and incorruptible Inheritance which our High-priest hath purchased for us in Heaven Thus I say if in this World God hath blessed us with Wealth and Honour the consideration of our Saviour's Ascension will be a powerful means to restrain us from the abuse of those Blessings so that we shall neither Idolize our Wealth with the Covetous nor with the Prodigal waste and consume it upon our Lusts But shall wisely improve it to our best advantage so as to make to our selves friends of the Mammon of Unrighteousness Secondly On the contrary hath God dealt otherwise with us Hath he with-held these Blessings from us Is our Condition in this World very Poor and Mean so that we have not where-withal to help our selves but are fain to be beholding both for Food and Raiment and whatsoever is necessary to the support of our Lives to our richer Neighbours The consideration of our Saviour's Ascension into Heaven will exceedingly comfort us and support our Spirits in the midst of our Want and Penury For how can we be troubled at our low Fortune in this World when we remember that we have an High-priest in Heaven that hath a Crown of Glory in his Hand ready to put on our Heads as soon as our Earthly Tabernacle is dissolved Nay more than this is our Condition here yet worse Are we not only Poor and Despicable but are we moreover Persecuted for Righteousness sake Doth the World frown upon us and rage against us with all its Fury Let us not be discouraged for all this And we cannot be if we consider as it follows in the Verse after my Text that in Heaven we have not an High-priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our Infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without Sin He himself when he was here on Earth was so Poor that he had not an House wherein to lay his Head He was all his Life long a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with Grief and was at the last most cruelly and despightfully Persecuted even unto Death And as he himself was for the suffering of Death crowned with Glory and Honour so hath he promised the same Reward to all those that suffer for his sake Blessed are they which are Persecuted for Righteousness sake For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 5.10 How then can Persecution seem grievous to us when we consider that we suffer for our High-priest who hath suffered far greater and bitterer Torments for us than we can do for him and who now sits on the Right Hand of God ready to make us a vast amends for our light and momentary Affliction here by bestowing upon us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory Thus powerful is the Meditation of our Saviour's Ascension to guide and direct us to make us wary and cautious in Prosperity and to strengthen and comfort us and to make us patient and couragious in Adversity and to arm and fortifie us both against the smiles and frowns of the World Nay Secondly When Death it self approaches near us when the King of Terrors is ready to seize upon us the same Meditation will make us bid that Hour welcome when we consider that we have an High-priest in Heaven that hath swallowed up Death in Victory so that to all true Believers it is now but asleep the Gate through which we must enter into Eternal Life Again Thirdly Which is worse than Death and which is the very sting and poyson of Death it self are we at any time terrified and affrighted at the sight of any grievous Sin into which by the Temptation of the Devil and through our own Lusts we have fallen Is our Soul smitten into the place of Dragons and brought down as it were even to Hell with the dreadful apprehension of the Wrath of God which thereby we have justly deserved Let not the Devil who in such a Case is ever ready to do it perswade us to Despair that there is no hopes of Mercy for us but that now God hath hid his Face from us for ever and that he will be no more intreated by us But let us say with the Psalmist 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 Let us remember that tho' we have sinned yet we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous and he is the Propitiation for our Sins Let us remember that tho' we have sinned yet we have a great High-priest that is passed into the Heavens Jesus the Son of God who ever lives to make Intercession for us Let us not therefore Despair but Repent Let us trusting in the Merits and Righteousness of our High-priest come boldly tho' humbly and penitently to the Throne of Grace that we may obtain Mercy and find Grace to help in time of need And if we do so come we may assure our selves that we shall find both Grace and Mercy Not one Tear that proceeds from godly Sorrow shall drop to the ground not one penitential Sigh shall be breathed in vain but our High-priest will be sure to present all our Tears our Sighs our Prayers and Supplications before his Father and never cease his Intercession in our behalf until our Pardon be Sealed in Heaven Thus you see that in whatsoever Circumstances we are engaged the Meditation of our Saviour's Ascension is ever extremely beneficial to our Souls And seeing that it is so how should it oblige us to hold fast our Profession How should the thoughts of this as they are ever profitable so be ever welcome and dear unto us Let us not then set up our Staff on this side Jordan let us not lie groveling upon Earth nor suffer our selves to be enamoured of the Things of this World which are not worthy of our Thoughts but let us seek those Things which are above where Christ sitteth on the Right Hand of God Let us remember that here we are but Strangers and Pilgrims and therefore let us behave our selves so as becomes Sojourners using this World so as if we used it not knowing that our own Native Country where we expect our Inheritance is afar off even in Heaven whither our High-priest is passed before us to prepare a place for us Oh then if we desire hereafter to ascend up thither after him that we may for ever be Happy in his Presence let us now hold fast our Profession That we may be able at that great Day to meet the Lord in the Air and to ascend up with him into Heaven let us now Purifie our selves even as he is Pure Let us lay aside every Weight and the Sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the Race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our Faith who for the Joy that was set before him endured the
