IOY OUT-JOYED OR Joy in overcoming evil spirits and evil men Overcome by better Joy SET FORTH IN A SERMON at Martins in the fields to the Right Honourable the Lords Assembled in Parliament upon the day of their Solemn Rejoycing and praising God for reducing the City of Chester by the Forces of the Parliament under the Command of St WILLIAM BRâ—RETON February 19. 1645. By Joseph Caryl Minister of the Gospel at Magnus neer London Bridge LONDON Printed by G. M. for John Rothwel at the Signe of the Sun and Fountain in Pauls Church-yard and Giles Calvert at the Signe of the Black-spread-Eagle at the West end of Pauls 1646. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE The House of PEERS Assembled in Parliament My Lords THE world is too narrow for our passions we may soon over-joy or over-sorrow the best or the worst estate which earth affords or can inflict What an Atome then is it to our understandings The world is too little and too low-prized for the minde of the least of the poorest man who hath the understanding of a man what A nothing then is it to such as yours are Great and noble mindes And yet as inconsiderable as it is they who have only the world to rejoyce in shall not shortly have a world to rejoyce in The fashion of it passeth away daily and the matter of it is of no long continuance The beauty of it was stained in its infancy and the frame of it must be consumed when it is a few who knowes how few years elder This should call off our thoughts from eager earthly pursuits and pitch them upon a higher and more enduring substance This should provoke us to put the moon all changeable excellencies under our feet and make us restlesse till we are cloathed with the Sun an eternall excellency 'T was the designe of the ensuing Sermon to befriend souls with such a change of cloathing and to entice them into the joys of a name written in Heaven that they might not too much read or rejoyce in any no not their own on earth I know the victories and successes of a just warre endebt us not only to Thankfulnes but to Ioy. Such victories are the exactest pieces both of the wisdom and power of God God is called a man of warre but nothing shews him more a God then warre And among all warres a warre with spirits though but with the spirits of men shews most of God The great promise of restoring Ierusalem is thus prefac'd Thus saith the Lord which stretcheth out the Heavens and layeth the foundation of the earth and formeth the spirit of man within him Zech. 12. 1. All reforming about spiritualls begins at the forming of spirits Whether God forms spirits or breaks spirits which will not receive his form his work is admirable God hath begun a warre with and a work upon spirits in our dayes Some spirits are beautifully formed others are justly broken T' is a duty to rejoyce in both chiefly in the former We must rejoyce for the Angels in heaven do when we hear the spirits of other men are formed but the best cause of joy is when we finde our own are How much soever the publike is reformed without or how many soever are formed within yet if any heart lie ruin'd or life unshap't he may in the midst of all these joys and triumphs for he shall lie down in sorrow That your Lordships may have many rejoicing daies and a rejoycing eternity That your Names may be written in the fairest and greatest letter which Honour can make on earth and that they may be written in the fair-est and greatest letter which Glory Shall make in Heaven is the prayer of Your Honours humbly devoted Joseph Caryl A SERMON PREACHED to the Right Honourable the House of PEERS assembled in Parliament Upon the Day of their solemne Thanksgiving for the reducing of the City of CHESTER LUKE 10. 20. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you but rather rejoice because your names are written in Heaven THE King of Saints and Captain Generall of our salvation Iesus Christ having called commission'd and sent out twelve Apostles as great Commanders to subdue his native Kingdom of Israel to himself at the sixth Chapter of this Gospel He at the first verse of this prepareth and sendeth forth a band of seventy Auxiliaries to prosecute and advance the same designe After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also and sent them two and two before his face into every City and place whither he himseâ—f would come And to shew that the weapons of their warfare were not carnall but mighty through God these seventy returning victors report the successe of their expedition and shew Christ the Trophies of their conquest at the 17 verse And the seventy returned again with joy saying Lord even the devils are subject unto us through thy Name Yea saith Christ I know it to be so this is not a vain boast of valour like theirs who will vaunt they have kill'd the Devil and run strange adventures when they scarce dare look an enemy in the face I my self can bear you witnesse that you have faithfully and effectually acted your commission the issues of your