THE Spirituall VVarfare A SERMON PREACHED In the Parish Church of St. Michael Crookedlane in LONDON on the 30 of March being a Fast day BY Mr. JOHN SPENCER Sometime Groom to a Nobleman 2 TIMOTHY 2. 3. Thou therefore endure hardnesse as a good souldier of Jesus Christ LONDON Printed in the year 1642. Mr. SPENCERS SERMON 2 TIMOTHY 2. 3. Thou therefore endure hardnesse as a good souldier of Jesus Christ YOu shall finde that in the three first Verses of this Chapter I have read unto you the Apostle laboureth to exhort Timothy to three particular duties The first is That he would be strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ The second is That whatever God had communicated to him he would make known to faithfull men that might be able to teach also The third is in the Text read unto you That he would endure hardnesse as a good souldier of Jesus Christ In the Text you have an Exhortation with the quanty of the Exhortation The Exhortation to endure hardnesse The quality of the Exhortation as a good souldier of Jesus Christ Beloved there is in the Text three things considerable The first is this That the very best of Gods people must look for afflictions if Timothy if Paul if David they must not look to be free from afflictions Thou therefore endure hardnesse c. The second thing in the Verse is this That it is the minde and will of our God that his people should mildely and patiently bear afflictions Thou therefore endure hardnesse as a good souldier c. The third and last is this which we shall chiefly insist upon That all Gods people are Christs souldiers For the prosecution of the Point we shall first prove it to you Secondly we shall shew you who they must encounter with Thirdly what the weapons are which they are to use Fourthly how they are to fight that they may overcome Fifthly and lastly we shall make Use and Application For the proof of the Point I say That all Gods people are Christs souldiers that they are so cast your eyes on Ephes. 6. 13. and other particular verses Paul exhorts them to put on the whole armour of God that they may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand Beloved surely God intends his people should fight as you shall hear by and by therefore to prepare them to the battle the Lord would have them with all speed to put on their armour and be ready well the weapons they must put on must be Gods weapons yea all Gods weapons Put on the whole armour of God Rev. 12. 7. There was a great battle in heaven Michael and his angels fought against the Dragon and his angels Beloved I hope you do not think that there is any tumults and wars in in heaven no but this is the meaning the Church of God upon earth is still fighting against the devil his angels Here you must look for fights if ever you would come to heaven So in 2 Tim. 4. 7. saith Paul I have fought a good fight I have finished my course henceforth is laid up for me a crown of life So 1 Cor. 15. 32. he tels us He fought with beasts at Ephesus he was a souldier all his dayes so soon as ever he came to be inlightned he took up the weapons of Jesus Christ and was resolved to dye in his cause So we come to the next particular who they be that Gods people should fight withall they must not be idle and lazy for they are souldiers First they are to encounter with God 2. with themselves 3. with the world 4. with all wicked men and 5. with the devil himself Beloved you see here is enemies as well as friends to fight withall and all these you must overcome or else you shall never enter into the kingdom of God First of all you must encounter with God himself and that for three things first for the making good of all his promises secondly you must encounter with God for his gracious presence and thirdly for the gracious discovery of himself in the face of his Son First you must encounter with God for the making good of all his promises Beloved the Lord hath made rich and glorious promises in his Word that is a garden full of sweet and rich flowers he hath made particular promises to you in particular to his Church in generall you are to wrestle with God for the making good of all his promises and not to give over your suit till he hath made Jerusalem a praise in the whole earth The Lord hath told you Rom. 6. Sin shall not have dominion over you Ezek. 11. 19. That he will put a new spirit within his people and pour out floods of waters upon the the thirsty grounds He hath said Rev. 18. 21. that Babylon shall fall and told us The day shall come when the Moon shall shine as the Sun seven times brighter in its glory You are Gods souldiers and must encounter with Jesus Christ for the making of these promises You must be Gods Remembrancers put God in minde and say Lord thou hast made such a promise that my heart which is dark shall be enlightened my eyes which are shut up shall be opened and that thou wilt pluck down the proud enemies from their seats and set up the humble and meek Lord when wilt thou perform them Secondly you must encounter with God for his gracious presence Beloved Moses knew well enough what the presence of God was therefore desired Exod. 23. If the presence of God went not along with him that he might not go Thus must you encounter with God when you come before him in such a day as this you must say Lord what shall I do with this hard heart this ignorant this unbeleeving heart of mine Lord if thou shouldst pluck away my wife my husband my childe my friend I shall not know what to do but Lord however thou dealest with me vouchsafe me thy gracious presence Happily I may live friendlesse hopelesse be cast into darknesse where I shall see no light Lord let me have thy presence where ever I go if he goeth not with you for to preach to pray to hear what will ye do He is the light of your eyes the joy of your souls the strength of your hearts Thus must you encounter with God for his gracious presence Thirdly you must encounter with the Lord for the glorious discovery of himself in the face to his Son Ephes. 