Now saith the Text And from the dayes of John the Baptist until now doth the Kingdom of Heaven suffer violence O the Hearts of People were mightily stirred ever since the dayes of John Baptist and why Because that he Preached that The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand Now that consists of Peace and Joy and the Doctrine of Reconciliation between sinners and the Blessed God that indeed is the special part of the Kingdom of Heaven Now he Preaching this Kingdom of Heaven saith the Text from that day the Kingdom of Heaven suffered Violence and every one comes to know Lord what shall I do that I may enter into this Kingdom O what a Blessed thing is it for Congregations when the Lord shall send those amongst them to bring Peace between God and their Souls That it may said from such a Day from such a Time that the Lord did send such among them that opened this Doctrine of Peace That the Kingdom of Heaven hath suffered Violence There hath many poor Souls come in and said O Men and Brethren What shall I do to be saved And Blessed are they upon whom the Tender of the Gospel shall have this Effect Now if there be any Sons of Peace here that shall entertain this here 's the Blessing that is to be upon them That the Peace of the Gospel shall rest upon them upon that Parish upon that House upon that Soul Sermon II. Luke 10. 6. And if the Son of Peace be there your Peace shall rest upon it If not it shall turn to you again TO leave what was said in the former Verse and to proceed to what remains In this Verse you have First A Supposition If the Son of Peace Secondly A Description of a good Hearer of the Gospel He is a Son of Peace Thirdly The Blessing upon him Your Peace shall rest upon him We shall speak to no more only these Three things at present First The Supposition If the Son of Peace be there Here there is a Supposition That when the Lord sends the Ministry of the Gospel unto any place that there will be some Sons of peace it were a hard thing if we should come and find no Sons of Peace If the Son of Peace be there As if Christ should say It is hopeful you may find some Sons of Peace From whence the Point of Doctrine is this That when God doth send the Ministery of the Gospel to any place there is hopes that there is some Sons of Peace there There may be hope to Ministers and others that they shall find some that will entertain their Gospel In Acts 18. 9 10. Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a Vision Be not afraid but speak and hold not thy peace For I am with thee and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee For I have much People in this City When God sent Paul to Preach there was a great deal of Opposition Well saith God for all that Opposition you shall Preach in this place Why For I have much People in this City So that when God by His Providence shall order the Word to come to any place there is a hopeful Argument at least that God hath People in that City In Mat. 10. Where you have Christ sending of the Apostles to Preach He bids them in ver 5. Go not into the way of the Gentiles and into the Cities of the Samaritans enter ye not saith Christ But go rather to the lost Sheep of the House of Israel As if Christ should say As for the Gentiles and the Samaritans I have yet none to Call there the time is to come for the Gentiles to be Called I would not therefore have you go thither I would not have you lose your Labour But go unto the lost Sheep of the House of Israel There are many of the House of Israel that are as lost Sheep that are wandering from God and their own Happiness I would have you go thither saith Christ thereby Intimating that there were some to be Call'd there rather than in the other place The Ministry of the Gospel it is the great Gift of Jesus Christ that He gave when He Ascended on high And to what end did He give it Mark in Ephes 4. 11 12. to what end it is And He gave some Apostles And some Prophets And some Evangelists And some Pastours and Teachers For the perfecting of the Saints So it is Translated in your Books But the Word in the Original is For the Joynting of the Saints the putting of them into Joynt At first to put them into Christ and then that they may grow up For the Work of the Ministry for the Edifying of the Body of Christ For the Building up of the Body of Christ And this Text is quoted out of that Prophesie that we have in Psal 68. 18. Thou hast ascended on High Thou hast led Captivity Captive Thou hast received Gifts for men c. Here 's a Prophesie of Christ clearly And the Apostle doth apply it in Ephes 4. Christ received Gifts for men here it is And there it is That He hath Dispensed Gifts to Men. And mark Yea for the Rebellious also Those Men that are the most Rebellious yet Christ hath received Gifts for them What Gifts The Ministry of the Gospel is the great Gift that God the Father hath given to Christ and Jesus Christ hath given it unto His Ministers and sends them among the Rebellious And to what end That the Lord God might dwell among them So that by this it appears till God send the Ministry of the Word among a People the Lord God doth not dwell there for it is That the Lord God might dwell among them They are without God in the World but when that comes unto a place then the Lord God comes to Dwell among them So that then you see the Point clear by Scripture when the Lord sends the Ministry of the Gospel there is some hope that there is some good intended for some in that place And the Reasons are these 1. Because Christ sends His Ministers according as His Father sent Him Now thus we have it in John 20. 21. Then said Jesus to them again Peace be unto you as my Father hath sent me even so send I you Mark As God the Father sends Christ so Christ sends Ministers Well How doth God the Father send Christ Compare this Scripture with John 3. 17. Thus God the Father sends His Son He doth not send His Son into the World that He might Condemn the World That is not Gods primary End to Condemn the World but that that God doth Aim at in sending His Son into the World it is that by Him the World may be saved Now then compare this Scripture with that other saith Christ As my Father sent me so send I you Now my Father sent Me into the World not to Condemn the World though by accident the World shall be Condemned the
great Moment and when he doth come to hear he doth bend his whole Soul to attend to what is heard and he dares not give liberty to the wandering of his Thoughts And he doth charge his Memory with such and such truths to think of these whatsoever he doth forget And here 's now a Son of Peace as the Children of the Bride-Chamber they are such as do attend there So he A Son of Peace attends upon the Ministry of the Gospel Now by this Second thou mayst know the First thou mayst know whither thou beest a Son That is whither thou beest one that from all Eternity wert set apart by God the Father to obtain the Peace and Benefits of the Gospel But Thirdly The Son of the Gospel is to be as an Obedient Child To come with a Resolution when he comes to hear the Word Whatsoever the Lord shall this day make known of his Mind unto me the Lord knows that I would fain yield unto it I come with this Resolution every time I come to hear the Ministry of the Gospel This is now a Son of Peace that comes with such a Heart resolved to be Obedient unto it 2. He doth open his Understanding and is easily Convinc'd of those Truths that he doth hear Revealed in the Ministry of the Gospel he doth not stand Opposing of them 3. He doth open his Heart to accept of the Conditions of the Covenant when the Lord Reveals the Doctrine of the Covenant of Life and Peace the Soul doth open it self to admit of the Conditions of the Covenant Lord Speak thy Servant hears Reveal what Thou wilt my Soul is here ready and willing to accept of the Covenant whatever it be Further He doth give up himself to be Moulded by the Gospel according to that Phrase in Rom. 6. 17. The Doctrine into which ye were delivered So it is in the Original that is There is a delivering of the Soul up to the Ministry of the Word as the Mettle is to the Mould to be Fashioned by it So here a Son of Peace doth give up his Soul to be Moulded by the Word whatsoever he was before yet here he is now ready to give up his Soul to be Fashioned to be Framed by the Word Here 's a Son of Peace Further He doth in his Conversation Act what he doth hear in the Ministry of the Word and he doth indeavour to Live according to the glorious Gospel that he doth hear and he doth Labour to become the Gospel So that one may know in such a ones Family and in such a ones Life a mighty deal of Alteration And again Such a one as is Begotten by it is not only Obedient but indeed there is the work of Regeneration wrought and therefore he may be called a Son saith the Apostle I have Begotten you by the Gospel And so by the Word of Truth you are Begotten Abundance of Scriptures might be for this Those that the Gospel works Savingly upon the Gospel doth not only stir their Hearts but put a new Life into them They live by new Principles by new Rules they find a mighty Power in the Gospel to Beget them again And such as these are are Sons because they are Heirs of the Gospel Children of the Kingdom But that we shall have more use of in the other place when we speak of the Blessing of the Gospel that shall be upon them Now to Apply these in a few words The good Hearers of the Gospel are the Sons of Peace O what a blessed thing it is to be the Sons of Peace Better to be the Son of Peace than a Monarch than of the greatest of the World better to be this Son of Peace than to injoy all the World If the Lord should give thee the Inheritance of all the World He doth not do so much for thee as when He makes thee to be a Son of Peace It may be many of you were Born very mean and you are like to Inherit but little of this World but if the Lord work upon your Hearts in the Ministry of the Gospel that which comes by this makes you blessed Creatures for ever For by this means you come to be the Sons of the Living God You come to be the Children of Life and Co-heirs with Jesus Christ O how Industrious should Ministers of the Gospel be to Beget such Sons of Peace to God St. Paul in Gal. 4. he tells the Galatians there that he did Labour and Travel in Birth till Christ was formed in them My little Children of whom I Travel in Birth again until Christ be formed in you A Faithful Minister of the Gospel doth even Travel in Birth that he might beget Sons of Peace to Jesus Christ And O the Blessedness of this Work for God to set Men on Earth to this Work to Beget Sons of Peace If we should Beget you to be Children of the Bond-woman it were somewhat that is to strike fear into your Hears by the Terror of the Law I but to Beget you to be Children of Peace and of the Free-woman this is a great deal more This is such a Work as it is that which doth satisfies the Soul of Jesus Christ when He sees it It satisfie His Soul for all His Sufferings As in Isa 53. 10 11. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him That is It pleased God the Father to bruise Jesus Christ For this is an Evangelical Chapter When thou shalt make His Soul an Offering for sin Mark He shall see His Seed He shall prolong His dayes and the Pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand He shall see some Children Born unto Him some Sons of Peace But Mark He shall see of the Travel of His Soul and shall be satisfied So that when there is a Son of Peace he is the Fruit of the Travel of the Soul of Jesus Christ and he is the Fruit at the Second hand of the Travel of the Souls of Gods Ministers their Souls Travel as you heard before in Paul but that not so much He is the Fruit of the Travel of the Soul of Jesus Christ the Soul of Christ Travels with this Birth and this Work of God upon the Heart of such a one it is the Fruit of this Travel of the Soul of Christ And Mark further And He shall be satisfied As if the Holy Ghost here should say Let but Jesus Christ see a Soul brought in to Himself let Him but see any Begotten to be the Sons of Peace Christ saith I am satisfied for all the Blood that I have shed for all my Sufferings I have been willing to come from the Bosom of my Father to take your Nature upon me and I did endure the Withdrawings of my Father when I cried My God my God why hast thou forsaken me I was made a Man of Sorrows and my Father did Bruise me and my Soul was made an Offering for sin But now What will satisfie the Soul
God doth at sometime or other Convice Men and somewhat stir their Hearts O but this is that that they have cause bitterly to complain of that those things that they deliver to them that are the Precious and Glorious things of Jesus Christ yet though they stir them a little for the while yet they do not rest upon them It was a Complaint of Chrisostom saith he We Ministers are in a worse Condition than any Work-men whatsoever Take a Carpenter he comes and works and leaves his Work over-night and comes the next day and finds it where it was as he left it his Work is no more forward neither backward Oh! But it is not so with us Preachers for we come and work upon the Hearts of People and we bring it into a reasonable good forwardness and we leave it one Night and come the next day but woe to us we find it not where we leave it We work upon their Hearts one Lords Day and it may be they go away with some Resolutions that they will break off their evil way and they will attend to the Ministry of the Word but before the next Lords Day they are quite off again They are got again into some wicked Company or other and they begin to harden their Hearts against those Blessed Truths so that our Condition is worse than any Work-mans whatsoever But though it be a sad Condition for the Ministers of the Gospel yet know it is a sadder Condition for your selves You that heretofore have heard those Blessed things of the Gospel and your Hearts have been taken with them have they rested upon you I put this to you in the Name of God I say Hath the Peace of the Gospel rested upon your Hearts It may be some of you may know Two or Three years ago God began to work upon you you began to have some Enlightning of Jesus Christ and of the Kingdom of God and you began to say Blessed are those that shall be partakers of those things but have these rested upon you Hath not the Ministry of the Gospel been to some of you like a Ship that when it is Sailing in the Water it makes a great Impression for the present but let the Ship be gone and the Water is as smooth as ever it was So many times when the Minister comes and open the Blessed Truths of the Gospel they make a mighty Dent upon the Hearts of their Auditors but within a little while their Hearts are like the Water no man can see that ever there was an Impression of any Truth upon their Hearts Now know that this is a very sad thing to have the Gospel begin to Affect the Heart but not to Rest First Consider How vile is thy heart it is an argument of strong corruption that is in thy heart that the things of the Gospel cannot stick there And Consider How vild it is that wicked thoughts vile base unworthy unclean filthy thoughts can abide upon you If the Devil dart in temptations they will abide and rest why when he darts them in over-night he can find them in the morning perhaps if you have some vain or unclean thoughts you can role them up and down in your mind for half a night together perhaps day after day and night after night base and filthy thoughts are rol'd up and down in your Spirits these things can abide Now what shall vile filthy ungodly thoughts rest in your hearts and shall not the Blessed and Glorious Truths of Jesus Christ and the things of the Kingdom of God rest upon your hearts Yea Consider further That it is a most dangerous thing for an essay of mercy to pass away and to do no good for mercy to come and as it were make a trial upon the heart and then leave it and no good done this is a sad condition It is not so dangerous while Men and Women are in such an estate as the mercy of God hath not made an essay as it were upon them But now When the Grace of the Gospel shall come to make an essay upon the heart to make as it were a tryal upon the heart and to have the repulse this is a dangerous thing for an offer of Gods Grace to be rejected is very sad to loose one opportunity of Gods Mercy is a very sad thing how dost thou know that ever they will come upon thy heart with that power that once they did and therefore thy condition is very sad And know further That when the Lord begins to reveal to thee the things of the Gospel and thou puttest them off those flashes of affection and conviction that thou hast had will prove to be matter of terror of conscience another day Some poor Soul may say Then Lord what shall become of me God knows this is my condition I come many times to hear the word and I meet with those truths that do mightily take my heart for the present but the Lord knows all vanishes again I think I could remember every thing that the Minister speaks while I am hearing of them but they go out again I hear that this is the Blessing of God upon the Sons of Peace that the Truths of the Gospel should abide upon their hearts and rest there O they do not rest with me Now and then they come to me but they do not rest with me Now for the Answer to this Perhaps they may not rest in thy memory but yet if the Fruit and effect of them doth rest in thy heart thou hast the Gospel resting in thy heart As thus Why perhaps the Water may pass through a Vessel go quite through it and not stay I but yet there is so much Fruit of the passage of it thorow as to keep the Vessel sweet Though you cannot take up any Water from it but it is all gone yet I say it keeps the Vessel sweet So I may say to those that have the weakest memories and yet the Lord hath wrought any degree of Grace though thy memory be so weak that thou canst not remember I speak this to those that have weak memories naturally and there is nothing that their Souls do more desire then this O that they might keep those things that they hear they would think themselves the most happy Creatures in the world if those truths that sometimes they hear might rest upon them I speak to those Is it so with thy heart Then though thou canst not remember yet if those truths keep thy heart sweet they keep thy heart from filthy lusts that they do not abide in thy heart thy heart is kept savory by them if there be this effect abiding upon thy heart to keep it savory and sweet this Peace of the Gospel may rest with thee though thou canst not remember particulars A Man or Woman perhaps they cannot remember what Meat they ate a little while since but they find themselves nourished by that Meat So for the word of God that