service have been glorious in mine eye And he said unto them I beheld Satan like lightning fall from Heaven vers 18. The powers of darknesse cannot stand before the Gospel of light The Devil the prince of the ayr is no match for Christ no nor for the meanest of the servants of Christ who go forth armed with his name and power And because Christ found that these servants of his had managed their former commission so well therefore he is so far from calling it in that he inlargeth it at the 19 verse Behold I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you Go forth again in this armour of power with which I have girt you and I warrant you sword-free and shot-free nothing either on earth or in hell shall by any means strength or stratagem hurt you all the world will be against you but I am with you take courage nothing shall hurt you therefore on again in this warfare you shall as my self go forth conquering and to conquer Now who was able to bear such a burden of honour from these past and promised victories with moderation How many by hearing a report of their own conquests over other men have been overcome with their own pride It is an easier matter to gain successes then to bear them well Christ who knows the measure of every spirit seems to suggest that even the good spirits of his Disciples began to over-act upon these victories over evil spirits Hence he gives them an allay by counsel and caution not to raise their joy too high upon this point And more he diverts their joy which he saw ready to overslow the banks
of that chanell wherein it was into another chanell wide and capacious enough to hold all the inundations of it Notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you but rather rejoice in this that your names are written in Heaven I shall not stay upon any anxious division of the text There are two clear parts in it The one Corrective The other Directive The Corrective part lies in the first words wherein Christ checks and stops the suspected excesses of their joy for victories gained over evil spirits Notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you The Directive part lies in the later words shewing them a joy wherein there could be no excesse but rather rejoice in this because your names are written in Heaven Notwithstanding in this rejoice not Joy is the opening and dilatation of the heart upon the receiving of some present good thing as sorrow is the coarctation the shutting or locking up of the heart upon the pressure of some present evil Rejoice not that is let not your hearts open too much in receiving this object The negation is not absolute but only comparative so it is expounded in the next clause Rejoice not but rather He doth not forbid but qualifie and moderate their joy That the spirits are made subject to you Angels are spirits and they are either good or bad That these spirits were bad Angels we have warrant at the 17 verse The Devils are subject unto us These were once good Angels Now they are fallen and by their fall they have lost their condition but not their constitution their honour but not their nature they are spirits still The spirits are made subject to you Subjection is two-fold Either compulsory or voluntary The subjection here meant is a compulsive subjection They are not subject to you as the Saints are to Christ by a professed subjection of their wills but they are subject as a slave to his Lord whether they will or no by an imposed subjection Good Angels faithfully serve the Saints and evil Angels are made subject to them The former are ministring spirits sent out for theâ— good of those who are the heirs of salvation The later are kept by the power of Christ and the ministry of his servants from doing hurt to the heirs of salvation To be enabled for this is a great priviledge yet the Disciples must not rejoice greatly in this In what then Christ shews them a better and a nobler object of joy But rather rejoice that your names are written in Heaven There are no literall records in the Court of Heaven there is no pen or ink no paper or parchment there To be written in Heaven is only this to be elected unto eternall life and adopted sons of God to an inheritance among the Saints in light Moses of old spake this language Exod. 3â— 23. Blot me out of thy book which thou hast written David in allusion to this phrases a prayer against his enemies Let them be blotted out of the book of the living and not be written among the righteous Psal 69. 28. And Christ promises the Sardian victor That he will not blot his name out of the book of life Rev. 3. 5. God is said to have two books in Heaven First He hath a book of those things which we have done or the book of conscience Rev. 20. 12. I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were opened and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works Secondly He hath a book of what himself hath done or the book of election called often in Scripture the book of life Phil. 4. 3 Rev. 13. 