1. Cor. 5.6 To conclude this point they can never truly and sincerely serve God who doe not cause them that live in their houses to serve him in like manner The use of this serves in the first place for information to shew us what manner of proficients we are in the schoole of grace how stedfastly we cleave unto the covenant of God how perfectly we walke in his waies how neere wee have attained to that heavenly communion of Saints For if our conversation be in heaven all our delight will bee upon the Saints on earth Wee know saith S. 1. Ioh. 3.14 Iohn that we have passed from death unto life because wee love the bretheren Wee know by this that wee love God and that wee are beloved of God if we love his servants and make much of them that feare the Lord. Psal 101.3 And then with David wee walk in our houses with a perfect heart when with one spirit with one soule both our selves and those that be under us do serve the Lord then wee shall be sure of a blessing When the Lord did so familiarly converse with Abraham and create him the father of the faithfull it was with this proviso for saith hee I know him that hee will command his sonnes and his household after him that they keepe the way of the Lord to doe righteousnesse and iudgement Genes 18. When David was chosen of God and pronounced a man after Gods owne heart it was with respect unto the faithfulnesse and truth of his in ruling them that were committed to his charge prudently with all his power Psal 78.72 Wouldst thou find that favour in the eyes of the Lord that Abraham did then thou must follow the steppes of Abrahams faith Wouldst thou be as deare unto God as David was then with David thou must seeke to enlarge the glorie of God Thy eyes must look unto such as be faithfull in the land that they may dwell with thee hee and none but hee must be thy servant that leadeth a godly life In a word wouldst thou with Ioshuah enter into the promised Canaan then with Ioshuah thou must bee zealous for Gods cause Though all the world should stagger and revolt from God forsake his Covenant yet must thou maintain his worship thou must obey his Commandemēts thou must reverence his word bear this resolution I and my house will serve the Lord. The second use of this point serves to discover unto us the backward disposition of the Christians of this age in whom wee find no such zeale for Gods glory no such forwardnes in this service Alas alas where have wee one endewed with Abrahams faith to teach the commandements and ordinances of God unto his posteritie where is one inspired with this zeale of Ioshuah to protest sincerely I and my house will serve the Lord We may runne to and fro with Ieremie Ierem. 5.1 and search long enough before wee finde the man either amongst small or great Tell mee Is not the vigour and force of Christianitie strangely abated and decayed when most places in the world like Caiaphas hall are filled with a rabblement of Vice Hereticks Atheists Epicures pell-mell all of all sorts saving of good men We are falne upon those last and desperate times of the world which S. Paul foretold should come and hath lively set forth 2. Tim. 3.1 This know saith he that in the last dayes shall come perillous times for men shall be lovers of their owne selves covetous boasters proud blasphemers despisers of those that are good lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God having a forme of godlinesse but denying the power thereof The Divell hath gotten the start of the world and hath set up in the mindes of men his idols of worldly pompe and vanitie What is more neglected than the Commandements of God what is slighted so much as his service and who are so backward in it as they that should be most forward All the counsell that I can give in this case is that of David O consider this yee that forget God Psalm 50.22 lest he pluck you away and there be none to deliver you The third and last use of this point is for exhortation to stirre up those who have the charge and command of others unto the carefull and conscionable performance of this duety by all meanes to enlarge and advance the kingdome of Christ and where God hath established them that there they should establish godlinesse As this is the greatest and weightiest duetie that lyes upon men in this world so hath it the greatest arguments and the weightiest motives to enforce it First the benefit which the performance of our duety herein brings with it Secondly the danger that we runne into by the neglect hereof Godlinesse is the greatest gaine to a Christian that is it hath not onely the promises of this life but of the life to come for in serving the Lord saith David there is great reward Whereas on the contrarie an everlasting curse of miserie and contempt is laid upon those wretches that are negligent in his worke When the Lord sent his Prophet to reprove Eli and to threaten the taking away of the Priesthood from him and his posteritie because his sonnes ran into a slander and their father stayed them not this is the sentence that the Lord addes withall For them that honour mee saith God I will honour and they that despise me shal be despised 1. Sam. 2.30 Would you hear what gratious singular priviledges the true servants of God have listen then to that which David tells you The eyes of the Lord saith David are over the righteous and his eares are open unto their prayers Againe The righteous cry and the Lord heareth them and delivereth them out of all their troubles And once more hee addes this in the same Psalme The Lord delivereth the soules of his servants and all they that put their trust in him shall not be destitute Psal 34. Nay moreover whosoever hee is that is zealous for the Lord shall not only have the Lord for his protector and defender in all his afflictious but for his Counsellor and Director in all his affaires as the same Prophet doth notablly expresse it in another place What man is hee saith David that feareth the Lord him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose These benefits and testimonies of Gods fatherly affection and care towards them are ordinarie and dayly extended to them but what solace or delight is there that this world can afford to bee compared with the joy and comfort which the dying servant of God feeles when hee can truely say his conscience bearing him witnesse Lord I have brought up them in thy knowledge and feare whom thou gavest into my hands I have not hid thy commandements from my posteritie The talents which I received of thee loe here they are encreased I made it the scope of my life to set
