lasting Monuments of God's Grace and Power and of their Patience and Magnanimity to all succeeding Generations Let no sincere Christian then be discourag'd tho he be now and then obnoxious to Satans Temptations For if he hold out vigorously the Power and Malice of the Devil shall not only be much abated by the Opposition of good Angels who are much more able and active to preserve and protect us then Devils and wicked Men can be to mischieve and hurt us But the Spirit of God is also greater in us 1 Joh. 4.4 then he that is in the World and he who is God over all has prescrib'd such Bounds to our Enemies of all sorts that they are now confin'd like those turbulent and otherwise uncontrolable Waves of the Sea Job 1 1â— that they can only move so far and no further then he pleases But this is to be understood of Believers only For the sinful and disobedient Eph. 2.2 3. the unbelieving and impenient are led captive by him become his absolute Slaves and Vassals and are forward to commit all those Villanies which he doth perswade and tempt 'em to tho never so dishonourable to God or mischievous to themselves and others But here I must note to you Absolute Conquest over Sin not attâ—â—able in this Life that we cannot expect an absolute Conquest over Sin and Satan in this Life by the Sacrifice of Christ's Death And therefore we had need to stand continually upon our Guard and pray incessantly for the Assistances of God's Grace and Spirit to help our Infirmities and enable us to resist them yet this we are certain of which may encourage us in the Conflict that when we come within the Fortifications of the new Hierusalem we shall reap the blessed Fruits of this great Expiation and have a total Exemption from all Temptation Sin and Suffering whatsoever Then shall our Bodies shine as the Brightness of the Sun Beams and as the Stars for ever and ever and our Souls shall be cloath'd with an immaculate and spotless Dei-formity Then shall all those Laws which are now so difficult to be perform'd be either cancell'd and repeal'd or our merciful High-priest will furnish us with a Sufficiency of Will and Power to obey them Then will all our Desires Inclinations and Affections cheerfully concur without any by-respects to our private Interests or Passions in the promoting of God's Glory and the mutual Joy and Happiness of the whole Community of holy and beatified Spirits Then shall all Labour and Travel Sorrow and Sickness be at an end and Death it self which is now so terrible to Flesh and Blood shall be swallow'd up in absolute and perfect Victory Then shall the Devil our most malicious and inveterate Enemy and all his Agents be cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone and shall be confin'd eternally to those Flames and Tortures which are prepar'd for him and his Angels There are several other Benefits resulting from this great Propitiation More particular Benefits which I have toucht already and therefore shall only name them here as the Conquest which Christ has obtain'd over the World with all its vain Pomps 1 Joh. 5. â— Honours Beauties Pleasures c. which the Apostle did so much glory in and rejoice at Eph. 2.15 16. He has put away the Enmity between God and Man between one Man and another and between every good man and his own Conscience He has ratified and confirm'd the new Covenant between God and us Heb. 10.29 in his own Bloud repair'd God's Honour which had been so much obscur'd and violated by our Disobedience and Rebellion against him and has restor'd us to all those just Rights and Priviledges which we thereby forfeited and lost He has rais'd and advanc'd us to the Honour and Happiness of God's own Sons thus mystically uniting us to himself and elevating us above the World In a Word he has fully satisfied God's Justice which had been so often affronted by our Iniquities and perfectly made up the Breach between God and Man as we have prov'd before to the advancement of his own Glory and the unspeakable Comfort and Happiness of all true Believers Thus our most faithful and compassionate High-Priest has made our perfect and plenary Atonement with God by that infinite Sacrifice and unsinning Obedience which he perform'd in his Life and has perfected at his Death Which Propitiation of his is fully correspondent to God's determinate Counsel and all the Prophesies and Types in holy Scripture concerning him We have seen likewise what a happy State and Condition Mankind is in by his Assumption of our Nature and what Blessings and Priviledges he has purchas'd for us and will certainly bestow on us if we endeavour to make our Lives the Transcript of his Doctrine and Example We shall Apply this Point by considering what practical Inferences may be drawn from it And 1 The serious and impartial Consideration