Omnipotent in Power and Infinite in Goodness and can do for us above what we either can ask or think When all Humane help faileth there is help in God and then he useth to help and deliver when relief can be expected no where else that we may know it his doing and that he only may have the Praise and Glory Thus he delivered Ioseph when all the World had forgotten him He saved Moses when his Parents could hide him no longer He redeemed his People when Pharaoh exercised the greatest cruelty towards them and always when they were lowest and most oppressed by their Enemies he raised up Deliverers for them and he returned this Captivity when there was least appearance of it and when it was not so much as thought upon except by some few who remembred and believed the Promise by the Mouth of Ieremiah Chap. xxv 12. So likewise when the Persecutions against the Christians came to be bitterest he always brought about a mitigation and relentment And when that most severe one under Dioclesian and his Colleagues had proceeded so far that 't was thought the Name of Christianity was quite extinct and accordingly Trophies were erected for it he first turned the Heart of Constantius Chlorus to protect Christians and thereafter raised up Constantine the Great who not only gave them full liberty but made the Christian Religion the professed Religion of the Empire Fourthly We learn hence how to receive how to entertain and how to improve all those Calamities and Afflictions which befall us so that they may turn to our good and become means of reconciling us to God The Prophet teacheth us this by his own example when he saith I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him Which teacheth us first to receive all our Evils and Troubles as from the hand of God And indeed there is no evil in the city which the Lord hath not done Amos iii. 6. Who ever or what ever be the Instrument he is the Author He cannot indeed be the Author of the Evil of Sin but he is always that of Punishment He orders disposeth and determines all that falleth out in the World What ever disposition there be in Men Devils or any Creature to Mischief yet they cannot stir or move but when they are allowed and as they are directed As in a well-disciplined Army the Soldiers go not out on any Expedition but when they are commanded So Ioseph ascribed to God his being sold into Aegypt though it was through the Malice and Envy of his Brethren And Iob acknowledged God the Author of all his Disasters though some were committed by the Sabeans and Chaldeans The Lord saith he gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord. Secondly As we are here taught to acknowledge God the Author of our Afflictions and Calamities so our Sin 's the cause and occasion of them When God corrects man it is always for iniquity For he is more righteous than to punish when there is no fault He doth not grieve the Children of men willingly nor afflict them and therefore when he doth it it is because they have sinned against him and consequently they who are afflicted should acknowledge their Sins which have kindled the indignation of the Lord against them So doth Daniel Ch. ix 5 6 7 8. Thirdly To bear the Indignation of the Lord is to fuffer patiently without murmuring A thing may be imposed on a Man but he cannot be said to bear it who doth it not willingly and he doth not bear it willingly who frets murmurs and complains And why should a living Man complain a Man for the Punishment of his Sins Would it be reasonable in a Criminal to accuse or murmur against the Judge for giving out Sentence when it was yet less than his Crimes deserve Now certainly no Man suffers or can suffer in this life so much as his Sins merit Furthermore saith the Apostle we had fathers of our flesh who corrected us and we gave them reverence shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live Heb. xii 9. Fourthly To bear the Indignation of the Lord because of Sin implies a hearty grief for it and a real turning from it He that is sensible that the Evils he suffers are the Effects of God's displeasure for his Sins cannot but have a remorse for them and if he have a true remorse for them he will also abandon them and shew all care to serve God better Until we do so we never accept the Punishment of our Sins They despise the Rod who do not amend neither become more dutiful by it And such shall bring greater Punishment upon themselves But they who thus receive and use their Chastisement shall be eased and delivered He will plead their cause and execute Iudgment for them and bring them forth to the light Humble your selves therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time 1 Pet. v. 6. The last Observation I shall draw from the words is That when these Divine Dispensations I mean the Afflictions and Calamities which