to come in this mean and contemptible Condition For since it is manifest from the Writings of the Prophets that the Messias was to be a most mighty King of the increase of whose Government and Peace there should be no end upon the throne of David and upon his Kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice for ever if this great person was to be born of mean Parents in a Stable and afterwards all his life time to continue in a Condition answerable to that obscure Birth not to enjoy so much as an house of his own wherein to hide his head to be despised and hated by his own Countreymen and persecuted unto Death it was necessary that God by his Prophets should foretel this also or else it could never have been expected that when he did come any Man living should have been able to discern him in so strange a Disguise God having no where revealed any such thing But if God hath revealed this also as clearly as any of the aforementioned Circumstances and hath by his Prophets as plainly foretold the Humiliation of the Messias as his Exaltation then it is evident that our Saviour's coming in that mean Condition in which we confess he did is so far from being any Objection against us that joyned with the former Circumstances and with what I shall further insist upon it is an unanswerable Argument to prove that he is the true Messias seeing he came exactly in such a Quality and Condition as God by his Prophets foretold the Messias should come in And that God did foretel that the Messias should appear in this low and despicable State besides other places of Scripture we have the whole 53d Chap. of the Prophecy of Isaiah to convince us which of all others is the most full and plain Prophecy both of the Humiliation and Exaltation of Christ And it is a wonderful thing that the Jews even to this day should continue so obstinate as not to believe it though this very obstinacy and unbelief of theirs is a very strong Confirmation of our Faith since even this also is expresly foretold by the Prophet and that in the very first words of the Chapter He ushers in his Prophecy with an admiration at the stupidity and unbelief of his People who he foresaw would not receive it Who hath believed our report And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed And then in the two following Verses he gives an exact Description of this mean Condition in which the Messias was to come He shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground he hath no form nor comeliness and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him He is despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not Now if this be truly as we affirm it is a Prophecy of the Messias it is manifest that it agrees exactly with the manner of our Saviour's appearing in the world And though the modern Jews deny it to be a Prophecy of him yet we have sufficient Arguments to prove that it is I shall instance only in these two First it is very unreasonable to imagine that God would suffer every punctilio of this Prophecy to be completely accomplished and fulfilled in the person of one who owned and declared himself to be the Messias except the Prophecy were really intended of the Messias and he in whom it was so fulfilled were that very person whom it meant Now that there is not one tittle of this Prophecy which was not fulfilled in the person of our Saviour who professed himself to be the Messias and applied this Prophecy to himself is evident in the account the Evangelists have given us of him and then it follows not only that this is a Prophecy of the Messias but also that our Saviour is the Messias whom it points at The second Argument to prove this to be a Prophecy of the Messias is the unanimous Opinion of many of the ancient Rabbies and Doctors of the Jews before and about our Saviour's time who all acknowledge this whole Chapter together with the latter end of the former to be a Prophecy of the Messias And therefore if the modern Jews will not acknowledge as much they differ as much from their own Writers as from us and no reason can be assigned for their so doing but their obstinate prejudice that will not suffer them to apply any passage of Scripture to the Messias that seems to be inconsistent with worldly Pomp and Grandeur Thus I have proved to you that our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the true Messias from these two Circumstances the time when he came into the world and the manner how The same truth may be yet further evinced from the reason and end of his coming but this I shall leave until another opportunity SERMON III. GAL. IV. 4 5. But when the fulness of the time c. YE may remember that when formerly I began to handle this portion of Scripture I laid down this Proposition as the Foundation of my Discourse That our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the true Messias whom God hath long since sent forth into the world and that none other is to be expected This I undertook to prove chiefly by these Arguments with which the Apostle furnishes us here in my Text taken from the Consideration of the time when the manner how and the end wherefore he came into World The two former of these Circumstances the time when and the manner how our Saviour came into the World I have already handled and in the doing of it have sufficiently cleared the truth of this Proposition That our Lord Jesus Christ is the true Messias but to make it yet more evident there remains one Circumstance more to be considered and that is the reason and end of his coming which the Apostle comprises in these words To redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons It was not for nothing that so great a person as the Messias was to come into the World No he had a mighty work to do which none was able to perform but himself for he was to interpose betwixt the Divine Vengeance and Sin which is its proper Object to redeem all Mankind from the Curse of the Law to which we were become obnoxious and to reconcile us again unto God and to purchase for us the adoption of Sons This was a work worthy of the Messias and what the Scriptures plainly foretold that he should accomplish and that he might effect it it was necessary First That he should most fully and clearly reveal to us the whole Will of God concerning us and that he should instruct and teach us how to behave our selves acceptably in his sight
Secondly That he should make an atonement for our Sins and satisfie the Justice of God incensed against us by our Disobedience And thirdly That he should assist and defend us against all the attempts of our spiritual Enemies and furnish us with means sufficient for the working out our Salvation And accordingly we find him represented in the Scriptures of the Old Testament sometimes as a Prophet that should in a more eminent manner than any that ever were before or shall be after him publish and declare the Will of God This God himself foretold unto Moses and by him unto all Israel Deut. 18.18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee and will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my Name I will require it of him Sometimes we find him represented as a Priest that should make an atonement for the Sins of his People So Psal 110.4 The Lord hath sworn and will not repent thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedeck And wherein his priestly Office chiefly consisted the Prophet Isaiah informs us chap. 53. He was to pour out his soul unto death to be an offering for sin to be numbred with the transgressours to bear the sin of many and to make intercession for the transgressours And sometimes we find him to be represented as a King reigning with soveraign Power and Authority in a Kingdom that should have no end So Psal 2.6 8. Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Sion Ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession Thus it was necessary that the Messias should be qualified in order to the accomplishing the great Work of our Redemption Since by Nature we are utterly ignorant of the Will of God and destitute of all saving Knowledge it was necessary that he should be a Prophet sent from Heaven to reveal it unto us Since by Sin we were become Enemies unto God it was necessary that he should be a Priest to make Reconciliation and Intercession for us And since we were to engage in a dangerous War to fight against Principalities and Powers Adversaries far stronger and mightier than our selves that with all their force continually withstand us in our way to Heaven and that had already enslaved us all under their accursed Tyranny by the Dis-obedience of our first Parents it was necessary that he should be a mighty King endued with Power from on high to assert our Liberty and to subdue and discomfit our Enemies before us All these Qualifications I say were necessarily required in the Messias and all are expresly ascribed unto him in the Old Testament Now that our blessed Saviour did come into the World for this very end for which the Prophets foretold that the Messias should come and that he was most eminently qualified in the same manner as they foretold he should be is most clearly evident in the account which the holy Evangelists and Writers of the New Testament have given us of him First he came for that very end for which the Messias was to come which as the Prophet Daniel speaks was to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness which is the same in effect which the Apostle saith here in my Text To redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons That this was the end of our Saviour's coming not only my Text but almost every page of the New Testament assures us The son of man saith our Saviour of himself is come to seek and to save that which was lost Luk. 19.10 and Matth. 20.28 The son of man came not to be ministred unto but to minister and to give his life a ransome for many There is one God and one Mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransome for all to be testified in due time 1 Tim. 2.5 6. I need not insist any more upon this Point than which nothing is more evident in all the Scriptures For this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners The end of all his Sermons of all his Miracles of his most holy Life and heavenly Doctrine of his most meritorious Death and Passion of his most glorious and triumphant Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven of his most gracious Mission of the Holy Ghost and of his continual Intercession for us at the right hand of God was that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works Thus ye see the end of our blessed Saviour's coming into the world is both by himself and his Apostles plainly declared to be the very same for which the Messias was to come But still this is not sufficient for one that was but an Impostor might impudently avouch himself to be the Messias and go about to perswade the world that he came for this very end But it was necessary that he that did come for it indeed and did truly accomplish it should bring with him as it were credential Letters from Heaven to assure the world that he was truly and really sent by God upon so great an Embassy And that he did do so is evident beyond all Contradiction in the Gospel All those eminent Offices which the Prophets in the Old Testament ascribe unto the Messias he undertook and performed to a tittle and was both a Prophet a Priest and a King in all respects incomparably beyond what ever the world either did or shall behold First he was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people His Doctrine was most Divine and Heavenly far surpassing what had been formerly delivered by Moses and the Prophets and agreeable to what they foretold should be delivered by the Messias Though it is most true that the Religion which was taught by Moses and the Prophets had God himself for its Author and therefore could not chuse but be good yet it is certain that it was a far more imperfect Revelation of the Divine Will than what was afterwards to be made by the Messias who was to establish a Religion unto which not only the Jews but all mankind should be obliged to submit or perish upon their refusal of it For the proof of this I might produce many places out of the Writings of the Prophets but the beginning of Isa 42. shall suffice for all Behold my servant whom I uphold mine elect in whom my soul delighteth I have put my spirit upon him he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles He shall not cry nor lift up nor cause his
Joh. 3.16 In the prosecution of this Point I might be very large for I should insist first upon that blessed Estate that Man enjoyed at his first Creation in innocence the Consideration of which would give us a truer prospect of that Misery which he afterwards brought upon himself by his disobedience for none can be so miserable as they that were once happy and lastly I should shew you how great Glory this price hath purchased for us which would appear likewise the greater after the sight of that Misery from which it hath redeemed us for rest is most welcome to the weary ease and liberty is by none so highly valued as by those persons that have been long detained in Bondage and Slavery and Joy and Happiness doubles its sweetness to them that have drunk deepest of sorrow But who is sufficient for these things How can we that are all conceived and born in Sin apprehend the Happiness of the state of Innocence Who is able to describe the horrour of the infernal Pit or to tell what it is to lie in Chains of darkness exiled for ever from the Divine Providence Who can ascend into the holy Hill of the Lord that he may give us an account of those Pleasures which are at God's right hand for evermore Even St. Paul himself tho' he was bred up at the feet of Gamaliel and abounded with Learning and Eloquence yet wanted words to tell us what he heard and saw when he was caught up into the third Heaven and could say no more of that wonderful Vision than that he heard 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 words or things unutterable And in another place he tells us that eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him No these Subjects are all of them too great either for our tongue to express or for our thoughts to comprehend Let it suffice us then to know in short that whereas by Sin we had rendered our selves obnoxious to the greatest Misery that could possibly befal us had sold our selves to be Slaves and Vassals of Satan to be the most forlorn Objects of the eternal Scorn and Insolence and Cruelty of the Devil and his Angels God in his infinite Mercy hath been pleased by paying an inestimable price for our Ransome even the precious Blood of his only begotten Son to redeem us out of this Bondage into the glorious liberty of the children of God He hath bought our Bodies from the everlasting torment of those Flames which never shall be quenched and our Souls from the gnawing of that Worm which shall never die to be the Temples of his holy Spirit here and hereafter to be fellow-citizens with the saints and of the houshold of God in the heavenly Jerusalem We are bought with a price And hath God thus bought us with so invaluable a Price out of so dreadful Misery unto so unspeakable Felicity What returns then ought we to make unto him of praise and thanks for such infinite Mercy How can we chuse but stand astonished and break out into