hoâ— great and mighty a King is Jesus Christ that threatens so powerful and victorious a King as Death is How long hath Death reigned and how large an Empire hath it had in the World it is said Rom. 5.14 Death reigned from Adam to Moses yea we may extend the duration of its Kingdom further it hath reigned from the Fall of the first Adam to this day and how many conquered Subjects hath it had 1 Cor. 15.22 in Adam all died Death is such a King as shakes its Black Rod over and brandishes it 's sharp and glittering Sword against the whole World it hath threatned arrested and cut off the Greatest Kings and Conquerors it hath been very Terrible to them that by Oppression Violence and Cruelty caused their Terrour in the Land of the Living Ezek. 32.23 none of the Kings of the World can prevent the Fatal stroke of Death on themselves much less can they divert it from their Subjects but Christ is such a King as combates with Death and overcomes it he tasted Death indeed himself once Heb. 2.9 but it was to abolish it 2 Cor. 1.10 he became a Subject to it for a time that he might swallow it up for ever and be a Lord over the dead to raise them up Rom. 14.9 and rescue them from this Enemy And how strong yet how sweet are these Words of Christ I will be the plague of death I will be a Discase yea a mortal Disease to kill Death it self and Grave I will be thy destruction Christ fulfills his threatning when he seeks out the Dust of his People and forms it up into a Body this defeats and disanuls the Victory of the Grave that it may be said O Grave where is thy victory though thou didst corrupt putresie and dissolve our Bodies thâ—â— thou didst devour our Flesh and crumble it into Dust and take away the very shape of a Body yet we have new Bodies formed and organized again and when these Bodies shall receive their Souls and be quickened by them then it may be said O death where is thy sting 1 Cor. 15.55 What haâ—â— thou gotten by stinging and killing our Bodies behold they are alive again Theâ—e is a Day when the Lord will make upâ—â— Jewels Malachy 3.17 And then God's Jewels are made up when immortal Souls shall be joined to and set in the Rings of Glorious Bodies Christ is such a King as will conform all his Subjects to himself both is Soul and Body When he regenerates the Soul then it bears the Image of the second Adam when he raises the Body this is â—s proper Regeneration to be begotten and born from the dead as Christ was Col. 1 1â— Revel 1.5 When old Adam's Tenour is out and quite abolished when Christ bâ— his Spirit quickens the Body Rom. 8.11 then it bears the Image of the Heavenly Adam and is held of him 1 Cor. 15.49 Saints are the Children of God as they are the Children of the Resurrection Luke 20. â—6 This is a new Ground and Reason why they should be called the Children of God the Seed of Christ When Saints awake out of the Dust they shall be satisfied with God's likeness Psal 17.15 When they are begotten again into a lively Hope 1 Pet. 1.3 4. they bear God's Image in their Souls but when they shall be raised or be begotten from the dead then they shall also bear Christ's Image in their Bodies and so shall be satisfied with the Image of Christ as an Everlasting Father O what a precious Merby What an incomparable Priviledge is this that Jesus Christ will not forget or reject our Dust for ever but seek it out and form it up as an Habitation for our Souls and an everlasting Temple for his Spirit to dwell in 8thly Jesus Christ is such a King as will gather and draw up all his sincere Subjects to him to be with him for ever 1 Thes 4.17 As he receives their Souls in a dying Hour Psal 49.15 Acts. 7.59 so he will come again to revive their Bodies and then he will receive their whole Man to himself John 14.3 What wonderful Grace and Kindness is this that where the Master is there the Servant shall also be John 12.20 That the Sheep shall for ever dwell with the great Shepherd and all the Subjects of this Glorious King shall abide with him and see his Glory so as to share in it and partake of it John 17.24 2 Thes 2.14 Christ the King is the Harbinger and Forerunner of his Subjects Hebr. 6.20 He is gone into another World to choose an Eternal Inheritance for his Brethren Psal 47.4 He shall choose our Inheritance for us And Christ by interceeding with his Father that his People may be with him doth prepare a Place for them John 17.24 John 14.2 3. Christ's Intercession is so powerful that it cannot be deny'd I would now give you some Counsels and Directions that you may stay and continâ—e in this Kingdom and not be gathered 〈◊〉 of it and deprived of the Blessedness and Glory of it 1st O come forth and see King Solomâ—â— Cant. 3.11 This King Solomon is King Jesus he hath made him a rich and gloriâ—â— Chariot to ride forth in and to visit Kingdoms Nations and People The Gospel as preached