be seene and another thing to do a thing that it may be seen And yet Gods people may do both not do good onely that may be seen but if they keepe still the glory of God above in their eye as the highest ayme they may desire and be willing too that it may be seene to the praise of God But this I confesse requireth some strength of grace to do it and yet to keep the heart upright The excellency of grace doth consist not in casting off the outward comforts of the world but to know how to enjoy them and to over-rule them unto God so the strength of grace doth consist not in forbearing of such actions as are taken notice of by men or not to dare to ayme at the publishing of those things that have excellency in them but the strength of grace consists in this in having the heart enabled to do this and yet to keepe it under too and to keep God above in his right place Thirdly It shall be said they are sonnes c. It is a great blessing unto Gods children that they shall be accounted so before others Not onely that they shall be so but that they shall be accounted so Blessed are the peace-makers for they shall be called the children of God This is a blessing not onely to be Gods children but to be called Gods children We must account it so and therefore we must walk so as may convince all with whom we do converse that we are the children of God and not thinke this sufficient well let me approve my heart to God and then what need I care what all the World thinks of me God doth promise it as a blessing to have his people called the children of God then this must not be slighted You shall find it often in the Gospel that Christ made a great businesse of this to make it manifest to the world that he was sent of God he would have them to know that his Father sent him and that hee came from him So the people of God should count it a blessing and walk so as they may obtaine such a blessing that the world may know that they are of God Further. In the place where it was said unto them Ye are not my people there it shall be said unto them Ye are the sonnes of the living God Marke It is not said thus that in the place where it was said they are not my people it shall be said to them they are my people No but further it shall be said they are sonnes and sonnes of the living God this goeth beyond being his people Hence then the observation is That The grace of God under the Gospell it is morefull and large and glorious then the grace of God under the Law For this is spoke of the estate of the Church under the Gospell They were Gods people indeed under the Law but the sonnes of the living God this is reserved for the times under the Gospel Sometime they under the Law are called by the name of sonnes but it appeareth by this Text that in comparison of that glorious son-ship that they shall have under the times of the Gospell that they in former times were rather servants then sonnes There is very little of our adoption in Christ revealed in the Old Testament No that was reserved for the Sonne of God to reveale for him that came out of the bosome of the Father and brought the treasures of his Fathers councel to the world the revelation of these things were reserved to the time of his comming both adoption and eternal life was very little made knowne in the time of the Law therefore Saint Paul saith that life and immortality were brought to light through the Gospel 2 Tim. 1. 10. 2. Sonnes Because in the time of the Gospell the spirits of the Saints are of son-like dispositions they are ingenuous not mercenarie In the time of the Law God carried on his people in offering rewards especially in outward things but in the time of the Gospell we have no such rewards in outwards but the Scripture speakes of afflictions most there is not spoken so much of afflictions in the time of the Law but much outward prosperity there was then but in the time of the Gospel more affliction because the dispositions of the hearts of people should not be so mercenary as they were before they should be an ingenuous a willing people in the day of Christs power 3. Sonnes Because of the son-like affection to be much for God their Father out of a naturall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that they should have more then in the times of the Law I suppose some of you have heard of the story of Craesus his sonne though he was dumb all his dayes when he perceived a souldier striking his father his affection brake the barres of his speech and he cryed out to the Souldier to spare his rather This is the affection of a sonne and these affections doth God looke for from his children especially in the time of the Gospel that they should heare no wrong done to him but though they could never speake in their own cause yet their should be sure to speake in their Fathers cause 4. Sonnes Because they have not such a spirit of servility upon them as they had in the time of the Law Christ is come to redeem us that we might serve the Lord in holinesse and righteousnesse before him without feare all the dayes of our life to take away the spirit of feare Hence the Apostle saith We have not received the spirit of feare but of love and of a sound minde And Heb. 2. 15. Christ is come to redeem those who through feare of death were all their life time subject to bondage The spirit of a sonne is not be spirit of feare We have not received the spirit of bondage to feare again but the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father It is unbeseeming the children of God especially in the time of the Gospel to be of such servile spirits as to feare every little danger to be distracted with fear and presently to be amazed Hath not God revealed himselfe to us as a Father to his children that we must not feare He would not have us feare himselfe not with a servile sear as men do and therefore surely not to fear men be they what they will be We are sons Again Not only sons for so we might find in Scripture where the people of God under the Law perhaps are sometimes called so but elder sons sons come to yeares It is true they were before us and so in that respect we are not elder bnt sons that are come to our inheritance that is it I mean that we are such sons Not children under tutorage not under School-masters and governours as they were in the time under the Law You know what comparison the Scripture makes of the difference betweene
the Church set out by the Jewish way of Feasts though there be mention of the Passeover and new moones and Sabbaths and of the Feast of Tabernacles yet there is no mention of the Feast of Pentecost no mention of keeping a Feast for blessing God for these things Not but that they should doe so but that their hearts should be so carryed up with abundance of spirituall mercies that then all for Christ and for heaven and for eternity their hearts should be wholly set upon spirituall things 7. It was a great ingagement to them to use the creatures when in the first beginning they had dedicated them unto God and in the conclusion of harvest they had solemnized his mercy in giving them the creatures For God did thereby teach them that they might be further engaged to use all creatures for his service As it is a mighty engagement to any man if God give him a heart to dedicate the beginning of a mercy unto God and when he hath got the mercy fulfilled then in a solemne manner he blesseth God for it to make use of this mercy for Gods honour Certainly the reason why many are so loose in their conversations and doe not employ the creatures of God to his glory is because they do not in a solemn manner blesse God for that they enjoy As in your trading suppose you have some comfortable Incomes perhaps you take these comforts and thanke God in a slight manner for them how doe you use them afterwards onely for your selves and for the flesh But when you heare of Incomes of riches flowing in upon you if you can then presently take the first Fruits and give some part to Gods service as a testimony of thankfulnesse and in your families and closets in a solemne manner give God the glory for the good successe you have had in your estate this will be a mighty ingagement to you to use your estates for his service 8. Mark at the first in their preparation they were to bring but a sheafe but afterward Levit. 23. 17. they were to bring two loaves in the first they were to offer one he-lambe without blemish but afterward seven lambes a young bullocke and two Rams c. both burnt-offerings and sinne-offerings and peace-offerings when they had received the full harvest Thence learne though you be forward to give God glory when you are young the first fruit of your years yet when you come to be old you should flourish in the Courts of Gods house First they offered but a little unto God afterward abundance Doe you so I appeale to all old men that are here this day if God did give you any heart to give up your young years to him blesse God for it but now when you are old are you as forward as ever you were You ought to be not onely so but much more abundant in the work of the Lord. Nay cannot others witnesse against you that there was such a time wherein you were more forward and that now you begin rather to temporize The LORD forbid this should be spoke of any old men God expects more afterward then at the first fruits and though nature may decay yet their is a promise that in their old age they shall flourish in the Courts of Gods house and shall manifest the graces of his Spirit much more VVe are ready at the first Fruits to offer unto God some what when his mercy commeth first but when mercy comes afterward more fully we should be more in our offerings You will say what is the meaning of this that there is a burnt offering a sin-offering and a peace-offering in the Feast of Pentecost what is the difference of these three offerings The difference is this The burnt offering was in testimony of their high respect to God they wholly had respect to God in the burnt offering that is they tendred up something to God as a testimony of the high honoraable esteem they had of his Majesty it was wholly to be given up to him Now in the other they had respect to themselves the sin-offering was not to offer a sacrifice meerly to testifie respect to God but to be a typicall signification of Christs sacrifice for sins they were to looke through their sacrifice to Christ and their sin-offering was to be an atonement for their sin The Peace-offering was in thanksgiving for a mercy or when they would petition to God for a further mercy All this must be done in the day of Pentecost But besides this end of Pentecost to solemnize the mercies of God in their harvest there is an other that is constantly affirmed by the Jewes and I finde many Divines making no question of it but I finde it not so clearly laid down in the word They say God in this feast did solemnize the giving of the law and this is their ground because fifty dais after their coming out of Egypt was the time of Gods giving the Law and so they say Pentecost was appointed to blesse God for giving the law The Iews say that God dealt with them as a King should deale with a poor man in prison first hee releaseth him of his bondage and withall tells him that after such a time he will marry him to his daughter now say they will not this man count every day long untill this time come So when God did deliver us out of AEgypt he told us that after such a time he would give us his law and marry us to his daughter which is the law and this is the reason why wee count so disigently the very weeks nay the days as longing for that time when we are to be marryed to the law when the Lord shall grant to us such a mercy From whence we may note that we are not only to keep Gods law but to rejoyce in Gods law not only to look at what is commanded as a duty but as a high priviledg and so blesse God for the law It is a higher thing to love Gods law and rejoyce in it then to obey it Great peace shall they have that love thy law David profest that he loved the law of God more then silver and gold that it was sweeter to him then the honey and the honey combe The Iews at this day do much reioyce when the law of God is read and in their Synagogues when the law of God is brought out they lift up their bodies in a kind of exlatation reioycing that God gave this law unto them Further the time of their Pentecost was the time of the descending of the holy Ghost upon the Apostles as God at that time gave the law by Moses so the Spirit at that time came by Christ to shew that we are in the Gospel to receive the Spirit of God to inable us to fulfill the law They had the letter of the law but in comparison of what we have they had not the Spirit
