for the party beloved Beleevers Christs love to you had such a work as that and if your love to him hath not yet risen so high as to desire to suffer for him yet let it at least rise thus high as to be willing to suffer any thing for him if hee call thee to it It will be a sweet and a sure character of love As Christ wrote a letter of love to thee in his own blood So do thou upon occasion write a letter of love back to him in the same rubrick The love of Christ saith Paul constraineth us because saith he we thus judge c. 2 Cor. c. 5. v. 14. the consideration of Christs love had a constraining power upon Pauls spirit he could not chuse but judge this that if Jesus Christâ— dyed for him hee should be willing to dye for Christ Then is a Christian sweetly exercised when as the Golden ball of divine love is tossed too and again between Christs bosome and his Let this therefore sink into your spirits labour to answer O beleevers this transcendent love of Christ towards you which passeth knowledge Thirdly upon all occasions have recourse to this transcendent love Populus me sibilat c. as the miser saith people deride mee abroad but I comfort my selfe when I come home he meant by looking into his boxes and there seeing his gold Beleevers though the world deride you abroad yet you may have recourse to this love of Christ and comfort your selves when you come home To look as it were into the glorious box Christs bosome and there see that which I am sure to thee is better than gold id est his grace Weak people are thus farre wise as they have their little bottles of spirits and cordials to carry about with them to refresh them when they are faint Beleevers you especially you that are weak imitate their wisdome Let this bottle of Christs transcendent love alwayes be in thy bosome and have recourse to this Refresh thy spirits upon all occasions especially when thou beginnest to faint and without doubt there is a refreshing power in this transcendent love of Christ to keep up your hearts from fainting under troubles as we shall see in the next point when we come to it Jesus Christ in his trouble had recourse to his fathers love why then in any trouble have not you recourse to Christs love Fourthly In as much as Christ loveth all his with a transcendent love let it be your care O beleevers to imitate your Saviour Love all his as he doth with such a transcendent love Ephes 5.2 1 Joh. 4.11 Beloved if Christ have loved us we ought then to love one another At least O beleevers be perswaded to have salt in your selves and to love one another and that very dearly sith Jesus Christ doth the like Be ye followers of Christ in this as deaâ— children and be you walkers in love one to another as Christ hath loved you all who ever they bee that are beleevers Christ loveth them very dear because they are his He doth so why should not you O that where ever you see the light of Christs love shining upon any bosome that there you would cause your love to shine also upon the same Especially take heed that you do not frown upon those on whom Christ doth smile You have heard and therefore mind it that Christ loveth all his with a transcendent love therefore take in this exhortation also who ever they be that belong to Jesus Christ though in many things they differ from thee yet let them have thy love for this one thing viz. Christ in them At least learn to love them really because you hear Christ loveth them transcendently Christ loveth different Saints with the same love sure I am that beleevers of all or any opinions are the object of Christs affection and though they are unhappily it may be erring about some truths yet they are all of them happy in the injoyment of this truth that Jesus Christ loveth them all with a love passing knowledge Sad it is to see those look strangely one upon another who are yet all beloved of Jesus Christ But sadder it is to see any Saint look upon another with a frowning countenance when as Christ looketh upon him as well as upon himself with a smiling face Who doth not bleed to see one beleever to write a book of revilings against another when as you look upon the Gospell as a glorious book of love writted by Christ to them all Tell it not in Gath publish it not in the streets of Askelon O! let not the daughters of the unbeloved triumph to see you who are the highly beloved ones of Iesus Christ traducing and reviling one another I say no more but this sith Jesus Christ doth love al the Saints and every believer with a transcendent love do you who are beleevers and so share in the sweetnesse of this truth do the like Fourthly I shall adde but a word of perswasion and let it be to perswade all those who as yet are strangers to Iesus Christ to come in unto him O that you could behold the glorious beames of transcendent love towards all beleevers doubtless such a sight as that could not chuse but work upon your hearts and strangely draw your spirits to close with him who is so lovely in himself and so loving unto his wandring soules that erre up and down the Wildernesse of the world Return yee sinners unto holds of love kisse the Son imbrace Jesus Christ know hee is the Lord of love One who imbraceth all that come to him freely and then