as he himself required with which his Justice is fully satisfied and his Wrath appeased And this was that Oblation of himself of his own most precious Body and Blood when he poured out his soul unto death to be an offering for sin upon the Altar of the Cross Christ being come an High-Priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands that is to say not of this building neither by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood entred in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us Hebr. 9.11 12. And without looking any further that one Epistle to the Hebrews may satisfie us in this Point the main Design of it being to convince the Jews that Jesus Christ was such an High-Priest as we are speaking of Who was once offered to bear the sins of many and who shall appear unto them that look for him the second time without sin unto salvation Secondly as our blessed Saviour hath offered this holy spotless and most acceptable Sacrifice of himself unto God for us so doth he likewise continually intercede for us at his right hand pleading the merits of his most precious Death and Passion in our behalf that we thereby may be delivered from the Curse of the Law and receive the adoption of Sons Christ is not entred into the holy places made with hands which are the figures of the true but into heaven it self now to appear in the presence of God for us Hebr. 9.24 and Hebr. 7.25 He tells us That he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them So Rom. 8.34 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 And if any man sin saith S. John we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous 1 Joh. 2.1 Thus then it is evident that our blessed Saviour is by the holy Evangelists and Apostles that have given us a true and faithful account of him represented to be as great an High-Priest as it was possible that the Messias could be for who can be higher than he that is set down at the right hand of God And this naturally brings me to the Consideration of his last and highest Office which is that of a King For surely he that is exalted unto the right hand of God can be no less than a King in the highest Degree a King of Saints and Angels a King of Kings and Lord of Lords Let the Jews perswade themselves what they please concerning the greatness of the Kingdom of their imaginary Messias whom they fondly dream is yet to come into the world though they cannot deny that the time prefixed for his coming by the Prophets is long since past yet a greater King they cannot imagine him to be than we know and are fully assured by the unanimous Testimony of most faithful and unexceptionable Witnesses that our blessed Saviour already is who is and ever shall be a King upon Gods holy hill of Sion whom he hath exalted and set at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come and put all things under his feet and given him to be the head over all things to the Church Eph. 1.20 21 22. That our blessed Saviour was to be such a King as this the Angel Gabriel expresly foretold to the Virgin Mary at his Conception Luk. 1.31 Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus He shall be great and shall be called the son of the highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever and of his Kingdom there shall be no end Which words plainly imply that he was not to be a temporal King a King of this World whose Kings and Kingdoms shall all perish and come to an end but a spiritual King of a Kingdom which is everlasting Such a King as this our Lord owned himself to be I appoint unto you a Kingdom saith he to his Disciples as my father hath appointed unto me that ye may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel Luk. 22.29 30. A King even Pilate himself seemed positively to declare him by the Superscription upon his Cross Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews which he would by no means alter at the request of the chief Priests Such a King he most powerfully demonstrated himself to be by his triumphant Resurrection from the Dead Such a King he yet more fully proved himself to be by his most glorious Ascension into Heaven Having first told his Disciples that all power is given unto him in heaven and in earth he shews them the truth of it by ocular Demonstration visibly in their sight ascending up into Heaven to take Possession of his eternal Kingdom sending moreover two Angels to comfort them and assure them that he the same Jesus which was taken up from them into heaven shall so come in like manner as they had seen him go into heaven Act. 1.11 And after all this according to his Promise as a King that was ascended on high that had led captivity captive and received gifts for men he bestows upon them a gift fit for the King of Heaven to bestow upon his choicest Favourites even that of the Holy Ghost upon the Day of Pentecost thereby to the astonishment of all that beheld them impowering them to work Miracles and to speak with Tongues in order to the accomplishing that great work about which he employed them which was to proclaim him over all the World to be such a King such a Saviour and to gather him a Church out of all the Nations of the Earth declaring that unto all those that will believe and obey him and receive him for their Soveraign Lord and King he will most assuredly be the authour of eternal salvation having redeemed them from the Curse of the Law and purchased for them the adoption of sons and that when at the last day he shall come again in the Glory of his Father to judge the world in righteousness he shall then as an omnipotent King whose Power nothing can resist execute Vengeance upon all his Enemies and reward all his faithful and obedient Subjects with everlasting Felicity receiving them into his heavenly Kingdom there to Reign together with him in Glory as Kings and Priests unto God for ever thus I have proved to you I hope beyond all Contradiction except such as proceeds from wilful and obstinate Malice or notorious Ignorance or Prejudice which must
