THE CHURCH's REQUEST To all her Faithful SONS AND CHILDREN That they would now pray for her and stand by her and help her what they can and not forsake her in her desolate condition and the dark Time of Popery that is coming upon her Written by Digby Bull M. A. and late Rector of Sheldon in Warwick-shire LONDON Printed for the Author And are to be Sold by J. Whitlock near Stationers-Hall 1695. Psalm CXXII VI Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem They shall prosper that love thee THE Royal and Devout Psalmist King David who was the Composer of this Psalm as the Title of it declareth doth shew that he was not a Man wholly intent upon his own private Concerns and Interest and wholly taken up with his own Pleasures and Profit and Advancement as too many now are but that he was a Man of a publick Spirit and greatly concerned for his own Land and Nation and the Good and Prosperity thereof And in an especial manner was he concerned for the pure Worship of Almighty God being not lukewarm herein but very fervent and zealous for the true Religion and for the Honour and Service of the true and only God That he was tender of the common good and welfare of his People he sheweth in many instances and particularly in bewailing the loss of them by the Plague that God sent upon them and desiring that they might be spared and that the Hand of God might be against him and his Father's House 2 Sam. 24.17 And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the Angel that smote the People and said Lo I have sinned and I have done wickedly but these sheep what have they done Let thine hand I pray thee be against me and against my Father's house So much doth he shew himself concerned for the common good and so much troubled for the loss of so many of his People by the Plague that God sent upon them And in an extraordinary manner doth he shew himself zealous in all Matters of Religion and for the pure Worship and Service of Almighty God composing Psalms for that purpose and ordering the courses of the Priests and taking great care that they duely executed their Offices and Functions to the Glory and Honour of Almighty God And he sought out a place for his sacred Temple and intended to build it out of hand if God had not prevented him and told him that he should leave that work to his Son Solomon because he had been a Man of War and shed much blood Lord saith he Ps 132.1 remember David and all his afflictions How he sware unto the Lord and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob. Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house nor go up into my bed I will not give sleep to mine eyes or slumber to mine eye-lids until I find out a place for the Lord an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. So zealous and intent was he upon this matter and likewise towards all other matters of Religion And for his Zeal especially towards the Worship and Service of Almighty God it is as we may conceive that he is so highly commended and renowned in the Word of God for being a Man after Gods own heart Acts 13.22 And he is not only zealous herein himself for the preserving and promoting of the pure and sincere Worship of Almighty God and the good and prosperity of his Church and People but doth earnestly exhort all others to be so too and to pray for the Peace and Prosperity of them assuring them that those that should do so that should bear true love towards them and seek their Peace and Welfare should be well rewarded for all their care and pains herein And this he doth here in the Text. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem they shall prosper that love thee In which words we have these two parts I. An exhortation or command to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem And II. A promise and assurance of a Blessing upon such as should bear true love thereto and seek the Peace thereof They shall prosper that love thee I. The Exhortation and Precept wherein we have first the Duty that he exhorts others to and that is Prayer secondly the subject matter of this Prayer and that is for Peace and thirdly the place for which he solicits their Prayers and that is for Jerusalem Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem First In exhorting and enjoining them to pray for Jerusalem we may conclude that he requires them to use their utmost endeavours in all lawful ways for the good and happiness of that place and what he means thereby And in exhorting and persuading of them to pray for it he doth thereby mind them that this was the best help and assistance that they could yield towards it that all humane endeavours are but vain and fruitless without the divine Help and Assistance and Protection of Almighty God and that it must be he alone that must protect and advance it And so the Psalmist hath more fully taught us that all the endeavours of Man are to no purpose without the divine Succours and Help of Almighty God Psal 127.1 Except the Lord build the House saith he they labor in vain that build it Except the Lord keep the City the watchman waketh but in vain All proves but vain and lost labor without his Almighty Aid and Defence And saith the Psalmist Psal 124.8 Our help is in the Name of the Lord who made Heaven and Earth And the Psalmist affirmeth him to be the builder of Jerusalem Psal 147.2 The Lord doth build up Jerusalem he gathereth together the Out-casts of Israel And he it is that effecteth and worketh this peace that the Psalmist exhorts others to pray for as we may see Psal 147.12 Praise the Lord O Jerusalem praise thy God O Zion for