way that it is so it appears by the Psalme that Christ especially is meant the text saith I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the middest of the congregation will I praise thee It is the promise of Christ to declare the name of his father to his Church and people and in the middest of the congregation he shall praise God Mark it in Heb. 2.12 the Apostle applies it to the saints joyned together saying I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the middest of the Church will I sing praise unto thee This was after Christ had been in the flesh yet the Apostle applies this to the Church in the middest of the Church will I sing praise unto thee This they gather hence that Christ he delights in being with his people when they are joyntly together because of the solemne worship of God that is tendered to God by them and he joynes with them in it as a delightfull work as they are together to praise God Christ is praising him as they worship Christ is worshiping Now every saint of God hath the spirit of Christ in him and so he delights in the society of the saints on this ground because there is worshiping of God and God is praised solemnly among them If there be any in the world wherein God hath solemne worship it cannot but grieve a gracious heart that he is not with them his heart is with them he delights to be with them especially in such a work as that it grieves him that he cannot be there It is a note of an Interpreter that I have met with upon Isaiah 6. where the Angles cry Holy holy holy Lord of Hosts the Prophet cryes Woe unto me for I am undone c. saith he upon this ground because he could not joyn with those blessed creatures and so magnifie and praise and worship God that he through his sinfulnesse was not able to joyn with them he cryes Woe is me I am undone So when any gracious heart doth but hear that there is a people in the world that are precious ones the excellent on earth that joyn in the worship of God and honour God in his own way and enjoy communion with God and I cannot joyn with them woe to me that there should be any let or hinderance that I cannot come and joyn with them for my heart is there my delight is in the saints when they are joyntly together because Gods solemne worship is there But thirdly my delight is in the saints joyntly in regard of the wonderfull delight God hath in them A gracious heart must needs delight in them because God himself takes so much delight in them but especially when they are joyntly together There are speciall expressions in Scripture of Gods taking delight in the sains joyntly as in Zephany Zeph. 3.17 the Lord thy God in the middest of thee is mighty he will save he will rejoyce over thee with joy he will rest in his love he will joy over thee with singing What expressions are here of Gods delighting in his people The Lord thy God will rejoyce he will rejoyce over thee with joy he will love he will rest in his love and joy and joy over thee with singing And in Isaiah you shall find that the Church is called Hephzebah Gods delight it is a wondrous delight that God hath in his saints There are wonderfull expressions in Scripture for the manifesting of Gods delight even to admiration especially in the Church joyntly together They are such expressions as we could not think or invent as namely that he calls his people his portion his pleasant portion Deut. 32.9 God calls them his inheritance the lot of his inheritance Jer. 12.7 he calls them the dearly beloved of his soul Exod. 19.5 he calls them his peculiar treasure God hath treasures in the world the creatures that are called the good treasures of the Lord Deut. 28. but this people are called his peculiar treasure there is a particularity There is another kind of excellency in the people of Gods delight then in all other creatures they are his common treasure but his people are his peculiar treasure God calls them his glory The house of his glory Isa 46.13 The crown of his glory Isa 60.7 he calls them the Throne of his glory Isa 62.3 in severall places that I cannot stand on His glory the House of his glory the Crown of his glory the Throne of his glory He calls them the royall Diadem he calls them his ornament an ornament set in Majesty and glory There are these expressions and more I might name of Gods delighting in his people Therefore if God delight in them and finde satisfaction much more ' should we Christ speaks of his Church O my sister my spouse my heart is ravished with thee It is a strange expression for Christ himself to be ravished with his people It is an expression beseeming the Church to have said so to Christ but for Christ to say so to the Church it is wonderfull And again My love my dove my undefiled one Cant. 2. and at that very time when the Church was in a state of security that Christ should call her his love his dove his undefiled all to expresse the abundance of delight in his people Well if God have such delight in them much more should the saints Again if we consider further the presence of God among his people it is another argument why the saints of God should take so much delight in other saints especially when they are joyned together because God is present there The Lord is here is the name of all their assemblies The Lord dwells and hath his