3. 14. This was that Paul bowed his knee for that the Lord would reveal to his people the glorious mysteries of Jesus Christ Thus must you importune the God of heaven for the glorious discovery of himself in the face of his Son Secondly you are to encounter with your selves 1. You must encounter with all your own righteousnesse 2. with all your own unworthines 3. with all your parts and abilities and 4. with all your
corruption if thou hast not a care will open the dore and let in abundance never give over untill thou seest the life and bloud of all thy sinnes run out before thee Thirdly you must reckon upon losing something in this fight no souldier that goeth forth to encounter with his enemies is sure to save his life happily thy name may be lost thy credit and estimation amongst the men of the world thy trading thy liberty and may be thy life too well it matters not thou canst never bestow it upon a better friend nor in a better service than that of Christ therefore resolve to lose something if ever thou lookest to be a souldier of Jesus Christ Did you ever reade in the Book of God that any of his souldiers returned from the battell but one time or other they lost something Many times they have lost their lives their friends their liberties their estates And he that is not willing to lose all that he hath for Jesus Christ is none of his souldier In the next place you must be sure to fight with patience happily thou hast been interceding at heaven gates many yeares that the Lord would discover himselfe to thee in his Son shew thee the way wherein thou shouldst walk it may be thou hast bin there a long time for a poor wife for a poor husband for a poor child for a poor servant and yet the Lord hath not answered thee what though yet still resolve with David to hearken what the Lord will say for surely he will doe it Lord I have called upon thee to avenge thy selfe upon thine adversaries Set up thy Gospell amongst us I have often cryed to thee for heart-breaking but thou delayest to answer the desires of my soule well wait still though I now lye under a hard heart the light of thy countenance is taken away from me I shall at length see surely the Lord will doe this for me Now we come to the Uses for want of time I shall name but three First an use of Instruction secondly an use of Examination and thirdly an use of Excitation First an use of Instruction it teacheth us these things first of all beloved that it is not so easie a thing to go to heaven as men suppose if you are Christs souldiers you must encounter with God with your selves with the world with wicked men and with the Divell himselfe yet a day will serve one mans turne an houre another mans if they can but say Lord have mercy upon us that will let them into heaven Surely such do not consider that they are souldiers and to fight with so many enemies Beloved the Lord tels us The righteous shall scarse be saved where then shall the wicked appear If after all their wrestlings they can scarce get into heaven what thinke you of them that have spent no day in performance of holy dutyes could you but come to the closet dores of the people of God and see how early they are up and how late they go to bed sure then you would be perswaded that it was not so easie a thing to go to heaven Secondly it teacheth us who is likeliest to doe the best service for God in evil times if you should see your selves compassed round about with enemies before you behinde you who do you think was likeliest to do you good a company of lame men blinde men are these fit to do you service Beloved there is none fit to do God service but these souldiers of Christ that have armour of proof upon them these are they that will do the greatest exploits for God there was a poor man in the City and he by his wisdom delivered it Hence we may give a guesse what will become of all the enemies of England Germany had but a few Ireland but a few praying people but the Lord hath thousand of thousands here amongst us souldiers expert in war that know how to encounter with God That is the reason that though we are beset with so many troubles yet they all flye before the face of Gods people for they are souldiers Thirdly it teacheth us whom to prize and love most the souldiers of Jesus Christ If you had a thing in your Cabinets which if sick could make you well if hungry could feed you c. how would you prize this Happily thou hast a beleeving wife a beleeving childe a beleeving servant though thy house were beset round about with enemies this man might deliver thee when you are in Taverns drinking carousing swearing committing many abominations this man is earnestly praying to God for thy conversion it may be the wife for the husband the husband for the wife the father weeping for the childe the childe for the father the master for the servant the servant for the master These you should most of all prize and love A second Use shall be a Use of Examination and Beloved here may we take up a sad complaint over England surely if we made a search into every Parish and family we should finde abundance of enemies and I am afraid but few fighting