of this great Mystery The Influence which this Doctrine should have upon Practice should affect our Souls with the highest Transports and oblige us to make the most affectionate Returns of Love and Duty towards him No Imagination could devise any thing beyond this That the Lord of eternal Life should stoop from the Top of Heaven and under the Vail of our Flesh endure the Pain and Infamy of an accursed Cross not only to rescue his Enemies from Death but to exalt them to eternal Life What infinite Obligations are these and how unworthy should we be of those Favours if the effects in our Hearts and Lives do not bear some considerable Proportion to those wonderful Emanations of his Love and Bounty And how should we Love him above all things who has thus loved us 2 This is a most solid Foundation for our Faith Rom. 8.32 our Hope and Confidence to rest upon amongst all the distracting Cares and Sorrows of a miserable World That we live under the Providence and Protection of an all-powerful and merciful God and have the Plea of Christ's infinite Merits to secure and confirm to us our present and eternal Peace upon such reasonable easie Conditions as are propounded in the Gospel If these things were duely weigh'd and consider'd they would prove the best and most absolute Catholicon to cure all the melancholly Suggestions of Distrust and Infidelity 3 Our serious Reflexions upon that black and tragical Scene of Christ's Sorrows and Sufferings for our Sins may give us a true Representation of the damnable Nature heinous Aggravations and dreadful Consequences of 'em and inspire us with the greatest Dread against Detestation of those Enemies which are so dishonourable to God and mischievous to our selves For our Sins alas have been the Betrayers and Slanderers of the most innocent Son of God our best Friend and most compassionate Redeemer and the immediate Authors too of that painful and infamous Death and all the precedent Cruelties which he suffer'd for
Angels but the seed of Abraham Heb. 2.16 17. Thus it behov'd him to be made like unto his Brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful High-Priest in things pertaining to God that he might make Reconciliation for the Sins of the People And upon St. Thomas the Apostle's Doubting of the reality of his Humane Nature our blessed Saviour to convince him of his Errour and to confirm the rest of the Apostles and in them all succeeding Christians in the belief of this necessary Point of Faith Luk. 24.39 He said unto them handle me and see for a Spirit hath not Flesh and Bones as ye see me have Now what can be more evident since the Scripture is every where full to this purpose then this that the Son of God assum'd the true Nature of Man and the very substance of his Mother and that he was not only made in her but born of her To which the Testimony of all Antiquity might be added to confirm us in the Belief of it But Theodoret and Gelasins present us with a Collection of excellent Arguments out of the Councils and Fathers to this purpose whither I refer the judicious Reader if he require further satisfaction in this Point Secondly The Humane and real Body of Christ was inform'd And a rational Humane Soul actuated and enliven'd with a perfect rational and immortal Soul And as He had all the Members Organs Dimensions and Properties of the one So He assum'd all the Powers Faculties and Functions of the other as Understanding Will Memory Affections Passions c. Which I could easily make out Heb. 1.17 if 't were necessary by an Induction of Particulars For he was made like us in all things Sin only excepted and therefore could not be deficient in the most minute and much less in the primary and most constituent Part of his Manhood and besides he that was to be Mediator between God and us must needs be a perfect Man Of which hereafter Again Mat. 26.38 He complain'd a little before his Passion saying My soul is very sorrowful and heavy even unto Death And in his last Agony he said Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit This Truth is every where so evident in the History of our Saviour's Incarnation that I need not multiply Instances to prove it But yet for all this tho Christ was really invested with all the Members and Faculties and all the Essentials of the Soul and Body of a Perfect Man Yet 2dly In this true and real Body in this reasonable and immortal Soul he assum'd took upon him all the Properties and Infirmities of both Sin only excepted He assum'd all the sinless insirmities of both His Birth manner of Life Death Burial Resurrection and Ascention are full and perfect Demonstrations of the reality of his Manhood But with reference to our Infirmities he was subject to Cold and Heat Hunger and Thirst Sweating and Bleeding Weariness and