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
is lifted up is to morrow trodden down who is now accounted cloquent is presently esteem'd a babe rude or barbarous and all from their ficklenesse the Word and Ministers are the same but the people are changed like sick peoples palate who long for that meat one day which they nauseate the next day or as children who delight in those toyes one day which the next they throw out of the doores The second part of Christs discourse concerning Iohn is A high commendation of Iohn and of his Ministery from three notable arguments First That Iohn was the Prophet that was foretold long before by two emminent Prophets Isaiah Malachi both of them shewing that the Lord would send his messenger before his face and saith Christ if you 'l beleeve it this is he The second is taken from the eminencie of Iohns worke hee did immediatly goe before Jesus Christ as a Noble man that should lead the Prince by the hand and shew him to every one This is he he did not as the other Prophets hold him out in types and shadows and spake of a Messiah that was to come a long time after but as another Christopher did carry Christ upon his shoulders and held him out in his armes that every one that came neer Iohn might see him pointed out to the Lambe of God that took away the sinnes of the world and the clearer any Ministery is in the discovery of Christ the more excellent it is but yet that Christ might set the true bounds to the honour of Iohns Ministery he adds that though of all the Prophets that ever were before him there was none like him yet the least Minister after Christ should have done his worke the meanest Minister of the Gospel had a more excellent Ministery then Iohn the Baptist because the excellencie of a Ministery is in the light that it carries Now Iohns light did farre goe beyond all that went before him but the least Minister of the Kingdome of Heaven after Christs work was done on earth should be able so cleerly to shew forth the life death passion resurrection ascension intercession of Christ sending of the holy Ghost and all those glorious mysteries that children might bee able to understand them and this goes far beyond the Ministery of Iohn the Baptist This is the second Argument whereby Christ magnifies the Ministery of Iohn the third is that that I have chosen for my Text That from the dayes of Iohn the Baptist the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force the summe whereof is that from Iohns time there was raised up in all who truely embrac'd the Gospel a servent spirit to pursue and advance the Kingdome of Heaven with all eagernesse no Souldiers are more violent in assaulting and taking astrong hold then Iohns Disciples were in prosecuting the Kingdome of Heaven with all their might when once it was discover'd to them Now all these arguments whereby Christ doth extoll the Ministery of Iohn are intended not onely as so many testimonies of honour to Iohn but are also so many Arguments to prove Jesus Christ to be the true Messiah for whatever proves Iohn to be the Elias that should make his way ready for him the same proves Jesus Christ to be the Saviour that should come unto Gods people and this of my Text as strong and cleare as any other because it was foretold of him that the people should be willing in the day of his power should come in as plentifully as the dew out of the wombe of the morning should flie after him as the Doves to their windowes This is the commendation of Iohn if you would know the fruit of all this what this high encomium of Iohn did work upon the hearers you may read in the 7. of Luke where Vers 29. 30. this same story is recorded and the effect of it is there added which our Evangelist doth omit viz. that when Christ had said these things of Iohn the Publicans and the rest of the people who had before been baptized by Iohn Baptist glorified God were awaken'd and brought to sorrow for their neglect of Iohn and so encouraged to imbrace Jesus Christ whom Iohn pointed out but the Scribes and Pharisees the learned Doctors and others that had despised the Ministery of Iohn did no whit regard the honour that Christ did give to Iohns Ministery and so neither accepted Iohn the forerunner nor Christ the Saviour but rejected the counsell of God against themselves This is the sum of the whole context Our generall observation from this commendation which our Saviour gives to Iohn is that the Lord Iesus is most ready to honour them who abase themselves for his sake Iohn had exceedingly abased himself declaring himself to be but the voyce of a cryer unworthy to unloose the latchet of Christs shooe making himself a footstoole to exalt Christ willing to decrease that Christ might increase and now Christ heaps honour upon Iohn abundantly so that wee may see that such as honour Christ shall be honoured of him and that although honour flie from them who vainely seek it yet it followes them who flie from it But I come to my Text which as you have heard is one branch of that honorable testimony which our Saviour gave to Iohn the Baptist which I shall desire you with me to look upon under a twofold consideration First As they are intended to bee a Crown and an