it as all those Worthies have done whom God hath thought fit to register in his Book as men accepted with him Beloved if you please to open your eyes and look abroad into the Kingdome into every corner of it you 'l see lamentable objects every where afflicted creatures of all kindes crying to you that you would reach out a helping and healing hand to them but in nothing so much is the Kingdome desolate this day as in the things that doe properly belong to the Kingdome of Heaven the Faith of Gods people I mean the doctrinall part is woefully overthrowne in many places by blasphemous and hereticall doctrines which are got in and sown through the cunning craftinesse of them that have lien in wait to beguil unstable sâ—â—les the Worship of God is woefully neglected and troden under foot Fast Dayes and Sabbath Dayes in most places not one whit regarded the Ministery not more contemned nor so much under reproach in the hottest persecutions that they have lien under heretofore the Glory of the Lord marvellously abused in point of Religion England is this day an amazement to the Nations round about it to the insulting and rejoycing of all the enemies of it and the mourning and sadding of heart unto all that love it Could you but as in a glasse behold the unsetled case of the Kingdome of Heaven in this Land you would quickly grant there is a great deal of work to be done by those that have any vigorous spirits any bowels in them to rowle towards the helping forward of this great work Now that you may administer a healing hand I shall endeavor to say somewhat that may quicken you up and I beseech you give me leave to lay before you these following considerations eight things I would have you all seriously to think upon to provoke you to be vigorous and violent in advancing the Kingdome of Christ First Certainly there is not onely such a thing as zeal for God but it is a grace of absolute necessity in all the services of God and so lovely that it is the lustre and the varnish the glosle and beauty of all performances unto God that which sets them off with glory in the eyes of God man Gods work requires it every cause which concernes the Kingdome of Heaven must either be done with zeal or meddle not at al with it a lukewarme spirit in the service of God is worse to God then a spirit that will doe nothing hee will spue it out of his Mouth as abominable meate Now then because Religion is a work for God the proper cause of God the cause wherein his glory is most interessed associated with God you must needs doe it with zeale with all vigor and best intention of your spirit Secondly Consider further you all have lifted up your hands to the most high God and that in the day of your distresle you have bound your selves by an Oath of God and you have brought the Kingdome into an Oath of God with you you have sworne that you will willingly cheerfully constantly to the utmost of your power within your callings beat down what is contrary to Religion that you will study the advancement of Reformation according to the Word of God and the pattern of the best reformed Churches this in the day of your distresse you have sworn you have since told the Kingdome you forget it not you have order'd the Ministers oftentimes to read it upon the Fast dayes that it might be in the eyes of all Now I beseech you know that the keeping Covenant with God is a matter of a high concernment and the breaking of your Covenant with man uses not to goe unrevenged but the breaking Covenant with God is a thing will never escape the wrath of God Thirdly Consider that this work of advancing the Kingdome of Heaven is a work that belongs to you I told you before you have sworn to doe it within the compasse of your calling now it is a work within the compasse of your calling it belongs to you the Lord hath not trusted you onely with Civill liberties and to beat down oppression and injustice and outward wickednesse against the second Table in which the Lord make you more zealous but besides this the things of Gods Kingdome are committed to you You shall read if you look into Gods Book all the Worrhies whom God hath taken notice of their Crown glory hath been that they did beat downe Idolatry opposed and suppressed what ever was contrary to Religion built up Gods house set up his Ordinances encouraged his Ministers and for the doing of these things they were approved commended rewarded and such as neglected them were by God blamed branded punished so many examples are extant in the Scripture of the Old Testament that I need not name them and the same is prophesied to be done by Magistrates under the New Testament Kings shall be Nursing Fathers to it and Queenes shall be Nursing Mothers to the Church they shall give it bread milk and provide for it and nourish it and for punishing the oppressors of it there is a Gospell Prophesie in the 13. of Zechariah When any shall prophesie falsly his Father and Mother that begat him shall thrust him through and say Thou shalt not live for thou speakest lies in the name of God Now then since this belongs to your place and work I beseech you for the Lords sake be zealous in it and Fourthly consider As it is for Christ and for his Kingdome so Iesus