Heaven In a word they should be in the spirit which duty must first look upwards We should strive to be in the assistances of the Spirit Holy duties without the holy Spirit are onely the carcasses of Religion like profession without practice which is offensive and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost useless such services bring neither glory to God advantage to our selves or benefit to others and all are of no more significancy then a body when the spirits are fled away On the morning therefore we must incessantly beg the divine assistances of Gods blessed Spirit It is the Spirit fits for Magistratical Luke 11. 13. dignities Num. 11. 25 26. It is the spirit fits for ministerial Numb 27 18. services 2 Kings 2. 9. and it is the spirit fits us all for Christian and holy duties The Spirit directs us unto holy duties Simeon came into the Temple by the spirit Luke 2. 27. the good spirit directed him to meet Jesus How often doth Gods spirit excite and provoke to holy Prayer to secret meditation and to those close devotions wherein the soul tasteth deepest of Christs flaggons and apples This inward Counsellour is often Cant. 2 5. restless in us till it â—end our knees lift up our hands and raise our hearts in sacred approaches to the divine Majesty The Spirit leads the Saint into solitariness to converse with God as once it did lead Christ into the Wilderness to be temped Mat. 4. 1. of Satan this divine principle with us is importunate Luke 4. 1. till it put us upon enquiries after God The holy Spirit quickens us in duties John 6. 63. and makes us lively and vigorous Corrupt nature takes off the wheeles in holy services flaggs and casts a damp upon us in Christus dicitur non spiritus vivens sed vivificans 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Spiritus vitarum Theoph. such heavenly intercourse but the Spirit oyles the wheeles to make them go with greater speed When the soul is carried out by the Spirit how full is it of holy heaâ— divine zeal and rare enlargement as if of late it had conversed with a Seraphim his tongue is the pen of a ready writer Psalm 45. 2. and his heart is like a bubbling Fountain he melts in prayer as the Cloud into drops Paul assisted by this good Spirit runs on till midnight Acts 20. 7. and knows not how to break off his sacred discourses And our ever 1 Cor. 15. 45. to be admired Saviour raised and quickned by the same spirit wrestles with God in prayer all night Luke 6. 12. the very arteries of that duty were stretched out by that divine Spirit which was given to Christ without measure John 3. 34. The Spirit then is the animation of our holy performances without which they saint and die away The holy Spirit sustains us in holy duties Psal 51. 12. Mans spirit would quickly fail in wrestling with God was it Spiritus promptus scil graece 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hebraicè 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 alacâ—iter festinans Lyrus habet duo vocabulà Dolanta 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—ucundus not under-propt by this good Spirit The most sparkling wine if it stand long it will grow flat and dead And though the spirit of man be willing Mat. 26. 41. yet while it is in the body it will be soon tired and flag in holy duties which are so contrary to corrupt flesh but then the Divine Spirit comes in and renews poor mans strength like the Eagle and so he runs through holy services and faints not the annointing of the Spirit makes him agill and fresh and holy Ordinances are not his burden but his satisfaction Believers offer their sacrifices as Christ did himself Heb. 9. 14. through the eternal Spirit who recruits them continually with additional strength and vivacity The blessed Spirit causeth us to overflow in holy duties Job 32. 18. Our rich enlargements in Prayers and other Gospel services are from the good spirit of God when the heart Psalm 45. 1. bubbles and runs over in holy discourse and when the Eructans cor significat cordis locutionem cum nondum ad os pervenit et querit illam emittere circum volvitur et movetur huc et illuc et volutatur egressum quaerens quem prae gaudio non primo impeâ—u invenit c. Felix Praton mind flutters and flyes high in holy meditation and when our affections dilate and follow hard after Jesus Christ all this is from the Spirits gracious and divine assistance 2 Cor. 3. 16. It is the holy Spirit spreads our duties like Gold to greater extensions and oftentimes makes the Saint in duty query whether he be in the body or out of the body 2 Cor. 12. 2. His heart is like the squeezed Grapes overflowing with wine which is better then the drink of Angels It was the Spirit enlarged Solomons heart in that divine Prayer at the dedication of the Temple 1 Kings 8. 22 23. It was the Spirit enlarged Daniels heart in Prayer to hasten deliverance from the Babylonish captivity Dan. 9. 4. It was the Spirit enlarged Jonah s heart in Prayer when the Whales belly was consecrated into an Oratory Numb 18. 27. Jonah 2. 2. It is the Lords good Spirit which makes mans Deut. 15. 14. heart as the gushing streams or the over-flowing Fat or the Numb 18 30. dropping Wine-press in services Evangelical John 3. 8. It is the Spirit sweetens duty As Christ when he was at prayer rejoyced in spirit Luke 10. 21. Duties are sadned by mans sin but are refreshed by Gods Spirit David acted Mat. 17. 1 2. by this blessed Principle delighted so much in duty Luke 9. 29. that he begs to spend his whole life in the Temple of God Psal 27. 4. Ordinances become mellifluous by the concomitancy of Gods Spirit which often turneth them into a transfiguration As it is reported of Basil that when Greg. Orat. de laud. Bas the Emperour came upon him while he was at prayer he saw such lustre in the face of holy Basil that he was struck with terrous and fell backwards It is the Spirit ravishes the Fructus spirituâ— est gaudium sed impura voluptas est similis voluptati quâ afficiunâ—â— scabiosi cum se scalpunt Chrys heart indulcorates and captivates the soul in holy duty and toucheth the tongue with a Coal from the Altar Isa 6. 6 7. which turns all into a perfumed flame The Apostle saith the fruit of the spirit is joy Gal. 5. 22. which is never so fresh and diffusive as in holy services Ordinances are the spiritual opportunities wherein the Comforter John 14. 16. sheds abroad his comforts in the soul It is the Spirit which helps our infirmities in holy duties As in Prayer Rom. 8. 26 27. so in other spiritual services When we are flat the Spirit quickens us when
inquam animus ad eandem quoque sanctificationem ritè preparetur Wal. of Canaan so were they filled with Corn when they came to Joseph in Aeygpt And according as we prepare our hearts at home in the week time so our comfortable fillings shall be when we come before the Lord on his own day He that expects from his field a large crop and a plenteous harvest must before hand take pains in plowing and well preparing the ground we do not before hand take preparatory pains and that is the reason we reap so little in Sabbath-time man naturally is slow of heart Luke 24. 25. Duty and Industry must help Nature that so our sluggish hearts may be fitted for the receiving of those blessings which usually attend the Sabbath day Emptied vessels take in the liquor Pruned Vines become fruitfull and feracious And dressed Gardens cast the sweetest smells And so the heart mollified with penitential tears pruned by resolute mortification and turned up by frequent search will be accommodate for the magnificent plantations of Sabbath graces Of Zeal and Fervency Can we observe the several Holy-dayes to have their Eves wherein some Service and Liturgy must be used for preparation The Chappels and Cathedrals 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hippo. must be frequented and prayers must be made because some Saints day is approaching and the neglect of this duty is adjudged an indignity by many great ones in the Church Shall a day dedicated to a Saint to an Apostle to a Martyr be ushered in with preparatory services and must the holy Sabbath the day dedicated to the Lord Jesus God blessed Rom. 9. 5. Christus est deus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 super omnes aut super omnia eodem sensu Par. for ever have no Eve no preparatory duties no services to proclaim its coming But the preceding day must be spent in a more eager pursuit of the World then we frequent the Markets mind our shops reckon with our workmen pierce further into the night for our worldly business and we catch greedily after the flying week now drawing towards an end what is this but to give more honour to the Saints day then the Sabbath day to an ordination of the Church then an institution of Christ Shall the blessed Sabbath have no evidence no sign of its coming no preparatory Prayers no precursory pains Must the holy days Eve have the Cathedral for service and not the Sabbath Eve have the Closet for preparation Where is our zeal for Gods honour and Gods day It is very strange that the Saints Festivals should be introduced with greater solemnity then Christs holy day Surely this doth not become the Christian who is or should be sick of love with his beloved Cant. 2. 