honour to Iohn the Baptist From the dayes of Iohn the Baptist untill now the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence Secondly and principally Wee will consider these words as they doe containe a description of men who are rightly affected with the kingdome of heaven The Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force Of the first of these very briefly the meaning I take to bee this This eagernesse and fervency of Spirit in the people is to bee looked upon partly as a fruit of that cleere light which Iohn Baptists Ministery did hold out never any discovered the kingdome of heaven so cleerly as Iohn did and therefore never was there such zeal to presse into the Kingdome of heaven as was in Iohns time Secondly and partly as a conformity to Iohns Spirit Iohn came in the power and Spirit of Elias a man of mettle and zeal that did the work of the Lord with all his might and therefore the people whom his Ministery wrought upon were moulded into Iohns Spirit they were made like unto their Teacher and both these are by our Lord intended as a Crowne to Iohn From the dayes of Iohn the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence A word or two of each of these Take the zeal and eagernesse of the people after heaven as a fruit of that clear discovery of the Kingdome of heaven by Iohns Ministery and it affords us this excellent lesson That the clearer light any people doe receive
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
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
any as means to advance the Kingdome of Heaven hee never conferres a greater glory upon any of his creatures Daniel faith in the 12. of Daniel whether they bee Magistrates or Ministers or private men They that turne many to righteousnesse shall shine like the Stars you know the Stars are the brightest part of the whole Creation they that are meanes to win people to righteousnesse shall shine like Stars Observe also what an honorable name the Lord gives to such in the 58. of the Prophesie of Isaiah Thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach the restorer of paths to walk in the raiser up of the foundations for many Generations intimating that a greater name of glory cannot bee given them There is an excellent story in the sixth Chapter of the Prophesie of Zechariah the Lord appointed that Ioshua the high Priest who was a type of Christ and was then building the Temple and setting up the worship of God should have crownes of Gold and Silver set upon his head typifying thereby the glory that shall bee set upon the head of the Lord Jesus that is the great builder of his Church but in the same Chapter the Lord commanded the Prophet to take of them that are of the captivitic and names Helem and Tobijah and Hen and some others who as some Interpreters think were Ambassadors sent by the rest of the scattered Jewes to bring their oblations active men that came to helpe forward the work of God others thinke they came as private men enflamed with zeale to set a good example unto others and brought their Silver and Gold that they might further the work that was in hand implying thus much that these excellent men to whom God had given a spirit to helpe forward that work and had brought their Silver and Gold and other gifts the Lord would have their gifts turn'd into Crowns and have their names written upon their Crownes and these should be hung up in the Temple of God as an everlasting memoriall of the glory that God put upon these forward men Truly thus doth the Lord deale with all his servants if he give the talents of authority of Magistracy of Ministery of wisedome of wealth or whatever may be usefull to any and they obtaine a heart to employ these to advance the Kingdome of Christ the Lord turnes their talents into crownes and engraves their names upon their crownes and hangs them up as a memoriall before the Lord and this I could shew you out of 100. examples in the Scripture especially of those two sorts of great instruments Magistrates and Ministers that it hath been the greatest glory that ever God put upon any of them that they have bent themselves to advance the Kingdome of Heaven What is the great glory of Moses but that he brought Israel out of bondage and brought them into a covenant with God and gave them statutes and oracles and ordinances What is the glory of Ioshua but that hee did plant Israel in their owne possession and brought them into a covenant and there set them into a way that they served God all his dayes What was the glory of David but that being raised from being a Shepheards boy to bee a King hee did doe good unto Gods people and provided beyond all measure whatsoever might build a Temple for God and set the orders to the Priests and enabled the servants of God to serve him with liberty and cheerfulnesse And what was Solomons but the building Gods house c And so I might go on with Asa and Iehosaphat and Iosiah and Ezrah and Nehemiah all these great Worthies their glory hath been that the Kingdome of God was advanced by them the like of Ministers Iehojada the Priest buried among the Kings because hee had done good to Israel and honored God and his house hee had helped Religion wonderfully