only blesse God but the Text saith They lifted up their hands and they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground Why because the book of the Law was read to them and expounded How comes it to passe that their hearts were so taken with it now to hear the book of the Law expounded to them Surely it was because they were newly returned out of their Captivity and now they came into their owne Land and heard the Law of God opened to them they blessed his great Name bowed their faces to the ground worshipping him This day my brethren witnesseth to us our great deliverance and returne from our bondage It was not long since that wee could have either Ordinances or Truths or Religious exercises but onely according to the humors of vile men But now through Gods mercy a great deliverance is granted to us as this day witnesseth that wee may come and have free liberty to exercise our selves in the Law of our God O doe you blesse the Lord and bow your faces to the ground worshipping of him In the 12. vers of that Chap. we read that after they had heard the Law read and expounded to them they went their way to eate and to drink and to send portions and to make great mirth Why Because saith the Text they had understood the words that were declared unto them I hope if God shall please to give in assistance unto this work many of you shall goe away hereafter from this Assembly rejoycing because you will come to know more of Gods mind revealed in his word then formerly And this will be the comfort of your meat and drink and of your trading and the very spirits of all the joyes of your lives As the sweetnesse of the fruit comes from the graft rather then from the stock so your comforts and the blessings of grace in you must come from the word ingrafted in your soules rather then from any thing you have in your selves In the first vers the Text saith that all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water-gate to desire Ezra to bring the book of the law and to read it and to open it unto them Behold it is thus this day in this place here are a great company met together perhaps some to know what the businesse will be some for novelty and some for other ends howsoever come unto us you are and we hope many for this end that you might have the booke of the Law read opened unto you Now we expect that from you which is said of them ver 3. And the ears of all the people were attentiâ—e unto the book of the law when it was read opened to them And truly that attention that you now begin withal doth promise unto us that we shall have an attentive auditory But that is not all let us have further a reverential demeanor and carriage in the hearing of the Law as it becomes those that have to deale with God in it The Text saith vers 5. that when Ezra opened the book of the Law all the people stood up We doe not expect the same gesture from you but by way of Analogie we expect a reverentiall demea nour in the carriage of he whole worke as knowing we are to sanctifie Gods Name in it And as those people after the first dayes exercise were so encouraged that they came again the second day for so the Text saith vers 13. On the second day were gathered together the cheife of the fathers of all the people the Priests and the Leviâ—es unto Ezra to understand the words of the Law so I hope God will so carry on this worke that you shall find encouragement too to come again and again that you may know more of the mind of God and that this work shall not be only profitable to the younger and weaker sort but to the Fathers to the Priests and Levites too Let it be with you as it was with them according as you have any truth made known unto you submit to it yeeld to it obey it presently and then you shall know more of Gods mind He that will doe my will shall know my doctrine to be of God Thus did they for vers 14. when they found it vvritten in the book of the Law that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh moneth This was one passage of the Law that was expounded how they should keep the feast of Tabernacles and what booths they should make the people went forth presently unto the mount and fetched Olive branches and Palm branches and branches of thick trees and made themselves booths every one upon the roofe of his house In this Prophesie of Hosea you shall find many sutable truths to the times wherein we live the Lord grant you obedient hearts to what shall be delivered I must not retard the work nor your expectations any longer with large prefacing to it only somewhat have been said about the rules for interpretation of Scripture I will say no more of that but this to interpretation of Scripture a Scripture frame of heart is necessary a heart holy heavenly sutable to the holinesse heavenlinesse that is in the word as it was said of Tullies eloquence that nothing but the eloquence of Tully could set out the excellency of it So it may be said of the Scriptures spiritualness nothing but a heart filled with Scripture spiritualness can set forth the excellencies of it and because the authority of Scripture is dreadfull wee desire the prayers of you all to God for us that his feare might fall upon our hearts that seeing we are menfull of errour and full of evill yet howsoever wee may not bring any Scripture to the maintenance of any erroneous conceit of our own heads nor any evill of our own hearts This wee know to be a dreadfull evill It was a fearfull evill for Lucifer to say I will goe and ascend up be like the Highest it is as great an evill for any to seek to make the Highest to become like Lucifer for so do they that make the Scripture come down to justifie any erroneous opinion or any way of evill they goe about to make the blessed God and the holy Ghost to be the fathers of lies It is counted a great evill in a Common-wealth to put the Kings stamp upon false coine and to put the stamp of the Spirit of God upon an error upon a conceit of a mans owne is certainly a great evill before the Lord and it was for this that God did make the Priests vile and contemptible before the people because they were paâ—tiall in the Law Mal. 2. 9. And for you my brethren our prayer shall be that the feare of God may fall upon you likewise that you may come to these Exercises with Scripture-frames of heart What frame of
was good and the land that it was pleasant and he bowed his shoulders to bear became a servant unto tribuâ—e And when mens spirits are effeminate in regard of the civill state they quickly grow so in regard of their consciences and religion too Purity of religion in the Church cannot stand long with slavery admitted in the State We read Rev. 4. 7. of 4. Ages of the Church set out by four living-creatures the 3. living-creature the Text saith had the face of a man and that was to note the state of the Church in the time of reformation they began then to be of manly spirits to cast off that yoke of bondage that was before upon them to enquire after what liberty God had granted to them Not then like those we read of Isa 51. 23. that would bow down to such as would say to their soules Bow downe that we may goe over them This my brethren hath been the condition of many of us there hath bin that effeminateness of spirit in us that we have bowed down our necks yea our souls to those that would go over us yea as it is there in 51. Isa they made themselves the very street to them that went over them their very consciences were trampled upon by the foot of pride and all for the enjoyment of a little outward accomodation in their estates in their shops and in their trading Oh they must not venture these rather yeeld to any thing in the world And truly we were afraid not long since that God was calling us by the name of this daughter Loruhamah in regard of our effeminateness of spirit that the Lord was departing from our nation But blessed be God that now here hath begun to be a rising of spirit among us especially among our worthies in Parliament and their warmth vigour life hath put warmth vigour spirit and life into the whole Kingdome Now our Kingdom will never bow downe and submit their Consciences nor Estates nor liberties to that bondage and oppression that heretofore hath been No they had rather die honorably then live basely But why do I make such a disjunction dy honorably or live basely Had we spirits we might free our selves and posterity from living basely and we need not dye at all for the malignant party hath neither spirit to act nor power to prevail if we keep up our spirits and be strong in the Lord we are safe enough yet we shall not have our name Loruhamah but Ruhamah the Lord will have mercy upon us 1 King 14. 15. God threatens to smite Israel that they shall be as a reed shaken with the wind and then mark what followeth and then he would root them out of this good land which hee gave to their Fathers If this judgement be upon England that our spirits be shaken as a reed with the winde that wee bow and yeeld to any thing in a base way the next may justly follow that the Lord may root us out of this good Land As it was with Israel before their destruction they grew effeminate so it was with Judah too before theirs Isa 3. 3. when God intended judgment against them you may observe there that He took away the mighty man the man of war the prudent and the ancient the Captain the honourable man the Counseller men of truly noble spirits were taken away their Nobles became to be vile and sordid to yeeld to any humors and lusts then they were neer the ruine and ver 12. the Text saith women rule over them for women that have many spirits to rule is no judgment at all but for women of revengeful spirits to rule over a nation is a most fearful judgment But so much of the first that it is a daughter that is here born to Hosea What is this daughters name Call her name Loruhamah Non dilecta so some Non misericordiam consecuta so others both come to one either not beloved or one that hath not obtained mercy for Gods mercy proceedeth from his love I will no more have mercy I will add no more mercy Nothing that God had shewed abundance of mercy to Israel before but now he saith I will not adde any more I will shew no further mercy to them But I will utterly take them away Tollendo tollam so turned by some In taking them away I will take them away Levaho levando so others I will lift them up that I may cast them down so much the more dreadfully The old Latin hath it thus Obliviscendo obliviscor forgetting I will forget And this was upon a mistake of the Hebrew word because there is little difference in the Hebrew between the word that signifieth to to forget and that which signifieth to take away The 70. setting my selfe against them I will set my selfe against them Well the name of the child must bear this upon it that God will have no more mercy upon them Hence then first Sometimes the very children of families and in a kingdom do bear this impression upon them that God will have no mercy upon this family upon this kingdome One may my brethren read such an impression upon the children of many great families in this Kingdome when wee looke upon that horrible wickedness of the young ones that are coming up how different from their former religious Ancestors we may see with trembling hearts such an impression of wrath as if God had said I have done with this family I intend no further mercy to this family As sometimes when we see in a family gracious children gracious young gentlemen noble men we may see the impression of Gods mercy to that family Ruhaniah I intend mercy to it It was not long since that we might and we thought indeed wee did see such an impression upon the young ones of this kingdome the young ones in the City the yong ones in the chief families in the Country that we vvere afraid that Lornhamah to England was written upon them for oh the rudenes and wickednes of the young ones But blessed be God that we see it otherwise now now in regard of that graciousnesse that forwardnesse of so many young ones amongst us we may see written upon them Ruhamah to England mercy to England God hath taken away his Lo and writeth only Ruhamah mercy to you this great change God hath made For the great ground of the hope we have for mercy to England is the impression of God upon the young ones When God hath tender plants growing up in his Orchard certainly he will not break down the hedg or dig it up Secondly Call her name Loruhamah for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel There is a time when God will not have mercy upon a kingdome or upon a particular people Gather your seves together oh nation not worthy to be beloved before the decree come forth There is a
