of seducers and of Satan 3. Seditious conventicles rebel against man profane atheists rebel against God but the Holy conformist rebelleth against neither yea he is therefore loyal to his Soveraign because he is obedient to his God 4. Is not the body more then raiment and is not the Soul more then the Body What shall his dread Majesties native Subjects give in exchange for their Souls 5. It is the people laden with iniquity that is the people of Gods wrath but a righteous people is a prosperous people then shall his Majesties Subjects flourish when their Soules prosper 6. While upon Lords daies and other daies sett a part for religious assemblies and duties some gadd about to change their way and others sit idle at home God loseth the glory of his full and publick congregations worship and Ordinances During the tyrannie of Oliver the Rebel orthodox Ministers were sequestred from their parochial congregations Under the Clemencie of King Charles the Second let not parochial congregations be sequestred from their orthodox Ministers In short so many as despise him shall be lightly esteemed but such as honour God them God will honour 4. Whereas I convinced you that the burden sharpness number of our trials are light afflictions in comparison of the temptations of Abraham behold a greater then Abraham is here Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners Consider Jesus by Isaac tipified and you will learn of him to possess your Souls in patience Faith instructeth us how to take pleasure in afflictions and to taste a joy even in tribulations Remove your eyes from the dead body of our departed friend unto the body of Christ crucified you will then in lieu of mourning for an onely Son even aspire a fellowship in Christs sufferings 5. Behold I shew you a mysterie The same faith which teacheth us to seek righteousness not by works but by grace doth also stirr us up to live just toward our neighbour our selves and our God When by faith Abraham offered up his Isaac he lived just to his Son true to himself upright toward his God 1. Vpright toward Jehovah for Jehovah had a greater right in Isaac then the Father of Isaac ever either had or could have 2. True to Himselfe for had he lifted up his Soul he had ceased to be upright 3. Just to his Son for it was the Duty of Isaac not onely to live but to die unto the Lord Blessed is that man which endureth temptation Would ye endure to the end Would ye have present victorie over your present conflict Fight the good fight of faith Who so would be justified must be justified not by works but by faith and he that would order his conversation aright must use his knowledge aright he must make the best use which he can not onely of his reason but of his faith 6. Faith fixeth one eye upon the Duty set before us and the other eye upon the promise annexed to that Duty Faith verily beleeveth that there is a reward for the righteous In the mount of the Lord was Jehovah seen By laying that Body which his father could not lift over the altar upon the Wood Isaac his mouth was filled with laughter 1. He saw heard an Angel sent from Heaven to find a way for his escape 2. He did not die but live 3. He lived and lived a type a figure a pledge of Christs and in Christ of our resurrection Life By not with-holding his Son Abraham received praise from his God yea and with praises blessings Abraham saw Christs day and was glad From the faith both of Abraham of Isaac Jehovah Himself received present yea and in all ages future Glory They who know His name will trust in it And yet shew I unto you more excellent things then these For 7. The same faith which enureth us to be ever at once just to our neighbour our selves and our God worketh upon our good nature it worketh in us a disposition to be like Christ harmeless and blameless 2. An emulation to put on the Lord ' Jesus To them that beleeve it is meate drink to studie Christ to learn Christ and to live Christ yea 3. Faith heightneth us to imitate with Jesus Christ the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ it cherisheth in us a filial delight of being followers of his Father and of our Father as dear Children Abba Father thou art long-suffering patient good merciful righteous liberal pure holy loving c. Oh make us make us like thy self long-suffering c. 4. By faith we rest assured that our fore-runner hath in Heaven prepared mansions and princely Lodgings for us who believe in Him To conclude by faith we reckon our selves therefore coheires with Christ because as he is by Nature so we are by a spirit of adoption priviledged to be the Sons of God all things are ours because we are Christs and Christ is Gods Gods in whom God is well pleased God is the Lord not of the dead but of the living and therefore the Dust shall give up her dead True the Soul of our dear friend is separated from his body nevertheless by faith we eye our Mediator as bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh Faith giveth us to understand that since Christ and we are one body together with his dead body shall our dead bodies arise and shall therefore arise as his dead body did arise partly because they that are joyned unto the Lord are one spirit and partly because witness Enoch Elias the blessed Jesus there is one flesh of man another flesh of beasts The flesh of beasts like their mortal Soules perisheth for ever The flesh of man the dead body of our dear friend like leafe Gold naturally ascendeth unto the same fingers unto the same Creatour who curiously wrought it upon earth that he might exalt it unto glory in Heaven To which Heaven and glory he bring us by his spirit and by his Son To whom with Himself the Father of all things be dominion and salvation ever ascribed Amen FINIS Psal 116.10 I beleeved therefore have I spoken
