can alledge to defend it the greatest plot that ever the Divel had and so it is with Popery they 'l alledge the same Scriptures together with us Secondly The bitterest enemies that ever the Church of God had have been those that have owned the same Scriptures with themselves as the Samaritans and the Jews and the Papists unto us for hereby wickedness comes under the title of a Duty John 16.2 They shall suppose that they do good service and Paul saith I verily thought that I ought to do many things against the name of the Lord Jesus he did it in Duty and did Sin conscientiously as I may say c. Vse The Lord hath given you Liberty in many things such as we could not have expected that ever our eyes should have seen done Now let me exhort you Do not turn this Grace of God into vantonness Use not your Liberty as an occasion â—o the flesh Take heed of this way of sinning above all other to make the Word of the holy God a Patron of Lust abhor those men above all other men next the Divel that are best skill'd in Scripture to this end that they may justifie an evil way Truly I shall say better our old bondage or suffering again if this be the use we make of it if our new liberty be a liberty in sinning One disputes for Free-will and Universal Grace and he hath Scripture for it another he disputes against the regulating power of the Law and he hath Scripture another against Prayers but when the Spirit moves him and he hath Scripture another against the Sabbath and others for all manner of wickedness for they say we live in God and others plead for swearing for it 's an Ordinance of God Thou shall swear by his Name and others plead for mixt multitudes in Ordinances and they have Scripture and others act for every ignorant and confident fellow to preach in our publike Congregations for say they the Scripture says as every man hath received the gift so let him minister c. whereas we know the publike ministery is an Office and it is committed unto some and not to all 2 Cor. 5.17 Consider but these four things and I have done First Is this the return you make for all the goodness of God towards you Consider the evil of it First hereby you do dishonour God in that which is highest to him and which he has most exalted next to his Son Psalm 138.2 His Word is exalted above all his Name Now to lay the Word of God aside and to count it as a strange thing Hos 8.12 is a great evil much more to turn it against the Lord and gather rules from the Word to justifie that which the Lord himself abhors Secondly Hereby you do gratifie the Divel for that hath been his great Design First when the Lord hath at any time powered out a higher measure of light as in Luthers time then rose up abundance of heresies and so in the days immediately succeeding the Apostles and when the Lord works any great changes tending to Reformation for cast Satan down in one kind and he will rise in another as when Rome Pagan was cast down now there is a floud upon Rome Christian c. and by degrees to be at last gathered together into the See of Rome Thirdly No men brings on themselves greater destruction then these men do who turn the grace of God into wantonness by bringing into the Church damnable heresies 2 Pet. 2.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they are men ripe for destruction and as I have told you the Lord will make it eminently appear that they are the greatest enemies to his glory and his Churches good and therefore God reserves them for worse punishment then other wicked men shall have God looks on them as men of Blood Bloody men that are drunk with the blood of souls the sons of perdition men of sin 't is an Hebraism that signifies an eminency in every one of those kinds of sin that wicked men are guilty of and it is not only reserved for them hereafter God will not stay till he gives punishments and rewards at the day of Judgement as he will do to all men both good and bad but they shall receive an earnest of damnation here in a special manner as well as hereafter God will exalt their damnation above other mens Primogenitus Sathanae Hereticks are the first born of the Divel and they shall have a double portion with the Divel in his Inheritance Fourthly This is a dangerous fore-runner of destruction to any Nation or Church Truly if if you bear with the woman Jezabel God will not bear with you for he is tender of his Truths and prizeth them above all the world Heaven and Earth shall fail before one tittle of that shall fall to the ground Christ made that the great signe of the destruction of Jerusalem that it was neer There shall arise false Christs and false Prophets many and so 1 John 2.18 There are many Antichrists and hereby we know it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and it s not spoken of the end of the world but of the destruction of the Jewish state and it drew very neer upon this ground because many Antichrists had turned the grace of God into wantonness and made use of the Word of Christ to the dishonour of Christ in opprobrium Christi and it was the over-spreading of heresie that did give the Sarasins footing in the Eastern Empire and seeing they are willing to be deceived the Lord let out that floud upon them therefore oh all you that fear God that desire to serve him as he has revealed himself in his Word whose spirits God has drawn forth to prize the truth of the Gospel Take heed of false Teachers Hold fast the Faith that was once delivered to the Saints For if damnable heresies do creep in amongst you Consider nothing threatens destruction so much as they do THE Just Mans End AT THE Funerall of William Ball Esquire a Member of the House of Commons ESAY 57.1 The Righteous perish and no Man lays it to heart IN these words are four things to be considered First here 's a godly man described in his life and that either in respect of his inward disposition or his outward conversation In his disposition of soul hee is a Righteous man and a merciful man also A Righteous man hee had need have good eyes that finds out such a one for Psal 53.4 The Lord looked down from Heaven upon the children of men and he found none righteous Indeed in a legall sence there is none but hath an allay in a Gospel sence there is arighteousness that is imputed upon justification and there is a new image infused upon sanctification and both these must concur in the righteous man and the merciful man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the man of mercy who hath attained mercy himself and who is ready to shew mercy unto others
 13 26 2 5 91 1 Thessalonians 2 6 271 5 12 101 2 Thessalonians 2 7 477 3 1 10  14 124 1 Timothy 1 15 329 3 10 96  16 694 2 Timothy 2 26 30 Titus 2 16 330 Philippians 3 2 195  19 ibid Hebrews 1 5 92  6 ibid. 9 12 See p 247 after p. 248 10 27 18 12 14 31 38  27 377 13 5 57 Iames. 1 18 696 1 Peter 1 12 35 2 5 743 4 7 271 2 Peter 1 5 44 3 16 11 194 1 Iohn 2 16 529   545  18 206   271 5 19 42  21 483 2 Iohn 5 10 54 Iude.  3 189 192  4 191  6 550 Revelation 1 13 682  20 686 2 1 685  4 582  5 ibid.  21 452 579 3 8 716 4 00 579  3 682  6 567 6 22 669  2 683  12 to 14 723 8 27 688 9 1 196  2 ibid.  10 197  14 718 10 7 288 12 15 196 13 00 190 378 16 9 11 80 17 12 73 18 2 to 13 63 70 78 19 1 84 358 21 22 3 4 22 1 282 FINIS Books Printed for and sold by Francis Tyton at the three Daggers neer the Inner Temple Gate THE several following books of Mr. Richard Baxters Aphorisms of Justification with their explication annexed wherein is opened the nature of the Covenants satisfaction righteousness faith works c. in 12o. The Saints everlasting rest or a Treatise of the blessed state of the Saints in their enjoyment of God in glory in 4 o. Plain Scripture proof for Infant-Baptism in 4 o. The right method in 32. directions for getting and keeping spiritual peace and comfort in 12 o. The unreasonableness of Infidelity manifested in four discourses the subject of which follows viz. 1. The Spirits Extrinsick witness to the truth of Christianity on Gal. 3.1,2,3 With a determination of this Question Whether the miraculous works of Christ and his Disciples do oblige those to believe who never saw them 2. The Spirits internal witness to the truth of Christianity on 1 John 5.10 3. For prevention of the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost a Demonstration that the Spirit and works of Christ were the finger of God or the Holy war between Christ and Satan on Mat. 12.22,23 A Postscript against Mr. Lyfords exceptions 4. The arrogancy of reason against divine revelation repressed or proud ignorance the cause of Infidelity in 8 o. Christian concord or the agreement of the associated Pastors and Churches of Worcestershire with Mr. Baxters explication and defence of it and his exhortation to unity 4 o. A defence of the Worcestershire petition for ministery and maintenance 4 o. The Quakers Catechize 4 o. An Apology against the modest exceptions of Mr. T. Blake and the digression of Mr. Kendal whereunto are added animadversions on a late dissertation of Ludiomeus Colvinus alias Lodovicus Molineus M. D. Oxon. and an admonition of Mr. W. Eyre of Salisbury with Mr. Crandons anatomy in 4 o. A confession of faith especially concerning the interest of repentance and sincere obedience to Christ in our Justification and salvation in 4 o. Parliamenti Declaratio 23. May 1649. Duke Hambletons case argued by Mr. Steel now Lord chief Baron of the Exchequer in 4 o. The Levellers design discovered by Henry Denn in 4 o. The Collection of Orders of Chancery with the alterations and additions agreed on by the Lords Commissioners of the great Seal and Mr. of the Rolls in 8 o. The anatomy of Iohn Lilburns spirit and pamphlets in 4 o. A short discourse between Monarchical and Aristocratical Government in 4 o. The grand Case of Conscience stated in 4 o. A discours concerning the engagement or the northern subscribers plea in 4 o. Heart-bleedings for professors abominations in 4 o. An English translation of the Scottish Declaration in 4 o. A discovery of some thoughts wherewith many precious souls are burdened by Daniel King in 4 o. English Law or a survey of the houshold of God on earth with an Essay of Christian Government folio The false Brother in 4 o. The rise growth and fall of Antichrist together with the much desired and waited for succession of our Lord Jesus Christ by Edward Haughton Minister of the Word A vindication of Infant-Baptism and singing Psalms by Mr. Sydenham Minister at Newcastle Gospel-mysterie Gospel-life and light by Dorneford A Commemoration Sermon on the fith of November before the Parliament in 4 o. A Commemoration Sermon on the fifth of November before the Lord Maior called a Voice from Heaven in 4 o. Heavenly Treasure or mans chiefest good in 12 o. Communion with God in Ordinances the Saints priviledge and duty in 12 o. XXXI Select Sermons on special occasions in 4 o. All by William Strong Minister of the word of God The horrid bloody Spanish Inquisition in 12 o. Spiritual Barrenness EZEK 47.11 But the myrie places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed but be given to salt THey are great things which the Lord hath spoken of the latter days which are called by the Apostle 1 Cor. 10.11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The ends of the world so you render it but Grotius renders it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eph. 1.10 The fulness and perfection of times Grotius Deus in omnibus actionibus prisci seculi semper ob oculos habebat tempâ—r a Messiae c. In which there shall be a perfection of Ordinances and of Churches and of Prophesies for the mysterie of God is in the latter days to be finished Rev. 10.7 There is a Kingdom of God which the Lord will set up or cause to arise Dan. 2.44 Which though it shall begin in the days of those Kings in the times of the Roman Monarchies yet it shall be the great Instrument in the hand of God to destroy the Monarchies for Iacob is in the hand of the Lord as a threshing instrument in the middle of the Nations either as dew from the Lord or as a Lyon amongst the Beasts of the Forest the Angels they poured out the seven vials full of the wrath of God which are the seven last plagues they came out of the Temple Rev. 15.6 And this Kingdom of God shall not come to perfection it shall not arise unto its greatness till judgement sit and dominion be taken away from the fourth beast to consume and destroy it unto the end Dan 7.26,27 It s true that the Church of Christ hath a mighty efficacy upon the world but it is secret invisible and comes not under humane observation Nisi oratione doctrina sustentaret Ecclesia mundum uno momento perirent omnia Luther on Gen. 30 But there will come a time when the power and glory of the Church shall be visible The mountain of the Lords house shall be exalted on the top of the mountains Lactantius when the prophesie of Lactan. p. 579. shall be
the mercy and this brought a Judgement upon him and upon the whole land 2 Chron. for let me tell you of all things God can least bear the despising and contempt of his mercies there are two things that are very terrible to the Saints and that they are afraid of and would be preserved from First that they reap not curses from the Ordinances of God which are usually the great means of blessing Secondly that they have not Judgements grow out of mercies because of their unanswerable walking under their present enjoyments Thirdly the praises of the Saints are as terrible unto the Churches enemies as their prayers you think it is your duty to pray often truly it is your duty to praise God also for Psal 8.2 out of the mouth of Babes and sucklings he hath ordained strength to still the enemy and the avenger it is spoken of Satan and of all spiritual enemies So the children of Israel 2 Chron. when they praised God in the beauty of Holiness God set ambushments they destroyed their enemies with the sword that proceeded out of their mouths Orabilibus telis and that is as much by their praises as by their praiers therefore if you would not have the present mercy prove a future judgement and if you would have the work go on let me exhort you as you did give in your assistance in prayer for this beginning of mercy so let not your praises be wanting with-hold not them for the perfection of it So let all thy enemies perish oh Lord but let them that love thy name be as the Sun going forth in its strength And now I address my self unto the words out of which I would speak something as matter of your thankfulness and meditation suitable unto this present occasion Babylon the great is fallen is fallen there are in the words four things to be opened First who it is that speaks Secondly who this Babylon is of whom it is spoken Thirdly why called Babylon the great Fourthly why its put in praeterito pro futuro is fallen and why it s set down by way of ingemination is fallen is fallen c. First who it is that speaks it ver 1. it is an Angel that came down from Heaven having great power c. By Angels some do expound the heavenly hosts those ministring spirits that are sent forth for the good of the Elect which are therefore called principalities and powers because of that great and that glorious government that the Lord hath committed unto them during the Mediator Kingdom of Christ Ezech. 1. the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels so that they have a great hand in the government and the administration of all things below and in this doth their degrees of glory consist in officio in the office in which the Lord Jesus doth imploy them they differ not in their nature at all but only in their office as Zanch. observes answerable unto what the Lord Jesus will employ them in for they are the great instruments and officers in the ordering of all things and when Christ shall give up his Kingdom then shall they lay down theirs for Cor. 1.15,28 he shall put down all rule authority and power Calvin de principatu Angelico etiam intelligitur all power and authority that was set up by the oeconomical Kingdom of Christ shall at the giving up of that Kingdom be laid down and therefore according unto the particular services in which God doth imploy the Angels such a great work is committed unto one Angel and another great work is committed unto another 2 Dan. 10,21 Zach. 6.8 the Instrument of Vengeance went forth into the North So Rev. 7. there are four Angels that held the four winds that they must not blow upon the earth that is motus bellicos Impetus hostiles and some there are that sound the Trumpet unto war and then if the Angel go out before them he stirs up all the Instruments amongst men and all things shall succeed accordingly to that saying of Opera divinae providentiae Angelico administerio geruntur answerable unto the work so there is an Angel to whom the great care of it is by Christ committed for they are ministring spirits sent forth for the good of the Elect. Some by Angels understand messengers and Instruments raised up amongst men whether Magistrates or Ministers and so Brightman Brightman vir aliquis praestans egregius qui subito nec expectatus adveniet quemadmodum res quae coelitus delabuntur Suddenly and unexpectedly as if he had discended from heaven some great instrument that the Lord would unexpectedly raise up which I should not understand of any individual persons and bring it down to this man and the other as the seven Angels full of vials unto Rome not to seven individual persons but for seven sorts of Instruments â—nd officers that God would successively raise up for to finish that work which should though they be many all concurr as one person to effect that about which they are employed Now I shall chuse to put both these together and to understand it of heavenly Angels which the Lord Christ imploys in these administrations which have the first hand in the work and also all men all sorts of instruments and officers that those Angels do stir up and imploy for the Spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels and when I am gone forth the Prince of grace shall come therefore the Angels and the Instruments stirrd up and acted by the Angels the Lord looks upon as but one person c. So that first the ruine of Rome and all the Roman power is committed unto an Angel and therefore if all the power of the earth were engaged for it to support Rome yet this Angel is a mighty Angel and he will surely destroy it and if an Angel hath undertaken it he will not want instruments those that he will surely in all ages stir up to effect it Secondly Romes ruine as it is the work and office of the Angel so it is unto the Angels matter of joy and triumph for as the conversion of the Saints is joy to the Angels so is the destruction of the enemies also but especially unto those Angels that are employed as officers therein as Ezech. 9.1 there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unto the Angels the ordering of that great work was committed and therefore they are said to have the charge of it the Babylonish Armie did the work but the Angel that had the charge of it ordered it Secondly of whom is this spoken it is spoken of Babylon Rev. 17.12.3 there is a woman seen riding upon a scarlet-coloured Beast full of names of blasphemy having seven heads and ten horns and this woman hath written upon her forchead mysterie Babylon the great the mother of Harlots who is it ver last it s that great City that reigneth over the Kings of the Earth Now this could not be litterally
When that Sea of glass Rev. 15.2 shall be pure as Christal as it was in the Primitive times now mingled with fire of contention and disaffection then shall Jehovah be one and his name one These promises are all for the Saints if they dye and never see them fulfilled yet they dye in the Faith of them Heb. 11.13 Rev. 3. I will write upon him the name of the City of my God new Jerusaâ—em That when the Lord shall reckon up his people at the last day and put every man with those of his own rank all they that dyed in the faith of it shall be reckoned as truly to belong thereunto as they that lived in the time thereof that enjoyed it Seventhly in reference to the destruction of the Enemies of the Church Rev. 14. The Lord Jesus Christ hath a Winepresse to tread and a Vintage to gather It 's the Winepress of the fierce wrath of God who is almighty when the blood shall be up to the briales of the horses c. which is in the times of the third Angel and it hath a more special and peculiar aspect upon the times in which we live then the Saints shall rejoyce when they see the vengeance and wrath of God upon the ungodly and they shall sing Hallelujah praise and glory and honour be unto thee O Lord for thou hast judged the great whore and avenged the blood of thy Saints c. Rev. 19.2 Eighthly the glory of Heaven is to come but the Saints do rejoyce here in the hope of it and do bathe themselves in thâ—se Rivers of pleasures which shall be for evermore c. By this hope Anima ascendit frequentèr currit plateas caelest is Jerusalem By this doe they see God in a fiducial though not in the beatifical vision And a man having this hope he doth purifie himself that he way be made a meet partaker of the blessed hope that is set before him So that all things to come do make for the good of the Saints surely things to come are theirs But what are the grounds of the interest that the people of God have in things to come Consider these five First the Lord hath ordered his eternal decrees concerning things to come so that they shall not only make for his own glory but also for the good of his people Eph. 1.11 for he doth work all things according to the counsel of his own will He did not onely from all eternity chuse his peoples eternal estates and chuse them to glory but he hath a decree that passeth upon all things to come in the government of this world as may conduce unto this end and as may further this great decree and grand design of God For though in the decrees of God some Divines doe observe that there are not priora posteriora because they are eternal and in aeternitate non est prius posterius yet there are subordinata one thing may be subordinated to another as the means are to the end for he hath chosen us to glory and virtue the one as the end the other as the means 2 Pet. 1.3 And so the grand design of God is the glory and eternal good of all the Saints and he hath subordinated all things in the government of the whole creation of God unto this great and principal end all things to come shall work together for their good Secondly it is for their sakes that he hath committed the world unto the government of Christ Isa 9.8 for it is by their Covenant that the world stands and 't is for their sakes that he hath undertaken the Government of the world Ephes 1. last He hath made him the head over all things to the Church Christ is not a head over all things as he is the head of the Church He is a head of guidance unto all things but he is a head of influence unto the Church also and he did undertake the government of all things for the Elect sake That he might gather them all together under one head even in him Eph. 1.10 And he that doth rule all things for their sakes they need not fear but he will over-rule all things for their good and therefore all things which are in the government of Christ doe belong wholly unto the good of the Saints Thirdly hence Christ doth exercise a peculiar providence over his own people which is a great mercy There is a common providence which doth extend unto the meanest creatures not a sparrow doth fall to the ground not a hair from off your head without it But there is a special providence over all the Saints he is the Saviour of all men but especially of them that beleeve 1 Tim. 4.10 It 's spoken of a temporal salvation and there is a special providence over the Saints in reference to temporal things Yet how apt are the people pie of God many times to distrust the providence of God even in these O ye of little Faith are you not much better then many sparrows c. Consider but the projects of this providence for the Saints good in reference unto things to come 't is exceeding remarkable how they have been overshaddowed by a special providence whilst they live in this world When the Saints shall come to Heaven and shall understand all the dealings of God towards them whilst they lived here below and the grounds thereof that they may give God the glory of it Suarez Beatus in Deo videt res omnes accommodas ad se pertinentes omnes circumstantias accommodatas Suarez Then when all things shall be opened and layd together then it will appear how gloriously God watched over them for their good by all things to come Fourthly hence it is that in the oeconomical Kingdom of Christ the Angels have their government and they doe order things to come strangely for the Saints good for though no creature can know things to come of themselves yet by Revelation they do for they receive from Christ Rev. 19.10 a spirit of Prophecie and they are employed as Officers under him in the government of all things Ezek. 1. The spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels and that was the Angels chap. 10.20 and ver 19. When the living creatures went the wheels went by them and when they were lifted up the wheels were lifted up for the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels and this is because they are sent forth as Ministring spirits for the good of the Elect Heb. 1.14 And when Christ gives up his kingdom to the Father he will put down theirs for he will put down all rule and all authority and power for they were made principalities and powers onely under the kingdom of Christ and so long their principality shall last and no longer as we see Dan. 10.20 I goe forth and fight against the King of Persia and then the Prince of Grecia shall come
of bread cleaness of teeth invasions of Enemies but never any like unto this and therefore does the Prophet call it an onely evil Ezek. 7.5,6,7 it 's come and it is not a high sound the eccho of the mountains but it shall be so in truth and in reality in which the fury of the Lord shall be poured out upon them he would give the dearly beloved of his soul into the hand of his enemies Secondly there 's none like it if we also compare Gods dealing with them and with other people The Lord hath not dealt so with any Nation as he hath done with Jerusalem and therefore they are afflicted and in captivity with the heathen Nations who are at ease and sit stil Zach. 1.13.14 For judgement must begin at the House of God and there is at the last a worse end remaining for them that obey not the Gospel c. Secondly here 's a consolation also Jacob shall have his time of trouble but it is yet but a time the people of God never enter into affliction without a promise and therefore they are prisoners of hope when they are in a pit in which there 's no water Zach. 9.11,12 There are three great promises that the Saints have under all their afflictions First they are promised support in the affliction I will be with you and there 's a River the streames whereof do make glad the City of God Gen. 15. there 's a light that goes between the peeces in the middle of the darkness the bush in the fire is not burnt a peculiar providence watches over them to keep them from fainting under the affliction Secondly they are promised Sanctification This is the fruit of the affliction to take away their sins by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged they shall be made partakers of his holynesse and of his glory for these light afflictions that are but for a moment shall work for us a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory Thirdly there 's a promise of deliverance out of affliction Israel shall not dye in Aâ—gypt though it be four hundred years before they come forth though the Temple be trodden down of the Gentiles and the woman be in the wilderness 1260. dayes yet she shall not alwaies be in a wilderness estate and though they be in Babylon yet the Lord by the blood of the Covenant will send them forth out of the pit and he will break the yoke from off the neck of the anointing c. And some think as Calvin that to be the meaning of Is 9.1 Her dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation when he first lightly afflicted the land of Zabulon c. that was in the inroads formerly made upon them by Tiglah Pileser and was that greater then the captivity when the City should be destroyed and the Temple burnt with fire and there was no comparison in the affliction but yet the darkness should not be such and the reason is this huic certa permissionem esse additam cum in prioribus nulla esset better be as low as Hel with a promise then in Paradise without it the darkness of the bottomless pit would not be utter darkness if there were but the light of a promise for the soul to look upon for there is a time of the pro nise Acts 7.17 when it will truly speak and not lye But what are the grounds why God will not spare his own people Hence the grounds are these two First God will not spare his own people there 's a time of Jacoh's trouble when even Gods own people shall be reduced to extremity and there shall come upon them a time of straits Secondly Jacobs trouble is but for a time there 's a day of deliverance for them they shall be saved out of it The Doctrine is this Doctrin There is a time of Jacobs trouble Gods own dearest people are many times brought into a time of straits It 's true that through a mans whole life Christianus must be crucianus he must take up his cross that will follow the Lord There 's no son that he receives but he chvstises Affliction is a Childs portion in the ways of holyness their correction is as truly from the hand of their father as their provision is But my purpose at present is to speak of some special times of Jacobs trouble a great day a day of straits And God doth many times bring his own people unto this It will appear to be true from all the dealings of God with the Saints the children of Israel were in bondage in Aegypt long and their affliction was great but there was a time when the bricks were doubled and the opposition heightned so that they were as dead carrion cast out to the Ravens Gen. 15. And though Israel were hated of all the Nations which God called their evil neighbours yet there were some special straits that befell them as in the dayes of Asa 2 Chron. 14.9,10 When there came an Army of the Ethiopians an host of a thousand thousand men and in the dayes of Hezckiah when Senacherib besieged Jerusalem it s a day of trouble of rebuke and of blasphemy Isa 37.3 But yet there was a time of greater straits when they must be carried into captivity and the glory of the Lord removed from his own habitation And the Gospel was no sooner placed in the world but the great Red Dragon raised a persecution the Heathen Emperours and all the Powers of their Empire Rev. 12.1,3 And that Power was no sooner broken and the Church obtained of God a Man-child but immediately there was a flood cast out after the woman the Arrian Heresie and they persecuted the Church more then the Pagans had done before and then the Earth helped the Woman c. Then doth Anti-christ arise and the people of God do prophecie in sackcloth and ashes Witnesses they are and two Witnesses for their paucity and for their sufficiencyâ— and yet there is a time of greater straights that remains for them there is the time of their fulfilling and of their killing so that God doth reserve a time of straits for his own people there 's a time of Jacobs trouble c. First because the Lord will give unto them some eminent experiences of his providence under which they walk it 's true that he is the Saviour of all men but especially of them that beleeve and upon all the glory there is a covering at all times Isa 4.5 but the greater the straits are the more eminent shall the protection be if Daniel be in the Lyons den and the three children in the fiery furnace the wonder had not been so great if the bnsh had not been in the fire but to see it in the fire and yet not to consume that was the greatest sight that ever Moses saw before When the Earth is removed and the Mountains cast into the midst of the sea then there is need of a Song upon
he beleeves that death shall be unto him a blessing and not a curse 1. Cor. 3.23 all things are yours that is in ordine ad spiritualia whether life or death 2 Tim. 4.8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness 2. Cor. 5.1 We know that if this Earthly house of our Tabernacle were disolved we have a building with God c. And towards the time of a Saints death Faith commonly puts forth the most glorious acts the Sun shines brightest at its setting so that the soul can say with Ambrose nec pudet vivere nec piget mori c. 2 In respect of the Church though he never lives to receave the promises nor to see them accomplished yet as they have exercised faith upon the great things promised and have laid up prayers for after times so they dye in the faith of them that they shall be fulfilled in their season Heb. 11.23 God will surely visit you saith Joseph and therefore what difficulties soever they see rais'd against it yea the Archers shoot at the Church yet his bow abode in strength his faith holds out and can look through all opposition whatsoever 3 For their posterity Men are commonly troubled what shall become of the little ones they leave behind fatherless and friendless Orphans but his fatherless children he can leave with God and the widow that trusts in God shal not be forsaken although my house be not so with God yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure c. Luther in his Will says Lord thou hast given me wife and children I have neither Land to bequeath them nor houses nor portions to leave them onely tibi reddo nutri doce serva ut hactenus me pater pupillorum judex viduarum Thirdly The dye in obedience to God Obedience is not real if it be not universal a submission to the will of God in doing as well as suffering in dying as well as in living Rom. 14.8 None of us lives to himself nor none of us dyes to himself but whether we live we live unto the Lord or whether we dye we dye unto the Lord for grace having made God a mans utmost end it is his glory and a submission unto his will that is the great th ing in that mans eye whether in living or in dying if God will further use him he is content to live and if the Lord will translate him he desires to dye and so God may be glorifyed in him whether in life or death he passeth not and when he hath honored God in his life he desires that he may honor God in his death also 2 In reference unto death it self and so there is something peculiar to the death of the Saints take these three things First Though death in it self be a fruit of the Curse yet unto him it is turned into a blessing though it be a curse in the thing yet it is a blessing to the man because he having his Covenant changed he is delivered from the Curse Christ being made a curse for him A Curse hath two things in it First something that is evil in it self Secondly The wrath of God therein Now unto the Saints death is not evil and therefore they have desired it I long to be dissolved and to be with Christ neither is it a fruit of Gods displeasure to them but it flows from his fatherly and eternal love that it may be a passage unto a better life whereas all other men dye by vertue of that ancient Curse The day thou eatest thereof thou shalt dye and in death the wrath of God abides upon them Secondly Unto the Saints death hath no sting 1 Cor. 15.55 Death is compared to a Serpent which by nature we fear and flye from and the thing that is dreadful in it is the sting but if that be taken out there is no fear of the serpent now the sting of death is sin and this is taken off by the surety 2 Cor. 5.21 for he hath made him to be sin for us and therefore there is no sin stands upon our score that should cause us to fear the serpent for ever but other men dye in their sins Joh. 8.21 and have all their sins to answer for before the judgement seat of Christ and not a drop of his blood shall take one of them off his score Thirdly Over the Saints death hath no dominion Rom. 5.14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now what is it that doth constitute death in dominion that is when it can put forth its utmost power and there is none to control it but there comes upon a man quicquid mortis est usque ad novissimum it hath a power to keep them under for ever but unto the Saints the dominion of death is controlled for death entred by sin and it reigns by it therefore when the dominion of sin is broken the dominion of death is also so and the Saints are freed from the dominion of him that as an executioner hath the power of death that is the devil Heb. 2.15 Psal 49.14 but for wicked men death shall feed on them and there is none to deliver them but for the Saints the gates of hell shall not prevail against them I know that there is a Dalile interpretation commonly given and received from that scripture Mat. 16. First gates is put for the power of hell because the strength of Cities was in their gates but surely this seems not to be the meaning for by gates of hell is meant that power which should oppose the Church and surely gates by their strength might be for defence unto them but not for offence unto them without they were propugnacula non â—ppugnacula they did not fight with gates Secondly Anciently Councils did usually sit in the gates and so it signifies all the council and the policy of hell but that also seems not well to agree with the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here used which signifies to prevail and overcome by power not by policy by strength and not by art but that which prevails most with me is that our Divines have commonly asserted against the local distance that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is never put for Hell or the place of the damned but either for the grave or the state and condition of the dead and if that â—e true then we read of the gates of the grave Job 38 17. Isai 38.10 of the power of the grave to keep â—hose that are under its possession and so Christ doth argue from the greatest to the least no enemy shall preâ—ail because even when you are brought under the Dominion of death and the power of the grave yet you â—hall have a glorious Resurrection and the grave shall â—ive up its dead and being risen you shall dye no more â—…th shall no more have Dominion over you the gates of â—…e grave shall not be able to prevail against you and â—…erfore
were but two Tribes returned from Babylon we never read of the return of the ten Tribes They went into Captivity with weeping and with weeping shall they return But if so it shall be sorrow under suffering in the one and under the sight and apprehension of their sin in the other Fifthly the Scripture seems to speak as if the great meanes of their Conversion should not be by the preaching of the Gospel as the Gentile Churches are brought home unto the Lord but that it shall be by sight and by a visible appearance of the Lord Jesus unto them I shall assert nothing possitively in it onely give me leave to set before you some Scriptures that seem fully to speak so much Zach. 12.10 They shall look upon him whom they have pierced and mourn And that it is not barely a spiritual looking upon him with an eye of faith such as the holy Ghost calls Joh. 6.40 Seeing the Son and believing on him but that it is a bodily vision and to see him with bodily eyes for Dan. 7.13 there is the Son of man comming in the clouds of heaven brought to the ancient of days to receive a Kingdome What Kingdom sure his Davidical Kingdom when he shall sit on the throne of his Father David When Christ receives this Kingdom it is not as he receives the spiritual Kingdom and entred upon the administration of the providential Kingdom that was by his sitting down at the right hand of his Father and so enter as man actually upon the administration of all things for its plain that to receive this Kingdom which shall be after the four beasts are destroyed He shall come in the Clouds of Heaven and they shall bring him unto the ancient of dayes he comes attended with the Angels and they bring him unto the ancient of days its true that Gods comming in the Clouds his riding upon the Clouds it s that which notes out the eminent visible glorious appearance of his Majesty but it s the appearance here of Christ as he is the Son of man which I conceive is never found to be so used in the Scripture but at the last day the Lord Jesus shall appear in the clouds when he comes to judgement As spoken of a visible appearance so this also shall be and so much haply is meant Mat. 4.30.31 Then shall appear the sigh of the Son of man in Heaven and then shall ye see the Son of man comming in the clouds of Heaven I know its a perplexing Scripture yet haply is meant this appearance of the Son of man not to judgement but as a signe that the judgement is neer that which they may be as truly assured of as the husband-man can be that the summer is neer when he sees the fig-tree put forth leaves c. and therefore I should rather conceive there is meant the appearance of Christ in the clouds for the conversion of the Iewes and to receive a Kingdom rather then his appearance at the day of judgement when he must shortly give up the Kingdom and I am induced rather to think so because it follows and he will send the Angels with a great sound of a Trumpet and they shall gather together the elect from the four windes Which is I do not conceive to be restreined unto the day of judgement though the Apostle doth so speak also of the general Resurrection 1 Cor. 15.52 The Trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised the Lord shall descend from Heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God 1 Thes 4.16 But when this Trumpet shall sound all the Nations shall be raised bad as well as good Elect as well as Reprobate and they shall all awake unto judgement but this is a Trumpet that gathers onely the Elect from the four winds therefore it seemes that none shall hear this trumpet but the Elect and that it shall sound unto them as such and shall never reach unto the Reprobate and that instruments of mercy or judgement are called Angels is ordinary and that what the Lord doth eminently and publickly and dreadfully make known his glory to them with the sound of a Trumpet is clear Rev. 1.10 4.1 and therefore it may be spoken of the Lords gathering in the Elect of the Iewes having not cast off whom he knew before who are now scattered even into the four windes of Heaven and therefore there is that which seems to incline unto this of the conversion of the Iewes at first shall be by sight and by appearance of the Lord Iesus Christ visibly in the clouds of Heaven and so Pauls conversion should be as the first fruits the Lord setting forth him as a pattern to the whole Nation his conversion was by a sight of Christ from Heaven and a glorious light that shone round about him and so its probable there shall also be but yet not all of them so converted but the Lord will take some of them and make them to be as Priests unto the Lord and they shall declare his glory amongst the Gentiles and shall be instrumental in gathering of them and they shall also bring in their brethren that is say some the unconverted Gentiles which shall be as brethren then all the differences between them being taken away Others more properly refer it unto the Iewes the remainder of them not brought in the first grand conversion of the Nation for it is said They shall bring all their brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all Nations upon Horses and Charriots and upon wild beasts unto my holy mountain So that it may be some of them shall be converted by the appearance of Christ and others of them by the preaching of the Gospel by those that are amongst them converted that their brethren going forth to them and declaring to them the returning of God in wayes of grace unto their Nation and the great things that he hath done for them and so they having a spirit of grace poured out upon them shall also be brought as an offering to the Lord. Sixthly The manner of their calling shall be exceeding eminent and glorious unto the admiration of all Nations that they shall all see how the Lord hath honoured them Esa 60.1 The glory of the Lord is risen upon them Hos 1.11 Great shall be the day of Jisreel it shall be a glorious day that which shall make them honorable in the eyes of all the Nations of the Earth that ten men out of every Nation under Heaven shall lay hold of the scirt of a Jew and shall say we will go with you for we have heard that God is with you Ps 10.2.16 When the Lord shall build up Sion he will appear in Glory they shall have glorious appearances of him such as no people ever had and this shall make them to be the desire of all people as they have had a great day of misery so a great and glorious
rest without this is nothing worth in Gods account because this people was like unto the ground that had drunk in the rain that came oft upon it and brought not forth herbs meet for him that dressed it not fruit meet for repentance but rather bare thorns and bryars therefore Christ shews that they were nigh to cursing and their end was to be burnt Heb. 6.8 The words are the Exprobation of Caparnaum and the sentence which the Lord Christ did denounce thereupon because they had neither answered the Lords mercy nor expectation First he looked for fruit and there was nothing but leaves he looked for grapes and they brought forth wild grapes he looked for repentance and behold impenitency no man repented of his wickedness saying what have I done but they held fast deceit and refused to return Ier. 8.5,6 Therefore he that upbraids none propter inopiam necessitatem Iam. 1.5 before they do receive mercy yet he doth upbraid them propter ingratitudinem after they have received he upbraids none respectu Dei dantis as if he did it out of unwillingness to give but respectu hominis accipientis to shame and fear the man who desires to receive And to this end is this Exprobation used by Christ in this place In them we may consider first a concession something is confessed and acknowledged which was that Capernaum was lifted up to Heaven Secondly a Commination in them we may consider this place First in its exaltation and that is the highest they were exalted up to heaven Secondly in its humiliation and abasement and that is they shall be brought down to hell Thirdly the cause of both the cause or means of their exaltation was the ministery of Christ and his mighty works ver 20 and the cause of their depression their impenitency under such a powerful ministery and such glorious means which is amplified by a comparison by which Christ makes them to be more incurable then the worst of sinners humani generis opprobrium the Sodomites for if the mighty works that have been done in you had been done in Sodom they would have repented and remained to this day for that must needs be implyed though it be not expressed We have first Capernaums exaltation and therein we are to consider the place Capernaum Secondly the glory thereof thou art exalted up to heaven Thirdly the means of this exaltation the ministerie of Christ and his mighty works First the place was Capernaum situate in Galile a maritine Town neer to the lake of Genezareth and as Andriconius conceives in the half Tribe of Manasseh and bordering upon the Tribes of Zebulon and Napthaly and so that place seems to be understood Math. 4.14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the borders Not in either of those Tribes but bordering upon them and in the Tribe of Manasseh The Lord Jesus was born at Bethlehem and then in his infancy for fear of Herod by Gods direction he was carried by Joseph into Egypt there he spent as is conceived some years then returning for fear of Archelaus the Son of Herod Joseph took up his habitation in Nazereth Mat. 2.23 and there Christ abode till the time that he was to shew himself unto Israel in the publike execution of his ministery but when he began to preach though he made choice of that Contry Galilee and not of Ierusalem and Iudea for to exercise his ministery and there he spent most of his time and labour yet he passed by Nazareth and resolveth not to make choice thereof as the place either to preach or live in he leaving it made choice of Capernaum Mat. 4.13 and if you ask the reason why Christ passed by and shewed so little respect to the place of his education the true cause is given John 4.44 because he knew he could have no honour there in his own Countrey therefore leaving it he takes up Capernaum for the place of his chief residence and abode there for to exercise his ministery and to manifest his power in mighty works unto the world so that during the time of his ministery here he lived most and here he preached most and manifested forth his glory Secondly this place though in that dark Country Galilee of the Gentâ—les yet I say this place was exalted up to heaven which expression in Scripture notes the higest degree of Honour and Exaltation as Deut. 9.1 Their Cities are fenced up to heaven that is exceeding high A rage that reacheth up to heaven that is the height and extremity of fury 2 Chron. 28.9 Ezra 9.6 So Isa 14.12 how art thou fallen from heaven O great Lucifer It s spoken of the fall of the King of Babylon from the top of all earthly honour in that day when Judgement should overtake him and he is said to fall from heaven So that his meaning is that Caparnaum was exalted to a transcendent and a superlative degree of honour Thirdly by what means was it thus advanced How came this Town in this obscure Contrey of Galilee to be so highly honoured rather then Jerusalem it was only as the glory of the second Temple was greater then the former the Temple of Solomon Hag. 2.9 not in the frame and fabrick not in the curious stones and goodly building thereof in this the glory was of Solomons Temple which made the old men to mourn who had seen the beauty of the former House yet the Lord saith it should be greater that is greater by reason of his Presence that is King of glory Mal. 3.1 The Lord shall speedily come into his Temple So here it is true that Ierusalem was the joy of the whole earth Babylon the Lady of the world Rome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet Capernaum an obscure Town in Galilee which very name was a reproach advanced above them all by the presence ministery and miracles of the King of glory so much is intimated in the two former verses Christ did upbraid those Cities because in them most of his mighty works were wrought that is there he had mainly exercised his ministery for though the miracles only are named yet the ministery also in them is included and this was the ground of their honour by this means it was exalted up to heaven Doctrine The Ordinances of the Gospel being set up in their Power and Purity are a great honour and advancement unto the meanest people and the obscurest places For this cause Gods Ark is called the glory of Israel 1 Sam. 4. ult and the Land of Juda therefore called Dan. 11.16 the glorious Land and this is made one end why God did set up the Temple and the Ordinances therein amongst the Jews as some interpret it Ezek. 7.20 the beauty of his Ornament he set it up in Majesty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad excellentiam ad magnificentiam c that is not only that there God might manifest his own glory and there he might be glorified by the Church but also for the glory honour and
fit nourishment for the rest of the members so do these Brightman Brightman Dividendo distinguendo nodos solvendo obscura illustrando dentium funguntur munere c. These for their purity are like a flock of sheep newly washed and for their fruitfulness they bear twins and not one is barren amongst them but by their labours they bring forth much fruit and they bring home many a soul to the Lord but if once God withdraw his Ordinances his people become barren as it is in the Church of the Jews and it is true of the seven Asian Churches and many other forsaken Churches of the Gentiles the barren hath born seven and she that had many children is waxen feeble Isa 5.4 Fourthly its a glory to a people to have store of all things in it so that they may be able to communicate to others in their necessities but need not borrow of any this was the advancement that the Lord promised unto his people Deut. 28.12 you shall lend unto other Nations and shall not borrow this is that wherewith God hath exceedingly honoured this Nation of ours and when that we many times vainly boast that we need not for outward things be beholding to any people but much greater is this glory in things spiritual and all this is by the Ordinances if the embryos in the womb of the Church want nourishment her Navil is like a round Goblet that wants not liquor and by it the children in the womb are nourished unto life Cant 7.2 if babes want milk they may suck and be satisfied with these breasts of Consolation Isa 66.11 if the children want bread the belly of the Church the Sacrament of the Lords supper the belly which receives the sustenance for the rest of the body is like a heap of wheat set about with Lillies Cant. 7.2 if strong men want meat it is to be had in them Heb. 5.12 and if they need water for their spiritual refreshment here are the wells of salvation Isa 12.3 and that you may not think that in the daies of drowth these will be drye the Lord tells you that there are springs to feed them all my springs are in thee Psal 87. ult But when the Lord takes away the Ordinances then the tongue of the sucking child cleaves to the mouth for thirst then the children cry for bread and there is none to break it to them then they that fed delicately upon the purest Ordinances they are desolate in the streets and they that were brought up in scarlet imbrace dunghills it is spoken by the Prophet of a bodily famine Lam. 4.5,6 it is much more true of a spiritual famine when men shall run from Sea to Sea to seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it Amos 8.12 this is not only a misery but also a dishonour unto any people Fifthly it s a great advancement when the Lord makes a people flourish in outward things making them the head and not the tail as the Lord promised Deut. 28.13 and how comes it to pass that a people do not flourish all the outward prosperity that we have in which we so much glory it is only by the Ordinances 2 Chron. 7.19,20 the Lord threatens that if they did forsake his Ordinances and serve other Gods then he would remove his Ordinances from them and the House that I have sanctified for my name I will cast out of my sight c. And what follows then saith the Lord I will pluck them up by the roots out of the land that I have given them when the Ordinances were removed and the Lord called them Loammi all their outward prosperity did quickly vanish Hos 2.9 I will take away my corn in the time thereof and my wine in the season thereof and I will recover my wool and my flax given to cover thy nakedness c. Ezek. 16.39 I will break down thine eminent place that is the Temple where they did play the Harlot and set up the Image of jealousie before the Lord Cap. 8. therefore the Lord will remove the Ordinances and what then then they shall strip thee of all thy cloathes and leave thee naked and bare we therefore that count our outward prosperity our glory consider we hold it by the Ordinances Sixthly it s a great advancement to a people to be well fortified so as to be able in danger both for defence and offence to secure themselves not to fear their enemies this was the glory that God did vouchsafe the Jewish Nation and was sometime the glory of the English also the fear of thee shall fall upon all Nations round about Deut. 2.25 These are spiritually the Towers of Zion Psa 48.12,13 that we are bid to tell and the bulwarks that we are wished to mark it is because of this that the Church is described to be terrible as an Army with banners Cant. 6.10 that is because the weapons of our warfare in them are not carnal but mighty through God therefore they are as great a dread unto the enemies as an Army set in battle-array But as they are either corrupted by a people or removed from them so doth their defence depart as the Lord threatens Isa 5.5 I will take away the hedge thereof and it shall be eaten up I will break down the wall thereof and it shall be trodden down Now what was this hedge and this wall nothing else Musculus as Musculus interprets it but the Ordinances the Word and Sacraments c. which did serve for two ends as a hedge and a wall ad separationem ad munitionem therefore when the Lord took away the Ordinances their defence departed from them and as men corrupt them so they break the Hedge and pluck down the wall of our protection it is true it may not fal at once but one picks out one thing and another another till at last they make a plain way for the Beasts of the field to break in upon the Vineyard of the Lord In all these respects and in many more the Ordinances of the Gospel in their purity and power are a great advancement to a people Surely then they are in an errour that esteem the Ordinances in their power to be a matter of disgrace a note of indignity upon any place or person First make it your glory Secondly walk toward it as your glory for that which is so great an advancement to a people must needs be an honour to a person also yet such is the enmity and the folly of our nature that we are apt to glory in any thing yea many times in those things that are our shame the wise man in his wisdom the strong man in his strength and the rich man in his riches c. Jer. 9. and pass by that as an aspersion which indeed would make us truly honourable and in comparison of others advance us up to heaven for any thing else to be pointed at men count an honour
was the great defect of many of the ancients Casaubon p Non negari posse videtur doctrinam de justificatione peccatoris causâ meritoriâ salutis primis Eccleâ—…ae temporibus ferè ante Augustinum vix satis dilucidè fuisse expositam constat sanè apud veâ—ustissimos Patrum nonnulles etiam posteriorum â—jusmedi sententias interdum occurrere quae nisi benignâ interpretatione molliantur serâ—i non pâ—ssunt Exercâ—…in Baron 1. attributes the gross errours in the first times of the Church about the meritorious cause of salvation to arise from the ignorance of the Doctrine of the free Grace of God in the Justification of a sinner Nay q Concord 159. Graecos nisi caute legantur intelligantur praebere pâ—sse eccasionem errori Pelagiano Iansenius goes further and Espencaeus r Epist 2. Tim. 2. dâ—gâ—ess 10. speaks to the very same purpose that divers of the Greek Fathers from this ignorance gave occasion to the Pelagian heresie What Chrysostom and Cassianus his scholar thought and wrot of the grace of God and also Cyril of Hierusalem may appear out of their writings Cassianus Å¿ Nos inquit primum bona â—ligere oporter â—unc offert Deus quae sua sunt speaks their sense We first choose what is good and then God offers the help of his grace and determines our will upon the motion of it first Nay Vossius speaks out indeed to this purpose if any think that some who lived afore the breaking forth of Pelagianism did attribute faith or the beginning of it to the strength of nature we will not contend with him t Lib. 4. Histor Pelag Si quis putet allquos eorum qui ante exortam Pelagii â—aeresin vixerunt fidem vel inltium sidei conversionâ—s desiderium certum spel poenitentiae gradum naturae viribus tribuisse nolumus cum co ducere contentionis funem All this was to be imputed chiefly to that little knowledge which those Ancients had in the Doctrine of the free Grace of God If a Divine be lame in this point it is no wonder though he halts into Arminianism and fals into those Popish errors of the merit of good works the corner stone of the Babel of Rome There is another defect which hath brought much prejudice to the Church and that is ignorance in the Originals the Mother of errors Lud. Vives u De causis Corrupt Art l. 7. de corrupto Iure Magnam causam corruptâ—larum manasse ex imperitià Linguarum quibus ipsum inscriptum est saith The reason of the corruption of the Law and the same may be said of Divinity is because those that were Students and Practitioners in it did not understand the Languages in which it was written D. Reynolds speaking of this passage of Lud. Vives adds x Apocryph lect 3. Sine dubio si scripsisset Lud. Vives de causis Theologiae corruptae notare potuisset hoe in Theologia saepe usu venisse ut haliucinarentur quoniam Graecum id esset in quo versabatur Doubtless if L. Vives had written the Causes of Corruption in Divinity he might have observed the occasion of errors herein was the handling of it in Greek And Espencaeus speaking of the ignorance of former times complains how that y Tim. Circa reformationis initia eam inter Clericos grassatam fuisse linguarum originalium ignorantiam barbariem ut in latinis authoribus Graecè nosse suspectum fuerit Hebaricè prope haereticum it was â—eemed as a fault in the Latin Writers if they understood Greek and if Hebrew a haeresie What mischiefs have come upon the Church upon the unskilfulness of divers of the Ancients in Original languages would be too long to set down Thus I have endeavoured to shew wherein the strength of this Author did lie as also the sad consequents that follow upon the defects and want of those particulars fore-mentioned There be divers other things which I might mention concerning this Author but these were the chief which out of my observation and my intimate acquaintance I took notice of in him by which he came to be of very great note cried up beyond his brethren by reason whereof had not God given him much grace he might have been puffed up For it is most true non minus periculum ex magna fama quam ex mala great fame is no less dangerous then a bad one and perhaps this might be one great reason why the Lord was pleased to let loose the slanderous tongues against him for z Quint. Dialog Nemo codem tempore assequi potest magnam famam magnam quietem no man can enjoy a great fame quietly It was a great affliction to him and so much the greater by how much the nearer they were to him which were at the greatest defiance against him as Tac. a Hist 1. Cui deerâ— inimicus per amicos opp essus saith He that wanted an enemy suffered by his own friends My own familiar friend that was the sharpest dagger and wounded deepest Whatever b Thaâ—s in Terent. Si ego digna hac contumelia sim maxime at tu indignus qui sâ—ceris tamen one may deserve yet a friend should not be the executioner But however his Adversaries did very much endeavor to asperse him yet he proved them to be false and unjust 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the brightness of his conversation he did live down those evil reports It was not with him as it was c Prosperâ—… eloquentia quam morum fama said of Domitius Afer That he was a better Speaker then Liver he was as happy in the purity and innocency of his life as he was for the power that through Grace he erected in his preaching What d Simul fuls virtutibus simul vitils aliorum in ipsam gloriam praeceps agebatur Tacitus said of Agricola being under some calumnies is true of him he was carried with much more speed towards glory both by the malignity of others and his own excellencies Thus I fear I have detained thee Reader too long in the entrance but I hope thou wilt have a keener edge to the dainties that thou shalt meet with in the book Farewel Henry Wilkinson of Christs-Church Professor in Divinity for the Lady Margaret in the Vniversity of Oxford A Table of the Names of such Sermons where and when they were Preached set down in such order as they follow together with the texts of Scripture insisted upon in this following Book 1. SPiritual Barrenness Preached at Pauls a Spittle-Sermon upon Ezek. 47.11 Pag. 1. 2. Holiness the way to Happiness Preached at Pauls upon Heb. 12.14 p. 31. 3. Babylons utter ruine the Saints Triumph Preached at a Thanksgiving for the victory of Ireland against the Irish August 29. 1649. upon Rev. 18.2 p. 63. 4. Gospel order a Churches beauty Preached when Mr. Strong was chosen Pastor Decemb. 9. 1650. upon
Col. 2.5 p. 91. 5. Church-Officers according to Institution Preached at the Churches choosing of Officers upon Heb. 13.17 p. 109 6. Communion with God good in bad times Preached at Pauls October 14. 1647. Before the Lord Maior and Aldermen upon Psal 73.28 p. 133. 7. The Saints inheritance Preached for Mr. Caryl on his Lecture day at London-Bridge upon 1 Chron. 3.22 following p. 163. 8. The great day At a private fast upon Ierem. 30.7 p. 164. 9. Grace abused At a fast for abused liberty Feb. 28. upon Iude 4. p. 187. 10. The just mans end At the funeral of William Ball Esquire a member of the house of Commons upon Esa 57.1 p. 209. 11. God with us whilest we are with him At a publike fast before the Parliament Iune 9. 1652. upon 2 Chron. 15.2 p. 231. 12. The doctrine of the Iews vocation Preached at Gregories Lecture upon Rom. 11.26 p. 267. 13. Heedless service unacceptable Upon 2 King 10.31 p. 289. 14 Gospel-Exaltation Upon Mat. 11.23 p. 309. 15. The two Covenants Preached in Bartholomew-lane Iune 22. 1652. Upon Gal. 4.21,22 p. 333. 16. Flesh silenced by Gods arising Preached before the Lord Maior Aldermen and Commons of London on a Thanksgiving day at Christ-Church London Iuly 26. 1651. upon Zach. 2.13 p. 357. 17. The duty and dignity of Magistrates Preached at Laurence-Iury Sept. 29. 1651. at the Election of the Lord Maior upon Zach. 10.4 p. 389. 18. Perfect cleansing upon 2 Chron. 7.1 p. 421. 19. A set time for Iudgement Upon Ierem. 8.7 p. 443. 20. One heart and one way Upon Zach. 14.9 p. 465. 21. Grace is wisdom and wisdom the principal thing Preached at a meeting of the company of Black-Smiths Octob. 29. 1647. in Fish-street London upon Prov. 4.7 p. 493. 22 The danger of being worse by mercies Upon Deut. 32.15 p. 513. 23. Unruly thoughts quieted by divine consolations Preached at Pauls Iune 9. 1653. upon Psal 49.19 p. 541. 24. Gods Throne erect in the Assemblies of his Saints Preached at a fast upon Rev. 4.6 p. 567. 25. The Keepers of the Vineyard must keep their own Vineyard At a fast before the Parliament Iune 13. 1650. upon â—ant 1.6 p. 589. 26. State prosperity in keeping close to the Word At a fast in the Parliament House Iune 31. 1653. upon Iosh 1.8 p. 617. 27. Christs instrumental fitness for his Fathers ends Preached at Bartholomew-lane upon Isaiah 42.2 p. 637. 28. The mysteries of Providence Preached at Pauls August 18. 1650. upon Ezek. 1.16 close of it p. 657. 29. Christs care in glory for his Churches good on earth upon Rev. 2.1 p. 681. 30. Gifts and Talents shall be accounted for Preached before the Parliament on a day of Thanksgiving Sept. 3. upon Luke 12.48 p. 705. 31. The upright heart and its darling sin Upon Psalm 18.23 p. 735. The Table of the Scriptures handled explained and opened in these following Sermons  Chapter Verse Page Genesis 3 19 528 17 2 741  7 159 Exodus 10 6 482 Numbers 14 24 741 Deutronomy 6 7 301 9 1 313 32 8 515  10 516  13 517  15 ib. 518 5â—1 Ioshua 1 8 617 24 19 297 703 Iudges 2 1 687 1 Samuel 2 29 522 6 7 302 13 2 241 1 Kings 16 31 472  32 ibid. 18 28 544 2 Kings 10 31 289 292 16 14 484  15 ibid. 1 Chronicles 15 13 92 2 Chronicles 15 2 231 Iob. 6 4 547 22 21 138 28 13 495 34 17 414  30 49 633 Psalms 4 3 141  4 505 8 2 69  6 See pag. 146 follow p. 163 18 23 735 739 742 23 6 See p. 153 follow p. 163 27 4 697 30 3 293 44 23 365 47 9 401 68 12 692 74 14 375 490 80 17 640 90 12 496 94 19 542 107 34 12 110 3 318 119 126 459 127 2 550 140 11 See p. 152 follow p. 163 Proverbs 3 14 504 4 7 493 8 2 276  3 ibid.  30 678 15 24 503 16 31 450 Ecclesiastes 3 14 725 5 1 294  6 687 10 8 462 Canticles 1 6 593 597 2 16 318 4 2 ibid. 6 10 321 7 5 145 8 8 116 Isaiah 5 5 321  17 520 7 00 515 9 1 171 14 12 314 26 20 464 28 13 14  17 726 29 1 236 707 534 723 30 18 See page 155 follows page 163 33 21 732 42 2 637 638 44 25 671 49 4 717 52 7 690 57 1 209 60 12 563 66 14 35 Jeremiah 2 33 459 7 12 690 30 33 290 31 8 277  9 ibid. Lamentations 4 20 398 Ezekiel 1 8 571  16 657 661 664 7 20 315 10 2 13 401 16 7 116  8 ibid.  39 321 37 7 713  24 640  25 ibid. 47 11 1 9 704 Daniel 2 44 2 4 16 660  17 ibid.   400 7 2 526  11 79  12 281  13 278  25 403   563 8 27 288  10 to 12 692 10 20 371 11 40 286  44 ibid. 12 11 281 Hosea 1 3 526  11 168 2 15 68 3 5 276 728 7 6 483 8 14 472 9 10 516 14 18 561 Ioel. 2 3 168 Amos 4 4 484 Micah 4 5 468 6 5 720 7 4 462 Nahum 1 10 671 Habbacuck 2 4 184 3 16 550  17 148  18 ibid. Zephaniah 1 14 169 2 2 554  4 559 Zachariah 2 13 359 365 3 7 143   701 4 6 114  7 ibid. 5 6 449 9 10 394  12 58 558  13 391 396 11 7 482 12 8 668  10 278 13 1 276  21 475 14 8 23  9 468 469 Malachi 4 1 168 Matthew 4 14 312 5 18 430 6 21 144  23 200 11 5 422  23 311 312 13 52 98 15 13 111 16 18 118 216  19 122 18 20 700  15 119 24 9 688  30 278  31 ibid.  51 305 Mark 4 24 303 10 30 149 Luke 1 76 689 10 27 430 12 41 705 710 13 32 48 24 8 295 25 18 ibid. John 2 10 102 3 34 715  35 710 10 16 273 15 2 22  10 157 16 13 625 20 21 124 Acts. 2 28 168 7 55 369 560 9 11 43 20 28 112 Romans 5 12 343 8 28 712 10 18 364 11 12 to 15 287  25 269 12 26 267  3 716 1 Corinthians 3 22 712 4 6 118 5 4 124 10 11 â—1 12 7 117  28 112 14 26 411  32 413 15 24 660  28 71  52 279 2 Corinthians 3 15 270 4 18 317  6 Ibid. 6 1 712  16 573 7 1 421 10 13 717 Galatians 1 6 194 3 19 339 4 4 351  21 333  22 334 Ephesians 2 20 408  21 ibid. â— 7 715  11 95  12 ibid.  13 46  14 483 Philippians 4 10 716  11 ibid.  12 269 Colossians 1 2 117  5 ibid.
