hath ordained strength Psal 8. 2. He that maketh the Dumb Exod. 4. 11. And the Stammering Lips Isa 28. 11. to serve for his own Glory doth appoint such a weak Vessel and Unworthy Instrument for the Ministration of his Word and Truth Although the Person himself cannot effect any thing yet the Word and Truth of God which appears forth through him will have its effect one way or another either to Salvation or Condemnation either to make People partakers of the Mercy of God or to Load them with more Guilt and Ill deserving if they will not obey the Word of Life And tho' this last seems to be an hard saying yet it is grounded on those Words of the great Preacher of Righteousness If I had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sin but now they have no Cloke for their sin John 15. 22. And so the Apostle Paul Witnesseth in behalf of himself and of the other Ministers of the Gospel For we are unto God a sweet Savour of Christ in them that are Saved and in them that Perish To the one are we the Savour of Death unto Death and to the other the Savour of Life unto Life and VVho is sufficient for these things 2 Cor. 2. 15 16. As himself doth Answer this last in the fifth Verse of the following Chapter Not that we are sufficient of our selves to think any thing as of our selves but our sufficiency is of God And if we are not sufficient to think neither are we sufficient to speak or to do We are meer Creatures in the hands of God As in him we live and move and have our Being So whatever Good Words and True Words do proceed forth from any one It is what before he had put into our Heart It is agreeable unto his method and manner of Dispensation to Publish and make known his word and will unto the Inhabitants of the Earth By Men of the like Passions and of the same Flesh and Blood with our selves And it hath so came to pass that who have been the greatest Instruments of his Glory and have received most from God of any in their several Generations The World hath not known them but despised them Which hath happened not only as to the Ungodly and common sort But even so it hath been with the Multitude of outward Worshippers and who called themselves the Servants of God The truth of this observation appears from the History of the Prophets Christ and his Apostles and of his Faithful Ministers ever since who have been Workmen approved of God and not Men pleasers That is to say such who have Fashioned the Word of God according to the Will and Lust of the Rich and Mighty People Which if they had been indeed the Servants of Christ they would not have so Learned of him their Master For as the Rain cometh down and the Snow from Heaven and returneth not thither but Watereth the Earth and maketh it to bring forth and bud that it may give Seed to the Sower and Bread to the Eater so shall my Word be that goeth out of my Mouth It shall not return unto me Void but it shall Accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it Isa 55. 10 11. It shall Accomplish either the Salvation or Condemnation of People It shall thus Prosper in the thing whereto God sends and intends it That if it doth not reform them it will leave them more without excuse The same Word which now warns them of both will pass upon their several and respective Lives and Deaths for all Eternity Tho' when the Word of God is laid before People and they obey it not nor do accordingly then it is thought to be vain weak and ineffectual Yet God Himself here saith It shall not return to him Void But whither they will hear or whither they will forbear it shall be known that there hath been a Prophet among them Ezek. 2. Such Words have been made known or such things have been Written That they might have turned from their Iniquities and from the Evil of their doings which however they were Stifled or Disregarded in the mean while shall rise up again at the Judgment of the Great Day They were warned and testified against and his Laws were set before them but when they would not take warning nor yet yield unto him who by his Word Spirit and Ministers testified against them to bring them again to his Law All these and such like are Signs and Prognosticks that such People will Perish It here so comes to pass As when Paul expounded and testified the Kingdom of God some believed the things which were speketh and some believed not Acts 28. 23 24. So it is of Preaching every Sermon out of the Word of God or hearing forth every Testimony of Divine Truth Some obey and give heed unto it and some do not Then Zerubbabel the Son of Shealtiel and Joshua the Son of Josedech the High Priest with all the Remnant of the People obeyed the Voice of the Lord their God and the Words of Haggai the Prophet as the Lord had sent him and the People did fear before the Lord Hag. 1. 12. And so we read in Ezra 10. They did obey the Commandment of the Lord in Putting away the strange VVives But we Read more often in the Book of Kings Chronicles Isaiah Jeremiah and in the Evangelists That the Chief and Multitude of the People did not obey then that they did obey And yet it was the Word of God which was Preached unto them also But it so came to pass that the Scriptures might be fulfilled which speak of their Destruction When the Prophet came to Ananiah with Words from the Lord and met with a rough Answer from Ananiah He said I know that the Lord hath Determined to destroy thee because thou hast done this and hast not hearkened unto my Counsel 2 Chron. 