in the steps of the faith of Abraham to us who are Iews inwardly and have that Circumcision which is of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of God Rom. 2.28 29. And the Government is and shall be upon his shoulder though he be a child yet he hath strong shoulders humeros Oneri imperio aptos apt and fit for both burden and rule and since the iniquities of us all have been laid upon him the Rule and Government is laid there too He is made Head over all things they being under his power and he is made Head to the Church that being his Body which he doth by his care defend by his Ordinances feed and by his Spirit quicken animate influence and act Oh! my Friends let us seriously and frequently consider how excellent and glorious a body how blessed and noble a Society the true Church is which hath such an Head and withal how holily how exactly and how exemplarily all of us ought to demean our selves who profess our selves the members thereof that we may not be spots and blemishes in the Body nor shame and dishonour the Head. What should be our care how even our walking how clear our light In a word what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness 2 Pet. 3.11 Well then Christ is King he that was once Crucified is now Crown'd He that was once nailed to the Cross is now advanced to the Throne He is King in Sion he is set up there immediately by God the Father and as such his work is to rule both in the Heart and in the Church First It is the work of Christ to rule in the heart The Kingdom of God is within you Luk. 17.22 Non in urbibus habitat sed in animis hominum it hath not its being in Cities but in the minds and souls of men it is not enough to bow the knee to Christ but the soul must stoop to him that must be order'd and commanded by him It is excellent to see the Interest of Christ in a Nation commander in chief and all other contrary interests made to truckle under it but it nearly concerns every person in particular to look to this that the Throne of Christ be erected in his heart and that the Law of Christ be written there Not only our Understandings are to be irradiated and enlightned by him but our wills are to be commanded by him His will is to be voluntas regulans the ruling will ours are to be the ruled wills Our affections are to be order'd by him placed first upon his Father and himself and after that let out to such and such objects in such an order and in such a measure as is agreeable unto him It is he that saith my Son give me thy heart Prov. 23.26 This is not exclusive of other things according to the manner of some be but so and so in your hearts and then you may go where you will and do what you will but it must be a concomitant with other things whatever thou givest me give me thy heart with it that is unquestionably his due and we give him nothing to purpose nothing that he will accept unless we give him that this is a command too big for a creature the whole world doth not deserve the heart of man and therefore hath no right to demand it but such a requiry doth highly become him who bought man with a price gave for him more than he is worth and having purchased the whole it is fit he should possess it having redeemed it it is just that he should rule and reign in it He is said to dwell in the heart Eph. 3.17 and he must dwell there not as an underling but as a King. Our consciences also are subject to him he is the Lord of the Conscience and his Laws do immediately bind the Conscience Secondly It is the right and work of Christ to rule in the Church to give Laws to it to appoint Officers in it and to order as to all matters of Worship and then is the Church as it should be when it is governed by Christs Officers and according to Christs Laws Moses was but a servant and so have all Church-Officers been and still are Pastors to the Church Rulers in and of the Church but servants to Christ. Our work is Ministry though let the world know it is an honourable Ministry and we do magnifie our Office and as for them that cast contempt upon us let them see how they will answer for it to him who is our Master and their Judg. But Christ is the Son in his own house i. e. He is the Lord of it and all in it is to be order'd according to his will things ought not to be so or so because this or that man this or that party will have it so but all as Christ will have it and the great business is to inquire what is the good acceptable and perfect will of our God and Saviour for Isa. 9.6 He sits upon the Throne of David and upon his Kingdom to order and establish it with judgment and justice which no men have done that have gone about to order and establish without him no no as we have seen to our sorrow and smart and so have our Fathers before us they have acted without judgment and with great injustice He is the Lord of the Vineyard out of which every plant ought to be plucked which he hath not planted He is the Lord of all both persons and things the Lord of Persons he was Davids Lord and by consequence the Lord of Davids seed as such Thomas owned him when he cried out My Lord and my God. And he is the Lord of Things so of the Sabbath Mark 2.28 The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath Understand it not of every Son of man as if a man