of it is for medicine now there will be no healing at the last day in Heaven there are the souls of just men made perfect and they need no healing Thirdly seeing it cannot be understood literally of a material Temple nor spiritually of heaven it must then be understood mystically of the Church of Christ made up of Iews and Gentiles when they shall be one fold under one shepherd Agnoscunt Haebrei quod ad futurum seculum hoc est ad Regnum Messiae haec pertineant Oecolamp Iâ—…m Nos ad Christi referimus Ecclesiam quotidie in Sanctis aedificari cernimus St. Jerom. But it is not a Temple that is always building and a City but it s a City that shall be built after such a time and therefore I conceive it not to be the Church of the whole New-Testament but barely the Church in the latter days of the world which is commonly called The city of our God but this in a special manner Rev. 3.12 is called so because of an Almighty hand of God in raising it and a glorious and special presence of God dwelling in it and by the Temple is meant those glorious ordinances of worship which should be exercised in this Church in the latter days which is set forth by expressions according to the Jewish pattern as the manner of the presence of Christ amongst the people under the Gospel is set forth by his presence amongst his people of Israel in the Tabernacle Rev. 4. so all the worship of God is set forth to us according unto that Standard pro ritu Templi there is a Temple and Altars and incense c. And that Ordinances of worship the institutions of Christ shall continue in this glorious Church unto the worlds end that 's plain for First it is said that the tabernacle of the Lord is with men Rev. 21.3 and that was a place for worship if the Lord will have a Tabernacle amongst men he will have amongst men instituted worship still Secondly the presence of God amongst men in this City is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Lamp Rev. 21.23 therefore it shines in a dark place it is not such a presence as makes it a perfect day as it shall be in Heaven there will be no more the light of the candle c. And therefore it is a light in Ordinances for in them as in a Lamp the Lord gives unto his people light 2 Pet. 1.10 Thirdly there shall be all manner of Ordinances in this City of God First there shall be preaching for there shall be abundance of fishers chap. 47. Secondly there shall be the Sacraments for the Lord is with them baptizing to the end of the world and they are to shew forth the Lords death till he come Thirdly there shall be discipline for without are dogs and they that love and make 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that lie or do incline to it and there shall be a greater Spirit of discerning poured out this way then upon any of the former Churches of the Saints Fourthly there shall be Officers in this Church for fishers there are the Ministery Eph. 4. and they are to last till all the Saints be gathered and perfected and there is a right and a priviledge that belongs to them and not to others they that have a right to the Tree of life and may enter in at the gates of this city which every one had not a right to do for the dogs are without as having no right to enter Rev. 22.14,15 3. What is meant by waters that issue out of the Sanctuary which flow from the presence of God in the middle of his people it is to be understood first of truths A river of the water of life clear as Christal Rev. 21.2 Hic fluvius uberrima doctrina Christi So Brightman Zach. 14.8 in that day Brightman Zac. 14 8. Living waters shall go out of Jerusalem that is Evangelii doctrina so Drus Rev. 12.15 Drus. Rev. 12.15 The Dragon is said to cast out of his mouth a flood after the woman what is this flood his doctrine Mede he cast out Doctrinam pestiferam Arianismum scilicet sobolem ejus Mede 2. Because the effects that are here attributed to these waters cannot belong unto the waters alone therefore I do not only understand the truths of the Gospel but the graces of the Gospel and the gifts there bestowed Joh. 7.38,39 Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters c. Joh. 4.14 Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again but he that drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst but it shall be a well of water springing in him into everlasting life its true that there is not a healing vertue nor a quickning vertue in the word of it self Wheresoever the waters did come they were healed and every thing did live but yet it is by the word that the Lord doth work these great effects and by which the healing and quickning vertue of the Spirit is convey'd for it is a good rule that of Luther All things in the Church are to be measured by the word Florente verbo omnia florent in Ecclesia c. Luther But if all places where the waters come are not healed the Truths of God have not the same power and effect upon all there are some myrie and marish places First what is meant by these myrie and marish places the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie dirt or mire such as man sinks into that is can neither go forward nor backward Ier. 38.22 thy feet are sunk in the mire and it is such a place where waters stand and have not a free passage Iob 8.11 Can the rush grow without mire and the other word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies a ditch lacuna a sink or a pit for dirty and foul water Isa 30,14 There is not a sheard to take water out of the pit and the resemblance between men that live under Ordinances unfruitfully and marish and myrie places is very plain in three things First in a marish place the water hath not a free passage but it stands and setles there it hath not affluxus and resuxus it meets with many a stop and a dam so it is with such a soul also therefore the Apostle prays that the Gospel may run and be glorified 2 Thes 3.1 Now when is the word said to run First when it meets with no stop no opposition but it hath a free passage Cum libere propagatur Secondly when it goes through the whole man and the will of God commanded is subjected unto Psal 47.15 when the word runs very swiftly that is Glass Cum voluntas Dei peragitur c. Glass So that when it hath no stop either in the mouth of the Ministers or in the hearts of the Hearers then the word is said to run and be glorified but when there are some truths of
God that men cannot receive the heart makes up a stop a dam against them they pass not through the whole man to bring into subjection every thought 2 Cor. 10.6 but men imprison truth in unrighteonsness Rom. 1.18 and will not suffer it to pass through the whole man through the whole soul this is a marish place c. Secondly when the waters and the earth do mix together this makes the myre when the Truths of God do mix with the corruptions of men that either men can hold some Truths and yet keep their lusts they can stand for truths and yet they live in their sins and so shine as lights and have their lamps and yet be unclean all the while or else when men do make use of the Truths of God to justifie their sins and they do plead the word of God to maintain their lusts they can stand for the Truths of God yet will not leave their lusts but seek to cover them under it Clem. Alex. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Alex. forâ—ing the Scriptures to their lusts Voluptatem sequi non quam audit sed quam attulit Aust 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Austin 2 Pet. 3.16 They do wrest the Scriptures and make them to speak that which the Spirit of God never intended in them and all is to favor some lust or other following the hidden things of dishonesty they do handle the word of God deceitfully and make it speak peace when the Lord in the word doth speak terror c. Thirdly the longer men continue the more filthy they grow the longer the Truths of God lie upon the heart of a man and if they reform not they make him grow the more filthy and the more polluted it makes a mans lusts the more hatefull and the more defiling for Ordinances do ripen mens sins as well as their graces and in this respect they may the more fitly be called myrie places Nâ—w the judgment is They shall not be healed they shall be given unto salt First They shall not be healed they had the waters flowing in upon them and by them many were healed but they were not healed under them and now in judgement the Lord saith that they shall not be healed those healing Ordinances which work a very great change upon other men and restore their souls they shall take no place upon them that which was their sin shall be their plague they would not be healed they shall not be healed they would not be purged they shall not be purged they will not come when they are invited they shall not taste of my Supper A man cannot have a greater plague befall him then to be given up unto his own sin and that which is the natural fruit there of Men that have lived under the Truths of God and have not been healed by them the Lord gives them up as incorrigible in judgement they shall not be healed that makes the Anathema Maranatha reserved they are as incorrigible for the judgement of the Lord at his coming for this is that curse upon them which is denounced by God most properly its Gods ordinary way to deal with sinners that shall be their punishment which they chose to themselves as their way of sinning He that is ignorant shall be ignorant still and he that is filthy shall be filthy still he that will not be healed the Lord says he shall not be healed c. Secondly They shall be given to salt which hath a double interpretation given of it First they shall be given up unto a perpetual barrenness Deut. 29,23 The whole land is brimstone and salt it is not sowen and neither grass nor any thing grows therein So Abimelech dealt with Shechem he beat down the city and sowed it with salt Judg. 9.45 Psal 107.34 a fruitfull land he turned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into saltness that is barrenness and so Jerom given to salt Ut in perpetuum frugibus careant that they may not bear fruit for ever Secondly Given to salt ut alios condiant exemplorum sale that is he shall be given up unto some exemplary judgement that may teach all other men to beware For he that built his house and not upon a rock when the rain falls and the winds blow he will fall and the fall of that house will be great Doctrine Some men that live under the purest and the most powerful Ordinances are in judgement given up unto a perpetual barrenness For the explication of this there are these sour particulars First that God doth by the Gospel execute spiritual Judgements as well as confer spiritual blessings Secondly that of all judgements those that are spiritual are the most dreadfull Thirdly why the Lord doth in Judgment give men up to a barrenness under the Gospel Fourthly the manner how the Lord doth this and how these Judgements are executed in an ordinary way First the Lord doth by the Ordinances of the Gospel execute spiritual Judgements as well as confer spiritual blessings there are the greatest curses as well as the greatest mercies come out of Zion all Judgements both temporal and spiritual come out of Ordinances for as they have the promises of this life that now is and that which is to come so there belongs to them also the threatnings of the life that now is and that which is to come temporal Judgements come out of ordinances Ezek. 10.2 Take fire from off the Altar and scatter over the city they thought that the fire of the Altar had served for nothing else but ad expianda scelera Calvin To expiate their sins but the Lord doth let them see that it will burn their City also 1 Cor. 11.30 for this cause many are sick and many weak and many are fallen asleep and when the day of Revelation shall come that the Counsels of God and the hearts of men shall be made manisest we shall then see that many of the Judgements that now we complain of will be found to be fire taken off the Altar and to be inflicted for the neglect and abuse of the Gospel which now we do very commonly attribute unto other causes every man according as his own fancy or party leads him and also spiritual Judgments as Rev. 4.5 there are before the throne the seven spirits of God all spiritual gifts and graces are poured out in Ordinances and there are out of the throne thundrings and lightnings and voices which note the terrible ways that the Lord has of punishing wicked men for their contempt and neglect of the Gospel Fulgura tonitrua terribilia supplicia significant nec ullo modo vitanda Brâ—ghtman Judgements from Heaven shall be poured out immediatly upon the spirits of men and that from Heaven Isa 28.13 The word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept and line upon line here a little and there a little that is summacum industria indulgentia He did it daily and he did it with a great deal
Judgements Rev 13.8 and Rev. 17.8 How came men to be insnared with the Doctrine of Popery and carried away with that doctrine of devils they were given up in Judgement to it as an evidence of their reprobation for they worshipped the Beast and received his mark and his image whose names are not written in the Lambs book of life c. for as Spiritual blessings are pledges of election so spiritual Judgements are dangerous signs of a mans reprobation Secondly they are a fearful earnest of a mans damnation 2 Thes 2.12 He gave them up to believe that lye that all they might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness Heb. 10.27 We read of an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A receiving of a sentence an eternal judgement in a mans own soul when a man carries in his own heart the sentence of his own condemnation and there is not a greater earnest of it in the world then for a man to be given over by God unto spiritual Judgements for that is the portion that all the Heirs of Hell have from the Lord and as by the works of the spirit of adoption upon the soul there is an earnest of Heaven so by the work of the Spirit of Bondage on the soul in judgement there is an earnest of Hell the approaches of God are in the one and the desertions of God are in the other Thirdly consider what a great evil it is to be given up unto this judgement of a perpetual barrenness the sins against the Gospel must be especially requited by such judgements for the Lord will have the judgement hold a proportion unto the sin now the more spiritual sins are and the more spiritual Ordinances are the more spiritual must the judgement needs be now as there are no sins nor no Ordinances so spiritual as those under the Gospel so there are no judgements that are so spiritual and therefore as God is a spirit and hates spiritual sins most so it is most agreeable unto him the soul being a spirit and having the main hand in the sin to load that with spiritual judgements But why will the Lord punish the neglect of the Gospel with a perpetual Barrenness Why shall the marish places be given to salt The grounds are these First consider of all Spiritual Judgements this is the greatest of all judgements the greatest are spiritual judgements and of all spiritual judgements to be given up to barrenness is the greatest for it is that unto which all other Judgements tend and in which they all end and center There are many other spiritual Judgements as there is a Judicial blindness and hardness of heart a seared conscience a reprobate sense but what is all this for it is that we might bring forth no fruit to God and that nothing that is good might grow thereupon and therefore it is that the Devil doth catch away the good seed Matth. 13.19 That we might be as the high-way ground unfruitful we complain of a barren earth by reason of the curse Cursed be the ground for thy sake when thou tillest it it shall not yield thee fruit but there are three sorts of Spiritual Barrennesses which are far beyond this and are the fruits of a far greater curse and they are barren Churches barren Ordinances and barren hearts there was never a more terrible monument of temporal wrath then the Lord shewed upon Sodom and Gomerrah and those Cities of the plain which are now turned into the salt sea and their smoak ascends continually where nothing lives where nothing grows neither fruit nor grass Deut. 29.23 and therefore called the dead Sea as Jerom saith Ierome Quia nihil in se vitale habet unde nomen mortis sortitumest And if a fish be at any time carried out of Jordan into it Statim moriuntur nthâ—l utilitatis in se habet ut simplex sermo testatur the fishes presently die therein Now take an unregenerate man a barren soul and he is compared here unto the dead sea for it is said that fishers shall stand from Engedi to Eneglaim Eneglaim in principio est maris mortui ubi Iordanum ingreditur Engedivero ubi finitur atque consumitur As great yea a far greater monument of Judgement God gives unto a barren heart then is that of the dead sea which is nothing else but a barren land and barren waters as they bring forth nothing that is good of themselves so neither is there any thing that can live or thrive or grow in them but if it come into it it immediatly dies and so it is with any thing of God or the Spirit of God that comes into the barren heart it is like unto the dead sea what truths or motions soever are cast in they die immediâ—tly Secondly This is the greatest judgement because hereby thou losest the fruit of thy union with Christ and the comfort of it for the end of union with Christ is fruitfulness and it is a plain argument that he that brings forth no fruits to God was never married unto Christ for Rom. 7.4 We are said to be married unto Christ that we may bring forth fruit to God There is a double end of Marriage convictus proles Cohabitation and propagation and therefore there cannot be a greater evidence that thou art not yet married unto Christ then this thou art barren for the Spouse of Christ is fruitfull and he hath no further a delight in them then as they bring forth fruit for it was the very end of his coming That they might bring forth fruit and that more abundantly and that their fruit might remain Now to be much in fruitfulness to be rich in good works is a great mercy Si mihi daretur eptio eligerem unius Christiani rustici opus sordidissimum prae omnibus victoriis triumphis Alexandri Caesaris c. Quando fidelis es Deo placent etiam Physica corporalia animalia officia And how great a comfort is it to bring forth fruit to God because it is fruit abounding unto our accounts at the last and the great day now as fruitfulness is a certain evidence of our marriage to Christ so barrenness is a certain evidence that thou art not yet married unto Christ and to be given up in judgement to barrenness is an earnest thou shalt never be married to him and fruitfulness is an argument and a pledge unto a mans heart that Christ will delight in him as Leah said when she had born a son Now my husband will love me now he will be joyned to me now I have born him this son also So may a soul reason it out with Christ Now I shal have his love he wil love me he will delight in me he will dwell with me â—ow I have yielded him fruit for he doth delight in the fruits of his pleasant things Cant. 5.12 Thirdly there is nothing that stands between such a soul and wrath for Ioh. 15.2 Every
with Christ for the term of vocation is union they were never cut off from their old root and never had experience of an ingrafting work never knew what it was to be translated Col. 1.13 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Verbum deductum ab iis qui colonias transferunt e natali solo Its a Metaphor taken from transplanting of Colonies They are in him by profession only without any real implantation for Christ as he is a vine upon earth has in him many unfruitfull branches though as he is a head in Heaven so he hath no dead members and this is the great ground of all barrenness and so all that a man doth is but building upon the sand when it flows not from Christ through the union of faith which is the ground of all fruitfulness Non semper ore non semper meditor sed vestio dormio bibo comedo c. Haec omnia si in fide fiant tanquam recte facta divino judicio approbantur As are my prayers so my eating drinking sleeping and clothing my self they are all Luther fruit abounding to my account in Christ Luther Gen. 33. Secondly he gives them up unto a heedless spirit in the things of God so much of Religion as shall uphold a form they take up but they regard not the keeping of their hearts and the approving of themselves unto God in secret there is a cultus conscientiae that is wholly neglected 2 Kin. 10.31 But Jehn took no heed to walk in the Law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart what shew so ever they make of Religion and how great so ever their pretences are yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 2.3 They neglect or they care not for the salvation that is offered therein Bernard Vita uniuscujusque non cognoscitur nisi in conscientia Bernard A mans life may seem as fair in a hypocrite and as fruitful as in a godly man but it is the inward frame of the heart and the constant care of that in which Religion doth consist and if a man do duties with a Spirit of inadvertency they are none of them fruits but leaves and make way for a judicial barrenness Thirdly he gives them up unto new opinions and these do ingross the heart and take up the strength of the man by contests of this nature whereas the kingdom of God consists not in meat and drink Rom. 14.17 and when men are given up to this then Hylar quas volumus doctrinas coaptamus Hylar That must go for true doctrine which is agreeable to their apprehensions and there is more pains taken in contending for and in maintaining of such opinions and things which we have made our own then there is about knowing or practising all the Truths of Christ and the duties of godliness besides and so the whole practice of godliness is neglected while the man is sinfully busied in novelties and unpractical curiosities and so urbem produnt dum castella defendunt when as in absoluto facili stat aternitas The things necessary to salvation are easie and as for lesser disputes be not much in them say Elias cum veniet Let us leave this unto the day of Resurrection which will declare of what sort every mans work is whither it be gold or silver hay or stubble and the truth is this is a grave in which Satan hath buried many a soul causing men to fall in love with their own births and apprehensions and thereby to take them off from the things which are of eternal concernment in the things of God which turn men commonly from Idolatry to Heresie Fourthly the Lord gives them up to have their thoughts set much upon other things as it was with the thorny ground the thorns sucking in the strength of the soil choaked the seed Matth. 13. One is taken up about getting an estate and another about raising a building of honor and another he is busied in the great affairs of a Commonwealth and he talks of making of Laws defeating of enemies saving of Kingdoms c. and in the mean while he himself is lost Matth. 7 22. There is a man busie preaching to others whilst he himself is a castaway and casting out devils out of other mens bodies when he himself is all the while in his inward man possessed of the devil and so while he is made a keeper of the vineyard he neglect to keep his own vine Cant. 1.6 And so many a great Statesman gives the same accompt at his death as Luther brings in Cicero complaining Luther Olim frustra me sapientem putatum vocem indignationis desperationis plenissâ—mam c. So that men never consider by their gifts and places and powers they bear fruit among men and be usefull to a Civil State they never think of being useful to the people of God and saving of their own souls but it s one thing to live fruitful towards God and another to be thought so by men as it s said of Jeroboams son There was found some good thing in him towards the Lord God of Israel Therefore consider that may be good among men which is not good towards the Lord God of Israel Fifthly After this the oath of God passes on the man there is a swearing in his wrath against men now as there was against Israel of old Hebrews 3. and therefore we also must take heed for this is the most dreadfull Judgement can come among men and this oath though it be secret yet it hath this effect that the Spirit of God in the common works and gifts is by degrees withdrawn for though there be a decree that passeth upon every mans eternal estate as an act of the Soveraignty of God Iacob have I loved and Esau have I hated and the foundation of God remains sure the Lord knows who are his yet there are many strivings of the spirit of God about a mans eternal estate before the Lord swear in his wrath he shall never enter into his rest for my spirit shall strive with that man no more Gen. 6.3 for as the Lord will not always suffer his Ministers to speak in vain therefore sometimes he saith they shall be a reprover unto such a people no more and therefore he will change the orb in which the stars sometimes shine he that hath them in his right hand so he will not always suffer his spirit to strive in vain and therefore he doth call home this Spirit as his extraordinary Embassador when he prepares open war against that man and all Treaties of peace are at an end the Lord will treat with him about the matter of reconciliation no more Sixthly after this there comes upon a man from the Lord as a fruit of this oath a spirit of slumber and a heart that cannot repent Isa 29.10 the word in the Hebrew is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the same that 's used of Adam when the Lord took out his rib
sense of the Gospel I will give you six rules briefly I beseech you carry theâ— home with you and the Lord carry them to your hearts First a man that i truly holy according to the sense of the Gospel is truly affected with the honor and dishonor of God for holiness exalts God I say holiness exalts God in Joshua 7.9 Israel had fallen before the men of At their enemies what is it now that troubles Joshuah most Israel flyes before their enemies Lord what wilt thou do for thy great name truly though we should perish and our names be rooted out from under heaven our names rot in the earth it were no great matter but thy name Lord saith he I am not able to bear the thought of it what wilt thou do to thy great name so likewise David The reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me he could have born any thing better then that God should have been dishonored my cyes gush out with Rivers of water because men keep not thy Law malo in nos murmur hominum quam in Deum Bernard I remember it is Bernards expression rather saith he let men vent their displeasure against us then against God bonum est mihi si dignetur Deus me uti pro clypeo if the Lord would please to make use of me to keep off reproaches and injuries from himself it would be satisfaction enough to me let my name be blotted never so much if Gods name be not spotted if his name be not profaned it is enough Now if I should put you to examine your hearts by this Is Gods glory dear to you and do you say profaned be my name so as Gods name be honored is there nothing better to you in this world like to this my conscience answers in the presence of God to such a question as this Truly my Brethren I am afraid few of you can say in truth that the Lord is thus exalted in your souls how is it that the dishonors done to God either we make matter of scoff or otherwise it doth but draw out our envies and invectives but it is not matter of drooping continually upon our Spirits there are few Ages that you shall read of wherein the name of God hath been higher in a more impudent way dishonored then in this Age I may say it with boldness with more open face a Whores forehead that cannot blush and yet notwithstanding where be the morners in Sion where be those that do say My estate doth me no good and my honor doth me no good nor never will while I enjoy it without God while I see God dishonored Well certainly suitable to the measure of holiness that is in any man so will his affections be to the honor of God and where this affection is not in truth there is no holiness in truth This is the first thing The second sign that I shall give you to examine your selves by is this Where holiness is in truth there the heart is mightily affected unto the truth of God which is the foundation of boliness sanctifie them by thy truth it is the expression in Joh. 17. then Truth is the foundation of sanctification whensoever holiness is in truth then the man is mightily affected to truth I do reuâ—ember it was an excellent rule that Virenencius gave long ago Virenenc quo quis sanctior co promptior novellis contraire the more holy any man is saith he the more his heart goes against all humane inventions contrary to the truths of God Why now should I put you upon the tryal by this have not you all Truths corrupt even to the very foundation those in this City that dispute whether there be a God or no to the very foundation that deny the God-head of Christ and of the Spirit deny the truth of the Scriptures why now how I pray you doâ—h this sit upon your spirits how are you affected with truth for truth is the mother of holiness and I say unto you it will bear a child-like affection thereunto my Brethren will you give me leave a little to speak plainly to you the great design that Satan hath I conceive in this present age the great design for he hath many but I say the Great design I look upon to be this So to dispute all things as that in matters of Religion men might look upon nothing as certain dispute all things that so you may be certain of nothing for this hath been the great business and truly I must though some of them go under the name of Saints I must say they are highly the instruments of the Devil in it I fay the great business of these latter years hath been this it hath been to dispute principles and overthrow foundations Augustine Augustine saith there are two waies by which the Devil draws men from Christ one in a time of peace and another in a time of persecution in a time of persecution coget homines negare Christum he compels men to deny Christ in the time of persecution But in the time of prosperity docet he teacheth men then to deny Christ he finds out such Doctrines as shall teach men handsomly to deny Christ and to defend it when he hath done O my Brethren how doth this sit upon your Spirits It was Luthers saying Luther Spiritus sanctus Scepticus non est the holy Spirit is not a Sceptical Spirit there is little of that Spirit in this Land Christianism is turned to Sceptism question every thing and dispute every thing and men look upon it as a great piece of Religion to maintain that there is no certainty in Religion and truly this is the way of the wise men of our times Why now consider two things are added hereunto One is to prosecute this design the Ministry must first be undervalued that by that means there may be way made that they may be suppressed for while these men live they do say in their own bosoms so much as Saul did of David to Ionathan while the son of Iesse liveth saith he thy Kingdom will never be established they do say so that these new waies of Religion will never be established so long as some of these men continue they do say that this is the Heir let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours we shall never be the great Preachers till then nor our lights and opinions will never be entertained for Gospel till then for so what was the advice of Consenus the Jesuite a great while ago and truly this is the very truth for as it is justly to be feared you have a great many among you so those that are acted among you are acted very much by a Jesuitical principle and what was his advice he wisheth them by all means to take away the Ministry but saith do it not all at once but take away some first and disgrace the rest and so by that means a way will
it by this if you hate your own iniquity if that be your great care Psal 18.23 Ezech. 7.19 they shall not satisfie their souls because it is the slumbling block of their iniquity c. 13. neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life that is the whole comfort and delight of their lives doth come in by it it is all the pleasure and the joy they have men looking upon the vanity of the world every man hath his Treasure something that he doth chuse to himself either in his age Psal 119.9 or in his calling or in his acquaintance in his custom and if ever a man do meet with an opportunity of temptation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is then he is to take heed to himself as the exhortation is in Luke 8.13 you have been Conquerers take heed now you be not overcome with the Devil and you have fought for liberty take heed you be not the worst of slaves as that man is that is a servant to his lust You have asserted the liberty of others maintain your own liberty also and be not the servants to sin Fifthly if you be holy you will have respect unto all the commandments Psal 119.6 he that doth despise any one Commandment makes conscience of none it is universality that is the great note of sincerity now to live in the willing neglect of any known duty and the Law of God comes in against a man and the man is afraid to hear of such a duty because his guilt arises and his trouble is renewed thereby and therefore the man would shift it off would disburden himself of the sens of it surely then that soul has cause to fear holiness is not his aim but now when the commandment comes and the man is a co-worker with God as it were and is willing it should be set on upon his soul and is not willing to give himself a dispensation from it but he saith I must walk up to the extremity of the rule and observe it to the uttermost extent of it for I must be Judged by it God will lay Judgement to the line c. this is the sense of a holy heart Sixthly if you are holy your holiness will answer the Law of God for it is the Law written in the heart that you must come up to you have obeyed from the heart that forme of Doctrine which was delivered to you we are cast into it as into a mold and therefore it must be a perfect form there are the great things of the Law Rom. 11.17 Heb. 13.8,9 and it was the sin of the Pharisees that they only regarded lesser things and left the great things of the Law undone and it s the great sin of hypocrites whether it be in point of sin or in point of duty to be only zealous against lesser things therefore trie your selves by these rules for it is a matter of the greatest concernment of your lives c. By these may you know if you are in the way to the Beatifical vision by these may you judge of your holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Babylons utter ruine THE SAINTS Triumph At a Thanksgiving for the victory of Ireland against the Irish Aug. 29. 1649. REVEL 18.2 Babylon the great is fallen is fallen c. THE great works of the Saints in this life are to believe Gods promises and to serve his providence and reflect his praises and it is the great thing that God doth expect as the fruit of all his marvellous works that when his works do praise him that is give matter of praise his Saints should bless him Psal 145.10 and for this cause there are three titles given unto the Saints in the Scripture First they are said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those that take delight in the works of the Lord they being all of them wonderful and glorious and only to be admired whereas other men only study the works of men and be taken with them but they only take pleasure in studying the works of God Secondly they are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 taking pleasure in them they study them and search into them that they may find out all the excellency and glory that is in them which at first sight no man is able to find out Psalm 111.2 Thirdly they are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lords Recorders Isa 62.6 they received the promises of God and their accomplishment of these things the hearts of the Saints are a faithful Register his mercies are written in their hearts as well as his Laws the one that they may serve him and the other that they may rejoyce in him Now you that have pleasure in the works of God ye are come before the Lord this day to enter an eminent National mercy upon publike record and if ye search into it after a diligent scrutiny ye will find there are these six things specially to be observed therein First it is a return not only of late but of antient prayers It is one of the great Questions that the Saints of God have as matter to dispute in all the mercies that they receive whether they have them as effects of providence or as the heirs of the promise whether they have of them only a jus Politicum or Evangelicum the one indeed non fundatur in Gratiâ but the other is now if it be given in answer to prayers it is a birth of the promise which the prayers of the Saints help to deliver Isa 37.3 but specially when mercies have been long delayed and the answers of prayers have been long deserr'd wheâ— Abraham had prayed for a child twenty years then to have the promise speak and when thechildren of Israel had prayed 70. year then when they were even out of hopes and gave their prayers for lost now to be answered in them made them to be like them that dream to recover an old debt and to receive a ship safe home and richly laden that hath been long at Sea and we know not what was become of it it comes home with the greater joy Why doth the Lord delay the answers of the prayers of his people not that he doth not intend to grant them for Bernard Bernard Priusquam engrâ—ssa est oratto ex ore tuo ipse scribi jubet in libro suo But he doth wait to be gracious Now delaying of the mercy doth raise the price of it now ye come to reap of the harvest of many of your prayers that are past and gone that you even now gave for lost there is a twofold joy that the Scripture speaks of as transcendent the joy of harvest and the joy of souldiers when they divide the spoil and truly there is matter of both these joyes in this mercy administred to you for you divide the spoil of the enemie and with all you reap to your selves the harvest of all your former prayers and petitions Oh how did
the pulpits in times past sound with such words as these Lord remember bleeding and dying Ireland Lord this is Ireland that is a cast-out peoplâ— hat none cares for but when thou makest inquisition for blood remember them c. and those prayers which were put up from many a gracious heart which are now answered though now many of them haply are displeased and discontented with the return of their own prayers Secondly it is a mercy given in when all things were desperate and even all hope of a deliverance was gone Now is God a help found in the needful time of trouble when the enemies power and confidence was high and they said Ireland is our own we will pursue them even take them and satisfie our lusts upon them we will surely root out the English name from amongst us and we will try if they can swim into England it may be their faith will bear them up as that partie hath alwayes scoffed at godliness in all their successes but be no more mockers least your bonds increase Now when you had not an Armie in the field the whole Kingdom was their own and not a Garrison left in the whole Kingdom but one and that brought to the very brink of destruction also and must have been surrendred speedily after they made their approaches to it Now God gives in the mercy now doth the Lord judge his people and repent him concerning his servants when he sees that their power is gone and that there is none shut up or left Deut 32.36 when there is no Army in the field no souldiers in garrison now is the time that the Lord doth appear and take to himself his great power and raign Thirdly when the Lord doth therein exceed the expectations of his servants a deliverance they hoped for but not so great not so sudden so that when it came they seemed as men that dream and they can scarce believe that God would do so great things for them when the Lord is come to do them when the son of man comes shall he find faith upon earth its a faith in reference to the coming of Christ for to take vengeance on the Churches adversaries Isa 64.3 thou didst great things for us which we looked not for for God doth not answer prayers according unto our hopes but according to his own mercies as he doth not reward our services according to the measure of our duty but in the mouth of mercy Hos 10.12 a man doth sow in duty but he doth reap in ore misericordiae Fourthly when it is by the hand of those whom they have oppressed when the witnesses that were slain shall rise again and they shall destroy their persecutors by the sword that comes out of their mouthes then it is the greater mercy and far the greater confusion unto the enemy Isa 41.15 When the worm Jacob shall thresh the mountains and when the arm of the Lord should be made bare in it and his hand more immediately seen beyond the purpose courage and intention of men they are engaged before they are aware and victorie is won before they know they are engaged in a Battle when the Lord shall bend Judah for him and fill his bow with Ephraim and they shall have the honour of the conquest that have had their great share in their Torments and were by the enemies designed for destruction and they shall fall by their hand it makes the mercy far the greater Fifthly when it is such a mercy as lets us see still that God owns the same cause and however men warp and turn too and fro yet the good old cause in which the people of God were engaged against the Antichristian party the Lord owns that cause still and gives unto his people hereby hopes of a settlement For the Lord Christ when he rides forth in the conquest of the Gospel he doth ride forth conquering and to conquer not all at once but by degrees and doth give to his people yet a ground of their faith to see if they be of the seed of the Jews before whom they have begun to fall they shall surely fall God hath given us therein Hos 2.15 the vally of Achor for a door of hope it is true that Achor was a pleasant vally and it was sweet in it self therefore it was joyned with Carmel and Bashan but yet it was much more sweet in reference to the hope for it was at the first entrance into the Land of Canaan and as the first fruits gives them possession of the whole Sixthly it is still a carrying on of the grand design that the Lord Christ hath to do in the world in the latter daies for Christ in glory hath not only Saints to gather home to himself and to bind them all up in a bundle of life and he doth raign for their sakes for he is the head over all things for the Churches sake but the Lord hath also enemies to be subdued he must raign till he hath put all his enemies under his feet and he will be faithful as the Fathers servant in the one as well as in the other therefore Rev. 14. there is a harvest of all the Saints to be reaped and there is a wine press of wicked men at the same time to be trodden c. Now the great enemy unto Christ in the latter daies of the world is that wicked one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Baylon the great the Mother of Harlots Now so far as this tends to the promoting of that great design as it doth exceedingly so far should the Saints of God rejoyce therein for they must by degrees go into pâ—rdition and though all the former subjects would be fit matter for our meditation throughout this day and might have given us several Considerations of very publike concernment in reference to the mercy of the day yet at present I have chosen this rather to draw out your praises thereby concerning which I shall present you but with these three considerations First the least return that you can make of a mercy is praise to God for it and it is all that the Lord doth expect of you Hos 14. and we will give thee the calves of our lips it is all the promise that the Lord would have his people make to him in the time of their straits Afflictions they are stupefactive and of a confounding nature and they close the mouth Jâ—r 8.14 let us enter into our fenced Cities and let us be silent there for the Lord our God hath put us to silence but mercies they are of an expansive and dilating nature and they open the mouth as Hannah not only her heart 1 Sam. 2.1 was filled but her mouth was enlarged also Secondly if you do not return praises for mercies God will surely add Judgements unto mercies and will turn his hand against you do you evil after he hath done you good Hezekiah received a mercy but he did not render according to
Babylon for that was destroyed many hundred years before Johns time but this is Babylon in a mysterie the City that now rules over the Kings of the earth and that was only Rome a woman that did sit upon many waters that is reigned over Kingdoms and Nations and people c and this woman is brought in riding which is an Emblem and expression of power and authority throughout this whole book Now what is the Beast that the woman rides upon it is regnum sive imperium Romanum which because of its blood and its cruelty hath been alwaies expressed by a Beast with a scarlet colour c. and this hath three names given to it throughout this book for all the old enemies that were ever any of the antient persecutors of the Church is to be found in her the blood of all the Saints therefore is said to be found in her because in her was the cruelty of all former persecutors to be found Rev. 11.8 spiritually Egypt Sodom not litterally Sodom for their filthiness called Sodom and for their Idolatry Egypt and Babylon for there is all Idolatry Sorcery Cruelty so that the evils that have been in all former persecutors is to be found in them and therefore it is called Babylon by way of allusion as the Churches of Christ are called Zion and Jerusalem and the Israel of God Rev. 7. the Lord keeping to the old names so the enemies also are called Egypt and Babylon the Lord keeping unto the old names and antient resemblances So then Rome and the power thereof is here meant by Babylon for it is to be understood in a mysterie or in a spiritual sense Thirdly why is it called Babylon the great I answer it is called so upon a double ground First because of the greatness of its strength and glory it was the strongest and the most fortified place in the world in so much that when the Lord did employ Cyrus in the work it was thirteen years siege that they were fain to cut the River Euphrates into chanels and draw it dry and enter the Citie by the chanels of the River in that pit where Beltshazer the King and the inhabitants of the City were found to be all of them buried and she was the original of the Nations unto which they did all bring their glory and so it is with this Citie the merchants and the great men of the earth trade with her as Rev. 18.3 so that to see Romam in slore is one of the gloriousest sights that this lower world could afford which Fulgentius admiring raised up his heart higher by this consideration Fulgentius Quantum splendeat coelestis Hierusalem cum adeo fulgeat terrestis Roma c. Secondly it is also Babylon the great because of the greatness of their power and dominion She did set upon many waters and did rule all the Kings of the earth as Babylon did say of old Are not my Princes altogether Kings and therefore because of their dominion they are called the great City and the great City that rules over the Kings of the Earth and yet this great Lucifer son of the morning must fall from Heaven and be brought down unto the dust Fourthly how is it said is fallen put in praeterito First it is put in the Preterperfect and that is ordinary with the Hebrews Secondly by way of Ingemination and they do imply First certainly for it is a speech of faith speaking of things to come as if they were already past Secondly it notes the suddenness of it it was at hand as Christ said it is finished that is it was now neer to be ended and so it is fallen that is subito ruitura Thirdly it notes an utter ruine and destruction in the fall for it is fallen it is fallen that is it is greatly eminently utterly fallen Fourthly it is a destruction generally published over all the world and with a great deal of joy spoken of by the Saints as appears afterward when they give God the glory of taking vengeance of the great whore c. for the repetitions in Scripture do really note great affection Psal 22.1 My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Psal 137.7 Down with it down with it to the ground as Sam. 18.23 Absolom my Son my Son and Isa 28.10 precept upon precept line upon line c. the expression is taken from Isa 21.9 Babylon is fallen is fallen c. it s spoken of antient and litteral Babylon and it is applyed unto mystical Babylon Rev. 14.8 there we have a threefold discovery of Antichrist First there is an Angel flies with the everlasting Gospel and they do publish the Doctrine of the grace of God in Christ openly against all the inventions of men and denounce Judgements against all Idolatry c. Secondly Rome not repenting thereof now the Lord declares it to be Babylon and a Church of God no more and now it is fallen Jam Ruinae Babylonis jaciuntur fundamenta and now the Lord having declared it to be Babylon doth begin to prepare war against it Thirdly then the people of God rise higher and declare no communion with her and that whoever doth receive her mark and Image he shall drink of the pure wine of the wrath of God without mixture Luther efficiam brevi ut Anathema sit esse Papistam Luther But now the work is at hand there is none of the enemies of Christ so great as mysterie Babylon and there is none of his enemies towards whom he hath used so much patience and long suffering bringing them to destruction but by degrees several vials have been pouring out upon her degrees of wrath poured out upon them and yet every one of these degrees is a fall of Babylon but yet the last and utter ruine of it is to come but it hast ens for the word is gone forth of the mouth of the Lord that he will have war with this Romish Amaleck and never have peace with it till it be destroyed He hath said Great Babylon is fallen c. Hence the Observations are Three First Rome mysterie Babylon shall certainly fall Secondly It shall utterly fall and be broken with breach upon breach and destroyed with a double destruction Thirdly The fall of it the Saints of God look upon as matter of the greatesl joy and Triumph Babylon is fallen is fallen it is a joyful voice to be heard in Sion by the inhabitants thereof and they that stand with the Lamb thereupon Doctrine The Doctrine from hence is Rome that is mystical Babylon shall certainly fall which will appear if you consider these particulars First consider the enemie that hath set himself against Rome is one that is able to effect it and that is the great and the Almighty God and if he lift up his hand to reap if he whet his glittering sword he will surely make a slaughter Rev. 18.8 strong is the Lord God who judgeth her it is true
Babylon hath all the strength of the earth on her party the Kings of the earth do bring their glory to her and give their power and strength to the Beast it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all their natural power and strength is given to her and all their civil power and strength or authority and therefore a man would think it impossible for any to make war with the Beast But they have a strong God against them and he hath undertaken it and the Lord will never make peace with Rome this is that spiritual Amalek with whom God will never make peace from Generation to Generation there be some of the enemies of God that shall be converted in the latter daies and many of those Kings the Lamb shall overcome not by their destruction but by their conversion for he will uphold them afterward though they had been his enemies but with Rome he will never have peace but will be a professed enemy unto them for ever the enmity between God and them is like the enmity between the seed of the woman and of the Serpent that shall never be reconciled never have an end Secondly look upon the causes of their destruction and they are mainly four and all of them will bring eminent destruction with them First because they corrupted Religion and that both in doctrine and worship they have made all the Nations of the earth drunk with the wine of her fornication and this they have done in a golden cup they make fair and specious pretences and call themselves the Church of God Romae venduntur omnia nihil tamen agas sine lege formula sanctissimi moris Lud. Viv. Ludov. Vives Religion in Doctrine and worship is very dear to God and he will not have it to be corrupted and therefore he is an utter enemy unto corrupters but this is the mother of Harlots and of all the abominations of the earth Secondly because the Kings of the earth have committed fornication with her Rome hath been the great corrupter of Kings and of all men that have been eminent in authority and this is their last refuge Rev. 16.14 they send forth their Emissaries unto the Kings of the Earth and of the whole world it is a great influence that they have had upon the authority of the world Now Kings they stand in the place of God and bear his Image in respect of government to have them corrupted is a great provocation unto God and a great occasion of destruction unto the world Thirdly by reason of her merchandize the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through her delicacies what is this merchandize it cannot be meant of merchandizes in a litteral and proper sense where it is said ver 11.12 the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her c. not that men shall merchandize no more for gold and pearl and precious things which ordinarily merchants trade about the merchandize of them shall not cease when Rome shall be destroyed for the world shall continue and trading shall still be In the 13. ver we read part of their merchandize to be the souls of men Brightman quae nullo modo in propria vocum natura haerere scimus nos It is spoken of spiritual merchandize making sale of the things of God and the Ordinances of God and the souls of men for their own gain and advantage which is unto the Lord a great provocation Rome is another Tyre as Tyre was the Mart of the earth for temporal things so is this City nobile emporium rerum spiritualium and men grow great and are advanced by this merchandize c. Fourthly for her cruelty Chap. 18.24 in her was found the blood of the Prophets and of all the Saints that were slain upon the earth and God will not suffer the blood of his Sains to lie unrevenged the cry of blood the Lord cannot deny to hear though it be but the blood of men but much more the blood of Saints for precious in his sight is their blood he hath a bottle for their tears much more will he make inquisition for blood and if the blood of any one of his Saints be such a burthen that God cannot bear it at the hands of men how much more when the blood of all the Saints shall be shed the Prophets and Martyrs of Jesus Specially considering that their cruelty shall grow and they shall be moâ—e bloody towards their end for whereas the witnesses before did but prophesies in Sack-cloth and ashes now they must have a time to be killed and that with the greatest cruelty and revenge they shall rejoyce over them and keep their dead bodies upon the earth and no man shall bury them Thirdly it is the great design that Christ hath in the latter daies of the world to destroy this Beast the last enemy Dan. 7. is the fourth Beast and in the fourth Beast there is a little horn that shall be more sierce then his fellows and ver 11. before that the words that the horn spake I beheld till the Beast was destroyed all the Roman power doth perish in the little horn in the destruction of Antichrist all the Roman power shall be utterly broken there were ten horns that did arise upon the rise of the Beast and there was government given them and power successively but when this little horn shall be destroyed never a horn shall stand up in the place thereof any more and therefore Rev. 16. we see the vials that are poured out are but degrees of wrath upon Rome Antichristian and we have seen many of them in a very glorious and unexpected way already accomplished and therefore we have great cause to trust Christ for the effecting of the rest and he will turn the heart of the Kings against them that they shall hate the whore they that did support her they shall become the greatest instruments to destroy her as the seals have had their effect upon Rome Pagan and the Trumpets upon Rome Christian so shall the vials upon Rome Antichristian for this book of the Revelations doth mainly concern Rome for there is a double prophesie fata Ecclesiae Imperii and they are the two great works Christ hath in design after his ascention Fourthly it shall surely be destroyed because they shall never repent Rev. 16.9,11 When the vial is poured out upon the world they were scorched with sire exceedingly enraged and they blasphemed the name of God which had power over these plagues but they repented not to give glory and upon the seat of the Beast they Blasphemed God because of their pain but repented not of their evil deeds and the ground of it is because most of them generally they that embrace the Doctrine and worship are reprobates and the Scripture doth make it a dangerous sign of reprobation Chap. 13.8.17.8 They that wonder who are they such whose names are not wrote in the Book of life from the foundation
