it and keep it within bounds It is like fire a good Servant but a bad Master if it once get head it consumes and devours all before it and the great danger and mischief of it is that it is most commonly found where it should not be and possesses those most who are least fit to govern it and most frequently employed about what it should not be and ten to one but it is either mistaken in the Object or in the Measure and Degree of it and even when it is a Virtue it is a nice and dangerous one for the wisest Men are apt to mingle their own Passions and Interests with their Zeal for God and Religion So that it is not enough that Men are acted by a zeal for God and do sincerely follow the dictates of their Consciences but they must be careful to inform their Consciences and not suffer themselves to be violently transported and hurried on by their own Passions and Prejudice and by a blind and furious zeal without knowledge But what then Would we have Men not follow their own Consciences or act contrary to them No by no means For tho' Conscience be not our Rule yet it is our immediate Guide and he does ill who does act against his Conscience But Men must be careful how they settle their Practical Judgment of things and conclude things to be Lawful or Unlawful Duties or Sins without Reason and good Ground God hath given us Understandings to try and examine things and the light of his Word to direct us in this tryal and if we will judge rashly and suffer our selves to be hurried by Prejudice or Passion the Errours of our Judgment become Faults of our Lives For God expects from us that we should weigh and consider what we do and when he hath afforded us light enough to discern betwixt Good and Evil that we should carefully follow the direction of it that we should be suspicious of our selves when our Zeal carries us to do things that are furious and cruel false and treacherous and have a horrid appearance even to the light of Nature we should question that zeal which is so contrary to Christian Goodness and Meekness to Peace and Charity and which tends to Confusion and every Evil Work I will conclude all with that excellent Passage of St. James which will shew us how little regard is to be had to many Mens Pretences of Zeal for Religion Jam. 3.13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge amongst you Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom But if ye have bitter zeal and strife in your hearts glory not and lye not against the truth This wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly sensual devilish For where zeal and strife is there is confusion and every evil work But the wisdom which is from above is first pure then peaceable gentle and easie to be entreated full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisie And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace SERMON XIV The best Men liable to the worst Treatment from Mistaken Zealots Preached on November 5. 1686. JOHN XVI 2. They shall put you out of the Synagogues Yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God service THESE words were spoken by our Blessed Saviour when he was about to leave the World at the thoughts whereof finding his Disciples to be exceedingly troubled VOL. II. he comforts them by the Consideration of the great Benefit and Advantage which from thence would accrue to them he tells them that he was going to Heaven to interceed for them and to make way for their admission there and withall promiseth that his Father would send the Holy Ghost who should abundantly supply the want of his Presence with them but he tells them at the same time that they should meet with very ill Entertainment and Usage from the World but so had He Ch. 15.18 If the world hate you ye know that it hated me before it hated you and why should they expect to be better treated than He was v. 20. Remember the word that I said unto you the servant is not greater than the Lord if they have persecuted me they will also persecute you And at the beginning of this Chapter he tells them that he did on purpose forewarn them of these things to prepare their Minds beforehand and to arm them against the worst that might happen v. 1. These things have I I have spoken to you Serm. XIV that ye should not be offended And then he declares more particularly how far the Rage and Malice of Men should proceed against them and in what kind they should suffer They shall put you out of the Synagogues Yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God service So that our Saviour here fortells Two sorts of Persecution which his Disciples should be Exercised withal Excommunication they shall put you out of their Synagogues And Excision Yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will thinks that he doth God service And these perhaps were but several Kinds and Degrees of Excomunication for the clearer understanding whereof it will be requisite briefly to explain the Three Degrees of Excommunication among the Jews The First call'd Niddui is that which our Saviour here means by putting out of the Synagogue and which he elsewhere expresseth by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or separation Luke 6.22 Blessed are ye when men shall hate you and when they shall separate yon from their company And the Effect of this Excommunication was to exclude Men from the Communion of the Church and People of God and from his Service which was a great disgrace because after this Sentence none of the Jews were to converse with them but to look upon them as Heathens and Publicans The Second Degree of this Censure was called Cherem which included the first but extended farther to the Confiscation of Goods into the Sacred Treasury and devoting them to God after which there was no Redemption of them And of this we find express mention Ezra 10.7 8. where it is said That they made Proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem and that whosoever would not come within three days according to the Counsel of the Princes and Elders all his substance should be devoted and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carriied away The Third Degree ws Shammatha when the Rebellious and Contumacious Person was Anathematiz'd and Devoted and as some conceive according to the Law Levit. 27.29 was to be put to death tho' other very konwing Men in the Jewish Learning think it amounted to no more than a final Sentence whereby they were left to the Judgment of God by some remarkable Judgment of his to be cut off from
other terms than of denying ungodliness and worldly lusts and of living soberly righteously and godly in this present world And besides this Consideration we have the best Testimony in the World of their Unblameable Lives viz. the Testimony of their profest Enemies who did not persecute them for any personal Crimes which they charged particular Persons withal but only for their Religion acknowledging them otherwise to be very innocent and good People Particulary Pliny in his Letter to Trajan the Emperor who had given him in Charge to make particular Enquiry concerning the Christians gives this honourable Report of them That there was no fault to be found in them besides their obstinate refusal to Sacrifice to the Gods that at their Religious Meetings it was an essential part of their Worship to oblige themselves by a solemn Sacrament against Murder and Theft and Adultery and all manner of Wickedness and Vice No Christian Historian could have given a better Character of them than this Heathen Writer does But 3. The Success of the Gospel will appear yet more strange if we consider the Weakness and Meanness of the Instruments that were employed in this great Work A company of plain and illiterate Men most of them destitute of the advantages of Education went forth upon this great Design weak and unarmed unassisted by any worldy interest having no Secular Force and Power on their side to give countenance and authority to them and this not only at their first setting out but they remained under these Disadvantages for three Ages together The first Publishers of the Christian Religion offered Violence to no Man did not go about to compel any by Force to entertain the Doctrine which they Preached and to list themselves of their number they were not attended with Legions of armed Men to dispose Men for the reception of their Doctrine by Plunder and Free-Quarter by Violence and Tortures this Modern Method of Conversion was not then thought of nor did they go about to tempt and allure Men to their Way by the Promises of Temporal Rewards and by the Hopes of Riches and Honours nor did they use any artificial insinuations of Wit and Eloquence to gain upon the Minds of Men and steal their Doctrines into them but delivered themselves with the greatest plainness and simplicity and without any studied Ornaments of Speech or fine Arts of Perswasion declared plainly to them the Doctrine and Miracles the Life and Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ promising Life and Immortality to them that did believe and obey his Doctrine and threatning Eternal Wo and Misery in another World to the despisers of it And yet these contemptible Instruments notwithstanding all these disadvantages did their work effectually and by the Power of God going along with them gained numbers every day to their Religion and in a short space drew the world after them Nor did they only win over the Common People but also several Persons considerable for their Dignity and Eminent for their Learning who afterwards became zealous Assertors of Christianity and were not ashamed to be Instructed in the Saving Knowledge of the Gospel by such mean and unlearned Persons as the Apostles were for they saw something in them more Divine and which carried with it a greater Power and Perswasion than Humane Learning and Eloquence 4. We will consider the mighty Opposition that was raised against the Gospel At its first appearance it could not be otherwise but that it must meet with a great deal of difficulty and opposition from the Lusts and Vices of Men which it did so plainly and so severely declare against and likewise from the Prejudices of Men that had been brought up in a contrary Religion no Prejudice being so strong as that which is founded in Education and of all Prejudices of Education none so obstinate and hard to be removed as those about Religion yea tho' they be never so absurd and unreasonable Hath a Nation changed their Gods which yet are no Gods Men are very hardly brought off from the Religion which they have been brought up in how little Ground and Reason soever there be for it the being trained up in it and having a reverence for it implanted in them in their tender Years supplies all other defects Had Men been free and indifferent in Religion when Christianity first appeared in the World and had they not had their Minds prepossest with other apprehensions of God and Religion and been inured to Rites and Superstitions of a quite different Nature from the Christian Religion or had they at that time been weary of the Superstitions of their Idolatrous Worship and been enquiring after a better way of Religion then indeed the Christian Religion had appeared with great advantage and would in all probability have been entertained with a readiness of Mind proportionable to the Reasonableness of it But this was not the Case When the Doctrine of the Gospel was first Publisht in the World the whole World both Jews and Gentiles were violently prejudiced against it and fixt in their several Religions The Jews indeed in former times had been very prone to relinquish the Worship of the True God and to fall into the Heathen Idolatry But after God had Punisht them severely for that Sin by a long Captivity they continued ever after very strict and firm to the Worship of the True God and never were they more tenacious of their Religion and Law than at that very time when our Saviour appeared in the World And though He was foretold in their Law and most particularly described in the authentick Books of their Religion the Prophets of the Old Testament yet by reason of certain groundless Traditions which they had received from the Interpreters of their Law That their Messias was to be a great Temporal Prince they conceived an invincible Prejudice against our Saviour upon account of the Mean Circumstances in which he appeared and upon this Prejudice they rejected him and put him to death and persecuted his Followers And though their Religion was much nearer to the Christian than any of the Heathen Idolatries yet upon this account of our Saviour's Mean Appearance they were much more averse to the Entertainment of it than the grossest Idolaters among the Nations Not but that their Prejudice also was very great the common People being strongly addicted to the Idolatry and Superstitions of their several Countries and the Wiser and more Learned whom they call'd their Philosophers were so puft up with a conceit of their own Knowledge and Eloquence that they despised the rudeness and simplicity of the Apostles and look'd upon their Doctrine of a Crucified Saviour as ridiculous and the Story of his Resurrection from the dead as absurd and impossible So St. Paul tells us that the Cross of Christ was to the Jews a stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness But besides the Opposition which the Gospel met withal from the Lusts and Prejudices of Men
I know that thou fearest God says the Angel since thou hast not with-held thy Son thine only Son from me This is a demonstration that God loved us at a stupendous rate when he would send his only-begotten Son into the World for us Before this God had tryed several Ways with Mankind and employed several Messengers to us sometimes he sent his Angels and many times his Servants the Prophets But in these last Days he hath sent his Son He had many more Servants to have employed upon this Message but he had but one Son and rather than Mankind should be ruined and lost he would send him Such was the Love of God towards us that rather than our Recovery should not be effected he would employ in this Work the greatest and dearest Person to him both in Heaven and Earth his only begotten Son in this was the Love of God manifested that he sent his only-begotten Son that we might live through him 2. Let us consider how much this Clorious and Excellent Person was abased in order to the effecting and accomplishing of this Design which is here exprest by sending him into the World and this comprehends his Incarnation with all the mean and abasing Circumstances of it This the Apostle declares fully to us Phil. 2.6 7. tho' he was in the Form of God that is truly and really God yet he made himself of no Reputation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he empty'd himself was contented to be strangely lessen'd and diminish'd and took upon him the Form of a Servant or Slave and was made in the likeness of Men that is did really assume Humane Nature Here was an Abasement indeed for God to become Man for the only-begotten Son of God to take upon him the Form of a Servant and to become obedient to Death even the Death of the Cross which was the Death of Slaves and famous Malefactors Here was Love indeed that God was willing that his own dear Son should be thus obscured and diminished and become so mean and so miserable for our sakes that he should not only stoop to be made Man and to dwell among us but that he should likewise submit to the Infirmities of our Nature and to be made in all things like unto us Sin only excepted that he should be contented to bear so many Affronts and Indignities from perverse and unthankful Men and to endure such Contradiction of Sinners against himself that he who was the Brightness of his Father's Glory should be despised and rejected of Men a Man of sorrows und acquainted with griefs and rather than we should perish should put himself into our Place and be contented to suffer and die for us and that God should be willing that all this should be done to his only Son to save Sinners What greater Testimony could he give of his Love to us 3. Let us consider farther to whom he was sent which is also implyed in these Words he sent his Son into the World into a wicked World that was altogether unworthy of him and to an Ungrateful World that did most unworthily use him First Into a Wicked World that was altogether unworthy of him that had deserved no such Kindness at his Hands For what were we that God should send such a Person amongst us that he should make his Son stoop so low as to dwell in our Nature and to become one of us We were Rebels and Enemies Enemies to God by evil Works up in Arms against Heaven and at open Defiance with God our Maker When the World was in this Posture of Enmity and Hostility against God then he sent his Son to Treat with us and to offer us Peace What can more commend the Love of God than this that he should shew such Kindness to us when we were Sinners and Enemies Herein God hath commended his Love towards us says the Apostle Rom. 5.8 in that whilst we were yet Sinners Christ died for us Secondly Into an Ungrateful World that did most unworthily use him that gave no becoming Entertainment to him the Foxes had Holes and the Birds of the Air had Nests but the Son of Man had not where to lay his Head that heaped all manner of Contumelies and Indignities upon him that Persecuted him all his Life and at last put him to a most painful and shameful Death in a word that was so far from receiving him as the Son of God that they did not treat him with common Humanity and like one of the Sons of men 4. He did all this voluntarily and freely God sent his Son into the World mero motu of his own meer Grace and Goodness moved by nothing but his own Bowels and the Consideration of our Misery not overpowered by any Force for what could offer Violence to him to whom all Power belongs not constrain'd by any Necessity for he had been Happy tho' we had remained for ever Miserable he might have chosen other Objects of his Love and Pity and have left us involved in that Misery which we had wilfully brought upon our selves Nor was he prevail'd upon by any Application from us or importunity of ours to do this for us Had we been left to have contrived the way of our Recovery this which God hath done for us could never have entred into the Heart of Man to have imagin'd much less to have defir'd it at his Hands If the way of our Salvation had been put into the Hands of our own Counsel and Choice how could we have been so impudent as to have begg'd of God that his only Son might descend from Heaven and become Man be poor despised and miserable for our sakes God may stoop as low as he pleaseth being secure of his own Majesty and Greatness but it had been a Boldness in us not far from Blasphemy to have desired of him to condescend to such a a submission Nor Lastly was he pre-oblig'd by any Kindness or Benefit from us so far from that that we had given him all possible Provocation to the contrary and had Reason to expect the Effect of his heaviest Displeasure And yet though he was the pars laesa the party that had been disoblig'd and injured tho' we were first in the Offence and Provocation he was pleased to make the first Overtures of Peace and Reconciliation and tho' it was wholly our Concernment and not his yet he was pleased to condescend so far to our Perverseness and Obstinacy as to send his Son to us and to beseech us to be reconciled Now herein says the Apostle immediately after the Text herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our Sins Herein is the Love of God manifested that the kindness began on his part and not on ours that being neither obliged nor desired by us he did freely and of his own accord send his only-begotten Son into the world that we might live through him What
Solomon's Temple which some that were then alive had seen in its glory yet in other respects it should far excel it for the time would come that this second Temple should be graced with the Presence of the Messias which would be a greater Glory to it than all the Riches of Solomon's Temple And this is fully exprest in the words which I have read unto you Thus saith the Lord of hosts Yet once it is a little while and I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land And I will shake all nations and the desire of all nations shall come and I will fill this house with glory saith the Lord of hosts The silver is mine and the gold is mine saith the Lord of hosts The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former saith the Lord of hosts and in this place will I give peace saith the Lord of hosts Now that it is some very great thing which is here foretold and promised for the Honour of this second Temple no Man can doubt that considers in what a solemn manner it is here exprest this great and glorious Title the Lord of hosts being no less than five several times used within the compass of these four Verses the like Instance whereto is not perhaps in the whole Bible Thus saith the Lord of hosts Yet once it is a little while and I will shake the heavens and the earth verse 6. And I will fill this house with glory saith the Lord of hosts verse 7. The silver is mine and the gold is mine saith the Lord of hosts ver 8. And twice ver 9. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former saith the Lord of hosts and in this place will I give peace saith the Lord of hosts So that by the solemn manner of expressing of it we may imagine that it is some very great thing which is spoken of and such as the like had never been before and such was the incarnation and coming of the Messias I know that the Modern Jews will by no means have this Text to be understood of the Messias and not without cause for he that is spoken of in the Text was to come into the second Temple which hath now been destroyed above 1600 Years ago and they do not believe the Messias to be yet come and therefore whatever shift they make they must interpret this Text of some other Person than the Messias But then it is plain for what Reason they do so it being evident from their own Talmud that the Ancient Jews did understand of the Messias but being harden'd in their Unbelief they pervert all those Texts whereby they might be convinc'd that Jesus our Blessed Saviour was the True Messias And indeed whoever carefully considers the several Expressions and Circumstances of this Prediction cannot understand it of any other To make this Evident I shall explain the several Expressions in the Text Thus saith the Lord of hosts Yet once it is a little while Yet a little while so it is in the Hebrew Yet once more so the LXX render it and so it is quoted from the LXX in the New Testament Heb. 12.26 and this Sense the Hebrew word may likewise bear and our Translation of the Text takes them both in Yet once it is a little while If we take the Words in the first Sense Yet a little while they signifie that God was then beginning those Changes in the World which were to precede and make way for the coming of the Messias This indeed was not till about Four Hundred Years after but a great while before that time God began those Changes in the World which were to prepare the way for his coming and considering the long time which was past from the first promise made to Abraham Four Hundred Years in comparison of that may seem but a little while But I rather choose the latter Sense of this Phrase Yet once more because the Hebrew will bear it and because it is so quoted in the New Testament as if the Prophet had said That God had before done a great thing in the World and accompanied with great Miracles viz. The giving of the Law by Moses which was attended with great Commotions both in Egypt by bringing the People of Israel out from thence with a mighty hand and by destroying the Nations before them whose Land God gave them for a Possession but now he would do one greater thing more the sending of the Messias and the planting of his Religion in the World in order whereunto there should be much greater and more universal Commotions and Changes in the World and more and greater Miracles wrought Yet once more and I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land and I will shake all nations From which Words the Apostle to the Hebrews argues the abolishing of the Jewish Dispensation and the bringing in of another that should be unalterable Heb. 12.27 And this Word Yet once more says the Apostle signifies the removing of those things that are shaken that those things which cannot be shaken way remain And this I shall have occasion to explain more fully in the following parts of this discourse Yet once more I will shake the heavens and the earth c. For the understanding whereof we are to consider That the Hebrews have no one Word whereby to express the World and therefore they do it by an enumeration of the principal Parts of it So Gen. 1. when Moses would express the Creation of the World he says In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth And so St. Peter when he would express the Revolution of all things after the universal Conflagration of the World calls it a new heaven and a new earth 2 Pet. 3.13 Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth that is a new World a quite other Frame and State of things than that which we now see And so the Prophet here in the Text to express the great Commotions and Changes that should be in the World before the coming of the Messias says that God will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land that is he would cause great Revolutions in the World there should be great Wars and Confusions and the Empires of the World should pass from one Hand to another And thus we find this very expression interpreted ver 21 22. of this Chapter I will shake the heavens and the earth and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations And to shew that by shaking the heavens and the earth is meant great Changes in the World and as it were an universal Commotion of it he adds in the Text by way of farther Explication and I will shake all nations And then it follows and the desire of all nations
