with straits and pinched for maintenance of your Families consider there is a Providence The World is Gods great Common and he doth not over-stock his own Common All things wait upon God how do the Beasts live but upon Providence Psal. 104.27 These all wait upon thee that thou mayest give them their meat in due season Who is it that feeds the Ravens Psal. 147.9 He giveth to the beast his food and to the young ravens which cry And Psal. 145.16 Thou openest thine hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing Compare it with verse 19. He shall fulfil the desire of them that fear him he also will hear their cry and will save them Urge your hearts herewith to Patience under Miseries Not a Sparrow falls to the ground without a Providence therefore certainly your Crosses fall under the wise dispensation of God Psalm 39.6 Surely every man walketh in a vain shew surely they are disquieted in vain Again urge your hearts to thankfulness for Mercies look upon the first cause and acknowledge the Providence of God in all that you enjoy 2. Consider the Providences of God to your selves in particular for thou art a little World Consider how the Providence of God watched over thee in the Womb when he took thee out from thence how he provided two Bottles to sustain thee how he hath borne thee up from the Womb hitherto especially how he took care of thee when thou hast been in distress Oh it is sweet when we can cry as David Psalm 34.6 This poor man cryed and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles I have been in these and these distresses yet the Lord hath heard and delivered me especially if he hath blessed thee from small beginnings and increased thy substance urge thy heart to trust in him for the future 1 Pet. 5.7 Casting all thy care upon him for he careth for thee Fifthly The next Object of Meditation is the Excellency and Happyness of our Estate in Heaven See this Subject treated on in a Sermon on Tit. 2.13 Looking for that blessed Hope A Fourth Volume OF SERMONS ON Several Texts of Scripture BY THE Late Reverend and Learned Thomas Manton D.D. PART the Second Containing LXXVI Sermons WITH AN ALPHABETICAL TABLE To the Whole LONDON Printed by I. D. and are to be sold by Ionathan Robinson at the Golden Lion in St. Paul's Church-Yard MDCXCIII Place this Title immediately before Page 671. TO THE Lady BAWDON MADAM IT needs no Apology that I have prefixed your Ladiship 's Name to this Part of the late Reverend Dr. Thomas Manton's Works since the Memory of the Author is so precious with you by whom you and your Children were baptized into the Christian Faith under whose Ministry you were brought up in the Knowledg of the Mysteries of the Gospel and whose Works published both before and since his Death have been so highly valued by you But your Ladiship has a more especial Title to these Sermons because a great part of them being committed to my Care to publish the preparing them for the Press was performed in a great measure under your Ladiship 's Roof when the Providence of God called me there in my Attendance on your Honoured Mother the Lady Wharton in the last Scene of her Life The Duty I owe to the Memory of that Great Person obliges me to testify to the World what I as well as others who had the Honour of knowing her observed in her She was one whom God had indowed with more than common Gifts and Graces one of a piercing Judgment quick Apprehension great Presence of Mind useful in all her Relations But that which adorned all was her eminent Godliness which was visible in the whole Course of her Conversation She had a great understanding of the Mysteries of the Gospel and though she abounded in good Works yet she knew how to account all things Loss and Dung for the Excellency of the Knowledg of Christ Jesus her Lord. She was often in the Admiration of the Riches and Freeness of God's Grace in Jesus Christ and all her Hopes Trust and Confidence were in his Merits and Righteousness She had a very high Valuation and Esteem of the Ordinances of God and when her long Sickness had for some time hindred her from a publick Attendance on the Worship of God she would often complain of it That she was as a Leper shut out from the Sanctuary of God She was of a noble generous and charitable Frame of Spirit and her Charity was dispensed with great Prudence I cannot but mention one Branch of it viz. The relieving of sick Persons especially providing and giving Medicines to the Poor who had no Money to buy them and God did wonderfully own her with great Success herein In her latter Days God was pleased to exercise her with great Trials her Sickness was long and tedious her Pains great and sharp but under all her steady Adherence to God shewed the Strength of her Faith and the Truth of her Patience I have often heard her say this one thing silenced all Complaints It is God who hath done it All the Breaches God made upon her made no Breach between God and her Soul In her languishing Hours when her Strength failed her she expressed the inward Tranquillity and Repose of her Mind it being almost the last Words she said All is well all is well Thus she lived and thus she died and is now joined to that Great Assembly of Glorified Saints who are always praising blessing and adoring God where she is always beholding the Face of her God in Glory and fully understands the meaning of all the dark Providences of God towards her in the latter part of her Life I mention not these things to renew your Ladiship 's Grief for so great a Loss and to make your Wounds bleed afresh but to provoke you to a holy Imitation of so great a Pattern and to be a Follower of her as she was of Christ. Good Examples have a powerful Influence upon us for we are led more by Pattern than by Precept especially the Examples of those we love for such we are prone to imitate but more especially of those who are in nearest Relation to us for there Nature sides with Grace And what an Advantage your Ladiship has had in having such a Precedent before your Eyes appears by the fair Transcript you have been of so fair a Copy Madam God hath been pleased to exercise your Ladiship also with great Trials but you have had your Comforts and Supports God hath taken away some of your nearest Relations but he hath continued others to you What a Blessing hath God bestowed upon you in those excellent Daughters that have sprung from you But alas we are too apt to pore on our Losses and overlook our Enjoyments to make our Afflictions the Grave of our Mercies God hath given your Ladiship a better Frame of Spirit and taught you how
destroyed him that had the Power of Death This was a necessary means of Conquest and Christ must overcome Satan by suffering himself to be overcome visibly by him The Devil doth not conquer Christ by Death but Christ doth conquer him And still all the Temptations of the Devil are but the wounding of the Heel the Loss is not great to Christ or his Members As Dan is compared to a Serpent by the Way or an Adder in the Path that biteth the Horse-heels so that his Rider shall fall backward Gen. 49.17 Such is the Craft of Satan he doth not usually bring Temptations before our Reason but they enter in at the Back-door of Sensual Appetite but tho he bite the Heel the Life of Grace is secured Satan prevailed so far against Christ that his wicked Instruments brought him to the Cross pursued him to the Death there But 2 Cor. 13.4 Though he was crucified through VVeakness yet he liveth by the Power of God Or as it is in 1 Pet. 3.18 Being put to Death in the Flesh but quickned by the Spirit So for Christians he may divers ways wound and afflict us in our outward Interests but the inner Man is safe 2 Cor. 4.16 Though our outward Man perish yet the inward Man is renewed day by day Nay we may be bruised in the Heel by divers Temptations and Slips into Sin yet the Vitals of Grace are not hurt there is no total Extinction of our Love to God I should come now to the fourth Branch That tho Christ was bruised in the Conflict yet it endeth in Satan's total Overthrow His Heel was bruised but Satan's Head was crushed But of that anon In the mean time by way of Use let me press you chearfully to remember and celebrate this Victory of Christ. The Duty we are engaging in is an Eucharist and we come to rejoice in God our Saviour Let me bespeak you in the Psalmist's Words Psal. 98.1 O sing unto the Lord a new Song for he hath done marvellous things his right Hand and his holy Arm have gotten him the Victory Or Psal. 118.15 16. The Voice of Rejoicing and Salvation is in the Tabernacle of the Righteous The Right Hand of the Lord doth valiantly The Right Hand of the Lord is exalted the Right Hand of the Lord doth valiantly Psal. 106.2 Who can utter the mighty Acts of the Lord who can shew forth all his Praise 1. The Conqueror is the Seed of the Woman or the Son of God incarnate O let us bless God for so great a Mercy Luke 1. from 68 to 76. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his People and hath raised up an Horn of Salvation for us in the House of his Servant David as he spake by the Mouth of his holy Prophets which have been since the World began That we should be saved from our Enemies and from the Hand of all that hate us to perform the Mercy promised to our Fathers and to remember his holy Covenant The Oath which he sware to our Father Abraham that he would grant unto us that we being delivered out of the Hands of our Enemies might serve him without Fear in Holiness and Righteousness before him all the Days of our Life What shall the Son of God come from Heaven to subdue the Kingdom of Satan and to deliver Men from this Bondage and we be no more affected with it 2. The Manner of Overcoming it is by suffering a shameful painful and accursed Death Rev. 1.5 6. Vnto him that loved us and washed us from our Sins in his own Blood and made us Kings and Priests to God and his Father to him be Glory and Dominion for ever and ever Amen Again Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive Power and Riches and VVisdom and Strength and Honour and Glory and Blessing Rev. 5.12 And ver 9. For thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy Blood out of every Kindred and Tongue and People and Nation That by a Death which he deserved not he should destroy the Death which we deserved 3. Who is overcome The Devil Rev. 12.10 Now is come Salvation and Strength and the Kingdom of our God and the Power of his Christ for the Accuser of our Brethren is cast down who accused them before our God day and night Ver. 11. And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and the VVord of their Testimony and they loved not their Lives unto the Death Ver. 12. Therefore rejoice ye Heavens and ye that dwell in them VVo to the Inhabitants of the Earth and of the Sea for the Devil is come down unto you having great VVrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short Time O Christians what will raise your Hearts in Thanksgiving to God if not these three Arguments which I have plainly mentioned to you for the Matter needeth no Descants The Incarnation of the Son of God who came as the Seed of the Woman that he might free Mankind from the Power the Devil had over them by Sin Then the Merit and Satisfaction of our Saviour for he was bruised in his Heel And then the dissolution of Satan's Power and the freeing of Mankind out of his Hands either as a Tempter or a Tormentor 4. The Effects of the Victory when 't is applied to us I shall mention three 1. Our Conversion to God and the destruction of Sin in our Hearts or our actual deliverance from Satan Luke 11.21 22. VVhen a strong Man armed keepeth his Palace his Goods are in peace but when a stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him he taketh from him all his Armour wherein he trusted and divideth his Spoils This was our Case All was in a sinful Quiet and Peace When Wind and Tide go together no wonder if there be a Calm Satan's Suggestions and our Corruptions suted the one with the other But blessed be God that this carnal Security is disturbed that the Kingdom of God is come upon us that Christ by a sacred Rescue hath dispossessed Satan and destroyed Sin O let us give Thanks unto the Father who hath made us meet to be Partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light who hath delivered us from the Power of Darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son Col. 1.12 13. 2. Remission of Sins Acts 26.18 To open their Eyes and to turn them from Darkness to Light and from the Power of Satan unto God that they may receive Forgiveness of Sins and an Inheritance among them that are sanctified by Faith that is in me Col. 1.13 14. VVho hath delivered us from the Power of Darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son in whom we have Redemption through his Blood even the forgiveness of Sins Christ's Subjects have the Privileges of his Kingdom Now bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy Name Bless the Lord O
of our discharge but as he dyed for our offences so he rose again for our justification Rom. 4.25 As having perfectly done his work As the Eather delivered him to Death so he brought him back again from the Dead The Apostle layes a great weight upon this Rom. 8.34 Yea rather that is risen from the dead There is some special thing in Christ's Resurrection comparatively above his Death which hath influence on our Justification Was not Christs Death enough to free us from Sin Yes but the visible evidence was by his Resurrection It is as it were an acquittance from those Debts of ours which he undertook to pay As Simeon was dismissed when the Conditions were performed and Ioseph satisfied with the sight of his Brother Gen. 43.23 He brought Simeon out unto them 2. Christs Office is allowed so that he is the great shepherd of the sheep that is the Blessed Saviour into whose hands God hath put his Flock to be justified sanctified and saved and from whom we may expect all that comfort which a flock hath from a good and faithful Pastor We are put into his hands as he is Mediator not by way of alienation for they are in the Fathers hands still Iohn 10.29 My Father which gave them me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my Fathers hand But oppignoration laid at pledge in his hands A Shepherd is not Lord of the Flock but as a Servant to take care of them They are not his as Mediator by way of Original Interest and Dominion but in point of trust and charge He hath an Office about them and giveth an account of them at the last day He is sometimes called simply without any addition The shepherd 1 Pet. 2.25 Ye are returned unto the shepherd and bishop of our souls Sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The good shepherd as Iohn 10.11 And here The great shepherd and the chief shepherd 1 Pet. 5.4 because of the Dignity of his Person and Office And surely if we put our selves into the hands of this Shepherd we can lack nothing Psalm 23.1 The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want We may look for all manner of supplies from Christ. 3. God is so far appeased that there is a new Covenant procured and constituted called here the everlasting covenant partly because it shall never be repealed and continueth unalterable and the called obtain by it the title and possession of an Eternal Inheritance Heb. 9.15 They which are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance And partly because Christs Blood is the foundation of this Covenant and the vertue of it never ceaseth therefore this Covenant is Everlasting also and made effectual and able to obtain its ends which is the Eternal Salvation of sinful Man once converted and reconciled to God This Covenant also is called the Covenant of Gods Peace because it is a publick Demonstration that God is pacified Isa. 54.10 But my kindness shall not depart from thee neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed Ezek. 37.26 I will make a covenant of peace with them Partly because in this Covenant this Peace and Reconciliation is published and offered to us that Man may not stand aloof from God as a condemning God So it is said Eph. 2.17 Christ came to preach peace to those that are near and to those that are afar off Acts 10.36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel preaching peace by Christ he is Lord of all Partly because in this Covenant the terms of this Peace between us and God are stated God bindeth himself to sinful Man to give him Remission of Sins and Eternal Life begun by the Spirit and perfected in Heaven upon the Conditions of Faith Rom. 5.1 Being justified by faith we have peace with God and Repentance Acts 3.19 Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out as our Entrance and new Obedience as to continuance Heb. 5.9 He became the author of eternal salvation to all that obey him IV. How we come to be Interested in this Peace and Reconciliation or the conveyance of it to us For this Peace may be considered as to the Impetration and Application of it 1. As to the Impetration and laying down of the price that was done by Christ on the cross Therefore it is said 2 Cor. 5.19 God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself Then was God propitiated and the Merit and Ransom interposed by vertue of which we are pardoned and reconciled 2. As to Application when God is actually reconciled with us and we enter into his Peace and are restored unto his Favour This may be considered either as to the first gift God is never actually reconciled to us nor we to him till he give us the regenerating Spirit that is our receiving the atonement Rom. 5.11 It was made on the Cross but received at our Conversion and Regeneration Or else it may be considered as to the further measure of his sanctifying Grace called here perfecting us for every good work and working in us that which is pleasing in his sight This is given with respect to our reconciled Estate as we are actually at Peace and in Covenant with God 2 Cor. 5.17 18. Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new Creature old things are passed away behold all things are become new And all things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself by Iesus Christ. The summ is this At the Death of Christ there was such a foundation laid that we need no other ransom nor propitiation He hath so far satisfied Divine Justice that he hath obtained the New Covenant The first Grace is given us meerly with respect to the Merit of his Sacrifice for Christ purchased the Mercies promised and power to performe the conditions Farther Grace is given us because we are already reconciled unto God which is a ground of the greater Joy and Confidence For our actual Reconciliation giveth us a title to all consequent acts of Friendship which can be expected or received For in Gods way we shall have further Sanctification and after that Salvation V. The Reasons why all increase of Grace comes from God as the God of Peace 1. From the Giver God will not set us up with a new Stock of Grace till satisfaction be made for the breach of his Law We must not look upon him as pars offensa the Offended Party but as Rector Mundi the Governour of the World Private Persons may forgive offences as they please but the Governour and Judge of the World would not pass by the offence of Man till the ends of Government be secured or that the Law fall not to the ground which it doth not whilst God standeth upon the satisfaction of Christ and the submission of the Sinner The right of passing by a wrong and the right of releasing a punishment are different things Because punishment is a common Interest
divers from all People neither keep they the Kings Laws therefore it is not for the Kings profit to suffer them Thus whisperers make Princes conceive an ill opinion of Religious men But the Devil will Soar an higher flight yet to divide between them and God and to disengage him from the protection of his People What else is the meaning of all his Temptations But most eminently this was the Plot now in hand The Israelites could not be overcome as long as God was with them and how shall they do to get away God from them God was not as the God of the Heathens to be called out by sacrifices and inchantments as they used before they warred against any People to endeavour by certain Charms and Rites to get away their Tutelar Gods from them Macrobius hath a Chapter De ritu evocandi Deos And if they conquered any Country they ascribed it to the departure of their Gods Excessere omnes adytis arisque relictis Dii quibus imperium hoc steterat Balak according to the custom of the Nations would try this but they were now to deal with the God of Israel who could not be charmed away from his People And though Balaam were of great repute and esteem among that People and though it was misery enough to be blasted with his curse and happiness enough to be blessed by his mouth Numb 22.6 He whom thou blessest is blessed and he whom thou cursest is cursed indeed Even as Simon Magus was esteemed the great power of God Act. 8.10 Yet this would not take effect Therefore 2. Let us see what Balaam Answered him 1. By way of prediction He came to curse them but he uttereth many Prophesies concerning the happiness of Israel Numb 23.8 How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed or how shall I defie whom the Lord hath not defied He sheweth that no inferiour power is able to hurt without leave from God yea he pronounceth a great blessing upon Israel as those that were happy both in life and death vers 10. Let me dye the Death of the righteous and let my last end be like his And farther sheweth the stableness of Gods love to his People vers 19 20. God is not a man that he should lie nor the Son of man that he should repent hath he said and shall he not do it or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good Behold I have received commandment to bless and he hath blessed and I cannot reverse it All the powers of the world are not able to separate them from his love and blessings in Christ. And then prophesieth of Christ Insomuch that Balak intreateth him to give over vers 25. Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all Since he could do no evil to Israel he would hinder him from doing good But yet he would make another tryal but still it pleased the Lord to over-rule his Tongue to bless Israel and the truth and constancy of his love appeared against whose will the more he strugleth the stronger he is resisted Numb 24.3 He taketh up a new parable blessing Israel once again which puts Balak all into a rage and indignation and he driveth away the false Prophet from his sight who sought after honour and riches as the wages of his unrighteousness but is sent home with ignominy and shame But Balaam's mind is still hankering after the reward and therefore when he could not hurt them by any prophetical curse he seeketh to do it by his Pestilent counsel 2. What he answered him by way of advice Numb 24.4 Come now and I will advertise thee what thou shalt do Moses doth not express the counsel given because it was whispered secretly into Balaks ear you see the sense is imperfect in that place And what it was may be known by the effect and by other places By the effect Numb 25. Balaam gave counsel to Balak and the Princes of Midian to put a stumbling block before the Israelites to see if they could withdraw the People from the Love â—ear and Obedience of the Lord their God that so God might be provoked to withdraw his favour and blessing from them and so Israels Sinning might bring themselves into the curse which Balaam with all his Inchantments could not bring upon them By this wicked counsel they prevailed against many to the Death of Twenty four Thousand Israelites That Balaam was the Author of all this mischief appeareth Numb 31.16 Behold these that is the Midianitish Women caused the Children of Israel through the Counsel of Balaam to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor And it is said Rev. 2.14 That Balaam taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the Children of Israel to eat things sacrificed to Idols and to commit fornication This was the plot to send some Beautiful Women of the Midianites to wander about the Camp of Israel to Tempt their Lusty-Youth and Martial Men first to uncleanness and then to Idolatry that so God might be provoked against them a design pernitious and full of refined malice 3. What befel them between Shittim and Gilgal 1. In Shittim they miscarryed fowlly by the effect of Balaams Counsel The intended War of Moab against Israel was turned into a pretended Peace and fained Amity and their fair Women were sent about the Camp to defile the Bodies and Souls of Men with Whoredom and Idolatry And so a People that had such experience of Gods Power and Goodness in the wilderness and were just now ready to enter into the Promised Land are here prevented and overthrown in the wilderness and Gods Anger was kindled against them and Twenty four Thousand were destroyed among the People Numb 25.9 It seems one Thousand slain by the Judges and Twenty three Thousand by Gods own hand that is by a Plague 1 Cor. 10.8 Neither commit fornication as some of them also committed and fell in one day three and twenty Thousand But after that God was atoned to them and his judgment was executed upon the Malefactours and the plague ceased 2. They are sent against the Midianites who had vexed them with their wiles that is with their Deceits and feigned Amity and there they light on Balaam and slew him Numb 31.8 This wretch died not the death of the righteous as he seemed to desire but his iniquity found him out for among others he was slain with the Sword 3. After this God appears among them again and they are led into Canaan with a miracle an argument of a great favour on Gods part and an awe of those things that befel them at Shittim and now they are very tender of provoking God again Iosh. 22.17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us from which we are not cleansed until this day They had tasted of the bitter Waters 4. Gods Covenant is renewed at Gilgal to shew that he would still be their God and bless them as formerly Iosh. 5.2 3. II. The observations
opened 1140 Priests Believers are a holy Priesthood 1183 The Priesthood we have by Christ concerns our Ministration in the Heavenly Temple 1185 The Excellency of our Service as Priests in Heaven 1190 Directions to prepare us for this Service 1193 Preparatory Works What we must do if we would be prepared for Christ 311 Presence of God who they are that shall have it 1098 Present things Addictedness to them natural to us 397 It is increased by Custom 399 The evil Effects of it ib. Pride twofold in Mind and Desire 61 Arguments against Pride in Mind ibid. Arguments against Pride in Desire 62 How Hezekiah's Heart was lifted up with Pride 695 How shall we know when the Heart is lifted up with Pride 701 A proud Heart cannot be rightly conversant about Mercies 700 Directions against lifting up the Heart with Pride in remembrance of Mercies 702 Profession Why we are to make a Profession of Christ 1014 Promises more than Purposes Doctrinal Declarations and Predictions 445 The Promises of God are certain and firm 446 Promises made to some of God's People concern others also 1094 The Work of Faith about the Promises 446 Why we are apt to suspect God's Affection in making Promises 197 Why we are apt to suspect God's Faithfulness in fulfilling Promises 201 Property Whether there be any Property or all things are in common 84 Whether wicked Men have any Right to what they possess ibid. Prosperity Wicked Men in their Prosperity are under God's Displeasure 1047 Protection and Defence of God's People is from God 897 Providence That there is a Providence proved 667 The Acts of Providence 665 The Grounds of Providence 664 The Power of God seen in Providence 413 665 The Vse and Comfort of Providence 669 Observations concerning the Providence of God 667 Publick Good to be preferred before private 86 Purification the Necessity of it 171 The Manner of it 172 How Faith purifies ibid. Directions to attain Purification 173 Q QUalities good there may be such in unregenerate Men 322 Whence they proceed ibid. Amiable Qualities not to be rested in 325 Those to be reproved that are without amiable Qualities â—24 Questions about Salvation of greatest Importance 285 R RAptures whether now to be expected 625 Reap Every one shall reap the Fruit of their own Doings 1108 1113 Receiving Christ Objections against it answered 486 Recompences Future Recompences at the Resurrection 1212 Recreations and Sports how Sobriety is to be exercised about them 66 When we offend in Sports and Recreations 67 What time is to be spent in Recreations 68 Helps to Sobriety in Recreations 69 Redemption the Nature of it opened 163 Vid. Captives How we are redeemed from Iniquity 166 What of the Mystery of Redemption we should look into 924 How we should look into it 926 Why we should look into it ibid. Trial whether we are redeemed 169 Refuge Christ a Believer's City of Refuge 227 Flying for Refuge what it is 229 The Term from which we fly for Refuge 228 The Term to which we fly for Refuge 229 Who are to fly for Refuge to Christ 233 It is the Property of Believers to fly to Christ for Refuge 228 Rejoicing in Christ the Nature of it opened 481 The Reasons of it 479 The Effects of it 481 Rejoicing in God what it is 757 Carnal Rejoicing and spiritual Rejoicing â—ow distinguished ibid. Our rejoicing in God must be constant and perpetual 759 770 Outward Afflictions and the Sense of them and rejoicing in God consistent 759 764 Mourning for Sin and rejoicing in God not inconsistent 765 Reasons why we should rejoice in God always 762 767 The Necessity of rejoicing evermore 767 The Profit of it 768 Directions to perform this Duty 769 What God hath done to raise this Joy in us 762 All the Graces of a Christian have an Influence on this Rejoicing 763 All Duties and Ordinances influence this Rejoicing ibid. Religion That is the best Religion that doth best provide for the Peace and Rest of our Souls 946 The Christian Religion doth abundantly provide for these ibid. Remember Remembrance of Mercies habitual and actual 807 Directions to remember God's Mercies 808 Whether we are bound to recollect all the Mercies of God 807 Render What it is to render Praise to God 697 What it is to render according to God's Mercies 699 Renounce Not one Sin but all Sins must be renounced 28 Trial whether all Sin be renounced 30 Repentance what it is 281 677 785 936 The Kinds of Repentance 785 Repentance the way of our Recovery ibid. The Necessity of it in order to our Recovery to God 282 Arguments and Motives to quicken us to Repentance 681 786 God wills the Repentance of all Men 937 Repentance is God's End in continuing the World 936 What Incouragement from the Long-suffering of God to Repentance 938 Death of Christ an Argument to press Repentance 681 714 The great Design of the Gospel is to invite Men to Repentance 280 What the Gospel doth to promote Repentance 281 What the Scriptures offer to perswade us to Repentance 680 How to improve Scripture to Repentance 684 The Sutableness of Repentance to the Grace of the New Covenant 786 Directions for Repentance 283 786 Reproof What Reproof is 1204 Several Kinds of Reproof 1199 Who are to reprove 1202 Whether Inferiors should reprove Superiors ibid. Whom we are to reprove 1197 Whether we are to reprove an Infidel or one of a false Religion ibid. When we are to reprove or not to reprove 1204 How we are to reprove 1198 Reasons for Reproof 1199 1200 Not to reprove Sin a Sign of Hatred 1195 Resisting the Spirit How far the Spirit may be resisted 500 Respect of Persons what it is 1067 How God is no Respecter of Persons 1069 Restitution to be made if Wrongs be done 84 Revenge We are not to revenge Injuries done us 85 Arguments against it 1143 Whether it be lawful to pray for Revenge 1145 Reward We may look for the Reward 110 234 Riches are God's Blessings 986 Whether the bare having Riches be hurtful 368 The Vse of Riches 914 More required of rich Men than others 391 Not the Vse of Riches but the Abuse of them is condemned 986 The Danger of Riches 900 986 Vid. Temporal good things The Sins to which rich Men are exposed 371 375 Rich Men have need of much Grace 375 The Difficulty of rich Mens Salvation 368 386 Wherein the Difficulty of it lies 371 That this Difficulty is to be pressed and seriously thought of 391 Directions to them from the Difficulty of their Salvation 393 What it is to have a Will to be rich 908 The Danger of this 909 Arguments against the inordinate Desire of Riches 914 Directions against this inordinate Desire of Riches ibid. Trial of this immoderate Desire of Riches 918 Whether we may pray for and desire Riches 911 Trusting in Riches Vid. Trusting Right Whether we are always to demand our own Right 86 Vid. Due Property Righteousness
18. dele of l. 26. f. when r. then l. 31. r. so many begets l. 42. r. Nature P. 1090. l. 40. r. omnis impuritas est ex mixturà vitioris P. 1091. l. 59. r. is your Love more fixed are you more P. 1092. l. 45. r. sendeth P. 1093. l. 33. f. the r. their P. 1097. l. 4. r. he hath such f. agreeable r. unchangeable l. 33. r. to satisfy sober and moderate Desires dele our P. 1098. l. 20. r. Mourners in Zion l. 39. r. The man is become P. 1111. l. 11. r. affect P. 1126. l. 28. r. miscarry in it P. 1127. l. 39. f. an r. and. P. 1128. l. 18. r. bare P. 1133. l. 59. r. Saturn P. 1136. l. 27. dele not only l. 34. r. so it is if God P. 1141. l. 16. f. to r. they P. 1143. l. 16. f. means r. meats P. 1148. l. 18. f. gross r. great P. 1153. l. 33. f. his r. this P. 1155. l. 37. r. have been needed at needed put at do dele P. 1156. l. 43. f. gnaweth r. gnasheth P. 1158. l. 28. f. Laws r. Cares P. 1162. l. 38. r. to bring P. 1173. l. 52. f. Fruitlesness r. Brutishness P. 1185. l. 35. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 P. 1186. l. 11. f. presented r. prescribed P. 1189. l. 50. f. to seed r. to their God P. 1193. l. 28. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 P. 1196. l. 15. r. gentle P. 1205. l. 4. r. but those to whom P. 1210. l. 60. r. in his Nature P. 1231. l. 38. f. Gifts r. Gyves There are other literal Mistakes and false Pointings which the Reader may correct To the Right Honourable PHILIP Lord Wharton Baron of Wharton in the County of Westmorland MY LORD IT is not from the common Custom and Reasons of Dedications of Books to Persons eminent for Greatness and Piety viz. to recommend an obscure Author or to set off a mean Work that your Lordship's Name is inscribed to these Sermons The Author of them the late Reverend Dr. Thomas Manton was a Star of the first Magnitude in our Horizon and his Works praise him in the Gate and though the ensuing Sermons are far short of that Politeness and Exactness that they would have had if they had pass'd his own finishing Hand yet such as they are they plainly show their Author He was a Workman that needed not to be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of Truth he was a faithful Labourer in God's Vineyard and though his Preaching was so constant yet in all his Sermons may be observed that Solidness of Judgment Exactness of Method Fulness of Matter Strength of Argument perswasive Elegancy together with such a serious Vein of Piety running through the whole as few have come near him but none have excelled him Your Lordship had the Opportunity of an intimate Acquaintance with him and the Advantage of sitting under his Ministry for many Years in whose Light you greatly rejoiced while God continued him with us and when he was pleased to remove him by Death the afflictive Sense you had of that great and publick as well as your own private Loss showed the high Value and Esteem you had of him But your Respects to him were not buried in his Grave but have been upon all Occasions ever since shown to his surviving Relations who desire hereby to make their publick Acknowledgments of your Lordship's signal Favours to them And I beg your Lordship upon this Occasion to give me leave to make the like Acknowledgments of that Support Countenance and Respects I have had from your Lordship for above sixteen Years I have been your Chaplain since it was by the means of this Author that I had the Honour of being taken into your Lordship's Family My Lord God hath set your Lordship in a very high and honourable Station in which you have shined as a Light upon a Hill And as he hath given you great Opportunities so he hath also given you a large Heart to serve him and this hath given you a large Room in the Hearts of those that fear God and hath made your Name to be truly Great and Honourable How amiable a thing is it to see Greatness and Goodness in Conjunction But alas how rare are the Instances of it in this degenerate Age How few Great Ones are there that countenance despised Religion But still when it hath been under the greatest Discouragements your Lordship hath publickly owned the Ways of God your House hath been always open to his faithful Ministers and your Interest hath always been improved for promoting the Interest of the Gospel God hath lengthned out your Life to a good old Age And that he may yet prolong your Life for further Service to his Name and Interest is the Prayer of all those who know your steady and unshaken Adherence to the Principles you have owned It hath pleased the wise God to exercise you with various Troubles in your declining Years in the Death of many of your nearest Relations especially in the late wide Breach he hath made in your Family by taking away your Religious Lady whose extraordinary Indowments of Mind exemplary Piety and singular Usefulness made her justly dear to you and admired by all that knew her Such a Trial as this would shock an ordinary and common Patience and Constancy of Mind yet God by the Supports of his Grace hath enabled you to bear it This amazing Stroak is a loud Call from God to a Recess from this World now the less desirable because so dear a part of your self is removed out of it and to a Preparation for a better State to which She is gone and your Lordship is hastning How pleasant will the meeting be when you shall again see each other and know and love one another in a better manner than in this World you could when all those Frailties and Infirmities which give sometimes a little Interruption to the Comfort of the nearest Relations in this State of Weakness and Mortality shall be fully done away In the mean time that God would strenghthen your Lordship's Faith and Patience that he would increase and multiply his Blessings Temporal and Spiritual on your Lordship and all the Branches of your Noble Family and that he would reward all that Labour of Love that you have shown to his Servants Name and Interest with an eternal Weight of Glory is the daily Prayer of Right Honourable Your Lordship 's most Obedient and Faithful Servant and Chaplain WILLIAM TAYLOR February 6. 169◠THE PREFACE Christian Reader T IS a singular Instance of the Divine Providence that he should call home the Labourers to Rest and Reward while yet their Labours are employed in the Vineyard The Reverend Dr. Manton now rests from his Labours the Comfort and Conscience of his Works follow him but the Usefulness of them yet abides with us This Mantle dropp'd from our Prophet when he was taken up and we
not only shew them what they must do but how they may come to do their Duty in this kind for saith he The Grace of God which bringeth Salvation c. In the Words you may observe the Teacher the Lesson the Encouragement and Inducements to learn First The Teacher is the Grace of God described ver 11. Secondly The Lesson is the whole Duty of our Heavenly Calling set forth ver 12. and there 1 st Negatively in departing from Evil denying Vngodliness and worldly Lusts. 2 dly Positively in cleaving to that which is good We should live soberly righteously and godly in this present World Where you may observe that the Duty of the Creature is distributed into three Ranks and Parts according to the several Objects to which it is refâ—â—red soberly we must walk as to our selves righteously as to our Neighbour and godly that the Lord himself may not be defrauded of his Portion There are in a moral Consideration but three things in the World thy Self thy Neighbour and God and suitably doth the Apostle distribute and parcel out Christian Offices and Duties soberly as to our selves righteously as to our Neighbour and godly as to God Thirdly The Encouragements to learn and they are two If we look forward there is Hope if we look backward there is Gratitude or an Obligation arising from the Death of Christ. In short the two great Motives and Inducements are the Hope of eternal Life and the End of Christ's Death Hope of eternal Life ver 13. Looking for the blessed Hope c. the End of Christ's Death ver 14. who gave himself for us c. The Text being long I shall forbear Exposition till I come to handle the several Branches I shall first begin with the Teacher described ver 11. The Grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared to all Men. The Grace of God is described by its Property it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Grace bringing Salvation or tending to Salvation as the Word signifies and by a special Adjunct its present Manifestation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it hath appeared suddainly broken out like the Light of the Morning after a dark Night and then there is the Extent of that Manifestation it hath appeared to all Men. Some indeed refer this Extent not to the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it hath appeared but to the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bringing Salvation and they read it as we do in the Margent The Grace of God that bringeth Salvation to all Men hath appeared there is not much Difference To supersede all Doubt and Dispute about the matter all Men here signifies all sorts of Men for the Apostle had spoken of Servants and Bond-men that they in their Relations should glorify God and he proves it by this Argument The Grace of God hath appeared to all Men that is to the Bond-man as well as to the Lord and Master therefore they in their places are to discharge their Duties as well as others for the Gospel as I said hath appeared to all Men and presseth all sorts of Duties I. I begin with the thing described The Grace of God It is a term that admits of divers Acceptations sometimes it is put for God's eternal Favour and Good-Will sometimes for the Effects of this Favour as Grace infused and bestowed upon the Creature Ephes. 4.7 To every one of us is given Grace according to the Measure of the Gift of Christ. Sometimes it is put for the Gospel which is the Charter by which we hold this Grace and so it is said Rom. 6.15 You are not under the Law but under Grace i. e. under the State of the Gospel Here I take it in the first sense viz. for the gracious Will and good Pleasure of God to do Good to Men or to shew Mercy to the Creature for God's Kindness and Bounty to Men is expressed by several terms the most usual are two Grace and Mercy I will shew how they agree and how they differ They both agree in this that they are Attributes which merely respect the Creature The Love and Knowledg of God first falleth upon himself God knows himself and loves himself and then the Creature But now the Mercy and Grace of God are merely transient and pass out to and respect the Creature only God cannot be gracious to himself and merciful to himself as he loves himself and knows himself and therefore herein they agree But now in some respects they differ Grace properly signifies the Freeness of God's Love Mercy relates to the Misery of the Creature God's external Motive is our Misery and his internal Motive is his own Grace Mercy respects us as we are in our selves worthy of Condemnation Grace respects us as we are compared with others that are not elected As for Instance if the Question be Why any are chosen to Life it is out of Mercy because they are lost and undone Creatures But then if the Question be Why these are chosen above others then the ultimate Reason is God's Grace Once more the Angels that never sinned are saved meerly out of Grace and not out of Mercy it is not proper to say they are saved out of Mercy for they were never miserable but Men that were once miserable are saved not only out of Grace but also out of Mercy In short Mercy signifies that Love of God which helps the Miserable and Grace signifies a Property in God to give forth things freely and without desert Grace doth all gratis freely and without any Merit or Precedent Obligation or Debt Note then Doct. 1. That the original and first moving Cause of all the Blessings we have from God is Grace Survey all the Blessings of the Covenant and from first to last you will see Grace doth all Election Vocation Justification Sanctification Glorification all is from Grace There 's a clue of Scriptures which will lead us through all these steps and direct us to Grace 1. For Election Rom. 11.5 6. There is a Remnant according to the Election of Grace And then he adds presently for Paul cannot mention Grace but he must run out into the Praise or Vindication of it And if by Grace then it is no more of Works otherwise Grace is no more Grace But if it be of Works then it is more Grace otherwise Work is no more Work Mark the Context The Apostle's drift in that place is to prove that all Israel are not cast away that thô the Nation of Israel were past by yet there were a Remnant chosen according to the Election of Grace Grace is spoken of by the by but he takes every little Occasion to digress into the Commendation of Grace and what doth he say The Foundation and Ground of Salvation is God's Election and the impulsive Cause of Election is God's Grace Why is there a Remnant there 's an Election and why is there Election it is according to Grace 2. Our Calling when Election breaketh out in time and becometh
1 Pet. 2.3 If so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious A Man hath at first a Taste that he may have trial how sweet the Ways of God are Now if after trial you are not satisfied but make choice of the World again it is a mighty Wrong and Contempt you put upon Grace for you do as it were declare and pronounce that you have made trial and upon Experience have found the Pleasures and Profits of the World are better than all the Comforts that flowed from the Grace of God The whole Aim of the Word is to perswade Men to make trial of the sweetness of Grace Psal. 34.8 O taste and see that the Lord is good and that his Grace is good but now your Experience is a flat Negative and Contradiction to the Word and you do as it were say I have made trial and I find no such Sweetness in it None wrong Grace so much as they that have tasted of Grace and yet have turned aside to the Profits and Pleasures of the World again and grow weary after some Strictness of Profession Vse 2. To press you to glorify Grace This is the Glory God expects from you Ephes. 1.6 To the Praise of the Glory of his Grace wherein he hath made you accepted in the Beloved If an Artificer shew you a curious Piece of Workmanship he expects to be praised for his Skill A Wrestler that hath foiled his Adversary expects to be praised for his Strength not for his Beauty that is not a proper Praise A King in his Royal Gifts expects to be praised for his Magnificence So sutably the Lord who doth all things freely and according to the motion of his own Will expects to be praised for his Grace therefore you should be always ecchoing out Grace Grace Zech. 4.7 and admiring the Dispensations of God's Love It is a sure sign a Man hath received no Benefit by Grace if his Heart be not stirred up to praise Grace certaialy he that is a Partaker of it must needs be most affected with it Let us see a little what cause we have to praise God above the Angels and above other Men. 1. Above the Angels I do not mean the bad Angels with whom God entered not into Treaty he dealeth with them in Justice not in Grace but even the good Angels In some respects we have more cause to bless God than even the good Angels Thankfulness and Gratitude looks to the freeness and graciousness of the Gift rather than the greatness of it it looks not to the benefit so much as the good-will of the Giver It is true God hath been exceeding good and bountiful to the Angels in creating them out of nothing that they are the Courtiers of Heaven but mark how good and gracious he is to us above them The Angels never offended him but he is bountiful and gracious to us notwithstanding the Demerits of our Sin his wronged Justice interposed and put in a Bar yet Grace breaks out and is manifested to us unworthy Creatures There was nothing that hindred God from doing good to the Angels A holy God hath a blessed righteous holy Creature but Justice must be satisfied as to us we are a Generation of sinful Men the wretched Children of Apostatizing Adam we had forsaken God and cast him off which the Angels never did that had a long Experience of God's Goodness and Bounty The very Angels wonder at the Grace shewed to us especially at that by which Justice is satisfied 1 Pet. 1.12 Which things the Angels desire to look into 2. Above other Men. There 's a common and inferior sort of Grace which is made known to all the World The whole Earth is full of his Goodness but this Grace that bringeth Salvation that 's peculiar to the Elect to a few poor base Creatures in themselves a little handful whom God hath chosen out of the World Joh. 14.22 How is it that thou wouldst manifest thy self unto us and not unto the World Free Grace doth pick and choose and how it chooseth out things that are in themselves of no account Look as when God chose a Sacrifice for himself the Lion was not offered but the Lamb and the Dove so God hath chosen not those that are accounted Gods but a few despicable Creatures Free Grace many times chuseth the worst that all the Glory might be of God If a Man might chuse Trees for Building he would not chuse crooked ones but those that are straight and fittest for his use and purpose But when God comes to look among the Sons of Men many times he chuseth the most crabbed Pieces and calls them with a holy Calling according to the purpose of his Grace It is a wonder sometimes to see how Grace makes the difference between two Persons involved in the same Guilt Justice can make no Separation when Men are in a like Case they must look for the same Judgment but Grace makes a great Separation Many of God's Elect are as deep in Sin as those now in Hell yet God makes a difference Both the good and bad Thief were involved in the same Condemnation yet one is taken into Paradise and the other went unto his own place Thus praise and glorify Grace Hath appeared unto all Men. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 appeared signifies it is broken out of a sudden like a Star or like a Light that was not seen before and so it refers to the late Manifestation of the Gospel in the Apostles days Now on a sudden it broke out So Luke 1.78 79. Through the tender Mercy of our God whereby the Day-spring from on high hath visited us to give Light to them that sit in Darkness and in the shadow of Death It is meant of the breaking out of the Gospel as the Day doth after a dark Night so here the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 implieth the same Doct. 2. That Grace in the discoveries of the Gospel hath shined out in a greater Brightness than ever it did before This Grace appeareth in the Gospel there and there only is it clearly manifested In the Prosecution of this Point I shall shew I. What Darkness there was as to the knowledg of Grace before II. How much of Grace is now discovered I. What a Darkness there was before the eternal Gospel was brought out of the Bosom of God There was a Darkness both among Jews and Gentiles In the greatest part of the World there was utter Darkness as to the knowledg of Grace and in the Church nothing but Shadows and Figures 1. This Grace was not known in the World only a little of it was Psal. 33.5 The Earth is full of the Goodness of the Lord some inferiour Grace was made known to them in the Creation and in the course of Providence by showers of Rain and fruitful Seasons Grace on this side Heaven but nothing of the Secrets of God's Bosom of the Incarnation of God of the Expiation of Sin
begging to his own Creature and deals with us as importunately as if the Benefit were his own thus doth he pray us to be reconciled And then God threatens eternal Death to stir us up to take hold of eternal Life he tells us of a Pit without a Bottom and a Worm that never dies Sometimes he seeketh to work upon our Hope and sometimes upon our Fear he not only tells us of the loss of Happiness which is very grievous to an ingenuous Spirit Heb. 12.14 Follow Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord But he tells us of those eternal Torments that are without End and Ease of a Worm than never dies and of a Fire that shall never be quenched O whose Heart doth not tremble at the mention of these things Then on the other side we have Promises as great as Heart can wish for and more 2 Pet. 1.4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious Promises It hath not entred into the Heart of Man to conceive of these things Who ever hired a Man to be happy or a thirsty Man to drink or a hungry Man to eat Salvation is so acceptable and the heavenly and blessed Hope so glorious that we should purchase it at any rate but God taketh all Methods to awaken Man Thus the Gospel may well be said to be a powerful Instrument of our Salvation because it hath a powerful Tendency that way 2. Because it hath the Promise of the Spirit 's Assistance Rom. 1.16 the Gospel is said to be the Power of God unto Salvation not only because it is a powerful Instrument which God hath appropriated to this Work but this is the Honour God puts upon the Gospel that he will join and associate the Operation of his Spirit with no other Doctrine but this And therefore the Apostle saith Gal. 3.2 Received you the Spirit by the Works of the Law or by the hearing of Faith How come you to receive the Spirit either by endeavouring to get Acceptance with God according to the Terms of the Law or by the Doctrine of the Gospel The Assistance of the Spirit is joined with no other Doctrine This is the Authentick Proof of the Excellency of that Doctrine that God hath reserved the Power of his Grace to go along with it he will not associate and join his Spirit with any other Doctrine The Law as it is contra-distinguish'd from the Gospel it is called the Ministration of Condemnation 2 Cor. 3.9 and the Ministration of Death to fallen Man ver 7. It is the Office of the Law to condemn a Man not to save him Not as if preaching of the Law did make us guilty but shews us to be guilty to him that is guilty of Death it puts the Guilt before their Eyes that knowing it and feeling it he may be terrified and despair in himself and beg for Deliverance To this end the Apostle gives us an account of his own Experience Rom. 7.9 I was alive without the Law once that is I thought I was alive and did not know my self or feel my self guilty of Death I thought my self to be in as good a condition towards God as any Man but when the Commandment came Sin revived and I died then I counted my self to be lost and utterly undone A Sinner before the Law comes is like a Beggar that dreams he is a King and that he wallows in Ease and Plenty but when he awakes his Soul is empty and he feeleth his Poverty and his hungry Belly and his Rags confute all his Dreams and false Surmises So we thought our selves to be alive in a good condition towards God but when the Law comes then we see our selves to be dead and lost Therefore the Law as it is opposed to the Gospel is not the Means of Salvation so it is only the Law of Sin and Death Rom. 8.2 For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Iesus hath made me free from the Law of Sin and Death Object You will say these seem to be hard Expressions to call it the Law of Sin and Death but you must understand it aright To Man fallen the Law only convinceth of Sin and bindeth over to Death it is nothing but a killing Letter but the Gospel accompanied by the Power of the Spirit bringeth Life Again Psal. 19.7 it is said there The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the Soul therefore it seems the Law may also be a word of Salvation to the Creature I answer By the Law there is not meant only that part of the Word which we call the Covenant of Works but there it is put for the whole Word for the whole Doctrine of the Covenant of Life and Salvation as Psal. 1.2 His Delight is in the Law of the Lord and in his Law doth he meditate day and night And if you take it in that stricter sense then it converteth the Soul but by accident as it is joined with the Gospel which is the Ministry of Life and Righteousness but in it self it is the Law of Sin and Death Look as a thing taken simply would be Poison and deadly in self yet mix'd with other wholsome Medicines it is of great use is an excellent Physical Ingredient So the Law is of great use as joined with the Gospel to awaken and startle the Sinner to shew him his Duty to convince him of Sin and Judgment but it is the Gospel properly that pulls in the Heart Vse To press you to regard the Gospel more as you would Salvation it self for it bringeth Salvation By way of Motive and Encouragement 1. Consider the greatness of the Salvation Heb. 2.3 How shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation It is not a slight matter in the Gospel God doth not treat with you about Trifles your eternal Life lies upon it we preach to you a Doctrine that tends to Salvation That so the Argument may be more operative consider what is Salvation Salvation implieth a Deliverance from Danger and Distress and a preservation in a condition of Safety Sometimes he is called a Saviour qui quod semel factum est conservat ne pereat that keepeth a thing in a condition of Safety tho it were never lost In this sense God is said to save Man and Beast Psal. 36.6 O Lord thou preservest Man and Beast As he doth preserve them from Decay and Ruin so he is the Saviour of all Men 1 Tim. 4.10 There is not a Creature but may call God Saviour But this Salvation I speak of is a Salvation proper but to a few Creatures not a general Preservation or Act of Providence here is not only Safety but Glory it is a translation to a place of Happiness Again he is said to save that delivers out of Danger and Destruction as the Shepherd that snatcheth the Lamb out of the Teeth of the Lion saveth him and in common speech we call him a Saviour that delivers from Evil. But mark this
Providence in the Wilderness how the People of Israel were led up and down for forty Years and fed and clothed and delivered The New Testament speaks of God's Providence over his Church during the whole State of the present World How he guides us by his Counsel till he brings us to his Glory Psal. 73.14 Thou shalt guide me with thy Counsel and afterwards receive me to Glory They were led into the Land of Canaan by Iordan and we have entrance into Heaven by Death They could speak of Judges and Kings that were glorious and did worthily in their Generations but the New Testament shews all that have an Interest in Christ shall judg the World together with Christ at the last Day 2 Cor. 6.2 Do ye not know that the Saints shall judg the World and as Kings shall reign with Christ for evermore and be far more glorious than Solomon in all his Glory Their Piety was like a Plant that grows in the Shade now the Sun is risen which scattereth his Light Heat and Influences 4. Consider what should be God's Aim in the Designation of his Providence that he hath brought it and laid it before you Acts 13.26 To you is the Word of this Salvation sent The Apostle doth not say we have brought it to you but God sent it God hath a special hand in bringing the Gospel if you accept it it will be God's Token sent to you in Love for the present it is God's Message sent for your trial There 's a mighty Providence that accompanieth the preaching of the Gospel You will find the Journies of the Apostles were ordered by the Spirit as well as their Doctrine as Acts 8.26 The Angel of the Lord said to Philip Arise go towards the South unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza which is desert If they went North or South it was not by their own good Affection or by the Inclination and Judgment of their own Reason but by the Direction of the Spirit So Acts 16.7 They assayed to go into Bithynia but the Spirit suffered them not They were not left to their own Guidance and Direction but still they were carried up and down by the Spirit As Prophecy came not in old time by the Will of Man but Holy Men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1.21 So also the delivery of it to what People it should be disclosed was not by the direction of Men but by the Holy Ghost The Apostles had not only their Commission what they should do but where they should preach it If God send a Minister to you to preach this Grace that bringeth Salvation do not look upon it as a thing of Chance The Gospel doth not run by Chance and meerly according to the Intention and Designment of Men nor in an orderly stated Course as the Sun but by the special Direction of God You would stand admiring and think it a special Benefit in a time of Drought if the Rain should fall on your Garden and upon none else as it did upon Gideon's Fleece or if the Sun should be shut up to others and shine in your Horizon as it did in Goshen such a Distinction hath God made in sending of the Gospel it is Darkness to others but a Sun to you God hath a special hand in the progress of the Gospel certainly the preaching of it in Power there is much of God in it the Word goes from Place to Place if you accept it not God will go to another When the Jews refused the Salvation of God it is sent to the Gentiles Acts 28.28 The Salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles and they will hear it It is not tendered unto you out of Necessity but by way of Trial out of God's Choice God cannot want Clients when you your selves are thrust out others may get in You may want Salvation but God cannot want Guests at the Feast he hath prepared 5. Consider of the great Judgment that will light upon them that despise an Offer of Salvation That which by its natural tendency is a Grace bringing Salvation by your neglect may bring certain Condemnation and Ruin Observe God did never utterly cast off the People of the Jews for contempt of the Law but when once they came to despise the Gospel God would have no more to do with them Indeed for the contempt of the Law the Jews were punished they went into Captivity but still a Stock did remain and it budded again But when those glorious appearances of Grace were discovered to them and they despised them then the Wrath of God came unto them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the uttermost 1 Thess. 2.16 When Salvation it self cannot save them Condemnation must needs take place and so Persons perish upon a double ground as guilty Sinners and as despisers of the Remedy As a Man that is deadly sick and will not take Physick perisheth both as he is sick and as he will not take Physick Or as a Man condemn'd by the Law and being repriev'd for a short time yet neglects to sue out his Pardon But you will say Who are those Contemners of this Salvation offered in the Gospel The Gospel is the Remedy and contemning the Gospel may be explained by refusing the Counsels of Physicians You know some are utter Enemies to Physick and cannot endure any thing that is bitter and tart and so Carnal Men given up to Pleasure cannot endure the Severities of the Gospel which are God's Counsels and Receipts for sick Souls if a few good Hopes and Wishes will carry them to Heaven that 's all they mind Some see that the Endeavours of Physicians do not always succeed and that there is great uncertainty in that Art therefore slight all Thus do Men slight the Gospel out of pure Unbelief Every one that hears the Word are not saved there are but few to whom it is manifested in Power and so they contemn it having no such high Thoughts of the Word of God Some out of Pride refuse Physick they know as much as the Physician and so they throw away themselves by depending upon their own Counsel So some out of meer Pride and Conceit slight the Gospel they know as much as can be taught them they think themselves alive and need nothing when they are stark dead Others out of negligence they are sick but are not at leisure to take Physick do not mind the Condition of their Body till it proves deadly Thus it is in the sickness of the Soul some are slighters Matth. 22.5 They made light of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 others distrust others cannot endure God's Terms others are self-conceited but all neglect this great Salvation and contemn the greatest Gift God ever offered to Men therefore they shall meet with the greatest Judgment 6. Besides the wrong done to God and your selves consider the wrong you do to God's Messengers This is the spiritual Honour God hath put
be pleasing and acceptable to God in order to Practice and value our Lives for this End only that we may serve God it is a sign Grace is planted in the Heart But now ungodly Men neither care to know the ways of God nor to walk in them They that are willingly ignorant and do not search to know how God will be served and pleased and make this their Work they do not count God their chiefest Good They search not that they may not practice they err not in their Mind only but in their Hearts Psal. 95.10 It is a People that do err in their Hearts they have not known my ways To err in the Mind may be through invincible Ignorance but a Man errs in his Heart when he doth not desire to know God and to know his Will and what he must do in Worship and Conversation but saith I do not desire to know God Iob 21.14 Therefore they say unto God Depart from us for we desire not the Knowledg of thy ways Therefore he that doth not make it his great Work and the Business of his Life to find out what God would have him do he is ungodly Usually this is found in Men half convinced they have not a Mind to know that which they have not a Mind to do and so they are willingly ignorant But now a godly Man makes it the Business of his Life still to follow God Foot by Foot to know more of his Mind and Will Rom. 12.2 That you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect VVill of God Ephes. 5.12 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. A true Christian always practiseth what he knows and still searcheth that he may know more he would be always more useful for God and more according to his Heart that is the Study the great Business and Project of his Life to find out God's Will and then practise it What shall I do more for God Thirdly God must be acknowledged as the supream Truth and Authority and there if we be not moved with his Promises with his Threatnings and Counsels as the Words of the great God as if he had spoken from Heaven by an audible Voice if we do not yield him Reverence in his Worship and subject our Hearts and Lives unto his Laws it is Ungodliness 1 st We must receive the Counsels of his Word with all Reverence and Veneration as if God had spoke to us by a Voice from Heaven This is to receive the Word as the Word of God 2 Thess. 2.10 They received not the Love of the Truth that they might be saved The Heathens received the Oracles of their Gods with great Reverence and were much moved when they had an Oracle but when the Word comes with a mighty convincing Power upon the Heart and you are not moved and affected this argues your Ungodliness So when we can drousily hear of the great things of Heaven and the Death of Christ and the Covenant of Grace and the glorious Salvation offered and are no more moved than with a Fable or with a Dream of Rubies dropping down from Heaven in the Night this is Ungodliness That there is a great deal of Ungodliness in this kind is clear by our Neglect of these Precious Things If a Man should proffer another a thousand Pound for a Trifle and he should not accept it you would not say it was because he prized that Trifle that is not profitable but because he did not believe the Offer So when God offers Heaven and Christ to us upon such easy terms as to part with nothing but our Sins which are better parted with than kept we do not honour him as the eternal Truth if we do not accept it but count him a Liar and this is the greatest Affront you can put upon God for he that believeth not God hath made him a Liar because he believeth not the Record that God gave of his Son 1 John 5.10 He that doth not regard the Offer of the Gospel certainly he believes it is not true and so he dishonours God as the supream Truth 2 dly If we would honour God as the supream Lord of Heaven and Earth we must reverence him in his Worship God is not only terrible in the high Places of the Field and there where he executes his dreadful Judgments and not only so in the Depths of the Sea where the Wonders of the Lord are seen but he is also terrible in his holy Places Psal. 68.35 O God thou art terrible out of thy holy Places Then are the Hearts of his People filled with most awful Apprehensions of his glorious Majesty and of his excellent Holiness and this makes them tremble But now when we do not come with these awful Apprehensions we do not own God as the supream Majesty and therefore when they brought him an unbeseeming Sacrifice saith the Lord Mal. 1.14 Cursed be the Deceiver which hath in his Flock a Male and voweth and sacrificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing for I am a great King saith the Lord of Hosts and my Name is dreadful among the Heathens This is not becoming my Majesty And the Saints of God never feel such Self-Abhorrency and Loathing of themselves as when they are worshipping God God is even dreadful then when he is most comfortable to his People Deut. 28.58 That thou mayst fear this glorious and fearful Name the Lord thy God Thy God this is the comfortablest Name in all the Scripture this is the Foundation of our Hope and this puts the Saints upon a Holy Reverence But now ungodly Men come with slight cold and careless Hearts their Thoughts are upon the Shop and the Cart and the Plough and any where else than upon God they dream nigh to him with their Lips but their Hearts are removed far from him They do not come to him as a great King and supream Majesty and Authority of all and so they dishonour God exceedingly Our Thoughts in Worship should be more taken up with his Glory 3 dly If we would honour God as supream there must be a willing Subjection of our Hearts and Lives to his Laws Usually here we stick in a want of Conformity thereto Men that love God as a Creator naturally hate him as a Law-giver Men love him as a Giver of Blessings but they would fain live at large Thoughts that strike at the Being of God and Doctrines of Liberty are welcome to a carnal Heart therefore it is tedious to them to hear of one to call them to account and it is pleasing to them to think which is an Argument of the highest Hatred that can be that there were no God to call them to a reckoning that they might let loose the Reins to vile Affections We would be absolute and Lords of our own Actions And this Subjection must be in Heart and Life There must be a Subjection of the Heart God's Authority is never more undermined than by a mere Form of
