in the steps of the faith of Abraham to us who are Iews inwardly and have that Circumcision which is of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of God Rom. 2.28 29. And the Government is and shall be upon his shoulder though he be a child yet he hath strong shoulders humeros Oneri imperio aptos apt and fit for both burden and rule and since the iniquities of us all have been laid upon him the Rule and Government is laid there too He is made Head over all things they being under his power and he is made Head to the Church that being his Body which he doth by his care defend by his Ordinances feed and by his Spirit quicken animate influence and act Oh! my Friends let us seriously and frequently consider how excellent and glorious a body how blessed and noble a Society the true Church is which hath such an Head and withal how holily how exactly and how exemplarily all of us ought to demean our selves who profess our selves the members thereof that we may not be spots and blemishes in the Body nor shame and dishonour the Head. What should be our care how even our walking how clear our light In a word what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness 2 Pet. 3.11 Well then Christ is King he that was once Crucified is now Crown'd He that was once nailed to the Cross is now advanced to the Throne He is King in Sion he is set up there immediately by God the Father and as such his work is to rule both in the Heart and in the Church First It is the work of Christ to rule in the heart The Kingdom of God is within you Luk. 17.22 Non in urbibus habitat sed in animis hominum it hath not its being in Cities but in the minds and souls of men it is not enough to bow the knee to Christ but the soul must stoop to him that must be order'd and commanded by him It is excellent to see the Interest of Christ in a Nation commander in chief and all other contrary interests made to truckle under it but it nearly concerns every person in particular to look to this that the Throne of Christ be erected in his heart and that the Law of Christ be written there Not only our Understandings are to be irradiated and enlightned by him but our wills are to be commanded by him His will is to be voluntas regulans the ruling will ours are to be the ruled wills Our affections are to be order'd by him placed first upon his Father and himself and after that let out to such and such objects in such an order and in such a measure as is agreeable unto him It is he that saith my Son give me thy heart Prov. 23.26 This is not exclusive of other things according to the manner of some be but so and so in your hearts and then you may go where you will and do what you will but it must be a concomitant with other things whatever thou givest me give me thy heart with it that is unquestionably his due and we give him nothing to purpose nothing that he will accept unless we give him that this is a command too big for a creature the whole world doth not deserve the heart of man and therefore hath no right to demand it but such a requiry doth highly become him who bought man with a price gave for him more than he is worth and having purchased the whole it is fit he should possess it having redeemed it it is just that he should rule and reign in it He is said to dwell in the heart Eph. 3.17 and he must dwell there not as an underling but as a King. Our consciences also are subject to him he is the Lord of the Conscience and his Laws do immediately bind the Conscience Secondly It is the right and work of Christ to rule in the Church to give Laws to it to appoint Officers in it and to order as to all matters of Worship and then is the Church as it should be when it is governed by Christs Officers and according to Christs Laws Moses was but a servant and so have all Church-Officers been and still are Pastors to the Church Rulers in and of the Church but servants to Christ. Our work is Ministry though let the world know it is an honourable Ministry and we do magnifie our Office and as for them that cast contempt upon us let them see how they will answer for it to him who is our Master and their Judg. But Christ is the Son in his own house i. e. He is the Lord of it and all in it is to be order'd according to his will things ought not to be so or so because this or that man this or that party will have it so but all as Christ will have it and the great business is to inquire what is the good acceptable and perfect will of our God and Saviour for Isa. 9.6 He sits upon the Throne of David and upon his Kingdom to order and establish it with judgment and justice which no men have done that have gone about to order and establish without him no no as we have seen to our sorrow and smart and so have our Fathers before us they have acted without judgment and with great injustice He is the Lord of the Vineyard out of which every plant ought to be plucked which he hath not planted He is the Lord of all both persons and things the Lord of Persons he was Davids Lord and by consequence the Lord of Davids