of the world Now if men be under the hand of God in wrath and one judgement doth make way for another God will punish them seven times more surely they must be utterly destroyed at the last so it was with Rome one Judgement makes way for another and one vial doth prepare and fit the subject for another So that as unto the Saints one mercy doth but prepare the subject and open the door unto another so also to ungodly men one judgement makes way for another and their hearts are hardned unto their own destruction Fifthly it is the expectation of Christ and all the Saints and all their prayers have been poured out this way First it is the expectation of Christ he is sate down at the right hand of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 expecting the rest which God hath promised him that all his enemies shall be made his footstool and Christs prayers shall be heard and his expectation shall not be frustrated nor made void and all the Saints have laid up prayers for it for Rev. 16.1 the vials come out of the Temple there is a double voice in this book a voice from the throne quod immediate a deo prosiciscitur and out of the Temple cum precibus sanctorum Impetratur Brightman Brightman Therefore all the degrees of wrath that Rome hath had upon her hath been from the prayers of the Saints and not by their Power and it hath been their expectation long ago that Rome should be utterly ruined Lactantius Horreo dicere dicam tamen quia futurum est Romanum nomen de terra amovebitur Now God that hath raised this expectation in the hearts of his people and drawn out this supplication he will not frustrate their expectations he will fulfill their petitions Doct. 2. All the Roman Power shall utterly fall they shall be destroyed with double destruction Jer. 17.18 and the sword shall be double upon them Ezek. 21.14 Babylon is fallen is fallen First the destruction of Babylon as from God it shall be pure wrath without mixture Rev. 14.10 they had a cup of fornication with which they made all Nations to drink Now God hath a cup of indignation also that which they must all drink and it is poured out without mixture if water be mixed with wine it breaks the force of the wine so that it doth not so soon bring a man to drunkenness as pure wine does this notes summum poenae severitatem judgement without mercy Here the judgements of God that he executes upon men have mercy mixed with them there is a mixture of light with all their darkness non dantur puraetenebrae but in Hell there shall be judgement without mercy and fury without compassion and truly the judgement that shall come upon Rome shall have a great resemblance of the Torments of Hell with it and therefore their judgement is very terrible Secondly it shall be an utter destruction which shall be the more Tormenting because it shall be in the height of their hopes Rev. 18.7 when she shall say I set as a Queen and am no widdâ—w and shall see no sorrow the thoughts of Babylon have been and still are high and are eminently confident of victories and successes and yet ver 8. her plagues come in one day as Sodoms with fire and brimstone Rev. 14.10 they shall be tormented with fire and brimstone God will as it were rain Hell out of Heaven upon them he hath fire and brimstone for this spiritual Sodom that they shall not know it till it comes upon them when they think themselves safe then shall judgement come and Babylon shall fall into the Sea like a mill-stone suddenly and irrecoverably Thirdly the judgement shall come upon all parties and upon all degrees and conditions of men that joyn with them all those that do partake of their sins shall have a share of the plagues there is a vial upon the earth that is upon the common people Secondly upon the Sea also there is a vial the jurisdiction of Rome Thirdly upon the rivers their ministers and Instruments that advance this authority all the ministerie of Rome that carry abroad this power over the world Fourthly upon the Sun all Princes and Magistrates and all powers so far as they hold of Rome Fifthly there will be a vial also upon Rome it self the throne of the Beast in the Lords time all this will be accomplished and the day hastens apace and there is no degree from the highest to the lowest that shall escape no place shall protect a man for the vial is poured out by the Lord and there is no escaping Fourthly there is an utter desolation described it shall become an habitationfor Devils which love to be in solitary and desolate places and it shall be a cage for every unclean and hateful bird as Sodom was it shall be a monument of wrath unto all the world Isa 13.19,20 Rev. 18.22,23 The voice of Harpers and Trumpeters shall be heard no more in thee c. and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee c. Fifthly God will stir up the Instruments of vengeance to do their utmost to destroy them as he had before put it in the hearts of the 10. Kings to set her up so shal he also put it into their hearts to cast her down they shall make her desolate and naked and eat her flesh and burn her with fire Rev. 17.16 and Rev. 18.6 reward her as she rewarded you double upon her double and if the Lord put a principle of vengeance into the hearts of men and command them to do it surely the destruction may be exceeding fearful when the Lord does bid and command men to be cruel Lastly it shall make way for their eternal destruction For a man to undergo Temporal afflictions though they be grievous yet it were not so much so his soul might be saved in the day of the Lord but when death goes before and Hell follows after this is the greatest misery Now this is the condition of all that follow the Beast and receive his mark whose names are not written in the Book of the Lamb and therefore Rev. 19.20 the Beast was taken and the false Prophet and they were cast alive into a Lake that did burn with fire and brimstone Truly then it is terrible when judgements do make way for a mans everlasting destruction and eternal ruine Doct. 3. The destruction of Rome and every degree of it the Saints of God do look upon as matter of joy and triumph the righteous shall be glad when he sees the vengeance that shall come upon Rome and shall with a holy scorn say as they do upon the fall of litteral Babylon Isa 14. How art thou fallen from Heaven O Lucifer son of the morning Rev. 19.1 There is a voice of much people in Heaven Heaven that is put for the Church saying Amen Hallelujah because the Lord had judged the great whore c.
bosom to mourn with them and have compassion over them and this he is to do not only for some of the great ones but he is to do it impartially over all the flock For God makes no difference in respect of any mans title or place but he that hath the best heart is the best man in Gods account and in Church members those should be esteemed by us that have the greatest graces not the greatest places Fourthly it is the Pastors duty if any man in the Church walk disorderly or inordinately he is to mourn for them Jer. 13.17 My soul shall weep in secret for your pride and Phil. 3.18 Now I tell you weeping c. Their miscarriage should be to him as the errors of a child unto a tender Father he should bewail them with bitterness to consider how they thereby go about to destroy themselves should exceedingly affect the Pastor as Christ when he beheld Ierusalems sins he wept over it and many times there is nothing left for a minister to do for a person but to shed tears Secondly he is to admonish them and that authoritatively â— Thes 5.12 Know them which labour amongst you and are over you and admonish you in the Lord that is by vertue of the authority that is commited unto me by Christ I do admonish you in the Lord and this is to do a thing in the name of the Lord Iesus Christ 1 Cor. 5.4 Yea reprove them sharply and so Paul doth propose it unto the Corinthians Whither he should come to them with the rod or in the spirit of meckness Thirdly if nothing else will do they must together with the Church in which they are have the main hand they are to stir them up to cast out such a person and to represent it to the Church according to the power that is committed unto them by Christ for the Churches edification Rev. 2.3 they must not bear them that be evil they must be cast out they should look upon it as their Burthen that any amongst them should deserve to be cast out from the Church yet they must do their duty this is the rule that they have over you in the Lord Heb. 13.17 Fifthly they must walk as examples to the flock 1 Pet. 5.3 Go before them in a holy life 2 John 10. it is said Christ is the Shepherd and he goes before the sheep and his sheep do follow him the meaning is he went before them in a holy conversation for he hath in all things given us an example a Copy to write after that we should walk as he hath walked Pastors should be a living Scripture and walking Bibles more then any other men and yet ye are to take this as a rule be you followers of us as we are of Christ and mark them who so walketh as they have us for an example Philip. 3.17 Secondly for the dispositions with which all these duties are to be done which I will lay down in six particulars First from a tender love and care God doth put this care of the flock unto those whom he calls to be their Over-seers in mercy and he doth give them graces sutable Pastors graces 2 Cor. 8.16 God did put the same care into the heart of Titus Phil. 2.26 Epaphroditus that was their Pastor he doth long for them exceedingly and his love was so great that he would not have them so much as grieved and therefore he was sorry that they had heard that he had been sick there was in the heart of our Lord Christ a Law of love written thy Law is in the middle of my bowels as there should be a love amongst the members so in a special manner in those that are Pastors and Fathers to a people their bowels should yern over them Secondly all this is to be done with the spirit of meekness in a way of Ministry and not in a way of Majesty For we are but your servants for Christs sake and we are not to rule as Lords over Gods heritage 1 Pet. 5.3 and therefore pride and imperiousness must be avoided for all that we have to do is by the word and we can rule no other way Thirdly all things must be done without self-respects and to make a gain of the people we must feed the flock not for filthy lucres sake that though the Pastor is to eat of the milk of the flocks and though it be the peoples duty 1 Cor. 9.14 God hath ordained that they should yet this is not to be the end propounded by the Minister or Pastor unto themselves for them to have such a low end as this put me into the Priests office that I may eat a piece of bread no we are to seek you and not yours and to expect our crown of glory at the appearing of the great Shepherd of the sheep 1 Pet. 5.9 Fourthly it must be with faith and an expectation that God will in a special manner bless their endeavours and labours unto that people over which God hath put them over which the holy Ghost hath made them overseers for with the call of God there doth go the blessing of God and if God do put a man into any office he may expect a blessing upon him in that imployment he doth call Christ and he doth promise him the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand and Christ sends forth the Apostles and he promises to be with them to the end of the world Math. 28.19 the people are to expect a greater blessing by them because God hath put them over them Heb. 13.17 they watch for your souls So the Ministers also that go forth with faith to preach the Gospel the Lord will make them a blessing to the people where he sends them Fifthly it must be done as those that give an account for your souls that are the people committed to his care Heb. 13.17 there are great accounts that men have to give for talents and opportunities of doing good and of Riches that God hath entrusted them with and Honours and the day of grace but the greatest account is that of souls which are precious unto all those to whom their own souls are precious and as the Lord Jesus himself comes in at the last day before the Father Here am I and the children that thou hast given me Heb. 2.13 So also this will be the work of the Ministry at the last day they will give an account of your souls O what a great thing is it for a Minister to be able to say I prayed for such a soul I instructed such a soul he was blind before and God used me as an Instrument to convey light to him I watched over such a soul for it is your souls only that we have to do with all and its only with reference to your souls that we watch over you Sixthly the Pastors of a people do their duty as those whose crown of glory it will be at the last day
for us to deliver our flock well into the hands of the great Shepherd at the last day that he hath betrusted them with 1 Thes 2.19.20 This is our glory and Crown of rejoycing yea in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming c. to see their graces thrive their souls prosper Christ gloried in it he sees the Travel of his soul and is satisfied and it is a great satisfaction unto poor Ministers in this particular also and having given their charge safe into the hands of Christ they shall then lay down the burden of their office and they and their flock shall be made happy together and though the particular relation shall cease between them yet shall they take more special comfort and communion one with another as Saints in glory for ever their relation that they had to each other here will sweeten their glory hereafter Secondly Now to make up this Order of the Gospel also there is a duty that the Members do owe unto their Pastors that are in this manner chosen by them and they are these First it is the peoples duty to pray for them as those that God sets in authority over them if your Pastor prays for you as being over you you should also pray for him as being over you First pray for their gifts and abilities to go through their duty the whole compass of it Eph. 6.10 and for me saies the Apostle that utterance may be given unto me Secondly for their preservation Rom. 15.30 That you strive together in prayers that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea Thirdly pray that they may have a sanctified use of all their afflictions and of all Gods dispensations Phil. 1.19 I know that this also shall turn to my salvation through your prayers when the prayers of Pastor and people meet together at the Throne of grace each for other it is exceeding acceptable to God Secondly honour them in your hearts let it be answerable to the honour Christ hath given them in the Congregation 1 Thes 5.13 Know them and esteem them highly in love for their works sake they are to look upon themselves as your servants and to look upon you as the Lords heritage and that they are not Lords of the flock they are not to know in that respect their own honour as Moses his face did shine it was seen of others but not of himself but yet there is an honour that is due from you unto them also Thirdly submit unto them or be perswaded by them Heb. 13.17 Attend upon their ministrie as those from whom you may expect a special blessing though it may be they may not have such great parts and gifts as others yet they are those that God hath set over you and do you submit to them though they be in outward respects far inferiour unto you yet as they are Pastors so they stand in Christs stead for remember they are so by an Institution and so disobedience unto them speaking in the name of Christ is a disobedience unto Christ he that hears you hears me and he that despiseth you despiseth me it is a very dangerous thing for a people to have their Minister go to God against them and bewail the contempt that is put upon them and say Lord thou hast sent me to a rebellious and gain saying people Christ says to such a one Thou shalt kick the dust of thy feet against them it will be easier for Sodom then it will be for that man in the day of Judgement Fourthly encourage his labours strengthen his hands stand by him look upon your selves as concerned in all things that befall him Phil. 2.26 Epaphroditus was sick and they were very sensible of it though he were absent from them and he was willing to venture his life for the Churches service and indeed the labour is burdensom and continual do what you may to make it easie to him that he may undergo it with cheerfulness For if he give up his account with grief it will be unprofitable for you Heb. 13.17 So if he do his work with grief also it will be as unprofitable to you as uncomfortable to him Fifthly admonish him of what evil so ever you see in him if he do not walk with a right foot towards the Gospel or be negligent in the performing of his office say to him Take heed to thy Ministry Col. 4.17 It were a misery for the greatest officer to be exempted from that ordinance of admonition which is a mercy to the meanest member and yet be careful do not take up every flying report against him for there are no men so subject to the scourge of the Tongue as they are but God as he will wipe all tears from their eyes will also wipe off all blots from their name Sixthly there is a supply which you are to make to their wants and it is your duty to administer unto them of your substance according to your ability Gal. 6.6 You must make him partaker of all good things First you must do it in obedience as an Ordinance of God Secondly it must be given proportionably to a mans ability for it must be in all good things Thirdly not to think much of what you give them if the ministers of the Gospel sow spiritual things why should we count it a great matter if we let them reap of our carnal things these things which are the truths that the Gospel holds forth as the Lord hath enabled me I have endeavoured to give every one their portion both Pastor and people what remains further in relation to both as God gives opportunity I shall by his assistance set before you I shall now beg your prayers that the Lord would teach me how to go in and out before you that so I may be given you in mercy and not in Judgement Church-Officers According to Institution Preached at the Churches choosing of Officers HEB. 13.17 Obey them that have the rule over you and submit your selves for they watch for your souls as they that must give an account that they may do it with joy and not with grief for that is unprofitable for you THE Church of Christ is sometimes called The Tabernacle Rev. 11.1 c. And as in the Tabernacle all was by Institution done according to a pattern both Ordinances and Officers so it must be in the Church of God the spiritual Tabernacle of God amongst men 1 Cor. 12.4,5,6 There are three things that are by the Lord exceedingly differenced in the Church first there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all have not the same gifts but the Lord divideth them according as he will Secondly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there are diversities of Offices all the members in a Church have not one and the same office or ministery or labour Thirdly there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 different effects of those offices and gifts men labour in them with a different fruit and
having publike occasions they may be more publickly useful then otherwise ever their gifts could have been had they continued only as private Christians therefore the Lord having gifted men and thereby fitted them for the publike good he doth give unto them a call unto a publick office that thereby they may have opportunity to exercise these gifts that he hath given them which else in a private condition must needs in a great measure lie idle the man wanting opportunity to draw them forth as in an office he may do and thereby improve them so then officers there are by the appointment of Christ and we may not neglect them least we despise any institution and least we run into confusion and be enemies to our own perfection and edification and therefore it is a great fault in some Christians that they are without them sometimes they are without a Preaching Officer sometimes they are without Ruling Officers and all upon some curiosities they cannot have a man so qualified as they desire a man that hath eminent gifts or a great name an honourable repute there is a great deal of pride and vanity that men do manifest even in such things as these are that are spiritual pride as men glory in officers in Paul in Apollo c. They are said to be puffed up one against another 1 Cor. 4.6 that is they were puffed up for their Teachers and they grow proud and boast one against another because we have higher and more eminent officers then you therefore they despise one another and so they were in their boastings and glorying carnal there is a great deal of pride and vanity in mens glorying in them carnally when they have them and it s manifested in many that because their pride this way cannot be satisfied therefore they will chuse rather to be without them Secondly These officers have an office there is an employment and a power which is put into their hands by Christ for the good of the Church we read in Scripture of the power of the keyes Math. 16.18 which is an Ensin of Authority put for the Authority it self as to give a man a sword is to put the power of the sword into his hand to commit authority to him of which this is the Ensign and so it notes a Commission given by Christ unto some persons to rule in his house according to the order and the rules prescribed in the word and this power in Scripture is three-fold First it is Monarchical in respect of Christ the head Secondly it is Democratical in respect of the body of believers Thirdly Aristocratical in respect of the officers So Dr. Whitaker p. 2. pag. 519. there is a threefold power that belongs unto the members of a Church first a power of admission of members and of ejection of them therefore the people are taxed that they did not cast out the man there is a virtus expulsiva belongs to the body 1 Cor. 5.13 Take away from amongst you that wicked person and the same is the Judgement of Peter Martyr loc com p. 886. sect 9 10. where he doth peremptorily deny Absque Ecclesiae consensu quempiam excommunicari posse c. and if so ejusdem potestatis the same power that can cast out they only can admit for if the officers may admit without the body they may cast out without them also Secondly there is a power of Election they have a power given them by Christ to chuse their own Officers that the Apostles would not interpose but Acts 6. the Church do chuse their Deacons chuse out amongst your selves Thirdly there is a power also of admonition Math. 18.15 Take two or three with thee and admonish them and it is an authorative act for it is in a way of process after a private admonition hath been refused and if there were not such a power given unto the Church then First if Officers abuse their power they have no remedy against them they must lie under it for ever the Church having power to withdraw from any particular man may also do the same to an Officer Secondly then that Officer is without any remedy himself and he hath not the priviledge of the meanest member for if excomunication be an Ordinance and is for edification and to reclaim if an officer go astray and persevere in it it is a misery to be deprived of it but yet there is a power and authority that belongs to the Officers which must not be intrenched upon by the Community as to preach the word administer the seals observe the waies of the Church to visit the sick c. These are the acts of the Elders which the whole Congregation are not to meddle withal and though it is true that a private Christian may watch over his brother and visit the sick they are to do it yet he doth it not as an act of office but of brotherly love and Christianity only and there is a great deal of difference as it is one thing for a man to give an alms and another thing as a Deacon to communicate to the Necessities of the Saints as every one hath need the Church may chuse the Deacon but they cannot execute the office of a Deacon they must not give all of them their own alms because it is not the way into which Christ hath put it there is a great deal of difference between these two as it will appear in this we pray one for another ex charitate ut fratres non ex officio ut mediatores out of Love not out of office It is very different to do the same thing as a brother and as an officer these two powers must be kept distinct that as the Church must not meddle with the authority and power of the officers so neither must the officers ingross and take to themselves the whole power of the Church for in the primitive times it was not so Now these Officers have a power committed to them they are as the Churches servants and so they are to acknowledge themselves VVe preach our selves your servants for Christs sake and they are to manage it with all humility therefore not as Lords over Gods heritage for all is for the good of the Church and so the Angels are ministring Spirits because it is for the good of the Church though the greatest power and authority under Christ is committed unto them in ordering of all things here below but yet there is an authority committed unto them by Christ 2 Cor. 10.8 there is an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an authority given them for edification of the body c. though to keep in and cast out belong to the body yet they have a special hand in it and the managing of all the business of the body belongs to them wholly and therefore the names that they have do note a great deal of power and great authority they are not only called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Thes 5.13 men
set before other men and exalted above them for in Church societies it is not outward honours or wealth that exalts men men may be great men yet have but mean gifts and of little honour and esteem in the Church of God but also they are called by terms of authority they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this place and v. 7. they are your Guides Leaders and Commanders and therefore it is taken from the Master or Pilot in a Ship that turns it about to steer it in its right course and therefore they were of old called The Masters of Assemblies Eccl. 12. and this appears so much the greater if you do consider also that they speak to you in the name of Christ for 1 Thes 5.12 They are over you in the Lord and what they do require by vertue of their office they can do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as an Embassador hath great power because he speaks in the name of the King and they can enjoyn you as you owe obedience to Christ in whose name we speak and whose work we do therfore he that rejecteth you rejecteth me 1 Cor. 5.4 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ deliver such a man to Satan if they did it in their own name there were little power in it indeed but in the name of Christ there is great authority and there is this the more to be added because as it is a power given them by Christ and Christ is despised in them so it is a power given them by your own consent now for a man to give consent to put power into a mans hand and afterwards he denyes him the exercise of that power which he hath given him it is for a man to Judge and condemn himself in the thing which he himself allows therefore it layes a necessity upon you of subjection to this power both for conscience sake and as a thing that was done by your own free election and consent and so there is not only an authority that commands it but a Law of love also as a woman subjects her self to her husband not only as God hath commanded it and given him authority over her but also from a principle of love because this is the man that I did chuse to my self to obey and to be subject unto all my dayes therefore a double Law is broken in this respect and this still argues the greatness of an Officers power in the Church It s called the power of the keyes which doth note a very great authority and office Isa 22.22 power in the house the ordering of governing of all the affairs in a family shall go through their hands as it is said of Joseph what ever was done in all the land of Egypt he was the doer of it so it is true of them what ever is done in the Church of God it must go through their hands they must also be the doers of it and Math. 16.19 it is the keyes of the Kingdom of Heaven which is meant both of grace and glory a power to bind and loose in the Church by vertue of the Institution of Christ and what they do bind and loose or they remit or retain shall be so done in the world to come in the Kingdom of Heaven so that they shall open Heaven to the Church and if they shut them out heaven shall be shut out if they binde upon their consciences so will the Lord also in the world to come in Heaven and in this respect it is a far greater power then if a man had the keyes of the authority and Government of all the Kingdoms of the Earth Thirdly the subjects of this authority it is not the bodies lives of men or their estates but the authority is spiritual and it relates unto the soul only and this will appear First because it is managed only by spiritual means as the Kingdom of Christ is not of this world the management of things in the Church of Christ are not to be done in the way of the world it is not by any outward power and greatness or by authority and force of arms c. but all is ordered by the word 2 Cor. 10.5 The weapons of our warfare are mighty through God for it is this that is the Scepter of the power of Christ and all the authority that he doth exercise by his Ministers and Officers under him it is by the word only and if they wil not hear the word let such a man be unto thee a Heathen man let him be Anathema Maranatha to the coming of the Lord we must leave him as a man incurable we can do no more to him 1 Cor. 16.22 if the word will not reclaim him we have no way to deal with him but to set before him the Judgement that is written which if he despise then Church-Officers have no more to do but as they when they refused the Gospel did shake off the dust of their feet it will be easier for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Judgement they have no power either to imprison or afflict their bodies or seise upon their estates if they obey not they can only leave men to the Judgement of the Lord. Secondly answerable unto the power such are the censures and they are all spiritual they relate unto the soul they can inflict no corporal punishment upon men but the Punishment in Scripture and first a binding of their sins Joh. 20.21 as they pardon sin in the conscience and in regard of their Church-state by receiving them after sinning upon their repentance So there is a binding of sin upon the conscience convincing a man of the guilt of sin and also the putting him out of the society so that the mans sin is bound in his own conscience and before the Church and the Lord saith It shall be bound in heaven and shall not be pardoned to him or if he be godly he shall not have the sense of pardon till by this ordinance of Christ he be again received Secondly they withdraw communion with him 2 Thes 3.14 If any man obey not our word note that man and have no fellowship with him that he may be ashamed all this is in reference to the soul that the man may be reclaimed it is only Mingle not with him that when he shall see all godly men to avoid him as a Pest and his communion as some filthyness he may thereby take shame to himself Thirdly deliver him to Satan 1 Cor. 5.4,5 Ordinances are means to inflict spiritual Judgements as well as to convey spiritual Blessings cast him out by a Judicial act from the Assemblies of the Saints and so being cast out he is in the world where Satan rules he shall have nothing to do with Ordinances more and yet all this is with special respect unto his soul it is for the destruction of the flesh that the soul may be saved in the day of the Lord therefore all power
is for the good of the soul that is committed to the Officers of the Church Thirdly all their power is for spiritual ends all with relation to the soul First for preservation they do watch over them that they be not deceived with corrupt Doctrines lest being led away with the error of the wicked they should fall from their stedfastness and because VVolves will come in watch therefore take heed to your selves and to all the flock Act. 20.30 and also lest they be corrupted in their practises for a little leaven will leaven a whole lump therefore Church Officers are made watch-men to discover the danger that is coming upon them and to prevent it Secondly for their edification therefore S Paul saith The power was given for edification that he had authority in the Church it was that he might have the greater opportunity to edifie the Church of God and 1 Thes 5.12 They labour amongst you and admonish and instruct you all is for the edification of the body of Christ till we all come to the unity of the faith and to a perfect man Thirdly for their salvation all is done that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord 1 Cor. 5.5 and therefore the great care of all the Officers mentioned in Scripture hath been of the souls of men and to see their souls prosper and their graces thrive how ever it was with them in outward things if they were rich in faith and abounding in hope and full of good works though it went never so mean with them in outward things they were not afflicted with it and therefore Paul is mightily troubled when they are turned away from the Truths of the Gospel and when any of them do walk scandalously to the endangering of the souls of the rest of the body c. Fourthly Officers must give an account of souls that are committed unto them Here first every man must give an account to God for his own soul and his own waies for we must all appear before the Judgement seat of Christ to this end 2 Cor. 5.10 Secondly every man shall give an account of the souls of others so far as either they have been under his power or he hath had a hand or been instrumental in their destruction as the destruction of Israel will be charged upon Ieroboham who made Israel to sin and Lev. 19.17 Thou shalt not bear sin for him Ab alienis meis Austin Austin and it is a terrible thing to be Instrumental in any mans destruction Thirdly but Officers in a special manner that do take the charge of souls they shall give an account for them that is according to the terms of the Prophet Ezek. 3.17,18 If thou give him warning he shall dye in his sin the blood shall be upon his own head thou hast delivered thy own soul but if thou do not give him warning he doth perish but his blood shall be charged upon thee it shall be required at thy hands it is the guilt of blood that is the greatest guilt and of all bloods the blood of souls yet this is that which lyes upon you which Erasmus saith Erasmus are fulmina non verba it s a terrible thing to consider such a charge upon him with such a danger A man that considers what account he hath to give of his own sins he would not be willing to take upon him also the guilt of other mens sins and give account for them Fourthly all that are imployed by God there will come a time when they must come unto God and deliver up their charge for the talents that they have received I had five Talents here they are and are improved to five more the unprofitable servant must come also that hid his Talent in a Napkin and conscience shall give up its charge when it layes down its viatory office delivering the man up perfectly unto the grace of God and Christ the Kingdom which some as Chrysostom do understand of the Church of the Saints and that fitly and truly unto the Father I have kept them through thy name take them now to thy self that they may be with me where I am and so for a man to lie down in the dust with this account and to appear before God with this truth Of all the souls that thou hast given me this is my account that I have brought them unto thee safe here am I and the children thou hast given me Fifthly of all trusts in the world that of souls is the greatest First it is the great thing in the man and the man is lost when his soul is lost and therefore in one place it is said loose thy soul and in another loose thy self it is eternal destruction when the soul is lost it is more worth then a world it will not profit a man to gain the world if he loose his soul Secondly it is the great thing that Christ betrusts us with he doth prize it above all things else all other Talents that he gives us are but for the good of the soul and it was in love to the soul that Christ did and suffered all that he did for poor lost man it was meerly for the redemption of his soul the great thing that Christ hath an eye to is the soul the which he hath most glory and about which he hath laid out most grace Thirdly it is that which Satan doth most of all oppose and desire to destroy he is indeed Abadon he hates all man-kind but his chief aim is at the soul he is a murtherer but he will murther the soul if he can that is it which he doth charge all his volleys at he cares not for mens estates and for their honours it is their souls that is the great thing in his eye therefore there is nothing is in so much danger and there is no such trust committed unto a man as the souls of men it is a greater trust then to have the charge of all the Kingdoms of the world Sixthly surely then they had need know the souls well that are under their charge they had need of a very exact account of them and to keep an account of them that shall give this account before Christ at the last day and therefore all that are heedless in this office and that for low and poor ends undertake such a charge and are negligent and are wanting in that labour and diligence in it it doth plainly argue that men do judge the account of souls to be but a small thing and that which may be easily passed over and truly as he that hath no care of his own soul will never take care of an others so he that makes no matter of giving up an account to Christ of his own soul it is no wonder if it be a small thing to him if he had the burden of all other mens souls upon him also but he to whom the account of his own soul is dreadful he
come to Application First I desire to shew you what it is for a man to draw neer to God by sin every man he is departed from God the first design of sin is to draw a man away 1 Iam. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the further a man goes in a way of sinning the further he doth depart from God Inde 18. and all the lustings of their heart are ungodly lusts In this respect it is said the Prodigal went into a far Country Eph. 2.17 Now there is by reason of sin a double distance of enmity and estrangement The Apostle in Col. 1.21 puts them both together VVe are strangers and enemies in our minds through evil works now answerable to this double distance so must our returning to God be there must be a returning by reconciliation to take away your enmity and by Communion to take away your estrangement for Christs business is to bring us back unto God again 1 Pet. 3.18 First for Reconciliation that is not in Scripture called drawing neer so much as being made neer Eph. 2.17 You are made neer that were a far off by the blood of Christ so that by Reconciliation a man is put into a state of neerness and proquinquity That is the first thing whereby the creature returns to God but now being made neer being put into a state of union then Secondly The soul comes to draw neer that is the estrangement must be removed which is done by communion to exercise acts of communion observe it I pray I say a man must first be put into a state of neerness and made neer before ever he can exercise acts of communion and then draw neer Now this drawing neer is for a soul to come to God from day to day to improve his interest in him grow into more and more acquaintance and familiarity with him and you shall find that when a man is once brought into a state of union then the Lord calls him alwaies unto fellowship Open unto me my Love my Sister and my Spouse there are continual knocking 's of the Lord as for a further entrance there is a principle in us alwaies drawing back to perdition and you shall find that there is a Spirit within alwaies calling to draw neer unto God the Bride saith come and the Spirit saith come the Spirit in the Bride There is a great deal of distance between God and the best of the Saints for 2 Cor. 5. while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. So Ignatius of old he saith Aqua viva in me intrinsecus dicit veni ad Patrem that there was a living voice within him that alwaies called upon him And I beseech you consider a soul that is once put into a state of communion and hath tasted what it is to draw neer to God he desires a daily communion he is never neer enough he doth continually set it as a seal upon the heart When a man is once by reconciliation put into a state of neerness then in all Ordinances in all waies of obedience in his exercise of all graces the soul is said to draw neer that is to act and increase his fellowship and communion with God This I conceive to be the meaning of that expression Ioh 22.21 Acquaint thy self with God and be at peace so goodness shall come unto thee acquaint thy self with him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 assuesce te cum illo it is in the Hebrew and is rendred by some accustom thy self to be with him a daily commerce with God and an accustoming of a mans self with fellowship and communion with him this is properly to draw neer So that as Reconciliation taketh away your enmity so communion takes away your estrangement But you will say to me Can a creature draw neer to God if you look upon man in his natural distance God is in heaven you are upon earth can there be a drawing neer between finite and infinite cna finite and infinite have fellowship nay look upon man in his moral distance as a sinner and so can there be agreement between light and darkness can righteousness and unrighteousness have fellowship Surely God is a consuming fire and who can dwell who can engage his heart to draw neer to him Now give me leave I beseech you to clear this to you by proposing to you this consideration There is a two-fold state of a sinner There are some sinners that are in a state of estrangement unto God and whosoever you be that are here present the enmity of whose nature is not yet taken away and destroyed by a work of Reconciliation I say to you whatsoever you be you cannot draw neer to God you may have communion with duties you may pray you may hear but you can never have fellowship with God in those duties and that upon a double ground First because the enmity of your nature remains and two cannot walk together unless they be agreed and surely the neerer such a soul comes to God in any duty wherein Gods people approach to him the more God is provoked against him and the more he is estranged from him a strange expression that of the Prophet I saw him in Gilgal there I held my peace Gilgal was the place of worship the neerer any man comes the more a mans heart riseth against him and the more enmity doth encrease I saw him in Gilgal and there I held my peace you cannot draw neer to God the enmity of your natures still remains You cannot draw neer to God also Secondly because you have another society your fellowship is with unfruitful works of darkness and the fellowship the amity and love of the world is enmity unto God I remember Augustine complains concerning himself in the daies of his unregenerate condition speaking of the pride of the lusts of his Spirit Ecce hi sunt amici quibus consului quibus credidi these were the companions that I conversed with these were my friends and these were my Counsellors Now my Beloved whosoever he be that hath Communion with the unfruitful works of darkness it is no wonder if that man cannot draw neer to God I have told you already and I desire you would lay it to heart you must be made neer or else you can never draw neer you must be in a state of communion or else you can never have fellowship with God That is the first thing But there are a second sort of sinners that are made neer by the blood of Christ and these though God be in heaven and they are upon earth though they be sinners and the Lord be holiness it self nay though they in their own apprehensions shall say as Hooper once did Lord thou art Heaven I am Hell yet they may draw neer to him and that upon these six grounds I beseech you observe them A sinner put into a state of communion may upon these grounds draw neer to God The first is Gods
electing love the Lord hath separated unto himself the man that is Godly Psal 4.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is in the Hebrew he hath gloriously and miraculously wonderfully separated to himself into fellowship not only to himself for service but to himself for communion and what is the ground because you are predestinated unto followship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 My Beloved when you all fell from God as well as the Apostate Angels might not the Lord have left you in the same condition with them and your doom should have been cursed and therefore cursed because you must depart but if the Lord had been pleased to have been reconciled if he had said to you as David did concerning Absolom bring the young man home but let him returne to his own house and let him never see my face if the Lord should have said I will not remember their evil against them to destroy them but they shall never see my face more they shall be estranged to me for ever you would have said this had been a mercie even your preservation but this doth not satisfie Electing love there is a double end that electing-love aims at 2 Luke 14. it is peace and good will not only Reconciliation but Communion that God may take the creature into fellowship with himself and empty himself as I may so speak with reverence into the bosom of the creature Be pleased now to consider you may then draw neer to God upon this ground of Gods electing love Secondly you may draw neer to God grounded upon the nature of the Covenant of grace under which you stand My Beloved God deals with all mankind in a Covenant-way and according unto the Covenant under which he standeth so are all Gods dispensations towards him and to that end the Lord hath made a double Covenant with a double head The first Covenant was made with the first Adam the second Covenant with the second Adam and therefore God looks upon all mankind as if there were but two men in the world 1 Cor. 15.47 The first man was of the earth earthly the second man is the Lord from Heaven Heavenly God looks upon all mankind as coming under these two heads the first Adam and the second Adam Now the Covenant of grace which the Lord hath established it hath a double propertie First it is faedus amicitiae a Covenant of friendship the Lord doth take Abram as his friend Abram my friend James 2.23 Now the School-men tell us of two sorts of relations relatio disquiparantiae connotat dominium that notes subjection and dominion as between a King and a subject a master and a servant there is not so properly communion and relatio aequiparantiae quae denotat Communionem now the proper end of friendship is fellowship for a mans friend is as his own soul and the Covenant of grace is a Covenant of fellowship therefore they may draw neer unto him being taken by God into a Covenant of friendship 2ly the Covenant of grace is a matrimonial Covenant faedus Conjugale I betrothed her in Hos 2.9 you knowin this is the neerest Communion the surest oneness in this relation beyond al other in the world the greatest friendship by vertue of an Ordinance two made one One that was heretofore a stranger shall be dearer then Father or Mother and this voluntary relation by consent shall by vertue of the Ordinance of God be more powerful then a natural relation and a man shall leave Father and Mother and cleave to his wife and if there be this power in an Ordinance of God that is but civil what efficacy shall divine Ordinances and this spiritual Covenant have Surely thou shall lie in his bosom and have the more intimate and full communion with him for ever Now when the Lord will set forth the neer Communion that his people may have with him by this Covenant this he calls a Matrimonial Covenant Thirdly you may draw neer to God grounded upon your union with the Lord Jesus Christ The Apostle tells us 1 Cor. 6.17 that he that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit and by that Spriit we have access to the Father Eph. 3.12 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Apostle tells that our way to God is through him we have by Jesus Christ our manuduction he is the great Favourite that leads us in by the hand into the presence of the Father Eph. 2.18 through him we have an entrance to the Father by one Spirit Christ is not only medium reconciliationis but he is medium communionis also by his satisfaction the one by his intercession the other Jesus Christ my Beloved hath a double reference to us in the work of satisfaction he is the means of Reconciliation but in all our approaches unto God being reconciled Christ is the medium he it is by whom we have Communion with the Lord. Besides In the fourth place you may draw neer to God because of your conformity to him for we are made partakers of the divine nature 1 Pet. 1.4 and we live the life of God Eph. 4.18 and we have his Image restored 1 Cor. 15.49 Conformity is the ground of communion wheresoever it is Joh. 3.6 and the more Conformity the more Communion we have and when your Conformity shall be perfected so shall your communion be Take that place and it is a choice Scripture in that Zach. 3.7 If thou wilt obey my words keep my charge I will give thee places to walk in among those that stand by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 inter stantes illos who are these Those interpreters conceive to be Angels So Drusius Post mortem anima tua in chorum recipietur c. the Angels and the Saints they are taken into neerest communion So Calvin so that the more Conformity there is the more a man obeyeth God and the more he keepeth Gods charges the more the Lord will delight to give him places to walk in amongst those that stand by Nay In the fifth place you may draw neer to God for though God be in Heaven you may ascend and the soul may be above in Heaven when the body is walking here below there is a double way of the souls assent either in contemplation or affection In contemplation the soul may ascend John in Rev. 4. said I saw a door opened in Heaven and a voice said Come up hither John in his body ascended not but John in contemplation of his heart was above Col. 3 4. A man is worth as much as his love is worth Ezekiel when he was in Babylon by the River Chebar yet he saith the Spirit of God carried him in the visions of God to Ierusalem Ezek. 8.3 in his contemplation at Ierusalem and yet notwithstanding in his body in Babylon by the River Chebar And the soul may ascend in its affection Mat. 6.21 Where a mans treasure is there will his heart be and surely where a mans heart is there is his happiness
qui odium impetum totius orbis sustinui Communion with God keeps up a mans Spirit in this magnanimity Lastly fellowship with God keeps up a mans soul in a holy self-sufficiency if it be in prison God is his enlargement a good man is satisfied from himself Solomon saith so as he may enjoy God truly he is able to stand upon the ruines of the world and say that he hath lost nothing August I remember it is Augustines expression of the Bishop of Nola. The City was taken and sacked by the Goths that he did reason with himself having lost all his estate should he vex himself for the loss of silver and gold domine ubi omnia mea tu scis Lord thou knowest where all my treasure is laid up there is a holy self-sufficiency in regard of a mans fellowship with God Now this noble disposition communion with God will alwaies keep alive and active in the soul Let this serve for the Explication of the point I shall borrow but a little time for application I shall not hold you long Vse I would make but one Use of it and no more To exhort every one to put on Davids resolutions in the times in which you live It is good for me to draw neer to God make it your business to keep close and constant to him truly I fear many a man in publike employments I beseech you lay it to your own hearts I say I fear many a man many a godly man in publike imployments his heart runs out so much upon the things without him that he hath cause to complain as the Spouse doth the Church doth they made me keeper of the Vine-yards but my own Vine I have not kept I am afraid many in publike employments do much remit their private duties My Beloved there is a cloud that hangs over all the Reformed Churches and we have cause to fear that the sword is already bathed in their blood that great a consumption is determined upon them all whether we consider our fulness of sin or our fearlesness of Judgement First fulness of sin for we have certainly after pruning brought forth grapes of Sodom and clusters of Gomorrah truly I know whatsoever we may suppose of our selves I know no terms that God offers to creatures but this if you will not be chastised of me I will punish you seven times more and seven times more till I have destroyed you in decretis sapientum nulla est Litura And if Gomer begins once to bear in Hos 1. you see the pedigree of judgement she will never leave bearing till she hath brought forth Loammi perfect destruction therefore if you look to the ful-ness of sin Secondly If you look to the fulness of judgement truly I may say though it be sad to say it Ephraim England is a silly Dove without a heart gray haris are here and there and she knows it not Consider I beseech you but the juncture of time into which God hath cast us The time of the Witnesses prophecying in Sackcloth and ashes draws neer to an end and they do think by and by to put of their Sack-cloth and so some render that expression when they are about to finish their testimony and they thought they should by and by have put off their sack-cloth and ashes and have put on the garments of praise and glory then comes the killing of the Witnesses This I desire you to consider the killing of the Witnesses shall be shortly before Romes ruine Rev. 11. When they rise the tenth part of the City falleth which is whole Rome that which now remaineth being but the tenth part of what it was antiently and therefore doth syncronize with Rev. 18. Babylon being cast in the Sea as a mil-stone We have great reason to expect this to be coming on and then who are they that shall escape that great tribulation such as never befell the Christian Churches forrunning their great delivery that shall stand with the Lord with Palmes in their hands as tokens of victory none but those that having gone through great tribulation have washed their garments white in the blood of the Lamb and that is immediately before the seventh Trumpet soundeth and certainly whosoever shall observe both the course of the History and the course of Gods dispensation of providence must needs conclude it is not yet come Now in this consideration how good is it for to take this counsel of the Prophet It is good for a people to draw neer to God But you will say to me how should we draw neer A few directions with a word of Exhortation and I conclude There are these five Rules that I earnestly desire the Lord may write in your hearts that you may know how the soul ought to draw neer to God First be much in the use of all Ordinances for in them you do draw neer Lev. 10.3,4 God will be sanctified in those that come neer unto him you do draw neer in Ordinances this is the Bed wherein Christ and his Spouse do solace themselves and enjoy the sweetest of pleasures and it is of flourishing Ordinances that the Holy-Ghost speaks when he saith in Cant. 1.16 But yet in all your Ordinances pray observe to take heed that you do mark the special presence or absence of God in them else you may have communion with a duty when God withdraws himself and know that Gods withdrawing of himself from an Ordinance is a great judgement when the glory of the Lord departeth for then our Ordinances will be Wells without water Brests without milk there is a vanity in Ordinances as well as in creatures if God leave them But as it is a great judgement so it is the fore-runner of Judgement Oh that the Lord would set on that place upon your hearts Ezek. 10.2 the Lord saith to the Angel Go take fire from off the Altar and scatter over this City take fire from off the Altar If the glory of the Lord depart from the Temple then the fire of the Altar that before would serve to expiate their sins will now burn the City and there is no fire burns so hotly as that which is taken from off the Altar Nay I desire you to take this with you That as you must use the Ordinances and observe the spiritual presence or absence of God in them See That your Ordinances be pure Ordinances or else they will do you no good See that they be without humane mixture and sophistication there is a great deal of vanity and pride in men for truly vain man would be wise though he be born like a wild Asses colt and men love to exercise their wisdom in nothing more then in the things of God and therefore for matter of Ordinances they will pick and chuse I desire you to consider and you will find this Rule The less of Gods Order you have the less of Gods presence and the less of Gods blessing That is the