he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates he hath blessed thy Children within thee He maketh peace in thy borders and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat He it was that thus blessed and preserved Jerusalem and while Judgment and Righteousness were therein he gave assurance that he would defend and protect it in a mighty manner Is 31.4 It was Almighty God that did defend and preserve this beloved City of the Jews and that did fill it with Peace and Plenty and made it to flourish in all kinds of prosperity And to supplicate his divine Goodness in behalf of it in a due and devout manner was the greatest service and assistance that they could yield towards the Good and Welfare thereof But we may conclude that in exhorting and enjoyning them to pray for it he doth also exhort and enjoyn them to give all the help and assistance that they were able towards the Good and Prosperity thereof in all respects That they should not let their helping hand be wanting in any good deed that they were able to do for it Secondly We have here the subject matter of
Metropolis and Royal City of the whole Land of Judea at that time and in the days of King Solomon and always afterward was the Royal City of the Kingdom of Judah till they were carried into Captivity for their great Sin and Wickedness And here in Jerusalem the House and Posterity of King David Reigned and had their Royal Throne and God himself doth signifie that they should Reign here and that the People should be prosperous and happy under their Government if they would hearken to his voice and keep his sacred Commandments This was the Supreme Seat of Judgment among them where the highest Courts of Judicature were kept and where true and impartial Justice was to be Administred whereby every one was to be protected and defended in his just Rights and Liberties And by the Regal Power thereof were they to be preserved from the invasion and annoyance of all Forreign Enemies And upon the Peace and Prosperity hereof did their own Peace and Prosperity depend and could not well subsist without it In this City did God declare that his Servant David should have a Light before him 1 Kings 11.36 And unto his Son that is Solomon's Son will I give one tribe that David my Servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem the City which I have chosen me to put my Name there For Solomon's sin in departing from the Lord and following of Idols and for the wickedness of the People did God declare that he would rend part of the Kingdom from his Sons and posterity and give it to Jeroboam but yet he would let them have a part for David's sake that he might have a Light before the Lord in Jerusalem that is a Son and Heir of his Family to reign there in Jerusalem And although Abijam deserved to have his Posterity deprived thereof yet God would have David to have a Lamp there still and have Jerusalem established with the Royal Throne of King David 1 Kings 15.4 Nevertheless for David's sake did the Lord his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem to set up his Son after him and to establish Jerusalem And this is one reason why the Lord would defend this City from the King of Assyria because it was the Royal City of the House of his Servant David 2 Kings 19.34 And when God was about to deliver them to be spoiled by their Enemies he declares to them that if they would repent and keep his Commandments and sanctifie his Sabbaths he would still grant to them this blessing that they should have the Kings hereof over them ruling in great prosperity and that they should still be happy under their Government Jer. 17.25 Then shall there enter into the gates of this City Kings and Princes sitting upon the Throne of David riding in Chariots and on Horses they and their Princes the Men of Judah and the Inhabitants of Jerusalem and this City shall remain for ever And so Jer. 22.3 And the Psalmist here in this Psalm doth mention as a part of the Prerogatives of this City of Jerusalem that the Seats of Judgment and the Throne of the Kingdom was there and doth hereby intimate that this was one reason why they should pray for the Peace and Happiness of it ver 5 the Verse before the Text For there are set Thrones of judgment the Thrones of the House of David And vers 8. For my Brethren and Companions sakes I will now say Peace be within thee We may see that it was upon publick respects that he enjoyns them to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem And we may conceive that this was one reason why he requires them to pray for it because it was the Regent City and the Royal Throne of the Kingdom was fixed there and it was the chief place where Justice and Judgment were to be executed In praying then for Jerusalem we may conceive that he intends no less than that they should pray that this City might be advanced and set up on high and that the Throne of David might be therein continued and that he might not want a Man to sit thereon after him to sway the Scepter thereof in Truth and Righteousness That the Kings hereof might prosper and be Mighty and that they might protect and save the People from all their Enemies That true Justice and Judgment might be administred from hence and every one defended in his just Rights and Liberties That they should seek and pray for the Peace of Jerusalem their head City because in the Peace thereof they all should enjoy great Peace and Prosperity as God ordered them afterwards to Pray for the Peace of Babylon upon the like account when he sent them into Captivity Jer. 29.7 And seek the Peace of the City whether I have