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<DATE>2013-05-28</DATE>
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<NAME>Sarah Wingo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Checklist: x *Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate x*Review over all structure: FRONT,BODY, BACK, DIV or rarely GROUP x*Add DIV TYPEs, make sure that @types makes sense as a navigational aide, and work in the context of the whole text, validate x*Survey book for troublesome formats of all kinds, including lists, illustrations, tables, music, math, end-notes, quasi-tabular arrangments, and marginalia. x*Proof title page(s) x*Examine marginalia. Is it all best tagged as NOTE? x*Observe divtop and divbottom material marking beginnings and ends of divisions, check that they are correctly tagged as HEAD, HEADNOTE, CLOSER, OPENER, ARGUMENT, EPIGRAPH, SIGNED, DATELINE, BYLINE, etc. x*Check for GAPs - MISSING and BLANK, MUSIC, MATH, FOREIGN, SYMBOL, INTRUDER x*Check PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N="" x*Check ^, oe, italic I / J, _Initals, space between &amp;c., -- x*Check for illustrations and correct usage of FIGURE. Add FIGDESCs if necessary. x*Check q; startq endq Q x*If appropriate, check for yoghs. x*If appropriate, check for Latin problems, e.g. oe and ae digraphs x*If appropriate, check for abbreviation and brevigraph problems. x*If appropriate, check for units of measure, symbols (alchemical, astronomical, etc.) and the like. x*Correct illegibles from proofsheet x*Check illegible page, para, line, span, word, dollar signs x*Final validate Corrected [ ] illegible groups out of [ ]. Converted [ ] illegible groups to GAP DESC="illegible". DONE</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A85953">
<STC T="W">G6083</STC>
<STC T="T">E1029_1</STC>
<STC T="C">R208881</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99867798</BIBNO>
<VID>168883</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>Go&s;pel-Revelation IN THREE TREATISES; <HI>Viz,</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1 <HI>The Nature of God.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2 <HI>The Excellencies of Chri&s;t.</HI> And,</ITEM>
<ITEM>3 <HI>The Excellency of Mans Immortal Soul.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>By <HI>JEREMIAH BURROUGHS,</HI> late Preacher of the Go&s;pel at <HI>Stepney,</HI> and <HI>Giles-Cripple-gate, London.</HI></P>
<P>Publi&s;hed by
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>William Greenhill.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>William Bridge.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Philip Nye.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Yates.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Matthew Mead.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>William Adderly.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<Q><P>Let them prai&s;e the Name of the Lord, for his Name alone is Excellent, <BIBL><HI>P&s;al. 148.13.</HI></BIBL></P></Q>
<P>My Beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefe&s;t of ten thou&s;and, <BIBL><HI>Cant. 5.10.</HI></BIBL></P>
<Q><P>Fear not them which kill the Body, but are not able to kill the Soul, <BIBL><HI>Matth. 10.28.</HI></BIBL></P></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Nath. Brook,</HI> at the Angel in <HI>Cornhill,</HI> and <HI>Thomas Parkhur&s;t,</HI> at the three Crowns, over again&s;t the Great Conduit, at the lower end of <HI>Cheap&s;ide.</HI> 1660.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="docket title">
<PB REF="2">
<P>Burroughs Go&s;pel-Revelation.</P>
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<GROUP>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="testimonial">
<PB REF="3">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD><HI>A</HI> Te&s;timony to the world concerning the&s;e Three Treati&s;es contained in this Book of Mr. <HI>Jeremiah Bur|roughs.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>THe&s;e may a&s;&s;ure thee, that what|ever thou finde&s;t here &s;poken, either of God, of Chri&s;t, or the Soul, was taken from the mouth of that Re|verend Author, Mr. <HI>Jeremiah Bur|roughs,</HI> as hee preached them, and by the &s;ame ready hand that took mo&s;t of the former Treati&s;es, as <HI>Go&s;pel-wor|&s;hip, Contentment,</HI> &amp;c. Now in Print.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><LIST>
<ITEM><HI>William Bridge.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>William Greenhill.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Philip Nye.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Yates.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Matthew Mead.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>William Adderly.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="testimonial">
<PB REF="4">
<P>THere is now publi&s;hed that much-de&s;ired Di&s;cour&s;e of Mr. <HI>Jere|miah Burroughs,</HI> on the fifth of <HI>Mat|thew,</HI> being many Sermons preached at <HI>Cripple-gate,</HI> upon all the Beatitudes, taken by the &s;ame ready hand, and pub|li&s;hed by the &s;ame Testimony, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><LIST>
<ITEM><HI>VVilliam Bridge.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>VVil. Greenhill.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Philip Nye.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Yates.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Matthew Mead.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>VVil. Adderly.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="4">
<HEAD>To the Reader.</HEAD>
<P>_THou art here pre&s;ented with the living <HI>Sermons</HI> of one who is faln <HI>a&s;leep in Je&s;us,</HI> who&s;e memo|ry is <HI>&s;weet</HI> and <HI>fragrant</HI> unto the <HI>Saints;</HI> Hee was famous for the <HI>Work of God and Chri&s;t</HI> in his <HI>Ge|neration,</HI> and <HI>In&s;trumental</HI> for the be|getting of many <HI>&s;piritual Children</HI> un|to the <HI>Lord Je&s;us.</HI></P>
<P>The Author of the&s;e <HI>Sermons</HI> (M^r. <HI>Jeremiah Burroughs</HI>) like <HI>Abel,</HI> being <HI>dead, yet &s;peaketh:</HI> And of that, which is not only our <HI>Duty</HI> to hear, but our <HI>Priviledge</HI> to be made <HI>acquainted with:</HI> for he Treats of <HI>God,</HI> of <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> and <HI>Mans Soul:</HI> three choice &s;ubjects.
<PB REF="5"> <HI>Knowledge is Plea&s;ant, Prov.</HI> 2.20. but none more plea&s;ant than that is Di|vine. The knowledge of the holy <HI>God</HI> is <HI>&V;nder&s;tanding, Pro.</HI> 9.10. the know|ledge of <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> is <HI>Excellent, Phil.</HI> 3.8. the knowledge of both is <HI>Life eternal, John</HI> 17.3. And for the <HI>Soul,</HI> it is that piece of <HI>Immortality</HI> which is of great|er value than the <HI>whole world, Mat.</HI> 16.26. It is that which God <HI>challeng|eth to be his, Ezek</HI> 18.4. and that which the <HI>Lord Chri&s;t</HI> accounted not his <HI>pre|cious blood</HI> too much to give for, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.18, 19. I &s;hall not hold thee longer from the <HI>Work</HI> it &s;elf: But de&s;ire the ble&s;&s;ing of God to go along with it, and tho&s;e that are exerci&s;ed in it.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>R. W.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="5">
<HEAD>The CONTENTS of the Treati&s;e Of the <HI>NAT&V;RE of GOD.</HI></HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>_NAme of God, what meant by it. <HI>p. 2</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A gracious heart p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ai&s;es God for him&s;elf. <HI>p. 3</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>And loves God for him&s;elf. <HI>p. 4</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Which is the difference between &s;anctifying and Common Grace. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>God is a mo&s;t excellent Beeing above all things. <HI>p. 5</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Impo&s;&s;ible it is to &s;et forth the excellency of Gods Beeing. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> God is, and there is none el&s;e be&s;ides him. <HI>p. 6</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Other beeings are but a &s;hadow to Gods Beeing. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> God is a pre&s;ent Beeing. <HI>p. 7</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>This Beeing of God is in all places, God is in all places. <HI>p. 8</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> God is as much beyond every place, as hee is in every place. <HI>p. 9</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> God is a Beeing that is all-&s;ufficient in him&s;elf.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> All the excellencies in the creature, are in God virtually and eminently. <HI>p. 10, 11</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> All the &s;cattered excellencies in the creatures are united into one excellency in him. <HI>p. 13</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> All po&s;sible good and excellency is in God. <HI>p. 14</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8</HI> All good and excellency in God is eternal in him. <HI>p. 15</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>9</HI> And not onely eternally, but al&s;o immutably. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>10</HI> All the&s;e are e&s;&s;entially in God. <HI>p. 16</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>11</HI> All excellencies are in God purely, and unmixtly, God hath nothing but excellency in him.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>12</HI> All excellencies are in God originally. <HI>p. 20</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>13</HI> God is the fountain of all excellency to all creatures. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="6">
<ITEM><HI>14</HI> All things depend upon him. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>15</HI> God alone is excellent in his operation, hee doth what|&s;oever hee will, in Heaven and Earth. <HI>p. 21</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Hee doth the greate&s;t things as ea&s;ily as hee doth the lea&s;t. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>What is done in time, was decreed to bee done from eternity. <HI>p. 22</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Act of Gods will that was from eternity is matter enough to work by. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>All Gods works add nothing to God. <HI>p. 23</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>16</HI> God alone is excellent in the manner of communication of him&s;elf. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>God can let out as much of him&s;elf as hee will to any creature. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>God hath never the le&s;s for what hee lets out to the creature. <HI>p. 23</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>17</HI> There is no compari&s;on to bee made between God and any thing el&s;e. <HI>p. 24</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>18</HI> God hee is the highe&s;t end of all things. <HI>p. 25</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>U&s;e</HI> What cau&s;e wee have to bee a&s;hamed of tho&s;e low thoughts wee have had of God. <HI>p. 27</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> It &s;hews the dreadful evil that is in &s;in, it being again&s;t &s;uch an infinite God. <HI>p. 28, 29, 30</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Wee &s;ee cau&s;e to bee vile in our own eyes. <HI>p. 34</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> Hence wee may learn to know the vanity of the creature. <HI>p. 36</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> Let us labour to know God, to &s;earch into his excellency. <HI>p. 39</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> Wee are taught from hence to labour to keep the &s;en&s;e of the infinite di&s;tance there is between God and the creature al|waies in our hearts. <HI>p. 40</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Grace doth cau&s;e this the heart hath a kinde of infinitene&s;s towards God. <HI>p. 41</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> If God bee &s;o excellent, then Gods people are the mo&s;t ex|cellent ones. <HI>p. 43</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8</HI> See what ca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e wee have to fear this great God. from <HI>p. 45,</HI> to the end.</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="6">
<HEAD>THE CONTENTS OF THE <HI>EXCELLENCY of CHRIST.</HI></HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>_COherence of the words. <HI>49, 50</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Cleare&s;t Prophecies of Chri&s;t, when the Church was in the greate&s;t di&s;tre&s;s. <HI>50</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Four Rea&s;ons of it. <HI>50, 51</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Five notable and famous Titles of Chri&s;t. <HI>52</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Doct. <HI>Chri&s;t is the great wonder of the world.</HI> proved <HI>52, 53, 54</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Thirteen things, in, and concerning Chri&s;t, that are wonderful. <HI>55</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Hee is wonderful in his Natures, God and Man. <HI>56, 57, 58</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Wonderful in his Natures. <HI>59</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Two wonders in Chri&s;tian Religion. <HI>59</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The Lord of man-kinde, the Son of man. <HI>60</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The knowledge of the union of the two Natures, how a help to Faith. <HI>61</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Chri&s;t is wonderful in the manner of his Incarnation. <HI>63</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> Chri&s;t is wonderful in his works. <HI>65</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>What the work was Chri&s;t came about. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>U&s;e of it. <HI>67</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t wonderful in his Offices; hee was the Anointed. <HI>69, 71.</HI> Wonderful in his Kingly Office. <HI>69</HI> Hee is King over all Kings. <HI>71.</HI> His power is univer&s;al. <HI>ib.</HI> Hee makes his &s;ubjects, his &s;ubjects do not make him. <HI>ib.</HI> Sub|jects of this King are for him. <HI>70</HI> It is this King alone
<PB REF="7"> that makes Laws <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Qu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t. <HI>Can there bee no Laws added for decency and or|der in the Church?</HI> An&s;wered. <HI>72, 73</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t is &s;uch a King, who&s;e &s;overaignty is ab&s;olute. <HI>74</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Hee hath power to binde con&s;cience. <HI>ib</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;ts Kingly power reaches to mens hearts. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Kingly office, in this hee hath A perfect knowledge of all his &s;ub<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ects. <HI>75</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Is pre&s;ent with them in all admini&s;trations, hee over-rules all the plots and coun&s;els of his enemies, hee is the King of righteou&s;ne&s;s and peace. <HI>76</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>14</HI> Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Kingly office, other Kings are born to bee Kings, but Chri&s;t died that hee might bee King. <HI>77</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>15</HI> Chri&s;t is a King from everla&s;ting to everla&s;ting. <HI>78</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>16</HI> Hee &s;its at his Fathers Throne now at this time. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>17</HI> Chri&s;t will not onely &s;ubject all enemies, but hee will put down all rule, and all authority. <HI>79</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>18</HI> Wonderful is Chri&s;t in his Kingly office, for hee makes all his &s;ubjects Kings with him, in a &s;piritual &s;en&s;e. <HI>80</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Exerci&s;e of Faith aright is upon Chri&s;t as King. <HI>81</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t wonderful in his Prie&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y office. <HI>83</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Chri&s;ts Prie&s;thood joyned with Kingly power. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> All Prie&s;ts in the Law did typifie Chri&s;t, and cea&s;e in him.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Hee needed not to offer for him&s;elf.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> Christ offered the blood of God. <HI>83</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> Chri&s;t offered a Sacrifice that was &s;ufficient to &s;atisfie God. <HI>84</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> Hee is wonderful in that hee offered him&s;elf. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> Chri&s;t was not onely a Sacrifice, but an Altar. <HI>85</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8</HI> Chri&s;t offered but one &s;acrifice at one time. <HI>86</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>9</HI> His Prie&s;thood indures for ever. <HI>87</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;ts Prie&s;thood preferred before Aarons Prie&s;thood. <HI>88, 89</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t wonderful in his Prophetical office. <HI>90</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Hee knows all the mind of God perfectly, therefore mu&s;t bee a wonderful Teacher. <HI>91</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Dulne&s;s of under&s;tanding, weakne&s;s of parts cannot hinder
<PB REF="7"> his teaching. <HI>92</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>How wee &s;hall know whether Chri&s;t teach us. <HI>93</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Prie&s;tly office, in that hee is &s;ent to reveal high and &s;upernatural things. <HI>94, 95</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> The&s;e high things are not revealed to the wi&s;e&s;t and great ones of the world. <HI>96, 97</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> Hee reveals the&s;e things (many times) &s;uddenly. <HI>98</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t teaches the heart, &s;o hee is wonderful.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> Chri&s;t teaches immediately him&s;elf. <HI>100</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8</HI> Chri&s;t teaches infallibly, &s;o hee is wonderful. <HI>101</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t wonderful in his Miracles. <HI>102</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>In the wonders that hee wrought while hee lived. <HI>103</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t wonderful in his endowments and excellency of his per&s;on. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Fairer than the children of men. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>All the fulne&s;s of the God-head in Chri&s;t. <HI>104</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>This an Argument to us to take heed of abu&s;ing the humane nature of our bodies. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t the brightne&s;s of Gods glory <HI>105</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Christ hath his excellency by virtue of the per&s;onal union. <HI>106</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t wonderful in this, that all his per&s;onal excellencies de|pend upon him&s;elf. <HI>107</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t becomes worthy of divine honour. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t wonderful in this, that hee is an infinite object of the delight of his Father. <HI>107, 108, 109</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t wonderful in his endowments, in this, that his ex|cellencies are in him to bee conveyed unto his people. <HI>110</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>This &s;hould bee a &s;trong Argument to draw our hearts to Chri&s;t. <HI>111</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t is wonderful in regard of the glory of the Father that &s;hines in him. <HI>112, 113</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Fir&s;t, The glory of Gods Attributes &s;hines in Chri&s;t, as for i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tance, Power. <HI>11<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</HI> Wi&s;dome. <HI>ib.</HI> Holine&s;s. <HI>115</HI> Ju&s;tice. <HI>115.</HI> Mercy. <HI>116.</HI> Truth. <HI>117</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> The glory of th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> great coun&s;el and works of God appears in Chri&s;t. <HI>118</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="8">
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> All the good from God in order to Eternal Life is from Chri&s;t. <HI>119</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> The glory of the Father is wonderful in Chri&s;t in this, that by him hee attains unto his greate&s;t de&s;ign in making the world, and pre&s;erving the world. <HI>120</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>What de&s;ign. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> All the &s;ervices and prai&s;es of Gods Elect come to him through Chri&s;t. <HI>121</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Christ wonderful in his Humiliation. <HI>122</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The fir&s;t wonder in his humiliation is, that all the &s;ins of the Elect &s;hould bee laid upon Chri&s;t. <HI>122</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A &s;econd, That hee that was &s;o high, &s;hould bee brought &s;o low for the &s;in of man. <HI>123</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A third, Chri&s;t is wonderful in his humiliation, in that hee &s;uffered in his &s;oul. <HI>124</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A fourth wonder in Chri&s;ts humiliation is, that hee &s;hould &s;uffer &s;o much from his Father. <HI>126</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A fifth, In that God doth not &s;pare him at all, but is the exe|cutioner him&s;elf. <HI>127</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A &s;ixth wonder of Chri&s;ts humiliation is, that God &s;hould leave him. <HI>128</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A &s;eventh, Though Chri&s;t &s;ore-&s;aw his &s;uffering, yet that hee &s;hould willingly undergo it. <HI>128</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>An eighth, That this &s;hould bee the way of &s;aving men. <HI>129</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>U&s;e of Trial, whether Chri&s;t bee revealed to us. <HI>131</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A ninth wonder in Chri&s;ts humiliation is this, that God the Father &s;hould bee plea&s;ed with all this. <HI>132</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A tenth is, the efficacy of his humiliation is a wonder. <HI>133</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>An eleventh, Chri&s;ts humiliation takes away the venom of all the Saints &s;ufferings. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A twelfth, Chri&s;t &s;uffered as a common per&s;on. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A thirteenth, another wonder is, that by &s;uch a way of humi|liation Chri&s;t entred into his glory. <HI>134</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A fourteenth, Chri&s;ts humiliation was a mo&s;t wonderful ar|gument of Gods hatred of &s;in. <HI>135</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;ts &s;uffering, a pattern of Self-denial. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="8">
<ITEM>Chri&s;t wonderful in his Conque&s;ts; what did hee conquer, an|&s;wered. <HI>136</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t conquered death by dying. <HI>137</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t conquered in his own power. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t conquered as a common per&s;on. <HI>138</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t wonderful in his re&s;urrection. <HI>139,</HI> to <HI>144</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t wonderful in his a&s;cen&s;ion. <HI>145</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>And &s;itting at the righ<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> hand of his Father. <HI>144</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t wonderful in his coming to judgement. <HI>145</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;t wonderful in his working towards his Saints, and in their high e&s;teem of him. <HI>146</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>In Heaven Chri&s;t &s;hall bee wondred at for ever. <HI>147</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>Application.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Chri&s;t but little known in the world. <HI>150</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> How vile a thing is it to prefer a filthy lu&s;t before Christ? <HI>151</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> It di&s;covers the mi&s;ery of mankinde to bee exceeding great. <HI>154</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> Hence then all beleevers have exceeding cau&s;e of rejoycing, in hearing of what Chri&s;t is, what a wonderful Saviour they have. <HI>156</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>God hath exceedingly honoured Beleevers. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Je&s;us Chri&s;t a full Object for their &s;ouls re&s;t. <HI>156, 157</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>God doth intend wonderful things for the Saints. <HI>158,</HI> to <HI>163</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The rea&s;on that Chri&s;tians are &s;o empty in their &s;pirits and con|ver&s;ations, is, becau&s;e they know &s;o little of the My&s;tery of the Go&s;pel. <HI>164</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Duty of Chri&s;tians to hold out the wonderful glory of Chri&s;t in their conver&s;ations. <HI>166</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>If Chri&s;t bee wonderful here, every one that hears of Chri&s;t &s;hould think it a dreadful thing to mi&s;s of Chri&s;t. <HI>167</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>La&s;tly, Let us long for the time when Je&s;us Christ &s;hall appear in all his glory. <HI>168,</HI> to the end.</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="treatise">
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="9">
<PB N="1" REF="9">
<HEAD>The Fir&s;t SERMON ON <HI>The Nature of God.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_THE la&s;t day, you may remember, wee opened that Point of the condition that men are in that live without a God in the world; It is evil to bee without bread, without friends, without outward comforts; how great an evil then to bee without a God in the world? and who they were that did live without a God in the world, that knew him not, that had no intere&s;t in him, and the like; and then was promi&s;ed, Therefore &s;eeing there are &s;o many poor wretched creatures, &s;o many Families that live without a God in the world, that know nothing of him, and live as if they expected nothing from him, and fear no evil to come from him at all; therefore wee promi&s;ed to labour to &s;et forth before you &s;ome|what of God that might help you to know him, to &s;hew you what hee is: And to that end turn to that Scripture, <HI>P&s;al. 148. part of the 13. ver&s;e.</HI></P>
<P><HI>For his Name alone is excellent.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Text.</NOTE></HI></P>
<P>THis <HI>P&s;alm</HI> is a <HI>P&s;alm</HI> of prai&s;e, prai&s;ing of God for all the glorious manife&s;tations of him&s;elf in his great
<PB N="2" REF="10"> Works, and calling upon all creatures to prai&s;e him, be|cau&s;e hee is glorious in every creature; but the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> re&s;ts not in this, in prai&s;ing God for the glory of him that appears in the creatures, but hee ri&s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> higher, and takes in|deed the ri&s;e from thence to prai&s;e and ble&s;s God for what there is in him&s;elf, above that which doth appear in any creature. For &s;o it is clear, that to this the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> doth ari&s;e in my Text, <HI>Let them prai&s;e the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent, his glory is above the Earth and Heaven.</HI> The Earth and Heaven, and all crea|tures therein, are called to prai&s;e Gods name, and <HI>David</HI> prai&s;es the name of God for what appeared there, but &s;aith hee, <HI>Prai&s;e the Lord: for his Name alone is excel|lent, and his glory is above the Earth and Heaven. His Name,</HI> the Name of God is either taken for <HI>God him|&s;elf,</HI> or for the <HI>manife&s;tation of God;</HI> often in Scripture for God him&s;elf,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 18.10.</NOTE> as, <HI>The Name of the Lord is a &s;trong Tower, the righteous run unto it, and are &s;afe;</HI> that is, God him&s;elf, Hee is the &s;trength and Tower, hee is the object of the tru&s;t of his people; and &s;o other Scriptures; or otherwi&s;e, that whereby God may bee known;<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 76.1.</NOTE> <HI>His Name is great in I&s;rael:</HI> And here we are to under&s;tand both; for his <HI>Name alone is excellent,</HI> that is, God him&s;elf is excellent alone, the Name of him, of him alone, is high, is lifted up, is excellent; and that wee are to under&s;tand by the Name of God here, God him&s;elf, as well as his Manife&s;tations, ap|pears in the words at the end of the ver&s;e, <HI>His glory is a|bove the earth and heaven.</HI> Now Gods manife&s;tation is ei|ther in heaven or earth. But there is a further glory of God that is in him&s;elf, that is beyond all that is, or can bee manife&s;ted in, or to any creature; &s;o that from the words thus opened, there are the&s;e two doctrinal Points one (I wil but only touch it) is rai&s;ed from the connexion of the words with the former, and the other, that is, the &s;ub|&s;tance of the Text, that wee &s;hall abide a while up|on.</P>
<MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Doct.">
<P>The fir&s;t is this, <HI>That a gracious heart is not &s;atisfied
<PB N="3" REF="10"> with prai&s;ing God onely for his works, but ri&s;es higher to prai&s;e him, and e&s;pecially to prai&s;e him for him&s;elf, for that that it &s;ees in him&s;elf.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;ay, a gracious heart doth not &s;tick in the Works of God; nor is it onely inlarged to prai&s;e God for what it &s;ees in Gods works, but it will ri&s;e higher than all the works of God, and prai&s;e him e&s;pecially for that it &s;ees in him&s;elf; <HI>Thy &s;elf O Lord is excellent, the glory that is in thy &s;elf, it is above the earth, and above the heaven.</HI> While wee prai&s;e God for what wee &s;ee in his works, our thoughts and hearts are limited; for Gods manife&s;tations of him&s;elf are finite, and &s;o there is not that &s;paciou&s;ne&s;s that a gracious heart de&s;ires to let our its &s;elf in: but when it can ri&s;e up to God him&s;elf, and look at the infinite excellency that there is in him&s;elf above all that doth appear in his works, then the heart inlarged with grace can expatiate it &s;elf to the utter|mo&s;t, and that is that which doth delight him, then is a gra|cious heart indeed in its own element, when it is expatia|ting it &s;elf even in God him&s;elf.</P>
<P>And further God in &s;etting him&s;elf before the &s;oul in way of Covenant,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 31.33.32.39.24.7. Ezek. 11.2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. Gen. 15.1.</NOTE> hee doth not onely tell tho&s;e that hee takes into Covenant, that hee will do &s;uch and &s;uch things for them, but hee would have them to clo&s;e with him&s;elf, <HI>I will bee your God.</HI> The Lord told <HI>Abraham</HI> that hee would bee his <HI>exceeding great reward,</HI> but that would not &s;atisfie <HI>Abraham, What wilt thou give mee?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 2.</NOTE> having an eye to Chri&s;t, and the enjoyment of God in him; &s;o let God &s;ay that hee will do never &s;uch things for a gracious heart, that is not enough, except God him&s;elf bee the por|tion of the &s;oul, the &s;oul cannot bee &s;atisfied with any thing that God doth; if God &s;hould &s;ay to one who&s;e heart he hath inlarged with grace, I will give thee all the world to po&s;&s;e&s;s, thou &s;halt have all the glory, all the pomp, all the &s;weetne&s;s, all the comforts in the world; nay more than that, I will make ten thou&s;and worlds more, and give thee them all, and they &s;hall have all of them more excellency than this pre&s;ent world hath; why all this would not &s;atisfie
<PB N="4" REF="11"> a heart inlarged with grace for the portion of it, though &s;uch a one &s;ees its &s;elf unworthy of the lea&s;t crum of bread, yet it cannot bee &s;atisfied with all the world, what then will &s;atisfie him? onely God him&s;elf, for &s;o God propounds him&s;e f unto his people in way of Covenant,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 16.5.</NOTE> <HI>I will bee thy God, I will bee your portion;</HI> And upon this, tho&s;e that are in Covenant with him, though they do rejoyce to &s;ee God manife&s;ting him&s;elf in all his Names, they ble&s;s God for the beholding &s;o much as they do of him in his works; but the thing that their hearts are mo&s;t upon; is God him|&s;elf, the excellency that there is in God above all his works.</P>
<P>And as it is in prai&s;ing God, &s;o al&s;o it is in other workings of the heart towards God, as now grace doth not love God &s;o much for what God gives to it, as for what God is him&s;elf; that is the difference between true &s;anctifying grace, and common grace; common grace may make mee love God for what I receive from him, o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> for what I hope to receive from him; but &s;anctifying grace makes mee to love God for what is in him&s;elf, more than for what I receive from him, or expect to receive; and &s;o there may bee the fear of God for &s;ome works of God, when God doth manife&s;t his power and dreadfulne&s;s in his works, in thundring or lightening, then the heart of a &s;inner may fear God, though there bee no grace; but now where there is grace, &s;uch a one fears God more, becau&s;e of that excellency hee &s;ees in God him&s;elf, than from any dreadful works of God; and this would bee a good rule to try your &s;elves by: You &s;ay you fear God, why? if you fear God, if it bee the right fear of God, you will fear God more for what you &s;ee in God him&s;elf, than for any works of God, than for any works of his judgements, or threatnings, and the like: And &s;o in the de&s;ires of the heart after God, why, where the heart is gra|cious it works after God for him&s;elf, and not for his gifts; It is an argument of a fal&s;e love, a whori&s;h love, for the wife to love her husband for that &s;hee &s;hall have by him, and not to love his per&s;on more: And &s;o it is a &s;ign of a
<PB N="5" REF="11"> ba&s;e &s;lavi&s;h &s;pirit for a childe to love his fathe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> becau&s;e hee gives him meat and drink, and cloaths, and will leave him an inheritance, and not rather to love the very per&s;on of his Father; &s;o the heart is but fal&s;e with God that loves God, and that de&s;ires after God, more for any thing that God doth, than for what God is; and as the&s;e workings of heart, love, and fear, and de&s;ire, are more in re&s;pect of God him&s;elf, than of his works; &s;o prai&s;es of God, and de|lighting in God, where it is from true grace, it is more from what the &s;oul &s;ees in God, than from the manife&s;ta|tion of all the glory of God in all his works, for, <HI>Prai&s;e the Name of the Lord, For his Name is excellent, his glory is above the earth and heaven</HI> (but wee &s;hall let this pa&s;s.) The main Point in the Text which wee are to pitch on is this,</P>
<P><HI>That God is a mo&s;t excellent being above all things.</HI> <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Doct."> </P>
<P>This is the work that now I have to do, to endeavour to pre&s;ent God in the excellency of his being to you, onely you mu&s;t by way of caution know before wee do begin, <HI>That God dwells in that light that is unapproachable,</HI> 1 Tim. 6.16. That it is but little that wee do, or can know of God. And before wee begin to &s;et forth the excellency of Gods being to you, you mu&s;t know, that there is infinitely more than either the tongue of Man or Angel can expre&s;s; when wee have done all wee can, there is more in God that is beyond what wee can &s;ay, or Angels could preach unto you; I &s;ay, more than the glorious light of the Sun is more than a little glittering of a gloe-worm in the night, more than all the Sea is beyond, and above a &s;poonful, a drop of water.</P>
<P>And further by way of <HI>Caution, you mu&s;t know this, that it is impo&s;&s;ible to &s;et before you the excellency of Gods being, and yet to &s;peak &s;o as every thing &s;hould bee plain to every one.</HI> Many things in the opening of Gods Nature to you, mu&s;t needs have &s;ome difficulty in them, becau&s;e the &s;ubject that wee are &s;peaking of, is &s;o high above us; e&s;pecially it mu&s;t needs bee difficult to unclean &s;pirits, to &s;pirits that have
<PB N="6" REF="12"> alwayes been groveling below in the dirt, to drou&s;ie &s;pirits that think nothing to bee excellent, but onely to eat and drink, and &s;atisfie their fle&s;h; when they hear the excel|lency of Gods Being &s;et out unto them, it mu&s;t needs bee an argument above their reach; it cannot bee expected that it is po&s;&s;ible to &s;peak &s;o as their hearts &s;hould clo&s;e with what is &s;aid, to apprehend it.</P>
<P>But how&s;oever wee do not know what God may do in going along with his word, how hee may come by his Spirit even to tho&s;e that are of the weake&s;t capacity, therefore I &s;hall endeavour to do that that is my work, that is, to &s;hew you &s;omewhat of God, what an excellent being hee is, and &s;o leave the work of the Spirit of God to him&s;elf, to make known tho&s;e things that &s;hall bee propounded, and to &s;ettle them upon your hearts. Wherefore then <HI>God is an excellent being above all things.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Hee is, and there is none el&s;e be&s;ides him.</HI> The truth is, wee can &s;carce &s;ay that any thing is but God, <HI>Exod.</HI> 3.14. When God came to <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to &s;end him to <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> and <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> would know the Name of God, hee bid him &s;ay, <HI>I am that I am; I am</HI> hath &s;ent mee; and God only de&s;cribes him|&s;elf thus unto <HI>Mo&s;es, I am, I am a being;</HI> and &s;o the name <HI>Jehovah</HI> is a name proper to God, that &s;ignifies Gods be|ing: Now might <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;ay, Lord, is this a name that will di&s;tingui&s;h thee from any thing el&s;e, to &s;ay <HI>I am?</HI> cannot any man &s;ay &s;o, <HI>I am?</HI> but yet God gives this name of his, as his proper name meerly, <HI>I am a being,</HI> and <HI>I am that being that I am;</HI> and that is all the name God would tell <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> when <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did de&s;ire to know &s;o much of him, and how hee might expre&s;s him that did &s;end him,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>I am that I am:</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">&V;t haereditare faciam id quod <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> e&s;t, <HI>from thence comes</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> e&s;&s;entia, &s;ub|&s;tantia.</NOTE>For indeed Gods being it is that that is proper, and all other creatures in compari&s;on of this God, have but a &s;ha|dow of being, therefore in <HI>Prov.</HI> 8.21. &s;aith Wi&s;dome there (that is Godline&s;s) <HI>I cau&s;e to inherit &s;ub&s;tance,</HI> the words are tran&s;lated by the Learned, that which is Grace carries to God, and &s;o by Grace being carried to God, wee come to
<PB N="7" REF="12"> inherit <HI>that which is,</HI> as if all the while wee inherited any thing in the world, wee did not inherit that which is. God him&s;elf properly is; So in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 45.5, 6. <HI>I am Jehovah, and there is none el&s;e be&s;ides mee.</HI> There is nothing that hath a be|ing be&s;ides mee (that is) <HI>not &s;uch a being,</HI> as we &s;ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l further open, <HI>yea and in compari&s;on no being;</HI> therefore in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 40.15, 17. Wee have a mo&s;t excellent expre&s;&s;ion of the ex|cellency of Gods being in compari&s;on of all other things, <HI>All the Nations of the world they are as the drop of the bucket, and as the &s;mall du&s;t of the ballance</HI> in compari&s;on of God, <HI>Yea they are all nothing, le&s;s than nothing?</HI> What an expre&s;|&s;ion is here; take all the Nations of the world, put them all together, they are all but as the drop of the bucket, that you &s;hall &s;ee hang a little at the bottome, but as a little du&s;t of the ballance; how &s;oon may you take your finger, and wipe off the drop of the bucket? why &s;o even all Nations of the world may as &s;oon peri&s;h in re&s;pect of God; yea as if the Holy Gho&s;t had &s;aid too much when hee compared the Nations of the world to God (as if hee &s;hould &s;ay) what, did I &s;ay they were as the drop of the bucket, and as the &s;mall du&s;t in the ballance? nay, they are nothing at all; nay, and I mu&s;t go lower, they are le&s;s than nothing. And thus you &s;ee the Name of God is alone ex|cellent, becau&s;e indeed hee is &s;uch a being, as in compari|&s;on of him there is nothing that is worthy of the name of a being. That 40. of the Prophecie of <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> when you come home, it will bee a good Chapter to read in your Families, to &s;et out the greatne&s;s of God, for that is the work wee are about to &s;hew, you what a God you have to deal withall in all your wayes, the Name of God is ex|cellent; Read that Chapter, and you will finde Gods Name &s;et out as excellent indeed there. But that is the fir&s;t.</P>
<P>In the &s;econd place, <HI>God, hee is a pre&s;ent being, I am,</HI> &s;aith hee, that is, God injoyes him&s;elf, that infinite being of him&s;elf altogether, there is no &s;ucce&s;&s;ion at all in the being of God, as there is in other creatures, the creature
<PB N="8" REF="13"> injoyes but little of its own being; I be&s;eech you con&s;ider the difference between God and the creature in this, when (I &s;ay) hee is a pre&s;ent being, that is &s;et forth in the words <HI>I am;</HI> I &s;ay the creature injoyes but very little of its own be|ing; why, becau&s;e what&s;oever is pa&s;t, it cannot injoy, and what|&s;oever is to come it injoyes not; now all that it doth injoy of it &s;elf, it is only what it hath at an in&s;tant, this pre&s;ent in&s;tant what it hath, that it may be &s;aid to be; but now with God there is nothing pa&s;t, there is nothing to come; there is nothing pa&s;t, I &s;ay, in re&s;pect of Gods beeing, there is no|thing to come, but his beeing is alwayes pre&s;ent, he alwayes &s;aith, <HI>I am;</HI> therefore Chri&s;t &s;peaking of his Divine Nature, in <HI>John</HI> 8.58.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> &s;aith hee, <HI>Before Abraham was, I am;</HI> Chri&s;t doth not &s;ay, <HI>I was before Abraham was,</HI> no, but <HI>before Abraham was, I am.</HI> Certainly this had been no good Engli&s;h to have &s;poken of any creature; If any man &s;hould &s;ay thus, Before &s;uch a thing was, <HI>I am;</HI> if any An|gel &s;hould &s;ay &s;o, this were no proper &s;peech; but Chri&s;t &s;aith &s;o, <HI>Before Abraham was, I am,</HI> becau&s;e Chri&s;t in re|gard of his Divine Nature hath no &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of beeing at all; wee cannot &s;ay that God hath &s;o many years added to him &s;ince the world began, God was as eternal before the world was, as hee is now, or ever &s;hall bee; it cannot bee &s;aid that hee was, not will bee, but alwayes it may be &s;aid <HI>I am;</HI> I am, was, and will bee, the difference of time, it is in re&s;pect of the creature, not in re&s;pect of God, and that is the rea&s;on of tho&s;e phra&s;es in Scripture, <HI>That a thou&s;and years with God are <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s one day,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3.8.</NOTE> <HI>and one day as a thou&s;and years;</HI> There is no difference of time with God at all: And that is the &s;econd thing, therefore <HI>hee alone is excellent.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>This beeing of God it is in all places.</HI> His ex|cellency it is every where throughout the world, and that, fir&s;t, <HI>Not virtually onely,</HI> God is not in every place onely virtually by his power,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Enter, prae&s;enter Deus hic &amp; ubique potenter</NOTE> that is, hee works in every place, but hee is in every place e&s;&s;entially. Secondly, <HI>God is not in every place by motion, from one place to another, and &s;o gradually</HI> is
<PB N="9" REF="13"> in all places, but God is every moment in every place.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>God is not in every place to fill heaven and earth,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Deus e&s;t nullibi inclu&s;ive, &s;ed u|bique &s;ecundum exi&s;tentiam.</NOTE> that is, one part in one place, and another in another, as a great thing that fills &s;uch a room, one part is in one place, and another is in another; but God fills heaven and earth, that is, all of God is every where, all that God is, is in every place: Yea further,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Centrum ubi|que circumfe|rentia nullibi.</NOTE> God is as much beyond every place, as hee is in every place; hee is as much beyond the circumference of the heavens, and the earth, as hee is in them; yea if God &s;hould make ten thou&s;and worlds more, hee would fill all tho&s;e as well as hee doth this, without any motion at all, hee would not move from one place to another to fill up ten thou&s;and worlds (if there were &s;o many new ones made) but in the &s;ame in&s;tant in which they were all made, that immen&s;e being of his would fill up all. Surely God is a mo&s;t excellent Being then above all other things what&s;oever.</P>
<P>Fourthly (for I intend but meerly to pre&s;ent the chief things of the excellency of God before you, and not to &s;tand handling of the&s;e at large, for every one of them might require a large tractate, but now onely to pre&s;ent before you what a God it is that you have to deal with) <HI>God is a Being that is All-&s;ufficient in him&s;elf;</HI> Hee &s;tands in no need of any creature; in <HI>Acts</HI> 17.25. ver&s;e. Hee hath need of nothing, of none of us, hee hath enough within him&s;elf; before the world was, God was as ble&s;&s;ed in him&s;elf as now hee is; there can bee nothing added to him, there is &s;uch an excellency even in Gods being its &s;elf, that there can be nothing added to him; wee are poor creatures, that &s;tand in need of a thou&s;and things continually, the air to breathe in, the earth to bear us, fire to warm us, cloaths to cover us, meat and drink, a thou&s;and things; wee &s;tand in need of the meane&s;t creature, and if God &s;hould take away the u&s;e of &s;ome mean contemptible creature, our lives would bee made mi&s;erable to us; but that is the excellency of Gods being that hee hath need of nothing, hee hath all within him&s;elf, all the creatures in heaven and earth, cannot
<PB N="10" REF="14"> adde to him; no if there were ten thou&s;and worlds more, although God did po&s;&s;e&s;s them all, yet they would not adde one whit unto what is in God him&s;elf; therefore though the Lord hath made the heaven and earth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">God hath an e&s;&s;ential and an attributed glory, his attri|buted glory is augmented or dimini&s;hed by mans obedience or di&s;obedi|ence, therefore &s;inners are &s;aid to rob God of his glo|ry, and Saints to give him glory; but his e&s;&s;ential glory cannot bee increa&s;ed or dimini&s;hed.</NOTE> and all things there|in, yet wee mu&s;t not think that God is ever a whit the bet|ter for the&s;e things, or hath the more glory; hee had as much glory and ble&s;&s;edne&s;s in him&s;elf, as now hee hath, or can have; when all the Angels and Saints &s;hall bee eter|nally ble&s;&s;ing God in heaven, yet they can adde nothing to Gods glory: Wee &s;ay the Sun is a glorious creature, but doth that adde any light to the Sun? &s;o for Saints and Angels to bee prai&s;ing and ble&s;&s;ing God, what doth that adde to God? <HI>And in this the Name of God is excellent.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5 But further, in the fifth place, <HI>His Name alone is ex|cellent in this thing, that his excellency is univer&s;al,</HI> that is, all excellencies that are in all creatures in heaven and earth, they are all in him virtually, and eminently, hee hath them all in his own being, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 94.9. <HI>Shall not hee that made the ear hear, hee that formed the eye &s;hall not hee &s;ee?</HI> the argument there will confirm this to us, that what|&s;oever is in the creature that hath any excellency in it, that excellency is in God in an eminent way; the creature, one hath one drop of excellency, and another hath another drop of excellency in it, and &s;o a third a third, every creature hath its particular excellency in it, but God is an univer&s;al good, all excellencies in all creatures are in God, all beauty, all comfort, all goodne&s;s, what&s;oever hath any loveline&s;s or de&s;ireablene&s;s in it, I &s;ay it is all in God, and I know not any one con&s;ideration that will help us more to under&s;tand God while wee are here in the fle&s;h than this, for in regard of our weakne&s;s, wee can know little or nothing of God, but by looking into the crea|ture, and &s;o ri&s;ing from them.</P>
<P>Now then when wee come to look upon the creatures, and wee &s;ee an excellency in one creature, and another in another, Now if wee can conceive as it were the quin|te&s;&s;ence of all the&s;e excellencies drawn out, and con|ceive
<PB N="11" REF="14"> a being that hath all the&s;e together in him, this being is an excellent being indeed; this would make us to look upon God above the creature when wee look upon every thing that is good in the creature to bee in God him&s;elf, why then what ever the creature hath to draw the heart, why that the &s;oul &s;aith is in God; and indeed this one con|&s;ideration of God, and the pre&s;enting of God to the &s;oul in this manner, is a &s;pecial work of Gods converting a &s;oul to him&s;elf; when I &s;ay, the Lord intends to draw a &s;oul to him&s;elf, to have the heart that was let out after creature-comforts, now to clo&s;e with him&s;elf, and choo&s;e him&s;elf for his portion, the Lord doth &s;hew this to the &s;oul: Soul what woulde&s;t thou have, thou woulde&s;t have this comfort, and the other comfort to delight and content thee; Know there can bee nothing in any creature that thou &s;ee&s;t, but thou maye&s;t have it in mee. Now this indeed wee cannot by &s;en&s;e &s;ee, the comforts of the creature are &s;en&s;ibly before us, and wee &s;ee them by our &s;en&s;es; but now God is above our &s;en&s;e, God hee is above our rea&s;on, and there mu&s;t bee faith to clo&s;e with him; but now when God would convert a &s;oul to him&s;elf, hee doth &s;hew him&s;elf in &s;uch a way to the &s;oul, as the &s;oul doth &s;ee that there is all good in him that there is in the creature, and that it is in God in a more &s;atisfying and eminent manner.</P>
<P>Certainly, what&s;oever there is in the effect, it mu&s;t needs be in the cau&s;es; now as all effects are to be re&s;olved into the cau&s;es, &s;o all cau&s;es are to bee re&s;olved into this excellent being, that is the fir&s;t cau&s;e of all things; for the&s;e creaures that are effects, they have other cau&s;es of them, yet tho&s;e cau&s;es are effects of &s;ome higher cau&s;es, at length wee mu&s;t come to the fir&s;t cau&s;e, and all mu&s;t bee re&s;olved into that; nay all excellencies in the creature are more in God, than the excellency of the effect is in its cau&s;es; for the cau&s;es when an effect is re&s;olved into them, the cau&s;es if they bee not united to produce &s;uch an effect, they cannot do immediately that thing that the effect could do; but now all excellency is &s;o in God, as look
<PB N="12" REF="15"> what power any creature hath, or what thing it can do by any excellency it hath, that God can do; look what com|fort it can bring by any good it hath in it, the &s;ame com|fort God can bring; &s;o that all is to bee re&s;olved into God; not that God hath all formally in him, as fire, air, meat, and drink, but what good there is here, what excellency there is here, it is eminently in God, that is, God is able to do of him&s;elf by his own being, what&s;oever any crea|ture is able to do, though all the creatures in the world &s;hould bee annihilated (taken away) and thou onely let live, God by his immediate power is able to let out to thee all tho&s;e variety of comforts that all the creatures the world had before could do: Now when wee can finde all made up in God (as we &s;ay &s;ometimes, that in &s;ome one good di&s;h, there is all di&s;hes made up (that is but a &s;imi|litude) but here it is really that what&s;oever any childe of God lo&s;es in the creature, &s;uch a one can finde it to bee made up in God) Indeed this is the art and skill of Re|ligion: Godline&s;s doth teach this art and skill, to make up what&s;oever is wanting in a creature, in God him&s;elf, and that is the chief ground of the &s;atisfaction and content|ment of a gracious heart in the want of creature-comforts; and becau&s;e the men of the world have no skill in this my&s;tery, they think it a meer notion, a conceit of men, they are not able to apprehend any reallity in it, therefore it is that they vex and fret &s;o much when they want creature-comforts, for they know not whither to go to make them up in any other being: But the Saints know that all is in God, all excellency in all creatures is in God, therefore when you look thus upon God, as having all good that all creatures have, and that in him&s;elf; and when you come thus to God as &s;uch a being &s;o much above all creatures, then you have in &s;ome mea&s;ure a right ap|prehen&s;ion of God: And that is the fifth thing.</P>
<P N="6">6 But &s;ixthly, <HI>The Name of God is excellent above all:</HI> For not onely all excellencies in the Creature are in him; but all tho&s;e varieties of excellencies that are &s;cattered up and
<PB N="13" REF="15"> down &s;everally in Creatures, are united into one excellen|cy in him; for a water may have the quinte&s;&s;ence of many herbs in it; there are many things in the water at that time; though but one drop of water, yet there are many things in it: So there is &s;uch an union of all excellencies in God, that I &s;ay it is but one in God; there is an indivi&s;ible union of all variety: Things that are various in the Crea|ture, they are all united in one in God, that mu&s;t needs be a glorious excellency indeed. If one man had all the beau|ty and &s;trength, and all the wi&s;dome that all the men in the world ever had, or have, and united into one, what beauty, what &s;trength, what wi&s;dome would that one man have! now it is &s;o in God, that all beauty, and wi&s;dome, and &s;trength, are united into one excellency, &s;o that God he is one otherwi&s;e than any other Creature can be one; o|ther Creatures may bee made one by compo&s;ition, but now God hee is not one by the union of many things together; for there is but one thing in God, God is but one, there is a variety, as wee conceive, as the Sun when it &s;hines upon different gla&s;&s;es, red, or blew, or yellow, it hath a variety, I but all this is but one Sun, &s;o all the attributes of God that we &s;peak divers times of, the&s;e are the &s;everal manife&s;tati|ons of that one excellency that there is in God, all united into one; therefore by this the Saints come to be the more happy, for they may not onely enjoy all the good that there is in the Creature, but injoy it all in one, and wee &s;ay, the &s;tronger is a thing, the more it is united; now in God all good what&s;oever is united in one, all good in the Creature, yea and all good in him&s;elf, that is, all his attributes; &s;o you mu&s;t conceive of God; onely the manife&s;tation is di|vers; and therefore you mu&s;t not conceive that there is any one thing in him more than another; you may not conceive of God, as if there were more mercy than ju&s;tice, or more ju&s;tice than mercy, or more of either of the&s;e, than there is of truth, wi&s;dome, and holine&s;s: Indeed God may mani|fe&s;t him&s;elf unto the Creature, more in one, than in the o|ther, but as they are in his own beeing they are not, onely
<PB N="14" REF="16"> one as much as the other, but they are all but one thing, onely &s;everal manife&s;tations, as but one Sun that hath di|vers reflections by divers gla&s;&s;es; &s;o all Gods attributes are but one excellency that is in him; therefore his Name is ex|cellent above all things, becau&s;e hee is but one God in this manner.</P>
<P N="7">7 <HI>Further, Not onely all good and excellency is in God, but all po&s;&s;ible good, what can po&s;&s;ibly bee imagined</HI> (as we know that the power of God that made the world, could make thou&s;ands of worlds) <HI>all this is in him, and infinitely in him,</HI> When wee do &s;peak of any thing to bee in God, wee mu&s;t be &s;ure that we do not limit our thoughts, as when we &s;peak of God to bee a great God, do not limit it, hee is great, but infinitely &s;o; when wee &s;peak of his wi&s;dome, hee is wi&s;e, but infinitely wi&s;e, and &s;o of his holine&s;s, and ju&s;tice, and truth, and knowledge; all mu&s;t bee lookt upon with|out any bounds what&s;oever; in the Creature there are &s;uch and &s;uch things, but they are all limited by their cau&s;es, but God having no cau&s;es at all to limit him, therefore hee is infinite, what&s;oever is in him it is infinitely in him, what&s;o|ever is in him, is not onely infinite in the kinde, as there is all the wi&s;dome and holine&s;s that can bee; but I &s;ay, it is ab&s;olutely infinite; as it is in him, it is &s;o infinite, that there is no kinde of being but is included within it; &s;peak but any one thing of God, I &s;ay, it is not onely infinite in the kinde, but &s;o as it includes what&s;oever hath beeing, in the infinite Ocean of beeing that is in him&s;elf; wee are very ready when wee look upon God to have limited thoughts, and therein wee bring him down to the Creature; this is the very rea&s;on why God doth hate Images &s;o much as hee doth, becau&s;e that Images do make a kinde of a re|pre&s;entation of him, as though hee were finite; as Papi&s;ts, they tell us they think not that &s;uch an Image is God, I, but being put in mind of God by &s;uch an Image, there is a kinde of limiting the infinitene&s;s that is in God; and therefore God hates it, and will not have that infinite ex|cellency of his to bee repre&s;ented by any Image what&s;oe|ever;
<PB N="15" REF="16"> when&s;oever thou thinke&s;t of God, or &s;peake&s;t of God, do not onely compare him with that which is in the Crea|ture, but when thou ha&s;t made thy compari&s;on, let thy thoughts bee infinitely above it; there is no one attribute of God doth help us more to under&s;tand what God is, than when wee conceive him to be infinite in all that hee is or hath.</P>
<P N="8">8 Yea and further, All the good that there is in God, and excellency, it is eternally in him; it may bee &s;uch a Creature hath an excellency, but how long hath it had it? it was not long before but it was nothing: but God hath been what hee hath been (if wee may &s;peak &s;o) hee hath been eternally; now that is a mighty &s;wallowing con&s;idera|tion; the con&s;ideration of eternity; as a man that is an Ac|countant, if hee writes a figure of one, add but &s;ix ciphers to it, and it is ten hundred thou&s;and, now if hee &s;hould be adding and adding all his life time, yea if hee &s;hould have lived from the beginning of the world to have added to the figure of one, what an infinite &s;umme would this bee! but it is nothing to eternity; either if you look back to eternity it is nothing, or if you look forward to eternity, it is no|thing; (the Saints indeed &s;hall live eternally in re&s;pect of that which is to come, the &s;ouls and bodies of the Saints &s;hall bee eternally for time to come with God, and the &s;ouls and bodies of the ungodly &s;hall bee eternally in Hell) Now all the excellency that there is in God, is eternally in God, which way &s;oever you look.</P>
<P N="9">9 <HI>Further, Not onely eternally, but immutably in him;</HI> and therefore his name is alone excellent, it is immutable, that is, God hath &s;uch an infinite excellency, that it is impo&s;|&s;ible that hee can bee better, or other than hee is; if God &s;hould bee otherwi&s;e than hee is, hee would in&s;tantly cea&s;e to bee a God; the beeing of God hath that excellency in it, that there can bee no addition, no &s;ub&s;traction, add any thing to him, and you de&s;troy him, take any thing from him, and you de&s;troy his beeing, alter any thing in him, and hee cea&s;es to bee God; &s;o the Scripture &s;aith, <HI>With him
<PB N="16" REF="17"> There is no &s;hadow of change.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Jam. 1.17.</NOTE> Indeed there is a change in the creature, but nothing at all in God; as if you bring a peece of wax to the Sun it melts it, and clay, it hardens it, here is a different effect of the Sun, but the Sun is the &s;ame; &s;o bring the creature in one di&s;po&s;ition to God, and the love of God, and delight of God is in it; bring the creature in another di&s;po&s;ition to God, and the wrath of God is upon it, yet God is the &s;ame, onely the variety is in the creature. <HI>And therefore his Name alone is excellent,</HI> and the creature, what&s;oever excellence it hath, it changes up and down: As there is no &s;hadow of change with God, &s;o no &s;hadow of con&s;tancy in the creature.</P>
<P N="10">10 Further in the next place, <HI>All the&s;e things are e&s;&s;en|tially in God;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Quicquid e&s;t in Deo e&s;t Deus</NOTE> what&s;oever is in God, it is his being, its God him&s;elf: This one thing would much help you to under|&s;tand the Nature of God, that what&s;oever can bee truly &s;aid of God, it is God him&s;elf; as thus, Gods wi&s;dome is God him&s;elf; Gods mercy is God him&s;elf; Gods power is God him&s;elf: it is not &s;o in the creature, a mans wi&s;dome is not a mans being, they are &s;eparable, one may bee &s;e|parated from the other; but Gods wi&s;dome is Gods being; a mans power and &s;trength is not his beeing, but Gods is, &s;o a mans mercy and goodne&s;s is not his beeing, but Gods is, and therefore (as before) the&s;e things that are variou&s;ly conceived by us, they are not onely one in God, but his very beeing, and this doth mightily adde to the glory of God, that what&s;oever is in God, it is the very e&s;&s;ence and beeing of God him&s;elf: The&s;e things that wee &s;peak of God (as I told you) becau&s;e God is &s;o infinitly above us, it is very hard to make them plain to every under&s;tanding; and no marvel, becau&s;e wee are fallen &s;o far from him; and as I have gone along, I fear that a great many are ready to think, Lord what are the&s;e things, wee cannot ap|prehend them; why then go thy wayes home and bee humbled for that great fall of mankinde, Oh how far is man fallen by his &s;in? wee &s;ee now why God <HI>dwells in the thick cloud and darkne&s;s:</HI> Oh how far am I fallen from
<PB N="17" REF="17"> God? for God made man at fir&s;t able to know him; cer|tainly <HI>Adam</HI> did know all the&s;e things perfectly: it was the happine&s;s of <HI>Adam</HI> in his fir&s;t creation to bee able to look upon the face of God, and know what &s;uch things as the&s;e meant; but now &s;ince our fall, wee are &s;aid not onely to bee in the dark, <HI>but darkne&s;s it &s;elf;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 5.8.</NOTE> and therefore it is but very little that wee can know of God; wee have &s;uch a &s;ight of God, as a poor man that lives all his dayes in a Dungeon, if hee &s;hould have one day a little crevi&s;e opened, where a little beam of the Sun &s;hould &s;hine, cer|tainly hee would &s;tand and admire at it, if hee never &s;aw it before, but how little would that man know of the nature of the Sun that had but a little crevi&s;e opened for a beam to &s;hine in a little time? Truly all that ever the Mini&s;ters of God can tell you, or if God &s;hould &s;end his Angels to preach to open the Nature of God to you, it can bee no other but a little glimmering. But I hope if you bend your mindes you may know &s;o much as to make you de&s;ire after the knowledge of him; for if there bee no other effect than this, yet it will bee worth the while to make you to &s;ee that you do not know God; and therefore your thoughts not being thus of God, as I have &s;poken, the truth is, you have made God unto your &s;elves but as an Idol (for if wee con|ceive otherwi&s;e of God than hee is, wee do but make him an Idol to our &s;elves) now, Oh that it might have but this effect at lea&s;t (this that I have &s;aid, with &s;ome few other things that are to bee &s;poken) to cau&s;e men and women to humble them&s;elves before God for want of the knowledge of God, and to bee crying to God, that hee would bee plea&s;ed to make him&s;elf known unto them in another way than they have known him, that &s;o when they come to wor&s;hip God, they may bee able to look upon him in ano|ther way than they have done: And therefore I be&s;eech you, bee not di&s;couraged, to think, I &s;hall never know the&s;e things, if God be thus, I &s;hall never know what God is, bee not di&s;couraged, for this God hee is able to com|municate him&s;elf beyond that way that any creature is a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">le
<PB N="18" REF="18"> to communicate its &s;elf, God can let out him&s;elf to any creature as much as hee plea&s;es, and it is no matter whe|ther the creature bee capable or no, the Lord can make it capable; and therefore bee not di&s;couraged becau&s;e of thy weakne&s;s; but if thou in the uprightne&s;s of thy heart doe&s;t &s;eek to God, and doe&s;t de&s;ire to know him above all things, <HI>If thou &s;earche&s;t after the knowledge of God as after &s;ilver,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 2.3, 4.</NOTE> thou &s;halt come to know God more than ever thou didde&s;t; and certainly to have but a few glimp&s;es of this infinite fir&s;t being of all things, it is a kinde of infinite &s;atisfaction unto the &s;ouls of th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ervants of God, and though at fir&s;t they finde it hard to know God, yet by &s;eeking long after the knowledge of him, they have found that knowledge of God that they would not bee without for ten thou&s;and thou&s;and worlds; its onely the rational creature that is able to know any thing of God at all, and this is a great part of that wor&s;hip and homage you owe to God, that you &s;hould know him, and &s;o, that you might honour him as a God, that you might glorifie him as a God: Oh my brethren, how would people live, had they but the real &s;ight of &s;uch a God with whom they have to deal in all their wayes? when wee put you upon the &s;earching, to know what God is, wee put you not upon the &s;earching to get notions to di&s;cour&s;e of: I confe&s;s in the right knowledge of the infinite fir&s;t being of all things, there are mo&s;t excellent notions to bee learned, but that that I endeavour to put you on to, is this, that you might &s;earch to know this God, to the end that you might fear him, and choo&s;e him to bee your portion, that you might love him and &s;erve him, and ble&s;&s;ed is that &s;oul that &s;hall thus know him.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="19" REF="18">
<HEAD>The Second SERMON ON <HI>The Nature of God.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>PSAL. 148.13.</HI></BIBL>
<P>For his Name alone is excellent.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P N="11">11 _THE next thing is this, <HI>All excellencies are in God purely, and immixtly,</HI> that is, God hath all excellencies in him, and nothing el&s;e but excellency; the creature it may have &s;ome excellency, but it hath a mix|ture of imperfections; it may have &s;ome power, but there is a mixture of weakne&s;s; it may have &s;ome goodne&s;s, but there is a mixture of &s;ome kinde of evil in creatures as they are in them&s;elves; the very Angels them&s;elves, though they are upheld by God, yet they have that in them that might make them &s;in again&s;t God, if God did but leave them to them&s;elves: So there is a mixture of weakne&s;s in all creatures, <HI>but God alone is excellent,</HI> for hee hath nothing el&s;e in him but that which is excellent, 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 1.5. <HI>The Lo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d is light, and in him there is no darkne&s;s;</HI> this cannot bee &s;aid of any creature, that the creature hath ex|cellency
<PB N="20" REF="19"> in him, and there is no darkne&s;s at all in him; there is darkne&s;s in every creature, but the Lord is light, and in him there is no darkne&s;s; that that is &s;aid concerning light here, may bee &s;aid concerning any thing el&s;e, the Lord hath &s;uch and &s;uch Excellencies, and in him there is no de|fect, all is in him purely.</P>
<P N="12">12 Next, <HI>All is in God originally;</HI> that is, all is from him&s;elf: Now there is no excellency in God that is by participation; Hee hath it from him&s;elf, and in him&s;elf. What&s;oever the creature hath, it hath it derivatively, not originally, it receives it from another: but all that is in God it is originally, it is in him&s;elf, and by him&s;elf, and from him&s;elf, all is in him as the &s;pring of all kinde of ex|cellency.</P>
<P N="13">13 But in the next place, As all is in him originally, that is, hee hath all from him&s;elf, <HI>So God is the fountain of all excellencie to all creatures what&s;oever;</HI> if there bee any good in any creature, it is but a beam from this Sun, and a drop from this infinite Ocean, it all flows from that infinite Sea of all good, which lets out it &s;elf to this creature, or the other creature, in this or the other manner: So God is the fountain of all good to all creatures what&s;oever, they are to look upon him as having all coming from him. <HI>And there|fore hee alone is excellent, and his glory is above the Heavens and Earth.</HI></P>
<P N="14">14 Further, As all things are from him, <HI>&s;o they depend upon him;</HI> all excellencies that are in the creature, as they come from God, &s;o they have their ab&s;olute dependency upon God, &s;o as God need do nothing to de&s;troy a crea|ture: if hee doth but withdraw him&s;elf from it, it falls to nothing pre&s;ently; take the mo&s;t glorious Angels, and the highe&s;t Heavens, Sun, Moon, Stars, Sea, and Earth, if God &s;hould but withdraw his hand from the&s;e creatures, they would pre&s;ently fall down to nothing; they do depend up|on God, as the light upon the Sun, there is no more light if the beams of the Sun bee withdrawn; &s;o if God with|draw his influence from the creature, it can do nothing,
<PB N="21" REF="19"> and its nothing pre&s;ently; &s;o that the influence that there is from God to the creature, it is to maintain the creature in his being; every moment the Lord mu&s;t put forth as in|finite a power to maintain thee and mee, and every crea|ture, as hee did at the fir&s;t for the making of the world.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 1.3.</NOTE> And this is Gods excellency to uphold all things, they do &s;o depend upon him. If a work-man make a hou&s;e, hee goes away, the hou&s;e can &s;tand without him; but when God built the world, the world could not &s;tand one moment without him. And not onely God mu&s;t have an influence into the creature to pre&s;erve the being, but likewi&s;e to in|able the creature to act; the creature cannot act one mo|ment without God, no creature can &s;tir in the lea&s;t degree,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 17.28.</NOTE> except the Lord concur with it; <HI>Therefore the Name of God alone is excellent; By him,</HI> &s;aith the Scripture, <HI>wee live, wee move, wee have our being;</HI> not onely wee are upheld in our being and lives, but wee move, wee cannot &s;tir one mo|ment, but God mu&s;t concur with his creature for the mo|tion and action of it.</P>
<P N="15">15 Further, <HI>God alone is excellent in his operation, in his power, in the manner of his working;</HI> though God give a power to other creatures to work, yet God works in a different way from all other creatures.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>God hee doth what&s;oever hee plea&s;es either in heaven or earth.</HI> The will of God, as I &s;hewed you before, it cannot bee beyond Gods power, God cannot will to do more than hee hath power to do,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 115.3. P&s;al. 135.6. Eccle&s;. 8.3.</NOTE> <HI>Therefore the Lord hee doth what&s;oever hee plea&s;es in heaven and earth.</HI> The power of every creature can but work within the &s;phere, &s;o far as the cau&s;es give a vertue and efficacy, &s;o far it is able to work, and no further.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>The power of God appears in this, that the Lord doth the greate&s;t, and the mo&s;t difficult things, as ea&s;ily as hee doth the lea&s;t and the ea&s;ie&s;t;</HI> as thus, God makes the whole world as ea&s;ily as hee can make a crum of dirt; God can make the Heavens, Sun, Moon and Stars, and all the Seas and Earth, with as much ea&s;e as hee can make a flye. God
<PB N="22" REF="20"> can make ten thou&s;and Angels, as &s;oon as hee can make one worm. And therefore God, hee can as &s;oon &s;peak the word to the &s;oul of a man that is dead,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 5.25.</NOTE> to live, hee can as &s;oon rai&s;e a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l the dead out of their graves, as hee can give them a peece of bread to eat while they are alive, &s;uch is the infinitene&s;s of Gods operation.</P>
<P N="3">3 Further, God is excellent in all that hee doth. <HI>There is nothing that God doth in any time, but was decreed to bee done from eternity;</HI> that is, the excellency of Gods work|ing; the creature works &s;omething, but perhaps a man did not think of what hee doth, a few dayes ago, but God doth nothing, nor never will do any thing, but it is that that was decreed from all eternity that hee would do, and God will never do any thing to all eternity, but what hee had decreed from all eternity before; yet it is for us creatures to ob&s;erve according to his revealed will; but this is the excellency of God above all creatures what|ever.</P>
<P N="4">4 And then there is a further thing that is as con&s;ider|able as any of the other, <HI>God is &s;o far from needing any matter to work upon, or in&s;trument to work by, when he doth do anything, as there is no more required for any creature to bee, or work at any time when God would have it, but the alone act of Gods will that was from eternity.</HI> As now the world it was not made &s;ix thou&s;and years ago; Now God willed from all eternity that there &s;hould bee a world in time, and there was nothing required to make this world but that act of Gods will that was from all eternity, that it &s;hould bee at that time. Man, hee doth will and decree to do &s;uch a thing; now when the time comes, then hee be&s;tirs him&s;elf, and takes this tool or in&s;trument, and puts forth a power that hee did not put forth before: But the act of Gods will from all eternity was &s;ufficient to make all creatures that ever &s;ince have been made, and to provide for all creatures that ever &s;ince have been provided for, one act of Gods will hath done all this; and that act of the will of God that hath been from all eternity hath done it;
<PB N="23" REF="20"> there are not &s;everal acts of Gods will, but Gods act is him&s;elf.</P>
<P>Divers other things might bee &s;hewed, as this,</P>
<P N="5">5 <HI>Where God hath done any work, all his works adde no|thing to him.</HI> The creature hath &s;omewhat added to him by his works; as thus, A man that is a work-man hee can make a hou&s;e, and &s;o hee hath the benefit of it to dwell in, to keep off the weather, and &s;o hee makes cloath, and hath the benefit of it: But all the works of God adde no|thing to him. A man can do &s;omething by the work that hee hath made that hee could not do without his work: but God can do nothing by any work that hee hath made, but hee can do the &s;ame without that work; when hee hath made all his works, they are not helpful to him (but this was a branch of the All-&s;ufficiency of God.)</P>
<P N="16">16 In the next place, <HI>God alone is excellent in the manner of his communication of him&s;elf,</HI> God doth &s;o communicate him&s;elf to his creatures, as one creature cannot to ano|ther.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, God can let out as much of him&s;elf as hee will to any creature; now one creature cannot let out as much as hee plea&s;es to another; for in&s;tance, A man that hath learning, hee cannot make another as learned as hee will; a man that hath holine&s;s and goodne&s;s, cannot make ano|ther as holy, and as good as hee will: but God can, this is Gods propriety, hee can let out of him&s;elf as much as hee plea&s;es, as much holine&s;s, as much goodne&s;s, as much power as hee plea&s;es hee is able to let out.</P>
<P>Secondly, the creature, <HI>When it doth communicate any excellency, the more it lets out, the le&s;s it hath; but God hath ne|ver a whit le&s;s by that that hee doth let out to his creatures;</HI> as thus, the Sea is full of water, yet if you take out but a little water, the Sea hath &s;o much the le&s;s; therefore &s;ome of the Fathers would &s;et out Eternity by this, that if a Sparrow &s;hould but once in a thou&s;and years fetch one drop of water from the Sea in the bill of it, yet the Spar|row would &s;ooner empty all the Sea, than the torments
<PB N="24" REF="21"> of the damned &s;hould bee at an end; &s;o that if a drop bee taken out of the Sea it is the le&s;s: but God is &s;uch an in|finite ocean of beeing, of excellencies, of happine&s;s, that let him let out, and communicate never &s;o much of him|&s;elf, yet hee hath as much &s;till as ever hee had: God hath let out excellency, and good to all his creatures ever &s;ince the world began, all the good, the comfort, the happine&s;s, the &s;weetne&s;s, the beauty and excellency of all creatures have been from God that infinite fountain, but now this fountain is as full as ever it was, and will bee as full to all eternity as ever it was: And here lyes the excellency of God beyond all creatures what&s;o|ever.</P>
<P N="17">17 In the next place, <HI>God alone is excellent, there is no compari&s;on to bee made between him, and any thing el&s;e;</HI> as thus, Take the creature in what wee think it comes neare&s;t to God, and the truth is, to &s;peak properly, it comes no nearer to God than tho&s;e things that wee think come le&s;s; as when wee &s;ay that God is a great God and fills all pla|ces, if you &s;hould &s;uppo&s;e a body that &s;hould fill all this world, it is no nearer to Gods immen&s;ity than a moat that flyes in the Sun: or thus, Take never &s;o many thou&s;and years, as wee &s;poke the la&s;t day, if an Accountant that &s;hould write down figures all his life time, they would come wee think, to an infinite &s;umme; yet all tho&s;e infinite millions of years come no nearer to Gods eternity, than one minute doth, and the rea&s;on that I give is unan&s;wer|able, becau&s;e that there mu&s;t needs bee alwayes an infi|nite di&s;tance between what is finite, and what is infinite, and greater than an infinite di&s;tance there cannot bee; now take &s;uch a body as &s;hould fill the &s;pace between heaven and earth, there remains &s;till an infinite di&s;tance between the Immen&s;ity of God, and this body, and take &s;o many numbers of years as po&s;&s;ibly can be imagined by Men or Angels, yet there will remain an infinite di&s;tance between Gods eternity, and tho&s;e numbers of years; now greater than an infinite di&s;tance there cannot bee; therefore all
<PB N="25" REF="21"> tho&s;e years do not come nearer to eternity than a minute, and all the greatne&s;s doth not come nearer to Immen&s;ity than a moat in the Sun; God is beyond all compari&s;on what&s;oever, and the under&s;tanding that God is an infinite beeing, will help us to under&s;tand all the re&s;t that I have named.</P>
<P N="18">18 <HI>And there is one more, and that is this, Hee is the last end of all things;</HI> Hee is the highe&s;t end, for which all Creatures had their beeing, and the more any Creature is &s;ub&s;ervient unto God, the more excellency a Creature hath, <HI>For of him, and through him, and to him are all things,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 11.36.</NOTE> <HI>to whom be glory for ever.</HI> All things mu&s;t tend to God as the highe&s;t end; cur&s;ed bee that Creature that &s;hall chal|lenge to bee the highe&s;t end of any good thing what&s;oever; this makes it to bee a cur&s;ed thing for any man to make him&s;elf to bee his la&s;t end, to make his name, honour or credit to bee the end that hee aims at; and indeed, this is the very thing that makes pride to bee &s;o great a &s;in; the Scripture never &s;peaks &s;o of other things, as it doth of pride; it is &s;aid of other &s;ins, that God hates the workers of iniquity, but it is &s;aid of no &s;in, that God doth <HI>re&s;i&s;t it,</HI> one|ly the &s;in of pride; why?<NOTE PLACE="marg">James 4.6. 1 Pet. 5.5.</NOTE> becau&s;e a proud man doth cro&s;s God in that which is indeed his excellency, and that is this, That God is the highe&s;t end of all things, for whom all things were made, now a proud man cro&s;&s;es God in this, nay &s;aith hee, I will aim at my &s;elf as the highe&s;t end; wee may aim at our own good in a &s;ubordinate way, but wee mu&s;t bee &s;ure to lift up God as the highe&s;t end of all, becau&s;e hee is excellent above all; now put all the&s;e to|gether.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, That God hee is, and there is none el&s;e; Hee is &s;uch a beeing, as in compari&s;on of him nothing el&s;e hath a beeing; Hee is that beeing that hath no &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, that is alwaies the &s;ame; Hee is an excellency in all places, that fills all places without any local motion at all; Hee is a beeing that hath all &s;ufficiency in him&s;elf, hee hath all ex|cellencies, in him is an univer&s;ality of all excellencies, hee
<PB N="27" REF="22"> hath all excellencies united in one that are &s;cattered up and down in Creatures; yea, all the attributes of God are in him but one, hee hath in him all po&s;&s;ible good what&s;o|ever; all things that are in God, are equally in him, they are all infinitely in him, they are eternally, immutably, e&s;&s;entially, purely, without mixture, originally, hee is the fountain of all good to the Creature; all excellencie in the Creature doth ab&s;olutely depend upon him; hee is excellent in his operation, hee can do what&s;oever hee will, hee can do the greate&s;t thing as ea&s;ily as the lea&s;t, and one act from eternity, is enough to do all that ever hee hath done; Hee can communicate as much of him&s;elf as hee will to his Creature, and hee hath never a whit the le&s;s in him&s;elf; there can bee no compari&s;on between him and the Creature, the highe&s;t Creature comes not nearer him than the lea&s;t, and hee is the highe&s;t end of all things what&s;oever; and this God is our God; this is the God that wee profe&s;s to &s;erve, that wee profe&s;s to wor&s;hip, and the&s;e are to bee the thoughts that wee are to have of God when we come before him; Now you cannot but imagine that there mu&s;t needs bee abundance of &s;treams of U&s;e and Application that mu&s;t follow from the&s;e things; all that I have done, it is but to pre&s;ent what God is.</P>