5. Of Holy Ingenuity Shall we be out-vied by the Jewes the vagabond Jewes in our preparations for the Sabbath Shall they be so exact and we so negligent Let not a blasphemous Jew rise up in judgement against us And here I shall open the care of the Jewes in preparing for the Sabbath Scalig. de Emend temp Lib. 6 p. 261. The Jewes formerly gave and for the present do give very solemn and great honour to their Sabbath The week days they called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cholim Prophane as the Greeks call them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 working days and in respect of the different degrees of holiness of dayes the Sabbath day is not unfitly Scalig. de Emend temp Lib. 6. p. 269. compared to a Queen or to those who are termed primary Wives other feast dayes to Concubines or half-wives working dayes to Hand-maids The Jewes began the Sabbath at six of the clock the night before And this the Graecians called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the Hebrews 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Biath Hasabbath the enterance of the Sabbath Their preparation Joseph Anti. lib. 16. cap 10. to the Sabbath began at three of the clock in the afternoon which the Hebrews call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gnereb ha-Sabbath the Sabbath Eve and this the Fathers called Caenam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 puram the pure Supper the phrase being borrowed In vitibus Paganorum coenâ— pura appellabatur illis apponi solita qui in casto erant quod Graeci dicunt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isa Causab Mark 15. 42. Luke 23. 54. from the Pagans whose Religion taught them in their sacrifices to certain of their Gods and Goddesses to prepare themselves by a strict kind of holiness observe the very Heathens prepared for their sacrifices to their Idol Gods and Goddesses This preparation for the Sabbath is by the Evangelist called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a preparation Mark 15. 42. whose words are these And now when Even was come because it was the preparation i. e. the day before the Sabbath To the same purpose the Evangelist Luke Luk. 23. 54. And that day was the preparation and the Sabbath drew on And among the Jews the whole day was a kind of preparation for on this preparation day they might not go more then three Parsoth now a Parsa contained so much ground as an ordinary man might go ten of them in a day and Judges on this day might not sit in Judgement upon life and death c. And so carefull were the Jews of observing the time of their preparation for the Sabbath that the best Buxtorf Synag Judaic Cap. 10 〈◊〉 â—almud and wealthiest of them even those who had many servants did with their own hands further the preparation so that sometimes the Masters themselves they would chop herbs sweep the house cleave wood kindle the fire and such like In old time they proclaimed the preparation with noyse of Trumpets or Horns but now the modern Jewes proclaim it by the Sexton or some under Officer of the Church whom they call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Shihach Tsibbur the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hospin de Fest Jud. messenger of the Congregation and this messenger advised them that they should prepare seasonably for the worthy Celebration of the Sabbath Hospinian tells us and his testimony is Authentical that when the Sexton gives notice of the approaching Sabbath that then they prepared all those meats they were to feed upon the succeeding Sabbath and put them upon a table covered with a clean cloth then they washed their heads pared their nails and prepared their Sabbath apparel The Sun setting the woman Occidente sole mulieres lumina Sabbataria accendunt mulier quaeque domi ambas suas manus versus lumen expandit et precatiunculam quandam peculiarem demurmurat Hosp Cum aliqui longiore spatio itiâ—eris ab hospitio aut aedibâ—â— suis abiit die Veneris quà m die Sabbatino conficere licet in agris vel mediâ sylvâ ubicunque ille sit manere et ibidem quiescere et Sabbatum servare neglecto omni periculo et injuriâ cibi et poâ—us debet Hosp The
spirit who is our intercessour within us And in correspondence to this blessed Trinity there Rom. 8. 26 27. are three species of beings who enjoy glory the glorious God the holy Angels the glorified Saints and thus meditation may tune the morning of a Sabbath and the musick may sound all the ensuing day CHAP. XXII God is most illustrious in his Bounty and Presence WE must meditate on the morning of a Sabbath not onely on the nature of God on the attributes of God and on the works of God but likewise on the bounty of God and his indulgence in giving us his Sabbath Our very work on this day is our reward our spiritual duties are our greatest dignities O what an honour what a favour what a happiness doth God vouchsafe us in giving us this golden season David though a King and the Head of the Psal 84. 10. Psal 42. 2. best people in the world esteemed it an honour to be the lowest Officer in Gods house Psal 84. 10. The ordinances Psal 63. 2. of God are called our appearing before God Psal 42. 2. The fruition of them is as the seeing of his face Capernaum Deut. 4. 7. because of them was lifted up to heaven Mat. 11. 23. Who can tell what honour it is to appear in the presence of this King Or what happiness to see his lovely countenance In the ordinances of God the Christian hath sweet communion with ravishing delight in and enflamed affection to the blessed God if in them he tasts God to be gracious and hath the first fruits of his glorious and eternal harvest Well might the Protestants of France call the place of their publick meeting on Gods holy day Paradise Ordinances are heaven in a Glass and the Londs day is heaven in a Map O the bounty of God in giving us this blessed day This day is to be valued at a high rate therein we enjoy fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ we have tasts of the Spirit and feel the influential impressions of his grace we are going up the stairs till we come to the highest loft of 1 Joh. 1. 3. Psal 34. 8. glory The Jewes call the week dayes prophane dayes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but the Sabbath a holy and precious day The Greeks call week days working dayes but the Sabbath is a day of sweet rest Other dayes are common and ordinary dayes but this holy Sabbath is the chief of dayes Many daughters have done vertuously but thou excellest them all Many dayes as Lecture Prov. 31. 25. dayes Fast dayes Thanksgiving dayes have done vertuously but thou O Sabbath excellest them all Well might the good soul run to meet thee in the morning and salute thee with a Come my sweet spouse thee have I loved for thee have I longed and thou art my dearest delight How far then Honos ne sit onus nec verba spiritus verbera carnis should we be from accounting the Sabbath our burden and our attendance on Ordinances upon that blessed day our task or bondage O let us not esteem spiritual opportunities our fetters but our freedom Think what the Phaenix is among the birds the Lyon among the beasts the Fire among the elements the Prince among the Subjects that is the Lords day among other dayes Wax in the shop is worth something but wax put to some Deeds is worth thousands Ordinary dayes are wax in the shop but the Lords day is wax put to the deeds Upon this day Christ carries the soul into his wine-Cellar and his banner over him Cant. 2. 4. is love Can. 2. 4 5. Upon other dayes Christ feeds his members but on this day he feasts them on other dayes they have their ordinary dyet but on the Sabbath they have their exceedings on this day Christ brings forth his living waters Gen. 43. 34. his best wine Joh. 2. 10. His finest bread his Benjamins Haec visio non est personalis et Jacobi solummodò consolatio sed commune piorum solamen ut de praesentiâ et divino auxilio dubitemus Par mess On the Lords day Christ pitches his Tabernacle among us we are as it were taken up into the mount with God there to be transfigured before him Mat. 17. 2. When the Lord appeared unto Jacob in a vision by night he saw a Ladder erected between Heaven and Earth and the Lord on the top of it the Angels ascending and descending by it and when he awoke How dreadfull saith he is this place the Lord was here and I was not aware surely it is no other Gen. 28. 16 17. then the house of God and this is the gate of heaven Are not Hos 11. 9. our places of assembling the very gates of heaven In our Deut. 33. 3. solemn assemblies is there not a ladder erected between earth and heaven and is not the Lord at the top of it The gracious Sicut deus sanctus est sic etiam populum sonctificat et servat et in medio eorum est et apparet Riv. instructions which we receive are they not so many Angels descending The gracious motions which arise in our hearts upon meditation on Gods word upon thanksgiving to God or rejoycing in him or else sorrowing for our sins are they not as so many Angels ascending And have we not then great cause to be filled with admiration and holy gratulations to God for Sabbath indulgence for his rich bounty in the donation of his blessed day On the morning of the Sabbath let us meditate on the presence of God Many miscarriages are acted by man and many miseries do seize upon man for the neglect of this ever Deus totus oculus est et minima videt August seasonable meditation A solemn consideration of Gods presence would restrain us from sin would quicken us in duty would draw out our graces would compose our spirits and cast a holy awe upon us which things would be inductive of much fruitfulness and piety When we sin we forget Gods eye is upon us when we flag in duty we do not think God is nigh to us when we trifle away Sabbath we do not remember Gods hand will certainly be against us Now there is a two-fold presence of God There is a more general presence and God is present every where Deus presens est 1. Per Essentiam Psal 139. 12. 1 Chron. 28. 9. First By his Essence and so he fills all things 1 Kings 8. 27. and thus he fills heaven with his glory Earth with his goodness and Hell it self with his power and justice Secondly God is present every where by his knowledge so he beholds all things 2 Chron. 16. 9. Light and darkness 2 Per Cognitionem night and day are all one to him Psal 139. 12. He seeth the very imaginations of our hearts His eyes behold and his eye lids try the children of men Psal 11. 4.
