all them that know them Good and Bad Friends and Foes but also their open bold and undaunted owning and professing of Christ whose they are and to whom they resolve to cleave in the darkest days and most menacing dangers Like unto those Benjamites who said 1 Chron. 12.18 Thine are we David and on thy side thou Son of Iesse peace peace be unto thee and peace be to thine helpers for thy God helpeth thee and so he doth our David and him we may set against all his Enemies for in comparison of him they all be they never so many never so mighty are less than nothing Vanity Among many great and precious Promises which are made to the Gospel-Church under the name of Sion that is one Isa. 60.14 The sons of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soals of thy feet and they shall call thee the City of the Lord the Sion of the Holy One of Israel Now Mount Sion is thus made use of as the Type and Figure of the Church of Christ in new Testament-times the times of the Messiah upon such accounts as these First Because of the special Presence of God there above any other place in the World Psal. 132.13 14. The Lord hath chosen Sion he hath desired it for his Habitation This is my rest for ever here will I dwell for I have desired it It was the place of his choice and of his desire and of his delight It pleas'd him to abide and to give Audience to his People there there he met them and heard their Prayers and made Manifestations of himself to them the House built there he filled with his Glory Now the spiritual and gracious Presence of God is in his Church and with his People From the wicked he stands at a distance he looks upon them afar off We read in the Revelation That mystical Babylon is a Habitation of Devils a Cage of unclean Birds and foul Spirits But the true Church is the Habitation of God there he dwells there he gives forth his Light and his Loves there he makes his People joyful the midst of the golden Candlesticks is the pleasant walk of the blessed Jesus Hence it is that as the Apostle Paul saith in Ephes. 2.21 all the building fuly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord that is the universal Catholick Church doth so that is the Temple of God and then he adds in ver 22. in whom you also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit Not only the universal Church that which is rightly so called but also particular Churches as that in Ephesus those in London or in any other Country City Town which are called united constituted order'd regularly or according to the Pattern given in the Mount the Divine Will revealed and laid down in the Sacred Scriptures are Temples and Habitations in which the great God doth delight by his holy Spirit to dwell yea and so are particular Saints who have been really sanctified and made partakers of those Gifts which do not only adorn and grace the Person but likewise render those that have them truly gracious Secondly Sion was a Type of the Gospel-Church and its name is therefore fitly given to it because of the proceeding or going forth of the Gospel from thence The fiery Law as you know was given upon and from Mount Sinai in a most terrible manner so that Moses himself fear'd and quak'd but the everlasting Gospel or law of Grace was from Mount Sion Isa. 2.3 Many people shall go and say Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Iacob for he will teach us his ways and we will walk in his paths for out of Sion shall go forth the Law and the word of the Lord from Ierusalem The Law i.e. not the law of Works but of Faith. The Law of the Redeemer and the Word i.e. the Word of Reconciliation and Peace the glad tidings of Life and Salvation by him who is the Fountain of Life and the Author of eternal Salvation to all those that accept and obey him This came first out of Sion and Ierusalem from whence it appears that those learned Men did not speak without reason who have asserted that the Church of Ierusalem had the best and most rightful claim to that honourable Title of the Mother Church whatever place besides doth pretend thereunto So consult Psal. 110.2 The Lord will send the rod of thy strength out of Sion Now what is that Rod but the precious Gospel accompanied with the Spirit which is the Power of God to Salvation by which he conquers and subdues a People to himself and also Rules and Governs them Now upon this account the Church may well be called Sion because there are made most blessed Revelations of Jesus Christ and of Mercy Grace and Peace in and thorough him there are the Divine Oracles there are unlocked and sweetly opened those profound and glorious Mysteries which were conceal'd and kept hid from Ages and Generations There is made known unto the Principalities and Powers in heavenly Places 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The manifold Wisdom of God viz. in the whole Oeconomy both of mans Redemption by Christ and of the Government of the Church in its various Ages and Periods from the beginning of the World. Thirdly Sion is fitly used for a Type of the Gospel-Church upon the account of its Eminency it was