understand his Providence and Fatherly Protection which is compared to the shadow for the Safety and Security of it and the refreshment which comes by it That as in a shade men are defended from the Heat so in this from these showers and Heates of Afflictions and Persecutions which they are subject unto God is said sometimes to hide us himself and sometimes we our selves hide our selves flying and repâ—â—ring to him for shelter and defence of us We have often mention made of this in Scripture Psal 17.8 Keep me as the Apple of thine Eye hide me under the shadow of thy Wings And Psal 57.1 In the shaddows of thy wings will I make my refuge untill these Calamities be over past And Psal 94.4 He shall cover thee with his feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust So again there are other phrases and Expressions also answerable hereunto As Esay 49.2 In the shadow of his hand hath he hid us And Psal 31.20 The secret of his presence and secretly in a Pavilion and the like When t is said here that the Righteous which are the Sons of men do put their trust under the shadow of Gods wings which is his Providence and Fatherly protection There are two things especially signified in this Expression First Their Expectation and dependance as to matter of Practise they do repair and betake themselves to him Secondly Their Satisfaction and Security as to matter of Success or Priviledg they do rest and quiet themselves in Him First I say here 's their Expectation and dependance as to point of Duties Gods Children still in every Condition especially of Perplexity and Distress do betake themselves to him for Safeguard and Defence and Protection of them They come under the shadow of his wings This is grounded in their Relation to him because they are his Children Whether should Children go for refuge but to their Father This interest puts them hereupen Oh! it it is a blessed thing to have such a share and propriety in God Especially in sad and Evil times And it concerns us to make sure our interest in him for this purpose and that before such times as these shall come upon us If ever we desire with comfort to repair to God in danger for Protection we must repair to him before danger for Love and out of Obedience to him otherwise we may doubt and question with our selves whether he will shelter and protect us or no. The practise here of Gods people does condemn the contrary in many others besides who least think of God of any thing else in all the world when Danger or Trouble is near unto them There are a great many shadows which men trust in at such times and truly they are but shadows indeed and shadows in the worst notion and sense of it as it is a diminitive word and expression in opposition to substance and reality The shadow of Wit and the shadow of Wealth and the shadow of Friends and the shadow of Strength and outward Power and the like these are the shadows which they rely upon but the shadow of Gods wings is a business which is quite out of their minds they think not at all of it But the Godly here do give us a better example in this Text by repairing to God as their Duty Secondly Here 's their priviledge and Success they trust that is they rest and quiet themselves There 's a great deal of Serenity and Tranquillity in a faithful reliance upon God Now Secondly For the Ground of Inference or Connexion of these words with the former Therefore do the Sons of men c. Therefore wherefore why because thy Loving-kindness is so excellent So then according to the several notions of Loving-kindness which I mentioned before here is a double Improvement observable First Here 's the Improvement of the Nature of God and what he is in his Disposition or Affection because thy Loving-kindness is so excellent that is because thou bearest such favour to thy People And Secondly Here 's the Improvement of the Providence of God and what he is in his works and Performances Because thy Loving-kindness is Excellent that is because thou hast done so much for them already therefore do they trust thee further And so here are two Propositions or Conclusions which do arise from these words First That we have great cause to trust God for his Attributes and the Goodness which is in Him Secondly That we have great cause to trust God for his Performances and the Experience which we have of him this same therefore it hath both these in it First I say we have cause to trust him for his Attributes and the Goodness which is in him They that know thy Name will trust in thee Psal 9.10 Thy Name that is thy Nature wherein thou art always like to thy self Secondly We have cause to trust him for his Performances and the Experiences of him thus also in the next words in the same verse For thou Lord hast not forsaken them that seek thee That is thy Loving-kindness hath been Excellent Love it ingages to trust the more Affection still the more Confidence in the party which is Affected Now the use of all this to our selves is to stir us up still upon occasion to improve these both to our own advantage for the quickning and strengthning of our Faith Especially in great Difficulties which may at any time happen unto us let us remember still to oppose to them and set against them the excellency and infiniteness and admirableness of Gods Loving-kindness Thus now we have the Second General also dispatcht and so with it the whole Text it self which I have at this time undertaken How Excellent is thy Loving-kindness O God therefore the Children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 SERMON XXI Psal 84.11 For the Lord God is a Sun and shield The Lord will give Grace and Glory No good thing will be withhold from them that walk uprightly There is nothing which is more necessary for us then to have Good thoughts and apprehensions of God It is necessary both in point of Duty and in Point of Comfort In point of Duty it is necessary thereby to work us so much the more to obedience and Complyance with Gods Commands for what can be done too much for Him who has so much worth and Excellency in Himself And it is necessary in point of Comfort thereby to work us so much the more to Contentment and submission to Gods Dispensations For what can come amiss from Him who is so Good and Gracious to us and especially when we our selves do apprehend and believe him to be so Therefore this is that which we have here exhibited to us in this Scripture which we have here before us from the Mouth or Pen of the Psalmist as a satisfaction and refreshment to himself in his present condition The Lord God is a Sun and shield The Lord
of Gods servants in this regard who dare not trust him with their lives and the preservation of them notwithstanding so many Gracious Promises and experiences which they have received from him As David he was but just before delivered out of his enemies hands and he presently cryes I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul even so it is with many others besides who as the Apostle speaks through fear of death are all their life-time subject to bondage Heb 2.15 Now for such as these they may be here said from this passage before us though God may bring them to danger yet as he sees cause he will deliver them from it as he did here with this servant David The Lord hath chastened me sore but he hath not given me over to death Secondly Where we partake of this mercy let us acknowlelge it with all thankfulness Thus does David do here we are to take notice not onely of his words but also of his Affection which is signified in them and the Spirit from whence they came from him he utters them with a great deal of feeling and sensibleness of Gods goodness to him And so they are not onely a narration of his present condition but an acknowledgement of Gods favour to himself to an answerable temper and disposition which he does here Express by the words which came from Him He hath not given me over to Death They are not words of Boasting and Vanity and Ostentation and Carnal Rejoyceing but the words of Soberness and Piety and Discretion And there are divers things intended by them First He would make it an Argument for Patience The escaping greater Evils should breed Contentation under less That as God afflicts us below our Deserts so also below our Capacities that he does not afflict us in the utmost Extremity and so to this purpose should we argue and reason with our selves he has taken away my Health but he hath not taken away my Life He hath exercised me in my Body but he has spared my Soul He hath deprived me of Earthly Comforts but he hath not deprived me of Heavenly of the Graces of his Spirit of the assurance of his Love of the Communion with himself of his own blessed and Gracious presence these he hath not denyed me but continued them still in the midst of all other Discouragements Secondly He would hereby silence the false rumours which were to the Contrary and the Insultations of his Enemies from them for their mouthes were full to this purpose and delighted to be so as these which spake according as they would have it as in the place before alledged Psal 41.6.7 And if he come to see me he speaketh Vanity his Heart gathereth Iniquity to it self when he goeth abroad he telleth it all that hate me whisper together against me against me do they devise my hurt This was the Condition of David in regard of his Enemies They Tryumpht before the Victory and pleased themselves both in the thoughts and speeches of his supposed Ruine and Destruction now by this Expression here in the Text he does in an holy and Humble manner signifie their Mistake and Disappointment as if he had said unto them it is not so bad as ye thought it nor so bad as ye hoped it nor so bad as ye talked it I am through Gods goodness alive still for all the surmises The Lord hath Chastened me sore but he hath not given me over to Death Thirdly Which is here namely Considerable David I say would hereby express his Thankfulness to God for this Mercy they are words of Praise and spiritual Rejoyceing as appears by those that follow in the 19 verse of this Psalm Open to me the Gates of Righteousness and I will go into them and will praise the Lord namely for this his Goodness to me This is that which we all should do as we have occasion for it and indeed there 's none of us all but have so one way or other though some more then other either by way of prevention in keeping of Evils from us or by way of recovery in delivering us out of those Evils and especially in these late Distempers which have been so rife and frequent amongst us for this year now last past wherein Death hath come up into our Windows as the Scripture speaks that we should not be given over to it is matter of due praise unto us and to be acknowledged by us And we cannot better nenew the year unto us then by such performances as these are And further stir up others to do so occasionally from our Example which is another thing here intended by David in this Expression he does not onely hereby signify his own Thankfulness but also excite and stir up others to praise God both for him and themselves upon the like occasion as we find him in another place Psal 34.2.3 My Soul shall make her boast of God the humble shall hear thereof and be glad O magnify the Lord with me and let us Exalt his name together But especially as a third Improvement of this point let us be careful to use our lives well which God has given us to his Glory and so give them back to him again who has first given them too us Life it is a Blessing as it used and ordered by us For men to live onely a Natural Life here in the word to Eat and Drink and take their pleasures like brute Beasts Alas what a poor thing is that for men to live onely for such a purpose as this is to fiill up the measure of their Sins and to aggravate their Account at another Day by thinking that they are delivered to commit such and such Abominations this is very sad and Miserable but then is Life indeed when it is improved to Gods Glory The doing of good in our several Opportunities the Furtherance both of our own and others Salvation and laying up in store a good Foundation against the time to come laying hold on Eternal Life Therefore I beseech ye let us be careful especially to look to this and that likewise those which are in the prime of their Years and Health and Strength let them not neglect so Blessed an Opportunity as that is those that are past it let them indeavour to redeem it for time to Come We should labour to find our lives given us and continued to us in Mercy and Love which we may know to be no otherwise then accordingly as we have hearts given us with them for the improvement of them as we may do any other Mercy besides where it has the stamp of Gods love upon it it makes us to serve him better with it and our selves to be really and indeed so much the better for it whereas when it is otherwise it is a fign it is in wrath and to harden us so much the more in Evil There 's none are so bad as those who are bad after Mercies Received both as having
indeed for him These are they which make us the greatest work and cause the greatest disturbance to us As we may see upon divers occasions in Pride in Revenge in Impatience in Discontent in Inconstancy If a mans Thoughts were but here brought in frame all that remains would be easily brought to pass Thirdly Here is Imply'd further this That settlement and Quietness and Tranquillity and Establishment of Thoughts it is a very great Happiness and Mercy This I say is here Imply'd because it is here brought in in the Text in a way of Promise and especial Incouragement Solomon makes account that he has said somewhat which may very well please and satisfie us when he says Our Thoughts shall be Establisht and so he has It is a great Mercy for a man to have quiet and composed Thoughts The Happiness of Thoughts Establisht it is an Happiness simply in it self as mans Mind is the chiefest Principle in him which being well or ill makes the man accordingly so to be as in the Point before And it is an happiness also in the consequents as it is that which has an influence upon every other particular in him It is that which sweetens Business and Estates and Friends and all other Comforts besides which we injoy with it which made David so earnestly to beg it Psal 51.10 11. when he prayed for a Right and Constant and Stable Spirit This teaches us accordingly to prize it and where we injoy it to be thankfull for it and to Bless God for the injoyment of it especially there where it proceeds and is set upon right Grounds Indeed in some Cases and for some Persons it were a great deal better for them in some sense to have their minds troubled that so they might at last have them settled in a more sure way But in the sense we now speak of an Establisht and Quiet Mind is a Mercy and so to be accounted In the want of many other Comforts and Accommodations besides it is that which is All in All. And so much may suffice briefly to have spoken of the Points which are here implyed from the Phrase and manner of Expression which is used in this place We come now a little closer to the Text Thy Thoughts shall be Establisht This is the Promise which is made and this is the Blessing which does belong to the Committing of our Works to the Lord that it shall have this falling upon it This word Thoughts Makshevoth it may carry a double meaning and Interpretation with it Either first of all as understanding thereby the Workings and Agitations of the Mind it self Thy Thoughts that is thy Imagination by taking it Formalites Subjective or else Secondly As understanding thereby the result and effect of such Workings Thy Thoughts that is thy Purposes and Devices and Contrivances and Works themselves The things which thy Thoughts and Mind are Imployed about by taking it matcrialiter objective Either of these may be here understood as belonging to this establishment of Thoughts and as annext to this business of Committing our Works to the Lord It inferrs either of them First To take it of the Mind it self Thy Thoughts shall be Establisht that is thou shalt have a Mind free from any other trouble and distraction when thou hast practised this Counselin the Text. And here again we may look upon it and consider it in a twofold notion more Either First of all as matter of Duty or Secondly as matter of Priviledge As matter of Duty so it Shews us that which ought to be As matter of Priviledge so it shews that which will be Each of these as I conceive are here pertinently considerable First of all I say we may here look upon it as matter of Duty and as shewing us what ought to be By taking futurum pro Imperatum which with the Hebrews we know is very ordinary Thy Thoughts shall be Established That is Let thy Thoughts be Established And thus now it carrys a very good Connexion and Conjunction with the words before and inferrs one Duty upon another and carries this Truth and Intimation with it That when we have once in an Holy and Humble manner committed our Works to the Lord we ought now no farther to trouble or to disquiet our Minds about them but so far forth as our Thoughts are any thing in our own Power and our minds are at our own Commands as in some respects they are so far forth it becomes us and it is our Duty to establish and quiet our minds and to set our hearts at rest or thoughts in our selves This is as they are intended thus we use to express it Thus we have it in the Exhortation of the Apostle Phil. 4.6 Be carefull for nothing but in every thing by Prayer and Supplication let your requests be made known unto God As who should say when we have done this there were no more required of us When we have committed our works to the Lord this is all that we are now to trouble and take up our thoughts withal I mean in regard of our Distraction and Disquiet of Spirit This does not exclude the use of Means and the closing with those Opportunities and Advantages which God does afford unto us But it excludes only Anxiety and Sollicitude and Perplexity of mind It is a great peice of weakness in us when we have Commended our Conditions to God to be still as full of Distraction in our selves as if there had not been done any such thing by us And to speak distinctly of it it has these Particulars in it First It is an Implicit distrusting of God Himself as if he were not able or not willing to order our business for us and to succeed those Works to us which we had committed unto him which is no other than an high Indignity offered to his Majesty Secondly It is a frustrating of Gods Ordinance and making a meer Shaddow and Cipher of Prayer it self as if it had no Fruit or Efficacy with it at all but onely might be used for Fashion and Formalities sake and there were an end Thirdly It is an imposing of so much needless trouble upon our selves and disquieting our own minds more than we have cause at present to do Forasmuch as the Ground of Disquiet ceasing the Disquiet it self should cease also to us Let this therefore make us to take heed of being guilty in this Particular when we have once Committed our Works to the Lord let our thoughts from henceforth be Established and Settled and Quieted in our selves Let him alone with our Estate and Condition he will be sure to Order and Dispose of it well unto us Why art thou cast down O my Soul c. Psal 11.1 Nay though we should perchance mistake for the thing it self c. Yea but perhaps some may Object it may be I have not done it as I should do I have not Committed my Works to him in that manner as I
as these seriously think and consider with themselves what we have hitherto treated of and be admonished and advised by it The simple pass on and are punished It is only the Prudent which foresees the evil and hides himself who does escape the Judgment And when we speak here of the Prudent and Simple we may if we please take it here a little narrower than hitherto we have taken it Not only hereby understanding Godly and Ungodly Men the Righteous and the Wicked who do differ toto genere but also as well Christians and Professors of Religion in a different frame and temper of Spirit which is considerable in them There are some Christians which are more watchful and vigilant and circumspect of themselves These are the Wise and Prudent Again There are others which though perhaps they may have some truth of Grace in them and good Principles at the bottom yet are a little more careless and remiss and negligent not so careful as they should be to stir up that good which is in them These may also be called Simple and Foolish And we see here what belongs unto them as the Doom which is past upon them They pass on and are punished That Christian that walks carelesly and securely and does not look to his Watch he does thereby ensnare himself It is not only the lot of those which are absolutely wicked and profane but even of the Servants of God themselves now and then which are not more careful of themselves for their simplicity and security to be punished So I have done with both parts of the Text and with the whole Verse it self SERMON XXXV Esaiah 9.14 Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail branch and Rush in one day Though God considered in himself in his own Blessed Majesty be altogether absolute and unaccomptable and need to give no reason at all of any thing which is done by him his own Will being the best and highest Reason that can possibly be given Yet he is pleased out of his Grace and Goodness so far oftentimes to condescend to the Sons of men as to give them some account of those Actions which are done by him Especially which do any thing more than ordinarily concern themselves as to their suffering from him And this is that which we may observe him to do in this Scripture which we have now before us where intending a great desolution of this People which he had to deal withal the People of Israel and the sending of a sweeping Judgement amongst them He here gives them a reason of so much sharpness and severity to them as proceeding not so much from himself but rather from them not from himself so much as unmercifully disposed towards them or set against them But from themselves rather who had neglected his mercy and goodness to them IN the Text it self there are two General Parts considerable First The Ground or Occasion of the Judgment that 's in the Particle Therefore which relates to that which went before in the 13th Verse the Judgment it self that 's exprest in these words The Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail c. We begin with the First of these Parts viz. The Ground or Occasion of the Judgment in the particle Therefore Therefore Wherefore Why namely because this People did not turn unto him that had smitten them neither did seek the Lord of hosts as is exprest in the Verse immediately preceeding Therefore will the Lord do thus and thus with them where the Cause which is here exprest may be conceived to proceed in the way of a threefold Gradation First Of their simple Impiety Secondly Of their Additional Impenitency Thirdly Of their continued Obstinacy There was their Simple Impiety in provoking of God by their sin and miscarriage at first There was their additional Impenitency in that they did not turn from their sin to him that smote them There was their continued Obstinacy in that they would not in all this so much as seek to the Lord of hosts First Here was their Simple Impiety and sinning of theirs against God at first as a Ground and occasion of Gods Judgment to be inflicted upon them This was that which was in the bottom of it Israel had sinned and therefore now Israel was to be punished in reference to their sin This is that which is pertinently to be observed in all proceedings of this nature sin it is the meritorious cause of all punishment and that which lays a ground for it Where ever there is sin there will be Punishment sooner or later And where once there is Punishment there has been sin greater or smaller and so the Scripture still intimates and declares unto us as 1 Cor. 11.30 For this cause many are weak c. There is always a cause and a particular cause of Judgment and his proceeding to Punishment Sin and Punishment they are relatives and have a mutual dependance upon each other And that especially in regard of the Justice which is in God He cannot indure to behold sin and iniquity and therefore must needs punish it and be avenged upon it The wages of sin is Death and God is a true Paymaster who will not withhold their wages from such Persons to whom it is due nor yet on the other side will he give such wages to such Persons to whom it is not due Therefore we should justifie God in all his dealings with us to this purpose when his hand does at any time lye more than ordinarily heavy upon us it is good for us to search our hearts and ways in this particular and to consider how it is with us Gods quarrel is not against our Persons but against our Sins and therefore let us reflect upon them and lay the cause where it is to be laid indeed Why doth a living man complain or man for the Punishment of his Sin Let us search and try our hearts and turn unto the Lord our God as the Prophet Jeremy advises Lam. 3.31 We should for the most part suspect our sins as the causes of any Judgment which is upon us And accordingly look to find out that particular sin which may have more especial influence hereupon But Secondly As here was their Simple Impiety so also their Additional Impenitency as a further Cause of this Judgment Those that sin perhaps at first and so throughly provoke God's anger against themselves yet by Repentance and turning from their sins may happily divert it and appease it But those People here in the Text they did not so they turned not to him that smote them And this made their Judgment to be so much the furer to them than otherwise it would have been Where men repent of sinning God repents of punishing and of that Evil which he thought to bring upon them as we may see in the Ninevites But where they do not he does not neither That Punishment which is slow of it self Impenitence hastens it
endless darkness Lastly By way of extent or explication to shew unto us the full nature of this business wherein it does consist There are two Branches of the sentence of condemnation and which the judgment of the great day does extend unto The one is positive to the punishment of sense and the enduring of exquisite torments and so in that consideration it is called darkness The other is privative in the punishment of loss and expulsion from God's glorious presence and the comfort of his countenance and so in that consideration it is said to be no light And thus we have seen this passage in each expression of it both Affirmative and Negative darkness and not light And so much may be also spoken of it as consider'd simply and absolutely in its general Proposition We may further Secondly look upon it relatively and in its particular scope as directed more especially to the persons above mentioned who desired this day of the Lord. To these the Prophet Amos here declares that this day it is darkness and not light And here again in this reference it carries a threefold force or emphasis with it First an emphasis of Information to those which were ignorant and did not know that this day was Secondly an emphasis of Conviction to those which were obstinate and would not know what this day was Thirdly an emphasis of Astonishment to those which were desperate which knew it but laid aside the thoughts and considerations of it and would put it to the venture First I say This expression The day of the Lord is darkness and not light it has an emphasis of information to those who were ignorant and which did not know it as if he had said thus unto them You seem to desire the coming of the day of the Lord as if thereby you should get some great good to your selves but alas as the case stands with you you have no cause at all to do so for there will be no advantage from it to you The proper object of desire it is good and not evil it is light and not darkness But this day of the Lord as it is circumstanced it is that which is quite contrary it is evil and not good it is darkness and not light that ye may rightly understand it The world has other notions commonly of death and judgment than those which they should have but the Scripture and word of God is the best instructer of them in this particular and that gives them a true account and estimate of such things as these are if they will hearken unto it Secondly An emphasis of Conviction to those which were obstinate and would not know it Profane persons as I shewed before they laugh'd at those things thought there was no such thing indeed as the day of the Lord and therefore scoffingly and in scorn call'd for it Well let it come We would fain see this day that you speak of and threaten us withal Well says the Prophet to these ye have no great cause to be so full of this confidence and security if ye consider all for I can tell you there is somewhat more in this day than you are aware of there 's no playing or jesting with it This day of the Lord it is darkness and not light what ever you may think of it it is so and so you will find it The word of God is powerful sharper than a two-edged Sword and the threatenings of the word having the spirit of God going along with them and setting them home upon the conscience have an ability in them to conquer and confound the most impartial mockers Thirdly An emphasis of Astonishment to those which were desperate and though they knew and in some sort believed such a day as this was yet did not fear it but were hardened in their hearts against it To such as these the Prophet here declares the horridness and unsupportableness of it That though they may think they could grapple with it and hold out against the extremities of it yet in conclusion and when it comes to the trial they will find it to be too heavy for them and above their strength whether the day of common and publick calamity or the day of trial and general judgment Who may abide the day of his coming or who shall stand when he shall appear as it is Mal. 3.2 And again Rev. 6.16 17. They shall call to the mountains to hide them from the face of him that sitteth upon the Throne and from the wrath of the Lamb for the great day of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand Take this day in reference to the Jews for their particular and it was full of astonishment in each acception whether we take it for the day of their Captivity or for the day of their Messias The day of their Captivity it was a doleful day unto them insomuch as the Prophet Jeremy made it the sole matter of his Book of Lamentations And the day of the Messias that was an heavy day like wise that it proved their final rejection for since that time they are mark'd out to the world for a persidious people and hardly known for a people The Vse of all to our selves and so to draw to a conclusion comes to this We have heard how the day of the Lord is darkness and not light that is terrible and full of horror in the whole latitude and extent of it whether we take it for the day of death and general judgment or whether we take it for the day of captivity and National visitation Now what remains but that accordingly we should be sensible and apprehensive of it in this representation and from thence to prevent the terribleness of it to our selves For this is the nature of such things as these are that the terribleness of them encreases with the security about them and the less grievous they are thought to be afore-hand the more heavy are they when they happen and come to pass And on the other side preparations for them do take off from the dreadfulness of them We should therefore labour to get a stock of Grace against such times as these are and in this day of the Lord's mercy and respite and intermission prepare for the day of his wrath and judgment and visitation We should labour and endeavour to make our peace with God in Christ who alone can take off the terribleness of that day from us and make it of a day of darkness to be a day of light We should cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light in the abandoning of all wicked and sinful courses and in the practice of all spiritual and heavenly Graces We should walk honestly as in the day not in rioting and drunkenness not in chambering and wantonness not in strife and envying but putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and making no provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof as
shall it trouble his Spirit and shall it not trouble ours What an inconsistent thing is this Surely if there were nothing in it but this that it is a dishonour and grief to God we had great cause to be troubled with it and for it But then Secondly In reference to our selves there 's great matter of trouble in it so as a wounding of our consciences and a breaking of our peace and a darkening of our assurance and an hazarding of our salvation and a great interruption of our converse and communion with God When we shall but sit down and consider with our selves the sad effects and consequents of sin in all particulars which it does create and produce to those who make bold with it and that take scope and liberty in it we have very great reason to be very much troubled for it Thirdly In reference to our Brethren who sometimes suffer from it and are the worse for it The sins of Christians are not only terminated in themselves and rest in those who are the immediate subjects of them but extend themselves also to others who are infected with them And this is also a matter of trouble to those who are guilty in this respect when men shall consider that they make others the Children of Hell as well as themselves and sometimes more according to the improvement which may be made of it this should go very near unto them and affect them and be very irksom to them in the reflexions upon it especially as they may stand in nearer Relation to them as Children or Brethren or Servants or Friends c. Thus may and ought Christians to be troubled for their own sins and miscarriages And so likewise which is here pertinent hereunto with the sins of others a gracious heart will be much troubled for these when it takes notice of them As just Lot he was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked Sodomites That Righteons man dwelling amongst them in seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds As the Apostle Peter records it of him 2 Pet. 2.7 8. Though he was clear himself he was troubled for them And so Paul when he came to Athens Act. 17.16 His spirit was stirred in him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 put into a paroxysm when he saw the City there to be wholly given to Idolatry David Psal 119.158 I beheld the Transgressors and was grieved because they kept not thy Word And v. 136. of the same Psalm Rivers of waters run down mine eyes because they keep not thy Laws Sin it is very just cause and ground and occasion of trouble to us whether our own or other mens Secondly As sin so also misery and affliction and calamity This is an occasion of it likewise Our strength is not the strength of stones nor our flesh of brass as Job says of himself in Job 6.12 We have sense and feeling in us as men and so accordingly may be very well troubled with that which is offensive thereunto There is no chastening of it self which is joyous but grievous Heb. 12.11 neither did our Saviour here expect that his Disciples should be altogether unsensible of their present condition which was now exceeding sad in regard that himself was departing and going away from them I might very well take occasion from hence to speak of afflictions at large how far forth they may be just grounds of trouble to Christians But I will confine my self only to the Text and that which is implyed in that as an occasion of present trouble to the Disciples to wit the taking away of Christ from them It was that which they not only might but ought to be troubled for And that in three respects especially which we may here take notice of First as it was the loss of a good Man Secondly as it was the loss of a good Friend Thirdly as it was the loss of a good Master First As it was the loss of a good Man They had great cause to be affected with that and in a sort troubled at it that they were likely to lose such a man as Christ was The loss of good men in the world is a thing which should very much affect us when it falls out to us Help Lord for the godly man ceases for the faithful fail among the children of men It was the complaint of the Prophet David Psal 12.1 And the Prophet Isaiah complains of it that there is no more trouble of mind for it Isa 57.1 The righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart And merciful men are taken away none considering that c. There 's a Stake out of the Hedge a Stone out of the Building a Pearl out of the Chain For godly men and righteous men to be removed and taken away whatever the world may think of it and may sometimes rejoyce at it through the madness of it yet it is a great affliction and misery to it and such as it has cause to be much grieved and troubled at For such as these they are fences and hedges and pillars and bulwarks to the places where they are Secondly As a good Friend there was another notion of Christ to them As one whom they had special acquaintance and converse withal and interest in Goodness at a distance and in some remoteness it is not so much observed or regarded but when it comes nearer us in a companion and associate here we are commonly more sensible of it both in the enjoyment as also the deprivation As there 's no need of losing godly men so there 's no need of losing friendly men especially in a world of ungodliness and an unfriendly age and generation The loss of such it was ever troublesome and still is so even to this present day Thirdly As the loss of a good Master and Teacher and Instructer of them That dropt very sweetly upon them upon all occasions A resolver of their doubts a remover of their scruples an informer of their ignorance a comforter of their dejections to lose and let go and part with such a one as this was as Christ was now unto them It was matter of trouble indeed it was the loss and departure of Christ signanter emphatice which had the stang and grievousness and aggravation of this same trouble in it And here I might now very seasonably take an occasion to speak of desertions and the withdrawings of Christ from a Peliever what a sad condition it is and how just a ground and occasion of trouble and disquiet unto him in the thing it self simply considered In Joh. 20.13 When the Angels at the Sepulcher said to Mary Magdalen Woman why weepest thou She saith unto them Because they have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid him As who should say Have I not think ye cause to weep when-as Christ himself is taken away from me yes indeed and so she had and so hath
