4. In the fourth Place I beseech you consider the great difference between the City of the Servants of Christ of those that are of the true Wise Virgins in Christianity And between the City of those that are not or are Foolish Virgins I would but very briefly represent that to you in Scripture-Expression and so I will conclude If you consider the City of the Servants of Jesus Christ consider it in that of the last Chapter of Ezekiel and the very last Verse the End of that Prophesie And the Name of the City in that day shall be The Lord is there There shall be the Bridegroom There shall be the Glory of the Prince himself That 's the City wherein Christ will entertain those that have the Bride-like Affection And Rev. 21. 2. I John saw the Holy City New Jerusalem coming down from God out of Heaven Prepared as a Bride adorned for her Bridegroom Here 's the City of those that are Virgins in Spirit to Christ in the sincere Love of him that shall be presented at that day as Chast Virgins to him But now consider on the other side You have the Name of another City And it is very admirable And I cannot but propose my Observation to you that God hath been pleased very lately to cause me to consider and to observe There is the Name of another City I say And it is the Name of the City of the Multitude Ezek. 39. 17. The Name of that City shall be Hamonah And they shall cleanse the Land The Name of that City shall be Hamonah Or The Multitude thereof Or its Multitude That is The Dead Those that are slain with the Sword of Christ's Mouth The Gog-Magog Tho they are Dead That is as to the sense of Glory and Life and Happiness and Peace and Enjoyment yet they are in Being for they have a City It were but in vain that meer Dead should have a City But those Dead that is they that are not Partakers of the first Resurrection Their City the Name of it is Hamonah the Multitude of the World are of that City and belong to that City and are taken at last into that City Multitudes Multitudes as it is said in Joel 3. Multitudes Multitudes in the Valley of Decision and the Valley of Excision They are not onely Judged but cut off They are slain with the Sword of Christ's Mouth As it is said Rev. 29. 5. They lived not again till the End of the Thousand Years That is they lay in Chains under the Footstool of Christ At the End of the Thousand Years God gave them leave to move a little and they make a New Attempt And then Fire comes down upon them and casts them into the Lake And if you think all this is too Metaphorical or too Nice and Curious and that you cannot understand so well I 'll conclude all with that of Matth. 7. 13. Where you shall find the very Hamonah in plain Doctrinal Practical Discourse it self Enter ye in at the strait Gate for wide is the Gate and broad is the way that leadeth to Destruction And many there be which go in thereat As the New Jerusalem hath its Gates and an Angel before it So the City here is the City of Destruction as it is called Isa 19. It hath its Gate But it is a Wide Gate It lets in every one that is not taken up into the New Jerusalem There be many There is a Hamonah there is a Multitude that go in thereat Therefore let us seriously take heed Look diligently to this lest any of us fail of the Grace of God of the true Bride-like affection by which we may enter with him with the Bridegroom into the Wedding when he comes c. SERMON IV. On Matth. XXV Ver. 1. and so on to Ver. 13. Then shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened unto Ten Virgins which took their Lamps and went forth to meet the Bridegroom I Have you know made entrance into this Great Parable which I told you is in an admirable manner prepared and fitted to be a Representation of the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ as I have shew'd you First Even from the Begining to the Complement and Perfection of it It is the Kingdom of Heaven I have shewn you that the very meaning of all Christianity is a Going forth to meet the Bridegroom And therefore the present State is a State of Espousals a State wherein we are Contracted and Affianced unto the Great Bridegroom For that the Eye of every Christian the great Aim and Design of those that are Wise Virgins is that they may have a much higher Enjoyment of Christ than they have now And because the Religion that is for the present World and the present State will not serve the great Interest and great purpose of our Immortal beings I shall now proceed to a fourth Doctrine or Proposition from these words They went forth to meet the Bridegroom And they that were ready they went in with him to the Wedding So the Observation that I shall lay down to you is this That all those that are Christ's they are to hold according to the Scripture Expression they are to hold a Great Feast unto Jehovah The great Intention and meaning of the Gospel is to assure us that after the Time of Preparation and the Time of the Espousals there shall be a Glorious Festival A Glorious Feast The Marriage Supper of the Lamb As you know it is called And I shall endeavour to open this to you according to the Scripture-Light concerning it And then I shall compare it with all the Feasts that we read of in Scripture under the Law And so I shall come to make the Application of it to our own State and Condition First therefore to make it evident to you that this is a great Notion of Scripture That there is a Feast to be held a Feast of Joy and Rejoycing and of Happiness to be held to Jehovah And it is this very Marriage-Supper as you shall see of the Lamb. That the Scripture delights in this Representation is very evident by sundry Great Expressions of it Isaiah 25. 6 7 8. And in this Mountain shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all People a Feast of Fat things a Feast of Wines on the lees of Fat things full of Marrow Of Wines on the lees well refined And he will destroy in this Mountain the Face of the covering cast over all People and the vail that is spread over all Nations He will swallow up Death in victory and the Lord God will wipe away Tears from off all Faces and the rebuke of his People shall he take away from off all the Earth For the Lord hath spoken it There is a great Feast that God will make to all People And it is set out by such Kind of Resemblances and Similitudes as express a Great and a Plentiful and a Rich and a most Delicious Entertainment among Men Fat things full
take him in who is the Great Melchisedeck that King of Righteousness that King of Peace Let us never go without him let us never say Here 's such and such a Grace and such and such a good Action but let it lead us to the Spring and to the Fountain If we can but Chatter as Hezekiah the Name of Christ It is the Blessed Name that is poured forth It is the Savour of the Knowledge of Christ that makes acceptable to God If we can but only lie down at the Foot of God and Christ and earnestly beg for his Sake according to the Great Expressions of Scripture in Prayer If we want Quickning if we want Comfort if we want Humiliation if we want the Sense of Sin Sorrow for it I have no Intention in these Discourses that you should throw these Things away or think lightly of them But that you should have them all from the Fountain and in the Fountain by a continual Union with him and Communication from him Therefore if any of us want any of these the more we should cry to him If such a Sin grow too hard and such a Lust and Corruption will take hold upon us and Domineer in our Souls whether should we go but to the Great Redeemer And when we come to have a continual Converse with him and to have all our Graces from him and in him consisting wholly in him this will bring us to such a Love such an Acquaintance with him that it will cast out fear As those that we continually Converse with our Love arises far above our Fear and so when we Converse thus with Jesus Christ I beseech you that you would take the Name of Christ And if you cannot get your Hearts so affected as you desire yet let not that Name go but press it upon your Hearts in Prayer to God through Christ I am surely perswaded the Flinty Rock will be turned into a Standing-Water If you say How There 's no need to give a Man Satisfaction if a Man slights it and has no care about this But if our Souls are indeed and in earnest Affected as Bartimeus cry more earnestly And if any thing bids you hold your Peace yet you 'll find that it will be said to you He calleth thee And so stand up and lay the Weight and Burden of all upon him as I said before From the Off-spring to the Issue from Flagons of great Quantity even to little Cups the least Thing in Religion let all be hung upon this Nail in the sure Place And then The Second Thing Because I desire still to make mention to you of the Great and Gladsome Expectation of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus to come into its Succession Let us all earnestly beg That it may be so And then I am sure these Things will be cleared there will be no clashing then For the Name of Christ will swallow up every thing The Glory of the Doctrine of Christ when a Few years are but over I make no Question the Name of Christ will sound so loud that all Things will be drawn up to him and be united into that Blessed and Excellent Name of Christ And therefore we will say with which I 'll conclude this Discourse Thy Name is as Oyntment poured forth therefore do the Virgins love Thee c. SERMON IX On Matthew 25. Beginning at the First Verse but more particularly at the Tenth Verse 10. And while they that is the Foolish Virgins went to Buy the Bridegroom came And they that were Ready went in with him to the Marriage and the Door was shut 11. Afterward came also the other Virgins saying Lord Lord open to us 12. But he answered and said Verily I say unto you I know you not I Have past through this Parable And there remain only Two Points that I proposed further to Discuss And that is First Concerning the Peremptory and Positive Answer that our Lord gives the Foolish Virgins They cry Lord Lord open to us The Door was shut while they went to Buy of which I have spoken to you before And when they came and knocked to have the Door opened the Positive and Peremptory Answer that they received was this Verily I say unto you I know you not And then The Last Point is the Application of all Watch therefore for ye know neither the Day nor the Hour when the Son of Man cometh I intend by the Assistance of God to speak to you of the First of these two Latter Propositions at this time That is Concerning the Positive Answer I know you not Both the Shortness and the Irrevocableness and Irreversableness of it is dreadful It is in vain any further to make Application For I know you not And then The Phrase or the Term in which it is conveyed It is not in any thing but this I know you not So then the Proposition or Doctrine that I shall lay down to you is this That it must be sadly acknowledged and every one is to take it to himself That a Virgin if a Foolish Virgin shall not be admitted nor suffered to enter into the Glory of that Marriage-Feast that Marriage-Supper of the Lamb. For that 's the Meaning of the Door being shut where a Great Festival-Room is and where those that are Ushered in as Guests are Received and Entertained The Door is shut And they that have not a Right to Enter are for ever Debarred They cannot Enter The Door is shut and no Entreaty will prevail Christ Answers them plainly That he knows them not Now therefore I would propose these several Things to Discourse to you at this Time First I would take notice of our Lord's Language I know you not And then In the Second Place I would open to you who these are by way of Earnest pressing the Consideration upon you who these are to whom Christ saith I know you not Which may very well Startle and Amaze In the Third Place I would Discourse to you the Reasons Why Foolish Virgins though Virgins cannot have the Door opened to them And then In the Fourth Place I 'll Answer the Scruples and Objections that may arise in your Thoughts against the Great Doctrine of the Gospel upon this Account And then In the Last Place I would conclude with the Application of it First Concerning the Phrase that is here used by Christ And it is very Remarkable That whenever Persons that seem to have a Claim and a Challenge and a Right to Christ upon the Account of Profession and upon the best Profession as I shall shew you Whenever they make Approach to Christ as if he were mistaken he does not consider who they are that knock at the Door and desire him to open yet still he Represents himself and Remonstrates to them in this very Phrase I know you not And so I shall enter into a Brief Consideration of the Meaning and Importance of it First That it is the Ordinary or Stated Phrase and