a pleasant thing to behold the Sun Eccl. 11. 7. because it will not meet with its last setting till the consummation of the world Gold it self is despicable because corruptible 1 Pet. 1. 18. Duration is the excellency of every good thing that which makes grace it self look so lovely and beautiful it is because it cannot faint away it is as immortal as the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isid Pelus soul it enricheth this sets off its comeliness it cannot lose its beauty Cant. 8. 7. But to return to our Christian Sabbath It therefore differs from and hath the preheminence over the Sabbath of the Jews because it walks over its grave and will survive till all Gospel Institutions shall cease and our weekly Jubilees shall be turned into eternal triumph CHAP. XXV The Comparison of the Christians Sabbath here with his Eternal Sabbatism or Rest above AND that the joy of meditation may be full and may be wholly indefective in suitable objects to prey upon on Gods holy day especially in the morning so far as time and convenience will permit Let meditation look forward Dies Dominica est imago venturi seculi et assidua commotione vitae illius nunquam desiturae non negligimus ad eam demigrationem viaticum parore Bas or rather upward and observe what proportion our Sabbath here bears with our Sabbath above This pleasing task will cause meditation to renew its strength like an Eagle Psal 103. 5. and to take its flight with greater vigour and liveliness And to make the comparison more considerable we will observe wherein our earthly and our heavenly Sabbath do perfectly agree and then take notice wherein our heavenly doth transcendently outvy and surpass our earthly Our earthly Sabbath doth resemble our heavenly in the holy nature of it They are both holy our Sabbath here is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Exod. 35. 2. A holy day a day set apart Exod. 35. 2. Exod. 28 36. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by a holy God to be spent in holy services destinated to sacred and holy purposes vouchsafed for holy Communion with Jesus Christ and appointed as a blessed means to make us holy The Lords day as our Sabbath is called Rev. 1. 10. carries holiness in its very title It s name is written in the golden Letters of sanctity and so our heavenly Hoc Sabbatum aeternum inchoatur in renatis per spirituale Saâ—batum hujus vitae et consummabitur tandem in futurâ vitâ in quâ Deus erit omnia in omnibus Ger. In die judicii plenè et perfectè sub pedibus conteretur Satan In hâ◠vitâ reportant Pii victoriam ex pugnâ in futurâ plenâ—riè liberabuntur â— pugnâ Sabbath is an undefiled rest Heaven admits of no impure thing no unclean person Eph. 5. 5. There are no weeds in our Paradise above Our future Sabbath shall be an everlasting holy day we have there a holy God to behold a holy Redeemer to enjoy holy Angels to joyn issue with spotless and glorifyed Saints to delight in nay the rivers of pleasure which run at Gods right hand Psal 36. 8. Psal 16. 11. have Chrystalline streams and are excellent not only for their sweetness but their purity Every thing in glory is unblemished and without spot else heaven could not be the seate and residence of the great King A learned man observes Our eternal Sabbath is onely the consummation of our spiritual which consists in a full cessation from sin And indeed in heaven all causes of sin shall utterly and everlastingly cease First The Corruption of the Flesh Secondly The Temptations of Satan Thirdly The Seductions of the World Fourthly A Propensness to Evil. Fifthly A Faculty and capacity of offending In glory the Saints shall be endowed with such perfect purity that suppose Temptation could get within the Veil and intrude among the glorifyed Saints that Syren should no way impress or allure them So then our Sabbath here and hereafter both look fair because of holiness Our Sabbath here resembles our rest above in the duties and employments of it In our Sabbath below our whole business is with God we run it out in hearing something drop from the heart of God when we attend upon his word in making our humble addresses to God by secret and more publick prayer in fixing our fledged meditations on God in singing Psalms and making melody in our hearts to Eph. 5. 19. God The Saints task is wholly to serve God his priviledge Intra in gaudium Domini i. e. gaude de eo quo gaudet in qua gaudet Dominus sc de fruitione sui ipsius Tunc gaudet homo ut Dominus cùm fruitur ut Domiâ—us Aquin. is to enjoy communion with God his ambition is to Sun himself in the presence of God on Gods holy day And all our employment in our celestial Sabbath will be to rejoyce in God and to glorifie God we shall spend eternity in venting our joys for the blessed fruition of God I say in venting those joys First Which will be rare for the subject of them they are the joys of the Saints John 16. 22. Secondly Rare for the fountain and spring of them they are the joy of the Lord Mat. 25. 23. Thirdly Rare for the plenty of them it shall be the fulness 1 Pet. 1. 8. Exultabunt Sancti in gloriâ videbunt Deum et gaudebunt laetabuntur et delectabuntur fruentur gloriâ et in faelicitate jocundabuntur aeternâ Cypr. Beata Deitatis visio est gaudium Domini tui O gaudium super gaudium vincens omne gaudium extra quod non est gaudium Aug. of joy Psal 16. 11. Fourthly Rare for the adjunct of them joy in the Holy Ghost Rom. 14. 17. Fifthly Rare for the efficient cause of them they are joys from the Holy Spirit Isa 35. 10. Sixthly Rare for the characters of them our joy in our eternal Sabbath shall be First True in eternal cordial joy all the faculties of the soul shall tripudiate and leap for joy they shall be as a dancing Sun or as David danced before the Ark 2 Sam. 6. 14. and their several measures shall be the elevation of the exstacy The understanding shall joy in the Lord for its divine light the will shall joy in the Lord for its perfect consonancy to the divine will The memory shall joy in the Lord for its full strength and so the affections for their heavenly purity Secondly Our joy in our Sabbath above shall be sincere without mixture of grief or disgust Our worldly joys are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bitter-sweets sweet brier which can tear as Prov. 14. 13. well as sent but in our celestial Sabbath there shall be no Gall or Vinegar in our Cup. Thirdly Our joy in our Sabbath above shall be stable and sempiternal neither to be interrupted nor concluded because the fountain of it will be eternall viz. The sight of
of God shall be close and intimate and not onely the conveyance of delight but an affluence of all good things and desireable satisfactions God being the chiefest good our beholding him must needs return to us all unspeakable happiness all joy and sweetness in the highest degree Mat. 18. 10. Our Saviour avers hereafter the Elect shall be like the Angels Mat. 12. 25. Luke 20. 36. And how glorious Dei visio summum erit beatorum praemium Aug. is their sight of God! Those excellent spirits how do they fill their joyes from that ocean of pleasure which flows from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Greg. Nyssen de Virgin the beatifical vision Augustine saith our sight of God is our chief reward in heaven Gregory Nyssen takes notice That so far to be honoured as to see God is the consummation of our hope the full of our desires the top of all unspeakable good things I may add to see God is the issue and stage of our faith the sea of enjoyment into which the River of faith runs and is lost How infinitely greater then will our enjoyments in our Sabbath above be then those we attain to here in our Sabbath below In our Sabbath above there shall be fulness of joy Psal 16. 11. A torrent of pleasures which will be ever running and over-flowing but here our delights Imago dei sita est in hominis mente sive in eo quod homo sit in summo rerum gradu in quo est dâ—us et Angelus scil quod sit naturae spiritualis secundum animam et naturae intelligentis Alap in the Lord are faint and few like the Sun shining in a showre mixed with successive tears In our Sabbath above we shall be satisfied with the likeness of God Psal 17. 15. But here in our Sabbath below we must bemoan the iniquity of our holy things not onely the iniquity of our slips but of our services there are black spots upon the face of our fairest duties those which look with the most taking countenance our very tears had need of washing our prayers interceding for pardon and our sighs which are the hearts incense had need perfuming and when we are in our best dress we may be censured for uncomliness In our Sabbath above there shall be everlasting triumph and exultation Psal 68. 