other Sins or to feed a Lust and therefore we had need to deny it as it is Lust. 2 dly You should deny them as worldly Lusts so you must abstain from them not serve them as they are stirred up by worldly Objects they keep us from better Employment and therefore Grace teacheth us to deny them as they tend only to such a vile purpose Many Arguments there are 1. Whatever is for this World must be left on this side the Grave Pomp Pleasure and Estate must be left behind us Job 1.21 Naked came I out of my Mother's Womb and naked must I return thither There is no carnal Pomp and Pleasure in the next World Here we bustle for Greatness but Death ends the Quarrel Like foolish Birds we seek to build strong Nests when to morrow we must be gone Open the Grave and look upon the Reliques of Man's Mortality thou canst not discern between the Rich and the Poor the King and the Peasant all are alike obnoxious to Stench and Rottenness Those Desires that carry you out to the World must be mortified A Mill-wheel runs round all the Day and at Night it is in the same place So whatever we gain and purchase in the World it must be left at Night when we go to Bed when Death finds us and in the same place at Death we are as naked as we came into the World 1 Tim. 6.7 For we brought nothing into the World and it is certain we can carry nothing out A Man's Wealth doth not follow him but his Sins do his Iniquity will find him out Consider at Birth a Man is contented with a Cradle and at Death with a Grave yet here we join House to House and Field to Field Isa. 5.8 as if the whole World could not contain us 2. As they are only for this World so our abode here is but short and uncertain and therefore if it be worldly Lust it should be less prized for it lasts but for a time Within a very little while those that are most potent powerful and shining in the Splendor of the World shall be turned to Dust and Ashes God hath made Life short for many wise and merciful Reasons that the time of our Labour might not last too long He hath made us to enjoy himself and because he loveth the Saints he would have them the sooner with himself and would not be long without their Company and that we might love eternal Life therefore this Life is short and that he might gratify the Saints for he that hath a Journey to go would pass it over as soon as he can God makes their Journey as short as is convenient for his Glory and to shame wicked Men because they delight in that which is but of a short continuance but their Torment is Eternal The Pleasure of Sin is but for a Season but the Torments of Sin are for ever and ever therefore this should put a check to your Desires it is only for a World that passeth away nay the Lusts of this World pass away 1 Iohn 2.17 The World passeth away and the Lusts thereof The time will come when we shall have no lusts to these things it begins at Sickness but at the Day of Judgment we shall have no relish of these things and when the whole World is burnt up it will be our torment that we have prostituted our Affections to such low and unbeseeming things we shall see the Vanity when it is too late Men will have little love to the World then 3. If they be but worldly Lusts they should not be cherished were they never so durable Why Because this is not our Happiness and our Rest. Carnal Men have more of the World Christ committed his Purse to the worst of his Disciples Of the other he saith They are not of the World even as I am not of the World John 17.16 In this World God is most liberal to the worst therefore here we should not set up our Rest. Look as it is said of Abraham Gen. 25.6 that he gave Gifts to Ishmael and to the Sons of Keturah but he gave the Inheritance to Isaac Wicked Men have their Portion but not the Inheritance God will not be in their Debt therefore they have Gifts Therefore saith a Christian Why should I cherish these worldly Lusts this is not my Portion but the Portion of others From Men of the World which have their Portion in this Life Psal. 17.14 The World is Satan's Circuit he compasseth the Earth It is the Saints Slaughter-house they shed the Blood of Saints and Prophets Rev. 16.6 It is the place where God is dishonoured They are favoured and loved most by the World whom Christ hath rejected and past by 4. Worldly Lusts do hinder us from our Work We were made for another World and this Life is lent us for a while to look after Heaven We cannot drive on those two Cares at once for the World and Heaven too as a Man cannot look with one Eye to Heaven and with another to the Earth therefore why should we indulge worldly Lusts Who would lose a Crown to be owner of a Dunghil And will you forfeit Heaven and the Joys of God's Presence for worldly Conveniences Lust hinders your care of Heaven It is true a temperate and religious use of the World furthereth it but worldly Lust doth take off your Heart from God and Heaven and unfits it for it so that your Heavenly Desires are hindered 5. In a sense worldly Lusts do hinder us of the Comfort of this World Want encreaseth with Enjoyment as the Fire encreaseth by laying on more Fuel The more we enjoy the more we desire so we do not enjoy what we do possess The more we have the more we want so that a covetous Man neither enjoys this World nor the World to come 6. If it be worldly Lust then take heed of it for thou art as thy Love is If thou lovest this World thou art a worldly Man if thou lovest God thou art a godly Man if thou lovest Heaven thou art a heavenly Man A Man is not as his Opinion is but as his Affections are A bad Man may be of a good Opinion but a bad Man can never have good Affections The Soul as Wax receives the Impression from the Object Thou art a Person of the World if thou lovest the World Take a Looking-glass and put it towards Heaven there you shall see the Figure of Heaven the Clouds and things above put it downward towards the Earth you shall see the Figure of the Earth Trees Meadows Fruits So doth the Soul receive a Figure from the things to which it is set if the Heart be set towards Heaven that puts thee into a heavenly Frame if thou appliest it to earthly Objects thou art a Man of the Earth 7. The more we mortify these worldly Lusts the more we prevent Affliction We might prevent the bitterness of the Cross if we would
I shall I. Draw forth the Force of the Expression II. Give you the Reasons of it I. The Force of the Expression In this present World It implies three things timely Beginning zealous Discharge and final Perseverance Whatever we are to do upon the teaching of Grace we are to do it speedily earnestly constantly Speedily now or never take hold of the present Occasion Earnestly it is the Work of our Lives wherefore we are sent into the World and Constantly that is all the time of our living here 1. Speedily Now or never must it be done We must set upon this Work speedily upon two Grounds because time to come is uncertain and it is not fit to neglect it 1. Time to come is uncertain We have nothing to command but this Instant that which is to come is not in our Power One being invited to a Feast the next Day made Answer Ego à multis annis crastinum non habui For these many Years I never had a to Morrow The present Time is put into thy Hands thou hast no Security for the next Day but thy own Word and how is he the better assured that is Security to himself When you promise your selves many Years you are liberal upon another Man's Goods and it is the Fashion of Mad-men to reckon other Mens Estates to be theirs The Father hath reserved Times and Seasons in his own Power and taken them into his own Hands We are not Masters of a Day therefore now or never must we set upon this Work of living soberly righteously godly O how sad is it to be surprized and Death to find us unprovided 2 Pet. 3.14 Wherefore Beloved seeing that ye look for such things be diligent that ye may be found of him in Peace This is the great Business of our Lives to be found in a Condition pleasing to God A Man should live every Day as he would be found of God for usually Death comes by way of Surprize it finds us before we look for it and steals upon us e're we are aware 2. Because it is not fit to neglect it till Death and to provide Work for that time when we need Cordials the Infirmities of Age and Sickness need Supports and not Work O how sad is this that many times we are going out of the World before we begin to think why we came into it Our great Business here is to save our Souls and when Time is gone then we begin to think of it He is a foolish Traveller that would set out at Night and begin his Journey when the Sun is setting and the Darkness of the Night is coming on so when Time appointed is gone then to think of saving our Souls It is too late to be sparing when we have spent all upon Prodigality The foolish Virgins came to buy Oil too late Who would expect to conquer then when his Enemy is strongest and himself weakest or purposely delay it till such a time If you do not presently set about the Work you do but provide Grief and Sorrow for your last Age when you are least able to bear it 2. Earnestly It is the Reason why we are sent into the present World It is the Work of our Lives We were not put into the World as Leviathan was put into the Sea to take our fill of Pleasure but we were sent into the World for our Trial and for our Exercise For this End was Life given us not to get Wealth and Honour and great Estates or only to eat drink and sleep and so live as if we were never to die and then die as if we were never to live more such lose the End of their Lives God hath appointed a Time for every thing under the Sun and the Time of Life is appointed to work out our Salvation and therefore it is but reason that our best Business should have the greatest Share of our Time and Strength and that this Work should go forward according to our Years still should you increase and be bettering your selves in the great Business of your Lives It is some Work of Grace to raise the Soul to desire Things within the Vail it is more to hope for them it is more to seize upon them as our Right and Portion and lay hold of eternal Life 1 Tim. 6.19 This is the great Work of our Lives first to raise up the Soul and carry it within the Vail to be always increasing our Assurance of Heaven and looking after a better Life Iohn 9.4 I must work the Works of him that sent me while it is Day the Night cometh when no Man can work Hereafter there is no Prophecy nor Labour nor Faith nor Repentance We have a little Time and a great deal of Work and a great many Temptations It 's a great Work to get out of a State of Nature into a State of Grace to fit our selves for a better World Now because we have no long Continuance here we should be doing it with all our Might Therefore let us not forget the main thing that which is the Business and Imployment of our Lives let not your Time pass unfruitfully for the Night cometh wherein no Man can work 3. Constantly It is in the present World as long as we are here without any Limitation and therefore it hints final Perseverance without which as good we had never begun It is notable that under the Law the Nazarite if he had made a Vow he should touch no Wine or any thing that was forbidden for so many Days or Months but if he had defiled himself before the Days of his Purification were accomplished he was to begin again Numb 6.12 The Days that were before shall be lost because his Separation was defiled So when we have renounced the Vanities and Delights of the World and given our selves to God all is lost when we turn Apostates and go off from a Course of Godliness Ezek. 18.24 But when the Righteous turneth away from his Righteousness and committeth Iniquity and doth according to all the Abominations that the wicked Man doth shall he live all his Righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned in his Trespass that he hath trespassed and in his Sin that he hath sinned in them shall he die As good never have begun if we fall off and tire before we come to the End nay in some respect it would have been better if we had never begun than not to have continued for it is said the latter End is worse with them than the beginning 2 Pet. 2.20 A Malefactor who hath made an Escape out of Prison if he be taken again he is loaded with Chains and Irons So when any have made some shew of Escape out of the Devil's Clutches by keeping a constant Course of Duty and Communion with God and then turns and breaks off again none in such Bondage and Slavery as they Nay and this Apostacy is a mighty Dishonour to Christ as well as a
will be little enough to repent the loss of that which is past Consider a Man can never come soon enough into the Arms of Mercy nor soon enough out of the Power of Satan Present Necessity admits of no Deliberation therefore charge your selves to be more solid and serious Sin if you let it alone will gather more Strength 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. When a Stick hath been long bent it will hardly ever be set right again Some that have been late converted have much bewailed their Disadvantage their standing out so long till their Inclinations were fixed and that they have got a stubborn Nature so strong and ever apt to recoil upon them Consider we would not have God to put us off when we come for Mercy and are in present need and shall we put off God We would count a Delay to be as bad as a Denial therefore take heed of Delays in this kind for if ever you be called to Grace you will smart for it soundly Christ waited upon the Spouse for Entrance Cant. 5.2 My Head is filled with Dew and my Locks with the drops of the Night and then the Spouse waited for Comfort ver 6. I opened to my Beloved but my Beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone my Soul failed when he spake I sought him but I could not find him I called him but he gave me no Answer What is the Reason when the Work is begun and the first stroke is given to Sin that Christians walk so mournfully for a great while O they have made God wait long and stood out many a Call therefore the Lord exerciseth them with waiting Let all this work thee to comply with the Importunity of the present Conviction of the Holy Ghost Vse 2. Is to reclaim us when we are greedily set upon other Businesses and Projects than the great Business of our Lives as to get Wealth Honour and great Estates Remember what is thy Duty and Work in this present World Consider 1. The shortness of Life We have a great deal of Work to do in a little time therefore we should not waste it every day we are nearer to the Grave We are sensible of the Decays of others but not of our own thou seest others wax old and die remember thou thy self art going that way When two Ships meet one another in the Sea the other Ship seems to fail faster than yours tho both pass away alike because you are not sensible or do not observe your own Motion We see others are mortal but do not number our own Days This is a Point of Prudence Psal. 90.12 So teach us to number our Days that we may apply our Hearts unto Wisdom A Man would think of all Points that were plainest and soonest learned yet it is very hard to learn the lesson of our own Frailty I mean to learn it by Heart to learn it practically 2. The Uncertainty of Life We know not when Death will surprize us it is ill to be taken unprovided when Death comes to say Hast thou found me O my Enemy Every day we have cause to look to it more are mistaken in reckoning upon Life than upon Death Thou art asleep in the Wolf's Mouth there is no Remedy but imploring the Shepherd's Help A Carnal Man that goeth on in Sin provoketh God to his Face and trieth whether he will cut him off yea or no. We are sure to live to enjoy what we provide for Heaven but we are not sure to live to enjoy what we provide for the World A Man may not rost what he took in hunting but when he cometh to enjoy his Estate God cutteth him off Luke 12.20 Thou Fool this night thy Soul shall be required of thee then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided And shall my Master come and find me idle 3. After Death followeth Eternity the great Amazement of the Soul Now if Death find you at Peace with God Eternity will be comfortable and Death sweet Body and Soul part but God and the Soul meet When we can see Angels ready to do their Office and Conscience becometh our Compurgator I bear you witness you have spent your time in this World in obeying and serving God and then Body and Soul take leave of one another it is a blessed parting But now when you have not regarded your Work you are then delivered up to Satan by such an Excommunication as shall never be reversed Accursed till the Lord come and then Body and Soul meet to be tormented for ever It is a sad parting when Conscience falls a raving and we curse our selves and the day of our Birth O that ever such a Creature were born O that I had been stifled in the Womb and never seen the Light 4. The necessity of working out our own Salvation God's Stipulation with Mankind is not made up all of Promises something is required Holiness is the way to Salvation Men that live as they list can claim nothing The World is a common Inn for Sons and Bastards in the time of God's Patience he keeps open House for just and unjust but no unclean thing entreth into Heaven At the great Rendezvouz God maketh a Separation Psal. 1.5 The Vngodly shall not stand in the Iudgment nor Sinners in the Congregation of the Righteous The wicked shall not be able to look Christ in the Face nor vail themselves in the glorious Assembly 1 Cor. 6.9 10. Know ye not that the Vnrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor Effeminate nor abusers of themselves with Mankind nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God Our Desires settle into Opinions we think God will not damn his own Creatures and an universal Hope is natural 5. The Folly of not doing our Business To get bodily Supports is but our Errand by the by these Souls were not given us to scrape up Wealth and only to provide and purvey for the Body Let us use them to the end that God gave them to think of Eternity Luke 10.41 42. Martha Martha thou art careful and troubled about many things but one thing is needful And Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her Martha was careful to entertain Christ in her House but Mary to entertain him in her Heart The one thing needful is the Care which every one ought to have of his own Salvation Every thing is best that helpeth us on towards Heaven and that is evil that hindreth us in our pursuit of Heaven This will appear to be the greatest Wisdom at length and not to spend your Lives in getting Honours or Pleasures or screwing your selves into the Favour of great Personages It is commonly said of a Man that hath gotten an Estate that he
hath spent his Time well but the Apostle commands Eph. 5.15 16. See that ye walk circumspectly not as Fools but as Wise redeeming the Time because the days are evil Those other are the worst Fools who make no Provision for the future they part with Jewels for Trifles SERMON XII TITUS II. 13 Looking for that blessed Hope c. I Observed 1. The Teacher The Grace of God 2. The Lesson the whole Duty of our Heavenly Calling To deny Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly c. 3. I come to the third general Branch The Encouragements to Learning here are two Eternal Life and Christ's Death There are two great Principles of Obedience Gratitude and Hope Gratitude or Thankfulness because of the Obligation that is left upon us from Christ's Death and then Hope because of the glorious Reward that is set before us So that whether we look backward or forward we meet with Obligations to Obedience Backward there is an excellent Merit ver 14. Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all Iniquity c. Forward there is a glorious Hope Looking for that blessed Hope c. There is nothing lost by God's Service the Lord might deal with us out of Soveraignty and rule us with a Rod of Iron but he is pleased to draw us with the Cords of a Man and with Bands of Love Hos. 11.3 to indent with us and propound Rewards as if we were altogether free before the Contract Men do not use to covenant with their Slaves we are bound to serve him whether there had been any Reward or no but the Lord will not leave us without an Encouragement We are apt to have hard Thoughts of God and to think him harsh and austere requiring Work but not giving Wages But consider we have the highest Motives as well as the noblest Work we are not only to live soberly righteously and godly in the present World but to look to the blessed Hope Life and Immortality is brought to light by the Gospel There is no such Encouragement to vertuous living any where as in the Gospel Lactantius saith of the Heathens Virtutis vim non sentiunt cujus premium ignorant They do not feel the force and transforming Power of Vertue because they are ignorant of the Reward of Vertue The Heathens had no such Encouragement as Immortality and Eternal Life and the happy Enjoyment of God and Christ for evermore But to handle the words a little more distinctly We have here 1. the Reward it self called a blessed Hope Then 2. the time when it shall be accomplished to the full at the coming of the Lord. Both these things you must look for Christians as often as you think of Eternal Life you must also think of Christ's Appearing Before we enter into Glory we must first give an Account Carnal Men fancy a Heaven without a Day of Judgment they would be saved but they would not be called to an audit and reckoning with God Many can brook sitting upon the Throne with Christ but not coming before his Tribunal but they that would live holily must look for both the blessed Hope and the glorious Appearing of Christ. Many Points may be observed out of this Verse Doct. I. That looking for the blessed Hope conduceth much to the Advancement of the Spiritual Life I. What this Looking is II. What Influence and Power it hath to work us to the Spiritual Life I. What this Looking is It implies Patience but chiefly Hope 1. Patience in waiting God's Leisure Patience is a Grace very needful in our Pilgrimage where we are exercised with so many Difficulties Heb. 10.36 For ye have need of Patience that after ye have done the Will of God ye might receive the Promise you do not only need Holiness but Patience It is long before we can bring our Hearts to do the Will of God but after that is done you have need of Patience that you may wait God's Leisure for your Reward For the Reward is not given till there be time for Labour and Exercise and Troubles coming on make time seem very long Whatever Grace we may spare we cannot spare Patience if we would persist in well-doing for we are to wait for the blessed Hope The good Ground bringeth forth Fruit with Patience Luke 8.15 Look as the Ground endures the Plough the Harrow the Cold the Frost that in due time the Seed may spring up so we have need of Patience that we may wait upon God for the blessed Hope And as Patience is very needful in the present Life so it is inseparable from Hope 1 Thess. 1.3 it is called the Patience of Hope To every Grace he gives a proper Action there is the Work of Faith the Labour of Love and the Patience of Hope Faith propounds Work Love makes us to labour and sweat at it and Hope makes us wait with Patience for our Reward and Recompence Rom. 8.25 But if we hope for that we see not then do we with Patience wait for it What we hope for we wait with Patience for between Hope and Having there is an intervening time to exercise Patience There is want of the thing desired and Delays are troublesome Now to keep looking is a Work of Patience 2. It chiefly implies Hope This looking for is the formal Act of Hope an actual Expectation of Blessedness to come Now because there 's a bastard and blind Hope and there is a regular and good Hope 2 Thess. 2.16 Who hath given us everlasting Consolation and good Hope through Grace therefore let me tell you First What this Expectation is not Secondly What it is First Negatively what it is not 1. It is not a blind Hope such a Hope as is found in Men ignorant and presumptuous that regard not what they do Presumption is a Child of Darkness as Hope is a Child of Light Presumption is the Fruit of Ignorance and Inconsideration When Men are once serious they find it the hardest matter in the World to hope for guilty Nature in it self is more presagious of Evil more inclinable to Fear and Sorrow than to Joy and Hope But yet a blind Confidence is very common because Men do not consider what they do but hand over head make a full account that they shall go to Heaven without Warrant and without Evidence And therefore you shall find it is one of the first things God works by the Word to break down our former carnal Hopes and make Men see they are out of the way lost and undone Creatures Paul in his presumptuous State thought he had as much to shew for Heaven as any Man in the World Rom. 7.9 I was alive without the Law once but when the Commandment came Sin revived and I died The Commandment coming in full Conviction upon his Heart he began to be serious and then he found himself lost and obnoxious to God's Judgment The Excellency of Hope doth not lie in the Strength
of Confidence but in the Clearness of your Ground and Warrant In Matth. 7. latter end the Scripture takes notice of two Builders the foolish and the wise there was no difference in the Building it self both might raise a Structure equally â—air but the difference lay in the Ground-work and Foundation the one built upon the Sand the other upon a Rock therefore you are not to look so much to the Strength of your Hope as to the Evidence the Ground the Foundation of it Do you know what you do when you so confidently believe your Salvation Presumption grows upon Men they know not how it is not an Act of Advice and Consideration and therefore will leave us to Shame A Man had need have good grounds for his Hope True Hope is a serious Act arising from Grace longing after its Perfection and therefore we are said to be begotten to a lively Hope 1 Pet. 1.3 Seed desireth Growth every thing aimeth at Perfection when Grace is infused presently there is a Tendency and Motion this way Others may have strength of Confidence though a weak Foundation whereon to build it therefore their Hope comes to nothing but Shame and the greater Confusion Iob 8.14 the Hope of the Hypocrite is compared to a Spider's Web O what a curious Web doth she spin out of her own Bowels but assoon as the Besom comes down goes the Spider and the Web too both are swept away and trodden under foot So it is with Hypocrites they spin a fine Web out of their own Bowels conceive rash but strong Hope a Hope of their own forming and making but when Death comes the Man dies and his Hopes die with him So Prov. 11.7 When a wicked Man dies his Expectation shall perish and the Hope of the unjust Man perisheth It is not meant only of his worldly Expectations tho that is true he that aspired to be great and to feather his Nest and excel in the World when he dies all his Plots and Projects die with him but it is meant of his heavenly Hopes when they come to enter upon their everlasting State then they are sensible of their Mistake We are more sensible of what is near at hand than what is at a distance Men grow wise when they come to die Eternity is near at hand and Men begin to awake as out of their Dream and lose all their Confidence and when they thought they were full they find themselves hungry Again the Hope of the Hypocrite is compared to the giving up of the Ghost Iob 11.20 Their Hope shall be as the giving up of the Ghost When the Frame of Nature is dissolved it is done with bitter Gripes and Pain the Soul in a Moment takes an everlasting Farewel of the Body so all the Hopes of the Wicked vanish and are lost in an Instant and they are full of Horrour and sad Despair It is the greatest Evil that can befal you to lose all your Hopes in an Instant Well then this looking for the blessed Hope is not a slender Imagination an unadvised rash Confidence such as is lost whenever we begin to be serious either by the conviction of the Word or the approaches of Death 2. It is not some Glances upon Heaven such as are found in worldly and sensual Persons Sometimes worldly Men have their lucida intervalla their good Moods and now and then have some sober Thoughts of Heaven that rush into their Mind Balaam had his Wishes Numb 23.10 Let me die the Death of the Righteous and let my last End be like his And the Apostle speaks of some that had a Taste Heb. 6.4 snatch now and then some savour of the Sweetness of Heaven and spiritual Comforts A wretched Worldling in whose Fancy the World plays all the day riseth with him goeth to Bed with him yet now and then hath his Wishes and some sudden Raptures of Soul some Flashes and Motions but alas this is not the looking for the blessed Hope for that is a constant viewing of Happiness to come Sudden Motions are not operative they come but now and then and leave no Warmth upon the Soul as Fruit is not ripened that hath but a glance of the Sun and you know a sudden Light rather blinds a Man than shews him his way so these sudden Flashes Enlightnings and heavenly Thoughts vanish and leave a Man never the better 3. It is not a loose Hope a possible Salvation that can have such an Efficacy upon the Soul to urge and incline it to the spiritual Life James 1.8 A double-minded Man is unstable in all his Ways When a Man is double-minded divided and distracted between Hopes and Fears there will be much Irregularity and Unevenness in his Conversation he will be off and on with God As their Hearts are up and down and divided because the Success is doubtful so also is their care of Strictness weakned and broken 1 Cor. 9.26 I therefore so run not as uncertainly so fight I not as one that beateth the Air. He alludes to the Istmich Games In an ordinary Race a Man might run and be out-stripp'd the Event was very uncertain he might miss of the Goal if the other sensibly got ground then he was discouraged and began to slack his pace as out of hope but saith the Apostle I run not as one that is uncertain here we are all sure to obtain tho we cannot keep pace with the foremost And this is that which quickens Industry and stirs up those holy Endeavours The surer your Hope is the greater Strength you find and the greater Power upon your Conversation Thus it is not a blind Hope or some Glances upon Heaven and the blessed Things to come that rush into the Mind of a cursed Worldling nor a loose Hope and bare Conjecture a possible Salvation hath not such Efficacy and Power upon the Soul Secondly Positively what this Expectation is of Blessedness to come It is an earnest and lively Hope a solid Expectation of Blessedness to come and it bewrays it self by three things serious Thoughts earnest Groans and lively Tastes 1. By frequent and serious Thoughts Thoughts are the Spies and Messengers of Hope sent into the promised Land to bring the Soul Tidings of what is to come It is impossible for a Man to hope for any thing but his Mind will run upon it and he will be thinking of it We find it in all earthly Matters that Hope sets the Mind on work and so we preoccupy and forestal the Contentments that we expect we enjoy them before they come by serious Contemplation feasting the Soul with Images and Suppositions of the Happiness we shall have when we come to Fruition Contemplation of Heaven is the Feast of the Soul Hope brings in the Image and Suppositions of what is to come as if it were already present Certainly where-ever the Treasure is the Heart the Thoughts will be there Hope carries the Mind above the Clouds in the midst
think of God and study God but without Weariness Satiety or Distraction Secondly In Blessedness there is a Confluence of all Good To the Happiness of the Creature it is necessary that his Comforts should be full and eternal Psal. 16.11 In thy Presence is Fulness of Ioy and at thy right Hand are Pleasures for evermore 2 Cor. 4.18 The things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal That they may be full for Parts full for the Degrees and the manner of Enjoyment and that they should continue for ever that he may possess this Happiness without fear of losing it let us examine these things 1. He must injoy all Good for the Parts of it the whole Man in all his Relations must be blessed For Man being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a sociable Creature is to be happy not only in his Person but in his Company and Relations so we hope for an Estate when our Persons shall be happy both in Body and Soul conformed to Christ and we shall be blessed in our Company and Relations we are brought into the Presence of God which is Blessedness it self and into the Sight and Fellowship of his blessed Son and into the Company of blessed Angels and Saints First The Happiness of his Person and there both of his Body and his Soul 1 st Of his Body It is good to consider that It is now a Temple of the Holy Ghost and he cannot leave his Mansion and quit his ancient Dwelling-Place and therefore he raiseth it up and formeth it again into a compleat Fashion like to Christ's glorious Body Phil. 3.21 Who shall change our vile Body that it may be like to his glorious Body for Clarity Agility Strength and Incorruption Solomon's Temple was destroyed but the latter Temple was nothing so glorious as the former Men wept when they saw it Ezra 3.12 But many of the Priests and Levites and chief of the Fathers who were ancient Men which had seen the first House when the Foundations of this House was laid before their Eyes wept with a loud Voice But it is not so here what is raised shall be quite another Body For the present there is to be seen a beautiful Fabrick wherein God hath shewed his Workmanship every Member if it were not so common would be a Miracle all is so ordered for the Service and Comeliness of the whole but now it is a vile Body subject to Diseases fed with Meat humbled with Wants many times mangled with Violence dissolved by Death and crumbled to Dust in the Grave like a dry Clod of Earth This is the Body that we carry about with us a Mass of Flesh dressed up to be a Dish for the Worms Men labour with a great deal of doe by embalming it with Spices to keep it from Putrefaction but all will not serve the turn it moulders at last But this vile Body shall rise in another manner like to Christ's glorious Body When the Sun appeareth the Stars vanish their lustre is eclipsed and darkned But the Sun of Righteousness when he appears at the last Day doth not obscure but perfect our Glory But wherein shall our Bodies be like to Christ's glorious Body The Apostle will tell us that in another Place 1 Cor. 15.42 43 44. It is sown in Corruption it is raised in Incorruption it is sown in Dishonour it is raised in Glory it is sown in Weakness it is raised in Power it is sown a natural Body it is raised a spiritual Body Let me single out three Expressions it is raised in Incorruption it is raised in Glory it is raised a spiritual Body 1. It is an incorruptible Body Now it yielded to the Decays of Nature and is exercised with Pains and Aches till at length it droppeth down like ripe Fruit into the Grave but hereafter it shall be clothed with Immortality wholly impassible What a Comfort is this to them that are racked with Stone and Gout humbled with Diseases or withered with Age to think they shall have a Body without Aches and without Decays that shall be always in the Spring of Youth The Trees of Paradise are always green 2. It is a glorious Body Here it is many times deformed at least Beauty like a Flower is lost in Sickness withered with Age defaced by the several Accidents of Life but then we shall be glorious like Christ's Body The naked Body of Man at first was so beautiful that the Beasts of the Field admired it and thereupon did Homage to Adam but we shall not be conformed to the first Adam but the second Adam When Christ was transfigured in the Mount it is said Matth. 17.2 His Face did shine as the Sun and his Raiment was white as the Light There was such strong Emissions of the Beams of Glory that they could not indure the Shining of his Garments but it astonished the Disciples his Garments could not vail nor their Eyes indure those Beams of Glory Paul could not indure that Light that shined on him when Christ appeared to him from Heaven but was utterly confounded and struck blind Acts 9.3 4. And as he journied he came near Damascus and suddenly there shined round about him a Light from Heaven and he fell to the Earth and heard a Voice saying unto him Saul Saul why persecutest thou me By this you may guess a little what the Glory of our Bodies shall be for we shall be like him Moses by conversing with God forty days the Complexion of his Face was altered so that he was forced to put a Vail upon it In this low Estate in which we are we must make use of these hints If we lose a Limb or a Joint he that healed Malchus his Ear will restore it again 3. It is a Spiritual Body either for Agility caught up into the Air to meet the Lord not clogged as now Or rather because more disposed for spiritual Uses for the Enjoyments and Employments of Grace Here it is a natural Body a great Clog to us it is not a dexterous Instrument to the Soul we are not in a Capacity to bear the new Wine of Glory there it is made more capacious as wide Vessels to contain all that God will give out The Disciples fainted at Christ's Transfiguration Mat. 17.6 And when the Disciples heard it they fell on their Faces and were sore afraid We cannot receive such large Diffusions and Overflowings of Glory as we shall then have every strong Affection and raised Thought doth overset us and causeth Extasy and Ravishment eminent Objects overwhelm the Faculty But there it is otherwise God maketh out himself to us in a greater Latitude and we are more able to bear it 2 dly For the Blessedness of the Soul which is the Heaven of Heaven Our Happiness is called the Inheritance of the Saints in Light Col. 1.12 Giving Thanks to the Father who hath made us meet to be Partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in
therefore Men would live in their Posterity and have their Families great But this is a sad Exchange to forfeit Heaven that our Children may enjoy the World as many times it falls out that the Father goes to Hell for getting an Estate and the Son goes to Hell for spending it Tho they have an ample Patrimony yet they know not who shall enjoy it Who knows whether he shall be a wise Man or a Fool Eccles. 2.19 A Man hath no knowledg of future Events nor no power of them So that you see still we have no cause to envy worldly Men even in this Happiness We are better provided for having a Covenant-Interest that countervails all I am thy God and the God of thy Seed Tho we cannot leave them Gold Land and ample Estate yet you leave them a God in Covenant who hath undertaken for you and yours And many times they have Temporal Blessings for their Father's sake the Blessings of Ishmael if not of Isaac Vse 2. Direction that we may not seek Blessedness elsewhere Some seek it in a wrong way Carnal Men think that there is no such Happiness as in letting loose the Reins to carnal Lusts and living as they list This is the basest Bondage that can be 2 Pet. 2.19 While they promise them Liberty they themselves are the Servants of Corruption for of whom a Man is overcome of the same is he brought into bondage The Work is Drudgery and the Reward is Death they are intangled in Snares and held in Chains and is this an happy Life This doth but increase our Misery and make way for more Shame Yet carnal Men are much taken with this kind of Life they wonder how Men can abjure the Pleasure and Contentment which they fancy 1 Pet. 4.4 Wherein they think it strange that you run not with them to the same excess of Riot They think themselves very wise in following the Counsels of their own Hearts and doing as others do that are like themselves You do but make your selves more responsible to God's Justice Worldly Comforts cannot make us happy it appeareth by our many Inventions Eccles. 7.29 God made Man upright but he hath sought out many Inventions Every Sinner hath his wandrings Man being off from God never cometh on again of himself but wandreth infinitely and beats out himself with his own Inventions As a way-faring Man who hath once lost his Directions turneth up and down and knoweth not where to pitch so are all Endeavours fruitless till God direct us We are to follow God's Counsel not the Counsel of the Ungodly Psal. 73.24 Thou shalt guide me with thy Counsel and after receive me to Glory As a Clock runs at random when the Ballance is once out The Lord is willing to direct us Psal. 25.8 Good and upright is the Lord therefore will he teach Sinners in the way He is too wise to be deceived and too good to deceive O Sinners learn the upright Way When we are weary of wandring and willing to be directed such as submit themselves to God shall never want a Guide Creatures cannot make us happy such is the Restlesness of the Soul that we must have shift and change Envying one another sheweth the narrowness of our Comforts Gripes of Conscience spoil all as Belshazzar in his Cups was afrighted with an Hand-writing upon the Wall Says the young Man in the Gospel Mat. 19.16 Good Master what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal Life What lack I yet saith the Moralist In false Worship Men are unsatisfied Micah 6.6 Wherewithal shall I come before the Lord and bow my self before the High God It is not a loose Profession of the Gospel that will make us happy Mat. 11.29 Take my Yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in Heart and ye shall find Rest for your Souls Nothing can make us happy but what is a full Relief from Sin and Misery Here is Rest for our Souls the Foundation is laid in Justification and Sanctification Here is our Reconciliation with God hereafter is our Advancement Vse 3. It is an Invitation to the Practice of Holiness Blessedness is a great Motive David begins the Book of Psalms with it and Christ his Sermons there is enough in it to allay the Sorrows of the present Life and fill up the Desires of the Life to come All would be blessed and happy but we must take the right course say as Christ's Hearers Iohn 6.34 Lord evermore give us this Bread As Balaam Numb 23.10 Let me die the Death of the Righteous and let my last End be like his Be not content as Balaam with a Vision of Iacob's happy Seats Numb 24.5 How goodly are thy Tents O Jacob and thy Tabernacles O Israel As the Noble-man that saw the Plenty of Israel but did not eat thereof 2 Kings 7.20 And so it fell out unto him for the People trod upon him in the Gate and he died The Damned at the last Day are Lookers on but not Partakers of the Blessedness of the Righteous Luke 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 your your selves thrust out Vse 4. Exhortation to those that have an Interest in this blessed Hope Behave your selves as those that are called thereunto think of it often discourse of it often and live sutable to it 1. Often meditate of the Happiness that is laid up for you and warm your selves with the thoughts of it The Mind ruminateth on Happiness Your Minds should be there Col. 3.2 Set your Affections on Things above not on Things on the Earth 2. Confer of it often 1 Thess. 4.18 Comfort one another with these Words against all the Changes and Dangers of this Life Alas how carnal and flat is our Discourse He that is of the Earth is earthy and speaketh of the Earth Joh. 3.31 3. Live more sutable to it 1 Thess. 2.11 12. As you know how we exhorted and comforted and charged you as a Father doth his Children that ye would walk worthy of God who hath called you unto his Kingdom and Glory Make Eternity your Scope 2 Cor. 4.18 Looking not to the Things that are seen but to the Things that are not seen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There should be a greater proportion between your Hopes and your Lives Behave your selves as those that are interested in this blessed Hope be not dejected with every Cross nor overcome with every Bait and Temptation nor live in a base and low manner this is not becoming your Hopes Show your Interest herein by the Heavenliness and Courage of your Spirits SERMON XVI TITUS II. 13 And the glorious Appearing c. IN the Encouragement to the Duty of our Heavenly Calling we have the Substance of our Hopes and the Seasons when we shall come to enjoy them to the full 1 st The Substance of our Hopes Looking
the Sons of God All now is under a Vail your Christ your Life your Glory is hid Our Persons are hid under Obscurity and Abasement Col. 3.3 4. Your Life is hid with Christ in God but when Christ who is our Life shall appear then shall ye also appear with him in Glory Look as Moses told those Rebels when they would level the Officers of the Church Numb 16.5 To Morrow the Lord will shew who are his So when once the Night of Death is past over to Morrow when we awake out of the Dust of the Grave then Christ the natural Son will appear in all his Royalty and Glory as the great God and Saviour of the World and then also the adopted Sons shall be manifested we shall put on our best Robes and be apparell'd with Glory even as Christ is In Winter the Tree appears not what it is the Life and Sap is hid in the Root but when Summer comes all is discovered So now a Christian he is under a Vail but in this great Day all shall be manifested 2. It is a Day of Perfection Every thing tends to its perfect State and so doth Grace We see the little Seed that lies under Ground breaks through the Clods and works its way farther because it is not come to the Flower and Perfection So Grace still tends and longs for Perfection then we shall have perfect Holiness and perfect Freedom Christ to the glorified Saints will be a perfect Saviour Death which is a Fruit of Sin is still continued upon the Body therefore Christ is but a Saviour in part to the Spirits of just Men made perfect but then the Body and Soul shall be united and perfectly glorified that we might praise God in the Heavens Christ's Coming is to make an End of his Redemption of what he hath begun At first he came to redeem our Souls and break the Power of Sin but then he comes to redeem our Bodies from the Hand of the Grave and from the Power of Corruption the one is done by Humiliation and Abasement the other by Power The Scripture speaks as if all our Privileges in Christ were imperfect till that Day Regeneration Adoption Union with Christ they suffer a kind of Imperfection till then Regeneration the Day of Judgment is called by that Name Matth. 19.28 In the Regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit on the Throne of his Glory Then all things are made new Heaven and Earth is new Bodies new Souls new Then Adoption is perfect Rom. 8.23 Waiting for the Adoption to wit the Redemption of our Bodies What is the meaning of the Apostle's Expression As soon as we are planted into Christ are we not the Sons of God Yes now we are Sons but the Heir is handled as a Servant during his Non-age 1 Iohn 3.2 Beloved now we are the Sons of God but it doth not yet appear what we shall be we wait for the Adoption Justification that is perfect then Acts 3.19 Repent therefore and be converted that your Sins may be blotted out when the times of Refreshing shall come from the Presence of the Lord Then our Pardon shall be proclaimed in the Ears of all the World and we shall have Absolution out of Christ's own Mouth then shall we come to understand what it is that the Lord saith I will remember your Sins no more and your Iniquity shall be blotted out Then for Redemption Ephes. 4.30 Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed to the Day of Redemption Luke 21.28 Look up and lift up your Heads for your Redemption draweth nigh O how doth the Captive long for his Liberty so should we long for that Day for it is the Day of our Redemption Now the Body is a Captive and when the Soul is set at Liberty the Body is held under the Chains of Death Ay but then Christ comes to loosen the Bands and Shackles of the Grave and free the Bodies of the Saints Look as the Butler was not afraid when he was sent for by Pharaoh because Ioseph had assured him he should be set at Liberty So Christ comes to set you fully at Liberty not only the Soul but the Body Therefore to think and speak of that Day with Horror doth ill become them that expect such Perfection of Privileges to be acquitted before all the World and to be crowned with Christ's own Hands 3. It is a Day of Congregation or gathering together The Saints are now scattered they live in divers Countries Towns and Houses and cannot have the Comfort of one another's Society But then all shall meet in one Assembly and Congregation It is said Psal. 1.5 The Vngodly shall not stand in Iudgment nor Sinners in the Congregation of the Righteous There will be a time when Christ's Church shall be gathered all together into one Place As the Stars do not shine in a Cluster but are dispersed throughout the Firmament for the Comfort and Light of the World so are the Saints scattered up and down in the World according as they may be useful for God but then when the four Winds shall give up their Dead and the Saints shall be gathered from all the Corners of the World this shall be the great Rendezvouz Look as the Wicked shall be herded together as Straw and Sticks are bound in a Bundle that they may set one another a fire Drunkards with Drunkards Adulterers with Adulterers and Thieves with Thieves Matth. 13.40 41 42. As therefore the Tares are gathered and burnt in the Fire so shall it be in the End of the World The Son of Man shall send forth his Angels and they shall gather out of his Kingdom all things that offend and them which do Iniquity And shall cast them into a Furnace of Fire there shall be Wailing and gnashing of Teeth The Wicked shall be sorted with Men like themselves and so increase one another's Torment so shall all the World of the Godly meet in one Assembly and Congregation and never separate more In this Life we cannot injoy one another's Fellowship for divers Reasons God hath Service for us in divers Countries but such a happy time shall come when we shall all make but one Body therefore the Saints are still groaning and longing for that happy Day we for them and they for us not only the Saints upon Earth that are left to conflict with Sin and Misery but the Saints in Heaven are still groaning as the Souls under the Altar Rev. 6.9 10. How long O Lord Holy and True Look as those in a Ship-wrack that have gotten to the Shore stand longing and looking for their Companions So glorified Saints that have gotten safe to Shore still they are longing and looking when the Body of Christ shall be made perfect and all the Saints shall meet in one solemn Assembly This is the Communion between us and the Saints departed they long for our Company as we do for theirs Here the Tares are
was lost The sinking Disciples cried Lord save us we perish Mat. 8.25 It is long e're God bringeth us to this we never look after Christ till we are ready to perish and be undone Why should we make choice of a Saviour but in case of Danger Faith necessarily implies this a renouncing our selves not in Words but in the Temper and Frame of our Hearts You cannot practise swimming on shore or on the firm Land but then we strive to swim when we are ready to perish in the Flood so when you are utterly lost in your selves then you will look after Christ. 2. Be earnest with God for an Interest in Christ and for the Manifestation of it cry out with David Psal. 35.3 Say to my Soul I am thy Salvation You must chuse Christ as a Saviour Faith is a Consent to take Christ as God offers him you must consent to the Articles of the Covenant of Grace that you will have no other Saviour but Christ Lam. 3.24 The Lord is my Portion saith my Soul And go to God that he would ratify your Choice by his Consent desire God that he would say Amen that Christ might be thy Saviour You had better be a Beast than a Man if you have not an Interest in this Salvation The Death of a Beast is the end of his Wo and Labour but then yours begins The greatest part of Salvation is to be delivered from Evil to come therefore be earnest with God that your Interest in this Salvation might be cleared up SERMON XIX TITUS II. 14 Who gave himself for us c. IN this Paragraph I have observed 1. The Teacher 2. The Lesson 3. The Encouragements to Learning The Teacher is the Grace of God The Lesson is the whole Duty of our Heavenly Calling The Encouragements to Learning are twofold some taken from the Hope of eternal Life and some from the End and Effect of Christ's Death I have finished the former and now come to the latter sort taken from the End and Effect of Christ's Death So that whether we look forward or backward we still meet with Obligations to Obedience Forward there is a glorious and blessed Hope backward there is a great Obligation established upon the Creature The Lord Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all Iniquity Certainly there is a lawful use of Hope that hath a great Influence upon Grace but the great Principle of the Gospel is Gratitude and Thankfulness to Christ therefore let us look upon this second Encouragement We enter upon other Services out of Hopes but we enter upon Christ's Service out of Thankfulness and Gratitude it is an ingenuous Service In this Verse you have 1. Christ's Act He gave himself for us 2. His Aim to redeem us c. And this is express'd partly by the Privative Part to redeem us from all Iniquity and partly by the Positive Part of it and purify unto himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works Here is Redemption and Sanctification I observe it the rather because both parts are suted to the Exhortation There was the Privative Part denying Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts and sutably hereunto we are redeemed from all Iniquity then the Positive Part living soberly righteously godly So Christ did not only die to free us from Hell but to make us holy where we have the inward Constitution to purify unto himself a peculiar People and the outward Conversation or the Sign and Manifestation of it zealous of good Works All these things are Arguments to enforce the Matter in hand There is the Act of Christ Shall Christ die for us and we cherish his Enemy Shall he be our Saviour and we hug and cherish that which is contrary to him Worldly Lusts and Ungodliness in the Heart Then his Aim he died to free us from the Bondage of Sin therefore they that would have their Sins live are said to put their Redeemer to Shame and make his Kindness void Then Christ died to make us a peculiar People and shall we live as the rest of the Multitude do We expect great Benefit from him therefore certainly we must be holy and not pick and chuse how we would have him a Saviour unto us I begin with the first thing Christ's Act He gave himself for us that is to be an Expiatory Sacrifice he gave himself to die for us Iohn 17.19 I sanctify my self for their sakes that is set apart my self as a Sacrifice 1 Tim. 2.6 Who gave himself a Ransom for all The Point is Christ's Willingness to suffer for the fallen and lost Creature I. I shall demonstrate it by some Expressions by which it is discovered II. Give the Grounds why Christ gave himself by such a willing Resignation to be our Propitiatory Sacrifice to be a Ransom to God I. For the Expressions of his Willingness And there I shall begin with his Eternal Longings to be with the Sons of Men before ever there was Hill or Mountain in the World Prov. 8.31 Rejoicing in the habitable Parts of the Earth and my Delights were with the Sons of Men. Mark long before ever the World was Jesus Christ was feasting himself with the thoughts of his own Grace and what he would do for Men. He desired the making the World and fixing the Bounds of our Habitation that he might be with us there was his End Angels were the Workmanship of his Hands as well as Men nay in their Frame and Constitution they were more noble Creatures than Man yet Christ doth not say My Delight was to be with Angels but with the Sons of Men. I was thinking of the Day I should come into the World and die for Men and purchase exceeding Grace for them The next Expression is Psal. 40.7 8. when God's Decree came to be express'd and made known to the Church see what Christ saith Lo I come In the Volume of the Book it is written of me I delight to do thy Will O my God yea thy Law is within my Heart For the understanding of this place you must know the Divine Justice is there introduced as proposing its Demands God in his Justice as it were speaking thus to Christ Son I am weary of Sacrifice and Burnt-Offerings Hitherto I have shewed my self gracious to the World whilst Burnt-Offerings stood now I resolve to shew my self Just as the Apostle explains this Rom. 3.26 To declare I say at this time his Righteousness that he might be just As long as God accepted of Burnt-Offerings he was a God of Patience and Forbearance and not willing to execute his Wrath upon Creatures Burnt-Offerings served the turn But saith God the World shall know though I pardon yet I will be just therefore now you must take a Body Man's Blood is tainted and you must be formed in fashion like one of them and stand in the Sinner's stead I shall expect from you Satisfaction for every Elect Person you must give your Cheeks to the Nippers and your Back to
Giving and the Persons to whom 1. The Giver and that is Jesus Christ who is God over all blessed for ever Usually Men make a Market of their Courtesies they give to them that can give again and make them Recompence but he is that blessed Lord to whom nothing could accrue from us In short the Father gave him and he gave himself There is infinite Love in that God the Father gave him Iohn 3.16 God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son It tells you not how but leaves you to wonder and admire at it I would represent it a little to you and therefore let us measure it by created Affections The Affections of the Virgin Mary to Christ is the fittest Glass I can represent it by From her he took his Substance that had the Interest of an earthly Mother Now how was she troubled What Commotion was in her Bowels The Holy Ghost expresseth it Luke 2.35 Yea a Sword shall pierce thrô thy own Soul also that the Thoughts of many Hearts may be revealed She was like one wounded to the Heart when she saw Christ hung upon the Cross yet he took but his humane Body from her If there was such a Commotion in the Bowels of the Virgin Mary the Mother of the Lord what then was it for God the Father to give up his only Son His Love was Infinite yet he gave up Christ. We read of some Fathers who have much denied themselves Abraham offereth Isaac Ieptha offereth his Daughter Lot would have given his Daughters to save his Guests These are but obscure Shadows of the Father's giving up of Christ in whom he took infinite Complacency and Contentment And then bless God for this willing Condescension of the Lord Christ that his Heart was so taken with the Motion the Father makes to him Son you must be responsible to my Justice and take a Body Christ replied Lo I come And Isa. 53.11 He shall see of the Travel of his Soul and be satisfied To bring Sons to Glory cost the Lord Christ much travel of Soul but he saith all this is well enough if he shall see the Fruit of it it is enough I am satisfied this is enough for all the Temptations in the Wilderness enough for all the Agonies in the Garden enough for all the Sorrows on the Cross if a few Creatures might be saved and brought to God And consider the Father's Giving and the Son 's Giving they are not contrary and do not destroy one another The Father's Love doth not lessen Christ's but commend it that he hath the same good-will to us as the Father had Jesus Christ as Mediator is the Servant of God's Decrees Many times the Servant hath not the same Affection to the Work as the Master hath But it is otherwise here God's Heart and Christ's Heart is set upon the Work God sets him a-part to be a Mediator and Christ sets himself a-part to see what he can do to save Creatures O bless the Lord. Thus for the Giver 2. The Gift He gave himself not an Angel Among all the Treasures of Heaven and Earth there was nothing more excellent and precious than the Lord Christ He doth not give Gold and Silver but himself to die for us 1 Pet. 1.18 19. Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as Silver and Gold c. but with the precious Blood of Christ. And how doth he give himself Certainly his whole Self Body and Soul his Godhead was engaged in this Work tho that could not suffer He shall make his Soul an Offering for Sin Isa. 53.10 Christ's Soul was to stand in our Souls stead His Soul was heavy to the Death as well as his Body abused mangled with Whips and exposed to Sufferings And the Godhead it self assisted all was interested in it So that look as when the Sun shines upon a Tree tho you cut the Tree you do not cut the Sun so the Godhead stood by but suffered nothing Christ suffered not only Death but Desertion The Soul 's forsaking of the Body at Death was nothing so heavy as God's forsaking of the Soul when he cries out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Mat. 27.46 Many forsook him his Disciples left him they all fled but Christ complains not of this but there was the suspension of the wonted Joys of the Godhead and that troubled him This was the Passion of his Passion The Moon loseth no Brightness when it suffereth an Eclipse by the Interposition of the Earth but shines as bright as ever so the Lord Christ lost nothing but only there was an Eclipse of God's Countenance and this was the Terror and Anguish of his Soul 3. Consider the Manner of giving it was free and voluntary without reluctancy which was the great Argument of his Love freely and willingly he gave up himself Gal. 2.20 The Life that I live in the Flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me Faith pitcheth upon this Circumstance Who loved me and gave himself for me to urge us to the spiritual Life 4. Consider for what End it was Ephes. 5.2 He gave himself for us an Offering and a Sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling Savour The Sacrifice that was offered for the whole Congregation was to be killed without the Camp and the Blood to be brought with sweet Perfume to the Mercy-Seat So the Lord Christ comes out of Heaven to be killed on Earth and then is gone to Heaven to represent his Sacrifice to God as a sweet Perfume He gave himself to be a Ransom for us to die a shameful and accursed Death on the Cross he gave himself to be substituted in our room and stead The sadness of every Loss is according to the measure of Enjoyment Life died Righteousness was made Sin O blessed Exchange 5. Consider for whom he doth it The Apostle saith it was for us not for Angels Tho they did far exceed Man in Excellency of Nature yet God would not treat with the lost Angels they were never recovered but he gave himself for us Men. Nay not only for us that were his Creatures but that were his Enemies vile and unworthy Sinners Rom. 5.8 God commendeth his Love towards us in that while we were yet Sinners Christ died for us A Man would even die for a good Man tho there be but a few such Persons in the World but here the Just dies for the Unjust 1 Pet. 3.18 For Christ also hath once suffered for Sins the Iust for the Vnjust that he might bring us to God Now this commends his Love indeed in that it was for us vile Miscreants Dust and Ashes Adam sold us for a thing of nought an Apple and so the Lord might have condemned us cast us off and created another World of nobler Creatures than the present Race of Men or might have redeemed us at a cheaper rate Let all this
We were all forfeited to God but all the Elect have an Interest in the same Redeemer This will somewhat explain the Mystery 2. In that Law there was another Redemption that was to be made to Man and so there was a two-fold Redemption figured in the Legal Dispensation 1. There was a Redemption of the Inheritance or of the Person of the Brother that was waxen poor and so through Poverty had sold himself or sold his Land Levit. 25.25 If thy Brother be waxen poor and hath sold away some of his Possession and if any of his Kin come to redeem it then shall he redeem that which his Brother sold. And ver 47 48. And if a Sojourner or Stranger wax rich by thee and thy Brother that dwelleth by thee wax poor and sell himself unto the Stranger or Sojourner by thee or to the Stock of the Strangers Family After that he is sold he may be redeemed again one of his Brethren may redeem him The Goel or the next of Kin was to redeem both the Land and Person so sold. All this noteth our State by Nature we forfeited our Inheritance and sold our selves to work Iniquity there was a voluntary Forfeiture on our Part and we could not redeem our selves for we were waxen poor And when we had sold our selves all of the Kindred were altogether waxen poor and could not redeem us Psal. 49.7 8. None of them can by any means redeem his Brother nor give to God a Ransom for him For the Redemption of their Soul is precious and it ceaseth for ever Therefore Jesus Christ comes from Heaven and takes Flesh that he might be of our Blood and Kin and so jure Propinguitatis as being next of Blood he had a Right to redeem and help us when we had forfeited our selves and were become Slaves and Vassals of Sin and Satan 2. There was the Redemption of Captives I confess I do not find express mention in the Law of this kind of Redemption though some Types of this Captivity there were and therefore here we must allude to the Customs of all Nations Therefore I shall shew First To whom we were Captives Secondly The manner of redeeming Captives both among the Jews and all Nations First To whom we were Captives to God to Satan to Sin 1. To God We were the Prisoners of his Justice and Wrath and therefore called Prisoners in the Pit in which there is no Water Zech. 9.11 It is a Description of our natural Bondage In our Original State we were God's Creatures but in our degenerate and fallen Estate we are God's Prisoners 2. We were Captives to Satan as God's Executioner given up to his Power that he might blind harden and lead us to all manner of Sin by a just Tradition 2 Tim. 2.26 That they may recover themselves out of the Snare of the Devil who are taken captive by him at his Will Natural Men are at the Will of another as Christ told Peter John 21.18 Another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldst not So Satan leads and carries us up and down but it is there where we would our selves be we consent to this Bondage and are acted by the Spirit of the Devil and are at his beck Nay that is not all but we are also given up Captives to Satan that we might be tormented by him therefore he is said to have the Power of Death Heb. 2.14 The Devil as God's Executioner hath a great Power over carnal Men to stir up Bondage and Fear and Horrors of Wrath and to take them away to Torment though not as he will but as God willeth Satan is our Keeper as God is our Judg and Conscience which was made to be God's Deputy is as it were Satan's Under-keeper stirs up Fear and holds us in Chains of Darkness 3. We are Captives to Sin Every natural Man is a Slave to his own Lusts Tit. 3.3 Serving divers Lusts and Pleasures Man in his natural State is a Slave to his own Affections For the explaining of which let me tell you while Man was in his Original State and Condition his Actions were to be thus governed the Understanding and Conscience were to prescribe to the Will and the Will according to right Reason and Conscience was to stir up the Affections and the Affections according to the Counsel and Command of the Will were to move the Spirits and the Members of the Body This was the Order setled in Man's Nature before the Fall But now by Corruption there is a woful Change and Disorder and the Head is where the Feet should be the bodily Spirits move the Affections the Law in the Members prescribes many times to the Law of the Mind carnal Pleasures move the Affections and the Affections carry away the Will by Violence and the corrupt Bent of the Will blinds the Understanding and so Man is led headlong to his own Destruction and therefore the Apostle saith that carnal Men are sold under Sin Rom. 7.14 I am carnal sold under Sin As Captives in War were sold to be Drudges to those that bought them so Man by Nature is sold to be a Drudg to his own Lusts and to be at the Beck of every carnal and unclean Suggestion Here is the Captivity of Man by Nature there is the Judg and that is God to whose Wrath we are subject there is the Prison that is Hell there is the Keeper of the Prison that 's Satan and there are the Ropes and Chains by which we are bound and they are partly our Sins Prov. 5.22 His own Iniquities shall take the Wicked himself and he shall be holden with the Cords of his Sins And partly the Terrors of Conscience for the Devils are said to be reserved in everlasting Chains under Darkness unto the Iudgment of the great Day Jude 6. which signifies the Horror that is upon the damned Spirits expecting more Judgment from the Wrath of the Lord and at the Judgment of the Great Day The Devils that are most sensible of their Estate as being actually in Torment are said to be held in those Chains of Darkness and we as their Fellow-Prisoners are held in the same Chains though in the time of God's Patience we do not feel it Secondly Let us come to the way of redeeming these Captives Among the Nations there 's a four-fold way of redeeming Captives either gratuitâ manumissione by free Deliverance or else Permutatione by way of Exchange or else violentâ ablatione by way of Force and Arms or else soluto lutro by paying the Price or Ransom The two last are most proper to this Case taking away by Force or paying a Ransom though to me the former also have their Place 1. By free Dismission on God's Part that holdeth in the present Case we are freely dismissed namely as there is nothing done on the Captive's Part to free himself It is said Rom. 3.24 Being justified freely by his Grace through the Redemption that is in