Christ hath very well deserved at your hands to have you vigorous in his cause hee hath earned it hee is before hand with every soule of you look upon the zeal hee shewed when hee came to doe your work for you how did he bow the heavens and come downe upon the earth and from the throne of glory came and lay first in the wombe of a Virgin and then in swadling bands in a Manger and afterwards lived a poore life and then pray'd and preached and wrought Miracles with indefatigable paines with burning zeal yea gave his life a ransome he gave his soule to the death that hee might be a ransome for you and thereby purchase you to be a people to himself zealous of good warkes hath he not deserved it I and he hath deserved it at your hands in this great work hee hath set you about in this great concussion and earth quake of the Kingdome wherein you have been so farre imployed What mischiefs hath he discover'd which have been contrived against you What seasonable Mercies hath he sent you What unexpected victories hath he given you How hath the Lord made Mountains plain before you and brought you into the condition wherein you are and made you enjoy that which many times I dare say you were past all hope of seeing the Lord then deserves his cause should be thought upon by you Fifthly consider That the setting up of
from Heaven the more will their zeal bee enflamed towards heaven never any preached heaven so clearly as Iohn never any so violent in the pursuit of it as those that received Iohns Ministery it was prophesied of Iohn in the 1 of Luke Ver. 15 16 17. that he should be filled with the Holy Ghost and should goe before the Lord to prepare his way and saith the Text he shall thereby turne the hearts of the Fathers to the Children the hearts of the children to their Fathers and the disobedient to the wisdome of the wise the meaning is this Iohns Ministery should effect this that if Parents heretofore were ignorant of the wayes of God and so slighted their children for their childrens godlinesse sake now the Parents should turn to the wisdome of their children If children heretofore had slighted their Parents for their wisdome and godlinesse now the children should turn to the wisdome of their Parents the disobedient should turn to the wisdome of the wise whether this wisdome were found in the Fathers or in the children in whomsoever wisdome should bee found the disobedient would turn to them when Jesus Christ should bee clearly discover'd to them the Apostle in the 2 of Cor. 3. 13. layes this downe most clearly and fully when hee speaks how gloriously Jesus Christ is revealed in the Ministery of the Gospell he expresses the fruit of it thus We all with open face beholding as in a glasse the glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image from glory to glory whoever doth clearly see the glory of Christ in the Gospell according to the measure of his light so is the measure of the transforming of his heart into the image of the Gospell And the reason is because this light doth not onely discover a supereminent excellency in Christ and his wayes but also heales the will and affections and satisfies the whole soul with such a sutable goodnesse that it can doe no other but fly to it as the Eagle to the carkasse This Lesson which is of singular use for many things I note it onely to bee a direction to us how wee may try both our own and the pretended light of others concerning the Kingdome of heaven in our dayes especially in these late yeares wee have more discourse then ever of New Lights and new Gospel discoveries and all our old Preachers and professors are by a great many accounted to be legall men Morall men who doe not see into the mysteries of heaven and Jesus Christ as some of late thinke themselves have attained unto this you know is spoke of very much amongst many people Now I doe willingly acknowledge that day unto day utters knowledge and night unto night discovers wisedome every new day and every new year the nearer wee come to Christs last appearing will certainly discover Gospell Truths more clearly then they have been understood before yea and I as willingly and readily acknowledge every one to have received more light then formerly or more light then his brethren when I see any mans heart enflamed with more zeale transformed into more holinesse and humility and gratiousnesse of spirit then others doe attaine to this is cleare in my Text A cleare light did kindle a great deale of zeale but when you meet with any that speak of discoveries of glimpses of glory and new light and in the meane time with all their light and knowledge doe walke licenciously and reject the ordinances of God and walke in wayes that are contrary to the cleare dispensation and counsell of the Gospel I will never feare to say that that light what ever it be proceeds from the Prince of darknesse from which the Lord deliver all his people Secondly as this violence of their spirit was conformity to Iohns spirit who walked in the power and spirit of Elias a man of zeale we may learn That the Image of the spirit of Teachers frequently appeares in their Disciples If you search the Scriptures you 'l finde nothing more usuall then the people moulded