and Consummation of this visible Frame at the last Day all these things I say and more than we know were designed for the Glory and Honour of Christ And as they have all a reference to him so the Beauty and Wisdom and Goodness of those Divine Transactions are not cannot be seen but by Establishing the Incarnation of the Son of God and Therefore to reject this great Mystery is to set at nought the Eternal Purposes of God and all those Glorious Designs which his Infinite Wisdom and Goodness have Devised This is to smother the Divine Wisdom and Goodness which is conspicuous in these things and to deny and deprive him of that Glory which so much Wisdom and so much Goodness and so many and so great Expressions thereof do bring unto him Wherefore not to acknowledge Jesus to be the Son of God our Lord and God as it is wilful and unaccountable Obstinacy there being so many Irrefragable Testimonies and unquestionable Proofs thereof so it is inexcusable Impiety and downright Rebellion against God He who doth not receive the King's Vicegerent nor will own him whom he Deputes and Entrusts with the Government both affronts the King's Authority and reproacheth his Conduct he reflects alike on his Prudence and Authority And is he not guilty of the same Crime Is he not equally wicked against God who rejecteth his own Son whom he hath sent into the World for to this purpose God hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of Iesus every knee should bow of things in Heaven and things in Earth and things under the Earth and that every tongue should confess that Iesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father Now this owning and acknowledging of Jesus Christ the receiving him as the Son of God is what the Apostle calls the having the Son as appears from the following Verse where he expounds it by believing on him And in the following Epistle Verse 9. he makes it to be the abiding in his Doctrine He then hath the Son who believes in him who receives his Gospel who gives a full and hearty assent to the truth of all that is said of him either as to his Nature or Offices the Dignity of his Person or the Power and Privilege he hath received from the Father In a word he hath the Son who stedfastly believes whatever he has Revealed concerning God or Man our present Condition or Original State our Duty here or Reward hereafter for if we believe him to be the Son of God we will believe also whatever he hath delivered and will not fail to adhere to this Belief and Perswasion Thus we see That it is Faith in Christ to which Life is here promised But we deceive our selves if we think it any kind of Faith a bare knowledge or naked Speculation of Gospel Truths a mere and simple assent to them which rests in the Brain and Understanding and goes no farther No this is not that Faith which is so magnified in Scripture and to which so many glorious things are promised Many may have all that this comes to and yet fall short of Life Many will say to me in that day saith Christ Lord Lord have we not prophecied in thy Name and in thy Name cast out Devils and in thy Name done many wonderful Works And then I will profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity True Faith is always Lively Active and Operative it is not barren and Unfruitful it ever worketh by Love and keepeth the Commandments it purifieth the heart of Pride and Lust and casteth down Imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God and bringeth into Captivity every thought to the Obedience of Christ it rectifies all inward Disorders and makes us New Creatures framed according to the Image of God in Christ it so renews us to the Spirit of our Minds and so conforms us to the Son of God that our Thoughts are his Thoughts his Ways our Ways we love what he loves hate what he hates believe what he Promises and obey what he Commands so that our Life is hid with Christ in God And of every true Believer it may be said as St. Paul saith of himself I am Crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me Look what those Saints and Worthies recorded in the Epistle to the Hebrews did through Faith they subdued Kingdoms wrought Righteousness obtained Promises stopt the mouths of Lions quenched the violence of Fire escaped the edge of the Sword out of weakness were made strong waxed valiant in fight turned to flight the Armies of Aliens c. Was not this a strong and a noble Faith Now such must our Faith be for as our Apostle tells us Verse 4. of this Chapter it must overcome the World he that believeth that Iesus is the Son of God he it is that overcometh the world and all that is in the world viz. the lust of the Flesh the lust of the Eyes and the pride of Life Thus you see what Faith is that it is no mean and silly thing that it is no dull lazy unactive Principle but that it is strong and mighty quick and powerful in its operation Be not deceived then my Friends Examine well whether you believe in Christ whether or no you have the Son of God dwelling in you by Faith and do not flatter your selves with the conceit unless it be so indeed Consider O Man and tell me Art thou sensible of thy Misery by Nature of thy guilt thrô thy manifold Transgressions Dost thou feel the Necessity of a Saviour Dost thou run to that Fountain which is opened to the House of David and to the Inhabitants of Israel for Sin and for Uncleanness Dost thou hope in the Mercy of God and rely upon the Merits of Christ And art thou therefore humble and penitent and ready to forgive and resolved to amend thy Life Dost thou or art thou sincerely resolved to resist the Devil and wrestle against all Temptations not in thy own but in the Name and Strength of Christ Can'st thou despise the Vanities of the World all sublunary Riches and Pleasures can'st thou freely quit them rather than offend thy God Is thy Heart with God and can'st thou confidently trust him with thy self and all thy Concernments and wait for the accomplishment of his Promises Is thy Care are thy Thoughts and Endeavours chiefly employed about the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof how to grow in Grace and the Knowledge of Christ how to abound in good Works and to bring forth Fruit unto Holiness that thy End may be Eternal Life Can'st thou answer to those things positively Dost thou find
but be sure to carry away the Victory If the Devil assault you resist him till he flee from you Are you persecuted troubled and afflicted maintain a Christian Courage and Magnanimity bear all with an invincible Patience and suffer the utmost rather than do what is dishonourable what may offend God or wound your own Conscience Doth the wind of false Doctrine blow from all quarters let us take heed that we be not carried away therewith let us search for the Truth and never suffer Lyes and Falshoods to have any Impression upon us And that other Errors may not find entrance let us shut out that great and gross one and the Mother of many viz. That it is no matter what Men think or believe that Opinions are not dangerous for the Apostle tells us That there are some Heresies damnable All Truths are not to be alike accounted of nor are all Errors dangerous But certainly some Truths are of such importance and are delivered with such evidence that to deny or question them is to resist God and question his Veracity and there are some Errors which debauch the Understanding as much as Vice doth the Heart and the one doth alienate from God as well as the other If we be tempted to mingle our Devotions with Idolatry and Superstition that the Worship of God may be splendid and magnificent let us not yield for God is not to be Worshipped with that which pleaseth him not nor must we study to Honour him by ways which he has forbidden Neither out of a pretext of shunning this let us be carried to the other extreme of Indecency Irreverence and of a nasty Familiarity Whatever be in vogue among others let us both in publick and in private keep up that Worship which is grave serious and deliberate which is suitable to the Majesty of God and proper to beget in us great and worthy thoughts of him which kindleth our Love to him heighteneth our Reverence and Esteem for him which instructs us in his Will and quickeneth our Obedience to his Commands Finally and particularly let us with all care escape the Pollution that is in the World thorow Lust let us stave off Vice and withstand the wicked Practices of this Age we live in and study to be found the Children of God without all rebuke even in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation whatever be the practices of others let us make it our business to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearance of the Son of God If we do not strive to overcome in this last particular our Victory in the rest will be to little purpose What will it avail us to stand out against Persecutions to resist Errour and Heresies Idolatry and Superstition if we be Slaves to Lust and suffer Sin or any manner of Impiety to reign in us All our Zeal for Christ's Kingdom without will profit us nothing if we do not set it up within us Though we Prophesie in Christ's Name and in his Name cast out Devils and in his Name do many wondrous Works yet if we do the works of Iniquity he will say to us in that day Depart from me I never knew you Thus you have seen your task and what as Christians is required of you Your task indeed is great but your Assistances are as great and if you resolve to acquit your selves well you must be active and diligent There is no place for Idleness or Loitering You have much to do but however do not despond for there shall be strength given you from above He that is with you is greater than any that can be against you If you have the heart be ready and willing God will enable you to overcome the greatest Goliah of the Philistines And if at any time you should faint look unto Iesus the author and finisher of your Faith let his Example direct and encourage you and as he did also look unto the Recompence of Reward consider what shall be done to you if you overcome You shall not be so meanly rewarded as they were who obtained the Mastery in Olympick Games who only got Crowns of Flowers Laurels and Myrtles nor yet as the Romans when they returned Victorious over their Enemies who only had the Honour of a days Solemnity and Triumph nor is it a Crown of Gold which shall be bestowed on you which is the greatest reward to be expected in this World but it is a Crown of Life Glory and Righteousness I have fought a good fight saith St. Paul I have finished my course and henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness Nothing is reckoned more August and glorious than a Crown some have been at great Pains and have run many Hazards to win one But there is no Crown so glorious as this which awaits us in the other World The splendor of it is represented by the Whiteness of the Stone in the Text Its Excellency and Magnificence by the weight thereof and its Duration and Continuance by the firmness of it Be ye therefore stedfast and immoveable and abounding always in the work of the Lord Forasmuch as you see that your labour is not in vain And unto him who is able to make you overcome and who has promised thus to reward you if you do overcome be Glory Honour and Praise for Ever and Ever Amen SERMON X. On LUKE VI. 46. Why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the things which I say THE Name of Lord is not only a title of Honour but it implies Dominion and Authority so that to call one Lord is to acknowledge him Superiour and to profess Subjection to him Christ is called Lord by David Psal. cx And is almost always design'd so in Scripture This Name is due to him both by vertue of his Nature and Office so that to call Iesus Lord is to receive and Acknowledge him for the Son of God the Messias or Christ and the Saviour of the World For these Reasons he is our Lord and is called so in Scripture and they do not understand what they say who do not mean these things when they call Iesus Lord. By the things which Christ saith is to be understood the whole Doctrine of Christ as it respects both Faith and Manners A true Disciple will receive whatever his Lord saith and will own all that his Authority is concerned in But he is disobedient and rejects his Authority who rejects either the Truths required to be believed or the things commanded to be done To do then what Jesus saith is to frame both the inward Temper and Sentiments of our heart and our outward Conversation according to the Doctrine of Christ it is to receive by a Sincere Faith all the Truths revealed by him and to make Conscience of observing what he has commanded The Credenda or things to be believed are
p. 123 SERMON VI. On Easter Day 1 Pet. I. 3 4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Iesus Christ from the Dead To an inheritance incorruptible and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for you p. 166 SERMON VII On Easter Day 1 John V. 12. He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life p. 195 SERMON VIII On Easter Day 1 Cor. XV. 19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable p. 228 SERMON IX Rev. II. 17. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna and will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it p. 261 SERMON X. Luke VI. 46. Why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the things which I say p. 296 SERMON XI A Preparation to the Holy Communion Heb. X. 22. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of Faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience and our Bodies washed with pure Water p. 340 SERMON XII Hosea X. 12. Sow to your selves in Righteousness reap in Mercy Break up your fallow Ground for it is time to seek the Lord till he come and rain Righteousness upon you p. 385 SERMON XIII Hosea V. 13 14 15. When Ephraim saw his sickness and Iudah saw his Wound Then went Ephraim to the Assyrian and sent to King Iareb yet could he not heal you nor cure you of your Wound For I will be unto Ephraim as a Lion and as a young Lion to the house of Iudah I even I will tear and go I will take away and none shall rescue him I will go and return unto my Place till they Acknowledge their Offence and seek my Face in their Affliction they will seek me early p. 416 SERMON XIV Micah VII 8 9. Rejoice not against me O mine Enemy when I fall I shall arise when I sit in Darkness the Lord shall be a Light unto me I will bear the Indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him until he plead my Cause and execute Iudgment for me he will bring me forth to the light and I shall behold his Righteousness p. 446 SERMON XV. 1 Tim. V. 23. Drink no longer Water but use a little Wine for thy Stomachs sake and thine often Infirmities p. 479 SERMON I. On Matth. XI 28. Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest THESE words are worthy of all acceptation they ought to be listned to most earnestly and deserve our most serious Consideration if either we regard the Person who uttered them or the Matter contained in them For here is promised what all Men seek after here is a free and gracious Invitation to what all Men would be at to that which they toil and labour for with all their might The Wise and the Unlearned the High and the Low and all the World pursue this tho' they entertain different Sentiments and follow various Courses yet still they agree in this that they all would be at rest Rest to the Soul is a common End which all aim at for without this there is no happiness What is the true way to this has been the Enquiry of Philosophers and of all wise and thinking Men in all Ages The several Sects of Philosophers pretended to teach it and the same is done by all the Parties who now divide the World One alledgeth the way to rest and happiness is with them another saith it is with them But we may trust him who speaketh here we may safely rely on his Word and have reason to believe him with an implicite Faith for he neither can be deceived himself nor will he deceive others He who giveth this Invitation and maketh this Promise of Rest is the Blessed Jesus that is the greatest Person who ever appeared in Human likeness the very eternal Son of God Wisdom and Truth it self No Falsehood can come from him and he is willing that all come to the Knowledge of the Truth He loves us and wisheth our happiness more than we our selves do He had no other Errand to this World but only to procure our happiness and to direct us in the way to it We ought therefore to receive his Instruction and when he promiseth rest we have all reason to expect it and no cause to fear the missing it O! with what joy should we hear these words from him Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden c. First you see the Invitation is general to all Persons whatsoever Jesus Christ excludes none from his Mercy who do not exclude themselves by their contempt hardness and impenitency As his Benefits are highly to be valued and most desireable so they are freely and kindly offered to every one he is willing that all partake of them The Favours of Kings and Princes are reserved to a few special Friends and Favourites either because they would exhaust themselves if they bestowed many or because they are afraid of rendering them contemptible if they make them common But as Jesus Christ is an inexhaustible Treasure of all desireable riches as he is a Fountain which can never be drained so he doth not shut himself up he freely communicateth of his fulness to us If we be miserable we have only our selves to blame if we lack any thing it is because we do not ask if we cannot rest it is because we do not apply unto him We find him complaining of Mens backwardness to their own happiness but there was never any instance of his hard-heartedness Ye will not come unto me that ye may have life And to give all Confidence and Encouragement and to manifest his free and unlimited Goodness towards all therefore it is written by the Prophet Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money come ye buy and eat yea come buy wine and milk without money and without price Again And the Spirit and the Bride say come and let him that heareth say come And let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely So here it is Come unto me all ye that labour c. The adding this doth not restrain the Invitation or make it less general for this Epithet may be made of equal extent with Mankind it self for saith the Son of Sirach great travel is created for every man and an heavy yoke is upon the Sons of Adam from the day that they go out of their mothers womb till the day that they return to the mother of all things Ecclus. xl 1. By the words of labouring and
Fears The difference betwixt the godly and the wicked may be compared to that of two Persons at Sea in a most dangerous Storm where there is Hope of saving Life but nothing else But the one has a goodly Inheritance to live upon when he comes to Land and therefore cannot be much cast down whereas the other having lost his whole Stock and Substance is not only miserably damped with Grief for the Loss of that but also quite confounded with the Thoughts of his after Poverty and Misery Thirdly This Doctrine of the Certainty of another better Life serves greatly to comfort us under the Miseries and Calamities of this and therefore that we may have this Comfort let us both firmly fix the Belief of it in our Hearts and also frequently meditate thereon It is in vain for any to expect to pass thorow this World without Trouble and Affliction and there is no true support under any Affliction but the lively hope of that glory which is to be revealed with this one may bear the heaviest Cross chearfully and without it the lightest Affliction may overwhelm the spirit For this cause saith St. Paul we faint not for though our outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day for our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory Cheer up thy Spirit whosoever thou art that liest under the pressure of any Affliction if thou repentest of thy Sins if thou lovest God and be resolved to walk so as to please him why shouldst thou be cast down Lift up thine Eyes unto yonder Regions above and consider what an Interest thou hast there what a blessed Inheritance is there reserved for you Is thy condition here uneasie and troublesom and art thou still tossed about remember when thou comest there thou shalt have all Rest and Peace Art thou hated by Men and persecuted with their Hands and Tongues let not that vex thee seeing thou art Beloved of God and hast Friends Above who will shortly receive thee unto their everlasting Habitations where are good things which neither eye hath seen nor ear heard nor can the heart of man conceive them Take the spoiling of your Goods joyfully knowing that ye have in Heaven a better and an enduring substance Dost thou here suffer the want of all things bear it for a while patiently for when thou ascendest Heaven and enter'st into the presence of God thou shalt find fulness of joy and rivers of pleasures for evermore The bitterness of this Life shall be abundantly recompenced by the sweetness and happiness of the other There it is where we shall be comforted for all the days wherein we have been afflicted For there men shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the Sun light on them nor any heat for the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes When Columbus set first out to Sea in order to discover a New World he suffered unspeakable Straits Hardships and Difficulties The very reading of them is astonishing yet he still bore out by the hope of discovering Land which was very faint and uncertain for he only conjectured that there might be such a thing Now if such a faint and uncertain hope of an Earthly Country could make one run upon so many Hazards and bear up under such Disasters what a support to our Minds and a Comfort to our Spirits should the hope of an Heavenly Country be a Country whose Riches and Glory and Felicity we poor Mortals cannot conceive much less express And which is no Dream or Conjecture but which is clearly demonstrated to us by the Word of God And from which nothing can obstruct us if we be but stedfast and immoveable and always abounding in the work of the Lord. Death might have prevented Columbus's Discovery and robb'd him of that Satisfaction but Death cannot impede our passage unto Heaven for it is the very means of entring into it It is the very loosing of the Fetters and removing the Cloggs which detain us in this miserable Life and a setting us at Liberty to return to God whence we came and to take possession of that glorious Life which Christ hath purchased for us Fourthly and lastly Is there a Life after this and a blessed Life too Then certainly it becometh us to give all diligence to secure it for our selves 't is no less our Interest than our Duty It will not fall to our Lot by Chance and without we use true endeavours after it It is true Jesus Christ hath purchased this Life for us and payed the price of it without which no Man could ever have expected it But still it lies on us to qualifie our selves for it by the Performances of those Conditions on which it is granted and these are Faith and Holiness First We must have Faith for without this saith the Scripture it is impossible to please God And if it be impossible to please him without Faith it is impossible to expect Heaven without it for he will never admit one there who doth not please him He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him If you ask what Faith is It is to believe the Existence of God his Almighty Power his Infinite Wisdom his Incomprehensible Goodness and his most Wise and Watchful Providence It is to give a most hearty assent to the Truth of his Word to the Authority and Goodness of his Laws to the ineffable greatness of his Promises and to the Justice of his Threatnings It is to receive with Zeal and Affection the Lord Jesus Christ to own the miraculous Nature and Dignity of his Person and to acknowledge the Necessity Vertue and Usefulness of his Offices of Prophet Priest and King Finally it is to admit by a profound Humility the Incomprehensible Mystery of the Trinity and to depend upon the Influence and Operation of the Holy Spirit the third Person of the God-head Our Faith must comprehend all this And without this Faith no Man can be saved For unless a Man believe all that God has clearly proposed he not only does not honour God as he ought but he actually dishonours and affronts him Now the true evidence of this Faith is Holiness which is also the other Condition required of those that would be saved Faith without works saith St. Iames is dead And without holiness saith St. Paul no man shall see the Lord Heb. xii 14. How fit and proper unsanctified Persons may be for settling and propagating Christ's Kingdom upon Earth I do not well know but this I know and am sure of that none shall share of his Heavenly Kingdom but they who are pure as he is pure
because I do not look upon them as matters of such moment in themselves or of such concernment to me But believing the Truth of the Gospel and knowing the importance of what is revealed therein I find it my duty to esteem it as my necessary Food and that it is as proper and necessary to refresh my Soul with serious and daily Meditations thereof as to give my Body those repasts which Nature daily calls for This made our Apostle desire to know nothing save Iesus Christ and him crucified and to say doubtless I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Iesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ. And as such a Faith is required in all the Mysteries of the Gospel so more particularly in the Mystery of the Cross the Death and Sufferings of Jesus Christ and that Satisfaction he has made thereby for Sin These we should have an Eye to all in our Addresses to God and more especially such solemn Addresses as those we are now to make For he who believes this relies thereon and by vertue thereof draws near to God does confess himself a great Sinner that it had been just for God to have damned him eternally that it is only for the sake of Christ he is saved and that the Wisdom and Mercy of God is highly to be magnified in finding out such excellent Means and Methods for the Salvation of Man and by such Acknowledgments the greatest Sinner endears himself to God and conciliates his Favour and Kindness But he who denies this or has no respect thereto when he draws near to God must either not own himself a Sinner or not think it necessary to satisfie God's Justice or to repair his Honour which is provoked and affronted by Sin or he must not believe that Jesus Christ hath done this for us and that he is the only Mediator betwixt God and Man but must fancy he can come to God by himself or through some other besides Christ and which soever of these perswasions he has he is so far from finding acceptance that he at once both exasperates God and provoketh him who had undertaken to make his Peace and who only could do it I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh to the Father but by me therefore it 's said He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God Secondly I told you the Faith here required must also have a respect to our acceptance with God that is we must not only be firmly perswaded of God's Mercy and his good Will to save Sinners But that we our selves in particular shall find Grace in his Sight if we approach as we ought and bring no Impediment along with us and 't would seem the Translators of our Bible have chiefly respected this act of Faith in the Translation of this Text. Christ required of all those who came to him to be cured of their bodily Distempers Faith both in his Power and good Will And St. Matthew tells us He did no mighty works in his own countrey because of their unbelief St. Mark saith further that he could not do it Which we are not so to understand as if our Lord's Power could be restrained by any or that he depended upon Men for the exercise thereof but only that the want of this Faith rendred those Men unworthy of his Benefits and indisposed them for receiving them And as these temporal and bodily Benefits were not commonly conferred without this precious Faith so neither will spiritual and temporal Blessings as Mercy and Salvation be granted except to those who are disposed for them by earnest Desires and a sincere belief of God's being ready and willing to bestow them or at least if they be given to any other 't is not according to those ordinary Rules and Methods of the Dispensation of Grace which we ought to walk by For this Faith is always required as a necessary condition All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing ye shall receive saith Christ. And St. Iames saith Let not that man who wanteth Faith think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. This Faith is requisite both to animate our Endeavours after the means of Grace and Salvation and also to excite God's love and to encline him to be merciful to us 'T is natural to love those who put confidence in us and he has no spark of generosity who will not do his utmost for those who altogether rely on him if a Sinner can confide in God notwithstanding that he hath offended him if he throw himself at his Feet and can but believe that God has so much Mercy as to forgive him all his Sins and upon his Repentance to receive him into Favour for the sake of Christ He by this act so honoureth God and so obligeth him to Mercy by his trust in him that he will not he cannot abandon him This is set forth to us in the Parable of the Prodigal for when the Penitent Son was yet a great way off his Father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him And as this Faith enclines God to Mercy so it animates our Endeavours it excites and quickens us to a cheerful Performance of all the Means and Conditions of Salvation The Husbandman soweth when he has Hope and the Merchant Tradeth when he has Hope of Gain and every Man plyeth heartily what he believes will succeed but Men are discouraged and made to give over their Endeavours when they take up a Perswasion that they shall but labour in vain A double minded man saith St. Iames that is one who hangs in suspence who is tossed with Doubts and Fears he is unstable in all his ways Such an one is inconstant he pursues not his Enterprizes but desists he is not steadfast and unmoveable and always abounding in the work of the Lord as every one ought to be and as he will be who knows and believes that his Labour is not in vain When therefore we draw near to God let us do it in this full Assurance of Faith that we may do it heartily so as to please God let us not entertain Doubts and Fears which but disquiet our own Minds and cast dishonour upon God Would not a Servant reflect either upon the Ability or Honesty of his Master if he questioned his Reward for the sincere Performance of his Service If ye who are evil and sinful think your selves oblig'd to love and be faithful to those who seek to please you will not God think you be more faithful and just to forgive us and to receive us into his Favour if we approve our selves unto him Is there any thing surer than his Word Are not