25. 16. And so it was remarkably Noted of those that came out against the Children of Israel to Battel For it was of the Lord to harden their Hearts that they should come against Israel in Battel that He might destroy them utterly and that they might have no favour but that He might destroy them as the Lord Commanded Moses Josh 11. 20. And so it was Emphatically remarked after that gentle Reproof of Eli unto his Sons Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the Voice of their Father because the Lord would stay them 1 Sam. 2. 25. It is just the same after all the Preaching and Good Admonition and Counsel warning after warning Line upon Line Line upon Line Precept upon Precept Precept upon Precept here a little and there a little Notwithstanding all the things which are contained in the standing written Word of God in the Bible Notwithstanding all that is Preached and Alledged out from thence every Sabbath and Week Day throughout the several Congregations and Places of this Island Notwithstanding
think and object the Gospel imports good tidings and talks of great yea the greatest things in the World and nothing hereof is seen to them nor presently had That Reason which Paul gives in Rom. 1. 16. Seems to Answer all this to two sorts of People the Jews and Gentiles I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the Power of God unto Salvation to every one that believeth Observe and Attend well to that To the Jew first and also to the Greek It is therefore said To be the Power of God unto Salvation unto the Jew first This was to instruct and rightly inform him who did expect Salvation by Moses and the Prophets as to which they did both come short which the Gospel of Christ doth supply and make up The Jews were not so much Ignorant in Part as Unbelievers in Part But the Greeks or Gentiles were altogether Unbelievers in the whole And take them as such they can no more understand what this Power of God unto Salvation is then if you talk the same unto a Brute Beast And therefore it is fitly put before To every one that believeth For put the case you should talk of Salvation to an Infant or to a Child of a twelvemonth old Will He understand what thou sayest In no wise So it is if you talk to a Savage Indian who knows nothing of God or Futurity and when such an one is in good Plight and Health and hath none but Friends about him then talk to him concerning Salvation which signifies Safety and Preservation from Danger whereas he sees and perceives no danger at all And He will think that the Man is Idle or Mocketh or is Foolish who talk and discourses thereof It would be near the same to acquaint some Poor Ungodly Beggars about Salvation If they are Healthy Lusty and Strong if they have before them a Meal of Good Victuals and they know where to have another they do not apprehend much more or besides this But they think such an one speaks Parables or Nonsensical things unto them It is very observable how it is Ushered and brought in A Brutish Man knoweth not neither doth a Fool understand this When the Wicked Spring as the Grass and when all the Workers of Iniquity do flourish It is that they shall be destroyed for Ever Psal 92. 6 7. So it is though it be besides their Opinion and Expectation In like manner when any of the other Truths of God or of the things pertaining to his Kingdom come to be declared and spoken of the same Preface may be used and put before A Brutish Man knoweth not neither doth a Fool understand this So it will be of the things whereof we shall by and by speak A Brutish Man knoweth not neither doth a Fool understand this It being usual with the Holy Ghost when He comes to make known things which will hardly meet with Credibility and Reception to Anticipate and take notice of the same before-hand As Isaiah 53. Begins after this manner Who hath believed our Report Importing that very few or none would until afterward they should see it fulfilled It is properly and truly expressed when such are Termed Brutish Men and Fools For tho' they have the shape of Men yet they understand no more of the things of God And thereby also we are given to apprehend for 't is the Wisdom and Knowledge of God which gives them this Character that if they do not use that Image of God which he had Implanted in them towards the Knowledge of God and of the things pertaining to his Kingdom They lose it again and Notwithstanding they retain the same outward shape with his Saints and Servants yet in inward likeness they are very Brutes And so whatever or how much they know besides if they have not this knowledge also they are in very deed Fools because hereby and for want thereof they become Subject and Liable unto Loss and Punishment Now if I had altogether to do with Brutes and Fools I should be ashamed of Preaching the Gospel unless there were some Spiritual People who know of the things whereof we speak Or unless their understandings were somewhat opened that they could a little conceive thereof But if the Mystery of the Gospel be a little opened and made known unto ye then neither will ye object shame nor yet shall I incur shame in the Preaching thereof And in the mean while this is no running away or besides from the Text but it shews and confirms all along that the Word of God hath some effect and reality For whereas People are commonly ashamed of that whereof a great clutter and stir is made and nothing comes of it But the Gospel is in Word and that is not so much as in things But yet the Gospel come not to you in Word only but also in Power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance 2 Thes 1. 