or gaudy Attire of a loathsome Harlot And besides there is a most gracious Promise made to the Church which shall have its certain and full accomplishment in due season Isa. 2.2 It shall come to pass in the latter days and hath he said it and will he not do it Yes without all doubt he will that the mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountains and exalted above the hills that is there is a time coming and I would hope it is not far off the nearer it is the better when the true Church of Christ shall be the Head and not the Tail when she shall not be as a Scullion among the Pots but as a Bride made ready for her Husband and when that Religion which came down from Heaven and will carry them to Heaven who sincerely profess and practice it that Religion which is pure and undefiled before God and the Father shall prevail against all the false and counterfeit Religions in the World as it doth now excel them all in Truth Purity and Glory so it then shall in Virtue Power and Efficacy Dagon shall fall before the Ark of God and the Idols be utterly abolished Yea tho they be made of Silver or Gold which men have made each one for himself to worship yet shall they be cast to the moles and to the bats Isa. 2.20 The Inventions of Men shall be made to give place to the Appointments and Institutions of Christ and the Doctrines of Devils shall disappear and vanish before the Doctrine of the Gospel Babylon shall be made a Hissing and Confusion but Ierusalem a Rejoycing and her People a Joy this we do now rejoyce in the Faith of and patiently wait for the glorious and happy performance Amen Come Lord Jesus Fourthly Sion was a Type or Figure of the Gospel-Church because of its Firmness and Stability It is said in Psal. 125.1 They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Sion which cannot be removed but abideth for ever So shall the Church yea tho the Hills do depart and the Hills be removed even Sion it self at the end of the World yet the Church shall abide and when it ceaseth to be in any part Militant it shall be throughout Triumphant Let Men and Devils combine and unite their Strength and do their worst the Church shall stand the shock and outlive their Fury They may Rage Persecute and Kill they may Imprison Inslave and by their Cruelties force multitudes from their own Countries and native Soils but when they have done Christ will shew himself to be above them They may weary themselves in the greatness of their way and sweat and fret in their Gears but they shall never reach their designed and desired End. They may say Raze her raze her even to the Foundation but Ierusalem is a burthensome Stone upon whomsoever it falls it will grind them to Powder This spiritual Vine which Gods own right hand hath planted may be cut and wounded and bleed sorely but it shall not be to Death the old and excellent saying is at this day as true as ever Sanguis Martyrum semen Ecclesiae The Blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of the Church The more Martyrs there are the more Believers there shall be Pauls bonds did turn to the furtherance of the Gospel and so have done and shall do the patient sufferings and joyful comfortable Deaths of others in the Cause and for the sake of Christ and his Truths and Worship Let all the Enemies do their best and their worst too God will have a People in the World to praise his Name to load his Altars and to serve him in the beauty of Holiness In the worst of times when Ahab had the Throne and Idolatry was grown rank and rampant there were seven thousand in Israel that had not bowed the Knee to Baal so tho at some times the number of faithful Professors may be much diminished by miserable Persecution and far more miserable Apostacy yet there shall be so many preserved as shall be a seed to serve him and accounted to him for a Generation and that seed being water'd with the Divine blessing shall happily spring up in its season and yield a mighty increase There is a sweet and precious Promise of eternal Truth gone out of the mouth of him who is the faithful Witness upon which it is our duty and richly worth our while to live and in the assurance thereof greatly to rejoyce Mat. 16.18 Upon this Rock will I build my Church Upon what Rock not Peter himself for tho he was a good Man and an excellent Apostle yet he was a frail fallible and dying man But either upon the Truth which was then confessed by him or rather upon my self who am the eternal Rock i.e. upon the Lord Jesus Christ himself and what he hath so built none shall be able to pull down The gates the Policy and Power of Hell shall not prevail against it So much may suffice to be spoken to the first thing viz. what is here meant by Sion and why the Gospel-Church is called so 2. Q. Our second Question is this Why is Sion called Gods holy Hill Or the Hill of Gods holiness A. To which I thus briefly Answer Sion is so called because of the Ark which was there when the sweet Singer of Israel composed this Psalm which was a visible Symbol of Gods special spiritual and gracious Presence and also because of the Temple which was built there afterward and was an eminent Type of Iesus Christ. In that the great God was pleased to place his Name that house he was pleased to fill with his Glory there he did meet his People hearing their Prayers and returning his Answers from thence it was that he commanded the blessing even life for evermore Psal. 133.3 There is no argument to be drawn from hence that can evince to us the holiness of Places now As in every Nation Persons that fear God and work righteousness are accepted of him So is that Worship in all places which is performed to him according to his Will in Spirit and in Truth Ierusalem is not now an holy City nor Canaan the holy Land. Christ our Altar doth sanctify indeed those Gifts which are by a gracious heart in Faith offered up to God upon and by him but the meer place doth not do it it contributes nothing toward it it puts no beauty upon it no savour nor rellish that will take with God. Fervent prayers cordial praises all holy duties have as free an access to God as speedy admission with him as full a welcome as sweet gracious reception and entertainment which are offered and performed in this place in a Kitchin a Closet a Chamber or a Field as those that are performed in any place which man is said to consecrate If men would look more after heart-holiness they would not talk so much of nor insist so much upon the holiness