loveth them all transcendently I fear you are ignorant of this truth that Christ loveth his with a love passing knowledge And it may be your ignorance of this keepeth you from closing with him But know it now and be perswaded to come to Christ to close with him to imbrace his Gospell to love his truth to be conversant in his ordinances as knowing if you be you shall have love from him which passeth knowledge Bee contented now to break off from the wayes of sinne and vanity and come into the wayes of righteousnesse Bee contented to bid the creature adieu and now be willing to imbrace Christ do not say if you take up Christ in his Gospell and in his wayes Friends will leave you and the World will loath you and the Devill will stirre up the Sonnes of Belial against you It matters not though the creatures leave you Christ will imbrace you Though they loath you Christ will love you And what need you fear the rising up of the Sonnes of Belial when you shall enjoy the loves of Christs bosome Heare and give eare O ye children of folly bee wise at least once and you shall taste love Christ calleth you all whoever you bee come to him imbrace him cordially and you shall find him loving you transcendently I have said all and happy I were and
as the last thing observed from these words viz. to let you see how efficacious the love of Christ is unto the supporting of beleevers in any tribulation SERMON VI. EPHES. 3. Ver. 19 And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge HE that is but little skilled in the knowledge of the face of times may very well see that these times wherein wee live are very sad Calamity lyeth upon every Creature and woe hath as it were entred upon the Stage of the World and acts a very bloudy part to the terrour of all even beleevers themselves some put on black and walk disconsolately yea almost all the sonnes of men are clad in mourning as being sensible of the misery under which most of the world at this day groans In these times therefore what can be more suitable to our thoughts than to consider of that which may serve to support our spirits It is the wisdome of such as are weak and lyable to faintings to carry about them some cordiall or other to revive them And it should bee doubtlesse the wisdome of beleevers who are liable alwayes to tribulations to lay in something which may keep them from fainting under these tribulations Indeed our Lord Jesus out of the riches of his mercy hath prepared and provided rich and glorious cordials to support the souls of his And it is our duty especially who are the Ministers of the Lord Jesus to help beleevers with these cordials which our Lord and their Lord hath prepared And therefore while others forgetting not onely the Saints but themselves take leave to presse and urge great things as matters of faith upon poor souls as if they had dominion over their faith I shall endeavour to imitate the great Apostle Paul rather to shew my self a helper of your Joy 2 Cor. 1. ult than a Lord of your faith It was this indeed which Paul was much upon viz. the furtherance of the joy and comfort of beleevers And it is this which he drives at in these words in the behalf of the Ephesians for fearing lest the newes of these troubles in which hee was should so far trouble the Ephesians as to make them faint he therefore boweth his knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that he would be pleased to give them the knowledge of the love of Christ that so by it their spirits may be kept from fainting either at the news of his or fear of their own tribulations This being therefore the end why Paul prayeth to God in the behalf of the Ephesians that they might know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge I did observe this Doctrine from it viz. That the spiritual knowledge of the transcendency of Christs love towards his is of special efficacy to keep our hearts from fainting under any troubles I suppose you easily see both the foundation and the proof of this point in this place yet that you may see both the clearer let mee hint these three things First consider it That the Apostle supposeth that the Ephesiant hearts were apt to faint at their tribulations At the 13 verse his desire that they might not faint doth clearly intimate this that they were apt to faint Indeed the children of faith are not onely prone to fear but are apt to faint in those fears Secondly observe how upon this fear of the Apostle lest they might faint or if you will upon his desire that they might not faint he falleth to prayer and maketh it his request to God whose alone royalty is to support the fainting spirits of all the creatures that be would be pleased to keep them from fainting For saith hee for this cause I how my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus that is upon this desire of mine that you might not faint I bow my knee to him who alone is able to support your spirits Thirdly Consider that among the rest of those things which he prayeth to God for in their behalf that they might not faint hee prayeth for this in the Text as in the last place that they may know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge And indeed the very spirit and strength of