Gospel absolutely deny that there was ever any such purchase made disowning both the Divinity of Christ and the satisfaction of his Sufferings As if the God of Truth had studied to impose upon the credulity of Mankind and when he tells us most plainly in his word that he hath purchased his Church with his own blood that we are bought with a price and that our blessed Saviour gave himself a ransome for all and that not only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neither but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a full sufficient and satisfactory Ransome yet all this while he means quite otherwise than what the words seem to import and none but these few sagacious Sophisters are ever able to discover the Divine Fallacy How many thousands are there yet even amongst us Christians who instead of glorifying God in their body and in their spirit openly dishonour him in both glory in their shame and by their wicked and profligate Lives crucifie afresh the Son of God and blaspheme that worthy Name by which they are called Lastly how many Myriads how many Millions are there besides all these that yet sit in darkness and in the shadow of Death Who never heard of the glad tidings of the Gospel nor have had their understandings enlightened and their hearts revived and awakened out of the deadly Lethargy of Pagan Ignorance and Superstition and Idolatry by the benign and salutiferous influence of the Son of righteousness Who instead of glorifying God give away his Glory to his greatest Enemy and do Sacrifice unto the Devil These are sad Considerations that infinite Mercy and Love should be received with such prodigious Scorn and Ingratitude that so invaluable a price as God hath given for us should be paid in vain for the greatest part of Mankind that but a small and inconsiderable number in comparison of the whole Race of Adam should wash their robes and make them white in the blood of that Lamb that was slain for the sins of the whole World and was a Sacrifice every way sufficient to make an atonement for them all Who can reflect upon these things without sorrow Since then the Case is thus with us that most of us are liable to lose the benefit of this Price by neglecting to perform this Duty of glorifying God to which it hath indispensably obliged us let us briefly consider the reasonableness and necessity of this Duty that we may be the more encouraged unto it upon these following Accounts First this Duty of glorifying God is exceeding reasonable forasmuch as God himself is the only Object in the world that is in and for himself glorious and adorable It is a Maxim in Heraldry that the King is the Fountain of Honour how much more then is that Prerogative peculiar unto God By whom Kings reign and Princes decree Justice From whom all Honour both in Heaven and Earth is derived and unto whom it returns again and centers it self as the Rivers in the Ocean When we look upon the Moon shining in its full strength and beauty we cannot but confess that its Light is very pleasant and comfortable to behold but it diminishes much from its Excellency when we consider that all its Lustre is borrowed and that should the Sun withhold its influence the other would be nothing else but a dark invisible Globe So likewise when we consider the Angels and Archangels and all the mighty Powers of Heaven that excel in Strength and Goodness and Holiness we must needs acknowledge that these are Creatures beyond all our thoughts happy and glorious but when we consider further that as great and good and happy as they are yet still they are but Creatures and that all these rich Endowments that they have received they owe to the father of spirits from whom alone comes every good and perfect gift all the Praise and Glory redounds solely to the Almighty Creator Who makes his Angels spirits and his Ministers a flaming fire and to whose Soveraign Will and uncontrolable Power the highest Archangel is as subject and subservient as the most despicable Insect that we trample under our Feet Since therefore it is most plain and undeniable that God is the only Object in the world that is in and for himself glorious and is the Spring and Fountain of Glory and Honour to all his Creatures that do in any measure participate of it reason dictates to us and we need enquire no further that it is our Duty to glorifie him and that should we do otherwise even the very stones under our feet might justly rise up in Judgment against us and condemn us Secondly as God is the only Object that is in and for himself glorious and that in an infinite and incomprehensible manner so he created all things at the first for the manifestation of his own Glory and requires this Homage to be paid him by every one of his Creatures in their respective Capacities For any of the Creatures even for the greatest of them to love himself above all things or to make his own Glory and Honour the end of his Actions is Folly is Injustice is Sin is such foolish and unreasonable Pride as cast the fallen Angels out of Heaven and Man out of Paradise But for God to do thus is both wise and just seeing that Wisdom and Equity requires that nothing less than infinite Perfection should be the adequate Object of infinite Love and Glory and therefore it would be a manifest piece of Injustice of which God can never be capable for him to give that Love or Glory to another which is due to none else but himself alone And accordingly he himself hath told us that he never will do it I am the Lord saith he that is my name and my glory will I not give to another Isa 42.8 No he hath reserved it wholly to himself and for the