neck Joseph shall please himself in weeping the bowels of Abraham yern upon Isaac's neck he may not weep 4. Abraham was tempted in the No time b given The daughter of Jephthah so God will order it shall go childless among Women a joyful mother of children a happy mother in Israel she shall not be nevertheless this indulgence her tender father may grant he may safely give unto her fâ—ll two months space and therein to bewail and celebrate her Virgin life before she be finally consecrated a Nunn a Vestal a Votarie to her God But as for the Father of Isaac He must seize he must apprehend he must take his Isaac not two months hence but presently Where it is said unto him b Take thy son there it is said unto him b Take thy son now 5. Whither must he take Him 1. Answ Not unto the tent of his abode for there he might have rushed upon have gulped down and irrevocably have executed the unnatural Duty ere ever his more considerate heart had given place unto the recoilings of his fatherly compassions Loving-Kindnesses and affections 2. Answ Neither might that neighbouring grove be the shadow of his sons death for there he might have called in aid But 3. Answ He was to take his son unto a place d afarr off which place mount Moriah by name was above forty miles distant from Beersheba which forty miles were in this winterly season unto the feeble Knees and languishing Spirits of heavie hearted Abraham little less d then three daies journey During a great part of which three daies to speake was to betray his grief to be silent was to breed suspicion to stand still was disobedience to return back was rebellion and to go forward was death 4 Answ Get thee into the land of Moriah unto one of the mountains which b I will tell thee of How shall he get thither The same Vision which a disturbed his first nights rest will these next two nights hold his eyes wakeing or if slumber he doth his very shuntings will affright him How can a dejected crasie aged person travail if he wanteth both sleep and sustenance He can eat no food except bread of affliction and he more heartily feedeth upon his griefes then upon that I dare not say he mingleth his drink with teares for these he suppresseth In the stead of weeping openly he bleedeth inwardly and no marveil seeing every step between Beer-sheba and mount Moriah presseth so heavily upon his drooping Spirits Father said the g secure lad Where is a Lamb for the burnt offering Nigh at hand thought the Father but he durst not say so He was glad to pluck up his Spirits when with a sorrowful heart I wisse he happily replied h God will provide himself a lamb my son Hungry and thirsty his soul fainting in him upon naked mountains in bleak weather slowly and mournfully he laggeth on glad if he might be priviledged to sprinkle the ground with teares and his head with Ashes but he may not thus mitigate his afflictions When after many and many a wearisom step he long at the last d saw the place afarr off much more when he i came quite to it then more then ever he fixed his farewel eye upon his now short-liv'd Isaac And the more he now fixed his eye upon his Isaac the more did his eye now affect his heart But more by many degrees more was his sad and mournfull heart pittifully greived then when he k stretched forth his hand and took the Knife For 6 Abraham was tempted as in the place appropriated to this sacrifice so in the sacrifice to be offered up The sacrifice to be offered up was b a burnt offering and this ye know required f as well fire as a Knife This burnt offering was k first to be slain and then i to be consumed with fire I say again Isaac was 1 as first to be bound and then to be layed over the altar upon the wood so first to be slain with a Knife and then to be burnt A crueltie it will be to cutt the throat of Isaac but the inhumanitie ceaseth not here for when his throat is cutt then must his body his whole body be burned wholy burned to ashes Sirs if this be that death which Isaac is to suffer say I Let me not see the death of the Lad. But to make the catastrophe yet more tragical His Father must see it And yet is this sigh this prodigious Sight but the least of his trialls For 7. Abraham was tempted as in the sacrifice b assigned so in the sacrificer b ordained Isaac the Son He is to be the sacrifice Abraham the father He is to be the sacrificer 1. If Isaac must indeed be offered up for a burnt offering let some