it as all those Worthies have done whom God hath thought fit to register in his Book as men accepted with him Beloved if you please to open your eyes and look abroad into the Kingdome into every corner of it you 'l see lamentable objects every where afflicted creatures of all kindes crying to you that you would reach out a helping and healing hand to them but in nothing so much is the Kingdome desolate this day as in the things that doe properly belong to the Kingdome of Heaven the Faith of Gods people I mean the doctrinall part is woefully overthrowne in many places by blasphemous and hereticall doctrines which are got in and sown through the cunning craftinesse of them that have lien in wait to beguil unstable sâ—â—les the Worship of God is woefully neglected and troden under foot Fast Dayes and Sabbath Dayes in most places not one whit regarded the Ministery not more contemned nor so much under reproach in the hottest persecutions that they have lien under heretofore the Glory of the Lord marvellously abused in point of Religion England is this day an amazement to the Nations round about it to the insulting and rejoycing of all the enemies of it and the mourning and sadding of heart unto all that love it Could you but as in a glasse behold the unsetled case of the Kingdome of Heaven in this Land you would quickly grant there is a great deal of work to be done by those that have any vigorous spirits any bowels in them to rowle towards the helping forward of this great work Now that you may administer a healing hand I shall endeavor to say somewhat that may quicken you up and I beseech you give me leave to lay before you these following considerations eight things I would have you all seriously to think upon to provoke you to be vigorous and violent in advancing the Kingdome of Christ First Certainly there is not onely such a thing as zeal for God but it is a grace of absolute necessity in all the services of God and so lovely that it is the lustre and the varnish the glosle and beauty of all performances unto God that which sets them off with glory in the eyes of God man Gods work requires it every cause which concernes the Kingdome of Heaven must either be done with zeal or meddle not at al with it a lukewarme spirit in the service of God is worse to God then a spirit that will doe nothing hee will spue it out of his Mouth as abominable meate Now then because Religion is a work for God the proper cause of God the cause wherein his glory is most interessed associated with God you must needs doe it with zeale with all vigor and best intention of your spirit Secondly Consider further you all have lifted up your hands to the most high God and that in the day of your distresle you have bound your selves by an Oath of God and you have brought the Kingdome into an Oath of God with you you have sworne that you will willingly cheerfully constantly to the utmost of your power within your callings beat down what is contrary to Religion that you will study the advancement of Reformation according to the Word of God and the pattern of the best reformed Churches this in the day of your distresse you have sworn you have since told the Kingdome you forget it not you have order'd the Ministers oftentimes to read it upon the Fast dayes that it might be in the eyes of all Now I beseech you know that the keeping Covenant with God is a matter of a high concernment and the breaking of your Covenant with man uses not to goe unrevenged but the breaking Covenant with God is a thing will never escape the wrath of God Thirdly Consider that this work of advancing the Kingdome of Heaven is a work that belongs to you I told you before you have sworn to doe it within the compasse of your calling now it is a work within the compasse of your calling it belongs to you the Lord hath not trusted you onely with Civill liberties and to beat down oppression and injustice and outward wickednesse against the second Table in which the Lord make you more zealous but besides this the things of Gods Kingdome are committed to you You shall read if you look into Gods Book all the Worrhies whom God hath taken notice of their Crown glory hath been that they did beat downe Idolatry opposed and suppressed what ever was contrary to Religion built up Gods house set up his Ordinances encouraged his Ministers and for the doing of these things they were approved commended rewarded and such as neglected them were by God blamed branded punished so many examples are extant in the Scripture of the Old Testament that I need not name them and the same is prophesied to be done by Magistrates under the New Testament Kings shall be Nursing Fathers to it and Queenes shall be Nursing Mothers to the Church they shall give it bread milk and provide for it and nourish it and for punishing the oppressors of it there is a Gospell Prophesie in the 13. of Zechariah When any shall prophesie falsly his