more perplexing than whole Legions of infernal Fiends without them Since then these bruitish Passions have such a mischievous Influence to turn Angels into Devils how can any Man hope to be happy so long as he suffers such Furies to rule and reign over him There 's no way therefore to be at Peace with God and Man and our own Consciences but by subduing our sensual Appetites and Passions and reducing 'em by Sobriety and Moderation under the Empire and Soveraignty of rectified Reason and Religion Otherwise if 't were possible that we should be in Heaven with such uneasie and troublesome Companions we should find nothing there to please us but be rather desirous to return into the lower World to react these sensual Pleasures which are most correspondant to our bruitish Tempers and Inclinations Thus Sobriety and Moderation are the Harbingers which by the Assistance of God's Grace do dispose and qualifie a Christian for all other Virtues and there must be a concurrence of 'em all to make as truly wise and truly good We shall now descend to Particulars Partieular Vertues relating more peculiarly to the Soul As And treat distinctly 1 Of the Vertues which do more immediatly respect the Soul And 2 Of those which are most peculiar to the Body Those of the former Rank are 1st 1 Heavenly-mindedness Heavenly-mindedness The Soul of Man has a direct and natural Tendency to the Place from whence it derives its Original And tho' our Bodies be polluted with sin and the Faculties of our Souls chain'd and fetter'd by the sensual Appetites and Passions here below yet they 'l now and then endeavour to disintangle themselves from those Confinements especially when prompted thereunto by the Motions of God's holy Spirit and the Assistances of Religion Our own Experience will inform us That the Things of this World which are usually esteem'd and valued by worldly minded men are not easily got difficult to keep and do often procure so much Malice Envy and Danger to those that possess them that the Worldling's life can be no other than a continued Series of Trouble and Discomposure But those who have no other Aims than the necessary Supplies of Nature and are not affected with the fruitless Vanity of being rich or honourable in this World but place their whole Desires and Delights in the exercise of Piety and Virtue and in Contemplation of the Riches of Gods Grace in Christ and that suture Happiness which we aspire to Those heavenly minded Christians I say who have arriv'd at this divine Frame and Temper of Mind do trample upon all the little Projects and Fooleries of this World enjoy a Heaven upon Earth and live little less than the Life of glorified Angels and Saints whilst by a Mind content with little they imitate their want of nothing Now this Heavenly Disposition is most sutable and correspondent to the Genius and Spirit of Christianity and the Doctrine and Example of our blessed Saviour Who commands us to pray not for Delicacies and Superfluities to pamper and please our wanton Curiosity and if they are not to be prai'd for they are not worth the having but for daily Bread and such Accomodations of Life as may keep our Bodies in Health that they may be fit for Action and more serviceable to the Soul When we 've rais'd our Faculties to this Pitch of Purity and Holiness 't will be no difficult Task to part with our Fathers Mothers Wives Children the dearest Friends and Relatives Houses Lands and whatever else may be esteemed valuable in this World if they should come in Competition with Christ and the interest of our precious and immortal Souls In a word this heavenly Frame and Temper of mind and Spirit will teach us to bear with Aequanimity all the cross Accidents which may happen to our Persons and Possessions For there 's nothing can fall amiss to that Person that is divinely dispos'd And if it should so happen that our Enemies break open the Cages of our Bodies which is the worst they can do they will make the more safe and expedite Passage for our Souls into those peaceable Regions of Bliss and Immortality Thus as the Soul is in but not of the Body so Heavenly minded Men may be in but not of the World But with passionate Groans and Cries yet always submitting to the Will and Wisdom of God they desire to be dissolv'd and to be with Christ Phil. 1.23 which is far better 2dly Humility The next Virtue which is of necessary use for the conduct of our Souls in the ways of Religion is Humility I have toucht that Branch of it already which relates immediatly to God I shall consider it here as it has more peculiar reference to our Selves Now this Virtue consists in having a lowly and modest Opinion of our Persons Acquisitions Merits and Endowments both of Body and Mind and being content that all others should have so to resolving all what we are and what we have into the Grace and Mercy of God in Christ This Humility will teach us to dwell at home and converse more familiarly with our Selves And indeed if we seriously reflect upon and consider all the Deficiencies Follies and Indiscretions in our best Performances the Ignorance and Errours of our Judgements the Perversness of our Wills the Defects of our Manners the Ommissions of our Duties both to God and Man which we are incessantly guilty of we shall have sufficient Grounds to correct and subdue the proud and insolent Conceits our haughty and ambitious Spirits and submit to the meanest Offices and Imployments Rom. 12.10 in Honour preferring one another To enforce the Practice of this excellent Vertue We have the concurrent Examples of our blessed Saviour and his Apostles which are written every where in the New Testament in such lively and legible Characters that I need not instance in Particulars We have the holy Angels also for our Patterns who tho they be advanc'd to the highest Pinacle of Honour and Happiness Heb. 1.14 yet are ministring Spirits to the Sons of Men for their Weal and Preservation To which may be added the admirable Examples of the Church of Christ in all Ages and what her Members have done and suffer'd for God's Glory in the Defence of and for the Establishment of the Christian Religion Now if we apply these things seriously to our Selves we shall appear like so many Lamps in the Sight of the Sun and those little remains of Wisdom and the fond Conceits which we are so apt to admire in our selves and undervalue in others would expire and vanish A modest Humility and Self denial would take Possession of our Minds and Spirits and the Effects of it would appear in our whole Entercourse with and deportment towards one another Again 't is reasonable to consider that whatever we are and whatever we have our Beings and Well-beings are the immediate Product and Pensions of God's Bounty
far more grievous and insupportable Whereas by a patient Submission to the Will and Wisdom of God under the manifold Pressures of this Life they will become far more tolerable and easie to be endured Especially to those who have a well grounded Assurance that their Sufferings in this World shall be infinitely rewarded with the Favour and Plenty of a heavenly Country Thus if we bear with Patience and Meekness those sundry Pressures and almost infinite Sufferings of this Life we shall not only reap the Comfort and Benefit our Selves both in this and a future State but by this Means Christianity would be restor'd to its ancient Purity and Splendour we should bring out excellent Religion into Repute and Credit as the first Christians did and perswade others to embrace it tho' to the utmost hazard of their Lives and Fortunes Hitherto of those excellent and admirable Virtues which are most peculiar to the Souls of Men with their Opposites We pass on 2dly Virtues relating to the Body To the other Branch of Duty which concerns our Bodies Now we are oblig'd by the Laws of Nature and Christianity to make use of all sutable and convenient Means to preserve our Bodies as well as our Souls in a state of health and safety till Providence be pleas'd to dismiss them into the other World And the best Expedient which God's holy and infallible Spirit directs us to for this End is the comprehensive Virtue and Duty of Sobriety Sobriety as it relates to the Body The Species of iâ— are Temperance Which in a more limited sense as it relates to the Body does consist in the moderate use of Meats Drink Sleep Apparel and Recreations both as to the Quantity and Quality of them and this is Temperance Or in the Moderation of the Lusts and Desires of the Flesh which is Chastity Chastity Or in the sober and moderate use of Riches and Honours and that is Contentedness Contentedness In practicing all these Virtues and avoiding the contrary Vices we act like men endued with Reason and Religion and are hereby distinguisht from bruit Beasts who know no other Measures than their sensual Appetites Of all these as they are of special and necessary use to conduct the Body in the ways of Religion that it may be a fit Mansion for the Soul distinctly and in Order And I begin 1st Temperance With Temperance in the moderate use of the Creatures in Eating Drinking c. And we are oblig'd to be temperate 1 In Eating In Eating 'T is beyond Dispute that our gracious God doth allow us the moderate Use of the Creature and we are confin'd to no other Measures either as to the Quantity or Quality of Meats than what may consist with the Health and Preservation of our Bodies But tho' we have no positive Law to restrain our Appetites to a certain Rule nor is it possible that it should be so because Men's Appetites are of different Proportions some require more and some are satisfied with less Yet our blessed Saviour has expresly forbidden all manner of Excess in Eating in these words Luk 21 3â— Take heed that your Hearts be not overcharg'd with surfeiting And he insinuates the Danger in that Instance of the rich Glutton Luke 16. so that every Man has sufficient cause to make Laws to himself to restrain and put Bounds to his Appetite Besides 't is highly observable that intemperate Eating and Sin were coetaneous and had the same Original And in the very infancy of the World Esau would quit the Interest of his Birth-right and make Shipwrack of his Honour too rather than offer Violence to his greedy Desire of Eating And the Sins which brought sudden Destruction upon the once flourishng Cities of Sodom and Gomorah were Idleness and fulness of Bread Intemperate Lust is always the miserable Companion of intemperate Eating and other Sins are indulg'd and thrive by this kind of Excess 'T is the Duty and Interest then of all Mankind to use moderate and wholsome Diet to live always temperately and soberly according to the Rules of sound Reason and Religion For they that do so sleep sweetly and quietly and are seldom troubled as the intemperate are with ill Humours or depriv'd of the Comforts and Benefits of Health by violent and raging Distempers Their Understandings are clear their Constitutions firm and unshaken their Bodies are active and fit for Business and this is the most certain Expedient through God's blessing to preserve Mentem sanam in Corpore sano a vivacious and brisk Soul in a sound Body Now if the great Advantages of this Branch of Temperance on the one hand and the infinite Mischiefs of the opposite Vice on the other were seriously weighed and consider'd they would not