8. c. â—7 8. c. 20. 15. c. 21. 27. c. 22. 19. Further God may be said to have in Heaven a black book wherein every word is a blot a blot fallen from the lives of wicked men here upon the earth And he hath as I may so speak a white book a book written with the fair letters of all the holy acts which his Saints have done upon the earth Again God hath a book of death wherein all the names of reprobates are written with the gall and wormwood of his everlasting wrath And he hath a book of life in Heaven written with the golden raies and beams of his own eternall love Our being written in this book of life is the matter of that exceeding joy to which Christ calls his Disciples in the text But rather rejoice in this that your names are written in Heaven The words thus opened yeeld plenty of seasonable and profitable instructions First this Evil spirits are subject to the power of Christ working in his Saints and servants The Devil is subject not only to the immediate and personall power of Christ but to his mediate and ministeriall power The subduing of the Devil was not a businesse confined to that age wherein Christ sojourn'd on earth such victories are obtained every day Such conquests as the Disciples obtained are very rare And I intend not a discourse about the possession or dissposession of evil spirits but there is an ordinary way of subduing the power of the Devil in the ministration of the Gospel The Gospel is the ministration of the holy Spirit and therefore it must needs be victory over the evil spirit Thus the unclean spirit is made to dislodge The Divel is seldom permitted to possesse the body of any man but he possesses the souls of all wicked men And though the Divel be cast out of the souls of all beleevers yet he never ceases to oppose their souls Every time a sinner is converted an evil spirit is subdued and every time a temptation is resisted by the Saints an evil spirit is foiled The Divel is a great prince and he hath more then halfe the world his subjects Many millions and among them many Kings of the earth doe him homage and stoop to his commands But how great soever he is and how many soever follow him yet he is made to stoop to the least of the Saints That roaring Lion couches to them and they tread upon this serpent The God of peace bruises Satan under their feet Rom. 16. 20. Besides as evil spirits are subdued which work in or against the souls of men So evil spirits are kept from hurting and afflicting the bodies and outward estates of men For as good Angels incamp about the godly to guard and protect them so evil Angels incamp against the godly to anoy and vex them If the power of Christ to this day did not master and subdue the power of those evil spirits they would make strange confusions in the world quickly The Divels are under a twofold chaine First under a chain of justice So the Apostle Iude at the sixth verse of his Epistle They are reserved in everlasting chains they can never wear them out or file them off under darknes to the judgement of
the great day Secondly they are under a chaine of providence God lets them goe abroad but never without this chain He gives them scope and checks them as himself pleases Wicked men are led captive by Satan at his will 2 Tim. 2. 26. and Satan is led captive at the will of Jesus Christ He cannot act either by himself or by his instruments but as permitted and if Christ oppose both his power and the power of his instruments is stopt and broken Iohn the Apocalypt Rev. 20. 1 2. Saw an Angel Christ come down from Heaven having the key of the bottomlesse pit and a great chain in his hand and he laid hold on the dragon that old Serpent which is the Divel and Satan and bound him a thousand years and cast him into the bottomlesse pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled and after that he must be loosed for a little season Opinions and disputeâ— are very various about the precise time of Satans binding and loosing But we may hence conclude an illustrious proof for this point in generall That Satan is subject to the power of Christ He bindes him from deceiving the nations and he can binde him from troubling either persons or nations This magnifies the power of Christ he makes evil spirits subject This is a conquest beyond all those of the Roman Consuls or Caesars there was never any of them that brought the Divel home in chains Evil spirits were never dragged at their chariots of triumph Those conquerours were themselves captives to these spirits And while they procured liberty for the common-wealth they themselves were the servants of corruption and slaves to Satan for of whom or by what any maie is overcome of the same is he brought in bondage 2 Pet. 2. 19. Secondly This may encourage us in the greatest difficulties If spirits are subject to the power of Christ acted in the Saints then what is there in the world but may be subjected by this power There is no power greater then the power of spirits One spirit destroyed a mighty army in one night 2 King 19. 