that those that have most of the pretious things of this world they are like to be shot at most and the Devil shoots at them more then he doth at others And then as the variety of temptations is greater so the suitableness of temptations is more the Devil can prevail more in his temptations with fulness than where there is want and emptiness why because though there be temptations in a poor condition yet they are not so pleasing to a mans own nature as the temptations of a full condition A poor man is tempted but what is he tempted to he is tempted to impatience but that 's no pleasing thing but a tedious thing and he is tempted to despair but that hath no pleasingness with it and he is tempted to take shifting courses I but there 's fear in that least he should be discovered and so be punished So that their temptations that are in poverty are not so suitable to their nature as the temptations of one that is in a full estate for his estate is a temptation to pride to uncleanness a temptation to intemperance Now such things are very suitable to the very nature of a man therefore there 's a great deal more danger in the temptations that comes by fulness than by want because the temptations of one are tedious to a mans nature but the temptations of the other are suitable to a mans nature As it 's more dangerous to have Rats-bane lie about the house for your children than to have Alloes or Wormseed Suppose that Alloes had a poyson in it it 's true it may do hurt but it 's not so likely as Rats-bane because though Rats-bane hath poyson in it yet it hath sweetness in it too There is poyson sometimes in a poor condition that is there are temptations to great evils in a poor condition I but their temptations have a bitterness in them But the temptation of a full condition hath a sweetness in them and therefore there 's a greater danger in them and more difficulty to avoid those temptations And then further The temptations that come from fulness they are more subtle those that come from want they are not so subtle they are more apparent but the temptations lies in fulness for the most part in lawful things it is in lawful things that we most fail in And the temptation comes so fairly why why may not a man take liberty to comfort himself in Gods Creatures may not a man take his own may not a man make use of his own For the most part I say all the temptations of fulness or great part of them lies in things that seem to have no hurt in them and therefore they are very subtle and a man need be very wary of them they are as we said before upon occasion like little bones in the Fish that you can hardly see them and therefore there 's great deal more danger in swallowing of them down then of other prickly things And so the temptations of a full estate lies very secret it 's very hard to see them unless you look very narrowly And then further which is a main thing because fulness doth not onely afford a temptation to sin but fewel for all kinds of lust fulness will feed them if you have not learned to be full As now If a man hath the lust of pride there he hath enough to act his pride he will feed it to the full and will make a proud man to be a scornful man so that he will scorn and jeer not onely at his Brethren but at God and his truth and Ministers and Religion and all because he is full his pride is so fed to the full And fulness of estate it will feed self-love extreamly When a man hath a kind of self-sufficiency in himself then he sees no need that he hath of God nor Christ nor Mercy nor of the Word and Promises It feeds his Malice if he hath a malicious spirit against another man he can undo him and he can spend so much to have his will it feeds his Stubbornness If he will be unclean he can and who will meddle with such an one And it will feed his Licentiousness he can take his liberty and ride up and down from place to place A poor man hath as much mind perhaps to satisfie his lusts but he must fall to his work or else his family will starve I but a man that is full he hath elbow-room enough to serve his lusts and he can go abroad in the morning and stay till midnight and spend from the beginning of the week to the end of it and not want O this is mighty pleasing to flesh and this feeds a mans lusts and makes him strong And this is the reason why there are so few that are full that ever the Word doth good upon Ordinarily the poor receive the Gospel so the Scripture saith Not many rich not many mighty not many great ones Why here 's the reason of it because they have so much matter to feed their lusts withal that their lusts grows too strong that it doth resist the Word resists all means that should do them any good and therefore it 's a very hard lesson for a man to learn to know how to be full And that that shews it to be a hard lesson also shews it to be a necessary lesson O Lord what case is a man in then that is full and yet for all that hath not learned to be full If he hath such matter for his lusts and knows not how to order himself he is like to be a lost man There is one thing more why it is so difficult to learn how to abound and that 's this Because that a full estate is in danger to hinder those Graces that are the especial Graces of a Christian The Graces of a Christian that are the most peculiar and proper graces of a Christian are in an exceeding danger by a prosperous estate that if a man doth not learn to abound those graces will especially be hurt and it is very difficult for a man or woman to carry themselves in an even course so as when there is as it were siege laid to those graces that are the special graces of a Christian As thus The graces of a Christian are Faith Self-denial Humility Patience Tenderness and such kind of graces as these are Now a prosperous estate doth mightily endanger these graces As now Faith you know the nature of that grace is for one to be emptied of himself and to be nothing of himself and for to rely upon that that is without This is the grace of Faith To be taken from our own bottom from our selves and from the Creature to cast our selves upon free grace upon the goodness and mercy of God upon the righteousness of another But now when men abound and have a fulness in themselves why 't is very natural for them to depend upon themselves and not upon
his state and promotion did not succeed but was added to it I this is an excellency indeed when a mans fulness is added to his former condition and doth not succeed it that is he is the same man now that he was before that 's a rare blessing of God upon one Fourthly It argues a great deal of strength of grace for a man that is full and knows how to be full and to improve it It argues not onely grace but strength of grace as it argues a great deal of strength in mens bodies that they can drink a great deal of Wine and not be drunk Some think that they may take liberty to themselves to drink Wine so they do not stagger in the streets But you know the Scripture saith Wo to those that are strong to drink Wine It 's a speech of Seneca That moderation is a sign of a strong breast Moderation in the midst of prosperity is a sign of a strong heart It 's a sign God hath given thee strength of grace if thy conscience can witness this to thee Well Through Gods mercy though I have many weaknesses and fail in all that I do yet I can say to the praise of God that my estate hath not estranged my heart from God but my heart doth cleave to God and I have communion with God in the Creatures that God sonds me And when God doth give me the best Voyages I find my heart in the best temper and I have more sweet communion with God then than at other times Can you say so I appeal to your consciences now whether you can say as in the presence of God I never found my heart in a more heavenly spiritual temper than when I have found God blessing me in my labors and I have enjoyed God in them O now if thou canst say so be of good comfort thou hast learned a lesson that is a thousand times worth more than all thy prosperity This is thine excellency not that thou hast a fuller estate than others but that God hath taught thee such a lesson as this is And then farther Such a one may do abundance of good What abundance of glory may God have from one man that way whereas a man that is of an estate and hath not grace withal he is like a great Elder-Tree in the midst of a Garden Such a Tree why it spoils the Flowers and doth hurt there I but one that hath an estate and is rich and godly withal he stands as a prime Flower in the Garden that is an ornament to it As commonly in the midst of your knots you set a prime flower there to be an ornament to all the rest So the Lord will have some to be rich that may be an ornament and a shelter to his servants O many many hundreds of people will bless God that ever God set such a man in such a place and that God did give them their estate We say of some men that they have good estates I and it 's well bestowed on them for they do a great deal of good with them But now when they are not onely so but their hearts are to improve their estates for the furtherance of the Gospel for the beating down of sin and the countenancing of Religion O then all the people of God that live about them will bless God O for such a man Had it not been for some few in a place that God gave estates unto that was stirring what would have become of the Gospel Religion would have been trampled under feet O will not this be a greater comfort in the day of Jesus Christ when Christ shall own this and say I gave you an estate in the world and I acknowledge that you did make use of it for my Glory and Religion I made you an instrument to uphold it in the place where you were used O if Christ should own this would it not be a thousand times worth your estates And then When you come to die O how sweetly will you die when you can say O Lord remember me for good As Nehemiah did in the close of his Book look upon the very last words of Nehemiah he was a man that was full in outward blessings and he improv'd them to purpose for God and that was the very close of all Lord remember me for good and so may'st thou when thou comest to die Thy conscience shall not upbraid thee as others will Thou comest to God for mercy What come to me for mercy I have bestowed mercy upon you already and how did you abuse it With what face can you cry to me for mercy that have abus'd it so O but when your Consciences can tell you that you have not abused Gods mercy but his mercy in outward things hath drawn your hearts unto him and you have imploied it in his service Now thou may'st with joy and encouragement say Lord remember me for good And if God should ever bring thee into afflictions in this world it will be sweet and comfortable to thee if thou hast used thy prosperity well For that man that is willing to give up the comfort of his prosperity to God which he doth enjoy God will have a care to take away the gaul and the bitterness of affliction from that man when he is under affliction O there 's nothing more comfortable to a man in affliction than to consider that he hath made use of his prosperity for the honour glory of God When I was in prosperity God had honour and now I am in affliction I can comfortably fly to God for peace and comfort to my soul And in this God doth attain to his end and the end of his Creatures God hath his end especially from these men the end of his Works of Creation and Providence Why the Lord hath made this world and filled it with abundance of excellent things but now how shall God attain his end that is To have glory from the excellent things that he hath made in the world Why most men takes them and abuses them to Gods dishonour now were there not some men that had hearts to give God the glory of their estates why God should have no glory from all his works all his works would be as it were to no purpose But now it seems God hath called thee out to give him the glory of his works so that thou art the man among so many that doth pay as it were to God the rent that he requires for all the great things that he hath done in the world which cannot but bring in a great deal of comfort to thee and shews the excellency of it I have now but two other things for the opening of it before we come to the application yet all the way as we have gone along we have indeavoured to apply it shewing wherein it consists the difficulty of it and the excellency of it Now for the close at this time let these things
hath prospered me in my way and course in any kind now let me go to God and exercise Faith in his Word and seek unto him in prayer that I may have a sanctified use of all these things then that God hath granted to me In 1 Tim. 4. 4 5. Every Creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving for it is sanctified by the Word of God and Prayer A little to open this Scripture That the Creature is sanctified by prayer that I suppose is easie for you to understand that is when I have any good in any Creature then I am to seek to God by prayer for a sanctified use of it unto me But how is it sanctified by the Word Now that that the Apostle doth intend here in sanctifying by the Word is this that he would shew to us That a godly man hath another kind of interest in the Creature than another man hath saith he All things are good but how shall they be good to me How shall I know that they are good to me That must be by the Word saith he I cannot know that they are good to me that I have a sanctified use of them that is that all the comforts I have I do enjoy them in order to eternal life for then a thing is sanctified when it is consecrated as it were and made holy that is when it is made useful to the highest and last end As a place is sanctified when it is separated from other things for God so when the blessing of God is upon my estate to make it to be to his glory and my last good then it is sanctified Now how comes this This is by the Word of God for we by our fall have lost all our interest in the creature unto our outward comfort Now God indeed out of his bounty doth give to some men abundance here in this world I he gives them those things that are in themselves good I but how shall they come to be good to him that must be by the Word saith he that is God by the Word of his Gospel the Covenant that he hath made with his poor servants in Christ revealed in his Word it is that that gives the godly man a sanctified use of what he hath If he hath it in a natural way it may prove a curse to him if he hath it onely by Gods general providence by the command of God in his works of providence that is no sanctified use But now if a man comes to enjoy what he hath by the word of the promise by the word of the Gospel that reveals Christ unto us and our renewed interest unto all we do enjoy by Jesus Christ This is the Word that sanctifies all to us Most men look upon what they enjoy onely but in a way of general providence Now a gracious heart looks upon what he enjoys by the word of the Promise the word of the Covenant that gives him a sanctified use and through the power of this word he comes to know how to be full and use all his abundance in a right way so that the way he takes for the making use of his fulness it is when God blesses him presently to exercise faith in the Word in the Promise to look into the Covenant Godliness hath the promise of the things of this life and of that which is to come And so he comes to make use of the promise and improve it by faith and so comes to have a sanctified use and improvement of all the good things that he doth enjoy in this world Is not this a mystery to most rich men Doth it put them upon prayer more than before and upon the exercise of Faith in the Word more than before One that is godly never prayes more than when God doth prosper him in this world It is usual for men to pray much in times of affliction In their affliction they will seek me early I but that 's a sign of a carnal heart But now a godly man when God prospers him he sees cause to pray most then I it is for poor people to live by faith that have nothing in the world You will think it 's fit for them to believe and trust in God I but a godly man uses the more faith when he hath the most in the world That 's a good way in the mystery of knowing how to be full And then a Fifth way in the mystery of knowing how to be full is this A godly heart by his fulness growes to increase his humility growes sensible of his unworthiness by his fulness Now this is a way of mystery too It is a good thing for a man to have humility together with his fulness but to have humility by his fulness this is a very great mystery it 's a rare thing to see humble prosperity but to see a man humble by his prosperity this is rare indeed Affliction will humble men that 's true every one can understand that but how prosperity should humble men that 's very hard to understand I 'll give you a clear Scripture for this how prosperity will humble a gracious heart it 's in the 2 Sam. 7. 18. The Lord there had told David of great things that he would do for him and spake to him of the honour that he had put upon him and that he would still put upon him and he would continue his House to be a great House and honourable like the great men of the earth Mark one would have thought that the heart of David should have been raised up when God told him not onely the great things that he had done but the great things he would do This would have pufft up a carnal heart But then mark in the 18 verse Then went King David in and sat before the Lord and he said who am I O Lord God and what is my house that thou hast brought me hitherto and this was yet a small thing in thy sight O Lord God but thou hast spoken also of thy servants house for a great while to come and is this the manner of men O Lord God and what can David say more unto tbee for thou Lord God knowest thy servant for thy words sake and according to thine own heart hast thou done all these great things to make thy servants know them wherefore thou art great O Lord God He doth not bless himself O God hath made me great but wherefore thou art great and what am I and what is my house and it is according to thine own heart and not according to any thing in me saith David The larger God was in telling of him the great things he had and should have the more humble was the heart of David O this is a good sign of true humility when you find your comings in to be more then heretofore as if you have had a great voyage many hundreds coming in of clear gain then for