the Nature of the Type and to fill up all the Parts of it and all the Colours of the Picture For the meaning is no more than this Look well to this That you have a Provision a Treasure of Grace that will last out the whole Time of the Wedding-Solemnity For if you have not you will not be able to make a Provision then you will be as those that are unready Now that this is the meaning of Watching is very plain from hence because the Virgins that had Oil in their Lamps and in their Vessels too they Slumbred and Slept yet they went immediately into the Wedding But all those that had only Oil in their Lamps and not in their vessels they were shut out there was no possibility of making Provision for themselves at that time From all which particulars then that I have given you at this Time but the Generals of I collect Let it be our care let us seriously look to it that we make such a provision now that may last out that whole State that is That we have such Grace as will bear out the Tryal of that Day and that Time That 's the main Importance of this so great Parable so excellent Parable that every one of us should look to it That we have such Treasure such real Riches of Grace in the Blood of Jesus and in the power of his Death and Resurrection upon us that will comport with that great Solemnity of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ And let us not say among all the Professions and Ways that there are in the VVorld we have chosen out what we think the best and the purest It is not enough that we are Virgins in our Profession but we must have this rich Treasure this real Treasure of Grace in our Hearts This I say is the main Importance of this great Parable and it Issues into this That we should take heed of pleasing our selves in a Profession and that we should be under the power of this Apprehension That the most excellent Profession that there is in the World in the whole Christian Name whatever it is that shall have the Precedency above any other yet if our Hearts are not Enriched with the true Grace of God and of Jesus Christ we do not know the Truth as it is in Christ effectually And therefore indeed there is not any place of Scripture that Imports a greater Severity or makes more necessary tryal and search into our State and Condition than this very Parable does For when it gives a Representation of the purest State that can be given that is to call all Virgins and yet that some of these are shut out for ever from the Glory of the Kingdom of Christ How should it as our Saviour speaks in a like Parable engage us to strive to enter in at the strait Gate For many shall seek to enter in and shall not be able Many of the Children of the Kingdom shall be thrust out as Christ speaks in another place This is the great care therefore that should lie upon us to secure the inward part the vital part the true Power the true Light of Christianity that shall never be as a Lamp put out in obscure Darkness If you look upon the 14 Revel you may see what a high Importance this very Word or Representation of Virgins hath saith the Spirit of God there concerning those that were in the purity of Christian Religion These saith he are VIRGINS and have not defiled themselves with Women as other Professors of the Name of Christ had with the Impurity that others were defiled with For they are Virgins and they follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth So that though this be so great a Representation of the purity of Christian Religion yet you see here in this Parable our Saviour hath taken this very Representation to set forth the State that yet shall miscarry in the End to Eternity And so the Apostle Paul 2 Cor. 11. 2. I am Jealous over you with a godly Jealousie for I have espoused you to one Husband that I may present you as a chast Virgin to Christ You see sometimes this Representation Metaphor or Emblem of a Virgin is made use of to speak the highest and truest Purity And yet our Lord doth as it were abase and humble it here in speaking of the Foolish Virgins that he might gain his main point and end That is to tell us The most excellent Profession let it be what it will it will not avail us if there be not the truth and power of Christianity in it I shall therefore according to the particulars I have laid down to you endeavour to open this great Point all along by those lively Resemblances that our Lord hath given us in this Parable In the first place I shall consider the State of the Gospel as it is here called the Kingdom in its setting out from the Resurrection of Jesus Christ 'till it attains that great Point of Glory its manifestation in the visible Appearance of our Lord Jesus It is all the while the Kingdom of Heaven Then shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened So as I have Represented to you from Gal. 4. and Ephes 1. Here 's the whole State or Time of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of all the course and motion it runs It begins in the preaching of the Gospel and it ends in the Glory of it Gal. 4. 4. I look upon it to be a great Foundation of all that Discourse that I have endeavoured to Instruct you by concerning the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ But when the fulness of time was come God sent forth his Son made of a woman made under the Law The first Appearance of Christ it is called the Fulness of Time that 's the beginning point of it And then there 's the Recapitulation the gathering of all things again into Christ and that is as the Apostle tells us Eph. 1. 10. In the dispensation of the fulness of Times he will gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in Heaven and which are in Earth even in him In the Fulness of Time Christ came to bear the sins of many In the fulness of Times he gathers all into himself So that the Kingdom of Heaven it hath its beginning in the first Appearance of Christ and it hath its uttermost Glory in the gathering together in one all things into Christ And then it is delivered up into the Kingdom of Eternity We should therefore apprehend our selves even now under the preaching of the Gospel that we are under the motion of the Kingdom of Heaven here 's the beginning of it And then we should look to our selves and draw All to the Issue and last Result For the Kingdom of Heaven lasts till that great Solemnity of the Marriage-Supper of the Lamb it lasts to that very time and so it continues till the Kingdom is delivered up to God all in all You
shall find as soon as ever Christ came to be Preached and to be declared immediately there is the use of this very Phrase The Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 3 2. John the Baptist went out and said Repent ye for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand And so it is said of Christ that He also went forth to Preach in the very same manner Repent saith he for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand Mat. 4. 17. So that here is the whole State of the Kingdom of Heaven it begins at the Preaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and it goes on to the Perfection and to the Glory of the Kingdom Let us therefore observe what is the motion of the Gospel upon our Hearts because it is the Kingdom of Heaven And we should look to the Power and to the mighty Influences that it hath upon our Souls in that very regard because that it is the Kingdom of Heaven in its first beginnings and in its first Preparations till it comes into the Glory of it self I shall therefore Endeavour at this time to Discourse this Point to you concerning this Power of the Gospel as it is the Kingdom and Apply it by way of strong Reflection upon our own Hearts And that we may consider what our own State and Condition is in relation to it First therefore The Kingdom of Heaven is the offer of the Great Salvation of Jesus Christ unto Souls It is the Offer of that great State that shall be hereafter There is a present Offer of it to us now The Gospel comes to this very purpose to invite us by the present Preaching and by the outward Publication and Administration of it It comes to Invite us to that great Kingdom that is called The Kingdom of Heaven The Gospel represents it self now to us with all the earnestness and Wooing-Language that we may be drawn in unto Jesus Christ This is the first thing wherein it is called and worthy to be called The Kingdom of Heaven because it comes with the offer of Heaven and with the offer of Life and Grace unto every Soul Heaven is bowed down God rends the Heavens and comes down to us in the preaching of the Gospel It is called therefore the Kingdom of Heaven taken from one and given to another The Kingdom of Heaven shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits of it Mat. 2. 43. Because this Kingdom makes an offer of Life and an offer of Grace to every Soul It is that very thing that the Apostle speaks of in 2 Cor. 5. 19. God was in Christ reconciling the World unto himself and not imputing to them their Trespasses Wherefore saith he we are Ambassadors for Christ ver 20. as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christ's stead be ye reconciled to God God is pleased to make an offer to every one that hears of the Kingdom of Heaven He bows the Heaven as I said down to you and to you and to every one of us that are under the preaching of his Gospel The Kingdom of Heaven stoops down it condescends it self to make a gracious Offer to every one that hears it this Day If any one will let him come and take the water of life freely As it is said Rev. 22. 