caused you to be carried away Captives and pray unto the Lord for it For in the Peace thereof shall ye have Peace And much more then might they expect Peace and Prosperity in the Peace of their own City Jerusalem in the days of David and Solomon and the succeeding Kings thereof In praying then for the Peace of Jerusalem he doth in effect require them to pray for their whole Polity and Government and for the Good and Welfare of their whole Land and Nation that depended hereupon and was made happy in the Peace and Prosperity of this City and the Throne therein established But farther Jerusalem was the Renowned City of all the World that had none like it upon the face of the whole Earth for this was the City of the great King the Lord of Hosts the City that he had chosen above all others to place his sacred Name there and to be the place of his more peculiar Residence here amongst us Mortals and here was a Temple then to be built for his Honor and Service according to his own direction and appointment which was to be a House of Prayer to all Nations and here had he commanded them to perform his more solemn Worship and Service and here he vouchsafed more of his divine Presence than he did in any City besides And upon this account especially it is that the Royal Psalmist exhorts and enjoyns them to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem God did declare by his servant Moses that he would choose a place to cause his Name to dwell there and that they should resort to that place to perform there more solemn Worship and Service to him there long before David's time Deut. 12.10 But when ye go over Jordan saith Moses and dwell in the Land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit and when he giveth you rest from all your Enemies round about so that you dwell in safety then shall there be a place which the Lord your God shall chuse to cause his Name to dwell there thither shall ye bring all that I command you your burnt-offerings and your sacrifices your tythes and the heave-offerings of your hand and all your choice vows which ye vow
unto the Lord. By this and other places in Deut it is plain that God would chuse a place for his sacred Name and that they were to resort thither to perform their more solemn Worship and Service to him there And here at this place were all their Males to appear three times in the year Deut. 16.16 Three times in a year shall all thy Males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose in the feast of unleavened bread and in the feast of weeks and in the feast of tabernacles And the Lord did signify to David that he had chosen Jerusalem for this place where he would put his holy Name And so he saith Psal 132.13 For the Lord hath chosen Zion he hath desired it for his Habitation This is my rest for ever here will I dwell for I have desired it And Zion was a part of Jerusalem and seems to be put for the whole And unto Jerusalem had David brought the Ark of God and put it in the Tent which he had there made for it until the Temple was builded 2 Chr. 1.4 And here had he prepared a place for the Temple of the Lord and did intend to build it but God would have Solomon his Son to build it and he builded it in the place that David had prepared 2 Chr. 3.1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah where the Lord appeared unto David his Father in the place that David had prepared in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite And not only the City and the place but the very draught of this house of God was shewed to David and God himself seems to order the fashion of it as he did of the Tabernacle in the wilderness and David delivered the pattern thereof to his son Solomon 1 Chr. 28.11 And according to these divine Instructions did Solomon build this extraordinary Temple of the Lord and as soon as it was finished the glory of the Lord appeared in it 1 Kings 8.10 And here was he to be more solemnly worshiped than any where else a great part of his Worship and Service being appropriated to this peculiar Temple of his In Zion it was that praise waited for him and in Jerusalem was the vow to be performed to him Psal 65.1 and 116.18 19. And saith the Psalmist Psal 48.2 Beautiful for situation the joy of the whole Earth is mount Zion on the sides of the north the City of the great King The Temple here was God's peculiar house and to be an house of Prayer to all people Is 56.7 And upon this account of Religion and of God's Worship and Service it is that Jerusalem is called the holy City the City of God the City of the great King and God said to love it above all others Matt. 4.5 and 5.35 And Psal 87.2 The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee O City of God Upon this account especially it is that the Royal Psalmist requires them to pray for Jerusalem because it was the capital City of Religion the City of the Lord of hosts that he had espoused to himself above all others and his great Temple of Worship was to be here for upon this house of God had the devout Psalmist set his heart and affections though it was not then built as he sheweth 1 Chr. 29.3 Moreover because I have set my affection to the house of my God saith he I have of mine own proper good And upon this account it is that he is so much concerned for Jerusalem And this he declareth himself in this psalm 122.9 Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good This is the great reason why he would seek the good of Jerusalem and doth exhort others to pray for it because God's House and solemn Worship was to be here and his heart was set upon them In praying then