may chuse what day he will make his Sabbath or whether he will keep one or no or do what he please upon the Christian Sabbath but understand it of that Son of man who is the Son of God as well as the Son of man the ever blessed Iesus he is the Lord of the Sabbath he hath power to order and moderate concerning it to relax as to the severity and abate the strictness of the Legal observation to alter and change it as to the time from the last day of the week to the first which learned men conclude he did in the space of those forty days which he continued upon earth conversing with his Apostles and Disciples between his Resurrection out of the Grave and his Ascension into Heaven Speaking to them of those things which pertain to the Kingdom of God Act. 1.3 viz. the Church both Militant and Triumphant the state and affairs thereof He likewise is the Lord of Ordinances he hath power to appoint them and to continue them as long as he pleaseth
Power enough to Protect and Defend them from all their Enemies so that they shall give them no more trouble than will tend to the Honour of God to the advantage of their Cause and to their own eternal Good. Power enough to perform all things for them and to save to the utmost all those that come unto God by him In a word he hath in him all the fulness of the Godhead dwelling bodily So that since the Goverment is laid upon his Shoulders there is a full and compleat suitablenss or parity between the Shoulder and the Government The Government is fit for such a Shoulder and the Shoulder is fit for such a Government Secondly This Anointing or setting up of Christ doth signifie God the Fathers designation and appointment of him for this Office the Commissionating and Authorizing of him For what he doth in this donative Kingdom he doth by virtue of his Fathers Commission and Authority derived from him It is the Father that placeth him as King upon the Throne and puts the Royal Scepter into his Hand Ephes. 1.22 and hath put all things under his Feet and gave him to be Head over all things to the Church He is given to be Head By whom is he so given If you look back into the 17 th verse you will find it is by the God of our Lord Iesus Christ the Father of Glory That God who is infinitely Glorious and the Author of all Glory the Fountain of Honour hath put this Honour upon Christ and given him to be Head so an Head and in such a manner as there is none other beside him Mat. 28. All Power is given to him both in Heaven and in Earth Authoritas disponendi omnia in Ecclesia circa Ecclesiam An Authority of ordering and disposing all things in and about the Church This All Power is given unto him singly and solely He hath indeed his Delegates and Officers under him but he is Supream He only Plenipotentiary The Fulness of Power is in his hand and in his alone Therefore it is said Rev. 3.7 That He hath the Key of David He opens and no Man shuts He shuts and no Man opens i. e. He hath supream and absolute Power in the Church both Militant upon Earth and Triumphant in Heaven so that He receives and rejects admits and excludes whom he pleaseth One Ieanes a late Learned and Reverend Writer observes the Fulness of Christs Office is signified by the Power of the Keys The Keys of an House Town or City are the Badges of Power and Authority And therefore the yielding up of them is a sign or token of delivering up all to the Conquerour In Garisons the Keys are every night deposited with the Governours of them The Steward of an House hath the Keys of it committed to him And as Learned Deodate saith Christ's having the Key of David doth signifie his being the Sovereign Lord and Governour of the Church whose Will is to be its standing Law and whose Commands and Orders are to be Universally observed and obeyed not subject to any Contradiction Opposition or Dispute Those Keys which were given in common to Peter and the rest of the Apostles were no more than the Keys of Ministry The Key of Royal Magistratical Power was put into the hand of Christ and there it doth rest and shall immovably remain whoever they be that would wrest it out of his Hand Isa. 9.7 Of the increase of his Government and of Peace there shall be no end upon the Throne of David and upon his Kingdom to order it and to stablish it with Iudgment and with Iustice from henceforth even for ever The Zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this I now proceed to the last Question which will be this Quest. 5. What is the import of that Particle in the Text Yet Yet have I set my King upon my Hill of Sion What may we gather from thence I answer Though it be but a very little word it is full of Matter of Weight and Sweetness And I shall give up to you my Thoughts concerning it briefly in these four following Particulars First It doth hold out to us that singular Contentment and Delight which God the Father takes in the thing that he hath done the disposal which he hath made He is most highly pleased with the Choice that he hath made of his Son and with that superlative Honour that he hath put upon him His Soul is at rest things are now as God would have them Let Men think and say what they will let them fret and murmur as much and as long as they will yet have I set him up yet I have given him a Name above