5. It is much more then in other Words for thus much is evident and sensible that they have not so much Power over the Hearts and Consciences of Men as this Gospel hath Neither were any other Words under Heaven Accompanied with so many Signs and Miracles and Gifts of the Holy Ghost whereby God himself did bear Witness to the certainty and reality of the things contained in this Everlasting Gospel And then it is in much Assurance that it shall be all fulfilled and found true This is the very Reason why things so go on as they have and do now in the World That the Scriptures might be fulfilled And therein the Word of God hath its effect Which speaks of things exactly as they are But here this is to be attended unto that the Things and Words of God are to be performed and fulfilled in their Season Luke 1. 20. That is according to the Order and Succession of Time some have been already fulfilled others are now at this Day fulfilling But the greatest and most things of all are yet to be fulfilled as in the future State the Resurrection of the Dead the Day of Judgment and the Succeeding Eternity The thing is certain tho' the time appointed for it is long For the Vision is yet for an Appointed Time but at the End it shall speak and not lie tho' it Tarry Wait for it Because it will surely Come it will not Tarry Hab. 2. 3. Gods work as to the Inhabitants of the Earth is a work of six or seven Thousand Years continuance which is a going and carrying on ever since He first Created Man on the Earth during all the while He who hath called the Generations from the beginning hath ordered them to pass through all which is but a short time in respect to God to whom a Thousand Years are but as one Day tho' it be long to us And accordingly the Scripture speaks of it thus differently both these manner of 〈◊〉 That is It is short as to God and long as to us
yet hotter which shall be for their Punishmentâ— when they Tag or Link on an Oath or Speech of Vain Swearing to an Expression when the sentence which they speak would be more perfect and entire without it Or if to their Actions and Doings they Annex Iniquity and Transgression Nevertheless so it hath been so it is and so it will be during the Time of this Generation Altho at length there will be an End of Transgression And the Wicked shall be no more Psal 104. 35. For in what Prayer the Spirit of Truth doth dictate is included a Promise that so it shall be Yet until these latter Days and that Time is come the World will go on in Sinning let what will be spoken or declared against it Herein the VVord of God hath its Effect For hereby it is confirmed I had almost said seen but I am sure it is perceived that there is a Devil VVho deceiveth the Nations and deceiveth the whole World Rev. 12. 9. For these be the Days of Vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled Luke 21. 22. So it is as to the foregoing Sin and Transgression which bring these Judgments on the Earth It must needs go on in its course that the Scriptures might be fulfilled which say in Mat. 7. 13. and Mat. 25. That some yea and the greater part of Mankind shall go away into Everlasting Punishment But as our Lord said concerning offences It must needs be that offences come But Wo unto that Man by whom the offence cometh Mat. 18. 7. So in like manner it may be here applyed that the Scriptures might be fulfilled It must needs be that the greater Part of Mankind shall go away into Everlasting Punishment But Wo unto those Particular Souls who shall have their Lot and Portion in this matter For they can no more cease to be miserable then they can cease to be This is as certain tho' as yet it is not altogether so evident and visible then that there is a World which we behold or an Earth which we tread on For saith the same Word by the which the Heavens and the Earth were Created and the same Truth by the which they are now upheld and the things therein are Connected together Heaven and Earth shall pass away but my VVords shall not pass away Tho' it is imagined and said that seeing is believing It is an improper Expression For faith is the evidence of things not seen And that which a Man seeth He doth not so much believe as know yet for my Part when I think of Heat or Read the 25th Chapter of Matthew How that all Nations shall be Gathered and Christ shall separate them one from another as a Shepherd divideth his sheep from the Goats and he shall set the Sheep on the Right hand and the Goats on the left and shall say to the one Come ye Blessed c. And to the other Go ye