but I will give it up entire and undiminished to thy self again It is not for my own sake that I beg it but for thine There were some rays of glory which God was pleased to dart forth upon the Son in his condition of abasure and if you mark his carriage in the Gospel Story you shall find that he was always carefull to make them to reflect on God again As when he did his Miracles which was a means to set him up you know in the eyes of all that saw them he was extreamly cautious that the honour might be rendred to his Father And hence he was not wont to do them in his own name nor in appearance by his own power though both were suitable enough to his condition being God as well as Man but in the name and by the strength and the assistance of the Father And therefore when he raised Lazarus he did not seem to do it of himself though that he might have done as God but lift up his eyes and prayed his Father that he would shew himself in that business that so the glory might be his Iohn 11.42 and addeth that he did it for the peoples sake that stood by that they might know that God had sent him That they might understand that he performed such works as these as one that was subservient to the Father in them and that was sent out by him And therefore he is always minding them on all occasions of his Mission from the Father that so if any thing praise-worthy did appear in him or were done by him it might be rendred and ascribed to the Father The sixth of John is full of such insinuations I come saith he to do the will of him that sent me and not to do my own will at ver 38. And in another place he tells them that he honoured not himself but his Father honoured him Ioh. 8.54 He honours me and I honour not my self I do not keep his honour to my self but I honour him again with which accordeth that expression Iohn 13.31 Now is the Son of man glorified and what follows and God is glorified in him So that you see the Son takes glory from the Father to this end that he may bring glory to the Father And it is very congruous that it should be so because as Man and Mediator Reason 1 he is the Servant of the Father he was sent down by him from heaven upon his errand and upon his business and to do the work which he appointed him to do It was our Saviours own acknowledgement when he had done and ended all I have finished the work said he which thou gavest me to do Joh. 17.4 q.d. I have approved my self a faithfull Servant to thee I have done thy work and I have done it fully and compleatly
6.2 Bear you one anothers burthen and so fulfill the Law of Christ that is the Law of love for that my Brethren is the Law of Christ A new Commandment give I unto you Novum quia renovatum A new Commandment give I unto you that you love one another And what is love but the fulfilling of the Moral Law as the Apostle speaks And yet this same Apostle speaking of this Law of love calls it not the Law of nature but the Law of Christ Bear ye one anothers burthen which is a special act of love and so fulfill the Law of Christ So that the Moral Law you see my Brethren is the Law of Christ and therefore he is pleased to own it and to call it his Commandment John 15.12 to fortifie it with his own authority as in the Sermon on the Mount and to impose the precept of it on the people And that this Moral Law is universal and extends to all flesh appears by this that it is not imposed alone upon the members of the Church but on the very heathen too upon the Kings and Princes of the earth as you may see Psal 2.2 The Kings and Princes of the earth set themselves and the Rulers take Counsel together against the Lord and his Christ saying Let us break their bondâ— asunder and cast away their cords from us that is the Precepts and Commandments not of the Gospel only but also of the Moral Law Which is the Law of nature and obliged not the Jews alone but all the Nations of the world So that no marvel though they both conspire together to rid themselves of these bonds The Heathen rage the people of the Jews imagine the Kings and Rulers not of Jews only but of all the earth stand up and say Let us break these bonds asunder and cast away these cords from us These bonds and cords which are imposed and laid upon us all with which we all of us do finde our selves restrained and bound that is the Precepts and Commandments of the Moral Law So that you see Christ by his Legislative power gives Law to all flesh as to the outward man and to the Members He gives Law to all flesh as to the inward man and to the conscience The Law of Jesus Christ is Spiritual as the Apostle Paul tels us Rom. 7.14 not only in the nature of it but also in the subjects of it It takes hold upon the souls the spirits and consciences of men It captivates their very thoughts 2 Cor. 10.5 And herein Jesus Christ is singular and manifesteth such authority as no one exerciseth but himself It s true that men do oftentimes give Laws unto the outward man and to the members in politick and civil things and then they do it too as Christs Vicegerents and his Deputies they do it under him and by authority from him But it is Christ and he alone that gives Laws unto the Conscience in holy and religious things He delegates the former power to Magistrates who in the same respect are stiled the Ministers of Christ But this authority he makes not over to any of the sons of men And yet he exercises this authority over all the sons of men so