as they did in the Parable we have born thy name and we have been called Christians and have been accounted thine and wilt thou not acknowledge us and own us now And Christ shall answer them depart from me I know you not go get you over on the other side among the Goats I tell you you are none of mine Ah my beloved this will be a cooling and a killing word indeed Is it so that Jesus Christ is glorified in all those that belong to him Vse 2 Both in their grace and holiness in this world and in their glory in the world to come This then should be a motive and inducement to us to strive and labour after both these both after grace in this world and glory in the world to come both to be holy here and happy hereafter 1. This should quicken us and stirr us up to labour after holiness and grace that Jesus Christ may be glorified in us If grace were only advantagious to our selves and honorable to our selves as to be really and truly gracious is indeed the greatest honour in the world there were no such reason then why we should labour to attain it and abound with it For then you know we could have no higher aim then only to set up a poor Creature But seeing Jesus Christ is honoured in the grace and holiness and the obedience of his people Oh how should this enflame us with restless and unsatisfied desires of these things How should we covet and covet earnestly the best gifts and labour that we may excell in inward grace and outward obedience that we may set up Jesus Christ the more and that his honour may be the more advanced by us When we are seeking to the Lord for holiness and grace that he would give it out to us and give it more abundantly how should we press and quicken our petitions with this prevailing argument that Jesus Christ will be advanced by it and his glory more enlarged Lord give us more faith love hope patience zeal power against corruption strength to new obedience that Christ may have the more glory We seek not these things to promote our own esteem and reputation and that we may be some body among the Saints but that Christ Jesus may be all in all It is thy great design to glorifie thy Son Christ and this is the ready way to accomplish the design on which thy very heart is set if thou give us more holiness and more grace he will have more glory Thou wilt not honour us so much but Jesus Christ thine own beloved Son will be glorified in us And therefore we beseech thee set thy Treasure open to us and give us out a large share In such a manner the Apostle deals with God in his petitions in that memorable place to this purpose 2 Thes 1.11 12. We pray continually for you saith the Apostle there that God would count you worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power That he would carry on that work of grace upon your souls till he hath brought it to perfection And why so to what end That the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you not that you may be honoured but that Christ may be glorified in you 2. And as this should stirr us up to labour after grace in this world so after glory in the world to come Since Christ is glorified as in the grace so much more in the glory of his people For glory is compleat grace and therefore Christ is glorified in that to admiration as we have shewed you formerly in explication of the point The Apostle speaks of some who seek glory Rom. 2.7 he means the glory of the other world as it is very evident by that which is joyned with it glory and honour and immortality and Eternal life And truly it is not unlawfull for every one of us to seek glory I mean our own eternal glory in the heavens because while we seek that we seek the glory of Christ in it It s that which troubles many of the Saints they think that they are scarce upright because they have so great an eye upon their own glory They doubt their own sincerity meerly upon this ground Indeed my brethren if your own glory and salvation went single and alone it were a greater cause of scruple But since the glory of the Lord Christ is comprehended and involved in it why should you not desire and seek it as subservient to the great and high end And therefore I beseech you my beloved under this notion have respect to it and draw encouragement and sweetness from it amidst the many heavy labours and bitter sufferings of this present life Look up man to the glory that is set before thee press hard towards it be diligent and patient in the expectation of it strive and labour to obtain it while thou considerest with thy self that when thou art glorified Christ will be glorified in thee And so in aiming at thy own glory do thou intend and seek the glory of Christ And this is that which thou maist do yea this is that which thou must do And therefore go on cheerfully embrace the promise that is yet afar of reach at the Crown of glory that is hung out to tempt thee and to toll thee on And let this animate thee most of all that when thou hast attained it Christ will be glorified and admired in thee He whom thy very soul loveth will have one monument the more of his own praise and glory unto all eternity And thus far of the first Consideration that induced our Saviour to become a Suitor for his Apostles and Disciples to his Father viz. the neer relation which they had to his Father and himself by means of which it came to pass that he was glorified in them The second follows now in order to be handled viz. the sad condition they were likely to be in by reason of