A SERMON Preached before the RIGHT HONOURABLE Sir IOHN SHORTER Knight Lord Mayor OF THE CITY of LONDON AT GROCERS-HALL By Samuel Slater Minister of the Gospel Published by his Lordships Command LONDON Printed for Thomas Cockerill at the Three Legs in the Poultrey 1688. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE Sir IOHN SHORTER Knight Lord Mayor OF THE CITY of LONDON My Lord THIS Sermon was not preached nor is it published undesir'd Your Honour hath had a very great stroke as to both Tho many others did come with their auxiliary hands to help the Midwifeing of it into the World. It hath stuck long in the birth because I cared not to expose it and my self now that the comfortable ease which God and his Majesty have graciously granted us who were before unmercifully run down doth make too many very uneasie and wickedly angry as if to shew kindness to the Oppressed were not becoming of a great King nor to accept of it fit for a groaning Subject But my Lord contrary to mine own Inclinations I am constrained to yield at last to Importunity What entertainment it will find with many I neither know nor am sollicitous Probably they will slight and laugh at it and so let them till they are weary methinks however they may please to let this and some other Works of my Reverend Brethren pass as tolerable since done by the clumsy Fists of Pedlars and Tinkers c. as some out of their abundant civility and good manners have been pleas'd to call us But we can laugh as heartily at their Abuses as they can at our Discourses so long as there are no Fists about our Ears we shall be contented You are not My Lord without Reproaches which for the sake of Righteousness are more Your Honour than Your Chair or Chain these things are frankly given out by men ready at any thing but what is good Let us My Lord give them to understand if they have leisure enough to throw dirt we have none to be concerned at it No let us mind the duty of our several Places and be the more industrious in the doing of it as the Moon holds on her journey notwithstanding the bawling of Dogs En peragit cursus surda Diana suos That God would direct succeed and strengthen the heart and hands of Your Lordship and worthy Brethren that God would make Your City a City of Righteousness accompany this Sermon with a blessing that it may reach its wished-for end Private and Publick good That Truth and Peace may be in our days and descend as a blessing upon the head of all following Generations is the hearty Prayer of My Lord Your Honour 's most Humble Servant in our Dearest Jesus Samuel Slater March 30.88 A SERMON Preached before the RIGHT HONOURABLE Sir IOHN SHORTER Kt. c. PSALM 11.16 Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Sion OUR dear and precious Lord Jesus is the great and blessed Potentate King of kings and Lord of lords his Kingdom the most noble and glorious his Government the most excellent in its self and most easy to his Subjects yet never did any meet with greater Opposition than he hath done both in his own Person while he was conversant upon Earth tabernacling among Men and in his Interest Power and Authority ever since He strikes not at the just Prerogatives and Sovereign Rights of Princes nor at the Peace and Prosperity of Subjects but hath been and still is carrying on designs of Mercy Grace and Love seeking the good welfare and happiness of Mankind yet black and cursed designs have been hatched in Hell and vigorously carried on by some of the Sons of Men against him He saith in Joh. 18.36 My kingdom is not of this world Such a Kingdom as is not terrene decaying and fading but spiritual and abiding Such a Kingdom as is not of the same nature with those of this World is not inconsistent with them doth not usurp upon them doth not prejudice or infeeble them hath nothing in common with them needs it not seeks it not Yet for all this in the Psalm before us we find the World in a ferment and violent Heat about it great Consultations and Endeavours among all sorts and ranks of Men high and low rich and poor honourable and base for the wresting of the Royal Scepter out of his hand the shaking and overturning of his sacred and highly-exalted Throne In short tho he be the best Friend that ever the World had not a Destroyer but a Saviour yet he had and hath a world of Enemies who would break his hands asunder and cast away his Cords from them which is egregious folly and ingratitude in the height But the question is Why do they so Why do they rage and set their Wits at work Why do they combine and unite together against him Why is all this stir and bustle Why cannot Men be quiet Why do they thus bid defiance to the God of Love to the Prince of Peace You find no Answer in this Psalm returned to this Question and surely no other reason of this aversness from him can be assigned but this viz. His being an irreconcilable Enemy to the lusts of Men and their sinful Practices his Government whereever it is erected not allowing the reign of Sin which the hearts of the Sons of Men are so much devoted to and mad upon that they will not be divided from it but prefer it before the Lord of Life and Glory and if they are fixedly resolved so to do let them go on till Divine Vengeance overtake them However these their actings upon Earth are taken notice of by one in Heaven There the Great Iehovah the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ sits as a strict and curious Observer of the Spirits and Ways and Doings of men He sees what is the matter of their Debates what the issue of their Consults what is agreed upon in their greatest Privacies and what is done by them in their open Hostilities and as he observes all so he doth it with a perfect Serenity without any trouble or afflictive commotion without any undue concernedness for his Son's interest and honour Notwithstanding all the Confusions that are and will be here below all the attempts of wicked and unreasonable men he enjoys himself as becomes a God in undisturbed Peace and Quietness and a plerophory of Satisfaction as to his own Counsels and the success of them For his Understanding is Infinite so that he cannot be out-witted nor over-reached and his own Arm is sufficient for him so that he cannot be mastered and over-powred There is not any possibility of defeating any of his everlasting Purposes or frustrating any of his glorious Ends his Counsels shall stand and the thoughts of his heart to all Generations Hence it comes to pass that while they rage he laughs and while they are putting forth the utmost of their skill and strength he looks upon them with an holy