the part of Physician not of a Judg he burneth us cutteth us puts us to pain but not to do us hurt not to satisfy Vengeance but to better our Hearts Hic ure hic seca Domine modo parcas in aeternum Our Afflictions are troublesome to the Flesh as Punishments are we cannot expect full Security or total Exemption from them Again they come not by chance Affliction doth not spring out of the Dust but they come by special Dispensation as Punishments also they do not come by chance Sin is for the most part the occasion of them God chasteneth them because they have sinned as we quench a Brand plucked out of the Burning or he warneth them that they may not sin again The Chastisements of the Godly serve for Examples as well as the Punishments of the Wicked But they are not properly Judicial Acts to satisfy the Law as a Judg taketh no notice of the Repentance of the Delinquent but of his Fault They are Acts of Love and a part of God's Family-Discipline Brambles are not pruned but Vines Heb. 12.6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every Son whom he receiveth Bastards are leftto live more at large Again they are for the exercise of Grace not for the destruction of our Persons A Judg doth not punish Offenders because he loveth them but because the Law requireth it If Corrections were Punishments wicked Men should have the greatest share Heb. 12.10 He chasteneth us for our Profit that we might be Partakers of his Holiness A Judg looketh to the Good of the Common-wealth to keep Authority and the Majesty of Government not the Benefit of the Malefactor 1 Cor. 11.32 When we are judged we are chastened of the Lord that we may not be condemned with the World The Godly are punished here that they may not be condemned hereafter The Scripture every-where maketh it a part of our Blessedness Iames 1.12 Blessed is the Man that endureth Temptation Phil. 1.29 Vnto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They are Dispensations of Love Answ. 2. For Death This was the primary Effect of Sin yet it remaineth Gen. 2.17 In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die But the Curse of the Law is become a Blessing of the Gospel Death is ours 1 Cor. 3.22 Whether Paul or Apollo or Cephas or the World or Life or Death c. all are yours Adam might have lived here happily for ever but Christ hath provided a better place for us there is a deep Gulf which cannot be passed but by Death our present Earthly Nature is not fit for that happy State 1 Cor. 15.50 Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God neither doth Corruption inherit Incorruption If Christ could have contented himself with giving us an Earthly Paradise Death had not been necessary That State in the Garden was an innocent and happy but an Earthly State These Bodies of ours that need Meat and Sleep would have sufficed for the Earthly Garden but we expect a greater Benefit and therefore we must be contented with the Way and Passage Sense and Reason telleth us that these Bodies which we now carry up and down are not fit for that State we must lay what we received from Adam in the Grave that when it is purged and renewed we may be like to Christ. The Grain liveth not except it die the Shed and old House is pulled down that God may raise a more glorious Structure If all Believers should be wrap'd up into Heaven and changed Miracles would be multiplied without need It is no Punishment to lose our Corruption and Mortality 3. The next Proposition is this That the fairest part of this Redemption is hereafter then our Happiness in Christ is perfect Luke 21.28 When these things begin to come to pass then look up and lift up your Heads for your Redemption draweth nigh Ephes. 4.30 Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the Day of Redemption Then we are past Gun-shot and out of Harm's way We are fully redeemed from the Guilt of Sin when there is no Monument of God's Displeasure left We must be like our Head in all Conditions We are not fully freed from the Relicks of Sin till the Resurrection that we may have new Matter to glorify God when we come to Heaven Old Adam is not quite abolished till God be all in all Secondly He hath delivered us from the Power of Sin He paid the Price on the Cross therefore it is said Rom. 6.6 Our Old Man is crucified with him that the Body of Sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve Sin When Christ lay a dying Sin lay a dying and bled with him on the Cross then was Grace purchased and therefore Faith should look upon Sin as dead and actually crucified it is done in the Mystery And then he ascended and poured out the Spirit now to accomplish this Work God is satisfied and Christ's Work lieth now with Satan and our own Hearts 1. For Satan He is dispossessed and cast out at Conversion Luk. 11.21 22. When a strong Man armed keepeth his Palace his Goods are in Safety But when a stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him he taketh from him all his Armour wherein he trusted and divideth his Spoils Then Christ taketh away the Prey The Devil may trouble us but he is but a Tyrant cast out he can no more reign And by preserving Grace he keepeth possession Christ will not lose Ground when once he hath got Footing Rom. 16.20 The God of Peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly As Ioshua called unto his Companions chap. 10.24 Come near put your Feet upon the Necks of these Kings 2. As for our own Hearts He breaketh the Yoke and sets the Will at Liberty and maketh us free for God Rom. 6.17 But God be thanked ye were the Servants of Sin but ye have obeyed from the Heart that form of Doctrine which was delivered to you It was a willing Bondage but now we are made a willing People then our Consent was voluntary now our Resignation is so too There are indeed some Relicks of Corruption and Opposition left there are inward Monuments of the Fall as well as outward as there are some grudgings of a Disease after a Cure but in Heaven all is perfect and even now there is not a willing Subjection but a Resistance made to Sin Vse 1. To exhort us to Thankfulness to our Redeemer Remember your former Bondage it is a woful Captivity to be under Sin Those that are under Sin are under the Curse of the Law and the Tyranny of the Devil we could have no boldness with God as a Father nor look him in the Face the Law is against us God is the Judg Satan the Jaylor our own Consciences an under-Keeper Our Fears of Death
I would Gal. 5.17 Go to Christ for help he was sent for this purpose to redeem you from Iniquity and dissolve the Devil's Work 1 John 3.8 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the Works of the Devil It is his Office to purge the Church to set us at Liberty to destroy Satan's Power to free us from our Passions and Corruptions therefore go complain to him of the strength of your Sins for he will help you Vse 4. Comfort in our Conflicts You are sure of a final Victory before you enter into the Combate e're long we shall be out of the reach of Temptation and the Spirit shall be all in all Vse 5. Examination 1. Art thou sensible of thy natural Bondage so as to grieve under it As the Apostle Rom. 7.23 24. I see another Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind and bringing me into Captivity to the Law of Sin which is in my Members O wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me from the Body of this Death If it be not thus with thee Redemption by Christ will never be precious there is sighing and weariness they lay their sad Estate to Heart as the Church hung their Harps upon the Willows it is the Grief of their Souls that their Lusts held them in Captivity The Children of God complain more of the Relicks of Sin than wicked Men do of the full Power of it 2. Hast thou any Freedom Sense of Bondage is a good Preparative but it is not enough All Christ's Subjects are Kings they rule over their own Lusts though not freed from them altogether they strive against them and keep them under And there is not only a freedom from Ill but a freedom to Good Psal. 110.3 Thy People shall be willing in the Day of thy Power They do not serve God by Constraint but are free to Good and serve God with a great chearfulness as before they served their Lusts. Rom. 7.22 I delight in the Law of God after the inward Man They consult with the Word of God which was before their Bondage and Terror they have an Ability and Strength to do that which is Good there is a new Life in them yet so as they are still excited by the Spirit Vse 6. It informeth us what is true Liberty not to live at large John 8.36 If the Son therefore shall make you free you shall be free indeed Not to have Power and Sovereignty over others not to exercise Command and Authority over others but to subdue our Lusts not to be left to our selves to do what we please that is the greatest Bondage Rom. 6.20 VVhen ye were the Servants of Sin ye were free from Righteousness but to do the Will of God 1 John 3.5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our Sins and in him is no Sin He died to take away Sin and to make us like himself that the World might know that he was a pure and holy Saviour SERMON XXI TITUS II. 14 And purifying unto himself a peculiar People c. IN this latter Branch I observed Christ's Act and then his Aim His Act he gave himself His Aim and Intention And here is the privative part of Deliverance To redeem us from all Iniquity This I have finished I come to the Positive part And purify to himself a peculiar People zealous of good VVorks He never communicates his Blessings where he doth not bestow his Grace He did not only free us from Hell but from Sin It is well for the Godly that Christ came to take away the proud and carnal Heart to take away Corruption and Iniquity which is their greatest Eye-sore But this is not all there is a positive Blessing Christ did not only come to deliver us from Sin but communicate Grace That he might purify to himself a peculiar People Two Points I shall open to you I. That whomsoever Christ maketh his People he first purifieth them or by purifying them maketh them his People II. Those that are purified are reckoned his Treasure or peculiar People Doct. I. That whomsoever Christ maketh his People he first purifieth them or by purifying maketh them his People Here I shall shew you 1 st The Necessity 2 dly The Manner of it First The Necessity of this Purification 1. In regard of God Father Son and Holy Ghost Every Person in the God-head in the dispensation of Grace hath a distinct personal Operation Election is ascribed to the Father Redemption to the Son and effectual Application to the Holy Ghost Now every one of these Operations respects Holiness Election Ephes. 1.4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the Foundation of the World that we might be holy and without blame before him in Love Redemption Ephes. 5.25 26. Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of Water by the Word Sanctification 2 Thess. 2.13 God hath from the beginning chosen you to Salvation through Sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth It is for the Honour of every Person that their Intention may not be frustrate and chiefly upon this ground because by this means they would justify and honour their personal Operation to the World Those that are chosen by the Father must be of a choice Spirit Christ will not be the Head of an ulcerous Body he will not be like Nebuchadnezzar's Image whose Head was of fine Gold his Breast and his Arms of Silver his Belly and his Thighs of Brass his Legs of Iron his Feet part of Iron and part of Clay Dan. 2.32 33. A beautiful Head upon a Negro's Body is monstrous We are Vessels formed and set apart for the Master's use Those that are under his forming come new out of the Forge Unclean Vessels can never be used to any good purpose unless they be washed and sweetned They are to be looked upon as God's Choice Christ's Purchase and the Spirit 's Charge Or if you will have it in other Relations they are God's Children Christ's Members and the Spirit 's Temples God's Children must resemble their Father Christ's Members must be like their Head and the Holy Ghost will not dwell in a defiled Temple 2. With respect to themselves and their relation to one another they must be purified 1 Pet. 1.22 Seeing that ye have purified your selves in obeying the Truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned Love of the Brethren see that ye love one another with a pure Heart fervently The Purification of our own Souls maketh us to love Purity in others for Similitude is the ground of Delight and Complacency No Man can delight in the Purity of others unless he be in some measure purified himself Holy Men are only fit for this Communion and Society others go in the way of Cain Jude v. 11. Who was of that wicked one and slew his Brother And wherefore slew he him because his own
earnestly Micah 7.3 It is the difference between us and civil Men but unregenerate they are like Cypress Trees fair and tall but fruitless of a comely Life but none of these good Works are to be found in them It is the difference between us and Hypocrites A Hypocrite like a Carbuncle seems to be all on a fire but when you touch it it is quite cold so they pretend to Religion talk much but have no true regular Zeal no spiritual Warmth It is notable our Lord himself proves his Divine Original by his Works Iohn 10.38 Tho ye believe not me believe the VVorks that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in him So is this the sensible Evidence you are in Christ and Christ in you Graces are not always evident in feeling but in Fruit the Effects cannot be hid Then they are Signs and Evidences to God himself the Lord will look upon them as Marks and Evidences of his People Look as the destroying Angel was to be guided by a Sign Exod. 12.12 13. by the sprinkling of the Door-posts not that he needed it but because God would have it to be so So the Lord sutes his Dispensations and guides them by a Sign It is true God in his Gifts is arbitrary but in his Judgments he proceeds by Rule according to our Works At the last Day God will judg you not by your Profession but by your Practice what you have done he will not say You have prophesied in my Name you have eaten and drunk in my Presence but you have fed me clothed me visited me That the Faith of the Elect might be found to Praise and Honour he will have Works produced Not that God wants Evidences of our Sincerity but he will have all the World know we have not been unfruitful A Man that expecteth to be posed is preparing to answer and would give somethink to know the Questions aforehand Christ hath told us what are the Questions upon which we shall be examined and taxed at the Day of Judgment he will say Have you fed and clothed my People have you ministred to their Necessities have you relieved them with spiritual Counsel and Admonition have you been good holy and just Therefore let us provide to give an Answer that we might not be ashamed at the last Day Thus this Zeal for good Works hath the place and room of a Witness to God as the Rule and Measure of his Process to our selves as the ground of our Assurance and to the World as the great vindication of the Honour of our Profession 2. It is a Fruit of Christ's Death partly by way of Obligation for certainly God hath not been at all this cost and labour for nothing he did not project the sending of Christ and Jesus Christ did not so give up himself in the Work of Redemption for nothing but to inflame us to a great height of Piety They that live at a low rate of Holiness cross and disgrace the whole Design of the Gospel they are not apprehensive of the Love of God in giving Christ nor the Love of Christ in giving himself Our Redemption was carried on in such a way not only that the Comfort but also the Duty of the Creature might be raised to the highest Partly again as Christ hath purchased the Gift of the Spirit to fit us for good Works yea to make us zealous in them Titus 3.5 6. According to his Mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Iesus Christ our Saviour Now the Spirit dwelleth in our Hearts to set our Graces a working Iohn 4.14 The Water that I shall give him shall be in him a Well of VVater springing up into everlasting Life So Iohn 7.38 39. He that believeth on me as the Scripture saith out of his Belly shall flow Rivers of living VVater This spake he of the Spirit which they that believe on him shall receive The Spirit is not a Fountain sealed up but flowing forth The Spirit of God is a mighty Spirit and comes in upon the Soul not only as a gentle Blast but as a mighty rushing Wind he comes not only in the appearance of a Dove but of cloven Tongues of Fire Acts 2. He comes as a Spirit of Power to quicken and awaken the Soul to great heights and fervours in Obedience Look as Men acted by Satan the unclean Spirit are restless in Evil and carried headlong as the Herd of Swine into the Sea so those that are acted by the Spirit of God are much more carried on with great Earnestness in the Ways of God The Devil hath not such Advantages to work upon his Instruments as the Spirit of God hath upon us The Devil works and operates in all the Children of Disobedience Ephes. 2.3 The Spirit that now worketh in the Children of Disobedience But the Devil cannot work but by Man's Consent neither can he work immediately upon the Soul but only by the Senses and by the Fancy but the Spirit of God can work immediately upon them in whom he acts Therefore being acted by him they must needs be zealous and earnest for the Spirit of God nescit tarda molimina knows no slow Motions The Soul in it self is dead and slothful and apt to yield to Laziness and Delays but when we are acted and quickened by the mighty Spirit then draw us and we will run after thee Cant. 1.4 When the Spirit puts forth its Force upon the Soul such as are drawn by the Holy Ghost they are not in jest as carnal Men are but in earnest they do not dally with Religion but make it their great business to surprize Heaven and carry on constant Communion with God Matth. 11.12 The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth Violence and the Violent take it by force Vse 1. Information 1. That Grace is no Enemy to good Works Libertinism is ancient and natural Christ died to improve Piety not to lessen it but to raise it to the highest to make us zealous of good Works that we might be carried on to Heaven with full Sails Therefore he that grows looser less watchful against Sin less diligent in the exercise of Holiness less frequent in Communion with God less humble and penitent after committing of Sin offers the greatest Abuse to Grace that may be and perverts its natural Use. There is no freezing by the Fire we may freeze indeed by painted Fire that may make us contract Chilliness and Drowsiness but true Grace is a Fire that warms and inflames our Affections Christ came to make us more chearful and lively but not slack careless and cold 2. It informs us what little Reason the World hath to cry out upon Zealots for Christ died to make us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 zealous of good VVorks Men that are only contented with a brain Religion speculative Notions they cannot endure Heats and Fervors they would have
Affection in making the Promise or his Truth in keeping the Promise so that we need this solemn way of Assurance Therefore First I shall speak to this that we distrust his good Affection and will not believe God upon his single Word What should be the Reason that Nature is so abhorrent from this Certainty and Assurance which so much concerneth our own Peace and Comfort Take six Reasons 1. Partly because Guilt is full of Suspicion We hate those whom we have wronged Proprium est humani ingenii odisse quos laeserit First we hurt a Person then we hate him so out of Fear of Revenge we suspect all that he doth all Acts of Kindness all Tenders and Offers of Reconciliation which come from him Let me exemplify it in Men. Thus David speaks of his Enemies Psal. 120.7 I am for Peace but when I speak they are for War David was the wronged Party and Doeg and Saul's Courtiers had slandered him and done him wrong David was willing to forget all this Injury and he comes with an Offer of Peace but all Treaties of Peace are in vain This you will find to be the Fashion of the World when they have wronged a Person never to trust him any more lest they should give him Opportunity of Revenge Thus do we deal with God Conscience knows we have wronged him flighted his Love and put Affronts upon his Grace and therefore though he makes the first Offer we believe it not Revengeful Man cannot think God will be so gracious and merciful therefore we cannot believe those ample Purposes of Reconciliation It breaks the Back of Patience to think of forgiving seven times Must I forgive seven times saith Peter And therefore how can we believe the Lord will pardon so many thousand Affronts we put upon him Day by Day Thus we wrong God and sin away our Faith and therefore are not capable of so rich a Comfort 2. Partly because the way of Salvation is so rare and wonderful that a Man can find no Faith for it The Gospel is a Mystery so called by the Apostle 1 Tim. 3.16 Great is the Mystery of Godliness Nature affords no Help here Theology is natural but not Christology Nature believes there is a God but not that there is a Christ. The Sun and Moon preach up a God their Sound is gone out into all Lands and proclaim every where that there is one Infinite and Eternal Power And Conscience preacheth up a Judg. But all these natural Preachers are dumb and silent concerning Christ not a Word concerning a Saviour and Mediator It could not enter into the Thought of an Angel to pitch upon such a Remedy if God had not revealed it to them by the Church Eph. 3.10 To the Intent that now unto the Principalities and Powers in heavenly Places might be known by the Church the manifold Wisdom of God The Angels did conceive of this great Mystery by observing God's Dispensations to the Church Well then the way of Salvation being so rare and wonderful we should never acquiesce and rest satisfied with bare Declarations but we need God's Oath that the Controversy may be determined When an Angel came to bring Tidings of it to the Virgin Mary though she were a holy Woman and had such an extraordinary way of Assurance yet you find her Unbelief out-starts her Obedience and Submission to the Will of God How shall this be Luke 1.34 The Incarnation of God the Conception of a Virgin the Death of Life it self all these things are Riddles and golden Dreams to Reason and without a higher Assurance than a bare Word we should not be easily satisfied 3. Partly because the Blessings and Privileges we have in Christ are so great and the Persons which enjoy them so unworthy as being nothing and deserving nothing that they exceed all Thought and Belief 1 Cor. 2.9 Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither have entred into the Heart of Man the things that God hath prepared for them that love him Mark all the ways by which we can gain any Knowledg of a thing they come short Sense Fancy Reason Eye Ear Heart of Man cannot conceive and cannot tell what to make of these excellent Privileges we have in Christ they cannot furnish him with fit Notions and Apprehensions of such excellent Glory as is revealed to us in him To illustrate it by the Creatures If a Man had been by when God made the World as the Angels were if he had seen God laying the Foundations of all things he would have wondred what God was about to do for what rare Creature the Lord was about to frame this stupendious and wonderful Fabrick arched with Heaven floor'd with Earth interlac'd with Waters deck'd with Fruits and Plants stored with Creatures and glazed if I may so speak with Stars who would ever have thought that all this Furniture and Provision was for Man a handful of Dust a poor Worm not six Foot long that he might be Lord of all things Vice-king and Deputy under God Now if a Man would wonder at the Honour and Glory God put upon Man at his Creation much more at the Privileges of our Redemption by Christ they are Matters to be wondred at indeed 2 Thess. 1.10 Christ shall be glorified in his Saints and admired in all them that believe This Place chiefly concerns the Angels when God puts such Clarity and Splendour upon the Body that they shall wonder what Christ is about to do with such a contemptible Creature as Man that newly came out of the Grave of Rottenness and Dust. This Text I am upon speaks of a Hope set before us If this were but a little opened as our Ear hath received a little thereof if we should tell you what Preparation Christ hath made to bring the Saints to Glory with what a glorious Train of Angels he will come from Heaven what Mansions he hath prepared for us in his Father's House and all this for those that have nothing and deserve nothing unless it be Extremity of Misery if a Man should tell you Christ would come in such a State and entertain the Saints with such Dearness of Affection and receive Sinners into his Bosom that he would make them his Fellow-Judges liken their Bodies to his own glorious Body for Brightness and Splendor that such Pieces of Worms and Clods of Earth shall be many times brighter than the Sun I tell you this would require a strong Faith to believe it and we had need of all the Averment and Assurance that can be given us under Heaven If an Angel admires at the Saints certainly inferiour Creatures will suspect it Alas what a valuable Price can we bring and pay to God for all this Glory We that judg all things by the Laws of Reason and commutative Justice for we give nothing but upon valuable Consideration what valuable Price can we bring to God What Consideration can we give him for so great a Glory and
my Rest. If What then then count me not a God the Imprecation is suppress'd because the Expression is dreadful it is not mentioned Furious Gallants belch out Curses against themselves whereas usually the Imprecatory Part in Scripture is not express'd but left to be conceived in silence However every Oath ends in an Imprecation and Curse and it is understood if it be not mentioned and express'd in all Oaths And this is that which makes the Oath to be the more binding for in Charity it is not to be supposed that a Man will draw God's Curse upon himself wittingly and willingly Now it is the Name of God which makes all other Oaths to be valid and binding we swear by a higher because our own Credit is lost Now when the Lord swears by Himself shall not he be believed when he could swear by no higher 3. This Advantage Faith hath by God's Oath it is a Pledg of his Love and good Will that he would condescend so far to give us his Oath for our Assurance and Satisfaction Man's Oath is necessary in weighty matters because we are vain and foolish and deceive and are deceived and our Vanity makes our Speech to be less believed but God's Oath is not necessary but only to shew his Love and Condescention he would satisfy us in the highest manner that possibly he could Man takes it ill if he be forced to his Oath O how far then doth the great God stoop to give us this Satisfaction over and above his Word he hath deposited his Oath What could God say more he is willing to do what he can not only for our Safety but for our Assurance Take this Observation the Lord not only hath given us an assuring Oath but an inviting Oath in Ezek. 33.11 As I live saith the Lord I have no Pleasure in the Death of the Wicked but that the Wicked turn from his Way and live And all sheweth his Readiness to do good to his Creatures 4. God's Oath is an Argument that he delighteth in our Comfort and Assurance Some look upon doubting as a kind of Humility but it is quite contrary to the Aim of God's Oath With what care doth he provide not only for our Salvation but Security He would deliver us not only from Hurt but from Fear Certainly a fluctuating Spirit always like the Waves of the Sea tossed to and fro displeaseth the Lord exceedingly His Promise is confirmed by an Oath that the Comfort might be more strong and remain with us both in Life and Death and that he might take away all Doubt and Scruple Certainly it is not a thing acceptable with God always to be uncertain and in terms of Suspense Nothing can be more directly contrary to his purpose than a course of Doubting therefore it is not presumption to rise to Assurance as carnal Men think and godly Men fear 5. Consider the special Nature of God's Oath In every Oath God is invoked as a Witness and as a Judg. As God is called upon as a Witness so there is an Appeal and as he is called upon as a Judg so there is an Execration With Reverence and Wonder think of it In God's Oath there is as it were an Appeal to our Thoughts of him God appeals to the Reverence and Confidence we put in his Holiness Excellency and Power Nay and there is somewhat that answers the Imprecation and Execration and all his Excellency is laid at Pawn and exposed as it were to Forfeiture if he doth not make good his Word To clear it by Instances Sometimes the Lord swears by himself Jer. 51.14 Sometimes by his Holiness Amos 4.2 And in other places by his Excellency Amos 6.8 And by his Life As I live saith the Lord. Now in all these there is something answers the Appeal as if the Lord should say to the Creature What do you think of me Can you think that I will 〈◊〉 you As you esteem of me a Living Holy Excellent Glorious God so surely will I perform all my Promises Then there is something answers to the Execration or Appeal to God as a Judg there is his Honour laid at stake upon such an Issue never count me a Living Glorious Excellent God more God draws an Imprecation let me speak it with Reverence upon himself If I do not accomplish this for you All the Glory of his Godhead is laid at Pawn and Pledg with the Creature APPLICATION Vse 1. Information 1. We see the greatness of the Condescension of God Herein God considereth rather what is fit for our Infirmity than his own glorious Excellencies Such is the Sovereign Majesty of God that it is enough for him to declare his Mind to his Creatures to command what he would have done and to forbid what he dislikes but he addeth a Promise and would indent with us in the solemn way of a Covenant as if we were altogether free before the Contract Now as if his Word were not enough though it be enough he can as well deny his Nature as his Truth he can do all things but he cannot lie he addeth his Oath We take it ill to be forced to our Oath That God should engage himself at all is much for he is Debtor to no Man We account it a wrong to a Friend to require a Bond of him for the assuming of a free Gift God is willing to do any thing not only for our Safety but Assurance that the Comfort might be more strong and remain with us in Life and Death It is not acceptable to God that we should always fluctuate and be upon Terms of Uncertainty therefore he was pleased to yield thus far 2. What Reason we have to bind our selves to God There was no need on God's part why God should bind himself to us but great need on our part why we should bind our selves to God We start aside like a deceitful Bow and therefore we should solemnly bind our selves to God Psal. 119.106 I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy Righteous Iudgments We need the strongest Cords we have sometimes Motions to Good but they die presently and come to nothing Well then out of Necessity as well as out of Gratitude let our Engagement in the Covenant answer to the Lord's Only take heed of resting in it and take heed of breaking it Take heed of resting in it remember Peter's confident Promise would not bear him out a rash and presumptuous Confidence is soon disappointed What Feathers are we for all our Vows and Oaths when the Blast of a Temptation is let loose upon us Take heed of breaking it remember Ananias Acts 5. God hath a double Right an Oath bindeth us more than a bare Promise Better never have sworn than not perform our Vows 3. Now see the great Wrong you do to God in giving so little Credit to his Promises You make God a Liar 1 Iohn 5.10 He that believeth not God hath made him a Liar But Iohn
us the more dreggy Delights oppress Reason wound Conscience and so make way for Sorrow 2. Or else it is called strong Consolation in comparison with it self with respect to less or more imperfect degrees of Comfort There is a Latitude in Comfort some have more and some less some have only weak Glimmerings and Drops others have strong Consolation Ioy unspeakable and full of Glory 1 Pet. 1.8 Now a Christian should aim at the highest Degree the stronger your Consolation the better is Christ pleased with it John 15.11 These things have I spoken unto you that my Ioy may remain in you and that your Ioy might be full This makes the Heart of Christ glad when our Counsels are more able to swallow up our Sorrow and revive the Soul in the midst of Trouble In some this Confidence is accompanied with more sensible Doubts Staggerings and Weaknesses though Comfort gets the upper hand in others it is more strong clear and lively and they act in the Ways of God with greater Encouragement 3. It may likewise be called Strong in regard of its Effects 1. It marreth Carnal Joy it puts the Soul quite out of taste with other things Men used Acorns till they found out the use of Bread We content our selves with Husks till we taste of the fatted Calf in our Father's House The Soul must have some Oblectation Love cannot lie idle we are taken with Garlick and Onions till we taste Manna When once we have tasted of the Love of God other things will not be so sweet Cant. 1.4 We will be glad and rejoice in thee we will remember thy Love more than Wine 2. It is stronger than the Evil which it opposeth it swalloweth up all our Sorrows whatever they be Look as we say of Wine or of any Spirits it is very strong when a few Drops can change a great deal of Water into its own Nature So because it overcometh the greatest Evils Terrors of Conscience worldly Miseries and the greatest Anguish and Distress which may befal us therefore it is called strong Comfort A mighty Joy a sense of God's Love in Christ swalloweth up all our Sorrow whatever The Wrath of God is a dreadful thing we can hardly think of it without amazement The fear of Hell Death and Judgment to come these are wont to raise a great Storm in the Conscience but spiritual Joy can only allay it As a wounded Conscience can say there is no Sorrow like unto my Sorrow so a peaceable Conscience can say there is no Joy like unto my Joy Phil. 4.7 The Peace of God which passeth all Vnderstanding shall keep your Hearts and Minds through Iesus Christ. The strength of this Joy is seen by Experience rather than Expression In outward Troubles they can take pleasure in Infirmities 2 Cor. 12.10 Glory in Tribulation Rom. 5.3 The more the Devil seeks to trouble the Saints they have the more Joy and are more than Conquerors Rom. 8.37 and all by the Power of this Joy as the more we seek to wrest a Staff out of a Man's Hands he holds it the faster Tribulations Anguish Distress Fears Torments Difficulties they are all overpowred by this Joy II. How this strong Consolation ariseth from Assurance and Certainty To establish Joy and Comfort two things are necessary Excellency and Propriety The thing in which I rejoice it must be Good and it must be Mine Sutably here in the Text there is an assurance of excellent Privileges and then there is a Qualification annexed that we may understand our own Interest God by his Oath assures us of excellent Privileges in Christ and that 's a ground of strong Consolation Then he requireth a Duty of us that we fly for refuge to take hold of the Hope set before us 1. For the Excellency of our Privileges You know that which will minister solid Comfort to the Soul it had need be Excellent A small Matter though never so sure will not occasion a strong Consolation the Joy is according to the Object Now whether a Christian look backward or forward there is Matter of Rejoicing to the Heirs of Promise Backward there is the Immutability of his Counsel Forward there is a Hope set before us From one Eternity to another may a Believer walk and still find cause of rejoicing in God If he looks Backward there God reveals to him the unchangeable Purposes of Grace before the World was If he looks Forward there is an eternal Possession of Glory when the World shall be no more It is sweet to know what 's past and what 's to come there 's naturally a Curiosity in us which would be satisfied We know what God was doing before the World was and what he will do when the World shall be no more We may know for our comfort God was treating and dealing with Christ about our Salvation putting it into an unchangeable course and he hath for ever provided for the Comfort and Welfare of our Souls that we may enjoy him love him and delight in him for evermore Man out of a natural Curiosity hath a great delight both in History and Prophecy to read what is past and to fore-know what is to come especially what concerns his own Destiny Now God in condescension tells us under the assurance of an Oath what he has done for us what Thoughts of Love he had towards us from Eternity what he will do and how happy our Estate shall be for ever God doth not only satisfy the Curiosity of our Nature that desireth Knowledg but the bent of it that poiseth us to our own Happiness It is sweet to read our Names written in the Book of God's everlasting Decree Luke 10.20 Rejoice because your Names are written in Heaven That God hath set us down as Heirs of all that Grace and Mercy he hath dispensed in his Covenant It is sweet and pleasant to reflect upon his antient Purposes of Grace and by the Eye of Faith to read our Names written and recorded in the Rolls of Heaven When you hear any Offer in the Gospel to say this was God's Purpose and eternal Counsel to bestow this upon me before all Worlds he thought of me then And then there is an Hope set before us thy Lot is fallen to thee in a fair Ground O what Joy is this to Believers that their Souls are fully provided for for ever and ever and they shall have what infinite Mercy can bestow and what infinite Merit hath purchased 2. Another Cause of strong Comfort is Interest and Propriety Besides the Excellency of the Privilege there must be the Clearness of our Interest The Object of Joy is not only good in common but our Good 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That which is a Man 's own is sweet to him It doth not enrich a Man to hear there are Pearls and Diamonds in the World and Mines of Gold in the Indies unless he had them in his own possession So it doth not fill us with
time come when the Strength of your Comforts will be tried Here you sit a brooding upon Wealth as the Partridg upon rotten Eggs and what then At his latter End he shall be a Fool Jer. 17.11 Why at his latter End Then he shall be so in the Conviction of his own Conscience his own Heart will call him Fool O Fool O mad Man that I was in lavishing out my Time Strength and Care upon that which will yield me no Comfort Mr. Fox tells us of a rich Cardinal when about to die cried out And must I die that am so rich Will not Death be bribed Will Money do nothing now This will be your Case and Condition when you come to die if you get not an Interest in this strong Consolation As that Pagan Emperor warbled out to his Soul O animula blandula vagula quo nunc abibis c. O where is this Soul of mine going You that now shine in Bravery that eat of the fattest and drink of the sweetest when your Day is gone what will become of you you must die and go from all this Nothing then but Peace of Conscience and spiritual Comfort will serve the turn O for one Dram of this Comfort then when Death is nigh and God is angry Men keep a great deal of Bustle now to get Honour and break through all Restraints of Honesty and Conscience to work themselves into worldly Greatness O but when they come to die how will this be upon their Heart What would they give then for Peace of Conscience and this strong Consolation which God vouchsafeth to the Heirs of Promise But then no Price will be given to God That look as a Husband when he surprizeth his Wife in her Adulterous Imbraces He will not spare in the Day of Vengeance he will not regard any Ransom neither will he rest content tho thou givest many Gifts Prov. 6.34 35. So when God hath surprized you in the midst of your Whoredoms when you have diverted your Respects from and been disloyal to him it is the Day of his Vengeance and he will take no Ransom What will a Man give in Exchange for his Soul There will be such a dying-hour which thou must expect it is hard by Christians have you Comforts strong enough to encounter the Terrors and Horrors of Death within a little while you will be put to trial 4. It informs us that Christians put a Disparagement upon their Comforts when they are dejected with every Fear and Trouble This is much beneath God's Oath the Merit of Christ and the Joy of the Holy Ghost and all the Provision the three Persons have made As for Instance 1. When your Comforts are too weak as you fain in every Affliction Prov. 24.10 If thou faint in the day of Adversity thy Strength is small Thou hast small Comfort if it will not bear thee out in outward Trouble God and Christ and the Spirit they are as it were trying their Skill I would speak it with Reverence to raise up a Confidence in Believers that shall be Affliction-proof now if you are presently gone when put to trial you disparage this strong Consolation and frustrate all the Provision they make for you Many a Heathen would do better upon moral Principles and behave themselves with a greater Generosity and Bravery of Spirit You know that Question Iob 15.11 Are the Consolations of God small with thee the meaning is Is all the Provision of Comfort and Grace and Joy in the Spirit too slender to bear you up in this Affliction What do you expect Christians Would you have better Provision than God hath made Dost thou expect greater Promises surer Mercies and a more able Christ to bear up thy Heart Are not all the Consolations of God able to raise you up Thus when you are overcome in every Trial. 2. When you are full of Doubts Bondage and servile Fears you disparage God's Consolation As for Instance when you cannot think of the Judgment without Horror Acts 24.25 As he reasoned of Righteousness Temperance and Iudgment to come Felix trembled or of Death without Bondage Heb. 2.15 Through fear of Death they were all their Life-time subject to Bondage Christians now and then we should be making Experiments and trying the Strength of our Comforts and say thus Can I venture my everlasting Estate upon this Confidence Would I be thus found if Christ were coming to Judgment 1 John 4.17 Herein is Love made perfect that we may have Boldness in the Day of Iudgment Take it for God's Apprehensions of his Love to us or our Apprehensions of our Love to God we should still be providing for that Day and citing our selves before Christ's Tribunal that we might see of what Strength our Consolation is SERMON IV. HEB. VI. 18 We might have a strong Consolation c. Vse 2. TO press you to look after this strong Consolation O! be not contented until you have the Fruit of God's Oath that you may be able to live up to the Provision and Preparation he hath made for your Comfort in the Covenant It is a Condescension that God will give us his Oath and this is the Fruit of it that we might have strong Consolation to see our Names in God's Book and our Heaven in Christ's Possession I shall press you with Arguments both of Duty and Profit First For Arguments of Duty 1. It is for God's Honour that his People should walk comfortably Two things there are which God glories most in the Holiness and the Comfort of his People in the Holiness as he is a God of Grace in their Comfort as he is a God of Consolation It is said in Scripture There is none holy as the Lord. God would have the World know that there is none can sanctify but he alone Moral Principles may change the Life but he only can change the Heart And then it is said there is none like him in Pardon Mich. 7.18 Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth Iniquity God would have the World know that there is no Comfort so strong and sweet as that which he conveyeth In your Lives God will be glorified in Holiness in your Deaths God will be glorified in your Comfort Ier. 6.16 Where is the good Way and walk therein and you shall find Rest for your Souls Is there any such Comfort to be had as my People have as they have found in the way they have beaten the beaten Path of Faith Repentance and Godliness 2. As it is for God's Glory so for our Profit we look upon Comfort with Jealousy knowing we have deserved none we are guilty Creatures therefore are loth to entertain it even upon God's Terms Joy is the strength of the Soul Neh. 8.10 The Ioy of the Lord is your Strength and that in all Duties Satan knoweth that while the Conscience is kept raw the Soul is unfit for Action A Christian never acts so strongly so regularly as when he is filled
with God's Love Again there are some special Duties which cannot be performed without Comfort as rejoicing in God Phil. 4.4 Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say Rejoice You cannot have comfortable Thoughts of God your Meditation of God will not be sweet until you have Apprehensions of his Grace And you cannot long for the Presence of Christ. It is the Spirit in the Bride that saith Come Rev. 22.17 God will not be sweet nor the Day of Judgment looked upon with Hope and Longing And so for Thankfulness for Mercies Thanksgiving is the Vent of Comfort and Joy 3. Tho it costs you Pains it will make amends at length All excellent things are encompassed with Difficulty Comforts would not be rightly prized nor rightly managed if they did not cost us Pains and Diligence The Heir that comes to his Estate without Labour spends it riotously many times whereas those that know the getting of an Estate are careful in spending it so when we come lightly by Comfort we are apt to abuse it It must cost Pains for it is the Nature of Man to slight things that are easily obtained 4. Consider Comforts were to be suspected if they cost you nothing Foolish Presumption is like a Night-dream soon gone like a Mushroom that grows up in a Night or like Ionah's Gourd Behold thou hast not laboured neither madest it to grow saith God Ionah 4.10 So an idle Conceit without Labour that you receive you know not how comes to nothing False Comfort casts a false shadow upon the Soul for a while to shelter it from the Wrath of God but the Worm of Conscience will soon devour it But a settled solid Comfort tho it costs much Pains yet it will stick by you and satisfy you for all the Expence of Labour and Travel of Soul to which it puts you Secondly Take notice of the Benefit that this Comfort will bring you how it will sweeten all things sweeten God Christ Providence Ordinances Mercies Afflictions nay Death it self 1. It will make God sweet to you Psal. 104.34 David saith My Meditation of him shall be sweet O how sweet is this when we can think of God without Horror and Trembling His Mercy will be sweeter to you because it is yours this is your Portion His Justice will not be your Terror but Support your Comforts are bottom'd upon God's Justice as well as his Mercy 1 Iohn 1.9 the Apostle doth not say he is faithful and gracious but faithful and just to forgive us our Sins and cleanse us from all Vnrighteousness You have a hold-fast upon God by the Merit of Christ and so you may expect a Crown from a righteous Judg. Nay his very Wrath will increase your Comfort why because this you have escaped Look as a sense of Danger heightneth the Deliverance so for Reflections upon God's Wrath if it be opened to you in a Sermon or to your own Thoughts how may you rejoice that you are delivered from it No Man can look upon the Sea with more Comfort than he that hath escaped a danger of Shipwrack so will you with Comfort look upon all the Bitterness and Dregs and Sowrness of God's Wrath this you have escaped as the Israelites when they saw the Egyptians dead on the Shore sung a Song of Praise Nay this will make the Magnificence of his creating Power sweet when you walk in the Fields and view the Structure of the Heavens you will say Heaven is my Father's Palace and mine in Christ All things are yours and ye are Christ's and Christ is God's 1 Cor. 3.22 23. 2. This will make Christ sweet when-ever he is represented in the Word and crucified before your Eyes and you can say as Thomas My Lord and my God John 20.28 A possible Salvation is nothing so sweet as that which Assurance gives Conjecture gives but a Taste as those Hypocrites had but a Taste of the good Word of God and the Powers of the World to come Heb. 6.5 but this is nothing to an actual Interest when you can say My God how doth it fill the Soul with Ravishment and Sweetness 3. This will make all his Providences sweet the dreadful Acts of his Justice and terrible things of Righteousness which God discovereth to the Sons of Men. Look as a Son is much delighted in a History wherein are recorded his own Father's valiant Acts so will you take Pleasure in meditating upon the Providences of God they are the mighty Acts of your God and Father 4. This will make Ordinances sweet As Prayer it brings the Soul sweetly into God's Presence It is a far greater Advantage to cry Our Father than to cry Lord Lord. Observe it when you will Duties are a Burden either when we have a false Peace or none When we have a false Peace for then we are loth to disturb our carnal Quiet it breeds a Quarrel between vile Affections and natural Conscience Or when we have no Peace Fears are revived and come upon us anew as Guilt ariseth at the Presence of the Judg or an offended Party O but when we can say God is our reconciled God! what a Comfort is this It is sweet to draw nigh in the assurance of Faith Heb. 10.22 Let us draw nigh in full assurance of Faith This will make the Word sweet the Word relishes not unless we have some Interest in the Comforts of it Things which do not concern us affect us not Tho a Man come with never so much comfortable Promises they taste not sweet until we have a Propriety in them A Taste presupposeth Hope O but how sweet will it be when we shall come to the Word as to the reading of our own Charter as the Indenture which is drawn between God and us by which all Privileges are made over to us and can apply the Promises and say this was God's unchangeable Purpose given me in Christ And this makes the Supper of the Lord sweet for then you can come as one of God's Friends and invited Guests Eat O Friends drink yea drink abundantly O Beloved Cant. 5.1 Others hope well but you are sure of Welcome and Entertainment 5. This makes all particular Providences of God to your selves sweet when they are dipp'd in Love for all things shall work together for good to you Rom. 8.28 Though a single Dispensation may seem to go cross to your Desires and Hopes yet there 's no Curse in it as a crooked Stick in a Faggot makes the whole more compacted Cant. 4.16 Awake O North Wind and come thou South Mark North and South Wind two contrary Blasts from different Corners however it be it doth Good to the Church Whencesoever the Blast comes be it a gentle Breath that comes this way or a cold nipping Wind that comes an other way it makes the Spices to flow out O how sweet are Mercies when they are wrapp'd up in the Bowels of Christ and sent to us as a Token from Heaven and we can see Love
tho the Fruits are seen so Habits of Grace lie out of sight but Operations discover what is in the Soul the Fruits appear Therefore if Christians be lazy and without Fruit they will be without Comfort St. Iames saith chap. 2.23 Faith is made perfect by Works Understand not in a Popish sense as if Works did contribute a Worth and Value to Faith No but as the strength of God's Power is discovered with more advantage by the weakness of Man 2 Cor. 12.10 When I am weak then am I strong So Faith by Works is sensibly discovered with more advantage to the Soul So that if a Man would come to the knowledg of Grace he must be constant in the Operations of Grace SERMON V. HEB. VI. 18 Who have fled for Refuge to lay hold upon the Hope set before us THE Third thing I would take notice of in this Text is the Description of those who may take Comfort in God's Word and Oath Who have fled for Refuge to lay hold upon the Hope set before us The Point is this Doct. III. The true Heirs of Promise with whom God hath pawn'd his Word and Oath to do them good eternally are such as have fled for Refuge to lay hold upon the Hope set before them In the Description there are two Parts flying for Refuge and taking hold of the Hope set before them The one relates to their Justification or their first Acceptation with God in Christ Flying for Refuge The other relates to their Carriage after Justification To take hold of the Hope set before them To open both these 1. For the first Branch Flying for Refuge It is an Allusion to the Cities of Refuge spoken of under the Law God provided six Cities of Refuge for them to fly to that were guilty of casual Homicide that killing a Man by Chance they might avoid the Fury of the Avenger of Blood These Cities of Refuge were a Type of Christ. In the opening of which I shall shew two things First That Christ is a Believer's City of Refuge Secondly That Believers must run in to him First That Christ is a Believer's City of Refuge or the alone Sanctuary for distressed Souls These Cities are spoken of Numb 35.11 12 13 14. Ioshua 20. and Deut. 19. Now the Comparison or Resemblance between Christ and these Cities is very obvious Look as God appointed Cities of Refuge to fly to so Christ is of God's appointing to be a Sanctuary for distressed Souls These Cities were built upon Hills and Mountains that they which fled to them might ever keep them in Sight so Jesus Christ is set forth Rom. 3.25 Whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation for our Sins And the Apostles which did hold forth Christ are compared to a City upon a Hill Mat. 5.14 Christ is lifted up in the Preaching of the Gospel to be seen of all There was a Caus-way with Stones set up to guide them a direct Path that the Man-slayer might fly thither Deut. 19.3 Thou shalt prepare thee a way and divide the Coasts of thy Land into three Parts that the Slayer may flee thither The Cities were so established that they might have a short and direct way to them and that their Escape might be more easy So the way to Christ is clear and open that we may not miss of him who is alone the Support of our Souls and God hath appointed some that were as Stones to signify to us that this is the way Zech. 9.12 Turn ye to the strong Holds ye Prisoners of Hope By the Ministry of Man he holloweth as it were after us Isa. 30.21 Thine Ears shall hear a Word behind thee saying This is the way walk ye in it when ye turn to the right Hand and when ye turn to the left Again they were ordered so that in half a Day one might recover one or other of them from any Part of the Land or Corner of the Land so God is made near to us in Jesus Christ Rom. 10.6 7 8. Say not in thine Heart who shall ascend into Heaven that is to bring Christ down from above Or who shall descend into the deep that is to bring up Christ again from the dead But what saith it The Word is nigh thee even in thy Mouth and in thy Heart that is the Word of Faith which we preach Our Refuge doth not stand at a Distance the Gospel hath brought him near to us in the Gospel God doth so plainly and fully show the way of Salvation that we need not seek further Christ is at hand to do us good Once more these Cities of Refuge were all Cities belonging to the Levites partly that the Tribe of Levi might be the more esteemed and loved of all Israel but chiefly that they might not be lurking Holes of wicked and flagicious Persons but a School as well as a Sanctuary where Persons that lived there in Exile might be instructed in the Law of God So whoever comes to Christ for Refuge must come also for Instruction to be taught and instructed in all the ways of God Micah 4.2 Come and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord and to the House of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his Ways Otheâ— things are spoken of these Cities of Refuge but I now come to the Persons that had slain a Man by chance and were not guilty of Malice prepense they fled thither as for Life for fear of the Avenger of Blood So do we even fly from Wrath to come Matth. 3.7 as if the Wrath of God were at our Heels And whoever ran to the City of Refuge was to be received the Gates were always open for Jew or Foreigner the Sojourner was capable of the Privilege as well as the Natives Numb 35.15 These six Cities shall be a Refuge both for the Children of Israel and for the Stranger and for the Sojourner among them that every one that killeth any Person unawares may flee thither So Iohn 6.37 He that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out The Arms of the Lord's Mercy stands open to receive us And when they were once received they were safe and might enjoy their Privilege without Molestation unless they went out of the Limits and Bounds of the City then it was Death Numb 35.26 27. But if the Slayer shall at any time come without the Border of the City of his Refuge whither he was fled and the Revenger of Blood find him without the Borders of the City of his Refuge and the Revenger of Blood kill the Slayer he shall not be guilty of Blood So when Wrath makes Inquisition for Sinners they are never safe but so long as they are found in Christ Phil. 3.9 Christ must not be made use of only at first but for ever And here they were to remain until the Death of the High-Priest Iosh. 20.6 who was herein a Type of our Great High Priest the Lord Jesus Christ who by his
God will not linger but fly Delays are a Sign of Unwillingness To say Non vacat I am not at leisure rightly interpreted is Non placet it doth not please me When Men are not at leisure for the things of their Peace it is a Sign they have no Mind to go to Christ and are not earnest in this matter Excuses are but a real Denial as they that have no Mind to pay their Debts they put off their Creditors and troublesome Suitors until another time only to be rid of them When Men have a true sense of their Case they can trifle no longer In a matter of Life and Death Delays are dangerous God is for present Obedience Heb. 3.7 To day if ye will hear his Voice And so a Soul that is affected with its Condition cannot dally with God any longer Gal. 1.16 Immediately I consulted not with Flesh and Blood When Christ called Andrew and Peter they straitway left their Nets and followed him Mat. 4.20 And Zacheus made haste and came down and received him joyfully Luke 19.6 When Men have but a slight Conviction they think of a more convenient Season when such a Business or such a Temptation is over but alas modò modò non habet modum a Sinner's Morrow will never come 2. Running to the City of Refuge implieth avoiding all By-ways A Soul that is rightly affected cannot be satisfied with any other thing Another place would not secure the Man nothing but the City of Refuge Worldly things to a wounded Conscience are as unsavoury as the White of an Egg. Surely the Wound is not deep enough when it can be healed with other Plaisters and that Thirst is not urgent which we can quench at the next Ditch I mean when the Comforts of the Creature can satisfy the Soul our Thirst was not very deep Many have a Trouble upon them but they quench it in Mirth and carnal Company and by little and little wear out all Feelings of Conscience A Man that ran to a City of Refuge would not turn aside but went a strait way thither another Town could not secure him So all things else are but Dung and Dross in comparison of being found in Christ Phil. 3.8 9. There are two things which are apt to keep us from Christ when we begin to be touched with any sight of Sin or God's Wrath pursuing us either the Delights of the World or some formal Duties When a Man begins to be in want with the Prodigal he first feeds upon Husks with the Swine takes up with Worldly Delights which serve to benum and stupify the Conscience Or if that will not do then some outward formal Duty That Trouble never went very deep that can be cured with any thing on this side Christ. 3. This Running implies an unwearied Diligence The Man was running still till he was gotten into the City of Refuge for it was for his Life so we are unwearied until we meet with Christ Cant. 3.2 The Spouse sought her Beloved throughout the whole City from one Ordinance to another Where is Christ They run here and there to the Word and to Prayer to see if God will let in any glimpse of Love They do not presently give out tho they find not what they look for but are born up by Encouragements of the Word Many that have Trouble upon them are anxious and make a kind of Essay whether God will give them Christ or no and if not presently answered throw up all But they which run to Christ in good earnest wrestle with many a Discouragement and Delay it is for the lost Sheep of the House of Israel it is Childrens Bread and not to be given to Dogs but they are resolved to hold fast and take no Denial 4. When they are got into their City of Refuge they stay there having once taken hold of Christ they will not quit their hold-fast for all the World Many times the Children of God have that which Divines call a Negative Adherence that is they do not stick to other things tho they dare not apply Christ to their Souls tho they have but a Twilight and make but a blind Adventure they dare not say Christ is theirs yet they will not let go that kind of loose Hope for all the World Much more when it comes to some Positive Adherence tho not a full Assurance that is when they are resolved to cast their Souls on Christ to see what God will do with them as Ioab when he took hold of the Horns of the Altar he said If I die I 'll die here 1 Kings 2.30 So whatever Discouragements they meet with their Hearts hold Christ fast and will not let him go II. For the second Branch To lay hold upon the Hope that is set before us and you must repeat the word flying or running again Here is another Metaphor implied the Apostle having spoken of flying alludeth not only to the City of Refuge but to that speed and haste Men make in a Race to take hold of the Prize for he speaks of laying hold of a Hope set before them the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies to seize upon it and ver 20. of a Fore-runner that is entred before us 1 st What is this Hope Hope is put for the thing hoped for Heaven with all the Glory thereof for it is a Hope that lies within the Vail ver 19. or a Hope laid up for us in Heaven Col. 1.5 Mark the double end of him that cometh unto Christ Refuge and Salvation for in Christ there is not only Deliverance from pursuing Wrath but Eternal Life to be found First we fly from deserved Wrath then we take hold of undeserved Glory This is more easy of the two Rom. 5.10 11. For if when we were Enemies we were reconciled to God by the Death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his Life And not only so but we also joy in God through our Lord Iesus Christ by whom we have now received the Atonement The greatest Brunt is at first because of the great fear upon us to fly from Wrath then we encourage our selves to take hold of Eternal Life In the temporal Refuges they had Security but not Possessions there was no Heritage there but here we are not only secured against the Avenger of Blood but we are called to great and glorious Hopes Our Privileges in Christ are not only privative but positive Cant. 2.3 I sat down under his shadow with great delight and his Fruit was sweet to my Taste Christ is not only a shady Tree to afford a cool and wholsome Shade to shelter us from the Scorchings of the Sun but a fruitful Tree we are not only sheltred from Wrath but called to eat of the Apples of Paradise In the Covenant of Grace God doth not only enter into a League with us that he will not hurt us but he openeth all his Treasure to us So Psal. 84.11
The Lord God is a Sun and a Shield We are not only pardoned but restored to Favours and Friendship It is much to us to be delivered from the Terrors of Hell but more to be made Heirs of Eternal Life The Prodigal only looked for a Pardon Luke 15. 19. Make me as one of thy hired Servants and the Father bringeth forth the Robe the Ring and the fatted Calf O that we that have deserved to be in the bottom of Hell should find a place in the Heart and Bosom of God! Let us enlarge our Expectations according to the Extent of Christ's Mercy Here is Pardon and Glory Heaven is more credible than Pardon Rom. 5.10 Much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his Life It is harder to get a guilty Sinner pardoned than a pardoned Sinner glorified And let us answer the Divine Mercy to be not only negative but positive in our Obedience Many please themselves in an Abstinence from gross Sins but do not care to maintain Communion with God Psal. 1.1 2. Blessed is the Man that walketh not in the Counsel of the ungodly nor sitteth in the Seat of the scornful But his Delight is in the Law of the Lord and in his Law doth he meditate Day and Night They are not Scorners wicked Enemies and Drunkards but there is no Savour of Religion upon their Hearts Do they delight in the Law of the Lord Do they meditate on it and make it their Study To leave Sin is but the first degree there must be something more 2 dly Why is this Hope said to be set before us I answer 1. To note the Divine Institution of this Reward it is not devised by our selves but appointed by God The Hypocrite's Hope is compared to the Spider's Web Iob 8.14 which is a poor slender thing woven out of her own Bowels and it is gone by the first turn of a Besom so is the Hypocrite's Hope a Fancy a slender Imagination or a rash and unadvised Confidence which comes to nothing 2. It is proposed and set before us for our Encouragement As it is said of Christ Heb. 12.2 For the Ioy that was set before him he endured the Cross and despised the Shame that is for the Joy that was propounded to him Well then it is a real Hope and a Hope offered to us and laid before us 3. What is it to run to take hold of the Hope set before us Sometimes it implieth a challenging it as ours as 1 Tim. 6.19 That they may lay hold on Eternal Life Here it signifies holding fast never to let this Hope go It implieth Diligence of Pursuit Perseverance to the end and all this upon Christian Encouragement 1. Diligence in Pursuit of Eternal Life in the Heirs of Promise It is express'd by working out our Salvation making it our business Phil. 2.12 Work out your Salvation with Fear and Trembling Most Men make a Jest of it or a thing of course but when it must be made the main Work the great Pursuit and thing in Chase as the obtaining the Prize in a Race and not only a Business but that which is first and chief Mat. 6.33 Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof And a Business that must be earnestly prosecuted and well followed and that notwithstanding Discouragements Mat. 11.12 The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and the Violent take it by Force When Men press through and will not be kept out there must be earnestness in the Matter and this not only for a fit and for a little while until they have made some progress but there must be a getting ground daily I press toward the Mark for the Prize of the high Calling of God in Christ Iesus Phil. 3.14 getting nearer and nearer making for Heaven apace to be established in the Hopes of eternal Life When we will not be put off with any thing else but have Heaven or nothing this is to seek Heaven in good earnest 2. This flying to take hold of the Hope set before us importeth Perseverance in well-doing notwithstanding the Difficulties in the way to Heaven The Israelites way to Canaan lay through a howling Wilderness So we have many Inconveniences and Discouragements in our way to Heaven but we are born up with this Hope that the Promise will make amends for all and so we go on in our course till we come to our Journey 's end And the Apostle speaking how Christ as Judg of the World will distribute eternal Rewards describeth those that shall inherit eternal Life Rom. 2.7 Those that by patient continuance in well-doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality It is not a Description of our first Address to Christ and taking comfort in his Merit no that consists in a broken-hearted acknowledgment of our Sins and a desire to be found in Christ depending upon his Merits and Righteousness to free us from the Wrath of God But the Apostle is not describing our coming to Christ but our coming to Heaven and the manner how Justified Persons look for their eternal Reward by patient continuance in well-doing they seek for Glory Honour and Immortality Though we are justified and have the Right of Sons yet we shall not have the Possession of the Inheritance until we are exercised in well-doing therefore we must wait God's leisure and persevere in Obedience And 3. All this upon Christian Encouragements for the Hope that is before them A Man may know much of his Spirit by what bears him up and what is the Comfort and Solace of his Soul Titus 2.13 Looking for the blessed Hope When a Man is born up by invisible Comforts and upon the Hopes of an invisible Inheritance kept for him in Heaven A wicked Man's Hope lies within the Compass of the World therefore it may perish and die before he dies Prov. 11.7 When the wicked Man dies his Expectation shall perish and the Hope of unjust Men perisheth or at least it ends at Death Prov. 14.32 The Wicked is driven away in his Wickedness He would fain stay longer in the World but he is arrested by Death in the Name of the great God of Heaven and driven into the other World there to be responsible to God but the Righteous hath hope in his Death then his Hope beginneth APPLICATION Vse 1. Comfort to those that can apply it even to those who are thus qualified that are driven and drawn to Christ and then go on chearfully with the Work of Obedience waiting for their Inheritance in Heaven Now that you may take in this Comfort examine your selves 1. Have you ever felt any Law work Were you ever driven to Christ Were you ever startled and rowzed out of your Sins and made sensible of the Displeasure of God and forced to sit alone and complain over a naughty Heart Have you Paul's Experience Rom. 7.24 O wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me from the Body of this Death Have you been awakened Ephes.