every Name that at his Name every Knee shall bow be it never so proud and stiff I have done it and I am fully satisfied Time was when it pleased the Lord to bruise him Isa. 53.10 and to put him to grief Though he did infinitely love the Person of Christ yet he took pleasure in his Sorrows and Agonies the shedding of his Blood was a delightful Spectacle to him as it was the repairing of his own injur'd Honour and the price of his Peoples Redemption When he made his Soul an Offering for Sin it was a Sacrifice of a sweet Savor And now he is as much pleased in his having exalted him You know what is said with reference to his Sacerdotal Office Psal. 110.4 The Lord hath sworn and will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek He will never retract that He hath resolved and determined it with an immutable Will. And we may say the same as to his Regal Office The Lord hath sworn and will not repent Christ is and shall be a King for ever No no God doth not repent of any thing that he hath done for Christ He doth not repent of the Glory to which he hath advanced him nor of the Power with which he hath invested him And the truth is He hath no cause to repent and which is more He never shall He was fully and eternally sure of that Such a Power could be no where better disposed of no where so well as it is The Royal Robe sits neatly upon the back of Christ the Crown becomes his Head. Go forth O ye Sons and Daughters of Ierusalem and behold King Iesus with the Crown wherewith his Father crowned him in the day of his Inauguration and in the day of the gladness of his Heart It is a most lovely Sight He a most glorious Object The Father himself counts him so and loves to look upon him As it did greatly please Christ to obey his Father and to honour Him the doing of the Fathers Will was his Meat and Drink He was straitned till it was accomplished So it doth as greatly please the Father to honour Christ. Therefore He saith Yet have I set my King c. I rejoyce in the Thoughts of it in a Reflexion upon
Derision and Contempt and while they are raising the Posse Terrae the Powers of the Earth against Christ he knows there is no need of raising the Posse Coeli for him No need of raising his Hosts or of arming and sending twelve Legions of Angels to his assistance No no in order to their Confusion and fatal Disappointment it is full out enough for him to speak to them only it is in his anger and that will vex them by turning their Counsel backward and tumbling their Persons headlong into Destruction which shall certainly be in due time The Word of God carrieth along with it a mighty Power and Efficacy With a word he created the World and brought this excellent Fabrick of Heaven and Earth out of nothing It was but his Fiat and the Work was done and by the word of his Power he upholds all things so that they do not fall and return into their first Nothing And with a word he can blast all the Projects of his Son's Adversaries and wither every Arm that is stretched out against him If any inquire what it is that God speaks to them you have it in the words of the Text Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Sion In which you have these things worthy of your Observation First The will of God set in opposition to the Wills and Counsels of Men. Yet I they are doing so and so but I have done quite otherwise they are doing their Pleasure and I have done mine their work is to do and will never be done mine is done already I am before-hand with them Secondly You have the Act of God the Father by which Regal Power and authority is conferred upon Christ. I have set anointed constituted my King. Thirdly The Seat of his Kingdom the place where his Throne is set and where he is to exercise his Sovereign power The holy Hill of Sion The Doctrine that I shall from hence raise and present you with as the Subject of the following Discourse is this Doct. Let the discontent and rage the designs and practices of Men be what they will yet there is a King set up in Sion by God the Father and this King doth and shall Reign and that in the midst of his Enemies and in spite of them too they may as soon pluck the Sun out of the Firmament as Christ out of the Throne I shall dispatch the Doctrinal part in opening the several Words of the Text which will be done by answering these following Questions First What is meant by Sion Secondly Why is Sion called Gods holy Hill Thirdly Who is that King whom God hath set up there Fourthly What is the meaning of that phrase setting him Fifthly What is the import of that Particle yet Yet have I set him all which I shall pass through with convenient Brevity having a due respect both to his Auditory and the time and then proceed to the Application 1. Q. Our first Question is this What is meant by Sion A. To which I answer thus Sion is to be taken two ways literally and mystically Sion in the literal Acceptation was a considerable Mountain in Ierusalem which had been formerly in the Possession of the Iebusites and was by them kept until the time of David the second King of Israel but the first good one 2 Sam. 5.7 The King and his men went up to Ierusalem to the Iebusites the inhabitants of the Land which spake unto David saying Except thou take away the blind and the lame thou canst not come in hither thinking David cannot come in hither nevertheless David took the strong hold of Sion the same is called the City of David This Hill had two tops upon one of which was built the Tower or City of David and upon the other afterwards was built by Solomon his Son the Temple of the Lord and that top was Mount Moriah as you may see in the 2 Chron. 