in the World is the Spirituâ—â— Chariot that Christ sits in and the whâ—â— Horse he rides on Rev. 6.2 The Church in her Ministers may be and is comparâ—â— to the Horses in Pharaoh's Chariot Cant â— 9 The Church by her Ministers do's drâ—â— Jesus Christ about the World O consider this the Gospel is not fixed to one Nation the Chariot of Christ is moving and may quickly pass by us and be gone from us It is a great Mercy that Christ's Chariots come to us that he appears among us O slight not the Opportunity neglect not the Day of Grace Come sorth from your Ignorance and Night of Darkness come forth from your slight low and contemptible Thoughts of Christ O fix the Eye of your Minds on him look with a steady Eye on Christ John 6.40 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We should contemplate the Son our Minds should dwell on him we should not content our selves with seldom and transient Glances on Christ but our Thoughts should be conversant about Christ Do we not need Christ Is he not absolutely necessary for us Must we not wander if Christ doth not guide us and fall if he doth not support us and be a Prey to Satan if he doth not guard and protect us Must we not famish if he doth not feed us and perish if he doth not fold us And be Friendless and Harbourless at last if he doth not receive us How will you look Death or the Judge in the Face if you do not first see Christ and his Salvation O view and look well on Christ Is there any thing in him to be disliked to be excepted against Is he not altogether lovely Cant. 5.16 Whatever is desireable
into the Kingdom of Christ Col. 1.14 We are born in Satan's Kingdom as our Country and Natural Soil but by Grace we are led forth as a Colony into the Kingdom of Christ which is to a natural Man a strange Land and a new Soil But how are Men translated into the Kingdom of Christ surely it is by effectual Calling and Regeneration We are called as rational Creatures and we are regenerated as corrupt and impotent Creatures God is said to call us to his Kindom and Glory 1 Thes 2.12 Except a Man be born again he cannot see he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God John 3.3.5 He cannot see or understand that there is such a Kingdom or be willing to enter into it or be fitted to enjoy the Benefits and Blessings of it As Children must be born to be the Subjects of Earthly Kings so Men must be re-born to be the Subjects of the Heavenly King This is for the Honour and Glory of Christ's Kingdom that none can pass into it but by Regeneration Those that are the genuine and true Citizens of Zion and Members of the Church are said to be born there Ps 87.4 6. Those that God writes up as Citizens of Zion are such as are born there God's Register and the Church's Roll or Catalogue do many times much differ The Church owns those for her Children that God doth not acknowledge for his Sons and Daughters The Church takes in those that God will turn out God will repute none his Jewels call none his own but they that are born again of his Word and Spirit Mal. 3.17 1 Pet. 1.23 John 3.6 And indeed How can Men possibly be Subjects in God's Kingdom except they have spiritual Minds converted Wills heavenly Affections A vain Mind a carnal Heart will only flatter and lye to Christ Matth. 3.2 Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand Men cannot be Subjects in or Heirs of the Kingdom of God without Faith and Repentance The good Seed are the Children of the Kingdom Matth. 13.35 Those that receive the Word are begotten by the Word of Truth John 1.18 that have it rooted in their Souls spreading and prevailing in their Hearts these are good Seed Jesus Christ doth not only sow Doctrinal Truths but living Christians He begets Sons and Daughters to God by the Word they are changed by and born of the Word and so are called Seed That Word is styled the Good Word Heb. 6.5 and they that are born of it are therefore called Good Seed Divine Chrysostom a Grecian Orator in one of his Orations derides the Folly of the Grecians that did call that one Man's Statue which was carved to resemble and set up to the Honour of another There was no new carving of or alteration in the Statue but only the Title of it was changed And do Men so easily pass out of the Kingdom of Satan into the Kingdom of Christ only by the changing of a Name No there must be another kind of Alteration There must not only be a new Name but a new Heart a new Nature Ezek. 36.26 2 Pet. 1.4 O descend into your Hearts What Experience have you of the Work of the Spirit in dethroning Satan and inthroning Christ in your Hearts destroying the Kingdom of Sin and exalting the Kingdom of God Consult your own Souls about this Can you be totally ignorant of it if such a change hath been made in you Doth not every one take notice of publick Revolutions in Government if one Prince