c. Fifthly God hath subjected things to come unto the prayers of his people and thereby joyn'd them as it were in the same commission with his Son the Lord Christ in the government of the world Isa 45.11 Ask me concerning things to come concerning my sons and concerning the workes of my hands command you me c. There are two things that the providence of God is extended to and they are either matters of common providence and they are concerning the works of his hands And also matters Ecclesiastical which concern his Church and all things to come concerning both he hath subjected unto the prayers of his people and therefore ye that are the Lords remembrancers keep not silence And therefore Revel 4.5 it 's said out of the Throne proceeded thunder and lightning and voices Out of the prayers of his people are the great Mercies and Judgements the great turnes of the world are brought about and accomplished by this the Saints working together with God and therefore at the last day when the causes of all things shall be layd open it will appear all these great things that are dispenst either in a way of Mercy or in a way of Judgement were attain'd by Prayer Vse of exhortation Exercise Faith about things to come for this promise that things to come are the Saints as it is a ground of Faith so also it should be a ground of Hope and a rule of Prayer Therefore let me exhort you in the name of the Lord be not sinfully dejected about things to come I would not have you ignorant of the signs of the times nor secure I would have you know the Judgement of your God for he that is wise shall know times and judgement but yet I would not have you distrust and walk dejectedly for what if the Witnesses be not yet slain that ultima clades ad huc metuenda What if the Enemyes of God prevaile once more to ripen them for their greatest and final ruin What if such a temptation should befall a poor soul that he thinks he should not be able to withstand What if I be left by God unto such a sin What if such a miscry and calamity should befall mee that GOD should take away my Friend which is as my own soul and such a Relation that I took comfort in c. What will become of the Church of GOD What will become of the Ordinances of GOD What will become of my Posterity when I am gone now the Enemy is sowing Tares amongst the Wheat I have Friends few where can a man find a faithfull man Let these be the Queries of ungodly men whose enjoyments are onely present and have no ground of hope for time to come I should have given you a few directions I can now only name two or three First Rowle thy self upon the promise Psalm 10.14 Jerem. 49.11 Leave thy fatherless children with me Secondly the same Fountain of Love and Goodnes that was extended to the Saints of old is extended also to thee There 's Mercy for the future as well as at present As Faith will purifie the heart so also it will pacifie it that it shall not be afraid of evill tidings But the consideration of the great Goodness of God will support the spirit of a man in any calamity whatsoever THE GREAT DAY At a private Fast JER 30.7 Alass for that day is great c. GOD hath subjected all the works of his Providence unto the Prayers of the Saints â—sa 45.11 and therefore though we are met hereupon a particular occasion and that private yet I hope it is with general intentions to seek God for the Publick also Which perswasion put me upon the choice of this Scripture at this time I shall not detain you in the Context though there may be many weighty observations drawn from thence The words are the words of the Lord Verse 5. we have heard a voyce of trembling and not of peace and is there a voyce of trembling unto Jehovah at whose presence the earth trembles and before whom the everlasting hills do bow There is a double apprehension of the speech First that the Lord speaks it in the person of his people as taking part with them being affected after the manner of men as it 's said Isaiah In all their afslictions he was afflicted So in their trembling he may be said to travel also to shew that he was like affected towards them 2. The Lord speaks in the Person of his People reproving them and instructing them reproving them that though the Lord saith we heard a voice of trembling socordiam exprobrat It was in it self a voice of trembling but the people trembled not I and the people that foresaw the calamity yet they were so unwise as not to tremble A wise man foresees the evil and he trembles all that were wise hearted did tremble but the generality of the people did not tremble and to instruct them the Lord directs them what they should say and how they should be affected with the calamities that were coming upon them We have heard a voice of trembling and the Lord would at the last extort that acknowledgment and confession from them how secure and senceless so ever they were under his present hand and when they were brought into the sence of it they should cry out Alass for the day is great c. Here is first Jacobs Affliction It 's the time of Jacobs trouble Secondly His Consolation But he shall be saved out of it Here first we are to consider what is meant by Jacob Jacob is commonly put for all the Tribes they being all called by their Fathers Name sometimes Jacob and sometimes Israel We see it put so Mich. 1.5 For the Transgression of Jacob is all this and for the sin of Israel Deut. 32.9 What is the Transgression of Jacob Is it not Samaria c The Lords portion is his People Jacob is the Lot of his Inheritance But Israel was before these times carryed into Captivity and God had by Salmanasar removed them out of his sight only Judah did yet rule with God and was faithful with the Saints There was a Remnant of the faithful of Israel that rather then they would joyn in worship with Jeroboam some of the Levites and the people 2 Chron 11.14,16 they left their possessions and in the desolation of the ten Tribes they were preserved but when they had peace what the Lord had done they were neither moved by his Mercy unto themselves nor by his Judgments upon their brethren But They provoked the Lord they justified their Sister by their evil doings Therefore those that were preserved in the former calamity there 's a Judgment also remains for them there 's a rime of tryal that yet is reserved for Jacob and these were the people amongst whom the Prophet lived For he was in the Court of the Prison when Jerusalem was taken and this is called
Jacobs trouble Lam. 1.17 The Lord hath commanded concerning Jacob that the Adversaries shall be round about c. therefore by Jacob here is meant only Judah that is the two Tribes that did not depart from God in the Revolt and Apostacy of the ten Tribes and that those of Israel that for conscience sake did leave their Habitations and went and dwelt in Judah and Jerusalem yet there 's a time of trouble for them also 2. What 's meant by the time of trouble It 's in the Original Hab. 3.16 tempus augustiae a time of straits which is called a day of straits when the Lord did come up upon them and invade them with his Troops for so the Army of the Babylonians is called when they should be led into Captivity by the will and command of others for their Persons and Estates to be made use of as a prey to serve the wills and ends of strangers and servants For strangers Jer. 30.8 Strangers shall no more serve themselves of them And for servants Lam. 5.8 Servants rule over us and there 's none to deliver us out of their hands Now when the walls of the City were broken down the Temple destroyed the Worship of God prophaned and all the Ordinances of God trampled under foot all Order Authority deposed and all things subjected unto the wil and lusts of a conquering Army now it was a time of straits great straits in point of conscience for they would now be working them about to their way and perswading them to worship their Gods Jer. 10.11 Now to be under the power of men and not to be subjected to their lusts and serve the lusts of men it 's a great strait and straits also in respect of the affliction having their lives alway hanging in doubt having their bread by weight and their water by measure and in respect of succour in a great strait also for there was no deliverer Lam. 1.3 All her Persecutors overtook her between the streights that there was no escaping no way to avoyd them and therefore 2 Tim. 3.5 These shall be difficult times in which men should meet with great and variety of straits that they should not know which way to turn themselves c. Thirdly it 's called a great day magnum pro formidabile Cal. Terribilis aut mire calamitosa à magnitudine supplicii magnus nominatur Theodor. And we doe read of five Great Dayes in the Scripture First the day of the Lord spoken of in Malach. 4.6 I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the great and terrible day â—f the Lord that is interpreted Luk. 1.17 of John Baptist who was to be the forerunner of Christs coming And this is called a great day for the great manifestations of God wherein life and immortality should be brought to light by the Gospel the great changes of Ordinances and the great destruction of the Enemies the terrible Judgements that should then be poured out for Mal. 4.1 The day cometh that shall burn as an Oven and all that do wickedly shall be stubble that is when the Sun of Righteousness doth arise with healing in his wings c. And for the terrible Judgements that under the Gospel the Lord would pour out upon the world and that is meant Acts 2.28 Joel 2.3 The Sun shall be turned into darkness the Moon into blood before that great day of the Lord come It 's spoken of the great Judgements that the Lord Christ would pour out upon the world and thereby make way for the receiving the Gospel publickly for he doth shake Heaven and Earth and thereby makes way for the coming of the desire of all Nations for out of the Throne when Christ is exalted comes thunderings and lightnings and voices Rev. 4.5 Secondly there 's the great day of Jezreel Hos 1. last That is when the Lord shall call home his antient people and gather together the outcasts of Israel Which shall be a day in which the Lord shall appear in his glory for when he doth build Zion he doth appear in his glory a day of the restitution of all things a day of enriching of the world a day when new Jerusalem shall come down from God out of heaven and a day in which the kingdoms of the earth shall be given to the Lord and his Christ and there shall not be any more any pricking bryer or any grieving thorn in all the land there shall be no more a Canaanite in the land forever all persecuting Powers shall be subdued Thirdly there 's a great day when the battel Armageddon shall be fought Rev. 16.14 When all the Powers of the earth shall rally and gather together their broken Troops against the Church of God they shall be the greatest combination that ever hath been and in which all the opposite Powers shall be utterly and finally broken and thereby way shall be made for the vial poured upon the air which brings in the binding of Satan chap. 20. Now this battel with the issue of it we have chap. 19.19,20,21 Now from the great preparations that the enemies do make and the great destruction which then they shall be sure to find and the great things which shall follow upon this and that in this day the Lord will make way for therefore it 's called the great day of God Almighty when the Lord shall fulfil all his promises and prophecies and Christ shall be cloathed with a garment dipt in blood and his name shall be called the Word of God Fourthly the day of Judgement is a great day also the Angels are said to be reserved in chains of darkness unto the Judgement of the great day for then shall the son of man sit upon the throne of his glory and all Nations shall be gathered together before him and he shall separate them one from another as a Shepheard divides his Sheep from the Goats c. and he shall then passe a finall sentence an eternall judgement upon the eternal estates of men and set a gulph between them for ever which they shall never pass when he hath so done he shall resign or give up his kingdom unto God the Father and then all the present wayes of administration shall cease Fifthly when the Lord brings any speciall judgement or affliction upon his people that also is called a great day Zeph. 1.14 the great day of the Lord is near it 's a day of darkness and gloominess a day of clouds and thick darkness that Trumpet and Alarum against the fenced Cities and against the high Towers it 's a threatning of the same Judgement there which here the Prophet speaks of the captivity of Babylon and it s called the great day of the Lord and so it 's here called also Fourthly it 's said that it 's such a day that there is none like to it that is First it is the greatest evil that ever befell that people they had been smitten with Pestilence with scarcity
Alamoth pro occultis for Gods hidden ones Psal 46.1 If the Saints are in the pit in which there is nowater now turn to your strong holds ye prisoners of hope satis praesidii in uno Deo Secondly Satan being the God of this world he doth alwaies rule the present world which God hath redeemed the Saints from Gal. 1.4 And the children of disobedience walk in the course of the present world The world is cast into variety of shapes but into what form soever the present evil world is cast into Satan is the god of the world and he doth apply himself to rule the world under all the forms into which the Lord doth cast it And therefore Hier om saith wel Erras mi frater erras si putas unquam Christum persecutione non pati c. If the world be Pagan Satan rules in the great Red Dragon and so brings the Saints into their time of straits If the face of the world change and it turn Christian then Satan rules also in that and casts out a flood after the woman If that Flood be dryed up then Anti-christ doth arise and he rules in him as a false Prophet and afterwards 2 Tim. 3.1,2 If a form of godliness be brought in under that he will rule and men be lovers of their own selves proud boasters treacherous high minded and despisers of those that are good and therefore there must needs be straits in all estates that shall await the Saints of God Thirdly the more spiritual light grows the greater are the straits that the people of God are brought into First because the more are their consciences seared 1 Tim. 4.2 It is not a cold Iron that will seare the Conscience but when there is evident clear convincing light and men be told of it and yet wil go against it their Consciences are seared by it and in Judgement they are given over unto a reprobate mind Secondly the more they are exasperated against the Truths of God because they do come nearer unto the sin against the Holy Ghost which is the Devils sin and it doth consist in malice upon a high and a rais'd light No men were so cruel as the Pharisees that did sin against the Holy Ghost and therefore if prophecying in sackcloth and ashes would satisfie the lusts of men in times past now killing is not sufficient but their dead bodies shall not be buried to express their former malice and rage against them and therefore in the latter times the straits of the people of God must needs be greater then ever they have been in times past Fourthly God wil by this make way for an utter ruin of the Churches Enemies the greater straits they do bring the Saints into the nearer is their destruction and the sooner will God arise I have seen the affliction of my people that are in Aegypt and I have heard their cry For the Churches Enemies must perish by the Churches hand and therefore they are said to be a cup of trembling and a burthe some stone The Church brought that mighty people into a condition fit to be consumed Jerusalem was to them a cup of trembling now they think to drink it off and it proves their poyson and when they have brought them to extremity that they thought all had been sure then they themselves perish It 's by the Churches straits that the Enemies are ruinâ—d When the ploughers plowd upon their backs and made long their furrows then will the Lord cut the cords of the wicked Psal 129.3 The Use is for Consolation to all the people of God and this I will reduce unto three Questions First with what mind God doth bring his people into straits What the thoughts of God are towards them when he doth it And here we shall see that God thinks thoughts of peace to them all the while and not of evil Jer. 29.11 Secondly in what measure will the Lord do it Thirdly unto what end For the first With what mind does the Lord bring his people into straits What are the thoughts of God towards them when he doth it First he doth it from a principle of Love and their Afflictions are grounded on the Second Covenant as their Mercies are other mens afflictions are from the First Covenant as a fruit of the Curse Mich. 7.9 the Church saies there I will bear the indignation of the Lord c. Why is God in indignation with his own people indeed he is angry with the wicked every day There is a double anger of God simplex redundans in personam he is angry at his peoples sins but yet he loves their persons and he afflicts them from a principle of faithfulness Psal 119.75 For he hath covenanted to keep them from the evil of the world he is to preserve them unto his heavenly Kingdom and he does as I may say sometimetimes preserve them in Salt and somtimes in Sugar as we use to doe with some things that we would preserve Secondly God looks upon your suffering as the suffering of Christ the Saints being one with him their services are Christs and their sufferings are Christs they bear fruit in him they live in him Col. 1.24 So they fill up what is behind of the sufferings of Christ Thirdly whilst he doth smite them he is afflicted with them in all their afflictions he is afflicted though Christ be in heaven yet he has the same nature there that he had here and he stands in the same relation to us now he is in glory that he did here he is not ashamed to call us brethren and therefore his compassion still remains Jer. 31.22 Since I spake against him I remembred him still my bowels are troubled for him The heart of God goes out unto all the Saints in their afflictions Fourthly whilst he doth afflict them he doth wait to be gracious Isa 30.18 He doth not defer deliverance because he is not willing to bestow it but because his people are not prepared for it that 's the reason they are so long out of glory Col. 1.12 because they are not yet meet to be partakers of the Inheritance with the Saints in life and to make them so he doth sit by as a Refiner and he will only purge away their dross by their afflictions Fifthly all the while they are in straits he doth take special notice of their sufferings and he is deeply displeas'd with the Instruments that afflict his people and he is preparing for their ruin all the while for he takes special notice of their wrong Rev. 2.2 I know thy work and thy labour and thy patience c. Exo. 3.7 I know their sorrows He hath a bottle for their tears Secondly he is deeply displeased with the Instruments Zach. 1.15 He sent his people into Babylon but yet I am sore displeased with the heathen I was but a little displeased and they helped forward the affliction So that whilst God doth use them as the rod of his anger
he is angry with them Thirdly he is all the while the Enemies are afflicting of his people preparing for their overthrow Zac. 1.21,23 When he doth raise up horns he doth provide Carpenters also And Jesus Christ all the while is preparing for to be his peoples rescue though they see him not yet he is behind the Mirtle-trees at the bottom Zach. 1.8 Sixtly he will make their affliction to be the great means of their exaltation Jacob shall arise when he is small The killing of the Witnesses made way for their Resurrection the more glorious These are the thoughts and the mind of God towards Jacob in the day of his trouble Secondly in what measure will he do this Jer. 30.11 I will correct thee in measure but not leave thee altogether unpunish'd And here consider these five particulars First it shall not be according to the desert of your sins Ezra 9.13 I have punished you lesse then your iniquities deserve He will not stir up all his wrath Psalm 28.38 It 's the Lords mercy we are not consumed We might have been in Hel as well as in Babylon Secondly it shall be but according to the measure of your necessities He doth afflict but when need is 1 Pet. 1.6 And it shall be no farther than need is Isa 28.24 He will not alwayes be ploughing there is a sowing time so much breaking of the ground as wil prepare it for the seed and no more Thirdly it shall be proportionable to a mans place in the mystical body of Christ There are some vessels of Gold and some of Silver 2 Tim. 2.20,21 Christ the head was the first born amongst many brethren Rom. 8.29 And as all the brethren are not called forth to the like eminent services so all are not called to the like eminent sufferings Fourthly it shall be proportionable to their strength 1 Cor. 10.13 He will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able and he will give in supplies of graces suitable unto the suffering 2 Cor. 12.9 My grace is sufficient c. Isa 28.27 He doth not turn the cart wheele on all the Corn but he hath a staffe for the fitches and a rod for the cummin c. He takes measure of your graces of your spirits and of your strength and he doth give it unto you proportionable to your need Fiftly there are alwaies some mitigating circumstances that do abate and sweeten the affliction non dantur purae tenebrae there is a light between the peeces Gen. 15.17 First God doth sometimes give them favour in the eyes of their enemies Psal 10.6.96 he made them to pitty them that carried them captive Joseph shall find favour with the Keeper of the prison and Daniel with the chiefest of the Eunuchs Secondly what is wanting in outward blessings he will make up to them inspiritual ordinances Isa 20.20 Though he doth feed them with the bread of affliction and the water of trouble yet their eyes shall see their Teachers Thirdly if they have none of these yet they shall have his gracious presence with them inlarging of their hearts that with Paul and Silas they shall sing in a prison and be able to say it was good for me that I was afflicted As one of the Martyrs sayd I was in prison till I came into prison nil crus sentit in nervo dum animus est in coelo Thirdly unto what end doth the Lord do this Every wise Agent works for an end and the more wisdom he hath the higher ends he aims at in every action and the more ends he doth make to meet in every thing that he doth Isa 30.18 The Lord is a God of Judgement It 's there put for Wisdom He orders and moderates all things in reference unto the end that he doth aim at and as the Lord in all his waies is wonderful in wisdom and counsel so he is in all the afflictions of the Saints there is much wisdom seen in his high ends that he has in afflicting his people and in making many ends to meet I 'll name four great ends First the Lord doth bring his people to straits to prevent sin 1. In the rising of lust 2 Cor. 12.9 that I might not be exalted c. 2. The acting of lust if it doth arise Job 33.17 He doth chastise a man with strong pain it is to keep man from his purpose and to hide pride from his eyes When he hath taken up an evil purpose there is a cross interposeth interactum primum secundum 3. For the finishing of sin Hos 2.6,7 He hedg'd up their way they were going on in it but God doth put a stop in their way as men do to beasts their way is hedg'd up Secondly the Lord doth bring his people to straits for their Instruction Mich. 6.9 There 's not a rod but it hath a voice Beasts feel the rod but the Saints they hear it 1. God does it to let them see the evil of sin for a man is held with the cords of his own sin Prov. 5.22 Ezek. 7.10 As pride doth bud so doth the rod blossom 2. God doth it to let them see the emptiness of the creature Gal. 6.14 I rejoice in the cross of Christ for by it the world is crucifyed unto me and I unto the world He was thereby enabled to look upon the world as a crucified thing that they may see they are but strangers and pilgrims and therefore should seek a country and hasten home 3. To let them know what it is to have fellowship with the suffering of Christ Phil. 3.10 There 's a fellowship of the sufferings of Christ that the Saints desire to know experimentally in themselves that as Christ was supported under suffering so may they and as he was perfected by suffering so may they also be for he did in suffering leave himself an example 1 Pet. 2.21 as well as in dying Thirdly for their sanctification 1. To purge their corruption the bundle of folly the rod of correction must drive out Zach. 13,8,9 Two parts shall be cut off and dye and the third part shall passe through the fire to refine them as silver and they shall call upon my name and I will hear them 2. To improve their Graces for he doth it to make them partakers of his holyness Heb. 12.10 And he will do it in a higher way by a cross sometimes then by an ordinance he will make the way foul and the soul fruitful Jam. 1.3.4 Tribulation works patience and patience experience and experience hope c. There 's a sweet influence in these showres of affliction that ripen the graces of the Saints Thirdly it 's to prepare them for services 1 Cor. 1.5,6 He comforted us in all our tribulation that we might be able to comfort others with the same consolation 1 King 4.31 Heman is counted one of the wisest men of the world and in Psalm 88. we see how he attained it by being train'd up in the
no other opposition or temptation whatsoever â—…meron Lastly In respect of the Consequences and Issues of â—ath so also there is something in death peculiar to he â—ints First by death they are delivered from the powâ— of Satanâ— grace here in this life doth free a man from â—…e Dominion of Satan but it doth not free him from â—…s temptations and to be continually annoyed with the â—…llutions and suggestions of this unclean spirit for the â—…cked one to touch them 1 Joh. 5. tactu qualitatiâ—o is â—e great affiction of their lives and it is that wherein â—eir spiritual warfare doth mainly lye it was not the â—st part of the humiliation of Christ for Saâ—an to have â—…ch an access to him and to propose such suggestions â—s 〈◊〉 this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship 〈◊〉 when he had but onely an access unto Christ by representations from without and not by suggestions within but he hath by reason of the darkness that is in us a more immediate access unto our spirits but our warfare shall be at an end and we shall be for ever freed not onely from the dominion but the temptation of Satan forever Christ makes use of the Angels in Ministerium and the devils in exercitium but both but for the time of this life and no more and therefore in the world to come after death there shall be no more of either to the Saints for ever 2. From the being and in-dwelling of sin which is the great misery that the Saints complain of Rom. 7.24 but he that is dead is free from sin that natural fountain of corruption original sin shall be perfectly dryed up and the soul shall never think a vain thought never speak an idle word any more for ever nay they shall not only be freed from sin actually as Adam was but even from a possibility of sin also that as the wicked after death are given up to sin as part of their torment and are in malo obfirmati so the Saints shall be in bono confirmati not onely they shall not sin but be freed from the fear of a possibility to sin for ever 3 For the perfection of their grace the Saints have here the first fruits of the earnest of glory and that is so precious to them that they sell all to buy it and count all things loss and dross in comparison of it and yet still there are many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things wanting in their faith and their love c. but 1 Cor. 13.10 then that which is perfect will come and that which is but in part shall be done away and these first fruits shall be swallowed up of glory 4 They shall be with Christ and receive the reward that he has prepared for them they shall enter into their masters joy here in this life Christ is said to be with us but after this life we are said to be with him yea to be ever with him he shall never hide his face more but it shall be communion without intermission and without interruption for ever says Bernard Christus est cum Paulo magna securitas Paulus est cum Christo summa faelicitas If a little of the presence of Christ be so sweet here when we have it in his spirit O what will his eternal presence in glory be thus dyes the wise man thus he enters into peace thus he rests upon his bed having walked before God in uprightness 2. Doct. When the righteous man dyes he is taken away from the evil to come the Lord had formerly told them that evil was prepared a sword was already barhed in heaven to make a sore slaughtâ—r and in verse 9. of the former chapter the Lord invites the beasts of the field to come and take their part of the prey now these are some that the Lord will hide in the day of his wrath Zeph. 2.3 the Lord hath a double hiding place for his people in evil times sometimes he hides â—hem in his pavilion and the secret of his Tabernacle upon the earth his chambers of peculiar providence and sometimes he hides them in the grave even the chambers of death in which in times of affliction Gods people do desire to be hid Job 30.23 and many of them are hid in meâ—cy from the evil that is coming on the earâ—h Thus when a flood came upon the world God provided an Ark for Noah and as he had an Ark for Noah so he had a grave for Methusalah who is conceived to be taken away the same year that the flood came upon the earth Gods usual course is either his people shall stand in the gap to turn away his wrath and his judgements which sometimes are deferred for the elects sake and if the Decree of God be gone forth and the judgement must come then the Lord takes his people out of the way before it come so the Lord dealt with Hezekiah he defers the judgement till after his death there shall be peace and truth in his days and Iosiah the Lord says to him because thy heart was tender Thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace and shalt not see the evil that I will bring upon this place and the inhabitants thereof thereforâ— the Lord Rev. 19.13 having described the rise of Antichrist and the general pollution ond corruption that should follow all men should worship the beast and wonder after him blessed are the dead 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from henceforth were they not blessed before yes all that dyed in the Lord are blessed from the beginning of the world but now to be taken away in a time of so great tryal it is a more special mercy upon these three accounts chiefly 1 That they may be preserved from the pollution of the times in which they live therefore the Lord takes them away it is a very hard matter for Gods people to live in times exceedingly evil and yet to pass through such times 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unspotted and and not to have a taint and tincture of the present corruptions upon them to keep their garments whiteâ— now that the Lord may preserve his people unspotted from the world he doth translate them before hand takes them away from the evil to come 2 The Lord takes them away that they may be freed from the vexations that his people are in when the abomination of desolation is set up as Lot when he lived in Sodom they vexed his righteous from day to day with their ungodly deeds Gods people are mourners in Sion and they do with that their eyes were a well of water to weep for the sins as well as for the sufferings of the times and the Lord sees that their spirits cannot bear such dishonor as is done to his great Name and therefore he takes them away beforehand to better company even the souls of just men made perfect 3. God takes them away from the persecutions and afflictions of the times
for he knows our frame and in all our afflictions he is afflicted therefore the Lord does as we our selves would do in the same case if we had a child abroad at school and we did foresee some great evil either of pestilence or famine to be neer unto that place where the child was we would send for the childe home beforehand that he might not partake in the misery with the rest so God hath put his people to nurse to school in this world and if there be evil neer he doth send for his people home beforehand and cause them to go forth out of the world to pr serve them from the evil of it 3. Doct. Therefore when godly men are so taken away it is matter of serious consideration and high lamentation unto them that survive and it s their sin if they do it not it is that which David doth complaiâ— of and bewail Psal 12.1 there is not a godly man left and the faithful fail amongst the children of men and they were wicked ones that were exalted on every side Mic. 7.1 the good man is perished out of the earth the godly men were taken away so that when the Prophet did come to seek them he was as men that did seek grapes after gleaning found here and there one and as one that seeks the first ripe fruits but finds none for the good man is perished and there is none upright amongst men for they all do lye in wait for blood every man hunts his brother with a net and when the world is preparing their nets to catch the Saints then God withdraws them from the world and their loss should mightily assect us Consider these three things First The Saints are our glory as they are Gods Iewels so they are the excellent ones of the earth and so they should be to us 2 Cor. 8.23 it 's said they are the messengers of the Churches and the glory of Christ and those that Christ glories in we should also glory in and as we should rejoyce in the addition of any one into the number of the Saints amongst us so we should look upon it with mourning and grief of heart that any of that number be taken away and the more useful any man is to the Church the more honorable he should be in your eyes they are vessels of honor sitted for the masters use Now as scandalous professors are spots in your feasts so sincere ones are stars and it is a great abasement and the eclâ—psing of the glory of a Church to have an eminent light put out of it Secondly When the Saints are taken away it 's a dangerous sign that wrath is determined because the Lord takes away and withdraws the pillars of the Earth from off the earth it was a sign that Samson intended the fall of the house when he pluâ—kt down the pillars the Lord doth commonly before judgement come make way for his indignation and one special way by which he doth it is by taking away those that stand in the gap to divert it the Lord may say to Moses let me alone but yet Moses will still wrastle with the Lord but when Moses is gone now who shall strive with God for his people Thirdly All our protection defence and blessing depends upon the Saints that are amongst us for it is by their Covenant that the world stands and that all the Creatures are continued â—n their being and let me tell you after the Lord has gathered in the wheat into his barn it will not be long ere he does burn he chaff with unquenchable fire if he do but once say to his people Come â—e blessed go ye cursed to the wicked they will quickly follow after and therefore they do so bewail the taking away of Elijah as the Chariot of Israel and the horseman thereof their strength and their fence was gone for this is a truth the strength of a Nation next to God lyes in the Saints they are the shields of the earth for if it be for their sakes that the world stands God will provide a place for them of safety when the rest of the world is consuming as we see in Zoar a place may be preserved for the sake of the people of God and indeed they are the partition wall between wicked men and temporal wrath yea and eternal wrath it is the Saints that keep the wicked so long out of hell whatever the world thinks of them they are a blessing to the world Gen. 12.2 Mic. 5.7 as the showers upon the grass are a blessing so are the Saints by their prayers and their Counsels and their pains and their gracious example and holy conversation every way a blessing so that as Nazianzen saith of Iulian when he was smitten and had a wound it was to him indeed Lethale vulnus But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So we may invert it and say this of a saint that dyes 't was indeed a happy wound for him for to be with Christ is best of all but though a saint have advantage by it yet it is a misery to the place to the Church to the Commonwealth where such a one lived â—ea even the whole world is a loser by the death of a saint and therefore Iudah was so sensible of the loss of gracious Iosiah that they made a great publick mourning yea a yeerly mourning for a long time after sine supplicationibus non staret mundus is the Jews proverb the world is upholden by the prayers of the saints Vse Hence learn that the ways of holiness are the best ways for that is the best way that leads a man to the best end there is a double goodness in holy walking First absoluta there is a goodness in it self it being a conformity to the good will of God Secondly There is a goodness in holâ—ness which is respectiva in respect of the end unto which a man is thereby brought and we see finis dat mediis bonitatem amabilem I know that the unworthy would have many prejudices against the ways of holiness the Saints in their lives are afflicted and chastised every moment and they go mourning all the day long and they cannot put themselves in the glory of the world cannot partake of the jollity of the times as he saith spiritus Calvinianus est melancholicus but look not upon their outside but their inside look not upon them in their life but in their death and then let me tell the greatest gallant of you all you will give a world to change estates with them at their death in whose life thou wouldest by no tearms be conformable unto What would Dives have given after all his glory all his delicacy to have changed with Lazarus in his death let it be your work therefore to dye the death of the righteous and to set this the more home upon your spirits take these four considerations 1 Consider the great end why we came into the world was that
we might learn to dye well for Heb. 9 27. it is appointed to all men once to dye but death comes not presently and the end of a mans life is that he may consider his latter end Deut. 32.29 men do not live here to get riches and injoy the good things that are present and the pleasures of sin are but for a season this life is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the school of death which teaches men how to dye 2 It is the last act of a mans life the close of all his actions and for a man in his life to burn as a Torch to shine as a light and afterwards to go out in a snuff as the foolish Virgins and the foolish Builders in Iobs affliction there was nothing desirable but yet there was in the end which God made with him that which was very desireable Iulius Caesar when he was taken in the Senate he plucked down the robe he wore about him Ut honestè caderet It is the night that commends the day mark the end of the righteous man his end is peace 3 At death all outward excellencies will leave a man Iob 4.21 their excellency goes away and they dye without wisdom for though there be a flower in the grass which has a glory in it yet Psal 90.11 it quickly comes to nothing so shall all the excellencies that men so pride themselves in their learning parts wisdom and policie knowledge in the Scripture and in the common works of grace it is all but flesh and will take its leave at death and it will be said of you as one of the Antients said of Caesar who was one of the greatest men in the world in his time Ubi nunc pulchritudo Caesaris quò abiit magnificentia tua What is become of his glorious magnificence his Armies Triumphs and Trophies 4 At death your eternal states are cast it is aeternitatis ostium the door of eternity there is a Double time set to the sons of men 1 A time of working 2 A time of rewarding A time of working here they toyl and labo urbut at death the Lord doth call the labourers to give them their hire every man shal have his peny but after death comes judgement there is no more time of working for after death remains nothing but judgement then for ever But what shall a man do that he may be blessed in his latter end I will set before you these five things and the Lord teach you to profit by them 1 Let me exhort you to get union with Christ and thereby thou art translated from death to life for this is a truth no man dyes well that doth not dye in the Lord. What a sad thing is it to think that a second death must follow death rides before and Hell follows after nihil facit mortem malam nisi quod sequitur mortem when death in sin went before and eternal life is not begun in thee 2 Serve thy Generation and thereby lay up a good foundation against that last day Act. 13.36 Fight the good fight and finish thy course be abundant in the works of the Lord It s said of Saul Sam. 13.1,2 he reigned two years over Israel he reigned twenty yeers but after he was rejected of God no more is counted of him nor will it be unto all those that spend their lives unprofitably that are but as empty trees onely serve to cumber the ground are unprofitable both to God and man vita fabula est in qua non refert quam diu sed quam bene 3 Number your days and consider your latter end with Joseph of Arimathea walk with thy Tomb. A man shall not need much Arithmtick to number his days they are so few and yet he will need a great deal of grace to number them they are so evil and so death shall come upon thee not as a stranger but as a friend that brings peace along with him and rest 4 Exercise faith much on the dying graces of Christ and the promises the Lord made Ioh. 16. to all Christians dying as well as living of his fulness we shall receive grace for grace it is our business in this world to be made conformable unto Christ not onely in our life but also at our death and then the Lord says of his people they shall be mine Mal. 3.17 what a glorious creature will a Saint be in that day when God himself looks on him as a Iewel 1 Cor. 3.21 all things are yours then a Saint enjoys perfection enough when he has a full possession of God Psa 16.11 in thy presence are fulness of joys and on thy right hand are rivers of pleasures for evermore and then when a Saint has such a glorious advantage by death shall not we say blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord 5. Lay up a treasury of prayers that thou mayst be fitted for this great change if a man be in any straight or any sad condition nature will prompt him to seek relief and he will take any course that may deliver him out of it especially since God hath made such a promise Call upon me in a time of trouble and I will hear you and if a man be so careful to avoid and prevent these lesser changes that they may not do him harm how much more should he be industriously careful touching this great change Psal 34. the Psalmist begs that he may know his latter end Psa 90.12 so teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom and therefore a man should lay up a treasury of prayers in his life time and they will be as so many comforts to him on his death bed he shall then have a gracious answer of all those prayers Vse 2. Let us lay to heart the loss of the righteous man that we be not guilty of that sin condemned in the Text. I know it has been a thing condemned or at least always suspected funeral Panegyricks as being a badge of the false Prophet and by a funeral Oration we do as the Papists do think to send souls to heaven after their death even those that have been posting to hell all their life but yet seeing the name of the righteous is as a precious oyntment poured out and that precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of all his Saints and seeing it was an Antient custom to do the Saints of God honor at their death I think it but our duty to consider of our loss in this brother at this time though it be but to carry a torch after him to his long home first he was a man of a gracious spirit in whom the Lord had wrought the good work and a through work of Regeneration he was one that feared God above many that had truly given up his name to Christ one that had oyl in his vessel and did not onely shine by profession before men one that was not indulgent
to the Crown and he being a gracious man did turn from all the abominations of his fathers and the land having peace for the first ten years of his reign he spent that whole time in reformation in reforming the corruptions of Religion and thought himself as a Magistrate so highly concerned in it that he used his power to take away the Altars of the strange Gods c. and his Authority was not onely destructive as some would allow the Magistrates to destroy what they will so they build nothing but it was astrictive also for he commanded Iacob to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to do his Law and his commandments This glorious work of Reformation being begun for about ten years carryed on never was any great work so begun in this world but mighty mountains of opposition have been raised against it nowhere is an Army of Ethiopians raised against him the greatest that we read of in any story of a thousand thousand chap. 14.9 and though it may be it was not their direct aym to hinder the work of Reformation yet this doubtless was Satans aym in stirring them up for as the aym of the good Angels is beyond that of the Instruments which many times they use Dan 10. last and when I am gone forth lo the Prince of Graecia shall come He shall fight with the Prince of Persia but is over-ruled therein to another end then himself intended So is the aym of the evil Angels also but the Lord who delights in Reformation and loves to see Temple-work go on will not suffer this good work to perish under so great an opposition and therefore this mighty Army shall not stand before a Reforming Prince and a praying people but they were all smitten before the men of Iudah and they returned home to Ierusalem laden with the spoil in great abundance At this time the Lord stirred up the spirit of Azariah the son of Obed who went forth to meet them he preached this Sermon unto the King and unto the victorious Army and he saith hear me O Asa and all Iudah and Benjamin Gods Messengers may require audience and obedience in the Name of God from the greatest men upon earth and that when they were in the height of their prosperity and glory for the Lord hath exalted his word over Nations and kingdoms to root out and to destroy and to build and to plant and it is not the least charge given against Zedechiah that he humbled not himself before Ieremiah the Prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord for though the men dye yet their words wil live and it will asuredly overtake men though they may seem for a while to escape it Zach. 1.6 Did not my words take hold of the fathers the sum of the Prophets Sermon is here laid down in three Doctrinal Propositions First That the Lord is with You whilst you are with Him Secondly If you seek Him He will be found of you Thirdly If you forsake Him He will forsake you Here is a Doctrinal Proposition with a particular Application the Proposition is this That they that do forsake God shall be forsaken of God 2 The Application is that if ye forsake God he will also forsake you that he hath so gloriously delivered and for whom he hath so eminently appeared riding upon the heavens and his excellency on the skye yet if he will turn his hand and consume you after he has done you good this is â—o perish with a double destruction as for a man to dye after he hath had some quickning works upon him is to be twice dead so for a man or a people to perish or be destroyed after the Lord hath done them good and seemed to rejoyce over them this is to perish with a double destruction For the opening of this Doctrine there are four things in the Text which are to be considered First we see that the desertion of a people never begins in God the Lord doth not forsake them till they forsake him There are two sorts of acts that God exercises over men some Actus dominii acts of soveraignty Secondly Actus justitiae the one respects men as creatures the other respects men as sinners Preterition is an act of soveraignty and that begins in God but desertion is an act of Justice and therefore must begin in us for the cause of all punishment the meritorious cause is to be found in the creature and doth begin in us and not in him It s true that all acts of mercy do begin in God and they have no ground in the creature he loves us first he shews mercy freely and what ever he doth it is for his own sake there is nothing in the creature that procures it The rise and foundation of mercy is in himself but acts of Justice have their rise from us for he doth in all judgements cleer this unto the creature that he doth not without cause any thing that he hath done and the Lord saith of all judgements hast thou not procured it to thy self is not this the wages that you have wrought and laboured for is not this the harvest which answers the seed that you have sowen for they that sow to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption c. So that the Lord doth never reject us till we reject him he doth never forsake us till we forsake him Rom. 6.23 the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life but acts of grace begin in God and they are meer gifts but all acts of Justice begin in us and are but the fruits of our own deservings he rejects us because we reject him first c. Secondly it may be supposed that they that have had the Lord much with them and have had great and eminent experience of his presence going with them yet they may forsake the Lord and depart from him Israel did so they forgat God their saviour who had done great things for them in Egypt wondrous works in the land of Ham and terrible things by the Red sea as Psal 10.6,21,22 and they that forget God will quickly forsake God a people may arise unto that foolish confidence in their own present condition that they may say Ier. 2.31 We are Lords we will come no more at thee a strange expression and they may walk towards God as if they were put into such an estate that they should now need God no more but that they could live without him we have now no more need of fasting and praying days of humiliation may now be intermitted for not onely months but yeers together What is this but for a people to say We are Lords we will come no more at thee we have not now the same need of God that we had in times past 2 Chron. 26.15 Vzziah was marvellously helped till he was strong but when he was strong his heart was lifted up unto his own destruction Isa 29.1 there
is a woe for Ariel the City where David dwelt which Mr. Calvin renders the Altar of God because the Sacrifices and Ordinances of God were there but others and so in the Margent it is rendred the Lyon of God quia tanquam Leo Gentes alienas subjugasset None could stand before them There is a wo for them because they had in the greatness of their strength and power and victories forsaken the Lord and therefore the Lord saith he would bring distresses upon them that he had formerly been with and they had conquered by his power and presence and they that in their pride did speak loftily as if they had spoken from Heaven the Lord saith they should be brought down to the ground and their speech should be low as out of the dust Thirdly Former duties nor former mercies shall not serve men but if they do forsake the Lord they shall be forsaken of him first former duties will not secure men here is a gracious Prince that had laboured ten yeers in the Reformation of Religion and that with great success and had met with great opposition and yet with resolution gone through all yet the Lord tells them that for all this if after this they did forsake the Lord he would forsake them There was in the days of Josiah the most glorious Reformation of Religion that ever we read of in Iudah he was such a King as like unto him was none before him nor after him should arise the like the people entring into a solemn Covenant before God that they would be the Lords people and the Reformation went farther for it was the taking away of the High places also which other Reformers left standing and they kept the Passover unto the Lord such a one as had not been since the time of the Iudges and yet 2 King 23.26,27 notwithstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his wrath Here is a sad and unexpected close of this famous story and that not onely for old sins but Zeph. 1. the Land continued in the same evils still and therefore the Lords controversie continued against them there were the remnants of Baal in the hearts of the people still and there were those that did swear by God by Malchom that did endeavor so to keep up a mixture in Religion and those that were Apostates and were turn'd back from the Lord and men that were setled upon their lees that did say the Lord will neither do good nor evil and for this cause will the Lord search Ierusalem with Candles c. 2 Former mercies will not secure you if you forsake the Lord. It s true that former mercies are of a great engagement unto us to keep close to God the cords of love lay upon men the strongest bonds but yet if they do not oblige us they are not binding unto God It s true that faith may make use of former mercies as an argument to a repenting and returning people as Num. 14.19 Pardon the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even until now but it is no prevailing Argument for a back-sliding people but the Lord wil say how long shall I bear this evil Congregation and therefore the word is gone out of his mouth and judgement shall the sooner and with the greater fury plead the cause of abused mercy in former deliverances Deut. 28.63 It shall come to pass that as the Lord hath rejoyced over you to do you good so also the Lord will rejoyce over you to destroy you and to bring you to naught the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie to rejoyce summo gaudio incredibili laetitia Answerable unto the joy and delight which the Lord seemâ—d to take in blessing a people and in building them up such will the delight be which he will seem to take in ruining that people and destroying them If you be not bound by the cords of his law let me tell you he himself will never look upon himself as bound by the cords of his law if they be no ingagement upon you they will be found none upon him in the end Psal 120.4 it is by some understood of the slanders of men but it is by others understood of the judgements of God there shall be mighty and sharp Arrows with coals of juniper that is such as burn with greatest fierceness and longest lasting and such as yield a sweet savor in the burning there is no destruction like unto that when God shall delight to destroy a people he shall laugh at their destruction and mock when their fear comes Fourthly The Lord delights to deal with sinners in a way of proportion and retaliation according to their dealing with him and there shall be the Image of the sin in the judgement that shall be executed upon them that the Lord will but deal with them so as they deal with him if they forsake him this shall be their judgement he will also forsake them If men be invited to the marriage feast of the Kings son and they make excuses they will not come their judgement is they that were â—idden shall not taste of my supper If the people of Israel will not at the command of God go up unto the land of Canaan to take possession they will not enter into Gods rest the Lord saith nay he doth swear in his wrath that they shall not enter and if in the days of their prosperity men will say to the Almighty depart from us in the same proportion will the Lord say unto them in the day of their judgement Depart from me I know you not In those things wherein the sons of men are and their lusts acted and more drawn forth in those the Lord doth delight that their judgement should be The people of Israel were formerly weary of the Prophets as we now are of Ordinances and they did say to them prophesie not and cause the holy one of Israel to cease from us therefore the Lord saith he will cause the Sun to go down upon the Prophets and he makes the day to be dark about them that there should be none that should understand or be able to tell them how long and when they desired Teachers according to their lust and did say Speak to us smooth things and prophesie deceit these rough-spirited men we cannot away with them The Lord saith if any man will prophesie of wine or strong drink he shall be a Prophet unto this people yea even in hell the sins of men shall be their torment and the Lord delights to make them so t is true sin ceases there as it is paenae demeritum for judgement passes onely on men for what is the flesh but not paenae damnatio for damnati blasphemant Deum in hoc peccant sed peccata pertinent ad damnationis poenam c. for what the Lord doth he doth in high displeasure and indignation