thee and doe not I rise up against them that rise up against thee yea I hate them right sore as if they were mine enemies If thou lovest the Covenant of thy God thou must despise them that despise that Covenant If thou lovest the law of thy God thou must needs hate them that forsake that law such must not dwell with thee such must not tarrie in thy sight Dost thou think that he can prove faithfull to thee that prooves faithlesse to God or canst thou endure that he should be graced by thy countenance that laies a reproch upon thy religion T is more than Christian patience such was never in David such was never in Ioshuah Wee count him no loving subject that harbors those who despise resist the lawes of his Soveraigne Shall we be so zealous for the honour of a mortall Prince and shall wee be so carelesse of the majestie of the immortall God In the old law he that despised Moses law died without mercy under two or three witnesses Deu. 19.15 Marke now what the Apostle inferres upon this Of how much sorer punishment saith hee suppose yee shall he be worthie which treadeth under foot the Sonne of God and counteth the blood of the Testament as an unholy thing wherewith he was sanctified and doth despite the spirit of grace Hebr 10.29 You see it is no such light matter to fall from the knowne truth and to forsake the Gospel of Christ being so much more excellent than Moses law was Yet wee are dumbe and silent in Gods cause and passe over these things as if they were done in another world and did no whit concerne us whilst wee suffer that gangrene of heresie to invade our families Oh be not deceived Everie master must give an account for everie servant hee keeps And looke how manie such despisers of the word and truth of God are nourished by him so manie witnesses will stand up against him in the day of the Lord to convince him of coldnesse and want of zeale Here I have just occasion to take up that complaint reproofe which Eliah used towards the back-sliding Iews of his time How long halt ye between two opinions If the Lord be God follow him but if Baal be God then follow him 1. Kin. 18.21 So say I If this Gospel which we preach unto you which ye receive be the Gospel of Christ if it be sole sufficient meanes unto salvation why doe not yee receive it in uprightnesse and sincerity why stand ye not up for Christ and for the maintenance of his truth why doe ye not labour to beate downe errours and utterly suppresse the kingdome of Antichrist Take heed lest your indifferencie herein argue that yee belong not to Christ I will say no more but onely close up this point with that of Austin Non amat Christum qui amat aliquid plus quam Christum He loves not Christ that loves anie thing more than Christ or with that which Christ himselfe speakes He that prefers any thing above Christ is not worthy of him I will now draw towards an end yet before I conclude one speciall rubbe there is that I must remove out of the way principally of great men What is that say you I will tell you There is a generation of men than which never had the Church of God enemies more pernicious Saint Paul in the third to the Philippians hath set them forth in their lively character The good Apostle considering what mischiefe they would doe in the Church of Christ could not speake of them without manie a teare Many saith he walke of vvhom I have told you often and now tell you even vveeping that they are the enemies of the Crosse of Christ whose end is destruction vvhose god is their belly and whose glory is their shame who mind earthly things These walke from one house to another and Chameleon-like change their colour at everie change of ayre These are those ungodly men of whom S. Iude speakes that defile the flesh despise dominion and speake evill of dignities by reason of whom the way of truth is evill spoken of Not the Ministers of God not the Word of God no nor that drad and sacred Majestie of God himselfe can passe free from the poison of these mens lips These are they that buzze into your eares that cursed policie of wicked Ieroboam 1 King 12.31 to make Priests of the lowest of the people Hold them short say they and keepe them under lest they be too busie with you O full of all subtiltie and all mischiefe you children of the Divell Act. 15.10 you enemies of all righteousnesse will you not cease to pervert the right waies of the Lord Behold now whom doe you resist For what are Moses and Aaron but the ministers but the messengers of the Lord I say it is the Lord himselfe that you strive against your tongues are set against the most High and hee will not faile to recompence your deserts with eternall flames But as for you whom God advanceth in this world if wee be so vile so contemptible in your sight not to be thought worthie of accesse nor to have that freedome of speech which befits our place calling we must suppe-up our contempt in silence and thinke with David Psal 84. We had rather be doore-keepers in the house of our God Neverthelesse we beseech you that you would sometimes retire out of the vanity and deceitfulnesse