souldiers for Jesus Christ I will shew you who they be that are not Christs souldiers that you may weep over them happily you may finde them in the Congregation where you come in the houses where you dwell in the bed where you lye Lament over the sad estate of such poor souls First they that know not Christ are not his souldiers no man will binde himself Apprentice to another unlesse he knows him you cannot be souldiers unlesse you know your captain Christ Jesus and I am afraid there is but few knows him In the world there is a kinde of a Relative knowledge as one that hath never been in Spain by reading of Books may tell you of the situation of the place how many streets there be in it and where there is such and such a Noblemans house so that you would verily beleeve they had dwelt and lived there So many there be that can talk excellently of God have such admirable gifts and parts that you would think if there were a godly man in the Town he was one when alas he hath gotten nothing else but a Relative knowledge all this while First of all they that know Christ will fully depend upon him Dost thou say thou knowest Jesus Christ what is the reason then there is such amazements and troubles seize on thy spirit If thou knowest Christ thou knowest him to be wisdom righteousnesse sanctification and redemption thou wilt know him to be a God that maketh good all his promises What is the reason of those blasphemous thoughts which men have They think there is no mercie in heaven for them What wilt thou be saved by thy own righteousnesse Then thou art no servant of Jesus Christ You must know Jesus Christ is inlightning grace Jesus Christ is quickning grace Jesus Christ is comforting grace Jesus Christ is edifying grace And then again if you know
Jesus Christ you will live upon him Is it all the glory of Jesus Christ you live upon Is it his power wisdom and goodnesse you live upon try your selves I have no righteousnesse saith the poor soul but Christ hath righteousnesse I have no power to make war with my lusts but Christ hath power Thirdly they that refuse to do the works of Jesus Christ make excuses these for present are not the souldiers of Jesus Christ Abraham had never done such things for the Lord as he did if he had done so Gen. 22. God bid him arise and go into the land of Moriah and take with him his son Isaac to offer him there for a burnt-offering He might have made excuses This is my onely son the son of the promises I am old and my wife past childe-bearing but presently he goeth to sacrifice his son So Christ when he was to go from his Disciples he tels them Mat. 16. 21. He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the Elders and chief Priests and be killed and be raised again the third day Vers. 23. Master saith Peter save thy self Get thee behinde me Satan saith Christ Thus must you do happily a husband a wife a childe a friend may come and perswade thee to save thy honour to save thy estate thy wealth thy life you must say to them Get thee behind mee Satan So Paul when hee was to go up to Jerusalem they tould him he must be bound there Oh saith Paul why do you weep and break my heart I am not only ready to be bound but to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Happily you may have your wife weep and desire you not to go in such a course for it will be the way to begger you you must say I am ready to lose my estate my liberty yea my life for Jesus Christ That is the first particular Secondly they are not the souldiers of Jesus Christ that take up weapons of rebellion and fight against him You must either be the servants of Christ or not be the servants of Christ the souldiers of Christ or not the souldiers of Christ Now such as take up weapons and fight against God and his people cannot be souldiers of Jesus Christ Why you say you do not fight against Gods people and his ordinances Why what dost thou fight against then O take heed you deceive not your own souls What is the reason thou canst lay such a drunkard such a whore-master in thy bosome and so slightest the people of God In this one day now Christ begins to appear you see what oppositions there are in the world people cannot endure the wayes of holinesse but if no beauty shined out in the ordinance they would like well of it Consider that such as these are no souldiers of Jesus Christ that fight against his ordinance his people what-ever they pretend The next Use is an use of Excitation though there was more things in the other use which for want of time I have omitted there is two branches in it we shal speak a word or two to those that are Gods souldiers and then again to them that have not as yet entred into this spiritual warfare First for them that are Christs souldiers let me entreat you to prepare for a battel for a skirmish which you wil surely meet withall Beloved there is a day of death a comming this wil certainly come a day of affliction a comming this will certainly come you cannot if you have the spirit of discerning but see and perceive there is a cloud gathered together as big as a mans hand how quickly it may cover the heavens none knoweth The Lord hath told you in the last dayes there shall be terrible times Michael that great Prince shall stand up and there shall be such times as never was before Beloved do you not already perceive the very drops of bloud begin to fall Do you not daily heare of the cruell malice of the enemies of God When you think the storme is blowne over and never a cloud left in the heavens every man may sit under his own Vine and his own Fig-tree