35. Can flesh and blood can gates of brasse and walls of stone stand out when spirits themselves must yeeld Every creature hath its strength in its spirits There are corporall spirits as well as spirituall spirits There are spirits of the body produced out of the matter being the finer purer and more sublimate parts of it spirits animall in the brain vitall in the heart and naturall in the liver these are the strength of our bodies And there are spirits in things without life These spirits are their strength also the spirit of wine is the strength of the wine so of any other liquour Spirits extracted are the strength of any substance contracted into a narrow room There is a spirit of a spirit The spirit of the minde Ephes 4. 23. Be renewed in the spirit of your minde This spirit of the minde is the strength of the minde To spend spirits is to spend strength and to get spirits is to get strength both of body and minde When the Prophet would shew that the horses of the Egyptians were weak he saith Their horses are flesh and not spirit Isa 31. 3. and the Apostle to shew how strong Devils are Ephes 6. 12. saith We wrestle not against grosse things flesh and blood but against principalities and powers against the rulers of the darknesse of this world against spirituall wickednes in high places Spirituall wickednes is wicked spirits and because they are spirits therefore they are powers In evil spirits there is power much more in good spirits and most of all in the best spirit the Holy Ghost ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you Act. 1. 8. wheresoever spirit is there is power The spirit of a man is of such strength that it is able to beare his infirmity our infirmities are our heaviest part Nothing calls for more strength then the bearing of our own infirmities or the infirmities of other men Yet while a man can hold up his spirit and maintain that he may beare and rejoyce in the heaviest burthen of his own outward infirmities A strong spirit strengthens the weakest and a weak spirit weakens the strongest body or minde The sum of all is this spirits are strong and evil spirits are stronger then all flesh yet these are subject to the power of Christ then never fear flesh and blood fire and sword when you heare spirits must submit When Christ would assure the Church that it should stand against all opposition he promises the gates of hell shall not prevail against it Matth 16. 18. that is the power of evil spirits shall not and if the gates of hell cannot surely gates of earth shall never prevail We may be confident if spirits cannot flesh and blood shall not doe us any hurt while Christ is with us This leads us to the second Observation It is matter of joy to bring spirits evil spirits into subjection The Disciples passion was not without reason when they rejoyced to see spirits stoop it is no small priviledge to make evil spirits stoop whether they be evil spirits tempting and troubling without or moving within us It is matter of joy to subdue any reall enemy but chiefly those First who are most for number Secondly those who are mightiest in strength Thirdly those who are highest in place Fourthly those who are subtillest in projecting Fifthly those who are most malicious and bloody in executing All these meet in evil spirits They are many mighty high subtile and malicious The Devil is a legion by name a Prince by his place A Goliah an Achitâ—phel A Doeg all joyn'd in one It is a glorious victory to overcome a temptation to sinne Every time we doe so we overcome a Devil The Apostle James encourages us Resist the Devil and he will flee from you that is he will be subject to you You drive away the Devil every time you stand it out in a temptation and stand fast It is a great victory to overcome the sinnefull corruptions that are in our own hearts To overcome passion and corruption within is like the overcoming of a temptation from without The evil spirit is vanquished in both The Sadduces denyed all spirits Act. 23. 8. and others have affirmed that good and evil spirits are onely good or evil motions within us I abominate the errour and yet there is a truth somewhat like it Good or evil motions within us are in a sense good or evil spirits For as that which is borne of the good spirit is spirit Joh. 3. So that which is borne of the evil spirit is spirit too Every evil motion in us is borne of the Devil who though he be not the immediate parent of all such motions yet he was the immediate parent of that corruption from whence such