that there is not one of them exempted from his Power As Jesus Christ hath a Legislative power so a Judiciary power As he hath a Legislative power to give Laws so a Judiciary power to execute the Laws that he hath given And this is universal too my Brethren as the other is As he gives his Laws to all so he executes his Laws on all flesh And therefore he is called a Judge very often in the Scripture I need not give you instances for they are known yea he is stiled the Judge of all and not alone of all that are alive but even of those that are departed and deceased as you may see that place for instance Acts 10.42 where he is stiled the Judge of the quick and dead It s true that other Judges in the world can judge the quick they can deal well enough with those that are alive but if they die they are gone out of their hands for ever But Jesus Christ is Judge of all flesh quick flesh and dead flesh Judge of quick and dead too Death cannot rescue men out of his hands no my Beloved he can pursue them to eternity and follow them into another world and there can execute the rigour of his wrath upon them to the very utmost And as he is the Judge of all persons so he is Judge of all cases All judgement is committed to him not some but all judgement Job 5.22 whether the case be manifest and open or whether it be hid and secret all is one Christ is Judge of both these and this is singular to Jesus Christ Men can do nothing in a case that is absolutely secret If a murther be committed and nothing be discovered any way no not so much as by a circumstance or by some grounds of strong suspition what can an earthly Judge do He knows the Law is broken but yet he cannot execute the sentence of the Law because he is not able to discover the Offender Now Jesus Christ is not to seek in such Cases To him all things are naked and uncovered And therefore he brings every work to judgement and every secret thing Eccl. 12.14 And the Apostle tels us of a day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to his Gospel Rom. 2.16 So that you see no flesh can escape his judgement let the man be what he will and let the cause be what it will Now this Judiciary power of Christs consists of two things in passing sentence upon all flesh in executing the sentence after it is past A word or two of these in order Christ hath the power of passing sentence upon all flesh All mankinde is under his authority in this respect and they must all appear before the Judgement Seat of Christ as the Apostle Paul speaks 2 Cor. 5.10 there to receive their last doom either of absolution or condemnation Sometimes he passeth sentence on them in the Court of Conscience here he sealeth up mens condemnation to them and makes it to become a certain thing They are condemned already in themselves and there remaineth nothing to them but a certain looking for of judgment as the expression is Heb. 10.27 And on the other side he sealeth up mens absolution he sealeth Pardons to the conscience This he hath power to do and this he doth sometimes on earth Mat. 9 6. The Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins At utmost in the last and dreadfull day all the dead both great and small appear before him and receive a sentence from him either the one way or the other as you may see Apoc. 20.12 And as he hath the power of Passing so the power of Executing Sentence upon all Flesh All mankinde is under his authority in
will never take from you See the event of such a carriage in the close of the forecited parable Mat. 21.41 He will miserably destroy those wicked men Indeed the wickedness of those to whom Christ is never sent is light and little in comparison of theirs He is not sent to Heathen Nations they hear not of him any way God hath not favoured them so far as to dispatch his Son to them to be a Mediator between him and them And therefore their iniquity is comparatively small and their Judgement will be easie But Jesus Christ is sent to you he is the Fathers Messenger to you and if you do not entertain him your sin is great and your damnation will be heavy He will destroy others but he will miserably destroy you So that it will be easier for Tyre and Sydon for Infidels and Heathens in the day of Judgement then for you Consider if you receive this Messenger of God and entertain him as you ought to do he can do very much with God for you You are all out with God by nature he is an enemy to you and you are enemies to him your souls abhor him and his soul abhors you Zach. 11.8 Now Jesus Christ is sent to make peace to make up all the breaches and the differences between God and his people He can make you Gods friends yea he can make you Gods children This was the priviledge of those that entertained him Iohn 1.12 To as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God And this shall be your priviledge if you embrace him And is it such a small thing in your eyes to be the children of the highest to be the sons and daughters of the God of heaven and earth Is it nothing to have free access to God by prayer and by supplication to cry Abba Father to him That whereas others live without God in the world and have no refuge in their troubles we have a Father to betake our selves unto Or is it nothing to have sure protection and defence in such a time as this is For can we think a Father such a Father so powerfull and so mercifull will see his children sink and perish while he is able to