high and lofty Psal. 68.15 The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan an high hill as the hill of Bashan That of Bashan was a very high Hill rising up with several tops but not to be compared with Sion for as he saith in the next verse Why leap ye ye high hills this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in yea the Lord will dwell in it for ever So the Church which is the Kingdom of Christ doth excel in Glory all the Kingdoms of the World. It is the most noble Society it needs not go a begging to any other it needs no borrowed Beauty it shines brightest with its own Beams when its Worship is performed according to the Divine will without the addition of humane Inventions when its Ordinances are pure without any Adulteration and imbasing Mixtures when its Members walk in an Holy and Gospel-Order according to the Law and Rule of the new Creature Then is the Beauty of the Lord its God upon it and that Beauty is so great so sweet and ravishing that it may very well despise and abhor Painting and little pitiful Artifices to set it off it need not be beholden to any in the World for Ornaments and Dresses This precious and amiable Spouse of Christ doth then look most lovely and is then the fairest among Women when it hath only its Lords comeliness upon it and doth not appear in any of the rotten Rags
Derision and Contempt and while they are raising the Posse Terrae the Powers of the Earth against Christ he knows there is no need of raising the Posse Coeli for him No need of raising his Hosts or of arming and sending twelve Legions of Angels to his assistance No no in order to their Confusion and fatal Disappointment it is full out enough for him to speak to them only it is in his anger and that will vex them by turning their Counsel backward and tumbling their Persons headlong into Destruction which shall certainly be in due time The Word of God carrieth along with it a mighty Power and Efficacy With a word he created the World and brought this excellent Fabrick of Heaven and Earth out of nothing It was but his Fiat and the Work was done and by the word of his Power he upholds all things so that they do not fall and return into their first Nothing And with a word he can blast all the Projects of his Son's Adversaries and wither every Arm that is stretched out against him If any inquire what it is that God speaks to them you have it in the words of the Text Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Sion In which you have these things worthy of your Observation First The will of God set in opposition to the Wills and Counsels of Men. Yet I they are doing so and so but I have done quite otherwise they are doing their Pleasure and I have done mine their work is to do and will never be done mine is done already I am before-hand with them Secondly You have the Act of God the Father by which Regal Power and authority is conferred upon Christ. I have set anointed constituted my King. Thirdly The Seat of his Kingdom the place where his Throne is set and where he is to exercise his Sovereign power The holy Hill of Sion The Doctrine that I shall from hence raise and present you with as the Subject of the following Discourse is this Doct. Let the discontent and rage the designs and practices of Men be what they will yet there is a King set up in Sion by God the Father and this King doth and shall Reign and that in the midst of his Enemies and in spite of them too they may as soon pluck the Sun out of the Firmament as Christ out of the Throne I shall dispatch the Doctrinal part in opening the several Words of the Text which will be done by answering these following Questions First What is meant by Sion Secondly Why is Sion called Gods holy Hill Thirdly Who is that King whom God hath set up there Fourthly What is the meaning of that phrase setting him Fifthly What is the import of that Particle yet Yet have I set him all which I shall pass through with convenient Brevity having a due respect both to his Auditory and the time and then proceed to the Application 1. Q. Our first Question is this What is meant by Sion A. To which I answer thus Sion is to be taken two ways literally and mystically Sion in the literal Acceptation was a considerable Mountain in Ierusalem which had been formerly in the Possession of the Iebusites and was by them kept until the time of David the second King of Israel but the first good one 2 Sam. 5.7 The King and his men went up to Ierusalem to the Iebusites the inhabitants of the Land which spake unto David saying Except thou take away the blind and the lame thou canst not come in hither thinking David cannot come in hither nevertheless David took the strong hold of Sion the same is called the City of David This Hill had two tops upon one of which was built the Tower or City of David and upon the other afterwards was built by Solomon his Son the Temple of the Lord and that top was Mount Moriah as you may see in the 2 Chron. 