Father and Mother that begat him shall thrust him through and say Thou shalt not live for thou speakest lies in the name of God Now then since this belongs to your place and work I beseech you for the Lords sake be zealous in it and Fourthly consider As it is for Christ and for his Kingdome so Iesus Christ hath very well deserved at your hands to have you vigorous in his cause hee hath earned it hee is before hand with every soule of you look upon the zeal hee shewed when hee came to doe your work for you how did he bow the heavens and come downe upon the earth and from the throne of glory came and lay first in the wombe of a Virgin and then in swadling bands in a Manger and afterwards lived a poore life and then pray'd and preached and wrought Miracles with indefatigable paines with burning zeal yea gave his life a ransome he gave his soule to the death that hee might be a ransome for you and thereby purchase you to be a people to himself zealous of good warkes hath he not deserved it I and he hath deserved it at your hands in this great work hee hath set you about in this great concussion and earth quake of the Kingdome wherein you have been so farre imployed What mischiefs hath he discover'd which have been contrived against you What seasonable Mercies hath he sent you What unexpected victories hath he given you How hath the Lord made Mountains plain before you and brought you into the condition wherein you are and made you enjoy that which many times I dare say you were past all hope of seeing the Lord then deserves his cause should be thought upon by you Fifthly consider That the setting up of
is lifted up is to morrow trodden down who is now accounted cloquent is presently esteem'd a babe rude or barbarous and all from their ficklenesse the Word and Ministers are the same but the people are changed like sick peoples palate who long for that meat one day which they nauseate the next day or as children who delight in those toyes one day which the next they throw out of the doores The second part of Christs discourse concerning Iohn is A high commendation of Iohn and of his Ministery from three notable arguments First That Iohn was the Prophet that was foretold long before by two emminent Prophets Isaiah Malachi both of them shewing that the Lord would send his messenger before his face and saith Christ if you 'l beleeve it this is he The second is taken from the eminencie of Iohns worke hee did immediatly goe before Jesus Christ as a Noble man that should lead the Prince by the hand and shew him to every one This is he he did not as the other Prophets hold him out in types and shadows and spake of a Messiah that was to come a long time after but as another Christopher did carry Christ upon his shoulders and held him out in his armes that every one that came neer Iohn might see him pointed out to the Lambe of God that took away the sinnes of the world and the clearer any Ministery is in the discovery of Christ the more excellent it is but yet that Christ might set the true bounds to the honour of Iohns Ministery he adds that though of all the Prophets that ever were before him there was none like him yet the least Minister after Christ should have done his worke the meanest Minister of the Gospel had a more excellent Ministery then Iohn the Baptist because the excellencie of a Ministery is in the light that it carries Now Iohns light did farre goe beyond all that went before him but the least Minister of the Kingdome of Heaven after Christs work was done on earth should be able so cleerly to shew forth the life death passion resurrection ascension intercession of Christ sending of the holy Ghost and all those glorious mysteries that children might bee able to understand them and this goes far beyond the Ministery of Iohn the Baptist This is the second Argument whereby Christ magnifies the Ministery of Iohn the third is that that I have chosen for my Text That from the dayes of Iohn the Baptist the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force the summe whereof is that from Iohns time there was raised up in all who truely embrac'd the Gospel a servent spirit to pursue and advance the Kingdome of Heaven with all eagernesse no Souldiers are more violent in assaulting and taking astrong hold then Iohns Disciples were in prosecuting the Kingdome of Heaven with all their might when once it was discover'd to them Now all these arguments whereby Christ doth extoll the Ministery of Iohn are intended not onely as so many testimonies of honour to Iohn but are also so many Arguments to prove Jesus Christ to be the true Messiah for whatever proves Iohn to be the Elias that should make his way ready for him the same proves Jesus Christ to be the Saviour that should come unto Gods people and this of my Text as strong and cleare as any other because it was foretold of him that the people should be willing in the day of his power should come in as plentifully as the dew out of the wombe of the morning should flie after him as the Doves to their windowes This is the commendation of Iohn if you would know the fruit of all this what this high encomium of Iohn did work upon the hearers you may read in the 7. of Luke where Vers 29. 