for Jerusalem he doth exhort and require them to pray for the good and welfare of the Church of God that it might enjoy all Peace and Quiet and that his Worship and Service might here at Jerusalem be performed in a due and publick manner to his great Honour and Glory and to the real benefit and comfort of his Worshippers and Servants That his Sanctuary and holy Place there might not be polluted and profaned by Heathens and unhallowed Persons and his Worship and Service corrupted or quite neglected and cast off and Religion driven to hide her head but that Jerusalem might be as a City upon an hill taken notice of and admired by all the World for the solemn Worship of Almighty God that should there be performed That they might unanimously Serve and Worship God there and that all Nations might flock thither to his Solemnities and to join in his Worship and Service That many Nations might come and say as it is Mic. 4.2 Come and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths That God's Ordinances and Worship should there be duely celebrated and kept where they ought and with that purity and devotion and splendor that they ought too That true Religion might be advanced and in esteem among them and that God's Honour and Service might be set up and exalted above all and that it might be joy and gladness of heart to them to see it so In praying for the Peace of Jerusalem he seems to do no less than require and enjoin them to pray for the good and welfare of their whole Nation which depended hereupon and especially that they should pray for the Good and Prosperity of the Church that it might flourish and enjoy all manner of Peace among them and that God might be duely served at his Temple the place that he himself had chosen And now from this Text we may see that it is our duty to be much concerned and to pray for our Jerusalem in this manner That we should bear hearty good-will to our own Land and Nation and the Israel of God among us and especially to our own Church and that pure Religion among us That we should be very zealous in our Prayers for them and endeavour to preserve them and to do them all the good we can in a lawful way This we are taught by this Text For the Psalmist spake by the Spirit of God and what he hath said here is to be an Instruction to us as well as it was to the Jews Rom. 15.4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime saith the Apostle were written for our learning And we may see that under the names of Jerusalem and Zion the Christian Church seems often to be meant or at the least to be included therein Jer. 33.15 In those days and at that time will I cause the Branch of Righteousness to grow up unto
David and he shall execute Judgment and Righteousness in the Land In those days shall Judah be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely and this is his Name whereby he shall be called The Lord our Righteousness And by this Branch of Righteousness is meant our blessed Saviour and therefore under Jerusalem is comprehended the Christian Church And saith the Prophet Isaiah 2.2 And it shall come to pass in the last days that the Mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the Mountains and shall be exalted above the Hills and all Nations shall flow unto it And this seems to be a prediction of the times of the Gospel and this Mountain of the Lord's house to be the Christian Church And saith the Prophet Micah 4.7 And the Lord shall Reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth even for ever But this cannot well be understood of any other Reigning over them than in the Christian Church For there is no appearance of God's Reigning over them now in Mount Zion taking it literally for that place in the Land of Judea And that this Legal and temple-Temple-worship of the Jews at Jerusalem was to cease and that God was then to be worshiped after a Spiritual manner even our Blessed Lord sheweth Jo. 4.21 Jesus saith unto her Woman believe me the hour cometh when ye shall neither in thâ—s Mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father And Ver. 23. But the hour cometh and now is when the true Worshippers shall Worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth for the Father seeketh such to Worship him The Jewish way of Worship at the Temple was then to cease and Jerusalem literally taken was no longer to be God's peculiar place of Worship above all others after the Gospel was published and after the death of our Saviour Nor is it that City litterally taken that we are now obliged to pray for above all others But it is the Christian Church which is now to be accounted the true Israel of God and to come in place thereof and is oft comprehended in the name of Jerusalem and meant by it and for this are we now to pray And we may see that Jerusalem is used in a figurative manner for the Church of Christ Gal. 4.26 Saith the Apostle But Jerusalem which is above is free which is the Mother of us all And saith the Apostle speaking of the Christian state of the Church Heb. 12.22 But ye are come unto mount Zion and unto the City of the living God the Heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of Angels to the general Assembly and Church of the First-born which are written in Heaven The Christian Church which is in Society with the Saints and Angels above is the Jerusalem that we are now to be so much concerned for and especially for that part of it among us By this exhortation and precept then of the devout Psalmist though it doth primarily respect the Jews are we also taught to seek and pray for the Peace and Prosperity of the