shewedst thy self in a glorified condition to the redeemed world of men After this when for the securance of thy Resurrection upon which all our faith justly dependeth thou hadst spent forty dayes upon earth I find thee upon Mount Olivet at thy most glorious ascension not seen only but proclaimed and fore-promised in thy certain and at least equally-glorious return by the blessed Angels And behold while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up two men stood by them in white apparel which also said Ye men of Galilee why stand yee gazing up into heaven This same Jesus which is taken from you into heaven shall so come again as ye have seen him go into heaven But O Saviour these views of thee by thine Angels hitherto were but speciall and visible even by bodily eyes How do I by the eyes of my soul see thee both attended up in that heavenly progresse and welcomed into thine Empyreall heaven by all the host of those celestiall spirits no small part of whose perpetuall happiness it is to see thee in thy glorified humanity sitting at the right hand of Majestie there they enjoy thee there they sing continuall Hallelujahs to him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever SECT. XI If thine Angels O blessed Jesu desired to look into this great and deep mysterie of the Gospell their longing is satisfied in the sight of thy blessed incarnation and the full accomplishment of the great Office of thy Mediatorship since now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places is made knowne the manifold wisdome of God in this wonderfull work of mans Redemption which from the beginning of the World hath been hid in God who created all things by thee But that the unsearcheable riches of Christ should be preached to the Gentiles how marvailous an accession is it to the greatness of this divine mysterie of godlinesse of old In Judah was God known his name was great in Israel In Salem was his Tabernacle and his dwelling place in Sion but in the mean while we miserable Gentiles sate in darknesse and in the shadow of death without God in the world exposed to the displeasure of heaven tyrannized over by the powers of hell strangers from the covenants of promise for lorn without hope of mercy That therefore O Saviour thou vouchsafedst in the tender bowels of thine infinite compassion to look down from heaven upon us and at the last graciously to visit us in the clear revelation of the saving truth of thy Gospell to break down the partition wal whereby we were excluded from any participation with thee to own us for thy people and to admit us unto the fellowship of thy Saints O the wonderfull mysterie of Godlinesse effectually manifested to us out-cast Gentiles to our conversion to our eternall salvation What a vail O God was spread over all Nations A dark vail of ignorance of errour of impiety How did our fore-fathers walk in their own wayes following the sinfull lusts of their own hearts worshipping dumb Idols sacrificing to all the host of heaven offering not their substance only but their sons and daughters to Devils It was thine own infinite goodnesse that moved thee to pity our woful and despaired condition and to send thine eternall Son into the world to be no lesse a light to lighten the Gentiles then to be the glory of thy people Israel How fully hast thou made good thy gracious promises long since published by thy holy Prophets It shall come that I will gather all Nations and tongues and they shall come and see my glory And again It shall come to pass in the last dayes that the mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountaines and shall be exalted above the hils and all Nations shall flow to it And many people shall go and say Come ye let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us his wayes and we will walk in his paths And again Behold thus saith the Lord I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles and set up my standard to the people and they shall bring thy sons in their arms and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders And again Behold thou shalt call a Nation that thou knowest not and Nations that know not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God and for the holy One of Israel for he hath glorified thee O blessed then ever blessed be thy name O God that thou wouldest vouchsafe to be made known among us Gentiles Give unto the Lord O ye kindreds of the people give unto the Lord glory and strength Give unto the Lord the glory due to his name All the earth shall worship thee and shall sing unto thee they shall sing unto thy name All the ends of the world shall remember and run unto the Lord and all the kinreds of the Nations shall worship before thee How did we O Saviour of old lye under the pity and contempt of those thy people which challenged a peculiarity of thy favour We have a little sister said thy Iewish Spouse and she hath no brests what shall we do for our sister when she shall be spoken for Take no thought for us O thou oncebeloved Synagogue of the Jews thy little sister is not only spoken for but contracted but happily married to her Lord and Saviour having been betrothed to him for ever in righteousnesse and in judgement and in loving kindnesse and in mercies so as we can now return our pity to thee and say We had an elder sister which had brests but her brests are long since wrinkled and dryed up what shall we doe for our sister in these dayes of her barrennesse