that the Church of God shall not be assaulted is against Scripture To say That she shall not be moved is what the Holy Ghost says Psalm 46.5 We ought not to fall asleep or to dwell carelessly nor yet should fearfulness surprize us or horror overwhelm us We have a mixture of Good and of Evil Tidings like Milk and Honey to temper the Wormwood and the Gall there is enough on one Hand to awaken us and on the other to encourage us Associate your selves O ye People there 's Matter of prudent Fear and ye shall be broken in Pieces there 's Matter of comfortable Hope Isa 8.9 2. A People dear to God and peculiarly interested in him are in a far more blessed Condition than all the Earth besides God will do any Thing or undo any thing for their sake he will Cut off Nations tread upon Princes remove Crowns and Scepters out of the way for their sake Enemies cannot do so great Things against them but that God will do as great for them and much greater Joel 2.20 21. All the specialities of Providence are upon their Account and if any thing extraordinary happen at any Time in the World we may be Consident it is for their Service As God is their God so he is their peculiar Saviour and therein they have the preheminence to all other People whatsoever Deut. 33.29 Happy art thou oh Israel who is like unto thee oh People saved by the Lord 3. The greatest Danger which God's People are or can be in is when they engage God against them by Sin and provoke him to favour their Adversaries 'T is possible that God may for the Chastisement of his People turn away his Wrath from their falling Enemies Prov. 24.18 i. e. To punish us they may for a while escape unpunished and during that Time they may gather in some Sense by God and then onely are they terrible and dreadful When God lengthens out their Chain and lets them loose upon his People none can foresee the Spoil and Desolation which they may be empowered to make otherwise we might boldly and stoutly bid defiance to them 4. The Obstructions of Mercy are on our Part and not on god's If any ask why this Word is not fulfilled and all our Enemies thrown down the Answer is easie because we our selves do help to hold them up They would fall for our sake if they did not stand by our Means Two Things especially prolong Babylons Reprieve the unreformed and the divided State of the Protestant Churches 1. The unreformed State Our Reformation is yet too imperfect and many instead of advancing it are apt to put it back being fond of retaining Egyptian Flesh-pots as a part of their Diet still Many that profess to come out from among them approach too near to them And even where the Purity of Religious Worship is most strictly maintain'd the Power of Practical Godliness is too much wanting There is a lamentable degeneracy among the best that we may say as Lam. 4.1 How is the Gold become dim thr most fine Gold changed 2. Their divided State Enemies joyn Hand in Hand and their Arms are made strong by the Differences and Quarrels of our Friends Our sworn Murderers that thirst for our Blood have the fairer Opportunities to pursue their Designs when upon every Difference we are ready to take one another by the Throat The disturbance of Jerusalems Peace by her own Children is really a seeking of Rome's Prosperity but a firm and hearty and as much as may be extensive Union among our selves would hasten the dissolving of the Antichristian Constitution 5. The Memorials of past Mercies are to be proserv'd for our Support in future Difficulties Moses's Rod was laid up wherewith wonders had been wrought and so was Goliah's Sword wherewith his own Head had been Cut off 1 Sam. 21.9 Former Experiences are often improv'd in Scripture as Arguments with God 2 Chron. 20.7 Isa 51.9 10. No wonder that Faith dies upon any emergent Hazard when such gracious Acts of God are buried in forgetfulness and not so much as a Monumental Stone erected over their Graves Therefore 1. Let us keep alive the remembrance of this Days Deliverances For God hath upon this Day twice given convincing Answers to that tempting Question Is the Lord among us Exod. 17.7 The same God who blew up the Powder-Traitors set his Hand again a second Time to rescue us from their fiery Successors And this latter Work of God seems to have been the greatest for the shifting and altering of Governments is one of the most illustrious Proofs of God's Soveraign Dominion Jer. 49.38 I will set my Throne in Elam and will destroy from thence the King and the Princes saith the Lord. God hath snatcht us from between their Teeth who if they could once have swallow'd us up would never have vomited us out alive these Nations have not only heard but felt how cruel their tenderness is and therefore we may justly reckon our selves deliver'd from the worst of Deaths And even our Enemies themselves are happily deliver'd from the occasions of such Sin for where Men's Hearts are full of mischievous Devices 't is a Mercy if they would value and improve it as such to be depriv'd of Power to execute and accomplish them 2. Let us live as a People deliver'd from our spiritual Enemies who would be far more hurtful to us and ought to be much more hateful A Deliverance from Sin and