Weakness Pain and Sorrow Heaviness and Fear Passion and sinless Anger yea Torment and Death it self All which Arguments are so cogent and convictive that neither the Hereticks of Old nor the Socinians and Libertines of our Age ever were nor ever shall be able to elnde the Power and Energy of them Let us now endeavour to make some practical Improvement of the Point under Consideration And 1 In the Incarnation of our Lord Application of this Point by considering its Influence on Practice we have an admirable Instance of God's tenderest Love and Compassion to poor sinful Man For what kindness could parallel this that the Father should send and the Son condescend to come from his Bosom and Bliss upon that great Ambassie of making our Peace even then when by our sin and Disobedience we had violated his just Laws broken the Covenant between God and us and put our selves into a state of Hostility and Rebellion against him But besides all this 't is an evident matter of Fact as will fully appear afterwards that Christ the Son of God and Heir of eternal Majesty did not only descend from those Regions of Bliss and assum'd our whole Nature with all its Properties and Infirmities But he also underwent the Burden and Smart of all our sins and sorrows and having finished his innocent Life he submitted to all the Tortures and Indignities of a painful and ignominious Death for our sakes And these were all such Tokens and Evidences of Love and Bounty as both the Hierarchy of Angels and the whole Race of Mankind stood amaz'd at And that the Son of God should lay down his dearest Life for his most daring and bitter Enemies even for the Salvation of those who were the immediate Instruments in his Condemnation and Crucifixion is such a Mystery as no Humane Reason is able to comprehend O the ineffable and infinite Love and Mercy of God in Christ How should this consideration affect our Souls with Love Joy and Wonder Has he given us his Son whilst we were Enemies unto him Rom. 5.10 How much more will he bless us with the Abundance of Grace and Glory if we live as the redeemed of the Lord being thus reconcil'd Indeed this Love was beyond all possibility of Parallel and if we seriously consider our Interests and Obligations we can do no less than devote our Souls and Bodies entirely to his Service thro' the whole course of our Lives We should hate all things in respect of him that is Matth. 10.37 so far as they stand in Opposition to him or pretend an equal share of Affection with him Let us then follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes in doing and suffering for him and his And if any that bears the Name of Christian should be so ungrateful as not to love the Lord Jesus Christ with the greatest intenseness of Gratitude and Affection 1 Cor. 16.22 Let him be Anathema Maranatha 2 We can no less admire and should be as careful to imitate his singular and unparallel'd Humility who came down from the highest Pinacle of heavenly Grandeur and vertical point of Soveraignty to become incarnate in the obscure Womb of a poor Virgin And therefore well might the Evangelist prefix an Ecce to the Mystery behold a Virgin shall conceive This was a Miracle indeed Faith must assist Reason in it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 1.15 'T is a faithful Saying that Christ Jesus came into the World to save Sinners Quanto pro me vilior tanto mihi Charior Bern. Ser. 1. de Epioh Now that the Ancient of Days should abase himself to become a little Child and the Word and Wisdom of the Father not be able to utter a word was such a wonderful Instance of Humility as can never be sufficiently admir'd How then should we Christians study and endeavour to be like Him As in all other Instances of Piety and Vertue so particularly in this and I 'me sure there can be no Inducement either Internal
to save for a Time he for Ever Therefore A Concurrence of all the three Offices in Christ that he might be every way sutably qualified for the Charge and Burden which he underwent he became Prophet Priest and King all which Offices were never confer'd on any but on Christ For 't is observ'd that Melchisedec was King and Priest but no Prophet David was King and Prophet but no Priest Samuel was Priest and Prophet but no King But there 's a Concurrence of all these three Offices in Christ and he was furnisht from Heaven with a sufficiency of Power Holiness Wisdom and Goodness to dispense them for the Comfort and Benefit of all that believe in and obey Him And to this End 't was necessary 1 That he should be a Prophet The absolute Necessity of Christs being a Prophet to cure that gross Ignorance which we deriv'd from the Loins of the first Adam to reveal and expound God's Mind and Will to us to teach us how to apply his Merits by the exercise