befall his People are well considered and rightly understood there will be found much Righteousness in them There is too much proneness in Men to censure the Actions of Providence which speaks out the greatest rashness and presumption imaginable For what are we Where is either our Authority or Capacity that we should take upon us to canvass the Actions of the Almighty or to rectifie the Contrivances and Determinations of Infinite Wisdom A Child is fitter to pass Judgment on the actings of a wise understanding Man and a dull Country Clown may with less arrogance examine the Maxims of a Matchiavel and other famous Politicians Shall not the Iudge of all the Earth do right said Abraham Certainly he cannot but do it he can do nothing amiss But indeed to illustrate this and to make out the Righteousness of his particular Providences is for the most part above Human reach For as the Psalmist saith Thy way is in the Sea and thy path in the great Waters and thy footsteps are not known O the depths saith the Apostle of the riches both of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his Iudgments and his Ways past finding out But when they are found and discovered they will appear most Righteous He hath made every thing beautiful in his time saith Solomon also he hath set the world in their hearts so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end Eccl. iii. 11. Look the best piece of Arras on the backside and its handsomness will not appear Nor will the beauty of the finest Picture be known unless it be set in a due light So we cannot understand the Righteousness of God's Providence without knowing the reason and ends thereof And these are often
who receiveth it are to be understood VIII The Application What the Name of Lord doth import What is meant by the things which Christ saith The Profession and Practice of Christianity ought to go together I. The Text considered as a Question II. The true Motives to believe in Christ or to profess him do also oblige to pay Obedience to him III. The Custom of the Country is not sufficient to wise and reasonable Men. IV. The first great Motive to profess Christ is his being sent from God Phil. 2. 9. Which requireth absolute and universal Obedience Mal. 1. 6. Joh. 13. 13. 1 Thes. 1. 8. V. A second Motive to profess Christ is Love No Love without Observance John 14. 15 21 23 24. VI. A third Motive is the Hope of Reward Joh. 6. 68 Which the Disobedient cannot expect Mat. 21. 22 23. Heb. 5. 9. Rom. 2. 6. Nor are they capable of it Heb. 12 14. VII The Text may be considered as an Expostulation or Reproof VIII The Disobedience of Christians very provoking IX It doth dishonour Iesus Christ. Gen. 34. 30. 2 Sam. 12. 14. X. It is prejudicial to the Interest of Iesus Christ. XI The Application of all Joh. 10. 27. 2 Tim. 2. 19. Jos. 24. 16. Psal. 19. The Scope of the Text. I. The Exhortation Let us draw near Lam. 2. 24. * O anima rationalis miserabilis creatura quo te dejicis terram diligis melior es coelum contemplaris altior es solo tuo creatore tu inferior Saith St. Augustine II. Of the Qualifications of those who would draw near to God 1. A true Heart Mat. 15. 8. 2. Full assurance of Faith A Belief of the Mysteries of the Gospel A Belief of our own particular acceptance with God 13. 58. 6. Mat. 21. 22. III. The Heart sprinkled from an evil Conscience IV. The Body washed with pure water Application The Scope of the Text in reference to the Jews It is applicable to other People The Expressions are borrowed from Husbandry * As Varro Cato Virgil c. I. What is meant by Sowing II. What is implied by Righteousness The Reasonableness and Advantage of sowing Righteousness III. Of reaping Mercy IV. Of breaking up the fallow Ground Gen. 6. 5. 1 Cor. 2. 14. Jer. 4. 3. Zach. 7. 11. V. Of seeking the Lord. Isa. 55. 6. Ezek. 18. 21. Isa. 55. 7. Isa. 1. 15. Jer. 11. 11. Heb. 3. 13. VI. He will come and rain Righteousness Isa. 45. 19. Heb. 11. 6. Heb. 10. 36. John 15. Mat. 5. 6. Isa. 54. 17. Scougall's Life of God pag. 75. Jer. 23. 6. VII An Application to the Publick Prov. 14. 34. Judith 5 17. An Explication of the Text. I. Sin is the Cause and Occasion of all the Evils which befall either private Persons or publick States Ps. 34. 16. Ps. 73. 27. Amos 3. 2. II. People commonly are insensible of the Cause of their Evils Psal. 38. 2. III. The common Custom of Mankind is to run to second Causes before they address to God Jer. 17. 5. Isai. 28. 14 IV. How Peace with God may be obtained V. The Application To private Persons To the publick state of the Nation The Occasion Scope and Meaning of the Text. Observations from the Text. I. To rejoice at the Afflictions and Calamities of others is both the Sign and Effect of a Prophane Ungodly Spirit Job 31. 29 30. Psal. 52. 7. Hab. 3. 16. Eccl. 7. 11. Prov. 17. 