and just neglect We shall surely pray for our sister that God would be pleased to return to her in his compassion of old and restore her to the happy state of her former fruitfulnesse We follow them with our prayers they us with malice and despight with how envious eyes did they look upon those first heralds of the Gospell who carried the glad tidings of salvation to the despised Gentiles what cruell storms of persecution did they raise against those blessed messengers whose feet deserved to be beautifull wherein their obstinate unbelief turned to our advantage for after they had made themselves unworthy of that Gospell of peace that blessing was instantly derived upon us Gentiles and we happily changed conditions with them The naturall branches of the good Olive tree being cut off we that were of the wild Olive contrary to nature are graffed in O the goodness and severity of God! on them which fell severity on us which succeeded goodness They were once the children and we the dogs under the table the crums were our lot the bread was theirs now
upon the dark souls of these poor Infidels and enlighten them with the saving knowledge of the great mysterie of Godlinesse Let the beams of thy Gospell break forth unto them and work them to a sound beleef in thee their God manifested in the flesh Fetch home into thy fold all those that belong to thy mercifull election bring in the fulnesse of the Gentiles gather together the out-casts of Israel and glorifie thy self in completing a world of beleevers And for us on whom the ends of the world are come as we have been graciously called to the comfortable notice of this mysterie of godlinesse and have professed and vowed a steadfast beleef in thy name so keep us by thy good spirit in an holy and constant avowance of all those main truths concerning thy sacred Person Natures and Offices unto our last end For thou seest O blessed Jesu that there is now such an hell of the spirits of errour broken loose into the world as if they meant to evacuate this part of the mysterie of godlinesse Christ beleeved on in the world O do thou by thy mighty power restraine and quell these pernicious heresies and send down these wicked spirits back to their chains so as our most holy faith may ever remain inviolable till the day of thy glorious return Neither let us sit down contented that we hold fast and beleeve the meer historie of thy life death and resurrection without which as we can be saved so with it alone we cannot but do thou by thy good spirit work and settle in our souls a sound lively operative justifying faith in thee whereby we may not only beleeve on thee as a common Saviour but beleeve in thee as ours bringing thee home to our hearts and confidently relying upon thee for the acquittance of all our sins and for our eternall salvation O that thou mightest be thus beleeved on in the world and if not by them in the notion of their universality yet by us who professe thy name to thy great glory and our everlasting comfort SECT. XV IN these occurrences on the earth Great is the mysterie of godlinesse but the highest pitch of this great mysterie O Saviour is that thou thus manifested in our flesh wert received up into glorie even that celestiall glorie which thou enjoyest in the highest heavens sitting on the right hand of majesty seen and adored by all that blessed company of the souls of just men made perfect and the innumerable troops of glorious Angels If some erroneous fancies have placed their heaven here below upon earth ours is above and so is thine O blessed Jesu who wert taken up in glorie thou couldst not be taken up to any earthly ascent since thou tookest thy farewell on the top of Mount Olivet but from this globe of earth thou ascendest through the skies to that Empyreall heaven where thou remainest in glorie infinite and incomprehensible The many and intentive beholders of thy last parting did not cast their eyes down into the valley neither did see cause with the fifty sons of the Prophets to seek for thee as they would needs do for Elijah in vallies and mountains they saw and worishpped thee leasurely ascending up through the region of this lower heaven till a cloud intercepted thee from their sight neither then could easily be taken off either by the interposition of that dark body or by the interpellation of Angels And now O blessed Saviour how is my soul ravished with the mediation of thy glorious reception into thine Heaven Surely if the inhabitants of those celestial mansions may be capable of any increase of joy they then both found and shewed it when they saw and welcomed thee entering in thy gorlifi'd humanity in to that thy eternal palace of blessedness and if there could be any higher or sweter ditty then Hallelujah it was then sung by the Chore of Angels and Saints And may thy poor servants warfairing and wandring here upon earth ever second them in those heavenly songs of praises and gratulations for wherein stands all our safety hope comfort happinesse but in this that thou our Jesus art received up into glorie and having conquered all adverse powers sittest on the right hand of God the Farher crowned with honour and majesty O Jesu thou art our head we are thy body how can the body but participate of the glory of the head as for thy self therefore so for us art thou possessed of that heavenly glorie as thou sufferedst for us so for us thou also raignest Let every knee therefore bow unto thee