dye or be deposed and another succeed and be set up in his Place And hath there been so great a spiritual Revolution in thy Soul hath Satan been cast out and hath Christ entred to dwell and rule in thy Heart and hast thou no knowledge of it Hast thou no experience of a new light set up in thy Mind a new Byass put upon thy Will new Motions raised in thy Affections towards spiritual and supernatural Objects 3dly Are the Laws of this Holy King and of this Heavenly Kingdom writ in thy Heart according to that promise of the new Covenant Jer. 31.33 I will write my laws in their hearts and put them into their inner parts This is the Glory of Christ that he writes his Laws in the Table of the Mind and Will 2 Cor. 3.3 His Subjects not only know but love and ask his Laws Their Obedience to them is not forced or feigned but they obey from the Heart Rom. 6.17 They delight in the Law of God according to the inward Man Rom. 7.22 God's Subjects are thus described That the Law of God is in their Hearts It is not an urging Letter without but a vital Principle within Psal 37.31 The law of his God is in his heart and Isa 51.7 Hearken unto me ye that know righteousness the People in whose heart is my law Christ plants such Dispositions such Inclinations as are suitable and agreeable to the Law of God and may be styled a counter pâ—â—t of it and do answer to it Psal 119.112 I have enclined my heart to perform thy Statutes always even to the end This is a writing that doth exact and ennoble the Table thâ—â— is the Subject of it And this is an high Act of Grace when God doth not only write his Laws to us but in us Do you approve allow delight in the Laws of God Do your Souls break for the Longings yee have to and after them that they might be more revealed to you and impressed on you Psal 119.20 4thly Are you led by the Spirit of the King Rom. 8.9 14. If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his As many as are led by the Spirit of God are the Seâ—â— of God This is a wonderful and a great Mystery that the Spirit of the King is in his Subjects and they all make but one mystical Body and the Spirit is as the Soul that animates this Body Were ever King and Subjects so nearly linked united related to each other Christ is not only a politick Head that gives Laws but as a natural Head that giveth Life The Spirit that influenced Christ acts them the Spirit that resides in Christ dwells also in them The People of Christ must needs therefore be a free and willing People Do not the Members of the natural Body without Regret or Reluctancy obey the Dictates of the Head How powerful yet how easie and sweet is the Government of the Head over the Members Christ's Spirit doth not only teach and direct but powerfully bend and encline the Will to walk yea to run in the way of God's Commandments Psal 119.32 Saints do not desire the way to Heaven to be made broader but their Hearts to be made larger to have their light and love encreased The Spirit is styled A Spirit of Revelation Ephes 1.17 A Spirit of Life Rom 8.2 A Free Spirit Psal 51.12 A Spirit that makes us free and forward in our Obedience We are not only
yet so is it here John 6.53 54 55 56 57. we here eat the flesh and drink the bloud of the Son of Man in this Life and in Heaven to all Eternity we shall feed on the delicious Fruits of Christ the Tree of Life Rev. 2.7 4thly In Christ's Kingdom is Liberty John 8.36 If the Son doth make you free thâ—â— you shall be free indeed Christ reigns to destroy the reigning Power of Sin and Satan to cast the Prince of this World out of his Throne and Kingdom John 12.31 Nâ—â— shall the Prince of this World be cast out Christ reigns to tumble down the God of this World from his Heaven Luke 10.18 Isâ—â— Satan falling as Lightning from Heaven Christ breaks this oppressour to pieces Psal 72.4 he bursts the Yoke of Sin snaps in sunder the Snares of Satan and delivers from the bondage of Corruption 5thly In Christ's Kingdom is safety This great Shepherd keeps his Sheep and watchâ—â— over his Flock in this Night of Time in this Wilderness of the World John 17 1â— While I was with them in the World I kept theâ— in thy Name and none of them is lost Saines are said to be preserved in Christ Jesus Jude 1. Christ guards his Flock and is a wall of fire round about them Zech. 2.5 no Lion shall be there nor any ravences Beast shall go up thereon it shall not be found there but the Redeemed shall walk there Satan that roaring Lion shall not prey on Christ's Lambs or Sheep they shall be as safe as if there were no Beasts of Prey about them they shall lye down safely in the wilderness and sleep securely in the woods Ezek. 34.25 Satan shall not be there to hurt them because their Shepherd is still with them to save them Psal 23.4 Thou art with me in the Valley of the Shadow of Death I will fear no evil thy rod and thy staff