be I magnify thy Glorious Name For speaking that Thou dost know and testifying that Thou hast seen tho we receiv not thy Witness I earnestly beseech Thee O Jesus how backward soever Thou findest us to believ when thou hast told us earthly things vouchsafe to tell us of hevenly things and to exhibit as wel the powerful Efficacy of thy whol Doctrin as the indisputabl Truth of the most abstruse parts of it help Thou our Unbelief That notwithstanding my inability to satisfy my Self or Others How the Birth from abov is wrought in my Heart yet I may palpably evidence to the whol World both in Word and Deed What it is to be a new Creature and make it appear that the Spirit of God hath breathed upon my Soul tho I cannot determin the precise Time nor describe the exact Manner of his graciousOperation §. 〈◊〉 O thou Son of Man which art in Heven whither no man hath ascended up but he that came down from thence who to convince us that whatever thou hast suffer'd upon Earth was of thine own voluntary Resolution and Praescience didst expresly foretel as wel the particular Circumstance as the gracious Design of thy Death in these plain Tearms As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but hav eternal Life I prais and magnify thy Name Becaus God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but hav everlasting life I humbly beseech Thee O Jesu since God sent not his Son into the World to condemn it but that the World throu him might be saved establish my Soul in this Faith and qualify me for that happy End of it by an unblamabl Conversation that Impiety may not temt me to Infidelity and Unbelief consign me to Damnation for as thy unerring Truth assures us he that believeth not is condemned already the preposterous Occasion of the Guilt being justly applied to aggravat and ascertain the Condemnation That Light is com into the World and yet Men loved Darkness rather than Light becaus their Deeds were evil for evry one that doth evil hates and shuns the Light lest his Deeds should be reproved wheras he that doth Truth who rightly believs and acts according to the Principls of a sound Faith cometh to the Light wherby his Deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God Cap. VI. Of His Baptizing in Judea and the Dispute that arose therupon between St. John's Discipls and the Jews §. I. AFter these things the H. Jesus and his Discipls came into the Land of Judea where he tarried with them baptizing Prais thou the Lord O my Soul For perfecting the Design of S. John's Baptism by the succeeding Administration of Thine even whilst he was also 〈◊〉 in Enon near to 〈◊〉 becaus much Water was there Giving us therby a tacit yet significant Intimation of thy forwardness to prosecute the Work of our Redemtion which would rather shorten the Night by the hasty Approach of thy Day of Grace than 〈◊〉 the Rising of the Sun til the Setting of thy Morning-Star for 〈◊〉 was not yet cast into Prison I humbly implore thee O Christ let us draw near unto thy 〈◊〉 Ordinances with a tru Heart in ful Assurance of Faith having our Hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience as wel as our Bodies washed with pure Water And Oh! that whol Rivers of Waters might be employ'd and 〈◊〉 for the baptizing great Multitudes of 〈◊〉 from amongst all Nations and Kindreds and Peepl and Tongs throu out the World to accomplish the Number of thine Elect and hasten thy Kingdom §. 2. Upon this Occasion there 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 between som of John's Discipls and the 〈◊〉 about Purifying and they came unto 〈◊〉 saying 〈◊〉 He that was with thee beyond 〈◊〉 to whom thou 〈◊〉 Witness behold the same 〈◊〉 and all men com to 〈◊〉 Wherupon thy Servant John gave this further Testimony 〈◊〉 Thee O Jesus publickly confessing in the audience of the peepl 〈◊〉 your 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 me Witness that I said I am not the Christ but that I am sent before him He that hath the Bride is the Bride-groom but the Friend of the Bride groom which standeth and heareth him rejoiceth greatly becaus of the Bride-groom's 〈◊〉 This my 〈◊〉 therefore is fulfilled He must increas but I must decreas for He that cometh from 〈◊〉 is abov all and altho He that is of the Earth is Earthly and speaketh of the Earth yet He that cometh from 〈◊〉 what He hath seen and heard