now on the contrary and pray mark it if you be such as choose the World for your Portion rather than God for your Portion if the world have the cream of your affections if it have the highest seat and room in your hearts if you be such as seek the world more than God earth more than heaven for as I have sometimes told you he that seeks earth more than heaven may well get earth but he shall never get heaven if you serve the world more than God and if you be such who trust in men more than you trust in God if you be as the Apostle speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Tim. 3.4 lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God in a word if you be hypocrites having onely a form of godlyness without the power of it if you be Apostates falling from your principles and from your own profession and draw back O! Heb. 10.38 saith God That man that draws back my soul shall have no pleasure in him If you be such as are impenitent and stubborn and unreformed under all corrections and under all instructions that The lead is consumed and the bellowes burnt Jer. 6.29 and all to no purpose if all means used for your reformation are ineffectuall that no good hath been wrought upon you after so many Sermons after so many warnings after so many corrections after so many checks of conscience after so many knocking 's at the doors of your hearts by the spirit of God if it be thus with you then you may fear you are in the number of those that God will cast off and castaway Jer. 6.30 Reprobate silver shall men call them because the Lord hath rejected them The Lord hath cast them off for ever O! that the Lord would make some of you your own judges by these seaven interrogatories I have now propounded to you by these and the like discoveries you may know whether you are in the number of those this Doctrine here speaks of that God will never cast off this is the first exhortation If you would have the comfort of this Doctrine make this sure to your selves that you are Gods Israel My second exhortation is this If God will never cast off his people his Israel as it is here in the Text he is the God of Israel when Israel is in captivity Then I beseech you let it be a powerfull perswasion to every one of us that seeing God is unwilling to cast us off that we would be unwilling to cast God off will not God cast off his people then let us who are his people resolve never to cast off him how sweet and savoury Josh 3.8 is that councel of Joshua to the Israelites but cleave unto the Lord your God as ye have done unto this day O! cleave to this God we live in times of Apostacy wherein some fall from their Principles others fall from their profession and others fall from the practise of a Godly life O! the wofull Apostacy defection and backsliding of these times of ours that which Eliphaz falsely charged upon Job may be truly charged upon many Professors in these days thou castest off fear Job 15.4 and restrainest prayer before God There are many in these dayes that cast off the fear of God and walk in wayes of libertinism and loosness and that cast off duty towards God and duty towards their Superiours and there are some that cast off love to Christ his truth and servants and that cast off his Ordinances too O! the Lord open their eyes that they may see what a Wilderness they have brought their poor souls into being without Gods great mercy at the very gates of death and everlasting ruine but I beseech you my brethren be not you of this number but as God speaks in the like case Hos 4.15 though Israel play the Harlot yet let not Judah offend so may I say though many Apostate and backslide in these daies yet be not you in the number of them be not you Apostates and backsliders I beseech you tell me what hath God done that you should cast him off come and testifie against him this day wherein hath he done you hurt what iniquity have you found in God that you are weary of him as our Saviour faith John 10.32 many good works have I shewed you from my Father for which of those works do you stone mee So may I say to you many mercies hath God bestowed upon you mercy upon mercy mercies of his right hand and mercies of his left hand mercies positive and mercies privative mercies in hand and mercies in hope now for which of all these mercies have you cast him off O hearken to that counsell 2. Chron. 