17. If any one hath a Mind and a Desire to the Kingdom of Heaven when it is thus offered Christ therefore laid the Foundation of it in his own Coming He begins it by John the Baptist that was to prepare his way and he carried it on by himself And still by one Series and Course of his Servants after another he hath taken care that in one part of the World or other ever since the Resurrection of Christ there hath been an offer of this Kingdom of Heaven all along to the Sons of Men in the publick Preaching of the Gospel Indeed I know the Wisdom and Glory and Soveraignty of God hath greatly manifested it self in that there are many Nations at this very Day that have not the Kingdom of Heaven Preached to them And even amongst our selves what variety there is in the Dispensation of this Word of the Kingdom unto us As our Saviour calls it The Word of the Kingdom Matth. 13. 19. When any one heareth the Word of the Kingdom So that 's the first Notion that Scripture gives us of the Kingdom of Heaven it is in the offer of Life and Grace and Salvation by Jesus Christ in the publick Preaching of the Gospel Now thus indeed Men may seem as it were at their choice and at their Election whether they will accept the Kingdom of Heaven or not whether any one will open their Ears and hear How many say If this be the Kingdom of Heaven we do not at all desire it They turn their Backs upon it and refuse slight and contemn it because it is not with Majesty enough as they think and it does not bring present Glory and Advantage enough It therefore tells us It is not the present State it is not the present Condition We are ready to say What does it bring us And where is the Power and Glory it brings along with it now This therefore now we are Taught That the Kingdom of Heaven is only now by way of Doctrine by way of Offer by way of gracious Proposal to the Souls of Men it does not yet come in its Majesty Glory and in its Power But as I shall shew you in the third Particular The Kingdom of Heaven never rests till it comes in its Glory and in its Majesty This therefore is the first Expression of it the preaching of the Gospel is the Kingdom of Heaven the Sounding of Christ and Salvation in your Ears telling you of an Everlasting State and Condition of Happiness or Misery if you refuse This is the lifting up of many as our Saviour speaks which is a very lively Consideration upon the Point that I am now upon Mat. 11. 20. He began to upbraid the Cities wherein his mighty Works had been done because they repented not Wo unto thee Chorazin wo unto thee Bethsaida for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes But I say unto you It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the Day of Judgment than for you And thou Capernaum which art exalted unto Heaven shalt be brought down to Hell for if the mighty Works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom it would have remained until this day But I say unto you it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for thee Here you see we have the preaching of the Gospel and the offer of Christ this is the Kingdom of Heaven bowing and stooping to you making an offer of it self freely to you and as we say courting the Acceptance of Souls We should look upon it as so not for the
I Have entered into this Great Parable of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ And to shew you That the Kingdom of Christ is from the very Beginning to the End of it The Kingdom of Heaven And that the Principal Point of the Kingdom as Now is The Espousing of the Spirits of his Saints unto Himself That in the Glorious Solemnity of the Marriage of the Lamb They may be Bidden to that Marriage-Supper As the Expression is in the Revelation I shall now go on as I intimated to you the Last Day to shew you That This Preparation for the Marriage or for the Vnion with Christ in that Great Glory and Solemnity of his Kingdom is Now And all Christianity looks to That I say It looks to that Glorious Solemnity The Preparation is begun Now and then is the Glorious Solemnity But in the Time of the Preparation in the very present Time the Souls and Spirits of the Servants of Christ move with an Earnest Desire towards that Glory They are They ought to be moved to a desire of the Glory of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ And All our Religion All our Christianity All our Praying and Hearing and Preaching All the Graces that we Labour after our Faith and Repentance our Holiness our Obedience All these they are to be Erected they are to be lifted up to be raised up to the Glory and to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ So that we ought to have an Eye in Every Thing to that State For so you see it is here said Ver. 1. There were Virgins going forth to meet the Bridegroom They took their Lamps and they went forth to meet the Bridegroom Though the Bridegroom delayed his coming and did not come so soon as they might think yet still they went forth to meet the Bridegroom All True Power of Grace and Holiness and as we speak of Religion To be Religious It is to go forth to meet the Bridegroom This is the Great Sense of it Not that we shall be perfect here in any Regard But our Perfection is in that Kingdom and Glory of Christ It is in that Solemnity And therefore it is our Great Mistake if we lay our Christianity lower than This If we don't Elevate and Lift it up to This very Great Point to meet the Bridegroom Our Lamp that is our Profession and our Dealing in Christianity now and in all the Ordinances of it and in all the Graces of it is to this very purpose That we might be Daily meeting of the Bridegroom That we might be fit to meet the Bridegroom and might bear up with the Glory Greatness and Excellency of that Solemnity I spoke to you the Last Day of the Captive Person that appeared Beautiful in the Eyes of Him that had taken her captive And if it was so that he desired to Espouse her she was to abide Thirty Days before the Marriage That is There was to be a Time of Preparation But now I beseech you to consider All that very Time which we read of in Deut. 21. 10. Her Head was to be shaved and her Nails to be pared and the Rayment of her Captivity was to be taken off from her and she was to continue in the house of him that loved her and to bewail her Father and her Mother a full month That is Because she was taken Captive and taken from her nearest Relations and was thus to be washed and her Head shaven and her Nails pared She was to be under such a Preparation all that full Month because a Pagan a Stranger from the Commonwealth of Israel As I said to you in the Expression of David Forget thine own People and thy Father's House So Christ gives us a Time of Preparation a Time of shaving our Heads and paring our Nails and taking off the Garments of our Captivity of our Corrupt and Impure State We have a Month for this That is such a Time as God allows his Servants here in the World and such a Time as his Church hath before the Glory of the Nuptials of the Wedding and of his Kingdom And they are all this Time to bewail that State that lost and undone State wherein they are by Nature And all rhat Time now that such Captives were under this Months Delay under this Months Preparation Undoubtedly they had a Great Respect to the Honour and to the Glory of the Nuptial Solemnity they did every thing with an Eye to that and with an Order to that And if it had not been so to be Accomplished All the Intention All that was meant by that of shaving the Hair and paring the Nails and taking off the Garments of Captivity had been to no purpose she had been turned out again and been a Slave for ever All these methods had been in vain But because there was so Honourable an Intention as that of Marriage That made all this easy and sweet and there was an Eye to it all along In the very same manner if we have not an Eye to the Wedding If we Love and Desire to stay in the State on Earth and not to come to the Honour of the Nuptials to be the Bride and the Spouse of Christ We lay all our Religion and Profession too low And therefore I shall desire to discourse this Point to you so as may move you most to draw up your hearts not to a Christianity as it is now but as it shall be in Glorious Solemnity of the Marriage of the Lamb And to teach you that our Eye is to be all along upon that and to discover to you the Greatness of the mistake in doing otherwise I shall therefore discourse these Heads upon it First To open to you what it is to be a Christian and to be Religious and to be Godly as we usually speak with an Eye to that future State to that Glorious State of the Wedding of our Lord Jesus And of our selves to be Married in Glory to Him And then In the Second Place I shall shew you the Great Reasons why this and nothing else is the Truth and Reality of Christianity And then In the Third Place I 'll shew you how it hath come to pass that this great Aim and Designation of Christianity is fallen so very low as it is in the World And then In the Fourth Place I will Answer Objections to you by which you may seem to think or it may seem to you that this is not so necessary and absolutely needful Doctrine as I hope it will appear to you And then In the Last Place I 'll close with the application of it First therefore I begin to explain it to you what it is to order our selves so as if there was nothing to come after or as if we did not care how long the Month of Preparation and Purification were drawn out And what it is in every thing to have our hearts raised and lifted up to this excellent end to this Glorious Point and Conclusion of the