<P>Now meethinks I hear many that give their minds to under&s;tand what God is, even &s;aying within them&s;elves, Oh that wee did but acknowledge God to bee thus, &s;urely there is a farther excellency in God than wee have imagin|ed, and might wee have but further &s;ight into the&s;e things that have been thus briefly pre&s;ented to us, Oh of what excellent u&s;e might all the&s;e be! I &s;hall endeavour there|fore to pre&s;ent but to you, and even as briefly as I have done the other, the &s;everal u&s;es that may flow from all the&s;e things, I will onely give you a hint of one or two now.</P>
<P><HI>Oh what infinite cau&s;e have wee all to bee a&s;hamed of tho&s;e low thoughts wee have had of God!</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="U&s;e."> If God bee thus as hee hath been (but a little) pre&s;ented to us now, and by what
<PB N="26" REF="22"> wee &s;ee, wee may gather, that there is infinitely more in God, and God is infinitely higher than ever wee thought of (I &s;ay) then upon the very hearing of &s;uch things as the&s;e are, and e&s;pecially wee being con&s;cious to our &s;elves how little wee are able to under&s;tand of them, wee may &s;ee cau&s;e to bee a&s;hamed of the poor and low thoughts that wee have had of this infinite Maje&s;ty; the unworthy thoughts that wee have had of him, when wee have come into the pre&s;ence of God; you have come to prayer to God, have you come to prayer as unto &s;uch a God? have you had &s;uch kind of thoughts as the&s;e are, that hee is that high Maje&s;ty? Certainly you cannot &s;anctifie Gods Name but you mu&s;t have high thoughts of God; and though I will not &s;ay, that tho&s;e do not &s;anctifie Gods Name, that have not every one of the&s;e thoughts of God, yet thus much I will &s;ay, that tho&s;e that have not apprehended eve|ry one of the&s;e things of God, have not &s;anctified Gods Name as much as they &s;hould, for wee are to apprehend what it is po&s;&s;ible for us to apprehend here in this world, or otherwi&s;e wee do not &s;anctifie Gods Name &s;o as wee ought; when wee come to God in prayer, or to wor&s;hip him in any other duty of his wor&s;hip, if wee do not appre|hend of God as much as wee po&s;&s;ibly can in this world, wee do not &s;anctifie Gods Name as much as wee ought to do, and wee are to bee a&s;hamed that wee have not &s;uch apprehen&s;ions of God as wee might po&s;&s;ibly have; if God bee &s;uch a God as this, what poor thoughts of God are the&s;e, that hee is as an old man in Heaven? &s;ome have &s;uch poor apprehen&s;ions of God, and when they hear the Scripture &s;peak of Gods eyes, and ears, and hands, they think that God hath a body, when as the Scripture doth but &s;peak to our capacities, that is, what a man can do with his eyes, or hands, or ears, that God is able to do by his infinite power. I appeal to you, have you apprehen&s;ions of the maje&s;ty and glory of God, beyond all maje&s;ty and glory that any Creature is capable of in this world? wee do not &s;anctifie Gods Name, except, I &s;ay, wee apprehend
<PB N="28" REF="23"> God higher in maje&s;ty and glory, than all creatures in the world are. Suppo&s;e you were to come to a King that had all the glory and honour put upon him that ever any creature had in this world, with what fear and trembling would we come before &s;uch a Maje&s;ty as this is? but if thou ha&s;t not come with further trembling and fear before God, when thou came&s;t into his pre&s;ence, if thou ha&s;t not come with higher thoughts of that God that thou ha&s;t to deal withall (I &s;ay) thou ha&s;t not glorified God as a God; no marvel though people are &s;o &s;light and vain in the duties of Gods wor&s;hip, becau&s;e they do not know what a God hee is that they have to do withall.</P>
<P> <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="U&s;e"> This &s;heweth you the dreadful evil there is in &s;in, why? becau&s;e it is again&s;t &s;uch a God as this God is; do&s;t thou know whom it is that thou &s;inne&s;t again&s;t? Oh thou &s;inner! do&s;t thou know whom it is thou &s;trike&s;t at? it is this infinite God that is thus pre&s;ented to you, <HI>Who&s;e Name alone is ex|cellent, and who&s;e glory is above the Earth and Heavens.</HI> Know &s;inner, and the Lord &s;mite this upon thy heart, thou that art a wicked and ungodly man all the daies of thy life, thou ha&s;t done nothing el&s;e but fought again&s;t this God, this infinite and glorious God thou ha&s;t been an enemy to all the daies of thy life, and every time thou re|newe&s;t thy &s;ins, thou do&s;t do nothing el&s;e but &s;trike at this infinite God, and provoke&s;t the wrath of this infinite deity again&s;t thy &s;oul and body; and dare&s;t thou &s;tand out again&s;t this God? wilt thou put it to the trial, to &s;ee whe|ther that God that thou &s;inne&s;t again&s;t bee &s;uch a God as this is? wilt thou put it to the ttial, that God &s;hould &s;et thee apart to make thee an object upon whom to exer|ci&s;e all that infinite power that there is in God, to bring evil, and mi&s;ery, and torments upon thee for thy &s;in? this is the ca&s;e of all de&s;perate &s;inners that do go on in a de&s;perate way of &s;in; the language of their &s;in is this, I do hear much &s;poken concerning the greatne&s;s, and ex|cellency, and glory of God, Ile try and venture, Ile put it to the experiment, whether God bee &s;uch a God or no,
<PB N="29" REF="23"> as hee hath manife&s;ted him&s;elf in his word: Oh woe to that Creature that &s;hall come to feel what the greatne<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s of God doth mean! Oh it is infinitely better for thee to fall down before him and therefore this &s;hould bee the Exhortation to all &s;inners; Con&s;ider,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exhort.</NOTE> Oh &s;inful man or woman, what a God it is thou do&s;t conte&s;t withall! &s;hall the pot&s;heard &s;trive with his Maker? let one pot|&s;heard &s;trive with another, but let not the Creature &s;trive with the Almighty, for hee will bee infinitely too hard for thee, and hee will appear alone to bee excellent; thou do&s;t lift up thy will above his will, as if &s;o bee that thou woulde&s;t ri&s;e above this infinite God, but know, in de&s;pite of thy heart hee will bee above thee, hee hath thee under his feet this moment, and the &s;word of his ju&s;tice is at thy very heart, and hee can take thy heart blood when hee plea&s;es, and &s;end thee down to eter|nal mi&s;eries; there is no &s;triving with &s;uch a God as this is, who is alone excellent;<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a 45.23. Rom. 14.11.</NOTE> the word hath pro|ceeded out of his mouth in Righteou&s;ne&s;s, that every knee mu&s;t bow unto him, and every tongue mu&s;t con|fe&s;s this God; certainly one way or other hee will have his glory out of thee; God can as well cea&s;e to bee, as not to have his glory out of every Creature; do but con&s;ider of this, and learn to tremble before this God; <HI>The Lord is excellent and glorious above all things,</HI> and hee is re&s;olved that hee will have his glo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y from e|very Creature one way or other, and if it prove that hee comes upon thee to force it out of thee, better ten thou&s;and times that thou had&s;t never been born;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 5.6. James 4.10.</NOTE> there|fore according to the Exhortation of the Holy Gho&s;t in Scripture, Oh! let us humble our &s;elves under the mighty hand of God, and let us all &s;ay, <HI>Thou O Lord art alone excellent, and thy glory is above the Heavens and Earth, and the de&s;ire of our &s;ouls is to l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ft up thy Name as the excellent thing above all Creatures.</HI> While wee live here in this world, this is our excellency, and ble&s;&s;ed is that man or woman that comes to &s;ee this to bee his or
<PB N="30" REF="24"> her excellency, namely, that I might lift up Gods Name in the place where hee hath &s;et mee; hereto|fore I have lift up other things as excellent, if I could get an E&s;tate, &amp;c. But the Lord hath made mee to &s;ee that hee alone is excellent, and his excellency hath dark|ned all the excellency of the Creature in my eyes; I &s;ee nothing excellent but God, and all in order unto God; that is a good &s;ign of the work of grace in a man or woman, when hee &s;hall &s;ee &s;o much of the excel|lency of God, as Gods excellency &s;hall darken all the excellency in the world.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="31" REF="24">
<HEAD>The Third SERMON ON <HI>The Nature of God.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>PSAL. 148.13.</HI></BIBL>
<P>For his Name alone is excellent.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_BUt a &s;econd U&s;e is this that wee are now to proceed in, Oh how vile is &s;in then that is committed again&s;t &s;uch a God as this is? there is nothing in the world can &s;hew a &s;oul the evil of &s;in, but the &s;ight of God. If wee &s;hould tell you never &s;o much of the terrours of the Law, and of hell fire, though you might &s;ee the de|&s;ert of &s;in &s;omewhat, yet until you come to &s;ee with what a God you have to deal, you can never know what the evil of &s;in means. <HI>Again&s;t thee, thee onely have I &s;inned,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 51.4.</NOTE> &s;aith <HI>David,</HI> that was the thing that &s;trook <HI>Davids</HI> &s;pirit, <HI>David</HI> knew that it was again&s;t God that hee &s;inned; when God &s;hall come to the con&s;cience of a &s;inner, and pre&s;ent him&s;elf before his con&s;cience, and &s;ay, Oh wretched &s;in|ner, it is I that you have &s;inned again&s;t, as Chri&s;t did in <HI>Act.</HI> 9. unto <HI>Saul, Saul, Saul, why per&s;ecute&s;t thou mee?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 9.4.</NOTE> So
<PB N="32" REF="25"> when God &s;hall &s;ay, Sinner, &s;inner, why do&s;t thou rebel a|gain&s;t mee? If God would but give us one &s;ight of him|&s;elf, that wee might behold him as hee is upon his Throne, in this excellency of his Name above all things, it were impo&s;&s;ible but the heart of a &s;inner &s;hould even break at &s;uch a &s;ight. Certainly one day every &s;inner &s;hall have a &s;ight of God: Happy it is now for us to have &s;uch a &s;ight of God here in this world, that may cau&s;e us to &s;ee the evil of our &s;ins, for otherwi&s;e the &s;ight of God hereafter, will certainly &s;ink our &s;ouls into the bottomle&s;s gulf of hor|rour and de&s;pair. When <HI>Daniel</HI> was about to confe&s;s his &s;in, in <HI>Dan.</HI> 9. Mark how hee begins, becau&s;e hee would get his heart to bee affected with his &s;in, and the &s;ins of the people that there hee confe&s;t: Mark how hee begins his prayer,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan 9.4.</NOTE> <HI>And I prayed</HI> (&s;aith hee in the 4. ver&s;e) <HI>unto the Lord my God, and made my confe&s;&s;ion, and &s;aid, O Lord, the great and dreadful God;</HI> thus hee begins, I made confe&s;&s;ion (&s;aith hee) I prayed and made confe&s;&s;ion of &s;in, and &s;aid, <HI>Oh Lord, the great and dreadful God:</HI> fir&s;t hee looks upon God how great and dreadful hee was, and this it was that cau&s;ed him to confe&s;s his &s;in with humiliation: you that &s;ay your prayers, and will confe&s;s that you are &s;inners, did you but at the beginning of your prayers, when you go to confe&s;s your &s;in, ca&s;t up one eye to hea|ven, and behold this God upon his Throne, and &s;ee him to bee the great and dreadful God, it would cau&s;e you to confe&s;s &s;in after another manner than ever yet you have done: It is a good thing therefore in our prayers, when wee are about to confe&s;s &s;in, fir&s;t to &s;et before our &s;ouls the greatne&s;s and the dreadfulne&s;s of that God that wee have &s;inned again&s;t. When this Prophet <HI>Daniel</HI> would humble that proud <HI>Bel&s;hazzer,</HI> in <HI>Dan.</HI> 5.23. Mark what hee &s;aith, <HI>And the God in who&s;e hand thy breath is, and who&s;e are thy wayes, ha&s;t thou not glorified:</HI> This &s;peech &s;et home upon a mans con&s;cience, were enough to break the proude&s;t and &s;toute&s;t heart in the world. If &s;o bee that the eyes of the proude&s;t &s;toute&s;t &s;inner were opened to
<PB N="33" REF="25"> &s;ee God in his glory, and to hear the Lord &s;peak thus to him, that God in who&s;e hand is the breath of thy no&s;trils, and all thy wayes, that is the God that thou ha&s;t not glo|rified, thou doe&s;t not think with whom it is that thou ha&s;t to deal; but that is the God that you have heard preached of thus, <HI>Who&s;e Name alone is excellent,</HI> &s;uch an infinite and glorious Deity is that Deity that thou ha&s;t neglected and de&s;pi&s;ed, and preferred thy lu&s;ts before: Oh if God would but give commi&s;&s;ion unto your con&s;ciences to &s;peak this with power to you, that God that is thus glorious and excellent you have &s;inned again&s;t, oh it would bee of won|derful force to break the harde&s;t heart of men. And in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 104.1, 2.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 104.1, 2.</NOTE> Do but &s;ee there how <HI>David</HI> had his heart ri&s;ing again&s;t &s;in and &s;inners upon the con&s;ideration of the excellency of God, there hee &s;peaks of the &s;ame argument that wee have here in the Text, <HI>Ble&s;s the Lord, Oh my &s;oul: my God, thou art very great, thou art cloathed with ho|nour and maje&s;ty</HI> (and &s;o hee goes on) <HI>who covere&s;t thy &s;elf with light as with a garment.</HI> Hee proceeds in the P&s;alm de&s;cribing the greatne&s;s and excellency of God: But then when hee had done de&s;cribing Gods excellency, and found his heart warmed and inlarged, and rai&s;ed with the medi|tation of the excellency of God, Mark how hee breaks forth in the la&s;t words of the P&s;alm, <HI>Let the &s;inners bee con|&s;umed out of the earth, and let the wicked bee no more;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 35.</NOTE> <HI>ble&s;s thou the Lord, Oh my &s;oul:</HI> As if holy <HI>David</HI> &s;hould have &s;aid thus, Oh Lord, I &s;ee thee to bee very great, and thou art cloathed with honour and Maje&s;ty, and thy Name is excellent above all things: What? And are there any wretched creatures that will dare to pre&s;ume to rebel a|gain&s;t thee who art &s;o great, that will dare yet to &s;et their will again&s;t thy will, and to prefer their lu&s;ts before thee? Oh cur&s;ed bee tho&s;e &s;inners, <HI>Let the &s;inners bee con&s;umed from the earth, and let the wicked bee no more.</HI> There is in|finite rea&s;on that wicked wretched creatures &s;hould bee for ever con&s;umed, that &s;in again&s;t &s;uch a God as thou art, who art &s;o great as thou art. My brethren, it is no marvel
<PB N="34" REF="26"> though the people of God are &s;o afraid of &s;in; many of you wonder at the nicene&s;s of the con&s;ciences of many people, that they dare not commit any known &s;in for a world; you wonder at them why they &s;hould bee &s;o nice, you think it is fooli&s;hne&s;s: Would you know the rea&s;on? It is this, God hath &s;hewed unto their con&s;ciences a &s;ight of him&s;elf, they have had a &s;ight of the glory of the Maje&s;ty of the great God, <HI>Who&s;e Name alone is excellent,</HI> and it is that that makes them afraid of &s;in for ever, and makes them look upon &s;in as the greate&s;t evil, and even tremble at the lea&s;t temptation unto any &s;in what&s;oever. And that is the &s;econd U&s;e, Great is the evil of &s;in, if committed again&s;t &s;uch a God.</P>
<P> <MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="U&s;e"> Thirdly, Hence <HI>then if God bee thus excellent above all, from the meditation of the Excellency of God and his glory, wee &s;ee cau&s;e to bee vile in our own eyes;</HI> the higher wee &s;ee God to bee, the lower wee &s;hould bee in our own eyes, there is nothing will take down the &s;pirit of a man more than God: I dare &s;ay of every proud heart in the wor<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d, &s;uch a one knows not God, never had a &s;ight of the glory of God that hee hath to do withall; the &s;ight of God will wonderfully humble the heart before him, <HI>Job</HI> 42.5. is very famous for this, <HI>Job</HI> &s;aith, <HI>With the hearing of the ear I have heard of thee, but now mine eyes have &s;een thee</HI> (what follows then upon that) <HI>Wherefore I abhor my &s;elf, and repent in du&s;t and a&s;hes.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 6.</NOTE> <HI>Job</HI> that was a holy man, yet hee confe&s;&s;es that hee had but even heard of God, hee never had &s;uch a &s;ight of God as God gave him at this time, and upon the &s;ight that hee had of God, though hee were a holy, and a gracious man, and could &s;tand in his uprightne&s;s, yet &s;aith hee, <HI>Mine eyes have &s;een thee, and therefore I abhor my &s;elf, and repent in du&s;t and a&s;hes.</HI> Oh that God would give &s;uch a fight of him&s;elf to all your &s;ouls, to tho&s;e proud, &s;tout, and rebellious &s;inners that have gone on in wayes of re|bellion again&s;t him. <HI>You have heard of God by the hearing of the ear, but have your eyes ever &s;een him?</HI> If God would but give you a &s;ight of what I have briefly &s;poken to you,
<PB N="35" REF="26"> you would certainly fall down before him, and abhor your &s;elves in du&s;t and a&s;hes: So the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> though a godly man, yet in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 6. hee heard the <HI>Cherubins and Se|raphins prai&s;ing of God, and crying, Holy, Holy,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 6.1, 2, 3.</NOTE> <HI>Holy is the Lord of Hoa&s;ts;</HI> And there was a vi&s;ion of God upon his Throne to the Prophet, what follows? &s;aith the Prophet, <HI>Woe unto mee, for I am undone!</HI> Why? <HI>For I am a man of polluted lips, and I dwell among a people that are of unclean lips; Woe unto mee, for I am undone, for I have &s;een the King, the Lord of Hea&s;ts!</HI> I &s;ee the Lord upon his Throne, and I behold the ble&s;&s;ed Angels how they admire at his glory, Oh woe to mee, I am undone. If &s;o holy a man &s;hall thus cry out upon the &s;ight of God, and &s;ay, <HI>Woe to mee, I am undone, becau&s;e I am a man of polluted lips!</HI> Oh what maye&s;t thou do then, that art a man of polluted lips, and pollu|ted heart, and polluted life? Oh how are thy lips polluted! The Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> hee was no &s;wearer, neither was hee one that would talk filthy unclean talk, but yet hee com|plains hee was a man of polluted lips, and cryes, Woe to mee, I am undone, becau&s;e I have &s;een the Lord: Oh how would thy heart then bee humbled? What cau&s;e at lea&s;t is there that thy heart &s;hould bee humbled that art &s;o pol|luted as thou art? the &s;ight of God &s;hould mightily humble us before God, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 8 the beginning, <HI>Oh Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy Name in all the earth?</HI> &s;aith the Prophet <HI>David,</HI> and &s;o hee goes on to &s;hew the excellency of God; then hee cryes out in ver&s;e 4. <HI>What is man that thou art mindful of him, and the &s;on of man that thou vi&s;ite&s;t him?</HI> Lord thou that art &s;o excellent in thy &s;elf above all things, it is a wonder that thou &s;houlde&s;t vouch&s;afe &s;o much as to look upon man. It may bee thou looke&s;t high, becau&s;e thou art a little above thy brethren, but if thou had&s;t a &s;ight of God, thou woulde&s;t wonder that this God &s;hould look to thee, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 113.6. there you have &s;uch an expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>That God doth humble him&s;elf to behold the things that are done in heaven:</HI> Why what an expre&s;&s;ion is hereof Gods excellency? God is &s;o excellent that hee doth
<PB N="36" REF="27"> humble him&s;elf to behold the things that are done in heaven: now if hee bee &s;o excellent as to humble him&s;elf to the beholding of the things in heaven, then how doth God humble him&s;elf to behold things done in earth, to behold &s;uch wretched vilde creatures as thou art? Oh bee vile in thine own eyes upon the &s;ight of the great God, and by the&s;e three U&s;es, you may have three Notes whether ever God hath made known him&s;elf to you, or no.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Are you a&s;hamed and confounded in your thoughts for tho&s;e low poor thoughts you have had of God?</P>
<P>Secondly, Hath the &s;ight of God cau&s;ed you to &s;ee the dreadfulne&s;s of the evill that there is in &s;in?</P>
<P>Thirdly, Hath the &s;ight of God made you to bee vile in your own eyes? That is a good evidence that you have had &s;ome &s;ight of God indeed.</P>
<P>In the fourth place, <HI>If God bee thus excellent, and his <MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="U&s;e"> glory &s;o great above the earth and heavens; Hence wee may learn to know the vanity of the creature.</HI> Set but God now, and the creature together, nay, all the creatures in the world together, Oh how is the vanity of all creature-comforts in the world made known to us. There are ma|ny wayes to convince us that there is a vanity in all things in the world, by the <HI>&s;trength of rea&s;on</HI> wee may bee con|vinced, <HI>and by experience:</HI> A man &s;ometimes that hath an e&s;tate, God doth but touch his body, and layes him upon his &s;ick-bed; &s;uch a man &s;aith, Oh what a poor thing is it to injoy all the world? had I all the world at my com|mand, I could have no comfort in it, and therefore what a vanity is there in the creature: And another perhaps by arguments and rea&s;ons, will tell you that every thing is vain, and there is no contentment, nor continuance in any thing in the world: When wee &s;ee men that are rich and great dye, and carry nothing with them, wee are rea|dy to &s;ay, Oh how vain the world is! the&s;e are &s;ome means to cau&s;e us to &s;ee the vanity of the creature: But what are all the&s;e to the &s;ight of God? The &s;ight of the
<PB N="37" REF="27"> glory of God, it is infinitely more powerful to di&s;cover the vanity of all things in the world to us: That man, or woman, that hath had once a real &s;ight of this God in his infinite excellency, wil not much regard what becomes of him con|cerning outward things in this world. <HI>Hee that &s;ees God to be great, will &s;ee all other things to bee &s;mall.</HI> And indeed wee never &s;ee God to bee truly excellent, except wee &s;ee him alone to bee excellent. Thou thinke&s;t thou knowe&s;t &s;ome|what of God, I but &s;till the excellency of the creature is glorious in thy eyes: Certainly thou do&s;t not know God aright: If thou knowe&s;t God aright in his excellency, thou knowe&s;t him <HI>Alone</HI> to bee excellent, and therefore if thou knewe&s;t no other excellency but God, all other things would bee but vanity in thine eyes. In 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.10. &s;aith the Apo&s;tle there concerning the glory of the Law, com|pared with the glory of the Go&s;pel, <HI>That that which was made glorious, now had no glory by rea&s;on of a greater glory that is come:</HI> So I may &s;ay in this ca&s;e, the things of the world that were glorious in thine eyes before, yet now they are not glorious, but all darkned, becau&s;e there is a greater glory that now comes and &s;hines in upon thee. If a man had lived in a dark Dungeon under the ground all the dayes of his life, and never had the glimp&s;e of any light what|&s;oever, never &s;ince hee was born, if on a &s;udden a candle &s;hould bee brought to him, hee would admire at that glory; but now if this man &s;hould afterwards bee brought into the world, and &s;ee the glory of the Sun, the glory of the candle would bee nothing to him: So the men of the world, becau&s;e they live as it were in darkne&s;s, they have &s;ome comforts in the creature, and they think them to bee glorious, for they know no better: But that &s;oul that hath had a &s;ight of God, comes to &s;ee that all things in the world are but darkne&s;s to him. There is nothing can di&s;|ingage the heart of a man from the creature, &s;o, as a &s;ight of God. You have a notable Scripture for that, how a &s;ight of God doth di&s;-ingage the heart of a man from the creature, in <HI>Act.</HI> 7.2. And hee &s;aid, <HI>Men, Brethren, and
<PB N="38" REF="28"> Fathers, hearken, The God of glory appeared unto our Father</HI> Abraham, <HI>when hee was in</HI> Me&s;opotamia <HI>before hee dwelt in</HI> Charran, <HI>and &s;aid unto him, Get thee out of thy Country, and from thy kindred, and come into the Land which I &s;hall &s;hew thee:</HI> And &s;o hee &s;hews how <HI>Abraham</HI> was content to for|&s;ake all his friends and Country; Why? the God of glory appeared to him: it is &s;aid upon this, when the Holy Gho&s;t would &s;hew what it was that brought <HI>Abraham</HI> out of his Country, that took off his heart from all his friends and Country, to go into a &s;trange Country, &s;aith the Holy Gho&s;t, <HI>The God of glory appeared to our Father Abraham:</HI> Let a mans heart bee never &s;o much glewed to any contentments that are here in the world, let but the God of glory appear to that man, and all things are vanity, then the heart quickly comes off from any thing. And indeed though there may bee many arguments that may make men and women to deny them&s;elves very much the u&s;e of creature-comforts, yet the heart is never throughly taken off till the God of glory appear to the &s;oul. A notable example of &s;elf-denial it that of <HI>Mo&s;es, Mo&s;es</HI> that might have had <HI>all the riches and glory of Egypt,</HI> might have been next to the King him|&s;elf, an heir, for &s;o &s;ome write, that <HI>Pharaoh</HI> had no &s;on, and that <HI>Pharaohs</HI> daughter did adopt <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> to the end that hee might bee an heir to the Crown, and yet <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> that had all riches, and the trea&s;ures of <HI>Egypt</HI> at com|mand, yet hee for&s;akes a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l; but though hee for&s;ook all for a while, yet you will &s;ay, did hee not repent him afterward? No, &s;aith the Text, <HI>Heb.</HI> 11.27. <HI>By faith hee for&s;ook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the King, for hee indured, as &s;eeing him that is invi&s;ible,</HI> that was the thing that did it, it made <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> for&s;ake all the riches of <HI>Egypt,</HI> and indure, to go on, and never repent him for making &s;uch a choice: What was the great thing that did take <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> off from the crea|ture? It was the &s;ight of God, <HI>that God that was invi&s;ible:</HI> My brethren, the &s;ight of God, it puts a mighty magna|nimicy upon a mans heart; there is nothing great to a great &s;pirit, nor nothing can greaten the &s;pirit of a man or wo|man,
<PB N="39" REF="28"> &s;o as the &s;ight of the great God; no men and wo|men in the world have &s;uch great &s;pirits as tho&s;e that have &s;een the great God: And the oftner any one hath the &s;ight of the great God, I &s;ay, the greater will &s;uch mens and womens &s;pirits bee; they are rai&s;ed to that height, that all the world will not &s;atisfie &s;uch a &s;oul for the portion of it. And this again in the fourth place, may bee a Note of Trial, whether ever you have &s;een God alone to bee ex|cellent; Hath it taken off your hearts from the creature? Hath it ingaged your hearts fully to God him&s;elf, that you can &s;ay, <HI>There is none in heaven,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 73.25.</NOTE> <HI>nor none in earth that I de|&s;ire in compari&s;on of thee.</HI></P>
<P>In the fifth place, <HI>Is Gods Name alone excellent? Oh my <MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="U&s;e"> brethren, &s;tudy to know God then:</HI> Labour to &s;earch into this Excellency &s;o far as wee may, and God gives us leave; God hath revealed much of him&s;elf to us in the Scripture, and in the book of the creature, and God expects that what is revealed of him in the Scripture, and in the book of the creature, that the rational creatures, Angels and Men, &s;hould labour and &s;earch to know: There is nothing &s;o &s;weet, &s;o amiable, &s;o lovely, &s;o delightful unto a rational creature (if it bee purged from the filthine&s;s and corruption of &s;in) as the &s;ight of the infinite fir&s;t being of all things: Why here is concluded all excellent &s;ights what&s;oever; &s;ome men are take<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> with &s;uch a &s;ight, to behold fair build|ings, and others to behold brave pictures, one with one thing, and another with another: Oh but the &s;ight of God hath all &s;ights in it that may delight the &s;oul, and give con|tent to the heart of Man or Angel: and therefore labour to know the excellency of God. You poor creatures that have minded little all this while but meer<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y to under&s;tand your Trades, and how you may get a &s;hilling or two to provide for your families. Oh but know there is a higher ob<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ect for you to bu&s;ie your thoughts and hearts about: Learn to know this God, who alone is excellent, and bee not di&s;couraged at tho&s;e things that have been &s;poken, though they are above thy reach at fir&s;t, yet if your hearts
<PB N="40" REF="29"> bee pure, and clean&s;ed from filthine&s;&s;e, you have the pro|mi&s;e, in <HI>Matth.</HI> 5.8. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are the pure in heart, for they &s;hall &s;ee God.</HI> It may bee you that are poor people, you can ne|ver come to get learning to have the knowledge of Arts and Sciences, and &s;uch things; I but if you have clean hearts you are ble&s;&s;ed in this, God &s;aith you &s;hall &s;ee him: Labour to &s;tudy God, and labour to know God more; <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 91.14. Mark how acceptable it is to God for his creature to labour to know him, <HI>I will &s;et him on high, becau&s;e hee hath known my Name. Thy Name, O Lord, alone is excellent, and thy glory above the heavens and earth. And I will &s;et him on high, becau&s;e he knows my Name.</HI> Oh, &s;aith God, yonder is a poor creature that above all things in the world de&s;ires to know mee: hee hath had a little glimp&s;e of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y glory, and oh how earne&s;t is his heart to know mee! I will reveal more of my &s;elf to him, and then I wil &s;et him on high, be|cau&s;e hee knows my Name, the Lord ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h a hath account of tho&s;e that know his Name: As for tho&s;e ignorant crea|tures, let them bee what they will in regard of outward things, yet if they bee ignorant of God, they are vile and low, and ba&s;e in Gods e&s;teem; but take a &s;oul that knows Gods Name, the Lord will &s;et him on high; &s;uch a one is high in the very thoughts of God, and the Lord doth take plea&s;ure to make &s;uch a &s;oul to bee high: <HI>Paul</HI> in <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.8. did <HI>account all things dung and dro&s;s</HI> (for what?) <HI>for the ex|cellency of the knowledge of Je&s;us Christ:</HI> For indeed in the knowledge of Chri&s;t, God is known; and if you would &s;tudy the knowledge of God, it mu&s;t bee in Chri&s;t, you can never know God but in Chri&s;t, <HI>Matth.</HI> 11.27. &s;aith Chri&s;t there, <HI>No man knows the Father but the Son, and him to whom the Son &s;hall reveal him.</HI> It mu&s;t bee Chri&s;t that mu&s;t reveal the glory of God to our &s;ouls, or el&s;e wee can never come to know him &s;avingly.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="U&s;e"> Sixthly, If God bee thus excellent above all, and his glory thus above the earth and heavens, <HI>hence we are taught to labour to keep the &s;en&s;e of the infinite di&s;tance that there is between God and his creatures alwayes in our hearts:</HI> And this is a
<PB N="41" REF="29"> point of marvellous con&s;equence, the &s;en&s;e of the di&s;tance between God and us: If God bee infinitely above the creature, then God expects that wee that profe&s;s any knowledge of him, that wee &s;hould evermore have our thoughts upon Gods excellency, rai&s;ed in a kinde of in|finitene&s;s above what wee think of the excellency of any creature; and our hearts then &s;hould work after God in a kinde of infinitene&s;s more than ever they did work after any creature, as there is an infinite di&s;proportion between the excellency of God, and the excellency that there is in any creature. I be&s;eech you ob&s;erve what I am &s;peaking, for it is of marvellous u&s;e to help us to &s;anctifie God in all our wayes; as there is an infinite di&s;tance between the ex|cellency of God, and of all creatures, &s;o there ought to bee in a kinde, an infinite di&s;tance between what our hearts are in the working after God, and the working after the creature, otherwi&s;e wee lift not up Gods Name in his ex|cellency and glory. And indeed a gracious heart will make it &s;o; and in this I conceive the very work of grace con&s;i&s;ts, in that it is &s;uch a principle in the &s;oul of a man or woman that is converted, that though &s;uch a one bee a finite crea|ture, yet it hath a kinde of infinitene&s;s in the working of it after God. You will &s;ay, Infinite, how can that bee? True, I confe&s;s properly it cannot bee infinite, but thus it is in|finite in its kinde, that is, &s;uch a creature hath &s;uch a prin|ciple as it would fain, if it were po&s;&s;ible, work infinitely after God: And</P>
<P>Further, This principle of grace doth cau&s;e this in the heart, that it will never limit its &s;elf in any work|ing after God, and therefore hath a kinde of Infinitene&s;&s;e; and here is the difference between one that hath true grace, and the mo&s;t glorious hypocrite in the world; An hypocrite hee will ever bee bounding his working after God, and think thus much is enough, what need any more? If I do thus and thus, why I may do well, and go to heaven at la&s;t, and &s;o doth bound him&s;elf: But now where there is the lea&s;t dram of true grace, though there bee many
<PB N="42" REF="30"> weakne&s;&s;es in the &s;oul, yet &s;uch a &s;oul doth never bound its &s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">f in working after God. I indeed heretofore have <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">et out my heart to the creature, but now I would fain, if I could, let out my heart infinitely after God: Why? For I &s;ee an infinite di&s;tance between the good there is in the creature, and the good there is in God; certainly where this is, there is grace, and this one note were enough to di&s;cern the truth of grace in the heart: If the &s;ight of God have wrought this, that whereas heretofore thy heart hath been let out after &s;uch and &s;uch creature-comforts, now thou do&s;t de&s;ire, if it were po&s;&s;ible, to let out thy heart infinitely after God; here is the work of grace, and in this thou goe&s;t beyond any hypocrite: Oh keep this con&s;tant in thy &s;oul, this is the e&s;pecial &s;anctifying of Gods Name in all our wayes; when wee &s;ee that God gives us leave to let out our hearts towards the creature in &s;ome mea&s;ure, then there is a great deal of danger, that wee &s;hould have our hearts &s;tick in the creature, and that we &s;hould not have that di&s;proportion in the letting out of our hearts to the creature, and to God, as ought to bee: And this is the ground of all Idolatry in the world, when men have &s;een &s;ome excel|lency in the creature, they have been taken with it, and there have &s;tuck, and have not been carried from the crea|ture to God. And that is Heathens Idolatry, when they &s;ee an excellency in the Sun, they think that is God: So Chri|&s;tians Idolatry may bee in this, If there bee any creature-comfort that thy heart clo&s;es withall, and there thou do&s;t &s;tick, and thy heart is not carried to God, yea, is not carried to God in &s;uch a di&s;proportion as there is between him and the creature; I &s;ay, &s;o far as thou wante&s;t that that thou art capable of in this kinde, &s;o far thou art guilty of Idolatry. Oh that this one note might &s;tick upon us, <HI>There is none like unto thee, O Lord:</HI> Can&s;t thou &s;ay this out of the upright|ne&s;s of thy &s;oul, as in the pre&s;ence of God, Lord thou that knowe&s;t all things, knowe&s;t that though I have a vile heart that is let out after the creatures more than it ought to bee, yet Lord thou knowe&s;t that my heart is let out after nothing
<PB N="43" REF="30"> &s;o much as after thee? that would bee a good argument of a gracious work of God upon thee: Surely if none bee like unto the Lord, then our hearts &s;hould bee after nothing &s;o as after the Lord: Wee mu&s;t not content our &s;elves with a little love to God; Is there &s;uch a di&s;proportion between thy love to the creature, and thy love to God, as there is be|tween God, and the creature? Thou &s;aye&s;t thou love&s;t God, I but it may bee thou love&s;t the creature as well: Doe&s;t thou think that this will &s;atisfie God? When thou heare&s;t that Gods Name alone is excellent, God expects that thy love to h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m &s;hould bee in a kinde infinite above that love of thine to any creature el&s;e.</P>
<P>And there is this one thing further, with which I will con|clude, <MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="U&s;e"> <HI>Surely if Gods Name alone bee excellent, then in a pro|portion Gods people alone are the excellent people upon the earth.</HI> According as a mans God is, &s;o is hee; as you know men conceive their excellency to bee according to the excellency of him whom they &s;erve; according as a mans God is (I &s;ay) &s;o is hee: Now if God alone bee excellent, and hee bee thy God, then thou art excellent; the people of God are therefore excellent, becau&s;e their God is &s;o excellent; this is the rea&s;on of that phra&s;e that you have in <HI>Prov.</HI> 12.26. <HI>The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour:</HI> Why is a righteous man more excellent than his neighbour? It may bee the righteous man is a poor man, and his neighbour is a rich man, perhaps this poor good mans next neighbour is a Knight or a Noble-man, yet hee is more excellent than his neighbour: Why? becau&s;e his God is more excellent, becau&s;e the infinite Lord of heaven and earth is the portion of a righteous man: If God bee alone excellent, then the righteous is alone excellent; and I will give you a Scripture or two to &s;hew, that according to the excellency of God, in a proportion doth appear the excellency of the children of God; compare <HI>Deut.</HI> 33. and the 26. ver&s;e, and the 29. ver&s;e together: In ver&s;e 26. <HI>There is none like unto the God of Je&s;u|run:</HI> then, in ver&s;. 29. <HI>Happy art thou O I&s;rael, who is like unto thee?</HI> You &s;ee that there is a reflection of the glory of God up|on
<PB N="44" REF="31"> his Saints, there is none like to God, and there is none like to Gods people. And &s;o in 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 7.22. you have an ex|pre&s;&s;ion to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, <HI>Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God, for there is none like thee, neither is there any God be&s;ides thee, according to all that wee have heard with our ears:</HI> then in ver&s;e 23. <HI>And what one Nation in the earth is like thy people?</HI> So that wee &s;ee here, that according to the ri&s;e of Gods excellency, &s;o is the ri&s;e of the excellency of his Saints. In a proportion they ri&s;e in their excellency as God ri&s;es in his: If God be alone excellent, certainly they are the excellent people in the world: And why? becau&s;e the excellency of God is manife&s;ted over them to do them good.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Note.</NOTE> Here is a note that hath abundance of &s;oul-&s;atisfying incouragement to all the Saints of God in any of their af|flicted conditions what&s;oever; thou ha&s;t heard that Gods Name is alone excellent, &s;o adde this to it for thy com|fort, who art one of Gods, that God accounts his chief excellency in his manife&s;tation of him&s;elf in all the world, to bee, that hee might let out him&s;elf for thy good, and do good to thee, and that I will &s;hew you by a Scripture or two, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 68.34. <HI>His Excellency</HI> (&s;aith the Text) <HI>is over I&s;rael:</HI> Oh Lord, there is an excellency in thee, and how doth this work, where doth this excellency of thine appear? why it is over <HI>I&s;rael; The Excellency of God it is over I&s;rael;</HI> &s;aith God, I have cho&s;en out my Church, and mine Excellency &s;hall bee over them, and manife&s;ted towards them for good; therefore in <HI>Exod.</HI> 15.7. there where <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> is prai&s;ing God for the great things that hee doth for his people, &s;aith hee, in the <HI>Greatne&s;s of thine Ex|cellency thou ha&s;t done this thing;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">&rindx;</NOTE> &s;o that God doth delight to &s;hew his Excellency, yea to &s;hew the Greatne&s;s of his Excellency for the good of his people: Oh how &s;hould the Saints of God make their boa&s;t of their God, and re|joyce in him, and bee incouraged in God alone! though thou ha&s;t no other portion then God alone, thou ha&s;t por|tion enough. In <HI>Micah</HI> 5.4. there is an admirable Scripture for the incouragement of the hearts of Gods people in God
<PB N="45" REF="31"> alone, <HI>And hee &s;hall &s;tand and feed in the &s;trength of the Lord, in the Maje&s;ty of the Name of the Lord his God:</HI> It is a Prophecie there of Chri&s;t, and as it is true of Chri&s;t, &s;o of all the members of Chri&s;t, they may &s;tand when the world falls, what&s;oever becomes of the world, what&s;oever troubles are about them, they are to &s;tand, and rejoyce them&s;elves in the Name of the Lord, in the &s;trength of the Lord, and in the Maje&s;ty of the Lord their God: the knowledge of this reference that the Saints have to God, it is that that &s;hould put courage and boldne&s;s into their hearts before all the world, <HI>Rev.</HI> 22.4. <HI>And they &s;hall &s;ee his face, and his Name &s;hall bee in their fore-heads.</HI> They &s;hall &s;ee the face of God (and what then) then the Name of God &s;hall bee in their fore-heads, they &s;hall have a bold|ne&s;s and courage in the cau&s;e of God; what&s;oever becomes of the world, yet wee have happine&s;s enough in God: Oh rejoyce, rejoyce in this (I &s;ay) you that are the people of God, for there is none excellent &s;o as you are excellent, and if &s;o be that God now inve&s;ts you with this excellency. Two or three more U&s;es might bee to fini&s;h the Point.</P>
<P><HI>What cau&s;e then ha&s;t thou to fear this God, and to &s;erve this God in all thy wayes, and to wor&s;hip him as a God who&s;e Name is alone excellent?</HI> Who would not fear thee? there is none like unto thee, <HI>Jer.</HI> 10.7. <HI>Who would not fear thee, Oh King of Nations, &amp;c.</HI> Let this God bee feared by us, let us la|bour to hold forth the excellency of this our God in our lives and conver&s;ations, in our whole cour&s;e: Oh that it might bee written upon our lives, <HI>The Name of God is alone excellent;</HI> all you that profe&s;s to have any intere&s;t in this God, you &s;hould walk &s;o in your conver&s;ations, that it may bee written upon your lives, <HI>The Name of God is alone excellent, and his glory is above the earth and heavens.</HI> Oh take heed that this ble&s;&s;ed Name of God, that is alone excellent, bee not di&s;honoured and polluted by you; that wee might have been large in, if wee had time. <HI>James</HI> calls it, about <HI>Jam.</HI> 2.7. <HI>That worthy Name of the Lord:</HI> you that profe&s;s your &s;elves to bee Chri&s;tians, and profe&s;s
<PB N="46" REF="32"> godline&s;s more than others, know, that you have the Name of God upon you, and this Name of God it is excellent and glorious, let it not &s;uffer by you: Oh woe to you that ever you were born, if you &s;hould bee in&s;truments of pol|luting the Name of God. Mee thinks any one that makes profe&s;&s;ion of Gods Name, &s;hould think with him&s;elf, it were better that I were dead and rotten under the clods, than that ever I &s;hould live to pollute this ble&s;&s;ed Name of God that is &s;o excellent: What? was I born that I might live to have my hand in &s;o great a mi&s;chief as that this glorious Name of God &s;hould bee darkned by mee? Oh, the Lord forbid: Know what the Name of God is that you profe&s;s, and meditate how excellent it is, and let this bee a &s;trong argument to keep you from &s;in: When any temptation comes, oh &s;et this again&s;t it, Shall I pollute this Name of God that is &s;o infinitely excellent? No man or woman can dye with peace, and have peace upon their &s;ick-beds, except they can bee able to look back into their lives, and to &s;ay, Lord, though there hath been much weak|ne&s;s in mee, and in many things I have di&s;honoured thee, yet it hath been my care in my generation, and in the place that thou ha&s;t &s;et mee<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, to lift up thy Name, and I have done &s;ome thing through thy grace to lift up thy Name. Oh that I could leave this point upon your hearts, that every one of you might go home and make but this one U&s;e of it; I have heard <HI>That the Name of God is excellent alone, and his glory is above all:</HI> This likewi&s;e I have heard to bee my duty, that this was the great work that I was born for, that I &s;hould do &s;ome thing to make Gods Name great before all tho&s;e with whom I do conver&s;e; think every one of this, how long ha&s;t thou lived? Many of you will bee ready to &s;ay, I have lived thus long in &s;uch a place, and it may bee that you can &s;ay that you have done no man wrong, but good; But what can&s;t thou &s;ay to this Que&s;tion? I appeal to thy con&s;cience, Hath the Name of God been made great by thee? Ha&s;t thou done any thing to lift up this glorious Name of God in the place wherein
<PB N="47" REF="32"> God hath &s;et thee? It may bee thou ha&s;t not thought that this was thy work; but this is the work that God expects from thee, that thou &s;houlde&s;t give up thy &s;elf to &s;tudy by all the means that po&s;&s;ibly thou can&s;t, to lift up Gods Name, and deny thy own Name; no matter though that bee ca&s;t into the dirt, &s;o bee it the Name of God bee lifted up; with this re&s;olution, Oh that you would but go away, and that this one note might &s;tick in your hearts, I am convinced that the Name of God is infinitely glorious, and therefore for the time to come, through his Grace, what|&s;oever becomes of mee, yet I will do what I can to lift up his Name.</P>
<Q>Con&s;ider what hath been &s;aid in the Text, and the Lord give you under&s;tanding.</Q>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="treatise">
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="48" REF="33">
<HEAD>The Fir&s;t SERMON ON <HI>The Excellency of Chri&s;t.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_THere is nothing of greater concernment, than to know God, and his Son whom hee hath &s;ent into the world, <HI>Even this is eternal life,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 17.3.</NOTE> Wee have therefore endeavoured to open &s;omewhat to you concerning God, that you may have right apprehen&s;ions of him, of that God with whom you have to deal, out of that Scripture in <HI>P&s;al. 148.13. His Name alone is excellent, his glory is above the earth and heaven,</HI> and concluded what for the pre&s;ent I intended to pre&s;ent before you about God, with the meditation of the excellency of the &s;tate of tho&s;e who have this God to bee their God, who is thus excellent and glorious; The Church makes her boa&s;t of her intere&s;t in God, in <HI>P&s;al. 84.14. For this God is our God:</HI> Oh happy are they that having heard what a glorious God God is, are able to &s;ay, <HI>This God is our God, this is my God in whom my &s;oul hath intere&s;t!</HI> And if the Name of God bee &s;o excellent and glorious, as you have heard, there is infinite cau&s;e that we &s;hould fear him, and &s;anctifie his Name in our con|ver&s;ations, <HI>Job 13.11.</HI> Shall not his Excellency make you afraid? Oh where is that &s;oul that &s;hall dare to walk before this God with boldne&s;s and pre&s;umptuou&s;ne&s;s, con&s;idering
<PB N="49" REF="33"> what a God hee is that it hath to deal with? Shall not that ex|cellency of his that hath been opened unto you, make you afraid, and cau&s;e you to fear &s;uch a God? Now then having &s;poken &s;omewhat about the Excellency of God, and what apprehen&s;i|ons wee are to have of God in all our wayes, wee are now to &s;peak &s;omewhat concerning the <HI>Excellency of Chri&s;t,</HI> and to &s;hew you what apprehen&s;ions you are to have of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>For this is eternal life, to know thee, and thy Son;</HI> to know God, and not to know him in Chri&s;t, is to very little purpo&s;e. It is no &s;aving knowledge of God, if wee were able to di&s;|cour&s;e never &s;o much of him, except wee know him in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in his Son. And therefore for the knowledge of Chri&s;t, which I &s;hall endeavour to pre&s;ent as briefly as I did the knowledge of God, You may bee plea&s;ed to turn to that Scripture in <HI>I&s;aiah 9.</HI> part of <HI>ver&s;. 6. onely in the&s;e words,</HI></P>
<P><HI>And his Name &s;hall bee called Wonderful.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Text.</NOTE></HI></P>
<P>IF you read this ver&s;e, and that that follows, you might think that you were rather reading an Evangeli&s;t, than a Prophet, one rather relating a Hi&s;tory of what was done, than a Prophecie of what was to bee done. <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> here pro|phe&s;ies clearly of Chri&s;t, as if hee had been come at that time, and yet it was between &s;even and eight hundred years before the coming of Chri&s;t that this Prophecie was, <HI>Unto us a childe is born, unto us a Son is given, and the Government &s;hall bee upon his &s;houlder; And his Name &s;hall bee called Won|derful.</HI> But it is the u&s;ual way of Scripture to &s;et before us things to bee done, as if they were already done, to note the certainty of what God reveals to bee done, and faith will make things that are not, to bee, as if they were really pre|&s;ent. And indeed, faith never hath a proper work &s;o much as in this, in making things that are not pre&s;ent, to bee as if they were pre&s;ent, to make them real. It was a time of great di&s;tre&s;s and trouble to the Church God, when this Prophecie was, as will appear from the &s;eventh Chapter
<PB N="50" REF="34"> even unto this Prophe&s;ie. And frequently wee finde in Scripture in times of the greate&s;t di&s;tre&s;s of the Church, there were the cleare&s;t Prophe&s;ies of Chri&s;t, of the Me&s;&s;ias to come.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 49.10. Dan. 9.</NOTE> <HI>Jacob</HI> Prophe&s;ies of <HI>Shiloh</HI> when hee was in <HI>Egypt;</HI> and <HI>Daniel</HI> of the Me&s;&s;ias when hee was in Captivity, in <HI>Babylon;</HI> and <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> here, <HI>To us a Childe is born, unto us a Son is given, who&s;e Name is Wonderful Coun&s;ellor, the mighty God,</HI> when the people were in great di&s;tre&s;s. And there are four rea&s;ons why the Lord would have the Prophe&s;ie of the Me&s;&s;ias, at tho&s;e times e&s;pecially, when the Church was in a &s;ad, in a &s;uffering condition.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Becau&s;e that the onely comfort of all the Saints of God then, was their expectation of the Me&s;&s;ias to come, God would therefore propound Chri&s;t unto them as that that might lighten all their darkne&s;s, that might &s;weeten all their &s;orrows, and troubles; and indeed there was enough in this, in their expectation of the Saviour that was to come, this was that that made their hearts rejoyce in the midde&s;t of all their &s;orrows; <HI>Abraham &s;aw his day and re|joyced,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 8.56.</NOTE> <HI>and was glad.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, Therefore had they the clear manife&s;tation of Chri&s;t in the time of their outward troubles, to confirm their faith in this, that how-ever their enemies prevailed much again&s;t them, yet it was impo&s;&s;ible that they &s;hould root out the Nation of the <HI>Jews,</HI> for the great Saviour of the world was to come out of them, therefore they were under Gods protection, and though they might &s;uffer &s;ome|what, yet they could not cea&s;e from being a Nation, be|cau&s;e that the Me&s;&s;ias was to come out from them, and this was a great incouragement unto them to expect mercy from God, becau&s;e they were a people that the Lord would bring the great Saviour of the world out of.</P>
<P>And then thirdly, That by the propounding of &s;o great a mercy as Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hould bee to the world, they might hereby have a help to their faith, that &s;urely God would not deny them le&s;&s;er mercies: what great matter was it for them to expect from God deliverance from &s;ome out|ward
<PB N="51" REF="34"> affliction, when as God makes known unto them, that love, and that infinite compa&s;&s;ion, tho&s;e tender bowels of his, even to &s;end his own Son into the world for them?</P>
<P>And then fourthly, It was to teach them this, that the way of deliverance from any outward affliction, it was to exerci&s;e their faith upon Chri&s;t the Me&s;&s;ia that was to come, the Lord would teach his Church when it was in afflictions, not &s;o much to bee looking at the pre&s;ent affliction that was upon them, and &s;o to &s;eek for outward help and means of deliverance, but would have them exerci&s;e their faith upon the Me&s;&s;ia that was to come, though many hundred years after; and this exerci&s;e of faith was &s;o plea&s;ing to God, as it was the onely means, or the chief means of deliverance from all outward afflictions: Nay, &s;aith God, if &s;o be that they will relye upon mee, and exerci&s;e their faith upon that great promi&s;e of mine, to &s;end my Son into the world, as for their deliverance out of the&s;e outward troubles and affli|ctions, it &s;hall bee but a little matter for mee to do that for them; ordinarily when wee are exerci&s;ed with outward afflictions, wee onely think of &s;ome natural helps and comforts, contrary to tho&s;e particular afflictions that are up|on us, whereas the way indeed for us to &s;anctifie Gods Name, to do that that is acceptable to God when any out|ward affliction befalls us, it is pre&s;ently to exerci&s;e our faith upon the great promi&s;e of God in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, upon the great Covenant of Grace, that God hath made with us in him, upon that great mercy of God in &s;ending his Son into the world; my condition is very &s;ad, and I am grievou&s;ly afflicted, I but &s;urely that mercy that would &s;end Je&s;us Chri&s;t into the world, that mercy is enough to de|liver mee out of any affliction, or at lea&s;t to ble&s;s it to mee; therefore do not onely cry to God when you are &s;ick, or in trouble to deliver you from it, but labour to exerci&s;e faith upon the Covenant of Grace in Chri&s;t, upon that glorious mercy of God in his Son, that is the way that God would have us to &s;anctifie his Name in. And that is the rea&s;on
<PB N="52" REF="35"> why in times of great affliction, there were &s;uch clear Pro|phe&s;ies of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as here in my Text, <HI>For unto us a childe is born, unto us a Son is given, and his Name &s;hall bee called Wonderful, Coun&s;eller, &amp;c.</HI> Now in this latter part of this ver&s;e, wee have Chri&s;t &s;et out unto us in five notable and famous Titles of his.</P>
<P>His Name is,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Wonderful,</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Coun&s;eller,</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>The Mighty God,</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>The Everla&s;ting Father,</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>The Prince of Peace.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>I intend onely to &s;peak of the fir&s;t, <HI>His Name &s;hall bee called Wonderful,</HI> becau&s;e I would have &s;ome kinde of proportion between what I have pre&s;ented to you about God, and what I &s;hall about Chri&s;t: And as for other things more largely about God or Chri&s;t, it may bee after|wards, but onely now I &s;hall de&s;ire to pre&s;ent Chri&s;t unto you in this one Title of his, <HI>His Name &s;hall bee called Won|derful.</HI> From whence the Point is this,</P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="Doct"> <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t is the great Wonder of the world.</HI></P>
<P>That is our point of Doctrine: God him&s;elf, above &s;even hundred years before hee was born, gives him this Name <HI>Wonderful;</HI> in the 19. of this Prophecie, ver&s;. 20. wee read of a Saviour,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 19.20.</NOTE> <HI>a Great one</HI> (&s;aith the Text) &s;urely Je&s;us Chri&s;t hee is a Saviour, and a Great one, hee is the Wonder of the world. <HI>Judg.</HI> 13.17, 18. The &s;tory of the Angels appearing unto <HI>Manoah, Manoah</HI> would fain know his name, And <HI>Manoah</HI> &s;aid unto the Angel of the Lord, <HI>What is thy Name?</HI> ver&s;. 18. the Angel of the Lord &s;aid unto him, <HI>Why aske&s;t thou after my name, &s;eeing it is &s;ecret?</HI> Now the word that is tran&s;lated in your books <HI>Secret,</HI> it is a word that &s;ignifies <HI>Wonderful;</HI> And <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> in his Que&s;ti|ons upon this Book of <HI>Judges,</HI> hee is con&s;ident that this Angel was Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and that his a&s;cending up in the &s;a|crifice that <HI>Manoah</HI> offered, it was to fore-&s;ignifie Je&s;us Chri&s;t to bee the onely Sacrifice that &s;hould a&s;cend up to
<PB N="53" REF="35"> the Father, for a &s;weet &s;avour in the no&s;trils of the Father; it was Je&s;us Chri&s;t that did appear here to <HI>Manoah,</HI> and his Name is <HI>Wonderful. Luther</HI> hath &s;uch a &s;peech (I re|member) of Chri&s;t, &s;aith hee, the mo&s;t famous and won|derful and glorious Miracle of all Miracles is, Je&s;us Chri&s;t, hee is the Wonder of the world; God is very wonderful in all his works; in the works of Creation, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 8.1. <HI>Oh Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name?</HI> and in the end of the P&s;alm. <HI>Oh Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy Name in all the earth?</HI> yea in that one work of his in making of our bodies, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 139.14. <HI>I am fearfully and wonderfully made,</HI> (&s;aith the P&s;almi&s;t) God hath made our very bodies fear|fully and wonderfully, it is a wonderful work of God the framing of our bodies in the womb. It was a means of the conver&s;ion of <HI>Gallen</HI> from Athei&s;m, hee &s;aw the Anatomy of a mans body, and beholding the wonderful work of a mans body, it did force him to acknowledge the God of Nature, that there was a being above Nature: Now though God bee wonderful in all his works, yet all his wonderful works in the Heavens, and in the Earth, and in the Seas, they mu&s;t all &s;tand by, and give way to this great Wonder; as the Stars, though they be glorious creatures in them&s;elves, yet when the Sun ari&s;es, all their light is eclip|&s;ed, you &s;ee nothing of them; &s;o though God hath many wonders in the world, and hath done many wonderful works, yet when the Son of Righteou&s;ne&s;s do<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h ari&s;e, when Je&s;us Chri&s;t comes to appear, all the other works of God are darkned with the glory of this great Wonder; other things are wonderful unto us becau&s;e of our igno|rance, becau&s;e wee are not able to under&s;tand the rea&s;on of things; things are wonderful to children, that are little regarded by wi&s;e men, and under&s;tanding men; Ignorance makes men to wonder at many things that have nothing in them; but Chri&s;t hee is a Wonde<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, &s;o as God him&s;elf, the Father accounted him a Wonder, God him&s;elf gives unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t this Name <HI>Wonderful;</HI> and no marvel, though hee bee a wonder to the Angels them&s;elves in Heaven,
<PB N="54" REF="36"> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.12. The Angels are &s;aid to <HI>de&s;ire to look into the things of the Go&s;pel.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>To pry into them.</HI> They &s;toop down to pry into tho&s;e things of the Go&s;pel. Great is the my&s;tery of godline&s;s in Chri&s;t Je&s;us: Oh there are many glorious my&s;teries of godline&s;s in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>And &s;uch things as eye hath not &s;een, ear hath not heard, neither can enter into the heart of man to conceive,</HI> as the Scripture &s;aith in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.9. yea, they are revealed onely by the Spirit of God that &s;earches all things, <HI>yea the deep things of God;</HI> the Spirit that &s;earches the deep things of God, mu&s;t reveal the things of the Go&s;pel unto that &s;oul that ever comes to the knowledge of them. It was a work of the Spirit of God to in&s;truct <HI>Bezaleel</HI> and <HI>Aholiab</HI> in tho&s;e Arts of Work|man&s;hip, to work in Bra&s;s, and the like, it is a work of Gods Spirit to &s;hew a man the rea&s;on of the things of na|ture; but now when Gods Spirit comes to reveal Chri&s;t to the &s;oul, for it is the Spirit of God that &s;earches the deep things of God; this puts an empha&s;is upon it, &s;hewing that the things of the Go&s;pel are deep things, they are things that onely are revealed by Gods Spirit, and not by an ordi|nary work of Gods Spirit, but by an extraordinary work of the Spirit of God, that Spirit that &s;earches the deep things of God mu&s;t declare the&s;e things to any &s;oul that comes to the under&s;tanding of them.</P>
<P><HI>His Name is Wonderful.</HI> Now &s;urely hee that God &s;pake &s;o much of before hee came into the world, hee that &s;o many wi&s;e men and Prophets did &s;o long to &s;ee, hee that was the expectation and joy of the whole Church of God from the beginning of the world, before hee came; hee that was &s;o typified out by all the Sacrifices and Types of the Old Te&s;tament, by the Temple, that was the wonder of the world at that time; Hee that when hee came into the world, had his birth &s;olemnized by the Angels, a heavenly Quire &s;inging Doxologies; Hee that had upon his fir&s;t com|ing the wi&s;e men from the Ea&s;t coming to wor&s;hip him, &s;urely hee mu&s;t bee &s;ome wonderful one, &s;ome great one; and therefore as wee read of the people in <HI>Luke</HI> 1.66.
<PB N="55" REF="36"> when they &s;aw and heard of &s;uch &s;trange things at <HI>John Bapti&s;ts</HI> birth, the Text &s;aith, <HI>All they that heard them laid them up in their hearts,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>What manner of Childe &s;hall this bee?</HI> So when wee hear of the&s;e things that were done by way of preparation to the coming of Chri&s;t, for &s;ome two thou&s;and years together, and &s;uch great things that were done upon his coming, &s;urely it mu&s;t needs bee &s;ome wonderful one. What manner of Childe is this that is given to us? wherefore then as wee read of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in <HI>Exod.</HI> 9.9. when hee &s;aw that wonderful &s;ight in the wil|derne&s;s, the bu&s;h burning and not con&s;umed, &s;aith <HI>Mo&s;es, I will go and &s;ee what yonder great &s;ight is;</HI> So wee may well &s;ay, when Chri&s;t is propounded thus Wonderful, and God him&s;elf gives him this Name, let us take off our thoughts from all other things, and turn a&s;ide to &s;ee this great &s;ight, to &s;ee what this Wonder is. Therefore for the opening of this Wonder that is in Chri&s;t, to &s;hew you how Chri&s;t is Wonderful, and how well hee may challenge this Name, and how proper this Title is to him, to bee cal|led <HI>Wonderful,</HI> I &s;hall open it in the&s;e &s;everal particulars.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Natures.</P>
<P>Secondly, Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Per&s;on.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Hee is wonderful in the manner of his Incar|nation.</P>
<P>Fourthly, Hee is wonderful in the wonderful work that hee came for into the world, the wonderful things that hee came to do.</P>
<P>Fifthly, Hee is wonderful in his Anointment, in his Offices.</P>
<P>Sixthly, Hee is wonderful in his admirable Indow|ments.</P>
<P>Seventhly, Hee is wonderful in his glorious Miracles that hee wrought.</P>
<P>Eighthly, Hee is wonderful in that great glory of God the Father that appears in him.</P>
<P>Ninthly, He is wonderful in the work of his Humiliation.</P>
<P>Tenthly, Hee is wonderful in his Conque&s;t.</P>
<PB N="56" REF="37">
<P>Eleventhly, Wonderful in his Exaltation, and the de|grees of it.</P>
<P>Twelfthly, Wonderful in his Saints.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, hee is wonderful, and &s;hall bee wonderful in the highe&s;t heavens, in the Church Triumphant: and in all the&s;e regards, wee &s;hall &s;ee what a wonderful Saviour wee have, and what kinde of thoughts wee are to have of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. As certainly for the want of the right under&s;tand|ing of God, and the low thoughts and apprehen&s;ions wee have of him, the Name of God is little &s;anctified among us; &s;o for the want of the right under&s;tanding of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, Oh how little is the Name of God &s;anctified in the my&s;teries of the Go&s;pel? wee have the word (God) wee can &s;ay that God made us; and &s;o the word Chri&s;t, and wee hope to bee &s;aved by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, But oh, how far are wee either from apprehending God, &s;uch an infinite and glori|ous God as hee hath already, though very darkly, been &s;et out unto you? and &s;o before wee have done, though it bee but in a Sermon or two, you will finde that your thoughts of Je&s;us Chri&s;t have been too low and too mean: Oh that wee could by any means heighten your thoughts upon God and Chri&s;t, that you may know the Lord, and his Son whom hee hath &s;ent into the world.</P>
<P><HI><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Natures.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e Heads that I have propounded, they all might bee largely in&s;i&s;ted on, but I think it be&s;t at fir&s;t, to give you a &s;hort view of things, and to pre&s;ent them together as briefly as I may. Wonderful in his Natures, for hee is God and man; our Saviour is God, and &s;o hee is &s;et forth unto us afterwards, the Mighty God, and is not this a wonderful thing, that man|kinde fallen from God, &s;hould have no le&s;s Saviour than the Mighty God him&s;elf? If all the Angels in Heaven, and men in the world, had undertaken to have been the Saviours of one &s;oul, they could never have done it, they could never have accompli&s;hed what they had undertaken; &s;uch is the &s;tate of man, as if ever hee bee &s;aved, hee mu&s;t
<PB N="57" REF="37"> have a Saviour above the Angels, above all the &s;trength that there is in all the Angels in heaven, and creatures in all the world, hee is that God that you have heard of, who&s;e <HI>Name is alone excellent, who&s;e glory is above the heavens and earth,</HI> but that wee &s;hould bee &s;aved onely by God, may &s;eem to &s;ome to bee no &s;uch great wonder, who can &s;ave us but God? I but know, that here it is not God putting forth an Attribute to &s;ave us, but it is God undertaking this relation of a Sa|viour, and God putting him&s;elf in another condition (as it were) and taking upon him our nature, therefore that is that indeed that makes the wonder, God-Man, <HI>Theanthropos,</HI> 1 Tim. 3.16. <HI>Great is the my&s;tery of godline&s;s, God was ma|nife&s;ted in the fle&s;h,</HI> This is a wonderful my&s;tery; that there &s;hould be &s;uch a word, <HI>Theanthropos,</HI> God-Man, is the greate&s;t wonder that ever there was in the world, that there &s;hould bee &s;uch a thing as &s;hould bee called God-Man, and is re|ally and verily God and man together in one; I &s;ay, this is the greate&s;t wonder that ever was in the world, that the Divine and humane Nature &s;hould bee joyned together, that wee &s;hould have a Saviour that is as verily man as God, and as verily God as man, that tho&s;e two Natures, the Nature of God, and the nature of man &s;hould come toge|ther in one, that were &s;o di&s;tant before one from another, this is a wonder beyond all &s;en&s;e and rea&s;on, and wee had need have a Pro&s;pective-gla&s;s of God to bee able to &s;ee indeed any thing into it; wee can ea&s;ily beleeve (wee think) that Chri&s;t was God and man, every childe can do &s;o; when you ask your children what Chri&s;t was, you teach them that hee was both God and man, I, but I ap|peal to you, when were your hearts taken with this as the geate&s;t wonder in the world, that there &s;hould bee ever &s;uch a thing as God and man in one, and that to be the Savior of mankinde? That man, that is mi&s;erable, &s;hould look up to God to &s;ave him, look up to the mercy of God, this were not &s;o wonderful, but that mi&s;erable man mu&s;t bee &s;aved by one that is God-Man, Man and God, this is that that except the Spirit of God that &s;earches the deep things of God (as
<PB N="58" REF="38"> you had it before) reveal it unto a man, it were impo&s;&s;ible for man ever to have &s;uch a thought as this is; and indeed, the &s;etting out of this &s;o great a my&s;tery, is one great argu|ment, that the Scriptures are Divine: for it is too high a thing to have entred into the thought of a creature; I &s;ay, too high a thing that ever a creature &s;hould have &s;uch a thought, that the &s;aving of man mu&s;t bee by Gods being man, it cannot bee imagined how &s;uch a thought could have come into a creature, to bee verily man (I &s;ay) this argues the Scripture to bee from God, it is too great a my&s;tery for any creature ever to have imagined or thought of; it is that that is the &s;tumbling-block to the <HI>Jews,</HI> and fooli&s;hne&s;s to the <HI>Gentiles; but the power and glory of God to tho&s;e that &s;hall bee &s;aved.</HI> If God &s;hould have put this unto us, and &s;aid, Well, I am inclined to do good to you, and willing to &s;ave you, but know, your e&s;tate is &s;uch as you can never bee &s;a|ved, except there bee &s;uch a Saviour, &s;uch a Mediator for you, as mu&s;t bee God and man both; why certainly both An|gels and Men would have &s;tood amazed at this, and have concluded, that the e&s;tate of Man-kinde is de&s;perate then, if &s;o bee that the e&s;tate of man that is fallen from God, and hath &s;inned again&s;t him, bee &s;uch as there is no way to de|liver one &s;oul from eternal condemnation, and eternal wrath, but by &s;uch a Saviour as mu&s;t bee both God and man: I &s;ay, All Angels and Men, would have even con|cluded, then man mu&s;t peri&s;h for ever: but it is God, the Wonder-wo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">king God that hath wrought thus for Man|kinde, which hath &s;ent us &s;uch a Saviour as is both God and Man; Surely then his Name may bee called <HI>Wonderful.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Per&s;on.</HI></P>
<P>But Secondly, Here is a greater wonder than that, God is God and man. God and man (you will &s;ay) that may bee, hee hath come in the &s;imilitude of fle&s;h, and hath taken the &s;hape of man, &s;ome kinde of union there may bee between the Divine and humane Nature; but con&s;ider this &s;econd Wonder, hee is not onely God, but a &s;econd Per&s;on in Trinity: Con&s;ider the&s;e two things in the Per&s;on of Chri&s;t,
<PB N="59" REF="38"> Fir&s;t, He is to be looked at, not meerly as God, but as God the &s;econd Per&s;on of the Trinity, and this is a great wonder in Chri&s;tian Religion, for it was little known before. Wee read but little in the Old Te&s;tament about the Trinity, onely in Chri&s;t the Trinity comes to bee known; when wee are in &s;treights wee will cry to God that made the heavens and earth to bee a Saviour; but for us to know that wee mu&s;t bee &s;aved by God in the Second Per&s;on, that is the character and ingraven form of his Image, the Son of God, and yet &s;o the Son of God as hee is Co-eternal with his Father, e|qual with his Father, as the Scripture &s;peaks, and &s;o God the Second Per&s;on in Trinity, as yet hee is of the &s;ame Na|ture that his Father is of, the &s;ame God, and yet the Son of God, the con&s;ideration of the my&s;tery of the Trinity, that appears in Chri&s;t, is a great wonder above rea&s;on, that wee may adore it, but &s;earch into it wee are not able.</P>
<P>And then the &s;econd thing to bee con&s;idered in his Per|&s;on is this, That hee is not only God and man, but God and man hypo&s;tatically united, the union of the Natures, that the&s;e Natures &s;hould bee united both in one Per&s;on, this is the great wonder in Chri&s;tian Religion.</P>
<P>There are two principal Wonders in Chri&s;tian Religion; I be&s;eech you con&s;ider aright of them.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t is divers Per&s;ons in one Nature.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Wonders in Chri&s;tian Re|ligion.</NOTE></P>
<P>The &s;econd is divers Natures in one Per&s;on.</P>
<P>The&s;e are the two Wonders in Chri&s;tian Religion.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, divers Per&s;ons in one Nature, and that is the won|der of the Trinity, for there you have but one Nature, the Divine Nature, but three Per&s;ons, Father, Son, and Holy Gho&s;t, and that is a Wonder that the Heathens knew no|thing of, and was little known till Chri&s;t came.</P>
<P>And the &s;econd Wonder in Chri&s;tian Religion is, divers Natures in one Per&s;on, that is in Chri&s;t; Chri&s;t is God-man, but one Per&s;on united hypo&s;tatically; now to &s;earch into this, that the &s;ame Per&s;on that is God, is man, and how the humane nature &s;ub&s;i&s;ts in the Deity, and hath no &s;ub&s;i&s;tence at all in its &s;elf, but in the Deity, how this is, onely the
<PB N="60" REF="39"> Scripture reveals it to bee &s;o, but how it is (I &s;ay) is too deep a &s;ea for any creature to wade into, wee mu&s;t &s;tand and admire it, and adore God in it, that hath revealed this as the object of our faith, but to bee able to &s;earch how &s;uch a thing can bee, that that union can bee in one per&s;on, this is that that is a wonder above all admiration: Indeed it is one of the mo&s;t wonderful works that ever God did in the world, to unite two &s;uch creatures that &s;eemed to bee of &s;uch di&s;tant Natures, as the body of man, and the Soul of man in one Per&s;on; to unite a peece of earth, and a peece of fle&s;h, to &s;uch a glorious thing as a rational immortal &s;oul is, the union of the&s;e two together in one per&s;on is the greate&s;t work, for the works of Nature, that ever God did in the world; <HI>David</HI> &s;aw his body wonderfully and fearfully made; but certainly the union of the body and &s;oul, the &s;oul being of the &s;ame nature with the Angels, that it &s;hould bee united with the body to make but one Per&s;on, this is a great wonder in the works of Nature: But to unite the &s;econd Per&s;on in Trinity to the nature of man, not to the nature of Angels,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Heb.</HI> 2.16.</NOTE> for &s;o the Scripture &s;aith, <HI>Chri&s;t did not take upon him the nature of Angels, but the &s;eed of Abraham;</HI> for if Chri&s;t would have been united to another nature, one would have thought it &s;hould have been to an Angelical na|ture, but to refu&s;e that, and take mans nature, and unite it in one Per&s;on, that &s;o it &s;hould bee &s;aid that that Per&s;on that is God, the &s;ame Per&s;on is man, Here is the great Wonder in Chri&s;tian Religion, the Per&s;onal union of the Na|tures of Chri&s;t; and indeed from hence many wonderful things will ari&s;e.</P>
<P>As from hence, that &s;ame Per&s;on that was the Creator of all the world was a creature; the &s;ame Per&s;on, I do not &s;ay the &s;ame Nature, this is the wonder in Scripture. And hee, the &s;ame Per&s;on that is the Lord of Man-kinde, yet is the Son of Man, the Son of Man, and yet the Lord of Mankind.</P>
<P>The &s;ame Per&s;on that is Eternal, Immortal, yet hee dyed, &s;o the Scripture &s;aith, <HI>They crucified the Lord of glory:</HI> What, can God that is the Lord of glory, that made heaven and
<PB N="61" REF="39"> earth, the Eternal God, <HI>who&s;e Name alone is excellent,</HI> can hee bee crucified? yet that Per&s;on that was the Lord of glory, who&s;e Name alone is glorious, that Per&s;on was cru|cified, but &s;uffered in his humane nature; what&s;oever Chri&s;t did &s;uffer in his humane nature, it may bee &s;aid that that Per&s;on that was God did &s;uffer, though not the Divine Nature, the Divine Nature could not &s;uffer, but the &s;ame Per&s;on that was God as well as man hee did &s;uffer; it is the Scripture phra&s;e clearly, and I might give you many Texts of Scripture to &s;hew you that that per&s;on that was God, &s;uffered, but that is enough, <HI>They crucified the Lord of glory,</HI> 1 Cor. 2.8. But you will &s;ay, to what great purpo&s;e is it for us to under&s;tand this, that Chri&s;t was God and man in one Per&s;on, is it not enough to under&s;tand that hee was God and man? what need wee look &s;o much at the union of the two Natures? My brethren, Know that there is a great deal in this, in knowing the union of the two Natures. It is of marvellous u&s;e unto you for the helping of your faith, to know not onely that Chri&s;t had tho&s;e two Natures, but the union of tho&s;e two Natures.</P>
<P>You will &s;ay, <HI>How may it help our faith?</HI></P>
<P>Thus, becau&s;e hereby you may &s;ee that what&s;oever Chri&s;t did, or &s;uffered, though but in his humane nature, yet it was of infinite value and efficacy, and the infinite value and efficacy of what Chri&s;t did and &s;uffered, doth ari&s;e from the union of the two Natures, becau&s;e it was that Per&s;on that was God, did &s;uch things, and &s;uffered &s;uch things. I remember I my &s;elf once knew a very godly man in the time of his &s;ickne&s;s was in a great Agony, under a very great temptation, and at Mid-night &s;ent a mile or two for a Mini&s;ter, and hee comes to him, and this was his temptation: Fearing hee &s;hould dye,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A temptation of the Devil to a godly man</NOTE> and the Devil came with this temptation, Why, thy &s;in doth de&s;erve an infinite puni&s;hment, thou ha&s;t &s;inned again&s;t an infinite God, and thou do&s;t de&s;erve eternal death; but Chri&s;t in whom you have tru&s;ted, hee being man, and &s;uffering onely in his humane nature, hee could &s;uffer onely that that was finite,
<PB N="62" REF="40"> and his death was but a few dayes, a day or two, how can he by &s;uffering that that was but finite, by induring a little while pain upon the Cro&s;s, and by being under death but a day or two, how can hee deliver you from an infinite &s;uffering, and from eternal death? This was the temptation that lay upon him, and hee was in a mo&s;t lamentable agony of &s;pirit upon this temptation; but now in his calling to minde this, that though Chri&s;t in his humane Nature was but finite, and that that hee &s;uffered could bee but finite, yet be|cau&s;e his humane nature was united in one Per&s;on unto the Divine Nature, hence what the humane nature did &s;uffer, though finite, came to bee of infinite value and worth, and though his death that hee was under, was but for a day or two, yet it was of merit &s;ufficient to ran&s;ome from eternal death, becau&s;e the Per&s;on that was God as well as man, was under the power of death; and by recalling what hee had heard heretofore about Chri&s;t being God and man in one Per&s;on, hee came to bee ea&s;ed, and the Tempta|tion began to vani&s;h; and the truth is, there is no way that I know of, to &s;atisfie ones heart and con&s;cience in the &s;uf|ficiency of Chri&s;ts merits, but in this, that it was the merit of him that was both God and man in one Per&s;on. It is true, tho&s;e that do not &s;ee a nece&s;&s;ity of an infinite merit, they can ea&s;ily &s;atisfie them&s;elves, and &s;ay they beleeve in Chri&s;t Je&s;us that dyed for them. I but how can&s;t thou tell that this death of Je&s;us Chri&s;t is of infinite merit to &s;a|tisfie the infinite Ju&s;tice of God that requires &s;atisfaction for thy &s;in? Why God hath &s;o appointed it, and I hope in God it is &s;o; but if thou can&s;t &s;ee the ground of this, that will bee a marvellous help to thy faith, that thou can&s;t look upon thy Mediator as God and man in one Per&s;on, and therefore thou can&s;t look upon what&s;oever hee hath done or &s;uffered as of infinite value, and &s;o thou can&s;t pre&s;ent it with boldne&s;s unto God. The right under&s;tanding of Chri&s;t thus, will help us to honour Chri&s;t much, and will make him to bee a further object of our faith. Thus Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Per&s;on, in his Per&s;on as relating to God
<PB N="63" REF="40"> the Father, the &s;econd Per&s;on in Trinity; So in his Per&s;on, that is, his humane and Divine Nature united into one Per&s;on.</P>
<P><HI>Chri&s;t Wonderful in the manner of his Incarnation.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, Well may hee have this Title of Wonderful, &s;eeing hee is &s;uch a one as hee is, thus opened unto you. But thirdly, Chri&s;t his Name is wonderful, hee is wonderful in the manner of his Incarnation. Chri&s;t hee is God and man; but how came Chri&s;t to take mans nature upon him? it was a wonderful and a &s;trange kinde of way that the &s;econd Per&s;on in Trinity came to take our nature upon him, it was by being conceived by the Holy Gho&s;t, by being born of a Virgin; Chri&s;t was man, and came from man, but not by man; the way of Chri&s;ts generation it is wonderful, <HI>Oh who can declare it?</HI> Wee ordinarily can &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;a</HI> 53.8</NOTE> wee do beleeve that Chri&s;t was born of a Virgin, born of the Virgin <HI>Mary,</HI> who cannot repeat his Creed? but I ap|peal to you, when were your hearts ever taken with the wonderful work of God in the Incarnation of Chri&s;t, that way of being born of a Virgin? God faith that hee will do a great and marvellous thing;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;a</HI> 7.14.</NOTE> <HI>For a Virgin &s;hall conceive a Son,</HI> it is &s;uch a thing as never was done before &s;ince the world began, nor never &s;hall bee done again; the ordinary manner of the generation of man was here &s;topt, when Chri&s;t came to bee born, &s;aith God, I will have a new way of generation, for indeed there was a great Lord to bee born into the world, a great Prince, and hee mu&s;t bee born after another way different from the ordinary way of Mankinde, in a wonderful way, the Holy Gho&s;t being the cau&s;e of the conception, and &s;o brought forth by a Virgin: You will &s;ay, Why was this? Here indeed con|&s;i&s;ts the wonder that wee are to &s;anctifie Gods Name in, not onely to know that it was after &s;uch a way, and not as <HI>Adam</HI> was, hee was made man, but hee mu&s;t bee made man in &s;uch a marvellous way: You will &s;ay, why could