for our own use and improvement And first let us here take notice of the corrupt nature which is in man to be abased and humbled for it The world in the wisdom of God by wisdom knew not God what a perverse world was this now in the mean time that made no better use of those helps which were afforded unto it for its furtherance in knowledg Here were two special helps which though in some respects we have disparaged and diminished from them yet in other respects do remain intire and they are the wisdom of God on the one part and the wisdom of man on the other The wisdom of God in the Creatures for the Book and opportunity of teaching and the wisdom of man in the mind for the skill and opportunity of learning Both of these taken together they leave the world without excuse There are two special cases wherein we pity rather than blame such persons as are destitute of learning The one is when they want Books and the other is when they want parts those which have no very excellent pregnancy of parts or quickness of wit in themselves yet may know with the help of a good Library they make a shift to get some competent knowledg Again those which have no great store of Books yet if they have quick and nimble parts they are able to beat things out of themselves if they will set themselves to it and they carry as it were a Library about them in that respect But now where both these meet together surely here 's a very great advantage and opportunity indeed and it 's a sign of very great laziness and negligence to be a dunce here Why this is now the case with the world for the knowledg of God Here 's Books enough the Library of the Creature which is here called the wisdom of God And here 's parts enough even the wisdom of the world and yet the world for all this it knows not God What a stark and staring shame is this and how much to be abhorred But here we see the corruption of our nature which we have hence cause to abhor and bewail And that may be the first Application Secondly Seeing the world by wisdom knew not God let us then labour to find somewhat more in us than worldly wisdom let us not rest our selves in tha kind of knowledg which we may have and still be ignorant of God but labour and endeavour with our selves to reach to an higher pitch and perfection than consists barely in these inferior speculations what is it for us to have skill in every thing else if we have not skill in Religion an saving of our own souls What is it for us to make good others evidences for earth if we cannot make good our own evidences for Heaven I beseech ye let us seriously think of such matters a these are Humane wisdom and Divine they are not inconsistent as I have shewn in the nature of the things themselves but yet they are many times inconsistent in the subject in which they severally are and do not always meet together in one and the same person and that is because they are excellencies of a different nature As ye know in Professions which are independant upon each other there may be skill in the one where there is not skill in the other so also here Thirdly Let those who know God and have this worldly wisdom see what cause they have to bless God and to acknowledg his goodness to them those which are at once both men of parts and men of grace and piety also let them here knovv hovv they came by each and especially by the latte of them to vvit the knovvledg of God in Christ Flesh and blood has not taught it them It vvas not their vvit which made them that vvhich they are but the free grace and goodness of God unto them vvhich carried them into an higher strain of spirit And again for those who desire this wisdom let them learn hence to vail and cover the other and lay it down in order to the other where it makes any opposition and resistance yea where they have formerly too much stood upon it shew their remorse and repentance for this folly by another course as those in the Acts which were converted they renounced their curious arts witchcraft and sorcery and the like and brought their books and burnt them before all men Act. 19.19 Yet to conclude let me add one thing more and that 's this That though humane wit does not give Grace of it self yet it does sometimes forward the means of Grace and accordingly is to be improved by us As the Star occasionally led the wise men to Christ Mat. 2. Again though Parts make us not good at first yet when we are good they are good helps to make us better and more useful in the exercise of piety and so likewise are we conscionably to use them And thus now I have done with the first General Part in this Verse viz. The worlds neglect and miss-improvement of the opportunities of knowledg in these words The world by wisdom knew not God Now the second is the supply of this defect by a new kind of dispensation to them After that c. it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching c. But of this God willing we shall speak in the next Sermon SERMON XXVII 1 Cor. 1.21 It pleased God by the foolishness of Preaching to save them that believe There 's no greater hinderance and impediment to the receiving and entertaining of Christ and of the Gospel which is the Doctrine of Christ than a too high and over-weening conceit and opinion of mens own wisdom Those which have more Wit than Grace and especially if they be proud of that Wit they are commonly too wise to be instructed and so consequently too wise to be saved Therefore the Apostle Paul that he might deal more effectually with the Corinthians which had high thoughts in this particular and might bring them into a temper sit for the receiving of Evangelical Truths he does labour in the first place to qualifie these conceits in them to lay them low in themselves and the apprehensions of their own carnal excellencies and to discover unto them the power and efficacy of the means of Salvation which they were otherwise apt to contemn pulling down strong holds casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts it self against the knowledg of God and bringing into captivity every thought unto the obedience of Christ as it is in 2 Cor. 10.4 5. This is his special work in a great part of this Epistle and the next And in particular in this parcel of it which I have now again at this time read unto you in ver 21. of this Chapter and so forward He nullifies the wisdom of the world on the one side and he advances the wisdom of God on the other which he opposes thereunto OUR business this day is in
commonly in the object which is attractive of it in one kind or other In the love of Christ towards us there was nothing at all he loved us whiles we loved not him I knew says Christ that ye have not the love of God in you Joh. 5.42 Nay he loved us whiles we hated him Joh. 15.25 They hated me without a cause As we hated him without a cause so he without a cause loved us and thereby after a most happy exchange was avenged upon us You which were sometimes aliens and enemies in your minds by wicked works yet now hath he reconciled c. says the Apostle in Gol. 1.21 Here is the excellency of the love of Christ that it is bottom'd and founded in his own good-will and pleasure and nothing else besides as Moses tells the Israelites in Deut. 7.7 The Lord did not chuse you nor set his love upon you because you were thus and thus c. But because the Lord loved you c. He loved you because he loved you that 's the best account which can be given of the love of God That manner of reasoning which in other cases seems to carry an absurdity and incougruity with it here is the most rational of all other That 's the first kind of love the love of pity or benevolence The second is the love of Complacency or Beneficence as Christ loves us so far forth as to bestow his Grace upon us so he loves his own Graces in us Therefore where he has taken any persons into fellowship and communion with himself he does there bear a tender love and affection to them First Christ loves us so far forth as to make us his people and then he loves us upon this account because we are his people This we may see in the whole Book of the Canticles which is nothing else but an expression of the mutual love which is betwixt Christ and his Church and the contentment which they have in each other The consideration of this Point is thus far useful to us as it is an argument to us for our loving of Christ again Love it engages to love it has a special force and vertue with it in a mutual reciprocation And so it should likewise be with us in this particular we have cause to love Christ for himself and that variety of excellency which is in him considered abstractly but when we shall consider him in reference to our selves how he begins and prevents us with his love this does over and above challenge it from us If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha 1 Cor. 16. And further it teaches us also to love our Brethren This love of Christ is exemplary and is propounded for a pattern unto us and so we should make it thus Ephes 5.1 2. Be ye followers of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also loved us c. And 1 Joh. 4.11 Beloved if God so loved us we ought also to love one another Such persons carry themselves unsuitably and unequally to the love of Christ who have not some proportionable affection for others who are the members of Christ And so much of the first Emphasis as it may be laid upon the action of love and so having this Point in it that Christ does bear a special love and affection to his people Now the second is as it may be laid upon the Person of Christ himself To him that loved us It is spoken in a manner exclusively as if none did so much love us as Christ as indeed there does not This expression in the Text it is made a kind Of Periphrasis and description of Christ unto us whereby he is known and distinguished from all other persons Thus also in some other places as Rom. 8.37 We are more than conquerours through him that loved us Through him that loved us â— who is that namely through Christ so in 2 Thes 2.16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ and God even our Father who hath loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace Still this love of us it is fastened upon Christ The Use of this Point is to believe it and to be perswaded of it and to teach us to labour more and more to assure our hearts of it We should endeavour to have the sense and feeling of this love of Christ more upon our souls and to be well setled and established in it Which was that which the Apostle Paul did so much pray for in reference to the Ephesians That they being rooted and grounded in love might be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and might know the love of Christ that passeth knowledg Ephes 3.16 17 c. To know the love of Christ that is sensibly and experimentally in themselves by the power and vertue of the Holy Ghost shedding it abroad in their hearts as it is in Rom. 5.5 This is known and discerned by such notes aâ— are most proper and peculiar to it we may know that Christ hath loved us according to that which he has done for us and especially done in us by changing of our natures and by infusing of his Graces into us There are many who think that Christ loves them because he casts outward blessings upon them in a way of common Providence but alas these will not serve the turn to assure us of his love he may do as much as this for such persons as to whom he will one day say I know you not No but we must make good his love from matters of an higher nature which is from that care which he has wrought in us to serve him and to keep his commandments this is the best discovery and trial of his love Then may we probably conclude that Christ does love us when he has perswaded us to love him which we cannot do in good earnest without his love first fastened upon our souls We love him because he first loved us not only as the motive of our love but also as the efficient Thus again in Joh. 14.23 If any man love me he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come in unto him and will make our abode with him And so I have done with the first General Part of the Text which is the description of Christ from his affection propounded in General in those words Vnto him that loved us The second is from the discovery or manifestation of this affection in particular in these words And hath washed us from our sins in his own blood This passage is considerable of us two manner of ways First Absolutely as it is an expression of our Priviledg and secondly Relatively as it is an expression of the love of Christ First Take it absolutely and in it self as it is an expression of the Priviledg of Believers and that is to be washed from their sins by Christs Blood The
does also require of us When any thing is to be done by us or for us that we be sure to call upon God himself for the Prospering of it to us Prov. 3.5.6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thine own understanding In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy Pathes when we neglect to seek to God in Prayers we are so far-forth said to forget him and to be unmindful of him but when we pray to him then we remember him and it concerns us so to do A good Christan should go about nothing Especially of any Consequence or Concernment but he should be sure still to remember to seek to God for his Assistance in it and Blessing upon it Lastly And more especially as the sense and meaning of this place in point of Thankfulness and acknowledgement we are then said to remember God when we owne him in all the Mercies which we injoy from him when we do not onely as the brute Beasts take such things as are convenient for us but together with them look up to the Hand which bestows them upon us This is truely and indeed to remember him to be thank ful to him and of we ought to do Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God thus and thus Especially This is the proper Scope and drift of this present Scripture before us as we may see by the very Context and Coherence of it In vers 10.11 c. of this Chapter When thou hast Eaten and art full thou shalt Bless the Lord thy God for the good Land which he hath given thee Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping his Commandments and his Judgments c. Because indeed it is that which we are Naturally and Commonly too Prone and subject unto When we have received Mercies from God not to Consider from whom we have received them and so as it becomes us to return thanks for them therefore does the Lord himself remember us and put us in minde of it that we should be careful to do it as some kind of remembrance of himself Now this point thus Explain'd unto us calls for our Answerable Observation and performance of it we should be careful all of us to remember the Lord our God where me thinks in the very words themselves there are two Arguments couch'd and imply'd for the inferring of it upon us The one is from the word of Sovereignty that he is the Lord God And the other is from the word of Propriety that he is our God Each of these they do in a special manner call for our remembrance of him First From his Soveraignty that he is the Lord we should remember him for that and accordingly yeild all respect and Acknowledgement to him Great and Eminent Persons they are such usually as are remembred by us who ever are else now therefore the Lord for his Greatness though there were nothing else in it it does require it and call for it at our hands Secondly From the word of Propriety and that Interest which he has in us and we in Him Thy God This latter joyn'd with the former makes it Compleat in Deut. 28.58 We find this Expression there used That thou mayest fear this Glorious and fearful name THE LORD THY GOD. What he says there of Fearing him we may say of remembring him that also upon the same Ground and for the same Reason and in particular for our Relation to him Relations they are such as of all others should be remembred by us and if we have any good Nature in us they commonly are so and how much then does it become us to remember the Lord our God that ownes us and takes us for his and whom we our selves have own'd surely it concerns us to remember Him of any other besides And that also in all Conditions whatsoever we may light into and the better so much the more As it is intimated here in this Scripture When thou art full and art Prosperous c. Then remember the Lord thy God Prosperity it often makes men forgetful both of themselves and others yea which is so much the more Abominable often times even of God himself But it is that which it should not do We should remember the Lord our God in Prosperity and in the full Injoyment of all things Yea then Especially as the Author and Bestower of all these things which we injoy upon us To set home this point so much the more Effectually upon us and to perswade us to the practise of this Duty let us Consider this with our selves First The Great need which we have of God's remembring of us and of thinking upon us There 's a time a coming when we shall all be desirous of it and seeking for it Remember me O my God for good and think upon me which was the prayer of Nehemiah It will be likewise in time all our prayers and there will be cause for it Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdome And when I my self desire to come into it likewise There are certain Times and Seasons which are incident and Happening to us wherein God's remembrance of us will be of great Concernment and consequence to us And that a great deale more then all the world besides Now as we desire that he should remember us then let us remember him now And take the first occasion and opportunity for the doing of it which in his Providence is afforded unto us Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth as the Preacher advises Before the evil days come c. Eccle. 12. There are many who think sometimes of remembring of God but it is then when as their memory is lost to every thing else when their senses and memories fail them and are departed from them then they think they will remember God and have some thoughts of him But alas it is many times too late to do it then If ever we will remember him to purpose we must remember him before And that so much the rather as we shall desire then that he would remember us Secondly Let us Consider the great Evil of Forgetfulness of him It is that which we find in Scripture to be very much threatned and punished by God This was the great Sin of the Israelites and which was so much laid to their Charge which God Plagued them and punished them so much for That they forgat the works of the Lord and remembered not the things which he had done for them As we may see at large in the 78. Psal And so also the Prophet Esay says in Esay 17.10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy Salvation and hast not been mindful of the Rock of thy strength therefore thou shalt plant pleasant Plants and shalt set it with strange slips There is nothing which God does take worse from his People then to be forgotten and neglected by them And therefore accordingly does so bemoane it
spoken of thee O thou City of God It is spoken of the Church The Land of Vprightness Secondly It is a word of Forecast or Providence He Cares for it that is he Looks after it and inquires into the State of it so indeed the word here used in the Text does properly signify The Hebrew word is Darash which signifies properly to seek or inquire But it is here Translated Care by a Metonymy of the Cause for the Effect as it is also Psal 142.4 Because those things which men do care for they are Commonly inquisitive about them and desirous to learn and to understand how it faires with them thus it is now with God towards his Church he cares for it so as he he is mindful of the State and condition of it and accordingly does order and dispose of things sutable and agreeable thereunto He Cast's about what may be best and most Convenient for it and answerably does bring it about Thirdly It is a word of Sollicitude and Perplexity He cares for it that is he is Anxious about it This is not properly incident to the Lord who is not capable of such Passions as those are from his Transcendency but yet he is pleased now and then to take them upon himself and accordingly they are attributed to him as spoken after the manner of men Thus he grieves and fears and cares for his People His Bowelsyearn his Heart is turned within him his Repentings are Kindled together as it is in Hose 11. vers 8. Ther 's no man can express more Assection in any thing whereof he is Sollicitous as to the welfare of it then God does express towards his Church as there is Occasion for it It is the Land which the Lord cares for in the full Extent and Latitude of Care Whether of Respect or of Forecast or of Sollicitue Now as ther 's a threefold Expression of the care of God for his Church so there is a threefold Account also which may be given to us of this Care as from whence it does proceed in him And we may take it briefly thus First From his Relation Secondly From his Covenant Thirdly From his Interest First From his Relation The Church it is the Land which the Lord God careth for because it is the Land which he does properly take for his own All Lands are God's upon the account of common Creation the whole Earth and the fulness of it Yea but the Church is his Land by special purchase and Redemption and so he takes care of it more particularly in that Respect It is the Property of Good husbands to care for their own Land what ever Land they care for besides And ther 's no such Good husbands as God in all particulars What could have been done more to my Vineyard that I have not done in it Esa 5.4 It is his Vineyard and therefore he will take care of it to do all that may influence it He that cares not for his Own says the Apostle he is worse then an Insidel Now God will never be charged with this miscarriage He cares for his Church from his Relation Secondly From his Covenant It is the Land that he cares for upon this Consideration also Because he has bound and ingaged himself hereto Those that promise to take care of any whether Person or things they are concern'd to do so for their Ingagement though there be nothing else besides in it And so is God to do for his Church whether he has made a Covenant with all to this Purpose It was so with God Especially as to this People of Israel and in particular as to this Land of Canaan so it is also to the whole Church in General and to that Land which hath his Church in it He takes Care of it from his Covenant with it Thirdly From his Interest and more peculiar Concernment The Lord takes care of his Church as that which he receives the greatest Benefit and Advantage from any other besides not in a strict Sense but in a qualified and as he is pleased to account it God cannot be profited by Man nor by any thing which comes from him in a precise acception But yet so far forth as any places doe more advance his Worship and Name and Honour so far forthe he reckons himself to be advantaged by them And as they are careful of him so is he careful of them also by way of requital and compensation We see how it is amongst men they do not so much care for the Barren Wilderness and for that Land which is Fruitless and unprofitable but for that rather which makes good Returns unto them And so likewise does God himself The Land that the Lord God cares for is like the Land of Canaan it self which flowed with Milk and Hony This likewise the Church of God does as we may so express it therefore he careth for it The use of this Point to our selves comes to this purpose First as it serves to inform us and to satisfy us in the Truth of this point which we have now before us that we believe it and be perswaded of it It is that which we are ready sometimes to doubt of and to call in question whether God cares for his Church or no. Especially according to the Circumstances wherein it may be as Gideon sometimes reason'd with the Angel Judg. 6.13 If the Lord be with us why then is all this befaln us And so if the Lord take care of us why is it thus and thus with us This is that which we are now and then ready to reason and argue with our selves The Troubles of the Church cause the Church sometimes to question Gods care of it yea sometimes to Conclude against it and to determine the Contrary as Sion sometimes did The Lord hath forsaken me and my God hath forgotten me Esay 49.14 Well but for all that this Truth holds good notwithstanding concerning the Church That it is the Land which the Lord cares for This Proposition which we are now upon it hath both an Inclusive Emphasis and an Exclusive It has an Inclusive Emphasis in it as it does signify that God does indeed take care of his Church and Land An Exclusive Emphasis as it does signify that he does take care of it both in the Denyal of others care for it and in his own Denyal of Care for others First I say It has an Inclusive Emphasis as it does signify how God does indeed take care of it He careth for it God has a common and ordinary care which he does exercise about all his Creatures as he is the maker and Governour of them to keep them and preserve them in that Being which he hath bestowed upon them but this is not all which he expresses towards his Church He has another manner of Care for that then this comes to And he does manifest another kind of Love and Affection and tenderness towards it in his caring for it In being a
can do any good nor may expect any great matter from it those that doe so will be disappointed and so much the sooner because they doe so The strength of man and outward Power it is but weak of it's own nature but when it begins once to be trusted in it becomes weaker then it was before because that then it is God's Rival and comes as it were into competition with himself Now he is a jealous God and will not indure any thing to trespass and intrench on his Prerogative It is true that in outward strength somewhat there is which accordingly is to be looked upon as a means tending to such an end but the efficacy of it is from an Higher and it is no otherwise actually successeful then it pleases him to concur with it The bars of the Mighty are Broken and they that stumbled are girt with strength as it is in Ezekiel God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the strong and things despised to bring to nought things that are how little do they think of this which are puft up and swollen and as I may in a manner say intoxicated with the apprehensions of any thing in themselves to this purpose who glory in their great strength and the advantages whereof they partake in this particular Alas what a poor thing it is if they consider all and what little cause and ground have they for it even the strongest that are How often does the Lord in his providence confute them and convince them of the contrary and shew them that it is not in themselves We should here for our parts observe it and take notice of it that for the first Head here considerable By his own strength no man shall prevail that is by strength of Body or Arms or outward force in any kind whatsoever Secondly Not by strength of wit or parts and improv'd understanding There 's a strength which belongs to this also but it will not prevail neither considered in it self God confounds the wisdom of the wise and brings to nothing the understanding of the prudent 1 Cor. 1.19 Men of strong heads and brains and parts and of a deep and subtile reach in matters of Policy yet they are not alwayes infallibly successful He disappointeth the devices of the crafty so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise He taketh the wise in their own craftiness and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong And the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise that they are vain 1 Cor. 3.20 And Job 5.12 13. Even this strength it is many times no more but weakness neither In Eccles 9.11 the place before alleadged we have the insufficiency of such a strength as this is laid forth in three several expressions Bread is not to the wise nor Riches to men of understanding Nor favour to men of skill The meaning whereof is not this That they are to none of these at all but that they are to none of these infallibly and in such a sort as never to be otherwise Wise men may sometimes get bread that is such things as are of use to the supportment of this humane life but they do not get it purely by their wisdom And understanding men may sometimes get Riches and attain to a great estate in the world but they doe not get it by their understanding alone And skilful men they may purchase favour and credit and esteem and reputation but it is not their skill which does certainly interest them in it No but their is a line and thred of Providence which runs along in all these Dispensations These Abilities and Qualifications are no further successeful then as it pleases God himself to concurre and appear in them Thirdly To carry it still a little higher and it may be closer to the scope of the Text by his own strength shall no man prevail that is not by the strength of his own habitual Grace It is no question a very great advantage which a Saint and servant of God has over another man that he hath a principle of something and saving Grace in his heart which doth still combat and conflict and wrestle with corruption in him and also dispose and encline him to that which is good whereas a carnal and unregenerate person is swayed by nothing but his own lusts and ruled by that spirit which works in the children of Disobedience yea but this Grace now in a Christian when it comes to the Tryal and Improvement it will not hold without somewhat else A Beleever stands not so much by the Grace within Him the Grace of Inherence that Grace which is in Himself as by that which is his Support or rather by the Grace without him The Grace of Assistance The Grace that is the favourand good will and Mercy of God Himself who sustaines Him and keeps up It is he that keeps the feet of his Saints and none but He. Even in this sense also And it is not by their own but by this strength that they shall prevail Therefore let none trust to this whosoever they be Those who have never so much of it and the greatest share in it for it will not serve the turn We should still be begging of God to perfit his own work in us And when he has given us Grace for the Principal to draw it out also for the Exercise and Activity of it not to rest our selves in good Habits or in good Purposes or in good Motions ond Beginnings in us but to depend further upon the Spirit of God for his Accomplishment and Consummation of them And that also upon every new occasion which is Administred to us we need the Assisting and strengthning Grace of God in every Action and Moment of our lives and whatsoever we set our selves to and therefore let us still ever and anon have recourse unto it and make our Confidence in that alone Least with Peter while we trust in our selves and our own Grace which at present we partake off we miscarry and fall into Temptation It is one of the main Reasons in Providence why God has sometimes suffered men of Great and Eminent Graces to slip fouly and scandalously in their times that so they might learn themselves and others might learn by their Dismal Examples that they do not stand by any strength of their own but by the Grace of God whensoever they do stand By his own strength shall no man prevail That is not by any strength without God That 's the first Explication Secondly Not by strength against Him in reference especially to the Second Clause The Wicked shall be silent in Darkness Vngodly men shall not escape Punishment because they cannot be too strong for God who is a God of Power and might and is able to Crush them in pieces whensoever he pleases Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy Are we stronger then He says the Apostle 1 Cor. 10.22 Surely no we are not With him is
lie within the compass and reach of every particular person amongst us Every Christian may thus far be a Statesman and it becomes him so to be and every private Person may in this sense much dispose of the Kingdom as to that peace which we are to procure to the Kingdom in General which as I Conceive may be brought about in a likely way by these means and ways viz. First By every ones Lamenting and Bewailing of his own private Sins and the abominations of the Land wherein he lives every Sin unrepented off is a quarrel which God has against the Kingdom and for which he threatens the Destruction of it And therefore the way to reconcilement is Mourning and Humiliation for it this is the counsell which the Lord gives by his Prophet in Zeph. 2.1.2 c. Gather your selves together yea gather your selves together O Nation not desired and before the decree bring forth before the day pass at the Chaff before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you c. This gathering of our selves here together is not so much a gathering of our Persons as it is indeed a gathering of our thoughts and recollecting of matters with our selves to consider how things are with us neither does it imply this onely but also doing it with some Affection so as to be grieved and afflicted in our selves where we are conscious that we have done any thing amiss this is one way and means to procure Atonement and Reconciliation betwixt God and the Kingdom wherein we are Secondly This is not all but further there is required Amendment and Reformation for time to come Humiliation without Reformation is of no Efficacy or avayl at all as being indeed but false and Counterfeit and such as consequently is unaccepted of God The Prophet Esay has given us an item to this purpose in Esay 32.17.81 The work of Righteousness shall be peace and the Effect of Righteousness Quietness and assurance for ever And my People shall dwell in a peaceable Habitation and in sure Dwellings and in quiet resting Places See here the work of Righteousness is peace So 2 Chro. 7.14 If my People shall humble themselves and Pray c. And turn from their Evil ways then will I be Merciful to their Iniquities and heal their Land Mark turn from their Evil ways Thirdly Intercession and Supplication and Prayer we should all here improve that interest which we have in God to this purpose That he would be pleased not onely to be reconciled to our own Persons in particular but also to the whole Land in General whereunto we belong Pray for the peace of Jerusalem as the Prophet David calls upon us to do and for the peace of it in the first place with Heaven that the Lord himself may have no Controversie against it ye which are the Lords Remembrancers keep not silence and give him no rest till he has broken down the Partition-wall and reconciled himself to us Certainly this is such a Business as may well deserve our greatest Importunity and wrastling with God that may be And that 's the Second use of this point seeing when he gives Quietness c. Therefore to teach us all to be diligent in the use of all those means whereby God may be reconciled with the Land and kingdom wherein we live Thirdly This gives us an account of the present Evils and troubles which are amongst us from whence they proceed namely from hence that God himself is angry with us and hath hidden his face from us we are subject to fasten our Eyes onely upon Second and External Causes to say t is this thing and t is that thing and to think of any thing rather then of that which we should be most sensible off but this is the true ground and reason of all because the Lord himself is at variance and at difference with us as 't is exprest concerning Israel in Deut. 32.30 How should one chase a Thousand and two put ten Thousand to flight except their Rock had sold them and the Lord had shut them up And so Esay 42.24.25 Who gave Jacob for a spoyl and Israel to the Robbers Did not the Lord he against whom we have sinned for they would not walk in his ways neither were they obedient unto his Law Therefore he hath powred upon them the fury of his anger and the strength of Battel and it hath set him on fire round about c. Let us therefore here be advised of the true cause of so many troubles amongst us A Disease when it is found out in the cause of it it is half cured And so here this is the way to make us look after God and to put in practise that former Duty which I urged of seeking peace with him when we shall consider that all the Evil which is upon us it does arise from his difference with us as indeed it does It 's true he makes use of Instruments but these Instruments they are carryed on by his Providence and he has the ordering and regulating of them It is because God is angry with us that he suffers so many Divisions amongst us and that he permits us to sheath our Swords in the Bowels one of another as we do now in this Land and Kingdom And therefore let us still carry it as high as this and take notice of the true ground and Original of all Fourthly It carryes a word of Comfort in respect of our present Condition and the Calamities which are now upon us as it signifies thus much unto us that they are disposed off by an higher hand then the hand of our Enemies and so consequently that it is not in their Power to continue them to us There are no doubt dayly Plots and Conspiracies by those which are ill-wishers to Sion for the Continuing and advancing those Broyles and Differences which are amongst us and for the hindering of all means which may tend to peace and accommodation of things to us but here 's now the Comfort of all that these things are not in their Power but are over-ruled by God himself When he gives Quietness who then can make Trouble If the Lord notwithstanding all this will but speak a word of Peace to his People all Counsel and desirs to the contrary shall be sure to come to nought you know how it was with our Saviour sayling in the Ship with his Disciples when there was a great Tempest arose in the Sea insomuch that the Ship which they were in was almost ready to be sunk and cast away As soon as ever he once arose and rebuked the Winds and the Sea it is said there was a great Calm Matth. 8.26 Mark there was not onely a stilling of the Tempest that the Winds and Sea and Waves were not so Violent and Boisterous as they were before but on the otherside there was a great Calm a quite opposit and contrary Condition Thus did Christ in those Tempests of Water and how