shall come This we as the ancient Jews also did take to be a plain Character and Description of the Messias he is the desire of all nations he whom all Nations had reason to desire because of those great Blessings and Benefits which he was to bring to the World Thus Interpreters generally understand these Words and it is very true the Messias was so But this does not seem to be the true importance of this phrase for the Hebrew Word signifies Expectation as well as Desire and so I should rather choose to render it the Expectation of all Nations shall come which signifies that about the time of the coming of the Messias not only the Jews but other Nations should be in a general Expectation of some great Prince then to appear which was most eminently accomplished in our Blessed Saviour as I shall shew by and by And I will fill this house with glory saith the Lord of hosts speaking of the Second Temple which was then in building which though it fell very much short of Solomon's in point of State and Magnificence yet by being honoured with the Presence of the Messias it should be much more Glorious than Solomon's Temple The silver is mine and the gold is mine saith the Lord of hosts not that God wanted the command of Gold and Silver to have made the Second Temple equal to Solomon's in outward Glory and Splendour he could easily have made it so in that respect and Josephus tells us that not long before the time of our Saviour's coming Herod had built and beautified it to that degree that in some respects it excelled Solomon's and of this some understand the next words The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former namely that this was accomplished in that Beauty and Magnificence which was added to it when it was re-edified by Herod the Great But however that be this is certain that it was much more Glorious in another respect namely that it entertained the Messias the great Expectation and Blessing of all Nations And in this place will I give peace saith the Lord of hosts Some understand this of that Universal Peace which was throughout the World when our Saviour was born in the Reign of Augustus Caesar Others with great probability interpret this of the Messias himself who is called here by the name of Peace and so some of the ancient Jews understood it in this place will I give peace that is the Messias For the Hebrew Word signifies all kind of Happiness and so it includes all those Blessings and Benefits that Happiness and Salvation which the Messias brought to the World And this will appear very probable if we consider how frequently in Scripture this Title is given to the Messias Isai 9.6 he is called the Prince of peace and Zach. 9.10 it is said of him that he should speak peace to the nations and the Apostle to the Hebrews parallels him with Melchisedech in this Particular that he was King of Salem that is King of Peace and which is very little different from this he is frequently in Scripture called Salvation which signifies the Happiness of being rescued and delivered from all kind of Evil as Peace signifies all kind of Good Isai 49.6 I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles that thou mayest be my Salvation to the end of the earth And Luke 2.30 when Simeon had our Blessed Saviour in his Arms when he was first brought into the Temple he calls him the Salvation of God Mine Eyes saith he to God have seen thy salvation and John 4.22 Salvation is of the Jews that is the Messias was to be of that Nation But which is more express Christ is called our peace Eph. 2.14 nay he is expresly called peace or the peace Micah 5.5 and this man speaking of the Messias shall be the peace that is one of his Names or Titles shall be peace So that I make little doubt but that in this Expression in the Text of giving peace is meant giving the Messias and that this is render'd as the Reason why the Glory of the Second Temple should be greater than of the First because in that place the Messias should appear and remarkably shew himself God could have given this Second Temple if he had thought fit as much outward Glory and Beauty as that of Solomon's Building for silver and gold are his and all the Riches of the World are at his Command but he chose to put a far greater Honour upon it than that of Silver and Gold and to make it much more Glorious in another respect the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former because in this place I will give the Messias the peace and Happiness and Salvation of Mankind and incomparably the greatest Blessing that ever was given to the World The Words being thus explained it will now be more easie to shew how the several parts of this Prediction do agree to our Blessed Saviour and to no other I. That there should be great Changes and Commotions in the World before his coming I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land and I will shake all nations and then he should come II. That about the time of his coming the World should be in a general Expectation of him and the expectation of all nations shall come III. That he should come during the continuance of the Second Temple for it was his coming that should fill that House with Glory and in that place the Messias who is called Peace is promised to be given and in this place will I give peace saith the Lord of hosts IV. That this coming of the Messias should be the last dispensation of God for the Salvation of Men and consequently should be perpetual and unalterable yet once more and I will shake the heavens and the earth yet once more from whence the Apostle to the Hebrews argues that the Gospel should be a perpetual and unalterable dispensation Of these I shall speak severally and as briefly as I can I. Here is a Prediction of great Changes and Commotions in the World before the coming of the Messias thus saith the Lord of hosts I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land and I will shake all nations and the desire of all nations shall come plainly signifying hereby that before the coming of the Messias who is here called the desire and expectation of all nations there should be very great Commotions and Changes in the World that the Empire of the World should be overturned for so I have told you that this Expression of shaking the heavens and the earth is explained verse 21. of this Chapter I will shake the heavens and the earth and will overthrow the throne of kingdoms And this was fulfilled in a most remarkable manner between the time of this Prophecy and the coming of our Blessed
Saviour during which time though it was but four hundred Years there happened great Commotions and much more considerable Revolutions in the great Kingdoms of the World than had done in above two thousand Years before and in almost One thousand seven hundred Years since so that it is no wonder that the Prediction of these things is by God himself exprest in so very solemn a manner as I observed before At the time of this Prophecy the Empire of the World was newly translated from the Assyrians to the Medes and Persians and not long after the Grecians under Alexander the Great quite overthrew the Persian Empire and that by as sudden a Change as was ever perhaps made in the World possessing themselves by so swift and speedy a Conquest of a great part of the then known World as if to pass through it and to conquer it had been all one After the death of Alexander the Empire of the Grecians was shared among his great Captains whom the Romans by degrees conquered besides a great many other Kingdoms which Alexander never saw and some of them perhaps had never heard of At last the Empire of the World in all its greatness and Glory was possest by Augustus in whose time our Blessed Saviour was born So that here were mighty Commotions in the World wonderful Changes of Kingdoms and Empires before the coming of the Messias far greater and of much larger extent than those that were in Egypt and Palestine at the bringing of the Children of Israel out of Egypt and the giving of the Law from Mount Sinai And these did not only go before the coming of the Messias but they made way for the more easie propagating of his Doctrine and Religion for the Grecians and especially the Romans setled their Conquests in such a manner as in a good measure to propagate their Language among the Nations which they conquered and particularly the Romans did make the Ways for Travel and Commerce much more easie and commodious than ever they were before by employing their Armies when they had no other Work to make High-ways for the convenience of Passage from the Station of one Legion to another the Benefit and effect whereof we in England enjoy to this day a Pattern to all Princes and States that have necessary occasion for Armies how to employ them And this very thing proved afterwards a mighty Advantage for the more easie and speedy spreading of Christianity in the World II. Another part of this Prophecy is That about the time of the coming of the Messias the World should be in a general expectation of him and the Expectation of all Nations shall come And I doubt not but this Character of the Messias is taken out of that famous Prophecy concerning him Gen. 49.10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah till Shiloh come and by Shiloh the ancient Jews generally understood the Messias and to him shall the gathering of the people be or as it is render'd by the Septuagint and several other Translations and he shall be the Expectation of the Nations In allusion to which ancient Prophecy concerning him he is here in the Text called the Expectation of all Nations and so by the Prophet Malachi chap. 3. ver 1. and the Lord whom ye expect or look for shall suddenly come into his temple Now this part of the Prediction in the Text was most eminently fulfilled in our Blessed Saviour For about the time of his coming the Jews were in a general expectation of him as appears not only from that ancient and general Tradition of theirs from the School of Elias that at the end of the second two thousand years of the World the Messias should come and our Blessed Saviour's coming did accordingly happen at that time but likewise from that particular Computation of the Jewish Doctors not long before our Saviour's coming who upon a solemn debate of the matter did determine that the Messias would come within fifty Years And this is farther confirmed from the great Jealousie which Herod had concerning a King of the Jews that was expected to be born about that time and from that remarkable Testimony in Josephus who tells us That the Jews rebelled against the Romans being encouraged thereto by a famous Prophecy in their Scriptures that about that time a great Prince should be born among them that should rule the World And Josephus flattered Vespasian so far as to make him believe that he was the Man and thereupon perswaded him to destroy the Line of David out of which the Tradition was that the Messias should spring as if the Accomplishment of a Divine Prediction could be hinder'd by any Human endeavour And this was not only the generl Expectation of the Jews about that time but of a great Part of the World as appears from those Two famous Testimonies of Two of the most Eminent Roman Historians Suetonius and Tacitus The words of Suetonius are these Percrebuerat Oriente toto vetus constans opinio esse in fatis ut Judaeâ profecti rerum potirentur There was an ancient and general Opinion famous throughout all the Eastern Parts that the Fates had determined that there should come out of Judea those that should govern the World and he adds what I quoted before out of Josephus Id Judaei ad se trehentes rebellarunt that the Jews taking this to themselves did thereupon rebel Now it is very remarkable that the very words of this Tradition seem to be a verbal Translation of that Prophecy in Micah That out of Judah should come the Governour Vt Judpaeâ profecti reruni potirentur The other Testimony is out of Tacitus and his Words are these lib. 21 Pluribus persuasio inerat antiquis Sacerdotum libris contineri eo ipso tempore fore ut valesceret Oriens profectique Judaeâ rerum potirentur A great many says he were possessed with a Persuasion that it was contained in the ancient Books of the Priests that at that very time the East should prevail and that they who should govern the World were to come out of Judeâ By the ancient Books of the Priests he in all probability means the ancient Prophecies of Scripture for the last Expression is the same with that of Suetonius taken out of the Prophet Micah and the other that the East should prevail does plainly refer to that Title given to the Messias by the Prophet Zachary chap. 6.12 where he is called The Man whose name is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies Oriens and Germen both the East and a Branch our Translation hath it the Man whose name is the Branch but it might as well be render'd the Man whose name is the East Thus you see this Character of our Saviour in this Prophecy most literally fulfilled that he was the Expectation of all Nations I proceed to the III. Circumstance of this Prediction That he who is here foretold should come during the continuance of this second
his Will which he denied to many Prophets and righteous men who desired to see the things which we see but could not see them and to hear the things which we hear but could not hear them There were good Men in the World under those imperfect Revelations which God made to them but we have far greater Advantages and more powerful Arguments to be Good than ever they had And as we ought thankfully to acknowledge these blessed Advantages so ought we likewise with the greatest Care and Diligence to improve them And now how does the serious Consideration of this Condemn all Impenitent Sinners under the Gospel who will not be reclaimed from their Sins and perswaded to Goodness by all that God can do by the most plain Declaration of his Will to the World by the most perfect Precepts and Directions for a good Life by the most encouraging Promises to Obedience and by the most severe Threatnings of an Eternal and Unutterable Ruin in case of disobedience by the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men by the Terrors of the great day and the Vengeance of Eternal Fire by the wonderful and amazing Condescension of the Son of God appearing in our Nature by his merciful undertaking for the Redemption of lost and sinful Man by his cruel Sufferings for our Sins and by the kindest Offers of Pardon and Reconciliation in his Blood and by the glorious hopes of Eternal Life What could God have done more for us than he hath done What greater concernment could he shew for our Salvation than to send his own son his only son to seek and save us And what greater demonstration could he give of his Love to us than to give the Son of his Love to die for us This is the last Effort that the Divine Mercy and Goodness will make upon Mankind So the Apostle tells us in the beginning of this Epistle chap. 1.1 that God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the Fathers by the Prophets hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son And if we will not hear him he will speak no more after this it is not to be expected that he should make any farther Attempts for our recovery he can send no greater and dearer Person to us than his own Son If we despise him whom will we Reverence If we reject him and the great Salvation which he brings and offers to us we have all the reason in the World to believe that our case is desperate and that we shall die in our sins This was the Condemnation of the Jews that they did not receive and believe on him whom God had sent And if we who profess to believe on him and to receive his Doctrine be found disobedient to it in our Lives we have reason to fear that our Condemnation shall be far heavier than theirs For since the appearance of the Son of God for the Salvation of men the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men especially against those who detain the truth of God in unrighteousness that is against those who entertain the Light of God's Truth in their Minds but do not suffer it to have its proper Effect and Influence upon their Hearts and Lives and make that a Prisoner which would make them free So our Lord tells us that the truth shall make us free but if after we have received the knowledge of the truth we are still the servants of sin our Condemnation is much worse than if the Son of God had never come For the Christian Religion hath done nothing if it do not take men off from their Sins and teach them to live well Especially at this time when we are celebrating the coming of the Son of God to destroy the works of the Devil we should take great heed that we be not found guilty of any Impiety and Wickedness because this is directly contrary to the main Design of the grace of God which brings Salvation and hath appeared to all men and the appearance whereof we do at this time commemorate for That teacheth men to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly and righteously and godlily in this present world And we cannot gratifie the Devil more than by shewing our selves more diligent than ordinary to uphold his Works at this very time when the Son of God was manifested on purpose to dissolve them We cannot possibly choose a worse a more improper Season to sin in than when we are Celebrating the Birth of the Blessed Jesus who came to save us from our sins This is as if a sick Man for joy that a Famous Physician is come to his House should run into all manner of Excess and so do all he can to enflame his Disease and make his case desperate Not but that our inward Joy may lawfully be accompanied with all outward innocent Expressions of it but we cannot be truly thankful if we allow our selves at this time in any thing contrary to the Purity and Sobriety of the Gospel It is matter of just and sad complaint being of great scandal to our Saviour and his holy Religion that such irregular and extravagant things are at this time commonly cone by many who call themselves Christians and done under a pretence of doing Honour to the Memory of Christ's Birth as if because the Son of God was at this time made Man it were fit for Men to make themselves Beasts If we would honour him indeed we must take care that our Joy do not degenerate into Sin and Sensuality and that we do not express it by Lewdness and Luxury by Intemperance and Excess by prodigal Gaming and profuse wasting of our Estates as the manner of some is as if we intended literally to requite our Saviour who being rich for our sakes became poor This is a way of parting with houses and land and becoming poor for his sake for which he will never thank nor reward us This is not to commemorate the Coming of our Saviour but to contradict it and openly to declare that we will uphold the Works of the Devil in despight of the Son of God who came to destroy them It is for all the World like that lewd and sensless piece of Loyalty too much in fashion some Years ago of being Drunk for the King Good God! that ever it should pass for a piece of Religion among Christians to run into all manner of excess for Twelve days together in honour of our Saviour A greater Aggravation of Sin cannot easily be imagined than to abuse the Memory of the greatest Blessing that ever was Christ coming into the World to take away sin into an opportunity of committing it this is to represent the Son of God as a Patron of Sin and Licentiousness and to treat him more contumeliously than the Jews did who bowed the Knee to him and mocked him and called
provide for the supply of those two great Wants which they seem'd always to have laboured under and concerning which they were at so great a loss viz. an effectual expiatory Sacrifice for Sins upon Earth and a powerful Mediator and Intercessor with God in Heaven And both these by the same Person Jesus Christ who appeared in the end of the World to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself and in the Merit and Vertue of that Sacrifice appearing in Heaven in the Presence of God for us is become a perpetual Advocate and a most powerful Intercessor with God in Heaven for us So that instead of the endless Sacrifices of the Jewish Religion which were ineffectual to the real Expiation of Sin and only Types and Shadows of the true expiatory Sacrifice and instead of the bloody and inhumane Sacrifices of the Heathen Idolatry the Son of God hath by one Sacrifice for Sin once offered perfected for ever them that are sanctified and obtained eternal Redemption for us And instead of the Mediation of Angels and the Souls of their departed Heroes which the Heathen made use of to offer up their Prayers to the Gods We have one Mediator between God and Men appointed by God himself Jesus the Son of God who in our Nature is ascended into Heaven to appear in the presence of God for us And who so fit to be our Patron and Advocate as he who was our Sacrifice and Propitiation Thus the Method of our Redemption as it was by the Wisdom of God admirably suited to the common Apprehensions of Mankind concerning the necessity of a Sacrifice to make Expiation of Sin and of a Mediator to intercede with God for Sinners so was it likewise excellently fitted not only to put an end to the Jewish Sacrifices but likewise to abolish the barbarous Sacrifices and Rites of the Heathen Idolatry and to cashier that infinite number of Mediators and Intercessors by whom they address'd their Prayers to the Deity and instead of all this to introduce a more reasonable and spiritual Worship more agreeable to the Nature and Perfections of God and the Reason of Mankind which was one of the main and principal Designs of the Christian Religion And therefore to bring in any other Mediators to intercede in Heaven for us whether Angels or Saints and by them to offer up our Prayers to God is directly contrary to the Design of the Christian Religion Thirdly It is likewise evident from the Nature and Reason of the thing it self that there is but one Mediator and Intercessor in Heaven who offers up our Prayers to God and that there can be no more Because under the Gospel there being but one High Priest and but one Sacrifice once offered for Sin and Intercession for Sinners being founded in the Merit and Virtue of the Sacrifice by which Expiation for Sin is made there can be no other Mediator of Intercession but he who hath made Expiation of Sin by a Sacrifice offered to God for that purpose and this Jesus Christ only hath done He is both our High Priest and our Sacrifice and therefore he only in the Merit and Virtue of that Sacrifice which he offered upon Earth can intercede in Heaven for us and offer up our Prayers to God Others may pray to God for us as our Brethren upon Earth do and perhaps the Angels and Saints in Heaven but none of these can offer up our Prayers to God and procure the acceptance of them for that can only be done in Virtue of a Sacrifice first offered and by him that offered it this being the peculiar Office and Qualification of a Mediator or Intercessor properly so called It is the plain Design of the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews to prove that Christ is our only Mediator in Heaven in Vertue of that Sacrifice for Sin which he offered upon Earth and that he alone appears in the Presence of God for us to present our Requests to him and obtain a gracious Answer of them and he shews at large how this was particularly typified by the Jewish High Priest who upon the great day of Expiation after the Sacrifice was slain without enter'd alone into the Holy of Holies with the Blood of the Sacrifices in Vertue whereof he made Intercession for the People Answerable to this Jesus the High Priest of our Profession offered himself a Sacrifice for the Sins of Men and in vertue of that Sacrifice is enter'd into the High Place not made with Hands that is into Heaven it self there to appear in the Presence of God for us where he lives for ever to make intercession for us in Vertue of that Eternal Redemption which he hath obtained for us by the Price of his Blood as the Apostle declares in several Chapters of that Epistle So that this Intercession being founded in the Merit of a Sacrifice which he alone offered he is of necessity the only Mediator between God and Men. And for this Reason it is that the Mediation and Intercession of Christ is so frequently in Scripture mentioned together with the Expiation which he made for the Sins of Men or which is the same with the price which he paid for the Redemption of Mankind because the one is founded in the other and depends upon it So we find 1 John 2.1 2. If any Man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous and he is the Propitiation for our Sins and not for ours only but also for the Sins of the whole World And here likewise in the Text There is one Mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a Ransom for all therefore the only Mediator between God and men because he only gave himself a Ransom for all men The Efficacy and Prevalency of his Mediation being founded in the Merit and Vertue of the Ransom of his Blood And the force of these Texts and the reasoning from them is not to be avoided and turned off by distinguishing between a Mediator of Redemption and of Intercession and by saying that it is true that Christ is the only Mediator of Redemption but there may be many Mediators of Intercession For if the Force of his being Advocate or Intercessor be founded in the Virtue of his Ransom and Propitiation as I have plainly shewn to the Conviction of any that are not strongly prejudiced and that will read and consider what the Scripture says in this matter without Prepossession then it is plain that none can be a proper Mediator of Intercession but he that paid the Price of our Redemption So that the Mediator of our Redemption and our Mediator of intercession must of necessity be one and the same Person and none can appear in the Quality of our Advocate with the Father but he only who is the Propitiation for the sins of the whole World I should now have proceeded to The Fourth thing I proposed in the handling of this Argument namely To
Heresie of the Collyridians which he calls the Heresie of the Women because they first began the Worship of the Virgin Mary declares most expresly against the Worship of any Creature whatsoever For neither says he is Elias to be worshipped though he is reckoned among the living meaning that he was taken up into Heaven Body and Soul nor John nor any other of the Saints And as for the Virgin Mary he particularly adds that if God will not have us to worship the Angels how much more would he not have us to worship her that was born of Anna And concludes let Mary be had in Honour but let the Lord be worshipped St. Chrysostom in a long Discourse persuades Men to address their Prayers immediately to God and not as we address our selves to great Men by their Officers and Favourites and tells us that there is no need of such Intercessors with God who is not so ready to grant our Petitions when we entreat him by others as when we pray to him our selves Lastly St. Augustine because the Scripture pronounces him accursed that puteth his trust in Man from thence he argues that therefore we ought not to ask of any other but of our Lord God either the Grace to do well or the Reward of it The contrary to which I am sure is done in several of the Publick Prayers used in the Church of Rome And l. 12. de Civ Dei he expresly tells us that the Names of the Martyrs were recited in their Prayers at the Altar but they were not invocated by the Priest who did celebrate Divine Service And in the Third Council of Carthage which was in St. Augustin's time it is enjoined Can. 33. that all Prayers that were made at the Altar should be directed to the Father Which how it is observed in the Church of Rome we all know To conclude this matter it cannot be made appear that there were any Prayers to Saints in the Publick Offices of the Church till towards the end of the Eighth Century For in the Year 754. the Invocation of Saints was condemned by a Council of 338 Bishops at Constantinople as is acknowledged by the Second Council of Nice which first establish'd this Superstition in the Year 787 and this very Council was condemned Seven Years after in a Council at Frankfort and declared void and to be no otherwise esteemed of than the Council of Ariminum Thus you see when this Doctrine and Practice so contrary to the Doctrine and Practice of a great many of the first Ages of the Christian Church was first established namely at the same time with the Worship of Images and when the first Foundation of Transubstantiation was laid which as they began at the same time so they are very fit to go together I should now have proceeded to the next thing which I propos'd namely to answer the chief Pretences which are made for this Doctrine and Practice But of That in the following Discourse SERMON IV. Christ Jesus the only Mediator between God and Men. The Third Sermon on 1 Tim. II. 5 6. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all IN the Two former Discourses upon this Text I have treated on the Second Proposition I laid down from the Words viz. That there is but one Mediator between God and men the Man Christ Jesus In treating on this Proposition I shewed First That it is agreeable to Scripture Secondly VOL. II. That it is agreeable to one great End and Design of the Christian Religion and of our Saviour's coming into the World which was to destroy Idolatry out of it Thirdly That from the Nature and Reason of the thing there can be but one Mediator or Intercessor in Heaven with God for Sinners and that he can be no other than Jesus Christ Fourthly I shew'd how contrary to this Doctrine the Doctrine and Practice of the Church of Rome is in their Invocation of Angels and the Blessed Virgin and the Saints and making use of their Mediation and Intercession with God for Sinners This I endeavoured to do by shewing 1st How contrary this is to the Doctrine of the Scriptures 2ly How contrary to the Doctrine and Practice of the Church for several of the first Ages of it And thus far I have gone I proceed now in the 3d. Place to answer the chief Pretences and Excuses which are made by those of the Church of Rome Serm. IV. for this Doctrine and Practice As 1. That they only say that it is lawful to Pray to Angels and Saints but do not enjoyn and require it To this I answer Two things 1. In saying that it is lawful to Pray to Saints and Angels if they went no farther they say that which they can never make good because Prayer is an Act of Religious Worship and peculiar and proper to God only and therefore cannot be given to any Creature Angel or Saint This I have proved from Scripture where our Saviour commands us when we pray to say Our Father which art in Heaven that is to direct and address our Prayers to God only And St. Paul likewise forbids the worshipping Angels by invocating of them and making use of them as Mediators between God and us in his Epistle to the Colossians which Theodoret expresly interprets concerning the Invocation of Angels and applying our selves to them as Mediators and Intercessors with God in Heaven for us And the Council of Laodicea declares this Practice to be Idolatry Besides that the ancient Fathers of the Christian Church for above Three Hundred Years never spake of praying to any but God only and do expresly condemn the Invocation of Angels much more of the Saints who are Inferior to them and therefore they always define Prayer to be an Address to God a Conversing and Discoursing with God which would be a false Definition of Prayer if it were lawful to pray to any but to God only All which considered one may justly wonder at the Confidence of some Men who would have it taken for granted without any Proof that the Invocation of Saints and Angels is Lawful 2. If it were true that it is lawful to pray to Angels and Saints it is not true that the Church of Rome does only declare it to be lawful but does not require and enjoyn it as some of their late Writers pretend With what Face can this be said when there are so many Prayers to Angels and Saints and especially to the Blessed Virgin in the Publick Offices of their Church in which all are supposed to join as much as in the Prayers which are put up to God by the Priest 'T is true indeed the People understand neither but they are present at both and join in both alike that is as much as Men can be said to join in that which they do not understand as that Church supposeth People may do and receive great Edification