manifestation of it he hath created all things So the four and twenty Elders confess Rev. 4.11 Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created The ultimate end of the whole Creation was the Glory of the Creator The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy-work saith the Psalmist Ps 19.1 whoth at considers the certain and regular Motions of the celestial Bodies can chuse but extol and magnifie the Power and Wisdom of that God that made them saying with the Psalmist Praise ye him sun and moon praise him all ye stars of light Let them praise the name of the Lord for he commanded and they were created He hath also established them for ever and ever he hath made a decree which shall not pass Neither were the Heavens only created for the Glory of God but the Earth also declares the same and his wonders are seen in the Deep Even the merciless and unruly Sea obeys the Decree of him who hath shut it up with doors
and suffers its proud Waves to be bounded and checkt by the Sand. There go the ships and there is that Leviathan whom he hath made to play therein The Earth faithfully performs the Task that was imposed upon it at its first Creation and ceases not to bring forth its fruit in its Season and the most inconsiderable Creature that it nourishes even the smallest Fly publishes the wisdom and power of its Creator as much as the greatest Elephant And who again that considers these things can chuse but proceed with the Psalmist and say Praise the Lord from the earth ye dragons and all deeps fire and hail snow and vapour stormy wind fulfilling his word Mountains and all hills fruitful trees and all cedars beasts and all cattel creeping things and all fowl And shall all these inferiour Creatures daily laud and magnifie their Maker as most plainly they do while in their several Stations they perform his Commands shall the little Birds warble out Hymns of Praise and every Hedge produce a Quire to sing an Hallelujah and shall Man alone be silent Man whom God himself hath crowned with glory and honour whom he hath made to have dominion over the works of his hands and hath put all things under his feet all sheep and oxen yea and the beasts of the field the fowl of the air and the fish of the sea and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas Man whom when he had lost all this Honour when Sin had laid both it and himself together in the dust out of which they were both raised at the first God was pleased by a Miracle of mercy to restore to Honour once more nay to greater Honour than he had before even to the Honour if he forfeits it not again by his own monstrous Ingratitude of being made like unto the Angels in Heaven of being numbred among the children of God and having his lot among the saints I say shall Man whom of all the rest of his Creatures God hath delighted most to Honour be of all the rest of the Creatures the most ungrateful and most backward to give Praise and Glory to God Oh wheresoever this Ingratitude be to be found let it not be found amongst us but let us still joyn with the Psalmist and say Kings of the earth and all people princes and all judges of the earth both young men and maidens old men and children Let them praise the name of the Lord for his name only is excellent his glory is above the earth and heaven Thirdly that this Duty of glorifying God is both reasonable and necessary is evident in as much as all Mankind both good and bad shall most certainly one way or other give glory to God For the Lord will be King for ever be the people never so tumultuous and unquiet and though he be offended and provoked and blasphemed every day yet he is strong as well as patient and will one day vindicate his abused patience and longsuffering and will exalt himself above the heavens and his glory above all the earth Then shall all those foolish Wretches that refused to give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name and to celebrate the Praise of his mercy that endureth for ever be forced by their everlasting Punishment to glorifie his Justice For the glory of the Lord shall endure for ever the Lord shall rejoyce in his works For he hath made all things for himself saith Solomon Yea even the wicked for the day of evil Prov. 16.4 Thus did God get himself Honour as well by punishing the stubbornness of Pharaoh whom he overthrew in the Sea as by rewarding the obedience of Moses to whom he gave Power to command it And thus at the end of all things will he cause his Justice eternally to shine as bright and glorious below even in the midst of the infernal darkness as his mercy shall above in the Regions of light and happiness And Oh how sad how dreadful will our Condemnation be if we neglect this great Salvation that is offered us if notwithstanding this wonderful Redemption that God hath wrought for us we will again sell our selves Slaves to Sin and Satan And if but the tasting of a forbidden fruit brought Death into the world and made all Mankind obnoxious to the eternal wrath of God what Vengeance is reserved for them that tread under foot the Blood of his only begotten Son that despise the very height of his Love and the utmost riches of his Mercy Since then we must unavoidably glorifie either the Mercy of God or his Justice let us chuse rather to adore the former than to be broken in pieces by the latter for they that will not submit to his gentle Government while he holds forth his golden Sceptre shall be sure to feel the Severity of his rod of Iron Lastly for I must not be tedious though the Subject be so copious that I might heap up Arguments without number Since there is not the least part of the