FIFTEEN SERMONS PREACH'D upon Several Occasions AND ON Various Subjects By JOHN COCKBURN D. D. LONDON Printed by I. L. for William Keblewhite at the Swan in St. Paul's Church-yard MDCXCVII PREFACE PRefaces are employed commonly to give the Reasons for publishing the Book And it doth seem needful that what is prefixed to this should be of that Nature seeing there is no want of Sermons the Booksellers Shops are already filled with them and they lie upon their hand as a heavy Drug And when there are not only many Sermons but also Volumes of them preached by known learned and able Men it may seem strange to some what Reason or Encouragement there could be for Printing these which are liable to divers Prejudices some drawn from the Author and others less reasonable and just upon the account of his Country and its Dialect But Prefaces stuff'd with Reasons and Excuses for Writing and Printing are methinks so fulsome and useless that rather than write such an one tho' it be common I will leave the inquisitive to guess what they please and will run the hazard of a Censure for doing so A Book becomes not either more intelligible or more useful by knowing the private Motives of the Author for publishing it and therefore an Enquiry into them is to very little Purpose and the Knowledge of them in very few cases material It was long since observed by the wisest of Men That of making of Books there is no end which slews that Mankind in this as well as in other things has been always much the same in all Ages and Parts of the World This humour of Writing which flowed from different Motives tho' it has had several ill Consequences yet it has had also this good Effect That by this means Truth has been preserved and propagated and many useful Instructive things amongst the Ancients conveyed down to us To instance in some thing relative to the Subject of the following Sermons if it were not for the Writings of those in former times how could we prove the Antiquity and Constant Catholick and Uninterrupted Tradition of the most material Points of our Holy Religion which some have the Impudence to brand with Novelty I will both own and stedfastly maintain the Doctrine of these Sermons as Orthodox and necessary to be believed But I will not promise that all the Words and Phrases are currant in this Nation I cannot avoid the Dialect of my Country where I have lived so long And they must be very peevish who will make a Quarrel on that Head Neither did all the Grecian Authors write by the Standard of Athens nor the Roman by that of Rome There are interspersed in the Writings of the best particular Idioms of their native Soil which yet is no matter of Prejudice to the Wise and Iudicious nor doth it lessen the Esteem which is due to them The Idioms of a Language ought to have the Reception of Money amongst Merchants and Traders which they do not reject though it bear a foreign Stamp if it be good in it self and of full weight So neither ought the Dialect of another Country to be despised if it be Expressive and Emphatical Indeed when things are well expressed they are heard and read with Delight But there always ought to be a greater Regard to the Sence and Meaning than to the Expression which yet cannot be complained of justly if it clearly deliver the Sentiments of him who speaks or writes for then the true end of Speaking or Writing is observed And I am of Opinion that he who understands his Subject thorowly and has a clear and deep Sense of it cannot be straitned much how to express himself clearly and convincingly Obscurity except when it proceeds from the Sublimity of the Matter generally is a shrewd Sign of confused and indigested Notions I say generally only because of the Instances which may be given in the learned Mr. Thorndike and other eminent Men Which Defect in them perhaps was occasioned by their great Retirement and the confining their Thoughts altogether to one particular Study For Conversation and Acquaintance with divers Subjects are a great help to Discourse furnishing one not only with Copiousness of Words and received Expressions but also with various Similitudes and Allusions for clearing his Sentiments without which one can never be very eloquent The Stile and Eloquence proper for Sermons are not so easy as most imagine nor have we many perfect Examples of them and therefore if I fall somewhat short it is no great wonder It is hard to observe at once all the Rules and Measures which are necessary in every Sermon to gain it a just Commendation that is to make it useful and edifying to all who hear it The Design of Preaching is to teach the Truths of God the great Mysteries of the Gospel the wonderful Contrivance of Divine Wisdom for Man's Salvation and all that is necessary to it And he who preacheth that he may answer this Design ought to express his own Zeal Passion and Concernment for these things and he should so frame his Discourse that it may be suitable to the Gravity Sublimity and Importance of the Subject and so accommodated to the different Capacities of the Hearers that at the same time it may instruct convince and perswade both the meaner and better sort He who speaketh only to the learned the wise and the noble that is he whose Language and Notions such only can understand forgetteth that he ought to preach the Gospel to the poor and he does exclude from the Kingdom of Heaven those who were first called to it Again he who has no regard to the nice and delicate Understandings of the learned of Persons of good Sence and Quality and only uttereth mean sorry and coarse things he begets a Prejudice in them and so becomes the unhappy occasion of their not entering into Life because of their Contempt of the Means that are necessary to it Ill daub'd Sign-posts can never allure Persons of Iudgment and Skill they are only taken and pleased with what expresses Art Beauty and Life and what doth shew these will also be admired and preferred by those of the least Skill The Christian Religion which is the only proper Subject of Sermons is so perfect so just and reasonable so august and venerable that a due Representation of it deserves the most respectful Attention of the greatest in the World either for Learning Wisdom or Quality And yet the same Representation may be intelligible by those who have any Degree of Understanding and common Sence Indeed there are Mysteries in our Religion which the wisest cannot comprehend but as we are only required to believe them so the Truth and Certainty of them is most evident There are others also which are inexhaustible that is the deepest search cannot get to the bottom of them and the more one searches into them he still doth find the more matter of Admiration but then these
God I am saith Christ the way the truth and the life no man cometh into God but through me Ye believe in God believe also in me Him hath God the Father sealed And therefore he who doth not receive him nor believe in him giveth God the Lye If saith St. Iohn we receive the witness of men the witness of God is greater For this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son He that believeth on the Son hath the witness of himself he that believeth not God hath made him a liar because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son And again Who is a liar but he that denieth that Iesus is the Christ Whosoever denieth the Son the same hath not the Father To deny Jesus Christ will inferr a denial of God himself the same Prejudices against the one will obstruct a sound and sincere belief of the other They who have not had the Gospel offered unto them are not in the like Circumstances But they who do not believe after it has been duely and fairly represented to them are shrewdly to be suspected of Atheism as well as Infidelity Meer Deists are not far from Atheists The Truth of the Gospel and its Doctrine concerning Jesus Christ is almost if not altogether as demonstrable as the invisible things of God from things visible And to say That this vast frame of the World its various Parts and the variety of Creatures inhabiting those Parts was all the Effect of blind Chance and the Product of a confused jumbling of senseless Atomes to say this is no more absurd than to say that the admirable Harmony betwixt the Old and New Testament Books which were written by different Men at very distant times that the wonderful correspondence which the Life and Actions of Jesus Christ had to what went before that the Prophecies and their Accomplishment that all these I say were only the Dreams and Contrivances of Men the one choaks Reason as well as the other For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Iesus Christ but were eye-witnesses of his majesty For he received from God the Father honour and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy mount We have also a more sure word of prophecy whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day-star arise in your hearts Knowing this first that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost 2 Pet. i. 16 17 18 19 20 21. Having thus spoken to the First thing required in order to the obtaining rest viz. The coming to Christ and shewed both what it is and why it is exacted I proceed to The Second Condition or Means of Spiritual Rest which is said to be the taking Christ's Yoke upon us By Yoke in a Metaphorical sence is understood that Service which Superiours and Conquerours impose upon those who are subjected unto them Thus 1 King xii 4. The Service which Solomon imposed upon the People is called their Yoke So the Yoke of Christ is his Laws Precepts and Injunctions which he gives to his Disciples These are scattered up and down every where through the Gospels but most copiously set forth in the Sermon on the Mount to which we must add the Epistles of the Apostles which are infallible Commentaries upon the Divine Laws of their Master Jesus Christ. In a word The New Testament is the Codex or Corpus Iuris Christi the Body of the Christian Law which must be carefully studied by all who would know the Will of their Lord concerning them and the Duty which he requires of them And by this it clearly appears that Jesus has reinforced the Natural and Moral Law cleared it from the misprisions of Men discovered its full Latitude and brought it to all the Perfection which it is capable of So that to some it appears as if he had superadded to it and commanded Duties which Men were not obliged to formerly Whether it be so or not I will not debate it now But by the Laws of Jesus Christ all Sin whatsoever is forbidden the Sins of the Heart and Thoughts as well as the outward Man because both the one and the other fall under the Cognizance of Almighty God and are known to him And Sin is so peremptorily and severely Prohibited by the Christian Law that to shun it we are bid cut off our right hand and our right foot and pluck out our right eye that is to chuse to deprive our selves of the Nearest or Dearest or greatest Satisfaction rather than to run our selves into the danger of Sin by adhering to the same As all Sin is thus strictly forbidden so all Vertue and Holiness are expresly required The Laws of Jesus call for the greatest and most ardent love to God for an entire Submission to his Will a chearful Resignation to his Providence an active Zeal and Concernedness for his Glory and an anxious Care to please him They require a contempt of all Earthly things and the minding Heavenly things Contentment with every Condition and a Patient bearing of every Affliction Nay they exact the taking up the Cross that is that we suffer rather than Sin and freely undergo any trouble rather than either decline our Duty or offend God By the Precepts of Christ we are obliged to love our Neighbour that is all Men as our selves and to do to others as we would be done to We must abstain from all Injuries either to Soul or Body to Name or Estate and must lay our selves out to do all the good we can we must wrong no Man and Pardon those who have wronged us Whatever may seem to be the Voice of Nature or the Sentiments and Practices of Men Christ saith to us Love your Enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you And certainly Revenge is every way as inconsistent with Christianity as Theft Murder or Adultery and Whoremongers and Adulterers shall as soon enter into the Kingdom of Heaven as the Revengeful And unless the Gospel be a mere Sham or to be read backward neither the one nor the other shall be saved unless they have reconciled themselves to God by serious Repentance In a word the Doctrine of Jesus Christ teacheth us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world And finally whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoevor things are just whatsoever