of a true and lively Faith and to direct us how to walk more conformably to God's Will in doing our Duties and avoiding Sin for the future that so the Devil and our Lusts should not have the Rule and Dominion over us 2 It was necessary that he should be our Anointed Priest And Priest Altar and Sacrifice that he might propitiate and make Atonement for all our Offences free us from the Guilt and Punishment of them reconcile us to God's Grace and Favour and translate us from a state of Sin and Death to a State of Righteousness and eternal Life 3 But since this Peace and Happiness could not be obtain'd for us And Xing not applied to us but by an absolute and irresistable Power considering the many Enemies and Impediments we have to conflict with in our Christian Course therefore 't was necessary that he should be a King That having sufficiency of Power and Authority he might enable us to resist and overcome all those Difficulties and Oppositions which might hinder our Return from the Chaos of corrupt Nature to a state of Grace and Glory And to this End God has been pleas'd to raise him far above all Principalities and Powers that he might effectually apply the satisfaction which he made and the Ransom which he paid for the Salvation of Mankind Thus much of Christ's anointing in General by God's holy Spirit to those three great Offices which he receiv'd as the Head and conveyeth to his Members the Church By instructing us as a Prophet satisfying for us as a Priest and protecting and governing us as a King We pass on to Particulars CHAP. V. Of his Prophetical Office THere are several other Titles synonimous to his being a Prophet which are ascrib'd to our blessed Saviour in holy Scripture He is call'd the Pastor the Apostle of our Profession Rabbi Master a Teacher from God a Law-giver the Author and Finisher of our Faith a Minister of the Circumcision a Teacher of the Gentiles that he might be a Light to them as well as the Glory of his People Israel All which several Titles and Appellations do import that he was a Prophet sent from God to instruct his People and to guide them in the Way of Salvation And without all controversie Christ the Prophet this is he whom God the Father promis'd to send into the World whom the Prophet Isaiah tells us should be anointed to Preach the Gospel And being com'd into these lower Regions was confirm'd in this Office by an audible Voice from Heaven three times repeated as before with this peremptory Command annext to his Commission Hear ye him His Mission was also confirm'd by many notable Signs and Wonders by the Testimony of his Harbinger John the Baptist and many other infallible Proofs which would be needless to mention here But besides the Disposition and Temper of his Mind was every way sutable to his Office and Authority For his Wisdom and Discretion Purity and Holiness His Particular Qualifications Courage and Constancy Meekness and Patience Sweetness and Goodness Power and Majesty conspicuous in all his Discourses and Demeanour are so many unanswerable Topics to prove that our Lord Jesus Christ was anointed with the holy Spirit and with Power that he might be every way qualified for the due Administration of this high and extraordinary Office of a Prophet Which Office in the most strict sense denotes that the Person invested with it should be inspir'd with extraordinary Abilities to Prophesie of and foretel things to come And tho' our Anointed Saviour could not be deficient in this since his Wisdom and Knowledge are infinite yet his Prophetical Office is to be understood in a larger Acceptation and does import a Person endu'd with the extraordinary Gifts of Divine Wisdom and Authority to interpret God's Mind and Meaning and to reveal his whole Will to the Sons of Men so far as it may concern his own Glory and their present and eternal Welfare Thus we have seen how Christ our great Prophet is every way sutably dispos'd and qualified for the Management of this weighty Office We shall enquire in the next Place into the manner of its Administration The Admistration of this Office And for the better understanding of this Point We shall consider 1. What it is that God has been pleased to make known and communicate to us by the Spirit of his Son 2. What Returns of Duty and Obedience he expects from us For the 1st What God has been pleas'd to reveal to us by the Spirit of his Son Christ our great Prophet has by his Grace and Spirit reveal'd God's will to Mankind hereby declaring what he will have us believe and do that we may be happy here and for ever And to this end he has been graciously pleas'd to take away the Veil and has fully explain'd those Laws of Nature and Morality which were never understood before Mat. chapters 5.6 7. he has also corrected the Mistakes and