expectation of Blessedness to come Sure those think themselves wiser than God that deny us the use of the Spirit 's Motives why else doth God set these things before us It requireth some Faith to aim at things not seen The World is drowned in Sense and present Satisfaction it is a great help to us to look upward Christ made use of it Heb. 12.2 For the Ioy that was set before him he endured the Cross and despised the Shame As Man he was supported with humane Encouragements Our Flesh is weak and our Task is difficult and therefore we need all Helps But yet we are not so to covet the Reward as to fever it from Duty and neglect our Work SERMONS UPON St. IOHN XIV 1 SERMON I. JOHN XIV 1 Let not your Heart be troubled ye believe in God believe also in me THE Disciples had heard our Lord Jesus discoursing of his Death and Departure and the great Trials which they were to undergo and that one Disciple should betray him another eminent among them deny him and all take offence and leave him therefore Fear and Trouble seized upon them Our Lord perceiving this Distemper growing upon them seeketh to relieve and ease them He had Sorrow and Agonies of his own to think upon but he is so taken up with comforting his Disciples that he seemeth to forget himself and his own approaching Death and wholly applieth himself to them Let not your Heart be troubled c. In these Words we have 1. An Evil dissuaded Let not your Heart be troubled 2. A Cure prescribed and that is the Exercise of Faith set forth by its double Object God and Christ Ye believe in God believe also in me In God as the supream Fountain of all Blessing in Christ as Mediator or the only Way to come to God In God as the Creator and Preserver of all things in Christ as the Redeemer to whom the Care and Conservation of the Church belongeth They did believe in God they were trained up in that as Jews but they had not hitherto so clear so distinct so strong a Faith in Christ as they should have their Faith was but dark and weak as to the Dignity of his Person Therefore he presseth them to believe not only in God as Iews but in himself as Christians that was the Point the Faith of which would be now assaulted by his ignominious Death and Sufferings There are two Points First That Christians should carefully guard themselves against Heart-trouble Secondly The proper Cure of Heart-trouble is Faith Doct. 1. That Christians should carefully guard themselves against Heart-trouble 1. What is this Trouble of Heart that is here spoken of There is a twofold Evil Natural Evil which is Misery and Moral Evil and that is Sin The one we act of our own accord the other we suffer against our Wills The one ariseth from something within the other from something without This Text speaketh not of Troubles for Sin but of Troubles in the Flesh which being many and grievous to be born it cannot be supposed but that the Heart will be touched with them 2 Cor. 4.8 We are troubled on every side Yet let not your Heart be troubled A â—ense of them 〈◊〉 not only laâ—ful but necessary The two Extreams must be both aâ—â—â—ded Slighting and Faiâ—ting Heb. 12.5 My Son despiâ—e not thâ—u the chasteâ—â—ng of the Lord nor faint â—hen thou art rebuked of â—im Without 〈◊〉 sense of them they cannot be improved neither do we shew that Reverence that is due to our Father's Anger as not to be afflicted and humbled under his mighty Hand Numb 12.14 If her Father had spiâ— in her Face should she not be ashamed seven days Some kind of Spirits are stupid and sensless neither affected with Sin nor Misery Not with Sin tho they provoâ—e God to his very Face with their continual brutish Practices yet they never lay their Condition to heart Conscience is feared or at least benummed they are past feeling Eph. 4.19 Shall we say to these Let not your Hearts be troubled No these usurp a Peace and Exemption from Trouble as if Joy and Comfort were their Portion The only way for such is to be troubled that their Trouble may prepare them for Comfort Christ came to save Sinners but they are penitent and broken-hearted Sinners that are weary and heavy-laden under the Burden of Sin Mat. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy-laden and I will give you Rest. Not the Heart that is whole but the Heart that is wounded These he calleth and calleth to Repentance Mat. 9.13 I came not to call the Righteous but Sinners to Repentance Not with Misery neither with their Fathers Anger nor their Brethrens Misery Jer. 5.3 O Lord are not thine Eyes upon the Truth Thou hast stricken them but they have not grieved thou hast consumed them but they have refused to receive Correction they have made their Faces harder than a Rock they have refused to return Amos 6.3 Ye that put far away the evil Day and cause the Seat of Violence to come near Fall out what will they set their Hearts for Ease and Pleasure and carnal Delights and are given altogether to Mirth and â—ollity Riot and Revelling and all manner of Vanity Should we say to these Let not your Hearts be troubled and lull them more asleep in carnal Security by tincturing their Sensuality with Religion and adding a Dram of spiritual Comfort to make their carnal Potion more effectual No Christ speaketh not to such kind of Persons as mind neither his Presence nor Absence and regard not whether he do Good or Evil. No to such we must rather say Be afflicted and weep and mourn let your Laughter be turned to Mourning and your Ioy to Heaviness James 4.9 We call not upon them to rejoice but to howl for the Misery that is coming upon them A Sense there must be Q. What is then dissuaded Answ. A perplexing oppressing Trouble about sensible and worldly things Here I shall shew you First The Causes of this Trouble Secondly The Nature of it First The Causes of this Trouble which are 1. Carnal Self-love which is all for bodily Ease and Welfare or the Pleasures and Honours or Profits of the World They that are under the power of it seek great things here and the disappointment of their carnal Expectations breedeth Trouble Solomon telleth us what was the result of his accurate and deep search into all worldly and humane Affairs Eccles. 1.14 I have seen all the Works that are done under the Sun and behold all is Vanity and vexation of Spirit He found all worldly things not only vain and ineffectual to confer Happiness but which is worse apt to bring much Trouble and Affliction upon the Hearts of those who are too earnestly conversant about them Therefore the best way to be free from Trouble is to look for no great Matters here in the World 2. The Life of Sense which
Hopes we lie open to a Delusion and a Disappointment If we are kept alive if we stand in the Judgment whether we sleep or wake Day and Night here is our Comfort other things must be left to God's Will Vse Direction what to do in a time of Troubles and Dangers 1. Hope of exemption from the Trial is not that which Christ prescribeth but minding of higher things We are poor Creatures tainted with carnal Self-love and governed by Fancy and Appetite and place all our Hopes and Happiness in having our Supplies and Supports under the view of Sense and in being free from Trials Now Christ referreth not to Sense which would gratify this Humour but to Faith Let not your Heart be troubled ye believe in God believe also in me We love our selves more than God and the Ease of the Body more than the Welfare of our Souls and the World more than Heaven and our temporal Pleasure and Contentment more than our spiritual and eternal Benefit we would have our Consolation here No Christ referreth us to another Cure not to seek the Ease of the Flesh but the sure Repose of the Soul he referreth to the Objects of Faith not the Delights of Sense Spiritual Peace is the best Counter-ballance for worldly Trouble and Bitterness Iohn 16.33 These things have I spoken unto you that in me ye might have Peace In the World ye shall have Tribulation but be of good Comfort I have overcome the World 2. Those higher things which we should most regard are chiefly Reconciliation with God and assured Expectations of the heavenly Rest. These are the two grand Comforts which Christ insists upon in the Sermon which ensueth the Text. If we be reconciled to God and have the Pledg of it the Spirit of God to dwell in us and to sanctify and comfort us when dejected it is enough I will send the Comforter ver 26. And I am going to prepare a Place for you ver 2. These are Christ's two Comforts It doth not become a Christian to be dejected in his Troubles but he must be sure his Comforts come from spiritual Grounds from God's Love shed abroad in the Heart by the holy Ghost Rom. 5.5 and from the hopes of Heaven Luke 12.32 Fear not little Flock it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom These are God's Comforts and these give Joy in Tribulation 3. There is no having these things till we have chosen God for our God and everlasting Portion and do make use of Christ as Mediator I put it into these Notions because the Faith spoken of in the Text is not a speculative Assent but a practical Belief and that lieth in a Choice of God as our everlasting Portion and Happiness and a coming to God by Christ Heb. 7.25 He is able also to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him The first Step which the Soul taketh towards Heaven is the making God our chief Good and last End this goeth before Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ for Faith in Jesus Christ as Mediator is but subordinate hereunto as the Means leading to our chief End These two Acts are the Abridgment of the Gospel Acts 20.21 Testifying both to the Iews and also to the Greeks Repentance towards God and Faith towards our Lord Iesus Christ. Our Act towards God is called Repentance because we have deviated from our Happiness we have forsaken the Fountain of living Waters and till we grow wise and change our Course we shall never return to it Repentance is a considering of our Ways after we had gone wrong and so run our selves into Ruine and Mischief The second Act is Faith because the things we believe are above Nature Jesus Christ's whole Undertaking Birth Death Resurrection Ascension the Promises of the Gospel are above Nature God and our Duty to him are in a great measure evident by natural Light It is supposed in the Text Men will easily believe in God it is required that they believe in Christ let us make use of him as the only Means of our Recovery by his Merit and Efficacy reconciling us to God and changing our Hearts reconciling us to God's Grace and restoring his Image 4. The Advantages we have by God and Christ must be often thought of for a serious Consideration is the great help of Faith Heb. 3.1 Consider the Apostle and high Priest of our Profession Christ Iesus Our Knowledg is not operative but by lively and active Thoughts Heb. 12.2 Looking unto Iesus God worketh by our Thoughts Psal. 144.15 Happy is that People whose God is the Lord. As under the Law they were to consider their Happiness Deut. 4.7 For what Nation is there so great who hath God so nigh unto them as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for So are we to consider of the great Privileges of the Gospel God reconciled and Pardon and Life bestowed on us in and through Christ. SERMONS UPON St. LVKE XII 48 SERMON I. LUKE XII 48 For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required and to whom Men have committed much of them will they ask the more THESE Words are rendred as a reason why those Servants that know their Master's Will are beaten with more Stripes than those that knew it not because they did not improve their Advantages And Christ pleadeth the Equity of it from the Custom of Men expressed in their common Proverbs or Sentences that go from hand to hand among the People A Beneficiary that hath received much from his Benefactor is obliged to a greater Gratitude A Factor that hath his Master's Estate in his hands must make a Return according to the degree of the Trust. These things being evident by the Light of Nature and granted among all Men our Lord accommodateth them to his purpose which is to shew God's Proceedings with Men are according to the degree of their Advantages For unto whomsoever c. In the Words observe four things I. A double conveyance of Benefits to us Whatever a Man receiveth it is either given as a Gift or committed as a Talent For first he saith To whomsoever much is given and presently To whomsoever Men have committed much II. These things are not given to all in the same measure there is a difference in the Distribution some have much others have little III. Whether Men have received much or little it is all in reference to an Account this is signified in the words required asked IV. Answerable to their Mercies shall their Account be Much for much and little for little To whom any thing is given of him something shall be required and asked but to whom much is given and committed of him shall they ask the more not more than is committed but more than is required and asked of another As where the Soil is better and more tilled we look for the better Crop and we expect that he should come sooner that
and maimed with croocked Bodies distorted Limbs that the Shape of our Bodies might discover the Depravation of our Souls If it be not so give God the Praise and pity others We read Iohn 9.1 2 3. As Iesus passed by he saw a Man that was blind from his Birth And his Disciples asked him saying Who did sin this Man or his Parents that he was born blind Iesus answered Neither hath this Man sinned nor his Parents but that the Works of God might be made manifest in him We are not to make a perverse Judgment or censure others but to admire the secret Wisdom of God and bless him if he hath given you a better Constitution and a Body fit for Work and Service 2. Do you differ in the Endowments of the Mind in a quick Wit clear Understanding solid Judgment and the Vivacity of Natural Parts whilst others are more heavy and blockish Who must have the Glory of this God or you Iob 32.8 There is a Spirit in Man and the Inspiration of the Almighty giveth them Vnderstanding You are to help the weaker and glorify God that you have a more acute discerning otherwise your Understanding may undo you and your unsanctified Wit may be your eternal Ruin as many wit themselves into Hell 3. Is it that you flow in Wealth and Honour and have great Power and Interest Will you therefore vaunt your selves unseemly and despise and oppress the poor There are three Proverbs Prov. 14.31 He that oppresseth the Poor reproacheth his Maker Prov. 17.5 Whoso mocketh the Poor reproacheth his Maker And again Prov. 22.2 The Rich and the Poor meet together the Lord is the Maker of them all that is they live one among another and have need of one another Now God that forbiddeth the Poor to envy the Rich doth forbid the Rich to despise the Poor for otherwise they dishonour God This Injury and Contempt is to despise the Wisdom of God who would have some low and poor others dignified with Honour and Estate God hath laid this Burden upon them The Heathens that acknowledged a God and a Providence said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. He that upbraided another with the Defects of Nature did not upbraid the Person so much as Nature it self So we that own a particular Providence may know that to upbraid any Man with his Poverty is to upbraid God who hath laid this Burden upon them We have cause to give Thanks that we are not as they that our Maker hath put a difference when they labour hard for the Supplies of Life they come to us more plentifully and easily 4. But chiefly is this difference to be understood with respect to spiritual things that we have the Means of Grace and are called to the knowledg of the Truth while others are left to their own ways sitting in the shadow of Death Surely it is a great Favour that we are not put to spell God out of the dark Book of the Creatures that we are not put to learn the Majesty of God from those natural Apostles the Sun and the Moon nor his Goodness from Showers of Rain and fruitful Seasons But shall not God have the Thanks and Praise Psal. 147.19 20. He shewed his Word unto Jacob his Statutes and his Iudgments unto Israel He hath not dealt so with any Nation and as for his Iudgments they have not known them Praise ye the Lord. There is a kind of Election and Reprobation within the Sphere of Nature or the Dispensation of external means as they are ordered by God's Providence The Benefit of Scriptures and Ordinances is a great Benefit How much hath God done for us above many others Our Lot might have fallen in Places of the greatest Idolatry and Antichristian Barbarism where we might have sucked in Prejudices against the Gospel with our Milk But to have a standing there where Salvation is usually dispensed is a great Mercy 5. Is it that you have many common Gifts and Graces which are denied to others Some have great Gifts for the good of the Body Mystical Common Christians have common Gifts some have what others have not Heb. 6.4 5 6. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightned and have tasted of the heavenly Gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good Word of God and the Powers of the World to come if they shall fall away to renew them again to Repentance c. compared with ver 9. But Beloved we are perswaded better things of you and things that accompany Salvation tho we thus speak To be nearer the Kingdom of Heaven is an advantage and to have some common work of the Spirit as Compunction After I was instructed I smote upon my Thigh Jer. 31.19 Awakening Grace Ephes. 4.14 Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee Light 2 Tim. 2.16 That they may recover themselves out of the Snare of the Devil who are taken Captive by him at his Will God's Reproof Prov. 1.23 Turn ye at my Reproof behold I will pour out my Spirit upon you Job 36.10 He openeth also their Ears to Discipline and commandeth that they return from Iniquity God sanctifieth Providences to make us serious Psal. 94.12 Blessed is the Man whom thou chastenest and teachest him out of thy Law 6. Is it that you are a Christian not by outward Profession but spiritual Acquaintance with God Gal. 1.15 It pleased God who separated me from my Mother's Womb and called me by his Grace to reveal his Son in me There is a revealing Christ to us and a revealing in us that you are not carnal obstinate unbelieving as others but chosen out of the World John 15.19 and 1 Iohn 5.19 We know that we are of God and the whole World lieth in Wickedness that we are separated from the World and called to the Communion of God in Christ. 7. Is it that you are inabled in this Estate to do any thing that concerneth the Glory of God The Romans were wont to cast Garlands into their Fountains So we must ascribe all to God 1 Cor. 15.10 By the Grace of God I am what I am Luke 19.16 Thy Pound hath gained ten Pounds You must not rob God and put the Crown on your own Head no all must be laid at his Feet Rev. 4.10 The four and twenty Elders fell down before him that sat on the Throne and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever and cast their Crowns before the Throne They have their Crowns from him and hold them of him and their only Design is to improve them for him 8. That among the serious Worshippers of God there is any difference between you and others either in Gifts or Graces or knowledg of his Will Iohn 14.22 Lord how is it that thou wilt manifest thy self to us and not unto the World That you are not lost in the Crowd and Throng That God should call you out to any Eminency
before us Partly as it assureth us of his sympathizing with us in our hard Service he knoweth the weaknesses of Humane Nature and its reluctancies to the Law of God Christ learned Obedience by the things that he suffered Heb. 5.8 and having experienced the hardships of suffering his Heart is intendred towards those that are in the like Case Heb. 2.18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted Partly because of the Perfection of his Obedience to cover our Infirmities God hath had full Obedience from Christ and therefore where a poor Soul doth its utmost it can rely on God for acceptance which is a great encouragement in our work Rom. 5.19 By the Obedience of one shall many be made righteous VSE To perswade us to follow Christ. 1. Our general Profession of being Christians doth oblige us to be like him Head and Members should be all of a piece If we take the Name of Christ upon us we had need express him to the Life 1 Pet. 2.9 Ye are a chosen generation a Royal Priesthood an holy Nation a peculiar People that ye should shew forth the Praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light If a Man should put your Name to the Picture of a Swine you would account it a disgrace Oh what an affront is it to Christ to put his Name to the Picture and Image of the Devil we do but express him in scorn and contempt When we are wrathful unclean covetous unchaste sensual proud unholy and say we are Christians what a dishonour scorn and contempt do we put upon Christ What did the Heathens say heretofore Estimari a cultoribus potest ipse qui colitur You may know what one he is whom they worship by them that worship him We profess to bear the Image of Christ yet are vain turbulent carnal unthankful unholy Oh what is this but to carry the Name of Christ in disgrace up and down the World 2. We shall never be like him in Glory unless we be like him in Grace also Rom. 8.29 For whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate to be conformed to the Image of his Son Here the Foundation is laid If you would appear before God with confidence and not be ashamed at the great day be like to him then you shall have boldness 1 Ioh. 4.17 Herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the Day of Iudgment because as he is so are we in the World Otherwise how can we look him in the face Therefore let us follow him Assequi nunquam possumus sequi tamen nunquam desinamus though we cannot follow him as Asahel did Abner close at the heels yet let us follow him however thô it be but as Peter followed Christ afar off to the High Priest's Hall But wherein should we follow Christ I Answer 1. In his Self-denyal This is the first Lesson in Christianity and one of the hardest Christ came from Heaven to teach us this Lesson and his Birth Life and Death was a continual Lecture of Self-denyal His Birth it was a great step from God's Bosom to the Virgin 's Lap. None can deny themselves as Christ who when he was rich viz. in all the Fulness and Glory of the Godhead yet for our sakes became poor that we through his poverty might be rich 2 Cor. 8.9 None was so rich as Christ and therefore none can deny themselves as Christ did We may talk of Flocks and Herds and Lands and Lordships and the Ornaments of the present Life but he had the possession of a perfect and unbounded Happiness and Glory and yet he was born of a Woman he had a poor Mother in a poor place and was wrapt up in cheap swadling Cloaths He that was God's Fellow the Heir of all things the Lord of Angels was thrust among the Beasts of the Stable Certainly Christ came into the World with such a slender Provision that we might not stand upon Greatness and Bravery His whole Life after he was born was exercised with Labours and Sorrows Rom. 15.3 Even as Christ pleased not himself that is he did not Study the Interest of that Life which he assumed Certainly if any had cause to love Life Christ had his Soul dwelt with God in a Personal Union in such a near Fellowship as we are not capable of and yet he pleased not himself but gave up himself for our sins It is ridiculous to profess him to be our Master and not to follow his Example We have no Reason to stand upon our Points as we do to be delicate and tender of our Interests when Jesus Christ pleased not himself We murmur if we have but a little bad Entertainment in the World for his sake and yet we cannot be worse used than Christ was Mat. 10.24 25. The Disciple is not above his Master nor the Servant above his Lord It is enough for the Disciple that he be as his Master and the Servant as his Lord. We have no Cause to complain if we be reduced to course Apparel when we remember the Swadling cloaths of Christ or to complain of a hard Bed and Prison when Christ was laid in a Manger Christ would teach us hereby that an innocent Poverty is better than all the Pomp of the World and for his Sufferings from the Cratch to the Cross still he was a Pattern of Self-denyal therefore they that indulge themselves in all the delights of the Flesh seem not to believe in Christ who was a Man of Sorrows We are in a base condition but two or three degrees distant from Dust or Nothing yet how are we for pleasing and satisfying our selves even to the dishonour of God and wrong of Conscience 2. In his Humility Christ did not this out of Necessity but Choice Matth. 20.28 The Son of Man came not to be ministred unto but to minister and to give his life a Ransom 〈◊〉 many He came not in the Pomp and Equipage of Princes but in the Form of a Servant How should this check aspiring after and affecting Domination especially in the Church They that love Preheminence and would be great and hig◠〈◊〉 to affect another Jesus They that rend and tear all to pieces eiâ—her 〈…〉 their Greatness or grow greater have not the same Mind that was in Jesus You should be humble and lowly and condescending to the meanest Offices It is worth your Observation that in the Gospel we are so often told that after the Lord Jesus had performed some eminent Miracle he withdrew himself and retired from the Multitude that so he might not be mixed with their Praises Thus when he received that Glorious Testimony from Heaven declaring him to be the Son of God Matth. 3.17 And lo a voice from Heaven saying This is my belovâ—â— Son in whom I am well pleased he retired into the Wilderness So when he had raised his Fame by curing
to worldly Comforts and Love of Ease and Flesh-pleasing and Ingratitude for all the Spiritual Good we have received Shall God lay in such great Comforts and after such great Receivings do you take it ill to be put to a little Expence Iob 15.11 Are the Consolations of God small with thee If you had a due sence of the World to come you would be glad to keep your Conscience thô you lose your Coat Hebr. 10.34 Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods knowing in your selves that ye have in Heaven a better and an enduring substance Rom. 8.18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us Do you look for a Glory to be revealed in you Then look upon all the Sufferings of this Life as a Feather put into the Scales against a Talent We are to have a sense of our Condition yet in regard of the Honour done to us to bear a part of Christ's Cross and in regard of the Comfort and Happiness provided for us we should be chearful that it may not be known to be an unwilling Patience and extorted by force There is one Expression more Luke 9.23 Let him take up his Cross daily How daily There are fair days as well as foul days and the Face of Heaven doth not always look sad and lowring How then are we to take up the Cross daily I Answer 1. It notes a daily expectation of it the first day that we begin to be Christians we must reckon on the Cross. Mat. 16.24 If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me These words are the Christians Indenture and every one must Seal to this before he can call Christ Master As Porters stand in a Street waiting for a Burden for them to carry so must a Christian be ready and prepared to meet with any hardship which God may lay out for him in his Christian Course Or as the Israelites eat the first Passeover with their loins girded their shooes on their feet and their staff in their hand Exod. 12.11 as ready for a Journey so should a Christian be ready to go forth at God's Call Acts 21.13 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am ready not to be bound only but also to dye at Ierusalem for the Name of the Lord Iesus Evils familiarized are less burdensome by renewing our daily Resolution the evil is the less when it cometh 2. The Frequency of our Conflicts as if every day there were some exercise for our Faith and Patience We are not to prescribe to God how long or how much Affliction he shall exercise us with No thô it were all the days of our Lives we must be content it is but a moment to Eternity We must take up our Cross as often as it lyeth in our way and we cannot baulk it without Sin Gen. 47.9 Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been Man is Born to Trouble The World is a Valley of Tears not the Mount of the Lord where is fulness of Joy If there were no Cross we should not be in Tune and Consort with the rest of the World for here all the Creatures are a groaning 3. The Word Daily sheweth That private and personal Calamities are a part of the Cross as well as the Afflictions of the Gospel and for the Profession of the Name of Christ. Afflictions are either for God or from God Sickness and Death of Friends and loss of Estate by an immediate Providence are a part of our Cross There is an enduring Persecution for the Name of Christ and an enduring Affliction at the Will of Christ. Ordinary Crosses do not exclude the Comforts of Christianity these occasion Experience of God and Tryal of Grace and are a part of God's Discipline for the mortifying of Sin and are happy opportunities to discover more of God and of Grace to us Yea there is more Reason for Submission in these because God taketh us into his own hands A Man that stormeth when a Bucket of water is cast upon him is patient when he is wet with the Rain that cometh from Heaven II. The Reasons why those that follow Christ should prepare their Shoulders for the Cross. 1. That we may be conformed to our Head He had a bitter Cup tempered for him by his Father's hand Iohn 18.11 The Cup that my Father hath given me shall I not drink it and we must pledge him Jesus Christ was a Man of Sorows and acquainted with grief Isa. 53.3 And there would be a strange disproportion between Head and Members if we should altogether live in Delicacy Ease and Pleasures The bitter Cup goeth by course and round first to Christ then to his Apostles and it goeth from hand to hand ever since The Apostle speaks of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Col. 1.24 that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ. There is Christ personal and Christ mystical Christ personal as he is compleat in himself so his Sufferings are compleat but the Sufferings of Christ mystical are not perfect until every Member have their own allotted share and portion Indeed our Sufferings are but the drops upon the brim of the Cup he drank up the Dreggs The great Wave of Affliction did first beat upon him and being thereby broken some small sprinklings of it do light upon us we bear the hinder part of the Cross of Christ. It is but Reason that those that will partake with Christ in his Kingdom should be partakers with him in his Sorrows and that the Souldiers should follow the Captain of their Salvation Heb. 2.10 and fare as he fared Iohn 15.20 Remember the word that I said unto you the Servant is not greater than the Lord if they have persecuted me they will also persecute you We cannot in Reason expect better entertainment than he found in the World If you had an high esteem of Christ and a low esteem of your selves you would easily consent to submit to the Will of God herein It is an unseemly daintiness to be nice and tender of carrying the Cross after Jesus Christ as if we were better than he Many Christians will seem to express much Devotion to a Crucifix or those Chips of Wood which Impostors cry up for pieces of the Cross of Christ but here is true respect to the Cross of Christ to be willing for Christ's sake to bear afflictions with patience and humble submission The Apostle counted all things but dross and dung Phil. 3.10 That I may know him and the power of his Resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable to his death There is a great deal of sweetness and spiritual Comfort in suffering after for and with Christ we should count all things dung and dross to gain this Experience This should be comfort enough to a gracious heart that thereby he is made more like his
in God The Soul of Man should be justly poysed and at a Point of Indifferency to worldly things to get or keep to want or have as God will Until our Resolutions be as easily cast the one way as the other we shall never be said to be wholly free from this Sin of trusting in Riches But certainly we are deeply tainted with it when we are so over dejected with worldly Losses 1 Cor. 7.31 They that mourn as if they mourned not And 2 Pet. 1.5 Add to Temperance Patience If there were a Moderation in the use of worldly things it would make way for Patience Gregory saith Iob lost his Estate without grief because he possess'd it without Love But it is a sign we love them too much when we murmur against God and the Heart is so depressed when they are taken away by God's Providence as if all our Happiness were gone certainly Riches are too highly prized and the World too impatiently desired when they are so deeply lamented if when they take wings and are gone they bewail it as if their God were gone Iudges 18.24 Ye have taken away my gods which I made and the Priest and are gone away and what have I more and what is this that ye say unto me What aileth thee Thence ariseth their Trouble Grief and Sorrow of Heart IV. For the Remedies against this Secret and great Mischief of putting our Confidence in Earthly things First By way of Consideration 1. Consider the Uncertainty of Riches should check our trust in them 1 Tim. 6.17 That they trust not in uncertain Riches What depends upon more Uncertainty than our outward Estates and will you trust in them Who would trust another that is sure to fail him at his greatest need Prov. 23.5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not for Riches certainly make themselves wings and fly away as an Eagle towards Heaven A Man is not better and more sufficiently provided for his Dinner because there is a Flock of Wild fowl now pitched upon his Fields they may soon fly away Riches are like winged Creatures compared to Eagles which fly away towards Heaven how are they gone How many ways may the Lord take them away from us There is the Fire the Thief fraudulent Bargains vexatious Law-suits publick Judgments the Displeasure of the Times Many are the wings that Riches have and therefore unless a Man hath a Mind to be deceived why should he trust in them This should be deeply thought of in our greatest Prosperity especially when we have many Instances before our Eyes Alas how many are there that have laid out all their Wit and Labour nay and venture Conscience to get an Estate and all is gone in an instant and they have Heirs that they never thought of and yet the World is as greedy upon these things as ever 2. Consider None ever trusted to the World but they have Cause to complain in the Issue We think Wealth can do great things for us and stand us instead beyond any other thing to make us happy but we shall find it otherwise God is jealous of our Trust and the Creature that is of it self vain is made more vain by our Dependance upon it God will set himself to disappoint a Carnal Trust Prov. 11.28 He that trusteth in his Riches shall fall 3. Consider The more Wealth many times the more Danger therefore shall we trust in this In a Net when great Fishes are taken the lesser make their escape A great Tree by the largeness and thickness of its Boughs provoketh others to Lop it or it falleth by its own weight Nebuchadnezzar led the Princes and Nobles Captive when the poor were left in the Land As many times Thieves and Robbers cut off the Finger for the Ring 's sake when they cannot otherwise pluck it off so is a Man destroyed and made a Prey for his Wealth 's sake 4. Consider the Unprofitableness of Wealth without God it cannot make you Contented and Safe and Happy and Comfortable Luke 12.15 A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth A Man doth not live upon his Wealth not by Bread alone Mat. 4.4 but by the Providence of God I do not only say they cannot make you happy and wise certainly they cannot do that but they cannot make you more healthful chearful and comfortable So that whether you will or no at length you are brought to depend upon God but especially is their unprofitableness seen in the Day of Death and in the Day of Wrath In the Day of Death when a Man must shoot the Gulph of Eternity and launch out into the Deep Ocean of the other World Iob 27.8 What is the hope of the Hypocrite thô he hath gained when God taketh away his Soul When you must dye and nothing shall remain with you but the bitter remembrance of an Estate either ill got or ill spent for it is all one O how bitter and grievous will this be to you to call to Mind the Iniquity of Traffick to remember the cries of the Oppressed Widow or Orphans or neglected Poor or your Pride and Luxury and sowing to the Flesh when God comes to take away the Soul Or else in the Day of Wrath Prov. 11.4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath Of Internal Wrath when a Spark of God's Anger lights upon the Conscience and our Thoughts are awakened against us and fall as a heavy Burden upon us O what will all Riches do To allude to that Prov. 6.35 He will not regard any ransom neither will he rest content thô thou givest many gifts Justice will not be bribed neither will all the Money you have buy you a Pardon And in the Day of External Wrath Zephan 1.18 Neither their Silver nor their Gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath As Absalom's Mule left him hanging by the hair of the Head so will Riches leave and forsake you in all your misery 5. Think seriously of this That God is the Author of all Wealth and the Soveraign Disposer of it and therefore whether we have it or have it not we must trust in God If Wealth fails that we have it not then it is manifest it is not to be trusted in If it should encrease yet it should occasion us to trust in God who gives us what we have by what Means soever it comes to our hands it is his Gift It is the blessing of the Lord that maketh rich Prov. 10.22 If Riches come to you by Inheritance from your Ancestors it was by the Providence of God that you were Born of Rich and Noble Friends and not of Beggars If it come by Gift it is God that made them that gave it you able and willing If it comes by Industry and Skill it is God that gives the Faculty the Use and the Success So that still God is to be trusted in not in the Creature for he hath
Flesh Rom. 9.3 So much of Personal Happiness as resulted to him from Communion with God he could even lay it down at God's feet for their sake These are rare Instances I confess but some portion of this Spirit all should have Charity seeketh not her own 1 Cor. 13.5 Chrysostom saith I cannot believe it is posâ—ible for that man to be Saved who doth not labour to procure and further the Salvation of his Neighbour for whoever would go to Heaven would not go to Heaven alone but laboureth to draw others along with him Vid. Chrysostom de Sacerdot lib. â— It was out of Zeal for the Salvation of others 2. The former Reason was Good and argued a Gracious Disposition in them but this that I shall now give is of a worser alloy and argues weakness And yet I cannot but think that this had an influence upon them viz. The Hopes of an Earthly Kingdom and the great Emoluments and Preferments they expected thence Christ's own Disciples were deeply Levened with a Conceit of an Earthly Kingdom which the Messiah should set up And thô they had left all and followed him in his poor Estate yet they expected Greatness and Honour and the Confluence of all worldly Blessings when the Kingdom of the Messiah should begin and therefore when they heard Christ again and again expressing himself concerning the difficulty of Rich Men's entring into the Kingdom of God They were astonished out of measure as finding all their Carnal Hopes dashed at once I cannot but think this was one Cause of their Astonishment because in all their Converses with Christ they bewrayed a spice of this Humour Two Instances I shall give as a pregnant proof of it One when they were at the Sacrament a little before the Death of Christ There was a strife amongst them which of them should be accounted the greatest Luk. 22.24 They understood that the Kingdom was consign'd to them in that Ordinance and they were framing of Principalities and striving who should have the highest Preferment and Office in this Kingdom Nay you shall see after Christ had suffered such ignominious things at Ierusalem this Conceit abode with them and therefore after his Resurrection they come to him with this Question Acts 1.6 Lord wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel They thought the Messiah would set up a Temporal Kingdom over all Nations and that they should at least be Princes and Lords under him in the Exercise of his Dominion and Soveraignty Iustin Martyr tells us That the Heathens imagined some Insurrection that the Christians would be guilty of against Magistracy because they spoke so much of the Kingdom of Heaven and well might they be excused of their Jealousie and of this Surmize since Christ's own Disciples were so far mistaken in it whom he had so often warned of the Cross and to whom he had expresly said that his Kingdom was not of this world But we see hence that the best are too Carnal and too apt to mind Earthly things and please themselves with the Dreams of an happy Estate in the World The Appetite of Temporal Dominion and Wealth and Honour and Peace is Natural to us and we think God doth us wrong if he doth not make us flourish here All God's Children find something of this Disposition in themselves even whilst they are under the Cross they do too little Comfort themselves with the Meditation of the Glory of the World to come but are always feeding themselves with Desires and Hopes of an Earthly Happiness and of turning the Tide and Current of Affairs that seem to be against them that the World may more smile upon them and befriend them more and when they are frustrated and disappointed of this Hope their Soul saints and they are astonished out of measure O this is a sign that our Conversation is not in Heaven and that we do not seek the things that are above and are not perfectly subdued to the Will of God who many times sees the Cross to be necessary and profitable for us And therefore to please our selves still with Carnal hopes and Dreams of a Commodious and Comfortable Condition in the World is not for a Christian. 3. The sense of this Difficulty might revive the Thoughts of other Difficulties Other things besides Riches might obstruct them and hinder their passage to Heaven and therefore even those that had left all and followed Christ were astonished out of measure when they understood the way to Heaven to be much harder than they formerly conceited Certainly it is good to think of the General Case when one instance is given Is it hard to the Rich and not to the Poor have they no Temptations When we hear strict Doctrine pressed we should not put it off to others but fear for our selves The poor Disciples were astonished out of measure when Christ spake to the Rich How hard it was for them to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven 4. Possibly this Astonishment might arise from Fear of the success of the Gospel wherein they were to be employed as Instruments when they heard that Rich men were not likely to prove Friends but rather Enemies to the Kingdom of God Alas what should they do that had parted with all and were like to be left destitute to the mercy of an unkind World If the great and mighty men of the World who should be their Props and Supports should so hardly be gain'd alas then how should they go abroad and preach with any Efficacy for the saving of Souls Now whether this or that or all caused the wonder I will not now determine all these have an Influence upon it and for these Reasons they were astonished out of measure This is the first Effect their Wonder The Second Effect is a Doubt moved among themselves privately Who then can be Saved This Question may be looked upon either 1. As a Question of anxious Solicitude Alas how is it that any can be Saved Or 2. Of Murmuring and secret Dislike why if it be so who is able to receive this severe Doctrine or to enter upon this strict Course Now which of these shall we take it to be Either for a Question of anxious Solicitude or a Question of Murmuring and secret Repining I answer 1. I suppose this Question expresseth their anxious Solicitude and so for the main it is a good Question When we hear strict Doctrine it is good to be moved with it and fall a questioning Many hear it over and over again yet are slight no Wonder no Astonishment in their Hearts therefore it is good when it is weighed and laid to Heart This Question of the Apostles brings to mind a saying of one when he heard Christ's Sermon in the Mount read to him he cryed out Aut hoc non est Evangelium aut nos non sumus Christiani Either this is not true Gospel or we are not true Christians 2. There might be something of weakness
the midst of Difficulties such a fickle and such a changeable Creature as Man is how can that be 1 Pet. 1. Who are kept by the Power of God through Faith unto Salvation The Power of God is engaged for our Defence So for Temporal Difficulties when we see no means no likelihood to escape yet we are not thoughtful of this matter for our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thy hand O King Dan. 3.17 In Death when we go to the Grave to moulder into dust and rottenness then to look upon the Morsels of Worms as parcels of the Resurrection what shall uphold and support our Hearts in waiting upon God for this Phil. 3.21 Who shall change our vile Body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious Body according to the working whereby he is able to subà ne all things unto himself The Scripture still referrs us to the mighty Power of God whereby he can subdue and cause all to fall under him The Destruction of Antichrist and Enemies of the Church who are supported by great and strongly combined Interests how can that ever be hoped for Rev. 18.8 Her plagues shall come in one day death and mourning and famine and she shall be utterly burnt with fire for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her and that is the greatest Cordial of the Soul The Life of Faith lyes in the Belief of God's Power and All-sufficiency He can raise up the Church from her low Condition and all without any means when all is dry Bones then God can put Life into his People 2. To encourage us in Obedience it is good to believe and improve the Power of God 1. That we may carry it more humbly and more dutifully 1 Pet. 5.6 Humble your selves under the mighty hand of God This is that which begets a deep awe and reverence of his Majesty Shall we not submit to that God that is able to crush us O therefore let us Study to please him in all things When you sin you bid deâ—iance to the Almighty and enter into the Lists with God and provoke him to jealousie 1 Cor. 10.22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousie are we stronger than he Do you know what it is to dash against God and Contest with God He that is Almighty is the most desirable Friend or the most dreadful Adversary and therefore humble your selves and carry it dutifully towards him Every one would be in with the Almighty Be sure to keep in with the Lord Deut. 10.17 For the Lord our God is a God of Gods and Lord of Lords a great God a mighty and a terrible which regardeth not persons nor taketh reward Will you provoke him and dare him to his Face 2. To keep us upright in Obedience without Warping and using any Carnal shifts Gen. 17.1 I am the Almighty God walk before me and be thou perfect God alone is enough to you The Reason why we so often step out of the way is because we do not believe God to be Almighty that he is more able to defend than Man to hurt Even God's own Children may warp for want of a sound belief of this Abraham saved himself by a Lye because he would not trust God with his Preservation Gen. 20.11 Moses was backward to do the Lord's Message Exod. 4.13 as if God could not bear him out before Pharaoh and before the Egyptians There was a Promise Iacob should have the Blessing but Rebecka puts him upon using indirect means to obtain it because she could not trust God's Alâ— sufficiency to bring it about He that will not trust God and rest upon his Power cannot be long faithful to him because they think there is not enough in God they will seek elsewhere All sincerity ariseth from these two things and until you get your Hearts into this Frame you never will be sincere submitting all things to God's Will and resting upon God's Power How desperate soever the Case be this will relieve you and keep you sincere and comfortable the Lord is a powerful God and knows how to provide for his Glory and for your sustentation Now to quicken you thus to believe and improve the Power of God I will offer these Considerations 1. Consider the Amplitude of God's Power which is not to be measured by our scantling and model we can do something but God can do all things we must have Matter prepar'd but God works out of nothing we do things difficultly and must have time but God can do all things in a moment he needs no Instruments or Tools no Pattern or Copy but worketh all things according to the Counsel of his Will We rust with Age and our strength is dryed up but the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save Isa. 59.1 His strength is never wasted or dryed up When any thing is to be done or expected from God is it greater than making the World and God is where he was at first Our knowledge of things is by Effects but God never had an Effect adequate to his Power he hath done great things but he hath Power to do greater Mal. 2.15 And did not he make one yet had he the residue of the Spirit When he Created the World he had the residue of the Spirit he could have made more Worlds All Created Effects are finite and therefore not fully answerable to the force of the Cause Let us be still enlarging in our Thoughts of God's Power This is a Power that needeth not the Concurrence of visible means but can work without them yea opposite Power is no hinderance to God Rubbs are plain Ground to him Isa. 27.4 Who would set the bryars and thorns against me in battle I would go through them I would burn them together What can Bryers and Thorns do against a devouring Flame they are fit Fuel to encrease the Fire but cannot hinder the burning God works through all Opposition Isa. 43.13 I will work and who shall lett it 2. Consider this Power is ready to be employed for our Use so far as it shall make for God's glory and our good God is ours if we be in Covenant with him and if so all that is in God is ours also Quantus quantus est as great as he is God makes over himself in Covenant I am yours therefore Almightiness is yours to be set a work for you And as Aristotle said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All things are common between Friends and Confederates 1 Kings 22.4 Iehoshaphat said unto the King of Israel I am as thou art my People as thy People my Horses as thy Horses Surely being in Covenant with God it is a Relation of Friendship and whatever is God's is ours and that is the reason of this Expression Eph. 6.10 Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might In all our Faintings and Fears we should look upon God's Almighty Power as a
accomplished either for the multitude of Objects or degree of Grace As when Cornelius was gained to the Faith as the First-fruits of the Gentiles Acts 11.18 When they heard these things they held their peace and glorified God saying then hath God also unto the Gentiles granted Repentance unto life And Verse 21. The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord And Verse 23. Barnabas was glad when he had seen the Grace of God and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. 2. When there are special Circumstances as if we have been instrumental to do them good and God hath blessed our Word or Converse or Example 1 Thes. 2.19 20. For what is our Hope or Ioy or Crown of rejoycing are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Iesus Christ at his coming for ye are our glory and joy Or if we have prayed for any thing for others whatever we have prayed for must be thankfully acknowledged when brought to pass 2 Cor. 1.11 You also helping together by prayer for us that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf And 3d. Epist. Ioh. 4. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth 4 Doct. That in Thanksgiving for Spiritual Benefits whether to our Selves or Others the Encrease of Grace must be acknowledged as well as the Beginnings of it The Degree is from God He that beginneth perfecteth Phil. 1.6 He that hath begun a good work will perfect it to the day of Christ. The whole Progress of the Work from the first step to the last is all from God not from the Power of our own Free-will or the Srength of our Resolutions or the Stability of our Gracious Habits For the First That it is not from the Power of our own Free-will is plain from Ioh. 6.44 No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him And then for the Second That it is not from the Strength of our Resolutions Psal. 73.2 As for me my feet were almost gone my steps had well-nigh slipt And for the Third That it is not from the Stability of Gracious Habits see Rev. 3.2 Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain and are ready to die for I have not found thy works perfect before God And 1 Pet. 5.10 The God of all Grace who hath called us unto his Eternal Glory by Iesus Christ after that you have suffered a while make you perfect establish strengthen settle you He that beginneth the Work of Grace in us doth still carry it on to perfection he doth establish what is attained and increase our spiritual strength for all Difficulties and Duties so Luk. 17.5 The Apostles said unto the Lord Increase our Faith VSE Take Notice of God's Favour in the addition of every new degree of Grace because the change is more remarkable we may ascribe our first Conversion to God but we must also our after-growth We are still under the Love and Care of Christ Though we are passed from Death to Life yet not from Earth to Heaven You are in continual need of Christ for Direction Intercession Pardon farther Sanctification Support Comfort and Peace therefore take Notice of every degree if there be greater Fervour if more delightful Exercise if more Ability and Strength to overcome Opposition let God have the Glory of all He many times Chastiseth our Pride and Unthankfulness with Lapses or Decayes if we do not acknowledge him as Peter and David what grievous Lapses had they SERMON II ON 2 THESS I. v. 3. We are bound to thank God always for you Brethren as it is meet because that your Faith groweth exceedingly and the Charity of every one of you all towards each other aboundeth IN these Words we have Observed 1. An Affectionate Form of Thanksgiving 2. The Matter of it For the first It is a blessed thing when Complaints are turned into Thanksgivings both for our selves and others For our selves We should not be always Craving and always Complaining Gratulation should find a place in our Addresses to God as well as Acknowledgments of Sin and Supplications for Grace Col. 4.2 Continue in Prayer and watch in the same with Thanksgiving So for others we should rather take Notice of their Excellencies than of their Blemishes We give occasion to others to suspect us to have a rough imperious spirit to be always finding fault never acknowledging the Grace they have received or the good they have done This was far from Paul's Temper who was ever ready to acknowledge any thing of Christ wherever he found it especially where Grace was discovered with eminency as in these Thessalonians therefore he saith We are bound to thank God always for you Brethren as it is meet Whence we Observed four Doctrines I am now to speak of the Matter of this Thanksgiving Because that your Faith groweth exceedingly and the Charity of every one of you all towards each other aboundeth Where Observe these six things 1. That it is a Comfort that our Inward Man is in a good State however it be with us as to our outward Condition before the World These Thessalonians were poor and afflicted we read in the first Epistle They received the Gospel in much affliction 1 Thes. 1.6 And in the Verse next the Text he speaketh of their Patience and Faith in all their Persecutions and Tribulations and the following words tend wholly to Comfort them under their sore Troubles Yet their Condition before God was thriving and prosperous and matter of Thanksgiving rather than Lamentation So 2 Cor. 4.16 For this Cause we faint not saith the Apostle but though our outward Man perish yet the inward Man is renewed day by day We should count this World's Goods well exchanged if the want or loss of them be recompensed to us by the increase of spiritual Graces and be glad if it go well with our Souls though our Bodily Interests be infringed If God by an a king Head will give us a better Heart by a sickly Body an healthy Soul as he did to Gaius 3 Epist. Ioh. 2. Ver. by lessening us in the World or reducing us to streights make us Rich in Faith James 2.5 By Troubles and Oppositions excite us to a more lively exercise of Grace We should not barely submit to such a Dispensation but give Thanks The Children of God are always set forth to be of this Temper Psal. 119.71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn thy Statutes 2 Cor. 12.9 10. I will rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me therefore I take pleasure in infirmities in reproaches in necessities in persecution in distresses for Christ's sake for when I am weak then am I strong If the Afflictions and Troubles of the World may do us good and
Eye is Faith which is the Evidence of things not seen we are are as sure of them as if we saw them with our Eyes or as we are of those things which we now see with our Eyes The Sight of Faith may be considered either 1. As to its Certainty and Clearness 2. As to its Power and Efficacy First As to its Certainty and Clearness We do so see God Heaven Christ that we are affected in some measure as if we saw them with our Bodily Eyes God whilst we walk before him Acts 2.25 I foresaw the Lord always before my Face Christ Gal. 3.1 Before whose eyes Iesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you Christ was set forth before their Eyes as if they had seen him hanging and dying upon the Cross. Heaven They have it in their Eye and are affected in some measure as if they were in the midst of the Glory of the World to come I say only in some measure for compare the Light of Faith and the Light of Glory and there is a difference in the degree The Light of Glory nullifieth Sin the Light of Faith only mortifyeth it but yet really it maketh us do those things which we would do if we saw the Glory of Heaven shun those things which are to be avoided as if we saw the Flames of Hell There is a Certainty and Firm Belief which hath a great Influence upon us so compare it with the Light of Sense Those things which we are to see and feel move the more passionately for while the Soul dwelleth in Flesh and looketh out by the Senses the Objects of Sense are more apt to move the Passions but yet Faith doth effectually move us thô not so passionately Secondly As to Efficacy and Prevalency this Sight prevails over those things which we see and feel A Christian hath Senses as well as others and knoweth that he dwelleth in a World full of sensible Objects which are pleasing to that Flesh which he still carrieth about with him but God hath opened the Eyes of his Mind by which he seeth better and more Glorious things which take up his Heart and Mind Life and Love Care and Time and so is weaned from Sense-pleasing Vanities and can deny them and trample upon them for the Enjoyment of these better Things and neither Life nor any thing comfortable to Life is counted so dear as that for their sake he should hazard the Favour of God his Redeemers Blessing and the Happiness of the World to come if Sight and Sense invite and entice him to Sin and forsake his God and Christ the Objects of Faith prevail against the Musements of Sense and sway his Choice and encline his Heart and govern his Resolutions in the whole Course of his Life He looketh not to things as they seem for the present or Relief to the Flesh or as they appear to short-sighted men who are governed by Sense but as they will appear at last and will prove to all Eternity and so can leave things which he seeth and feeleth for things which he never saw but expecteth shortly to enjoy Well then This is the Essential Property of Faith to look to things not seen by Sense but revealed by God in his Word and this Property sheweth its self in all the Acts of Faith Elicite and Imperate Elicite Acts are those which are proper to this Grace Imperate are such as belong to other Graces but Faith hath an Influence upon them by Vertue of which they are produced We may more plainly call them Acts and Effects 1. As the Acts of Faith which are Assent Consent Trust or Dependance 1. For Assent to such Truths as God hath revealed in his Word When we have sufficient Evidence of this Revelation the less sensible Helps we need to underprop our Assent the stronger is our Faith Let me Instance in the great Article of the Christian Faith Christs Person and Office I shall produce that place of the Apostle 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen ye love in whom though now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of Glory Tho' they had never seen Christ in the Flesh and he was now absent from them in regard of his Bodily Presence being withdrawn into the Heavenly Sacrary yet this did not hinder their Faith they loved him and rejoyced in him as if they had seen him and conversed with him Bodily It was an advantage certainly to have seen Christ in the Flesh and to Converse with him Personally here upon Earth to see his Miracles and hear his gracious words But Faith can embrace him as offered in the Promise tho' it never saw him in the Flesh and the fewer sensible Helps Faith hath besides the Word it is the more highly esteemed by Jesus Christ. The same appeareth by Christs words to Thomas Joh. 20.29 Thomas because thou hast seen thou hast believed but blessed are they that have not seen yet have believed Thomas must have the Object of Faith under the view of his Senses which argued a great weakness and Imbecility Vnless I see in his hand the print of the Nails and put my Finger into the print of the Nails I will not believe What if Christ would not give him that satisfaction but other sufficient Evidence This was his Infirmity therefore Christ telleth us they have the stronger and more acceptable Faith that do not give Laws to Heaven or prescribe to God upon what Terms they will believe but accept of the Assurance God offereth without Satisfaction to Sense 2. For Consent When we come to enter into Covenant with God God is Invisible who maketh the Promise and Heaven which is the great Promise that he hath promised us is future and yet to come and lyeth in another World and before we get thither we must encounter many Difficulties yea shoot the Gulf of Death but the Believer can as really and heartily Transact with the Great God and give the Hand to the Lord to become his as he can with a Man that is present and offereth a good Bargain upon easie Terms and Conditions he hath so firm a Belief of the Life to come that he taketh it for his Portion and Happiness 2 Cor. 4.18 While we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen he looketh to things unseen which he taketh for his Treasure and Happiness and is resolved to be any thing and do any thing which God will have him be and do that he may obtain it 3. Another Elicite Act of Faith is Trust and Dependance which maintaineth us in a Course of patient and chearful Obedience to God tho' our Happiness be yet to come yea tho' for the present we are harras'd with great Troubles and Afflictions and it may be see not the Signs i. e. any sensible Tokens of God's Favour and Respect to us Yet the Sight of an Invisible God and Confidence of a future Reward
hath revealed because he hath revealed them therefore the Divine Revelation must be conveyed to them by some means or other The Third There is no Hearing without a Preacher some Messenger or Interpreter that may bring Tydings of Pardon and Life by Christ. Then for the Fourth Branch How shall they Preach except they be sent that is come with Authority Evidence and Power whereby it may be known that he is a Messenger authorized and sent by God that the things propounded may be received as a certain Truth of God's own Revelation that we may depend upon the Credit of his Word and that with such a lively and effectual Belief as may prevail with us to Assent unto it and embrace it notwithstanding all Difficulties and Objections to the contrary Now such is the Doctrine of Salvation by Christ which Inviteth us to call upon his Name or Name our selves by the Name of Christ because we may Believe in him and run all Hazards for him 2 Tim. 1.12 Why Because we have heard of him the Fame of his Doctrine so suitable to the Glory of God and the Necessities of Mankind and the Fame of his Miracles especially his Death and Resurrection and that by Authentick Preachers or Faithful Men authorized by God and sufficiently owned by him as those that are Commissioned to Instruct the World and to Teach them the way of Salvation So that the Word is the great Means to work Faith 2. 'T is the Warrant of Faith which stateth the Laws of Commerce between us and God which sheweth how far God hath Obliged himself and we may depend upon him as appeareth by the Words of Christ Ioh. 17.20 Neither pray I for these alone but for them also that shall believe in me through their word The Principal Object of Faith is Christ we believe in him and the Warrant of Faith is the Word that is the Doctrine which by the Apostles is consigned to the use of the Church For these and no other Christ Prayeth and according to this way or Law of Grace God offereth himself to be reconciled to his Creatures So that here you may hold him to his Covenant the Word is gone out of his Lips and without this you make Promises to your selves which God will not stand unto 3. 'T is the Object of Faith or the thing which we do believe Acts 24.14 I believe all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets and add to that in the Writings of the Apostles to make the Object of the Christian Faith compleat take in also what is written in the Apostles for We are built upon the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Iesus Christ himself being the chief Corner-stone Eph. 2.20 That is the Doctrine of the Apostles and Prophets Jesus Christ being the chief summe and scope of it who is to be accepted of as he is revealed and offered in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament betwixt which there is a sweet Harmony and Agreement But because this is too bulky and large for us to manage at one time let us consider the summe of the Scriptures in the Method wherein God hath put it and that is the Covenant of Grace ratified by the Blood of Christ which is the most glorious Discovery whereby God hath made known himself to his Creatures Psal. 138.2 I will praise thy Name for thy loving kindness and thy truth for thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy Name There we see that God's Word is the chiefest Discovery that he hath made of himself to the Creature for 't is magnified above all his Name that is it doth set forth God above all that is named famed spoken or believed or known or understood of God And what is the Matter of his Word his loving Kindness and his Truth that is in the Word there are contained Admirable Promises which God will certainly perform to the utmost Importance of them There we see his Mercy and loving Kindness in making such great Promises The Promises of the New Covenant are beyond all Expression great and precious 2 Pet. 1.4 they contain as much as the Heart of Man can desire all Spiritual and eternal Riches Pardon of Sin taking away the Stony Heart Eternal Life these are offered to Men to Believe And then his Truth and Fidelity in performing these Promises most punctually to all those that do Believe and will accept the Pardon Grace and Blessedness offered and behave themselves accordingly Well then God's Mercies in Christ to them that Repent Believe and Obey God are the Matter and Object of our Faith 4. The Word is the Security and Strength of our Faith 1. As it puts God's Grace into the way of a Promise 2. As this Promise is the Promise of God First We have much Advantage in Believing by the Formality of a Promise A Promise is more than a Purpose more than a Doctrinal Declaration more than a Prediction or Prophecy 1. More than a Purpose A Purpose is only the Thought of the Heart a thing secret and hidden but a Promise is open and manifest A Purpose is the Intention of a Person a Promise is his Intention revealed whereby we have a Knowledge of the good intended to us If God had only purposed to give us Eternal Life we might at last have enjoyed it but we could not have known it before hand It would have been as an hidden Treasure Promises are the Eruptions and Over-flows of God's Love to us his Heart is so big with Kindness and Designs of Goodness that it cannot stay 'till the accomplishment of things Isa. 42.9 Before they spring forth I tell you of them God's Purposes are a Sealed Fountain but his Promises are a Fountain broken open bubling forth He might have done us good and given us no Notice but Love concealed would not be so much for our Comfort Besides they are Obligations which God taketh upon himself Promittendi se fecit debitorem So far as God hath Promised so far he hath made himself a Debtor God's Purposes are unchangeable but his Promises are a Security put into our Hands so that we have a greater Hold fast upon God now the Word is gone out of his Lips Psal. 89.34 We may put the Bond in suit throw him in his Hand-writing Psal. 119.49 Remember thy word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope We have the Pawn of the thing Promised which we must hold fast 'till Performance cometh His Truth and Holiness lye at stake and are as it were impawned with the Creature 2. 'T is more than a Doctrinal Declaration 'T is one thing to reveal a thing another to Promise it A Doctrine maketh a thing known but a Promise maketh a thing sure A Doctrine giveth us Notice but a Promise giveth us Right and Interest if we be qualified Christ hath brought Life and Immortality to light through the Doctrine of the Gospel 2 Tim. 1.10 But he hath not only manifested
the Flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit 1 Cor. 2.14 15. But the natural Man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are Foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned But he that is spiritual judgeth all things yet he himself is judged of no Man And Iude v. 19. These be they who separate themselves sensual having not the Spirit Now the more we live this spiritual Life the more thorough Christians we are Another kind of spirit cometh upon a Man he liveth as a Man of another World he can bear up when the Outward and Animal Life is exposed to the greatest difficulties 2 Cor. 4.16 He fetcheth his Solace and Comfort from those great and glorious things which are kept for him in Heaven 'T is a mighty thing to have this spirit of Faith 4. We cannot hold out with Christ whilst any Temporal and Sensitive thing lyeth too near the Heart 1 Tim. 6.10 For the love of Money is the root of all evil which while some coveted after they have erred from the Faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows And 2 Tim. 4.10 Demas hath forsaken us having loved this present VVorld The Devil hath them in a string and are easily taken again though we seem to make some escape from him 3. Faith is the Grace that is employed in overcoming the World 'T is not only said to be a means of overcoming but the Victory it self for 't is the Nature of Faith there are Terms in it as in other Graces 't is a Recess from the World and an Access to God a drawing off the Heart from things Visible and Temporal to those which are Invisible and Eternal How doth Faith overcome the World 1. As 't is an Assent to God's Word and chiefly to the Promises of the Gospel Now this strong and firm Assent doth preposses the mind with the Glory of the World to come Heb. 11.26 Moses had an eye to the Recompense of Reward And 2 Cor. 4.18 VVe look not to the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen And Heb. 11.1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen By this sight and View of Heavenly things our Esteem of the World is abated so by consequence the Force of the Temptation Alas whatever this World offereth must be left on this side the Grave Pomp Pleasure Estate â— Tim. 6.7 For we brought nothing into this VVorld and 't is certain we can carry nothing out Here we lust for greatness but Death soon endeth the quarrel In the Grave no difference is to be discerned between Rich and Poor both are alike Obnoxious to Rottenness and Corruption but Faith perswadeth us of better things Heb. 11.13 These all dyed in Faith not having received the Promises but having seen them afar off and were perswaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the Earth 2. As 't is a Consent It causeth us to Surrender our selves to Christ's Discipline or that Religion which wholly draweth us off from this World to the World to come Its purpose and drift is that we may deny our selves bear the Cross and follow him this we Promise in Baptism 1 Pet. 3.21 Baptism saveth us not the putting away the filthiness of the Flesh but the Answer of a good Conscience towards God by the resurrection of Iesus Christ. The Spirit of our Religion is not the Spirit of the World 1 Cor. 2.12 Now we have received not the Spirit of the World but the Spirit which is of God that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God 3. As it is a Dependance and Trust in Christ's Power and Sufficiency to maintain you and defend you safe 'till you are brought home to God He dyed for this end Gal. 1.4 Who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil World according to the Will of God and our Father He intercedeth for us to the Father for this end Ioh. 17.15 I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the World but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil He overcame the World in his own Person for this end not only to encourage us but to enable us by his example Ioh. 16.33 These things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace in the World ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the World He sendeth his Spirit into our Hearts to preserve us against the Assaults of the Devil the World and the Flesh 1 Ioh. 4.4 Ye are of God little Children and have overcome them because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the VVorld And because every state of Life is thick set with Temptations he reneweth his Influence upon us Phil. 4.13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me He had before spoken of carrying an equal mind in all Conditions Christ enabled him as well as taught him this Contentment Well then reckon the growth of your Faith by the exercise of your Mortification and weanedness from the World rather than by strong Confidence of your good Estate or high flown Joys and Comforts The Comforts of the Spirit will not be tasted by an unmortified Worldly Heart Most men's Confidence cometh from their Security and mindlesness of these things The Comforts are more suspicious when the Mortification is a sure Note Seventhly The seventh Property of Faith is quieting the Heart against Fears and Doubts and Waiting on God I joyn these two things together because the Scripture doth Lam. 3.26 It is good that a Man should both hope and quietly wait for the Salvation of God But we must handle them asunder 1. Waiting Sense is all for present satisfaction but Faith can tarry God's leisure 'till these good things which we do expect do come in hand Isa. 28.16 He that believeth shall not make haste Men that cannot tarry for relief will yield up a Town upon the basest Terms The Children of God were always forced to eat their Words when they spoke in haste Psal. 31.22 For I said in my haste I am cut off from before thine eyes nevertheless thou heardest the Voice of my Supplication when I cryed unto thee And Psal. 116.11 I said in my haste all Men are Lyars But where Faith and Hope is there is Patience Rom. 8.25 If we hope for what we see not then do we with Patience wait for it James 5.7 8. Be patient therefore Brethren unto the coming of the Lord Behold the Husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the Earth and hath long patience for it until he receive the early and latter Rain Be ye also patient stablish your hearts for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh Unbelief leapeth overboard on the first danger Impatience and Precipitation is the Cause of all Mischief What
Faith and wherein the greatness of it lay 2. How this Faith was bred and begotten in him 3. The Effects and Fruits of it or how it discovered its self I. The Nature of his Faith It was a firm Perswasion that all Power and Authority was eminently in Christ and that he could do what he pleased The great End of Christ in all his Miracles was to discover himself to be the Son of God and one in whom the Divine Nature and Power resided and so by consequence that true Messiah and Saviour of the World This was Peter's Confession of Faith Matth. 16.16 Thou art Christ the Son of the living God The Promised Messiah the anointed Saviour of the World And with Peter all the rest of the Disciples join Iohn 6.69 We believe and are sure that thou art that Christ the Son of the living God This the Samaritans being Convinced and Converted confessed also Ioh. 4.42 We know that this is indeed the Christ the Saviour of the World This Martha acknowledges Ioh. 11.27 She saith unto him yea Lord I believe that thou art the Christ the Son of God that should come into the VVorld This was it which the Apostles preached Acts 13.23 Of this Man's seed hath God according to his Promise raised unto Israel a Saviour Iesus This they required of all whom they Converted to the Christian Faith Acts 8.37 I believe that Iesus Christ is the Son of God Now this the Centurion cometh off roundly with being firmly perswaded of a Divine Power and Authority in Christ for he ascribeth an Omnipotency to his Word and reasoneth it out notably Speak but the word and my Servant shall be healed Ver. 8 9. For I am a Man under Authority having Souldiers under me and I say to this man goe and he goeth and to another come and he cometh and to my Servant do this and he doeth it Here then was the greatness of his Faith Objection You will say then all have great Faith for all the Christian World professeth this truth that Jesus is the Son of God Papists and Protestants Carnal and Renewed the rabble of Nominal Christians as well as the seriously Godly are of this Opinion that Jesus is the Son of God and the Saviour of the World Answer 1. Distinguere Tempora You must distinguish of the times In that Age there was no humane reason to believe this Truth Antiquity was against it and therefore when Paul preached Jesus they said He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods Acts 17.18 Authority was against it 1 Cor. 2.8 Which none of the Princes of this World knew for had they known it they would not have Crucifyed the Lord of glory Authority not only Civil but Ecclesiastical was against it Acts 4.11 This is the Stone which was set at nought of you builders The universal Consent of the habitable World was against it Only a small handfull of contemptible People owned him Luk. 12.32 Fear not little Flock 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 At that time it was the Critical Point the hated Truth that the Carpenter's Son should be owned as the Son of God Those bleak Winds that blew in our Backs and thrust us onward to Believe blew in their Faces and drove them from it Those very Reasons which move us to own Christ moved them to reject him For many Ages the Name of Christ hath been in Request and Honour but then it was a despised way For Men to lay aside their old Religion and Temples and Altars and Ceremonies and Rights of Worship for the new way of Jesus of Nazareth never heard of before born of a Jewish Woman living in a mean way Crucifyed like a Malefactor and dead and buried that he should be owned as the Son of God and the Saviour of the World what could be to appearance more unreasonable Alas what should we have done if we had been put to encounter with these Difficulties and Prejudices and no sooner did any Man own this truth but he was presently exposed to all manner of Troubles and Persecutions brought before Magistrates tortured murthered by all the Cruel Deaths that could be devised and all this to be endured upon the hopes of an unseen World Therefore then it was an undoubted Truth 1 Iohn 5.1 Whosoever believeth that Iesus is the Son of God is born of God And 1 Iohn 4.2 Every Spirit that confesseth that Iesus Christ is come in the Flesh is of God Nay somewhat less than Faith and great Faith At his first appearance a certain perswasion impressed upon the Soul by the Spirit of God of the Divine Power and Alsufficiency of Christ so as to repair to him for help was Faith and great Faith when the vail of his Humane Nature and Infirmities did not keep the Eye of Faith from seeing him to have a Divine Power thô they could not unriddle all the Mysteries about his Person and Office this was accepted for Saving Faith 2. The Speculative Belief of this Truth was not sufficient then no more than it is now but the Practical Improvement Grant that Truth that Jesus is the Son of God and other things will follow as that we must obey his Laws and depend upon his Promises and make use of his Power and trust our selves in his hands otherwise the bare acknowledgment was not sufficient If a Man had at that time with some kind of Belief owned Christ as the Son of God and yet could not overcome the shame and fear of the World he would not have been accepted for it is said 1 Iohn 5.5 Who is he that overcometh the World but he that believeth that Iesus is the Son of God Unless that effect followed the Belief was vain Therefore it is said Iohn 2.23 24 25. Many believed in his Name when they saw the Miracles which he did But Iesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men And needed not that any should testifie of man for he knew what was in Man Christ knew the inside of Men and therefore knew this Faith was unlikely to bear any stress or hold out against Temptations Men might be convinced of some Excellency and Divine Power in Christ and yet remain unconverted So Acts 8. Simon Magus believed in Christ yet remained in the gall of bitterness and bond of Iniquity So we read again Iohn 8.30 31. As he spake these words many believed on him Then said Iesus to those Iews which believed on him if ye continue in my word then are ye my Disciples indeed Some are his Disciples in shew not truly and really being not settled and rooted in the Faith So it is noted Iohn 12.42 43. Nevertheless among the chief Rulers also many believed on him but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him lest they should be put out of the Synagogue For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God They had Faith but it was too weak to encounter Temptations they were too
great stay to the Souls of true Believers to cause them with Comfort to trust themselves and all their Affairs in the hands of Christ. We have no reason to doubt of his Care Protection and Merciful Disposal of us and if poor sick and desolate you may go to him it is in the power of his hands to help you 1. There is no want but he can easily supply it Psal. 23.1 The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want 2. There is no pain or suffering but he can easily mitigate or remove it Mat. 8.2 Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean 3. There is no danger so great from which he is not able to deliver thee Dan. 3.17 18. If it be so our God whom we serve is able to deliver us and he will deliver us out of thine hand O King But if not be it known unto thee O King that we will not serve thy Gods nor worship the golden Image which thou hast set up 2 Cor. 1.10 Who delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us Where can we be so safe as in the Love and Covenant of such an Almighty Saviour Get but this imprinted upon your Hearts and it will beget a strong and stedfast Confidence in him 6. He reasoneth from the strict Discipline observed in the Roman Armies where there was no disputing of Commands or questioning Why and Wherefore I am a man under Authority having Soldiers under me and I say to this man go and he goeth and to another come and he cometh and to my Servant do this and he doth it Verse 9 th Where he compareth Person with Person I am a Man thou a God Condition with Condition a subordinate Officer with Christ the Supream Lord He knew what it was to obey and to have Power over others Power with Power his Power over Soldiers and Servants with Christ's Command over all Events Health and Sickness Life and Death Reasoning for God and his Promises is a great advantage We are Naturally acute in reasoning against Faith but when the Understanding is quick and ready to invent Arguments to encourage Faith it is a good sign VSE Go you and do likewise From the Example of the Centurion let me encourage you 1. To readiness of Believing Iames 3.17 The wisdom that is from above is first pure then peaceable gentle and easie to be intreated This is opposite to that slowness of Heart to believe which we read of Luke 24.25 Oh Fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken These are more receptive and easie to entertain a Doctrine than others Iohn 7.17 If any Man do his will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God The Sincere and Renewed need less ado to convince them There is a light Credulity Prov. 14.15 The Simple believeth every word and there is the readiness of a Sincere Mind to embrace the Truth We are to captivate our Understandings to the Obedience of Faith but not every Fancy lest we be like Children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of Doctrine Eph. 4.14 No a Christian must not be like a Reed shaken with the Wind nor believe every Spirit but yet where the Truth is sufficiently evidenced we must embrace it Most of our Hesitancy in Religion comes not so much from the Conflict between our Light and the Doubts of our Mind as from the Conflict between our Light and Lusts which maketh us irresolute but a sincere Heart soon overcometh the difficulty 2. To represent our Necessity to Christ and referr the Event to him to commit and submit all to him There is an Alsufficiency of Power and Infinite Pity and Goodness that we need not trouble our selves about the Event Submission before the Event is Faith as after it is Patience This is true Faith in such Cases as the Centurion came about to referr all to Christ. 3. To be Humble In all our Commerce with Christ Faith must produce a real Humility Faith is most high when the Heart is most low Luke 18.11 12 13 14. The Pâ—arisee stood and prayed saying God! I thank thee I am not as other men are c. I fast twice a week I give tithes of all that I possess And the Publican standing afar off would not so much as lift up his eyes to Heaven but smote upon his breast saying God be merciful to me a Sinner I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted The one changelled a Debt the other begged a Favour Humble Supplications to God become us better than proud Expostulations 4. To meditate often on the Soveraign Dominion of Christ and his Power over all things that fall out in the World To keep us from warping and running to unlawful shifts God propoundeth his Alsufficiency to our Faith when we enter into Covenant with him Gen. 17.1 I am the Almighty God walk before me and be thou perfect He hath Power enough to help defend and reward us we need not seek elsewhere for a Protector or Paymaster the Word of his Providence is enough he can heal our Diseases supply our Necessities or bless a little as he did the Pulse to the captive Children Dan. 1.15 Their Countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the Children which did eat the portion of the Kings meat A SERMON ON MATTH XV. v. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28. Then Iesus went thence and departed into the Coasts of Tyre and Sidon And behold a Woman of Canaan came out of the same Coasts and cryed unto him saying Have mercy on me O Lord thou Son of David my Daughter is grievously vexed with a Devil But he answered her not a word and his Disciples came and besought him saying Send her away for she cryeth after us But he answered and said I am not sent but unto the lost Sheep of the House of Israel Then came she and worshipped him saying Lord help me But he answered and said It is not meet to take the Childrens bread and cast it to Dogs And she saith Truth Lord yet the Dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Masters Table And Iesus answered and said unto her O Woman great is thy Faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt And her Daughter was made whole from that very hour WE come now to the Second Instance of a Great and Grown Faith This ought to be considered by us In the Centurion me had an Instance of a reasoning Faith now of a wrestling Faith Faith wrestling with grievous Temptations but at length obtaining help from God We ought to consider this for these Reasons 1. Because Christ pronounceth it to be great Faith and so proper for our Imitation O Woman great is thy Faith It is the Faith of a Woman a
Thus some of the Disciples doubted of the Truth of Christ's Resurrection Matth. 28.27 And when they saw him they worshipped him but some doubted Luk 24.21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel This argueth a weak Faith not vigorous and active but Faith is strong as it overcomes our speculative Doubts and so doth settle and establish our Souls in the Truth Acts 2.36 Let all the House of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Iesus whom ye have Crucified both Lord and Christ. 2. There is a Doubting or Staggering as Faith is a Consent when the Consent is weak and wavering Faith is weak Heb. 10.23 Let us hold fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering for he is faithful that promised But such a confirmed Resolution as leaveth no room for wavering and looking back argueth a strong Faith Acts 21.13 Then Paul answered What mean ye to weep and to break my heart for I am ready not to be bound only but to dye at Ierusalem for the Name of the Lord Iesus 3. As Faith implyeth a Dependance and Trust Iames 1.6 7 8. But let him ask in Faith nothing wavering for he that wavereth is like a Wave of the Sea driven with the wind and tossed for let not that Man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord A double minded Man is unstable in all his wayes Divided between God and other Confidences 1 Tim. 2.8 I will therefore that men pray every where lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting Matth. 14.31 O thou of little Faith why didst thou doubt Well then it is a strong Faith that causeth such a Fortitude that we pass through all Difficulties and Tryals without distrust or anxiety of mind It is opposite to Fainting Psal. 27.13 I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the living To Fears and Troubles Matth. 8.26 Why are ye fearful O ye of little Faith Strength of Assent doth exclude speculative Doubts and Errors Strength of Resolution doth fortifâ—y us against worldly Temptations which beget uncertainty Temptations of Profit Pleasure or Vain-glory if the Heart be secretly biassed with these It is opposite to Faith Ioh. 5 44. How can ye believe which receive Honour one of another And strength of Confidence doth exclude those Doubts which arise from Fears of Danger and Terrors of Sense in such Cases we dispute away the Comfort of the Promises IV. He was fully perswaded that what God had promised he was able also to perform A strong steddy and full Perswasion of the Power of God argueth a great Faith 1. There is no doubt of his Will when we have his Promise but the Ability of the Promiser is that which is usually questioned Unbelief stumbleth at his can Can God furnish a Table in the Wilderness Psal. 78.19 and How can these things be Luk. 1.34 So 2 Kings 7.2 If the Lord should make Windows in Heaven might this thing be Nay and the Children of God themselves Sarah was rebuked when she laughed Gen. 18.12 13 14. Therefore Sarah laughed within her self saying After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure my Lord being old also And the Lord said unto Abraham Wherefore did Sarah laugh saying Shall I of a surety bear a Child which am old is any thing too hard for the Lord Her Laughter was not the Laughter of Exultation but Dubitation Moses Numb 11.13 Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this People for they weep unto me saying Give us flesh that we may eat The Case is clear we Doubt not but in Case of Danger then we are full of Fears and Suspicions if of his Will it is because we are so vile and unworthy but we are vile and unworthy out of danger as well as in danger therefore it is of his Power 2. God's Power and Alsufficiency is to the Saints the great support of Faith in their greatest Extremities They are relieved by fixing their Eye on God's Almightiness as Abraham here So Heb. 11.19 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead So for Perseverance Iude 24. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling And for the Resurrection Phil. 3.21 Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself His Power reacheth to the Grave and beyond the Grave So for the Calling the Iews Rom. 11.23 And they also if they abide not still in Vnbelief shall be grafted in for God is able to graft them in again In short to question his Power is to put him out of the Throne to deny him to be God as if he were not able to help his Friends and to be a terror to his Enemies Well then in Matters absolutely promised we have nothing to do but to exalt his Power therefore you may reason thus He will do it for he is able to do it Rom. 11.23 They shall be grafted in for God is able to graft them in again In Matters conditionally promised we must magnifie his Power and refer the Event to his Will Matth. 8.2 Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean 3. There are two things enlarge our Thoughts and Apprehensions about the Power of God they are mentioned Verse 17. Whom he believed even God who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things that be not as though they were We have to do with a God that can say to the Dead Live God's Power can bring Life out of Death something out of nothing Resurrection and Creation are easie to him He that can quicken the dead can quicken those that are dead in trespasses and sins By the Word of his Power he maketh all things to be that are not Let there be Light and there was Light Lazarus come forth and he came forth He causeth things to appear and exist that had no being before Thirdly The Fruit and Effect of his Faith an exact and constant Obedience Isa. 41.2 Who raised up the righteous Man from the East and called him to his foot The righteous Man is supposed to be Abraham often designed by that Character and he was called to his Foot to go to and fro at God's Command as the Centurion said Matth. 8.9 I am a Man under Authority having Souldiers under me and I say to this man go and he goeth and to another come and he cometh and to my servant do this and he doth it There are two great Instances of Abraham's Obedience 1. His Self-denyal in leaving his Countrey Heb. 11.8 By Faith Abraham when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance obeyed and he went out not knowing whither he went It is a sore Tryal to forsake Kindred Friends Lands Fathers House and Inheritance and to seek an abode he knew
sense of Sin and their Defection from God Satan's Condemnation is our Salvation He did the first Mischief therefore the crushing of his Head giveth hope of our Deliverance out of that State of Misery into which he hath plunged us The Words are dark in comparison of the larger Explications of the Grace of God by Jesus Christ which were after delivered to the Church Who would look for a great Tree in a little Seed Yet the seminal Virtue doth afterward diffuse and dilate it self into all those stately and lofty Branches in which the Fowls of the Air do take up their Lodging and Shelter So do these few Words contain all the Articles and Mysteries of the Christian Faith which are the Fountains of our solid Peace and Consolation In the Seed of the Woman is contained all the Doctrine concerning the Incarnation of the Son of God in the bruising of his Heel his Death and Sufferings in the crushing of the Serpent's Head his glorious Victory and Conquest As obscure as the Words are an Eagle-eyed and discerning Faith could pick a great deal of Comfort out of them The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Elders mentioned Heb. 11.2 the Antidiluvian Fathers so famous throughout all Ages for their Faith and Confidence in God had no other Gospel to live upon Abel that offered a better Sacrifice than Cain Enoch that walked with God Noah that prepared the Ark did all that they did in the Strength and upon the Incouragement of this Promise The Words are considerable 1. For the Person who speaketh them the Lord God himself who was the first Preacher of the Gospel in Paradise The Draught and Plot was in his Bosom long before but now it cometh out of his Mouth 2. For the Occasion when they were spoken When God hath been but newly provoked and offended by Sin and Man from his Creature and Subject was become his Enemy and Rebel the offended God comes with a Promise in his Mouth Adam could look for nothing but that God should repeat to him the whole Beadroll of Curses wherein he had involved himself but God maketh known the great Design of his Grace Once more the Lord God was now cursing the Serpent and in the midst of the Curses promiseth the great Blessing of the Messiah Thus doth God in Wrath remember Mercy Hab. 3.2 Yea Man's Sentence was not yet pronounced The Lord God had examined him ver 8 9 10. but before the Doom there breaketh out a Promise of Mercy Thus Mercy gets the start of Justice and triumpheth and rejoiceth over it in our behalf James 2.13 Mercy rejoiceth against Iudgment 3. They are considerable for their Matter for they intimate a Victory over Satan and that in the Nature which was foiled so lately Man by Sin had not only incurred God's Wrath but put himself under the Power of the Devil who had a â—egal Power over fallen Man such as the Executioner hath from the Judg over the condemned Person And a tyrannical Power by Conquest Man being seduced by him from God Therefore it is good News to hear of a Victory over Satan and that his Power shall be destroyed In the former part of the Verse you have the Combate in the Text the Success 1. The Conflict and Combate And I will put Enmity between thee and the Woman and between thy Seed and her Seed It cannot be understood of the Hatred and Antipathy between Men and Serpents though that be alluded unto To what end should God thunder Curses and Condemnation upon the Serpent a brute Creature that understood them not Therefore it is meant of the War between the Devil and Mankind Satan and his Instruments for wicked Men are called his Seed Iohn 8.44 Ye are of your Father the Devil And Ignatius calleth Menander and Basilides 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Spawn of the old Serpent And on the other side the Seed of the Woman by way of Eminency Christ and his Confederates But I shall not consider the Conflict now as carried on between the two Seeds but between the two Heads Christ the Prince of Life and the Devil who hath the Power of Death Heb. 2.14 It was begun between the Serpent and the Woman it is carried on between the Seed of the Woman and the Seed of the Serpent but the Conflict is ended by the Destruction of one of the Heads the Prince of Death is destroyed by the Prince of Life 2. The Success and Issue of the Combate Where observe 1. What the Seed of the Woman doth against the Serpent He shall bruise thy Head 2. What the Serpent doth against the Seed of the Woman Thou shalt bruise his Heel 1. There is something common to both for the word bruised is used promiscuously both of the Serpent and the Seed of the Woman In this War as usually in all others there are Wounds given on both sides The Devil bruiseth Christ and Christ bruiseth Satan 2. There is a Disparity of the Event He shall bruise thy Head and thou shalt bruise his Heel Where there is a plain Allusion to treading upon a Serpent Wounds on the Head are deadly to Serpents but Wounds in the Body are not so grievous and dangerous And a Serpent trod upon seeketh to do all the Mischief it can to the Foot by which it is crushed The Wound given to the Head is mortal but the Wound given to the Heel may be healed The Seed of the Woman may be cured but Satan's Power cannot be restored The Devil cannot reach to the Head but the Heel only which is far from any vital Part. 1. For the first Clause It shall bruise thy Head The Seed of the Woman crushed the Serpent's Head whereby is meant the Overthrow and Destruction of his Power and Works John 12.31 Now shall the Prince of this World be cast out 1 John 3.8 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the Works of the Devil The Head being bruised Strength and Life is perished His Kingdom and Strength is his Head that is gone that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Power of Death Heb. 2.14 the Power to deceive and detain captive Souls Col. 1.13 Who hath delivered us from the Power of Darkness 2. For the other Clause Thou shalt bruise his Heel Where 1. Note the Intention of the Serpent who would destroy the Kingdom of the Redeemer if he could but he can only reach the Heel not the Head 2. The Greatness of Christ's Sufferings his Heel was bruised as he endured the painful shameful accursed Death of the Cross. Doct. That Iesus Christ the Seed of the Woman is at enmity with Satan and hath entred the Lists with him and though bruised in the Conflict yet he finally overcometh him and subverteth his Kingdom 1. That Jesus Christ is the Seed of the Woman That he is one of her Seed is past doubt since he was born of the Virgin a Daughter of Eve That he is The Seed the most
eminent of all the Stock appeareth by the Dignity of his Person God made Flesh Iohn 1.14 The Word was made Flesh and dwelt among us Or God manifested in the Flesh 1 Tim. 3.16 As also by his miraculous Conception Luke 1.35 The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the Power of the Highest shall overshadow thee therefore also that holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God So Mat. 1.23 A Virgin shall be with Child and shall bring forth a Son and they shall call his Name Emanuel which being interpreted is God with us He that was God-Man in one Person and thus wonderfully conceived without a Male or Company of Man might well be looked upon as the Seed of the Woman here spoken of Now if you ask what necessity there was that the Conqueror should be the Seed of the Woman because the Flesh of Christ is the Bread of Life and the Food of our Faith I shall a little insist upon the Conveniency and Agreeableness of it 1. That thereby he might be made under the Law which was given to the whole Nature of Man Gal. 4.4 God sent forth his Son made of a Woman made under the Law He that came to repair our lost Condition needed to subject himself to the Precepts of God's Law that by Obedience he might recover what by Disobedience was lost and might be to us a Fountain and Pattern of Holiness in our Nature And therefore Christ in our Nature truly subjected himself and conformed himself to the Law of God that general and moral Law which all Men are obliged unto He performed the Duties of the first Table Luke 2.49 Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's Business He took all Occasions to glorify God And the Duties of the second Table as to his natural and reputed Parents Luke 2.51 He went down with them and was subject to them 2. That he might in the same Nature suffer the Penalty and Curse of the Law as well as fulfil the Duty of it and so make Satisfaction for our Sins which as God he could not do He was made Sin for us 2 Cor. 5.21 and was made a Curse for us Gal. 3.13 Phil. 2.8 He became obedient to Death even the Death of the Cross. There was a Curse denounced against those who yielded not personal Obedience and he came in the Sinners room to undergo it that the Justice of God might be eminently demonstrated the Law-giver vindicated and the Breach that was made in the Frame of Government repaired and God manifested to be holy and an hater of Sin and yet the Sinner saved from Destruction 3. That in the same Nature which was foiled he might conquer Satan As a Tempter he conquered him hand to hand in a personal Conflict repelling his Temptations Mat. 4. As a Tormentor and one that had the Power of Death so he conquered him by his Death on the Cross Heb. 2.14 Forasmuch as the Children are Partakers of Flesh and Blood he also himself took part of the same that through Death he might destroy him that had the Power of Death that is the Devil Christ would stoop to the greatest Indignities to free us from this Enemy and to put Mankind again into a Condition of Safety and Happiness that he having conquered they might also conquer 4. That he might take Compassion of our Infirmities having experimented them in his own Person Therefore he assumed humane Nature that he might have assurance of this Heb. 2.17 18. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be like unto his Brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful High-Priest in things pertaining â—nto God to make Reconciliation for the Sins of the People For in that he himself haâ—h suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted We have now Assurance that he will pity us more than one who is a Stranger to our Blood He hath had trial of our Nature and our Miseries and Temptations and will be more sensible of the Heart of a tempted Man and will mind and attend upon our Business as his own 5. That he might take possession of Heaven for us in our Nature Iohn 14.2 3. I go to prepare a Place for you and if I go and prepare a Place for you I will come again and receive you to my self that where I am there ye may be also The Devil comes to depress our Nature and Christ came to exalt it he endeavoured to make us lose Paradise and Christ gave us Heaven Man fallen is strangely haunted with Doubts about the other World Now he that came to save us and heal us did himself in our Nature rise from the Dead that he might give us a visible Demonstration of the Life to come which he had promised to us that we might more regard the Offer He himself hath seized upon it that the rest of the Seed may be possessed of it and hath carried our Nature thither that in time our Persons may be translated 6. That after he had been a Sacrifice for Sin and conquered Death by his Resurrection he might also triumph over the Devil and lead Captivity captive and give Gifts to Men in the very Act of his Ascension into Heaven Eph. 4.8 Wherefore he saith When he ascended on high he led Captivity captive and gave Gifts unto Men. Having foiled his Enemies on the Cross it is fit he should triumph over them to assure the World of his Conquest and give such a Measure of his Gifts and Graces to his Church as might help them to scatter the Ranks of the Battel His Victory is shewn to be compleat as to the Head and as to the rest of the Seed of the Woman who are all willing to enter into Confederacy with him he hath left Ordinances and an Almighty Spirit that they may get to Heaven after him II. That Christ is at Enmity with Satan and hath entred into the Conflict with him 1 st We must state the Enmity between Christ and his Confederates and Satan and his Instruments For it is said in the beginning of the Verse I will put Enmity between thy Seed and her Seed which is principally to be understood of the Lord Christ and of his Confederates in the second place against Satan in the first place and his Instruments on the other side There is a double Enmity which Christ hath against Satan and so he undertakes the War against him as contrary to his Nature and Office 1. There is a perfect Enmity between the Nature of Christ and the Nature of the Devil The Nature of Satan is sinful murderous and destructive for it is said he was a Liar and Murderer from the beginning John 8.44 And 1 Iohn 3.8 He that committeth Sin is of the Devil for the Devil sinneth from the beginning For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the Works of the Devil Again ver 12. Not as Cain
is that which the Apostle calleth the Power of Death and the Terrors which follow upon it Heb. 2.14 15. That through Death he might destroy him that had the Power of Death that is the Devil and deliver them who through fear of Death were all their Life-time subject to Bondage The Devil hath no Power as a Judg to condemn Sinners He is not Dominus Mortis the Lord of Death but Minister Mortis the Minister of Death For being condemned of God the poor Sinner is put into his Hand that he may either terrify or stupify him and so more and more involve him in the Curse of God's broken Law and also he may hasten his Death and everlasting Destruction 2. Satan hath a Tyrannical Usurped Power So the Devils are called Rulers of the Darkness of this VVorld Ephes. 6.12 the blind idolatrous superstitious World And Satan is called the Prince of this VVorld John 14.30 And the God of this World 2 Cor. 4.4 God made him an Executioner but we make him a Prince a Ruler and a God Now Christ as a Priest disannulleth his legal Power by his Death and the Merit of his Sacrifice And Christ as the true King and Head both of Men and Angels pulls down Satan as an Usurper delivers the poor captive Souls out of his Power And as a Prophet he discovereth his Cheats and Delusions 2. His Works There is a twofold Work of Satan the Work of the Devil without us or the Work of the Devil within us 1. The Work of the Devil without us is a false Religion or those Idolatries and Superstitions by which Satan's Reign and Empire is upheld in the World This is destroyed by the Doctrine of the Gospel accompanied with the all-powerful Spirit of God And therefore when the Gospel was first preach'd by Christ's Messengers the Devil fell from that great and unlimited Power which he had before in the World Luke 10.18 I beheld Satan as Lightning fall from Heaven 'T is an Allusion to his first Fall as Lightning flasheth and vanisheth and never recollecteth it self again So Iohn 12.31 Now shall the Prince of this VVorld be cast out When Christ did first set upon the Redemption of Mankind the Apostles went abroad to beat the Devil and hunt him out of his Territories and they did it with great Effect Therefore this is made one Argument by which the Spirit doth convince us of the Truth of the Gospel John 16.11 He shall convince the VVorld of Iudgment because the Prince of this VVorld is judged The silencing of his Oracles the suppressing of his Superstitions the destroying of the Kingdom of Wickedness and Darkness was an apparent Evidence of the Truth of the Gospel The old Religion by which the Devil's Kingdom was supported every-where went to wrack no more the same Temples the same Rites the same Gods all was made to stoop and bow before God as worshipped in Christ. 2. There is the Work of the Devil within us This concerneth the recovering particular Persons out of the Snare of the Devil who were taken captive by him at his Will and Pleasure Here we must distinguish between the Purchase and Application The Purchase was made when Christ died Col. 2.15 Having spoiled Principalities and Powers he made a Shew of them openly triumphing over them in it that is on his Cross. Christ's Death was Satan's Overthrow then was the deadly Blow given to his Power and Kingdom This was the Price given for our Ransom and the great means of disannulling all that Power Satan had before The Application is begun in our Conversion for then we are said to be turned from Satan unto God Acts 26.18 To open their Eyes and to turn them from Darkness to Light and from the Power of Satan unto God Then we are rescued out of the Devil's Clutches and adopted into God's Family that being made Children we may have a Child's Portion III. That in this Conflict his Heel was wounded bitten or bruised by the Serpent 1. Certain it is that Christ was bruised in the Enterprize Which sheweth how much we should value our Salvation since it costs so dear as the precious Blood of the Son of God incarnate 1 Pet. 1.18 19. Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as Silver and Gold c. but with the precious Blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot He thought not his whole Humiliation from first to last too much for the overthrowing of the Devil's Kingdom nor any Price too dear to redeem poor captive Souls 2. But how was he bruised by the Serpent Certainly on the one hand Christ's Sufferings were the Effects of Man's Sin and God's Hatred against Sin and his governing Justice for it is said Isa. 53.10 It pleased the Father to bruise him Unless it had pleased the Lord to bruise him Satan could never have bruised him On the other side they were also the Effects of the Malice and Rage of the Devil and his Instruments who was now with the Sword's-point and closing Stroke with Christ and doing the worst he could against him In his whole Life he indured many outward Troubles from Satan's Instruments for all his Life long he was a Man of Sorrows wounded and bruised by Satan and his Instruments Iohn 8.44 Ye are of your Father the Devil and the Lusts of your Father ye will do he was a Murderer from the beginning and abode not in the Truth because there is no Truth in him But the closing Stroke was at last then did the Serpent most eminently bruise his Heel When Iudas contrived the Plot it is said the Devil entred into him Luke 22.3 Then entred Satan into Judas Iscariot being one of the Twelve When the High Priest's Servants come to take him he telleth them Luke 22.53 This is your Hour and the Power of Darkness The Power of Darkness at length did prevail so far as to cause his shameful Death This was their Day 3. It was only his Heel that was bruised It could go no further for tho his bodily Life was taken away yet his Head and Mediatory Power was not touched Acts 2.36 This same Iesus whom ye have crucified God hath made both Lord and Christ. Again his bodily Life was taken away but for a while God would not leave his Soul in the Grave Psal. 16.10 Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell neither wilt thou suffer thy holy One to see Corruption The Counsel and Purpose of God concerning Man's Redemption had then been wholly frustrated For if Christ be not risen your Faith is vain ye are yet in your Sins 1 Cor. 15.17 Once more tho Christ was bruised yet he was not conquered When the Jews and Roman Souldiers were spoiling him and parting his Garments then was he spoiling Principalities and Powers And when Satan and his Instruments were triumphing over the Son of God then was he triumphing over all the Devils in Hell for by Death he
it especially the Sick and the Dying He that formerly tempted then beginneth to trouble and he that formerly shewed you the pleasant Baits of Sin will then shew you the Hook he who now representeth Pardon easy will then represent it as impossible And when Death cometh he hath Power to hale away the Sinner to Torments For as the good Angels carry the Souls of the Faithful to Christ Luke 16.22 23. so probably the Devil hath a Power to carry them to Hell Now as the Devil hath this Power of Death he bringeth Men into Sin that he may bring them into Terror Yea Satan hath a great hand in the Troubles of Conscience which befal God's Children Well then how is this Power destroyed By satisfying the Law Christ destroyeth the Power of the Devil For first he blotted out the Hand-writing that was against us and then spoiled Principalities and Powers Col. 2.14 15. And when he doth actually justify we feel the Comfort and Benefit of it Rom. 8.33 34. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect It is God that justifieth Who shall condemn It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right Hand of God who also maketh Intercession for us Our Advocate is more gracious in Court than our Accuser having payed our Ransom and interceding for us and pleading it what Accusation from the Law can stand against those who have imbraced this Gospel 3. The Being of Sin For while it remaineth there is somewhat of Satan left which he worketh upon There is a Remnant of his Seed in the best the Godly are yet in the Way but not at the end of the Journey and therefore he hath leave to assault them while they are here but Christ will perfect the Conquest which he has begun and so the very Being of Sin shall at length be taken away Iude 24. To him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the Presence of his Glory And Eph. 5.27 That he might present it to himself a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish At Death Sin is totally disannulled the Physician of our Souls will then perfect the Cure As in the first Moment of our Birth we were Sinners so in the Moment of our Expiration all Sin dieth Christ taketh that time to finish his Work No Sinner can enter into the State of Bliss but the Vail of the Flesh being rent we are immediately admitted into the sight of God and so made exactly perfect 2 dly As to the general Case or his Interest in the corrupt World It is true the Kingdom of Satan yet remaineth But he doth and shall divide the Spoil with the Strong Isa. 53.12 Therefore will I divide him a Portion with the Great and he shall divide the Spoil with the Strong And though his Doctrine and Religion meeteth with Opposition in the World yet it doth prevail upon Opposition and against Opposition and by Opposition when in the Seasons of it he cometh to set his Kingdom on foot Rev. 6.2 I saw a white Horse and he that sat on him had a Bow and a Crown was given unto him and he went forth conquering and to conquer This is an Emblematical Representation of the Rise and Progress of Christ's Kingdom Where you may note his Furniture a Crown and a Bow The Crown noteth his Dignity the Bow his Armour and Strength Psal. 45.3 4 5. Gird on thy Sword upon thy Thigh O thou most Mighty with thy Glory and Majesty and in thy Majesty ride prosperously because of Truth and Meekness and Righteousness and thy Right Hand shall teach thee terrible things Thine Arrows are sharp in the Heart of the King's Enemies whereby the People fall under thee Christ having the Grant of a Kingdom over the Nations is every way furnished with Power to obtain it by Means proper to the Mediatory Dispensation by his Word Spirit and Providence 1. His Word which is called the Rod of his Strength Psal. 110.2 The Weapons of our Warfare are not carnal but mighty through God 2 Cor. 10.4 When Christ will work the World cannot resist its convincing Power those that feel it not fear it John 3.20 Every one that doth evil hateth the Light neither cometh to the Light lest his Deeds should be reproved 2. His Spirit Now what can stand before the mighty Spirit of God convincing Men of the Truth of his Religion John 16.8 9 10 11. And when he is come he will reprove the World of Sin and of Righteousness and of Iudgment Of Sin because they believe not on me Of Righteousness because I go to the Father and ye see me no more Of Iudgment because the Prince of this World is judged Shewing hereby Christ was the Messiah and therefore they were guilty of great Sin who did not believe on him That he was a righteous and innocent Person and no Seducer because Christ rose from the Dead and went to the Father That he was an exalted Prince above Satan and whatever things were looked upon as Divine Powers Many that were not converted were convinced of this 3. His Providence All Judgment was put into Christ's Hands to be improved for the advancement of his Mediatory Kingdom John 5.22 For the Father judgeth no Man but hath committed all Iudgment to the Son He hath the Government of all things Angels and all Events that fall out in the World None of the Creatures are left to their own Arbitrement or uncertain Contingences but under the Government of a supreme Providence which is left in Christ's Hands Thus you see though the Devil's Interest be held up by the combined Interests of the World agreeing together to promote the Idolatries and Superstitions wherewith he hath inspired them yet Christ is able to break and dissolve all this Force and Power Secondly How far was Satan destroyed or his Head crushed 1. Negatively 1. Non ratione Essentiae not to take away his Life and Being No there is a Devil still and shall be even when the whole Work of Christ's Redemption is finished For then it is said Rev. 20.10 The Devil that deceived them was cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone where the Beast and the false Prophet are and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever So Mat. 25.41 Depart from me ye Cursed into everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Then Eternal Judgment is executed on the Head of the wicked State Sentence was passed before and the Devil feareth it Matth. 8.29 Art thou come hither to torment us before the time He was condemned before but then it is executed upon him he is finally punished and shall for ever remain with the Damned 2. Non ratione Malitiae not in regard of Malice For the Enmity ever continueth between the two Seeds and Satan will be doing though it be always to Loss
without some Remark and Observation Isaac goeth to meet with God and he meeteth with God and Rebekah too Godliness hath the promises of this Life and that which is to come there is nothing lost by Duty and Acts of Piety and Worship Seneca said The Iews were an unhappy People because they lost the Seventh part of their Lives meaning the time spent in the Sabbath This is the Sense of Nature to think all lost that is bestowed on God Flesh and Blood snuffeth and cryeth What a weariness is it And what need all this waste Oh let me tell you by serving God you drive on two cares at once Worldly Interests many times are cast into the way of Religion and besides the main design these things are added to us Wonderful are the Providences of God in and about Duties of Worship some have gone aside to pray and escaped such as lay in wait to destroy them and Luther tells a story of one that balked a Duty and fell into a danger passed by a Sermon and was presently surprized by Thieves Others there are that thought of nothing but meeting God in his Worship and God hath made their Duties an occasion of advancing their outward Comforts Certainly it is good to obey all impulses of the Spirit there may be somewhat of Providence as well as Grace in it Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the even-tide and he lift up his eyes and saw and behold the camels were coming In the Words you have several Circumstances The Person Isaac his Work he went out to meditate the Place in the Field the Time at even-tide 1. For the Person Isaac I need not say much because I would not digress He was Abraham's Son and God said of Abraham Gen. 18.19 I know him that he will command his children and his houshold after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him Good Education leaveth a Savour and Tincture upon the Spirit at least an Awe and a Care of Duties and Exercises of Religion and therefore it is no wonder to hear of Abrahams Son that had been trained up in the way of the Lord to go out to meditate it is a Seal of the Blessing of Education Again Isaac was now in his Youth certainly he could not be very old Sarah was Ninety years old when the Promise was first made to her of a Son Gen. 17.17 Then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed and said in his heart Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old And shall Sarah that is ninety years old bear Now Sarah was but One Hundred Twenty Seven old years when she dyed Gen. 23.1 And this Match was immediately after her Death for just as he received Rebekah he left off his Mourning for Sarah Gen. 24.67 And Isaac brought her into his Mother Sarahs tent and took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her And Isaac was comforted after his mothers death Probably Isaac now was a little above Thirty Isaac a Young Man that was now entring into the World goeth out to meditate Usually we make Religious Exercises the Work of Gray Hairs and after we have spent the heat and flower of our Spirits in the vanities of the World we hope to make amends for all by a Severe and Devout Retirement Young and Green Heads look upon Meditation as a dull melancholly work fit only for the phlegme and decay of Old Age vigorous and eager Spirits are more for Action than Thoughts and their Work lyeth so much with others that they have no time to descend into themselves But the Elder World was more Innocent the Exercises of Isaacs Youth were pious he went out into the Fields to meditate 2. To open his Work to you to meditate or as it is in the Margin to pray 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word used in the Original is indifferent to both Senses it properly signifies muttering or an imperfect and suppressed sound the Septuagint sometimes renders it by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to sing but here they render it by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies to exercise himself and most properly a Sportive Exercise as if his going abroad had been only to sport and recreate himself after the toyl of the day But that is not so probable the Holy Ghost would not put such a Mark upon such a Circumstance Therefore I suppose the Septuagints word must be taken more largely to comprise also a Religious Exercise But how is it To Pray or Meditate I would not recede from our own Translation without weighty Cause most other Translations look that way Symachus renders it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to speak Aquila 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to discourse as with others that is with God and his own Soul and so it suiteth with the force of the Original Word which properly signifies to mutter or such a speaking as is between Thoughts and Words So that the meaning is he went aside privately to discourse of God and the Promises and of Heavenly Things 3. The Place in the field Partly for Privacy deep Thoughts require a Retirement Many of Davids Psalms were penned in the Wilderness He that would have the Company of God and his own Thoughts had need go aside from other Company and be alone that he may not be alone that the Mind being sequestred from all Distractions may solace it self the more freely in these Heavenly Thoughts Exod. 3.1 Moses led the flock to the back-side of the desert and came to the mountain of God even to Horeb. He goeth aside from the other Shepherds that he might converse with the Great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls and there he seeth the Vision of the burning Bush. When God would communicate his Loves to the Church he inviteth her into the Wilderness Hosea 2.14 Therefore behold I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness and speak comfortably unto her The most familiar and intimate Converses between God and the Church are in private So the Spouse inviteth the Bridegroom Cant. 7.11 Come my beloved let us go forth into the field let us lodge in the villages In these Solitary and Heavenly Retirements to which no Eyes are conscious and privy we have most Experience of God and of our selves Duties done in Company are more easie by ends and Mans Eye and Observance may have an influence upon our Worship and therefore Meditation is difficult and tedious because it is a work of Retirement that hath approbation from none but our Father that seeth in Secret Partly because the Field is an help to Meditation fancy and invention being elevated and raised by the sweetness variety and pleasure of it there being on every side so many Objects and lively Memorials of God However in this sense the Circumstance is not binding some do better in a Closet than in a
in Reason upon Reason Inforcement upon Inforcement till you bring up Treasure cast on Weight upon Weight till it weigh down Now these Rational Inforcements are Four by Arguments Similitudes Comparison Colloquies or Soliloquies 1. By Arguments that are most Affective Inquire what kind of Arguments have most force upon the Spirits The Second Usual Arguments you should look after are Causes and Effects by the one Knowledge is increased and by the other Affections are stirred Do not emptily declame but see that your Eye may affect your Heart Choose such Arguments as are evident and strong you have them in the Word and in Sermons and you should have them in your Hearts Luke 6.45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh A good Man should be able to bring forth good Arguments that he might bring his Heart powerfully to the acknowledgement of the Will of God For what did God give you Faculties and the use of Reason and Discourse and such helps in the Ministry but for such a purpose 2. By Similitudes The word willfurnish you upon every point Heaven speaketh to us in a Dialect of Earth Heavenly Mysteries are cloathed with a Fleshly Notion In the Book of Canticles Communion with Christ is set forth by Banquets and Marriages and Spiritual things are shadowed out by Corporal fairness and sweetness In other places of Scripture Christ's Kingdom is set forth by an Earthly Kingdom the Word of God by a Glass the Wrath of God by Fire Now apt Similitudes have a great force upon the Soul for two Reasons partly because they help Apprehension and partly because they help Discourse There is as it were a Picture for the thoughts to gaze upon by Similitudes we come to understand a Spiritual thing that we know not being represented by sensible things with which they are acquainted the thing is twice represented to the Soul in Reality and in Picture as a double Medium helpeth the sight the Glass and the Air in Spectacles a Shilling in a Basen of Water seemeth bigger so it is here Yea they yield matter for much enlargement and help Discourse as when they brought God the Blind and the lame Mal. 1.8 Offer it now unto thy Governour will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person saith the Lord of hosts Sin is expressed by Death now the Soul may reason thus I tremble at Death why do I not tremble at Sin So Mortification is Physick I can dispense with the trouble of Physick for my Body this will make my Soul healthy 3. By Comparisons wherein other things are like or unlike the things we Meditate upon I urge this because it is a Natural Help it is a Rule of Nature that contraries being put together do mightily Illustrate one another as when you compare fairness and deformity black and white Deformity is more odious and black is more black So if I would contemplate the Beauty of Vertue and of the Spiritual Life I would compare it with the filthiness of Vice and of the prophane Life So when you compare the pleasant path of Wisdom with the filthy and dreggy Delights that are in the path of Sin you gain upon the Soul Put Earthly things into the Scales with Heavenly and see which weigheth heavyest set Heaven against Hell and Heaven against the World Our Saviour teacheth us to meditate by way of comparison Matth. 16.26 For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own Soul Or what shall a man give in exchange for his Soul So by comparing your selves with other Creatures as thus when you would shame your selves for your Disobedience you may argue thus All things obey the Law of their Creation the Sun delighteth to run his Race the Stars keep their Course and do not go beside the path God hath set them and I only have found out my own path So for your uncomfortableness in the wayes of God you may say Wicked Men delight to do wickedly but I do not delight in the Service of God shall it not be a pleasure to me to be exercised in the Duties of Religion Shall I not rejoyce in the Lord 4. By Colloquies and Soliloquies Colloquies and Speeches with God and Soliloquies with our selves Thoughts are more express and formal but when turned into Words and Speeches it is a sign the Affections are stirred Strong Affections must have vent in Words Speech is an help in Secret Prayer 1. In Colloquies with God either by way of Complaint Lord I am poor and needy and worldly Lord My Heart is naked and void of Grace Or else by way of Request as the Infant will shew the Apple or Jewel or whatever it hath received to the Parent or Nurse so the Soul representeth to God whatever it hath gotten by Meditation and taketh occasion further to converse with God and beg Grace of him 2. In Soliloquies with your own Souls and these are either by way of urging the Heart or charging it 1. By way of urging the Heart As suppose you have been meditating on the Glorious Salvation that was purchased by Jesus Christ let this be the close of all How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation Heb. 2.3 So if you have been meditating on the sinfulness of Sin fall upon your own Hearts Rom. 6.21 What fruit shall we have in those things whereof ye are now ashamed for the end of those things is Death Or if you have been meditating of Hell and the Wrath of God speak to your Heart Ezek. 22.14 Can thy heart endure or can thine hand be strong in the day that I shall deal with thee Art thou stronger than God that thou canst wrestle with him Or if you have been meditating on your sinfulness or the course of your own wicked Lives you may return upon your Heart Micah 6.8 He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee And verse 6. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow my self before the High God How shall I get a Ransom to redeem my Soul from the guilt of Sin 2. By way of Charge and Command Suppose you have been meditating of the benefit of Gods Service and the danger of going a whoring from him Hosea 2.7 She shall say I will go and return to my first husband for then was it better with me than now Or if you have been meditating of the Benefits of God to your Souls you may return upon your Hearts by way of Charge Psal. 116.7 Return unto thy rest O my Soul for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with me God hath opened his good Treasure to thee this hath been thy Portion therefore Return unto thy rest Well then thus do and then be watchful that you
Persons were swept away at once The next news of Sin is in the instance of Sodom and there Sin was of such an evil influence that it made God to rain Hell out of Heaven as one expresses it Gehennam misit e coelo Gen. 19.24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heaven Dominus a Domino the Lord Christ from the Lord Jehovah Jesus Christ himself will become the Executioner upon such a Wicked People Go from Sodom to Sion and further trace the Story of Sin Who can read the Lamentations without lamentation or run over the story of Ierusalems sorrows with dry Eyes There was not such a People under Heaven both for Mercies and Judgments the dearly beloved of his Soul given up to a sad ruine Lam. 3.39 Wherefore doth a living man complain a man for the punishment of his Sins What is the reason of all this but Sin Will you go further and see the Effects of Sin upon the Son of God himself who was the Son of his Love the man Gods fellow as he is called Zech. 13.7 his Associate they solaced themselves mutually in each other Prov. 8.30 There was I by him as one brought up with him I was dayly his delight rejoycing alwaies before him See what Sin did to him that was but imputed to him Look into the Garden see him in his Agonies go to Golgotha see Christ hanging on the Cross if you would know Sin Gold and Silver would not ransom us nothing would serve but the Blood of Christ Oh come and wonder The boundless Sea of the God-head was stopped by the bank of Sin For a Candle to be put out is no such matter but for the Sun to be quenched and darkned this is dreadful So for a poor Creature to be forsaken is nothing but when the Son of God shall complain that he cannot actually enjoy the Comfort of the God-head when the Sun of Righteousness shall complain of an Eclipse and of a suspension of Consolation this is dreadful Though the Humane Nature recoyled out of a just abhorrency of the Sufferings he was to endure and he came to his Father Matth. 26.39 Oh my Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me And again ver 42. and again ver 44 saying the same words yet Divine Justice would not bate him one farthing what then would have become of us if Jesus Christ had not catched the blow Then survey common Experience If all the Charnels in the World were emptied upon one heap and all the Bones of all that ever dyed were laid together you might say all these were slain by Sin Whenever you see Sin you may entertain it as Elisha did Hazael Thou art the Murderer All Diseases Pestilences Wars Famines Tumults Earthquakes these are but the births of Sin it hath laid Houses desolate wasted Kingdoms destroyed Cities Sin may say Zephan 3.6.7 I have cut off the nations their Towers are desolate I have made their streets wast that none passeth by their Cities are destroyed so that there is no man there is none inhabitant I said surely thou wilt fear me that which we â—eel we may fear But we may come nearer home Do but consider the Effects of it within your selves in the Terrors of Conscience What a sorry Creature is Man when God arms his own thoughts against him and sets home one Sin upon his Conscience He longs for Death rather than Life Heman who was a Child of God complains Psal. 88.16 17 Thy fierce wrath goeth over me thy terrors have cut me off They came round about me dayly like water they compassed me about together What a sad thing is this that a Man should be Magor Missabib fear round about that his own Thoughts should be his Hell and wherever he goes he carries his Hell with him when he lies down in his Bed Hell lyes down with him when he walks out into the Field or Garden Hell walks with him when he goes about his Business Hell goes with him Sin is its own Executioner however it smiles in the first address yet afterwards it scourgeth the Soul with horror and despair Consider the horrors in Death There is a Natural abhorrency from Death as an Evil to our Life and Being but that which increaseth Horrour is Sin 1 Cor. 15.56 The sting of death is sin Oh what agonies will it raise in our Souls when we come to dye if we dye in our Sins Though we were immortal yet Sin is so great an Evil that it were not to be committed but when we are to dye and give an account how doth it fill the Soul with horror and diffidence and shame and anger Some wicked Men indeed dye stupid and careless at least doubtful and some may be fool-hardy like a Man that fetcheth a leap in the dark over a bottomless gulph he doth not know where his feet may light A Wicked Man is like a Tree that grows on the Bank of a River he is on the Borders of Hell and when he dyes he falls into it When they come to dye Sin will be accusing Conscience witnessing the Law condemning Satan insulting Heaven will be shut up against them and Hell inlarging her mouth Oh how will the Body curse the Soul for an ill guide and the Soul curse the Body as a wicked Instrument It is a sad parting when these two loving Friends Body and Soul part with Curses and can never expect to meet again but in Torment A Godly Man when he dyes takes a fair leave of his Body and saies farewel flesh He goes down to the Grave with the Covenant of Grace in his hand my flesh shall rest in Hope but a wicked Man dreadeth it that ever his Body and Soul must be united again they part with an expectation never to meet but in flames But all this is nothing to the Everlasting Estate that follows after it consider either the Loss or the Pain both will represent the Evil of Sin Consider the loss by sinning thou losest God and Heaven and Glory for a trifle for a little dreggy pleasure thou thrustest away Eternal Joyes thou dost as it were say I care not for Heaven so I may have carnal satisfaction as of Esau it is said Gen. 25.34 Thus Esau despised his birth-right it is not worth a Mess of Pottage With what sad Reflections wilt thou declaim against Sin when thou shalt see the Holy ones of God stand at the right hand of Christ and thou art halled to thy own place How will thy Heart turn upon thee for thy own folly then As one dreamt that his heart was boyling for his Sins in a Kettle of Scalding Lead and it cryed out to him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is I that have been the cause of this Were it not for Sin I might have had a place in Abrahams Bosom but now I am going to Everlasting Torment then you will know what Sin is