and that doth delight him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to retaliate that men may abundantly eat the fruit of their own ways and be filled with their own devices and the Lord makes in this retaliation a greater speed with some men then he doth with others answerable to the Mercies bestowed and abused some mens sins are as a basket of Summer-fruit quia maturitatem suam sunt assecuti Am. 8.12 Drusius they that have stood long under mercies and under Ordinances they do ripen the sooner and the Lord will surely hasten his work upon such a people habet sapientia justitiae sua compendia the Lord knows how to finish the work to cut it short in righteousness for a short work doth the Lord intend to make in the land Rom. 9.28 How long soever the work be that God makes with any other people yet with an unthankful people that lives in high abuses of goodness he will surely make a short work with them Fifthly At the same time when we begin to forsake God he doth begin to forsake us for so much must be taken from the beginning of the verse the Lord is with you whiles you are with him so we and some others render it dum fuistis Therefore the same date that our departing bears unto God the same also doth the Lords departing bear unto us at the same time when the Prodigal did but set the first step to return to his father the father did set forth to meet him and at the same time that any man departs and turns away from God at the same time doth the Lord turn away from him also and though it be not presently visible for our Apostacy from God is first in the inward man our souls draw back from him Jer. 6.8 at the same time also his soul departs or is dis-joynted from such a people and in such cases the Lord is very exact in observing of the time he keeps an account of it unto a day as we see it in Saul 1 Sam. 13 13,14 Now would the Lord have established the kingdom upon Israel for ever but now thy kingdom shall not continue now Saul departed from the Lord and from this time forth the Lord did forsake him and therefore 1 Sam. 13.2 it 's said that he reigned but two yeers over Israel that is Legitimè non rejectus á Deo so Junâ—post biennium a Shemuèle fuit so that though the kingdom did continue so many yeers â—fter or he continued in the kingdom yet he reigned as King but two yeers now he rejected God and now the Lord reâ—ected him from being King over Israel and though men discern it not yet there are symbolical precepts by which the Lord doth try men even at this day the Lord puts them upon such a business puts such power and such authority into their hands which they abusing and their heart departing from God in it they are under an evil aspect from God from that time forward that though their lives may continue and though they may for a time continue in their authority yet from that time he Lord departs from them and they do by degrees wither and decay insensibly degenerate in their zeal for God and his people Sad are the Records and the aspects of God upon great men in this kind such a day I tryed a mans integrity and his faiâ—hfulness I put power into his hand to honor me with it and yet his spirit departed from me his heart was false and unstable with me therefore from that day my soul is disjoynted from such a man will honor him no more Saul reigned long after before the people but from that time no longer in Gods account Sixthly In the same degree that a people do forsake the Lord will the Lord also forsake them and so much the Hebrew word also doth seem to import in existendo vos cum eo in your being with him he will also be with you and in your forsaking of him he will also forsake you The Lord departs from a people gradatim by several removes to see if there be any that will stir up themselves to take hold of God As the glory of the Lord departed from the Temple Ezek. 10.11 first he goes up from the Cherubins unto the threshold and from thence to the middle of the City and from the City unto the Mountain and these removes of God from us are answerable unto the degrees of our departing from him for in these things the Lord doth exactly observe a proportion As it is in the matter of outward afflictions so it shall be also in spiritual desertions Ezek. 7.16 as pride doth bud so the rod doth blossom violence doth rise up unto a rod of wickedness their rod is taken out of their own sins their own wickedness doth correct them and answerable to the growth of sin in them so doth the rod grow for them that it may be corrected And so it is in desertion also with the upright the Lord will shew himself upright if mens hearts be wholly with him he will be perfect and intire with them but if men be for God onely in shew he will be for them and with them onely in shew if they give unto him onely outward obedience he will give unto them onely a temporal reward if they do offer unto God but external service and that which is seemingly service but really a sin he will bestow upon them outward blessings that is that which shall be seemingly a blessing but really a curse a blessing in the thing but a curse to the man For the Lord will hold a proportion as we forsake him so he will in the same measure and degree forsake us also All the children of destruction are not born at once Hos 1. the first is Iezreel and the last Loammi yea and Gods own people answerable unto their departing from God so they shall find the Lords withdrawment from them David had his first ways 2 Chr. 17 and the people of God have their first Rev. 2.4 and they that do decline from God in holy obedience they shall finde the Lord will depart from them in reference to a gracious presence it shall not be with them as it hath been in times past they shall remember with bitterness after their departure from their former husband that it was better with them then it is now 2. Let us now look upon the grounds of this Doctrine that upon our forsaking of God he will forsake us and they are different according unto a double state of men in this life some are in a state of Nature and some are in a state of grace First they that are in a state of nature forsaking God shall be utterly forsaken by him and that for ever for the Lord doth deal with men according to the tenor of the Covenant under which he stands in all his administrations he is always mindful of his Covenant Now all men in
fallen upon all the Nations round about because they saw that God did fight for them the Lord hath gone before them and the God of Israel was their rereward and therefore he hath given them the necks of their enemies and no weapon formed against them hath prospered every tongue that did rise up in judgement against them hath he condemned but if this state shall now fall in love with her own beauty and greatness and shall say this is Babel that I have built and my hands have gathered the riches of the Nations if this state shall now trust in an arm of flesh and say wee 'l have no more care of the truths of God and the Ordinances of God they are upon Civil and Politick respects that we stand the Lord will surely depart from them if they shall say we are Lords we will come no more at thee their Rock will sell them their wonted presence will depart from them and the Lord will take pleasure to bring them down whom he hath before exalted and to destroy them after he hath done them good 3 Yet for the further opening of this point it is necessary that we discover what it is for a person or people to forsake the Lord and what it is for God to forsake them and when he is said in Scripture so to do First What it is to forsake God and when the Lord is said to be forsaken First they that forsake the Law and truths of God forsake God wicked men that live without God are described by Psa 119 5â— forsaking the Law of God the wicked that forsake thy Law Jer. 9.13 they have forsaken my Law which I set before them and have walked after the imaginations of their own hearts and after Baalim which their fathers taught them c. For it is God that we have to do with in the word the word is mighty Heb. 9.12 13. and all things are open and naked before him with whom we have to do therefore the word hath as it were the properties of God attributed unto it it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a discerner of the secret thoughts and intents of the heart which belong unto God onely but it is not from the power of the word alone but from the presence of God therein for in the word it is him with whom we have to do therefore if in the word we have to do with God then they that do forsake the word of God forsake God and men do forsake the Law of God first when they depart from the foundation there is a twofold foundation that the Sâ—ripture holds forth fundamentum doctrinae personae its true a personal foundation can no man lay any other then what is laid Jesus Christ but there is also a doctrinal foundation which is called the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Eph. 2.20 and this is that pattern of wholsome words that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that form of Doctrine and that which the Apostle mentions of the foundation which he himself hath laid Heb. 6.1 and this the Church of Christ in the purest times shall not depart from for Rev. 21.14 the walls of the City shall have twelve foundations and upon them written the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb c. that Antient standing of Truth let it be preserved and all superstructures let them tend to the cleering and establishment and not to the subverting of them let men build as high as they can so as they hold the foundation sit verè profectus fidei non permutatio Lyren And in this the people of God have been always fearful quo quis sanctior eo promtior novellis adinventionibus contraire c. we are now quite contrary the more holy any man seems to be the more open hâ—s ears are and the more ready he is to close with every novelty or call all into question Satans great design in this age is to keep all men in uncertainties two ways Satan hath one way in the time of peace and another in the time of persecution in the one cogit homines negare Christum in the other docet Austin he doth force them in the one he doth teach them in the other but his great aym is at fundamentals for there is such a connexion of these that a man cannot deny one but he overthrows all the rest It was the rule that Luther gave Spiritus Sanctus scepticus non est and therefore it is to be feared that under these great pretences of the Spirit there is very little of the Spirit of Christ in men when it tends to Scepticism not to Christianity Secondly Men forsake the Law by putting false interpretations for he that hath not the spiritual and true sense of the Law is without the Law Rom. 7.9 Psal 11â—… and so men are said to make void the Law of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is not Palam ex professo but it is fecretly under hand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ye have unlorded the Law by your traditions and they that take away the mind of the Law they do destroy the Law and this is the greatest sacriledge in the world men are called by Nazianzen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They that do steale away the sense of the Scripture from the words of the Scripture and take them not according to the scope of the place or the intention of the spirit of God in them but in Allegories and mystical senses now this way and then another as it chimes into their fancies We blame the Papists for making of the Scripture a nose of wax if ever it were so it is so made by many of our Teachers at this day and by this means it shall serve to usher in and to patronage any invention that our own hearts can present unto us there are great pretences of love now held forth that men should love one another though they differ in opinion upon the point of saintship c. the same thing we also say and press that we love one another but let it be with the Apostles assertion 2 Ioh. 6. This is love that we walk after his Commandments and let it be also with the Apostles Injunction 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 truth it in love Eph. 4.15 steal not away Truth from us under the shews and pretences of love in vain have the endeavours of Conciliators been that have sought to unite men whose principles in respect of Truth were contrary It is a great honor to be as Nazian of Athanasius he was dissentientibus magnes c. but yet so as we are to consider that Truth is primo-primum in Religione without which all motives unto union though in a moral construction good and coming from a good intention will never prove in any measure effectual it is speaking Truth in love that will onely make men grow up into one body in the Lord and it was the dishonor of that great
power Rev. 9. that though they had faces like men and the teeth of Lyons a great shew of meekness and yet abundance of stoutness and courage joyned with success in all their undertakings for they were crowned Locusts yet they had a sting in their tails diabolicam pseudo-Propheticam propaginem denotat all the power of their Conquest was used to no other end but to leaven and poyson all places where they came and conquered with their corrupt opinions whoever they be that use their power in this manner be their success what it will be they are in judgement and for the Torment of all where they come and such Locusts proceed out of the smoke of the bottomless pit Secondly They forsake God that forsake his worship ye are they that forsake the Lord that forget his holy Mountain to prepare a Table for that host c. Isa 65.11 Some expound it of the host of heaven and there is a great number of them for they that forsake the way of the Lord they do find out many inventions in Gods worship There is a double worship of God natural and instituted the one following upon the nature of God and the other flowing from the will of God and the latter the Lord did see necessary in all ages as medium cultus naturalis it was necessary unto Adam when he was in Paradise the Sabboth and the tree of life and the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil were then instituted it was so for the honor of God that the Lord Jesus himself observed it in the days of the flesh and did thereby fulfil all righteousness and worshipped God according unto the institution of the Jewish Church and he hath left such Institutions to be observed in his Church to the end of the world the Saints continued in the Apostles Dectrine and fellowship in breaking of bread and prayer and now men are grown so Religious as they cry down instituted worship and say that they are but forms it is true that rested in they are no more as the Ceremonies of the Jews were not but as they are Forms so they are Duties therefore to say men may use them or not use them and that Christians are sometimes for seeking under Formes but there is yet a higher way some that are unwedded unto any Forme that reserve themselves single for the immediâ—te embraces of their love What is this but to forsake the Lord because it is to forget his holy Mountain to worship God in any other way then he hath appoynted that is Idolatry and to neglect that way of Worship that he hath appoynted his people to walk with Him in that is prophaneness We complain of the prophaneness of the people throughout the Nation they are such Principles as these that are the great Grounds of prophaneness and from hence it goes forth into all the Land for how ready will all they that were weary of Ordinances and lookt upon them as a burden long agoe how greedily will they imbrace such a Doctrine as this is that may be a bribe unto their Consciences in their prophaneness and utter neglect of God surely it is a good rule qui non est Religiosus Christianus non est that man doth very much forfeit his Christianity that doth either in Doctrine or Practice in this manner decry the instituted Worship of Christ I am not willing to speak much of Officers now which is an Institution as well as that of Ordinances for the Lord hath set them in the Church 1 Cor. 12.28 and he hath appointed their term of continuance till we all come unto the unity of the Faith unto a perfect man till the whole body of Christ be gathered and perfected and the end Ephes 12.14 why he hath appoynted them is that we may not be carryed away with every wind of Doctrine that was the end why God appoynted them and this is the main reason why men oppose them because they cannot carry men away as they would by this means and theresore it is a true observation that never any man did begin to overthrow and corrupt Religion but he began with the Ministery first It is that which Adam Contzen directs to the Ministers and those that give their Testimony to the Truths of God specially suppress them error cui patrocinium deerit sine pugna concidet so calls he Truth and there is a promise made to them that God will be present with them to the end of the world and a provision is made for them to the end of the world for the Lord hath ordered that they that serve of the Altar should live at the Altar Cor. 1.9,14 though now a great part of the Religion of the times is to cry down a Ministery and so as Luther hath observed Satan hath had two ways to put out the light of the Gospel mendaciis Inopia And he saith men do profess Ministris nihil opus est they were things not much to be regarded though there is a justice to be exercised unto them as men how much soever they are despised as Ministers but it were not much to be regarded though you look upon them as men of all others the least considerable if God were not forsaken in it but to forsake Gods Worship is in the Scriptures account to forsake God Thirdly we forsake God by carnal confidence The Lord saies Jer. 2.13 they have forsaken me and they have digged to themselves broken Cisterns Jer. 17.5 Cursed is he that trusts in man and makes flesh his arm and his heart departeth from the Lord if the Lord be not exalted alone in the soul either sub ratione boni aut auxilii the heart of man forsakes him and leans on something else that is not God Now if it be Counsels of men the power of Armies the Assistances of Confederates so far a man forsakes the Lord therefore the Lord doth way lay all humane succours that they shall prove vain and unsuccessful and men shall be ashamed of their Confederacies thou shalt be ashamed of Assyria as thou hast been ashamed of Egypt thy considence yea destruction comes out of it they that sit down under the shadow of a creature it is but under the shelter of a bramble fire will surely come out of it to consume the Câ—dars of Lebanen when men turn to God they are taken off from carnal confidence they shall then say Ashur shall not save us therefore men turn to the creature when they do forsake and depart from God Fourthly men forsake God in their conversation when they neither walk with God or worthy of God the waies of sin are departing from God going into a far Countrey it is communion with Belial and walking in waies of pride oppression and uncleanness it is living without God and therefore surely it is a forsaking of him a departing from him and forsaking of his Truth and Worship is the only and special means thereunto our Saviour says
John 17. Sanctifie them by thy Truth c. Take away Truth and ye destroy Holiness at the root Let men pretend holiness whilest they will unclean opinions will ever be accompanied with unclean practises and therefore it is a vain thing for men to hope that a holy conversation can be maintained without truth which is the instrument which the Lord useth of mens sanctification Job 6.14 he forsakes God that forsakes the fear of the Lord. Secondly What is it for a people to be forsaken of God First when God withdraws the influence of his Spirit from the Ordinances that though the Ordinances continue yet the influences are gone it is the first step of the Lords removing from a people and this is properly the removing or departing of his glory from off the Temple though the Lord is everywhere present yet there was a gracious presence there Deus ubique est sed non eadem ubique praestat And therefore there is a darkness that fills the house when the glory of the Lord was departed its true that the Temple and the Sacrifices did continue but it was but barely an outside for the presence of God in glory and mercy was not among them and therefore when the Lord returns to a people in mercy the glory of the Lord doth in this manner return unto their Ordinances Ezek. 43.4 while he may be found seek the Lord the time of the Spirits working in the means is the day of salvation Heb. 6. unto that people there is a ground that drinks in the rain not only of Ordinances but of Influences and the Lord will say My Spirit shall not alwaies strive there is an oath that may go forth against a people and then they are undone for ever for the Lord is not as a man that he should repent and this is the greatest Judgement that can befall a person or a people in this life for if the Spirit of the Lord depart from them and evil Spirit from God in Judgement comes upon them a Spirit of giddiness a vertiginous Spirit which doth cause them to err in all the works of their hands there is by some a great talk of conversion that abundance have been lately converted it is true if turning unto a new opinion or being brought off from such a party be conversion there are abundance of such turnings in this Nation but such a general conversion that if we look into the conversation of men yea even of them that do profess Religion and the power of godliness and the good old way of holiness in the practise of it is even wholly forgotten amongst us Secondly he takes away the Ordinances also the presence of God is in them he is by these said to dwell amongst us now when God departs from a people he is said to take away the Ordinances which are the visible tokens of his presence Ier. 23.33 they say the burden of the Lord and they were weary of the Ordinances of God amongst them saies God this shall be your burden I will forsake you Nulla posthac erit Prophetia Calvin Calvin But what if it be so its that in a special manner that we desire but consider 2 Chron. 7.20 I will cast this house which I have sanctified for my name out of my sight and I will pluck you up by the roots out of my Land which I have given you when God once forsakes his Ordinances he will the Land too Thirdly the Lord doth forsake a people by taking away the former assistances that they have had and denying of them to his people therefore the promise is Isa 62.4 thou shalt be no more termed forsaken whilst they were under the power of the enemy and given up into the hands of their oppressors so long they were a people forsaken of the Lord Iosh 1.5 I will not leave thee nor forsake thee when God forsakes them they shall not have the wonted presence of God amongst them the Lord will neither bless their counsels nor go forth with their Armies but he will delight to make that people vile that all their enemies should take encouragement thereby and say God hath forsaken them persecute them and take them for there is none to deliver them as the presence of God is the great terror unto all that are round about he being a wall of sire about them and the glory in the middle of them so the greatest encouragement to the enemies is when they shall see that Gods people have not the wonted presence or assistance of God with them and they shall be a derision to all the Nations round about ha ha so would we have it Fourthly God doth forsake a people in respect of his returns of their prayers Psal 22.1,2 My God why hast thou forsaken me and why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring O my God I cry in the day time and thou hearest not and in the night season am not silent and this is the true greatness and the glory of a people Deut. 4.7 that they have God nigh them in all that they call upon him for and this hath been your glory in former times in the sight of your adversaries that you could say Tertullian Caelum tundimus misericordiam extorquemus And the prayers of the people of God have been the fire that hath gone out of the mouthes of the people of God that hath consumed your enemies on every side as Rev. 11 5. We did no sooner make our prayers but we might as it were with Stephen lift up our eyes to heaven and see Iesus standing at the right hand of God tanquam causae suae Judex vindex But if God forsake a people they may cry but the Lord will not hear them he will shut out their prayers in displeasure and will cover himself with a cloud that they shall not pass through when God takes away the spirit of prayer from his people there is not a greater Argument that I know that God doth intend to forsake them and to shut out their prayers Vse Having thus spoken of the Doctrinal proposition let us take the particular application to our selves If you forsake him he will also forsake you our own hearts cannot but testifie against us that there is a great forsaking of God in the middle of us look but upon the generality of the Nation and for all manner of prophaness we go beyond the worst of times and under a pretence of liberty every man doth that which is right in his own eyes and there is no master of restraint to put them to shame It may be the fault is immediately to be laid upon inferiour officers but ye know their neglects and yet you do not force your own Laws misera vis est valere ad nocendum it is woful liberty a liberty of sinning the horrible oppressions such as have not been heard of you have made an act against it and what
as when God became an enemy at first to mankind all the creatures also did become their enemy it were no matter for the desertion of all the neighbouring Nations though we were as a speckled Bird unto them and they all hate us yet if God be with us who can be against us but Tolle Deum nullus ero if the glory of the Lord departed then the Cherubims lifted up their wings and are gone as the voice that was heard to say in the Temple the night before Jerusalem was taken Migremus hinc c. Secondly if God forsake us all the creatures will break in upon us God hath forsaken him pursue him and take him for his hedge his fence is taken away I will take away the hedge thereof shall the Lord say and then a poor creature may comfort himself as Saul did in the creatures honour me before the people when the Lord had rejected him but it is but cold comfort for a man so to do for thy own servants will then become thy enemies Thirdly there is no one thing that afflicts and affects a gracious heart more then desertions either in Church or state or his own soul he fears nothing else all that David still prayes for is O Lord forsake me not Oh forsake me not utterly Lord be not thou far from me there is this difference commonly between a godly man and a wicked man the one fears Gods punishments but the other fears Gods departure and therefore Austin It is as with a chast wife and a harlot Austin they both fear their husbands Haec ne veniat illa ne decedat And the reason is because the one seeks only blessings from God and the other only seeks communion with God and if he had never so much from God yetif he be denyed to seek his face denyed fellowship with him and if the Lord do so forsake him all things are bitter unto him because the joy of his heart is gone surely if you go on to forsake the Lord he will forsake you but the desertion begins on your part if you do not forsake him he will not forsake you therefore so far as you have backslided from God return to him and you have this promise I will heal your backslidings THE DOCTRINE Of the Iews Vocation Preached at Gregories Lecture ROM 11.26 And so all Israel shall be saved as it is written c. THe Apostle having spoken in the close of the former Ch. of the vocation of the Gentiles I was found of them that sought me not of the rebellious under which is implyed the rejection of the Jews all the day long have I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and gain-saying people he closes the Discourse in this Chapter and makes of this Chapter three parts first Consolatoria he hath not cast off his people 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 è conspectu amovere he hath cast them off but not so as he will never look after them again he hath not so cast them off for there is even amongst them and to come out of their loins who are at present rejected a seed according to the election of grace though those four great Judgements threatned are come upon them there is poured upon them the Spirit of a deep sleep unto this day their table is made a snare and their eyes are darkned that they see not and they do alwaies bow down their backs but these Judgements shall not alwaies lie upon them because they are dear unto God according to the election of grace the Lord hath not cast off his people whom he knew before Secondly Hortatoria If the Jews were broken off that were the natural branches yet let not the Gentiles boast against the branches broken off be not high-minded but fear for if God spared not the natural branches take heed lest he spare not thee also behold therefore the goodness and severity of God towards thee goodness if thou continue in his goodness if not thou shalt also be cut off Thirdly Prophetica and that is of the grafting in of the Jews again the natural branches if they continue not in their unbelief of what the state of the Jews should be when the Lord again shall return to them in mercy and build up the Tabernacle of David that is fallen down and this he doth Usher in with a praemium as being a great truth and that which he would have specially observed I would not have you ignorant of this mysterie What is a mysterie a mysterie is something made known by Revelation and can be known no other way it is from the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Phil. 4.12 I am instructed from heaven a truth which the Apostle had been taught by divine Revelation and though much of this is spoken of and foretold in the Scripture yet there is a spirit of Revelation that must go to the opening thereof or else he could never have understood it himself nor been able to reveal it or discover it to others its true it was abundantly revealed in the Scriptures and when it was discovered to the Apostles they could see clear Scripture for it but not till then they are mysteries till the Lord please to enlighten the understanding to know these mysteries and therefore as the calling of the Gentiles is said to be a mysterie hid in God from Ages and from Generations and made known only by Revelation Eph. 3.4,5,6 sc that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs with the same body and partakers of the Promise of Christ by the Gospel the calling of the Gentiles though abundantly foretold in the Scripture was a mysterie unto the Jews that they understood it not and so the calling of the Jews may seem also a mysterie unto the Gentiles till the Lord reveal it unto them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysostom so calls the Doctrine of the Jews calling Chrysostom a paradox and strange thing A strange and a wonderful thing and he that doth publish it shall seem at first to preach a paradox and a new Doctrine But what is this mysterie Blindness in spirit is hapned unto Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in that is the mysterie Blindness is in part come upon them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There are three Interpretations and all true First non omnibus it is not come upon all Israel but upon a part and so it is to speak as the Apostles manner is molli locutione though it came upon a great part of them and in comparison there were but a few converted unto the faith of Christ yet he saith it came not upon all but upon part of them only the whole Nation were not cast away 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost there are many of them now do believe and many of them hereafter shall believe and therefore it is not come upon all the Jews for God had mercy on many in those primitive times Insomuch that the first glorious Christian
and Lud to Tubal and Javan to the Isles a far off that have not heard my fame nor seen my glory and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles Esa 66.19 So that when the fullnesse of the Gentiles that God had appoynted before their call shall come in then blindnesse shall be take off from Israel and they shall be converted to the Lord in a great multitude A national way that they shall become a Church unto Christ being ingraffed into their own Olive tree and then shall there come in a greater fulness of the Gentiles even of many that never heard of the name of the Lord and so all Israel shall be saved but indeed the ensuing promise doth seem to restrain it onely into natural Israel For it is a Redeemer shall come to Sion and he that turnes away the iniquity from Jacob Esa 59.20 And this is the Covenant that I will make with them when I shall pardon their sins and so it refers all unto Israel that is unto the Iews and all Israel is ment not a sprinkling some few first fruits but the whole crop and whereas before he had said that blindness came but in part upon them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now he saith when their deliverance shall come it shall come unto all Israel even unto the whole Nation for their iniquities shall be turned away by God and they also shall turn from their iniquities All Israel shall be saved not every particular person but a National conversion All Israel c. Beeing to treat of the comming in of the Iewes when all Israel shall be brought in there are many heads unto which all may be reduced which orderly the Scripture speaks there which I shall briefly in a summe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 set before you at this time that I may be at least an occasion of enquiry into each of them and thereby happily light may be encreased First there shall be National conversion of the Iewes wherein a great if not the greatest part of the Nation of the Iewes that are reserved shall be turned unto the Lord. This some oppose a Conversion they grant but a National Conversion it must not be Secondly this Conversion shall be in the height of their misery when there shal be the greatest misery and affliction upon them that ever was since their dispersion There shall be a time of trouble such as there never was since they were a Nation unto the same time and at that time Daniels people shall be delivered as many as are found written in the book Dan. 12.1 when they shall be dry bones and all hope shall be past with them that they shall say our bones are dry bones our hope is past and we are cut off for our part then the dry bones shall live and they that sleep in the dust shall awake Ezek. 37.11.12 Behold Oh my people I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel That 's the Lords time of love above all other times when men lie wallowing in their blood when their hopes shall be lowest their Redemption shall be near Thirdly when they are converted they shall return unto Christ and embrace him whom they formerly crucified and rejected saying we will not have this man to rule over us and his blood be upon us and our Children but there shall come a time when Israel and Judah shall be gathered together which never yet was since their rejection and they shal appoint to themselves one head Hos 1.11 and this head can be no other then Christ whom they shall then by their own election appoint to be as a Head or a King over them its true that he was appointed by the Father in his eternal decree and in the covenant made between the Father and the Son before the World was as he himself saith I was set up from everlasting it cannot be spoken of him as he is God for it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I was appointed Prov 8.2.3 whch must refer into the office into which he was designed from eternity by the Father it is the same word used Ps 26. I have set my King upon my holy hill of Sion but now their hearts shall be brought about and they that rejected the counsel of God against themselves and would not have him to be their head whom the Lord had appointed now they shall also chuse the same and consent unto him they shall appoint unto themselves oâ—e head c. In that day shall there be a Fountain open unto the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness Zach. 13.1 it is spoken of the day of their conversion as appeares by what goes before in the former Chapter then shall Christ become the glory of his people Israel hee was their glory because that of them according to the flesh Christ came Rom. 9. But now they shall chuse him as their glory and they shall rejoyce and glory in him and they shall in their return seek the Lord and David their King Hos 3.5 that is they shall seek God aright according to the way of the Gospel and with Gospel apprehensions they shall not onely seek the Lord from whom they have grievously revolted but they shall seek him in Christ and they shal come to him in the way that he hath appointed that is in Christ and unto Christ shall they come Fourthly at their conversion there shall be wrought in them a great and a national humiliation Jer. 31.18.19 I was ashamed and confounded because I did bear the reproach of my youth Hos 14.8 Ephraim shall say What have I doe any more with Idols I have heard him and observed him c. Zach. 12.10 I will pour upon the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of Grace and supplication and they shall look upon him whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him and be in bitterness for him as for an only son as he that mourns for his first bâ—rn There shal be a great mourning as the mourning of Hadadrimmon c. Jer. 31.8,9 Behold I wil bring them from the North country wil gather them from the ends of the Earth and they shal come with weeping and with supplication I wil lead them to Sion they shal come but with weeping and supplications c. But is not this spoken of their return from Babylon How can it did they come out of Captivity weeping It cannot be meant fully of that return though there are different degrees of the accomplishment of prophesies but if we look to verse 1. At the same time saith the Lord I wil be the God of all the Tribes of Israel and they shal be my people Which can hardly be imagined unto the ten Tribes in that return to be fulfilled for they did never return from the land of their Captivity unto this day There
day of their deliverance shall come to the astonishment and amazement of the Nations and there are many great reasons that it must be a great day but I cannot insist upon them Seventhly the time of their calling shall be when the fulness of the Gentiles is come in blindness so long is happened unto them when the four Monarchs are cast down to dust in the period of them Dan. 7.12.13.14 after the destruction of Antichrist when the little horn is slain and his body given unto the burning flame now he comes to receive a Kingdom of the ancient of days and it shall be when the seventh Angels Trumpet shall sound then the Kingdoms and Nations under the whole Earth become the Kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ Rev. 11.16 which is from the setting up the abomination of desolation the 1290. days which shal be the year of the Iews redemption Dan. 12.11 which is to be finished four thousand year after which is 1335. daies but these are times â—hat I cannot now speak to Eighthly then shall be amongst them a glorious Church in which the presence of the Lord shall dwell Ezek. 37.27 I will set my Tabernacle among them for ever more And elsewhere Ezek. 48. ult the name of the City shal be Jehovah shammah the Lord is there Rev. 21.3 The Tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and it is not in Heaven for it is new Jerusalem that comes down from God out of Heaven and the Kings of the earth shall bring their glory to it and the glory of the Lord and of the Lamb shall be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the light of it and Rev. 21.12 twelve Angels at the gates and there shall be no use of the service of the Angels in Heaven they are sent forth as ministring spirits for the good of the Elect. But when they are gathered in as their Kindom begins with the Kingdom of Christ so shall it end also for he will put down all rule authority and power it is to be understood Etiam de principatu Angelico as well as of any other And they shall have the purest Ordinances Rivers of water of Life that is clear as Christal not running blood not mixed with fire Rev. 22.1 Not blood as is the Doctrine of Antichrist nor mixt with Fire either of affliction or contention as are the doctrines of the reformed Churches and then shall be the exactest discipline all that love and make a lye shall be without and the more of Gods order the more of his presence and his blessing for they shall see his face and his name shall bee written upon their foreheads c. Ninthly this Church of the converted Jewes shall be the Mother Church and shall be exalted above all the Gentile Churches the mountain of the Lords house exalted above the tops of the mountains Ezek. 16.61 then shalt thou be ashamed when I shall give thee thy sisters for daughters all the Gentile Churches shal know that they do receive as the Law from them at the first so now aboundance of light and nourishment great discoveries of God and of his grace for the light of the Moon shall be as that of the Sun and the light of the Sun seven-fold and the Temple shall be opened in Heaven and you may see into the Ark of the Testament all vailes shall be taken away both from the hearts of men and the mysteries of God and the Abdita the hidden things of God revealed the which should then be made fully manifest For he did not write the Word for the World to come but for the Life that now is and therefore there is nothing there hid that shall not be made manifest it shall appear unto the world that he wrote none of those divine mysteries in the word in vain Tenthly Then shall follow great peace and prosperity in the world all persecutions either from Enemies without or Tyrants within shall come to an end Ezek. 34.25.26 I wil make with them a Covenant of peace and wil cause evil beasts to cease out of the Land they shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods Esa 66.12 I will extend peace to her like a River that shall never be dryed up that when the enemies shall look when it will be dry it may be expected in vaine Labitur labetur Zach. 14.11 Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited persecutions from without for the four Monarchs shal bee destroyed and Satan shall be bound that he shall not stir them up to make war against the Saints Rev. 20. Ezek. 45.8 because their Princes before did slay them and not hold themselves guilty make nothing of oppression but now he saith my Princes shall oppresse my people no more a wall 12000 furlongs high Rev. 21.16 and for prosperity Esa 60.16.17 c she shall suck the milk of the Gentiles and the brests of Kings Eleventhly Over this people Iesus Christ shall in a glorious manner reign and that in a more eminent manner then he hath done over the Churches of the Gentiles for it is the Kingdom of David his Father which he is to sit on a Kingdom which he is yet to receive Ezek. 34.23.24 â—zek 37.25 Ezek. 21.26 David my servant he shall feed them and rule over them I will be their God and David my servant as a Prince amongst them when the dry bones are risen David my servant shall be their Prince for ever remove the Diadem c he will overturn overturn overturne and then will he come whose right it is The Scepter shal depart from Judah and they shall be many days without a King Any form of government of their own Hos 34. and what then they shall seek the Lord and David their King unto whom the Father hath committed all judgement Joh. 5.22 and in a special manner the Kingdoms and Nations over this people that from his presence their judgement is to go forth and therefore he shall in a more special manner be be King of the Jews as being his own people unto whom he hath a right of inheritance more then he has over any people of the world besides and yet I do confesse I do not see light from the Scripture to assert the personal reign of Christ upon Earth over them and the Saints reigning with him in his person I know Aliud est ChristuÌ„ regnare in Sanctis Aliud Sanctos regnare cum Christo both shall be in this life in some sense but yet whether Christ shall rule them by a personal residence upon earth is unto me still a doubt but this I say the Lord Iesus Christ hath a peculiar right unto the Kingdom of the Jews as he is of the seed of David And God will give him the Throne of his father David Twelfthly The people shall be exceeding holy in this Church walking in truth and sincerity there is a form of Godliness but there is little of the
power now there shall be much of the power of Godlinesse of the life of Christ manifested in them thy people shall be all righteous the branch of my planting that I may be glorified Esay 60.21 It is the Bride the Lambs wife having the glory of the Lord upon her Rev. 21.10,11 it s true there shall not be perfect holinesse in the Saints for there is a Tree of life for medicine as well as for meat Rev. 22.2 and they shall not be without Hypocrites those that shall cleave unto them by flattery but yet there shall be a glorious spirit of discerning even of them also and they shall be without not onely that make but they that do love a lie Thirteenthly This Church shall have abundance of converts and their Ordinances shall be exceeding fruitfull to bring in souls into the Lord Ezek. 37.9,10,11 Where the Waters come every thing shall live and there shall be a multitude of fish even as that of the great Sea exceeding many thy Gates shall be open continually not shut day nor night that they may bring the riches of the Gentiles and their Kings shall be brought and they shall flie as a Cloud and as Doves unto their Windows because of the glorious Majesty of the Lord that is seen amongst them c. Fourteenthly They shall be brought home into their own land and they shall dwell there they shall dwell in their own Citie as in the days of old and Ezek. 12. Ezek. 37.25 Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place even in Jerusalem they shall dwell in the land that I gave to Jacob their father wherein their fathers dwelt they shall dwell there even they and their Children and Childrens Children for ever Fifteenthly There shall be a perfect union between the ten Tribes and the two Tribes and the hatred shall depart that breach was never yet made up But then the sticks shall become one Ezek. 37.19 The envy of Judah shall depart and Ephraim shall vex Judah no more I wil gather them out of all Countries whither I have driven them in my anger and I wil give them one heart and one way and then Jehovah shall be one and his name one c. Jer. 32.39 Sixteenthly They shall be the great instrument in the hand of the Lord for to ruine and destroy the Turkish Empire when the Lord shall bend Judah for him and fill his bow with Ephraim Dan. 11.40.44 We read of the King of the South whom tidings out of the North and out of the East shall trouble There are several reasons why by the King of the South I conceive to be meant the Turkish Empire as that which had the next power and exercised the next Tyranny over the Jews and being come to a height there is tidings from the East and North troubling the gathering together of the Jews Ezek. 37.7 when the bones came together there was a great noise and a shaking and standing up they became an exceeding great and formidable Army and he saith that these bones are the house of Israel returning into their own land here is the tidings that trouble the King of the South there the Turk invadeth the glorious holy Mountain and then he comes to an end and none shall help him it is Euphrates must be dried up to prepare the way for the Kings of the East Rev. 16.12 that they may join themselves with the Western Christians Seventeenthly At their returning to the Lord there shall be by them a wonderfull blessing upon all the Gentile Churches their gain shall be much by it they were gainers by the Jews rejection their casting off was the inriching of the World their diminishing the riches of the Gentiles how much more their fulnesse Rom. 11.12.15 it shall be as life from the dead it is not I conceive spoken of the Jews that there comming in should be suddenly and by an act of almighty power as a resurrection as it is resembled Ezek. 37. but it shall be unto the Gentiles as life from the dead that is as misery is exprest by death so all joy and happinesse is exprest by life it shall be as it were a resurrection put a new face upon the world that as it shall be a glorious condition upon earth when all the Saints shall arise and stand upon the earth with joy being perfected in their graces and in their faculties so shall this be even unto the Gentiles as well as unto the Jews a resurrection Eighteenthly With the calling of the Jews the Kingdome of the God of heaven shall be set up that which is now so commonly called the fifth Monarchy shall begin when the four Monarchies are destroyed which shal be with the drying up the River Euphrates that is the Turkish Empire It s true that Christ hath a Kingdome during the rule of the Monarchies in the dayes of those Kings God doth set up a Kingdome but it is a little stone and it breaks the Image by degrees and then afterward becomes a Mountain and the Kingdome given unto the Saints of the most high Which in the Book of Dan. 7.27 it s meant the Jews who are every where called the holy people not of the Gentile Saints Dan. 8.24 and 12.7 and therfore it is they must take the Kingdome and possesse it and it shall be given to them which is not wel applied by all that will call themselves Saints and holy people as if they were to take to themselves the rule of all the Kingdomes of the world Nineteenthly Unto this time the perfect fulfilling of all the prophesie of God doth belong there are degrees of fulfilling the prophecies more or lesse in all times but it s unto this that the perfections of the World are reserved Rev. 10.7 its never before the 7th Trumpet sound that the mystery of God is finished that is all those secrets that were in the bosome of God to perform and which he revealed unto his servants the Prophets all those do not receive their full accomplishment all that God doth intend to do for his people in the advancement of his son in this World is now fulfilled and accomplished Lastly And this glorious condition shall continue unto this people unto the day of judgement that they shall suffer no more the Sun shall no more go down nor the Moon withdraw it self Esay 60.20 I will set my Tabernacle in the middle of them for evermore Ezek. 37.26 by an everlasting covenant and I will plant them in their own land with my whole heart and my whole soul and I will never turn away from them to do them good there shall be no more sorrow nor crying all tears from their eyes shal be wiped away and no more curse as they formerly had Rev. 22.4 they shal be cast out of the land no more c. There Sun did rise and set but now shal go down no more These things require further discussing then one hour permits But having
laid down these things in the general I hope it will ingage others to look further into them The first by way of Doctrin on this time There shal be a great and a national conversion of the Jews unto the Lord not here and there a man but even multitudes of them a whole Nation all Israel the whole house of Israel shal live they that went before were but as the first fruits Rom. 11.16 if the first fruit be holy so is the lump the harvest therefore all that have been converted is but as the first fruits in comparison of the lump the harvest of that people are yet to come into God Is 66.8 the Earth brings forth in a day and a Nation born at once Esay 49.21 I was desolate and left alone who hath begotten me all these where have they been c. And the grounds are First they do many of them belong to the election of grace God will not cast off his People whom hee knew before and though we can see none yet the Lord looks not as men look he hath 7000 in Israel c. when a man cannot see one and the Elect shall attain mercy for electing love wil follow a man til it overcome him and prevail with him and wil overcome 2dly Austrium Predestinatio electos ad gloriam usque producit By reason of the covenant made with their fathers they are beloved for their fathers sake its true God doth take children into their Parents covenant but they first in the outward priviledges of the covenant then God breaks them off from this also but the Lord hath a time when the covenant shal take place again and it is by vertue of this covenant that they do attain mercy the Lord remembring the covenant made with Abraham and with his seed and therefore he wil not cast away the whole society in the latter dayes he will return unto them again and a redeemer shal come unto them there is a seed of election runs through their fathers loyns and when this seed is brought forth then for their fathers sake they shal be called Vse Such a conversion we should help forward by faith and prayer and so much the rather because the time approaches the promises are even come unto the birth and they do draw on apace Consider these six things first how sweet wil the presence of God then be 2. The Sun shal be ashamed and the Moon confounded when the Lord shal reign in Mount Sion and in Jerusalem and before his ancients gloriously Esay 24. last Then shal it be said the Tabernacle of God is with men 2dly How glorious wil it be to see aboundance of Souls converted every one bearing twins and not one barren amongst them Rev. 15.8 No man was able to enter into the Temple during the time of the Vials now the smoke being gene many enter in 3dly To see Grace acted in the life and in the glory of it which is but little in the Christian Church to see men walk in the povver of the holy Ghost being as Justin Martyr calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 how lovely and amiable would the lives of Christians be it shal be as life from the dead as they that have known nay had experience in themselves of another resurrection c. 4thly To see so many lie as dead withered branches upon whom the heart of God was set and were dear unto him they pitied you how much more should you pity them that through your mercy they might attain mercy Rom. 11.31 that is by the sight and the apprehension of the mercy that God hath shewed unto you they may be provoked for to look out for a part in the same mercy that was shevved tovvards you when you were lost the same wil the Lord extend unto them also c. 5thly Consider that their comming in shal be without your loss your comming in was with their rejection the natural branches were broken off that tho◠mightst be grafted in we can knovv no reason for it but admire the Wisdom of God as Christs spirit was not given because Christs spirit was not glorified c. but novv you may be of the same Olive Tree and you may be in the same fold c. 6thly You have great benefits by it you have much profit by their rejection you shal have more by their restoration even life from the dead to you an inriching of the Gentiles with greater riches then the Gentiles can inrich them for the Lord Jesus will in a special manner exalt the Kings of the East Some Objections are to be answered when God gives another opportunity As then suffer them to live among us that they may have the Gospel preached to them that 's the way to their conversion to bring them into our land Ans First if they be here in providence we should not cast them out 2. If the Jews did live among you they were to have by the Law of God no other liberty among Christians then the Jevvish Magistrates were to give the Heathens among the Jews if they were here as they were not to suffer the Gentiles amongst them upon the account of aiming at their good neither might we suffer these among us not to abuse their worship or set up a false worship prophane their Sabboth or blaspheme their God This the Jews permitted not to the Gentiles nor should the Gentiles now permit the Jews 3. The stage place of their conversion shal not be in the Western parts of the world where few of thē are but in the East and North c. Dan. 11.44 it s said tydings out of the East and North shal trouble them as indeed their main residence is in those parts 4. It shal not be by the preaching of the Gospel vvhich is the ordinary way for the Gentiles but the Lord will do it in an extraordinary way A Nation shal be born at once therfore these are but the weak plots or charitable mis-apprehensions of men in this ignorant of the Scripture and all Labours this way will be to no purpose but let thy compassion run out in faith and prayer to bring the promise to the birth c. FINIS Heedless SERVICE Vnacceptable 2 KINGS 10.31 But Jehu took no heed to walk in the way of the Lord God of Israel with his heart for he departed not from the sins of Ieroboam which made Israel to sin IN the Text are three things principally contained First a great service performed by Iehu both against the house of Ahab and the house of Baal with the Lords commendation of the same ver 30. that he had done well in executing that which was right in his eyes and had done according to all that was in his heart Secondly a great reward promised by God in Recompence of this service not ex precio operis but ex largitate donantis thy children to the fourth Generation shall sit upon the throne of Israel whoever is
