and keep the Word thou shalt not only be a blessed man when thou comest to heaven but thou art a blessed man whilest thou art here upon earth thou hast thy fruit unto holinesse and the end everlasting life Rom. 6.22 5 Observe further it is not said Blessed are they that hear and keep it but Blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it For you may hear errours and blasphemies and keep them and be accursed for so doing but blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it And this should teach men to take heed how they hear and what they hear and whom they hear and that they hear nothing but that which is the Word of God We read of some that should follow teachers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that bring in damnable heresies 2 Pet. 2.3 many shall follow their pernicious wayes Now such as these are not blessed that hear men that bring in errors and heresies but they are cursed rather 6 Observe further Christ does not say Rather blessed are they that hear my sayings and keep them but that hear Gods Word for had Christ said rather blessed are they that hear my Word the people might have been ready to think that Christ did intail blessednesse only to his own Preaching and to them that did hear Christ personally teach here upon earth but sayes he Blessed are they that hear the Word of God be it either by Paul or Apollos or Timothy or Titus or any Minister of Christ to the worlds end Who ever shall hear the Word of God contained in the Scriptures Preached out of their mouths and shall keep and obey it they are rather blessed then my Mother that bare me is for that only reason of bringing me into the world There is in this very expression a secret glory put upon the Ministers of the Word and this is the reason of that saying in Scripture He that believes shall do greater works then Christ did that is a faithfull Minister should convert more soules then ever Christ did it is true Christ might if he had so pleased have converted every man that heard him but he would not lest men should thereby have undervalued his Ministers and have thought that none could convert souls but Christ and therefore there were more converted by Peter and other Apostles then there were by Christ himself because he might hereby encourage men to the hearing of ordinary Ministers There were some in the Church of Corinth 1 Cor. 1.12 that said some of them We are for Paul others we are for Apollo others we are for Cephas and others we are for Christ Now the Apostle blames them that any of them should say I am of Christ there were some among them that said I care not for hearing of Paul or Apollo or Cophas I will hear Jesus Christ it was a vanity in them to undervalue the Ministry of Paul and Apollo and to cry up Christ it is a sinfull crying up of Christ to cry down Paul and Apollo And so in these times for men to cry up Christ and yet to cry down the Ministry is as sinfull now as it was in the Apostles time and therefore Christ himself was carefull to preserve the honour of the Ministry that was to succeed him to the end of the world Blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it 7 It is not said Rather blessed are they for hearing and for keeping the Word but Blessed are they that hear and that keep it Blessed doers never come in with a for but only with an if or a that the Lord does not blesse thee for thy hearing though thou shouldest hear as many Sermons as there are dayes but he blesseth them that hear and that practise what they hear hearing the Word and practising and obeying of it are the qualifications or characteristicall notes of such persons as shall be blessed by Christ but not the causes of their blessednesse And thus I have given you these seven notes from the form of speech Christ here useth I shall now explain the words a little more to you Blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it What is â—â—â—nt here by keeping the Word you hear Ansâ— You must know there is a double keeping of the Word the one in your memories the other in your practise 1. In our memories this you have mentioned in Luke 2.19 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 conservabat it is said there that Mary kept ad these things and pondered them in her heart Our memories should be like the Arke wherein the pot of Manna was kept the Word of God should be treasured up in our memories as the pot of Manna was in the Arke but this is not the keeping here spoken of for there are many men that keep the Word in their memories and yet never practise it in their lives 2. There is a keeping of the Word in your practise When you have a conscionable care to sway your practise answerable to what you hear and know and this is the keeping that is here meant Blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it that is keep it in their practise and make conscience to do what they hear and know The words being thus opened the observation from them will be this That they are rather blessed that hear the Word of God and practise what they hear doct then the mother of Jesus Christ was for bringing him into the world Beloved it is a point that I confesse had it not been in the Bible it had been incredible that those that hear the Word and keep it should be rather blessed then she that bare Christ in her womb That Christ should put a rather blessed upon thee oh man or woman that hearest the Word of God and keepest it then upon the Virgin Mary for bearing Christ into the World what a great priviledge is this Beloved it is worth your noting what a different dialect is used between this woman here in the text and Elizabeth that was cousen german to the Virgin Mary this woman in the text she cries out Blessed is the womb that bare thee and the paps that gave thee suck But Elizabeth she sayes Blessed is she that beleeves if the Virgin Mary had not bore Christ in her heart as well as in her womb she had not been a blessed woman Before I give you the reasons of the point I shall only draw this inference from it to confut the dotage of the Church of Rome that do so much dote upon the Virgin Mary where they have one service for the glory of Christ they have twenty for the glory of the Virgin Mary They would make the world beleeve that she was without sin and if so why should Christ pronounce others rather blessed then she This then is a confutation of the Church of Rome that hold that the Virgin Mary had no originall sin and if so then she should