5. 14. is the disturber of Kingdomes as well as of families And self-love is set in the head of that black Army which is prophesied to make perillous times in the last dayes 2 Tim. 3. 1 2. Above all there is an evil spirit which I may call the Beelzebub of this generation or the Prince of Devils that is a spirit of division This workes in all places almost in all hearts Division seems to be the great designe against us That while we act simply we may be universally overcome This spirit is grown so cunning that it can work distances by a motion or an endeavour for union While many are ready to say and pray Let us not divide though we cannot agree yet are most ready to divide upon every disagreement And while it is almost in every mans mouth Let us be one in affection though we cannot be one in opinion yet every man almost acts as if neither one earth nor one heaven could hold those who hold not one opinion These spirits and such as these are the troublers of our peace and unlesse these spirits are changed or at least chained all flesh is in danger to perish among us The chaining of them may make our times peaceable but the change of them will make our times glorious How happy should we be if a spirit of humility and meeknes of charity and brotherly kindnes of truth and uprightnes of self-deniall and ardent desires of maintaining the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace possessed all our hearts Right Honourable if once you had received letters of credit and good assurance that evil spirits were foiled and had received a blow either in the east or west north or south and that a better spirit were acting in this Nation you would have cause to keep such a day of Thanksgiving and praise to God as you never kept to this day Till a conquest be gained over the spirits of men our conquests over men will not give us rest And though I would not lessen the mercies of God especially at this time when we come to blesse him for so great a mercy as we this day commemorate yet I say what heart almost can we have to blesse God or be enlarged in his Praises for subduing bodies Towns and Cities while legions of evil spirits in camp in so many places and quarter in so many hearts A conquest over spirits is the glory of all our other conquests Therefore Right Honourable I say it again let the stresse of your counsels and designes be laid against these spirits The sword may work an unwilling subjection God only can work a subjection of the will Yet two things done by men by men as your Selves are in Dignity and Authority will contribute much towards this subjection First justice done and done impartially for and upon all Secondly countenance and encouragement given to all that are good and do good When spirits are overcome upon these terms I know not who shall have greater cause to rejoyce they who are subject or they who have made them so But though this would be matter of great joy yet this must not be either the totall or the chief matter of our rejoicing The next words of the Text lead us to this modification of our joy Notwithstanding in this rejoyce not but rather rejoyce that your names are written in Heaven The connexion tells us we are very apt to overact outward comforts and overjoy our worldly joy The whole world is too narrow for the heart of man Our joys may quickly exceed it and we be more taken with it then it is worth Christ saw his Disciples in danger of taking in too much of the world The creature gets quickly into our hearts and our hearts may quickly get beyond the creature Onely God is an object which we cannot overjoy or stretch our affections too far towards It is seldom that we can rejoyce at all we can never rejoyce enough while we are in the flesh in spirituall mercies and it is seldom but we rejoyce too much in temporall The world is so much of kin to us and is so like us worldly comforts suit us so well and are so neer us that while we deal about them we need a bridle not a spurre It is one of the greatest priviledges which we wait for in Heaven that our affections may bee ever kept in a due temper There we shall love and rejoyce in nothing but God or for God And as we cannot love and rejoyce in God too much so there we shall not love or rejoice in him too little But while we converse with creatures we are apt to feed too heartily upon them and to drink larger draughts of the wine of their consolation then becomes us The way to lessen earthly joy is to stirre up heavenly As when love is divided upon many objects of the same worth it cannot run so strongly to any one so much more when it is carryed to a more worthy object will it abate towards those which are lesse worthy The Text is clear for it teaching us That our receits of temporall and outward mercies should be but as an occasion to raise our hearts higher in rejoycing for spirituall and eternall mercies Notwithstanding rejoyce not in this that spirits are subject to you but rather rejoyce c. All creatures and comforts on earth should be but as foils to set off the glory of Heaven How good is grace and glory if there be so much good in nature It was Christs art to do thus when he came to the well Joh. 4. and was thirsty he riseth from that water and the thirst he had to it to tell the woman of another water which if she could once drink she should never thirst And Joh. 6. 