the near approach of his departure from them to the Father and leaving them behind in an unquiet and malitious world And now I am no more in the world but these are in the world and I come to thee A dolefull and heart-killing word you must conceive it was to his Apostles and Disciples and now I am no more in the world They who left all for him must needs be very much dejected to be left by him And to be left alone in such a wilderness in such a troublesome unpleasing and a vexatious place as the world hath alwayes been to Christs Disciples As long as he was with them he was a very great support encouragement and comfort to them in all conditions and in all cases And therefore now he is about to leave them he thinks it necessary to commend them to the especial care and mercy and protection of his Father There are two things suggested in this dying Song this last
you be carried down the stream with the times and with the places where you live if you have fellowship with the unfruitfull works of darkness hear what the Apostle says 1 John 3.10 you have discovered whose you are and to whom you appertain By this the children of God are manifest and the châ—ldren of the Devil He that doth not righteousness is not of God he is none of Gods children If God be your Father and you be his children you have a dear affection to those who are his children as your selves are There is a tender Love a sweet agreement between you and your fellow brethren If any difference fall out then say as Abraham once to Lot Let there be no strife between us for we are brethren Gen. 13.18 Let brotherly love continue Hebr. 1.12 And the defect of this affection on the other side is an apparent evidence of non-adoption as you may see 1. Joh. 3.10 he that doth not righteousness is not of God saith the Apostle the meaning is he is not the childe of God and he that loveth not his brother what think we then of those whose sons are they who hate and trouble and disquiet those who are indeed the Sons of God and work them all the woe and mischief they can and that because they are so like God because they bear the image of God and the clear impressions of his Holiness upon them If they will know their pedegree they are the Children of the Devil they are the seed of the old Serpent between whom and the womans seed the Lord hath put an unreconcileable and Endless Enmity and Opposition And therefore let not such while they continue in this way of opposition to the Saints presume to come to God and call him Father For if they do they fall into the sin of Ananias in another way Acts 5.4 they lye to God And they have cause to fear that he will even strike them dead before him But if you find within you working and warm affections to your fellow-brethren if your hearts be mightily and vehemently carried out to such and that because you see the Image of your Father shining in them and even as God is even such are they in this world They are so like him whom you love transcendently and incomparably more then all the world besides that you cannot choose but love them and affect them dearly too for his sake and in reference to him So that your delight is in them yea all your delight is in them You find no pleasure or complacency in any other Company but such as theirs is I say my brethren if you love them thus and upon this account it is a comfortable sign that God is a Father to you and you may look upon him as a Father when you are making your petitions to him John 17.1 The hour is come c. ANd thus far of the object of our Saviours prayer or the person to whom he presents it to and that as you have heard is God the Father Proceed we to the parts of it which have been noted to be two according to the paties whom he prayes for In the first place he prayeth for himself the Head of the Church And in the second place he prayes for the inferiour Members of the Church First For himself the Head of the Church he desireth glorification Then for the Members of the Church he desireth confirmation and that for the Apostles and Disciples then about him the Members of the present Church or else for those who were after to believe by their word or to be called by their preaching the Members of the Church to come as I have shewed you formerly when I drew up a short Analysis or resolution of the whole Chapter We are at this time to begin with that part of our Saviours prayer which concerns himself In which you may take notice with me of these three things the rise of it the matter of it and the reasons of it First You have here the rise of it from whence our Saviour takes occasion to present it to his Father The hour is come Secondly You have the matter of it or the thing which he desireth of the Father and this is that he may be glorified Father glorifie thy Son Thirdly you have the reasons of it with which he presseth and enforceth this request of his and they are many and of great importance as God assisting you shall see at large hereafter At this time I shall fasten on the first Particular the rise of this Petition of our Saviour from whence he takes occasion to present it to his Father The hour is come The hour is come What hour is come the hour in which the Father had decreed and fore-appointed to glorifie his Son Christ that hour was come and therefore he desires his Father to execute his purpose now seeing this was his own time But you will say the hour which was now at hand was the hour of Christs Passion in which he was