instance we may see in Job whom when the Devil labor'd to traduce and slander he could do no mischief against him forasmuch as the Lord himself had acquitted him and set him free Hast thou considered my servant Job that there is none like him in all the Earth a perfect and an upright man c. Job 1.8 Secondly Men shall not be able to disturb nor cause trouble neither though they may indeavour bereunto And for instance here Job's friends they laid heavy charges against him as an Hypocrite and a desembler and I know not what but yet for all that they could not quite shake him of from his Confidence he appeals to God in these their censures of him Job 16.19.20 My witness is in Heaven and my record is on High my friends scorn me but mine Eyes powreth out tears unto God Job he had comfort in God even then when his friends spake against him and past hard sentences upon him And we see afterwards how the Lord acquitted him even to the shame of those his false accusers And thus will he likewise do upon occasion with others of his servants All the unreasonable suspicions and all the uncharitable opinions and all the hard censures which are at any time cast upon them shall not be able to prevail against them where God acquits a man it is no matter who speaks against him When he gives quietness none then can make trouble Thirdly Not a mans own misgiving and scrupulous Conscience that shall not cause trouble neither Where God himself will vouchsafe peace the Children of God sometimes through that weakness and infirmity which is in them are now and then false accusers of themselves and are ready to judge themselves to be in a worse Condition then they are as the generality and greatest sort of People offend in a way of self Presumption so there are some though not so many which also offend in a way of self suspition which lay hard inditements against themselves and their own Souls as Hypocrites as reprobates as such as have no truth or reality of Grace in them But now where God is pleased at any time to come in with a message and Testimony of Reconcilement all these doubts and fears and misgivings do presently vanish away When God will give quietness a man shall be freed from trouble from himself and his own Spirits If our Heart condemn us falsely God is greater then our Hearts and knows all things as it is said in another case Fourthly Not the Law of God that shall not cause trouble neither where it pleases God to give us his peace the Law that accuses and denounces also Joh. 5.45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father there is one that accuseth you even Moses in whom you trust Moses that is the Law written by Moses c. And how does that pronounce sentence See in Galat. 3.10 Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the Law to do them Here is the hard rigor of the Law But his now shall be able to do no hurt where God himself will give peace forasmuch as Christ hath freed them from the condemning Power of it Galat. 3.13 Christ hath redeemed us from the Curse of the Law being made a Curse for us He hath not freed us from the Authority of the Law that power which it hath over us to command us and to be a rule unto us but he hath freed us from the rigor of the Law that power which it would have over us to condemn us and to inflict punishment upon us Christ hath so freed and exempted us from the Law by dying for us as that it shall be no longer troublesome to us in this sense and consideration There is no Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8.1 Thus in all these several particulars is that Soul sure to be free from trouble which has once made its peace with God Neither Satan nor the World nor their own Conscience nor the Law of God it self shall be able to molest them that is so as any thing to prevayle or get the mastery of them So that we must still remember as an Explication of this present point that we take this trouble here as a trouble of Efficacy and Success not for a trouble of indeavour These may now go about to trouble such as those which are at peace with God but they shall not prevail against them no not the very gates of Hell it self The Ground of this truth is this namely because God is in those relations as must needs assure those of peace and Satisfaction whom he is at peace withall and that may be further declared in these particulars First It is he who is the Plantiff and the Party wronged and which enters the Action If any one should make a Christian trouble in regard of his Spiritual Estate it must be such an one whom a Christian has wronged and offended and trespassed against if he be satisfied and well-pleased who has any thing more to say against him why now this is the case here when God gives Spiritual quietness none is there able to make trouble Because the party offended is satisfied and he to whom the injury was done is now contented to take it up as you know Christ said in the Gospel to that woman which the Pharisees brought to him having taken her in the fact Joh 8 10.11 Woman sayes He where are those thine accusers Hath no man condemn'd thee She said No man Lord. And Jesus said unto her neither do I condemn thee go and sin no more When Christ himself did not condemn her none was able to lay any thing to her Because if any one had to do in forgiving her or accusing her it was he most of all who was God against whom she had sinned till she had received absolution from him she could not go away in quiet and when she had so it was no great matter what any other might say against her If God himself speak peace all is well in this regard and upon this consideration because he is the party most concern'd in the trespass it self Therefore David speaking of himself in Psal 51.4 He speaks after this manner Against thee thee onely have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and clear when thou judgest David had sinned against others also against Bathsheba and Vrijah against the rest of the people of God whom he had scandalized by his ill example But he sayes he had sin'd onely against God so as to call him to an account for this transgression at Gods tribunal and in his own Conscience He had sinned against God chiefly and he had sinned against God principally and he had sinned against God so as from him to beg and expect the perfect pardon and forgiveness of his sins this belong'd to God alone forasmuch as he was
the right hand of the most High SERMON XXV Psal 118.18 The Lord hath Chastened me sore but he hath not given me over to Death The Afflictions of the people of God are apt sometimes to be Misinterpreted both by others and by themselves by themselves in a way of Impatience and questioning of Gods Goodness to them by others in a way of Reproach and Aggravation of Gods Judgments against them Each of which Evils have need both to be removed and prevented by them and accordingly we find them so to be in this Scripture which we have now in hand in the Example of the Prophet David who partly to keep his own Heart from sinking under the manifold Tryals which God had exercised him withall and partly to restrain his Enemies in their uncharitable Censures of him occasionally from those Afflictions does here most pertinently and seasonably break forth into this sweet and Comfortable Meditation and Expression of Himself now before us concerning both the manner and measure and quality of Gods dealings with him in the words of this present Text. The Lord hath Chastened me sore but he hath not given me over unto Death IN the Text it self there are two General parts observable First The Condition Secondly The Qualification of this Condition The Condition The Lord hath Chastened me The Qualification But he hath not given me over to Death We begin with the First viz. The Condition wherein three particulars more First The Author of it and that is the Lord. Secondly The Nature of it and that is Chastening Thirdly The Aggravation of it and that is exprest to be Sorely He hath Chastened me sore First The Author of it We are Chastened of the Lord. 1 Cor. 11.3 Affliction comes not out of the Dust God is the Inflicter of all Evils and Crosse upon us No Evil in the City namely of Punishment which the Lord hath not done Amos 3.6 God hath an hand in all Afflictions whatsoever even the Afflictions of Evilmen but he hath a special hand in the Afflictions of his people in ordering and disposing them to their good And not a Hair falls from their Heads without the will of their Heavenly Father This is a point which we often hear of but do not improve so much as we should do and yet indeed the life of it lies in the Application we need not so much to inform our Judgments as to quicken our Practises and there is this use to be made of it First That therefore we look up to the Lord in every Affliction and labour to see him in it Hear the Rod and who hath appointed it we are apt to look much to Instruments and second Causes but we should acknowledg God in all and consider that our Business is with him And therefore when any Evil befals us have still recourse with him and make our Peace with him because otherwise we are upon no sure terms at all There 's none can secure us against any Affliction but he onely that inflicts it and lays it upon us it is at his disposing Who as the Centurion in the Gospel to his Servants says to it God and it goeth Come and it Cometh do this and it doth it Secondly Here is also matter of Comfort to the Servants of God That whosoever or whatsoever may be the Instrument God Himself is the principle Cause of every Trouble to them It is the Cup which their Father gives them to drink and therefore they may be sure that it is well mingled and tempered for them and this upon occasion hath still been an Incouragement to them As Job when the Sabeans spoyl'd him The Lord hath taken And David when Shimei Curst him The Lord hath bidden him This was that which was a Comfort to both and so may be likewise to any other else besides But so much briefly of the Author of this Condition which was the Lord Himself The Lord hath Chastened me The Second is the Nature of it It is a Chastening which is a word of Oeconomie and Dispensation A molifying term it is not Punishment but Correction not for Satisfaction to his Justice which is done Sufficiently in Christ but for the better rule and Government of his Family As for the thing it self God thinks fitting sometimes to Afflict and so to Correct his dearest Servants Yea of all them more or less in one kind or other at one time or other shall be sure to partake of this from him We have a pregnant place to this purpose in Heb. 12.6 which is worth our most serious Meditation For whom the Lord loveth he Chasteneth and scourgeth every Son whom he receiveth If ye indure Chastening God dealeth with you as with Sons for what Son is he whom the Father Chasteneth not But if ye be without Chastening whereof all are partakers then are ye Bastards and not Sons Where we see that seasonable Correction it is an Evidence and Testimony of our Adoption and Favour with God Himself Thus it is with some other things besides taken in with it Affliction simply in it self is no argument at all of the love of God no more then Prosperity nay the Afflictions of wicked men they are rather arguments and Testimonies of Gods Hatred even to him and Fore-runner of his future wrath and further Punishment of them in Hell but to Gods Children who are in Covenant with Him and who have his Image and stamp upon them they are thus far beneficial to them and God sees them to be necessary for them these Chastenings in sundry regards As First To wean us from the world and an inordinate love of these things here below This is still our Folly that we cannot injoy any Comfort here but our Hearts are ready presently to be overwhelmed and smother'd up with it and we are apt to grow so much the more Carnal and worldly minded from it now therefore is God fain to take such Courses as these are to restrain us and to work Sobriety in us to put aloes upon these Breasts that we may not cry too fiercely after them Intermingled Afflictions they teach us the better to injoy Comforts and are like sower sauce to sweet Meat For which reason it pleases God in wisdom and goodness to inflict them and lay them upon us to make us the willinger to Die and leave the World when our time Comes and that we may not say it 's good for us to be here And then to make us so much the more to relish Spiritual things and Spiritual Truths for a man must still have somewhat to pitch his Heart and Affections upon and when Earthly things fail him then do Heavenly more savour to him and he finds so much the greater Sweetness and Contentment in them Now he Chewes upon them and sucks out that Delight out of them which before he did not so much regard And Spiritual Truths as long as men are well and in Prosperity so long they are taken with Fansies and
hood he should do any thing which was unworthy so long as he feared God there was no cause why they should fear him for this fear of God would restrain Him And that 's the first Grace here spoken of them as the Grace of Gods Acceptance the Grace of Fear The second is the Grace of Hope or Faith of those that hope in his mercy As the Lord takes pleasure in the former so in this likewise He delights in his Servants more especially as they give greater Testimonies of their Faith and Dependance upon him The more that any cleave unto Him the more doth he take care of them and pleasure in them Thus Psal 33.18 Behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him upon them that hope in his mercy where we have both expressions of the Text joyn'd together and both to one and the same purpose as to Gods delight in such persons That which we are now speaking to is the latter of them That special respect which God bears to such persons as do by Faith cast themselves upon him and leave themselves to Him They are such as he is exceedingly pleased withal and does prize and esteem above any other The Reason of it is this because they are such as doe mos advance Him of any besides Faith it gives glory to God And therefore will he incourage those who do abound in it and who are most in the reall practise and exercise of it They are such as honour him in his Truth in his Power and in his Mercy which is the Prime of all And those that honour Him He will Honour Therefore let this teach us still to Act it and to draw it forth as much as we are able let us not cast away our Confidence which hath so great recompence of Reward as we see that it hath let us nourish and cherish this Heavenly Hope in us as much as we can which will carry us above all dejections and discouragements whatsoever Let us resolve and cry out with the Psalmist why art thou cast down oh my soul and why art thou disquieted within me Hope thou in God And so I have done with the Text in the first Acception of it as it may be taken Absolutely and Emphatically and in the simple Proposition as expressing Gods real Delight in such and such Persons The second is by taking it Comparatively and in Opposition to other Persons or Things And this as it refers to the verse immediately going before There we find it exprest thus He delighteth not in the strength of the horse He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man And then it follows presently in this verse The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him and that hope in his Mercy The scope and meaning whereof is this That God does not so much stand upon or accept of Humane and Natural means so as to assist and cooperate with them for his Churches Deliverance as He does delight rather to assist the Faith and Prayer of his Servants when they are void of all External Incouragements An humble standing in awe of God and a faithfull Dependance upon him and an Importunate seeking to Him it is a great deal more effectual to Deliverance then all earthly or Humane Assistance This is the Drift of this Passage and Expression which we have here before us And it is the same with that in the Scripture above mention'd which comes to one and the same effect Psal 33.16 17 18. There 's no King saved by the Multitude of an host A mighty man is not delivered by his much strength An horse is a vain thing for safety â—â—ither shall he deliver any by his great strength Behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him upon them that hope in his Mercy where the Opposition is still made betwixt carnal means and spiritual and the latter advanced above the former Reliance upon God is a great deal surer then reliance upon Men. It is is usual and frequent with the Scripture to put the greatest Disparagement upon those Creatures which men are apt themselves most to trust in and to advance and cry up above all other And thus it does here in these Texts which we have now before us An horse if it be considered simply in it self it is a very useful and profitable Creature and especially in the Battel which it is in a special manner fitted and prepared for but yet without Gods concurrence with it and assistance of it it is of no force or efficacy at all Prov. 21.31 The horse is prepared against the day of battel but safety or victory is of the Lord. And here He takes no delight in the strength of an horse In which expression by a Synecdochical speech is signified the insufficiency of all Humane Refuges whatsoever and the efficacy and prevailing and sufficency of Faith it self before them Wisdom sayes the Preacher it is better then strength Eccl. 9.16 And again Wisdom it is better then weapons of war Eccl. 9.18 And in both he means Spiritual wisdom especially which is the wisdom that is from above This is better then all the strength in the world and is able both to stand out against it and to prevail over it We shall find this to be verified and made good by Divers Instances and Examples in Scripture where the Saints and Servants of God by the strength and Power of Faith and Prayer have been able to do more then all their enemies by all their Carnal and External Advantages whatsoever Thus it was with the Iraelites when they were pursued by Pharaoh and the Egyptians They had a great deal of outward strengh and advantage against them of Horses and Chariots and the like But what did these come to in the Conclusion and in regard of the Event See in Exod. 15.21 Sing unto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously The horse and his Rider hath he thrown into the Sea According to that again in another place in Isa 21.3 Now the Egyptians are men and not God and their Horses flesh and not spirit when the Lord shall stretch out his hand both he that helpeth shall fall and he that is holpen shall fall down and they shall all fall together There 's no strength against the strength of Israel So we may see it in Jabin and Sisera Who had Nine hundred Chariots of Iron with which they came against Israel but the Lord discomfited them and all their Hoste with the Edge of the Sword before Barak Judg. 4.15.16 And it is said there was not a man of them left So the Horses and Chariots which the King of Syria sent against Elisha 2 Kings 6.14 We know what they came to in Conclusion and how little they preailed against Him The Faith of the Prophet it procured a greater strength then that which was opposite unto Him The Mountain being full of Horses and Chariots of Fire round about Elisha So likewise Hezekiah in
this Mercy and that we are inabled so to do it is that which every one cannot do even there where there is Mercy fitted and prepared and provided for him go praise God for that Thirdly That God accepts of this Hope from us and is so well pleased with it in us we have cause to praise him likewise for this to say the Lord be magnified as who rejoyces in the Prosperity so takes pleasure in the Graces of his Servants and that even at such times as he neglects the great thins of the World and in a sort despises them That the Bones of the mighty are oftentimes broken while they that stumbled are girt with strength as Hannah in her Song expresses it 1 Samuel 2.4 And so I have done with these words as in their absolute Consideration so in their Comparative and so with the whole Text it self The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him in those that hope in his Mercy SERMON XXIX Prov. 3.17 Her wayes are wayes of Pleasantness and all her paths are Peace It is the Nature and Disposition of Artists and those which are of any Mystery or Profession as much as they can to extoll and advance that Profession which they are off and to Commend it to the Consideration of others As Paul of the Ministry of the Gentiles I magnifie mine own Office Rom. 11.13 Every one is ready to magnifie that way which he takes up to Himself above all others whatsover and this as it is observable in other things so amongst the rest especially in Religion and the wayes of Godliness Those which are the Professors of this they desire as much as may be to Commend it and set it forth to the view of other men Wisdom is justified of her Children as our Saviour tells us Thus we may observe it to be here in this Scripture which we have now before us in the Example of the wise man Solomon who being a Son of Wisdome and of special Wisdom especially that is Grace and Holiness and Religion which he here speaks off does in divers Chapters together applaud it and praise it all he can that so thereby he may invite others unto it IN these words we have described unto us the Excellency of Godliness and Religion in two particulars which may serve to make up unto us the parts of the Text. First From it's Pleasure and delight Her wayes are wayes of pleasantness Secondly From it's Tranquility and Quiet And all her paths are peace We begin First of all with the former to wit the description of Godliness from the pleasure and delight which is in it The wayes of Godliness and Religion are exceeding pleasing and delightful wayes they carry a great deal of sweetness and Contentment and pleasantness in them This is the point which is here exhibited unto us and it dâ—â—â— appear out of other places of Scripture likewise as Psal 36.8 David speaking of the Church and members of it sayes That they shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Gods House and that he would make them to drink of the Rivers of his pleasures And Psal 118.15 The voyce of joy and Salvaton is sayd to be in the Tabernacles of the Righteousness So Psal 97.11 Light is sown for the Righteous and Gladness for the Vpright in Heart Esay 51.11 The redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion and everlasting joy shall be upon their Head they shall obtain gladness and joy and Sorrow and Mourning shall flee away Esay 64.5 Thou meetest him that rejoyceth and worketh Righteousness where you see they are both joyned together And Galat. 5.22 The fruit of the Spirit is joy Now this Truth it may be further amplyfied and made good to us in sundry particulars which do prove and confirm it unto us There is a great deal of pleasure in Religion in sundry respects Wee 'l take them in that order as they do offer and present themselves to our thoughts As First of all In the work of Grace and Regeneration wrought in the heart All the several Graces of the Spirit and the habits of Sanctification which are in us they do reflect very sweetly upon us and there is a great deal of delight and Contentment to the Soul which does see them in it self Take a man which is full of Lusts and Corruptions which bear sway in him and he is a loathsome and abominable Creature sometimes even in his own Apprehensions A wicked and ungodly man he is in some manner odious to himself and is overcome as I may say now and then even with his own stench like a man which is in filthy Rags and torn and uncomely Garments he does not like himself in them But now on the otherside a good Christian which has the Grace of the Spirit of God in him and the work of the New Creature in his Soul he is so far forth pleasing to himself Grace is a very sweet and odoriferous Qualification as it casts a sweet savor into the Nostrils of all others that stand by it so especially as I may say into the Nostrils of all those that partake of it That Soul which is indued with it is like one that has roll'd himself in a Bed of Spices who is all over sweet and delightful I might set it forth to you in all the resemblances of Comfort and Contentment look whatever it be which in the discovery and discerning of it does usually afford delight to our selves the same may be applyed to the Graces of Gods Spirit and the sanctifying Qualities which are in us not onely as odoures and sweet spices to the smell it 's pleasing to be sensible of them But likewise further as Treasures of Gold and Silver there are many which much delight in them The Rich man when he looks in to his Coffers how much contentment does he take in them even there where others deride him and laughed at him Populus mei sibilat c. Yea but now a Godly man recounting the Graces which are in him has more true comfort and content by far And that 's the First particular wherein Godliness proves so delightful In the work of Regeneration and the habits of the Spirit of God in us Secondly As there 's a sweetness in reflecting upon Grace in the having of it so especially in the Exercise of it Every Grace the more it is improveed carries a delight and pleasurableness in it in what kind soever Therefore the Psalmist tells us that in keeping of Gods Commandments there is great Reward Mark not onely for the keeping but in the keeping be-shomran Psal 19.11 There 's Praemium ante Praemium A reward before the reward even in the thing it self Sutable to the nature of the Grace is the Exhibition of the comfort yea the very Heathen and Moralists themselves so far forth as they exercised vertue and practised that natural goodness which was in them they had some kind of comfort and contentment
for the fitness of this Person to commend our Works and Affairs unto in his Book De Patientia Satis idoneus patientiae sequester est Deus si injuriam deposueris penes eum ultor est si damnum reslitutor est si dolorem medicus est God is a sufficient Depositary of patience to thee If thou committest thy Wrongs to him he is an Avenger if thy Losses to him he is a Repairer if thy Diseases to him he is a Recoverer and so forth In all conditions and upon all occasions he is ready to hear thy complaints and to take thy supplications This shews what good cause we have to commit our Works unto him I might take occasion hence also to amplifie it from all his Relations wherein he stands with us And thus we see what good ground there is here for this Exprecton and Motion in the Text to Commit our Works to the Lord as the Term and Point this Action which it is directed unto and the Person which this Commitment and Deposition is charged withal Now further To open this still unto us we are not to take this only Specificative but also Exclusive whereby it is said here Commit thy works to the Lord. It seems to carry this sense with it that we do so commit them to him as upon the point to none else besides So that moreover there are these intimations included in it and with it First To the Lord and not to thine own self Whilst we are bid to commit our Works unto God we are thereby implicitely forbidden Self-confidence and Presumption in any thing which belongs unto us As for instance our own Wit and Counsel and Understanding Thus Prov. 3.5 Trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not to thine own understanding It is a dangerous thing for us to lean to our own Understanding which is apt many times to fail us and give us the slip Carnal Policy and the Wisdom of the World such things as these they do many times prove but broken Reeds And so as for Wit so Wealth and Strength and Power such things as these it is but ill trusting and confideing in them Secondly To the Lord and not to other men There is ill committing of our Works to such also The Scripture has shewed us how ill it is for us so to do by setting a Character upon them Psal 62.9 Surely men of low degree are vanity and men of sigh degree are a lye being layed in the ballance they are altogether lighter than vanity Thirdly To the Lord and not to Fortune and Chance There are many which do blindly commit their Works and their Ways unto this which is as good as nothing at all Now it becomes not Christians so to do we should rest and relye upon God and commend our selves to His Gracious Providence which is the surest Shelter and Refuge for us that may be And thus we have seen this Point opened and enlarged in all its several Particulars Now what remains to our selves for the Use and Application of it but to perform it and to put it into practise Seeing the Spirit of God thus enforces it upon us let not us be wanting to it or negligent in it let us not deprive our selves of so much comfort and quietness as may accrew to us hereby as we shall hear afterwards only that we may do it the more effectually let us consider what Qualifications do belong to the right doing of it This Committing then which is here spoken of First It is an Act if Interest and of Persons in Covenant with God Those which are Enemies or Strangers to God they cannot commit their Affairs unto him for as much as this is an Action of special Intimacy and Acquaintance Will men trust their Jewels and Treasure or their Secrets and private Counsels with men whom they never saw before in all their lives No they will not do it nor if they should they would not do it with prudence and discretion because it were possible for them to be frustrated and disappointed And so is it here in our Addresses to God Ceatainly we can trust nothing with him except we are first acquainted with him our selves No man can commit his Works to God who has not first committed his Soul to God and given up his Person to his owning None can commit his Works in a way of Dependence who has not committed his heart and soul to God in a way of Obedience who has not resigned and given up himself to God as wholly his Therefore let us be sure to look to this as very pertinent hereunto And know for this purpose where this is done the other will follow and may very well do so because that God himself in such cases does take special care of us when we once enter into Covenant with God and because it is the blessed and happy privilege which comes to us by being God's Children He is not only the God of our Persons but he is also the God of our Performances and of our Conditions and all that comes from us He undertakes to work all our Works in us and for us not only those Works which do immediately refer to our Salvation but also even those Works which are of common and ordinary Concernment And though he may sometimes be helpful to others in them also yet they cannot so well trust him for them Persons which are out of Covenant they cannot commit their Works to the Lord which is first of all an Act of Interest Secondly As it is an Act of interest so it is also an Act of favour I mean of favour in a passive sense A man may be in Covenant with God for the General Acceptation of his Person and Justification in the sight of God and yet lie in terms of particuar distaste and displeasure from him Now this is a great Obstruction of this committing of our Works unto him That Man which has done any thing whereby he has taken off God's Countenance from him and caused him to look angerly upon him he is much hindred and has hindred himself from the kindly performance of this duty which does not only imply Interest and Acquaintance but likewise Friendship and Good Will betwixt God and the Soul of a Christian We may see it in the Example even of the Holy Man David himself who having offended God by his sins had not that freedom of access unto him nor delight in him as sometimes he had had Eccles 7.26 He that pleaseth God shall not be taken by her Oh we should by all means be careful to keep in good terms with God and to have all things right betwixt him and us not only from the sweetness which is contained in the state and condition it self but also for the blessed effects and consequents which do issue from it And especially this amongst the rest of liberty and opportunity for committing and commending of our Works and Affairs unto him Thirdly This business
they are sometimes called to Punishment in regard of their own places yet they cannot so freely do it from their own guilt which wholly flies in their faces does frequently obstruct Justice in their hands and stops them from the Execution of that Punishment which is otherwise done to Offenders But now for God he is free from all Tainture in this regard He is upright and no Vnrighteousness is found in him And because he is so he is therefore so much the freer and fitter for Punishing This should therefore teach us upon all occasions to have special recourse to him and to acknowledge his Hand in these matters the nature whereof was the particular Guilt of these people here in the Text as it is noted of them in the Verse immediately preceding that they turned not their eyes to him indeed that smot them It may be they might have some reflection upon their Enemies and such Persons as were Instruments of their Affliction but they did not look to him who was the Main and Principal Cause of it namely the Lord himself And therefore does the Prophet here admonish them and mind them of it and us in them That in any thing which is given to us whether War or Sickness or Want or Captivity or whatever it be that we do not pore so much upon Second Causes as to have our eyes carried to the Lord. Look as in Mercies we should look upon God as the Principal Doner so likewise in Judgments we should look upon God as the Principal Sender and Inflicter of them And this will have this happy Issue and Effect consequent upon it as that it will make us occasionally so much the better by God's dealings with us These Afflictions which we look upon as coming more directly from God they will carry us so much the readier to God both as expecting Deliverarice from him and yielding Obedience to him As we have an Expression plain to this purpose in Hos 6.1 Come let us return unto the Lord for he hath torn us and he will heal us he hath smitten us and he will bind us up And that is the first thing here considerable to wit the Author of this Judgment It was the Lord. The Second is the Nature of it And that is signified in these words The Lord will cut off Wherein again two things more First The nature of the Thing Secondly The nature of the Expression The nature of the Thing that is Cutting off The nature of the Expression that is by way of Production and Declaration of somewhat as future and as yet to come The Lord will cut off First To speak of the nature of the thing which is Cutting off This is that which the Lord here threatens against this People in these present Circumstances and Conditions That for as much as they were no better by his dealings with them hitherto he would now make an utter End and Consummation and Riddance of them He would now no longer spare them or forbear them but would cut them off He had told us that he had smitten them before by the same token that they did not turn to him that smot them And now he tells us that instead of smiting them he will now absolutely destroy them This is the method which God usually observes with People in this Particular That when they are not bettered by lesser Judgments he then commonly proceeds to greater From Correction he passes to Destruction First he cuts them short and if that will do no good upon them he cuts them off First he makes use of his Pruning Knife whereby he lops them and then he makes use of his Axe whereby he fells them And this is that which we may observe him to do here in this place with this People which we have here before us and is signified here unto us in this threatning which is denounced against them The Lord will cut off from Israel There is a twosold Sword which God makes use of for cutting with before he proceeds to cutting off The one is the Sword of his Mouth and the other is the Sword of his Hand The Sword of his Mouth that is the Word of God which is the Sword of the Spirit in the Voice of his Ministers The Sword of his hand that is the Rod of God which is the Sword of his Wrath in the hand of his Enemies First he does it Gladio oris and then he does it Ore gladii And when neither of those do prevail he then comes with his Hatchet and Axe Which we may here take notice of in the occasion of this present Scripture which we have now before us First I say God is pleased to begin with the Sword of his mouth and to strike with that before he proceeds to final and absolute Destruction The Sword of Elisha goes before the Sword of Jehu I have hewen them by my prophets I have slain them by the words of my mouth Hos 6.5 Thus it was here in this present Chapter and upon this present occasion The Lord sent a Word into Jacob and it hath lighted upon Isael Isa 9.8 The word of God is powerful and sharper than a two-edged Sword Heb. 4.12 But now when this Word and Sword does not prevail and take effect he then takes up the others Those that are not bettered by God's Gracious Admonitions they shall be sensible of his destructions Again Secondly God takes up his other Sword which is the Sword of his hand But he does not make use of that presently in the greatest security He does at the first but only brandish it and as it were flourish with it or at the most he does but only strike he does not kill he cuts but he does not cut off Yea but when the former does not succeed he proceeds to the latter And this is that which we are more especially to take notice of here in this place that is Preparatively Judgments neglected and not improved they do provoke God to proceed to Destruction They which are not bettered by Smiting they are exposed to Cutting off And there is very great reason for it First As frustrating the pains and labour which hath been taken about them The Fig-tree whereupon the Husbandman had bestowed many Years cost and care for the bettering of it and yet was not bettered it was cut down as altogether unprofitable Unprofitableness under God's Judgments is a kind of slighting of him that sends them And then Secondly They do but cumber the places where they are and hinder others Cut it down says the Master of the Vineyard why cumbereth it the ground And besides that It does often times much hurt to the rest which are near unto it Immedicabile valens en se recidendum est ne pars sincera trahatur And so much of the first thing which is here considerable to wit the nature of the thing which is Cutting off The Second is The nature of the Expression or the Form of Speech