27. when he saw his followers so hungry after loaves of bread which is perishing meat He took an occasion to exhort them to labour for the meat that perisheth not but endures to everlasting life It is safest for us as well as our duty to bestow the strength of our sorrowes upon our sinnes and the strength of our joyes upon Christ There is a double ground or reason why we should thus in our receits of temporall mercies get our hearts off or get our hearts above them First spirituall mercies are the best mercies They are best in their nature and they are best in their enjoyment they are lasting mercies The joy of the hypocrite all his joy is but for a moment and the worldly joy of the sincere is but for a moment That cannot last long whose bottom and foundation cannot last long the world passeth away and the fashion of it therefore the joy that ariseth out of the world and the goodly fashions of it must needs passe away too When one of the Ancients stood by Caesars tomb who had the honour while he lived of so many victories and triumphs he cries out O Caesar where is now thy magnificence
where are thy Armies where are thy Trophies where are the Towns and Cities which thou hast overcome They are all past away We may say as much of all our victories and deliverances of beating the enemy in the field of beating him out of strong holds in a few yeers what will become of all these things and of the worldly issues of them Time will eat ou◠the remembrance of this glory Solomon doth not so much question as chide Prov. 23. 5. wilt thou set thine heart upon that which is not Can a man be in danger of setting his heart upon that which hath not a being Creatures have so little being that they are said to have no being and so have all creature-comforts wilt thou set thine heart upon that which is not How long will the comfort of conquests and victories last that we should rejoyce onely or much in them Secondly if we confine our joyes to these we are in a double danger In a danger First of growing proud of and confident upon our victories nothing keeps the heart low but joy in the highest things Ioy in low things makes the heart sinfully high and joy in high things makes the heart graciously low That 's the reasō why the men of the world boast themselves in their riches honours c. the reason I say why they grow proud of these things is because they have nothing else to rejoyce in Secondly by joying much in the creature we are in danger to surfeit upon the creature or to grow wanton with it When the minde is steeped in our senses we can hardly get the taste off again We follow the world so much because it gives us so little we are uncessant in pursuing earthly contents because we still hope for more and are unsatisfied with what we have But when the heart once tastes of spirituall dainties it findes satisfaction and being satisfied desires to taste them still fulnes and hunger satisfaction and appetite being perpetually interchangeable The taste of heavenly things is so high and quick that all besides tastes flat and dreggish No man saith Christ desireth new wine having drunk the old for he saith the old is better Earthly comforts will not hold so fair a proportion to heavenly as new wine doth to old They differ not in degree onely but in kinde The creature hath alwaies an unsatisfyingnesse in it and at the last it will have a bitternes Prov. 25. 27. To eat much honey is not good if a man eat honey long or often it will not be honey to him so for men to search their own glory is not glory thus we translate it but the text is well rendred and closer to the Originall thus To multiply to eat honey or to eat much honey is not good but the last of glory is glory The Saints shall feed to eternity upon glory and that will be alwaies glory but honey the best of worldly comforts will be gall if you feed much upon them Therefore correct your appetites after the creature make your joy in worldly things an occasion and a step to spirituall doing so three effects will flow from such joy First such joys will make us very holy Joy in worldly things alone leaves us as worldly as it findes us but if we mix it with spirituall holines will mingle with our spirits The Lord promises to give his people beauty for ashes the oyl of joy for mourning the garment of praise for the spirit of heavinesse Isa 61. 3. here is the Lords joy we have the effect of this in the next words That they may be called trees of righteousnes the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified If we rejoyce in the Lord we shall rejoyce to the glory of the Lord Trees of righteousnes have their fruit in holines It is a sad thing to see what fruit the joy of most brings forth intemperance drunkennesse sensuality security injustice fruits of unrighteousnes all Secondly Ioy thus temper'd makes us strong to serve the Lord joy in the Lord carryes us to the Lord Neh. 8. 10. The joy of the Lord is our strength Joy in the world weakens and flats our spirits joy in the Lord strengthens as well as purifies and makes us at once holy and active Thirdly Such joy makes us more then strong exceeding zealous for the Lord. After the people in Hezekiahs time had feasted seven dayes the story saith 2 Chron. 