tabernacle in Sion It is a strange expression concerning the presence of God in that he makes his people his habitation As the people of God call God their habitation so God calls his Church his habitation God dwels in Sion Ps 90. Would you not delight to keep house with God Where Gods people are God keeps house and we should long to have it our own house and not come as strangers A man may come as a stranger and take a bit and be refreshed in a family but it is not his house But now Gods people when they go tootthers of the saints they see God there and they have that house for their house It is called as I told you the house of his glory that house that God desires to dwell in he hath a mighty love to that house to dwell among his people In Psal 132. there are many great and excellent expressions For the Lord hath chosen Zion he hath desired it for his habitation Psal 132.13 14. God desires Zion what is Zion but onely his saints and people joyned together Zion was a type of the Church so now all the saints of God together are Zion Now God hath a desire to this habitation God dwels in the high and holy place the highest heaven is Gods habitation
Jacob as it was upon his father And dost thou walk in the fear of God Hast thou not a bold spirit that goes in slight presumptuous bold base wayes This is not like Jacob he looked on Gods presence as terrible Thirdly Jacobs heart was disingaged from the creature a little of the creature would serve his turn Ge. 28. Lord saith he if thou wilt give me meat to eat and raiment to put on He looked no further he minded no great matters Therefore in Psalm 24. there the generation of Jacob is set out and one thing is he that hath not lift up his soul to vanity The men of the world have great things in their eyes they are vanity in Gods eye though they be great in theirs and they lift up their hearts to them Now the sonnes of Jacob do not lift up their hearts to vanity though the things of the world be present their hearts stirre not they rise not but if God and Christ and heavenly things be presented their hearts are lifted up If thy heart be lifted up to vanity if thy heart be as iron and the vanities of the world come and draw it up thou art not a sonne of Jacob a little would serve Jacob though he were a great heir He was a plain man and dwelt in tents Gen. 25. and had a plain spirit he did not look after great things whereas Esau looked after great things abroad Again he was one of a tender spirit therefore where it is said he prevailed with the Angel it is said he wept and made supplication unto him he found him in Bethel and there he spake with us That story of Jacob concerns us how God dealt with our Father If now thou have a tender spirit as he had if when thou goest into the presence of God thou find thy spirit yield and melt and relent thou art one like thy father Jacob. Again further Jacob did in the time of his streights repair to the covenant that was a great satisfaction to his heart he looked to the covenant he fastned on that and there he held as the main support of his spirit Gen. 32.9 And Jacob said O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac the Lord which said'st unto me return unto thy countrey and to thy kindred and I will deal well with thee c. He heard that Esau was coming against him with a great many and what doth Jacob he gets him to God O God of my father Abraham and of my father Isaac the Lord which said unto me return into thy countrey c. He repairs to the Covenant Remember thy Covenant with Abraham and Isaac and with me too I went on thy word Here was the guise of Jacob canst thou in a straight get thee too a word and a promise and brood thy soul over it and clasp it close say this is the promise that must and will do me good Again Jacob was of an humble spirit I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies He admired at the mercy of God that he had any thing and Gods mercies made him more humble this is an excellent disposition we are many times humble and lowly when we are under the hand of God in affliction but when mercies make us humble that the more God is gracious the more vile we are in our own eyes this is excellent And he looked back to his former condition he looked upon his poor beginning and gives God the glory I passed over this Jordan with my staffe Many of you came with your staff and God hath given you two bands you are grown great are you willing to think of it and to acknowledge the poor estate that once you were in and to give God the glory I was thus and thus of poore parentage and see how God hath dealt with me Another thing remarkable is that Jacob contented himself with God alone he accounted that he had enough in God alone though all were taken from him he did not look upon himself as undone but he had that that might make him for ever In Gen. 33. compare the 9. and 11. verses you shall find a notable difference between Esau and Jacob yet the word in our books is the same but this Scripture is much wronged by the translation In v. 8. Esau when he comes to Jacob when Jacob would have given him his present saith he what meanest thou by all these droves which I met he said these are to find grace in the sight of my lord and Esau said I have enough my brother It was a strange speech of Esau A covetous