into the spirit of their Teachers Rulers It 's worth your observation that all the Epistles written to the seven Churches wherein some of them are condemned to be dead and some to bee cold and some for loosing their first love and some commended for their puritie and sincerity and watchfulnesse c. all this is spoke to the Angel that is to the Colledge of Ministers to them that were their leaders yet therein the holy Ghost intends that Character of the whole Church although hee names onely the Angel because of old it hath been a Proverbe as is the Priest so are the people like Minister like people like Magistrate like flock and although no man can communicate his own spirit unto his Schollers but onely our Lord Iesus who can powr out his spirit at his pleasure yet all experience shews us that the frame of spirit that is in superiours whether Magistrates or Ministers hath a wonderfull influence upon the molding of those that are under them Magistrates and Ministers in this sense may be truely said to be set for the rising and fall of others their vertues and vices are imitated by them who are under them if they fall they draw many down with them as the Dragon drew the third part of the stars and great Cedars crush many lower Trees and make them fall with them if Peter temporise with the Jewes his example compels others to doe the like so also is their zeale for God a great provocation to their Schollers and others who are under them but I intended onely to point at these two things The third which I chiefly ayme at in this first consideration of the words is That this excellent spirit that was found in the people is here set upon the head of Iohn the Baptist as his Crown this is made Iohns glory that the Epoche of a new world or a newface of a Church did take the date from the Ministery of Iohn From the dayes of Iohn the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence and the Lesson that I observe from it is That the greatest glory that ever the Lord sets upon any whom he useth is that the Kingdom of Heaven is advanced by their Ministery or service This I think you see plain in the Text this I shall indeavour a little to open and apply unto you it is true that when the servants of God are faithfull they are accepted with God and shall be glorious with him though there bee no successe of their labours the Prophet Isaiah saith though Israel be not converted and Iudah not gathered yet I shall be glorious with my God and Paul saith Wee that is wee faithfull Ministers are a sweet savour unto God in them that perish as well as in them that are saved the servants of God lose not their labour with God when they are unprofitable towards man but if the Lord doe please to use
to build up the Kingdome of Heaven is the same work that God and the Lord Iesus Christ work and can there be a greater glory communicated unto any creature then to bee tooke into association with God in a service that is for his highest glory Secondly as they are associated with God so They make the people to whom they are instrumentall beholding to them for the greatest benefits that people are capable of receiving Seneca saith Nihil in rebus humanis praeclarius quam de republica bene mereri There is nothing in all the affaires of mankinde more honorable then to deserve well of the Common-wealth to be instrumentall of good to others it is the glory of man in all humane societies and you shall find that Tubal-Cain and others that did invent instruments of Brasse and Musick are numbred among those that have done good to the world and Hezekiah hath a Crowne of praise that hee did build a poole and brought water to the Citie of Ierusalem But for a man to be instrumentall to helpe forward the Kingdome of Heaven to advance it to draw people out of the snares of Satan unto God to help them with the pardon of sin and right to everlasting life these are mercies with a witnesse no wonder though the Galatians could have pull'd out their eyes and have given them to Paul when he had been a means to help them to the knowledge of Christ and so to Heaven so that whether you regard the glory of being associated with God or the good that they convey unto others there can be no such honour as to be instrumentall in helping forward the Kingdome of Heaven This Lesson is of excellent use especially to two sorts of men that are or may be publikely instrumentall in it I mean Magistrates and Ministers I am called at the present to speak onely to the first therefore I 'le say nothing of the latter but for you Honourable and beloved that are the Patriots of the Kingdome is it not in your heart to do all the good that is possible to poor England I dare say you are deeply affected with the distresses of it and would not count your lives deare so you might but promote the good of it shall I tell you what that thing is which above all things in the world will be advantagious to England and glorious to your selves lay the cause of the Kingdome of Heaven to your hearts more then ever you have done endeavour to be instrumentall to make Religion thrive and prosper that the Kingdome of Heaven may suffer violence under your service so shall your names bee ingraven with the name of God and numbred