of this world into your owne soules consider of your selves as you are men not great and mightie but fraile and mortal which must die like one of the people and give an account as well as the meanest of the multitude There comes another world after this where Herod and Iohn Baptist shall both meete again but upon othergesse tearmes than here in this world they did for then the Martyr shall be set upon the Throne whilst the cruell King shall bee sent unto the Prison What joy what comfort or courage can the Ministers of God have where the vilest wretches may insult over them where they are debarred that libertie which ever the Heathens had in their better times Vbi vix sentire que velis nedum quae sentias Tacit. lib. 1. histor dicere licet Where they scarce dare think what they list much lesse speake what they thinke Certainly such contempt of his messengers God useth to pay home with his severest judgements and to furnish them accordingly where they be so slightly regarded The Iewes did despise Ieremie and that word which hee spake unto them in the name of the Lord But what was the issue of this Namely that the Prophet should not so much as pray for them nor the name of the Lord be once mentioned amongst that ungratefull people Ier. 44. Ezechiel was restrained of his libertie and despitefully handled by the same stiffe-necked and rebellious nation What doth God doe upon this Hee makes the tongue of his prophet cleave
to the roofe of his mouth strikes his messenger dumbe and all to heape vengeance upon them that he might set the dumbenesse of his prophet upon the score of the peoples sinnes Eze. 3.25 Micah thinks it enough to keepe a Levite in his house to be his Priest for ten shekells of silver and a suit of apparell by the yeare he thinkes the Lord will be well-pleased with him for this But what was the Lord ever a whit the better pleased with him for this No Micah had a house of gods and therefore the Lord sends him a wandering Levite fit for a wicked Idolater Iudg. 17.10 Well then to returne and make an end of all Whosoever he is that would be the true servant of God must thus thinke of himselfe that hee is a member of that holy and invisible Church w th hath none in it but good men none but gratious and godly men therefore such as these hee must embrace with a loving entire affection to these he must joine unite himselfe yea he must not contemne the faithfull messengers of the Lord but have them in singular regard for their workes sake As for wicked men that make but a mock of grace these he must fly from as from serpents they are onely set as snares in his way to keep him from the service of God and from the performance of religious dueties Thus right Honorable and Beloved you have heard the summe and substance of those points delivered and handled which are included in this pithie and godly protestation of Ioshuah First from the connexion of my text what constancie resolution there is should be in those that are the true servants of God Though all the world revolt yet they must cleave unto God Secondly from the high estate of him that protesteth here you have been taught from hence that God requires of them for whom he hath done most in this world that they should bee most zealous for him And lastly from the extent of it you have heard that the true servants of God will keepe none in their houses but such as joine with them in the true worshiping of God You have heard these points handled and prosecuted at large I must not dwell upon particulars Onely give mee leave to end with a word or two of exhortation As Ioshuah in the beginning of his speach sought to stirre up the Israelites unto the feare and obedience of the Lord by rehearsing what God had done for them So may I with as good reason lay the same ground of exhortation in the closing up of mine Now then by the tender mercies of our God by all the benefits which we have received of him which are infinite in number inestimable in value by our great and manifold deliverances not as the Israelites from the downe-right violence of Perizzites Iebusites but from the furious and treacherous conspiracies of more subtile more cruell more politicke more malicious more inhumane enemies By the sweet peace and quiet prosperitie of our countrie By this blessed and free passage of the Gospell of peace which doth everie where display its pure and celestial beames being hid in none but in them that perish By those better things which God hath prepared for his servants in the life to come even the joyes of heaven such as no eye hath seene no tongue can relate nor ever have entered into the heart of man O let this stirre up in us a readinesse a resolution a zeale to this dutie To feare God to love God with all our heart with all our strength with all our might To referre our actions wholly unto the glorie of our God To serve him in holinesse and righteousnesse all the dayes of our life But if such unspeakeable bountie such heavenly goodnesse cannot winne our earthly and wretched soules yet know this there is a Hell and there be damned and torments in verie deed such as no patience is able to beare no date of time weare out If yee care not for his mercies yet feare his judgements Neverthelesse why will wee tempt and provoke his justice who is so rich in mercie O rather since there is mercie with God therefore let him be feared This it is which should make us cheerful in the service of our God which should make us performe willing obedience to our Lord Knowing that if we serve him here wee shall raigne with him hereafter if wee set our delight upon him here wee shall be satisfied with his presence hereafter if wee give glory unto him whilst we live here hereafter wee shall triumph with him and be received into glorie Now the God of heaven c. Soli Deo sapienti gloria FINIS