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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51916	Sermons preach'd on several occasions by John March ..., the last of which was preach'd the twenty seventh of November, 1692, being the Sunday before he died ; with a preface by Dr. John Scot ; to which is added, A sermon preach'd at the assizes, in New-Castle upon Tine, in the reign of the late King James.	March, John, 1640-1692.; Scott, John, 1639-1695.	1699 (1699)	Wing M583; ESTC R18158	123,796	330

Ordained and whereof he hath given us assurance in that he hath raised him from the Dead Tho' we are not certain when the day of Judgment will come that we may be alwayes preparing for it yet you see it is certain that there will be such a day and that Christ our Mediator is ordained Judge A happy day for all that are truly pious they need not fear this Judge who is no other than their Merciful Saviour But it will be a day of darkness and gloominess unto the Wicked these will then mourn when they shall see this Son of Man coming with great Power and Glory so much we are told in the Text Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven and then shall all the Tribes of the Earth Mourn and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven with Power and great Glory For the better understanding of these words we will enquire First Why Christ is called the Son of Man Secondly What is here meant by the Sign of the Son of Man Thirdly That this Son of Man will come to Judge the World Fourthly That he will come with great Power and Glory Fifthly That all the wicked of the Earth will then have just cause to Mourn First Let us briefly enquire why Christ is called the Son of Man Some learned Men observe that he is called so in the Scriptures more than forty times and there are two reasons of the Name 1st He is called the Son of Man in token of his Humanity Christ our Blessed Mediator was both God and Man and therefore as he is often called the Son of God to denote his Divinity so he is as often called the Son of Man to denote his Humanity 2ly He is called the Son of Man to denote that state of Humiliation to which he condescended for our sakes It was usual for the Jews to style Princes and Potentates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sons of strong Men but such as were poor they styl'd Beni-Adam Sons of Men. Christ therefore aspired to no higher title than that of Son of Man He was pleased to humble himself for us He as the Apostle speaks became poor that we might become rich Born he was of the poorest Parents such as neither had an House of their own to lay him in when he was born nor able to procure any place besides a Stable for his reception into this World And as he was born in this poor condition so tho' the Birds of the Air have Nests as he speaks yet whilst he lived he had not of his own where to lay his Head Nay further yet when he came to die we know he was beholding to the Charity of Ioseph of Arimathea for a room in his Sepulchre No wonder then if Christ be ambitious of no more Honourable Title than this of Son of Man since he made himself so vile so mean so contemptible for our sakes Thus I have briefly shewn why Christ is called so often the Son of Man it denotes the truth of his Humanity as also that state of Humiliation to which he condescended for our sakes I come now in the second place to enquire Secondly What is here meant by the sign of the Son of Man It would spend too much of our time to mention all those conjectures which learned Men have made concerning this Sign since it is a matter we may be safely ignorant of I shall only set down two of the best interpretaions I have met with 1st Very many learned Men both Antient and Modern do by the Sign of the Son of Man understand the Cross. St. Ierom St. Chrysostom and Venerable Bede upon this place affirm this Sign to be no other than that of the Cross. The Ethiopian Church is so peremptory in this matter that it is put into the Articles of their Creed as the Learned Gregory informs us There is hardly any thing the Antient Fathers are more unanimous in than this And to say the truth there is some tolerable Reason for this Antient Opinion For what can be more Honourable to our Lord and Saviour or more full of Terror to his Enemies than that the Cross of Christ which they counted foolishness and more than so esteemed the greatest reproach of the Christian Faith should at that day be made the Herald to Proclaim his Coming and call all Nations of the World to appear before him But tho' this interpretation be backt both with Reason and great Authorities Yet 2ly There is another interpretation that seems as plausible if not more plausible than it For the learned Vossius Mede Twisse Millet and several others do understand by the Sign of the Son of Man who is a Sign This kind of Dialect this manner of Speaking is frequent in the Scripture thus the Law of Faith is all one with Faith that is a Law the Law of Sin that is Sin it self which dwelling in unregenerate Persons reigns as it were by Law So the Sign of the Son of Man that is the Son of Man who is a Sign And that which gives the greatest Authority to this Opinion is that St. Luke in the parallel place interprets it so Chap. 21. 