4. The Saints shall be alwayes glorying upon their beds of spices and on their Mountanes of prey everlasting Cant. 5. 13. joy shall be upon their heads as a triumphall Crown Isa 35 Isa 35. 10. 10. But here in our Sabbath below our rejoycing is soon Isa 61. 3. over-cast either God hides his face in displeasure or we let Isa 65. 14. fall our hands in duty and then our triumph is turned into Mat. 25. 21. trouble and we are ready to say Wo to us that we sojourn in a valley of Baca a wilderness of tears and inconstancy The two Sabbatht differ in their suavity and delight Indeed our Sabbath below is not wholly destitute of its sweets Exod. 16. 14. and consolations dews of delights fall upon it like Manna about the Israelites Camp there is marrow and fatness in the Ordinances of it Psal 63. 5. There are refreshings and The sweetness of holy duties Psal 104. 34. Job 23. 12. Acts 10. 10. Dan. 9. 21. perfumed gusts in holy duties Davids meditations were sweet and lushious Psal 104. 34. Job perfers Gods word above his necessary food Job 23. 12. John was in the spirit on the Lords day Rev. 1. 10. in an excess of joy and in the height of intellectual rapture Peter in his prayers was in a trance Acts 10. 10. he was carried above himself and saw heaven opened to present him with unwonted views Daniel in the midst of his supplications had the prospect and company of an Angel Dan. 9. 21. An inhabitant of glory descends to congratulate and accost him nay oftentimes the word is sweeter then honey to the tast of the hearer Psal 19. 10. And while we attend upon it we feed upon dropping honey-combs Peter preaching to his Auditory there falls a showre of the spirit and heaven came Compositio thymiamitis offerri debuit coram domino Altare enim incensâ— ob eam causam fuerat constructum Riv. down to visit the Congregation Holy duties how often are they spiced with unspeakable delight and complacency Among the Oblations of the Jews there were perfumes to be offered upon the Altar of Incense Exod. 30. 1 7. And our Gospel Sacrifices are often sweetned with inward joy and consolation If Christ meet us in a duty or an ordinance he drops sweetness from his voyce Cant. 2. 14. sweetness from his lips Cant. 5. 13. sweetness from his fingers Exod. 30 34. Psal 119. 103. Psal 141. 6. Lev. 16. 14. Cant. 5. 5. sweetness from his cheeks Cant. 5. 13. sweetness from his mouth Cant. 5. 16. If we tast any thing of his fruit it is very sweet Cant. 2. 3. when Christ gives a visit he is every way sweet to the soul The Sabbath receives an additional delight from the Fructus Christiâ— dulcis est accipi potest de praedicatione Evangèlii aut de contemplatione dei aut deconsolatione Sacramenti Del Rio. Communion of Saints we do not only meet with God but with his people on his sacred Sabbath we flock as Doves to the windows and as stars meet in a constellation as morning stars we sing together David remembers with some kind of complacency the joy he had in going to the Sanctuary with the multitude Psal 42. 4. The Primitive Christians prayed and brake bread together Acts 2. 42. Their harmony was their happiness and their society was their satisfaction But yet all these sweets have their allayes their damps and their ecclipses they are as the shining moon behind Isa 60. 8. a cloud they yield onely a duskish light Isa 38. 7. First The sweets of our present Sabbath are onely partial they may delight the soul they do not delight the body a diseased body is not cured at a Sermon a tormented body is not eased at an Ordinance if we read the dim eye is not made more vivacious if we receive the Sacrament the paralitical hand is not made more steddy the hand of faith may be strengthned but not the hand of flesh moreover the Ordinances they may delight the mind with information when they do not affect the heart with gracious impressions Hos 6. 3. they may be our Counsellers when they are not Psal 119. 24. our Comforters they may convey gladness when they do not transmit grace to us Mark 6. 20. Nay they may cherish one grace when they do not recruit another The word Maledicere rebus irrationalibus in se consideratis est otiosum vanum Aquin. may be a pillar to our faith when it is not a prop to our patience as Job he flings in his troubles Job
Shepherd of our souls the musick of the Gospel allures us the truths of the Gospel enlighten us the power of the Gospel saves us Rom. 1. 16. Take the Gospel out of the world and it is onely a larger Dungeon a wast howling wilderness the broad rode which leads to eternal destruction If the people of Constantinople so honoured the Ministry of Chrysostome as they could rather want the Sun then want it of how much more value is the light of the salvifical Gospel And Thirdly This glorious and necessary work of the Gospel is much furthered by prayer The Minister preacheth not without annexing prayer to the word and sometimes the Saints prayers obtain that for the Minister which his own doth not However a multitude of prayers must carry the greater force and be the most likely battery against Heaven The wise man saith Eccl. 4. 9. Two are better then one and as in other things so in devotion Single prayers may be like the single hairs of Samson but united devotions are like the locks of Samson which were full of extraordinary strength The prayers of many are an united troop which promises more probably victory and success and Rev. 6. 2. therefore let us earnestly beg in our Closets and in our Families Hic est effectus ministerii Evangelici ut Satan instar fulguris ex toto suo regno verbi ministerio ejiciatur et vana est sine viribus ira et hoc facit mircâ—ilitèr ad piorum consolationem Ger. John 6. 20. on the morning of the Sabbath that the Gospel may ride on triumphantly in conquering and to conquer and that many may fall captive before the power and force of it The conquests of the Gospel are most amiable when the engine of our captivity becomes the object of our love and we who are taken are not prisoners but proselytes The Sword of the word saves not slayes and it is onely sharp when it is ineffectual This was the glory of the primitive times that the Gospel encreased Acts 6. 7. That the Gospel was spread Acts 13. 49. That the Gospel grew and multiplyed Acts 12. 24. This was the gold of those golden times the Gospel made a multitude of converts and with its Doctrine leavened the world And so we should be earnest in prayer for Gospel propagation that the heaven of the Church might Regnum Christi ponitur pro promulgatione et cognitione Evangelii et deus dicitur transferre illos in regnum filii sui quos eruit ex tenebris ignorantiae et illuminat cognitione Evangelii Daven be full of stars And to spirit this argument now before us Let us take notice that by the propagation of the Gospel the Kingdom of Christ is much enlarged It must speak a pleasant day when the Sun of Righteousness scatters more plenteously his enlightning and refreshing beams Christs Glory in the World is the Saints both wish and happiness as the Members are honoured when the Crown is set upon the head and nothing more advances Christ on the Earth then the stupendous success of the Gospel And by the Gospels progress Satan his power is enfeebled in the world which is most complacential to the friends of the Bridegroom This blessed spread causeth Satan to fall Josh 6. 20. like lightning Luke 10. 18. His cursed walls fall down at the sounding of the Trumpet of the Gospel it is deplorable to consider what power Satan hath had in those Nations Diabolus instar fulguris è toto suo regno Ministerio verbi ejicitur Chemnit which have wanted the Preaching of the Gospel How did he bring the Philistims to worship a Dagon the Sidonians Ashtaroth the Graecians to worship Apollo the Latins Jupiter and other Gods and Goddesses wanton and lascivious Deities nay others their God Remphan Figures which they made Acts 7. 43. Such abominations have clouded the Land 2 Kings 23. 13. where the light of the Gospel Praedicatio Evangelii ceu potiùs res praedicata in Evangelio per Evangelium viz. Christâ— mors merita c. Dei virtus est per quam potenter in credentibus operâ—tur salutem fidem justitiam immò vitam aeternam Alap hath not broken forth nay where the Gospel makes no progress there Salvation is wholly exiled Rom. 1. 