that He testifieth tho no man receiv his Testimony But he that hath received his Testimony hath set to his Seal that God is tru for He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God which we may boldly rely upon in regard God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him nay the Father so loveth the Son that He hath given All things into His hand and resolvs our Fate shal be according to the Faith we bear Him for He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting Life wheras he that believeth not the Son shal not see Life but the Wrath of God abideth on him I adore thy Sacred Name O thou whom my Soul loveth For the great Understanding this thy Servant had touching the Knowledg of thine Eternal God-head and the whol Mystery of thine Everlasting Gospel which he hath thus clearly expressed in this his excellent Sermon left upon Record for my Instruction Lord I. beseech Thee since a Man can 〈◊〉 nothing except it be given him from heven 〈◊〉 such a measure of thy Spirit and the Grace he conveys from 〈◊〉 into the Hearts of the faithful possess and affect my Soul that I in Communion with thy Servant John may likewise rejoice in hearing the Bride-groom's Voice audibly utter'd in His holy Word and be ravished with delight in the privat Contemplation of the happy Union solemnized between my Lord Christ and his Spous the Church So as at last thou mayst vouchsafe to admit me into the Fulness of that 〈◊〉 which doth attend the Marriage of the Lamb and impart unto me the Interest and Affection of a Friend in the Consummation of thy Glory which wil qualify me as wel to taste of the Pleasures as congratulat the Perpetuity of thine Eternal Lov. Cap. VII On the Imprisonment of St. John the Baptist. §. 1. O My only-wise God and Savior who to render thy Messenger S. John the more conformabl to the Author and Finisher of that Faith which he was sent to usher in by his Ministry didst permit Herod the Tetrach to lay hold on him and having bound him shut him up in Prison that he might as wel be a Precedent of thine undeserved Sufferings as the Precursor of thy divine Person and Doctrin I prais and magnify thy Name For that undaunted
the using §. 8. O Lord of the Univers All the Nations of the Earth are thy Fields wheron thou requirest thine Apostls and Ministers to lift up their Eys and lock and they are white already to Hatvest I giv Thee Thanks and Prais Becaus he that reapeth 〈◊〉 Wages and gathereth Fruit unto Life Eternal As my fleshly Eys behold the fields of Corn before my face Lord enabl me to view other fields far more excellent and glorious with the Ey of Faith even all the Cities and Kingdoms of the World ready to be gathered into thy Barn And let the hopes of such desirable Wages engage my utmost Industry to further the Welfare of Souls for which we upon whom the Ends of the World are com hav abundant Encoragement for other men labored and we are enter'd upon their labors whatsoever Christ our Lord and his H. Apostls hav don or suffer'd for the Promulgation of the Gospel redounding to our Advantage and Instruction be it improvabl either to our own Soul's health or to make us Instrumental for the Salvation of others So that in us that Saying provs tru One 〈◊〉 and another reapeth and the Benefit is so equally conveyed throu out all the Members of Christ's Body the Church in all Ages That both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoyce together §. 9. When the Samaritans went out of the City and were com unto him upon their Request that he would tarry with them he abode there two days I adore thy saving Name O Jesus For this thy gracious Condescension and the powerful Effect of thy Presence among them many mo having believed becaus of thy Word who said unto the Woman Now we believ not because of thy Saying for we 〈◊〉 heard him our selvs and know that this is indeed the Christ the Savior of the World Tho thy Spous O Christ which is the Church of the Living God the Pillar and Ground of Truth by the Catholick Profession of thy Gospel givs so rational an Invitation to the Apostat World as is persuasiv enough to win many Proselyts to enter into the Communion of Saints upon a general Conviction yet when throu the personal Experiment and Participation of thy Saving Ordinances they are once enl ghtned and hav tasted of the hevenly Gift the good Word of God and the Powers of the World to com they no longer rely upon the bare Credit of thy Church but are established in the Faith by the full persuasion of their own Conscience Let me not therefore at any time content my self with hearing the Operations of thy Grace or the Demonstration of thy Power reported at second hand but make my personal Address to the Ministry of thy Word and Sacraments that having heard Thee my self my Soul also may know experimentally that Thou art indeed The CHRIST the Savior of the World Cap. IX Of His Departure into Galilee and his Reception there §. 