supplied the Defects of all former Dispensations Concerning the Law which he was rectified and improv'd and added some excellent Principles and Precepts most conducing to the Interest and Satisfaction of Mankind which do far transcend all former Laws and Institutions whatsoever For in the Doctrine of the Gospel we have anexact Specimen of all those Truths which concern the Salvation of Christians wherein the Terms of our Reconciliation are fully and clearly exprest all the Doctrines Commands Counsels Conditions Covenants Threatnings Promises which respect the present and future Happiness and Misery of our Souls and Bodies are so throughly stated that he who runs may read And the excellent Design of this great Ambassie the Priviledges and Immunities of this Gospel Covenant are not limited to some few Kingdoms and Countries but extended to all Persons in all Ages thro' the most remote and distant Parts of the World The sound thereof is gone into
any other Means whatsoever then the Merits of Christ's Death By which 't is fully made out that God's Justice is wholly satisfied and our Offences punish'd in the Humane Nature of Christ Which is the Point now under Consideration If we make a particular Enquiry into our blessed Saviour's Sufferings and Sorrows in his Life and at his Death we shall be more fully satisfied touching the reality of his Merits and of the Certainty as well as the Manner of our Atonement by that dear and unvaluable Price which he paid for it For he endured all the imaginable Tortures which humane Nature could be subject to not for his own Sins for there was no guile sound in him but ours and did bear in his own Person the Iniquities of us all He was smitten for our Offences and wounded for our Transgressions the Chastisement of our Peace was upon him Isa 53. and by his Stripes we are healed For having assum'd the same Nature that had sinn'd he must suffer for the Guilt which we had contracted and bear the heavy Wrath of God which pursued our Sins after the same manner that our selves should have done Nor can we be ignorant of that which he endur'd for us by the Twinges and Agonies we sometimes feel in our own Consciences when God is pleas'd to awake ' em But to come nearer the Point Our Saviour's whole Life was a black Scene of Sorrows and Miseries and Persecutions did await him in every Place where he came The Nature of my Subject does oblige me here A Narrative of our Saviour's Sufferings in his Life and at his Death to present my Reader with a particular Narrative of the pungent Miseries which our compassionate High-priest underwent for our sakes in his Life and at his Death Insomuch that 't is a received Maxim that Christ and his Cross were never parted For His first Entertainment in the World was in a Stable amongst the Cattel and on a Cratch which were very mean and slender Accommodations for the Son of God and Saviour of the World On the eighth day after his Birth he endured the Pain and Peril of Circumcision and immediatly after his Parents were forc'd to take a long and tedious Journey in the midst of Winter to preserve their Son's Life from the Assassinations of a cruel and butcherly Herod After his return from Egypt to Galilee he liv'd in a mean Obscurity to secure himself from the Rage of Archelaus Herod's Son and an inheritor of his Father's Pride and Passions as well as Patrimony But at his appearing more publickly in the World the Devil his inveterate Enemy carried him into the Wilderness where he endur'd a forty Days Fast Mat. ◠doubtless a most severe Pennance and was tempted all the Time to blaspheme God and become Satan's Proselite He had no sooner atchiev'd a Victory over this infernal Fiend but he set his Agents the Scribes and Pharisees on work to blast his Reputation and if that Project fail'd to take away his Life In a Word Distress and Poverty Hunger and Thirst Weakness and Weariness Reproache and Slanders Miseries and Persecutions did await him in every Place where he came But more particularly Judas one of his own Disciples and Family betray'd him and deliver'd him into the hands of those wicked Conspirators who as if he had been some notorious Malefactor bound him and carried him away Ps 38.11 Then were these Prophesies fulfilled concerning him I will smite the Shepherd and the Sheep shall be scatter'd abroad Zech 13.7 for at that dismal and dreadful Sight his very Disciples notwithstanding their manifold Obligations to the contrary were so amazed that they forsook him and fled from him and in that juncture too when he had most Occasion to make use of them But alas these were but the Beginnings of Sorrows For being thus apprehended bound and forsaken his Enemies deliver'd him up to Caiaphas the Ecclesiastical Judge before and by whom he was strictly examin'd