themselves evenly with God and graciously with God in variety of Conditions Let the Condition be up and down this way and then another yet Grace helps a Man to lie square any way like a Dye cast it which way you will it lies square So put a gracious Heart into any Condition Full or Empty yet Grace will help him in any Condition whatsoever as the Apostle saith in the Corinthians Through Honour and Dishonour by Evil report and Good report by the Armour of Righteousness on the Right-hand and on the Left We find Use of our Weapons on the Right hand and on the Left the Armour of Righteousness helps not only on the Left-hand to Fence off the evil of Adversity but on the Right-hand to Fence off the Evil of Prosperity Here 's a Christian Souldier that can make use of the Armor of Righteousness both on the Right-hand and on the Left I had thought to have given some grounds Why it is that Grace will help any way as a Watch in a Mans Pocket if it be a good Watch though a Man sit upon it and it is tumbled up and down yet the Wheels they keep a constant steady motion So it is with the heart of a man if there be Grace within and the wheels work aright yet Grace makes the Heart stedfast within let the condition be never so various to be tost up and down this way or that way yet the heart keeps the same The Motto of Queen Elizabeth may be the Motto of every gracious heart Alwayes the same So in a constant way either in prosperity or adversity still he continues in an evenness with God If God casts him upon his Sick Bed there he rejoyces in God and blesses God and you will find savory and spiritual things come from him then and if God deliver him and you find him in prosperity there his heart is heavenly still and gracious and spiritual and raised above the Creatures which way soever he be put I cannot give you the grounds I 'll onely compare a Scripture or two together and so conclude all to see the evenness of the heart of a godly man in all conditions let them be what they will In Psal 57. To the chief Musician Al-taschith Mictam of David when he fled from Saul in the Cave That 's the Title of the Psalm A Psalm that David made in his very great affliction when he fled from Saul for his life in the Cave See what he saith and comparing that same with Psal 60. where it is To the chief Musician upon Shushan-Eduth Mictam of David to teach when he strove with Aram Nahaâ—aim and with Aram Zobah when Joab returned and smote of Edom in the Valley of Salt Twelve thousand David was low when he fled from Saul in the Cave there David had not the Kingdom well but afterwards David was high and had the Kingdom Joab was his Officer and smote of Edom in the Valley of Salt Twelve thousand Now you would think that this different condition of David should have made a different work in his Spirit yet you shall find a great part of that Psalm to be the very same In the 57th Psalm ver 7. My heart is fixed O God my heart is fixed I will sing and give praise awake up my Glory awake Psaltery and Harp I my self will awake early I will praise the Lord among the People I will sing unto Thee among the Nations c. Why you shall find likewise that David in the 60 th Psalm he hath much of this of blessing God as well in his Prosperous state in which he was as in his Afflicted estate Let us compare this with the 108 th Psalm ver 5. Be thou Exalted O God There David was in his Prosperous estate And here 's the same Expression O God my heart is fixed saith he I will sing and give praise with my Glory Awake Psaltery and Harp I my self will awake early I will praise Thee O Lord among the People and I will sing Praises unto Thee among the Nations c. Just he goes on in the very same words But now the 60th Psalm is to be compared with the 108th where it is God hath spoken in his Holiness I will rejoyce I will divide Shechem and mete out the Valley of Succoth Gilead is mine Ephraim also is the strength of my Head Judah is my Law-giver c. Now in the 108 Psalm God hath spoken in his Holiness I will rejoyce I will divide Shechem c. This is the Note from hence and so we have done That David in his various Conditions though at some times more Prosperous than others yet still you find him in the same Spirit and almost the very same words Be he â—n the Cave or when Joab had overcome or be he afterwards how he will in a higher Condition for the 108 th Psalm was made in a time after this Yet Davids heart is the same Praising God Blessing God Believing in his Word Trusting in his Word Now that 's the Note You should observe Whether you can make use of the same Scripture in one Condition as in another Those Scriptures that are comfortable to you in one Condition make use of them in another And whether you can Praise God in one Condition in the same way as in another Why Grace doth so satisfie and strengthen the Heart as the things that are without in the World makes very little alteration There is very little alteration that External things can make in a Gracious heart When a Man or Woman is so that a Prosperous condition puffs him up or Adversity makes him dejected it 's a sign of very little Grace or no Grace But thus much for this Text. A Sermon 1 Sam. 3. the latter part of the 18th Verse And he said it is the Lord let Him do what seemeth Him good THese Words are the Expression of a Gracious Humble Submissive Heart to Gods Dispose The Words of Ely the Priest who when the Hand of God was revealed against his Family he here falls down before Him and saith It is the Lord let Him do what seemeth Him good It is the Lord Whatever the means be that such and such sad things should fall upon my Family yet It is the Lord. Let Him do what seemeth Him good The things seem hard to me but they may seem otherwise to God whatever things seem to me however dark they look yet to God things may seem after another manner and therefore let things be done rather as they seem to God than as they seem to me We have in the Words before you these Four Doctrinal Points The first is That a Gracious Heart looks much to God in every Affliction that doth befal it It is the Lord. Secondly The sight of God in an Affliction is That that causes a gracious Heart humbly to fall down and to submit It is the Lord let Him do what seemeth Him good Thirdly That things seem
to thee now He was an Enemy before only we are ready to judge according to present Administration But this is certain If God be an Enemy now He was an Enemy all the time thou hadst thy Health and wast in thy uttermost Prosperity it 's time for thee then to fall down and make peace And what infinite cause hast thou to wonder that thou art not utterly destroyed and therefore reason to submit unto Him But yet it is a weakness in the Saints and a temptation often to judge of Gods dealings thus and to think that every time God appears against them as if he were in hatred As the People of Israel in their Murmuring Discontented Mood He brought us out of Egypt into this Wilderness because He hated us say they O this was wicked and displeased God exceedingly As we are not to judge of Gods Love by outward Prosperity so not of His Hatred by outward Afflictions Object 2. But though I dare not think that God comes in a way of Hatred and Enmity yet there 's a great deal of Displeasure for my sin and it 's that that makes it grievous to me And mark Even this that was threatned to Ely it was threatned for his sin and yet he falls down and submits and saith It is the Lord let Him do what seemeth Him good Yea and we find the Servants of God when they apprehended God appearing against their sin that Consideration did quiet them so much the more In Mich. 7. 9. I will bear the Indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against Him Because And that fore-named place concerning David 2 Sam. 15. 26. where you have such a Wonderful Gracious and Humble Submission unto the Dispose of God where he saith If He hath no pleasure in me let Him do what seemeth Him good Why David was under almost as sore an Affliction as a man could be under and it was for his sin too Yea it was for a great sin it was for his sin of Uncleanness and his sin of Murder that he was sain to flie for his Life even before his own Son It was as sore and hard an Affliction and there was as much of the sting of the guilt of sin in it as any Affliction of any of the People of God that ever we read of And yet how humbly he submits If he saith I have no delight in him behold here I am let him do what seemeth him good However there is a vain Conceit abroad in the World as if God chastised not his People for sin at all Yet certainly the People of God that walk close with God they find there is a Chastisement and a Fatherly Displeasure though not the Revenge of a Judge And certainly there can be no Argument taken from the absolute satisfaction of Christ to prove that there is no Chastisement for sin for Christ did satisfie as fully for David and Ely that were under the Law They had the satisfaction of Christ perfect as well as you Would it have been do you think a good Argument then That if God Chastised for sin he did not do justly because Christ satisfied Gods Justice Why did not Christ satisfie Gods Justice then It was not a good Argument then certainly it is not so now And for the New Testament You are Chastised of the Lord that you might not be Condemned with the World 1 Cor. 11. 32. But I 'll give you one other Scripture and that is is the Epistle of James 5. 14 15. Is any sick among you let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him c. The Prayer of Faith shall save the sick and the Lord shall raise him up and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him Here the Apostle writes to the Saints and speaks of Godly People and speaks of them indefinitely If any of them if the most Godly in all the Church were sick why saith he let him send for the Elders and let them Pray and if he hath committed sins then they shall be forgiven him So that any of the Saints may be in such a condition as they may be Afflicted and Afflicted for their sin If they have sinned then they shall be forgiven To make this Supposition and yet that this shall be a Truth That it 's impossible for any Godly People to be Afflicted for their sin were a Contradiction For to say thus If any Godly People be sick let them take this Course let them send for the Elders and let them pray and if they have committed sin it shall be forgiven them And yet the other to stand true That no Godly People can be Afflicted for their sin Certainly these two cannot stand together You will say If they have committed sin it shall be forgiven Was it not forgiven before True they are forgiven in respect of Gods eternal Wrath or in respect of the Guilt that binds them over to the satisfying of Revenging Justice They are forgiven that but they are not so forgiven but that they need a Fatherly forgiveness still Christ hath taken away already at first the Revenge of a Judge but He hath not taken away all Fatherly Displeasure by his satisfying For that 's not at all to satisfie Justice But God doth reserve this to himself to deal with them as a Father Indeed through Christs satisfying God will never deal with his People as a Judge to Revenge but this doth not put them out of his way of dealing with them as a Father and they have need of Fatherly forgiveness still And this is that that Christ teaches every one to pray Forgive us our sins forgive us our Trespasses Some other Pleas and Objections may be made but I shall rather hasten to the Use of the Point Is the sight of God that that should cause us humbly to submit O let what hath been said in these several Considerations serve to rebuke our Impatiency our Fretting and sinking Discouragements Who art thou And what art thou that thou shouldest keep a stir under any hand of God Do not say It is so great and if it were any other Affliction I would bear it it is not for thee to choose thy Rod And thou canst not speak more of thy Affliction than David might have done of his And therefore whatever thy thoughts may be be humbled before God that thou hast had any kind of Murmuring or Impatience under the Hand of God any stirrings that way Who art thou that thou must not be dealt withal so as God hath dealt with others of his Saints before or as he doth deal with any others now There 's a notable Scripture O that it might have but such an effect as it had on Job Compare these two in the Book of Job Job 38. 2. Who is this that darkneth Counsel by words without Knowledge The Lord saith thus to Job Who is this whose heart doth fret and is so impatient who is it Mark now afterwards
these things but to have the effectual working of these things upon the heart that 's not so easie To sanctifie Gods Name in the Fire Carnal hearts they have many poor things to help themselves in their Afflictions They say this It is my ill Fortune this befel me and another saith this This befals all Men one or other it 's common Others say thus We must we cannot help it and we must submit to it Another thinks thus Why I hope it will be over These are poor Reasonings to work upon the heart in the day of Affliction But now a gracious heart should get up higher above all these It is the Lord and there look into the Counsels of God and seek to know the Mind of God and to sanctifie the Name of God O Grace my Brethren hath many Excellencies in it but among other things this is not the least That it hath such a mighty Power to help Men in the day of their Affliction a mighty Power to sweeten the heart and to take away the sting and evil of all Afflictions and to carry the Soul on comfortably in the time of all Dangers and Trials O labour to have this wrought upon your hearts For by this you will manifest much Beauty in Grace much Excellency in Grace it will be a means to Convince all that are about you All those that profess Godliness should labour to behave themselves so as to do that that others cannot do in the time of Affliction They should then shew what Grace can do As David in another Case said to the King of Achish Thou shalt see what thy Servant can do So now in the time of Affliction a gracious heart should put it to this Come let 's see what Grace can do And certainly this will be the way for removing of Afflictions sooner when the heart is brought thus to yield unto the Lord Wherefore that you may bring your hearts to this in the day of your Affliction labour in the constant Course of your Life to Converse much with God Those that walk with God according to the Text that you know I am upon and Converse much with God in the day of their Health why their hearts will in a kind of Natural-way work up to God in the time of Affliction then the Thoughts of God will be as suitable to thee as Fire is to Fire Fire ascends up to Fire because of the suitableness of the Fire that is here to that that is above Why so the heart will work up to God in a kind of Natural-way because God is so suitable to the heart the heart having so much Converse with God in the day of Prosperity And labour throughly to Convince your hearts of this thing That there is no Good in any Creature but only in the Reference that it hath to God There is no Good in Health in Liberty in your Names in your Lives in your Estates any further than they have some Reference to God the infinite first Good the chief and high Good It 's an easie matter in a way of Reason to Convince any one that this is a Truth But now to have this Principle indeed wrought upon your heart not only to say so in a way of Arguing but I account in my Soul of no good in any thing further than it hath reference to God As now I have for the present Health of Body Where doth the good of the Health of my Body lie It is That while I have Health I have Ability to serve God and be useful in the place where God hath set me I have an Estate Wherein lies the good of it It lies in this That by this I may be Instrumental for God more than others If I Live Wherein lies the good of Life Why that I may be useful to the Church in the way wherein God hath set me Now