1. NOw after two days he departed thence and went into Galilee not directly unto his own City Nazareth for Iesus himself testified that a Prophet hath no honor in his own Country but He came again into Cana of Galilee where he had made the Water Wine I prais and magnify thy Name O my Gracious Redeemer for this prudential Dispensation of thy Ministry not brooking to mis-spend thy Doctrin and Miracls upon such as would render them useless by their Neglect or Dis-esteem but directing the Labors of thy Lov to those who by having du Regard therunto were most likely to reverence thy Person and reap the intended Benefit of thy marvellous Works for when thou wast com into Galilee the Galileans of those parts received thee having seen all the things that thou hadst don at Ierusalem for they also were there at the Feast Lord let not any prejudice of Familiarity which commonly breeds Contemt or Envy which unreasonably surmiseth the Advancement of our Equals or Acquaintance insupportabl or foolish Custom which is apt to set an higher valu upon any forein unknown Commodity than on the more useful Product of our own Growth and Neighborhood hinder my paying the du Respect or making a religious Improvement of those Gifts and Graces wherwith thou shalt think fit to qualify any of my Country-men or fellow-Citizens to do good in his Generation And render I beseech thee the manifest Evidences of thy Grace no less effectual at this day to creat in me that Esteem and Reverence which is du to Thee in thy Members than the supernatural Operations of thy Power exhibited before their Eys in former times were available to prepare a way for thine honorabl Reception among the Galileans that receiving those who bear thine Image as wel with a glad Heart as a cheerful Aspect thou mayst think or make me worthy of thy beätifick Presence for ever Cap. X. Of His Healing the Son of a certain Nobl-man §. 1. WHen a certain Noblman whose Son was sick at Capernaum heard that Iesus was com out of Iudea into Galilee he went unto him and besought him that He would com down and heal his Son for he was at the point of Death Then said Iesus unto him Except ye see Signs and Wonders ye 〈◊〉 not believ wherin He did only delay not deny the desired Answer to his Request reflecting on the gross Infidelity of his Countrymen together with the great End for which his Miracls were wrought for as soon as the Nobl man repeated his Petition in these Tearms Sir com down ere my Child dy the Holy Iesus made him this gracious Reply Go thy way thy Son 〈◊〉 I prais thy Sacred Name Becaus the man believed the word that thou O Iesus hadst spoken unto him wherof he gav an evident Demonstration in that he went his way as fully satisfied and contented in the Assurance of thy Goodness and Power Let not I beseech thee the transitory Affairs of this decaying Body take up all my Thoughts but make me deeply affected with the future State and Eternal Concernments of my diseased Soul I confess my Hope is weak my Charity faint and heartless and my Faith welnigh dead without those Works by which it should be made perfect Lord com down and heal my spiritual Infirmities say unto me Thy Soul liveth with that Word of Power which is abl to revive all its faculties to their du Use and Vigor And tho thou defer to grant the Request of my Lips yet wil I 〈◊〉 make my Prayer unto Thee and wil look up until thou hav Mercy upon me §. 2. His Servants that met him as he was going down having told him Thy 〈◊〉 liveth hr enquired of them the 〈◊〉 when he began to amend and they said unto him Yesterday at 〈◊〉 seventh hour the Fever 〈◊〉 him So the Father knew it was at the same hour in which 〈◊〉 had said unto him Thy Son liveth I prais and magnify thy Name O Christ For this exact Notice of the punctual Execution of