forward and Iohn the Bap ist here in my Text it was prophesied of him by the Angel He shall be great in the sight of God Iohn shall be a very great man Alas what was Iohns greatnesse hee was a Priests sonne lived in a kind of Hermits life and went in a leather girdle and eate countrey fare and went in course apparell wherein was his greatnesse It was this many of the hearts of the childen of Israel shall hee turne unto the Lord his God and so Samaria it is Philips crowne and all the countries and cities that Paul wonne to Jesus Christ are so many crownes to him and you shall reade of the Church the woman in the twelfth of the Revelations when she was cloathed with the Sunne that is Christ Jesus her Lord his rightcousnesse was her glorious rayment yet shee had a crowne of 12. Stars upon her head that is the 12. Apostles of Christ that had laboured to bring her to that light and grace these were set upon the Churches head and shee wore them as a crowne Many more instances might bee given but to cleare it a little further consider but these two grounds for it First Who ever are instrumentall in advancing and building up and furthering the Kingdome of Heaven the Lord gives them to partake with himself in that which is his own greatest glory and the greatest glory of his Son the Lord Jesus Christ when Satan had ruin'd mankind and himself become the God upon earth and drawn all men off from God to worship Devils the great designe of God was to set up another Kingdome that should bee called the Kingdome of God the Kingdome of his Christ the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus the Kingdome of Heaven and for the erecting of this Christ did all his work came from Heaven became a man died rose again sent out his Spirit it is the great designe of Heaven that this Kingdome should bee erected and advanced Now when any are found to help forward this they are associated with the Lord Jesus in this great Work and therefore you shall read in the Prophesie of Obadiah the last verse of it where the Lord speakes of winning both the Jews and other Nations home to Christ Saviours shall come upon Mount Zion Saviours shall be there Who are they the Jewish Interpreters say that the Saviours there meant are Rex Messias ejus socii these Saviours are King Messiah and his Companions that should work with him and most interpreters do agree that the Saviours are the Apostles and the Apostolicall men and others that should bring the people homeagain to God and help to convert the Nations the Lord calls them by the name of Saviours and many are said to be fellow-workers with Christ and the Apostle saith of Timothy See that Timoty bee without any molestation with you in the â— of the Cor. 16 for he works the Worke of God as I doe and of Epaphroditus it is said of him that for the Work of Iesus Christ hee was sick unto death the work then that they are imployed in
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
What by the Kingdome of Heavens suffering violence By the Kingdome of Heaven in one word both here and at least in 100. other places of the New Testament is meant the administration of the Covenant of grace after Jesus Christ was exhibited in the flesh the last best administration of the covenant of Grace The Kingdome of Heaven is come to you The Kingdome of Heaven is like a Merchant man The Kingdome of Heaven shall be taken from you c. all these expressions are nothing but the administration of the Covenant of Grace under Messiah and this is called the Kingdome of Heaven not onely in opposition to the kingdomes of the world other politique Commonwealths but principally I thinke in opposition to the spirituall kingdome of the Devill which is the kingdome of darknesse and leads people to destruction and this administration is called the Kingdome of Heaven partly because the Prince and Soveraigne Lord of it is the Lord from Heaven and hath his throne in Heaven and partly because all the subjects of it are made Heavenly in their conversations partly because all the good things communicated to them doe come from Heaven and principally because the Kingdome of glory that is to be injoyed in Heaven and the administration of the Covenant of Grace here upon earth are all but one and the same thing onely that is the upper Region this the inferior there is the Metropoliticall Citie and these are as it were the Suburbs and the Countrey Villages but all is one Kingdome there is nothing there but what is enjoy'd here only with these two differences that here the Kingdome of Heaven is mix'd and imperfect mix'd with corruption mix'd with affliction and the graces of it not perfectly communicated and there it is simple and pure and entire without any defect or mixture and here it is administred in ordinances and received by faith there it is administred immediatly and enjoyed by sight but otherwise I know no difference Heaven there and Heaven here to the Saints is all but one Kingdome therefore it is called the Kingdome of Heaven Secondly and what is meant by the Kingdome of heaven suffering violence I confesse some Interpreters say that Heaven suffers violence that is suffers persecution adversaries doe rush upon it but so it cannot be said