of Marrow And Wines on the Lees well refined And in this Mountain saith God I 'll destroy the Face of the covering cast over all People and the Vail that is spread over all Nations When this Feast comes there shall be no Pagan Nation There shall be no Mahometan Nation There shall be no Popish Anti-Christian Nation There shall be no unbelieving Jews then in the World God will Draw off the Face of the covering cast over all People And every one shall see in the Clearness and in the Beauty and in the Glory and in the Majesty of the Truth of God and of the 〈◊〉 of Jesus Christ That the Religion of Christianity shall 〈◊〉 be upbraided with this Why are there so great Nations that are under the Prophet Mahomet as we are under Jesus Christ Are there not great Tracts of the World that are not known And do not the Jews that have the Doctrine of the Scriptures in the Old Testament Do they not deny Christ All these things that I may speak in a Familiar phrase Christianity is twitted with upbraided reproached with But in the day of that Feast All the Darkness of that State shall be drawn off In all our Feasts now there is necessary a sense of Death As I remember the great Prince Philip of Macedon when he had the most Sumptuous and Magnificent Entertainment He had first of all a Deaths Head served up in the Beginning of the Feast As if he should say tho I have entertained you now like a Prince and with all the Imaginable Royalty that you can expect Yet now after all this I and you must Dye So should we do in all our Eating and Drinking if we do but consider it we do but onely feed as we have a Phrase we do but onely feed Death We do but pamper Bodies to make a Feast for the Worms Now saith the Lord in this Feast I will take away all Tears and Shame and Reproach from all People utterly take it off O therefore VVho would not Aim and Design this to be at this great Feast that must be held to Jehovah And that he himself will hold for all his People as the great Prince and Master and Lord of it So you know there is nothing more ordinary in the Gospel than to compare the State of Things to a great Supper Matth. 22. He describes the Kingdom of Heaven by such a Supper as this The Kingdom of Heaven saith he is like unto a certain King which made a Marriage for his Son and he sent forth his Servants to call them that were bidden to the Wedding And they would not come Again he sent forth other Servants saying Tell them which are bidden behold I have prepared my Dinner My Oxen and my Fatlings are killed and all things are ready Come unto the Marriage But they made light of it And when the King came in to see the guests he saw there a Man which had not on a Wedding-Garment Ver. 11. 12. As I shall after endeavour to enforce in the Application But you see plainly that it is a great Nuptial Feast that the Glory of the Kingdom of Christ is Represented by So it is said His Servants wait for him There is a place of great moment to what we are upon that is Dis-advantagiously Translated And therefore I would desire that you would take something the more Notice of it Matth. 13. 34. The Son of Man saith he is as a Man taking a far Journey who left his House and gave Authority to his Servants and to every Man his Work and Commanded the Porter to watch Watch ye therefore for ye know not when the Master of the House cometh And this in Luk. 12. It is called a coming because of the Wedding ver 46. That 's the Expression I would desire a little that you would take Notice of And ye your selves like unto Men that wait for the Lord when he will return from the Wedding VVe Translate But the word in the Greek will very well signifie Because of the Wedding or upon the Account of the Wedding When Christ comes He comes because or upon the Account of the Wedding And that he may be present at that great Feast that is to be held unto the Lord our God I 'll give you but one Scripture more And so I hope you will be fully satisfied that it is the Wi 〈…〉 of the Divine Spirit to Represent to us the State of the Glory and Kingdom of Christ by a great Nuptial-Feast or Entertainment It is in the Nineteenth Chapter of the Prophesie of the Revelation Verse 7. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honour to him for the Marriage of the Lamb is come And Verse 9. And he saith unto me Write Let this thing be taken notice of let it be written in Letters that he that runs may read Blessed are they which are called unto the Marrioge-Supper of the Lamb. Blessed are they which are called and invited to the Marriage-Supper of the Lumb I shall now therefore proceed in these Two Generals before I close all in the Application First of all to shew you what the Importance and meaning of this Great Supper or the Great Feast that we are to hold to Jehovah is And then In the Second Place I shall give you a brief Parallel between all the Feasts that were appointed to the Servants and People of God in the Old Testament and this Great Feast that is to be held to Jehovah To give you therefore the Sense and the Meaning of it in these Two Expressions First It is a Time of the Greatest Solemnity Glory and Lustre and Splendor and Joy and Blessedness that the Creation ever knew or can know in the State of a Creation I say it is a State or a Time of the greatest Magnificence of the greatest Joy and Enjoyment that ever was known in the whole Creation nothing ever like to that Alas the Days that we now know here in the World take those that have been the most Lightsome the most Prosperous they are all Dark and Gloomy and Cloudy Days in comparison of that Day of the Great Glory and the Great Festival that he speaks of Indeed it is very desirable to find the Hearts of any possest seriously with God and with Religion and with Holiness and with Christianity and with Communion with God and Enjoyment of him according to the present State of Things But if we did but know how low the Condition is now wherein we are If we did but consider what a Dark Black Cloud there hangs over all a Cloud of Corruption a Cloud of Unhappiness a Cloud of Sorrow and Affliction it is they live in And it comes upon the most Eminent Servants of God you know in what a Cloud they are wrapt up as to all bodily Appearance when they come to Die and what a Cloud of Corruption hovers over them For take the most Excellent Preachers and the most Holy Men if
but only this I am clearly sensible of That the General Character of the Church of Sardis is fallen upon all the Protestant Churches and upon all Protestant Persons As David saith in another case There is no one that doth not Slumber I may say no not one Though there are some Christians more lively and more wakeful and more apprehensive than others yet there are none but Slumber for the General Character of any Church it falls upon particular persons in a very great measure Now I say those high Ecstasies of spirituality of Heavenliness of Holiness of Purity that are to be found in Scripture make it plain that the excellent and glorious and powerful Spirit of Christianity is in a Slumber as in us And hereby I would desire you to take notice That the Discourse of the Kingdom of Christ is not as if some sensual or Worldly Glory were to be brought in or that men were to be pleased with that For the thing that I expect when the Kingdoms of this World shall be proclaimed to be the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ are quite of another nature That whoever of us are alive at that day whether I or you or any of us that truly love and fear him and love the Glory of his Kingdom I make no doubt but the Glory and Power of Christianity shall sprout out afresh upon them as the Psalmist saith Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep and like a mighty Man that shouteth by reason of Wine Psal 78. 65 66. And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts he put them to a perpetual reproach So we shall be able to smite the Lusts and Corruptions and the power of Temptations that now so prevail upon us we shall be able to chase them and to put them to flight and to drive them before us We shall be able to love God and Christ and to be mortified to this World we shall be able to express our selves abundantly in the ways of holiness and to rejoice in God accordingly and it is no other Kingdom that I expect But all shall bring in this with its happy consequences I say we shall be able to lay off and aside from our selves all the Vanity Pride and Love of this World and all not only the Gross Sins that are in the World in regard of which men are scandalous and Christians evil spoken of every where But those Sins that the World doth colour and varnish over and speak very kindly and fairly of all the deadness in Hearing in Praying and Discoursing Alas our Discourse of Religion it is but a kind of Formality we don't retain any thing of it But when this Slumber is taken off of Christianity it shall be much otherwise In the second Place When the Slumber of Christianity is taken off we shall see much clearer Scripture-Truths and in the Salvation and Redemption of Christ All the Dispute and Anger about these things will go off for the clearness of things will be seen And then that Dispute that is upon us now concerning the Kingdom of Christ Some are utter Enemies to such Discourses of it even good persons and some are ready to scorn and laugh it out of Countenance and few there are that believe it and are in the Truth of it What is the Reason of this but because these Scriptures are not so cleared And so very many excellent and Eminent Servants of God they are afriad to Discourse of the Free Grace of God and the Righteousness of Christ without Works lest it should make men loose and make men licentious and therefore they are streightning and curbing and glancing all they can against such Discourses as these are The reason is because the Spirit of Slumber is so much upon Christians Isaiah 29. The Lord hath poured upon you the spirit of deep sleep and hath closed your eyes the Prophets and your Rulers the Seers hath he covered And the Vision of all is become unto you as the words of a Book that is sealed which Men deliver to one that is learned saying read this I pray thee and he saith I cannot for it is sealed And the Book is delivered to one that is not learned saying read this I pray thee and he saith I am not learned Now this Spirit of deep sleep I hope is taken off from us by the Reformation and by the clearness of the Gospel in that manner that we enjoy it in the main now in the Protestant Profession but there is a Slumber still remaining Or else Men would hear and learn with far greater ease and in another manner Discourse with one another It will be wonderful when the Tongue of the dumb shall sing as it is said in the Prophet I am verily perswaded That those that say least in Religion now there will be such a change in them by taking off the Spirit of Slumber That the Tongue of the dumb shall sing He that knows not how to speak and is afraid to speak of Religion because he thinks he has not knowledge enough his Tongue shall sing in Discourses of the ways of God That is he shall speak with great clearness and great acceptableness In the Third Place We shall have a greater value for the state of Glory that is to be revealed and a greater undervaluing of the present state of this World We shall not think we are undone if we have not of this World and of the things of it in such an abundance as we would have Or if we cannot lay such foundations of Estates for the time to come Men will begin to say That this present World is like a Cottage that is suddenly to be removed And if Men had foreknown in Jamaica some Days or Weeks before that their Houses should go down as one may say so quick into the Earth and be swallowed up and even the Earth it self so changed what value do you think they would have had for those Houses or Grounds and how many Years Purchace would they have valu'd all at as we ordinarily speak So I say when our present state is like a Cottage that is to be removed that great value and esteem we have of the World shall go off If you will say This is only a sort of Levelling Doctrine or Discourse I do not intend it should move any one as for the present but only to an expectation and to take off our hearts from the present evil World And I only desire to tell you what shall be when you shall see such a Glory and Light of this World to come appearing and shining out I do but desire that you would remember what hath been spoken to you out of the Word and in the Name of Jesus Christ what hath been spoken of these things that are to come to pass I 'll give you but a brief Account of the Difference between the one and the other the Wise and Foolish Virgins and so conclude in the