the Preaching and Baptism of S. John §. 1. O My Gracious Redeemer thou didst send thy Servant John who grew and waxed strong in Spirit being in the Wilderness til the day of his Shewing unto Israel as a Messenger before thy face to prepare thy way before Thee by 〈◊〉 the Baptism of 〈◊〉 for the Remission of Sins wherin he exprest The Uoice of one crying in the Wilderness Prepare ye the way of the Lord make his Paths strait as it is written in the Prophets I prais and magnify thy Name For this suitabl Beginning of the Gospel of 〈◊〉 Christ the Son of God Let me learn I beseech thee from the Austerity of thy Fore-runner both in Apparel and Diet for the same John had his Raiment of Camel's hair and a leathern Girdl at 〈◊〉 his Loins and his Meat was Locusts and wild Dony so to comply with the Doctrin of Mortification and Repentance which he preached and practised that I may 〈◊〉 the Salvation of God And as the Peepl who went out to him from Jerusalem and Judea and all the Region round about were baptized of him in Jordan confessing their Sins so do thou baptize me with the H. Ghost and with Fire to the forsaking of mine that being effectualy warned to flee from the Wrath to com I may bring forth fruits meet for Repentance rather glorying to hav Abraham my Father in Faith than after the Flesh since God is abl of the very Stones to rais up Children unto him And now that the Axis laid 〈◊〉 the Root of the 〈◊〉 be graciously pleased to direct the hand that guides it to cut off the dead or luxuriant Branches of Sin and Folly that evry 〈◊〉 may bring forth good Fruit in stead of hewing down the whol Body to be cast into the fire §. 2. When the Peepl the Publicans and the Soldiers which came forth to be baptized of John asked him What shal we do Instead of requiring them to forsake their several Callings as unlawful or irreligious He recommends Charity upright Dealing and honest Contentment to their Practice in the du Use of them I giv thee Thanks and Prais O Jesus For making the Duties of Religion consistent with those of our Worldly Vocations Lord bless my conscionabl Industry in that lawful Emploiment wherunto thy Providence hath called me that by my honest Diligence therin I may do Thee Service in my Generation and working with my hands the thing which is Good may hav and hav the Heart to giv to him that needeth And yet let not my earnest Concernment for the things of this Life be pleaded in Excuse for my Neglect of a better but among all my most justifiabl Cares allow som Time and Thought so to attend on the Ministry of thy Word and the Administration of thy Sacraments as may best make a practical Expression of and giv a proper Answer to this Inquiry on the behalf of my Soul What must I do to be saved §. 3. As the Peepl were in 〈◊〉 and all men mused 〈◊〉 their hearts of John 〈◊〉 he were the Christ or not so that the Jews sent Priests and Levits who were of the 〈◊〉 from Jerusalem to Bethabara beyond Jordan 〈◊〉 he was baptizing to ask him Who art thou He denied not but confessed I am not the CHRIST nor Elias neither that Propher I indeed baptize you with Water but there standeth one among you whom ye know not He cometh after me and is preferred before me for He was before me tho born after me the latchet of whose shoos I am not worthy to unloos whose Fan is in his hand and he wil 〈◊〉 purge his 〈◊〉 and wil gather the Wheat into his Garner but the Chaff he wil burn with fire unquenchabl I prais and magnify thy Name O Christ For this Record of John who 〈◊〉 witness of Thee without seeking the Enhancement of his own Reputation by the envious Concealment of thy Person or Office Lord purge the floor of my Heart from all that Chaff of Vanity and Pride which renders me at any time inclinabl to deck my self with the spoils of that Honor which is only du to Thee that being littl in mine own Eys I may cheerfuly magnify Him who is mightier than I of whose fulness we hav all received even Grace for Grace which alone can fit us to be laid up in store for the Master's Use in his Hous not made with hands eternal in the Hevens for the Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ who being the only Begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father hath declared that God whom no man hath seen at any time And since the same John