when the heart is principled in this then if God takes away my Health then it seems God hath no further use of my Health for the present but would rather Honour Himself in another way upon me why now there is no good in my Health And if God take away my Estate then he would rather Honour Himself in the exercise of my Humility and of my Patience If God takes away my Life then God will rather have His Honour from my Soul to joyn with Angels and Saints in Honouring of Him that way rather than in Imploying of me any further in this World Such a Principle as this is would mightily help the heart in the day of Affliction Certainly our Happiness doth not depend upon what we have here in this World The reason why the heart is so troubled in the time of Affliction it is because of this That Men and Women look upon their Happiness to consist in the enjoyment of these things O no thou Dishonourest the Name of Christ and thy holy Profession to think that thy Happiness should depend upon such poor things as these are Surely Jesus Christ hath not come to shed His Blood and to purchase Happiness for the Saints and when all comes too it should be so poor as to depend upon all the uncertainty that we have in this World No no thy Happiness lies hihger Thy Life is hid with Christ in God If a man hath a Jewel worth many Thousands and his House should be on Fire why though he loses the Lumber and Stuff in the House yet if he be sure the Jewel is safe he is quiet Now the Saints they may be sure that they are safe for Eternity and therefore it is not much what other things be Oh consider of these things and work them upon your hearts That 's the Second Point But a word or two of the other that is That that which seems ill to us may seem good to God It is the Lord let Him do what seemeth Him good Certainly for the present it did not seem very good to Ely If that Ely's judgement had been askt of those things Ely would have said that they had been very sad I but as I remember Luther once said when he was Condemn'd and Rail'd upon at Noremberg saith he There 's one thing Concluded at Noremberg and another thing Concluded in Heaven In Heaven there 's not the same Judgment of my Cause as at Noremberg And so it may be said concerning Affliction There 's one thing many times Concluded in my Wretched Weak Foolish and Unbelieveing Heart and another thing in Heaven One thing concluded in the world and in mens rumours and another thing in Heaven It 's some comfort to a man though he hears rumours abroad in the world if then he can have his own heart to contradict them If he had nothing else to think but this Well that that 's spoken in the World is one thing and that that I find in my heart is another that 's comfortable But this is greater comfort Thou art my portion saith my Soul saith the
Conscience he lies beholding the Wrath of the Infinite God ready to swallow him up and his Conscience tearing and rending of him and so the black dismal bottomless Gulf ready to swallow him see the fiery Serpent sent from an Angry God twisting himself about his Middle with a Sting at his Heart ready to take away his Life that he might not Live any longer to Dishonour his God he lies cursing himself for his Wickedness and Folly and the Company that he hath Liv'd in and wishing that he had never been Born Now the Godly Man he lies blessing of the Name of God for His Goodness and in that God did shew to him in the time of his Life the things that concern his Eternal Peace He blesses God that ever he knew Him that ever he knew His Wayes He blesses God that the time of his departure is so near and he sees Jesus Christ ready to receive him and the Angels attending about him O the blessed day when I shall go to Enjoy an Immediate Full and Eternal Communion with Jesus Christ that is best of all And there he lies Encouraging all that comes to see him to know Christ and God betimes O here 's the difference between the death of the Godly and the death of the Wicked One is the greatest Terror and the other is the greatest Gain And my Brethren let these Things that I have now Spoken to you let them prepare you for Death and welcome Death whensoever it comes Do not think of what you must Leave in the World but what you are going to It is to go to Christ that is best of all And manifest the Power of those Things lay them up against such a time And let all that hath been said Teach you to be Godly to Prize Christ and the Gospel Here 's that will Recompence all Troubles and Afflictions you meet withal in the Wayes of God to be able upon your Death-Bed to say with Paul To me to Die is Gain It will Recompence whatever Pains you take in the Wayes of Religion And I appeal to you Do you think that there was ever any since the World began that was Sorry upon their Death-Bed that they had taken too much Pains in the Wayes of God There have been Thousands that have Cursed themselves for the neglecting of the day of Grace and Salvation but never sorry for taking so much Pains O no! When thou comest upon thy Death-Bed thou wilt have need of all and thou wilt bless God for any pains that thou hast taken for Christ Lay then this Sentence unto thy Heart it will Teach thee to Live and to Die And Certainly he must needs Live Joyfully whose Life is Christ And he must needs Die comfortably whose Death is Gain A Sermon Luke 10. 5 6. And into whatsoever House ye Enter first say Peace be to this House And if the Son of Peace be there your Peace shall Rest upon it If not it shall turn to you again THese Words are part of Christs Direction unto the Seventy Disciples that He sent forth to Preach the Gospel As Exod. 15. last We Read of Twelve Wells of Water and Threescore and Ten Palm Trees where Israel Encamped after their coming through the Red-Sea for their Refreshing So Christ sends forth His Twelve Apostles and Seventy Disciples for the Refreshing of the World with the glad Tidings of the Gospel There were Seventy I find many Interpreters keep much ado about the Number Austin and Jerom with others They say this Number hath Reference unto the Seventy several Languages of the World For they say That at the Confusion of Languages at Babel there were Seventy and so according in Proportion unto them Christ sends forth these Seventy These are but Surmises and many other such Guesses there are but particular Reason for the Number we have not Exprest in Scripture neither have we their Names We have the Apostles Names the Twelve but not these Seventy Some God is Pleased to make Men of Names Honourable in the World and leave their Names as Honourable Others the Lord Imploys in great Works and Services but their Names are Buried It is enough for these that Christ tells them in the 20th verse of this Chapter That their Names are Written in the Book of Life Let God Imploy us in His Work and Write our Names in the Book of Life it is no matter for to Name us in this World There are many remarkable things in Christs sending out of these Seventy As First He sends them forth by two and two so you have it in ver 1. of the Chap. to the end that they might be a mutual Support Comfort Encouragement Assistance one to another which is the Duty of all Ministers that God by His Providence shall Joyn together in any Service Secondly Christ tells them the great Work that they were sent about The Harvest truly is great saith He and the Labourers are but few I send you out into a Harvest which is a great Labour a useful Labour a joyful Work Isa 9. 3. Joy in the time of Harvest is the greatest Joy in the World It is a Harvest that you are sent into and it is a very great one and therefore you have Encouragement because there is so much Work to do In Mat. 9. latter end There it is said that Christ look'd upon the Multitude with Compassion and said The Harvest is great but the Labourers but few When Ministers look upon great Congregations Multitudes of People and especially such as come readily and willingly to hear the Word of God he should not look upon them without compassion as looking upon them as a great Harvest as much Work to be done there Yea in John 4. 34. After the Woman of Samaria and others were Converted as the first Fruits Christ tells the Disciples of the Regions that they were white unto Harvest As if He should say There are Multitudes here in this Place that are very ready to Entertain the Gospel A great Encouragement indeed it is when the Ministers of God shall see People so readily to attend upon the Word as they shall look upon the Regions as white unto Harvest that they are in a Preparation to receive the Word The Harvest is great saith Christ the Labourers are but few pray ye therefore the Lord of the Harvest that he will send forth Labourers into his Harvest There were Threescore and Ten sent out together and yet they were few and they must Pray for more It is the Duty of all People especially of Ministers to Pray to God that He will send forth more Painful Labourers And then Thirdly Christ tells them what Difficulties they are like to meet withal in their Work Go your wayes saith He in ver 3. Behold I send you forth as Lambs among Wolves you are to be as I am of Lamb-like Dispositions Innocent among People where you Live But know before-hand lest you be Discouraged with those Difficulties you
threaten sometimes in the Name of God Now therefore That they might convince people that they aim onely at good unto them in this therefore they must be of as loving and gentle and quiet and patient Spirits as possible may be especially in their own cause and that 's the tryal You sometimes prehaps hear a Minister preach hard things and you think they come with much harshness to you and your hearts are ready to rise against them But examine whether in all their dealings else and in things concerning themselves whether they be not of loving and gentle Spirits and full of Bowels of Compassion And they must be of such dispositions that they might win upon people and draw their hearts as in Hos 11. 4. I drew them with Cords of a Man and with the Bands of love And indeed this is one special reason why God sends Men to be the Ministers of the Gospel rather then Angels that there might not be any terror strook into the hearts of people If Angels should appear they would be exceeding dreadful and terrible but God doth rather choose Man to be a Minister that so he might sute himself to the dispositions of Men and draw with the Cords of Man And what 's that That 's with the Bands of love Mans Nature will rather be drawn then driven And my Brethren As it ought to be in Ministers to be of such dispositions so you that are the people should shew your selves to be of the like dispositions towards them again of Sweet and Loving and Gentle and Fair Dispositions towards them not of rugged and ridged tempers We read of the building of the Temple that there was not one whit of Iron us'd in it which is observable We do not read I say of Iron that was brought to the Building they made their Pinns of Wood and other things and Plates of Gold and Silver but brought no Iron God when he is about to build a Church and call a People home to himself he will call such as are of gentle Spirits or make them such God doth either refuse such ridged Spirits or else he doth change their natures that 's the First Note Say Peace be to this House The Second is this That Ministers ought to bless their People for so these words are to be considered not onely as to manifest their dispositions to give them a taste of their Spirits but as a Benediction to them Peace be to this place We in the Name of the Lord Bless you with Peace And this is more than to pray for them Ministers are to pray for People God forbâ—d saith Samuel That I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you But Ministers should do more They are in the Name of the Lord to Bless them Prayer it is a Speaking unto God but Blessing it is to Speak from God to Man and that with some kind of Authority Therefore we find in Scripture that The Lesser is Blessed of the Greater And That the Ministers were appointed to Bless the People in the Old Law Numb 6. 23. Speak unto Aaron and to his Sons saying On this wise ye shall bless the Children of Israel saying unto them The Lord bless thee and keep thee the Lord make His Face to shine upon thee and be Gracious unto thee the Lord lift up His Countenance upon thee and give thee Peace Here was Blessing in the Old Law And they retain'd some part of it in coming to any place when they said Peace be to this Place We read of Men of great Esteem among the People of the Jews that were wont to Bless those that they came unto As you find that of Boaz in Ruth 2. 4. He Prays for them and they Bless him Here was a sweet Salutation of a Man that did set other Men on work Boaz came into the Field and said unto the Keepers The Lord be with you And they answered him The Lord bless thee Many Men when they go among their Work-men they go with Raging and Cursing if things be not done according to their Mind Now what an unseemly thing is this among those who profess themselves Christians But on the other side this is Gracious-like to come among their Servants and Work-men and thus to Bless them The Lord be with you And they to pray for them And the Lord bless thee And so we read of pure Parents to Bless their Children And it hath been the Use of the Church to Bless the People Therefore in all Congregations where you meet with the Exercises of Religion you use to have a Blessing before you go and you are not to flight it And except God call you out by extraordinary Occasion you are to abide and stay the Blessing We read of some that were appointed by God to stand upon Mount Gerisim in Deut. 27. and their work was only to bless to Bless the People and there were some who stood upon Mount Ebal and they were to Curse But now Mark If we search who they are that are appointed to Bless you shall find them to be more Honourable than those that were appointed to Curse For those that were appointed to Curse there was Reuben he had lost his Birth-right and Gad and Ashur and Dan and Napthali they were Children of the Hand-Maid they were not begotten in the way of Marriage but only by the Hand-Maid or by a Concubine Most of these that were to stand upon Mount Ebal for Cursing they were of the meaner sort of the Tribes This notes thus much That Blessing is the chief work that Ministers should Rejoyce and Delight in Therefore though they do sometimes pronounce the Threats of God against you to awaken Secure Drowsie Sinners which is their work likewise yet certainly there is nothing more sutable unto the Heart of a Godly Minister than to be alwayes Blessing of his People and to be bringing of the Message of Blessing unto them And if this be so then certainly the Ministers of the Gospel they are a great Blessing in the World And you that are People you should Encourage your Ministers to Bless you and to Bless God for you your Carriage towards them should be such as they may with Chearfulness in the Name of God Bless you and they may in secret when they are between God and themselves Bless God for you O when as the Minister shall first look upon the People and Bless them in the Name of God and Bless God for them and the People shall look again upon the Minister and pray to God for a Blessing upon him and Bless God that ever they knew him I say happy is the Minister that thus Blesses and Blesses God for a People and happy likewise the People that do thus pray for a Blessing upon and Bless God for a Minister But more Blessed is that God that shall joyn such Ministers and People together And that 's the Second Note That Ministers are to bless People when they