good will and only holds off because he wants sufficient Instruction or that the Truth appears not to him with clearness and evidence there is place for Charity for in that case the defect is in the Judgment and not in the Will the Head and not the Heart is to blame But there is no place for Charity it self when one will not lay aside his Prejudices against the Truth when he employs his Wit to raise Objections and to find Shifts when the plainest Assertions will not prevail but rather than yield will do violence to his own reason and other Mens Such were the Scribes and Pharisees of old they would not receive Jesus as the Messias tho' he came at the time appointed and with all the Evidence that could be desired The Socinians now are rather more guilty they also wilfully resist the Truth and the holy Spirit of God who is the Author of it and therefore deserve to be abhorred they are among the Number of those false Teachers who privily bring in damnable heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and therefore bring upon themselves swift destruction as St. Peter speaks I wish what he subjoins there may not hold true of these times we live in especially amongst our selves viz. That many shall follow their pernicious ways There is a time of which it is said that every Man doth whatsoever is right in his own Eyes and there is a time not much unlike the other in which Men take liberty to speak what they please to teach and vent whatever Fancies come in their Head When the Order and Unity of the Church is broken when its Pastors and Governours cannot exert their Authority then the Enemy steps in and sowes his Tares then false Teachers arise and diffuse their Poisonous Doctrines We have not only reason to fear this but cause enough already to bewail and lament it for it is actually done This and other Damnable Errors came in with the late Troubles and they spread and grew up mightily under Cromwell his Usurpation which made Maresius utter these remarkable words O deplorandam conditionem Anglioe quoe post Reges exactos ipsi Christo Regi Regum mandat exilium nec videtur majorem libertatem magno cruore redemptam anhelasse quam ut Licentiam consequeretur faceret quidlibet audendi quidlibet scribendi quidlibet credendi O the deplorable Condition of England which having driven out their Kings now constrains the King of Kings to be Banished and it seems that they have panted after a Liberty even at the expence of much Blood only to obtain a Licence of Hearing Writing and Believing what they please I would not make this Remark if it was not necessary if these Errors were not Dangerous and Damnable if they did not strike at the root of our holy Religion and did not overturn all the hopes which the Catholick Church have been Building for near these Seventeen Hundred Years The Deity of Jesus Christ is not an idle Speculation which one may be safely ignorant of and which no body is obliged to know believe or profess as an insolent Unworthy Author in a late Blasphemous Pamphlet is pleased to talk No certainly it is a Truth of the highest Importance which shines in the Scriptures with all clearness and evident Splendor and where every one that reads may see the express Belief and Acknowledgment of it required as absolutely necessary to Salvation Wherefore let us take care to build our selves up in this Faith and to do it this Day is not improper nay it is very proper for we cannot commemorate his Birth with sufficient Admiration and Thankfulness if we do not believe the Dignity of his Person our Joy and Gladness will fall low and vanish into nothing if we be not perswaded that the Child which was this Day Born and given unto us was truly Immanuel or God with us And what small hopes can we raise to our selves from the Sacrament which is to be Administred if we be not assured that by it is communicated and applied unto us the Merits of one who is God as well as Man and so both able and willing to save to the uttermost such as come unto him For evincing of this Important Useful and Comfortable Truth I need not go beyond the Text for there it is plainly and fully asserted For 1. You see that here the Apostle declares Jesus Christ to have pre-existed or to have had a Being before he was Man for unless he had subsisted before it could not have been said that he took upon himself the form of a Servant and that in so doing he made himself of no reputation for what is not in being cannot assume to it self an Existence nor make choice of the manner and condition of its Existence 2. It is clear by what the Apostle saith that the state in which he pre-existed was preferable to and more glorious than that in which he was made or found in the likeness of Men otherwise it could not be true that he made himself of no reputation when he became Man By which expression also it appears that the Apostle evidently referrs to some pre-existent state for unless he debased himself by submitting to be Born he cannot be said to debase himself by any after Act for neither his Birth nor first Years were so glorious as his last in which he appeared as a Prophet at least and a very eminent one too full of Power and Authority 3. We see clearly here his Divinity and Godhead in that it is said expresly he was or subsisted in the form of God and in that state thought it not Robbery to be equal with God By subsisting in the form of God there must be understood 1. A real participation of the Divine Nature and all its essential Attributes as Wisdom Power Goodness Eternity c. for the form of a thing is its Essence and to partake of the form of any thing is to have the Essence of that thing 2. This comprehends the Majesty Glory Authority Splendor and Dignity which agrees to the infinite and incomprehensible Nature of God and all those Acts Signs and Tokens by which the great God manifests himself to the heavenly Inhabitants for the form of a King is not the Name or Simple Right to hold that Name but it comprehends the Marks Badges and Emblems of Royal Dignity as the Purple the Scepter and Diadem the Throne and Guards and what else the Laws of Nations or the particular Custom of Kingdoms make declarative of Majesty and Kingly Power This is the form of a King and he who doth not possess this cannot be said to be in the form of a King So the form of God is the Glory Dignity Majesty and Greatness which is due to so high a Name And by ascribing to Jesus Christ the form of God is declared that he not only in himself did partake of the Divine Nature but also that
be stiled after it did import their relation to and interest in that state The word Behold denotes the certainty of what he foretells by saying the days are coming he lets them know that the Calamity approacheth and is not far off as indeed it fell out within Forty Years The greatness and dreadfulness of that Calamity he holds out by telling that it shall be then said Blessed are the barren and the womb that never bare and the paps which never gave suck For these words are not to be taken absolutely but with a respect unto these Evil days In times of Peace in the days of Prosperity it is a great Blessing and Comfort to have Children and especially it was thought so among the People of the Iews But in times of grievous Trouble and sad Calamity when War or Famine or Pestilence rageth they who have Children are more heavily afflicted than those who want them for besides the Evils which they suffer in their own Person they suffer also in the Persons of their Children and are affected with their Misery Moreover Women who are either with Child or who have young Ones sucking at their Breast cannot so easily escape Calamities or provide against them as others Some also do think that this may have a particular reference to what afterwards fell out at the Destruction of Ierusalem viz. That during the strictness of the Siege some were reduced to that strait that to preserve their own Lives they Eat the flesh of their own Children which could not but be very grievous to Parents However it is to be interpreted not with any relation to Peoples Spiritual or Eternal State for in respect of that there is no difference betwixt the having and wanting Children but it is to be understood wholly as to this Life and that too only in relation to Times of great Trouble and sad Calamity As to what follows that then they shall begin to say to the Mountains fall on us and to the Hills cover us This is a further intimation of the dreadful Calamity of these Days for People shall then be in such Consternation and Fear that they shall wish Death rather than Life and any kind of sudden Death rather than to live to see and feel such unspeakable Misery And as all this was foretold here and Matth. 24. so whoever is pleased to read Iosephus his History will find That all was actually accomplished upon Flavius Vespasian and Titus his Son their Invading Iudaea Besieging and Sacking of Ierusalem For if they do these things in a green tree what shall be done in a dry As it is a Proverbial Speech so it is here used by our Lord both for a Proof of the Prediction and also as a Reason why such Evils are inflicted Green Wood is neither proper nor profitable fewel but sure if they be forced to cut it down and make use of it they will not pass by what is dry and withered and good for nothing so seeing God has suffered his own Son to be thus treated who never displeased him they might assure themselves that such gross and notorious Sinners would not escape As St. Peter says If the Righteous scarcely are saved where shall the Wicked and Ungodly appear Our Lord by comparing himself here to a green flourishing and fruitful Tree doth point out the greatness of their Sin who thus treated him and persecuted him to Death with such Malice and Cruelty And he also clearly intimates to them that for this Cause all these Evils would come upon them A little before this time he laid it more plainly home to them by the Parable of the wicked Husband-men who when they saw the Son said This is the Heir come let us kill him and seize on the Inheritance And accordingly they caught him and cast him out of the Vineyard and slew him The Doom of these Husband-men the Iews pronounced with their own Mouth for when our Lord asked when the Lord of the Vineyard cometh what will he do unto these Husband-men They replied He will miserably destroy these wicked men and will let out his Vineyard to other Husbandmen which shall render him the fruits in their season Upon which he instantly added Did ye never read in the Scriptures the stone which the Builders refused the same is become the head of the corner This is the Lord 's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes Therefore I say unto you the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken but on whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to powder The Application was so plain and the meaning so obvious that it is said that the Chief-Priests and Pharisees perceived that he spoke of them Matth. xxi 38 39. These Predictions and the Event which in all things answered them declare what a heinous Crime it is to be guilty of shedding the Blood of Jesus and what a Provocation it was to the great God to see his Son crucified by Men. But some may perhaps say what is all this to us This was the Sin of the Iews long since committed and which can never be acted over again seeing Jesus the Son of God has his abode in Heaven and so is out of the reach of Men and therefore it is impertinent to insist now upon it They who say or think so must give me leave to say that they are mistaken and do deceive themselves for Christ may yet be Crucified and with as great Provocation to God nay with greater than was before Doth not St. Paul tell us Heb. vi 6. of some who crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to open shame and both by that Chapter and the 10th we are made to understand who they are that do it viz. They who Sin wilfully after they have received the Knowledge of the Truth They that undervalue the Death of Jesus and are not so affected with it as to hate and forsake Sin which was the cause of it but on the contrary cherish indulge and love it for they who do so by an after Act consent to his Death and are guilty of his Blood Not to speak what Jesus suffers in his Servants and Members by the Persecutions which they meet with for his Sake and for their Observance of his Laws Jesus still suffers immediately in himself when his Doctrine is despised his Authority affronted and his Power resisted They who question the veracity of his Doctrine confirmed by Miracles and Prophecies laugh at the Truth and Mysteries which he hath revealed and quarrel at his Ordinances and Institutions these Persons do violence to his Prophetical Office They who lessen the Merits of his Death and the worth and price of that Sacrifice which he offered they who advance their own Righteousness and put little or no Confidence in his Mediation and make the Mediation of others as necessary they
the right hand of God Finally let us be stedfast and unmoveable always abounding in the Work of the Lord for our labour is not in vain Now the God of Peace that brought again from the Dead our Lord Iesus that great Shepherd of the Sheep through the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant make you perfect in every good Work to do his Will working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Iesus Christ to whom be Glory for ever and ever Amen SERMON VII ON EASTER-DAY 1 JOHN V. 12. He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life THE Yoke of Christ is so far from being heavy and troublesome that on the contrary it is very Light and Easie His Commands are so far from being Grievous that they are very Profitable and in keeping of them there is great Reward It is no less our Interest than our Duty to become Christians and we cannot shew our selves more Wise more Careful of our own Welfare than when we give our selves up to be the Disciples of Jesus Christ and to follow him whithersoever he leads us For by doing so we secure to our selves all desireable Happiness What is more desireable than Life Now He that hath the Son hath Life but he that hath not the Son of God hath not Life The Meditation of these words can never be Unseasonable it may always be Useful and Profitable but it is especially very proper and pertinent for the Day and Work which we are now setting about I pray God we may so clearly understand these words and so seriously consider them that we may not from any constraint or formality only but chearfully and heartily join our selves to the Lord Jesus Christ and resolve to maintain not only an External Communion with him in his Sacraments and Ordinances but an Internal one also by Faith Love and Obedience that by so doing we may obtain that Life and all the Blessed Fruits and Benefits of it which is in and through him Now That we may Treat of this Text the more profitably we shall first Explain the Phrases here used of having the Son and of Life and then shall shew how True it is That he who hath the one hath the other also As to the First By the Son of God we are to understand here the Lord Jesus Christ the History of whose miraculous Conception and Birth and Death and Resurrection and Ascension we have fully Recorded and plainly set down in the Four Gospels that this is the Person which St. Iohn designs and points at here is so Evident that it needs not to be proved who Reads the Epistle or but takes notice of the 1 5 and 20 Verses of this Chapter will find it past all doubt In this Epistle Jesus Christ is not only frequently stiled the Son of God but the Necessity of believing it is also clearly held out by the Apostle thus Chap. ii 23. Whosoever denieth the Son the same hath not the Father but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also And a little before our Text He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself he that believeth not God hath made him a liar because he believeth not the Record which God gave of his Son And This St. Iohn insists the more upon because even in his time there were some Cerinthus and Ebion by name who began to spread Damnable Heresies denying the Divinity of Jesus Christ and giving him out to be only a meer Man In Refutation of whom it is said also that he wrote his Gospel at the desire of the Asian Bishops And in it indeed he sets himself more than any other of the Evangelists to advance this great Truth That Jesus is the Son of God not by Adoption or upon the account of his Sanctity and Divine Mission which hath given the Title to other Men but after a peculiar and ineffable manner so that None other is or can be the Son of God as he is for he doth evidently hold him out to be the only begotten Son of God and declares his Eternal Generation and Godhead by clear and Undoubted