he manifested since the world begun Therefore when God would set out the state of the Church of the gospel mark how he takes that title to himselfe Revel 4. 9. The 4. living creatures mentioned in the verses before by which is meant the state of the Church under the gospel they give glory and honour thanks to him that sate on the throne who liveth for ever and ever and ver 10. The 24. Elders fell downe before Him that sate on the Throne and worshipped Him that liveth for ever and ever and Chap. 5. 14. both joyne together The 4. living creatures and the 24. Elders fell downe and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever And Chap. 10. 5 6. The Angell which stood upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever Thus the attribute of Gods life is made use of for the state of the Church in the gospell to shew how active God will be for them Thence Heb. 12. 22. the Church is called The Cities of the living God Now then if we expect that God should be a living God unto us it becomes not us to have dead hearts in his service If God be active for our good let us be active for his honour A living and a lively Christian is beautifull in the eyes of God and man Let us labour not onely to be liviing but to be lively for God and his cause Abundance of service and good may living and lively Christians do in the places where they live specially in these times But oh what a few are there who are active and stirring and are carryed on by the spirit of wisdome and zeale for God and his cause Away now with out cold and dead wishes and luskish desires let us up and be doing and the Lord will be with us The adversaries are lively so saith the Psalmift mine tnemies are lively and they are strong Psal 38. 19. We may well make use of that expression too our enemies they are lively and strong shall they be more lively and active for the Devill and for their lusts then we for the living God As God is the object of our happinesse as he is the living God so wee are the objects of Gods delight as we are living too God is not the God of the dead but he is the God of the living We should be lively and active for we live upon the bread of life and drink the water of life we have lively Oracles lively ordinances therefore life and activity is required of us Rom. 12. 11. Be fervent in spirit serving the Lord be burning boyling up in your spirits for you are serving the Lord the living God be boyling up in your spirits dead spirits become not the services of the living God Grace is called the Divine nature and God wee know is a pure act and it is called the very life of God It is impossible then but a Christian must needs be active seeing his grace is the very life of God in him By being lively and active we shall prevent abundance of temptations that otherwise will befallus a dead luskish spirit is lyable to a thousand temptations as when the honey is scalding hot and boyling the flies will not come to it when it is set in the window and grows cold then the flies come to it so when the spirits of men are boyling hot for God Belzebub the god of flies with his temptations comes not then upon them but when their spirits begin to cool and grow dull and heavy then comes Belzebub then comes all manner of temptation upon the soule The breath that comes from life we know it is warme breath but artificiall breath that is cold the breath that comes from the body of a man that 's hot but the breath that cometh from a paire of Bellows that is cold because it is artificiall breath so when men are cold in the services of God it is to be feared that their breath in praying and other duties it is but artificiall breath it is not the breath of life if it were living it would be warm That was the reason why God would not have an asse offered him in the Law in sacrifice but his neck must be broken because the asse is a dull creature God loves not dull creatures in his service I remember I have heard of a people that worshipped the sunne for their god they sacrificed to the sun a flying horse the reason was this because they would offer to the sun somewhat sutable to it they honoured the sun for the swiftness of his motion and a horse you know is a swift creature and therefore somewhat sutable especially having that emble me upon him with wings They that would honour the sun as a god for swiftnes would not offer a snayle but a flying horse so if wee do honour God for a living God an active God let us not offer snayles to him dull heavy sluggish services but quick and lively services That which the Courtiers of Nebuchadnezzar flatteringly said to him that in the name of God say I to you Live for ever Joh. 6. 57. saith Christ there As the living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father so he that eateth me even he shall live by me Christ was active exceeding active in his way in the work he was sent about Why because the living Father sent him so letus consider that in all our services and employments it is a living God that sets us about them and we shall be active as Christ was I am willing a little to inlarge this because of the necessity of it in regard of our present times and give me leave to do it by telling you what this activeness is that I would put you upon in these three things First stay not for company in any good cause An active spirit will not stay till he see others to accompany him but if he must go rather then the cause should fall he will goe alone Mark that saying Isa 51. 2. I called Abraham alone and blessed him Be not discouraged if God give thee an active spirit and others will not appear God calls thee alone and he will blesset hee Secondly when you have company do not lag behind but he willing to be formost rather then any cause of God should suffer by your lagging do not stay to have others go before you Hence in Pro. 30. 31. amongst the comely goings of many things there the going of the he-goat is said to be very comely why because the he-goat useth to go before the flock Those that out of love to the cause of God are willing if they be called to it to goe before the flock they goe comely in the eyes of God Thirdly do not forbear the work till all difficulties about it be first over That is a sluggish spirit that wil not set about the work till they
can see how all the difficulties about the worke are or may be removed You must up and be doing be doing presently fall to the worke and then when you are working wisely to prevent and avoid the difficulties that come in it As those active spirits did that we read of in Nehem. 4. 17. when they were at work with one of their hands they wrought and with the other hand they held a weapon they did not stay the building of the wall of Jerusalem till all their adversaries were quashed but prefently they fell to it and with one hand they wrought in the work and with the other held a weapon This is an active spirit Further we must not be active in a sudden mood upon a meer flash and so gone but in a constant solid way Active yet solid Many indeed are stirring and active for the present but as the flame of a wispe of straw that makes a noise and a great stir for the present but soone after there remains nothing but black dead ashes But we must be considerately active Therefore observe the Scripture saith speaking of the Saints specially in the time of the Gospel that they are lively stones you know the place of Peter What a stone and yet lively A stone of all things is the most dead thing and so it is used to set out a dead spirit in that story of Nabal when Abigail came to tell him of the business of David the Text saith that his heart dyed within him and became as a stone What is this but to shew that though we must be lively and active 〈…〉 must be solid firme and substantiall in our activeness and again that when we are solid firm and substantiall yet we must be active There are many that know not how to be active solidly and therefore grow slight and vain in their activity and many others striving to be solid and substantiall they quicly grow dull many through a kind of affected gravity they would forsooth be accounted solid and wise and so become at last dull and heavy and of very little use in the Church of God Take heed of either and labour to compose both together that is acceptable to God to be living stones before him Ver. 11. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together c. Here you have a promise both to Israel and Judah together Great was the enmity between Judah and Israel heretofore They worshipped the same God but in divers manners One worshipped God according to his owne institution Judah did And Israel worshipped the same God but after their own ways according to their own inventions so as might best sute with their politique ends There was a great deale of bitternesse and vexation between these two people though worshipping the same God and God here makes it a great matter to bring these two together that they should be gathered together in one For that here wee have the promise First that there shall be an union Secondly that there shall be an union under one head First that there shall be an union Hence then the first observation is this The enmity of such as seem not much different in matters of Religion and yet do differ is sometime exceeding great and bitter There shall be an union between Judah and Israel saith God Here is a mercy here is a wonderful worke of the Lord. In that God doth I say make this so great a matter this observation doth spring forth of the Text clearly that many times between such as professe the same Religion and seem not to differ much and yet do differ their oppositions are most bitter and ineconcileable and requires a mighty worke of God to bring them in and reconcile them It appears it was so between Judah and Israel I will give you but one Text for it 2 Chr. 28. 9. The Prophet Obed tells the children of Israel when he came to reprove them after the slaughter committed by them upon the children of Judah saith he Ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up to heaven What a rage was this this and yet thus the people of Israel were inraged against the people of Iudah their opposition was very bitter yea more bitter were they many times one against another then they were against the Heathen the Philistims and Assyrians and Egyptians that were round about them they were nothing so bitter against them as they were one against another Thus it hath been and untill that blessed time come that here is spoken of in the Text thus it will be You know the Calvinists and Lut he rans though they agree together against Papists in the main fundamental things yet â—h the bitternesse of their spirits one against another A Lutheran is scarce so bitter against a Papist as he is against a Calvinist Luther himself complaineth Not only open wicked men are our enemies but even our frends and those that at first received the doctrine of the Gospel from us even they persecute us most bitterly And he complaineth in particular of Zuinglius Zuing. saith he accuseth me of my wickedness of any cruelty so that the Papists doe not teare me so much as these my friends Again speaking of Corolost adius He is more deadly against mee more set against me then ever any of my enemies were Even hee that God did ufe together with Luther for great ends and purposes for the furtherance of the Gospell yet such bitterness was between them And hath it not been so amongst us Those that are Protestants and such as are nick-named Puritans though they do agree in all the fundamentall points against popery yet because there is some difference in matter of discipline and ceremonies Oh what bitternesse of spirit is there and it is so much the more sinfull in those who say themselves that discipline and ceremonies are but in different things they themselves are specially to be blamed for bitterneesse on their side because the conscience of the other is bound up and cannot yeeld yea not only such as doe contend against popish discipline but such as doe goe a further degree in reformation of discipline it selfe yet because they are differing in some few particulars oh the bitterness of spirit that is many times even among them These are times that call all the people of God to see what they can agree in and in that to joyne against the common adversary and not to tear one another by dissentions God may justly give us over to our adversaries if we agree not among our selves and they may chaine us together Perhaps a Prison may make us agree as it was said of Ridley and Hooper though Ridley stood much against Hooper in point of ceremonies and they could not agree yet when they came to Prison they did well enough there The Lord deliver us from that medicine of our dissentions that wee be not made
when they were in the darke for those three dayes together they stirred not from their stooles there was no noise among them shall the light be blamed because afterward when it came every one stirred and went one one way and another another so when we were in grosse darknesse we saw nothing we knew nothing Now light begins to breake forth and here one searcheth after one truth and another after another and yet we cannot attaine to perfection shall we accuse the light for this Yea but we see too apparently that those that seem the strictest of all that would worship God as they say in the purest manner in his Ordinances yet there are woefull divisions and distractions even amongst them How then is the Gospel a Gospel of peace But a word in answer to this To satisfie your consciences that the Gospel may not be blamed for indeed where the Gospel comes there is promised peace Consider this one reason that may be given for it Because so long as we are here we are partly flesh and partly spirit Yet those that have the Gospel prevaile with their consciences they come to be of this temper that they cannot move any further then they can see light for and their consciences will give them leave But now other men they have more liberty they indeed quarrel not one with another why because they have wide checker lyther consciences having ends of their owne they will yeeld to any thing for the attaining of those ends so that here they have this advantage that if they see that the contention will bring them more trouble then they conceive the thing is worth they will condescend though it be against light of conscience But other men upon whom the light of the Gospel hath prevailed have that bond upon conscience that though all the world should differ from them they must be content to lye down and suffer they cannot yeeld though you would give them all the world they cannot go against that light But indeed they may search and it may trouble them that their apprehensions of things should be different from the apprehensions of their brethren and that they cannot yeeld to that which their brethren yeeld too It is true they should be humbled and suspect their hearts and look to themselves and fall down before God and pray and use all means for advice and counsell and consider of things again and again Well but suppose they have done all this and yet the Lord doth not reveale to them any further light though it be a sad affliction to them yet they must lye down under it for they cannot yeeld one known truth is more then all the world therefore unlesse others will beare with them in their infirmity they must suffer whatsoever men will lay upon them True indeed the world calls this stoutness and stifnesse and being