30. this same story is recorded and the effect of it is there added which our Evangelist doth omit viz. that when Christ had said these things of Iohn the Publicans and the rest of the people who had before been baptized by Iohn Baptist glorified God were awaken'd and brought to sorrow for their neglect of Iohn and so encouraged to imbrace Jesus Christ whom Iohn pointed out but the Scribes and Pharisees the learned Doctors and others that had despised the Ministery of Iohn did no whit regard the honour that Christ did give to Iohns Ministery and so neither accepted Iohn the forerunner nor Christ the Saviour but rejected the counsell of God against themselves This is the sum of the whole context Our generall observation from this commendation which our Saviour gives to Iohn is that the Lord Iesus is most ready to honour them who abase themselves for his sake Iohn had exceedingly abased himself declaring himself to be but the voyce of a cryer unworthy to unloose the latchet of Christs shooe making himself a footstoole to exalt Christ willing to decrease that Christ might increase and now Christ heaps honour upon Iohn abundantly so that wee may see that such as honour Christ shall be honoured of him and that although honour flie from them who vainely seek it yet it followes them who flie from it But I come to my Text which as you have heard is one branch of that honorable testimony which our Saviour gave to Iohn the Baptist which I shall desire you with me to look upon under a twofold consideration First As they are intended to bee a Crown and an honour to Iohn the Baptist From the dayes of Iohn the Baptist untill now the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence Secondly and principally Wee will consider these words as they doe containe a description of men who are rightly affected with the kingdome of heaven The Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force Of the first of these very briefly the meaning I take to bee this This eagernesse and fervency of Spirit in the people is to bee looked upon partly as a fruit of that cleere light which Iohn Baptists Ministery did hold out never any discovered the kingdome of heaven so cleerly as Iohn did and therefore never was there such zeal to presse into the Kingdome of heaven as was in Iohns time Secondly and partly as a conformity to Iohns Spirit Iohn came in the power and Spirit of Elias a man of mettle and zeal that did the work of the Lord with all his might and therefore the people whom his Ministery wrought upon were moulded into Iohns Spirit they were made like unto their Teacher and both these are by our Lord intended as a Crowne to Iohn From the dayes of Iohn the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence A word or two of each of these Take the zeal and eagernesse of the people after heaven as a fruit of that clear discovery of the Kingdome of heaven by Iohns Ministery and it affords us this excellent lesson That the clearer light any people doe receive
their love to these things is hatred if compared with the love that they beare to the Kingdome of Heaven and this Chrysostome expresses very elegantly when he saith in his pursuit of banishment or martyrdome for Christ if his father should meet him and stand in his way he would throw his father upon the ground if his mother lay in his way he would tread upon his mothers belly meaning whatever it was that should be an obstacle to him they should be all scorn'd and hated by him if their interest in him should offer to stand in competition with the affection hee bore to the Kingdome of Heaven It is ordinary with Christ to expresse it thus that whoever mindes the Kingdome of Heaven and embraces it aright will forsake all for it they sell all for it in the 13. of Matthew the man that found the Treasure sold all with joy the man that found the pearle of great price sold all and the Disciples were able to speak it Master we have forsaken all to follow thee How is that how doe they sell all the meaning is they forsake all First In their judgments and estimation of all other things they are nothing in their thoughts when compared with this I account all losse and dung for Christ Secondly fell and forsake all In their affections that they care not for them they doe not love them nor delight in them when compar'd with this Thirdly sell all In their resolution and purpose of their spirit they being prepar'd to part with all either by degrees or all at a clap according as their interest in the Kingdome of Heaven doth call for any of them And as the Scripture is plain that it must be so so if you look but into the