fail in perswading Men to be more sober and moderate in their Diet and avoid that excessive Gluttony and the Vanity of pampering their Appetites which is every where too obvious in the World 2dly In Drinking We should use the like Measures of Temperance and Moderation in Drinking for the Health and Preservation for the Sustenance and Refection of our Souls and Bodies both as to the Quantity and Quality of Liquors The very Heathens who had no other Light nor Laws to direct 'em then those of Nature were highly strict in the Practice of this Virtue of Temperance in Drinking and avoiding the Sin of Drunkenness Even the Cretians who were much addicted to Gluttony made a Law against Drunkenness and inforc'd it by inflicting the severest Penalties upon Offendors Tit. 1.12 Plato de Leg. Lib. 7. Sen Ep. 84. Senecae was of an Opinion that Intemperance in Drinking is a voluntary Madness and he that doth accustom himself to guzle from day to day till he be drunk is possest with an absolute Frenzy Fabricus and many of the most moderate Heathens were great Proficients in this Virtue and declaim'd against those who know no other Measure to bound their Excess by than their Appetites as Beasts and Monsters rather then Men endued with Reason and Judgement What a shame then must it be to Christians and a Scandal to our excellent Religion that any Man amongst us should drink more than he is able to bear But 't is the highest Aggravation of Wickedness and Villany to become the Devils Factors for Damnation as too many do in striving not only to debauch themselves but to overcome others We that are of the Day and directed by the Light of Evangelical Grace and Truth 1 Thes 4.8 1 Cor. 9.25 Rom. 13.12 13. are more especially oblig'd to be sober and temperate in all Things to walk honestly as in the Day not in Rioting and Drunkenness c. The Creatures are only to be used as necessary Supplies and convenient Accessions to our present abode for we should neither make Food our Business nor pleasures our Aim but rather study and indeavour to wean our Appetites and Affections from all Excess that
Preservation of the King 's most excellent Majesty James the Second c. and all the Royal Family bless the whole Clergy but him especially whom thou hast appointed to watch over us in this Parish together with all the Nobility Gentry and Commonalty of this Realm that they may all become active Instruments for the Advancement of thy Glory the Safety and Preservation of the King's Person Honour and Interest and for the Comfort and Benefit of all his truly loyal peaceable obedient Subjects Visit we pray thee with thy Grace and Blessing all our Relations Friends and Benefactors forgive the Injuries committed against thee and us by all our Enemies Comfort and Support all distressed Persons with the stedfast Belief of sure Confidence in and a patient Submission to thy divine Will and Wisdom in all Straits and Sufferings whatsoever And now O Lord we return thee most humble and hearty Thanks for all those temporal and spiritual Blessings which make the time of our short abode in this Life more easie and comfortable to us But let our Souls for ever love adore admire and praise thee for thine infinite Goodness Bounty in sending thine own Son from the highest Region of Bliss to take our Nature upon him Who submitting to all the Indignities of a sorrowful Life and the Injuries and Tortures of a painful and accursed Death has not only deliver'd us from the dreadful and damning Effects of our Sin and Disobedience but puts us thereby into an undoubted Capacity of being sayed appointing the Use of such Means and affording us those most powerful Assistances whereby we may live comfortably here and be happy for ever We praise thee more particularly for the Safety and Refreshment of the Night past and since thy Providence has bless'd us with the Light of another Day keep our Souls and Bodies we beseech thee pure and undefiled and enable us to imploy it and the whole residue of our Lives to thy Glory and the real and mutual Benefit of of our selves and others So that after the few Dayes and Nights we have to pass in this World we may be happily translated from the short and troublesome Enjoyments thereof to the ravishing and immutable Pleasures of a future and better Life Grant these our most humble Suplications and what thou seest further needful and convenient for us we sincerely beg at thy hands for the Merits of Jesus Christ the righteous in whose holy Name and Words we pray unto thee Our Father c. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ c. An Evening Prayer for Families O Lord the Almighty Creator of the World and the merciful Redeemer of Mankind who seest our down lyings and uprisings and to whom the Darkness and Light are both alike Thou art a God of Infinite Purity and Holiness nor can any thing be added to thy admirable Perfections and essential Glory by us or any of thy Creatures for thou reprovest thy Angels of Folly and the Heavens are impure before thee much more might the sense of our wretched Estate and Condition make us justly asham'd and afraid to offer unto thee any Sacrifice yet in great Mercy to our Souls thou hearest Prayer and thy Power and Goodness are every where manifest in the visible Administrations of thy Providence We beseech thee therefore to accept of this Evening Oblation of our Souls and Bodies which we desire with all Humility to present a holy living and acceptable Sacrifice unto thee thro' Jesus Christ We do confess O Lord and in great bitterness of Spirit lament and bewail our detestable Impiety Unworthiness and hardness of Heart in that we have wilfully trampled upon thy Sovereign Power and Authority by violating and transgressing thy just and reasonable Commands rejecting all the bountiful Tenders of thy Grace and Mercy and obstinately despising the Riches of thy Forbearance and long suffering Patience which should lead us to Repentance But thou hast graciously spar'd us hitherto when we deserved Punishment and in the midst of Judgement thinkest upon Mercy Wherefore O Lord thy Mercy is our Sanctuary and unto thee do we flie for Succour Let the sense of our Vileness possess us with an holy Indignation against our Selves and give us Grace to look back upon the Offences of our former Lives with that horrour and regret hatred and detestation that neither our vile Lusts the illusions of Satan nor the alluring Enticements of this vain and transitory World may prevail with us to neglect the great Concernments of Eternity And for the perfecting of our present and future Happiness we beseech thee O heavenly Father to be gracious and merciful unto us in the forgivenness of all our Sins Pardon the vanity and impurity of our Thoughts the sinfulness of our prophane idle and impertinent Words and the Impurity injustice and Impiety of all our Actions Purge our whole Nature from the Stain and Pollution of the Old-man not only from grosser presumptuous Sins but even from our private Slips and more secret Corruptions Sanctifie us throughly by thy holy Spirit and we shall be clean wash us in thy Sons Bloud and we shall be whiter than Snow Bless all our Endeavours of Reformation and let the redundant Satisfaction of our meritorious Advocate and Intercessor prevail for our Release and Rescue for thy Grace and Acceptance Fix our thoughts our hopes and desires on Heaven and heavenly Things Make us watchful over our Ways and enrich our Understandings and our Wills with the love of Goodness and Knowledge of thy Truth Mortifie and subdue all our lustful Appetites and Passions by the Operation and Prevalence of thy Grace that we may submit our Selves entirely to the gracious and safe Conduct of rectified Reason and Religion And to this end we beseech thee strengthen our Faith confirm our Hope and give us a daily increase of Charity that we may serve thee sincerely fervently and constantly in Righteousness and true Holiness all the days of our Life Enable us to increase still more more and persevere in all the Instances of Piety Virtue that by adding Strength to Strength and one degree of Grace unto another we may have acomfortable Well-being in this Life and in the World to come Life everlasting We implore thy Mercies also for the Peace and Happiness of all Mankind Bless thy Church universal but more especially that part of it to which we stand so nearly related in these divided Kingdoms of great Brittain and Ireland Remember not O Lord our crying Sins nor the Iniquities of our Forefathers whereby these Nations have been involv'd in Bloud and Ruine and do still cry aloud against us for Vengeance But out of the Bowels of thy tenderest Mercy and for the sake of our Compassionate Redeemer let thy heavy Wrath and Judgements be turned away from us Bless our gracious Soveraign and all the Royal Family endue him with the Spirit of Wisdom and sound Judgement in thy Fear and make him successful in
all his Undertakings for the Advancement of the true Honour and Interest of the establisht Religion his Subjects Peace and his own Safety Give a plentiful Portion of thy Grace and Spirit to all the several Stewards and Dispensers of thy holy Mysteries whether they be Arch-Bishops Bishops or other subordinate Priests and Deacons but more particularly to him whom thou hast intrusted with the more immediate Care and Inspection over our Souls in this Parish Enable them to feed their Flocks with true Wisdom and Knowledge that after a plentiful Conversion of Sinners from the Errour of their Way they may shine like so many Stars in thy Kingdom and Glory for ever and ever And let the same holy Spirit we most humbly beseech thee sanctifie and direct all the King's Councellors Judges Magistrates and Ministers whatsoever that they may be all faithful and zealous in their several Stations and Callings for the Maintenance of thy true Religion the Encouragement and encrease of Piety and Justice and brotherly Love and Unity amonst us And now O Lord as we have pray'd unto thee for the supply of all temporal and spiritual Wants so we beseech thee to accept of the hearty Return of our most affectionate Praise and Thanksgiving for the abundance of thy Grace and Mercy vouchsafed to our Souls and Bodies We bless thee for our Creation Preservation and manifold Deliverances from Temptation Sin and Danger for all the comfortable Motions of thy holy Spirit and the blessed effects thereof in our Lives and Actions for our Health and Liberty Peace and Prosperity But above all let Heaven and Earth praise thee for thine infinite Love and Compassion to our miserable Nature in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ and herein we praise thee more particularly for his Merits and Intercession his Doctrine and Example the benefit of Repentance and promise of Pardon for thine unwearied Patience and passionate Entreaties to save us from Sin and Ruin for all the blessed Opportunities of Grace and Mercy in this Life and the assured hope of a blessed Immortality in that which is to come Finally we beg the Assistance of thy good Providence which hath watcht over us and preserved us this Day to defend us this Night also Refresh our wearied Bodies with comfortable Rest and Sleep and keep our Souls and Bodies from the Violence and Malice of the Spirits of Darkness from all evil Accidents and illusive and filthy Dreams