being a man sent from God came for a Witness to bear witness of the Light that all men throu him might believ let this his publick Testimony hav its designed Effect upon 〈◊〉 man that cometh into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not only confirming the tru Faith where it hath been already planted but creating it also where 't is yet wanting with so great a Power and Demonstration of the Spirit that altho the World which was made by him without whom was not any thing made knew him not while He was in the World yet it may never more be said He came unto his own and his own received him not but being now no longer born of Blood or of the Wil of Man but of God All Flesh may see thy Salvation and behold the Glory of the Word made Flesh as that of the only begotten of the Father who as verily was in the beginning and was with God and was God as he dwelt among Us ful of Grace and Truth And the good God of the Spirits of all Flesh grant that the Son of thy Lov in whom was that Life which was the Light of Men may shine in the Darkness that hath benighted the Children of this World til the Power or rather Priviledg to becom the Sons of God which He gave to them that believ on his Name 〈◊〉 graciously imparted to all the Families of the Earth by embracing the true Faith which hath saved as many as received him §. 4. Then cometh Iesus from Galilee to Iordan unto Iohn to be baptized of him having quitted his dear Relations and privat Occupation the more freely to begin and attend his Father's business I celebrat thy Name O my Dear Redeemer For leaving the Sweetness of a peaceabl Retirement to enter upon a State not only encumber'd with Sweat and Travel but also 〈◊〉 to Censure and Persecution for thy Church's sake I humbly beseech Thee let no Self-ends or more pleasurabl Enjoyments detain any one from undertaking such publick Duties as he is lawfuly called unto but when a more open Exposure may any way conduce to the general Good and Benefit of thy Peepl be a safe Retirement never so desirabl encorage us all to abandon our
Freedom wherwith this thy Servant reproved the Vices of the Greatest not fearing to assert the Truth and Obligation of thy holy Commandments even before Kings for John said unto Herod It is not lawful for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hav thy Brother's Wife I humbly beseech Thee O Jesu let the just Reproofs which thy Ministers impartially denounce against all Ungodliness and Unrighteousness of men engage me to unfeigned Repentance in obedience to the Authority of thy H. Word instead of provoking me to any impious Design of Revenge in compliance with my own unhallowed Lusts and Passions And enabl Them and Me so to follow the Doctrin and Practice Practice of this first Preacher of the Gospel that after his Exampl we may constantly speak the Truth boldly rebuke Vice and patiently suffer for the Truth 's sake whatever Loss either of Life or Liberty ensu therupon §. 2. O thou Protector of thy Saints from whose restraining Power it came to pass that tho 〈◊〉 had therfore an inward 〈◊〉 against thy Servant John and would hav killed him but she could not I bless and prais thy Name For those effectual and yet invisibl Means wherby thine Almighty Arm doth curb the Power and check the Projects of the Ungodly and Malicious who would fain do mischief to the faithful Witnesses of thy 〈◊〉 Truth and in particular for that tacit Aw and Reverence which the unreprovabl Life and Doctrin of thy Holy Ones doth inevitably fix upon the minds even of those that hate both their Persons and Reproofs for Herod feared Iohn knowing that he was a just man and an holy and did not only save but observ him which he sufficiently expressed in that he did many things when he 〈◊〉 him and heard him gladly Lord accompany the Ministration of thy H. Ordinances with such an Influence of thy hevenly Grace as may not only win our Liking but engage our Lov too that what we rejoice in for a time we may be delighted with for ever And let that Esteem which the unblamabl Deportment of persons eminently Religious and Exemplary hath generally obtained in the World be a powerful Encoragement 〈◊〉 our Imitation of their laudabl Qualities so that those things which 〈◊〉 venerabl lovly and of good Report may engage us to Virtuous and Godly Practices at least throu the forcibl Bent of our nativ Inclinations in case whatsoever things are tru just and pure fail of their du Influence upon the Account of Thy 〈◊〉 Authority For even such as think not on these things becaus of any Virtu yet are commonly render'd more considerat if there be any Prais Cap. VIII On our Savior's Conference with the Woman of Samaria §. 