Derision and Contempt and while they are raising the Posse Terrae the Powers of the Earth against Christ he knows there is no need of raising the Posse Coeli for him No need of raising his Hosts or of arming and sending twelve Legions of Angels to his assistance No no in order to their Confusion and fatal Disappointment it is full out enough for him to speak to them only it is in his anger and that will vex them by turning their Counsel backward and tumbling their Persons headlong into Destruction which shall certainly be in due time The Word of God carrieth along with it a mighty Power and Efficacy With a word he created the World and brought this excellent Fabrick of Heaven and Earth out of nothing It was but his Fiat and the Work was done and by the word of his Power he upholds all things so that they do not fall and return into their first Nothing And with a word he can blast all the Projects of his Son's Adversaries and wither every Arm that is stretched out against him If any inquire what it is that God speaks to them you have it in the words of the Text Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Sion In which you have these things worthy of your Observation First The will of God set in opposition to the Wills and Counsels of Men. Yet I they are doing so and so but I have done quite otherwise they are doing their Pleasure and I have done mine their work is to do and will never be done mine is done already I am before-hand with them Secondly You have the Act of God the Father by which Regal Power and authority is conferred upon Christ. I have set anointed constituted my King. Thirdly The Seat of his Kingdom the place where his Throne is set and where he is to exercise his Sovereign power The holy Hill of Sion The Doctrine that I shall from hence raise and present you with as the Subject of the following Discourse is this Doct. Let the discontent and rage the designs and practices of Men be what they will yet there is a King set up in Sion by God the Father and this King doth and shall Reign and that in the midst of his Enemies and in spite of them too they may as soon pluck the Sun out of the Firmament as Christ out of the Throne I shall dispatch the Doctrinal part in opening the several Words of the Text which will be done by answering these following Questions First What is meant by Sion Secondly Why is Sion called Gods holy Hill Thirdly Who is that King whom God hath set up there Fourthly What is the meaning of that phrase setting him Fifthly What is the import of that Particle yet Yet have I set him all which I shall pass through with convenient Brevity having a due respect both to his Auditory and the time and then proceed to the Application 1. Q. Our first Question is this What is meant by Sion A. To which I answer thus Sion is to be taken two ways literally and mystically Sion in the literal Acceptation was a considerable Mountain in Ierusalem which had been formerly in the Possession of the Iebusites and was by them kept until the time of David the second King of Israel but the first good one 2 Sam. 5.7 The King and his men went up to Ierusalem to the Iebusites the inhabitants of the Land which spake unto David saying Except thou take away the blind and the lame thou canst not come in hither thinking David cannot come in hither nevertheless David took the strong hold of Sion the same is called the City of David This Hill had two tops upon one of which was built the Tower or City of David and upon the other afterwards was built by Solomon his Son the Temple of the Lord and that top was Mount Moriah as you may see in the 2 Chron. 3.1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Ierusalem in Mount Moriah where the Lord had appeared unto David his Father Sion in the mystical Acceptation is no other than the Church of God. We find that Christ himself who is the King of Saints and Head of the Body is frequently in Scripture called by the name of David Thus Ezek. 34.23 24. I will set up one Shepherd over them and he shall feed them even my servant David he shall feed them and he shall be their Shepherd And I the Lord will be their God and my servant David a Prince among them I the Lord have spoken it So again Hos. 3.5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David their king and they shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days Christ in these and other such like places is to be understood by David and he hath his Name given him because he was to be of the Seed of David the Royal Line and David was the Type of him being as was before hinted the first good and gracious King in Israel tender over that People of God and faithful to their interest ruling them with Wisdom and Love not tyrannically with a Rod of Iron Now as Christ the King is called by the Name of David So the Gospel Church which is his Kingdom the place of his gracious and spiritual Residence is called by the name of Sion so you find it in Hebr. 12.22 Ye are not come to the mount that burned with fire nor to blackness and darkness and tempest but ye are come unto mount Sion and unto the City of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem i.e. to the Church both Militant in which you are Conversant and Triumphant of which you are now Members that Church which is the Seat of Christ and Habitation of God. So likewise in Revel 14.1 I looked and lo a Lamb stood upon mount Sion and with him an hundred forty four thousand having his Fathers name written in their foreheads The Mount Sion here meant is the Church of God where Christ stands to look to it and take particular constant Care of it which he always did and will still go on to do These hundred forty and four thousand that were with him are the Elect of God and effectually called who have submitted to him are followers of him and take his part and are ready to take up his Cross whensoever called to it And this Mark or Seal doth signifie both the sanctifying work of the Spirit in their Hearts by which they are brought over to Christ and also his strengthening work whereby they are kept stedfast with him notwithstanding all the discouragements they find in themselves all the Temptations and Oppositions that are made against them by Hell and all the Afflictions and Persecutions they meet with from the World. And it is said to be in their Foreheads to note out unto us not only the blessed fruit which they bring forth in the sight of