So that if thy good Providence bring us to the Enjoyment of another Day we may serve thee fathfully and sincerely both in the business of our Callings and Religion Take us not out of this World we pray thee till thou hast dispos'd and qualified us for the happy and eternal Enjoyment of a better and let thy merciful Kindness be our Support and Comfort in the whole remaining part of our Lives In confidence whereof we recommend our Selves Ours to thy gracious disposal in Christ Jesus in whose most holy Name and prevailing Words we beseech thee to hear us Our Father c. A Morning Prayer for a Private Person O Most merciful and gracious God the Fountain of all goodness and blessing of life and peace of plenty and pardon thou art greatly to be feared and had in reverence of all that draw unto thee Wherefore I humbly beg the assistance of thy Grace at this time to sanctifie and enliven my Devotions that I may pray with the Spirit and pray with the Vnderstanding also For I must confess O Lord to my great shame and sorrow that I am a most vile and sinful Creature less then the least of all thy Mercies and lyable to the severest of thy Judgements All the Powers and Faculties of my Soul and Members of my Body are polluted with the contagion and filthiness of Original Sin I am clothed with Iniquity as with a Garment and my Transgressions are gone over my head like a sore burden too heavy for me to bear I have sinned in every Circumstance in every Condition and Imployment of my whole Life not only in my youth and days of ignorance but in my more discerning and riper years Insomuch that there are few sins which I have not either actually committed or at least been inclined to to the great increase of my present Misery and future Condemnation * Here mention your partitular sins as Besides vile Creature that I am I have been so miserably intangled in the snares of Sin and Wickedness as to be hurried on either to the wilful neglect of the Duties of Religion †Here confess your particular Omissions of and Failings in Duty or those I perform are done with so much indifference and formality hypocrisie and distraction coldness and indevotion that even my Prayers and other religious Performances are not seldom turned into sin And to render all my Transgressions out of measure sinful the guilt of 'em has been hugely aggravated and encreast ‖ Here consider the circumstantial Aggravations as when how often where c. by the Commission of 'em from time to time against the clearest Convictions of thy Word and Spirit the Testimony and many checks of my own Conscience notwithstanding my many solemn Vows and Resolutions to the contrary Wherefore holy Father thou mightest justly enter into Judgment with me and if thou shouldest be extreme to mark what I 've done amiss I should not only be of all Men but of all Creatures the most miserable But with thee is mercy and forgivenness and because thy fatherly Compassions fail not therefore I am not consumed thou passest by the Transgressions of thy Servant and retainest not thine Anger for ever Let the abundant Merits of thy Son and my most merciful Redeemer make a full and satisfactory Atonement for the Sins and Offences of my whole Life and for his Righteousness sake deliver me I beseech thee from the Guilt and Stain and from the Power and Punishment of all my reigning Lusts which I have hitherto indulg'd and cling about me * Here mention the Sins to which you are most inclin'd and pray earnestly against them Enable me to subdue and overcome all those Follies Indiscretions the unreasonable Cares and unrelenting Affections that remisness and indisposednes in Duty †Here mention and pray against your several indispositions to Duty whereby I 've been so miserably led captive hitherto to the great dishonour of my holy Profession the Scandal of others and the extreme trouble and disquiet of my own sorrowful and afflicted Conscience Rescue me from those many alluring Temptations which are daily perplexing me in every Condition of life ‖ Here mention the Temptations which do oftnest aâ—â—ault you or give me a Sufficiency of spiritual Strength when they assault me to overcome them lest my Enemies prevail against me and lead me unawares into the Pit of Destruction and endless Perdition For this end I humbly beg the Aids of thy holy Spirit to purifie my
against the Laws of Piety Temperance or Charity Supply my outward wants with health safety and success in my honest Calling and lawful undertakings give me true Friends and other temporal Blessings so far as thou seest them needful and convenient for my Support and Comfort Guide me with thy Wisdom in the Way wherein I am to walk cloth me with thy Sons Righteousness and seal me with thy holy Spirit unto the Day of Redemption that I may not be cast out of thy gracious presence with Hypocrites and Vnbelievers And since thou hast been pleas'd to enrich my Soul with divine and excellent Faculties so enable me to imploy 'em entirely to thy Service that neither Death nor Judgement may overtake me unawares And seeing thy Mercy O Lord is over all thy Works I beseech thee to be gracious to all Mankind Bless the universal Church especially the Churches of these Kingdoms And herein I intreat thee for all temporal and spiritual Mercies for the guidance and safety of the King 's most excellent Majesty the royal Family and the whole Clergy of this Realm but particularly for the Guide and Pastor of our Souls in this Parish Bless all the Nobility Gentry and Commonality in their several Capacities and Callings Be favourable and gracious to all my Relations Friends and Benefactors and extend thy Mercy and Goodness to all even my most inveterate and malicious Enemies Be propitious to those who want the blessings and comforts which I enjoy strengthen the weak confirm the strong instruct the ignorant deliver the oppressed relieve the needy pity and support the Fatherless and Widow and bring us all by the Waters of Comfort in the Ways of Religion to thy Kingdom of rest Glory The holy Angels and Saints in heaven praise thee O Lord extol thy Power bless thy Goodness and are astonished at thy Wisdom the whole Earth is full of the Riches of thy Grace and Mercy But thou hast blest and oblig'd me more especially by all the endeared Expressions of love and bounty in my Creation Preservation and all the Mercies and Comforts of this Life but above all by the infinite Riches of thy Grace and Goodness in fending thy Son to purchase my Peace and Pardon at so dear a price as the expence of his own bloud And herein I thank thee with all my Soul for his miraculous Birth his most holy and innocent Life for his bitter Agony and Passion his Glorious Resurrection and Ascension and his sovereign Power and Authority over all the Creatures for the sprinkling of his Bloud and his Intercession with the Father for us and for the coming of the holy Ghost for all the blessed Opportunities of Grace and Salvation here and assured hope of eternal Glory hereafter And to all thy other Mercies and Blessings thou hast graciously added the Protection of me and mine in our Persons and Possessions this Day from all Casualties and ill Accidents from the power prevalence of our Enemies and from thine infinite Wrath and Vengeance which might have deservedly faln upon us In like manner I beseech thee preserve my Soul and Body from all the Malice and Violence of the Spirits of Darkness and suffer not any vain Thoughts or Dreams to disturb or ensnare me Bless sanctifie my Sleep that it may be temperate holy and safe and that I and all thine may be refreshed from time to time with wholesome and moderate Rest that both our Souls and Bodies may not only serve thee with a never failing Duty but that whether we wake or sleep live or die we may be thine in Christ Jesus Our Father c. FINIS
heartily zealous for and extremely tender of our Welfare with the Censer of his own Merits in his Hand to stop the Plague and apply sovereign and saving Remedies to our wounded and languishing Spirits He prays most affectionatly and incessantly for the Pardon of our Sins for the pity and care of our Infirmities Rom. 8.33 34. 1 Joh. 2.1 Heb. 4.14 15 16. for the relief of all our Necessities for the defence of our Persons for victory over Temptations for the Sanctification of our whole Nature for our nearer Union with him and the Father Joh. 14.16 Joh. 17.1 2 9 15 17 20 24. even in this World and for our future Glorification with him in Heaven and that eternally And this is our great Comfort and Happiness that if we be good Christians his Prayers will be successful for us and he will be no less concern'd for his Votaries now then formerly for the Shepherd of Israel doth neither slumber nor sleep Ps 121.4 but is the same merciful Intercessor for his Servants yesterday this day and for ever And as he prays effectually for us So 2 He is graciously pleas'd to offer up all our Prayers and holy Performances to God the Father for us And presents our Prayers to him Tota congregatio Societasque sanctorum offertur Deo per sacerdotem magnum Aug. de Civit. Dei Lib. 10. and Intercedes powerfully for their Reward and Acceptance All our spiritual Sacrifices as Confessions Petitions Thanksgivings Intercessions voluntary Restraints Self-resignations all our seasonable Words and Actions our pious Thoughts and Inclinations our virtuous and gracious Dispositions our Passions and Sufferings are continually offer'd up with all Earnestness and Importunity for their Acceptance by our compassionate faithful High-priest at the Throne of God's heavenly Grace And to encourage us herein tho' we sometimes fail in our Duties to God or Man and are drawn into Sin unawares by Infirmity or Surprize yet he pities and prays for our Pardon 1 Joh. 2.1 2. and if we be humble and penitent his redundant Merits will atone for the Pardon of our manifold Defects And indeed if we consider the many Slips and Infirmities we are daily guilty of and the great Neglects even in our best Performances we 've need of such a High-priest to intercede continually to the Father for us But here we must remarque That Christ prayeth not for the World not for those who are wilfully disobedient impenitent Joh. 17.9 Rev. 6.10 1 Ioh. 5.6 or who live in an habitual Course of Sin and Wickedness But does rather deprecate the Father against those wretched Enemies of his Church and Religion And as this may be a Terrour to the wicked and dissolute so it may be the greatest Incouragement imaginable to the conscientious and upright Christian It must therefore nearly concern us to be very prudent and circumspect in all our Duties both to God and Man lest by our Disobedience and Unbelief we lose our Propriety and Interest in those merciful Intercessions and omnipotent Prayers whereby if we be faithful obedient 't is impossible we should miscarry 3 By his meritorious Intercession if we comply with the recited Conditions he procures us a free Access by the Spirit unto the Father that we may present our Petitions our Selves for all things we stand in need of if we ask them in his Name For 't is by Christ only Ioh. 16 2â— 24 26 26 Rev. 8.3 that we come with Boldness to the Throne of Grace and have Admission into the holiest of all And if our devout and earnest Prayers be sprinkled with his Bloud and perfum'd by the Grace of his Merits and Intercession