that horrible Dungeon which in Scripture is represented by utter darkness blackness of darkness everlasting darkness weeping and and wailing gnashing of Teeth the worm that never dyeth and the fire that never goes out That such a thing as this indeed is very clear from sundry places of Scripture which we must deny if we do not grant we cannot acknowledge the Scriptures and not acknowledge such a thing as Hell which is so abundantly declared in it Thus in Matth. 5.22 we read of Hell fire in Matth. 10.28 of the Destroying of Body and Soul 〈◊〉 Hell In Matth. 23.33 of the Damnation of Hell c. Thus to speak distinctly of it does consist of two Branches which do constitute it and make it up The one is that which we call the Punishment of Loss and the other is that which we call the Punishment of Sense The Punishment of Loss First of all to take notice of that Now that is an Eternal privation of the Blessed and glorious presence of God and of all the Joy and Comfort and happiness that is attending thereupon Look how much sweetness and incomparable contentment there is in the constant vision and fruition of God whom to know is Life Eternal so much answerable misery there must needs be in the Exclusion and Exemption from it Every thing being so much grievous in the disappointment as it is comfortable in the injoyment We see how it is here in the World and in the affairs of this present Life where people are crost of any thing which is amiable or desirable of them it proves a very great trouble and vexation to them It consumes them and eats them up with greif And how much more has it cause thus to do in such a thing as this is whereof we now speak to be for ever deprived of the choicest and highest good which is to be found in God himself and in the injoyment of him To be deprived of God and to be deprived of Christ and of Glorious Fellowship and Communion with him Thus we find it exprest 2 Thes 1.9 who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the Glory of his Power where these words from the presence of the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they may be taken two manner of ways either Effective or Terminative Either as denoting the cause of their punishment from whence it is produced or as denoting the matter of their punishment wherein it does consist If we take it Effective that is as the cause of their Punishment from whence it is produced so they are punished from the presence of the Lord that is his Presence who shall then appear in Glory and Soveraign power for the condemning of them shall be a Terror and Astonishment to them The very beholding of a Christ as their Judge and perfect Enemy shall be an horror and amazement to them as the inletter of all Misery upon them But then again if we take it Terminative or Objective as the matter whereof there Punishment does consist so they are punished from the presence of the Lord that is they are punished in a banishment from this prescence which being duly considered is a very great punishment indeed And so as for the presence of God himself and the Glorious fellowship of Christ so the Fellowship and Communion of all the Blessed and Glorious Angels and Saints to be deprived of this likewise This pertains to this punishment of Loss and has a great deal of misery in it If People are so much affected as they commonly are here below with the loss of natural and secular friends here Parents of their Children Children of their Parents c. What will it be for them to be deprived of their Blessed Company and Society in Heaven whose company will then be so much sweeter and free from those infirmities and disparagements which it is here sometimes mingled with all Certainly the loss of them in such a case as this is must needs be very great and unvaluable The Punishment of loss here mentioned is farther aggravated from a Threefold Consideration First From the Possibility of preventing it if there had been care taken about it Every Loss is so much the more punishing as it proceeds from a mans own default Where men have Losses fall upon them inevitably and unavoidably and which they could not help they do bear them so much the more patiently and with the greater ease and satisfaction But where they shall think thus with themselves I have deprived my self of such an advantage through mine own carelesness and neglect yea perhaps by my own wilfullness and perverseness here it must needs very much cut them and go to their very heart Why thus t is now here in the Loss of Heaven and the Deprivation of Gods Glorious presence and eternal injoyment of him It is that which men have brought upon themselves by their own miscarriage Light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light in Joh. 3.19 And ye will not come unto me that ye might have life said Christ Joh. 5.46 How often would I have gathered thy Children as an hen gathereth her Chickens and ye would not Luk. 13.34 Secondly The Occasion of this Loss and the way of falling into it there 's a special aggravation from that also If a man chance to sustain some loss but have somewhat by it which is equivalent to it and which may make it up it is not commonly so greivous or burthensome to him but for a man to lose a Pearl for a Pebble or a Kingdom for a meer trifle this is very sad and lamentable indeed Why thus now is the case in this particular which is People depriving themselves of Heaven for the injoyment of their base Lusts excludes themselves from the injoyment of God for the pursute of the vanities of this World and the pleasures of Sin which are but for a season What a poor and sorry thing is this Especially then when they shall come seriously to consider it and in good earnest to reflect upon it Oh what an anguish of soul and perplexity must this needs prove unto them 3. The beholding of others to injoy that happiness which themselves are deprived of There 's a vexation likewise in that as we have it exprest unto us in Luk. 13.28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God and you your selves thrust out To see themselves thrust out whiles those were put in this it tormented them especially such as these might be according to such and such circumstances considerable in it It may be such who were meaner than themselves here in this World such whom they had scorned and despised and trampled on and abused and wronged To see such as these now to be exalted and advanced above them this is that which must needs eat into them And
so lost her first strength that she should do her first works that she should return to the acting of those things which she had now remitted and fallen from as that which was the best way to recover her to her former Condition and here especially to the use of the Ordinances Prayer and hearing of the word and receiving of the Sacrament which are the proper means appointed to this purpose Lastly In the renewing of their Faith and in the Exercise of it A Christian gathers new strength and supply of Spiritual Grace by reparing to the true spring and Fountain and Original of it which is the Grace of God in Christ Our strength it lies in Him and therefore by a spirit of Faith must be daily and Continually fetch 't from Him and that upon all occasions And it is our great Comfort and Incouragement that we may have it but for the fetching for so we may in a due and serious Appli of our selves to him we may draw strength from him Nay we shall do as is here signified to us They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength Here 's the priviledg and the Condition of being made partakers of it The Priviledg that 's renewing of our strength The Condition that is waiting upon the Lord. Be followers of them says the Apostle who through Faith and Patience inherit the Promises Heb. 6.12 And again Heb. 10.36 Ye have need of Patience that after ye have done the will of God ye may receive the Promise Even so it is here This promise of strength renewed unto us is not onely to the persons of Beleivers but to them especiall under this Notion and in the erercise of this act of Beleiving We must therefore still remember this that we be such as wait upon the Lord for that 's the Condition by which Expression the spirit of God comes home to the heart of many a weak Christian and satisfies the objections which they may make for some might be ready to say Alas we find no such matter as this is which you now speak off we have little or no strength at all if we have had some it may be heretofore yet we have lost it and know not how to recover it and to get it up again now for such they must be perswaded to wait and to consider whether they have done so or no for this strengthning it belongs to waiting and is promised to those that are careful so to do we must use the means and waite upon God for shewing us the use of them Go to the Ordinances and by Faith fetch power from Christ who alone can make them to be Effectual unto us Psal 27. vers 14. Wait on the Lord be of good Courage and he shall strengthen thine Heart wait I say on the Lord. To satisfie us the more in this particular consider but how it is with us in regard of our Natural Sustenance and the food of our Bodies The strength which comes by it it is not conveyed presently but by leasure when the meat is digested Indeed there is delight and sweetness and pleasantness even in the very first going down of it but the strength of it that comes after it Even so is it likewise here as to these Spiritual things The sweetness of the Ordinances that 's in the very partaking of them and in the time of the useing of them In Praying and Hearing and Communicating and Meditateing c. A Gracious heart it does taste and rellish them even then when 't is about them But the strength which is conveyed by them that 's a Business of leasure and time and therefore we must wait for it and stay Gods time for the giving of it Thou therefore that complainest of Weakness consider whether thou hast waited for strength and waited for it in his own way and in the use of those means which he has ordained and appointed to thee Especially Consider how far Christ Himself has been taken into this Business which is the means of all There are many think to renew their strength and how do they think to to do it Namely by strength of their own their own Vowes and Duties and performances which yet by the way must not be neglected but we must be strong in the Grace of Christ and in the power of his might and Spirit or else all our strength it will be but weakness it self This is that which the Apostle Paul was sensible of as we may see by his practise and the courses which he took to this purpose by his practise for the Ephesians Eph. 3.14.16.17 For this cause I bow my knees unto the father of our Lord Jesus Christ That he would grant you according to the Riches of his Glory to be strengthen'd with might by his spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your Hearts by Faith that ye being rooted and grounded in love may c. So in like manner by his practise for the Colosians Col. 1.11 Strengthened with all might according to his Glorious Power c. And so now I have done done with the First General part of the Text which is the Proposition in General They that wait c. The Second is the Demonstration or Confirmation of this in the Particular that we have in the words following They shall mount up with Eagles wings They shall run c. Wherein we have the strength of a Christian laid forth and amplified to us by a resemblance from a threefold motion First Of Flying Secondly Of Running Thirdly Of Walking Of Flying They shall mount up with Eagles wings Of Running They shall run and not be weary Of Walking They shall walk and not be faint Wee 'l begin first of all with the former and that is the motion of Flight They shall mount up with Eagles wings Here 's mention made of the Wings of the Eagle as we may conceive for two reasons especially First As the Eagle is an Emblem of strength renewed for so it is as we find it in Psal 103.5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things so that thy youth is renewed like the Eagles Certain it is that the Eagle is longer-liv'd then many other Birds The Naturalists as Aristotle and Pliny c. Which write the story of living Creatures affirms this of it that it never Dies of old Age but onely of Famine for the upper-Bill being at length over-grown it is thereby hindred from putting meat into it's mouth and so at last comes to Die So the Prophet by this Similitude here signifies that those which wait upon the Lord they shall grow more and more urgent and lively enven to their old Age it self according to that also of the Psalmist Psal 92.12.13.14 The Righteous shall flourish c. They shall bring forth Fruit in their old Age they shall be fat and flourishing So then the Eagle is here pertinently mentioned in reference to this But Secondly The Eagle it soares aloft and flies on
and diseases and plagues and corporal death Those that receive the Sacrament unworthily they are said to eat and drink judgment to themselves that is in part temporal judgment We shall find if we look into Scripture many sad proofs and instances of this unto us wherein as people have been any thing more formal and hypocritical in Gods Service he has exercised them and follow'd them with many grievous temporal calamities which for this cause he has inflicted upon them Thirdly and last of all Eternal the vengeance of eternal fire and everlasting destruction Damnation as some render that place 1 Cor. 11. It is that which hereupon they deserve and which without repentance they likewise shall suffer The Lord will not hold them guiltless that thus take his name in vain but will give them their portion with the hypocrites in the Lake that burns with fire and brimstone Thus we see how much danger there is in it as well as sinfulness and therefore danger because sinfulness The greater sin has always the greater danger attending it What 's the use of all this to our selves but even the Question of the Text it self Will ye now be any of you guilty in this particular shall any man now dare to presume in this kind as we have now exprest Oh far be it from us let them not so much trespass upon God and abuse his patience nor yet so much venture themselves by provoking of his indignation and the fierceness of his wrath against them And so now I have done with the first Branch of these peoples wickedness which God does argue and expostulate with them for viz. their abominable hypocrisie in the conjunction of these two both together Will ye steal and murther c. and yet will ye come c The second is their stupidity or carnality in these words And say We are delivered to commit all these abominations There are divers Translations which I find to be made of these words The Septuagint reads the words thus and so does the Arabick and say We have withdrawn or abstained from all these abominations and so it signifies their impudence in denying their manifest wickedness and notorious profaneness which is that which a great many people are also guilty of Though they be never so manifestly wicked yet they will not acknowledge it or be brought to the confession of it The Syriack renders them thus Deliver us because we have abstain'd from all these abominations which makes it more impudent still not onely to deny their notorious and manifest guilt but likewise to plead their innocency as meritorious of their preservation But there are three Translations which I shall especially fasten upon The first is that of the Chaldee Paraphrase We are delivered though c. which agrees both with Geneva and our Old English Translation The second that of St. Hierom and the Vulgar Latin We are delivered because c The third and last is that of our own last and newest English Translation which we have now before us which reads it that we may or 't is lawful to commit c. First Here was their security and insensibleness of their present condition in regard of sin We are delivered though c. whereby they would make their iniquities to be no hinderance at all to their preservation they might be delivered for all them and for all that the Prophets did menace and threaten against them for them their abominations should do them no hurt This was the first step and degree of carnality in them and it is that which accordingly the Lord does by his Prophet here call them to account for It is that which is oftentimes observable abroad in the world that men imagine as if their wickedness would bring no very great trouble or inconvenience unto them but that they shall scape well enough with it let them be as vile and bad as they can be steal and murther and commit adultery and swear falsly and what not yet that they shall evade for all this No evil shall overtake them or happen unto them They have made a covenant with death and with hell they are at an agreement as the Prophet Esay speaks They say When the over-flowing scourge shall pass through yet that it shall not come unto them as having made lies their refuge and under falshood hid themselves Isa 28.15 There is a various ground of this security and presumption in the hearts of many people First a false conceit in them of the mercy and indulgence of God they think that God is not so severe a punisher of sin as indeed he is or as he is said and proclaimed to be and as long as they do so they are well enough in their own apprehensions Tush the Lord does not see it nor the God of Jacob regards it as it is in Psal 9.7 Secondly A freedom and preservation from Judgment and Punishment at the present They are delivered and therefore they shall be Judgment is not executed speedily and therefore it shall not be at all This is commonly mens humour and disposition to go by sense and to make that to be a rule unto them either for fear or hope where they feel some evil at present there they think they shall feel it still and when they do not as yet feel it they never think they shall feel it at all And so it is here Because judgment is not executed speedily therefore the hearts of the sons of men c. as I have lately shewed Thirdly Carnal refuges and reliances they think they shall be delivered because they think it is impossible they should be punished they think they are Judgment-proof and that all that can be done unto them shall be no way able to offend them or be disquieting of them This is the true account of such security Now the Lord by this Expostulation does seem to check them for it and to shew them the vanity of such thoughts as these are Do ye say so that is Ye are mistaken in saying so it is an error and misconceit in you and which in conclusion you 'll find to be so And that 's the first thing here impli'd viz. their Security according to that reading of the words We are delivered though we have committed all these c. The second is their Stupidity according to the reading of it thus We are delivered because c. Here is a further step and degree of the wickedness of these rebellious people and which is observable in many more not onely to think they shall receive no hurt by their sins but also that they shall have good for them that the more they abound in abominations the more they shall abound in deliverances and that God multiplies their mercies so much the rather as they multiply their transgressions Thus we find it in another place of this present Prophesie as in Jer. 44.16 When we burnt incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out our drink-offerings
of of speaking And the Prophet Jeremy might say very well he could not hold his peace if we consider him but as a Prophet and Minister I cannot hold my peace that is I cannot but publish it and declare it and divulge it and make it known Therefore we see here what little reason there is to be offended with the servants of God upon such occasions as these are when those which are Prophets and Ministers do threaten and foretell Judgments to come and give some hints and symptoms of it aforehand we have no cause to be angry with them for it or to blame them for so doing for it is that which they many times cannot help nor hinder in themselves they are forced and put upon it out of obedience to God respect to themselves and their own peace affection to you and for your preservation They should deal very unworthily if they should here now hold their peace They speak and speak they must they are called and invited unto it and forced and constrained unto it There 's both a Providence and a Spirit guiding and inclining them in this particular which they cannot well decline It is a thing which is not of it self very pleasing unto them no more than it was to the Prophet Jeremy when it made his very heart ake and his bowels to roar within him The Ministers of God they do not very much delight in such messages as these are they had rather a great deal come with other words in their mouths with the words of comfort and peace and joy and consolation but it is your occasion and the condition which you are in that do enforce them and put them upon it whether they will or no. Therefore I say let us be patient under such hints and intimations as these are Those who are the Lords Watchmen they cannot here hold their peace and it becomes them to speak in this matter indeed I must also add this that they are to do it with a great deal of modesty and tenderness and ingenuity not too peremptorily taking upon them the determination of times and seasons or other circumstances which are mysteries which God has reserved in his own breast but for the general hints and motives themselves they may and must declare them according to the proportion of God's discovery and manifestation to themselves I cannot hold my peace i. e. I cannot hold my declaration as the Prophet here did That 's the first thing as it was a speech of Discovery or Publication The second is the Speech of Complaint I cannot hold my peace that is I cannot chuse but must bewail it the grief which he had conceived inwardly it did now outwardly vent forth it self as wind in the bowels of the Earth if it be kept in it will cause Earthquakes and terrestrial commotions and those siery exhalations that are drawn upward and are above in the Air if they be straitned they will cause Thunders and Tempests so passions and perplexive affections in the minds if they be restrained and curbed and kept in they will cause vexation and trouble of spirit within Those therefore in whom they are they think it the best and safest way to ease themselves of them by some outward expression And so did the Prophet here in the Text. There are divers vents which are used to this purpose weeping sighing complaining The heart in any kind of grief or extremity which is upon it does for the most part case it self in one of these three particulars But that which we have here now before us at this present time is the last of these three which I have named to wit of speaking I cannot hold my peace This Prophet Jeremy's Anguish was now so intolerable with him as that it drew him forth into complaints and bemoanings both of his own passion and also of the occasion of it Sometimes grief is so great as that it makes men that they cannot speak Curae leves loquuntur ingentes stupent Sometimes again it is so great as that it makes men that they cannot hold their peace and forbear speaking And this was Jeremy's case in this Scripture I cannot hold my peace meerly from the extremity of sorrow which is in my heart It is the case of many more besides poor souls especially in these times wherein we live of want and penury and necessity that though modesty will hardly let them speak as being ashamed to discover their condition yet extremity will hardly let them be silent as being unable to conceal their condition through the grievousness of it Where-ever we meet with such persons we should be tenderly affected towards them and where they cannot but speak we should not but hear them speaking to us where they have mouths we should have ears yea hands for the relieving of them according as it pleases God to inable us hereunto But that only by the way That 's the second Explication of it When the Prophet sayes he cannot but speak that is to say by way of complaint as Job 7.11 And so I have done with the Third Particular the passage or vent as likewise with the first General in the Text The Prophet's Lamentation My bowels my bowels I am pained at my very heart my heart makes a noise within me I cannot hold my peace Now there follows Secondly The ground or occasion of it in the next words Because thou hast heard O my soul the sound of the Trumpet and the Alarum of War Great and grievous complaints they have some ground and foundation for them especially according to the persons from whom they come Wise and well tempered men they do not use to make moan without cause especially in that manner as is here exprest Now the ground and occasion of the Prophet Jeremy's thus complaining is here before us Because thou hast heard c. In which passage for methods sake and more distinct handling of it we may take notice of three particulars First The Tydings or Report it self Secondly The conveyance of it to the Prophet Thirdly His Improvement which he makes of it The Tydings or Report it self that ye have in these words The sound of the Trumpet the Alarum of of War The conveyance of these Tydings to the Prophet Thou hast heard O my soul The Improvement in the Connexion Because thou hast heard c. First For the Tydings or Report it self it is the sound of the Trumpet and Alarum of War This was that which was presented unto him where it will be worth our time a little to inquire what we are to understand by these expressions And here I must premise thus much that this is not to be understood literally of the Trumpet properly so called in a military Acceptation the Trumpet of War whereof as yet there was no sound at this time in the Land when the Prophet Jeremy thus exprest himself Indeed it was not as we shall hear far off from them they were very near unto
it Indeed we of this City for our particular have not as yet had it which perhaps makes us for the most part somuch hardened against it but it may be here 's the more to come Let us take heed of provoking God by our miscarriages and manifold abominations Let us take heed of slighting the Trumpet of the Ministry that so we may not hear the Trumpet of the Enemy sounding amongst us Let us be awakened with these Alarums that so we may not be affrighted with these VVars Yea let us universally endeavour to meet God by speedy and unfeigned repentance which is the best improvement of such punishments and troubles as these are It is the use which the Lord himself puts us upon to make of it as we may see in Amos 4.12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee O Israel and beecause I will do thus unto thee prepare to meet thy God O Israel Yea let us so walk and behave our selves as if we still heard the sound of the last Trump of all sounding and alaruming in our ears Thus if we do such Doctrines as these are will have their due and proper effect and work upon us It is not for us only to hear of these things and to whine and mourn for them in a desperate and tumultuous manner no but to be reformed occasionally from them that our fear and sorrow and sad apprehensions of evil to come and threatned to us may carry us so much the more speedily to God for the prevention of it And further we should hence learn also from this Scripture to be able to give an account to our selves of our selves as the Prophet Jeremy here does before us Therefore we may observe here how he enters into a solitary discourse with himself He does not put it in the Third person Because my soul hath heard but in the Second Because thou hast heard O my soul as hereby endeavouring to satisfie his own spirit in what he did and how he stood affected for his present temper and disposition in them Thus now we have done likewise with the 2d general part of the Text which is the ground or occasion of the Prophets Complaint or Lamentation and so with the whole Text it self SERMON XLIV HOS 7.8 9. Ephraim be bath mixed himself among the People Ephraim is a cake not turned Strangers have devoured his strength and he knoweth it not yea grey hairs are here and there upon him yet he knoweth not This Portion of Scripture which I have here read unto you it hath a very good agreement in it with the state and condition of these times in which we live for which cause I have now at this present made choice of it It was written many hundred years since and then directed more immediately and particularly to the people of the Jews but it has its force likewise upon our selves and is as proper to us in the improvement and application of it yea it was written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come as the Apostle speaks The same Spirit of God that saw it fit for those times foresaw it that it would be fit for these wherein it is read that so we may not think our time lost or that we are busied and imployed in impertinencies whiles we are conversant in the handling of it That we may rightly understand the main drift and scope which it leads to we have in it briefly laid forth and exhibited to us partly the sin partly the judgment of Ephraim that is of Israel c. IN this present Text before us we have laid forth unto us partly the sin partly the judgment of Ephraim that is of Israel by a Synecdochical expression the part put for the whole and either or both of these are set down in four Branches which may make up to us the words of the division of the Text. First in their unhappy mixtures Ephraim hath mixed himself among the people Secondly in their indifferent temper Ephraim is a cake not turn'd Thirdly in their miserable captivity Strangers have devouredtheir strength And fourthly in their symptoms of approaching ruine and destruction Yea grey hairs are here and there upon him The two latter whereof especially and if we please also the two former are aggravated from their senslesness and stupidity and security and non-attendancy in this sad condition He knoweth it not yea to make it so much the more emphatical in the doubling and gemination of the words He knoweth it not These are the parts of the Text. We begin in order with the first viz. Ephraims unhappy mixture He hath mingled himself among the people that is he hath joyn'd himself with the Nations in their idolatrous and profane conversation this is that which is laid to his charge and that which the Lord by his Prophet does complain of in him that he thus mingled himself with the Heathen which is also justly taxable in any other of God's people besides it becomes not them especially to be joyned and and leavened with those which are opposites and enemies to Religion For the better opening of this Branch unto us there is a three-fold mixture which we may here conceive to be censur'd in them First a local mixture a mixture of place and company Secondly a Civil mixture a mixture of affinity and alliance Thirdly a Moral or Spiritual mixture that is a mixture in regard of Manners and Religion and Conversation Each of these mixtures are here condemn'd in Ephraim as joyn'd with the Nations though especially the last First their Local mixture that is of place and company It does not so well become the people of God to be mingled with the ungodly even thus yea the Scripture does often and frequently take them off from it as 1 Cor. 5.9 I wrote to you in an epistle not to company with fornicators So Prov. 1.15 speaking of wicked men My son walk not thou in the way with them refrain thy foot from their path c. And Prov. 4.14 Enter not into the path of the wicked and go not in the way of evil men Avoid it pass not by it turn from it and pass away It is not safe for the Servants of God so far as they can avoid it to be even in the company of evil persons There are two Moral inconveniences for the most partattending upon it First in that it is occasion of weakning and deadning their Graces Grace cannot so easily flourish or thrive in evil society but it is apt rather to languish and to decay it grieves the Spirit of God in his Servants when they give way hereunto causes him to absent himself from them and to be a stranger as it were unto them and not so manifestly to dwell and to abide in them The company of the wicked drives away the company of the holy Ghost and makes him to withdraw his presence Then secondly which we shall speak to more hereafter it does also surther expose
with us whatever speculative knowledge we may at any time have of them we do as yet not know them That 's the third Explication He knows it not that is knows it not practically Lastly He knows it not i. e. knows it not cireumstantially in the latitude and extent of it with all the disparagements and aggravations which are upon it some slight kind of conceits he has of it but does not think it to be so bad a matter in good earnest as indeed it is Not to know a thing throughly and perfectly is so far forth not to know it at all and so here exprest Why but if he do not know it all the better there 's the less evil in it That misery which is not known it is not felt it is as good as no evil at all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nay but soft take heed of that this makes it to be so much the worse if we duly consider it There is a double evil in sin or Judgment not known as an aggravation of it The one in regard of the symptoms which are concurrent with it and the other in regard of the effects which are consequent to it First It is an ill symptom in regard of the concurrences with it It is an Argument of a greater distemper Look as in matter of the body when sickness is not felt it is a sign the Patient is so much the worse and his disease has more predominancy upon him and prevalency over him Even so is it also in case of the soul where there 's senslesness there 's the greater distemper It is a sign that wickedness is more wrought and incorporated into mens hearts than otherwise Where there is some tenderness and reluctancy and remorse there 's an Argument of some life but where all 's quiet and no stirring there 's nothing but spiritual deadness which has seized upon it Therefore the Apostle speaking of the Gentiles makes this to be an aggravation of their sinfulness that they were past feeling 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ephes 4.19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over to lasciviousness to commit all uxcleanness with greediness It is ill for the symptom Secondly It is ill for the effects It is of the more dangerous consequence to those which are in such a condition Sickness where 't is not felt it is desperate the Patient is in an unrecoverable condition no helping or curing of him And so here Those that know not either their sins or Judgments will still persist and go on in them and so expose themselves still to further danger and inconvenience from them as not discerning the snares which they are in nor the evils whereof they are likely to partake It is ill for the effects What does all this now teach us as the use which we are to make of it Two things especially First Pity to others Secondly Caution to our selves There 's both of these which do issue from it First I say Pity to others When at any time we see any poor wretches in such a sad condition as this is whereof we now speak lying under great miscarriages and yet not knowing it or exposed to great Judgments and Punishments and yet knowing it not we see here what couse we have to commiserate them and to have compassion upon them as being indeed most miserable We pity men who are so in bodily distempers When we see a mad-man triumphing in his chains ah poor creature say we that knows not the misery which he is in And how much more cause have we to do so likewise even in spiritual We see how the Prophet does here bewail it in Ephraim c. Especially considering this that it will not alwaies be so with him If people as they do not know their misery now so they could ever be ignorant of it there might be somewhat in it but that they cannot conscience will one day be awake and they shall know whether they will or no yea perhaps when it is too late for them and they shall then know to purpose God will make them then to know as Gideon did the men of Succoth Judg. 8. The daies of visitation are come The daies of Recompence are come Israel shall know it Hos 9.17 Secondly Here 's Caution also for our selves to take heed that we be not willingly ignorant but labour thoroughly to know the state and condition which we are in either in regard of sin or Judgment Consider what a sad thing it is to be in a fools Paradise and to go on laughing and singing to Hell Do but think of that how dangerous a thing it is here not to know and therefore search and study our own hearts and lives and conversations and Gods providence towards us and be mindful of every thing which we see to happen out unto us Yea for this purpose desire God himself herein to help us as David himself did Psal 139.23 24. Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts See if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting So much also of the second General The aggravation of Ephraim's misery from his stupidity He knows it not yea and he knows it not twice repeated SERMON XLVI JER 18.12 And they said There is no hope but we will walk after our own devices There is nothing wherein the naughtiness and perversness of the heart of man which is most deceitful and desperately wicked is more discovered than in its cross and unsutable entertainment of the dealings of God with it especially in his gracious excitements and invitations of it to Repentance and Conversion and Turning to himself in that these have oftentimes very little impression upon it or prevalency with it Nay farther not onely so but also that now and then it proves to be from hence so much the more confirm'd and setled and rooted in evil An instance whereof we have now here before us in the Text which I have now read unto you We shew'd the last day out of the verse immediately preceding the seasonable and serious Exhortation which was made by God to these people the men of Judah and Jerusalem and in them to all others besides for their returning from their evil ways and the making of their ways and their doings good Now here in this Verse in hand we have the obstinate and refractory Answer and Reply which they make hereunto in a flat and absolute denial with the pretended ground of it And they said There is no hope c. IN the Text it self there are two General parts considerable First a desperate Conclusion Secondly a peremptory Resolution or Determination following thereupon The Conclusion is in that word there is no hope The Resolution upon it in those But we will walk after our own devices We begin with the first viz. the Conclusion There is no hope The Hebrew word is Noash the same expresly which is in Jer. 2.25 There is