un-concerned stranger or other be hired to be the sacrificing Priest 2. If by a strange hand the Son of Abraham may not die Order some meane out Servant to give the deaths wound 3. If no inferiour Servant may let Eleazar the Steward undergoe this servitude 4. If Eleazar may not O let Ishmael be forced upon the Dutie 5 Let any hand whatsoever rather then the hand of Abraham himselfe binde and slay the Son of Abraham But Who may say unto God What doest thou Abraham must b apprehend Abraham must c conduct Abraham must f burden Abraham must i binde Abraham can not k refuse to slay Abraham can not refuse to burn to ashes his Son his onely Son his onely Isaac his onely Isaac whom he loveth Even so much that From v. 2. unto v. 11. of Gen. 22. Abraham was tempted IN the multitude of thoughts within Him 1. While he 1. ariseth so early 2. Sadleth the Asse 3. cleaveth the Wood 4. calleth aside two and but two young men and 5. with them draweth his Isaac out of doores 2. While he c consulteth hast and privacie for why else did he himselfe both Saddle the Asse and cleave the Wood 3. While indisposed and enfeebled as he was he c began and continued his Winterly that I may not say his fatal journey 4. When by some undoubted signall I mean by some cloud testifying Gods presence or rather by some pillar of fire or rather by some new appearing Starr he was c told of and therefore d saw the place afar off 5. While for reasons but too two well know unto himselfe he left his two young men e behind him 6. All the while that his Son was f carrying the Wood and that he himselfe was f carrying the Fire and the Knife 7. While he i 1. built the altar 2. upon it laied the Wood in order 3. bound his Son 4 laied his Son over the altar upon the Wood 5. When he took the Knife and 6. Sretched forth his hand his trembling hand to slay his Isaac his onely Isaac In all which trans-actions unto the unwillingly-willing Father of Isaac every new occurrence could be no lesse then a new conflict 2. Abraham was tempted
shall be fixed upon Abraham 2. Great was this trial but greater is that which attendeth it seeing what reproaches soever asperse Him sully the undefiled worship of his God Look how much you disavow Him and so much you disesteem his exemplary godliness Blemish his good name and ye blast his holy profession Every slander against himself doth thorough His side wound that Religion which He defendeth For example His former zeal will be by the blood of his Son discouloured as if it had bin dissimulation hypocrisie or what not By the ashes of his Isaac his late Devotions will seeme pale-faced they will appeare like so much singularitie humour or affectation Yea the puritie of that true Religion which He countenanceth will now be censured a worship of his own invention Alas that every altar by Him erected in a thankful remembrance of that God whom He serveth should henceforward be looked upon not as the perpetual monuments of the onely true God but as certain arguments of this Patriarch his ostentation and madnesse Woe will it be with the Hous-hold of faith when the life of this parent and the Death of this Child shall be taken up for a scoffe a taunt for a reproach and by-word for a ridicule and a proverb amongst all the insulting adversaries of Godlinesse Review a little how powerfully this last trial tempteth Abraham to desist from offering up his Isaac viz. To sacrifice his just and most deserved Dignitie and Esteem in the fate of his Son to let his own Name perish with his childes Life by this one stroke to make himselfe of no reputation the Patriarch in duty toward his God refuseth not could it stand with the reputation of Divine Worship But so it is that if the one suffereth the other suffereth also The pure the Holy the unspotted Worship of the most High God Will by this one sacrifice once offered up be even unto persons honest sober and quiet an offence and scandall The scandal that will be given the Prejudice that will be taken against the Holy Worship of the glorious Lord God this this is that which casteth down the heart of this Patriarch while in the hand of this Patriarch the slaughter-Knife is lifted up There yet remaineth one triall unspoken of the which in humane probabilitie will bring upon the Father of the Faithfull a greater temptation unto disobedience then this and some former circumstances could doe were all of them blended together into one complicated evil The remaining triall is this The obloquies of them who will revile Him and his religion will fall not so maliciously upon Himselfe as upon the God whom He serveth It is against His will that his Isaac is slain and therefore the world will cease to asperse Him as if He delighted in cruelties neither is it of his own head that he beginneth this sacrifice so that he shall not long be branded with an act of will worship The burnt-offering which he bringeth he offereth up not of choice but in Duty and the truth hereof will in due time come to light But herein as I conceive herein is the consternation of Abraham his Spirit So long as the commandement of his God might abide concealed