<PB N="64" REF="41"> not Chri&s;t come into the world after the ordinary manner of generation? You will an&s;wer to your &s;elves, God would have it &s;o, but there is &s;omething of Gods minde that he would have you know why hee would have it &s;o: If Chri&s;t had been made man after the ordinary manner of generation, he could not have been made free from <HI>Adams</HI> &s;in, from original corruption, for the Law did lye upon <HI>Adam,</HI> &amp; his Po&s;terity, again&s;t all that &s;hould come from him in the ordinary way of generation, therefore if Chri&s;t now &s;hould have come from him in the ordinary way, if hee had been of the &s;eed of <HI>Adam,</HI> then hee mu&s;t have been under the Covenant that <HI>Adam</HI> was, for it was to all his po&s;terity, <HI>Adam</HI> was to &s;tand as a publick per&s;on, unto his po&s;terity, and in him wee were to &s;tand or fall. (Now whether there might have been any other way or no for Chri&s;t to have been freed from it, wee will not &s;tand to di&s;pute.) But now Chri&s;t was freed from the Covenant, &s;o as hee was not now under original guilt, under original corruption, becau&s;e hee was conceived by the Holy Gho&s;t, hee was conceived, not after the ordinary way of men, whereas you are to know, that all your children coming into the world after the ordinary way of generation, coming from man, by man, the fir&s;t minute that their &s;ouls and bodies are together, that the childe is alive in the womb, it comes under the guilt of <HI>Adams</HI> tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, and comes to bee originally corrupted, pre|&s;ently full of &s;in and corruption; but it was not &s;o in Chri&s;t, and this is the wonder of Chri&s;ts Generation, that hee was conceived by the Holy Gho&s;t, and born of a Virgin, and &s;o free from all kinde of original &s;in; had there been the lea&s;t &s;in upon Chri&s;t, hee could never have been a Saviour for thee, nor any, therefore Chri&s;t mu&s;t come into the world in &s;uch a way as there mu&s;t bee no &s;in upon him at all, and this is the rea&s;on why hee was born of a Virgin, and not after the ordinary cour&s;e of Mankinde, and therefore his Name may well bee called <HI>Wonderful,</HI> from the wonderful manner of his Incarnation.</P>
<PB N="65" REF="41">
<P><HI>Chri&s;t wonderful in his Works.</HI></P>
<P>In the fourth place, Chri&s;t is wonderful in the wonderful Works that hee came about into the world; the work that Chri&s;t came into the world about, is the greate&s;t, and the mo&s;t wonderful Work that ever was undertaken &s;ince the world began, or can po&s;&s;ibly bee undertaken: Why what was the Work that Chri&s;t came into the world a|bout?</P>
<P>It was fir&s;t to &s;tand between God, the angry God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">What the work was that Chri&s;t came into the world about.</NOTE> God provoked with mans &s;in, and &s;inful man. It was to bee a Mediator between God and his creature, it was to recon|cile God and man together that had &s;inned again&s;t him, and was turned enemy to him; the Work that Chri&s;t came to do, it was to make up all the wrongs that &s;in had done, that &s;in had brought to God, Chri&s;t came to make up the va&s;t infinite breach that there was made between God and man, &s;o to procure Reconciliation for man, as to make God a|mends for all the &s;in that had been committed, here is the work that Chri&s;t undertook, hee undertook to pacifie the wrath of God his Father, in &s;uch a way, as that it &s;hould be let out upon him, and hee would bear what ever fruits of Gods wrath was due to the &s;in of man, hee came (I &s;ay) into the world for to reconcile God and man, to make up all the breach, and to make re&s;titution of all things; not onely to make up the breach that was made between God and man by mans &s;in, but to make up the re&s;titution of all things; whereas by mans &s;in all the works of God in this world had almo&s;t been fru&s;trated, and had mans &s;in gone on, God had not had the glory that hee made the world for; now Chri&s;t hee comes into the world to make up all again, that his Father might have full glory from all his Works. Yea the great Work that hee came into the world about, was, that hee might bring this to pa&s;s, that God his Father &s;hould have further glory now from his work, than ever hee &s;hould have had, if &s;o bee there had never been
<PB N="66" REF="42"> any breach made, here is the great work that Chri&s;t came into the world about, Chri&s;t beholding, that through mans &s;in, all things were even brought to a confu&s;ion, Mans &s;in had plundered all the world (as it were) plundered the Works of God, and had brought all to darkne&s;s, and mi&s;ery, and confu&s;ion, now Chri&s;t comes into the world to make all perfect again, and to rai&s;e up to God a Name of prai&s;e and glory, higher than ever hee &s;hould have had if there ne|ver had been any &s;in committed again&s;t him; now was not this a wonderful work that Chri&s;t came into the world about? wee &s;peak much of Chri&s;t, and that hee came into the world, but what came hee for? Oh learn to &s;anctifie Gods Name in this, to look upon Chri&s;t who&s;e Name is <HI>Wonder|ful,</HI> in regard not onely of what hee was in him&s;elf, but of what hee came about, the great and wonderful work that hee came into the world for, and did accompli&s;h; and cer|tainly did wee apprehend Chri&s;t thus, and look upon Chri&s;t as having &s;uch a Name as this is, <HI>Wonderful,</HI> and know that upon this ground hee is called <HI>Wonderful,</HI> it would teach us to adore him, to honour him, to magnifie him, and to have high thoughts of him, it would bee a mighty means to draw our hearts to beleeve in him, the very &s;etting of Chri&s;t as hee is in him&s;elf before the &s;oul as the full object of faith, hath a mighty power to draw faith out; as the &s;etting of a temptation before a man hath a power to draw corrupti|ons; &s;o the &s;etting of Chri&s;t in his glory and excellency, in what hee is, and what hee came into the world for (I &s;ay) it hath a mighty power to draw forth faith, not onely to draw forth faith where faith was before, but it hath a power to cau&s;e faith in the &s;oul; Chri&s;t is not onely an object for us to work upon when wee have a faculty, but &s;uch an object as being &s;et before the &s;oul, hath a quickning power to cau&s;e life; therefore we cannot &s;ay, why &s;hould Je&s;us Chri&s;t bee preached to a company of people as are dead in &s;ins, I, Chri&s;t indeed is a glorious object, But they mu&s;t have &s;omewhat to work upon Chri&s;t. Wee mu&s;t not &s;ay &s;o, for Chri&s;t is not onely an object for the &s;oul to work upon
<PB N="67" REF="42"> when it hath an eye to &s;ee, but &s;uch an object as the very &s;etting of it before the &s;oul, hath a quicking power to work life in the &s;oul, to cau&s;e an eye to &s;ee him, and to cau&s;e the heart to make after him, though it was never &s;o dead before: And it &s;hould bee the work of Mini&s;ter<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> to &s;et Je&s;us Chri&s;t before the hearts of people, before their eyes continually, and though it may bee there comes nothing of it this time, I but try it again, and though nothing comes of it the other time, but they pa&s;&s;e all lightly by, and little regard the glory of God, that ap|pears in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, yet hee is to bee &s;et before them again and again; who knows when the quickning power and life may come from Chri&s;t? Now this is the &s;cope of the &s;etting Chri&s;t thus before you; This day I have en|deavoured to &s;et him but a little before you in the opening this Title of his.</P>
<P>Let this bee the U&s;e of it, Oh when you go home, go and meditate of what hath been &s;aid, and labour when you are before God, which is the time for the exerci&s;ing of your faith upon Chri&s;t, Labour to &s;et Je&s;us Chri&s;t before your eyes, and look upon him as the great Won|der of the World, and never leave meditating until you finde your heart come to this, to admire at the Glory of God in Je&s;us Chri&s;t; If ever your hearts were taken with admiration at any thing in the World, Oh let them bee taken up with the admiration of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; this may con|fidently bee concluded upon, that that Soul that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">r found its &s;elf taken with admiring of the Glory of God in Chri&s;t, did never know what Chri&s;t meant; for Chri&s;t is &s;uch a kinde of Saviour, that if God do propound Chri&s;t to the Soul in any mea&s;ure, it is impo&s;&s;ible, but that the heart mu&s;t bee taken with him. There is a Saviour &s;ent into the World, hee that is the Object of my faith, and by him my Soul &s;hall bee &s;aved. Now the fir&s;t work of the heart, is for to think this is too good to bee true, do not therefore think that you mu&s;t bee onely &s;aved by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, but know what manner of Saviour it is, its hee who&s;e Name is <HI>Won|derful.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="68" REF="43">
<HEAD>The Second SERMON ON <HI>The Excellency of Chri&s;t.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>I&s;aiah 9.6.</HI></BIBL> And his Name &s;hall bee called Wonderful. Christ Wonderful in his Offices.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_CHri&s;t further is the Wonder of the World in his <HI>Offices.</HI></P>
<P>In his <HI>Natures.</HI></P>
<P>In his <HI>Per&s;on.</HI></P>
<P>In the manner of his <HI>Incarnation.</HI></P>
<P>In the end why hee was &s;ent hither.</P>
<P>And in his <HI>Offices,</HI> in his Anointment as hee was Chri&s;t. <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> &s;ignifies the <HI>Anointed of God,</HI> and is all one with the <HI>Me&s;sias;</HI> that that was the <HI>Me&s;sias</HI> in the Old Te&s;tament, is <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> in the New. The word &s;ignifies <HI>Anointed.</HI> And Chri&s;t is the Anointed of the Father, Anointed to tho&s;e three great Offices, King, Prie&s;t, and Prophet. Great in all the&s;e three Offices, never any man in the world had them all before, I &s;ay, never man in the world was Anointed to
<PB N="69" REF="43"> the&s;e three together, but onely Chri&s;t. Wee read in Scrip|ture of a King and Prie&s;t, &s;o <HI>Melchi&s;edeck</HI> was; wee read in Scripture of a King, and a Prophet, and &s;o <HI>David</HI> was; wee read in Scripture of a Prophet, and a Prie&s;t, &s;o <HI>Jere|miah</HI> was: but of King, Prie&s;t, and Prophet together anointed by God, wee read of none but Je&s;us Chri&s;t onely. Among the <HI>Egyptians</HI> they were wont out of their Philo&s;ophers, their wi&s;e men, to choo&s;e their Prie&s;ts, and out of their Prie&s;ts to choo&s;e their Kings; and &s;o who&s;oever was a King to them, was eminent fir&s;t in wi&s;dome, being a Philo|&s;opher, able to teach, and eminent in his Prie&s;tly office, and then eminent in his power, that hee might bee honoured by all people, as having tho&s;e threefold eminencies that was accounted the greate&s;t eminency in the world, for tho&s;e were the three great eminencies, the eminency of wi&s;dome to teach, and of Prie&s;thood, and of Kingly power: Now Je&s;us Chri&s;t hee was wonderful in all the&s;e; now that is the thing that I aim at to &s;hew in every particular of the&s;e Offices of Chri&s;t, how wonderful hee was, and then (though but briefly) I &s;hall &s;et the beauty and excellency of Chri&s;t in his three Offices before you, and that &s;hall bee all that I intend to do at this time, and &s;hall but bee very brief in them too: For I told you in the opening of the Excel|lency of God, I did not intend to &s;tand to open every par|ticular Attribute at large, but onely to &s;et the Excellency of God before you briefly, &s;o of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>The Kingly Office of Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Now for the&s;e Offices of Chri&s;t; his Kingly Office fir&s;t; Chri&s;t is King, and wonderful in this Office of his, for you cannot under&s;tand Chri&s;t your Saviour aright, except you under&s;tand him, as before in his Natures, in his Per&s;onal uni|on, and &s;o in his Offices. Fir&s;t, As King, I &s;hall not need to &s;hew Scripture for the&s;e, the Scripture is full. If you read the 45. <HI>P&s;alm</HI> at your lea&s;ure about the middle of it, <HI>Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever, the Scepter of thy King|dome
<PB N="71" REF="44"> is a right Scepter.</HI> And <HI>Rev.</HI> 17.14. <HI>Chri&s;t there is &s;aid to bee Lord of Lords, and King of Kings.</HI> Now Chri&s;t is a glorious King and wonderful in his Kingly power.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Hee is King over all, over all Kings, over all Powers, hee hath the highe&s;t Authority of all; Take that for the fir&s;t thing. In <HI>Rev.</HI> 9 hee is &s;aid to bee <HI>King of Kings and Lord of Lords.</HI> I remember <HI>Theodotius,</HI> and another Emperour, did u&s;e to call them&s;elves the Va&s;&s;als of Chri&s;t, and &s;o certainly all the Kings and Princes in the world, they are but the Va&s;&s;als of this great King. Now hee is won|derful in his Kingly power that hath all the Kings and Lords, and all Authority in the world under his feet, in|deed they all hold on him, and that will appear from the &s;econd place.</P>
<P N="2">2 As his power is the highe&s;t, &s;o it is univer&s;al, univer&s;al over all the world, the Government of all the world is committed to him, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.27. <HI>All things are put under his feet,</HI> God the Father hath given unto him the Govern|ment of all the world, hee is not onely the King of the Saints, though hee bee their King in a &s;pecial manner, but hee is the King of Nations too, Chri&s;t hee is the King of Nations, God-Man (I &s;ay) the government of all the world is given to him, all the Nations of the World are unde<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> him to govern and to judge, and to make u&s;e of for the good of his Church; Hee is not onely the governour of the World univer&s;ally, but a heavenly King, even the Angels them&s;elves are under him, <HI>Thrones, and Principalities, and Dominions,</HI> in <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.20. <HI>They are all brought into one under Chri&s;t,</HI> yea and the Devils them&s;elves are under him; It is hee that hath the Keyes of Heaven, and the Keyes of Hell, <HI>Rev.</HI> 1.18. <HI>Hee that was dead, is alive, and hath the Keyes of Hell and Death:</HI> And this Kingly Power of Chri&s;t mu&s;t needs bee wonderful.</P>
<P N="3">3 But further, in the third place, Chri&s;t is wonderful in this his Kingly Power, for hee makes his Subjects, his Subjects do not make him, <HI>Col.</HI> 1.16. <HI>By him were all things created that are in Heaven, and that are in Earth.</HI> There is
<PB N="70" REF="44"> no King that ever was in the World, but either God from heaven doth tell people that hee would have &s;uch a one to bee a King, or hee is made by the peop<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e: For what is one mans fle&s;h, more than another mans? (I &s;ay) at fir&s;t men they agree together to &s;et up &s;uch a man, or family, to have a Kingly Power, &s;o that the Kingly power of the Family, and of every one that comes of that Family, it is by the people at fir&s;t, none mu&s;t plead it to bee by conque&s;t, for then who&s;oever can conquer again, hee mu&s;t bee King, if another can conquer hee mu&s;t have right too, if that bee the onely right, if that were the onely right that a King had over his people, conque&s;t, then as hee had his right over the people by conque&s;t, &s;o if the people conquer him, then they have right. Certainly the be&s;t right of all the Kings of the earth this day, it mu&s;t bee by the fir&s;t compact with that Fa|mily, that is their right. I but our King that wee have to do withall, hee makes his Subjects, they make not him King, but this King makes all his Subjects; Indeed if Kings could give being to their Subjects, then their right were another kinde of right than now they have; but the truth is, Subjects do give being to their King; I but our King the Lord Chri&s;t hee is Wonderful, a Wonderful King in this, becau&s;e hee doth give being to all his Sub|jects.</P>
<P N="4">4 And then fourthly, The Subjects of th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s King are for him, hee is not for them; whereas it is otherwi&s;e between man and man; certainly the Subjects are not made for the King, but the King is made for his Subjects; a Kingdome is not made for a King, but a King for the Kingdome: But it is otherwi&s;e here, Chri&s;t was not made for us, but wee were made for him, all the Subjects of Chri&s;t were made for the honour of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;t I &s;ay, was not &s;et up King for them.</P>
<P N="5">5 And then fifthly, This King Je&s;us Chri&s;t, is King in another manner than any other Kings upon the ea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">th, fo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> it is hee alone that makes Laws, other Kings have not power them&s;elves to make Laws, but together with their people,
<PB N="72" REF="45"> but hee alone makes Laws. It is true, the Kings of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> they made not the people joyn with them in all their Laws, becau&s;e God him&s;elf let Laws there for the government of the Commonwealth. But Je&s;us Chri&s;t, I &s;ay, hee is the onely Law-giver unto his Church, and therefore there can bee no new Ordinances, nor no new Laws, nor no new Officers in the Church that can bee invented by man: It is true, in the Civil &s;tate, there God leaves to humane prudence, and wee may invent Laws and humane Ordinances, and new Offi|cers, &s;o as may bee good for the Church, one Kingdome one kinde of Law, and another, another; But now when wee come to &s;peak of Chri&s;ts Kingly Power, e&s;pecially as it hath reference to the Church, there, as hee is King of Saints, there are no Ordinances, nor no Laws, nor no officers that can bee newly erected, but it mu&s;t bee the &s;ame, and it mu&s;t bee the &s;ame in all Churches in the World, the &s;ame Laws mu&s;t rule all, and the &s;ame Ordinances, and the &s;ame Church-officers, there mu&s;t bee no additions of any; Why? becau&s;e that in Spiritual government, there wee wait upon God for his pre&s;ence; wee wait upon the pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t to work &s;piritually upon the &s;oul, and wee expect a &s;piritual efficacy from Je&s;us Chri&s;t upon our &s;ouls, to draw us nearer to him, and to draw him near to us, that wee do in all Church Ordinances; and therefore onely Chri&s;t can ap|point Laws for them.</P>
<P>You will &s;ay, <HI>(an there bee no Laws, no nothing added in the Church for way of decency and order, and &s;uch kinde of things?</HI></P>
<P>To that I an&s;wer briefly thus, There are &s;ome things that do belong to tho&s;e &s;piritual Ordinances, things that are in the Church that may bee helpful to them in a natural way; as now if congregations meet they mu&s;t meet in &s;ome place, they mu&s;t have civil order in their meeting, there may bee &s;ome things civil and natural &s;ub&s;ervient unto tho&s;e things that are &s;piritual; but that that is properly Eccle&s;ia&s;tical whereby I vvait upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t to have my heart dravvn nearer to him, or to have him dravv nearer to mee therein,
<PB N="73" REF="45"> there mu&s;t bee no addition of men in any Law what&s;oever, but onely the things of Chri&s;t that are meerly &s;piritual; if there bee any natural help, or civil help, as wee that are men cannot bee exe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ci&s;ed in things that are &s;piritual, with|out &s;ome natural and civil helps, there certainly the pru|dence of man may come in; but this cannot come to &s;et up any new Ordinances, or &s;et up any new Officers in the Church, or make any new Laws that &s;hall concern the &s;pi|ritual Wor&s;hip of God, to work my heart in a &s;piritual way to God, or God unto mee; here lyes the evil of mans inventions, when there &s;hall bee any inventions of man that &s;hall come in&s;tead of a &s;piritual Ordinance, that &s;hall bee &s;et by mans In&s;titution, and have more put upon it than it hath in a natural and civil way to bee helpful, why then it comes to bee &s;uper&s;tition, I &s;ay, when any thing is &s;et by man in the wor&s;hip of God, that &s;hall have more in it than that that is natural or civil to help, then it comes to bee &s;inful and wicked. When I think that by any thing of mans appointment, God &s;hall come nearer to mee, or my heart &s;hall bee drawn nearer to God, by vertue of any In&s;titution of man, here is the very proper nature of In|&s;titution; As for in&s;tance, Some thing that is natural or civil to help Gods wor&s;hip, that man may appoint, but no|thing that is &s;piritual to draw my heart nearer to God, or God nearer to mee. As thus, If the Church of God meet together for Ordinances, it mu&s;t meet in &s;ome place, this is a natural help to have a convenient meeting-place, to have a place to keep them from the air, or rain, or wind, this is natural; but if it go one &s;tep higher than natural|ne&s;s of the place, If I &s;hall make this place by the con|&s;ecration of man to bee u&s;ed as an Ordinance to draw mee nearer to God, or God nearer to mee, that is, to think that my prayers in that place are more acceptable than in ano|ther, that becau&s;e I perform &s;ervices in that place it &s;hall bee more accepted, Here I &s;ay, man rai&s;es it higher than natural, and puts a Divine In&s;titution upon it, and &s;o it comes to bee &s;inful; and &s;o now you may come to know
<PB N="74" REF="46"> what the meaning is, when wee &s;ay, that Chri&s;t only can make Lawes for his Church, and Officers for his Church. Why? becau&s;e what&s;oever is &s;piritual, it mu&s;t bee only by the Authority of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, this great King of his Church.</P>
<P N="6">6 And then Sixthly, Chri&s;t is a wonderful King in this, that his Soveraignty is ab&s;olute, which no Kings power is; though they have great power in the world, yet they have not an ab&s;olute power to doe what they li&s;t; and certainly, no Subjects are bound &s;o farre to the humours of men, that they &s;hall doe what they li&s;t, there is no ab&s;olute power that one man hath over another; bur the power that Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath is ab&s;olute, an ab&s;olute Kingly power, his Will it is the Law; no mans will in the World is &s;ufficient to be a law, but the will of this King it is &s;ufficient.</P>
<P N="7">7 And then in the Seventh place, hee hath power to bind Con&s;cience, his Laws are &s;uch as lay obligations and bonds upon the Con&s;ciences of men; no Law that would be made by all the Angels in heaven could lay bonds upon con&s;cience, but the Lavv only of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; all the Lavves that men can make, mu&s;t receive their povver and authority e&s;pecially from the end of them, and therefore if they &s;hould not conduce unto that end for vvhich God &s;ets up Magi&s;tracy over men, that is, for the good of the place, then the rule vvill hold, that if there be not &s;candal or contempt, there is no obligati|on upon a mans con&s;cience, meerly becau&s;e it is the will of man. But now the Lavves of Chri&s;t, vvhat&s;oever they are, they lay bonds upon con&s;ciences, and if I doe offend them never &s;o &s;ecretly, I &s;tand as guilty before the great God; and that is the &s;eventh thing.</P>
<P N="8">8 And then in the Eighth place, Chri&s;ts Kingly power it reaches to mens hearts, (I mu&s;t not as I goe along enter into the large opening of any thing that may be controver&s;al, but meerly pre&s;ent vvhat at large might be opened to you, about the Kingly povver of Chri&s;t) I &s;ay, Chri&s;ts Kingly povver is vvonderful in this, in that it rules over the hearts of men as vvell as their con&s;ciences; Chri&s;t by his povver is able to
<PB N="75" REF="46"> &s;ubue the vvills of men, and bring their hearts to obedience to him; all the power there is in the World cannot doe this: vvhy the Kings of the earth, if they vvere put all together, they could not &s;ubdue the heart of any one poor man in the world, the will of the poore&s;t Creature in the world cannot be &s;ub|dued by all the powers of all the Potentates and Emperours upon the face of the earth; they may beat his body, or tor|ter his body, or kill his body, but to &s;ubdue his heart, to make his &s;oul to bee &s;ubject and obedient to them, that I &s;ay, all the powers of all the Potentates in the world, nay all the Angels in heaven cannot doe it, the will of a man or woman is &s;uch, that all the Angels in heaven cannot bring it down, only God him&s;elf; you many times &s;ay, you will break the will of &s;uch a one, that is, you will make them not to doe &s;uch a thing, but you are never able to break their wills; Kings may prevail over their &s;ubjects, to make them to doe what they would have them doe, and their E&s;tates and Liberties may come to be at their di&s;po&s;e; but all this while it may be he hath never a one of their hearts, and that is but a very mean kind of Kingly power, only to rule over men by fear, and they not to love him. But now Chri&s;t in his Church, he hath never a &s;ubject that is truly under his Kingly power, but he rules his very will, and hath never a &s;ubject but loves him; where Chri&s;t doth rule Spiritually in the hearts of his people, though they were never &s;o &s;tubborn and rebellious before, yet when Chri&s;t comes and brings them under his power, hee brings their wills and their hearts to him, and that is the glory of the Kingly power of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="9">9 And then in the Ninth place, Chri&s;t is a wonderful King in this, that he hath the perfect knowledge of all his Subjects, and of their wants; alas, Kings and Prin|ces in great States, they know but very few Subject that they have; but now Je&s;us Chri&s;t takes notice of every &s;ub|ject that is in his Kingdom, and knowes all their thoughts, and all their vvayes, and all their vvants, all their conditi|ons, he knovves them all perfectly. Oh this is the glory of
<PB N="76" REF="47"> this King, and vvonderful is hee in his Kingly povver in this.</P>
<P N="10">10 Hee is pre&s;ent vvith them all in all the Admini&s;tration of Ju&s;tice; the King hee cannot admini&s;ter Ju&s;tice, but hee mu&s;t u&s;e In&s;truments to doe it, and hee cannot bee pre&s;ent alvvayes; but Je&s;us Chri&s;t hee is alvvayes pre&s;ent in the Ad|mini&s;tration of vvhat ever is admini&s;tred to any of his Sub|jects, he &s;tands by and looks upon them all.</P>
<P N="11">11 Chri&s;t is &s;uch a King as he hath no need of any In&s;tru|ments at all; hee may make u&s;e of them &s;ometimes, but he hath no need of any. Kings can doe but very little vvith|out &s;ome In&s;truments, vvhat can a King doe for the ruling of a Kingdom, but vvith &s;uch and &s;uch In&s;truments? But Je&s;us Chri&s;t is vvonderful in his Kingly povver, in that hee hath no need of any In&s;truments for the admini&s;tration of any Ju&s;tice, but he can doe it all immediately him&s;elf, if he plea&s;es.</P>
<P N="12">12 Chri&s;t is glorious in his Kingly power, in this, that he doth over-rule all the plots and coun&s;els of all the enemies of his Subjects, for the furtherance of the glory of his King|dome, and the good of his Subjects; now my brethren, look upon the&s;e things as real, and certainly by faith they are made real to the hearts of the Saints, and they doe rejoyce in this; if we had &s;uch kind of Governours, that had power over all the plots and de&s;igns of the enemies, what a happy condition would we think our &s;elves to be in? Now this is in our King the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, he hath power over all the plots and endeavours of all adver&s;aries, to work them all for the good of his Church.</P>
<P N="13">13 Further, the Lord Chri&s;t is wonderful for his Kingly power in regard of his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, <HI>Thy &s;cepter is a righ|teous &s;cepter,</HI> he is King of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and &s;o King of peace, as <HI>Melchi&s;edeck</HI> was. It is a happy thing when peo|ple live under righteous Governours, that they &s;hall be &s;ure never to have any oppre&s;&s;ion, any wrong at all done by them, but they &s;hall enjoy all in a righteous and ju&s;t way; Je&s;us Chri&s;t is &s;uch a King, thou &s;halt have nothing but
<PB N="77" REF="47"> righteous dealings from him. I, but there is &s;omething more in this, he is not only righteous, becau&s;e he makes righteous Lawes, and hath righteous Admini&s;trations, but this is a King that brings everla&s;ting righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e to his people, ye<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> he him&s;elf is the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of his people; it is hee that doth cloath his people with righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. Indeed it is &s;aid of <HI>Saul,</HI> that hee cloathed the people with Scarlet; By a good Governour people may come to be cloathed with fine raiment, and enjoy glorious pro&s;perity, and the like: But this is that King that cloathes his people with everla&s;ting righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e; to make them all to &s;tand righteous before his Father, here is the glory of this King. And then hee brings peace, he brings peace by righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, hee doth not bring peace to them by the &s;word, but by his righteous Admini&s;trations; &s;o he comes and brings peace, brings peace to the con&s;cience, to the &s;oul, which no Kings can doe. What can Kings doe? they may treat about peace, and if they be righteous they may be the cau&s;e of abundance of out|ward peace; I, but they cannot bring peace of &s;oul; Chri&s;t is the King of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and the King of <HI>Salem,</HI> &s;o <HI>Melchi&s;edeck</HI> &s;ignifies, hee was King of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and King of <HI>Salem,</HI> that is, King of peace; this is the glory of this our King.</P>
<P N="14">14 And further, other Kings are born to bee Kings, but Chri&s;t dyed that hee might bee a King; it is true, hee was a King when hee was born, and hee was born as others are to be a King, but e&s;pecially Chri&s;t had his power upon his death, <HI>it behooved him to &s;uffer, and &s;o to enter into his glory;</HI> &s;o to enter into his glory, that is, upon his &s;ufferings, it behooved him; and &s;o the Apo&s;tle tells the <HI>Jewes</HI> in the &s;econd of the <HI>Acts,</HI> that they had crucified Chri&s;t, and up|on their crucifying of him, <HI>Peter</HI> there &s;tands up and tells them in the &s;ix and thirtieth ver&s;e, that <HI>God had made that &s;ame Je&s;us whom they had crucified, both Lord and Chri&s;t;</HI> by his death he came unto his glory. Others come to glory by their Lives, but Chri&s;t comes to his glory by his Death, and was rai&s;ed to &s;it upon the Throne of Maje&s;ty and
<PB N="78" REF="48"> glory upon his death, and in that hee is wonderful in his Kingly power.</P>
<P N="15">15 Further, Chri&s;t is King from everla&s;ting to everla|&s;ting, for ever; <HI>Thy throne O Lord endures for ever and ever:</HI> other Kings are but of ye&s;terday, and they are dead and gone; but it is not &s;o with our King, <HI>the Lord is King for ever.</HI></P>
<P N="16">16 Further, he is wonderful in this, he &s;its upon his Fathers Throne now at this time. You have &s;uch a place in the third of the <HI>Revelations,</HI> ver&s;. 21. where Chri&s;t promi&s;es to tho&s;e that over-come, that they &s;hall &s;it upon his throne, even as he over-came, and is &s;et down with his Father in his throne. The ad|mini&s;tration of all things in the World now, I &s;ay, it is given to Chri&s;t joyntly with his Father, Je&s;us Chri&s;t God-Man, &s;its up|on the Throne of his Father, not only the &s;econd Per&s;on in Tri|nity, but Chri&s;t God-Man &s;its upon the Throne of his Father, &amp; together with his Father doth order and govern all things; here is a height of glory that no creature el&s;e can bee ca|pable of; the Humane Nature of Chri&s;t being joyned in one Per&s;on with the Divine, &s;o it comes to have of the glory of this Kingly power upon it, that it may bee &s;aid, That Per|&s;on that is Man, doth now at this time &s;it upon the Throne of his Father, and together with his Father doth admini&s;ter his power; &s;o that the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of a &s;ubjection of Chri&s;t that &s;hall be afterwards unto the Father more than is now,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 15.25, 26, 27, 28.</NOTE> in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.25. it is a text certainly that hath a great my&s;tery in it, and is very hard to under&s;tand, <HI>For hee mu&s;t reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet; the la&s;t enemy that &s;hall be de&s;troyed is death, for he hath put all things under his feet; but when he &s;aith, all things are put under him, it is manife&s;t that he is excepted which did put all things under him; And when all things &s;hall be &s;ubdued unto him, then &s;hall the Son al&s;o him&s;elf be &s;ubject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.</HI> When all things &s;hall be &s;ubdued unto him, then the Son him&s;elf &s;hall bee &s;ubject. It &s;eems there is not that &s;ubjection now as &s;hall be hereafter; Chri&s;t now &s;its upon the Throne of his Fa|ther, and rules together with his Father, but there is a
<PB N="79" REF="48"> time that Chri&s;t &s;hall give up the Kingdome that now hee hath, and hee him&s;elf &s;hall bee &s;ubject, that is, hee, when hee hath &s;ubdued all the enemies of the Church, hee &s;hall in a vi&s;ible and a more glorious way rule over his own Saints, and that eternally, and then hee to together with his Saints, he as the head of his Saints, &s;hall in another way bee &s;ubject unto God than now hee is for the pre&s;ent, there &s;hall bee another admini&s;tration of things than now there is; now Chri&s;t &s;its upon the Throne oF his Father, here Chri&s;t makes his Throne &amp; his Fathers Throne di&s;tinct, &s;o that there is yet to come another kinde of Throne that Chri&s;t hath, be&s;ides the Throne that now hee &s;its upon; but this, I &s;ay, is a great my&s;tery, onely the Scripture holds forth &s;uch a thing as this, that hereafter Chri&s;t &s;hall have another Throne than that hee hath now.</P>
<P N="17">17 Yea Wonderful in this, that hee will not onely &s;ub|ject all enemies in the conclu&s;ion, but hee will put down all Rule, and all Authority and Power. It is a very notable Text often read, but little ob&s;erved, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.24. <HI>Then cometh the end, when hee &s;hall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when he &s;hall have put down all Rule, and all Autho|rity and Power.</HI> Though as our condition is for the pre&s;ent, we have a great deal of need of humane Rule and Authority, yet that is certain, that there hath not been any &s;uch enmity unto the Kingdome of Chri&s;t, as the Rulers, and Kings, and Princes of the earth, for the greater part, I &s;ay, Chri&s;t hath had no men that have more kept-under his Kingdome than the Rulers &amp; great ones, and Princes of the earth, therefore it &s;eems his Kingdome cannot bee full till hee hath put down all Rule and Power, and hee him&s;elf to reign wholly without any &s;uch help of man as now. But now in regard of our nece&s;&s;ity, it is true, If all Rule and Autho|rity &s;hould bee put down while wee are in &s;uch a con|dition as wee are for the pre&s;ent, certainly wee &s;hould bee all in a confu&s;ion, therefore though Chri&s;t &s;ees that &s;o many of the Rulers and great ones of the world have been, and are enemies to his Kingdome, yet to keep things in a civil
<PB N="80" REF="49"> order, Chri&s;t would have Rule and Authority for the pre|&s;ent; But there is a time coming, when his people &s;hall bee made &s;o &s;ub<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ect, as they &s;hall have no need of the&s;e things, but Chri&s;t will put them all down here in the world, and him&s;elf onely &s;hall Reign; &s;o you have it in the book of the <HI>Revelations,</HI> chap. 11. ver&s;. 15. <HI>That there were g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eat voyces in heaven, &s;aying, The Kingdomes of this world are become the Kingdomes of our Lord, and of his Chri&s;t, and hee &s;hall Reign for ever and ever.</HI> For that it &s;eems Chri&s;t hath not yet taken his Power, had not then, neither hath hee &s;ince: But there is a time coming for the Kingdomes of the earth to bee the Lords and his Chri&s;ts in another way than now they are.</P>
<P N="18">18 And then the la&s;t of all, Chri&s;t is &s;uch a King, as hee doth in a &s;piritual &s;en&s;e make all his Subjects Kings, hee hath a Crown of glory for every Subject, for every one of tho&s;e that are his Subjects, in that near relation, as hee is King of Saints, I &s;ay, hee will put Crowns of glory upon them all; you have it in <HI>Rev.</HI> 5.10. <HI>And ha&s;t made us unto our God Kings and Prie&s;ts, and wee &s;hall Reign on the earth,</HI> not onely in heaven, but on the earth. Why now how wonderful is Chri&s;t in this his Kingly power, that hee is able to make every Subject that hee hath a King? and hee will do it. Now then, If wee &s;hould put all the&s;e toge|ther that have been named, you &s;ee how wonderful Chri&s;t is in his Kingly Power.</P>
<P N="1">1 Hee is high above all, King of Kings, Lord of Lords.</P>
<P N="2">2 Hee is an univer&s;al King over all the World, a hea|venly King, over Angels, yea over Powers, over the De|vils them&s;elves.</P>
<P N="3">3 It is hee that makes his Subjects, not they him.</P>
<P N="4">4 His Subjects are for him, and not hee for them.</P>
<P N="5">5 Hee alone is able to make Laws for his Church.</P>
<P N="6">6 Hee hath ab&s;olute Sovereignty.</P>
<P N="7">7 His Laws do binde con&s;cience.</P>
<P N="8">8 Hee rules in the hearts of men.</P>
<P N="9"><PB N="81" REF="49">9 Hee hath perfect knowledge of all his Saints, and all their conditions.</P>
<P N="10">10 Hee is pre&s;ent in all Admini&s;trations.</P>
<P N="11">11 Hee is the KING of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and of Peace.</P>
<P N="12">12 Hee hath no need of any In&s;trument to do any thing.</P>
<P N="13">13 Hee over-rules all the plots, coun&s;els, endeavours of his enemies.</P>
<P N="14">14 Hee was not onely born to bee a King, but hee dyed to bee King.</P>
<P N="15">15 Hee is an everla&s;ting King, his Kingdome endures from Generation to Generation.</P>
<P N="16">16 Hee &s;its upon his Fathers Throne as equal with him.</P>
<P N="17">17 And will certainly &s;ubdue all enemies, and will put down all Rule, and all Power.</P>
<P N="18">18. And will put a Crown of glory upon every one of his Subjects.</P>
<P>This is our King, <HI>Rejoyce therefore oh Daughter of Zion, for thy King cometh.</HI> Oh did wee but apprehend the&s;e things by faith, that wee have to do with Chri&s;t as &s;uch a King, certainly our hearts could not bee troubled what&s;oever &s;tirs there are in the world, what&s;oever Kings and Princes do in the world; yet when wee look up to this King, and by faith make all this real to our &s;ouls, Oh what matter of infinite joy is it! I be&s;eech you do not think that the&s;e are notions that I &s;peak unto you, tho&s;e that exerci&s;e their faith aright upon Chri&s;t, they exerci&s;e their faith upon him as &s;uch a King.</P>
<P>You &s;ay you do beleeve in Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>In Chri&s;t, Why what do you mean by Je&s;us Chri&s;t? Why you will &s;ay, hee was the Son of God. But what is further? Chri&s;t that is (Anointed) Anointed to what, to King, Prie&s;t, and Prophet; King, what kinde of King? Here I have pre|&s;ented to you what kinde of King Je&s;us Chri&s;t is Anointed by the Father. And thus mu&s;t you pre&s;ent him before your
<PB N="82" REF="50"> &s;ouls when you exerci&s;e your faith upon him. Certainly there are few people that know what it is to exerci&s;e their faith upon Chri&s;t, becau&s;e they never knew Chri&s;t to be thus. Well might the P&s;almi&s;t &s;ay, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 97.1. <HI>The Lord Reigneth, let the earth rejoyce, let the multitude of I&s;les bee glad thereof.</HI> Oh it is well for us that the Lord Reigneth; certainly did not Je&s;us Chri&s;t reign in his Church, yea did not hee reign in the world, all things would come to confu&s;ion pre&s;ently. Were it po&s;&s;ible that &s;uch a handful as his Church that is a de&s;pi&s;ed company, a poor people that lives in the world, and is &s;o hated by the world, and all the Devils in hell, and their in&s;truments, which do labour to extirpate them, and yet that they &s;hould continue: certainly it is becau&s;e the Lord Reigns, and &s;o orders a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> things that &s;eems to bee a|gain&s;t his Church, for the good of his Church, otherwi&s;e it could not continue in the world: <HI>Oh let the earth rejoyce, becau&s;e the Lord doth Reign;</HI> And again, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 99.1. mark there what u&s;e is made of Chri&s;ts Kingly power. <HI>The Lord Reigneth, let the people tremble;</HI> Oh the Lord Reigneth, let the people tremble; certainly all wicked and ungodly men that are Rebels again&s;t this King, they have cau&s;e to tremble, &s;uch men as &s;ay of Chri&s;t, <HI>Wee will not have this man to reign over us,</HI> they have cau&s;e to tremble, for the Lord Chri&s;t will overcome them; certainly his Garments &s;hall bee dyed in blood, and what will become of them when hee &s;hall come to take his Kingdome to him&s;elf? Moreover; <HI>Tho&s;e mine enemies that would not have mee to Reign over them, come and bring them, and &s;lay them before my face.</HI> All wicked and ungodly men in their &s;ins, they do as if they &s;hould &s;ay thus, wee will not have this man to Reign over us; thou who doe&s;t ca&s;t off Je&s;us Chri&s;t as a King, certainly thou can&s;t not expect good from him as a Saviour.</P>
<P><HI>Chri&s;ts Prie&s;tly Office.</HI></P>
<P>Now for the &s;econd thing, and that is the Prie&s;tly Office
<PB N="83" REF="50"> of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, Chri&s;t is wonderful in that, hee is a great High Prie&s;t. In <HI>Heb.</HI> 4.14. Chri&s;t is there called a <HI>Great High Prie&s;t, Seeing then that wee have a Great High Prie&s;t that is pa&s;&s;ed into the heavens;</HI> And &s;o in <HI>Heb.</HI> 7.26. <HI>For &s;uch an High Prie&s;t became us, who is holy, harmle&s;s, undefiled, &s;eparate from &s;inners, and made higher than the Heavens.</HI> A great High Prie&s;t, a High Prie&s;t made higher than the Heavens, this is the High Prie&s;t that we have which we are to exerci&s;e our faith upon.</P>
<P N="1">1 Hee hath a Royal Prie&s;t-hood, for it is joyned with Kingly Power, and therefore <HI>Melchi&s;edeck</HI> was his type. Hee was not after the Order of <HI>Aaron,</HI> but hee was after the Order of <HI>Melchi&s;edeck,</HI> becau&s;e it is a Royal Prie&s;t-hood, and &s;o the Saints are called a Royal Prie&s;t|hood; And <HI>Melchi&s;edeck</HI> is &s;aid to bee without Father or Mother: the meaning is, Hee was not &s;o as hee was a man, for hee had Father and Mother, beginning and end, but in his typical relation hee was &s;o, they were concealed, to ty|pifie, that Chri&s;t, as hee was man, hee had no Father, and as hee was God, hee had no Mother, and hee had no be|ginning in his Prie&s;tly office, it was from everla&s;ting, and it &s;hall indure to everla&s;ting. <HI>So hee is a Prie&s;t for ever after the Order of</HI> Melchi&s;edeck, <HI>and not after the Order of</HI> Aaron.</P>
<P N="2">2 And in the next place, All the Prie&s;ts in the Law did typifie Chri&s;t, and all did cea&s;e in him; certainly hee mu&s;t needs bee a great High Prie&s;t that was typified by them, and in whom all cea&s;ed and vani&s;hed: As when the Sun ari&s;es, the light of the &s;tars doth no more appear; there was no fur|ther Prie&s;thood when Je&s;us came and took that Office to him&s;elf in his humane Nature in this world.</P>
<P N="3">3 But further, Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Prie&s;t-hood in this, that hee had no need to offer for him&s;elf, as others had; for hee was blamele&s;s, and without &s;in.</P>
<P N="4">4 Yea, and con&s;ider what Chri&s;t offered, and there you &s;hall &s;ee him wonderful; the Offering that Chri&s;t offered, it was the blood of God, I &s;ay, it was that that wee may call &s;afely according to Scripture language, the blood of God; and that will not &s;eem to bee a hard expre&s;&s;ion, if
<PB N="84" REF="51"> wee under&s;tand what the per&s;onal union of the two Na|tures are, in <HI>Act.</HI> 20.28. faith the Apo&s;tle to the Church of <HI>Ephe&s;us, Take heed therefore unto your &s;elves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Gho&s;t hath made you over&s;eers, to feed the Church of God which hee hath purcha&s;ed with his own blood.</HI> The&s;e kinde of phra&s;es wee have that come from the Per&s;onal union of the two Natures; &s;o that the blood that Chri&s;t did &s;hed, and offer unto God as a Sacrifice for the &s;in of man, it is that that the Scripture calls the blood of God. Now the blood that other Prie&s;ts did offer, was the blood of Goats, and Bulls, and Lambs, and Kids, but now what a wonderful Prie&s;t have wee, that comes to offer Sa|crifice to the Father for us, and comes to offer blood, that is the blood of God. Hee is wonderful in his Prie&s;tly Office in regard of his Offering.</P>
<P N="5">5 Further from this follows, that Chri&s;t offered a Sacrifice unto God that was &s;ufficient to &s;atisfie God for all the wrong that ever was done him by mans &s;in; they offered poor things unto God, you know, in the time of the Law, things that were worthle&s;s: But now the Sacrifice that Chri&s;t of|fered unto the Father, when hee, that High Prie&s;t, came to offer, it was a Sacrifice that did &s;atisfie Gods infinite Ju|&s;tice, did make up all the wrong that all the &s;ins of the Elect had ever done to God, it was that that infinite Ju&s;tice &s;aid it was well-plea&s;ed withall. It was worth all that Chri&s;t did render it up to his Father for, not onely a Sacri|fice that was a &s;weet &s;avour, becau&s;e God would bee plea|&s;ed to accept of it, but a Sacrifice that had in its &s;elf &s;uch a &s;avour that could not but bee &s;weet in the no&s;trils of God the Father, for it did fully &s;atisfie the Ju&s;tice of God the Father for the &s;ins of mankinde; here is a wonderful High Prie&s;t now, that hee &s;hould come and offer &s;uch a Sacrifice that &s;hould bee of &s;uch infinite merit and worth as it was.</P>
<P N="6">6 Yea, and hee was wonderful, becau&s;e that hee did offer him&s;elf, not onely his blood, but him&s;elf, &s;oul and body, hee made him&s;elf a Sacrifice, none of the Prie&s;ts
<PB N="85" REF="51"> did &s;o in the time of the Law; was there ever heard of &s;uch a Prie&s;t that came to offer &s;acrifice, that did offer him&s;elf for &s;uch as hee would make attonement for? Je&s;us Chri&s;t hee was anointed by God the Father as a Prie&s;t of his Church to offer &s;acrifice, now hee mu&s;t have &s;o nothing to offer, and Chri&s;t &s;aw that what&s;oever hee could offer, if &s;o bee that hee had offered that that had been the worth of Heaven and Earth, what&s;oever it had been, it could never have been an Attonement for tho&s;e &s;ouls which hee did un|dertake for, therefore Chri&s;t offers him&s;elf; as there is no|thing but God can bee a &s;atisfying portion to an immortal &s;oul, &s;o no &s;acrifice but Chri&s;t him&s;elf could bee a Sacri|fice to pacifie Gods wrath for the &s;ins of mankinde, if Chri&s;t &s;hould have &s;aid, Father, Thou ha&s;t made mee Lord over all the world, and I will give it all for a Ran&s;ome for the &s;oul of this poor &s;inner, God would have &s;aid, It will not do it, but it mu&s;t bee thy &s;elf; I, and Chri&s;t yeelds to it, <HI>A body ha&s;t thou prepared mee:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 53.10</NOTE> <HI>And bee made his &s;oul an of|fering for &s;in.</HI> And a body ha&s;t thou prepared for mee, both body and &s;oul of Chri&s;t was offered to God the Father for a &s;acrifice, that hee might &s;mell a &s;weet &s;avour of re&s;t, even concerning us who are wicked and wretched &s;inners. Either Chri&s;t mu&s;t offer him&s;elf &s;oul and body to bee a Sacrifice for thy &s;in, or el&s;e thy &s;oul and body mu&s;t have been offered as a &s;acrifice to Gods Ju&s;tice, and then it mu&s;t eternall<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> have been under the &s;troke of Gods Ju&s;tice; but to that end to free that &s;oul and body of thine, if thou bee&s;t a beleever, to free thee from the eternal Ju&s;tice of God, therefore Chri&s;t did offer his &s;oul and body as a &s;acrifice to his Fa|ther.</P>
<P N="7">7 And yet further, Chri&s;t was wonderful in his Prie&s;tly Office, for hee was not onely the Sacrifice, but the Altar. It would bee wonderful to hear of a Prie&s;t that &s;hould offer him&s;elf, but the Prie&s;t to bee the Sacrifice, and the Altar too that &s;hould &s;anctifie the Sacrifice, it is a greater wonder: and becau&s;e this expre&s;&s;ion &s;eems to bee very hard, I take this out of <HI>Heb.</HI> 9.14. <HI>How much more &s;hall the
<PB N="86" REF="52"> bloud of Chri&s;t, who through the eternal Spirit, offered him&s;elf without &s;pot to God;</HI> he offers his body and &s;oul as it were upon his Divine Nature, that as the Altar did &s;anctifie the Offering, &s;o the Divine Nature of Chri&s;t did &s;anctifie the offering of his Humane Nature, &s;o that he indeed became both the Altar, and the Sacrifice.</P>
<P N="8">8 And then further, Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Prie&s;tly Office, and that is in this, That he offered but one Sacri|fice, and at one time; now the Prie&s;ts in former time, they offered many Sacrifices, and they offered often; but now if you would read of Chri&s;ts Prie&s;tly Office, read e&s;peci|ally the &s;eventh, eighth, and ninth Chapters of the Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> and there you &s;hall have as much almo&s;t as in all the Scripture be&s;ides, of the Prie&s;tly Office of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; The Prie&s;ts in the Law they offered often, but Chri&s;t offered but once, and having but once offered hee &s;its down in glory, upon his offering of him&s;elf but once be|fore the Father it was available for ever, for &s;o the Scrip|ture tells us in divers places of the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> and hee was able to &s;ave to the uttermo&s;t, upon his once offering of him|&s;elf.</P>
<P>And then further, Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Prie&s;tly Of|fice in this, which is as much as in any thing, and that is, that he doth now exerci&s;e it in heaven at the right hand of the Father by his interce&s;&s;ion, for &s;o the Scripture &s;aith in the eighth of the <HI>Hebrews, That we have &s;uch an high Prie&s;t, who is &s;et on the right hand of the throne of the Maje&s;ty in the heavens,</HI> and there he is making interce&s;&s;ion. As the Prie&s;t (you know) in the time of the Law did exerci&s;e his Prie&s;tly Office, not only by offering Sacrifice, but by going into the Holy of Holies, and there had the names of the Tribes ingraven upon his bre&s;t, and &s;o pre&s;ented them be|fore God, and made interce&s;&s;ion for all the Tribes. Al&s;o Chri&s;t he is our wonderful High Prie&s;t, for he having offe|red him&s;elf a Sacrifice to the Ju&s;tice of his Father, hee is gone to Heaven, and hath the names of all Beleevers upon his bre&s;t, upon his heart, and there pre&s;ents them all before
<PB N="87" REF="52"> his Father, and is their Advocate, makes interce&s;&s;ion for them, hee is alwayes holding before the Father all his Sufferings, as it were pleading before God the Father for them. Why thou art a poor Creature here, and art, it may be, fallen down in thy clo&s;et pleading with God for mercy, and thou art di&s;couraged for the &s;traitne&s;&s;e of thy heart, and the like, but now learn how to make u&s;e of thy faith, look upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t, hee is the object of thy faith; I, but you mu&s;t beleeve in Chri&s;t as the High Prie&s;t that is gone be|fore into Heaven, and now is at the right hand of the Fa|ther making interce&s;&s;ion for thy &s;oul. It may bee thou art di&s;couraged becau&s;e thy prayers are poor and weak; I but thy faith mu&s;t bee exerci&s;ed upon that God-man, who is pleading with God the Father for thee, and that by his own merits, that are worth more than ten thou&s;and thou|&s;and Worlds, and except you doe exerci&s;e your faith upon Chri&s;t as a Prie&s;t thus, you doe not exerci&s;e your faith a|right; Oh what &s;trangers are mo&s;t people in the world to the exerci&s;ing of faith! I appeal to you, when did you ex|erci&s;e your faith upon Chri&s;t as &s;uch an High Prie&s;t? you would &s;ee him to be a wonderful Saviour indeed, if by the eye of faith you did behold him to be thus.</P>
<P>Thus he is wonderful in his Prie&s;tly Office; oh what won|derful things are the&s;e, if they were made real to us by faith! How wonderful would be the comfort and joy of the Saints of God in the exerci&s;ing of their faith, upon this that I doe but now name unto you, whereby as wee goe along you may &s;ee how farre &s;hort you have come from exerci&s;ing your faith upon Chri&s;t as &s;uch a Saviour, as the Scripture doth pre&s;ent him to you.</P>
<P N="9">9 Again, his Prie&s;tly Office endures for ever, hee lives for ever to make interce&s;&s;ion; the Prie&s;ts in the Law they dyed, but Chri&s;t he is a Prie&s;t for ever, and hee makes in|terce&s;&s;ion him&s;elf, he hath no Deputy, nor no Succe&s;&s;ors as others had, but he him&s;elf makes interce&s;&s;ion for ever for his people, and his Prie&s;t-hood is confirmed by an Oath,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 110.41</NOTE> <HI>The Lord &s;ware;</HI> the Lord by an Oath confirmed the Prie&s;t|hood
<PB N="88" REF="53"> of Chri&s;t after the order of <HI>Melchi&s;edeck,</HI> to the end that we might bee the more &s;ure of &s;uch a wonderful mer|cy of God to Mankind, that is the rea&s;on that he added an Oath to the Prie&s;t-hood of Chri&s;t, becau&s;e that aymed at higher things than the Prie&s;t-hood of <HI>Aaron</HI> did, that was but an external Prie&s;t-hood, but this ayming at &s;uch high things, yea that Sacrifice that mu&s;t bee tendered up to God for a full attonement for the &s;in of Mankind, therefore God confirmed this by an Oath; for beleevers when they hear &s;uch things (tho&s;e that are weak) I but Lord (think they) are the&s;e things &s;o? is it po&s;&s;ible that God &s;hould have &s;uch thoughts of Mankind, to work &s;o wonderful for mans Salvation! therefore &s;aith God, I have confirmed this by an oath.</P>
<P>And then this Prie&s;t-hood of Chri&s;t is a Prie&s;t-hood of a better covenant, the other was but after a carnal Comman|dement; and in compari&s;on of this it was but an external covenant, for there was certainly a covenant of Works be|&s;ides that of Grace, that God did renew with the people of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> even when he gave the Law, the Ceremonial Law did not only typifie the Covenant of Grace that &s;hould bee revealed hereafter more fully, but it was annexed to the Covenant of Works, as it appears plainly in the Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> but yet &s;till I &s;ay they had a Covenant of Grace that was coucht darkly in the Ceremonial Law, therefore Chri&s;t is &s;aid to be a Mediator of a better Cove|nant, he comes to deal between God and Man in a better Covenant than was before.</P>
<P>And then further, the Prie&s;t-hood of Chri&s;t it comes to have more efficacy than that of <HI>Aaron</HI> had, for it prevails to the purging of con&s;cience, which that could not doe.</P>
<P>And it brings the Saints into the Holy of Holies, and that with boldne&s;&s;e, and for that you have a mo&s;t excellent Scripture of the Saints being brought into the Holy of Holies by the Prie&s;t-hood of Chri&s;t, in the tenth to the <HI>Hebrews, Having therefore boldne&s;&s;e to enter into the holie&s;t by the bloud of Je&s;us,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.19.</NOTE> by the Sacrifice that this our Prie&s;t hath of|fered
<PB N="89" REF="53"> to the Father, we come to enter into the Holie&s;t of all, and that with boldne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>It was not &s;o in the time of the Law; no, but after the High Prie&s;t had offered Sacrifice, hee alone goes into the Holy of Holies; but now mark, here not only Chri&s;t our High Prie&s;t, but we, may come with boldne&s;&s;e, which none of the people could doe in the Law, that is thus, there is &s;uch an efficacy in the Sacrifice of our High Prie&s;t, as that every beleever may come, though hee hath never &s;o many &s;ins of his own, he may come with boldne&s;&s;e into the Holy of Holies, into the mo&s;t immediate pre&s;ence of God the Fa|ther, through the &s;acrifice of this our Prie&s;t, that hath made &s;uch a way by his Bloud for us, to come and enter into the Holy of Holies; the People in the time of the Law were to &s;tand at a di&s;tance, for this Sacrifice was not actually offe|red; but &s;ince Chri&s;ts coming, and his actual offering up his Sacrifice, now the Saints of God may come with boldne&s;&s;e into the holy, immediate, and glorious pre&s;ence of God that can bee; let God appear never &s;o gloriou&s;ly, yet the Saints have liberty and boldne&s;&s;e to come into the mo&s;t glo|rious pre&s;ence of God; and therefore Chri&s;t is wonderful in this Prie&s;tly Office of his. Two or three things more &s;hould have been &s;poken.</P>
<P>That Chri&s;t hath made us Prie&s;ts unto God, wee have the glory of his Prie&s;t-hood upon our &s;elves, if wee belong unto him; Prie&s;ts, that wee may offer up Sacrifice to God now acceptable; were it not through the vertue of this Prie&s;tly Office of Chri&s;t, we could not doe it: But it is by the Prie&s;t|ly Office of Chri&s;t that all Beleevers are now made Prie&s;ts unto God, &s;o as they may offer Sacrifice to God acceptable; it may be thou goe&s;t to God in Prayer, and offere&s;t up a Sa|crifice to God, and thinke&s;t God will be well plea&s;ed with it, I pray now upon what terms do&s;t thou offer them up? Thy Prayers &s;hould bee Sacrifices, but in the time of the Lavv none mu&s;t offer a Sacrifice but a Prie&s;t; Ha&s;t thou an intere&s;t in the Prie&s;tly Office of Chri&s;t, and doe&s;t thou goe unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t by faith, and give up thy Sacrifice into his
<PB N="90" REF="54"> hands, and de&s;ire that hee vvould pre&s;ent it to the Father? certainly except thou do&s;t &s;o, all thy Sacrifices are ca&s;t out as dung and filth in thy face, and are an abomination unto God. As in the time of the Law we know, let a man offer never &s;o good a Bullock, or Sheep, though they were worth never &s;o much, yet if hee did not offer them by the Prie&s;t, we know they were abomination unto God: &s;o our &s;ervi|ces are as our Sacrifices, and they mu&s;t be offered up unto God by this our High Prie&s;t; and in this Je&s;us Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Prie&s;tly Office, for by vertue of that Sa|crifice of his that he offered to the Father, all the Sacrifi|ces of all the elect ones are tendered up to the Father, and &s;o come to be accepted; And then doe wee exerci&s;e our faith upon Chri&s;t aright, when we can look upon our High Prie&s;t, and tender up our Sacrifices by faith unto the Fa|ther through him. To beleeve in Chri&s;t is to have thy faith a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t upon Chri&s;t in his &s;everal Offices. Oh what &s;trangers are mo&s;t unto the glory of Je&s;us Chri&s;t? what little glory hath Chri&s;t from you, when you under&s;tand him not in tho&s;e things that are his glory? or you that doe under&s;tand him, oh but how &s;eldome hath your faith acted upon him, accor|ding as hee hath been &s;et out unto you in the&s;e &s;everal things?</P>
<P><HI>The Prophetical Office of Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Prophetical Office; I will but name one or two particulars about that, which is exceeding comfortable.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, a wonderful Prophet he mu&s;t needs be, for hee is one that knowes all the minde of God the Father perfectly, which certainly all the Creatures in the world doe not; take all the Angels in Heaven, and Men in the World, and they know not all that is in the heart of God the Father. Now Chri&s;t he knows all that is in the very heart of the Father, and what&s;oever the Father doth, Je&s;us Chri&s;t knows it; in the fifth of <HI>Joh.</HI> ver&s;. 20. <HI>For the Father loveth the
<PB N="91" REF="54"> Son, and &s;heweth him all things that him&s;elf doth;</HI> there is nothing that God the Father doth, but he &s;hews it all to Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and in the fir&s;t of <HI>John,</HI> ver&s;. 18. <HI>No man hath &s;een God at any time, but the only begotten Son which is in the bo|&s;ome of the Father.</HI> This is a wonderful Teacher indeed, a glorious Prophet, wee may well call him Wonderful in regard of his teaching. He is called <HI>(the)</HI> Prophet, and <HI>(that)</HI> Prophet in Scripture, becau&s;e he is one that came from the bo&s;ome of the Father, and lives in the bo&s;ome of the Father, and what&s;oever the Father hath done or will doe, he &s;hewes it unto him, and therefore he knowes all the mind of his Father, and knowes all things that doth any way concern his Church, or what&s;oever &s;hall befall his Church, it is hee that knowes it, and is able to make it known as he plea&s;es; and hee is anoynted by God the Fa|ther to be the teacher of all tho&s;e that are elect ones, and that doe belong to Chri&s;t, he hath taken the charge of every one of them, to teach and in&s;truct them in all the mind of his Father; now next unto the Sacrifice of Chri&s;t, there is no one thing in Scripture of greater u&s;e than this to the Servants of God; beleevers many times goe away, and &s;ay, oh I have heard of great and wonderful things, but we can|not under&s;tand them; oh doe not goe away di&s;couraged, but remember the la&s;t thing that is &s;aid in the Sermon, that Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Prophetical Office, and hath un|dertaken the charge of thy &s;oul to in&s;truct it in all the mind of his Father, and &s;o farre as is nece&s;&s;ary for thy Salvation thou &s;halt be in&s;tructed, or Chri&s;t mu&s;t be unfaithful in his Office; now that cannot be, but except thou be in&s;tructed this mu&s;t be &s;o, for Chri&s;t hath the charge of thee. And this is made in Scripture as a fruit of his being &s;lain, in the fifth of the <HI>Revelation,</HI> ver&s;. 6. <HI>And I beheld, and loe in the mid&s;t of the Throne, and of the fear Bea&s;ts, and in the wid&s;t of the Elders, &s;tood a Lamb as it had been &s;lain, and hee came and opened the &s;eals,</HI> opened the Prophecies, and &s;o fore-told what &s;hould befall the Church to the end of the World; it was a Lamb &s;lain that did it, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oting, that it is a
<PB N="92" REF="55"> fruit of the death of Chri&s;t, that tho&s;e things which con|cern the Saints come to bee opened and made known unto them, and Chri&s;t cannot plead to his Father, and &s;ay, that thou gave&s;t me the charge of &s;uch and &s;uch, but they were dull and could not learn, and therefore that is the &s;econd thing.</P>
<P N="2">2 That the dulne&s;&s;e cannot hinder, whether they have &s;trong parts, or weak parts, it is all one to the teaching of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, it may be a hinderance to a Mini&s;ters teach|ing, but if they come under the teaching of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, it is all one, whether &s;trong parted, or weak parted, it makes no difference at all; and there is one Scripture that doth declare the faithfulne&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t in his Office, and an in|finite trea&s;ury of comfort it is to the Saints; in the fif|teenth of <HI>John,</HI> ver&s;. 15. there is an expre&s;&s;ion of the Pro|phetical Office of Chri&s;t, &s;aith Chri&s;t there, <HI>Henceforth I call you not &s;ervants, for the &s;ervant knoweth not what his Lord doth; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t knows the coun&s;els of his Father perfectly, and all his will and mind; now &s;aith he, all things that I have known of the Father, that is, that concerns you to know, there is nothing that I have known of my father from eternity, that any way concerns you to know, but I have revealed it to you; Chri&s;t he is the Prophet of his Church, to reveal to thy &s;oul, if thou bee&s;t a beleever, what&s;oever he knowes of his Father, all tho&s;e trea&s;ures of wi&s;dome, and coun&s;els of his Father concerning thy eternal e&s;tate, Chri&s;t is de|&s;igned by his Father to make the&s;e things known unto thee, fir&s;t or la&s;t thou mu&s;t come to know what thou art capable to know. Oh how wonderful is Chri&s;t in this Prophetical Office of his, to undertake to teach all the elect from the beginning of the world to the end; this indeed is the rea|&s;on why many poor weak people doe under&s;tand more of Chri&s;t than many learned men doe; you will &s;ay, Wee never can beleeve it, that &s;uch poor ignorant people &s;hould under&s;tand things of religion better than Learned men, and great Rabbies.</P>
<PB N="93" REF="55">
<P>Thou &s;peake&s;t ignorantly, and carnally, thou do&s;t not under&s;tand what the Prophetical Office of Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth mean, for God the Father hath anoynted Je&s;us Chri&s;t to come to in&s;truct his elect ones in all the my&s;tery of god|line&s;&s;e, and what&s;oever he hath heard from the Father hee tells them. When God the Father &s;ent Chri&s;t into the World, he &s;aith, <HI>Goe your way;</HI> and this is the charge that I lay upon you, that what&s;oever you have heard of me from all eternity, fir&s;t or la&s;t, reveal it to tho&s;e &s;ouls; it is a wonderful benefit that the Saints have by this Prophetical Office of Chri&s;t; and this is &s;poken to his Di&s;ciples, not as eminent only, but he calls them friends, in the fourteenth ver&s;e, <HI>And all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you;</HI> here is the fruit of Chri&s;ts friend&s;hip; you are my friends, and here is the fruit of my love to you; he doth not &s;ay, I have called you friends, therefore I will give you great po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions in the World; no, but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you; for Je&s;us Chri&s;t to make known the&s;e ble&s;&s;ed things that he hath heard of the Father, that are kept from the wi&s;e of the world, this is the fruit of Chri&s;ts friend&s;hip; therefore though Chri&s;t doth not give you Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions in the world, though you bee poor and mean, yet you may be dear friends to Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Q. <HI>How &s;hall I know this?</HI></P>
<P><HI>A.</HI> Why? if Chri&s;t reveals to your &s;ouls tho&s;e great things of eternal life that he hath heard from the Father, certain|ly you are the friends of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; oh that wee could exerci&s;e our faith in this Prophetical Office of Chri&s;t, in which he is wonderful; when you would exerci&s;e faith up|on Chri&s;t, exerci&s;e your faith upon him as a Prophet; Lord, I am weak and dull, but Lord thou ha&s;t anoynted thine own Son to reveal unto me thy will, as much as concerns my everla&s;ting good; look upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t as the wonder of the world in all the&s;e things, in his Kingly, Prie&s;tly, and Prophetical Office, and then doe you honour the Son of God as the Son of God, when you look thus upon him. And
<PB N="94" REF="56"> then another Scripture wee have in <HI>Joh.</HI> 17.8. <HI>I have given unto them the words which thou gave&s;t mee, and they have re|ceived them, and have known &s;urely that I come out from thee, and they have beleeved that thou did&s;t &s;end mee.</HI> When I was in thy bo&s;ome from eternity, thou gave&s;t mee &s;uch words, and didde&s;t put this upon mee, that I &s;hould reveal thy will to &s;uch and &s;uch, and every particular one was mentioned unto Chri&s;t, whom &s;uch words &s;hould bee made known too; &s;aith Chri&s;t, I have done it, <HI>I have given unto them the words which thou gave&s;t mee,</HI> and therefore Chri&s;t hee is called the <HI>Word,</HI> e&s;pecially in regard of his Prophe|tical Office, <HI>The Word was made Fle&s;h, the Word was God;</HI> Chri&s;t comes to rexeal the minde of his Father unto the children of men; as by the words of a man, the minde and coun&s;els, and thoughts of a man come to bee made known, &s;o Chri&s;t was the <HI>Word</HI> of God; though I &s;ay not that this is all the &s;en&s;e from that, but there is a higher &s;en&s;e; but this is one thing aimed at, that by him the coun&s;els of God come to bee made known to the children of men, therefore Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>That no man knows the Father but the Son, and him to whom the Son &s;hall reveal him:</HI> Hee comes to reveal God to the children of men. And that may bee a third particular.</P>
<P N="3">3 The wonder of Chri&s;ts Prophetical Office, it is in the great things that hee is &s;ent to reveal, in the high things, the &s;upernatural things, things that are &s;o infinitely above the reach of rea&s;on. Let a man bee elevated unto the greate&s;t height of rea&s;on, hee is not able to reach into the my&s;teries of godline&s;s, no, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith in a place in the <HI>Corinthians</HI> before named, it mu&s;t bee the Spirit of God that &s;earches the deep things of God; now this is the Spirit of God that is &s;ent from the Father and the Son, that &s;earches the deep things of God, they are deep, high, &s;upernatural, glorious things that Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth di&s;|cover; Oh there are un&s;earchable riches, the Apo&s;tle calls the Go&s;pel, <HI>Un&s;earchable riches,</HI> rich things that have no foot&s;teps at all in the creature; wee can never come by any
<PB N="95" REF="56"> knowledge that wee can have from the creature, to under|&s;tand tho&s;e things: There is nothing written in the book of Nature, in the gre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t book of Gods Creation and Provi|dence, not one letter written of the glorious things of the Go&s;pel: Now the&s;e are the things that Chri&s;t is wonder|ful in, to reveal things that are &s;o high, and &s;o wonderful and glorious, therefore in <HI>Luke</HI> 4.22. When Chri&s;t was performing that Prophetical Office of his, the Text &s;aith, <HI>That all wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth;</HI> as if they &s;hould &s;ay, Oh here are wonderful things indeed, the&s;e are &s;ecret things indeed that wee were not taught, they all did wonder at the gracious things that proceeded out of his mouth. It is true, before Chri&s;t was Incarnate, there was &s;omewhat of the my&s;tery of the Go|&s;pel, and our fore-fathers that were &s;aved, were &s;aved by the &s;ame Go&s;pel, but the knowledge of the glorious my|&s;teries of the Go&s;pel were kept hid till that great Prophet &s;hould come into the world, and that is a &s;pecial rea&s;on why all the time before the Incarnation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, there was &s;o little knowledge; God, and the way of eter|nal life was known &s;o little, becau&s;e the Lord would re&s;erve the Revelation of him&s;elf, and tho&s;e great Coun&s;els of his Will concerning mans eternal e&s;tate, hee would re&s;erve them for the great Prophet to come to reveal, and when Chri&s;t came, then broke forth light into the world; and as Chri&s;t comes to any place, &s;o there breaks forth the light of tho&s;e glorious &s;upernatural things that are above the reach of rea&s;on, yea &s;uch things as Angels could never have un|der&s;tood, therefore I remember it is &s;aid in one place. That tho&s;e things are made known to Angels by the Go&s;pel, the Lord &s;ending his Mini&s;ters in his Name to preach tho&s;e things from Chri&s;t, that &s;o the Angels come to under&s;tand further things in the my&s;tery of the Go&s;pel, than they did before; therefore they are things above the reach of any mens under&s;tanding what&s;oever.</P>
<P N="4">4 And e&s;pecially, it will make the Prophetical Office of Chri&s;t wonderful, if wee adde to this a fourth con&s;i|deration,
<PB N="96" REF="57"> that the&s;e things are not revealed to the wi&s;e&s;t and the great ones of the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">&rindx;</NOTE> but to &s;uch men and wo|men that ordinarily have the lea&s;t under&s;tanding in the things of the world, tho&s;e men that have the dulle&s;t ca|pacity to under&s;tand the rea&s;on of things in the world, tho&s;e that are the mo&s;t ignorant people in the world, why Je&s;us Chri&s;t chu&s;es out them, and makes them to bee ap|prehen&s;ive of the my&s;teries of the Go&s;pel, &s;uch <HI>things as Angels them&s;elves de&s;ire to pry into.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1.12.</NOTE> Here is a wonder, that &s;uch poor, weak, dull, ignorant creatures, &s;ometimes that can &s;carce be able to &s;peak two or three &s;entences in good &s;en&s;e together to a man, yet that they &s;hould have the clear un|der&s;tanding of the chief my&s;teries in the Go&s;pel, and &s;uch things as Angels de&s;ire to pry into, here is a wonderful work, and therefore wee read in <HI>Matth.</HI> 21.15. when the poor children came to under&s;tand &s;omewhat of Chri&s;t, <HI>When the chief Prie&s;ts and Scribes &s;aw the wondeful things that hee did, and the children crying in the Temple and &s;aying, Ho&s;anna to the Son of</HI> David,<NOTE PLACE="marg">&rindx;</NOTE> <HI>they were &s;ore di&s;plea&s;ed.</HI> Mark how this is joyned to the wonderful things, they &s;aw the wonderful things that Chri&s;t did, and the children crying in the Temple, <HI>Ho&s;anna</HI> to the Son of <HI>David,</HI> they were di&s;plea&s;ed. It is one of the mo&s;t wonderful things in the world to &s;ee that &s;ometimes poor young children, and &s;uch as under&s;tand but very little in the matters of the world, and yet that the&s;e &s;hall come to under&s;tand the deepe&s;t my&s;teries of godline&s;s, tho&s;e things that exerci&s;e the un|der&s;tanding of Angels, and &s;hall exerci&s;e them to all eter|nity, yet poor children and youths &s;hall come to under|&s;tand the&s;e things further than the great Rabbies and Do|ctors of the world, is not this a wonderful thing in the di&s;|pen&s;ation of the Prophetical Office of Chri&s;t? You make this u&s;e when you &s;ee poor youths come to have under|&s;tanding in the great things of the Go&s;pel, you think &s;urely it is but a conceit: Oh, but rather make this u&s;e, let your thoughts bee carried to admire at the wonderful di&s;pen&s;a|tion of the Prophetical Office of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and &s;o in
<PB N="97" REF="57"> <HI>Matth.</HI> 11.25, 27. you &s;hall &s;ee what a wonderful thing it is made, even this di&s;pen&s;ation of Chri&s;ts Prophetical Office, in ver&s;. 25. and &s;o on. <HI>At that time Je&s;us an&s;wered and &s;aid, I thank thee 0 Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t hid the&s;e things from the wi&s;e and prudent, and ha&s;t revealed them unto Babes.</HI> Now that the Father did hide them from the wi&s;e of the world, and revealed them unto babes, it was by Chri&s;t, though hee thanks the Father, and that it was done by Chri&s;t it appears in ver&s;. 27. <HI>All things are delivered to mee of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the father, neither knoweth any man the Father &s;ave the Son, and hee to whom the Son will reveal him. All things are delivered to mee;</HI> &s;o that Chri&s;t here makes the revelation of God unto babes, to bee the fruit of Gods delivering up all things to him; <HI>All things are deli|vered to mee, and no man knoweth the Father but the Son, and him to whom the Son will reveal him;</HI> &s;o that Chri&s;t having received all power from the Father, upon this it is that the&s;e babes come to have &s;uch under&s;tanding in the my&s;te|ries of godline&s;s, and the wi&s;e of the world never come to under&s;tand.</P>
<P>And then that is very remarkable as wee go along, that upon this ground Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth invite &s;ouls to come to him, <HI>Come unto mee all yee that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you re&s;t.</HI> As if hee &s;hould &s;ay thus, Conceive now as if Je&s;us Chri&s;t were preaching now per&s;onally to you, and hee were &s;aying thus to you, All power is com|mitted to mee by the Father, and as a fruit of this, that the Father hath committed to mee, I do reveal him to whom I plea&s;e, and none can know the Father but by mee, I have the di&s;pen&s;ation of all the trea&s;ures of wi&s;dome, and the revelation of all the my&s;teries of eternal life from my Fa|ther; Oh therefore come to mee, come to mee all yee that labour, and are heavy laden; you labour under the burden of your ignorance, perhaps you complain, alas, I do not know God, nor under&s;tand the great my&s;teries of &s;al|vation; I pray, and hear, and yet I cannot come to under|&s;tand
<PB N="98" REF="58"> what God is, Why come to mee &s;aith Chri&s;t, for all things are given to mee, and if I reveal the Father, you &s;hall know him; therefore all you that labour and are heavy laden, all you that &s;ee the need you have of the knowledge of my Father, and of the way of eternal life, come to mee, and I will reveal the&s;e things unto you, and &s;o will bring re&s;t unto your &s;ouls. Wonderful is Chri&s;t in the way of his Admini&s;trations, and that is another con&s;i|deration in the Prophetical Office of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="5">5 But further, Chri&s;t is a wonderful Prophet in this, that hee reveals things many times &s;uddenly, hee is not bound to tho&s;e wayes that any man or Angel is bound to; if a man or Angel would come to in&s;truct others in the truths of the Go&s;pel, they mu&s;t in&s;truct them by degrees, to under&s;tand one thing at once, and another at another time, and &s;o de|duct one thing from another in that way, but Chri&s;t hee can make known the things of eternal life in an in&s;tant to the &s;oul. Who&s;oever comes to Chri&s;t, mu&s;t bee convinced of &s;in, and bee emptied of him&s;elf, and bee humbled, all the&s;e things are in every &s;oul that comes to Chri&s;t; now all the&s;e things may by one beam of light bee wrought that Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hall let into the &s;oul. As an Apothecary may get the very quinte&s;&s;ence of all herbs in one drop, though you cannot &s;ee the herbs: &s;o Je&s;us Chri&s;t I &s;ay, &s;ometimes by one beam of light lets in a hundred truths into the &s;oul, &s;o that they do apprehend the &s;ub&s;tance of all tho&s;e parti|culars that are &s;poken of, and there is a proportionable work upon their hearts to bring them to Chri&s;t; is not this a wonderful work of Chri&s;t? that a man that hath been an ignorant, &s;otti&s;h blinde creature, a prophane ungodly man, hating all godline&s;s, perhaps hee comes to hear a Sermon meerly to &s;corn, as many have done, this man comes in the very heat of his wickedne&s;s, &s;o that a man would wonder that &s;ome fruit of Gods wrath comes not from heaven to &s;trike him into the bottomle&s;s pit, yet it may bee at this very Sermon, there &s;hall bee &s;ome one beam of light dart|ed into his &s;pirit, that may work his &s;oul to heaven, po&s;&s;ibly,
<PB N="99" REF="58"> if hee &s;hould dye at that in&s;tant; though it is true, ordina|rily God begins to &s;tir fir&s;t, and doth it not all at once, but yet &s;ometimes &s;ome that come into a Congregation mo&s;t ignorant and &s;otti&s;h, and know no other God but Mammon and lu&s;ts, and yet coming to the word, at one in&s;tant God darts in that light into his &s;pirit, as this man comes to have his heart turned to God, and comes to know his mi&s;ery, and to know the way of &s;alvation, and the Covenant of Grace, but not di&s;tinctly. It may bee after this beam of light is darted in, God may come over again di&s;tinctly, and reveal to him his mi&s;erable e&s;tate by nature, and humble him more, and &s;o hee may have a little glimp&s;e of this at one Sermon, and a little more at another, but at that very in|&s;tant there may bee that let into the heart, that po&s;&s;ibly may unite the heart to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and &s;ave it if it &s;hould dye at that pre&s;ent; here is a wonderful work in the Pro|phetical Office of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="6">6 And then Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Prophetical Of|fice, in this, he teaches the heart; no men, nor Angels, can teach the heart, but Je&s;us Chri&s;t; though men, or Angels may pre&s;ent truths before another man, and &s;o convince the under&s;tanding, yet there is no men, nor Angels, can bee able to &s;ay thus, I will &s;o make known &s;uch a truth to this man or woman, as I will gain his heart by it, it &s;hall trans|form his heart into the very image of that truth that I &s;hall pre&s;ent unto him, no man, nor Angel can do it; but Chri&s;t hee teaches &s;o as no man teaches, <HI>Job</HI> 36.22. <HI>Behold God exalteth by his power, who teacheth like him?</HI> Now God teacheth by Chri&s;t in the admini&s;tration of his Prophetical Office. Man may come and tell us, this and the other thing ought to bee done; Oh but who teaches like Je&s;us Chri&s;t? none teaches the heart but Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>Job</HI> 38.36. <HI>Who hath put wi&s;dome in the inward parts, or who hath given un|der&s;tanding to the heart?</HI> certainly none living, no Angel can do it, nor no man can do it, it is onely Je&s;us Chri&s;t in the admini&s;tration of his Prophetical Office, it is hee that teaches, and prevails with the heart when hee comes with
<PB N="100" REF="59"> truths, therefore when you &s;ee people come to hear many truths, and &s;it under a clear and di&s;tinct Mini&s;try that opens many truths unto them, it may bee many will get brain-knowledge that &s;hall make them to confer about tho&s;e truths, but yet not changed: you will &s;ay, What &s;hould bee the rea&s;on why they that have &s;o much knowledge live wickedly? why here is the ground, Je&s;us Chri&s;t hee hath not exerci&s;ed this Prophetical Office of his &s;o far upon them, to over-power their hearts, Here is the rea&s;on why &s;uch men have had knowledge in the brain, and yet lived wickedly a long time; yet if they belonged to Chri&s;t, at &s;ome other time they &s;hall come to hear the Word of God, they &s;hall hear the very &s;ame truths they heard be|fore, and perhaps delivered in a weaker manner than they have heard it, and yet their hearts &s;hall bee a hundred times more wrought upon at that time than ever they were wrought upon before. Sometimes a man comes by acci|dent into a Congregation, and hears a Mini&s;ter upon &s;uch a &s;ubject, and it may bee a Mini&s;ter by the by &s;peaks of &s;omething that hee little thought of perhaps before hee came up, and this man hath heard the &s;ame truth largely handled, perhaps many Tractates about it heretofore, and his heart never touch'd, but now hearing it mentioned by the by his heart is mightily wrought upon, and he goes away, and &s;aith, Verily God is in this place. What is the rea&s;on? why here Chri&s;t &s;peaks to the heart, and before man only &s;poke to the ear, this is a wonderful thing in the Prophetical Office of Chri&s;t, that hee &s;peaks to the heart; and thus &s;hould wee exerci&s;e our faith upon Chri&s;t in this, when wee come to the Word, look upon Chri&s;t by the eye of faith as the great Pro|phet of the Church, that teaches &s;o as no man teaches, that doth not onely &s;peak unto the ear, but &s;peaks unto the heart.</P>
<P N="7">7 Further, Chr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">t is wonderful in his Prophetical Office in this, In that hee teaches immediately him&s;elf; indeed hee doth teach mediately, that is by his Mini&s;ters, therefore you &s;hall finde <HI>Act.</HI> 1.1. there St. <HI>Luke</HI> &s;peaking of Chri&s;ts teaching when hee lived here upon the earth, &s;aith hee