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
voice to be heard in the street A bruised reed shall he not break and the smoaking flax shall he not quench He shall bring forth judgment unto truth He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth and the isles shall wait for his law By this one passage which is a plain Prophecy of the Messias it is manifest that he was to be the greatest Prophet that ever should come into the world an Elect and chosen Servant of God in whom he delighted in a peculiar manner above all the rest of Mankind one upon whom he would pour out his Spirit without measure and anoint with the oyl of gladness above his fellows one that was not only to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel but was also to be a light to the Gentiles and salvation unto the end of the earth filling it all even the Isles as well as the Continent full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea Now that our blessed Saviour was such a Prophet as this for greater than all the Prophets of the Old Testament even than Moses himself is manifest in the Evangelical History both from the Doctrine which as a Prophet he taught and from the Miracles which as a Prophet he wrought for the Confirmation of it As for his Doctrine whosoever reads it must needs acknowledge that it contains a far more perfect and full Revelation of the Divine Will than what was delivered by Moses and the Prophets in regard both of Commands and Promises All his Precepts and Commands were such as highly became the infinite goodness of God to give unto us for the refining and perfecting our Nature and fitting us to partake of that Happiness for which he designed us All those seemingly venial Vices and Imperfections connived at in the Mosaical Law were made capital Crimes and strictly forbidden upon pain of Damnation by the Law of Christ All the false Glosses and corrupt Doctrines of the Scribes and Pharisees he hath utterly rejected and condemned as gross Hypocrisie and by his Law whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her is already become an adulterer whoso hastily reproaches his Brother as a Fool doth thereby bring himself in Danger of Hell-fire he that hates his Brother is a murderer he that loves not his Enemy is guilty of an high breach of Christian Charity even so as to deprive himself of the love of God In a word he hath commanded us to be perfect even as our Father which is in heaven is perfect not only with outward but with inward Purity for his Law reaches not only our Hands but our Tongues and our Hearts and he hath told us expresly that not only for our Actions but also for every idle word and every sinful thought we shall give an account at the Day of Judgment And as the Precepts and Commands of our Saviour far exceed those of Moses and the Prophets so likewise hath he enforced the performance of them with the Promise of a far more glorious Reward to the obedient and the threatning of a far more dreadful Punishment to the Transgressors than any mentioned in the Law of Moses And all this he did with far greater Authority as one that was impowered with a higher Commission than Moses and the Prophets Whatsoever they taught they taught in the name of God ushering in their words with this Preface Thus saith the Lord but our blessed Saviour though what he taught was most truly the Word and Will of God which he was sent into the world to reveal unto us yet as one that knew that in him it was no robbery to be equal with God he delivers it not in God's Name but in his own I say unto you throughout all the Gospels And as our Saviour's Doctrine surpasses that of Moses in its Excellency and Purity so doth it likewise in its Extent and Universality and whereas the Law of Moses was published only to the Children of Israel that of Christ extends it self to all Mankind wheresoever dispersed over the face of the whole Earth Goye saith he to his Apostles into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature Mark 16.15 And that nothing might be wanting to satisfie us that he was indeed a Prophet sent by God on purpose in his Name and by his Authority to teach this Doctrine he confirmed and ratified it with the broad Seal of Heaven with innumerable and most astonishing Miracles than which greater or more certain Testimony God himself cannot give us for the Confirmation of any Truth These Miracles of his were so many and so wonderful that more could not be expected from the Messias by the Confession of many of the Jews that believed on him When Christ cometh say they will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done Joh. 7.31 Even the Rulers of the Jews themselves as well as the common People were convinced that he did work Miracles and for that very reason they conspired against him and put him