15.2 The Lord is with you while ye be with him and if ye seek him he will be found of you but if ye forsake him he will forsake you if you cast him off here he will cast you off at that great day when you would give all the world for one smilē of his face The last Use of this Doctrine is this Vse 4 Doth not God really cast off his people when be doth it seemingly is he Israels God when Israel is in captivity this then is matter of unspeakable comfort to all Gods people to all true Nathanaels whose hearts are sincere and upright in the midst of all their streights and doubts and fears in the midst of all their troubles and tryals and dangers and distresses whatsoever what though God cast thee upon thy bed of sickness where thou maist meet with strong pains yet he will not cast thee off and what though God cast thee into prison yet he will not cast thee off what though God cast thee into captivity and into a Land of strangers and bondage yet he will not cast thee off Nay what though God cast thee into such a condition that thou art out of the reach of humane help as in the case of distraction and desertion in the case of distraction none can restore the use of reason but he that gave us reason and in the case of desertion none can take off wrath from the conscience but he that set it on What though God cast thee into such a condition that thou walkest in darkness and seest no light yet God will not cast thee off Nay what though God should let loose Sathan upon thee for a while to buffet thee as you know St Paul had an Angel of Sathan to buffet him so Sathan may be let loose upon thee to buffet thee to tempt thee with the batteries of hell why yet he will not cast thee off nay God will so order it that although his temptation may wound thy soul yet it shall not hurt thy soul Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall saith David speaking of Saul Psal 18.13 but the Lord helped me so Sathan thrusts sore at us O many a bitter stroak and many a poisoned arrow and
many a fiery dart Sathan seeks to wound us with at one time or other I but God is our help God will not cast us off for all that True indeed we are troubled on every side yet not distressed 2 Cor. 4.9 we are perplexed but not in despair It is an elegant expression in the Greek tongue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. perplexed but not in despair persecuted but not forsaken cast down but not destroyed Cast down I but not cast off we may be cast into adversity and be cast off by men and yet not be cast off by God for all that O what a consolation may this be to every one of Gods children That is an excellent Scripture Isa 54.10 For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed but my kindness shall not depart from thee neither shall the Covenaxt of my peace be removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee O comfort your selves with that Text of Scripture therefore as the Apostle saith triumphingly Rom. 8.35 to the end Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword nay saith he in all these things we are more than conquerers We conquer when kil'd kil'd and not destroyed death may make a separation between body and soul but it can never make a separation between the soul and Christ Neither things present nor things to come nor bonds nor imprisonment nor sickness nor banishment nor fiery Furnace nor Lionsden nor Principalities nor powers nor life nor death nor Devils nor any thing shall ever make a separation between God and his people he will never cast them off in any of these conditions O that we could but suck the sweetness of this consolation and lay it up as a Cordiall for a fainting day And thus I have done with the first Point of Doctrine gathered from the first branch of the Text the Author of this comfortable message it is the Lord the God of Israel he is Israels God when Israel is carried captive therefore though God may cast off his people seemingly yet he doth not cast them off when he seems to cast them off It remains I should come to the second branch of the Text and that is the message it self I will own them and acknowledge them saith God like these good figgs But of that I shall speak something by Gods assistance in the further prosecution of the Text. SERMON II. Jeremiah Chap. 24. Verse 5. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel Like these good Figs so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah whom I have sent out of this place into the Land of the Caldeans for their good YOu know what entrance I made into this Text two parts I shewed are considerable in it The Author of a comfortable Message and the Message self The Author of the comfortable Message is the Lord described here by his relation to his people the God of Israel and this first branch I have dispatched I come now to the second branch of the Text and that is the Message it self Wherein we have first the explication of a Type and then the application of it The explication of a Type in these words Like these good Figs where the Lord informs the Prophet Jeremiah what is the meaning of the Vision of the two baskets of Figs the one of good Figs the other of bad Figs Like these good Figs saith God so are all those good or godly persons whom I have sent away captive into Babylon so that God here compares the small number of godly ones that were yet carried captive to Babylon to Figs and he compares them to good Figs. But here it may be demanded first Why are these godly persons compared to Figs I answer For these three Reasons briefly First Because all the goodness they had in them was of Gods own planning Isa 60.21 The branch of my planting the work of my hands that I may be glorified Secondly They are compared to Figs because as Figs you know ever grow more and more till they