30. 23. The whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days and they kept other seven days with gladnesse Here were seven and seven days of feasting it seems they loved feasting well but the effect assures us they did more then eat drink and make merry at their feast Their joy and gladnes was not in corne and wine and good chear No it was joy in the Lord and in his goodnes for they presently act like those that had rejoyced in the Lord. Many in one dayes feast lose the memory of the Lord and of their own duty but these in fourteendayes feasting forgot neither The first verse of the next chapt is clear for it Now when all this was finished a feast of fourteen dayes continuance what did they then some might think them furnisht for any kinde of wickednes That they had eat and drunk out not only their graces but their wits that now they were fit only to throw the house out at the windowes as we say no they threw sin out at the windows so saith the story for when all this was finished all Israel that were present went out to the Cities of Judah and brake the images in pieces and cut down the groves and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin in Ephraim also and Manasseh untill they had utterly destroyed them all c. They made a perfect work of casting out whatsoever was displeasing unto God Had they only taken pleasure in creatures they had never done what was so pleasing unto God Every thing we rejoyce most in we are most zealous for We should rejoyce more in the God of our mercies then in the mercies of God and while we do so we shall also rejoyce more in our duties then in our mercies We are this day called to rejoyce in an outward mercy the reducing of a strong City In this victory spirits are made subject in overcōming evil men we overcome evil spirits I delight not to be a censurer at any time least of all at this yet we know what a strain what a generation of men these were If evil spirits have been made subject in any part of the Kingdom some were in this That place is dispossessed of many untoward spirits who possessed it long and cast much of it into the fire These are now cast out by sword and fire But chiefly by those better weapons of prayer and fasting Christ said of the Pharisees You are of your father the Devil Joh. 8. 44. And Polycarp in the Church
rejoyce that your names are written in Heaven The names of the Saints are written in Heaven If so Then first they are safe their estate is setled their names are taken into the list of blessednes 2. They are honourable A man under disgrace hath his name written in the dust but to have a name enrolled in Heaven is an expression of the highest honour 3. They shall be had in everlasting remembrance nothing shall be able to obliterate or rase out a name that is written in Heaven Eusebius reports of Herod that he burnt all the genealogies of the Jews that himself might be mistaken for a Jew But no Herod with his power and pride shall ever burn or deface the roll of election Names written in that shall not be blotted out The land of forgetfullnes lyes all on this side heaven Is not this a ground of great joy and strong consolation to the Saints Possibly their names are blotted here upon the earth but there is no blot upon them in heaven God doth not delight to take notice of the failings and miscarriages of his servants much lesse will he deface their names when they miscarry In Scripture some miscarriages of the Saints are recorded which in themselves are blots but the end why they are recorded is for our warning not for their shame which yet is the intendment of most on earth who industriously write books of the Saints â— rata's whether in opinion or in practice It it very dangerous to blot names which are written in heaven Christ would not have any sin flattered in any man but Christ would not have all sins discovered in all men therefore he hath provided a covering not that which is the ordinary covering self-flattery or the flattery of others The covering he hath provided is charity charity covereth a multitude of sins 1 Pet. 4. 8. Surely their charity is very narrow or if it be not narrow I wonder what use they put it to who will hardly cover one infirmity of an offending brother Yea some are so greedy after offences that though they are covered yet they uncover them and are so far from casting a garment over what appears that they pull off the very seals of secrecy to make all appear It doth not become men to do so much lesse Saints But as to suffer these blots is the patience of the Saints on earth so it is their joy to hear that there are no blots upon their names in heaven Be of good comfortt though men blot God will not For as he speaks to Moses desiring not a blot upon his name but the blotting out of his name Exod. 32. 