Cursed I say All this is as evident and manifest to me as iâ— I did now see that Great and Terrible sight with my outward Bodily Eyes And truly if we did see that vast and doleful herd of Condemned Criminals as they are going to the Place of Everlasting Punishment we should fear For it is a thing Infinitely more to be Pitied then now a little Commiseration doth arise as we behold Sheep or Cattle going to the Shambles and Slaughter House What God hath said by his Son Jesus Christ shall certainly come to pass So that this will as certainly be as if we now saw it with our Eyes For it will as certainly be in the appointed Time as that we now present were once living on the Earth What can be more forcible to make us take the utmost heed that our selves be not among them It would be an hard Case if there was not one in such a Parish or Neighbourhood who should go to Heaven But I trust that several will as I am assured from the Scriptures of Truth That all those will who have a Good Conscience and are willing to live honestly in all things Heb. 13. 18. So it would be Melancholly and Dismal to suppose But yet it is justly and truly to be feared that some in this Neighbourhood I do not know one of them but the Lord knows who the very Persons be that are in such a place now Who shall be found amongst those Goats at the very last Day But either to convince them thereof or to make it known unto them would make their Life hang in doubt and fill them with a fearful Expectation and give them a trembling heart So to point them out by their Names and Distinct Persons it would make all Christians Note that Man or Woman and have no Conversation with them If he or she should prove certainly a cast away or a Condemned Creature at that Day But every one would be afraid or shy of them in the mean while as now they are of a Man that is to be hanged or put to Death I do here somewhat allude to those Words of the Apostle If any Man obey not the Word of this Epistle Note that Man and have no Conversation with him that he be ashamed So if any Man or Woman amongst ye do not obey those things which have been here alledged unto ye from the Word of the Lord If there be any who will despise and go frow ardly in the way of their heart And further if there be any who shall do Presumptuously and Sin with an high hand as of set Purpose to Sin and Transgress more and more because such things have been spoken against that and all manner of Sin and Transgression Truly my Brethren Partakers of the same Flesh and Blood these and such like are sad Signs and Prognosticks that such very Persons will be indeed found among that Number of Goats at the last Day and to them I am now sent with heavy Tidings It would be good for them if they had never been Born And upon them this Word Preached and Published will have its effect like the Sun which doth melt Wax but harden Clay for Evil but not for Good And here People should not so much as keep Company with such so as to Encourage them in their Evil Deeds or so much as barely to Countenance them in their Rebellion Transgression or even in their Contempt of the Lord God But only to warn exhort and testify that they seeing themselves as it were cut off from the Society of Mankind by perceiving the Inconvenience and Misery thereof may understand the ten Thousand Times greater Misery to be cut off and deprived from the General Assembly and Church of the first Born which are Written in Heaven And from God the Judge of all and the Spirits of just Men made Perfect And this would be some means for them to turn out of the wrong way which leads unto Destruction And they may be ashamed of Transgressing without a cause Psal 25.
the Hyssop on the Wall from the greatest to the smallest for his Providence and Government of things is comprehensive of and extensive even unto sparrows and the hairs of our head the more inconsiderable Creatures and every least thing that belongs to us All one as to Angels or Men or to the yet greater Works of the Creation So as that same Word in Scripture doth speak of all things that are done on this Earth So Reciprocally whatever is done or comes to pass or happens here it is all a fulfilling of the same Word There is hardly any thing whatever be it of greater or less moment but some Places in the Book of the Lord do speak thereof either in express Words or near to the same purpose There shall the great Owl make her Nest and lay and hatch and gather under her shadow There shall the Vultures also be gathered every one with her Mate Seek ye out of the Book of the Lord and Read No one of these shall fail no one shall want her Mate for my mouth it hath Commanded and his Spirit it hath gathered them Isa 34. 15 16. As the Apostle saith Doth God take care for Oxen So doth his Word speak of Cormorants and Bitterns and Ravens Wild Beasts and Satyrs Schreech Owls and Great Owls and Vultures and Thorns and Nettles and Brambles Yes verily it doth and of all the things in the Earth and even of the very Times and Seasons of the Year How Grass doth grow upon the Mountains and Herb for the use of Man Observe this last which leads again towards our Subject and Intended matter For as the same Apostle Paul goes on to add Saith He it altogether for our sakes For our sakes no doubt this is VVritten 1 Cor. 9. 