16. And how lushious soever the enjoyments of such a place may be their souls must pay the reckoning Though such a Nation had the milk and honey of Canaan the spices of Arabia the gums of Aegypt the gold of India yet wanting a glori-Gospel Eternal death is mingled with all these dainties this Jubilee only reacheth to the grave And the Inhabitants of such a place only tread on Carpets and Roses to hell life is not within their walls nor Salvation within their Pallaces When the Apostle would dispute the priviledges of the Jews he brings in this as their greatest To them were committed the Oracles of God Rom. 3. 2. Christ is the Sun the Ministers are the stars and the Gospel is the Amos 8. 11. light of a Nation The famine of the word is the plague of a place To enjoy Pastors after Gods own heart is the sweetness Jer. 3. 15. of a promise Jer. 3. 15. Golden Mines which are the rich linings of the Earth may make a place or a Nation Mat. 13. 16. gaudy but it is the Gospel only can make a Nation glorious And Satan hath least footing there where the Gospel is most scattered and disseminated where the Gospell is either wholly Luke 10. 18. wanting or penned up what prodigious evils over-run that place and how doth Satan reign and rage The Scriptures tell us of the unnatural lusts of Sodom the pride and wantonness of Tyre Ezek. 27. 3. The cruelty and ambition of Gen. 18. 20. Babylon nor may we omit the Turkish Polygamy the Heathens Jer. 4. 13. Idolatry the Indians brutish nakedness at this day Jer. 8. 16. where the Gospel takes no place It is no wonder to hear of bloudy Nero's lascivious Caracalla's and frantick Domitians Nero dictus fuit Pestis humani generis those monsters of men who were strangers to the sweets the power and light of the Gospel It is the Gospel lays the ax to the root of Satans power and where this Mat. 3. 10. blessed light shines not or very faintly the Prince of darkness Eph. 6. 12. exercises a cursed sway and a destructive Soveraignty By the progress of the Gospel our consummate blessedness is hastened and secured for the more efficacious the Gospel is the more maturated and mellowed we are for heaven and eternity The Gospel is like the Sun to the 1 Pet. 2. 2. fruits or the shower to the flowers which ripens the one and blows and draws out the scent and sweetness of the other we grow in strength and spiritual stature by the 2 Pet. 3. 18. power and efficacy of the Ordinances and Preaching of
Christ will scatter vain and wandring thoughts Cant. 3. 1 2. in holy duties the soul will then say I come to seek my Beloved Let us get strong apprehensions of the holiness and purity of God And let us consider how unsuitable vain and slight thoughts are to his holy and unblemished thoughts how Attributa dei sunt invisibilia et spiritualia et ideò deus est colendus latriâ precibâ— votis et gratiarum actione Alap unsuitable our mud is to his Chrystal What is the reason that the Saints and Angels in Heaven have not a vain thought they strike not a wry stroak the sight of the holy God doth fix them Nothing would more spiritualize our thoughts in holy duties then the consideration of Gods Attributes the transcendent brightness of those most glorious beams The Masters eye keeps the Servant demure and observant and nothing more consolidates mans heart then the serious apprehensions of a glorious and infinite God Let us be earnest with God for the spirit He can sanctifie our thoughts in holy Ordinances and keep them close to the 1 Thes 5. 23. work in hand The spirit of God can turn the heart which naturally is a bed of lust to become a bed of spices and 1 Cor. 2. 10. so fill it with divine cogitations this blessed spirit can present the soul with Heavenly objects in Heavenly duties The spirit is not onely a discerner of thoughts but the refiner of them to purge away their dross and impertinency and therefore called a Refiners fire Mal. 3. 2. Our Saviour faith John 16. 13. The Spirit of truth shall lead us into all truth and our hearts being guided the thoughts will not be subject to wander into by paths when we are interessed in holy and sacred opportunities CHAP. XXXI As we must be strict in our behaviour so we must be spiritual in our duties when we approach the Publick Ordinances HAving thus largely discovered how we must be strict in our behaviours in publick ordinances We come next to shew that we must be spiritual in our duties The heart is the chief ghuest at every ordinance The Aegyptians of all the fruits chose the Peach to consecrate to the Goddess and they gave this reason for it because the fruit thereof resembleth the heart The Saints Character is from his inward carriage to God The Kings Daughter is all glorious within Psal 45. 13. If we will worship God indeed we must worship him in heart Hypocrisie is but practical blasphemy The heart is the King in the little world Man Our Saviour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith John 4. 24. God is a spirit and he will be worshipped in spirit and in truth In truth i. e. Scripturally opposite to the inventions of mens heads In spirit i. e. sincerely John 4. 24. opposite to the dissimulation of mens hearts The deeper the belly of the Lute is the pleasanter the sound is the deeper our worship comes from the heart the more delightfull it is in Gods eye But now that our holy duties may be spiritually performed that we may hear spiritually and pray spiritually and receive spiritually The inward man must be employed in holy ordinances not so much the ear as the understanding not so much the knee as the memory not so much the tongue as the heart though as our Saviour saith Mat. 23. 23. This must be done but the other must not be left undone In legal sacrifices God would have the fat and the inwards Lev. 7. 3. Is it Bis adeps nominatur et halocaustum non tantùm suit res sancta sanctarum sed et locus in quo comesta fuit â sacerdotibus sanctur fuit not to inform us that our services must not be specious but spiritual God must have the fat and they must be cordial not extrinsical God must have the inwards It is not the Pharisees disfigured face but Mary Magdalens melting tears God eyes and respects God is not delighted with the Pageant of a duty The Service doth not please God which hath Absolons face but which hath Davids heart Jehu's fained zeal Herods seeming joy no way comport with Gods will The melting frame of a weeping Peter and the spiritual 2 Kings 10. 16. agony of a praying Hannah are in Christ a sweet smelling Mark 6. 20. sacrifice to the Lord. The chief wheels in prayer in Luke 22. 62. hearing in meditating and other holy duties are the faculties 1 Sam. 1. 13. of the soul a supple will a working mind a faithfull memory embracing affections these are the musick of the Sphears in holy ordinances The care of our souls must be the signal design in all holy Ordinances It is not so grateful to perform service as to advantage the soul in service 1 Pet. 2. 2. When we come to 1 Pet. 2. 2. ordinances we must not study a secular interest or to quiet the clamours of natural conscience or to keep up a port in Religion but we must study the interest and the emolument of our souls 1. To raise them Every Duty every Sermon every Prayer should be a wing to the soul that it might fly higher towards God Duties are not onely to satisfie but to sublimate the soul to make it more heavenly and more ambitious after a crown in glory as those primitive Saints who looked upon the things of this life with disdain soaring after a better Country which was to come Heb. 11. 13 16. 2. We must study our souls in ordinances so as so quiet them to give them more peace and tranquillity Gospel seasons are not onely for the elevation but the calming of the 1 Pet. 5. 8. soul Satan disturbs sin defiles and lusts war against the Mark 7. 20. soul and the soul never finds rest till it comes to God in 1 Pet. 2. 11. ordinances and there quietly it lies at Christs feet as Mary Magdalen to receive the honey combs dropping from his lips After Hannah had prayed then she was no more sad or discomposed 1 Sam. 1. 18. When we acquaint our selves with God in holy ordinances we shall be at peace Job 22. 21. and thereby good shall come unto us 3. To spiritualize them We sow in duty we reap in grace that we may be more humble more holy more savoury and more serious in the things of God and Eternity We enjoy the glorious Gospel that we may pass from glory to glory 2 Cor. 3. 18. Means of grace are for the getting of 2 Cor. 4. 4. Eph. 3. 16. greater measures of grace we feed upon the feast of Ordinances Coâ—roborari in interiori homine est corroborari in mente in intellectu in voluntate caeterisque animae potentiis that we may be strengthned in the inward man The Apostle saith faith comes by hearing Rom. 10. 17. And the same Gospel is both the Mother and the Nurse of that heavenly grace Study therefore thy soul