come to a ripeness and maturity that they may be fit for the Gardiner that planted them so did these godly persons grow more and more in grace till they came to some ripeness and maturity that they might be fit for the service of that God who had bestowed this grace upon them fit to glorifie him here and fit to be glorified of him hereafter And then thirdly As Figs when they are ripe they are very pleasant and delightfull they were much esteemed and desired among the Jews as appears by Hosea 9.10 I saw your fathers saith God as the first ripe in the Fig tree so likewise these godly persons that had the Image of God stampt upon them and were now trees of righteÌ„ousness that brought forth fruit unto God they were very delightfull unto God God was well pleased with them Psal 147.11 The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him in those that hope in his mercy And by the way you may observe there a very sweet conjunction between fearing God and putting our trust in his mercy we must so fear the Lord that we still put our trust in his mercy lest we should despair and so put our trust in his mercy that we fear him lest we should presume but that I quote the Scripture for is this the Lord delights in them thaâ— fear him and it is very much that God should take delight in such poor despicable creatures as we are 〈◊〉 and we have a very strange expression 1 Chron. 29.17 I know also my God that thou takest pleasure in uprightness a wonderfull condescension that the great God of Heaven and earth should take pleasure in any service that such poor worthless worms as we are can performâ—â— that the Lord should take pleasurâ— in us or in any thing that is in us but we must know that uprightnesâ— is the work of Gods own Spirit iâ— our hearts and therefore God fiâ—â—â— bestowes the graces of his Spirit up on his servants which are call'â— the fruits of his Spirit and then hâ— delights in his own fruits according to that of the Psalmist Psal 104.31 The Lord rejoyceth in his own works that is in the works of his own Spirit that he hath wrought And St Austin hath a sweet Meditation upon it Lord saith he do not thou look upon my own works but look upon thy own works in my heart for if thou lookest upon my works I shall be cursed but if thou lookest upon thy own works I shall be crowned God takes delight in his own works he crowns his own gifts not our merits in us Thus you see why they are called Figs. But then secondly it may be demanded How these could be called good Figs when our blessed Saviour saith expresly Matth. 19.17 There is none good but One that is God To this I answer It is true
point of Doctrine and I shall by Gods assistance give you them in this and another Sermon in the afternoon We will begin with the Application of this Message in the first way of comfort saies God So will I acknowledge them that are carryed away Captive of Judah So will I acknowledge them that is I will own them I will take speciall notice of them Mine eyes and my heart shall be toward them although I have sent them away Captive into Bahylon yet notwithstanding they shall know that I am their freind and I am their father still and that I have not cast them off The point of Doctrine then that I would commend to you from hence is this That God doth graciously acknowledge Doct. and own his servants in the day of their dangers and distresses Psal 31.7 Thou hast considered my trouble thou hast known my soul in adversity And that is a comfortable Scripture Ps 22.24 he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted neither hath he hid his face from him but when he cryed unto him he heard him God doth not abhor nor despise the affliction of his poor afflicted servants he doth not hide away his face from them he doth no look aside as if he regarded them not in the day of their distresses God owned his people Israel in Egypt when they were among the Brickilns when they were making their Pots when they were poor Bondslaves Exod. 4.22 saies God there to Moses Go to Pharaoh and say Thus saith the Lord Israel is my son even my first born and therefore let him go As if the Lord should say although Israel be amongst the Pots yet he is my son still and although he be under Bondage yet he is my first born still How passionately and affectionately doth God speak Act. 7.34 I have seen I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt the ingemination of the word shewes the earstness of Gods affections as I may call them not that God hath affections but it is spoken after the manner of men because he doth that which men doe when their affections and bowels yearn toward those that are in misery and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel But for the explication of the Point It may be demanded First How doth God own and acknowledge his people in the day of their dangers and distresses And then secondly why doth he own them First How doth God own them I answer God owns them three waies First By being present with them Secondly By supporting of them And thirdly By delivering them First God owns his