5. Seneca II. The Church and People of God are often visited with the Rod of Afflictions III. When God is provoked to punish he doth not lay aside his Kindness and good Will Isai. 30. 18. IV. The Right uses which people ought to make of Calamities and Afflictions 1. To acknowledge God the Author of them 2. To own Sin to be the Cause and Occasion of them 3. To suffer them Patiently 4. To repent of Sin and to sorsake it V. The Iudgments of God when rightly understood do declare his Righteousness See Enquiry into the Nature c. of Faith Essay 5th VI. Application I. An Enquiry into the Coherence of this Verse with the Context The Opinions of some proposed and rejected The true Reason why St. Paul gives this Advice in this place II. Inferences from the Occasion of delivering this advice The first to caution against the Abuse of Doctrines The second the true expressions of Friendship The third a Concernment for useful and eminent Persons III. The Advice of not drinking water considered 1. It only regards Timothy's Case and Practice 2. A Reproof of the Luxury of this Age. 3. Cautions to be used in Abstinence and Mortification See amongst others Tavernier's Travels IV. of Drinking Wine The use of it lawful The Excess Unlawful Prov. 31. 6. Eph. 5. 6. Isai. 5. 11. The Evil of Drunkenness 1 Pet. 5. 8. V. The Reason of S. Paul's Advice to Timothy considered 1. It sheweth the true Ends and Rules of Eating and Drinking 2. The Lawfulness of the Use of Means to remove Afflictions 3. The Gift of Healing not always used VI. An Enquiry into the Reasons why God suffereth eminent and useful Persons to labour under bodily Infirmities and Diseases First Reason Second Reason Third Reason Fourth Reason Fifth Reason Sixth Reason Seventh Reason Eighth Reason Conclusion
times Father if it be thy will let this Cup pass from me and from these disconsolate Words which his inward Sorrow and Anguish extorted while he hanged upon the Cross My God my God why hast thou forsaken me The Sufferings of Jesus cannot be reckoned up no Man can describe no Tongue can express all the Particulars of his bitter Agony and bloody Passion and cruel Death The Words of the Prophet are applicable to him and as they were spoken prophetically of him so in him only they were fully accomplished Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger From above he hath sent fire into my bones and it prevaileth against them he hath spread a net for my feet he hath turned my back he hath made me desolate and faint all the day Who then that beheld this could Or who that hears and lays it to heart can refrain from weeping Tears indeed are due to the Memory of Christ's Death and Passion But yet our Lamentation and Weeping must not be as that in Rama spoken of by the Prophet Like Rachel weeping for her children who would not be comforted because they are not We may and should weep at the Remembrance of what Christ suffered but our Sorrow should not run to an Excess meerly on his Account Wherefore you see that our Lord turned about and checked the excessive Sorrowfulness of these Women saying Daughters of Ierusalem weep not for me which was the Second thing I promised to speak to This is not a total Prohibition of weeping for Christ the Negative Particle Not is not always to be taken so peremptorily for frequently it imports only Rather or not so much as when it is said I will have mercy and not sacrifice the Meaning is Mercy rather than Sacrifice or not so much Sacrifice as Mercy So here weep not for me but for your selves is only as much as to say weep for your selves rather than for me or not so much for me as for your selves Thus all Weeping is not forbidden And as I have shewn it to be very just proper and suitable so we find it made both a necessary and an acceptable Duty Zach. xii 10. And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Ierusalem the spirit of Grace and of Supplications and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only Son and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first born However we should so bewail his Death as to keep within a certain Measure Not as those good Women in the Text who apprehended that all their Hope and all their Comfort would have perished in his Death The Death of Christ is not to be lamented like the Tragical end of Pompey Caesar and other Heroes of the World whether Ancient or Modern whose Deaths were sad and convincing Instances of the Changeableness of Fortune of the Vanity of the World and of the Uncertainty of humane Affairs When they died their vast Designs and Projects were defeated and the Expectation of their Friends frustrated in that very Day all their Thoughts perished they instantly ceased to be either the Hope of their Friends or the Dread and Terrour of their Enemies and left nothing behind them save a faint Memory and uncertain Conjectures But