3.1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Ierusalem in Mount Moriah where the Lord had appeared unto David his Father Sion in the mystical Acceptation is no other than the Church of God. We find that Christ himself who is the King of Saints and Head of the Body is frequently in Scripture called by the name of David Thus Ezek. 34.23 24. I will set up one Shepherd over them and he shall feed them even my servant David he shall feed them and he shall be their Shepherd And I the Lord will be their God and my servant David a Prince among them I the Lord have spoken it So again Hos. 3.5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David their king and they shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days Christ in these and other such like places is to be understood by David and he hath his Name given him because he was to be of the Seed of David the Royal Line and David was the Type of him being as was before hinted the first good and gracious King in Israel tender over that People of God and faithful to their interest ruling them with Wisdom and Love not tyrannically with a Rod of Iron Now as Christ the King is called by the Name of David So the Gospel Church which is his Kingdom the place of his gracious and spiritual Residence is called by the name of Sion so you find it in Hebr. 12.22 Ye are not come to the mount that burned with fire nor to blackness and darkness and tempest but ye are come unto mount Sion and unto the City of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem i.e. to the Church both Militant in which you are Conversant and Triumphant of which you are now Members that Church which is the Seat of Christ and Habitation of God. So likewise in Revel 14.1 I looked and lo a Lamb stood upon mount Sion and with him an hundred forty four thousand having his Fathers name written in their foreheads The Mount Sion here meant is the Church of God where Christ stands to look to it and take particular constant Care of it which he always did and will still go on to do These hundred forty and four thousand that were with him are the Elect of God and effectually called who have submitted to him are followers of him and take his part and are ready to take up his Cross whensoever called to it And this Mark or Seal doth signifie both the sanctifying work of the Spirit in their Hearts by which they are brought over to Christ and also his strengthening work whereby they are kept stedfast with him notwithstanding all the discouragements they find in themselves all the Temptations and Oppositions that are made against them by Hell and all the Afflictions and Persecutions they meet with from the World. And it is said to be in their Foreheads to note out unto us not only the blessed fruit which they bring forth in the sight of
or gaudy Attire of a loathsome Harlot And besides there is a most gracious Promise made to the Church which shall have its certain and full accomplishment in due season Isa. 2.2 It shall come to pass in the latter days and hath he said it and will he not do it Yes without all doubt he will that the mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountains and exalted above the hills that is there is a time coming and I would hope it is not far off the nearer it is the better when the true Church of Christ shall be the Head and not the Tail when she shall not be as a Scullion among the Pots but as a Bride made ready for her Husband and when that Religion which came down from Heaven and will carry them to Heaven who sincerely profess and practice it that Religion which is pure and undefiled before God and the Father shall prevail against all the false and counterfeit Religions in the World as it doth now excel them all in Truth Purity and Glory so it then shall in Virtue Power and Efficacy Dagon shall fall before the Ark of God and the Idols be utterly abolished Yea tho they be made of Silver or Gold which men have made each one for himself to worship yet shall they be cast to the moles and to the bats Isa. 2.20 The Inventions of Men shall be made to give place to the Appointments and Institutions of Christ and the Doctrines of Devils shall disappear and vanish before the Doctrine of the Gospel Babylon shall be made a Hissing and Confusion but Ierusalem a Rejoycing and her People a Joy this we do now rejoyce in the Faith of and patiently wait for the glorious and happy performance Amen Come Lord Jesus Fourthly Sion was a Type or Figure of the Gospel-Church because of its Firmness and Stability It is said in Psal. 125.1 They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion which cannot be removed but abideth for ever So shall the Church yea tho the Hills do depart and the Hills be removed even Sion it self at the end of the World yet the Church shall abide and when it ceaseth to be in any part Militant it shall be throughout Triumphant Let Men and Devils combine