<PB N="101" REF="59"> in ver&s;. 1. <HI>The former Treati&s;e have I made, O</HI> Theophilus, <HI>of all that Je&s;us began both to do and teach;</HI> why <HI>Luke</HI> is hee that writ the Go&s;pel, and the Acts, hee writ the &s;umme of what Chri&s;t did teach in the whole cour&s;e of his life, and yet here hee tells us that hee did make a Treati&s;e, and did relate what Je&s;us <HI>Began</HI> to do and teach; if one &s;hould have &s;aid to <HI>Luke,</HI> Why, did you not relate all that Je&s;us did do, and preach? why Chri&s;t is dead now. But the mean|ing is this, That indeed all that Chri&s;t did preach per&s;onally when hee was here in the world, it was but a <HI>Beginning,</HI> Chri&s;t was to teach afterwards to the end of the world, and that hee was to do partly by his Mini&s;ters that &s;hould bee to the end of the world, hee doth exerci&s;e his Prophetical Of|fice by them.</P>
<P>And by the way, when&s;oever you come to hear any Mi|ni&s;ter of God to reveal any thing of the Go&s;pel to you, you are to look upon it as Chri&s;t exerci&s;ing his Prophetical Of|fice in this way; hee is wonderful in teaching in this, that hee doth not onely by in&s;truments, but immediately him|&s;elf many times; where there is want of means, wee may there expect Je&s;us Chri&s;t immediately to reveal the Will of his Father to tho&s;e &s;ouls that do belong to Election.</P>
<P N="8">8 And then Chri&s;t is wonderful in teaching, for hee teaches infallibly, which none can do. Likewi&s;e many other particulars might bee named in the wonder of Chri&s;ts Pro|phetical Office, but time doth &s;lip mee, therefore wee will proceed to the next thing in the wonder of Chri&s;t, onely take this along with you, That in your beleeving in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, you mu&s;t beleeve in him as Chri&s;t, that is Anointed by the Father, King, Prie&s;t, and Prophet; and when you exer|ci&s;e your faith upon him in all the&s;e three of his Offices, then you will know what it is rightly to beleeve indeed. But to go on.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="102" REF="60">
<HEAD>The Third SERMON ON <HI>The Excellency of Chri&s;t.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>I&s;aiah 9.6.</HI></BIBL> And his Name &s;hall bee called Wonderful.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Christ Wonderful in his Miracles.</HEAD>
<P>_CHri&s;t is wonderful in the Miracles that hee wrought here in the World while hee lived; in the &s;econd of <HI>Acts,</HI> ver&s;. 22. <HI>Yee men of</HI> I&s;rael <HI>hear the&s;e words, Je&s;us of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by Miracles, Wonders, and Signs which God did by him in the mid&s;t of you, as yee your &s;elves al&s;o know.</HI> Never did any come into the Wo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ld to work &s;uch great Miracles and Wonders as Chri&s;t did, and indeed all that ever did Miracles and Won|ders, they did doe them by Je&s;us Chri&s;t. <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> that was no great friend to Chri&s;t, hee was a <HI>Jew,</HI> and did not ac|knowledge Chri&s;t to be the Me&s;&s;ias, yet he writing the Story of tho&s;e times, could not but take notice of &s;uch an one as Chri&s;t; hee did profe&s;&s;e, that at &s;uch a time there was a
<PB N="103" REF="60"> Wi&s;e man did ari&s;e, which they did call by the Name of Je|&s;us, that did work a great many Miracles; and &s;aith he,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> Antiq. B. 18. e. 4</NOTE> If it be lawful to call him a Man. He was afraid to call him a man, becau&s;e of the wondrous things that he did.</P>
<P>But if any of you &s;ay, How &s;hall wee bee able to know certainly the truth of all tho&s;e Miracles that hee did? wee read in the Go&s;pel how great things Chri&s;t did; how he ca&s;t out Devils, and cured the Blinde and Lame, and rai&s;ed up the Dead, and the like, but how can we know the truth of them?</P>
<P>For the an&s;wer of that, <HI>Au&s;tine</HI> hath this, Either all tho&s;e things are true, or they are not true; if they be, then hee is confirmed to be the Me&s;&s;ias; but if they be not true, then &s;aith he, this is the greate&s;t Miracle of all, that &s;uch a &s;uper|natural Doctrin as that is, to beleeve in him that was cruci|fied, to &s;ave the World, and for men to venture their &s;ouls and eternal e&s;tates upon this, without having this to bee confirmed by Miracles at fir&s;t, this is the greate&s;t Miracle of all; but we will pa&s;&s;e by that, only note it as we goe, that Chri&s;t was wonderful in all the Wonders that hee wrought while he lived.</P>
<P><HI>Chri&s;t wonderful in his Glorious indowments and excellency of his Per&s;on.</HI></P>
<P>But further, Chri&s;t he is the Wonder of the World, in regard of tho&s;e glorious endowments and excellencie of his Per&s;on, tho&s;e Per&s;onal endowments and excellencies that he had; and herein he is the Wonder of the World.</P>
<P>Now the endowments and excellencies of Je&s;us Chri&s;t they are great and glorious, <HI>Thou art fairer than the children of men.</HI> It is he that received the Spirit without mea&s;ure, it is he that had the Trea&s;ures of wi&s;dome and knowledge dwel|ling in him bodily, and he mu&s;t needs bee the Wonder of the World; that Scripture in the &s;econd of the <HI>Colo&s;&s;ians,</HI> doth &s;hew unto us what a wonderful Saviour we have, it is &s;uch an expre&s;&s;ion that had wee not had it from the Holy
<PB N="104" REF="61"> Gho&s;t we &s;hould never have dared to have ventured upon it, as in <HI>Col.</HI> 2.3. <HI>In whom are hid all the trea&s;ures of wi&s;dome and knowledge;</HI> and then in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 9. <HI>For in him dwelleth all the fulne&s;&s;e of the Godhead bodily;</HI> what an high ex|pre&s;&s;ion is here? All the fulne&s;&s;e of the God-head doth dwell bodily in Je&s;us Chri&s;t; &s;urely he hath excellent endowments then, he is filled with glorious things, his Human Nature is elevated and inlarged to the highe&s;t capacity that a Crea|ture can have to receive excellency. And God hath rai&s;ed up the Humane Nature of Chri&s;t to &s;hew how high he is a|ble to elevate a Creature, and make it capable for the re|ceiving of Glory, that he might declare it to Angels and Saints to all eternity; I &s;ay, mans nature is rai&s;ed to that height, that God might to all eternity make known to the Angels and Saints this thing, and &s;ay, Behold to what a height is mine infinite power able to rai&s;e a Creature, to be capable of happine&s;&s;e? Therefore Chri&s;ts Human Na|ture is &s;o rai&s;ed, and our nature in him, which &s;hould be a wonderful comfort to us, that our nature &s;hould be rai&s;ed to &s;o much glory in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>And a great argument to us, to take heed of the abu&s;e of Humane Nature, of thy Body, and of thy Soul; oh that ever any one &s;hould bee given up to that &s;otti&s;hne&s;&s;e, that is, a man that hath Humane nature in him, that &s;hould look after no greater good than meerly to eat, and drink, and play, and &s;atisfie his lu&s;t; do&s;t thou know oh Creature that thy nature is rai&s;ed to &s;uch an height of excellency, that God might declare to Angels and men what his power was able to doe? and &s;halt thou that ha&s;t the &s;ame Nature, that art a kin (as it were) to Chri&s;t, &s;halt thou bee &s;o ba&s;e and vile, to mind thy filthy and ba&s;e lu&s;ts, and mind no higher good than this? the very thought of the rai&s;ing our Nature in Chri&s;t, it is a mighty argument to rai&s;e up the thoughts of one that is a man, to a higher pitch than ever they have been; think thus, certainly my nature is capable of &s;ome higher good than meerly to ear and drink, and play, and to have a little Mony here for a while; why now
<PB N="105" REF="61"> that &s;hewes the per&s;onal excellency and endowments of Chri&s;t in general, that all the fulne&s;s of the God-head doth dwell bodily in him, and therefore Chri&s;t hee is called the Character, and the ingraven form of the Image of God, in the fir&s;t of the <HI>Hebrews;</HI> it is not &s;aid &s;o of man; though man be &s;aid to be made according to Gods Image, yet it is never &s;aid of him, That he is the brightne&s;&s;e of Gods glory, and the expre&s;&s;e Image of his Per&s;on, &s;o as it is &s;aid of Chri&s;t; and in the <HI>Colo&s;sians</HI> you have mighty high expre&s;|&s;ions about the Per&s;onal excellency of Chri&s;t, <HI>Chap.</HI> 1.15. Who <HI>is the Image of the invi&s;ible God, the fir&s;t born of every Creature;</HI> and then he is the beginning of all things, <HI>ver.</HI> 18. <HI>He is the Image of the invi&s;ible God,</HI> as God and man, for &s;o I mu&s;t &s;peak of him; he is the Image of the invi&s;ible God in another manner, and more fully, than any creature is, or po&s;&s;ibly can be, for Je&s;us Chri&s;t, take him God and Man, he hath the very character and ingraven form of what&s;oever glory there is in the Father; I &s;ay, take him as God and Man, as thus, hee hath an omnipotency in him, therefore it is &s;aid in the third of the <HI>Philippians</HI> latter end, <HI>Who &s;hall change our vild bodie that it may be fa&s;hioned like unto his glo|rious body,</HI> (how) <HI>according to the working whereby he is able even to &s;ubdue all things unto him&s;elf.</HI> Now this is a great My&s;tery of godline&s;&s;e, that God-Man &s;hould have an Omnipotency in him; and then likewi&s;e he hath the expre&s;&s;e Image of all the knowledge of God: for as he is God-man, he is made the Judge of all the World, and hee will bee the Judge, not meerly as he is God, but as God and Man; now &s;eeing hee is the Judge of all the World hee mu&s;t have an infinite knowledge, he mu&s;t know the hearts of men, and all the works of men; and he mu&s;t have an infinite Holine&s;&s;e and Ju&s;tice that mu&s;t judge all the World. And thus God-man hath an expre&s;&s;e Character of the Attributes of God, which none el&s;e hath; and then he hath an expre&s;&s;e character of the Immen&s;ity of God. If you &s;peak of his Body, it cannot be every where, but God-Man is in all places; thus you have it in the third of <HI>John,</HI> ver&s;. 13. it is a very &s;trange
<PB N="106" REF="62"> expre&s;&s;ion, and it can never bee under&s;tood but by under|&s;tanding the per&s;onal union of the two Natures. Why at that time hee was &s;peaking to them there upon the earth, and yet &s;aith hee, <HI>The Son of man which is in heaven.</HI> At this time hee that is the Son of man is in heaven, his body could not bee in two places at once, but God-man was then in heaven. Thus you &s;ee the excellency of Chri&s;t, in being the character of the Father, and having the Divine Attributes in him in another manner than any crea|ture in the world could have that is a meer creature.</P>
<P N="2">2 And then further, this per&s;onal excellency of Chri&s;t will appear, when wee con&s;ider how Chri&s;t comes to have tho&s;e excellencies, that hee hath them all by vertue of the per&s;onal union. The humane Nature alone it is but a crea|ture if you take it di&s;tinct; But now this humane nature is filled with all excellency from the Father; and indeed the Father is the fountain of all fir&s;tly; the&s;e excellencies that Chri&s;t hath, they come from the per&s;onal union im|mediately; now God unto other creatures gives them as it were of bounty out of him&s;elf, hee doth confer from him|&s;elf, hee puts forth an act of power for the be&s;towing of &s;uch and &s;uch excellencies upon &s;uch creatures, but when the humane nature of Chri&s;t was to bee filled with &s;uch excellencies, it is by taking of the humane nature of Chri&s;t into him&s;elf, as wee &s;ay concerning &s;ight. Philo&s;ophers have a di&s;pute whether it bee by taking in the &s;pecies, or by &s;ending out &s;omething from the eye. This may a little re&s;emble this great my&s;tery, there are &s;ome things that God be&s;tows by &s;ending out from him&s;elf, other excellencies hee be&s;tows by taking in to him&s;elf: Now all other creatures, Angels and men (but onely the humane nature of Chri&s;t) have all the excellency that they have by Gods &s;ending out from him&s;elf; but now all the indowments of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and all his excellencies, hee hath them all from God taking of him into him&s;elf, that is, in a pe&s;onal union, not taking him into communion with him&s;elf as his Saints, but taking him into a per&s;onal union, and &s;o comes to have all ex|cellencies
<PB N="107" REF="62"> in another manner than any other creature can po&s;&s;ibly have.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Chri&s;t is wonderful, take him God and man, in this, That all his per&s;onal excellencies that hee hath, de|pend upon him&s;elf; hee is Independent, the excellency that Chri&s;ts humane nature hath, it is, I &s;ay, Independent in this, that is, it depends upon his per&s;on; there is no de|pendence of the excellency that Chri&s;t hath, but upon the very per&s;on of Chri&s;t him&s;elf, all depends upon him, for hee &s;aith of him&s;elf, <HI>That hee hath life in him&s;elf,</HI> &s;o you have it in <HI>Joh.</HI> 5.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 5.27.</NOTE> it is &s;poken concerning Chri&s;ts ex|cellency there, <HI>For as the Father hath life in him&s;elf, &s;o hath hee given to the Son to have life in him&s;elf.</HI> Indeed the Son is from the Father by an eternal generation; but now though hee bee fir&s;tly from the Father, yet now the Son hath life in him&s;elf, yea and eternally hee had life in him&s;elf, and &s;o what excellency the humane nature hath, it doth depend upon its own per&s;on, which is a higher and a more glorious way of having excellency, than it is po&s;&s;ible for any thing el&s;e to have.</P>
<P N="4">4 And then in the fourth place, hence Chri&s;t, even God man, hee comes to bee worthy of Divine honour, Divine honour is due to Je&s;us Chri&s;t that is God-man; there is no creature can partake of Divine honour by coming never &s;o near to God, but onely the humane nature of Chri&s;t being per&s;onally united: Let a childe of God, a Saint, bee ne|ver &s;o holy, becau&s;e hee comes to partake of &s;o much ex|cellency of holine&s;s, hee is not therefore to partake of Di|vine honour, nor an Angel; but now Chri&s;t, God and man, the very humane nature joyned with the Divine in one per|&s;onal union, comes to &s;hare in the Divine honour that is due to him both God and man, and it is a wonderful Work of God to bring that that is in its &s;elf but a creature, to come to have a &s;hare in Divine honour.</P>
<P N="5">5 And then Chri&s;t is wonderful in this, that hence hee is an infinite object of the Delight of his Father, not onely as hee is eternally begotten of the Father, but as hee is
<PB N="108" REF="63"> both God and man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 3.17.</NOTE> <HI>This is my beloved Son in whom I am well plea&s;ed,</HI> I am plea&s;ed fully in him, Je&s;us Chri&s;t is an object even adequate to the very heart of God the Father; Oh how &s;hould wee take content in him! certainly if hee bee &s;o excellent as hee is, as to give full &s;atisfaction to God the Father, then hee may very well give full &s;atisfacti|on to your &s;ouls.</P>
<P>Yea, and God the Father manife&s;ts his &s;atisfaction &s;o fully in him, that hee hath made him to bee heir of all things, <HI>Heb.</HI> 1.2. and therefore hee is &s;aid, <HI>to bee the be|ginning of all things,</HI> all do &s;ub&s;i&s;t by him.</P>
<P>Yea, and further, there is that &s;atisfaction that the Father hath in him, that God the Father did make all things for his &s;ake; I &s;ay, all things in the world are made for the &s;ake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, Angels are made for his &s;ake, and this world, and &s;eas, all the work that ever God did, or will do to all eternity, it was for the &s;ake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that God the Father might honour him&s;elf in Je&s;us Chri&s;t; that Text is very full for that, and wee need no more, in <HI>Col.</HI> 1.16. <HI>All things were created by him, and for him.</HI> So that God hath a higher end in creating the world than you think for, God did not onely create that hee might manife&s;t that hee was a mighty God, and merciful, and bountiful, and the like, but God had a higher end when hee made the world, it was to advance his Son, when hee made the An|gels, God would never have made them, but for the honour of his Son.</P>
<P>Oh what infinite cau&s;e have wee to honour Je&s;us Chri&s;t; Oh how happy are they that live to the honour of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, by whom God may have glory beyond a natural way! did you con&s;ider this, that you were made for the ho|nour of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and the honour that God the Father would have from you is this, that you &s;hould live to the honour of his Son, and all other honour that you give un|to God, except it bee in order to his Son, it is not accepted, I &s;ay, what&s;oever honour any man or woman doth endea|vour to give to God, is not accepted of him, but in rela|tion
<PB N="109" REF="63"> to the honour of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; therefore if you look at God in a meer natural way, and honour, and wor&s;hip him never &s;o much, as the heathens did, all this would not do; but now that honour that God hath in reference to his Son, when a poor &s;inner is &s;en&s;ible of the breach that &s;in hath made between him and the infinite God, and comes to &s;ee Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and &s;eeks to advance Je&s;us Chri&s;t by faith, I &s;aith God, here is the honour that I would have. And there|fore when all the elect ones that were given to Je&s;us Chri&s;t to redeem, when they are all converted and brought to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the world will fall about our ears, why, be|cau&s;e &s;aith God, I have the end that I made the world for, and now I have brought in all that do belong to my Son, and all tho&s;e works by which my Son will come to have his honor eternally are done, let there be an end of the world, and the end of the world is like to be the &s;ooner now; becau&s;e that we &s;ee God is doing &s;o much for the &s;etting up of Je&s;us Chri&s;t in this latter age; as when a mans time is almo&s;t at an end for his work, then hee doth work more &s;peedily than hee did before; now &s;aith God, I have made the world for the ho|nour of my Son, but yet to this day how little honour hath my Son had from the world? and there is a time, &s;aith God, that I will manife&s;t to all the world that I did make it for Je&s;us Chri&s;t, hee did not make it for a company of Ty|rants to do what they would in, nor for a company of pro|phane people, to eat and drink, and follow their lu&s;ts in, but the end at which God aimed at in making the world, &s;aith hee, I will &s;et up my Son in the world, and all the works that ever have been done in the world, &s;hall at length come in to conduce to the honour of my Son. And this &s;hall bee the great work that &s;hall bee done at the Day of Judgement, hee will &s;hew to all the world how all tho&s;e works that did &s;eem to go mo&s;t again&s;t Je&s;us Chri&s;t, how they were brought about for the honour of Je&s;us Chri&s;t: Oh ble&s;&s;ed are tho&s;e &s;ouls that come to &s;ee that all things were made for the honour of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and &s;o give glory to him accordingly. Thus you &s;ee what a
<PB N="110" REF="64"> wonderful Saviour wee have, that God hath made all things for him; Surely our Saviour is glorious and wonder|full.</P>
<P N="6">6 There is one thing more, hee is wonderful in his In|dowments and Excellencies in this, that his Excellencies are in him to bee conveyed to his people,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 1.16.</NOTE> <HI>Out of his fulne&s;s do all we receive, and grace for grace.</HI> Out of the fulne&s;s of all Excellency that is put into him. The Saints of God and elect ones, they draw all the excellency they have here, or &s;hall have to all eternity. For you mu&s;t know this, Though the Divine Nature bee the fountain of all Excellency, yet it is not to bee conveyed, but onely through Je&s;us Chri&s;t; this is the great my&s;tery of godline&s;s, and this is the won|der in the Go&s;pel that is &s;o much above nature, that though God bee the fountain of all in him&s;elf, yet hee hath determined that this goodne&s;s of his &s;hall bee fir&s;t let out to his Son, and &s;o &s;hall bee conveyed through him to the Saints, &s;o that all the gifts and graces wee have, wee mu&s;t not look upon them onely as coming from <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">od the Creator of all things, but as coming from God through him, that is God and man in this my&s;tical way; therefore if you &s;ay you look at God, and beleeve in Gods mer|cy, without under&s;tanding the way of Gods communi|cating him&s;elf, you may utterly mi&s;take, it mu&s;t bee in Chri&s;t that wee mu&s;t receive grace for grace. Now that there &s;hould bee &s;uch a thing revealed, that God &s;hould &s;ay, I will &s;et up my Son, the &s;econd Per&s;on in Trinity, to take your nature, and to bee God and man, and hee &s;hall bee as a Conduit to bee filled with all things what&s;oever, and you &s;hall have as it were your pipes joyned to him, and through him, you &s;hall come to partake of what good I intend for you, This is the wonder of the world.</P>
<P>And hence it is that Chri&s;t is compared to all things that have any excellency in them; Is there an excellency in light, <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> is called<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">Joh. 1.9.</NOTE> <HI>Light,</HI> Chri&s;t is called<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Mat. 13.46.</NOTE> <HI>Pearl?</HI> and<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Rev. 3.18.</NOTE> <HI>Gold,</HI> and <HI>Rayment,</HI> and the<NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 84.11.</NOTE> <HI>Sun,</HI> and<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">Joh. 7.38.</NOTE> <HI>Living
<PB N="111" REF="64"> water,</HI> any thing that hath any excellency in it,<NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">Joh. 6.50.</NOTE> <HI>Bread,</HI><NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 15.1.</NOTE> <HI>Wine, Milk,</HI> what&s;oever in the creature hath any excel|lency in it, Chri&s;t is called by that Name, to &s;hew that all Excellencies are in him as one; As I told you that Gods Excellency was &s;uch an excellency, as the very quinte&s;&s;ence of all excellencies was united in one in him, &s;o Chri&s;t hath the quinte&s;&s;ence of all excellencies in him, and in him as in a conduit to bee conveyed to all that God in|tends eternal good unto.</P>
<P>Oh what a Saviour have wee, my Brethren! now mee thinks this &s;hould bee a very &s;trong argument to draw your hearts to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, or at lea&s;t to &s;ay as <HI>Philip</HI> &s;aid, Let us &s;ee but Je&s;us Chri&s;t, this wonder of the world, and wee will never wonder at any thing more in the world: Oh let us under&s;tand what Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Saviour is; here you may &s;ee what a full object of your faith Je&s;us Chri&s;t is, and how you may venture your &s;ouls upon him, and your eter|nal e&s;tates; here is enough to draw faith, and incourage faith, and inlarge faith; and oh that God would bee plea|&s;ed, by pre&s;enting what Chri&s;t is, to work faith in &s;ome &s;oul that hath not had it before; but now where faith is before this, look beyond your own worth, and your own inlarge|ments: And thus in the&s;e things you &s;ee how wonderful Chri&s;t is. There remains two things more.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="112" REF="65">
<HEAD>The Fourth SERMON ON <HI>The Excellency of Chri&s;t.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>I&s;aiah 9.6.</HI></BIBL> And his Name &s;hall bee called Wonderful.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Christ is Wonderful in regard of the glory of the Father that &s;hines in him.</HEAD>
<P>_WEE proceed: The Name of Chri&s;t is Won|derful in regard of the wonderful glory of the Father that &s;hines in him; It is in Je&s;us Chri&s;t that God reveals him&s;elf, and appears both to men and Angels: It is true, &s;omewhat wee might know of the <HI>invi&s;ible things of God by the things that are &s;een,</HI> as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks in <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.20. by his great Works of Creation and Providence: but there is as much difference between the Glory of God that &s;hines in all his Works of Creation and Providence, and the Glory of God that &s;hines in the face of Chri&s;t, as be|tween the glittering of a Glow-worm in a dark night, and the glory of the Sun in the full &s;trength of it. Now onely
<PB N="113" REF="65"> take this along with you, that God expects that tho&s;e that do &s;ee his glory in Chri&s;t, &s;hould glorifie him in another manner than tho&s;e that &s;ee his glory onely &s;hining in the Works of Creation and Providence; that as there is much difference between the &s;hining of the Sun in its full &s;trength, and a Glow-worm, even &s;o there &s;hould bee as much difference between beleevers glorifying God, and heathens, as there is between the Glow-worm, and the glory of the Sun; you &s;hould not &s;atisfie your &s;elf except you finde that there is &s;ome &s;uch proportionable difference; for certainly if you have &s;een God in Chri&s;t, you have &s;een him wonderfully indeed; therefore in 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.18. &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>But wee all with open face bebolding as in a gla&s;s the glory of the Lord, are changed into the &s;ame image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.</HI> This Scripture hath very much in it, hee &s;peaks of the Go&s;pel, and compares that to a Gla&s;s, wherein the glory of God &s;hines, &s;o as wee may behold it with open face, and &s;o be|hold it, as that we are changed into the very &s;ame image of it, from glory to glory, from one degree unto another. Wee may behold the glory of God in the gla&s;s of the creature, and never bee changed into the &s;ame image; but when wee behold the glory of God in the gla&s;s of the Go&s;pel, wee then come to bee changed into the &s;ame Image, and &s;till to bee changed more and more; and with open face wee do behold it. And in chap. 4. ver&s;. 6. <HI>For God who com|manded the light to &s;hine out of darkne&s;s, hath &s;hined into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> Mark it, hee is the knowledge of God, the <HI>light of the knowledge of God, and the light of the knowledge of the glory of God;</HI> and all this is, in the face of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; in the face of the creature there may bee the knowledge of God, but the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, this is in the face of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. <HI>Hee that hath &s;een mee, hath &s;een the Father,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t to <HI>Philip;</HI> It was a maxim among the Fathers in the time of the Law, that no man could &s;ee God, and live, God was &s;o glorious,
<PB N="114" REF="66"> that they thought that hee could not bee &s;een, but it would overwhelm any creature that was in the fle&s;h that &s;hould &s;ee him; but now mark in that Prophecy that wee have of the times of the Go&s;pel in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 40.3. There is a Prophecie of Chri&s;t that is apparent, <HI>The voice of him that cryeth in the wilderne&s;s, prepare yee the way of the Lord</HI> (which is in expre&s;s words applied to <HI>John</HI> the <HI>Bapti&s;t</HI> the fore|runner of Chri&s;t; And in the very &s;ame words) <HI>make &s;treight in the De&s;art a high way for our God, every valley &s;hall bee exalted, and every mountain &s;hall bee made low, and the crooked &s;hall bee made &s;treight, and the rough places plain;</HI> Then it follows in the fift ver&s;e, <HI>And the glory of the Lord &s;hall bee revealed, and all fle&s;h &s;hall &s;ee it together;</HI> before no man could &s;ee God and live, Fle&s;h was not able to be|hold God, but now when the <HI>Word was made Fle&s;h,</HI> when the times of the Go&s;pel came wherein God would make him&s;elf appear through his Son more clearly and fully, now all Fle&s;h &s;hall &s;ee it, &s;hall &s;ee the glory of the Lord; now the glory of God appears wonderfully in Chri&s;t in the&s;e four or five particulars.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Power of God appears in Chri&s;t.</NOTE>Fir&s;t, The glory of Gods Attributes do &s;hine more brightly in the face of Chri&s;t than any other wayes; As for in&s;tance, The power of God appears infinitely more in Chri&s;t, than in making heaven and earth; for God to unite God and man together in one Per&s;on, is a greater work than making heaven and earth; there is more power of God put forth in the hypo&s;tatical union of the Natures of Chri&s;t, be&s;ides all the power of God that appears in the great Works that Chri&s;t did do, and in carrying Chri&s;t through all tho&s;e great Works that hee was carried through, than in making of heaven and earth. There is more power of God appears in the conver&s;ion of one &s;oul to Chri&s;t, than in making heaven and earth: Then what power of God appears in Chri&s;t him&s;elf?</P>
<P>And the wi&s;dome of God appears more in Chri&s;t, than in the creation of heaven and earth.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Wi&s;dome of God ap|pears in Chri&s;t.</NOTE> Now for God to finde out &s;uch a glorious way of Reconciliation as hee hath
<PB N="115" REF="66"> found out in his Son, in this the wi&s;dome of God is more glorious than in all his works infinitely, the glory of Gods wi&s;dome in other things is darkned in compari&s;on of his wi&s;dome in this; If God had put it to Angels to finde out a way of Reconciliation, they could never have gue&s;t at &s;uch a way as this is; that wee &s;hould bee reconciled in Chri&s;t, here is the glory of wi&s;dome.</P>
<P>There likewi&s;e doth appear the glory of Gods holine&s;s more in Chri&s;t than in any other way; it is true,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Holine&s;s of God ap|pears in Chri&s;t</NOTE> the Law is a gla&s;s of Gods holine&s;s, and tho&s;e that ca&s;t reproach up|on the Law, they &s;pit in the very face of Gods holine&s;s; I but that is no &s;uch gla&s;s as Je&s;us Chri&s;t is, there wee &s;ee the holine&s;s of God in another manner than wee can do it in the holy Law that God hath made. God never &s;hewed his hatred of &s;in &s;o much as hee did in Chri&s;t, and it can|not bee devi&s;ed by all Angels and men how it were po&s;|&s;ible to have &s;uch an Argument to manife&s;t the hatred of &s;in &s;o as it is manife&s;ted in Chri&s;t, that God &s;hould deal &s;o with his Son, as hee hath done for the &s;in of man; I &s;ay, if an infinite Wi&s;dome &s;hould &s;et it &s;elf on work never &s;o much to finde out an Argument to manife&s;t the hatred of &s;in, there could not bee a greater Argument: So that when God &s;ent his Son into the world to dye for mans &s;in, hee did as it were &s;ay, I have many wayes to manife&s;t my holine&s;s to the children of men, how infinitely I do hate &s;in, but here is a way that it &s;hall appear to the uttermo&s;t, they &s;hall &s;ee it in my dealing with my Son; certainly in Chri&s;t Gods wi&s;dome hath found out an Argument to make us all to bee convinced of the infinite holine&s;s of God, that God hates &s;in more than hell its &s;elf, and that wee &s;hould do &s;o too.</P>
<P>Again, the Ju&s;tice of God appears in Chri&s;t, more than in any thing el&s;e: It appears not &s;o much in all the tor|ments of the damned, as in Gods dealings with Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Ju&s;tice of God appears in Chri&s;t.</NOTE> in that hee required &s;uch &s;atisfaction from him as hee did; when as wee hear of the dreadful cur&s;es of the Law, and of the torments that are in hell, wee may thereby be put in
<PB N="116" REF="67"> minde of an infinite Ju&s;tice; Oh how righteous is God in his wayes there, and his Ju&s;tice &s;eems to bee wonderful unto us: But when you behold in this red gla&s;s of the blood of Chri&s;t, Gods Ju&s;tice, it is a great deal more glo|rious here, than in all the damned in hell. If God &s;hould grant to any of you to &s;tand upon the very brink of hell, and there to look into the pit, and &s;ee all the torments and tortures there, and hear all the cries there, then you think your hearts would bee affected with the Ju&s;tice of God, to fear it. I but when God makes him&s;elf known to you in Chri&s;t, when you hear of the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t for &s;in, God would have you to bee more affected with his Ju&s;tice, and to fear it more, than if you &s;aw all the Torments of hell. And the truth is, there is no &s;uch way to &s;et out the Ju&s;tice of God, as to &s;hew the dealing of God with his Son for the &s;in of man. If I would preach but one Ser|mon that &s;hould bee my la&s;t, of the Terriblene&s;s of Gods Ju&s;tice, I would &s;peak of &s;ome Scripture that &s;hould &s;hew the terriblene&s;s of the dealing of God with his Son, and that would &s;et out the Ju&s;tice of God to bee a great deal more glorious than any thing el&s;e.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The glory of Gods Mercy appears in Chri&s;t.</NOTE>And &s;o the glory of Gods mercy and goodne&s;s is more in Chri&s;t than any other thing; wee injoy the&s;e outward comforts as a fruit of the bounty and goodne&s;s of God; I but what are all the&s;e to all the love of God in his Son? I remember a learned man compares all the good things wee receive from God, from his general bounty and pro|vidence, and his love and mercy that appears in Chri&s;t, with a few &s;parks that come out of a burning furnace, and the heat of it within; look what difference there is between them, &s;uch difference is there between the love of God to us in all the comforts in this world, and the love of God in Je&s;us Chri&s;t; God hee would have an Argument to ma|nife&s;t the infinitene&s;s of his love unto his creatures, and no &s;uch Argument as this, <HI>So God loved the world that hee &s;ent forth his onely begotten Son.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 3.16.</NOTE></P>
<P>And &s;o the glory of Gods Truth that is manife&s;ted in
<PB N="117" REF="67"> fulfilling Promi&s;es,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The glory of Gods Truth appears in Chri&s;t.</NOTE> any promi&s;e that is fulfilled manife&s;ts the glory of Gods truth and faithfulne&s;s, but now the ful|filling that great Promi&s;e of God in &s;ending his Son into the world, here the truth and faithfulne&s;s of God appears more gloriou&s;ly than in all other; for there was never a promi&s;e &s;o difficult as this promi&s;e; many men can bee con|tent to fulfil promi&s;es of &s;maller moment, when there is no great difficulty in the fulfilling of them, I but here is the greate&s;t Promi&s;e that ever was, and there was the greate&s;t difficulty for God to fulfil this promi&s;e of any thing that ever God did promi&s;e; and indeed when as wee hear that Chri&s;t was promi&s;ed &s;ome four thou&s;and years before hee came into the world, and yet at length hee came into the world, it is a good Argument to teach us never to doubt of the fulfilling of Gods promi&s;es; And indeed the right ap|prehen&s;ion of Gods faithfulne&s;s in this great Promi&s;e of his Son, will mightily &s;trengthen the faith of the people of God to beleeve any &s;maller promi&s;es, and not to &s;tagger in them; and the rea&s;on why people are &s;o ready to &s;tagger in their beleef about &s;maller promi&s;es, it is becau&s;e they have not been acquainted with the work of faith in be|leeving that great promi&s;e that God made with his people in &s;ending his Son into the world; &s;o that the&s;e Attributes with all other, do &s;hine gloriou&s;ly in Chri&s;t. No marvel then though the Angels upon the birth of Chri&s;t, they cry out, <HI>Glory bee to God on high;</HI> as if they &s;hould &s;ay, Oh Lord, Here is one come into the world, wherein thy glory doth appear, and by whom thou &s;halt have glory to all eternity: Though Chri&s;t was but a Babe in the Manger, yet the Angels did &s;ee more glory in him, than in the highe&s;t heavens; they did not &s;ee &s;o much cau&s;e to cry, <HI>Glory bee to God on high,</HI> from any object that ever they &s;aw, as when they &s;aw the Babe in the Manger, then <HI>Oh glory bee to God on high,</HI> wee behold thy glory &s;hining here, and ble&s;&s;ed are tho&s;e that &s;hall bee inabled to behold the glory of God in the face of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; who would not but have beheld the glory of God in his great works? what man
<PB N="118" REF="68"> or woman that hath any knowledge of God at all, would for a world but have beheld &s;o much of the glory of God as doth appear in the great Works of Creation and Pro|vidence; Oh what comfort have the Saints in beholding the glory of the great God, when they look up unto heaven, and upon the earth, and in the &s;eas! Oh but then the &s;weetne&s;s, and &s;oul-&s;atisfaction that there mu&s;t needs bee in the beholding the glory of God in the face of Je&s;us Chri&s;t!</P>
<P>And this by the way would bee a good evidence of your faith; have you beheld more of Gods glory in the face of Chri&s;t than ever you did in all the world be&s;ides? Yea and hath the glory of God in the face of Chri&s;t, darkned all the glory of the world be&s;ides unto you? Have your hearts been taken with that glory more, than with all the glory that there is in the world? Why here would bee a good evidence of faith indeed, that you have had a true and real fight of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; wee cannot have a real &s;ight of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, but wee mu&s;t certainly &s;ee more of God in him, than in all things el&s;e.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The glory of Gods great works in bringing man to his eternal e&s;tate appears in Chri&s;t. Eph. 1.4.</NOTE>And then &s;econdly, As the glory of Gods Attributes, &s;o the glory of the great Coun&s;els and Works of God, e&s;pe|cially in the governing of man unto his eternal e&s;tate, that appears in Chri&s;t above all.</P>
<P>As the great Coun&s;els of God in Election, <HI>Wee are cho&s;en in Chri&s;t,</HI> the great Coun&s;els and Works of God in Voca|tion, Ju&s;tification, Adoption, Reconciliation, Sanctification, and Glorification, the&s;e are the great Works that God doth glorifie him&s;elf in, the&s;e are the great things that the thoughts and coun&s;els of God hath been from all eternity exerci&s;ed about, what&s;oever your thoughts are exerci&s;ed a|bout, yet I &s;ay, the thoughts and coun&s;els of God have been exerci&s;ed from all eternity about the&s;e great Works of his, Election, Vocation, Ju&s;tification, Adoption, Recon|ciliation, Sanctification, Glorification, all the&s;e Works whereby hee doth order and guide mankinde unto an eter|nal e&s;tate. Now the glory of God in all the&s;e Works they
<PB N="119" REF="68"> are in Chri&s;t, Chri&s;t hee is the head of our Election, and all are cho&s;en in him; what is Vocation but a calling unto Chri&s;t, and revealing Chri&s;t to the &s;oul? And &s;o Ju&s;tifica|tion it is in Chri&s;t &s;till: And wee are made children, adopted in him, and reconciled in him, and &s;anctified through him, and are to bee glorified through him; all the&s;e great Works about which the heart of God is &s;o much bu|&s;ied, the glory of God in all the&s;e, it doth &s;hine in the face of Chri&s;t, and without the knowledge of Chri&s;t wee could never come to know any of the&s;e things. What could the heathen know of Gods eternal Election, or Vocation, or Ju&s;tification, or Adoption, or Glorification, to &s;peak &s;uch words to the Heathens as the&s;e are in reference to God, it would bee barbari&s;m; But now the&s;e are the great things of God that are revealed to Chri&s;tians by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, wee come to have all the&s;e glorious coun&s;els of God in the&s;e great works of his to bee opened to us, and Chri&s;t is won|derful in all them, and all tho&s;e that did know what the&s;e things mean, they &s;ee the glory of God wonderfully in them.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the glory of God is wonderful in Chri&s;t, in that all the good and mercy that is in order to eternal life, that God communicates to the children of men, it is through Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Now wee mentioned &s;omewhat like to this in the for|mer, when wee &s;hewed Chri&s;ts endowments, that from him wee have all Excellencies; But now I onely mention it to &s;hew how the glory of God the Father is in him, becau&s;e that God hath appointed him for the communication of all the good that hee doth intend towards the children of men in order to eternal life; now the glory of God mu&s;t needs bee eminent in him this way; for God accounts it a great part of his glory to communicate him&s;elf to his creatures, therefore that through which hee doth communicate him|&s;elf, mu&s;t needs bee partaker of abundance of glory; God hath honoured Chri&s;t in this, that hee hath cho&s;en him to bee the in&s;trument of the conveyance of all &s;aving good
<PB N="120" REF="69"> to all the Elect. Now &s;uppo&s;e there were a gla&s;s that all the beams of the Sun that ever could &s;hine upon the world, were contracted in it, and no beam of the Sun could &s;hine upon the world but thorow that gla&s;s, fir&s;t it mu&s;t come upon the gla&s;s, and &s;hine thorow it, and &s;o &s;hine upon the world, &s;urely this gla&s;s would bee very glorious. You may conceive of Chri&s;t thus, Conceive of God the Father as the Sun, and of all his elect ones as the world, and Je&s;us Chri&s;t as the gla&s;s between the Father, and all the Elect; now all the beams of the love, and mercy, and goodne&s;s that ever &s;hall come from God upon all his elect ones, they all come thorow this gla&s;s, thorow Je&s;us Chri&s;t; Oh how glorious is Je&s;us Chri&s;t, how wonderful is he then in that glory of the Father!</P>
<P>Fourthly, The glory of the Father is wonderful in him in this, that God the Father attains unto his greate&s;t de|&s;ign, the great de&s;ign that God had in making of the world, and in the pre&s;erving of the world; I &s;ay, God attains un|to it by his Son, by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, And that de&s;ign would bee lo&s;t, if Je&s;us Chri&s;t did not bring things about for the glory of his Father. God hath made a world for his glory, and hee pre&s;erves a World for his glory, but the main de&s;ign that God had in making the world, and that hee hath in pre&s;erving the world, it is to fetch about a great de&s;ign that hee hath onely by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and there|fore it is that the Father is &s;o well plea&s;ed in his Son, be|cau&s;e that by him hee comes to attain the great de&s;ign that hee hath in making the world.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> You will &s;ay, <HI>What is that?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Truth it is, wee under&s;tand but little of it for the pre&s;ent, but wee know in the general it is this, That hee might have his elect ones eternally with him&s;elf to behold his face, and magnifie him together with Angels for his mercy in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that is the great de&s;ign that God had; other men have great de&s;igns in their heads, but the greate&s;t de&s;ign that God hath of all, it is to fetch about his honour in his Son, and to glorifie him&s;elf in his elect ones to all eternity, that is the great de&s;ign for which hee made
<PB N="121" REF="69"> the world, without which hee would never have made it. And God, as I may &s;o &s;ay, is well enough &s;atisfied in the mid&s;t of all the di&s;honour that is done to him in this wick|ed corrupt world, with this con&s;ideration, Well, but my Son doth drive on my de&s;ign, and this plea&s;eth mee; no matter though I bee di&s;honoured, though my Name bee never &s;o much bla&s;phemed in the world, yet my Son carries on my great de&s;ign, and the glory I fore&s;ee I &s;hall have in the ac|compli&s;hment of that great de&s;ign of mine, it doth &s;o plea&s;e mee, that it is no great matter to mee what wicked men that belong not to mine Election do. Chri&s;t is wonderful in this, that hee carries on the great de&s;ign that God had from all eternity in making the world.</P>
<P>And then la&s;tly, The glory of God is great in Chri&s;t, and therefore wonderful, becau&s;e it is through him that all the &s;ervices and prai&s;es that God hath from his elect ones, do all come through him: As there is a reflection of the glory of God in the de&s;cending of it, when it doth de&s;cend upon the elect through Chri&s;t, &s;o in the a&s;cending of it again from beleevers it doth a&s;cend through Chri&s;t, there is as great a nece&s;&s;ity that when we tender up any ho|nour to God, that it &s;hould come through Chri&s;t, as when God lets down any beams of his glory, that that &s;hould come through Chri&s;t; Chri&s;t is as <HI>Jacobs</HI> Ladder, for God to come down as it were from heaven to us, and for us to a&s;|cend up to heaven through him, <HI>Eph.</HI> 3. la&s;t, <HI>&V;nto him bee glory in the Church by Chri&s;t Je&s;us thoughout all Ages world without end. Unto him bee glory in the Church</HI> (but how) <HI>by Chri&s;t Je&s;us;</HI> except the glory that you tender up to God goes through Chri&s;t, God accounts not him&s;elf glorified in it; For what&s;oever comes from God to you, except it comes through Chri&s;t, it will bee to little purpo&s;e; &s;o what&s;oever comes from you unto God, except it comes through his Son, it is not accepted of God; therefore oh how wonderful is Chri&s;t in this, That &s;uch glory of the Attributes of God do &s;hine in him? the great Coun&s;els, and Works of God about mans eternal e|&s;tate are all in him: And all the good that God communicates
<PB N="122" REF="70"> to his elect ones, all is through him: And the great de|&s;ign that God had from all eternity, hee doth attain it by his Son. La&s;tly, All the honour that hee hath from all his elect ones, it is through his Son. How wonderful is Chri&s;t then in regard of the glory of the Father in him? onely as wee go along, remember that when wee &s;et Chri&s;t thus before you, wee do it not meerly to your under&s;tandings, that you may conceive thus of Chri&s;t, but as an object of your faith, you mu&s;t exerci&s;e your faith upon Chri&s;t, as &s;uch a Chri&s;t in whom the glory of the Father doth &s;o much ap|pear.</P>
<P><HI>Chri&s;t Wonderful in his Humiliation.</HI></P>
<P>The next thing is, Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Humiliation; and indeed this may &s;eem to bee the greate&s;t Wonder of all, at lea&s;t to our &s;en&s;e it is, e&s;pecially if wee do under|&s;tand what hath been &s;aid before of Chri&s;t, what a Per&s;on Chri&s;t is; now to hear what wee &s;hall hear of his Humi|liation, will appear to bee an amazing, and an a&s;toni&s;hing Wonder.</P>
<P>As fir&s;t, The wonder of his Humiliation is in this, That Chri&s;t, God and man, as you have heard before, &s;hould have all the &s;ins of all the elect ones from the beginning of the world, to the end of the world laid upon him. For &s;uch a one as Chri&s;t is, infinitely beloved of the Father, and <HI>equal with the Father,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.6.</NOTE> <HI>accounted it no robbery to bee equal with God,</HI> yet that he &s;hould &s;tand before God the Father with all the &s;ins of the Elect charged upon him, &s;o the Scripture tells us, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.21. <HI>For hee hath made him to bee &s;in for us, who knew no &s;in:</HI> Hee hath made him to bee &s;in for us; for Chri&s;t to bee made a worm was a wonderful Humiliation, but for Chri&s;t to bee made &s;in was a greater Humiliation than to bee made a worm; &s;urely this mu&s;t needs bee a wonder to all the Angels in heaven, for them to &s;ee &s;uch a one, whom they knew to bee the eternal Son of God, equal with the Father, to &s;tand before the Father cloathed
<PB N="123" REF="70"> at it were with all the &s;ins of the Elect. Wee read in <HI>Zech.</HI> 3. a kinde of type of this, in ver&s;. 3. of <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> the <HI>High Prie&s;t,</HI> he was <HI>cloathed with filthy Garments, and &s;tood before the Angel,</HI> &s;o Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;tands cloathed with filthy Garments, hee that is <HI>cloathed with Maje&s;ty and Glory,</HI> yet hee mu&s;t come and &s;tand cloathed with filthy Garments before the Father. For one to bee cloathed with filthy garments, and yet to bee in &s;ome room alone, that no body &s;hould &s;ee him, is no great matter, but to &s;ee a great Prince to come out before the world cloathed with filthy gar|ments, it is a very great humiliation: But Chri&s;t that was infinitely above all the Princes in the world, hee comes and &s;tands before Men and Angels, yea before God him|&s;elf cloathed with the&s;e filthy garments. For a man to have &s;in upon him before other men it is no great matter, but for him to come into the pre&s;ence of God with &s;in upon him, it is a terrible thing. But now the Son of God mu&s;t do it, hee comes into the pre&s;ence of the Father, and &s;tands with all the &s;ins of the Elect upon him, what an object is here of Wonder? <HI>Luther</HI> calls Chri&s;t the greate&s;t &s;inner that ever was in the world, I confe&s;s that is &s;omewhat hard, for it was but charged upon him, but his meaning is onely this that I am &s;peaking of: Chri&s;t had not onely the &s;ins of <HI>David,</HI> his Murther and Adultery, and denial of <HI>Peter,</HI> and the like, but all the &s;ins of all the elect ones, from the beginning of the world, to the end of the world, which they were, or &s;hould bee guilty of, charged upon him.</P>
<P>Secondly, The wonder of Chri&s;ts Humiliation it is in this, that hee that was &s;o high &s;hould bee now brought down &s;o low for the &s;in of man; is not this a wonder, that hee that thunders in the heavens, &s;hould bee cry|ing in a Manger? Is it not a great wonder, that hee that framed the heavens and earth, &s;hould work with a Carpen|ter in his Trade; that hee that is the great Judge of all the world &s;hould bee accu&s;ed, and &s;hould bee condemned as a Malefactor, and crucified among Theeves? That hee that is
<PB N="124" REF="71"> the Lord of Life &s;hould dye, that hee that dwelt in that light that is unapprochable, &s;hould have darkne&s;s to cover him, that hee that is the ble&s;&s;ed God &s;hould bee made a cur&s;e for the &s;in of man, are not the&s;e things wonderful in Chri&s;tian Religion? and yet all the&s;e are things that may bee &s;aid of Chri&s;t; for the Lord of Life to come and dye, and that accur&s;ed death, this was a wonder that all the world &s;eemed to bee affected with, the very in&s;en&s;itive creatures; for at the death of Chri&s;t the Sun withdrew his light as being amazed with this wonder, not able to be|hold it, and the earth &s;haked and trembled, and the graves opened at this wonder, the very &s;tones clave in &s;un|der at this wonder; there was &s;uch a mighty concu&s;&s;ion of things at this time, that it made one that knew nothing of the cau&s;e of it, One <HI>Diony&s;ius,</HI> &s;eeing the darkne&s;s at that time,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Aut Deus na|turae patitur aut mundi machina di&s;|&s;olvetur.</NOTE> and &s;uch great things which were done, cry out, Certainly either the God of Nature &s;uffers at this time, or the world is at an end. So great a wonder it was that the Lord of Life &s;hould thus dye an accur&s;ed death; Angels, yea all in&s;en&s;itive creatures they &s;tood amazed at it, and &s;eemed to bee exceedingly affected with it.</P>
<P>And then in the third place, Why, Chri&s;t may dye, and yet not &s;uffer &s;o much to make us wonder, many of the &s;ervants of God have died cruel deaths; But then in the third place, There is a greater wonder in C<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">i&s;ts humilia|tion, than in the &s;ufferings of the &s;ervants of God, becau&s;e though their bodies &s;uffered, yet they had much freedome in their &s;ouls, they were filled with joy and comfort in the time of their &s;ufferings, &s;o it was in the Martyrs; Oh but it was otherwi&s;e with Chri&s;t, though hee were the fountain of all con&s;olation, yet Chri&s;t &s;uffers in his &s;oul, hee was &s;orrowful in his &s;oul to the very death, hee gave his &s;oul to bee an offering for &s;in, and indeed the &s;uffering of Chri&s;ts &s;oul, was the &s;oul of his &s;uffering, the chief of his &s;uffer|ing, when as Chri&s;t was in the Garden, there hee acknow|ledges that his &s;oul was compa&s;&s;ed round about with &s;or|rows,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 26.38.</NOTE> <HI>his &s;oul was very &s;orrowful;</HI> and in another Evangeli&s;t
<PB N="125" REF="71"> hee began <HI>to bee amazed,</HI> and a third Evangeli&s;t &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark 14.33.</NOTE> hee <HI>began to bee filled with &s;orrow in his &s;oul,</HI> and the very trouble of his &s;oul was that that drew forth from him &s;uch a won|derful &s;weat as never was heard of in the world before, nor never &s;ince, nor never is like to bee, that a man from di|&s;tre&s;s and trouble of his &s;oul &s;hould &s;weat &s;o: Many a man when hee is in fear and trouble of minde, hee may &s;weat; but when did you ever hear of a man out of trouble of minde that did &s;weat blood, that blood &s;hould come and break through his skin, and run down upon him, and this through the trouble of his minde? for there was no bo|dily affliction upon Chri&s;t then, but meerly the trouble of his Spirit, and hee knowing what cup hee was to drink, and the trouble that hee &s;uffered in his Soul, did cau&s;e the blood to break through his veyns, and come to trickle down; and not &s;ome thin blood, for &s;o I have read of one in <HI>Paris</HI> that was condemned to dye, and the very trouble of his &s;pirit did cau&s;e &s;ome blood to come out of his body, but thin; but the Scripture tells us that there was clodders of blood; and when was this &s;weat? when hee was abroad in the night time, and lay upon the ground, and in the Winter &s;ea&s;on: In a Winters night when hee was abroad, and lay upon the ground, hee &s;weat this &s;weat, and all from the trouble of his &s;pirit: A man may &s;weat in Summer, and in Winter in the day time, or in a warm room, or in a bed, but for Chri&s;t in a Winters night, and lying upon the ground to &s;weat &s;uch a &s;weat, for clodders of blood to trickle down,<NOTE PLACE="marg">&lindx;</NOTE> never was Garden watered as this Garden; now who would not have accounted this a Wonder of all Won|ders?</P>
<P>Here upon this ground lyes groveling the Son of God, the &s;ame God that made the heavens and earth, lyes here in trouble and angui&s;h of his Spirit, while hee &s;weat clod|ders of blood; certainly there was &s;ome great matter upon the Spirit of Chri&s;t at this time. Wee know it by expe|rience, a Porter when hee hath a great burden upon his body, hee carries it while hee &s;weats again: Oh but when
<PB N="126" REF="72"> you &s;ee Porters &s;weating under their burdens, remember Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;weating under the burden of &s;in.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides that other expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>If it bee po&s;&s;ible let this cup pa&s;s from mee,</HI> and then the &s;econd time, and the third time to do it again: Why the Martyrs have gone chearfully to their deaths, who&s;e deaths have been as cruel as the death of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and more cruel for the outward part of it, but here even the great Champion from whom all the Martyrs that ever were, had their &s;trength, hee, when hee comes to dye, <HI>If it bee po&s;&s;ible let this cup pa&s;s from mee,</HI> &s;aith hee; certainly hee &s;aw that which the Martyrs never &s;aw: Hee &s;uffered in his Soul.</P>
<P>Fourthly, Chri&s;t hee &s;uffered the&s;e things from his Fa|ther, that makes the wonder greater, and &s;o his &s;ufferings greater; hee did not &s;uffer onely from wicked men and de|vils, men indeed they are like them&s;elves malicious, the devils are like them&s;elves cruel, I but Chri&s;t hee might have looked up to his Father, and have &s;aid, But oh ble&s;&s;ed Father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 3.17.</NOTE> thou ha&s;t &s;aid from heaven, that I am thy well-beloved Son: Chri&s;t would have accounted it no great matter to have &s;uffered from men or devils, &s;o bee it that his Father had &s;hined upon him; Oh no, but here is the wonder, and the greate&s;t thing for Angels, and men to ad|mire at, that God the Father hee inflicts the&s;e &s;ufferings with his own hand upon him, and the chief &s;ufferings of Je&s;us Chri&s;t they were inflicted by the very hand of God the Father him&s;elf; for a King to come and take his own childe, and &s;courge him, and put him to death with his own hand, wee would &s;ay, There was never &s;uch a thing heard of! yet thus it was in the work of our Redemption, God the Father takes Chri&s;t with his own hands, and puts him to death, <HI>For hee made his Soul an offering for &s;in,</HI> it was hee <HI>that brui&s;ed him:</HI> If you read <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 53.10. you &s;hall finde it was the Father that did it; And that was typified in <HI>Abrahams</HI> coming with his knife to &s;acrifice <HI>I&s;aac</HI> his Son, was not that a wonderful thing, that &s;tory of <HI>Abraham? I&s;aac</HI> mu&s;t bee &s;acrificed, and <HI>Abraham</HI> to &s;acrifice <HI>I&s;aac</HI>
<PB N="127" REF="72"> his onely Son with his own hands, what a &s;trange hi&s;tory is that? but that was but the type, here is the Antitype, here God the Father takes his <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> his onely Son Chri&s;t, and &s;acrifices him him&s;elf; &s;urely there was &s;ome great thing to bee done, that God the Father &s;hould do it thus him|&s;elf.</P>
<P>Fifthly, Not onely God hee comes him&s;elf upon him, and inflicts the&s;e evils, but hee doth not &s;pare him at all.</P>
<P>You will &s;ay, If God him&s;elf mu&s;t bee the Executioner, and come and lay his hand upon him, hee will lay his hand gently upon his own Son. Nay, when Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Son of God came to take our &s;ins upon him, the Father would not &s;pare him one whit, but lets out the fulne&s;s of Ju&s;tice upon him, lets out his Ju&s;tice to the full, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.32. it is &s;aid, <HI>That God &s;pared not his own Son,</HI> certainly if God would have &s;pared any, one would have thought it &s;hould have been his Son: Oh here behold the Ju&s;tice of God the Father, that when his own Son takes &s;in upon him, and that by imputation, hee mu&s;t pay to the uttermo&s;t farthing to Ju&s;tice, yea though hee <HI>prayed with &s;trong cryings and tears,</HI> as in <HI>Heb.</HI> 5.7. Though it is true, the Father did carry him through, yet in this God would not &s;pare him, notwith&s;tanding any of his cryes, but hee mu&s;t &s;uffer to the uttermo&s;t, and pay the uttermo&s;t farthing that Divine Ju|&s;tice did require for the &s;atisfying of it for mans &s;ins. Many poor creatures think that having to deal with God who is a merc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ful God, though they have the guilt of great &s;ins upon them, yet if they cry out to God for mercy, that God wil &s;pare them; why, art thou dearer to God than Je&s;us Chri&s;t was, thy &s;ins are thine own, his was but by imputation, yet when hee cryed, hee mu&s;t not bee &s;pared? What thoughts mu&s;t the Angels in He<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ven have upon this when they &s;ee him whom they knew to bee the eternal Son of God under the hand of the Father, and the Father not &s;o much as to &s;pare him in any thing? Certainly if wee do not know the&s;e things, or beleeve them, if wee think to put off God lightly,
<PB N="128" REF="73"> if wee think that a few cryes to God at la&s;t will bee e|nough to cau&s;e God to &s;pare us, and pa&s;s by all our &s;ins, do but know God in Chri&s;t, and a thou&s;and of thy vain thoughts about God, and the pacifying God for thy &s;in, will vani&s;h away and come to nothing, did wee but know God aright in Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Sixthly, Yea but yet further, there is a further wonder in this humiliation of Chri&s;t. God did not &s;pare him; I but when God deals thus with his Son, will hee leave him? For one to &s;uffer much, yea and though it bee much from God, yet &s;o long as they may have the pre&s;ence of God with them, that God doth not leave them it is not &s;o much. But in all the&s;e &s;ufferings, God the Father leaves him, this is that is expre&s;t by that &s;peech, that wonderful &s;peech of Chri&s;t upon the Cro&s;s, <HI>My God, my God, why ha&s;t thou for|&s;aken mee;</HI> There was never a &s;peech &s;poke in this world that had matter of &s;o much admiration as that &s;peech of Je&s;us Chri&s;t that was the eternal Son of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 27.46.</NOTE> in the midde&s;t of his &s;ufferings, that hee &s;hould thus cry out, certainly hee did not mi&s;take, what Chri&s;t apprehended to bee, was, wee many time may apprehend that God hath for&s;aken us, when there is no &s;uch thing, but certainly Chri&s;t was never de|ceived in his apprehen&s;ions, but what hee did apprehend, it was true: But now what this for&s;aking of God was, it is a very hard thing, a great my&s;tery, which is too deep for us to dive into, but that there was a for&s;aking, and that hee was not deceived, but that hee apprehended was real, that mu&s;t needs bee granted, or otherwi&s;e wee mu&s;t grant that Chri&s;t was deceived, which would bee bla&s;phemy for us to &s;ay.</P>
<P>Seventhly, Yea again yet further, the wonder in Chri&s;ts humiliation was this, that all this Chri&s;t fore&s;aw, and yet did willingly undertake it to &s;ave mankinde, &s;ee what the heart of Chri&s;t in his &s;ufferings towards his elect ones, was, that rather than hee would &s;ee them to bee plunged into the bot|tomle&s;s gulf of eternal mi&s;ery, hee would put him&s;elf into it to keep them out, hee did it willingly; When hee did
<PB N="129" REF="73"> fir &s;tundertake this great work with his Father, hee knew what hee &s;hould &s;uffer, <HI>A body ha&s;t thou prepared mee, it is written in the volume of thy book I &s;hould do thy will,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 10 5, 7.</NOTE> <HI>and lo I come, I delight to do thy will,</HI> And what was it? It was the &s;uffering of all the&s;e things that I have named unto you, and I have but even named them unto you.</P>
<P>Eighthly, And yet further, the wonder of Chri&s;ts humi|liation (my &s;cope is now to pre&s;ent as briefly as may bee, as much of Chri&s;t as I can unto you, that you may have &s;ome help for your more clear apprehen&s;ions of Chri&s;t, and how to make him the object of your faith) The wonder of Chri&s;t appears in this, that there &s;hould bee &s;uch a way to &s;ave men as this is, that the Son of God &s;hould bee thus humbled, and this wee finde clearly in Scripture &s;et out to us; but that God would have &s;uch a way to &s;ave &s;inners, and no other, this is as great a wonder as any thing, it is cer|tainly the a&s;toni&s;hment of the Angels, and the admiration of the Saints to all eternity; that the Lord &s;hould look up|on ba&s;e man, and that hee &s;hould have thoughts to &s;ave him, that was nothing; but when God &s;aw that if hee bee &s;aved, hee mu&s;t bee &s;aved after this way, that God &s;hould as it were trouble heaven and earth for the &s;aving of a poor wretched &s;inful creature, and though God &s;aw that it would co&s;t him &s;o dear to &s;ave a &s;oul, yet that hee &s;hould go on with his work to &s;ave him, here is the wonder; but this is the way of &s;alvation, and this is that that is infinitely above rea&s;on, not onely above &s;en&s;e, but above rea&s;on; which of the Heathens could have imagined that there &s;hould have been &s;uch a way to &s;ave man by as this; Why how wilt thou bee &s;aved? I will cry to God for mercy, and break off my &s;in, and bee &s;orry with all my heart, why if this were the way there was no wonder in that; but know oh thou &s;inner, who&s;oever thou art, that if ever thou bee &s;aved, that thou mu&s;t bee &s;aved by a wonderful way; and the truth is, con&s;idering that this is the way of &s;aving &s;in|ners, wee may &s;tand and wonder that any are &s;aved; when you hear of but few that go to heaven, and that mo&s;t
<PB N="130" REF="74"> people in the world peri&s;h, and when you come to hear the way of &s;aving man, and what it co&s;t, and the great diffi|culty of it, you may then &s;tand and wonder that any &s;hould bee &s;aved: Oh when ever you think of &s;alvation, think wi&s;ely of this, it is a wonderful work of God to &s;ave a &s;in|ner, and the mo&s;t wonderful work that ever God did do; why, becau&s;e the way of &s;aving a &s;inner is &s;o &s;trange; and truly my Brethren, then doth God begin to work &s;avingly upon the heart of a &s;inner, when the &s;inner begins to &s;tand and wonder at the way of &s;aving, and till that time it cannot bee conceived that God is beginning &s;avingly to work upon your hearts. I appeal to your con&s;ciences, you that have gone on in a &s;ecure dead-hearted way, when was ever your hearts taken up in admiring at the way of Gods &s;aving &s;inners? why, if it hath done &s;o, that is a good evi|dence that God is beginning to &s;hew him&s;elf unto you in a &s;aving way. But now if you go on, and have but low thoughts about the way of &s;alvation, if your hearts do not &s;anctifie Gods Name in admiring at the wonderful way of &s;alvation, know, that yet the Go&s;pel is hidden to you, cer|tainly you yet do not under&s;tand the coun&s;els of God about the way of &s;alvation, when your hearts are not taken up with admiring at the glory of God in it.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">A note of Trial.</NOTE>I will but leave this note of Trial with you, whether Chri&s;t bee revealed to you; have your &s;ouls wondred at him, My Brethen? there are divers things that men won|der at in the world, and their hearts are taken with them, and all becau&s;e they under&s;tand not Chri&s;t the great Won|der of the world. Wee read in <HI>Rev.</HI> 17. that when Anti|chri&s;t had gotten a great deal of power, <HI>that the world did wonder at him,</HI> ver&s;. 6. <HI>When I &s;aw her, I wondred with great admiration, &amp;c.</HI> Antichri&s;t having a great deal of power makes men to wonder much at him. Now in ver&s;. 8. <HI>The Bea&s;t which thou &s;awe&s;t, was and is not, and &s;hall a&s;cend out of the bottomle&s;s pit, and go into perdition, and they that dwell on the earth &s;hall wonder, (who&s;e names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) when they behold
<PB N="131" REF="74"> the Bea&s;t that was, and is not, and yet is,</HI> &s;aith hee, tho&s;e who&s;e names are not written the book of life, that was written from the foundation of the world, they &s;hall make a wonder at Antichri&s;t, and at his great power, and at the way of his falling too. So in <HI>Rev.</HI> 13.2, 3. <HI>And the Dragon gave him his power, and his &s;eat, and great Authority, &amp;c.</HI> When the Dragon had given his power to the Bea&s;t, that is the Ci|vil &s;tate and power, had given its power unto Antichri&s;t, unto their Church-&s;tate, &s;o that they had the Civil &s;word in their own hands, and were able by that Civil power to force all to come in to their Dictates, now the Text &s;aith, <HI>That they all wondred at it;</HI> but who are they? in Chap. 17. v. 8. <HI>tho&s;e who&s;e names were not written in the book of life;</HI> &s;o that carnal hearts now may bee taken with the wondring after the pomp and glory of the word, and after the power of Antichri&s;t, becau&s;e Antichri&s;t prevails in the world, but they are tho&s;e who&s;e mames are not written in the book of life; tho&s;e who&s;e names are written in the book of life, they will never &s;tand wondring at the excellency of Anti|chri&s;t, becau&s;e of his outward glory; no, Tho&s;e who&s;e names are written in the book of life, they have learned to wonder at Je&s;us Chri&s;t, not at Antichri&s;t; let Je&s;us Chri&s;t bee never &s;o mean, and humbled, and low, and per&s;ecuted in his members, in his Ordinances, yet they &s;ee that excel|lency in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as makes them wonder, and it is &s;uch a wonder as it doth darken all the wonders in the world be|&s;ides.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="132" REF="75">
<HEAD>The Fifth SERMON ON <HI>The Excellency of Chri&s;t.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>I&s;aiah 9.6.</HI></BIBL> And his Name &s;hall bee called Wonderful.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THe point that wee are upon you may remem|ber is this, <HI>That Je&s;us Christ is the great Wonder of the world;</HI> As is his Name, &s;o is hee <HI>Wonderful.</HI></P>
<P N="9">9 Ther<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> is yet more wonder in it if wee con&s;ider that God the Father was well plea&s;ed with all this, it plea&s;ed him, &s;o you may finde in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 53.10. <HI>It plea&s;ed him to brui&s;e him.</HI> It plea&s;ed the Father; For God the Fa|ther taking &s;uch delight in his Son, and &s;eeing him brought into &s;uch a low condition, not onely to be in the form of a &s;ervant, but in the form (I &s;ay) and &s;imilitude of an evil &s;er|vant, to bee beaten, and &s;o beaten by him&s;elf, and all this to plea&s;e him, certainly there was &s;ome great matter in it, that God the Father &s;hould bee well plea&s;ed with making his own Son to bee a cur&s;e for mans &s;in, and yet this wee finde in Scripture, that it was a thing that well plea&s;ed
<PB N="133" REF="75"> God, certainly were it not for &s;ome great and wonderful de|&s;ign that God had to bring about, God the Father could not have been well plea&s;ed with &s;uch a thing, with the death of his own Son, and putting him to death, and that to an ac|cur&s;ed death, yet he was well plea&s;ed; certainly there was a wonderful de&s;ign that God had to bring about by &s;uch a way.</P>
<P N="10">10 And then further, the humiliation of Chri&s;t is won|derful in regard of the efficacy of his humiliation, that by his death, all the wrath, and the Ju&s;tice of God &s;hould bee as it were &s;wallowed up in reference to all the elect, that the wrath and ju&s;tice of God &s;hould bee &s;wallowed up in a few dayes &s;uffering of Je&s;us Chri&s;t (of this man Je&s;us Chri&s;t) that God &s;hould account it as much as if all the elect had been under his wrath to all eternity, the efficacie of Chri&s;ts &s;uffering is a wonderful efficacie, for it is an in|finite efficacie, it is infinitely &s;atisfactory.</P>
<P N="11">11 Yea further, not onely &s;atisfactory to Gods Ju&s;tice, but it is that that takes away the &s;ting and venome of all the &s;ufferings of the Saints to the end of the world;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;ts &s;uffer|ings takes a|way the ve|nome and evil that is in the Saints &s;uffer|ings.</NOTE> the ef|ficacie of Chri&s;ts humiliation it is in reference unto God the Father, and it is in reference unto the Saints; I &s;ay in reference unto the Father, it &s;atisfies all his Ju&s;tice and Wrath; And in reference unto the elect ones, it is that which takes away the &s;ting and the venome of all their humiliations and &s;ufferings to the end of the world; though God hath &s;o appointed that his Saints that hee &s;ets his heart upon to do good unto for ever, &s;hould here in this world &s;uffer many hard things, bee un|der grievous afflictions, yet there is &s;uch a way taken, as that Je&s;us Chri&s;ts &s;ufferings &s;hould take away all the &s;ting, the venome, the evil of their &s;ufferings, and &s;o Chri&s;t was wonderful in his &s;ufferings in that regard: There was ne|ver &s;ufferings, nor &s;uch a death in the world, that it &s;hould take away the &s;ting of all &s;ufferings, and death too, for &s;o many thou&s;ands of people, and yet this did it.</P>
<P N="12">12 And further, Chri&s;t is wonderful in his &s;ufferings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t &s;uffered as a common Per&s;on.</NOTE> becau&s;e hee &s;uffered as a common Per&s;on, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">hee did not
<PB N="134" REF="76"> &s;uffer as a particular man, but wee are to look upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t in all the work of his humiliation as a common Per|&s;on, and &s;o all the elect from the beginning of the world to the end are looked upon by God the Father as &s;uffering in him, as dying in him, as being made a cur&s;e in him; as the fir&s;t <HI>Adam</HI> was a common per&s;on, and God looked upon all mankinde as dead in him, in <HI>Adam,</HI> &s;o the &s;econd <HI>Adam</HI> was a common Per&s;on, and in his death all the elect are looked upon as dying, and &s;o as &s;atisfying Gods wrath for their &s;ins in their own per&s;on, but vertually in him as in a head. And in this Chri&s;t was wonderful in his humilia|tion, and indeed wee do not under&s;tand Chri&s;ts humilia|tion aright, except wee under&s;tand it thus. Wee &s;ome|times &s;peak of the great &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t, and &s;o far wee under&s;tand perhaps that this was for us, that hee dyed for us, but wee do not under&s;tand that wee dyed in him, and that hee was a common Per&s;on, and all the elect were look|ed upon as in him, as &s;uffering in him, and &s;atisfying Gods wrath in him, why thus wee are to exerci&s;e our faith upon Chri&s;ts humiliation; and indeed this is the my&s;tery of the humiliation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="13"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t by &s;uf|fering enters into glory.</NOTE>13 And further, Chri&s;t was wonderful in his humilia|tion in this, that by &s;uch a way hee enters into his glory; that when God intended the greate&s;t height of glory to a creature that ever was, or ever &s;hould bee, that yet hee would have &s;uch a way to lead unto it, as that Chri&s;t &s;hould fir&s;t bee brought into &s;uch a low condition, to bee a worm, and no man, to bee &s;o accu&s;ed, to bee made a &s;corn of men, to bee indeed in the lowe&s;t e&s;tate that is almo&s;t po&s;&s;ible to conceive a creature here to bee in, and yet that God &s;hould intend this to bee the way to the highe&s;t de|gree of glory that is po&s;&s;ible for a creature to attain unto, here was the wonderful coun&s;el of God, the wonderful work of God; now you know that &s;o it was in Chri&s;t, the Scripture &s;aith, <HI>Ought hee not to &s;uffer the&s;e things, and &s;o to enter into his glory?</HI> God manife&s;ted in him what way hee would have to bring us unto glory, that is by the way of
<PB N="135" REF="76"> <HI>&s;uffering,</HI> by the way of <HI>Afflictions,</HI> by the way of <HI>trouble,</HI> to pave the way to glory by &s;uch kinde of pavement as this, this was the wonderful work of God.</P>
<P N="14">14 And in this further, here was the mo&s;t wonderful Argument of Gods hatred to &s;in<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Chri&s;ts &s;uf|fering appears Gods hatred of &s;in.</NOTE> that po&s;&s;ibly can be imagined, and wonderfulle&s;t pattern &amp; example of &s;elf-denial that ever was in the world, Chri&s;t was wonderful in this, in that in him there was held out the mo&s;t wonderful Argument of Gods hatred of &s;in, as if God would &s;ay, I will &s;et mine infinite wi&s;dome on work to finde out an Argument to manife&s;t my hatred to &s;in; there could not have been a greater, an in|finite wi&s;dome could not have found a greater manife&s;ta|tion of the hatred of &s;in.</P>
<P>And then hee was in his humiliation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t in &s;uf|fering, a pat|tern of &s;elf-denial.</NOTE> I &s;ay the pattern of the greate&s;t &s;elf-denial that ever was, or ever can bee. God holds forth his own Son to bee the pattern of &s;elf-denial to all the world; the Lord &s;ees how wee are alto|gether for our &s;elves, how hard it is for us to deny our &s;elves; Well, &s;aith God, I will not onely require of you that you &s;hall deny your &s;elves for mee as your duty, and bound as creatures to do it to your Creator, but I will &s;end into the World &s;uch a pattern of &s;elf-denial, as it is impo&s;&s;ible for men or Angels to imagine a more wonder|ful pattern of &s;elf-denial, <HI>My Son,</HI> that is equal with my &s;elf, to come in the form of a &s;ervant, although hee had right to all things, hee &s;hall empty, and deny him&s;elf to the extremity of all kinde of mi&s;ery.</P>
<P>And then that that makes up all the wonder is this,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t &s;uffered for us.</NOTE> that all this &s;hould bee done for us, for &s;uch poor worms, for &s;uch vile ba&s;e creatures as wee are; why might not men and Angels have thought thus? why Lord, had it not been better for ten thou&s;and thou&s;and, and hundreds of thou|&s;ands, and millions of &s;uch creatures to have peri&s;hed to all eternity, than that thy Son &s;hould bee brought &s;o low, to &s;uffer &s;o as hee did? But no, &s;aith God, I will manife&s;t a great wonder in the world in this, that all this &s;hall bee done and &s;uffered for poor worms (men) in who&s;e eternal
<PB N="136" REF="77"> de&s;truction I might have glorified my &s;elf for ever; though it is true, I could as well have honoured my &s;elf in their ruine and de&s;truction, as I did in the eternal de&s;truction of the Angels that &s;inned again&s;t mee, yet I will &s;hew forth a wonderful work, that men and Angels &s;hall wonder at to all eternity, that &s;uch and &s;uch things &s;hall bee done and &s;uffered to &s;ave them, &s;o unworthy, &s;o vile; thus Chri&s;t is wonderful in his humiliation: And the&s;e things have been but briefly pre&s;ented to you, that &s;o I might give you a general view of the my&s;tery of godline&s;s that there is in the humiliation of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Chri&s;t Wonderful in his Conque&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>But now it follows further, that Chri&s;t likewi&s;e is won|derful in his Conque&s;t, hee is the mo&s;t glorious and won|derful Conquerour that ever was in the world.</P>
<P>For fir&s;t, What did hee conquer? What doth hee tri|umph over? What? hee hath conquered even Divine Ju&s;tice it &s;elf, as I may &s;o &s;peak; the Law, Gods wrath and ju&s;tice came even fighting as it were again&s;t Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;t encounters with them, yea hee encounters with the Devil, and with Hell, and with Death; all the&s;e are enemies that Je&s;us Chri&s;t encounters withall. And cer|tainly had any one but &s;een Chri&s;t go into the Li&s;ts to en|counter with the&s;e Combatants, hee could not but have &s;tood amazed at it, Oh what will become of this Cham|pion that is entred into &s;uch a combate as this is! But &s;tay but a little, and you &s;hall &s;ee him <HI>leading Captivity captive,</HI> you &s;hall &s;ee him <HI>Triumphing over all,</HI> you &s;hall &s;ee him con|quering and &s;aying, <HI>I have the Keyes of Hell, I that was dead, am ri&s;en, and have the Keyes of Hell and Death,</HI> you &s;hall &s;ee him Triumphing over Wrath and Ju&s;tice, and the Law, and the Devils, you &s;hall &s;ee him fetching all that hee came for out of the hand of the Devil, yea here is the wonder of the Conque&s;t, never was there a man that did conquer death but onely Je&s;us Chri&s;t that had power over
<PB N="137" REF="77"> Death: All other Conquerors they may conquer men, and kill them, but they cannot conquer Death it &s;elf; now Je|&s;us Chri&s;ts Conque&s;t was over Death its &s;elf, to have the very keyes of Death, and that follows, <HI>Death and Hell.</HI></P>
<P>And further, which makes the wonder of his Conque&s;t, hee doth conquer death by dying, that is the wonder of it. What man conquers his enemy by being &s;lain him&s;elf? Je&s;us Chri&s;t did &s;o, hee conquers all his enemies that came again&s;t him, hee conquers them by dying, and therefore in <HI>Col.</HI> 2. it is &s;poken of Chri&s;ts coming to dye upon the Cro&s;s: <HI>And having &s;poyled Principalities and Powers, hee made a &s;hew of them openly, Triumphing over them in it.</HI> When Chri&s;t was brought upon the Cro&s;s, one would think hee had been triumphed over him&s;elf then, for hee was brought very low indeed when hee was brought there to hang be|tween two <HI>Malefactors,</HI> as if he had been the greate&s;t <HI>Male|factor</HI> of all; now one would have thought that Devils and wicked men, and Death, and all had triumphed over him; but mark, the Text &s;aith, <HI>That he did there &s;poyl Principalities and Powers, and made a &s;hew of them openly, Triumphing over them in it.</HI> Wee can imagine &s;omewhat of Chri&s;ts Triumph now in heaven &s;itting at the right hand of the Father, when hee a&s;cended into heaven, there hee Triumphed; but to imagine a triumph of Chri&s;t in his Cro&s;s, when his ene|mies were &s;corning and contemning him, that then hee &s;hould &s;poyl Principalities and Powers, and upon the Cro&s;s Triumph over them, this is a <HI>great my&s;tery of godli|ne&s;s,</HI> and herein is the wonder of Chri&s;ts Conque&s;t, of Chri&s;ts Triumph.</P>
<P>And then further, the wonder of the Triumph of Chri&s;t con&s;i&s;ts in this, That hee hath not onely vanqui&s;hed all the enemies of his people, but hee hath vanqui&s;hed them by <HI>his own power:</HI> Conquerours have u&s;e of the &s;trength of others, but Chri&s;t had &s;trength enough of his own without any ad|dition, and hee did not onely quell the Adver&s;ary, but hee turns all into good to his people: It is one thing for a
<PB N="138" REF="78"> Conquerour to overcome an enemy, &s;o as an enemy &s;hall not bee able to do any more hurt to tho&s;e that belong to him, and another thing to &s;ubdue them &s;o far as to make them all to bee &s;ervants to him, that is a greater Conque&s;t. Man by a &s;trong Army may bee a Conquerour by killing his enemies, and &s;o never to hear of them more, but if hee can &s;ubdue and bring them all to bee u&s;eful and &s;erviceable to him&s;elf and his people, this Conque&s;t is a great deal the more glorious; now &s;uch is the Conque&s;t of Chri&s;t, that hee hath not onely quelled their power, but hath brought all to bee &s;erviceable to his people, the <HI>Law</HI> is &s;erviceable to them, and now <HI>Gods Ju&s;tice</HI> is for good to them, and the very <HI>wrath</HI> of God is now for their good, and the Devil, and Death, and Hell, and wicked men, they are all made u&s;e|ful unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and &s;o unto his people.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, Chri&s;t is wonderful in his Conque&s;t in this, that hee conquered likewi&s;e as a common Per&s;on, as a head, and in him hee hath made all his Saints Conquerours, yea the Scripture &s;aith that they are <HI>more than Conquerours</HI> through Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in him they are looked upon as having over|come all tho&s;e: Thou that art the weake&s;t in thy &s;elf, and art able to do lea&s;t, art afraid of every expre&s;&s;ion of Gods wrath, and terrour of the Law, of the threats of wicked men, of the temptations of the Devil, of the very thoughts of Death or Hell, yet I &s;ay, if thou bee&s;t a beleever, thou ha&s;t conquered all the&s;e already, they are not one<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y con|quered to thy hand, but thou ha&s;t conquered them all, that is, vertually in thy head, thou art made a Conquerour over Sin, and Death, and Hell, and as in Chri&s;t thy head, &s;o in &s;ome mea&s;ure in thy &s;elf, that is, Chri&s;t hath put &s;uch a principle into thy heart as will conquer all thine enemies that come again&s;t thee, in due time, &s;o that this is the glory of Chri&s;ts Conque&s;t, and hee is wonderful in it.</P>
<P>Now more particularly there is following the Conque&s;t of Chri&s;t, Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection, and his A&s;cention, and his &s;itting at the right hand of the Father, and his coming to Judgement: In all the&s;e wee have a wonderful Redeemer.