27. where the word Sign is left out and the Verse runs thus Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a Cloud with Power and great Glory And St. Mark renders the words the same way Chap. 13. 26. If therefore St. Mark and St. Luke may be allowed to be as good interpreters of St. Matthew as any other by the Sign of the Son of Man we may understand the Son of Man himself whose Glorious appearance in the Clouds will be a certain infallible sign that the day of Judgment is come Thus I have shewn you what Conjectures learned Men have made concerning this Sign of the Son of Man Some understand the Cross others Christ himself whose Glorious appearance will be a certain sign of the approaching Judgment I come now in the third place to shew you Thirdly That this Son of Man will come to judge the World None but that God who made us has any right to judge us As we have received all things from him so as Stewards must we render an account of all things to him Indeed this Judgment belongs originally to the whole Trinity but the outward administration of it shall be committed to the Son of Man So we are told expresly in the Text Then shall ye see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven Thus you see the Judgment of the last Day is committed to the Son of Man and indeed it is committed to him because he is the Son of Man our Saviour tells us so expresly John 5. 20 27. As the Father has life in himself so hath he given unto the Son to have life in himself and has given him Authority to execute Iudgment also because he is the Son of Man Ye see the Son of Man will come as

Text for it seems he believed Christ to have been both able and willing to save him which is in effect to own him for a Mediatour Hence we find him making solemn and earnest Addresses to him for Mercy Lord saith he remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom One would think these Circumstances which I have mention'd namely his deep Sense of his Sins his humble Confession of them his Charity to the Soul of his Fellow Thief and his strange and prodigious Faith I say one would think these Circumstances so wonderful and so extraordinary that they were sufficient of themselves to evidence the sincerity of his Repentance how short soever it was and yet by way of Overplus we have the Testimony of our Saviour himself concerning it This day saith our Saviour thou shalt be with me in Paradise Sure that Repentance must be sincere and perfect which enters into Heaven passeth into Paradise and makes so notorious a Thief all on a sudden so fit a Companion for the Holy Jesus And now let us enquire what matter of Comfort here can be for the bold Daring Sinners of the Times Have they any reason to expect such a lively vigorous and extraordinary Faith Or is it possible they should be so well assured of the sincerity of their Repentance The Age of Miracles did expire long ago and God having abundantly confirmed the Truths of the Gospel by mighty Signs and Wonders did resolve to leave the succeeding Ages of the Church to the ordinary Means of Grace How then can we expect at the Hour of Death to find such a wonderful Faith wrought in those profligate Wretches who have all their Life time despised Gods Ministers quenched all the Motions of his Holy Spirit trampled on the Blood of the New Covenant and shamefully abused all the ordinary Methods and Dispensations of the Gospel And as we cannot expect to find in the Clinicks of the Age such a prodigious and extraordinary Faith as was in this penitent Thief so neither is it possible they should be so well assur'd of the sincerity of their Repentance as he was I am willing to be as Charitable to these Penitents as the Salvation of their Souls will allow me to be And therefore let us suppose such Presumptuous sinners to be deeply sensible of their sins and willing to Confess them Let us suppose them sending for their Debauch'd Companions to remind them of Eternity and the great danger of delaying their Repentance Nay farther let us suppose them watering their Couches with their Tears and making most solemn Protestations of better Obedience if God should restore them to their former Health Supposing all this be done by the Clinicks of the Age is it possible for a Minister to afford them a Cordial or any solid Comfort from this Example of the Text For my part I must declare that I think it impossible We may hope well in the Judgment of Charity but to give them any such Assurance as this penitent Thief is beyond the power and skill of the wisest Minister for the Heart is deceitful above all things and since Ministers are not Omniscious as our Saviour was they cannot pass an infallible Judgment upon the sincerity of such a late Repentance When Esau had lost his Birth-right for a Mess of Pottage did not he shed as hearty and unfeigned Tears as these supposed Penitents can do and yet it is said found no place for Repentance Did not Iudas run to the Scribes and Pharisees Did he not confess publickly that he had betrayed the Innocent Blood Nay did he not throw down the Thirty peices of Silver And sure if he had not been in earnest such a Covetous Wretch would never have parted with his Mony and yet we know his Repentance was not right Alas the Horrours of Conscience and the ghastly Apparitions of Death will force men to do many things which God will not accept