no hope c. which is differently rendred by Interpreters we shall take notice of that which is most probable our own Translators give it according to the Reading which I have made of it Desperatio est No hope Now this may be explicated by us according to a threefold reference which may be made of it for it seems to respect three sorts of persons either first themselves or secondly the Prophet or thirdly God Themselves thus There is no hope i. e. there is no hope of us our lusts do so far take with us and prevail with us that there is no hope we should ever get the mastery or victory over them The Prophet thus There is no hope i. e. there is no hope in regard of thee and thy Ministery amongst us thou maist for thy part put up thy pipes and hold thy tongue and save thy breath and spare thy pains for we tell thee thus much thou art not likely to do any good upon us God himself thus There is no hope i. e. no hope of favour from him though we should haply change our course and amend our lives and reform our ways as he desires us to do yet we should be still where we are there is no likelihood or probability that we should be ever the better for it or that he notwithstanding all this would shew any mercy to us or divert his judgments from us This word and expression before us it has the force and emphasis of all these senses with it First in reference to themselves to begin with that There is no hope in regard of us that we should ever get the better of those lusts and corruptions in us or that we should ever return to God we have no heart or mind at all to it nay we are utterly averse from it and find our spirits and inclinations against it with despair in this point of our selves as to our amendment and and reformation This is the state and condition of many Persons and People in the world that they are desperate in this regard And there are two things which do make up this unto them and seem to be involv'd in this distemper First an absolute indisposition and aversness to all kind of good Secondly an absolute thraldom and subjection to all kind of evil First an indisposition and aversness to good There is no hope as if they had said We have no heart or affection in us at all to God and to his ways we cannot love him or close with him Thus the Chaldee Paraphrase expounds it Aversi sumus a cultu tuo We are averse from thy Worship and all Religion And another Translation Expectoratum est We are heartless and our minds are off from them This is the sad condition which many sinners are brought unto to have their hearts quite taken off from all that is good and to have no savour or relish or sense of Religion in them yea sometimes though they have formerly made some shew and profession of it This is the complaint of these people here of themselves upon their own experience they know not what 's the matter with them but they wish the Almighty to depart from them for they desire not the knowledge of his ways Job 21.11 This distemper it hath sundry grounds and causes of it from whence it proceeds as First A neglect and intermission of the Duties and Exercises of Religion or of the powerful and fervent acting and performing of them Christian and Religious Exercises they are great means to keep up the heart in a gracious and holy frame and to dispose the Soul to God in a blessed course of communion with him But now when these are intermitted or are carelesly and negligently per formed without any life or power or zeal there does from thence for the most part grow a deadness and awkness upon the mind and listnesness to that which is good men from hence grow strangers to God and he to them and as strangers in regard of communion so likewise in regard of affection and spirit which may dispose thereunto So dangerous a thing it is for any to be guilty in this particular of neglecting Prayer or neglecting Hearing or neglecting the search of their hearts Meditation and communion with Saints and such things as these are This neglect it breeds aversness Secondly A persisting and wallowing in some base and filthy course of life This it doth also wonderfully take off mens hearts from God and all favour of goodness that they have no contentment nor delight in it or in those things which tend unto it Hos 4.11 it is said That whoredom and wine and new wine they take away the heart Fornication and Drunkenness and such courses as those are which are more scandalous and notoricus they make sad impressions upon the Soul in this particular they do enervate it and take away the strength and sinews of it A lustful heart will always be an unsavoury heart so far forth as lust is predominant and prevailing in it We may see it even in David himself who whilst he lay under those grievous miscarriages his heart was very much taken off from God and he found a wonderful alteration in him over what he was before which made him so to pray for the creating of a clean heart and the renewal of a right spirit in him and the bestowing of a free spirit upon him Psal 51.10 Thirdly A walking contrary to light and knowledge and conviction and the dictates of Conscience a quenching of the motions of Gods Spirit and suggestions to the heart This does very much take off the heart also and cause a flatness of spirit upon it For it is a grieving of the Spirit of God himself and it provokes him to withdraw his help and assistance which being done there can be no good temper expected in any whatsoever Lastly Worldliness and too deep an implunging in earthly and secular affairs Those whole hearts are full of the world they are for the most part empty of God and of such thoughts and affections and dispositions as do tend unto him There is a great deal of danger in such a course as this is Ye cannot serve God and Mammon both at once These and the like are the occasions of this heartlesness and indisposition to God which is one thing here considerable Another thing here impli'd is a thraldom and subjection to evil from whence men come to despair of ever getting the mastery of their lusts and the corruptions which are in them There are some kind of people in the world their sins and and impieties do at the present so prevail upon them as that they are quite out of hope of ever getting the better of them they now begin to lay down the buckler and to think it is in vain for them to resist them and to set themselves against them they say There is no hope This is that which in a special manner seems to be intended here
us hence learn to judg of them and to discern them what they are What though they do not say so in plain terms and with open mouth It may be fear and shame and hypocrisy may restrain them from that But as long as they do so they say so whiles they come to the preaching of the Word are made partakers of these divine admonitions hear their sins protested against and laid before them and yet for all that still go on and persist in them and it may be worse than ever before which is commonly the effect of such courses to be worse by means of betterment As long I say as they do thus they do as good as speak it and profess it with their lips Now therefore it concerns them very much to be humbled and abased hereupon as those who hereby add to their iniquity and so consequently to their condemnation Those sins which are but single only before admonition they come to be double afterwards and the judgment is so much the greater which waits upon them If I had not come and spoken unto them they had had no sin says our Saviour that is not so much and so deeply aggravated But now they have no excuse for their sin Joh. 15.22 After so many Lessons and Instructions and Sermons which have been preached to you to this purpose still to go on unreform'd and to keep your old ways and evil courses it is a thing which will admit no excuse or apology at all for it And therefore look to it lest it bring judgment with it at he heels The Sword of Jehu comes after the Sword of Elisha I have hewn them by my Prophets and I have slain them by the words of my mouth says God there of them Hos 6.5 And when this would not do he proceeded to judgment against them and so he will do still if he be not prevented Eluam a me hanc picem gladio I will wash off this pitch with the Sword as the Arabians speak in their Proverb So will God indeed do if he be provoked unto it We know what this is already and therefore should so much the more shun it and those things which are the causes of it So much for that And also of this whole verse before us And they said There is no hope c. SERMON XLVII JER 13.23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil There are two things especially which the Prophet Jerremy in the course of this Chapter and Scripture which we have here before us does undertake to shew and declare to these People whom he had to deal withall The one is the sad Judgments and Afflictions which were coming upon them And the other is the Cause and Ground and Reason of these Afflictions For though there be nothing more clear and manifest to an impartial eye than that Sin is the occasion of Judgment yet such is that self-love and blindness which is for the most part in our hearts that where we most feel the one yet we least suspect the other but are ready a great deal rather to fret and murmur against God than to censure and condemn our selves as we ought to do Therefore does the Prophet here chiefly apply himself to this purpose to prevent and correct the distempers of this People in this particular He had from the 15. verse and so forward given them warning of the evils themselves and told them what should happen unto them And in the verse before the Text supposes this Question coming from them Wherefore came these things upon me which accordingly he presently answers to be for the greatness of their iniquity for this were their skirts discovered and their heels made bare Now because that they might haply have replied that their iniquity was no great matter or if it were would have gone away of it self he does therefore here shew them the setledness and incorrigibleness of it Can the Ethiopian c. This is the Coherence of the words IN this present Verse before us we have exhibited and laid forth unto us the miserable condition of sin which we may take notice of in two Branches as may serve to make up to us the parts of the Text First in its Defilement And secondly in its Intanglement The Defilement of sin that we have here propounded unto us from a double Resemblance the blackness of the Ethiopian and the spots of the Leopard The Intanglement of sin that we have exprest from the unmoveableness and unchangeableness of either of these it being as hard and difficult and impossible to do the one as it is to do the other as hard for those to do good which are accustomed to do evil as it is for the Ethiopian to change his skin or for the Leopard to change his spots We begin in order with the first of these parts viz. the Defilement of sin in the resemblance of the Ethiopian and Leopard that it is of a polluting and of a deforming nature it makes the person in which it is who is fill'd and overgrown with it ugly and very unlovely so indeed as nothing else does in all the world There is nothing which does so ill become a man nor render him so full of ignominy and reproach as sin it self does there is no Ethiopian or Black-moor which is so unamiable in reference to the Body as a sinner is in reference to the Soul and that though ye take and consider him under never so many excellencies and perfections besides whether Corporal or Spiritual Let it be beauty of Body sin it will take off from that and cause a loathsomness and disdainfulness notwithstanding It is like a jewel of gold says Solomon in a swines snout where there is beauty void of grace and fairness of skin without understanding of the things of God Those therefore that take pride and prank up themselves in the one without the other they do exceedingly deceive themselves as being indeed most unlovely and deformed So again let it be beauty of mind that is of wit and natural parts taking the mind of man so yet this sin it will discolour that and cast a disparagement upon it and very frequently does so How odious and abominable is a great and prodigious Wit with a loose and scandalous conversation like a dead flie which makes the oyntment of the Apothecary to cast out a stinking savour so is a little folly in him that is in reputation for great wisdom says the Preacher Eccles 10.1 Great and raging lusts they cast a shadow upon great parts and take off from the comeliness of them Let men be what they will be or what they can be yet if defiled with sin they are so far forth very unlovely Indeed they are not so it may be in their own apprehension and to the judgment of a carnal eye that can see no such ugliness and deformity and filthiness in
through their miscarriages it will likewise grieve them again by his own desertions Which made David so much to cry out as we find him to do there in the Psalm Cast me not away from thy presence and take not away thy holy Spirit from me Psal 51.11 The consideration of this should still make us so much the more wary and shy of sin and of doing any thing which is evil and unlawful forasmuch as it involves and contracts a double guilt with it not only that which is consequent and attendant upon the commission of sin but also upon the omission of duty As we must not only abstain from evil but we must also do good so as we desire to do good we must be careful to abstain from evil For these two they go together Sins of commission have sins of omission in them That 's a second observation Thirdly Observe also further this That no man can do any good till his nature be first changed and altered in him There must be a rectitude of principles before there can be a rectitude of actions we must be first of all good our selves before good can come from us This is also plainly in the Text for mark how the Prophet here sets it Can the Ethiopian change his skin c. then may ye also which are thus and thus do that which is good As who should say when those which are accustomed to the doing of evil are once changed and renewed in their natures then good may be done by them but because that is so difficult therefore this so contrary is impossible Accustomed and habituated sinners they cannot do good why because they abide still the same which they were before in their natural condition there 's no change or alteration at all which is wrougth in them And this is grounded upon that common rule and observation Orta attestantur principiis effectus non excedit virtutem suae causae No man gathers grapes of thorns or figs of thistles in the words of St. James or if ye will in the words of our Blessed Savious An evil tree bringeth not forth good fruit Whether ye take it for an evil man or an evil heart which is the condition of every one by nature Men are taught to do evil from their principles and the corruption of nature which is in them Look as created nature teaches the creatures such actions as are suitable to their particular kinds so corrupted nature teaches wicked men such actions as are suitable to their wicked condition We would wonder to see such wickedness as there is sometimes in the world and might ask who teaches it but that herein we have answer from corrupt nature it self this suggests such lewdness to them Whiles they sin against nature in the creation of it they sin from nature in the corruption of it Secondly By Doctrine Corrupt opinions cherish corrupt principles and improve them so much the more So the Apostle tells us that without Faith it is impossible to please God the work whereof does imply a change And therefore we should still look to this in all we do That our hearts be right in it and that whatever comes from us flow from a spirit and principle of Grace and regeneration in us which will make it to be of the true stamp and character indeed and also acceptable and well-pleasing to God who will still own his own work in us We should not satisfy our selves in the multitude of performances and the doing of such things which are only good in their own nature and for the matter and substance of the action but desire and endeavour that our own consciences may be upright and sincere that whatsoever we do we may do it in God's strength and likewise to his glory Otherwise they will find no acceptance or approbation with God at all but he will reject them and cast them away from him as things which he does abhor Thus we shall find him to do there in Isa 1.12 13. c. Bring no more oblations incense is an abomination unto me c. And so probably also here in this place It is likely these people in the Text that they did many good things for the matter of them and yet says the Lord here of them How can ye do any good These and the like observations may we gather from these words in general as they lye in themselves Now further We may likewise if we please look upon them reflexively and as coming from the Prophet himself And here there are these things in them which may be observed and taken notice of by us First The Prophet's confidence and assurance of that which he did deliver he speaks it with a great deal of boldness and freedom and certainty of mind in that which he speaks concerning the thraldom and captivity of accustomed sinners Therefore it seems to be a kind of challenging and triumphant expression Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard c Do ye think that to be possible did ye ever see that in all your lives can that enter into you to believe This is the force and emphasis of these expressions whereby he does as it were come upon his Hearers and surprize them before they are aware There 's somewhat more in these rhetorical interrogations than there is in bare and positive assertions to make the thing it self more effectual Secondly Here 's the Prophet's faithfulness in that he brings it home to their own particulars and expresses it as concerning themselves in the second person It is not how can they which are thus and thus but how can ye He lays it at their own doors and desires to make them sensible of it which were corrupted and polluted with it This is another thing which a Minister ought to do as he has ground and occasion for it that so his Doctrine and Reproof and Exhortation may have the more power and efficacy with it Thus does Jeremy here in this place Thirdly Here 's the Prophet's courage and undauntedness and impartiality that he speaks here absolutely and indefinitely to all which were sinners and guilty without exception As in the 18th verse before Say unto the King and the Queen humble your selves c. So also here Ye which are accustomed to do evil He spares not any whether great or small as he had no cause coming on God's errand In verse 15. Hear ye and give ear be not proud for the Lord hath spoken c. And thus now also have ye the observations collaterally and reflexively arising from this Text which we have here undertaken and so likewise with the whole Text it self Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots then may ye also which are c. SERMON XLVIII EZEK 21.2 3. Son of man set thy face toward Jerusalem and drop thy word toward the holy places and prophecy against the land of Israel And say to the land of Israel Thus saith the
Lord Behold I am against thee and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked These times in which we now live are times of War and rumors of War which does abound and prevail in them in which respect a Text of War will not be unfit or unsuitable to us Especially of such a War which if it be duly and rightly considered is the cause and occasion of all other Wars besides which is that of God himself the Lord of Hosts with the Sons of men And this is that which we have propounded unto us here in this Scripture God's controversy with the people of Israel and the publishing and declaring of it to them by the Prophet Ezekiel who in these two Verses which I have read is first of all qualified and prepared for the delivery of such a message as this and then has the message it self committed unto him to be published by him The first in the second Verse and the second in the third of this Chapter Our business at this present time will be only with the first The Prophet Ezekiel 's preparation to his Emhassage in this second Verse which I have now read Son of man c. IN this present Verse before us we have two General Parts considerable of us First the Prophet's Compellation or Title which is given unto him Secondly the Prophet's Injunction or Command which is laid upon him His Compellation that ye have in these words Son of man His Injunction that ye have in these Set thy face c. We begin in order with the First viz. His Compellation Son of man There are but two persons in Scripture which have eminently this name put upon them of the Son of man The one is our Blessed Saviour in the new Testament and the other is this Prophet Ezekiel here in the old For our Saviour it is the name put upon him in sundry places I shall not need to instance in any particulars they are so frequent in every page of the Gospel and it was not without very good reason namely as hereby to discover the truth of his humanity to us that amongst those many miracles and wonderful works which were wrought by him from whence he did appear to be God he might have somewhat also fasten'd upon him declaring him likewise to be man Besides as suitable to his present state of abasement and humiliation and future passion that he might be looked upon according to that view wherein he tender'd himself to the world and that those which were about him might be prepared for what should happen unto him he thought it fitting thus to be call'd In the mean time likewise encouraging them upon these terms to close with him as who having taken their nature upon him was not now asham'd to call them Brethren This for our Blessed Saviour But now as for the Prophet Ezekiel why this name should be put upon him this is a thing further considerable especially why upon him rather than upon any other of the Prophets besides as we do indeed find it to be the Prophet Daniel only excepted who once and no more but once is distinguished by this compellation Dan. 8.17 Vnderstand O Son of man It is the general sense of Divines that it was for this reason especially namely to humble him in the midst of those many divine visions and revelations which he was partaker of That though in regard of his work and employment he was a companion of Angels yet for his condition he was numbred amongst Men And so in that respect had a double disparagement upon him which serve to abase him both of mortality and sinfulness Of mortality Son of man that is one who is subject to death as well as others The Prophets and Apostles and all other Ministers of the Church they have this treasure in earthen vessels Again of sinfulness Son of man that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as was said of the Prophet Elias A man subject to like passions and infirmities with other men Look as the Apostle Paul when he had been caught up into the third Heaven and heard such words as it was not possible for a man to utter he was buffeted with the messenger of Satan thereby to debase him and had a thorn in the flesh sent him thereby to keep him from being exalted with the abundance of the revelations Even so was it likewise here with the Prophet Ezekiel in this his present employ which that he might consider what he was in the midst of this great favour which God did now vouchsafe unto him in being made partaker of these heavenly apparitions he is qualified by this Title which is given him Son of man But we may add also another reason here in this place and in reference to the present occasion and matter in hand for the giving of it and that was not only to breed in him an humble spirit but likewise a pitiful and compassionate The business which he was now employ'd in and the message which he was now sent about it was a matter of judgment and terror it was a threatening and foretelling of God's wrath and indignation against his people Now this it did require some bowels and tenderness in him that he should do it and therefore Son of man was a very fit and proper compellation that so being a man himself he might the more commiserate the rest of his brethren Remember those which are in bonds as bound with them and those that are in adversity as being your selves in the body It is the Apostle's counsel to the Hebrews Heb. 13.3 Those who are themselves in the body have cause to tender others in adversity as being in that respect subject to the same afflictions and calamities themselves Therefore it is said of Christ that in all things it behov'd him to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful High-Priest in things pertaining to God c. And so Ezekiel is here admonish'd of his humane condition that so he might with the more tenderness of affection denounce God's judgments against men as himself was that he might not too insultingly triumph over them but carry himself with meekness and lenity towards them as being one in the same nature with them And so now I have done with the First General Part of the Text viz. the Prophet's Title or Compellation Son of man The Second is the Prophet's Injunction or Command which is laid upon him and that is how to carry himself in the denunciations of God's judgments against his people This is exprest and laid forth in three clauses First To set his face towards Jerusalem Secondly To drop his word towards the holy places Thirdly To prophecy against the land of Israel Where ye have a full and perfect enumeration of all kind of places and conditions and persons as the objects of Divine wrath and vengeance which is threatned
such places especially when they come to be common and general and universal then they bespeak speedy destruction That which many people take as an excuse and shelter to them in in that is indeed if it be duly thought of the greatest matter of affrightment and aggravation which is this that it is usual and ordinary and that more are guilty of it for then it is an argument that sin is shameless and impudent and incorrigible and in a manner desperate and that there 's nothing almost to be expected but ruine and desolation And is not this then just matter and ground for mourning to all such persons as understand themselves Lastly The servants of God have herein also a respect to others even sometimes to wicked men themselves whom considered as men they lament and mourn for whiles they are guilty of such and such miscarriages Those that cannot mourn for themselves through the obstinacy and hardness of themselves yet they have in those cases others better than themselves to mourn for them Thus we see what grounds there are for Gods childrens mourning in this particular for their sighing and crying for the abominations which are done in the places in which they converse Therefore this may very much satisfie us when we observe it at any time to be so when we see any to be thus affected that we may not think it a superfluous business or more than needs for there is very great causes and reasons for it And accordingly it does condemn the contrary neglect which is in many persons There are a great many of people in the world who as they lay not to heart the afflictions of other men in a way of compassion so they lay not to heart the abominations of other men neither in a way of compunction As they are not humbled for their own sins so neither for the sins of others whom they converse withall Yea but now those that belong to God they are careful to do this as it is here intimated to us in the Text. And so accordingly should we all labour and endeavour to do likewise we should labour to get such a publickness of spirit such an hatred and detestation of sin such a love to God and zeal for his glory as to lament and bewail mens sins and miscarriages wheresoever we find them and to be really affected with them some persons there are that do so and we our selves should be careful to be of this number As for spreading judgments and calamities men are perhaps a little sensible of them and may now and then so long as they are upon them express some kind of sorrow for them But who takes notice of the sins and iniquities which are the causes of these judgments This were well to be thought on by us as being that which the Lord does require and expect from us Surely some there are that do so as it is here signified to us though in comparison but very few For the better opening of this passage we may here pertinently take notice of the several expressions which are here used and there are three things here considerable First the expressions of sorrow that sigh and cry Secondly the occasion of this sorrow and that is the abominations that are committed Thirdly the extent of those abominations for the acting and committing of them that are done in the midst of the City First Here are the expressions of sorrow and they are two sighing and crying In the Hebrew Text they are very emphatical as carrying an elegant Parekaa or Paronomasia with them Hanneenwchim ve-hanneanckom both of them terms of sadness The first which is sighing that signifies such a mourning as is more secret and retired in it self The second which is crying that signifies such a mourning as is more open and exposed to observation Both of them such as are agreeable to the occasion and business here in hand Those that are the servants of God they do both of them upon these occasions they do both inwardly conceive grief and also they do outwardly express it First They conceive it inwardly and that is here signified in sighing and it is all that sometimes they can do to any purpose When they see wickedness to abound in any place as now and then they do they have no remedy left them but sighing and bewailing it in their own breasts betwixt God and themselves As in the place before cited out of Jeremy Their souls weep in secret which is the best and truest weeping of all This is that which they may do this is that which they ought to do as the least and sometimes the most which in some cases especially can be done by them It may so fall out sometimes with the Servants of God in regard of the manifold abominations that are committed in the places wherein they live that they can neither complain of them nor redress them neither openly testifie against them nor yet actually resorm or amend them yea but in the mean time they may sigh for them for all that and this is that which is required of them and which is here commended in them First I say it may so sall out that they can not openly complain of them that is either with safety or success not with safety because men are apt in such cases to rise against them and as it were to trample them under their feet as our Saviour speaks Wicked and profane persons they do not love to hear of their abominations though they love to commit them and therefore they are ready ever and anon to flee in the faces of them that reprove them for them and bear witness against them As St. Paul was the Galatians enemy because he shewed them the truth He that rebuketh a scorner begetteth to himself a blot as Solomon tells us Well but there is no danger in sighing and in secret mourning all this while this may be done very quietly and safely and accordingly it is wisdom to do it and God's Servants are careful of it they put up many a sigh to God and she many a tear before him for those sins and abominations which otherwise they could not safely complain of Again As not with safety so not with success they may be likely to do little good by open complaining of them For those which are guilty of them may be so far interessed and engaged as that they would hear no complaints which should be made against them There is that obstinacy in many people's hearts that the more sometimes they hear of their wickedness the more resolv'd and bent they are upon it which harden their necks being often reproved as the Wise-man speaks Now to what purpose is complaining here Yea but sighing may be to very good purpose sighing to God may there be very profitable where complaints to men may be ineffectual we may sigh where we cannot complain either safely or else sufficiently So again we may sigh where we cannot redress This is
the Apostle advises us in Rom. 13.13 14. Take heed of having too easy and favourable thoughts and apprehensions of such things as these are of death and judgment and calamity as if they had no great matter in them for it will not appear to be so when they shall come in good earnest Wo unto you that in this sense desire that is diminish and despise and disregard the day of the Lord which is a kind of desire interpretatively as being next to it for you have no ground or cause for it The day of the Lord being dark and not light yea very dark and no brightness in it as it is here exprest And further here consider the great difference which is betwixt man and man in this particular for whiles this day of the Lord is said to be thus and thus it is still to be taken in a variety of Emphasis according to the variety of Persons which are concern'd in it The same day being occasionally and respectively either one or t'other unusquisque sibi est aut tenebrae aut lumen says St. Austin Every one is to himself either darkness or light Si pius lumen si impius tenebrae Those which are gracious and truly religious to such the day of the Lord whether in death or judgment it is a day of light and joy and of comfort in death as it translates them to Glory and in Judgment as it finishes Glory to them On the other side to those which are wicked and ungodly and profane and atheistical to them it is a day of darkness and horror As the cloud which we read of in Exod. 14.20 It was light to the Israelites whiles it was darkness at the same time to the Egyptians A direction to one and an obstruction to the t'other Where by the way take notice of the unhappiness of all wicked and ungodly persons in the perverting of those things which in themselves have the greatest excellency by making a contrary use and improvement of them There 's nothing which wicked men partake of but it 's either the worse for them or they for it The Word of the Lord and the Table of the Lord and the Temple of the Lord and the Day of the Lord. The Word of the Lord they make it reproachful and instead of the savour of life to them to be the savour of death The Table of the Lord they make it to be vain and contemptible and instead of discerning the Lord's body eat and drink to themselves their own damnation The Temple of the Lord they make it execrable and instead of the house of Prayer a den of thieves The Day of the Lord they make it terrible and instead of a day of light a day of darkness As they profane the day of the Lord as it is taken for a day of devotion so they contemn the day of the Lord as it is taken for a day of judgment and visitation So much for that and so much also of the whole Text. SEVERAL SELECT SERMONS Upon Various Texts out of the NEW TESTAMENT Sermon I. MATTHEW 5.20 That except your Righteousness exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven It was that which was laid to the charge of our Blessed Saviour whilst he converst here upon Earth as is also since to some of his servants in conformity to him that whiles he preacht the Doctrine of the Gospel he did nullifie the vigour of the Law and the Precepts of it That which the Pharisees were more especially guilty of themselves which was to make the Commandment of God of none effect by their Traditions they most falsly and injuriously and unhappily object to Christ as if he came into the world for this purpose to destroy the Law and the Prophets Now therefore did it very much concern him to clear himself of this accusation which we find him to do in this present Scripture by shewing that he was so far from nullifying or destroying the Law as that he did so much the rather strengthen it and confirm it and further inforce it by the sense which he put upon it as leading men to a stricter and exacter observation of it than as yet they had been acquainted withall and this is the scope in particular of this Text which we have now in hand Our Saviour had for the general profest it in the 17th verse of this Chapter Think not saith he I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets I am not come to destroy but to fulfil Now in this verse before us he proves and demonstrates what he there profest For I say unto you That except your Righteousness exceed the Righteousness c. IN the Text it self there are two general Parts First The Preface or Introduction Secondly The Doctrine or principal matter which is delivered in it The Introductory Preface that 's exprest in these words For I say unto you The Truth and Doctrine which is delivered in these words Except your Righteousness c. We shall a little invert the Order of these words in the handling and begin first of all with the second Branch of them as that which is principally intended and that is the Doctrine or Truth it self which is here propounded and delivered to us Except your Righteousness exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees c. Wherein we have a disparagement of the Righteousness of such and such persons in order to Eternal Salvation so as that these who do partake of no more but only that shall never partake of this The word Scribes is the name of an Office amongst the Jews who were noted especially for their Learning and Knowledge in the Law The word Pharisees that is the name of a Sect who were noted especially for their life and conversation Now the Righteousness of either or both together is here declared to be very defective And the point which arises from hence is briefly this That Pharisaical Righteousness is unsufficient to bring a man to Heaven If a man have no more Righteousness in him than of the Scribes and Pharisees he shall never enter into the Kingdom of God For the better opening of the present point unto us there are two things to be done by us First To shew what this Pharisaical Righteousness is and wherein it consists Secondly To shew the Defectiveness and Insufficiency of this Righteousness in reference to Eternal Salvation and what it is which makes it so to be as is here by our Blessed Saviour declared concerning it First What this Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees was or is which is thus insufficient Now this may be reduced to these two heads either first the matter and substance of their Righteousness or secondly the manner and circumstances Their Righteousness it was observable and remarkable in either of these particulars but yet defective in each First For the matter and substance of their Righteousness it