all them that know them Good and Bad Friends and Foes but also their open bold and undaunted owning and professing of Christ whose they are and to whom they resolve to cleave in the darkest days and most menacing dangers Like unto those Benjamites who said 1 Chron. 12.18 Thine are we David and on thy side thou Son of Iesse peace peace be unto thee and peace be to thine helpers for thy God helpeth thee and so he doth our David and him we may set against all his Enemies for in comparison of him they all be they never so many never so mighty are less than nothing Vanity Among many great and precious Promises which are made to the Gospel-Church under the name of Sion that is one Isa. 60.14 The sons of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soals of thy feet and they shall call thee the City of the Lord the Sion of the Holy One of Israel Now Mount Sion is thus made use of as the Type and Figure of the Church of Christ in new Testament-times the times of the Messiah upon such accounts as these First Because of the special Presence of God there above any other place in the World Psal. 132.13 14. The Lord hath chosen Sion he hath desired it for his Habitation This is my rest for ever here will I dwell for I have desired it It was the place of his choice and of his desire and of his delight It pleas'd him to abide and to give Audience to his People there there he met them and heard their Prayers and made Manifestations of himself to them the House built there he filled with his Glory Now the spiritual and gracious Presence of God is in his Church and with his People From the wicked he stands at a distance he looks upon them afar off We read in the Revelation That mystical Babylon is a Habitation of Devils a Cage of unclean Birds and foul Spirits But the true Church is the Habitation of God there he dwells there he gives forth his Light and his Loves there he makes his People joyful the midst of the golden Candlesticks is the pleasant walk of the blessed Jesus Hence it is that as the Apostle Paul saith in Ephes. 2.21 all the building fuly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord that is the universal Catholick Church doth so that is the Temple of God and then he adds in ver 22. in whom you also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit Not only the universal Church that which is rightly so called but also particular Churches as that in Ephesus those in London or in any other Country City Town which are called united constituted order'd regularly or according to the Pattern given in the Mount the Divine Will revealed and laid down in the Sacred Scriptures are Temples and Habitations in which the great God doth delight by his holy Spirit to dwell yea and so are particular Saints who have been really sanctified and made partakers of those Gifts which do not only adorn and grace the Person but likewise render those that have them truly gracious Secondly Sion was a Type of the Gospel-Church and its name is therefore fitly given to it because of the proceeding or going forth of the Gospel from thence The fiery Law as you know was given upon and from Mount Sinai in a most terrible manner so that Moses himself fear'd and quak'd but the everlasting Gospel or law of Grace was from Mount Sion Isa. 2.3 Many people shall go and say Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Iacob for he will teach us his ways and we will walk in his paths for out of Sion shall go forth the Law and the word of the Lord from Ierusalem The Law i.e. not the law of Works but of Faith. The Law of the Redeemer and the Word i.e. the Word of Reconciliation and Peace the glad tidings of Life and Salvation by him who is the Fountain of Life and the Author of eternal Salvation to all those that accept and obey him This came first out of Sion and Ierusalem from whence it appears that those learned Men did not speak without reason who have asserted that the Church of Ierusalem had the best and most rightful claim to that honourable Title of the Mother Church whatever place besides doth pretend thereunto So consult Psal. 110.2 The Lord will send the rod of thy strength out of Sion Now what is that Rod but the precious Gospel accompanied with the Spirit which is the Power of God to Salvation by which he conquers and subdues a People to himself and also Rules and Governs them Now upon this account the Church may well be called Sion because there are made most blessed Revelations of Jesus Christ and of Mercy Grace and Peace in and thorough him there are the Divine Oracles there are unlocked and sweetly opened those profound and glorious Mysteries which were conceal'd and kept hid from Ages and Generations There is made known unto the Principalities and Powers in heavenly Places 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The manifold Wisdom of God viz. in the whole Oeconomy both of mans Redemption by Christ and of the Government of the Church in its various Ages and Periods from the beginning of the World. Thirdly Sion is fitly used for a Type of the Gospel-Church upon the account of its Eminency it was high and lofty Psal. 68.15 The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan an high hill as the hill of Bashan That of Bashan was a very high Hill rising up with several tops but not to be compared with Sion for as he saith in the next verse Why leap ye ye high hills this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in yea the Lord will dwell in it for ever So the Church which is the Kingdom of Christ doth excel in Glory all the Kingdoms of the World. It is the most noble Society it needs not go a begging to any other it needs no borrowed Beauty it shines brightest with its own Beams when its Worship is performed according to the Divine will without the addition of humane Inventions when its Ordinances are pure without any Adulteration and imbasing Mixtures when its Members walk in an Holy and Gospel-Order according to the Law and Rule of the new Creature Then is the Beauty of the Lord its God upon it and that Beauty is so great so sweet and ravishing that it may very well despise and abhor Painting and little pitiful Artifices to set it off it need not be beholden to any in the World for Ornaments and Dresses This precious and amiable Spouse of Christ doth then look most lovely and is then the fairest among Women when it hath only its Lords comeliness upon it and doth not appear in any of the rotten Rags