Creation excepting wicked Men and wicked Angels but what sets us an Example and invites us to glorifie our Creator this Duty of glorifying God is most highly reasonable for us to perform while we are upon Earth because it will be our eternal Task if ever we come to Heaven Those glorious Mansions above resound incessantly with Hymns of Praise unto the King of Saints To whom all Angels cry aloud continually the Heavous and all the powers therein Holy holy holy Lord God of Sabbaoth Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory If therefore we desire to perform this Duty in the next Life it is not only reasonable but necessary that we begin is in this For certainly if we do not now tune our Voice to an Hallelujah and practise the Musick of Heaven while we are upon Earth Candidates for a Place in the celestial Choire we shall never be qualified to bear a part in that new Song which is to be sung before the throne of God and none shall be able to learn it but the Saints that are redeemed from the Earth Let us therefore now and evermore joyn with those blessed Spirits in glorifying our Almighty Creator saying as our Church teaches us and with which words we will at present break off our Discourse Therefore with Angels and Archangels and with all the Company of Heaven we laud and magnifie thy glorious Name evermore praising thee and saying Holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts Heaven and Earth are full of thy Glory Glory be to thee O Lord most high SERMON V. 1 COR. VI. 20. For ye are bought with a price c. THE reasonableness of this Duty of glorifying God to which in these words the Apostle exhorts us we have already seen and indeed he must be blind that sees it not when the whole Creation joins unanimously in the constant performance of it and every Corner of it declares the Power and Wisdom and Goodness of the
Almighty Creatour But though the reasonableness of this Duty must needs be apparent to all Men that believe that there is a God and they that believe not that though they may seem to be Rational Creatures are certainly most notorious Fools yet all Men are not so clearly agreed how to perform this Duty and that is the next thing that falls under our Consideration and the last Particular to be handled in my Text the manner how we must glorifie God we must do it in our Body and in our Spirit forasmuch as he hath redeemed and purchased both of them and both are his For ye are bought with a price c. First We must glorifie God in our Spirit that is in our Soul and in this all Parties are agreed even the very Quakers themselves the most stupid and senseless Fanaticks that have surfeited upon Religion and overwhelmed and oppressed their Reason by that very thing which was designed to refine and perfect it will all of them acknowledge that God is to be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth and that their Soul ought to bow to him though their Body be as inflexible as a Pillar of Marble And indeed this is the chief and main thing that we are to take care of in the worship of God that our Soul be zealously and earnestly intent upon what we are about for God sees not as Man sees he regards not so much the outward Gestures of our Body though as I shall shew hereafter he expects these from us too but he looks especially upon the inward Thoughts and Intentions of our Heart and if these be not right all our bodily worship is nothing worth If we draw near to God with our Lips and our Heart be far from him if we lift up our Eyes and our Hands to Heaven and our Mind be wedded to the World if we prostrate our Bodies upon the Earth and lay our Mouths in the Dust yet if our Spirit be not proportionably humbled all this is no better than gross Hypocrisie a downright mocking of God who cannot be deceived with counterfeit shews and shadows of Religion If therefore we desire to glorifie God aright we must be sure chiefly and principally to glorifie him in our Spirit and as Solomon advises us we must keep our Heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life Prov. 4.23 Now this glorifying God in our Spirit implies briefly thus much That we make a free-will-offering of our Soul unto God committing the keeping of it unto him as unto a faithful Creator permitting him to guide and govern it according to his own good will and pleasure throughout the whole course of our life in whatsoever circumstances both in Prosperity and Adversity so that every thought and motion of it may evermore tend to his Glory He that hath made such an Offering as this unto God will always remember that he is not his own but that his Body and Soul are bought with a price and that both of them are God's and consequently will be careful to direct all his Thoughts Words and Actions to this one end that the Glory of God may be advanced by whatsoever he undertakes He will have God always in his thoughts as the only Object of his highest Love and Adoration and this will make him watch continually over his Soul and keep it pure and undefiled that no unclean thing may enter into that Spirit which is wholly devoted to the God of Purity For certainly nothing can be a more powerful motive to induce us to keep our Heart with all diligence than the consideration of God's Omnipresence and Omniscience that he sees us perpetually in our most private Retirements and searches and knows our most secret and hidden thoughts Hence it was that God himself gave that command to the Father of the Faithful Gen. 17.1 Walk before me and be thou perfect He that walks before God that is he that orders his whole Life and Conversation as knowing and considering that God's