that this would teach us to see our own vanity and to set our thoughts a-work upon better things that so we may not only have God not opposing us but also setting in with us that he may speak to us not by way of contradiction but by way of encouragement and as one which approves what we do The way to have him to do thus is to set our thoughts and meditations in a right channel to be plotting for the eternity to be plotting for the good of the Church and projecting how to promote the common cause of God's people to study how to advance Religion and Godliness in the places wherein we live These are the things wherein we shall have the Lord himself joyn with us This is the First General It was an excellent Speech of Socrates an Heathen Philosopher c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 With men honesty is folly and conscience is folly and plain dealing is folly and preaching is folly these are foolishness with men but they are not so with the Lord. God calls fool as one that can judge of folly God calls fool as one that will punish folly Thus does he call fools Why thus now are all c. Secondly They are fools because they do as fools do why I pray how do fools Ye may take it in these explications and all apply it to worldly earthly minded men First they peremptorily conclude upon that which is uncertain Secondly they absolutely neglect that which is necessary Thirdly they altogether prefer and provide for that which is superfluous In all these respects they are fools First I say they peremptorily conclude upon that which is uncertain they are fools in this There 's nothing a greater argument of a fool than to make sure of that which is questionable Folly it is for the most part full of vain and frivolous hope but Wisdom it is full of suspition and jealousy and expedition of miscarriage and is ready to think there are many things which may disappoint it Why now this for the most part is the case of worldly men they build upon a thousand uncertainties their lives and their goods and their houses and such poor things as these than which nothing can be more uncertain this they depend upon as infallible and not to be suspected Again on the other side the Scriptures and promises and the hopes of Heaven these they think to be the falsest and most unconstant things that can be They are such as they will give no trust or assurance unto but pass them over as matters very hazardous This is desperate folly to forsake the fountain of waters and to trust to broken pitchers for men to rely upon that whereunto there 's no trust to be given such as riches are and therefore we find them accordingly to be exprest to us in Scripture In Prov. 23.5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not for riches certainly make themselves wings they fly away as an Eagle to Heaven Mark upon that which is not such kind of things are riches A man cannot say that they are because that they are still in a flowing and transient condition therefore we find them also to be call'd uncertain riches In 1 Tim. cap 6. ver 17. Charge them that are rich in this world that they trust not in uncertain riches but in the living God who giveth us all things richly to enjoy It 's a great piece of vanity and folly to trust in things which are uncertain It 's just as if a man should think to walk upon crackt ice which will be sure to give him the slip we would count him a fool which should do so whatsoever he should pretend Why thus are all the hopes and expectations and supportments of the worldly they are things of as brittle a nature wholly full out As Bildad has exprest it in Job Job 8.14 The hope of the hycocrite shall be cut off and his trust shall be a spiders web He shall lean upon his house but it shall not stand he shall hold it fast but it shall not endure Thus do all hypocrites they hold fast on that which endures not This is one piece of folly Secondly They absolutely neglect that which is necessary they are fools in this whom do we account to be a fool here in the world A man that cares not at all what becomes of himself nor of those which belong unto him lets his House and his Lands and his Estate go to rack and ruine and those which belong to his Family to perish for hunger him ye account to be a fool Why but these whom we now speak of they do worse than all this for they neglect their immortal Souls Heaven and Happiness and Glory and Eternal Life the favour and love of God the fellowship and communion of Saints the sweet comforts of the Spirit such high matters as these they are neglected and disregarded Our Saviour has combined necessity into a narrow room in Luke 10.42 he tells us it is but only one thing one thing is needful and this one is the only thing which worldly men neglect which makes it the greater folly If their happiness consists in many things at once and those of different natures perchance the multitude might distract them and confound them and put them beside But now when 't is confined but to one for them to be neglectful here it is the greatest madness that can be and yet this is that which they are generally guilty of This they must needs be whiles they give themselves with so much excess to other things This our Saviour has told us and clearly laid down unto us in Mat. 6.24 No man can serve two Masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other ye cannot serve God and Mammon This is that which deceives men they think to serve both that they may both follow the World and follow Christ too But herein they are exceedingly mistaken for they will not stand together Indeed I do not deny but a man may ravel and pass through the world and make use of those comforts and refreshments which it pleases God to cast upon him in it But to pursue and follow after it to prosecute it with that eager violence and importunity which many do it cannot well be without neglect of better things This is that which they do who are carnally minded they neglect that which is necessary Thirdly They altogether prefer and provide for that which is superfluous If we compare salvation with health and friends and the comforts of this life these things they are superfluous in comparison for what 's a temporal life to that which is eternal and perpetual But if further we speak of these things as they are pursued by worldly men so thy are superfluous out of question they are simply and absolutely superfluous without more ado For such men as these we
for Now observe here further for this Praying it self how it is exprest namely in the time past it is not I will pray for thee but I have prayed Not I will do it hereafter no but I have done it already We see here the readiness and forwardness of Christ for us He is full as nimble and as speedy as Satan Satan he had desired already And Christ he had prayed already He is as forward to help us as the other to conspire against us This is still the comfort of Believers that they have such an Advocate as this is one that sits at the right-hand of God and so is privy to all the accusations which are brought against them and attempts which are made upon them it is very sweet and comfortable There 's no danger which is incident to a Believer but Christ he is acquainted with it and there 's no danger which he observes to be neer him but he takes care and diverts it from him We see here how Christ's afore-hand with us He prayed for Peter before Peter prayed for himself or very well knew that he had any need of being prayed for at all We see here also Christ's sweet love to us Peter knew not that Christ had prayed for him till he now told him This shews us those concealed bowels which Christ bears unto us he thinks of us when we think not of him and prays for us when we think our condition to be so good and safe as that we hardly stand in need of it as Peter here did Let us therefore comfort our selves and one another with these words as the Apostle speaks for indeed they are very comfortable That we have Christ praying foâ— us It is a comfort sometimes to Christians to think that they have such and such friends praying for them it may be when themselves are at some distance and remoteness from them yet that they have the benefit and advantage of the prayers of such a relation a Father or Husband or Brother or any other acquaintance Gracious and holy persons they take a great deal of contentment in the mutual remembrances of one another at the Throne of Grace Oh! but when they shall consider that they have the remembrance of Christ himself this must needs be especially pleasing and delightful unto them and satisfy them in any condition Yea it is comfortable in all our own weaknesses and inabilities which are upon us It falls out to be sometimes the case and condition of the servants of God that they are hardly able to pray for themselves such a straitness and difficulty in them and indisposition upon them But now when they can have Christ to do it for them this supplies it and makes it up to them with a great deal of advantage There 's a double supply to the servants of God in such cases The one is the intercession of the Spirit and the other is the intercession of Christ And both very considerable of them First For the Spirit 's intercession that we have mention made of in Rom. 8.26 27. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit if self maketh intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit because he maketh intercession for the Saints according to the will of God Secondly For Christ's Intercession that we have here now in this Text Behold I have prayed for thee This is matter as of great encouragement so likewise of great engagement How should this knit us to Christ and oblige us so much the more unto him What a sad and fearful thing is it for us to be sinning against him whiles he is praying for us for us to be tempting him whiles he is praying for us to be kept and deliver'd from temptation as sometimes it happens to be I have prayed for thee c. Christ tells Peter of it which he knew not before And there 's very good use now and then of such a carriage as this is not only of praying for our friends in the thing it self but likewise in some circumstances of signifying as much unto them Though it is better they should know it in the event and by the efficacy of it to themselves yet there may be some cases and causes sometimes for the discovery of as much unto them As St. Paul frequently in his Epistles making request for you and remembring you in my Prayers c. Partly for the increase of love and affection between Christian and Christian which hereby is very much preserv'd Partly also for the stirring up of our Brethren to the performance of the like office of love for our selves as we have occasion for it And partly again to secure one another as to the state and condition in which we are who having a stock of prayers going for us and being accordingly inform'd of it may from hence be more comforted in our selves And thus did our Saviour here to Peter in this intimation I have prayed for thee Before we let go this Passage there is somewhat here further to be observed from this Adversative Particle But. But I have prayed for thee which stands in opposition to that which was said before concerning Satan's desires Satan has desired to have you but I have prayed for thee which he adds by way of consolation and to prevent discouragement in Peter and in the rest of his Disciples It was a grievous thing for them to hear of Satan's attempts that he laid wait to catch and entrap them and desired to insnare them yea but here 's now that which qualifies it that Christ also does pray for them and the Prayers of Christ are more prevalent than the desires of Satan He shall be able to do more for them than the other shall be able to do against them And God will sooner hear his Son begging and entreating for them than he will hear Satan's clamouring and crying against them A Christian's priviledges are above his disadvantages And we may here further observe and take notice of the wisdom of Christ in the expression of himself here to Peter where he endeavours to keep him in an even temper betwixt fear and hope that he might the better provoke him to watchfulness and heedfulness and care of his ways he therefore tells him that Satan had desired him and yet withal that he keep him from discouragement and despondency and dejection of spirit he tells him also that himself had prayed for him But I have c. In this Adversative But there 's a threefold Antithesis or Opposition which may be here observ'd and taken notice of by us First an Opposition of the Persons Christ against Satan Secondly an Opposition of the Actions Praying against desiring Thirdly an Opposition of the Success Establishment against Circumvention First An Opposition of the Persons Christ against Satan It is the Devil that
Matth. 16.18 The Gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church yea the first promise of all Gen. 3.15 The seed of the Woman shall break the Serpent's head This as it is matter of great encouragement to us in general so in particular is it an encouragement to us in all our spiritual combats and conflicts that we may not faint or be dejected in our minds and so give up our selves as lost Forasmuch as at the last we shall overcome and go by the best And so St. Peter himself at some time and in some place improves it in the counsel which he gives to Believers upon this occasion 1 Pet. 5.8 9. Your adversary the Devil goes about like a roaring Lion seeking whom he may devour whom resist stedfast in the Faith knowing that c. And so likewise the Apostle James Jam. 4.7 Resist the Devil and he will flee from you Thus have we this Adversative Particle in all its several Antitheses or Oppositions here considerable of us The opposition of the place The opposition of the Actions The opposition of the Success Which latter now leads me from the First General Part to the Second here in the Text to wit The matter of Christ's Prayer or the thing it self requested by him in these words That thy Faith fail not This Passage may be consider'd of us two manner of ways First in the Negative what it is not And Secondly in the Affirmative what it is For the Negative First to consider that what it is not Where we may observe that it is not that Peter might have no temptation befall him that one would have thought had been more sutable When he had said before Satan hath desired to have you we might have expected he should have said next But I have prayed that he shall have nothing to do with you But we do not find him to say so no but rather that thy Faith may not Fail From whence we may observe thus much that God does not always keep his children from temptations but rather gives them Grace against them that they may not be foyled by them Thus he did here with Peter he suffer'd Satan to tempt him but withal he kept up his Faith Thus we shall find him to do with other of his Servants in Scripture Thus he did with his Servant Job he suffer'd Satan in some measure to set upon him when he desired to have him but yet withal he gave him Grace to overcome him and Job came off at last as a Conqueror As the Lord himself bears witness of him in Job 2.3 He still holdeth fast his integrity although thou movest me against him to destroy him without a cause Thus he did also with his Servant Paul There was the messenger of Satan sent to buffet him and he besought the Lord that it might depart from him But what was the answer which was made unto him My Grace is sufficient for thee c. I will not with-hold the temptation now but I will give thee the Grace which in effect shall be all one or better for thee In Heb. 12.47 We find it to be there recorded as a part of the condition of those Believers and Worthies of old that they were tempted And so it is likewise the condition of many others still This it pleases God to suffer and permit upon divers considerations First for their greater abasement and humiliation The Servants of God are apt sometimes where Grace is not more watchful in them to be advanced and lifted up in themselves now therefore does the Lord now and then let Satan loose upon them to humble them and to bring them into Order This we shall find to be expresly signified concerning Paul himself and that by himself which makes it so much the more remarkable in 2 Cor. 12.7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations there was given unto me a thorn in the flesh c. lest I should be exalted above measure He repeats it twice both in the beginning of the verse and in the end of it that we might the more take notice of it Paul he was a man which had been taken up into the third Heaven and there had heard unspeakable words which it was not lawful for a man to utter as was signified in the fourth verse of that Chapter Now as he had been lifted up in his person so he was apt also through the remainders of corrupt nature still abiding in him to be lifted up likewise in his spirit Therefore for the prevention of this was there given unto him this thorn in the flesh this messenger of Satan c. which was as troublesome and grievous to him as a thorn in the flesh And it is worth our observation that it is said to be given unto him It is not only it was sent unto him or it was laid upon him or inflicted upon him or the like no but it was given unto him which has the force of a gracious dispensation included in it A Gift being in the true nature of it a matter of favour both proceeding from love and affection in the person that gives it and tending to some good and advantage of the person whom it is given unto Thus are temptations as it pleases God to order them to those which are his for which reason he suffers them to be upon them And as for other good purposes besides so amongst the rest for this which we now speak of either to prevent or to subdue pride in them and to root it out of them This was the case here with Peter in the Text Peter he had too good a conceit and opinion of himself and of his own stedfastness yea above all other men besides as himself expresses it now therefore would Christ have him to be tempted that so by this means he might be abased Secondly As to breed humility so also to breed compassion and tenderness of spirit to others Christians as they are apt sometimes to be too well opinionated of themselves so also to be now and then too harsh and rigorous towards their Brethren And these distempers they do commonly go together There are none which are more uncharitable towards others than those which are most indulgent to themselves Now temptation cures them of this it makes them full of bowels and pity towards others in the like condition As it is noted of the High-Priest that he was to be one who could have compassion on the ignorant or who could reasonably bear with them for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity He that is sensible of his own infirmities will be the more compassionate and bearing towards others This is that which is taken notice of in Christ though he had no infirmity of sin in him at all yet as to temptation to sin he was not freed from it And that for this very reason as the Apostle expresses it thereby to make him so much the more
Establisher and a Sealer of this Faith in us and to us He who hath anointed us and hath established us is God who hath also sealed us and hath given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts 2 Cor. 1.20 Thus we see how it comes to pass that the Faith of a Believer is unmovable But now further as this is true of his Faith at large and consider'd in general so is it true likewise of his Faith more especially in reference to temptations in which sense we are now more particularly to understand these present words I have prayed for thee that thy Faith fail not that is that thy Faith fail not at such time as thou shalt fall into temptation and when Satan according to his desire shall set upon thee This is indeed the particular scope and drift of the Text. And so again there are two things to be observed by us in it First there 's somewhat implyed and Secondly there 's somewhat exprest That which is implyed is this That a stedfast Faith is a singular help in temptation That which is exprest is this That the servants of God they shall have their Faith much upheld in such conditions First We have this implyed That a stedfast Faith is a singular help in temptation This we draw from the occasion of these words which are here added by our Saviour Our Saviour had in the verse before told Peter that Satan had desired to have him and the rest of them to sift them now in this verse he tells him thus much That he had prayed that his Faith should not fail and he tells it him by way of encouragement Now where does the encouragement lye namely here That his Faith not failing he should be therefore arm'd against Satan's assaults and attempts upon him So that this I say is the scope of the Text to signify to us the efficacy of Faith in such conditions as these are He whose Faith does not fail him he is sufficiently provided for temptation Faith it is a fortifying Grace which does keep the Soul in very good safety And so the Scripture still sets it as amongst the rest in that eminent place Eph. 6.16 Above all taking the shield of Faith whereby ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the Devil And so again in 2 Cor. 16.13 Watch ye stand ye fast in the Faith quit ye like men be strong Where it is supposed that if Faith be but sure and stedfast in us every thing else will with us Now the efficacy of Faith in temptation is discernable in these particulars First as it pitches us upon the strength and power of God That which keeps up a soul in temptation it is an Almighty Power it is a Power which is above all the Powers of Darkness it self Now such is the Power of God alone and therefore the Apostle when he would arm us against Principalities and Powers c. he bids us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Eph. 6.10 Be strong c. for we wrestle c. Now this Power it is improved by no Grace so much as by Faith We are kept by the power of God through Faith unto Salvation ready to be revealed in the last times Kept by the power of God as the main cause and original of our preservation and withal kept through Faith as apprehending and laying hold on this power and applying it to it self Secondly Faith helps in temptation as it lays hold upon the promises of God It has pleased the Lord to make many gracious promises to his servants in temptations for the sustaining of them in them as 1 Cor. 10.13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which ye are able but will with the temptation find a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it And many such like gracious intimations as these are Now Faith it applies these promises and makes use of them in time of need and so by this means does much help and support and keep us up in temptation Thirdly As it lays hold upon Christ and pitches us and fastens us upon him we are so far safe and sure in temptation as Christ has any hold of us and we of him Look as it was with Peter when he sometimes walked upon the Sea what was that which then upheld him and kept him from sinking why it was the hold which he had upon Christ Even so was it with this same Peter likewise when he was set upon and assaulted by Satan and when the waves of temptation came upon him his security was Christ's sustaining of him Now Faith is that which makes us to do this even to cling and cleave to Christ and keep close to him This accordingly teaches us how much therefore it concerns us to take care that this be vigorous in us and as Christ here himself prayed for us so also to pray for our selves that this may not fail in us That Prayer of the Disciples for themselves Lord encrease our Faith it is that which is necessary for every Christian and that especially in order to temptation that we be not vanquish'd and overcome by that And further Here is that which may satisfy us in the Providence of God himself towards us we may think it a strange dealing with us that he suffers temptations sometimes to befal us yea but here is that which makes amends that he hath provided also such a Grace as is sufficient for the encountring of them He has given an Antidote for this poyson and a Buckler against this assault where there 's Faith there is an help against temptation That 's that which is here implyed Secondly For that which is exprest It is this That Peter's Faith shall not fail at such a time as that is It shall not fail that is it shall not fail in temptation at such a time as Satan shall assault him and set upon him as afterwards he did Where by failing we are not to understand some temporary shaking or obscuration for that we know his Faith had but an absolute and total deficiency Peter when he was at the very worst even at that time when he denied his Master yet his Faith did not thus fail in him There was Faith and Grace at the bottom even in that miscarriage This appears from hence in that he recover'd and got up again He was sensible of his defect and repented and mourn'd for it he went out and wept bitterly as the Scripture says of him As soon as ever that Christ looked upon him his heart smote him this would not have been so if his Faith had absolutely failed in him no it did not do so but as it is noted of Eutychus that fell from the third story and was taken up for dead yet notwithstanding his life was in him Acts 20.9 10. Even so was
upon this ignorance in them and does make them to be unable to conceive of such things as these are The consideration of this Point thus opened and enlarged by us may be variously useful to us First in a way of Confutation Secondly in a way of Information And thirdly in a way of Correction In a way of Confutation first of all of the fond conceit and imagination of such persons as would subject Religion to Reason and would make the Mysteries of Faith to come within the reach and compass and capacity of common and humane understanding Alas how vainly is this thought and expected by them when as the wisest and learnedest that are are not able to sink into them We see here in this present Scripture how this great and learned Pharisee one who in those days went for a Rabbi and great Scholar yet how childishly he discourst of this point of Regeneration and how dull and stupid he was as to the conceiving and apprehending of it And if it was so with him may we not think it so with more And if it were so in this one point is it not so also in many others Yes undoubtedly and out of question that so we may not think of men above that which is in them nor advance the power of Nature or Reason above its ability Men may please themselves in their own devices and in the vanity of their own thoughts but when all comes to all they will find themselves to come short of such things as these are as to any rational discovery of them which what is known of them to any purpose is revealedunto us onely by the Spirit which as it is said searcheth allthings even the deep things of God Secondly as to matter of Information We see here whence it comes to pass that many persons do no more look after such a work as this in themselves and besides over and above do deride it and scoss at it in others surely it is because they are ignorant of the nature of it We know that what men do not know they do not desire And so it is here in this particular And for the same reason also do they condemn it and speak evil of it They speak evil of that which they do not know and they censure it because they know not what belongs unto it Therefore they think godly men fools and the strictness of Religion to be superfluous because they are strangers to the discoveries of this spiritual life And we have cause no more to be troubled at it or to be offended with it than we would at some Art or Mystery with the censures of such persons as had no skill or insight into it The spiritual man judgeth all things yet he himself is judged of no man says the Apostle 1 Cor. 2.15 that is The man who is truly regenerate he does so much understand of God's truth as may concern his own salvation having his Faith grounded upon Gods Word and setled in his heart by the holy Ghost independently upon the judgment or censures of other men Thirdly as to matter of Conviction we may make use of this Point so as from hence to take off the prejudices which do arise in carnal minds against the truth and reality of Regeneration as proceeding from the intricacy and improbability of it It is no Argument that there is no such thing as this New birth it self because that such and such persons do not presently discern and apprehend it Look as it is no good Argument against the Wind as if there were no such thing as that is because men do not know the particular original of it nor the course which is taken by it as long as they hear the noise of it and see it and feel it in the effects so neither is it any good Argument against Regeneration and the work of Grace as if there were no such thing as that is because men know not the particular nature and motion and proceedings thereof which in the mean time they see it in the influences and consequents and products of it It may be yea and it is in reality although the manner of its being be a mystery and not so able to be exprest as it is felt by such persons as are the subjects of it This is the very scope of the Text and the main drift of our Blessed Saviour in this his passage to Nicodemus Therefore let us strengthen and confirm our selves in the belief of this Point and be fully perswaded of it against all cavils and objections to the contrary and not suffer our selves by any means to be diverted or removed from it That there is such a thing indeed as Regeneration and the great benefit and necessity of it as our Saviour in this Chapter declares it so necessary as that without it there is no seeing of the Kingdom of God Let us not argue a non-apparere ad non esse from the non-apearance of it to the not being for if we do so we shall deal perversly For as we believe there is a Soul though we understand not the manner of its production and as we acknowledge there is a Wind though we see not the rise of its motion because there are such acts and effects as do demonstrate thus much unto us So to believe that there is a work of Conversion and Spiritual Generation though the circumstances of it may be unseen and undiscern'd by us as a Child in the womb that lives though it reflect not upon its life in that condition And especially and above all let us labour to be made partakers of it for our own particular There 's no such way for us to be convinced of the reality of Religion considered in it self as to have the sense and experience of it upon our own hearts Those who are themselves Regenerate will not deny or make a question of the work of Regeneration as being sufficient proofs and witnesses of it in their own Persons and believe it because they feel it Whereas on the other side those that do so question it they give great occasion of jealousie and suspition that they never had yet any work of it upon them Their speech in this case bewrays them and discovers them to be that which they are Therefore let us labour I say our selves to be partakers of this new birth of life in our selves and so we shall be able the better both to understand it and also to demonstrate it And this is a general Rule which accordingly is to be observed by us as to all the practical Points of Religion for the setling of our judgments in them There are great arguings and disputings now and then to and fro about such Points as these are and very hot contests about them about Free-Will and about Free-Grace and about Conversion and Perseverance and the like But the most compendious way to resolve them is to labour for a sanctified heart and a renewed mind and
within their own line Secret things belong to God and revealed to us and to our children as Moses tells the Israelites in Deut. 29.29 Lastly Sometimes in a way of Discipline to correct some miscarriage in them or to prevent it for time to come whether pride or security or carnal confidence or whatever it be The Lord was afraid of Paul lest he should be too much exalted in himself through the abundance of the revelations and therfore when he had discovered great matters to him and made him hear unspeakable words which it was not possible or lawful for a man to utter he sent him a thoâ—n in the flesh the messenger of Satan to buffet him lest he should be exalted above measure as himself gives an account of it 2 Cor. 12.7 So ill is God pleased with such distempers as these in his people as that either he keeps such discoveries wholly from them or else does very much allay and qualify them to them but usually the former and that whereof we now speak Those who are light-headed they do best to be kept in the dark And so as to these spiritual dispensations when men shall abuse that knowledg which God bestows upon them to arrogancy and wantonness and conceitedness and despising of others God does in such cases as these are restrain them from knowing more and perhaps sometimes of such things which otherwise it would concern them to know He leaves them in these cases to themselves and to the vanity of their own imaginations that so they may by experience see what it is to abuse his loving kindness and to turn his Grace into wantonness Sometimes God in judgment surprises men and brings upon them evils unawares because they would not know the time of their own visitation when they might have known it nor seasonably see when his band was lifted up against them as the Prophet speaks Thus we see the manifold account of this Point and Observation before us That even the servants of God do not presently see what he does The consideration of this Point is thus far useful to us as from hence to satisfy and inform us in this particular That we may not think either of our selves or others more highly than we ought to think as the Apostle advises We see what little ground any have too peremptorily to take upon them the fore-telling of future events or to conclude of things afore-hand which is the prerogative of God alone and of such as are more immediately inspired by him We must be wary and cautious in such matters as these are and keep within our own compass Remember still that of our Saviour which I mention'd before It is not for you to know the times c. Indeed there is a knowledg of the times which is both possible and commendable for us as it is recorded of the children of Issachar 1 Chron. 12.32 That they had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do That it concerns every Christian to know in his place and capacity so to understand the genius and frame of the times in which he lives as to order his life accordingly and so to be able to foresee the inclinations of them as whereby to steer his Christian course but as for absolute determining of them or of what will be done in them this is a thing which is to be left alone to God himself and is a matter of delay and expectation What I do thou knowest not now That 's the First General viz. The Simple Proposition wherein our Saviour denies in Peter a perfect knowledg of what he did The Second is the Additional Qualification of the foregoing Proposition But thou shalt know hereafter This is that which is here signified by Christ to Peter upon this particular occasion And it holds good as well as the former in regard of God's general Providence That though his Servants do not presently apprehend or understand what is done by him yet in time they shall In this passage there are two distinct Branches First the discovery it self Thou shalt know it And Secondly the time of this discovery It is future Thou shalt know it hereafter First Here 's the discovery it self Thou shalt know it Though God's actions are for a while in the dark and are not presently made known yet there will a time come for the clearing and evidencing of them and they shall be seen what they are and laid open This is an high piece of Grace and condescension in him For as God is absolute in his actions themselves and may do what he pleases so he is absolute also as to the approving of his actions and may choose whether or no he will discover them He need give no account of his matters as Elihu speaks in Job 33.13 He needs not but yet he does for all that At least he will do at one time or other so that his people may know them This will he do to sundry purposes and according to several explications in which we may take it First He will discover them in the justice and equity and uprightness of them What I do thou shalt know hereafter that is Thou shalt know that I have been just and righteous in doing of it That the Judge of all the World has done no more than that which is equal Bold and presumptuous persons are apt now and then to challenge God in this particular and to bring him to their tribunal for that which he does whether in regard of themselves or others to think that God's dispensations are very unjust and unequal The Prophet Jeremiah himself though otherwise a good man was once upon that Point in Jer. 12.1 Righteous art thou O Lord when I plead with thee yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments or let me reason the case with thee as the words will bear it Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper wherefore are they happy that deal very treacherously Habakkuk he was upon the like expostulations in Hab. 2.13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he And so 't is with many others besides who are ready to quarrel at God's Providence and to think he deals unequally with them But he will one day shew the contrary he will manifest that there was very great cause for what he did that he was just in all his ways and righteous in all his works In Ezek. 18.29 The House of Israel said The way of the Lord is not equal But what says God to them again Oh House of Israel Are not my ways equal are not your ways unequal There 's none which are apt sooner to complain of God than those who are obnoxious to him nor there 's none which are so ready to think that he deals worse with them than those that deal worst with him Those which are
