it is your Father's will to give you a Kingdom A Kingdom of more Glory than all the Kingdoms of the World and it is a Kingdom which shall never end This is the Reward which God will certainly bestow on his righteous Servants and Children of which Reward some make the raining Righteousness in the Text a Promise for they take Righteousness to be the Reward of it as in the following Verse Iniquity is taken for the Punishment thereof But whether that be the main intent of the Words certainly it may be comprehended in them for the Fruits and Effects of Righteousness are always given where it self is given Holiness and the glorious Reward of it cannot be disjoined so that he who has the one is sure of the other The Wicked cannot inherit Glory nor can the Righteous be excluded Instead therefore of perplexing our selves what shall come of us whether we shall go to Heaven let us chearfully do our Duty and heartily endeavour to be righteous in the sight of God for hereby we may be assured of eternal Life The one is the Earnest and Pledge of the other Hitherto I have handled and applied the Text with a respect to Mens private and personal state But as was said in the beginning the Prophet delivered this Advice with a regard to the publick state of his People both Civil and Ecclesiastick And so it proposes the true Way and Method of preventing and removing publick Calamities and Disasters from Church and State which is to put away Sin and Wickedness and to encourage and promote Piety and Godliness As the Prophet forewarns them of very sad and heavy Judgments so all along he plainly inculcates the cause thereof viz. Their Pride and Wantonness the neglect of God and of his Worship and a gross contempt of and disobedience to his Righteous Laws For this cause he told them they were to be so exemplarily punished and that nothing could save them from utter Ruin or procure the lengthning of their Tranquillity but the ceasing from Sin and the doing that which is right in the sight of God Both the Preservation and Ruin of Kingdoms and publick States is of God and he is moved to the one or the other according as they are righteous or wicked For as Solomon saith Righteousness exalteth a Nation but sin is a reproach to any people which Maxim of the Wise Man is clearly exemplified in Sacred History and was wisely observed in relation to the Iews in the person of Achior the Captain of the Sons of Ammon for in the Speech which he is said to have made to Olofernes he told him That whilest they sinned not before their God they prospered because the God that hateth iniquity was with them but when they departed from the way which he appointed them they were destroyed in many sore Battels and were led Captives into a Land that was not theirs and the Temple of their God was cast to the Ground and their Cities were taken by the Enemies From which wise Observation he concluded as wisely his Advice to the same Olofernes Now therefore my Lord and Governour if there be any Errour in this People and they sin against their God let us consider that this shall be their ruin and let us go up and we shall overcome them But if there be no iniquity in their Nation let my Lord pass by lest their Lord defend them and their God be for them and we become a reproach before all the world Righteousness is the greatest Security of a People it is the strongest Bond of Union amongst themselves and will defend the Frontiers better than Garisons or Armies can do For it secureth the Protection of the Almighty who can defeat the strongest and most numerous Forces and who when a man's ways please the Lord maketh his enemies to be at peace with him If therefore we have any concernment for the Church and State whereof we are Members if we would have God to do good to our Zion and to build up the walls of our Ierusalem if we would have him to settle Peace within their Walls and Prosperity within their Palaces let every one of us return from the Evil of our ways let us seek God with all our heart retrieve true Piety and true Religion and by the works of real Righteousness study to please God If we do this then his Heart will be towards us and his Delight will be in us then we shall become his Pleasant Vineyard which he will fence and plant out of which he will gather the Stones and in which he will build a Tower for himself he will cherish our Church and State and do all that can be desired for their Beauty Order and Peace But if instead of the pleasant Grapes of Righteousness we yield the sowre Grapes of Iniquity if instead of Judgment God see Oppression if instead of Righteousness he hear a cry if instead of the sweet smelling savour of a Christian Conversation we send forth the noisom and stinking scent of Sin and Impiety Ungodliness and worldly Lusts then he will utterly abandon us I will tell you what he will then do to his Vineyard I will saith the Lord take away the hedge thereof and it shall be eaten up and break the wall thereof and it shall be trodden down And I will lay it waste It shall not be pruned nor digged but there shall come up briars and thorns I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it Isa. v. 5. Our Land will always be made to mourn so long as Sin and Iniquity abound in it Publick Peace and Prosperity cannot be expected till there be a return of Righteousness of true and solid Piety Till that appear we need not look for good Let us therefore seek the Lord and by fervent and effectual Prayers beseech him to give Repentance unto all People and to Rain down true Righteousness upon all Ranks and Orders of Men that it may be well with every one of us and with the Land we live in For then our case should be happy and then both Sion and Ierusalem would have reason to rejoice for the Lord then would strengthen the bars of their gates he would bless the people within them make peace in their borders and fill them with the finest of the wheat Now unto him that is able to do this for us unto the King Eternal Immortal Invisible the only Wise God be Honour and Glory for ever and ever Amen SERMON XIII Preach'd at St. Giles Church in EDINBURGH On October 16. 1687. HOSEA V. 13 14 15. When Ephraim saw his sickness and Iudah saw his wound then went Ephraim to the Assyrian and sent to King Iareb yet could he not heal you nor cure you of your wound For I will be unto Ephraim as a Lion and as a young Lion to the house of Iudah I even I will tear and go away I will take away and none shall
the right hand of God Finally let us be stedfast and unmoveable always abounding in the Work of the Lord for our labour is not in vain Now the God of Peace that brought again from the Dead our Lord Iesus that great Shepherd of the Sheep through the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant make you perfect in every good Work to do his Will working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Iesus Christ to whom be Glory for ever and ever Amen SERMON VII ON EASTER-DAY 1 JOHN V. 12. He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life THE Yoke of Christ is so far from being heavy and troublesome that on the contrary it is very Light and Easie His Commands are so far from being Grievous that they are very Profitable and in keeping of them there is great Reward It is no less our Interest than our Duty to become Christians and we cannot shew our selves more Wise more Careful of our own Welfare than when we give our selves up to be the Disciples of Jesus Christ and to follow him whithersoever he leads us For by doing so we secure to our selves all desireable Happiness What is more desireable than Life Now He that hath the Son hath Life but he that hath not the Son of God hath not Life The Meditation of these words can never be Unseasonable it may always be Useful and Profitable but it is especially very proper and pertinent for the Day and Work which we are now setting about I pray God we may so clearly understand these words and so seriously consider them that we may not from any constraint or formality only but chearfully and heartily join our selves to the Lord Jesus Christ and resolve to maintain not only an External Communion with him in his Sacraments and Ordinances but an Internal one also by Faith Love and Obedience that by so doing we may obtain that Life and all the Blessed Fruits and Benefits of it which is in and through him Now That we may Treat of this Text the more profitably we shall first Explain the Phrases here used of having the Son and of Life and then shall shew how True it is That he who hath the one hath the other also As to the First By the Son of God we are to understand here the Lord Jesus Christ the History of whose miraculous Conception and Birth and Death and Resurrection and Ascension we have fully Recorded and plainly set down in the Four Gospels that this is the Person which St. Iohn designs and