a labourer in Gods Vine-yard shall not go away without his penny Mat. 20. God will say Call the labourers and give them their hire yea to shew that he loves righteousness the unholy services of unsanctified men shall not go unrewarded only indeed as their heart is not perfect with God in the service so neither is his perfect with them in his reward for with the perfect only he will shew himself perfect Psa 18. but the reward shall hold proportion to the service the service unsanctified seemingly a service but really a sin so the reward shall be in it self a blessing but unto them a curse the service temporal only so shall the reward be Thirdly the person censured by the Lord though God approve and reward that which is good yet he doth not justifie that which is evil neither can his love to the one blind his eyes towards the other his eyes behold and his eye-lids try the children of men And therefore though he had done this great service yet in all that he had done the Lord saith to him he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord but not with a perfect heart he took no heed c. Grace is the Law written in the heart Jer. 3.33 the Table fleshly the heart the Ministers the pen the Spirit the Ink and Christ the Scribe which is the Apostles Metaphor 2 Cor. 3.2,3 the word is a mould Rom. 6.17 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or into which you were delivered therefore answerable to the cutts in the mould such must be the impression of the thing moulded by it Now in the Law the mould there are two things Precepts enjoyning duty and Prohibitions forbidding sin now Jehu had not the Law written in his heart and therefore his heart was not right with God in either of these First for the Precept his heart was not right for he took no heed c. Secondly for the Prohibition his heart was not right for he departed not from the sins of c. The first part of the censure is upon the unsoundness of Jehu in respect of the Precept but Jehu took no heed and therein are four things setting forth his unsoundness First his inadvertency and inconsideracy he took no heed Secondly his partiality he took no heed to walk in the Law of the Lord integritas objecti Thirdly his inconstancy some steps he did set in this way but it was not his walk Fourthly his insincerity he took no heed to walk with his whole heart Many duties that his conscience was convinced of he neglected there was his partiality The duties which he did were perfunctorily performed therein he was heedless in the best duties that he did he had self-ends his whole heart was not in them there was his insincerity and the duties that he did set up he did take them up and lay them down as might stand with his own worldly and by respects he did not walk in them therein is his inconstancy and in them all his hypocrisie Before I come to these particulars I will speak a word to the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It may be rendered And Iehu but because it sets forth the unsuitableness between Gods dealing with Iehu and his towards God therefore our Translators have fitly made choice to render it here by the discretive particle but God had of an obscure Captain taken Iehu from amongst his brethren and set him upon the Throne of Israel admitted him to the highest earthly honour neither was this honour personal barely as some of the Kings of Israel was but hereditary God had as it were intailed it to his posterity and spake of his house for a long time to come to the fourth Generation for which David was so thankful but yet Iehu took no heed Doctrine All the outward blessings in the world will never allure an unsanctified heart to serve God in sincerity unless Gods grace and Almighty Power go with them Doctrine Not to serve God with a perfect heart after a man hath had experience of the Profitableness of the service is a wonderful aggravation of his sin Who would not have reasoned God hath for one service raised me from a meer man to be the head of all the Tribes of Israel what will he do for me if I go on to serve him if a temporal reward be so sweet what is an eternal if he so far rewards an unsound what will he do a sincere service wherein my heart should be perfect with him surely the Holy-Ghost hath not said in vain the merchandize of wisdom is better then silver c. Prov. 3.15 and all thou canst desire cannot be compared to it and what cannot a man desire Mountains of Gold Alps of Gold sholes of pearl but yet the trading in it and the returns by it are more profitable then any temporal thing a man can imploy himself in yet so blind is the heart of a natural man that he cannot deduce out of such premises such a plain inference such an easie connexion Behold first a great engagement we hold our selves bound to all services that are lawful unto our benefactors God had set Iehu in the Throne and then he took no heed c. Secondly behold a great encouragement he that hath found one way gainful will be encouraged to the same again and he that hath found a service profitable will afterward in the same service be more abundant and though he had found one service so gainful to him as a Kingdom yet he took no heed either he took no care at all to do the service or else which is more probable he took no heed to do it acceptably to serve him acceptably with a reverent and godly fear as the Apostle speaks Heb. 12.28 But I come to the words themselves and in them to the first part of Iehus censure his inadvertency he took no heed in the original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word signifies to keep or observe with exactness or the greatest diligence that may be Iosh 6.18 and ye in any wise keep your selves from the cursed thing Psal 30.3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If thou shouldest observe or straightly mark what is done amiss who shall stand and the Septuagent puts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is commonly used by Christ in the New Testament for all manner of heedfulness diligence and exact observation Iehu did not take heed he did not observe he did not strictly and carefully mark what he did in the service of God that so he might walk before him with a perfect heart Here is therefore First an evil thing he di◠take no heed and that was his sin Secondly an evil sign he took no heed and therein did manifest his hypocrisie and unsoundness of his heart First it is an evil thing he took no heed and that was his sin now because omnis negatio fundatur in affirmatione therefore here is the neglected duty supposed also And so we have
in this first particular three things considerable First here is a duty implyed and that is heedsulness in walking towards God Secondly a sin reproved heedlesness Thirdly a sign proposed and that is this is made a dan gerous sign and note of hypocrisie A false and unsound heart First the duty implyed is heedfulness carefulness exact observation in all a mans dealing with the Lord. The first thing that the Text presents to our view is this Doctoine He that will serve God acceptably must serve him heedfully we may observe it enjoyned in the two great Ordinances of Hearing and Prayer in the one God speaks to us and in the other we speak to God Eccl 5.1 the wise man directs us in the performance of all manner of services towards God specially those that concern his own immediate worship and the rule is look to thy feet or keep thy feet observe thy feet for the same word is there used 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 considerthy way be well advised in what thou dost Ponder the path of thy feet Prov. 4.26 when thou comest to perform a service unto God this is the general rule then in particular he descends to the duty of prayer and saith be not rash with thy mouth weigh well thy petitions and the nature of them and grounds of them before thou venter to put up any in the name of the Lord and do not utter a rash raw indigested prayer before the Lord and to this end look well to thy heart that is be not hasty for it is a hasty Spirit that causeth a man to be rash with his mouth therefore let thy watchfulness begin there for out of it are the issues of life heedfulness in the heart will prove a door to thy lips and a bridle to thy tongue So that here is all heed required keep thy feet be not rash with thy mouth let not thy heart be hasty let not thy mouth cause thy flesh to err The like direction is given concerning hearing by him that is greater then Solomon Mark 9.23 Luk. 24.8.18 take heed how and what you hear he that hath ears to hear let him hear that is seeing God hath given his word and great is the company of his Preachers seeing also he hath given you ears to hear and understanding to profit by it and seeing your ears are allowd to hear such things let your utmost diligence be seen in it come not to hear unless you bring your ear with you take heed that you hear let not the duty be neglected and when you hear take heed both to the matter and to the manner take heed what and take heed how you hear and this heed the Apostle expresseth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or more excessive heed more abundant least at any time 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we prove leaking vessels and so spill such precious liquor Heb. 2.1 therefore to press upon you the necessity of this duty First the right and serious consideration of the nature of that God with whom we have to do Heb. 4.13 will much inforce it if a mans heart were but ballanced with it when he comes to perform the duty First if we consider his greantess and majest where greatness is amongst men who if compared to him are less then nothing and vanity yet they expect in services exactness answerable which is given by Solomon as a ground of it Eccl. 5.2 he is in heaven and thou art upon earth therefore look to thy feet and let thy words be few Consider therefore he is the high and lofty one that inhabits eternity that dwells in the high and holy place Isa 5.7,15 Mat. 18.10 Ezek. 1. Job 16. therefore Christ directs us in prayer to look upon God in heaven Mat. 6.9 that beholding him in his greatness and glory our hearts may be over-awed when we come before him in his Ordinances Rev. 4.2,3 Secondly if we consider his holiness therefore the Angels are said to be full of eyes round about that is as it were made up of nothing but heedfulness and watchfulness in all the services that they perform unto the Lord and what makes them so to be it is because they behold God in his holiness and purity Isa 6 21. Thirdly as a Judge Rom. 2.14 Joh. 12.48 Gen. 9.15 and that for this cause he puts no considence in his Saints he charges his Angels with folly Job 4.18 Ezek. 2.13 Fourthly if we consider his special Presence it is true that because he is everywhere present therefore a man should walk before him and be upright Gen. 17.1 but when we come do to him service he hath promised a more special presence he walks in the middle of the Golden Candlesticks Rev. 2.1 in the Temple it is said the glory of the Lord was there Ezek. 8.3,4 there he will meet and there he will bless Exod 20.24 and to note his special presence it is said 2 Cor. 6 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I dwell in them and that is not at once and no more but at all times Gods special presence he saith I will set them before my face for ever Psal 41.12 Now to neglect God when he is present and to provoke him to his face that is made a great aggravation Isa 65.3 that shews a man hath cast off all fear Fifthly if you consider the jealousie of God which is the argument used by that good man Ioshua 24.19 you cannot serve the Lord for he is a jealous God his scope is not to deterr them from service for he exhorts them thereunto as we see ver 15. but he saith ye cannot serve the Lord to shew the difficulty how hard it is to serve him acceptably that they might do it with the more fear care and heedfulness and the ground of it is for he is a jealous God Now jealousie is exceeding observant and quick-sighted takes notice of the least neglects not only from a Corrival but also from the person on whom God hath set his love soon takes notice of the least slight and neglect and having once taken notice of it we know that it doth make deep impression upon the heart for jealousie is cruel as the grave and is as the rage of a man Pro. 6.34 Cant. 8.6 Secondly yet to press it further Consider the rule of this service for as a Christians service must be spiritual so it must be regular Gal. 6 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to this rule it must be canonical obedience in a spiritual sense as the whole service must be reasonable service so it must be word-service Rom. 12.1 therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it may be rendered either reasonable service or word-service and so the same word is rendred by our Translations so in 1 Pet. 2.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Not the reasonable sincere milk but the sincere milk of the word that we may grow thereby Now Aquina tells us that if the Carpenters hand were the rule he could never strike awry
hath well digested there is in the best men much precipitancy many oversights much inadvertency there is folly and madness in the heart of a man whilest he liveth Eccl. 9.3 and both are hasty therefore a man had need take heed to himself Lastly there is much loosness and vanity in a mans thoughts Ier. 4.14 how long shall thy vain empty thoughts that have nothing in them lodge within thee that when a man sets about any duty his thoughts will not keep to the thing in hand he likes not to retain God in his knowledge Rom. 1.28 the mind of man will never leave tossing from one thing to another till it shift out thoughts of God and of the spiritual part of duty also mans mind in a duty conversing with God is like one that looks through an Optick-glass upon a star with a palsey hand it is long before he can ken and discern it and as soon as he hath found it so unsteady is his hand that he looseth it again and such is the unsteadiness of our thoughts in the most serious services Now seeing it is so if ever a man will serve God acceptably he had need serve him heedfully take heed how you hear watch unto prayer Mar. 13.33 Secondly here is also a sin reproved and that is heedlesness but Iehu took no heed or did not diligently observe to walk c. hence Heedlesness in a mans converse with God is a provoking evil First It is so by the Lords own sentence and censure Isa 29.13 This people draw nigh to me with their lips but their hearts are removed far from me Ezek. 33.31 Secondly it is so by the Saints own confession Isa 64.67 Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags there is none to call upon thy name and that stirs up himself to take hold of thee Thirdly It is so by Gods just Judgement as in 2 Sam. 6.7 where Uzzah without due consideration did touch the Ark not being thereunto called it is said the Lord smote him for his errour or as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for his rashness and forgetfulness and he dyed before the Lord Now to press this upon you also I desire that these particulars may be well considered First ordinarily according to your care and heed in the duty so will God measure to you grace and profit by the duty Mar. 4.24 Look with what measure you meet shall be measured to you again that is look what measure of care and preparation you bring to the ordinance such a measure of fruit and profit shall you carry from it Secondly when either Judgement shall come or God thus open thy conscience in sickness or death all these services that thou hast heedlesly performed thy spirit in them will fade away as leaves nipped with the wind and a man shall have no comfort in them at all Isa 64.6 we fade away as a leafe in our iniquity that is the iniquity of our righteousness the iniquity of our holy things whereas the duties of godly men that have life and care and substance in them their leaves shall not fade and their fruit shall not be consumed Ezek. 47.12 Thirdly Consider the oftner a man doth perform duties in a heedless manner the worse he will daily grow and what good soever he had in him before will surely decay Luk. 8.18 Take heed how you hear for to him that hath shall be given and from him that hath not shall be taken away he that stirs not up the measure of grace that he hath in the duty he will surely grow worse after his performance for in the Scripture sense idem est non habere non uti Fourthly there is no service that thou performest heedlessly but thou art in danger of some temporal Judgement we see Nadab and Abihu were consumed with fire from heaven Lev. 16.2 And Uzzah 2 Sam. 6.7 and who can promise himself security from the same punishment that doth go on in the same sin Fifthly hereby thou sinnest against a cloud of witnesses the blessed example of all the Saints and it is in some respect a greater Aggravation of sin to sin against Example then against Precept because the one hath a stronger hand upon a man then the other praecepta ducunt exempla trahunt look to Abraham the Father of the faithful see how heedfully he walks with God Gen. 18.27,30 Seeing I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord that am but dust and ashes and then by and by Oh let not my Lord be angry and I will speak c. Iacob is humbled that he was not so aware of the presence of God as he ought to have been Gen. 28.16 and David was afraid when the Lord had made a breach upon them and cryes Oh shall the Ark of the Lord come to me and durst not remove the Ark till he had enquired of the mind of the Lord 2 Sam. 6.8,9 Lastly it is a sin against great mercy thou shouldest be a vessel of honour fitted for the masters use and in this respect godly men prize their services above their comforts And amongst the glorious promises Psal 10 17. Consider this he prepares the heart to pray and causeth his ear to hear he will accept the heedful service and will give much grace to them that hear shall more be given Mark 4.24 else Mar. 1.14 Cursed be that deceiver that hath in his flock a male and offers to the Lord a corrupt thing c. Thirdly this is not only an evil thing but an evil sign also and so here made by the Holy-Ghost a sign of hypocrisie and unsoundness of the heart of Iehu hence this Doctrine A constant heedlesness in a mans converse with God is a dangerous sign of an unsound heart Isa 29.13 they draw neer to me with their lips but even while they did so they took no care to bring their hearts with them but they were removed from the Lord and this heedless performance was a sign of their hollowness and unsoundness So Christ saith of the Pharisees their care was wholly about the out-side of the duty making clean the out-side of the cup Christ made this a sign of their hypocrisie for hypocrisie is but an out-side like cloth of Arras fair and beautiful without but look to the inside nothing but raggs and ends now when a mans constant care is only for the outward performance and never looks whether the heart answer within that is an unsound heart but yet I say constant heedlesness for the best of Gods people are many times too rash and hastie and inconsiderate in their approaches unto the Lord but it is not constantly so neither do they rest therein but that man with whom it is so surely he hath nothing but a form 2 Tim. 3.5 Now to apply this briefly there are in it three Directions First Be humbled for the hypocrisie past so doth the Church Isa 6.4,6 they were ashamed of their righteousness Hypocrisie is so exceeding hateful to
God that he makes all their punishments to be measured out by that they shall have their portion with Hypocrites Mat. 24.51 they shall have their portion with the Devil and his Angels to shew none so neer to the Devil as they no man so hateful unto God or creatures but the Devil and this is a most common and ordinary way of hypocrisie that can be this makes the Saints groan in themselves therefore Bradford did write in his Letters to his friends Iohn Bradford a very hypocrite a very painted hypocrite look back with how little preparation how vain thy thoughts how thy eyes have wandered c. Secondly Apply the righteousness of Christ for the pardon of this amongst other evils Exod. 28.38 Christ must have upon his forehead holiness to the Lord that he may bear the iniquity of your holy things a great part of the holiness of Christ is appointed for this for the pardon of your unholiness in service Thirdly be more heedful for the time to come and to stir you up to it consider but only this how heedful you have been in the waies of sin Prov. 16.30 He shuts his eyes that deviseth mischief a man that will study and be intent upon a thing will shut his eyes that so objects from without do not distract his mind so intent is this man in a way of deceiving Iob 17.11 the thoughts of man are called the possessions of the heart whereupon a mans heart doth dwell now we know upon any sinful projects and thoughts of evil a mans thoughts are so settled upon them that a man cannot remove them but there they dwell but as for the things of God a mans heart dwells in them as one doth that is in another mans house he is alwaies going and taking his leave Now let this heed be seen First in thy Preparation prepare with all thy might as David did for the material Temple 1 Chron. 29.2 and say in thy heart as Solomon did the house must be great and magnificent for it is for the Lord 2 Chron. 26.6 Isa 12.3 Come to the Ordinances as wells of salvation as breasts of consolation Isa 66.11 to see the face of Christ and the goings of the Lord Come to them as the ministration of the spirit and a Doal of spiritual gifts Rom. 1.12 Secondly when thou art come take heed in the performance be not rash with thy mouth let not thy heart be hasty Eccl. 5.1,2 when thou dost do it with all thy might as David did 1 Chron. 29.17 act all graces stir up all thy affections awake my glory c. else when thou hast done there will be an out-side of service but yet they will not be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They will be empty works hollow no inward grace or strength or affection to fill them out Thirdly to shew that thou canst never take heed enough after every service go and humble thy self before God for thy want of heed and watchfulness say with Abraham I that was dust and ashes did take upon me to speak to the Lord and with Iacob How dreadful is this place it is the house of God the gate of Heaven God was here and I was not aware c. Lastly and to enable thee so to do get the fear of the Majesty of God throughly planted in thy heart and whenever thou comest before God stir up thy fear and all those awful considerations that may be for fear is the watch-man of the soul exceeding heedful and vigilant that is appointed as the remedy be not rash with thy mouth but fear thou God Eccl. 5.7 and to this end walk in the fear of the Lord all the day long walk with God in his fear at other times a special cause why men are no more heedful in Gods worship is because they give liberty to themselves and have no eye to his presence at other times therefore be thou in it all the day long GOSPEL EXALTATION MATTH 11.23 And thou Capernaum which art exalted up to heaven shalt be brought down to hell for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom it would have remained unto this day THE Lord hath not chosen one fixed place for the Gospel to reside in unto which all Nations that expected any benefit thereby were to resort as he did for the Jews at Jerusalem that only was the valley of Vision but now its sound is gone forth into all lands and there is beauty in the feet of those that bring those glad tidings Isa 52.7 the Lord hath now made it an ambulatory an itinerary Gospel it walks from place to place and comes home to the doors of those who will scarce go out of their doors to it And wheresoever it comes it brings with it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A fulness of blessing Rom. 15.29 It is to a place as the Sun to the world a beam of the sun of righteousness Mal. 4.2 It is the rain of the earth Heb. 6.8 it is a feast of fat thingâ— of fat things full of marrow of wine on the lees well-refined Isa 25.6 it is the glory of God and the glass wherein we behold it 2 Cor. 3.18 it is the face of Christ 2 Cor. 4.6 the ministration of righteousness 2 Cor. 3.9 it is the dole of spiritual gifts Rom. 1.11 it is eternal salvation it self yea great salvation Heb. 2.3 Here are garments to cover your nakedness meat to satisfie your hunger medicine to cure your diseases armor to protect your persons and a Treasure of precious promises and sure mercies to provide for your posterity that so there may be nothing wanting to make it up a fulness of blessing But wherever the Lord sends this Gospel and the Ordinances thereof he doth send it with a threefold reference First as donum with reference to our thankfulness Secondly as depositum which respects our faithfulness Thirdly as talentum which respects our fruitfulness that we may bring forth fruit meet for him of whom we have received it that we fall not into the sin and so become liable unto the censure of the unprofitable servant now the fruit which the Lord expects where he sends these Gospel-Ordinances is Repentance and Conversion Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand Matth. 3.2 The Lord lights not up this canâ—le but it is to find the lost groats he goes not abroad in this but it is to find the lost sheep or to meet some prodigal son And though there may be fruit of an inferiour nature civility and formality which men may bring forth yet the Lord counts this nothing unless repentance and conversion go before them as ciphers they be that stand for nought if set alone though they add to the Number if the figure of conversion go before Christ saith not unto them Auditores Spectatores Administratores ni fuissent virtutem ejus divinam non laudavissent â— saith Brugens plainly manifesting unto us that all the
advancement of that people above all other Nations under Heaven but where the Ordinances were corrupted the place is polluted Ier 32.34 and when they were removed the Land was defiled Ezek. 7.22 And if it were so amongst the Jews who had onely Typical Prefigurations of Evangelical Ordinances we may safely conclude it with the Apostle with a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 How much more must these needs exceed in glory 2 Cor. 3 9. Rom. 1.8 Their faith was spoken of throughout the world there seems to be as one hath observed tacita antithesis fidei imperii and the Apostle seems to intimate that they were never so honoured by their Nation as they were by their faith throughout the world as this is the wisdom so this also is the glory and honour of a people in the sight of the Nations Deut. 4.7,8 If you ask me wherein doth this advancement consist that a people have by Ordinances I answer it doth consist in these six particulars all of them matters of great honour to a people First it is a great honour to any people for the Lord to avouch them publikely to be his people this is the honour of the S t s at the last day when the Lord breaks up the House keeping of this great world he will leave the lumber of it take it who will but the Lord will himself own his Iewels and he will take them and avouch them for his own before the world Mal. 3.17 and this is the advancement of a people by the Ordinances I entred into Covenant with thee and thou becamest mine Ezek. 16.8 upon this ground the Lord is pleased to speak of them as a people that he did specially own and of them as a people that had special interest in him therefore he is pleased to stile himself the God of Israel the Rock of Israel the hope of Israel and all by reason of the Covenant that he had made with them and the Ordinances that he had stablished amongst them But when once by sin the Ordinances are either corrupted or removed the Lord owns that people no longer Call them Loammi for they are not my people I will not be their God Hos 1.9 In a common calamity it is said Isa 4 1. that seven women shall lay hold upon one man and say we will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach if it were a reproach amongst men not to be called by the name of a Husband what is it when the Lord shall as it were give a people a bill of divorce and say call them Loammi they are not my people I will be stiled their God no more Secondly it is a great honour and advancement unto a people to have God present with them and as it were to reside amongst them this was the advancement of the Jews What Nation is there so great who have God so nigh them as the Lord our God is in all that we call upon him for Deut. 4.7 there the Lord doth promise his presence and his divine blessing In the place where I record my name I will come unto you and there I will bless you Exod. 20.34 And the Lord did never manifest his presence so gloriously as he hath done in the Ordinances of the Gospel 2 Cor. 6.16 Therein we behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord. 2 Cor. 3.18 What is this glass but the spiritual administration of the Gospel and the Ordinances thereof the vail of carnal stupidity being taken from the heart and we know Quod videtur in speculo imago non est they are the reverberated species of the thing it self and therefore seeing in a glass is the clearest way of vision next to face to face yet thus God vouchsafes his presence to a people in Gospel Ordinances And in these we have the presence of Christ also he walks in the middle of the Golden Candlesticks Rev. 2. whensoever you seek him be sure he is gone down to the Gardens of the beds of spices to feed in the Gardens and to gather Lillies Cant. 6.2 insomuch that the Gospel and the Gospel Ordinances thereof are called the face of Christ 2 Cor 4 6. that is that which doth as lively represent his presence unto us as if he were present with us in the flesh so that when a man shall come to behold him in glory and to see him as he is he shall be able truly to say this is the face that long since hath in the Gospel been exhibited unto my faith What shall be the advancement of all the Christians in glory it shall be only the beatifical Vision when they awake to be satisfied with his likeness to see him as he is now if this be begun here in the Ordinances that may be well counted the advancement of a people that is unto them as it were the beginning of eternal glory Thirdly fruitfulness also is unto a people great advancement and on the contrary barrenness is a reproach Gen. 30.23 The Lord hath taken away my reproach but they were never so much honoured by the fruit of their bodies though in that God made good his promise to encrease them as the stars of heaven and as the sand upon the Sea shore yet I say they were never so much honoured by the fruit of their bodies as they were by the fruitfulness of their Ordinances They are therefore called the Bed wherein Christ doth embrace his Church and wherein souls are begotten to the Lord Cant. 2.16 Our bed is green glorious things are spoken of Zion the City of God what be they I will make mention of Rahab Babylon Philistin Tyre with Ethiopia it shall be said this and that man was born in her c. that is though they were strangers unto Zion in their first birth and so children of other Contries but yet for their second birth their new birth they shall know it to be in Zion by means of the Ordinances and she shall be called the mother of them all and this is made the glory of a Church under the Gospel the dew of thy birth is of the womb of the morning Psal 110.3 that is multitudes shall be born unto it as the drops of the dew that are begotten in the womb of the morning But when the Ordinances are either corrupted or removed Christ meets his Spouse in this bed no more when the son of righteousnes with-holds his beams this dew is not exhaled and a man shall not find a drop falling from the womb of the morning this is a great reproach unto a people Cant. 4.2 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing they bear twins and not one is barren amongst them by the teeth of the Church some understand the Ministers quos aliis erudiendis Christus praefecit for the office of the teeth is to chew and to prepare the meat that it may be
men is an abomination in the sight of the Lord Luk. 16.15 and there is many a mans person and actions when they are weighed by the world are conceived to be great weight and yet when the Lord comes to weigh them are found too light and it is his Sentence must stand he is praise-worthy and that man is honourable not whom himself nor whom the world but whom the Lord commends 2 Cor. 10.18 Secondly for the world we know it is unacquainted with and therefore unable to esteem either the comforts or the honours of the Ordinances for they are men of another Generation Luk. 16.8 In estimation a great deal of wisdom and art is seen and that cannot be expected in those whom the Scripture doth every where brand for folly every man may see a precious stone but he must be a Lapidary that knows how to value it every man sees the Sun but he must be an Astronomer that shall be able to measure it and take the quantity thereof they that know no honour but the praise of men it s no wonder if they be not able to judge of the praise of God Act. 17.11 whatever the world counts of honour and descent the Lord saith they of Berea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they were better descended then the rest of Thessalonica in that they received the word with readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily c. Thirdly though they should count it a disgrace yet look upon the Ordinances alwaies as thy honour and value not the Judgement of such men say it s a small thing to me to be judged of you or of mans day let it appear that you as much undervalue their Judgement as they do your waies this was Luthers resolution Luther Non ego opprobrium Bohemi cinominis metuo quae gloria est coram Deo Ita concurrimus utrinque illi extremo furore ego summo contemptu vincit mea audacia in Christo for that thing and that person is honourable and none else who is precious in Gods eyes since thou wast precious in my eyes thou hast been honourable but never till then Vse 2. Strive so to walk towards the Gospel and all the Ordinances thereof that you may make it appear to the world you count it your honour glory and highest advancement in the world This concerns First those that have it not Secondly those that have it First you that have it not strive to get it at any rate for your self for the place in which you live for it is a pearl of great price and therefore you may do well to sell all that thou hast to buy it in other things men will spare no cost to satisfie their ambition give any thing for their honour but in this men have no ambition Infelix prorsus ambitio quae ambire magna non novit Bernard Bernard You that live in the dark places of the earth and are like to Jerico where it may be the Land is pleasant but the waters bitter count it now not only the matter of your misery but also of your dishonour stir up your ambition in this respect to have the Ordinances of the Gospel that may exalt you up to heaven and what difficulty so ever may seem to stand in the way let them not deterr you anime magno nihil est magnum What God will bless your riches honour and advancement in outward things do not you live without this it was the complaint of Bernard of some Bernard purpura induunturcum conscientia pannosa fulgent monilibus moribus sordent it is the very condition of many places in this Kingdom a special ground of it is want of the Ordinances in their power Nay if you have good hearts all these outward things will do you no good if this be wanting the poor woman 1 Sam. 4. ult though they told her Be of good comfort thou hast born a Son yet she answered not neither did she set her mind upon it but called his name Ichabod the glory is departed from Israel the Ark of God a type of Evangelical Ordinances Evangelium sub velo the Ark of God is taken And not only for the places you your selves live in but strive to propagate the Gospel unto others also Not only your duty to God and to the Gospel your love to the souls of your brethren but your reference to the Land it self calls for it it is every Christians duty to raise the Age and as much as in him lies to ennoble and honour the Land and Nation where he lives this is the only way to make this Land to become the glorious Land and to name it Iehovah Shammah the Lord is there Ezek. 48. ult You will say herein what shall we do◠First Consider and strive to be seriously affected with the misery and dishonour of those that want these Ordinances Cant. 8.8 we have a little sister and she hath no breasts Secondly Enquire study set your thoughts on work about it whether you may relieve her What shall we do for our sister in the day that she shall be spoken for Can we do nothing by our pains by our purses by our friends c. Thirdly resolve thou wilt do thy utmost as they do if she be a wall we will build upon her a Pallace of silver if a door inclose her c. Fourthly when you have done all pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send forth Labourers Mat. 9.37 pray that the Gospel may run and be glorified as it will that it may go forth with speed and strength prevailing over difficulties and conquering all opposition that it may go forth as the Sun when it goes forth in its strength Secondly you that enjoy the Ordinances of the Gospel and by them are exalted up to heaven First prize it as highly as you do your highest honour it is worthy of all acceptation to be received 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 1.15 Acts 17.11 Say as St Chrysostoms hearers Satius esse ut sol non luceat quem ut non doceat Chrysostomus c. Secondly preserve it and defend it as you will do your honour if men seek to take it away or to hinder the Gospel in any kind contend earnestly for the faith that was once given to the Saints Jude 3. for the Gospel is committed to the custody of the Pastors of the Church to preach it but to the Princes and people of the earth to defend it to be a guard about it against al the opposition and malice of the enemies little do they consider what the cost of our poor fore-Fathers was to transmit the Gospel and the Ordinances thereof unto us the blood of Martyrs spilt the blood of Ministers spent and all was to transmit it to your hands Rom. 3.2 Rev. 13.16,17 take heed through carelesness and cowardliness we betray not the trust committed unto us but that we also by a publike profession and an earnest
make the first Covenant which God made with Adam vile in your eyes For first it was a great favour that God would be pleased to make a Covenant with the creature for we did owe him service though he had never promised a reward Secondly the person with whom this Covenant was made was the most excellent of any meer man never any so full of perfections as he so fit to be head and so likely to convey grace unto us as Adam was and therefore the Lord made the best choice for us for the establishing of this Covenant for had we our selves been to chuse seeing his perfections we would rather have put the keeping of our happiness into his hands then have kept it in our own Thirdly there were great things promised by this Covenant Gen. 2.9 all the good things of this life and eternal happiness with God in the life to come Fourthly it was the same Covenant that God made with the best of the creatures even the glorious Angels they stood by it and owe their happiness to it at this day which appears by Gods dealing with the Angels that fell he cast them off for one transgression Jude 6. and they that stood stood by vertue of the same Covenant which they broke that fell and by vertue of that Covenant being now confirmed in their estate they daily behold the face of your Father which is in Heaven Fifthly to put an end to all it is the same Covenant that the Lord Christ himself stood under for he was made under the Law Gal. 4.4 that is not only the Ceremonial and Judicial Law as a Jew but as a man also under the moral Law Gal. 4.4 being bound to his obedience and to suffer the curse thereof for he was our surety Heb. 7.22 and the surety is bound in the same bond with the principal and therefore he was made a curse for us which is the proper fruit of the Law as a Covenant of works Gal. 3.13 in all these respects it was a glorious Covenant But men should be awakened to seek to be translated whether we look upon this Covenant and mans standing under it in his state of innocency or in the state of sin First in the state of innocency so if he had stood he might well have desired to have been translâ—ted out of this Covenant if we consider it and compare it with the Covenant of grace Secondly this was a Covenant made with a mutable head Adam though he were an excellent creature yet he was but a creature and it is true of all men that they were given to change Prov. 24.21 now for a man to have all his happiness inbarked in a creature daily subject unto change must needs imply an imperfection in their condition but the Covenant of grace is made with Christ an unchangable head and therefore because he lives we shall live also Ioh. 14.19 Thirdly the Covenant it self was a changeable Covenant and therefore by reason of sin there is a change thereof unto all that believe and the Lord hath introduced a second and a better Covenant but the Covenant of grace is an everlasting Covenant Gen. 17.7 a sure Covenant 2 Sam. 23.1,2 so that nothing can arise de novo to disannul it Fourthly the promises of this Covenant were far in feriour unto those in the Covenant of grace it is a Covenant established upon better promises Heb. 8.6 in this indeed God did promise life here and hereafter but he did not promise I will be thy God I will give thee my Son and I will give thee my Spirit I will be thy God that is all the Attributes that be in me shall be as truly thine for thy good as they be mine for my own glory thou shalt have my wisdom to direct thee my power to protect thee if thou sin thou shalt have my mercy to pardon my grace to rule and my glory to crown thee Fifthly the righteousness of this Covenant was a far less glorious righteousness for it should have been the works of righteousness that we had done Tit. 3.5 but the righteousness of a creature but the righteousness of the second Covenant is the righteousness of God himself 2 Cor. 5.21 not the essential righteousness of God but a righteousness answerable unto the Law unto which the God-head gave both efficacy and excellency Heb. 9.14 Sixthly the Condition of this Covenant was less glorious for it was Doing but the Condition of the 2d was believing and this is most glorious because it sets a man upon the highest way of glorifying God for all acts of obedience in Adam did but glorifie God in his Law but this is glorifying of God in his Son which is the highest glory Ioh. 6.29 Seventhly Lastly the power of performance was far inferiour for that was to be done by man alone by the strength of grace received without any further supply and grace unassisted what can it do but under the second Covenant though the work be to be performed by us yet the supply of strength is Gods it is God that works in us both to wâ—ll and to do Phil 2.13 Thus if we look upon man in his integrity under this Covenant he hath reason seeing the new Covenant is offered to desire to be translated Secondly but if we look upon man as fallen then all those that stand under this Covenant have reason to be awakened to be transplanted First by vertue of this Covenant sin is imputed and laid upon a mans own score Noxa sequitur caput the soul that sins shall dye Gen. 4.7 Sin lies at thy door so that thou though hast heard talk of the death and suffering of Christ yet not a drop of his blood shall go to take off one sin or one torment from thee for thy Covenant admits no commutation Secondly it is a Covenant without a Mediator for then there needed no middle person no daies-man to lay hold upon both Iob 5.9 so now since man is fallen all that stand under this Covenant converse with God immediately they have no Mediator to bear their sins or to offer their sacrifices First to offer their sacrifices so that in all their services they come unto God immediately First thou hast none to bring thee into the presence of God whereas by the second Covenant we have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 boldness and access Eph. 3.12 we have a manuduction to the Father by him Secondly when we come to God we have no Priest to offer our sacrifices and so they can never be acceptable unto the Lord for whosoever should offer a sacrifice of himself without a Priest that soul was to be cut off from his people Yet this is your condition under the second Covenant Thirdly there is none to perfume them and take away the failings of them to bear the iniquity of your holy things Exod. 28.38 to perfume your prayers to wash your tears Lava lachrymas meas Domine Fourthly if Satan object any thing
against thee thou hast none to make answer for thee for thy Covenant admits no advocate Lastly if any services be required thou hast none to help thee but thy own might no Christ to strengthen thee no Spirit to help thy infirmities Rom. 8.26 as it is with the people of God in the Covenant of grace Secondly none to bear thy sins or sufferings and so wrath must needs come upon thee immediately it comes upon the godly under the second Covenant and Christ the Mediator stepped between he bare the curse being made a curse for us Gal. 3.13 but when the Lord shall come to pour out his wrath upon thee thou maiest rather hope to prevail with the Rocks and the Mountains then with Christ he will not appear for thee but thou must wrastle it out with the wrath of the great God for ever and it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God Heb. 10.30,31 there must needs be Iudgement without mercy and fury without compassion when the Lord will stir up all his wrath and none step in to bear one drop of this storm for thee for thy Covenant admits no Mediator Thirdly it is a Covenant under which unto man fallen there is no hope of reparation First it promiseth no repentance after sinning it belonâ—s to the second Covenant that Christ shall give repentance unto Israel Acts 5.31 Secondly it promiseth no space to repent but Gen. 2.17 the day thou eatest thou shalt dye and so they had had not Christ stept in Rev. 2.21 space to repent is not from the first Covenant Thirdly if a man did repent this Covenant promiseth no acceptation upon repentance it saith indeed Gen. 4.7 if thou dost well thou shalt be accepted but it faith not if thou dost evil thou shalt upon after repentance be accepted therefore this is a mans miserable condition and this it must be by this Covenant for ever therefore the Devils are in a hopeless Condition because the Covenant under which they stand offers them no mercy after sinning and God hath not revealed unto them any other Covenant and the same is the condition of every man by this first Covenant only men have this priviledge that they have a second Covenant offered unto them upon which they may lay hold with hope of mercy therefore neglect not these glorious offers seek the Lord while he may be found close with the grace in the new Covenant know the day of thy visitation for if thou be found at the last day under Adams Covenant and untranslated thou must expect no other but to bear thy own sin and shame for ever Let this awaken you to seek first for a change of thy Covenant and then afterward for a change of thine Image many men labour to change their waies and to abstain from many sins but whilest thou art under this first Covenant thy Covenant promiseth no grace to perform duties thy Covenant promiseth no acceptance therefore the first thing that a soul should set upon is to seek to God to be translated out of that Covenant that bondage under which by nature he stands FLESH SILENCED BY Gods arising A Sermon Preached before the Lord Maior Aldermen and Commons of London on a Thanksgiving day at Christ-Church London July 26. 1651. ZACH. 2. ver ult Be silent O all flesh before the Lord for he is raised up out of his holy habitation IT is the great honour of the Saints that they are made the Temples of the Holy-Ghost and the Priests of the most high God that they may offer to him spiritual sacrifices acceptable to him through Iesus Christ The sacrifices of the Jews were of two sorts Some were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Propitiatory Sacrifices for the obtaining of pardon and peace and reconciliation after sins committed there were other sacrifices that were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 peace-offerings a returning unto God of thanks and praises for blessings received When God did put into the hands of his people a cup of consolation for that is the Prophets expression in Ier. 16. then did they take the cup of salvation the cup of benediction and returned unto God again Psal 116.13 You have both these sacrifices in the spiritual sense of them under the Gospel and the Lord delights in each of them in their seasons Sometimes the Lord calls his people to mourning and it is dangerous to deceive the expectation of God Sometimes he calls them to rejoice Consider in Heb. 12.23 you are by the Gospel taken into Communion with Angels and your Communion with the Angels in a great measure doth consist in bearing a part with them in your praises it is the action of heaven and requires hearts in heaven to joyn with it therefore the hearts of the Saints are so described Rev. 19.1 I heard a voice of much people in Heaven saying Amen Hallelujah it is spoken of the Saints upon earth it is usually in that book styled the Church of God in heaven but how when they praise God they are a great multitude in Heaven The Countries that have most staple commodities in them for exchange you know they have the freest and the fullest traffique The most glorious intercourses between heaven and earth is in mercy and the most glorious return between earth and heaven is in grace praises and the returning of mercies into themselves ad locum unde exeunt gratiae revertantur Bernard saith Bernard it is a returning of mercy into the same fountain the same bosom of love from whence it flows it is indeed the habitation of God that next to heaven he delighteth to dwell in he inhabiteth the praises of Israel These considerations I desire to premse that you may a little observe of what weight and importance the services that you now go about are For the words that I have read to you that you may find out the meaning and scope of the Holy-Ghost in them it is necessary that we look into the story the context and the connexion of the verse which I shall briefly give you and I intreate you diligently to mark The Babylonian Monarchie having trodden down the City of God the holy City and laid wast the Temple and worship of God for seventy years that time being expired the Lord according to his promise delivers his prisoners out of the pit in which there was no water Deliverance was proclaimed by Cyrus the first King of Persia this liberty some of the Jews undervlaued and they still chose rather to abide in the Land of their captivity to them is the speech directed in the 6. ver of this Chapter Ho saith God come forth and stie from the Land of the North they might have had liberty but they embraced their former bondage those that did accept of deliverance and returned into their own Countrie they were no sooner returned but there rose a Samaritan faction their neighbours those that were neither Gentiles by profession nor Jews by religion