Satan is the most glorious of all and indeed without this all our temporal Deliverances will but aggravate our Everlasting Destruction Let Sinners go to Christ and let Believers Triumph in Christ as such a Deliverer and seeing there is a sacred Feast appointed to Commemorate this Deliverance let us keep it with all thankfulness and take care to Live up to the solemn Obligations of it FINIS Books Printed for Tho Parkhurst at the Sible and Three Crowns at the Lower End of Cheapside A Body of Practical Divinity consisting of above 176 Sermons on the Assemblies Shorter Catechism by Tho. Watson formerly Minister of St. Stephens Walbrook London Sermons and Discourses on several Divine Subjects by the late Reverend and Learned Divine Mr. David Clarkson sometime Fellow of Clare-Hall Cambridge The Acts Decisions Decrees and Cannons of the Reformed Churches in France being a most faithful History of the rise growth and decay of the Reformed Religion in that Kingdom By John Quick Minister in London Dr. Wallis's Theological Discourses on several Occasions with his Letters in Vindication of the Holy Trinity Pacification touching the Doctrinal Dissent among our United Brethren in London being an Answer to Mr. Williams and Mr. Lobb both who have appealed in one Point collected for an Error to this Author for his Determination about it Mediocria Or the middle way between Protestant and Papist in a Paper of Justification The second Edition with Adnitions and a Letter to Mr. Williams The Righteousness of God revealed in the Gospel or an impartial Enquiry into the genuine Doctrine of St. Paul in the great but much controverted Article of Justification 〈…〉 are prefixed the Epistles of the Right Reverend the Bishops of Worcester 〈◊〉 and Chester The Friendly Interposer between the Authors of those Papers the one called â— Report the other AS rebuke of that Report In order to Reconciliation between thâ— Presbyterians and Independants All fouâ— by Mr. John Humfrey An Account of the Blessed Trinity argued from the Nature and Perfection of the Supream Spirit coincident with the Scripture-Doctrine in all the Articles of the Catholick Creed By Will Burrough Rector of Chenis in Bucks scripture Justification Or a Discourse of Justification according to Scripture-Light By Samuel Clark M. A. A Sermon Preached on the Late Day oâ— Thanksgiving Decemb. 2. 1697. By Johâ— Howe Minister of the Gospel to which 〈◊〉 prefixt Dr. Bates's Congratulatory Speech Nov. 22. 1697. To the King in the Name of the Dissenting Ministers in and aboâ—â— London Comfort in Death A Funeral Sermon Preached upon the Death of Mr. Tim. Crusâ— Late Pastor of a Church in London 〈◊〉 Mat. Mead. Discourses upon the Rich Man and Lazarus by Tim. Cruso
Legions of Devils banded together to pluck you out and do you thus requite him to wrest your selves out 'T is too foul a Thing to be done by any of those that are truly his but they that are not will reward his greatest kindness at one Time or other with the vilest Treachery 3. If you do not cleave to Christ you let go all your Happiness at once As Moses said to Israel Deut. 30.20 That thou mayst cleave to him for he is thy Life and the length of thy Days q. d. You are dead Men if you depart from him he had given them an Instance of this Chap. 4.3 4. All the Men that followed Baal-peor the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you but you that did cleave unto him are alive every one of you this Day We are no longer safe than we abide with God assoon as we leave him we expose our selves to them utmost Misery in that very Moment Therefore when many Disciples went back and he put it to the Twelve Will ye also go away Peter makes an excellent Answer Lord to whom shall we go thou hast the Words of Eternal Life John 6.67 68. q. d. What we have left to follow thee was less than nothing but if we should forsake thee we must Part with more than all we who have counted every Thing but loss for thee can reckon nothing to be gain without thee 4. The longer you cleave to Christ the more pleasant it will be and at the close of all it will be impossible to repent your Choice while you are following on to know the Lord you will find cause to like your Way the better and the improving of your acquaintance with Christ will encrease your Delight in him Go to those that have had most Experience of the Grace of Christ to old Disciples that have had their standing in Christ for the largest number of Years and they will tell you that they are still every Day further off from repenting that they were added to the Lord and to the Church The seeming grievousness of Religious Duties wears away when the Heart comes to be exercised in them Christs Yoke grows easier and smoother when we have born it upon us though perhaps at the very first putting on the Flesh will strive hard to fling it off 5. Resolution in cleaving to Christ will carry you through all those Diffculties which affright and deter an unresolvedly Man Ruths cleaving to Naomi when her Sister Orpah returned to her People and her Gods and notwithstanding Naomi's Perswasions to her to return shewed her to be inflexible and made Naomi silent Ruth 1.18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her