and to remove and abrogate them when he will. He gave out the Ceremonial Law unto Moses and by Moses to his ancient people the Iews upon Mount Sinai and it was taken away by him Col. 2.14 He blotted out the hand-writing of Ordinances which was against us The question is what was that hand-writing I answer the Moral Law But how not as it was a Law binding us to duty to God our selves and our neighbours not as it is a rule of life for so it is irreversible it stands still in force and lays upon us an eternal obligation but as it was a Covenant of Works and as it did so oblige us to perfect and compleat obedience as withal to oblige us to punishment and damn us to Hell for the least neglect and disobedience nay for the least failure and defect in our obedience I answer again this hand-writing was the Ceremonial Law wherein there was a publick confession and acknowledgment of sin and of the sinners obligation to punishment and deserving of death and everlasting misery and upon that account or so far it was against us now this Christ blotted out by his Doctrine and after that he nailed it to his Cross by his death and at it i.e. he finished it he utterly abolished it He took it quite away out of the way of our duty we are no more to observe it and out of the way of our happiness so that it cannot prejudice nor obstruct that as it cannot do us any good so it shall not do us any hurt as it cannot purge and cleanse us from sin so it shall not charge us with it and this he did as the Lord of Ordinances and instead of that he hath been graciously pleased to introduce and set up another worship less onerous and painful more easie and spiritual and therefore more glorious for which we have cause to admire his goodness and to bless his name and this is his right to do and his alone those that bring in worships and modes of worship besides his do usurp a power that belongs not to them Men have no power to institute because they have no power to sanctifie bless and prosper any of their Institutions that is in the alone power of Christ as he is Lord and Head of the Church Moses the man of God did put up his sweet and excellent petition which we ought heartily to repeat Psal. 90.17 Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us Oh that it may be so but when is it so when as I hinted briefly before the Church is constituted according to the mind of Christ when all its Offices and Officers are appointed by Christ when all Ordinances in it are administred according to the Law of Christ when the lives and conversations of Professors are ordered according to the Rule of Christ. It is not the beauty and grandeur of the world which doth become the Courts of Earthly Princes it is not the beauty of human inventions how fine and pretty soever it may seem but the beauty of the Lord but of this we have spoken before Q. 4. Our fourth Question is this What God doth mean when he saith He hath set his King upon his holy hill of Sion Or what may be the import of that word setting Answ. I answer the word in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth to anoint and so you have it render'd in the Margent of your Bibles I have anointed my King perfudi I have poured out my holy Oyl upon him it doth import a plentiful effusion an abundant pouring out of the Oyl upon him The very same word is used in Isa. 29.10 where it is translated poured out The Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep and hath closed your eyes the prophets and your rulers the seers hath he covered they are drown'd in sleep they are in a dead sleep He hath poured out such a profound and deep sleep that they are cover'd with it this word is metaphorically used to cover yea so to cover a thing all over as to hide it from the eye and prevent any bodies seeing it and as our learned Criticks observe it is most commonly applied in the Scripture to the pouring out of the drink-offering upon the sacrifice which drencht it and ran over it Jerem. 32.39 They have offered burnt offerings unto Baal and poured out drink-offerings unto other gods to provoke me to anger And it is also applied to and made use of for the covering of Sin in a way of pardoning Mercy and Grace Psal. 32.1 Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered so cover'd as that it is quite hid as a Body that is buried in the Grave out of sight or as a weight that is cast into the bottom of the Sea from whence it shall never be fetched up again it shall be remembred and mentioned no more to a Person 's Condemnation and eternal Reproach Thus God makes good his gracious Promise of pardoning abundantly When once he justifieth the Sinner upon his Repentance and Faith he wholly covers his Sin tho not from the Eye of his Omniscience yet from the Eye of his revenging Justice This anointing in the Text doth import God the Father's ordaining constituting and appointing of Christ for King upon his holy Hill of Sion or as it is in your Translation the Fathers setting of him up placing him in the Throne Kings and Priests were by the Divine Order to be anointed as those know that know the Scripture And so were Prophets 1 Kings 19.16 Iehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-Meholah shalt thou anoint to be Prophet in thy room All these Offices meet together in Christ which they never did in any other David was a King and a Prophet but not a Priest. Samuel was a Prophet and Priest but not a King. Christ is all the Prophet Priest and King of his Church he hath a fulness of Offices and so hath been anointed as you find in Isa. 61.1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek that he doth as a Prophet he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted that he doth as a Priest and to proclaim Liberty to the Captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound this he doth as a King. And as he hath the greatest fulness of Office so he hath the greatest fulness of the Unction But let us speak a little more particularly This plentiful anointing of our Lord Jesus Christ from whence he hath his Names the Messiah and the Christ doth hold out to us these two things 1. His being admirably yea thoroughly accomplished for the exercise of Royal Authority and Power 2. His Investiture and being by the Father cloathed with it Of both which I shall say something tho far short