people in the day of their distresses by being present with them Psal 91.15 He shall call upon me and I will answer him I will be with him in trouble And Isa 43.2 When thou passests through the waters I will be with thee and through the Rivers they shall not overflow thee when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned neither shall the flame kindle upon thee So in Isa 63.9 In all their affliction he was afflicted and the Angel of his presence saved them If Joseph be in Prison God will be with him there If Job be on the dunghil God will be with him there If Jeremiah be in the dungeon God will be with him there If Daniel be in the Lions-den God will be with him there Nay when his Children pass through the valley of the shadow of death when they pass as it were by the gates of hell yet notwithstanding his rod and his staff do then comfort them as he once said thy presence O Lord it can sweeten Lawrence his Gridiron the presence of God it can turn a Prison into a Pallace it can turn a very hell into a heaven what makes heaven to be heaven but Gods presence and what makes hell to be hell but Gods absence Now for God to be present thus with his people in their trouble this is one way of his owning them Secondly God doth own his people in their distresses by supporting them by upholding them with the right hand of his righteousness that their burthens shall not be too heavy for them but either he will proportion their burthens to their shoulders or their shoulders to their burthens that they shall stand under them Isa 41.10 Fear thou not for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness And this is that which David found in his own experience Psal 94.17 18 19. Vnless the Lord had been my help my soul had almost dwel◠in silence when I said my foot slippeth thy mercy O Lord held me up In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts refresh my soul It is storied of one Theodorus whom Julian the Apostate caused to be rackt à nd tortureed and put to extream torments that in the midst of his torments there was an Angel as Theodoret tels the story in the likeness of a young man that stood by him and with a linnen cloath did wipe the sweat from off him and powred cool water upon his vexed and tortured limbs and by that means did refresh and comfort him and our blessed Saviour you know in that agony when he sweat drops of blood had an Angel with him to comfort him God knows how to comfort and support his Children and to stand by them in the greatest of their distresses and so he owns them And then thirdly God owns his Children by delivering them out of all their distresses Psal 34.19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all And that is a very remarkeable Scripture Jeremiah 50.33.34 Thus saith the Lord of hosts the Children of Israel and the Children of Judah were oppressed together and all that took them Captives held them jast they refused to let them go but their redemer is strong the Lord of hosts is his Name he shall thorowly plead their cause that he may give rest unto the Land and disquiet the in habitants of Babylon God will not alwaies let the rod of the wicked rest upon the lot of the righteous And thus you see that God owns his people in their distresses But then why doth he own them The reason is this briefly because his children are very dear unto him he looks upon them as his jewelt Mal. 3.17 a text you know I have heretofore opened unto you he looks upon them as his precious ones as the dearly beloved of his soul he looks upon them as the apple of his own eye and therefore no change of condition in his children can make God change his love and affections towards them and though God may sometimes cast them into the furnace of affliction it is onely to purge away their dross and he loves them when in the fire as well as when they are out of it and he is
the earth more easily than you can toss a tennis ball nay fear ye not me that can cast soul and body into hell fire Mat. 10.28 When there is a mighty Prince or Potentate that hath power in his hands to strip you of your liberties of your estates and lives and he is incensed against you O! what terrour and trembbling takes hold of you and how do you crouch and cringe and comply and make friends and study all the ways that ever you can to get the favour of that Prince or Potentate as you read Acts 12.20 When Herod was highly displeased with the men of Tyre and Sidon they got Blastus the Kings Chamberlaine to be their friend and beg tearms of peace for them Now art thou afraid of a mortall man whose breath is in his Nostrils and art not afraid of the great Creator of heaven and earth Isa 51 12.13 Who art thou that art afraid of a man that shalldy and of the Son of man which shall be made as grass and forgetest the Lord thy maker that hath stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth Consider this all you that are great ones or men of great estates and therefore think you may bolster up your selves in your wickedness no no know thus much this great Jehovah against whom you sin he