that are in the Graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation They come immediately forth each to their own state that state wherein they have been since Death and at Death So Dan. 12. 1 2. There shall be a time of great trouble And many of them that sleep in the dust of the Earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt For the Spirits that have been with God and Christ they come with the blessed assurances of that state and condition And they that have been in Chains of Darkness to the Judgment of the Great Day under the knowledge of that they come under the Judgment of eternal fire as the expression is in the Apostles Peter and Jude Every one They come as it were breathing and carrying upon them the favour the odour of that state and condition wherein they have been The Spirit of a Man knows its own state even when it returns into the Body And there is this great Scripture that doth assure us if you should think that what I have already given doth not rise up to the very Point Rom. 2. 15. You shall see in what manner all come forth at that day They shew the work of the Law written in their hearts their Conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another in the day observe that in the day when God shall judge the secrets of Men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel Here 's the manner in which they come forth in that day they come with Thoughts either accusing or excusing And then saith the Apostle is the time when there is that vigorous Accusation or Excusation of Conscience it is in the day when God shall judge the secrets of Men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel So that Men rise even in that Midnight-Cry when they come into Bodies with Thoughts full either of Accusation or Excusation They come with all their Thoughts about them they do not leave their Thoughts either in Heaven or in Hell but they come with Thoughts either accusing or excusing That 's the first Argument 2. The second Argument is this They know in what Company they come and whether they are in the Glorious and Blessed Company or not For it is very evident the Saints come together with Christ and therefore they are assured because they know the Company they come along with So in 1 Thes 4. saith the Apostle The dead in Christ God will bring them with him So they come with Christ they know that they come in his company and they are assured There is a great deal of difference you know between those that come along with the Judge and make a part of his Honourable Retinue and Attendance and those that come out of Prison and behold the Face of the Judge as sitting in Judgment upon them 1 Thes 4. 14 15. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him For we say unto you by the Word of the Lord that we which are alive and remain unto the Coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep They shall certainly come with Jesus Christ And so Zach. 14. 5. The Lord my God shall come and all the Saints with thee They come in the Glory of the Company of Jesus Christ And this our Saviour calls a Being set at the Right Hand It is the very same thing with that Mat. the 25. He shall set the Goats on the Left Hand and the Sheep on the Right That is they come with him on his Right Hand And in that Scripture Rev. 19. It is said The Heavens opened unto Jesus Christ and the Armies which were in Heaven they follow him on White horses Ver. 11. And I saw Heaven opened and beheld a White-horse and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True His Eyes were as a flame of Fire Ver. 12. And it is said The Armies which were in Heaven followed him upon White-Horses Ver. 14. That is The Saints in Bodies of Glory For the White Horses and the Fine Linnen White and Clean that are there named mean the Glory of the Saints in Bodies of the Resurrection On the other side the Wicked they come Aloof they come no nearer nor no faster than they must needs they are forced and called for as Prisoners in Chains and Fetters must come that are brought And so they must come in this way Sinners and Wicked Persons that have not Repented nor Believed in Jesus Christ that have not the White Horses to Ride upon and the Fine Linnen White and Clean to be Arrayed in And it brings in The Third thing For the very Bodies the very Cloaths that the one and the other will have on do enough assure them exactly what they are whether the Saved or the Miserable whether the Happy or the Unhappy I say The garments wherewith they are Cloathed For while Saints have Linnen White and Clean the Wicked they are Dark and Duskie they are in Prison-Cloaths and Prison-Raggs they have Fetters about them They know by that as well as Men know by theit Garb what the State and Condition of one another is Now this I look upon to give the Reason to that Expression Rev. 16. Just when Christ is coming he said Just at the very time when he is coming Ver. 15. Behold I come as a Thief Blessed is he that Watcheth and keepeth his Garments lest he walk naked and they see his shame Blessed is he that watcheth c. That is Blessed is he that looks well to it that when he rises again he may have a Robe of Immortality That he may have a Garment suitable to that State Suitable to the Glory and Excellency of that Time Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his Garments hath so taken care to lay off the Cloathing of the Body that when he comes into it again it may instead of all the Darkness and Corruption In which it lay down it may be a Body of Glory a Body Incorruptible as it is said in the 1 Cor. 15. 52. The Dead shall be raised Incorruptible They shall be Raised He speaks evidently of the Saints of Christ They shall be raised in a moment Incorruptible And that 's the first thing that I have laid down and endeavoured to Argue to you The time of Christs coming That will be the time when that Midnight-Cry shall be and that when we shall be in the first hearing of it and come forth we shall know in what state and condition we are First By the Notices given to us from our Spirits from our Thoughts Accusing or Excusing at that very time in that very day And then Again from the Company we are in whether we come with Christ or whether we are
with relation to God and Religion a Virgin And yet notwithstanding this because he is a foolish Virgin all the Misery here exprest comes upon him Let us therefore consider our selves I would hope That we might have a very good Title and Pretension to this Stile of a Virgin and that we hold the Truth of the Gospel and the Purity of Worship and the Holiness of Conversation in regard of all outward Appearance and yet let us look well to this That we are not Fools therein And therefore I 'll set out to you in several particulars according to the Wisdom of our Lord Jesus in this Parable I 'll shew you the danger of being a foolish Virgin and in what kind of Circumstances they shall rise and how it shall be with them as it were from first to last as our Lord hath here given to us and yet I 'll do it with brevity for the things will be very plain And if we would be but faithful to our selves in taking notice of them and laying them up in our hearts and examining our hearts according to them There needs not much to be said but thought and considered and meditated upon much by every one of us in relation to each particular The First thing which expresses the circumstances in which foolish Virgins shall arise is this They will presently begin to make the best of that Name of Profession and that Name Virginity that hath been upon them They 'll be ready to say I have had a Lamp I carry that to be sure with me I have had a Name of Profession and Christianity upon me I have Endeavoured to Hear and to Pray and to Receive the Lords Supper and to keep the Lord's Day I 'll be certain to take that along with me for all the Virgins arose and Trimmed their Lamps The wise indeed had Right to do it and they did it upon good grounds and the foolish did the very same thing and therefore it is significantly exprest in the Text All those Virgins not only wise but foolish They arose and Trimmed their Lamps That is they set out their Profession as large and as favourable and with as much advantage as they could Now therefore Here is our great Point to look to this That we have not only the Lamp of Profession but that we have the Truth and Sincerity of Faith and Repentance of Holiness of an Interest in Christ and in his Bloud I 'll give you two Scriptures to this case one on the side of the wise Virgins and one on the side of the foolish Virgins and so pass on And I would desire you would take notice of these Scriptures that may be helpful to bring these things to your Minds That all of us may enter into deep Reflection and serious Examination upon it In the 1 Pet. 1. 22. saith the Apostle speaking of these things seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the Truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the Brethren c. Being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the Word of God and now observe how he had Discoursed of this Point before ver 17. And if ye call on the Father who without respect of persons judgeth according to every mans work pass the time of your sojourning here in fear In what fear does he mean not in a slavish fear as I shall shew you presently but in a holy care in a holy awe in a wise and judicious search into things and so he speaks ver 7. That the Tryal of your Faith being much more precious than of Gold that perisheth though it be tried with Fire might be found unto Praise and Honour and Glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ O let every one take this Scripture into Mind into serious consideration and pass the time of our sojourning here in a holy and wise and judicious Awe and Fear That the Tryal of our Faith though it be tryed with Fire c. Observe how notably the Apostle speaks as if he should say Your Faith will be tryed with Fire with the Fire of that Day whether it be true and right Faith or not And it will be tryed in a moment and instantly because a short work will the Lord make upon the Earth For as I told you it will appear presently by the Thoughts we have about us by the Company we come with by the Bodies we have on And this will be in the Face of the Fire you must come and if it be only a drossy-Faith it won't stand the Fire it won't be able to endure If it be only a painted Faith it will presently come to nothing And therefore saith the Apostle look that your Faith be found to Honour and Glory and Praise at the appearing of Jesus Christ And then on the Side of the Foolish Virgins Consider That in the 13th Chapter of Luke 26. Then shall ye begin to say We have eaten and drunk in thy Presence and thou hast taught in our streets They shall begin to say when they find the Door shut upon them They shall begin to say Lord We have Eat and Drunk in thy Presence and thou hast taught in our streets But he shall say I tell you I know you not whence you are depart from me all ye workers of iniquity ver 24. Strive to enter in at the strait Gate for many I say unto you shall seek to enter in and shall not be able I expound it Especially though I don't deny that at this time there are some Half-seekers that cannot enter But it is especially at that time of the coming of the Bridegroom They shall seek to enter and they shall not be able When once the Master of the House is risen up and hath shut the Door c. Then shall ye begin to say We have eaten and drunk in thy presence and thou hast taught in our streets So here 's the First thing they endeavour to make the best of their profession that they have had here in the World So will all foolish Virgins do in all their Duties of all that they have said for God or any good works but If the power of these things have not been it will not be able to carry any out though we shall endeavour to make the best of our Profession that 's the first Description of the State of the foolish Virgins when they arose 2. I come to the Second thing that our Lord here mentions And that is They shall presently be sensible pray observe that that their Grace doth not hold out that they were but counterfeit that they were but dross that they were but Tinsel For presently they say they want supply Give us of your Oil for our Lamps are gone out It is a sad and woful thing That a Man should lose all the Prayers and all the Profession that he made here in the World And yet when he comes into his Body again though he was sent out of the