Salvation of Mankind I judge nothing more needful to be added to what has fallen in concerning that Subject in my handling the Second Proposition in this and the two former Sermons SERMON V. The general and Effectual Publication of the Gospel by the Apostles Preached on Ascension-Day 1688. Mark XVI 19 20. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them he was received up into Heaven and sat on the right Hand of God And they went forth and preached every where the Lord working with them and confirming the Word with Signs following IN these Words you have these Two great Points of Christian Doctrine I. Our Saviour's Ascension into Heaven and Exaltation at the right hand of God VOL. II. he was received up into Heaven and sat on the right hand of God II. The Effect or Consequence of his Ascension and Exaltation which was the general and effectual Publication of the Gospel they went forth and preached every where the Lord working with them and confirming the Word with signs following And both these are very proper for this Day but I shall at this time handle the latter Point namely the Effect op Consequence of our Saviour's Ascension into Heaven and Exaltation at the right hand of God they went forth and preached every where the Lord working with them and confirming the Word with signs following And these Words contain two things in them I. The general Publication of the Gospel by the Apostles they went forth and preached every where II. The Reason of the great Efficacy and Success of it namely the Divine and Miraculous Power which accompanied the Preaching of it Serm. V. the Lord wrought with them and confirmed the Word with signs following I. The general Publication of the Gospel by the Apostles they went forth and Preached every where And indeed the Industry of the Apostles and the other Disciples in publishing the Gospel was almost incredible What Pains did they take what Hazards did they run what Difficulties and Discouragements did they contend withal in this work and yet their Success was greater than their Industry and beyond all Humane Expectation As will appear if we consider these Five things 1. The vast Spreading of the Gospel in so short a space 2. The wonderful Power and Efficacy of it upon the Lives and Manners of Men. 3. The Weakness and Meanness of the Instruments that were imployed in this great Work 4. The powerful Opposition that was raised against it 5. The great Discouragements to the Embracing the Profession of it I shall speak briefly to each of these 1. The vast Spreading of the Gospel in so short a space This is represented Rev. 14.6 by an Angel flying through the midst of Heaven and preaching the Everlasting Gospel to every nation and kindred and tongue and people No sooner was the Doctrine of the Christian Religion publish'd and made known to the World but it was readily embraced by great numbers almost in all places where it came And indeed so it was foretold in the Prophecies of the Old Testament Gen. 49.10 That when Shiloh that is the Messias should come to him should the gathering of the people be And Isa 2.2 That in the last days the mountains of the house of the Lord should be establisht in the top of the mountain and be exalted above the hills and that all nations should flow unto it Isa 60.8 the Prophet speaking of Mens ready submission to the Gospel and the great number of those that should come in upon the Preaching of it they are said to flie as a Cloud and as the Doves to the windows So quick and strange a Progress did this new Doctrine and Religion make in the World that in the space of about 30 Years after our Saviour's Death it was not only diffused through the greatest part of the Roman Empire but had reached as far as Parthia and India In which we see our Saviour's Prediction fully verified that before the Destruction of Jerusalem the Gospel should be Preached in all the World Math. 24.14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all Nations and then shall the end come But this is not all Men were not only brought in to the Profession of the Gospel but 2. This Doctrine had likewise a wonderful Power and Efficacy upon the Lives and Manners of Men. The generality of those that entertained the Gospel were obedient to it in word and deed as the Apostle tells us concerning the Gentiles that were converted to Christianity Rom. 15.18 Upon the change of their Religion followed also the change of their Manners and of their former course of Life They that took upon them the Profession of Christianity did thenceforth not walk as other Gentiles did in the lusts of the flesh and according to the vicious course of the world but did put off concerning their former conversation the old man which was corrupt according to deceitful lusts and were renewed in the spirit of their mind and did put on the new man which after God was created in righteousness and true holiness So strange an Effect had the Gospel upon the Lives of the generality of the Professors of it that I remember Tertullian in his Apology to the Roman Emperor and Senate challengeth them to instance in any one that bore the Title of Christian that was condemned as a Thief or a Murderer or a Sacrilegious Person or that was guilty of any of those gross Enormities for which so many Pagans were every day made Examples of Publick Justice and Punisht and Executed among them And this certainly was a very admirable and hapy Effect which the Gospel had upon Men to work so great and sudden a Change in the Lives of those who entertained this Doctrine to take them quite off from those vicious Practices which they had been brought up in and accustomed to to change their Spirits and the temper of their Minds and of lewd and dishonest to make them sober and just and holy in all manner of Conversation of proud and fierce contentious and passionate malicious and revengeful to make them humble and meek kind and tender-hearted peaceable and charitable And that the Primitive Christians were generally good Men and of virtuous Lives is credible because their Religion did teach and oblige them to be such which tho' it be not effectual now to make all the Professors of it such as it requires they should be yet it was a very forcible Argument then in the Circumstances in which the Primitive Christians were For Christianity was a hated and persecuted Profession No Man could then have any inducement to embrace it unless he were resolved to practise it and live according to the Rules of it for it offered Men no Rewards and Advantages in this World but on the contrary threatned Men with the greatest Temporal Inconveniences and Sufferings and it promised no Happiness to Men in the other World upon any
the Powers of the World did likewise strongly combine against it Among the Jews the Chief Priests and Rulers did with all their force and malice endeavour to stifle it in the birth and to suppress it in its first rise and several of the Roman Emperors who were then the great Governors of the World engaged all their Authority and their whole Strength for the extirpation of it and raised such a storm of Persecution against it as swept away greater numbers of Mankind than any Famine or Plague or War that ever was in the Roman Empire And yet this Religion bore up against all this Opposition and make its way through all the Resistance that the Lusts and Prejudices of Men armed with the Power and Authority of the whole World could make against it And this brings me to the 5. and last Consideration I mentioned the great discouragement that was given to the Entrance of this Religion There was nothing left to invite and engage Men to it but the Consideration of another World for all the Evils of this World threatned every one that took the Profession of Christianity upon him Whoever was known to be a Christian was liable to Reproach and Ruin to cruel Mockings and Scourgings to Banishment or Imprisonment and Confiscation of Estate but these were slight and tolerable Evils in comparison of others that were commonly inflicted upon them they were condemned to the Mines and to the Lions and all imaginable Cruelties were exercised upon them the most exquisite Torments that could be devised and Death in all its fearful shapes was presented to them to deter Men from embracing this Religion and to tempt them to quit it And yet they persisted in the Profession of their Religion and for the sake of it did not only take joyfully the spoiling of their goods but the most barbarous usage of their Persons and demeaned themselves not only with Patience and Courage but with Exultation and Triumph under those Tortures which no Man can hear or read of without horror And they did not only bear up thus manfully for one brunt but when these violent Persecutions were renewed and repeated upon them Christianity supported it self under all these daunting Discouragements for almost Three hundred Years and held out till the very Malice of their Persecutors was out of breath and their Cruelty had tired it self Nay it did not only support it self under all these Oppositions but grew and prospered and the Blood of Martyrs became the Seed of the Church and Christians sprang up faster than any Persecution could mow them down For Men by Degrees became curious to enquire into the Cause of such Sufferings and the Reason of so much Constancy and Patience under them and upon enquiry were satisfied and became Christians themselves and many times their very Persecutors were ready to Sacrifice their Lives the next Day for that very Cause for which but the Day before they had put others to Death And it cannot here be reasonably Objected that Christians yielded up themselves to all these Sufferings upon the same Account that some brave Spirits among the Heathen laid down their Lives for their Country namely out of a desire of Fame and to perpetuate their Names in After-ages this I say cannot reasonably be said in this Case because these Sufferers were not the great and ambitious Spirits the Flower and Select Part of Mankind but the Common People and many of them of the tenderer Sex and Age who have usually a greater Sense of Pain than of Glory and yet so were they animated by their Religion and Transported beyond themselves as not only to submit but many times to offer themselves to those Sufferings by declaring themselves to be Christians when no Man accused them and when they knew they should die for making that Profession so that it is harder to justifie their forwardness to Suffer than the sincerity of their Sufferings Besides that nothing could be more foolish and unreasonable than for Men to hope to get a Name by Suffering in a Crowd and to be particularly remembred to Posterity when they dyed in such multitudes that no Man knew the Names of the greatest part of the Sufferers You see then how strongly the Gospel prevailed how soon this new Religion over-ran the World how suddenly it subdued the Spirits and changed the Manners of Men and by what mean and despicable Instruments to all humane appearance this great Work was done and how in despite of all Opposition and Discouragements it was carried on Can any one of the false Religions of the World pretend to have been propagated and establisht in such a manner meerly by their own force and the Evidence and Power of Truth upon the Minds of Men and to have born up and sustained themselves so long under such fierce Assaults as Christanity hath done As for the Religion of Mahomet it is famously known to have been planted by force at first and to havâ— been maintained in the World by the same violent means So that great Impostor openly declares that he came not to plant his Religion by Miracles but the Sword And as for the Idolatries of the Heathen they came in upon the World by insensible degrees and did not oppose the Corruptions of Men but grew out of them and being suited to the vicious Temper and Disposition of Mankind they easily gained upon their Ignorance and Superstition by Custom and Example They were just such a Corruption of Natural Religion in such times of darkness and ignorance and by such insensible steps as there hath been since of the Christian Religion in some Parts of the World which we all know But no sooner did the Light of the Gospel shine out upon the World but the Idolatry and Superstition of the Heathen fell before it like Dagon before the Ark of God and tho' it had the Power of the World and Countenance of Authority on its side yet it was not able to maintain its ground and no sooner was that Prop taken away which was the only support of it but it presently sunk and vanisht it was not driven out of the World by Violence and Persecution but upon the breaking in of so great a Light it silently withdrew as being ashamed of it self And when afterwards the Emperor Julian endeavoured to retrieve it by his Wit and Authority and used all imaginable Arts and Stratagems to suppress and extinguish Christianity he was able to effect neither for the Christian Religion kept its ground and Paganism after it had made a little Blaze died with him Now to what Cause shall we ascribe this wonderful Success and Prevalency of the Gospel in the World There can but these Two be imagined the Excellency of the Christian Religion and the Power and Presence of the Divine Spirit accompanying it 1. The Excellency of the Christian Religion which both in respect of the goodness of its Precepts and the assurance of its Rewards hath plainly the advantage
of any Religion that ever yet appeared in the World And this is a great Advantage indeed But by this alone it could never have been able to have broken through all that mighty Opposition and Resistance which was made against it and therefore that it might be able to encounter this with Success 2. God was pleased to accompany the first Preaching of it with a mighty and sensible Presence and Power of his Spirit And this brings me to the Second Part of the Text the Reason of the wonderful Efficacy and Success which the Apostles had in the Preaching of the Gospel the Lord wrought with them and confirmed the Word with signs following Which words express to us that Miraculous Power of the Holy Ghost which accompanied the first Preaching of the Gospel by which I do not intend to exclude the inward Operation of God's Holy Spirit upon the Minds of Men secretly moving and inclining those to whom the Gospel was Preached to embrace and entertain it which the Scripture elsewhere speaks frequently of and may possibly be intended in the first of these Expressions the Lord working with them and the latter may only be meant of the Miraculous Gifts of the Spirit with regard to which God is said to confirm the Word with signs following or accompanying it But I rather think they are both intended to express the same thing and that the latter is only added by way of explication of the former to shew more particularly how the Lord wrought with them namely by giving Confirmation to their Doctrine by those miraculous Gifts and Powers of the Spirit which they were endowed withal the Lord working with them and confirming the Word with signs following that is with those Miracles which accompanied the first Preaching of the Gospel For these words do plainly refer to the Promise of the Spirit at the 17th verse and these signs shall follow them that believe which is the Reason why they are here call'd signs following that is Miracles which accompanied the Word that was Preached And that this is the full meaning of this Text will appear by comparing it with one or two more Rom. 15.18 19. where St. Paul speaking of the things which Christ had wrought by him to make the Gentiles obedient to the Gospel he says they were done through mighty signs and wonders by the Power of the Spirit of God which is the same with that which is said here in the Text of the Lord 's working with the Apostles and confirming the Word with signs following So likewise Heb. 2.3 4. the Apostle there tells us that the Gospel which was first spoken by the Lord was confirmed by them that heard him God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost So that the great Confirmation which is said here to be given to the Gospel was by the Miraculous Gifts of the Spirit which were poured forth upon the Apostles and Primitive Christians In speaking of which I shall briefly do these Two things I. Give an account of the Nature of these Gifts and of the Vse and End to which they served And then shew in the II. Place how the Gospel was Confirmed by them I. For the Nature of these Gifts and the Vse and End to which they were designed They are those Miraculous Powers which by the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the day of Pentecost the Apostles were endowed withall to qualifie them to Publish the Gospel with more speed and success Such was the Gift of speaking divers Languages and the Gift of Interpreting things spoken in divers Languages And these Two Gifts were not necessarily united in the same Person for the Apostle tells us that some had the one and some the others the Gift of Prophecy and foretelling things to come which was always a sign of a Person Divinely Inspired the Miraculous Powers of Healing Diseases of Raising the Dead and of Casting out Devils a Power of inflicting Corporal Diseases and Punishments upon scandalous and obstinate Christians who would not submit to the Apostles Authority and Government which is in Scripture call'd a delivering up to Satan for the destruction or tormenting of the Body that the Soul may be saved nay in some cases this Power extended to the inflicting of Death it self as in the case of Ananias and Saphira Not that all these Miraculous Powers were given to every one of the Apostles or that they could exercise them at all times some were bestowed upon one and some upon another according to God's good pleasure and as was most expedient for the Vse and Benefit of the Church and most subservient to those Ends for which God gave them only we find that all the Apostles had the Gift of Tongues and that the Power of Casting out Devils in the name of Christ was common to every Christian and continued in the Church for a long time after the other Gifts were ceased as Tertul. Arnob. and Min. Felix do testifie even of their own times But II. I shall briefly shew how the Gospel was Confirmed by these Miraculous Gifts Now besides the particular Vses and Ends of those Miraculous Gifts as the Gift of Tongues did evidently serve for the more speedy Planting and Propagating of the Christian Religion in the World and the Power of inflicting Corporeal Punishments in a Miraculous manner upon Scandalous and Disobedient Christians did maintain the Power and Authority of the Apostles and was instead of an ordinary Magistratical Power which Christians were destitute of whilst the Roman Empire continued Heathen I say besides the particular Ends and Vses of all these Miraculous Gifts they did all in general as they were Miracles serve for the Confirmation of the Gospel The Apostles delivered the Doctrine of Christ and were Witnesses of his Resurrection from the dead as the great Miracle whereby his Doctrine was confirmed now there was all the Reason in the World to believe them whom God was pleased to give such a Testimony from Heaven for who could make any doubt of the Truth of Their Testimony concerning the Resurrection of Christ who were enabled to raise others from the dead and by many other wonderful things which they did gave such clear Testimony that God was with them Never had any Religion fewer worldly Advantages to recommend it and so little temporal Countenance and Assistance to carry it on but what it wanted from Men it had from God for he gave witness to it with signs and wonders and divers Miracles and Gifts of the Holy Ghost God seems on purpose to have stript it of all Secular Advantages that the Christian Religion might be perfectly free from all suspition of Worldly Interest and Design and that it might not owe its Establishment in the World to the Wisdom and Contrivance of Men but to the Arm and Power of God The Inferences I shall at present make from this Discourse shall be these I. To give
Rule and Government of this inferiour World and this not for his own ease for to Infinite Power nothing can be difficult or troublesom but for their happiness and he therefore employs them in his Work and Service that they may be capable of his Favour and Rewards And that the Angels of God are the great Ministers of his Providence here in the World hath not only been the constant Tradition of all Ages but is very frequently and plainly asserted in Scripture In the Old Testament we often read that God employed his Angels to be the Messengers of his Will and Pleasure to Men and to carry good Tidings and comfortable News to them upon several Occasions As to Abraham to foretel the miraculous Birth of his Son Isaac and afterwards to rescue him from being sacrificed To Jacob when he was so afraid of his Brother Esau To Manoah and his Wife to foretel the Birth of Sampson the great Deliverer of Israel from the Philistines And upon that great Occasion of bringing the People of Israel out of Egypt and conducting them through the Wilderness he sent a great and mighty Angel called the Angel of his Presence to go before them and guide them in their way And the Apostle tells us that the Law was delivered to them upon Mount Sinai by the Disposition of Angels On the other hand God frequently made them the Messengers of his Wrath and Instruments of his Vengeance Thus he sent them to foretel and to execute that terrible Destruction upon Sodom and Gomorrah And he sent a Destroying Angel to brandish his Sword in a visible manner over Jerusalem and to smite them with the Pestilence for David's Sin in Numbring the People And by the Ministry of an Angel he slew in the Camp of the Assyrians in one Night an Hundred and eighty five thousand And Acts 12.23 it is said that the Angel of the Lord smote Herod for receiving the blasphemous Acclamations of the People Nay the Angels shall be the Instruments and Executioners of God's Vengeance upon the Wicked at the Judgment of the great Day So the Judge himself tells us Matth. 13.49 50. So shall it be at the End of the World the Angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just and shall cast them into the furnace of fire there shall he wailing and gnashing of teeth And that particular Angels do preside over Empires and Kingdoms and sway the weighty Affairs of them and by a secret and invisible Hand manage and bring about great Changes and Revolutions both Jews and Christians have collected with great Probability and Consent from Daniel 10. where there is mention made of the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia withstanding the Angel that was sent to Daniel and of Michael a Chief Prince assisting him And of this Ministry of Angels in the Government of Kingdoms Clemens Alexandrinus speaks as of a thing out of all Controversie I proceed to the Third Thing which I principally intended and seems to be chiefly designed in the Text and this is the special Office and Employment of good Angels in regard to good Men and for this the Apostle expresly tells us that they are sent forth to minister for them that is in their behalf and for their benefit who shall be heirs of Salvation In which Words there are Three things very considerable for our Instruction and Comfort 1. Their particular Designation and Appointment for this Employment exprest in these Words sent forth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if they were particularly Commissioned and Appointed by God for this very End God himself doth superintend all Affairs and by his particular Designation and Command the Angels do fulfil his Word and execute the Pleasure of his good Will towards us Hence it is so frequently said in Scripture that God sent his Angel to such or such a Person for such or such Purposes 2. You have here the general End of their Employment for good Men they are sent forth on our Behalf and for our Benefit to take Care of us and protect us to succour and comfort to direct and assist to rescue and deliver us 3. Here is the more special End of their Employment in regard to good Men intended in those words for them who shall be heirs of Salvation Hereby signifying that the Angels are employed about good Men with Regard more particularly to their Eternal Happiness and for the Conducting and furthering of the great Affair of their Everlasting Salvation This certainly is our greatest Concernment and therefore they have a more particular Charge and Care of us in Regard to this It was a common Opinion among the Heathen and a constant and firmly believed Tradition among the Jews the Sadducees only excepted who did not believe there was Angels or Spirits that every Man at least every good Man had a Guardian Angel appointed him by God to take a special Care of him and his Concernments both Spiritual and Temporal to guard him from Dangers to direct and prosper him in his Way and to comfort and deliver him in his Affliction and Distress And therefore we find among the Jewish Prayers used by them at this day a particular Prayer wherein they request of God to Command the Angels who have the Care of Humane Affairs to help and assist to preserve and deliver them But especially they believed Good Angels in their Attendance upon Good Men to be very active and diligent to incline them to good and to encourage them therein by holy Motions and Suggestions by secret Comforts and Assistances and by opposing Evil Spirits and defending us against their Assaults and by countermining their malicious Designs and Attempts upon us And accordingly we find that the best Men among the Jews did stedfastly believe if not the particular Guardianship of Angels and that every Good Man had his particular Angel assigned to him by God to take the particular Charge of him yet the common Ministry of Good Angels about Good Men and their more especial care of particular Persons upon particular and great Occasions to protect them from Temporal Evils and to promote and prosper their Temporal Affairs and Concernments Of this Abraham the Father of the Faithful and the Friend of God was most firmly perswaded at least in Matters of great Moment and Concernment to us as appears by his Discourse with his Steward when he was sending him to treat of a Match for his Son Gen. 24.40 The Lord says he before whom I walk will send his Angel with thee and prosper thy way And David the Man after God's own heart does more than once declare his confident Belief of the watchful Care and Ministry of Angels about good Men. Psal 34. and 7. The Angel of the Lord encampeth about them that fear him and delivereth them And Psalm 91.11 12. speaking of the good Man who putteth his Trust and Confidence in God he tells him for his Comfort and Security that the holy Angels