and none to make him afraid presently you perceive what hellish plots and designes are intended to draw a curtain before the light and take it away again Therefore Beloved let me entreat you to consider of these few things Know this you must fight or lose your lives there is a necessity of it you are to encounter with God with your selves with the world with your enemies and with the Devil himselfe if you overcome not all these you lose your lives This very consideration will put life and strength into the greatest coward if he seeth there is no way to escape then he will gather up his spirits about him Beloved I beseech you to consider it Do you not perceive how we are hemmed round about with enemies spirituall and temporall have you not enemies in your own hearts you do not know what they may do if opportunity be put into their hands the husband may betray the wife the father may betray the son the servant that eateth his meat at his masters table may destroy him The Lord tels us that a mans enemies should bee those of his own house Do you not perceive how you are set about with enemies there is a proud heart to be humbled a stubborne will to be subdued disordered affections to be rectified all these seek to let out the life of your soules Let this move you to take into your selves the righteousnesse of Christ the spirit of prayer the shield of faith a holy and godly life to encounter with the desperat enemies of God Secondly consider this who will accompany you in this glorious fight if you were to go to encounter with God alone with your owne hearts with the world with the enemies of God with the devil alone truly then little hope But consider who leads you forth you have God you have Christ you have the Spirit you have the promises you have the Angels you have the prayers of all the Saints on your sides O then beloved let this encourage you to goe to God for all you want or stand in need of this may put life in you What saith David Psal. 118. 11 12. Mine enemies compassed me round about like Bees but in the name of God will I destroy them Consider when thou art going forth to make warre against temporall against spirituall enemies thou goest forth with a glorious company in the name in the wisdome of thy God thou goest forth with the help of all Angels Think yee not saith Christ that I could speak to my Father and he could send me more than twelve Legions of Angels So may a poor man say it is not because their wanteth power in heaven if God will hecan deliver me thus you must consider who accompanieth you in this glorious fight Thirdly to provoke you further consider whose battel
it is you fight this is that which puts life into a souldier you that have money estates parts and gifts liberties and the like you may come and lay out all here to your great advantage Jesus Christ seems now to set up his glorious standard and make a Proclamation Who will be on my side who O I beseech you flock to Jesus Christ you that have the gift of prayer run in with that you that have honors run in with them you that have riches run in with them see if they will do any good Let that I beseech you stir you up to the work of the Lord Nay again consider what a glorious opportunity you have a man might have lived when he could not have told what to have done that would have appeared famous in the world for Jesus Christ Now God calleth upon you mercie calleth upon you to send in your ayde and help to fight in this great quarrell to fight with fasting with prayer with tears sighes and grones God now likewise calleth for the outward aswell as the inward mans estate he calleth for spirituall and temporall things Again consider the Lord hath made choice of you you onely that are his people to fight these combates God could have destroyed his enemies himself if not he could have called to his Angels to have helped him but the Lord hath made choice of you he will not overthrow his enemies without his people set up the Gospel without his people you must tell him of what he said long ago that Babylon shall fall Consider this that the Lord hath chosen you out before many others And then again consider what you get in this battel is for your selves let this pluck up your spirits If a Captain should come to his souldiers and tell them if you take the Town all shall be yours would not this put life in the souldiers God comes in and saith Be of good comfort my sons and daughters all you win shal be for your selves I have no need of these and these things those that have mourned with him shall rejoyce with him God saith he will pluck down his enemies and set up his people and tels us when it is so his people shall rejoyce And then lastly consider you shall be rewarded though you do not overcome the Lord will one day bring in his account shew thee how many dayes thou hast spent for him how many bitter complaints thou hast put up before him and will as certainly reward thee for it as if thou hadst the benefit of it already This should incourage you to go on though you should never live to see the accomplishment of what God hath promised you shall be rewarded as if you did overcome But in the next place a word or two to those that for present are not the souldiers of Jesus Christ I beseech you hearken you will finde it a sad thing that you are not the souldiers of Jesus Christ surely it had been better for you that you never had a being then to be a Rebell from birth to death to Christ First consider if thou be not Christs thou must of necessity be the devils souldier Oh that men and women would but sit