<PB N="139" REF="78"> I very briefly pre&s;ent all the&s;e before you, but in a few words to &s;hew you a little of the my&s;tery of godline&s;s in every one of the&s;e, that &s;o I might in a very little narrow compa&s;s, pre&s;ent the chief glory of Je&s;us Chri&s;t unto you, I mean the heads of it; though wee cannot tell you the thou&s;andth thou&s;andth part of the glory of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Chri&s;t Wonderful in his Re&s;urrection.</HI></P>
<P>Chri&s;t was wonderful in his Re&s;urrection; there was ne|ver &s;uch a Re&s;urrection, nor never &s;hall bee, as Chri&s;ts was. That Chri&s;t ro&s;e from the dead, I &s;uppo&s;e you all know, but now the my&s;tery of godline&s;s in this, and the wonderful work of God in it, In <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.4. it is &s;aid, That Chri&s;t was mightily declared to bee the Son of God in his Re&s;urrection from the dead.</P>
<P>You will &s;ay, Why, others ri&s;e too, both godly and wick|ed &s;hall ri&s;e, how is Chri&s;t wonderfully and mightily de|clared to bee the Son of God by the Re&s;urrection from the dead?</P>
<P>Why thus, Chri&s;t hee undertaking to &s;atisfie for mans &s;ins, to pay the debt that man did owe to God for his Sin; God the Father comes upon him, &s;ues out the Bond, ca&s;ts him into Pri&s;on, into the Gaol: Now when Je&s;us Chri&s;t did ari&s;e from the dead, there was a declaration to all the world that hee had &s;atisfied the debt fully to God the Fa|ther, that hee had paid fully what Divine Ju&s;tice did re|quire for the &s;in of man; now this was a mighty declaration of Je&s;us Chri&s;t to bee the Son of God; had hee not been the Son of God, hee could never have ro&s;e again, having dyed upon &s;uch tearms as hee did; Chri&s;t did dye to &s;atisfie Gods wrath, and undertook this, Lord I am content to come under the bonds of death till thine infinite Ju&s;tice &s;hall &s;ay, That it is &s;atisfied, that it hath enough: If all the Angels in heaven, and men on the earth had under|took &s;uch a work, and &s;aid, Lord, Let us all dye, and abide under the power of Death, until thine infinite Ju&s;tice &s;hall
<PB N="140" REF="79"> &s;ay, It is enough, they mu&s;t have abode to all eternity un|der it, they could never have come out of Pri&s;on, but have lain there; but now Chri&s;t hee undertook this work, and was content to bee under the power of Death till God &s;hould fully di&s;charge him, as being &s;atisfied; God &s;aith at length I am &s;atisfied, Let the pri&s;on doors bee opened, let him go; &s;o that when Chri&s;t comes out of the Grave, now hee is declared before men and Angels mightily in a wonderful manner to bee the Son of God; and it is upon this that the Scripture &s;aith in <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 2. <HI>Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee,</HI> which is applied by the Apo&s;tle in <HI>Act.</HI> 13. and &s;ome other Scriptures unto Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection.</P>
<P>This is now, as if &s;o bee that Chri&s;t had been begotten but that day; why Chri&s;t was the begotten Son of the Fa|ther from all Eternity.</P>
<P>I but Chri&s;t coming under the charge of mans &s;in, and un|der the power of death, all the while he was in that low e&s;tate of humiliation, hee doth not appear like the Son of God be|fore the world, but when hee comes and gets the power over all, and is acquitted and ri&s;es again, now hee doth ap|pear like him&s;elf indeed, <HI>the onely begotten Son of the Fa|ther,</HI> hee is now mightily declared to bee the Son of God; and in this the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us Chri&s;t was wonderful, for the wonderful power and efficacy that there is in it; Chri&s;t being acquitted, all the elect were in him acquitted, all were acquitted in him vertually, though there is another acquitting per&s;onally when they beleeve: At the very time of Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection, all the Elect were acquitted as in a head, yet I &s;ay, There is another acquitting from God in ones own per&s;on, that is upon beleeving: From hence that notable Scripture wee have in 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.21. <HI>The like figure whereunto, even Bapti&s;m doth now &s;ave us (not the put|ting away of the filth of the fle&s;h, but the an&s;wer of a good con|&s;cience towards God) by the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>What an&s;wer is this that the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of? and how is this an&s;wer by the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us Chri&s;t?</P>
<PB N="141" REF="79">
<P>The an&s;wer that here the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of, it is an an|&s;wer unto all demands that Gods Ju&s;tice, that the Law, that the Devils can make, for any puni&s;hment that a &s;inner hath de&s;erved: If Gods Ju&s;tice &s;hould &s;ay to a &s;inner, Thou ha&s;t &s;inned, and therefore thou mu&s;t dye, thou mu&s;t bee puni&s;hed, thou mu&s;t &s;atisfie Ju&s;tice.</P>
<P>If the Devil &s;hould come and demand that the Threats of God &s;hould bee fulfilled becau&s;e here is a &s;inner.</P>
<P>If thine own con&s;cience &s;hould in the Name of God demand that thou &s;houlde&s;t an&s;wer for thy &s;in.</P>
<P>A good con&s;cience <HI>by the Re&s;urrectio<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> of Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> is able to make an&s;wer to all the&s;e demands: A good con&s;cience, that is, one that hath a good con&s;cience can make an&s;wer through Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection, and &s;ay, Why are the&s;e things demanded of mee? Chri&s;t hath &s;a|tisfied for all, hee hath &s;atisfied for my &s;in, and paid my debt, and is ri&s;en again. Hath not God the Father acquitted him in rai&s;ing him from the dead, and therefore in him all is &s;atisfied, and this is the an&s;wer I make to all the Bills that are put in again&s;t mee. If there bee Bills put in again&s;t m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n in any Court, they come and make an&s;wer; What ever Bill can bee put in a|gain&s;t a beleever, if the Law of God, or any Temptation &s;hould put in any Bill, &s;aith a beleever, here is my an|&s;wer, That all is &s;atisfied in Chri&s;t: Now this is by the Re|&s;urrection of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; if Chri&s;t had dyed, yet if hee had not ri&s;en again, thou coulde&s;t not have made an&s;wer, That all is done, all might have been doing, but thou coulde&s;t not have made an&s;wer that all is done; but by the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, thou can&s;t make an&s;wer to any demand.</P>
<P>And ob&s;erve, That this is the an&s;wer of a good con|&s;cience. Men and women that talk &s;o much of faith, and yet have evil con&s;ciences, they cannot make this an&s;wer by the Re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t: Tho&s;e that tell you wee are to beleeve, and God looks at nothing el&s;e but be|leeving: It is true, if they under&s;tand it aright, in the point of Ju&s;tification, that is the thing that is for the ju&s;ti|fying
<PB N="144" REF="80"> of a per&s;on, but there is &s;omewhat more that is re|quired of a ju&s;tified per&s;on, and therefore no per&s;on can make this an&s;wer, by the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, but &s;uch a one as hath a good con&s;cience: <HI>The an&s;wer of a good con&s;cience</HI> (&s;aith the Text) <HI>by the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> If thou ha&s;t a corrupt and vilde wicked con&s;cience, thy con&s;cience flyes in thy face for &s;ins that thou live&s;t in, know, that thou can&s;t never make an&s;wer (to tho&s;e de|mands that &s;hall bee made again&s;t thee) by the Re&s;urrection of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, with any comfort, till thy con&s;cience comes to bee purified by faith: That is the wonder of Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection, mightily declared to bee the Son of God.</P>
<P>And in his Re&s;urrection, there is a Re&s;urrection of all the Saints, all the elect ones; for the Scripture &s;aith, <HI>That hee was the fir&s;t fruits from the dead,</HI> that is, that look as the fir&s;t fruits did &s;anctifie all the re&s;t, and all were con|&s;ecrated in the fir&s;t fruits being offered to God: So all the elect ones in Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection did ri&s;e again, I &s;ay, vertually in him, and it was a pledge of their Re&s;urrection, the Re&s;urrection of their &s;ouls &s;piritually to life here, and their Re&s;urrection to eternal life, and &s;o wee are to exer|ci&s;e our faith upon Chri&s;ts Re&s;urrection; this is the my&s;tery of godline&s;s in Chri&s;ts <HI>Re&s;urrection,</HI> and hence is that known place in 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.16. <HI>Without controver&s;ie,</HI> &s;aith the Text, <HI>great is the my&s;tery of godline&s;s, God was manife&s;ted in the fle&s;h, ju&s;tified in the Spirit.</HI></P>
<P>A wonderful my&s;tery there is in godline&s;s; why what my&s;tery?</P>
<P>God was manife&s;ted in the fle&s;h, the Son of God came and took our nature upon him, that was wonderful, but this is as great a wonder as the other, <HI>Ju&s;tifyed in the Spirit,</HI> it is all one as by being ju&s;tified upon his Re&s;urrection, by the power of the Spirit hee was quickned, and life was put into him, and &s;o hee ro&s;e again, and thereby was declared before all the world to bee ju&s;tified, to &s;tand acquitted from all the charge of our &s;ins that was upon him; and &s;o
<PB N="154" REF="80"> if you compare that place <HI>Ju&s;tified in the Spirit,</HI> with that in 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.18. <HI>Put to death in the fle&s;h, but quickned by the Spirit,</HI> that is, by the power of his God-head hee was quicked, upon his Re&s;urrection; now that that one Apo&s;tle &s;aith <HI>(quickned)</HI> another &s;aith <HI>(ju&s;tified)</HI> to &s;hew, that when hee was quickned, that is ro&s;e again by the power of his Deity, then both hee, and all the elect ones &s;tood ju&s;t in the pre&s;ence of God, acquitted of all their &s;ins, and this is the my&s;tery of godline&s;s.</P>
<P>There is abundance in every one of the&s;e, but it is not my purpo&s;e to handle the Re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t, or his A&s;&s;ention, but meerly to give you a little glimp&s;e of the my&s;tery of godline&s;s that there is therein, that you may under&s;tand him aright, &s;o as you may bee able to exerci&s;e your faith upon him, not onely Dying and Humbled, but Conquering and Ri&s;ing.</P>
<P><HI>Chri&s;t Wonderful in his A&s;cention.</HI></P>
<P>And for the A&s;cention of Chri&s;t into heaven the manner of it was wonderful. There comes a cloud and carries him up, and the Di&s;ciples &s;tands gazing; it was a wonder to bee gazed at, the A&s;cention of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, body and &s;oul into heaven, in that glorious way.</P>
<P>But e&s;pecially if wee con&s;ider that Chri&s;t a&s;cended like|wi&s;e as our head, a&s;cended into heaven as the High Prie&s;t went into the Holy of Holies: And it is &s;aid, that wee are <HI>&s;et together in heavenly places together with Chri&s;t,</HI> &s;o you have it in <HI>Eph.</HI> 2.6. <HI>And hath rai&s;ed us up together, and made us &s;it together in heavenly places in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hri&s;t Je&s;us:</HI> For Chri&s;t went as in our names to take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of heaven, this is the my&s;tery of godline&s;s in Chri&s;ts A&s;cention: Hee went up to Heaven, but hee went in the name of the Elect to take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, as a man that hath bought hou&s;e and lands, may have one appointed by him to go in his name to take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the hou&s;e and land, Je&s;us Chri&s;t in the name of all the elect from the beginning of the world to the end, went
<PB N="144" REF="81"> up unto heaven to take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion there, and on purpo&s;e to prepare Man&s;ions for them again&s;t their coming: Thus wonderful was Chri&s;t in his A&s;cention.</P>
<P><HI>Chri&s;t &s;itting at the right hand of the Father.</HI></P>
<P>And in heaven Chri&s;t &s;its at <HI>the right hand of the Father,</HI> thereby declaring that God the Father was well-plea&s;ed with all that hee hath done, becau&s;e hee &s;ets him at his <HI>right hand;</HI> after Chri&s;t had made an end of all his work, hee is &s;aid to &s;it down, in <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.12. <HI>This man after hee had offered one &s;acrifice for &s;ins for ever, &s;ate down on the right hand of God;</HI> hee had done his work, and God the Father approves of him, and &s;o honors him in &s;etting him at his right hand, and there gives unto him all power to rule together with him&s;elf, as you heard in his Kingly Office, and there hee is to make <HI>Interce&s;&s;ion</HI> continually for his Elect, and hath that weight of glory put upon him that is po&s;&s;ible for humane nature to have put upon him, that is the meaning of &s;itting at the right hand of God; the&s;e four things are meant by it.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, When hee came to heaven, God the Father, that hee might acknowledge that his Son had fully done the work that hee was &s;ent into the world about, hee doth ho|nour him by &s;etting him at his right hand.</P>
<P>Secondly, Hee gives unto him all Authority and Power to Reign together with him&s;elf.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 28.18.</NOTE></P>
<P>Thirdly, There hee is as the High Prie&s;t to make Inter|ce&s;&s;ion for his Saints, to bee their Advocate continually at the right hand of the Father to make Interce&s;&s;ion for them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 7.25.</NOTE></P>
<P>And then fourthly, It is to &s;ignifie that Chri&s;t hath the highe&s;t degree of glory, that it is po&s;&s;ible for humane nature to bee capable of; Therefore you mu&s;t not under&s;tand the right hand of God in a corporeal way, as if God had right hand or left, but &s;itting &s;o in tho&s;e four re&s;pects as I have named: And all the&s;e make Chri&s;t a wonderful Re|deemer,
<PB N="145" REF="81"> hee that &s;hall come up to God the Father in Heaven, and to have God own his being fully plea&s;ed with what hee did upon the Earth, and there &s;etting him upon his own Throne, to reign with him, and there to bee for ever to make interce&s;&s;ion for the Saints, and to have the height of all glory to bee be&s;towed upon him; Certainly this is a wonderful Redeemer.</P>
<P><HI>Chri&s;t wonderful in his coming to Judgement.</HI></P>
<P>And then Chri&s;t &s;hall in a wonderful manner come to judge the world again, <HI>then hee &s;hall come to bee admired</HI> in|deed; &s;o you have it in 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 1.10.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s; 1.10.</NOTE> <HI>When hee &s;hall come to bee glorified in his Saints, and to bee admired in all them that beleeve:</HI> Tho&s;e that do beleeve in Chri&s;t, they &s;ee him to bee wonderful; now they do admire at him; but when hee &s;hall come again in glory at the great day, then hee &s;hall appear &s;o wonderful, as they &s;hall all &s;tand admiring, and &s;aying, Well wee indeed heard that our ble&s;&s;ed Savi|our was the wonder of the world, and wee &s;aw &s;o much as made us admire at his glory; but wee never thought that wee had had &s;uch a glorious Saviour, as now wee &s;ee wee have; wonderful and glorious is Je&s;us Chri&s;t now, but when hee &s;hall come with his <HI>thou&s;and thou&s;ands of Angels,</HI> and when there &s;hall bee &s;uch a wonderful change in the world, the <HI>Elements melt with fervent heat, and the Heavens depart like a &s;croul, and the Heavens and Earth &s;haken,</HI> and all the Princes and Monarks in the world, and all the children of men appearing before him: Oh wonderful then &s;hall hee bee in his attendance, and then in his own per&s;on.</P>
<P>Wonderful &s;hall hee bee then in the manner of his pro|ceedings, in bringing forth all the books of Gods forbea|rance, and the books of mens con&s;cience, and the book of the word to proceed with men and Angels for their eternal e&s;tate, in this Chri&s;t will appear then to bee wonderful: Thus Chri&s;t is wonderful in his humiliation, and in his ex|altation: But further, a word or two more.</P>
<PB N="146" REF="82">
<P><HI>Chri&s;t wonderful in his working towards his Saints, and in the high e&s;teem that the Saints have of him.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty, who would not fear thee, O thou King of Saints!</HI> The great things that Chri&s;t doth in the world towards his Churches, are wonderful, and the great e&s;teem his Saints have of him, they account all things as dung and dro&s;s for the excel|lency of the knowledge of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>And hee &s;hall bee wonderful eternally hereafter in the highe&s;t Heavens, and there hee will bee the matter of the wonder of all the Angels and Saints; and the matter of the admiration, and the prai&s;es that God &s;hall have to all e|ternity, it &s;hall bee from what the Angels and Saints do &s;ee in Je&s;us Chri&s;t; therefore &s;urely hee will bee wonder|ful in Heaven.</P>
<P>And then wonderful, when the under&s;tandings of the Saints &s;hall bee elevated to the highe&s;t pitch that they are capable of: &s;ometimes wee do wonder at things, becau&s;e of our ignorance; ignorant people will wonder almo&s;t at any thing; at the works of Arts and Sciences, they wonder, becau&s;e they know but little, but now that, that the mo&s;t under&s;tanding man in the world &s;hall wonder at, certainly it hath &s;ome great excellency in it: Now Chri&s;t &s;hall not bee the wonder of the Saints onely while they are here in in this world, but when they &s;hall bee in Heaven, and have their under&s;tandings enlightened and enlarged to the height that po&s;&s;ibly they can bee enlarged to, and yet even then Chri&s;t &s;hall bee their wonder, and they &s;hall wonder at Chri&s;t more than they do now abundantly: Certainly that hath real excellency in it indeed, and great excellency, that the more under&s;tanding a man is, the more hee &s;hall admire at it: perhaps poor people they may wonder at &s;ome men for their parts, yet if they had any great under|&s;tanding them&s;elves, they would &s;ee &s;uch a mans parts had little in them; but if a man had &s;uch parts, that the more
<PB N="147" REF="82"> any man came to under&s;tand him, the higher in degree their under&s;tandings were, the more they &s;hould wonder, cer|tainly this man had a great deal of excellency in him in|deed: So it is in Chri&s;t, that when the Saints &s;hall bee ele|vated to the height, they &s;hall &s;o much the more admire at him.</P>
<P>Further, In Heaven Chri&s;t &s;hall bee wondred at for e|ver; many things are wondred at for the pre&s;ent, I but the wonder quickly cea&s;es; wee u&s;e to &s;ay of &s;trange things, they are but of nine daies wonder, but Je&s;us Chri&s;t is not onely a wonder at fir&s;t, when the &s;oul comes fir&s;t to em|brace Je&s;us Chri&s;t: It is true, poor &s;inners at their fir&s;t em|bracing Je&s;us Chri&s;t, for the very novelty of tho&s;e things they &s;ee in him, they do admire at them, they never did un|der&s;tand &s;uch things before; but the truth is, if that grace bee true, thou &s;halt not onely wonder when thou come&s;t to Chri&s;t at fir&s;t, at the excellency in him, but the longer thou continue&s;t a Beleever, the more thou wilt wonder; and when thou come&s;t to Heaven, after thou&s;and millions of millions of years, thou wilt wonder as much at him as thou did&s;t the fir&s;t moment; tho&s;e men that have made profe&s;&s;ion of Religion, and &s;eem'd to come to Chri&s;t, they wonder at fir&s;t hearing of the Go&s;pel, like the <HI>&s;tony-ground,</HI> that <HI>re|ceived the word with joy,</HI> Oh how wonderfully are they af|fected at the fir&s;t hearing of the glorious things of the Go&s;|pel! but now mark, their wonder quickly cea&s;es, and their joy cea&s;es within a little while; they do not now &s;ee &s;o great excellency to admire at it, neither have they &s;o great joy; but where there is true Faith, there the &s;oul doth not onely wonder at Chri&s;t, at his fir&s;t comming to Chri&s;t, but &s;till more and more to all eternity.</P>
<P>And now my Brethren, mee thinks that all wonders in the world &s;hould lye by a while, upon this wonder of Chri&s;ts being pre&s;ented to you; and as wee read in <HI>Dan.</HI> 6. of one that came in a vi&s;ion, and &s;aid, <HI>Gabriel, make this man to under&s;tand the vi&s;io<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">;</HI> &s;o &s;hall I call to a <HI>Gabriel?</HI> no, to Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, to the Immanuel, hee that is the great wonder;
<PB N="148" REF="83"> Oh ble&s;&s;ed ble&s;&s;ed Redeemer, make the&s;e &s;ouls to under|&s;tand the&s;e things, to under&s;tand &s;omewhat of this wonder; wee have many wonders of our own, and wee tell this and that news, but O that Chri&s;t would but &s;hew him&s;elf now to your &s;ouls, that you may under&s;tand &s;omewhat of this wonder, that your hearts may bee for ever taken off from wondring at any thing in this world: <HI>I have &s;een,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Da|vid, an end of all perfection, but thy Law is very broad:</HI> So wee may &s;ay, and the heart would &s;ay that were brought to Chri&s;t, Oh Lord, I have &s;een an end of all the great things in the world, but Je&s;us Chri&s;t is very great and glo|rious indeed, it is hee that hath darkened all the glory that there is in the world, but now I may &s;ay of all the&s;e things, as it is &s;aid of <HI>Daniel,</HI> in <HI>chap.</HI> 12. <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 10. <HI>None of the wicked &s;hall under&s;tand, but the wi&s;e &s;hall under&s;tand the&s;e things</HI> that are &s;poken of Chri&s;t; the wicked they will not under&s;tand, tho&s;e that God hath not given unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t will not under&s;tand, but they will bee content to part with Chri&s;t for any thing for all this: O dete&s;table wickedne&s;s that there is in the heart of man, that after this that hath been revealed to you about Chri&s;t, &s;o much of his glory held forth for the wonder of the world, that after this yet thou &s;houlde&s;t prize thy ba&s;e lu&s;ts before all the good and the glory that there is in Je&s;us Chri&s;t: certainly that man or woman mu&s;t needs have the Angels in Hea|ven, and all the Saints to acknowledge the righteous judgement of God in the condemnation of them, that hath lived under the Go&s;pel, and hath heard what a wonderful Saviour is come into the world, if &s;uch a one &s;hould yet go away, and prize a ba&s;e filthy lu&s;t before all the good and glory that there is in Je&s;us Chri&s;t; take heed of this: certainly if it bee &s;o, if any of you bee found at the great day &s;till going on in the waies of known fins, this will bee your charge,</P>
<P>You lived in &s;uch a place wherein you heard that my Son was the great wonder of the world, and glo|rious things were &s;hewed you, to allure you to beleeve
<PB N="149" REF="83"> in him, and yet hee was nothing in your eyes, but your own vile lu&s;ts were more glorious in your eyes: O ju&s;t and righteous is the condemnation of this crea|ture for ever; certainly the &s;in of unbeleef, the &s;in of rejection of Je&s;us Chri&s;t mu&s;t needs bee a dreadful &s;in, becau&s;e Je&s;us Chri&s;t is &s;o great a wonder as you have heard.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="150" REF="84">
<HEAD>The Sixth SERMON ON <HI>The Excellency of Chri&s;t.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>I&s;aiah 9.6.</HI></BIBL> And his Name &s;hall bee called Wonderful.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_NOw wee come to the Application of all, which is the work of this exerci&s;e.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Application.</NOTE></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Certainly Je&s;us Chri&s;t is little known in the world, if this bee hee, this great wonder of the world: Oh how little is Chri&s;t known! Chri&s;t is but a meer Notion and Imagination to mo&s;t people in the world; you heard the very &s;ound of this name, and how Chri&s;t came into the world to &s;ave &s;inners; but I appeal unto your con&s;ciences, when were your hearts taken with the admiration of the glory of God &s;hining in the face of Je&s;us Chri&s;t? hath Chri&s;t been made the greate&s;t wonder in the world unto you? &s;ome of you have &s;een many wondrous works of God, &s;ome of you perhaps in the Seas, or abroad in other Countries, or if not there, yet you have &s;een the Heavens, and the Earth, at which you many times wonder; but
<PB N="151" REF="84"> when did God dart light into your &s;pirits, to cau&s;e you to &s;ee &s;o much of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as made him to bee the great wonder of all his works? certainly that &s;oul knows not God nor Chri&s;t &s;avingly, that knows him not as the wonder of the world; it is impo&s;&s;ible that &s;uch a poor crea|ture as man is &s;hould come to under&s;tand &s;uch great my|&s;teries of godline&s;s as are in Chri&s;t in any mea&s;ure, but mu&s;t needs admire at the glory of that great work, and &s;ay with acclamation, Oh the height, and depth, and breadth, and length of the glory of God, his Wi&s;dome, and Mer|cy, and Truth, and Power!</P>
<P>Many Notes of Trial there may bee of Faith, but I know not any one more familiar than this is (at lea&s;t ne|gatively, it mu&s;t needs bee a true Note) that is, that there cannot bee Faith without it, namely, if the heart hath not been taken up with the wonder of Chri&s;t, &s;o as all the wonders in the world have been darkened in the &s;oul in compari&s;on of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, If Chri&s;t bee &s;o great a wonder, then O how vile a thing is it for the hearts of men to prefer any ba&s;e filthy lu&s;ts before Je&s;us Chri&s;t? when God hath mani|fe&s;ted him in that wonderful way unto the children of men, and &s;o much of his glory in him, yet that their hearts &s;hould bee taken off from him, and every ba&s;e lu&s;t to bee prefer|red before him, Oh how ju&s;t mu&s;t the condemnation of &s;uch bee for ever! wee may take up that complaint that there was in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 106.7.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 106.7.</NOTE> <HI>Our Fathers under&s;tood not thy won|ders,</HI> &s;aith the P&s;almi&s;t: So the truth is, as our Fathers did not, &s;o few there are that under&s;tand the wonders of the Lord in Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and therefore every thing is prefer|red before him; with what infinite indignation mu&s;t God needs look upon that wretched &s;oul, that &s;hall prefer every ba&s;e lu&s;t before Je&s;us Chri&s;t? I remember a &s;peech of <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome,</HI> &s;peaking of that Text, <HI>That our vile bodies &s;hall bee made like unto the glorious body of Chri&s;t,</HI> &s;aith hee, were all the world turned into tears, yet they were not &s;ufficient to lament the mi&s;ery of that &s;oul that for&s;akes
<PB N="152" REF="85"> Je&s;us Chri&s;t: his heart was &s;o much taken with the excel|lency of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that hee thought it impo&s;&s;ible to la|ment the mi&s;ery of the creature that &s;hould for&s;ake him: and &s;o St. <HI>Paul</HI> having his heart filled with the glorious My&s;tery of Chri&s;t, hee breaks forth with this dreadful cur&s;e, <HI>Hee that loveth not the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, let him bee Anathema Maran-atha,</HI> as if St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;hould &s;ay (having his &s;pirit filled with the glory of Chri&s;t) Oh what &s;hall God manife&s;t &s;o much of his glory in his Son, and &s;hall ba&s;e wretched vile creatures prefer their lu&s;ts before him, and have their hearts taken up with other vain things, and not love the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t? let that &s;oul bee cur&s;ed with a bitter cur&s;e, &s;aith <HI>Paul;</HI> &s;uch a &s;oul doth de&s;erve indeed to bee cur&s;ed with a bitter and an eternal cur&s;e, that &s;hall hear &s;o much of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and how God hath revealed him&s;elf in that wonderful way in his Son, and yet that &s;oul &s;hall not bee willing to for&s;ake a ba&s;e lu&s;t for all the good there is in Je&s;us Chri&s;t; let that &s;oul bee cur&s;ed with a bit|ter cur&s;e: It de&s;erves above all creatures to have the mo&s;t bitter cur&s;e to bee upon it to all eternity: certainly the more glory there is in Chri&s;t, the more dreadful will the condemnation of wicked men bee, <HI>This is (the) con|demnation,</HI> that &s;uch glorious <HI>light is come into the world, and men cho&s;e darkne&s;s rather than light.</HI> How many hear of Chri&s;t, and minde little, but onely have a noi&s;e, they hear &s;ome &s;trange things of Chri&s;t, and let them pa&s;s by, and think there is little reallity in what they hear, but the onely real comfort is in &s;atisfying of the fle&s;h in the lu&s;ts of it. In <HI>Act.</HI> 13.41.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 13.41.</NOTE> wee have an excellent Scripture for the reproof of &s;uch that hear the Go&s;pel, and minde it not; Beware therefore, le&s;t that come upon you which is &s;poken of in the Prophets, <HI>Behold yee de&s;pi&s;ers, and wonder, and peri&s;h, for I work a work in your daies, a work which yee &s;hall in no wi&s;e beleeve, though a man declare it unto you:</HI> It is &s;poken concerning Chri&s;t, as appears in the ver&s;e before, <HI>And by him all that beleeve are ju&s;tified from all things, by which yee could not bee ju&s;tified by the Law of Mo&s;es:</HI> Now
<PB N="153" REF="85"> then it follows, Beware therefore le&s;t that come upon you, which is &s;poken of in the Prophets, Behold ye de&s;pi&s;ers, and wonder, and peri&s;h; as if hee &s;hould &s;ay, you hear the Go&s;pel about the glorious way that God hath to reconcile &s;inners to him&s;elf, to ju&s;tifie &s;inners, but in the mean time your hearts do clo&s;e with your own Conceits, and your own waies, with the Law of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and think by your own good meanings, and your own good works, that you &s;hall do well enough, and &s;hall &s;tand before God; but &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, Beware le&s;t that come upon you which is &s;po|ken of in the Prophets, Behold yee de&s;pi&s;ers, and wonder: you perhaps, when you hear &s;uch things declared unto you, you account it &s;trange doctrine, and you &s;tand and wonder what the meaning of tho&s;e things &s;hould bee; but as you wonder, &s;o you do de&s;pi&s;e; you condemn it as a &s;trange thing that you were not wont to hear heretofore, and as a thing you cannot under&s;tand the rea&s;on of; this is the u&s;u|al guize of carnal hearts, when they hear any doctrine, though there bee never &s;o much of God in it, and of the My&s;tery of the Go&s;pel that is revealed in it, yet if they under&s;tand not the rea&s;on of it, if it appear to them as a new thing, they wonder indeed, but they de&s;pi&s;e with|all, and condemn it, and &s;light it, and pa&s;s it over, as they did St. <HI>Pauls</HI> Doctrine, <HI>What will this babler &s;ay?</HI> hee brings us news of a &s;trange God, and the like: &s;o the&s;e are things that people are not acquainted withall, and &s;o they ca&s;t them off, and de&s;pi&s;e: but mark, &s;aith the Text, Take heed, beware le&s;t this come upon you, that you &s;hall behold and wonder, and de&s;pi&s;e and peri&s;h too, for I work a work in your daies, a work which you &s;hall in no wi&s;e beleeve, though a man declare it unto you: there &s;hall bee the great Coun&s;els of God revealed in your daies, and in your Congregations, there &s;hall bee revealed tho&s;e Coun&s;els of God, whereby God intends to &s;ave many &s;ouls; and here and there God will make known the&s;e things to &s;ave poor &s;ouls, but you in the mean time being conceited of your own under&s;tandings, or your own Civil Righteou&s;ne&s;s,
<PB N="154" REF="86"> that you are not &s;o bad as others, and that you are in a good ca&s;e, and in a good condition all this while, and upon a conceit, you hear, and wonder, and de&s;pi&s;e, but you &s;hall peri&s;h, and &s;hall never come to beleeve tho&s;e great things that God in your daies &s;hall reveal for the &s;alvation of the &s;ouls of others; and this is a mo&s;t dreadful cur&s;e that is upon the hearts of many men and women that hear the great things of the Go&s;pel; as it is &s;aid in the &s;econd of the <HI>Acts,</HI> that they &s;pake the wonderful things of God, and yet there was &s;ome that did but mock; this is the condition of &s;ome, that their &s;pirits &s;ecretly de&s;pi&s;e and contemn tho&s;e things that they &s;hould adore; &s;uch things as upon the hearing they &s;hould even fall down upon their faces, and adore God in the beholding of them, and yet I &s;ay, &s;lighting of them, and re&s;ting to their own waies, and conceits, here is the cur&s;e of God upon their hearts, that though they hear them, yet they &s;hall not beleeve them, I work a work in your daies, a work that you &s;ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l in no wi&s;e beleeve, though a man declare it unto you, &s;aith the Holy Gho&s;t, this Scrip|ture is very much fulfilled in Congregations where the Go&s;|pel comes to bee preached.</P>
<P>Thirdly, But further, in the third place; If Je&s;us Chri&s;t bee &s;o great a wonder, certainly then the mi&s;ery of man|kind is very great, it follows from hence; if there bee &s;uch need of &s;o wonderful a Redeemer, Oh the dreadful breach that &s;in hath made between God and man, that required &s;uch a wonderful work of God to make it up! this is that that God would have you have a right under&s;tanding of, and have &s;erious thoughts about it; God would not have &s;inful wretched man to think the breach between God and him is a light matter, a little thing: No, when the Lord hath &s;ent his Son into the world, and hath declared him to bee thus wonderful: when the Lord &s;hews what a wonder|ful glorious work of his there is in his Son for the &s;aving of mankind, hee thereby doth declare unto you, and would have you know it, that the breach that your &s;in hath made between God and your own &s;ouls, it is a wonderful
<PB N="155" REF="86"> breach; certainly were the Mi&s;ery of man no other but &s;uch as the power of Angels, as the power of any meer crea|ture could help out of, Je&s;us Chri&s;t had never come into the world, there had never been &s;uch a wonderful work of God to redeem man; But now when you hear that the way of God to redeem man is &s;o wonderful, you have cau&s;e to lay your hands upon your hearts, and &s;ay, Oh the depth of mi&s;ery that my &s;oul is fallen into! Oh the de&s;perate di&s;ea&s;e of my &s;oul, that mu&s;t have &s;uch a wonderful cure! Oh that ever the great and infinite God &s;hould work &s;o wonderfully for the &s;alvation of &s;uch a poor wretched crea|ture as &s;inful man is! My Brethren, wee do not &s;anctifie the Name of God in the great thing that God would bee &s;anctified in, except wee have right apprehen&s;ions of the dreadful breach our &s;in hath made between the Lord and our own &s;ouls, that &s;o wee might have right apprehen&s;ions of this wonderful work that God hath done for the &s;alva|tion of man-kind; this is the rea&s;on why God &s;o many times doth bring &s;inful creatures into &s;o great &s;traights, in|to the very gulf of de&s;pair oftentimes before hee reveals the &s;aving knowledge of Je&s;us Chri&s;t unto them: It is, I &s;ay, becau&s;e the Lord would have his name &s;anctified in this wonderful work of redemption by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that the &s;in|ner might bee prepared to &s;tand and admire at the wonder|ful glory of God in Je&s;us Chri&s;t; And there is nothing in the world that God looks &s;o much for as this, to be &s;anctified in the&s;e wonderful things that hee hath done for man-kind in Chri&s;t; and if wee have but &s;light thoughts of the breach that our &s;in hath made, certainly wee cannot but have &s;light thoughts likewi&s;e of the work that God hath done to deliver us from our &s;in: Thou thinke&s;t thy &s;in to bee a light matter, but know, that when thou ha&s;t &s;inned a|gain&s;t God, there mu&s;t bee the mo&s;t wonderful work of God to reconcile thee to him&s;elf, that ever God did from all eternity, or will do to all eternity; this is the greate&s;t wonder, his &s;ending of Je&s;us Chri&s;t into the world; know therefore the depth of thy mi&s;ery by this; if God &s;hould
<PB N="156" REF="87"> have devi&s;ed as it were from all eternity how to have ma|nife&s;ted the wonderful mi&s;ery of man-kind, no greater could bee found than this wonderful work of his in the re|demption of man-kind. This is a third.</P>
<P>And then Fourthly, Is Je&s;us Chri&s;t the great wonder of the world? hence then all Beleevers have exceeding cau&s;e of rejoycing in the hearing of what Chri&s;t is, what a won|derful Saviour they have, <HI>Let the children of Zion rejoyce in their King:</HI> Rejoyce in this,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, That God hath &s;o honoured you, as that hee hath wrought &s;o wonderfully for your &s;alvation; certainly, as thy redemption is, &s;o art thou; that is, there is &s;ome reflection of the glory of thy Redeemer upon thee; how hath Go<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> honoured thee before his Angels? and how honourable &s;halt thou bee hereafter, when it &s;hall appear to all the world, that the Infinite God did &s;o gloriou&s;ly work for the &s;aving of thy &s;oul? God looks upon all the Kings of the Earth as worms, <HI>Yea all the Nations of the earth as the drop of the bucket, and the du&s;t of the ballance, as nothing, le&s;s than no|thing:</HI> You &s;ee how meanly God values all the Nations of the Earth: But when hee &s;peaks of his Son, that is thy Re|deemer, <HI>His Name &s;hall bee called wonderful,</HI> &s;aith hee, hee is wonderful in the eyes of God the Father; thou that ha&s;t &s;uch a wonderful Redeemer as this is, certainly thy condition mu&s;t needs bee comfortable.</P>
<P>But Secondly, The main comfort that Beleevers may have from this glory of Chri&s;t, as hath been opened to you, is this, that hereby they may &s;ee Je&s;us Chri&s;t as a full ob|ject for their &s;ouls to re&s;t upon, whatever their condition bee; thou ha&s;t an All-&s;ufficient Saviour, thou ha&s;t an ob|ject that thou maye&s;t venture thy &s;oul, thy eternal e&s;tate upon, for hee is a wonderful Redeemer; conceive thy mi|&s;ery to the uttermo&s;t that po&s;&s;ibly can bee, &s;uppo&s;e thou &s;ee&s;t the guilt of all thy &s;ins before thee, and apprehende&s;t thy &s;oul bound over to eternal death for thy &s;in; &s;uppo&s;e thou &s;ee&s;t the ju&s;tice of God coming out again&s;t thee, to require &s;atisfaction for thy &s;in; the cur&s;e of the Law, that likewi&s;e
<PB N="157" REF="87"> brings thee under it, and thou &s;ee&s;t the bottomele&s;s pit even ready open for thee, and the horrible vile iniquities that thou ha&s;t been guilty of, pre&s;enting them&s;elves unto thee with all the aggravations of them; &s;uppo&s;e all this, And thou &s;tande&s;t now before the great God, ready to receive the &s;entence of thy eternal e&s;tate. Now the&s;e things may make thy heart to &s;hake, and indeed they will where they are &s;een really; But in the mid&s;t of &s;uch a &s;ight, if God do but give thee a &s;ight of thy Redeemer that is &s;o won|derful, here is enough to draw forth Faith, yea to be|get Faith in the &s;oul; let this bee but pre&s;ented, what&s;oe|ver thy mi&s;ery bee, yet know, here is a wonderful Re|deemer, who cannot onely cure ordinary di&s;ea&s;es, and de|liver in ordinary troubles, but can wonderfully deliver, and no cure can bee too hard for him; Oh therefore thou troubled &s;oul! that do&s;t apprehend the evil of thy &s;in, and the dread<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">l danger that thou art in: Oh that thou could|e&s;t but &s;ee this wonderful Redeemer before thee! thou woulde&s;t &s;ee him to bee an object for the mo&s;t vile wretchede&s;t &s;inner that ever lived upon the face of the earth to re&s;t upon; And becau&s;e God the Father accounts wonderfully of his Son; therefore it is that hee would not have us onely to beleeve in his Son in ordinary ca&s;es, but in extraordinary ca&s;es; you that are beleevers, and hope you have any part in Chri&s;t, know, that God expects that you &s;hould &s;anctifie his Son as a wonderful Redeemer; now, if you can onely beleeve in Chri&s;t in an ordinary way, when your condition is ordinary, and your &s;traights not ve|ry great, this is not to &s;anctifie Chri&s;t as a <HI>wonderful Savi|our.</HI> Now let this bee but laid to thy heart when temp|tations are &s;trong, and when thy heart is ready to &s;ink in any extremity; It may bee temptation comes and tells thee thy condition is extraordinary, who was ever &s;o left of God as thou art, then do but lay the&s;e truths upon thy heart, that have been revealed in the opening of the won|derfulne&s;s of Chri&s;t, and even &s;ay thus to thy &s;oul, well, but oh my &s;oul! thou ha&s;t heretofore beleeved in God,
<PB N="158" REF="88"> but ha&s;t thou &s;anctified the Name of Chri&s;t, as <HI>wonderful?</HI> ha&s;t thou beleeved in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as in him who&s;e Name by God him&s;elf is called <HI>wonderful?</HI> Thou ha&s;t, thou thinke&s;t, beleeved in him as a Saviour, as a Redeemer, but ha&s;t thou beleeved in him as thus wonderful in his Natures, in his Per&s;on, in his Offices, in his indowments, and in all the great things that hee hath done, in the glory of the Father that &s;hines in him? ha&s;t thou &s;anctified his Name in all tho&s;e particulars wherein Chri&s;t hath been made known to bee wonderful? certainly Beleevers do not &s;an|ctifie this Name of Chri&s;t, except there bee &s;ome kinde of proportion between their Faith, and all the&s;e glorious things that are revealed of Je&s;us Chri&s;t: It is hee that is a full object for thy &s;oul to re&s;t upon in all &s;traights what&s;oe|ver, when the men of the world &s;hall bee at their <HI>wits end,</HI> they having their ordinary help fail them, yet thou that art a Beleever, and knowe&s;t what Je&s;us Chri&s;t is, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">d the glo|ry of God that appears in him, thou neede&s;t not bee at thy wits end, for thou ha&s;t him <HI>who&s;e Name is wonderful,</HI> to be the object of thy Faith.</P>
<P>Thirdly, The con&s;olation to Beleevers from this title of Chri&s;t, is in this; That certainly, if there bee &s;uch a wonder|ful Redeemer, that God him&s;elf doth glory &s;o much in, and account him &s;o <HI>wonderful,</HI> then it mu&s;t needs follow, that God doth intend <HI>wonderful</HI> things for the Saints; no wi&s;e man that hath abilities, will in a wonderful manner bu&s;ie him&s;elf about a trifle: certainly if the Lord doth thus work for man-kind in his Son, if the Lord provide &s;uch a <HI>wonderful</HI> Saviour for the children of men, wee may fully conclude, that God hath wonderful thoughts to do great things for man-kind; the thoughts of God for the good of man-kind are very great, and very glorious, they are &s;ome high things, &s;ome glorious things that God doth aim at for man-kind. Oh rai&s;e up therefore your thoughts! let all that are but men rai&s;e up their thoughts, and think, &s;urely there is &s;ome great happine&s;s for the children of men; God hath revealed it from Heaven, when hee hath told us that
<PB N="159" REF="88"> there is &s;uch a <HI>wonderful</HI> Redeemer come into the Earth: But Oh you Beleevers! do you in a &s;pecial manner rai&s;e up your hearts, and expect glorious things? and though you have but little from God for the pre&s;ent, yet con|clude, that God hath wonderful thoughts about you that are the members of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and there mu&s;t come a time, that there mu&s;t bee wonderful things be&s;towed up|on you, or otherwi&s;e God &s;hould lo&s;e the honour of all the wonderful things hee hath done in Chri&s;t, and that hee will never do: God will at length bring every be|leever to &s;uch a height of glory, as before Men and An|gels it &s;hall bee declared by the glory of your &s;ouls, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t was a wonderful Redeemer; &s;uch glory thou maye&s;t have, wee cannot tell the particulars; If wee &s;hould go to open the happine&s;s of the Saints, what it &s;hould bee in Heaven, wee &s;hould quickly bee &s;wal|lowed up; but one would think that this one thing &s;hould bee enough to fill the heart of the Beleever with joy, I &s;hall have &s;o much happine&s;s from God one day, as mu&s;t declare before Men and Angels, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t was a <HI>wonderful</HI> Saviour, &s;uch glory as God him&s;elf will glory in.</P>
<P>Oh look here! look upon this poor wretch, that a while was &s;uch a vile wicked creature, and a childe of wrath, and of perdition in its &s;elf, and look now what a height of glory this &s;oul is rai&s;ed up to, and now give your te&s;ti|mony whether my Son bee not a wonderful Redeemer; this will bee the condition of every poor beleever that lives, and comfort your &s;elves in exerci&s;ing your Faith in this.</P>
<P>What ever I am now for the pre&s;ent, though but a lump of clay and filth, yet I being a Beleever, Chri&s;t be|ing mine, my condition mu&s;t bee &s;uch one day as God the Father wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l &s;ay before men and Angels, behold the wonderfulne&s;s of my Son, in what I have done for this &s;oul; and that may bee enough to &s;atisfie the &s;oul for the pre&s;ent, that God will &s;hew him&s;elf wonderful in thy
<PB N="160" REF="89"> good, and thy &s;alvation; &s;o that it may bee &s;aid of every particular beleever, thy e&s;tate &s;hall bee &s;uch one day, as if there were no other &s;aved in all the world but thy &s;elf, yet Je&s;us Chri&s;t will manife&s;t him&s;elf wonderful in thy &s;al|vation; for indeed that is that that hee aims at, to bee <HI>won|derful</HI> in the &s;alvation of his Saints, in bringing them un|to glory, and that is the comfort of all Beleevers from this title of Chri&s;ts being <HI>wonderful.</HI> But now then as thy comforts art great from this title, &s;o thy duties &s;hould bee &s;ome way proportionable too; thou &s;houlde&s;t there|fore honour God the Father of Chri&s;t, as a wonderful Savi|our: &mdash; Labour therefore fir&s;t to &s;earch into this deep my|&s;tery of the Go&s;pel:</P>
<P>Oh what a &s;hame is it that tho&s;e that do profe&s;s them|&s;elves Chri&s;tians, &s;hould under&s;tand &s;o little of Je&s;us Chri&s;t! this is that that God expects: I &s;ay, that wee &s;hould &s;tudy the Go&s;pel, &s;earch into the Go&s;pel, that wee may &s;ee more of Chri&s;t; the more wee &s;ee, the more &s;till wee &s;hall wonder, for Chri&s;t is an infinite depth, and the more wee &s;earch into him, the more wee &s;hall &s;ee cau&s;e to wonder: In the fir&s;t of the <HI>Ephe&s;ians,</HI> mark what a pray|er <HI>Paul</HI> makes for the <HI>Ephe&s;ians,</HI> in the 17, and 18. <HI>ver&s;es,</HI> hee told them before, that hee did not cea&s;e to give thanks for <HI>them, making mention of them in his prayers: to what end? That the God of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Father of Glory, may give unto you the Spirit of Wi&s;dome and Revelation in the knowledge of him.</HI></P>
<P>Hee doth not onely pray, that they might have &s;ome knowledge of him, but that they might have a Spirit of Wi&s;dome and Revelation in the knowledge of Chri&s;t; and this from the God of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and from the Father of Glory.</P>
<P>Mark what titles hee gives to God when hee prayes for them, that they might have the knowledge of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; it mu&s;t bee the God of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t that mu&s;t do it, and the Father of Glory.</P>
<P>God doth never &s;hew him&s;elf to bee the Father of Glory
<PB N="161" REF="89"> &s;o much, as when hee gives the knowledge of Je&s;us Chri&s;t to a &s;oul, then God doth make him&s;elf to appear indeed to bee the Father of Glory.</P>
<P>And further, <HI>The eyes of your under&s;tanding being en|lightened, that yee may know what is the hope of his cal|ling, and what the riches of the glory of his Inheritance in the Saints, and what is the exceeding greatne&s;s of his power to us-ward who beleeve.</HI> And in the third of the <HI>Ephe&s;ians,</HI> from the 14 <HI>ver&s;e</HI> to the 20. <HI>For this cau&s;e I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, of whom the whole Family of Heaven and Earth is named, that hee would grant you according to the riches of his Glory, to bee &s;trengthened with might by his Spirit in the Inner-man, that Chri&s;t may dwell in your hearts by Faith, that yee being rooted and grounded in love,</HI> (All this now is but a preparation to what hee would de&s;ire further, and that is this) <HI>That &s;o you may bee able to compre|hend with all Saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Chri&s;t, which pa&s;&s;eth knowledge, that yee might bee filled with all the fulne&s;&s;e of God:</HI> This is a mo&s;t admirable Scrip|ture, &s;urely the Spirit of Chri&s;t filled the heart of Saint <HI>Paul;</HI> and &s;uch kind of Scriptures as the&s;e, are migh|ty &s;trong Arguments to evince the Scripture to bee the Word of God: when wee read &s;uch pa&s;&s;ages as the&s;e, that have a &s;pirit in them, beyond the &s;pirit of any man; certainly it was beyond the &s;pirit of any man to expre&s;&s;e him&s;elf in &s;uch a manner, That hee bowed his knees unto the Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that they might comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth, length, depth and height, and to know the love of Chri&s;t which pa&s;&s;eth knowledge, that they might bee filled with all the fulne&s;&s;e of God; and that is that which I would e&s;pecially ob&s;erve, that Chri&s;tians &s;hould not content them&s;elves with a little knowledge of Chri&s;t, but they &s;hould labour to comprehend what is the length, breadth, depth, and height, they &s;hould la|bour
<PB N="162" REF="90"> to dive into the M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;teries of the Go&s;pel, as it is &s;aid of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> when hee &s;aw that <HI>wonderful</HI> work in the wilderne&s;&s;e, &s;aith hee, <HI>I will now turn a&s;ide and &s;ee this great &s;ight;</HI> you have it recorded in the &s;eventh of the <HI>Acts,</HI> and 31. <HI>ver&s;. There appeared to him in the wilderne&s;&s;e of Mount Sina, an Angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bu&s;h: When Mo&s;es &s;aw it, hee wondred at the &s;ight, and as hee drew near to behold it, &amp;c.</HI> Hee had a &s;ight of it at a di&s;tance, and yet &s;o much, as hee won|dred at it, and then hee drew near, and the Lord &s;pake to him: So it &s;hould bee with us, wee have &s;ome &s;ight of Chri&s;t, but is it not at a di&s;tance? wee hear a Mini&s;ter &s;peaking of Chri&s;t to us (the great wonder of the world) and it may bee at the hearing wee are rea|dy to think, there is &s;omewhat in Chri&s;t beyond what wee have apprehended heretofore; I but I be&s;eech you Brethren, let it not pa&s;&s;e away &s;o; tho&s;e things that have been &s;poken concerning Chri&s;t, God will require an account of; and know, it is a dangerous thing to have the glory of Je&s;us Chri&s;t to pa&s;s by any &s;oul, and to do it no good: If wee had been preaching to you of Moral Vir|tues, or any deep di&s;cour&s;e about any point, &s;ave a|bout Je&s;us Chri&s;t, there had not been &s;o much danger of letting it pa&s;&s;e without profit; but when God &s;ets before you the glory of his Son, know, there is a great deal of danger upon the hearing of &s;uch things without profit; therefore you had need &s;ay upon the hearing of &s;uch things, as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;aid, <HI>That you will draw near,</HI> you will go and pray over the&s;e again; and be&s;eech the Lord that hee would reveal the&s;e things unto you: Pray with <HI>David, O Lord, open mine eyes, that I may &s;ee the wonderful things of thy Law:</HI> By <HI>Law</HI> there is meant tho&s;e things that were revealed in the Word of God; and &s;urely upon our hearing what God hath revealed in his Word, wee have cau&s;e to pray with more earne&s;tne&s;&s;e, Lord open our eyes that wee may &s;ee the wonderful things of thy Go&s;pel; but mark, <HI>When Mo&s;es</HI> drew
<PB N="163" REF="90"> near, <HI>Then</HI> God &s;pake to him, and revealed him&s;elf fur|ther to him: If <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> had &s;tood wondring at this &s;ight, and went no further, it may bee hee had not had God revealing him&s;elf &s;o clearly to him; but when hee draws near, then God &s;peaks to him: So if your hearts bee taken with what you hear of this wonderful Saviour, and then you draw near, and take pains in your clo&s;ets by me|ditation and prayer, to &s;ee what is the meaning of this wonder: Why Lord &s;hall I hear of &s;uch things, and not under&s;tand them? they are things that do nearly con|cern mee, and &s;hall I not under&s;tand them? If you la|bour to draw near, God will &s;peak and reveal further of his mind to you: But further, of this Text in the <HI>Ephe&s;ians, Wee mu&s;t labour to comprehend the heights and depths, and to know the love of Chri&s;t which pa&s;&s;eth know|ledge.</HI></P>
<P>You wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l &s;ay, the&s;e are too wonderful things for us to know.</P>
<P>Nay, The Apo&s;tle praies that they <HI>may know that which pa&s;&s;eth knowledge:</HI> Though the fulne&s;&s;e of the glo|ry of it pa&s;&s;eth all knowledge, yet &s;till there may bee &s;o much of the knowledge of the&s;e things, as may help you to &s;anctifie Gods Name, and make your hearts &s;piritual; for &s;aith the Text, <HI>That yee may know the love of God which pa&s;&s;eth knowledge, that yee might bee filled with all the fulne&s;&s;e of God:</HI> It is a very &s;trange phra&s;e (for the creature to bee filled with God) and had wee it not in Scripture, wee &s;hould not have dared to have u&s;ed &s;uch an expre&s;&s;ion: But here it is <HI>to bee filled with all the fulne&s;&s;e of God:</HI> This phra&s;e is a great deal higher; but how comes this to pa&s;&s;e? by <HI>compre|hending the height, and depth, and length, and breadth;</HI> that is, by under&s;tanding Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and the Glory of God in him, by this means doth the &s;oul come to bee filled with all the fulne&s;&s;e of God.</P>
<P>What is the rea&s;on that Chri&s;tians are &s;o empty in
<PB N="164" REF="91"> their &s;pirits, in their conver&s;ations? but becau&s;e they know &s;o little of the My&s;tery of the Go&s;pel: If thou did&s;t but under&s;tand the My&s;tery of the Go&s;pel, but how the Lord makes known him&s;elf in the face of Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, this would fill thy heart with all the ful|ne&s;&s;e of God; tho&s;e Chri&s;tians are the Chri&s;tians filled with excellency indeed, that do comprehend the height, and depth, and length, and breadth of this wonder|ful work of God in Chri&s;t: There is nothing &s;ancti|fies the heart &s;o much, as the knowledge of Chri&s;t in a right way.</P>
<P><HI>Seneca</HI> hath &s;uch an expre&s;&s;ion concerning the Hea|vens: Oh the Heavens are a wonderful &s;pectacle, and a &s;pectacle fit for a rea&s;onable creature to bee imploy|ed about! Though wee &s;hould get little benefit by knowing the Motions of the Heavens, the Sun, Moon, and Stars, yet the beauty and excellency that is there, and the wonderful work of God in the Heavens, it can|not but take a rational creature: Now, if the wonder|ful work of God in the Heavens bee &s;uch, as it mu&s;t needs take a rational creature: Oh what is the won|derful work of God in Je&s;us Chri&s;t! therefore let us make it the chief of our &s;tudy, to &s;tudy the Lord Je|&s;us.</P>
<P><HI>Luther</HI> hath an expre&s;&s;ion to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, O &s;aith hee, I vehemently, I extreamly am di&s;plea&s;ed with my &s;elf, and di&s;plea&s;e my &s;elf, yea (&s;aith hee) I hate my &s;elf, becau&s;e I cannot get that great bene|fit, that great work that there is in mans Redemption, becau&s;e I cannot get it to bee transfu&s;ed into my very bones and marrow; I would fain get it in there. Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> in <HI>Gal.</HI> 1.15, 16. &s;aid, hee was <HI>&s;eparated from his Mothers womb, and called by Grace, and had Chri&s;t revealed in him.</HI> O ble&s;&s;ed is that &s;oul that the Lord hath &s;eparated for him&s;elf, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t might bee revealed in it, that is a ble&s;&s;ed &s;oul: &mdash; You know
<PB N="165" REF="91"> how <HI>Paul</HI> accounted the knowledge of Chri&s;t, The ex|cellent knowledge, the excellencie of knowledge, and accounted all things <HI>dung and dro&s;&s;e</HI> in compari&s;on; and &s;o <HI>David,</HI> in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.27. <HI>Make mee to under&s;tand the way of thy Precepts, &s;o &s;hall I talk of thy wondrous works:</HI> When you come together, you can bee talking of this News, and the other News, but were your hearts fil|led with the knowledge of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, you could not but talk of the wonderful things that God hath done for your &s;ouls in Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>And as wee are to labour to &s;earch that wee may know more, &s;o to give God the prai&s;e of this his won|der that hee hath done; In <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 107.8. <HI>Oh that men would prai&s;e the Lord for the wonderful things that hee hath done for the children of men:</HI> It is meant there I confe&s;&s;e of the wonderful works of Gods providence; but &s;urely if God bee to bee prai&s;ed and magnified for his wonderful works of providence, much more for the wonderful works that hee hath done for the &s;oul in Je|&s;us Chri&s;t. And &s;o in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 86.9, 10. You have an ex|pre&s;&s;ion there to the &s;ame purpo&s;e: <HI>All Nations whom thou hast made, &s;hall come and wor&s;hip before thee, O Lord, and &s;hall glo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ifie thy Name, for thou art great, and do&s;t wondrous things:</HI> Oh that this Scripture were fulfilled, that all Nations might come and wor&s;hip the Lord, and glorifie God upon this ground, becau&s;e God is great, and doth wonderful things; The wonderful things of God in his works of Creation and Providence, are nothing &s;o much regarded of God him&s;elf, as the wonderful things hee hath done in Chri&s;t; and there|fore the Lord expects that the Saints &s;hould glorifie him more for that, than for any thing el&s;e: And the truth is, God re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ects all the glory that hee hath from his crea|tures, except hee hath it, becau&s;e of the wonders that hee hath done in his Son.</P>
<P>And as wee &s;hould &s;tudy Chri&s;t, and prai&s;e and ble&s;s
<PB N="166" REF="92"> God, and have our hearts enlarged for Je&s;us Chri&s;t: So this is the duty of beleevers, to whom God hath reveal|ed Chri&s;t as <HI>wonderful,</HI> that in their conver&s;ations they &s;hould hold out the wonderful Glory of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; thou &s;houlde&s;t &s;o walk before men, as to manife&s;t to all the world that thy Saviour is a wonderful Savi|our.</P>
<P>And thou &s;houlde&s;t manife&s;t it by thy wonderful change; that &s;oul that hath part in Chri&s;t, who&s;e Name is <HI>won|derful,</HI> honours Chri&s;t in this, If hee doth manife&s;t that &s;ince hee came to know Je&s;us Chri&s;t, there is a wonder|ful change made in him; what a change is there made in this youth, or childe, young-man, or neighbour, or friend! Not long &s;ince what an ignorant &s;ot was hee? but &s;ince hee went to hear the Word, Oh the under|&s;tanding in a little time that &s;uch a one hath got in the My&s;teries of the Go&s;pel! &s;uch a one was not able to go into Gods pre&s;ence to expre&s;&s;e him&s;elf in prayer any o|therwi&s;e but upon a book, but now, Oh what a &s;pirit of prayer hath God given to &s;uch a poor wretch, that was &s;o ignorant the other day! Now, O how can hee pour out his &s;oul before the Lord! Such a one that not long &s;ince was a prophane and loo&s;e liver, and &s;en&s;ual and ba&s;e in his life and conver&s;ation, now oh how ho|ly, how heavenly, how &s;piritual, and would not com|mit the le&s;t known &s;in, if hee might gain a thou&s;and worlds for it! &s;uch a one that was fal&s;e in his &s;ervice before, now how tru&s;ty! one may tru&s;t ones life, and all that one hath with him now; &s;uch a one that heretofore was a &s;wearer, oh how doth hee reverence the Name of God! &s;uch a one that was a froward pa&s;&s;ionate &s;pi|rited man or woman, now how meek and gentle are they! what a mighty change is there in the &s;pirit of &s;uch a &s;ervant, or wife, or husband, or neighbour! And &s;uch a one that was altogether for him&s;elf, and proud, and haughty, but now, oh how humble, and &s;ubmi&s;&s;ive!
<PB N="167" REF="92"> now hee can deny him&s;elf of any thing: As wee read of Chri&s;t, that when hee <HI>commanded the winds and the waves,</HI> the Text &s;aith, <HI>all people wondred at him:</HI> So when the winds of thy pa&s;&s;ion are up, if thou can&s;t but bid them bee &s;till, all would wonder at it: Oh how comes there &s;o great a change! &s;uch a one that was im|patient before in any &s;uffering, now what ever hee &s;uf|fers, how like a Lamb is hee, and opens not his mouth! Now in the mid&s;t of afflictions, and pains, and troubles, hee can lye rejoycing and prai&s;ing God; And &s;uch a one, though hee hath never &s;uch &s;trong temptations to draw him on the other &s;ide, yet now hee can re&s;i&s;t the &s;tronge&s;t temptations; before, if a companion did but hold up his finger, hee mu&s;t go, but now I &s;ay hee can re|&s;i&s;t &s;trong temptations, and oh how hee accounts it his glory and happine&s;&s;e to &s;uffer for Je&s;us Chri&s;t: Now this doth manife&s;t Chri&s;t a wonderful Saviour. As it was the &s;peech of a Heathen, &s;eeing the Chri&s;tians &s;uffer with &s;o great patience, hee cries out, <HI>Of a truth, the God of the Chri&s;tians is a great God, that doth inable them to do &s;uch great things:</HI> So thou mu&s;t &s;o walk in thy life, that thou mu&s;t manife&s;t that Je&s;us Chri&s;t is a wonderful Saviour.</P>
<P>And bee a&s;hamed to complain of any difficulty in a|ny duties that thou art &s;et about; thou art &s;et about &s;uch a duty, and oh thou complaine&s;t they are hard, and difficult, and tedious! Is it for thy Saviour that thou doe&s;t it? thou &s;houlde&s;t bee willing to go thorow fire and water; and in this one thing the wonderfulne&s;s of the change of a &s;oul doth appear as much as in any thing, That tho&s;e things that before were accounted burdens, now the &s;oul accounts them as a priviledge, and the joy of its heart; others cannot do &s;o: Now the Go&s;|pel makes &s;uch a change, and in this change of thy heart, and of thy life, Je&s;us Chri&s;t is held forth in the world to bee a wonderful Saviour; but now, if thou can&s;t do no
<PB N="168" REF="93"> more than tho&s;e that are &s;trangers to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, what honour hath Chri&s;t in thy life and conver&s;ation? One pa&s;|&s;age or two more.</P>
<P>If Chri&s;t bee a <HI>wonderful Saviour,</HI> hence then every one that hears of Chri&s;t, &s;hould think it to bee a dread|ful thing to mi&s;&s;e of Je&s;us Chri&s;t: Oh then let all &s;ouls to whom Chri&s;t is made known, make after him! Oh thou wretched &s;oul, that ha&s;t not yet under&s;tood the way of God towards man-kind, now labour to know it! If the Lord hath wonderful thoughts for the &s;aving of man-kind, then let thy thoughts bee &s;uch: And after all this &s;hall my &s;oul peri&s;h eternally? &s;hall I bee ca&s;t away, notwith&s;tanding God hath wrought in &s;uch a glorious and wonderful way for the &s;alvation of &s;ouls? mu&s;t I peri&s;h at la&s;t for all this? Thy heart &s;hould make towards God, and bee incouraged in this, becau&s;e the way of &s;alvati|on is &s;o wonderful: why, may not thy &s;oul come in like|wi&s;e and bee &s;aved? there is not the wor&s;t of you all, but here is help in this <HI>wonderful</HI> Saviour to help you, and redeem you; had you but hearts now to come in and to fall down before the Lord when you get alone in your clo&s;ets, and &s;ay, Lord, I have heard that there is a won|derful Saviour come into the world, and hath done wonderfully for the redeeming of man-kind; Oh that hee might bee <HI>wonderful</HI> in my &s;alvation al&s;o! that I may bee among the number of tho&s;e that may to all eternity bee admiring at thy glory in Je&s;us Chri&s;t; many of you rejoyce in this, that God hath wrought wonderfully to pre&s;erve you &s;ome times out of dangers, I but what are all the <HI>wonderful works</HI> of God towards you, except you have your part in him who&s;e <HI>Name</HI> is called <HI>wonder|ful?</HI></P>
<P>And la&s;t of all, Let us long for that time when Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hall appear in all his glory; hee doth appear now to the &s;ouls of his Saints very wonderful, as hee is &s;et out in the Word; but there is a time when Chri&s;t &s;hall
<PB N="169" REF="93"> come and appear in all his glory in another manner than wee are able to &s;et him out: After the <HI>blowing of the &s;e|venth Trumpet</HI> that you read of in the book of the <HI>Revela|tions, then is the My&s;tery fini&s;hed,</HI> and what is the fini&s;hing of it? in <HI>chap.</HI> 11. then is the voice heard, &s;aying,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11.15.</NOTE> <HI>The Kingdomes of this world are become the Kingdomes of our Lord, and of his Chri&s;t, and hee &s;hall reign for ever and e|ver:</HI> Then &s;hall the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t come and appear in all <HI>his wonderful works</HI> to the children of men, and to <HI>bee admired in the Saints;</HI> then &s;hall bee fulfilled the Scrip|ture wee have in <HI>John</HI> 14.20, 21. Mark what Chri&s;t pro|mi&s;es there to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>At that day yee &s;hall know that I am in my Father, and you in mee, and I in you: hee that hath my commandements, and keepeth them, hee it is that loveth mee, and hee that loveth mee, &s;hall bee loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manife&s;t my &s;elf to him.</HI> &mdash; At that day you &s;hall know it: It &s;eems his Di&s;ciples under&s;tood but little of this My&s;tery before, but &s;aith Chri&s;t, there is a day that you &s;hall know that I am in my Father, and you in mee, and I in you: And bee of good comfort, all beleevers, there is a time coming that you will &s;ee Chri&s;t more wonderful than now you do; you do now &s;ee Chri&s;t to bee wonderful, and your hearts are taken in &s;ome mea&s;ure, taken off from all the Creatures, to ad|mire at Je&s;us Chri&s;t; in <HI>Act.</HI> 3.11, 12. when the people wondered at the cure that the Apo&s;tles wrought upon the lame man; mark at the 12th. <HI>ver&s;. When Peter &s;aw it, hee an&s;wered unto the people, Yee men of I&s;rael, why marvel yee at this? or why look yee &s;o earne&s;tly on us, as though by our own power or holine&s;s wee had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of I&s;aac, and of Jacob, the God of our Fathers hath glorified his Son Je&s;us, &amp;c.</HI> As if they &s;hould &s;ay, Why do you wonder a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> us? know, that the God of <HI>Abraham,</HI> and of <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> and of <HI>Jacob,</HI> hath glorified his Son Je&s;us; it is hee that you are to wonder at: The Saints have their hearts taken off from Creatures, from men, from in|&s;truments,
<PB N="170" REF="94"> and they look upon him, that the God of <HI>Abra|ham, I&s;aac,</HI> and <HI>Jacob</HI> hath glorified, even Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and hee is the matter of their wonder. But do&s;t thou wonder at Je&s;us Chri&s;t <HI>now?</HI> know, Chri&s;t will come ere long in ano|ther manner to bee admired at by his Saints in all his glo|ry; Chri&s;t was wonderful when hee came with &s;in, and when hee comes without &s;in hee &s;hall bee more wonderful; hee &s;hall come in all his glory with his holy Angels, to make good all that hee hath promi&s;ed, and to bring with him all that hee hath purcha&s;ed, and then wee <HI>&s;hall &s;ee him as hee is.</HI> &mdash; Now wee &s;ee Je&s;us Chri&s;t <HI>but thorow a gla&s;s,</HI> and yet our hearts are taken with him; and wee wonder at him now, but oh how &s;hall wee wonder when wee come to &s;ee <HI>him as hee is!</HI> when wee &s;hall behold his face in glory; wee &s;ee now the Lord Chri&s;t in his Ordinances, but as in a picture; As at the fir&s;t, when there are treaties between one Prince and another about a march, the fir&s;t &s;ight that they have of one another, it is but by a picture, and if they bee de|lighted with but &s;eeing the picture one of another, much more will they bee delighted and inamoured with the per|&s;on, when they come to &s;ee it its &s;elf: &s;o it is with the Saints, here all that the Saints can &s;ee of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that makes them &s;o wonder at him, and to account him to bee the <HI>chiefe&s;t of ten thou&s;and,</HI> all is but by &s;eeing of him by a picture; Je&s;us Chri&s;t is in Heaven, and hee &s;ends us his picture in his Ordinances; &s;o St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, in <HI>Gal.</HI> 3. con|cerning the Mini&s;try of the Word, that <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t had been evidently &s;et forth crucified among them.</HI> Now are your hearts taken with the &s;ight of Chri&s;t, when you &s;ee him as it were in a picture? know, as Chri&s;t &s;aid to <HI>Nathanael, Be|cau&s;e I &s;aid unto thee, I &s;aw thee under the Figg tree, be|leeve&s;t thou? thou &s;halt &s;ee greater things than the&s;e.</HI> So thou &s;halt ere long &s;ee Je&s;us Chri&s;t as hee is; <HI>Wee are now the Sons of God, but it appears not what wee &s;hall bee, for when hee &s;hall appear, wee &s;hall bee like him, for wee &s;hall &s;ee him as hee is.</HI></P>
<PB N="171" REF="94">
<P>And thou &s;halt not onely &s;ee him, but &s;o &s;ee him, as hee &s;hall never go out of thy &s;ight; thou ha&s;t but a little glimp&s;e of him now for the pre&s;ent, and thy &s;oul rejoyces in that, the time is coming when thou &s;halt &s;ee him, and thy eyes &s;hall feed upon him for ever; the Lord Chri&s;t &s;hall go up and down the Heavens as the wonder of the Angels, and all the Saints &s;hall bee following, wondring at him to all e|ternity; The lu&s;ter of the deity &s;hall bee &s;hining thorow the humanity of Chri&s;t, and men and Angels &s;hall &s;tand gazing and wondring at the glory of Je&s;us Chri&s;t to all eternity: <HI>Oh let us comfort one another with the&s;e &s;ayings,</HI> and in the ex|pectation of the glorious appearing of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. And tho&s;e that &s;hall long for the glorious appearing of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, upon the &s;eeing of him here, have a good evidence that they do belong to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and &s;hall bee parta|kers of the wonderful things that Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath wrought and purcha&s;ed with his own blood.</P>
<P>And thus wee have opened to you and applied this glori|ous wonder of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; <HI>His Name &s;hall bee called Wonderful;</HI> hee is wonderful in the Word, Oh that hee may bee wonderful in your hearts, and in your lives.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="95">
<PB REF="95">
<HEAD>THE CONTENTS OF THE <HI>EXCELLENCY of the SOUL.</HI></HEAD>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matthew</HI> 16.26.</BIBL> For what &s;hall it profit a man to gain the whole world, and to lo&s;e his own Soul, &amp;c.</Q>
<LIST>
<ITEM>_THe Text divided into two general parts.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> That there is in every man a Soul, a &s;piritual &s;ub&s;tance, be&s;ides what is vi&s;ible and &s;en&s;ible. <HI>p. 203</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> That this Soul is more worth than all the world. <HI>Ibid.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>The tearms of the Text explained, &s;heweth what is meant by Soul. <HI>ibid.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That every man hath a &s;oul, and the nece&s;&s;ity of looking to it, for five Rea&s;ons. <HI>p. 204</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Wee &s;ee there are Actions in men that are beyond that which concerns the body at all. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> There is a power in man to curb his body, to deny him&s;elf of that which is mo&s;t &s;uitable to the body. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> That which the Scripture makes the chief Actions of man to con&s;i&s;t in, which have any reference to God, is
<PB REF="96"> &s;uch things as are done by &s;omewhat beyond the body. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> When this bodily &s;ub&s;tance is decaying, mouldring away, there are many thoughts in a man about his Eternal E&s;tate. <HI>p. 205</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> For wee know that there are real pains and torments upon a mans &s;pirit. <HI>ib.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>Doct. <HI>Did they but know the worth of their &s;ouls, it could not but rai&s;e them very high above the&s;e empty vanities. p. 208</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>The Excellency of the Soul di&s;covered.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> In its Relations to God. <HI>p. 208</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> The &s;oul is onely commended by God. <HI>209</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> It is under the power of no man to inflict evil upon it. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> It is of large extent and capacity to receive the Image of God. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>For,
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> It is that that is capable to have the Image of God &s;tampt upon it. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> It is able to work as God him&s;elf works. <HI>p. 210.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> It is capable of enjoying communion with God him|&s;elf. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> It is capable of the communication of tho&s;e Excellen|cies that ever God did, or will communicate to any. <HI>p. 211</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> The Contiguity it hath with God him&s;elf. <HI>p. 212</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>A &s;econd Excellency of the Soul di&s;covered in Relation to the Angels. <HI>p. 213</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A third, in the Indeavour of it. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A fourth, in the Immortality. <HI>p. 214</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A fifth, in the Mea&s;ure of all other Excellencies. <HI>p. 215</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A &s;ixth, in the Price that was paid for it. <HI>p. 216</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A &s;eventh, in regard of the Body. <HI>p. 217</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>God onely can &s;atisfie the &s;oul. <HI>p. 219</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="96">
<ITEM>The Devil him&s;elf e&s;teems it. <HI>p. 220</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>U&s;e 1</HI> Sheweth that wee ought to look upon every childe of man with &s;ome reverence, e&s;teem, and honour. <HI>221</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>U&s;e 2</HI> How can wee look upon many people without having our hearts rai&s;ed with the meditation of the dreadfulne&s;s of Gods Ju&s;tice upon men for &s;in? <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>U&s;e 3</HI> It mu&s;t needs bee an honourable work to bee bu&s;ied a|bout &s;ouls. <HI>223</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>U&s;e 4</HI> Tho&s;e that have mo&s;t Soul-Excellency, are the mo&s;t excellent people. <HI>226</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>U&s;e 5</HI> Let us ble&s;s God for our &s;ouls. <HI>228</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>For hence it is that
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> You are look'd upon by the Angels them&s;elves. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> The Providence of God is more towards you. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> You are &s;uch as are capable of all the good Chri&s;t hath purcha&s;ed. <HI>229</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> Ble&s;s God for Soul-Mercies above all other. <HI>231</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> What a pitty is it that God &s;hould not have the honour of mens &s;ouls. <HI>232</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8</HI> Take heed of di&s;honouring the&s;e &s;ouls of yours. <HI>233</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Que&s;tion <HI>How may a man di&s;honour his &s;oul?</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>An&s;wer, <HI>236</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> When hee lives idlely, and makes no u&s;e of it. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> When hee emploies it about low and mean things. <HI>237</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> When hee defiles his &s;oul. <HI>238</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> When hee make it a drudge to his body. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> When hee grudges the time and co&s;t hee &s;pends upon it. <HI>239</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> When hee laies not up provi&s;ion for it again&s;t an evil day. <HI>240</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> When hee thinks to &s;atisfie it with any thing but God. <HI>ibid.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>Next U&s;e &s;hews how to put honour upon our &s;oul. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>And that
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> By having your thoughts often upon them. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> By keeping your bodies under them. <HI>241</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> By adorning your &s;ouls with beauty. <HI>242</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="97">
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> By providing for them. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> By imploying them in things &s;uitable to them. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> By bringing them to gain that end for which they were made. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>Doct. <HI>2 That the lo&s;s of the &s;oul is a mo&s;t dreadful lo&s;s. 243</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>An&s;wers to that Que&s;tion, What Chri&s;t means by the lo&s;s of the &s;oul? <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Not becau&s;e they will bee annihilated. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>But <HI>1</HI> The lo&s;s of the &s;oul is in the privations of it, of all good. <HI>244</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> It con&s;i&s;ts in its departing from God. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> In &s;ubjecting it to that mi&s;ery and evil that is contrary to what good it is capable of. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> In the &s;uckerle&s;s and helple&s;s condition it is brought into. For
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Every man and woman, as they came into the world, are deprived of that glory and excellency that God did indow the &s;ouls of men with at their fir&s;t Creation.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> All our &s;ouls do naturally wander away from God. <HI>245</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> In its depravity and &s;infulne&s;s. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> Its being in a &s;uccourle&s;s, helple&s;s condition. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>Wherein con&s;i&s;ts the lo&s;s of the &s;oul in Hell? <HI>246</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> In the full rejection of the &s;oul from God. <HI>ib.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> From living the life of God. <HI>247</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> From having any union with God. <HI>249</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> From having any fruition of God. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> From enjoying the pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t. <HI>250</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> From being ever exerci&s;ed in that ble&s;&s;ed work of prai&s;ing God. <HI>251</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> From ever living in God, as the Saints do. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>A &s;econd thing wherein the mi&s;ery of the &s;ouls lo&s;s con&s;i&s;ts in Hell, is in its being made very &s;en&s;ible of the lo&s;s of its chiefe&s;t good. <HI>254</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Which is
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> To bee ca&s;t under the eternal cur&s;e of God. <HI>255</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="97">
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> To have all the faculties of the &s;oul to bee filled with wrath. <HI>256</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> The infinite power of God put forth in inlarging their natures, that they may bee the more capable of evil. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> To uphold their natures, that they &s;ink not with tho&s;e dreadful evils. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> To let out on the &s;oul whatever it can bear to make it mi&s;erable.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> To keep all the faculties of the lo&s;t &s;oul in its utmo&s;t activity. <HI>258</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Its mi&s;ery appears in its &s;uccourle&s;s and helple&s;s condition. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>For
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> All the power of God cannot help it.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> There can bee no Mediator between God and the lo&s;t &s;oul. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>Several Aggravations whereby the mi&s;ery of a &s;oul that is lo&s;t doth appear. As,</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> If the &s;oul be lo&s;t, then the body is, and will be lo&s;t al&s;o. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Becau&s;e
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> The body all the time a man doth live, is the onely or mo&s;t immediate in&s;trument the &s;oul hath to work and to &s;in by. <HI>259</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Becau&s;e the &s;oul that is lost &s;hall bee united to the body, the very extremity of the &s;oul mu&s;t needs bring mi&s;ery on the body al&s;o. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> When the &s;oul comes into this condition, it comes into the mo&s;t dreadfulle&s;t condition that any creature is in. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> It will then have none to pitty it.