rather because of Christs comeing among them and they refusing Him But this is the Scope of my Fathers sending of Me into the World that by Me the World may be Saved and so do I send you I send you to Places not to Condemn them not to Aggravate their Sin and their Condemnation That is not my primary Intention though this may fall out but I send you to a place that through your Ministry Souls in that place may come to be Saved Reas 2. A second Reason is from the Promise of Christ unto His Ministers when they go to any place to Preach In the last words of the Gospel by Saint Matthew Christ sends them to Preach and saith He Lo I am with you alwayes even unto the end of the World I am with you to Assist you and to Bless you whithersoever you go even to the end of the World That is with you and with all that shall succeed you to Preach this Gospel in any place unto the end of the World Reas 3. Further We know that the Gospel it is the Arm of God Isa 53. 1. Who hath believed our Report and to whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed And Rom. 1. 16. It is the Power of God unto Salvation And if God Arm and Gods Power unto Salvation come among a People there is hopes that there is an Intention of some Good unto some of them Reas 4. The Preaching of the Gospel It brings the Day of Grace and of Salvation to any place wheresoever it comes and so long as that doth continue to any place so long the day of Grace and Salvation continues to the place This you have clearly 2 Cor. 6. beginning We then as Workers together with Him beseech you also that ye receive not the Grace of God in vain For He saith I have heard thee in a time accepted and in the day of Salvation have I succoured thee Behold NOW is the accepted time behold NOW is the day of Salvation Now When was that Now That was when the Apostles came and Preached among them the Doctrine of Reconciliation Now is the accepted time Now is the day of Salvation Now if you come in you may be accepted Now is the time that if you be appointed to be Sav'd you must come in now Reas 5. And this Scripture doth put me upon a Fifth Reason of the Point and that is That when the Gospel comes to be Preached to a place it doth not only make an Accepted time and a day of Salvation But it is the Fruit of the Prayer of Jesus Christ even of that Prayer that Christ hath made to God the Father that He would in such a time send the Ministry of the Gospel to be clearly and powerfully Taught in that place And if you ask me where the place is that doth prove it it is in Isa 49. 8. You have there almost the very some words that you have here Thus saith the Lord In an acceptable time have I heard thee and in a day of Salvation have I helped thee Now this is clearly meant of Christ if you look both unto the Coherence of the words with what hath been before and that which follows after For saith He I will preserve thee and give thee for a Covenant of the People to Establish the Earth to cause to Inherit the desolate Heritages Now saith God concerning Christ Thus saith the Lord In an acceptable time have I heard thee What is that acceptable time It is that which the Apostle doth Interpret to be A day of Salvation The Apostle speaks of an acceptable Time and of a day of Salvation and saith he Now it is Now while we are Preaching the glad Tidings of the Gospel unto you And here saith the Holy Ghost The Lord hath heard thee in an acceptable time and in a day of Salvation That is When as Jesus Christ did Pray to God the Father for His Church that should be that God would send the Ministry of the Gospel unto those whom the Father had given unto Him from all Eternity I say Jesus Christ did Pray unto the Father for them Now saith God I have heard thy Prayer and I have granted what thou Prayest for And this hearing of thy Prayer it is an acceptable Time and it is a day of Salvation Thou hast a day of Salvation according to thy prayer and this very day the Apostle doth Interpret of sending the Gospel unto any place So that where the Gospel comes it is not to be lookt upon as a thing that comes meerly by Accident or by an ordinary Providence of God as other things but it is that that comes unto a place by Virtue of the Prayer of Jesus Christ of the Intercession of Jesus Christ unto the Father for that particular Place or Town or Parish And this is the Reason why the Lord leaves some places destitute of Help in Ignorance and Darkness that they scarce ever come to hear of Jesus Christ And others that it may be are in themselves as unworthy as the other they come to have the great things of the Gospel opened to them The reason of the difference is Jesus Christ hath Interceeded before the Father for the one and not for the other and one is the Fruit of the Prayer of Jesus Christ and the other Christ hath let go because they do not so belong unto Him He hath not those among them that are to be made the Sons of Peace Reas 6. Yet further When the Gospel comes to a place there is hope of Good because that the Gospel hath in it self so much power I say it is not only as an Ordinance to convey the Word of God But though Mans Words and Ministry hath little in it yet the Truths of the Gospel they have in them a mighty Strength there are such wonderful things that the Gospel doth Reveal wheresoever it comes that one would wonder that the Hearts of all People should not be taken with it Yea there are such things that are made known in the Gospel that one would think might break the Heart of any Devil in Hell That if God should send the Gospel unto the Devils if they were not gone Irrecoverably one would think that what is made known in the Gospel might break the heart of a Devil O that God should be Reconcil'd to Man To send His own Son to Die for base Worms upon whom the Lord might have Glorified His Infinite Justice upon to all Eternity There is that in the Gospel that it is to Admiration that all People do not come in unto it What doth Christ say If the Son of Peace It is a wonder that all do not come in to Imbrace the Blessed Gospel The Patience of God doth Lead to Repentance Then what might the Grace of God do that is held out in the Gospel The Lord doth reveal such Arguments to draw People that to speak after the manner of Men we may conceive That if the
of Jesus Christ for all this Saith he Let me see the Travel of my Soul let me see the Ministry of the Gospel to work upon some Soul to make them to be Sons of Peace I have then what I have Travelled for I am satisfied I think this is even worth my Suffering I account my Sufferings well Answered I account my Blood well laid down that I might gain these Souls unto my self O what an Encouragement is here unto Souls to Imbrace the Gospel to be the Children of Peace And how should you seek unto God for your Children and Friends O that God would make His Gospel effectual to Beget them to be Sons of Peace You that are tender Mothers you should look upon your Children and think thus It may be the Lord hath some Thoughts of good unto this Child and when they come to hear the Word you should pray earnestly for them that the Lord would Speak a Word to their Souls And you should take as much Pains and as earnestly Pray that the Second Birth may be perfected as you did for the First Birth So it was with Austins Mother he saith She did take as much pains and shed as many Tears for the Conversion of his Soul as she did at his First Birth and so she obtain'd her Labour I put this to you that are Mothers you complain of your Children Have you Laboured as much for the Second Birth of your Children as your Labour was when you did Bear them in your Wombs It was so with that gracious Mother for her Son You have Sons it may be that are rather Sons of Belial now you should Strive with God in Prayer and Labour to the uttermost of your Power that they may be wrought upon by the Gospel to be made the Sons of Peace by it Sermon III. Luke 10. 6. And if the Son of Peace be there c. We Proceed NOw follows the Blessing upon those that shall be Entertainers of the Gospel that are the Sons of Peace Your Peace shall be upon them That is They shall have all the good of the Gospel to be theirs That 's the meaning For it was wont among the Jews to be the Expression of all kind of Good Peace be to you By the Name of Peace they did express all good So that your Peace shall abide upon them That is All the good of the Gospel that you carry to them shall be theirs So then from these words from the Blessing that is upon the right Entertainers of the Gospel here you have these Four Points First That those that Entertain the Gospel shall have the Peace of the Gospel Secondly That this is a great Mercy from God and the Portion of the Sons of Peace not only to have some sudden Apprehensions of the Excellency of the Gospel but to have the Good and the Blessing of the Gospel to abide upon them to rest upon them That 's the Second And then Thirdly That those that do Entertain the Gospel do bring a Blessing upon the places where they Live For so if you observe it and look into the Words you shall find that it is not said And if the Son of Peace be there your Peace shall rest upon him But if the Son of Peace be there that is in the House into which you come your Peace shall rest upon it Upon the House upon the Place where the Son of Peace is So that that 's the Third Point where there is any that do Imbrace the Gospel such a one doth bring a Blessing to the Place and the Family where he Lives Fourthly The Consideration of the great good that a Minister of God shall bring unto a Place in case he be Entertain'd is a mighty Encouragement to them in their Ministry Saith Christ Go your way and Preach perhaps you may meet with some Difficulties but this is your Errand that you are sent withal to Preach the Peace of the Gospel And this is the great good that you shall bring to all those that shall entertain your Message That if they be the Sons of peace and entertain you you shall be the Instrument to bring all the good of the Gospel upon them These are the Four Doctrinal Points clearly in this Blessing Your peace shall rest upon them It is the Second of these that I shall stick most on the First I confess is a large Point that 's this That whosoever Entertains the Gospel shall have the Blessing of the Gospel upon them the peace of the Gospel Your peace shall be upon them That which is here promised you have promised almost in the same words in the same case Mat. 10. 13. And if the House be worthy let your peace come upon it If it be worthy And in Gal. 6. 16. As many as walk according to this Rule peace be upon him and upon the Israel of God That is he that submits to the Rule of the Gospel he shall have the peace of the Gospel The words in the Greek are To this Canon The Canon of the Gospel he shall have the peace of the Gospel As if Christ should say If there be any good in the Gospel if I have purchased any good by my Blood they shall have that Good and that Blessing Now to Open what the Benefit and Blessing of the Peace of the Gospel is I confess would be a large Argument And because I have else-where Opened the Doctrine of Reconciliation the Doctrine of the Peace of the Gospel I shall for the present here pass very briefly over it and give you a little of the Substance of it and then pass as soon as I can to the Second Point where we shall spend the greatest part of the time Your Peace shall be upon it What 's that You shall have the Peace of the Gospel O this is an inestimable Blessing indeed For the Peace of the Gospel It is First Peace with God Himself Whereas if they did understand themselves and know God they would know that they are Enemies unto God and that the Wrath of the Eternal God is out against them But if they come but to entertain your Message they shall be Reconciled unto this Infinite God the Wrath of the Infinite God shall be turn'd quite away from them so as they shall never be in danger of any one Spark of the Wrath of God to come out against them there shall be this Peace Whereas before they were in such a Condition as if they knew themselves and God the Presence of God would be terrible unto them But if they entertain your Message they shall come to be able to look upon that God that was an Infinite provoked Deity as a Friend they shall look upon His Face with joy they shall have free access unto His Presence as Children unto the presence of their Father Whereas before they had cause to fear every moment some dreadful fruit of the Wrath of God to pursue and sink them But now whatsoever
and to do or Suffer any thing in the World though but upon this Supposition That if God shall be pleased but to Bless my Ministry then the Lord shall make me an Instrument to bring Peace to that place even Peace between God and their Souls to be the Means to Convey all the good unto them that Jesus Christ hath Purchased by His Blood This seem'd to be the Encouragement that God gave to Jeremiah in Chap. 36. And that was in another kind Jeremiah was to go and reveal the Threats of God but Mark what his Encouragement was in ver 3. It may be that the House of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them that they may return every man from his evil way that I may forgive their Iniquity and their Sin Saith the Lord to Jeremiah Go about this Work though it be a hard Work and let this be your Encouragement It may be Though but upon a may be The House of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them that they may return every man from his evil way that I may forgive their Iniquity and their Sin Now if this were Jeremiah's Encouragement surely a greater Encouragement it is for a Minister to go and Preach the Gospel upon a meer May be that there are some that shall Entertain the Gospel And we find it was Paul's Encouragement in divers Scriptures as I might shew you but that 's most Notable in 2 Tim. 1. 10. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ who hath Abolished Death and hath brought Life and Immortality to Light through the Gospel Whereunto I am appointed a Preacher and an Apostle and a Teacher of the Gentiles Mark saith He The Gospel reveals Jesus Christ who hath Abolished Death and hath brought Life and Immortality to light And saith he God hath appointed me to be a Teacher of this For the which Cause I also suffer these things I am content to go on in this Work of the Gospel whatsoever I suffer What Is this the Errand that I am sent about to go and Preach the Gospel that brings Life and Immortality to light Let me Suffer what can be I am content to go on in this Work O It is a glorious Errand that I am sent about If it please God I speed but upon one Soul O it were worth my Life So the excellent Fruit that should come upon the Entertainment of the Gospel is here given to these Disciples for their Encouragement in the Ministry Now what is it that should Encourage the Heart of a Minister in his Work more than these Three things First That he shall be an Instrument to glorifie God Secondly An Instrument to do good to Souls Thirdly He shall have a Crown of Glory so much the more These Three things are the greatest Encouragements in the World to any gracious Heart First That he shall be an Instrument of the Glory of God For one to live to be Instrumental of the Glory of God must needs make his Life comfortable whatsoever he suffer Now there can be no such Glory that any Creature can be made a greater Instrument of than the Glory that God hath from Souls that are Sav'd by Jesus Christ It is the highest Glory that God hath from all His Creatures that there should be some Souls that should understand Jesus Christ that should admire at Him should glorifie God in Jesus Christ It is the highest Glory that God doth Injoy in Heaven next unto the Glory that He hath in Himself and in His Son that is in the Trinity But for the Glory that He hath Ab extra from His Creatures that is the highest Glory that ever God had or shall have Now for the Lord to make a Man to be an Instrument of this To bring some Souls to be Eternally Glorifying God for Jesus Christ O It is worth all a Mans Strength though he should shorten his Life Seven Years yet if there be but One or Two Souls brought by his Ministry that shall Injoy the good things in Christ this is well worth the Labour and Pains For indeed in this the Lord doth honour Men more than Angels The Lord hath not put the Angels in Heaven upon such an Honourable work as this to be the Embassadors of God and Christ for Reconciliation The Lord hath not committed the Word of Reconciliation to Angels to go and Preach that in an Ordinary way They are not Deputed by Christ to be as His Officers We never read of any such thing in the Word of God though they be sometimes Appointed to be Ministring Spirits for the good of Gods Elect to Help them to Comfort them to Avenge them of their Enemies but we never read that the Word of Reconciliation was Committed to them and to the Ministers of the Gospel And therefore there is no such Glory that they can bring to God as the Lord is Pleased to make Man to be an Instrument of In this the Lord doth Honour Man more than the Angels that he shall be Appointed to be the great Ordinance under Jesus Christ for the bringing of Souls unto Jesus Christ and so the bringing of them to Magnifie the Infinite Riches of the Grace of God in Christ to all Eternity Now Is not this worth any ones Labour and Life O what Encouragement is this whatsoever one suffers in it Secondly Can there be next unto this a greater Encouragement than to be an Instrument of good to our Brethren of good to Mankind Those are the most happy Men in the World that are the most Useful for Mankind that the Lord shall be Pleased to make Use of for the good of Mankind and therefore it should Teach all to be as Serviceable as they can to others For the Happiness and the true Comfort of a Mans Life it doth not depend in this That he can get an Estate and go Brave and Fine and Eat and Drink of the best but it is in this That the Lord will make him useful in his place an Instrument of good to others It is a very Comfortable thing for any that are Chief in a place where they Live that the Lord makes them Instruments of the Civil good of the places where they are Of the good of the People for their Bodies to keep them in Peace and Order But to be Appointed by God to be an Instrument of Soul-good of Eternal good this is a higher Priviledge that God doth grant in His Mercy to some And it might be a mighty Encouragement the Considering of this What saith Saint James speaking to Christians to Encourage them to Labour to do good to their Brethren Brethren If any of you do erre from the Truth and one Convert him Let him know that he which Converteth a sinner from the Errour of his Way shall save a Soul from Death and shall hide a multitude of sins Let him know saith he that he