so long there was not given unto the enemies of the Lord so great an occasion to Blaspheme On the other side to the deepe anguish of his Soul the Patriarch calleth to mind that so soon as ever it shall be understood that the Lord had said unto him Offer up thy Son forthwith all people will open their mouths against that Jehovah who laid upon the Father of Isaac a command so unmerciful so ungodly so pernicious Behold all other conflicts are now over and all things are now readie The alter is built the Wood is orderly laid upon the altar By his own Father Isaac is bound and is for the ease of his Father by his own selfe placed over the altar upon the Wood At the Fathers feete and in the Fathers bosome the fire kindleth His Arm is stretched forth and in his hand the Knife but the suspence is If unto the God of Abraham the Son of Abraham must be offered up What will the God of Abraham do unto his great Name Answ Who so will atheists say Who so would be bound by covenant to Live and Die a stranger amongst his Enemies Who so in Obedience unto his God would shift in tents from region to region not having upon earth any Citie or dwelling place to abide in He who would be ever separated from all his Kins-folke and Relations He who would Worship a strange God a God whom the eye of man never yet beheld a God invisible a God of the Hebrews if any such a handfull of people there be a new-found God a God unknown unto the most prosperous Kingdomes and unto the most spreading Dominions of the World Such a one as would ridiculously and obscenely mangle and curtail the foreskin of his flesh He that can call it a point of high devotion to be the prodigious executiner of his dearest childe Let him forsake the Gods of the Philistines and of the Egyptians let him renounce the Gods of the Chaldeans and of the Canaanites and let him cleave unto the God of Abraham So then If unto his offering up his Isaac unto his Jehovah we add his not with-holding his Jehovah from the contempt of blasphemers If unto the self-denials on which of necessity he was to force His whole man we annexe the evil consequences which his self denials most ominously presaged It is as clear as His obedience that when Abraham offered up his Isaac Abraham was tempted OBJECTION Better it had bin had neither God tempted Abraham nor Abraham obeyed his God for hereby an Entrance was afterwards ministred first unto the Heathens next unto the Kingdom of Israel and then unto the Kingdom of Judah to offer up both Sons and Daughters first unto Devils next unto insensible Creatures and soon after to make the affront complete unto God Himself REPLY It is yet to be proved that if God had never thus tempted Abraham then folk would never have offered up their Sons and their Daughters in Sacrifice Or suppose they would not c. O man who art thou that disputest against God Seeing as the Extent of Gods Commandements is exceeding broad so the Designs of them are exceeding deep From the beginning of the world was is and will be foreknown unto God what success so ever did doth or will attend every mans obedience unto every of His precepts By ways unto us unsearchable he is ever fulfilling his hidden pleasure ever fetching about his hidden Glory as for us Who hath known the mind of the Lord Or Who hath bin His Counseller Leave unto the infinitely wise God things secret Our concern is in things revealed 1. It may be the Lord hath said unto Shimei curse David It may be the just God had said unto Satan Let the brats of Adam see what
breath for his blamelesse and dearest Son he intercedeth not Qu Why this Answ Holy Abraham loved one righteous Isaac more then all the sinners of Sodom but so it was God had revealed concerning Sodom onely a conditional pleasure saying I will go down and see Concerning Isaac he had revealed his absolute pleasure saying Take now Wherefore so absolute is the Patriarch his resignation that notwithstanding his God had yeelded unto him seven times together in all that he had spoken in the behalf of Sodom he doth not at all open his lips unto God in behalf of his Isaac Go thou and do likewise When God saith Offer up with-hold not thou Being called unto self-denials Let Duty teach thee not to argue but to submitt not to dispute but to obey not to request but to resigne Let thy meek thine humble thy modest thought be I am dumb I open not my mouth because thou doest it Nay 5. Since thou owest not onely whatsoever is in thy custodie but even thy selfe also unto Him that is Lord of all Araunah like meete thou thy King in His Desires Make friends of unrighteous Mammon What thou mayest not detaine that give and give chearefully unto Him who loveth a chearefull Giver What thy God calleth for that present dedicate and consecrate first love thy Relations as dearly as Abraham loved Isaac and then esteem Father Mother Wife Children and with them whatsoever else is precious esteem all of them together too small too mean a present to testifie the readinesse of thy devotion or the sinceritie of thy gratitude unto the Father and Giver of thy Lord Jesus Christ especially seeing so