points at here is so Evident that it needs not to be proved who Reads the Epistle or but takes notice of the 1 5 and 20 Verses of this Chapter will find it past all doubt In this Epistle Jesus Christ is not only frequently stiled the Son of God but the Necessity of believing it is also clearly held out by the Apostle thus Chap. ii 23. Whosoever denieth the Son the same hath not the Father but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also And a little before our Text He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself he that believeth not God hath made him a liar because he believeth not the Record which God gave of his Son And This St. Iohn insists the more upon because even in his time there were some Cerinthus and Ebion by name who began to spread Damnable Heresies denying the Divinity of Jesus Christ and giving him out to be only a meer Man In Refutation of whom it is said also that he wrote his Gospel at the desire of the Asian Bishops And in it indeed he sets himself more than any other of the Evangelists to advance this great Truth That Jesus is the Son of God not by Adoption or upon the account of his Sanctity and Divine Mission which hath given the Title to other Men but after a peculiar and ineffable manner so that None other is or can be the Son of God as he is for he doth evidently hold him out to be the only begotten Son of God and declares his Eternal Generation and Godhead by clear and Undoubted Testimonies St. Iohn doth not only with the other Evangelists Record such Actions and Speeches of Jesus Christ from which his Deity may be inferred and deduced they speaking out both an Omnipotency and Omniscience But he expresly calls him God and brings in our Lord frequently asserting his Oneness and Equality with the Father in plain and clear terms and both suffering some and calling upon others to pay him equal Homage and Worship with the Father which he would never have done but would have guarded against if he had not been the Son of God in that sence which the Catholick Church hath believed it for then it would have been Idolatry and a downright robbing of God Jesus could not be Ignorant whether he was the Son of God or no neither can we suppose him to swerve from the Truth or to go about to perswade Men to believe in the least what was not True for if he had not been Truth God would not have born Witness to him by so many Prophecies before he came to the World by so many Audible Voices and Wonders when he was in it by raising him from the Dead and finally by confirming the Preaching of the Gospel both with Signs and Wonders and with diverse Miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost If we receive the witness of Men the witness of God is greater and this is the witness of God which he hath testified That Iesus Christ is his Son And who will not believe and receive the Testimony which God hath given to his Son maketh him a Liar He who refuseth this opposeth himself to the Truth of God and so reproacheth and dishonoureth him who hath so positively and so many ways testified of him And Therefore it is said by this Apostle as we cited before Whosoever denieth the Son the same hath not the Father And in the following Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God And as the Denying of Jesus Christ to be the Son of God is a Reproaching the Truth of God so also it is a Despising of his Wisdom and an Endeavouring to baffle and Undervalue all the admirable contrivances thereof and all the Wise and Wonderful Dispensations of his Providence and the Eternal Purposes of his Counsel For as all things are of Christ and through him so all things were designed with a respect to him The Creating of the World the permitting of Man to fall the Miraculous Constitution of the Iewish Nation and the no less wonderful Preservation thereof for so many Years the Shame Ignominy and Banishment which that People suffer now the Calling of the Gentiles all God's Dealings with Men and Angels and in a word all that hath hitherto fallen out and all that is to be any time hereafter and the End
of those Sublunary and perishing things How much should we despise and undervalue those empty and fading Vanities seeing we have such infinitely better things prepared for us and waiting upon us Doth he who is called to a Kingdom mind Sticks and Straws Trifles and petty inconsiderable things Remember O Christian what thou art and what thou art called to keep up the Decorum that is suitable to the dignity of thy Person and walk worthy of the Vocation whereunto thou art called Do not creep upon thy Belly and lie groveling upon the Ground lift up thy Head and let thy Heart be where thou seest thy Treasure is Be not like the foolish Indians who sell their Gold and their Pearls and other precious things for Brass and Iron and Glass Beads Do not seek to fill thy Belly with Husks when thou mayst have fulness of Bread in thy Father's House Do not grasp so fast but let go those painted Vanities those mere shadows of Delight and make sure to thy self that fulness of Joy and those Rivers of Pleasure which are at God's Right hand for ever and ever Secondly Consider those things that thou mayst have Comfort in thy Afflictions that thou mayst bear up with a chearful Spirit under all the Crosses that are laid on thee The hopes of Heaven do lighten the burthen of Affliction they take away the heavy pressure thereof How light should we consider our Affliction which is but for a moment seeing it is followed by a far more exceeding and Eternal weight of Glory Look unto Iesus the author and finisher of our Faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God Now if we suffer with him we shall be also glorified together with him And I reckon saith St. Paul that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us Thirdly Consider what a mighty Encouragement this Blessed life is and what a powerful inducement it should be to Prayer Meditation to all Holy Duties and in a word to a hearty compliance with the whole Gospel We are not commanded those things in vain for naught all the pains we are at this way shall be well rewarded Do we toil and sweat for the Bread which perisheth And shall we not labour for that which endureth to Eternal Life Do Men venture upon Merciless Seas Do they throw themselves upon the Points of Swords and before the mouths of Cannons for a little Gain or some small piece of Honour And shall we refuse to walk Circumspectly to live Soberly Righteously and Godly for Heaven and Eternal Life Be ashamed O Christian of thy Sloth and Laziness blush to see some taking more Pains for Earth than thou art for Heaven for Perishing thant hou art for Eternal Riches You see your Labour is not in vain be stedfast therefore and immoveable and always abounding in the Work of the Lord run with Patience the Race that is set before you and run so that you may obtain Do not faint and weary in well-doing but persevere therein to the very End Be thou faithful unto the death saith Christ and I will give thee a Crown of life Finally Let what hath been said raise your Appetite and stir up in you a Holy and Sincere Desire of this Sacrament of the Lord's Supper which strengthens your Faith cherishes your Hope gives you the Encrease of Grace here and is to you a sure Pawn and Pledge of Glory hereafter For this Holy Sacrament is the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus not the Sacred Symbols and Representations thereof only but the conveyance of the Merits of his Death and Sufferings also Now Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood ye have no life in you Eat therefore O Friends Drink yea Drink abundantly O Beloved that your Souls may be satisfied and live for evermore Now unto him who hath loved us and given himself unto the Death for us and who hath opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers even unto Iesus Christ with the Father and Blessed Spirit the Glorious and Incomprehensible Trinity be all Praise Honour and Glory for ever and ever Amen SERMON VIII ON EASTER-DAY 1689. 