Testimonies St. Iohn doth not only with the other Evangelists Record such Actions and Speeches of Jesus Christ from which his Deity may be inferred and deduced they speaking out both an Omnipotency and Omniscience But he expresly calls him God and brings in our Lord frequently asserting his Oneness and Equality with the Father in plain and clear terms and both suffering some and calling upon others to pay him equal Homage and Worship with the Father which he would never have done but would have guarded against if he had not been the Son of God in that sence which the Catholick Church hath believed it for then it would have been Idolatry and a downright robbing of God Jesus could not be Ignorant whether he was the Son of God or no neither can we suppose him to swerve from the Truth or to go about to perswade Men to believe in the least what was not True for if he had not been Truth God would not have born Witness to him by so many Prophecies before he came to the World by so many Audible Voices and Wonders when he was in it by raising him from the Dead and finally by confirming the Preaching of the Gospel both with Signs and Wonders and with diverse Miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost If we receive the witness of Men the witness of God is greater and this is the witness of God which he hath testified That Iesus Christ is his Son And who will not believe and receive the Testimony which God hath given to his Son maketh him a Liar He who refuseth this opposeth himself to the Truth of God and so reproacheth and dishonoureth him who hath so positively and so many ways testified of him And Therefore it is said by this Apostle as we cited before Whosoever denieth the Son the same hath not the Father And in the following Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God And as the Denying of Jesus Christ to be the Son of God is a Reproaching the Truth of God so also it is a Despising of his Wisdom and an Endeavouring to baffle and Undervalue all the admirable contrivances thereof and all the Wise and Wonderful Dispensations of his Providence and the Eternal Purposes of his Counsel For as all things are of Christ and through him so all things were designed with a respect to him The Creating of the World the permitting of Man to fall the Miraculous Constitution of the Iewish Nation and the no less wonderful Preservation thereof for so many Years the Shame Ignominy and Banishment which that People suffer now the Calling of the Gentiles all God's Dealings with Men and Angels and in a word all that hath hitherto fallen out and all that is to be any time hereafter and the End
thy self thus disposed thus inclined thus resolved And is this any ways to be seen in thy Life and Conversation Then be of Courage thou hast true Faith and see thou take heed to preserve what thou hast to cherish and encrease it But if thou can'st not shew thy Faith by such Works and Fruits as these thy Faith is vain it is dead and life-less and will not avail thee for these Works and Effects do as necessarily flow from true Faith as Light and Heat from the Sun And as our Lord saith ye may know the Tree by its Fruit. Every good tree bringeth forth good Fruit but that which beareth no fruit is barren and useless it cumbereth the ground and is only fit for the fire This some will say perhaps is severe Doctrine but it is true it maketh many Christians to be nothing but Infidels which is sad indeed but who can help it We must not alter the Nature of Faith to make Men Believers but ought rather to exhort them not to deceive themselves with Shadows and Appearances with mere Fancies and Conceits but to seek seriously after that Faith which is true and unfeigned In all other things Mens Perswasions appear by their Actions and why should not Faith in Christ do so too He who is inwardly affected and delighted with Honour is always seeking after Preferment he who thinks it a fine thing to be rich is ever catching at Gain he who is perswaded of the Evil of any thing doth certainly forbear it and who apprehends any thing to be good will not fail to endeavour the getting it Must then Faith in Christ the Belief of the Gospel be the only Idle Dull and ineffectual Perswasion No certainly it is impossible but this will be active as well as the other Consider I pray you and you cannot but acknowledge that Barrenness in good Works and especially the Habit and frequent Practice of Sin is inconsistent with a true Faith and hearty Belief of the Gospel For I ask if any Person should pretend a Kindness and Affection for you and yet neither defend your Interest nor Reputation nor any way bestir himself in your behalf when he had fair Occasions for it would you believe him And if he should be easily drawn to pick a Quarrel with you to side with your Enemies to molest and trouble you would not you challenge him of Falshood and Hypocrisie Now make Application to the Case in hand and tell me then how can he be freed of Hypocrisie who pretends to believe in Christ and yet refuseth to be directed by him never minds what is pleasing to him but is with every small Temptation carried to the Transgression of his Laws Let me therefore beseech you not to rest in a lazy sluggish unactive Faith if such a thing should be called Faith But rather seek after that true Faith which will abide the Test and hold good though never so narrowly searched and examined and whose Fruits are not Words and an outward Profession only but Obedience and a sincere Compliance with all the parts of the Gospel also If you ask how this is to be attained I answer with St. Paul faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God Give a diligent Ear to the Word of God read and meditate on the Scriptures frequently and seriously consider their inward Evidence and those unquestionable Testimonies have been given for evincing their Authority lay aside all Prejudice hearken attentively to Christ himself for he is Light and Truth and none can deeply contemplate him but shall be convinced and constrained to believe in him But this we must do often and seriously for by short light and inconsiderate Thoughts we cannot learn the Truth of any thing almost Let us love the Truth and be desirous to know the Truth and it shall not be hid from us For God is willing that all men come to the knowledge of the Truth If the Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ who is the Image of God should shine into them Be not selfish nor weded to any Lust pray to God for the Spirit of Grace cherish and be tractable to its Motions and then no doubt he will remove from you all Infidelity work in you Faith and make that the Word of Christ shall richly dwell in you in all Wisdom Thus we have seen what the Apostle means by having the Son that it is to believe in Christ to have him dwelling in our Hearts by Faith and that the necessary Fruits and Effects thereof is the living to him and for him the doing all things for his Glory and the studying carefully to demean our selves always according to his holy Word It follows next that we consider what that Life is which is here promised and assured to every one who hath the Son Life hath divers Acceptations in Scripture Sometimes it is taken for our natural Life and the Comforts and Accommodations thereof in this World But though it be true that he who hath the Son hath this Life yet this is not the Apostle's Aim here This Life is neither the End nor the Reward of our Faith Christ came not to the World to be a Provisor for it It is true to free us from immoderate Care and Anxiety he hath given us some Assurance of necessary Supplies And as St. Paul saith Godliness hath the promise of this life But these things are given in common to the Wicked and to the Godly to Believers and to Infidels yea sometimes their Share is greater And therefore the same Apostle saith If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable and that not only upon the Account of those many Crosses and Persecutions which our Faith and sincere Profession of Christ sometimes expose us to But also because Faith raiseth our Thoughts higher than this Life it begets in us a disgust of this World and all that is to be found in it and even to despise Life it self except that it affords the Occasion and Capacity of better things What a poor mean silly thing is it for one to live only that he may eat drink and walk abroad and behold a great deal of impertinent noise and stir about Trifles and things of no Moment What is there here to be seen but a dull ill acted Tragedy a constant Scene of Folly Impertinency and Sorrow How languid and grievous must such a sight be And especially when we cannot be simple Spectators and Beholders but are often necessitated to be Actors and Partners also A mere Heathen thro' natural Philosophy and the Improvement of his Reason may bring himself to despise and undervalue this present Life and much more a Christian who sees by a better and clearer Light The present Dispensation of Providence in
to eat the forbidden Fruit and was the Occasion of all that Misery which came upon them and us both But behold we are now to become as God in a higher better and truer sense than what they aimed at or could have come to by any Fruit tho' it had not been forbidden Behold what manner of Love is this wherewith the Father hath loved us that we should be called the Sons of God! What ineffable Glory What high Dignity is this that Man is now exalted to Lord what is Man that thou art so mindful of him And the Son of Man that thou visitest him Thou hast made him but a little lower than the Angels here in this World and hereafter thou designest to make him equal to them yea like unto thy self How astonishing are the Thoughts of this What Admiration may they breed Especially when all this Glory and Honour is not for a Day a Month or a Year but to all Eternity The Duration of this State is another Reason why the Apostle calls it Life What is short and momentany deserves not the Name of Life and therefore our Life in this World is reckoned in Scripture but as a Breath a Vapour it is to be esteemed but as a Puff of Wind. But that Life above suffers no Changes it is unalterable it never hath an end it lasts not only a thousand thousand Years but for ever and ever Here we think much if we have a few Days Peace and Contentment But they who are in Heaven are eternally happy Thus we see what sort of Life it is our Text speaks of If you ask to whom are we indebted for it Look to the preceeding Verse and there you will find it This is the Record that God hath given to us Eternal Life and this Life is in his Son It is to Jesus Christ only that we owe the Obligation it is by him and through him and for him that we come to Life for he only is the Discoverer of it he only is the Author of it and only hath the disposing and giving of it First he is the Discoverer thereof he hath brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel Before the Gospel was published Men were ignorant of this Life neither the Certainty nor Nature of it were known The Wise Heathens indeed had some Notion of a Life after this they judged it reasonable that the Soul should survive the Body But however all they talkt were mere Conjectures they had no Assurance of the Truth And tho' it be certain that the Jews had the Promise of Eternal Life as well as temporal good things and that all the pious and holy Men among them lived in Expectation of it yet it was so darkly revealed even to them that you know there was one Sect amongst them who denied the Resurrection altogether and even those who believed it had no very right and worthy Thoughts thereof or else they might have soon refuted the Sadducees gross Apprehensions But whatever Knowledge either Jews or Heathens of old had of another Life it is to be ascribed to Christ for he is the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World And now he hath put this Matter clearly out of Doubt Neither the Resurrection from the dead nor the Life hereafter needs now be disputed as doubtful Problems for Jesus Christ hath given evident Demonstrations of the Truth of them by his plain Assertions and express Promises and his own Resurrection But Secondly Christ is not only the Discoverer of Eternal Life but the Author thereof also There was more required to the attaining this than the mere Discovery of it This was above humane reach It was too great a height for Man of himself to climb to If any had attempted this trusting in his own worth he had been certainly baffled and defeated His Boldness as it served to be laught at so it should have been punished But as Christ hath shewed us this so he hath purchased it for us It is the Merits of Christ which have opened the Kingdom of Heaven and it is by his Strength that we perform the Conditions of entering into it And when we have performed the Conditions it is even he himself who bestows it on us for he is that holy one who hath received the key of David who openeth and no man shutteth and shutteth and no man openeth It is he who putteth on us the Crown of Life When we have done our Work it is from him that we receive Reward and this Reward is promised to all who believe Which leads us to the last particular namely to shew That all who have the Son have Life This is a Point we need not stand much upon for it is so clear and evident not only through this Epistle but the whole New Testament there is not the least shadow of pretence for the doubting of it Verily verily I say unto you saith Christ he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into Condemnation but is passed from death unto life And again it is said he that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God Believers have full assurance of Eternal Life for their Faith unites them to Christ. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood that is believeth in Christ dwelleth in me and I in him See also Chap. xvii Now Christ and his Members will not be divided where the one is the other will be also Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me And we are sure the Father heareth the Son Believers also have good ground to hope for Eternal Life for Faith is the very Seed and Principle from which it flows The Life of Faith is the beginning of the Life of Glory the one is but the Perfection and Completion of the other Blessed is he therefore who believeth for there shall be a Performance of those things which are told him from the Lord. It is Faith then and Faith only which giveth us a title to Eternal Life such a Faith I mean as was formerly described He that so believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him They who do not and will not embrace Christ here shall not be Embraced by him hereafter They who refuse his Yoke in this World shall in the World to come be cast out of his glorious Kingdom and thrown to that place of darkness where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth Now that we may draw to a close what an Influence should these Considerations have upon our Souls What a holy disdain should they work in us