all that which the Apostle had prayed for in the former verses in their behalf lyeth in this last And happily therefore it was that hee bringeth in this as the last particular being as it were that last cordiall which he prayed for in their behalf and if it had failed hee knew not as it were what to ask of God for them This is as it were the last Dosis of the Doctor which if it help not the patient the Doctor is at a stand and is puzled and knoweth not what else to give so that I suppose you may easily see not onely the footing that this Text affords for this truth but also a great and solid proof of the truth thereof in it And yet that you may see this truth more clearly from this place I will in a word shew you how that the very spirits and strength of the other cordialls which hee here prayeth for are as it were wrapped up in this viz. The knowledge of the love of Christ For consider First hee prayeth that they might bee strengthened in the inward man by his Spirit verse 16. Now what is that strength of the inward man by the Spirit but that divine and spirituall joy which is through him The joy of the Lord doth give strength Nehem 8.10 Now it is easie to demonstrate that the chief ground upon which the Holy Ghost doth build that joy which through him is in the hearts of beleevers is this viz. the shedding abroad of the love of Christ in them Christ having promised to send the spirit as a comforter to beleevers he saith that he i.e. the spirit shall take of mine and shew unto you John 16. ver 14 15. Now what is there in all Jesus Christ of sweeter efficacy and power which the spirit can take and declare to beleevers than the knowledge of his love which passeth knowledge So that if the strengthening of the inward man by the holy Ghost bee that which helps to support thy soul from fainting And if that working of the holy Ghost bee by a creation of divine joy or bringing of divine comfort And that bringing of comfort in the spirit depends upon revealing something of the heart of Christ to the soul then it must needs bee that the spirit of this cordiall lyeth in the knowledge of the love of Christ which alone the Spirit is able to bring in as it were from Christs heart and shed it into the hearts of beleevers for the strengthening of the inward man Secondly the Apostle doth pray as a means to keep the Ephesians from fainting that Christ may dwel in their hearts by faith ver 17. Now a very few thoughts will discover that the strength of this comfort doth lye in the knowledge of Christs love For whereas the soul may
A Discovery of GLORIOUS LOVE OR The Love of Christ to Beleevers Opened In the Truth thereof In the Transcendency and thereof In the Sweetnesse thereof Together with the necessity that lyes upon every Beleever to strive after the Spirituall and Experimentall knowledge of it Being the sum of VI Sermons Preached upon Ephesians 3.19 By JOHN DURANT Preacher of the Gospel in the City of Canterbury 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. Wee will make thy love to be remembred more than wine Cant. 1.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. He brought me into the house of wine his banner over me was love Cant 2.4 London Printed for R. I. to be sold by W. Gilbert son at the Bible in Guilt-spur-street without New-gate 1655. To the Right Honourable Robert Earl of Warwick c. My Noble Lord I Presume your Lordship well knows that Christs love is our soul and therefore sole life Then and indeed not till then do wee live when wee injoy divine love Our bosomes cannot breath forth the breath of life before Christ breaths in the breath of love Indeed it s the misery of most that they are strangers to this truth To speak to many of the Lord Jesus and to tell them of a life in love above what sence feels and of a comfort a glory a happinesse flowing from thence far surmounting what sight fees is a mystery which they cannot perceive nor indeed beleeve for t is foolishnesse unto them Not onely the News-mongers at Athens counted this News which they never heard of But even the Philosophers there themselves accounted Pauls preaching of these things a strange doctrine But I hope I may without either falsenesse or flattery say your Honour is well acquainted with these things As experimentally knowing that all your honour joy felicity lyes in this that you know the love of Christ passing knowledge And this is one ground of this dedication of these ensuing Sermons But it s not the onely ground For I desire by this also to declare to the world and your self how sensible and mindfull I am of those obligations which your Honour hath laid upon mee not onely by your owning of and respect unto my person but which I prize most my Ministry His person is above my praise whose pen hath blotted the common way of dedications Quia laudatur â—laudatoviro est la is vera But his ground was because for the most part they only flatter And yet hee allows of dedications when the argument of the Book agrees with the person whom its dedicated to Sir Francis Bacon de augment sâ—en lib. 1. page 19. The considâ—ration of which I hope as hath been hinted will secure mee from his or others censure Besides I know there is a difference between flattery