wedded to their own opinion But they know it is otherwise they can appeal to God and say Lord thou knowest what a sad affliction it is unto me that I cannot see what my brother sees and that I cannot yeeld to what my brother yeelds to thou hast hid it from me I 〈◊〉 wait upon thee till thou shalt reveal it in the 〈…〉 and not make disturbances in the places vvhere I come but pray 〈…〉 for light and that thou wouldst incline the 〈◊〉 of my brethren unto me 〈◊〉 they may not have hard thoughts of Do but thus thou shalt have peace with God and in thine own heart howsoever But again marke Judah and Israel they shal be gathered together So soone as any are converted to the faith they are of a gathering disposition They desire to gather to the Saints presently Every childe of God that is converted is a gatherer as Solomon is called Ecclesiastes so in the Greeke but the Hebrew word is interpreted by some a soule gathered because it is in the faeminine genger None in the world love good fellowship so much as the Saints of God They fly as doves to their windows doves you know use to fly in great flocks thousands together The more spirituall any one is of the more joyning uniting nature he is Thousands of beames of the Sun will meet together in one better then the beams of a candle will doe The Saints of God in the Apostles times when they were converted it is said they were added to the Church they gathered presently So in Esay 66. it is an observable place ver 20. the Text saith They shall bring their brethren as an offering to the Lord out of all Nations upon horses and in chariots in litters How comes this There shall be many that dwell a great way off they shall not make that their excuse for their not joyning to the people of God because they are afar off It is a great journey No but there be horses to be got But it may be some cannot ride Then get Charets But some perhaps are so weake that they can neither ride on horses nor in Chariots then they will get litters and litters you know are to carry weake sick persons This shews the intention of spirit that is in the people of God to be gathered to the Church either to be carryed on horses or in Chariots or in litters one way or other they will come and joyn themselves to the people of God For there is the presence of Christ and the protection of Christ and the comunication of Christ in their union and communion and where the carcasse is there will the Eagles resort O they love alife to be going towards Sion gathering one to another as in Psal 84. 7. They walk from strength to strength and at last they all appear before God in Zion From strength to strength that is thus From one place of the Country perhaps there comes halfe a score or twenty to go toward Zion and perhaps before they come to such a town or turning they meet with halfe a score more so they grow stronger when they are a mile or two further perhaps they meet with another town coming and they joyn presently are stronger and so they go from strength to strength comfortably together till they come before God in Zion They shall appoint themselves one Head Although they be multitudes be as the sand of the sea yet this is no great matter unless they come under one Head a right Head too It is not multitudes that is a sufficient argument of truth A multitude coming under one Head under Christ as one Head they are the true Church The Papists they give this Note of the Church Universality that there are so many Papists in the world We must not regard people how 〈…〉 they are but under what Head they are They shall be gathered undermine Head looke to the Head they follow for so S. Paul tells us that there shall be an Apostasie before the revelation of that man of sin 2
should set any people of meane quality above him he would not regard all your courtesies When you tender up any thing unto Christ when you seeme to entertaine him with the greatest respect yet if there be any thing you set above him especially if a vile lust be set above him he cares not for all your entertainment We read in that Col. 2. 19. the place we made use of in opening the former point that there were some blamed for not holding of the Head What is that because they gave more honour to Angels then was due unto them It is spoken about the worshipping of Angels though never such glorious creatures yet by over-prizing they come not to hold of the Head What is the giving undue honour to Angels enough to take us off from Christ the Head Certainly then the prostrating our selves before our vile and base lusts doth much more take us off from holding Christ to be the Head Let us look at all the offices and ordinances of Christ as holding upon him the Head as you heard before that so we may have a more reverent esteem of them Let us depend upon him for influence of life and not depend upon means Let us manifest in our conversation the spirit and life that wee have received from such a Head as Christ is that we may not be a dishonour to this our head I remember Chrysostome in his Comment upon that first of the Ephesians sayes in this regard wee must be better then Angels yea greater then Arch-angels and he hath three most excellent expressions about this that Christians should take heed of dishonouring Christ their Head First saith he suppose a man had a precious Diadem upon his head or a crown of gold that would be some argument unto him to make him take heed of doing things unworthy of that ornament that is upon his head and we saith he have not a Diadem wee have not a crowne of gold upon our heads we have Christ himself to be our Head therefore let us doe nothing unworthy of this our head Secondly he hath this expression O the honour saith he that God affordeth unto us in this the thought of this were enough to terrifie us from sin more then the setting of hell it self before our eyes And indeed so it is The right understanding of Christ to be our Head and we having so neer an union with him is of power to terrifie us from sin more then the sight of hell if it were before us Thirdly he goes on further Saith he What is Christ your head doe you know next unto whom this your head doth sit in heaven Is he not placed at the right hand of the Father above all principalities and powers And shal the members of this head be trampled upon by the Devil God forbid And yet so honour the head as to give the honor likewise to all that are unto him to those that he hath placed for the administration of any ordinance of his unto us We must not under pretence of giving Christ all the honour dishonour those that are set over us by Christ We have a notable expression of the Apostle Paul 1 Cor. 1. 12. where reproving the dissentions of the Church of Corinth There are some saith he that say we are of Paul and others wee are of Apollo and others said we are of Cephas others we are of Christ Why are these all blamed how could those that said that they held of Christ be blarned It is apparent that the Apostle blames them all as well those that said they did hold of Christ as those that said they did hold of Paul or Apollo or Cephas How is that Thus. Among the Corinths there were some that made divisions some were for some officer others for others we are for Paul said some we for Apollo said others and we for Cephas and for our parts said others wee are for none of them all we are neither for Paul nor for Apollo nor for Cephas but we are for Christ what are men what are officers what are Ordinances what are all those to us Christ is all in all unto us he is our head and we are compleat in him and we hold upon him we are for neither of all the other These are blamed as well as the other We must so hold upon Christ as yet to give all due honour to the Ordinances to the Institutions to the Officers and Offices of Christ Yet I confesse when any that are in Christs stead to dispence his ordinances unto us if they prove to be wicked of all people in the world they are the most contemptible and a just judgement of God â—t is upon them Esay 9. 15. The ancient and honourable he is the head and the Prophet that teacherâ—â— lyes he is the taile Mark The Prophet there speakes against those that were in place and power though they were naught yet still they retained the name of ancient and honourable but the Prophet that teacheth lyes a contemptiblename is put upon him he is the taile no generation in the world more contemptible then those when once they degenerate But you will say though they should be vile in their lives yet the wickednesse of them that are in office doth not hinder the virtue and efficacy of the Ordinances it depends not upon them True the efficacy of no Ordinance depends upon men and it is not either because the Minister is vile or Communicants are vile that communicate with you that can hinder the vertue of an Ordinance If the Church contract no guilt upon themselves by retaining such in place and by not casting out such as doe come into communion with them Take but that for granted that there is no guilt contracted It is not the wickednesse then of the Minister or of the people that hinders the efficacy of any Ordinance at all But if it prove that there be guilt contracted upon the Church through the negligence of their duty this way then the case is the same with those of Corinth 1 Cor. 5. 6. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump what is that whole lump but their Communion But was not Christ the Head before because now it is said They shall appoint themselves one Head It is spoken of a glorious time when the Jews shall he called again and 〈◊〉 and Judah shall joyne together Now they shall appoint themselves one Head Christ to be their Head Christ was the head to the Fathers under the Law how now is he appointed their head Christ indeed was a head to the fore-fathers but now in the times of the Gospel especially at these times that are spoken of here at the calling of the Jewes and that glorious time that shall be then Christ will appeare to be a Head in another manner to governe in another way farre more gloriously then now he doth and far more influence of grace light will come from him unto his members
Cause of God is one the one side and not on the other The goodnesse of the Cause is as great an advantage as the abilities and number on the other side is a disadvantage And sometimes particular members of a Church have no other way to free themselves from the guilt of the sinnes of the Church but onely by pleading with them except they plead they are many times inwrapped in the guilt and therefore of necessity they must do it though they be never so weak Yea and sometimes God hath blessed the pleading of some few and of weak ones too with a multitude Perhaps you may have heard of that notable Story we have in Ecclesiasticall Histories of Paphnutius who being in the Councel of Nice where there were 318. Bishops and the businesse was about the marriage of Ministers and generally they cast against it that those that were single should not marry only Paphnutius one man comes and plead against them all in that case and God so wrought it that he carried the Cause and he one man convinced all these 318. Bishops Therefore this is no discouragement for one man to stand up and plead against a great many So Petrus Waldensis in the Story of Waldenses though he was but one at first yet he stood against many thousands and God blessed that which he did for the conversion of thousands And Luther you know he stood against all the world almost Yea and though this one man may be but a private man a weake man God may blesse that which he saith sometimes more then that which more learned men shall say I remember I have read in the Centuries this Story A company of Bishops being met together there was a Phylosopher that stood out against the Christian Religion and so reasoned against them all that be seemed to have the better of it amongst them there was one a very godly and holy man but a very weak man he seeing the Cause of God like 〈◊〉 suffer desired leave to speak and encounter with this Phylosopher all the rest being troubled at it thinking that Gods Cause would suffer more by him knowing he was a very weak man but yet knowing withall that hee was a very holy man none would oppose but let him speak So he beginneth with the Phylosopher reciting many Articles of the Faith Tell me saith he do you believe these things are so and spoke with Majesty and authority doe not so reason the case about these Articles of our Faith but do you believe Presently the Phylosopher acknowledged himselfe overcome Hitherto saith he I have heard words and returned words but now I feel the Divine power and I cannot further answer and so yeelded to be a Christian upon the pleading of this poor weak man yet a very holy and godly man God hath blessed the pleading of weake ones though it be against those that are very strong therefore they must not be contemned I remember Oecolampadius hath such an expression as this saith hee Christ should be contemned and dishoncured if we should not heare were it but a child speaking with his Spirit though all the world should be against it And in Esay 11. 