doth the Gospel teach us To live soberly righteously and godly To injoy God to live with Man and the government of our selves We have enough if we have all this But we have all this in as ample manner as heart can wish for and therefore he that cometh from the dead must either preach the same Doctrine and then it is needless and superfluous or contrary things and then how shall we believe him who are forewarned Gal. 1.8 But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed Christ enters a caution against them 2. Better Arguments cannot be urged nor more perswasively The Gospel is the wisdom of God 1 Cor. 1.24 And surely God knoweth all the Wards of the Lock and what kind of Keys will fit the Heart of Man He hath laid forth the riches of Wisdom and Grace upon this Blessed design and hence it is that we have such Mysterious Doctrines such Dreadful Threatnings such Sweet Promises such strong Obligations from the Death and Incarnation of the Son of God from the Example of Christ which doth secure our Direction and incourage our Practice Out of what Rock was Man hewen if all this will not work upon him What must God do Provide a better Heaven a hotter Hell another Son to dye for us or a more forcible and incouraging Example than that of Jesus Christ What 's the matter that the wicked Sinner will not be allured and made tame charme the charmer never so wisely What do we need more to move us Shall God pipe to you in a sweeter strain than that of Gospel-Grace or Gospel-Promises Is the giving himself and his Christ a price too cheap to purchase your hearts Or must he thunder to you in a more dreadful accent than the horrours of Everlasting Darkness Are these but poor and mean Scarecrows to tell you of a Pit without a bottom of a Worm that never dyeth of a Fire that shall never be quenched Or what is the matter that the Sinner stirreth not Is the Scripture a dead Letter And needeth it to be actuated and enforced by a living voice God hath provided us Apostles and Prophets to write Scriptures so Pastors and Teachers to explain and apply Scriptures Eph. 4.11 He gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers Men who are concerned as well as our selves the value of whose credit we know by their faithfulness in other things that have the same Temptations Affections and Necessities as we have Men with whom we may more familiarly converse and with less fright than with one from the dead Oh but one that cometh from the dead is supposed to testifie his own sight and knowledge and so to speak more feelingly And have not Gods Messengers some experience Cannot they say we declare to you the things which we have seen and heard and felt Have they not been scorched by the Spirit of Conviction tasted Comfort felt a change in their own hearts What can any Messenger from the dead say that hath not been told you over again and again a thousand times Would he say that all shall dye That you see with your Eyes that presently after Death cometh Judgment That you pretend to believe already that the Torments of Hell are terrible and insupportable This God hath told you over and over And if we receive the witness of men the witness of God is greater 1 Iohn 5.9 That you must repent and be converted This is that that is sounded in your Ears every day Therefore we are better provided already than to need the horrour of an Apparition or a warning from one among the dead 3. It is not because he could propound these Truths with more certainty for these things are already propounded to our Understandings and we have sensible confirmation 1. They are propounded to our understandings with a fair and full credibility The Holy Scriptures have in themselves a self-evidencing light by which they make it out to the Consciences of Men that they are of God Every thing that hath passed the hand of God discovereth its Author all Gods works have his Signature and Impression upon them which is legible and visible to every attentive beholder Rom. 1.20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal Power and Godhead so that they are without excuse Psal. 19.1 The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy work Not a pile of grass but sheweth its Maker Praesentem refert quaelibet herba Deum and surely his Word which he hath magnified above all his name Psal. 138.2 is not altogether without such an impress and stamp of God upon it therein being revealed things most worthy of the Truth Wisdom Goodness and Holyness of God and suitable to that Wisdom and Truth that is in us so far as there is any in us What shall I speak of the most satisfactory way of Reconciliation with God The fairest draught of Moral perfection far beyond all that which is of meer Humane Recommendation Here is no dead fly in this box of Ointment but all pure and holy without mixture nothing so accommodate to the necessities of Man and fit to bring us to the injoyment of that which the reasonable Nature aimeth at What shall I speak of the Majesty of the Stile the genuine simplicity of the Narrations the Harmony of the Parts the Sublimity of the Doctrines the Impartiality and Purity of the Precepts the overflow of God's Love in the Promises the glorious Rewards the certainty of the Prophesies All which are so many innate Characters and Evidences of the Divine Authority of these Writings by which they clearly insinuate themselves with wonderful force and power into the Consciences of Men 2 Cor. 4.2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty not walking in craftiness not handling the word of God deceitfully but by manifestation of the truth commending our selves to every mans conscience in the sight of God There was an evidence in the Truth it self preached by the Apostles so there is in the word written by the Apostle for the voice could add nothing to it and the Writing take nothing from it A Man of Art and Judgment discovereth himself in every Book he writeth Aristotles Writings shew him a Person of great knowledge Can a Book have God for its Author and have nothing to discover its Author 'T is unreasonable Masters in Writing or Painting shew their hand the Scripture doth not stand or fall to the courtesies of Man Well then if these things be so as certainly they are so we have more certainty by the Word it self than possibly we can have by a Messenger from the dead yea or a voice from Heaven for it hath such a signature of God upon it that we need go no
godliness The whole Gospel is called Titus 1.1 The truth which is after godliness and 1 Tim. 6.3 A Doctrine which is according to godliness Because it delivereth the exact and most perfect way of serving God The Lord Jesus was desirous that this Doctrine should take place in the World therefore he himself was pleased to assume our Nature to preach it to us So for his Precepts they all prescribe an universal adherance to God and dependance on him that we may not be carryed away by the false Offers and Delights of Sin but may live in perfect Obedience to God and Justice and Charity to Men. Besides the word discovereth all the cheats and fallacies we put upon our selves to keep us from all impure mixtures of worldly and carnal aims it discovers the crafty pretences and the most insinuating and cunning contrivances to disguise and hide Sin Heb. 4.12 For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joynts and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart In short the whole aim of it is That we may please God and be beloved by him Iohn 14.21 He that hath my commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him The Promises call for the greatest purity and cleanness of Heart and Life 2 Cor. 7.1 Having therefore these promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit perfecting holyness in the fear of God So the Threatnings Why doth Christ tell us of Torments without end and ease of a Pit without a bottom of a Fire that shall never be quenched but to make Sin more odious and hateful to us Surely not to terrifie us but to sanctifie us for his Government is rather by Love than by Fear Now whosoever wistly considereth the Christian Religion he will soon discerne that it was framed and set afoot by one that loved Righteousness and hated Iniquity 2. His Priestly Office consists in his Oblation and Intercession As the High Priest under the Law did both offer Sacrifice and intercede for the People Now what was the intent of Christs Sacrifice but to put away Sin Heb. 9.26 Now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself That is not only to destroy the Guilt but the Power of it There are Three things in the Death and Sufferings of Christ to make us hate Iniquity and so by consequence to love Righteousness First By way of Representation Secondly By way of Impetration Thirdly By way of Obligation 1. By way of Representation His bitter Sufferings are an instance of Gods great Wrath against Sin and Sinners For if Christ must thus be handled rather than Sin shall go unpunished it warneth us to be very cautious how we meddle with the forbidden fruit When we remember his bitter Agonies his accursed shameful Death we should cry out Oh odious Sin This is the meaning of that expression Rom. 8.3 And for sin he condemned sin in the flesh That is by a Sin-Offering or the Sacrifices of Christ he hath condemned Sin he hath left a brand or mark of his Displeasure against Sin which should induce us to be very cautious and watchful against it For if these things be done in the green Tree what shall be done in the dry 2. By way of Impetration and Purchase Christ came not only to expiate the guilt of it but to get it out of our Hearts As he pacified the Wrath of God so he purchased the Spirit in which Sense our old man is said to be crucified with him Rom. 6.6 Namely As Grace was obtained whereby it might be crucified Now we are sluggish and cowardly if we tamely yield to our Lusts and pretend want of Power when it is want of Will to cast them off 3. By way of Obligation by this great instance of his Love to induce us to kill our Love to Sin 1 Pet. 2.24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousness by whose stripes we are healed Since he hath borne the weight of our Sins and endured the Wrath due to them in his own Person if we have any esteem of Christs Love certainly we would not spare our most beloved Lusts nor be still alive to Sin and dead to Righteousness nor wittingly and allowedly do the least thing that is offensive to him Ezra 9.14 Should we again break thy commandments and join in affinity with the people of these abominations wouldest thou not be angry with us till thou hadst câ—nsumed us so that there should be no remnant nor escaping 3. The next is a King He is one whose Heart was so set upon the Love of Righteousness and the Hatred of all Iniquity that he would come as a Prophet himself to teach the sinful lost World how to become Holy again And as a Priest to dye for the guilty World to reconcile them to God surely he was fit also to Rule and Governe the World There are two parts of Government Laws and Actual Administration His Laws are all good and equal the same with his Doctrine As he giveth notice of these things as a Prophet so he giveth charge about them as a King Of his Laws we need not further speak but the Administration is under our Consideration Now in the Righteous ordering the Affairs of his Kingdom he sheweth himself to be one that loveth Righteousness and hateth Iniquity As the Laws are good and equal so the Administration is right and just The Administration of this Kingdom is two-fold Internal and External 1. Internal Christ is set over the Church of God as a Glorious Head and Chief who is to recover a lost People unto God His Internal Administration is either effective or remunerative 1. Effective by his preventing Grace as he changeth our Hearts bringeth us into his Kingdom worketh Faith in us and maketh us willing Subjects to him Conversion is one of his Kingly Acts wrought in us by the efficacy of his preventing Grace otherwise we cannot enter into his Kingdom Matth. 18.3 Except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven Col. 1.13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son Till he subdue the Power of Sin and Sathan in our Hearts we shall still groan under that Tyranny Acts 26.18 To open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Sathan unto God 2. Remunerative By the Rewards of Godliness here and hereafter Here Rom. 14.17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in
the Holy Ghost Peace of Conscience increase of Grace joy in the Holy Ghost They shall not want incouragement who seriously set themselves to love Righteousness and hate Iniquity 2 Pet. 1.11 For so an entrance shall be ministred unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ. Hereafter Heaven is the Portion of the sanctified Acts 20.32 And now Brethren I commend you to God and the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified He doth sanctifie all that believe on him and then give them Eternal Life 2. External in the course of his Providence Christ hath set up a Government wherein he will favour and protect those that walk uprightly Psalm 11.7 For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness his countenance doth behold the upright But with the disobedient God is angry every day Psalm 7.11 Only it is the day of Gods patience God is preparing himself Well then we must neither rebel against his Government nor distrust his defence For Christ administreth Justice in his Kingdom defending the good and destroying the wicked and he will in time earnestly espouse the cause of all Holyness and Righteousness II. I come now to the Unction of Christ which is the consequent fruit of the former God even thy God hath anointed thee with the oyl of gladness above thy fellows There you may observe 1. The Author of this Unction God even thy God 2. The Priviledge it self to be anointed with the oyl of gladness 3. The Partakers of this Priviledge or the Persons to whom it is applyed One Principal and Singular who hath the Preheminence and that is the Mediator others Inferiour and in a lower degree of participation called here his fellows Let us a little explain these things 1. The Author of this Unction God even thy God Is this spoken to him as God or Man It may be true in both senses As to his Divine Nature he is God of God or as it is in Iohn 1.1 The word was with God and the word was God As to his Humane Nature he is a Creature made of a Woman and so God is his God as he is the God of all flesh But especially is this spoken of him as Mediator so Christ is one of Gods Confederates There is a Covenant between God and him Ioh. 20.17 I go to my father and your father to my God and your God The Sum of the Covenant was that after he had suffered here upon Earth and satisfied Gods Justice by being made a Curse for us he was at length to be raised out of the Grave and exalted to his Regal Power in Heaven All that belongeth to a Covenant is found in this Transaction between God and Christ. 1. God propoundeth the Terms or demandeth of his Son that he lay down his life and for his labour he promiseth that he shall see his Seed that God shall give him many Children Isa. 53.10 He shall see his seed he shall prolong his dayes and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands 2. The Son consenteth and saith A body hast thou prepared for me Loe I come to do thy will Psalm 40.6 7. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire mine ears hast thou opened burnt-offering and sin-offering thou hast not required Then said I loe I come in the volume of the book it is written of me Here the Eternal Son of God doth agree and contract with his Father to performe that perfect Obedience to his Laws and to offer up himself such a Divine and Spotless Sacrifice for the Sins of the whole World as was necessary for the Expiation of Sin 3. Christ hath not only consented but doth with all Joy and Delight set about this whole Will and Counsel of God and go through with the Work and Office assigned unto him very chearfully and heartily till he had brought it to a good End and Issue Psalm 40.8 I delight to do thy will O my God! yea thy law is in my heart 4. After this ready and willing Obedience he is to plead the Covenant Psalm 89.26 He shall cry unto me thou art my Father my God and the Rock of my salvation Psalm 2.8 Ask of me and I will give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession Upon this there is 5. Gods Answer God even thy God hath anointed thee with the oyl of gladness above thy fellows And Psalm 110.1 The Lord said unto my Lord sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy foot-stool Thus doth the Scripture lisp to us in our own Dialect or in such Language as we can best understand concerning that Bill of Contract or transacted bargain between God and Christ from all Eternity wherein Christ undertaking perfectly to fulfil the Will of God and to performe all Active and Passive Obedience even unto Death had the Promise from God that he should become the Author of Eternal Salvation to all that obey him The Redemption of Sinners is not a work of yesterday nor a business of chance but well-advised and in Infinite Wisdom contrived There was a preparatory agreement to that great work before it was gone about and therefore it should not be slighted by us nor lightly passed over 2. The Priviledge it self to be anointed with the oyl of gladness It noteth his solemne Exaltation and Admission to the Exercise of his Office By Oyl all agree is meant the Spirit by which Christ was anointed Luke 4.18 The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me 1. Christ was anointed at his Conception in his Mothers Womb when he was sanctified by the Holy Spirit For the work of the Spirit was not only to forme his Body out of the substance of the Virgin which Nature could not do of its self but chiefly to preserve it from Sin and endow it with the gift of Holyness From which time he grew in Wisdom and Grace as well as in Stature Luke 2.52 And Iesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man 2. Again Christ may be said to be anointed at his Baptisme which was the visible consecration to his Office when the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove Matth. 3.16 17. and Iohn 1.33 once more 3. He may be said to be anointed at his Ascension when he received of the Father the Promise of the Spirit to pour him forth upon his Disciples Acts 2.33 Therefore being by the right hand of God eâ—alted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear This I take to be the Sense here his Glorious Exaltation at the right hand of God where being possessed of all Power he joyfully expecteth and accomplisheth the fruits of his Redemption I am the more confirmed in this 1. Because the
as to assure our Hearts before him 3. Conscience is easily offended but not easily appeased As the Eye is easily offended with the least dust or mote which soon gets in but is not easily gotten out But then to appease it costs a great deal of trouble Therefore if we would as Paul keep a Conscience void of Offence there needeth much tenderness and watchfulness for by the Commission of deliberate and wilful Sins you may raise a Tempest that is not easily laid again as David felt broken bones after his foul fall Psalm 51.8 Make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce Before the Action Conscience sheweth what is to be done in the Action it guideth us in doing after the Action it censureth it as well or ill done And so either comforteth us with hopes of a Reward or terrifieth us with fear of Punishment As a Man acteth so Conscience is a Party as the Action is censured so Conscience is a Judge after the Action the force of Conscience is usually seen more than before the Fact or in the Fact because before and in the Action the Judgment of Reason is not so clear and strong the Affections raising Mists and Clouds to darken the Mind and trouble it and draw it on their side by their pleasing violence By the Treachery of the Senses and Revolt of the Passions the Mind is betrayed but as the Violence of the Affections ceaseth and is by little and little allayed guilt flasheth in the face of Conscience and Reason hath the greatest force to affect the Mind with grief or fear The Act being over and the Affection satisfied the Soul giveth place to Reason which was before contemned and when it recovereth the Throne it striketh through the Heart with a sharp Sentence and Reproof for obeying Appetite before it self and brings in Terrour and Trouble which causeth the Soul to sit uneasy Matth. 27.4 I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood Rom. 1.32 Knowing the judgment of God that they which commit such things are worthy of death Therefore do not go like an Ox to the Slaughter nor a Fool to the Correction of the Stocks 4. Conscience is the best Friend and the worst Enemy It is the best Friend partly for its Comfort Prov. 15.15 He that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast 2 Cor. 1.12 For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience no Bird sings so sweetly as the Bird in the Bosome Partly for its nearness it is alwaies with us in Health and Sickness in Life and in Death Husbands and Wives who are most together yet because they live a distinct Life they are often apart Death looseth the Bond and Knot but this remaineth with us So it is the worst Enemy Partly for its universal nearness it is sad for a Man to be at odds with himself and fall out with his own Heart It is a Domestical Tribunal which alwaies remaineth with us and therefore Iob could bear the Reproaches of others but his own heart should not reproach him as long as he lived Iob 27.6 Partly because of the grievousness of the Wound and Stroak Prov. 18.14 A wounded spirit who can bear It is no less than the fear of the Wrath of the Eternal God A Man cannot run away from his Conscience no more than he can run away from himself and therefore for a Man to please others and offend his Conscience what folly is that Or to please a Lust to wound his Conscience A Lust or vain Appetite is an unjustifiable thing and will soon appear so but the Fears of Conscience are justified by the highest Reason the Law of God the satisfaction of a Lust is a poor vanishing Pleasure but the observing and keeping a good Conscience breedeth a solid Joy which will stick by thee to the very last and when thou comest to dye will be a support to thee Isa. 38.3 Remember now O Lord I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight When thou must leave Riches Honours and Pleasures which are the Baits of thy Lust this will stick by thee 1 Iohn 2.17 The world passeth away and the lust thereof but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever Therefore now thou shouldest mortifie thy Lust and gratifie thy Conscience 5. Thy Conscience is the beginning of Heaven and Hell A good Conscience is the beginning of Heaven and Peace and Joy in believing is a foretast of that fulness of Joy and Pleasure which we shall have when we come into Gods immediate presence The glorified Spirits carry a good Conscience with them to Heaven their works follow them Rev. 14.13 And the damned carry their Stings and Convictions with them to Hell Mark 9.44 Their worm dyeth not and the fire is not quenched Oh think of this The Joys of the Spirit are an Antipast of Glory called often an Earnest in Scripture 2 Cor. 1.22 Who hath also sealed us and given the earnest of the spirit in our hearts And the Horrors of Conscience are the Suburbs of Hell Oh therefore be sure to keep all quiet within and whatever be your Temptations do not offend Conscience but unfeignedly discharge your Duties to God and Men 6. If there be a crack and a flaw in your Conscience all your trading with Heaven is at a stand there cannot be any serious dealing with God nor Holy boldness in Prayer 1 Iohn 3.21 If our hearts condemn us not then have we confidence towards God When you have sinned away your Peace a strangeness and distance groweth between God and you Psalm 32.3 When I kept silence my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long Gen. 3.8 And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden Adam run to the bushes Your hearts will grow shie of God and you cannot so comfortably look him in the face and so the sweetness of Holy Privacy and Communion with God will be lost Time was when you could go boldly and open your Hearts to God but now you are afraid of him and every Act of Commerce is a reviving of your Bondage the remembrance of God is a trouble to you 7. If Conscience speaketh not it writeth for it is not only a Witness but a Register and Book of Record Ier. 17.1 The sin of Iudah is written with a pen of iron and with the point of a diamond We know not what Conscience writeth being occupied and taken up with Carnal Vanities and carryed away with foolish and hurtful Lusts but we shall know afterwards when the Book of Conscience shall be opened Rev. 20.12 And I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged out of those things which were
thee pray to God for us that he take away the fiery serpents In Adversity Men will own the faithful Servants of God against whom they have murmured when all is well Moses forgetteth the injury and prayeth to God for them and God though he doth not take away the Serpents yet he provideth a Remedy unlikely in appearance a Brazen Serpent to cure the bites of Living Serpents but Divine Institution conveyeth a Blessing The word of Command is that they should look upon the brazen serpent and the word of Promise is that they should be healed Numb 21.8 Make thee a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole and it shall come to pass that every one when he is bitten that looketh upon it shall live This is in short the History Secondly The Mistery or Typical use of the Brazen Serpent The chief things represented in it are Sin Christ and Faith the deadliness of Sin the manner of our deliverance by Christ and the Nature of Faith 1. Israelites deadly Sin and Misery occasioned the setting up of the Brazen Serpent so the occasion of Christs sending into the World was Mans Sin and Misery we being all bitten by the old Serpent and so liable to the Curse The Devil is called the old serpent Rev. 12.9 And in the appearance of a Serpent he deceived our first Parents Therefore we read that the serpent beguiled Eve 2 Cor. 11.3 Humane Nature was then stung to Death by Sathan and the Venome dispersed its self throughout the whole Race of Mankind Among the Israelites there were but a few stung here all there their Bodies here the Soul there Temporal Death followed here Eternal In the Sting of these fiery Serpents two things representeth our Misery by Sin 1. It is painful 2. Deadly 1. This Sting is painful The bitings did presently cause pains and an intolerable thirst and burning which was very grievous to them so the sting of Sin is painful not alwaies felt but soon awakened In Spiritual things we are more stupid and are not so sensible of the Maladies of the Soul as they were of the pains of the Body We are subject to bondage Heb. 2.14 Though we do not alwaies feel actual horrour There is a fire smothering in our Bosoms though it be not blown up into a Flame One of our Spiritual Diseases is a Lethargy and it is a great part of our Misery not to know our Misery If Conscience were not lulled asleep we would be more sensible Surely Sathans bites are more painful than those of these Serpents his Darts are called fiery darts Eph. 6.16 His Darts are dipt in the gall of Asps and Vipers Boiling Lusts will in time awaken raging Fears and Despair O what horrour and torment will Sin procure to us if it be not speedily cured Sin is an Evil and a Mischief whether we feel it yea or no but we shall soon feel it an Evil as the stung Israelites felt the biting of the Serpents Sin in the Life will make Hell in the Conscience it seemeth a sweet draught while we are taking it down but there is rank poison at the bottom A wounded Spirit findeth it now Prov. 18.14 A wounded spirit who can bear Horrour and anguish of Conscience is insupportable ask any Man whose Heart is well awakened and he will tell you that the sense of the guilt of Sin is more bitter to the Soul than the gall of Asps no terrour comparable to the terror and sting of an accusing Conscience Gods terrors are compared to a Fire that drinketh up the Blood and Spirits Iob 6.4 The arrows of the almighty are within me the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me No poison more burning than Sin in an awakened Conscience it may lie asleep till you come to dye in Sin stupid and benummed Creatures But then the sting of death is sin 1 Cor. 15.56 Death is made terrible by those sad horrors and apprehensions which Sin raiseth in us 2. This Sting is deadly As the biting of the Fiery Serpents could not be cured but was present Death till God found out a Remedy so this sting of Sin is deadly Rom. 5.12 By one man sin entred into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned Gen. 2.17 In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely dye dying thou die Rom. 6.23 The wages of sin is death Death Temporal Eternal Thou art a dead Man lost for ever if thou art not cured Those who were not solicitous about their Cure are a figure of the impenitent who obstinately continue in their Sins though they bring destruction upon them Not only Death Temporal which consists in the separation of the Soul from the Body but Death Spiritual which consists in an estrangement from God as Author of the Life of Grace yea Death Eternal which consists in a separation both of Body and Soul from the presence of God for evermore and is a perpetual living to deadly pain and torment This Second Death is set forth by two solemn Notions the worm that never dyeth and the fire that shall never be quenched Mark 9.44 By which is meant the Sting of Conscience and the Wrath of God Prov. 8.36 All they that hate me love death 2. Christ is set forth by the Brazen Serpent Here I shall shew you 1. The Resemblances 2. The Superexcellency of Christ above this and all the Shadows and Types of him 1. The Resemblance between Christ and the Brazen Serpent 1. The Brazen Serpent was a Remedy of Gods own prescribing out of his great Mercy So is this Remedy for lost Sinners the meer Fruit of Gods Love Iohn 3.16 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son the causa 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Occasion or outward moving Cause was our Misery the causa 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the inward impulsive Cause was his own love and pity to lapsed Mankind God found out the Remedy we neither plotted it nor asked it he saw the world of Mankind was perishing and involved in Eternal Ruine and because there was no Intercessor therefore his own Arm wrought out Salvation Herein the Antitype differeth from the Type The stung Israelites having Death in their bosoms go to Moses Moses goeth to God for he saw there could be no help elsewhere then God said Make thee a brazen serpent The motion came from them first but here it is quite otherwise God is the offended Party yet he maketh the first motion 1 Iohn 4.19 We love him because he loved us first There God found out the Remedy but here his meer love began the whole business and did set at work all the Causes that did concur to our Salvation we neither minded our Danger nor asked our Remedy 2. The conveniency of this Type to set out the low Estate and Humiliation of Christ. The form of a Serpent was chosen to shew
his own wounds so must we look upon Christ as our own Saviour with application to our selves Iohn 20.28 My Lord and my God! 3. Affectionate with Desire and Trust. With desire longing for Cure there must be hearty groans and desires Our eyes are upon thee 2 Chron. 20.12 The having our eyes to any thing noteth our desire Psalm 121.1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help Earnestly desire to be partaker of these benefits by Christ 1 Pet. 1.7 To them that believe he is precious And with trust Isa. 17.7 At that day shall a man look to his maker and his eyes shall have respect to the holy one of Israel that is he shall seek to him trust in him depend upon him because what Men trust to they are wont frequently and wistly to look after and to have their eyes fixed upon Psalm 123.2 Behold as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters and as the eyes of a maiden to the hand of her mistress so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God till he have mercy on us Psalm 34.5 They looked to him and were lightned That is comforted in the middest of their darkness and trouble Psalm 141.8 Mine eyes are unto thee O God the Lord in thee I trust 4. Ingaging we need to get open Eyes to see him and contemplate him till we see Beauty in him that may allure us to love him and esteem him as the fairest of Ten Thousand to renounce our selves and the Vanities of the World and betake our selves to his Discipline to see all is nothing in comparison of his Excellency Phil. 3.8 Yea doubtless and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Iesus my Lord. A True Knowledge of Christ is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eph. 1.17 which is elsewhere rendred acknowledging so as to give due Honour Respect and Reverence to him We may know Strangers and those whom we contemn and despise but we do not acknowledge them VSE Let us look upon the Lord Jesus for cure He calleth upon us in his word Look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth Isa. 45.12 It is little that we can afford Christ if we cannot afford him a serious look It may be you will think that this is so sleight a work that it will not produce any great effects in the Soul that a look should heal is strange Surely you will say this is not a full Notion of Faith nor an Act that will do us any good I answer Indeed it will not if it be done sleightly Therefore let me tell you that there are several Notions of Faith which all have their use Some Notions are fitted for Soul-Examination as Faith that worketh by Love that conquereth the World that purifieth the Heart these do best for a deliberate search and the stating of our Interest Some for anxious thoughts at the first awaking of the Soul out of the sleep of Sin as coming running flying and seeking when the Soul is under trouble and hangeth off from the Grace offered we press them to come as our Necessities are great we press them to run a Soul deeply pressed with a sense of its Necessity and Danger is alwaies in hast so we press them to flie for refuge when Comfort appeareth not presently we press to seek and to a diligent attendance on the appointed means Some for Agonies of Conscience after some former manifestations of Gods Love these we exhort to staying and resting Isa. 50.10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord that obeyeth the voice of his servant that walketh in darkness and hath no light Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God We press recumbency and adherence Isa. 26.3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth i◠thee Some for Agonies of Death and great and imminent dangers when long Debates are not so seasonable these we press to committing 2 Tim. 1.12 I know whom I have believed and am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day 1 Pet. 4.19 Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithful creator Jesus Christ himself did so Luke 23.46 Father into thy hands I commend my spirit And David Psal. 31.5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit Some for Holy Duties as Word Prayer Lords Supper we press to acceptance of Christ in the word to coming to Christ or to God by Christ in Prayer we accept him from God in the word of Promise we present him to God in Prayer as the ground of our confidence and hope for the Mercies prayed for In the Lords Supper as Religion is made visible and we are to make use of the help of Sense Eye Tast and Hand so we press you to take eat and look this is a Notion for this use when Christ is crucified as it were before our Eyes Well then this is one great work to look to Jesus the Author and Dedicator of our Faith to spy out Christ under his Memorials here he is set forth dying and hanging on a Tree Pilate when he had scourged him brought him forth and shewed him to the Iews he said Behold the man Iohn 19.5 We say to you in Gods Name Behold your dearest Redeemer bleeding and dying Now he is evidently set forth to you your business is to behold him And that this look may be serious Remember 1. This is supposed that you come hither as stung with Sin and that your Hearts are deeply affected with your Malady Alas otherwise here is no work to do if Men are not sensible of their Malady why should they look after a Remedy Matth. 9.12 13. They that be whole need not a Physician but they that are sick For I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance None but the burdened will look out for ease or the self-condemned for Pardon If sin be not sin indeed Grace will not be Grace indeed Christ was anointed to heal the broken-hearted Luke 4.18 2. Your sight of Christ must not meerly be Historical and Literal the work of the Understanding and Memory but of Faith A few cold thoughts raised upon this occasion do not warm and comfort the Heart You are to look to him so as that the Heart be affected with Mourning Desire and Trust. 1. Mourning for Sin If you are sensible of your case you will do so A slight glance of the thoughts leaveth no Impression Look as the three Maries Mary the Mother of Jesus Mary the Wife of Cleophas and Mary Magdalen they were affected when they saw Christ dying Iohn 19.25 26. Of one of them it is said Luke 2.35 Yea a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also So do you Acts 2.37 When they heard this they were
pricked in their heart 2. Desire Would not the stung Israelite desire a cure So must you Matth. 5.6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled Saith the Church Lament 3.51 Mine eye affecteth my heart 3. Trust. You see nothing by the Eye of Sense but his Memorials which God hath instituted as helps of Faith yet to appearance as despicable and as unlikely to produce any great effect as a Figure of Brass to cure a raging wound But things under an Institution are under a Blessing 1 Cor. 1.21 It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe You may think a Crucifix a more lively representation no that is not under the blessing of an Institution as Bread broken and Wine poured forth is that is too much a matter of Sense and begetteth bare thoughts which stirreth up fond pity and gross and wrong thoughts this conveyeth a Blessing You are to behold not only a dying Man put to a cruel Death but the Son of God in his deep kxinanition not carnally to pity him but to see his Love and the Wrath of God and the desert of Sin that you may abhor it to see the great price paid for our Ransom the necessity of having the vertue of his Cross and finally our thankful subjection to God Behold him that you may bless and praise God for your Redeemer The Type had its effect and shall not Christ Oh labour to feel the comfortable effects of his Death 3. Beg of God the Spirit to open your Eyes Christ crucified is only seen in the Light and Evidence of the Spirit 1 Cor. 2.4 My speech and my preaching was not with the enticing words of mans wisdom but in demonstration of the spirit and of power The Eyes of our Minds are opened by the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation for our Light is but darkness 4. See him so as to expect not only Comfort but Healing Isa. 53.5 With his stripes we are healed That Heart is to be suspected that looks to Comfort more than Duty Look to him that you may live by him Gal. 2.20 I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me Look to him that you may be like him 2 Cor. 3.18 For we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the spirit of the Lord. Look to him that you may loath Sin Ezek. 36.31 Then shall you remember your own evil wayes and your doings that were not good and shall loath your selves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations The First SERMON On I. Thessalonians v. 16 Rejoyce evermore THE words are brief and short and therefore they may be easily carried away They are independant on the Context and therefore will need no long deduction They press you not to a painful but pleasant Duty therefore you should be readily induced to practice it But yet when we look more intrinsecally into the Nature of it it is not so easie as we first imagined every one cannot receive this saying it is hard to keep the Heart in such an exact frame as to rejoyce evermore pray without ceasing and in every thing to give thanks as Christ saith in another case He that is able to receive it let him receive it Matth. 19.12 But what if we prove it to be a Duty incumbent on all Christians and that at all times The Text seemeth to enforce it rejoyce evermore In which words take notice of two things 1. The Duty to which we are exhorted rejoyce 2. The constancy and perpetuity of it in the word evermore Delight and Pleasure are greedily sought after in Christianity it is not only part of our Wages but much of our very Work Doctrine That Gods Children should make conscience of rejoycing in God at all times and under all conditions Here is a Precept for it not only a liberty given but a Command If you look upon the Words as a License or Liberty given you may conceive of them according to the Apostles Speech of Marriage 1 Cor. 7.39 She is at liberty to be married to whom she will 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but only in the Lord. But it is not only a liberty given but a command for he addeth verse 18. This is the will of God in Christ Iesus concerning you The will of God is the Supream Reason of all Duties and the Will of God in Christ Iesus falleth upon the Conscience with a double force the Law of the Mediator binding us to delight in God as well as the Primitive Duty which we owe to God as the Creator And that this Clause respects all the Three Duties is evident to any considering Mind In the opening of this Duty I shall shew you 1. What Rejoycing the Apostle intendeth 2. How this must be constant and perpetual 3. The many Reasons which do inforce this Duty upon us I. What Rejoycing the Apostle speaketh of There is a double Rejoycing A Carnal Rejoycing and a Spiritual Rejoycing 1. The Carnal Rejoycing is in the World and the good things of this World apart from God Luke 12.19 Soul thou hast much goods laid up for many years take thine ease eat drink and be merry 2. The Spiritual rejoycing is in God Phil. 3.1 Finally my Brethren rejoyce in the Lord Phil. 4.4 Rejoyce in the Lord alway and again I say rejoyce These two sorts of rejoycing must be carefully distinguished for they differ in their Causes to the one we are prompted by carnal Nature which taketh up with present things and the other is excited in us by the Spirit of God therefore often called joy in the Holy Ghost The one is called the joy of Sense the other the joy of Faith the joy of Faith is in God the joy of Sense in the Creature the joy of Faith is most in future things the joy of Sense in present things the joy of Faith is in the good of the Soul the joy of Sense in the good of the Body or the provisions of the Flesh the joy of Faith is built on the Covenant and the Promises of God Psalm 119.111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever they are the rejoycing of my heart The joy of Sense on the Blessings that flow in the Channel of Common and General Providence Now the first sort of rejoycing the Apostle would not press us unto Nature there needeth a Bridle rather than a Spur but to the latter in delight in God and in all things that come from God and lead to him This delighting our selves in God must be the thing which must be further explained 1. God himself as God is a lovely Nature and the Object of our Delight for he is good even before and
be vexed by Sathan for his Tryal Iob 1.12 And Paul had his Messenger of Sathan to try him to see what shift he could make with sufficient internal Grace against outward and vexatious evils 2 Cor. 12.7 8. Now it is better to undergo the fiery Tryal than the fiery Torment Tryed we are then but not destroyed Yea sometimes hurried to Death and yet we overcome Revel 12.11 Christ doth prevail upon opposition and by opposition When Sathans Instruments were killing Christians they were pulling down Sathans Throne and advancing Christs and when they were butchered and slaughtered yet they multiplyed 4. The Means and Manner of Victory is to be considered 1. Christ overcometh this Enmity by taking our Nature He might have destroyed him by his Divine Power but the Conquerer is the Seed of the Woman or the Son of God incarnate He conquered in the same Nature that was so lately foiled and thereby Sathans main design is crossed and counter-worked which was double Partly to make Man jealous of God as if he were envious of our Happiness and by this false representation to alienate our hearts and make a breach between us and him Gen. 3.5 God knoweth that in the day ye eat thereof ye shall be as Gods knowing good and evil This way would he weaken the esteem of God in our Hearts but hereby we have a fuller manifestation of his love to make him the more amiable to us Rom. 5.8 But God commended his love to us that when we were sinners Christ dyed for us And Iohn 3.16 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life And 1 Iohn 4.9 10. In this was manifested the love of God towards us because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins We would be as God and Christ would be as Man Partly to depress the Nature of Man which in Innocency stood so near to God that was the end of his malicious suggestion But now 't is advanced and set up far above the Angelical Nature and admitted to dwell with God in a Personal Union Heb. 2.16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels but he took on him the seed of Abraham The Nature of Man being only assumed by Christ the Angels are not concerned in it immediately Man had the benefit and honour put upon him especially in his glorified Estate Eph. 1.20 21. 2. By his Passion or Death on the Cross Heb. 2.14 For as much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himself took part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is is the Devil Christ would not only take our Nature but also suffer in it so to frustrate and make void the Devils design which was to keep Men for ever under the power of Death wherein he had involved him He had brought Sin upon us and by Sin Death and in this Condition as the Executioner of Gods Curse he would still have held us but that Christ came to put us into a Condition of Holiness and Happiness and so make us capable of Eternal Life The Devil did not conquer Christ by Death but Christ did conquer the Devil When the Roman Soldiers were parting and spoiling his Garments he was spoiling Principalities and Powers 3. By his Resurrection and Ascension After he had been a Sacrifice for Sin by his Resurrection he overcame Death Hell and Sin and soon after he ascended into Heaven that he might triumph over the Devil and lead Captivity Captive Eph. 4.8 His Enemies were foiled upon the Cross but his Triumph over them was at his Ascension whereby he hath assured the World of his Conquest that he hath carried the day and gained an absolute and compleat Victory for our Lord in Heaven is out of the reach of Enemies as having done his work we are only left behind to scatter the Relicks of the Battle 4. By his sitting at the Right Hand of God he doth two things 1. He poureth out the Spirit endowing his Messengers with all Gifts and Graces ordinary and extraordinary to preach the Gospel to the Heathen World whereby the Old Religion by which the Devils Kingdom was supported went to wrack every where his Oracles were silenced his Superstitions suppressed No more the same Temples the same Rites the same Gods all fell before God as worshipped in Christ Iohn 16.11 The spirit shall convince the world of judgment because the prince of this world is judged 'T is true in some parts of the World Sathan yet reigneth where Christ hath not pursued him with his Gospel or withdrawn his Gospel for the ingratitude of Men but where it cometh it prevaileth mightily and the World cannot resist its convincing power 2. By his Secret and Invisible Providence he defendeth his People and stilleth the Enemy and Avenger Christ as God incarnate having the grant of a Kingdom is every way furnished with power to maintain it by Means proper to the mediatory Dispensation by his Word Spirit and Providence this last we are upon All Judgment is put into his hands Iohn 5.22 Though there be many vicissitudes and changes in the outward Condition of the Church yet by invisible wayes God doth notably defeat Sathan and his Instruments And though there be ebbings and flowings of the two Kingdoms yet we have much experience that Christ is upon the Throne by his protecting strengthning and assisting his faithful People and prospering their just endeavours for the advancing of his Kingdom Sometimes he destroyeth Enemies Isa. 27.4 Who would set the briers and thornes against me in battle I would go through them and burn them together Sometimes he infatuateth their Counsels Iob 5.12 13. He disappointeth the devices of the crafty so that their hands cannot performe their enterprize He taketh the wise in his own craftiness and the counsel of the froward is carried head-long Sometimes he hideth his People in the secret of his Presence Psalm 31.20 Sometimes he blasts all their prosperity by an invisible Curse Iob 20.26 A fire not blown shall consume them Or else he divides them as you may read in 2 Chron. 20. Chapter 5. The Degree of the success How far is the Enemy and Avenger stilled I Answer 1. Non ratione essentiae not to take away his Life and Being No there is a Devil still and shall be when the whole work of Christs Redemption is finished for it is said of that time Revel 20.10 That the Devil was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet shall be tormented day and night for ever and for ever So Matth. 25.41 Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels Then Eternal Judgment is executed on the
and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the Waters and God said Let there be light and there was light He can give light in darkness Exod. 10.22 23. And there was thick darkness in all the Land of Egypt three days and they saw not one another neither rose any from his place for three days But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings Psal. 18.28 For thou wilt light my Candle the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness And he can turn darkness into light that is change and alter our condition Isa. 9.2 The people that have walked in darkness have seen a great light they that dwell in the land of the shaddow of death upon them hath the light shined Eph. 5.8 Ye were sometimes darkness but now are ye light in the Lord. 7. When you cannot interpret the promises of God by his providential dealing with you you must interpret his dealing by his promises Psal. 73.16 17. When I thought to know this it was too painful for me Until I went into the Sanctuary of God then understood I their end His promises are as the light part of the Cloud his providential dealings as the dark part of the Cloud 8. You must distinguish between a part of God's work and the whole intire frame of it The taking of a Watch asunder to mend it an unskilful Man when he seeth every Pin and Wheel taken out will think this is undoing But the skilful Artist knoweth this is mending and repairing Zach. 14.7 But it shall be one day which shall be known unto the Lord not day nor night but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light After the longest suspence there is comfort at the end 9. That is not best for us which we think best Mat. 17.4 It is good for us to be here We think it best to be at the top and have an inspection over affairs in ease and in an uninterrupted prosperity Peter was upon Mount Tabor but Christ saw it fit to bring him thence and expose him to the winnowings of Satan and to penitential weeping this is wholesome to the Soul and afterwards to imploy him in the labours of the Gospel and then to dye a cruel death Paul thought it best to be rid of the thorn in the Flesh but God thought not so 2 Cor. 12.9 My Grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness When we are lowest we are most humble Gods thoughts are not as our thoughts 10. That Gods greatest severity to his people is consistent with his covenant love Psal. 89.32 33. Then will I visit their transgressions with the Rod and their iniquity with stripes Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail There is no contradiction between covenant kindness and hard dispensations they may be easily reconciled II. Point That in dark and gloomy times our great Duty is to trust in the Lord. This is prescribed here and in other places commended to us Isa. 8.17 I will wait upon the Lord that hideth his face from the House of Jacob and I will look for Him We should not give over seeking for a withdrawn God but seek and wait and look for him If you keep his place warm in your Hearts by your Estimation and Affection he will come again Iob 35.14 Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him yet Iudgment is before him therefore trust thou in him Times may come when the Saints may say they do not see yea they shall not see him yet they must resolve to lye at Gods door till relief come Trust then in him Job 13.15 Though he slay me yet I will trust in him Though they be under sad Dispensations already and look for sadder yet they resolve to keep up their Dependance and will not be beaten off from God by any rebukes of Providence No trouble how great so ever is a warrant to quit our Faith Faith must not quit God when he seemeth to quit us but must take him for a Friend and put a good Construction upon his dealings when he sheweth himself an Enemy So that in a sinking helpless and hopeless Condition this is a great Remedy The Reasons are taken from the Act and the Object The Act is Trusting and Staying the Object is God or the Name of God The Benefit we have by this Act the Encouragement we have from this Object 1. The Utility and Profit of Trusting 2 Chron. 20.20 Believe in the Lord your God so shall you be established If you would be delivered or supported Trust and stay upon the Lord. This allayeth our fears Psal. 56.3 At what time I am afraid I will trust in thee Psal. 112.7 He shall not be afraid of evil tydings his Heart is fixed trusting in the Lord. A Christian is or may be immoveable in all changes of Condition It overcometh our Sorrows there was a storm in David's Spirit how doth he calm it Psal. 42.5 Why art thou cast down O my Soul and why art thou disquieted within me Hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him for the help of his Countenance And verse 11. Why art thou cast down O my Soul and why art thou disquieted within me Hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my Countenance and my God He is at it again and again It keepeth us from fretting Psal. 37.7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him fret not thy self because of him who prospereth in his way because of the man who bringeth wicked devicâ—s to pass It preserveth us from Fainting Psal. 27.13 I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living Yea from Defection and Apostacy Heb. 3.12 Take heed Brethren lest there be in any of you an evil Heart of unbelief in departing from the Living God They that cannot trust God cannot be long true to him 2. There is much in the Name of God to encourage trust Psal. 9.10 They that know thy Name will put their trust in thee The Name of God is any thing by which he is made known It comprizeth two things what God is in himself and what he will be to his People 1. What he is in himself a Wise Powerful and Holy Being his three grand Attributes are Wisdom Goodness and Power Now nothing can be amiss that is done by a God of Infinite Wisdom Power and Goodness and what may there not be expected from him He that can do all things can do what ever you stand in need of he that knoweth all things can never be at a loss either in preventing evil or bestowing good he that is so good will not be backward to pity and help us Our choicest Consolations are fetched out of God's Nature in his Works we see much of him but in his Nature we
I will give them an Everlasting Name that shall not be cut off 2. In Framing the Child in the Womb. It is not the Parents but God The Parents cannot tell whether it be Male or Female Beautiful or deformed they know not the number of the Veins and Arteries Bones and Muscles See Psal. 139.13 14 15 16. For thou hast possessed my Reins thou hast covered me in my Mothers Womb. I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made marvellous are thy works and that my Soul knoweth right well My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the Larth Thine Eyes did see my substance yet being unperfect and in thy Book all my members were written which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them There is a great deal of Work-man ship in the Body of Man it is a curious piece of Embroidery Angels sang at Mans Creation Iob 38.7 When the Morning Stars sang together and all the Sons of God shouted for joy and they admire at his Resurrection What is God about to do 3. In giving Strength to bring forth The Heathens had a Goddess which presided over this work His Providence reacheth to the Beasts It is by the Lord that Hinds do calve Psal. 29.9 The Voice of the Lord maketh the Hinds to calve and there is a Promise to them that fear him 1 Tim. 2.15 She shall be saved in Child-bearing if they continue in Faith and Charity and Holiness with Sobriety It must be understood as all temporal Promises are with the exception of his Will but thus much we gather that it is a Blessing which falleth under the care of his Providence and that by Promise so far as God seeth fit to make it good Rachel died in this Case every godly Woman hath not this deliverance So did Phinehas his Wife 1 Sam. 4. latter end God might have taken this advantage against you to have cut you off If deliverance were not so ordinary it would be accounted miraculous The Sorrows and Pains of Travel are a Monument of Gods displeasure Gen. 3.16 Vnto the Woman he said I will greatly multiply thy Sorrow and thy Conception in Sorrow shalt thou bring forth Children Womens Pains are more grievous than the Females of any kind to preserve a weak Vessel in great danger and for the Child a Sentence of Death way-laid it as it was coming into the World 4 The Circumstances of Deliverance In every Birth there are some new Circumstances to awaken our Stupid Thoughts to consider the Work of God For God doth all his works with some variety lest we should be cloyed with the commonness of them 2. They are a great Blessing in themselves and the more of them the greater Blessing and therefore should they be acknowledged and improved as Blessings Certainly there is a more special favour shewed us in our Relations than in our Possessions Prov. 19.14 House and Riches are the Inheritance of Fathers â—ut a good Wife is from the Lord. So for Children By them the Parent is continued and multiplied They are a part of himself and in them he liveth when â—e is dead and gone It is a shadow of Eternity nodosa Eternitas therefore the outward appurtenances of Life are not so valuable as Children Besides they are capable of the Image of God By them the World is Replenished the Church multiplied a people continued to know love and serve God when we are dead and gone We read of Christ's rejoicing in the habitable parts of the Earth and his delights were with the Sons of Men. Prov. 8.31 In the habitable parts of the World there are great Whales but Men were Christs delight Especially to Gods Confederates or Parents in Covenant with God are Children a greater Mercy David was such an one these are Sons and Daughters born to him Ezek. 16.20 These are visibly the Children of God and in a most proper sense an heritage from the Lord. It is said Gen. 6.12 The Sons of God saw the Daughters of men that they were fair and they took them Wives of all which they chose Seth begat Sons and Daughters to God See Gen. 10.21 Vnto Shem also the Father of the Children of Eber the Brother of Japhet the Elder even to him were born Children The Persians Lydians Assyrians Syrians these who were possessed of the Empire of the World and all the rich Spices and Treasures of the East he hath not his denomination from them but from the Children of Eber a people a long time kept under before they could grow into a Nation but they were the People of God who retained his true Worship Their's were the Promises the Adoption and the Glory See that place 1 Cor. 7.14 For the unbelieving Husband is sanctified by the Wife and the unbelieving Wife is sanctified by the Husband else were your Children unholy but now are they holy Reasons are à notioribus from some things plainer than the things they are to prove The scope of it is to hold forth some priviledge to Believers not common to others who are Infidels for it is for the Believers sake that the other is sanctified If it were a common priviledge the unbelieving Husband had been as much sanctified in himself as in his Wife Well then it is some special priviledge not common to the Marriage of an unbelieving couple Agaâ—n whatever this priviledge be it is something of importance for therefore is it mentioned negatively and positively which the Holy Ghost useth not to do but in weighty cases negatively they are not as other Children unclean but positively they are holy Again mark the gradation The unbelieving Husband is sanctified by the Wife and the unbelieving Wife is sanctified by the Husband else were your Children unholy but now are they Holy To be sanctified is more than to be lawful and to be holy is more than to be sanctified All things as Meats Drink Marriage Estate are lawful to an Infidel but not sanctified for they are sanctified by the Word and Prayer and many things are sanctified which are not holy as Gold Silver Goats Hair when they were dedicated to God they were changed in use not in nature The unbelieving Husband to whom all things are impure he is sanctified that is set apart to serve God's providence to this holy end and use that the believing Wife may bring forth Children to God As a Nobleman Marrying a Begger conveyeth Nobility to the Children Now having laid this foundation let us see what is the meaning of not being unclean but holy The unclean under the Law were those that might not come into the Sanctuary or into the Temple Holiness qualified for worship and made capable of Ordinances What God hath cleansed call not thou common or unclean Act. 10.15 saith God to Peter speaking of the Gentiles as capable of Gospel Priviledges And so we have found out the sense the Children
that kept not their first Estate but left their own Habitation he hath reserved to Everlasting Chains under Darkness unto the Iudgment of the great Day They were not contented with the place they were in but would be Independant of themselves Equal to God by Usurpation and Robbery and so instead of Angels became Devils But Christ is not God by Usurpation but God by Nature He was not thrust down but came down 2. His Exinanition and Abasement Which is 1. Generally set forth 2 Particulars are mentioned 1. Generally 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He made himself of no Reputation in the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He humbled himself ver 8. 2. The Particulars are His Incarnation mean Life and accursed Death Let us stand a little and consider this Condescention by comparing the terms That the Creator should stoop so low as to become a Creature and go down from the form of God to the form of a Servant from Equality with God to Subjection to Men from being Lord of all to a State of Obedience and that Obedience carried on in the way of the most perfect self-denial Obedient to the Death and that Death cloathed with all the circumstances that might make it grievous it was painful ignominious and accursed I shall insist only on the general Description of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He made himself of no Reputation emptied himself lessened himself in the next verse humbled himself Doct. That the Lord Iesus did for our sakes empty lessen and humble himself I shall open three things 1. How far Christ was lessened 2. That this was his own voluntary Act. 3. That this was for our sakes I. How far Christ was lessened It chiefly lieth in these two things 1. Obscuring his Godhead 2. Abatement of his Dignity 1. His Godhead was obscured by the interposing vail of our Flesh. He did empty himself of that Divine Glory Splendour and Majesty which before he had Not by ceasing to be what he was but by assuming something to himself which he was not before viz. the Infirmity of the humane Nature which did for a time hide his Divine Glory so that little of it did appear and that to some few only that narrowly observed him Iohn 1.14 We beheld his Glory the Glory as of the only begotten of the Father To the generality it was otherwise Isa. 53.2 He shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground he hath no form or comeliness and when we shall see him there is no Beauty that we should desire him As the covering in a dark Lanthorn hideth the Light from shining forth so did the Humane Nature obscure his Divine Glory For he assumed not this Nature as it shall be in Heaven perfectly Glorified but as it is now since Sin entred into the World cloathed with manifold Infirmities He came in the form of a Servant not of a Glorified Saint The Apostle Rom. 8.3 calleth it The likeness of sinful Flesh the Estate and Condition of his assumed flesh was exposed to all those Infirmities which in us are the Punishment of Sin Though he continued still Infinite Eternal and Omnipotent and in his greatest Abasement was still the Lord of Glory yet his external Habit and Appearance was that of a mean afflicted man and the Divinity though not separated with-held its influence to leave the Humane Nature to suffer whatever the Humanity was capable of As it exposed the Soul to desertion so the Body to all manner of Sufferings and Death it self 2. His Dignity was lessened And there was a Depression of the Glory of his former State That which the Romans called capitis Diminutio a lessening of State and Condition The Eternal Word set himself at nought lessened and humbled himself from the Condition of being Lord of all to that of a Subject and Ordinary Man Gal. 4.4 But when the fulness of time was come God sent forth his Son made of a Woman made under the Law From a Judge of the World he became a Party It was a Condescention of God to take notice of mans Misery Psalm 113.6 Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in Heaven and in the Earth Much more to make a Party in it and to be found among the miserable Three steps of Condescention we may eminently take notice of 1. That Christ Who thought it no Robbery to be equal with God is made less than God Iohn 14.28 My Father is greater than I compared with Iohn 10.30 I and my Father are one As Mediator Incarnate he undertook an Office designed him by God and obeyed him in all things They are one in Essence yet the Father was greater than he not as he was God but Man and Mediatour and in his present State of Humiliation For he bringeth it there to prove that by departing out of the World then he should be exalted to a more glorious Estate than that in which he was during his abode upon Earth because the Vail should then be laid aside and that Glory which he had with God before the World was made should fully appear Iohn 17.5 And now Father glorifie thou me with thine own self with the Glory which I had with thee before the World was 2. That he was not only lesser than God but lesser than the Angels 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 2.7 Thou madest him a little lower than the Angels or for a little time the time that he spent here on Earth Man is Inferiour to an Angel as Man in the Order of Being much more as Mortal for the Angels never die therefore his very Incarnation and liableness to Death was a great lessening of his Dignity Though the Incarnation of Christ was the Exaltation of our Nature yet it was the Depression and Humiliation of the Son of God God could stoop no lower than to become man and man could be advanced no higher than to be united to God 3. That in the Humane Nature he was depressed beyond the Ordinary Condition of Man For he came in such a form and course of Life as was beneath the ordinary rate of Mankind Psal. 22.6 I am a worm and no man a reproach of men and despised of the People So Isa. 53.3 He was despised and rejected of men a man of Sorrows and acquainted with griefs and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not As a vile and abominable Creature both despised and rejected scarce deemed worthy the Name of a man or to have any converse and fellowship with them It is in Hebr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the leaving off of a man as if we should say the very list and fag-end of Mankind so low and mean that the Nature of man can hardly descend lower Mark 9.12 The Son of Man must suffer many things and be set at nought it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 made nought worth or nothing Thus did he appear in
that But so as first that which is necessary to be done by his Man-hood be done for us first the merit of his humiliation was to be interposed before we could be acquainted with the power of his exaltation God took this way partly because we were to be restored in a way contrary to that by which we fell We fell by Pride and we must be restored by humility We would be as God not in a way of blessed conformity but cursed self-sufficiency therefore to expiate this pride God must become like Man take our Nature and suffer in it Once Man in the pride of his Heart attempted to be like God and God by a Mystery of humility became like Man that he might bring Man into a nearer degree of likeness to God Partly because the honour of his justice required it Reconciliation supposeth satisfaction for we are not at peace with God till his justice be appeased And the Spirit of God had not been sent if God had not been at peace with us for this is the token of his friendship And till the Spirit be given to change both our Natures and Estate we have no title to the pardon of sin and Eternal Life Therefore the Merit of Christ's humiliation is at the bottom of all the good we expect from God Partly because he delighteth to carry on our Salvation by contraries Christ emptied himself to fill all things became poor that we might be rich brought life out of death covered his glory wherewith he would inrich the World under shame and disgrace In the same way that Christ purchased it we obtain it a Christian is tossed with Tempests and yet the peace of God preserveth his Heart He hath nothing and yet hath all things was disgraced in the World and yet approved of God There was nothing stronger than Christs seeming weakness in his lowest abasement he discovered the greatest power of his God-head He satisfied the Justice of God overcame Death and his Fathers wrath triumphed over Satan crushed his Head when he bruised his Heel The Apostle telleth us 1 Cor. 1.25 The foolishness of God is wiser than Men and the weakness of God is stronger than Men. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The foolish part and the weak part that which in Mans opinion hath least Wisdom or strength in it Nothing is such a glorious act of Wisdom and Power as Salvation by Christ dying Christ abased as also to bring a Christian to Heaven by Afflictions rather than to suffer him to be prosperous in the World 2 â—y way of Pattern and Example Christ that came to set open the way to Heaven would also teach us the way to Heaven not only by his Doctrine but Example Christ made himself of no reputation and therefore we should be dead to the reputation and grandeur of the World which is the great diversion and hinderance to the Heavenly Life The Apostle when he bringeth this instance he saith Let the same mind be in you that was also in Christ Iesus Phil. 2.5 This very thing is propounded to our imitation The Son of God had wisdom to chuse right to injoy power to procure the best condition which the World affordeth but yet he chose a mean state of life subject to many afflictions and sorrows Here I shall shew 1. The power of Christ's example in the general 2. What he teacheth us by emptying himself or making himself of no reputation 1. All example hath an alluring power or great force in moving this is the example not of an equal or inferiour but of a great person one far above us This great person is Jesus Christ our Lord the great Messenger of the God of Heaven who came to reclaim Mankind from their vain courses and to instruct them in the way 〈◊〉 Life His example is a perfect and unerring Pattern for his Life is Religion exemplified a visible Commentary on God's Word He came not only to restore us to God's favour by his merit but to set us an example 1 Cor. 11.1 Be ye followers of me as I also am of Christ. Then you cannot err if you follow Christ in his imitable actions 2. It is an ingaging pattern Christs submission to a duty should make it lovely to us The Disciple is not above his Lord nor the Servant above his Master If I then you Lord and Master have washed your Feet ye also ought to wash one anothers Feet Iohn 13.14 Shall we decline to follow such a Leader 1 Ioh. 2.6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked Alexander Conqueror of the World atchieved most of his great exploits by his example when hardly beset he would make the first in every danger and desperate action when his Army grew sluggish as laden with spoils of their Enemies he commanded all his Carriages to be fired and when they saw their King devote his rich treasures to the Flame they could not murmur if their mite and pittance were consumed also If Christ had only taught us contempt of the World and not given us an instance of it his Doctrine would be less powerful 3. It is an effectual pattern The Spirit of Christ goeth along with it as well as his Doctrine 2 Cor. 3.18 We are changed into the same Image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. His steps drop fatness He hath left a blessing behind in all the way that he hath trodden before us and sanctified it to us that we may follow after him with comfort 4. It is a very incouraging pattern For he sympathizeth with us in all our difficulties having intendered his own Heart by experience Heb. 2.18 In that he himself hath suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted Heb. 4.15 We have not an High Priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are He knoweth the weaknesses and reluctancies of humane Nature in our hardest duties and will pity and pardon our infirmities 5. The example of Christ will be Armour of Proof against all Temptations The Apostle saith here ver 5. Let the same mind be in you which was in Christ Iesus And in 1 Pet 4.1 For as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the Flesh Arm your selves also with the same mind If this mind be in you temptations will have little force upon you 2. What he teacheth us hereby 1. Patience under all the indignities we undergo for God's sake in the course of our Pilgrimage 1 Pet. 2.21 It is said Christ suffered for us leaving us an example that we should follow his steps So Heb. 12.2 Looking to Iesus the Author and fiâ—isher of our Faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame Let us be contented to be abased for him He descended from Heaven to the Grave as low as he could for us therefore let us