Power enough to Protect and Defend them from all their Enemies so that they shall give them no more trouble than will tend to the Honour of God to the advantage of their Cause and to their own eternal Good. Power enough to perform all things for them and to save to the utmost all those that come unto God by him In a word he hath in him all the fulness of the Godhead dwelling bodily So that since the Goverment is laid upon his Shoulders there is a full and compleat suitablenss or parity between the Shoulder and the Government The Government is fit for such a Shoulder and the Shoulder is fit for such a Government Secondly This Anointing or setting up of Christ doth signifie God the Fathers designation and appointment of him for this Office the Commissionating and Authorizing of him For what he doth in this donative Kingdom he doth by virtue of his Fathers Commission and Authority derived from him It is the Father that placeth him as King upon the Throne and puts the Royal Scepter into his Hand Ephes. 1.22 and hath put all things under his Feet and gave him to be Head over all things to the Church He is given to be Head By whom is he so given If you look back into the 17 th verse you will find it is by the God of our Lord Iesus Christ the Father of Glory That God who is infinitely Glorious and the Author of all Glory the Fountain of Honour hath put this Honour upon Christ and given him to be Head so an Head and in such a manner as there is none other beside him Mat. 28. All Power is given to him both in Heaven and in Earth Authoritas disponendi omnia in Ecclesia circa Ecclesiam An Authority of ordering and disposing all things in and about the Church This All Power is given unto him singly and solely He hath indeed his Delegates and Officers under him but he is Supream He only Plenipotentiary The Fulness of Power is in his hand and in his alone Therefore it is said Rev. 3.7 That He hath the Key of David He opens and no Man shuts He shuts and no Man opens i. e. He hath supream and absolute Power in the Church both Militant upon Earth and Triumphant in Heaven so that He receives and rejects admits and excludes whom he pleaseth One Ieanes a late Learned and Reverend Writer observes the Fulness of Christs Office is signified by the Power of the Keys The Keys of an House Town or City are the Badges of Power and Authority And therefore the yielding up of them is a sign or token of delivering up all to the Conquerour In Garisons the Keys are every night deposited with the Governours of them The Steward of an House hath the Keys of it committed to him And as Learned Deodate saith Christ's having the Key of David doth signifie his being the Sovereign Lord and Governour of the Church whose Will is to be its standing Law and whose Commands and Orders are to be Universally observed and obeyed not subject to any Contradiction Opposition or Dispute Those Keys which were given in common to Peter and the rest of the Apostles were no more than the Keys of Ministry The Key of Royal Magistratical Power was put into the hand of Christ and there it doth rest and shall immovably remain whoever they be that would wrest it out of his Hand Isa. 9.7 Of the increase of his Government and of Peace there shall be no end upon the Throne of David and upon his Kingdom to order it and to stablish it with Iudgment and with Iustice from henceforth even for ever The Zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this I now proceed to the last Question which will be this Quest. 5. What is the import of that Particle in the Text Yet Yet have I set my King upon my Hill of Sion What may we gather from thence I answer Though it be but a very little word it is full of Matter of Weight and Sweetness And I shall give up to you my Thoughts concerning it briefly in these four following Particulars First It doth hold out to us that singular Contentment and Delight which God the Father takes in the thing that he hath done the disposal which he hath made He is most highly pleased with the Choice that he hath made of his Son and with that superlative Honour that he hath put upon him His Soul is at rest things are now as God would have them Let Men think and say what they will let them fret and murmur as much and as long as they will yet have I set him up yet I have given him a Name above every Name that at his Name every Knee shall bow be it never so proud and stiff I have done it and I am fully satisfied Time was when it pleased the Lord to bruise him Isa. 53.10 and to put him to grief Though he did infinitely love the Person of Christ yet he took pleasure in his Sorrows and Agonies the shedding of his Blood was a delightful Spectacle to him as it was the repairing of his own injur'd Honour and the price of his Peoples Redemption When he made his Soul an Offering for Sin it was a Sacrifice of a sweet Savor And now he is as much pleased in his having exalted him You know what is said with reference to his Sacerdotal Office Psal. 110.4 The Lord hath sworn and will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek He will never retract that He hath resolved and determined it with an immutable Will. And we may say the same as to his Regal Office The Lord hath sworn and will not repent Christ is and shall be a King for ever No no God doth not repent of any thing that he hath done for Christ He doth not repent of the Glory to which he hath advanced him nor of the Power with which he hath invested him And the truth is He hath no cause to repent and which is more He never shall He was fully and eternally sure of that Such a Power could be no where better disposed of no where so well as it is The Royal Robe sits neatly upon the back of Christ the Crown becomes his Head. Go forth O ye Sons and Daughters of Ierusalem and behold King Iesus with the Crown wherewith his Father crowned him in the day of his Inauguration and in the day of the gladness of his Heart It is a most lovely Sight He a most glorious Object The Father himself counts him so and loves to look upon him As it did greatly please Christ to obey his Father and to honour Him the doing of the Fathers Will was his Meat and Drink He was straitned till it was accomplished So it doth as greatly please the Father to honour Christ. Therefore He saith Yet have I set my King c. I rejoyce in the Thoughts of it in a Reflexion upon
