in his Revelation tels us he often heard them crying Worthy is the Lambe who was stain This is the songe of Moses and the Lambe that is sung there and in conformity to this he breaks off the Revelation Rev. 1 v. 5. with these words Now to him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood to him be glory and dominion for ever If we would have a communion day resembling heaven this must be our worke also Secondly Consider this is the proper work of the day However beleivers be taken up with tossing their doubts and fears yet there may be something of a tentation in this to divert them from something more suitable to their present work it is ane unanswerable Argument some bring to prove that the primitive Church did not kneel in reception of the Sacrament because they did not kneel for some Centuries on the Sabbath at all looking upon it as a day of joy for Christs resurrection It is trew in this Sabboth we are met to commemorat a death and that the death of the most loveing husband that ever had a being Yet since it is the death of one who hath overcome death and who hath sent us word Revel 1 18. I am he that was dead and am alive our work ought to be praises and admiration Thirdly Consider there is nothing we can repay for all the love He hath manifested yea there is nothing else he requires but praises and admiration The deliverance from Egypt cost Israel many of their best and cheiffest catel there is nothing such here Offer to me the sacrifices of thanksgiving is all that is demanded and when will this sacrifice be offered if not upon such a day But this and many such considerations though they may convince the minde that the thing is rational yet not sufficiently help to it if these practises be not added First Labor to get the heart in frame for praises and admiring this love from what thou hast heard thou mayst perceave thou hast ane excellent song but if the instrument be out of tune it may be spilt as many a good tale is in the telling the 108 Psal begins well My heart is fixed Lord I will sing get thy heart fixed that is possibly like Israel in Eliahs tyme halting betwixt two then praise Secondly repel the tentations that would put thee by from praising and admireing this love say to them that which Felix said to Paul I will hear thee at a more convenient tyme shall thou come to a mariage-feast where thou art called to singing in thy mourning suit Or is Christs love in giveing himself any thing the less worthy that thy heart is ill But some will say this is easier said then done they are not tentations but well-grounded reasons that keep me back from admireing and praising this love Christian what are they 1. Some say let them praise and admire who are interested in it and advantadged by it but thou art not such a one but 1. thou commends many things thou art not much advantadged by The courage of Alexander the Policie of Hanibal the wisdome of Solon the bounty of Vespasian ar all much comended in Histories and yet the writters of all these Histories not much profited by any of them Christs love is admirable to mankind and praise worthy be it terminat to thee or not Beside many praise such as the glorified Angels that are not interested in it if thou shalt say He is to them a Mediator of Confirmation many great divyns say so indeed and others deny it and as it is not easy to prove from Scriptur so not easy to answer The objections brought against it However He was not to them a Mediator of redemption and yet they admire and praise him Thirdly thou mayst have interest in it and yet not descerne it Christ say practical divines hath delivered believers from all danger of vindictive wrath but not from all the fear of it till they come to glorie Thy fears then are no proof of thy danger But if all these will not doe get interest yet in it it is the scope of the work of the day to make an offer of it Imbrace his offer it is free and so praise Others say they cannot praise though they will not deny their interest in it yet they are under a present desertion and so cannot praise nor admire This objection Sion makes Isay 49. v. 14. The Lord calls on heaven and earth to sing because of the Covenant of redemption Sion sayes sing who will I will sing none Sion said I am forsaken my God hath cast me off It is true it is with us as the Marygold that opens and shuts or closses as the Sunne rises and goes down yet be doing it as thou may the Lord sometimes denyes assisting grace that his accepting grace may shine the brighter If he give the poor widdow but two mits to cast into the treasury it is all one if he Counts the two mits The purest obedience though I confess not the most comfortable is to doe duties under a desertion praise it then and admire it But I go to the second branche of the use If his love be so matchless render him love for love It is reported of holy Bredfoord that some tymes the tears would be running downe on his truncheor when sitting at his meat and when he was asked the reason of it he said because he could not get fervent enough love to Christ our obligation to Christ is such that the coldness of our love is wonderful especially the exercise of love is suitable to this feast Zenophon in his Cyroped tels of one Lygranes King of Armenia who was taken with his Queen captive by Cyrus on a tyme Cyrus asked him if he desyred his liberty and to have his Kingdome and his Wife restored to him Lygranes answered him For my liberty and my Kingdome I prayse them not much but if my heart blood could redeeme my Wyffe I would cheerfully give it afterward Cyrus haveing restored him all and he was comes home in his Kingdome he asked his Queen what a one she thought Cyrus was shee replyed she knew not my heart and my mynd said she was so much taken up with the man who would have given his blood for my ransome that I could think upon no other If a Heathen could say so much of one who made but ane offer of his blood for her ransome O how much more we of Him who hath gone far begond offers He hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood But since the exercise of love is so suitable a work to a feast of love and one great part of our communion with him in the sacrament herin I shall only give thir things to try the sincerity of our love and so close 1. Thou most take up a-right the nature of love many think they love him because they doe not hate him quid