among the Saviours of this Land Let me speak freely to you you have contended long and vehemently for rescuing the Kingdome of England from the bondage and pressures that it lay under and that England might be a free people herein you have wrought in the fire and because the cure hath been hard costly woe and alas I must speak it the Patients are weary of it and could rather wish to bee under their old Soares then under such Physitians and are ready to say with the murmuring Israelites Let us make us a Captain and return againe unto Egypt would be againe at their flesh pots and onyons though under bondage your selves doe know how much ingratitude is shewed and all because there is not that event and successe that hath been hoped for but would the Lord make you instrumentall to advance the Kingdome of Heaven really there should never bee found one among those that should partake the benefit of it that would be weary of you but would for ever blesse the Lord for you If the generations to come and future Chronicles may but be able to say From the dayes of such a Parliament the hearts of the people of England were turned to God from the dayes of such a Parliament the Ministery was reformed setled encouraged with countenance with maintenance Vniversities were reformed heresies blasphemies every thing contrary to Christs truth was discountenanced suppressed beaten down and the glory of the Lord Christ was laid to heart might but this bee said of you after all your toyle and blood and after all your being cast down and laden with reproach and scorne your names should revive your glory should be eternall this and the everlasting world would number you among the repairers of the breaches of Gods people and you shall bee called Saviours of the Kingdome of England if the Lord doe but direct you to doe this worke but in the meane time should the Lord leave you that it should bee otherwise that the affaires of Christ should prove retroomnia that the Kingdome being overspread with blasphemies and heresies and the poysoning of the soules of people c. should bee concurrent with your worke and you not endevour to administer the best helping hand you can to it it would bee said of you as Ecclesiasticall writers do of one age since Christ that was overspread with heresies and destitute of worthy men to oppose them it was called Infoelix seculum an unhappy age so would you be accounted Infoelix Parliamentum an unhappy Parliament if this should happen under you and you not indevour to the utmost to redresse it I pray the Lord and it is my prayer when ever I can pray that God would give that glory to you and set that crowne upon your heads that with Ioshua and Zerubbabel and and the rest of those whom God hath counted fit to bee numbred among his Worthies you might make this the great designe that from the dayes of this Parliament the Kingdome Heaven might bee set up and flourish in England and so I have done with the words in the first consideration of them as they are a crowne set upon the head of Iohn the Baptist From the dayes of Iohn the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence I now proceed to the words as they containe a description of a people really converted and brought home to Christ The Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force take but the Rhetorick off from these words they signifie no more then that which is said in the 1 of Luke 16. Many of the children of Israel he shall turne to the Lord their God many shall bee converted by him but the holy Ghost expresses it in these Metaphoricall termes because they doe fully set out the true Genius of every soule who is aright instructed of the Kingdome of Heaven In the words there are two things First what the frame of spirit is which possessed the people under Iohns Ministery in these words the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence Secondly The successe of this frame of spirit the violent take it by force For the first the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence wherein there are two things to bee interpreted First What is meant by the Kingdome of Heaven Secondly
apprehend and be sensible what our estate is you heare that all who are rightly affected to Heaven doe offer violence to it in all the wayes I have open'd Brethren doe you so say every one for your owne soules doth your conscience witnesse that you offer violence to the Kingdome of Heaven Compare a little what violence you use for other things and what you use to obtaine a part in the Kingdom of Heaven Can you not watch and work and toyle and spend and be spent for some earthly thing or other For your wealth or your pleasure or your honour Doe you not drive like Iehu furiously as if you would break your Chariot wheeles into peeces doe you not thus for the world And doe you thus also for your immortast soules Are you not like David in his old age when no cloths could make him warm are you not like the Egyptians when their Chariet wheeles were taken off when they drove slowly and heavily are you not like Snailes in the pursuit of the things of Gods Kingdom my heart could bleed in the serious thoughts of these things O wretched creatures that wee are that we should thus