the Death of Jesus Christ is quite another thing As our Lord still liveth so he reigneth and it was by his Death that he advanced and secured his Kingdom His Death was glorious and the Issue of it was eternal Praise to God and himself and everlasting Advantage to all the World Never any Triumph was so illustrious as the Death of Christ The greatest triumph in the World was only over Beasts and weak Men and set forth with the Spoils of earthly Kingdoms But Jesus at his Death triumphed over Devils he conquered Hell and the Grave made Spoils of Principalities and all the Powers of Darkness By his Death he quenched the Fire of God's Wrath blunted the Edge of the Law weakned the Strength of Sin loosned the Bands of the Grave ransomed Sinners and opened the Kingdom of Heaven to Penitents and Believers His Death gave Life to the World and renewed Nature so that the Face of things is altered ever since Thus as upon one Account there is Reason to lament the Death of Jesus Christ so upon another there is no less Reason to rejoice for by it God is glorified Jesus exalted and Mankind saved But when we leave off to mourn for Christ we should continue to mourn for our selves So you see here that our Lord biddeth the Women moderate their Grief upon his Account but still requireth it for themselves which was the third thing proposed Weep not for me but for your selves And very good Reason alas There is more than sufficient Cause for this Mourning For tho' Jesus Christ has merited Salvation for us yet our natural Wretchedness our Original and Actual Guilt is no less than it was both which are deplorable and neither of them can ever be enough lamented And if we are not sensible of the heinous Nature of these let us look upon the persecuted reviled mocked buffetted scourged and crucified Jesus let us call to mind his bitter Death and Sufferings and these will instruct us For all these things befell him for our sake and upon our Account The Jews who crucified him and put him to so vile and shameful a Death were only the Instruments But otherwise every one of us as well as they were the Cause and Occasion of all that evil which befell him They are to be considered only as the common Executioner who executeth the Law and the Will of the Judge and consequently our Rage and Indignation should not be against them but against the Crimes which caused and required so heavy a Punishment Now they were not his own Crimes for which he suffered for he knew no Sin neither was Guile found in his Mouth he was a Lamb without Spot and Blemish But he was made Sin for us Surely as the Prophet speaks he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was laid upon him and he received stripes that we might be healed Let us not go about to clear our selves of all Accession to the Death of this good and righteous Person because we are come to the World so long after it fell out and are not of the Race of those who laid wicked and violent hands on him For though Jesus died but once yet he did bear the Sins of all and was charged with the Sins of all that went before or shall come after From the time that he
into the World and has manifested himself to Men by him This Manifestation is the fullest and most glorious and so particular that it is a certain Mark to distinguish the true God from false Gods and the Worshippers of the one from the Worshippers of the other Jews Turks and Pagans and all those who worship their own Imaginations will readily say Blessed be God But none will add the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ but such as know and own the true God indeed Ever since this Manifestation of the true God he hath stiled himself by it and will have all to acknowledge him under this Title And they who own it not not only dishonour God and rob him of a great deal of Glory which thereby redounds to him but also they may be said to revolt from the Knowledge and Acknowledgment of the true God He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him saith Christ Iohn viij 23. And St. Iohn himself tells us Whosoever denieth the Son the same hath not the Father but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also 1 Epistle ii 23. Wherefore such Acts of Worship as do thus particularly discriminate the true God and are so appropriate to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that they are applicable to none other are very necessary For this Reason our Initiation into the Worship and Service of the true God is by baptizing us into the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost And for the same Reason we ought often to receive the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper for hereby we make an express and peculiar Acknowledgment of this one true God viz. the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. By this also