3.1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Ierusalem in Mount Moriah where the Lord had appeared unto David his Father Sion in the mystical Acceptation is no other than the Church of God. We find that Christ himself who is the King of Saints and Head of the Body is frequently in Scripture called by the name of David Thus Ezek. 34.23 24. I will set up one Shepherd over them and he shall feed them even my servant David he shall feed them and he shall be their Shepherd And I the Lord will be their God and my servant David a Prince among them I the Lord have spoken it So again Hos. 3.5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David their king and they shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days Christ in these and other such like places is to be understood by David and he hath his Name given him because he was to be of the Seed of David the Royal Line and David was the Type of him being as was before hinted the first good and gracious King in Israel tender over that People of God and faithful to their interest ruling them with Wisdom and Love not tyrannically with a Rod of Iron Now as Christ the King is called by the Name of David So the Gospel Church which is his Kingdom the place of his gracious and spiritual Residence is called by the name of Sion so you find it in Hebr. 12.22 Ye are not come to the mount that burned with fire nor to blackness and darkness and tempest but ye are come unto mount Sion and unto the City of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem i.e. to the Church both Militant in which you are Conversant and Triumphant of which you are now Members that Church which is the Seat of Christ and Habitation of God. So likewise in Revel 14.1 I looked and lo a Lamb stood upon mount Sion and with him an hundred forty four thousand having his Fathers name written in their foreheads The Mount Sion here meant is the Church of God where Christ stands to look to it and take particular constant Care of it which he always did and will still go on to do These hundred forty and four thousand that were with him are the Elect of God and effectually called who have submitted to him are followers of him and take his part and are ready to take up his Cross whensoever called to it And this Mark or Seal doth signifie both the sanctifying work of the Spirit in their Hearts by which they are brought over to Christ and also his strengthening work whereby they are kept stedfast with him notwithstanding all the discouragements they find in themselves all the Temptations and Oppositions that are made against them by Hell and all the Afflictions and Persecutions they meet with from the World. And it is said to be in their Foreheads to note out unto us not only the blessed fruit which they bring forth in the sight of
in the steps of the faith of Abraham to us who are Iews inwardly and have that Circumcision which is of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of God Rom. 2.28 29. And the Government is and shall be upon his shoulder though he be a child yet he hath strong shoulders humeros Oneri imperio aptos apt and fit for both burden and rule and since the iniquities of us all have been laid upon him the Rule and Government is laid there too He is made Head over all things they being under his power and he is made Head to the Church that being his Body which he doth by his care defend by his Ordinances feed and by his Spirit quicken animate influence and act Oh! my Friends let us seriously and frequently consider how excellent and glorious a body how blessed and noble a Society the true Church is which hath such an Head and withal how holily how exactly and how exemplarily all of us ought to demean our selves who profess our selves the members thereof that we may not be spots and blemishes in the Body nor shame and dishonour the Head. What should be our care how even our walking how clear our light In a word what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness 2 Pet. 3.11 Well then Christ is King he that was once Crucified is now Crown'd He that was once nailed to the Cross is now advanced to the Throne He is King in Sion he is set up there immediately by God the Father and as such his work is to rule both in the Heart and in the Church First It is the work of Christ to rule in the heart The Kingdom of God is within you Luk. 17.22 Non in urbibus habitat sed in animis hominum it hath not its being in Cities but in the minds and souls of men it is not enough to bow the knee to Christ but the soul must stoop to him that must be order'd and commanded by him It is excellent to see the Interest of Christ in a Nation commander in chief and all other contrary interests made to truckle under it but it nearly concerns every person in particular to look to this that the Throne of Christ be erected in his heart and that the Law of Christ be written there Not only our Understandings are to be irradiated and enlightned by him but our wills are to be commanded by him His will is to be voluntas regulans the ruling will ours are to be the ruled wills Our affections are to be order'd by him placed first upon his Father and himself and after that let out to such and such objects in such an order and in