1 COR. XV. 19. If in this Life only we have Hope in Christ we are of all Men most miserable WHAT the Church Commemorates in this great Festival of Easter solemnly celebrated by all Antiquity St. Paul evidently proves in this Chapter viz. That important Article of our Creed the Resurrection of our Lord Iesus Christ. And from this necessarily he deduceth another most material Point which is the Certainty of our own Resurrection The firm Belief of both these Points are not only absolutely Necessary but also the serious and frequent Consideration of them is most useful that we may be strengthened and encouraged in our Temptations comforted in our Troubles and animated to a chearful Labouring in every work of the Lord. The certainty of an after state as well as the Quality thereof is only known by the Gospel it is Iesus Christ only who hath brought Life and Immortality to Light through the Gospel The Heathens had some knowledge thereof but it was very faint It was only as a Dream and Imagination for when our Apostle taught it at Athens he was counted a Babler and was mocked there even by the Philosophers themselves And among the Iews there was the Sect of the Sadducees who believed neither Resurrection nor Spirit St. Paul attacks these Epicurean and Sadducean Principles in this Chapter for it would seem that some of the Church of Corinth were corrupted with them and said That there is no Resurrection of the Dead though the belief of this point be so essential to a Christian that he ceases to be one who denies it The words of our Text are one of those Arguments St. Paul makes use of for evincing the Truth and certainty of our Resurrection and it is an Argument taken ex absurdo which is accounted a demonstration even in the strictest Science for there be many Propositions of the Mathematicks which cannot be otherwise demonstrated than by shewing the absurd Consequences of their being false I shall endeavour to demonstrate the strength and force of this Argument of St. Paul for another Life But first let us consider the Truth of his Assertion here that we that is Good and Sincere Christians would be of all others the most miserable if there were no more expected than what this Life doth afford St. Paul saith here that if Christians had no hope but in this Life they would be of all Men most miserable He doth not say they would be the only miserable Persons whereby he clearly insinuates that others as well as they are liable to Misery in this World As some Ignorant and Unjust Men charge
Fears The difference betwixt the godly and the wicked may be compared to that of two Persons at Sea in a most dangerous Storm where there is Hope of saving Life but nothing else But the one has a goodly Inheritance to live upon when he comes to Land and therefore cannot be much cast down whereas the other having lost his whole Stock and Substance is not only miserably damped with Grief for the Loss of that but also quite confounded with the Thoughts of his after Poverty and Misery Thirdly This Doctrine of the Certainty of another better Life serves greatly to comfort us under the Miseries and Calamities of this and therefore that we may have this Comfort let us both firmly fix the Belief of it in our Hearts and also frequently meditate thereon It is in vain for any to expect to pass thorow this World without Trouble and Affliction and there is no true support under any Affliction but the lively hope of that glory which is to be revealed with this one may bear the heaviest Cross chearfully and without it the lightest Affliction may overwhelm the spirit For this cause saith St. Paul we faint not for though our outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day for our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory Cheer up thy Spirit whosoever thou art that liest under the pressure of any Affliction if thou repentest of thy Sins if thou lovest God and be resolved to walk so as to please him why shouldst thou be cast down Lift up thine Eyes unto yonder Regions above and consider what an Interest thou hast there what a blessed Inheritance is there reserved for you Is thy condition here uneasie and troublesom and art thou still tossed about remember when thou comest there thou shalt have all Rest and Peace Art thou hated by Men and persecuted with their Hands and Tongues let not that vex thee seeing thou art Beloved of God and hast Friends Above who will shortly receive thee unto their everlasting Habitations where are good things which neither eye hath seen nor ear heard nor can the heart of man conceive them Take the spoiling of your Goods joyfully knowing that ye have in Heaven a better and an enduring substance Dost thou here suffer the want of all things bear it for a while patiently for when thou ascendest Heaven and enter'st into the presence of God thou shalt find fulness of joy and rivers of pleasures for evermore The bitterness of this Life shall be abundantly recompenced by the sweetness and happiness of the other There it is where we shall be comforted for all the days wherein we have been afflicted For there men shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the Sun light on them nor any heat for the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes When Columbus set first out to Sea in order to discover a New World he suffered unspeakable Straits Hardships and Difficulties The very reading of them is astonishing yet he still bore out by the hope of discovering Land which was very faint and uncertain for he only conjectured that there might be such a thing Now if such a faint and uncertain hope of an Earthly Country could make one run upon so many Hazards and bear up under such Disasters what a support to our Minds and a Comfort to our Spirits should the hope of an Heavenly Country be a Country whose Riches and Glory and Felicity we poor Mortals cannot conceive much less express And which is no Dream or Conjecture but which is clearly demonstrated to us by the Word of God And from which nothing can obstruct us if we be but stedfast and immoveable and always abounding in the work of the Lord. Death might have prevented Columbus's Discovery and robb'd him of that Satisfaction but Death cannot impede our passage unto Heaven for it is the very means of entring into it It is the very loosing of the Fetters and removing the Cloggs which detain us in this miserable Life and a setting us at Liberty to return to God whence we came and to take possession of that glorious Life which Christ hath purchased for us Fourthly and lastly Is there a Life after this and a blessed Life too Then certainly it becometh us to give all diligence to secure it for our selves 't is no less our Interest than our Duty It will not fall to our Lot by Chance and without we use true endeavours after it It is true Jesus Christ hath purchased this Life for us and payed the price of it without which no Man could ever have expected it But still it lies on us to qualifie our selves for it by the Performances of those Conditions on which it is granted and these are Faith and Holiness First We must have Faith for without this saith the Scripture it is impossible to please God And if it be impossible to please him without Faith it is impossible to expect Heaven without it for he will never admit one there who doth not please him He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him If you ask what Faith is It is to believe the Existence of God his Almighty Power his Infinite Wisdom his Incomprehensible Goodness and his most Wise and Watchful Providence It is to give a most hearty assent to the Truth of his Word to the Authority and Goodness of his Laws to the ineffable greatness of his Promises and to the Justice of his Threatnings It is to receive with Zeal and Affection the Lord Jesus Christ to own the miraculous Nature and Dignity of his Person and to acknowledge the Necessity Vertue and Usefulness of his Offices of Prophet Priest and King Finally it is to admit by a profound Humility the Incomprehensible Mystery of the Trinity and to depend upon the Influence and Operation of the Holy Spirit the third Person of the God-head Our Faith must comprehend all this And without this Faith no Man can be saved For unless a Man believe all that God has clearly proposed he not only does not honour God as he ought but he actually dishonours and affronts him Now the true evidence of this Faith is Holiness which is also the other Condition required of those that would be saved Faith without works saith St. Iames is dead And without holiness saith St. Paul no man shall see the Lord Heb. xii 14. How fit and proper unsanctified Persons may be for settling and propagating Christ's Kingdom upon Earth I do not well know but this I know and am sure of that none shall share of his Heavenly Kingdom but they who are pure as he is pure