relieve them Or is it nothing to have such a great inheritance prepared for us as God provideth for his children that rich inheritance with Saints in light All this we shall be sure to have if we receive this Messenger of God But you will ask me what I mean when I perswade you to receive him I will shew you in a word there go three things to it You must so receive this Messenger of God to hearken to him An Embassador you know is not received unless the Prince or State to whom his Master sends him give him audience A Messenger is not received unless you hear the message that he brings you So Jesus Christ whom God hath sent is not received unless you hear this Prophet unless you hear him in his Ministers unless you hear him in his Gospel-revelations of his mind and will to you You must so receive him to believe in him This is indeed receiving of Christ And therefore it is so explained Iohn 1.12 To as many as received him to them gave c. As received him what is that even to them that believe in his name So that receiving is expounded by believing as if the Holy Ghost had said I mean not by receiving Christ any friendly curteous entertainment that they give him I do not mean receiving him into their houses but I intend receiving him into their hearts by faith And therefore by receiving you must understand believing So do you receive Christ The only acceptable entertainment you can give him is by faith by believing in his name The Messenger of God is ill received unless he have the credit with us to be faithfully believed You must so receive him as to obey him To hearken and to yield to him in that which he delivereth to you in the name of him that sent him You must not think to entertain this Messenger of God as an underling to you so as to rule him no you must be ruled by him When he delivers his Embassage to you from his Father and tells you what his pleasure is as soon as you hear you must obey him There must be no room for disputation or expostulation but obedience You must answer with the Jews and with a better heart then they All that the Lord commandeth we will do And if you thus receive this Messenger of God it will be a blessed time that he ever came to you And thus we have at length dispatched two of the Arguments with which our Saviour presses and enforceth the great petition that he makes to God the Father to be glorified by him Whereof the former hath been taken from the end why he desireth to have glory from the Father viz. that he might be enabled to bring glory to the Father Father glorifie thy Son that thy Son may also glorifie thee The second hath been drawn à Congruo from Congruity it was but meet and congruous that he should have glory from the Father seeing he had power from him As thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to c. And this is life c. The third remaineth to be entred on at this time and this is drawn from the deserving cause Christ had glorified the Father and therefore thinks himself worthy to have glory from the Father I have glorified thee on the earth I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do And now O Father glorifie me with thine own self And here our Saviour doth these two things he minds the Father what himself hath done and then reminds him what he desireth him to do First He minds the Father what himself hath done and that in two particulars I have glorified thee on earth I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do And then reminds him hereupon of that which he desireth him to do And now O Father glorifie me with thine own self As he had said before in the entrance of his prayer Father glorifie thy Son so that he reasons here from the desert to the reward as he might do though we cannot for all the works of Christ were meritorious This he had done for God and therefore this he looks that God should do for him again Begin we now with the first thing which our Saviour Christ had done of which he minds the Father as an inducement to glorifie him with himself I have glorified thee on the Earth To glorifie is either really to make or else to manifest and to declare a person to be glorious Christ could not make his Father glorious because there was no time in which he was not infinitely and compleatly so From everlasting he was absolutely glorious in himself so that in this respect there
righteousness as a mighty stream that violently bears down all before it and will not be diverted from the Channel which it ought to run in As there is no respect of persons with God let there be none with you let every one receive according to his cause and according to his deeds When parties struggle in the bowels of a Nation when there are factions up as there are at this time there is a great temptation to unrighteousness in this respect one must be favourd because he is of such a party another must be rigorously dealt withall because he is of such a party though the cause of both be like It ought to be the care of Magistrates that in the execution of their Office they be not byassed that they be not drawn aside by such low considerations They must not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the Delphian Oracle they must not speak or act in their Administrations so as to comply with any party as if they were afraid of doing that which will displease the strongest side which will not rellish well with those who may do them a displeasure No they must 