and unite their Strength and do their worst the Church shall stand the shock and outlive their Fury They may Rage Persecute and Kill they may Imprison Inslave and by their Cruelties force multitudes from their own Countries and native Soils but when they have done Christ will shew himself to be above them They may weary themselves in the greatness of their way and sweat and fret in their Gears but they shall never reach their designed and desired End. They may say Raze her raze her even to the Foundation but Ierusalem is a burthensome Stone upon whomsoever it falls it will grind them to Powder This spiritual Vine which Gods own right hand hath planted may be cut and wounded and bleed sorely but it shall not be to Death the old and excellent saying is at this day as true as ever Sanguis Martyrum semen Ecclesiae The Blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of the Church The more Martyrs there are the more Believers there shall be Pauls bonds did turn to the furtherance of the Gospel and so have done and shall do the patient sufferings and joyful comfortable Deaths of others in the Cause and for the sake of Christ and his Truths and Worship Let all the Enemies do their best and their worst too God will have a People in the World to praise his Name to load his Altars and to serve him in the beauty of Holiness In the worst of times when Ahab had the Throne and Idolatry was grown rank and rampant there were seven thousand in Israel that had not bowed the Knee to Baal so tho at some times the number of faithful Professors may be much diminished by miserable Persecution and far more miserable Apostacy yet there shall be so many preserved as shall be a seed to serve him and accounted to him for a Generation and that seed being water'd with the Divine blessing shall happily spring up in its season and yield a mighty increase There is a sweet and precious Promise of eternal Truth gone out of the mouth of him who is the faithful Witness upon which it is our duty and richly worth our while to live and in the assurance thereof greatly to rejoyce Mat. 16.18 Upon this Rock will I build my Church Upon what Rock not Peter himself for tho he was a good Man and an excellent Apostle yet he was a frail fallible and dying man But either upon the Truth which was then confessed by him or rather upon my self who am the eternal Rock i.e. upon the Lord Jesus Christ himself and what he hath so built none shall be able to pull down The gates the Policy and Power of Hell shall not prevail against it So much may suffice to be spoken to the first thing viz. what is here meant by Sion and why the Gospel-Church is called so 2. Q. Our second Question is this Why is Sion called Gods holy Hill Or the Hill of Gods holiness A. To which I thus briefly Answer Sion is so called because of the Ark which was there when the sweet Singer of Israel composed this Psalm which was a visible Symbol of Gods special spiritual and gracious Presence and also because of the Temple which was built there afterward and was an eminent Type of Iesus Christ. In that the great God was pleased to place his Name that house he was pleased to fill with his Glory there he did meet his People hearing their Prayers and returning his Answers from thence it was that he commanded the blessing even life for evermore Psal. 133.3 There is no argument to be drawn from hence that can evince to us the holiness of Places now As in every Nation Persons that fear God and work righteousness are accepted of him So is that Worship in all places which is performed to him according to his Will in Spirit and in Truth Ierusalem is not now an holy City nor Canaan the holy Land. Christ our Altar doth sanctify indeed those Gifts which are by a gracious heart in Faith offered up to God upon and by him but the meer place doth not do it it contributes nothing toward it it puts no beauty upon it no savour nor rellish that will take with God. Fervent prayers cordial praises all holy duties have as free an access to God as speedy admission with him as full a welcome as sweet gracious reception and entertainment which are offered and performed in this place in a Kitchin a Closet a Chamber or a Field as those that are performed in any place which man is said to consecrate If men would look more after heart-holiness they would not talk so much of nor insist so much upon the holiness
and all of you Children of the most High. They are Gods Vicegerents Gods Representatives they are Terrestrial Gods. But be not proud of that be not high minded but fear and to that end he whispers in their Ear or rather tells them upon the House-top but ye shall die like Men. You may ask what may be the meaning of that I Answer You may take it thus They shall die like Men i.e. they know no more when they shall die than other Men whether some years hence or to morrow or to day and they can tell no more than other Men how they shall die whether a natural or violent Death whether on a sudden or by some lingering and tedious Distemper And again they die like Men as to the Consequences of Death They must be stript of all their Ornaments and Royal Robes and their Bodies must return to Dust and both Soul and Body must come to Judgment Kings that are Supreme and all Inferiour Magistrates must stand