seed as such Thomas owned him when he cried out My Lord and my God. And he is the Lord of Things so of the Sabbath Mark 2.28 The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath Understand it not of every Son of man as if a man may chuse what day he will make his Sabbath or whether he will keep one or no or do what he please upon the Christian Sabbath but understand it of that Son of man who is the Son of God as well as the Son of man the ever blessed Iesus he is the Lord of the Sabbath he hath power to order and moderate concerning it to relax as to the severity and abate the strictness of the Legal observation to alter and change it as to the time from the last day of the week to the first which learned men conclude he did in the space of those forty days which he continued upon earth conversing with his Apostles and Disciples between his Resurrection out of the Grave and his Ascension into Heaven Speaking to them of those things which pertain to the Kingdom of God Act. 1.3 viz. the Church both Militant and Triumphant the state and affairs thereof He likewise is the Lord of Ordinances he hath power to appoint them and to continue them as long as he pleaseth
Power enough to Protect and Defend them from all their Enemies so that they shall give them no more trouble than will tend to the Honour of God to the advantage of their Cause and to their own eternal Good. Power enough to perform all things for them and to save to the utmost all those that come unto God by him In a word he hath in him all the fulness of the Godhead dwelling bodily So that since the Goverment is laid upon his Shoulders there is a full and compleat suitablenss or parity between the Shoulder and the Government The Government is fit for such a Shoulder and the Shoulder is fit for such a Government Secondly This Anointing or setting up of Christ doth signifie God the Fathers designation and appointment of him for this Office the Commissionating and Authorizing of him For what he doth in this donative Kingdom he doth by virtue of his Fathers Commission and Authority derived from him It is the Father that placeth him as King upon the Throne and puts the Royal Scepter into his Hand Ephes. 1.22 and hath put all things under his Feet and gave him to be Head over all things to the Church He is given to be Head By whom is he so given If you look back into the 17 th verse you will find it is by the God of our Lord Iesus Christ the Father of Glory That God who is infinitely Glorious and the Author of all Glory the Fountain of Honour hath put this Honour upon Christ and given him to be Head so an Head and in such a manner as there is none other beside him Mat. 28. All Power is given to him both in Heaven and in Earth Authoritas disponendi omnia in Ecclesia circa Ecclesiam An Authority of ordering and disposing all things in and about the Church This All Power is given unto him singly and solely He hath indeed his Delegates and Officers under him but he is Supream He only Plenipotentiary The Fulness of Power is in his hand and in his alone Therefore it is said Rev. 3.7 That He hath the Key of David He opens and no Man shuts He shuts and no Man opens i. e. He hath supream and absolute Power in the Church both Militant upon Earth and Triumphant in Heaven so that He receives and rejects admits and excludes whom he pleaseth One Ieanes a late Learned and Reverend Writer observes the Fulness of Christs Office is signified by the Power of the Keys The Keys of an House Town or City are the Badges of Power and Authority And therefore the yielding up of them is a sign or token of delivering up all to the Conquerour In Garisons the Keys are every night deposited with the Governours of them The Steward of an House hath the Keys of it committed to him And as Learned Deodate saith Christ's having the Key of David doth signifie his being the Sovereign Lord and Governour of the Church whose Will is to be its standing Law and whose Commands and Orders are to be Universally observed and obeyed not subject to any Contradiction Opposition or Dispute Those Keys which were given in common to Peter and the rest of the Apostles were no more than the Keys of Ministry The Key of Royal Magistratical Power was put into the hand of Christ and there it doth rest and shall immovably remain whoever they be that would wrest it out of his Hand Isa. 9.7 Of the increase of his Government and of Peace there shall be no end upon the Throne of David and upon his Kingdom to order it and to stablish it with Iudgment and with Iustice from henceforth even for ever The Zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this I now proceed to the last Question which will be this Quest. 