6. there is a promise that in the times of the Gospel the spirits of men should be so brought down that they should not stand upon their greatnesse and learning but the Text saith A child should leade them that is the humble temper that God would have under the Gospell But it may be said Will not this argue self-conceit What for one man a private man to plead with so many with a Church it is a signe that such a one is very well opinionated of himself that should think that what he apprehendeth should be sufficient to stand against the apprehension of so many learned and godly men as are in the Church How can this be freed from arrogancy and proud conceitednesse I answer Not so it may be conscience and not self-conceit for the rule of conscience is not the abilities nor the holinesse nor the multitude of others but it is that light that God doth let in to convince according to his Word Nay further I suppose I may convince you that this pleading for God may proceed from much self-deniall and the not pleading may proceed from very vile sinfull self-respect How will that appeare Thus. For a private man when he sees the truth of God to suffer certainly if he be an humble and an ingengous spirit it cannot but be exceeding grievous unto him to think that he must contest with such a multitude of able and Godly men more able then himself it cannot but be to him a very hard work that God putteth him upon He would rather a hundred times if he did look at his own quiet and ease sit down For think he if I come to speak then by this I shall be endangered to be accounted self-conceited I shall have the accusation of pride I shall displease many of my friends I shall make a great disturbance in my self I am sure to my own peace whatsoever I do to others and how much bette◠were it for me to sit still and be quiet An humble spirit would reason thus but only Conscience puts him upon it I shall contract guilt to my self if I be not at least a witnesse for Gods truth therefore though I shall suffer so much in it yet rather then the truth shall suffer rather then conscience shall plead against me I will plead though never so much to my disadvantage Now if such an one carry it humbly and quietly certainly he is rather to be accounted a self-denying man in it for it is a very hard taske VVhereas on the other side self-love is more like to think thus It is true these things are right I see they are not according to the truth of God Conscience indeed would have me speak but I shall trouble my self and what will they think of me on the other side where there are so many able and godly men surely I shall be thought a conceited fool and therefore I were as good hold my peace and sleepe in a whole skin and be quiet Thus because they have so much self-respect and love their own quiet and cannot endure to suffer any trouble they will leave the truth to suffer and their consciences to be pleading with in against themselves rather then thus to plead for the cause of God Certainly they that are charitable should rather take things in the better part then in the evill It is true it is possible that men may through pride of spirit be pleading with others I shall speak a word of that by and by but yet you may perceive it in the carriage of such a one in the generall course of his way Now if in the generall course of the way of a man hee doth carry himselfe humbly and submissively that you see him yeeldable as much as
world can we cannot be so cunning to contrive such plots tricks and devices for our owne ends as the men of the world can but wee have received the Spirit of God we can understand things there through Gods mercy to eternal life There are many men cunning for their own destruction they can find every secret path of sin though sin be a labyrinth they can goe up and down in it finde out ever by-path in that way When the waies of God are propounded to wicked men there is a mist before their eyes they cannot see when the wayes of sin are propunded to the Saints God in mercy cafteth a mist before their eies that they cannot see Eccles 10. 15. The foole knoweth not how to goe to the City wicked men they know not the path to the Church of God to the Ordinances of God they talke much about such and such Ordinances and setting up of Christ in the way of his Ordinances but they doe not see the way of it they know not what the true worship of God meaneth No a foole doth not understand the way to the City of God he cannot finde out that path But the Saints though they know not the wayes of sinne yet they can finde out the paths of God they know the way to the City Possidonius tells us a Austin that when there was wait laid for his life thorough Gods providence he mist his way and so his life was preserved and his enemies disappointed So many times when you are going on in such a way of sin perhaps you little thinke what danger there is in it God in mercy therefore casteth a mist before your eies and you misse that way and save your lives Ver. 7. She shall follow after her lovers but she shall not overtake them c. The Observation is Untill God subdues the hearto himselfe men will grow worse and worse in their sinnes yea even Gods Elect ones to whom hee intendeth mercy at last yet till God commeth with his grace to subdue their hearts they may grow worse and worse they would before goe after their lovers and now here commeth afflictions upon them yet still they will follow their lovers and that with more eagernesse of affection and with more violence then before Afflictions in themselves are part of the curse of God and there is no healing vertue in them but an inraging quality to stir up sinne till God sanctifie them by his grace God may suspend for a time the sanctifying worke of his grace to those he intended good to at last Isa 51. 20. The Text speakes of some whose afflictions were not sanctified That they lye as a wild bull in a net in the streets and they were full of the fury of the Lord They were full of the fury of the Lord and yet lay like a wild Bull in a net in a raging manner This distemper of heart proceeds from two grounds 1. When outward comforts are taken away by affliction the sinner having no comfort in God he knows not where to have comfort but in his sin if conscience be not strong enough to keep from it he runs madly upon it 2. Because he thinks that others looke upon him as one opposed by God for his sin therefore that he may declare to all the world that he is not daunted at all nor that he hath no misgiving thoughts though perhaps hee hath nipping gripes within yet he will put a good face upon it and follow his wayes more eagerly then formerly A second observations She shall follow but she shall not overtake A man may follow after the devises of his owne heart and may be disappointed he may not overtake them There is a great deale of difference betwixt following Gods wayes and our owne wayes there was never any in the world that was disappointed if he knew all in following Gods wayes but he got either the very thing he would have or something that was as good if not better for him but in the wayes of sinne in our owne wayes we may meet with disappointment why should we not then rather follow God then follow our own desires The desires after sin as they are Desideria futilia so they are Desideria inutilia as one speakes as they are foolish so they are fruitlesse desires they doe not attaine what they would have How hath God disappointed men in our dayesâ— they have not overtaken what they greedily sought after Our adversaries blessed themselvs in their designes they thought to have their day they propounded such an end and thought to have it but how hath God disappointed them But whether God hath done this in mercy to them as it is spoken of here that we know not we hope God hath crost some of them in a way of mercy though perhaps he may deale in another way with other of them But further Disappointment in the way of sinne is a great mercy As satisfaction in sin is a judgement of God and a fearfull judgement so disappointment in sin is a mercy and a great mercy Prov. 14. 14. there you shall find That the back-slyder in heart shall be filled with his own wayes A dreadfull threatning to back-slyders and apostates when God hath no intention of love and mercy for backsliders God will give them their owne devices they shall have their fill in their owne wayes you would have such a lust you shall have it you shall be satisfied to the full and blesse your selves in your owne wayes This is the judgment of God upon backsliders but for the Saints when they would have such a way of sin God will disappoint them they shall not have it We account it ordinarily very grievous to be disappointed of any thing and many times I have had this meditation upon it What doth it trouble the hearts of men to be disappointed almost in any thing Oh what a dreadfull vexation and horror will it be for a man to see himself disappointed of his half hopes Remember when you are troubled at any disappointment what will be the terrour then and anguish of spirit if it should prove that any of you should be disappointed of your hopes for eternity But those whom God doth often disappoint in the way of sin they may have hope that God will deliver them from that great disappointment And againe yet further Shee would have her Idols but God will take them away shee shall not have them saith God though shee follow after them and have a great mind to them yet they shal not overtake them God will remove them from their Idols or their Idols from them that is the meaning they should not come to their Dan or Bethel they should either be removed far enough from their calves or the calves from them Thus it should be with Governours they should take such a course as to take away Idols and superstitious vanities from those that will be worshipping of them
driven from their habitations if God should ever restore them to their habitations againe then their hearts would be enlarged in blessing God then they would be more sensible of the uncertainty of the comforts of the creature then ever before Thirdly The Feast of Tabernacles had an aime at Christ and the state of a Christian it was to typifie JESUS CHRIST to come into the world and to pitch his tents amongst us as John 1. 14. he dwelt amongst us he came and pitched his Tabernacle amongst us it is in the Greek and the state of a Christian likewise is an abiding Tabernacle 2 Cor. 5. 1. If our earthly house of this Tabernacle be dissolved till we goe where JESUS CHRIST is gone before us to prepare mansions for us Iohn 14. our dwelling is in Tabernacles In the offerings that God appointed to offer in this their feast Numb 29. 12. there are some things very observable but hard to finde the meaning of the feast was to be kept seven dayes the first day was a great day and the last day a great day the first day there were 13. bullocks to be offered and 14. lambes the second day there was but 12. bullocks and the third day but 11. and the fourth day but 10. and so every day one decreased as you may see there and the last day there was but one offered Now divers Expositors have sought to finde out the meaning of this I doe not finde any such thing in all the Scripture as this is but onely in this place Calvin confesses when he speakes of this that for his part he doth not understand the meaning of it and rather then to make guesses of it uncertainties I will saith he be silent in it yet he ventures upon a conjecture a very unlikely one therefore I shall not name it That which is most likely seems to be in two things The first is they must offer every day lesse and lesse that is saith another interpreter to shew their increase in sanctification that they should grow to more and more perfection every day of their feast and so have lesse need of Sacrifices then they had before and so it will afford a good note to us that when we come to keepe dayes to God every day we should grow more and more in sanctification and have lesse and lesse sin to answer for then we had before Another interpretation that is given is that it was to shew the cessation of the sacrifices of the Jewes that they were to decrease day by day and this I take rather to be the meaning because the last day is but one bullocke that was offered and yet the Text saith that that was the great day of the Feast when there was fewest sacrifices to be offered Ioh. 3. 37. The last and the great day of the feast Jesus cryed if any man thirst let him come unto me there is somwhat to be noted about Christ there though it is true it was the feast of dedication which was their own Feast from whence many would prove the lawfulnesse of holy daies yet the truth is upon examination you shall finde there is scarce strength enough from that place to prove it though it be lawfull to take the advantage of such times but it will appeare there that it was the Feast of Tabernacles as in 2 Chro. 8. 9. Their Feast of the dedication of the Temple was at that time that the Feast of Tabernacles was one thing is to be observed from Christs being there at the Feast the last and the great day Jesus cryed if any man thirst let him come unto me Why did Christ upon the great day of the Feast cry out thus If any man thirst let him come unto me to drinke one reason may be because when men are most strongly possessed with the uncertainties of all outward things in the world then they are fit to entertaine the gospell then fit to heare of JESUS CHRIST when their hearts are taken off from the world and they looke upon all things here as unsetled the conclusion of that feast is a speciall preparation to the Gospell Esay 40. 6. 