abased and humbled as you may see he was betrayed almost as soon as he had done this prayer And how then could this be the hour in which he was appointed to be glorified of the Father To this I answer that Christ was glorified in some respect even while he suffered he triumphed upon the Cross as the Apostle Paul speaks Col. 2.15 blotting out the hand-writing that was against us and took it out of the way nailing it to his Cross And having spoyled Principalities and Powers he made a shew of them openly triumphing over them in it that is in the same Cross The word that the Apostle uses there alludeth to the fashion of the Roman Conquerours whose manner was to lead their vanquished Captives bound before their Chariots in a glorious way the people gratulating their heroick acts and Victories with loud and joyful acclamations Our Saviour having spoyled Principalities and Powers did somewhat Analogical to this and hence the terms by which those ancient Roman Triumphs were expressed are attributed to him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he made a shew of them openly that is he brought them to extream dishonour and made them spectacles of ignominy and reproach and gazing-stocks of shame to men and Angels and this he did upon the very Cross It s true that to a carnal Eye this was the place of his humiliation but to an eye of faith it was the place of his triumphant Exaltation The world sees nothing but dishonour in the Cross of Christ but they that are enlightned see the great work of mans redemption finished there sin and his kingdom broken there and the Devil vanquished and led captive there to Christs eternal honour and their eternal ignominy and confufion So that even with respect to this this time of suffering on the Cross our Saviour Christ might say The hour is come Father glorifie thy Son Or if you look a little further to the time of his ascention and
you and beseech you to accept him Yea more then so he works upon you by some kind of operation of his Spirit and you resist the Holy Ghost He waits upon you many dayes yea many years even till his head be full of dew and his locks wet with the drops of the night he exercizeth much long-suffering to you he is patient not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance All this he doth and doth this look as if it were his aim to damn you as if he sought your ruine and destruction It 's true indeed you are by accident in the worse case for Christ you will have one day cause to wish if you continue in your unbelief that Christ had never been Incarnate that you had never heard of him But I beseech you whose fault is all this is it Christs or is it yours you had been damned if Christ had never come and when he came he came to you as well as others And he came not to destroy you he came not to condemn the world alas that was not his intention but that the world by him might be saved And therefore I beseech you do not thinks amiss of Christ in this business If he should condemn you yet do not you condemn him as if your condemnation were the thing he looked for If you will perish think not the worse of Jesus Christ but justifie him and applaud his mercy when you are sinking into hell Give testimony to the truth and say he hath done much to save me but he hath done nothing to damn me He came into the world to save sinners that was indeed the end of his coming but I by my rebellion and my obstinacy and my unbelief have made him do that which he came not for even to destroy me It was not Jesus Christ no it was my own perversness and incredulity that hath undone me and everlastingly and brought me to this place of torment Use 5 Is it so that the authority c. is chiefly for the good c. Then certainly they shall be saved they may rely and rest upon it as an unquestionable thing Christ hath received his power and his authority for this end his Father hath bestowed it on him for this end that he may give eternal life to as many as God hath given him and certainly they will not both be disappointed of their main intention They will not be crossed in that which is their great design It s true the carrying on and the accomplishment of the work of our salvation is a very hard business it meets with many difficulties and with many oppositions But Christ you see is absolutely and compleatly furnished to go through with it and to save us to the utmost If he were only vested with authority and power over the flesh which he intends to save it would fall short in this business For there is other flesh that would resist and hinder their salvation There is flesh within them and there is flesh without them that would oppose this great work The people of the Lord Christ have all of them much flesh and much corruption in them And there is much flesh without them a multitude of wicked and ungodly men And both of these this flesh within them and this flesh without them are mighty obstacles and great impediments to the great end propounded in my text the giving of eternal life to them The flesh without them I mean the world and worldly men will seek to terrifie them or allure them or perswade them from the waies of God and will deceive if it were possible the very Elect. The flesh within them will close with that which is without on all occasions and labour to withdraw them from the living God So that as I have said if Christ were only vested with authority and power over the flesh which he intends to save it would fall short in