to Death as we read they did upon his raising of Lazarus from the Dead Joh. 11.47 Then gathered the chief Priests and Pharisees a council and said What do we for this man doth many miracles If we let him thus alone all men will believe on him and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation To these Miracles we may add also his Predictions of future Events very strange and unexpected and yet all punctually fulfilled to a tittle in the very same manner and order as he foretold they should be All these things which I only name presuming them to be well known to all that live within the sound of the Gospel evidently demonstrate our blessed Saviour to be far the greatest Prophet that ever came into the world even such an one as all the Prophets before him foretold that the Messias should be And as he was a Prophet so he was also a Priest as eminent in that Office as in the other Superior to all those of the Aaronical Priesthood even to Aaron himself who as well as his Successors was but a Type of our great High-Priest Jesus Christ And that he was such a Priest as this is frequently declared in the New Testament and most clearly demonstrated by his performing the Offices belonging to such a Priest which are especially these two First to offer up unto God a most holy perfect and sufficient Sacrifice to satisfie his Justice and to make an atonement for the Sins of all Mankind Secondly to appear continually in the Presence of God making most powerful and effectual Intercession for all true Believers That he hath already performed one of these Offices and that he doth still perform the other we are assured by all the holy Pen-men whose business it was to give us a true and faithful account of these matters First he hath offered up unto God such a Sacrifice
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
and suffers its proud Waves to be bounded and checkt by the Sand. There go the ships and there is that Leviathan whom he hath made to play therein The Earth faithfully performs the Task that was imposed upon it at its first Creation and ceases not to bring forth its fruit in its Season and the most inconsiderable Creature that it nourishes even the smallest Fly publishes the wisdom and power of its Creator as much as the greatest Elephant And who again that considers these things can chuse but proceed with the Psalmist and say Praise the Lord from the earth ye dragons and all deeps fire and hail snow and vapour stormy wind fulfilling his word Mountains and all hills fruitful trees and all cedars beasts and all cattel creeping things and all fowl And shall all these inferiour Creatures daily laud and magnifie their Maker as most plainly they do while in their several Stations they perform his Commands shall the little Birds warble out Hymns of Praise and every Hedge produce a Quire to sing an Hallelujah and shall Man alone be silent Man whom God himself hath crowned with glory and honour whom he hath made to have dominion over the works of his hands and hath put all things under his feet all sheep and oxen yea and the beasts of the field the fowl of the air and the fish of the sea and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas Man whom when he had lost all this Honour when Sin had laid both it and himself together in the dust out of which they were both raised at the first God was pleased by a Miracle of mercy to restore to Honour once more nay to greater Honour than he had before even to the Honour if he forfeits it not again by his own monstrous Ingratitude of being made like unto the Angels in Heaven of being numbred among the children of God and having his lot among the saints I say shall Man whom of all the rest of his Creatures God hath delighted most to Honour be of all the rest of the Creatures the most ungrateful and most backward to give Praise and Glory to God Oh wheresoever this Ingratitude be to be found let it not be found amongst us but let us still joyn with the Psalmist and say Kings of the earth and all people princes and all judges of the earth both young men and maidens old men and children Let them praise the name of the Lord for his name only is excellent his glory is above the earth and heaven Thirdly that this Duty of glorifying God is both reasonable and necessary is evident in as much as all Mankind both good and bad shall most certainly one way or other give glory to God For the Lord will be King for ever be the people never so tumultuous and unquiet and though he be offended and provoked and blasphemed every day yet he is strong as well as patient and will one day vindicate his abused patience and longsuffering and will exalt himself above the heavens and his glory above all the earth Then shall all those foolish Wretches that refused to give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name and to celebrate the Praise of his mercy that endureth for ever be forced by their everlasting Punishment to glorifie his Justice For the glory of the Lord shall endure for ever the Lord shall rejoyce in his works For he hath made all things for himself saith Solomon Yea even the wicked for the day of evil Prov. 16.4 Thus did God get himself Honour as well by punishing the stubbornness of Pharaoh whom he overthrew in the Sea as by rewarding the obedience of Moses to whom he gave Power to command it And thus at the end of all things will he cause his Justice eternally to shine