examples of all that have imbrac'd it you shall see de facto that it hath been so look upon the examples read those Holy men of God of old that saw not the Kingdome of Heaven so cleerly as now it is discover'd Abraham assoon as ever this City and Kingdome was discover'd to him left Mesopotamia left his Father his kindred the Land of his Nativity his estate went hee knew not whither onely to follow a word that directed him to this Kingdome Moses whose practice is epitomized in the 11. of the Heb. 24. that he did count the honour of being Pharaohs daughters Son hee counted the pleasures of the Court of Egypt hee esteemed the wealth of Egypt the treasures of it he counted them all as nothing in comparison of this there is the Worlds Trinity honour pleasure wealth troden under foot by a man that had but set his heart to the Kingdom of Heaven The time would fail me to relate unto you what all the Worthies have done But look a little into Christs time that wch my Text doth more immediately intimate what violence they used how the people trod one upon another to attend upon the Ordinances how they would tarry sometimes 3. dayes together without eating a bit of bread or drinking any thing but a cup of water only that they might get some acquaintance with Christ and the way to life how his Disciples forsook their Callings and Nets to follow Christ and doe what hee would have them doe how Paul made shipwracke of whatsoever was dear unto him and pressed forward onely that this might bee made good to their soules that Heaven was theirs how the Virgin company who follow Christs loved not their lives to the death huge clouds of witnesses there are whose examples prove clearly that who ever are rightly affected to the Kingdome of Heaven will doe what ever they can in this worke with all their hearts and all their might and all their strength Furthermore this violence and eagernesse of affection towards the Kingdome of Heaven in all into whose hearts the knowledg of the Kingdom of Heaven doth come Expresses it self in two things First In labouring by all meanes possible to make it sure to their own soules to work out their salvation with seare and with trembling to make their interest in the Kingdome of God the unum necessarium the one thing that is necessary to part with all other things that this may be their absolute portion that is one and the other Wherein they are equally set with eagernesse of spirit in endeavouring within their power and calling is that all Mountains may be made plain al obstacles removed al furtherances added which may advance the Kingdome of Heaven that other Flesh as well as their selves may see the Salvation of God Read your Bibles I affirme it confidently you shall finde that all that have been eager for themselves so far as it hath lien in their lot and way have express'd at least the same eagernesse to advance it and set it up for others Abraham that all his children might know the Lord Moses though hee minded his own interest in Heaven far beyond all the world as I shew'd you yet preferd the salvation of Israel before it Lord rather rase me out of the Book thou hast written then for sake thy people hee was more for Israel then for himself And so all those other Worthies David never did that for himself nor for all his children in providing for them as hee did for advancing Religion the zeal of Gods house eat him up and so did Asa Iehosophat Hezekiah Iosiah Ezra Nehemiah and many others of the old and those of the New Testament with what violence did the Disciples of Iesus Christ all of them goe up and downe that they might gaine others to the Lord Christ to winne them to him how did they goe about preaching and doing good every where being contented to be thought vile to be in their wits or out of their wits to bee made a gazing stock to men and Angels to be made the refuse and offscowring of the world to bee anything so they might promote and advance the Kingdome of Heaven I know you are able to prove these things yourselves and therefore I doe not insist upon them the ground of all this is Because the Kingdome of Heaven to all who are rightly informed in it doth appeare not onely to bee a matter of absolute necessity but so absolute good such superlative excellency in such ravishing sweetnesse such in expressible consolation that the soule that hath but once discover'd it cannot forbeare but fly upon it as the Eagle flyes to the prey and if with Sampson they find this Hony combe they must eate themselves and give to their Father or their Mother or their children and all that are about them If you would know what they are truely a little time will not so much as name them but they are such as these to bee delivered out of the power of darknesse and dominion of the Devill to be reconciled to God to have the pardon of their sinnes and the imputation of Christs righteousnesse to bee made Gods adopted sonnes and daughters