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 judge for Christ and act for God and do as near as it is possible as he would do if he were in their places they must be just as he is And to encourage you to this Consider First This is the ready way to settle and establish and confirm this totering Nation when it shakes and when it is about to fall Justice upholds the pillars of it It is Columna corona Reipublicae There are at this time many things in agitation and many ways and projects thought upon to settle Government among us But when we have run through them all we shall find in the conclusion that nothing in the world will do it like to righteousness Let the form and let the frame of Government be what it will the Throne must be establisht by righteousness Especially when it is first set up Justice is as necessary to confirm a new Government as Miracles to confirm a new Doctrine And if the people find not this if there be tyranny injustice and oppression still that which made the old unpleasing will have the same effect and operation on the new Secondly This Righteousness in your Administrations will make you aimable in the sight of God as God himself is righteous so he loveth righteousness as he acteth it himself so he affecteth it in others The righteous Lord saith holy David loveth righteousness his countenance doth behold the upright Psal 11.7 Righteous he is in all his actings and administrations he is the righteous Lord so righteous and so just that there is none in that respect like him and that out of a principle of love within the righteous Lord loveth righteousness yea he affecteth it and loves it so that he gives no man a good countenance or a good look so much that is not just and righteous too his countenance doth behold the upright the upright and none else But as for those that are unrighteous he abhors them all of them without exception he hateth all workers of iniquity Psal 5.5 Thirdly As it will make you amiable in the eyes of God so you will find it to be very beneficial to your selves They are precious promises that God makes and great rewards that he gives to those that love and do Justice That is a signal one Isa 33.15 He that walketh righteously and speaks uprightly he that despiseth the gain of oppression and shaketh his hands from holding of bribes so that it any put a bribe into his hand before he be aware he shakes it out again and doth not hold it he shall dwell on high his place of defence shall be the munition of the Rocks bread shall be given him his waters shall be sure He shall have honor he shall dwell on high he shall be lifted up above his brethren He shall have sure protection his defence shall be the munition of the Rocks high that the enemy can never reach him and high upon the Rock that he cannot undermine him And as he shall have honor and protection so he shall have provision too bread shall be given him and full provision he shall have bread and water too and this shall be sure to him Bread shall be given him his waters shall be sure And as there is much promised to so there hath been much done for those who have laid out themselves in doing justice You know how Jehu sped and yet he did it in hypocrisie The Kingdom was continued in his line to the fourth generation Phineas it seems was more upright and therefore he had a reward that lasted longer Numb 25.13 He shall have and his seed after him the Covenant of an everlasting Priesthhod because he was zealous for his God to wit in executing justice on that notorious pair of foul offenders Indeed the recompence of him that doth it in sincerity shall last for ever For he shall dwell upon Gods holy Mountain he shall receive an Euge when the great day of reckoning cometh And thus far of the first conclusion God is a very just and righteous God I shall speak very little to the second because indeed it is not large however I shall touch it in a word or two DOCTRINE That Jesus Christ came to him as a righteous God and looked upon him as a righteous God when he was making his petitions to him You see it evidently and demonstratively in the Text this is the appellation that he gives him Righteous Father His thoughts it seems are taken up more with the righteousness of God then any other attribute of his at this time I shall not undertake to shew why he did so he had his reasons in his own breast and bosom Only this is probable he did it that he might be an Example and President to us that we might learn of him to do as he did That when we are approaching to the Throne of grace we might be very much possest with deep and serious contemplations of the righteousness of God Use And therefore to make a little application of the point Let us learn of Jesus Christ how to behave ovr selves when we are making our addresses to the Majesty of God and pouring out our prayers to him We are exhorted very often in the Scripture to be followers of Christ and so to walk and act as we have him for an example in all his imitable ways and actions his practice ought to be a rule to us and therefore let us labour to conform our selves to Jesus Christ in this particular when we are drawing nigh to God in prayer let our thoughts be taken up with meditation of his righteousness let them work much upon this attribute of his It will be very useful to us as I shall shew you in a few particulars 1. The meditation of the righteousness of God will humble us for sin and stir