have been rather blessed then any one else in the world and if that be true then this text must needs be false for Christ sayes here that rather blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it then she 2 This confutes them because they do so crie up the righteousnesse and holinesse and dignity of the Virgin Mary that they do undervalue the righteousnesse of Jesus Christ her Son they so dote upon the Virgin Mary that they make her the great Mediator for us to the Father whereas we say and maintain that Christ is the only mediator for there is but one mediator between God and Man the man Christ Jesus Ministers had never more need to confute Popish doctrines and opinions then now For never was Popery more like to increase and flourish in this Land then now it is and therefore I do the rather give these glances concerning them because there is a great deal of danger lest people be infected with these Popish fooleries I speak this upon my own experience I have been a preacher these 10. years and in all that time I never perceived so many inclining towards Popery as I have done within these two months since these late strange actions that have been done amongst us I have seen many to stagger about our Religion and have been strongly tempted to imbrace and fall to Popery which is the reason that induced me to make this digression We come now to the Reasons of the point 1 Because that Christ does count such in neer relation to himself reas 1 nay in a neerer relation to him then his own naturall friends as in Mark 3.33 34 35. when they told Christ that his mother and his brethren were without seeking for him sayes he Who is my mother or my brethren Whosoever shall hear the Word of God and keep it the same is my brother my sister and mother 2 Because if you hear the Word of God and keep what you hear reas 2 you shall persever and have the end of your faith in Mat. 7.24 sayes Christ there Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doth them I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock and the rain descended and the floods came and the windes blew and beat upon that house and it sell not for it was founded upon a rock So those only that hear the Word of God and practise it shall have the end of their faith and have their soules built upon that rock Christ Jesus that shall never be removed 3 You ar blessed in practising what you hear reas 3 because thereby you may bring many others to blessednesse in 1 Pet. 3.1 sayes the Apostle there Wives be in subjection to your own husband that if any obey not the word they may without the word be won by the conversation of their wives And those men that have been won to Christ by your good example when they come to appear before God in judgment by seeing you they shal glorifie God in the day of their visitation and shall blesse God that by your means they were brought to heaven 4 They that practise what they hear are blessed reas 4 Because though they may not bring others to heaven yet they are sure to come to heaven themselves in Rev. 14.12 13. Here is the patience of the Saints and here are they that keep the commandements of God and the faith of Jesus Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord they rest from their labour and their works follow them those that keep the Commandements of God and the faith of Jesus they shall come themselves to heaven though they bring no body else thither Where a Gospell life goes before an Angels life shall follow after You that lead Gospell lives here assure your selves that you shall lead Angels lives hereafter and therefore make conscience to do and practise what you hear and know We come now to the Application and the Use that I shall make of it shall be threefold for Lamentation Consolation and Exhortation 1 For Lamentation Vse of Lament is it so that they are rather blessed that hear and practis◠what they hear in the word then the Virgin Mary Oh then how should this consideration provoke you to Lamentation that when you may have blessing upon such tearms as these Hear my Word and make conscience to practise it and you shall be blessed yet you do reject your own mercie Oh thou perverse and hard he arted man or woman that wilt not practise what thou hearest thou dost reject thy own mercy The Devill could not damn thee if thou wouldest not damn thy self Thou Oh man that let the Word say what it will thou wilt do what thou list doest thou not stand in the way of thy own blessednesse and reject thy own mercy And to set home this particular upon your hearts give me leave to presse it with these 3 or 4 Considerations 1 Consider consid 1 that thou that doest not make conscience to practise what thou hearest thou dost provoke the Lord to take away the Word from thee that thou shalt not hear it at all in Amos 8.9 because that Israel was weary of the Word of God and of his Sabbaths saying When will the new moon be gone that we may sell Corn and the Sabbath that we may set forth Wheat Therefore sayes God I will cause the Sun to go down at noon and I will darken the earth in the clear day and I will send a famine in the Land not a famine of bread or a