many as he loveth them he chastneth and so many as he chastneth them he chastneth for the spiritual and eternal good of themselves or of others or of both whether 1. For the benefit of others Accompt upon it that wherein the God of all comfort doth comfort us in all our tribulation therein he prepareth and bespeaketh us to comfort them who are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God Are the consolations of God small with thee I hope not Or 2. By casting down thine old and outward man thy God preventeth thy new thine inward man from falling Jesurum when he waxed fatt Kicked and Solomon when he was full denied God So is it with thee and with other Saints Alas the more holy mens lives are the more advantage Satan seeketh to gett over them that old Serpent well knowing by his own woful experience that there is no pride like unto Spiritual pride Wherefore that even the Fall of his children may bruise this Serpents head when the right hand of God exalteth them most usually his left hand doth humble them It is indeed unto their humiliation but it is so unto their humiliation that it conduceth unto their honour that God doth so often place them in the forlorn hope When no man upon earth was so upright as Job then was the roaring Lion let lose against him After Hezekiah had pleaded sinceritie God gave him a taste of his unprosperous vain gloriousness David was confessedly a man after Gods own heart and as confessedly Adulterie Murder and Pride it self brought him very Low Jacob prevailed when he wrastled with God but God sent him halting away Who more stout hearted then Peter and who more cowheartedly denied his Jesus Satan had not bin permitted to buffet Paul had not Paul bin exalted by abundant Revelations Moses was a meek man but he spake so unadvisedly with his lips that there was for him no Entrance into Canaan Abraham so excelled in Faith that he was exemplarily and eminently the Father of the Faithful but where was the Faith of Abraham when more then once he dissembled that Sarah was only his Sister And as that he who thinketh he standeth may take heed lest he fall the wisest of men was made a mere fool by the Vilest of Women so that we may not be ignorant of the devices of Satan Christ himself when he was first baptized next endued with the Spirit and then declared mightily declared to be the Son of God was afterwards led into the Wilderness and in the Wilderness forty daies together tempted of the Devil 3. To rouse a Soul from drowsiness to pursue some unrepented Crime to dislodge some bosom Sin c. It was when Saul failed of his expectation that Jonathan was questioned for eating honey and when Israel was repelled then was the Sacriledge of Acham discoved Before he was troubled David himself went wrong and until he was cast into a troubled Sea Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord. Many times there is in our calamities a Spirit of discerning while like that Angel which met Baalam they give us to understand our present misadventures Search me O Lord and know my heart trie me and know my thoughts See if there be in me any way of pain A daily praier this and this praier almost every day before we call God answereth 4. To satisfie our selves or others of the truth or groweth of our Graces it is the furnace that as well approveth as trieth Silver The same trial which inviteth worldlings to esteem Preachers no better then earthen Pitchers the self same trial occasioneth every one that appeareth before God to look upon those Preachers as upon the precious Sons of Zion and to value those precious Sons of Zion comparable unto fine gold the which the more it is tried the better it is refined and the more it is refined the brighter it shineth The sufferings which all these holy Martyrs in this whole context endured were not only the trials but the vindications not only the vindications but the approbations not only the approbations but the publications and recommendations of their Faith Such was their Faith that to their praise be it spoken their names are Registred by the Holy Ghost himself That poor widow was made rich by the applauses of Christ Jesus when he vouchsafed to attribute a greater munificence unto her small mite then unto the largest gifts that were cast unto the Treasurie The like was the successe of that true hearted Mary unto whom the same blessed Jesus gave this felicitie that where soever His Holy Gospel shall be preached there her Name shall be as ointment powred forth In every deed neither the deare-heartedness of that penitent nor the plain dealing of Jeremiah nor the meekenesse of Moses nor the Spirit of Elijah had ever bin one half so famous as they now are had not malicious tongues given occasion to have the excellencie of their graces brought to the test Said that envious Eliab unto his brother David I know the pride and the naughtinesse of thy heart but where was David his pride when he refused the costly armour of King Saul and contented himself with a sling and a stone Or where was the naughtiness of his heart when in love toward his nation and in Zeal toward his