however divided among themselves yet in a close and strict Confederacy against my Son and though I have without any Merit or Desert of theirs out of my meer bounty given them Riches and Honour Pleasure and Power all this avails them nothing so long as they see Him sitting in Sion This is their Language We will not have this Man Reign over us No Barabbas rather than Iesus a Lust rather than Christ. God sees it and he smiles at it He that sits in the Heavens laughs the Lord will have them in derision And then salva res est there is no danger As long as God laughs Matters are well the Virgin-Daughter of Sion may shake her Head at them and laugh them to scorn Poor Creatures they are busie as Bees but what is it they would do if they could What is that great thing which they are so earnestly bent upon What a most cursed design in which Beelzebub and all his Crew do most heartily join with them It is to dethrone Christ and to rase the Foundations of the glorious City of God and to blot out from under Heaven the Name and Memorial of Ierusalem But God knows it is a vain endeavor Actum est The Matter is not only determined but effected I have set up my King And what do they set themselves against him They kick against the Pricks they will wound them they dash against a Rock that will break them in pieces they had as good and may with as much hope to speed heap Pelion upon Ossa and wage War with Heaven go about to pluck the Sun out of the Firmament and debase it into a Gloworm They might with as much reason attempt to stem the Tide and to chain the Ocean It is as easie for these proud but silly Projectors to unhinge the whole Frame of Nature For it is impossible 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a thing that can never be done I have established his Throne in Righteousness and in Judgment and therefore it is not in the power of Earth and Hell of Men and Devils to pull him down Psalm 97.8 9. Zion heard and was glad and the Daughters of Judah rejoyced because of thy Iudgments O Lord. For thou Lord art high above all the Earth Thou art exalted far above all Gods. So much may suffice for the opening of the things considerable in the Text and for the Doctrinal part I now come to the Applicatory which will be composed of Instruction Exhortation and Consolation Use 1. First By way of Instruction This most excellent and precious Truth may teach us to admire and bless and glorifie God the Father Yea let his high Praises be in our Hearts and Mouths for his putting this Honour upon Christ and thus exalting with his own Hand him whom Man despised and whom the Nations abhorred That thus to do is our unquestionable Duty doth evidently appear by that which the Apostle saith 2 Phil. 8.9 10 11. Being found in fashion as a Man he humbled himself and became obedient to the death even the death of the Cross wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a Name which is above every name That at the name of Iesus every Knee should bow both of things in Heaven and things in Earth and things under the Earth and that every Tongue should confess that Iesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father This is that which we Christians ought to confess which we must in the worst of Times be free and forward and bold in the confession and publick owning of That that Jesus Christ who while Tabernacling among us was by the blind and wicked Iews counted no more than a Man the Son of a Carpenter yea the worst of Men the vilest of Sinners a meer Cheat and Impostor a Blasphemer that in his glorious Operations had assistance from the Prince of Devils He even He is Lord non cum limitatione quadam not with limitation as other Lords are who are but Men and no more and may be weak Men and unrighteous Men and cruel and unreasonable Men and so it is necessary they should be directed and bounded by Laws but Jesus is Lord absolute He is unlimited unbounded He hath all Power He is Lord over all the World and over all Creatures and doth whatsoever He pleaseth so to do is his Royal Prerogative his unquestionable Right Now as he is God-man Head over all things to the Church King of Sion and of Saints He is Gods King made so by God the Father and this is to be owned and confess'd to the Glory of God And we are obliged to seek his Glory for He hath sought our Good. We are beholden to the Father for our present Comforts and Hopes and for our future Salvation and Happiness as well as to the Son Yea there was a concurrence and contribution made to it by all the sacred Persons of the glorious Trinity But to the Matter before us As God the Father hath thus honoured Christ so must we honour the Father for doing so and there is great reason for it Take these two First That which we mentioned even now this advancement of Christ was the Fathers Act. It was He that exalted him to be a Prince and a Saviour He that gave him this excellent and super-eminent Name It was He that set him up for King and delivered into his Hand all Power both in Heaven and in Earth It was He that put all things under his Feet and gave him the Heathen for his Inheritance and the uttermost parts of the Earth for his Possession All is of the Father Heb. 5.5 Christ glorified not himself to be made an High Priest And by parity of Reason we may say He glorified not himself to be made a King but He that said unto him Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee So again in Psalm 118.22 23. The Stone which the Builders refused is become the head Stone of the corner This is the Lords doing it is marvellous in our Eyes Well may it be so for it deserves to be so and may well command our highest Admirings and most grateful Returns But besides this consider Secondly In this Honour and Power which have been thus in infinite Wisdom conferred upon the Lord Jesus Christ by God the Father He had a special and most gracious Respect unto Us and our Good. It was for our sakes as well as for his As herein the Father designed and aimed at the Rewarding of his Son for all the hard things he had suffered and the unmatchable Service he had done so the security wellfare and happiness of those whom he had given to him Therefore he is made Head over all things to the Church He is Head over all over the Devil and his Instruments over Hell and Rome over the worst and greatest of Men He is higher than the highest of them in those things in which they deal proudly He is above them and He is so