<LIST>
<ITEM>Je&s;us Chri&s;t will not pitty it.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The Angels will not pitty it.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The Saints will not pitty it.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Their kindred will not pitty it. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> It will prove to mo&s;t that are lo&s;t, an unexpected lo&s;s. <HI>260</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="98">
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> It will prove to bee a dreadful lo&s;s, becau&s;e it will prove to bee a wilful lo&s;s. <HI>261</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> It will bee a great lo&s;s for a little matter. <HI>262</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> Many will lo&s;e their &s;ouls that were very nigh the &s;avi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">g of their &s;ouls. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8</HI> When they &s;hall con&s;ider they have lo&s;t their &s;ouls, and have nothing in lieu thereof. <HI>263</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>9</HI> The &s;hame that &s;hall bee put upon &s;uch lo&s;t &s;ouls as &s;hall peri&s;h eternally. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>10</HI> When they &s;hall &s;ee others taken up to Heaven, that were as unlikely to bee &s;aved as them&s;elves. <HI>264</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>U&s;e 1</HI> If the &s;ouls lo&s;s bee &s;o dreadful, ble&s;s God that your &s;ouls are not thus lo&s;t. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Let us ble&s;s God then for Je&s;us Chri&s;t. <HI>267</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> It mu&s;t needs then bee a dreadful evil for any to have a hand in this lo&s;s. <HI>269</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> It rebukes the folly and madne&s;s of mo&s;t people that have no care of their &s;ouls. <HI>272</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Several waies by which men come to lo&s;e their &s;ouls As</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Some lo&s;e their &s;ouls by wandring up and down in dark|ne&s;s all the daies of their lives. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Others by pawning them away. <HI>273</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The pawning of the &s;oul is mo&s;t dangerous of all other. <HI>274</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>For
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> There is no &s;uch pawn as po&s;&s;ibly can bee laid as this <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> In laying of pawns there is a time prefixed for the re|demption. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> You bargain the bringing of &s;omewhat that you have in your own power to redeem it. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Men lo&s;e their &s;ouls, by wounding of them. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Que&s;t. <HI>Wounding them, how you will &s;ay?</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>By that I mean the commi&s;&s;ions of &s;ins again&s;t con&s;cience. <HI>275</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> Men lo&s;e their &s;ouls by being gull'd of them.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> By &s;elling of them away. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="98">
<ITEM>Men &s;ell their &s;ouls,
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> When men &s;eek advantage to them&s;elves by any unlawful means. <HI>276</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> When men &s;hall re&s;olutely give up them&s;elves to all man|ner of wickedne&s;s. <HI>277</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> Men lo&s;e their &s;ouls by poi&s;oning them. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>And that
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Either by wicked company, Or,</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> By wicked errors.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> Others lo&s;e their &s;ouls by venturing them. <HI>279</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>This a man may do in four ca&s;es.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> By ra&s;hne&s;s. <HI>280</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> By doing things that are doubtful. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> By venturing upon Gods patience. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> By venturing upon their own lives. <HI>281</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8</HI> Many lo&s;e their &s;ouls by &s;tarving them. <HI>283</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>9</HI> Some lo&s;e their &s;ouls by &s;urfeiting of them. <HI>285</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>10</HI> And la&s;tly, By forfeiting of them. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>And that two waies.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> By not tendring that homage to God that is due. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> By breaking Covenant with God. <HI>286</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>U&s;e 5</HI> It concerns us to examine whether our &s;ouls bee not in &s;uch a condition, that if they &s;hould depart in, they would bee lo&s;t. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>But who are they that are no better qualified?</ITEM>
<ITEM>An&s;wer. <HI>287</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> That &s;oul that God hath not convinc'd of the dangerous natural condition in which it is.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> That &s;oul that hath not made it his greate&s;t care above all things to &s;ave it &s;elf.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> That &s;oul to whom the Lord hath not revealed the glory of the my&s;teries of the Go&s;pel.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> That &s;oul that hath no other righteou&s;ne&s;s to tender up to God but its own. <HI>289</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>Que&s;t. <HI>What other Righteou&s;ne&s;s is there?</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>An&s;wer, A &s;upernatural Righteou&s;ne&s;s. <HI>290</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> That &s;oul that God hath not made in &s;ome mea&s;ure at
<PB REF="99"> lea&s;t to feel the weight of &s;in. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> That &s;oul that walks after the fle&s;h in a cour&s;e of &s;in. <HI>291</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> That &s;oul that is under the dominion of any one lu&s;t. <HI>292</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>Que&s;t. <HI>What is it for &s;in to domineer?</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>An&s;w. When &s;in &s;hall &s;et up a kinde of Throne, and give Laws as a King. <HI>293</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>8</HI> That &s;oul that hath not had &s;uch a change wrought by the Spirit, as is a New Birth, or Re&s;urrection. <HI>294</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>9</HI> That &s;oul that hath not gone beyond tho&s;e the Scripture brands for Hypocrites. <HI>296</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>Que&s;t. <HI>How &s;hall a man know hee is gone further than the&s;e?</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>An&s;wer. <HI>298</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> They could not &s;ay, becau&s;e the word is pure, therefore they delighted in it.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> That they prized Je&s;us Chri&s;t as a &s;anctifier.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> That they lift up God as the highe&s;t end.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>U&s;e</HI> la&s;t, Minde that &s;erious que&s;tion, What you &s;hall do to bee &s;aved? <HI>299</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Object. <HI>But wee mu&s;t inquire after all truth.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>An&s;wer, Yes, but &s;ea&s;onably, and in its due time. <HI>300, 301</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Rules about our inquiring how to be &s;aved. <HI>ib.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Do it timely.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Do it earne&s;tly. <HI>202</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Do it &s;incerely.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> Do it con&s;tantly. <HI>203</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>Rea&s;ons why wee &s;hould thus inquire. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Becau&s;e
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> By nature wee are in a lo&s;t condition.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Salvation is a difficult thing.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> There are but few that &s;hall bee &s;aved. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>The true Que&s;tion of what wee &s;hould do to bee &s;aved</ITEM>
<ITEM>An&s;wered. <HI>306</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> If you would have your &s;ouls &s;aved, joyn with God in what hee hath revealed to you concerni g your own condition. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Break off the acts of thy &s;in at lea&s;t. <HI>308, 309</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>Wherein is &s;hewed the rea&s;on of this Rule.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Take off your heart as much as you can from the world. <HI>310</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="99">
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> Acquaint thy &s;elf with the my&s;teries of the Go&s;pel. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Que&s;t. <HI>What is there in the Go&s;pel and Covenant of Grace wee mu&s;t inform our &s;elves of. 311</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>An&s;w.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Informing our &s;elves of the nece&s;&s;ity of &s;atisfaction to Divine Ju&s;tice. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Of a nece&s;&s;ity of pe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">fect Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Of an ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity of the application of Chri&s;ts Righteou&s;ne&s;s. <HI>313</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> Of the nece&s;&s;ity of Regeneration. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> The fear of God mu&s;t bee mighty and &s;trong upon your &s;pirits. <HI>314</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> Attend upon tho&s;e means that God hath appointed to &s;ave your &s;ouls. <HI>317</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Que&s;t. <HI>Can wee do any thing towards the working our own &s;alvation?</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>An&s;wered. <HI>317, 318, 319</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> Take heed of re&s;ting upon fal&s;e hopes of thy &s;alvation. <HI>320</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Que&s;tion, <HI>What are tho&s;e hopes?</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>An&s;wer. <HI>321</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Such hopes as are not Scripture-hopes.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Such as are not wrought by the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">pirit. <HI>323</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Such as are not lively hopes. <HI>324</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> Such as are not purging hopes. <HI>325</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>Next thing is by laying the foundation &s;ure of &s;alvation.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Where that Que&s;tion is an&s;wered, what it is? <HI>328</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>9</HI> Keep thy &s;oul under the authority of the word. <HI>331</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> The authority of con&s;cience. <HI>332</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>10</HI> Take heed of &s;inning again&s;t the price of thy &s;oul, again&s;t the good of the Covenant, and again&s;t mercy. <HI>333, 334, 335</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>11</HI> Take heed of &s;inning again&s;t the Spirit of Grace. <HI>336</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>12</HI> Account the preciou&s;ne&s;s of the time of your lives to con|&s;i&s;t in this, that it is a day of &s;alvation. <HI>337</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>13</HI> And la&s;tly, Bee &s;ure to go with tho&s;e that go in the &s;treighte&s;t and in the &s;afe&s;t way. <HI>337, 338, 339</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The la&s;t thing treats of the tran&s;cendency of the Souls lo&s;s above the worlds gains. <HI>340</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="100">
<ITEM>Sheweth, Three things that may help a natural man to &s;ee the things of the world to bee as nothing. <HI>ib.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> If God wound his con&s;cience, and terrifie him.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> When God laies his hand upon him in afflicting of him.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> Even &s;trength of Rea&s;on. <HI>343</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>As
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1</HI> Though thou &s;houlde&s;t gain the world, and yet bee a man like to peri&s;h at la&s;t, thou ha&s;t gotten but little. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Hee is never a whit the better for any thing in the w rld. <HI>346</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> All the&s;e are things beneath the &s;oul. <HI>347, 348</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> They are &s;uch things as God hath denied to the choice&s;t of his &s;ervants. <HI>349</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5</HI> They may &s;tand with Gods eternal hatred of his crea|ture. <HI>350</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6</HI> They have no real good in them. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7</HI> There is nothing that can &s;atisfie the heart. <HI>352</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8</HI> What ever a wicked man hath of the world, hee hath it without God. <HI>ib.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>9</HI> All the&s;e things turn upon a wheel of uncertainty. <HI>353, 354</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>U&s;e</HI> It &s;hews us not to envy at the pro&s;perity of the wicked. <HI>357</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2</HI> Let all tho&s;e that &s;eek the world in tho&s;e waies wherein they are like to lo&s;e their &s;ouls think upon this truth. <HI>360</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>The Souls Excellency.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The Worlds Vanity.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3</HI> It &s;hews the way to an&s;wer all Temptations. <HI>365</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>By thus comparing the World with the Soul. <HI>365</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4</HI> And la&s;tly, Incouragement to tho&s;e that will rather venture all in the waies of God, than to hazard their Souls.</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="docket title">
<PB REF="100">
<P>Mr. <HI>B&V;RRO&V;GHS</HI> on the BEATITUDES.</P>
<PB REF="101">
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="treatise">
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="201" REF="101">
<HEAD>The Fir&s;t SERMON ON <HI>The Excellency of the Soul.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_I Have endeavoured to &s;hew &s;omewhat unto you about the Excellency of the Name of God, and likewi&s;e the Excellency of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and what hee is, that &s;o you might have right apprehen&s;ions of God and Chri&s;t. Now in the third place, I &s;hall de&s;ire to &s;hew you &s;omewhat about the Excellency of your own Souls: And to that end attend to <HI>Matth. 16.26.</HI></P>
<P><HI>For what is a man profited if hee &s;hall gain the whole world and lo&s;e his own Soul?<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Text.</NOTE> or what &s;hall a man give in exchange for his Soul?</HI></P>
<P>OUr Saviour going him&s;elf to &s;uffer, tells his Di&s;ciples what they mu&s;t expect in the following of him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 24.</NOTE> <HI>If any man will come after mee, let him deny him&s;elf, and take up his cro&s;s and follow mee.</HI> The&s;e are the tearms, &s;aith Chri&s;t, up|on which you mu&s;t follow mee, you mu&s;t bee willing to de|ny your &s;elves, and to take up your cro&s;s, to &s;uffer hard things if you follow mee. Chri&s;t would have his Di&s;ciples know the wor&s;t at fir&s;t, and not plea&s;e them&s;elves in a fools Paradi&s;e, thinking that by following of him they &s;hould
<PB N="202" REF="102"> get great matters to them&s;elves in the world; no, &s;aith hee, expect no &s;uch matter, but deny your &s;elves, and take up my cro&s;s. But this may &s;eem to bee hard, it may bee our cro&s;s may bee the lo&s;s of all, the lo&s;s of our lives, and mu&s;t wee take up that? yes, &s;aith Chri&s;t, in the ver&s;e before my Text, bee not &s;olicitous what your cro&s;s is like to bee, onely bee willing to take it up. And the truth is, the more willing you are to take it up, the better will it bee for you, and you will get nothing by &s;eeking to &s;hift for your &s;elves, <HI>For who&s;oever will &s;ave his life &s;hall lo&s;e it, and who|&s;oever will lo&s;e his life for my &s;ake &s;hall finde it.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 25.</NOTE> It may bee when you meet with &s;ufferings in the world, you will think to &s;hift this way, or that way, but you will get nothing: If you would &s;ave your lives by for&s;aking the truth, it is the onely way to lo&s;e your lives: But if you bee willing to lo&s;e your lives for my truth, you &s;hall &s;ave them; or what if by for&s;aking mee and my truth, when you meet with &s;uffering, you &s;hould &s;ave your lives, and your e&s;tates, and live brave|ly in the world, do you think you are any gainers by this? you are infinitly mi&s;taken: If you ca&s;t up the account, you will finde that you have gotten nothing all: <HI>For what is a man profited if hee &s;hall gain the whole world, and lo&s;e his own &s;oul?</HI> And thus you &s;ee how the words come in.</P>
<P>The&s;e words that I have read unto you, are of exceeding &s;erious con&s;ideration: And indeed they &s;hould bee as Thunder in every mans ears. Some Scripture that a Mini&s;ter may preach on, may concern &s;ome particular per&s;on in a Congregation more than others: But here is a Text concerns every one that hath a &s;oul, Man and woman, high and low, old and young, What &s;hall it profit any one to gain the whole word, and to lo&s;e their own &s;oul? &mdash; I have read of one that gave coun&s;el to <HI>John</HI> King of <HI>Portugal,</HI> that hee would repeat this Text to him&s;elf, and &s;pend one quarter of an hour in the meditation of it, <HI>What &s;hall it profit a man if hee gain the whole world, and lo&s;e his own &s;oul?</HI> and that hee would make the words of this Text to bee the cloze of his prayer continually, <HI>What &s;hall it profit a man to gain the
<PB N="203" REF="102"> whole world, and lo&s;e his own &s;oul?</HI> This was whole&s;ome coun&s;el; and certainly the tight meditation and under&s;tand|ing of this Text would bee of admirable u&s;e to every &s;oul. You have in the words the&s;e two things plainly hinted.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>That there is in every man a &s;oul, a spiritual &s;ub|&s;tance, be&s;ides what is vi&s;ible and &s;en&s;ible.</HI></P>
<P>And &s;econdly, <HI>That this &s;oul of man is more worth than all the world, it hath that excellency, that if a man gains all the world, and lo&s;es that, when hee hath ca&s;t up his account, hee may put his gains in his eye, hee &s;hall finde him&s;elf a mi&s;erable creature.</HI></P>
<P>Wee might make more divi&s;ions, or &s;ubdivi&s;ions of the words, but I will content my &s;elf onely with tho&s;e two things, and &s;peak chiefly to the latter. Now to make way for that, I will &s;peak a little of the former, <HI>What is a man pro|fited if he &s;hall gain the whole world, and lo&s;e his &s;oul? his Soul.</HI></P>
<P>Every man hath a &s;oul, a rational &s;piritual &s;ub&s;tance be|yond that that is vi&s;ible or &s;en&s;ible; in <HI>Job</HI> 32.8. <HI>But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him under&s;tanding.</HI> There is a &s;pirit in man be&s;ides the bodily &s;ub&s;tance that you &s;ee, there is a &s;pirit in man, &s;uch a &s;pirit as is capable of the in&s;piration of the Almighty to give un|der&s;tanding, &amp;c. And in <HI>Gen.</HI> 2.7. it is &s;aid, <HI>That God form|ed man of the dust of the earth, and breathed into his no&s;trils the breath of life.</HI> Here is another manner of mans-creation,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> than of other creatures; God did but &s;ay of other creatures let them bee, <HI>Let the earth bring forth creep|ing things &amp;c. And it was &s;o:</HI> But when hee comes to man, hee forms man out of the du&s;t of the earth, that is for his body, and for his &s;pirit, hee breathes into his no&s;trils the breath of life. I have read of a people that would not bee per&s;waded that there was any difference be|tween bea&s;ts and them: And truly there is &s;omewhat to do to per&s;wade carnal hearts of any great difference between a bea&s;t and them in relation to God, or to another life: But certainly there is a &s;pirit in man, there is &s;omewat beyond
<PB N="204" REF="103"> that body of thine that is vi&s;ible, which doth infinitely con|cern thee to look to.</P>
<P>For fir&s;t, <HI>Wee &s;ee that there are actions in men that are be|yond that which concerns the body at all:</HI> And therefore &s;urely there is a &s;pirit in man, be&s;ides what the body is; the highe&s;t actions of men are &s;uch as do not concern the body, as thus, The knowledge of the heavens, the knowledge of Angels, of &s;pirits, what hath the body to do with &s;uch things? the know|ledge of the my&s;teries of the Go&s;pel, and the conver&s;ing with them, they are ab&s;tracted notions from all kinde of bodily &s;ub&s;tances; the knowledge of God and Chri&s;t, yea the very knowledge of Mathematical notions, many notions there are in Arts and Sciences that are ab&s;tract from all bodily things; certainly then there is a &s;pirit in man beyond that bo|dily &s;ub&s;tance that doth appear common with the brute bea&s;ts.</P>
<P>Yet &s;econdly, <HI>There is a power in man to curb his body, to deny him&s;elf of that which is mo&s;t &s;uitable to the body,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Paul,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, Subactum &s;eu dejectumpremo, in captivitatem reduco, vel, ut alii, contundo <HI>Prov. 23.1, 2.</HI></NOTE> 1 Cor. 9.27. <HI>I keep under my body, and bring it into &s;ubjection.</HI> Surely there is &s;omewhat in man that is above the body, that hath &s;o much command of the body, as it ap|pears the &s;pirit of man hath to beat down the body, <HI>If thou bee&s;t a man given to thine appetite, when thou &s;itte&s;t at the table of a great man, put a knife to thy throat,</HI> a man is able, to curb his appetite; though the body hath never &s;o &s;trong a de&s;ire to &s;uch and &s;uch things, yet the &s;oul of man is able to curb his body and deny it:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 18.8, 9.</NOTE> <HI>If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, or thy right eye offend thee, pl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ck it out.</HI> There is a power in man to deny the body that which it de&s;ires never &s;o much, which a bea&s;t cannot, that cannot deny that which is &s;uitable to his &s;en&s;e every way, except therebe &s;ome &s;tronger &s;en&s;itive thing to take him off: But man is able to deny his &s;en&s;e, when there is no &s;en&s;itive object before him to take him off: By that dominion that the &s;oul of man hath over his body, hee is able to curb his body, and to deny his body, therefore &s;urely there is a &s;pirit in man.</P>
<P N="3">3. Again, <HI>That which the Scripture makes the chief actions of man to con&s;i&s;t in, which have any reference to God, is &s;uch
<PB N="205" REF="103"> things that are done by &s;omewhat beyond the body.</HI> What&s;oever a man doth, if it bee but onely the body that is exerci&s;ed, and &s;en&s;e, it is not acceptable to God.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Tim 4.8.</NOTE> <HI>Bodily exerci&s;e pro|fiteth little,</HI> &s;aith the Scripture, and 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.3. <HI>What if I give my body to bee burnt?</HI> A man may give his body to bee burnt: there all the &s;en&s;es may concur in it, and yet if there bee not a &s;pirit in man to act this upon any higher ends and grounds, than any thing that is bodily can reach unto, it is worth nothing, it is not regarded.</P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>There is a spirit in man beyond this bodily &s;ub|&s;tance: for when this bodily &s;ub&s;tance is decaying, mouldring away, there are many thoughts in a man about an eternal e&s;tate,</HI> and more fre&s;h and lively &s;ometimes when the body is mouldring away, than ever there was before; there are no creatures but Angels and men that take any cognizance of an eternal e&s;tate, that take any thoughts about what is to come hereafter. Now we &s;ay, Nature doth nothing in vain,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deus &amp; natura nihil agu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">t fru&s;tra.</NOTE> &s;urely God would not have put &s;uch kinde of workings in man about another condition, after this body &s;hall moulder away, but that there is &s;omewhat that doth concern &s;ome other part of man be&s;ides that bodily &s;ub&s;tance of his.</P>
<P>Fifthly, and then la&s;tly, <HI>There is certainly a &s;pirit in man be|yond his bodily &s;ub&s;tance: for wee know that there are real pains and torments upon a mans &s;pirit.</HI> The burdens of con&s;cience in the reflex act that a mans con&s;cience hath upon him&s;elf &s;um|moning of him to appear before the great God: Though a mans body be in never &s;uch health, and hath all outward ac|commodations about him, as mu&s;ick, good cheer, friends, e|&s;tate, yet there is that horror and torment in his &s;pirit, &s;ome|times through the con&s;ciou&s;ne&s;s of the guilt of &s;in, that hee is not able to bear: nay were there not &s;omewhat beyond this bodily &s;ub&s;tance, certainly this could never bee; verily then there is a &s;pirit in man, and hence therefore you &s;ee that there is &s;omewhat doth concern you all beyond your pre&s;ent, outward, and bodily condition. Let no man think that hee hath provided well for him&s;elf, when hee hath provided mony, and hou&s;e, and lands, and good chear, and
<PB N="206" REF="104"> cloaths, and &s;uch kinde of things; do not think that thou art happy in that: for the&s;e are things that concern thy out|ward man, there is &s;till another &s;ub&s;tance in thee that thou art to look after, that takes little notice of &s;uch things as the&s;e are.</P>
<P>Neither do you think that you have provided well for your children, when you have provided an e&s;tate, an inhe|ritance, &s;omewhat to leave them, know, that there is ano|ther &s;ub&s;tance in your children, be&s;ides that outward bodily &s;ub&s;tance you look upon. Do you &s;ee a fine feature, come|ly parts, comely countenance, and your children finely cloathed? I but know there is a &s;pirit in that childe be&s;ides that bodily &s;ub&s;tance that you are to look to: Certainly man is very far fallen from God, that none &s;carce takes notice of his own &s;pirit: We do not only naturally live without a God in the world, &s;o as to know little of that infinite divine Spirit that is the fir&s;t being of all things; but wee live with|out the knowledge of our own &s;pirits, of our own &s;ouls: Truly few men there are that know their own &s;ouls. As a man by his eye &s;ees things that are without him, but he doth not &s;ee his own eye; &s;o by the &s;oul wee come to under&s;tand many things without us, but yet how little do wee under|&s;tand of our own &s;ouls? well might the P&s;almi&s;t therefore complain, and &s;ay, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 49.20. <HI>Man that is in honour, and under&s;tandeth not, is like the bea&s;ts that peri&s;h.</HI> God did in|deed make man at fir&s;t in honour, but now hee is become like the very bea&s;ts, hee doth minde little or nothing more than the very bea&s;ts them&s;elves, hee ble&s;&s;es him&s;elf if hee hath but content for the body for a while, as if there were nothing el&s;e concerned him; I appeal unto your con|&s;ciences in this thing, whether the uttermo&s;t &s;phere of your thoughts have been any further than meerly within the com|pa&s;s of bodily content: If you &s;hould come to a bea&s;t, and talk to it about Trades and titles of honour, and Arts and Sciences, and &s;uch kind of things, why what is all this to a bea&s;t? Give a bea&s;t hay or corn, and &s;uch kinde of things that are &s;uitable to it, and it mindes that more than it
<PB N="207" REF="104"> doth any high notions that you are able to tell it; and truly thus it is with &s;en&s;ual men, even as the Athei&s;t who &s;aith in his heart, <HI>That there is no God;</HI> &s;o a kinde of Athei&s;m there is in their hearts to &s;ay they have no &s;ouls, that there is no difference between them and the brute-bea&s;ts; hence it is that they &s;avour &s;piritual things &s;o little. Tell carnal men of the excellency of the Name of God, Tell them of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, how wonderful hee is, of the wonderful my&s;teries of the Go&s;pel, and of the things of eternal life, they are dry things to &s;uch a one, hee &s;avours them not: Tell him of money, and meat, and drink, and &s;ports, and cloaths, and &s;uch kinde of things, they are &s;uitable unto him, there is &s;ome &s;avour in them; but for the great things of the Kingdome of God, and of eternal life, there is no &s;avour at all in them; and thus far is man fallen from God, and lives for the mo&s;t part, as if &s;o bee hee were capable of no higher good, but meerly to eat and drink, and live for a while here like a bea&s;t: Thus doth the Devil gull and deceive mo&s;t of us: Now my brethren, this is a work that I have undertaken, and it con|cerns as much the Mini&s;ters of God to &s;hew unto you what you are your &s;elves, what God hath made you, as to &s;hew you what God is, and what Chri&s;t is, that you may come to under&s;tand your &s;elves; you can never come to know your reference unto God, untill you come to know what God hath made you; this is therefore my &s;cope in this Scripture, to &s;hew unto you what God hath made you, and that you have &s;ouls within you, and &s;ouls of exceeding great worth (I will not &s;ay infinite, for none is infinite but God him&s;elf) but more worth than all the world, than all the creatures that God hath made, except the An|gels in heaven: The &s;ouls of the children of men are mo&s;t excellent creatures; did but a man or woman con&s;ider &s;e|riou&s;ly that they have &s;ouls in them beyond their bodies, it would rai&s;e them up a little.</P>
<P>But this next Point that is the main and principal, <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Doct"> Did they but know the worth of their &s;ouls, it could not but
<PB N="208" REF="105"> rai&s;e them very high above tho&s;e poor empty vanities that they have minded all this while: <HI>Therefore there is in man not onely a &s;oul, but that that is more worth than all the world, that if it &s;hould bee lo&s;t, that man that gained the whole world, would bee a great lo&s;er in his bargain.</HI></P>
<P>Know therefore this, that there is not the poore&s;t man or woman living, nay not the poore&s;t childe that lyes beg|ging a cru&s;t of bread at your door, but this childe hath a &s;oul in it that is more worth than heaven and earth, this poor ragged tattered childe that lyes in rags, I &s;ay, crying at your thre&s;hold, and begging a peece of bread, it hath a &s;oul in it that hath greater excellency than the Sun, Moon, and Stars, than all the Heavens, than the Sea, than the Earth, put all the creatures in the world together, that are under Angels, the &s;pirit of this poor childe hath more ex|cellency in it, than all the&s;e things, and that is the thing that I am to make out unto you.</P>
<P>Why natural life hath more excellency in it than any creature that hath no life. I remember <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> &s;aith of a Flye, becau&s;e it hath life, that it hath more excellency in it than the Sun its &s;elf, becau&s;e though the Sun bee a glori|ous creature, yet it hath no life in it; life in the meane&s;t creature hath a greater excellency than any thing el&s;e that hath not life.</P>
<P>But now the &s;oul hath the highe&s;t natural life that is, and capable of the highe&s;t happine&s;s that any creature is capable of, and therefore more excellent than all the world; But that wee &s;hall come too in its order.</P>
<P>The excellency of the &s;oul may bee di&s;covered, fir&s;t, <HI>In the relation it hath to God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Excellen|cy of the Soul di&s;covered, 1 In its rela|tion to God.</NOTE> God doth challenge a peculiar relation to the &s;pirits of men; and therefore in <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.9. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">od is called the Father of &s;pirits, <HI>Shall wee not much ra|ther bee in &s;ubjection to the F<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ther of &s;pirits and live?</HI> As if God did not &s;o much look after, and regard your bodies, the outward man, but hee is the Father of &s;pirits. And in <HI>Zeck.</HI> 12.1. There is likewi&s;e an expre&s;&s;ion to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, <HI>That God did form the &s;pirit of man within him:</HI>
<PB N="209" REF="105"> God accounts it a &s;pecial part of his glory, that hee makes the &s;pirits of men; hee is the Father of &s;pirits: But now I &s;hall not enter into that controver&s;ie of the Generation of the &s;oul; thus far the&s;e Scriptures with others do evidence, that God hath a more &s;pecial hand in the producing of this &s;piri|tual &s;ub&s;tance, than hee hath in other Creatures.</P>
<P N="2">2 And further, <HI>The &s;oul is onely under Gods command:</HI> No Creature can have power over the &s;oul of a man, he may force his body, but his &s;oul cannot bee forced by men or Angels.</P>
<P N="3">3 Yea, <HI>And it is under the power of no Creature to inflict evil upon it: Fear not them, &s;aith Chri&s;t, that can kill the body, and can do no more;</HI> there is all they can do,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10.28. Luk. 12.4, 5</NOTE> they can but kill the body, fear not them, <HI>but fear him, who after hee hath killed the body, hath power to cast the &s;oul into Hell, yea, I &s;ay unto you, fear him,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t. So that it appears by the Text, that there is no Creature can do hurt to the &s;oul; the Devils them&s;elves they cannot do it; they can pro|pound objects before the &s;oul, but except the &s;oul do con|&s;ent, they cannot force it; it is onely God that hath power over the &s;oul, therefore &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>fear him,</HI> that is, fear God that hath this power; all other creatures, this is all their do, as wee may &s;ay, they are able to kill the body.</P>
<P N="4">4 But further, <HI>The excellency of the &s;oul of man, in refe|rence unto God, appears e&s;pecially in the large extent of capa|city that it hath to receive the Image of God,</HI> and its ability to work according as God doth work him&s;elf, and to enjoy communion with God, and to receive the communication of tho&s;e choice excellencies that God hath to communi|cate; the&s;e things &s;hew the excellency of the &s;oul: the large extent I &s;ay of the &s;oul in the capacity it hath of good (of di|vine good.)</P>
<P>As Fir&s;t, <HI>It is that that is capable to have the Image of God &s;tampt upon it;</HI> What&s;oever the body hath, it is but in way of reflection from the &s;oul; wee know tho&s;e Princes that are great and rich Princes, except nece&s;&s;ity compells them, do not u&s;e to &s;tamp their Image upon Leather, or Bra&s;s, or Cop|per,
<PB N="210" REF="106"> but upon the choice&s;t metals, upon Gold and Silver: So when God would have a Creature upon which hee would &s;tamp his Image, hee doth not chu&s;e a mean Creature, the brute bea&s;ts, or any &s;en&s;itive Creature, but hee chu&s;eth the mo&s;t excellent of his Creatures, Angels, and the &s;pirits of men, that are, one as Gold, and the other as Silver, and the great God &s;tamps his Image upon the&s;e two, and onely upon the&s;e two; the&s;e are the two Principal Metals, Gold and Sil|ver, Angels and mens &s;pirits, upon which God did &s;tamp his Image in their fir&s;t Creation.</P>
<P>Secondly, Not onely to have the Image of God upon them, <HI>but they are able to work as God him&s;elf works;</HI> No o|ther Creature is able to do &s;o, but Angels and mens &s;pirits: And this is the principal thing that &s;hews the excellency of the &s;oul, it is able to under&s;tand the fir&s;t beeing, God him&s;elf, and to make God to bee the la&s;t end of all things; what is Gods work, wherein the very happine&s;s, as I may &s;o &s;ay, of God him&s;elf con&s;i&s;ts, but in the under&s;tanding of him&s;elf, as the fir&s;t beeing, and the working unto him&s;elf as the la&s;t end, and the enjoyment of him&s;elf? that is Gods own happine&s;s: Now of &s;uch excellency is the &s;oul of man (however by &s;in it is de|praved) that it is capable of the under&s;tanding of an infinite eternal fir&s;t beeing; it is capable of working towards this fir&s;t beeing, as the la&s;t good of all, which is the &s;ame way and kinde of working, as God him&s;elf doth work.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>And it is capable of injoyment of the commu|nion with God him&s;elf;</HI> What is Gods happine&s;s, but to enjoy him&s;elf as the onely good? Now the &s;oul of man is capable of the enjoyment of God, of having communion with the in|finite fir&s;t beeing of all things, and &s;o hee is capable of liv|ing the &s;ame life that God him&s;elf lives; for &s;o the Scripture &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 4.18. Colo&s;. 1.21.</NOTE> <HI>That the Heathens were estranged from the life of God;</HI> &s;o that it appears then, that beleevers are not e&s;tranged from the life of God, but do live the life of God in the injoyment of communion with him&s;elf: <HI>For indeed there could bee no com|munion, except there were living the &s;ame kinde of life;</HI> as thus, A man and a bea&s;t cannot have communion together, why?
<PB N="211" REF="106"> becau&s;e they live not the &s;ame life one with another, their lives are of different kindes: &s;o, were it not that the &s;oul were capable of the &s;ame life that God lives, it could not bee capable of communion with God.</P>
<P>Fourthly, And further, <HI>The &s;oul is of &s;uch a nature, as it is capable of the communication of the choicest excellencies that ever God did, or will communicate unto any:</HI> Certainly there are very glorious excellencies in God, in the infinite foun|tain of all good, in the infinite fir&s;t beeing of all things; and this God being an infinite good, doth take infinite de|light in the communication of his goodne&s;s; Now I &s;ay, the &s;ouls of men are of &s;uch a large extent, as they are &s;ome way capable of the enjoyment of any good that God hath to communicate, which hee hath revealed in his word; yea, and the truth is, when wee hear of Gods communicating of him|&s;elf to his Son, that hath a humane &s;oul as well as a body, wee cannot but conceive that a humane &s;oul is of that large extent, as it is capable of the highe&s;t and excellente&s;t good that God hath to communicate to any Creature. We cannot but think that the &s;oul of Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath as much of Gods goodne&s;s communicated to it, as ever creature had, or can have; now the &s;oul of Je&s;us Chri&s;t is of the &s;ame nature with our &s;ouls, as his body; hee took the &s;ame kinde of fle&s;h as wee have, onely there was no &s;in; and &s;o the &s;oul, it is the &s;ame kind of &s;oul that wee have, onely it was not &s;inful, as ours are: Now, if the &s;oul of Je&s;us Chri&s;t bee capable of the highe&s;t good that God the infinite good hath to communicate to any creature, then the &s;ouls of men and women are al&s;o: how&s;oever you have look'd after your &s;ouls no further, but onely to bee &s;erviceable to your bodies, to get meat and drink, and bee as it were <HI>&s;alt,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cujus anima e&s;t pro &s;ale.</NOTE> as the Philo&s;opher &s;aith of the Epicure, that the &s;oul &s;erves for no other end to him, but to keep his body from &s;tinking; yet know, what&s;oever thou art, though now a &s;inful wretched vile creature, and art deprived of the chief excellency that thy &s;oul is capable of, yet that &s;oul of thine that thou ha&s;t, is capable of the highe&s;t good thing that an infinite God hath to communicate: Oh that
<PB N="212" REF="107"> God by your owning of this, would a little but rai&s;e your &s;pirits to think that you have been deluded and deceived all this while: this is the excellency now of your &s;ouls, in refe|rence unto God.</P>
<P>Fifthly, And yet there is in the next place <HI>A further re|ference that your &s;ouls have to God, and that is the contiguity,</HI> as I may &s;o &s;peak, <HI>with God him&s;elf:</HI> that is, of all things that are here in this world, the &s;oul of man it is that that is next unto God him&s;elf: Next to God, you will &s;ay, what do you mean when you &s;ay that the &s;oul of man it is contiguous un|to God? I mean this, that God hath made all creatures for him&s;elf, but hee hath made them all for him&s;elf to come to him by man; hee hath made all the&s;e inferiour things in the world for man, and man for him&s;elf, and &s;o God comes to attain the end of all things in this world by man, &s;o that man is next unto God: God would have the glory of all the creatures in the world, but how? by man: &s;aith God, All the&s;e things that I have made, I will have them bee in &s;ubjection to man, for &s;o they were in their fir&s;t Creation; and as I &s;hall appear in all other of my works, &s;o &s;hall this creature honour mee, and fear mee, and admire mee, and magnifie mee, upon the taking notice of, and re|ceiving in that good that there is in any creature: All the goodne&s;s there is in the creature, it comes to mee, but how &s;hall I have the glory of it all? why, I will make a creature that &s;hall bee as it were between mee and other creatures, that &s;hall partake of the nature of other creatures, but &s;o as hee &s;hall have a certain kinde of divine Beam of my excel|lency, and &s;hall bee able to take notice of mee and to re|ceive in my goodne&s;s; what hee doth receive in of the &s;weetne&s;s of the creature, hee &s;hall receive it in as my &s;weet, and my goodne&s;s; Incoms from mee; and &s;o hee &s;hall reflect it upon my face again; &s;o that mans &s;oul is like a Gla&s;s; as you &s;ee a Gla&s;s that takes the beams of the Sun that &s;hines upon it, and ca&s;ts it toward the Sun again, as upon a wall; the beams of the Sun comes into the Gla&s;s, and then the Gla&s;s can reflect it this way, or that way: So the glory of
<PB N="213" REF="107"> God &s;hines in the world, and mans &s;oul is as the gla&s;s, and when it was in its fir&s;t purity, was as a clear chry&s;tal gla&s;s, and received in all the beams of Gods glory, all the glory of God I &s;ay, that did &s;hine in all his creatures, was received into mans &s;oul, as the beams of the Sun into a gla&s;s, and now man was able to reflect the glory of the&s;e beams upon the face of God again, and to return all again to God; for as all things that are good come from him, &s;o all good &s;hould return again to him; but now, how comes the Lord to have an injoyment as it were of his goodne&s;s that hee lets out from him&s;elf? How comes hee to have it return back again to him&s;elf? Why, the way of his re|turning, it is by the Angels in heaven, and the &s;pirits of men; the&s;e are the two excellent creatures that God doth make u&s;e of to fetch in all the glory that hee hath from all his creatures, that they in an active way &s;hould reflect it all upon the face of God again; certainly the &s;oul of man is of an excellent nature then, that is contigu|ous with God him&s;elf, next unto him; It is no matter whether a man bee rich or poor, learned or unlearned, yet hee hath a &s;oul that is capable of this.</P>
<P>Yet further, <HI>For the excellency of the &s;oul,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The excellency of the &s;oul di&s;|covered in its relation to An|gels.</NOTE> <HI>as it is excel|lent in relation to God, &s;o in relation to the Angels.</HI> It is of the &s;ame kinde of nature that they are of, they are &s;pirits, and &s;o is the &s;oul of man, yea it hath the very &s;ame name with God him&s;elf, God is a Spirit, and &s;o is the &s;oul of man; it is of the very &s;ame nature with the Angels, and &s;o is able to conver&s;e with them as well as with God him&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lf; but for the way and manner of conver&s;e with tho&s;e &s;pirits, that is little revealed in the word, and therefore wee can &s;ay litt<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e of it.</P>
<P>And further, <HI>The excellency of mans &s;oul,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">3 The excel|lency of the &s;oul in 1 In|dowments of it.</NOTE> <HI>it will appear in the excellent endowments of it:</HI> Look upon the &s;oul of man in his fallen e&s;tate, and what admirable endowments &s;ome men have, as in the excellent knowledge that &s;ome men have of Arts and Sciences, the knowledge of the heavens; it is a very g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">orious thing that they are able to
<PB N="214" REF="108"> a&s;cend up in their under&s;tanding, and to know all the mo|tions of the heavens, and can tell you to a minute of an hour what kinde of motions there will bee, as appears plainly by eclip&s;es: The arts of Navigation, that they can compa&s;s the world up and down that way: If it were but in the&s;e &s;en&s;ible things that wee &s;ee &s;o much art in, as in the&s;e mighty buildings, which &s;hows that a man out of a deal of rubbi&s;h can rai&s;e and erect &s;uch a building as this is, this &s;hows the excellency of mans &s;oul; and if there bee &s;o much excellency in it naturally, th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t it can do &s;uch things, then what can it bee rai&s;ed unto, and inabled unto by a divine power? What can it do when it is inlarged by grace, and made partaker of the Divine nature?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">4. The &s;ouls excellency de|mon&s;trated from its im|mortality. Luke 12.4, 5.</NOTE>And further, <HI>The excellency of the &s;oul appears in the im|mortality of it:</HI> Fear <HI>not them that can kill the body, and can do no more.</HI> Certainly if the &s;oul were mortal, as the body is, then that man that kills the body, kills the &s;oul too, and therefore wee may fear a man not onely becau&s;e hee can kill the body, but becau&s;e hee can kill the &s;oul; but &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>Fear not them that can kill the body, and can do no more.</HI> The &s;oul is as an Eagle, when a man dyes, that gets out of the Cage, and &s;o it flyes away; &s;aith <HI>Stephen,</HI> when hee was to dye,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 7.59.</NOTE> <HI>Lord Je&s;us receive my &s;pirit:</HI> Why, if &s;o bee that his &s;pirit had dyed with his body, he need not have &s;aid, <HI>Lord Je&s;us receive my &s;pirit.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ph<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l. 1.23.</NOTE> And &s;o St. <HI>Paul, I am in a &s;treight, and know not what to do, whether to live or dye,</HI> but hee thought it was better for him to bee di&s;&s;olved, it was not to bee de&s;troyed, it is but a di&s;&s;olution, hee rather de&s;ired a di&s;|&s;olution, that hee might bee with Chri&s;t, which is be&s;t of all: Certainly, it was this that made the &s;treight, If I dye, I &s;hall bee with Chri&s;t immediately, and if I live, I &s;hall injoy &s;ome communion with him, and likewi&s;e do a great deal of &s;ervice for him: If <HI>Paul</HI> had thought that his &s;oul and body &s;hould have dyed both together, certainly hee would have de&s;ired to have lived, rather than to dye; for when hee did live, his &s;oul did injoy communion with Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and hee did do abundance of &s;ervice for him:
<PB N="215" REF="108"> Now is it po&s;&s;ible to think that a man that did &s;o much &s;ervice for Chri&s;t as ever man did, and that injoyed &s;o much &s;weet communion with Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that &s;uch a man &s;hould bee willing to dye? Certainly no, but that hee knew that upon the di&s;&s;olution of his body, his &s;oul &s;hould injoy further communion with Je&s;us Chri&s;t, than it could do here: It is an immortal &s;ub&s;tance, it runs parallel with eternity; of &s;uch an excellent nature the &s;oul of man is.</P>
<P>And then further, in this appears <HI>The excellency of it, that it is the mea&s;ure of all other kinde of excellency.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">5 The &s;o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ls excellency &s;hewed in be|ing the mea|&s;ure of all o|ther excellen|cies.</NOTE> The &s;oul of man is the mea&s;ure of all other kinde of excellencies, as thus, look how far any thing may bee &s;ub&s;ervient for the good of the &s;oul, &s;o far that thing hath an excellency in it; and if it bee not &s;ub&s;ervient for the good of the &s;oul, it hath no worth and excellency in it; as thus, Suppo&s;e a man have a great e&s;tate in the world, great comings in, many friends, many places; now there is &s;ome excellency you will &s;ay in the&s;e things: but are the&s;e &s;ub&s;ervient for the good of thy &s;oul, that thy &s;oul can injoy communion with God &s;o much the better? then the&s;e things are good to thee; but if &s;o bee that the&s;e things hinder the work of thy &s;oul, and do not help it forward in the &s;ervice that it is mo&s;t capable of, and made for, there is no excellency in the&s;e things. And indeed I know no one better &s;ign that a man doth under&s;tand the true worth of his &s;oul than this: What doth hee account to bee the mea&s;ure of the excellency of all the things of this world? Thou woulde&s;t fain have an e&s;tate, and outward things in abun|dance, as other men have: Why thou &s;aye&s;t they are the good creatures of God, I grant it, they are &s;o; but now wherein do&s;t thou think the excellency of the&s;e creatures doth mo&s;t con&s;i&s;t? Certainly if thou come&s;t to know the true worth of thy &s;oul, thou wilt &s;ay, God gives mee the&s;e outward things, and ble&s;&s;ed bee his Name, by a more large portion of the&s;e things am I inabled to do more large &s;er|vice for God; my &s;oul is freed from incumbrances in the
<PB N="216" REF="109"> world, and they do help forward the work that my &s;oul is &s;pecially concerned in, <HI>viz.</HI> the &s;ervice of God, and therefore I account it a greater good to injoy the&s;e things, than to bee without them: now if thou come&s;t to rea&s;on in this manner, it is a &s;ign that God hath &s;hewn thee what the true worth and excellency of thy &s;oul is.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">6 The price paid for &s;ouls proves its ex|cellency.</NOTE>But that I might draw to a conclu&s;ion, <HI>This is that that above all things will demon&s;trate the worth and excellency of the &s;oul, The great price that was paid for it.</HI> That Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hould bee willing to lay down his life to purcha&s;e the pardon of the &s;in of thy &s;oul, to deliver thy &s;oul from eternal mi&s;ery,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1.18.</NOTE> this &s;hews the great worth of the &s;oul; <HI>Wee are not redeemed by &s;ilver and gold,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter,</HI> by any of the&s;e <HI>corruptible things,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 19.</NOTE> <HI>but by the precious blood of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> According to the price that is paid for one, you may know the worth of &s;uch a one: Suppo&s;e there were divers men that were taken captives, one is but an ordinary Mariner, you will &s;ay perhaps forty pound will redeem &s;uch a one; but &s;uppo&s;e the other bee a Gentleman, or a Knight, a Noble-man, there mu&s;t go five hundred, or two or three thou&s;and pounds for their redemption, according to the excellency of the man, &s;o mu&s;t bee the price of his ran&s;ome: So my brethren, when wee con&s;ider the price of mens &s;ouls, that were taken captive by &s;in, what was paid for them, it was a price that was more worth than ten thou&s;and thou&s;and worlds; certainly the &s;oul is of an excellent na|ture: Indeed it cannot bee imagined that Je&s;us Chri&s;t would have taken mans nature upon him, and dyed an accur&s;ed death to have &s;aved the whole world from being di&s;&s;olved; Suppo&s;e it had lain upon this, that heaven and earth mu&s;t have been di&s;&s;olved, except Je&s;us Chri&s;t would take mans nature upon him, certainly Je&s;us Chri&s;t would have &s;uffered heaven and earth to have gone to nothing, ra|ther than to have done as he did: But when Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;aw that the&s;e immortal &s;ouls by their &s;in were brought into &s;uch a condition, that they mu&s;t peri&s;h to all eternity, ex|cept hee come and take their nature upon him, and lay
<PB N="217" REF="109"> down his life, and dye an accur&s;ed death, &s;aith Je&s;us Chri&s;t, rather than &s;uch precious &s;ouls which my Father hath made capable of injoyment of &s;o much good from him, and bringing glory to him, rather than the&s;e &s;hould peri&s;h, I am content to come and dye, and &s;uffer the wrath of my Father; &s;urely the price that was paid for &s;ouls, doth hold forth the great worth of them: In the death of Chri&s;t wee may read in large characters the worth of a &s;oul.</P>
<P>And my brethren, <HI>Even the body its &s;elf,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">7 The exc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l|lency of the &s;oul proved from the body.</NOTE> <HI>becau&s;e it is as the ca&s;e of the &s;oul, it is a very excellent thing.</HI> Of all the corporeal things that ever God hath made, the body of man is the mo&s;t excellent thing, therefore <HI>David</HI> in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 139. &s;peaking of his body, &s;aith, ver&s;e 14. <HI>I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvellous are thy works, and that my &s;oul knoweth right well.</HI> And then ver&s;. 15. <HI>My &s;ub&s;tance was not hid from thee, when I was made in &s;ecret, and curi|ou&s;ly wrought in the lowe&s;t part of the earth.</HI> When I was <HI>cu|riou&s;ly</HI> wrought,<NOTE PLACE="marg">From <GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> the word in the Hebrew &s;ignifies <HI>Imbroy|dred;</HI> the body of man is Imbroydery; and hence in <HI>Gen.</HI> 2. it is &s;aid there, that God <HI>formed</HI> man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">ampigore.</NOTE> and here in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 139. God did imbroyder him: And therefore <HI>Gallen</HI> that was an Athei&s;t a long time, when hee came to &s;ee the Anatomy of a mans body, hee cryed out, <HI>Now I adore the God of Nature.</HI> Now the Lord hath wrought the body &s;o curiou&s;ly, becau&s;e it is the ca&s;e of the &s;oul, and that being &s;uch an excellent creature, mu&s;t have a &s;uitable ca&s;e. As if you have a curious Watch, you will not put it into an ill-favou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ed dirty leather ca&s;e, but will have a curious &s;ilver ca&s;e for it. Now becau&s;e the Lord did make a curi|ous peece, the &s;oul of man, which was the ma&s;ter-peece of Gods creation, next to the Angels, therefore hee puts it into a very curious ca&s;e; this &s;hews the excellency of tho&s;e &s;pirits that are within us; how&s;oever they are now de|filed with &s;in, yet thus they were made at fir&s;t. When we are &s;peaking to men about their own excellency, one would think that then they &s;hould attend.</P>
<P>I have &s;poken of God and Chri&s;ts excellency, they
<PB N="218" REF="110"> may &s;eem to bee things above you: But now I am &s;peak|ing of your own excellency, what you are, and what you are capable off. Oh remember this you poor people and others, for (as wee &s;hall &s;hew afterwards) you have &s;ouls as excellent as the greate&s;t men in the world. And there is nothing to the contrary, but you may have that &s;piritual &s;ub&s;tance of yours filled with &s;o much good as is infinitely more worth than ten thou&s;and thou&s;and worlds, if you have hearts to look after it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="219" REF="110">
<HEAD><HI>The Second SERMON ON</HI> The Excellency of the Soul.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matth. 16.26.</HI></BIBL> For what is a man profited if hee &s;hall gain the whole world and lo&s;e his own Soul? or what &s;hall a man give in exchange for his Soul?</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_I Shall adde one thing more, which &s;hews the excellency of the &s;oul in the relation that it hath to God, and that is this,</P>
<P>That it is &s;atisfied onely with God him|&s;elf, there is nothing can fill the &s;oul of man to &s;atisfie it, but God him&s;elf. For the true object of mans under&s;tanding, it is not this truth, or the other truth, but truth in general, and the highe&s;t truth, and that is God; and the object of this &s;oul, it is not this or that good, but good in general, the highe&s;t and the chiefe&s;t good, and that is God: Let all the creatures in the world pre&s;ent them|&s;elves before the &s;oul of man to bee the portion of him, Mans &s;oul would &s;ay, the&s;e are not the things that can &s;a|tisfie mee; &s;aith <HI>Austin,</HI> Lord thou ha&s;t made us for thy &s;elf, and our heart is unquiet till it comes unto thy &s;elf,
<PB N="220" REF="111"> and this is the excellency of mans &s;oul, it is above all crea|tures; it is a vertue in the &s;oul of man to have a holy kinde of pride, to think all creatures in the world to bee too little to bee the portion of it, and God takes this well, hee likes it well, that we &s;hould know our own &s;ouls, &s;o far, that wee &s;hould have this kinde of pride of &s;pirit, as wee may &s;o call it, or rather a right elevation of &s;pirit, to look upon all creatures in the world, as too low, and too mean to bee the portion of one immortal &s;oul.</P>
<P>Many other things were delivered about the excellency of mans &s;oul, that &s;o you might know &s;omething of your worth, that you are too good to bee &s;laves to the Devil, and it is good for you to know your own worth in this thing, that &s;o your hearts might bee elevated above tho&s;e bare things that you &s;ought to have your happine&s;s in; all tho&s;e that ever have had true wi&s;dome, have accounted &s;ouls to bee very precious. I remember <HI>Zozomen</HI> the Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Hi&s;torian &s;aith of the Martyrs, that they &s;uffered torment in their bodies, as if they were other folks bodies, and not their own, they lookt not upon them as any part of them|&s;elves, but on their &s;ouls as them&s;elves; and &s;o you finde it in Scripture that it is the &s;oul of man, that is a mans &s;elf. Compare for this, my Text in <HI>Matthew,</HI> with <HI>Luke</HI> 9. where you have the &s;ame &s;peech of our Saviour &s;etting out the ex|cellency of a mans &s;oul. In the one it is, <HI>What will it profit a man, if hee gain the whole world, and lo&s;e his own &s;oul?</HI> In the other it is, <HI>If hee lo&s;e him&s;elf;</HI> this is all one, the lo&s;ing of a mans &s;oul, and the lo&s;ing of him&s;elf: for a mans &s;elf it is his &s;oul, as for the body it is but the ca&s;e, it is but the out-&s;ide, and &s;o indeed &s;ome of the Heathens accounted their bodies. <HI>Anaxarchus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tunde tunde Anaxarchi fol|lem, Anaxar|chum enim non tundis.</NOTE> when hee was beaten in a Mortar to death by the Tyrants, hee calls to them, Beat, Beat as long as you will, you beat but the outward part of <HI>Anaxarchus,</HI> it is but the ve&s;&s;el in which hee is.</P>
<P>The Devil him&s;elf hath high e&s;teem of &s;ouls, the Devil cares not, &s;o bee it hee may gain mens &s;ouls, what they have for their bodies; the Devil doth not envy any wicked man
<PB N="221" REF="111"> to pro&s;per in this world, to have a healthful lu&s;ty body, and to have &s;tature and &s;trength, and beauty; But now, if hee &s;ees that there bee any means for the good of their &s;ouls, hee envies that, may the Devil have but their &s;ouls, hee cares not what they have otherwayes. But wee come to the application of this fir&s;t point in my Text, <HI>Of the excellency of mans &s;oul.</HI></P>
<P>And the fir&s;t U&s;e is this, <MILESTONE UNIT="U&s;e."> Surely then wee ought to look upon every childe of man with &s;ome reverent re&s;pect and honour; there is not the poore&s;t childe (as I told you the la&s;t day) that lyes crying at your doors for a cru&s;t, but hath a &s;oul in it more worth than heaven and earth. And the con&s;ideration of this &s;hould make us look upon the meane&s;t childe, &s;ervant, the poore&s;t body, with an honourable e&s;teem and re&s;pect; how ever the glory of their &s;ouls bee darkned for the pre&s;ent, yet they have &s;till in them &s;uch &s;ouls as are capable of a kinde of infinite good, more than all the other works that ever God made, except the An|gels; do not look upon your &s;ervants that are under you with &s;corn and contempt, do not u&s;e them doggedly, as if they were brute-bea&s;ts; Remember, though you bee a Ma|&s;ter, a Mi&s;tre&s;s, a Governour, you are a Governour of one that hath an immortal &s;oul, more worth than all the world. <HI>A good man,</HI> &s;aith the Scripture, <HI>is merciful to his bea&s;t,</HI> and &s;urely then a good man will bee merciful to one that hath an immortal &s;oul, and it may bee an immortal &s;oul better than his Governour; how many have more re&s;pect to Dogs, to brute-bea&s;ts, than they have to &s;ervants and children, and poor people, who have immortal &s;ouls? I have read of the Turks, that though they bee noted for mo&s;t cruel people to men, as you heard of their cruelty to tho&s;e in the Gallies, yet they are very pittiful to brute-bea&s;ts, and therefore they will give alms and &s;tipends out of charity, to maintain brute-bea&s;ts withall; and there is a &s;tory of a youth that abu&s;ing a bird that had a long bill, was like to have been &s;toned to death in the &s;treet, they did &s;o hate cruelty to tho&s;e kinde of creatures, though they bee cruel
<PB N="222" REF="112"> to men. Many have this Turki&s;h di&s;po&s;ition, that are dogged and cruel to tho&s;e of their own kinde, to tho&s;e that have immortal &s;ouls together with them&s;elves, though pittiful even to brute-bea&s;ts. This is the fir&s;t U&s;e, Look upon all that have the&s;e &s;ouls with an honourable re|&s;pect, con&s;idering they have that that is of &s;o much worth.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2," UNIT="U&s;e."> And then &s;econdly, If mans &s;oul bee of &s;o much worth, how can wee look upon many people, but have our hearts rai&s;ed in the meditation of the dreadfulne&s;s of Gods Ju&s;tice upon men for &s;in? thus, God hath made man an excellent creature, and given to every one a &s;oul more worth than the world; but now when wee look upon &s;ome people that have lo&s;t the beauty of their &s;ouls, and now have no other u&s;e of their &s;ouls, but it may bee all their dayes to bee imployed in &s;craping of kennels, and raking in the du&s;t-heaps in your &s;treets, in attending upon hor&s;es and &s;wine; and this is all that they have to do in their lives: Oh what a low condition is man fallen into, that hath no other u&s;e of &s;uch a rational immortal &s;ub&s;tance that God hath given him, but meerly to make him &s;erviceable all his dayes, to tend &s;wine, bea&s;ts, hor&s;es, &s;crape kennels, and &s;uch kinde of things as the&s;e are!</P>
<P>But you will &s;ay, It is lawful for men to bee imployed in the&s;e, and poor people mu&s;t bee imployed in them.</P>
<P>That is true, It is lawful to bee imployed in &s;uch things, but now, when men and women have &s;uch poor and mean imployment, and have no higher thoughts but meerly to get bread by &s;uch imployments, and their &s;ouls bu&s;ied all their dayes about nothing el&s;e but tho&s;e things, this &s;hews the woful fall of man, and manife&s;ts a dreadful fruit of Gods Ju&s;tice upon the children of men for their &s;in, Certainly, <HI>Man that was made in honour is become like the bea&s;t that peri&s;heth</HI> in this regard: And when wee &s;ee the condition of men to bee &s;o low, &s;o ba&s;e and vile as they are, &s;o beneath the ex|cellency of a rational and immortal &s;oul; Oh let us rai&s;e our thoughts to the meditation Gods divine Ju&s;tice, it is a
<PB N="223" REF="112"> fearful fruit of the ju&s;tice of God upon man for &s;in; what, is this the creature that hath an immortal &s;oul made by God more worth than ten thou&s;and worlds? that lies &s;craping from morning to night in a kennel, and hath no other thoughts for any higher excellency, but onely if it can get a lump of bread to live by, there is all they have to do, as if they were born for no other end? Oh! think then, is this the creature that hath &s;uch an excellent &s;oul? &s;urely &s;in hath made a great breach between God and man, and hath brought man-kinde into a very low and mean condition, and yet wor&s;e are tho&s;e than the&s;e that have no other u&s;e of their &s;ouls than to bee drudges to the Devil, and &s;laves unto their lu&s;ts, but of this wee &s;hall &s;peak to more afterwards; but now I onely mention it, as to give a hint to the meditation of Gods ju&s;tice upon man for his &s;in.</P>
<P>Thirdly, If the &s;oul of a man bee of &s;o great an excel|lency, <MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="U&s;e."> then certainly it mu&s;t needs bee an honourable work for to bee bu&s;ied about &s;ouls, an honourable imploy|ment for God to &s;et one man or more to look to, and tend the &s;ouls of others: Oh! what a difference is there in the imployment between working in Wood and Iron all day long, or &s;craping in the du&s;t heaps (as before) and in an im|ployment of attending upon &s;ouls! to bee u&s;ed by God as the in&s;trument of converting of the&s;e &s;ouls, and bringing of them to their former excellency in which they were made, yea and to rai&s;e them to a higher excellency than ever they had in the fir&s;t Creation! If wee prize mens imployments by the &s;ubject of their imployment, then certainly this is the mo&s;t glorious imployment that any Creature in the world can bee capable of<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> what is the rea&s;on you account a Gold-&s;mith a better trade than a Black-&s;mith? but becau&s;e of the &s;ubject that the one works about rather than the o|ther; one works upon Iron, and the other upon Silver and Gold; therefore one is a more honourable Trade than the other: Now, if the &s;ubject upon which they work makes one to bee more honourable than the other; what Trade in the world can be &s;o honourable as the work of the
<PB N="224" REF="113"> Mini&s;tery? that works altogether about immortal &s;ouls, in bringing them to God, to live to God, and to enjoy com|munion with him: why do wee account a Phy&s;ician a more honourable Profe&s;&s;ion, than a Hor&s;e-leech? one looks to the bodies of Bea&s;ts, and the other to the bodies of Men; If there bee &s;uch a difference between the body of a Bea&s;t, and the body of a Man, that hee that is imployed about the one is accounted honourable, and hee that is imployed a|bout the other is accounted low, then certainly the imploy|ment of the Mini&s;tery mu&s;t needs bee honourable, for it is about &s;ouls.</P>
<P>The Magi&s;trate looks unto your peace, the Lawyer to your e&s;tates, the Phy&s;ician to your bodies, and the Divine to your &s;ouls; though outward re&s;pects may bee given more, and &s;hould bee to the Magi&s;trate, yet certainly the imployment about immortal &s;ouls, mu&s;t needs bee the honourable&s;t in the world: It is the honour of the Angels, in <HI>P&s;a.</HI> 91. to take care of the bodies of the Saints: If it bee the glory of Angels to take care of Gods people, what glo|ry is it that God puts upon the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel to look to &s;ouls? and truly, in this thing God hath put more glory upon Men, than upon Angels; for God hath not made it to bee his &s;et ordinance that Angels &s;hould con|vert &s;ouls, but hee hath made it &s;o that men &s;hould bee made u&s;e of to convert &s;ouls by preaching the word; and let all the Angels in Heaven &s;hew an imploy|ment &s;o honourable as this imployment is. You would account it a great honour to have the Body of a Prince to watch over; Surely there is no immortal &s;oul but is more precious than all the Princes in the world; and if the Lord &s;hould give unto you the care of all the Creatures, except the &s;ouls of men, it were not &s;uch an honourable work as to give you the care of any one immortal &s;oul; &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, in 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4. the beginning, Let a man e&s;teem of us as the di&s;pen&s;ers of the My&s;teries of Chri&s;t: <HI>Let them e|&s;teem of us;</HI> it is true, Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel &s;hould bee willing to lie under the feet of any to do good to their
<PB N="225" REF="113"> &s;ouls; but becau&s;e wee know that it is a great hinderance to the work of their Mini&s;tery, when bruti&s;h carnal &s;pirits have low and mean e&s;teem of their work; therefore wee finde that the Apo&s;tle would ever bee &s;etting up the ho|nour of this work, <HI>Let a man e&s;teem of us as the di&s;pencers of the My&s;teries of Chri&s;t,</HI> and in 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.12, 13. <HI>Wee be|&s;eech you brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admoni&s;h you, and to e&s;teem of them very highly in love for their works &s;ake;</HI> And &s;o in <HI>Heb.</HI> 13.17. <HI>Obey them that have the rule over you, and &s;ubmit your &s;elves: for they watch for your &s;ouls, as they that mu&s;t give account: that they may do it with joy, and not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you.</HI> Oh it is a &s;ad thing! if one that God &s;ends to watch for the &s;ouls of people, &s;hall bee forced to return his account to God with &s;orrow of heart, and &s;ay, Lord, thou that knowe&s;t all things, knowe&s;t what de&s;ires I have had, and what indeavours to do good to the &s;ouls of this people, how it hath been my &s;tudy, my prayer, to finde out what might bee mo&s;t profitable for their &s;ouls, how willing I was to venture my life in &s;eeking to do good to their &s;ouls; but Oh Lord! I have &s;pent care, and &s;tudy, and &s;trength, and even almo&s;t my life in vain; little good do I finde done to the &s;ouls of this people; Lord, they re|ject thy word, they contemn it, they minde it not; there are other things that their hearts are upon, to follow the lu&s;ts of their fle&s;h, as if &s;o bee they had no immortal &s;ouls to look unto; I &s;ay, if any faithful Mini&s;ter of God &s;hall go to God and make his moan thus unto God with grief and trouble of heart, it will bee very ill for you; it will bee a fearful moan in the ears of God again&s;t a people, when any Mini&s;ter &s;hall ju&s;tly make this to God again&s;t them; therefore &s;aith the Apo&s;tle here, <HI>Obey them that have the rule over you, and &s;ubmit your &s;elves: for they watch for your &s;ouls, as they that mu&s;t give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief.</HI> Con&s;ider, &s;o far as any have charge of &s;ouls, it is a heavy burden that is upon them, a heavy weight; &s;urely, who&s;oever &s;hould take charge of
<PB N="226" REF="114"> &s;o many thou&s;and &s;ouls as belongs to this Congregation would have weight and burden enough upon his &s;houlders, you &s;hould pitty them that have this charge over you. I remember <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome</HI> in his writing upon this very Scrip|ture, &s;aith, Hee wonders how any of the&s;e that are here &s;aid to watch over mens &s;ouls, how any of them could bee &s;aved, becau&s;e the charge is &s;o great that is upon them: And I have read of one being called to the work of the Mini&s;tery, would by any means avoid it, and profe&s;&s;es that hee would not for all the world have the charge of a &s;oul one day upon him. Certainly it is a great work, and requires very much &s;eriou&s;ne&s;s and diligence to have a &s;oul committed to one. If a man had a precious Pearl com|mitted to his charge, that were worth ten thou&s;and pound, that hee mu&s;t look to it, and keep it, hee would hardly bee able to &s;leep quietly after hee had &s;o great a charge committed to him; And truly, if men are careful that have but bea&s;ts committed to them, as <HI>Jacob</HI> &s;aid concerning his Unkle <HI>Labans</HI> cattel, that hee look'd to them &s;o as that hee indured the fro&s;t in the night, and the heat of the day; much diligence and care then &s;hould they have, that have the charge of &s;ouls: But wee let that pa&s;s.</P>
<P>Yet in the fourth place, If &s;ouls have &s;uch excellency, <MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="U&s;e."> then certainly tho&s;e who have mo&s;t &s;oul-excellency, are the mo&s;t excellent people; wee may judge here who they are that are the mo&s;t excellent upon the earth, <HI>The Righteous is more excellent than his neighbour;</HI> perhaps his neighbour is richer than hee, hath a comlier body than hee, but yet hee is more excellent, why? becau&s;e all excellency mu&s;t be judged by that that is mo&s;t proper to the Creature, and that that is the chief part of the Creature; as if you would judge of the goodne&s;s of a knife, you will not judge by the haft of it, whether it bee good or no, but you will judge by the metal of the knife, you judge by that wherein the chief of the knife is; &s;o, if you will judge of the excellency of a man or woman, you mu&s;t judge of his excellency by the excellency of that that is mo&s;t proper to him: Now, for
<PB N="227" REF="114"> <HI>Sen&s;e,</HI> for the body, why the brute-bea&s;ts they have &s;en&s;e, they have fle&s;h and blood as well as wee, onely wee dif|fer in the&s;e rational immortal &s;ouls that God hath given to us; therefore &s;uch, who&s;e &s;ouls are filled with divine excellency, they are to bee mo&s;t honoured, they are indeed the Lords and Ladies of the world; therefore the Scripture &s;peaks of tho&s;e, who&s;e out-&s;ides were mean enough; in the latter end of the 11th. of the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> that wandered in &s;heep-skins and goat-skins, yet they were &s;uch as the world was not worthy of them. Indeed, a man of under&s;tanding is of an excellent &s;pirit; wee read of the Ark, the out&s;ide was of Badgers-skins, it had a poor and mean out&s;ide, but within were the Cherubims, and Gold was within; And &s;o, many have very mean out&s;ides, but within there is a great deal of excellency; and others that have brave out&s;ides, and well clad without, yet if you look within them, oh what vile &s;ouls have they! <HI>the heart of the wicked is little worth,</HI> &s;aith the Scripture; Perhaps his Land may bee &s;omewhat worth, and his Hou&s;e, but his heart is little worth; As ma|ny a man that hath perhaps a hand full of &s;ores, yet may have a fine imbroidered Glove upon it; and a dunghill may bee &s;trewed with herbs, and in the winter time filthy dung|hills you know are covered with white Snow, that in a fair fro&s;ty day look as gli&s;tering as the Snow that is upon a fine Meddow, but &s;till nothing but filth: So it is with many a man that hath a fine out&s;ide, covered over it may bee with a great many outward excellencies, but within their &s;pirits nothing but carrion, nothing but abominable &s;tuff that is fil|thy and loath&s;ome in the eyes of God; as a &s;ore legg may have a fine &s;tockin o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> boot upon it; and &s;o a &s;ore putrified &s;oul may have a brave out&s;ide upon it. But that God that is a Spirit, that looks unto Spirit, and tho&s;e men that know what &s;piritual excellency means, if they &s;ee a man or wo|man have a filthy, defiled, corrupt &s;oul, they cannot but e&s;teem of them accordingly. What&s;oever the body, or the out-&s;ide bee, tho&s;e are the mo&s;t excellent in Gods e&s;teem, and the holy Angels, and the Saints, that have the mo&s;t ex|cellent
<PB N="228" REF="115"> &s;ouls, for that is the be&s;t part of man.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="U&s;e."> But fifthly, If the &s;oul of man bee &s;o excellent, Oh let us ble&s;s God for our &s;ouls, ble&s;s God, I &s;ay, that hath given unto you the&s;e immortal &s;ouls that are of &s;o great a worth: Oh what cau&s;e have every one of you to ble&s;s God that hee did not make you a Toad, a Dog, a Snake, that hee did not make you any vile brute creature, but that when you were before him in the common lump out of which God made his creatures, that hee would rather choo&s;e you to bee one that &s;hould have an immortal &s;oul, &s;o precious, rather than to bee a brute creature? Ble&s;s God, I &s;ay for this, for by this means,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, You are looked upon by the Angels them&s;elves, with honour, and with re&s;pect, till &s;uch time as the Angels certainly know your Reprobation, and that you bee &s;ent down to hell: Though you bee wicked for the pre&s;ent, and your &s;ouls bee defiled, yet the Angels know nothing but that the&s;e &s;ouls, though now much fallen from God, may bee &s;uch as may live with them to injoy eternal communi|on with God together with them, and therefore they look upon you with honour.</P>
<P>And the providence of God it is more towards you, than towards any other creature in the world. Doth God take care for Oxen? &s;aith the Scripture: True, the providence of God it is over all his works, there is not the lea&s;t worm that &s;tirs without his providence. I, but doth God take care for Oxen? that is, as if the Holy Gho&s;t there &s;hould &s;ay, the providence of God over other creatures, it is nothing in compari&s;on of that it is over the &s;pirits of men, over tho&s;e that have immortal &s;ouls: When God looks upon the creature, that hee hath given an immortal &s;oul too, why &s;aith God, My Providence &s;hall in a &s;pecial manner bee over this &s;oul: And certainly the thoughts of God have been from all eternity working towards tho&s;e that have immortal &s;ouls, in a more &s;pecial manner than to|wards any of his other creatures; how ever you think of God, yet that is certain, God hath had his thoughts to|wards
<PB N="229" REF="115"> you one way or other from all eternity, and intends to fetch out a great deal of honor to his name from you one way or other, and therefore his Providence is towards you; God ob&s;erves you, and marks you what way you take, his eye is upon you, for hee intends to bring &s;ome great glory out of you, God will not lo&s;e his creature fully, you may lo&s;e your own &s;ouls, but God will not lo&s;e the glory that hee might have from you, but hee will have glory from you one way or other.</P>
<P>And if God hath given you immortal &s;ouls, you have cau&s;e to ble&s;s him, becau&s;e what&s;oever you are now, yet you are &s;uch as are capable of all the good that ever Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath purcha&s;ed, and therefore it is a happy thing for one to have an immortal &s;oul, becau&s;e they are not out of capacity of receiving that good that the Lord Chri&s;t hath purcha&s;ed for his people; the brute bea&s;ts are not capable, they are capable of no higher good, but to eat and drink, and live here a while, and have their &s;en&s;es to bee plea&s;ed, and there is an end of them, but know, what|&s;oever thou art, thou art capable of all the good that ever Chri&s;t hath purcha&s;ed, and therefore thy condition is a great deal better in that re&s;pect than the condition of all other creatures in the world. And thou having a &s;oul with|in thee, God hath made thee for eternity one way or o|ther, and hee intends for to have thee to live to all eter|nity in one condition or other: Now it is I &s;ay, a happi|ne&s;s to bee made &s;uch a creature, as that God &s;hould have thoughts about from all eternity.</P>
<P>It may bee you will &s;ay, <HI>It were better that it were other|wi&s;e with us.</HI></P>
<P>I confe&s;s &s;uch is the condition of &s;ome through their &s;in, living and dying in it, that it were better ten thou&s;and times that they had been Dogs, or Toads, and Serpents, I but that is but through thy wickedne&s;s, but it cannot bee &s;aid of the vilde&s;t alive, for there is none of you, but for ought Angels or men know, may live eternally to the prai&s;e of Gods grace in Chri&s;t, you have &s;uch kinde of na|tures
<PB N="230" REF="116"> as are capable of it. Now it is true, if you &s;hould dye in your &s;ins, then it might bee &s;aid at that in&s;tance when you dye in your &s;ins, that it had been better that you had been Toads or Serpents, or any thing in the world: But were not this a &s;ad thing for a man that hath &s;uch an excellent nature, to live and dye &s;o that they may wi&s;h hereafter that they had been Toads or Dogs? how many are there that are willing, &s;o they may live like a bea&s;t, to dye like a bea&s;t, I but that thou can&s;t not bring thy &s;elf to dye like a bea&s;t, thou mu&s;t be infinitly wor&s;e, or infinitly better than the brute bea&s;ts. But ble&s;s God that thou ha&s;t a na|ture capable of &s;o much good, what&s;oever thou art in other re&s;pects, though God hath made a great difference between thee and others that are of the &s;ame kinde in thy outward e&s;tate, God hath made a great deal of difference between poor and rich, between a poor Alms-body that lives in &s;o mean a condition, and between a Noble-man, a Prince, an Emperour; I but this difference is made in the outward e&s;tate and body, but there is no &s;uch difference made in their &s;ouls, thou ha&s;t as precious a &s;oul within thee, that is naturally as good as ever any Emperour had in the world, &s;o Philo&s;ophers &s;ay of the &s;ouls of men, mens &s;ouls are equal, and one is not better than another by nature, what they are better by is afterwards, by education, or by com|mon gifts of the graces of God, but by nature all men are equal. And therefore that wherein mans excellency is, is in his &s;oul, thou art as high as any Emperour in the world, and therefore it is that the Scripture would have no difference made between the &s;ouls of men, in <HI>Exod.</HI> 30.15. you &s;hall finde there by that Scripture, that God would not have dif|ference made of the &s;ouls of men, it is &s;aid in the 14. ver&s;e, <HI>Every one that pa&s;&s;eth among you, that are numbred from twenty years old and above, &s;hall give an offering unto the Lord;</HI> God would have an offering from every one of them: Now mark what hee &s;aith in the 15. ver&s;e, <HI>The rich &s;hall not give more, and the poor &s;hall not give le&s;s than half a &s;hekel when they give an offering unto the Lord to make an at|tonement
<PB N="231" REF="116"> for their &s;ouls;</HI> There mu&s;t bee the &s;ame attone|ment made for &s;ouls, both for the rich, and for the poor. And as wee &s;pake the la&s;t day in opening the excellency of the &s;oul, it appears by the price that was paid for it; &s;o here they are equal in this, that the poor mans &s;oul mu&s;t have as great a price paid to &s;ave it, as the riche&s;t man in the world. And therefore ble&s;s God for thy &s;oul in this, that hee hath made thee equal with the Kings and Princes of the world in that that is thy more noble, and more excellent part.</P>