that the violent take it for these violent men doe not take but lose the Kingdome of Heaven who persecute it but my Text speakes of such violent men as take and enjoy it The Arminans say that by the suffering violence is meant the persecuting of it to the taking of it away not the taking of it to themselves but the taking of it away from others and will not let people lay hold upon it nor enter into it but our Lord himself interprets the meaning in the 16. of Luke 16. where that of this story is related There Christ saith and from the dayes of Iohn the Kingdome of God is preached and every one presseth into it So that the suffering of violence here is that the Kingdome of Heaven is assaulted by violence of those that will have it what ever it cost them all who are rightly informed and instructed in the Kingdome of Heaven doe with contention and earnestnesse of spirit break through all difficulties use all diligence that they may enjoy the Kingdome of Heaven as their portion what ever it cost them In a word what Paul saith of his own practice Philip 3. is a cleere interpretation of this Text I do count all drosse and dung that I might gaine Christ I make shipwrack of all I looke at nothing that I have already got but I still looke for that which is before me I presse forward if by any meanes I may attaine to the resurrection of the dead Now you have the meaning since Iohn hath cleerly discover'd the Kingdome of Heaven the spirits of men are so fired that there is no taking of them off but with all the violence possible they all labour and endeavour to advance it and to get into it and from this there are two excellent lessons to be handled I 'le onely name one of them and handle the other The first is That the administration of the Covenant of grace in the Gospel of Christ is no other thing then the very Kingdome of Heaven nothing lesse then the very Kingdome of Heaven let the men of the world slight it esteeme it a bondage a drudgery yet it 's no lesse then a Kingdome yea a Kingdome of Heaven which doth transcend all the Kingdomes of this world as far as Heaven is above the earth that is one I dare say nothing of that lest I bee prevented the other is That all who are rightly affected to the Kingdome of Heaven offer violence to it Violence it is a motion above the meane beyond mediocrity it is a motion with greatest intention and indeavour this is the lesson I would Preach to you that whoever are rightly affected to the Kingdome of Heaven doe use their utmost endeavour and offer violence to it let mee first make it cleer to you that it is so and then I 'le hasten to the Application That it is so if you please but to weigh these three or foure things it will bee beyond all question That every where in the Booke of God where the endeavours of men are described who look after Heaven these endeavours I say are expressed by all the indefatigable paines that are laid out about any thing in the world the most laborious trade of a Husbandman of a Traveller of a Warfaring man of a Merchant are usually brought to expresse the labours of men that look after heaven yea such exercises which are too violent for any to make a trade or ordinary practise of are used to set out the violence of their labour who strive for the Kingdome of heaven as running a race striving for masteries or victories in the Olympick games 1 Cor. 9. 24. c. Know yee not that they who run in a race ran all but one receiveth the Garland so run that yee may obtain c. The affections with which they are carried to it are ordinarily so expressed that all the love they beare to any thing else is hatred if compar'd with the love they beare to this Christ saith in the 14. of Luke If any man will bee my disciple and hate not father and mother and wife and children and life and all that he hath and himselfe also hee cannot be my Disciple Now certainly the Lord doth not meane positively the Gospel doth not teach any man to hate his father or his mother or his wife or children it is against nature and against the Gospel but the Lord meanes comparatively that take all the love that they bear to their own lives or to what ever is deare to them as Iacobs love to Leah was hatred when compar'd with his affection to Rachel so all
to have peace with God and peace with our conscience and peace with the creatures and joy in the holy Ghost to have all things in this world turn'd to their good and in the end to be delivered from death and hell and to reigne with God and our Lord Jesus Christ in heaven for evermore such things as these the Kingdome of Heaven doth bring with it now would you wonder that any man should be sick of love as the Church said shee was that doth but see this face wee use to say that for the summum bonum for the chief good excesse of affection can have no excesse the highest affection that any living man can expresse cannot bee supposed to have an excesse in it when it is for that is the superlative good of all others I have but one Question or two briefly to cleare and then my way is plaine to the Application It may be demanded First What use is there of a violent spirit in the pursuit of the Kingdome of Heaven Can wee by searching finde out the Almighty is this Race