the Psalmists Exclamation Lord what is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him What was Man being in Honour when he was but a degree lower than the Angels that God should regard him above the rest of his Creatures that he should make him have dominion over the works of his hands and put all things under his feet But when through his own fault he fell into Dishonour and became like the Beasts that perish what was he then or what else could he expect but that God should cast him for ever out of his Presence as the filth of the Creation And when after all this he meets with Mercy instead of Vengeance when God himself becomes his Advocate instead of his Enemy and instead of condemning him to Hell sends his only begotten Son to purchase for him the adoption of Sons and to make him more than ever the Darling and Favourite of Heaven what Testimony of gratitude ought we to shew for so incomprehensible Love What can we say what can we do to this Preserver of men The Apostle tells us in the following words of my Text we must glorifie him Ye are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods And so I pass from God's mercy to our Duty He hath bought us with a price we must therefore glorifie him How easie an acknowledgment of how great a Mercy What could God do more for us than he did and what could we offer to him even for the least of his Benefits less than what he requires of us for the greatest The slightest Favour that we receive from the bountiful hand of God surely most justly Challenges from us the Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving and he requires no more of us when he hath given us the highest Demonstration of Love that ever he shewed to any of his Creatures when he hath redeemed us from the lowest Abyss of misery into which our Nature could sink unto the most glorious and unspeakable Felicity of which it could be capable and hath done all this by paying for our Ransome the richest and most precious Jewel that was to be found in all the Treasury of Heaven still he asks but the same thing of us that he did before viz. that we will glorifie him And is it possible that there should be any man found that can refuse to perform so reasonable and pleafant a Service as this to so great a Benefactor Is it possible that when the blessed Son of God hath for our Salvation shed his most precious Blood laid down his Life and poured out his righteous soul unto death and made it an offering for our sins we should after all this think much to offer unto him the calves of our lips and refuse to sing an Hymn of praise to our Redeemer saying with the Saints in the Revelation Salvation and glory and honour and power unto the Lord our God Yes it is so possible that this black Ingratitude should be found amongst us that the greatest part of Mankind are guilty of it How many thousands are there amongst the Sons of men that instead of glorifying God in their body and in their spirit even in the very face of the glorious light of the Gospel that shines about them against all the strength of Reason the universal Consent of Mankind in all Ages and the secret Reluctancies and dreadful Checks of their own Consciences impudently deny both the being of God and the immortality of their own Souls How many thousands are there more who though they own the name of Christians and acknowledge one eternal and omnipotent God yet instead of glorifying God because they are bought with a price against the express words of the Apostle in my Text and the concurrent Sense and Harmony of the whole
Gospel absolutely deny that there was ever any such purchase made disowning both the Divinity of Christ and the satisfaction of his Sufferings As if the God of Truth had studied to impose upon the credulity of Mankind and when he tells us most plainly in his word that he hath purchased his Church with his own blood that we are bought with a price and that our blessed Saviour gave himself a ransome for all and that not only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neither but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a full sufficient and satisfactory Ransome yet all this while he means quite otherwise than what the words seem to import and none but these few sagacious Sophisters are ever able to discover the Divine Fallacy How many thousands are there yet even amongst us Christians who instead of glorifying God in their body and in their spirit openly dishonour him in both glory in their shame and by their wicked and profligate Lives crucifie afresh the Son of God and blaspheme that worthy Name by which they are called Lastly how many Myriads how many Millions are there besides all these that yet sit in darkness and in the shadow of Death Who never heard of the glad tidings of the Gospel nor have had their understandings enlightened and their hearts revived and awakened out of the deadly Lethargy of Pagan Ignorance and Superstition and Idolatry by the benign and salutiferous influence of the Son of righteousness Who instead of glorifying God give away his Glory to his greatest Enemy and do Sacrifice unto the Devil These are sad Considerations that infinite Mercy and Love should be received with such prodigious Scorn and Ingratitude that so invaluable a price as God hath given for us should be paid in vain for the greatest part of Mankind that but a small and inconsiderable number in comparison of the whole Race of Adam should wash their robes and make them white in the blood of that Lamb that was slain for the sins of the whole World and was a Sacrifice every way sufficient to make an atonement for them all Who can reflect upon these things without sorrow Since then the Case is thus with us that most of us are liable to lose the benefit of this Price by neglecting to perform this Duty of glorifying God to which it hath indispensably obliged us let us briefly consider the reasonableness and necessity of this Duty that we may be the more encouraged unto it upon these following Accounts First this Duty of glorifying God is exceeding reasonable forasmuch as God himself is the only Object in the world that is in and for himself glorious and adorable It is a Maxim in Heraldry that the King is the Fountain of Honour how much more then is that Prerogative peculiar unto God By whom Kings reign and Princes decree Justice From whom all Honour both in Heaven and Earth is derived and unto whom it returns again and centers it self as the Rivers in the Ocean When we look upon the Moon shining in its full strength and beauty we cannot but confess that its Light is very pleasant and comfortable to behold but it diminishes much from its Excellency when we consider that all its Lustre is borrowed and that should the Sun withhold its influence the other would be nothing else but a dark invisible Globe So likewise when we consider the Angels and Archangels and all the mighty Powers of Heaven that excel in Strength and Goodness and Holiness we must needs acknowledge that these are Creatures beyond all our thoughts happy and glorious but when we consider further that as great and good and happy as they are yet still they are but Creatures and that all these rich Endowments that they have received they owe to the father of spirits from whom alone comes every good