how lamentable is it Thirdly the principles as they are sure so are they exceeding sweet David had more joy in Gods testimonies then in all riches All the contentment Ranters have in their carnall pleasures are but as swyn in a dunghill their glasse goes soon out an hours communion with God though in a prison yea the reproach of Christ as counted by Moses who was learned in all the wisdome of Aegypt is greater riches then the treasures of Egypt And Paul who was not a little learned in the Grecian wisdome counted all these dung for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the superlativenesse of the knowledge of Christ Thirdly It is yet the more lamentable that there is abundance of strength allowed to follow our principles if it were depended upon the rock followes us and the rock is Christ he is not only ready to do what we ask but above all we can ask or think he deals with us as Naaman with Gehazi when he run after him and prayed him to give him one talent I pray thee sayes Naaman take two It is indeed much to walk up to our principles but we baike beside meall we are able to do all things throw him that strengthens us and yet to contradict our principles is sad Lastly it makes it yet more lamentable that there are such excellent encouragements so great are ward abyding the walking according to them neither is it long to the time when he that soweth in the spirit shall of the spirit reap Immortality and life everlasting we are not threshing in the waters but sowing in a certain expectation of a harvest of glory and yet to contradict our principles All these laid together evidence how lamentable our contradicting our principles is I shall only adde 3. helps for walking up to our principles and so close 1. Consider often that there are many things we do out of obedience to the Law of God we abstain from murder adultery wait on ordinances think it necessary to be somewhat more circumspect about the time of a Sacrament how unreasonable is it then to contradict the lawes of the same God in other things no lesse peremptorly commanded under no lesse penalty God spake all these words saying is the preface to all the commands of the law If some of them had only proceeded from God and others from Baal or the God of Ammon we might easily dispute and dispense with our selves but God spake all these words 2. Keep up constant intercourse with Christ as the fountaine of sanctification do not with him as some do with the old cloak that they will take about them when their is a shoure and cast it off as soon as it becomes fair again Some in sicknesse seek their pardon as one would runne into a ruinous house when their is rain but would not dwell there If we were dwelling in him and abyding in him and walking in him it would be lightsome to walk by our principles the want of these influences exceedingly occasions our contradiction to them 3. Stand not upon reproaches that often lye in the way of following these principles These men are drunk with new wine said the multitude of the Apostles when the spirit descended on them no sayes Peter Acts 2.16 this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel if thou can produce a line of the Bible thou walkest by the Kings Law which ought to rule all the subjects reproaches then are the fruits of their distemper A SERMON On Eph. 5.25 Husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved his Church and gave himself for it THere is nothing more suitable to a feast of love then to treat of that love which gave a rise to the feast this is to handle the Gospell of the day often believers at such occasions are so much in tossing their fears and doubts that they forget obedience to that precept do this in remembrance of me My purpose therefor in this Sermon is to glance a little from the words read at the love of Christ manifested in the work of redemption The Apostle from 22. vers of this Chap. is leaving directions for the right ordering of relations among men shewing to each one the dutyes of their relation among the rest these words containe a rule for husbands And in the rule we have a precept and a pattern The precept Husbands love your wives the Parterne as Christ loved his Church and gave himself for it The note of similitude As which does knitt the precept and patterne together does not import any equality in degree that ought to be betwixt the love of the husband to his wife and the love of Christ to the Church but only some similitude in kinde For 1. This equality is simply impessible not only for the nature of man corrupted for so many things God hath commanded are impossible so all gracious qualityes are impossible but it is impossible for the nature of man even as it is created and pure Adam could not performe obedience of infinite value and merit as Christ hath done in loving his Church and giving himself for it Beside 2. God cannot in justice require of meer man obedience proceeding from a personal union of the divine and humane natures such as Christs love manifested in giving himself for his Church was Hence divines prove well that Christs obedience to the death was properly meritorious because it was actio indebita for tho Christ-man be tyed to obey yet not to performe so noble obedience in regard Christ as God can come under no law oblidging to obedience So that neither could God require such perfect love nor was it possible even for Adam to performe Therefore all imported in the note of similitude is some kinde of resemblance betwixt the Husbands love and Christs to his Church as is evident from severall other Scriptures where the same is used Gal. 4.14 Ye receaved me as an Angell of the Lord yea even as Christ this imports not an equality in degree betwixt the receaving of Paul and Christ but some similitude and resemblance Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven in that perfect patern of prayer and many such we might instance in the Scriptures But since in this Sermon I purpose not a particular handling of the words I shall not insist in a particular explication of them I shall only take one general observation from them and insist upon it at this time Observation That the love of Christ manifested in the work of redemption is matchless and may fitly be made a patern and copie to the love required in the most intimat relations In prosecuting this point which so Genuinly ariseth from this Scripture there are two things I shall premise for opening of it First my purpose is not to speak of the love of Christ in the full latitude of it as it comprehends the love of benevolence beneficence and is the root and fountaine whence issewes all the acts of