this business But God you see hath given him power over all â—â—esh that he may give eternal life to as many as he hath given him Not only power over the flesh to which he means to give eternal life but power over all flesh that he may give eternal life to them That other flesh may not resist and hinder him in this business And therefore let us chear and comfort up our hearts in sweet assurance of salvation as many of us as belong to Christ We are discouraged now and then perhaps when we perceive how strong the flesh within us is how mighty and how violent and how prevailing our corruptions are We are afraid the wicked world the flesh without us will overcome us in the end either by honours and preferments or else by threats and persecutions and so will hazard our salvation But here 's our never failing comfort Christ hath power over all flesh that he may give us eternal life He hath power over the flesh within us he can subdue and master our corruptions when he pleases he can pluck down those strong holds He hath power over the flesh without us he can overcome the world yea he hath overcome the world And therefore let us be of good chear let us be confident we shall have eternal life at last for God hath given him full power to this end and to this purpose that he may give it and that none may hinder it Is it so that the authority of Jesus Christ with c. is chiefly c. Use 6 Oh how much are we bound to God and Christ to God the Father that he hath given to God the Son that he hath taken this authority for this End That both of them have been so careful that the authority of Christ might be sufficient to go through with the business and all this for our sakes Oh what are we that God and Christ should have such dear respect unto us that they should honour us so far that our salvation should be the end of the authority of Jesus Christ It is but fit that we should be for him that all that we are or have should be for Christ But that all that Jesus Christ as Man and Mediator hath should be for us that all his power and his authority over the world should be for us that we and our eternal happiness should be the end as it is made in this place and Jesus Christ and his authority in this respect should be but a means to this end this is a mercy and an honour which we cannot reach to see the bottom of it any way And that we should have the preferment here that the authority which Christ hath over all flesh should not be for them but us that he may give to us eternal life who are a little remnant of worthless inconsiderable men That Christ should have so great authority for such a little petty company this is mercy with a witness Let us sit down and wonder at it and be thankful for it while we
your damnation and eternal ruine And all the honour that you lose him here he will fetch it out again and have his penny-worths upon you in the world to come There you must lie and burn and there is no deliverance thence till you have paid the utmost farthing Is it so that whosoever will be glorified c. you then my Brethren Vse 2 that have thoughts aspiring to the glory of the world to come and that desire to be partakers of it there you see the course you are to take you must make this your work and business how you may glorifie the Lord here how you may set him up and shew him in his beauty and his lustre to the world And though you can make no addition to him in himself yet let this be your endeavour all your days to bring in some accruments to his honour among men that they may honour him the more by your means that so when you come to die you may bespeak him as our Saviour doth when he was ready to be offered up We have glorified thee on earth and now O Father glorifie us with thy self Now there are two ways especially in which you may bring glory to the Lord either in a way of vocal declaration or in a way of real representation And both these ways you must endeavour to bring glory to him here if you desire to have glory from him hereafter First Glorifie him in a way of vocal declaration let your tongues be the Trumpeters of his glory while you are speaking upon all occasions of things that tend to the advancement of the honour and the praise of God Any thing that you conceive will set him up and raise him in the thoughts of those whom you discourse withal be sure that you insist upon it and enlarge it to the utmost let the name and let the attributes and let the works of God lose nothing by your means Glorifie him as Christ did by manifesting and by making known his name to men by telling what he is and what he doth by setting forth his power and mercy and the like that such as hear may magnifie him and admire him Study God-exalting speeches and expressions and discourses and enure your tongues to them that you may have them ready upon all occasions when there is any opportunity for Gods honour Secondly Glorifie him also in a way of real representation and here let him be glorified in what you are and what you do 1. Let God be glorified in what you are let his glory shine upon you by reflexion according to the Prophets Exhortation Isa 60.1 Arise and shine for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee Be you the monuments of his praise the emblems of his love and of his mercy the standing pillars on which his goodness is engraven to be read and seen of men Do you shew forth the praises or as we find it rendred in the margent the vertues of him that hath called you 1 Pet. 