then she left speaking to here So here if Satan find us wavering and yielding he will press the more upon us till he hath compast his Design but if we stand unshaken against repeated Temptations and keep our ground it will be a discouragement to the Tempter a weakning of his Hands and a strengthening of our own Resist the Devil and he will flee from you James 4.7 But how must he be resisted Stedfast in the Faith 1 Pet. 5.9 6. The Time of Tryal and Exercise is short and the Reward is near this makes it so much the more your Duty to hold out You are not to spend your Eternity at such a distance from Christ as you now are you are not to tarry very long in the Devils reach yet a little while and all the danger will be over you will hear no more of these hellish Sollicitations to depart from Christ when you come to Heaven and then will feel no more of those wretched remaining Propensions to it which now you do Be but faithful unto Death which may not be very far off and Death will translate you where Christ is and all his perfected Saints with him Let none take away your Crown now and they cannot do it then Cleave to Christ while you are in this Tabernacle and you 'l go out of it with HOnour and Triumph As David prayed and pleaded Psalm 119.31 I have stuck to thy Testimonies Oh Lord put me not to shame IV. Use 1. Learn hence that the Foundation which Men lay at the beginning of their Way needs to be well examined that it may bear what is to be built upon it I do not mean that we should always be calling our first Work into question or making a doubt of it at every turn but that we ought to make it sure by strict Examination and Enquiry and whatever defects we discover which are essential they ought to be mended before we go any further It is good to proceed upon a sound bottom or else we shall not proceed far enough to attain what we hope for If we take but a superficial hold of Christ when we enter our selves his Disciples we shall not perseveringly cleave to him 2. All the Work which we have to do is not done at first how well soever that be done The end of a thing is better than the beginning Feel 7.8 And this we must have a careful respect to The new born Soul is not to take its ease or neglect its watch to be careless or slothful but to be employed with all its might till it s grown up to absolute Perfection Wisdom is a Tree of Life to them that lay hold upon her but 't is immediately added and happy is every one that retaineth her Prov. 3.18 So get Wisdom and forget it not Chap. 4.5 That which is lost again is worse than if it had never been possest at all 3. The Ministers of Christ have a great deal of establishing as well as converting Work upon their Hands Paul and Barnabas when they came to Antioch in another Journey spake to those that followed them and persuaded them to continue in the Grace of God Acts 13.43 So at another Time when they returned to the Cities where they had preacht the Gospel before they confirmed the Souls of the Disciples and exhorted them to continue in the Faith Chap. 14.22 Our business lies with Saints as well as Sinners Prophesying serveth not for them that believe not only but for them which believe also 1 Cor. 14.22 We dye in Travel if Christ be not formed in you and we cannot live except they that are brought home do stand fast in the Lord. 4. Effectual Religious Parposes are of extraordinary Importance I say effectual for as they will not suffice where the deed may be 2 Cor. 4.11 So Resolution without Action will not be accepted For it is not serious and hearty Psalm 119.106 I have saorn and will perform it c. 2. How shall we do that our Purposes in cleaving to Christ may be Effectual Answ 1. Resolve not in your own Strength then you will certainly fail and miscarry to punish your Presumption and expose your Weakness Say with the Psalmist I will go in the strength of the Lord God Psalm 71.16 2.
THE Three Last Sermons PREACHED By the Late Reverend Mr. Timothy Cruso Who Dyed Novem. 26. 1697. To which is added His SERMON On the 5th Nov. 1697. LONDON Printed by S. Bridge for Tho. Park-hurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside near Mercers-Chapel 1698. TO THE READER THE Reverend Author of these Sermons was well known for his Eminency in Ministerial Abilities and his great Faithfulness and Diligence in the Exercise of them to his Honour from whom he had receiv'd them and to whom they were wholy Due He had a good Vnderstanding in the Visions of God and found out as the Preacher did acceptable Words to explain them such as did at once both Please Eccles 12.10 and Profit By his skilfulness in those Visions he was as Eyes to the Blind and by his Diligence in the Vse of it he consum'd himself like a Taper by giving Light to others which makes the Loss the greater and the Repair the more difficult The Argument he makes use of to perswade backsliding Sinners to return to God is grounded on the Divine Precept and the Divine Promise on the Precept as the Ground of Conscience and on the Promise as the Ground of Confidence on that as their Warrant and on this as their Encouragement to it Sin has indeed made a Separation between God and Sinners as