we need not doubt of their Reward and Acceptance with the Father for the sake of his dear Son Wherefore all our Prayers Thanksgivings c. must be concluded according to the Church's Prescription which is grounded upon Apostolical Practice in his Name To whom be ascrib'd all Honour and Glory now and for ever Now as Christ our most merciful High-priest doth powerfully and effectually intercede for us for the Acceptance of our Services and disposes us by his Grace to pray successfully for our Selves So 2dly He blesseth us Ps 84.11 He does sanctifie and Bless us both in our Souls and Bodies with the Abundance of his Grace and Glory For he blesseth us in our many temporal and spiritual Deliverances from the Temptations and Tyranny of Devils and wicked Men. He blesseth us in turning away every one of us from our Iniquities Acts 3.26 in sanctifying our whole Nature by the lively Influence and Operation of his holy Spirit and by the wonderful Effusions of his exciting preventing and restraining Grace whereby he keeps us back from Sin and makes us holy here as before that we may be happy for ever 'T is very observable since our blessed Saviour's Exaltation that his true and faithful Converts are far more expert in the Knowledge of Divine Mysteries more religious and circumspect in their Words and Actions more seraphic and affectionate in their Devotions And those very Slips and Indiscretions they are guilty of do seldom escape without some Regret and Reluctancy and are therefore doubtless consistent with the Sincerity of their regenerate State And that he will bless us immeasurably after this Life is most certain and evident from holy Scripture But we cannot yet comprehend the Degrees of that Blessedness and therefore 't is rather our Duty to Hope and wait for it with Patience then by a wanton Curiosity to pry too eagerly into that boundless and inconceivable Mystery 1 John 3.2 1 Cor. 2.9 Hitherto of the Intercessory Part of our Saviour's Melchisedekian Office which he is now transacting in Heaven for us Let us now apply this Point in two or three Instances And 1 We have not an absolute Title to the Privileges of our Saviour's Mediation in Heaven for us The Application of this Point for all the Promises of the Gospel as we 've noted at large in this Treatise are Conditional If we believe we shall be saved if we die with him we shall also live with him 2 Tim. 2.11 12 13. if we suffer with him we shall also reign with him c. And so on the contrary if we deny him he will also deny us c. Therefore we are oblig'd by the Laws of that New Covenant which Christ's now mediating in Heaven for us to believe repent pray read and meditate on the holy Scriptures hear God's Word receive the holy Sacraments and endeavour to be sincere in all Duties both to God and Man And that general Term of Godliness whereby we are rendred capable of the Blessings of this and a future Life does eminently comprehend all these nor have we any real Title to the Benefits of Christ's Mediatorship in Heaven but by our sincere Endeavour to observe and comply with these tolerable and easie Conditions Besides there can be no
whole Nature and dispose me for the moderate use of all thy Creatures Inform my Judgement with the useful Knowledge of those Truths which are necessary to be believed and practic'd rectifie my Will and sanctifie my Affections that I may so love and fear trust and hope desire and delight in thee above all Things that all my Thoughts Words and Works may shew forth thy praise who hast call'd me from the dark Regions of Sin and Ignorance to the marvellous Light of thy pure and undefiled Religion Give me Grace to improve every Opportunity and Blessing thy good Providence has intrusted me with that when thy Messengers Death or Judgement shall put an end to all the tedious Cares and troublesome Concernments of this mortal Life I may be clothed upon with a glorious and blissful Immortality Bless thy holy Catholic Church but more especially the Churches of these Kingdoms Bless the King's Majesty the Royal Family the Clergy Nobility Gentry and Commonalty of this Realm Let all my Friends Relations and Benefactors particularly * As Father Mother Husband Wife Children c. the Family wherein I live c. receive the Benefit of my Prayers Bless them in their Bodies with the Comforts of Health and Peace Liberty and Safety and in their Souls with sound Judgements holy Affections and heavenly Dispositions that their Lives and Practices may be unblameable before thee in the sight of all men And now O Lord I beseech thee accept of the Tender of my most humble and hearty Thanks for those innumerable Blessings by which I live and am provided for Thou hast given me Food and Raiment Liberty and Friends †Here mention the temporal Blessings God's Bounty has bestow'd on thee and thine c. and by thy merciful Providence hast wonderfully preserved me yet alive amidst the innumerable Assaults of my bitter and malicious Enemies But chiefly O Lord I praise and magnifie thy holy Name with all my Soul and all my Strength for the miraculous Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ for the Revelation of thy Will the Satisfaction which he made and the Ransom which he paid not only for mine but the Sins of the whole World for the sanctification of my Nature by the Grace of his holy Spirit the admirable Comforts and Refreshments of his Body and Bloud the conquest over all his and mine Enemies for his powerful Intercession and the gracious acceptance of my Prayers and Person before God c. * Spiritual Mercies For which and all other temporal and spiritual Mercies my Soul shall magnifie the Lord and with the best Faculties I have I will bless and praise him for ever Finally O Lord I beseech thee preserve me in a perpetual Remembrance of those manifold and undeserved Favours thy Bounty has bestowed upon me and mine And as thou hast wonderfully preserv'd me hitherto and particularly from the dangers of the Night past so keep me this Day and for ever from all Sin and Mischief Let the Love of Christ be always in my heart and in my thoughts and as he is my hope so let him be for ever my rule and pattern to walk by That by by a sincere and faithful Discharge of the several Duties of my Calling and Religion both to God and Man I may enjoy a comfortable and prosperous well-Being in this Life and in the World to come Life everlasting To which the Lord of his infinite Mercies bring me and all his People thro' the Merits of Jesus Christ In whose Name and Words I continue to pray unto thee Our Father c. An Evening Prayer for a private Person OH eternal God! the Father of Men and Angels whose Glory is far above the Heavens and by whom the lower World is establisht in a Wonderful Order making the Day and Night to succeed each other Thou excellest the praises of all thy Creatures and hast no need of our Services neither can any thing be added to thy infinite Perfection yet in great Mercy thou hearest Prayer and thy Power and Goodness are abundantly manifested to the meanest of thy Servants who call upon thee in Faith and Sincerity In confidence whereof I most humbly implore the gracious Assistance of thy holy Spirit and be pleased to accept of such Prayer and Service as thy Bounty shall enable me to perform But the sense of my sinful Estate and Condition might justly make me afraid to speak of thy holy name since I have so wilfully and wickedly abused thy Goodness affronted thy Clemency resisted thy Power undervalued thy Wisdom trespassed upon thy Patience and stopt mine Ears against all the charitable tenders of Mercy and Salvation In somuch that thro' this senseless Stupidity and unreasonable Folly my heart is become proud and unmortified pievish and disobedient lustful and intemperate so wholly intangled in the snares of Sin Wickedness that I am utterly unable to resist or flie from 'em For I am daily prevailed with by my buitish Appetites and Passions to commit those Sins which thou hast forbidden * Here confess thy particular Sins committed as c. and to ommit those Duties which thou hast commanded †And the Duties omitted even contrary to the most convincing Attestations of rectified Reason and Religion For which beinous and innumerable Offences thou mightest justly long ere this have given me my portion in the horrours and sorrows of a sad miserable Eternity But thou delightest in Mercy and thy loving kindness has been abundantly manifested hitherto in sending thy Son and Spirit not to call the Righteous but Sinners to Repentance Come Lord Jesus and say unto my Soul I am thy Salvation and my Leprosie shall be healed Think upon thy Mercies holy Father consider thy Son's Bloud and Obedience and accept of my sincere Contrition and unfeigned Repentance for his Names sake Touch my frozen heart with the Finger of thy Omniporence dissolve it into those Tears which may so wash my polâ—ited Conscience that thy love may refresh me that thy presence may revive me and the Garments of heaviness will be turned into the white Robes of Praise and Exaltation Oh let me hear the joyful News of a merciful Pardon from thy gracious Lips that the Bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce Stretch forth thy hand O Lord to save a poor miserable and sinful Creature from the power of Sin and Satan and the pain and peril of hell torments Keep me unspotted from the World that my Thoughts and Affections may not be drawn away from thee by the deceitful Pleasures unmanly Desires and unworthy Designs of this vain and transitory Life Support me under the many Temptations and Pressures which thy good Providence may order and appoint for the tryal and improvement of my Graces or the punishment of my Sins Teach and enable me to be truly watchful in all my Ways and so keep the door of my lips that I may not offend in Thought Word or Deed either