5. What is the import of that Particle in the Text Yet Yet have I set my King upon my Hill of Sion What may we gather from thence I answer Though it be but a very little word it is full of Matter of Weight and Sweetness And I shall give up to you my Thoughts concerning it briefly in these four following Particulars First It doth hold out to us that singular Contentment and Delight which God the Father takes in the thing that he hath done the disposal which he hath made He is most highly pleased with the Choice that he hath made of his Son and with that superlative Honour that he hath put upon him His Soul is at rest things are now as God would have them Let Men think and say what they will let them fret and murmur as much and as long as they will yet have I set him up yet I have given him a Name above every Name that at his Name every Knee shall bow be it never so proud and stiff I have done it and I am fully satisfied Time was when it pleased the Lord to bruise him Isa. 53.10 and to put him to grief Though he did infinitely love the Person of Christ yet he took pleasure in his Sorrows and Agonies the shedding of his Blood was a delightful Spectacle to him as it was the repairing of his own injur'd Honour and the price of his Peoples Redemption When he made his Soul an Offering for Sin it was a Sacrifice of a sweet Savor And now he is as much pleased in his having exalted him You know what is said with reference to his Sacerdotal Office Psal. 110.4 The Lord hath sworn and will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek He will never retract that He hath resolved and determined it with an immutable Will. And we may say the same as to his Regal Office The Lord hath sworn and will not repent Christ is and shall be a King for ever No no God doth not repent of any thing that he hath done for Christ He doth not repent of the Glory to which he hath advanced him nor of the Power with which he hath invested him And the truth is He hath no cause to repent and which is more He never shall He was fully and eternally sure of that Such a Power could be no where better disposed of no where so well as it is The Royal Robe sits neatly upon the back of Christ the Crown becomes his Head. Go forth O ye Sons and Daughters of Ierusalem and behold King Iesus with the Crown wherewith his Father crowned him in the day of his Inauguration and in the day of the gladness of his Heart It is a most lovely Sight He a most glorious Object The Father himself counts him so and loves to look upon him As it did greatly please Christ to obey his Father and to honour Him the doing of the Fathers Will was his Meat and Drink He was straitned till it was accomplished So it doth as greatly please the Father to honour Christ. Therefore He saith Yet have I set my King c. I rejoyce in the Thoughts of it in a Reflexion upon
of places The conveniency of them is considerable but the holiness of them in these new Testament-times is a fancy Joh. 4.21 Iesus saith unto her Woman believe me the hour eometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Ierusalem worship the Father Ceremonious Worship is antiquated and distinction of places taken away Christ prayed in a Mountain and taught in a Ship and by the Sea-side and saith Paul 1 Tim. 2.8 I will that men pray every where lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting Look to this that your persons be right that you have holy hands and hearts and that your Prayers be right without wrath and doubting accompanied with Faith in God and Love to your Neighbour so you may pray every where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in any place so that you do not do it with the Pharisee and Hypocrite to be seen of men Prayers saith Estius are at this day no less grateful to God in any Church or any other convenient and fitting place than at the Temple of Ierusalem But then take this Expression my holy Hill mystically for the Church of God and we shall find the name doth most aptly agree to it it is indeed the Hill of Gods holiness because the Church is made up of holy ones Thus Paul speaks in his Epistles 1 Cor. 1.2 Unto the Church of God which is in Corinth to them that are sanctified in Christ Iesus called to be Saints Ephes. 1.1 To the Saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Iesus So Col. 1.2 To the Saints and faithful Brethren in Christ which are at Coloss. This holy Temple is not to be made of any rubbish all persons are not to be admitted to the communion and enjoyments there tho they come sometimes reeling out of an Ale-house and at other times reeking out of a Whore house No no Saints only are proper matter here The Invisible Church is made up altogether of real Saints such as are born of God renewed in the spirit of their minds have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost not only in his common gifts but also in his special and saving Graces who coming unto Christ as to a living stone chosen of God and precious are as lively stones built up a spiritual house an holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God by Iesus Christ 1 Pet. 2.4 5. The Visible Church is and ought to be made up of such as are at least visibly holy men openly loose and flagitious known to be of prophane hearts and lives whose lewdness is in their skirts and who carry the Devils mark in their foreheads men that live a plain downright