not drinking things luke-warme nor walking measured paces not rejoycing in dances c. And Chrysostom urges with much holy fervency That on the Sabbath we should lay aside all the affairs of this life and withdraw our selves from them and spend all the leisure of the Sabbath in things spiritual and divine which concern our souls This eminent Person makes a difference between sloth and rest the one concerns the body the other the soul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost Tom 5 p 225. and he clearly states the Question that the Sabbath was never given us to please a piece of clay but to serve the interest of that piece of eternity which every one of us carry in our own bosoms And on this manner Augustine courts his Auditors We must know dearly beloved That it is therefore August appointed of our holy Fathers and commanded to us Christians that upon the Lords day we should rest that reposing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Concil Load Can 29. from all worldly business we might be more fresh and prompt for Gods divine worship and may with more ease attend upon the will and service of God Nay a whole council viz. of Laodicea in the twenty ninth Canon hath these words It doth not become Christians to Judaize and to be idle on the Sabbaths This was the spirit and temper of the Primitive times they press that our Sabbaths might be spiritualized not that our work should wholly cease but only should be changed that the labour of the hand should be turned into the working of the heart that manual operations should be turned into mental contemplations and on this day our work must not be servile but seraphical we must not throw away the Pen but we must write the fairer In the middle times of the Church when such dark Thom. Aquin. 22dae quaest 122. 4 3. 11. 3 dist Art 15 Quest 1. clouds had over-spread it that spiritual worship was as Saul among the Prophets rare to a Proverb yet then the employing of the time of a Sabbath in holy service was accounted morall in the fourth Commandments and scoffs were bestowed freely by the writers of those times on those who wasted the Sabbath in plays or idleness This bright Alex de Alens p. 3. quaest 32. Scol l. 2 de instit qu 4. Artic. 4. truth like a star in the night made its way to shine in the darkest times The fine spun disputes of the Schoolmen could not distinguish it away but it brake through all their curious webs This truth was so fastned in the Church it could not be disputed out by the School And let Semper eadem not only be Queen Elizabeths Motto but the Sabbaths holy observation In the dawning of Reformation there was light enough to discover this truth many eminent Divines those burning and shining lights which blaze more because they are nearer to us give in their suffrage for spending the Sabbath in holy exercises sharply decrying Hinc colligimus deum non de re nihili aut flâ—cci loqui cùm sanctificationem Sabbati nobis commendâ—verit Calv. sluggishness and sloth on this blessed day It is the grave observation of incomparable Calvin That God speaks not of a small matter when he commands the sanctification of the Sabbath but doth exhort us to a diligent marking of it and our want of care to mark is a breach of this Commandment This worthy man could not imagine that a Memento should Preface a day of sloth and idleness that we might take our carnal ease without such an alarm To walk in the fields to sit idling at the door of our house to chat in a room upon a Sabbath are no such importances as to require such diligent attention or exact observation there is little holiness in any thing of this A carnal man may rest from labour and never much mind or need a command Nature will let us to take our case without any special command from the God of nature The great Jehovah had never needed in the midst of thundrings and lightnings with great Exod 10. 18. terrour and Majesty to give out a command for us to go to a Bench to sit on to a couch to talk on or to a bed to lie on A School-master need not make a set speech or tune his language to strains of Oratory to perswade his Scholars to go to play and be idle Idleness needs no great enforcements wants no arguments of reason nor paintings of Rhetorick we can prate of worldly affairs and take our pleasing pastimes without any attractive engine Zanchy speaks very pregnantly to this purpose I call saith he this dayes rest Zanch. de oper creat p. 3. l. 1. c. 1. divine and holy because as God is never idle so he would have us take rest in soul and conscience after that manner that yet notwithstanding we be alwayes employed in those things which are of Gods spirit and which appertain to the glory of God and to the good both of our selves and others The cause of commanding rest upon the Sabbath was not for rest sake and that man might be idle but that he might altogether spend that whole day in divine worship Thus this Reverend Person Sed ut toto illo die possint vacare cultui divino Zanc. in quartum praecept rightly stateâ— the Question and truly asserts that as rest is included in the Commandment so holy and spiritual worship is the end of that rest God calls us off from Earth to mind Heaven and the body must have a vacation that the soul may have a Term the body must decrease that the soul may increase Corporal rest is only the means by Non igitur cum Ethnicis sentiendum festos dtes tantúm quietâ—s remissionis causa suscipi quorum finis â—sset recoâ—datio beneficiorum dei in convocatione sancta c. which we may pursue our eternal rest This learned Rivet looks upon it as a brutish and heathenish Opinion to think that God should give us a holy day for sloth and remisness and he positively tells us That the end of the Sabbath must be the recordation of divine benefits and to refresh our memories with most grateful rehearsals of Gods bounty and to put up prayers for future grace for the leisure of Saints must not be fruitless The eccho of this golden sentence is true and sweet A godly mans leisure must not run waste When the world gives him a short quietus est he must rest in God His spare hours from his outward affairs must be his serious hours for his soul The Saints have alwayes work to do on this side eternity but especially on that day when rest is commanded us to look after eternity Hospinian here accents Finis tertius est Sabbati ejusque otii ille est subliâ—â—or Vt vir spirituaâ—is ad aeternam sui saluteâ— propior accedat ut vitae sanctae â—fficiâ—â— occupetur
pulchre opponit Pharisaeorum accusationibus vos malletis quasi diceret propter sanctificationem sabbati discipulos meos esurientes potius affligi quam spicas aliquas discerpere item malletis hominem perire quam Sabbatis sanari atqui hoc directè pugnat cum Deut. 5. 14. Sabbatum propter hominem c. sensus igitur est Nec cum noxâ nec cum exitio aut damno homiâ—iâ—â—â—â—genda eâ—t â—xterna obsâ—â—vatio Sabbati Sicut in exemplo Davidis est manifestissimum Chemnit John 8. 36. Psal 119. 164. Psal 27. 4. Psal 84. 10. Libertines would fasten upon it 1. They say the Sabbath was made for man because man was created before its institution and therefore this festival was ordained for his entertainment in the world for his profit and advantage but not for his play sports and recreations This institution of the Sabbath â—yed man now newly created and made Gods Viceroy upon earth 2. The Sabbath was made for man that is for his corporal good that on this day he might rest from the toyls of the world Deut. 5. 14. In the Commandement for the Sabbath God consulted mans weakness but not his wantonness he studied his frame but not his fancy God appointed the Sabbath that man should not over-bend the Bow but relax and remit his painful labours and so be more composed and at leisure for spiritual service and worship so the Sabbath was made for man for the good of his body 3. The Sabbath was made for man viz. for his spiritual good that man on that holy day might be built up in his most holy faith and that he might enjoy sweet communion with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ 1 John 1. 3. How often is the Sabbath the Souls nuptial day wherein it is esponsed and married to Christ it is a day of divine support of refection and recruit to Grace and often of the execution and mortification of lust and corruption The Sabbath is the Souls banquetting day a fit season for strengthning and repast while it travels upon the Mountains of prey and feeds with the flocks of Christ at noon Cant. 1. 7. Psal 76. 