10. So as there is a certain Connexion and Linking on together of all the Creatures and Works of God whither Living or Inanimate So they have each severally and all together a yet greater Connexion Tendency and Relation to us Men and Women It is so Written of them and so Gods speaks of them in his word for our sakes in order to us as they are somewhat concerned and do belong unto the Exercise and Administration of his Kingdom and Dominion over Men He being the God unto whom we and all the other Creatures besides have to do It is but a small matter as to these outward visible present things But the Kingdom of God is within you And the chief and only matter is as each stands in Subordination Subserviency and Tendency to the invisible and future State of things and that is Branched out only one of these two ways Salvation or Condemnation Happiness or Misery The Word of God hath its effect upon all Men and Women of every Countrey Nation and Language from the beginning of their Generations unto the End thereof one of these two ways Go ye into all the World and Preach the Gospel to every Creature He that believeth and is Baptized shall be saved and He that believeth not shall be Damned Mark 16. 15 16. He that obeyeth all the whole Word of God shall be saved but He that obeyeth not the Word of God shall be Damned He that observes all things whatsoever Christ hath Commanded Christ will be a Saviour unto him But He that doth not observe all things whatsoever Christ hath Commanded He is without the Covenant and Benefit of a Saviour and He shall Perish For the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven in flaming Fire taking Vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ Who shall be Punished with Everlasting Destruction from the Presence of the Lord and the Glory of his Power It is Reported of Chrysostome who was in his Generation a Preacher unto a very Numerous Auditory in the City of Antioch Where the Disciples were first called Christians And I would to God they had never been called any thing else since that He should say that if He was to Preach before all the Men and Women living upon the Earth and such a thing were possible for them all to be gathered together and his Voice could reach them all as such a thing might be now effected by Printing and an Universal Publication of the several Copies which would be a very good work if it were so done He would choose for his Text these Words O ye Sons of Men How long will ye turn my Glory into shame How long will ye Love Vanity and seek after leasing Selab Psal 4. 2. So if the like was here to be supposed as indeed it might be of good effect if it were so done there could not be a more proper Subject chosen then what hath been here insisted on To shew How that the Word of God will have its effect upon those Multitudes Multitudes in the Valley of Decision Joel 3. 14. So as to decide their future State and Condition one way or another As the Proverb is among the Latins Ye may guess at the Bigness of Hercules by his Foot So we may make some estimate of this Generation of Men and Women now living upon the Earth by such a mixt Multitude Assembled together of Saints and Sinners As there are probably of both sorts so it is abroad in all Parishes of this Nation and also in all the other Habitable Parts of the Earth Some will believe the things that have been spoken and some will believe them not Some will obey these Words and some will obey them not And Perhaps of this latter sort some will be found who will sin yet more Violently and Earnestly and Greedily because such Words of Soberness and Truth have been declared unto them They will make if they can the Preacher a Liar and what lies in them the Word of God of none effect As if it was not able and sufficient to Convert Sinners from the Errour of their ways in that themselves are resolved not to be Converted by it There be those abroad in the World who do not Hear or Read this and if they do not altogether so perversely and obstinately against the Word Preached for they hear little or none at all and it may be out of a secret Consciousness that their own Lives are not Answerable thereunto nor yet will they Regulate their Life and Manners according to it and they imagine that then to Hear or Read the Word of God will but so much the more increase their Sin and Guilt These do not consider how that the Height and Abomination of Iniquity is set forth throughout the Old Testament In refusing to Hear Gods Words The Spirit it self calleth them This Evil People which refuse to hear my Words Jer. 13. 10. Which I would were more attended unto even by the very Worshippers of God that when an opportunity is given or Door is open to hear the Word Preached they count it a matter indifferent they may hear or let it alone But let such