2.9 That every one that looks upon you observes you may see the goodness and the grace and holiness of God in you That they may say if there be so much in the stream what is there in the spring and in the fountain If there be so much in the beam what is there in the Sun of righteousness himself If there be so much vertue in them that are called what is there then in him that hath called them This makes much for Gods praise and so indeed in shewing forth the vertue we shew forth the praise and the glory of him that hath called us He hath made me saith the Church a polished shaft a choice a special and a polished piece of work and said unto me thou art my servant in whom I will be glorified When God makes such curious pieces and hangs them forth in the view of all the world he is glorified in them 2. Let God be glorified as in what you are so in the second place in what you do yea in every thing you do Let this be the utmost aim of all your actions Your acts of nature as eating or drinking or the like let these be done with reference to Gods glory as the Apostle Paul exhorts to eat and drink to the glory of God 1 Cor. 10.31 Your civil actions your trading dealing and commercing in the world your buying selling giving lending your care and labour in your calling let these have the same end You see the rule is universal in the fore-alledged Text whatsoever else you do Your holy and religious duties let those have this aspect and aim that you may glorifie the Lord and not your selves in them That when men see your good works your frequent hearing praying fasting bounty to the poor Saints they may glorifie not you the doers of them but your Father which is in heaven And in a word my Brethren no action is exempt from this direction And hence saith the Apostle 1 Pet. 4.11 If any speak let him speak as the Oracles of God if any man minister let him do it as of the ability which God giveth that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ What then it may be you will interpose and ask Object may a man aim at nothing else but Gods glory may he propound no other end in any thing he undertakes may he have no respect to others to himself this is a hard saying who can hear it The rule as you have heard is universal Answ but that you may the better understand the meaning of it that your conscience may not be entangled you must know that other ends may be propounded in our actions in a way either of subordination or else of opposition to the glory of God A man may aim at nothing else no other end in opposition to his glory all such must of necessity be laid aside But other ends may be intended in subordination to it they may be looked upon as far as they may be subservient to this which ought to be the ultimate the utmost end of all our actions A man in his endeavours and painful labours in his calling may aim at the increase of his Estate Not that he may be lifted up above his brethren not that he may consume it on his Lusts or make it fuell to maintain his pride or his intemperance or the like These may not be his ends because they stand in opposition to the great and utmost end but that God may be honoured while he is not burthensom by his remissness and his negligence but rather hath to give to him that needeth And while he makes provision for his family and those that have dependance on him which he that provideth not for is worse then an Infidel Thus we must make the very duties of our callings pay tribute to the honour of our God who keeps his servants not as poor men do for need but as rich and
what you do for him He will give to every man not according to his knowledge but according to his works To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek glory and honor and immortality saith the Apostle Rom. 2.7 To them who do and do well and continue doing well and patiently continue doing well yea though they suffer evill for well doing the Lord will render eternal life JOHN 17.26 And will declare it AND thus far of the first part of our Saviours resolution to make a further declaration of his Fathers Name in reference to his Apostles and Disciples then about him I have declared unto them thy Name and will declare it further to them to the very same men Proceed we to the Second Member of his Resolution to make a further delaration of his Fathers Name in reference to other men to whom he had not yet at all declared it I have declared unto them thy Name to these Apostles and Disciples now about me and will declare it further yet to other men both in the present and the future ages This act of mine shall be a constant and continued act as long as there are any people in the world I will not cease declaring of thy Name to them And so accordingly the point shall be DOCTRINE That Jesus Christ will be continually making further declarations of his Fathers Name to other Nations and to other persons to the end of the world He will be still declaring it to those that have not heard of it that have not been acquainted with his Fathers name Teaching new scholars still to spell it and to understand it in every Generation while the World endureth And as he is a King for ever as long as there are any further people to be ruled and as he is a Priest for ever as the Psalmist speaks Psal 110.4 as long as there are any further people to be saved and redeemed So he is a Prophet for ever as long as there are any further people to be taught Every age shall have experience of the blessed