hare a particular charge of him to preserve him from all the Mischiefs and Dangers to which he is exposed he shall give his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways they shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy foot against a stone So that according to the Perswasion of those two excellent Persons and of greatest Renown for Piety in all the Old Testament very much of the Safety and the Success of good Men even in their Temporal Concernments is to be ascrib'd to the vigilant Care and Protection of good Angels And tho' this be seldom visible and sensible to us yet we have great Reason upon so great Testimonies to assent to the truth of it And there is no Reason I think to doubt but that God's Care extends now to Christians as well as it did to the Jews and that the Angels have as much Kindness for us as they had for the Jews and there is no Reason to think that the Angels are now either dead or idle Our Saviour tells us that they cannot dye and our Reason tells us that a pure Spirit is an active Principle and the Scripture represents Angels as all flame and wings Evil Spirits are believed by Christians to be as active now to all purposes of harm and mischief as ever And why should any Man imagine that Good Spirits are not as intent and busie to do good The Apostle I am sure tells us in the Text that the Angels in common all of them do employ their Service about us and wait to do good Offices to us are they not all says he ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for them that shall be heirs of Salvation And our Saviour Matth. 18.10 seems to approve and confirm the Tradition of the Jews concerning particular Guardian Angels belonging to every one that believed in him that is to every Christian Take heed says he that ye despise not one of these little ones for I say unto you that in Heaven their Angels always behold the face of my Father which is in Heaven And this seems likewise to have been a received Opinion among the first Christians for we find Acts 12.15 that when Peter was miraculously released out of Prison by an Angel and came to the House where the Christians were assembled to pray for him and one told them that Peter was at the door they said it was his Angel thinking that he himself was fast in Prison For which saying there could be no Reason had there not been a current Opinion among them of Guardian Angels And because the Providence of God is more peculiarly concerned in conducting Men to Eternal Happiness it is very credible that God should more especially Ordain the Ministry of Angels about good Men for the furtherance of their Salvation And so the Apostle tells us in the Text are they not all ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for them that shall be heirs of salvation Nay our Saviour in that remarkable place I mentioned before Matt. 18.10 seems to intimate that Angels of a higher Rank and Quality are assigned Guardians and Guides to those that believed on him but I say unto you that in Heaven their Angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in Heaven An Allusion to the manner of earthly Kings upon whom not all the Servants but the Chief of their Nobility do more immediately attend and stand continually in their Presence for to behold the face of the King and to stand in his Presence are Phrases used in Scripture to signifie immediate Attendance upon his Person So that by this manner of Expression our Saviour doth most significantly intimate in what Esteem good Men are with God whose Care and Protection he commits to the Chief of the Angels to those who are nearest to him and in highest Favour and Honour with him as if he had said their Angels are not of the ordinary Rank but such as are admitted to a more immediate Attendance upon the great King and Governour of the World And no doubt it is for no mean End that such high and glorious Spirits are employ'd about us it is chiefly for the furtherance of our Salvation for the purchasing whereof the Son of God himself whom all the Angels of Heaven worship came down from Heaven and appeared and suffered in our Nature that we may one day be made like to the Angels and dwell where they are and may continually behold the face of our Father which is in Heaven as they do And in order to this End it is very probable that Good Angels are ready to do good Offices just contrary to those of Evil Spirits that is to employ their best Diligence and endeavour for the Salvation of Men and that they are very sedulous and officious to restrain and pull them back from Sin and to excite and solicite them to that which is Good and in a Word to do all they can to help forward the Repentance and Conversion of Sinners And this may reasonably be collected from that Passage of our Saviour Luke 15.10 where he tells us That there is joy in the presence of the Angels of God over one Sinner that repenteth And if they be so glad of the Repentance of a Sinner we may easily imagine how forward they are to further and promote so good a Work And when Sinners are brought to Repentance we have no Reason to doubt but that the Angels are as ready to assist their Progress in Goodness It hath been a general and I think not ill-grounded Opinion both of the Jews and Heathens that good Angels are more especially present with us and observant of us and assistant to us in the performance of all Acts of Religion that they are particularly present at our Prayers and therefore the Jews speak of a particular Angel for this purpose whom they call the Angel of Prayer that they observe our Vows and our breach or performance of them So Solomon seems to intimate Eccles 5.4 6. When thou vowest a Vow unto God defer not to pay it for he hath no pleasure in fools pay that which thou hast vowed Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin that is do not intangle thy Life with a rash Vow which the frailty of Humane Nature may make thee afterwards to break neither say thou before the Angel that it was an errour that is do not in the Presence of the Angel who attends upon thee and observes thee betray thine own error and rashness This I take to be the meaning of this difficult passage Let not thy mouth cause thy flesh to sin neither say thou before the Angel that it was an errour But the Angels are yet more particularly present in the Places and at the Times of God's Publick Worship The placing of the Cherubims in the Holy of Holies seems to signifie the Presence of the Angels in our most Religious Addresses to God And Plutarch says That
the Angels are the Overseers of Divine Service And therefore we ought to behave our selves with all Modesty Reverence and Decency in the Worship of God out of regard to the Angels who are there present and observe our Carriage and Behaviour And to this the Apostle plainly hath respect in that place which by Interpreters hath been thought so difficult 1 Corinth 11.10 where he says That for this Cause in the Assemblies of Christians for the Worship of God the Woman ought to have a Vail upon her head in token of subjection to her Husband because of the Angels that is to be decently and modestly Attired in the Church because of the presence of the holy Angels before whom we should compose our selves to the greatest external Gravity and Reverence which the Angels behold and observe but cannot penetrate into the inward Devotion of our Minds which God only can do and therefore with regard to him who sees our Hearts we should more particularly compose our Minds to the greatest Sincerity and Seriousness our Devotion Which I would to God we would all duly consider all the while we are exercised in the Worship of God who chiefly regards our Hearts But we ought likewise to be very careful of our external Behaviour with a particular regard to the Angels who are present there to see and observe the outward Decency and Reverence of our Carriage and Deportment Of which we are very careful in the Presence even of an Earthly Prince when he either speaks to us or we make any Address to him And surely much more ought we to be so when we are in the immediate Presence of God and of his holy Angels every one of whom is a much greater Prince and of greater Power than any of the Princes of this World But how little is this considered I speak to our shame and by how few among us And as Angels are helpful to good Men in working out their Salvation throughout the course of their Lives so at the Hour of Death they stand by them to comfort them and assist them in that needful and dismal time in that last and great Conflict of frail Mortality with Death and the Powers of Darkness to receive their expiring Spirits into their Charge and to conduct them safely into the Mansions of the Blessed And to this purpose also the Jews had a Tradition that the Angels wait upon good Men at their Death to convey their Souls into Paradise Which is very much countenanc'd by our Saviour in the Parable of the rich man and Lazarus Luke 16.22 where it is said that when Lazarus died he was carried by the Angels into Abraham's bosom Nay that the Angels have some Charge and Care of the Bodies of good Men after death may not improbably be gathered from that Passage m St. Jude v. 9. where Michael the Archangel is said to have contended with the Devil about the Body of Moses What the ground of this Controversie betwixt them was may be most probably explain'd by a passage Deut. 34.6 where it is said that God took particular care probably by an Angel concerning the burying so Moses in a certain Valley and it is added but no man knoweth of his Sepulchre unto this day The Devil it seems had a fair Prospect of laying a Foundation for Idolatry in the Worship of Moses after his death if he could have gotten the disposal of his Body to have buried it in some known and publick place And no doubt it would hare gratified him not a little to have made him who was so declared an Enemy to Idolatry all his life an occasion of it after his death But this God thought fit to prevent in pity to the People of Israel whom he saw upon all occasion so prone to Idolatry and for that Reason committed it to the Charge of Michael the Archangel to bury his Body secretly and this was the thing which Michael the Archangel contended with the Devil about But before I pass from this I cannot but take notice of one memorable Circumstance in this Contest mentioned likewise by St. Jude in these words yet Michael the Archangel when contending with the Devil he disputed about the Body of Moses durst not bring against him a railing accusation His Duty restrain'd him from it and probably his Descretion too As he durst not offend God in doing a thing so much beneath the Dignity and Perfection of his Nature so he could not but think that the Devil would have been too hard for him at railing a thing to which as the Angels have no disposition so I believe that they have no talent no faculty at it The cool Consideration whereof should make all Men especially those who call themselves Divines and especially in Controversies about Religion ashamed and afraid of this manner of disputing since Michael the Archangel even when he disputed with the Devil durst not bring against him a railing accusation But to proceed This we are sure of that the Angels shall be the great Ministers and Instruments of the Resurrection of our Bodies and the reunion of them to our Souls For so our Blessed Saviour has told us Matt. 24.30 31. That when the Son of man shall come in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory he shall send his Angels to gather the Elect from the four winds from one end of Heaven to the other Thus I have as briefly as I could and so far as the Scripture hath gone before us to give us light in this matter endeavoured to shew the several Ways wherein good Angels do Minister in behalf of t hem who shall be Heirs of Salvation All that now remains is to draw some Inferences from this discourse and so I shall conclude First what hath been said upon this Argument and so abundantly proved from Scripture may serve to establish us in the Belief of this Truth and to awaken us to a due Consideration of it That the Angels are invisible to us and that we are seldom sensible of their Presence and the good Offices they do us is no sufficient Reason against the Truth and Reality of the Thing if by other Arguments we are convinced of it For by the same Reason we may almost as well call in Question the Existance of God and of our own Souls neither of which do fall under the notice of our Senses and yet by other Arguments we are sufficiently convinc'd of them both So in this case the general Consent and Tradition of Mankind concerning the Existence of Angels and their Ministry about us especially being confirmed to us by clear and express Testimony of holy Scripture ought to be abundant Evidence to us when we consider that so general a Consent must have a proportionable Cause which can be no other but a general Tradition grounded at first upon Revelation and derived down to all succeeding Ages from the first Spring and Original of Mankind and since confirmed by manifold Revelations of
God both in the Old and New Testament But yet I am sensible that all this is no Conviction to the perverse and contentious Men will not believe even the Evidence of Sense it self when they are strongly prepossess'd and prejudiced to the contrary For do we not see great numbers of Men even so many as have the face to call themselves the Catholick Church that can make a shift when they have a mind either to believe or disbelieve things contrary to the plainest Evidence of their Senses All that I shall say further about this matter is that this Doctrine of Angels is not a peculiar Doctrine either of the Jewish or Christian Religion but the general Doctrine of all Religions that ever were and therefore cannot be objected against by any but the Atheists And yet after all I know not whence it comes to pass that this great Truth which is so comfortable to Mankind is so very little considered by us Perhaps the Corruption of so great a part of the Christian Church in the point of the Worship of Angels may have run us so far into the other extream as scarcely to acknowledge any Benefit we receive by them But surely we may believe they do us good without any Obligation to pray to them and may own them as the Ministers of God's Providence without making them the Objects of our Worship I confess it seems to me a very odd thing that the Power of the Devil and his Influence upon Men and the particular Vigilancy and Activity of Evil Spirits to tempt us to Sin should be so readily owned and so sensibly talkt of among Christians and yet the Assistance of good Angels should be so little taken notice of and considered by us The Scripture speaks plainly of both and the Reasons for believing both are equal For God forbid but that good Angels should be as officious and forward to do us good as the Devil and his Angels are malicious and busie to do us Mischief And indeed it would be very hard with Mankind if we had not as much Reason to Hope for the Assistance and Protection of good Spirits as we have cause to Fear the Malice and Fury of the bad Good Angels are certainly as Powerful and have as strong a Propension and Inclination to do good as the Devil has to do harm and the Number of good Angels is probably much greater than of Evil Spirits The biggest Number that are used in Scripture are applied to good Angels Dan. 7.10 it is said of the Angels about God's Throne that thousand thousands ministred unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him And Revelations 5.11 the number of them is said to be ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands And the Apostle to the Hebrews ch 12.22 calls them an innumerable company of Angels What then should be the Reason that Men should be so apt to own the Snares and Temptations which the Devil lays before us in all our ways but take so little notice of the Attendance and good Offices done to us by good Spirits I can imagine but these Two Reasons and I am sorry I can find no better That we are more mindful of Injuries than of Benefits and are glad to take in others for the excuse of our Faults but are loth any should come in for a share in the Good that is done by us And yet methinks it should be a very comfortable Consideration to us against the Enmity and Cunning of the Devil and his Angels that the Holy Angels of God are as Intent and Industrious to do us good and to help forward our Salvation as Evil Spirits can be to work our ruin and destroy us Secondly We should with great thankfulness acknowledge the great Goodness of God to us who takes such Care of us as to appoint his Angels and to give them particular Commission and Charge concerning us to protect and assist us in all our ways and especially to promote the great Concernment of our Eternal Happiness And that not only some particular and inferiour Spirits but the Chief Ministers of this great King of the World those that stand in his Presence and behold his face and not a few of these but the whole Order of them are imployed about us So the Apostle seems to say by the Question which he puts in the Text Are they not all ministring Spirits sent forth to minister That is all at one time or other And though they be principally appointed to minister to us in order to our Salvation yet we have no Reason to doubt but God imploys them many times for our Temporal Safety and makes use of them more especially in those great Revolutions in which his Cause and Religion are more immediatly concern'd In such a Case it is not at all incredible that God should give his Angels a particular Charge concerning those that fight his Battels to pitch about their Camps and secretly to assist them against their Enemies and to ward off and put by many dangerous blows and thrusts which are made at them and wonderfully to preserve them when the Instruments of death fly about them and do execution on every side of them To what can we ascribe such and so many remarkable Deliverances of a Person upon whom so much depends but either to the immediate hand of God or to the Ministry of Angels And where God is provided so abundantly with such powerful Beings and Ministers of his Will though they may be invisible to us yet there is great Reason to believe that he very seldom works without them And now what an astonishing Regard is this which the great God is pleased to have for the Sons of Men that he should make the whole Creation serviceable to us not only the visible Creation for the support of our Bodies and the diversion of our Minds but even the noblest of all his Creatures the great and glorious Inhabitants of the invisible World mightily surpassing us mortal Men in the simplicity and purity of their Nature in the quickness and largeness of their Understandings and in their Power and Vigour of Acting I say that God should give these excellent and glorious Beings the Charge over us and send them forth to Minister to us for the Safeguard of our Persons for the success of our Affairs and for the Security and Furtherance of our eternal Salvation Lord what is man that thou art thus mindful of him that when thou madest him lower than the Angels thou shouldest yet make the Angels to minister unto him Thirdly If the Angels have particular Charge of good Men we should take heed how we despise or be any way injurious to them For how despicable so ever they may appear to us they are certainly very dear to God since he deems them so considerable is to employ his Chief Ministers about them and to commit the Charge of them to those who by their Office do more immediately
is some Evidence of the Thing so likewise that Natural Desire which is in Men to have a Good Name perpetuated and to be remembred and mentioned with honour VOL. II. when they are dead and gone is a sign that there is in Humane Nature some Presage of a Life after Death in which they hope among other Rewards of well-doing to meet with this also to be well spoken of to Posterity And tho probably we should not know the Good that is said of us when we are dead yet it is an encouragement to Virtue to be secured of it before-hand and to find by Experience that they who have done their part well in this life go off with Applause and that the Memory of their Good Actions is preserved and transmited to Posterity And among the many Advantages of Piety and Virtue this is not altogether inconsiderable that it reflects an Honour upon our Memory after death which is a thing much more valuable than to have our Bodies preserved from Putrifaction For that I think is the meaning of Solomon when he prefers a Good Name before precious Oyntment Eccl. 7.1 A good name is better than precious Oyntment This they used in Embalming of dead Bodies Serm. VII to preserve them from noisomness and corruption but a Good Name preserves a Man's Memory and makes it grateful to Posterity which is a far greater Benefit than that of a precious Oyntment which serves only to keep a dead Body from stench and rottenness I shall briefly explain the Words and then consider the matter contained in them the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance By the righteous is probably here meant the good man in general for tho' Justice and Righteousness are in Scripture frequently used for that particular Virtue whereby a Man is disposed to render to every Man his own which is known by the name of Justice yet it is less frequently and perhaps in this place used in a larger Sense so as to comprehend all Piety and Virtue For so the righteous man is described at the beginning of this Psalm Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord that delighteth greatly in his Commandments And he is opposed to the wicked man v. 10. the wicked shall see it and be grieved that is he shall be troubled to see the Prosperity of the righteous the manifold Blessings of his life and the Good Name he shall leave behind him at his death which is the meaning of his being in everlasting remembrance that is long after he is dead perhaps for many Ages he shall be well spoken of and his Name mentioned with honour and his Good Deeds recorded and remembred to all Posterity So that the sense of the words amounts to this That eminently good men do commonly leave a Good Name behind them and transmit a grateful Memory of themselves to after Ages I say commonly for so we are to understand these kind of sayings not that they are strictly and universally true without exception but usually and for the most part It is possible that a Good Man may soon be forgotten by the Malice of Men or through the partiality and iniquity of the Age may have his Name blemisht after death and be mis-represented to Posterity but for the most part it is otherwise and tho' the World be very wicked yet it seldom deals so hardly and unjustly with Men of eminent Goodness and Virtue as to defraud them of their due Praise and Commendation after death It very frequently happens otherwise to Good Men whilst they are alive nay they are then very seldom so justly treated as to be generally esteemed and well spoken of and to be allowed their due Praise and Reputation But after death their Good Name is generally secured and vindicated and Posterity does them that right which perhaps the Age wherein they lived denyed to them Therefore in the Prosecution of this Argument I shall enquire into these Two things First Whence it comes to pass that Good Men are very often defrauded of their just Praise and Reputation whilst they are alive And Secondly What Security they have of a Good Name after death First Whence it comes to pass that Good Men are so frequently defrauded of their just Praise and Reputation while they are alive And to give our selves full satisfaction in this matter Two things are fit to be enquired into 1. From what Cause this proceeds 2. For what Reason the Providence of God doth often permit it 1. From what Cause it proceeds that good Men have so often the hard Fate to be ill spoken of and to be severely censur'd and to have their worth much detracted from while they are alive And this proceeds partly from Good Men themselves and partly from others 1. Good Men themselves are many times the cause of it For the best Men are imperfect and present and visible Imperfections do very much lessen and abate the Reputation of a Man's Goodness It cannot be otherwise but that the lustre of a great Piety and Virtue should be somewhat obscured by that mixture of Humane Frailty which does necessarily attend this state of Imperfection And though a Man by great Care and Consideration by great Vigilancy and Pains with himself be arrived to that degree and pitch of Goodness as to have but a very few visible Failings and those small in comparison yet when these come to be scann'd and commented upon by Envy or Ill-will they will be strangely inflamed and magnified and made much greater and more than in truth they are But there are few Persons in the World of that excellent Goodness but besides the common and more pardonable Frailties of Humanity they do now and then discover something which might perhaps justly deserve a severe Censure if some amends were not made for it by many and great Virtues Very good Men are subject to considerable Imprudences and sudden Passions and especially to an affected Severity and Moroseness of Carriage which is very disgustful and apt to beget dislike And they are the more incident to these kind of Imperfections because out of a just hatred of the vicious Customs and Practices of the World and to keep out of the way of Temptation they think it safest to retire from the World as much as they can being loth to venture themselves more than needs in so infectious an Air. By this means their Spirits are apt to be a little sower and they must necessarily be ignorant of many points of Civility and good Humour which are great Ornaments of Virtue though not of the Essence of it Now two or three Faults in a Good Man if an Uncharitable Man have but the handling and managing of them may easily cast a considerable Blemish upon his Reputation because the better the Man is so much the more conspicuous are his Faults as Spots are soonest discovered and most taken notice of in a pure and white Garment Besides that in matters of Censure Mankind do much