7 c. The preparation to the good tidings of the Gospel is the Proclamation that All flesh is grasse and all the goodlinesse thereof as the flower of the field yea the withering of the grasse and the fading of the flower must be proclaimed again and againe And then seasonably and acceptably it followes ver 6. O Zion that bringest good tidings behold your God Tremelius thinkes that the reason of the expression of CHRIST at this time was from the custome of the Iews at this Feast at the feast of Tabernacles the Iews were wont with great joy to bring store of water out of the River of Shiloh to the Temple where being delivered to the Priest he powred it out upon the Altar together with wine and all the people sung that of Isaiah with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation though it were their own invention Christ takes a hint upon it they accustomed themselves to draw water and powre it out Christ saith what do you stand upon this ceremony of yours this your custome will die and perish in the use of it but come to me and there you shall have water I am the well of salvation a spring of grace shall be continually in the heart of that man that beleeveth in me One note more is observable in this Feast we have a prophesie that in the times of the gospel the feast of Tabernacles should be kept then that is in the truth of it not in the ceremony In Zach. 14. 16. there is a Prophesy that when Christ cometh the very truth of the feast of tabernacles then all people shall worship the true God and keep the feast of Tabernacles Why is it there Prophesied that all people shall come and keep that feast the reason may be this this feast is named because in the times of the gospel men shall acknowledge their outward comforts to be from God 〈◊〉 â—ertainty of all things here and that they are strangers and pilgrims 〈◊〉 in the times of the gospell this shall be made more evident to the hearts of people then ever before the more JESUS CHRIST shall be known in the world the more shall the hearts of men be taken up with the knowledge of God in every creature and of the uncertainty of every creature and have their hearts taken of from the comforts of the world and never account any setled condition here but account themselves pilgrims and strangers that is a signe that the Gospel hath prevailed with your spirits if you have your hearts taken off from the creature and you looke upon your selves as strangers in the world and looke for an abiding City then do you keep in an Evangelicall sense this feast of Tabernacles Or secondly if it be meant of the glorious setled condition God in
and then there commeth in some darting thoughts of him but so as your conscience knowes they are very terrible to you you can never now have a thought of God but it is as a clagger at your heart and indeed it must needs be terrible to a guilty conscience that is departed from God Well take heed what thou doest O thou sinner goe not on so long in thy sinfull wayes till thou wearest out all the thoughts of God for some have done so though they had checks of conscience when they have beene in wicked company God hath come into their thoughts and troubled them but they have gone to wicked company againe and some thoughts of God have yet followed them but they have gone again and again and now they have forgot God as if there were no God at all in heaven as if God had nothing to doe with them and they nothing to doe with God O this is a sad condition indeed If any of you be declining into such a condition as this is the Lord stop you this day the Lord awaken your consciences Ordinarily the more prosperity men have the more forgetfull they are of the Lord They forgat me as Genesis 48. 20. Jacob set Ephraim before Manasses first Ephraim then Manasses Ephraim signifies fruitfulnesse and Mansses signifies forgetfulnesse thus it is with men Ephraim comes first fâ—uit fulnesse God is fruitfull to you and blesseth you in your estates then comes Manasses forgetfulness you are forgetfull of his goodnesse to you My brethren if always we had such impressions of God as we have sometimes O how happy were it It will terrifie hereafter when God shall againe so present himselfe to you and cause you to remember what impressions of his divine Majesty once you had let us hold forth our continuall remembrance of God so as all that behold our conversaions may say surely the thoughts of God are mighty upon the spirits of these men thus we should live before our brethren I will give you this one rule for your lives Live such lives as by them you may hold forth before your brethren such remembrances of God as they may conclude by that they see in your conversations Certainly there are deepe thoughts of God upon the heart of this man there was a time indeed he walked lightly vainly foolishly but now he is serious in his way he is considerate he is heavenly he walks with feare Certainly there are great impressions of the divine Majesty upon his heart if it be so with us how joyfull will it be to us hereafter when God shall appeare in his glory then to have our consciences tell us the impressions of the Majesty of this God that now I see so high and great have beene upon my soul in the whole course of my life I now see the glory of the great God shining and blessed be his name even this God that appeares so gloriously hath appeared often to my soul before and I have kept the impressions of his glory upon my heart and he was continually in my thoughts It is a wonder that God should ever thinke of us who are so forgetfull of him as we are Psalm 8. What is man that thou remembrest him saith the text what is man The word there that is translated man some would bring forth the Hebrew roote which signifies forgetfulnesse I finde Eusebius taking it thus What is man O Lord that thou shouldst remember him that is what is forgetfull man that thou shouldest remember him yet I confesse the Hebrew word that is there translated man comes from another roote that signifies weakelinesse sicklinesse what is weake man what is sick-man yet if this word come not from that roote that signifieth to forget yet I am sure there is a word that commeth from that roote that signifies to forget that is used for women because of their forgetfulnesse we would be glad to have God remember us in the day of our adversities let us remember God now all you young ones remember God remember your Creator in the dayes of your youth you old people whatsoever you forget forget not the Lord let us all remember the Lord who hath remembred us all who hath remembred England in its low estate for his mercies endure for ever We have done with the threatning part now it followes Therefore behold I will allure her bring her into the wildernesse and speake comfortably to her Therefore Beloved it is a strange therefore what they followed after their Idols they have said that all their prosperity was a reward of their Idols they have forgot the Lord they have decked themselves with their jewels to honour their Idols and marke it comes presently Therefore I will allure her and I will speake comfortably to her one would rather have thought it should have followed Therefore I will yet plague her therefore my judgements shall pursue her and cut her off but marke it followes Therefore I will allure her and speake comfort ably unto her O the rich and free grace of God to his people But of that the next day The Twelfth Lecture HOSEA 2. 14. Therefore behold I will allure her and bring her into the wildernesse and speake comfortably unto her and I will give her her Vineyards from thence HEre begins the second part of this Chapter the former was in conviction threatning pronouncing judgements this from verse 14. unto the end is the opening of the free and rich grace of God to Israel It may be said of this Chapter as Psalm 85. 10. Mercy and Peace are met together Righteousnesse and Truth kisse each other There is a blessed conjunction betweene threatning of judgement and proffering mercy but where is the copula of this conjunction What is that knits these two together Here is a conjunction but it is very wonderfull it is in the first word therefore that is the copula therefore I will allure her Wherefore This therefore hath a very strange and wonderfull wherefore if we consider of what went before the words immediately before were She went after her lovers and forgate mee saith the Lord therefore behold I will allure her there needs an Ecce be put to this therefore be hold Behold I will allure her Lyra could not see how these things could bee joyned together therefore hee thinks that this verse hath not reference to that that immediately went before but to the words in the beginning of the Chapter Say to your brethren Ammi my people and to your sisters Ruhamah shee that hath obtained mercy therefore And Cornelius à Lapide not understanding the cause of such a connection he would referre the beginning of this verse to the end of the seventh verse She shall say I will goe to my first husband for then it was better with mee then now therefore also I will allure her these two though learned men yet are Papists and therefore understand but little of the free rich grace
of God and hence are put to it so much to make a connection betweene that that went before and this therefore but wee need not go so farre the right knowledg of the fulnesse and the riches of the grace of the Covenant will help us out of this difficulty and tell us how these two the greatnesse of mans sin and the riches of Gods grace may have a connection one to another and that by an Illative therefore I confesse the Hebrew word is sometimes conjunctio ordinis rather then causalis a conjunction that only sets out the order of a thing one thing following another rather then any way implying any cause but the reading here by way of inference I take to be according unto the scope of the Spirit of God and it gives us this excellent note Such is the grace of God unto those who are in Covenant with him as to take occasion from the greatnesse of their sinns to shew the greatnesse of his mercy from the vilenesse of their sins to declare the riches of his grace And the Scripture hath divers such kind of expressions as these as Gen. 8. 21. The Lord said in his heart I will not again curse the ground any more for mans sake VVhy For the immagination of mans heart is evill from his youth A strange reasoning I will not curse the ground for mans sake for the imagination of mans heart is evill from his youth One would have thought it should have been rather I will therefore curse the ground for mans sake because the imagination of mans heart is evill from his youth but the grace of God knowes how to make another manner of inference then we could have imagined So likewise Isa 57. 17 18. For the iniquity of his covetousnesse was I wroth and smote him I hid me and was wroth and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart I have seen his wayes saith God Now one would have thought that the next word should have been I will therefore plague him I wil destroy him I will curse him but mark the words that follow I will heale him I will 〈◊〉 him also and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners I will create the fruit of the lips peace to him This is a consequence at least if not an inference David understood this reasoning to be indeed the true reasoning of the Covenant of grace and therefore he pleadeth thus with God Psal 25. 11. Pardon my iniquity for it is great Lord my iniquity is great therefore pardon it Hearken you Saints hearken I say this is the great blessing of God unto you who are in Covenant with him whereas otherwise your sins should have made you objects of Gods hatred your sins now render you objects of his pitty and compassion this is the glorious fruit of the covenant of grace I would only the Saints heard me in this thing but why doe I say so I will recall my word let all sinners heare me let the vilest the worst sinners in the world heare of the riches of the grace of God in this his Covenant that if they belong to Gods election they may see the fulnesse the glory of Gods grace to be inamoured with it their hearts ravished with it that they may never be at rest till they get evidence to their soules that God indeed hath actually received them into this his Covenant If then God be pleased in the riches of free grace to make such an inference therefore let us take heed that wee make not a quite crosse inference from the greatnesse of our sins nor on the other side from Gods grace As thus You have followed your lovers you have forgot me therefore will I allure you An unbelieving heart would make this inference I have followed my lovers I have followed after vanity and folly and therefore God hath rejected mee therefore God will have no mercy upon me therefore I am undone therefore the gates of mercy are shut against me unbelieving heart do not sin against the grace of God he saith you have forgotten me therefore will I allure and speake comfortably to you doe not you say I have forgot the Lord and therefore the Lord will for ever reject me these discouraging determining despairing therefores are very grievous to the Spirit of God God would have us have all good thoughts of him It is a maine thing that God intendeth through the whole Scripture that his people should have good thoughts of him and that they should not think him a hard master It is an excellent expression of Luther saith he the whole Scripure doth principally aime at this thing that we should not doubt but that wee should hope that we should trust that we should believe that God is a merciful a bountifull a gracious and a patient God to his people It is an excellent expression that I have read of Master Bradford in one of his Epistles saith he O Lord sometimes me thinks I feel it so with me as if there were no difference between my heart and the wicked a blind mind as they a stout stubborn rebellions spirit a hard heart as they and so he goes on shall I therefore conclude thou art my Father nay I will rather reason otherwise saith he because I do believe thou art my Father I will come unto thee that thou mightest enlighten this blind minde of mine that thou mightest soften this hard heart of mine that thou mightest sanctifie this unclean spirit of mine I this is a good reasoning indeed and is worthy of one that professes the gospel of Jesus Christ Again as the inference of this unbelieving heart is grievous to Gods spirit so the inference of a prophane heart an unbelieving heart makes his therefore from the greatnesse of sin against Gods mercy and the prophane heart makes his therefore from the greatnesse of Gods mercy to the hardening of his heart in his sins what shall God make his therefore from our sin to his mercy and shall we make our therefore from his mercy back again to our sins where sin abounds grace abounds but where grace abounds sin must not abound because God is mercifull to us who are very sinfull let not us be very sinfull against him who is so mercifull God takes occasion from the greatnesse of our sins to shew the greatnesse of his mercy let not us take occasion from the greatnesse of his mercy to be emboldened in greatnesse of our sins Therefore behold Behold Here is a wonder to take up the thoughts of men and Angels to all eternity even that that we have in this inference behold notwithstanding all this yet you men and Angels behold the fulnesse the riches of Gods grace I will allure her what will not God cast us away notwithstanding the greatnesse of our sins let not us reject Gods ways notwithstanding the greatnesse of any sufferings we meet with in them there is a great deale of reason in