there was a certain Woman one poor Woman called Lydia and it pleased God to open her Heart Certainly If God had opened the Hearts of any other they would have been mentioned as well And you shall find that Paul had very ill Entertainment among the rest of the Multitude ver 22. And the Multitude rose up together against them see what Entertainment he had and the Magistrates Rent off their Clothes and Commanded to Beat them And when they had laid many Stripes upon them they cast them into Prison charging the Jayler to keep them safely Who having received such a charge thrust them into the Inner Prison and made their Feet fast in the Stocks Here 's the Man that had such a mighty Call of God by a Vision from Heaven and yet you see how his Ministry doth prevail Thus you see that the Gospel may be sent to Places and that by a strange Work of Gods Providence and yet a very few Imbrace it yea it may be Rejected by the greatest part I might shew unto you Examples of the same kind And just as it was with the Apostles so it was with the Prophets As those Three Famous Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah and Ezekiel See the working of Isaiah's Ministry in Isa 53. Who hath believed our Report and to whom is the Arm of the Lord Revealed We come and Preach things to the People and they come and hear us and think they are very strange things that they hear the Minister say but they do not believe it Who doth believe it Yea you know that the Lord doth Complain that He did streach out His Hands even all the Day Isa 65. 2. I have spread out my Hands all the Day unto a Rebellious People which Walketh in a Way that is not good after their own Thoughts I spread out my Hands That is I come in my Ministry saith God by His Prophet and I there open the Arms of my Mercy and open the Riches of my Grace to their Souls but they Walk in Wayes that are not good And what Wayes were they According to their own Thoughts Look what their own Thoughts are and what is most pleasing to them They more regard their own Thoughts than all those Blessed and Glorious Truths that are made known unto them in the Ministry of the Word And as for Jeremiah you have it in Chap. 20. ver 8. you have very strange kind of Expressions about him Since I spake I cried out I cried Violence and Spoil because the Word of the Lord was made a Reproach unto me and a Derision daily O the Word of the Lord was made a Reproach and a Derision to Jeremiah And for Ezekiel do but read Chap. 2. of that Prophesie and there you shall find that God tells him before-hand that He did send him to a Rebellious House yea God told him that he should Live among Bryars and Thorns And yet it is observable That this Prophet Ezekiel did Prophesie in the time of their Captivity was sent unto the People of Israel when they were in Captivity One would have thought that in the time of their Affliction that if ever they would have attended to the Word of the Lord then they would No But in the time when they were in Captivity when God had fulfilled the words that were Threatned by the former Prophets though they saw how God had made good His Words by the former Prophets yet they continued a Rebellious People O this was an extream thing It was not so much for them to reject Jeremiah that did Prophesie of their Captivity I he tells us of nothing but Judgments but we hope God is a more Merciful God and upon that perhaps they rejected Him I but surely when they were in Captivity now they should one would have thought acknowledged that to the Lord belongs Glory but to us nothing but Shame and Confusion No But yet their Hearts continued hard as a Brick in the Fire it is harder for the Fire and so were their Hearts in the time of their Affliction I shall not need to Instance in any further particulars it is clear that God sends the Ministry of the Gospel to places sometimes where it may be it will be rejected Now for the Opening of the Point there are these Two things I intended First How it comes to pass that it is Rejected or why Men do Reject the Gospel Secondly What 's the Reason that God will send it to those places that He knows before-hand that it will not be Entertain'd The Lord sends the Ministry of Peace the Offer of Peace by Jesus Christ to Souls and yet they do not regard it but cast it off Because indeed First The generallity of People they do not know God they do not know that they have to deal with an Infinite and Glorious God in all their wayes they do not know whom it is that they have sinned against and therefore do not understand their danger and upon this the Ministry of the Gospel is but a dry thing unto them Whereas did but the Souls of Men and Women understand what an Infinite and a Glorious Majesty they had to deal withal and thereby what a dreadful thing it is to have the Wrath of God to be revealed to their Souls they would hearken to the Ministry of the Word That this is the Reason it appears in John 15. 20 21. Saith Christ to his Disciples Remember the Word that I said unto you The Servant is not greater than the Lord If they have Persecuted me they will also Pesecute you If they have kept my saying they will keep yours also But now Mark ver 21. But all these things will they do unto you for my Names sake because they know not Him that sent me Here 's the Reason why they will do thus unto you they will be far from entertaining of you but will rather oppose you Why Because they know not Him that sent me As if He should say Did they but know Him that sent me did they but know what a God the Lord is what the Father is what an Infinite Majesty and dreadful Deity they have to deal withal did they but understand that certainly they would not cast you out But they will not entertain you Because they know not Him that sent me Secondly There is nothing that doth discover more the Vileness of sin than the Gospel O the Gospel being Preached aright I say nothing in the World can discover the hainousness of sin the Vileness the Abominable Nature of sin more than the Gospel All the Terrors of the Law and the Curses of the Law cannot discover so much of the dreadfulness of the Evil of sin as the Gospel And we know that Men that love their sin cannot endure that which doth discover the Evil of it But you will say How doth the Gospel discover so much of the Evil of sin Certainly You may see more of the evil of sin by the Ministry of the Gospel
O the Lord the Lord forbid but let me the rather embrace it by how much the more it is neglected and dis-regarded by others What shall such a glorious Gospel be preached in vain What shall the precious Blood of Jesus Christ be shed in vain and it is in vain in respect of many Souls and shall it be in respect of my Soul the Lord forbid O that the Lord would put such kind of thoughts into your Hearts when you see others live under the Ministry of the Gospel in a sinful way And thus much for this Supposition If not What follows If not Let it return to you again Here we have first an encouragement to Gods Ministers in case their Ministry is rejected And Secondly A dreadful denunciation against those that shall reject the Gospel First the encouragement of the Ministers of God in case their Ministry be rejected Let it return to you again In this we have these two Things First That when any Minister Preaches Christ to a people if the people get no good by his Preaching yet he shall have the benefit of it upon his own Soul that 's the first let it return to you again if they will not embrace it so as to have the good and benefit of it to them it shall return to you and you shall have the benefit and blessing of it upon your own Souls Secondly Let it return that is though it prevails not here yet it shall not lose any thing of its efficacy of the life of the vigor of it but it shall return to you with as much efficacy and life as ever so as if you be sent to some other place there may be as much hopes of doing good as ever you had these are the two things that are for the incouragement of Gods Ministers in case their Ministry be rejected Briefly of these First That whena people rejects the Gospel Gods Ministers they shall not lose by it they shall have the blessing of their Ministry in Isai 49. 4. Then I said I have laboured in vain I have spent my strength for nought and in vain here 's a dreadful complaint but mark what follows yet surely my judgment is with the Lord and my work with my God there is a correcting of himself as it were as if he should say what did I say it was in vain that I had spent my strength in vain to no purpose that I had gotten nothing by what I had done No let me correct my self surely my judgment is with the Lord and my work with my God I shall not lose my labour though I do no good upon people yet I shall not lose my labour The truth is even this Complaint is not spoken so much in the person of the Prophet as of Jesus Christ It is a complaint of Christ for it is apparent in the reading of this Chapter that it is Prophetical of Christ for it follows And now saith the Lord that formed me from the Womb to be his servant to bring Jacob again to him though Israel be not gathered yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord and my God shall be my strength And he said It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the Tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel I will also give you for a light to the Gentiles that thou maist be my Salvation to the ends of the Earth c. Now who was he that was a light to the Gentiles and the Salvation of God to the ends of the Earth It was Jesus Christ and yet Christ himself is brought in here complaining that he had laboured in vain and spent his strength for nought and in vain but God comes in and incourages him and tells him that he should not lose the benefit of their labours his judgment should be with the Lord and his work with his God And further that though he did not prevail with some yet he should with others he should be given as a light to the Gentiles And likewise that place is well known in the 2 Cor. 2. 15 16. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ in them that are saved I that 's true but mark what follows and in them that perish A sweet savour of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish as truly in them that perish as in them that are saved Gods Ministers are a sweet savour of Christ therefore their labour is not in vain To us belongs faithfulness we are to look to be faithful in our work but for the success that belongs to God himself It is a note that Bernard hath on the 1 Cor. 15. 10. saith the Apostle there By the Grace of God I am that I am and his Grace that was bestowed upon me was not in vain but I laboured more abundantly then they all Saith Bernard here he doth not so much glory in the fruit of his Labours as in his labouring for indeed we are to glory rather in our work than in the faithfulness of our hearts in our work rather than in the success Ministers many times may look too much after the success of their labour and yet if there be any thing in the world that a man may look for the success of his labour in it is in the work of the Ministry but especially he is to look after his faithfulness in his labour and if he be faithful there he shall not lose his labour But saith Bernard you must have a care rather to discharge your work to take care of Souls rather than the curing of them it is your work to take care of them but it is Gods work to cure them that 's to be left to God There is a Question among Divines Whether a Minister that Converts many Souls here by his Ministry or another that is as faithful every whit as he and as painful and yet doth not convert Souls or but very few which of these shall have most Glory in Heaven whether the one or the other Many think rather the Second because the one hath a great part of his comfort here and his incouragement the other goes on in his painfulness and faithfulness though he hath not such comforts and incouragements And indeed of all Works it is the hardest work for a man to go on comfortably in the work of the Ministry without success there is no work so hard as that is What for a man to think O that the Lord should send me to a people to what end to preach the Gospel indeed but to harden them but to aggravate their sin but so as their condemnation shall be increased O it is a dreadful thought unto the heart of a Minister to think that he should be sent about such a task as this is Jeremy was even weary and said He would preach no more in the Name of the Lord only the Word of God was as fire in his bones and he
could not forbear but had not Gods Word been as fire in his bones certainly he would have forborn Hence it is that we read when God was to send his Ministers to People that they should not prevail withall the Lord made mighty preparations and there was much ado for to get the hearts of his Servants to go about their work I 'll give you two Instances remarkable for this The first is in the Prophet Isaiah the Lord had a Message to send by the Prophet he would send him to Preach but to a People where he should not prevail yea the Text saith Go and tell this people hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and convert and be healed The Lord sends his Prophets to go and to harden the hearts of people as the truth is there is nothing in the world will harden mens Hearts more than the Ministry of the Word if it doth not soften them If it doth not prevail with mens hearts to convert them I say there is nothing will harden mens hearts more There are no People in the world have harder Hearts than those that live under the Ministry of the Gospel Go and make the heart of this People fat but this was a mighty hard Message How must this Prophet be prepared There needs be a mighty deal of preparation to make him go chearfully on in his work You shall see that the Prophet had a most Glorious Vision to prepare him He saw the Glory of God silling the Temple and above it stood the Cherubims and one cryed to another and said Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Host the whole Earth is full of his Glory and the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cryed and the house was filled with smoak Then said I woe is me The Lord was fain first to reveal his Glory to him secondly to humble his heart Then said I wo is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips thirdly the Lord caused a Serophim to fly unto him having a live coal in his hand which he had taken with the tongues from off the Altar and he laid it upon my mouth and said Lo this hath touched thy lips and thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin purged Here 's three notable works of God to prepare the heart of this Prophet then in v. 8. I heard the voice of the Lord saying whom shall I send and who will go for us then I said here am I send me After he had first seen the glory of God secondly after he had been humbled for his sin and thirdly after he had had such an extraordinary testimony of the pardon of his sin Now Lord as if he should say send me about the hardest work that thou hast to do and then the Lord tells him what that hard Message should be that he should carry he should go to a people and Preach but it should be to harden their hearts and not to prevail with their Spirits And the like we have in the Prophet Ezekiel if you read the second and the beginning of the third chap. the Lord tells him that he was to go to a Rebellious House but you shall observe such a strange work of God for the preparing of his Heart for it in the most part of the first Chapt. the Prophet had a most glorious Vision of God for the setting of him a work that teaches us that indeed there is nothing will set us so much a work as the sight of God Secondly such a voice of God as humbled him for when I heard I fell upon my face and then God comes and comforts him and sets him upon his feet Further the Spirit enters into him and spake unto him and then declared his Message and gave him the roul and bid him eat it and made it to be sweet unto him though it was a message of threatning I speak all this to this end to shew that there is no work more difficult than the work of a Minister and especially when his Ministry hath not success and therefore this point is very reasonable to tell unto them all that though they have not the success that they desire yet the good of their Ministry shall return upon them again Are there a People that they are sent to to whom do they offer Christ Why they would fain gain their Souls unto Christ that they may live for ever in praising the riches of the grace of God in Christ in the highest Heavens But will they not Know thou shait have the blessing of that peace look what glory and comfort they should have had it shall return into thy bosom It is here in the Ministry of the Word as in other Duties suppose you pray for a Child or Friend or Kinsman you do not see that he is turned to God according to your prayers but know your prayer is not lost for all that the blessing of your Prayer shall return into your bosom and therefore be encouraged in every good work as Ministers should be encouraged in their Ministry though they have not success so you every one in your measure should be encouraged in every work that God hath called you unto go on therefore with peace and with comfort in all the work that heretofore you have been so much discouraged in for the reward is to your faithfulness and not to the success of your Works The next to this is Your peace shall Return that is as I shewed you it shall return with as much power and efficacy for they may think thus Lord do we go to preach to this People and do they reject it what hope shall we have that now the Gospel shall do good it hath received a foil and now the edge seems to be off and never like to do good any where No saith Christ do not reason so do not think that your Gospel hath lost the edge of it it shall return to you again with as much power as ever it did at first It is not so with the Gospel as with other things Many things in the World if once they receive a repulse their edge is taken off but the Gospel though it doth receive a repulse yet still the edge of it shall continue and the power of it this is that which the Apostle saith 2 Tim. 2. 10. Wherein I suffer trouble as an evil-doer even unto bonds but the Word of God is not bound Mark though I suffer Bonds yet the Word of God is not bound I am slighted and contemned I but the Word is not bound the Word is the same that ever it was though I be hated and cast out that am the Minister of the Word yet it remains in as much strength as ever it did