but be sure to carry away the Victory If the Devil assault you resist him till he flee from you Are you persecuted troubled and afflicted maintain a Christian Courage and Magnanimity bear all with an invincible Patience and suffer the utmost rather than do what is dishonourable what may offend God or wound your own Conscience Doth the wind of false Doctrine blow from all quarters let us take heed that we be not carried away therewith let us search for the Truth and never suffer Lyes and Falshoods to have any Impression upon us And that other Errors may not find entrance let us shut out that great and gross one and the Mother of many viz. That it is no matter what Men think or believe that Opinions are not dangerous for the Apostle tells us That there are some Heresies damnable All Truths are not to be alike accounted of nor are all Errors dangerous But certainly some Truths are of such importance and are delivered with such evidence that to deny or question them is to resist God and question his Veracity and there are some Errors which debauch the Understanding as much as Vice doth the Heart and the one doth alienate from God as well as the other If we be tempted to mingle our Devotions with Idolatry and Superstition that the Worship of God may be splendid and magnificent let us not yield for God is not to be Worshipped with that which pleaseth him not nor must we study to Honour him by ways which he has forbidden Neither out of a pretext of shunning this let us be carried to the other extreme of Indecency Irreverence and of a nasty Familiarity Whatever be in vogue among others let us both in publick and in private keep up that Worship which is grave serious and deliberate which is suitable to the Majesty of God and proper to beget in us great and worthy thoughts of him which kindleth our Love to him heighteneth our Reverence and Esteem for him which instructs us in his Will and quickeneth our Obedience to his Commands Finally and particularly let us with all care escape the Pollution that is in the World thorow Lust let us stave off Vice and withstand the wicked Practices of this Age we live in and study to be found the Children of God without all rebuke even in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation whatever be the practices of others let us make it our business to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearance of the Son of God If we do not strive to overcome in this last particular our Victory in the rest will be to little purpose What will it avail us to stand out against Persecutions to resist Errour and Heresies Idolatry and Superstition if we be Slaves to Lust and suffer Sin or any manner of Impiety to reign in us All our Zeal for Christ's Kingdom without will profit us nothing if we do not set it up within us Though we Prophesie in Christ's Name and in his Name cast out Devils and in his Name do many wondrous Works yet if we do the works of Iniquity he will say to us in that day Depart from me I never knew you Thus you have seen your task and what as Christians is required of you Your task indeed is great but your Assistances are as great and if you resolve to acquit your selves well you must be active and diligent There is no place for Idleness or Loitering You have much to do but however do not despond for there shall be strength given you from above He that is with you is greater than any that can be against you If you have the heart be ready and willing God will enable you to overcome the greatest Goliah of the Philistines And if at any time you should faint look unto Iesus the author and finisher of your Faith let his Example direct and encourage you and as he did also look unto the Recompence of Reward consider what shall be done to you if you overcome You shall not be so meanly rewarded as they were who obtained the Mastery in Olympick Games who only got Crowns of Flowers Laurels and Myrtles nor yet as the Romans when they returned Victorious over their Enemies who only had the Honour of a days Solemnity and Triumph nor is it a Crown of Gold which shall be bestowed on you which is the greatest reward to be expected in this World but it is a Crown of Life Glory and Righteousness I have fought a good fight saith St. Paul I have finished my course and henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness Nothing is reckoned more August and glorious than a Crown some have been at great Pains and have run many Hazards to win one But there is no Crown so glorious as this which awaits us in the other World The splendor of it is represented by the Whiteness of the Stone in the Text Its Excellency and Magnificence by the weight thereof and its Duration and Continuance by the firmness of it Be ye therefore stedfast and immoveable and abounding always in the work of the Lord Forasmuch as you see that your labour is not in vain And unto him who is able to make you overcome and who has promised thus to reward you if you do overcome be Glory Honour and Praise for Ever and Ever Amen SERMON X. On LUKE VI. 46. Why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the things which I say THE Name of Lord is not only a title of Honour but it implies Dominion and Authority so that to call one Lord is to acknowledge him Superiour and to profess Subjection to him Christ is called Lord by David Psal. cx And is almost always design'd so in Scripture This Name is due to him both by vertue of his Nature and Office so that to call Iesus Lord is to receive and Acknowledge him for the Son of God the Messias or Christ and the Saviour of the World For these Reasons he is our Lord and is called so in Scripture and they do not understand what they say who do not mean these things when they call Iesus Lord. By the things which Christ saith is to be understood the whole Doctrine of Christ as it respects both Faith and Manners A true Disciple will receive whatever his Lord saith and will own all that his Authority is concerned in But he is disobedient and rejects his Authority who rejects either the Truths required to be believed or the things commanded to be done To do then what Jesus saith is to frame both the inward Temper and Sentiments of our heart and our outward Conversation according to the Doctrine of Christ it is to receive by a Sincere Faith all the Truths revealed by him and to make Conscience of observing what he has commanded The Credenda or things to be believed are
to Christ and instead of doing his Will do the contrary obey Sin and the lusts of the Flesh I say this is prejudicial to his Interest and obstructs the Advancement of his Kingdom in this World It doth both keep it from being further extended and also from arriving to its true height where it is established Evil communications corrupt good manners and one wicked perverse Servant may debauch the rest draw them from their Service and the faithful and punctual Attendance upon their Master So a very few persons professing the Name of Christ but careless to do his Will may have a very bad influence upon other Disciples This tendeth to beget in them a perswasion that they may belong to Christ though they be Wedded to the World Slaves to their Lusts and drowned in Sensual Delights Ever since the Church Doors became so patent that one might have the Name and Rank of a Christian without giving Proofs of a Sincere Conversion or shewing the Testimonies of an Holy and Upright Life all Zeal and Care for Serving of God have been very much cool'd and slackned And ever since too Religion hath been at a stand and made no further progress in the World While those who call'd themselves Christians made their light to shine before Men whilst their good Works and holy Life were clearly seen many embraced our holy Faith and glorified our Heavenly Father The Holy and Innocent Lives of the Apostles and Primitive Christians were so taking that it allured the World and made Men ambitious and desirous to embrace that Religion which taught and enabled People to live so well But now that the lives of Christians are so mean and sordid so corrupt and prophane no body enquires after our Religion they search not into the truth and certainty thereof they neither concern themselves about its Author nor do they enquire what Advantages it offers beyond the other Religions of the World The wickedness of Christians has drawn a bar upon the progress of Christianity by raising and nourishing such Prejudices in those who are Strangers to it so that it is now a very rare thing to see one leave his Native Superstition and come over to embrace Christ and his Worship Perhaps there are more Apostates and Renegadoes from Christianity than there are Converts to it And however the one is as ordinary as the other And now having seen what evils flow from a bare barren Profession and a Noncompliance with the Precepts and Laws of Jesus Christ how insolent it is in it self what dishonour it brings to our Lord and what a prejudice it is to his Interest in the World I say when we consider this we need not wonder why he should so sharply reprove and inveigh against it as he doth here in our Text Certainly he hath all reason to do so and we his Ministers cannot be answerable if we neglect to expostulate with those who are guilty of this fault And O how few among us can plead not guilty Let me use a little freedom with you be not angry if I ask would to God you would seriously ask your selves what you are what you Profess in whom you do believe I know what the answer will be all will say we are Christians we profess and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ but I pray how do ye shew it What signs and proofs give