1. NOw when Iesus 〈◊〉 heard that Iohn was 〈◊〉 into prison 〈◊〉 departed into Galilee but before He left Iudea the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Iesus made and baptized 〈◊〉 Discipls than Iohn tho He himself 〈◊〉 not I prais and magnify thy Sacred Name O my Meek and Prudent Savior For setting us this instructiv Exampl which doth at once direct and authorize us to flee from such Dangers as may prov injurious either to the Body or the Mind Lord when Persecution ariseth endu me with the seasonabl Prudence to make a timely Retreat from the impendent Storm that threatens to invade my Life or Liberty yet accompanied with an unmovabl Resolution to part with either rather than relinquish the Practice of that Piety which becoms a Christian for I may change my Place tho not my Principls nay a discreet Caution in quitting the one may be a necessary and succesful means to preserv the other inviolabl and he that retires from the insinuating temtations unto Pride or Vain-glory which the getting of a Name in the 〈◊〉 is apt to occasion may wel be esteemed a no less pious and discerning Soul than he that withdraws from the rougher Hardship of a 〈◊〉 since this can only confine the Body wheras that may also contaminat the Mind §. 2. The H. Jesus in his way from Judea into Galilee cometh to a City of Samaria which he must 〈◊〉 go throu called Sychar and being wearied with his Iourny about Noon he sat on Iacob's Well which was there not far from the parcel of Ground that the Patriarch gave to his Son Ioseph I adore and prais thy Name O Christ For submitting to the Toil and Labor of this our Flesh subject to Weariness wherin thou hast not only conformed to the common Infirmities of a Man but even to the very Form of a Servant walking on 〈◊〉 from one place to another tho evry Beast of the Forrest is thine and the Cattl upon a thousand hills while the Great Ones of the Earth are carried in state and ease upon their Chariots or Horses to assure us that as wel by Experience as Compassion Thou art touched with the Sens of their Wants who hav been hungry and thirsty til their Soul fainted in them Let me not therfore repine at my scant Allowance of Outward Conveniences while my wealthy Neighbor's Cup o'rflows and his Tabl is spred with all the gustful Rarities of Art and Nature but rest content and thankful under the Dispensations of that Providence which feeds me with Food convenient for me remembring that thou O Iesus hadst occasion to ask a Woman of Samaria to giv thee Drink to reliev thy Thirst thy Discipls being gon away at the same time unto the City to buy Meat for the redress of thine Hunger §. 3. When she put the Question How is it that thou being a Iew askest drink of me who am a woman of Samaria The B. Iesus answer'd her If thou knewest the Gift of God and who it is that saith to thee Giv me to drink thou wouldst hav asked of him and he would hav given thee living Water I glorify thy Name O thou inexhaustible Fountain of Goodness For thus manifesting thy Self greater than their 〈◊〉 Iacob who gave Well to his posterity and drank therof himself Lord instead of questioning Whence thou hast that living Water as the woman did seeing thou hadst nothing to draw with out of that deep Well let me I beseech thee thirst after and be satiated with that Water which whosoever drinketh of shal never thirst that I may taste and see how gracious the Lord is in fulfilling that Request of hers unto my Soul Sir giv me this Water that I thirst not so as to pass this thy Promise into an experimental Truth that it shal be in me a 〈◊〉 of water springing up into everlasting Life And to evidence the Power of thy Grace dwelling in my heart by Faith make it issu out thence into such wholsom Streams of universal Charity as may write a practical Comment on that Text of thine Apostle St. Paul There is neither Greek nor Jew Circumcision nor Uncircumcision Barbarian Scythian bond nor free but Christ is all and in all since thou hast broken down the middl Wall