such a measure as is agreeable unto him It is he that saith my Son give me thy heart Prov. 23.26 This is not exclusive of other things according to the manner of some be but so and so in your hearts and then you may go where you will and do what you will but it must be a concomitant with other things whatever thou givest me give me thy heart with it that is unquestionably his due and we give him nothing to purpose nothing that he will accept unless we give him that this is a command too big for a creature the whole world doth not deserve the heart of man and therefore hath no right to demand it but such a requiry doth highly become him who bought man with a price gave for him more than he is worth and having purchased the whole it is fit he should possess it having redeemed it it is just that he should rule and reign in it He is said to dwell in the heart Eph. 3.17 and he must dwell there not as an underling but as a King. Our consciences also are subject to him he is the Lord of the Conscience and his Laws do immediately bind the Conscience Secondly It is the right and work of Christ to rule in the Church to give Laws to it to appoint Officers in it and to order as to all matters of Worship and then is the Church as it should be when it is governed by Christs Officers and according to Christs Laws Moses was but a servant and so have all Church-Officers been and still are Pastors to the Church Rulers in and of the Church but servants to Christ. Our work is Ministry though let the world know it is an honourable Ministry and we do magnifie our Office and as for them that cast contempt upon us let them see how they will answer for it to him who is our Master and their Judg. But Christ is the Son in his own house i. e. He is the Lord of it and all in it is to be order'd according to his will things ought not to be so or so because this or that man this or that party will have it so but all as Christ will have it and the great business is to inquire what is the good acceptable and perfect will of our God and Saviour for Isa. 9.6 He sits upon the Throne of David and upon his Kingdom to order and establish it with judgment and justice which no men have done that have gone about to order and establish without him no no as we have seen to our sorrow and smart and so have our Fathers before us they have acted without judgment and with great injustice He is the Lord of the Vineyard out of which every plant ought to be plucked which he hath not planted He is the Lord of all both persons and things the Lord of Persons he was Davids Lord and by consequence the Lord of Davids seed as such Thomas owned him when he cried out My Lord and my God. And he is the Lord of Things so of the Sabbath Mark 2.28 The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath Understand it not of every Son of man as if a man may chuse what day he will make his Sabbath or whether he will keep one or no or do what he please upon the Christian Sabbath but understand it of that Son of man who is the Son of God as well as the Son of man the ever blessed Iesus he is the Lord of the Sabbath he hath power to order and moderate concerning it to relax as to the severity and abate the strictness of the Legal observation to alter and change it as to the time from the last day of the week to the first which learned men conclude he did in the space of those forty days which he continued upon earth conversing with his Apostles and Disciples between his Resurrection out of the Grave and his Ascension into Heaven Speaking to them of those things which pertain to the Kingdom of God Act. 1.3 viz. the Church both Militant and Triumphant the state and affairs thereof He likewise is the Lord of Ordinances he hath power to appoint them and to continue them as long as he pleaseth
it were it to do again I would do it Indeed once he said concerning Saul 1 Sam. 15.11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be King for he is turned back from following me and hath not performed my Commandments But it shall never be said concerning the Lord Iesus that it repenteth God that he hath made him King. Such a Thought will never be in the Mind of God. Secondly This Yet doth sweetly signifie Gods settled and unalterable Resolution in the case This is so done as that it shall never be undone As when Pilate had given order for that Inscription to be upon the Cross of Christ Iesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews it gave great offence to his Enemies they knew not how to brook it the chief Priests being incensed said unto him Write not The King of the Jews Iohn 19.21 They cared not though he had called him all to naught such a Title they could by no means away with But He answered them thus What I have written I have written The thing is done therefore it is to no purpose for you to say any more So saith God I have set my Son up for King and doth any one think I will pull him down again No far be it from me What I have done I have done So Isaac said concerning his Son Iacob Gen. 27.33 So God hath made Christ King and he shall continue so without being