wretch that is alway pyning and murmuring for having no more and thinks he shall want before he dye he doth not come so farre as Esau and Esau could say I have enough are there not many of you that never say you have enough I pray thee take my present saith Jacob for I have all things nay saith Esau I have enough The one saith I have enough the other saith I have all things for so the word is Col Esau had enough he did not want he had meat and drink and he saw none to interrupt him he was satisfied with his estate as his portion he had enough he cared for nothing more they might talk of other things but that was enough to him Jacob comes and saith I have enough but this was another manner of enough Esaus enough is his estate but Jacobs enough is God for he saith I have all Jacob was meaner for his outward condition then Esau for he had nothing but what he had gotten in hard servitude Now Esau saith I have enough Jacob saith I have all that is God is enough in the want of all if Esau should strip him of all he had yet he had all in God Now one that is of the seed of Jacob in the time of want as some of you may be plundered and then all is gone you say no if thou be of the seed of Jacob if thou have God thou hast all There is such a promise He that overcometh shall inherit all things How is that and I will be his God Revel 21.7 Therefore whatsoever thou wantest if God be thine if thou be Gods child thou hast all Further one of the seed of Jacob is one of the Church of God for all Jacobs posterity was so therefore the blessing in Ruth is The Lord blesse thee like Rachel and Leah which two did build up the house of Israel Why is it not the Lord blesse thee as Rebeccah or Sarah but as Rachel and Leah It was a blessing upon a marriage condition the reason is because from Rachel and Leah came onely those that were of the Church that were members of the Church of God but there came others from Rebeccah and of Sarah came onely Isaac but Abrahams posterity was otherwise And that Church that was then was but a type of that which should be after that is of a company
wonders yet many carnall atheisticall spirits say this was an accidentall thing and the policie of such men brought it to passe they attribute all to naturall causes it is a sign of a wretched profane heart For if God ever magnified prayer he hath done it in these dayes There are 2 or 3 Scriptures that since the world began were never more magnified then by Gods working at this day One is in Exodus 13. In the thing wherein they dealt proudly God was above them Never since the world began was that more fulfilled A second is that in the 10. Psalme The wicked are snared in the work of their own hands If ever there were a fulfilling of that Scripture since the beginning of the world it is at this day A third is this in the text I said not to the seed of Jacob seek ye my face in vain God as I said hath raised a spirit of prayer among the seed of Jacob more then ever any in the world knew there was never the like spirit of prayer raised nor never the like things done for prayer And the Lord the rather honoured the ordinance of prayer now because men so dishonoured it before and persecuted it that the people of God could not meet and assemble to fast and pray but presently it was a conventicle and they were persecuted as factious people Because God saw this way despised he hath honoured it and the former and the latter mercies that we have received we are to attribute to the goodnesse of God by prayer they were obtained by prayer Let us still be incouraged to seek God for what we would have for God hath said it is not in vain to seek his face There are many of us now that can do little else if God have delivered you from sicknesse and other evils know that God hath delivered you to pray the lesse you can do otherwise the more you should do in prayer I have read of a heathen Numa Pompylius that he would never go about any thing but he would go to the temple and pray you that are instruments intrusted with our lives and liberties you had need to pray much go into your closets and sanctifie all your thoughts and resolutions by prayer that your help and assistance may not be in vain to us And all others had neeâ— to assist you in seeking God in prayer This incouragement we have that there is not any of us that seek God alone but we joyn with thousands why should our place be found empty why should not our prayers joyn with the rest We shall meet many prayers in heaven the prayers of our forefathers the prayers of those that are dead and gone that did not live to enjoy the fruit of their prayers yet when we pray for mercies our prayers meet with theirs in heaven therefore let us be incouraged to seek the Lord. And if mercies should come what a daunting would this be to our hearts that mercies are come but we have not sought them and if mercies come not conscience wil flie in our face that we have been sensuall carnall creatures it is for our neglect of seeking God that God hath denyed us the mercies that we expected And then it should be a use of rebuke to those that begin to seek God and continue not O wretch why hast thou left whether wilt thou go Is it in vain to seeve the Lord certainly thou wert never acquainted with God and his wayes thou wilt find it a