Eye is always upon him cannot chuse but endeavour to keep both his Soul and his Body blameless and undefiled and strive to be perfect as his Father which is in Heaven is perfect Again he that hath made such an Offering as this of his Soul unto God will be careful that in all things his Soul be obedient and conformable to the Will of God In his Health and Prosperity if Riches increase he will not set his Heart upon them but with Humility and Thankfulness will receive them as knowing himself not to be a Proprietor but a Steward only of the manifold Blessings of God and will accordingly dispose of them so that God may have the Glory and his distressed Brethren the benefit of his Wealth On the other hand if God sends Trouble and Affliction unto him if he deprives him of his Estate or his Health or both together whatsoever Calamity befalls him he will still bless and praise his Name as well when he takes away as when he gives when he smites as well as when he heals knowing and considering that whatsoever he either enjoys or suffers in this World comes to him from the Hand of an infinitely wise and good and gracious Father that will be sure first or last to make all things work together for good to them that love him Thus will the blessed Will and Pleasure of God be unto him as it were the Load-star to guide and direct his Soul how to steer its course towards the Haven of everlasting Happiness streight and steddy through all the Changes and Chances of this mortal life teaching him that hard Lesson which so few can learn how to separate Riches from Pride and Poverty from Impatience that neither the one may prevail with him to forget God and worship Mammon nor the other to repine at the Divine Providence and to fret and vex himself at the Prosperity of his Brethren If God blesses him he will acknowledge himself to be less than the least of all his Mercies and if he afflicts him he will receive it as the Correction of a tender Father that pities and loves his Children even when he chastizes them Lastly He that hath made this Offering of his Soul unto God whensoever he is in God's House in order to the celebration of his Publick Worship or whensoever he is in his Closet performing his Private Devotions will be exceeding careful to set his Heart and Affections then especially upon those things which are above he will be sure to banish all worldly thoughts out of his Mind and study to behave himself so as becomes one that is admitted to appear in the Presence-Chamber of the King of Kings either to put up his Petitions to him or to receive his Commands following that excellent Counsel of Solomon Eccl. 5.1 Keep thy Foot when thou goest to the House of God and be more ready to hear than to give the Sacrifice of Fools for they consider not that
a Sinner though not so great a one that willingly allows himself in the Commission of any one known Sin as well as he that sells himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord and commits all Iniquity with greediness Israel must fall before their Enemies so long as there is an accursed thing amongst them and so long as we allow our selves in the Commission of any one Sin our very Prayers themselves will be turned into Sin And now if it will profit a Man nothing though he gain the whole World and lose his own Soul what a Madness then are they guilty of who being otherwise well affected to all the Duties of Religion forfeit Heaven for the Satisfaction of but one predominant Lust This is like Esau to sell their Birth-right for a Mess of Pottage like our first Parents to lose the whole Garden by the eating of but one forbidden Tree Methinks when they have proceeded thus far when they are advanced so near to the Gate of Heaven they might take one step more and enter in When they have mortified all their Lusts but one what a shamefull thing is it to yield to that at the last and how dismal will their Fall be who shall be cast down to Hell from so fair a Prospect of Salvation But to leave these there are another sort of Men who though they have attained to an higher degree of Righteousness than this yet are not the Righteous which are here meant in my Text. For there are Some Men of so unprejudiced and unbiassed Understanding so quick sighted that they can discover such a splendour and beauty in Virtue and such an abominable Filthiness and Deformity in Vice that the former is sweeter to them than their Life and death it self less dreadful than the latter Neither Art nor Force neither Flatteries nor Threats can divorce them from that sweet content and joy which is the natural effect and consequence of a Virtuous Life or perswade them to ingulf themselves in that deplorable Misery which torments those Souls that are enslaved to Vice but they constantly do their utmost endeavour as the Apostle exhorts to abstain from all appearance of evil They see that the laughter of those fools who combine together to make a mock at Sin proceeds only from the teeth outward and is but like the crackling of thorns under a pot They see all that Madness that reigns and rages in the World and they find that there is no true Comfort and Satisfaction to be had in any thing but Virtue alone and therefore to that they stedfastly cleave with a resolution to part with their lives and fortunes and whatsoever else is dearest to them rather than to violate any of its Laws But notwithstanding all this though I must needs confess that such persons as these are burning and shining Lights in the World yet if they have not one qualification more to make them perfect they are not the Righteous here meant in my Text. For such persons as Historians