these did labour to their utmost to retard the settlement of this people newly returned into their own Land again laboured to keep the City and Temple in their ruines and to that end by their interest and power in forraign Nations they had engaged against them even the whole authority of the Persian Monarchie Now when the hopes of the enemy grew high and when the hearts of the Saints fell low what is the way God takes to remove them now why now a Prophet must go to them he sendeth Zachariah the Prophet and bids them Return to your strong holds ye prisoners of hope your strong holds why their City was laid wast their Temple burnt with fire strong holds they had none satis praesidii in un Deo Calvin Calvin There is enough strength in one God even then when walls and fortifications fall Why now that the Lord might bear up their Spirits in this condition he reveals his mind as the manner of the Lord was in those times unto his Prophet by several Visions in an especial manner in this Chap. and the latter end of the former Chap. he doth it in a double vision In one the Lord tels him that be the powers of the enemy what they would be though they saw no help none to oppose them yet the Lord would raise up an adverse power that should break them though they knew not whence it should come And he tels them in the 21. ver of the former Chap. there were four horns that did push Ierusalem and the Lord saith I will raise up four Carpenters and they shall beat them in pieces equal to the horns so shall the Carpenters be In the next place in this Chapter the Lord shews him another vision a man with a line in his hand taking me asure of the City Ierusalem and of the Temple as the manner of Builders and Artificers is to do Jesus Christ doth usually appear to his people according to those great things that he is about to effect for them when the people were to be carried into Captivity Jesus Christ then appears cloathed in linnon with a writers Inkhorn by his side Ezek. 9.1,2 and when the instruments of vengeance come Iesus Christ comes in the midst of them the man with a writers Inkhorn was in the midst of them what to do to mark those that were written to life in Ierusalem First before the instruments of vengeance can stretch out their hands against any the man with a writers Inkhorn will set his mark upon those that are written for life But when the people returned out of captivity now Jesus Christ appears with a line in his hand for he it is that must build the Church so you have it in the 6. Chap. 12. ver Behold the man whose name is the Branch he shall build thee he shall build the Temple of the Lord no wonder then that when the Temple and City is to be built Jesus Christ appears with a line in his hand This is the Vision Now observe in this Chapter three things that I may bring you home to the words read to you First you have the Vision it self the man with a line in his hand Secondly you have the interpretation of the Vision Ierusalem shall be built and the City shall be inhabited Thirdly you have a threefold Apostrophe that the Lord infers from this First directed unto the Jews that yet continued in Babylon the Lord calls them deliver thy self Oh Sion that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon It is barrenness and lowness of spirit not to accept deliverance it is pitty but those men that say they love their Task-masters they should have their ears bored as a token of perpetual service The Lord calls upon them Oh Sion that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon deliver thy self Secondly the next is to the enemies that were their neighbours the truth is my Brethren it was a good observation that of Tertullian unto the Church Tertul. there are tot hostes quot extranei all that be strangers be enemies now the Lord speaks unto these and tells them I will shake my hand against you and they that spoyl you they shall be a spoyl to their servants their own servants shall spoil them The third and last branch of this Apostrophe is in the words that I have read unto you the words of the Text and it referrs partly to the enemies and partly to the people of God that were returned out of captivity be silent Oh all flesh for the Lord is raised up out of his holy habitation Let the enemies silence their murmurings silence their slanders Be silent Oh all people Let the Saints silence their frettings silence their doubtings for the Lord is raised up out of his boly habitation You have then in the words two things First a Proposition The Lord is raised up out of his holy habitation Secondly an inference by way of Exhortation or Command thereupon Be silent before the Lord Oh all flesh The Proposition is first in nature though it be last in place and therefore I must first speak of that and then afterwards of the Application First then the Proposition is this the Lord is raised up out of the habitation of his holiness Here are two things to be explained before I can come unto those points that I purposed to commend to you First I must shew you what is meant by the habitation of his holiness And Secondly I must shew you how the Lord is said to be raised up The habitation of his holiness is used two waies in the Scripture It is sometimes put for heaven in 2 Chron. 30. ult it is said their prayer came up to his holy habitation even unto heaven So in Isa 63 15. look down from the habitation of thy holiness and thy glory why then the habitation of the holiness of God is Heaven Secondly it is many times put for the Temple the place of Gods presence amongst his people manifested in Ordinances so the Tabernacle is called Gods habitation in 1 Sam. 2.29 And the Lord is said to be at Ierusalem Brusius Brusius interpreteth it of the former Calvin Mr. Calvin of the latter we may very well by way of subordination take in both for I conceive the sense will be made up with both all the Churches deliverances as well as all the enemies destructions they come out of heaven the sword is bathed in heaven before it comes down upon the people of Gods curse in Iudgement in Isa 34.3 and yet all these whether deliverances or destructions are obtained by the prayers of the Saints in the Temple so that you may well ascribe it to both Observe I beseech you and it is a mighty truth the Saints have as glorious a hand in the Government of the world as they shall have an eminent hand in the Judgement of the world There is a threefold Authority that was erected by Christ when the government was taken into
the hand of the Son as Mediator First a Government of Angels the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels Ezek. 1.20 Had not Jesus Christ had the Government in his hand the Angels should never have been principalities and powers their authority came in with the Government of Christ Secondly the Authority and Government of Magistrates and Ministers came in with the second Covenant August istud nomen culpa meruit non natura so Augustine But there is another kind of Government And that is the Saints being taken into Covenant with Christ they have a great hand with him in the Government of Christ in Rom. 10.18 the Apostle saith their sound is gone forth into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world This is spoken of the Sun in Psal 19. how can this be applyed to the preaching of the Gospel I conceive the accommodation runs thus As the great God hath stretched out the Expansum caeli super mundum naturalem the heaven over the natural world so he hath stretched forth the glorious Expansum verbi super mundum rationalem the word over the rational world Now be pleased to consider when the people of God put Prophesies and Promises in suit beholding the several conjunctions aspects of them in the world truly those things that are done by Gods power they are done also by their prayers they have a strange hand in the Government of all things There is a double voice in the Book of the Rev. vox e throno vox e templo You read of a voice out of the Throne and a voice out of the Temple Bright Mr. Brightman I remember puts this difference and hath this hint vox e throno saith he is that quando immediate aliquid à Deo proficiscitur when any thing comes from God immediately But vox e Templo quando precibus sanctorum aliquid Impetratur that is when any thing is obtained by the prayers of the Saints that is a voice in the Temple Now I intreate you to observe this is the first thing This holy habitation is heaven in the Text. The Lord setteth so high a price upon the services of the Saints that they have a very great hand with him in the Government of all things It is Augistines speech that I have met withal sometimes in Luther August he professeth aliquid bonum opus licet agreste sordidissimum est pretiosius caelo terra the meanst good work of the Saints be it never so poor never so ordinary he saith it is more precious then Heaven and Earthâ— there is more in it because it hath so great a power with God it is no wonder then if the Lord be said to be raised up in his Temple Well that is the first thing Secondly but how is God said to be raised up how can it be said that God should rise the word in the Original that is here used 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it signifies Eâ—…somno excitari for a man to be raised up out of sleep the very same word that you have used in Psal 44.23 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Awake Lord why sleepest thou awake Lord or arise Lord for it is such a rising as is after an awaking out of sleep How can God be said to sleep and how should God be said to awake and rise The cessation of acts of providence is Gods sleep the putting of them forth is Gods arising Gods awaking as when a man sleepeth sleep bindeth up his senses in reference to their proper objects that they cannot act why so when the Lord doth not act doth not appear for his people then is the Lord said to sleep when he doth act for them and providence puts forth it self gloriously now the Lord is said to be raised up God is awake Now observe I pray you when the Lord breaketh the designs of the Churches enemies when he bloweth upon their counsels smiteth them in the hinder parts puts them to a perpetual shame why then doth the Lord arise as a Giant refreshed with wine Psal 78.65 So that now the meaning is this When the Lord doth appear for his people as a return of their prayers when the Lord ariseth gloriously for them for their deliverances and their enemies overthrow then it is said the Lord is raised up out of his holy habitation But I must hasten The Observations that I shall give you from hence are two Doct. 1. The first is this The great comfort of the Saints in all their straits and difficulties lies in this when they see God ariseth for them for here is that now that they have pitched upon to comfort themselves with I say the great comfort of the Saints in all their straits and oppositions and difficulties is in this when they see God arise for them in his providential actings Doct. 2 Secondly Experiments of Gods rising in acts of Providence are great grounds to his people to stay their faitâ—hâ— that God will go on he will bring his work to perfection for both these I conceive are intended in the Text God is raised up therefore fear not though you have no men rising God already hath manifested that he is raised up do not doubt but he will carry on the work These two things I conceive the Lord intendeth in the words And this I mean to make the Doctrinal part of this Sermon I pray observe them I will begin with the first It is the great comfort of the Saints in the midst of all their difficulties and oppositions to see God arise for them in his providential actings In the opening of it I shall speak to three heads First there is a time when God seems to sleep when the Lord seems to set still as a mighty man that cannot save you know in Zach. 3.9 the vigilance of providence is compared to seven cyes and sometimes the Saints of God do even think that all these seven eyes are asleep together but yet you must know he that keepeth Israel never slumbereth nor sleepeth but as it is said of the Saints I sleep but my heart waketh in their spiritual failings So likewise it is true of the Lord in his providential actings his heart awaketh towards his people even then when every eye seemeth to be asleep There is a time when God will bring his people low and he doth it in design Observe it Jerusalem is sometimes put into a cup ready to be drunk off that the enemy should think it is no more to devoure them then it is to drink as you use to say to a proverb I can do it as easie as to drink The state of the Church is brought unto that low ebb But now mark then saith the Lord it shall be a cup of trembling there is a time when God seems to lay all his power aside Rev 11.16,17 he hath taken unto himself his great power God is alwaies omnipotent but for a great while the power
did seem to be in the enemies hands as if God had put all power out of his hand I but he can reassume it when he will he takes to himself his own great power and raiâ—eth himself it is a most glorious Scripture and full of all consolation that in Zach. 1.8 Jesus Christ was on horseback he had an Army following him in battle array all in a readiness the Church saw no succour all this while the enemy came on none appeared but the enemy he was behinde the mirtle trees in the bottom saith the text the Lord many times seems to sleep appeareth not when yet notwithstanding his heart is on the business as I say the Saints sleep but their hearts wake in their spiritual failings so doth the Lord towards his people in his providential actings Well that is the first thing for the opening of the Doctrine Secondly The great labour of the Saints in all their straits is to awaken God that God may arise their business is not to raise armies and forces powers of men no my Beloved their great business therefore is to raise up God Psal 68.1 Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered whether any body else rise or no that is nothing Let God arise in Psal 44.23 Awake Lord why sleepest thou stand up for my help lay hold of the spear I God must do it and stop the wayes O stand up for my help the great business of the Saints hath alwaies been to raise up God Awake awake put on strength O arm of the Lord that is the Churches prayer Art not thou he that didst cut Rahab and wound the Dragon it is spoken of the destruction of the King of Egypt the great business of Saints hath been alwaies to get God to arise There are two things commonly awaken God two things cause him to rise up presently The one is the prayers of the Saints Because of the crie of the poor and of the sighing of the needy I will rise saith the Lord Psal 12.5 the truth is my Brethren God cannot sleep when you pray it was a golden speech that of Tertullian Tertul. Deum orationibus ambimus caelum tundimus misericordiam extorquemus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil Basil We knock at Heaven gates we environ God beleguer God by our prayers we as it were wrest mercy out of his hands Be pleased to consider this is one means when the Disciples were in the storm at Sea what was their great business their great business was to awaken Christ and then immediately the storm was over and there followed a great calm and they were at the Haven where they would be God is awakened with the prayers of the Saints Secondly the Lord he is awakened likewise by the blasphemies of the enemies truly you have many times even my Brethren beheld how that the very end of Gods rising for you was because of the rage of the enemy I will awake and set him at rest from him that puffeth at him because of the rage of the enemy the enemies cruelty doth cry loud in the ears of God as well as the Saints prayers Now this being the great end that the people of God propound truly when God ariseth they are satisfied let God arise and they can sit down secure be the difficulties and oppositions what they will be in fine acquiescit appetitus efficientis It was a strange spirit that possessed Steven you will say that he was able to lie down to sleep when the stones flew about his ears having so said he fell asleep what is the reason why I see heaven opened and Jesus standing at the right hand of God Christ was up for him Christ standing why Christ is said to sit at the right hand of God how doth Steven see him standing standing tanquam sui sudex vindex as one that would judge and one that would avenge his quarrel and truly he could lie down and sleep securely Lord Jesus receive my Spirit and when he had so said he fell asleep The great business of the Saints then in all their difficulties is to get God to arise that is the second thing In the third place The consolations of the Saints must needs be very great from the arisings of God for them in his providential actings though men do not rise though Armies do not rise yet I say they are mighty consolations to see God arise And that upon these three grounds Observe them I pray you In the first place When the Lord doth arise whatsoever standeth in opposition must fall God will rise up alone that assure your selves whatsoever stands in opposition I say must fall yet many times poor creatures we look upon Armies and multitudes of men and we think now Oh alas here is now no hope but the Church will presently be overwhelmed mark you have seen sometimes a black smoke arise out of a Chimney that you would think it would threaten even to darken the Sun in its orb but mark in Isa 13.3 I wilscatter them saith God as smoke out of a chimney when you see Nations and multitudes combine they are confederate as thorns when you see them confident drunk with confidence as the Drunkard then shall they be consumed like stubble fully dry Nahum 1.10 it was a good intimation that of Cyprian Cyprian ne attendas numerum never observe the number they be so many thousands and so many thousands certainly when God ariseth whatsoever stands in opposition must fall for God will rise alone that is the first ground of the Saints consolation Secondly when God ariseth he over-ruleth the spirits of men over-ruleth the malignity of the spirits of men so as they shall effect and accomplish his end â—…ou may see Psal 76.9,10 When God shall arise to Judgment the wrath of man shall praise him verily and the mainder of wrath thou shalt restrain my Brethren though we consider little of it yet we owe very much to restraining grace I say we owe very much to restraining graceâ— in the Saints indeed I conceive restraining grace and renewing grace to be one and the same habit as Justifying faith and Historical faith is the Saints owe very much to restraining grace that in their own persons but they owe much to restraining grace in reference unto others This is exercised two wayes There are restraints upon mens actions and there are restraints upon mens lusts God restrains not the Devils lusts he lets them out to the utmost but he restrains his actings but for men the Lord sometimes restrains their acts and sometimes their lusts No man shall desire thy Land God would lay a restraint upon their lusts now when God ariseth then I say he so orders the spirits of men that so much of their rage shall be let out as shall accomplish his ends and the remainder he will restrain In the third place the Saints have a great comfort in Gods rising for them upon this ground when
God ariseth he hath abundance rise with him I say if the Lord old rise alone he is able to do it but whensoever he ariseth he hath aboundance rise with him When the Lyon roars all the Beasts of the forrest tremblâ— Observe I pray you when the Lord comes to Judgement against a people if he doth but say cause the instruments of vengeance to draw neer they come every man with a slaughter weapon in his hand immediately Ezek. 9.1 so when the Lord riseth up to execute vengeance upon an enemy I will give you but one place but it is a very glorious Scripture observe it I pray you Dan. 10.20 there is an Angel come to comfort Daniel and instruct him and he tells you now saith he I go forth against the King of Persia and when I am gone forth the Prince of Grecia shall come mark God riseth up as the Text tells you for it referrs to the same when God riseth up once then truly there is an Angel up and together with him all the power of the Grecian Monarchie When I am gone forth saith he then the Prince of Grecia shall come mighty wars there were between the Grecian and the Persian until the Persian were subdued before him Now how came it to pass the Angel went out first to fight against the King of Persia when God riseth up then I say there be abundance rise with him These are the grounds of the consolation that the people of God did take from the rising of God in his providential actings for them There is a word more that I would speak to A question will rise now in every one of your mouths Oh But how should a people know when by his spiritual eyes can he discern that God is raised up we see men rise an arm of flesh but how shall we be able to say God is raised up out of his holy habitation that were comfort indeed if we could conclude that but what if men rise without God Why now in answer to that I intreate you give me leave a little When God is raised up for a people he useth to cause magnam conjunctionem a great combination as it were and a joyning together of these five things observe them I beseech you and truly I think we may speak it with thankfulness to the glorious praise of our God they have very far concurred in the Lords rising among his people in England In the first place When the Lord is awakened by prayer that is the first thing prayer is Gods way by which he is raised up Iob 8.5,6 If thou make thy supplication to him he will surely awake for thee If thou make thy supplication to him what is the reason that God was raised up for his people here he was raised up by prayer look into Zach. 11.12,13 the Lord Christ he comes and prayeth how long will it be ere thou have compassion upon Ierusalem against whom thou hast had indignation these three-score and ten years why now what is the return The Lord answereth the Angel with good words with comfortable words I am jealous for Sion as soon as ever Christ prayeth my Brethren he prayes your prayers if ever prayer arise God ariseth I am jealous for my people That is the first You shall know when God ariseth if he be awakened by prayer and truly we had cause to hope in the beginning of our troubles that the Lord did pour a large measure a plentiful measure of the Spirit of prayer upon his people Secondly when the Lord defeateth the counsels of the enemy turns their plots upon their heads I beseech you observe the Lord is known by the judgements that he executeth when the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands when the Lord takes men and burns them like Bees in their own Hive truly that is an argument God is up men could not do that God brings mens waies eminently upon their own heads you have a Scripture very remarkable Micah 4. for I dare speak nothing to you but what I have a word for I the enemy say that they would come together and they would thresh Sion why now saith God they know not the thoughts of the Lord these are their thoughts I buâ— they do not know mine why what were 〈◊〉 thoughts Gods thoughts were to make their 〈◊〉 against the people of God to be the means of their own ruine their own counsels should destoy them for so he saith they shall be gaâ—hered togeâ—er as sheaves in a flore arise and thresh O daughter of Sonâ— they thought to come together to thresh the Church I but saith God they themselves shall be threshed they shall be gathered together as sheaves to be threshed it would be horrible ingratitude for any of us to overlook the manifold appearances of God in this kind in these latter daies and not confess the Truth That is a second ground how we may know whether God arise for his people In the third place when the Lord takes away the hearts of his enemies truly my Brethren the discipline of Spirits is not in men but in the Father of Spirits when it shall be truly said the men of might have not found their hands when that shall befall them that the Lord threatneth in Nahum 3.17 their Captains shall be like the great Grass hoppers in a Sunny day the Sun ariseth and they are gone when their strong holds shall be like ripe figgs falling into the mouthes of the Eaters when God shall make the very names of men terrible to the enemies certainly God hath the Discipline of Spirits when it shall be said the sword of the Lord and the sword of Gideon and that as it is said a Barley Cake shall overthrow the Tent this is the Lords doings Certainly God doth arise In the fourth place when the Lord acteth the Spirits of his people unto high and noble and invincible resolutions draws them out to resolutions more then men when he guides their strength when he girds up their spirits to the busineâ—s in Zach. 4 6. Not by power nor by might but by my Spirit how did the Spirit of God do it truly it is the Spirit of God working in the hearts of men raising up their hearts to encounter with the greatest difficulties to look a thousand deaths in the face with boldness and elevating the spirits of men beyond what or linarily is in men this is the Lord the Lord riseth when it is so And then in the last place when the Lord goes on in waies of mercy and draws out his loving kindness sometimes the Lord may step forth for his people and he may withdraw himself again and then the misgivings of their hearts will be ready to say it is the Lord is upon us but when the Lord holds on a continual tenor of mercies when it shall be said as it was to Ioshua there is no man shall stand before thee all the daies of thy life I am with
thee Is it so my Brethren then all men must conclude surely the Lord is raised up out of his holy habitation And this is the first point The second I shall speak a little to but very briefly that I may come to the second general in the Text I am loth to trespass or to straighten him that succeeds in the service The second Doctrine that I propounded to you was this Dostrine That the experiments that the Saints have of the rising of God for them in some Providential actings are a sure pledge to their faith that he will go on the will not leave the work till he hath brought it to perfection so observe I will give you but one Scripture Psal 74.14 he smote the head of Leviathan in the water and he gave him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness the Lord here doth encourage them against those great difficulties that they were to meet withal in the wilderness after they came out of Egypt why now what is the use that they must make of the affliction of Pharoah and his Army called the head of Leviathan there his power his policy his strength the Lord brake the enemy Why the text saith he gave it to be meat to the people Why did the people of Israel in the wilderness feed upon the dead bodies of the Egyptians No that is not the meaning of it but this he gave it to be food to their faith not to their bodies for their faith to feed upon in all those ensuing difficulties that they were to meet withal in a howling wilderness in decretis sapientium nulla est Litura Wise men make no blots when the Lord hath begun he useth to go on if he open the first seal against Rome Pagan he never leaves till he comes to the seventh seal If he sounds the first Trumpet against Rome Christian he goes on to the seventh So having begun to pour out some of the Vials against Antichristian Rome surely the Lord will never leave till the last vial be poured out So it is a great encouragement to the Saints the great experiments they have had of the Lords rising for them in his providential actings that the Lord certainly will go on Oh but will you say to me If we could be assured of that but what if the times should turn there are changes in the right hand of the most high what if we should see a new face upon things I know these are the suppositions of every heart here Now I intreate you consider I confess there is an ultima clades adhuc metuenda there is a great cloud that yet hangs over all the European Churches pray observe what I say the killing of the witnesses I cannot look upon as past because I cannot find the time of the prophecying in sackcloth and ashes to be expired and Rome Antichristian as well as Rome Pagan under Iulian shall have its three years and a half but yet for your comfort let me tell you the experiments that you have had of Gods providential actings may secure your hearts that they shall never prevail so as to put out that lâ—ght of the glorious Gospel that God hath set up among you they shall never prevail so far Rome hath a time of seduction and a time of persecution the time of Romes seduction is over though it is true the grand persecution is to come Angustine I remember tells us that there is a threefold persecution that the Church of God should undergo August The first is violenta by force The second is fraudulenta that is in a way of heresie A third should be violenta fraudulenta there should be a deceit mixt with force Now I intreate you be pleased to consider there be these three arguments that I have looked upon as a great stay to my own thoughts in this respect I shall crave leave to propose them to you In the first place the Apostle Heb. 12.27 tels us that the Lord doth shake the things that are made that the things that cannot be shaken may remain he shaketh the things that are made that they may be removed that the things that cannot be shaken may remain then the end why the Lord hath shaken in Church and State whatsoever is of man what the Lord will not have to continue it is that he may remove it Why now this is the great end then that the Lord hath that things that cannot be shaken should remain Whatsoever Jesus Christ hath removed all the power of men shall never exalt for he did shake it to that very end that he might remove it I say what the Lord hath removed as a thing made moveable all the powers of men shall never be able to establish again Jesus Christ will maintain the ground he hath won That is the first Argument Yea In the second place when Christ rides forth for to Conquer he conquers not at once but he will go on to conquer that is another argument you may see him going forth Rev. 6.1,2 he rideth forth conquering and to conquer he did not conquer all at once but he carries on the victory Luther I remember said when he began Luther brevi efficiam ut Anathema sit esse Papistam it shall not be long saith he but by the grace of Christ I shall bring it about that it shall be looked upon as a cursed thing to be a Papist God hath carried on the work still and I remember it was the speech of Latimer one of our Martyrs when he came to be burnt I hope I shall kindle a fire this day in England shall never be put out Romanum nomen de terra tolletur Certainly the Lord Christ will carry on his work for he conquers not all at once he goes on conquering and to conquer In the third place Consider I beseech you the ten Kingdoms shall destroy the whore that is my third argument the ten Kingdoms are the Instruments God will use Antichrist riseth in a double beast Rev. 13. in his civil power so he makes up one beast with the ten Kingdoms In his Ecclesiastical he makes up his ten Kingdoms in the Clergy that is the Beast that hath two horns like a Lamb he speaks like a Dragon Now observe I beseech you these ten Kingdoms the Lord will make use of to destroy the Whore therefore he must reserve a considerable party Nay a major party that shall hate the Whore who shall become chosen and faithful the Lord hath been pleased to make this one of the ten Kingdoms certainly the Lord will uphold a major party here those that shall keep themselves that be Virgins not defile themselves with the fornications of Antichrist and the Lord will raise them up for this great service and they shall stand with the Lamb upon Mount Sion Consider I beseech you this and then when you look about upon those glorious providential acts of God for you truly you may
comfort your selves with this the Lord is raised up out of his holy habitation he hath begun and he will carry on the work And so much now for the first branch of the Text the Proposition the Lord is raised up out of his holy habitation The inference that followeth upon it I shall speak but briefly to only I pray you lend me your diligent ear and with that I shall conclude I would be loth to trespass in respect of time The Lord is raised up out of his holy habitation what then be silent Oh all flesh before him That is the inference be silent O all flesh before the Lord. These words Interpretets referr both to the Churches enemies and to the people of God who were returned from the Land of their captivity The particle Interjectio est silentium Imperans Jerom. Ierom. Oh that is here used is a kind of Interjection by which the Lord commandeth silence and not a silence of the tongue only but silence of the soul My soul keep silence unto God There is a double silence in the world Some men keep silence in policy because they would not discover themselves till a convenient time But all the people of God that will approve themselves they must keep silence in duty Well First then Let us look upon enemies and as it is a direction to them a command laid upon them Oh all flesh be silent before the Lord. I here is a double ground of all ungodly mens silence and I find it used so in Scripture First there is a silence from shame Psal 31.19 let the lying lips be put to silence that cruelly and despightfully speak against the righteous silencing may be by shame Secondly there is a silencing of men wiâ—h fear and astonishment Psal 107.41 he setteth the poor on high with Princes the righteous shall see this and rejoyce and all wickedness shall stop their mouth men shall be amazed to see it There is a silence from shame there is a silence from fear then it is as if so be the Lord should have said unto all the Churchs enemies for shame or if not for shame for fear suppress your murmurings away with your boastings your censurings your slanderings Keep silence Oh all flesh before the Lord why now give me leave to inforce it a little All those that are enemies unto Gods actings among his people give me leave to speak a word to you if any such are here as in most of our Congregations it is like there are When the Lord is raised up out of his holy habitation doth gloriously appear in providential actings for his people then see that you keep silence I say away with your murmurings your disputings your censurings your slanderings and let me inforce it upon these four grounds remember them First know the Lord hears all your murmurings the Lord takes notice of all your censurings sometimes men in design keep silence because they dare not speak out But remember what the Lord told his people when they murmured against Moses Exod. 16. the Lord tells them that they have not murmured against thee at the 7. ver they have not murmured against thee but they have murmured against me When God appears in Instruments and you evidently see the hand of God with them then when you murmur at these Instruments you murmur against God remember that and the Lord takes notice In the second place It is a far greater Judgement for a man to be given over to a froward fretful spirit under an affliction then any affliction that can befall him I desire that it may sink deep into all your hearts I say to be given over under an affliction to a froward and a fretful spirit is a greater judgement then any affliction can befall him for a man to be like a wild Bull in a Net full of the fury of the Lord the cross he cannot bear and yet he cannot avoid it I intreat you consider it is worse then any other judgement can befall you it is the Devils sin and it is the Devils punishment mark this I say it is the Devils sin and it is the Devils punishment the Lord crosseth him in all his designs and yet notwithstanding for all that still his spirit risseth up against all his acting and so envy is his sin and his plague now do you mark it is true all sins are from the Devil but yet some are from him per modum servitutis others per modum Imagini in some sins you do the Devils work but in some sins you bear the Devils image and I beseech you consider this is the condition of every man so far as he is given over to a froward fretful perverse discontented spirit under the providential actings of God towards his people Consider I beseech you it is this that makes Hell this makes Hell when a man is under the hand of God that yet he cannot bear it nor he cannot avoid it It was a good speech of Bernard Bernard Ubi non est propria voluntas non erit infernum take away a mans self-will and truly you take away hell this is that my Bretheren makes it be so when an affliction lies upon a man all that while his will continually riseth against the dealings of God and he frets against the hand of God upon him it is the greatest Judgement could befal him In the third place This will certainly hinder your repentance It is a sad Scripture that so much the more sad because it hath an aspect upon the times in which we live Rev. 16.9 you read of the Vial poured out upon the Sun the highest authority in Church and State so far as it holds to Rome Now the Text saith that men should be scorched the same Vial that was poured out upon the Sun I say now that men should be scorched exceedingly fretful perplexed in spirit and what follows why the text saith they blasphemed God that had power over these plagues and they repented not to give God the glory My Brethren there is not a greater Judgement befalls men in these daies then through a fretful spirit against the instrument to neglect the hand of God and not repent and turn Yea in the last place that I may draw to wards a conclusion This will provoke the Lord I assure you for to bring greater plagues upon you therefore take heed to it to keep silence before him when you see Gods hand upon you Isa 26.11 When the hand of the Lord is lifted up they will not see but they shall see and be ashamed for their envy at the people saith the Text. My Brethren God worketh Judgements in lesser characters at first and truly if men cannot read it he will write them in more eminent and capital Letters small judgements they will not open wicked mens eyes truly neither will they stop wicked mens mouthes and if they will not do so assuredly God will have a way for all wicked men
these they adorn Then this is the first Out of him shall come forth the corner Secondly Out of him shall come forth the Nail What is that It is a Metaphor used likewise for Governors You have that clear place in Isa 23.23,25 there is the removing of one bad Governor and the setting up of a good Shebnah is removed Eliakim is exalted the Lord saith of them both they are a Nail fastned in a sure place A Nail fastned in a sure place shall be removed saith the Lord speaking of the displacing of Shebnah and I will fasten him as a Nail in a sure place speaking of the exalting of Elikaim There is a double Analogy or proposition in that Metaphor First Clavibus connectuntur compinguntur inter se trabes the beams of the building are fastned and united by Nails one to another so that the Corner-stone doth not only unite the foundation but the Nails they unite the roof Secondly vasa suspensa pendent upon the Nails all the Vessels hang that is the Metaphor used there I will fasten him as a Nail in a sure place and you shall hang upon him all the glory of his Fathers house the off-spring and the issue all the Vessels even from cups to flaggons all the necessary Utensils of the house they all hang upon this Nail so then the meaning is this That out of Iudah shall come forth a Magistrate who shall be as a corner-stone to support to unite to adorn the Common-wealth of Israel And he shall be as a Nail he shall be for union above as well as a Corner-stone below and upon him all the building of the Common-wealth shall hang even from the highest to the lowest all sorts of Vessels even from flaggons to cups Thirdly Out of him shall come forth the Battle Bow the Bow was an Instrument of war much in use in antient times and therefore is here put for all the weapons of war all their ammunition for and all their discipline of war now the Lord had said before Hos 1.5 I will break the bow of Israel and then there should be no success in any of their undertakings there should not be any instrument of war nor any success in the use of them and so that Zach. 9.10 it s said the Battle-Bow should be cut off from Ierusalem whereas formerly they had no strength for war but fell before their enemies continually and were given to them as a prey it was the Lord had broken the battle-Bow and therefore they did hire in the neighbour Nations for to be their strength and sometimes they are found in the way of Egypt sometimes of Assyria but when the Lord returns unto them in mercy for their deliverance they should have strength of their own against all the neighbour Nations so that out of themselves should come forth the Battle-Bow and they should be successful in war and tread down their enemies as mire in the streets because the Lord is with them So that when the Lord did return to them in mercy he would give them power for and success in war also Fourthly Out of him every Oppressor or Exactor which I put both together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word properly signifies an Exactor or one that gathers taxes or tribute of others Isa 60.17 I will make thy officers peace and thy Exactors righteousness or else the word signifies to exact a mans work as is used of Pharoh task-masters Exod. 3.7 I have heard their cry because of their tack-masters an Exactor of labour and of tribute are both fitly to be understood here for God doth not only deliver his people from the power of the enemy but doth also put the enemies into their power so that they rule over them for that is the promise Isa 14.2 They shall take them for servants and for handmaids they shall take them Captive whose Captives they were and they shall rule over their Oppressors Isa 60.5,6 The Rulers of the Gentiles shall come unto thee the Dromedaries of Midian and the gold of Shebnah They shall bring Gold and Incense The sons of strangers shall build the walls their Kings shall minister unto thee and the Nations that serve thee not shall perish so that they shall not only subdue their enemies but rule over the Nations this shall be the glorious condition of the Church when the Lord shall arise and have mercy on Sion the fulness of which time is not yet come because the whole mysterie of God is not yet finished but it is Lactantius his observation Lactan. de divin praem l. 7. cap. 19 Cadet repente gladius e coelo ut sciant Justi ducem sanctae militiae descensurum There is a great sword fallen from heaven amongst all the Nations of Europe yea even of all the world which shall be a signal to the Saints that the Captain of the Lords host shall surely come unto their full and perfect deliverance and therefore they are to lift up their heads for their redemption draws nigh Bellum saepe renovabit Antichristus saepe vincet donec consectis omnibus Impiis debellatus it is he hath drawn in all the wicked of the earth in his quarrel But that is now the work of the Lord that he is doing making preparation for that great and last battle the battle Armageddon and you will find a confederacy of all those of the Popish Interest and that have received the mark either in the right hand or in the forehead and they shall some on one account and some on another be engaged that they may perish together and then the Kingdoms and Dominions under the whole earth shall be given to the Saints of the most high But that is not until the fourth Beast be destroyed The God of heaven shall set up a Kingdom by it self and after the destruction of the fourth monarchy and therefore that which now doth hinder the setting up the Kingdom of God in the world shall be destroyed with an utter destruction This I conceive to be the meaning of the words You have then in these words the state of the people set forth after their deliverance what it shall be and that is double Look upon them first in statu Politico and afterwards in statu Polemico First in reference to their Politick state so saith the Lord they shall never want a Governor a faithful Magistrate but he shall be to them as the Corner and as the Nail their enemies shall rule over them no more the Scepter shall no more depart from Judah they shall have those of their own that shall be able to uphold the Government and unite the Common-wealth Secondly look upon them in statu Polemico so he saith Out of him shall go forth the Battle-Bow they shall have all sotts of war-like provisions in themselves and they shall be very successful in war they shall tread down their enemies and they shall rule over their oppressors These are the promises that the
Lord makes of a glorious estate unto his people after their deliverance But it is the first only that I am to speak to as being only proper for the present occasion Out of him shall come forth the corner Doct. The Observation that I shall deliver to you from thence is this When the Lord returns to his people in mercy he will give unto them Governors that shall support them that shall be for the supporting for the uniting and for the adorning of the Common wealth I say when the Lord returns to a people in mercy he will give unto them Governors that shall be for the support the uniting and adorning of the Common-wealth Here are but two things that the time will give me leave to speak to Therefore I shall omit the third I shall shew you that when the Lord returns to a people in mercy he gives them such Governors as support the Common-wealth they shall be as the Corner-stone upon which the weight of the building may lie Secondly he doth give them such Governors as shall be as the Corner stone that may unite the Common-wealth I shall begin with the first First good Magistrates are as the Corner-stone to support the Common-wealth it is true all the stones in the building do conduce to the upholding thereof for as it is in the spiritual building so it is in the Politick men are built as living stones but I say the main weight of it lies upon the Corner-stone because the weight of the building the burden of all lies upon the Magistrate therefore I say he is here resembled to a Corner-stone Now that a Magistrates business is to uphold the Common-wealth take notice of these four denominations in the Scripture First Magistrates are called the foundations of the earth Psal 82.5 and Mich. 6.2 where he speaks of the oppression of Magistrates he saith all the foundations of the earth are out of course I have said yee are Gods why you that are the foundations of the earth to pull up Magistracy is to pluck up all by the foundation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secondly they are called the breath of your Nostrils Lam. 4.20 the breath of our Nostrils it is spoken of Zedekiah who was an evil Prince yet he hath this honourable title given him by the Prophet it is as possible for a man to live without breath as it is for a Common-wealth to subsist without Magistracy Thirdly they are called the shoulders upon which all the weight is born Isa 22. I will give him the key of the house of David I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulders a key is Symbolum potestatis an emblem of Government Now saith the Lord I will not put the key in his hand but I will lay it upon his shoulders Isa 9.6 Unto us a child is born the Government is upon his shoulder Principes mundani onus gubernandi rejiâ—iunt in humeros servorum it is but to let you see the weight of Government therefore it must be laid upon the shoulder and men must lay their shoulders to it In the last place Magistrates are called the Arms of the people the Arms of Moab are broken Ier. 48.25 I am not able to bear this people alone saith Moses Moses had not Arms sufficient to bear such a weight My beloved the great burden of all I say lies upon the Governors they are the Arms by which the people are born up Unus tantum subditus in Civitate Magistratus est Luther saith Luther there was but one subject in a City and that is the Magistrate the weight of all yes upon him And it must needs be so if you take his reason for he saith Ante peccatum Politia nulla fuit politia est remedium necessarium naturae corruptae all civil Government was but a necessary remedy that was brought in for corrupt nature Now if it be a remedy against corrupt nature the burdens of corrupt nature are exceeding many in so much as the Lord himself complains in Amos 2.13 I am pressed under your abominations as a Cart that is full of Sheaves therefore I say the weight of all the supporting of all lies upon the Magistracy they are the corner-stone upon whom the weight of the building lies But the great enquiry will be how are Magistrates the corner-stone of the Common-wealth how do they or how must they support the Common-wealth that their duty may answer their dignity that they may indeed prove corner-stones I shall give you five directions as briefly as I may First that the Magistrate may be a corner-stone to support the building he must take care that he uphold Religion that must be his first that must be his great care that which should be mainly in our eye in praying for them should be chiefly in their eye in practising 1 Tim. 2.2 Pray for Kings and those that are in Authority that you may lead a peaceable and a quiet life in godliness and honesty peace without godliness is but a vain and a mock-peace but because now this is made a controversie I shal offer three considerations which truly are to me unanswerable that the Magistrate is to take care of Religion Nay his great care his first care is to be of that pray observe them well because you are every where told now Magistrates have nothing to do with matters of Religion In the first place every Magistrate ought to rule with God Hosea 11. ver ult Judah rules with God the throne of the Magistrate is therefore called the throne of God When Constantine was exalted to the seat of the Empire it is said he was taken up into the throne of God Rev. 12.5 then the great care of Magistrates must be that they do not rule alone but that they have God to rule with them it is true the most high rules in the Kingdoms of mortal men Dan. 4.17 but he rules but as he doth rule in the Kingdom of the Devils he rules but by a way of providence but you that fear God should endeavour that God should rule among you as he rules among his Saints in waies of grace in waies of grace I say Now I beseech you consider let Religion be neglected or corrupted presently God forsakes that people Look but into the 10. and 11. Chapters of the prophesie of Ezekiel it is true the Lord doth not remove all at once but the glory of the Lord goes up first from the Cherubims to the threshold of the house from the threshold of the house to the midst of the City and from â—he City to the Mountains my Brethren if the glory of God leave your Ordinances once be well assured he will leave your City next the next move is that therefore whatsover you do if you would rule with God take heed that by this means he be not provoked to depart for a Magistrate ruling alone and a Minister preaching alone
wrongeth many a soul and an ignorant Magistracy undoeth many a cause Therefore that is the second It would be very honourable unto the Governors of this honourable and populous City that they would apply themselves much these waies that they may know the rules of their own judgements and not be acted barely by those that plead the cause God will judge by Law my Brethren when he comes to judge and so should you he will judge the secrets of all men according to my Gospel he will not judge by prerogative he will judge by Law Rom. 2.16 That is the second uphold the Laws and you uphold the Common-wealth Thirdly Magistrates are to uphold their own authority and in so doing they uphold the Common-wealth I say you are to uphold your own authority to what purpose is the Legislative power if there be not an executive power the Magistrate is to be the living Law 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If once the authority of God fall in the heart of a man the authority of his Law will quickly fall down So if once the authority of the Magistracy fall before men truly the authority of the Law executed by it will quickly come to nothing therefore it should be your business to uphold your own authority In Prov. 20.8 it is said that a wise Ruler scattereth the wicked with his eye It is the Magistrates duty to uphold their authority in the highest to scatter the wicked with their eyes There is a generation of men that are enemies to authority and they talk of Levelling all every day I desire that you would be pleased to consider support your authority in the execution of Laws for if you cannot do that if you cannot support your own authority you will hardly be able to support the Law which is in it self a dead letter true indeed it is no wonder that the men of Belial should be willing to be sine jugo without a yoak It is said 1 Sam. 10. there were Sons of Belial that brought him no presents it is no wonder I say for consider seriously this is that which comes to pass sometimes by the Sons of men and sometimes by the just Judgement of God Zach. 11 ult it is said the sword shall be upon the right hand of the Magistrate his ruling power shall be taken away he shall have no authority his authority shall come to nothing the sword shall be upon his right hand my Beloved if the Lord engage your hearts to uphold holiness among you there is nothing will strike that awe into the hearts of offenders of the proudest oppressors as that will when Magistrates bear a double image the image of God in them as men and the image of God upon them as Magistrates Uphold your authority that is the third Fourthly the Magistrate is to uphold the peoples liberty and in so doing he upholds the Common-wealth uphold the peoples liberties the liberties among the Romans were looked upon as sacred things and of very high esteem Acts 22.28 with a great price bought I this freedom but I was free-born saith Paul your liberties my Beloved have cost much more then his could cost what expence both of treasure and blood and therefore how great care what great care should the Magistrate take those that are Custodes libertatis it is your honours to be Keepers of the Liberties of your City it is your honour aliud est obedire aliud servire it is one thing to obey as a subject it is another thing to serve as a slave therefore I say the liberty of the people that in an especial manner should be preserved you must draw them with the cords of a man drawn from Law and Love or otherwise whosoever he be that thinks to ride a people as a Beast that Beast will with the first opportunity cast his rider and this is the true reason why so many stars have fallen from heaven this is the true reason why you see at this very day so many Princes walking like servants upon the earth for surely that Authority which entrenches on the peoples liberty is not lasting nullum violentum est perpetuum it s the liberty of the people that equal Justice be towards all and that all have equal access to it and that it be administred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without respect of persons or to servants or friends do not put a difference in the case out of partiality to any man for all men should have the same interest in the Magistrate as a Magistrate and all particular respects in Judgements should be put far away the most upright and wary Magistrates may sometimes distribute unevenly for the Ballances do seldom hang even when some personal respects are put into one end Consider that I beseech you That is the fourth particular In the last place and so I have done with this first Branch I am sorry the time hastneth so The Magistrate must uphold the propriety of the people and in so doing he upholds the Common-wealth he must uphold their propriety that every man may sit down under his own Vine and under his own figg tree Mica 4.4 That men may have something that they may call their own not only their own in reference to the Subjects but their own in reference to the Magistrate for we are to consider universa sunt in Regis imperio non in patrimonio though you come under the Magistrates command yet all is not the Magistrates patrimony he may not dispose of the subjects estates at his pleasure it is a dangerous thing when Magistrates prove Nimrods mighty Hunters before God when they hunt many for the estates of the people it was a sad complaint Hab. 1.14 Lord saith he why hast thou made men like fishes of the Sea that have no Ruler where the great ones shall devoure the less without controul These are sad complaints when they come up before God this is that that hath buried many a State in its own ashes that the propriety of the people hath not been preserved for Augustine complains of old August that mundi regna what were they saith he sed magna latrocinia the governments of the world what be they why truly but great Robberies Now I humbly desire you to consider then is the Nation then is a Common-wealth supported then do Magistrates prove the Corner when the Liberties when the Religion I say the Law the Authorities the Liberties the Proprieties of the people are preserved and remember the promise and we may look out for the time in Ezek. 45.8 My Princes saith God shall oppress my people no more my Princes they shall give unto their people their portion in my Land saith he they shall not take all to themselves but they shall be contented with their own portion they shal be contented that their Brethren shall take their portion My Princes shal oppress my people no more Now my Beloved then shal you that are Magistrates prove the