dreadfull change when it shall appear that thou hast left God the fountain of living water and hast sought after vanity forsaken thine own mercy But the main of all should have been for the applying of it to the present occasion The Lord hath made good his word this day that he hath not said seek ye me in vain This day testifies it to be true that they are great things that prayer hath done I have heard many years ago by credible testimony that on this fifth of November when we had such a great mercy so many years ago that very day it was known that a great many godly people in the city kept it in fasting and prayer so as it was eminently known and delivered from hand to hand of them in the city at that time and you know what God did But what hath he done of late If our fathers should rise out of their graves and we should tell them that now the high commission that they were so troubled with is down that there shall be no more star-chamber that cutting off of ears is gone they would wonder how this should come to passe And whereas Parliaments were wont to be snapped in sunder that this Parliament is to continue by as firm an Act as any thing in the land is made by And for oppressours all the Courts and Bishops Chanceries they are down and gone God hath extirpated them they were first cast out of the house and now out of the kingdome And though an army did rise and seek to bring us into slavery yet God hath given us victory though some have suffered hardly and brought the adversaries very low to surrender their towns and castles and arms And here we are to rejoyce in God and to blesse him for all If many of our ancestours should rise and heare what we speak how we hold up our hands and blesse God with what hearts would they joyn in the praising of God and wonder that ever such things should be done Let not the grace of God be in vain as God hath not said to us seek my face in vain What use shall we make of it Let us give him reall praise and not onely come to repeat it and tell God of it but make his praise glorious put a glory on it and then we do it when we make a right use of his mercies when we receive not his mercies in vain What is it to make use of the memoriall we celebrate First the remembrance of these mercies must humble us that is a sweet humbling it is better to be melted by the beams of the Sunne then by the scorching of the fire You will say humbled for what There are three things that we have cause to be humbled for upon the consideration of the mercy of God towards us First the sinne of unbelief consider when we were straitned at any time when we heard ill news that our armies fled and came to danger how our spirits were down as if all were gone Let us check our hearts God rebuked us in a kindly manner we might have had a furious rebuke Secondly be humbled for all our murmuring and repining and discontent O we did not think that the warres would have held so long and O what taxations are upon us and all our estates are rent away And how many are there that had rather that all the good that God hath done for his people since these times should never have been done then
is thus they are such as have that excellency as that the world is not worthy to enjoy them they are not worthy of their presence that they should so much as live among them they are rather fit to be set as stars in heaven and be before the Lord in his glory the world is not worthy of them But what is there in the Saints that makes them the excellent in the earth The Saints that are the excellent The word in the originall signifies the magnificent ones those that have magnificent spirits and are exceeding glorious There is this in them that I may briefly passe over this first They have the image of God upon them and therefore they must needs be the excellent on earth The image of God makes them to resemble God in that which the creature is able to conceive of That which is the height of Gods excellency though it be true whatsoever is in God is God himself yet we conceiving of God according to our manner there is something of God that appears most excellent and glorious And it must needs be in regard of that expression because grace is called the image of God Now when we draw the image of a thing we draw it as near as we can according to that which is the most proper excellency of that thing If I would draw the image of a man I do not draw the likenesse of a piece of flesh a beast hath that as well as a man or I do not draw feet or leggs or the back parts of a man but when the image of a man is drawn there is his face drawn that is the excellentest part and there we endeavour to expresse his life and spirit as much as can be that is the most excellent part and though the spirit cannot be drawn there can be no picture of it yet because it is shewen most in the face that is as near as we can go that is drawn there So the image of God is that wherein the creature resembles God in height of excellency and glory It is not every resemblance of God that is Gods image there are some things that set out some of the glory of God and they are but called Gods footsteps or his back-parts All the resemblance of God in his creatures and the expressions of the power and wisedome the invisible things of God that we see in the creature they are