true Church of God especially of that part of it that is amongst us and for the Good and Welfare of our own Kingdom and Nation upon which our own Peace and Happiness do depend and to do all the good Offices for them that we can For in such a general sense are we to understand the exhortation and precept here in the Text as I have shewed And First We ought to have a great care that we do no injury and harm to them and no ways disturb the Peace of them In being required and enjoyned to pray for our Jerusalem for the Church of God and for the good of our own Nation and People we are hereby plainly forbid to do any Injury and Wrong to them And it is our Saviour's command that we should be harmless and innocent in all respects Mat. 10.16 Behold saith he I send you forth as sheep in the midst of Wolves be ye therefore wise as Serpents and harmless as Doves And herein especially are we to be so in committing no publick Offences and Crimes against the Church or good of the Nation We are to be very cautious and circumspect that we do not wilfully offend against the common Good and Welfare of the Church or State and to have a great care that we commit no wilful Acts of Violence and Wrong against them and that we lend no helping hand to destroy and overthrow thâ— Protestant Church and our Good Laws and well-establisht Goâ—â—â—â—mâ—â—t There is no doubt to me but that the Protestant Church of England is a true and eminent part of the Church of Christ and therefore every Man ought to have a very great care that he doth not any ways help to destroy and pull it down and to introduce Popery in the room of it The Protestant Religion is agreeable to the pure Word of God but Popery is flat contrary to that sacred Word in a multitude of places as you may see in the Protestant's Letter and the Book called the Contrariety of Popery to the blessed Word of God and every good Protestant then ought to chuse rather to die at the Stake than to help to make this change in Religion And those that do so may justly expect the Woe and Curse of God to come upon them for helping to destroy such an eminent part of his Church And we are to have a care that we offer no Wrong and Violence to any of the Members thereof that we no ways annoy and injure the very meanest of them Nor must we help to overthrow our laudable and good Laws and well Establisht Government and to bring the Kingdom under the Popish Yoke and Bondage again If we bear that good will that we ought to our Jerusalem and would observe this precept of the Devout and Royal Psalmist we must refrain from the doing of any of these things and offer no Violence nor Injury to our beloved City or any of the Members of it And to deter us the more from doing any Acts of Violence and Wrong to the Church or any of the faithful Members thereof we may see that Woe and Misery is threatned to such and like to come upon them Our Saviour pronounceth a Woe against the Pharisees for obstructing the Kingdom of Heaven and hindering the progress of the Gospel Mat. 23.13 But woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites saith he for ye shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against Men For ye neither go in your selves neither suffer ye them that are entring to go in And saith he Luc. 11.52 Wo unto you Lawyers for ye have taken away the key of knowledge ye entred not in your selves and them that were entring in ye hindred This wo is denounced against them for opposing the Kingdom of Heaven and hindering the increase and advancement of the Church of God And all those that shall now help to destroy the true Church of Christ or to do any wrong to any part
of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of our God That as a young man marrieth a Virgin so her Sons might marry her and as a Bridegroom rejoyceth over the Bride so her God might rejoyce over her That God would create our Jerusalem a rejoycing and her people a joy Is 65.18 That he would rejoyce in our Jerusalem and joy in his People that the voice of weeping may no more be heard in her nor the voice of crying That ver 25. the Wolf and the Lamb may feed together and the Lion eat straw like the Bullock and dust may be the Serpent's meat that they may not hurt nor destroy in all this holy Mountain That such universal Peace and Love may every where prevail that men of the most perverse spirits may be overcome by them and lay aside all their malignity That the Lord of Hosts Zac. 1.14 would be jealous for our Jerusalem and for our Zion with a great jealousie That God would be gracious to our Land and cause the Gospel to flourish amongst us and to take deep rooting in our hearts That God would cloath the Priests of our Zion with Salvation Psal 132.16 and make her Saints to shout aloud for joy That the mountain of the Lords house Is 2.2 might be established in the top of the mountains and be exalted above the hills and that all nations may flow unto it That there may be such an universal willingness and readiness in all to know and practise their duty that they shall say Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths That our Ministers and Pastors may be orthodox and sound in the Faith true and faithful in the discharge of their offices and of an upright life and conversation and so adorn the Gospel of the blessed Jesus and that holy Religion which we profess That God would abundantly bless the provision of our Zion Psal 132.15 and would satisfy her poor wâ—â—h bread and give us all kind of plenty and store in our Land That there may enter in by the gates of our City Kings sitting upon the throne of their