and perfect gift all the Praise and Glory redounds solely to the Almighty Creator Who makes his Angels spirits and his Ministers a flaming fire and to whose Soveraign Will and uncontrolable Power the highest Archangel is as subject and subservient as the most despicable Insect that we trample under our Feet Since therefore it is most plain and undeniable that God is the only Object in the world that is in and for himself glorious and is the Spring and Fountain of Glory and Honour to all his Creatures that do in any measure participate of it reason dictates to us and we need enquire no further that it is our Duty to glorifie him and that should we do otherwise even the very stones under our feet might justly rise up in Judgment against us and condemn us Secondly as God is the only Object that is in and for himself glorious and that in an infinite and incomprehensible manner so he created all things at the first for the manifestation of his own Glory and requires this Homage to be paid him by every one of his Creatures in their respective Capacities For any of the Creatures even for the greatest of them to love himself above all things or to make his own Glory and Honour the end of his Actions is Folly is Injustice is Sin is such foolish and unreasonable Pride as cast the fallen Angels out of Heaven and Man out of Paradise But for God to do thus is both wise and just seeing that Wisdom and Equity requires that nothing less than infinite Perfection should be the adequate Object of infinite Love and Glory and therefore it would be a manifest piece of Injustice of which God can never be capable for him to give that Love or Glory to another which is due to none else but himself alone And accordingly he himself hath told us that he never will do it I am the Lord saith he that is my name and my glory will I not give to another Isa 42.8 No he hath reserved it wholly to himself and for the manifestation of it he hath created all things So the four and twenty Elders confess Rev. 4.11 Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created The ultimate end of the whole Creation was the Glory of the Creator The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy-work saith the Psalmist Ps 19.1 whoth at considers the certain and regular Motions of the celestial Bodies can chuse but extol and magnifie the Power and Wisdom of that God that made them saying with the Psalmist Praise ye him sun and moon praise him all ye stars of light Let them praise the name of the Lord for he commanded and they were created He hath also established them for ever and ever he hath made a decree which shall not pass Neither were the Heavens only created for the Glory of God but the Earth also declares the same and his wonders are seen in the Deep Even the merciless and unruly Sea obeys the Decree of him who hath shut it up with doors
are heavy laden with the burthen of their Sins are invited to come unto Christ and that is that he may give them rest Ye have already heard that there is no burden so intolerable as that of Sin and the rest which Christ here promises to give to them that come unto him in that manner which I have shewed you is a freedom from this burden and from all the dreadfull consequents and effects of it a freedom from the anguish of an afflicted conscience from the insupportable troubles of a wounded Spirit that is smitten with the arrows of the Almighty from the wrath of God and from the Torments of Hell from the guilt of Sin and from its punishment And this Christ doth by taking the burden of their Sins upon himself and making a full satisfaction for them unto the Divine Justice For the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all Isa 53.6 And God made him to be sin for us saith S. Paul who knew no Sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him 2 Cor. 5.21 And he that by a true faith applies these Merits of Christ's Death and passion to himself he hath already obtained this rest which Christ here promises he is delivered from the burden of his Sins and from that vengeance which is due unto them This rest therefore is in a word our justification in the sight of God by which purely for the sake of the Merits of Jesus Christ we are acquitted and absolved of all our Sins and are reconciled to God Being justified by faith saith the Apostle we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 5.1 This is that peace which passes all understanding a peace which nothing can disturb or interrupt but it will always continue firm and unshaken among all the changes and chances of this mortal life and when we shall have most need of it it will stand us in greatest stead When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death it will not leave us but will bear us company even before the Tribunal of Christ and will enable us to lift up our Heads with joy in that great day when the whole World shall tremble and will at the last conduct us into those glorious regions of rest and happiness which the Prince of peace hath purchased for us Thus ye see who they be that are here invited unto whom they are invited and for what end Sad and disconsolate Sinners that are oppressed with the weight of their Sins are invited by Christ to come and cast that insupportable burden upon him who alone is able to bear it and instead thereof to receive from him the most blessed rest and peace imaginable What remains then but that with most ardent prayers we continually besiege the Throne of Grace and beg of God that he would open our eyes by the Grace of his H. Spirit without whom we can do nothing that is good that so we may discern both the Misery of Sin with which by nature we are laden and the blessedness of that peace which by the grace of Christ we may obtain And when we once do discern these things let us immediately without any delay run unto Christ for help Let us not seek for this peace from any one else but from him who alone hath promised it to us and who alone is able to give it us Let us not seek it in the vain Pomps and Pleasures of this present World for all that this world can do for us without this peace will do us no good and with it all that it can do against us will do us no harm Let us not as the Papists do seek for it from any merit or rightteousness in our selves for all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags neither let us as they do likewise seek for it to Saints or Angels or Archangels for the Angels refuse our Worship and own themselves to be but our Fellow-servants as is evident by two plain instances in the Revelation Chap. 19.10 and 22.9 And as for the Saints Abraham though he be the father of the faithfull yet he is ignorant of us and Israel knows us not Nay the blessed Virgin her self though the Papists blasphemously call her the Queen of Heaven and pray to her not only to intreat but to command her Son in their behalf doubtless could she hear such Prayers as these and had leave to answer them she would presently send such Persons as these to Christ and give them no other answer from Heaven than what she gave to the Servants at the Marriage-Feast in Cana of Galilee while she was upon earth John 2.5 Whatsoever he saith unto you do it Let us therefore acquiess in this answer of hers as if it were an Oracle from Heaven and