all but his footsteps and backparts they are not his image Why because they do not resemble God in that which he hath set out to us to be the height of his glory What is that The holinesse of God that is the height of his excellency Therefore it is said of God himself holy and reverend is his name Gods name comes to be reverend by holinesse were it not for his holinesse notwithstanding all the rest if it were possible to separate them his name would not be reverend Therefore when the saints in heaven glorifie God for his chiefest excellency it is thus holy holy holy We finde not in Scripture any of Gods Attributes thrice repeated Wise Wise Wise or Almighty Almighty Almighty but holy holy holy because the excellency of God consists chiefly in that Now because where grace is in the creature resembling this holinesse of God there is that principle whereby the creature is able to act as God himself acts for that is holinesse the working of God to his own end in all things sutable to his nature so when the creature works to God as his last end and in some measure is suteable to that God with which the creature hath to do here is the Image of God Therefore the scripture expresseth grace by these 4. things as The image of God The life of God The glory of God and The Divine nature There are these 4. expressions for the work of grace The image of God it resembles God in his excellency The life of God himself Ephes 4 alienated from the life of God that notes acting like God himself And then it is the glory of God himself and the divine nature Rom. 3.23 2. Pet. 1.3 So that there must needs be excellency in the Saints that have grace that is of this nature Certainly there is more of God in the meanest Saint in the meanest gracious man or woman there is more of the glory of God then in all the world besides then in heaven and earth Take all the creatures all the glory of God in the heavens in the Sunne Moon and Starres and put all into one Take all the glory of God the seas those vast oceans and put that into one take all the glory of God that appears in the earth all the riches of the earth and all arts and sciences and what you will put all into one and the meanest youth or servant that hath the least degree of grace hath more of the glory of God then all this is There is more of the shining of God in the least degree of grace in the poorest Christian in the world then there is in all these creatures If there were a quintessence of all the excellency and glory extracted and drawn and put into one yet there were not so much of God God could not see so much of himself in that one creature that should have the excellency of all creatures put together as he sees in the meanest Saint that hath the work of grace And surely then they are the are the excellent of the earth if there be so much of God in them The work of grace it is that which hath most of God and wheresoever it is it is that which is the proper work of Gods eternall love it is a beam of it therefore there is a great deal of excellency in it Take all other creatures and it is possible to enjoy all the good that is in all the creatures in heaven and earth excepting this onely the grace of God through the bounty of God and the pleasure of God There is nothing that the creature hath but may be communicated as a fruit of Gods generall bounty except spirituall blessings in Christ but where ever this is though in the least degree it is of that nature that it cannot come but onely from the eternall election of God It is that which is the principle of Eternall life wheresoever it is it is that which will grow up to eternall glory All common gifts will never grow up to glory though they grow up to the height of glory but the grace of God true grace it is of the same nature with eternall glory Therefore for the kind of it it is the greatest good that ever God did or that ever he will communicate to any creature for all eternity I say where-ever God hath municated any dramme of grace that is the greatest good that ever God did or ever will communicate to all eternity to any of his creatures therefore it is exceeding excellent Onely excepting the work of
heirs to all that Abraham had that is as far as concerns them therefore they that are his heirs are heirs likewise of the world So the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 3.18 All are yours and you are Christs and Christ is Gods So that God and the creatures are theirs here is a mighty priviledge Again the priviledges that they have in all the good of the Covenant of grace Whatsoever good there is in the Covenant of grace all the rich promises in the Covenant of grace are the priviledges of the godly It is admirable priviledges that the precious promises in Scripture speak of to have interest in them all Besides not onely the promises btu the immunities that come from the Covenant of grace as this that they are not to stand or fall for their eternall estate by any thing that they are able to do themselves they are freed from this their eternall estate hangs not on that which they can do Whereas others that are not saints that are not in the Covenant of grace their eternall estate hangs on their endeavours and actions God dealing with them according to the Covenant of works being in that condition though