Angels but the seed of Abraham Heb. 2.16 17. Thus it behov'd him to be made like unto his Brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful High-Priest in things pertaining to God that he might make Reconciliation for the Sins of the People And upon St. Thomas the Apostle's Doubting of the reality of his Humane Nature our blessed Saviour to convince him of his Errour and to confirm the rest of the Apostles and in them all succeeding Christians in the belief of this necessary Point of Faith Luk. 24.39 He said unto them handle me and see for a Spirit hath not Flesh and Bones as ye see me have Now what can be more evident since the Scripture is every where full to this purpose then this that the Son of God assum'd the true Nature of Man and the very substance of his Mother and that he was not only made in her but born of her To which the Testimony of all Antiquity might be added to confirm us in the Belief of it But Theodoret and Gelasins present us with a Collection of excellent Arguments out of the Councils and Fathers to this purpose whither I refer the judicious Reader if he require further satisfaction in this Point Secondly The Humane and real Body of Christ was inform'd And a rational Humane Soul actuated and enliven'd with a perfect rational and immortal Soul And as He had all the Members Organs Dimensions and Properties of the one So He assum'd all the Powers Faculties and Functions of the other as Understanding Will Memory Affections Passions c. Which I could easily make out Heb. 1.17 if 't were necessary by an Induction of Particulars For he was made like us in all things Sin only excepted and therefore could not be deficient in the most minute and much less in the primary and most constituent Part of his Manhood and besides he that was to be Mediator between God and us must needs be a perfect Man Of which hereafter Again Mat. 26.38 He complain'd a little before his Passion saying My soul is very sorrowful and heavy even unto Death And in his last Agony he said Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit This Truth is every where so evident in the History of our Saviour's Incarnation that I need not multiply Instances to prove it But yet for all this tho Christ was really invested with all the Members and Faculties and all the Essentials of the Soul and Body of a Perfect Man Yet 2dly In this true and real Body in this reasonable and immortal Soul he assum'd took upon him all the Properties and Infirmities of both Sin only excepted He assum'd all the sinless insirmities of both His Birth manner of Life Death Burial Resurrection and Ascention are full and perfect Demonstrations of the reality of his Manhood But with reference to our Infirmities he was subject to Cold and Heat Hunger and Thirst Sweating and Bleeding Weariness and Weakness Pain and Sorrow Heaviness and Fear Passion and sinless Anger yea Torment and Death it self All which Arguments are so cogent and convictive that neither the Hereticks of Old nor the Socinians and Libertines of our Age ever were nor ever shall be able to elnde the Power and Energy of them Let us now endeavour to make some practical Improvement of the Point under Consideration And 1 In the Incarnation of our Lord Application of this Point by considering its Influence on Practice we have an admirable Instance of God's tenderest Love and Compassion to poor sinful Man For what kindness could parallel this that the Father should send and the Son condescend to come from his Bosom and Bliss upon that great Ambassie of making our Peace even then when by our sin and Disobedience we had violated his just Laws broken the Covenant between God and us and put our selves into a state of Hostility and Rebellion against him But besides all this 't is an evident matter of Fact as will fully appear afterwards that Christ the Son of God and Heir of eternal Majesty did not only descend from those Regions of Bliss and assum'd our whole Nature with all its Properties and Infirmities But he also underwent the Burden and Smart of all our sins and sorrows and having finished his innocent Life he submitted to all the Tortures and Indignities of a painful and ignominious Death for our sakes And these were all such Tokens and Evidences of Love and Bounty as both the Hierarchy of Angels and the whole Race of Mankind stood amaz'd at And that the Son of God should lay down his dearest Life for his most daring and bitter Enemies even for the Salvation of those who were the immediate Instruments in his Condemnation and Crucifixion is such a Mystery as no Humane Reason is able to comprehend O the ineffable and infinite Love and Mercy of God in Christ How should this consideration affect our Souls with Love Joy and Wonder Has he given us his Son whilst we were Enemies unto him Rom. 5.10 How much more will he bless us with the Abundance of Grace and Glory if we live as the redeemed of the Lord being thus reconcil'd Indeed this Love was beyond all possibility of Parallel and if we seriously consider our Interests and Obligations we can do no less than devote our Souls and Bodies entirely to his Service thro' the whole course of our Lives We should hate all things in respect of him that is Matth. 10.37 so far as they stand in Opposition to him or pretend an equal share of Affection with him Let us then follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes in doing and suffering for him and his And if any that bears the Name of Christian should be so ungrateful as not to love the Lord Jesus Christ with the greatest intenseness of Gratitude and Affection 1 Cor. 16.22 Let him be Anathema Maranatha 2 We can no less admire and should be as careful to imitate his singular and unparallel'd Humility who came down from the highest Pinacle of heavenly Grandeur and vertical point of Soveraignty to become incarnate in the obscure Womb of a poor Virgin And therefore well might the Evangelist prefix an Ecce to the Mystery behold a Virgin shall conceive This was a Miracle indeed Faith must assist Reason in it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 1.15 'T is a faithful Saying that Christ Jesus came into the World to save Sinners Quanto pro me vilior tanto mihi Charior Bern. Ser. 1. de Epioh Now that the Ancient of Days should abase himself to become a little Child and the Word and Wisdom of the Father not be able to utter a word was such a wonderful Instance of Humility as can never be sufficiently admir'd How then should we Christians study and endeavour to be like Him As in all other Instances of Piety and Vertue so particularly in this and I 'me sure there can be no Inducement either Internal
never thirst if we be naked he will cloath us with the Robes of his Virtue and the Garments of his Righteousness Psal 45.8 Gen 27.27 which smell of Myrh Alloes and Cassia and are like the smell of a pleasant Field which the Lord hath blessed if we be simple or ignorant he 's our Wisdom to instruct us if we be sinful he 's our Righteousness to save us if we desire to be holy he is our Sanctification to bless us Acts 3.26 in turning us away from our Iniquities Tit. 2.14 and purifying to himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works if the Devil tempt and allure us to sin he is the Captain of our Salvation who has not only in a great measure countermanded Satan's Commission but dissolv'd his Authority 1 Joh. 3.8 Now as all sincere Believers are thus abundantly supply'd with all things needful and convenient an hundred fold in this Life and in the World to come Life everlasting Luk. 18 3â— So on the Contrary All the pompous Delights of this visible World tho' they be seemingly never so specious or profitable unless they be sanctified to us by the Grace of Christ's holy Spirit instead of being a Comfort and Blessing they will become our Plague and Punishment In like manner all our Wisdom Righteousness Learning c. which are not deriv'd from this Fountain and purified by the Bloud of Christ are but as a menstruous Cloth or filthy Rags and neither pleasing to God nor beneficial to our Selves as might be instanc'd if 't were needful in many Particulars Those outward Accomplishments may indeed make us appear Great but can never make us Good They may puff us up with Pride and Self-conceit but they seldom or never make men more holy and vertuous John 15.5 Without Christ we can do nothing but by the Assistance of his Grace and Spirit we are enabl'd to do all things 2 Cor. 9.8 Our Sufficiency is of him and we must ascribe all our holy Performances not to any Endeavours of our own but to the Riches of God's Grace in Christ And whatever we do that is Holy or Vertuous 't is no more We but Christ who by the Power and Presence of his Holy Spirit dwelleth and worketh in Us. In a Word We hold all that we have in Capite from him and 't is the best Tenure too We are his by Purchase he has paid a dear Price for us and therefore how dear and precious should he be to us We are Oblig'd to forsake all and follow him Matth. 19.27 1 Cor. 6.19 20. This is the most effectual Plea against Satan's Stratagems that we are not our own for we are bought with a Price and therefore intirely at his not our own Disposal This is that seasonable Expedient which will vanquish this and all other Enemies even our Faith in Jesus Christ God and Man in the same Person 6 And Lastly This Point of Doctrine duly consider'd will remind us of the State and Condition of other Men as well as our Selves Has God set such an inestimable Value upon Mens Souls as to purchase 'em at so dear a Price Could nothing less then the Bloud of the eternal Son of God pay a sufficient Ransom for the Redemption of them How should we then respect honour and indulge Christ's Humane Nature in the poorest and meanest of his Servants And since Good has been pleas'd to think us worthy of so much Care and Indulgence we 've Reason to use all possible Endeavours to keep these precious Jewels pure and unspotted both in our selves and others Have we contracted such an honourable Alliance with and do we stand so nearly related to the holy Trinity and our fellow Christians by the Vnion of our Nature to the Person of Christ How then should our Thoughts Desires Dispositions Words and Actions be conformable to the Nature Laws and Dignitie of such Relations How should we be afraid to submit to any thing that 's base or ignoble lest we reflect Dishonour upon God and that Nature of ours which he has so much dignified by his Incarnation Let us therefore indeavour as we are oblig'd both in Duty and Interest in every Iustance and Circumstance of our Lives to be and to do good to avoid all things evil in themselves and of evil Report That we may thereby glorifie God in our Bodies and in our Spirits which are his This would prove the most certain Expedient to bring this excellent Religion of the Holy and Eternal Jesus into Repute and Credit with those that differ from us and by our hearty Compliances with all its reasonable Constitutions we cannot fail both of the present and future Rewards which spring and flow from it Thus I have treated distinctly on the first Branch of this great Mystery of Man's Redemption and herein Particularly of the Names and Natures of Christ and that wonderful Vnion of 'em both in the same Person I have alleg'd several important Reasons why the Saviour of the World should be God why he should be Man and why God and Man in the same Person of Christ I have consider'd those special Advantages and Priviledges resulting from this heavenly Doctrine with the peculiar Influences which it should have upon the Lives and Practices of all Christians God Almighty give us all Grace so to believe these Truths faithfully and practice them conscientiously That the whole frame and contexture of our Lives may be truly conformable to the Kingdom and Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ Amen CHAP. IV. Of the Offices of Christ in general BY discoursing of the Offices of Christ and the Manner of their Administration we may understand more particularly the great End and Design of our Saviour's coming into the World And the many great things which he has done and suffer'd for the Redemption and Happiness of lost Mankind The Name of Christ as we noted before is a Title which imports Office and Dignity The Name Christ imports his Offices 'T is a Greek word in the Original and answereth to the Hebrew Messiah both which signifie our Anointed Saviour Historians tell us that 't was an ancient Custom in the Easten part of the World to Anoint their Public Officers Kings and Prophets especially with material Oyl denoting and symbolizing thereby the liberal and plentiful Effusion of extraordinary Endowments such as might qualifie them for and presignifie the hopeful and happy success of their Administrations But our Christ the eternal Son of God coming into the World to manage that great and important Office of Mediatour between God and Man must be sanctified Christ's unction differ'd from all others and set a part in a more peculiar manner than any of the Ancients were For they were only anointed with material Oyl but he was Sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost they were set apart by Men but he was confirm'd by the Father in this Office they were invested with Authority and Ability