tell us were Socrates and Cato and many more of the ancient Heathens who never heard of the blessed Jesus the only Name under Heaven given among Men whereby we must be saved Thus far I have given you only a negative description of the Righteous Man and shewed you what Manner of Persons that make a fair shew in the World have nevertheless no just right to that Title And now to declare to you positively who he is and to shew you the difference of the Righteous Man here meant in my Text from the three former sorts of Men which I have been describing I must tell you that he hath nothing at all in him of the first sort for it is impossible that ye should imagin him to be a notorious Hypocrite and he hath all in him that is good in either of the two latter and to all this he adds the last and best qualification which is Faith in Christ It is Faith alone by which he lives it is Faith alone which renders him truly Righteous and justifies him in the sight of God And here I mean not a false and dead Faith which indeed is no Faith at all but a true and lively one that brings forth Fruits meet for Repentance such a Faith as will be sure to shew it self in him by the Holiness of his Life and conversation and his works praise him in the gates All those excellent Virtues which have commended the Names of Cato and Socrates and other renowned Heathens to posterity are in him but in a more eminent Manner Sublimated and refined by Grace and made acceptable to God by Faith without which it is impossible to please him Cato might love his friends but he loves his Enemies Cato might do good to them that did good to him but he doth good to them that hate him blesses them that curse him and Prays for them which despitefully use him and persecute him Cato's heroick Spirit might one would have thought patiently have endured Tribulation but his unhappy End plainly shews that he fainted under it but Job doth not only patiently bear all that heavy chain of afflictions with which he was tried but he blesses God in the midst of them all as heartily as ever he did in the height of his prosperity as well in his Sickness as in his health as well when God takes away from him all that he had as when he caused his candle to shine upon his head and made him the greatest of all the Men of the East Cato might prefer Death before Vice and chuse rather to endure the most exquisite torments than to commit a wicked action but the Righteous Man doth not only willingly lay down his Life for the truth whensoever he is called to it but he rejoyces that he is counted worthy to suffer shame for the Name of Jesus In a word that love of Virtue which was in Cato and Socrates and the rest of those excellent Worthies which we read of amongst the Heathen though it hath procured them a Name which is far better than precious oyntment and will shine in History as long as the World shall last to the shame of all Christians that come short of their perfections yet it is probable that it proceeded chiefly from self-interest either from some hopes and expectation they had of a reward in another Life or else from that Peace and Tranquility of mind which they found that it procured them in this but the Righteous Man aims chiefly at the Honour of God All his actions as near as he can he designs primarily and principally to advance the Glory of his Creatour and his own Salvation possesses but the second place in his thoughts As S. Paul exhorts Whether he eats or drinks or whatsoever he doth in word or deed he doth all in the Name of the Lord Jesus and to the Glory of God And after he hath passed the time of his Sojourning here in fear when he hath fought
a Commonwealth soon after the coming of the Messias and that it did so about 40 years after our Saviour's Crucifixion is matter of Fact as evident and undeniable as the other Nay more than thus forasmuch as it is plain in Chronology that the Commonwealth of the Jews was not destroyed immediately upon the Birth of our Saviour nor immediately after his Death This Prophecy points directly at the time when that fatal Destruction should come upon them that should wrest the Sceptre out of their hands if we understand it as the Learned Mr. Mede doth much more agreeably to the Original and to the completion of it than is our English Translation viz. thus The Sceptre shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh come and the gathering of the people be to him and so it is plain that this Destruction of the Jewish Polity was not to happen immediately upon the coming of the Messias but first the people were to be gathered unto him i. e. were to submit to his Government and to own him for their Lord which was fulfilled when the Apostles had executed the Commission which our Saviour gave them and had converted the Gentiles in all Countreys of the then known World to the Christian Faith then immediately followed the utter Subversion of the Jewish State as our Saviour had foretold Matth. 