it is that the Apostle speaketh to Christians reckoneth himself in that number Is long-suffering towards us Now all these are not born at once nor converted at once If the judgment should be hastened many of the Elect would be found in their natural condition Now God would have none of these to perish but that all in their time should by congruous means be brought to Repentance All things are for the Elects sake if their number were compleated time would be no more and the present state of things would be dissolved 3. The third answer is by distinguishing a twofold Will in God There is voluntas signi voluntas beneplaciti The will of his good pleasure and his Will declared by some sign command decree The one concerneth our duty the other the event It is all Mens duty to Repent 1 Tim. 24 Who will have all Men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth Not as to the event God doth not Will it so as it shall fall out so but this is their duty His approving Will is meant Some scoff at this distinction but the thing is as evident as day light It is one thing to Will that this thing shall be or not be Another thing this is good or evil one respects existence the other moral regulation The one sheweth what shall be the other what should be The one what God will do the other what we should do His command must be distinguished from his decree some things are willed only by one not both as the selling of Ioseph the crucifying of Christ God willed them voluntate bene-placiti but not signi he declared no such Will as a rule to the Creatures Some things he willeth voluntate signi not bene placiti as the conversion of all that live within the hearing of the Gospel He doth not purpose it in his decree Sometimes he willeth the same things by both as the conversion of the Gentiles to the Faith of Christ God purposed it in his Decree and required it in the Gospel This is a truth applicable to other Scriptures and in part to this But I stick to the former answers by his secret and everlasting decree he chuseth whom he thinketh good and appoints the preaching of the Gospel by which all are invited God would not have any one to perish by his directive and approving Will Ezek. 33.11 I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked Turn ye c. Yet will not have all to be saved not all by his secret and appointing Will. Doct. The great end of Gods continuing the World and the present State of things is to bring Men to Repentance I shall not handle curious questions Therefore I shall shew you 1 What is Repentance 2. That this is God's end in continuing the World and the present state of things 3. What encouragement there is from Gods long-suffering to induce Men to Repentance I. What is Repentance It lieth in three things 1. A sensible sight of sin and deserved wrath There must be a sight of sin for it is sinners only who are called to Repentance Mat. 9.13 I came to call sinners to Repentance Those who know themselves to be so and feel themselves to be so These are most ready to correct their errours and to unravel that Web which they have been weaving for a snare to themselves Others carry it as though they needed no Repentance And also a sight of wrath for repentance is a flight from wrath a turning from God angry to God reconciled As appeareth by Mat. 3.7 Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come Who will take care to run into his City of Refuge who hath not an Avenger of Blood at his Heels Heb. 6.18 That by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us Therefore Gods first work is to awaken the stupid and careless sinner and to make him see his sinful and lost condition 2. Such an apprehension of Gods Mercy in Christ as maketh them turn to him The apprehension of Gods Mercy is the great inducement to Repentance Ioel 2.13 Turn to the Lord your God for he is gracious and merciful The former branch ariseth from apprehended future wrath this from the hope of future Mercy Indeed there is a continued Repentance which followeth pardon a melting of Heart and self-loathing that floweth from felt love As Luk. 7.47 The Woman wept much because she loved much and she loved much because much was forgiven her Ezek. 16.63 That thou mayest remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done saith the Lord God Ezek. 36.31 Then shall you remember your own evil ways and your doings that were not good and shall loath your selves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations But the first Repentance floweth not from felt received Mercy but from mercy hoped for Act. 2.38 39. Repent and be Baptized every one of you in the Name of Iesus Christ for the Remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost For the promise is unto you and to your children c. A desire and love of the Grace which we expect from God putteth us upon this Repentance 3. In a grieving for and forsaking of our sins and giving up our selves to his service Grief for sin there will be for 2 Cor. 7.10 Godly sorrow worketh repentance unto Salvation not to be repented of This is necessary to check the sensitive inclination or the love of pleasure which is the root of sin Not only a grieving for but a forsaking of our sins Prov. 28.13 He that confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall find Mercy It is but a brabble with sin not a Repentance unless the love and power of it be weakened in the Heart And therefore repentance is not to be judged by the horrour the sorrow the grief but by the change it worketh in Heart and Life If sin becometh hateful if the person be humbled in himself if he be brought to esteem of and put a price upon Gods Grace in Jesus Christ if it be his constant care and study to please God and he getteth some victory over the sins he repenteth of And after all this there is a devotedness to God or a living to his Glory and Service called often in Scripture a living to God or a bringing forth Fruit unto God II. That this is Gods End in continuing the World and the present State of things This I shall prove 1. By removing false Causes To appearance there is a slackness Whence cometh it 1. It is not want of kindness or backwardness to our good that he doth delay our reward and the introduction of the everlasting estate A man may defer and not be slack He is
of recovery for ever 2. God provideth great helps and means of Repentance for them For he hath sent his Messengers into all parts of the Earth and commanded every one to Repent and prepare for the judgment Act. 17.30 And the times of their ignorance God winked at but now commandeth all Men every where to Repent because he hath appointed a day c. So that the World now perisheth for rejecting the means tending to recover them The sins of the Nations were not so great till God sent them the means When the Lord giveth any people the means to Repent their sin is the more aggravated and their judgment is the greater for the rejection of the means is a sin not only against our duty but our remedy and a vile ingratitude and obstinacy which hath no cloak and colour of excuse For though Men have an impotency of Nature and cannot convert themselves without the internal efficacy and power of the Holy Ghost yet the impotency of nature doth not necessitate men to wallow in a course of sin against the light of Conscience and to put away the means by which they might be reformed III. What encouragement there is from Gods long-suffering to induce Men to Repentance And 1. Gods forbearance and continuing of some Grace to us possesseth all Mens Minds with this apprehension that he is gracious merciful willing to be reconciled if we will but accept of terms agreeable to his glory and our good Therefore it is said that the goodness of God leadeth to Repentance Rom. 2.4 For wherefore should he defer vengeance and forbear so long to punish thy sinful course but only that thou mayest bethink thy self and make thy peace He could destroy thee in an instant and why doth he not but to see if thou wilt yet repent and love him and serve him If a Man were under a sentence of Death and the execution were delayed and put off from day to day would not he think it were a fit time to interpose by supplication and obtain his pardon Surely we should gather the like conclusion and make supplication to our Judge 2. The incouragement is the greater that we have not only time and life but many mercies forfeited mercies continued to us Such as food raiment friends house liberties health peace What do all these do but invite us to God For whosoever hath the Heart of a Man would be thankful to his benefactour Yea the very Beasts express a gratitude in their kind to them that feed them Isa. 1.3 The Oxe knoweth his Owner and the Ass his Masters Crib The duâ—lest of the Bruit Beasts will take notice of such as feed them and make much of them And shall not we take notice of God and be obsequious to him from whom we have received all our supplies our Lord and Owner who hath fed us and most kindly intreated us Hosea 11.4 I drew them with the Cords of a Man the Bands of love Unless we renounce humanity we cannot but look upon our selves as having strong bands upon us obliging us to duty and mindfulness of God 3. These mercies do not harden in their own nature but meerly by the sinners abuse of them For in their own nature they have a fitness and tendency to recover Men to the Love and Service of God but through our abuse they become snares and intangle us in the service of the Flesh. In the Creature there is something good to lead us up to God who is the first and chief good something imperfect uncertain and unsatisfactory to drive us off from it â—elf Is there any thing comfortable in the creature Whence came it Who put it there Common Mercies point to their Author if we would recollect our selves and receive them with thanksgiving Is there vanity and vexation in it Why is it but that the Creatures may not detain us from God that we may not sit on the Threshold when we may come before the Throne Our great fault is loving the Creature above the Creator Now the Creature is imbittered and is an occasion of so much vexation and trouble that we may not rest in it self All the good that is in the Creature is an image of that perfect good which is in God Now who would leave the substance to follow the Shadow As if a Virgin wooed should fall in love with the Messengers of a great King and despise the person himself There is a sweetness in these things mixed with imperfection the sweetness to draw us to God the imperfection to drive us off from the Creatures to make us look â—igher They do as it were say to us We cannot satisfie you you must seek for happiness in that God that made us and you Now Men are inexcusable if after all this they forsake God for the Creature Ier. 2.13 My People have committed two evils they have forsaken me the Fountain of living Waters and have hewed them out Cisterns broken Cisterns that can hold no Water 4. God hath provided a remedy for us by Christ. Whereby he would astonishingly oblige Man to seek after his own Salvation Iohn 3.16 God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life There is love to the World in it there is man-kindness in it Tit. 3.4 After that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward Man appeared A propitiation for the whole World 1 Iohn 2.2 He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole World Here is a sufficient foundation for this truth that whosoever believeth shall be saved If after all this Man shall be negligent vain careless unmindful of his misery or remedy his own Conscience will bear witness against him that the cause of his sin and the hinderance of his recovery is from himself and from his own obstinacy and impenitency Hosea 13.9 O Israel thou hast destroyed thy self but in me is thy hope God is not to be blamed for our destruction it is of our own procuring There was help in God but they would not accept it 5. Affected scruples whether this be intended to us are a sin and do not disoblige us from our duty They are a sin because secret things do not belong to us but the open declarations of God concerning our duty Deut. 29.29 Secret things belong unto the Lord but those things which are revealed belong unto us and our Children Let us perform our duty and the secret purposes of God will be no bar and hinderance to us To betray a known duty by a scruple is the part of an erring and deceitful Heart God may do what he pleaseth but we must do what he hath commanded This is the only true principle that will inable us to carry our work through to the last 6. God hath appointed means which during the time of his patience are liberally vouchsafed to us and we being
true Religion will give rest and quiet to the Soul Thirdly That the Christian Religion doth abundantly provide for true Peace of Conscience and Ease of Mind 1. Because it discovereth the Matter of true Peace 2. The Way how it may be attained 1. The Matter of true Peace is Pardon and Life or sufficient Provision to appease our guilty fears and satisfie our desires of Happiness 1. Man being Gods Creature and therefore his Subject and having faulted in his Obedience and Subjection to him and knowing the Judgment of God counteth himself worthy of Death Rom. 1.32 And this fear of Death and Vengeance that ensueth it is â—o ingrained and implanted in the Conscience that unless some fit course of 〈◊〉 and Justification be propounded and that with good Authority man is 〈◊〉 restless and troubled and knoweth not what to do to get rid of the 〈…〉 Soul Micah 6.7 Shall I give my first born for my Transgression the fruit 〈…〉 for the Sin of my Soul Now the great design which the Scriptures 〈…〉 to set forth a grant of Pardon upon Gracious and Commodious Terms 〈…〉 will but accept of it It is the excellency of the Christian Religion above 〈…〉 Religions Micah 7.18 Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth Iniquity 〈…〉 by the Transgression of the Remnant of his Heritage he retaineth not his 〈…〉 ever because he delighteth in Mercy If the Question were put to you which 〈◊〉 put to the Spouse Cant. 5.9 What is thy Beloved more than another Beloved What is there in Christ above other Gods of the Nations that you make so much 〈◊〉 about him What is it draweth your Hearts so to love him and cleave to him in the greatest Hazards and Extremities This you might Answer He hath set afoot a pardoning Covenant so suited to the Necessities of Man and the Nature of God that all the World cannot shew the like 2 For the other Matter of our Peace a fit Happiness to satisfie our Desires Man having an Immortal Spirit gropeth about for an Immortal and Eternal good Acts 17.27 or such an Estate in the other World as may comfort him against the labours and sorrows and the frailty and shortness of the present Life All Nations have a conceit of the Immortality of the Soul if at any time they doubt of it they cannot wholly blot the sense of it out of their Hearts Surely all desire it and it would give much ease to their Mind if it might be undubitably made out to them that there is such an Immortal Estate They that fully knew it not were pleased with the shadow of it and sought it in fame they would not have their Memory die with them As those that want Children take Pleasure in little Dogs and Cats so did they embrace a poor Shadow for the Substance To be sure most men die Anxious and when they leap into Eternity they know not where their feet shall light But now it is said 2 Tim. 1.10 That Christ hath abolished Death and hath brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel He hath made a clear Revelation of that which was not so certainly known before The Heathens guessed at it sometimes they seemed to see it and sometimes doubted of it as men travelling sometimes see a spire of a steeple before them at a distance and anon they lose the sight of it again and so cannot tell certainly whether they see it yea or no. The Law like a Dumb-man made many signs and set forth Eternity by long Life and Heaven by Canaan But now the Gospel clearly speaketh it out and scattereth all the Mists and Clouds about Eternity 2. The Way how we surely may be made partakers of Pardon and Life and there it telleth us First What Christ hath done Secondly What we must do Christ hath sufficiently laid the Foundation and all that we must do is but to apply what he hath purchased and provided for us 1. What Christ hath done The Word that is nigh thee referreth to things already done for us Christs Death and Resurrection 1. His Incarnation and Death for Christ needeth not to be brought down from Heaven any more He once descended from Heaven and was made Flesh and dwelt among us for a double end Partly to reveal these things to us and the way how to obtain them with sufficient Evidence and Certainty One great Errand that he had in the World was to reveal the Will of God to lost Mankind for their recovery and to bring them to the fuller Knowledge of God and the Pardon of Sins and the Truth of the Unseen World and the way thereunto Luke 1.77 To give Knowledge of Salvation unto his People by the Remission of their Sins And not only so but partly also to be a Mediator and Reconciler between God and Man and lay down his Life as a Sacrifice for Sin and a ransom for Souls Eph. 5.2 Who hath given himself for us an Offering and Sacrifice to God Mat. 20.28 He gave his Life a ransom for many We have both Heb. 3.1 Consider the Apostle and High-Priest of our Profession Iesus Christ. Well then herein lay the Advantage of the Gospel above the Law that required all to be done by us but the Gospel referreth us to things already done for us by another who was sent from God to reveal his Fathers will to us and to redeem us to God He suffered the Penalty due for our breach of the Law there is nothing required of us but our thankful Acceptance and hearty consent to follow Christs Conduct and Direction well then he needeth not be brought down from Heaven any more or descend to help and redeem the World 2. His Resurrection and Ascension For that is the second Question Who shall descend into the Deep to bring up Christ again from the Dead No that needeth not He is risen already and gone again to Heaven to assure us of the Truth of his Doctrine and the value of his Sacrifice and the reality of the other World For he himself is entred into the Glory he spake of and so giveth us a visible Demonstration of the Truth and reality of it And also he is sate down at the right Hand of God that he might apply Salvation to us by his powerful and all-conquering Spirit But it is the Resurrection we must chiefly insist upon for God by raising him from the Dead hath declared him to be a sufficiently authorized Messenger and set him forth to be the Person to be believed in heard and obeyed in his Name When Christ was crucified and buried though a Grave stone was sealed and a guard of Souldiers set to watch it yet Angels appeared and rolled away the Stone and spake to those that enquired after him Yea Christ himself often appeared to his Disciples conversed with them forty days instructed them in things pertaining to the Kingdom of God and then went to Heaven and poured out the Spirit and for an
best known by those eternal Torments which are appointed for the punishment thereof Present punishments do somewhat discover it Now know that it is an evil thing and a bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God Ier. 2.19 Briars and Thorns and sensible smart will teach us that which bare contemplation doth not But if the Temporal punishment maketh us know What an evil thing and a bitter it is What will Eternal do Go ask the Damned in Hell whether it be a light thing to Sin against God Mark 9.44 Where their Worm dieth not and the Fire is not quenched Here is the great aggravation of Sin that for Temporal Trifles they have lost Eternal Joys and run the hazard of Eternal Pains for the ease mirth and pleasure of a Moment And then for things evil in opinion it sheweth how falsely we are deluded As Afflictions Sufferings and Losses for Christ Death c. It much concerneth us to have a true notion of these things For Afflictions It sheweth that they are not so bad as the World taketh them to be They are tedious for the present but 't is but for a season 1 Pet. 1.6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice though now for a season if need be ye are in heaviness through manifold Temptations All things are lessened by having eternity in our minds the delights of the World and the sorrows of the World 1 Cor. 7.29 Since the World passeth away and the fashion thereof we should rejoice as if we rejoyced not mourn as if we mourned not the good and evil will be soon over We cry out How long but 't is not for ever 'T is grievous but 't is not Eternal 't is not Hell yea they may be good Psal. 119.71 It is good for me that I have been Afflicted that I might learn thy statutes All things are good as they help on a blessed eternity so Afflictions may be good that part of the World that is led by sense will never endure this but that part which is led by Faith will easily assent to it the World that is led by sense say to a Covetous Man that the loss of an Estate is good to a Worldly Rich Man that Poverty is good to an Ambitious Man that it is good to be despised and contemned to Voluptuous Man that it is good to be in Pain to Afflict the Body for the good of the Soul they will never believe you But go to them that measure all things by Eternity and they will tell you that Poverty maketh way for the true Riches Mourning for the true Glory Want for fulness of Pleasure at Gods Right Hand That misery mortifieth sin 1 Cor. 11.32 When we are judged we are chastned of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the World Sufferings for Christ If we win Eternity with the loss of all the World we are no losers For the World passeth away and the Lusts thereof but he that doth the Will of God abideth for ever 1 Iohn 2.17 But on the contrary 't is a sorry bargain to lose Eternity for the injoyment of all the World Mat. 16.26 For what is a Man profited if he shall gain the whole World and lose his own Soul Or what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul And then Death the King of Terrors yet 't is not feared by a Christian because it is an entrance into Eternal Life when he dieth then shall he live Iohn 11.25 26. I am the Resurrection and the Life he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall be live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die Believest thou this If we have a sense of this why should we be troubled to be uncloathed that we may be cloathed upon with Immortality and Glory It separateth us from our Worldly Friends and Benefits but bringeth us to God with whom we shall abide for ever it puts an end to time that we may enter into Eternity so that death is ours 1 Cor. 3.22 A Friend not an Enemy It maketh an end of Sin and Sorrow to make way for Blessedness and Glory For things Good Good seeming or Good real Good seeming There are many things which the vain deceived World doteth upon which are impertinencies to our great end As Foolish Sports and Recreations Eccles. 2.2 I said of Laughter It is Mad and of Mirth What doth it There are other things which are meer inconsistencies As many evils which we commit for a little Temporal happiness Then real good things Duties Ordinances Graces Christ the Favour of God We know how to value these things by looking to Eternity The good things of this World are not valuable only upon a natural account but as they are helps to Heaven If they be diversions from eternity they are the worst things that can befal us to be condemned to this kind of felicity is a part of Gods Curse Ier. 17.13 They that forsake thee shall be written in the Earth On the contrary to have our names written in Heaven is a great Blessing Luke 10.20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the Spirits are subject unto you but rather rejoice because your names are written in Heaven It is better to injoy a little as an help to Heaven than a great deal as an hindrance to it oh Blessed is the Man that taketh no farther content in the comforts of this life than they may further his Soul to Eternity If an Estate increase upon you 't is most valuable as you may be rich in good works and take hold of Eternal Life 1 Tim. 6.18 When your Hearts rest in them without subordination to Eternal things your estate becometh a Snare whatever the Heart is set upon if it be not in order to this end and scope 't is cursed to thee The Spiritual Blessing of all our natural comforts is in order to this last end But then for Duties time spent with God in order to Eternity is the best part of your lives Acts 26.7 When we are imployed in the World we make provision but for a few Months or Days it may be Hours But in converse with God you lay up for everlasting the Throne of Grace will be the more sweet because 't is the Porch of Heaven Ordinances and publick means of Grace A Child of God valueth them more than the greatest Worldly advantages Psal. 84.12 One day in thy Courts is better than a Thousand I had rather be a Door-Keeper in the House of my God than to dwell in the Tents of Wickedness But why Because there is trading for Eternity there he gets a prospect into Heaven and heareth news of his Long-home And then Graces they are glorious things because they are the seed and earnest of eternal glory 'T is called Immortal Seed 1 Pet. 1.23 When this state is begun it cannot be dissolved and it is called the Earnest of the Spirit Graces as well as comforts are his Earnest By all these things the Holy
may have Heaven at last The trial will rather lie here for here it pincheth the sorest if you can sell all for the Pearl of Price Matth. 13.44 If you can take joyfully the spoiling of your goods Heb. 10.34 If you faint not but bear up with hope and patience under all pressures and afflictions 2 Cor. 4.16 17 18. For this cause we faint not but though our outward Man perish yet the inward Man is renewed day by day For our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory While we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal You can be contented and choose rather to suffer affliction with the People of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Heb. 11.25 God puts us sensibly to the trial which are our good things the recompence of reward or our present interests III. The misery is great before Death at Death and after Death First Before Death upon a Two-fold account First Because of the uncertainty of their happiness Prov. 23.5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not for riches certainly make themselves wings they flee away as an Eagle towards Heaven They may be gone or we may be gone Luke 12.20 Thou fool this night thy Soul shall be required of thee They are called uncertain riches 1 Tim. 6.17 A Man can never dwell securely in an house built upon the Ice and he that hath not made sure of a better portion than the World can yield to him he is upon the brink of Hell and everlasting destruction In short a broken Cistern will soon fail and deceive those that look for refreshment in it Death and the Grave will soon put an end to all their happiness if it should continue with them so long They are posting apace to their eternal misery and one moment puts an end to all their joy for ever Secondly Because Prosperity is a Plague and a snare to a wicked Man and the greater his prosperity is his snare is the greater Psal. 69.22 Let their Table become a snare before them and that which should have been for their welfare let it become a trap When God suffereth Mens corrupt affections and suitable Temptations and Objects to meet it is a snare to them as Iudas that was a Thief had the bag Iohn 12.6 The carnal heart is the more intangled and besotted the less they are restrained from the desire of their hearts As the Sea turneth all things that fall or flow into it into salt-water so do they make all their Mercies an occasion unto the flesh So that in the very heighth of their prosperity they are but miserable as sin is the worst misery of all It is worse to be Nebuchadnezzar among the Beasts than to be Daniel in the Lion's Den the one was the fruit of his own madness the other of the violence of others Elijah was poor and Ahab was rich Who was the more miserable Man So Paul that Holy Man was in prison and Nero at the same time Emperour of the World Who was the happier Man think you And in whose case would you be of Nero the Emperour or Paul the Prisoner Christ that gave his Spirit to the rest of the Apostles gave the Bag to Iudas Riches and the Bag are not in such esteem with Christ but that the basest of his followers may have them in keeping and under their power Now whose lot would you choose that of Iudas or of the rest of the Apostles Nay Jesus Christ himself that had the Spirit without measure chose a poor Estate he that made a Fish pay him Tribute could as well have made Men do so he that Multiplied the Five Loaves could have increased his stock at pleasure He that built the World could have built himself stately Palaces but when he was rich he became poor for our sakes 2 Cor. 8 9. That he might sanctifie holy Poverty in his own Person and honour it by his own example and teach us that sin is misery but grace is happiness and preferment whatever our external condition be And therefore he usually cuts his own People short that he may prevent their snares and impediments when wicked Men live in plenty but certainly the Rich wicked Man is in a worse condition than the Godly Man who is kept low and bare as a Child may be strictly dieted for his health while the Servants are left to a freer and larger allowance More particularly 1. Riches are apt to breed Atheism and Contempt of God 2. They are not so broken-hearted as others to see their need of Christ. 3. If they take to the serious Profession of Religion they cannot hold it 4. It makes Men apt to take up their rest here 5. They are apt to wax proud and scornful and impatient of Reproof 6. They grow wanton and sensual 7. The more rich they are the more they are wedded to a worldly Prosecution See Sermon on Mark 10.23 in this Volume Secondly At Death The Approach of it openeth our eyes and maketh our vain conceits vanish Our imaginary happiness is soon at an end and as we are entering into the other world our Mirth beginneth to be Marred and though formerly we onely thought these to be the good things and desired these things and delighted in these things and placed all our confidence in these things yet we now see they cannot stead us in our extremity All our worldly advantages will afford us no solid hope when death cometh upon us Job 27.8 What is the hope of the Hypocrite though he hath gained when God taketh away his Soul If the carnal designs of wicked Men succeed and God answers them according to the Idol of their hearts whatever presumptuous dreams they had before approaching death is the great Touchstone of Mens hopes He is not really willing to die but God taketh away his Soul by force Luke 12.20 This night thy Soul shall be required of thee Jer. 17.11 He that getteth riches and not by right shall leave them in the midst of his days and at his end shall be a fool That is he shall appear to be so in the judgment of his own heart VVell then if you choose wealth ease pleasure credit for your portion and happiness you are not sure to get it but if you do get it you are sure to leave it All that the VVorld can afford you shall be taken from you you must go naked out of the VVorld as you came naked into it The VVorld will cast you off in your extremity and the despairing Soul must bid a sad farewel to all the comforts you doated upon and laboured for and delighted in All your cup of pleasures is now drunk up and there is no more left Honour and Company and Sports and Pomps
ingage our Thankfullness and increase our Hatred of Sin In short two affections are most proper and seasonable Mourning for Sin and Rejoycing in Christ. 1. Mourning for Sin When we call to remembrance the Death of Christ the anguish of his Soul the bruises of his Body the effusion of his Blood these are all occasions of Godly sorrow For he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows and he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the Chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed Isai. 53.4 5. Therefore godly sorrow is seasonable so far as it is a means part of Repentance The Iews on the Solemn day of attonement used to afflict their Souls on that Day as you may read Levit. 23.27 28 29. On the Tenth day of the seventh Month it shall be a day of Attonement it shall be an holy Convocation unto you and ye shall afflict your Souls and offer an offering made by Fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work on that day for it is a day of Attonement to make an Attonement for you before the Lord your God For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day he shall be cut off from among his people Mark when this should be at the day of Expiation or Attonement and Solemn Reconciliation with God that they might have forgiveness of all their Sins Affliction of Soul or Humiliation is inward by Godly sorrow for Sin which worketh repentance unto Salvation not to be repented of 2 Cor. 7.10 It is done by judging and loathing our selves for the Evils we have committed outwardly by Fasting and Abstinence from all fleshly Delights which the Iews observed with great rigour I press it only as it was a sign of Repentance Then we best remember Christ Crucified when we are Crucified with him Gal. 2.20 I am Crucified with Christ. When the Sensual Inclination is mortified and the Heart deadned to the pleasures of Sin which are but for a Season 2. Rejoycing in Christ Jesus The other tendeth to this as a preparation to the Solemn effect And to Repentance there must be joyned Faith which is an acceptance and acknowledgment of the benefits procured and offered to us by Christ. Therefore we cannot receive them so sealed confirmed and applied as they are in the Lord's Supper without joy We are invited to the Lord's Table as to a Feast and joy doth best become an Holy Feast This Ordinance was instituted for our Consolation as being one of those Solemn assutances given to the Heirs of Promise And their nature and use is to beget Strong Consolation Heb. 6.18 It is true we come to it with remorse but that by way of preparation and for the quickening of our appetite But the proper act wherein consisteth our Communion with Christ and his Body and Blood is the joy and contentment that the Soul received in that Christ dyed for us Christ is not only propounded as dead but as dead for us that his Death may be our Life and a fountain of everlasting comfort to us When we come to God's Table we Eat and Drink in his presence as those that are agreed with him and reconciled to him by Jesus Christ. And then Rom. 5.11 We joy in God through our Lord Iesus Christ as those that have received the attonement So Psal. 22.26 The meek shall Eat and be satisfied they shall praise the Lord that seek him your Heart shall live for ever That is the poor humble Christian is revived and comforted by the Eucharistical Spiritual Food and the vital effects thereof of which by Faith they are made partakers He speaketh there of paying his vows and alludeth to the Peace-offerings when they feasted with their Friends Which is fulfilled in the Eucharist or Commemorative Feast which we observe in the remembrance of Christ's Death These are the Spiritual Affections we come with brokenness of Heart and go away with Joy Act. 8.39 And when they were come up out of the Water the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip and the Eunuch saw him no more and be went on his way rejoycing 3. The Commemoration of Christ's Death as a Mystery of Godliness is done by a due consideration or reflection on the cause occasion and benefits of it 1. The first inward moving cause of all is the great love and mercy of God to us Iohn 3.16 God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have Everlasting Life And 1 Iohn 4.10 Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our Sins This must not be overlooked partly because this is commended to us Rom. 5.8 But God commendeth his love to us in that while we were yet Sinners Christ dyed for us Some things may be told us but this is commended that we may be sure not to forget it This was the great thing propounded to our thoughts this gracious act and expression of God's mercy and bounty carried on in the most astonishing way far beyond what we could conceive or imagine And partly because this calleth for thankfulness the great principle of Gospel-Obedience 2 Cor. 5.14 15. For the love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judge that if one dyed for all then were all dead And that he dyed for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him which dyed for them and rose again Yea the Life and Soul of every Duty the very design and tenor of the Gospel and the way of Salvation by a Redeemer is so ordered by God as to raise the highest Thankfulness in Man and that we might be deeply possessed with his Love Thankfulness is the great Duty of the Gospel and which containeth and animateth all the rest For the Gospel from first to last is a benefit 1 Tim. 6.2 Partakers of the Benefit And therefore to be received with Thankfulness for what obedience is to a meer Law that is Thankfulness to a Benefit This Duty is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or an Eucharist The Lord Jesus hath gone before us as a pattern 1 Cor. 11.24 When he had given Thanks he brake it and Verse 25. After the same manner he took the cup that is giving Thanks as Matth. 26.27 He took the cup and gave thanks And all because of that Grace and Bounty of God which he came to discover to Mankind and would Seal with his Blood Well then this Grace Love and Goodâ—ess of God in giving his Son to dye for our Sins should never be over-looked by us That all our Acts may be Acts of Thankfulness our Repentance may be a thankful Repentance our Love may most affect the Heart with Sin Ezek. 16.63 Thou mayst remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame when I am pacified
certainly than others who are not of such a light and unsettled Mind It is said Zech. 12.10 They shall look upon him whom they have pierced Which implieth a steady consideration otherwise we are in danger to go as we came There is not that lively Commemoration of Christ. You come full of other Cares Desires and Delights and therefore return empty of all solid and true Refreshment 2. It must be Applicative Gal. 2.20 He loved me and gave himself for me This great Love which God hath manifested in Christ is not only sounded in our Ears and represented to our Eyes but is brought home to us and shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost given to us Rom. 5.5 The Spirit accompanieth Christ's Institutions and the diligent serious hungry Soul is not left destitute Christ and his Benefits are no where so particularly offered applied and sealed to us as in this Duty Christ's Messengers offer him to us in particular with a Charge and Command that we should receive him take and eat for our own Comfort and Use. What is particularly applied to us and made ours as Food that is turned into our Substance should awaken in us greater Thoughts and Care about our own Interest 3. Practical The Effects must more sensibly appear Two ways is that done 1. When we are made Partakers of his Benefits when we are justified and sanctified Heb. 10.22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water The Annunciation inferreth this Then it is Practical when it assureth our Confidence Rom. 8.32 He that spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things And we are incouraged to wait for the accomplishing of these ends and instating us in these Priviledges 2. When we express more likeness to Christ in dying to Sin and to the World or suffering for Righteousness Dying to Sin and the World Gal. 2.20 I am crucified with Christ. Gal. 5.24 They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts Or suffering for Righteousness Phil. 3.10 That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death For as Christ came to destroy the Desires of the Carnal Life so to wean us from the Interests of the Animal Life Sacraments bind us to this Matth. 20.22 Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with II. Confirmation or Reasons why the Lord's Supper is a Commemoration of Christ's Death 1. To supply the room of his Bodily Presence 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen ye love in whom though now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory And in the Text Ye shew forth the Lord's death till he come Christ is not bodily present in the Church till the last Judgment And we are to continue this holy Festival till the time that we shall have no need of these Memorials because then he cometh in Person 2. It is a lively Objective Means to affect our Hearts Both in regard of what is represented Christ is as it were evidently set forth Crucified before our Eyes Gal. 3.1 And also in regard of what is required to be done on our parts that we should return to our Duty and devote our selves to God's Service Rom. 12.1 I beseech you therefore Brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service Use. To press you to the Duty of the Text To shew forth Christ's death 1. It is the strongest support to Faith When we apprehend the Greatness and Heinousness of Sin the Righteousness of God and Purity of his Holiness what shall compensate that infinite Wrong which is done to his Majesty If it seem easie to us we do not know what Sin is and what God is Not what Sin is which is a depreciation of God and a contempt of his Majesty There is no petty Creature above another but he is jealous of his Honour and will vindicate himself from Contempt Nor what God is God is of pure Holiness his Nature ingageth him to loath Sin his Justice to punish it It is a difficult case questionless how to get Sin expiated but this wonderful Condescention will make this Difficulty cease the Person is great and Way wonderful Consider what a Person hath undertaken this and what he hath done he hath died for us which at once sheweth God's willingness to Pardon and an answerable Ransom that such an one should undertake for us so beloved of God so equal to God Phil. 2.6 7. Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men This will settle and calm the Heart that such an one should come about such a Work 2. It is the greatest Incentive to Love That Christ loved us and gave himself for us a sacrifice to God of a sweet smelling savour Eph. 5.2 Those innumerable Angels that left their Station and were once in Dignity above us have not such glad Tydings to impart to one another or to shew forth in their Societies not such a word to comfort themselves withal They cannot annunciate the Death of Christ and say Lo there is our Confidence and Hope the Propitiation for our Sins 3. It is a powerful Perswasive to Obedience Shall we deny our selves to him that gave himself to and for us Or seek to frustrate him of his End This was his great End 1 Pet. 2.21 For even hereunto were ye called because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps He hath purchased Grace to mortifie Sin and to quicken us to the fruits of Holiness shall we be alive to Sin and dead to Rightousness A Sermon on MAL. iii. 17 And I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him THese Words are part of the Promise which God maketh to them that fear him or to those who are good in evil Times In them take notice of 1. The Blessing promised that God will spare them 2. The manner of this Indulgence amplified and set forth by the Carriage of a Father to his Son wherein a double Reason of this Indulgence is intimated 1. Propriety his own Son 2. Towardliness or Obedience his Son that serveth him Parents are not severe to any of their Children especially the dutiful 1. Propriety his own Son A faulty Child is a Child still and therefore not so easily turned out of the Family as a Servant We often forget the Duty of Children but God doth not forget the Mercy of a
afraid to be damned it is not God's displeasure they care for but their own safety The youngman went away sad and was grieved for he had great possessions Mark 10.22 Because he could not reconcile his Covetous mind with Christ's Institutes So Felix trembled being convinced of Sins which he was loath to discontinue and break off 3. They differ in their effects many men tremble at the word of God coming in upon their Hearts with power but this awakning worketh diversly Sometimes to a solicitous Anxiousness about the way of Salvation and then it is good as those Acts 2.37 And when they heard this they were pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter and the rest of the Apostles Men and Brethren what shall we do That was a kindly work to desire to be further instructed and directed into the way of Life and Peace Sometimes to rage Acts 7.54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart and gnashed on him with their teeth they were vexed at the galling truths which Stephen delivered and the conviction that was upon them kindled their rage against him Sometimes it produceth nothing but dilatory excuses as here in Felix go thy way for this time when I have a more convenient season I will send for thee II. The cause of this trouble and Agony was the word wherein the matter and the manner is considerable 1. The matter is to be considered both generally and particularly 1. Generally the word of God or the Doctrine of Faith in Christ. It hath a convincing power 1 Partly because of its Author the impress of God is upon it it partaketh of his Properties Heb. 4.12 13. For the word of God is quick and powerfull and sharper than any two edged Sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of Soul and Spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart Neither is there any Creature that is not manifest in his sight but all things are naked and open unto the Eyes of him with whom we have to do God searcheth the Heart and the word searcheth the Heart God is powerful and his word is powerful in discovering a Sinner to himself and bringing a Sinner out of his lurking Holes and taking off all disguises 2 Partly because of its clearness and evidence to a natural Conscience if it be not strangely stupified and blinded by fleshly Lusts 2 Cor. 4.2 3 4. By manifestation of the truth commending our selves to every Man's Conscience in the sight of God But if our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost In whom the God of this World hath blinded the minds of them that believe not lest the light of the Glorious Gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them This Scripture sheweth that the Gospel is light which will discover its self if Men do not shut their Eyes And if men refuse the Converting power they cannot withstand the Convincing power of it for the work of bringing home Souls to God lyeth more with their Lusts than with their Consciences 3 And chiefly because of the Concomitant Blessing God hath appointed the Word to be the great Instrument of Convincing and Converting the World and doth accompany it with his Grace and Spirit sometimes to one effect sometimes to another To Convincing Iohn 16.8 The Spirit shall convince the World of Sin and of Righteousness and of Iudgment If it doth no more it shall leave them under a conviction of the truth Sometimes to Conversion as 2 Cor. 4.6 God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Iesus Christ. God concurreth with his own ordinance by his omnipotent and creating power 2. Particularly the Day of Judgment is to be insisted upon in our Ministry The Apostles in planting the Faith observeth this point of Wisdom to insist much upon the Judgment Day Acts 10.42 43. And he commanded us to preach unto the the people and to testifie that it is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of Quick and Dead And to him give all the Prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth on him shall receive remission of Sins This was the great point which his chosen Witnesses were to insist upon So also Acts 17.30 31. But now commandâ—th all men every where to repent because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the World in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance to all men in that he hath raised him from the dead The Apostles observed the Tempers of those they dealt with when with the brutish multitude they invite them by Arguments of Providence Acts 14.15 16 17. Sirs Why do ye these things We also are men of like passions with you and preach unto you that you should turn from these vanities unto the living God which made Heaven and Earth and the Sea and all that are therein Who in times past suffered all Nations to walk in their own ways Nevertheless he left not himself without witness in that he did good and gave us rain from Heaven and fruitful seasons filling our Hearts with food and gladness When with the Learned he speaks of the first Cause and chief Good Acts 17.28 For in him we live move and have our being And binds all by his coming to Judgment ver 31. So he deals with Felix here he urges principles of known Dignity and Sobriety from the day of Judgment See also 2 Cor. 5.10 11. For we must all appear before the Iudgment seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in the Body according to that he hath done whether good or evil Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we perswade men This was their great and powerful Argument Reasons 1. Because this made their access into the Hearts and Consciences of Men more easie because of its suitableness to natural Light That Man is God's Creature and therefore his Subject is evident by Reasons drawn from our dependance on the first Cause and Fountain of all Being That Man hath failed in his Subjection to his Creator and Lord is evident by daily experience that therefore God may call him to an account and Man should fear his wrath is a principle as evident as the former and justified by the guilty fears incident to Mankind because of their offences Rom. 1.32 Who knowing the judgment of God that they which commit such things are worthy of death Divine Justice must once publickly appear and rectifie the disorders of the World Now because of the sentiments of Nature the Doctrine of the final Judgment doth easily enter into the Thoughts and Conscienâ—ces of Men. 2. This doth most befriend the great discovery of the Gospel which is justification by Christ and pardon of Sin by submitting to his instruction If
own rather than chuse that which is good Therefore that Men may understand that the Good and Evil of the World is not our last reward or punishment our greatest Happiness or greatest Misery God doth not always comfort the Just with these good things nor punish the Wicked with the contrary Evils On the one side if Good Men were always miserable what a grievous Temptation would this be to the weak we should then think I have cleansed my hands in vain Therefore God mixeth the Dispensation of these outward things Though Piety be the only way to obtain them and to have them by Promise and with satisfaction and a Blessing yet sometimes he giveth to his Enemies that which he denieth to his Children that he may exercise our Faith and Patience and sometimes he punisheth the Wicked and delivereth the Godly that he may shew his Providence Well then a right judgment about Providence would much stay our Hearts Two-things you may be confident of First That no evil can befall you without God's Hand and Counsel It must first pass through the Hands of God before it can reach you For as nothing can be done against his Will so nothing without his Will The hairs of your head are numbred Matth. 10.30 The Divel asked leave to go into the Herd of Swine Now this is a great comfort that you do not fear the Sword if you do not fear him that weareth the Sword God can stop all evil and will when 't is for our Profit and his Glory For he loveth us more than a Mother her only Child If thou hadst an Enemy that hath a purpose to take thee away by poison and he could not any ways do it but by telling thy Parents of his purpose and asking their leave yea and must have the Poison given them by them wouldest thou be troubled and perplexed For how could it be that thy Parents would conspire with thine Enemy to thy death This is the case God loveth his People gave his only begotten Son for them neither Men nor Divels can do any thing against them without God's leave Secondly God being Just Wise and Good doth dispense all Humane Affairs with great Wisdom Sweetness and Equity The Judges of this World when they have the Guilty in their hands do not presently pass Sentence but proceed Gravely and with mature Advice examine Witnesses consider the Cause seek to draw out the Truth by Confession and then afterwards at a certain Day pass Sentence So God now heareth Accusations divers Complaints examineth Witnesses prepareth all for Judgment and in time all things that seem to be in trouble and confusion are put into an orderly frame A Sermon on PROV X. 20 The tongue of the just is as choice silver the heart of the wicked is little worth THere are three Operations of Man his Thoughts Speeches and Actions by these we are discovered and these we should make Conscience of Two of them are represented in this Scripture Words and Thoughts and we cannot make Conscience of the one unless we make Conscience of the other for the Tongue will follow the constitution of the Heart The tongue of the just is as choice silver the heart of the wicked is little worth In the words observe I. The Things opposed The tongue of the just and The heart of the wicked II. The Price and Value of each Choice Silver and Little worth 1. For the first we must enquire why Tongue and Heart are opposed Because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh Matth. 12.34 So that if we would prevent the Evils of Speech we must cleanse the Heart The Tap runneth according to the Liquor wherewith the Vessel is filled if the Heart be little worth the Speech will be vain and frothy 2. The Value and Worth the one is as choice refined Silver the other is little worth This Metaphor sheweth that an unsanctified Heart is a drossy Heart there is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Expression it doth a great deal of hurt I begin with the first part The tongue of the just That is the Words and Speeches which he uttereth with his Tongue And more particularly it is opposed to a flattering Tongue Vers. 18. He that hideth hatred with lying lips A detracting Tongue to him that uttereth a Slander to a prattling Tongue Vers. 19. In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin but now The tongue of the just is when a just Man speaketh like a just Man Then the Predicate it is as choice Silver both for internal Purity and external Profit and Use Prov. 8.19 My fruit is better than gold yea than fine gold and my Revenue than choice silver It is refined and worthy to be attended unto and embraced and in this sense 't is true Verba valent sicut nummus its Acceptableness Value and Profit is intimated in this Similitude Doctr. That a good Man speaking or behaving himself as a good Man will and should confer and discourse with others to Edification I shall prove it I. From the quality of the Person here described it is a just Man By that Term is meant 1. A renewed Man for naturally our Lips are polluted Isa. 6.5 Wo is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips Sin in the Tongue is most frequent and that not without difficulty avoided It proceedeth from the corruption of the Heart and discovereth the Pollution which lyeth hid there and by venting increaseth it The Orator said of some body Nullum unquam verbum quod revocare vellet eum emisisse That he never uttered a word that he desired to retract But surely he meant it of the Art of Speaking not of the Grace of Speaking at best it was but a false flattery The Corruption of Men by Nature is otherwise described by the Apostle Rom. 3.13 Their throat is an open sâ—pulchre with their tongues have they used deceit the poison of asps is under their lips This is Man's true Character as he is in his natural Estate and whatever Gifts of Eloquence and plausible Speech they are indowed with yet this doth but hide Corruption not cure and mortifie it The pure Lip is the fruit of God's converting Grace Zeph. 3.9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language that they may call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent And as the powerful Change which Grace worketh in us is shewed in other things so in the Tongue also 2. A Man furnished with knowledge of the Things which concern his Duty for every renewed Man is an inlightned Man For it is said Prov. 15.2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness Unless a Man understand his Duty how shall he speak of it So Prov. 17.7 Excellent speech becometh not a fool in the Hebrew it is The Lip of Excellency Ignorant
Spirits to all the other parts so what we receive from God as good Stewards we should dispense it again and so propagate the Knowledge of God in the World which is better than Gold and fine Silver 3. It is a great comfort and quickening to confer together of holy things Rom. 1.12 That I may be comforted together with you by the mutual Faith both of you and me It is a far sweeter thing to talk of the Word of God and spiritual and heavenly things than to imploy our Tongues in vain and foolish Mirth or discoursing about mere worldly Matters Should any thing be more delightful to a Christian than God and Christ and Heaven and the Promises of the World to come and the Way thither And therefore surely we should take all meet occasions to confer of these things Certainly our relish and appetite is mightily depraved to judge our selves as in a Prison when we are in good Company who remember God And when they invite you to remember him with them will you frown upon the Motion because it is some check and interruption to Carnal Vanity Had you rather hear the Ravens croak or the Nightingale sing The grunting of a Swine or the melody of an Instrument Such a a difference there is between vain and worldly talk and heavenly discourse 4. The well-ordering of our Words is a great point of Christianity and argueth a good degree of Grace He that bridleth his Tongue is a perfect Man Jam. 3.2 If any Man offend not in words the same is a perfect Man and able also to bridle the whole Body And Solomon saith Prov. 18.21 That Death and Life are in the power of the Tongue Upon the good or ill use of it a Man's safety doth depend not only Temporal safety but Eternal And a greater than Solomon tells us Matth. 12.37 By thy Words shalt thou be justified and by thy Words shalt thou be condemned Therefore it concerneth us to look to our Discourses as well as our Actions Solomon often describeth the Righteous by his good Tongue Prov. 10.31 The Mouth of the Iust bringeth forth Wisdom Prov. 12.8 The Tongue of the Wise is Health The first Use is to inform us 1. What an Happineâ—s it is to converse with just and renewed Men Their Tongue is as choice Silver You are inriched by converse with them with such Treasures as if you were well in your Wits you would prefer above fine Gold and choice Silver And so sheweth what Teachers you should live under and what Families you should put your selves into if you be at your own disposal and what Company you should chuse You should go into the Mines those places where the Vein of choice Silver is to be had 2. That it is not enough to avoid evil Communication but our Speech must be ordered by Grace to the benefit of others Besides vain babling there are two defects Some are dumb and tongue-tyed in holy Things they can speak liberally of any Subject that occurreth but are dumb in Spiritual Matters which concern Edification Men shew so little Grace in their Conferences because they have so little Grace in their Hearts Many carry it as if they were â—shamed to speak of God or had nothing to say of him or for him You are not bound always to speak of Religious Things but sometimes you are bound now when do you interpose a word for God in a serious and affectionate manner Others jangle about disputable Opinions and all their talk is Controversie as if the plain and uncontroverted Points were not worth the owning yet in these the life and power of Godliness consisteth this is like leaving Bread and gnawing upon a a Stone In Nature necessary things are obvious so in the Universe of Religion to inculcate on each other the Vital Truths and the most necessary Duties Controversies have their place but the ordinary discourse of Christians should be about the most necessary things 3. To shew us what need there is that we should be just holy and righteouâ— If we would profit others by our discourses two things are necessary that we should be inlightned and mortified 1. That we should be inlightned by the Spirit of Grace If we would teach others the way of God it is necessary that we our selves should be taught of God It cometh warmer and fresher from us when we speak not by hear-say only but Experience as Heart answereth to Heart so the renewed Heart in him that heareth to the renewed Heart in him that speaketh and we shew others what God by his illuminating Grace hath first shewed us Then it savoureth of the Spirit that worketh in both he that is all on fire himself will more easily inkindle others Alas Good Things pass through many like Water through an empty Trunk without feeling they may speak very good things but they do but personate and act a part When God hath bound up our Wounds we do more feeling speak to others Certainly we are apt to speak oftenest of those things which we do most affect when we have a true discerning of the Excellency of holy things our Speeches about them will be more frequent lively and savoury 2. That we be mortified and dead to carnal things for we cannot conceal our Affections whether they are bent to the things of the Flesh or to the things of the Spirit Till the Heart be câ—eansed and we mortifie our sinful Inclinations from whence Thoughts and Words proceed they always obey the Ruling Power A good Man will be known by his discourse so will the Carnal The Froward will speak froward things and the Sensual of what is grateful to the Flesh and the Worldly of what is suitable to their worldly Designs and Knowledge doth not guide us here so much as Inclination for Speech is but the overflow of the Heart The second Use is of Exhortation To press us to imploy our Tongues to the Use of Edifying 1. Let us be much exercised in reading and meditating on the Word of God and get a good stock of sound Scriptural Knowledge Matth. 12.35 A good Man out of the good treasure of the Heart bringeth forth good things Every Man entertaineth his Guests with such Provision as he hath He that taketh Money out of his Pocket if it be stored with Gold or Silver or Brass Farthings as his Stock is so will the Draught appear The Word of God is that which enableth us to edifie our selves and others with holy Conference The more Store the more we have to bring forth upon all Occasions Coll. 3.16 Let the Word of God dwell in you richly in all Wisdom teaching and admonishing one another A plentiful measure of Gospel-Knowledge enableth us to instruct others and direct others There all Wisdom is made plain things revealed which cannot be found elsewhere that which by long search we get in the Writings of Heathens is there made ready to our hands and brought down to the meanest Capacity If the
times ye people pour out your hearts before him On the other side when we omit Prayer or perform it coldly or cursorily surely there is a defect in their Faith Love or Hope A defect of Faith they do not believe God's Being and Providence and the Promises of God's holy Covenant Psal. 14.1 The fool hath said in his heart there is no God And Vers. 4. They call not upon the Lord. The Practical Atheist is one that doth not pray at all times nor much nor often call upon God Mal. 3.14 Ye have said it is in vain to serve God and what profit is it that we have kept his Ordinance and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts Or if they do not soundly believe his Covenant Rom. 10.14 How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed How can they address themselves to God in Christ if they are not rooted in the Faith of the Gospel Or sometimes a defect in their Love to God because they have no delight in him Iob 27.10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty Will he always call upon God Isa. 43.22 But thou hast not called upon me O Iacob But thou hast been weary of me O Israel They are glutted with worldly Happiness and so God is neglected Ier. 2.31 32. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel A land of darkness Wherefore say my people we are Lords we will come no more unto thee Can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire Yet my people have forgotten me days without number Or a defect in their Hope they despair either of Assistance or Acceptance with God David when he had lost his Peace by some wounding Sin he had not the heart to go to God Psal. 32.3 I kept silence 1 John 3.21 If our hearts condemn us not then have we confidence towards God Sin represents God as an angry Judge God is terrible to a guilty Conscience we inherit this as coming from Adam Gen. 3.8 Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden 5. We are not prepared for Death and Judgment without Faith Hope and Love but either of these Days will be terrible to us 1. Death Take either Grace Faith Hope or Love Faith first we live by Faith and afterwards we dye by Faith Heb. 11.13 These all dyed in faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off and were perswaded of them and embraced them The intervening Promises are most questioned in the present Life because of the urgency of present Necessities but the great Promise is questioned hereafter When we are to lanch out into Eternity it is a hard matter to look with a steady confidence into the other World when the Soul must flit out of the Body to see Heaven open to receive it needs a strong Faith Iohn 11.25 26. I am the resurrection and the life he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never dye believest thou this So for Love that is necessary that we may be willing to go home to our Father who hath admitted us into his Family pardoned our Sins and relieved our Souls And it is a great encouragement in the hour of Death when we are to leave the World and come immediately into his Presence who hath done such great things for us and is now about to do more But in what a woful case are they who must appear before a God whom they never knew nor heartily loved and with whom they never had communion and acquaintance they never had experience of his Kindness nor interest in his Love and now are forced into his Presence against their will Certainly it is Faith and Love must smooth and sweeten our Passage into the other World and make it comfortable to us Love overcometh our natural loathness to quit the Body 2 Cor. 5.8 We are confident and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. To enjoy Christ's Presence we can part with what is nearest and dearest to us So for Hope in what a lamentable case are Men when they come to dye if they are without Hope Iob 27.8 What is the hope of the hypocrite though he hath gained when God taketh away his soul They are full of Presumption and blind Confidence now while they swim in the full stream of Worldly Comforts and Advantages but when this Dotage is over they have no solid Comfort but either dye senseless and stupid or are filled with Horror and Despair and their hopes fail them when they have most need of them 2. So for the Judgment For the Context speaketh of the day of the Lord which cometh unexpectedly on the Sensual and Careless and is matter of Terror to them but it is welcom to the Godly who are upon their guard and have long-looked and prepared for it Now what is the due preparation for Judgment but furnishing our selves with Faith Love and Hope For these Graces do both put us on that Spiritual Care which is necessary for waiting for it and also fill us with Confidence and Comfort Faith 2 Thess. 1.10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe because our testimony among you was believed in that day Love is necessary 1 Iohn 1.17 18. Herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment because as he is so are we in this world There is no fear in love but perfect love casteth out fear because fear hath torment he that feareth is not made perfect in love Hope Heb. 9.28 And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation 1. Use Is to perswade us to get these Graces all of them partly because without them the new Creature is not perfect You will want Sight Life or strength either an Eye or an Heart or a Power to act And partly because they have a mutual Influence one upon another Faith and Hope upon Love for Faith looketh backward to the Wonders of God's Love shewed in our Redemption by Christ Hope looketh forward to the state of Glory and Blessedless prepared for us And both excite our Love to God and thankful Obedience to him Again Faith and Love breed Hope for they that believe and love Christ's appearing will wait for it and not think of it with Perplexity and Fear but with Comfort and Delight There is a great deal of Grace then to be brought to us Well then labour to get all these Graces To this end 1. Remove the Impediment that is a careless vanity of Mind which groweth upon us through an Indulgence to the Delights of the Flesh so that either we have none or seldom and cursory Thoughts of God or Christ or the World to come Let us be sober as in the Text