of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth O blessed be thy name for ever and ever Thine O Lord is the greatnesse and the power and the glorie and the victorie and the majestie for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine thine is the kingdom O Lord and thou art exalted as head over all And now O Saviour what a superabundant amends is made to thy glorified humanitie for all thy bitter sufferings upon earth Thine Agonie was extreme but thy glorie is infinite thy crosse was heavie but thy crown transcendently glorious thy pains were unconceivably grievous but short thy glory everlasting If thou wert scorned by men thou art now adored by Angels Thou that stoodst before the Judgment Seat of a Pilate shalt come in all heavenly magnificence to judge both the quick and the dead Shortly thou which wouldst stoop to be a servant upon Earth rulest and raignest for ever in Heaven as the King of eternall glorie O then my soul seeing thy Saviour is received up into this infinite glorie with what intention and fervour of spirit shouldst thou fix thine eyes upon that heaven where he lives and raigns How canst thou be but wholly taken up with the sight and thought of that place of blessednesse how canst thou abide to grovell any longer on this base Earth where is nothing but vanity and vexation and refrain to minde the things above where is all felicitie and glorie with what longings and holy ambiâ—ion shouldst thou desire to aspire to that place of eternall rest and beatitude into which thy Saviour is ascended and with him to partake of that glory and happinesse which he hath provided for all that love him O Saviour it is this clog of wretched infidelity and earthlinesse that hangs heavie upon my soul and keeps me from mounting up into thy presence and from a comfortable fruition of thee O do thou take off this sinfull weight from me and raise up my affections and conversation to thee enable me constantly to enjoy thee by a lively faith here till by thy mercie I shall be received into thy glorie FINIS Prov. 16. â—7 Jer. 2. Hos. 4. 2. Actâ— 10. 35. Jude 3. phes 4. 5 1 Cor. 3. 11. 1 Cor. 7. 20 1 Tim. 3. 16. Great is the Mysterie of Godlinesse 1 Pet. 1. 12. God manifested In the flesh Job 1. 14 Job 25 6. Psal. 22. 6. Esay 53. 5. Mat. 17. 2. Mark 29. Luke 9. 28. 2 Cor. 5. 16. Rom. 1. 20. Justified in the Spirit Luk. 2. 9 10 13 1 Rom. 4. 25. Rom. 8 33. Seen of Angels Dan. 8. 19 17. Mat. 18. 10. Luk. 2. 9. 15. Act 12. 7 8 10. Luk. 22. 41. Heb. 1. 9. Mat. 28. 2 3 4. Joh. 20. 12. Act. 1. 10 11. 1 Pet. 1. 12. Ephes. 3. 9. Ephes. 3 8. Psal. 76. 1. Ephes. 2. 12. Esay 25. 7. Luk 2. 32. Esay 66. 18. Esay 2. 2 3. Esay 49. 2â— Esay 55. 5. Psal. 96. 7 Ps. 66. 4. Ps. 22. 27 Cant. 8. 8. Hos. 2. 19. Râ—m 11. 2â— Rom. 22. Rom. 11. 1. Rom. 11. 20 Act. 10. 11. â—2 Beleeved on in the world Esay 53. 1. 2 Cor. 1. 23. Mat. 21. 9. 1 Joh. 5. 19. Rom. 11. Psal 147. 2. Received up into glory Heb. 12. 22. 23. 2 King 2. 16. Phil. 2. 11. 2 Chr. 2. 11.
of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth Yet so wert thou made flesh as not by conversion into flesh but as by assumption of flesh to thine eternall Deity assumption not into the nature of the Godhead but into the person of thee who art God everlasting O mystery of Godlinesse incomprehensibly glorious Cease cease O humane curiosity and where thou canst not comprehend wonder and adore SECT. III. BUt O Savior was it not enough for thee to be manifested in flesh Did not that elementarie composition carry in it abasement enough without any further addition since for God to become man was more then for all things to be redacted to nothing but that in the rank of miserable manhood thou wouldst humble thy self to the lowest of humanity and become a servant Shall I say more I can hear Bildad the Shuhite say Man is a worm and I hear him who was a noble Type of thee say as in thy person I am a worm and no man a reproach of men and despised of the people O Saviour in how despicable a condition do I find thee exhibited to the world lodged in a stable cradled in a manger visited by poor shepheards imployed in an homely trade attended by mean fishermen tempted by presumptuous Devils persecuted by the malice of envious men exposed to hunger thirst nakednesse wearinesse contempt How many sclaves under the vassalage of an enemie fare better then thou didst from ingratefull man whom thou camest to save Yet all these were but a mild and gentle preface to those thy last sufferings wherewith thou wert pleased to shut up this scene of mortality there I find thee sweating blood in thine agonie crowned with thorns bleeding with scourges buffeted with cruell hands spat upon by impure mouths laden with thy fatall burden distended upon that torturing crosse nailed to that tree of shame and curse reviled and insulted upon by the vilest of men and at last that no part of thy precious bloud might remain unshed pierced to the heart by the spear of a late and impertinent malice Thus thus O God and Saviour wouldst thou be manifested in the flesh that the torments of thy flesh and spirit might be manifested to that world which thou camest to redeem thus wast thou wounded for our transgressions thus wast thou bruised for our iniquities thus were the chastisements of our peace upon thee and thus with thy stripes are we healed O blessed but still incomprehensible mystery of Godliness God thus manifested in the flesh in weakness contempt shame pain