of because they proceed from fear of Punishment and not from the Love of him Nay let me add yet farther that sad Experience has set its Seal to this Observation That many such Penitents who have made the most solemn Protestations of better Obedience in the time of their Sickness when God has restored them in Mercy to their former Health they have with the Dog return'd to their Vomits and with the Sow to their wallowings in the Mire Thus you see that Repentance of the Thief in the Text was so remarkable so wonderful so extraordinary in all the parts of it as will afford little solid Comfort to repenting Sinners at the Hour of Death 4ly This Repentance of the Thief will be found yet farther extraordinary and such as can afford little Comfort to the Clinicks of the Age if we consider those great and extraordinary Temptations he had to grapple with Christ was now in his worst Estate in the very lowest degree of his Humiliation there was no Beauty no Form no Comeliness in him that he should be desired The Chief Priests the Scribes and the Elders mocked him all that passed by reviled him wagging their Heads Of his own Disciples some denied him and all of them shamefully and most ungratefully forsook him This poor penitent Thief was the only Confessor he had And what Inducements had he at this time to own him He could expect no Wordly Advantages all that he could promise himself was only this that as he was now Crucified as a Malefactor only so for such his Confession his Torments would have been enhanced and he persecuted as a Martyr And can now the Clinicks of the Age shew us any such extraordinary Repentance Is Christ now under the same Circumstances of Pain and Ignominy that he was then Do not all our Creeds tell us that he is now at the Right Hand of God That He is made the Head of all things both in Heaven and in Earth And will it be any such heroick Act of Faith now to seek unto such a Glorious and Triumphant Saviour Sure there is a vast difference between the case of the Thief and the case of the presumptuous Sinners The Thief had no inducements to fly to Christ for succour and these have none to fly to but their Saviour There is therefore but little solid comfort for such Penitents in the Example of the Text. 5ly The case of the Thief will yet further be found extraordinary if we consider the time when he obtained Mercy it was no ordinary time but a time when God was shewing a publick Act of Grace and Mercy to the World God at this time was giving his own Son out of great love to Mankind And therefore it might seem proper and well becoming so solemn a time that there should be some Monument of this Infinite Mercy It may possibly deserve your serious observation that God Almighty did always something extraordinary to grace the several Passages of our Saviours Mediatorship We know at his Nativity a Glorious Star shone in the Air

enjoys the bright beams of Heavenly light whilst all the World besides groans under worse than Aegyptian darkness This is the true Gideons fleece which is watred with the dew of Celestial Grace whilst the other parts of the Earth lyes dry and parch'd not unlike some barren and cursed wilderness This in St. Austine's comparison is the true Ark in which alone we can be secure from the deluge of God's wrath Thus great is their happiness who are in the Church of Christ But some difficulty there is to find out the true Church as Tertullian observed of Old faciunt favos vespae faciunt Ecclesias Marcionitae the most dangerous Wasps have their Cells saith he even so the worst of Hereticks are ready to cry out the Temple of the Lord are we That therefore we may not mistake Leah for Rachel or embrace a Cloud instead of a Iuno we must carefully observe that description St. Paul gives us of the true Church he tells us it is founded on the Doctrine of Heaven or if you had rather take it in the words of the Text it is saith he that houshold of God which is built upon the foundations of the Apostles and Prophets From the words thus far explained I shall crave leave to prove these four things First That the Doctrine of the Apostle and Prophets is the foundation on which the true Church is built Secondly That this Doctrine of the Apostles and Prophets is sufficiently delivered to us in the Holy Scriptures Thirdly That the Church of England is built upon this foundation of the Apostles and Prophets And Fourthly That such as continue in the communion of this Church are as happy as were those Ephesians of whom St. Paul says they were no more strangers and forreigners but fellow-Citizens with the Saints of this houshold of God I begin with the first of these to shew you that the Doctrine of the Apostles and Prophets is the only foundation upon which the true Church is built The Church of Ephesus if we 'l believe St. Paul was the houshold of God or a true Church of Christ and it seems it was so because built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets we are sure these inspired Ministers of the Holy Iesus preached and planted none but the true Religion and we may be sure it can be no bad Church which owns and professes the same Religion I know there are several marks given of the true Church such as Unity Universality Antiquity Succession Sanctity and the like but tho' these where they are found are Great Ornaments to a Church yet the best and most infallible mark to know it by is its conformity to the Doctrines delivered by the Apostles For the true Church as the Apostle speaks elsewhere is the ground and Pillar of Truth but it will not deserve this honourable Character if its Doctrines be repugnant to the Doctrines delivered by the Apostles It 's said of the best and most Catholick Christians Acts 2. 