to the swift or this Battle to the strong doth any mans eagernesse and violence of spirit purchase this at Gods hand is it in our power by our labour to carry it is not all in this work of Gods free Grace who shewes mercy to whom hee will shew mercy and to what purpose then is that violence of the spirit To that I answer it is certainly true that no wisedome of man can search the Kingdome of heaven out the Vultures eye never saw it it is a path that the Lion never walked in and the wayes of it are hid from all flesh it is as high as heaven wee can doe nothing the search of it is deeper then the Center of the earth wee cannot know it Man knoweth not the price of it neither is it found in the land of the living the depth saith It is not in me and the Sea saith It is not in me it cannot be gotten for gold neither shall silver be weighed for the price of it it is hid from the eyes of all living God onely understandeth the wayes thereof and giveth it to whom hee pleaseth and if any man should thinke that his eagernesse or violence of spirit could purchase it he and his labours must perish together this is certaine but though this bee true yet the Lord who is the free giver of it hath order'd that it shall bee sought after this manner partly as a signe and token that wee esteeme it in its due place and partly as the meanes that he pleaseth to blesse and his promise is that they who seeke it as silver and search for it as for hid treasure shall find understanding and the fear of the Lord and besides all this there is that reason in nature for it that whatever the heart doth once place the greatest felicitie in it can doe no other but it must follow it with all its might But it may be once again demanded Doth not the Scripture say it is easie and if it bee so quorsâ—m haec to what purpose should violence be ufed to take a Fort that will be taken without violence Christ saith my yoke is easie and my burthen light a slight labour may serve for an easie yoak a weak shoulder is enough for a light burthen To which I answer Never did yet any man read in Gods book that the obtaining of the Kingdome of Heaven was an easie matter Christ-saith it is hard to be saved that straight is the way and narrow is the gate and wee must labour at it and many will cry Lord Lord that shall not finde it many shall seek but not enter because they strive not to enter but neverisaith it is easie Indeed when once the soule hath learned to conforme to Christ when they have learned of him to bee humble and meek then Christs yoak is easie and so it is in other things if a man have given his heart to doe the Devills drudgery it is an easie thing for him to sweare and whore and drinke and drab and dice and commit villanies this abominable drudgery is easie to a mans spirit that delights in it and to travell from countrey to countrey to fight and be wounded and all these things are easie to spirits that suit them it was easie for Iacob 14. yeers together to watch and toyle when it was for his beloved Rachel In all things finis dat is amabilitatem facilitatem the pleasing end propounded and aimed at makes the meanes sweet and easie though difficult and hard in themselves So when the love of heaven is got into the heart of man then it is easie with him it is pleasing to his nature suitable to his spirit to spend and be spent to be any thing to doe any thing that he might get it but otherwise the things themselves are hard to be got I have nothing behind but the Application of it and that shall bee in these two Uses First This Lesson doth afford us very much matter of humiliation and mourning upon this day of our soule affliction and secondly it is a Lesson that affords us excellent direction for discharge of our necessary dutie for time to come First for mourning Doe all that are rightly affected with the Kingdome of Heaven offer violence to it in this way that I have discover'd to you how sad then is the condition of most in England this day wee all professe our selves to bee the children of the Kingdome wee are by a certaine generall profession of Christianitie numbred among them that call our selves the servants and followers of this Kingdome but are wee true borne or are wee Bastards This lesson will determine it First How many are there to bee found in England who in stead of offering violence to get the Kingdome of heaven doe offer violence against the Kingdome of heaven and doe all they can to rush upon the kingdom of heaven to destroy it and beat it down who do not only with the Gadarens intreat Christ to be gone from them but with those disobedient subjects send him word he shall not paign over them with them of Nazareth seek to tumble him downe the brow of the hill upon which their Citie was built willing to use all labours and travell yea all violence that the Gospel and Ordinances wherein this Kingdome is administred might bee disgraced crushed banished beaten downe Of these men I can say no more but this their damnation sleepeth not they may in words professe Christ but certainly in their workes they absolutely deny him and ruine will be their end Secondly How sadly doth this speak against the generality of people yea I fear against the greatest part of our selves who are here before the Lord this day God in mercy open al our eyes to see it and powre so much grace into our hearts that wee may aright