Ancestors Jer. 17.25 and riding in Chariots and on Horses and Ruling in justice righteousness and mercy That he would fill our hearts with food and gladness and grant us health and prosperity in our Land That God would make our Zion an eternal excellency Is 60.15 a joy of many generations That our People also ver 21. might be all righteous and inherit the Land for ever and that in all Peace and Quiet That there may be heard in our Land Jer. 33.11 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride the voice of them that shall say praise the Lord of Hosts for the Lord is good for his mercy endureth for ever and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord That our Land may be blessed with all manner of blessings and that we may not be unmindful to return Almighty God his due Laud and Praise for the same Such promises have been made to and such petitions have been put up for Jerusalem and by such may we be instructed how we are at all times to address our selves to Almighty God in prayer for our Jerusalem for the Church of Christ in general and more particularly for our own Church and Kingdom But at this time we have great reason to make our earnest prayers to Almighty God for the Protestant Church especially that part of it with us and for our own Nation that they may be preserved from such judgments and miseries as now threaten them and us and we have justly deserved for our great wickedness and abuse of mercies Sixthly We are to rejoyce and to take great pleasure in the Peace and Prosperity of our Jerusalem when there is just cause for it and to praise and magnify Almighty God for the mercies and benefits that he hath granted to her The good and welfare of the whole Church and especially of our own Church and Kingdom should be matter of great joy and gladness of heart to us and stir us up to return God his due Laud and Praise for the same And this is the Prophets exhortation Is 66.10 Rejoyce ye with Jerusalem and be glad with her all ye that love her rejoyce for joy with her all ye that mourned for her That ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations that ye may milk out and be delighted with the abundance of her glory And with our Jerusalem the true Protestant Church should we rejoyce when she hath cause to do so which when the days of darkness are over I hope she will have And saith the Psalmist Psal 106.4 Remember me O Lord with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people O visit me with thy salvation That I may see the good of thy chosen that I may rejoyce in the gladness of thy nation that I may glory with thine inheritance Like fellow-feeling members are we both to suffer and to rejoyce with the Church and all the true and faithful Members thereof And saith the Psalmist Psal 126.1 When the Lord turned again the Captivity of Zion were like them tâ—at dream Then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing And Psal 137.6 saith the Psalmist there If I do not remember thee let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy And at every thing that tended toward the good of Jerusalem and the pure worship and service of Almighty God did the Royal Psalmist King David greatly rejoyce as he sheweth here Psal 122.1 I was glad when they sa d unto me let us go into the house of the Lord. Every advancement of God's Church and Worship did much delight and please him and so it should do us And for all the Mercies and Blessings that Almighty God shall at any time vouchsafe to our Church and Nation are we to be truely thankful and to make our hearty return of praise to him for the same This the Psalmist doth most passionately wish and sheweth that men are too negligent herein Psal 107.8 O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness saith he and for his wonderful works to the children of men And this the Psalmist exhorteth Jerusalem to do to make a due return of praise for the Blessings that she had received Psal 147.12 Praise the Lord O Jerusalem saith he praise thy God O Zion For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates he hath blessed thy children within thee He maketh Peace in thy borders and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat And this St. John sheweth in that vision of the Elders that we are to praise and magnify Almighty God for all the
mercies and deliverances that he vouchsafeth to his Church Rev. 11.16 17. And the four and twenty Elders saith he which sat before God on their seats fell upon their faces and worshipped God saying we give thee thanks O Lord God Almighty which art and wast and art to come because thou hast taken to thee thy great Power and hast Reigned That is because in a wonderful and miraculous manner thou hast preserved and delivered thy Church and Servants and defeated and destroyed their Enemies For all the mercies and blessings that are vouchsafed to the christian Church in general or to that part of it wherein we are more nearly concerned or to our own Land and Nation are we to be rruly thankful to Almighty God and to Laud and Praise him for them All the good that befals the Protestant Church and our Land and Nation is to be matter of thanksgiving and rejoycing to us To see the Christian Church enlarged and exalted on high and what the Prophet saith of it fulfilled in an eminent manner Mic. 4.1 To see the Christian Church thus exalted above all and the Heathen world thus a flocking to it To see an inclination and willingness in all men to become obedient to the Gospel and to practise the things that it requires To see Kings to become the nursing-Fathers of the Christian Church