condition that God hath brought us to to have these liberties and ordinances according to his own way but within a while we may say as the Apostle to the Galatians Where is the blessednesse you spake of They would have pulled out their eyes for Paul What is become of all now All their beauty glory is quite damped let us take heed that when our hearts seem to be raised and mightily affected with mercies we do not soon loose our vigour heat It hath been so with England when they have had fresh mercies at first they rejoyced in them exceedingly I have read of the City of Berne when they were first delivered from Antichrist they wrote the day of their deliverance upon pillars with letters of gold Was it not so with us here in England I will only instance in that deliverance upon the fifth of November how mightily was both King and Parliament affected with it their hearts were exceedingly up then there was blessing God for their deliverance from Papists then there were prayers and thanksgivings set forth and in them this expression against Popery Whose faith is faction whose Religion is rebellion whose practice is murthering of soules and bodyes When the mercy was fresh how did their spirits worke then they profest against all kinde of Popery Reade but the Proclamation about the solemnity of that time and the expressions of the prayers then set forth and one would have thought verily then that Popery should never have prevailed in England again who would ever have thought it possible that a Popish Army should ever have had any countenance in England more Certainly if a Popish Army had been raised at that time when mens hearts were so up all the people of the land if it had been but with clubs would have risen and beaten them to pieces It is so with many young people when God first beginneth to worke upon their hearts O how are they for God! then their spirts are mightily up for Christ Psal 90. 14. O satisfie us early with thy mercies and then we shall be glad and rejoyce all the dayes of our lives It is a sweet thing when the latter part of that prayer followeth when God satisfieth young people with his mercy and that satisfaction abideth so as they rejoyce all the dayes of their lives afterward The Lord doth many times satisfie young ones with his mercy but they quickly grow dead and cold and their hearts are soone hardned and polluted and they doe not rejoyce all the dayes of their lives Another Observation that restored and recovered mercies are very sweet and precious mercies They shall sing as in the dayes of their youth They were once in a blessed sweet singing condition they had lost it but now God promiseth to recover them Iob 29. 2. O that I were as in months past as in the dayes when God preserved me when his candle shined upon my head and when by his light I warlked thorough darknesse as I was in the dayes of my youth when the secret of God was upon my Tabernacle Iob desireth this earnestly that he might have restored recovered mercies What a happy condition should I be in then saith he if it were now with me as in the dayes of my youth May not many in this place say so God hath been gracious to them in former dayes he hath given many sweet manifestations of his love many soule-ravishing communications of himself unto them but how have they lost them They may well say O that it were with us as in the dayes of our youth Oh that God would restore to us what mercy we once had what a blessed condition should we be in then But God here giveth a gracious promise that he will restore them that he will give them that which is the petition of David Psa 51. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation Lord I have lost it O that I might have it againe How happy should I be So Ps 132. 1. By the Rivers of Babylon there we sat down yea we wept there when we remembred Zion we hanged our harps upon the willowes They were in this sad condition but if one should have come to them and have said what will you say if you shall be restored againe and goe to Zion to Jerusalem againe and have songs there as much and as delightfull as before their hearts could not have held in them This mercy would be like that wine mentioned Cant. 7. 9. that is so sweet that it causeth the lips of those that are asleepe to speake If there be any life left such a mercy will raise and actuate it Psal 126. 1. 2. When the Lord turned againe the captivity of Zion our mouthes were filled with laughter and our tongues with singing when God granted them a recovered mercy As a poore prodigal that hath left his fathers house and afterward is come to beggery and misery and is under bondage is almost starved he sitteth down under a hedg wringing his hands falleth a lamenting the losse of his Fathers house and considering what comfort he had in his Fathers presence cryeth out of his folly and madnesse but if one should come and say to him what will you say if your Father should be reconciled to you and send for you home and promise to put you in as comfortable a condition as ever O how would this cause singing in his heart Thus God promiseth to his people that he would restore them to that singing condition they had lost They shall sing as in the dayes of their youth That which made this mercy so sweet was because it was a promised mercy Hence this Note Promised mercies are sweet mercies Luke 16. 61. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people and hath raised up a home of salvation to us in the house of his servant David as he spake by the mouth of all his Prophets And ver 77. To performe the mercy promised there is the cause of singing Blessed be the Lord God of Israel that hath performed the mercy promised Giving out of a promise is sweet to a gracious heart it can sing then much more sweet is the promise when it cometh to be fulfilled 2 Chron. 20. 17. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord there is the promise Mark now how Jehosaphat and the people were affected with the promise And Jehosaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground and all Iudah and the Inhabitants of Ierusalem fell before the Lord worshipped the Lord. And the Levites and the child en of the Koathites the children of the Korhites shall stand up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voyce on high And ver 21. He appointed singers unto the Lord that should praise the beauty of holinesse and to say Praise the Lord for his mercy endureth for ever Jehosâ—phat had not got the promise fulfilled it was only
gods and goddesses This promise to take away the names of Baalim comes in upon Gods reconciliation to his people From whence the next note is when God is reconciled to his people there will be a thorow Reformation both outward and inward Idolatry is cast out not onely from the heart but from the mouth the taking away the names from their mouthes is a synechdoche and notheth the uttertaking away of all wayes of Idolatry in the outward practice as well as in the inward affection The more reconciliation there is with God the more enmity against Idols and superstitious worship A fruitfull signe then it is that we in England were never thorowly reconciled unto God because we never yet have cast off our Idols As some remaynders of superstition abiding amongst us did not long since break forth to most horrid and vile ways of false worship so some remainders of Gods wrath that hath been amongst us this day breakes forth into a most dreadfull flame When the people of the Iews shall be called again and God shall be perfectly reconciled to his Churches then Idolatry shall be perfectly rejected and there shall never be so much as mention of their Idols any more this Text aymes at those times and shall perfectly be fulfilled at that day that is the day when God will do it They shall call me no more Baali but Ishi my husband Thence the note is When a people is reconciled to God then they call God theirs my husband Isbi Psal 16. 3 4. David professeth that he would not so much as take up their names into his lips of which before Now mark what followeth presently upon that ver 5. The Lord saith he is my portion when the Prophet is so taken off from Idols as not to mention the names of Idols then The Lord is my portion So here now Ishi the Lord is my husband now can we claim a peculiar interest in God indeed This is the evil of sin it hindereth a nation a soule from clayming this interest in God God is a blessed and glorious God yea but what is that to this people to this apostatizing people what is that to this apostatizing soule but when the soule comes into God comes off throughly to the work of Reformation then this God is my God Ishi my husband Can any comfort any profit that you have in ways of sinne countervaile this great loss you gaine some contentment in the flesh some profit in your estate but you lose the comforts of your interest in God what is your gaine now thinke of this when any temptation comes I may be yeelding to this temptation get this contentment to the flesh but I shall lose this blessed priviledg of clayming an interest in my God I shall not be able to say Ishi my husband Thirdly Ishi The word compared with the former Baali is a word of more love then the former Baali is a word though it signifies my husband too as well as Ishi but it is husband under the notion of dominion under the notion of power that causeth feare but Ishi is a husband under the notion of love and protection Hence the note is God delights to have his people look upon him with love and delight It is Gods care and it is his good pleasure that his people should not looke upon him so much as one that hath dominion over them but that they should look upon him with joy and love and call him Ishi The more reconcyled we are unto God the more have we the use of the loving appellations of God For a soule to be alwayes under the spirit of bondage to looke unto God only as the Lord of all this is not so pleasing to God but when you come to have the spirit of adoption the spirit of grace an Evangelicall spirit that you can look upon him with love and say Ishi my husband that title of love and goodnesse this pleases God at the heart It is reported of Augustus that he would not have the title of Lord given to him he refused it and would rather have his people to looke upon him under the notion of love as a father rather then to feare him It were happy that all Princes were of this minde to desire that their people should rather love them then feare them It is a most villainous wicked and cursed principle that is in some who infuse into the spirit of Princes let your people feare you no great matter whether they love you or no. Suetonius relateth this passage of Augustus when a poor man came to present a petition to him with his hands shaking and trembling out of feare the Emperor was much displeased and said It is not fit that any should come with a petition to a King as if a man were giving meat to an Elephant that is afraid to be destroyed by him God doth not love the bread of mourners to be offered up in sacrifice hee loveth to have people come unto him with a holy boldnesse with a filiall not with a servile and slavish spirit Christ laid down his life to redeeme us that wee might serve the Lord without feare Fourthly They shall call me Ishi that is My strength The Church should looke upon Christ as the strength of it Thy maker is thy husband and who is he The Lord of Hosts is his name thy redeemer the God of the whole earth shall he be called When the people of God can look upon Christ their husband as the Lord of hosts and their Redeemer as the God of the whole earth then they finde quiet and satisfaction in their spirits Psa 89. 17. God is said to be the glory of the strength of his people Though we be weake in regard of our outward helps let us looke up to Christ our strength he hath been our strength he is the glory of it Fiftly I will take the names of Baalim out of their mouth and they shal be no more remembred by their name Repentance must be proportionable to mens sins How doth that arise before ver 13. God charged them that they had forgotten him They went after their lovers and forgat me saith the Lord. Now saith God your Idols shall be forgotten your hearts were so far set upon your idols as you forgat me now in your repentance your hearts shall be so much upon me as you shall forget your Idols Those men who have beene so wicked and ungodly heretofore that they have forgot God God hath not been in all their thoughts God expects now from them that their lusts should not be in all their thoughts It is not enough that you forbeare the act but you must not roule the sweet of them in your thoughts you must not so much as remember them except it be with the detestation of them If there be not a proportion between your repentance your former sins you may expect there will be a proportion