to his Grace and Favour though not as to his Essence and Power But a New and Living Way by Christ who united God to Man in Favour by Uniting God to Man in Person is opened wherein they who are at a great Distance from God and deserve to be set at an irrecoverable Distance from him may have free Access to him The Command shows they must com and the Promise that with Hope they may that makes it necessary to be done and this Beneficial if it is The swiftness of the Compassionate Fathers Motion towards the returning Prodigal Son who ran while he did but come and the great Entertainment he made for him when come shew how willing the Father was that he should come and how Welcome the Son was when he did come stands upon Record to express that great Compassion in God to Sinners who more willingly calls them than they either are or can be to come at his call and that delicate Provision the best and sweetest a Feast of Fat Things the sweetest Part of Meat and of Marrow the sweetest Part of Fat and those strong and pure Consolations Wine on the Lees well refin'd one noting Strength and the other Purity that he Feeds them with in the Way in his Banqueting-house the House of Pleasure and Feasting the foretasts of that better Chear reserv'd for them in the Mansion-house those Everlasting Consolations that are ever the same always satiating without Loathing and ever Renewing without Finishing This Good-Will of God to Sinners on his Part might allure them to come but the Necessity on their Part to come should Compel them to it for their is no Medium betwixt Salvation and Damnation nor any Way to obtain the one or escape the other but by Coming The Philosopher tells us Ar. Rh. l. 1. c. 9. that there is no Counsel about things of Necessity they admit no Debate Impossibility is a Hinderance to Reason Difficulty is a Hinderance to Sloth but Necessity Quickens to Action and would they but set the Necessity against the Difficulty they would either find no Difficulty or make it none by overcoming it especially in a Matter of that Moment where a Delay makes the Case dangerous and a total Neglect makes it desperate You have Gods Call to come let him have your Answer that you will come that you are coming behold we come with your Call to him to draw you that you may come for there is no Coming to him but by Strength from him and with full purpose of Heart cleave to him when come for without it you would not be receiv'd though you did come for you come before you are call'd and shall be sent away as you come Now that what is here Published may be Read and Bless'd to an effectual prevailing with Sinners to turn from Sin to God so from Sin as never more to turn to it and so to God as never willingly to turn away from him is the sincere Desire Of your Friend and Servant in our Lord. F. Fuller April 5th 1698. ERRATA PAge 3. Line 14. for yet read that p. 8. l. 1. after for r. first of all p. 13. l. 8. r. it is before the p. 14. l. 23. r. for before what p. 15. l. 15. r. throughout p. 37. l. 26. for how r. what p. 45. l. 9. for the r. who p. 49. l. 6. after not r. that p. 70. l. 19. r. they These Books lately Printed for Tho. Parkhurst DIscourses upon the Rich Man and Lazarus By Mr. Tim. Cruso There is now Published those two scarce and excellent Books the Fountain of Life opened in Forty Two Sermons And a Treatise of the Soul of Man in 4to Both by the Late Reverend and Learned Mr. John Flavel Minister of the Gospel at Dartmouth Mr. Howe 's Sermon on the Day of Thanksgiving His Sermon for Reformation of Manners His Sermon at the Funeral of Mr. Rich. Adams M. A. The great Duty and comfortable Evidence keeping our selves from our Iniquity open'd and applied By John Whitlock Minister of the Gospel in Nottingham A Perswasive to full Communion with the Churches of Christ in all Gospel-Ordinances and Priviledges By the Late Reverend Mr. George Day Minister of the Gospel in London-street in Ratcliff A short History of the Late War between King William the Confederates and the French King SERMON I. Of Conversion to God JER III. 22. latter part Behold we come unto Thee For Thon art the Lord our God THERE are several earnest Exhortations by the Prophet in this Chapter to sollicite and persuade the unfeigned Conversion of a sinful People to God As ver 1. again ver 7. then ver 12. and lastly in this ver 22. which represents a kind of Dialogue between God and the People of the Jews his Speech to them in the former Part of the Verse and their Reply to him in the latter Part of it What he says is full of Kindness and Affection What they say is expressive of their Duty and Submission 1. What God says This contains a Precept and a Promise A Precept Return you backsliding Children A Promise And I will heal your Backsliding 2. What the People say both with Reference to the Act it self Behold we come unto Thee and the Reason of it For thou art the Lord our God Whether the Jews were ever really prevailed with to do after this Manner by the Ministry of the Prophet is very doubtful or whether this were a Prophecy concerning the Time to come though it be spoken in the Time present here and in the Time past ver 21. A Voice was heard c. is also questionable But