as bright and glorious below even in the midst of the infernal darkness as his mercy shall above in the Regions of light and happiness And Oh how sad how dreadful will our Condemnation be if we neglect this great Salvation that is offered us if notwithstanding this wonderful Redemption that God hath wrought for us we will again sell our selves Slaves to Sin and Satan And if but the tasting of a forbidden fruit brought Death into the world and made all Mankind obnoxious to the eternal wrath of God what Vengeance is reserved for them that tread under foot the Blood of his only begotten Son that despise the very height of his Love and the utmost riches of his Mercy Since then we must unavoidably glorifie either the Mercy of God or his Justice let us chuse rather to adore the former than to be broken in pieces by the latter for they that will not submit to his gentle Government while he holds forth his golden Sceptre shall be sure to feel the Severity of his rod of Iron Lastly for I must not be tedious though the Subject be so copious that I might heap up Arguments without number Since there is not the least part of the Creation excepting wicked Men and wicked Angels but what sets us an Example and invites us to glorifie our Creator this Duty of glorifying God is most highly reasonable for us to perform while we are upon Earth because it will be our eternal Task if ever we come to Heaven Those glorious Mansions above resound incessantly with Hymns of Praise unto the King of Saints To whom all Angels cry aloud continually the Heavous and all the powers therein Holy holy holy Lord God of Sabbaoth Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory If therefore we desire to perform this Duty in the next Life it is not only reasonable but necessary that we begin is in this For certainly if we do not now tune our Voice to an Hallelujah and practise the Musick of Heaven while we are upon Earth Candidates for a Place in the celestial Choire we shall never be qualified to bear a part in that new Song which is to be sung before the throne of God and none shall be able to learn it but the Saints that are redeemed from the Earth Let us therefore now and evermore joyn with those blessed Spirits in glorifying our Almighty Creator saying as our Church teaches us and with which words we will at present break off our Discourse Therefore with Angels and Archangels and with all the Company of Heaven we laud and magnifie thy glorious Name evermore praising thee and saying Holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts Heaven and Earth are full of thy Glory Glory be to thee O Lord most high SERMON V. 1 COR. VI. 20. For ye are bought with a price c. THE reasonableness of this Duty of glorifying God to which in these words the Apostle exhorts us we have already seen and indeed he must be blind that sees it not when the whole Creation joins unanimously in the constant performance of it and every Corner of it declares the Power and Wisdom and Goodness of the
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
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
was sore against the hair It was an hard thing he thought to sell his Possessions to take up a Cross an hard thing to part with his Wealth to purchase Affliction and to exchange a Garland of Roses for a Crown of Thorns If Salvation must cost so much he was resolved to let it alone and thought it not worth his while to part with his present Enjoyments for the Reversion of Heaven but though he had made so great a shew of Religion and had kept as he pretended all the Commandments from his Youth yet Christs Yoke was too heavy for him and he went away sorrowing for he had great Possessions This is no doubt the case of many now in the world that pass in the Eyes of Men for good Christians They make a very fair shew of Religion insomuch that they cheat even their own selves and perswade themselves into a groundless presumption of their own Salvation and that the condition of their Souls is very good when it must of necessity be otherwise so long as they harbour a Serpent in their bosom which will be sure to sting them to death some beloved sin or other of which they cannot find in their Hearts to repent Perhaps they come to Church constantly and for the most part receive the word with gladness But nevertheless their goodness is but as a morning cloud and as the early dew it goeth away Though sometimes at the hearing of a searching Sermon their affections may be extraordinarily moved for the present yet the good seed of the word can take no firm Root in such stony Ground It is but only a sudden Motion that they feel in their Hearts which passes away as quick as it came It is but a faint representation an empty shadow of that unspeakable comfort and joy in the Holy Ghost which is a continual Feast to the Godly a Heaven upon Earth to all those happy Souls who are sealed unto the day of Redemption These Men like Agrippa are but almost perswaded to be Christians Some good thing there is in the them toward the Lord but it is so very little that their faith is less than a grain of Mustard-seed They would fain enter into Heaven at the last but neither the hopes of Heaven nor fear of Hell can prevail with them to lay aside that darling Sin which doth so easily beset them They can be content to let God have a good share of their Heart but they cannot be perswaded to give him the whole They