effect of righteousnesse quietnesse and assurance for ever and my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation and in sure dwellings and in quiet resting places See how the Holy Ghost addes one word to another to shew that true peace is in the wayes of righteousnesse When mens counsells for peace are crooked counsells when they seek to company for their own ends when the honour of God is not their chiefe ayme it is just with God to dash all their counsels Esay 59. 8. The way of peace they know not saith God there is no judgement in their goings they have made them crooked paths whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace Wee know the going of the serpent is a crooked going it windeth up and downe so many of our Counsellours of peace have gone like the serpent winding up and down in their carnall policies they have not studied reformation but have gone in crooked paths and therefore they have not brought forth the true effects of peace But one place more Jer. 31 22. 23 there the Lord speaks concerning his people when he was about to deliver them from captivity How long wilt thou goe about that is you doe not goe on the right way you compasse about you have fetches because you meet with difficulties in your way you thinke by this and the other meanes to avoid troubles but you shall goe on by a right line what followeth The Lord blesse thee O habitation of justice and mountaine of holynesse Apply your counsels that way to be the habitation of justice and the mountaine of holinesse and the worke is done execute justice upon Delinquents that are in your power and set up the Ordinances of God in the right way of worship this is the way of peace but all this while you have gone about Oh that the Lord would deliver our great Councellours from going about They shall lye down safely Hence the note is onely Gods great peace bringeth safety if we patch up a false peace upon base unworthy terms we must not thinke to lye downe safely but when God promiseth peace a fruit of the Covenant then it followes they shall lye downe safely And I suppose none of you would have any other peace but such a peace as you may lye down safely and how is it possible do you think to lye downe safely except the Lord destroy the evill beasts out of the land Levit. 16. 5. I will give peace in your land and you shall lye down none shall make you afraid and I will rid evil beasts out of the land What is the end of our war at present but to rid the evill beasts out of the land that so we may lye downe safely Can you thinke to dwell safely so long as so many evil beasts are in the land so exasperated in the highest of all their rage Certainly if a false a patched up peace should be made we were in a mosticle hazardous condition especially those who have appeared for the Cause of God those who have shewed themselves most faithfull can they lye down safely in the confidence of such a peace If you have the hearts of true English-men you would never desire any other peace but such as that you and your brethren your Ministers those Worthies in Parliament and all that have appeared for you might lie down safely Acts 27. 13. 14. we reade of a soft south-wind that did blow but the Text saith that not long after there arose a tempestuous wind called Euroclydon So if we have a false peace it may blow as that south wind did softly and still but certainely the Euroclydon the most terrible East-wind will follow after 2 Chron. 20. 30. Jehosaphat was quiet for his God gave him rest Suppose we should be quiet and our owne base counsells and our own complyances should give us rest our quiet would never be security to us there will follow dismall things afterward but then is a people quiet safely when we have the peace of God together with the God of peace Phil. 4. 7. The peace of God which passeth all understanding keepe your hearts c. Then presently ver 9. The God of peace shall be with you We would be loth to be without the God of peace then let us be loth to have any peace but the peace of God You all desire Peace and so the adversary pretendeth take heed you be not deluded with vaine words that which is your end in your thoughts is their means to drive on their designes and what good will such a peace doe you you will be no more secure then you are nay your danger will be far greater Lastly It is Gods owne gift to his people to lie down safely this is a further blessing then to have the sword and bow broken We may be delivered from our enemies but the Lord may afrighten our consciences with visions in the night hee may terrifie us a thousand wayes and take away our security therefore he addeth this I will breake the bow the sword and then I will make thee lye down safely This is a precious mercy it is recumbere faciam in fiducia dormire faciam fiducialiter I will make them lye down in trust and confidence that is to go to bed without any feare of evill to befall us afore morning We little thinke what a mercy this is we have many nights lain down safely and slept quietly and have risen up comfortably you have little thought of the giving God the glory of this mercy Many of our brethren in divers Countries would prize such a mercy now when they goe to bed they are afraid of every little noice and can scarce have a nights sleep but are scared with Alarums What would some of our brethren give for one nights rest in safety that when they goe to bed they might say Well I hope this night I shall have quiet rest I shall not be troubled in my sleep In many places they are faine to sleep in the day and to watch in the night It is true here in the City you can go to bed sleep quietly rise quietly Oh think of those that want this mercy and give God the glory of it while you have it It is a mercy of God a great priviledge for the Lord to quiet our spirits in these dangerous times in these trembling dayes when every mans hands are upon his loyns Many who are free from their adversaries yet through the timerousness of their spirits they cannot have one nights quiet they turmoyle themselves without own thoughts Oh what will become of us hereafter It may be the enemies will come and we shall lose our lives and all will be rent-from us and this makes them that they cannot lye downe safely though danger be not yet neere them but when God is pleased to quiet the heart in the most troublesome times of all that you can lye down securely this
in a visible church communion to the Jewes and in the spirituall communion of Christ with the soule for the present Of the visible form first Isa 60. 15. I will make thee an eternall excellency a joy of many generations I thinke this is not onely meant concerning the spiritual happines of the Saints but that God hath a time to make his visible church to be an eternall excellency and a joy of many generations an excellency that shall never have an end And this their perpetuall condition their enduring happinesse shall arise from three grounds First from the precious foundation that shall be laid upon that Church when it shall be Isa 54. 8. With everlasting kindnesse will I have mercy on thee saith the Lord but mark the ground vers 11. Behold I lay the foundation with Saphires all the rubbish shal be taken away it shal not be raised upon a rubbish foundation God will lay the foundations of it with Saphires and then with everlasting mercy he will embrace that Church Secondly that Church shall be in a peaceable condition no rent no division there therefore in a perpetuall condition Esay 33. 20. A Tabernacle that shall not be taken down not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed Why the very words before shew the reason Jerusalem shall be a quiet habitation Thirdly this Church shall look wholly at Christ as their Judge and their Law-giver and their King Isa 33. 22. The Lord is our Judge the Lord is our Law-giver the Lord is our King Churches are ready to change while they mixe other things with the worship of Christ and the lawes of men with his laws but when they can look to him I mean in that which is spirituall as their Law-giver as their Judge and as their King then the happinesse of it shall be perpetuall never to cease in this world the Lord Christ will betroth this Church unto him for ever Though I verily think the holy Ghost aymeth at this in great part yet we are to understand this betrothing for ever further of the spirituall communion the soul hath with Christ When Christ betroths himselfe unto a soule it is for ever the conjugall love of Christ with a gracious soule shal never be broken At the first mans condition was such as man laid hold upon God and let goe his hold but now God lays hold upon man and hee will never let goe his The bond of union in a believer runs through Jesus Christ it is fastned upon God and the spirit of God holds the other end of it and so it can never be broken This union is in the Father who hath laid a sure foundation 2 Tim. 2. 19. Rom. 9. 11. In the Son who loves his to the end Iohn 13. 1. In the Spirit who abides in the elect for ever John 14. 16 17. Esay 54. 10. The mountains shall depart and the hills be removed but my kindnesse shall not depart from thee neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee My loving kindnesse shall be more stable with thee and endure longer then the mountains themselves It is as sure as the ordinances of heaven Jer. 31. 35 36. Thus saith the Lord which giveth the Sun for a light by day and the ordinances of the Moon and of the Stars for a light by night if those ordinances dopart from before mee then the seed of Israel shall cease c. And Jer. 33. 20 21. Thus saith the Lord if you can break my covenant of the day and my covenant of the night that there should not be day and night in their season then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant You have these three expressions of the abiding of Gods love to his people 1. The continuance of the mountains 2. The continuance of the ordinances of heaven and earth 3. Gods covenant with night and day Here is the bottome of consolation to the Saints They shall be kept by the power of God 1 Pet. 1. 5. As if God should say the speciall power that I meane to put forth in this world shall be to uphold the spirits of my Saints to bring them to salvation certainly it is so The speciall work that God hath in this world to exercise his power about is to keep Christ and the Saints together Though it be through Gods power that the heavens and the earth be kept up yet if God must withdraw his power from one hee would rather withdraw it from upholding heaven and earth then from upholding one gracious soule that hath union with his Son The union that is between Christ and his people it is too neere an union ever to be broken I remember Luther hath a notable expression about this As it is impossible for the leaven that is in the dough to be separated from the dough after it is once mixed for it turneth the nature of the dough into it selfe so it is impossible saith he for the Saints ever to be separated from Christ For Christ is in the Saints as neerly as the leaven in the very dough so incorporated as that Christ and they are as it were one lump Christ who came to save that which was lost will never lose that which he hath saved Heb. 7. 16. it is said that Christ was made a Priest not after the law of a carnall commandement That is he was not made a Priest as the Priests in the law after a ceremonial way but after the power of a indissoluble life Coeli virture by a celestiall vertue so Calvin upon the place The argument why Christs life is indissoluble rather then the Priests in the law is because they were made by the power of a carnall commandement not by a Celestiall power So those who professe godlinesse according to a carnall comandement in a ceremoniall way may faile vanish and come to nothing in their way of worship as many have done but such as are professors of Religion by the vertue of Gods Spirit in them they have the power of a life indissoluble There are two soul-staying and soul-satisfying grounds to assure of Christs betrothing himselfe for ever First when any soul is taken in to Christ it hath not onely all the sinnes that it hath committed heretofore pardoned but there is a pardon laid in for all sin that is to come There is forgivenesse with thee Psal 130. 4. There lyes pardon with God before hand for all that is to come as well as for that which is past There is no condemnation unto them which are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8. 1. That is there is no instant of time after they are once in Christ Jesus wherein it can be said they are under the sentence of condemnation Now were it not that there were a pardon laid before-hand for all sin that is to come there might upon commission of a new sinne be said at that time that now they