Profit and Pleasure that is in Adultery and Theft but shutteth the Eyes of his Mind against the Filthiness or Injustice that is in it and therefore he is like a Man that leapeth from an high place into the Water who first shutteth his Eyes and then casts himself into the Flood or Stream 3. Consequent Ignorance is after the Sin or Act of the Will either from the depraved Disposition of the Will Iohn 3.20 For every one that doth evil hateth the light neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved Or from the just Judgment of God Iohn 9.39 For judgment I am come into the world that they which see not might see and that they which see might be made blind God inflicts a Judicial Blindness on Men that will not obey the Truth 3. Ignorance is either Invincible or Vincible 1. Invincible Ignorance is when there is not sufficient Revelation when it is a thing we should know but God hath not brought Light among us Thus the Heathens are punished for not glorifying God whom they knew by the Light of Nature Rom. 1.21 When they knew God they glorified him not as God Not because they believed not in Christ for he was not revealed unto them But Christians shall be punished for not obeying the Gospel 2 Thess. 1.8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Iesus Christ. 2. Vincible Ignorance is when there are plentiful Means and gross Helps to overcome it then is our Ignorance more culpable This is seen when either Ignorance is Voluntary and Pertinacious or when there is gross Negligence When it is Voluntary 2 Pet. 3.5 For this they are willingly ignorant of That they may Sin more freely and securely they will not know what may disturb or trouble their Sleep in Sin Iob 21.14 Therefore they say unto God Depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways The Psalmist says of them Psal. 95.10 It is a people that do err in their hearts they have not known my ways They err in their Hearts as well as in their Minds when they do not desire to know what they should know this Ignorance is voluntary Or else it is bewrayed by gross Negligence when a Man doth a thing that if he were not grosly Negligent he might know to be Sin Eph. 3.15 16 17. See then that ye walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise Redeeming the time because the days are evil Wherefore be ye not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is A Christian is bound to use all holy Means to know all things that belong to his Duty and must bestow much time and diligence upon it If he is grosly ignorant it is a sign he hath a mind to put a cheat upon his Soul Use. Let us beware of Sin against Knowledge these Sins of all others are the most dangerous whether they be Sins of Omission to omit Duties that we know to be Duties this is very dangerous Iames 4.17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doth it not to him it is sin Or Sins of Commission to commit Sins that we know to be Sins Rom. 2.21 22. Thou therefore which teachest another teachest thou not thy self Thou that preachest a man should not steal dost thou steal Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery dost thou commit adultery Thou that abhorrest idols dost thou commit sacriledge To commit Sins that we know to be Sins is to involve our selves in Wrath and Vengeance Have a care then of these Sins if you are guilty of them it cannot be pleaded for you Father forgive them they know not what they do A Sermon on JOHN xix 30. He said It is finished and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost THIS is one of the seven Words which Christ uttered upon the Cross the last save one for before his bowing of the Head and giving up the Ghost those Words must come in which are mentioned Luke 23.46 Father into thy hands I commend my spirit and having said thus he gave up the ghost To make way for these Words we need go no farther back than the 28th Verse it is said there After this Iesus knowing that all things were now accomplished that the Scripture might be fulfilled said I thirst Where we may observe 1. The exact knowledge which Christ had of all his Sufferings He knew that all things were accomplished namely all the preparative Sufferings which were to usher in his Death All these bitter Sorrows were numbred out to him by the Divine Decrees and praesignified in the Prophesies Jesus knew all the exact Tale and account of them A Circumstance that doth much commend his Love to us Christ knew how dear the bargain of Souls would be to him and yet he would shew his Obedience to the Father and his Love to Mankind He long since sate down and counted the Charges and yet he came to do his Father's Will When a Business proveth hazardous and inconvenient we are apt to say If I had known it would have cost me so much I should never have undertaken it Christ went not to the Cross blindfold he knew the Work of our Redemption would be troublesom and painful that he was to give his Back to the Smiters and his Cheeks to the Nippers that he was to be hurried from the Garden to the Courts of Men from the Courts of Men to the Cross and there to endure acute Pains and Torments Jesus knew that all these things were to be fulfilled 2. Observe It is said he knew they were accomplished Christ had a lively feeling of every part of his Sorrows and his Senses remained in full vigour to the last and without any stupefaction He knew what Hour the Clock of the Divine Decree would next strike or what was the next Circumstance whereby he was to discover himself to be the true Messiah David saith Died Abner as a fool dieth 2 Sam. 3.32 We may say so Died the Lord Jesus as a Fool dieth in a stupid sensless way Or as one merely passive Extremity of Pain had now surprized the Thieves which were crucified with him we hear no more of them but Christ's Reason and Senses are still exercised and his Sorrows made more active by his own apprehension 3. Observe That the Scriptures might be fulfilled he said I thirst By fulfilling another Prophecy God discovereth another Note whereby the Messiah might be known All the Passages of Christ's Death were appointed with infinite Wisdom and Love either they were such as were necessary parts of Redemption or some Indications whereby the Messiah fore-prophesied of might be discovered Here is another Prophecy fulfilled in Christ's Thirst. The Prophesies alluded to are two one is Psal. 22.15 My strength is dried up like a potsheard and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws thou hast brought me to the dust of death The other Prophesie hinteth the
Person and Sacrifice was approved of God is evident not only as he appointed it and surely he will Accept what he hath Appointed not only also by the Miracles which he wrought when alive which evidenced his Commission Acts 2.22 Iesus of Nazareth a man approved of God among you by miracles wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you but chiefly by the Resurrection of Christ which was not only a Testimony of the Truth and Dignity of his Person Rom. 1.4 And declared to be the son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead but it was a clear Argument of the perfectness of his Satisfaction For unless he had abundantly satisfied God how could God who as a just Judge had appointed him to die for our Sins raise him up from the Dead Would an upright Judge deliver a Debtor or his Surety from Prison unless first full Payment had been made Would God shew himself willing to be Reconciled to us if yet there remained any Wrath to be appeased any farther Ransom necessary to be paid for us Now in the Scripture Christ is sometimes said to rise from the Dead to shew his Divine Power sometimes to be raised by God to shew the Fulness of his Satisfaction Acts 2.24 Whom God hath raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be holden of them When Christ was raised our Surety was let out of Prison And the Scripture hath delivered it to us under that Notion Isa. 53.8 He was taken from Prison and from judgment and who shall declare his Generation For he was cut off from the land of the Living for the transgression of my people was he stricken The Lord sent an Angel to remove his Grave-stone not to supply any lack of Power in Christ but to shew he was fully Appeased and Satisfied Therefore it is said Heb. 13.20 Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Iesus that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant Mark through the Blood of the everlasting Covenant he is become the God of Peace through the Blood of the everlasting Covenant he brought Christ from the Dead He doth not only do us good but le ts go our Surety through the Virtue of that Blood The Phrase of Bringing again from the Dead is Emphatical Christ did not break Prison but was brought forth as the Apostles Acts 16.39 The Magistrates came to the Prison and brought them out Christ rose not only by his own Power but by the Father's Authority If our Surety had perished in Prison we could have no Assurance or if he had continued still under Death the World could have no Discharge But Christ rose again and is not only taken out of Prison but carried up to God in Glory and Honour 1 Tim. 3.16 Received up into glory It is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Actively he Ascended but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Passively he was Raised up God hath Rewarded him And therefore he hath perfectly done his Work God hath not only taken him out of the Grave but taken him up to Glory Certainly God is well pleased since he hath given him not only a Discharge but a Reward Christ undertaking for us is somewhat like that of Reuben for Benjamin Gen. 43.9 I will be surety for him of my hand shalt thou require him if I bring him not unto thee and set him before thee then let me bear the blame for ever Let me see thy Face no more Christ undertook to carry it through and failed not in the Enterprize III. What Comfort is this to poor Sinners since though there be a full Satisfaction Conditions are required which we are not able to perform e're we can have Benefit and we find Sin remaining in us so that it is finished and unfinished as to us I answer There is great Comfort in God's general Grace before it be particularly applied and exhibited to us in the Effects and Sense thereof A sufficient Sacrifice and Ransom given for you is the Foundation of all solid Peace for it is the Foundation of the Gospel or of the Covenant of Grace I shall prove it by these Reasons 1. Because this answereth the grand Scruple which haunteth the Creature and is at the bottom of all our Fears namely how God's Justice shall be appeased Micah 6.6 7. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow my self before the high God Shall I come before him with burnt offerings with calves of a year old Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousands of rivers of oyl Shall I give my first-born for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul The way of appeasing God's Anger hath been an old Controversie that hath troubled all Nations and till it be answered and fully determined Man is not perfect as appertaining to the Conscience Heb. 9.9 Though God be infinitely Merciful yet he is infinitely Just and we can expect no more from his Mercy than we may fear from his Justice Guilty Nature still presageth Evil to us till there be something Penal endured and something of Price and Value given to appease Justice 2. That God now looketh for no Satisfaction at your hand it is all done perfectly by Christ all is finished he satisfied for us that we might not be obliged to satisfie in our own Persons Heb. 1.3 When he had by himself purged our sins sate down on the right hand of the Majesty on high Isa. 53.5 By his stripes we are healed It was at his Cost that our Recovery was brought about 3. In this Provision we see the Will of God putting forth it self for our help in the most astonishing way that could be imagined 1 Tim. 3.16 Without controversie great is the mystery of godliness God manifested in the flesh 1 John 4.10 Herein was love not that we loved God but God loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins This is such an unusual expression of Love such an engaging Instance so much surpassing our Thoughts that we cannot sufficiently admire it When God laid such a broad Foundation surely he intended some notable Grace to us 4. Here is a full Answer to those usual Objections which are raised by broken Hearts as the number and greatness and heinousness of our Sins for as such they shall not be your Ruine As great as they are God can with honour pardon them for barely to plead the number of Sins or greatness of Sins is to lessen the Price The Messiah came Dan. 9.24 To finish transgression and to make an end of sin and to bring in everlasting Righteousness There is no Sin so great but the Redeemer's Merit can countervail it And no Man shall perish for the want of the Payment of his Ransom or an Expiatory Sacrifice for his Sins He may
perish for his Impenitency and Unbelief but not meerly for the Greatness of his Sin for what Sin is so great that it is not or cannot be expiated by the Blood of Christ Christ's Satisfaction maketh the Salvation of the worst possible you may have Peace with God if you will 5. It bindeth our Duty the closer upon us No Man shall perish but for want of a willing Heart to accept of the Redeemer who hath paid our Ransom and of the Grace which he hath brought to us by which we may be interested and instated in the Benefits of this Ransom All things are ready if we are ready Luke 14.17 Come for all things are now ready God's Fatlings are killed his Wines are mingled if we will not come to the Feast we perish through our own default We need confer nothing all is but to receive the Benefits propounded and offered Victory over Death Hell Sin Satan is ready yea Heaven is ready and all Spiritual Blessings are ready if we are ready For the Merit and Satisfaction of Christ is the great cause of all that Blessedness which is offered to the Creature God hath opened the way to all if they will not enter into it they perish by their own default He hath sent Preachers into all the World Mark 16.15 16. And he said unto them Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved and he that believeth not shall be damned Tit. 2.11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men Let not us refuse our Cure though we must take a bitter Potion though we must enter in by the strait Gate of Faith and Repentance and walk in the narrow way of Self-denial and all holy Conversation and Godliness yet because it is to Life and the Legal Exclusion is taken off let us enter and walk in it Indeed if the Door were shut against us by the Sentence of thr Law and there was no way to remove the Bars and Bolts our Excuse were more just because then our Condition would be hopeless But now all is finished Salvation rendred possible now God hath taken away the Bars and Bolts by which his Law shut us out from all hope Let us not set up Bars and Bolts by our own Unbelief and by our own Cowardly Fears If Man were not Man but a Beast a Fool or a Mad-man it might more excusably be allowed to them to be led by Sense and Appetite and then it were an intolerable thing to Crucifie the Flesh with the Affections thereof But Man having Reason doth know or may know that this Command of God is equal that God doth not only require but help us to perform it and prevent us by his Grace 6. It doth not only bind our Duty upon us but it doth encourage us to Repent and Believe and Obey for Christ is able to save to the utmost all those that come to God by him Heb. 7.25 And he is the author and finisher of our faith Heb. 12.2 And doth give repentance as well as remission of sins Acts 5.31 For to you it is given on the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake Phil. 1.29 The first Grace is his Gift and his resolved Gift to the Elect but all are to take their Lot If it were said to us alone That we should strive to enter in at the streight Gate or that we alone should deny our selves and take up our Cross and follow him it were hard But when the same Terms are propounded to all and when many young and old rich and poor have received them and have tried God's Ways and it hath succeeded well with them upon Trial why should we fear it If no body had done it or could do it then we might stick at God's Terms This Argument Austin used to himself in his Conflicts of Conscience Lib. 8. Confess Cap. 11. When he had long withstood offers of Grace he would then propound to himself the Example of others Cur non poteris quod isti istae Isti istae non in se pouterunt sed in Domino Deo suo Why may not I as well as those holy Men and those good Women They did it not in themselves but in the strength of their God and the power â—f his Grace The Yoke of Christ will be more easie than we think of especially when it is lined with Grace 7. When we have once accepted the Condition cleared up our Title then we shall have cause to Glory in the Lord and be sensible indeed that all things are finished which are necessary to our Comfort and Peace and that this was a full Merit As Paul would Glory in the Cross of Christ Gal. 6.14 God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Iesus Christ. Rom. 8.1 There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ. Then we shall make the bold Challenge of Faith Rom. 8.33 34. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect It is God that justifieth Who is he that condemneth It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us If Christ had not made a full Expiation of all our Sins we were under Condemnation still He doth not say there is nothing worthy of Condemnation in Believers for as long as Sin and the Flesh remaineth in us which doth as long as we live in the World there is a Potential Guilt of Damnation an intrinsick Merit in our Actions of Death and Condemnation yet the Actual Guilt or Obligation is taken away because Christ is made a Curse for us Well then our solid Rejoycing to the lasts is in this compleat Satisfaction Rom. 5.11 We rejoyce in God through our Lord Iesus Christ by whom we have received the atonement It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We Glory in God Vse Let this raise in us 1. An hearty Thankfulness and Admiration of the Love of Christ who would not give over Suffering till he could say It is Finished till he had done enough to Glorifie God and Save the Creature enough for the Destruction of Sin as well as the Abolition of the Curse Christ did not Compound but paid the utmost Farthing Oh! let us raise our Thoughts in the Consideration of this Love His Enemies interrupted him and tempted him to give over Save thy self if thou be the son of God come down from the cross Mat. 27.40 42. If he be the King of Israel let him now come down from the Cross and we will believe him But because he was the Son of God and the King of Israel he would not come down till he was taken down and all was done that was necessary All God's Works are perfect Deut. 32.4 The Father ceased not till upon the Sixth Day he had perfected the Work of
though there were two left with shining Garments to give satisfaction to his Disciples Acts 1.10 11. While they looked steadfastly towards Heaven as he went up behold two men stood by them in white apparel which said Ye men of Galilee why stand ye gazing up into heaven This same Iesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so return in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven Christ was thinking how his Father would embrace him put the Crown upon his Head bid him sit down at his right hand and how there he was to be Royally attended And this doth not derogate from his Love to us for he went to prepare a Place for us and as our fore-runner is entred into Glory and because he lives we shall live also 1 Use. To commend the Love of Christ to us 1. That he should die this was an incomparable condescention of his Love Simeon suffered himself to be bound for his Brethren Gen. 42.24 Lot proffers his Daughters to save his Guests Gen. 19.8 But Christ would lay down his Life If it were in our choice who would die Who would be tumbled into a Pit of Darkness a cold Hole where he should see the Sun no more We would live for ever It is not put to our choice but it is in our wishes But Christ might have chosen whether he would die or no and yet he died 2. Christ had more reason to love his Life than we have He had a delicate Body and the Social Presence of the Godhead The poorest Worm in the world desires to keep its Life Iob 2.4 Skin for skin yea all that a man hath will he give for his life That is a Man would part with all for Skins were the Barter of those days And the more excellent the Life is the more desire Men have to keep it as young Men whose Marrow is in their Bones to them Life is Life indeed The Woman that was broken and spent with old Age yet spent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all her living on Physicians Luke 8.43 Christ had reason to love Life upon a Natural Respect he was about 33 Years old and upon a Spiritual Respect his Human Nature enjoyed the near presence of the God-head but when he was in his full vigour and strength he willingly died 3. That Death which he died was a sad bloody Death the saddest Death that any Man could die He was weaken'd with the Agonies in the Garden They pierced his hands and his feet Psal. 22.16 The Sinewy Parts of his Body were pierced with Nails his Life dropping out by degrees the Irons open'd a passage for his Soul And which was more than all he suffered under the wrath of God Mat. 27.46 My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me 4. It was a shameful Death he suffered as a Malefactor Isa. 53.12 He was numbred with the transgressors He was Crucified between two Thieves In medio latronum tanquam latronum maximus as if he were the greatest of them He was treated as a Sinner we are made the Sons of God Iob was called Hypocrite by his Friends but he would maintain his Righteousness till death Iob 27.6 My Righteousness will I hold fast and will not let it go my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live Eusebius Vercellensis chose rather to starve in Prison then that it should be said he had eaten with the Arians Christ takes it patiently to die as a Thief an Impostor a Traytor Iohn 18.30 If he were not a malefactor we would not have delivered him up unto thee The High-Priest charged him with Blasphemy Mat. 26.65 Then the High-priest rent his clothes saying He hath spoken blasphemy what further need have we of witnesses Behold now ye have heard his blasphemy The Disciples began to doubt of him and to look on him as an Impostor Luke 24.21 We trusted that it had been he that should have redeemed Israel By God himself when he had taken our Sins upon him he was dealt with as a Transgressor 1 Pet. 4.1 He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin He was as a Sinner before Heb. 9.28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many An ingenious Man â—alueth his good Name above all Enjoyments There was enough to clear Christ's Innocency yet in the repute of the world he suffered as a Malefactor Oh how unlike is Christ to the Men of the World Christ is Innocent and accounted a Transgressor they are Transgressors yet would fain be accounted Innocent as Saul said to Samuel 1 Sam. 15.30 I have sinned yet honour me now I pray thee before the elders of my people and before Israel We are more careful of Credit than Conscience and would not be accounted Sinners yet do not fear to be so What a comfort is this to Believers that Satan cannot lay more to your charge than his Instruments did to Jesus Christ. 5. He submitted to this Death most willingly He thirsted and longed to pay the Ransom for us here was not so much pain and shame as there was willingness Gal. 1.4 Who gave himself for our sins There was not only the Acts of the Father in giving Christ but a peculiar Act of Christ He gave himself How freely did Christ empty his Veins and let out his Soul it was no more to Christ to pour out his Soul than for the Minister to pour out the Wine We pray as if we were afraid to be heard we hear as if we were loth to be saved we serve God as if we were loth to please him there is a grudging in our Acts of Duty but Christ was free and willing to die for us 6. His Blood was spilt in Malice it might have cried for Vengeance yet it crieth for Pardon it had the Perfume of an infinite Merit Heb. 12.24 The blood of sprinkling speaketh better things than that of Abel As to Abel's Blood that crieth for Vengeance Gen. 4.10 The voice of thy Brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground Christ's Blood cries for Pardon As to the Actors his Blood would not have been a Curse to them if they had harken'd to the Voice of the Gospel But to speak of our selves we by our Sins had made our Lord to serve and die yet doth not his Blood speak against us as Abel's did against Cain but it speaks to God to pacifie his Wrath and to pardon us Our Sins cry Lord forgive not Isa. 2.9 The mean man boweth down and the great man humbleth himself therefore forgive them not They speak in our Conscience ye deserve Death But Christ's Blood speaketh words of Peace and Comfort to cleanse it and make it quiet when Wrath is ready to break out from Justice it still cryeth Father it is finished Christ's Blood yet speaketh When the awaken'd Conscience lies in fear of the offended Judge and is vexed with the restless Accusations of Satan the Blood of Christ speaketh better things viz. it is
Heb. 2.15 Who through fear of Death were all their Life-time subject to Bondage At Death these Fears are more active and pungent 1 Cor. 15.56 The Sting of Death is Sin and surprize the guilty Soul with greater Horror and Distraction then they are summoned to their great Account If the Soul were mortal why should Men be afraid of Torments after Death They anticipate the Miseries of the Life to come not as it puts a Period unto their natural Comforts but as it is an Entrance into everlasting Miseries 4. The Scripture directs to this Argument the Justice of God for the Comfort of the Faithful 2 Thess. 1.5 Which is a manifest Token of the righteous Iudgment of God The Sufferings of the Faithful are a Demonstration of a future Estate there is a God If there be not a first and Fountain-Being how did we come to be for nothing can make it self Or how did the World fall into this Order This God is just for all Perfections are in the first Being If we deny him to be just we deny him to be God and the Governour of the World Rom. 3.5 6. Is God unrighteous who taketh Vengeance God forbid for then how shall God judg the World Now it is agreeable to the Justice of his Government that it should be well with them that do well and ill with them that do evil or that he should make a difference by Rewards and Punishments between the Wicked and Obedient It seemeth uncomely when it is otherwise Prov. 26.1 As Snow in Summer and as Rain in Harvest so Honour is not seemly for a Fool. When the Wicked are exalted Men look on it as an uncouth thing Now this Reward and Punishment is not fully dispensed in this World even in the Judgment of them that have no great knowledg of the heinous Nature of Sin and the Judgment competent thereunto Yea rather the best are exercised with Poverty Disgrace Scorn and all manner of Troubles their Persons molested their Names cast out as odious when the Wicked live in Pomp and Ease and oppress them at their pleasure Therefore since God's Justice doth not make such a difference here there is another Life wherein he will do it otherwise we must deny all Providence and that God doth not concern himself in humane Affairs and that a Man may break his Laws oppress his People and no great Harm will come of it Zeph. 1.12 The Lord will not do Good neither will he do Evil. And God would seem indifferent to Good and Evil yea rather partial to the Evil and to favour the Wicked more than the Righteous which is Blasphemy and a diminution of God's Goodness and Holiness Psal. 11.6 7. Vpon the Wicked he shall rain Snares Fire and Brimstone and an horrible Tempest this shall be the Portion of their Cup. But the righteous Lord loveth Righteousness and his Countenance doth behold the Vpright Obedience would be Man's Loss and Ruin and so God would be the worst Master 1 Cor. 15.19 If in this Life only we have hope in Christ we are of all Men most miserable They that forsake the sinful Pleasures of this Life hazard all their natural Interests row against the Stream of Flesh and Blood would be ill provided for by their Religion Therefore there is another Life wherein God will reward his People Secondly I shall urge other Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul 1 st The Capacity of the Soul argueth the Immortality of it Now it is capable 1. Of Civil Arts. 2. Of owning the distinction between Good and Evil. 3. Of knowing Immortality and Matters of everlasting Consequence 4. Of knowing God and his Attributes 5. Of the Divine Nature which consists in the Knowledg and Love of God 6. Of a sweet familiar Communion with him Let us see how all these Capacities will prove the Matter in hand 1. The being capable of Civil Arts will prove the Soul's spiritual Substance far excelling the Beasts in Dignity for it is capable of all kind of Learning and witty Inventions as Grammar and the knowledg of Tongues and Rhetorick to form and polish our Speech Logick to refine our Reason Ethicks to order our Manners Medicine to cure the Distempers of our Bodies by Physicks or by natural Philosophy it knoweth all kind of Things all Ranks of Beings from God and Angels to the smallest Worm yea it acquireth such Skill as to make use of all Creatures for its own benefit James 3.7 For every kind of Beasts and of Birds and of Serpents and things in the Sea is tamed and hath been tamed of Mankind The Power and Skill of Man is large and reacheth through the whole Creation by one Means or other Man mastereth them Now what doth this signify but that Man hath a Soul different from the Souls of the Beasts Iob 35.11 He teacheth us more than the Beasts of the Field and maketh us wiser than the Fowls of Heaven And that will contribute much to the matter in hand Solomon puts the Question Eccles. 3.21 Who knoweth the Spirit of Man that goeth upward and the Spirit of a Beast that goeth downward to the Earth Mark there he asserts that the Spirit of the Man goeth upward and the Spirit of the Beast goeth downward there is an Ascent ascribed to the one and a Descent to the other upward implieth Heaven and heavenly things downward the Earth and earthly things The humane Soul ascendeth to God the universal Judg of all the World whose Throne is in Heaven but the Soul of the Beasts taketh its Lot among all earthly things which are at length resolved into Earth Water and Air. In the Creation God is said to breath into Man the Spirit of Life not so of the Beast So in the Dissolution the one returneth to God the other leaveth off to exist and when they die they are no more 2. It is capable of owning the Distinction between moral Good and Evil. He that doth not acknowledg it is unworthy the Name of Man for to love or hate God is not indifferent nor to kill a Neighbour or hunt an Hare in the Woods to use lawful Matrimony or for a Man to pollute himself either with promiscuous or incestuous Imbraces Now if our Souls differed not from the Soul of a Beast they could have no such Apprehension or Conception The Beasts know Pain and Pleasure but they have no Knowledg of Vertue and Vice as is sensible to every one that considereth them but Man hath Rom. 2.14 15. For when the Gentiles which have not the Law do by Nature the things contained in the Law these having not the Law are a Law unto themselves which shew the VVork of the Law written in their Hearts Well then Man hath a Life beyond this a further End of his Actions than a Beast which is to approve himself to God to whom he must give an Account whether he hath done Good or Evil. For a Conscience supposeth a Law and a Law
Christ is the First-born or First-begotten because he was the first that rose from the dead in his own Strength and vanquished Death others were raised before him but to die again they were raised in their own single Persons he as a publick Person But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first-Fruits of them that slept 1 Cor. 15.20 And he will by the same Power raise again all his Members to Immortality and Life 3. He is the Prince of the Kings of the Earth one that hath all Power given him in Heaven and in Earth and is superiour to all Princes of the World not only in regard of Eminency as a far greater Prince than they but Authority and Power over them he is their Lord and Soveraign as well as ours as it is said Dan. 4.17 The most High ruleth in the Kingdoms of Men and giveth them to whomsoever he will 1. Observe these Titles are given to Christ with respect to his three Offices of King Priest and Prophet 1. His Prophetical Office is implied in that Term the faithful Witness one that hath brought the Gospel out of the Bosom of God and plainly and clearly revealed it to the World and hath confirmed the Certainty of it by divers Miracles especially by his Death from which he rose again and ascended and poured out the Spirit upon the Disciples for a Testimony and still continueth that Dispensation in part of giving the Spirit so far as to assure the Hearts of his People that this is the Truth 2. His Priesthood is implied in that Expression The first begotten from the dead He died and so offered himself as a Sacrifice of Atonement to God he rose again and is entred within the Vail to continue the Exercise of that Office by his constant Intercession 3. His Kingly Office is implied in that other Expression The Prince of the Kings of the Earth They are all his Vicegerents absolutely at his dispose and can do neither more nor less than he will have them Mat. 28.18 All Power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth He hath supream and absolute Authority given him over all things both in Heaven and Earth for the Good of the Church and in the Church he is the only Head and King to appoint and maintain the Way and Means of gathering preserving ruling the Church and ordering all the Affairs thereof to the World's End 2. Observe that all these Titles are suted to the present occasion of this Prophecy which is to encourage his People to suffer Persecution for the Gospel's sake 1. As he was the faithful Witness it assured their Cause to be right The Gospel is called the Testimony of Iesus Christ ver 2. He declared nothing to us but the Will of God The Flesh hath such a value for and tenderness of its Interests that Men will soon distinguish themselves out of their Duty if there be the least doubtfulness in the Cause for which they suffer or any suspicion of it Therefore now when dreadful Troubles attended the Profession of the Gospel he setteth forth Christ as the faithful Witness to heighten their Zeal As also Rev. 3.14 These things saith the Amen the faithful and true Witness 2. As he was the first-begotten from the dead it still encourageth them more by assuring them of a joyful Resurrection if their Lives should fall in this Quarrel and Conflict This should allay all the Fears of Death Christ is not called the first-born of the Living but the first-born from the dead to own a Relation to us in every Condition dead as well as living He as the first-born rose as a Pledg and Pattern of what should be done to us 3. As Prince of the Kings of the Earth of whose Power and Persecutions they were so much afraid but needed not for they are not only accountable to Christ at last which those adverse Powers little valued having not imbraced the Profession of the Gospel but were held in by the Reins of his Government for the present so as they could not so much as touch an Hair of their Heads without his leave So that here was much Encouragement for suffering Christians who at that time were to conflict with great Difficulties and exposed to the Slaughters and Butcheries of cruel Enemies 3. Observe all these Titles serve to beget a Reverence and great Respect in our Hearts to the Person that owneth them he is the faithful Witness The great Prophet of the Church should be regarded by us This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear ye him Mat. 17.5 We are to hearken to him believe him obey him as knowing that we must stand or fall at the Sentence of his Word He is the greatest and most excellent of all the Prophets and far above them all who knew more of God and of his Mind than all they joined in one and hath declared his Will more fully clearly and powerfully and shall we set at naught his Counsel Some that despised the Counsel of an ordinary Prophet smarted for it Heb. 10.28 29. He that despised Moses 's Law died without Mercy under two or three Witnesses Of how much sorer Punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath troddeâ— under foot the Son of God who came out of his Bosom on purpose to teach us the Way of Salvation If he require Repentance and Faith with a Promise of Righteousness and Eternal Life and a Commination of Eternal Death unavoidable if we believe not nor repent we are to believe it with all Certainty to set about this Work with all Care and Diligence and continue therein with all Constancy and Perseverance Heb. 12.25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on Earth much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from Heaven Christ came from Heaven at first returned to Heaven again from Heaven sent down the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles and by that Spirit enabled them to preach the Gospel with Success O surely we should attend to his Doctrine and receive it with firm Assent and obey it with humble Submission Again he is the first-begotten from the Dead That he died should render him dear to us for it was for our sakes as I shall shew by and by That he rose again was for our sakes for our Justification Who was delivered for our Offences and rosâ— again for our Iustification Rom. 4.25 For it sheweth that his Sacrifice was accepted as sufficient for our Atonement Yea for our blessed Resurrection 1 Cor. 15.20 But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first-Fruits of them that slept As the whole Harvest was blessed and sanctified in a little handful of the first-Fruits offered to God But I urge it now as an Argument why we should give him Glory as deserving it by the Greatness of his Person This made it evident that he was the
And more and more interest our selves in his cleansing 5. Because the Application is a difficult Work Besides the Purchase of the Gift of the Spirit Christ hath instituted the Help of the Word and Sacraments to bring us into Possession of this Benefit Ephes. 5.26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of VVater by the VVord The Merit of his Death falleth upon these means that we may use them with the more Confidence Iohn 15.3 Now are ye clean through the VVord which I have spoken unto you The Word is the Glass wherein to see Corruption which sets a-work to seek Purging By that our Sense of our natural Impurity is revived the Means and Causes of our cleansing set down that we may with deep Humiliation confess our Sin humbly sue out the Grace offered and wait for it in the conscionable Use of all the means of Grace And for the Sacraments As the Word containeth the Charter and Grant of Christ and all his Benefits to those that will receive him so this is the Seal of the Grant Rom. 4.11 He received the Sign of Circumcision a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith whereby we are more confirmed in waiting for the Spirit and excited to look for this Benefit from Christ. Well then we must still lie at the Pool of the Word and Sacraments And now you have my second Argument Why Jesus Christ should be honoured lauded and praised by all the Saints because he hath done so great an Office of Love and procured so great a Benefit for us as the washing away of our Sins in his Blood that we might be admitted to Communion with God III. The Fruits and Benefits that we have thereby He hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and to his Father This doth oblige us the more to ascribe and give Glory and Dominion to him for ever and ever since he hath brought us into Communion with God and set us apart as consecrated Persons such as Kings and Priests were of old to perform daily Service to God In this third Thing 1 st Observe the Order We must be washed from our Sins before we can be Kings and Priests or minister before the Lord. Aaron and his Sons though they were formerly designed to be Priests yet they could not officiate and act as Priests before they were consecrated So must we be consecrated and made Priests to God and that by the Blood of Christ. They were seven days in consecrating This whole Life is the time of our Consecration which goeth on by degrees and will be made compleat both for Body and Soul upon the Resurrection when we shall be fit to approach the Throne of Glory and serve our God in a perfect manner in the eternal Temple of Heaven For this Life though our Consecration be not finished yet here we are stiled an Holy Priesthood to minister before the Throne of Grace though not before the Throne of Glory Now if we be washed from our Sins in the Laver of Regeneration we may draw near to God as the Priests under the Law were washed in the Laver and then came to the Altar It holdeth good both in this Life and in the Life to come that none but the Washed can come so near to God either before the Throne of Grace or Throne of Glory The Throne of Grace Heb. 10.22 Let us draw near with a true Heart in full assurance of Faith having our Hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience and our Bodies washed with pure Water So Heb. 9.14 How much more shall the Blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without Spot to God purge your Conscience from dead Works to serve the living God In the State of Glory Rev. 7.14 15. These are they which came out of great Tribulation and have washed their Robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the Throne of God and serve him Day and Night in his Temple The persecuted Saints who came out of great Tribulation they first washed their Robes in the Blood of the Lamb before they were admitted as Priests to stand before the Throne of God to serve him Day and Night in his Temple Sanctification must go before Consecration and the more sanctified the more consecrated when our Sanctification is finished then our Consecration is consummate And then we shall have a full Communion with our God a clear Vision of his eternal Beauty and as great a Fruition of his Godhead as we shall be capable of in a State of full Contentment Joy and Blessedness 2 dly The Privileges are exceeding great to be consecrated to so high a Dignity That we should be consecrated or set apart for God to be Objects of his special Grace and Instruments of his Glory and Service Much more that we should be advanced to so great a Dignity as to be Kings and Priests to God We share in Christ's own Dignity He was a King and a Priest so are we He had an Unction so have we He was Christ we are Christians By virtue of our Union with him we are Partakers of his Kingdom and Priesthood The Church of Israel was called a Kingdom of Priests Exod. 19.6 And Believers in the New-Testament are called a Royal Priesthood 1 Pet. 2.9 Not to disturb Civil Kings or the Order God hath instituted in the Church for it is Kings and Priests to God not to the World Let us consider these Privileges asunder 1. Kings King is a Name of Honour Power and ample Possession 1. Here we reign spiritually as we vanquish the Devil the World and the Flesh in any measure It is a Princely Thing to be above these inferiour Things and to trample them under our Feet in an holy and heavenly Pride An Heathen could say Rex est qui metuit nihil Rex est qui cupit nihil He is a King that fears nothing and desires nothing He that is above the Hopes and Fears of the World he that hath his Heart in Heaven and is above temporal Accidents the ups and downs of the World the World is beneath his Heart and Affections this Man is of a Kingly Spirit Christ's Kingdom is not of this World neither is a Believer's Rev. 5.10 Thou hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall reign on the Earth viz. in a Spiritual Way It is a beastly thing to serve our Lusts but kingly to have our Conversations in Heaven and vanquish the World 1 Iohn 5.4 5. Whosoever is born of God overcometh the World and this is the Victory that overcometh the World even our Faith Who is he that overcometh the World but he that believeth that Iesus is the Son of God To live up to our Faith and Love with a Noble Royal Spirit 2. Hereafter we shall reign visibly and gloriously when we shall sit upon Thrones with Christ at his last coming to judg the World and Angels themselves Matth. 19.28 Verily I
plentiful Life of Worldliâ—gs with the forfeiting of the Soul the Pleasures of Sin for a Season with the Pains of Hell 4. The fourth sort of Comparison which the Scripture directs us unto is Temporal bad things with Eternal good things and that is the Case we have now in hand Thus Rom. 8.18 For I reckon that the Sufferings of this present Time are not worthy to be compared with the Glory which shall be revealed in us Sufferings for the present may be very great but the Glory that is revealed to us and shall one day be revealed in us is much greater as there is no Comparison between a little Flea-biting or the prick of a Pin with eternal Ease and Rest or the trouble of entring by a strait Gate or Entry into a glorious Palace 2 Cor. 4.17 For our light Affliction which is but for a Moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory The Sufferings of the present World are leves breves light and short not in themselves but in comparison with eternal Life In themselves they may be some of them very sharp and grievous and some also very long and tedious but look what a Point is to the Circumference that is Time to Eternity and what a Feather is to a Talent of Lead that are present Evils to future Glory and Blessedness All this is spoken to shew that it is better to be miserable with the People of God than happy with his Enemies and that we should not be drawn away from Christ neither by the comfortable nor troublesom things we meet with in the World 6. This Happiness which Christ hath proposed is at the general Resurrection or Christ's coming to Judgment for that is the Point which the Apostle is now discoursing of There is a distinction between the Good and the Bad at Death when the Spirits of just Men are made perfect Heb. 12.23 and the Spirits of the Wicked are sent to Prison 1 Pet. 3.19 The Soul dieth not with the Body but some go one way some another the Souls of just Men to God's Palace of Glory where they are with Christ and the Souls of the Wicked to the Prison of Hell But this Retribution is not sufficient for two Reasons because it is private and doth not openly vindicate the Justice and Holiness of God and it is but on a part the Soul and not the Body 1. Because it is private and dispensed apart to every single Person Man by Man as they die Certainly it is more for the Honour of God to bring his Judgment to Light as the Prophet speaketh Zeph. 3.5 Every Morning doth he bring his Iudgment to Light Here the Love of God towards the Good and the Justice of God towards the Wicked is not brought into the clear Light nor at Death neither the Mouth of the Pit is not visibly opened nor the Glory of Heaven exposed to view But then this different Respect is more conspicuous when the Justice of God hath a publick and solemn Triumph and his Enemies are branded with Shame and Ignominy and the Faith of his Elect found to Praise and Honour and the one are publickly condemned and the other justified by the Judg sitting upon the Throne Acts 3.19 That your Sins may be blotted out when the Times of Refreshing shall come from the Presence of the Lord. 2. As it is upon a part the Soul only The Bodies of the Holy and the Wicked are both now sensless and moulder into Dust in the Grave and till they be raised up and joined to their Souls can neither partake of Wo or Weal Pleasure or Pain The Soul though it be a principal Part is but a Part the Body essentially concurreth to the Constitution of the Man and it is the Body that is most gratified by Sin and the Body that is most pained by Obedience and therefore the Body which is the Soul's Sister and Coheir is to share with it in its eternal Estate whatever it be Therefore that we may not be in part punished nor in part rewarded there is a time coming when God will deal with the whole Man and that is in the Day of Christ's solemn Court and Audience when all the World shall be summoned before his Tribunal 7. The Apostle proveth this because the Righteousness of God's Government will not permit that his People should be accounted of all Men most miserable To clear this I shall shew First In what sense the Apostle saith If there were no Life to come Christians were of all Men most miserable Secondly How this will not consist with the Righteousness of God's Government First In what sense the Apostle saith If there were no Life to come Christians were of all Men most miserable I put this first Question that we may not mistake the Apostle's meaning when he pronounceth Christians to be of all Men most miserable if our Hopes in Christ were terminated with this Life Take him right and therefore 1 st Negatively 1. It is not to deny all present Providence or watchful Care over his oppressed People No. Eccles. 3.16 17. And moreover I saw under the Sun the Place of Iudgment that Wickedness was there and the Place of Righteousness that Iniquity was there He meaneth not in the Mountains of Prey only but in the Tribunals of Justice there was Iniquity and Wickedness I said in my Heart God shall judg the Righteous and the Wicked for there is a Time there for every Purpose and for every Work So again Eccles. 5.8 If thou seest the Oppression of the Poor and the violent perverting of Iudgment and Iustice in a Province marvel not at the matter for he that is higher than the highest regardeth and there be higher than they Both these Places shew that there is a Providence though God for a while permit his meek and obedient Servants to be oppressed and in the Eye of the World they seem to be forgotten and forsaken and utterly left to perish yet in due time God will exercise a righteous Judgment on them and their Enemies The like you have Psal. 58.11 So that a Man shall say Verily there is a Reward for the Righteous verily he is a God that judgeth in the Earth It is not meant of hereafter but now It is many times found that Godliness and Holiness are Matters of Benefit and Advantage in this World abstracted from all Reward in another Life The World is not governed by Chance but by a wise and a most just Providence It may be God doth not relieve the Oppressed so soon as Men would yet in due time he will not fail to shew himself the Ruler of the Affairs of Mankind So that this is not his meaning to exclude all present Providence 2. Not to deny that we have such Benefits by Christ here in this World as not to make our Condition more valuable than that of the Wicked We have Hopes by Christ of the Pardon of Sins and that is
Directions to attain Purification 173 Q QUalities good there may be such in unregenerate Men 322 Whence they proceed ibid. Amiable Qualities not to be rested in 325 Those to be reproved that are without amiable Qualities â—24 Questions about Salvation of greatest Importance 285 R RAptures whether now to be expected 625 Reap Every one shall reap the Fruit of their own Doings 1108 1113 Receiving Christ Objections against it answered 486 Recompences Future Recompences at the Resurrection 1212 Recreations and Sports how Sobriety is to be exercised about them 66 When we offend in Sports and Recreations 67 What time is to be spent in Recreations 68 Helps to Sobriety in Recreations 69 Redemption the Nature of it opened 163 Vid. Captives How we are redeemed from Iniquity 166 What of the Mystery of Redemption we should look into 924 How we should look into it 926 Why we should look into it ibid. Trial whether we are redeemed 169 Refuge Christ a Believer's City of Refuge 227 Flying for Refuge what it is 229 The Term from which we fly for Refuge 228 The Term to which we fly for Refuge 229 Who are to fly for Refuge to Christ 233 It is the Property of Believers to fly to Christ for Refuge 228 Rejoicing in Christ the Nature of it opened 481 The Reasons of it 479 The Effects of it 481 Rejoicing in God what it is 757 Carnal Rejoicing and spiritual Rejoicing â—ow distinguished ibid. Our rejoicing in God must be constant and perpetual 759 770 Outward Afflictions and the Sense of them and rejoicing in God consistent 759 764 Mourning for Sin and rejoicing in God not inconsistent 765 Reasons why we should rejoice in God always 762 767 The Necessity of rejoicing evermore 767 The Profit of it 768 Directions to perform this Duty 769 What God hath done to raise this Joy in us 762 All the Graces of a Christian have an Influence on this Rejoicing 763 All Duties and Ordinances influence this Rejoicing ibid. Religion That is the best Religion that doth best provide for the Peace and Rest of our Souls 946 The Christian Religion doth abundantly provide for these ibid. Remember Remembrance of Mercies habitual and actual 807 Directions to remember God's Mercies 808 Whether we are bound to recollect all the Mercies of God 807 Render What it is to render Praise to God 697 What it is to render according to God's Mercies 699 Renounce Not one Sin but all Sins must be renounced 28 Trial whether all Sin be renounced 30 Repentance what it is 281 677 785 936 The Kinds of Repentance 785 Repentance the way of our Recovery ibid. The Necessity of it in order to our Recovery to God 282 Arguments and Motives to quicken us to Repentance 681 786 God wills the Repentance of all Men 937 Repentance is God's End in continuing the World 936 What Incouragement from the Long-suffering of God to Repentance 938 Death of Christ an Argument to press Repentance 681 714 The great Design of the Gospel is to invite Men to Repentance 280 What the Gospel doth to promote Repentance 281 What the Scriptures offer to perswade us to Repentance 680 How to improve Scripture to Repentance 684 The Sutableness of Repentance to the Grace of the New Covenant 786 Directions for Repentance 283 786 Reproof What Reproof is 1204 Several Kinds of Reproof 1199 Who are to reprove 1202 Whether Inferiors should reprove Superiors ibid. Whom we are to reprove 1197 Whether we are to reprove an Infidel or one of a false Religion ibid. When we are to reprove or not to reprove 1204 How we are to reprove 1198 Reasons for Reproof 1199 1200 Not to reprove Sin a Sign of Hatred 1195 Resisting the Spirit How far the Spirit may be resisted 500 Respect of Persons what it is 1067 How God is no Respecter of Persons 1069 Restitution to be made if Wrongs be done 84 Revenge We are not to revenge Injuries done us 85 Arguments against it 1143 Whether it be lawful to pray for Revenge 1145 Reward We may look for the Reward 110 234 Riches are God's Blessings 986 Whether the bare having Riches be hurtful 368 The Vse of Riches 914 More required of rich Men than others 391 Not the Vse of Riches but the Abuse of them is condemned 986 The Danger of Riches 900 986 Vid. Temporal good things The Sins to which rich Men are exposed 371 375 Rich Men have need of much Grace 375 The Difficulty of rich Mens Salvation 368 386 Wherein the Difficulty of it lies 371 That this Difficulty is to be pressed and seriously thought of 391 Directions to them from the Difficulty of their Salvation 393 What it is to have a Will to be rich 908 The Danger of this 909 Arguments against the inordinate Desire of Riches 914 Directions against this inordinate Desire of Riches ibid. Trial of this immoderate Desire of Riches 918 Whether we may pray for and desire Riches 911 Trusting in Riches Vid. Trusting Right Whether we are always to demand our own Right 86 Vid. Due Property Righteousness or Iustice what it is 81 Vid. Justice Why we are to be just and righteous 87 Working Righteousness what it is 1071 Why this is required of us as the Principle of our Actions ibid. Righteousness of Faith what it is 928 956 What is the Hope built on this Righteousness of Faith 930 What is the Work of the Spirit in this Business ibid. S SAcraments relate to Christ's Death 1009 Preparation to the Sacrament necessary 621 What Thoughts are preparative to it ibid. Vid. Meditation Sacrifice What Sacrifices did import 830 Christ's Death had the true Notion and Virtue of a Sacrifice 829 The New Covenant is confirmed by virtue of this Sacrifice 830 Salvation what it is 17 That it is free to all that will accept of it 23 Who are they that contemn Salvation 20 That it is a difficult thing to be saved 397 Vid. Difficult In Christ there is not only Refuge but Salvation 231 What we should do to attain Salvation 21 Vid. Saviour Sanctification meritorious applicative and practical what 1090 How Christ sanctifies 1092 Who are the Sanctified 1089 Why the Relation of Children is reckoned only to the Sanctified 1090 Sanctification hath Influence on our Comfort and Peace 1072 Sanctifying God what it is 267 Satisfaction What Satisfaction a good Man hath 1114 Why he shall have it ibid. Satisfaction of Christ the Compleatness of it proved 1151 The Comfort of this to poor Sinners 1152 Saviour Christ is a Saviour 153 How many ways Christ is a Saviour 887 Why Christ is a Saviour both by Merit and by Power ibid. Christ's great End and Business is to be a Saviour 888 How we shall do to have Christ our Saviour 154 Directions to receive Christ as our Saviour 892 Motives to accept Christ as a Saviour 891 Thankfulness to Christ as a Saviour a Christian Duty 893 Scriptures proved to be the Word of God 721 Sensible Confirmations of the Divine Authority
but the Grace that we may do that good which we Will and Purpose These are distinct many may have assistance in one kind not in another Paul sheweth us that willing and doing are different Rom. 7.18 For to will is present with me but how to performe that which is good I find not To will is more than to think and to exert our Will into Action is more than both In all we need Gods help both to think a good thought or conceive a good purpose much more to performe a good Action Man is mutable and here is much opposition 2. VSE Exhortation to several Duties 1. Let us shake off carnal security and laziness Here is not only Gods Grace represented but Mans Duty Gods doing all doth not warrant us to lye upon the Bed of ease but stir us up to diligence Phil. 2.12 13. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure 2. We are not to neglect the Motions of the Spirit least we grieve him Eph. 4.30 And grieve not the holy spirit whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption 3. We are to use the Means and God will bless our endeavours 1 Pet. 2.2 As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby We are to attend upon the Word and frequent the Sacrament 4. We must pray earnestly for a two-fold reason 1. That we may humbly own our wants Iames 1.5 If any man lack wisdom let him ask it of God 2. That we may express our desires and longing for Grace Matth. 5.6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled 5. We must improve our Talents least we be accounted evil and sloathful Servants that receive Grace in vain 2 Cor. 6.1 We beseech you that you receive not the grace of God in vain Doct. 2. That the continued sanctification and perfecting of Man once Regenerate cometh from God as the God of peace This is the Blessing prayed for and when the Apostle prayeth for it he calleth God the God of peace So elsewhere 1 Thess. 5.23 The very God of peace sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Iesus Christ. He prayeth therefore the whole progress of sanctifying Grace till it hath attained its end and final perfection and giveth God the same Title Here I shall open to you these five things 1. In What Sense God is said to be the God of Peace 2. The Ground and Foundation of this Peace 3. The Evidences how it appears that God is pacified 4. The Conveiance of it to us or how we come to be interested in this Peace 5. The Reasons why all increase of Grace cometh from him as such I. What is the meaning of this Title God is called the God of peace in two respects 1. With respect to Union and Peace with Men especially our Fellow Christians God is the God of Peace as he is the Author and Approver of this Peace 1 Cor. 14.33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace as in all the churches of the saints 2 Thess. 3.16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace alwaies by all means 2. With respect to our Reconciliation with himself after the breach that was between us Heaven and Earth are at an accord and the great quarrel between us and God is compromised and taken up In one place the Angels come to proclaim peace on earth Luke 2.14 At another time when Christ solemnly entreth as the Messiah into Ierusalem they cryed out Luke 19.38 Peace in heaven and glory in the highest One of the Parties at variance is in the earth the other in Heaven The Angels the Inhabitants of the other World proclaim Peace on Earth and Men that dwell here below eccho to them again Peace in Heaven and that when they gave Christ the Honour of the Messias shewing that his great business was to make Reconciliation It is not a Primitive Original Peace but a Reconciliation after a breach a restoring of Peace when it was lost We had all broken with God and God was angry with Men for Sin Now while God was angry and offended there was no hope to receive any gift of Grace from him Therefore with respect to this is God called the God of peace II. The Grounds and Foundation of this peace And that is by the blood of the everlasting covenant which is the only propitiatory Sacrifice which could appease God and give his Justice full satisfaction and recompence for our Offences Before this Peace could be made and this woful breach repaired there were two things to be removed which stood in the way Gods Wrath and our Rebellious Nature The Righteous Wrath of God is appeased by the Blood of Christ Our Rebellion is cured and healed by his Spirit The latter is but a consequent of the former The first foundation for this peace was laid in the Blood of Christ Col. 1.20 And having made peace through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto himself Isa. 53.5 The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed The Enmity had been irreconcilable and impossible to be removed unless God had taken this way unless the Son of God had dyed for a sinful World that by the Merit of his Obedience he might give satisfaction to a provoked God for the wrong we had done him III. The Evidences that God is pacified Here are three mentioned 1. The bringing back of Christ from the dead 1. This showeth that God was propitiated that he hath accepted the ransom that was given for Souls Christs Resurrection is called by the Prophet a being taken from prison and from judgment Isa. 53.8 While Christ was in the state of the Dead he was in effect a Prisoner under the arrest of Divine Vengeance but when he rose again then was our surety let out of Prison The expression is notable in the Text brought again the Lord Iesus from the dead The force of the word may be explained with allusion to that carriage of the Apostles when they were cast into Prison Acts 16.35 37 39. And the magistrates sent to let them go nay verily say they but let them come themselves and fetch us out and they came and brought them out of prison So was Christ brought again Though Christ had power to rise yet was he rather raised The Lord sent an Angel to remove the Stone not to supply any lack of power in Christ but as a Judge when he is satisfied sendeth an Officer to open the Prison Doors Though Christ had Power to rise yet not Authority till the Angel rolled away the Stone He did not break Prison but was brought again from the dead Neither did he perish in Prison then we could have no assurance
deceived that embraced the Christian Religion that took such Pains in subduing the Flesh so freely hazarded their Interests and Life it self on the Promises of Christ and the Hopes of another World Are the wisest Men the World ever saw Fools and the Ordinances of Christ a customary Superstition and these Rejoicings and Foretastes of the Children of God a meer Deceit and Imposture Surely it cannot be Therefore this is true that the Soul dieth not with the Body but is in that Estate into which God disposeth it II. By the Light of Reason First I shall urge such Arguments as the Scripture directeth us to 1. From the Nature of the Soul it is a Spirit and such a Principle of Life as hath Light in it John 1.4 In him was Life and the Life was the Light of Men. The Soul of Man differeth from the Soul of a Beast for that hath only Life and Sense in it but this hath Light and therefore was designed to more noble and glorious Ends than merely to quicken and enliven the Body The Soul of the Beasts is mortal because it is created only to serve the Body and knoweth nothing desireth nothing delighteth in nothing but what belongeth to the Pleasure and Welfare of the Body But now the Soul of Man apprehendeth things past present and to come is capable of Tongues Arts and Sciences and things abstract from bodily Sense it can discourse about God Angels and all kind of spiritual Beings about Eternity and Immortality and propound and debate Questions and Doubts concerning the World to come The Beasts look only to their Food and the Propagation of their Kind they know nothing and can conceive nothing of Man's Affairs But now Man's Soul is not only capable of being enobled and improved by Moral Vertues and such things as fit us for Humane Society but is capable also of Conformity to God by being made holy and upright and of Communion with him in holy Duties and Acts of Grace 1 John 1.3 And truly our Fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Iesus Christ. The Beasts desire not the Company of Men as we do of God and of the blessed Spirits In short there is a greater Affinity between the Souls of Men and Angels than between the Souls of Beasts and Men Psal. 8.9 Thou hast made him a little lower than the Angels Well then can it be imagined the Souls of Men furnished with such Capacities of Understanding are nothing but a little Puff of Air that is dissipated in dying or a little vital Heat that is extinguished with the Corporeal Matter or only the Vigour of the Blood That Soul that can so much soar aloft above the Interests and Concernments of the Body and take such a marvellous Delight and Contentment in spiritual things as the view of all manner of Truths must that follow the State of the Body Shall that Creature that cometh so near the Angels die like the Beasts or rather become like the Angels of God that always behold his Face Yea that Creature that draweth so near to God in the Majesty of his Person and the Abilities of his Mind that was created after God's own Image and for the Worship and Service and Enjoyment of God shall he die as the Beasts that perish It cannot be imagined 2. The Scripture mentions Words that imply its Independance upon the Body or that it doth not so wholly depend on the Body that it cannot subsist and act without it they go several ways as in the Text. 3 John â— 2. I wish above all things that thou maist prosper and be in Health as thy Soul prospeâ—eth 2 Cor. 4.16 For which cause we faint not but though our outward Man perish yet the inward Man is renewed Day by Day And Experience teacheth the Truth of these things that the Body and Soul seem sometimes to have no Communion with one another so different are their Functions and Offices You shall often see Men decrepit in all the Members of the Body who yet have the Motions of their Minds as strong and as nimble as when in perfect Health and when they are upon the Borders of Death without Vigour and Pulse their Understandings are more sublime than before and their Thoughts more refined It is true the Indispositions of the Body clog the Soul in things that are to be acted by the Body but in what the Soul acteth apart in the midst of Aches and Pains their Strength of Mind is entire and their Comforts never more raised than in bodily Weakness Therefore it lives and acts apart from the Body 3. The Scripture directs us to this Argument that this is the general Perswasion of all Mankind that there is a Life after Death and it instanceth in that that is most sensible and of every Day 's Experience our Desires and Fears 1. Desires The Soul hath a natural desire of Immortality which if it should not enjoy that Desire were in vain but God doth nothing in vain The Apostle intimateth this how Men feel about for something eternal and infinite Acts 17.27 That they should seek the Lord if haply they might feel after him Every Man would be happy and eternally happy for otherwise he would be tormented with a fear of losing that which he counteth his Happiness See Psal. 4.6 Who will shew us any Good Lord lift thou up the Light of thy Countenance upon us Mat. 13.45 â—6 The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a Merchant-man seeking goodly Pearls who when he had found one Pearl of great price he went and sold all that he had and bought it John 6.34 Lord evermore give us this Bread Numb 23.10 Let me die the Death of the Righteous Other Creatures besides Man are satisfied with what they have here but the Soul of Man is satisfied with nothing but the eternal Injoyment of what is good an immortal Estate an infinite Good Every one that loveth himself would be happy and if he could everlastingly happy The Saints and those that are taught of God pitch upon the right Way Psal. 17.15 As for me I will behold thy Face in Righteousness I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy Likeness But this is the universal Inclination of all Mankind Whence cometh this Desire to be so universal if there be nothing to satisfy it Every natural Appetite was given us for some Purpose and have things designed for their Satisfaction and therefore there is that Immortality we all seek after not in our Bodies they must return to their Earth not in Fancy that is a Sâ—adow this is like the Pleasure which those take that want Children in playing with little Dogs it lieth in the Soul in the eternal Injoyment of God 2. Fears which presage and foretel such an Estate to our great Disquiet Conscience fears a Judgment after this Life Rom. 1.32 Who knowing the Iudgment of God that they which commit such things are worthy of Death And a State of Misery to come