Prince of Peace came into these lower Regions to make up the Breach between God and Man he brake down the Partition Wall proclaim'd an universal Peace by his Doctrine and confirm'd it by the Example of his own Life and the peaceable and quiet Deportment and Demeanour of his Followers Hereby fulfilling that Prophesie of breaking Swords into Plough-shares c. And the whole Contexture and Design of our Christian Religion as is most evident from all the Particulars of it can be no other then to reconcile God and Man Jew and Gentile and to reduce the whole World into one Community Now to enforce the Practice of these Duties not only of public but private Peace 't will be of singular use and importance to consider the Force and Energy of these following Arguments For 1 We are Members of that mystical Body whereof Christ Jesus is the Head Eph. 3.15 Heb. 12.14 1 Thes 5.13 Eph. 4.3 Who commands us to be at peace with all men to practice Peace among our selves and to use out utmost endeavours to preserve the Vnity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace which if we be careful to do 2 Cor. 13.11 the God of Love and Peace will be with us 2 We are all Descendents from the same common Parents Adam and Eve â— and therefore it would be most unnatural to hate Eph. 4.6 rail against and quarrel iwth our own Flesh We have all the same God to our Father and since we are Brethren how should we love and be at Peace one with another Especially since nothing can be more pleasant in this World Ps 133.1 then for Brethren to live together in Vnity 3 We have all one blessed Lord our Redeemer who purchas'd us all at one and the same Price that we might be at Peace with God and amongst our Selves He has given us all one Gospel and one Faith which is perfected in us by one and the same Spirit Since then we are united in our Minds in believing the same Doctrine it would be highly incongruous to be divided in our Affections this would be to pull down with one hand what we are endeavouring to set up with the other 4 We are all Temples of the same holy Spirit the Sanctifier by whose powerful Operation and Influence if we stifle not his Gifts and Graces by our Sins he will unite us to Christ our Head and in the mutual Bonds of Love Peace and Vnity to one another 5 We have all one Calling to Piety and Holiness of Life and we have the same Hope of our Calling in Christ Jesus we all aspire to and hope for the same Happiness and upon the same Conditions why should we therefore differ on Earth since we do all expect to be united in the same Society in Heaven where there shall be an absolute End of all Feuds and Contentions 6 We are all of us united in one Body by Baptism and herein admitted to all the Priviledges thereof as Members of the same Christian Brotherhood If we separate therefore from the Body we unchurch our selves make void the Terms and cancel the Bonds of our Peace and Reconciliation 7 and Lastly we do all partake of the same Elements in the Sacrament of Christ's Holy Supper We mystically eat the same Body and drink the same Bloud of Christ And certainly this Pledge and Assurance of his eternal Love to us should be the most powerful Motive to perswade us to love one another By these and many other Arguments Examples Precepts and Counsels we are not only oblig'd to preserve and maintain Peace in our Christian Community but to avoid as we would do the most Pestilential Disease all Factious Schismatical and turbulent Behaviour in all Societies both Sacred and Civil whereof we are Members The Mischiefs of Factions and Seditions are innumerable nor can we preserve Peace and Unity but by mutual Forbearance and Condescention and indeed 't is impossible that there should be any such thing as Unanimity amongst fiery fierce and contentious Spirits Now for the better Establishment of this Peace which I 've recommended to you by such cogent and convincing Arguments which our greatest Adversaries by all their Malice and Sophistry shall never be able to elude It concerns all Persons in every Capacity both public and private to use their utmost endeavours to promote and maintain it And therefore 1 Those that move in the highest Sphere of Government Superiors have cause to consider how much they are oblig'd to study the Peace and Quiet of the whole Community And this cannot be accomplisht by any other Means then by the Punishment of those Offences which are inconsistent with the public Weal and Tranquility of the Government and by the Encouragement of those Persons who are tractable and submissive That both Superiors and Inferiors may lead peaceable Lives 1 Tim. 2.2 in all Godliness and Honesty 2 Those that move in a lower Orb Inferiors and live as we of this Nation do under the happy Influences of a peaceable Government both in Church and State should use their utmost Endeavours to propagate and preserve it And to this End all the Subjects of this Kingdom are oblig'd to behave themselves towards their lawful Governors with all Modesty Respect Deference and Submission both to their Persons and Offices paying them that Tribute which is due to them and submitting their Persons and Fortunes to be dispos'd of by their just and reasonable Commands The Contraries to these are usually attended either with Confusion or Tyranny and which of them soever prevails the Consequences must be mischievous Thus The whole Community of Christs aâ—s are concern'd in it all Persons of all Ranks and Conditions who are Christians indeed will study to be unanimous and compliant one with another for Peace and Righteousness sake they 'l be careful to do their own Business study the mutual Satisfaction and Delight of all they converse with and endeavour to practice all those Virtues which are most conducive to the Peace and Interest of Mankind for we must acknowledge that we are all concern'd in the Blessings and Comforts of public Peace and in the Miseries of War and Discord And therefore if we crumble and divide our selves into Sects and Parties we shall be less able to repel the force of our Adversaries defend our own Interests or assist one another Nor can it be expected if our Humours and Interests clash that we should enjoy Peace and the comfortable Fruits of it under the same Government But then since we must of Necessity converse with and live amongst those that are Enemies unto Peace our blessed Saviour exhorts us to endeavour to quel and overcome the unruly spirits of Men by bearing Reproaches suffering Injuries practicing Meekness Patience and Condescension curbing and restraining our extravagant and unruly Passions which being indulg'd will undoubtedly prove the Springs and Incentives of Confusion and Disorder And indeed if Christians did but
really believe what they outwardly profess they would not incur the Hazard of Hell fire which they certainly do to gratifie a domineering Passion or please a petulent Humour for a few Moments but would rather practice those things which make for Peace tho contrary to the Bent and Tendency of corrupt Nature that they might inherit the Comforts and Rewards of it And as we lie under these pressing Obligations to promote and maintain Peace in all those Instances I 've mention'd So On the Contrary The opposite Vices forbidden Our eternal Law-giver does every where in Scripture expressy forbid all manner of Discord Unpeaceableness Emulation Provoking of one another Pragmaticalness medling in other mens Matters Tale-bearing Censoriousness Back-biting Revenge Bitterness Wrath Anger Clamour Detraction Suits in Law for Trifles c. and he brands these and all the spurious Brood of them as the Bane and Plague of all Humane Societies and he commands us further to hate and avoid all those turbulent and uncharitable Practices as being most agreeable to the Tempers and Dispositions of those factious Fiends who were excluded Heaven for their Mutinies and Disorders and shall live eternally in Broyls and Variance with one another Let all Christians then of all Ranks and Conditions study and endeavour to promote and propagate public and private Peace in Church and State in their Neighbourhood in their Families and in their whole Intercourse and Conversation with one another By which Means they shall not only please God and Man and discharge a good Conscience by endeavouring what in them lies to preserve Peace and Unity with both but this divine and excellent Frame of Spirit will dispose and qualifie 'em for the Society of the holy Angels and Saints glorified who do all unanimously concur in the same common Interests and Affections of praising and adoring the God of Purity and Peace in a perfect and harmonious Uniformity and are as sincerely one as if they were animated with the same Soul and Spirit Thus it will evidently appear from the Premisses that Christ our great Prophet has not only rectified the Mistakes and repair'd the Defects of all former Dispensations but has in great mercy to our Souls made a perfect Discovery of the eternal Will of God in what concerns his own Glory and our Good He has told us plainly what he has done already what he will do for us and what returns of Gratitude he expects from us in this Life that we may be for ever happy in a better And to enforce these saving Methods of Grace and Mercy he vouchsafes unto us the Assistances of his holy Spirit to restrain us from Sin to encourage us in and enable us to perform the Duties of Religion He has been pleas'd likewise to institute an Order of Men and invested them with Power and Authority to minister in holy Things and to be Ambassadors in his steade and has furnisht them with Abilities to instruct and govern his People and to guide them in the Ways of Salvation And to obtain an honourable Respect and Deference to their Persons and Offices that they might discharge their Duties and manage the Business of their Callings with Comfort to themselves and Success to others He tells the World that he will interpret the Respect given 'em and the Injuries done to them as if they were done to himself and to encourage them in the pious Administration of the Offices of their holy Function he has promis'd to assist 'em with his Grace and Spirit here and to recompence their holy Performances with a Crown of eternal Glory hereafter Hence we may understand by the Premisses what a Miserable Estate and Condition we were in and should have continued so had he not appointed this new and living Way for our escape and rescue Therefore we are indispensibly oblig'd not only in Duty but Interest to believe and practice that Heavenly Doctrine which has so many admirable Sanctions and powerful Motives to recommend and enforce it And indeed unless our Lives be the real Transcript of Christ's holy Example and Institutions and sincerely correspondent to what we profess the Title of Christianity will prove an empty sound nor can we expect to be dignified by that whilst we dishonour him that