defire or have a greater value for than to see the Dawns of the Kingdom of Christ Oh! That God would give any of us leave to see this We should have great advantage of making our Calling and Election sure of working out our salvation with fear and trembling of being perswaded of the things that pertain to the Kingdom of God we should have great opportunities every way And therefore as Christ speaks when he propounded the Parable to them Matth. 13. 17. I say unto you That many Prophets and Righteous Men have desired to see those things which ye see and have not seen them and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them So if God shall continue any of our lives but a few years to see the Kingdom of Christ appearing in this First Glory O happy and blessed shall we be For from the very beginning and foundation of the World to this day Many Prophets and Righteous Men have desired to see those things which we shall see then and have not seen them and to hear those things that we shall hear and have not heard them In the mean time Let none of us be discouraged if God call us sooner out of the World For as the Apostle saith All those that are Christ's he will certainly bring with him And it will certainly be a happier and securer state to be sleeping in Jesus and dying in Jesus For though we do not see these things here our Spirits shall see them above and our Bodies shall be raised in Glory for us to come with Christ in And as to those who are not as they desire to be for my part I know not any thing can be spoken for better Tydings or any thing that should more earnestly engage our Faith and Prayer than to have that great opportunity to wind up our Faith and Love and Repentance to their own height even that of the Coming of the Kingdom of Christ into its Succession and to see those blessed things and to hear them that many excellent persons have desired to see and hear and have not And therefore let none be offended that the Kingdom of Christ is near at hand for we shall have greater and more blessed advantages and opportunities to make our Calling and Election sure when that time comes Let us therefore desire to hear those loud Voices from Heaven Proclaim That the Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ On which will soon follow that pouring out of the Spirit and the Preaching the Everlasting Gospel SERMON VIII On Matthew 25. v. 6 c. And at Midnight there was a Cry made Behold the Bridegroom cometh go ye out to meet him Then all those Virgins arose and trimmed their Lamps And the Foolish said unto the Wise Give us of your Oil for our Lamps are gone out c. I Have led you through several parts of this great and admirable Parable The last thing I Discoursed to you was concerning the Midnight-Cry and endeavoured to shew you That though there might be some use made of it as a Description of any Judgment that should come upon the Churches of Christ before his Coming Yet That the Principal Intention is That Cry That Voice of the Son of God That Shout that the Lord will descend in That Voice of the Archangel That Trump of God that shall raise all that are asleep in their Graves and shall bring them forth I Endeavoured to open to you That every one shall rise in the very same Circumstances wherein they lay down in Death and in the Grave And therefore That the Day of Judgment coming upon Prophane and Insolent Persons upon the Fools that say in their hearts There is no God will be like the Writing of the Fingers on the Wall before Belshazzar that we read of Dan. 5. And as it comes upon ignorant Persons in Christianity and upon the Worldlings those Fools that say We have much Goods laid up for many Years and therefore Soul Take thy ease Eat Drink and be Merry O! what an Earthquake will it be upon them to see the Kingdom of Christ Now They shall be raised both the Fools that say That there is no God and the Worldlings c. They shall be raised just in the same Terror in the same Consternation as if the Earthquake was now upon them or in the Time of Life now on Earth But I proposed to shew you also Wherein the state of the foolish and the wise Virgins differ wherein this great difference lies That one enter into the Wedding and the other are shut out And that is it which now by the assistance of God I would undertake and go forward to give you a clear Representation of this great Matter For as I told you Virgins bespeaks a being of the Pure and True Religion the true Religion of the Gospel the Doctrine of God in the Gospel For all whatsoever false Doctrine or false Worship does adulterate this it is called in Scripture not by the Name of Virginity but by the Name of Whoredom by the Name of Adultery and Fornication Whatever defiles the Religion of Jesus Christ is not stiled Virginity but by other Names And therefore it is certain That these Virgins must be of the truest and of the purest Religion of Jesus Christ In the second Place I told you That they must needs be of a tollerable sober Conversation They are not of the Prophane the Drunkards or the Swearers or the Sensualists of the World but they are those that walk in such unblameable life that they are worthy to be counted and to be stiled Virgins What a critical Case therefore What a very nice and curious Point is this that distinguishes between the wise and the foolish Virgins If therefore God shall be pleased in any measure to enable me to open this to you and that you may aright conceive and understand so great a Point I hope That by his Blessing our coming together may be for the better and not for the worse I shall therefore apply my self to it First By considering the scope of the Parable in this Matter And I find That it lies here The one had Oyl in their Lamps but they had not Oyl in their Vessels The other had Oyl in their Vessels as well as in their Lamps So that it comes to this One hath a Treasure a Store of Grace beyond the Profession the other hath not I shall Answer very plainly and down-right Discourse in this thing by leading you to some great Expressions of Scripture which do to me assure what our Lord intends In the Third Chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians v. 16 c. The Apostle in that Great and Excellent Prayer begs of the Father of Glory the Father of Glory An Expression most suitable and agreeable to the Kingdom of Christ appearing in its Glory to which this Parable refers That he would grant you according to the
riches of his Glory to be strengthned with might by his Spirit in the inner man That Christ may dwell in your hearts by Faith I look upon this to be Oyl in the Vessel It is Christ abiding in the heart For tho indeed the Vessel is not the Fountain yet it speaks the Vessel closely conjoyned with the Fountain and the Fountain continually springing into 't Another place of Scripture that I would give you You know Faith and Love they are much required and insisted on in the Gospel now observe what the Apostle saith in the 1 Tim. 1. 14. And the Grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with Faith and Love which is in Christ Jesus Where is the Treasure of Faith and Love It is in Christ Jesus it is never out of him the Spring of it is never out of him Faith and Love which is in Christ Jesus The Spring overflows to the Vessel with Faith and Love but the Spring and the Fountain is Christ himself And so 2 Tim. 2 1. Thou therefore my Son be strong in the Grace that is in Christ Jesus Be strong in the Grace that is in him It is never out of him though it flows to the Souls and Spirits of Believers yet it is never out of Christ So that here is the Oyl in the Treasure of it it is when the Soul is united to Christ the Fountain of it here is the Oyl that is able to bear up For in two things I think the comparison lies that our Lord intended in this Parable between Grace and Oyl First It must needs be of such an excellent quality that it can bear up with the Glory of that Day And then In the Second place It must be so abundant that it can last with the Glory of that Day For if the Oyl be not of the high and excellent kind it will presently go out As you know the higher Light of the Sun it puts out the lower Light of Fire or Tapers that we have below so the Glory of that Day will put out any Light but only the Light of the Righteousness and Grace that is in Jesus Christ and none else will last There 's no Spring of Light but only that which comes from him Heb. 7. 16. who is after the power of an endless life It is only Christ that is Oil in the Treasure Therefore take the most Excellent Grace That 's the Point that I would endeavour to carry out to you Take the most Excellent Grace if it be out of Christ if it be only in the Person himself it is a Lamp that will go out but if the Vessel be at the Fountain Head and is joined to the Fountain then it is able to supply to the Glory of that Day And I shall represent it to you therefore by a History of Scripture that may serve as an excellent Parallel to Expound the Parable that I am now upon In 2 Kings 4. 