nothing to have the Gospel taken from them yet when that is taken from you know that the Kingdom of God is taken from you that place in Mat. 21. 43. is very remarkable O this is one of the dreadfullest Threats therefore say I unto you The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof When you have the preaching of the Gospel in the clearness if it among you know that you have the Kingdom of God among you Now God doth require that you should bring forth the fruits thereof therefore examine your own Hearts what fruits of the Kingdom of God are in my Life in my Family Why the Kingdom of God is among us that 's the meaning of Christ's and Johns preaching Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand that is now comes the Revelation of Jesus Christ in the Gospel and he calls people to Repent upon this Ground O Repent and Turn from your sins Why for the Revelation of Jesus Christ is come among you I say to you in this place therefore Repent Repent now for the Lord is coming to Open the Kingdom of Heaven and to Reveal the Grace of Christ and the Glorious things of Eternal Life to you and therefore if you should please your selves rather in sporting upon the Lords Day and going to Ale-Houses and Wicked places rather than Attending upon the Word why the Lord may take away this Gospel and so take away the Kingdom of Heaven from you and the taking that from you it is but a fore-runner to the depriving of you from the Everlasting Kingdom that the Saints shall have to all Eternity And know there is no Dallying with God for when thou comest to the Offer of Mercy in Christ saith Christ either come in or not Christ calls for your Answer quickly Though the Lord be very patient towards men that never yet understood the Offering of the Gospel of Christ but if they come once to have Christ preached to them they must not expect the like patience When John began to preach Christ you know what he said Now is the Axe lay'd to the root of the Tree And why now more than before Because now the Kingdom of Heaven is to be preached to them and now Every Tree that bringeth not forth good Fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the Fire Perhaps they have gone this Thirty or Forty Years and there was no Hewing of them down but now the Axe is lay'd to the root of the Tree You know that of Christ to his Apostles go your wayes and preach saith he He that Believes shall be Saved and he that Believes not shall be damned there is no more ado either Believe and be Saved or Believe not and be Damned there is quick work and indeed that 's a Point that I would very gladly have been upon even the Consideration of the Quick Work of God upon those Souls that shall reject the Ministry of the Gospel Sermon VI. Luke 10. 6. If not it shall return to you again THere are Two Points more remaining which is to be the Subject of this Excercise The First is this That those that are not the Sons of Peace what is means you have had already opened that do not imbrace the Ministry of the Gospel they shall have no Blessing from the peace of the Gospel they shall not be partakers of the good of the Gospel Secondly That God is very quick with those that do not embrace his Gospel Go and say peace if there be a Son of peace well and good they shall have peace if not It shall return saith Christ From the manner of the phrase that note was raised That God doth use to be very quick with those that do not embrace the Gospel I shall be very short in the Former of these two because I would gladly have a little more time in the Latter Those who entertain not the Gospel they shall not have the Blessing of it I shall not need to go far for another Scripture which is indeed a very dreadful one to this purpose Luke 14. 14. For I say unto you that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my Cup. We have there a Parable A certain man made a great Supper and bade many The meaning is this It is to set out God the Fathers preparing of his Son and of these Blessed Dainties at the Marriage of his Son The scope of it is to shew the excellent things of the Gospel that they are no other but the Dainties that are prepared by the great King of Heaven at the Marriage of his Son The Scope of it is to shew the excellent things of the Gospel that they are no other but the Dainties that are prepared by the great King of Heaven at the Marriage of his Son unto Souls unto Believers Well there are sent his Ministers they are the Servants of this King they are sent to Invite to this Marriage to Invite men to partake of the Blessed things of the Gospel Upon this Invitation we see that generally it was rejected One saith he hath bought a Farm another a Yoak of Oxen and another hath Marryed a Wife c. and the Ministers they come in and give this account to God Lord we have according to thy Command invited them to come in to partake take of the good things of the Gospel but these are their Excuses their hearts are set upon other things Now mark their doom in ver 24. For I say unto you that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my Supper That is do they thus reject it and slight it and disregard it I say to you I profess it that there 's not one of them shall make such a slight account of that Blessed Gospel of mine and the glorious things contained therein not one of them that shall taste of my Supper Only one Text more in Rom. 2. 8. But unto them which are contentious and do not obey the truth that must needs be meant of the truth of the Gospel but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every Soul of man that doth evil of the Jew first and also of the Gentile Those who are set upon their evil wayes and will not obey the truth you see what their Doom is The first is privative That they shall not taste of the Supper the other is Positive Wrath and indignation and anguish shall be upon them You will say That this shall return What then What great Evil wil follow upon this what most dreadful Evils Why first The very want and privation of the Infinite good that the Gospel tenders to thee is evil enough and the remaining under all those Evils that the Gospel would have delivered thee from that 's evil enough as thus What doth the Gospel return and the Blessing from you why then you remain under the guilt of all your Sins and stand charged
the Preaching of the Word of the Gospel to the Rain that comes down from Heaven upon the Ground Now saith he in v. 7. For the Earth which drinketh in the Rain that cometh oft upon it and bringeth forth Herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed receiveth Blessing from God but that which beareth Thorns and Bryars is rejected and is nigh unto Cursing whose end is to be burned So those people that do receive the Dews and Showers of the blessed Truths of the Gospel and brings forth Fruit and Works meet for him that doth Dress them and grants them such Showers these shall receive Blessing from God but mark v 8. But that which beareth Thorns and Bryars is rejected and is nigh unto Cursing whose end is to be burned That is those people that live under the showers of the Gospel and yet bring forth nothing but Bryars and Thorns that is wicked Works they live prophanely and ungodlily notwithstanding all the showers of the Word that comes upon them Mark what the Text saith such a one is nigh unto Cursing he doth not say presently he is Cursed no not so but he saith He is rejected and is nigh to Cursing whose end is to be burned that is continuing so his end is to be burnt You will say How long shall he continue so No he cannot continue long for the Text saith he is nigh to Cursing And in Rev. 11. you read there of the Witnesses those Witnesses the Ministers of the Gospel especially that stood up to Witness for Christ in vers 4. they are called Two Olive Trees The Ministers of the Gospel for they are the special Witnesses to Christ they are Two Olive-Trees that is they bring Peace to people Do not think that these things can any ways contradict what was said before they do bring peace and because their Message of peace is such a blessed Message therefore it is that the Lord is so severe against those that do reject it They are as Olive-trees to bear the Emblem of Peace and as Candlesticks standing before the God of the Earth but then mark in vers 5. If any man will hurt them if any man will oppose them fire proceedeth out of their mouths and devoureth their Enemies and if any man will hurt them he must in this manner be killed They are Olive-trees they come and bring peace but if they be opposed and hurt then even fire comes out of their mouths It is strange that those that are Olive-branches should have fire in their mouths The Witnesses of Christ they are Olive-branches that have the Message of peace but if they be opposed and rejected and hurt then fire comes out of their mouths and devours their Enemies By this fire is meant the Ministry of their Word the Lord makes it be as a consuming Fire to the Souls of those that shall reject their Ministry and that you may see Gods quickness in dealing with those that he calls to Repentance and offers any Mercy to you have in the Old Testament somewhat but in the Old Testament the Lord never revealed his Grace so clearly and therefore we cannot expect so much of Gods quickness there as in the New and yet mark what he saith in Jer. 18. 9. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a Nation to build and to plant it if it do evil in my sight that it obey not my Voice then will I repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them If I come and speak unto a Nation and offer them Mercy and tell them of my Grace if that Nation doth evil in my sight at that very instant when I speak if they do not turn from their evil wayes I will repent of all the good and I will take all my goodness from them You see that God expects to have you at an instant You many times would have your Children and Servants come as soon as you do call or else you are ready to fly in their Faces certainly God may justly expect that at what instance he should call that you should come in The Lord may be too quick for you your day may be past the day of Grace and Salvation may be past I say before you are aware before your repenting time comes Gods forgiving time may be past Though it is true you will say At what time a man repents I that is if God give him a heart But what if God will not give thee a heart but will harden thy heart and give thee up to thy self at what instant saith the Text And then another Text is in Mal. 3. beginning Behold I will send my Messenger and he shall prepare the way before me and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his Temple Now this is apparently meant concerning Christ but saith he Who may abide the day of his coming so he goes on and shews how severe he will be and then in vers 5. I will come near to you to Judgement and I will be a swift witness against the Sorcerers and against the Adulterers and against false Swearers and against those that oppress the Hireling in his gates c. Christ when he comes he comes to be a swift Witness against them that live in their Wicked wayes after his coming Indeed all mens sins do witness against them but now those that live in Prophaneness and Wickedness when Christ is come among them I say they are to expect Christ to be a swift Witness against them How quick did the Lord deal with his People upon their rejection of the Land of Canaan they did often sin against God in the Wilderness but when they came to the Land of Canaan and had an offer of the Land of Canaan having sent Spies to see the good Land and they came and declared what a Good Land it was and yet some discouraging of them because of the Children of Anack they were Rebellious and would not go to the Land to enter upon it because of the difficulty they should endure No God presently Swears against them he takes a Solemn Oath that they should never Enter into his Rest so you have it in Heb. 4. God did never Swear against them till they came to have the proffer of the Land and upon their first rejection of it after the Offer and declaring to them the good Fruit of it upon the very first rejection the Lord Swears in his Wrath that they should not Enter into it and so they were to turn back again into the Wilderness Now we are to know this Land of Canaan to be a Type not only of the Church but of Heaven it self and of the good things of the Gospel Now those that live in the Wilderness and do not know the good Land of Canaan and have not the Offer of it the Lord may bear a long time with them but now when it comes to this that the Lord doth reveal unto them the Blessed things of Christ and make
an Offer to them of the Blessed things of Christ to enter into his Rest for so it is apparent that the Apostle doth apply it to the Blessed things of the Gospel If I say when the Lord shall discover these things unto them they shall not Enter into this Rest but they shall pretend a great many difficulties O the Way is so strict and hard and they shall suffer so much and upon this do refuse the Land of Canaan the Blessed things of Jesus Christ then is the time if ever to Swear against a Soul that it shall never be made partaker of Jesus Christ Now then I had thought to have opened the Point further in three Particulars First to shew what the dealings of God doth use to be with such in what way he deals so quick with them Secondly the Reasons of it and Thirdly to have Answered some Objections about this but I shall give you but a Word or two of each and so come to the Application For the First The way of Gods dealing with such it is either as you heard the last Day to take away the Ministry from them that he doth sometimes or if not so the Lord passes a sentence against them They shall not taste of my Supper and so a man may live a long time under the Ministry of the Word under a Sentence Or further That sometimes the Lord gives him up to himself to his own hearts lusts for this the Gospel is the Counsel of God for so it is called in one of the Evangelists Now mark what Gods dealings was with those that rejected but his Counsels in Psalm 81. I gave them up to their own hearts lusts and they walked in their own counsels And that famous place in Rom. 1. from the middle of it there the Apostle shews that those that did reject but the very light of Nature God gave them up to a Reprobate sense much more those that shall reject the light of the Gospel that 's the way of God to give them up sometimes to the power of their sin as if God should say they will have none of Christ nor of my Grace and Mercy their Hearts are set upon their Lusts Lust take them such a lust of uncleanness take them such an earthly Lust take full possession of them The Lord gives them up to their own Hearts Lusts the Lord saith of them He that will be filthy let him be filthy still as you have it in Revelations the last he that will be filthy let him be filthy and let him have the satisfying of his Lusts to the uttermost And sometimes it is to cut them off by some extraordinary and fearful Judgment the Lord many times appears most dreadfully against them The Reasons that should have spent me a great part of the time and it might very well require a whole Exercise to have Opened to you why the Lord is so provok'd against this Sin rather than another Sin whatsoever it be For the Opening of the great Evil that there is in the Sin of Unbelief and Rejection of the Gospel you that understand any thing must needs know that it must require a very large time to open it all But in a very few Particulars take them thus You that reject the Gospel you sin against the greatest Mercy that ever God tendred to Creatures he never tendred such a Mercy to the Angels that sinned against him as to you Indeed here are the bowels of Gods mercy as the Scripture calls them the tender bowels of Gods mercy Now to sin against the Gospel it is to spurn at the very Bowels of God Many men speak of Mercy and desire to hear much of Mercy O but you had need look to your selves when you hear much of Mercy for when you hear of Mercy your Souls lye at the stake one way or other God deals more quick with those that hear much of Mercy than he doth with others One Sermon of Mercy rejected may send a man nearer to Hell by far than ten Sermons of Judgment Though you should not reform after many Sermons of Judgment yet they do not make your condition so dangerous as one Sermon of Mercy and therefore you had need at any time when you hear Mercy Opened to you you had need have your Hearts shake the more and tremble to think thus Lord here 's a Sermon upon which my Soul doth more lye than it may be Ten Sermons before yea perhaps than any that ever I heard in all my life Thou comest to hear a Sermon of Mercy and goest away and sayest O what an Excellent Sermon is this it was a Sermon of the most Mercy that ever I heard in my life I say Was it so then thy Soul lay more upon that Sermon than upon any that ever thou heardest in thy life Mercy is such an Attribute which God doth put such a price upon that it is resolved he will revenge the Wrong done to his Mercy Whatsoever God doth bear with he is resolved he will not bear the Abuse of his Mercy and therefore you had need look to it when you come to hear of Mercy especially the Mercy of the Gospel There is a great deal of Mercy in Gods Works I but when he comes to Preach Jesus Christ to thee there 's Mercy of another Nature there look to thy self If thou dost dally and trifle with Gods Mercy then thy condition will be most Dreadful I 'll name these one or two Arguments to thee because when thou sinnest against the Offer of the Gospel then thou sinnest against the help of thy Soul the means to do thee good The preaching of the Gospel it is as a Board after Shipwrack for every poor Soul is as a man that hath suffered Shipwrack and he is in the midst of the Sea upon a Board of the Ship and there 's all his help Now were it not a mad thing for this man to put off this Plank from him when he hath no other help Now we are ready to be swallowed up of the Sea of Gods Wrath and now God casts in a Plank to waft us to the Shore if possibly may be Or rather thus The Offer of the Gospel it is like the casting of a Rope into a River unto a man that is in danger of Drowning There is a man that is fallen into the Thames and you cannot get him up but you will get a line and throw it into the place where he sunk and there is no way for him to be Sav'd but only that Now if such a man put off the time from him what help can there be of that man Thus it is all Men and Women naturally they are even ready to sink into the Bottomless Gulf of Eternal Misery this is thy condition Now the Lord in Mercy sends his Ministers to come and make an Offer of the Gospel and cast a line to Congregations and make this Proclamation In the Name of God every Soul that will