can endure to hear God's Word preached and perhaps for the most part they delight in it too They love to hear Sin condemned and Godliness commended so long as they imagine themselves to be unconcerned But if the Preacher chance to touch one of these Men to the quick and saith to him in plain Terms Thou art the Man then he is more ready to fly in his Face like Ahab and to tell him that he is a Troubler of Israel than to confess with David that he hath sinned against the Lord. Or at the best he goes away sorrowing like the Rich-man or trembling like Felix and desires to hear no more of those matters till the Archangel's Trump shall summon him to hear of them to his Everlasting Confusion Whilst the Prophet speaks to these Men smooth things so long they can hear him with pleasure and he is to them as Ezekiel was to the Jews as a very lovely Song of one that hath a pleasant Voice and can play well on an Instrument But if he sharply rebukes Sin and they find their own Consciences touched to the quick then they are pricked to the Heart not with godly Sorrow and Contrition but with Fury and Indignation While he speaks to them in the still small Voice of the Gospel and preaches the glad Tidings of Peace and Reconciliation with God by Jesus Christ they are pleased at the Heart and are too ready to lay hold on those Promises which belong only to the Israel of God But if he thunder out against them the Curses of the Law and denounces the Wrath of God against all impenitent Sinners then they sit but at little ease in their Seats and the Church begins to be too hot for them They like it well so long as the Spiritual Chirurgeon pours Balm into their Wounds but if he takes his Probe and begins to search them they are not able to endure it The Prophet Micaiah had never been condemned to be fed with Bread of Affliction and Water of Affliction had he been one of the lying Prophets and prophesied good concerning Ahab S. John Baptist's Head might have remained secure on his Shoulders and never have been served up in a Charger to satisfie the longing of a revengeful Woman had he but permitted Herod quietly to enjoy his beloved Herodias Our blessed Saviour had never been Crucified had he not so frequently and publickly reproved the Hypocrisie of the Scribes and Pharisees Thus ye see the Righteousness of these partial Professours of Piety and how dangerous a thing it is for Men to take the liberty to cherish any one Sin For though at the present it may seem to be but a little one it will one Day shew it self more at large appear in its proper Colours and like the little Cloud that arose out of the Sea like a Man's hand it will suddenly overspread their whole Heaven and darken their Consciences with Horrour and Astonishment They may pass for good Christians in fair Weather but what will they do in foul They may venture abroad and shew their Heads boldly while the Sun shines but can they out-face a Storm They appear like Saints in the Halcyon Days of the Church when she enjoys Peace and Tranquillity and flourishes under the Protection of pious and prudent Governours but surely they will tremble at the fiery Trial and make Shipwreck concerning Faith in the Tempest of Persecution They may bless God when they are in Prosperity while he makes an Hedge about them and their House but can they do it as heartily like Job when they are in Affliction A Judas may own Christ and cry Hosanna to the Son of David when he rides in Triumph towards Jerusalem and a Peter may deny him when he is at Calvary 'T is Persecution that is the surest Touch-stone to try a Christian 'T is that which will discover the true Metal from the counterfeit For certainly he that will readily lay down his Life for Christ's sake will much more be willing to part with all his Sins for him and will not dare to harbour the least Lust which may provoke his Displeasure But suppose there arises no such thing as Persecution to disturb them but all be calm and quiet such Persons as these must needs be very unhappy notwithstanding For surely they will find but very little Satisfaction in any of their Actions no not in their very Prayers themselves For we know that God hears not Sinners and he is
and Blood and the Gate that must admit him into those Mansions of Glory is exceeding strait and he must strive hard if he will enter in at it Thus ye see in general that the Righteous shall scarcely be saved that is it shall cost him much Labour and Sweat and Pains to work out his Salvation and through much Tribulation through many and great Troubles and Afflictions through many amazing Difficulties and affrighting Dangers he shall at the last enter into the Kingdom of Heaven and receive a Crown of Glory And this will appear more plainly if we consider distinctly these several Difficulties which he hath to encounter in his way to Heaven And these are First his own natural Corruptions The best and holiest of Men our Blessed Saviour only excepted who was sanctified from the Womb are all conceived and born in Sin By one Man saith St. Paul Sin entred into the World and Death by Sin and so Death passed upon all Men for that all have sinned Rom. 5.12 And this Original Sin as it is generally stiled by Divines which the Righteous themselves even the best of God's Saints as well as other Men bring into the World with them deriving it from Adam by a wonderful but certain Propagation is of a spreading and infectious