1. There cried a certain Woman of the Wives of the Sons of the Prophets unto Elisha saying Thy Servant my Husband is dead and thou knowest that thy Servant did fear the Lord and the Creditor is come to take unto him my two Sons to be Bond-men And Elisha said unto her What shall I do for thee Tell me What hast thou in the House And she said Thine Hand-Maid hath not any thing in the House save a Pot of Oil. Then he said Go Borrow thee Vessels abroad of all thy Neighbours even empty Vessels borrow not a few And when thou art come in thou shalt shut the Door upon thee and upon thy Sons and shall pour out into all those Vessels and thou shalt set aside that which is full So she went from him and shut the Door upon her and upon her Sons who brought the Vessels to her and she poured out And it came to pass when the Vessels were full that she said unto her Son bring me yet a Vessel And he said unto her There is not a Vessel more And the Oil stayed Now this is the thing only That I would represent to you That to us that are in a miserable and needy and wanting condition and in danger to be Bond-Men and Bond-Women to the Wrath and Justice of God for ever Here is the Oil multiplied The Oil multiplies from the Fountain from the Infinite Grace that is in Jesus Christ that we may stand at that Day And therefore That which I would advise and press upon every one of us from this very Point is That above all things we would mind our being in Christ I shall endeavour to free it from all Objections that you may be ready to make before I close the Point But to give you a Parable or a Representation that is nearer and does indeed intend this very thing If you look into the Prophet Zachary you shall see what it is to have Oil not only in the Lamp but in the Vessel that is to have a continual supply For though indeed this Parable seems to go no further than Oil in the Vessel yet when we come to enter into it we must needs find that it must be Oil from the Fountain alone that can do us good Zach. 4. 1 2. And the Angel that talked with me came again and waked me as a Man that is wakened out of his sleep And said unto me what Seest thou and I said I looked and behold a Candlestick all of Gold with a bowl upon the top of it and his Seven Lamps thereon and Seven Pipes to the Seven Lamps which were upon the top thereof And two Olive-Trees by it one upon the Right side of the Bowl and the other upon the Left side thereof And it came to that The Sons of oyl as they are called v. 12. through the Golden Pipes empty the Golden Oil out of themselves into the Golden Bowl Now What 's the Meaning of all this Not by Might nor by Power but by my Spirit saith the Lord that 's the Meaning of all They Empty the Golden Oil out of themselves That Golden Oil by which our Lamps will bear up and shine at that Day it must come from those Sons of Oyl That is From those Olive-branches Both which are only a Representation of Christ's Fulness in his Righteousness and in his Spirit So that here is that that alone can bear us up and bear up the Shining of our Lamps in that Day of the Glorious Solemnity of the Marriage of the Lamb That which alone can bear us up is the Righteousness and Spirit of Jesus Christ Which are always Connected and Joyned one with another And Proportionable hereunto are other Similitudes The Wedding-Garment that we read of Matt. 22. which a Man not having on when he came to the Wedding he was sound Speechless That is Nothing but the Garment of the Righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Graces of his Spirit The King came in to see the Guests he saw there a Man which had not
on a Wedding-Garment The same with Oyl in the Vessel And he saith unto him Friend How camest thou in hither not having a Wedding Garment And he was Speechless Bind him Hand and Foot and take him away saith Christ and cast him into outer Darkness because he had not the Linen White and Clean the Righteousness of Saints Robes wash'd in the Blood of the Lamb for that 's the Wedding-Garment He had not put on the Wedding-Garment of Christ he had not on the White Raiment Buy of me Gold tryed in the Fire and White Raiment suitable to that Time and buy of me Eye-Salve that thou may'st see c. Rev. 3. All is from Christ So that the Whole Matter is This Whether we are in Christ or whether we are not in Christ So the Apostle John saith 1 John 5. 12. He that hath the Son here 's the plain Proposition the Case of every Man He that hath the Son hath Life And he that hath not the Son of God hath not Life And this is ihe Record that God hath given to us Eternal Life the Place is as full to the Purpose as possibly can be God hath given to us Eternal Life and this Life is in his Son in the Fountain The Sun of Righteousness arises with healing in his Wings He that hath the Son hath Life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not Life And hereby we may understand that great Place of Scripture which else may be more hard to be understood Rom. 9. 28. saith the Apostle there out of the Prophet Isaiah A short work saith he will the Lord make upon the Earth What is the meaning of that That he will make such a short Work upon the Earth The Meaning is this That it shall come to this speedy Question Are you in Christ Or are you not in Christ For he will finish the Work and cut it short in Righteousness because a short Work will the Lord make upon the Earth A short Work Many are ready to think That the Judiciary part of the Day of Judgment will be a mighty long time Because every Case of a Man must be examined and his Works It is a Mistake when we think so For though it will be as exact to every Man as if every Man's Case were laid down in his particular Works viz. of those who are not pardoned But yet it will be a time of the blotting out of Iniquity I say a Time of the full blotting out of Sin in all the Servants of God Though Sins are sought for they shall not be found There shall be none but upon the Wicked A short Work will the Lord make upon the Wicked when they are found not to be in Christ They have not a biding Light They are presently found by the Company they are in and by the Habit of the Body For the Saints are in the Habit of Bodies of Glory And the other in the Habit of Bodies of Contempt So a short Work will the Lord make It will be presently seen by our Appearance whether we are Christ's or no. Now this I shall endeavour to Argue to you a little from Scripture-Reason And then it shall be the Principal Part of this Discourse to clear to you the Doubts and Scruples and Objections that may arise in your Minds That this cannot be so First In regard of other Scriptures that insist so much upon what is in us And then to Answer these Questions In the Second Place you may say How shall we come to have an Interest in Christ And In the Third Place How shall we know That we have an Interest in Christ And so I shall conclude with the Application of All. The Great Scripture-Argument I would give you is this If we could seriously consider the Infinite Holiness and Purity of God If we could but I say seriously lay this to Heart That God cannot see Things any other ways than they are How would it clear this A great many Good Men are ready to say The Evangelical Righteousness that we have shall stand before God in Justification for Christ's sake I say If we seriously consider That God is Infinitely Holy That the Angels he charges with Folly That the Heavens are not clean in his Sight That he cannot see any otherwise than Things are I do beseech you to consider Whether you would venture into the Presence of such a Holiness with the Best Graces that you know in any Person in the World For my part I do not know how Men can Answer it in their own Judgments But I think it is as impossible for any Man to appear with the Holiness of the best Saint that ever was in the World except the Righteousness of Christ as I think it impossible for a Man to stand in the Greatest Presence without Confusion having nothing but the Squallidness and Filthiness of Impure Garments and Putrefaction all over him For surely the Saints of God speak in the Name of all Saints All our Righteousnesses are as filthy Rags and our Iniquities like the Wind hurry us away And there 's no standing but by that stable Righteousness of Jesus Christ Jehovah our Righteousness and by the Holiness that flows from his Death and from his Resurrection and that is under the Cover of his Blood and under the Answer that his Righteousness makes for the Imperfection of it I am sure this Reason is so solid so substantial and so weighty That whoever Considers it must needs yield and submit to it if they do not go off from it but strictly and precisely consider it That no other Righteousness can be accepted but only the Righteousness of Christ and the Holiness that flows from it that needs the Cover of his Righteousness and is made up in its own Imperfection by the Perfection of his Righteousness Surely it must be a great Hazard for such a Person as Paul to go before the Judgment-Seat with his own Righteousness when he said even in a State of Grace and in Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 4. 4. I know nothing by my self yet am I not hereby justified For he that judgeth me is the Lord If we have not now the Righteousness of Christ How then can we stand before God! I Argue this not so much to make you of an Opinion or a Judgment for that I ought not to aim at but with the utmost Sincerity as God inables me that you may know your Peace and Safety and Security lies only in the Righteousness of Christ That Lamp will certainly be put out in obscure Darkness that hath not the Golden Oil And therefore I speak that you may have your Hearts full of this Christ and Christ only I am so far from being moved by any Objection that I am assured That this is the True Grace of God that I now Preach to you wherein we are all to stand We read Heb. 24. Christ is not entered into the Holy Places made with Hands which are Figures
of Man cometh at an hour ye think not that is if you are not ready For the very sence of knowing or not knowing the time is being ready or not ready if not ready we are not aware The knowing of time or not knowing is but the cover and outside of this true effective knowing or not so knowing I will therefore first endeavour to open to you the true state of this thing and then lay down to you several particular Directions for the right Exercise of this Watch And in a Second Head give you the Arguments of Persuasion to this Watch and so close the whole with Application 1. To shew you then in the First Place the true sence of this great Proposition from this our Lord's Application of the Parable And in the general You know the Conclusion of a Discourse is the Practical Application and that you know is regularly drawn out of the main substance of it This Application is then drawn out of the substance of the Parable and that most evidently is the having Oil in our Vessels as hath been explain'd The watching is therefore our looking well to that having Oil in our Vessels for they watch'd who were so ready though the Bridegroom delaying his coming they slumbred and lay down in Death they did not watch who so slumbred and went out of the World by Death that they had not a provision ready for the Bridegrooms Coming so that the knowing or not knowing the Time is not at all touched upon But more particularly to attain our Lord's sence in the most plain and practical instances of a Spiritual Life according to the Gospel as Directions to watching 1. Look diligently that we are taken out of the Gall of Bitterness and from under the Bond of Iniquity That we are taken out of the state of Children of Wrath by being implanted into Christ and translated into the Kingdom of his dear Son in whom is Redemption in his Bloud even the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his Grace that we awake from that sleep and stand up from the dead that Christ may give us life Let us look well that we are brought into the State of Grace for that is the principal and fundamental Point of Watching and the Essential Difference between a wise and a foolish Virgin to be brought into Christ and to have his Spirit 2. Let us be continually carnest and fervent in Prayer watch unto Prayer as the Apostle Peter speaks 1 Pet. 4. 