fruits of the Prophetical Office of Christ in giving some the knowledge of his Fathers Name who till then were strangers to him For clearing of the point I shall a little more distinctly shew you that Jesus Christ will be continually making further Declarations of his Fathers Name In the first place to other Nations And in the second place to other persons to the end of the world Jesus Christ will be continually making further declarations of his Fathers Name to other Nations He had declared it only to the people of the Jews when he put up this supplication to his Father in my Text. Some Proselytes of other Nations there might be among the Jews who were partakers of his publique teaching but certainly he had revealed his Father to no other Nation but the Jews only For his Commission was confined to them as he professed to the Canaanitish woman Matth. 15.24 I am not sent but to the lost Sheep of the house of Israel I am to be my Fathers Messenger to them and none but them immediately in my own person If I go further I exceed my bounds For till the resurrection of our Saviour the partition-wall between the Jews and Gentiles was not broken down And so accordingly he preacht not peace he did not manifest that sweet part of his Fathers Name to those that were afar off neither by himself nor by his Ministers till after that time as the Apostle Paul insinuates Ephes 2.14 15 16 17. And therefore when he sent forth his Apostles Mat. 10.5 his express injunction was Go not into the way of the Gentiles and into any City of the Samaritans enter ye not but go ye rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel Which course or method the Apostles in the first place very carefully observed as you may see Act. 13.15 It was necessary saith Paul and Barnabas to the Jews that the Word of God the Gospel in which the Fathers name is manifested and made known to men should first of all be preached unto you But since that time he hath declared it by his Ministers to other Nations To whom his last Commission was Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature Mark 16.15 Go ye and teach all Nations Mat. 28.19 And in pursuance of this Commission and command of his even the Apostles while they lived did spread it far and wide The Scripture story seems to hint it to us Mark 16. ult where after the forementioned Mandate of our Saviour it is immediately observed by the Evangelist that they went forth and preached everywhere And the Apostle Paul reporteth that himself alone had filled with the Gospel all the Countrey from Jerusalem even round about unto Illyricum yea that he strived to preach it where Christ was not so much as named Rom. 15.19 20. You may suppose the rest of the Apostles were not idle in their places The stories of the Church give in some Testimonies to it For Stapleton reports of Thomas that he preached to the Indians and Clemens saith there is no Nation either Grecian or Barbarian among whom prayers are not made in the Name of Jesus And so to whom God is not manifested as a Father in his Son Christ But yet we are not to conclude from this an universal Declaration of the Name of God to every people Island Nation in the world in the times of the Apostles For since their dayes Christ hath revealed it to many Countries and to many people And yet at this day there are many Nations that have not heard of God in Christ That Name of his hath not been declared to them But to them he will declare it before the consummation of the world they shall all hear of it The Gospel saith our Saviour shall be preached to all the world and then shall the end come Mat. 24.14 So it behoveth that remission should be preached in his Name and that among all Nations Luk. 24 47. There is a fulness of the Gentiles yet to be brought in by this discovery of the Fathers Name which Christ will certainly accomplish in his own time He hath begun of late to manifest it to the Indians in America and he will certainly go on with that work till all the People Languages and Nations in the world do serve the Lord till the ends of all the world do turn to him and all the Kindreds of the earth do worship before him And till he be Governour in all Nations Psal 22.27 28. You see then Jesus Christ will be continually making further Declarations of his Fathers name to other Nations still it is I have declared it and I will declare it with reference to other Nations And so it is with reference to other persons in those Nations where it is declared already He hath declared it unto some and will declare unto others still in every age to the end of
could not be the least addition to him any way The meaning is that he had manifested and declared him to be glorious that he had shewed him in his glory to the world And this is that which he expresses clearly in the following verse saith he I have made known thy name to the men which thou hast given me And this he tels him he had done on earth It was done in heaven before the glory of the Lord was fully and immediately manifested there And now saith Christ it is done in earth too I have glorified thee on earth And hereupon he looks his Father should glorifie him with himself in heaven as it is added in the following words So that the point to be observed is this DOCTRINE Who ever will be glorified with God in heaven must glorifie him first on Earth Our Saviour Christ himself you see can have it on no other terms And therefore he desires it only upon this account saith he