24.14 This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all Nations and then shall the end come Then did the Sceptre finally and totally depart from Judah according to this ancient Prophecy of the Patriarch Jacob. The second Prophecy which I shall instance in to prove that our Saviour came at the time appointed by God for the coming of the Messias is Hagg. 2.6 7 and 9th Verses Thus saith the Lord of hosts yet once it is a little while and I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land and I will shake all nations and the desire of all nations shall come and I will fill this house with glory saith the Lord of hosts The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former saith the Lord of hosts and in this place will I give peace saith the Lord of hosts Unto which I shall joyn that of Mal. 3.1 as being exactly parallel Behold I will send my Messenger and be shall prepare the way before me and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple even the Messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in behold he shall come saith the Lord of hosts The chief end and design of both these Prophecies is to foretel that the Messias should come while the second Temple was standing viz. that Temple which was built by Zerubbabel after that the Jews were returned from the Babylonish Captivity and afterwards repaired and beautified by Herod Thus the ancient Rabbies and Doctors of the Jews understood these Texts as well as we however their modern Writers now labour to wrest them to some other sense that they may not be forced to own our Saviour to be the true Messias at whom it is evident nevertheless that these Texts do directly point For whereas as we read Ezr. 3.12 when Zerubbabel had begun to build this Temple many of the ancient men among the Jews that remembred the former Temple that was built by Solomon wept when they considered how much inferiour this would be to that thereupon God sends the Prophet Haggai to encourage them in the building of it and to assure them That the glory of this latter house should be greater than of the former But wherein was the Glory of this Temple greater than that of Solomon's Indeed it lasted a little the longer of the two and but a little not the Age of a man for it never attain'd to be threescore and ten years older than the former But if it had lasted twice as long what is this to the Glory and Splendour of it For if Glory be the product of Age then an old Cottage is more honourable than a new Palace And as for any other Glory except that which it received by being honoured by the Presence of the Messias it is certain that in all other respects it came far short of Solomon's Temple For who can with any reason suppose that a conquered Nation newly returned out of Captivity from under the hand of a potent Enemy should have so much Wealth and Riches as to be able to build a Temple that might vie with that of Solomon's who exceeded all the Kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom And though it be true that Artaxerxes gave very large and magnificent Contributions towards the building of this second Temple yet is it not to be imagined that Artaxerxes an Heathen King either took so much care or bestowed so much cost about the building of this Temple as Solomon did about his who according to that mighty Wisdom and Riches with which God had blessed him built unto the Honour of God's name both for Cost and Workmanship undoubtedly the stateliest Fabrick that ever the world beheld Neither is it at all probable that Herod when he rebuilt and beautified this Temple anew made it equal to Solomon's But suppose it had been equal to it or exceeded it in the Splendour and Magnificence of its building yet it is certain and the Jews themselves acknowledge it that it was far inferiour to it in matters of an higher Nature For gold and silver and precious stones were the least part of the Glory of Solomon's Temple It s greatest Glory was that God was pleased to make it the peculiar place as it were of his Residence and especial Presence here upon Earth The place where his honour dwelt and that far more visibly and eminently than ever it did in the second Temple before the coming of Christ For besides that at the Dedication of Solomon's Temple we read that Fire came down in a wonderful manner from Heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the house so that by reason of it the Priests were not able to enter into it and there is no mention made of any such Miracles being shewed at the Dedication of the second it had also the Urim and Thummim and the Ark of the Covenant which were signal Tokens of the Divine Presence and from whence God was wont to give Answers to the High Priest when he came to enquire of him both which were wanting in the second To this we may add also the Spirit of Prophecy so frequently manifest in the Prophets during the time of the first Temple and ceasing all the time of the second for about 400 years together even from Malachy the last of the Prophets in the Old Testament until the coming of our Saviour Since then in all these respects the Glory of the second Temple was far short of that of the former and yet God here by his Prophet
as he himself required with which his Justice is fully satisfied and his Wrath appeased And this was that Oblation of himself of his own most precious Body and Blood when he poured out his soul unto death to be an offering for sin upon the Altar of the Cross Christ being come an High-Priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands that is to say not of this building neither by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood entred in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us Hebr. 9.11 12. And without looking any further that one Epistle to the Hebrews may satisfie us in this Point the main Design of it being to convince the Jews that Jesus Christ was such an High-Priest as we are speaking of Who was once offered to bear the sins of many and who shall appear unto them that look for him the second time without sin unto salvation Secondly as our blessed Saviour hath offered this holy spotless and most acceptable Sacrifice of himself unto God for us so doth he likewise continually intercede for us at his right hand pleading the merits of his most precious Death and