concerning his Doctrine and Disciples and tho he answer'd discreetly and modestly yet the High-priest's Servant with Disdain and Insolence struck him violently on the Cheek nor did he return the least Reproof to that hard Usage and Incivility By this Time his Enemies were assembled and make up a full Court and the suborn'd and perjur'd Witnesses were ready to act their Parts on this bloody Theater Die he must that was resolv'd on ere he came to his Trial. the Depositions being taken the High-priest charg'd him with Blasphemy and told the Court that the Matter of Fact was so evidently prov'd against him that they needed no more Witnesses for by the Law he deserved Death the whole Assembly nemine contradicente concurring with this merciless and unjust Judge did pronounce him guilty of the Crimes laid to his Charge Whereupon they committed him to the Serjeants and base Soldiers there to be kept in arctâ custodiâ as a condemn'd Malefactor These Villains to pass away the Night did contemptuously and inhumanely spit in his Face ridicul'd and mock'd him and said scornfully and as themselves thought in Disgrace to him Prophesie who it is that smote thee Then they struck him with the Palms of their Hands buffetted and bruis'd his Face which was so besmear'd with Bloud and Spittle Isai 53. that there was neither Form nor Beauty nor Comeliness in him But all these harsh Words and harder Blows came far short of those Tortures which are yet behind For the Jews having no Power to condemn and execute him judicially the Roman Governor alone being at that time invested with the Power of Life and Death when they had troubled and tortur'd him as long as they pleas'd then they sent him bound to Pontius Pilate the Roman Deputy and Governor of Judea before whom he was indited upon new Articles Wherein they charg'd him 1 With Impiety as teaching false Doctrine against the Law Traditions and Liberties of the Jewish Nation and that he was a Prophaner of the Sabbath Which being all notorious Untruths and such Allegations too as were not under his Cognizance therefore Pilate took little Notice of them But to enforce their Malice and exasperate the Judge against this innocent Person 2 They charg'd him with Treason against Cesar's Person and Sedition against the civil Government Because said they he refus'd to pay Tribute and declar'd himself to be the King of the Jews This indeed Pilate was very much startled at being tender of the Honour and Interest of Cesar and chiefly because 't was the Stay and Security of his own But to incense and inrage him still more against the Prisoner they further complain'd that this Sedition was begun in Galilee a Place most notoriously infamous for Faction and Rebellion where Judas Galilaeus Theudas and several others had frequently disturb'd the Peace of the civil Government Upon which Suggestion Pilate being conscious of our Saviour's Innocence and unwilling to have any hand in his Bloud sent
he may dispose and qualifie 'em for his Kingdom of glory Which Government over his Church is yet more particularly display'd and manifested in these two remarkable Instances 1 In the Guidance and Preservation of his and the Church's Friends 2 In the Confusion and Destruction of his and her Enemies And First He exercises his Power in and over his Church 1. In the Guidance and Protection of his Church Rom. 2.16 1 Cor. 4 5 in the Guidance and Protection of his loyal and obedient Subjects And tho he sits at the right Hand of his Father in Heaven yet he forgets not the Poor afflicted Members of his Church here on Earth He rules Mens Hearts and sets up his Empire there exciting 'em by his holy Spirit to be and to do good to avoid all things evil in themselves and of evil Report whereby they may escape all the Mischiefs both of Sin and Punishment He exercises his Power and Authority in making and repealing Laws and passes Judgement upon what 's expedient and lawful or unnecessary and unlawful as seems best to his uncontroulable yet unerring Wisdom Acts 17.31 He remits and retains Sins and has an absolute Power to execute Judgement upon all Creatures before whose impartial Tribunal we must all shortly appear to receive our final Doom when neither the Secrets of Men nor the Counsel of the Heart shall escape his Scrutiny 1 Cor. 3.13 15. He rules his people by his holy and just Laws and enables them by his Grace and Spirit to comply with and obey them He protects his Votaries from the Tyranny of their domineering Lusts and Passions and preserves 'em from the conquering Power and Prevalence of all Temptations He supports them under and comforts 'em in all the Pressures and Afflictions of this Life and at the last crowneth them with an absolute Conquest over all his and their Enemies Yet here we must note That his