thirst for water but of hearing the Words of the Lord. God may take away the Word from you for your not profiting under it in Mat. 21.43 The Kingdome of God shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof 2 Consider consid 2 that thy hearing if thou dost not practise what thou hearest will aggravate thy damnation an other way in Joh. 15.22 sayes Christ If I had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sin but now they have no cloak for their sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So in Luke 12.47 That servant that knew his Lords will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes It is an observation that one hath upon the Prophesie of Esay from the 13. to the 24. Chapter of that Prophesie you shall read there of many dismall denuntiations of judgment the burden of Babylon the burden of Tyre the burden of Damascus and of Moah and of Egypt and the burden of the desert of the Sea many nations and people did the Lord command the Prophet to pronounce a burdensome Prophesie against but amongst them all there is the burden of the valley of vision in the 22. Chapter and it is observed that this is the most burdensome of them all and the reason is because that was a place of vision and knowledge where
the Word of God was dispensed and because of their sinfulnesse and unprofitablenesse their burden is heavier then all the rest because it is the burden of the valley of vision Though other men may goe to hell that live in those parts of the World where the Word was never taught and where they never heard the voice of the glad tidings of salvation sounding in their ears yet those that live where the Gospell is preached and know and yet do not walk answerably shall go to hell with a heavier burden then the other shall doe 3 An other consideration is this consid 3 that thou art void of the love of God thou lovest not him nor he thee if thou dost not make conscience to practise what thou doest hear in 1 Joh. 2.5 Who so keepeth his Word in him verily is the love of God perfected and he that sayes he loveth him and keepeth not his Commandements is a lyer and the truth is not in him I shall now speak something by way of Exhortation Vse of Exhorta to provoke you all in the fear of God to make conscience to practise what you hear and know and to this end consider that God doth look upon all your knowledge and profession to be nothing worth unlesse you practise what you know and professe God looks upon all your hearing and praying c. as nothing unlesse your conversation be answerable to it and is it not pity that for want of practise you should lose the blessing of all your hearing and make it of no worth or esteem in Gods account that though thou hast a great deal of notion all knowledge yet he looks upon thee as an ignorant for and thou that hast heard so many Sermons as if thou hadst never heard one all thy life time It is said of the Sons of Eli that they knew not the Lord why they surely they did know him but because they were Sons of Belial and unholy and profane in their lives therefore God did not account their knowledge and gifts to be any thing because they did not practise what they did know Oh then beloved shall God account thy hearing as nothing and thy praying as nothing because thou doest not make conscience to practise what thou doest hear and know 2 You can have no perswasion in your own soul of the love of God towards you unlesse you make conscience to practise what you hear in Joh. 14.15 sayes Christ If you love me keep my Commandements and therefore often in Scripture these two are put together Loving of God and keeping his Commandements But now by way of Consolation Vse of Consolati methinks I hear a poor soul say Are they only blessed that hear the Word of God and keep what they hear who then shall shall be blessed for who is able to keep what he hears I many times hear a duty commanded but I am not able to performe it and such and such things required but I am not able to keep them and such and such graces pressed to obtain but I am not able to get them Answ For thy comfort know that didst thou live under a Covenant of works thou couldest never be a blessed man for thou art not able to perform the conditions of it for that requires thee to keep and fulfill the whole law of God perfectly and personally But now being under a Covenant of grace God accepts of thy keeping of the Law if it be done sincerely though it be but imperfectly and though it be not done in thy own person yet if it be done in the person of an other the Lord accepts of it God sayes to us under a Covenant of grace believe and live if you make conscience to keep the Word though you cannot keep it yet I will pardon thee and accept of thee and though thou canst not keep the Law in thy own person yet if my Son keeps it for thee I will accept of his obedience as if it were done by thee And therefore you must not lie down under despondency of mind because you are not under a Covenant of works but under a Covenant of grace wherein Christ accepts of sincere obedience though it be not perfect 2 Know for thy comfort that if thou hast a full purpose of heart to keep that which thou hearest it is lookt upon by God as if thou didst keep it in Heb. 11.17 it is said there that by faith Abraham when he was tried did offer up his son Isaac because Abraham did in the resolution and purpose of his heart determine to obey God in offering up his Son therefore the Scripture looks upon it as done though it were only in purpose not actually Why so thou that art the Son of Abraham and hast the faith of Abraham those holy duties which thou doest desire to perform better as to pray better and to hear better and practise and live better then thou dost in divine account this is lookt upon as if it were really done FINIS