deposed Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever His Kingdom cannot be shaken nor his Throne overturned and indeed it is pity it should since the same verse tells us That the Scepter of his Kingdom is a right Scepter The Counsels of God shall stand all of them and the Thoughts of his Heart to all Generations There is no Act of his Will but there is Counsel in it it is managed with infinite Wisdom And therefore it shall continue because God seeth none not the least cause to revoke it Iob 23.13 He is in one mind and who can turn him None can prevail with him to alter his Mind either by Power or by Persuasion and Intreaty or by Argument and Reason And as it is thus with God with reference to other things so to this in particular and indeed as there is not any Shadow of turning in God as to this so there is not any Shadow of Reason why there should You may see that which Samuel said to Saul 1 Sam. 13.14 Thy Kingdom shall not continue the Lord hath sought him a Man after his own Heart He sought him and he found him That was spoken of David the Type but it may be much more said so concerning the Lord Jesus Christ that he is a Man after the Heart of God. He is perfectly such an One as God would have him Take him as to the Qualification of his Person there is no defect in him no fault nothing amiss He is all and only what he should be And take him as to his Government and managing of Affairs He is according to the Heart of God for the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand Isa. 53.10 He shall deal prudently and prosperously And as He is according to the Heart of God so according to the Heart of his People whom he will rule with love and save to the utmost Thirdly This Yet doth plainly speak the indignation of God the Father against all the Enemies of Christ. It is as one saith Signum irae accensae a sign of Wrath kindled and burning in the Breast of God which will certainly have its vent and break forth in fury to their destruction As you find it in the verse preceding the Text He shall speak unto them in his Wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure When he shall speak to them He will vex them His Words will be Swords and Daggers that shall pierce and wound them to the Heart But what is that which He will speak That which you have in the Text Yet have I set my King upon my holy Hill of Sion How now What is to do here What is the matter with this mad besotted and unchristian World What mean they by their Raging Plotting and Combining Is not my Will sufficiently declared Have not I made my Son Ruler over them and will they not reverence my Son Have not I anointed him with mine Holy Oyl and will they spit in his Face Have not I given forth my command to all the Angels to worship him Heb. 1.6 and will these sorry contemptible Worms be wriggling and moving Disturbances Have not I put all things in subjection under his Feet and will they strengthen themselves against him and run upon him even upon his Neck and the thick Bosses of his Buckler What! dare you notwithstanding that which I have done dare you appear in desperate Opposition to him and to rise up in a flat and open Rebellion against him Dare you for all this meet and consult conspire and contrive for the breaking of his Bands asunder and the casting away his Cords from you Have you so much forgotten me And do you so much overvalue your selves as to dare to run counter to my eternal Counsels and to act in such a way of contradiction to my declared will Are not these mad Men quite out of their Wits and far more fit for Bedlams than for Thrones and Tribunals that do so wickedly and foolishly attempt to put him down and wrest the Scepter out of his Hand and in his stead to advance the Man of Sin the Son of Perdition when yet they have had notice given them by my Word what I have done and how I have Authorized him and that it is by me that he Reigns This doth highly provoke and incense God this makes the Fury to come up into his Face And therefore let all the Enemies of Christ know they had better desist from this their vain undertaking they had better mind their own Business and study how to secure and provide for their own Peace and let Christ alone in the enjoyment of what is given him for an Inheritance and Possession God the Father takes the part of Christ and will plead his Cause as one that is in Honour and Interest ingaged so to do for this is past all question those Persons that are so eagerly set for the unkinging of Christ would if it were in their power ungod the Father too And since he sides with Christ he will be too hard for all his Adversaries and break their Hearts and Necks and Arms whose design it is to break his Bands This brings me to the last thing Fourthly This Yet speaks the Vanity and Unsuccessfulness of all the Attempts which the Enemies of the Lord Jesus make against him and Gods looking with holy Scorn and highest Contempt upon all the grand and petty Antichrists in the World. Yonder is a huge multitude of them saith God Gebal Ammon Amalek and the Inhabitants of Mount Seir with many more