issue and event of them and that by vertue of God's gracious Ordination David's troubles and persecutions Job's losses of his children and estate Paul's thorn in the flesh and messengers of Satan to buffet him they had all an happy end and conclusion with them Go through all the Servants of God which have ever been in the world from the beginning of it till this moment and let them but speak their knowledg in this particular and they will be ready to maintain and consirm it sooner or later That so indeed it is That all God's dealings with them they have been the actings of mercy and loving kindness and such as they are abundantly satisfied and pleased with them Thus in all these particulars do they know what God does to them When it is said here to Peter Thou shalt know it It holds good according to a double way of discovery First by way of illumination And Secondly by way of experience Rationally and Practically both First By way of illumination in a further clearing of their understanding God's people as they do daily improve in the knowledg of other truths besides so amongst the rest of the truths of Providence and the things which God does in the World they have still further insight into these Secondly and more especially by way of experience They know them so God does every day more and more approve himself to the sense and feeling of his people especially as they have any thing more patience to wait upon him Patience it breeds experience and experience hope and hope makes not ashamed c. But so much may be spoken of the First Branch in this Second General viz. The discovery it self Thou shalt know c. The Second is the time of discovery And that 's exprest in the future Hereafter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This admits of a double reference either first to this life present whiles they abide here in the world or else to the future state in the world to come First For this life present Sometimes hereafter in this The Lord is pleased now and then so far to gratify and pleasure some of his Servants as to give them very satisfactory apprehensions of his dealings with them here in this world and they live so long as to be abundantly convinced of that which he does as to the equity and goodness of it and are forced to declare it Especially at such times more particularly when they are departing and leaving the world There are many Christians who when they have come to dye have taken their farewel of the world with a justification of God's proceedings both general and also particular with the Church and with their own persons And there 's a very great force and efficacy in such testimonies as these are The speeches of dying men have always been most remarkable as carrying some kind of divinity and propheticalness as it were with them And God delights very often to use them and to improve them to such a purpose for the better strengthning and confirmation of the Faith of other persons whom they leave behind them Secondly For the life to come Hereafter then God does not think fitting to make known and discover all to his people here he reserves very much and the greatest part also for Heaven which is a better place There 's a day of revelation a coming when as God will know more what we have done so we shall know more what is done by himself and have a clearer discovery of it In his light we shall see light Then God will please to manifest and â—ay open all unto us He will explain those riddles and untye those knots and facilitate those difficulties to us both in matter of Doctrine and Dispensation which for the present are ready to stumble us and amaze us and put us to our plunges so as we know not what to make of them And we have very great cause to stay and to expect upon him till then The summ and brief of all by way of Use and Application câ—mes to this That therefore we would rest satisfied and contented with that which God does whatever it be and not too suddenly pass our verdict and censure upon it but in patience possess our souls Oh! have good thoughts of God and be well perswaded of him in the crossed and most contrary dispensations for we shall never repent in so doing but be abundantly recompensed for it and have it again returned into our bosoms He will then have good thoughts of us and dispose of things accordingly to us Beloved there is a time will come when as God will stop the mouths of his enemies by the clearness and evidence of his transactions so he will also satisfy the expectations of his people yea surpass them and go beyond them As iniquity shall stop her mouth and have nothing to say against God so piety shall open her mouth and have very much to say for him in the vindicating and justifying of him Yea the Lord will then justify himself in all his proceedings whatsoever He will shew them that whatever was done it was best to be done and that it could not well indeed have been otherwise if we had rightly consider'd of it God will manifest a sweet harmony and concord and amiable agreement in all the things which are effected by him and such as we our selves shall very readily subscribe unto Therefore be patient and stablish your hearts as St. James speaks Be not rash with thy mouth nor yet let thy heart be ready to utter any thing against God For God is in Heaven and thou upon Earth therefore let thy word be few Eccl. 5.2 We know what was the praise of Job and he is recorded in Scripture for it That though he had many evils upon him and trials one after another that yet in all this he sinned not nor charged God foolishly or attributed folly to God Job 1.22 No more let any of us do so neither upon any occasion whatsoever though never so difficult or perplexing It was the great weakness of Sion that when she had not every thing according to her desire she complained that God had forsaken her Isa 49.14 Sion said the Lord has forsaken me and my God has forgotten me Oh! but he had not for all that Can a woman forget her sucking child c. The like may be said to any of God's people in the like condition That they may not be discouraged in them nor dejected nor cast down in themselves for there will be a gracious upshot and conclusion of all at the last Surely there is an end or reward and thine expectation shall not be out off as Solomon speaks Pro. 23.18 And verily there is a reward for the righteous verily there is a God that judges in the earth Psal 38.11 And for our encouragement let us take in this That the readset and willinger we are to be well perswaded of any thing God does the sooner shall
and his whole life was no other than a continual Document to them and Pattern which he set before them Now it could not but be very grievous to them likewise to be destitute and fall short of this which they did by his going away from them In all these respects were the Disciples now likely to be comfortless and afterwards proved so occasionally from Christs departure from them as to the withdrawing of his corporal presence They were sad as those that had lost a most sweet and useful Friend and one that was every way profitable and beneficial to them sor instruction for direction for imitation and every thing which was lovely And so it may be likewise with any other which are still in the like condition The likest that is to it of any thing is the deprival of the outward Ordinances and Means of Salvation and of those that should dispense them to us This according as they may be especially is in a sort and in a manner to be deprived even of the presence of Christ which is especially considerable in these matters Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me says the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians 2 Cor. 13.3 and it is Christ that walks in the midst of the golden Candlesticks Rev. 1.13 The dispensation of the Ordinances it is the presentment and manifestation of Christ to such persons as are made partakers of it And on the other side the want of them is the withdrawing as it were of his presence Now this to bring it home to the Text it is a very sad and uncomfortable business where it happens so to be even as of Children destitute of their Parents it is not onely as of Sheep without a Shepherd but also as Orphans without a Father as it is here exprest unto us and not onely here also but elfewhere 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as we find the word used 1 Thess 2.17 Now the sum of all is this That we now for our particulars should accordingly be affected with it and lay it to heart thus the Disciples were here when they were deprived of Christs bodily presence and it became them to be so As their condition was now comfortless so to be sensible and apprehensive of it and to mourn under it This is that which they did this is that which was sitting for them to do though our Saviour did labour to pacifie them and to comfort them in it it was their duty to be troubled for it where yet it was possible for them to fail in the manner and circumstances of that duty And so here as to this particular business whereof we now speak it is likewise the duty of all such as are under the want and deprivation of those spiritual opportunities to make the best improvement of it that possibly they can First by inquiring into the cause and occasion of it as near as we can what it is which may move God to take such a course as this with us which is in it self a very great affliction and not lightly to be past over by us And the finding out of the cause of it may be a great tendency and inducement to the remedy and recovery of it Now of this there are divers occasions which are to be thought on and considered by us God does sometimes for sundry reasons out short and deprive a people of those means and instruments of their salvation which they have formerly enjoy'd First Vnthankfulness and want of prising of such a Blessing as this is whiles we enjoy it God's word and the labours of his Servants are things which are so precious with him and which be sets at so high a rate that sooner or later he will be sure to have them valued there where they are bestowed and where they are not so he will now and then remove them and take them away that so that which is not known in the enjoyment it may at least be understood by the loss and privation of it It was reasonable it might be so with the Disciples now at this time as to Christs personal presence with them they might not it may be have esteemed it so much as they should and therefore though there were other ends for the withdrawing of it yet it might also have this influence upon them so as to humble them for their former neglect that they might bewail their ingratitude and unthankfulness for so great a favour as the presence of so gracions a Master And so in this particular which we now speak of God does oftentimes take away such opportunities that men may reflect upon their former senslesness and inapprehensiveness of the mercies which they did enjoy and accordingly be assected with it as it becomes them to be Secondly As unthankfulness so also which is annex'd to it unfruitfulness and unprofitableness under such means God never appointed his Ministery as a Complement and business of State which men should have here by them onely for fashion and never to do any good with it but for improvement and edification The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with all as that they should profit others who are endued with it so that they should be profited by it for whose sake also it is given Now therefore where it ceases to be so he is very much displeased and because he is so now and then withdraws the exercise of it God will not have such precious liquor as this is to run waste but be gathered up and made use of And where it is otherwise himself will restrain it and deny it and keep it up Thirdly Spiritual Wantonness and Curiosity and Affectation When God shall afford us the gifts and pains of his Servants and we are continually excepting against them and quarrelling with them and diminishing from them this does provoke God exceedingly in this particular When we have good and wholesome food provided for us and we loath it and scorn it and despise it as the Israelites did their Quails and Manna this light bread as they call'd it God will then in such cases as those are make them to know what it is as children when they begin to paly with their victuals their Parents then take it away from them These and the like miscarriages which we may think of are the causes and occasions of such dealings from God in this business And that 's the first use of this Observation by inquiring into the occasions Secondly Seeing the deprival of the means of Salvation is so sad and comfortless a condition therefore we should the more carefully improve them at such time as we are partakers of them and prevent and thereby keep off such a condition as this is from our selves We should so order and dispose of our carriage as that Christ may delight to be with us and to reside and continue amongst us and not to remove or to depart from us And so much may suffice briefly to have spoken of
to understand them and to know the meaning and intent of them that is to say for which cause and reason God is pleased to send and inflict them that so they may make a right use of them this they do not see which it concerns them to do To know the times and seasons thus namely in reference to God's judgments Thirdly The duties and engagement of the times it becomes us likewise to know these and it concerns us to study them to know what Israel ought to do as it is there exprest For there is a particular duty and carriage and behaviour and conversation which is proper to such a particular time which in another time is not so convenient Every thing is beautiful in its season as the Scripture tells us and that which may be a sin at one time it may be a duty at another according to the several circumstances and appurtenances which it may be clothed withal which it concerns all wise and prudent Christians to be advised of and lay to heart In Rom. 12.11 We find this advice given by the Apostle to the believing Romans and in them to all other Christians Not slothful in business fervent in spirit serving the Lord but according to some translations it is serving the time which is not to be understood by us of a base and unworthy complyance with the sins and corruptions of the time but of a careful and discreet consideration of the necessities and conditions of the time which are very much to sway and regulate those actions which are to be done by us This is to be supposed and taken for granted and laid for a rule That we may never do any thing which in its own nature is unlawful or against the word of God There 's no time for sin no not the least sin that is neither may we at all indulge our selves in it so as to frame our selves to it But for those things which are of a middle nature and in themselves consider'd indifferent there 's another account to be given of them and the time of performances here 's considerable as of very great influence both as to the honour and glory of God and as to the good and advantage of God's people And thus we have seen in what respect it may be pertinent for us to know the times and seasons whether in a natural sense or a civil sense or a spiritual sense and religious But the sense in which it is impertinent and whereof we now speak is suitable to the occasion of the Text and as we hinted before as to the time of mens particular deaths the change and alteration of affairs in Kingdoms or States the end and consummation of the world and the time of Christ's coming to judgment such times and seasons as these it is not for you to know that is it is not proper for you it is not your business nor belonging unto you Secret things belong unto the Lord our God but revealed things belong unto us and to our children for ever Deut. 30.20 Secondly It is not for you that is it is not profitable for you it is not your interest or advantage For men to know the times and seasons in this last sense as I have now explained it 's no way useful or beneficial to them neither is it any matter whether they know them and whether the time of their own particular end or of the end of the world It might please as a matter of speculation and so there are divers that busy themselves about it for the discovery of it but it cannot profit in a way of instruction neither does it tend to any true or real edification There 's no considerable advantage which can be thought to come by it nay indeed there is rather much of the contrary it is prejudicial and inconvenient Partly as it would be perplexing and distracting and partly as it would be apt to retard us and take men off from their duty and doing of such things as at present are required of them Thirdly It is not for you that is it is not possible for you it is not within your reach or compass or which you are able to attain unto The time and season of the end of the world and for Christ's coming to judgment it is not in your power to know nor comprehensible by you This agrees with that which follows in the close of the verse which we handled before where it is said that the Father hath put it in his own power and so out of the power of any other besides This agrees with that which our Saviour himself hath in another place likewise declared to this purpose in Mark 13.32 But of that day and hour knoweth no man no not the Angels in Heaven neither the Son but the Father Where there are three sorts of persons excluded from the knowledg of this time Men and Angels and the Son that is Christ himself The latter whereof especially seems to carry some difficulty with it which I shall briefly resolve how Christ who is said in another place to know all things Joh. 21.17 yet is said in this place not to know the day and hour of the last judgment And it is so much the more considerable forasmuch as it is he himself who is appointed to be the Judg as we have it in Acts 17.31 God hath appointed a day in the which he will judg the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordain'd This man is no other than Jesus Christ who is God and Man both Now that he who was to be the Judg should not know the time of the judgment seems to be a little incongruous and yet notwithstanding it is here intimated as if he did not know the day For the right explication we must consider in what sense this is spoken and we may reduce it to a threefold head First to the subject of this knowledg Secondly to the means of it Thirdly to the manner of it According to either of these he may be said to know it well First Take it as to the subject of this knowledg The Son knoweth not that day and hour But how consider'd namely not as the Son of God but as the Son of Man forasmuch as Christ doth sustain in himself both natures the Godhead and the Manhood therefore by a communication of properties what belongs but only to one nature it is attributed to the whole person As therefore Christ is said to dye not as he was God but as he was Man because the Manhood only is capable of mortality so Christ is said to be ignorant as he was the Son of Man not as he was the Son of God because the Manhood only is capable of ignorance And as he is said to know all things because he was God so on the other side not to know some things because he was Man And so some of the ancients carry it He that knew it as he was God and
such points whosoever they are First Because they are such points which are indeed if we rightly consider them of a very deep reach in Religion though God in his Providence has brought it down to the capacity of the meanest yet in that it is such a Doctrine as does sute with the learning of the greatest and such as the greatest wits in the world may not scorn to search into What do we speak of the world and men when the very Angels themselves admire it and bow down to peep into it as the Apostle Peter tells us 1 Pet. 1.22 If they are such Mysteries as are high enough for Angels surely men have no cause to disdain them or scorn them or be weary of them though never so fully accomplished in regard of humane wisdom and learning here 's that which will hold them tack whosoever they be Secondly The wisest and learnedst that are such points as these may very well become them forasmuch as they are necessary points and such as tend to Salvation it self If wise men will be saved they must be glad to hear of saving truths there being but one way to Salvation for them and all others besides Those who have the greatest skill in Physick they are glad to take the same potions for their health which others take and so those which are the most famous for wisdom they may be glad also to partake of the same truths for their spiritual edification which others do of meaner parts Thirdly Again there is this besides considerable in it That there 's an infinite depth in these matters which we can never sufficiently reach or dive into and those that knew never so much of them yet they are still capable of knowing more and every new discourse about them it still adds somewhat unto them as every time that we read the Scripture we may still gain some new knowledg by it Besides further That we need affections even there where we need not information This is a special ground for the Preaching of plain Truths to great Wits thereby to work upon their hearts and to draw their love and affection to them There are many which know a great deal but their knowledg is very cold and dead and heartless in them and therefore to put some fire into them it is necessary to inculcate and preach these points upon them as men eat not only to take away hunger but also to gain spirits not only to satisfie their appetites but likewise to encrease their strength and corporal vigor This may then teach all such persons with patience to submit to such Truths and Points as these are and to receive with meekness that word which is able to save their souls as the Apostle James speaks Chap. 1. v. 21. Let us not disdain the common Doctrines of Religion nor think them too low for us which as no man is too good to preach of so no man is too good to hear nor to have imparted and communicated unto them And that 's a third thing here in the Apostles carriage his faithfulness and indifferency of mind The same Truths to Jews and Gentiles Fourthly There is here one thing more in his practise and that 's this namely his wisdom and discretion in the course which he here took for the curing and removing of the distempers of these Jews and Gentiles in reference to Preaching and that is by the very exercise of Preaching it self They counted it the foolishness of Preaching Well how does the Apostle now go about to free them and deliver them from this mistake why he does it no other way than indeed by preaching to them The way to bring men in love with Preaching is to use Preaching amongst them diligence in the performance will make them to affect the ordinance One would have though when the Apostle had perceived what mean apprehensions these people had of Preaching he should have now forborn Preaching amongst them and resolved as Jeremy once did that he would never preach more I said I will not make mention of him nor preach no more in his name Jer. 20.9 But St. Paul does not so he now Preaches so much the rather and falls to his work so much the faster We preach Christ crucified And this there 's good cause for First Because a great occasion of peoples prejudice against Preaching is because indeed they are unacquainted with it they speak evil of that they do not know whereas if they knew it better they would be more in love with it Now the use of it does discover this to them this shews them that worth which is in it which otherwise they do not so well discern as it is in other matters the strangeness which is betwixt friends is cause from want of converse c. so here Secondly Because there 's an authority in Preaching and an effcacy which goes along with it which does command respect unto it it is not in mens power and liberty whether they will honour Preaching or no they shall do it by meer force and as it were against their wills whether they will or no as Physick makes men in love with Physick This therefore is first a good Item to Ministers what to do in such cases to do as the Apostle here do's And secondly we see here how to cure this distemper in many places in the Country namely by sending Preachers amongst them And so for the curing also of an itch in hearing the way is to preach sound and powerful Doctrine to them But so much of the first Particular viz. The Apostles carriage as concerning the ordering of his Ministry which we have seen in four several Instances The second is the Apostles Doctrine for the points delivered by him and that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ crucified This was the string which the Apostle here harped upon and the lesson which he principally taught from whence we may observe thus much That Christ crucified is the main object and matter of our Preaching the chief work and imployment which lyes upon us in our Evangelical Dispensations is to lay open the Cross of Christ The Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom but we preach Christ crucified In the second Chapter of this present Epistle and the second verse the Apostle professes that for his part he determined to know nothing else I determined to know nothing amongst you save Jesus Christ and him crucified I determined the word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I judged not only in a way of resolution I purposed to know nothing else but also in a way of approbation I esteemed nothing else besides so fitting to be known To know amongst you what 's that that is indeed to make known A Minister knows no more in this sense than he publishes and declares to others and makes them know as well as himself Now this was that which the Apostle was resolved on especially to beat upon in his Ministry
take which he Preaches is to be earnest especially with God to go along with it and to bless him in it otherwise he may lose all his labour Again further The life and conversation of the Preacher there 's great matter in that also There are many Doctrines sometimes delivered which if we consider them in their own nature and for the matte of the things themselves which are spoken they have a great deal of weight in them yet as coming from such and such mouths they lose that efficacy and vertue which is in them He that 's a loose and scandalous liver can never look to be a profitable and successful Preacher nor to have any good at all come by any Doctrine which at any time he delivers I say he cannot expect or look for it Perhaps he may do some good by chance and unawares as God in providence may order it but he cannot expect or look for it and that indeed because he takes the quite contrary way hereunto For who will ever believe that that man is serious and in good earnest whose Doctrine tends one way and his life quite carries another way Nay further let me add this also That it is a great matter as concerning the efficacy and success of a mans Doctrine and Ministry not only how he orders his life and outward conversation but also how he orders his heart and inward disposition It is a duty which much lyes upon us as we desire that any Truth we deliver should take with our Auditory to labour to bring our own hearts and consciences to a conformity to it There 's nothing which goes to the heart so much as that which comes from it And when the words of a Preacher are the expressions of his own experiences and impressions and the working of his spirit within him We imparted unto you not the Gospel of God only but also our own souls because ye were dear unto us 1 Thes 2.8 Thus do we see how this difference lyes in the Preacher himself and that 's the first Consideration The second lies in the qualification of the hearers We use say Quicquid recipitur recipitur ad modum recipientis What ever is received it is received answerably to the modification of that which receives it And so is it indeed among other things with the Word and Truth of God it has a different and various effect according to a difference in the Hearers and a disposition in their hearts It is the Comparison which is used in this case by Clemens Alexandrinus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Look says he as it is at Tennis It is a plain and homely similitude but it serves to illustrate the thing As it is in playing of Ball 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. It does not depend alone upon the skill of the first striker but also as well upon the taker to keep the Game up Though he which begins behave himself never so skilfully yet if the other do but bungle with him if he mind not or mark not the business there will nothing be done to any purpose because those imployments they are actions of mutual dependance and reciprocation Even so also for the transmission of the Gospel and Divine Truths though the Doctrine it self be delivered with all the care and endeavour that can be yet if it be not carefully received there will no success follow upon it Thus Heb. 4.3 The Gospel was Preached to them as well as unto us but the word Preached did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith in them that heard it This is set forth to us by the Parable in the Gospel where that which fell in the High-way had not the efficacy of that which was sown in the good Ground Non impotentia seminis sed vino telluris as Athanasius well expresses it not from the weakness of the seed but from a defect in the Earth it self where there is not a good capacity in the Hearer the Word Preached will be there of no effect Now an indisposition here may be laid forth as consisting in divers things which concur hereunto First Prejudice and forestallment of Opinion and Apprehension in regard of the Preacher where people have at any time sinister and wrong conceits of those tha teach them they can never so kindly entertain the Doctrine which is delivered by them as when a Patient does not fancy the Physitian the Physick will not likely do him good This was that which made the Word of God to be no more received in former times We see how it was with the very Apostles themselves and amongst the rest more particularly St. Paul how the prejudices against his Person were sometimes great impediments to his Doctrine and the progress of his Ministry amongst them And therefore it is most necessary thing for all kind of Hearers to take heed of this Not to be rash in admitting any misprisions in this regard as Satan is most ready to breed them so should we be the readier to avoid them And again which we may take in here also as prejudice in an ill sense so prejudging also in a good there may be a danger in that also when people come to the hearing of the Word with too much expectation from the Preachers too and as trusting to their Gifts and Abilities this may be a cause of not profiting likewise when we shall have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ in respect of Persons It comes hence to pass that we are many times frustrated and disappointed and are sent empty away c. as Naaman to Elisha he thought the man of God would have come down c. 2 King 1. Secondly Another Hindrance in the Hearers is a want of due fitting and preparing of themselves for the publick Ordinances We see in other matters how preparation goes before the thing it self in Physick there 's a preparing of the body beforehand ere the principal Physick be administred and in Diet there 's preparation by exercise before the receiving of the meat even so is it requisite to be here in Divine matters likewise in our coming to the Sacrament and in our coming to the Preaching of the Word as we desire to get profit by these Duties so we must prepare our selves for them when we come to such things as these are immediately from our worldly imployments with our minds and thoughts full of the world we cannot ordinarily receive so much advantage and benefit by them Intus prohibet alienum Thirdly Some reigning sin and lust which prevails upon the heart that 's another impediment likewise in the behalf of the Hearer Look as it is in the body if any man have any constant weakness or sickness and infirmity about him that sustenance which he receives it does not commonly thrive with him but rather feeds and strengthens his disease than any thing else even so is it also here for the soul where there 's any corruption which is
Christ which is the greatest knowledg We have perswasions for those which are young men and we have perswasions also for those which are old as the Apostle John had before us as ye may see there in his writings 1 Joh. 2.12 c. I write unto you little children and I write unto you fathers and I write unto you young men still as there were any difference of men and ages amongst them so had St. John a lesson for them and so have we as also John the Baptist for all sorts and conditions of men the People the Publicans the Soldiers he had somewhat for them all Luk. 3.10 c. So we perswade men that 's the Object Indeed in one place of Scripture this seems to be set somewhat contrary where it is said We do not perswade men Gal. 1.10 Dost yet perswade men or God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Do I that is I do not But we must understand in what sense it is spoken and so exprest by him which is not of the persons whom his Doctrine is preached unto but of the matter wherein it consists it is not an Humane Doctrine but a Divine that 's the meaning of it But for the persons it is not God but men as here in the Text We perswade men First of all by taking men in opposition to God himself who needs not to be perswaded And secondly in opposition to Angels The third thing here pertinently considerable is what we perswade unto This is not directly expounded but it is intimated and implyed unto us in the scope and drift of the words out of which we may fetch and extract it especially by looking back to the 9th verse of this Chapter where we are called upon to labour that we may be blessed of God What this is in particular will be the better made known unto us according to the consideration of the persons whom we deal withal c. which we may look upon under a double notion either of such as are not yet converted or else such as are converted already one perswasion is here different according to the different state and condition of either of these persons in this estate 1. If they be as yet unconverted in their natural and unregenerate estate then we perswade them to believe to come out of that wretched condition in which they are and to accept of salvation upon these terms in which 't is offered to you And so Beza sets it who instead of suademns gives it Homines ad fidem adducimus As the Lord sometimes to his people by his Prophet Ezekiel Turn ye turn ye from your evil ways for why should ye dye O house of Israel Ezek. 33.11 Or as the Prophet Isa 55.1 Ho every one that thirsteth come unto the waters c. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him turn unto the Lord and he will have compassion upon him and to our God and he will abundantly pardon or as Peter Act. 2.40 Save your selves from this untoward generation These are the things which we perswade men to which are as yet unconverted to repent and to believe and to work out their salvation with fear and trembling For it is God which worketh in them both to will and to do c. Phil. 2.12 23. And this is that which will one day aggravate mens judgment and condemnation at another day that it is thus with them especially such as live under the Gospel and dispensations of the Ministry in any degree more aboundant than others such as these will have the more to answer for when God shall hereafter call them to account that they have not wanted perswasions to be administred unto them God has knock't at the doors of their hearts and has call'd upon them in the labours of his servants and has perswaded them if so be that they themselves would have been perswaded by him They cannot say that they have wanted excitement and provocation and quickning hereunto for this has been our work to perswade them Again 2. As for those which are Believers and converted already this perswasion reaches to them likewise we perswade men that is we perswade good men also One perswasion reaches to such as these amongst other men that they would walk answerable to their profession and principles and graces which God has indu'd them and inrich't them withal that they would shew out of a good conversation their works with meekness of wisdom Jam. 3.13 That they would adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour in all things and take care that the Name of God and his truth might not be blasphemed In a word that their conversation might be as becometh the Gospel Phil. 1.27 So again That they would continue and persist and persevere and hold out to the end that they would abound more and more go from strength to strength and proceed from one degree of grace and holiness to another that they would be fruitful in every good work and that they would labour by good example and good discourse and frequent admonition both to build up one another in goodness and likewise to draw on others which are as yet strangers to the ways of Godliness and Religion into the same happy estate and rank and condition together with themselves This is that which we perswade such men as are good already and at present converted unto even to go on and proceeed in goodness And this is the third thing to wit To what as well as to whom this perswasion of the Ministry does extend The fourth and last is upon what ground and that is hinted unto us from the coherence in the words that went before Knowing the terror of the Lord. This is not the only argument whereupon we may deal with them but it is that only which is here exprest yea that which is most of all available to most men in our first dealings with them as I hinted before Indeed there are very melting Considerations to work and win upon mens souls and to perswade them to goodness from some other heads besides as the love of God and the bowels of Christ and the excellency and dignity and sweetness which is in Goodness and Religion it self but that which the Apostle thinks fit to press upon them rather in this place is the terror of the Lord and the consideration of that strict account which they must one day give of themselves at the judgment-seat of Christ Knowing this says he we perswade them so that we see there is sometimes use and need of such kind of points and Doctrines as these are and we have good cause sometimes to hear of them and to be remembred of them There are some which must be saved with fear pulling them out of the fire as St. Jude speaks Jude 1.5 As in the Ministry there are diversities of gifts which are occasionally to be improved some being Sons of Thunder and other Sons of consolations so there