ye thereof Can you make out this by the Works of Obedience Is it evident that ye do those things which he saith If so you have all reason to call him Lord and you speak but the truth when you call your selves his Disciples but not otherwise Be not deceived think not external Baptism frequenting the Church hearing Sermons or making Prayers are sufficient for holding the Dignity and Privilege of Christians or for laying Claim and Title to the Lord Jesus Christ Indeed they are not Christians who cannot shew these but they may have them and yet not belong unto Christ The veriest Hypocrites may go thus far and such as Christ will never own in the great Day of his Appearance For certainly he will reckon none his Disciples nor will he reward any as such but those who heartily and sincerely obey him I know my sheep saith he and that we may know them too he tells who they are My sheep saith he hear my voice and they follow me Now can you say that you have hearkned sincerely to the voice of this Shepherd Have you followed whither he leadeth you Have you indeed performed the Commandment of this your Lord O that you could all answer Affirmatively But then as Samuel said to Saul What meaneth this bleating of the sheep in mine ears and the lowing of the oxen which I hear What means the ridiculing of the Doctrine and Mysteries of the Gospel What mean the Taunts and Scoffs cast upon its Precepts How comes Sin and Iniquity to abound so much Why does lust so much reign and prevail What mean your Oaths and your Curses your rash and idle Speeches your Slandering and your Back-biting your Wrath Malice and bitter Envyings your Covetousness and Uncharitableness Whence is it that Whoredom and Uncleanness Gluttony and Drunkenness Pride and Wantonness Falshood and Dishonesty abound so much and are so frequent Have you thus corrupted your selves and do you yet presume to call upon the Name of the Lord Know ye not that every one that nameth the name of Christ must depart from iniquity Or do you think these but the spots of Children You are mistaken they are not the spots of Children they are not consistent with the sincere Belief and Profession of Christ they who love him will not be guilty of them for they bewray a contempt of him and his Gospel and occasion it to be evil spoken of by others It is Zeal for God and Charity to Men. It is Self-denial and Innocency Purity and an Universal Holiness it is fruitfulness in all manner of good Works which only can shew us to be true Disciples of Christ These are the Badges of Christianity who putteth on these is a Christian indeed but he who lacketh and despiseth these he who hath neither love nor regard unto them may as well renounce his Profession Let me intreat you therefore to examine and try your Hearts and when you have done that declare your Sentiments and Resolutions Why do you halt and hover so much Speak your Mind freely be plain and ingenuous Are you for God Will you accept Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Master Declare it and let it be seen by your works and Conversation If you think him a hard Master one who imposes a Burthen you cannot endure If you think his Laws grievous rigid and severe I pray you renounce your Covenant with him quit his Service and go serve some other Lord. For why do you stay with him you cannot Serve Why do you own him you resolve not to Obey Why do you call him Master whom you
because I do not look upon them as matters of such moment in themselves or of such concernment to me But believing the Truth of the Gospel and knowing the importance of what is revealed therein I find it my duty to esteem it as my necessary Food and that it is as proper and necessary to refresh my Soul with serious and daily Meditations thereof as to give my Body those repasts which Nature daily calls for This made our Apostle desire to know nothing save Iesus Christ and him crucified and to say doubtless I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Iesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ. And as such a Faith is required in all the Mysteries of the Gospel so more particularly in the Mystery of the Cross the Death and Sufferings of Jesus Christ and that Satisfaction he has made thereby for Sin These we should have an Eye to all in our Addresses to God and more especially such solemn Addresses as those we are now to make For he who believes this relies thereon and by vertue thereof draws near to God does confess himself a great Sinner that it had been just for God to have damned him eternally that it is only for the sake of Christ he is saved and that the Wisdom and Mercy of God is highly to be magnified in finding out such excellent Means and Methods for the Salvation of Man and by such Acknowledgments the greatest Sinner endears himself to God and conciliates his Favour and Kindness But he who denies this or has no respect thereto when he draws near to God must either not own himself a Sinner or not think it necessary to satisfie God's Justice or to repair his Honour which is provoked and affronted by Sin or he must not believe that Jesus Christ hath done this for us and that he is the only Mediator betwixt God and Man but must fancy he can come to God by himself or through some other besides Christ and which soever of these perswasions he has he is so far from finding acceptance that he at once both exasperates God and provoketh him who had undertaken to make his Peace and who only could do it I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh to the Father but by me therefore it 's said He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God Secondly I told you the Faith here required must also have a respect to our acceptance with God that is we must not only be firmly perswaded of God's Mercy and his good Will to save Sinners But that we our selves in particular shall find Grace in his Sight if we approach as we ought and bring no Impediment along with us and 't would seem the Translators of our Bible have chiefly respected this act of Faith in the Translation of this Text. Christ required of all those who came to him to be cured of their bodily Distempers Faith both in his Power and good Will And St. Matthew tells us He did no mighty works in his own countrey because of their unbelief St. Mark saith further that he could not do it Which we are not so to understand as if our Lord's Power could be restrained by any or that he depended upon Men for the exercise thereof but only that the want of this Faith rendred those Men unworthy of his Benefits and indisposed them for receiving them And as these temporal and bodily Benefits were not commonly conferred without this precious Faith so neither will spiritual and temporal Blessings as Mercy and Salvation be granted except to those who are disposed for them by earnest Desires and a sincere belief of God's being ready and willing to bestow them or at least if they be given to any other 't is not according to those ordinary Rules and Methods of the Dispensation of Grace which we ought to walk by For this Faith is always required as a necessary condition All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing ye shall receive saith Christ. And St. Iames saith Let not that man who wanteth Faith think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. This Faith is requisite both to animate our Endeavours after the means of Grace and Salvation and also to excite God's love and to encline him to be merciful to us 'T is natural to love those who put confidence in us and he has no spark of generosity who will not do his utmost for those who altogether rely on him if a Sinner can confide in God notwithstanding that he hath offended him if he throw himself at his Feet and can but believe that God has so much Mercy as to forgive him all his Sins and upon his Repentance to receive him into Favour for the sake of Christ He by this act so honoureth God and so obligeth him to Mercy by his trust in him that he will not he cannot abandon him This is set forth to us in the Parable of the Prodigal for when the Penitent Son was yet a great way off his Father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him And as this Faith enclines God to Mercy so it animates our Endeavours it excites and quickens us to a cheerful Performance of all the Means and Conditions of Salvation The Husbandman soweth when he has Hope and the Merchant Tradeth when he has Hope of Gain and every Man plyeth heartily what he believes will succeed but Men are discouraged and made to give over their Endeavours when they take up a Perswasion that they shall but labour in vain A double minded man saith St. Iames that is one who hangs in suspence who is tossed with Doubts and Fears he is unstable in all his ways Such an one is inconstant he pursues not his Enterprizes but desists he is not steadfast and unmoveable and always abounding in the work of the Lord as every one ought to be and as he will be who knows and believes that his Labour is not in vain When therefore we draw near to God let us do it in this full Assurance of Faith that we may do it heartily so as to please God let us not entertain Doubts and Fears which but disquiet our own Minds and cast dishonour upon God Would not a Servant reflect either upon the Ability or Honesty of his Master if he questioned his Reward for the sincere Performance of his Service If ye who are evil and sinful think your selves oblig'd to love and be faithful to those who seek to please you will not God think you be more faithful and just to forgive us and to receive us into his Favour if we approve our selves unto him Is there any thing surer than his Word Are not