death Once only O blessed Jesus whiles thou wert wayfaring upon this globe of earth didst thou put on glory even upon Mount Tabor in thy heavenly transfiguration then and there did thy face shine as the Sun and thy raiment was white as thy light How easie had it been for thee to have continued this celestiall splendor to thy humanity all the whole time of the so journing upon earth that so thou mightest have been adored of all mankinde How would all the Nations under heaven have flockd to thee and fallen down at the feet of so glorious a Majesty What man in all the world would not have said with Peter Lord it is good for us to be here Or if it had pleased thee to have commanded Moses and Elias to wait upon thee in thy mediatorie perambulation and to attend thee at Jerusalem on the Mount of Sion as they did in the Mount of Tabor whom hadst thou not in a zealous astonishment drawn after thee But it was thy wil and the pleasure of thy heavenly Father that this glorious appearance should soon be over shadowed with a cloud And as those celestiall guests now in the midst of thy glory spent their conference about thy bitter sufferings and thine approaching departure out of the world So wert thou for the great work of our Redemption willing to be led from the Mount Tabor to Mount Calvarie from the height of that glory to the lowest depth of sorrow pain exinanition Thus vile wert thou O Saviour in the flesh but in this vilenesse of flesh mannifested to be God how did all thy Creatures in this extremity of thine abasement agree to acknowledge and celebrate thine infinite Deity The Angels came down from heaven to visit and attend thee the Sun pulled in his head as abhorring to look upon the sufferings of his maker the Earth was covered over with darkness and quaked for the horror of that indignity which was offered to thee in that bloody passion the rocks rent the graves opened themselves and sent up their long-since putrefied Tenants to wait upon thee the Lord of life in thy glorious Resurrection so as thou in thy despised and crucified flesh wert abundantly manifested to be the Almighty God of Heaven and Earth SECT. 4. O blessed Saviour thou the true God manifested in the flesh be thou pleased to manifest unto the soul of thy servant the unspeakable riches of thy love and mercie to mankind in that great work of our Redemption Vouchafe to affect my heart with a lively sense of that infinite goodnesse of thine towards the wretcheddest of thy creatures that for our sake thou camest down and cloathedst thy self in our flesh and cloathedst that pure and holy flesh with all the miseries that are incident to this sinfull flesh of ours and wast content to undergo a bitter painfull ignominous death from the hands of man that by dying thou mightest overcome death and ransome him from that hel to which he was without thee irrecoverably forfeited and fetch him forth to life liberty and glory O let me not see only but feel this thy great mysterie of Godlinesse effectually working me to all hearty thankfulnesse for so inestimable a mercie to all holy resolutions to glorifie thee in all my actions in all my sufferings Didst thou O Saviour being God eternall take flesh for me and shall not I when thou callest be willing to lay down this sinfull flesh for thee again Wert thou content to abridge thy self for the time not onely of thy heavenly magnificence but of all earthly comforts for my sake and shall not I for thy dear sake renounce all the wicked pleasures of sin Didst thou wear out the dayes of thy flesh in poverty toil reproach and all earthly hardship and shall I spend my time in pampering this flesh in wanton dalliance in the ambitious and covetous pursuit of vain honours and deceivable riches Blessed Lord thou wert manifested in the flesh not only to be a Ransome for our souls but to be a Precedent for our lives Far far be it from me thus to imitate the great pattorn of holiness O Jesu the author and finisher of my faith and salvation teach me to tread in thy gracious steps to run with patience the race that is set before me to endure the cross to despise the shame to be crucified to the world to work all righteousnesse
of living and powerful agents It is not for us to contend about words those that are disposed to devise paradoxes may frame to themselves what senses they please of their own terms this we are sure of that the Angels are truly existing spirituall intelligent powerfull eviternall Creatures whose being is not exposed to our sense but evidenced both to our faith and reason not circumscribed in any grosse locality but truly being where they are and acting according to their spiritual nature Of these Angels O blessed Saviour wert thou seen manifested in the flesh to their wonder and gratulation That thou who hadst taken our flesh wert visible was no whit strange herein thou wert a plain and happy object to all eyes but how the Angels being meerly spirituall substances could see thee may be part of this great mysterie Doubtlesse they saw thee both before and ever since thou camest into the world with eyes like themselves spirituall and not seldome saw thee being incarnate with the assumed eyes of those bodies wherein they appeared Thus they saw and adored and proclaimed thee in thy first saluration of the world when thou layest in that homely posture in the Manger at Bethlehem singing that sweet and celestiall caroll at thy nativity Glory be to God in the highest