42. That they continued stedfast in the Apostles Doctrine And therefore such as follow the Primitive example will be far from deserving the brand of Hereticks Does not our Saviour himself tell us that his Sheep will hear his Voice and not the Voice of Strangers And where is this voice of Christ to be heard but sounding in the writings of these Apostles and Prophets This therefore is the sure word of Prophecy whereunto saith St. Peter ye do well if you take heed nor is this any other mark of the Church of God then what is generally own'd by the antient Fathers Tertullian brings in the Church speaking such words as these Sum Apostolorum sic teneo sicut illi testamento caverunt I am Heir saith she to the holy Apostles whatever Truth they left me in their Writings whatever Doctrines they bequeath'd me in their Testament these I firmly believe these I will constantly hold Ireneus calls the Gospel columnam firmamentum Ecclesiae the Ground and Pillar of the Church St. Chrysostome treating at large upon this Question How the true Church may be known returns this answer more than once The true Church is best known by the holy Scriptures saith he that is the Christian Church which agrees with these sacred Oracles and that is the Heretical which is repugnant to them None speaks more largely or more excellently to this point than the great St. Austine who in his admirable Book against the Donatists writes thus The question between us and the Donatists is where we shall find the Church What therefore shall we do shall we seek it in our own words or in the words of our Lord Iesus Christ I think we had rather seek it in his words who is the truth and best knoweth his own Church Let not therefore these Speeches be heard amongst us This I say and this thou sayest but let us hear Thus saith the Lord There are certain Books of God to whose Authority we both stand we both consent we both believe there let us seek the Church there let us try our cause I will not have the Church demonstrated by Man's teaching but by the holy Oracles of God Setting therefore aside all such matters let them shew forth the Church if they can not by the speech and rumours of the Africans not in the Councils of the Bishops not in the Writing of any Disputer not in Visions and Revelations not in Signs and false Miracles because God's word has abundantly prepared us and made us ready against these things But let them declare it out of the Prescript of the Law the predictions of the Prophets the Songs of the Psalms the testimonies of the Apostles the words of the Pastor himself whether they have a Church or no let them declare only by the Canonical Books of the holy Scripture these be the instructions these be the foundations these be the supporters of our cause Thus far St. Austine and because he is so clear and so full to this case I shall not need to trouble you with any further Authorities especially since the Church of Rome doth acknowledge in her Trent Catechism that no Church is Catholick that does not profess that faith which is built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles She must not hold any new faith say they but that which was delivered of old by the holy Apostles And it follows in the same Catechism the Nicene Fathers did well to add the word Apostolick to their Creed saying I believe one Catholick and Apostolick Church namely that all might know that is the only true Catholick Church which is Apostolick That therefore must needs be the truest mark of the Church which both Romanists and Protestants own to be so and indeed without this all those other marks which are pretended will signifie nothing Unity without Apostolical Doctrine is so far from being a mark of the Church that it may not only be found in the Societies of the worst of Men

We read also Gal. 2. 9 11. that he did not only rebuke St. Peter openly at Antioch but also took of him the right hand of fellowship Now we cannot suppose St. Peters Supremacy but we must convict St. Paul either of gross Ignorance when he said he was not a whit behind the very chiefest Apostles or of greater rudeness when he took place of his Prince and yet so true it is that he did so that in memory of it the Popes own Seal hath St. Paul and St. Peter engraven upon it and St. Paul is allowed to hold the dexter point 2. If we examin by Scripture that Controversie between the Church of England and the Church of Rome about the Deposing Doctrine we shall find which is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets For how does the Scripture every where abhor and detest that most disloyal and Antichristian Doctrine Let every Soul be subject to the higher Powers saith St. Paul and that not only for wrath but also for Conscience sake Observe Let every Soul of what rank quality or degree soever 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says St. Chrysostome upon these words Tho