usual in the Scripture St. Paul calls Believers God's husbandry or tillage 1 Cor. iii. 9. And here we have proper Directions how to manage it with Skill and Profit Plowing Sowing and Reaping are main parts of Husbandry and should be well looked to by all that would thrive at the Trade he that neglects them or is ignorant how to go about them will certainly come both to Poverty and Shame They are as essential in the Spiritual Husbandry as the Natural and therefore should be well studied by all who wish well to themselves I pray God we may learn and practise the Lessons here laid before us and we shall become both perfect and happy thereby The Prophet begins with Sowing tho' it be not the first part of Husbandry something must go before it however we will not change the Prophets words but take them as they lye it being no great matter what be first or last taught providing all be carefully heard and observed Sowing then in a Moral sense signifies Action whether internal of the Mind or outward of the Body for as Sowing is always followed with some Crop the Grain thrown by the Husbandman's Hand tho' it be covered with Earth doth not perish it riseth again and produceth an answerable Harvest So Mens Thoughts Words and Actions do not vanish as soon as they pass from them they remain as the Seed doth and will spring up again either to their Shame and Confusion or Comfort and Glory It therefore concerns us very nearly to look well to all we think do and say A good Husband man will not sow at random any thing that comes nearest him but will consider what is the best time and will choose out the best Seed So a wise Man will not live at random speak and do whatever is suggested to him or comes in his Head but studieth the fittest times and season of things and he taketh care to give every time and season what is suitable thereto As Cockle and Darnel is never to be sown so neither ought Sin to be sown at any time or upon any account but whether we eat or drink or whatever we do we ought saith the Apostle to do it all to the glory of God And therefore the Prophet here bids us Sow in righteousness or righteousness it self for we cannot carry on the Glory of God or sincerely intend it any other way God can and doth turn the Wickedness of Men to his Glory but when he doth so he is not beholden to us for it and therefore the only way we ought to seek his Glory is to adhere closely to Righteousness When the Prophet saith Sow righteousness or in righteousness which is all one for some make it To others leave out the Hebrew Particle as Redundant He holds forth the quality of the Seed or Grain we should sow And by Righteousness here is not only meant the vertue of Justice and Honesty in our dealings with Man but it is taken in a larger sense of equal extent with Holiness which includes all Acts of Piety and Devotion towards God of Justice Charity and Kindness towards Men and what is good and comely for our selves St. Paul's Injunction to the Philippians iv 8. is a good Paraphrase on Sowing in Righteousness Whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any virtue or any praise think on these things What things are so must be learned from the Scriptures the Word of God is the Rule of Righteousness it is the very good and precious Seed which we ought to sow and to sow in Righteousness is nothing else but to live and do according to the Word of God to practise what it teacheth Qui mandata veterit in opera seminat in justitia Jerom. Whosoever expresseth in his actions the Commands of God soweth in Righteousness And as we must thus look to the Quality of what we sow that it be Righteousness things agreeable to the righteous Word of God so we ought to take heed to the Quantity that we do not sow sparingly but plentifully This some will have to be the only meaning of the Words but there is more reason to refer the Expression to the Quality as we have done However this must be taken in too for he doth not sow in Righteousness sincerely and with delight that doth not abound therein His Heart is not right who serveth God by halves who doth only some few good things But he is a truly righteous Man who sets himself and gives all diligence to abound in the Work of the Lord. And we have all reason to do so for it is our Interest and Advantage Men use to ply well what redounds to their particular Profit what they think will certainly benefit them and truly we are sure of this it will fall particularly to our share It is remarkable that the Prophet calls the sowing righteousness a sowing to or for our selves as if nothing else could be reckoned so And indeed Men may be frustrated of all their other Labours but they can never be disappointed of this In the things of this World one may sow and another may reap what one builds and plants another often takes possession of Most Men labour for others If the most busied would cast up his accounts he should find but a very small part of his Travel and Projects to redound to himself It is not only the meanest sort of People that are to be esteemed Drudges to others but Men of all ranks from the highest are truly Servants of a different kind And the more Faithful and Diligent any one is in his Station or Imployment he becomes thereby only the more useful Servant to the rest of Mankind He only truly lives to himself who makes it his business to be found upright before God and to do that which is right in his sight He that neglects this quite neglects himself and carries away no Profit of all his Labour under the Sun What can the Wisest the most Industrious and most fortunate Worldling boast of at the best but a poor transitory enjoyment of perishing things In that Night his Soul is taken from him what reckoning can he make of his Barns Goods and Store whose are all these things not his to be sure and perhaps they fall into the hands of one who has little kindness for him or his Memory When he dieth saith the Psalmist he shall carry nothing away his glory shall not descend after him And then to how little purpose has he endeavoured to be made Rich and to get the Glory of his House increased But he that is stedfast and immoveable and always abounding in the Work of the Lord his Labour shall not be in vain the gain shall redound to himself What one doth in this is extra Fortunam not liable to any hazard runs not the fate of
other things a Man is sure of it Sow Righteousness and ye shall sow to your selves none shall come betwixt you and the blessed Fruits which is produced by that sowing Wherefore it is here added and reap in mercy Because the Verb here is the Imperative Mood some will have this a Command for a farther Progress in doing that good we have explained to be contained under the first Head But this cannot be admitted for besides the Tautology we must put a strain'd and unusual sense upon Reaping Wherefore certainly in this Phrase is set forth the gracious Reward wherewith God will bless Sowing in Righteousness Reaping follows Sowing and is the natural effect thereof so who Sows in Righteousness shall Reap in Mercy tho' what they thus Reap be neither the necessary natural effect of what they sow nor yet the just desert thereof if they merited what they Reap it should not be called Mercy But it is so called that they may not think what is given them to be their due If Men would consider themselves and their actions impartially and lay aside all proud thoughts they would adjudge their merits to ' be small and that little belonged to them on that account However all who ply Sowing in Righteousness sincerely may look for Mercy as the Husband-man doth for a Crop after he hath sown nay they may assure themselves of it which he cannot do they may claim it as their Privilege by virtue of the Divine Promise which can never fail With respect to which Promise and the undoubted certainty thereof the Prophet bids them here Reap Mercy Reap is Imperative to denote the certainty of the thing as if there were no more requisite than to put forth the hand and take it in which sense