Is 49.23 and their Queens the nursing Mothers thereof and to bow down to her with their faces towards the earth and to bring their riches and treasures to her To see the Light of God's countenance to shine upon the true Protestant Church and to see that completed which our Lord saith Rev. 3.9 Behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan which say they are Jews and are not but do lye behold I will make them to come and worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee To see the Protestant Church blest in such a manner and all the Enemies thereof ashamed and confounded in all their enterprizes and designs against it and instead of triumphing over it to come and bow down before it To see our Kingdom a peaceable and quiet Habitation and disturbed with no apprehensions of dangers from without nor with any contentions or divisions within To see Truth and Righteousness to flourish therein and to see it blest with health and plenty To see all men to study Love and Peace and to see us so happy as to be all joyned together in one Worship and Communion that as St. Paul saith Rom. 15.6 That we may with one mind and one mouth glorify God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ To see these things fulfilled should be great joy and gladness of heart to us and fill our mouths with Songs of thanksgiving to Almighty God for the same These things should be our earnest desires and the subject of our hearty prayers to God and it should be great pleasure and delight to us to see them in some good measure accomplished and fulfilled That God may have his due Honour and Praise unanimously returned him every where throughout the whole Christian Church Seventhly and lastly We are to suffer for the Good of our Jerusalem the Christian Church when God shall require it of us and call us thereto by his divine Providence that ordereth all things and over-ruleth all that is done here below Though our blessed Lord hath suffered for us and there is no need of any more Sacrifice to purge away our Sins as if there were any insufficiency in that For saith the Apostle Heb. 10.14 by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified Yet there remained something of the sufferings of Christ behind which were to be undergone by the Apostles and pious Men afterwards for the sake of the Church in conformity to what our Blessed Lord had suffered for it This the Apostle sheweth Col. 1.24 Who now rejoyce saith he in my sufferings for you and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake which is the Church For the sake of the mystical Body of Christ the Church doth he shew that he suffered And saith he to the Corinthians 2 Cor. 1.6 And whether we be afflicted it is for your consolation and salvation which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer And saith he to Timothy 2 Tim. 2.10 Therefore I endure all things for the elects sake that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory And he sheweth that he did not know but that he might be offered upon the service of the Church of the Philippians Phil. 2 17. Yea and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith saith he I joy and rejoyce with you all So highly could he suffer for them and do it too with joy and rejoycing And he exhorts Timothy to be ready to undergo sufferings for the sake of the Gospel and Church of God 2 Tim. 1.8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord saith he nor of me his prisoner but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God And St. John tells us plainly that seeing Christ hath laid down his Life for us we ought also to lay down our Lives for the good of others as Christ hath done for us though not for an expiatory Sacrifice like his 1 Jo. 3.16 Hereby saith he perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren This great act of love and mercy to us is to be an example to us to teach us to shew such to others and to lay down our Lives for the good of others and of the Church of Christ when it will be beneficial to them and God shall require this service at our hands By these and such places we may see that we are to suffer for our Jerusalem the Church of Christ when our sufferings will be beneficial to it if we will not be wanting in our love and duty towards it The words of the Text do not fully declare this but yet we see that other places of the Scriptures do If our hearts are so fully set upon our Jerusalem the true Protestant Church as they should and if we do earnestly desire the Peace and Good and Welfare thereof as we ought Then are we to give what assistance we can towards them by these and such lawful ways as these And likewise towards the Peace and Prosperity of our Kingdom and Nation II. We have here in the Text a promise and assurance of a blessing of Prosperity to them that truely loved Jerusalam They shall prosper that love thee All those that did bear true love and hearty good-will to Jerusalem the City of the great King where his magnificent Temple was and shewed a pious Zeal for it and were