Name of the Gods The Story of Regulus returning to Carthage because he had given his oath to returne is well known though he knew he should be put to exquisit tortures if he returned yet ere he falsified his oath made in the name of his Gods he would return But how litle we esteem either in makeing or keeping of them our constant practice aboundantly declare All these six then laid togither which I have pitched upon amongst many I might have brought I hope sufficiently confirme the truth of the poynt Application There is only one use I shall prosecut a litle from this point Is it so that idolaters and worshipers of false Gods doe often outstrype and may justly reprehend the worshipers of the true God It serves for lamentation and humiliation Tell it not in Gath and publish it not in the streets of Askelon least the Daughters of the Philistins rejoyce But to us what matter lamentation is it Especially if we consider these six things First The excellency of our God beyond theirs Our God is the Lord who made Heaven and Earth Our God is in Heaven and doth whatsoever he will who is like unto the Lord among all the Gods Their Idols are Silver and Gold the work of mens hands they have ears and hear not and eyes and see not but how excellent is his name through all the earth Now so excellent a God and yet worse served how lamentable is it Secondly Our principles and ground we walk by and whereby we are bound to painful zealous worship to our God are infalliblie sure all that the witt of man could imagine to demonstrat the certainty of our principles and obligations to worship we have it the sone comeing downe from the Fathers bosome and revealing our duty to us and a voice from Heaven witnessing to the truth of his being his beloved sone his being so ratified by so many properties confirmed by so many miracles so divine doctrine proceeding from him as hath a clear stamp of a divin hand upon it It is ridiculous to hear of the original of some of their Gods to whom they offered sacrifices often they were the work of their own hands or some of the creatures which God had made their servitors now how lamentable is it we should be outstryped in worship then having so much reason to surpass Thirdly If ye shall consider the sweetness of the duties wherein we are called to performe worshipe to our God An Idol signifies sorrow what a griefe do you think behoved it to be to tender-hearted mothers to imbrew their hands in the blood of their own guiltless Children But the duties we are called to make a degree of Heaven on Earth In keeping of thy Commandements there is great reward Not only for keeping of them but in keeping of them What ease to a burdened mynd is prayer what joy in praises what refreshing consolations from the meditation of God as reconciled through a Mediator and so in all other parts of worship I rejoyced when they said unto me let us go unto the House of the Lord now so sweet dutyes enjoyned us and yet outstryped how lamentable is it Fourthly They never pretended to that obligation to worship their Gods that we owe to ours though they thought they gave them corne and wyne and victory over their enemies yet they never pretended that any of them dyed for them to prevent their eternal ruine But by this unspeakably-great ty we stand bound to our worshipe when our loss was desperat he was broken for our iniquities and in his stryps we are healed and one of the ends he had in this was that we might be zealous worshipers of Him He gave himself Tit. 2. for us that he might purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works And we have his Apostles whom he sent out in the World to gather a Church to him pressing our duties on us on this very foundation Ye are bought with a price and are not your own glorifie God in your bodies and souls Now after such an obligation yet to be outstriped how lamentable is it Fifthly We have incouragments in our worship from the expectation of a farr more excellent reward then ever they could dream of or hope for in their Elysian Feilds which Seneca comforted himself with when at Nero's command he was cutting his veins where he hoped to meet the soule of Socrates were not only fancies but suppose they hade been real how low a reward were they being compared with that excellent exceeding great and eternal weight of Glory Notwithstanding of all that is told us of our reward that eare hath not heard nor eye hath not seen nor can it enter into the heart of man to consider what God hath prepared for them that love him and that yet we should be outstriped how sad is it Sixthly They never dreamed of assisting influences from their Gods to help them at their owrshipe all they did they did in the strength of inherent vertue naturall or acquired Socrates could tell that his Philosophy made him patient and bear reproaches And Diogenes that his Philosophie made him contemne riches and delight in poverty Ay but we have the influences of asisting grace secured to us by the word of him who cannot ly to help us at our worship If we know not how to pray nor what to pray the Spirit helpeth our infirmities there is a spirit of faith and a spirit of love and a spirit of a sound mynd Their waters came out of broken Cisternes that could hold no waters But the rock followes us and the rock is Christ All these laid togither evidence what matter of lamentation aryseth from this point But that I may come to a close by what means may we come to outstrype them in our worshipe to the true God Since it is so farr that we are outstryped and so much to our reproach that it should be so it will be necessary to answer this And for answer to it there were some things helped them in their worship which we are to imitat And there are some things they neglected of which we are to be careful And by this we may come to outstrype them First For the things they did that we are to imitat I shall name these three 1. They were keeped much in fear and awe of their Gods in reference to the Heathen it will in some measure hold true primos in orbe fecit deos timor They were still affrayed if they neglected their worshipe their Gods would fall upon them and be avenged of it It is true it is too servil a principle of Gospel-worshipe Fear should not be the pace that should make our wheels goe it should be love if thou love me keep my Commandments Yet where fear is wanting usually worshipe is wanting also Eliphaz in one of his discourses to Job joyns these two togither though He misapply them to Jobs case Surely thou restraines prayer and