contradiction to the Religion they profess ought not to be admitted into that Congregation of the Lord. All the Visible Members are foederally holy they are entred into Covenant with God the Seal of that Covenant is upon them the Vows of God are upon them they have been set apart for God solemnly devoted to his Fear and Service and they ought to be such as make an open profession of God and Christ and Godliness and such as make it their endeavour so to live up to that their Profession that Religion may not be dishonoured and reproached by them nor others scandalized and offended And among these holy Ones it is that Gods dwells It is in the Golden Candelsticks that Christs walks It is unto the Saints that he communicates himself and manifests himself It is in heaven above that he dwells by the presence of his glory and in the Church below that he dwells by his gracious presence and therefore it may be and is most fitly called his Holy Hill. 3. Quest. The third Question we have to speak unto is this Who is that King whom God hath set upon his holy hill of Sion who is he that God the Father doth in the Text call his King. Ans. To this the Answer is ready It is no other than his own dearly beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ him hath God exalted to be a Prince as well as a Saviour he hath not only laid the burden upon his shoulders the iniquities of us all but he hath laid also the Government upon his shoulder and put the Scepter into his hand all power Regal Magistratical power both in heaven and in earth is delivered and committed to him As he is the eternal Son of the eternal Father the second Person in the sacred Trinity God equal with God he hath a natural Kingdom As he is Mediator as God-man he hath Regnum Oeconomicum a dispensatory Kingdom unto which he was appointed and anointed this was the Fathers Donative he made him Head of the Church and head over all things to the Church So that his Authority and Royal power extends it self unto all the world for at his name that is not to be understood of the Syllabical name of Jesus but his power and to that every knee shall bow even the stiffest all in heaven all in earth and all under earth Angels Men and Devils all are subject to him all to be order'd imploy'd rul'd over-rul'd restrained by him as he pleaseth Some he hath in his heart and others he hath under his feet and there he will keep them let them kick and winch never so much He is King of kings and Lord of lords come ye earthly Monarchs lay your Crowns at the feet of Jesus it is his due for he is infinitely above you when in your greatest height and it is your wisdom and interest those that honour him he will honour Whether you do or no it is all one to him as to his own interest yet he shall be glorious and as to his work and design that shall be carried on his own pace and according to his own mind and pleasure and maugre all opposition brought to perfection But to bow to him and take part with him is to be your own Friends and to do your selves a kindness Those that will not be ruled by his Laws are and shall be over-ruled by his power If they will not chearfully submit to him they shall be fatally broken by him That voice will sound one day and it will be a dreadful sound in the ears of the profane and Antichristian world Bring hither those mine enemies that would not have me to reign over them and slay them before my face The special Rule and Government which Christ hath is over the Church it is in Sion there he is a King of Righteousness there a Prince of Peace He is that token of love which God hath sent to his people that glorious Sun which he hath set in the Churches Orb Isa. 9.6 To us a Son is born to us a child is given that is the Son of God as to his Deity the Son of David as to his Humanity He is given to us and born to us to the spiritual Israel to us who are the spiritual seed of Abraham and who tread
and all of you Children of the most High. They are Gods Vicegerents Gods Representatives they are Terrestrial Gods. But be not proud of that be not high minded but fear and to that end he whispers in their Ear or rather tells them upon the House-top but ye shall die like Men. You may ask what may be the meaning of that I Answer You may take it thus They shall die like Men i.e. they know no more when they shall die than other Men whether some years hence or to morrow or to day and they can tell no more than other Men how they shall die whether a natural or violent Death whether on a sudden or by some lingering and tedious Distemper And again they die like Men as to the Consequences of Death They must be stript of all their Ornaments and Royal Robes and their Bodies must return to Dust and both Soul and Body must come to Judgment Kings that are Supreme and all Inferiour Magistrates must stand before the Tribunal of Christ and there be judged their Rule shall be inspected their Government examined all their Words and Actions considered and all the Sentences that have been here past by them all the Punishments that have