7. And as our Lord commands Watch and pray that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things and to stand before the Son of Man at his Coming Luke 21. 36. Pray earnestly with importunate Crys that you may not be given over and found in a state of Ruine and Condemnation at that Great Day Christ was whole Nights in Prayer with strong Crys and Tears he offered up Supplications unto him that was able to save him from death and was heard in that he feared And how then should we think to meet him without that exercise let us therefore be instant in Prayer 3. Let us be very diligent in meditating on the Word of God Blessed is the Man that meditates in his Law day and night that 's watching to meditate day and night and whereas Christ says I know you not it is said The Lord knows the way of such holy righteous servants of his through his Grace in Christ And it is an evidence of being in him Psal 1. 6. 4. Let us shew our watching by keeping our selves from our iniquity and from all the Temptations to it Watch and pray saith our Lord that ye enter not into Temptation Luke 22. 43. Be sober saith the Apostle Peter and watch unto Prayer Gird up the loins of your mind and hope perfectly for the glory that shall be brought to you at the Revelation of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1. 13. with c. 4. 7. And be sober be vigilant or watchful for your Adversary the Devil goeth about like a roaring Lion seeking whom he may devour c. 5 2. All this shews the great Watchfulness our Souls should maintain against our own Iniquity that we may be upright before him and not be as foolish Virgins And it is the more admonishing that in like Discourses of our Lords with this Parable when he discovers such foolish Virgins he says Depart from me ye that work iniquity 5. Our Watchfulness must be exercis'd in adding Grace to Grace for otherwise as the Apostle saith we shall be blind and not see so afar off as to behold the King in his beauty and the Land that is very far off 2 Pet. 1. 9 c. with Isa 33. 17. Thus an abundant and rich Entrance shall be ministred unto us into the Everlasting Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ We shall be ready and not go to buy and find the Door shut 6. We Watch by continual Meditation upon being dissolved and being with Christ and upon the Glory of his Coming We need not be written to of the Times and Seasons for we our selves shall know that the Day of God so cometh as a Thief in the night and as sudden destruction cometh on them that say Peace Peace but they that watch thus and are sober are not in darkness and in the night but are of the Day and not asleep 1 Thes 5. 5. c. 7. We must Watch against the Sin of the very Age and Day wherein we live when we live in a prophane Age take heed of that when you live in a formal hypocritical time take heed of having a Name to live and being dead for Christ comes on such as a Thief at unawares They shall not know at what time he will come upon them Rev. 3. 3. If a Sensual Luxurious Worldly Age Take heed of being overcharged with those evils and the Cares of this Life 8. Let us possess our selves with the most clear and distinct Apprehensions of the Appearances of the Kingdom of Christ as the Kingdom of the Resurrection and of the Appearances of Saints in Bodies of Light and Glory Rev. 16. 15. Behold I come as a Thief Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his Garments that is that looketh to the presenting his Body now as a sacrifice a living and acceptable sacrifice well pleasing to God in Christ Rom. 12. Thus we shall appear in Bodies of Glory and not of Contempt in the Redemption of our Bodies and Men cannot see our shame when Christ cometh and all his Saints with him Head 2. I come therefore to the Second Head to lay down the Arguments of Perswasion that we may be moved to this watch Argument 1. The Time of Watch is only the Time of the present Life Whatever we would do for the After State it is to be done in the Present State in the Time of the present Life There is no Counsel nor Device in the Grave whither we are going and therefore whatever Our Hands find to
I only draw out the main scope of the Parable by way of Recollection unto you and so conclude I say seriously consider What ever you think to do for your souls do it now because there is no Time after Work while it is day the night cometh when none can work All the time that persons have lain in the Grave as we speak or that their Spirits have been in Happiness or in Misery they have not done the least thing for their souls they have not added one Cubit nay not one Hairs breadth to their Stature they have not made one Hair as our Lord speaks Proverbially either white or black as to the State of their Spirits And when Spirits come to meet their Bodies in the Day of the Resurrection every thing will be in such a speed such a World in highest motion That you cannot stay to change one ill Posture or Appearance ot Representation of your souls You must not stay I would speak according to the Language of the Parable Can the Bride forget her Attire If any of us have forgot our Attire we cannot mind any thing that is amiss We cannot fasten one Pin in that distress of our souls We must be in the Wedding Garment perfectly attired and arrayed For what is done then as I have often said is done in an Atome of Time The dead shall be raised incorruptible Wicked Men and Foolish Virgins shall be raised just as they die And therefore mind seriously to do for your souls what you 'd do in this present state And then Lastly As I have said I say again That you would earnestly pray for the Preparation of that Time Pray earnestly for the pouring out of the Spirit Do you think it will not be better for you when God shall pour out his Spirit upon all flesh when your Sons and your Daughters shall Prophesie when your old men shall dream Dreams and your young men shall see Visions When there shall be an universal Prophesie upon the People of God as I have greatest reason to hope that the time is very near Why should we not earnestly pray for it and desire it You think there will be too much Clutter and ado about Religion then don't mistake Whatsoever is done shall run so easie and quiet then with such advantage and the Great Cares and Disadvantages of the World shall be taken off and every thing shall be in a merciful order that we may be prepared for that Great and Notable Day of the Lord. And therefore Let us earnestly pray and wait That a better state both of Christianity in General and the Reformation in particular may come forth That those Thunders that have been Sealed since the Reformation for almost an Hundred and Eighty Years That their Mouths may be open and their Voices may utter themselves That every thing may be that tends to increase and promote Holiness Purity and Spirituality and Heavenliness for I am not speaking nor never did speak to you of a Kingdom of Eating and Drinking and putting on Glorious Apparel but that there shall be an universal knowledge of God and Jesus Christ And that none but those that are resolved to be filthy should remain filthy and those who give up themselves in Holy ways should be Encouraged and should mount up with Eagles Wings and Grow stronger and stronger And therefore that there is but the Hopes of these things Let us Bless God Exceedingly For many Prophets and Wisemen and Kings and Righteous Men have desired to see those things which you see and have not seen them and to hear those things which you hear and have not heard them And yet for all that If any of us are called to Die who are Sincere and faithfull God will give us so much certainly of that Spirit of Prophesie of Illumination of Revelation That shall carry us safe to Heaven and shall Search and Try us so That we shall be led out of any wicked way into the way that is Everlasting And therefore Let not these things Discourage you But let them Enflame our Care Zeal Endeavours and Desires That we may Watch Because Nothing con be done when our Lord comes but only They that are Ready Go in with Him to the Wedding FINIS AN APOLOGY For the Hope of the Kingdom of Christ Appearing Within This Approaching Year 1697. Wherein some of the Principal Arguments for such an Expectation are briefly Couch'd and the Greater Objections Answered Presented to the Notice and Examination of the Arch-Bishops and Bishops Now in PARLIAMENT Assembled By T. BEVERLEY Ezek. 10. 13. As concerning the Wheels It was cryed to them in my Hearing Oh! Revolution LONDON Printed for and Sold by Will Marshal at the Bible in Newgate-Street and John Marshal at the Bible in Grace-Church-Street 1697. An APOLOGY for the Hope of the Kingdom of Christ Entring Its Succession within this Now Beginning 1697. And an Answer of Principal Objections presented with It. To the Archbishops and Bishops as in Parliament at This Time Assembled Most Reverend Right Reverend I Have now by the Space of Fourteen or Two Weeks of Years been Serving for that Beautiful Rachel-State of the Church of Christ in the place of that Rachel in the Wilderness weeping for her Children in Sackcloth and under Death and would not be comforted Because They were not I have set my self all along by Meditation and Supplication to the Father of Lights to search out and by the Assistance of the Spirit of Prophecy to Find What or What Manner of Time the Spirit of Christ did signify for the Fullfilling that Grand Petition of his Servants Thy Kingdom come That thy Name may be Sanctified and Thy Will done as in Heaven and upon Earth and I am now Wrestling to the Break of Day and I Hope the Dawn of the Morning and Resolv'd not to Let Go Till I obtain the Blessing of it The Time that from the First and throughout it pleased the Lord of Time to fix upon my Mind as the Time of That Kingdom Entring into its Succession and Preparation for its Glory was and is This Approaching 1697. A Year to which I could have no Temptation either in Regard of Nearness or Distance or on any Account whatever but as a Scripture-Line of Time and Concurrent Reasons of Prophecy and History very many and in a Series and Continuation have Led me On this Foundation having Setled I have by Gracious Vouchsafements of Help from God Turn'd my Self to All the Grand Prophetick Points of Scripture and Found New Confirmations and have Given as Publick Accounts of them as I could attain and presented some of Them to Your Selves and to the Great Councel of the Nation And in as much as Supreme Goodness hath Granted me to Set up an Eben Ezer now at the Portal of 97. I have Thought it my Duty to offer this Apology for the Kingdom of Christ so near Approaching And that The Great Isaac The Son of Promise of