32. Blot me I pray thee out of thy book which thou hast written Blot thee Moses saith God No I will never blot thee I will put no blots upon such names as thine much lesse blot such names out There was a failing in that speech of Moses and some interpret that desire of his to be his blot yet God doth not put it as a blot upon Moses but saith Whosoever hath sinned against me him will I blot out of my book God is so far from desiring to blot the names of his people that he will not blot them though they themselves should desire it He will neither blot them out of his book nor blot them in his book He will do neither he keeps the names of his Saints fair written for ever Then which is the last point It is matter of great joy to have our names written in Heaven This is a priviledge worth the having To be in Gods books Heer 's honour indeed To be of the Church of the first-borne whose names are written in Heaven Heb. 12. 23. They who have their names written highest in the earth should be most desirous to have their names written thus high They that are honourable and great they that are men of name in the world as the giants are intitled Gen. 6. 4. at that time there were men of name men of renown such should be most ambitious of being men of name above My Lords your names are written very high here below And it is my prayer that your names may be written higher that even your earthly honours and dignities may encrease and that your Fame may be as an ointment poured out perfuming not only this Kingdom but the world with your just and heroicall actions Yet let it not suffice You such ambition is a vertue I say let it not satisfie You who have so great a name upon the earth to have a name upon the earth I would not have it content the meanest man upon earth much lesse should it content your Lordships who have Great estates Great dignities Great titles Great families Great Ancestors Great spirits to have names narrowed up to this earth this little molehill of earth It is a duty for the greatest persons if God call them to it to be contented with a little of the earth but it is a sinne for the meanest person to be content with all the earth Luther spoke himself a Protestant indeed while he protested I will never be satisfied with the creature The great world is not big enough for the epitome of it The little world My Lords there are not very many names if we speak comparatively written in heaven at all the roll is not large which contains those inscriptions And the Scripture speaks of the Noble and Honourable which it doth but of one sort of men more with a diminution 1 Cor. 1. 26. Not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called There are not very many in all called and of those there are not many mighty nor many noble This should not be a discouragement but a spurre to your Honours Do not think that this Scripture necessitates any of You to be left out many will not be called though all your Lordships be There are Nobles enow in the world in whom this text will be verified and made good though it be not in any of your Honourable number Let it fill all your hearts with holy jealousies concerning your selves not with despondencies much lesse despairs concerning any of your selves When Christ said to his twelve Disciples One of you shall betray me it put them all upon this suspicion who it should be and one said Master is it I another Master is it I When the Holy Ghost in this Scripture saith Not many noble are called it should put all that are Noble upon this Inquisition Lord am I called Lord am I Is my name written in Heaven is mine It may be asked but with what spectacles shall we reade at such a distance How shall we discern whether our names are written in heaven or no I intend not to enter upon a discourse of signes and tokens but as the Apostle answers them Rom. 10. 6. who were making Quaeries about Christ Say not in thine heart Who shall ascend up to heaven they made great difficulties how to get neer Christ how to know him say not in thine heart saith he have not these reasonings Who shall ascend up to heaven With what ladders shall we scale the clouds or with what wings shall we soar up thither Trouble not thy self saith the Apostle with these thoughts thou shalt not be put to so long a journey for the word is nigh thee even in thy mouth and in thy heart the word of faith which we preach I say likewise to these Quaerists Say not in your hearts who shall ascend up to heaven to see whether his name be written there or how shall we send a messenger thither to search the records You may save that journey the word is neer you the word is before you even the word of faith and of obedience which we preach If the name of God be written in your hearts your names are written in Heaven If you in your actions daily write out a copy of this book assure your selves the hand of God hath written you in his book The lives of the Saints should be a continued copying out of the book of God He that writes out the book of God in his life may rest assured his name is written in the book of life FINIS