encline to the harder side and but very few Persons are so charitable and equal as to construe things to the best sense and to consider a Man all together and fairly to set the Good that is in him against his Faults and Imperfections But 2. Though Good Men many times contribute too much to the lessening of their own Reputation with those among whom they live yet the principal Cause of their Suffering in this kind is not from themselves but others and that upon these Three Accounts 1. From the Hatred and Opposition of Bad Men to Holiness and Virtue and these are commonly the greatest number and make the loudest cry They are declared Enemies to Goodness and then how can it be expected they should have any great Kindness for Good Men They want Virtue themselves and therefore they think themselves upbraided by the Good Qualities of others This Enmity of Wicked Men against the Righteous and the true Reason of it is very well exprest in the Wisdom of Solomon ch 2. v. 12. Let us say they lie in wait for the Righteous because he is not for our turn and is clean contrary to our doings he upbraideth us with our offending the Law and he objecteth to our Infamy the sins of our youth he was made to reprove our Thoughts therefore he is grievous unto us even to behold for his life is not like other men he is quite of another fashion we are esteemed of him as reprobate Silver he abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness This is that which filleth the Minds of wicked Men with Malice against the Righteous and Malice will easily invent ways to blast any Man's Reputation Good Men do sometimes as it is their duty reprove those that are bad or if they do it not in Word yet they upbraid them in their Actions and contrary course of life and both these are grievous and provoking to them Not but that Wicked Men are many times in their Consciences convinced of the real Goodness of those whom they speak against but they will not own it least in so doing they should condemn themselves 2. Another Cause of this is the Envy of those who perhaps have some degree of Goodness themselves For great Virtue is apt to raise Envy in those who fall short of it and this makes those who are but imperfectly Good to detract from the Eminent Worth of others because they are sensible they are out-shined by them and that it occasions a disadvantagious Comparison and makes their Defects taken notice of They can endure a Man that is moderately Good and keeps pace with his Neighbours But if he endeavour to outstrip them they presently combine against him and take all oportunities to undermine his Reputation and will be very glad either to find a blot in his Escutcheon or to fix one there 3. There is something in the very Presence and Nearness of Goodness and Virtue which is apt to lessen it In matters of Sense the nearer the Object is the bigger it appears and the farther distant it is from us the less it seems to be But here it is quite otherwise Men are not so apt to value Present Worth when yet they will reverence it mightily at a Distance I know not whence it comes to pass but so we certainly find it that Men are more sensible of the Goodness and Excellency of any thing under the want of it than while they enjoy it and do usually value it more when it is gone than they did whilst it was present with them Whilst we live with Good Men and converse with them every day we take but little notice of them but no sooner are they departed but we admire them and every Man's Mouth is open to celebrate their Good Qualities Perhaps Familiarity and Acquaintance and Conversation does insensibly beget something of Contempt but whatever the Reason of it be we find the Thing most certainly true in Experience 2. Let us consider in the next place for what Reasons the Providence of God permits it thus to be I shall mention but these Two 1. To keep Good Men humble and as the expression is in Job to hide pride from Men. God's Providence in the disposal and ordering of things in this World seems rather to consult our Safety than our Satisfaction and the Security of our Virtue than the full Reward of it Now if Good Men should always meet with that clear Esteem and Reputation which their Goodness deserves they would be in great danger of being puft up with a proud Conceit of themselves and Pride is enough to supplant the greatest Virtue in the World such a dead fly as this were sufficient to spoil a Box of the most precious Oyntment For Man is an ambitious Creature and vain above all things so vain as not only to be covetous of Praise but even patient of Flattery and the best of Men lie too open on this blind side of Humane Nature and therefore God who knows our frame and how apt Dust and Ashes are to be proud hath in his wise and merciful Providence so disposed things that good Men are seldom exposed to the full force of so strong a Temptation And for this Reason he lets loose envious and malicious Tongues to detract from Good Men for a check to the Vanity of Humane Nature and to keep their Virtue safe under the protection of Humility And this is the way likewise to secure the Reputation which they have and which otherwise would be in danger of being lost For he that is once proud of the Esteem he hath got takes the readiest way to fall into Contempt and certainly it is better of the two that our Reputation should suffer a little by the Malice of others than be ruin'd by our own Pride and Vanity God does not envy Good Men the Reputation of their Goodness and Virtue but he knows the weakness of Humane Nature and will not suffer it to be tempted above what it is able When Good Men are grown up to Perfection and able to bear it as they will be when they come to Heaven their Good Name shall be fully vindicated and they shall have Praise not only from Men but from Angels and from God himself 2. This life is not the proper Season of Reward but of Work and Service In this life God is pleased to give some present encouragement to Piety and Virtue but reserves the main of our Recompence to be bestowed upon us at the end of our Work When our Course is finished then and not before we must expect our Crown when our Accounts are cast up and stated and it appears what improvement we have made of our Talents then will come the Euge bone serve Well done good and faithful Servant In the mean time Good Men must be content with such a portion of Esteem as an envious and ill-natured World will afford them And thus I have done with the First thing I proposed to enquire
leaving a Good Name behind them and of Perpetuating the Fame and Glory of their Actions to after Ages Upon this ground chiefly many of the Bravest Spirits among the Heathen were animated to Virtue and with the hazard of their lives to do great and glorious Exploits for their Country And certainly it is an Argument of a great Mind to be moved by this Consideration and a sign of a low and base Spirit to neglect it He that hath no regard to his Fame is lost to all purposes of Virtue and Goodness when a Man is once come to this not to care what others say of him the next step is to have no care what himself does Quod conscientia est apud Deum id fama est apud homines what Conscience is in respect of God that is Fame in respect of Men. Next to a good Conscience a clear Reputation ought to be to every Man the dearest thing in the World Men have generally a great value for Riches and yet the Scripture pronounceth him the happier Man that leaves a Good Name than him that leaves a great Estate behind him Prov. 22.1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches If then we have any regard to a Good Name the best way to secure it to our selves is by the holy and virtuous Actions of a good Life Do well and thou shalt be well spoken of if not now yet by those who shall come after the surest way to glory and honour and immortality is by a patient continuance in well-doing God hath engaged his promise to us to this purpose 1 Sam. 2.30 Them that honour me I will honour and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed The name of the wicked shall rot says Solomon Prov. 10.7 But God doth usually take a particular care so preserve and vindicate their Memory who are careful to keep his Covenant and remember his Commandments to do them 3dly and lastly When ever we pretend to do honour to the Memory of Good Men let us charge our selves with a strict Imitation of their Holiness and Virtue The greatest honour we can do to God or Good Men is to endeavour to be like them to express their Virtues and represent them to the World in our lives Upon these Days we should propound to our selves as our Patterns all those holy and excellent Persons who have gone before us the Apostles of our Lord and Saviour and all those blessed Saints and Martyrs who were faithful to the death and have received a crown of life and immortality We should represent to our selves the Piety of their Actions and the Patience and Constancy of their Sufferings that we may imitate their Virtues and be followers of them who through faith and patience have inherited the promises and seeing we are compast about with such a cloud of witnesses we should lay aside every weight and run with patience the race which is set before us Let us imagine all those great Examples of Piety and Virtue standing about us in a throng and fixing their Eyes upon us How ought we to demean our selves in such a Presence and under the eye of such Witnesses and how should we be ashamed to do any thing that is unworthy of such excellent Patterns and blush to look upon our own lives when we remember theirs Good God! at what a distance do the greatest part of Christians follow those Examples and while we honour them with our lips how unlike are we to them in our lives Why do we thus reproach our selves with these glorious Patterns Let us either resolve to imitate their Virtues or to make no mention of their Names for while we celebrate the Examples of Saints and Holy Men and yet contradict them in our lives we either mock them or upbraid our selves Now the God of Peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ c. SERMON VIII The Duty of imitating the Primitive Teachers and Patterns of Christianity Preached on All-Saints Day 1684. HEB. XIII 7. The latter Part of the Verse Whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation The whole Verse runs thus Remember them which have the Rule over you who have spoken unto you the word of God whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation THE great Scope and Design of this Epistle is to perswade the Jews who were newly converted to Christianity VOL. II. to continue stedfast in the Profession of it notwithstanding all the Sufferings and Persecutions it was attended withall and to encourage them hereto among many other Arguments which the Apostle makes use of he doth several times in this Epistle propound to them the Examples and Patterns of Saints and Holy Men that were gone before them especially those of their own Nation who in their respective Ages had given remarkable Testimony of their Faith in God and constant Adherence to the Truth Ch. 6.11 12. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end that ye be not slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises And Ch. 11. he gives a Catalogue of the Eminent Heroes and Saints of the Old Testament who by Faith had done such Wonders and given such Testimony of their Patience and Constancy in doing and suffering the Will of God from whence he infers Ch. 12.1 that we ought to take Pattern and Heart from such Examples to persevere in our Christian course Serm. VIII Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of Martyrs or Witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us especially since they had greater Examples than these nearer to them and more fresh in Memory the great Example of our Lord the Founder of our Religion and of the first Teachers of Christianity the Disciples and Apostles of our Lord and Saviour The Example of our Lord himself the Captain and Rewarder of our Faith v. 2. of that 12th Ch. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame v. 3. For consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners a-against himself lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds This indeed is the great Pattern of Christians and in regard of the great Perfection of it surpasseth all other Patterns and seems to make them useless as having in it the Perfection of the Divinity not in its full brightness which would be apt to dazle rather than direct us but allayed and shadowed with the Infirmities of Humane Nature and for that Reason more accommodate and familiar to us than the Divine Perfections abstractedly considered But yet because our Blessed Saviour was God as well as Man and clear of all stain of sin for tho' he was cloathed with
necessary if we expect the Crown of Life and hope for the same happy End which they had for none but they that continue to the end shall be saved 4. We should imitate them in the efficacy and fruitfulness of their Faith in the Practice and Virtues of a good Life Whose faith follow considering the end of their Conversation that is their Perseverance in a holy Course to the end And these must never be separated a sound Faith and a good Life Without this our Faith is barren and dead as St. James tells us ch 2. v. 17. Our Knowledge and Belief of the Christian Doctrine must manifest it self in a good Conversation Who is a wise man says the same St. James ch 3. v. 13. Who is a wise man and endowed with knowledge amongst you Let him shew-out of a good conversation his works This is a faithful saying saith St. Paul to Titus ch 3. v. 8. and these things I will that thou affirm constantly that they who have believed in God be careful to maintain good works And herein the Apostles of our Lord and Saviour were eminent Examples They lived as they Taught and Practised the Doctrine which they Preached So St. Paul strictly chargeth Timothy 1 Tim. 4.12 Be thou an example of the Believers in word in conversation in charity in faith in purity And our Saviour tells us that hereby chiefly false Prophets and Teachers might be known from the true Apostles of Christ Matth. 7.20 By their fruits ye shall know them And indeed we do not follow the faith of those Excellent Persons if we do not abound in all the fruits of righteousness which by Jesus Christ are to the praise and glory of God I come now to the Third and Last Thing I Proposed viz. the Encouragement to this from the Consideration of the happy state of those Persons who are proposed to us for Patterns and the glorious Reward which they are made Partakers of in another World Considering the end of their Conversation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their egress or departure out of this Life into a Blessed and Glorious State where they have received the Crown and Reward of their Faith and Patience and Pious Conversation in this World or else which comes much to one considering the conclusion of their Lives with what Patience and Comfort they left the World and with what joyful Assurance of the happy Condition they were going to and were to continue in for ever And this is a great encouragement to Constancy and Perseverance in Faith and Holiness to see with what Chearfulness and Comfort good Men die and with what a firm and steady Perswasion of the Happiness they are entring upon For who would not be glad to leave the World in that Calmness and Serenity of Mind and comfortable Assurance of a Blessed Eternity Bad Men wish this and are ready to say with Balaam Let me die the death of the Righteous and let my last end be like his But if we would have the Comfort of such a Death we must live such Lives and imitate the Faith and good Conversation of those whom we desire to resemble in the manner of their Death and to go into the same Happy State that they are in after Death If we do not make their Lives our Pattern we must not expect to be conformable to to them in the happy Manner of their Death When we hear of the Death of an eminent good Man we do not doubt but he is happy and are confident that he will meet with the Reward of his Piety and Goodness in another World If we believe this of him let us endeavour to be like him that we may attain the same Happiness which we believe him to be possest of and as the Apostle exhorts ch 6.12 Let us not be slothful but followers of them who through Faith and Patience inherit the Promises Let us shew the same Diligence that they did that we may have the same full Assurance of Hope unto the End which they had The Inference from this Discourse which I have made upon this Argument is to shew what Use we ought to make of these excellent Examples which are set before us of the first Founders and Teachers of our Religion and what is the proper Honour and Respect which we ought to pay to their Memory Not Invocation and Adoration but a zealous Imitation of their Faith and good Conversation The greatest Honour we can do them the most acceptable to God the most grateful to them and the most beneficial to our selves is to endeavour to be like them Not to make any Images and Likeness of them to fall down before them and worship them but to Form the Image of their Faith and Virtues upon our Hearts and Lives Not to Pray to them but to Praise God for such bright and glorious Examples and to endeavour with all our Might to imitate their Faith and Patience and Piety and Humility and Meekness and Charity and all those other Virtues which were so resplendent in them And this is to remember the Founders of our Religion as we ought to follow their Faith and to consider the end of their Conversation Had the Christian Religion required or intended any such thing as of latter Times hath been practised in the World it had been as easy for the Apostle to have said Remember them that have been your Guids and have spoken to you the Word of God to erect Images to them and to worship them with due Veneration and to pray to them and make use of their Intercession But no such thing is said or the least Intimation given of it either in this Text or any other in the whole Bible but very much to the contrary Their Example indeed is frequently recommended to us for our Imitation and Encouragement and for this Reason the Providence of God hath taken particular Care that the Memory of the Apostles and so many primitive Christians and Martyrs should be transmitted to Posterity that Christians in all succeeding Ages might propound these Patterns to themselves and have perpetually before their Eyes the Piety and Virtue of their Lives and their patient and constant Sufferings for the Truth that when God shall please to call us to the like Tryal we may not be wearied and faint in our Minds but being compassed about with such a Cloud of Witnesses having so many Examples in our Eye of those who through Faith and Patience inherit the Promises and do now as it were look down from their happy State upon us here below who are combating with manifold Temptations to see how we behave and acquit our selves in our Christian Course we may take encouragement to our selves from such Examples and such Spectators to run with Patience the Race which is set before us I know indeed that other Use than this hath been and is at this Day made of the Memory of the Saints and Martyrs of former Ages very dishonourable to God and
capable of Nay I will go lower If God had made no express Promise and Declaration of a Future Happiness and Reward to those that serve him and suffer for him Yet if any Man out of a sincere Love to God and awful Regard to his Laws endure Trouble and Affliction if there be a God and Providence this is Assurance enough to us that our Services and Sufferings shall one time or other be Considered and Rewarded For as sure as any Man is that there is a God and that his Providence regards the Actions of Men so sure are we that no Man shall finally be a loser by any thing that he doth or suffers for him So that the Matter is now brought to this plain Issue That if it be Reasonable to Believe there is a God and that his Providence Regards and Considers the Actions of Men it is also Reasonable to endure Present Sufferings in Hope of a Future Reward and there is certainly enough in this Case to govern and determine a Prudent Man that is in any good measure Persuaded of another Life after this and hath any tolerable Consideration of and regard to his Eternal Interest Indeed if we were sure that there were no Life after this if we had no expectation of a Happiness or Misery beyond this World the wisest thing that any Man could do would be to enjoy as much of the present Contentments and Satisfactions of this World as he could fairly come at For if there be no resurrection to another life the Apostle allows the Reasoning of the Epicure to be very good Let us eat and drink for to morrow we dye But on the other hand if it be true that we are designed for Immortality and that another State remains for us after this Life wherein we shall be Unspeakably Happy or intolerably and Eternally Miserable according as we have behaved our selves in this World it is then evidently Reasonable that Men should take the greatest Care of the longest Duration and be content to bear and dispense with some Present Trouble and Inconvenience for a Felicity that will have no end and be willing to Labour and take Pains and deny our present Ease and Comfort for a little while that we may be Happy for ever This is reckoned Prudence in the Account of this World for a Man to part with a Present Possession and Enjoyment for a much greater Advantage in Reversion But surely the disproportion between Time and Eternity is so vast that did Men but firmly believe that they shall live for ever nothing in this World could reasonably be thought too good to part withal or too grievous to suffer for the obtaining of a Blessed Immortality In the Virtue of this Belief and Persuasion the Primitive Christians were Fortified against all that the Malice and Cruelty of the World could do against them and they thought they made a very wise Bargain if thorugh many tribulations they might at last enter into the Kingdom of God because they believed that the Joys of Heaven would abundantly Recompence all their Sorrows and Sufferings upon Earth And so confident were they of this that they looked upon it as a special Favour and Regard of God to them to call them to Suffer for his Name So St. Paul speaks of it Phil. 1.29 Vnto you it is given on the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake Yea they accounted them happy who upon this account were miserable in this World So St. James expresly pronounceth of them Jam. 1.12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation meaning the Temptation of Persecution and Suffering for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him And this consideration was that which kept up their Spirits from sinking under the weight of their greatest Sufferings So St. Paul tells us 2 Cor. 4.14 16. Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus For which cause we faint not but tho' our outward man perish yet our inward man is renewed day by day The Sufferings of their Bodies did but help to raise and fortifie their Spirits Nay so far were they from fainting under those Afflictions that they rejoyced and gloried in them So the same Apostle tells us Rom. 5.2 3. that in the midst of their Sufferings they rejoyced in hope of the Glory of God and that they gloried in tribulations as being the way to be made Partakers of that Glory And Heb. 10.34 That they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods knowing in themselves that they had in heaven a better and an enduring substance And for this Reason St. James Chap. 1.2 exhorts Christians to account it all joy when they fell into divers temptations that is various kinds of Sufferings because of the manifold Advantages which from thence would redound to them Now what was it that Inspired them to all this Courage and Chearfulness but the Belief of a mighty Reward far beyond the Proportion of all their Sufferings and a firm Persuasion that they should be vast Gainers by them at the last This Consideration St. Paul urgeth with great force 2 Cor. 4.17 18. Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory whilst we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal If we would compare things justly and attentively regard and consider the invisible Glories of another World as well as the things which are seen we should easily perceive that he who suffers for God and Religion does not renounce Happiness but puts it out to Interest upon terms of the greatest advantage I shall now speak briefly to the Second Part of this remarkable Saying in the Text If we deny him he also will deny us To which is subjoined in the words following if we believe not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if we deal unfaithfully with him yet he abideth faithful he cannot deny himself that is he will be constant to his Word and make good that solemn Threatning which he hath denounced against those who for fear of Suffering shall deny him and his Truth before Men Matt. 10.33 Whosoever faith our Lord there shall deny me before men him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven Mark 8.38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the Holy Angels This is a Terrible Threatning to be disowned by Christ at the Day of Judgment in the presence of God and his Holy Angels And this Threatning will certainly be made good and tho' we may renounce him and break our faith with him yet