gives it Let every Man therefore 2 Tim. 2.19 that names the Name of Christ and expects Salvation by his Merits depart from Iniquity otherwise he undermines what he should endeavour to propagate and uphold And it would be a difficult Task to perswade others to believe that Doctrine which our own Lives and Practices are a flat Contradiction to For our Religion does not consist in the specious Pretences or the formal Appearances of being holy and devout Matth 7 2â— 't is not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into God's Kingdom but he that doth the Will of our Father which is in Heaven The most profound Knowledge of all the Principles and Duties of Christianity abstracted from the real Belief and Practice of 'em will prove a Scourge to and highly aggravate the Condemnation of the dissolute Christian Luk. 12.47 For he that knoweth his Master's Will and doth it not shall be beaten with many Stripes Our whole Lives then should be a Constellation of all those Gospel Graces which are recommended under this Head of Discourse And tho' there may be some mixture of Weakness and Imperfection and perhaps of Sin in all the Actions and Duties which we do yet if they be not impenitently liv'd and died in and if we use our utmost Endeavours to overcome and subdue 'em the imputative Righteousness of Christ our High-Priest will effectually interpose and accomplish our Peace and Pardon for all our Sins if we faithfully apply it CHAP. VII Of Christ's Priestly Office THat Christ Jesus the righteous might be sutably qualified for the great Work and Business of our Redemption 't was absolutely necessary as we 've seen that he should be a Prophet to dispense and accomplish that Part of his Mediatourship We shall proceed now according to our propounded Method to give you an account of the Importance of his Priestly Office Which does eminently consist in the offering up himself a real and perfect Sacrifice for the sins of the whole World and in his meritorious Intercession at God's right hand that the infinite Merits of that Sacrifice may be accepted and applied for the Comfort and Benefit of all sincere Christians that believe in and obey him Now by the Merits of this great Propitiation he has fully satisfied God's infinite Justice for Mans Delinquency and Disobedience obtain'd our Pardon and Peace with God deliver'd us from the Guilt Pollution and Punishment of all our sins and we are certain that upon some tolerable and easie Conditions he will vouchsafe unto us the powerful Assistances of his Grace and Spirit and enable us to comply with 'em to our comfort here and Salvation hereafter I shall endeavour to be very express
him to Herod who was then Tetrarch of Galilee another Province in Judea This was very acceptable to the Jews for Herod being a fierce and bloudy Man they suppos'd that Innocency it self would be as little Security to him as 't was to his Harbinger John the Baptist Being conven'd before Herod who had desir'd of a long Time to see him he was question'd about many things and answer'd all their Interrogatories for he expected no Justice there with a profound Silence Then Herod and the Soldiers set him at naught clad him in a gorgeous Coat and when they had expos'd him to all the Obloquy and Contempt they could invent he was remanded to Pilate This egregious Polititian is now put to all his Shifts for he was fully convinc'd in his Conscience of our Saviour's Innocency and the Injustice of their Proceedings against him He was afraid of the Jews Displeasure and yet desires to save the Life of the Prisoner and therefore he must endeavour to find out an Expedient if possible to satisfie their Importunities and indemnifie himself from the Guilt of innocent Bloud Now having fully consider'd these things and to extricate himself out of this Mass of Contradictions he makes use of this politic tho' severe Project For he commanded him first to be stript naked Hierom. and then to be whipt saith my Author by six merciless and cruel Ruffians who beat him with at least three hundred Stripes till there was scarce any Skin left on his Body and having thus inhumanely scourg'd him they platted a phantastical Crown of Thorns and put it on his Head 't was a Crown to deride him and made of Thorns on purpose to torment him For the Bloud gusht out where the Pricks went in and now stream'd as fast down his Face in the Palace as it did down his back and shoulders at the Pillar But yet for all this neither the piteous Sight of this miserably distressed Object nor Pilat's Shifts nor Arguments nor Importunities could prevail with these desperately wicked and malicious Sons of Belial still die he must nor could any Engines of Cruelty satisfie their Revenge till they saw him breath out his last They would by no means remit the Punishment nor commute for his Life Crucifie him crucifie him was their constant Cry He is guilty of Blasphemy against God and Sedition against the King and therefore he that goes about to save his Life is no Friend to Cesar And to enforce their Plea beyond all Contradiction they would take the Guilt on themselves if the Sentence were unjust and they and their Posterity would answer it at the Peril of the Prisoner's Vengeance if he should really prove what he pretended to be and his Bloud be upon them and their Children Pilate was no longer able to resist the Dint of their Arguments and hereupon resolv'd that he would rather crucifie a thousand Christs than disoblige one Cesar Now we come to the Catastrophe of his dismal and Bloudy Crucifixion The eternal Son of God and Saviour of the World O horrendum nefas was for our sakes sentenc'd to die an accursed shameful and painful Death upon the Cross And that cruel inhumane Method which these vile Wretches proceeded in against that meek and innocent Person was this viz. In his way to Calvary they took off his purple Garment put on him in Scorn before and cloathed him with his own Then they loaded him with a heavy Tree and forc'd him to undergo the Burden till he could bear it no longer and when they perceiv'd that he was ready to faint and fall under it they commanded one Simon a Cyrenian a Gentile to assist him in the bearing of it till he came to Golgotha the Place appointed for his Execution Which must needs be a stinking and dreadful Place where the Skuls of dead Men and the putrified and rotten Limbs of Malefactors were dismal to the Eye and nauseous to the Smell Here it was that the Cross being a tranverse Piece of Wood was erected and the Son of God the saddest Spectacle that ever mortal Eye beheld nail'd unto it Thus I have given my Reader a Specimen of the Manner tho' we cannot comprehend the Measure of our Saviour's Sufferings in his Life and at his Death All which he patiently underwent for our sakes by a submissive Condescension to his Father's Will and the satisfying of his Justice for our manifold Transgressions and therefore as those Pains and Pressures must needs be terrible and afflictive to him so they should be a Monument of the greatest Sorrow and Compunction to us Especially in these two Respects 1st Because for our sakes he underwent a shameful and accursed Death Gal. 3.13 which was ordain'd for Slaves and Malefactors only and unworthy of any free Man tho the greatest Criminal And now the People who before were the greatest Admiters of his Person Doctrine Example and Miracles were scandaliz'd at his infamous Death so that tho' the most of them could not look on him but with Pity yet also with Scorn and Contempt This Shame then and Scandal of the Cross must needs add to the Bitterness of the Cup and the Loathsomness of the Affliction And yet for all this he considering the Glory of God the happiness of all Mankind which was so eminently concern'd in his Death and that future Crown of rejoycing which he should shortly enter upon He I say upon all these Considerations patiently submitted to the Torment and cheerfully underwent the Ignominy of that accursed Death for us that we might recover that Life Liberty Honour and Happiness which we had forfeited and lost by our enormous Sins and Transgressions But 2dly As he suffer'd a most cursed and shameful so a most bitter and painful Death For his Limbs being stretched out like Cloath upon the Tenters and his Hands and Feet the very Centers where all the Sinews met being pierced through with massy Nails must needs make the Tortures more exquisite and cruel Besides he did hang there three long Hours and because he could not die of Hunger in that time the Bloud must distill Drop by Drop 'till it was all drain'd out of his Body And to render his Death still more bitter and painful he not only suffer'd by all these Engins of Cruelty in his Body but by a worse and more afflictive Agony in his Soul For as those sensible Tortures which he felt in his Body were most pungent to him because 't was of all other Bodies the most tender being form'd only out of the Substance of his Mother without any commixture of the Male Nature So his Soul being proportionably delicate and his Spirit more apprehensive the Impressions of Pain and Sorrow must be so much the more severe and intolerable Again he was to grapple with and undergo the Fierceness of God's Wrath Psa 76.7 and 18.7 15. and the heavy Burden of our Sins which must needs press him down with almost insupportable Anguish No wonder
us How should these Considerations then affect our Souls with a deep Compunction and a hearty Contrition for our by-past Offences And how should we hate and aband on even the very Appearances of all Sin and Wickedness for the future More especially if we consider that If God did so signalize the severe Rensentments of his Wrath in the Punishment of his own most dearly beloved Son what then shall be the Doom of the impenitent and contumacious Offender What dreadful Impressions should this great Exemplar of God's Justice and Vengeance make upon our Lives How should we study and endeavour to mortifie our Flesh â— Pet. 4.1 2. and crucifie our Lusts which have been the immediate Causes of all those barbarous Cruelties and merciless Persecutions which he suffer'd How should we renounce all the superficial and extravagant Fooleries of this World according to the Example of Christ and his Followers Col. 3.3 5. Rom. 6.5 6. And indeed unless we thus crucifie the old Man and become conformable to Christ in trampling upon all the sinful Delights of this vain and transitory Life we have no real Title to the Blessings and Priviledges of this great Propitiation For if we Sin wilfully under the Gospel we crucifie the Son of God afresh Heb. 6.6 and react that dreadful Tragedy which we lately heard of This would be to despise and reject all his charitable and merciful Endeavours for our Peace and Welfare and if we continue in any one wilful Act of Sin and Disobedience unrepented of 't will render all his bitter Sufferings for our sakes not only vain and fruitless but destructive and pernicious Let us therefore flie from all Sin as the most deadly Contagion and when by a thro' Mortification of our Lusts and Appetites we have made our Peace with God we should dread the Danger Shame and Scandal of returning with the Dog to the Vomit or with the Sow that is washed 2 Pet. 2.22 to her wallowing in the Mire 4 We are strictly oblig'd by the Laws of Gratitude Interest and Duty to conform