They saw thee in the wild desert where no creatures appeared to thee but either beasts or Devils there they saw thee pined with fasting conflicted with the Prince of darknes they saw thee foiling that presum ptuous enemy not without wonder doubtlesse at the boldnesse of that daring spirit and joyfull applause at thy happy victory they saw thee but as knowing there was no use of seconds in this duel of thine unseen of thee till the full end of that great combat then they shewed themselves to thee as willing to be known to have been the secret witnesses of the fight and glad congratulators of thy Triumph then they came and ministred unto thee Never were they but ready to have visibly attended thee hadst thou been pleased to requite so sensible a service but the state of a servant which thou choosedst to undergoe suited not with the perpetuity of so glorious a retinue whether therefore they were seen to thee or not seen it was their great honour and happinesse and a main part of the great mysterie of Godliness that thou who art the true God manifested in the flesh wert seen of Angels They saw thee in the garden in thy sad agonie and if Angels could have been capable of passion in that state of their glory could have been no doubt content to suffer in and with thee with what eyes do we think they lookt upon thy bloody sweat and the frownes of thine heavenly Father which they saw bent against thee in our persons for the sin of mankind which thou camest to expiate Now in this dolefull condition so wert thou seen of Angels that the Angels were seen of thee For lo there appeared an Angell from heaven strengthening thee O the deep humiliation of God manifested in the flesh that thou O Jesu the God and Lord of all the Angels of heaven shouldst in this bloody conflict with thy Fathers wrath for our sins need and receive comfort from a created Angel thy servant Whilest thou wert grapling with the powers of darkness there was no need of aid only after the fight Angels came and ministred to thee but now that thou must struggle under the wrath of thy Father for mans sin there was use of the consolation of one of those Angels whereof thou commandest millions O blessed Saviour had not the face of thy heavenly Father been clouded to thee standing in the stead of our guiltinesse it had been no lesse then presumption in any finite power to tender thee any suggestions of comfort but now alas those beatificall beams were so for the time hid from thine eyes and the sweet influences of light and joy arising there-from were for that sad instant suspended so as nothing appeared to thee that while but the darknesse of displeasure and horrour now therefore the comforts of a creature could not be but seasonable and welcome so that thou disdainedst not to be strengthened by an Angel Extreme distresse looks not so much to the hand that brings supply as to the supply it brings If but one of thy three drouzy clients could have shaken off his sleep and have let fall to thee some word of consolation in that heavy fit of thine thou hadst not refused it how much lesse the cordiall intimations of an heavenly monitor neither was it improper for thee who wast content to be made a little inferiour to the Angels to receive some spirituall aid from the hands of an Angell What then O Saviour was the strengthening which thou receivedst from this officious spirit in this pang of thine agony Doubtless it was not any communication of an additionall power to bear up under that heavy pressure of the sins of the whole world which drew from thee those sweats of blood No Angell in heaven was able to contribute that to the Sonne of God but it was a sweet and forcible representation to thy disconsolate humanity of the near approach of an happy eluctation out of those torments of thy sufferings and of the glorious crown of thy victory immediately succeeding SECT. X. ANd now soon after those Angels that saw thee sweating in thine agonie and bleeding on thy crosse saw thee also triumphing over Death in thy Resurrection they attended thee joyfully in the vault of thy sepulture and saw thee trampling upon the last enemie being then sutably habited to so blessed an occasion in white shining vestures how gladly were they imployed about that most glorious solemnity both as actors in the service and as the first heralds of thy victories over Death I find one of them obsequiously making ready for thy coming out of those chambers of death upon thine Easter morning rolling away that massy stone which the vain care of thine adversaries had laid curiously sealed upon the mouth of that Cave for the prevention of thy fore-threatned resurrection and sitting upon it with a countenance like lightning and his garment white as snow the terrour of whose presence made the guard to shake and to become as dead men I find two of them no lesse glorious sitting the one at the head the other at the feet of that bed of earth whereon thou hadst newly slept By these Angels wert thou both seen and attended and no doubt but as at thy first coming into the world when but one Angell published thy birth he was seconded by a multitude of the heavenly host praising God with hymns of rejoycing for thy nativity so when but one or two Angels were seen at thy second birth which was thy glorious resurrection there were more of that heavenly company invisibly celebrating the joyfull triumph of that blessed day wherein having conquered Death and Hell thou