he remains faithful who hath threatned and cannot deny himself This is matter of great Terror and seriously to be thought upon by those who are tempted to deny Christ and his Truth either by the hope of worldly Advantage or the fear of temporal Sufferings What worldly Advantage can we propose to our selves by quitting our Religion which can be thought an equal Price for the loss of our immortal Souls and of the Happiness of all Eternity Suppose the whole World were offered us in consideration yet what is a man profited if he should gain the whole world and lose his own Soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his Soul as our Saviour Reasons Matt. 16.26 And on the other hand if the fear of Temporal Suffering be such a Terror to Men as to shake their Constancy in Religion and to tempt them to renounce it the fear of Eternal Torments ought to be much more Powerful to keep them stedfast to their Religion and to deter them from the denial of it If Fear will move us then in all Reason that which is most Terrible ought to prevail most with us and the greatest Danger should be most dreaded by us according to our Saviour's most Friendly and Reasonable Advice Luke 12.4 5. I say unto you my friends be not afraid of them that kill the body and after that have no more that they can do But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear Fear him who after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell yea I say unto you fear him If there can be no doubt which of them is most to be dreaded there can be no doubt what we are to do in case of such a Temptation I shall now draw some Inferences from this Discourse by way of Application First If this be a faithful saying that if we be dead with Christ we shall also live with him if we suffer we shall also reign with him but if we deny him he will also deny us The Belief of it ought to have a mighty influence upon us to make us stedfast and unmoveable in the Profession and Practice of our Holy Religion This Inference the Apostle makes from the Doctrine of a Blessed Resurrection 1 Cor. 15.58 Therefore my beloved brethren be ye stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. If any thing will fix Men in the Profession of their Religion and make them serious in the Practice of it the Belief of a Glorious Resurrection and of the Reward which God will then give to his Faithful Servants must needs have a very powerful Influence upon them to this purpose Upon the same ground the Apostle to the Hebrews exhorts them to hold fast the Profession of their Faith without wavering because he is faithful that hath promised If we be constant in the Profession and Practice of our Holy Religion God will be faithful to the Promise which he hath made of Eternal Life to those who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality If under the dark and imperfect Dispensation of the Law Good Men shewed so much Courage and Constancy for God and Religion as we read in that long Catalogue of Heroes Heb. 11. How much more should Christians whose Faith is supported much more strongly than theirs was by a much clearer Evidence of another Life and a Blessed Immortality than they had by more express Promises of Divine Comfort and Assistance under Sufferings than were made to them and by the most Divine and Encouraging Example of the greatest Patience under the greatest Sufferings that the World ever had in the Death and Passion of the Son of God who for the Joy that was set before him endured the Cross and despised the Shame and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God! When we consider this Glorious Example of Suffering and the Glorious Reward of it how can we be weary and faint in our minds If the Saints and Apostles of the Old Testament did such great things by Virtue of a Faith which relyed chiefly upon the Attributes and Providence of God what should not we do who have the Security of God's express Promise for our Comfort and Encouragement We certainly have much greater Reason to take up our Cross more chearfully and to bear it more patiently than they did Secondly We should always be Prepared in the Resolution of our Minds to Suffer for the Testimony of God's Truth and a good Conscience if it should please God at any time to call us to it This our Saviour hath made a necessary Condition of his Religion and a Qualification of a true Disciple If any man will be my disciple let him take up his Cross and follow me so that we are to reckon upon it and to prepare for it that if it comes we may not be surprized as if some strange thing had happened to us and may not be unresolved what to do in such a case And God knows when we may be called to it However it is wise to forecast it in our Minds and to be always in a Preparation and Readiness to entertain the worst that may happen that if it come we may be able to stand out in an evil day and if it does not come God will accept the Resolution of our Minds and reward it according to the Sincerity of it He that knows what we would have done will consider it as if we had done it Thirdly The less we are called to suffer for God the more we should think our selves obliged to do for him the less God is pleased to exercise our Patience we should abound so much the more in the active Virtues of a good Life and our Obedience to God should be so much the more chearful and we more fruitful in every good work If there be no need of sealing the Truth with our Blood we should be sure to adorn and recommend it by our Lives Fourthly and Lastly If the hopes of Immortality will bear Men up under the extremity of Suffering and Torments and give Men Courage and Resolution against all the Terrours of the World they ought much more to make us victorious over the Temptations and Allurements of it For certainly it is in Reason much easier to foregoe Pleasure than to endure Pain to refuse or lay down a good Place for the Testimony of a good Conscience than to lay down our lives upon that Account And in vain does any Man pretend that he will be a Martyr for his Religion when he will not rule an Appetite nor restrain a Lust nor subdue a Passion nor cross his Covetousness and Ambition for the sake of it and in hope of that eternal life which God that cannot lye hath promised He that refuseth to do the less is not like to do the greater It is very improbable that a Man will die
of hope unto the end and let us not be slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises Now the God of Peace who brought again from the Dead our Lord Jesus Christ the great Shepherd of the Sheep through the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant make you Perfect in every good word and work working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight SERMON XI The Blessedness of Good Men after Death The Second Sermon on REV. XIV 13. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth Yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them IN my Explication of these Words I told you that they are in the general Sense and Meaning of them a solemn Declaration of the Blessed Estate of Good Men after this Life but deliver'd upon a Special Occasion as is signified by that expression VOL. II. from henceforth that is from the time of that Vision in which was represented to St. John the last and extremest Persecution of the faithful Servants of Christ and which should precede the fatal downfal of Babylon from that time blessed are the dead which die in the Lord that is considering the Extremity and the cruel Circumstances of this last and severest Persecution we may from that time forward reckon those who are already dead supposing that they died in the Lord to be very Happy in that they do not live to see and suffer those grievous things which then will befall the Faithful Servants of God In my former Discourse I consider'd the Words according to the general intention of them abstracting from the particular occasion upon which they were spoken endeavouring to set forth the Happy Estate of Good Men after this life from the Two Reasons and Grounds mention'd in the Text namely because they rest from their labours and because their works do follow or accompany and go along with them which two particulars constitute the Happiness of the future State Serm. XI That which farther remains and to which I now proceed is to make some Inferences from what I have said upon this Subject And in doing this I shall have an Eye on the special occasion of the Words as well as on their general intention And the Inferences shall be these following First If those that die in the Lord are at rest from their Labours and Pains then this Text concludes directly against the feigned Purgatory of the Church of Rome which supposeth a great number of those that die in the Lord and have obtain'd Eternal Redemption by him from Hell not to pass immediately into Happiness but to be detain'd in the Suburbs of Hell in great Pain and Torment till their Souls be Purged and the Debt of Temporary Punishment to which they are liable be some way or other paid off and dischargeed Secondly Here is a mighty encouragement to Piety and Virtue to consider that all the good we do in this World will accompany us into the other Thirdly It is a great encouragement to Patience under the Sufferings and Persecutions which attend Good Men in this World that how heavy and grievous soever they are at present they will end with this Life and we shall then rest from all our labours Fourthly The consideration of the extreme Sufferings of Christians in the last Times and which perhaps are not far from us should render us very indifferent to Life and all the enjoyments of it so as even to esteem it a particular Grace and Favour of God to be taken away from the Evil to come and by Death to prevent if he sees it good those extremities of Sufferings which seem to be hastning upon the World I. If those that die in the Lord are at rest from all their labours and pains then this Text concludes directly against the feigned Purgatory of the Church of Rome which supposeth a great number yea the far greatest part of those that die in the Lord and have obtain'd Eternal Redemption by him from Hell not to pass immediately into Happiness but to be detain'd somewhere they are not certain where but most probably in the Suburbs of Hell in great Pain and Torment equal in degree to that of Hell and differing only in Duration I say to be detained there till their Souls be purged from the Defilements they have contracted in this World and the Debt of Temporary Punishments to which they are liable be some way or other paid off and discharged They suppose indeed some very few Holy Men to be so Perfect at their departure out of this Life that they do immediately and without any stop pass into Heaven because they need no Purgation and those likewise who Suffer Martyrdom because they Discharge their Debt of Temporary Punishments here But the generality of Christians who die in the Lord they suppose so imperfect as to stand in need of being Purged by Fire and accordingly that they are detained a longer or shorter time as their Debt of Temporary Punishments is greater or less And indeed they have a very Considerable and Substantial Reason to exempt as few as possibly they can from going to Purgatory because the more they put in fear of going thither the Market of Indulgences riseth the higher and the Profit thence accruing to the Popes Coffers and the more and greater Legacies will be left to the Priests to hire their saying of Masses for the delivery of Souls out of the Place of Torments For tho' the Prayers of Friends and Relations will contribute something to this yet nothing does the Business so Effectually as the Masses and Prayers of Priests to that end But how is it then that St. John says that those that die in the Lord are happy because they rest from their labours If so be the far greatest part of those who die in the Lord are so far from resting from their labours that they enter into far greater Pains and Torments than ever they endured in this World And therefore Bellarmine that their Doctrine of Purgatory may receve no prejudice from this Text would have from henceforth in the Text to be dated from the day of Judgment when he supposeth the Pains of Purgatory will be at an end But why from henceforth should take date from the day of Judgment he can give no Reason but only to save Purgatory from being Condemned by this Text. For St. John plainly speaks of the Happiness of those that should die after that time whatever it be which he there describes but that time cannot be the day of Judgment because none shall die after that time Just thus Estius one of their most Learned Commentators deals with another Text which by the generality of their Writers is urged as a plain proof of Purgatory he shall be saved yet so as by fire Upon which he says it is sufficient that there is nothing in this
Text against Purgatory Sufficient for what Not to prove Purgatory as they generally pretend from this Text but to save it harmless from it as if we had pretended that this Text makes against it But there are others that make against it with a Witness Not only the perpetual Silence of Scripture about it when there are so many far occasions of speaking of it as in the Parable of the rich man and Lazarus where the future State is so particularly described and yet no mention made nor the least intimation given of this Third State But besides the Silence of Scripture about it there are several Passages utterly inconsistent with it as namely St. Paul's Discourse in the beginning of the Fifth Chapter of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians where he plainly declares the Assurance he had that all sincere Christians so soon as they quit the Body do pass into Happiness For we know says he that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens The plain meaning of which is that so soon as we quit the One we shall pass into the Other And this Consideration he tells us made Christians weary of this World and willing to die Ver. 2. For in this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven and Ver. 4. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan being burdened But had Christians believed that the greatest part of them when they left the Body were to go into Purgatory to be terribly Tormented there they would not have been in such haste to die but would have protracted the time as long as they could and have contentedly born the burden of this earthly Tabernacle rather than to quit it for a Condition a Thousand times more intolerable But St. Paul expresly says that Christians knew the contrary and that as soon as ever they went out of the Body they should be happy and with the Lord and that this gave them courage against the Fears of Death Ver. 6. Therefore we are always confident 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bono igitur animo sumus Therefore we are always of good courage knowing that whilst we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord and Ver. 8. we are of good courage I say and willing rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. The plain Sense of which is that Christians were willing rather to die than to live because they knew that so soon as they left the Body and departed this Life they should be present with the Lord. But now if the Doctrine of Purgatory be true this whole Reasoning of St. Paul proceeds upon a gross Mistake and therefore I am certain it is not true And so does the voice from Heaven here in the Text Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord that they may rest from their labours For there is no Reason to restrain this general expression that die in the Lord only to the Martyrs for tho' they are certainly included and prehaps Primarily intended in it yet this Phrase comprehends all those who die in the faith of Christ and is most frequently so used in the New Testament But let this suffice to have been spoken of this matter especially since Bishop Fisher and several of their own Learned Writers do so frankly acknowledge that their Doctrine of Purgatory hath no sufficient Ground in Scripture Other Reasons I grant they have for it which make them very loth to quit it it is a very Profitable Doctrine and therefore they have taken care to have it more abundantly confirm'd by Apparitions of Souls from the dead than any other Doctrine whatsoever In short how little soever they can say for it it is in vain to go about to persuade them to part with it Demetrius the Silver Smith argued as well as he could for his Goddess Diana from the universal consent of the World in the Worship of her the great Goddess Diana whom all Asia and the World Worshipeth But his trusty Argument to his Workmen was Sirs ye know that by this Craft we have our Wealth and this our Craft is in danger to be set at nought II. Here is a mighty encouragement to Piety and Virtue to consider that all the good we do in this World will accompany us into the other Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord for their works accompany them When we come to die we can call nothing our own but the Good Works which by the Grace of God we have been enabled to do in this Life These will stick by us and bear us company into the other World when we shall be stript of all other things and forc'd to part from them whether we will or no. Our Riches and our Honours our Sensual Pleasures and Delights will all take their leave of us when we leave this World nay many times they do not accompany us so far as the Grave but leave us very unkindly and unseasonably when we have the greatest need and use of them There is one way indeed whereby we may secure our Riches and make sure Friends to our selves of them by laying them out in Charity By this means we may send them before us and consign them over to another World to make way for our reception there So our Lord assures us Luke 12.33 that by giving Alms we provide our selves bags which wax not old a treasure in the Heavens which faileth not and Luke 16.9 that by this way we may make to our selves friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness that when we fail they may recieve us into everlasting habitations The Mammon of unrighteousness What is that It is what the Scripture elsewhere calls deceitful riches because in other ways in which Men commonly lay them out they turn to no certain account but one way or other do deceive and frustrate our Expectation but by disposing of them in Charity to the relief of the Poor and Persecuted we make sure Friends of them and consign the Effects of them to our certain Benefit and Advantage in another World And as Charity so likewise all other Graces and Virtues are that good part which cannot be taken away from us All the good Actions that we do in this Life will go with us to the Grave and bear us company into the other World and will stand by us when we come to appear before our Judge and through the Merits of our Blessed Saviour will procure for us at the Hands of a Gracious and Merciful God a most Ample and Eternal Reward And what an encouragement is this to Holiness and Virtue to consider that it will be all our own another day and turn to our unspeakable advantage at our great Account To be assured that whoever serves God faithfully lays up so much Treasure for himself which he may take along with him into the other
World and does provide for himself lasting Comforts and faithful Companions which will never leave him nor forsake him a Happiness large as his Desires and Durable and Immortal as his Soul Let us then do all the good that possibly we can whilst we have opportunity Let us serve God industriously and with all our Might knowing that no good Action that we do shall be lost and fall to the ground that no Grace and Virtue that we Practise in this Life nor any Degree of them shall lose their Reward If we faithfully improve the Talents which are committed to us to our Masters advantage when he comes to call us to an Account and finds that we have done so we shall not fail to receive both his Approbation and Reward And what a Comfort will it be to any one of us to hear those Blessed words from the Mouth of our Lord Well done thou good and faithful servant thou hast been faithful in a little I will make thee ruler over much enter thou into the joy of thy Lord We shall not need to plead our Services to him and put him in Mind of them Our Judge himself will celebrate our good Deeds upon the Theatre of the World and commemorate them to our advantage and interpret every good Office we have done to any of his Poor and Afflicted Members as if it had been a Kindness immediatly done to himself So our Lord represents the Proceedings of the great Judge and King of the World in the great day of Recompence Mat. 25.34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World For I was an hungred and ye gave me meat I was thirsty and ye gave me drink I was a stranger and ye took me in naked and ye cloathed me I was sick and ye visited me I was in prison and ye came unto me Then shall the righteous answer him saying Lord when saw we thee in any of these circumstances hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and ministred unto thee And the King shall answer and say unto them Verily I say unto you In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my Brethren ye have done it unto me Who would not be ambitious and glad to serve such a Prince who will so benignly Intepret and so bountifully Reward the least Service we do to him III. The Consideration of this should likewise be a great Argument and Support to our Patience under all those Evils and Sufferings and Persecutions which many times attend Good Men in this World They are for the present perhaps very heavy and grievous But there is a time shortly coming when we shall be at ease and perfectly freed from them when we shall find rest from our labours and sufferings when we shall enter into peace and rest in our beds every one walking in his uprightness that is reaping the Comfort and enjoying the Reward of his Sincerity towards God and constant Suffering for his Cause and Truth And therefore it was well said of a Good Man Blessed be God that we are to die because to Good Men that is a certain Remedy of all the Evils of this Life and will unquestionably put an end to them The Grave is a place of Rest and discharge from all Trouble as Job elegantly describes it Chap. 3.17 18 19. There the Wicked cease from troubling there the weary be at rest There the prisoners rest together they hear not the voice of the oppressour The small and the great are there and the Servant is free from his Master So soon as we enter into the other World we are secure against the Pursuit and Danger of all those Evils which Afflicted us in this World and nothing will remain but the joyful remembrance of our Sufferings and the plentiful Reward of our Constancy and Patience under them And the more our Tribulations and Persecutions have abounded the greater will our Comfort and Happiness then be which saith St. Paul is a manifest token a clear demonstration of the righteous judgment of God that ye may be accounted worthy of the kingdom of God for which ye also suffer seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompence to you who are troubled Rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his Mighty Angels 2 Thess 1.5 6 7. IV. The Consideration of the extream Sufferings which are to fall upon the faithful Servants of Christ in the last times and which seem now to be begun in the World should make us very contented to leave this World and glad of any fair Oportunity and Excuse to take our leave of it and to be out of the reach and danger of those violent and more than humane Temptations with which our Faith and Constancy may be assailed Nay to esteem it a particular Grace and Favour of God to us to be taken away from the Evil to come and to prevent if God sees it good those Extremities of Sufferings which are coming upon the World These seem now to be begun in some part of it They in our Neighbour Nation have a bitter Cup put into their hands a Cup of Astonishment to all those that hear of it Whether this be that last and extream Persecution spoken of here by St. John I shall not pretend positively to determine It is plainly distinguish'd in the Visions froth that under the first Beast described Rev. 13. from Verse the first to Verse 11. And Chap. 17. there is a description of the Beast upon which the woman sitteth on whose forehead is a name written Mystery Babylon the Great And this Beast is there said to have seven heads and ten horns which are thus explained by St. John Chap. 17.9 10. And here is the Mind which hath Wisdom the seven Heads are seven Mountains upon which the Woman sitteth and there are seven Kings that is as is generally agreed by Interpreters a succession of seven Governments And Verse 12 13 14. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten Kings which have received no Kingdoms as yet but receive power as Kings one hour with the Beast These have one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the Beast and shall make war with the Lamb. And Verse 18. And the woman which thou sawest is that great City which reigneth over the Kings of the earth So that this Beast is plainly the Roman Empire and the Woman that sitteth upon her is the great City standing upon seven mountains which reigneth over the Kings of the earth which can be no other than Rome as is agreed by Interpreters on all sides Bellarmine l. 2. c. 2. de Rom. Pontif. confesseth that St. John in the Revelations every where calleth Rome Babylon as Tertullian saith he hath noted and as is plain from Chap. 17. where Babylon is said to
be seated on seven mountains and to have dominion over the Kings of the earth There being no other City than Rome which in the time of St. John had dominion over the Kings of the earth and that Rome was built upon seven hills is famous Thus much Bellarmine acknowledged constrained by the Force of Truth and for another small Reason namely because St. Peter writes his first Epistle from Babylon by which if Rome be not meant they have no Proof from Scripture that St. Peter was ever there Indeed they of the Church of Rome would have it to be only Rome Pagan But that cannot be because this Beast after his last head was wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed had power given him to continue two and forty Months or as it is elsewhere exprest 1260 days that is in the Prophetick Style so many Years and likewise because it was not to begin till the Ten Kingdoms into which the Roman Empire upon its dissolution was divided were set up which was not till after the Western Empire was Overthrown and Destroyed by the Goths and Vandals And Lastly because this is that Rome or Babylon which should finally be destroyed and cast as a Milstone into the bottom of the Sea never to rise again which is yet to come And of this Beast it is said that he should make War with the Saints and overcome them Chap. 13. Ver. 7. that is that he should raise a long and great Persecution against them which should try their Faith and Patience Ver. 10. Here is the Patience and the Faith of the Saints The Beast then with Ten Horns must be Rome governing the Ten Kingdoms into which the Romam Empire was broken and this can be nothing else but Rome Papal to which the Ten Kings are said to give their Power and to which they were in a most Servile manner subject for several Ages as is plain from History And to confirm this it is very observable that the Ancient Fathers generally agree that that which hindered the revealing of the Wicked One spoken of by St. Paul 2 Thess 2.7 8. was the Roman Empire and that being removed the Man of Sin or Antichrist was to succeed in its room I shall produce a few Testimonies to this purpose but very remarkable ones Tertulllian expounding what St. Paul means by him that with-holdeth or leteth hath these words Quis nisi Romanus Status c Who is that but the Roman State which being broken into Ten Kings shall bring on Antichrist And then the Wicked one shall be revealed And in his Apology he gives this Reason why the Christians should pray for the Roman Emperours and the whole State of the Empire because the greatest mischief hanging over the World is hinder'd by the continuance of it St. Chrysostom speaking of that which hinders the revelation of the Man of Sin this says he can be no other than the Roman Empire for as long as that stands he dares not shew himself but upon the vacancy or ceasing of that he shall assume to himself both the Power of God and Man St. Austin in his Book de Civit. Dei no Man says he doubts but that the Successour to the Roman Emperour in Rome shall be the Man of Sin and we know who hath Succeeded him But now after this another Beast is represented coming out of the Earth not succeeding in the place of the first Beast but appearing during his continuance Ver. 12. and he hath these remarkable Characters by which he may be known 1. He is said to have but two horns by which according to the Interpretation of the ten horns signifying the ten Kingdoms into which the Roman Empire after its dissolution should be divided we are in all Reason to understand two of those Kingdoms of which this Beast whoever he be shall be Possest 2. He is said to be like a Lamb but 〈◊〉 speak like a Dragon that is to pretend and make a shew of great Lenity and Mildness in his Proceedings but that really he shall be very cruel It shall be pretended that he does all without Violence and without Arms but he shall speak as a Dragon that is in Truth shall exercise great Force and Cruelty either alluding to the Cruelty of the Dragon literally so called or perhaps prophetically pointing at a particular sort of Armed Souldiers called by that name of Dragons or as we according to the French Pronunciation call them Dragoons 3. He shall arise during the continuance of the first Beast and engage in his Cause but the first Beast shall only stand by and look on Ver. 12. and he exerciseth all the Power of the first Beast before him and causeth the earth and them that dwell therein to Worship the Beast whose deadly wound was healed plainly declaring that this Persecution should not immediately arise from the first Beast which is said to come out of the Sea which in this Prophecy denotes the State Ecclesiastical but from the second Beast which comes out of the Earth and denotes the Temporal Power But yet all this ought to be acted in the sight of the first Beast and in his behalf to compel Men to worship him 4. That he shall be remarkable for causing Fire to come down from Heaven to Earth in a wonderful manner to the great Terrour and Amazement of Men Ver. 13. And he doth great wonders so that he maketh fire to come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men 5. That he should interdict all those who would not Worship the Beast all Commerce with Humane Society the Exercise of Civil Trades and Professions Ver. 17. And he causeth that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark of the Beast 6. and Lastly which seems to be the most Peculiar and Characteristical Note of all the rest that his Number should be 666 that is as most of the Ancients understand it that the Numeral Letters of a certain Word or Name should being computed amount to that Number And it is expresly said to be the Number of a Man Ver. 18. Let him that hath understanding count the Number of the Beast for it is the Number of a Man And in the Verse before it is said to be the Number of his Name Now to whom all these Characters do agree and especially the last concerning the Number of his Name I shall not presume to conjecture much less positively to determine whether he be now in being because it is said to require a particular Wisdom and Understanding to find it out Here is Wisdom let him that hath Vnderstanding count the number of the Beact However the Event when the thing is fully accomplisht will clearly discover it Thus much is certain that this extream Persecution whenever it shall be will forerun the Final Destruction of Babylon which will not then be far off And concerning this it is that St. John speaks Ch. 14.12 when he says Here is the