been inflicted by them by their Authority and Order shall be curiously and exactly weighed in the Ballance of Justice Oh! be wise and consider this and remember your latter end But though Christ died once He died but once He shall not die a second time Death hath no more Power over him This Friend may fall and that Comfort may wither and that Prince may die under whose Shadow the People rejoyced but so doth not Christ He abides for ever Psalm 102. Thou hast laid the Foundations of the Earth the Heavens are the work of thine Hands They shall perish but thou shalt endure yea all of them shall wax old like a Garment as a Vesture shalt thou change them and they shall be changed but thou art the same and thy years shall have no end Secondly Christ shall reign as well as live He shall live and that like himself in State and in Power and Glory His and our Father who hath set him up for King upon his holy Hill of Sion hath settled him there and fixed him there the Sacred Scriptures do abound with Expressions to this purpose that we might have a full assurance of Faith in the Matter which is so important As to instance in a few Ps. 45.6 Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever So Ps. 110.1 2. The Lord said unto my Lord Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine Enemies thy Footstool The Lord shall send the Rod of thy Strength out of Zion rule thou in the midst of thine Enemies He now rules in the midst of them and in spite of them and the Father will subdue them all Christ sits expecting till it be done And as the Father was not failed in his Expectation from Christ so Christ shall not be failed in his Expectation from the Father All his Enemies shall be brought to an under either in a way of gracious Conversion or in a way of most dreadful Confusion Either they shall willingly bow to him in the day of his Power or else they shall against their wills be broken by him in the day of his wrath either they shall submit to his golden Scepter or they shall be dashed in pieces like a Potters Vessel by his Iron Rod. In a word Either they shall by a chearful Resignation put themselves into his hand to be moulded guided and ordered by him or else they shall be under his Feet to be trampled upon with Scorn and Indignation and at last kicked to Hell as fewel for those unquenchable Flames And yet further He must Reign till he hath got the actual and full possession of all that unto which he hath an unquestionable Right by virtue of his Fathers donation i.e. till the Heathen and uttermost parts of the Earth be brought in to him Of the continuance of his Kingdom and the increase of his Government there shall be no end till that happy time come wherein all the Kingdoms of the World shall become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ i. e. they shall renounce all Idolatry and false Worships and embrace the Gospel and walk in the Light thereof and according to its Rules Yea it is said Rev. 11.15 He shall Reign for ever and ever till time shall be no more Thirdly Rejoyce in this That the Church of the living God shall be preserved and continued in the World. Though there have been dreadful concussions and are so at this present and are like to be till all be shaken down that God hath not set up yet there shall be no overturning of this House no ruining thereof The Ship may be and frequently is sorely tost with Tempests but it shall live since Christ is Pilot and sits at the Helm and steers the Course I say it shall live as the Ark did in the Deluge when the Waters were at the highest Notwithstanding all the Rage and Malice all the Power and Plots of Men and Devils Christ will have a Church upon Earth Though they may prune this Vine which Gods right Hand hath planted yet they shall never be able to pull it up by the roots It may bleed grievously even to Fainting but not to Death It is true this or that particular Church may fail The Church of the Iews did though once dearly yea only beloved and so have the seven Famous Churches in Asia And so may others Therefore that was excellent and no more than necessary Counsel which Paul more likely to be an Apostle to them than Peter gave them Rom. 11.20 21. Because of unbelief they i. e. the Iews were broken off and thou standest by Faith be not high-minded but fear Which Counsel he followeth with this weighty Reason For if God spared not the natural Branches take heed lest he spare not thee That was Pauls advice to the Church at Rome when he wrote this Epistle to them But whatever hath become of Her or may of this or that particular Church our Lord Iesus will certainly take effectual care that there shall be a true Church upon Earth And though at first it be but as a little Stone yet shall it smite the Image upon his feet and break them to pieces and become it self a great Mountain and fill the whole Earth Let every one look to it that they be true and living Members of that true Church and continue so without turning aside to any Synagogue of Satan or having any Fellowship with Devils The End.