and gratitude though the one bee odious as a vice yet the other is amiable as a vertue And t is at this which I have aimed in this dedication I know that the bare remembrance how gratefull soever of favours received is no requital But yet though it serves not to remunerate the favour yet 't will to vindicate the benefactor that hee hath not ill bestowed his benefits My Lord If I say that I cannot requite all your favours it s no more than all know And if I say that Christ can it s no more than I know you beleeve and I desire T will bee no over-exalting of Christs love nor any diminution unto your favours If I say that the least grain of love from Christ to you will abundantly compensate all the weight of your love to mee And this My Lord is not onely my prayer but my beliefi in your behalf I shall not trouble your Lordship with many words Onely let mee have leave â—o sound in your ears two words of the Lord Jesus the one was a word of Prophecie the other of Advice 1. His word of Prophecie was The love of many shall wax cold It s your duty to search Mat. 24.12 and t will bee your honour to find that there is no fulfilling of that in your soul But alas who can say that hee sees not too great a fulfilling of this in himself Oh! the decay of love zeal activity appearance c. in the things of Christ that is every where It s a thing that calls for bloody tears that besides the abounding of iniquity in enemies there is such waxing cold of love in friends I have sometimes thought Christ spake this Prophecie as Paul did his rehearsall Phil. 3.18 viz weeping II. Christs word of advice was this Strengthen the things that remain that are ready to dye Apoc. 3.2 It s well that under spirituall decayes wee have any thing that remains happy they who have not lost all It s wisdome to strengthen that which languisheth holy they that strive to do thus and the following Sermons may bee helpfull herein If the Spirit lay this truth upon our hearts That Christ loves us with a transcendent love 't will at once make us bleed for coolings and burn yea blaze a fresh with the fire internally and flames externally of love to Christ his people his truths his designes c. But I have gone beyond my intentions though I hope not beyond your acceptation If you will permit mee to adde that I am in the number of those who both praise and pray for you and professe to bee much obliged to you I shall trouble you no further save with the sincere subscription that I am My Lord. Your Honours singularly obliged Soules servant JOHN DURANT To his beloved friends the godly Inhabitants of the Town and Port of Sandwich Particularly The Congregation over which the Holy Ghost hath made my reverend Brother Mr. Francis Prentice Overseer Beloved in Christ HOwever those who are in the world may account the insuing Sermons riddles and paradoxes yet to you whom I hope Christ hath taken out of the world they are experienced truths It s true yee know them already for I have preached them to you But that you might have them in remembrance I have been willing to Print them for you And yet not for you only but for as many as beleive in the Lord Jesus It was Peters care to perpetuate those things by writing which hee had preached by word That so albeit his hearers knew yet they might bee established * in the truth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. rooted or setled as upon a firm foundation Certainly next to the knowing of truths is the establishment in them which some wanting are gone aside after airy vanities T is true your establishment primarily and causally depends on the Spirit But yet secondarily and instrumentally it is attained unto by the word For therefore it was that Peter writ as hee sayes 2 Pet. 1.12 and surely his writings were words And yet the words of Christ were not bare letter No they were Spirit and Life And the truths of Christ held forth by any according to the
measure of the gift received are as truly Christs words now John 6.63 as when hee was here on earth else how could Paul say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. according to the eies sight that Christ came and preached to the Ephesians and was evidently crucified before the Galatians as t is Eph. 2.17 and Gal. 3.1 neither of whom heard of Christ till after his ascension I hope it will bee no pride but a gratefull and necessary witnesse to the grace of Christ if I say I have both spoke and writ the truth as it is in Jesus and as the Spirit hath given utterance Yea and that in a measure also I can say that those things which I have heard and seen I have declared unto you that your joy might bee full I know nothing so directly tending to both the truth and fulnesse of a Saints joy of which I account my self obliged to bee a helper as the knowledge of the love of Christ 2 Cor. 1. ult Now this is the subject I treat of And this I desire to put you in remembrance of as knowing nothing more strong and constraining unto duty 2 Cor. 5.14 than joy springing forth of this well of salvation I shall not trouble you with a large Epistle Four words only in this publick view for so is printing I shall leave with you as my witnesse unto Christ in some present truths now denied which I desire