corner-stone to a Nation or to a Common wealth or to a Ciâ—y when you do thus uphold them And that is the first thing The Corner-stone aedificium sustinet it upholds the building I would speak something of the second the Corner-stone aedificium continet it unites it Magistrates are not only to sustain and to uphold but they are to unite Magistrates be called Healers Isa 3.7 they must bind up the wounds of the people The Lord Jesus Christ it is his glory and work 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he doth unite them all under one Head things in Heaven and things in earth Eph. 2.20,21 in Adamo nos omnes uni sumus Prosp that as in the first Adam so it is true in the second Adam it is in him they are made one and united The Corner stone is to unite as well as to support Oh But you will say to me It is union that we all long for we are a divided people shall we alwaies eat the flesh of our own arms shall Ephraim be against Manasseh and Manasseh against Ephraim and both against Judah still The staff of bonds is broken amongst us shall it alwaies remain broken what way is there that there might be a healing in this that this breach might be made up Why truly the hand of the Ruler must be first in this thing that the mercy may be called by his name the hand of the Ruler must be first in it you that are the Corner stones must unite the building you talk of perswading the people to unite I say the hand of the Ruler must be first in the union I but you will say how can that be I beseech you let me give you a few directions and then I shall from all make a short Application and conclude The waies of union are these five and I desire you that are in Authority to lay them to heart In the first place Religion is the great bond of union therefore I say let it be your great care that there be a unity in Religion the greatest breach is in that Odia-religionum sunt accrbissima no breach like that You shall see what began a breach between Israel and Judah it was Religion upon a Politick respect when God rent the Kingdom from the house of Rehoboam but observe the Politick difference might have been made up and Jeroboam out of his Devilish subtilty foresaw it 1 King 12.17 he saith if the people go up to Jerusalem to worship their hearts will turn again to the house of David saith he The Politick difference would have been made up therefore saith he I will make them two Calves one in Dan and the other in Bethel and this shall set them at a perpetual distance the difference the Politick difference might have been made up the State difference but the difference in Religion would never therefore this was the way to divide them perpetually If ever you will unite the people there must be your foundation So the Lord begins when he will unite his people Zach. 14.9 Iehovah shall be one and his name one you shall have but one God and you shall worship him one way by one name Now you have many Gods and many names Ichovah shall be one and his name one Ier. 32.39 I will give them one heart and one way one way in what one way in Religion that is the main thing he speaks of or as the Prophet saith Zeph. 3.9 They shall serve the Lord with one shoulder I desire therefore that no man would take delight in keeping up differences in matters of Religion take heed of it either upon this ground because you look upon it as policy to uphold parties or else it may be because you dare not displease either party take heed of it I say be valiant for the truth upon earth in this contend earnestly for the faith once given to the Saints usually a girdle was an ornament belonging to the Magistrates in former times it is fit for those that are Rulers to wear it still have your loins girt about with truth Eph. 6.14 Beloved it is true I expect not that all men shall be of one mind one judgement I know men see with different light and I know that while the smoke of the Temple lasteth as it shall be during the pouring out of the Vials Rev 15. I know the Sea of glass will be mingled with fire but in this you should be of one mind you must be in the fundamentals that without which there can be no Religion no Christianity he that speaketh against these openeth his mouth wide against Heaven Neither say I that the Magistrates judgement in this should be the rule as some men suggest then you will have the Magistrates judgement to rule in matters of Religion No we have a sure word of prophecy and we know this sure word of prophecy is not dark in that in things necessary The Apostle tels us plainly there is a pattern of wholsom words to which we must keep 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and though it is true the grossest errors in the world would shroud themselves under Scripture and flie thither for a refuge saith Iustine Martyr Justine Mâ—…r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such a man expounds the Scripture secundum sensum non quem legit sed quem Attulit August August they would offer violence to the Scripture they would flie thither for refuge but upon examination it would appear that the Scripture gives no such shelter Well that is the first thing if you would unite the great body unite in Religion Let Ichovah be one and his name one Secondly if Magistrates would unite the people then take heed agree amongst your selves if you would have union amongst the people I say agree amongst your selves if the Corner-stones once fall asunder you may easily expect many cracks in the building differences amongst Governors must needs cause strange distractions among the people for they are generally led by parties and personal respects therefore if you would heal this breach now which you all seem to complain of begin with your selves Physitian heal thy self heal your own differences first all divisions amongst your selves this is the way the Lord takes in Hos 1. ult he saith they shall appoint to themselves one Head they should have many Governors united all under the Lord Jesus Christ they should be all under one head I beseech you consider it how comes it to pass then Governors in their Politick meetings meet with as great confusion as they did in their Church Ecclesiastical meetings 1 Cor. 14.26 how is it saith the Apostle that every one hath a Psalm and every one a Doctrine and every one hath a Revelation and every one hath an Interpretation let all be done to edifying every man did seek to shew his gifts and to lay out his own parts without all respect to the edification of the Church So many times it proveth in Politick meetings too It is good advice
to Magistrates though it be given generally to Christians My Brethren be not many masters saith the Apostle in Iam. 3.1 When a masterless disposition bears sway in Rulers truly then if their pathes in every thing be not trodden they are so far from being Counsellors that they are themselves uncounsellable My desire therefore to you is this that such Breaches amongst your selves may be made up that amongst you there may be none such if it may be But I should further desire that if any such be you would with more wisdom keep them amongst your selves then you do if such differences and breaches whatsoever they be amongst you in counsels come abroad they cause great divisions amongst the people and great animosities in the hearts of the people some one way and some another as their party or their fancy leadeth them In the third place labour for union amongst the Ministers that should be one thing that the Magistrate should take special care for endeavour a union among the Ministers of the Gospel they will have still and God would have them have a great influence upon the people If there be jarrs between Paul and Barnabas it is no wonder then if one be for Paul and another for Apollo people presently fall to parties therefore I desire you to consider in a special manner let it be your care that the Ministers be united far be it that they should be men to stir up strife and that they should cause divisions or nourish them amongst the people surely it is your duty Rom. 14.19 to follow after the things that make for peace and those that will edifie one another It is an observation that Bullinger hath Bullinger I remember in a Tract that he hath written de persecutionibus Christianae Ecclesiae be saith that whensoever the Church had peace auctae sunt dissentiones praecipue inter Episcopos Doctores quibus populus nihil aedificabatur by and by there arose differences amongst the Ministers and by this means the people were not edified but destracted and what then then the Lord gave them to such a persecution and then to such a persecution ad abstergendam aeruginem and those of us now that cannot pray together nor give thanks together no by no means we can neither pray for the same mercy nor give thanks for the same deliverances truly then we may go together in the same prison and it may be die at the same stake far be it therefore from the Minister of the Gospel I say that they should cause division or uphold it but if such a thing be it was Nazianzens last request to the Emperour before he left the Court Nazianz. that he would use all the Authority he had to reconcile the Ministers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cause that dissention cause that war to cease Oh But you will say how is it possible we should do it how can it be Truly the Apostle hath a Rule if it were we I understood and as well practised would reach very far in it you have it in 1 Cor. 14.32 the Spirit of the Prophets is subject to the Prophets the Spirit of the Prophets is subject to the Prophets the Spirit of the Prophets that is the Doctrine which they did profess to speak by the Spirit this Doctrine is subject to the Prophets how prophetarum censuris to their examination and to their censure they were to try it by the rule of the word whether it were the word of God or no Now if the Spirit of the Prophets be subject to the Prophets then certainly if men were to undergo such a tryal of Doctrine they would not be so ventrous both in the Press and in the Pulpit as now every where they are but it is for want of this rule not being observed the spirit of the Prophets is subject to the Prophets That is the third direction Reconcile the Ministers and you will unite the Nation In the fourth place I will but add a word of the rest Take away all oppression and all partiality in judgement there will never be a union till then while there is oppression there will be division it is a sure rule Ubi desinit judicium ibi incipit bellum war begins where judgement ends a sure rule hold the reins of Government with an even hand I say do not hold them strait upon some and loose off upon others for if you do there will be a heart-division that will arise take but that Scripture but mark it is a notable Scripture Job 34.17 Shall be that hateth right Govern saith he the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall he that hateth right bind up so it is in the Original shall he that hateth right bind up truly that man that doth not administer judgement righteously in his Government that man will never bind up the breaches of a Nation he that hateth right will never bind up the sore In the last place pray for this mercy you that are Magistrates pray for it it is not only your duty to rule the people but to pray for them Hezekiah prayed for the people and you find upon every occasion Moses his hands were up and Samuel saith God forbid I should cease to pray for you saith he And God hath promised to hear the prayers of the Magistrates in an especial manner you pray ex osficio you pray as men in office their prayers are more then the prayers of any private and particular man if they be godly Consider I humbly beseech you as it is in Church-Officers Iames 5.14 15. saith the Apostle If any man be sick let him send for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him why not for the Brethren as well as for the Elders The Lord hath special respect to men in office and in an especial manner let your prayers be by strength of arguments of faith drawn from those great promises I will give them one heart and one way the two sticks shall become one in my hand and by this means the Lord may make you the healers of the breach the Corner-stone to unite as well as to uphold the people This is the dignity and this is the duty of Magistrates that as Corner-stones they uphold the building and that as Corner-stones they unite the building Now I have a word of Application suitable to the present occasion and I have done The Use that I shall make of it is unto you my Beloved that are to vote in this Election it is a great trust that the Lord hath committed to you the good and the publick welfare of this great rich and populous City I say it is a great trust that the Lord hath commited to you You are now to make choice of a Corner-stone to rest the weight of the building upon a Corner-stone in whom the several parts of the building be united You see what manner of person he ought to be You see what the office is to
which he is called I shall now in the Apostles words give you a charge before God and the Lord Iesus Christ who shall â—udge quick and dead at his appearing and in his Kingdom that you do this without partiality without respect of persons making choice of such a one of such persons as may be fit and best suitable in your consciences unto those great ends that have been named to support and unite the building I but you will say What manner of persons must they be what manner of men must they be now that will be fit for this great work Truly I shall but make choice barely of that direction laid clearly down Exod. 18.21 the common rule for Magistrates which I shall briefly offer to your consideration and conclude They were to choose Governors under Moses because he could not bear the people alone now saith he chuse you able men fearing God men of truth hating covetousness mark ye First I say make choice of men fearing God have not respect to riches so much or to seniority so much where there is not piety Let that be the great thing you have in your eye For I beseech you consider they that have not given themselves unto God they will never govern for God they will never give up themselves to the publick good who have not in that great work of Regeneration denyed themselves they can never do it and therefore I say it is the greatest wrong you could do such a man to chuse him to an eminent place for what do you do You do but put into his hands a far greater occasion an opportunity of sinning Besides I beseech you consider if they have not the fear of of God in their hearts they will not have the presence of God in their Government I say if they have not the fear of God in their hearts they will not have the presence of God in their Government and surely they will never rule well that rule without God in stead of being a Corner to support the Common-wealth truly they will be a means to destroy it Therefore that is the first thing have respect unto godliness let them be men fearing God those that have first given themselves to God and then when they have given themselves to Gods service they will give themselves to yours but never else Secondly The second direction that is there given is they must be men of courage able men you read it it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Original it signifies strength either of body or mind they must be men of stout and resolute Spirits Magistrates meet many times with matters of great difficulty sometimes they be ill looked upon by them that are above them sometimes they are ill spoken of by them that are below them Now I say this will require a stoutness and resolution of spirit that a man shall not flatter the one nor he shall not strive to please the other but go on in his duty and not turn aside neither to the right nor to the left hand I told you Magistrates are called the Shields of the earth a Shield is a venterous weapon receiveth all the Darts and I say he had need be a stout-spirited man that must undertake such an employment he must be a man of courage that he may not for fear of them above him nor that he may please them below him he may not step by or beyond his duty He may dispise the murmurs of the multitude and he maâ— say Bene facere male audire regium est Seneca Seneca It is the property indeed of a noble Spirit for if you should chuse now a weak-hearted man one that is not able to encounter with difficulties but is afraid of the appearance of every danger when any opposition presents it self his heart faileth and he will be ready to turn with every wind you have seen woful experience thereof therefore I say the next thing as to be a man fearing God so in the next place let him be a man of courage a man of strength and resolution of Spirit In the third place let him be a man of truth chuse men of truth that is not only men that love the truthes of God and are valiant for the truth upon earth in that respect but men that love truth in judgement men that love to execute true judgement as the expression is My Beloved a false Judgement is a lye to Authority and therefore the greater transgression I say a wrong Judgement is a lye to Authority and therefore the greater transgression there is a great deal of Art not only in sinning but in concealing Micah 7.3 So they wrap it up sometimes the forgery of a witness sometimes the subtilty of a pleader there is a mist cast before the eye of the Magistrate and truly by this means many times wrong judgement proceedeth from him which now if he be not a man that loves truth he will never be diligent to search out the cause and therefore that is the third thing Chuse men of Truth And then in the last place Let them be men hating covetousness hating covetousness not only he must not be a covetous man but must be a man that hateth covetousness Certainly my Beloved that man that is greedy of gain will transgress for a morsel of bread the poorest circumstances will turn this man out of the way of Judgement a gift blindeth the eyes Deut. 16.19 truly the man cannot see with his own eyes he cannot see with the eyes of the Law nor he cannot pronounce the Sentence of the Law surely men will never take care for the publike profit so long as their eyes are set upon their own private gain it was an old observation of Salvian Salvian Dives potestas pauperem facit Rempublicam a rich Magistrate commonly makes a poor Common-wealth who make it their business to serve themselves upon it Therefore in an especial manner these are the directions I give you and I lay it upon your consciences in the name of the Lord that you make choice of such a one and that will serve for those high and glorious ends that hath been mentioned to us to support and to unite the building by this means my Beloved the Lord shall be with them and with you in their Government and by this means your City shall be called a City of righteousness a faithful City And so much now shall serve for the opening to you this first branch of the Text how to support and unite Let us look up to God for a blessing Perfect CLEANSING 2 COR. 7.1 Having therefore these Promises dearly Beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthyness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God THE Apostle having in the former Chapter exhorted the believing Corinthians to abstain from all Communion and fellowship with Idolaters and having pressed the Exhortation with divers Arguments he comes at last to mention those
exceeding great and precious promises of which by their holy calling they did partake in ver 16.17,18 having therefore these he exhorts them to look upon them either as meâ—… of holiness or as motives to perfecting holiness 〈◊〉 the fear of God First as means of holiness the whole word of God is operative and doth produce real effects I speak the word saith Christ but my Father in heaven doth the works Ioh. 14.10 therefore not a word spoken but the word written Heb. 3.8,9 leaving upon the soul answerable dispositions not barely an informing but a transforming word 2 Cor. 3.13 a word ingrafted the change of the stock into its own nature not a transient Iames 1.21 but an abiding word 1 Pet. 1.25 if you receive these promises aright they will thus make you partakers of the Divine Nature 2 Pet. 4.4 Holiness here as Cameron hath interpreted Cameron ad modum creaturae c. in blessedness hereafter having such promises that will transform you Matth. 11.5 the blind receive their sight c. and the Gospel is preached to the poor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the poor are Evangelized that is both to the poor is the Gospelpreached and the poor receive the Gospel and be transformed thereinto the poor are Evangelized therefore cleanse your selves perfecting holiness Secondly As motives to holiness and that considered three waies either First As an honour put upon a man and dignity should engage a man to duty monstrosa res est gradus summus animus Infimus Nehem. 6.11 Dan. 4.17 therefore having such promises let us cleanse our selves and stand upon our dignitie as they did Secondly as an assurance that whatsoever God promised he will also accomplish for omne promissum cadit in debitum therefore Matth. 10.7 it is said there he will perform his truth to Jacob and his mercy to Abraham The promises it is true their ground is now in fieri but it is truth in facto â—sse surely therefore faithful is he that hath promised and will also do it Having therefore such promises let us cleanse our selves c. Thirdly as rewards for so it is true most of the promises are rewards for services going before and as the Lord in his punishments doth usually punish sin with sin so in the waies of mercy he doth usually reward grace with grace to him that hath shall given for recte fecisse merce est and knowing that a godly man desires no greater reward but even that which comes in keeping the Commandment and the Lord doth proportion the reward unto the work he will reward every one according to the works here For as hereafter in glory so he doth it in the life that now is answerable to a mans service in reference to the promises such shall the reward from the promise be For he will not forget any of the works and labour of Love it shall not be in vain in the Lord. Having therefore such promises let us cleanse our selves c. Here then is first a duty pressed which is perfect sanctification which consists of two parts 1. Perfect cleansing 2. Perfect holiness Secondly here is the means and motive unto both sanctifying truths Having such promises secondly sanctifying graces in the fear of God The Observations that might be gathered are divers as Observ 1. First Sin is filthyness that is First it includeth in it all loathsom evil there is malum turpe as well as malum triste Secondly it is so in its essence for it is in the abstract abstractum denot at essentiam Observ 2. Secondly it is an universal defilement both of life and spirit it is an over-spreading leprosie so that men have not only fleshly members but also fleshly minds 2 Col 18. Vainly puft up by his fleshly mind Observ 3. Thirdly this universal defilement remains in a great measure even in those that have believed through grace they must cleanse themselves also they have not already attained neither are they also perfect Phil. 3.12 the Apostle saith Not as though I had already attained neither was already perfect c. But I shall pass these by and pitch only on those things which the Apostle doth in these words mainly intend which is to press them to perfect sanctification having promises made unto them of the great perfection the Doctrine which we shall therefore speak is this Doctrine As perfect holiness hereafter shall be the Christians Crown so striving to perfection here is the Christians duty perfecting holiness in the fear of God Here I will shew you two things First what holiness is Secondly what perfection of holiness is and so come to prove this point First to begin with the first What holiness is The holiness of God being absolute and independent as all his other Excellencies are cannot as I conceive consist in relation but must be an absolute and positive thing which I conceive to be nothing else but the purity of the divine nature but now holiness in the creature being a dependent excellency having its principle from another and its pattern in another that is in God and in the Law it must consist in conformity unto another as the truth and goodness of the creature doth so that the holiness of the creature is nothing else but a conformity of the creature unto the purity of God manifested in his Law I do not say the holiness of God as in himself but the holiness of God as in the Law in conformity whereto the holiness of the creature doth consist Before the fall the holiness required was only positive consisting in a conformity to the duty commanded but since sin there must be a cleansing from the sins forbid it was before only a conformity to the precept but since it is a conformity to the holiness of God in the prohibition also so that as in the Justification of a sinner there is more required then was required to justifie the Angels or Adam in innocency not only a doing the duty but a suffering the curse so in the sanctification of a sinner also there is more required to make us holy then there was to make Adam holy It is not now barely a creation of the new man but also a mortification of the old and a destroying of the body of sin not only sanctification and dedication to what is holy but a purification and separation from what is unclean therefore here the Apostle sets down both parts of holiness purification and dedication a cleansing of a mans self from all filthyness and then a perfecting holiness in the fear of God Secondly the perfection of holiness therefore consists in three things 1. Perfectio gradus when corruption is perfectly cleansed and all filthiness and in all degrees and in all faculties both of the flesh and of the spirit 2. Perfectio essentin when grace hath attained its full pitch unto which it is appointed the measure of the age of the stature of Christs fulness to all might in every grace
beset us Isa 6.6 and 7.8 when the Lord saith Whom shall I send the Prophet saith send me non tardat uncta rota but see the contrary in Moses and Ionah and this makes men in all the duties God cals them unto no longer then corruption is bribed to drive heavily Fourthly This makes all our services the more sweet unto God the more clean the heart is in them Mal. 3.4 Then shall the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord c. Psal 66.18 But if I regard iniquity in my heart God will not hear me the duty would be more valuable in Gods account Luke 21.3 The poor widdow cast in more then they all because her mite came from a purer spirit then their great gifts therefore such services of the Saints Christ cals them the honey and the honey-combe wine and milk to shew how acceptable they are Cant. 5.1 Lastly consider the glorious motives and encouragements we have therein as First the promises Ezek 47.8 and Zach. 13.2 Secondly the Spirit of Christ to be a spirit of burning Isa 4.4 and when the Church is in the purest condition yet alwaies this spirit is leading her on to perfection still the spirit and the Bride saith come Rev. 22.17 and Christ and the Father love the purity as well as the prosperity of his people and if we would set faith on work he hath promised to manifest it Iohn 14.20,21 In that day ye all know that I am in my Father in his counsel in his â—osom one with him in Majestie and in power and we have the same purposes and intentions towards sinners and you in me your nature and your infirmities you are in my bosom and in my heart cloathed with me and living with me and while I live you shall live I dyed your death and you rose my resurrection I bear your in firmities and you are filled with my fulness I pray your prayers and you weare my righteousness and I in you not only by my righteousness to justifie you but by my Spirit to purifie you by my wisdom to guide you and by my power to keep you and by my glory to Crown you You unto whom I will say Enter into the joy of your Lord these are the better promises of the Gospel and it is the lowness of mens spirits want of Christian greatness of mind grounded upon the consideration of this that is the true cause why Christians lie fettered with their old failings and out-grow their infirmities no more then they do A Set Time FOR Iudgement JER 8.7 The Stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times and the Turtle and the Crane and the Swallow observe the time of their coming but my people know not the Iudgement of the Lord. EVery faithful Minister of God hath a double reference First unto the particular Flock over which God hath made him an Over-seer Acts 20.28 Secondly unto the Land in general where he lives unto whom God hath made him a watch-man to foresee danger Ezek. 3.17 and a Trumpeter to discover it Numb 10.8 For first every private Officer in the Church is to have a publike spirit and so to perform his particular duty as to have respect unto the general good a Minister is so limited to a particular Flock as he must also remember that he is the servant of the whole Church and as every particular Church hath an interest in the gifts of all 1 Cor. 3.21 so every particular Minister is to have a care of the good of all though in a more peculiar manner of the Flock committed unto his own charge Secondly there are not only Congregational and Personal sins and mercies but there are National also and there are times when God cals a people to be humbled for the one and to be thankful for the other and in both these the Ministers of the Gospel must be employed as Trumpeters to sound forth the praise of God and as watch-men to give warning of Gods displeasure and of the time and approach of Judgement Being thus debters unto both we must pay both debts in their season and be so far careful of our particular charge that also we forget not to be faithful to the Nation and Church wherein we are for this is the common Ship in which we are all embarked and if this in Judgement be cast away whether dashed against the Rock of any forraign power or swallowed up in the quick-sands of domestick divisions it must needs hazard all the passengers Or if you were sure that for your parts you might be safe would it not be a bitter thing to you to stand upon the shore and to see so glorious a Vessel as this Nation is to be cast away to see this glorions Land defaced the blessed Gospel polluted the golden Candlestick removed it cannot but affect men that have any bowels Or if this move you not yet to see a stranger to Lord it in thy habitation and thy dwelling to cast thee out for your delightsom dwellings your pleasant and well-tilled fields to be made a prey and for you to sow and another to reap Impius has segetes c. for the delicate woman upon whom the wind must not blow and that scarce dares venter to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for tenderness Deut. 28.26 to be exposed to the lusts and cruelty of an enemy and to be glad to flie away naked to prolong a miserable life which they would be glad to part with for death were it not for fear of the exchange for the tender mother to look upon the child of her womb and consider Must this child in whom I have placed the hope of my age for omnis in Ascanioâ—stat chari cura parentis he that hath been so tenderly bred up must he fall into the rough hands of a bloody souldier skilful to destroy it had been well for me if God had given me a miscarrying womb and dry breasts rather then to bring forth children unto murderers if you might be safe how could you endure thus to see the evil that should come upon your people and the destruction of your kindred as it was her expression Hest 8 6. I do not Rhetorize and fawn to draw your affections your Brethren are a sad Comment upon what I have spoken and Ireland the stage upon which you may see this Tragedy acted before your eyes And is this nothing unto all you that pass by are you nothing concerned in the misery of your Brethren is not the Lord come neer un to you and may not you be consumed by the same fire tunc tua res agitur c. is not Iudah neerly concerned in the desolation of Israel can we see the dealing of the Lord with our Brethren say I shall sit down as a Ladyfor ever I shall see no forrow shal we say when the over-flowing scourge shall pass over it shall not come at us Isa 28.15 shall we
imagine that when the cup of fury that is in the Lords right hand hath gone round and all nations have tasted of it and yet that we shall not drink thereof Ier. 25.15 may it not be as truly said of us as of our brethren Ezek. 12.4 thou hast caused thy dayes to draw neer thou art come even unto thy years there is a time for Judgement the text tels you upon a Nation and he that is wise shall know and discern both time and Judgement Eccl. 8.5 Now as I have before shewed you thâ—… Ministers are Servants so also they are the Prophets of the Nation and therefore preaching is called prophecying and the Ministers of the Gospel are called Prophets 1 Cor. 4.32 though not in so full and compleat a sense as the Prophets antiently were yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quadam by a true resemblance and analogy though not a fore-telling yet a fore-speaking things to come for that God that had made all things by his word doth uphold all things by the word of his power Heb 1.3 governing all things by the rules of the same exactly dispensing punishments and rewards according to the tenour of the promises and threatnings therein recorded so that as he hath appointed the Sun Moon and Stars to rule by day and by night over this natural world Psal 19. so he hath stretched forth the Expansum of the Law over the rational world Rom. 10.18 all things being ordered according to the precepts promises and threatnings thereof Now as a man that is skilful in the one by observing and calculating the influences and aspects and conjunctions of the one can foretel in many things what is to come in the natural world So the other by observing the promises and threatnings and the special aspects that is in them both can in a great measure fore speak what is like to come to pass in the rational world also sutable hereunto the Prophet here tels â—s that there is First a time for Judgement Secondly that this time may be known Thirdly the ignorance of this time makes a man more bruitish then the unreasonable creatures For the scope of the place seems to be this that such is the wisdom of unreasonable creatures the Stork Crane and Swallow that in winter they flie from cold and hard places unto those where there is a more temperate and moderate air they knowing the seasons and the appointed times for this they flie away before and by the instinct of nature to make provision for a natural life Now God had made man wiser then the Beasts that perish above the beasts of the field and he hath appointed a time for Judgement and he hath foretold it shall come and yet man is not so wife for himself as either to prepare for it or to flie from it and this is meant by not knowing the Judgement of Jehovah 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Judgement of God is either Directive as the Law written in the Book or the Law written in the heart as Mat. 12.20 bring forth Judgementto Victory Secondly Corrective Thirdly Destructive and this last is meant here it is spoken of the Judgement of utter ruine and desolation upon whom the former Judgements neither the directions of the word nor corrections of Gods rod had taken its due effect its proper work Neither is it meant of the Judgement it self only that it should be utter destruction the fatal blow the last and utter ruine of that people but also the time of this Iudgement which was at hand and this the people knew not and so much the word in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies tempus certum constitutum a certain and an appointed time Gen. 17.21 My Covenant will I stablish with Isaac which Sarah shall bear unto thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at this set time in the next year and this seems to be intimated by the subjects the Stork and the Crane know their times but my people know not the Judgement that is not only the Iudgement it self but not the time of Iudgement that is at hand that which the Prophet had so often told them and that which they were continually admonished that it was neer cum in re tam clara dilucida coecutirent therefore here the Prophet doth justly complain that they were more bruitish then these unreasonable creatures 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they know not verba sensus significant cum affectu effectu In the count of the Holy-Ghost in Scripture a man knows no more then he believes and is affected with and makes use of they knew not they considered not believed not were not affected with neither did they make use of it either the Iudgement it self nor the time of the Iudgement either to fear it or to flie from it so that the Iudgement and the time of Iudgement was appointed this they should and they might have known believed and been affected with but they were more unwise for themselves and for their temporal and eternal safety then the unreasonable creatures they knew not the Iudgement of the Lord. Hence the observations that I purpose to insist upon are these two First that there is unto a sinful Nation a set and an appointed time of Judgement Secondly that this time may and should be known or else in vain are they blamed for not knowing it First Doctrine Doctrine There is unto a sinful Nation a set and an appointed time for Iudgement a time when Iudgement shall infallibly come and God will bear with them no longer God being the antient of dayes he is the Lord of time and the great Land-lord of the world and he hath set unto every thing a season or an appointed time to every thing under Heaven Eccl. 3 1. but in reference to the point in hand it will be requisite that we consider of a six-fold time appointed by him that is Lord of time First there is a time of sinning a set and an appointed time for there is First a fulness of sin appointed by God that it shall have its period it shall not grow in infinitum Gen. 15.16 The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full and as there was a fulness so there is a time appointed to fill up this measure to fill the Ephah Zach. 5.6 where the measure of the sin of the people of Israel is set out for the greatness of it by an Ephah the greatest dry measure amongst the Iews and there was a time for the filling up of the Ephah before it was carried into the Land of Shinar Secondly there is a measure of wrath which every vessel of wrath shall treasure up for all shall not have the same measure and the Reason is because all do not treasure up the same measure unto themselves Rom. 2.4,5 Now seeing it is a Treasure that doth grow by degrees and several additions there must be a time for the filling and the gathering of this Treasure some Exchequer daies
when this Treasure is brought in so that the time in which men fill up the measures of sin and the treasure of wrath this is that which I call an appointed time of sinning Now as some men and some Nations measures and treasures are greater then others so God gives them an appointed time to fill it up and being considered in it self the greatest Iudgement that can befall a man is for the Lord to give unto a man or a Nation a long time of sinning as the time that man hath to sin is but small only during the time of the body for he shall only give an account of the things done in the body not those that are done in statu separato 2 Cor. 5.10 and to a man in the body there is an appointed time under heaven Iob. 7.1 a short time appointed for his being and therefore a short time for his sinning But the Devil hath a large time from the beginning of the world unto the end of it to the day of Iudgement which argues that there is much wrath reserved and prepared for him that must have so long time to enlarge the vessel and fit it to receive it for as gray hairs are a Crown if they be found in the way of righteousness Pro. 16.31 that is it is a special mercy to live long to add to a mans Crown so it is a special curse for a man to go on in evil and yet his daies to be prolonged Eccl. 8.12 Secondly a time of patience when the Lord holds his peace and reproves not Psal 50.21 indeed God is angry with the wicked every morning Psal 7.11 there is not a day that he riseth but a cloud of Gods displeasure riseth over him but yet he deferrs his Iudgement holds his hand there is a time when he is prest under their abominations as a Cart is prest under sheavs Amos 2.13 for to have men go on to sin against him and because Iudgement is not executed speedily therefore to have their hearts fully set in them to do evil and the patience of God to be made the ground and the encouragement of sinning cannot be but a great and a heavy burthen to the patience of God and yet there is a time when the Lord bears and doth not by and by ease himself of his adversaries as he saith in Iudgement he doth Isa 1.24 and it is an ease to him Ier. 32.31 the City of Ierusalem the Lord saith had been a provocation to him from the day that it was built which was many hundred years and yet the Lord had born it and had not removed it out of his sight according as he threatned for to do for there is a season for God to glorifie all his attributes he will make them all exceeding glorious in their time now after this life there shall be time to glorifie Iustice Mercy and Truth but the patience of God can have no place in heaven nothing that shall burthen Gods patience and in hell he will shew forth no patience nothing but wrath to the vessels of wrath it is the breath the fury of the Lord that is a River of Brimstone burning in it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isa 30. ult therefore there must be a time for the Lord to glorifie his patience and a time for Christ to rule in the midst of his enemies and a time for him to rule over them when they shall be made his foot-stool there must be a time for the decree to conceive and to bear before it bring forth Zeph. 2.1 The truth is we consider not what a precious time even the time of patience is to have a poor soul that expects to be executed at last but to have two or three years added to his life by way of a reprival how great a favour doth he esteem it So for a man or a people to have deserved death for the Lord to cut ten or twenty years out of eternity but to respit the Iudgement and give a man but so much time of ease it is a special and extraordinary favour It is not time of slackness but time of patience 2 Pet. 3.9 Thirdly there is a time of repentance when God doth defer and respit the Iudgement after sinning of purpose that man may return and come in Rev. 2.21 I gave her space to repent and she repented not the words are Emphatical 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he gave it and the principal and proper intent that God had in it was this that they might have time to repent come in and make their peace in a time wherein the Lord calls men to repentance by the ministery of the word stretching out his hands all the day long Ier. 32.33 when the Lord calls to weeping mourning baldness and sack-cloath Isa 22.7 a time when the Lord strives inwardly with the spirit of a man to bring him to a sight of sins and sorrow for them a time when if men seek him he will be found Isa 55.6 and when though the Lord do threaten never so severely it is but with condition of repentance and if then they will come forth and take hold of his strength and make peace with him they shall make peace according to his promise Isa 27 5. when though there be a cloud of blood hang over a people and grievously threaten danger but yet it is but conditional and if they return and repent they shall make their peace and God will be again reconciled and the judgement shall not come as we see in Nineveh for that only I call time of repentance when there is hope of mercy else repentance will not profit for it comes too late Fourthly the time of patience and repentance have their periods indeed these times are not of the same length to all to some God shew◠but a little patience and to others a great deal riches of patience and forbearance that though they do evil a hundred times yet their daies are prolonged so for repentance some have but a winters and others a summers day but when these are longest yet there is a time when they will expire and time shall be no more they have their fixed and set bounds that they cannot pass First time of repentance for though the spirit may strive and strive long yet he saith he shall not alwaies strive Gen. 6.3 and though if in the day of repentance men do come in he will turn from his fierce wrath Isa 55.6 Yet if this time be past there is a time when the Lord will not be found Ierusalem had the day of her visitation wherein she might have known the things belonging to her peace but a great while before the Iudgement came they were hid from her eyes Luke 19.42 Secondly it is true the time of patience may last longer then the time of repentance for God may with-hold his hand even when Judgement is determined against a people but yet the time of patience will not alwaies last the longest day
hath its evening there is indeed a long time sometimes of whetting the sword and bending the bow and making it ready Psal 7.12,3 But there will be a time of smiting also no souldier doth alwaies whet his sword but because he hath a purpose to cut at last though the decree bear long in its womb yet it will not bear alwaies there is a time when it will bring forth Zeph. 2.1 so that the time of patience hath its period Fifthly when the time of patience is expired there is then a time for Iudgement a day of recompence a year of vengeance a time for the expending of those Treasures of wrath that have been so long laying in because there was by sinning a time of treasuring and so there shall also come a time of spending Rom. 2.4,5 a time for the wall that is swelled out to hang but there will come a time also when it will fall Isa 30.13 husbandmen expect with much patience the ripening of the grapes there is a time of ripening and there is a time of pressing and treading the winepress Rev. 14.10 The Butcher stayes till the cattle be fat there is a fatting-time and there is a killing time and then they shall be plucked out as sheep for the slaughter Ier. 12.3 Lastly when this time doth come the Lord will forbear a people no longer this determinating of Iudgement in the time of it is exceedingly set before us in the word and that under divers expressions First the Lord doth express it by a full and a peremptory resolution that he will do it Ezek. 21.27 I will over-turn over-turn over-turn and it shall be no more I the Lord have spoken it Chap. 24.14 It shall come to pass I will do it I will not go back neither will I spare neither will I repent but according to thy waies and according to thy doings shall they judge thee saith the Lord God they are the expressions of a great and a full and peremptory resolution that will not be turned Secondly it is called a decree or the bringing forth the decree Zeph. 2.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly signifies decretum or statutum scriptum from the root 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 scripsit and so it is commonly used in the Scripture and so I conceive it to be understood non de occulto consilio sed de decreto promulgato It s true in that the word of God by the ministery of the Prophets there were many threatnings and judgements denounced but faetus adhuc in utero latet there is a time when all these threatnings will take place for they shall not be in vain there is not a word that goes forth but it shall accomplish the thing that I speak Isa 55.11 Now it is called a decree in a double respect First decrees are acts of authority Secondly they are established and firm they shall not be altered or disannulled therefore every judgement is a decree and though it may be long hid that a man doth not know what is in the womb of it yet there will come a time for the Decree of God to be delivered and then there is no hope men shall be as chaff and pass away in that day Thirdly it is called swearing in his wrath Psal 9.11 It is true that the word of God is as firm and sure as his oath for Heaven and Earth shall pass away rather then one jot of it shall pass away but yet in the word there may be and commonly is an implicit and a tacit condition as we see Ier. 18.18 If I speak concerning a a Nation or a Kingdom to pluck it up and destroy it if that Nation turn from their evil I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them but the oath of God shuts out all secret and tacit conditions whatsoever that nothing shall arise de novo that shall hinder the accomplishment thereof which must not be conceived as if it were peculiar unto that time or unto this people but that the Lord doth constantly the same against other people and in other times also as the Apostle plainly manifests to us Heb. 3.11,12 Fourthly those means that do usually prevail with God and turn away Iudgement when it is threatned In the time of Iudgement they prevail nothing with the Lord and they are these First repentance comes too late so much the Prophet doth intimate Zeph. 2.1,2 gather your selves that is by repentance and publike humiliation but what is the season it must be before the decree come forth implying otherwise it would not avail many there were no doubt in Iudah that were the Basket of good figs that did repent and humble themselves but yet it came too late to keep off the Iudgement they must be carried into captivity as well as the bad indeed repentance never comes too late if it be true to prevent the curse but many times it may come too late to keep off the cross Secondly but if that to their repentance they add prayers will not the Lord hear them Prov. 1.28 they shall call but I will not answer for there is a time when that the Lord will not be found Isa 55.6 Thirdly but what if to their prayers they add fasting will not the Lord hear them then No Ier. 14.12 When they fast I will not hear their cry but I will consume them by the sword by the famine and by the pestilence Fourthly but if God will not do it for their own sakes yet it may be he may for some other godly mans sake if the godly pray for them they may stand in the gap as we know Moses did and did hinder the breaking in of Iudgement upon the people No then the Lord will not hear them Jer. 7.16 Pray not for this people neither lift up a cry or a prayer for them for I will not hear thee Fifthly but yet if he will not hear one of the Saints apart yet the united prayers of the godly may prevail far with him and that may overcome but the Lord names the most powerful men with God that ever were Ezek. 14.14 Noah Daniel Job and Moses and Samuel Jer. 15.1 and yet the Lord saith if they did stand before him an expression of prayer and intercession yet his mind could not be towards that people There is therefore a set and appointed time for judgement and if that be once come the Lord will forbear a people no longer it will be easier to weigh the fire to measure the winds to recall the day that is past to change the Ordinances of heaven and to restore the verdure of the withered grass then to reverse the Sentence and Decree gone forth against a sinful Nation for as Samuel said to Saul he is not a man that he should repent Doctrine This time of Judgement may and must be known for why are they blamed if they might not and how justly could they be blamed if they ought not to have known it
that though the man be in never so great danger himself he is not apprehensive of it nothing doth awaken him and by this means he is put into the condition of the devil for he is made perfectly like unto the devil and is delivered over into his power for 2 Tim. 2.26 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word is properly to return to himself after drunkenness but now the Devil hath not only a power to make that man drunk but to keep him so that he never return to himself again to his dying day and as the devil sins without remorse so shall he Bernard Peccare humanum est sed in peccato perseverare Diabolicum est He that perseveres in sin is as the Devil himself As the fire of hell is unquenchable fire so is the sin of Hell unquenchable sin and the Repentance of a man so given over by God is not medicinalis but paenalis its a Repentance in respect of Judgement not of sin and as it has judgement its cause so shall judgement be its companion that very repentance shall be an aggravation and part of his greater plague By such dreadfull steps as these which a wise heart will tremble to hear are men given to falt HOLINESSE The only WAY to HAPPINES HEB. 12.14 And Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. THE times in which we live are truly stiled doubtfull times full of doubtfull expectations and doubtful disputations incerta sunt omnia Of doubtful expectations there is no man looks upon himself as safe but different parties unite themselves and different plots are laid and different interests carried on and by this men think to be established but men of the strongest parts and that have the highest power do not many times attain their hopes and ends The race is not to the swift nor the battel to the strong because times and changes come upon all there are changes of condition which the most High appointed unto all men who rules in the kingdoms of mortal men which are unto them contingent casual and unexpected and by this means men are made like unto a wheel that which is now uppermost becomes suddenly the lowest Summa cito fiunt ima Eccles 9.11 And by this means the misery of man by reason of this uncertainty is great upon him that he eats his meat in darkness and his heart takes no rest in the night seeing this is the state of things my aim is to put you upon that which is the only security Nulla satis magna securitas dum periclitatur aeternitas there is no security unto any man whilest his eternity is in danger therefore secure eternity you secure all its only holiness that 's the way to see the Lord and will surely attain that end and thereby make us everlastingly happy And our times are doubfull because of doubtful dispu atations it is with us as the Apostle speaks 1 Cor. 14.26 Every one has his Psalm his Doctrine his Revelation his Interpretation and by this means their minds are busied and their judgements puzled whilst their fancies are stupified with some novel and unpractical curiositie and so whilst men spend their whole strength about Mint Annice and Comin the great and the weighty things of the Law are neglected therefore my aim is to call you off Ne diversitas praeceptorum rectum iter impediat Lactan. Lactan. The way to eternal life is not in curious disputations but in a holy walking in absoluto facili stat aeternitas Hilar. as Hilary saith therefore let us all pitch upon that in which all concur and which all must grant that it is holiness only that is the way to happiness and that without holiness no man shall ever see the Lord. Here are two things to be opened First what this holiness is which the Text speaks of without which no man shall see the Lord. Secondly what it is to see the Lord and what this vision of God is that 's here spoken of First what holiness is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without which c. holiness in the creature as well as truth is Conformitas cum Archetypo as there is a principle from which it is derived so there is a nature unto which it is conformed and in this conformity holiness doth consist There is a twofold holiness 1. There is a legal holiness which was a perfect conformity in heart and life unto the will and holiness of God manifested in his Law and this was the holiness that was in Adam in his innocency and is the holiness that is now to be seen in the holy Angels in glory an exact and perfect conformity unto the will of God as manifested to them or to be manifested for they were conformable unto the will of God in revelatis and inrevelandis This holiness as it was immediatly derived from God without a Mediator so it was perfect they knew the will of God perfectly and had in them a principle of perfect conformity thereunto but if this be the holiness here spoken of no man shall ever see the Lord for by one man sin entred into the world this holiness was lost in Adam Greg. Prosper p. 349. Omnes queal Adam perdidâ—t perdiderunt Totum genus humanum in radice stat There is therefore an Evangelical holiness which is not barely a conformity unto the will of God in his law but also unto the image of God in his Son as Mediator he is the principle from which our holiness is derived it is from his fulness and he is the pattern unto which it is to be conformed for Rom. 8.29 He hath predestinated us to be conformable unto the image of his Son so that the holiness now required is the Law written in the heart it s not a conformity to the Law immediatly but as the Law of the spirit of life is found in Jesus Christ and it s not derived from God immediatly for we can being faln receive nothing from him but by a Mediatour and it s not a perfect conformity in all things unto Christ sincerity is Gospel perfection a full conformity we expect and pray for and tend to that we may be like him but that we shall never attain till we shall see him as he is So that the holiness that 's here spoken of is a sincere conformity to the Image of God of the Law that is to be found in Jesus the Mediatour though it be here but in part and but begun and shall never be perfect till we see God yet this is the holiness that will bring us to that vision and without which no man shall see him Secondly What is it to see God Some expound this of Christ it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Christ is made of the Father Lord and Christ For the Learned do make the word to be of the same extent with Adonai in the Hebrew which they do generally interpret of Christ Par. Christi