they comfort me continually As David when a Shepherd did fight with a Lion and Bear and slew them to rescue a poor Lamb of his Flock 1 Sam. 17.34 35 36. so Christ did once in his own Person encounter with and destroy Satan Heb. 2.15 and he doth by his Spirit and Grace in his Members daily sight with him and foil him 1 John 2.14 ye are strong and have overcome the wicked one Christ stands feeds and keeps his Flock in the strength of the Lord Micah 5.4 and so this one Shepherd is stronger than all the Beasts of Prey whether they be wicked Men or evil Spirits as he is omniscient he understands all the difficulties and dangers of his Sheep and as he is omnipotent he can rescue save and preserve them Tho' this great Shepherd hath a numerous Flock scattered through the World yet he knows all his Sheep and doth hear all their Cries and Prayers Psal 72.12 14. He shall deliver the needy when he crieth the poor also and hiâ— that hath no helper He shall redeem their Sâ—â— from deceit and violence and precious shall they blood be in his sight Spiritual Enemies 〈◊〉 attempt against the People of God by Pâ—licy or Power yet Christ frustrates theâ— Adversaries in both he redeems the Souls 〈◊〉 his People both from Fraud and Violence no earthly King can know every Subjectâ— or hear the Cries and Petitions of all that are oppressed 5thly Jesus Christ strengthens and enâ—bles his True Subjects to obey him as Chrâ—â—â— dwells in their Hearts by Faith Ephes 3.17 so he strengthens his People Phil. 4.13 〈◊〉 can do all things through Christ that strengâ—â—â—â— me I will put my Spirit into them and 〈◊〉 them to walk in my statutes Ezek. 36 2â— Christ gives Influences Aids and Assistanâ—â— for every Act of Obedience because he is 〈◊〉 a Natural Head that communicates Spâ—â—â— to his Subjects as Members and as a Roâ—â— that derives Sap to all his Branches Tâ—â— Subjects of Earthly Kings have no such neeâ— of them or dependance on them 〈◊〉 strength to yield them Obedience But iâ— was prophesied of Christ Psal 72.6 〈◊〉 shall come down like rain on the mowen grâ—â— as showers that water the Earth This Scripture teaches us how great a Dependance Christ's Subjects have on him and how precious a Benefit they receive by him the â—owen Grass cannot spring and grow withâ—â—t Rain from Heaven so Christ's Subjects cannot spring up in Holiness or bring forth any Fruits of Righteousness except they have a Rain of Influences a Shower of gracious Communication from the Lord Jesus Christ Every Subject of Christ is a dry ground Isa 42.3 and needs watering from that River yea from that Fountain of Grace that is above in Christ We cannot take one step in the way towards a Blessed Eternity but leaning on Christ Cant. 8.5 the Church cometh up out of the wilderness and travels towards the Heavenly Canaan leaning on her beloved Ezek. 45.17 the King there spoken of was to provide and prepare all Sacrifices as Burnt-Offerings Sin-Offerings and Thank-Offerings for the People his Subjects By this King I understand Christ as he did give himself for us a Lamb for a burnt-offering John 1.29 as a sin-offering 2 Cor. 5.21 so he furnishes us with Thank-Offerings he kindles Love in our Hearts by his own Beams he circumcises our Hearts Col. 2.11 cuts off the filthy foreskin of sinful inordinate Self-love that did hinder and intercept our Love to God and it is by vertue of our Marriage-Union with him that we bring forth Fruits to God Rom. 7.4 all the fruits of righteousness are by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God Phil. 1.11 6thly Jesus Christ receives the Souls of 〈◊〉 Subjects at last as he committed his owâ— Soul at death to the hands of the Father Luke 23.46 so now he hath merited and â—â—tained this Honour to be the Receiver aâ—â— Guardian of departing Souls Acts 7 5â— Stephen called upon God saying Lord Jeâ—â— receive my Spirit he called upon God tâ— it was through Christ the Mediator God would not receive but reject and abâ—â—â— our Spirits were they not joined to 〈◊〉 accepted in and had access to him throâ—â—â— Christ Oh how desirable a King is Jeâ—â— Christ that will be a Friend to us when 〈◊〉 forsake us or can do nothing for our Soâ—â—s Oh what a Trust doth Jesus Christ undertâ—â—e to keep departed Souls till the last day and then restore them to glorious Bodies Oâ—â— departing Souls must fall into the hands 〈◊〉 an angry Sin-revenging God were theâ— not such a gracious King in whose Hand we might deposite and trust them 7thly Jesus Christ is such a King that 〈◊〉 conquer and destroy Death 1 Cor. 15 â—â— he threatens it Hos 13.14 O death I will 〈◊〉 thy plague O grave I will be thy destruction here is a promise in the Verse to the Sainâ—s I will ransom them from the power of the grâ—â—â— I will redeem them from death and this promise is joined with a threatning against Dearâ— and the Grave How wonderful