Passion in our behalf that we thereby may be delivered from the Curse of the Law and receive the adoption of Sons Christ is not entred into the holy places made with hands which are the figures of the true but into heaven it self now to appear in the presence of God for us Hebr. 9.24 and Hebr. 7.25 He tells us That he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them So Rom. 8.34 Who is he that condemneth It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us And if any man sin saith S. John we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous 1 Joh. 2.1 Thus then it is evident that our blessed Saviour is by the holy Evangelists and Apostles that have given us a true and faithful account of him represented to be as great an High-Priest as it was possible that the Messias could be for who can be higher than he that is set down at the right hand of God And this naturally brings me to the Consideration of his last and highest Office which is that of a King For surely he that is exalted unto the right hand of God can be no less than a King in the highest Degree a King of Saints and Angels a King of Kings and Lord of Lords Let the Jews perswade themselves what they please concerning the greatness of the Kingdom of their imaginary Messias whom they fondly dream is yet to come into the world though they cannot deny that the time prefixed for his coming by the Prophets is long since past yet a greater King they cannot imagine him to be than we know and are fully assured by the unanimous Testimony of most faithful and unexceptionable Witnesses that our blessed Saviour already is who is and ever shall be a King upon Gods holy hill of Sion whom he hath exalted and set at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come and put all things under his feet and given him to be the head over all things to the Church Eph. 1.20 21 22. That our blessed Saviour was to be such a King as this the Angel Gabriel expresly foretold to the Virgin Mary at his Conception Luk. 1.31 Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus He shall be great and shall be called the son of the highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever and of his Kingdom there shall be no end Which words plainly imply that he was not to be a temporal King a King of this World whose Kings and Kingdoms shall all perish and come to an end but a spiritual King of a Kingdom which is everlasting Such a King as this our Lord owned himself to be I appoint unto you a Kingdom saith he to his Disciples as my father hath appointed unto me that ye may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel Luk. 22.29 30. A King even Pilate himself seemed positively to declare him by the Superscription upon his Cross Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews which he would by no means alter at the request of the chief Priests Such a King he most powerfully demonstrated himself to be by his triumphant Resurrection from the Dead Such a King he yet more fully proved himself to be by his most glorious Ascension into Heaven Having first told his Disciples that all power is given unto him in heaven and in earth he shews them the truth of it by ocular Demonstration visibly in their sight ascending up into Heaven to take Possession of his eternal Kingdom sending moreover two Angels to comfort them and assure them that he the same Jesus which was taken up from them into heaven shall so come in like manner as they had seen him go into heaven Act. 1.11 And after all this according to his Promise as a King that was ascended on high that had led captivity captive and received gifts for men he bestows upon them a gift fit for the King of Heaven to bestow upon his choicest Favourites even that of the Holy Ghost upon the Day of Pentecost thereby to the astonishment of all that beheld them impowering them to work Miracles and to speak with Tongues in order to the accomplishing that great work about which he employed them which was to proclaim him over all the World to be such a King such a Saviour and to gather him a Church out of all the Nations of the Earth declaring that unto all those that will believe and obey him and receive him for their Soveraign Lord and King he will most assuredly be the authour of eternal salvation having redeemed them from the Curse of the Law and purchased for them the adoption of sons and that when at the last day he shall come again in the Glory of his Father to judge the world in righteousness he shall then as an omnipotent King whose Power nothing can resist execute Vengeance upon all his Enemies and reward all his faithful and obedient Subjects with everlasting Felicity receiving them into his heavenly Kingdom there to Reign together with him in Glory as Kings and Priests unto God for ever thus I have proved to you I hope beyond all Contradiction except such as proceeds from wilful and obstinate Malice or notorious Ignorance or Prejudice which must