which do not take notice of a kindness they are so far forth conceived to despise it Ingratitude it is a piece of contempt and this is that which is in wicked men in a great measure in regard of Gods favours and kindnesses to them they are unmindful and forgetful of them and give no heed unto them Thus Isa 17.10 Thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength So Psal 78.42 They remembred not his hand nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy So Psal 106.13 They soon forgat his works they waited not for his counsel And ver 21. They forgat God their Saviour which had done great things in Egypt Omnia quae curant meminerunt Those things which men care for they remember and call to mind but when men do not do thus with Gods mercies it is a sign that they do but little regard or care for them when as namely they are unthankful for them for that 's indeed the meaning of it and which is intended in this forgetfulness we speak of It is not a matter of notion but affection a man may remember the things which God has done for him so far as concerns the brain and the receiving of them into the understanding and yet for all that forget them and so consequently despise them when as namely his heart is not raised and enlarged in the blessing and praising of God for them when we shall so carry and behave our selves in regard of those mercies and favours which at any time we receive from God as if they were not worth the acknowledging which we do by non-attendency to them and unthankfulness for them we are effectively judged to despise them Secondly By non improvement and unfruitfulness when we we do not that good which we may and ought to do with those mercies which God bestows upon us we do slight and contemn those mercies in Gods account Every man esteems of any thing according to the use which he puts it to And so in this take it in what you will whether in Parts or Estate or Authority or any thing else if we do not improve it and draw it out to those ends for which we enjoy them and are made partakers of them we are despisers both of the things themselves and him that gives them And thus now are men of the world for the most part with those they have They have them but they do no good with them neither in one kind or other but have them only to have them and sometimes to say that they have them and to look upon them with their eyes as Solomon speaks of riches whilst they keep them and ingross them to themselves This it is a despising of them Indeed at the first hearing it may seem to be the contrary when worldly men keep their riches to themselves and hoard them up and detain them by them What do they despise them why they rather value them and make much of them and prize them which makes them loth to part with them Yes they value them in a sort as to the things but they contemn them and despise them as to the use and right improvement of them so far forth as they have them themselves so they prize them but so far forth as they come from God so they contemn them and are justly reckoned to be despisers of them Thirdly and especially by misimprovement and a contrary use of them they despite them so likewise Those good things which God bestows upon them they do not only do no good with them but they do a great deal of hurt and they are themselves so much the worse for them This is discernable in sundry Particulars First In security and carnal confidence wicked men because God spares them and follows them with outward comforts therefore they think themselves to be in a very good estate and condition and never mind the good of their souls This makes them more confirmed in evil than ever they were before and more setled and grounded in wicked courses as Psal 52.7 Lo this is the man that made not God his strength but trusted in the abundance of his riches and strengthened himself in his wickedness or in his substance Such persons because God spares them therefore they think he approves them and because he bestows good things upon them that therefore he is well-pleased with them which is a mistake and a misimprovement Secondly To the neglect and contempt of others There are many who when they are well and in good plight themselves are forgetful of their brethren and scornful and disdainful to them forget the afflictions of Joseph and sometimes as Job's friends have sinister thoughts of them for them This is a misimprovement of the riches of Gods goodness to them who from hence should be more kind and merciful and tender-hearted to others as a piece of gratitude and thankfulness for Gods goodness and indulgence to themselves which yet for the most part they are little affected withall Thirdly By doing mischief with them this is a misimprovement indeed when those things which men should receive from God they shall use against him and make them to be means and occasions for the feeding and venting of their lusts and corrupt affections Riches when men shall use them to luxury and riot and excess Power when men shall use it to malice and revenge and oppression Honour when men shall use it to pride and vanity and contempt Wit when men shall use it to Heresie and deceitfulness and the defence of evil ways c. this is with a witness a misimproving and so a despising of the mercies of God And yet is that which wordly men are frequently guilty of upon all occasions They do in all these respects which I have now mentioned and may more despise the riches of Gods goodness c. If we would know whence this does arise and proceed in them there is this account which may be given of it First from Ignorance and not knowing the worth of the things themselves that 's one cause and occasion of despising as it is hinted also in the Text which in its place we shall come unto not knowing that the goodness of God c. That which men do not know they do not esteem and so it is here men do not know the worth of those good things which they enjoy from him Not know them why they know them too much and are too much in love with and that makes them oftentimes to so admire them yea but they do not know them as they should know them and under that notion they do not know them as tending to their betterment and as leading them to repentance as it is afterwards exprest of them Thus they do not know them and so from thence do despise them Secondly It proceeds from pride and self-conceit those that have high thoughts of themselves have commonly low
Christ and so at last come to salvation and be made partakers of eternal life This is a main end in this goodness and for bearance of God and whereby in this sense he leads men as it were to repentance This is that which the Apostle Peter hath expresly signified to us 2 Pet. 3.9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as men count slackness but is long suffering to us-ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance It is an account of his delay and withholding of the latter judgment for a time he does not presently make an end of the world and turn up all things here as being not willing that any should perish namely of those whom he has elected and ordained to salvation but as he has foreappointed them to the end so he does likewise dispose them to the means which may reach and accomplish that end and that is Repentance and Faith in Christ and the knowledg of the Truth As many as were ordained to eternal life believed Act. 13.48 And here those that were designed not to perish they were ordered to come to repentance 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to have place or space for repentance as the Greek word properly signifies Upon this Consideration in ver 15. of the same Chapter is the long-suffering of the Lord said to be salvation upon the Testimony of two Apostles both Peter and Paul who is likewise cited for it How it God's long-suffering salvation not in the thing it self but in the opportunity as it gives occasion and time for salvation by leading to the means of it in which is repentance This should accordingly teach us to improve these opportunities to the best advantage for our own souls while God gives life and health and strength and these blessed seasons of Grace in the Ministry and Preaching of the Gospel and these spiritual Dispensations We as workers together with God beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain For he saith I have heard thee in a time accepted and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee Behold now is the accepted time behold now is the day of salvation 2 Cor. 6.1 2. Beloved The time of life is the time of grace when that 's once gone all opportunity of repentance and salvation is gone with it and that for ever O spear me a little that I may recover my self before I go hence and be no more seen says David Psal 39.13 If ever we recover our selves at all we must recover our selves now or else we shall be past recovering The time of grace it may be shorter than the time of life but it will never be longer a man may out-live his opportunities but his opportunities will never out-live him and therefore be perswaded to take time whiles time serves and to close with the present advantage We count it wisdom to do so in other matters In our Markets and in our Trades and in our Merchandizes let us do it for our souls and in reference to our eternal salvation O let us not squander away that blessed and precious time which God gives us for coming to repentance In vanity in sin in lust in making provision for the flesh and the desires of that and so in treasuring up to our selves wrath against that day of wrath as in the verse next the Text. But rather let us lay it out in getting of 2 stock of grace in working out our own salvation in laying up in store to our selves a good foundation against the time to come that we may lay hold on eternal life 1 Tim. 6.19 And that 's the first Explication in which the Goodness of God is said to lead men to repentance to wit occasionally as it gives them an opportunity for it The second is Argumentatively as it gives them a Motive to it and encouragement and engagement thereunto for so likewise it does The better God is to us the better should we be to him again and the more it should go to our hearts when we have sinned against him we should rather labour to make him amends than to offend him so much the more as we are ready to do There are many Arguments at once in God's goodness and patience towards us to move us to repentance First As a matter of Equity It is but just and fitting to be so that seeing God is so good and we have sinned against him that therefore we should make returns unto him there 's no greater reason for our repentance than when we shall consider that we have done amiss and there 's nothing which does more convince us of that than the goodness of the party whom we have provoked and sinned against the better that God is in himself the worse and viler wretches are we that will provoke so good a God and the greater is our Provocation the greater cause and ground for our repentance that 's one Argument in it Secondly In point of thankfulness and gratitude God is good and gracious to us and bears with very much in us How shall we make him any requital for this his Goodness to us What shall we render to the Lord for all his benefits towards us Surely there can be no better recompence than repentance and which belongs unto it new obedience when there 's nothing else that we are able to give him there 's no reason that we should stick at that And then Thirdly In point of ingenuity and to satisfie his expectations from us What 's the reason that God does forbear us and is patient and tender and long-suffering to any of us What is it that we should provoke him more that we should run in further arrears with him that we should persist and continue still in sin God forbid as the Apostle has it no but that we should repent and come in and turn unto him it is the very end of this his gracious dispensation Now there 's nothing more reasonable for us than that we should close and comply with God's ands that which he intends in any thing which he does unto us that should we pursue and prosecute all we can in the Applications of our selves unto him And so here because God waits that he may be gracious to us and because he desires that he may have compassion upon us therefore should we give him an occasion and opportunity for it which we can do no otherwise than by repenting and coming home unto him and that 's the second sense of the words Argumentatively as matter of Ingagement The third is effectively or operatively in the thing it self This must be rightly taken and understood by us namely so far forth as God does sanctifie his Providential dispensations to such a purpose as this is thereby to soften and work upon mens hearts There 's no outward Providence whatsoever which will do any man any good of it self any further than it pleases God to improve it and to
of Faith There are many which reckon themselves in the highest form of Divinity which are in the lowest form of Christianity as having little of the true knowledg of Christ abiding in them Secondly Weaker Christians are compared to little Children as for the smallness of their growth so for the shallowness of their understanding and the weakness and feebleness of their digestion Little children they cannot digest strong meats as is before implied no more can weaker Christians stronger or higher truths There are some Truths in Religion which weaker minds are apt to abuse and to pervert to their own perdition as the Apostle Peter tells us some did with those hard things in Pauls Epistles 2 Pet. 3.16 They are too strong and difficult for them 1 Cor. 3.1 Thirdly Little children they are froward and apt to be complaining in regard of the tenderness which is in them a small matter troubles them and so it is with weak Christians there 's a peevishness and morosity upon them from whence a little thing molests them and soon puts them out of frame Fourthly and lastly as most pertinent to the Text. Little children they are not long in a mind they quickly change and alter their opinions and so it is with weaker Christians It was so in particular with these Galatians for which the Apostle indeed does here call them little children they were soon removed from him that had called them c. chap. 14. Upon this account does the Apostle also express himself after this manner to the Ephesians That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine Take little children and ye may turn them which way ye will and that which to day they play with to morrow they are ready to cast away The same desposition is there in weaker Christians both in regard of Teachers and Doctrines those Teachers which for the time they admire within a while they have enough of them and those Doctrines which now they imbrace ere long they 'l be of a contrary mind and judgment to them But so much of the first thing here considerable which is the Title or Compellation Little children c. The second is the condition in which he stood in reference to them and that we have in these words of whom I travel in birth again Wherein two particulars more First The simple Proposition of it I travel in birth Secondly The additional Reiteration I travel in birth again For the first The simple Proposition The Apostle says he travels in birth with these Galatians where having before call'd them little children he still continues the metaphor about them by resembling and comparing himself to a travelling woman and so upon occasion he is made all things to the people of God sometimes a spokes-man to betratb them 2 Cor. 11.2 I have espoused you to one husband that I might present you a chast virgin to Christ sometimes a Father to beget them 1 Cor. 4.15 For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel sometimes a Nurse to cherish them 1 Thes 2.7 We were gentle among you even as a nurse cherisheth c. sometimes a Mother to bear them My little children of whom I travel in birth And this latter is that which we are now to consider of at this present time Here 's that wonder which the Prophet Jeremy speaks of of a man travailing with child in Jer. 30.6 The Apostle Paul here assumes it to himself but he does not restrain it to himself he does by this expression signifie the condition of the Ministerial employment especially in the hands of those which are faithsul in it it is like the travel of a woman in child-birth of whom I travel in birth There are three things especially which are observable in a travailing woman and each of them appliable to a Minister and Pastor of souls First Sense of pain Secondly Desire of delivery Thirdly Fear of miscarriage First sense of pain There 's pain amd labour in travel so great as that other things which were painful are set forth and resembled by it in Scripture and a woman when she is in traved we say she is in labour as if there were no labour to speak of but only that Now this is also considerable of us in the work of the Ministry howsoever some may count it and others may make it yet in it self and in the conscionable discharge of it it is a laborious work And accordingly we shall find it in Scripture exprest in so many terms 1 Cor. 3.9 We are labourers together with God 1 Cor. 15.10 I laboured more abundantly than they all 1 Tim. 5.17 They that labour in the word and doctrine Still the work of the Ministry is represented and exhibited to us as a business of pains and labour and so indeed it is Indeed it is so differently to a difference and variety of persons as it is in the other kind of travel and bodily child-birth some have an easier pull of it than others accordingly as it please God to be assistant to them as it is noted of the Hebrew-women Exod. 1.19 So here in this spiritual travel according to different gifts and inablements the labour is different but yet all who are that which they should be have their share in this pain and labour This as it is a good Meditation to Ministers themselves to teach them with what thoughts to enter upon so weighty an employment so it is also a good item to people how to carry themselves towards them even by knowing them that labour amongst them and admonish them and to esteem them very highly in love for their works-sake as the Apostle Paul makes that use himself of it to the Thessalonians 1 Thes 5.12 13. We see what cause we have to bear a tender affection to the true Ministers of Christ to pity them and to pray for them even as we would for a woman which is drawing near the time of her travel so should we for those which are understanding such a great work as this is even seek to God earnestly for them especially considering that it is for our sakes and in reference to our good that it is undertaken by them That 's one thing which is considerable in this resemblance of the work of the Ministry to travel viz. sense of pain The second is desire of delivery A travelling-woman she longs to be eased of her burden with which she goes and waits for the times of her redemption and freedom from it and she has a great desire to bring forth what she carries into the world So also had the Apostle here of doing good to these Galatians he was with child till he had wrought some what upon them and brought them into a good temper of spirit This is another thing observable in a good Minister from whence he is said to travel in child for those which are committed unto him Thus Rom. 1.11 I
and non-attendency in them There 's a spirit of Atheism which does possess the hearts of every man whereby they think it not a business worth the while to take any view of their own lives but as they do not much care to know what it is which is to be done by them so in like manner they do not care neither to know whether they have done it or not As it was said of Gallio they care for none of these things Secondly This want of self-tryal it does proceed in a great measure from presumption and self-applause The most men that are in the world they take it for granted that their state is good for Heaven and that that which is done by them is no other than that which it should be and therefore it is that they do not prove their own works There 's no man goes about to try there where he is sufficiently satisfied and perswaded Now this is that which most men are in regard of themselves through that presumption and self-love and self-flattery which is in their hearts c. Thirdly This forbearance of inquiry and examination of mens own works and ways it does proceed oftentimes from guilt and consciousness and self-suspicion Bankrupts or men of uncertain and suspicious estates they do not love to cast up their accounts for fear they should find that in them which would be irksome and displeasing to them and so it is with men of defiled consciences they are afraid to examine them for fear they should be troublesome to them and perplex them and grate upon them Therefore they are willingly ignorant both of what is to be done by them as also of what is done otherwise than it should be lest their consciences should either restrain them or else disquiet them Now for our selves we should be all effectually perswaded to put in practise this present Exhortation of the Apostles here before us Let every man prove his own work there being danger in being ignorant of it and because ignorance especially affected does not excuse but rather aggravate the guilt of those persons that are subject to it This tryal and discovery it is made by divers and sundry ways and means First By the Word and the Will of God as it is laid down in holy Scripture To the Law to the Testimony c. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path c. Psal 119.105 Secondly By the Principles of Godliness and the scope and drift of Religion and the work of the new creature in us Thus Gal. 6.16 when in the verse before he had made mention of the new creature he presently adds As many as walk according to this rule peace be upon them c. Thirdly The Principles of Christian prudence and discretion There 's a regard to be had also to them wisdom dwells with providence Prov. 8. 12. And so Grace which is true spiritual wisdom it is to be accompanied with Christian discretion David he was a man after God's own heart but yet withal he had this Testimony given him by him that had experience of it and had cause to know it that he behaved himself wisely in all his ways and the Lord was with him 1 Sam. 18. 14. He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good and whoso trusteth in the Lord happy is he says Solomon Prov. 16.20 Fourthly We may also prove our works sometimes by the frame and temper and disposition of our own hearts and the Spirit of God moving in us We may know what we do or have done by what we are and the intercourse which passes betwixt God and our own Souls These who are intimate friends they know when they have displeased one another by the mutual carriage and behaviour of each other your Fathers countenance is not towards me as at other times says Jacob of Laban And so here when men shall find themselves at any time dead-hearted and averse to that which is good a listlesness and indisposition upon them and the Spirit of God absenting and withdrawing of himself from them it is much to be suspected that all has not been right with them in some preparatory and antecedent carriage but when 't is otherwise there 's some hope of them even as David reasons of himself Psal 66.28 29. If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear my prayer but verily God hath heard me c. On the other side when he had sinned against God we knew how it was with him he wanted the light of Gods countenance the joy of his salvation the freedom of his spirit c. as we may see in Psal 52 c. And instead of these was exercised and afflicted with the broken bones c. We know in matters of health how a man that is observant of himself he knows that he has disordered himself some way or other not only by reflecting upon the occasion of the distemper it self but also by considering it in the effects and concomitants of it when he takes not his rest as formerly has not his usual stomach to his meat nor does his work as he was wont to do he hence concludes that all is not right with him in regard of his body and outward man which is known by those symptoms of it even so is it also with a Christian in this particular in regard of his soul he does not only prove his works by considering them in their own nature but also by looking upon them in the reflexions and consequents of them and those effects which they have had upon his spirit which in case of any eminent miscarriage if he well observe it will not be so as heretofore And so much may suffice to have spoken of this act of proving in the first acception of it as it may taken by way of Tryal and Discovery and Exploration Let every man prove his own work that is let every man examine what he does or not does whether it be good or bad and such as will be warranted and justified at another day when all mens actions shall come to tryal But secondly It may be further taken by way of allowance or approbation Let him prove that is let him approve Thus the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is here used in this present Text is oftentimes taken in other places of Scripture as 2 Cor. 16.3 Whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So 2 Cor. 13.5 Prove your own selves 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. And so here now in this Text before us Let every man prove his own work 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as when in our ordinary course of speech we say to prove a will we mean to approve it Now this not excluding the former seems to be the more proper and genuine meaning of the place in order to that which follows And then shall he have rejoycing c. Every one that trys his work has not from
Judgment it will be sure to come at last after all the present delays and procrastinations of it as we have it exprest unto us concerning Babylon Isa 47.11 Therefore evil shall come upon thee and thou shalt not know from whence it ariseth and mischief shall fall upon thee and thou shalt not be able to put it off and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly which thou shalt not know The reason of it is this Because wicked and ungodly persons they carry the Causes of their own ruine and destruction within themselves which when they are perfected and come to an head they then break forth and shew themselves and not usually before As when the child in the womb is complete and come to maturity then the travail it comes and not before in a regular way even so is it also with the Judgments of God till they are first ripened they do not come and when they are once ripened they do come and there 's no hindring of the coming of them What 's that which ripens Judgment namely sins and the accomplishment thereof when that is once gathered to an head and come to the highest extremity then judgment cannot be very far behind but does necessarily and infallibly follow upon it Secondly It shall come and stay with them whether they will or no they shall not be able to remove it when judgment once comes it comes irresistibly and there is no escaping it in putting it by where God begins he will make an end or rather he will never make an end but proceed and go on still without any intermission there 's no Redemption from Hell where people once come into it there 's the worm that never dyes and the fire that never goes out as the Scripture expresses it Thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the utmost farthing that is indeed never at all as our Saviour himself tells us in Matth. 5.26 And so much may suffice to have spoken of this second General Part of the Text to wit the Inference as it may be looked upon by us in its simple and absolute Consideration as it lyes in it self Wherein we have had two distinct branches First The punishment it self here mentioned and that is destruction Secondly The amplification or aggravation of this punishment in three particulars more as sudden as vehement as unavoidable Now secondly We may look upon it further in its connexion with the passage foregoing in the beginning of the verse When they say Peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh c. Which connexion as it here lyes in the Text seems to carry a threefold force or Emphasis with it First An Emphasis of consistency When they shall say c. that is though they shall say their destruction is compatible with their security Secondly An Emphasis of Cansality When they shall say then c. then destruction comes upon them from them security Thirdly An Emphasis of Concomitancy and Prognostication When they shall say c. then c. that is destruction is foretold by their security First This when and then it carries with it an Emphasis of Consistency When they shall say peace and safety then there cometh sudden destruction Their destruction is compatible with their security and agreeing well to it though they be secure yet they shall be destroyed there 's that implied in it Wicked men are never the further off from destruction becausethey think they are we may take notice of that And this the Scripture it self signifies to us in the place above mentioned as in Isa 28.18 19. Where they had said they had made a Covenant with death and with hell they were at an agreement it is said That their covenant with death should be disannull'd and their agreement with hell should not stand for the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself upon it and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it that is all their refuges and vain hopes should prove defective and insufficient for them And so for Babylon that lived carelesly and said She should see no evil It is there threatned to her that evil should come upon her in its perfection and so it shall do upon the wicked Therefore let none please themselves in such thoughts as these are men are commonly apt to think that it will be so as they would have it to be and to cut out their conditions according to the frame and model of their own apprehension But this is no good rule for them whereby to walk or to conclude in this particular mens conceits are no measures of their conditions which may even then be very sad and miserable when others have the fairst hopes and opinions of them that may be as experience does daily evidence to them And that 's the first Emphasis here considerable to wit an Emphasis of Consistency When they say then c. that is though they say yet c. it is agreeable to it Secondly It has an Emphasis of Causatity When they say Peace and safety then cometh sudden destruction c. that is because they say peace and safety therefore sudden destruction cometh upon them c. Destrnction it arifes from security The more that any are given to security the more exposed are they to ruine there are none that are sooner destroyed than secure and presumptuous persons and there 's a twofold Ground for it which may here be taken notice of by us the one is on Gods part as being from hence more provoked and the other is on their own part as being from hence more neglected First It holds on Gods part as who from hence is so much the more provoked the greater that at any time is the provocation the nearer and certainer is the destruction which is the effect and consequent of God's Wrath and Indignation Now security that does provoke God after a more special manner when people to all their other sins which they have been guilty of in the Presence of God shall moreover add their security and presumption of their escape of punishment it does add so much the more to guilt and iniquity in them because it is in a sort a trespass both upon God's Justice and Truth which seems to be denied in it his Justice as to the punishing of sin and his Truth as to the threatning of it Secondly It holds also on their part as who are from hence more neglected Where there 's fear at any time of any evil there is answerable care for the prevention of it and keeping it off but where there 's security there this care is laid aside and where there is not care to prevent evil there is consequently a falling into it A prudent man forseeth the evil and hideth himself but the simple pass on and are punished Prov. 22.3 So Prov. 14.16 A wise man fearth and departeth from evil but the fool rageth and is confident And again Prov. 28.14 Happy is the
Admonition or Instruction it self both absolutely propounded as also comparatively illustrated We ought to give the more earnest heed c. The second is the Inforcement of its observation by way of Argument and this is twofold First From the equity of it in the word of connexion therefore Secondly From the danger of the contrary in the close and conclusion of the verse Lest at any time we should fail or let them slip First Here 's an Argument from the equity of it which relates to what he had said before in the precedent Chapter wherein he had fully set forth the Dignity both of Christs Office and Person which the Doctrine of the Gospel does treat of and discourse about upon those promises he does infer this conclusion therefore To speak distinctly of it there are three special Arguments which this Exhortation is founded upon why we ought more abundantly to give heed to this Doctrine of the Gospel in comparison with the Doctr. of the Law First The Authority of the speaker and minister of it which is Christ the Son of God whereas the other was Angels and men Thus in v. 2. of this Chap. it is call'd the word spoken by Angels the Law Whereas the other to wit the Gospel is said to be first of all spoken by the Lord that is Christ himself And again Chap. 1. v. 1 2. God who at sundry times c. where the Apostle lays a very great stress upon this as to the Ministry of the Gospel that it is dispenst through the hans of Christ First For the Dignity of his Person so excellent simply in himself the more eminent the Person is that speaks to us the more cause and reason we have to heed the things which are spoken for the Persons sake it being a piece of great indignity to stop our ears to any one of worth speaking to us such an one is the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of Glory and therefore see that ye refuse not him that speaketh as it followeth also in Heb. 12.25 But then secondly There 's not only his person but also his relation that 's another thing in it which the Apostle seems to stand upon and is to be refer'd hereunto There are many eminent persons considered simply in themselves but all their eminency it is within themselves and in the compass of those persons of theirs such as they are yea but this person now which speaks to us in the Ministry of the Gospel He is not only eminent for his person but also for his relation for he is the son of God himself and so much better than the Angels even in that consideration also For unto which of the Angels said he at any time Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee c. Heb. 1.5 Then thirdly There is also his estate there 's a great matter in that likewise we respect men much according to that if a man speak to us which is a great heir who has many lands and possessions which belong to him we are apt to give heed unto him Now for this it is also observable in Christ who speaks to us in the Gospel for he is appointed heir of all things and hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than Angels The Apostle lays a force upon that in the place before cited which is thereforemuch considerable in this business Lastly His activity for us there 's much likewise in that We have great cause to respect a Benefactor one that has done us great courtesies and favours when he speaks to us he should be hearkened to by us Now this is also remarkable in Christ for he hath himself purged our sins and upon this account to manifest the certainty and and fulness of it is set down on the right hand of the Majesty on high Heb. 1.3 So then that 's the first ground of this Attendance implied in this Therefore viz. the authority of the speaker The Lord Jesus Christ himself eminent for his 1. Person 2. for his relation 3. for his estate 4. for his activity for us The second is the excellency of the things themselves which are spoken of that 's another thing which calls for attention yea not only invites it but commands it If a man of worth shall speak to us yet if he shall not speak to us like to himself speak but of slight and trivial matters we regard him not for all that nor give heed unto him a speech is commendable not only from the speaker but the matter and in this the Gospel carries it likewise Lord to whom shall we go thou hast the words of eternal life say the Apostles Joh. 6.68 The Gospel it treats of such points as no other word does besides as containing very great and admirable mysteries in it which we have join'd all together there in one chain 1 Tim. 3.16 God manifested in the flesh justified in the spirit seen of Angelâ— preached unto the Gentiles believed on in the world received up unto glory What rare and admirable Doctrines and Dispensations these are such things as the very Angels desire to peep into 1 Pet. 1.12 If we look no further than the height and sublimity and transcendency of the points themselves they are such as may well command our heedfulness and attention to them even in that respect alone and nothing besides with it But then thirdly If we shall add to all this the circumstances attending upon it as the profitableness and advantagiousness of this Doctrine the interest which our selves have in it the sweetness which is in the observation of it this will now set it on so much the more and put an edg upon this therefore indeed to make it effectual to purpose let points be never so excellent considered simply in their own nature yet if they have not a tang of some profit or benefit in them there are some people which will never regard them What does a Merchant or Tradesman care for a discourse of Metaphysicks Very fine notions indeed and speculations which tickle the fancy yeâ— but they have no gain or profit in them Dic aliquid tandem de tribus capellis as he said speak somewhat which tends to our advantage Why this now is the commendation of the Gospel that it treats not only of things which are excellent but of things which are profitable for it is the ministration of righteousness the Doctrine of Reconciliation the glad tydings of peace There is life and immortality which is brought to light by it as the Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Tim. 1.10 Look then as any would give heed when any thing is spoken of which has any profit in it in the like manner should they give heed to the Gospel which is a Doctrine so far esteemed even upon this consideration But then further there 's our own interest in it likewise that 's somewhat more profit if it belongs not to us is no such pleasing theme to hear of but