may never bee a witnesse against you 1. That Jesus whom wee preach and whose love wee declare is the same Christ still i.e. the same God in mans nature which is the choyce thing in him capable of being anoynted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. the self same not another and so of making him Christ hee that ascended is the same that descended and hee that descended is the same also that ascended as t is Eph. 4.9 10. Hee still retains the human nature which once hee took and so is still not only the same God but man It s true the manhood or flesh of Christ is now glorified but t is not annihilated his body is made glorious but still t is in body The man is set down on the right hand of God Heb. 10.12 2. This Jesus shall come again in the same mannâ—r in which hee did ascend as hee was visible even to the eyes of the flesh when hee went away so shall hee bee seen in like manner comming again Act. 1.10.11 Hee is not so swallowed up in Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as that hee is gone out of the flesh But albeit his all and onely presence bee now in Spirit yet hee shall come again and all eyes shall see him and they also who pierced him and all kindreds of the earth as it is Apoc. 1.7 Whoever shall say these Scriptures are not to bee taken in the letter I know I have the mind of Christ if I say in this hee hath not the Spirit 3. That till this comming again wee are to wait for him and upon him in the spiritual and yet external observation of the Ordinances of the Gospel And in them wee are to expect and shall find the sweet and spiritual incomes of himself in discoveries of that love of which I treat 4 That in the day of Christs comming again those Ministers will bee found blessed Lu. 12.42 who as faithfull and wise Stewards shal be found giving the houshold their portion of meat in due season And these Saints will be blamelesse who in that day shall bee sound exercised in and yet living above the observation of preaching fellowship prayers and breaking of bread which Christ hath commanded to bee kept up til hee come And now beloved what is the panting of my Spirit both for my own soul for yours and for all the Saints Is it not this that the morning of that day would dawn Is it not Christ is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. the day dawning and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. the light bringer and he is also the morning star that the shaddows would fly away and that the day spring from on high might again in the glory of Christ God and man visit us Surely these are the daily groanings of the Spirit in mee But with these there is also a mixture of sighs oh that the Spirit would make us diligent that wee may bee found of him in peace 2 Pet. 3.14 without spot and blamelesse and oh that we may bee counted worthy to escape all these things which in part are already come to passe and to stand before the son of man yea and oh that when the Lord shall call us to an account concerning the oracles Rom. 3.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. to commit as a choice treasure the ordinances which he hath committed to us wee may be found First neither as having defiled them with our own inventions Nor Secondly as dis-esteeming them upon pretence of our attainments No nor thirdly to have made them our rest and confidence But I shal sigh the rest in secret I beseech you beleeve that my heart underwrites this that I am Yours intirely affectionate in the love and labour of the Gospell JOHN DURANT A word to the Reader IN these Sermons I presume thou wilt perceive the plainnesse of man and my prayer is that thou mayest likewise perceive the power of the Spirit The time of their preaching was some eleven years since even the noon of the day of Englands trouble At that time they were accounted seasonable The matter of them is some Gospell light of the glorious love of Christ and this makes mee think they can never bee unseasonable The manner of their delivery was as it ought to bee not with enticeing words of mans wisdome But in the simplicity plainness of the Gospel The end was and is next to Christs glory thy good O beleever who ever thou art and if this bee not attained I must cry out I have laboured in vain And Two requests I have unto thee The first is that thou charitably cover the failings of the Preacher Remember the heavenly treasure of the Gospel is in earthen vessels The second is that thou carefully correct the Errata's of the Printer which by reason of my absence from the Presse could not bee avoided If to these two thou wilt over and above adde thy prayers for mee that I may still bee inabled from an experimental knowledge of Gospel truths so publish the same unto poor souls Thou wilt doe more than requite mee for my pains in this even oblige mee to a publication of some other Papers In hope whereof I subscribe my self Thine in the sincerity and strength of Gospel-love John Durant SERMON I. EPHES. 3 ver 19. And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge KNowledge is the perfection of the Rational Creature It is that whereby we come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Philosopher speaks i. e. to partake of Divinity to