needs be weak and groundless that our blessed Saviour is the true Messias whom God hath long since sent forth into the World and that none other is to be expected by us and this I have done according to my propounded method chiefly by those Arguments with which my Text furnishes us taken from the Consideration of the time when the manner how and the reason and end wherefore he came into the World And in the doing of it I have insisted more or less upon all the material Circumstances mentioned by the Prophets as it were so many infallible Notes and Characters by which the Messias was to be known and discerned from all the rest of Mankind and shewed you that every one of them is exactly fulfilled to a tittle in the person of our Saviour and that it is absolutely impossible that they ever should agree to any other person whatsoever the time prefixed by God for the coming of the Messias being long since past so that it is now beyond the Power of Omnipotence it self to recal it If then our blessed Saviour be the true Messias whom God out of his great love to Mankind hath sent into the World to reconcile it unto himself redeem us from the Curse of the Law that we might receive the adoption of sons and that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life woe be to all those that receive him not as such How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved but that of the Lord Jesus Christ In him therefore let us stedfastly believe committing the keeping of our souls unto him in well-doing as unto a faithful Redeemer that is both mighty and willing to save us owning him to be our great Prophet that hath revealed unto us the whole Will of God by our firm Belief of all his Divine Doctrine owning him to be our great High Priest who by the Sacrifice of himself once offered hath made an atonement for our Sins and ever liveth to make Intercession unto God for us by our relying wholly upon his merits for Salvation owning him to be our Soveraign our Almighty Lord and King able to defend and protect us in this World and to reward us in the next by yielding a constant impartial and universal Obedience to all his most holy Laws and Commandments Thus if we own him here before men he will hereafter own us before his Father which is in Heaven and when those that have rejected him shall be covered with eternal Shame and Confusion blacker than that darkness into which they must be for ever banished from the Presence of the Lord he shall cloath us with the glorious Robe of his own righteousness and admit us into the everlasting Happiness of his heavenly Kingdom to those Pleasures which are at God's right hand for evermore SERMON IV. 1 COR. VI. 20. For ye are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods INgratitude is a Crime so base and unnatural so repugnant to the Dictates of reason that no Man of a generous Spirit can endure to be guilty of it The slightest Favour we receive from any of our Friends if it proceed from an hearty Intention to do us good deserves at least our kind acceptance and thanks But such a Signal and extraordinary Obligation may be laid upon us even by an earthly Benefactor that we can do no less than devote our lives and fortunes to his Service and think it little enough for an acknowledgment of his kindness But still the greatest Benefits that we can receive from the hand of Man are nothing in comparison of the least of those which we receive daily from the hand of God from whom alone comes every good and perfect gift Every Favour of his is inestimable that we breath his Air that we drink his Water that we tread upon his Earth that we seed upon his Creatures that we behold his Light that he created us and brought us out of the dark Abyss when before we had no Being and that he still preserves and protects us these Mercies sufficiently declare that all that we have all that we are except what we made our selves by sin we have and are from him and that therefore he most justly Challenges a right both to our Bodies and our Souls all that we can do or suffer for him is inconsiderable in comparison of the good we have received from him And yet all these Mercies which I have already mentioned are nothing to that which is behind his Redemption of us by the Death of his only begotten Son whereas otherwise we had been lost and undone for ever This surely was the utmost Effort of infinite Love and Goodness a Mercy which the more it is considered the more it will be admired and will be the eternal Subject of our wonder as well as of our Praise and Thanksgiving in Heaven And now what doth God require of us as an acknowledgment of this unconceivable Favour Not thousands of rams nor ten thousands of rivers of oyl 't is only this that we will glorifie him that hath redeemed us For ye are bought c. Which words contain these three things 1. God's Mercy towards us he hath bought us with a Price and so we are his by right of Purchase 2. The Duty which thereupon he requires us to perform to him we must therefore glorifie him 3. The manner how we must do it in our Body and in our Spirit forasmuch as he hath redeemed and purchased both of them and both are his For ye are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods Let us take a view of God's mercy towards us first and when we have had a true Prospect of that we shall be the better enabled to discern how great an Obligation lies upon us to perform that Duty which thereupon the Apostle in the name of God requires of us To take a view of God's mercy is an hard Task though it is a very pleasant one to take a full view of it is indeed impossible for either Men or Angels since his mercy is as himself is infinite and the greatest instance of his mercy which the Scripture makes mention of is that which he hath shewed to Mankind 'T is true he created Creatures of an higher order and nobler nature than Man even the glorious Angels of Light whom he ordained to be the immediate Attendants about his Throne and advanced to the highest Honour and Felicity in his heavenly Kingdom These as they were the First-born of the Creation so they received a double Portion from their Creator and whereas he made Man only the Lord of his Footstool here below he admitted them to be Inhabitants of his Palace above and assigned to them everlasting Mansions of Light and Glory Thus far God's Love