is the great Lord he is greater than the greatest it is he that can visit with his anger and with his fury and with his indignation poured forth Nah. 1.5.6.7 The Mountains quake at him and the hils melt and the earth is burnt up at his presence yea the world and all that dwell therein who can stand before his indignation and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger his fury is poured out like fire and the rocks melt before him Psal 149.8 It is he that can bind Kings in chains and Nobles in fetters of iron It is he that is the Lord of hosts that hath all creatures in heaven and earth to avenge his quarel It is this great God likewise that can punish great and small without respect of persons and therefore they on whom God bestows great mercies if they abound in great sins they shall have great punishment inflicted upon them Potentes potentèr punienter as one said Mighty men shall be mightily tormented O whence is it that we no more fear this great God before whom the rocks melt nay the devils tremble Are our hearts harder than rocks Are we more fearless than devils Stand in awe then and sin not most men sin and tremble not but do you tremble and sin not Consider we are all in the hands of this great God as a little fly in the paw of a roaring lion we are all before him as clay in the hands of the Potter nay we are all before him as dry stubble before the consuming fire Do we provoke the Lord to jealousie Are we stronger than he 1 Cor. 10.22 Consider what advantage he hath against us and consider also what dependance we have upon him and then learn to sear him and to stand in awe of him This is the first Use it is the great God that hath the rod in his hand and he is the Author of all the miseries that come upon us therefore let us tremble before him The second Use is for instruction and admonition If God be the author of all the miserie that befals us then let us take off our eys from instruments and second causes look not so much at man at the instruments of our misery but look upon God who is the author of our misery O that every one of us could but say as that good woman Naomi Ruth 1.13 saies she the hand of the Lord is gone out against me Could we but look at God the author more than at the instruments of our misery we should have great advantage by it You will say what advantage there is a fourfold advantage we shall have by it First This will work the sweet effect of contentment and quietation in our hearts it will meeken and quiet and calme our spirits that we shall not fret and fume at any dispensation of God though it seem never so harsh and severe Psal 39.9 I was dumb and opened not my mouth because thou didst it and 1 Sam. 3.18 saies Eli when a heavy message came to him It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good Secondly This will root out that spirit of revenge that usually is in our hearts when they are burning and boyling against those that are the instruments of our misery We are many times like the Dog that snarles at the stone and looks not at the hand that cast it so we snarl and fret and boyl in our spirits against those who are the instruments of our troubles whereas did we but look at the hand that cast the stone it would take the spirit of revenge out of our hearts Such a spirit was in David as I shewed you even now he looked not at Shimei cursing him but at God that bid him curse and therefore would not be revenged on Shimei Such a Spirit was in Joseph Gen. 45.8 Saies he to his brethren It was not you that sent me hither but God Why may some say it was his brethren for did not they sell Joseph to the Ismaelites and by that means was he not carried into Egypt I but Joseph looks not to the instruments but to God and therefore though his brethren had misgiving thoughts surely our brother will remember this Gen. 50.15 and be avenged on us for all the wrong we did him yet Joseph answers them otherwise 't is true sales he you intended evil to me but God turned it for good therefore be not troubled I have no revenge in my heart and fear not for I will nourish you and your little ones He lookt at God in all And Thirdly this will provoke us to repentance and to return to God that smites us Hos 6.1 Come and let us return unto the Lord for he hath torn and he will heal us he hath smitten and he will bind us up As in the case of mercies if we do not look upon God as the author of our mercies we can never be thankfull and improve them to his Glory So likewise in the case of afflictions if we look not upon God as the Author of our miseries we can never be penitent and humble Fourthly We shall have this advantage also this will work our hearts to a patient and quiet waiting upon God with faith and confidence for deliverance 2 King 6.33 you read of King Jehoram a prophane King yet he taught a true doctrine saies he this evil is of the Lord. A true Doctrine but he made a false use and application of it therefore why should I wait upon him any longer For the reason holds strong on the contrary side this evil is from the Lord therefore I should wait