ready to do all the good offices for it that they could they were assured from hence that the blessing of Prosperity should come upon them and that they should be well rewarded for all the good acts that they should do for it And the Royal Psalmist King David himself is an eminent Instance of this For he was inflamed with a very great love towards this place which God had chosen to record his Sacred Name there and for the true Worship and Service of Almighty God and for the promoting of true Religion among men And we see that he was abundantly rewarded with prosperity and good for all the acts of piety that he shewed herein procuring hereby the blessing of God both upon himself and upon his Posterity too And we may see that others also have been prosperous and happy that have had great Love and Zeal for the true Religion and pure Worship and Service of Almighty God And ftom hence may we be assured that the Blessing of God will come upon all those now that love our Jerusalem and seek the Peace and Good thereof That they shall be sure to be well rewarded that have hearty Love and a pious Zeal for the Protestant Church and seek the Peace and Welfare thereof and of our Kingdom and Nation From these words of the Text we may be assured that a blessed reward doth await all such as shew a pious care and do any good deeds towards the Church of Christ and in the word of God we have more promises to this effect assuring us of a reward both in this life and that which is to come And the true Christian Church being the Heavenly Jerusalem and the City of God and the Spouse of Christ the Bride the Lamb's wife Rev. 21.9 We may be sure from hence that all the pious acts that are done towards it will not go unrewarded For God saith the Apostle Heb. 6.10 is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love which ye have shewed towards his Name in that ye have ministred to the Saints and do minister All acts of piety and love shewed towards the Saints and Servants of God or any other ways towards his Name will not be forgotten but be surely and abundantly rewarded Our Lord doth assure us that such as seek the Kingdom of God shall have a good portion of the good things of this life Matth. 6.33 But seek ye first the Kingdom of God saith he and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you Such as seek the Kingdom of God and yield any succour and help to it are like to have no want of earthly comforts and enjoyments but are assured of them so far as shall be good for them And those that suffer upon the account of the Gospel our Lord tells us are like to be rewarded both here and hereafter too Mar. 10.29 And Jesus answered and said verily I say unto you there is no man that hath left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the Gospel's But he shall receive an hundred fold now in this time houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions and in the world to come eternal Life The parting with any thing for the sake of Christ and the Gospel will be abundantly recompensed both here and hereafter too And so saith our Lord concerning those that part with any thing for the sake of the Kingdom of God Lu. 18.29 And he said unto them verily I say unto you there is no man that hath left house or parents or brethren or wâ—fe or children for the Kingdom of God's sake who shall not receive manifold more in this present time and in the world to come Life everlasting And saith he Mar. 8.35 But whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gâ—spel s the same shall save it These places do shew that what is done and suffered for the sake of the Gospel shall be well rewarded and so is all like to be that is done for the Protestant Church wherein the pure Religion and Worship of God are preserved And our Lord doth shew that he will account all the pious acts that are done to his disciples as done to himself and accordingly will reward them at the day of Judgment Matth. 25.34 And saith he Matth. 10.41 He that receiveth a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shall receive a Prophet's reward and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward And so Mar. 9.41 For whosoever shall give yâ—u a cup of water to drink in my Name because ye belong to Christ verily I say unto you he shall not lose his reward This assurance doth our blessed Lord give that those shall be well rewarded that shew kindness to his disciples in all their wants and distressed conditions And from these and such places we may be sure that all acts tending any ways to the good of Christ's Church or to any part or member thereof shall be well taken and abundantly rewarded And a good and praise-worthy thing it is to do good in a righteous way towards the Peace and Welfare of one's Kingdom and Nation and will not wholly lose it's reward The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me saith Job 29.13 And the blessing of a Kingdom and Nation is like to come upon such as do good thereto in a lawful way and seek to preserve the Peace thereof and offer up their hearty prayers to Almighty God for it The Jews became advocates to our blessed Lord for the Centurion that had deserved well of their Nation and besought him to heal his servant and our Lord hearkened to their request Lu. 7.4 And when they came to Jesus they besought him instantly saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this For he loveth our nation and he hath built us a Synagogue Then Jesus went with them The praying for and shewing of love and piety towards the Christian Jerusalem is like to be abundantly rewarded And in doing of pious acts towards the Protestant Church of England we may be sure that we shall do so towards an eminent part of Christ's Church and shall be sharers in the great rewards of all such acts of piety towards the Church of Christ But as a blessing is like to come upon such as love and do good to the Christian Jerusalem So on the other hand we may see that great judgments and miseries are like to befal all those that have evil will thereto and offer it any Injury and Wrong This the Psalmist hath not asserted here in the Text but it is shewed by several other places