take hold of this may be saved from sinking into the bottomless Gulf of Eternal Horror and Despair and there is no way to save any sinking Soul but only this Now if men slight and disregard this and put it off is it not just that men should sink down this that I speak will eb foundgood one day the Lord forbid that any one Soul in this Place should find this similitude made good upon them that is to sink into the bottomless Gulf and there to consider with himself had not I a line cast to me for the Saving of me and had I catch'd hold of it as others did might not I have been Saved as well as they This I say the Lord will make good one day But now because much may be said As doth not God call at the Eleventh hour and the like And grant God may call at the eleventh hour I but it is not said God will call eleven times That is God may let Men and Women go a long time and at length call them but what have you in Scripture after Rejection of Calls to Call again do not mistake me I do not say but that God may call eleven score times I but it is more than such a one may expect the Lord calls at the Eleventh hour but you do not hear if they refuse then what he will do afterwards So you say That the Theef on the Cross was called at the last hour but who knows whether ever he did hear of Jesus Christ before that time therefore your case is not his though it 's true he was Saved at the last I but it may be he did never reject Christ in his life and it was the first time that ever Jesus Christ was made known to him for ought any can tell and do you so though you be old sinners yet upon the offer of the Gospel if you shall presently come in then you may be received but what may be after the offer of the Gospel I cannot tell You will say That we find by Experience that God doth Convert those that lives a long time under Meanes It 's true he may be patient towards them I but it is more than they can expect that it should be so and mark it you must not venture upon Gods patience with another to think that he will be patient so long with thee I will give you a notable Scripture for that the Example is in Manasses in 2 Chron. 33. 1. there you have the Story of Manasses how wicked a man he was and Manasses did Reign Fifty five Years though he were a very Wicked man yet the Lord suffered him to Reign Fifty five Years and it is like most of this time was in his Wickedness but now comes his Son Amon after him v. 21. and perhaps Amon he might think thus Why may not I do as my Father did The Lord was patient with my Father many Years and why may not I venture as he did and so he did venture to live in the Wickedness that his Father had lived in but mark God was quick with him though he spared Manasses the Father yet he was quick with Amon the Son in vers 24. God spared him but Two Years for he died Wickedly as the Story shews you afterwards so that you must know Gods patience is his own God may be patient with one perhaps Twenty or thirty Years and he will not with another so many moneths Wherefore then by way of Application thus much First Hence Ministers may see cause when they come to Preach Jesus Christ to a People to come with trembling hearts and the truth is though it be that that their Souls desire above all and they account themselves or should do in their Element when they are opening Jesus Christ unto you yet upon the Consideration of this Point they cannot Preach Christ unto you without trembling Hearts for they have these thoughts whatsoever you have Lord I am now going to Preach Christ and open the Mysteries of Grace to this People I but if they should reject it how quick will the Lord Deal with them the Ministry of my Word How soon may it be to cut them down and to send them to their own places Therefore those that know what they do cannot but come with Trembling Hearts Secondly From hence Let all those that have liv'd under the Gospel and yet the Lord hath been patient towards them for a long time O let them learn to Bless the Name of God I perhaps was Born of Godly Parents and they instill'd good Principles into me and they were careful to set me under good Preaching yea and I not only had the outward Offer of Grace but God knows how often Gods Spirit came offered Christ to my Soul and yet I went on stubbornly and stoutly a long time O the rich Mercy of God that he did not wholly give me up and cut me off Rich Mercy And what hath God yet come and strove with me again for all this Rejection O the Riches of the Grace of God towards me more than towards others Thou hast cause to magnifie God for it is not an ordnary thing for God to deal so with People as he hath dealt with thee Thirdly Let all those that do come to hear the Ministry of the Gospel to hear the Word of the Gospel and yet their Consciences tell them that they are Opposers of it and secret Contemners of it and are resolved to go on in their wayes let there be said what will be yet they resolve to go on and to continue as Vile as formerly O that the Lord would strike some such bold Sinner this Day by this Word By this Point that hath been thus Preached unto thee the Lord strike thy Heart thou bold Sinner that darest be bold even against the face of the Mercy of God in Jesus Christ that darest be bold to kick as it were God in his Bowels If the Lord hath any purpose to do good unto thee he will strike thy Heart and humble thee before him in that that thou hast gone on thus against so much rich Grace as thou hast done as Jehu said in another case What hast thou to do with Peace get thee behind me So is God a Merciful God and the Preacher Preaches Mercy howsoever thou wilt live in the face of the Mercy of God in thy wicked wayes What hast thou to do with Mercy Now if this be so Hearken to the Exhortation in the Second Psalm Kiss the Son lest he be angry there indeed lies the Emphasis Kiss the Son saith the Psalmist What shall the Son of God that is Jesus Christ come to be Preached to you and do you reject him No take heed what you do Kiss him and that expression it is a sign of Obedience for so it was used in those times they came and Kiss'd the Prince as a sign of their Subjection to him Kiss the Son Obey the Gospel submit
to it Why lest he be angry lest the Son of God be angry The anger of the Son of God is a dreadful anger the Anger of God the Father is dreadful and yet the Anger of the Son of God in some respect is more dreadful as the Anger of the Holy Ghost is most dreadful of all because the Scripture saith The sin against him can never be forgiven And next Kiss the Son and that because there is so much Mercy in the Son therefore if he be rejected his anger is so much the more dreadful And lest you perish in the mid-way that is when you hope to live many years to have many more Merry-meetings with your Companions and do not think your selves to be nigh to perishing saith the Text In the mid way the Lord comes upon such when they least think of it The Lord comes upon many and cuts them off in the middle of their years This Consideration no question it was in part that caused Saint Paul when the Lord Christ was Revealed to him that he dared not put off a day no saith the Text Gal. 1. 15 16. When it pleased God who seperated me from my Mothers Womb and called me by his Grace to reveal his Son in me that I might Preach him among the Heathen immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood immediately as soon as ever God was pleased to reveal Christ to me or in me I did not confer with flesh and blood that is I dar'd not so much as Reason about the difficulty of the way or what I should suffer if I took this course I dar'd not go to my Company and take their Advice and Counsel No saith he but as soon as ever the Lord was pleased to reveal Christ in me I presently went about the Work and so in the 26th of the Acts where he tells the story of his Conversion speaking of Gods revealing himself to him in that glorious way of a Vision Whereupon O King Agrippa I was not disobedient to the Heavenly Vision the very first Vision I presently submitted to Paul he fell down and said Lord what wilt thou have me to do upon the first manifestation of Christ unto him O do you take heed that you be not disobedient to the Heavenly Vision perhaps together with the Ministry of the Word the Lord may grant to some of your Souls a Vision that is he may come with his Spirit and shew some of the Glory of his Son to you O be not disobedient to the Heavenly Vision but immediately yield to it and confer not with flesh and blood O but you will say this is hard you come at first and say Peace to us but this is very severe to tell us how quick the Lord is But Observe it It is but severity to those that put off Mercy then if you love Mercy so well what need you fear this Severity But further Know that upon your receiving of the Gospel the Lord will be as quick with you in wayes of Mercy as he is in Judgments to those that do reject it You will say How quick will the Lord be in the wayes of his Mercy Thus quick that upon thy receiving the Gospel and Believing the very first instant of thy receiving it thou shalt be delivered from all thy sin the guilt of all thy sin thou shalt be made as clear from the guilt of sin as the Child that is new born and more clear a great deal How quick is God now Yea thou shalt be made as clear from the guilt of all thy great sins that thou hast committed I say as clear from the guilt of them as the Saints are in Heaven and this at the first moment of thy Entertaining of Jesus Christ thou shalt be as clear as Abraham Isaac and Jacob thou shalt be equal with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the point of thy Justification yea in regard of any guilt of sin thou shalt be as unspotted before the Lord as the Saints are in Heaven O the Lord is willing to be quick with you in wayes of Mercy Now then consider of both Here we set Life and Death before you we know it is not in Mens power indeed but we know God doth use to Bless his Ministry so as to convey power by his Ministry God is quick both wayes upon Entertaining he is quick in wayes of Mercy presently to clear the Soul from all those horrible Wicked Sins that thou hast been guilty of and if thou shalt reject it then thou may'st fear that the Lord will be quick with thee another way O consider what hath been said in this Point and in this Text and the Lord give you understanding FINIS Doct. Appl. Obs Exhort His house being visited it was thought he was Dead Doctr. Doctr. Appl. Vse Doct. 2. Doct. 3. Reas 1. Appl. Doct. 2 Doct. Appl. Doct. 2 Appl. Doct. 3. Reas Doct. Doct. Doct. 1 2. 3. Appl. Doct. Appl.
shew John again those things which ye do hear and see the Blind receive their sight and the Lame walk and the Lepers are cleansed and the Deaf hear and the Dead are raised and the Poor have the Gospel Preached to them And as some of the Evangelists have it Poor receive the Gospel Observe why Christ brings this He brings it in as an Argument that he was the Messiah John would know whether He was the Messiah How shall he know it Why go and tell him The Blind receive their sight the Lame walk the Lepers are cleansed the Deaf hear the Dead are raised These are good Arguments to prove that Christ was the Messias If Christ could Work such Miracles as to give sight to the Blind to make the Lame to walk to cleanse the Lepers to cause the Deaf to hear and to raise the Dead these indeed were good Arguments But how comes in the last And the Poor receive the Gospel How is this an Argument that Christ is the Messias One would think that this should rather be an Argument that He is not the Messias They might say I indeed there are these great things done by Him but there is one thing makes us suspect that He is not the Messias For our Great Rich and Learned Men they do not receive Him only a Company of poor Ignorant People this Vulgar sort For so was the Arguing of the Pharisees there in John 7. 48. say they when the Officers were Affected with the Ministry of Christ Have any of the Rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him Have any of them Believed on Him But this People that knoweth not the Law are Cursed Only a Company of poor Ignorant People they believe on Christ But the Rulers have any of the Rulers or of the Pharisees the Great Men and the Rich Men the Learned Men Have they believed You see that this was a Stumbling-block whereby they would perswade Men that Christ was not the Messias But mark That which Men make the great Stumbling-block why Christ is not the Messias that Christ makes unto John the great Argument why He was the Messias Because the Poor receive the Gospel And Christ doth put this among his other Miracles And you will say How is this an Argument Thus It is one of the greatest Miracles that ever Christ wrought and it may well be Reckoned among those Miracles of giving Eyes to the Blind and Hearing to the Deaf Thus To make one that is a poor weak Creature that hath but a mean Capacity yet that such a one shall be able to see into the Great and High and Glorious Mysteries of the Gospel that the Angels desire to pry into So to see into the Reolity and the Certainty and the Glory of those Mysteries that he dares venture his Soul and his Eternal Estate upon I say This is as great a Work of a â—od as ever any Work that God did in this World and therefore it may well be put among Christs Miracles â—nd an Argument that Christ is the Messias If Christ shall Reveal such Glorious things that are the Objects of the Understanding of Angels to poor Illiterate People when as the Wise of the World shall not be able to see them but shall Reject them They shall not see so much as to dare to venture the loss of a Lust for them of any Creatures contentment for them but a poor weak Man or Woman Illiterate that understands but little in other things shall come to see so much the Glory of God shining in the Face of Christ as he dares venture not only all outward Comforts in this World but his Soul and Eternal Estate upon the Grace of God in his Son Here 's a mighty Work of Christ The Poor they come then to receive the Gospel it is Preached to them and they receive it and hereby Christ shews his Power Now hath Christ shown such a Miraculous Work of his upon thy Soul when he hath past by others that are Understanding and Men of Parts yet Reveal'd such deep and hidden Mysteries of the Gospel unto thee Oh admire at the Grace of God in his Son to thee and Bless him for this is not an ordinary Mercy it is a choice Mercy The Gospel is Rejected many times where it comes and thou seest it only God hath made a separation between thee and others As I told you of that Speech of Judas not Iscariot Lord saith he Why is it that thou Revealest thy self unto us and not unto the World Thou hast cause to wonder at it indeed Sixthly And then further that we may hasten to what remains If this be so that Gods sends the Gospel where it is Rejected hence be not Scandalized when you see it Despised and Contemned Let none be Scandalized at it so saith Christ in Mat. 11 when he saith The Poor have the Gospel Preached to them in the next words And Blessed is he whosoever is not offended in me For Men are ready to be offended when they see great Ones Reject the Ministry of the Gospel But you hear that God sends it where it is Rejected therefore be not you offended do not think that because others do not Imbrace it therefore there is nothing in it and why should I There is this Temptation in the Hearts of many though while they are Hearing of the Gospel Preached their Hearts are taken with what they Hear and they are Convinc'd but when they go away and are among their Companions and others that they find to slight all and to disregard all their Hearts are taken off likewise But O learn by this Point never to be Scandalized by others casting off the Gospel For it is that which Christ hath forewarned his Ministers when they go to Preach he doth intimate to them that they must expect that their Ministry must not prevail with all 7ly Lastly Is this true That God sends the Preaching of the Gospel where he sees it will and doth not prevail with many Now let every one of you lay his hand upon his Heart and think thus with himself Is it I Am I the man am I the Woman to whom Jesus Christ shall be Preached and shall not prevail O the Lord forbid that this should be so though it doth not prevail with others such and such yet God forbid that it should not prevail with my Heart let me imbrace it so much the rather Do I see Jesus Christ rejected by others O it is that which should go neer to my Heart that the Lord is rejected by any and shall he be rejected by me too the Lord forbid that as Christ said to his Disciples when others forsook him And will ye also go away O whither shall we go from thee saith Peter for with thee are the words of Eternal life so dost thou see others slight and neglect the glorious Ministry of the Gospel and wilt thou do so wilt thou add to the dishonour of the Gospel too