it appears how suitable a part of Christian Worship the usual Doxology is and how proper to annex it to the Psalms of David whereby they are adapted to the New Revelation of the Gospel and rendered so much Christian that neither Jews nor any but Christians will join in the Use of them Having thus considered the Author of our Happiness the Motive which induced him to bless us comes next to be considered The Obligation which ariseth by the conferring a Benefit is more or less according to the Motive or Cause which prompted it if it was extorted by Force and Compulsion if one be so driven to it that he cannot shun a Courtesie scarce any Obligation accrueth thereby if it be done out of respect to after Requitals it is but a mercenary Kindness and tho' it obligeth somewhat yet the Obligation is none of the greatest it only bindeth us to make some Recompence and particularly that which the Person might have an Eye to if it be reasonable as the Services of Servants bindeth to the paying their Wages which is all they have before them and when that is done the Obligation of their Services ceaseth But if a Favour be conferred freely out of pure Love and good Will the Obligation is both perpetual and of the highest Nature Such a Favour ought never to be forgotten and if it be great in it self too it bindeth to the utmost Love and Thankfulness Now such is our Obligation to God for as he hath blessed us with the highest Blessings as shall be seen afterwards so he hath done it most freely meerly out of his abundant mercy as the Text saith And the same is intimated every where throughout the Scripture Through the tender mercy of our God the day spring from on high hath visited us said Zachary Luke i. 78. Of his own will begat he us saith St. Paul Titus iii. 5. and Rom. ix 15. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion so then that it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy Therefore in the same Chapter they who are saved and prepared unto Glory are called Vessels not of Justice or of Righteousness but of mercy to teach us that if it had not been for Mercy none would have been saved And indeed to what can our Salvation be ascribed but to the Mercy of God It cannot be said that he was constrained thereto by some external Cause for who can compel the Almighty Who can prescribe Laws to the absolute Sovereign of Heaven and Earth It was not the Hope of Profit that moved him for as Eliphaz said Can a Man be profitable unto God as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself Is it any Pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous Or is it gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect My Goodness extendeth not to thee saith David for if thou be righteous what givest thou him Or what receiveth he of thine hand Thy wickedness may hurt a Man as thou art and thy righteousness may profit the Son of Man But we cannot make God either better or worse He stands in no need of us nor is it possible for any either in Heaven or Earth to add or take from his Greatness Happiness or Glory for what can be added to or impaired from an infinite Being Suppose God was obliged to give those celestial Mansions to such as could merit them yet who could claim them even on that Account His Angels he chargeth with folly What is Man then that he should be clean And he which is born of a Woman that he should be righteous If he did enter into Iudgment who could stand What Man could be justified in his sight Whatever God would have been obliged to if Man had continued innocent yet sure considering us in our lapsed State it must be acknowledged that it is Mercy only which saves us unless we say that he is obliged by Rebellion Treachery impious Affronts wicked Insolencies and continued Provocations But being these can only be thought to irritate his Anger therefore we ought to conclude with the Scripture that it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed And that we are not only not consumed as we deserve but moreover called to Glory and eternal Life is not Mercy simply but abundant yea superabundant mercy as our Text speaks Would you but take a View of your Hearts and Actions for one Day and consider not only the lesser Follies and Impertinencies you are guilty of but the grosser Faults the unclean and wicked Thoughts which arise in your Hearts the rash and evil Words which proceed from your Mouth what Sins are committed and what Good is left undone in how many things you offend altogether and how light the best Actions would be if they were weighed in the Balance I say were those impartially examined the Guilt of one Day would be found exceeding great and then what would it be if the Sins of all the Days and Years we lived were added And seeing our Case is such tell me is it not Mercy only which tieth the Hands of Divine