our Lives so far as we are able to the Doctrine and Pattern of Christ And our Respect and Reverence to the eternal Son of God our faithful High-priest should be attested with a sincere Obedience to all his holy Institutions He submitted to his Fathers Will in bearing the heavy Yoke Phil. 2.8 and drinking the bitter Cup for our Sakes How should we then study to imitate his holy and innocent Life alwayes looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith c. Heb. 12.2 For our pious Conformity hereto will not only recommend us to the Regard and Admiration of future Ages but will effectually dispose and qualifie us for all the blessed Priviledges and Advantages of his Grace and Glory In a word the Life and Death of Christ are an Inforcement and Recommendation of Patience Mat. 11. Math. 5.10 and Perseverance in well doing and suffering for his sake to the Glory of God and the Interest of Religion We should devote our selves therefore intirely to his Service and become most active Instruments in the promoting of his Glory and then 't will be impossible that we should fail of the Comfort and Benefit of our holy and vertuous Endeavours 5 And lastly Christ's infinite Love to us in all those Instances which I have mention'd should be a powerful Motive and Argument to perswade us to be kind and charitable to Others 1 Joh. 4.11 Did the eternal Son of God set such an infinite value on our Souls as to lay down his Life for them How then should we love those lively Images of his for whom he has paid so dear a Ransom and do always bear the Signature and visible Characters of his Grace and Favour Has he done and suffer'd so many things for us and cannot we prevail with our selves Rom. 15.1 Eph. 5.2 1 Joh. 3.16 to dispense with a petty Neglect bear some small Injuries from and Infirmities in our Brethren for his sake who has pardon'd us a Debt of more than ten thousand Talents Let all these things be duely consider'd and applyed that we may behold our Lord by the Eye of Faith standing upon the Cross not only as a resolute Sufferer but a glorious Conqueror to the infinite and unspeakable Joy and Comfort of our Souls in this and their infinite eternal Happiness in another World I have done with the first Part of our Saviour's Priestly Office namely the Satisfaction which he made and the Ransom which he has paid for the Purchase of our Redemption here on Earth which brings me to the 2d Branch of it viz. his meritorious Intercession for us in Heaven Christ our High-priest intercedes for us in Heaven Jesus Christ our most merciful Lord and Saviour is now entred into the Heavens where he is executing and administring his Melchisedekian Office for the Interest and Benefit of his Church and People here on Earth most especially in these two remarkable Instances 1 By interceding for us 2 In Blessing of us And 1st Christ our faithful High-priest For the supply of all our Wants Intercedes powerfully with the Father for the supply of all our temporal and spiritual Wants that we may live comfortaby here and be glorified with him eternally hereafter And to this End he is now presenting the Merits of his Bloud and Obedience to his Father's Acceptance representing all the Wounds Marks of his Sufferings and pleading 'em in full Satisfaction For the pardon of our Sins Heb. 12.24 1 Pet. 1.2 for all the Sins and Offences which his Votaries have committed The Bloud of Christ supplicates in Heaven for Mercy and Compassion for us And the sprinkling of it now is as necessary for the Sanctification of Believers as the shedding it upon the Cross was for the Salvation of them For altho' one Drop of it might be sufficient to save ten thousand Worlds yet it becomes efficacious only to those on whom 't is sprinkled This is that precious Bloud which speaks better things to us then that of Abel and it has such a rinsing and cleansing Property in it For sanctisying Grace as to purifie the Souls and Bodies of those who truly believe and apply it from all the Contagion Filthiness both of the Flesh and of the Spirit This only can render our Persons and Performances Sacrifices and Services acceptable to God So that when he beholds the Wounds and Sufferings of Christ he will think nothing too dear for us More particularly That our Hearts may be truly affected with a real Sense of the Comforts and Benefits of his meritorious and powerful Intercession 't will be of necessary and important Use to consider these following Instances of it For 1 He offers up his own Prayers to God the Father for us He offers up his own Prayers to the Father for us and stands like Aaron being truly sensible of our Wants
and every Name that is named both in this World and also in that which is to come And hath put all things under his Feet and gave him to be the Head over all Things to the Church This is he of whom St. John makes mention that he was clothed in a Garment dipt in Bloud Rev. 19.13 16. com Isa 63.2 3. the Ensign of his Victory and Triumph over all his and the Church's Enemies and his Name was called the Word of God and he has on his Vesture and on his Thigh a Name written KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS Many other Arguments and Authorities might be added from Scripture if 't were necessary to confirm and illustrate this Point Ioh. 1â— 37 But Pilate tho' a Heathen believ'd it upon his own single Testimony and may serve instead of many others as appeareth by the Inscription set over him on the Cross Ioh. 19.19 with the Sanction added what I have written I have written 2dly His Kingly Authority is asserted and confirm'd by the many strange and wonderful Miracles which he wrought For he manifested his Power on Earth in curing the Blind and the Lame and all manner of Diseases and in raising the dead Bodies of Lazarus and many others at his Resurrection He exerted it in the Sea when he asswaged its Storms and Tempests and walked on the Water without a Ship He gave a Testimony of it in the Air when he led Captivity captive drew Principalities after him and trampled upon them And lastly he exercis'd his Kingly Power in Hell in his Conquest over the Devil and all the infernal Furies Who in despight of all their Policy Power and Malice were forc't to confess that he was omnipotent Act. 19.15 and therefore they must submit to his Jurisdiction 3 We have the unanimous Consent of all pious and prudent Christians in all Ages who have cheerfully submitted themselves to the Sceptre of his Kingdom For they had their whole Dependance on his Power for their Safety on his Wisdom for their Guidance and Direction and on his infinite Merits and Mercy for their comfortable Living here and eternal Salvation hereafter But as Christ our King is invested with an absolute and unlimited Power and Authority so he has an unquestionable Right and Title to govern the whole World and all the Creatures in it And he holds this absolute Tenor of Empire and Soveraignty 1 By Inheritance Christ has an undoubted Right to this Office Mat. 2.2 1. By Inheritance This is clear from the Concessions of the Eastern Sages who came so far to see him and do him Homage And besides his Hereditary Power as the eternal Son of God he was of the Royal Race as Man St. Matthew derives his Pedigree from fourteen Kings successively and therefore his hereditary Title as Man to the Kingdom of Israel must needs be indisputable 2 He has an absolute and unquestionable Right to his Kingdom by Donation 2. By donation Mat. 28.18 Psal 8.7 Matth. 9.6 Ioh. 5.22 Ioh. 5.27 Mat. 16.27 and hence he derives his Power and Authority to rule and govern all things to forgive us all our Sins and to indemnifie us from the Punishment of them to pass Judgement upon Angels and Men not only in what concerns his Kingdom of Grace here but in determining their final Doom and Condition hereafter and in the Distribution of Rewards and Punishments to the faithful and disobedient 3 He has obtain'd an absolute Right to govern all the Creatures by Conquest For he has spoil'd all Principalities and Powers 3. By Conquest taken the Prey out of their Teeth and in despight of the Power and Policy of Devils and wicked Men the greatest Part of the known World have been reduc'd from their Heathenish and Idolatrous Superstitions in worshipping false Gods and have cheerfully and voluntarily submitted themselves to be govern'd by the just Laws and Constitutions of his Kingdom 4 He has a just claim to his Kingly Government by Purchase 4. By Purchase Rom. 2.23 c. For when by our Sin and Rebellion against God we had justly forfeited our Lives lost our Freedom contracted an universal Guilt and Stain and had not only depriv'd our selves of all the Hope and Possibility of any future Comfort and Happiness but were sentenc'd to Death and as condemn'd Slaves and Villains bound over to everlasting Torments When I say we were by our Sins plung'd into this desperate and damnable Condition 1 Tim. 2.6 Act. 20.28 2 Pet. 1.18 without the least prospect of Reprieve or Rescue Then it was that the eternal Son of God and our blessed Saviour purchased our Peace and Pardon by the Sacrifice of his dearest Life and has hereby restor'd all his faithful Votaries to the comfortable Enjoyment of God's Grace and Favour Hence 't is evident in all these several Respects that our Lord Jesus Christ is the most absolute King of Kings and Lord of Lords A King at whose feet all Prices and Emperors must cast down their Crowns and a Lord whose Authority supersedes the Power and Jurisdiction of all Earthly Princes and Monarchs They must all stoop to him all Nations shall do him service And thus much of the Original and Extent of our Saviour's Kingly Office We pass forward 2dly The Administration of Christ's Kingly Government To the Administration of his Government But for the better understanding of this Point we must consider the Government of Christ's Kingdom under a double Acceptation And 't is 1 Vniversal over all the Creatures which the School-men call the Kingdom of his Power Whereby he orders and disposes all things and rules all the Creatures visible and invisible within this vast frame of the Vniverse For he governeth the highest Heavens and appoints the holy Angels his ministring Spirits their several Offices and Imployments He rules the lower Orbs causing Day and Night Heat and Cold Summer and Winter He governs the Air the Winds and Seas Storms and Tempests raising and calming them again how and when and where he pleases He rules the Earth and all the Inhabitants thereof so that those things which seem casual and contingent to us are order'd and brought to pass by his determinate Councel and Providence He exerciseth his Power and Authority in Hell over-ruling those unruly Powers of Darkness keeping that disorderly Rout under a certain kind of Government well known to himself but inconceivable to us or to them who are rul'd by it So that from the glorious Angels to the crawling Worms from the highest Heavens to the lowest Hell all the Creatures are within the Sphere and Compass of his absolute and indeed unlimited Jurisdiction But 2 And more Particularly He exerciseth his Dominion over the Church his Body and every particular Member thereof His Kingdom is founded in the Souls and Consciences of all true Believers where he reigns by his Word and Spirit directing them in the Ways of Godliness by his Grace that