Patience of the Saints here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus And then he immediately adds as it is in the Text And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth Yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do accompany them Thus much may suffice to have been spoken on this Text. SERMON XII The Vanity and Wickedness of honouring dead Saints and Persecuting the Living Preached on All-Saints Day Luke XI 49 50 51. Therefore also said the Wisdom of God I will send them Prophets and Apostles and some of them they shall slay and persecute That the blood of all the Prophets which was shed front the foundation of the world may be required of this Generation from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the Altar and the Temple Verily I say unto you it shall be required of this Generation THE latter part of this Chapter is a very sharp but just Invective made by our Saviour against the Hypocrisie of the Scribes and Pharisees VOL. II. of which he gives many instances and this among the rest for one that they pretended a great Honour and Respect for the Righteous Men and Prophets of former Ages whom their Fathers had Persecuted and Slain but yet were of the very same Spirit and Temper and as ready to Persecute Good Men as their Fathers were They raised indeed stately Monuments to the Memory of those Saints and Martyrs and adorned them with great Art and Cost and it is likely made a great Shew of Esteem and Veneration for them But all this while they were of the same disposition with their Fathers and bare the same implacable Hatred and Malice against the Prophets and Righteous Men who then lived among them yea against that great Prophet whom God had sent into the World Jesus the Son of God which their Fathers did against the Good Men of their Times And tho' they disclaimed the Wickedness and Cruelty of their Fathers with never so much Zeal and Vehemency yet for all that they were ready to do the same things Now this was so gross and odious a piece of Hypocrisie in them Serm. XII that our Saviour doth with great Reason denounce so severe a Wo against them Wo unto you for ye build the Sepulchres of the Prophets and your Fathers killed them Truly ye bear Witness that ye allow the deeds of youe Fathers For they indeed killed them and ye build their Sepulchres And then it follows Therefore also said the Wisdom of God I will send them Prophets and Apostles and some of them they shall slay and persecute That the blood of all the Prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias which perished between the Altar and the Temple There are considerable Difficulties in both these Passages As to the former Wo unto you for ye build the Sepulchres of the Prophets and your Fathers killed them Truly ye bear Witness that ye allow the deeds of your Fathers For they indeed killed them and ye build their Sepulchres The force of this Reasoning is at first sight not easie to be discern'd and therefore Expositors have gone several ways to explain it Some comparing this with the parallel Place in St. Matthew's Gospel Ch. 23.29 will not have our Saviour to mean that by building the Sepulchres of the Prophets they express'd their approbation of their Fathers killing them They did indeed testifie by their usage of the Righteous Men that liv'd amongst themselves that they were of the very same Temper and Spirit which their Fathers had been of and that they would have done just as their Fathers did if they had been in the same Circumstances with their Fathers So that they were Witnesses to themselves as it is in St. Matthew that they were the Children of them which killed the Prophets They own'd themselves their Children by Descent and their Actions Witnessed that they were their Children also in Resemblance nay as it is there farther intimated they seem'd resolv'd to fill up the Measure of their Fathers tho' all this while they pretended not to approve their Fathers Behaviour and therefore whilst they were building the Tombs of the Prophets and garnishing the Sepulchres of the Righteous they said if we had been in the days of our Fathers we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the Prophets And the Interpreters that go this way do accordingly render these words of St. Luke not as they are in our Translation ye bear Witness that ye allow the deeds of your Fathers But ye bear Witness and ye allow or are well pleas'd with the deeds of your Fathers that is ye own that they were your Fathers who did these things and tho' ye do not in words allow what they did yet your inward Tempers and Dispositions whether you know it or no are the very same with theirs which you too plainly testifie by your Actions so that when you build the Sepulchres of the Prophets you only expose the Deceitfulness and Hypocrsie of your Hearts your Pretences and your Actions directly contradicting each other Thus some Expositors give the Sense of this Passage But Others think that our Saviour intended somewhat more in St. Luke namely to retort upon them the Honour which they seem'd to do to the Prophets in building their Sepulchres as an Argument that they rejoyced in their Death seeing they were so well content to be at the Charge of a Monument for them like Herod who when he had Murdered Aristobulus made a Magnificent Funeral for him or as the Roman Historians say of Caracalla tho' he hated all Good Men whilst they were alive yet he would pretend to Honour them when they were dead This Some think our Saviour intended in these Words Truly ye bear Witness that ye allow the deeds of your Fathers For they indeed killed them and ye build their Sepulchers As if he had said Hereby ye testifie that ye allow and like very well what your Fathers did to the Prophets According to which latter Exposition there seems to be more Force and greater Sharpness in our Saviour's Reproof as not only charging them with their ill usage of the Righteous Men of their own Times but moreover making them by their building the Tombs and garnishing the Sepulchres of the Antient Prophets to become as it were Accessories to the Murder of them But leaving this Digression I now proceed to that which I primarily intended namely First to explain the following Words which I have chosen as my present Subject and then to make some Observations upon them Therefore also said the Wisdom of God I will send them Prophets and Apostles and some of them they shall slay and persecute that the blood of all the
Joash was the Son of Jehoiada And tho' it be very considerable which St. Jerome observes that in the Hebrew or Nazarene Gospel it is Zacharias the Son of Jehoiada yet it is hard to rely upon that against all the Greek Copies But a more difficult Objection in my opinion is that our Saviour seems to design to mention the Two Extreams the First and Last Righteous Man that was shin and between them two comprehended the Good Men of all Ages that were Persecuted and Slain and if so then that Zacharias in the Chronicles who was slain so long before can by no means be the Person There is yet a Fourth Zacharias mention'd by Josephus Lib. 4. the Son of Baruch which is probably enough the the same Name with Barachias who was the last remarkable Good Man that was slain immediately before the Siege of Jerusalem and that as Josephus tells us in the midst of the Temple which agrees with our Saviour's description of it between the Altar and the Temple not the Altar of Incense but of Burnt Offerings which was in the outward Court before the ascent to the Temple So that Grotius thinks this was the Man intended by our Saviour yet so that he does both allude to the History of the former Zacharias and foretell the Death of this And there is but one Objection against this that our Saviour speaks of this as already past whom you have slain whereas this Zacharias was not slain till after our Saviour's Death But I think that a satisfactory Answer may be given to this viz. that our Saviour foretelling those future Persecutions which should fill up the Measure of their Sins and bring final Destruction upon them he speaks of this as already past because before that Destruction should come upon them it would be true they had slain him So that speaking of the Vengeance coming upon them well might he say that upon them should come the blood of all the righteous men from Abel to Zacharias whom they had slain c. III. The Third Difficulty remains III. and that is in what Sense and with what Reason and Justice it is here threatned that the blood of all the Prophets and Righteous Men shed from the foundation of the World should be required of that Generation Some understand this more strictly they should be charged with it and formally punisht for it because in imitating their cruel Predecessors they should be guilty of all their Cruelty But there is no necessity of this All that our Saviour seems to intend is this that their Punishment in the Destruction of Jerusalem should be so horrible as if God had once for all Arraigned them of all the Righteous Blood that ever had been shed in the World and brought the Punishment of it upon them tho' in Truth the Punishment did not exceed the desert of their own Sins And if this be the meaning of it there is nothing Harsh and Unreasonable in it And thus I have explain'd as well as I can the several Difficulties in the Text. I shall make Two or Three Observations from the main Scope and Design of it and so conclude I. That it hath been the Lot of Holy and Righteous Men in most Ages of the World to meet with very bad usage to be Persecuted and Slain The Devil began this Work early When there were but Three Men in all the World and Two of them Brethren the one slew the other because he was more righteous and served God better than he did And this trade hath continued and been practised more or less in most Ages and Generations of the World as might be deduced through the History of the Old and New Testament and of most Ages since though the rod of the wicked hath not always abode upon the back of the righteous lest at last Piety should be quite discouraged and the faithful fail from among the Children of men The People and the Church of God have had many Intervals of Peace and Prosperity and sometimes for a long continuance the favour and countenance of Authority and the Powers of the World and the Laws of Nations on their side But yet there is a continual enmity between the Seed of the Woman and the Serpent between the Righteous and the Wicked between those that serve God and those that serve him not because their ways are contrary one to another and quite of another fashion their Principles and Practices do contradict and clash with one another the Virtues of good Men are a continual upbraiding of the bad a living reproof and reproach to them so that it is no wonder that evil Men do so violently hate and persecute the good and do by all means endeavour to remove out of the way those who are so opposite and offensive to them II. We may observe likewise hence how great a Sin they are guilty of who persecute the Righteous and how terrible a Vengeance from God waits on them Particular Examples of this have been in all Ages But as the guilt of this Sin never went higher than at this time foretold by our Saviour when God sent to the Jews such Prophets and Wise-men and Scribes and such a Number of them as never upon any occasion were sent unto the World and they used them in that bloody and barbarous manner no wonder if the Vengeance that came upon them was such as never had been before and if after they had filled up the measure of their Sins by crucifying the Lord Jesus and persecuting his Apostles and stoning and killing all the Prophets that were sent unto them the wrath of God came upon them to the utmost and such a terrible Destruction from the Lord as never befel any People insomuch that our Saviour upon the foresight and mention of it Forty Years before it happen'd could not but weep over them and express himself in those compassionate Words O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the Pro phets and stonest them which are sent unto thee how often would I have gathered thee as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings but ye would not Behold your house is left unto you desolate III. From this whole Passage of our Saviour which I have been explaining to you we may learn how vain it is for Men to pretend to Honour the dead Saints when they Persecute the living This was the great Hypocrisie of the Scribes and Pharisees among the Jews in our Saviour's time and is at this Day of the Rulers and Governor's of the Roman Church among us Christians Nay they exceed the Scribes and Pharisees not only in their Veneration of the ancient Saints and righteous Men but also if it be possible in their malice and cruelty towards the living For they not only build costly Monuments to their Memory which was the utmost the Scribes and Pharisees did but they honour them with Shrines and rich Offerings with Prayers and Vows to them more frequent than to Almighty God
that Church will impose her Errors upon all that are of her Communion then those who refuse to comply do not sepavate themselves but are cut off do not depart but are driven out of the Communion of that Church and Separation in that case is as innocent and free from the guilt of Schism as the Cause of it is for the terms of Communion are become such that those who are convinced of those Errors and Corruptions can have no Salvation if they continue in that Communion and then I am sure their Salvation will not be endangered by leaving it or being Excommunicated out of it for that would be the hardest case in the World that Men should be Damned for continuing in the Communion of such a Church and damned likewise for being cast out of it Therefore no Man ought to be terrified because of the boldness and presumption of those who with so much Confidence and so little Charity damn all that are not of their Communion for we see plainly from the Text that Men may be in the right and surest way to Salvation and yet be Excommunicated by those who call themselves the true Church and will not allow Salvation to any but those of their own Communion The Disciples of our Lord and Saviour were certainly very good Men and in a safe way of Salvation tho' they were Excommunicated and put out of the Synagogue by the chief Priests and the Rulers of the Jewish Church I proceed to the 3. Observation which was this that from uncharitable Censures Men do by an easie step and almost naturally proceed to Cruel Actions After the Jews had put the Disciples of our Lord out of their Synagogues and thereby concluded them to be Hereticks and Reprobates no wonder they should proceed to kill those whom they thought not worthy to live they shall put you out of their Synagogues says our Saviour and when they have done that they will soon think it a thing not only fit and reasonable but Pious and Meritorious and a good Piece of Service done to God to put you to death Uncharitableness naturally draws on Cruelty and hardens Humane Nature towards those of whom we have once conceived so hard an opinion that they are Enemies to God and his Truth And this hath been the source of the most barbarous Cruelties that have been in the world witness the severity of the Heathen Perfection of the Christians which justified it self by the Uncharitable Opinion which they had conceived of them that they were despisers of Religion and the Gods and consequently Atheists that they were pertinacious and obstinate in their Opinions that is in the Modern Stile they were Hereticks And the like uncharitable conceit among Christians hath been thought a sufficient ground even in the judgment of the Infallible Chair for the justification of several bloody Massacres and the cruel Proceedings of the Inquisition against Persons suspected of Heresie for after Men are once Sentenced to Eternal Damnation it seems a small thing to torment and destroy their Bodies 4. Men may do the vilest and most wicked things not only under a grave Pretence of Religion but out of a real Opinion and Perswasion of Mind that they do Religiously Murder is certainly one of the greatest and most crying Sins and yet our Saviour foretels that the Jews should put his Disciples to Death being verily perswaded that in so doing they should offer a most acceptable Sacrifice to God yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offers a Sacrifice to God Not but that the great Duties and Virtues of Religion are very plain and easy to be understood and so are the contrray Sins and Vices But then they are only plain to a teachable and honest and well-disposed mind to those who receive the word with meekness and are not blinded with wrath and furious Zeal to those that receive the truth into an honest heart and entertain it in the love of it they are plain to the humble and meek for the humble God will guide in judgment and the meek will he teach his ways such as these God seldom suffers to fall into fatal mistakes about their Sin or Duty so as to call good evil and evil good to call light darkness and darkness light to think Uncharitableness a Virtue and downright Murder a great Duty But if Men will give up themselves to be swayed by self-Love and self-Conceit to be governed by any base or corrupt Interest to be blinded by Prejudice and intoxicated by Pride to be transported and hurried away by violent and furious Passions no wonder if they mistake the Nature and confound the Differences of things in the plainest and most palpable cases no wonder if God give up Persons of such corrupt minds to strong delusions to believe lies It ought not to be strange to us if such Men bring their Understandings to their Wills and Interests and bend their Judgments to their Prejudices make them to stoop to their Pride and blindly to follow their Passions which way soever they lead them for God usually leaves such persons to themselves as run away from him and is not concerned to secure those from splitting upon the most dangerous Rocks who will stear their Course by no Compass but commit themselves to the wind and tide of their own Lusts and Passions In these Cases Men may take the wrong Way and yet believe themselves to be in the right they may oppose the Truth and persecute the Professors of it and be guilty of the blackest Crimes and the most horrid Impieties Malice and Hatred Blasphemy and Murder and yet all the while be verily perswaded that they are serving God and Sacrificing to him Of this we have a plain and full instance in the Scribes and Pharisees the chief Priests and Rulers among the Jews who because they sought the Honour of Men and not that which was from God and loved the Praise of Men more than the Praise of God because they were prejudiced against the Meanness of our Saviour's Birth and Condition and had upon false Grounds tho' as they thought upon the Infallibility of Tradition and of Scripture interpreted by Tradition entertain'd quite other Notion of the Messias from what he really was to be because they were proud and thought them selves too wise to learn of him and because his Doctrine of Humility and self-Denyal did thwart their Interest and bring down their Authority and Credit among the People therefore they set themselves against him with all their Might opposing his Doctrine and blasting his Reputation and persecuting him to the Death and all this while did bear up themselves with a conceit of the Antiquity and Priviledges of their Church and their profound Knowledge in the Law of God and a great External shew of Piety and Devotion and an arrogant Pretence and Usurpation of being the only Church and People of God in the World And by virtue of these Advantages they thought
they might do any thing and that whosoever opposed the Authority of so ancient and good a Church must needs be very bad Men and deserve to be proceeded against in the severest manner As if any pretence of Piety could give a Priviledge to do wickedly and by how much the Wiser and Holier any Man took himself to be he might do so much the worse things There is another remarkable Instance of this in St. Paul who out of a blind and furious Zeal for the Traditions of his Fathers Persecuted the true Church of God by Imprisonment and Death and all manner of Cruelties and all this while he verily thought that he was in the right and that he ought to do all these things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth And if God had not in a miraculous manner checkt him in his course and changed his Mind he would have spent his whole life in that course of Persecution and Cruelty and would with Pope Paul the IV. upon his Death-Bed have recommended the Inquisition or if he could have thought of any thing more severe to the chief Priests and Rulers of the Jewish Church I will not trouble you with nearer Instances tho' the Jewish Church is not the only Church in the World that hath countenanced the Destruction and Extirpation of those who differed from them as a piece of very acceptable Service to God and meritorious of the Pardon of their Sins 5. I observe that such Actions as these are never the less horribly Wicked and Impious notwithstanding the good Mind with which and the good End for which they are done The Jews were not excused from the guilt of Persecution and Murder for all they thought they did well in killing the Disciples of our Lord. For to make an Action good and acceptable to God the goodness of all Causes and of all Circumstances must concur and any one defect in any of these does vitiate the whole Action and spoil the goodness of it We must do it with a good Mind being verily perswaded that what we do is good and acceptable to God in which sense St. Paul saith that whatever is not of Faith is Sin and we must do it for a good End for the Honour of God and the Service of Religion and the Benefit and Edification of Men. But there is one thing wanting yet which is often forgotten but is mainly considerable viz. what we do with a Good Mind and to a Good End must be Good and Lawful in it self commanded or allowed or at least not forbidden by God If it be what good Circumstances soever may belong to the Action the whole Action is stark naught because the very Matter and Substance of it is Evil and Unlawful and Damnable tho' done for never so good an End So St. Paul tells us that they who said they might do evil that good might come their damnation was just He tells us indeed that some would have charged this Doctrine upon the Christians and particularly upon himself but he rejects it with the greatest detestation and which is not unworthy of our observation in his Epistle to the Roman Church as if the Spirit of God to whom all Times are present had particularly directed him to give this Caution to that Church that in future Ages they might be warned against so Pernicious a Principle and all wicked Practices that are consequent upon it And we find that St. Paul after his Conversion did think it no sufficient Plea and Excuse for himself and his Persecution of the Christian Profession that what he did was out of Zeal for God and his true Religion as he was verily perswaded but notwithstanding that acknowledged himself a Murderer and one of the greatest Sinners for which without the great Mercy of God he had perisht everlastingly 6. And lastly I observe that the Corruption of the best things is the worst Religion is certainly the highest Accomplishment and Perfection of Humane Nature and Zeal for God and his Truth an excellent Quality and highly acceptable to God and yet nothing is more barbarous and spurs Men on to more horrid Impieties than a blind zeal for God and false and mistaken Principles in the matter of Religion Our Saviour compares the Christian Religion and the Ministers and Professors of it to Salt and Light The most useful and delightful things in the World Religion enlightens the minds of Men and directs them in the way wherein we should go it seasons the Spirits and Manners of Men and preserves them from being Putrified and Corrupted but if the Salt lose its savour if that which should season other things be tainted it self it is thenceforth the most insipid and offensive thing in the World good for nothing but to be cast upon the Dunghil if the light that is in us be darkness how great is that darkness Mistakes and false Principles are no where so pernicious and of such mischievous Consequence as in Religion A blind and misguided Zeal in Religion is enough to spoil the best Nature and Disposition in the World St. Paul for ought appears was of himself of a very kind and compassionate Nature and yet what a Fury did his mistaken Zeal make him It is hardly credible how madly he laid about him but that he himself gives us the account of it Acts 26.9 10 11. I verily thought with my self says he that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth which thing I also did in Jerusalem and many of the Saints I shut up in Prison having received authority from the Chief Priests And when they were put to death I gave my voice against them and I punished them oft in every Synagogue and compel'd them to blaspheme and being exceedingly mad against them I persecuted them even to strange Cities I might descend lower and give Instances both of former and later times of Emperours and Princes both Heathen and Christian that of themselves were mild and gentle and yet through a mistaken Zeal and the instigation of their Chief Priests have been carried to Cruel and Bloody things And indeed nothing gives so keen an edg even to the mildest Tempers as an erroneous and wild zeal for God and Religion it is like Quick-Silver in the back of a Sword that is not very sharp of it self which gives a mighty force and weight to its blow and makes it to cut terribly And it is very sad to consider that the zealous Prosecution of Mistakes in Religion hath produced sadder and more barbarous Effects in the World and more frequently than the ordinary Corruptions and Degeneracy of Natural light is apt to do as the decay of the richest and most generous Wines makes the sowerest Vineger so that the Pasquil or Libel against Pope Vrban the VIII upon occasion of his taking off the Brazen Roof of the Old Capitol which had held out so many Ages and that notwithstanding Rome had been so often sackt by Barbarous