Order and Purity and will make Religion and Truth to flourish to our Praise and Renown Abroad our Peace and Comfort at Home and to further and facilitate our attainment of Eternal Life hereafter Amen SERMON IX On REV. II. 17. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna and will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it THESE words were first directed to the Church of Pergamus but they were not intended for that Church only for every one is required to give ear to them We have all the same Vocation the same Obligations are on us and the same rewards are proposed to us and therefore likewise we are all tied to the same Duty The different Stations and Orders of the Church do indeed call for some difference in Persons behaviour but otherwise all Christians have the same task enjoined them and what is spoken to one is spoken to all The first thing here called for is an Attention to the Voice of God a listning to what his Spirit saith unto us Let him who hath an ear hear c. So likewise began the Law and the Prophets for their usual Preface was Hear O Israel Hearing is a sign of a ready and willing Mind and is necessary to prepare the way to those other Acts and Exercises required of us It is indeed neither the only nor the main thing we have to do and therefore they who are only Hearers deceive themselves as St. Iames speaks As the Body would be deformed if it were all Ear so that Mans Religion is mis-shapen which is wholly exercised in Hearing But however Hearing is necessary it must not swallow up all other Parts of the Christian Service but neither must it be slighted and neglected He who turns away his Ear and will not hear shews an averseness to his Duty and though he would set himself to it he could not go rightly about it for all our knowledge of Spiritual things comes by Hearing This is not to be fetcht from within and therefore he who heareth not must continue in gross Ignorance We should begin with Hearing and we should never cease to hear that we may be informed of our Lord's Will that we may be kept in Mind of it and finally quickned to it as Servants wait daily on their Masters to know their Pleasure and to receive their Commands so should we wait on God I will saith the Psalmist hear what God the Lord will speak This is every ones Duty none are exempted from it not the Ignorant to be sure nor yet he who thinks he hath Knowledge The Man of leisure and he who is retired from the World can pretend no excuse nor will the Man of business be excused if he neglect to hear As many as have Ears and Faculties to perceive are obliged and commanded to hear for the words of our Text are Let him who hath ears which certainly comprehends all and every one But as we are obliged to hear so we ought to take heed how we hear as it is Luke viii 18. That we hear aright else we had better not hear at all Now he hears not rightly who lets only the Voice or the sound of the Word strike his Ear But who suffers it to pierce thorow to his Mind and inner Man and to leave an impression there Wherefore as we must hear so we ought to have our Ears well purg'd of whatever may stop what is spoken from going to the Heart or hinder its working there For the hearing here required is opus animi non auris It 's a pondering with the Mind as well as hearkning with the Ear. Wherefore as St. Iames adviseth we ought to lay aside prejudice and filthiness and all superfluity of naughtiness and to receive with meekness the ingrafted Word of God And sure none can refuse this who considers either the dignity of him who speaks or the excellency of what is spoken He who speaks is greater than Socrates or Plato or any of the ancient Philosophers whom many travelled far to hear speak He is greater than Solomon whom the Queen of Sheba was so desirous to hear And what is delivered doth not tickle the fancy but satisfies and ravishes the Mind It is not airy Notions and fruitless Speculations which we are bid hear but a Word which is able to save our Souls And that we may hear this joyful and comfortable Word we must not listen to the dictates of our corrupt Nature nor to the Maxims of a degenerate World nor to the particular Traditions of Elders for these do often misguide us and tho' sometimes they seem to speak fair yet they only flatter that they may the better deceive and ensnare us to make void the Commandments of God Neither the Clamours of the People nor the Calls of the Court are always to be hearkned to for the Psalmist tells us that both the one and the other have sometimes consulted and conspired against the Lord and against his Christ. We must not answer every Voice nor believe every Spirit for there be many Lying and false Spirits in the World But we must only hearken to what the Spirit of God saith and then we are sure not to be deceived This holy Spirit sometimes speaks to us by inward Motions and Inspirations to Truth and Goodness and would certainly do it oftner if we were rightly disposed and careful to attend to them but it always speaketh to us in the Scriptures they are the Voice of God which we ought to hear for no Scripture is of private Interpretation neither did the Penmen of Scripture speak and write of their own Head but as they were moved by the Holy Ghost So then it is not Man who speaks to us in the Scripture but the Spirit of God And seeing God is not like Man that he should alter his Mind seeing his Will as his Nature is unchangeable therefore nothing is from God which contradicts what is said to us in the Scripture and therefore also whatever Voice we hear whether within us or without us we ought to compare the same with what the Spirit saith to the Churches in the Scripture If it agree therewith we have reason to believe and obey it But if they sound not alike if there be no Harmony but a perfect Discord betwixt them then that is not from God It is but a Cheat and Delusion which disagreeth with the written Word and ought to be rejected whoever brings it But it is to be remembred that the quoting Texts of Scripture and the speaking in Scripture terms is not a certain sign that they who do so are true Prophets or that their Doctrine is true and from God for Men may and often do wrest the Scripture and use it ignorantly and impertinently The Devil when
In the following Chapter verse 12. There is express mention of Christ's New Name By which we are to understand the new clear full and perfect Manifestation of the Truth and Importance of his Name Jesus Christ for as when God appeared to Moses Exod. vi 3. He called Iehovah a New Name not known to the Patriarchs because he executed the Promise made to them and so manifested his Faithfulness and Unchangeableness signified by that Name For otherwise it cannot be said but that this particular Name was known before as well as that of Almighty So because hereafter there shall be a clear Discovery of the Signification of Jesus Christ and of the Truth of that Signification because the Salvation and Redemption implied in this Name shall be fully revealed therefore it is called his New Name At present we call him Jesus Christ our Lord but hereafter we shall see and feel him effectually to be so now the Salvation he hath purchased is the Object of our Hope but then we shall behold it with our Eyes and be made to contemplate the Glory of his Kingdom to our unspeakable Comfort and Satisfaction But seeing it is said a New Name and not my New Name therefore it would seem that we are to understand it of the Name of him who receives it and seeing Names are the Marks of things and are often taken so in Scripture therefore by New Name we ought to understand the New State and Condition which the Saints and those whom God honoureth shall be put into The Name given to the first Man was Adam and it is common to us all for it sheweth our Original and Condition to be earthly we came from the Dust and to the Dust we must return Our present State is corruptible and makes us liable to Death The Immortality Man would have had in Paradise if he had continued his Integrity would not have been the Effect of his natural Force but of a supernatural Vertue for the natural Composition of our Body tends to Corruption But when this corruptible State is done away there shall succeed another better State even an Heavenly and Incorruptible one which is implied by this New Name As is the earthy such are they also that are earthy and as is the heavenly such are they also that are heavenly and as we have born the image of the earthy we shall also bear the image of the heavenly for this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality 1 Cor. xviii 48 58. There remains no more to be explained but the very last words of the Text the sense of which seems not to be very obvious for if the white stone and new name be to be understood of our Iustification and Glorification as I have said how then can it be said that no man knoweth it but he who receiveth it For will not our Absolution be pronounced before all the World is not God to justifie us in the General Assembly of Angels and Men Will not the Devil and Damned behold the Saints entrance into Glory which will not a little aggravate their Misery The Triumph of Iesus Christ is too glorious to be concealed and the Glory which he will bestow on his faithful Servants is too Splendid to be hid But to this it may be replied First That indeed the matter of this Joy and Glory may and will be known unto others but none except those who possess it can have a true sense of it or understand it The Sentence of our Absolution shall indeed be pronounced before all the World The wicked yea the Devils themselves shall hear these blessed Words which proceed from our Saviour's Mouth Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you but none except those to whom they are spoken shall understand or comprehend the fulness of the Consolation which they give The outside of Mens Condition may be seen and the external matter of their Happiness may be known but no view of things can make any taste the sweetness of them or be sensible of the Delectation which they afford any who hath the use of Reason may perswade himself that the state of the Saints in Heaven will be magnificent and glorious even to Admiration But without the actual possession of that State it is simply impossible to conceive or to have any true sensation of the Joy and Delectableness thereof as none can have a true Idea of the Beauty of Colours or the Harmony of Musick or the Sweetness of Honey but by Seeing Hearing and Tasting of them Notwithstanding of what has been revealed of Heaven St. Iohn saith It doth not yet appear what we shall be But Secondly Some put another gloss upon the words and considering that they run in the Present Tense and not in the Future for it is None knoweth it but he that receiveth and not none shall know but he that shall receive Therefore they conclude that the Receiving and Knowledge meant of relate to something in this present Life and not to that which is to come and that so the meaning must be that none at present knoweth these things or has any sense or apprehension of them but they who have received by the Grace and Spirit of God an earnest of them that they are unintelligible Mysteries to all except to them who believe None other do regard them or are sensible of the worth of them As the Cross of Christ is a stumbling-block to the Iews and foolishness to the Greeks so the Glory and the Happiness of the other Life are reckoned Dreams and Ravings by the Men of the World who are void of Faith whereas Faith both discovers the certainty and also gives some fore-taste of the unspeakable excellency thereof For faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence or Conviction of things not seen As God gave Moses a sight of the Land of Canaan on the top of Pisgah so Christians by Faith have a sweet and desireable Prospect of Heaven and the Happiness of the other World It not only assures them that there is such a thing but also makes them sensible that it excelleth all the Delights and Enjoyments under the Sun that nothing in this World is worthy to be compared unto that which is to be revealed As Faith is the chief Weapon and Instrument to be used in gaining this Spiritual Victory so it ascertains us of our Reward and convinceth us of the greatness thereof If we have Faith we shall easily overcome and also be fully perswaded that our labour shall not be in vain Do you Believe I hope you do why then sit you still Why go you not out to fight the Battles of the Lord Arise I pray you and prove your Strength and Valour against his Enemies and your own they are now busy and there is no Truce to be granted unto them Bestirr your selves therefore suffer them not to catch any advantage over you
are now ashamed is not the end of these things death for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Iesus Christ our Lord. Let not therefore sin reign any more in your mortal bodies that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin but your members as instruments of righteousness unto God Be not afraid or discouraged at his Laws for there is none of them grievous saith the Apostle St. John The law of the Lord is perfect saith David Converting the soul his statutes are right rejoicing the heart they are more to be desired than gold yea than much fine gold sweeter also than honey or the honey-comb And in keeping them there is great reward For if being made free from Sin we become Servants to God and have our fruit unto Holiness our end shall be everlasting Life to the which God bring us all in his good time Amen SERMON XI A PREPARATION TO THE Holy Communion HEBREWS X. 22. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience and our bodies washed with pure water THese Words are an Inference or Conclusion drawn from a Doctrine formerly delivered as appears from the illative Particle Therefore in the 19th Verse And there you have also the Summ of the Doctrine it self viz. That there is now free access unto God through Iesus Christ which the Apostle declareth in figurative Expressions with an Allusion to the Jewish Temple not only because he was writing to Hebrews but also because that Temple and the way of entering thereinto was a Type of this great Truth which is revealed by the Gospel That Iesus Christ is a true and the only Mediator betwixt God and Man that by him Men may confidently draw near to God and hope for Acceptance St. Paul has asserted and endeavoured to make out in the former part of this Epistle and indeed he hath proved and made it most evident so that there can remain no doubt thereof except in those who obstruct their own Conviction not desiring to be convinc'd Now the proper and practical Improvement of this certain important and most desireable Truth is what you have in the Words of our Text For they contain an Exhortation to lay hold on this gracious Privilege and with all they shew us how and after what manner we should do it so as to obtain it I shall first speak to the Exhortation it self next of the Qualities here required of such as design to comply with the Exhortation and lastly make Application of all to the present business of the Sacrament To begin then with the Exhortation which is in these words Let us draw near To what or whom we should draw near is not here express'd but is to be gathered from what goeth before whereby we understand that it is God to whom we are here desired to draw near And seeing it is so by drawing near here cannot be meant any Motion of our Body towards God for as to his Glorious and Majestick Presence in the Heavens we cannot approach it though we would and as for his other Essential Presence neither can we avoid it though we would too for he fills both Heaven and Earth Whither shall I go from thy Spirit Or whither shall I flee from thy presence said David If I ascend up into Heaven thou art there If I make my bed in hell behold thou art there To draw near to God therefore is a metaphorical Speech and must be understood not of any natural Action of the Body but of some moral Action of the Soul viz. The Desires and Endeavours after Peace and Reconciliation with God For because those who are Enemies and at variance together use to keep a Distance and shun each other's Company therefore in Scripture they who never think of God take no Care to please him and those who make no Difficulty to offend him are said to be far from God and to go a whoring from him And on the other hand because those who lay aside their Enmity and are desirous to be made Friends usually meet and resort to one anothers Company therefore drawing near to God in the Scripture Language is put for the Inclination of our Souls toward him the seeking to have all manner of Enmity betwixt God and us quite removed and that a true firm Peace be made up with him Sin is the Cause and Occasion of that Enmity which is fallen out betwixt God and Man And one would have thought that all the Difficulties of Reconciliation with God should have been on his part That his Justice his Honour his Authority should have interposed and not only not suffered him to accept of Peace but also to have obliged him utterly to destroy those despicable silly Creatures who had the foolish Insolency to rebel against him and to counteract his Will and Pleasure But behold Jesus Christ hath removed all Difficulties on God's Part he hath found out means to satisfie the Justice and to salve the Honour and Authority of God though Man be not destroyed though his Sin be passed over and pardoned God's Wrath is pacified he now looks favourably upon Man and is willing to receive him into Favour and to renew a Covenant of Grace and Peace with him whereby he obligeth himself to deal with Man as if he had not sinned as if he had never rebelled against his Maker Now could it have been expected that such a gracious Offer should not have been readily embraced But which is unaccountable Man stands out and will not be reconciled to God God hath made great Condescension and Man will make none God wooes and intreats and Man draws back and runs away God calls and sends Message after Message and the other will not hear he stretcheth forth his Hands but no Man regardeth he waits but they will not come or draw near Thus each acts as 't were not his own part but what in all Appearance doth more properly belong to the other God acts as if he were in Man's stead and Man behaves himself as if he were in the Place of God for as if God were the poor the needy the inferiour and miserable Party he sues and humbles himself first and as if Man were an independent Sovereign and All-sufficient Being who needed no Aid from any he rejects all the Treaty and disdains this proffered Friendship O! Wonderful Condescension of God And O the Stupidity and Foolishness and Madness of Man What Words are sufficient to hold out either of these And how hard is it to determine which of the two is most astonishing Whether God's Behaviour towards Man in seeking him offering Pardon and Peace or Man's Behaviour towards God in refusing and slighting the same Do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish People and unwise O ye sons of men how long will ye turn my glory
Mind for the East is not more distant from the West than sometimes the Heart of Man is from his Mouth his Intention and Affection from his Words and Actions But be not deceived God will not be mocked there is no deluding of him into a belief of what is not really true he knows well enough whether we be ingenuous and if Ingenuity be wanting he will have nothing to do with us As false deceitful Friends are more odious than profess'd Enemies so God hates Hypocrites as much nay more than Prophane Persons For in Scripture the portion of Hypocrites is mentioned as the dreadfullest Punishment they shall have their portion with hypocrites as if that were the very height of Misery If then ye draw near to God see that it be with true hearts for he desires truth in the inward parts Now what one seeks sincerely and in good earnest he values and prizeth highly he will spare nothing within his Power to the obtaining it and will labour to remove whatever may obstruct it Thus he who sincerely seeks and desires Health will be at any cost or pains for it will cautiously guard against that dyet and weather places or what else may prejudge it And he who is covetous reckons little of the greatest toil and drudgery if gainful nothing is sordid to him which brings Profit and he avoids and hates all actions and places which call him to lay out Money the like may be said of other things And hereby we may know whether we seek God with a true heart Do we in our hearts love God and value him aright that is above all things Can we prize God as a chief Treasure and count all things else in comparison as but loss and dung Are we ready to part with any thing rather than lose him or his favour Do we hate whatever offends him and is inconsistent with fellowship with him Can we freely embrace his Will his Ways his Word which are inseparable from him In a word do we love what he loves and hate what he hates and are his thoughts our thoughts If so then our hearts are true to God but otherwise they are not right they are not according to God's Heart and while they continue so no Peace and Reconciliation can be expected Many draw near to God as the Children of Israel came out of Aegypt they came forth with their Bodies but they left their hearts behind them and though they were necessitated to move forwards yet it was still with reluctancy and they would fain have return'd to the Onions and Flesh-pots of Egypt so many draw near to God but not cordially 't is somewhat unwillingly for they would be content to be freed of the necessity of seeking God and in the midst of their Religious Services they remember the Pleasures of Sin with some delight they cast favourable glances upon them and wish for a freedom to enjoy them God knows this and do you think he will be pleased Will he accept of such Persons No certainly the fate of these Israelites tells us their Doom for as those whose hearts were so glewed to Egypt and who in their heart despised Canaan were never suffered to enter it or to taste the Pleasures thereof So Hypocrites such as do not willingly and cordially draw near to God shall never find Grace in his sight they shall never be admitted into the Holy of Holies but shall be for ever thrust out The second Thing required in those who draw near to God is That they approach in full assurance of Faith In the Original it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Phrase is Metaphorical alluding to the Practice of Mariners who when they are bound towards any Port use so to order their Sails that the Wind may extend and fill them to the end they may have a pleasant and speedy passage for when the Sails flap and are not filled with the Wind the Ship neither makes speed nor keeps an even course Now seeing it is Faith which brings us to God and makes our Union with him for without faith it is impossible to please God for he that cometh to him must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him as the same Apostle tells us hereafter Chap. xi 6. and in the Third of this Epistle he plainly declares that to have an evil heart of unbelief is to depart from the living God and that some could not enter into God's rest because of unbelief Now I say seeing it is so seeing Faith is thus necessary to lead us to God therefore in the Text 't is required that we be full of Faith that we let Faith actuate all the Powers and Faculties of our Souls and enliven all our Actions that like a Ship whose Sails are full blown we may hold a steady and pleasant Course and at last obtain a safe and happy Arrival at that high and holy Port we would be at We are justified by Faith and have Peace with God through our Lord Iesus Christ Rom. v. 1. If you would know particularly what this Faith is it comprehends two things First A Belief of the Mysteries of the Gospel Secondly A Belief of our Acceptance with God First Our Faith must respect the Mysteries of the Gospel these we are to look upon as certain and undoubted Truths and that they are so might be easily made out If I were speaking to Infidels I could clearly shew that the Gospel is no human Device no cunningly devised Fable but a thing most sure and faithful as it is worthy of all acceptation it being every way agreeable to the Nature and Majesty of God and having clear Prophesies going before and manifold undoubted Miracles following after to testifie that it is from God But seeing my Auditory is Christian there is no need of proving what they already profess to believe at least such a Discourse would not be pertinent at this time But we ought not to consider the Mysteries of the Gospel as Truths only but as Truths of the greatest Importance and Concernment Great saith the Apostle is the mystery of godliness 't is not only true but a great weighty Truth in which the Wisdom the Power and all the Attributes of God are contained and which shews to Sinners the way how they should recover themselves and be saved from the Wrath that is to come This is life eternal to know thee the only true God and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent Wherefore if we believe this our thoughts should be much taken up therewith we should frequently contemplate these Mysteries and be over-joyed with the Contemplation of them I believe the Wars of Iulius Coesar the Discoveries of the Indies those Transactions of Foreign Princes reported in our Gazettes and News-Letters and many other things but I think it not worth the while to ruminate much on these things I do not make it my Business to consider them and to talk of them
somewhat more Spiritual than what these amount to But to leave this and come to an Application This Text in both parts may be accommodated to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper These words Let us draw near may be without stretching applied to our coming to this Ordinance for this is one way of drawing near to God and the most solemn we can make in this Life and an earnest of that intimate admission into his glorious presence hereafter and hereby also is set forth that which procur'd us this gracious Privilege viz. The Death and Sufferings of Jesus Christ. Wherefore those who desire to draw near to God and would have the comfort of his Favour and the hopes of everlasting Glory should embrace readily and chearfully the occasion of the Sacrament And to speak freely to you I know nothing can keep People from this Sacrament and make them slight it but the want of a true desire after God and the little concern they have for their Eternal Salvation I pray God forgive those who have made some believe it a mark of Religion or greater Sanctity to withdraw themselves from our Communion I intreat you be not easily deceived believe not every Spirit but examine well what you hear whether it be agreeable to Truth None that knows the Truth or loves the Purity of the Gospel can join in Communion with the Church of Rome But I appeal to all your Consciences if there be any Doctrine taught in this Church or any thing practised in our Worship disagreeable to the Word of God And if there be not why should Persons withdraw from our Communion And what can excuse such withdrawing These Tables are indeed too seldom covered but when they are covered let them be filled with Guests and if they be not what a shame is it Let not this poor Church be miserably torn with needless and unwarrantable separations whereby we become both a prey and a laughing-stock to our Enemies How comely a thing is it saith the Psalmist for brethren to dwell together in unity and it is as profitable as comely Are the Times bad We should meet to pray God to make them better Is this a wicked generation That should not make us forsake the assembling our selves together but we should the rather do it to provoke one another to love and good works Let not any pretend a liberty of doing what they please or say they are not accountable to us whether they go or come Consider I pray you that you are all accountable to God as also as Christians and Members of his Church you are all accountable to his Ministers especially to his Supream Ministers under Christ the Bishops to whom you are subject as to your Spiritual Superiours and ought to obey them This is his Command and therefore you are obliged to do what he Commands and not what is right in your own Eyes or in the Eyes of others let therefore his Laws be punctually observed and his Ordinances waited on And let none take to themselves a Dispensation from any of these lest they incurr his displeasure which of all things is most to be feared But though I wish all would come to this Sacrament yet I would not have any to come unworthily and without due Preparation for St. Paul has told us the sad danger of that Now what is required to render one worthy you may learn from the Text he hath the wedding garment who hath the qualifications in the Text. Let me therefore beseech you all to retire Home to lay aside the thoughts of other Business and in all seriousness to examine how it stands between God and you see whether you be already adorn'd with these Qualifications here spoken of if you have them rejoice and bless God and come up to Morrow to the House of God and to this Sacrament that they may be confirmed and perfected in you If as yet ye are Strangers to these Qualifications do not resolve to withdraw for that is to continue in your sin and so without God but be ye rather more earnest this Night in acquiring them In so short a time 't is true you cannot bring them to Perfection but you may have them in Sincerity which for the present will be admitted O! rouze up your Faith and let it operate in your Minds besprinkle your selves with the Tears of true Contrition and cleanse your selves with stedfast Purposes of departing from all Iniquity and of keeping ever hereafter the Commandments of God and if you do so you shall go back justified in God's Sight Amen SERMON XII On HOSEA X. 12. Sow to your selves in righteousness reap in mercy break up your fallow ground for it is time to seek the Lord till he come and rain righteousness upon you THESE words contain a sound and wholsome Advice to a miserable People lying under the weight of God's Anger and threatned with many sad and grievous Judgments The People were Israel the Children of the Ten Tribes with whom God had a Controversie because there was no Truth nor Mercy nor Knowledge of God in the Land They had cast off the Service of the true God and corrupted themselves with the Idolatry Superstition and other Abominations of the Heathen Nations among whom they dwelt For which God's Wrath was kindled against them and this Prophet was sent forth to intimate the Divine Displeasure and how severely it would fall on them But the Divine Threatnings are for the most part like Ionathan's Arrows shot for Warning rather than Destruction In the midst of Wrath he remembers Mercy and when he denounceth War he intends to spare and therefore denounceth it that Men may be awakened to their Duty and so prevent if not the Temporal Evils which they deserve yet their Eternal Ruin which is worst of all Wherefore it is that the Prophet so often intermixeth his Threatnings with Exhortations to Repentance Obedience and seeking the Lord as here in our Text. This Advice has no particularity in it to restrain it to those to whom it was here given but it may very well suit with any other People who are desirous of God's Favour and have reason to fear his Displeasure Nay here is laid down the general and indispensable Conditions on which any People may expect Peace and Reconciliation with God and the sure means of obtaining good things from him and so they are proper to be considered by you at this time Hosea speaks here in Metaphorical terms borrowed from Husbandry which as it is the most ancient Employment of Mankind So according to Cicero it is of all others most becoming and worthy of a Gentleman and hath employed the Pens of the greatest among the Romans and there is a great deal both of Grace and Force in the terms of it to carry the things recommended by the familiar use of them home to the Minds of Men and render them more effectual Upon which account nothing is more