instead of seeking either to her or any other Person for salvation let us come unto the Lamb of God which taketh away the Sins of the World even to Christ himself who hath invited us and whatsoever he saith unto us in his Gospel let us do it Thus if we come unto him we shall be sure to find him ready to receive us and to perform unto us this gracious promise which he hath here made in my Text he will give us in this World peace of conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost and in the World to come everlasting joy and rest in his Heavenly Kingdom SERMON VIII COL II. 18 19. Let no Man beguile you of your Reward in a voluntary Humility and worshipping of Angels intruding into those things which he hath not seen vainly puffed up by his fleshly Mind And not holding the Head from which all the Body by Joints and Bands having Nourishment ministred and knit together increaseth with the Increase of God THESE words are such a plain and direct Prohibition of Angel-worship and consequently of Saint-worship too that it is one of the greatest wonders in the World that there should be found in it a Christian Church that stiles her self Catholick and that in so arrogant a manner as to appropriate that Title to her self exclusively to all Christian Churches in the World besides and yet in open and hostile Opposition of this Text of Scripture should not only allow of the Worship of Angels and Saints as lawful but proceed so far as to impose it upon all Men as a necessary Article of Faith anathematizing all that will not join with her in it But these things must be that the Scriptures may be fulfilled For certainly whosoever laying aside all Prejudice and Partiality and Hypocrisie devoutly and seriously consults the Holy Oracles of God will find in the Writings of the New Testament as plain and punctual a Prediction and Description of Antichrist both as to the time and manner of his Coming and his Behaviour and Reception in the World as in the Old Testament there is of the Messias and seeing both exactly foretold will not think it a greater wonder that by one
of ten thousand several Persons though they all pray at the same instant for several things in several Places or Countries of the World Nay and he can tell us too unto what Angel or Saint it is most proper for us to direct our Prayers in every particular Exigence of all which matters S. Paul after he had been caught up into the third Heaven either was utterly ignorant or most unpardonably negligent in fourteen several Epistles never to acquaint us with this comfortable Doctrine Nay which is worse he seems directly to contradict it as if he were as obstinate an Heretick as we are affirming positively that there is one God and one Mediatour between God and Men the Man Christ Jesus 1 Tim. 2.5 And so I shall pass to the Apostles third Argument against the worship of Angels which is this It is highly injurious to the incommunicable Honour and Prerogative of this one Mediatour between God and Men our Lord Jesus Christ they that are guilty of it hold not the Head that is by offering such a manifest affront to the blessed Son of God they do in effect deny him to be the sole Head of his Church cutting themselves off from being Members of his Body and bringing upon themselves a most dreadful Anathema The Office of a Mediatour between God and Man is an Office of so high and Divine a Nature that no Person could be capable of it but one who was both God and Man For it was necessary that whosoever undertook this Office should not only make satisfaction for our Sins but should also receive our Prayers and present them unto God and render them acceptable unto him through his Intercession Now not to insist upon the former of these two things it is plain from what I have already said that the latter of them viz. to receive Prayers and divine Worship is an incommunicable Prerogative of God of which none can upon any Account whatsoever be capable but himself only God the Father therefore having conferred this high Honour upon his only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ who as he was Man had purchased it by his Death and Passion and as he was God equal with the Father was qualified for it without any injury to the Divine Majesty I say God the Father having conferred upon his Son this Honour not only of being our Redeemmer but our Advocate also to receive and present our Prayers and to make intercession for us and having not given us the least Intimation in his word that he allows any part of this Honour to any of the holy Angels or Saints what can be more plain than that they who pray to Angels and Saints as Mediatours at least of Intercession together with Christ do thereby highly affront him by joyning Co-partners with him in this incommunicable Honour of being the only Mediatour both of Redemption and Intercession between God and Man And that our blessed Saviour is so the Scripture most plainly and frequently declares There is but one God and one Mediatour between God and Men the Man Christ Jesus Saith S. Paul in the Place above-mentioned where it is observable that this Office of Mediatour between God and Men is an Office so divinely glorious and honourable that the Apostle thinks it no sacrilege to mention it with the same Reverence and Respect that he doth God himself There is one God and one Mediatour And indeed so well he might Since this Mediatour is God and Sits together with his Father in his Throne being able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them Heb. 7.25 Let the Church of Rome produce but any one plain Text of Scripture to Satisfie us that there is any other Mediatour whether of Redemption or Intercession between God and men besides the Lord Jesus Christ and we will confess our selves to be as they are pleased to call us gross Hereticks but if they can produce no such Text let us repose all our Trust and Confidence in that one Mediatour whom God in his Word hath pronounced to be so assuring our selves that whosoever joyn other Mediatours together with him praying upon that Account either to Angels or Saints yea even to the blessed Virgin Mary her self by so doing offer a manifest Affront to this one Mediatour between God and Men cutting themselves off from Christ and not holding the Head And now I need say very little concerning our Apostles last Argument against the Worship of Angels which is this that it is destructive and deadly to our own Souls and the End of it will be Damnation for he that imposes this Worship upon us beguiles us of our Reward I say I need not insist upon this since it is sufficiently evident from what I have already delivered For if the Worship of Angels be a false and voluntary Humility a Will-Worship flatly repugnant to the Word of God if it proceed from a real and carnal Pride in the Imposers of it who intrude into those things which they have not seen vainly pufft up by their fleshly mind if it be injurious to the royal and incommunicable Prerogative of our Lord Jesus Christ which is to be the sole Mediatour between God and Men insomuch that whosoever owns any other Mediatour besides him whether it be Saint or Angel doth thereby in effect renounce his Saviour not holding the Head then certainly this Worship of Angels must needs be deadly