the Imperative is usually taken in Scripture as Ezek. xviii 32. They have not the promise nor are they capable of Mercy who sow not in Righteousness Indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish shall be upon every soul of man that doth evil Rom. ii 9. As therefore Sowing must go before Reaping so Sowing in Righteousness must be previous to the Reaping in Mercy this is necessary not that we may merit but that we may be fit objects of Mercy And as naturally the Crop exceeds the measure of the Grain which was Sown so the Gifts and Expressions of God's Mercy towards righteous Persons shall infinitely exceed the Works done by them Wherefore a Iewish Doctor hath not ill express'd it Sow c. Do that which is good in mine eyes and the good Reward which ye shall receive of me shall be far greater than your good Works as he that soweth a Bushel hopes to reap two or more and therefore in the Command for sowing he useth the word Iustice but in the promise of Reaping the word Chesed Mercy or Benignity which is more than Iustice or what in strict Iustice can be required The Mercy which they who Sow in Righteousness shall Reap is like God himself the Author thereof infinite and so cannot be express'd We cannot particularize all the ways whereby God will shew his Mercy to such Persons It is written Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him 1 Cor. ii 9. As long before the Harvest the Husbandman is refreshed with the sight and savour of his Field so God comforteth and refresheth the Souls of the righteous even in this World and hereafter he Crowns them with unspeakable Glory and blesseth them with eternal Life The Light of God's Countenance even in this Life where its beams are often intercepted do yet afford more Joy than in the time of Harvest when Corn and Wine and Oil abound with Men And what will it do in the other World where it shines fully and clearly and without interruption and where there is nothing to obstruct the Power and Efficacy thereof Lord What Joy is there in the very prospect of this Harvest How happy and blessed are they who are sure of it What a kindness is it that we have liberty to throw in our poor stock into such a profitable Bank and a Privilege to Sow where we may Reap so much With what Face can any refuse the Occasion or what Excuse is sufficient Have Men by their many Inventions found out any higher Felicity than what God and his Superabundant Mercy can confer or is there a nearer way or more proper to this than that which the Prophet directs to the Sowing in Righteousness Is it better to labour for Temporal than Eternal things for that Meat which perisheth than that which endureth to Life everlasting Will ye plough Wickedness and reap Iniquity and eat the Fruit of Lyes that is will ye die rather than live This were a mad and shameful Choice and yet one of them we must make for there is no middle Course left us It is certain the Wages of Sin are Death and that there is no way to Everlasting Life but to have our Fruit unto Holiness Be not deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a Man soweth that shall he also reap He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting Gal. vi 7. The Prophet having told them what they would reap returns to exhort them to the Use of those means which are requisite in order to it and to the Performance of those Duties to which reaping in Mercy is promised which People have need to be put in mind of for ordinarily they are very slack and negligent Many would be at reaping but few set themselves to the Work and Labour that must go before it they would be putting in the sickle in Harvest-time though they have not sown nor made any Preparation for it But those who sow not shall not reap and that our sowing may be successful we are bid first break up our fallow ground for Interpreters make the Prophets Speech Elliptick and will have First or After that or some such Word to be understood If the Ground be not prepared sowing is to no Purpose the Seed was lost that fell on stony ground among thorns and in the high-way The good and precious Seed to be sown is the Word of God our Hearts are the Ground which must receive it and they cannot receive it till they be made honest and good as our Saviour speaks Luke viii 15. and in order to this they must be prepared Pains must be taken on them Break up your fallow Ground If the Husband-man did not till his Ground cast Furrows in it and root out the Weeds thereof he needed not sow and would in vain expect a Crop So our Hearts by their natural Constitution are like fallow ground which was never laboured which is indisposed for receiving Seed from the Sower and of it self brings forth only Thorns and Briars The natural Product of
not be able to escape and though they shall cry I will not hearken unto them They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord but they shall not find him he hath withdrawn himself from them Wherefore as the Apostle enjoins Let us exhort one another daily while it is called to day lest any of you be hardned with the deceitfulness of sin You that are stricken in Age will I hope readily acknowledge That it is time if ever for you to seek the Lord and mind the business of your Salvation for your time is near spent your Sun is ready to set and your Day is almost at an end The Husband-man useth to be busie when the Season is almost at a close especially if at first he has loitered and been idle And you that are young have no less Reason to fall to work quickly for though by the Course of Nature you may live a considerable time yet you know that Course may and has been often interrupted and none knows how soon this may befall him Wherefore let neither young nor old give Sleep to their Eyes or Slumber to their Eye-lids but let both young and old seek and labour with all Diligence To day saith the Holy Ghost if ye will hear harden not your hearts But to go on In the last place we have here an Encouragement to what is called for proposed from the Certainty of the Success He will come and rain Righteousness upon you In worldly things Men often seek and labour but do not obtain what they would be at But saith the Lord I said not unto the house of Iacob seek ye me in vain He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him He is sometime found of them that seek him not and therefore it is not to be doubted but he will be found of those who seek him aright and in due time It is true he is not always presently found but though he hide himself for a while he will not do it for ever and therefore we ought not to be weary but to wait patiently till we find him whom our Soul loveth Seek saith the Text till he come which requires Constancy in seeking There is need of patience to them that have done the will of God that they may receive the promise It is childish and unreasonable Peevishness to fret because we are not presently answered to desist from our Work because we do not instantly reap the Fruit thereof They make too great haste to their Doom who conclude themselves forsaken and reprobate because presently they find not God's Presence and the gracious Tokens thereof What is delayed is not denied God knoweth his Hour and waiteth till it come and so should we he putteth off to try our Faith and Constancy to exercise our Patience to quicken our Desires Be patient therefore brethren unto the coming of the Lord. Behold the Husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth and hath long patience for it until he receive the early and latter rain Be ye also patient stablish your hearts for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh Jam. v. 7. Now what is the Lord to do when he comes He will saith the Text rain Righteousness upon you The Allusion to Husbandry is still continued all know how necessary Rain is to the Husbandman without it he labours and sows to no Purpose But if the Heavens rain upon him his Labours prosper he sees the Fruit thereof eats and is satisfied The Dew of Heaven is no less necessary to our spiritual Husbandry it also depends entirely on the Blessing of God without that all our labour is in vain Without me saith Christ ye can do nothing But as God giveth Rain and Snow from Heaven to water the Earth to make it bring forth and bud that it may give Seed to the Sower and Bread to the Eater so in spiritual Blessings he will not be wanting to those who are not wanting to themselves To those who would sow in Righteousness and labour to break up their fallow Ground and seek him to bless their Labours he will come and rain down Righteousness upon them that is his Grace and Spirit shall fall down like the Rain upon them whereby they may encrease and abound in all Truth and Righteousness Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after Righteousness for they shall be satisfied This is the heritage of the