<P>And ble&s;s God for &s;oul-mercies above all mercies; If the &s;oul bee &s;o excellent, then I &s;ay, ble&s;s God that hath granted thee &s;oul-mercies, though hee hath denied thee bodily-mercies, it is no great matter; as &s;uppo&s;e, If &s;o bee that God &s;hould take away the &s;ight of thine eyes, yet if hee opens the eyes of thine under&s;tanding, of thy &s;oul, thou art happy: Suppo&s;e that thou art lame in thy body, yet if thou can&s;t walk in the wayes of Gods Commande|ments, and run there, thou art a happy creature: It may be thou wante&s;t food, I, but if God feed thy &s;oul with &s;piri|tual Manna, feed thee every day with food from heaven, and take care for the feeding of thy &s;oul, thou art not &s;o mi|&s;erable as thou thought&s;t thy &s;elf; thou ha&s;t tattered cloaths, I but if God hath provided the righteou&s;ne&s;s of his Son to bee a garment to cloach thy &s;oul, every time thou ap|peare&s;t before him, thou art a happy creature in that, there|fore when thy heart is ready to murmure, that God hath denied thee bodily mercies that hee hath granted to others, think with thy &s;elf, I but hath not God recompenced mee in &s;oul mercies? I make no que&s;tion but there are ma|ny &s;ouls that ble&s;s God that ever they have lived to this time, though they have &s;uffered hard things for their bo|dies, many that have lo&s;t, and been plundered of all, yet ble&s;s God that they have lived to the time wherein there was &s;o much plenty of the food of &s;ouls: Oh tho&s;e truths of God that have been revealed unto us &s;ince tho&s;e times, but had tho&s;e that had the power before, had the power &s;till continued, wee had never had &s;uch truths made known
<PB N="232" REF="117"> unto us, they account all recompenced in &s;oul-mercies, in <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.3. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed bee the God and Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who hath ble&s;&s;ed us with all &s;piritual ble&s;&s;ings in hea|venly places in Chri&s;t.</HI> Mark what the Apo&s;tle &s;aith there, his heart is filled with this, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed bee God, and the Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t;</HI> Wherefore? that hee hath given us good trading, and good incomes, that hath given us food and rayment, wee are to ble&s;s God for this, I but the A|po&s;tles heart was above this, therefore &s;aith hee, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed bee the God and Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who hath ble&s;&s;ed us with all &s;piritual ble&s;&s;ings in heavenly things in Chri&s;t,</HI> they are the ble&s;&s;ings indeed that wee have cau&s;e to ble&s;s him for, &s;piritual ble&s;&s;ings, &s;oul-mercies; as for bodily-mercies, wee know that the Heathens and Reprobates have had as great a &s;hare in as any in the world; but ble&s;&s;ed bee God, though wee bee denied the&s;e outward bodily favours, yet wee have &s;piritual ble&s;&s;ings. <HI>Oh thanks bee to God, and the Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who hath ble&s;&s;ed us with &s;pi|ritual ble&s;sings in heavenly places in Chri&s;t.</HI> And this now would bee a good argument that you do know the worth of your &s;ouls; if you can be ble&s;&s;ing of God for &s;piritual ble&s;|&s;ings in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, above all ble&s;&s;ings, and account your &s;elves rich enough, if you have the riches of &s;piritual ble&s;&s;ings.</P>
<P>And then further, Oh if the &s;oul of man bee &s;o precious, What great pitty is it that God &s;hould not have the honour of mens &s;ouls, of &s;uch a noble and excellent creature; it is great pitty that there &s;hould bee any creature under the Sun that God &s;hould not have the honour of; that God &s;hould not have honour from every pile of gra&s;s, from every bit of bread that is eaten, from every &s;tone in the &s;treet: But now that God &s;hould give to mankinde &s;uch an excellent &s;pirit, a &s;oul more precious than all the world, and yet that God &s;hould not have the glory of this, Oh this is an evil thing under the Sun indeed, this mu&s;t needs go to the heart of God; for the truth is, God hath his glory from all other creatures by the &s;oul of man. As for other creatures, hee hath his glory but pa&s;&s;ively from them, but for mans &s;oul hee
<PB N="233" REF="117"> doth expect to have his glory actively from that: that man by his &s;oul &s;hould come to know this God, the infinite fir&s;t-being of all things, &s;hould fear him, and wor&s;hip him, and &s;erve him, and have communion with him, and prai&s;e him; and therefore <HI>David</HI> in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 103. <HI>My &s;oul prai&s;e thou the Lord, and all that is within mee prai&s;e his holy name.</HI> And a|gain, hee concludes, <HI>My &s;oul prai&s;e thou the Lord.</HI> And &s;o in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 104. Now upon the con&s;ideration of what hath been &s;aid of the excellency of our &s;ouls, wee &s;hould lay a charge upon them, that they do honour God, and &s;erve God: What a &s;ad charge will this bee to many a man at the great day, when God &s;hall &s;ay, Hadde&s;t thou been made a Dog, I never had had &s;o much di&s;honour as I have had, I &s;hould have had more honour if I had made thee a Dog, there I &s;hould have had my honour pa&s;&s;ively, and no di&s;honour from thee? But now, thou being made an immortal &s;oul, as it was capable of honouring mee, &s;o of &s;inning again&s;t mee; the more excellent a thing is, the more capable of evil it is, as well as of good; no creatures, but Angels and men are able to &s;in again&s;t God. Oh it is pitty that God &s;hould not have the honour of thy immortal &s;oul. God had more ho|nour from <HI>Nebuchadnezzar,</HI> when hee was driven out a|mong the bea&s;ts, than when hee &s;at upon the Throne as a King.</P>
<P>And then further, that &s;hould have been another U&s;e, to have laboured to per&s;wade you to take heed of di&s;honour|ing the&s;e &s;ouls of yours. God hath put a great deal of glory and excellency upon them, do not you di&s;honour them; and many wayes &s;hould have been &s;aid how men do put di&s;honour upon their &s;ouls; only for the conclu&s;ion; Oh that you would but learn to love your own &s;ouls: <HI>To love them.</HI> It is a &s;trange exhortation you will &s;ay to exhort men to love their &s;ouls: Oh, that you would but do it, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 22. <HI>David</HI> calls his &s;oul his <HI>Darling,</HI> the &s;ouls of men &s;hould bee indeed their Darlings, not their bodies. It was a &s;peech of a Courtier to his friend, &s;aith hee, I love you as mine own &s;oul; Oh &s;aith hee, then you love mee not at all;
<PB N="234" REF="118"> if you had &s;aid you had loved mee as your body, then I &s;hould have thought you had loved mee, but I &s;ee no love you have to your &s;oul; It was the prayer of the Apo&s;tle St. <HI>John</HI> in the Epi&s;tle that hee writ to his ho&s;t <HI>Gaius,</HI> I &s;uppo&s;e you that know Scripture, are not unacquainted with it, in his third Epi&s;tle, <HI>Beloved, I wi&s;h above all things that thou maye&s;t pro&s;per, and bee in health, even as thy &s;oul pro&s;pereth.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;hall clo&s;e all I intend for the pre&s;ent with this Scrip|ture; it &s;eems that <HI>Gaius</HI> was a holy man, but a man of a weakly and &s;ick body, and therefore St. <HI>John</HI> writing to him, hee prayes thus, <HI>Above all things, I de&s;ire that thy body may but pro&s;per, as thy &s;oul pro&s;pereth.</HI> As if hee &s;hould &s;ay, O <HI>Gaius,</HI> thou ha&s;t an excellent gracious &s;oul, indued with ad|mirable graces of the Spirit of God, full of God thy &s;oul is, though thy body bee weakly: Oh that thou had&s;t but as good a body, as thou ha&s;t a &s;oul. It &s;eems <HI>Gaius</HI> had more care of his &s;oul a great deal, than of his body: but now my brethren con&s;ider this, Would not this bee a cur&s;e to mo&s;t men for one to pray thus for them, <HI>Oh Lord, give them &s;uch bodies, as they have &s;ouls?</HI> it were as much as to &s;ay, <HI>Lord, Let that body bee bla&s;ted, let it bee filled with di&s;ea&s;es, let it bee filled with rottenne&s;s, let it con&s;ume away, let it bee a noy|&s;ome and loath&s;ome body, for his &s;oul is &s;o;</HI> The &s;ouls of mo&s;t men are filled with di&s;ea&s;es, are noy&s;ome and loath|&s;ome in the eyes of God. It is a happy thing, my brethren, to have better &s;ouls than bodies, that was the happine&s;s of <HI>Gaius,</HI> and &s;o it would bee your happine&s;s, if you could &s;ay &s;o; you have great care of the bodies of your children, I, but have you a greater care of their &s;ouls? if you have, it would bee an excellent &s;ign that God hath made you to under&s;tand what true excellency means. It is a great que|&s;tion among Divines, and among Philo&s;ophers too, about the propagation of the &s;oul, how it comes in, whether by the Parents, or immediate creation; truly there is one ar|gument that it is not like to come in by the Parents, be|cau&s;e wee &s;ee that there is &s;carce any Parents that have any care of the &s;ouls of their children, but altogether ca|ring
<PB N="235" REF="118"> that their bodies may bee fine, and that they may bee brave; and as they look at their children, &s;o they look at them&s;elves, they love their bodies to the uttermo&s;t, to make provi&s;ion for the fle&s;h, but no further. What a deal of do would there bee, if when any of your children goes abroad, or husband, or wife, If you &s;hould hear that they have gotten a fall and broke their legs or arms? but now when you go abroad, and fall into &s;in, and get a wound to your &s;ouls, as every &s;in it gives a deadly wound, yea &s;uch a wound as onely the blood of Je&s;us Chri&s;t is able <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> cure it; and there is nothing made of all this, as if wee were no|thing but lumps of fle&s;h: Oh have a care of your &s;ouls, and labour to love them, and make them to bee your Dar|ling; you had need have a care of them, for as they are precious, &s;o they are tender; as it is with Watches and cu|rious In&s;truments, tho&s;e that are mo&s;t curious are the ea|&s;ie&s;t hurt, the very air will put them out of temper; and &s;o the &s;ouls of men, becau&s;e they are things &s;o excellent, they are things of a very curious nature, and a little thing wil hurt them. As a little thing will hurt the eye, for that is a more excellent member than your finger or leg; &s;o the &s;oul is a more excellent part, and therefore it is that that is mo&s;t in danger to bee hurt and mi&s;chiefed, yea and to peri&s;h, and if your &s;oul peri&s;hes, your body will follow after, what will become of that if your &s;oul bee lo&s;t and peri&s;h? but the onely way to love your bodies well, and aright, it is to love your &s;ouls.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="236" REF="119">
<HEAD><HI>The Third SERMON ON</HI> The Excellency of the Soul.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matth. 16.26.</HI></BIBL> For what is a man profited if hee &s;hall gain the whole world and lo&s;e his own Soul? or what &s;hall a man give in exchange for his Soul?</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_I Shall &s;peak &s;omething unto a U&s;e that was mentioned the la&s;t day, and that was this,</P>
<P>If God hath given unto us &s;uch precious &s;ouls, Oh then let not us di&s;honour our &s;ouls: Di&s;honour them, Why, how may a man di&s;honour his &s;oul?</P>
<P N="1">1 Why fir&s;t when hee lives idlely, and makes no u&s;e at all of it, any more than if hee had but the &s;oul of a Brute. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 24.5. &s;peaking of him that had not lift up his &s;oul unto vanity, I remember the old Latin <HI>Arius Montanus</HI> turns it, <HI>Hee that hath received his &s;oul in vain.</HI> And in|deed mo&s;t people do receive their &s;ouls from God in vain, or to no purpo&s;e, they make no more u&s;e of them than the Philo&s;opher &s;aid of the Swine that had his &s;oul onely as &s;alt to keep the fle&s;h from &s;tinking; there is all the u&s;e many
<PB N="237" REF="119"> men make of their &s;ouls, onely to keep their bodies from &s;melling, and from corruption.</P>
<P>Secondly, Wee di&s;honour our &s;ouls when wee imploy them about low and mean things unworthy of them, and make them to bee the chief things that wee imploy them about; It is the mi&s;ery of man &s;o to do, that I &s;pake of be|fore, and it is the &s;in of man &s;o to do: How many men that have &s;uch precious immortal &s;ouls as the&s;e are, know no higher good to imploy them about, than to bee it may bee all day or night in &s;huffling a pair of Cards, or ca&s;ting of Dice, or at Tables? there is the highe&s;t good that they know how to imploy their &s;ouls about. What a poor mean low thing is this, what a di&s;honour to &s;uch a &s;oul as this? If &s;o bee any of you have &s;ervants that are of good breeding, good parentage, that are of excellent parts, that have lived long with you, that have skill in your Trade, if you &s;hould &s;et them to do nothing but pick &s;traws, they would account it a great di&s;honour put upon them. Truly what do you with the&s;e precious immortal &s;ouls of yours that are &s;o much worth, even more than the world, but imploy them in &s;uch poor things, even to pick &s;traws as it were? if a man &s;hould have pearls, that every one of them were worth a King|dome, and hee &s;hould know no other u&s;e to make of them than to &s;top holes in Mud walls, one would think it, as to bee great folly in him, &s;o a great di&s;honour put upon tho&s;e pearls that are of &s;o much worth; why your &s;ouls are more worth every one of them than all the Pearls and King|domes in the world, and for you to do nothing el&s;e but &s;pend the &s;trength of your &s;ouls about gathering of a little dirt together here in this world, it is a great di&s;honour to your &s;ouls.</P>
<P>Wee have a &s;tory of <HI>Domitian</HI> that was a great Empe|rour, and yet hee had &s;uch a low and mean &s;pirit, as that hee would &s;pend the greate&s;t part of his time in catching of Flies. This is recorded of him as an argument of the lowne&s;s and meanne&s;s of his &s;pirit, unworthy a man of &s;o great a dignity: Oh &s;o our &s;ouls that God hath made
<PB N="238" REF="120"> &s;o high and put &s;uch glory upon, what are they bu&s;ied about in mo&s;t people? I remember <HI>Gregory Ny&s;&s;en,</HI> hee tells of &s;ome, and among others of <HI>Origen,</HI> to bee of that opinion, that the &s;ouls of men were made altogether at the fir&s;t Creation, and lived glorious &s;pirits till they &s;inned again&s;t God, and all tho&s;e that &s;inned again&s;t God were thru&s;t into the bodies of men, as into a pri&s;on, and tho&s;e that did not &s;in, they <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ive &s;till with God in glory. And <HI>Jerome,</HI> as I re|member in his 32. Epi&s;t. &s;peaks of that opinion that did prevail; and wee finde <HI>Plato,</HI> though a heathen, hee &s;peaks of the &s;ouls of men, and thought that they were made al|together before their bodies, if not from eternity. The&s;e men they thought the &s;ouls of men &s;o precious, as that they could not come into the bodies of men but for their faults, as a puni&s;hment to them, becau&s;e they &s;aw how meanly mens &s;ouls lived while they were in their bodies, and therefore thought it impo&s;&s;ible for &s;uch a precious &s;oul as a man had, to come to live &s;o meanly, were it not for Gods anger puni&s;hing the &s;oul for &s;ome &s;in or other: Oh do not di&s;honour them by imploying of them about un|worthy and low things.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Do not di&s;honour them by defiling of them by ca&s;ting filth, and dirt upon them. Would not a Prince ac|count him&s;elf di&s;honoured, to have the filth and dirt of the &s;treet to bee ca&s;t into his face? Certainly, when thou doe&s;t defile thy &s;oul by &s;in, when thou doe&s;t &s;in, thou doe&s;t as vile an act as ca&s;ting dirt in the face of a Prince. There is no Princes body upon earth &s;o excellent as the &s;oul of the poore&s;t and meane&s;t man, no filth in the world &s;o vile as the filth of &s;in, and by thy &s;in thou doe&s;t ca&s;t this filth up|on thy &s;oul, and &s;o doe&s;t all be&s;mear it, and defile it. You love to have clean and hand&s;ome bodies, and are loath to come into company all be&s;meared and be&s;ooted: Oh but how often do you go into the pre&s;ence of God mo&s;t abominable and loath&s;ome! Oh do not put that di&s;honour upon your &s;ouls!</P>
<P>Fourthly, Do not di&s;honour your &s;ouls by making them
<PB N="239" REF="120"> drudges to your bodies, by making them to bee Caters to provide for the body, and to &s;atisfie the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h; <HI>I have &s;een</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Solomon) &s;ervants upon hor&s;es,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 10 <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> <HI>and Princes walking as &s;ervants upon the earth.</HI> This was an evil <HI>Solomon</HI> thought, but to &s;ee our ba&s;e vile bodies to bee &s;et up, and our &s;ouls to bee brought under, and &s;ervants and &s;laves to this body, Oh how vile is it! If you &s;hould &s;ee a great Prince to bee made a &s;lave to &s;ome Scullion-boy, you would account it a great leaving of his condition, and di&s;honour put upon him, but while thou make&s;t thy &s;oul to bee a &s;lave to thy body, it is wor&s;e a great deal. <HI>Seneca,</HI> though hee were but a Heathen, yet hath this notable &s;peech, <HI>I am greater, and born to greater things, than that I &s;hould bee a drudge to my body, and the &s;lave of my body:</HI> A Heathen thought him&s;elf too great, and born to greater things than that ever hee &s;hould bring that &s;oul of his to bee a drudge and &s;lave to his body. And indeed did wee know our &s;ouls, wee &s;hould think &s;o, and wee &s;hould never make them drudges to our bodies, meerly to &s;atisfie the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h; and yet how many men and women are loath to dye, only upon this ground, becau&s;e that then they &s;hall have no more &s;atis|faction to the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h? Oh what di&s;honour is there put upon this precious and excellent &s;oul in this? but much more di&s;honour when thou make&s;t it a drudge and &s;lave to the Devil? it is an evil to have our &s;ouls to bee &s;laves to our bodies, but a greater evil to bee a &s;lave and drudge to the Devil, that the Devil &s;hould have command of them, and carry them up and down as hee plea&s;es. I remember, it is reported of <HI>Theodo&s;ius,</HI> and another Em|perour that did u&s;e to call them&s;elves the va&s;&s;als of Chri&s;t; but as for tho&s;e precious &s;ouls now to bee va&s;&s;als to the Devil, Oh this is too great a di&s;honour that is put upon them.</P>
<P>Fifthly, Again, you di&s;honour your &s;ouls by grudging the time and co&s;t that is &s;pent upon them; how many men and women think the time is lo&s;t that is &s;pent upon their &s;ouls more immediately! they mu&s;t indeed &s;ometime <HI>pray,</HI> and
<PB N="240" REF="121"> &s;ometime <HI>hear</HI> the word, but the time, and all the charge they are at for their &s;ouls, they look upon it even almo&s;t as lo&s;t, and &s;o grudge it, and &s;o would fain bee about &s;ome thing for their bodies; &s;peak to them about praying in their families, they have bu&s;ine&s;s, and what is all their bu&s;ine&s;s for, but onely for their bodies? Indeed wee &s;hould rather turn our plea the other way, and bee loath to &s;pare time for our outward e&s;tate, rather than for our &s;ouls, tho&s;e immor|tal &s;ouls of ours; it is a wonder, how any one that knows the worth of his &s;oul, can finde in his heart, but upon meer nece&s;&s;ity, and out of duty, to &s;pare time for his outward condition. The &s;oul is di&s;honoured when the time and co&s;t that is be&s;towed about it is grudged, as if it were meer|ly lo&s;t, and ca&s;t away.</P>
<P>Sixthly, Again wee di&s;honour our &s;ouls when as wee lay not up provi&s;ion for them again&s;t an evil day, this is a di&s;ho|nour put upon them.</P>
<P>Seventhly, And la&s;tly, you di&s;honour your &s;ouls, when as you think to &s;atisfie them with any thing but God him&s;elf; if you &s;hould have any of your friends that are of quality come to your hou&s;e, if you &s;hould &s;et a bowl of &s;will be|fore them, and think to &s;atisfie their hunger that way, they would think it a great di&s;honour to them. Now if you do think to &s;atisfie your &s;ouls with any thing here but God him|&s;elf, you do as it were bring bones to &s;et before a Prince. It was a &s;peech unworthy of a man which wee read of in the Go&s;pel concerning rich <HI>Dives, Soul, Soul, take thine ea&s;e, thou ha&s;t goods laid up for many years.</HI> Soul, Soul, eat, drink, and take thine ea&s;e; Why, what had that to do with eating and drinking? How unworthy was this, I &s;ay, of one that had an immortal &s;oul thus to &s;peak: Oh this is a great di&s;honour that is put upon the &s;oul.</P>
<P>Now then learn wee in a right way to put honour upon our &s;ouls, and to love them, and make them our Darlings; and manife&s;t your love to your &s;ouls,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, By having your thoughts often upon them; wee ma|nife&s;t our love to a friend by having our thoughts run upon
<PB N="241" REF="121"> him: Oh let your thoughts run much upon your &s;ouls, I am thus and thus in regard of my outward e&s;tate; in re|gard of my body, through Gods mercy I have all my limbs and &s;en&s;es, and comfortable provi&s;ion for it: Oh but my &s;oul, how is it with thee? bee often conferring with your &s;ouls, as you know one friend loves to confer with a|nother: Can you &s;ay you love &s;uch a friend that is your next neighbour, and never &s;pend any time in conference together, &s;carce ever &s;peak one with another? Certainly &s;o it is with the &s;ouls of men, they think but little of the tearms that their &s;ouls are in with God, of what conditi|ons their &s;ouls are in, whether good or bad, and the day is yet to come wherein many a man hath &s;pent one half hour in conference with his &s;oul, to know how tearms do &s;tand between his &s;oul and the Almighty God: Oh love your &s;ouls by thinking on them, and thinking often what &s;hould become of them.</P>
<P N="2">2. And further, love them by making them Empere&s;&s;es of your bodies, by keeping your bodies under them: Tho&s;e that the Scripture &s;ets out unto us which have had the mo&s;t precious &s;ouls, they have ever more beat down their bodies, and kept them low: You know <HI>Paul</HI> that was one of the mo&s;t precious &s;pirited men that ever lived upon the face of the earth, yet &s;aith hee, <HI>I beat down my body,</HI> I beat it <HI>black and blew, le&s;t after I have preached to others, I my &s;elf become a Reprobate;</HI> hee did not think his happi|ne&s;s to con&s;i&s;t in pampering his body, no, but hee beat it down, and therein hee &s;hewed his love to his &s;oul, in that hee made his &s;oul to bee Empere&s;s as it were.</P>
<P>It is the &s;peech of a learned man upon tho&s;e words, <HI>Subdue the earth,</HI> that is thy body, and all earthly things, to that &s;piritual part of thine, thy &s;oul. If one &s;hould tell you what the ancient Martyrs, and worthy In&s;truments of God that were precious men in their time, how hardly they u&s;ed their bodies, it would hardly bee beleeved by you; but this is certain, there was never any that knew the true worth of their &s;ouls, but they made them the Em|pere&s;&s;es
<PB N="242" REF="122"> of their bodies. <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> &s;aid of <HI>Valentinian,</HI> No man was ever &s;uch a &s;ervant to his Ma&s;ter, as <HI>Valentinians</HI> body was to his &s;oul; Bring your bodies down, and therein you will &s;hew the greate&s;t love unto your &s;ouls.</P>
<P N="3">3. And further, Adorn your &s;ouls, labour to put come|line&s;s and beauty upon them as much as you can, and therein you will &s;hew love and re&s;pect to them: Adorn them with tho&s;e graces that may make them amiable and lovely in the eyes of God him&s;elf, in 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.5. <HI>Bee cloathed with humility.</HI> Tho&s;e that under&s;tand the Greek language, know it to bee a word that &s;ignifies a dre&s;s that Gentle|women u&s;e to have upon their heads with ribands, &s;uch as they did u&s;e to wear in tho&s;e dayes, and &s;o they thought them&s;elves very comely, and the Apo&s;tle alludes to tho&s;e kinde of dre&s;&s;es. Oh <HI>humility</HI> is the fine&s;t dre&s;s for a wo|man in the world, and &s;o for men too. The fine&s;t cloaths that you can put upon you is the cloaths of humility; and &s;o any grace of Gods Spirit it is the cloathing of the &s;oul: Oh therefore &s;hew your love unto your &s;ouls by labour|ing to deck and adorn them with &s;uch cloathing as this is.</P>
<P N="4">4. And &s;hew your love to your &s;ouls by providing for them, while God affords means, labour to under&s;tand the want of your &s;ouls, and bee willing to bee at any charge and co&s;t for the good of them: If your head ake, or you have any little pain in any of your members, how do you &s;eek out, and are willing to bee at a great deal of charge that you may have ea&s;e for your bodies? now &s;eek out for your &s;ouls, the one is a &s;ign that you love your bodies well, and the other will bee a &s;ign that you love your &s;ouls as well.</P>
<P N="5">5. And then &s;hew love to your &s;ouls in the excellency of them, in things that are &s;uitable to them, in conver&s;ing with God and Je&s;us Chri&s;t, with the my&s;teries of the Go&s;pel, and with heavenly things.</P>
<P N="6">6. Shew your love to them in labouring to bring them to the attaining of that end that they were made for, the
<PB N="243" REF="122"> uttermo&s;t happine&s;s that they are capable of; then indeed you &s;hew true love to your &s;ouls, when as your care is to bring them to the attainment of that end that God made them for: Certainly when God made a creature of &s;o much excellency, hee did intend a glorious end for it: And let this now bee your great care, and manife&s;t your love to your &s;ouls, I &s;ay, in this, by labouring to attain the end that God made them for. But this &s;hall &s;uffice for the fir&s;t point, of the preciou&s;ne&s;s and excellency of our &s;ouls.</P>
<P>Wee come now to the &s;econd, and that is the main Point indeed in the Text, that is,</P>
<P><HI>That the lo&s;s of this &s;oul is a mo&s;t dreadful lo&s;s.</HI> <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Doct"> </P>
<P><HI>Skin for skin, yea all that a man hath will hee give for his life;</HI> Even the Devil him&s;elf could &s;ay &s;o. The lo&s;s of bo|dily life wee account a great evil, and therefore the Scrip|ture calls Death by the name of the <HI>King of Terrours;</HI> and is it &s;o great an evil to lo&s;e a bodily life, to have the &s;oul and body but &s;eparated? Is the face of a bodily death &s;o ga&s;tly? Oh how great an evil, and how ga&s;tly is the face of the eternal death, and the lo&s;s of the immortal &s;oul? This Point my brethren, is a Point of exceeding great con|cernment to under&s;tand; wee &s;hall therefore,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Inquire what wee mean by the lo&s;s of the &s;oul, or when may the &s;oul bee &s;aid to bee lo&s;t?</P>
<P>The &s;econd thing, Wherein doth the dreadfulne&s;s of the lo&s;s of the &s;oul con&s;i&s;t?</P>
<P>And then thirdly, I &s;hall di&s;cover to you &s;ome aggrava|tions of the evil of the lo&s;s of the &s;oul.</P>
<P>Fourthly, And then wee &s;hall come to apply all toge|ther.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t then, What doth Chri&s;t mean when hee &s;aith, <HI>What profiteth it a man, if hee gain the whole world, and lo&s;e his &s;oul?</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, You are to know this, That wee are not &s;aid to lo&s;e our &s;ouls, becau&s;e they &s;hall bee annihilated, and cea&s;e to bee, the cea&s;ing of the &s;oul to bee, that is not the lo&s;s of
<PB N="244" REF="123"> the &s;oul, the cea&s;ing indeed of our bodily lives is the lo&s;s of our lives, but it is not &s;o with the &s;oul, for the &s;oul of no man or woman &s;hall bee lo&s;t &s;o.</P>
<P>Yea, and this would not bee the greate&s;t lo&s;s for the &s;oul to cea&s;e to bee. There are two degrees of evil that are beyond the evil of cea&s;ing to bee; to bee mi&s;erable, to bee in pain and torture, is wor&s;e than not to bee, and to bee &s;inful, is wor&s;e than to bee in pain; and therefore the cea|&s;ing to bee, is not the greate&s;t evil: What is the lo&s;s of the &s;oul then?</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The lo&s;s of the &s;oul it is fir&s;t in the privation of it of all the good and excellency that the &s;oul is capable of, the privation of the true good that the &s;oul was made for.</P>
<P>Secondly, It con&s;i&s;ts in its departing and wandring from God: As a &s;heep is &s;aid to bee a lo&s;t &s;heep that wan|ders up and down in the wilderne&s;s; &s;o that is a lo&s;t &s;oul that wanders away from God the fountain of all good.</P>
<P>Thirdly, It con&s;i&s;ts in the &s;ubjecting of it to that mi|&s;ery and evil that is contrary to what good it is capable of.</P>
<P>And then fourthly, and la&s;tly, in the &s;uccourle&s;s and helple&s;s condition that it is brought into; wee u&s;e the phra&s;e of Lo&s;t to all the&s;e things; when a man hath lo&s;t his e&s;tate, wee account &s;uch a man as a lo&s;t man; and when a man is brought into a great deal of mi&s;ery, that heretofore was in a great deal of happine&s;s, wee account &s;uch a man to bee a lo&s;t man; but e&s;pecially when a man is &s;uccourle&s;s and helple&s;s, when hee hath no way to help and relieve him&s;elf, then hee is a lo&s;t man indeed: And according to the degrees of the&s;e four things then a &s;oul may bee &s;aid to bee lo&s;t. And here for the pre&s;ent every man and wo|mans &s;oul in the world by nature is a lo&s;t &s;oul.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Every man and woman, as they come into the world are deprived of the glory and excellency that God did indow the &s;ouls of men withall in their fir&s;t creation, wee are all deprived of the glory of God, &s;aith the Scrip|ture.</P>
<PB N="245" REF="123">
<P>And &s;econdly, All our &s;ouls do now naturally wander a|way from God, continually depart, and wander from the infinite glorious fir&s;t-being of all things; Thou that art an old man or woman that ha&s;t lived many years, and God hath not revealed him&s;elf in working the true work of conver|&s;ion in thee, to change thy e&s;tate, know, that thy &s;oul hath been departing and wandring from the Lord all the dayes of thy life, to this very pre&s;ent, thou art like a lo&s;t &s;heep, wandring up and down in the wilderne&s;s, and in danger to bee de&s;troyed every minute of an hour by &s;ome wilde bea&s;t or other; though it is true, thy &s;oul is not made a prey to the Devil &s;o as to de&s;troy thee utterly, yet thou ha&s;t been in danger all the while thou ha&s;t been wandring from the Lord to bee made a prey upon by the Devil, and utterly to have been ca&s;t away.</P>
<P>Yea, and thirdly, There is a great deal of mi&s;ery upon thy &s;oul, if thou knewe&s;t it; as, contrary to that light that hee hath &s;et up in thy under&s;tanding, there is blindne&s;s in thee, there is errour in thee; contrary to that holine&s;s that was at fir&s;t in thy heart and &s;oul, there is nothing but &s;in and wickedne&s;s, all the &s;pauns and &s;eeds of all kinde of &s;in is in thy heart; there is a great deal of that evil that is contrary to what thy &s;oul was made withall at fir&s;t, there is enmity in thy &s;oul again&s;t God him&s;elf.</P>
<P>Yea, and fourthly, Thy &s;oul is in a &s;uccourle&s;s, helple&s;s, &s;hiftle&s;s condition in re&s;pect of what thou art able to do, or what all the creatures in heaven or earth are able to do for thee; let all the Angels in heaven, and men in the world, joyn together to &s;eek to do good to thy &s;oul, they are not able to deliver thy &s;oul from that evil that now it is in, and that it is in further danger of. And this is the rea|&s;on of that phra&s;e that you have in <HI>Luke</HI> 19.10. <HI>The Son of man is come to &s;eek and to &s;ave that which was lo&s;t.</HI> Wee are all lo&s;t &s;heep going a&s;tray, and Je&s;us Chri&s;t came to &s;eek and to &s;ave lo&s;t &s;ouls; Souls deprived of the glory of God, Souls wandring away from God, Souls filled with evil, Souls &s;uccourle&s;s, and helple&s;s in regard of any
<PB N="246" REF="124"> power in any creature in heaven and earth to &s;ave them: Chri&s;t beholding how &s;uch precious &s;ouls were every one of them lo&s;t, if hee had not come to &s;ave them, hee was plea|&s;ed to come from heaven to &s;eek and to &s;ave &s;ouls thus lo&s;t.</P>
<P>Now though &s;ouls bee for the pre&s;ent in a lo&s;t condition, yet there is a further lo&s;s of the &s;oul than this; for if the &s;oul be neglected here, it will bee lo&s;t forever; there are many that are lo&s;t now for the pre&s;ent, and yet afterwards Chri&s;t findes them, and there is joy in heaven at the find|ing of them; but there is a lo&s;s that &s;hall bee eternal, and that lo&s;s is more dreadful than the former, yet the former hath the degree of it, but that the perfection of the for|mer: Now the lo&s;s of the &s;oul in hell con&s;i&s;ts in the&s;e three particulars.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The full and perfect eternal rejection of the &s;oul from God, and from all good in him together, with the ful|ne&s;s of all kinde of evil that the &s;oul is capable of; this is the condition of a lo&s;t &s;oul that peri&s;hes.</P>
<P>Secondly, And then in the next place it con&s;i&s;ts in the making of this &s;oul to bee perfectly &s;en&s;ible of the lo&s;s of that good, and of all the evil it is po&s;&s;e&s;t withall, making of it perfectly &s;en&s;ible of it: Here men and women are in lo&s;t conditions, but they know it not, they are not &s;en&s;ible of it: But God will bring the &s;oul into &s;uch a condition, as it &s;hall bee made perfectly &s;en&s;ible of the lo&s;s of all the good that it might have had, and of all the evil that is upon it.</P>
<P>Thirdly, And then la&s;tly, It &s;hall bee in &s;uch a condition, &s;o &s;uccourle&s;s, &s;o helple&s;s, as is not onely beyond the power of Angels, and all men to help it; but I &s;ay, &s;o &s;uccourle&s;s, &s;o lo&s;t, as that Gods mercy, and all the good there is in Chri&s;t &s;hall never &s;ave it, and as God hath &s;et and ordered things, can never &s;ave it.</P>
<P>Now then the&s;e things being opened to you, you will under&s;tand what this Text means: When you read this Text you think there may bee truth in it, and in general you will <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;ent unto it, but if you come to under&s;tand but the&s;e things, then indeed you cannot but all &s;ub&s;cribe to it
<PB N="247" REF="124"> and acknowledge: Oh it is indeed a dreadful thing the lo&s;s of the &s;oul. But now becau&s;e it is a point of &s;o great moment, I will not &s;atisfie my &s;elf meerly in telling you the&s;e things, but endeavour to open them unto you, what the evil of this lo&s;s is, that if it might bee, by pre&s;enting this before the &s;ouls of men, they may &s;ee more the danger that they are in, and how the Devil hath gulled and de|ceived them all this while: It may make many &s;ouls to bee at a &s;tand, if they come to know what this lo&s;s indeed doth mean. Now I &s;hall endeavour the opening of this in the three la&s;t particulars that I named.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, For the rejection of the &s;oul from God &s;o as to bee deprived of all the good there is in God, and that it is capable of; Now for the under&s;tanding of the evil of this, wee mu&s;t inquire what is that good that the &s;ouls of men are capable of, or el&s;e wee cannot come to under&s;tand what an evil thing it is to lo&s;e it.</P>
<P>Now for the good that the &s;oul is capable of, I will but onely name &s;ome heads unto you, for in a Treati&s;e that &s;ome of you have in your hands, of <HI>Mo&s;es looking to the recompen&s;e of reward,</HI> there are the principal heads of the good and excellency that the &s;oul is capable of, and &s;hall bee ble&s;&s;ed in heaven eternally with: And the apprehend|ing the lo&s;s of the&s;e things, will di&s;cover much, The fir&s;t part of the evil of the lo&s;s of the &s;oul. I will but in a very brief way pre&s;ent them unto you.</P>
<P>Why the Glory of God upon the &s;oul, the Image of God, the Life of God, the Divine nature that the &s;oul is capable of: Now for the &s;oul never to live the Life of God, nor to have his Image, nor any of the Glory of Gold upon it, this is a fearful evil to tho&s;e that know the excel|lency of the&s;e things; of the ble&s;&s;ed vi&s;ion of God in heaven, to &s;ee him that is the infinite fir&s;t-being of all things, to &s;ee him as hee is, to &s;ee him that hath all ex|cellency in him, and to &s;ee all the good there is in God, as the good of the &s;oul. The &s;oul is capable of the under|&s;tanding of the minde of God, to have all the glorious
<PB N="248" REF="125"> Coun&s;els of God about his works and wayes that hee hath had from all eternity to bee revealed unto, &s;o far as con|cerns it, and as any way may make it happy: To live to &s;ee what the wayes of God have been from all eternity, and what they &s;hall bee to all eternity, and that for the good of this &s;oul, that it may bee for ever in his pre&s;ence, and to &s;tand and look upon his face, and &s;ee him as the portion of it, Oh this mu&s;t needs bee a glorious thing: Certainly if the pre&s;ence of God put &s;uch a glory upon the heavens, it mu&s;t needs put abundance of glory upon the &s;oul that &s;hall &s;tand immediately alwayes in his pre&s;ence: To have eternal communion with God, that is, to have the imbrace|ments of God, imbracing the &s;oul, and delighting him&s;elf in it above all other his works, but onely the Angels and his Son; delighting, I &s;ay, him&s;elf in the &s;oul, and imbracing it, communicating and letting out him&s;elf in all his lu&s;tre and glory when hee &s;hall have inlarged the &s;oul to bee able to the uttermo&s;t to receive in that glory that hee hath to communicate: And for him to conver&s;e with the &s;ouls of men to all eternity in a familiar way, as one friend with another; and for the &s;oul to bee letting out its &s;elf again to God, for that is in communion, there is Gods letting out him&s;elf to it, and its letting out its &s;elf again to God; now, I &s;ay, it is the greate&s;t delight to what God hath in him&s;elf, his Son, and Spirit, and Angels, the letting out of him&s;elf to the &s;ouls of men (tho&s;e that &s;hall bee &s;aved:) And on the other &s;ide, it mu&s;t needs bee an infinite de|light to the &s;oul alwayes to bee letting out it &s;elf upon God, as now, what delight do men take in eating and drinking? now if there bee &s;uch delight from the humour in the palat meeting with a peece of meat in the mouth, becau&s;e of the &s;uitablene&s;s between one object and another? Oh what delight mu&s;t there needs bee when this im|mortal precious &s;oul being inlarged to the uttermo&s;t with all exc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">ency &s;hall then meet with an infinite God, the infinite fir&s;t-being of all things as the mo&s;t &s;uitable ob|ject to it, and &s;o bee letting of its &s;elf forth to God,
<PB N="249" REF="125"> and God letting of him&s;elf forth to it again.</P>
<P>Again, the good that the &s;oul is capable of with God, it is to have an union with God, for the &s;oul to be made one with God, to be united &s;o as to be made one with him: <HI>Hee that is joyned to the Lord, is one Spirit,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle; and &s;aith Chri&s;t, in <HI>Joh.</HI> 17. <HI>Father, I will that tho&s;e that thou ha&s;t given mee, may bee one with mee, as thou and I are one.</HI> Spi|ritual things do mo&s;t unite one to another; there may bee a thou&s;and beams of the Sun united, and almo&s;t into one point, becau&s;e it is of a more &s;piritual nature: &s;o when the &s;oul &s;hall bee made one Spirit with God, it being a Spirit, and God likewi&s;e a Spirit, there will bee an exact union one with another: And &s;o the more &s;piritual things are, the more they communicate one to another; as in nature, the more corporeal a thing is, the le&s;s it communicates its &s;elf; the earth doth not communicate its &s;elf with any crea|ture; the water communicates its &s;elf more than that, and the air more than that, and the fire more than that; the Sun, that is le&s;s corporeal than any of the&s;e elements that wee have here, and therefore that communicates its &s;elf more than the element doth: Now God being a Spirit, and the &s;ouls of men &s;piritual, Oh what a communion will there bee of each to other!</P>
<P>And then further, the &s;oul is capable of fruition of God; union, and communion, and fruition, what is that you will &s;ay? that is to have God not onely to bee united to it, but to have a kind of po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of him, to have the u&s;e of all that there is in God that can make mee happy, to have the full u&s;e of it when I will; then a man doth injoy a thing, when hee can have the u&s;e of &s;uch a thing when hee will: Now the &s;ouls of the Saints &s;hall enjoy God, that is, &s;hall have the u&s;e of all that glory and good there is in God that can make them happy, when they will, &amp; &s;hall have as much u&s;e of God as they will; &s;urely they mu&s;t needs bee happy that &s;hall thus enjoy God: If a man had the fruition of the world, that hee could have the u&s;e of all the good things in the world, when hee would, you would think him happy;
<PB N="250" REF="126"> but this is the happine&s;s of the &s;ouls of the Saints, that they &s;hall have &s;uch a fruition of God, that they &s;hall have all the u&s;e of God that they will, and when they w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ll.</P>
<P>And further, Fruition hath this in it, it hath a reflect act; A man, though hee hath a great deal of riches given him, yet if hee doth not know this, or if &s;o bee that hee doth know it, and yet have not the comfort of it, hee doth not enjoy it; &s;uch a man, though hee bee born to a great deal, yet if hee have not the reflect act to know that hee hath it, hee doth not enjoy it: So wee enjoy but little of God now, becau&s;e God, though hee bee the portion of a gracious heart, yet the heart doth not know this fully: But know|ledge, when it &s;hall bee perfect, then the &s;oul &s;hall perfect|ly know what good there is in God, and how far my &s;oul may and is happy in the enjoyment of this God; I &s;hall know how to make u&s;e of God to the full, and &s;hall have continually the comfort of all that good there is in God.</P>
<P>And yet further, the pre&s;ence and communion with Je|&s;us Chri&s;t that the &s;oul &s;hall have, be&s;ides that of God the Father, it &s;hall bee with him, where hee is: It is a ble&s;&s;ed thing here <HI>to follow the Lamb whither&s;oever hee goes,</HI> but to bee alwaies with him, to have alwaies fruition of him, and to have communion likewi&s;e with all the Saints and Angels, and all the ble&s;&s;ed &s;pirits, that is a ble&s;&s;ed thing indeed. I remember I have read of <HI>Cato,</HI> when hee was about to dye, <HI>Oh ble&s;&s;ed day,</HI> &s;aith hee, <HI>for now I &s;hall go to the &s;ouls of wi&s;e men, and Philo&s;ophers;</HI> and &s;o upon that ground he did ac|count the day of his death a ble&s;&s;ed day, becau&s;e hee &s;hould go to have communion with the &s;ouls of Philo&s;ophers and wi&s;e men: But how ble&s;&s;ed is it then for our &s;ouls to have communion eternally with Angels and ble&s;&s;ed &s;pirits? <HI>You are come to an innumerable company of Angels,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.22, 23</NOTE> <HI>and the &s;pi|rits of ju&s;t men made perfect.</HI> When a &s;oul is converted, it comes to have &s;ome kind of communion with innumerable company of Angels, and with the &s;pirits of ju&s;t men made perfect: It hath the a&s;&s;urance of it here, and
<PB N="251" REF="126"> &s;hall have the enjoyment fully and perfectly hereaf|ter.</P>
<P>And then the continual exerci&s;e that the &s;oul &s;hall bee bu&s;ied in, to bee for ever ble&s;&s;ing, and magnifying, and prai&s;ing and wor&s;hipping of God, and receiving in from God, and letting out its &s;elf to God: The eternal Sabbath that it &s;hall keep, and then the eternal re&s;t that the &s;oul &s;hall have, when it comes to God, it comes there to its Center, there it hath perfect peace and re&s;t, and can never have trouble further.</P>
<P>Yea, and it &s;hall live in God; not onely God live in it, but it &s;hall, I &s;ay, live in God, as (though the &s;imilitude comes &s;hort of it) the fi&s;h &s;wimming in the Sea; &s;o the &s;oul &s;hall bee &s;wimming in the infinite Ocean of the ex|cellency of the great God. It is &s;aid of <HI>John,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 1.10. Col. 3.3</NOTE> that hee was <HI>in the Spirit on the Lords day;</HI> &s;o the &s;oul &s;hall live in God: <HI>Our life is hid with Chri&s;t in God:</HI> But our life &s;hall bee plain and apparent, not hidden, but apparent before Angels, and all the re&s;t of the ble&s;&s;ed, and &s;o our lives &s;hall bee after another manner than now they are. Now to open every one of the&s;e things would bee very large, &s;o that it &s;uffices now onely to pre&s;ent them to you, to &s;hew in a &s;hort view the good of the &s;oul in the full en|joyment of God, and what it &s;hall have from him, that &s;o you may &s;ee what the lo&s;s of the &s;oul means. Now if the&s;e things bee true and real, Oh what a dreadful thing is it for a man to lo&s;e his &s;oul, for a man to come to lo&s;e all this good, that others that have &s;ouls like unto him &s;hall come to enjoy, and that hee might have enjoyed as well as others! If there were no more in the lo&s;s of the &s;oul but this, to bee ca&s;t away from the good that it is capable of, it might &s;hew unto us this lo&s;s to bee very dreadful. It was a &s;peech of <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> long &s;ince &s;peaking of that place where <HI>Dives</HI> did de&s;ire <HI>Lazarus</HI> to come with one drop of water to cool his tormented tongue, &s;aith hee, If there &s;hould bee but one drop of heavenly felicity let into Hell, it would quench all the fire of Hell pre&s;ently: And <HI>Chry|&s;o&s;tome</HI>
<PB N="252" REF="127"> hath &s;uch an expre&s;&s;ion, that hee would rather &s;uf|fer thou&s;ands of years in pain and torment in Hell, than hee would lo&s;e that good that hee might have in the enjoy|ment of God; hee accounted <HI>paena damni,</HI> the lo&s;s of God to bee the greater, and it were a good &s;ign of a &s;oul that did under&s;tand its own excellency, and what good it were ca|pable of, to fear as well the lo&s;s of God, and what good it might have in God, and to account that as great an evil to it, as pain, and horrour, and torment: Why, when wee come to expre&s;s the wrath of God to you, and the evil that &s;in de&s;erves, we &s;peak of Hell fire, and &s;o the Scripture doth; If wee would &s;et out the great evil of puni&s;hment (when wee &s;peak to men and women that are lead by &s;en&s;e) wee would tell them of their bodies being thou&s;ands of years in &s;calding Lead, and kept alive there, and this would &s;tartle and amaze them; but certainly the evil of the &s;ouls rejection from God, and being ca&s;t off from the good that there is in God, it is as great, if not a greater evil; and a good &s;ign, I &s;ay it were, that God is going to &s;hew what our &s;ouls are to us and the true excellency of them; If wee begin to bee affected with the lo&s;s of God him&s;elf, and the good wee might have in God, not onely afraid of Hell, becau&s;e of fire and torment there, but afraid of having our &s;ouls lo&s;t, becau&s;e of being deprived of &s;uch infinite good, as otherwi&s;e wee might come to enjoy with God: A gra|cious heart hath more thought about lo&s;ing the good that there is in God, than of the pain that hee &s;hould feel in Hell.</P>
<P>To &s;et it out a little but in this re&s;emblance, of the eye being deprived of light: An eye that hath beheld the glory of the Heavens, and of the Creatures, though it &s;hould never have any pain, but onely there &s;hould bee &s;uch an ill humour, &s;o as to take away all light from it; why what hurt is here to the eye? it is but onely the ab&s;ence of a good thing, the eye feels no pain; but what man in the world but would rather bee willing to have his eyes to &s;ee, and not to bee blinde all his life time, than to have the enjoy|ment
<PB N="253" REF="127"> of thou&s;ands of gold and &s;ilver? Now if the bare ab|&s;ence of the &s;ight of a mans eyes bee &s;o great an evil, and hee would rather almo&s;t endure any pain, than to have his eyes deprived of the light, then certainly the ab&s;ence of God mu&s;t needs bee a mo&s;t dreadful evil to the &s;oul: when the Sun &s;hines in its lu&s;tre, how beautiful is it?<NOTE PLACE="marg">&lindx;</NOTE> and how plea|&s;ant to that it is at midnight, when it is di&s;mal dark? why what is done? it is onely the ab&s;ence of one Creature, one Creature is here now, and &s;hines gloriou&s;ly upon us, and at midnight the Creature is gone: &s;o what a mighty change and alteration would there bee in the &s;oul, if it &s;hould bee deprived of the pre&s;ence of the Lord? if the Lord who is infinite in glory bee pre&s;ent with the &s;oul, and &s;hine upon it to all eternity, Oh how glorious will it bee but Gods withdrawing him&s;elf, fully and everla&s;tingly from the &s;oul, Oh what a di&s;mal night of darkne&s;s will there bee! and therefore it is a mo&s;t dreadful thing for the &s;oul of a man to bee lo&s;t in regard of this fir&s;t particular, in regard of the pri|vation of that good that it is capable of.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="254" REF="128">
<HEAD><HI>The Fourth SERMON ON</HI> The Excellency of the Soul.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matthew 16.26.</HI></BIBL> For what is a man profited if hee &s;hall gain the whole world, and lo&s;e his own &s;oul?</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_NOw for the &s;econd Particular, Namely, wherein con&s;i&s;ts the eternal lo&s;s of the &s;oul; it is this; when the &s;oul in Hell is &s;o po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with &s;in, as to bee contrary unto God eternally: I &s;ay the &s;oul ca&s;t away from God is po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of all the evil of &s;in, &s;o as for ever to hate God, and to abhor him, and to bla&s;|pheme him, that is one particular of the condition of a lo&s;t &s;oul.</P>
<P>As every &s;oul here by nature is deprived of all that good in which it was created, and &s;econdly, as it doth wander from, and is at enmity again&s;t God: &s;o when the &s;oul is lo&s;t eternally, then it is perfectly again&s;t God, and doth hate and bla&s;pheme God for ever: Thou that art a wicked man, thou wilt &s;in, but when God hath ca&s;t thee away from
<PB N="255" REF="128"> him eternally, then, as I may &s;ay, thou &s;halt have thy belly full of &s;in, thou then &s;halt bee fully given up unto &s;in, <HI>Rev.</HI> 16.11. <HI>And they bla&s;phemed the God of Heaven, becau&s;e of their pains and &s;orrows:</HI> Now that is &s;poken of the bea&s;t, of Antichri&s;t; but if men here bla&s;pheme God becau&s;e of pains, what &s;hall they do that are damned in Hell? they that &s;hall have the vials of Gods wrath poured out upon them? But you will ask, how doth it appear that for the wicked to bee given up to &s;in is &s;uch an evil unto them, whereas here it is their delight to commit &s;in? To which I an&s;wer, though they love &s;in, and though &s;in bee their de|light here, yet hereafter, when they are ca&s;t off from God for ever, then they &s;hall not finde that delight in &s;in, as now they do: as to give you it in an example, put a fi&s;h into a pot of water, and the fi&s;h doth &s;wim, and play, and delight therein, becau&s;e it is the proper element of the fi&s;h to bee in the water; but now, if you do but put fire under that pot of water wherein the fi&s;h doth play and take de|light, why then that which was before the delight and ele|ment of the fi&s;h, thereby becomes its pain and torture: &s;o, though &s;in in this life is delightful unto wicked men, be|cau&s;e it is their proper element to bee in &s;in in this life, yet hereafter &s;in &s;hall bee their pain, becau&s;e then there &s;hall bee mixt with it the wrath of God, which will make it pain and torture. Again, the lo&s;s of the &s;oul con&s;i&s;ts in this, when the &s;oul is fully po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of all the evils that are con|trary to all the good it is capable of: Thus &s;hall it be with the lo&s;t &s;oul eternally:</P>
<P>That as the Saints &s;hall bee inlarged and made more capable of good, which they &s;hall enjoy to all eternity: &s;o, tho&s;e that are wicked and lo&s;t &s;ouls, which &s;hall bee oppo|&s;ite to God, &s;hall bee inlarged in their capacities, and bee po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, and made capable of all contrary evils.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, To bee ca&s;t under the eternal cur&s;e of God, I &s;ay, to bee eternally under the cur&s;e of the Almigh|ty.</P>
<P>Secondly, To have all the faculties of the &s;oul to bee
<PB N="256" REF="129"> filled with the wrath of God, to have the under&s;tanding to bee filled with what may increa&s;e torment in that, and for the con&s;cience, to have the worm gnawing, which ne|ver dieth; and to have the thoughts employed, and running upon tho&s;e things that will bee &s;o hideous unto them, and to have the will continually cro&s;&s;ed by God him&s;elf, and to have the heart &s;inking under the wrath of the infinite God in de&s;pair for ever. Brethren, the &s;oul of man, it is a ve|ry large ve&s;&s;el, and becau&s;e wee know but little of the large extent of our &s;ouls, therefore it is that wee are &s;o little &s;en&s;ible of the lo&s;s of them, or of the pain and tor|ment they are capable of, or liable unto: But as the &s;oul is larger than the body to take in comfort; &s;o is it larger than the body likewi&s;e to take in pain, mi&s;ery, and wrath: we &s;hould bee &s;en&s;ible of &s;uch an expre&s;&s;ion as this; to have the body in all the members of it to bee filled with fire, &s;o as to bee all on a hot fiery burning coale, and that to all eternity; this you would think could not but bee an extreme mi&s;ery: But the &s;ouls capacity is far larger than the bodies: And to have the &s;oul filled in every faculty of it with the wrath of God, it is far greater pain, than to have the body in &s;uch a condition, which is the condition of a lo&s;t &s;oul. Further, it doth con&s;i&s;t in having the power of God &s;tretched forth to bring evil and wrath upon it, and that to the utmo&s;t, <HI>Rom.</HI> 9.22. <HI>What if God, willing to &s;hew his wrath, and to make his power known, endureth with much long-&s;uffering the ve&s;&s;els of wrath fitted unto de&s;truction?</HI> (As thus)</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The infinite power of God put forth in enlarging their natures, that they may bee the more capable of evil.</P>
<P>Secondly, The infinite power of God put forth to uphold their natures, that they bee not &s;unk down with tho&s;e dreadful evils that God hath to put upon them.</P>
<P>Thirdly, The infinite power of God to let out upon the &s;oul, what ever it can bear to make it mi&s;erable, &s;o as not to bee annihilated therewith, which it &s;hall bear for ever. And
<PB N="257" REF="129"> further, A lo&s;t &s;oul is in this condition al&s;o, to be continu|ally under the &s;troak of Gods ju&s;tice, that when it ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h lain under its pains thou&s;ands of thou&s;ands of years, &s;aith divine Ju&s;tice, I am not yet &s;atisfied. Now that that is required, is, that the &s;oul &s;hould lye under the wrath of God, until &s;uch time that God may have as much honour by puni&s;hing it, as hee hath had di&s;honour by its &s;inning again&s;t him, and that mu&s;t bee for ever; becau&s;e God can never have &s;o much honour by the puni&s;hing of it, as hee hath had di&s;ho|nour by its &s;inning again&s;t him: (And then) As the &s;oul &s;hould have had eternal communion with God and Chri&s;t, &amp;c. it being lo&s;t, it mu&s;t have communion in&s;tead thereof with the Devil and the damned &s;pirits in Hell: And if this bee the condition of a lo&s;t &s;oul in Hell, as it is, then what &s;hall a man gain in gaining the world, if hee lo&s;e his &s;oul? But further, to make this mi&s;ery appear to bee mi|&s;ery indeed, There is required a perfect &s;en&s;e of all the&s;e evils: for a man or woman may bee in a lo&s;t condition, as many are now, but they do not under&s;tand it, and there|fore are not &s;en&s;ible of it.</P>
<P>But that &s;oul that is lo&s;t eternally, the Lord &s;hall &s;o far enlighten its under&s;tanding, as may make it &s;en&s;ible of all its evil; certainly many this day are in &s;uch a condition, as did they but under&s;tand the lo&s;t condition they are in, it would make them tremble: But now, when the &s;oul is e|ternally lo&s;t, it &s;hall then perfectly under&s;tand what its lo&s;t condition is, and then the thoughts of its mind &s;hall bee &s;o bu&s;ied about its mi&s;ery, as that it &s;hall not bee able to ea&s;e its &s;elf one moment, but its thoughts &s;hall be bu&s;ied about its condition, &s;o far as may make it mi&s;erable; And the Lord is able to make a creature as &s;en&s;ible of mi&s;ery as hee plea&s;eth. For this is the propriety of God, to make a creature as &s;en&s;ible of all the evil that is upon him as hee plea&s;eth; and if &s;o, then when all the&s;e evils come upon the creature, and the Lord intends to make the creature fully &s;en&s;ible of it; then certainly it mu&s;t needs bee mi&s;erable indeed. Fur|ther, then this lo&s;s of the &s;oul con&s;i&s;ts in this, That it mu&s;t
<PB N="258" REF="130"> have nothing to &s;upport it, when the burden of the wrath of the infinite God &s;hall bee thus upon it; (as al&s;o) there &s;hall bee no mixture of any good to bring relief or ea&s;e, nor any intermi&s;&s;ion of time; it mu&s;t not bee one moment of time out of this condition of mi&s;ery, but mu&s;t bee in it continually to all eternity.</P>
<P>Further, In this doth its mi&s;ery con&s;i&s;t, becau&s;e God will keep all the faculties of the lo&s;t &s;oul in their utmo&s;t activity, whereas now it is not &s;o with us; for if mi&s;ery and pain bee upon us here, after a while our activity and &s;en&s;iblene&s;s of it is partly gone: But the Lord will make &s;uch &s;ouls as are eternally lo&s;t, as perfectly &s;en&s;ible of this its mi&s;ery every moment, as ever it was the very fir&s;t mo|ment that it went into that mi&s;ery. Then</P>
<P>La&s;tly, In regard of the irrecoverablene&s;s of the lo&s;tne&s;s of the &s;oul when it is once lo&s;t.</P>
<P>The &s;oul, when it is departed from the body, and once lo&s;t, then all the power of God can never help nor reco|ver it; but then the &s;tream of Gods wrath &s;hall carry it with that mighty force, as that it &s;hall not bee able to all eternity to have the lea&s;t actings of its &s;elf towards its deli|verance for ever.</P>
<P>Secondly, There &s;hall bee no Mediatour between God and the lo&s;t &s;oul, none to mediate for it: Now, had not wee a Mediatour between God and us, wee were all certainly lo&s;t; but now for the &s;oul that is once lo&s;t eternally, Je&s;us Chri&s;t will never tender up any work of mediation for &s;uch a &s;oul; that is certainly gone and lo&s;t irrecoverably. And then further, the gates of mercy will bee for ever &s;hut again&s;t &s;uch a &s;oul.</P>
<P>Now for the further opening and &s;etting forth the dread|fulne&s;s of the lo&s;s of the &s;oul, there are divers aggravations wherein the mi&s;ery of it doth further appear.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t aggravation is this, If the &s;oul bee thus lo&s;t, then the body is, and will be lo&s;t al&s;o: It will bring the body into the very &s;ame lo&s;t condition of mi&s;ery that it is in its &s;elf, &s;o far as it is capable of mi&s;ery; and that upon the&s;e two grounds.</P>
<PB N="259" REF="130">
<P>Fir&s;t, Becau&s;e the body all the time a man doth live in this world, it was the onely or mo&s;t immediate in&s;trument that the &s;oul had to work and to &s;in by: And certainly God mu&s;t needs hate that body, and cur&s;e it, that did be|long to the &s;oul, becau&s;e it was the onely in&s;trument of the &s;oul to &s;in by.</P>
<P>Secondly, Mi&s;erable mu&s;t the body al&s;o bee, becau&s;e when &s;uch a lo&s;t &s;oul &s;hall bee united unto the body, the very extremity of the &s;oul mu&s;t needs bring mi&s;ery upon the body al&s;o; as thus, When Chri&s;t had the apprehen&s;ions of his Fathers wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure in his &s;oul, how did it work upon his body even &s;o as to cau&s;e even clodders of blood to fall from him? Now, what cau&s;ed this pain in his body, but the terrors of God in his &s;oul? and if it was &s;o with Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that had but &s;in imputed unto him, then certainly the body of a damned creature mu&s;t needs bee in very great and dreadful torment, to which this &s;oul is uni|ted. If a holy man cried out, <HI>Thy arrows &s;tick fa&s;t in mee,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 38.2.3</NOTE> <HI>and thy hand pre&s;&s;eth mee &s;ore, there is no &s;oundne&s;s in my fle&s;h, becau&s;e of thine anger, neither is there any rest in my bones, becau&s;e of my &s;in.</HI> I &s;ay, if the anger of God cau&s;ed this mi&s;ery unto <HI>Davids</HI> body for his &s;in, what mi&s;ery will that bee when all the faculties of the &s;oul &s;hall bee filled with the wrath of God to their utmo&s;t capacity? O then, I &s;ay, what dreadful evil and pain will there bee unto the body united unto &s;uch a &s;oul!</P>
<P>The &s;econd aggravation of the lo&s;s of the &s;oul, it is this, That when it comes to bee in this lo&s;t condition, then it comes to bee in the deadfulle&s;t and mo&s;t mi&s;erable con|dition that any Creature is in, except the Devils them|&s;elves. The Scripture tells us, it is an evil thing to have <HI>riches kept for a mans hurt:</HI> But O then what an evil is it, and will it bee, for a man to have an immortal &s;oul for <HI>his hurt?</HI> this is the condition of a lo&s;t &s;oul.</P>
<P>The third aggravation of the lo&s;s of the &s;oul, is this, It will have none to pitty it, in that its mi&s;erable lo&s;t condi|tion it is in.</P>
<PB N="260" REF="131">
<P>If a man in this world &s;hould lo&s;e his e&s;tate, or any great lo&s;s, hee would have many to pitty him: if a man lo&s;e by fire, then hee may obtain a gathering, whereby his lo&s;s may bee partly made up, or hee relieved; or if you lo&s;e your children, you have your friends to pitty you, and to condole with you: But that man that &s;hall have his &s;oul lo&s;t, hee &s;hall bee in &s;uch a condition, as that hee &s;hall have none to pitty him.</P>
<P>True, wee are all lo&s;t by nature, but in that our lo&s;t condition wee have God pittying us, and Chri&s;t pittying us, and the Angels looking upon us with pitty, and Saints pittying us; But hereafter, if lo&s;t, none &s;hall pitty that &s;oul in that condition, when its lo&s;s is eternal. God &s;hall not pitty it, but then the ble&s;&s;ed God &s;hall look upon it as an object of his eternal cur&s;e: But no pitty &s;hall hee have of &s;ouls in that their lo&s;t condition; neither &s;hall Je|&s;us Chri&s;t pitty them: True, Je&s;us Chri&s;t came to &s;eek and to &s;ave tho&s;e that were naturally lo&s;t, but yee have done what in you lay to fru&s;trate the ends of Chri&s;t his coming: and as Chri&s;t &s;hall not pitty you, &s;o mercy it &s;elf &s;hall not pitty you; but bee &s;o far from pittying of you, as that it &s;hall plead again&s;t you</P>
<P>And Angels they &s;hall not pitty you, becau&s;e they &s;hall bee taken up in ble&s;&s;ing and prai&s;ing of God for his works, and righteous judgements upon you:</P>
<P>Neither &s;hall the Saints pitty you, though it bee thy Fa|ther, out of who&s;e loins thou came&s;t; or though it bee thy Mother, out of who&s;e womb thou came&s;t; yet they &s;hall not pitty thee, though thou art lo&s;t, and lo&s;t eternally, but &s;hall rejoyce at it, and ble&s;s God for his ju&s;tice upon thee: therefore mi&s;erable is the condition of a lo&s;t &s;oul.</P>
<P>The fourth aggravation of a lo&s;t &s;oul, is this, It will prove unto mo&s;t that are lo&s;t, an unexpected lo&s;s: There are very few that have any apprehen&s;ions of the lo&s;s of their &s;ouls, but they think they may go on in &s;in, and yet do well enough.</P>
<P>It may bee thou heare&s;t a Mini&s;ter &s;peak of the lo&s;s of the
<PB N="261" REF="131"> &s;oul, but thou flattere&s;t thy &s;elf, and thinke&s;t thou &s;halt do well enough; but at length, before thou art aware, thy &s;oul may bee lo&s;t, and that unexpectedly; then it mu&s;t needs bee dreadful, becau&s;e it is &s;o great and unexpected: As (for example) if a Merchant &s;hould hear that his &s;tock at the Indies were there &s;afe and well, and afterward upon an in&s;tant there doth come news unexpectedly that all is lo&s;t and gone, Oh how doth it damp him! and O con&s;ider how it will damp thee hereafter, though now thou do&s;t flatter thy &s;elf, If thy &s;oul &s;hould bee lo&s;t eternally? I &s;ay, it will bee a dreadful lo&s;s in regard of the unexpectedne&s;s of it.</P>
<P>A fifth aggravation is this, It will prove to bee a dread|ful lo&s;s, becau&s;e the lo&s;s of every &s;oul that &s;hall bee lo&s;t, will prove to bee a wilful lo&s;s: This is a great perplexity to a man in this world, when as hee doth &s;ee hee is undone, and that meerly through his own wilfulne&s;s; and this will bee the aggravation of the &s;ouls lo&s;s, that one day it &s;hall plainly appear unto them, that it was through their own wilfulne&s;s.</P>
<P><HI>Yee will not come to mee,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">John 5.40.</NOTE> <HI>that you might have life;</HI> and yee will not indure to hear of the danger yee are in, of being lo&s;t eternally: Oh how wilful mu&s;t the lo&s;s of tho&s;e &s;ouls bee, that will not give ear to hear of the dan|ger their &s;ouls are in, of being thus lo&s;t? And O how wil|fully do you run on in wicked cour&s;es, which God hath given command unto the contrary in his Word, and how do you wilfully ca&s;t off the means that God hath appointed for your &s;alvation? But know, yee peri&s;h wilfully, if yee wilfully reject or neglect to improve the means that God hath given for the &s;aving of your &s;ouls: I &s;ay, that man or woman that &s;hall wilfully ca&s;t off tho&s;e truths of God that &s;hould &s;ave them, that man or woman doth wilfully peri&s;h:</P>
<P>Well, but you will &s;ay, you do not &s;in wilfully, but you are overtaken with &s;in. To which I an&s;wer, that the &s;in which a man doth do, which outward carnal motives
<PB N="262" REF="132"> would bee a prevailing means to him to per&s;wade him not to do; yet all that is in Gods Word given to per&s;wade to the contrary, doth not; hee &s;ins wilfully, and if hee peri&s;h, hee will bee found to peri&s;h wilfully.</P>
<P>It may bee you will further &s;ay, you are ignorant, and therefore if wee did know better, wee would do better; I an&s;wer, yet it is wilful, becau&s;e you are wilfully igno|rant; and therefore your lo&s;s is wilful.</P>
<P>The &s;ixth aggravation of the lo&s;s of the &s;oul, it is this, becau&s;e the eternal lo&s;s of the &s;oul will bee a great lo&s;s for a little matter.</P>
<P>For a man to venture the lo&s;s of his &s;oul for the gaining of a Kingdome, hee would think it &s;omething, but yet the Text tells us hee would bee a great lo&s;er; but if &s;o great a lo&s;er to gain a Kingdome for his &s;oul, O then how great an evil will it bee for a man or woman to lo&s;e their &s;ouls for trifles! You do not got the world for your &s;ouls, but perhaps you do venture the lo&s;s of your &s;ouls for the getting of a groat, or &s;ixpence, or twopence, or it may bee upon the fear of the di&s;plea&s;ure, or anger of your Ma&s;ter or Mi|&s;tre&s;s; you will venture the lo&s;s of your &s;ouls in telling a lye to excu&s;e you, or it may bee for the &s;atisfying of a ba&s;e lu&s;t one quarter of an hour, thou wilt venture the eternal lo&s;s of a precious &s;oul, more worth than ten thou&s;and worlds.</P>
<P>Did you never go into the place where condemned per|&s;ons were, and ask them what they are there for? why, it may bee &s;ome of them will &s;ay but for a &s;mall matter, it may bee the undue gaining of two or three &s;hillings, and now my life mu&s;t go for it: So many lo&s;e their &s;ouls, even for trifles, for nothing, for a ba&s;e lu&s;t, which is wor&s;e than nothing; the con&s;ideration of which will make it the more dreadful.</P>
<P>Seventhly, The lo&s;s of the &s;oul will bee very dreadful upon this con&s;ideration, becau&s;e many will lo&s;e their &s;ouls, that are very nigh to the &s;aving of their &s;ouls: I &s;ay, the nearer a man or woman doth come to the &s;aving their &s;ouls, and yet lo&s;e them; the lo&s;s of the &s;oul upon that con&s;idera|tion
<PB N="263" REF="132"> will bee the more dreadful to them; and it is thus with many that have many good workings in and upon their hearts, &s;o that they are in a very good forwardne&s;s unto the everla&s;ting &s;alvation of their &s;ouls, and yet there doth come &s;ome lu&s;t that doth drive them back again: The lo&s;s of the &s;ouls of hypocrites therefore will bee dreadful to con|&s;ider: I that was in &s;o fair a way to &s;alvation in the u&s;e of means, and content to leave &s;o many evil waies, and yet that I &s;hould have one that I would not leave, and for this have I lo&s;t my &s;oul; I that was contented to take up &s;o ma|ny duties, and yet by my hearts embracing of one &s;inful lu&s;t, to lo&s;e my &s;oul; as <HI>Herod heard John Bapti&s;t gladly, and hee reformed many things,</HI> and yet hee had one &s;in that hee would not part withall: Tho&s;e that are the neare&s;t the &s;al|vation of their &s;ouls, and yet lo&s;t at la&s;t, this will bee a great aggravation of the mi&s;ery thereof.</P>
<P>An eighth aggravation of the lo&s;s of the &s;oul, is this, The con&s;ideration that they have lo&s;t their &s;ouls, and that &s;o, as that they have nothing in lieu of them; they &s;hall not onely lo&s;e their &s;ouls, but they &s;hall even lo&s;e the thing for which they did venture the lo&s;s of their &s;ouls: As for example, if a man &s;hould have his heart &s;o &s;et upon a trifle, as to lo&s;e his whole e&s;tate for it, and after hee hath lo&s;t his e&s;tate for it, hee &s;hould lo&s;e that thing for which hee lo&s;t his e&s;tate too; this would aggravate the lo&s;s of his e&s;tate much more: Ju&s;t &s;o, if you do lo&s;s your &s;ouls for the world, or for plea&s;ure; if your &s;ouls peri&s;h, I &s;ay yee &s;hall both lo&s;e your &s;ouls, and that thing, bee it what it will, for which you ventured and lo&s;t your &s;ouls.</P>
<P>And thou &s;halt have no more plea&s;ure nor I content than tho&s;e that did not venture the lo&s;s of their &s;ouls for it.</P>
<P>The ninth aggravation of the lo&s;s of the &s;oul, is, The &s;hame that &s;hall bee put upon tho&s;e &s;ouls that &s;hall be lo&s;t, that peri&s;h eternally: As when thy acquaintance, thy neigh|bours that dwelt next unto thee, that knew thee, that dwelt in the family with thee, that kept daies of fa&s;t with thee, and went unto the meetings with thee, when they &s;hall bee tho&s;e
<PB N="264" REF="133"> that &s;hall be with God for ever eternally ble&s;&s;ing &amp; prai&s;ing of him, and &s;hall point thee out, as with the finger, before God, the Angels, and ble&s;&s;ed Saints, and &s;ay, Behold, this is hee that was an hypocrite, that &s;ate under the &s;ame word, and that did partake of the &s;ame means and ordinances as I did,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al 52 7.</NOTE> and yet hee hath lo&s;t his &s;oul: <HI>Loe this is the man that made not God his stay.</HI> So all they that peri&s;h &s;hall &s;tand before men and Angels, and bee pointed at by them, &s;ay|ing, Loe this is the man, and loe this is the woman, that made not God their &s;trength, but did &s;o love their &s;in, as that they would not by any means bee per&s;waded to part with it, but would rather venture the lo&s;s of their &s;ouls, to injoy their &s;ins, and fulfil their lu&s;t, than part with their &s;ins to &s;ave their &s;ouls.</P>
<P>The tenth aggravation of the mi&s;ery of a lo&s;t &s;oul, is this, When they &s;hall &s;ee others taken up into the King|dome of Heaven, who were as unlikely to bee &s;aved as them&s;elves, and they them&s;elves &s;hut out, and eternal|ly lo&s;t: It may bee thou that art a carnal Ma&s;ter may&s;t &s;ee thy poor &s;ervant taken up to God, and thou thy &s;elf &s;hut out; or it may bee the carnal Father or Mother may &s;ee their childe &s;aved, and yet they them&s;elves lo&s;t; Oh this will bee a &s;ad aggravation of their lo&s;s. And thus you have heard the dreadful lo&s;s of the &s;oul, toge|ther with the aggravations thereof in the&s;e ten particulars. Now for the U&s;e.</P>
<P>Is it &s;o, that the lo&s;s of the &s;oul eternally is &s;o dread|ful a lo&s;s, as you have heard it is? Oh then let every one here ble&s;s God for their &s;ouls, that their &s;ouls are not thus lo&s;t. It might have been &s;o long ere this time; when &s;uch a kin&s;man of thine dyed, or thy fellow-&s;er|vant, or when &s;uch a neighbour or acquaintance of thine dyed, if thou had&s;t but dyed when they dyed, thy &s;oul, it may bee, had been eternally lo&s;t.</P>
<P>This I can a&s;&s;ure you, that naturally you are all lo&s;t, and what makes the difference between thy &s;oul, and the condition of a lo&s;t &s;oul, as you have heard,
<PB N="265" REF="133"> but onely the meer mercy of God? Oh therefore now ble&s;s God for his mercy unto thee, that thy &s;oul is not as yet a lo&s;t &s;oul, and think thus with thy &s;elf, Lord, if the&s;e things bee true, and &s;o dreadful to hear of, Oh then what would be my mi&s;ery if it &s;hould prove that I &s;hould bee the per&s;on made &s;en&s;ible thereof, by experiencing the mi&s;ery I hear of, to bee the mi&s;erable condition of a lo&s;t &s;oul?</P>
<P>The Scripture doth &s;ay concerning the joy and happine&s;s of the Saints, <HI>That eye hath not &s;een, nor ear heard,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 2.9.</NOTE> <HI>neither hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive what their happine&s;s &s;hall bee, that &s;hall bee &s;aved.</HI> And the like may bee &s;aid of the mi&s;ery of the &s;ouls that are eternally lo&s;t; and the Scripture doth &s;ay, <HI>That if our Go&s;pel bee hid,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 4.3.</NOTE> <HI>it is hid to them that are lo&s;t.</HI> I be&s;eech you therefore remember what hath been &s;po|ken concerning the condition of lo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t &s;ouls, and lay to heart what hath been &s;poken out of this Text, le&s;t within a little time you feel what hath been &s;poken to bee a truth, and &s;o bee forced to cry out, True it is, I heard &s;uch a day out of &s;uch a text, what was the mi&s;erable condition of a &s;oul eter|nally lo&s;t, but now I finde it by experience to bee true, and the one half I now feel, I could not then conceive: And know the rea&s;on, my Brethren, why we lay the mi&s;ery of lo&s;t &s;ouls thus before you, it is to this end, that none of you might be thus lo&s;t: And it is a ble&s;&s;ed thing for you to hear the&s;e things; for how many are there that have lo&s;t their &s;ouls, which till they were thus lo&s;t, never &s;o much as heard any thing about the lo&s;s of their &s;ouls, which if they had, who knows what might have been done by them for the &s;aving of their &s;ouls? Beloved, &s;uch a &s;ubject as this cannot be &s;poken unto you without trembling; for certainly this &s;ubject will bee much adding to the prevention of the lo&s;s, or el&s;e it will mightily aggravate the lo&s;s of your &s;ouls, if ever they are eternally lo&s;t; therefore all I have at pre&s;ent to coun|&s;el you to, is, to lay the&s;e things to your hearts &s;eriou&s;ly, as al&s;o to ble&s;s God for your &s;ouls, that as yet they are not in this dreadful eternally lo&s;t condition.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="266" REF="134">
<HEAD><HI>The Fifth SERMON ON</HI> The Excellency of the Soul.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matthew 16.26.</HI></BIBL> For what is a man profited if hee &s;hall gain the whole world, and lo&s;e his own &s;oul?</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="U&s;e.">_IF the lo&s;s of our &s;ouls bee &s;o dreadful as you have heard, ble&s;s God that your &s;ouls are not gone, and thus lo&s;t, as hath been opened unto you: It may bee thou ha&s;t lo&s;t thy husband, or thy wife, or thy childe, or thy friend, or a great part of thine e|&s;tate, but ble&s;&s;ed bee God that thy &s;oul is not lo&s;t: In a great fire where men u&s;e to lo&s;e mo&s;t, if not all that they have, when a man comes to view what hee hath lo&s;t, and hee findes hee hath lo&s;t this thing that was in &s;uch a parlour, and that that was in &s;uch a che&s;t, but if at length he comes to finde that &s;uch a Jewel that hee had in the hou&s;e, or &s;uch a bagg of gold, in which mo&s;t of his e&s;tate con&s;i&s;ted, that that is not lo&s;t, though all the lumber, all the hou&s;hold-&s;tuff is lo&s;t, that comforts him in all other of his lo&s;&s;es:
<PB N="267" REF="134"> So it &s;hould bee here, whatever wee lo&s;e, wee are to bee comforted in this, that our &s;ouls are not gone and lo&s;t: It is a notable Scripture, in 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 4. <HI>ver&s;.</HI> la&s;t. <HI>Wherefore let them that &s;uffer according to the will of God, commit the keep|ing of their &s;ouls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Crea|tor.</HI> As if the Apo&s;tle &s;hould &s;ay, you are like to meet with great &s;ufferings, you may likely bee deprived of all you have, of your e&s;tates, and of all your comforts, and may come to &s;uffer much, yet commit the keeping of your &s;ouls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator: Why, they might have &s;aid, but what &s;hall become of o|ther things? if &s;torms, and tempe&s;ts, and &s;ufferings come, what &s;hall become of our e&s;tates? what &s;hall become of our livelihoods, and of our bodies? why &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, as for them, for your e&s;tates, for your bodies, it may bee they may peri&s;h; you are not &s;o much to look after them, but commit the keeping of your &s;ouls unto him, as unto a faithful Creator. The Apo&s;tle here exhorts them what to do in times of &s;ufferings, and by what hee doth expre&s;s, hee doth imply, that they &s;hould take no care for outward e|&s;tate, and body; it is enough that your &s;ouls are well, com|mit the keeping of your &s;ouls to him, as unto a faithful Creator, wee have enough if that bee &s;afe: You know in time of danger, as fires, and other times, if a man hath any precious thing, hee carries that pre&s;ently to &s;ome &s;peci|al friend, and commits the keeping of that to him; his writings and &s;uch things, wherein his e&s;tate is mo&s;t: So &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, in the time of publick danger, Take care to commit the keeping of your &s;ouls to him, as unto a faithful Creator, and you are well enough. That is the fir&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, If the lo&s;s of the &s;oul bee &s;o dreadful a lo&s;s, Oh let us ble&s;s God then for Je&s;us Chri&s;t, without whom all our &s;ouls had been eternally lo&s;t, never a &s;oul in the world but mu&s;t have peri&s;hed unto all eternity, had not Je&s;us Chri&s;t come into the world to bee the great Saviour of &s;ouls; All the Angels in Heaven, and men in the world could ne|ver
<PB N="268" REF="135"> have &s;aved one &s;oul; now Chri&s;t &s;aw this, and his bow|els did even yearn towards &s;o many thou&s;ands of precious &s;ouls, and rather than they &s;hould peri&s;h, hee was content to come and make his own &s;oul to bee an offering for &s;in, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 53.10. the &s;oul of Chri&s;t was made an offering there, and what was that but for the &s;aving of &s;ouls? wee may therefore, concerning Chri&s;t, well &s;ay, as the Elders, in <HI>Rev.</HI> 5.9. <HI>They &s;ang a new &s;ong, &s;aying, Thou art worthy, &amp;c. for thou wa&s;t &s;lain, and ha&s;t redeemed us to God by thy blood.</HI> Oh thou art worthy! O ble&s;&s;ed Saviour! Hee doth not &s;ay what, but onely thus, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the &s;eals thereof, for thou wert &s;lain, and ha&s;t redeemed us to God: There is infinite worthine&s;s in Chri&s;t, and worthy hee is of all the honour that wee are able po&s;&s;ibly to bring to him, had wee ten thou&s;and times more &s;trength than wee have to do it; <HI>For hee was &s;lain, and hath redeemed us to God by his blood.</HI> If there were a com|pany of poor people upon the Sea, and in danger to be lo&s;t, their own &s;hip through &s;tre&s;s of weather fallen to peeces, and they upon a plank, and ready to bee &s;wallowed up of every wave, and there comes a &s;hip by, and &s;aves their lives, Oh how would they bee affected with &s;uch a mercy as this! and ble&s;s God for his goodne&s;s, that &s;uch a &s;hip &s;hould come by at &s;uch a time; wee had all been lo&s;t if this &s;hip had not come by ju&s;t at this time: So when wee read the Go&s;pel, wee read of Je&s;us Chri&s;t God-Man com|ing into the world, and &s;tanding between the wrath of the Infinite God, and &s;inful &s;ouls, let us then con&s;ider how infinitely wee are bound to ble&s;s God for Je&s;us Chri&s;t; for we were ready even all of us to bee &s;wallowed up into the bottomle&s;s gulf of the wrath of the infinite God; the waves of Gods infinite wrath, were ready to have covered over all man-kinde, onely the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t comes, and even leaps, as it were, into the very Ocean of Gods wrath, into the very flames of the wrath and ju&s;tice of God, to pluck out our &s;ouls, and to &s;ave them: Ble&s;s wee God then for Je&s;us Chri&s;t, con&s;idering that the lo&s;s of &s;ouls is &s;uch a dread|ful
<PB N="269" REF="135"> lo&s;s, and onely &s;aved by that great Saviour that is come into the world.</P>
<P>And then thirdly, If the lo&s;s of the &s;oul bee &s;o dreadful, then it mu&s;t needs bee a dreadful evil for any to have any hand in this lo&s;s, or to bee any furtherance of it: Take heed that thou ha&s;t no hand at all in &s;o great an evil as this is; Oh how much better thou had&s;t never been born, than to have a hand in &s;o great an evil! wee account tho&s;e mi|&s;erable creatures, that have a hand in the lo&s;s of King|domes; to have a hand in the undoing of one &s;oul is a greater mi&s;chief, than to be the cau&s;e of the undoing of a whole Kingdome for their outward e&s;tate: If one &s;hould bee the cau&s;e of the ruine of a whole Kingdome for their outward e&s;tate, you would &s;ay that certainly it had been better that that man had never been born: Certainly thou that ha&s;t a hand in the undoing of any &s;oul, thou wert born to do a greater mi&s;chief than &s;uch a one; if any friend of yours take a cour&s;e whereby hee undoes him&s;elf, and when the evil con&s;equence of his unwi&s;e cour&s;es appears, you are ready to &s;ay, Ble&s;&s;ed bee God I had no hand in it. If peo|ple will damn their &s;ouls eternally, take heed you have no hand in it; and if any of your children, friends, &s;ervants, acquaintance, neighbours, &s;hould peri&s;h eternally, yet it will bee a great mercy if you have no hand in it: People may have a hand in the lo&s;s of other mens &s;ouls many waies.</P>
<P>As by carele&s;ne&s;s of the &s;ouls of tho&s;e committed to their charge; they may come to bee lo&s;t by thy carele&s;ne&s;s; by thy neglect their &s;ouls may peri&s;h; and e&s;pecially it concerns tho&s;e that take the charge of &s;ouls, they had need look to it, that tho&s;e do not cry out again&s;t them in Hell, that it was through their neglect that they are here now, and mu&s;t lye here for ever? Oh the cry of a &s;oul again&s;t a man is a dreadful thing! perhaps the &s;ouls of &s;ome of your chil|dren may bee in Hell, crying out again&s;t you for the neg|lect of them, that you regarded them not, you let them pro|phane Sabbaths, you could hear them &s;wear, and rebuke