to our Souls and whosoever imposes it upon us beguiles us of our reward and brings us into apparent Danger of Damnation Hence then it is evident that had we no other Reason as we have many and great ones this one were abundantly sufficient to justifie our Separation from the Church of Rome wherein the Worship of Angels and Saints is not only allowed but imposed upon all its Members as a necessary Term of Communion contrary to the express Word of God and the Practice of the Primitive Christians for about three hundred years after Christ This I say is sufficient to prove our Church to be herein Catholick and Apostolical and theirs Heretical and Schismatical from the Catholick Church of Christ cut off from his Body and not holding the Head that is not the true Head which is Christ though they have a false one that hath usurped that Title wherein they have literally fulfilled these words of my Text. Stand fast therefore Brethren in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage Ye see that the Worship of Angels and Saints is notoriously Sinful let no man therefore impose it upon you neither by fraud nor violence since whosoever doth so beguiles you of your Reward that crown of life which our Lord hath promised to give unto all that are faithful unto death SERMON IX MATTH V. 20. For I say unto you That except your Righteousness shall exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and
a Sinner though not so great a one that willingly allows himself in the Commission of any one known Sin as well as he that sells himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord and commits all Iniquity with greediness Israel must fall before their Enemies so long as there is an accursed thing amongst them and so long as we allow our selves in the Commission of any one Sin our very Prayers themselves will be turned into Sin And now if it will profit a Man nothing though he gain the whole World and lose his own Soul what a Madness then are they guilty of who being otherwise well affected to all the Duties of Religion forfeit Heaven for the Satisfaction of but one predominant Lust This is like Esau to sell their Birth-right for a Mess of Pottage like our first Parents to lose the whole Garden by the eating of but one forbidden Tree Methinks when they have proceeded thus far when they are advanced so near to the Gate of Heaven they might take one step more and enter in When they have mortified all their Lusts but one what a shamefull thing is it to yield to that at the last and how dismal will their Fall be who shall be cast down to Hell from so fair a Prospect of Salvation But to leave these there are another sort of Men who though they have attained to an higher degree of Righteousness than this yet are not the Righteous which are here meant in my Text. For there are Some Men of so unprejudiced and unbiassed Understanding so quick sighted that they can discover such a splendour and beauty in Virtue and such an abominable Filthiness and Deformity in Vice that the former is sweeter to them than their Life and death it self less dreadful than the latter Neither Art nor Force neither Flatteries nor Threats can divorce them from that sweet content and joy which is the natural effect and consequence of a Virtuous Life or perswade them to ingulf themselves in that deplorable Misery which torments those Souls that are enslaved to Vice but they constantly do their utmost endeavour as the Apostle exhorts to abstain from all appearance of evil They see that the laughter of those fools who combine together to make a mock at Sin proceeds only from the teeth outward and is but like the crackling of thorns under a pot They see all that Madness that reigns and rages in the World and they find that there is no true Comfort and Satisfaction to be had in any thing but Virtue alone and therefore to that they stedfastly cleave with a resolution to part with their lives and fortunes and whatsoever else is dearest to them rather than to violate any of its Laws But notwithstanding all this though I must needs confess that such persons as these are burning and shining Lights in the World yet if they have not one qualification more to make them perfect they are not the Righteous here meant in my Text. For such persons as Historians tell us were Socrates and Cato and many more of the ancient Heathens who never heard of the blessed Jesus the only Name under Heaven given among Men whereby we must be saved Thus far I have given you only a negative description of the Righteous Man and shewed you what Manner of Persons that make a fair shew in the World have nevertheless no just right to that Title And now to declare to you positively who he is and to shew you the difference of the Righteous Man here meant in my Text from the three former sorts of Men which I have been describing I must tell you that he hath nothing at all in him of the first sort for it is impossible that ye should imagin him to be a notorious Hypocrite and he hath all in him that is good in either of the two latter and to all this he adds the last and best qualification which is Faith in Christ It is Faith alone by which he lives it is Faith alone which renders him truly Righteous and justifies him in the sight of God And here I mean not a false and dead Faith which indeed is no Faith at all but a true and lively one that brings forth Fruits meet for Repentance such a Faith as will be sure to shew it self in him by the Holiness of his Life and conversation and his works praise him in the gates All those excellent Virtues which have commended the Names of Cato and Socrates and other renowned Heathens to posterity are in him but in a more eminent Manner Sublimated and refined by Grace and made acceptable to God by Faith without which it is impossible to please him Cato might love his friends but he loves his Enemies Cato might do good to them that did good to him but he doth good to them that hate him blesses them that curse him and Prays for them which despitefully use him and persecute him Cato's heroick Spirit might one would have thought patiently have endured Tribulation but his unhappy End plainly shews that he fainted under it but Job doth not only patiently bear all that heavy chain of afflictions with which he was tried but he blesses God in the midst of them all as heartily as ever he did in the height of his prosperity as well in his Sickness as in his health as well when God takes away from him all that he had as when he caused his candle to shine upon his head and made him the greatest of all the Men of the East Cato might prefer Death before Vice and chuse rather to endure the most exquisite torments than to commit a wicked action but the Righteous Man doth not only willingly lay down his Life for the truth whensoever he is called to it but he rejoyces that he is counted worthy to suffer shame for the Name of Jesus In a word that love of Virtue which was in Cato and Socrates and the rest of those excellent Worthies which we read of amongst the Heathen though it hath procured them a Name which is far better than precious oyntment and will shine in History as long as the World shall last to the shame of all Christians that come short of their perfections yet it is probable that it proceeded chiefly from self-interest either from some hopes and expectation they had of a reward in another Life or else from that Peace and Tranquility of mind which they found that it procured them in this but the Righteous Man aims chiefly at the Honour of God All his actions as near as he can he designs primarily and principally to advance the Glory of his Creatour and his own Salvation possesses but the second place in his thoughts As S. Paul exhorts Whether he eats or drinks or whatsoever he doth in word or deed he doth all in the Name of the Lord Jesus and to the Glory of God And after he hath passed the time of his Sojourning here in fear when he hath fought