you to afford a healing hand in many things to take off the bridle of bondage which lay upon our necks and to pull down huge Mountains and that Gods people injoy a great deal of liberty in many things more then they did heretofore be provoked to help in this also A mercifull good Physitian who hath begun a cure if any new disease break out while the Patient is under his cure he would be very loth any thing should fall out to be the Patients ruine while under his hand and therefore let this also provoke you earnestly to carry this work on and Lastly Know that if the Husbandman will sleep the envious man sleeps not Gebal and Ammon and the children of Lot and Ashur and Tyre and all that are enemies to the Kingdom of Christ bestir themselves against it Cataline watches ut perdat rempubliam omits no endeavour to destroy Religion Sanballat and Tobiah doe all that ever they can to hinder the building of the wall shall not Nehemiah shall not Ezra shall not the rest of Gods people put to their hand too Vt jugulent homines surgunt de nocte latrones If theeves watch by night to kill men shall not honest men watch to preserve their own lives When there is such a marvellous endeavor to corrrupt our Faith to take away Government to take away Worship to take out the power of godlinesse to discourage all that fear God to doe any thing against them shall not they that are the servants of the Lord doe the utmost that they can to encourage them For the Lords sake consider of these things and God Almighty give you a right understanding in them this is the first thing what they did they offered violence to the Kingdome of Heaven the Kingdome of Heaven suffers violence The second part you have in the next words the successe of their violence they take it by force Rapiunt It is a Metaphor taken from a Castle taken by storm by the violence of those that will it take or loose their blood so the violent doe take the Kingdome of Heaven and these words are both Restrictive and they are Promissive they are restrictive they are the violent men and no other that get it if of any work in the world it be true that the sluggard is cloathed with rags it 's true here hee that onely cries Lord Lord shall never come into the Kingdome of Heaven this is a peculiar mercy in store for these violent spirits that the violent and no other shall get into Heaven and then as it is restrictive so it is promissive though carelesse endeavours and slight labours may prove abortive vigorous prosecution of it shall not miscarry they that seek shall find to them that knock it shall be open'd to them that aske it shall be granted they that seek wisdome as men seek Silver and Gold the Lord will give it them he hath laid it up in store let them that have violent hearts offer violence to it and the Lord hath promised they shall not misse of it but this the time being gone I dare not handle FINIS Dan 7. 2. Hab. 1. 2. 2 Kings 9. 20 Isa 55. 2. Prov 23. 5. Phil. 4. 5. Psal. 131. 2. Deut 6. 5. 2 Cor. 7. 11. Iude 3. Nehem 4. 21 22 23. Luke 13 24. 2 Pet. 1. 5. 10 10. 1 Cor 15. 58. Luke 14 23 The context opened Verse 10. 14. Verse 11. Psal. 110. Esay 60. 8. Luke 27. 30. The parts and meaning of the Text Consider this violence of the people toward the Kingdome of Heaven First as an honour to Iohn Secondly as a description of true Converts As an honor to Iohn as being First a fruit of the clear light his Ministery held out Whence learn Doctrine The clearer light any people have from Heaven the more violent they will be after Heaven Application Hereby we may learn how to judge of pretended light Secondly a conformitie to his spirit I earn here that the Teachers oft-times appear in their Disciples Hosea 4. 9. Gal. 2. 14. Thirdly in both these as a crown of glory to Iohn Learne hence The greatest glory which God puts upon any man is to make them instrumentall in building the Kingdome of Heaven Doct. Esav 49. 5. 2 Cor. 2. 15. Dan. 12. 3. Esay 58. 12. 〈◊〉 â— 10. 14 opened R. 1. R. D. Kimâ— 2 Cor. 6. 1. 1 Cor. 1. 6. Philip 2. 30. Reas. 2. Gen. 4. â— Kings 20. appli. To the Parliament to intend this work above all other â— Consider the â—ext as a desciption of true Converts What is meant by Kingdome of Heaven Phil. 3. 2â— 2. What is meant by the Kingdome of heaven suffering violence Luke 16. 16. Phil. 3. 8 c. Doct. 1. Doct. 2. 1. 1 Cor. 9. 24. Luke 14 17. Luke 14 33. Matth. 13. â—4 45. Matth. 19. 29. Phil 38. Heb. 11. 24. Rev. 12. 11. Reason From the necessity and excellency and benefit of the Kingdome of Heaven Quest 1. Reason Iob 11. 7 8 Iob 28. pertorum Prov. 245. Qu. 2. Reas. Matth. â—â— 29. 30. Vse 1. For humiliation 1. How many use violence against the Kingdome of Heaven 2. How many are flight luke-warm in seeking it for their own soul 3. How little zeal is found for the advancing of the Kingdome of Heaven for the good of others Vse 2. Exhortation in two branches 1. Each to contend violently to get it Motives to provoke to this work Esa. 19. 29. zach. 13. 3. Titus 2. 14. 1 Sam 24. 16. Zach 2. 5. Esa. 26. â— Nehem. 3. 20. Icr. 6. 14. Prov. 2. 34.