before the Tribunal of Christ and there be judged their Rule shall be inspected their Government examined all their Words and Actions considered and all the Sentences that have been here past by them all the Punishments that have been inflicted by them by their Authority and Order shall be curiously and exactly weighed in the Ballance of Justice Oh! be wise and consider this and remember your latter end But though Christ died once He died but once He shall not die a second time Death hath no more Power over him This Friend may fall and that Comfort may wither and that Prince may die under whose Shadow the People rejoyced but so doth not Christ He abides for ever Psalm 102. Thou hast laid the Foundations of the Earth the Heavens are the work of thine Hands They shall perish but thou shalt endure yea all of them shall wax old like a Garment as a Vesture shalt thou change them and they shall be changed but thou art the same and thy years shall have no end Secondly Christ shall reign as well as live He shall live and that like himself in State and in Power and Glory His and our Father who hath set him up for King upon his holy Hill of Sion hath settled him there and fixed him there the Sacred Scriptures do abound with Expressions to this purpose that we might have a full assurance of Faith in the Matter which is so important As to instance in a few Ps. 45.6 Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever So Ps. 110.1 2. The Lord said unto my Lord Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine Enemies thy Footstool The Lord shall send the Rod of thy Strength out of Zion rule thou in the midst of thine Enemies He now rules in the midst of them and in spite of them and the Father will subdue them all Christ sits expecting till it be done And as the Father was not failed in his Expectation from Christ so Christ shall not be failed in his Expectation from the Father All his Enemies shall be brought to an under either in a way of gracious Conversion or in a way of most dreadful Confusion Either they shall willingly bow to him in the day of his Power or else they shall against their wills be broken by him in the day of his wrath either they shall submit to his golden Scepter or they shall be dashed in pieces like a Potters Vessel by his Iron Rod. In a word Either they shall by a chearful Resignation put themselves into his hand to be moulded guided and ordered by him or else they shall be under his Feet to be trampled upon with Scorn and Indignation and at last kicked to Hell as fewel for those unquenchable Flames And yet further He must Reign till he hath got the actual and full possession of all that unto which he hath an unquestionable Right by virtue of his Fathers donation i.e. till the Heathen and uttermost parts of the Earth be brought in to him Of the continuance of his Kingdom and the increase of his Government there shall be no end till that happy time come wherein all the Kingdoms of the World shall become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ i. e. they shall renounce all Idolatry and false Worships and embrace the Gospel and walk in the Light thereof and according to its Rules Yea it is said Rev. 11.15 He shall Reign for ever and ever till time shall be no more Thirdly Rejoyce in this That the Church of the living God shall be preserved and continued in the World. Though there have been dreadful concussions and are so at this present and are like to be till all be shaken down that God hath not set up yet there shall be no overturning of this House no ruining thereof The Ship may be and frequently is sorely tost with Tempests but it shall live since Christ is Pilot and sits at the Helm and steers the Course I say it shall live as the Ark did in the Deluge when the Waters were at the highest Notwithstanding all the Rage and Malice all the Power and Plots of Men and Devils Christ will have a Church upon Earth Though they may prune this Vine which Gods right Hand hath planted yet they shall never be able to pull it up by the roots It may bleed grievously even to Fainting but not to Death It is true this or that particular Church may fail The Church of the Iews did though once dearly yea only beloved and so have the seven Famous Churches in Asia And so may others Therefore that was excellent and no more than necessary Counsel which Paul more likely to be an Apostle to them than Peter gave them Rom. 11.20 21. Because of unbelief they i. e. the Iews were broken off and thou standest by Faith be not high-minded but fear Which Counsel he followeth with this weighty Reason For if God spared not the natural Branches take heed lest he spare not thee That was Pauls advice to the Church at Rome when he wrote this Epistle to them But whatever hath become of Her or may of this or that particular Church our Lord Iesus will certainly take effectual care that there shall be a true Church upon Earth And though at first it be but as a little Stone yet shall it smite the Image upon his feet and break them to pieces and become it self a great Mountain and fill the whole Earth Let every one look to it that they be true and living Members of that true Church and continue so without turning aside to any Synagogue of Satan or having any Fellowship with Devils The End.