of the Flesh we might easily renounce also the Devil and all his Works and the Pomps and Vanities of this wicked World But still to render the Righteous Man's Task harder and his way to Heaven more rugged and difficult he hath besides this Enemy within him his own original Corruptions two Enemies more without to engage with the World and the Devil First The World which with all its Pomps and Vanities its gilded Baits and deceitful Enticements allures and invites him to set his Heart and Affections wholly upon these worthless Toyes and Trifles here below With all the specious Promises of Pleasure Riches Honour and what not It seeks to alienate and estrange his Thoughts from God from his native Country from the Heavenly Canaan that Jerusalem which is above the Mother of us all and to perswade him to set up his staff here in this Vale of Tears where he is but a stranger and a Pilgrim and like the Children of Reuben and Gad to content himself with an inheritance on this side Jordan for the Transitory and perishing enjoyments of this present Life to exclude himself out of the Kingdom of Heaven and to lose the eternal Glory and Happyness of the Saints in light This World is a Shop an inexhaustible Magazine of Temptations suitable and correspondent to the Constitution and desires of all the Sons and Daughters of Adam Here then the Righteous Man the constant and faithful Souldier and Champion of Jesus Christ is again fiercely assaulted in his way to Heaven by this second Adversary the World Here he meets with every thing that can gratifie the most carnal and sensual Appetite Which way soever he stands most inclined and some way or other that natural Corruption wherein all Men are conceived and born will be apt more or less to sway him he shall be sure to have a Bait fitted to his Humour Whatsoever it be that is most likely to seduce and intice him into the Snares of Sin the World is amply stored with all things and is ever ready to furnish him so that it highly concerns him to stand continually upon his guard praying always that God would turn away his Eyes from beholding Vanity and quicken him in his way that he may so pass through things Temporal that he finally lose not the things Eternal But further yet besides these two Enemies of his Salvation his own flesh and the World he hath still another that is indefatigable in plotting and contriving his Destruction and that is the Devil whose business it is continually like a roaring Lion to walk to and fro in the earth seeking whom he may devour This is the great and chief Enemy of Mankind to whose accursed designs the other two are fatally helpful and subservient It was he that beguiled our first Parents in the state of Innocence and by that Means plunged both them and all their posterity into a state of Sin and Corruption And now he makes use of that advantage he hath gained over us he joyns against us together with our lusts and when they seek to draw us away to any thing that is evil he is ever ready to back and strengthen their Temptations with his own secret whispers and suggestions When the World offers any thing to us that is pleasant and inviting he is ready to set a fresh gloss upon it that may render its Charms more prevalent He leaves no Stone unturned no project nor Design unattempted by which he may bring us into the Bondage and Slavery of Sin His Power is great his Industry unwearied and his Malice implacable against all the Sons of Men and by how much the more vigilant and careful the Person against whom he bends his Force is to stand upon his Guard and to defend himself against his Assaults and Stratagems so much the fiercer are his On-fets so much the more violent and outragious is his Fury So that above all others the Righteous Man that constantly withstands and resists his Wiles hath the hardest Task to perform Other Persons that easily yield to his Temptations he may safely leave to themselves He knows that they have an Enemy within them that will be sure to be their Ruin that their own Lusts will be sufficient to prevail against them and that they themselves without his help will work out their own Damnation But where he meets with Opposition there he doubles his Diligence and uses all the Means that Power or Policy or Malice can suggest to him in order to the effecting of his Designs No sooner hath the Man of God overcome one Temptation but he presently sets upon him with another No sooner hath the Shield of Faith quenched one of his fiery Darts but it is again assaulted with a second We read that he dealt thus with our Blessed Saviour himself Three several Attempts he made upon him and would not leave him until he found that he was indeed the Son of God and that it was utterly in vain for him to hope to prevail against him by any of his Temptations And surely if he had so much impudence as not to leave Christ our Head before the third Assault he will much more hardly suffer a repulse from any of his Members Thus ye see how great opposition the Righteous Man is sure to meet with and with what cruel and dangerous Enemies he is daily to fight during the time of his Sojourning here upon Earth And by this Means it comes to pass that he is scarcely saved so scarcely that if the incessant importunities of his own corruptions the sweet and alluring Baits and Temptations of the World and all the restless Malice and Power and Policy of Hell could prevail against him he should certainly be damned All these Adversaries must be subdued by him before he can be esteemed worthy through the merits of Christ to receive a crown of Life Yea and besides all this I might proceed further and shew you that as to outward Appearance and in the Opinion of Men even God himself sometimes seems to be his Enemy here in this World forasmuch as he often laies upon him heavy and great Afflictions for the Trial of his Patience and Faith His Portion in this Life is Sorrow Persecution taking up the Cross and suffering for Righteousness sake All these things are entailed upon every true Disciple of Christ and he must expect to have his share more or less of every one of them While the wicked are in great Power and spread themselves like a green Bay-tree while they enjoy the world at will and live in Ease and Plenty and Prosperity the Righteous are killed all the day long and accounted as sheep for the Slaughter This was our blessed Saviour's own Condition here upon Earth All his whole Life was but one continued scene of sufferings and even from his Mother's Womb to his Death he was all along a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief When he first came into the World he