two our King was wonderfully restored without Sword and without Bow and even they who had banished him were forced to concur in the calling him back This was the Lord's doing and it was then wonderful in our eyes Now he that was able to do this what is he not able to do The stone which the builders have refused he has made become the Head stone of the Corner And so he may cause them who are at this time rejected as Gibeonites and Samaritans so one was pleas'd lately to term the Episcopal Clergy to be courted and received as chief Builders of the Temple People may come to be convinc'd that their present Prejudice and Aversion are unreasonable so that Love Respect and Good-Will may take place instead thereof Now when those who have stated themselves our Enemies shall see this what will they say Shall I say as it follows our Text Shame shall cover them God forbid that we should wish any other Shame to them than that of Penitents and Converts which is profitable for themselves and acceptable unto others Far be it from us to wish or contrive any Persons Confusion or to harbour Thoughts of Revenge we have not so learned Christ. God forbid that we should wish any thing save the Glory of God the Peace of the Church and the common Good of all and in order unto these the promoting of Truth the retrieving true Piety the establishing a decent reasonable Worship and a comely Order and good Government Though our Sins hinder these Blessings at present yet we hope God will sometime grant them And that it may be so let us frequently address him by hearty and serious Prayers and especially let us study to please him by a holy and upright Conversation Now our Lord Iesus Christ himself and God our Father who hath loved us and hath given us everlasting Consolation and good Hope through Grace comfort your hearts and establish you in every good Word and Work Amen SERMON XV Preach'd before the Clergy of DALKEITH 1 TIMOTHY V. 23. Drink no longer water but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities THE Letter of the Text needs not much Explication nor has the Original any thing more Emphatical or material than this Translation so that any Analysis that could be made of the Words would be meerly Grammatical and therefore I 'll not trouble you with it though it may be usual in these Exercises because it would be a very dry and bare Entertainment This Verse contains a particular Precept to Timothy concerning his bodily Health and so it is a matter of some Difficulty to find out the Reason why it comes in here among so many grave and important Directions about the Government of the Church and especially why it should be cast in before the 24th and 25th Verses which have evidently a Relation to the 22d whereby the Apostles Discourse is interrupted and what should be joined together is divided asunder To take away this Difficulty some fansie that the Order of the Apostles Words has been changed and misplaced by some ignorant and unwary Transcribers which is no ways to be admitted nor can there be alledged any ancient Manuscript or modern Copy of a different Reading from this which is used by us upon which such a Conceit may be grounded The general current of Interpreters give no other Reason for the inserting this particular Precept among so many general ones but St. Paul's Friendship for Timothy and the great Concernment he had for one who was so eminently useful to the Church of God They do not allow it any Connexion with what goes before and frankly acknowledge that it hath no manner of Relation to the Apostle's Purpose in this Place and do think it a vain thing to search for it it being very usual with the Apostle to make Digressions to bring in things abruptly to fall from his Purpose and to return to it again which the learned Daille justifieth saying That it is the way of Writing used by the other Divine and Sacred Authors of the Scripture and besides that it is evident that the best and most ancient and the most admired Authors in the World have also practised it as may be seen in those Works of theirs which remain with us wherein these great Men have not tied themselves to the strict Rules of Logick and Rhetorick invented by the Weakness and Subtilty of modern Spirits but do in their Writings especially in their Epistles keep almost the same Order the same Air and the same manner of speaking which is usual in common Discourse and ordinary Conversation whereof Writings especially the more familiar Epistolary sort of Writings should be the Image and Picture In the Conferences and Discourses which we hold vivâ voce there is nothing more ordinary than to break off the Subject begun and to reassume it again after some Pauses and Digressions And why should this Liberty be denied to those that write particularly to those that write Letters But with a due Deference to this great Man's Judgment I do think that a greater Coherence betwixt Mens Thoughts and Words may be looked for when they write than when they speak In Conference we are obliged to follow others and ordinarily the Company casteth in something or other which necessarily draweth us off the main Subject whereas when one writes he has all Freedom for his Thoughts and it is not to be supposed that a wise and knowing Person will interrupt his Purpose or cast in any thing in the handling of it which doth not serve for an Illustration the obviating an Objection the preventing a Mistake or the like And such Coherence must not always be denied when it is not apparent to every Reader If we understood the Scripture truly and had a particular Knowledge of the Scope and Purpose of the several parts thereof I doubt not but there would be found a more admirable Union and Coherence than what is commonly believed though it is chiefly to be regarded for the great and important Truths delivered therein Upon which very account it is more to be valued than all the most accurate and closely written Books in the World As to the present Text I do not think it comes in so abruptly and without any Relation to what goeth before as is commonly alledged for I would make it to be delivered on this Occasion In the former Verse St. Paul chargeth Timothy to lay hands suddenly on no Man that is to beware of admitting any hastily into the Office of the Ministry for if through his Carelesness any unworthy Person crept in he would have an Accession to all the bad Effects of their Ministry their Miscarriages and Male-administration their Sins and their Scandals were to be charged on him And seeing every Man will find burthen enough of his own Sins therefore he adviseth him to take Care that he be not by this means Partaker of other Mens Sins
most unseemly to pamper the Body is to ruin the Soul for thereby those Lusts are cherished and strengthned which war against the Soul and destroy it We need no greater Enemies of our Salvation than what are lodged within our selves If all the Enemies without were removed out of the way our own Flesh and Blood are enough to precipitate us into Perdition Have we not then great reason with St. Paul and Timothy to subdue the Flesh and to keep our Bodies under if these two eminent Saints did this lest they should have been Cast-aways certainly we should be afraid to neglect Abstinence and Exercises of Mortification whereby the Flesh is kept from rebelling against the Spirit or at least disabled from gaining a Victory over it If our Body be not kept in subjection if restraints be not put upon our Appetites they will turn unruly and at last involve us into utter Ruin As Bridles should be put into the Horses mouths so saith St. Augustine our Bodies should be bridled and kept in with Fastings Watchings and Prayer Nam quemadmodum aurigae si fraena laxaverint per praecipitia ducuntur ita anima nostra cum ipso corpore si ei fraenum non imposuerimus ad inferni praecipitia dilabitur The Wantonness of the Rich their insolence towards God their contempt of others and all their ungodly Dispositions and Actions St. Iames ascribes to their living continually in pleasure and to the nourishing their hearts every day as in a day of slaughter that is they make every day a day of Feasting and Rejoicing and set no days apart for Fasting and Mourning They let loose their Sensual Appetites and are still making Provision for the Flesh and its Lusts which carry their Thoughts quite from God and the things of another Life so that they are both prompted and induced easily to commit those Crimes which render them obnoxious to the Divine Wrath. God doth not grudge us the fat and sweet he doth not envy us Lawful and Innocent Pleasures And there are no Real Pleasures but such He is willing that every Man take his Portion that he enjoy his Labour and rejoice in his Works This says Solomon is the gift of God but also he requires us so to moderate the outward Enjoyments of this Life as that they may not be prejudicial to the Soul and its Eternal Happiness nor yet hinder those inward Spiritual Comforts which he is ready and willing to bestow and which put more gladness into the Heart than Corn Wine and Oil. You may feed the Body but in the mean time take care that you do not starve the Soul whose nourishment is deep and serious Meditations upon God and his Word to which a cramb'd and glutted Body is no wife disposed They whose Hearts are overcharged with Surfeiting and Drunkenness and the Cares of this Life are neither mindful of nor capable to use the means of Salvation Wherefore it is necessary to intermix Days of Fasting and Retirement from Worldly Business that we may have time for Prayer and Meditation for instructing our Minds and examining our Actions We should curb our Sensual Appetites and sometimes deny our selves the Enjoyments of this Life that our Desires after God and Heaven may be the more keen We should mortifie the Body by Abstinence and other suitable Exercises that it may not be a Clog to the Soul nor a hinderance to the right Performance of the several Acts of Religion Upon this account the Church in former times did wisely enjoin Vigils and Fasts and Times of Abstinence as Lent And the practice of Pious Men in all Ages do recommend Private Fasting once a Week or Month. While these things were observed Religion flourished a Spirit of Devotion appeared in People and they were susceptible of Impressions from the Truths revealed in the Gospel And the common Neglect of these things is one great Cause of the present Decay of Piety amongst us which Neglect did proceed from a blind and indiscreet Zeal against Popery which did not distinguish betwixt the due Use and Abuse of things But however useful it may be sometimes and for some persons to exercise Abstinence and other Acts of Mortification From what St. Paul adviseth Timothy here we learn in the next place that the use of these things should be always managed with Prudence and Discretion that they may neither prove prejudicial to our Health nor yet degenerate into Superstition Fasting and other corporal Austerities are not things in themselves absolutely necessary but become fit and good according as they are subservient to other things which are so they are to be accounted Religious Acts only when they serve to the great ends of Religion and as they further the attainment of those Vertues and Graces which Religion strictly enjoins When they are not profitable this way they profit nothing at all If they prove rather hinderances than furtherances of those Moral Duties to which either our general or our particular Calling obligeth then they are wholly to be laid aside An excess in the observance is no ways commendable and sometimes more hurtful than the total neglect of them The Flesh with its Lusts should be crucified but the Body by no means is to be destroyed It 's fit to keep the Body under but it ought not to be so enfeebled as that it cannot discharge the Functions of Life wherefore they bewray a great deal of Ignorance Weakness and Superstition who make a scruple of forbearing the Fastings and Abstinences which they prescribe to themselves when their circumstances seem to require it as when they are under any indisposition of Body or when abroad and cannot perform them without some signs of ostentation some more than ordinary trouble to themselves and inconvenience unto others for when by these or the like reasons things of the like Nature cease to be useful or prove noxious they also cease to be acceptable unto God Fasting Abstinence and Acts of Mortification are not of the Nature of Justice Charity Humility Meekness Self-denial and other like Christian Virtues which are good in themselves indispensably necessary and which ought to be practis'd at all times and in all places Nor yet are they like Prayer which as it is a Duty we are commanded to perform without ceasing so it is agreeable and proper to all Persons States Circumstances Seasons and Places Fasting and external Acts of Mortification are not valuable in themselves they are only commendable and Praise-worthy according to the Prudent Management of them and the Ends proposed by them Sometimes they are in no wise suitable and proper wherefore our Lord would not suffer his Disciples to fast while he was with them When Strife and Envy Vanity and Ostentation are the Motives they are to speak in the Scripture Phrase Abominations and they degenerate into Superstition when they are observed out of an opinion of any particular Merit in them or that they please God otherwise than as they