they may be such as may after come to be saints and as God hath elected and in love may look on them as he intends towards them but for the present they are in such a condition as that they know not but that their eternall estate depends on that which they do themselves Now to be delivered from this to have this immunity that such a thing of such a consequence as our eternall estate should depend upon a sure foundation upon that which is done by Christ and done already it is an infinite priviledge Others cannot challenge to themselves this priviledge that God will accept of their endeavours do what they can yet not being in the Covenant of grace those indeavours are not accepted That it pleaseth God to accept the will for the deed it is one of the priviledges of the saints that comes by the Covenant of grace but it belongs not to others they have not to do with this immunity and priviledge So I might name divers others but then I should go out too far Again this is a glorious priviledge of accesse to the throne of grace to come to God in prayer God gives them the key of all his treasures to come and open them and take what they will it is a glorious privilege that belongs to the saints in any condition God gives them a gracious praying heart and that is the key of all the treasures of God of all the excellencies of God that they have liberty to come and take out what they will be it unto thee as thou wilt These are the excellent of the earth that have these priviledges Again they are the excellent in earth in regard of that which comes from them As the work of grace is so excellent as hath been spoken of so every gracious action that comes from a gracious heart there is a wondrous excellency in it There is not any one gracious action but it hath more excellency then heaven and earth Not onely grace it self but any action that comes from grace hath more of God in it and God more delights in it then in all other things in heaven or earth It is an expression of Luther though he were a great advancer of faith yet he was also of holinesse as well as of faith therefore speaking of any gracious work of a godly man or woman saith he preciosa c. it is more precious then heaven and earth And then he goes on with another expression I had rather be able to perform any one gracious act of the poorest woman or maid of the poorest Christian that is then to be able to do all that ever Alexander or Julius Caesar had done The least act that comes from faith from a sanctified heart he had rather be able to do it then to get all the victories of Julius Caesar and Alexander all their triumphs and trophies were nothing to the least breathing of the work of grace in those that are godly that which comes from them are exceeding excellent Now I reason they must needs be excellent that have such excellent things come from them As when there were such excellent things came from the body of Paul that had such virtue in them that noted that there was a great deal of excellency that God conferred upon that Apostle and a gread deal of honour that was put upon him So when there comes flowing such precious liquor such precious things from the saints as any holy action is it shews that there is a great deal of excellency in them Which by the way should teach us to abound in holy duties though our actions as they are from us corrupted we look on them as despicable yet know that God looks on them as the most glorious things in the world any breathing of a gracious heart therefore he despiseth not the broken heart nor the sighing of a contrite spirit Psalm 51. God can despise Monarchs and Princes of the world but God cannot despise a broken heart nor any breathings from ti Though thou mayest despise it thy self and look on it as despicable the Lord cannot despise it he sees so much excellency in it though it be mixed with thy corruptions yet there is that remainder of excellency in it if there be but so much as may denominate it a gracious act it is a glorious thing in the eye of God Lastly to name no more the excellency of the saints appears in this the great use that they are of in the world As especially this is one thing that God attains in them his great aim and end in creating the whole world Were it not for a few gracious men and women what glory should God have in all the world They are those that hold up the glory of God in the world by which God hath his glory actively for that is it that God aims at It is true God can force glory in spight of mens hearts he will be glorified in spight of Devils but God hath no active glory but from gracious godly people I speak of the inferiour world it is onely the godly that God hath glory from Therefore were it not for them God in some kind had made all the world for nothing Now those that are imployed in such a great work and are of this great use in the world as to bring to God that which he made the world for the main and great end that he made heaven and earth for certainly these are principall in Gods esteem and excellent God can say I have my end in these Take any town where there are but two or three that are godly what glory hath God but of these So for other places where hath God glory but for a few contemptible ones They are these that God glorifies in high and great services these are