and all of you Children of the most High. They are Gods Vicegerents Gods Representatives they are Terrestrial Gods. But be not proud of that be not high minded but fear and to that end he whispers in their Ear or rather tells them upon the House-top but ye shall die like Men. You may ask what may be the meaning of that I Answer You may take it thus They shall die like Men i.e. they know no more when they shall die than other Men whether some years hence or to morrow or to day and they can tell no more than other Men how they shall die whether a natural or violent Death whether on a sudden or by some lingering and tedious Distemper And again they die like Men as to the Consequences of Death They must be stript of all their Ornaments and Royal Robes and their Bodies must return to Dust and both Soul and Body must come to Judgment Kings that are Supreme and all Inferiour Magistrates must stand before the Tribunal of Christ and there be judged their Rule shall be inspected their Government examined all their Words and Actions considered and all the Sentences that have been here past by them all the Punishments that have been inflicted by them by their Authority and Order shall be curiously and exactly weighed in the Ballance of Justice Oh! be wise and consider this and remember your latter end But though Christ died once He died but once He shall not die a second time Death hath no more Power over him This Friend may fall and that Comfort may wither and that Prince may die under whose Shadow the People rejoyced but so doth not Christ He abides for ever Psalm 102. Thou hast laid the Foundations of the Earth the Heavens are the work of thine Hands They shall perish but thou shalt endure yea all of them shall wax old like a Garment as a Vesture shalt thou change them and they shall be changed but thou art the same and thy years shall have no end Secondly Christ shall reign as well as live He shall live and that like himself in State and in Power and Glory His and our Father who hath set him up for King upon his holy Hill of Sion hath settled him there and fixed him there the Sacred Scriptures do abound with Expressions to this purpose that we might have a full assurance of Faith in the Matter which is so important As to instance in a few Ps. 45.6 Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever So Ps. 110.1 2. The Lord said unto my Lord Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine Enemies thy Footstool The Lord shall send the Rod of thy Strength out of Zion rule thou in the midst of thine Enemies He now rules in the midst of them and in spite of them and the Father will subdue them all Christ sits expecting till it be done And as the Father was not failed in his Expectation from Christ so Christ shall not be failed in his Expectation from the Father All his Enemies shall be brought to an under either in a way of gracious Conversion or in a way of most dreadful Confusion Either they shall willingly bow to him in the day of his Power or else they shall against their wills be broken by him in the day of his wrath either they shall submit to his golden Scepter or they shall be dashed in pieces like a Potters Vessel by his Iron Rod. In a word Either they shall by a chearful Resignation put themselves into his hand to be moulded guided and ordered by him or else they shall be under his Feet to be trampled upon with Scorn and Indignation and at last kicked to Hell as fewel for those unquenchable Flames And yet further He must Reign till he hath got the actual and full possession of all that unto which he hath an unquestionable Right by virtue of his Fathers donation i.e. till the Heathen and uttermost parts of the Earth be brought in to him Of the continuance of his Kingdom and the increase of his Government there shall be no end till that happy time come wherein all the Kingdoms of the World shall become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ i. e. they shall renounce all Idolatry and false Worships and embrace the Gospel and walk in the Light thereof and according to its Rules Yea it is said Rev. 11.15 He shall Reign for ever and ever till time shall be no more Thirdly Rejoyce in this That the Church of the living God shall be preserved and continued in the World. Though there have been dreadful concussions and are so at this present and are like to be till all be shaken down that God hath not set up yet there shall be no overturning of this House no ruining thereof The Ship may be and frequently is sorely tost with Tempests but it shall live since Christ is Pilot and sits at the Helm and steers the Course I say it shall live as the Ark did in the Deluge when the Waters were at the highest Notwithstanding all the Rage and Malice all the Power and Plots of Men and Devils Christ will have a Church upon Earth Though they may prune this Vine which Gods right Hand hath planted yet they shall never be able to pull it up by the roots It may bleed grievously even to Fainting but not to Death It is true this or that particular Church may fail The Church of the Iews did though once dearly yea only beloved and so have the seven Famous Churches in Asia And so may others Therefore that was excellent and no more than necessary Counsel which Paul more likely to be an Apostle to them than Peter gave them Rom. 11.20 21. Because of unbelief they i. e. the Iews were broken off and thou standest by Faith be not high-minded but fear Which Counsel he followeth with this weighty Reason For if God spared not the natural Branches take heed lest he spare not thee That was Pauls advice to the Church at Rome when he wrote this Epistle to them But whatever hath become of Her or may of this or that particular Church our Lord Iesus will certainly take effectual care that there shall be a true Church upon Earth And though at first it be but as a little Stone yet shall it smite the Image upon his feet and break them to pieces and become it self a great Mountain and fill the whole Earth Let every one look to it that they be true and living Members of that true Church and continue so without turning aside to any Synagogue of Satan or having any Fellowship with Devils The End.