which he will lay upon the Inhabitants of the Earth tho' it be upon their own Father Mother Brothers Sisters the Wife of their Bosom the nearest Kinsfolks and Dearest Friends according to the Flesh So that they shall not Pity the tender and delicate Man who was most set out with Riches Beauty Good Breeding or common good Nature if it was mixt with Ungodliness or Contempt of God Nor yet the tender and delicate Woman which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for Delicateness and Tenderness Deut. 28. 56. And How then will she undergo so much Pain and Fire And ye shall know that I have not done without cause without their deserving of it which we shall more clearly perceive then tho' we cannot now but we are apt to think it hard that Mankind should dye Eternally for tasting a little Honey or for the Pleasures of Sin for a season all that I have done in it even in his utmost Vengeance and Everlasting Punishment saith the Lord God Can thine heart endure or can thine hands be strong in the Days that I shall deal with thee I the Lord have spoken it and I will do it Ezek. 22. 14. By the former Part of which Expression is shewh forth that God will overcome their former Stubbornness and Presumption By the Punishment He will inflict that He will get the Victory and make them to yield In the latter part is the Ratification and Confirmation of it I the Lord have spoken it and I will do it As to all that foregoing Wickedness and Rebellion of the Jeres Wherein they denied the Holy one and the just and desired a Murtherer to be granted unto them and killed the Prince of Life How doth Peter lay it before them and Assign the cause thereof And now Brethren I wot that through Ignorance ye did it as also did your Rulers But those things which God hath shewed by the Mouth of all his Prophets that Christ should suffer He hath so fulfilled Acts 3. 17 18. When Himself was in the midst of his sufferings He saith Thinkest thou that I cannot Pray my Father and He shall presently give me more then twelve Legions of Angels Who would have preserved and defended him from all those Wicked Men that were his Crucifiers But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be Mat. 26. 53 54. In like manner as to all that sin Iniquity and Transgression which God hath spoken of by the Mouth of all his Prophets Evangelists and Apostles It must needs go on in its Course That the Scriptures might be fulfilled Both as to that and also to the further end and consequent thereof When He shall Punish the World for their Evil and the Wicked for their Iniquity And that will be found true also Which speaks of the Wide Gate and Broad way that leadeth to Destruction and many there be who go in thereat Mat. 7. 13. Amalek was the first of the Nations but his latter end shall be that he Perish for Ever Numbers 23. 20. Tho' they are in the first highest and most prosperous Wordly State thss hinders not but rather sooner occasions that they be miserable for ever as we Learn from sundry other Places of the Word of Truth The Scripture doth stand Checquer wise if I may so express it It is made up of black and white for therein is an intermixture of Promises and Threatnings Good and Evil things Blessing and Cursing Life and Death It is so almost in every Chapter I shall instance in one and mention the same use thereof that is there macle And as the Spirit of God doth make mention of the Eloquent Orator Isa 3. 3. It is a necessary part of Oratory to leave something with the Hearers at last that it may surely stick and he remembred by them At the close of this Discourse I would observe unto ye how that in the Tenth Chapter of the Hebrews there is an intermixture of Threatnings and Promises Good and Evil things for there is mention made Of a fearful looking for of Judgment and of Fiery Indignation which shall devour the Adversaries Vengeance belongeth unto me I will recompence saith the Lord. And again The Lord shall judge his People it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God After all these terrible things to the Wicked and Ungodly The Apostle speaks in a more mild strain unto the Christians Knowing in your selves that in Heaven ye have a better and an enduring substance and of a great Recompence of reward ver 35. After ye have done the Will of God ye might receive the Promise ver 36. But amidst and in the conclusion of all He shews himself to be a faithful and skillful Workman dividing the Word of Truth aright and giving to every one his Portion for he saith Now the just shall live by Faith but if any Man draw back My Soul shall have no Pleasure in him But we are not of them who draw back into Perdition but of them who believe unto the saying of the Soul So People are to take and receive in by Faith all the things that have been afore-written They must live by Faith if they will be justified and saved But if any of ye draw back that is go off and recede from his Truths neither God nor yet any of his Saints and Servants will have any Pleasure in that Man or Woman But by the Divine Grace and Assistance it shall be my constant and continued endeavour throughout all the remaining Days of this Life of Vanity as I hope and do hereby exhort that it may be of others also that we be not found amongst them upon whom the Word of God will have its effect to Condemnation but not to Salvation But rather that ye and my self there is nothing in the World which I so much desire may be found amongst them who shall believe to the saving of the Soul FINIS