We may sit down every man under his own Vine and under his own Fig-tree and that there shall be none to make us afraid So that if Security is necessary to the Comfort and Happiness of Mankind then Government is so too For without this the Societies of Men would presently dissolve and fall in pieces and all things would run into Confusion and Disorder 2. Another great Benefit which may reasonably be expected from Government tho' it does always so happen is that Men are protected by it in the free Exercise and Practice of Religion and Virtue Therefore we should pray for Kings and for all that are in authority says the Apostle that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty that is in the Practice of Piety and Devotion towards God of Sobriety and Temperance in regard to our selves and of Justice and Charity toward all Men. It 's true indeed and so the Apostles and first Christians found it by experience that the Edg and Authority of Laws may be and sometimes is turned upon the true Religion and the sincere Professors of it But even then tho' Good Men may receive great harms and injuries from Persecuting Princes and Governors as the Primitive Christians did from several of the Roman Emperors yet then it so happens that Good Men have some considerable Benefit and Protection from the Civil Government and Laws being for the most part preserved from the fury and rage of the Multitude so that tho' particular Persons undergo the Tryal of Cruel Sufferings yet much greater Numbers do escape and are preserved And which is very considerable in this Matter against several of the main and essential Parts of Religion there never was any Humane Laws made as against the inward Love Honour and Reverence of Almighty God and the Worshipping him in our Hearts and in Secret of this Part of Religion Humane Laws can take no cognizance Nay farther yet against Humility and Meekness against Modesty and Patience against Temperance and Chastity against Peaceableness and obedience to Government against Justice and Gratitude against Charity and Forgiveness of Injuries against these and such like Virtues the Apostle has told us there is no Law Against the Practice of these without some of which Government could not possibly subsist no Perfection was ever raised no not by the worst of Governors On the contrary in the Practice of these Virtues Good Men have been in all Ages and Times protected by Law 'T is true indeed that Good Men have many times been grievously Perfected by the Civil Government and Authority for the external Profession of revealed Religion which was the case of the Christians at that Time when the Apostle commanded them to pray for Kings and for all that were in Authority that under their protection they might lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty St. Paul knew very well when he gave this injunction to them that Supplications and prayers be made for Kings and for all that are in authority that the Powers of the World did not at that Time favour Christianity But he knew likewise that Government was necessary to the Happiness of Mankind and that Christians even in that State of Perfection did enjoy many considerable Benefits and Advantages by it so that they were not perpetually exposed to popular Rage and Cruelty and the Violence of Wicked and Vnreasonable Men Which would not only have hindred the progress of Christianity but would in a short time have endangered the extinguishing of it Besides that by the favour and protection of Government the Christians had many considerable Intervals of Peace and Ease which gave Christianity a breathing time and opportunity to recover it self and tho' the Secular Authority did for a long time discountenance Christianity and keep it under Hatches that was but an accidental effect and abuse of Government and Obedience was still due and Prayers for it so much the more necessary yea and Thanksgivings to God for it very reasonable upon account of the common Benefits and Advantages of it to Humane Society Besides that Christians did hope and believe that the Civil Government might in time be gained to give its countenance and assistance to Christianity and that Kings and Princes might become nursing Fathers to the Church as was expresly foretold by the Prophets and afterwards in God's due time was remarkably accomplisht In the mean time Christians were patiently to Obey and Suffer in expectation of those Glorious Rewards in another World which were promised to their Faith and Patience and to pray for the Powers that Persecuted them that they also might be brought to the acknowledgment of the Truth and might use that Power which God had committed to them for the protection of Truth and Innocency and for the Continuance and Support of the true Religion which blessed be God was afterwards the Case of Christianity for several Ages I proceed in the Second Place to shew what Obligation the Consideration of the mighty Benefits and Advantages of Government lays upon us both to pray to God on the behalf of Princes and Governors and likewise to praise God for them Because in their Welfare and Prosperity the Publick Peace and Happiness doth chiefly consist and in the Publick Good consists the Good of particular Persons and above all the Piety and Goodness of Princes and Magistrates especially those who are in highest Place of Authority have a general good influence upon the Manners of Men both for the discountenancing of Wickedness and Vice and for the encouragement of Religion and Virtue which are the main Pillars and Foundation of publick Peace and Prosperity A King sitting in the Throne of Judgment saith Solomon Prov. 20.8 scattereth away all evil with his eyes The Pattern of a Religious and good Prince is a living Law to his Subjects and more than the Example of Ten thousand others to Mould and Fashion the Manners of the People to a Conformity to it Besides that there is as one expresseth a kind of Moral Connexion and Communication of Evil and of Guilt betwixt Princes and People so that they are many times mutually Rewarded for the Virtues and good Actions and Punished for the Sins and Faults of one another Of which proceedings of the Divine Justice towards the People of Israel there are many remarkable instances in Scripture where God Rewarded the Piety of Good Princes with great Blessings upon their People and Punisht the Personal Faults of their Kings with publick Judgments upon the whole Nation So that in Truth it is the greatest Kindness and Charity to our selves to pray for our Princes and Governors because our welfare is involved in theirs and we suffer not only in all the Misfortunes and Calamities which befal them but many times upon account of their Personal Faults and Miscarriages Quicquid delirant Reges plectuntur Achivi the Extravagances of Princes are punisht in the Misfortunes of their Subjects Thus David
his Mercies sake in Jesus Christ who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory Dominion and Power now and for ever Amen SERMON XVI The Love of God to Men in the Incarnation of Christ Preached in the Chapel of Lambeth-House ON Christmas-Day 1691. 1 JOHN IV. 9. In this was manifested the love of Go towards us because that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world that we might live through him THESE Words contain a clear and evident Demonstration of the Love of God to us In this was manifested the Love of God towards us VOL. II. that is by this it plainly appears that God had a mighty Love for us That he sent his only-begotten Son into the World that we might live through him In which we may consider this Three-fold Evidence of God's Love to Mankind I. That he should be pleased to take our Case into Consideration and to concern himself for our Happiness II. That he should design so great a Benefit to us which is here exprest by Life that we might live through him III. That he was pleased to use such a Means for the obtaining and procuring of this Benefit for us he sent his only-begotten Son into the World that we might live through him Each of these singly is a great Evidence of God's Love to us much more all of them together I. It is a great Evidence of the Love of God to Mankind that he was pleased to take our Case into Consideration Serm. XVI and to concern himself for our Happiness Nothing does more commend an Act of Kindness than if there be great Condescension in it We use to value a small Favour if it be done to us by one that is far above us more than a far greater done to us by a mean and inconsiderable Person This made David to break out into such Admiration when he considered the ordinary Providence of God towards Mankind Lord what is Man that thou art mindful of him or the Son of Man that thou shouldst consider him This is a wonderful Condescension indeed for God to be mindful of Man At the best we are but his Creatures and upon that very Account at an infinite Distance from him so that were not he infinitely Good he would not be concerned for us who are so infinitely beneath the Consideration of his Love and Pity Neither are we of the highest Rank of Creatures we are much below the Angels as to the Excellency and Perfection of our Beings so that if God had not had a peculiar Pity and Regard to the Sons of Men he might have placed his Affection and Care upon a much nobler Order of Creatures than we are and so much the more miserable because they fell from a higher Step of Happiness I mean the lost Angels but yet for Reasons best known to his Infinite Wisdom God past by them and was pleased to consider us This the Apostle to the Hebrews takes notice of as an Argument of God's peculiar and extraordinary Love to Mankind that he sent his Son not to take upon him the Nature of Angels but of the Seed of Abraham Now that he who is so far above us and after that we by wilful Transgression had lost our selves had no Obligation to take Care of us but what his own Godness laid upon him that he should concern himself so much for us and be so solicitous for our Recovery this is a great Evidence of his Kindness and Good-will to us and cannot be imagined to proceed from any other Cause II. Another Evidence of God's great Love to us is that he was pleased to design so great a Benefit for us This the Scripture expresseth to us by Life and it is usual in Scripture to express the best and most desirable things by Life because as it is one of the greatest Blessings so it is the Foundation of all other Enjoyments And therefore the Apostle useth but this one word to express to us all the Blessings and Benefits of Christ's coming into the World God sent his only-begotten Son into the world that we might live through him And this Expression is very proper to our Case because Life signifies the reparation of all that which was lost by the Fall of Man For Man by his willful Degeneracy and Apostacy from God is sunk into a State of Sin and Misery both which the Scripture is wont to express by Death In respect of our Sinful State we are Spiritually Dead and in respect of the Punishment and Misery due to us for our Sins we are Judicially Dead Dead in Law for the wages of Sin is Death Now God hath sent his Son into the World that in both these respects we might live through him 1. We were Spiritually Dead Dead in Trespasses and Sins as the Apostle speaks Eph. 2.1 2. You hath he quickned who were dead in trespasses and sins wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world Every Wicked Man tho' in a Natural Sense he be Alive yet in a Moral Sense he is Dead So the Apostle speaking of those who live in sinful Lusts and Pleasures says of them that they are dead while they live 1 Tim. 5.6 What Corrupt Humours are to the Body that Sin is to the Soul their Disease and their Death Now God sent his Son to deliver us from this Death by renewing our Nature and mortifying our Lusts by restoring us to the Life of Grace and Holiness and destroying the Body of Sin in us that henceforth we should not serve Sin And that this is a great Argument of the mighty Love of God to us the Apostle tells us Eph. 2.4 5. God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickned us together with Christ It is an Argument of the Riches of God's Mercy and of his great Love to us to recover us out of this sad and deplorable Case It is a kindness infinitely greater than to redeem us from the most wretched Slavery or to rescue us from the most dreadful and cruel Temporal Death and yet we should value this as a Favour and Benefit that could never be sufficiently acknowledg'd But God hath sent his Son to deliver us from a worse Bondage and a more dreadful kind of Death so that well might the Apostle ascribe this great Deliverance of Mankind from the slavery of our Lusts and the Death of Sin to the boundless Mercy and Love of God to us God who is rich in mercy for the great love wherewith he loved us hath quickned us together with Christ even when we were dead in Sins when our Case was as desperate as could well be imagined then was God pleased to undertake this great Cure and to provide such a Remedy as cannot fail to be effectual for our Recovery if we will but make use of it 2. We
were likewise judicially Dead Dead in Law being Condemned by the just Sentence of it So soon as ever we sinned Eternal Death was by the Sentence of God's Law become our due Portion and Reward and this being our Case God in tender Commiseration and Pity to Mankind was pleased to send his Son into the World to inter pose between the Justice of God and the Demerits of Men and by reversing the Sentence that was gone out against us and procuring a Pardon for us to rescue us from the Misery of Eternal Death and not only so but upon the condition of Faith and Repentance of Obedience and a Holy Life to bestow Eternal Life upon us and by this means to restore us to a better Condition than that from which we were fallen and to advance us to a Happiness greater than that of Innocency And was not this great Love to design and provide so great a Benefit and Blessing for us to send his Son Jesus to bless us in turning away every one of us from our Iniquities Our Blessed Saviour who came from the bosom of his Father and knew his tender Affection and Compassion to Mankind speaks of this as a most wonderful and unparallell'd expression of his Love to us John 3.16 God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son God so loved the world so greatly so strangely so beyond our biggest hopes nay so contrary to all reasonable expectation as to send his only-begotten Son to seek and to save the sinful Sons of Men. If it had only in general been declared to us that God was about to send his Son into the World upon some great design and been left to us to conjecture what his Errand and Business should be how would this have alarmed the guilty Consciences of sinful Men and fill'd them with infinite Jealousies and Suspicion with fearful expectations of Wrath and fiery Indignation to consume them For considering the great Wickedness and Degeneracy of Mankind what could we have thought but that surely God was sending his Son upon a design of vengeance to Chastise a Sinful World to Vindicate the Honour of his despised Laws and to revenge the multiplyed Affronts which had been offered to the highest Majesty of Heaven by his Pitiful and Ungrateful Creatures Our own Guilt would have been very apt to have fill'd us with such Imaginations as these that in all likelihood the Son of God was coming to Judgment to call the Wicked World to an Account to proceed against his Father's Rebels to pass Sentence upon them and to Execute the Vengeance which they had deserved This we might justly have dreaded and indeed considering our Case how ill we have deserved at God's Hands and how highly we have provoked him what other weighty Matter could we hope for But the Goodness of God hath strangely out-done our Hopes and deceived our Expectation so it follows in the next Words God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world intimating that this we might justly have imagin'd and feared but upon a quite contrary Design that through him the world might be saved What a surprize of Kindness is here that instead of sending his Son to condemn us he should send him into the world to save us to rescue us from the Jaws of Death and of Hell from that Eternal and Intolerable Misery which we had incurred and deserved And if he had proceeded no farther this had been wonderful Mercy and Kindness But his Love stopt not here it was not contented to spare us and free us from Misery but was restless till it had found out a way to bring us to Happiness for God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son not only that whosoever believes in him might not perish but might have everlasting life This is the Second Evidence of God's great Love to us the greatness of the Blessing and Benefit which he had designed and provided for us that we might live through him not only be delivered from Spiritual and Eternal Death but be made partakers of Eternal Life III. The last Evidence of God's great Love to us which I mentioned was this that God was pleased to use such a Means for the obtaining and procuring of this great Blessing and Benefit he sent his only-begotten Son into the World that we might live through him And this will appear to be great Love indeed if we consider these Four things 1. The Person whom he was pleased to employ upon this Design he sent his only-begotten Son 2. How much he abased him in Order to the effecting and accomplishing of this Design implyed in these words he sent him into the World 3. If we consider to whom he was sent to the World And 4. That he did all this voluntarily and freely out of his meer Pity and Goodness not constrain'd hereto by any Necessity not prevail'd upon by any Application or Importunity of ours nor oblig'd by any Benefit or Kindness from us 1. Let us consider the Person whom God was pleased to employ in this Design he sent his only-begotten Son no less Person than his own Son and no less dear to him than his only-begotten Son 1. No less Person than his own Son and the Dignity of the Person that was employed in our behalf doth strangely heighten and set off the Kindness What an Endearment is it of the Mercy of our Redemption that God was pleased to employ upon this Design no meaner Person than his own Son his begotten Son so he is called in the Text his Son in so peculiar a Manner as no Creature is or can be the Creatures below Man are call'd the Works of God but never his Children the Angels are in Scripture call'd the Sons of God and Adam likewise is call'd the Son of God because God made him after his own Image and Likeness in Holiness and Righteousness and in his Dominion and Sovereignty over the Creatures below him But this Title of begotten Son of God was never given to any of the Creatures Man or Angel for unto which of the Angels said he at any time thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee as the Apostle Reasons Heb. 1.5 He must be a great Person indeed to whom this Title belongs of the begotten Son of God and it must be a mighty Love indeed which moved God to employ so great a Person on the behalf of so pitiful and wretched Creatures as we are It had been a mighty Condescension for God to treat with us at all but that no less Person than his own Son should be the Embassadour is an astonishing Regard of Heaven to poor sinful Dust and Ashes 2 This Person was as dear to God as he was great he was his only-begotten Son It had been a great Instance of Abraham's Love and Obedience to God to have sacrificed a Son at his Command but this Circumstance makes it much greater that it was his only Son hereby
now remains but to apply this to our selves 1. Let us propound to our selves the Love of God for our Pattern and Example This is the Inference which the Apostle makes in the next Verse but one after the Text Beloved if God so loved us we ought also to love one another One would have thought the Inference should have been if God so loved us then we ought also to love him But the Apostle doth not speak so much of the Affection as the Effect of Love and his meaning is if God hath bestowed such Benefits upon us we ought in imitation of him to be kind and beneficial one to another Not but that we ought to love God with all our hearts and souls and strength but in this Sense we are not capable of it We cannot be beneficial to him because he is self-sufficient and stands in need of nothing and therefore the Apostle adds this as a Reason why he does not Exhort Men to love God but one another no man hath seen God at any time he is not sensible to us and therefore none of these sensible things can signifie any thing to him But he hath Friends and Relations here in the World who are capable of the sensible Effects of our Love and to whom we may shew kindness for his sake we cannot be beneficial to God but we may testifie our Love to him by our Kindness and Charity to Men who are made after the Image of God and if we see any one Miserable that is Consideration enough to move our Charity There was nothing but this in us to move him to Pity us when we were in our blood and no eye pitied us God is a Pattern of the most generous Kindness and Charity Tho' he be infinitely above us yet he thought it not below him to confider our Case and to employ his only Son to Save us he had no Obligation to us no Expectation of Advantage from us and can never be in a possibility to stand in need of us and yet he loved us and hath conferred the greatest Benefits upon us So that no Man can have deserved so ill at our hands but that if he be in want and we in a Condition to help him he ought to come within the Compass and Consideration of our Charity And this is the proper Season for it when we Commemorate the greatest Blessing and Benefit that was ever conferred on Mankind The Son of God sent into the world on purpose to redeem and save us And therefore I cannot but very much commend the Custom of Feeding and Relieving the Poor more especially at this time when the Poor do usually stand most in need of it and when we Commemorate the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who being rich became poor for our sakes that we through his poverty might be made rich 2. Let us readily comply with the great Design of this great Love of God to Mankind He hath sent his Son that we might live through him But tho' he had done all this for us tho' he hath purchased so great Blessings for us as the Pardon of our Sins and Power against them and Eternal Life and Happiness yet there is something to be done on our parts to make us Partakers of these Benefits God hath not so loved us as to send his Son into the World to carry Men to Heaven whether they will or no and to rescue those from the slavery of the Devil and the Damnation of Hell who are fond of their Fetters and wilfully run themselves upon Ruin and Destruction But the Son of God came to offer Happiness to us upon certain Terms and Conditions such as are fit for God to propound and necessary for us to perform to make us capable of the blessedness which he offers as namely repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ a sincere and constant Endeavour of Obedience to the Laws and Precepts of our Holy Religion These are the Terms of the Gospel and the Grace of God which brings Salvation offers it only upon these Terms that we deny Vngodliness and worldly Lusts and live soberly righteously and godly in this present world then we may expect the blessed hope But if we will not submit to these Conditions the Son of God will be no Saviour to us for he is the Author of Eternal Salvation only to them that obey him If Men will continue in their Sins the Redemption wrought by Christ will be of no Advantage to them such as obstinately persist in an impenitent Course Ipsa si velit salus servare non potest Salvation it self cannot save them These are the Conditions of our Happiness and if we submit to them we are Heirs of Eternal Life if we refuse we are Sons of Perdition eternally lost and undone for we may assure our selves that these are the best and easiest Terms that can ever be offered to us because God sent them by his Son This is the last Effort of the Divine Love and Goodness towards the Recovery and Salvation of Men so the Apostle tells us Heb. 1.1 2. that God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake to the fathers by the Prophets hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son and if we refuse to hear him he will speak no more After this it is not to be expected that God should make any farther Attempts for our Recovery for he can send no greater nor dearer Person to us than his own Son and if we refuse him whom will we reverence If after this we still wilfully go on in our Sins there remains no more sacrifice for Sin but a fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery indignation to consume us 3. With what Joy and Thankfulness should we Commemorate this great Love of God to Mankind in sending his only-begotten Son into the world that we might live through him This is the proper End of the Blessed Sacrament which we are now going to receive to represent to our Minds the Incarnation and Passion of our dear Lord by the Symbols of his Body broken and his blood shed for us With what acknowledgments should we Celebrate the Memory of this wonderful Love which the Son of God hath shewn to the Sons of Men endeavouring to make all the World in love with him who hath so loved all Mankind When ever we see his Blood poured forth and his Body broken for us so moving a Sight should raise strange Passions in us of love to our Saviour and hatred to our Sins and should inspire us with mighty Resolutions of Service and Obedience to him and when ever the Pledges and Seals of these Benefits are delivered into our Hands the sight of them should at once wound and revive our Hearts and make us to cry out Lord how unworthy am I for whom thou shouldest do and suffer all this I am overcome by thy love and can no longer hold out against the mighty force of such kindness I render my self to thee and will serve thee for ever who hast redeemed me at so dear a rate Now to him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb that was slain to God even our Father and to the Lord Jesus Christ the first begotten from the Dead and the Prince of the Kings of the Earth unto him that hath loved us and washed us from our Sins in his own Blood and hath made us Kings and Priests to God and his Father to him be Glory and Dominion for ever and ever Amen FINIS