deceive our selves There is a notable story of a poore wretched woman whose house was on a fire and shee seeing her house would bee burn'd down bestir'd herselfe to the utmost to save what shee could gets out her linnen gets out her pewter and what ever else shee was able and all this while this poore creature had a Babe lying in a Cradle which shee never thought of indeed some others did see it and carry it out but when all was consumed it came into the womans mind O Lord saith shee I have forgot my child I have saved my brasse and my pewter and my child is burnt and fell mad immediately at the apprehension of her desperate neglect of her Babe O beloved we are the Lord knowes no lesse mad here is a poore Tabernacle of ours it is of a light fire here is a World on a fire and a Kingdom on a fire and we have somewhat that wee would all save and one man saith I must have this Money and the other I must save so much Land and another I must save such an Office and saith another I must get such a preferment and in the mean time there is a poore immortall Soule like a Babe in a Cradle and a Kingdome of Heaven that is onely a suitable portion to it this we wholly neglect we doe nothing for it it may be come to Church and hear Sermons and joyne in Prayer and attend upon Duties but with such dull spirits that if a man would aske his soul the question his Conscience would say this is not to strive as for masterie this is not to run in a race this is not to strive as if a man would obtain Miserable that we are the Kingdomes of the Earth suffer violence our Farmes suffer violence our Trade suffers violence but Heaven suffers no violence the Lord forgive us and help us to lay these things to our hearts and to be humbled for them this day and Thirdly yet one thing more What great cause have wee to be humbled when wee look upon that other branch of it the little vigor ánd fervency of Spirit that men have to advance the Kingdome of Heaven in reference to the good of others in other things every good Common-wealths-man is diligent some would advance Trade to the utmost and others would advance Liberty to the utmost indeed all other things men seek to improve them to the utmost but O the little care is found among men to advance the Kingdome of the Lord Iesus Christ to the utmost Many opposing it as a dangerous thing they say of it as Haman of the Jewes It is not for the Kings profit to suffer it and others as Herod seek to strangle it in the Cradle others who will not appeare enemies to it yet O how little will they now doe for it Is it nothing to them that passe by the way to see godliness trod under foot to see Ministers trod down to see Heresies and Blasphemies spread to see all goe backward in the things of Heaven it takes not the hearts of a great many God grant that many of your selves who are our Reformers have not great cause to put your mouths in the dust for these things this day when you are before the Lord our God you know how zealous you have been in your own work if you have had the like affections in advancing the Kingdome of Christ lift up your heads and take the comfort of it this day but if you like that cold Worshipper of Baal Gideons Father who had an Altar for Baal yet when one had it broken down and hee perswaded to punish him that had done that deed answered Let Baal plead for himselfe let him revenge his own quarrell so if you deal for the Kingdom of Christ let it shift for it self If any of you have such a cold heart for Religion and let it goe at six and sevens bee permitted to lie in the dust and be deeply humbled if not I must tel you from the Lord that lie will not onely not delight to use you but hee will spew you out of his mouth for hee had as willingly have a dead Asse offer'd in a Sacrifice to him as a dull Spirit to set upon his work for these things let our soules be humbled this day and that is the first use the second is a use of exhortation in two branches Is the Kingdome of Heaven a businesse of that nature that all who are rightly informed about it will seek it violently eagerly with all their strength O that the Lord would leave that impression upon every one of our soules this day I desire that for the time to come we might make it our onely worke for our selves to worke out our salvation with feare and trembling Would I knew what to say to inflame your hearts about it would the Lord did please to open your eyes and shew you how little the World is worth and how little good is to be found in it and how far below your soules and how much your immorall soules are worth and how excellent a thing the Kingdome of Heaven is that you might be contented with Paul for time to come to make it your work to pursue after it to account all losse to win Iesus Christ doe any thing or be any thing so it bee in the pursuit of the Kingdome of Heaven Much I might say to stir you up but I am afraid I should be burthensome to you and would not be straightned in the last branch of all and therefore I come to An exhortation to this honorable Assembly by whom I am called to be helpefull to this day that in that part of their work which concernes the Kingdome of Heaven they would doe it with all their might labouring to advance