4. However they who shall torture this Text to the utmost and put it upon the strictest wrack shall force it to speak no more then thus much That man must not run the hazard or peril of life for the outward observation of a Sabbath man must observe it but not with an apparent danger of himself if it cannot be observed without harm and certain damage the external observation must be suspended and mans life and good must not be impaired and our Saviour instanceth in Davids eating of Shewbread an extraordinary and unjustifiable action yet it may be apologized for and maintained in a case of necessity and so the Disciples of Christ plucking the ears of Corn it was for support and necessary satisfaction And so mans life is more considerable than the outward observance of a day especially considering that the Sabbath was calculated for mans good in its first original and institution and the whole man both Soul and body was taken into consideration when it was first set on foot in the world Now this fair and candid construction of the Text detests all carnal liberty and all swinges of pleasure and sensual delight upon Gods sacred and solenm day In a word it is no ways suitable to a gracious spirit to be importunate for carnal liberty on Gods holy day The sensual delights of this life they are the clog not the comfort of a Saint their fetters rather then their freedom A believer is never more himself then when he travels over spiritual objects in holy meditation and freely vents himself in holy prayer and supplication He complains not of being clogged unless when he is bird-limed with a temptation or staked down by a malepert corruption that he cannot rise and fly up to God in holy devotion he knows not any liberty but the liberty of Ordinances and he is then only free who is manumitted by Gods good spirit his confinement is the transiency not the length of a Sabbath and he is dismissed from an Ordinance with a sigh Fleshly ease pleaseth not him on a Sabbath because it keeps him from his beloved nor dare he exchange duty for recreation He thinks it a poor and incontemptible thing to be running after a bowl on the Lords day when he should be running his race and pressing forward towards the Mark Phil. 3. 14. Nor can he mind a sport when he is to look after a prize The Saint thinks recreations on a Sabbath are not only the loss of time and an empty Parenthesis but they are Dalilahs to rock him asleep that so he may lose Praetereà arbitrium nostrum voluntatem nostram Christus in aliquam partem libertatis ponit dum donat nos spiritu sancto cujus gratiâ corrapta nostra natura instaurata spontaneo est ut juxta prae ceptum dei benè agamus pietati studere incipiamus prompto Matth. 19. 8. spiritu nam ubi spiritus est ibi est libertas Chemnit Eccl. 9. 10. 2 Cor. 3. 17. his spiritual strength Whatever he doth on a Sabbath he doth it with all his might and he knows there is no more work nor device in a recreation then in the grave And truly it too much savours of a carnal heart either to be an Advocate to plead for or to be an Actor to engage in sensual delights on Gods Holy day from the beginning from holy David from zealous Nehemiah it was not so CHAP. XLVIII The first Decad of Arguments to perswade conscience to an holy observation of the Lords day THe design of pressing conscience to a due observance of Gods blessed day is already begun and the rise hath been taken from the sometimes solemn and accurate carriage of the Jews upon their Sabbath And shall a Vagabond Jew out-vy us shall that branch which is cut off be Rom. 11. 19. more fresh and flourishing in Sabbath-observation then the branch which is engraffed and implanted in its room Shall In die dominico tantùm deo tantum divinis cultibus vacandum est Aug. the slave be more obsequious then the Son The vassal more obediential then the Heir The Jews still though blasted with a Curse yet they at least some of them keep their Sabbath with great zeal and devotion And shall not Christians who lie under dews of divine blessing and live under Sun-shines of Gospel heat and light be more frugal of the time and more spiritual in the duties of the Lords day Let not a disinherited Jew rise up in judgment against us But of this already But now further to press conscience to a holy keeping of the Lords day Arg. 1 Let us consider how much folly is bound up in prophaning Gods day We put away from us all those golden promises Jer. 17. 24 25. which God hath entailed upon a
due observation of it 1. Temporal promises Isa 56. 5. Lev. 26. 2 3 4. 2 Cor. 1. 20. Etiam Amen promissiones verissimas esse confirmat Amen enim significat verè firmitèr fidelitèr stabilitèr Hebraeis vox est confirmatis sic Christus vocatur Amen Rev. â— 14. i. e. stabilis constans verus ipsaque stabilitas constantia et veritas Ambros 2. Spiritual promises Isa 58. 14. He who prophanes the Sabbath loseth the sweets which are to be found in a God and disinherits himself of those plenties which are to be reaped in a flourishing earth He tramples upon pearls for the promises which are to be made good in Christ 2 Cor. 1. 20. are the riches of the Gospel Let us review this folly in the severals of it 1. The prophanation of the Sabbath argues much contempt it spurns the crown of a promise and despiseth the riches of divine grace it refuses the breast of a promise which is a breast not fill'd with milk but consolation Isa 66. 11. It is worthy our notice God hath made promises to every duty of a Sabbath 1. To Prayer John 14. 15. Mat. 21. 22. Nay it is part of the Covenant of Grace that the Saints should fly to God by prayer and that the Lord should hear from Heaven his dwelling place Psal 89. 26 27. And 2dly Promises are made to the right receiving of the Sacrament Mat. 26. 29. That blessed banquet wants not a blessed promise 3. Hearing of the word is encouraged by a promise Isa 66. 2. That duty also is like Benjamins sack with a cup in 2 Cor. 7. 1. the mouth of it Rom. 9. 4. 4. Acts of charity a necessary and comely duty which fills up the services of a Sabbath they are bribed with a promise Heb. 11. 33. Psal 41. 1. Every silver piece we give shall be turned into gold by the inhancing nature of a promise Heb. 6. 12. 5. Meditation another duty of a Sabbath hath the experience of divine sweetness and soul-satisfaction Psal 104. Heb. 8. 6. 34. Now when all these duties are carefully and spiritually acted on a Sabbath under what a golden shower of promises 2 Pet. 1. 4. doth the active Saint lie Let those who prophane the Sabbath be ashamed of their contempt to slight the treasure of so many promises We may take notice that the promises are the Saints best estate they are the Churches priviledges Promissiones sparsim in scriptaris celebres sunt bona in coelis nobis propter Christum promissa Alap Rom. 9. 4. They are the highest encouragements 2 Cor. 7. 1. They are the rewards of faith Gal. 3. 16. They are the believers inheritance Heb. 6. 12. They are the varnish and the wealth of the Gospel Heb. 8. 6. What is the Gospel but a golden mine filled with promises with the stamp of Christ upon them The promises are the cordials of grace to keep it from fainting Heb. 11. 13. They are the most pregnant incentive to obedience Heb. 11. 17. They are the exceeding great and precious donations of the soul 2 Pet. 1. 4. Nay they are the believers fairest revenue For 1. They are in the surest hand 2 Cor. 1. 20. And 2dly They shall be paid in the most seasonable time Psal 50. 15. 3. They contain in them most glorious acquests John 3. 16. Luke 11. 13. The spirit and glory are folded up in the promise 4. We shall be spending upon them to eternity Heb. 11. 13. Now what base contempt are they guilty of who prophaning the Sabbath trample upon these glorious and precious promises these despise the riches of divine goodness to use the Apostles phrase Rom. 2. 4. 2. Prophanation of the Sabbath speaks much infidelity Did we believe Gods promises which he hath made to Sabbath holiness we should be more precise and strict in our Infidelis solo generali concursu dei potest proferre nomen Jesu aut de eo habere cogitationem aliquo modo benam sed absque verâ fide non obtinet remissionem peccatorum et gratiam supernaturalem et beatitudinem Anselm observance Indeed unbelief is the damp of every duty it puts a faintness and languor upon holy services The primitive Saints who were acted by a principle of faith Heb. 11. 33 34. run upon and accomplished glorious things this grace shews us the crown realizes all the promises to us Heb. 11. 