Servants of the Lord and their Righteousness is of me saith the Lord. But tho' our Righteousness be of God it should not make us supersede our Labours and Endeavours We must not as one saith lie loitering in the Ditch waiting till Omnipotence pull us out It 's God who causeth the Grass to grow and Herb for the Service of Man are therefore the Labours of the Husband-man useless Put thy self in the way of Grace and Grace shall be given thee Up and bestirr thy self commit thy way unto the Lord trust in him and he shall bring forth thy Righteousness as the Light and thy Iudgment as the Noon day Psal. xxxvii 56. But secondly Some understand these Words of Christ and not without Reason for he that cometh or is to come and will come are his frequent Titles in the Scripture St. Iohn the Baptist asked if he was the Christ under this Designation Mat. xi 3. And the main end of his coming was to teach and give Righteousness He is called the Lord our Righteousness Who sheweth the way of Righteousness who worketh it in us and who by the Merits of his own Righteousness hath obtained for all true Believers that their honest and sincere tho' imperfect Righteousness should be accepted of God as perfect and that they should be dealt with by him as if they were perfectly and compleatly righteous As it is written in the Old and applied by the Apostle in the New Testament Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness and he was made sin or a Sin offering for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him that is that we heartily believing in him and as Believers heartily and sincerely obeying of him might be reputed as perfectly righteous in the Eyes of God through the Merits of his Blood who was perfectly and compleatly righteous without spot or blemish Here then is a Promise of Christ and the Benefits of him as a Saviour that they who are truly sanctified with inherent Righteousness have it imputed to them through the Merits of Christ for perfect and compleat Righteousness tho' it is not so but defective and short of that absolute Perfection which the Law requires as it is written Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect It is God that justifieth Who is he that condemneth It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us Fear not little flock
hid from us till the event declare them and then we are forced to approve and applaud what before we were ready to condemn As Fines Imprisonments and other Punishments are necessary to a Common-Wealth so Calamities Troubles and Afflictions are now necessary to the World By them God keeps up his Authority defends his Laws curbs Sin prevents some from going astray and reclaims others who have already erred from the ways of his Commandments Hereby he exercises his Peoples Virtue Integrity Faith Patience and other Graces and makes them to acquire the Growth Stature Vigour and Understanding of perfect Men which they would not do if softness and ease and plenty were always indulged them As Winds serve to purifie the Air and Frost and Snow and Rain to moisten and fatten the Earth that it may be fruitful so God sendeth Calamities and Afflictions that they who are barren may be made to bear fruit and that others may bring forth more fruit If an ignorant and unskilful Person saw a Gardiner pruning his Trees and lopping off the Branches with Axes and Knives he would perhaps suspect him of madness or think he intended the destruction of the Garden Whereas he thereby prevents their overgrowing and undoing one another and renders his Garden both more comely and more profitable So God by Afflictions prunes his People he keeps down those Corruptions and Disorders which otherwise would break out amongst them and disposeth them to bear proper fruit in their season It is good for me that I was afflicted said David The Psalmist was once tempted to think that God was unkind to his Church and People because he afflicted them But on second thoughts he checks himself and concludes that truly God is good to Israel even to such as are of a clean heart That is such dealing with his People do not prove that he has no kindness for them For he is still good to them and their Afflictions testifie it and such as are of a clean heart shall certainly find it so Now seeing these things are so let us not complain of the present Providence of God let us not murmur against nor bear impatiently those Evils which are upon us For we have truly sinned against God and he doth justly punish us whatever may be said of many of the Instruments of our Trouble and Calamity I must not flatter you certainly our Princes our Nobles and Great Ones the Pastors and People and all Ranks amongst us have corrupted themselves and done wickedly and therefore God hath justly brought Evil upon our Land And they who have smarted by this Revolution have suffered justly at the hands of God Let us therefore humble our selves before him acknowledge our Offence and the Justice and Righteousness of his Judgments and then he will be ready to plead our Cause I beseech you in the words of Hosea O Israel return unto the Lord thy God for thou hast faln by thine iniquity take with you words and turn to the Lord say unto him take away all iniquity and receive us graciously so will we render the Calves of our Lips and then we shall hear him saying I will heal your backsliding I will love them freely for mine anger is turned away from him And as he saith in another place Come and let us return unto the Lord for he hath torn and he will heal us he hath smitten and he will bind us up And as this is the only proper Advice for our selves so I would advise those to whom the present times seem a little more favourable I mean our Brethren of the Presbyterian Party whom I call Brethren though their usage and treatment of us have shewed them Enemies seeing they have overthrown the Church and treated her Bishops and Priests with Contumely and Reproach I say I would advise them not to be over vain and confident for they know not what a day may bring forth To rejoice at our Affliction and to insult over our Misery doth not favour much of Religion to which they make so high pretences And unless they could chain their present State by irreversible Decrees there is as little Prudence as Religion in despising us thus and trampling so much upon us For it may come to pass that they may yet be forced to seek shelter under the Shadow of our Vine They know it is not long since another Party I mean those of the Roman Communion boasted and bragged and aimed too at more than was fit or meet or what Discretion would have required which brought on their Ruine and which has occasioned their Loss of that Peace which otherwise they might and would have enjoyed Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall I believe that thou shalt arise O Lord and have mercy upon Zion when the time to favour her when the set time is come Though our Case were more desperate in the Eyes of the World yet I would not despair tho' we were at a lower pass and had fewer Friends I yet would not let go my Hope for God is able to do for us above what we can ask or think It is true we have provoked the Lord and tho' he leave us we cannot complain But we know also that our God is merciful and with him is plenteous Redemption He will not cast off for ever Therefore they who are his people should still hope in him And we are his People as much for any thing I know as any other Christians in the World can pretend to be for the Church of Scotland is a sound Member of the Holy Catholick Church professing the same Faith that the Churches in the most ancient and purest Ages did and hath the same Ministry and Government even that very Ministry and Government which in those times were thought necessary to the being of a Church and in and under that Ministry we also have the holy Sacraments purely administred by which we are bound to God by a Covenant which is more solemn and sacred than any of Man's inventing can be If therefore we return to the Lord and acknowledge our Offences he will have Mercy upon us and surely visit us with his Salvation For we are his Zion a part of his Catholick Church or peculiar People and he will not always be angry with us We may take up this Hope both by our own Experience and the Experience of others Have we not fallen heretofore And have we not risen again Have we not seen the Church invaded her Essential Order and Subordination demolished her Pastors exiled her Temples profaned her Beauty defac'd And have we not seen all these repair'd and restor'd again Is there any thing impossible unto God Can he not suddenly alter the securest State and put a stop to the most violent Career ANNO 58 and 59 neither King nor Royal Family durst be owned and then it was a capital Crime to pray for them And yet you all know that within a Year or