down alone and seriously consider whose servant am I whose work do I of whom do I take pay Beloved I beseech you consider it you cannot serve two Masters The Lord Christ speaketh to them that said they had Abraham to their father you are of your father the devil for his works you do If we are the servants of Jesus Christ we will fight in the cause of Jesus Christ think upon it what a sad thing it is to be a souldier of the devil Secondly consider who it is you fight against if you be souldiers of the devil you fight against Jesus Christ and what a sad thing wil it be when God shall bring in a Bill of Indictment against you the Saints a Bill of Indictment against thee thy husband thy wife thy children Lord here is one that fought against me all my dayes did what lay in his power to take away my life liberty it were thousand times better thy hand should rot off then that thou shouldest do any thing against the Lord what will he say to thee such a time thou livedst when such and such a thing to my dishonour was put out against me and here is thy hand to it It were a thousand times better for thee that thy tongue should fall out of thy mouth then that ever thou 〈…〉 dest be knowne to speake a word against Christ and his cause take heed that thou beest not found a fighter against God Happily the wife may bring in sad bill of Indictment against the husband that he strive not only to keep himself but her out of heaven to keepe her from the places where she might edifie it will be a sad thing to thy soul that thou wilt neither go to heaven nor suffer others this Christ took notice of in the Scribes and Pharises that had the key of knowledge and would not enter themselves nor suffer those that would to enter Luke 11. 52. Thirdly consider what thou must have for thy worke thou that wilt not be broken off from thy prophaning of Gods day poluting his ordinances what doest thinke thou shalt have Jesus Christ hath a rich reward for those that serve him and so likewise for those that serve him not But Beloved them riches will make thy heart bleed to think of My freinds if you should come and look upon your tender hearted wife and see her upon the Rack but all about the place rejoycing it would make your hearts ake within you shall come to heaven and see happily a poor wife a poor husband a poor childe pulled one joynt from another God laughing and all the Saints and Angels laughing at it Beloved this will be an unspeakable torment to you the terrour of Almighty God will be upon those that fight against God In the last place I beseech you be exhorted to lay down your weapons Thou hast been a fighter against God this forty or fifty yeers O now be perswaded to lay down these weapons O my people saith God Micah 6. 4. what have I done to you wherein have I wearied thee testifie against me So saith God to many a man What have I done to thee that thou departest from mee and keepest company with such vile wretches Thus Jesus Christ also O why will you dye O house of Israel turn unto me my bloud shall make you clean So the Spirit saith Come and the Church of the living God saith Come the Embassadors of Christ wooe and beseech you to come in Never more be seen with a weapon against Christ These are glorious dayes that are a comming for the people of God but wo be to that man that Jesus Christ shall find persecuting his Church O the wretched estate of such a creature But to conclude what though thou canst not but confesse that thou hast been a fighter against God all thy dayes if now thou wilt come in and lay downe thy weapons thou shalt have as kind entertainment of God as those that have been his this forty years Abraham Isaack and Jacob shall not be more beloved of God than thou shalt be This often troubleth a poor child when it hath done that which is contrary to the parents will it will not come in their sight it is afraid of the frownes of the father O feare not the more polluted thou art the more will the Lord weep over thee he runs to meet a prodigall child you do not know what feasts the Lord will make in heaven at your conversion you shall see your name written in the book of life Me thinkes this should move you to come in and close with the Lord Jesus do not conceive that you shall not find entertainment for you shall be as welcome as any Nay and let me tell you the Lord will have a thousand times more glory by you than by the civil man Happily you have a neighbour that hath never bin known to swear an oath to tel a lye the Lord wil have twice more glory by you than by such a one if he should come in Consider also what good thou maist do to poor enemies Paul intimates so much I knew a man in Christ about 14. yeares ago he wil not name you who he is for feare of vain-glory yet he tels you by and by I Paul a persecutor O beloved how wil Gods people be encouraged yea the enemies of God when they shal see such a vile persecutor as Paul to come in to Jesus Christ Such a one as Mary Magdalen to come in to Christ this must needs be a mighty encouragement But to conclude all if thou dost not come and presently lay down thy weapons the time will be past And as the tree falleth so it lyeth the night commeth when man cannot work Therefore I beseech you lay down the weapons of your religion defer not I beseech you say not I will do it to morrow the next day or the third day no do it presently do not say I wil do it when I come home but now whilst you sit in your pews resolve to lay down your weapons come to Jesus Christ Many more instructions might have bin delivered but the time hath prevented FINIS