1. And so it puts animation and life into every holy duty Constantine the Great when he saw the Cross in the air with this Inscription 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In this overcome he summoned up his undaunted courage and obtained a noble victory Many look on the promises of God as bonds without a seal as debenters which are not like to be paid and this makes the Chariot of duty drive heavily and causeth men to slight Sabbaths with so much carelesness and indifferency A believing soul will double the tale of his duties he will hear attentively he will pray devoutly he will Redemptionis à Christo factae apertum documentum factum est in resurrectione Christi O quanta ergò est ingratitudo hominibus charitati Christi non reâ—pondere Ambros meditate divinely and discourse savourily on Gods blessed day and all this as eying the recompence of reward and preying upon the rich incomes of the promises It is cursed unbelief sowers and flags the duties of a Sabbath that men either desperately neglect them or else carelesly perform them 3. A prophanation of the Sabbath discovers much ingratitude Doth God give thee a Sabbath a Jewel of great price to throw away into the Sea of idleness or prophaneness Men who are slight on the Sabbath do not adore the rising Sun for the Sun of righteousness arose as upon this Mat. â— 2. day Our Sabbath is Christs resurrection day which is the foundation of all our happiness had the grave detained him hell had inclosed us Christ opening the prison of the grave opened our way to the throne How ungrateful then shall we be to wound Christ on his own resurrection day Shall we be formal drossie vain talkative sensual upon that day when the Sun rose to give light to a new world what blackness of darkness had we eternally been wrapt in if this blessed Sun had not risen after the night of a grave to be our conduct and guidance to a better life Sabbath-breakers may wear the scars and brand of the most loathsome ingratitude 4. Prophanation of the Sabbath is soul-prodigality it is a disinheriting sin too Can we expect a Sabbath to eternity and not keep a Sabbath here Can we neglect the service of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a day and yet look for the reward of more then many ages It is a good observation of a Learned Man That our Rest-day Heb. 4. 9. is not called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Manuchah a Common rest but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
tamenillam agnoscunt valde infirmam lanquidam et obscuratam propter perpetuam illam pugnam rebellionem carnis Daven wing and was upon the flight from him Psal 51. 11. The Apostle saith Col. 3. 3. Our life is hid with Christ both in point of security and in point of secresie with Christ as in the spring with Christ as in the root and principle and the root we know is under ground and no eye of the passenger observes it with the several threads of it Let one thing more come within our view This work of grace is often under a mask and faces are not discovered under a mask there is a continual combat between the flesh and the spirit and the poor Saint stands as a spectatour he waits and cannot tell which of the two combatants will go away with Gal. 5. 17. flying colours Let us meditate on the beautifullness of the work of Grace The Scripture best depaints this lovely work Sometimes it Nova creatâ—ra spiritualis effecta novam gratiae vitâ—m fortua est ut deâ—â—â—ceps in novitate vitae ambulet is called Regeneration Joh. 3. 5. Sometimes it is called a new Creation Gal. 6. 15. With what flourish and glory did the world look when God did first create it and it first put on its comly dress and attire how pleasant was the Earth in its first spring Sometimes the work of grace is called Gods workmanship Eph. 2. 10. and this work must be good Gen. 1. 31. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because it is his All things he made were very good Gen. 1. 31. Nay sometimes this work is called our coming to our selves Luke 15. 17. And when lunatick persons are reduced to their wits what a comly and a lovely sight is it Indeed holiness is an attribute of God it is the loveliness of Angels it is the beauty of Saints this makes them excellent Psal 16. Psal 16. 3. Prov. 12. 26. Prov. 17. 27. Ezek. 16. 7. Phil. 1. 10. 3. nay more excellent then their neighbours Prov. 12. 26. The habits of grace are excellent ornaments Ezek. 16. 7. The wayes of grace are excellent wayes Phil. 1. 10. The work of grace it sheds light into the understanding makes it day there the beginnings of grace are day break in the soul Grace it shapes the will and brings it into form it sublimates Col. 3. 1 2. the affections and raises them from the dung-hill and makes them as it was said of the Bereans Acts 17. 11. more noble it softens the heart and makes it pliable to the tenders of the Gospel it cleanses the conscience from its filth and nastiness Acts 15. 9. it composes the conversation 1 Cor. 15 58 59 it adorns the life and bespangles it with good works those beautiful issues of a work of grace Let us meditate on the beneficialness of the work of grace Grace is glory initiated the dawning of future glory and glory is the noon-tide of grace There is a connection between grace and glory Psal 84. 11. They are clasped together by an eternal decree Gods everlasting purpose of love hath espoused grace to glory The work of grace foreruns Deus dedit nobis pignus futurae haereditatis gratiam quâ nos unxit â—t signavit in filios dei discrevitque à filiis diaboli the wages of glory Grace is onely glory in its infancy and glory is grace in its full growth Grace and glory differ in degree not in kind The spirits work is onely the first Scene of heaven here the spirit is a refining above it will be a ravishing spirit Death blows the bud of grace into the flower of glory 2 Cor. 1. 22. Eph. 1. 14. Grace onely ushers in glory it is onely the greener fruit of heaven and in Oecum future blessedness it comes to its full maturation In a word 2 Cor. 1. 22. the work of grace is the beginning of heaven in the soul and Eph. 1. 14. Christ in the heart doth fully assure us we shall see Christ Eph. 3. 17. in the Throne Let us meditate in the morning of a Sabbath on the works of glory How should we contemplate on heavenly things Psal 36. 8. Heb 4. 9. Rev. 3. 21. 2 Tim. 4. 8. 1 Cor. 2. 9. O ineffabile gaudium in sanctis glorificatis qui ad dextram Christi sistent ut subditi serenissimo suo principi ut filii benignissimo suo patri ut regale sacerdotium gratiosissimo suo pontifici Glass on Gods heavenly day what those chambers of rest what those rivers of pleasure what those crowns of righteousness what those thrones of glory are which God hath prepared for his believing and beloved ones who have rejoyced in his holy day here and made it their seraphical delight From the mount of meditation as from mount Nebo we may take a prospect of the land of Promise which Christ hath taken the possession of in the name of all believers Heb. 6. 20. Heaven must needs be a glorious City which hath God both for its builder and inhabitant it must needs be the extract and quintessence of all blessedness On Gods day in the morning let meditation listen to the musicks of the Bride-chamber take a tast of our Masters joy peep within the vail and take a glance of the face of God and make an essay how well a crown of righteousness becomes the believers head And surely we cannot meditate on these things but we Quanta erit illa felicitas ubi nullum erit malum nullum latebit bonum vacabitur dei laudibus qui erit omnia in omnibus Aug. must rejoyce in hope What prisoner shackled with the chains of temptation and fettered with the irons of his own corruption being in the dark prison of the world can meditate on the time when all these restraints shall be filed off and he enjoy the pleasant light and glorious liberty of the Sons of God Rom. 8. 21. but he will be transported with joy and exultation Meditation brings down heaven to us and we travel in the view of things superlative and ineffable In Glory we shall see the King in his beauty Isa 33. 17. There John 14. 2. Psal 16. 11. God shall be all in all 1 Cor. 15. 28. There shall be beauty Rev. 3. 21. to the eye musick to the ear joy to the heart light to the mind perfection to the soul plenary and absolute satisfaction to the Saint Glory is meditations upper-loft it is its highest gallery to walk in it is its pleasing nest among the stars Meditation may take a view of the pompous Theater 2 Cor. 1. 3. Mat. 1. 21. Heb. 7. 25. of glory where there are the three persons in the God-head The Father of our mercies Jesus Christ the Saviour of our souls the Holy Ghost the Healer of our natures the Father who hears our prayers the Son who is our intercessour above us and the