to God the Father I have glorified thee on Earth and now O Father glorifie me with thy self in heaven According to his first desire in his beginning of his prayer Father glorifie thy Son q. d. I should not look for any glory from thee unless I had brought glory to thee I should be far from any expectation that thou shouldst glorifie me with thy self in heaven unless I were assured in my self that I had glorified thee here upon the earth But seeing I have done the former I pray thee Father do the latter since I have glorified thee let me be glorified by thee And as it was with Christ the Head so it must be in some degree with all the Members No glory to be had in heaven till they have glorified God on earth It s true they merit not the glory they receive from God by that which they bring to God as Christ did but yet the one is not to be attained without the other They that bring God no glory in the present world shall have no glory from him in the world to come The Lord indeed will render glory to every man that worketh good and so glorifieth him as the Apostle shews Rom. 2.10 But unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness and so dishonour God in their lives and conversations he will render nothing else but shame and ignominy and confusion They shall be raised to everlasting contempt Dan. 12.2 and be made spectacles of shame to men and Angels Reas 1 And the ground is evident because so is the everlasting Counsel and Decree of God which is not to be altered or reversed Those whom he chuses for himself whom he predestinateth to be glorified with him in the world to come those he predestinateth also to bring glory to him in this present world As he predestinateth such to the inheritance above who is abundantly and out of measure glorious so he predestinates them also that they should be to the praise of his glory as the Apostle shews you Eph. 1.11 12. That he may manifest the riches of his glory in the vessels of mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory so that you see as he prepares them unto glory as he appoints them to be glorified themselves so he prepares them and appoints them to bring glory to himself Rom. 9.23 To shew forth the praises of him that hath called them to his Kingdom and glory 1 Pet. 2.9 Thy people shall be all righteous saith the Lord of his Church Isa 60.21 The branch of my planting the work of my hands that I may be glorified Not only that they may be glorified but that I may be glorified too And if this be the purpose and decree of God will he not see it executed and fulfilled in all respects as well with reference to his glory as with reference to theirs shall his Counsel be accomplished in the one and not in the other do you imagine that the Lord will be put off in such a fashion that he will be disappointed of his end and of his purpose in such a business as this is No no assuredly if he predestinate men that they may be to the praise of his glory as well as that they may be glorified by him to his praise and to his glory they shall be And if they be not so at all it is apparent they are not predestinated by him and consequently they shall have no glory from him Now is it so my Brethren that whoever will be glorified with God Vse 1 in heaven must glorifie him first on earth This then may serve to shew the vanity of their conceit and apprehension who look for glory in the world to come and yet they bring the Lord no glory here It is the miserable folly and delusion of the greater part of men there is not one of us almost but thinks that God will glorifie him with himself hereafter He is an extraordinary man that doth not feed himself with this fancy And yet those very persons many of them who are strong in this opinion take no care to honour God in any of their ways nor to bring him any glory why my beloved how can you think now to be glorified with him Jesus Christ his own Son the darling of his own bosom could not have glory with him upon these terms He did not once so much as look for it Had he not glorified his Father here in this world he would not have expected that he should have glorified him with himself in heaven ye see he seeks it and desires it only upon this account And what now do you think to speed better with the Father then Jesus Christ his own Son do you imagine that you shall have glory from him though you bring no glory to him when Christ himself did not could not obtain it upon such terms as these are do you look in this regard to be preferred before Christ to have the better of God himself Ah my beloved do not gull your souls with this delusion I beseech you think upon it you who by your lewd and vitious conversations dishonour God continually you who lie in wickedness and wallow in uncleanness whose lives are full of nothing but prophaneness who are conscious to your selves that God hath not a whit of glory brought him by you unless ungodliness and sin will do it To whom a man may truly say as the Apostle doth to some Rom. 2.24 The name of God is blasphemed by your means do you expect that God should glorifie you with himself in heaven when you have done nothing else but dishonoured him on earth believe it he will be so far from this that seeing he hath not been glorified by you he will be glorified upon you He made you for his glory and glory he will have either one way or another he will not lose a farthing by you And if he be not glorified by your holy conversation he will be glorified in