Church and People have their tristia as well as lucida Intervalla For by his Counsel and Providence the Tyrants of this World as the proud Assyrian c. become Ministers of his Justice Rods and Scourges to chastise his People and reduce 'em to Obedience And this is most signally remarkable from the Annals of the Church For there was never any Religion in the World so severely persecuted as the Christian nor did the Devil and wicked Men ever confederate so strongly against any Sect of religious Professors as they have done against those who professed the Doctrine of Christ And if all the Engins and Methods of Cruelty as Fire Faggot the Teeth of wild Beasts Racks Wheels Gibbets Grid-irons c. could have destroy'd all the Primitive Christians our Religion had long ere this been banisht out of the World But Christ has always hitherto and ever will interpose his Power and Goodness in the Rescue and Defence of his Church and People Psa 2.4 He that sits in Heaven will laugh his Enemies to scorn and protect his obedient Subjects so Mat. 16.18 that neither the Gates of Hell nor all the Atheists Apostates and Hereticks on Earth shall be able to prevail against 'em For he will ever bless the righteous and with his loving kindness will he compass them as with a Shield And whom Christ is thus pleas'd to rule and protect on them he bestoweth infinite Rewards For the Lord giveth Grace and Glory and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly Psal 84.11 Thus Christ our King governs us here by the wisest and best Laws and protects and defends us from all our Enemies of all sorts And he will in his own good Time raise us from a mortal to an immortal State full of Glory and Blessedness But as he manifests and administers his Kingly Power in the safe Conduct and sure Defence of his loyal and loving Subjects So Secondly 2. In the Confusion and Destruction of his and her Enemies He administreth and dispenses it to the Confusion and Destruction of his and his Church's Enemies This is a most evident matter of Fact and we may be confirm'd in the Belief of it if we consider the Plagues of Egypt the Destruction of Pharaoh and Amalek the Subversion of the five Kings who were slain with Hailstones the blindness and Destruction of the Sodomites and the total Subversion of the Jews tho formerly so dear to him when they turn'd Rebels against him Besides we have an account of the most infamous Deaths of Herod Alexander Judas Simon Magus Julian the Apostate and many other notorious Idolaters and Heretics who being profest Enemies to his Religion and Government were most miserably destroy'd And tho' the Kings and Tyrants of the Earth be never so high and mighty yet Christ our King is greater and more powerful then they and his Dominion superiour to all the Princes of the World Rev. 1.5 and 17.14 For as he has hitherto and ever will infatuate the Counsels and baffle all the Plots and Hostilities of all his and our temporal Enemies so he will countermine and defeat all the Projects Stratagems and Conspiracies of the Devil Sin and Death our Spiritual Adversaries For he will reign till he hath put all the Enemies of his Kingdom under his Feet 1 Cor. 15.25 Yet here it must be consider'd The Enemies of Christ's Kingdom destroy'd by Degrees that the Temporal and Spiritual Enemies of Christ's Kingdom must not be destroy'd all at once but successively and by Degrees The Church of God is but now in her Progress to the highest State of Perfection and Christianity is yet in her Travel towards our heavenly Canaan in expectation only and not fully entred into its eternal Rest We read and do believe that many wonderful Works and Miracles were done by our blessed Saviour whilst he sojourn'd on Earth but he has accomplished far greater since his Departure For he is daily bringing more Sheep into his Fold and sending out more Labourers into his Vineyard to make the Harvest of the Gospel still more and more plenteous Our Religion ever since its first Plantation has been in its Pilgrimage travelling from one Country to another from Asia to Africa from Africa to Europe from Europe to America And he still leads Captivity captive and sooner or later he will conquer the whole World with the invisible Power of his Word and Spirit and all the Nations of the Earth shall submit by degrees to the Scepter and Authority of his Kingdom Psal 2.8 In a Word he will and does defend and protect us from the Power of Satan and Prevalence of our own Lusts unless we desire to become their voluntary Slaves and Vassals They may indeed now and then tempt us to Sin for the Probation and Improvement of our Graces but we are all free Agents and Christ has put us into a capacity if we please not only to resist but to conquer and subdue them And therefore if Sin and the Devil