thou art an Apostle tho an Evangelist tho a Prophet yea what ever thou art thou must be subject to the higher Powers Thus saith St. Paul yea St. Peter also from whom the Pope pretends to derive his Power is so far from challenging any power over Kings and Princes either for himself or Successors that he requires Christians to submit themselves not unto him but unto the King as Supreme Nay he would have them be subject not only to the good and gentle but also to the froward And is not this the Apostolical Doctrine of the Church of England which teaches all her Members to pay active obedience unto all the lawful Commands of Princes and when their commands interfere with the Laws of God not to resist but to obey Passively 3. The Prayers of our Church are made in a Language well known unto the People and such as will tend if they are not wanting to themselves to their Edification And sure I need not tell you that this is agreeable to the Doctrine of the Apostles when St. Paul hath spent a whole Chapter to assure us of it For in 1. Cor. 14. 14. If I pray saith he in an unknown Tongue my Spirit prays but my understanding is unfruitful but I will pray with the Spirit and I will pray with the understanding also Again ver 16. How shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks seeing he understandeth not what thou sayst Again v. 19. In the Church I had rather speak five words with my understanding that by my voice I might teach others also than ten thousand words in an unknown Tongue These are plain Texts of Scripture and shew the practice of our Church to be Apostolical 4. The Church of England allows the Laity the Cup as well as the Bread and this is no other Doctrine than what Christ and his Apostles teach For our Saviour delivering the Cup to his Disciples says Drink ye all of it Mat. 26. 27. And S. Paul assures us that in his time the People partook of the Cup as well as of the Bread 1 Cor. 12. 13. We have all been made to drink into one Spirit But I need not produce any more Texts of Scripture for the proof of this since it is acknowledged by the Church of Rome For in the Council of Constance we find these expressions Notwithstanding the Institution of Christ and the Practice of the Apostles we decree and determine that the Laity shall not partake of the Cup. It seems they find some inconvenience in the Institution of Christ and the Practice of his Apostles but our Church thinks it convenient to stick close to both 5. The Church of England condemns Transubstantiation as being contradictory to Sense Reason and Scripture Our Senses tell us it is Bread and not Flesh after Consecration Our Reason will not allow one and the same body to be in millions of places at the same time And as for Scripture S. Paul 1. Cor. 11. 26. c. calls it Bread at least three times after Consecration But tho we have all this to say for our selves yet we are anathamatized by the Church of Rome because we refuse as they say to believe as plain words as any are in the Bible For what can be plainer say they than these words of our Saviour This is my body But in truth if these words were as plain as they tell us we would be content to sacrifice both our Sense and our Reason to our Faith But if these words of our Saviour be taken in a literal Sense as they take them they are so far from being plain that their Learned men are very much divided about the meaning of them For ask them only what is the subject of the Proposition or what is denoted by this demonstrative Pronoun Hoc or This and you will find them mightily at a loss about it for Scotus says it is Hoc ens this entity is my body Aquinas this substance Bellarmine these species of bread the Sarbone this Individuum vagum and the famous Glossary Hoc nihil or this nothing Now if these words of our Saviour were so very plain and easie as they say 'T is very strange their Learned men should differ so much and at last make nothing of them But indeed if we take them in a figurative sense as Protestants use to do they will be plain and easie enough For the demonstrative particle Hoc or This must needs relate to bread for it is said in the Text that as they were eating Iesus took bread and blessed it and brake it and gave it to the Disciples and said Take Eat This is my body It seems what our Saviour took blessed brake and gave to his Disciples was bread and of this and nothing else can he speak when he saith This is my body Now this bread is my body is false if we take it in a literal sense for bread is not flesh but it is true in a Figurative sense This bread is i. e. does signifie Christs body And this kind of Dialect or manner of speech is very usual in Scripture Gen. 41. 26. we read these words concerning Pharaohs Dream The seven kine are seven years i. e. they signifie seven years So again Exod. 12. 11. Moses speaking of the Paschal Lamb says it is the Lords Passover i. e. it signifies the Lords passing the Children of the Israelites when he destroyed all the First-born of Egypt Now if according to this known Dialect of Scripture we interpret our Saviours words This is my body the meaning will be plain and natural this bread does signifie or represent my body And this will appear to be the sense of these words if we consider what our Saviour says of the Cup namely This is my blood which must