Nature as dangerous and deadly to the Soul if it be not carefully subdued and mortified as Leprosie to the Body It is ever active and stirring labouring and struggling continually to get the Mastery over the Soul that so it may break out into open and actual Transgressions And too often it doth so even in good Men and prevails sometimes over the most pious and devoutest Christians This was that which moved David to commit Adultery and Murder This was that which shook the Constancy of Peter and made him so timorously and basely to deny his Master And this is that which causes so many Weaknesses and Failings in all the Saints of God so that there is not a just Man upon Earth that doth good and sins not but in every Man there is a Law in his Members warring against the Law of his Mind and bringing him into Captivity to the Law of Sin which is in his Members Rom. 7.23 In every Man as the same Apostle speaks Gal. 5.17 The Flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these two are contrary the one to the other so that by means of this intestine War within him it comes to pass often times that he cannot do the things that he would Even the Heathen Philosophers did observe and complain of though they knew not the Cause of this strange Depravation of humane Nature Plato tells us that Men are by Nature wicked and cannot be perswaded to do that which is right and that the two great and principal Diseases of the Soul are Ignorance and Vice And to the same Effect Tully observes that Nature is to Man a Stepmother that brings him into the World with a naked Body feeble and helpless and with a Soul throughout the whole Course of his Life sorrowful and distracted with Multiplicity of Cares and Troubles tormented with Fears tired with Labour and prone to Lust wherein the Divine Light Wit and good Manners are as it were overwhelmed and stifled This sad Condition which all Mankind is in by Nature I say the wiser Sort even amongst the Heathen amidst the gross Darkness of Paganism and Idolatry had some little Knowledge of though they were utterly ignorant of the true Cause and Reason of it And therefore they made it their chief Care and Business by their Learning and Philosophy according to the best of their Power to correct and amend it But unto us Christians God hath unlocked this Secret and hath fully discovered this great and hidden Mystery which all the Learning of the profoundest Heathen Philosophers was not able to search out In the lively Oracles of the Holy Scriptures he hath fully explained unto us both the Cause and Danger and Remedy of this Corruption of our Nature In that Sacred Book we have it represented to us under divers Names and Characters all of them foul and abominable like it self This is that which Rom. 7.17 St. Paul calls the Sin that dwells in us Because since the Fall of our First Parents it is become natural and hereditary to us and never leaves us nor forsakes us in this World but abides continually in our Flesh even unto Death whence in the same Chapter it is called the Evil that is present with us and Hebr. 12.1 the Sin which doth so easily beset us because it cleaves to us so closely and inseparably and with so much Force and Violence presses and besieges all the Strength and Powers of our Soul The word in the Original is very Elegant and Emphatical and but once used in all the New Testament 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Sin which doth so easily beset us that Sin which doth as it were hug and embrace us and is continually insinuating and winding it self like a Serpent into our Hearts with a Design to deceive and beguile us This is that which ver 15. of the same Chapter is called a Root of Bitterness springing up to trouble us because it is ever plentiful in producing evil Branches and corrupt and deadly Fruit. This is that which by St. James is called the Lusts that war in our Members James 4.1 and by St. Peter the fleshly Lusts which war against the Soul 1 Pet. 2.11 St. Paul calls it the old Man and the Body of Sin Rom. 6 6. And what the Members of that Body are he tells us Coloss 3.5 Fornication Uncleanness inordinate Affection evil Concupiscence and Covetousness which is Idolatry Thus ye see the first Difficulty that the Righteous Man hath to encounter within his way to Heaven which renders that way so troublesome to him that notwithstanding all his Courage and Resolution he cannot walk in it without great Pains and Labour He carries a most unwelcome and heavy Clog about him from which he cannot possibly disengage himself which continually pulls him back and hinders and retards his Soul in its Flight towards those glorious Mansions of Joy and Happiness towards which it doth so eagerly press forward And had he no other Enemies but this one to vanquish even this alone might be sufficient to satisfie us that he shall scarcely be saved since it is most certain that he never shall be saved at all except he do overcome this first Enemy of his Salvation which of all others is the most formidable One deceitful Dalilab was worse to Samson than all the Philistines and this one innate intestine Foe of ours which lies continually in our Bosom is more dangerous to us than either the World or the Devil both which join their Forces together with this to bring us to Destruction And could we as we have all solemnly promised and engaged to do in our Baptismal Vow renounce all the sinfull Lusts