<PB N="270" REF="136"> them not, or but very &s;lightly; you never in&s;tructed them in the waies of God, and eternal life: you were the cau&s;e of the de&s;truction of their &s;ouls, by your wicked example; they &s;aw their Parents do thus and thus, hate goodne&s;s and good men; they &s;aw them &s;corn at the Word, or neglect it, and contemn it, and upon that they did &s;o too, and now they are in Hell for it, and cur&s;ing the time that ever they were born of &s;uch Parents: And many &s;ouls, no que&s;tion there are in Hell, cur&s;ing the time that ever they came into &s;uch a wicked family, wherein they &s;aw &s;o much wickedne&s;s, wherein there was no wor&s;hipping of God, nor no means to come to know God, and upon that they went on &s;ecure|ly in wickedne&s;s, and now are &s;unk down to eternal mi&s;e|ry. &mdash; You may bee the cau&s;e of the de&s;truction of others &s;ouls, by drawing of them to &s;in; when you &s;hall be active to draw any one to the commi&s;&s;ion of any &s;in, thou do&s;t what in thee lie&s;t to ca&s;t away that precious immortal &s;oul; And have never any of you had a hand in this? have you ne|ver been in&s;truments to draw others to &s;ome &s;in or other? now if you have, either the&s;e that you have tempted are yet alive, or they are dead; if they bee alive, know, that you are bound in con&s;cience to do now to the uttermo&s;t for the good of their &s;ouls; to make it your great work, if it bee po&s;&s;ible, to do them as much good as ever you did them hurt; for certainly <HI>Soul</HI>-&s;atisfaction is required of men, as well as <HI>Bodily</HI>-&s;atisfaction: If you have wronged a man in his e&s;tate any way, although it were &s;even, twenty years ago, if God comes to awaken your con&s;ciences, it will not &s;erve your turn to return and repent, that is, to bee very &s;orry that you have done it, and ask God forgivene&s;s, but before you can have peace, you mu&s;t make &s;atisfaction where you have wronged, if God inable you: Now, doth God &s;tand &s;o much upon that, that if one hath but wronged a man in his e&s;tate, that all the &s;orrow and repenting in the world will never bring peace of con&s;cience, without re&s;titution, where there is ability? then certainly, if one hath wronged another in his &s;oul, and hath indangered the damnation of that, by
<PB N="271" REF="136"> drawing of him to &s;in: It is not enough for thee that thou &s;ee&s;t this thy &s;in, and thou art &s;orry for it, and thou wilt never &s;eek to draw others any more, no, but thou art bound, if &s;uch bee alive, to go to them if thou can&s;t, and to &s;eek now to do them as much good for their &s;ouls, as thou wert a cau&s;e of evil; what if this &s;oul &s;hould peri&s;h at la&s;t by this &s;in, that thou wert a cau&s;e to draw them to, thou had&s;t need look about thee while they live, that if it bee po&s;&s;ible thou maye&s;t make a &s;atisfaction for that &s;oul-wrong that thou ha&s;t done to them; and it may bee &s;uch a one is dead, and &s;o dead, as for ought thou knowe&s;t hee never did repent him of that &s;in; now then &s;ee what a ca&s;e thou art in: there is one drawn to a &s;in by thee, and now hee is in Hell for that &s;in that thou wert the cau&s;e of; what a ca&s;e ha&s;t thou brought thy &s;elf into now? Is it any otherwi&s;e like, but that thou mu&s;t follow? &s;hall one bee in Hell for a &s;in that thou wert the cau&s;e of, and do&s;t thou think alwaies to e&s;cape? here is the dreadful e&s;tate that any man brings him&s;elf to, when hee draws others to &s;in: thou had&s;t need to look about thee, and thy heart to bee affected with that &s;in that hath been puni&s;hed with the eternal damnation of tho&s;e &s;ouls that thou ha&s;t drawn to that &s;in.&mdash; And not onely by temp|ting to &s;in, but by incouraging to &s;in, by di&s;&s;wading from that that is good: It may bee &s;ome &s;ouls have been in a good forwardne&s;s to that which is good, they have begun to inquire after the waies of God, but have gotten into thy company, and thou ha&s;t &s;ought to take them off; and what, will you bee &s;uch fools as to beleeve every thing that is &s;aid, and you will bee melancholly and mad, and who are they but a company of &s;imple people that do thus and thus? and thus thou ha&s;t been a means to hinder the good work of God in others, and to draw them from the good way that they were a beginning to &s;et their feet in, and now they begin to bee out of love with the good waies of God, and thou ha&s;t been the cau&s;e of it: Now, if the&s;e &s;ouls peri&s;h, and it may bee &s;ome of them are in Hell already; truly, if a mans heart we<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e as hard as any Iron, or Steel
<PB N="272" REF="137"> in the world, one would think that &s;uch a meditation as this &s;hould break his heart in peeces: That I know nothing to the contrary but &s;ome may bee in Hell for my cau&s;e. &mdash; And &s;o many other waies wee might name, how a man might have his hand in the lo&s;s of the &s;ouls of others; what way &s;o|ever thou ha&s;t a hand in the &s;in of others, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">or keeping of o|thers from good, &s;o many waies thou maye&s;t have a hand in the lo&s;s of their &s;ouls: But I intend not to &s;tand upon this point, onely con&s;ider of it, and the Lord &s;trike the hearts of tho&s;e that are guilty in this kind; But the main u&s;e that I would &s;pend the chief part of the time in, is this,</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="U&s;e"> If the lo&s;s of a &s;oul bee &s;o dreadful, then hence is re|buked the folly and madne&s;s of mo&s;t people that have no care of their &s;ouls, but through their own wretchedne&s;s and vilene&s;s they &s;uffer their &s;ouls to peri&s;h eternally; all their care is in pampering their bodies, and making much of them, but little minding their &s;ouls, and their eternal e|&s;tates: Certainly when the bodies of tho&s;e &s;ouls &s;hall meet them at the day of judgement, it will bee a very dreadful meeting: When thine immortal &s;oul &s;hall know what it is to bee lo&s;t for ever, and &s;hall bee brought to joyn again with the body, Oh how do you think it will look upon that cur&s;ed carka&s;s? Oh this is that carka&s;s, that body of mine, for who&s;e &s;ake I mu&s;t peri&s;h for ever, yea and wee mu&s;t now bee joyned both together, to bee fuel for the wrath of the Infinite God to burn upon to all eternity! certainly &s;ouls are lo&s;t, and peri&s;h thick and threefold, they go down to Hell, as Bees flie to the hive in the time of a &s;torm: There are many waies by which the &s;oul may bee lo&s;t, though there bee but one by which it may bee &s;aved.</P>
<P><HI>The &s;everal waies by which men come to lo&s;e their Souls.</HI></P>
<P>As fir&s;t, Some there are that lo&s;e their &s;ouls by wandring up and down in darkne&s;s all the daies of their lives, by
<PB N="273" REF="137"> wandring in the waies of &s;in, in the dark, and &s;o are a con|tinual prey unto the Devil: how many, yea and in many places, the generality of people, they go on continually in blindne&s;s and darkne&s;s, in the vanity of their conver&s;ations, knowing nothing of God, nor of their own &s;ouls; and the fir&s;t time that the eyes of their &s;ouls are opened and enlight|ned, it is when they are irrecoverably undone; yea the fir&s;t thing that many &s;ouls do ever under&s;tand concerning them&s;elves, it is this, I am lo&s;t and undone for ever; it is &s;o with many, certainly they know nothing about their own &s;ouls, nor about God, till they come to know this, I am ca&s;t away from God, and have lo&s;t my &s;oul for ever.</P>
<P>Secondly, Others, they lo&s;e their &s;ouls by pawning of them away; by pawning of them, what is that you will &s;ay? why, you know what it is to pawn a thing, when you come and receive from a Broker &s;uch a thing, you lay &s;omething el&s;e to pawn for it, and upon this condition, that within &s;uch a time you bring them &s;uch a thing that you bargain for, and if you do not bring it again&s;t that time, then you lo&s;e your pawn: Thus many pawn away their &s;ouls; when there is a temptation to any &s;in, and they have a mind to it, now upon the commi&s;&s;ion of this &s;in thou do&s;t lay thy &s;oul to pawn to the Devil, onely upon this condition, that if thou do&s;t repent and beleeve before God cuts thee off, then thou &s;halt have thy &s;oul again; upon the&s;e tearms mo&s;t peo|ple &s;in, and in ca&s;e thou do&s;t not bring repentance and be|leef in Chri&s;t, thy &s;oul is gone: I appeal to you, there is a temptation to &s;in, you know it is a &s;in, and there is a great deal of danger in it, well but you have a mind to it, and you will needs have it, now you will acknowledge this, in|deed if I do not repent, then I &s;hall bee damned, but before I die, I hope to repent, and &s;o I hope that my &s;oul &s;hall not peri&s;h; that is as much as to &s;ay, I will lay my &s;oul in pawn, and if I can bring repentance before I die, I will have my &s;oul again, but if I do not, then my &s;oul is gone; thus upon the commi&s;&s;ion of every &s;in, thou do&s;t lay thy &s;oul to pawn, the devil hath it upon &s;uch tearms as the&s;e: Now how many
<PB N="274" REF="138"> thou&s;ands have lo&s;t this their pawn, they have not brought Faith and Repentance within their time before they died, and &s;o the Devil hath kept the pawn, and will keep it for ever: And it is more dangerous the laying of &s;uch a pawn, than the ordinary laying of pawns to Brokers.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, There is no &s;uch pawn that po&s;&s;ibly can bee laid as this, the &s;oul of a man: Men and women that have any wi&s;dome, they will not lay pawns of tho&s;e things that are precious to them, Oh it goes to their hearts to think, what mu&s;t I lay this to pawn! I thought I &s;hould never have lived to the day to lay &s;uch a thing to pawn, I but when thou come&s;t to lay thy &s;oul to pawn, thou laye&s;t a more precious thing than all the world is.</P>
<P>Secondly, When thou laye&s;t a thing to pawn, thou do&s;t prefix thy own time for the redeeming of it again, per|haps two, three, four months before thou bring that, that is bargained for; but when thou laye&s;t thy &s;oul to pawn, thou can&s;t not &s;et any time:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 12.20</NOTE> <HI>What do&s;t thou know, oh Fool, but that this night thy &s;oul may bee taken away from thee?</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, Yea and further, When you lay &s;uch a thing to pawn, you make a bargain for the bringing of &s;omewhat to redeem it that you have in your own power, or make ac|count that you &s;hall have in your own power to bring, you will not make the bargain to bring &s;uch a thing that you are &s;ure you &s;hall not have in your own power: Now, when you lay your &s;ouls to pawn, you lay them to pawn for that that you have not in your power, nor all the creatures in Heaven and Earth cannot help you to in your need, and that is <HI>Faith and Repentance:</HI> All the Angels in Heaven, nor men in the world cannot help you to it; it is onely in the hands of God, of the Infinite ble&s;&s;ed God, again&s;t whom you &s;in, and whom you provoke, and yet how many do thus pawn their &s;ouls? and no marvel though men lo&s;e their fouls, becau&s;e they pawn them thus fooli&s;hly and wretched|ly; and that is the &s;econd way of mens lo&s;ing of their &s;ouls.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Men lo&s;e their &s;ouls by wounding them, they
<PB N="275" REF="138"> give them deadly wounds, upon which the &s;ouls of mo&s;t do peri&s;h.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Wounding, how you will &s;ay?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> By that I mean the commi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins again&s;t con|&s;cience; to commit a known &s;in, and a wilful &s;in, oh this gives a wide ga&s;h in the &s;oul, a mo&s;t fearful wound! every &s;in again&s;t con&s;cience gives a wound that requires a &s;alve to heal it, that is more worth than a thou&s;and worlds; the &s;ins again&s;t con&s;cience, again&s;t light, again&s;t knowledge, they are deep wounds unto the &s;ouls of men; and it is not u&s;ual for &s;uch wounds to bee healed, for they do not onely &s;trike at the life of the &s;oul, but they harden the heart of the &s;inner exceedingly, and keep off the means that might do the &s;oul good; thou goe&s;t abroad into company, and there thou committe&s;t a &s;in again&s;t thy con&s;cience, oh thou ha&s;t given a ga&s;h to that precious &s;oul of thine, thou ha&s;t given it a deep wound, and except thou looke&s;t to it, and that pre&s;ently, thy &s;oul perhaps may die for ever! A man that hath re|ceived a deep wound, hee pre&s;ently &s;ends for the Chyrur|gion, and if it bleeds well, hee hopes the cure is more hope|ful: &s;o when thou ha&s;t committed &s;in, if indeed it bleed, that is, if thy &s;oul pre&s;ently bee &s;en&s;ible of it, and affected with it, and mourn and lament, and &s;o &s;eek after the Chy|rurgion, there may bee hopes; but men and women do wound their own &s;ouls by wilful &s;ins, &s;ins again&s;t their con|&s;ciences, and yet they are not &s;en&s;ible of them, they do not &s;o much as bleed, but they lye in the very open Air, as it were, and are not bound up at all, Ah! thou&s;and thou&s;ands there are that die and peri&s;h this way.</P>
<P>Fourthly, And then a fourth &s;ort there are that lo&s;e their &s;ouls by being gulled of them, by being deceived of them; Satan per&s;wades them they are in a good condition, that all is well with them, and they need not fear, what need they to trouble them&s;elves, the&s;e are but the melancholly thoughts of &s;uch and &s;uch kind of people; there is no &s;uch great mat|ters required in &s;orrow for &s;in, and it is but a Lord have mer|cy upon us, and but, a being in Chri&s;t, and hoping in
<PB N="276" REF="139"> Gods mercy, and the like; and thus by &s;uch kind of delu|&s;ions as the&s;e are, many &s;ouls are gulled and deceived by the Devil, and &s;o peri&s;h for ever. They are like unto <HI>Jonas,</HI> that was a&s;leep, and awakened in the mid&s;t of a dreadful tempe&s;t: &s;o certainly the&s;e &s;ouls, when they come to know them&s;elves, and to bee awakened, it will bee in the dread|full tempe&s;t of Gods wrath: As <HI>Samp&s;on; the Phili&s;tims are upon thee,</HI> when hee lay in <HI>Delilahs</HI> bo&s;ome; &s;o there will bee that dreadful noi&s;e one day to the&s;e &s;ouls, the wrath of God, and the cur&s;e of the Law is upon thee, that mu&s;t lye upon thee; Oh the dreadful &s;orrow there will bee when the &s;oul &s;hall &s;ee, oh I am deluded and gulled! ma|ny of you are vext extreamly, when you are gulled of any little part of your e&s;tates, but to bee deluded and gulled of your &s;ouls, &s;o as they mu&s;t bee lo&s;t for ever, this will bee extream horrour another day.</P>
<P>Fifthly, A fifth way of lo&s;ing our &s;ouls, is, by &s;elling of them away; &s;elling of them away, you will &s;ay, what do I mean by that? It is &s;aid of <HI>Alexander</HI> the &s;ixth, that was Pope, hee &s;old his &s;oul to the Devil for the Popedome, there was an expre&s;s contract between the Devil and him, that if in &s;uch a year hee &s;hould come to bee Pope, the Devil &s;hould have his &s;oul: But now, there is a twofold &s;elling of our &s;ouls to the Devil, be&s;ides &s;uch a kind of contract, as when the Devil &s;hall appear in a bodily &s;hape, and &s;o people &s;ell their &s;ouls to him.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, As fir&s;t, When men &s;eek advantage to them&s;elves by any unlawful means, &s;eek the gain of the world, or any profits or plea&s;ures, by cheating, couzening, wronging, &s;wearing, or for&s;wearing; &s;eek I &s;ay to gain any thing in &s;uch a way; there is &s;uch a thing that thou woulde&s;t have, and that thou maye&s;t have, if thou wilt bee fal&s;e in thy books, in thy reckonings, or for&s;wear thy &s;elf for gain, I &s;ay thou do&s;t as truly &s;ell thy &s;oul for the getting of that gain, as ever Conjurer did, that did contract face to face with the Devil: I would have &s;uch a gain, why, &s;aith the Devil, (though thou do&s;t not &s;ee him) then thou mu&s;t lye, thou
<PB N="277" REF="139"> mu&s;t couzen, thou mu&s;t &s;wear, and for&s;wear, I will do it, &s;aith the &s;oul; and thus thou do&s;t many times &s;ell thy &s;oul to the Devil: You that are chap-men, if one &s;hould come and offer you a little matter for a commodity that is of price, you have &s;uch a peece of ware in your &s;hops that is worth forty &s;hillings, and one comes and offers you t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o-pence for it, why you ri&s;e in di&s;dain again&s;t it, what: offer mee two-pence for that which is worth forty &s;hillings; oh now that your hearts would ri&s;e in di&s;dain when the Devil comes to buy your &s;ouls! you &s;hould ri&s;e in di&s;dain, what, &s;hall I venture the &s;elling of this &s;oul of mine, that is more worth than ten thou&s;and worlds, for &s;uch a poor gain as this is? and yet many of you do.</P>
<P>Secondly, And then there is a &s;econd way of a mans &s;elling of his &s;oul, and that is when a man &s;hall re&s;olute|ly give up him&s;elf to all manner of wickedne&s;s: Thus it is &s;aid of <HI>Ahab,</HI> 1 King. 21.20. <HI>Ahab &s;old him&s;elf to work wickedne&s;s,</HI> that is, <HI>Ahab</HI> in a re&s;olute way was &s;et upon any manner of wickedne&s;s that might &s;erve his own turn: When a man &s;hall bee &s;et upon this, that what ever way of wickedne&s;s may bee &s;ub&s;ervient to the attaining of &s;uch and &s;uch de&s;igns that I have, I will venture upon it, I &s;ay, this man &s;ells his &s;oul in this ca&s;e to the Devil, <HI>Ahab</HI> &s;old him&s;elf to work wick|edne&s;s.</P>
<P>Sixthly, And then a &s;ixth way of mens lo&s;ing their &s;ouls, it is by being poi&s;oned, their &s;ouls are poi&s;oned, and &s;o they come to bee lo&s;t: now the poi&s;on of the &s;oul it is either wicked company, or wicked errours; either of tho&s;e two.</P>
<P>By keeping of wicked company, thou keepe&s;t in an in|fectious Air, thou goe&s;t from home &s;ometimes and meet|e&s;t with &s;uch wicked company, thou gette&s;t thy bain, thy poi&s;on there, and poi&s;on works divers waies; &s;ometimes it will cau&s;e one to &s;well mightily; how many, when they come from their wicked company, come home with &s;uch
<PB N="278" REF="140"> &s;welling hearts, in &s;uch an outragious way, &s;wearing, and fighting, and bla&s;pheming, and &s;corning, and con|temning at all waies of godline&s;s; now the&s;e have been a|broad, and have gotten poi&s;on, and &s;o they &s;hall, and are ready to bur&s;t with it.</P>
<P>Now there are other kinds of poi&s;on that will not work till a quarter or half a year after: A man may go into company, and get his bain, and yet not work till a quarter of a year after: As I remember a Philo|&s;opher &s;eeing two women that were wicked, talk together, Oh! &s;aith hee, now the Viper is taking of poi&s;on from the A&s;p, and indeed it &s;eemed to bee a Proverb in <HI>Ter|tullians</HI> time, for I meet with &s;uch a proverbial &s;peech in him, as that the Viper borrows poi&s;on from the A&s;p: &s;o when wicked company are infu&s;ing wicked principles, here is the poi&s;on gotten from the A&s;p; wicked company perhaps they come with their &s;weet cups, and perhaps thou drinke&s;t down the Wine merrily, but together with the Wine, wicked things are infu&s;ed into thy &s;pirit that are poi&s;onful: When thou art in wicked company, and heare&s;t the waies of God &s;poken again&s;t, and heare&s;t the Saints of God railed on, and the good Word of God &s;po|ken again&s;t, and this thou drawe&s;t into thy heart, oh there is poi&s;on goes down in this cup; it is like to poi&s;on thy &s;oul, and to be thy undoing for ever.</P>
<P>And then there is another kind of venome, and that is wicked errours and here&s;ies, when men drink off the <HI>Cup of Fornication,</HI> as when they are taken with the great er|rours of Popery, this poi&s;ons the &s;oul; that place in the <HI>The&s;&s;alonians</HI> is a mo&s;t dreadful place, even for that very errour, 2 <HI>The&s;&s;alonians</HI> 2.11. Speaking of <HI>Antichri&s;t,</HI> that hee <HI>&s;hould come with all deceiveablene&s;s of unrighteou&s;ne&s;s in them that peri&s;h, becau&s;e they received not the love of the truth, that they might bee &s;aved; and for this cau&s;e God &s;hall &s;end them &s;trong delu&s;ions, that they &s;hould beleeve a lye, that they all might bee damned who beleeve not the truth, but had plea&s;ure in unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> This is a mo&s;t
<PB N="279" REF="140"> dreadful Text again&s;t tho&s;e that &s;hall drink in the errours of Popery.</P>
<P>But you will &s;ay, that they are learned men, and have a great deal of &s;hew of truth, with all deceiveablene&s;s of unrighteou&s;ne&s;s: But how art thou deceived by them? becau&s;e thou receive&s;t not the love of the truth, that thou mighte&s;t bee &s;aved: And for <HI>this cau&s;e</HI> God &s;hall &s;end them &s;trong delu&s;ions to beleeve a lye, that they might bee damn|ed; to that end God &s;ends &s;trong delu&s;ions, that men might beleeve tho&s;e errours, and drink in that cup of for|nications, that they might bee damned for ever.</P>
<P>If it were but onely that one errour drunk down in the gro&s;ne&s;s of it, that is, that the righteou&s;ne&s;s that I mu&s;t tender up to God for &s;atisfaction to divine Ju&s;tice, and for my eternal &s;alvation, mu&s;t bee mine own righteou&s;ne&s;s, mine own works: Here is enough to poi&s;on a &s;oul to eter|nal perdition; and many other waies there may bee that may indanger the &s;oul extreamly, and very ill con&s;equen|ces may bee gathered from good principles: As for that principle of our Ju&s;tification by free Grace in Chri&s;t; That it is onely by Chri&s;t that wee are ju&s;tified, that principle is exceeding good, but from thence &s;uch dangerous venomous con&s;equences may bee drawn, as may extreamly indanger; and I make no que&s;tion do invenome and poi&s;on many thou&s;and &s;ouls, upon which they draw con&s;equences for loo&s;ene&s;s, and again&s;t humiliation for &s;in, and again&s;t obe|dience to the Law, as by <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI> All the principles and errours that are again&s;t the &s;trict waies of God, that tend to any loo&s;ene&s;s, certainly they are invenoming principles: Oh take heed of any doctrine, of any conceits, of any opi|nions that do any way tend to loo&s;ene&s;s! they will cer|tainly poi&s;on and invenome your &s;ouls, &s;o that your very errours may bee enough to damn you eternally. Many lo&s;e their &s;ouls by poi&s;oning.</P>
<P>Seventhly, And there are many that lo&s;e their &s;ouls by venturing of them; there are many ventures upon which many come to lo&s;e their &s;ouls; there are four ca&s;es
<PB N="280" REF="141"> wherein a man may lo&s;e his &s;oul by venturing of it.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, As fir&s;t by ra&s;hne&s;&s;e, men that are incon&s;ide|rate and ra&s;h in their waies, that will &s;uddenly fall upon things before they examine them, that ra&s;hne&s;&s;e and &s;uddenne&s;&s;e of thine to fall upon things before thou do&s;t examine them, and to go on in a ra&s;h way the mo&s;t part of thy life, as many do; this indangers the lo&s;s of thy &s;oul.</P>
<P>Secondly, And others venture the lo&s;&s;e of their &s;ouls, by doing things that are doubtful, that their con&s;ci|ences mi&s;-give them in, and tell them, Oh this is not right, I doubt I &s;in again&s;t God in this, and yet they will put on and venture, before they &s;atisfie their doubts, but take heed of doing any thing with a doubt|ful con&s;cience, for you know what the Scripture &s;aith, in the 14. of the <HI>Romans,</HI> the latter end; <HI>What&s;oever is not of Faith is &s;in.</HI> If thou doubte&s;t, thou mu&s;t not ven|ture to do a thing, till thou ha&s;t examined thy doubt, and there &s;ee upon what ground thy doubt is built, for if thou wilt pre&s;ume to do a thing doubtfully, it may co&s;t thee thy life.</P>
<P>Thirdly, A third venture, it is to venture upon Gods patience; why, the Lord is a patient God, and hee hath &s;pared mee &s;o many years; all this while I have been &s;pared, and have done well enough, why may not I hope that God will &s;pare mee &s;till, and bee patient with mee &s;till? how many wretched &s;inful creatures venture upon this? they perhaps have been brought up in wickedne&s;&s;e and prophanene&s;&s;e; God hath been pa|tient towards them, and yet they can to their &s;in a|gain and again, and live very merry lives: Now all this time thou live&s;t upon the meer patience of God, and thou thinke&s;t becau&s;e God hath been patient thus long, therefore hee will bee &s;o &s;till: Wee may in|deed venture upon the Grace of God in his Son, as well for &s;anctification as for pardon, but not to ven|ture
<PB N="281" REF="141"> either upon patience, or any thing el&s;e, &s;o as to continue in our &s;ins, though God hath been patient thus long, thou do&s;t not know but that upon thy next ven|ture the cord of mercy may crack, and thou maye&s;t &s;ink and peri&s;h eternally; that may befall thee in one day, that hath not befallen thee all thy life before; take heed my brethren of venturing upon patience, for that hath not a word of promi&s;e to &s;trengthen it unto thee: Indeed Faith is a kind of venture, but that ven|tures upon the Word of God, and the Promi&s;e of God, and it is good venturing upon that, but when thou venture&s;t upon patience, thou ha&s;t no word to a&s;&s;ure thee that patience will hold; Thou ha&s;t no word to make this good unto thee, that though God hath been patient &s;o many years, therefore hee will bee &s;o &s;till.</P>
<P>Fourthly, And then a fourth venture that men make, it is to venture upon their own lives; they are young, and they hope they may live many years yet, I know others they live to bee old men, and why may not I live and have my plea&s;ure as well as they? and thus they ven|ture; Oh but what if the threed of thy life &s;hould bee &s;napt a&s;under, what will become of thee then! wilt thou venture thy eternal mi&s;carrying upon &s;uch a brittle and frail thing as thy life is? Oh it is a de&s;perate ven|ture, when men and women will venture thus! that if God take away my life now, certainly I mu&s;t peri&s;h for ever. &mdash; Now I put it unto every &s;oul in this place, let this bee the ca&s;e now, do you examine what you think in your con&s;ciences your conditions would bee, if you &s;hould hear a voice from Heaven &s;aying unto you pre|&s;ently, this &s;oul &s;hall have no more time to make provi|&s;ion for eternity; I am per&s;waded that in &s;uch a place as this is there cannot but bee many that would in their own con&s;ciences &s;ay, If God &s;hould take away my life now, I fear I &s;hould bee lo&s;t for ever; I doubt, if wee could go from one to another, and lay our ears to the bo&s;oms of men, and could but hear what the con&s;ciences
<PB N="282" REF="142"> of men &s;ay upon this that is now put to them, that thou &s;houlde&s;t dye in the condition in which now thou art, and what repentance thou ha&s;t had, bee it good or bad, that thy &s;oul mu&s;t depend upon, if it bee not right, thy &s;oul mu&s;t peri&s;h; I &s;ay, I fear that upon &s;uch a me&s;&s;age from Heaven, many a mans and womans heart would ask within them, and their con&s;ciences would tell them, I am afraid I &s;hould bee lo&s;t for ever: Oh for thee to bee con|tent to bee in &s;uch a condition any one moment, that if thou &s;houlde&s;t dye that moment, thy &s;oul &s;hould bee damned, I &s;ay thou art a bold and pre&s;umptuous &s;inner, a mo&s;t de&s;perate wretch.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="283" REF="142">
<HEAD><HI>The Sixth SERMON ON</HI> The Excellency of the Soul.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matthew 16.26.</HI></BIBL> For what is a man profited if hee &s;hall gain the whole world, and lo&s;e his own &s;oul?</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P N="8">8. _MAny do lo&s;e their &s;ouls by &s;tarving of them, that is, &s;uch as neglect the Word, that is the food of the &s;oul, the Word of God, upon which the &s;oul &s;hould feed, as the body doth upon any food, that neglect Gods Ordinances, that care not to come to the Word, either to feed upon it privately or publick|ly, that think that there is no need of the Word: but if they can procure food for their bodies, and make &s;hift to get up a living, and that that may &s;atisfie the fle&s;h, there is all that they look after; but for the feeding of their &s;ouls by the Word, it is that that is little minded or regarded by thou&s;ands: Oh how many that belong to this Congrega|tion peri&s;h eternally, even that way, by &s;tarving! Wee pitty
<PB N="284" REF="143"> people that wee &s;ee ready to die that are &s;tarved; if wee hear but of a pri&s;oner &s;tarved, even the poore&s;t body, wee account it an in humane thing in tho&s;e that knew it, and did not relieve them; to &s;ee a bea&s;t to die by &s;tarving, wee account it a cruel thing; and it can &s;car&s;e con&s;i&s;t with the heart of a man to &s;ee, I &s;ay, &s;o much as a dogg to peri&s;h by way of &s;tarving: Now to &s;ee immortal &s;ouls, thou&s;ands of them to die and peri&s;h, and drop down to Hell as thick as may bee, and that for want of the food of their &s;ouls, meer|ly for &s;tarving, it &s;hould bee an object of pitty and com|mi&s;eration. Now becau&s;e wee are &s;en&s;ual, wee are one|ly affected with &s;uch things as concern the body immedi|ately; but for the &s;oul, how many care not what kind of Mini&s;try they live under? Oh the cur&s;e of God is upon them! as wee read of in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 106.15. Hee gave them their reque&s;ts, and &s;ent leanne&s;s into their &s;ouls; hee gave them their reque&s;ts, that is, hee gave them Quails; <HI>They lu&s;ted in the wilde<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ne&s;s, and tempted God in the de&s;ert;</HI> and hee gave them Quails to feed upon, but &s;ent leanne&s;s in|to their &s;ouls; wee may apply it thus, unto tho&s;e that &s;eek after nothing el&s;e but Quails, but that that may feed the fle&s;h: Oh the cur&s;e of God is upon their &s;ouls! there is leanne&s;s there, and they are &s;tarved there even unto death; whereas tho&s;e that do but know what the &s;weetne&s;s of the Word is to their &s;ouls, and have fed upon the Word, they had rather feed upon brown bread and water all their daies, &s;o bee it they may have the Word, than have the greate&s;t delicacies in the world without the Word. I put this to your con&s;ciences, an&s;wer it as in the pre&s;ence of God; if this &s;hould bee put to you, can you &s;ay as in Gods pre&s;ence that &s;ees and &s;earches the hearts of men, that upon the real &s;weetne&s;s and good your &s;ouls have found in the Word, that if God &s;hould put it to your choice, either to live with bread and water, and have the Word, or to live with all the delicacies in the world without the Word, you would a thou&s;and thou&s;and times &s;ooner chu&s;e to live with the Word with bread and water, rather than without the Word
<PB N="285" REF="143"> with all delicacies. <HI>Luther</HI> I remember hee hath an ex|pre&s;&s;ion, That hee had rather bee in Hell with the Word, than in Paradi&s;e without the Word.</P>
<P>Ninthly, In the ninth place there is another &s;ort that lo&s;e their &s;ouls by &s;urfeiting of them; their &s;ouls do &s;urfeit with the cares and plea&s;ures of this life, they glut their hearts with the delights, and plea&s;ures, and cares of this world, until their &s;ouls get a &s;urfeit and die of them; giv|ing liberty unto their hearts to delight them&s;elves in all outward contentments, e&s;pecially if they bee lawful: Now a man or woman may &s;urfeit their &s;ouls,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Licitis perimus omnes.</NOTE> and undo them|&s;elves by lawful things; as a man may not onely de&s;troy his life by eating poi&s;on, but by a &s;urfeit of good meat, though the meat bee good, yet hee may &s;urfeit upon it: &s;o, though the things of this world, the cares, and the plea|&s;ures may bee (as &s;ome things are) in them&s;elves lawful, yet by an inordinate and immoderate letting out thy heart to lawful things, thou maye&s;t &s;urfeit thy &s;oul, and it may die of that &s;urfeit: Many men think them&s;elves out of dan|ger, if the things that their hearts are upon, bee in them|&s;elves lawful, they are not &s;wearers, and whorema&s;ters, and drunkards, and theeves, as others are, and therefore they think their &s;ouls may bee &s;aved: I &s;ay, thou maye&s;t bu&s;ie thy heart onely about that which is in its &s;elf lawful, and yet thy &s;oul may take a &s;urfeit and peri&s;h eternally.</P>
<P>Tenthly and la&s;tly; Many lo&s;e their &s;ouls by forfeiting them, and that by the&s;e two waies.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, A man forfeits his &s;oul, as men do their Coppy|holds, by not tendering that homage to their Lord that is due, by which they hold their Lands, and &s;o their Lands come to bee forfeit; &s;o do&s;t thou; God hath given thee thy precious &s;oul, more worth than all the world, and thou holde&s;t it of God, but &s;o as thou mu&s;t tender up to this Lord that homage that is due to him, that is, thou mu&s;t wor&s;hip God: When wee come to wor&s;hip God, this is that wee do, wee come to tender up that homage that wee acknowledge to bee due to God for the&s;e &s;ouls
<PB N="286" REF="144"> of ours that hee hath given unto us, that is our wor&s;hip; that is the nature of wor&s;hip, The tendering up &s;ome|thing by way of homage, to acknowledge that due re&s;pect wee owe unto God, as that Lord that hath the ab&s;olute di&s;po&s;e of us; now by neglect of wor&s;hipping of God, of tendering up his homage, thou forfeite&s;t thy &s;oul, and in|dangere&s;t thy &s;elf to peri&s;h eternally; and oh how few people regard any &s;uch wor&s;hip of God! and though they do the thing that God requires, as praying, and coming to hear the Word, yet do they not do it as in a way of ten|dering up homage to that God, upon whom they do onely depend; but now this is that which God requires of us, or otherwi&s;e our &s;ouls are forfeited.</P>
<P>Secondly, Men forfeit their &s;ouls by breaking covenant with God; however there may bee &s;ome that God will not take the forfeiture of, yet certainly upon thy breach of covenant with God thy &s;oul is forfeited: Thou do&s;t ingage thy &s;oul to God every time thou do&s;t enter into covenant with him; It may bee &s;aid of any man or woman that en|ters into covenant with God, who is this that hath ingaged his &s;oul to God? now thou ingaging and binding thy &s;oul to God in thy covenant, upon thy breach of it, dealing fal&s;ely, thou do&s;t forfeit thy &s;oul: And by the&s;e &s;everal waies &s;ouls are lo&s;t; and oh how many thou&s;and &s;ouls peri&s;h with &s;uch waies and manners as the&s;e are! and therefore &s;eeing there are &s;uch &s;everal waies of the lo&s;s of &s;ouls, let not people think them&s;elves &s;afe, though they do not go in &s;ome waies whereby they may come to lo&s;e their &s;ouls; for there are very many waies whereby thou maye&s;t lo&s;e thy &s;oul, and &s;o mi&s;carry to eternity.</P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="U&s;e."> The other U&s;e that remains, is this, If the lo&s;s of our &s;ouls bee &s;o dreadful a thing, and there bee &s;o many waies for the lo&s;ing of them, then it concerns us neerly to exa|mine whether wee bee not in &s;uch a condition for the pre|&s;ent, that if our &s;ouls &s;hould depart out of our bodies, they would certainly bee lo&s;t; this is a needful &s;crutiny, and a mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary inquiry: Many men have the&s;e thoughts,
<PB N="287" REF="144"> what if I &s;hould now die? I have not made my Will, and my e&s;tate would go &s;uch and &s;uch waies, as I would not have it, it would bee &s;quandered away, it would bee &s;pent in Sutes of Law; I, but rather let thy thoughts run out thus, what if I &s;hould now die, would not my &s;oul bee lo&s;t and peri&s;h for ever? Now, though I have &s;aid wee cannot &s;et forth &s;uch a man or woman, and conclude that their &s;ouls &s;hall certainly bee lo&s;t, becau&s;e wee know not what God may do hereafter, but wee may &s;ay this, that &s;uch a man or womans &s;oul in the condition it is, If God do no more for it than hee hath yet done, that then it will certainly bee lo&s;t: Indeed a man or woman may come to know, and certainly to conclude that they are elected, but none can come to &s;uch a conclu&s;ion, to know certainly that they are Reprobates: the vile&s;t wretch that is upon the face of the earth, hee hath not ground &s;ufficient to conclude again&s;t him&s;elf that hee is a Reprobate, and that his &s;oul &s;hall for ever bee lo&s;t; and therefore &s;urely wee cannot conclude again&s;t another, if not again&s;t our &s;elves. &mdash; Well, but who are they, that if God &s;hould work no other|wi&s;e upon them than hee hath done, that then their &s;ouls would bee lo&s;t?</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, In the fir&s;t place, That &s;oul to whom God hath not made known, and convinc'd it of the dangerous natu|ral condition in which it is, if &s;uch a &s;oul &s;hould depart from the body, it would bee lo&s;t. &mdash; Onely let mee premi&s;e the&s;e two cautions; I do not &s;peak of Infants, but of tho&s;e that are come to years, and that live under means: &mdash; And I &s;peak of Gods ordinary way; wee will not limit God, what hee may do in extraordinary waies, but in an ordi|nary cour&s;e and way of Gods dealings with the children of men, that hee lets live to come to years, and bee under means, the&s;e following rules will di&s;cover who they are that at the pre&s;ent are in a lo&s;t condition; I &s;ay, &s;uch to whom God hath never revealed and convinced them of the evil of their natural condition, in which they were born, in which they are, if God &s;hould let them &s;o die, and make
<PB N="288" REF="145"> known no more to them than hee hath, &s;uch a &s;oul would bee lo&s;t, and that upon this ground, becau&s;e that without Faith it mu&s;t bee lo&s;t, that is acknowledged by all; hee that beleeves not &s;hall bee damned, is condemned already. Now, there cannot bee Faith in a Saviour to &s;ave the &s;oul, but it mu&s;t needs imply that I know what a dangerous con|dition I am in by &s;in. For there is even a contradiction im|plied in my beleeving in Chri&s;t, as a Saviour, and yet I not convinced of the damnable condition that I am in with|out this Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, That &s;oul that yet hath not made it to bee its great care, above all outward things in this world, to &s;ave its &s;elf, that &s;oul, if it &s;hould now depart from the body, would bee lo&s;t: I &s;ay, if God hath not fir&s;t convinc'd thee, and made thee &s;en&s;ible of that damnable condition in which thou art in thy &s;elf, and &s;econdly, if hee hath not taken off thy heart from the creature, from the things that are here below, and made it to bee the great care of thy &s;oul, for to get it to bee &s;aved, hath not made thee to bee &s;olicitous about the work of &s;aving of thy &s;oul; &s;uch a &s;oul as this is, I &s;ay, if it &s;hould now depart, would bee lo&s;t, for God doth not &s;ave &s;ouls, but by manife&s;ting him|&s;elf to them;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.12.</NOTE> hee would have all <HI>to work out their &s;alvation with fear and trembling.</HI> Certainly, though the principle of our &s;alvation bee without us, yet the Lord that made us without our &s;elves, will never &s;ave us without our &s;elves; who&s;oever God doth &s;ave, hee doth make them &s;olicitous and careful about the work of the &s;alvation of their &s;ouls: Now, if thy con&s;cience tells thee that to this day thy care hath been about many vanities, but as for having thy heart taken up with the &s;aving thy &s;oul, thou knowe&s;t not what belongs to this; I &s;ay, if God &s;hould work no more in thee, than hee hath done, if thou &s;houlde&s;t now die, thou woulde&s;t bee lo&s;t.</P>
<P>Thirdly, That &s;oul to whom the Lord hath not revealed the glory of the my&s;teries of the Go&s;pel, that yet hath the Go&s;pel <HI>kept hidden</HI> from it, that doth not &s;ee into the glo|rious
<PB N="289" REF="145"> work of God in the covenant of Grace, in tho&s;e great coun&s;els of God, and great things that God hath done for the &s;alvation of mankind in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that &s;oul would bee lo&s;t, if it &s;hould now go from the body, and no fur|ther work of God upon it: That Scripture that divers times you have heard named, is proof &s;ufficient for it; <HI>If our Go&s;|pel bee hidden, it is hidden to tho&s;e that are lo&s;t,</HI> 2 Cor. 4.3. Now certainly, my brethren, if God hath revealed to your &s;ouls the glorious things of the Go&s;pel, they cannot but bee taking things to you, they cannot but cau&s;e much &s;tirring, much activene&s;s, mighty workings in your &s;ouls: when once the glorious light of the Go&s;pel comes into a &s;oul, I &s;ay, it cannot but cau&s;e mighty &s;tirrings and workings in &s;uch a &s;oul. When I &s;ee people &s;it deadly and dully under the means of Grace, under the preaching of the glorious things of the Go&s;pel, I cannot but think with my &s;elf, Lord, do the&s;e people know what Je&s;us Chri&s;t is? and under&s;tand what the great things are that God hath done for the &s;al|vation of man-kind? certainly did they but know the wonderful and &s;trange works of God about the &s;alvation of the &s;ouls of the children of men, their hearts could not but &s;tir within them, and work in another manner than yet they have done.</P>
<P>Fourthly, That &s;oul that hath no other righteou&s;ne&s;s to tender <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">p unto God but its own righteou&s;ne&s;s, if now it &s;hould depart, would bee lo&s;t eternally: Whatever man or woman it bee that have lived the mo&s;t unblameable in his life and conver&s;ation, that hath been the mo&s;t righte|ous, that no man could bee able to blame him for any thing, yet I &s;ay, if this man or woman hath no other righte|ou&s;ne&s;s to tender up unto God but his own, certainly this &s;oul would bee a lo&s;t &s;oul for ever; the truth is, even the &s;oul of <HI>Abraham, I&s;aac,</HI> and <HI>Jacob,</HI> the &s;ouls of all the Pa|triarchs, Prophets, Apo&s;tles, Martyrs, all of them would bee lo&s;t eternally, had they no other righteou&s;ne&s;s to ten|der up to God but their own, much more tho&s;e who have only a Civil righteou&s;ne&s;s, and a meer natural righteou&s;ne&s;s,
<PB N="290" REF="146"> &s;uch righteou&s;ne&s;s as is attainable by the very light of na|ture, &s;uch a righteou&s;ne&s;s as St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaks on, in the 3. of the <HI>Philippians,</HI> that hee lived unblameably, how hee was a Phari&s;ee, and hee accounted that righteou&s;ne&s;s of his conver&s;ation, to bee <HI>gain,</HI> yet afterwards, when Chri&s;t was revealed to him, hee accounted it <HI>but lo&s;s,</HI> for hee &s;aw that it would endanger the lo&s;s of his &s;oul eternally, the re&s;ting upon that.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>You will &s;ay, the &s;oul that hath no other righteou&s;|ne&s;s but his own to tender up to God, is that &s;oul lo&s;t? why, what other righteou&s;ne&s;s is there be&s;ides that which is a mans own?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To that I an&s;wer, There is a &s;upernatural righte|ou&s;ne&s;s, the righteou&s;ne&s;s of a Mediatour, God-Man, that is come into the world to &s;tand between lo&s;t &s;ouls, and an infinite provoked God; and that is made over to the &s;oul by Faith, and that &s;oul that is &s;aved, by the hand of Faith, doth tender up the righteou&s;ne&s;s of that Mediatour, God-Man, for the &s;atisfaction of infinite divine Ju&s;tice, and the appea&s;ing of infinite wrath, and that is the &s;oul that is &s;av|ed: but that &s;oul that is not acquainted with &s;uch a righte|ou&s;ne&s;s, that hath not &s;uch a righteou&s;ne&s;s made over to it by Faith, the righteou&s;ne&s;s of the Son of God, the righte|ou&s;ne&s;s that is by Faith in Chri&s;t, that &s;oul, if it &s;hould now depart from the body, and the Lord work no otherwi&s;e upon it, than hee hath yet done, certainly hee would bee a lo&s;t &s;oul; and that is the fourth evidence of a &s;oul that would pre&s;ently bee lo&s;t, if it &s;hould now depart from the body.</P>
<P>Fifthly, A fifth evidence is this, That &s;oul that God hath not made (in &s;ome mea&s;ure at lea&s;t) to feel the weight and burden of &s;in, di&s;covered &s;in unto it as a greater bur|den than all burdens what&s;oever, if &s;uch a &s;oul &s;hould de|part, it would prove to bee lo&s;t, and that upon this Rea|&s;on.</P>
<P>Becau&s;e without repentance a &s;oul mu&s;t needs bee lo&s;t, <HI>Except yee repent,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk 13.3.</NOTE> <HI>yee &s;hall all likewi&s;e peri&s;h,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t.
<PB N="291" REF="146"> Now repentance cannot &s;tand with feeling &s;in light, much le&s;s with joy in &s;in: Repentance, whether before Faith or after, wee will not now &s;peak of, whether a Legal repen|tance, or an Evangelical repentance, yet it mu&s;t bee &s;uch a repentance as mu&s;t bee apprehen&s;ive and &s;en&s;ible of &s;in, as a greater evil than all the evils that it is liable to here in the world; It mu&s;t feel &s;in, as it is again&s;t God, feel &s;in, as &s;in, &s;o as to bee a burden to it (the mea&s;ure of it, how far, and how weighty &s;in &s;hould bee, wee do not now &s;tand up|on) but that &s;in &s;hould bee found a great burden, yea an intollerable burden, &s;o that were it not for an infinite Mediatour, the &s;oul could not &s;tand under the burden, that is nece&s;&s;ary in the work of repentance, and &s;o the &s;oul to come to &s;orrow for &s;in, as &s;in; and this is the repentance which is unto life, which cannot bee except the &s;oul doth feel in &s;ome mea&s;ure the weight and burden of &s;in.</P>
<P>Sixthly, Again, that man or woman that walks after the fle&s;h, in a cour&s;e of &s;in, to give &s;atisfaction and content|ment unto the fle&s;h, that makes it to bee the great care and indeavour of it for to &s;atisfie the fle&s;h, &s;uch of you, who&s;e con&s;ciences tell you, that the contentment of your hearts is &s;ome fle&s;hly thing, and that in the cour&s;e of your lives you walk after the fle&s;h, certainly if you &s;hould now die, your &s;ouls would bee lo&s;t; and that is clear out of <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.1. <HI>There is no condemnation to them that are in Chri&s;t Je|&s;us, that walk not after the fle&s;h, but after the &s;pirit.</HI> There|fore tho&s;e that do not walk after the &s;pirit, but after the fle&s;h, there is condemnation unto them at the pre&s;ent; O! if men had but enlightened and &s;tirring con&s;ciences, how ea&s;ie would it bee for men and women to &s;ee them&s;elves in a re&s;tle&s;s condition, and to conclude, that if the&s;e things be the truths of God, then I am in &s;uch a condition, and though I do not know what God may work for time to come, yet if I &s;hould now die, my &s;oul would bee lo&s;t e|ternally; and &s;o that other place, in <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. <HI>They that live after the fle&s;h &s;hall die;</HI> that is, peri&s;h eternally; if your hearts bee after the fle&s;h, after fle&s;hly things, and they are the
<PB N="292" REF="147"> things that you minde, and if you would &s;peak as in the pre&s;ence of God, you cannot but acknowledge that the things of the fle&s;h, are the things that do take up your hearts, that are the adequate objects of your &s;pirits, and you think your great good and contentment lies in them; &s;o that if &s;o bee you might but live alwaies in this world, and have tho&s;e contentments to the fle&s;h, as you de&s;ire, you would care for nothing el&s;e, but your hearts would bee fully &s;a|tisfied; this is living after the fle&s;h; now the Scripture tells us clearly, that tho&s;e that live after the fle&s;h thus, &s;hall die. It is your great care that the fle&s;h bee &s;atisfied, and it is Gods threat, that when you make it thus your great care to &s;atisfie the fle&s;h, that you &s;hall die, &s;o that this is a peri&s;hing condition unto you.</P>
<P>Seventhly, Yea further, what &s;oul &s;oever is but under the dominion of any one lu&s;t, that &s;oul, if it &s;hould now depart, would certainly bee lo&s;t: Not onely &s;uch as live in all kind of &s;ins, that the con&s;tant cour&s;e of their lives is in every kind of &s;in; but if there bee but any one reigning, ruling &s;in, if there bee but any one &s;inful way that God hath convinc'd thy con&s;cience of to bee a &s;in, and yet becau&s;e of gain, or delight, or plea&s;ure, or honours, or re&s;pects, thou do&s;t go on in a con&s;tant cour&s;e, and way, and practice of that &s;in, though it bee but one &s;in, &s;o that thou art a &s;lave to any one lu&s;t, certainly this &s;oul of thine, if God works no o|otherwi&s;e upon it, than yet hee hath done, will certainly be lo&s;t; and that is clear out of <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.14. <HI>For &s;in &s;hall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the Law, but under grace.</HI> I would rea&s;on from this Scripture, thus, what &s;oul &s;oever is not under grace, under the covenant of grace, and under the mercy that there is in that covenant, that &s;oul, if now it &s;hould depart, mu&s;t peri&s;h eternally; but who&s;oever is under the dominion of any one &s;in, is not un|der grace; for the Scripture plainly &s;aith, That &s;in &s;hall not have dominion over us, if wee bee under grace: If our &s;ouls bee in &s;uch an e&s;tate, as they bee under the grace of the Go&s;pel, then there mu&s;t not any one &s;in have dominion o|ver
<PB N="293" REF="147"> them; there may &s;ome &s;in dwell there, but not reign there: there is a great deal of difference between &s;ins being in the &s;oul, and ruling over the &s;oul.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>You will &s;ay then, What is it for &s;in to have dominion?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> When &s;in &s;hall &s;et up a kind of Throne in the &s;oul, and give Laws as a King, and thou &s;halt obey: It is one thing for an enemy to come with violence and take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and hurry one on to do that one would not do, and another thing to bee &s;ubject, and to yeeld to the laws and commandements of &s;in. Now &s;in hath dominion when it is as a King upon his Throne, that thou ye<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lde&s;t &s;ubjection unto it, and for the &s;atisfying of thine own lu&s;ts, thou art willing that this &s;in &s;hould rule over thee: Now that you may know a little further for the meaning of this; &s;in and Je&s;us Chri&s;t cannot have dominion both together: Then thus far wee may go &s;afely, that except Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath dominion over you, then &s;in hath: But how &s;hall I know whether Chri&s;t hath dominion? I will but appeal to you in this plain and familiar kinde of expre&s;&s;ing of my &s;elf; can&s;t thou &s;ay as in the pre&s;ence of God that &s;eeth and &s;earche&s;t thy heart, O Lord, thou knowe&s;t that I have given up my heart to the Rule of Je&s;us Chri&s;t? I would put this to every &s;oul here pre&s;ent, and I be&s;eech you weigh it, for wee are &s;peaking of matters of life and death, of &s;alvation and damnation; now therefore I put this unto you, and think of it, can&s;t thou appeal to God in the &s;incerity of thy heart, and &s;ay, Lord, thou art the &s;eer and &s;earcher of all hearts, and thou knowe&s;t, that though I have many weakne&s;&s;es and infirmities, and am often over|come by temptation, yet thou knowe&s;t that I have given up my heart to the obedience of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and I do give it up, and it is that that my &s;oul de&s;ires above all things, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t may rule in it, that Chri&s;t may have dominion, that his Laws may bee &s;et up, and if I knew any more of the mind of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, what&s;oever it co&s;t mee, thou that knowe&s;t all things, knowe&s;t I would &s;ubmit unto it, and if there bee any thing that is again&s;t the mind of Je&s;us Chri&s;t,
<PB N="294" REF="148"> if it bee but known to mee, thou knowe&s;t that my heart is a|gain&s;t it, and I would rather than a world that I were deli|vered from the power of it; can&s;t thou &s;peak thus as in the pre&s;ence of God? and certainly a Chri&s;tian, though a weak Chri&s;tian, can appeal to God in the &s;incerity of it, and is able to venture its &s;elf upon &s;uch an appeal to God. And if there bee not this dominion of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, then there is the dominion of &s;in, and then thou art not under grace; therefore if God doth not more in thy &s;oul than hee hath done, thou &s;halt peri&s;h for ever; and that man or wo|man that can &s;leep quietly &s;o, hath a &s;trange pillow to &s;leep upon. It is reported of <HI>Augu&s;tus Cae&s;ar,</HI> that hearing of a Gentleman that was much in debt, hee &s;ent to buy his pillow, &s;aying, Surely there is a great deal of virtue in that pillow, that &s;uch a man could &s;leep on, who was &s;o much in debt: Truly I may &s;ay &s;o, it is a &s;trange kinde of pillow that men can &s;leep upon, who are in &s;uch a condition, that if God do no more for, than hee hath done, would certainly peri&s;h.</P>
<P>Eighthly, But further, That man or woman that hath not yet had &s;uch a change wrought by the power of the Spirit of God, as is a new birth, a re&s;urrection from death, a new creation, that &s;oul, if it now depart, would certainly peri&s;h. Certainly every one of you, as you come into the world, as you are by nature, your &s;ouls are in a lo&s;t e&s;tate, and in &s;uch a lo&s;t e&s;tate, as except the Lord make &s;uch a change in your heart, as is a new birth, by which you come to bee born a|gain; as is a new re&s;urrection, by which you come to bee rai&s;ed from the dead; as is a new creation, by which you come to bee a new Creature; certainly you peri&s;h; till this bee wrought in your hearts by the power of the Spirit, you are in a peri&s;hing condition; there is nothing more plain than this in Scripture: You know what Chri&s;t &s;aith to <HI>Ni|codemus, Verily, verily, I &s;ay unto you, except a man bee born again,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">John 3.3.</NOTE> <HI>hee cannot &s;ee the Kingdome of God;</HI> Therefore it is not enough that it may bee thou live&s;t &s;omewhat better than heretofore thou ha&s;t done; It may bee when thou
<PB N="295" REF="148"> wert a young man, thou wert wanton, or unclean, and pro|phane, and abroad in the fields, and in wicked hou&s;es on the Lords day, I but now thou ha&s;t more wi&s;dome and un|der&s;tanding, and now thou do&s;t not &s;o, this is well, and good, and this is to bee encouraged; I but what is this to &s;uch a mighty change as to bee born again? If &s;o bee that your bodies had no other kind of &s;oul than that that is of &s;ence, and afterwards a rational &s;oul &s;hould bee put into it, what a mighty change would there bee in that body? before they could onely &s;ee, and hear, and feel, but now having a rational &s;oul, they can under&s;tand, under&s;tand rea&s;on, under&s;tand the waies of men; this is a mighty change; and truly, there is as mighty a change when God puts a new life into the &s;oul, and doth regenerate it, making it partaker of the divine Nature, and even to come to live the life of God, according as the Scripture phra&s;e is: Now this mu&s;t bee in every &s;oul that mu&s;t bee &s;aved, and if the time bee not come, that this regeneration is wrought, then cer|tainly thy &s;oul is yet in a peri&s;hing condition, God knows onely what hee doth intend to do hereafter, but for the pre&s;ent, thy &s;oul, I &s;ay, is in a peri&s;hing condition: The fir&s;t work that God made (that is, the work of Creation) by &s;in was quite &s;poiled; Now Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Son of God, that is his honour and his work to rear up a new world, and that is a better world a great deal than the former world was; and the &s;pecial creatures of this world they are his Saints, and the new Creation in their hearts; now this is the condition of a converted &s;oul, it is made a new Crea|ture, <HI>All old things are done away.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 5.17.</NOTE> Thou that live&s;t in thine old waies, and art altogether for thine old cu&s;tomes, and what &s;halt thou do contrary now to what thy Fore-fathers did, and thou thy &s;elf ha&s;t done all thy life time? and the like; oh this is a dangerous kind of rea&s;oning! why, thou mu&s;t bee <HI>a new Creature, and all things are to become new in thy &s;oul;</HI> thou mu&s;t know; that the Old Man is dead in thee, and that the New Creature is reared up in thee, or el&s;e thou can&s;t not know, that if thy &s;oul &s;hould this night
<PB N="296" REF="149"> depart, but that thou &s;houlde&s;t bee an undone Creature for ever.</P>
<P>Yea, Shall I yet &s;ay further, becau&s;e it is a point of a wonderful con&s;equence for men and vvomen to put them|&s;elves to it; I fear that there is many men and vvomen here, that yet all their lives time have not put this que|&s;tion to them&s;elves, What are the tearms betvveen God and mee? vvhy, I hope that God vvill vvork grace in mee; I but vvhat hath God done? is it &s;o vvrought at this pre&s;ent, that if I were this moment to die, I were in a &s;afe condition, and the hazard of my mi&s;carrying to all eternity were over? A man may joyfully go thorow all condi|tions in this world, if hee were able to &s;ay, well, vvhat|ever befall mee in this world, yet my condition is &s;uch, that I know the hazard of my mi&s;carrying for ever, ble&s;|&s;ed bee God that is over: Oh that people would but put this que&s;tion to them&s;elves, In what e&s;tate am I now it, if I were to die this in&s;tant?</P>
<P>Ninthly, Wherefore then another thing is this, That &s;oul that yet hath not gone beyond tho&s;e that the Scrip|ture doth brand and note for Hypocrites, or Reprobates, if thou ha&s;t yet no more wrought in thee than the Scrip|ture &s;hews that they had, then certainly if thou &s;houlde&s;t now die, thou mu&s;t needs peri&s;h. &mdash; As now, the Scrip|ture holds forth the&s;e examples.</P>
<P><HI>Pharaoh</HI> confe&s;&s;ing his &s;ins, <HI>The Lord is Righteous,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Pharaoh, and I have &s;inned.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Saul, I have &s;inned again&s;t the Lord.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ahab, Hee humbled him&s;elf in &s;ackcloath, and went &s;oft|ly,</HI> when the Prophet threatned Gods anger again&s;t him.</P>
<P>The Scripture tells you of the <HI>&s;tony-ground,</HI> which <HI>re|ceived the Word with joy.</HI></P>
<P>Of <HI>Herod, That hee heard John Bapti&s;t gladly, and re|formed many things.</HI></P>
<P>Of <HI>Judas,</HI> Hee came and acknowledged his &s;in, and brought again the thirty peeces that hee had gotten by it, and ca&s;t it down: yet the&s;e of which the Scripture thus
<PB N="297" REF="149"> &s;peaks, all of their &s;ouls were lo&s;t for ever, and yet I &s;ay, they went thus far; Now it concerns us very nearly to look to our &s;elves, and not to think wee are &s;afe upon every &s;leight apprehen&s;ion; if the Scripture holds forth &s;uch ex|amples that went thus far, and yet vvere lo&s;t, vvee had need bee careful to examine our &s;tate. &mdash; To vvhat end do you think doth God &s;et dovvn the&s;e examples of vvicked men, vvho&s;e &s;ouls vvere lo&s;t, and &s;hevv you hovv much good they did? certainly this vvas Gods end, that men and vvomen might not flatter them&s;elves vvith every little good thing that they do, but that they &s;hould bee ferious and very &s;o|licitous in the examination of the e&s;tate of their &s;ouls, hovv the terms are betvveen God and them; this vvas Gods end in it, and this being Gods end, vvee are to make the u&s;e of it that God did aim at in holding forth the&s;e things in his Word unto us: Oh therefore do not &s;atisfie your &s;elves vvith a little, do not &s;ay, if I &s;hould novv die this night, and no further vvork vvrought, yet I hope the vvork is &s;o far wrought, that my &s;oul will not bee lo&s;t.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="298" REF="150">
<HEAD><HI>The Seventh SERMON ON</HI> The Excellency of the Soul.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matthew 16.26.</HI></BIBL> For what is a man profited if hee &s;hall gain the whole world, and lo&s;e his own &s;oul?</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="Que&s;t."> <HI>_BUt you &s;lay wee mu&s;t go further, How &s;hall a man know that hee is gone further than tho&s;e who&s;e &s;ouls are lo&s;t?</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="An&s;w."> To that I vvould briefly an&s;vver thus; Can&s;t thou &s;ay vvith <HI>David, Lord, thy Word is pure, therefore doth thy &s;ervant love it?</HI> I beleeve not one of the&s;e could &s;ay &s;o. Lord God, Thy Word is a pure Word, I &s;ee a holine&s;s and beauty in thy Word, and therefore my &s;oul doth clo&s;e vvith it, becau&s;e it is pure; this is further than a|ny of them vvent: <HI>David</HI> could &s;ay &s;o, <HI>Saul</HI> could not, nor <HI>Ahab</HI> could not, nor <HI>Herod</HI> could not, the <HI>&s;tony-ground,</HI> and <HI>Herod</HI> rejoyced in it, but it vvas not from the purity of it that they did rejoyce, for then they vvould have rejoyced in all the Word of God, every part of Gods Word being pure and holy.</P>
<PB N="299" REF="150">
<P>Secondly, They could not &s;ay thus, That they did prize Je&s;us Chri&s;t for a Sanctifier, as well as a Saviour: None of them did look upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that hee might deliver their &s;ouls from the power of their &s;in, and work righteou&s;ne&s;s in them, as well as deliver them from the wrath that is to come. Therefore though &s;ome of them would bee glad to bee &s;aved from hell by Chri&s;t, yet to look upon Chri&s;t in regard of his purity and holine&s;s, as altogether lovely, this none of them could do.</P>
<P>Thirdly and la&s;tly, None of them did lift up God as the highe&s;t end of all, and give up them&s;elves, and all that they had, or were, or could do, being empty of them&s;elves, &s;o as to lift up God as revealed in Chri&s;t as the highe&s;t end, &s;o as God and Chri&s;t to bee all in all to their &s;ouls; they went not thus far: And therefore do not think that it is a putting people to great &s;treights, to tell them how far ma|ny went, who&s;e &s;ouls were lo&s;t, and if they went no further, their &s;ouls would likewi&s;e bee eternally lo&s;t. &mdash; Now then, the&s;e things being &s;o, what remains, but that you &s;hould lay them to your hearts? Oh lay them to your hearts, and if God would but bee plea&s;ed this evening to cau&s;e every one in this Congregation to examine them&s;elves, and call their &s;ouls into que&s;tion, O my &s;oul, how is it with thee? how do things &s;tand between God and thee? art thou in &s;uch an e|&s;tate, as if God &s;hould call for thee out of the body this mo|ment, that thou &s;houlde&s;t bee &s;aved? Oh bee not &s;atisfied in any thing in the world, till you come to a re&s;olution in the&s;e things; And if you finde that the&s;e things &s;peak a|gain&s;t you, and your &s;ouls bee ca&s;t by them for the pre&s;ent, do not &s;leight them, for verily God will make them good up|on thee, the&s;e things &s;hall &s;tand when thy &s;oul &s;hall pe|ri&s;h.</P>
<P>Wherefore then this is the la&s;t u&s;e about this point of the dreadful lo&s;s of the &s;oul; <MILESTONE UNIT="U&s;e."> Oh then let every man or wo|man propound this que&s;tion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 16.30.</NOTE> <HI>What &s;hall I then do to bee &s;av|ed?</HI> The world is troubled with a great many que&s;tions at this day, que&s;tions that have no great nece&s;&s;ity in them;
<PB N="300" REF="151"> but here is <HI>the</HI> great que&s;tion, <HI>Men and Brethren, what &s;hall I do to bee &s;aved?</HI> And if people when they meet together would bee taken up, and bee asking of this que&s;tion one of another, it would prevent a great many wrangling and jangling que&s;tions, that men &s;pend their time in; oh when they are asking of you many &s;uch vain que&s;tions, an&s;wer tho&s;e vain que&s;tions but thus, I but do you know how one may do to be &s;aved? tell mee &s;omething of the way of God about the &s;alvation of my &s;oul; and that is that, that both Mini&s;ters and Chri&s;tians &s;hould mo&s;t aim at, to help one a|nother in; they &s;hould not fill peoples heads with curious que&s;tions, and &s;pecially young ones, for that is a great de|ceit of the Devil at this day: There was never a time where|in there was a more hopeful harve&s;t of young ones, than there was two or three years &s;ince in <HI>England,</HI> and in this City, and becau&s;e the Devil &s;aw it was in vain to tempt their hearts to their former prophanene&s;s, hee labours by all means to cau&s;e them to fall into the hands of vain jang|ling people, that &s;hall fill their heads with a great many curious que&s;tions about controver&s;ies, and things that they do not under&s;tand, and &s;o take away the very &s;trength and life of the work of the Word upon them, when as the Scrip|ture tells us plainly, that wee mu&s;t not receive the weak in Faith unto doubtful di&s;putations.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14.1.</NOTE> But</P>
<P>Object. <HI>You will &s;ay, wee mu&s;t inquire after all truths.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> It is true, but &s;ea&s;onably, in their due time; It is not for young converts, before they bee &s;etled in the main things of Religion, to have their heads filled with doubtful di&s;putations; it is the plain Scripture, and it is as plain, if wee would under&s;tand it, as <HI>Thou &s;halt not &s;teal, or commit adultery;</HI> oh this hath hindered the &s;alvation of many a &s;oul! Now therefore this is that that I would aim at, to turn the &s;trength of your &s;ouls into this great que&s;tion, <HI>What &s;hall wee do to bee &s;aved?</HI> in <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;tes</HI> 7. &s;aith the wi&s;e man there, <HI>God hath made man upright, but hee hath found to him&s;elf many inventions,</HI> &s;o your books have it, but I finde it tran&s;lated in the old Lattin, <HI>Hee hath mingled him&s;elf
<PB N="301" REF="151"> with many que&s;tions,</HI> &s;o they turn the phra&s;e: Now the Lord take off your hearts from tho&s;e, and give you hearts to attend to this great que&s;tion, <HI>What &s;hall wee do to bee &s;aved?</HI> It was the que&s;tion, you know, of the <HI>Jaylor,</HI> in <HI>Act.</HI> 16.30. And it concerns tho&s;e that yet have not a&s;&s;u|rance of what condition their &s;ouls are in for &s;alvation, to ask this que&s;tion &s;peedily, and not to put it off till they come to &s;ickne&s;s and death, and then &s;end for Mini&s;ters and godly Chri&s;tians, and &s;ay, Oh! what &s;hall I do? how ma|ny upon their &s;ick and death beds, that never minded to inquire before what they &s;hould do to bee &s;aved, the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> are in dreadful angui&s;h, and then cry out, Oh what &s;hall I do? Oh the di&s;tre&s;&s;ed condition I am in! I am afraid my &s;oul is lo&s;t for ever, what &s;hall I do? why do&s;t thou ask it now? is this que&s;tion to ask now when thy &s;oul is going before the great and dreadful God to have the &s;entence of its eternal doom to bee pa&s;t upon it? Oh it concerns you betimes, you young ones, as &s;oon as ever you come to know you have &s;ouls, it concerns you to bee asking this great que&s;tion, <HI>What &s;hall I do to bee &s;aved?</HI> And wee have an example of this, of a young man that Chri&s;t lookt upon in love, becau&s;e hee was inqui&s;itive about the &s;alvation of his &s;oul; the &s;tory is in <HI>Matth.</HI> 19.16. <HI>Behold one came and &s;aid unto him, Good Ma&s;ter, what good thing &s;hall I do that I may inherit eternal life,</HI> and <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 20. It appears that this was a young man; <HI>The young man &s;aith unto him, All the&s;e things have I done.</HI> Oh it were a comely thing for young men to come to Chri&s;t, and &s;ay, What &s;hall wee do to have e|ternal life? and it appears that hee was a young Gentle|man, a man of great po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, and hee is called in the Go&s;pel by St. <HI>Luke, a Ruler;</HI> &s;ome Interpreters think that that was meant onely in the family, for the Jews had &s;ome chief in the family that did rule and govern there; but this young man hee comes to Chri&s;t, and that running,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark 10.17.</NOTE> as in <HI>Mark.</HI> 10. where you have the &s;tory, <HI>and Chri&s;t lookt upon him, and loved him,</HI> as in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 21. Oh it is a lovely thing to &s;ee young people begin betimes to inquire what they &s;hould
<PB N="302" REF="152"> do to bee &s;aved, and wee have had great hopes of young people; but here is the policy of the Devil, when the Lord was bringing the greate&s;t harve&s;t of young people within this three or four years to him&s;elf, as ever was, I think, &s;ince the beginning of the world, and the Devil knowing that hee could not get them to turn to lewdne&s;s and prophanene&s;s pre&s;ently again, therefore hee labours to put them upon turning all their Religion into que&s;tions about controver&s;al things, which they could not be able to mannage and under|&s;tand, and &s;o puts them off the thoughts of that great que&s;ti|on, <HI>What they &s;hould do to bee &s;aved?</HI> But O labour to inquire, and to bee &s;atisfied and re&s;olved in that que&s;tion betimes.</P>
<P>Secondly, If you ask this que&s;tion, as you are to do it betimes, &s;o do it earne&s;tly, do it with a great deal of fer|vency of &s;pirit, as a matter of infinite concernment; &s;o in <HI>Matth.</HI> 10.17. <HI>When hee was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, good Ma&s;ter, what &s;hall I do that I may inherit eternal life?</HI> Hee came running with a great deal of fervency and earne&s;tne&s;s about the bu&s;ine&s;s; and the fervency that youth hath &s;hould bee manife&s;ted in this, in being earne&s;t in the inquiring af|ter the way of &s;alvation; people that are elder, they think they are well enough, and they have not lived &s;o long, they think, as not to know how to bee &s;aved all this while, and therefore will not enquire; &s;o that their &s;pirits do not boil with that fervency and heat as young ones do; hee came running to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Thirdly, If you do inquire, inquire &s;incerely, with a heart truly willing to do what&s;oever God &s;hall make known to you; wee are this day about this great que&s;tion, what a man &s;hould do to &s;ave his &s;oul? I &s;uppo&s;e many of you would bee glad to know what &s;hould bee done, and mee-thinks every one is ready to ask &s;uch a que&s;tion as this is: But before wee come to an&s;wer it, let mee &s;peak to you as in the Name of God, do you de&s;ire to know it with a heart truly willing to yeeld to what&s;oever &s;hould out of Gods Word bee revealed to you? put this to your own hearts
<PB N="303" REF="152"> before wee come to give any an&s;wer, otherwi&s;e what do you hear this day, if there bee not &s;uch a heart as this, that you can appeal to God, and profe&s;s that what&s;oever this day the Lord &s;hall reveal unto me<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> from his Word that I &s;hould do to &s;ave my &s;oul, here I am, and profe&s;s to yeeld my &s;elf up to the truths of God, if your hearts bee &s;o fram'd, then wee may have incouragement to come and &s;hew you what &s;hould bee done.</P>
<P>Fourthly, And you mu&s;t inquire con&s;tantly too; if you &s;hould not bee &s;atisfied at one time, never bee at re&s;t till you are &s;atisfied, do not ask what I &s;hould do, and come to hear what you &s;hould do, and then pa&s;s it over, and let e|very little thing take this out of your minds again; but when you begin to bee inquiring after the way of &s;alvation, re&s;olve that you will never give re&s;t to your &s;ouls, till you have gotten this que&s;tion an&s;wered to you. &mdash; And there is a great deal of rea&s;on that wee &s;hould ask this que&s;tion in &s;uch a way. For,</P>
<P><HI>Rea&s;.</HI> Fir&s;t, Every one of your &s;ouls are in a lo&s;t con|dition naturally; therefore it concerns you to bee inquiring after the way of &s;alvation.</P>
<P>Secondly, The &s;alvation of a &s;oul is the mo&s;t difficult thing in the world; if ever thy &s;oul bee &s;aved, it mu&s;t co&s;t more than Heaven and Earth is worth to &s;ave it; it is not therefore &s;uch a trifling bu&s;ine&s;s, the &s;aving of &s;ouls: This I dare avouch, as in the Name of God, that the &s;oul of the poore&s;t girl or &s;ervant that is here, if it bee &s;aved, it mu&s;t co&s;t more than Heaven and Earth is worth to &s;ave it; there|fore there is a difficulty in it.</P>
<P>Thirdly and la&s;tly, There are but few that &s;hall bee &s;av|ed; there is nothing more clear in the Word of God than that, that there are but few &s;ouls that &s;hall bee &s;aved; wee cannot tell (as I have &s;aid) that this or the other &s;oul can|not bee &s;aved; wee are not to enter into Gods coun&s;els concerning particular &s;ouls, but this wee may &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 7.13. compared with Luk. 13.24.</NOTE> and have warrant from the Word to &s;ay, that there are but few &s;ouls that &s;hall bee &s;aved: <HI>Strive to enter in at the &s;trait gate,
<PB N="304" REF="153"> for &s;trait is the gate, and narrow is the way, and few there bee that enter:</HI> And upon that ground Chri&s;t him&s;elf rai&s;es that exhortation, therefore <HI>&s;trive;</HI> therefore inquire you af|ter the way of &s;alvation with all your might; if there &s;hould a voice come from Heaven at this time, and &s;ay, there are but few in this Congregation &s;hall go out alive, it would put every one to a &s;tand; every one would think with him&s;elf, Oh Lord! mu&s;t I die here? why there is this voice from Heaven, that there are but few &s;ouls in the world but &s;hall peri&s;h eternally; then certainly it is not for us to bee quiet, but it concerns us to bee re&s;tle&s;s in our conditions, and e|very one to &s;ay, what, <HI>is it I?</HI> what, <HI>is it I?</HI> when Chri&s;t did but &s;ay that one of you &s;hall betray mee, every one was inquiring, <HI>Is it I? Is it I?</HI> but when it is &s;aid that there &s;hall bee but few &s;aved; <HI>the flock of Chri&s;t is but a lit|tle flock,</HI> the words in the original are two diminutives, and may be tran&s;lated, <HI>a little little flock;</HI> Oh it concerns you all to look about you. But now the&s;e things being premi&s;ed for the putting of you on to the enquiring after &s;alvation with all your might: now wee come to the an&s;wer of this que&s;tion, What wee &s;hould do that our &s;ouls may bee &s;aved?</P>
<P>And in the an&s;wer to this wee mu&s;t premi&s;e further.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, There is nothing that any man can do, that &s;aves him, there mu&s;t bee &s;omewhat higher that what hee can do; and yet God requires that hee &s;hould do what hee can do; Indeed what any man can do of him&s;elf, yea or by a&s;|&s;i&s;tance from common grace, yea wee will &s;ay further, by a&s;&s;i&s;tance from any grace what&s;oever, though it may help forward his &s;alvation, by an ordinance of God, yet it can|not be the thing that &s;aves him, the thing that &s;aves him is higher than what is done by the creature, it is what is done by Chri&s;t, or what is &s;uffered by Chri&s;t, it is that that &s;aves the &s;oul, and not, I &s;ay, what is done or &s;uffered by us.</P>
<P>But yet now wee mu&s;t not make &s;uch a vain, and fooli&s;h, and dangerous inference, that therefore nothing is to bee done, becau&s;e the things that wee do are not the things that
<PB N="205" REF="153"> &s;ave us; there is a great deal of evil comes from men and womens pre&s;uming to draw con&s;equences; they think that if this bee true, the other will follow, and &s;o through the weakne&s;s of their under&s;tandings,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 2.1. John 15.5.</NOTE> they come to draw dan|gerous con&s;equences from true po&s;itions: Why, wee are dead in &s;ins by nature, and without mee yee can do nothing, &s;aith Chri&s;t; upon this here is this con&s;equence drawn by many ignorant people that pervert the Word to their own de&s;truction, If God bee not merciful to them; therefore why &s;hould wee pray, or read, or hear, or u&s;e any means, let us lay a&s;ide all, wee can do nothing, wee are dead in &s;ins, and the like: Now wee are to know, that though no|thing can bee done by us (till God bring us into a &s;tate of grace and &s;alvation) that is acceptable, &s;o as certainly &s;hall bring us to Heaven, yet if it bee but that that &s;hall &s;top us in the contrary way a little, it is worth our labour; If it be but that that any way may tend towards the bringing of us unto any means that may do us good, why it is worth our labour, and all our pains; but e&s;pecially if wee con&s;ider this, that though wee are not able to do that that &s;hall &s;ave us, yet God is plea&s;ed often to convey his &s;trength to tho&s;e hee doth intend to &s;ave, through the u&s;e of tho&s;e means; rather at that time when they do improve their natural abi|lities, than at that time when they &s;it idle and do nothing, and therefore you mu&s;t bee up and bee doing. Wee read in the Go&s;pel concerning the young man that I told you came to Chri&s;t, and inquired what hee &s;hould do for eter|nal life, Chri&s;t profe&s;t to him that hee was not <HI>far from the Kingdome of Heaven,</HI> hee was not &s;o far as others; It is true, if a man abu&s;es his doing, and re&s;ts in his doing, that &s;ets him as far from the Kingdome of Heaven, as prophane ones, and <HI>therefore Publicans and Harlots</HI> may enter into the Kingdome of Heaven, as &s;oon as <HI>Scribes and Phari&s;ees;</HI> But there may bee many actions done by a common a&s;&s;i|&s;tance of Gods Spirit, that may bring &s;ome nearer to the Kingdome of Heaven than others; and the denial of &s;uch a thing as that is, would bee an extream boldne&s;s in any;
<PB N="309" REF="154"> for they are the very words of Chri&s;t to the young man, That hee was not far from the Kingdome of Heaven; and there|fore notwith&s;tanding your inability, and notwith&s;tanding the things that wee do are not the things that &s;ave us, yet wee have ground enough to put on men and women to do.&mdash; Now the meaning of this great que&s;tion is this, What is the way that God ordinarily takes to bring men and women to &s;alvation by? or how &s;hould I follow God on in his way? that is a certain truth of the Antients, Though God made thee without thee, yet hee will not &s;ave thee without thee; God works upon us as upon rational creatures, and there|fore it doth concern all the children of men that would have their &s;ouls &s;aved, to ob&s;erve the work of God, and to &s;tir up what is in them to joyn with the work of God in the way of &s;alvation; and certainly whatever conceits there are to the contrary, they are not onely fooli&s;h, but extream dangerous, and Satans policy and cunning is exceedingly much &s;een in them.</P>
<P>A further thing that I would premi&s;e before I come to particulars, is this, when I &s;peak of any thing that &s;hould bee done, I pre&s;cribe no particular order, knowing that the works of God are various; And &s;ometimes God &s;tirs up a &s;oul to do one thing, and &s;ometimes to do another thing, but take them in what order you will, yet wee mu&s;t name them for memory &s;ake in &s;ome order, and God expects them from you, and you are to joyn with God in tho&s;e works, if you would have your &s;ouls to bee &s;aved.</P>
<P><HI>The great Que&s;tion, of what wee &s;hould do to bee &s;aved, an&s;wered.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, If you would have your &s;ouls &s;aved, do you joyn with God in what hee hath revealed to you concerning your lo&s;t condition, labouring to under&s;tand tho&s;e truths clear|ly, that are delivered in the Word concerning the lo&s;t con|dition of &s;ouls by nature, and to work tho&s;e truths upon your hearts, to bee &s;en&s;ible of them: Tho&s;e whom God
<PB N="307" REF="154"> intends to &s;ave, hee &s;hews unto them what this &s;alvation is; hee &s;hews them from what it is they are to bee &s;aved, that &s;o they may not run away vvith (the meer word <HI>(Salvation)</HI> and &s;aving of &s;ouls) now God reveals this in his Word, and when hee intends to &s;ave a &s;oul, hee doth by his Spirit &s;tir it up to joyn with the Word of God, and work tho&s;e things upon its &s;elf, &s;o as to bee made &s;en&s;ible of them.</P>
<P>As thus, the &s;oul being &s;olicitous how it &s;hould come to bee &s;aved, it &s;earches the Scripture, and there it findes how wee <HI>are by nature the children of wrath;</HI> there it findes that God had made man <HI>according to his own Image</HI> at fir&s;t, but man hath &s;inned again&s;t God, and broken the covenant upon which his eternal &s;tate did depend, and in the &s;in of the fir&s;t man all men have &s;inned, and are deprived of the glory of God, and now are <HI>conceived in &s;in, and brought forth in iniquity,</HI> &s;o that there is a mo&s;t dreadful breach be|tween God and the &s;oul, and that man by nature is become an enemy to the Infinite God: That now hee hath the &s;eeds of all kind of &s;in in him, and that all his life, while hee continues in his natural e&s;tate here, is nothing el&s;e but a fighting again&s;t God, a flying in the very face of God: Hee findes that by &s;in hee is brought under a mo&s;t dreadful cur&s;e, the cur&s;e of the Law, and that hee is bound over by the bonds of the Law, even to death, to eternal death, as the wages of &s;in; the&s;e things the &s;oul findes in Scripture; now if thou woulde&s;t bee &s;aved, when thou finde&s;t God re|vealing &s;uch things, labour thorowly to convince thy &s;oul of the truth of them; and are the&s;e things &s;o indeed? is this my condition? am I thus and thus naturally? Oh what good then will it do to mee to have all the world, and bee in &s;uch a condition as this is? Oh my &s;oul! when wert thou &s;en&s;ible of this condition? do&s;t thou walk as it becomes one that is &s;en&s;ible of &s;uch a lo&s;t e&s;tate as this is? Oh! la|bour to drink in the&s;e truths, and to work them upon thy heart, and cry to God to &s;et them home upon thy &s;pirit, to make thy &s;oul thorowly &s;en&s;ible of them, as hee u&s;es to make tho&s;e whom hee hath a purpo&s;e to &s;ave. Here's the fir&s;t thing.</P>
<PB N="308" REF="155">
<P>And yet one thing about this further, is, That you mu&s;t come to a conviction, not onely of your lo&s;t e&s;tate, but of your inability to &s;ave your &s;elves, and the inability that there is in all creatures in Heaven and Earth to &s;ave them; that thy fall from God is &s;o dreadful, that all the created power in Heaven and Earth cannot help thee, yea and that thou thy &s;elf now art unable to help thy &s;elf to &s;ave thy &s;oul; bee convinc'd thorowly of this: This was the way that Chri&s;t took with the young man, hee tells him of the Law fir&s;t, and then afterwards becau&s;e hee was conceited that hee had fulfilled the Law, and done it, Chri&s;t puts him up|on a duty (that might convince him to the contrary) which was required in the &s;piritual meaning of the Law, that for|bids covetou&s;ne&s;s, and requires that wee &s;hould bee willing to part with all for God, when hee calls for it; <HI>Go and &s;ell all that thou ha&s;t, and follow mee, and take up thy cro&s;s and follow mee,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t; I but the young man hee had <HI>great po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions;</HI> but becau&s;e <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">e was no &s;wearer, nor &s;tealer, nor murderer, nor lyar, hee thought hee had fulfilled the Law, but Chri&s;t by putting that to him, did as much as if hee &s;hould &s;ay, poor young man, thou art deceived, thou think|e&s;t that thou are able to do what God requires in his Law, but did&s;t thou but under&s;tand the &s;piritual part of the Law, thou woulde&s;t &s;ee that thou art &s;o ca&s;t by it, that all that thou art able to do in thy obedience to the Law, cannot bee &s;ufficient (through the &s;infulne&s;s of thy heart and nature) but thou mu&s;t peri&s;h if thou take&s;t &s;uch a cour&s;e as that is, to think to bee &s;aved by the Law; certainly this it is upon which thou&s;ands of &s;ouls do peri&s;h, they think indeed they are &s;inners, but they hope they &s;hall do better, and they are able, they think (though not without God, God mu&s;t help them) to do that that the Word of God requires of them, whereby they may come to bee &s;aved; now certainly thou knowe&s;t not thy fallen condition, and how far off thou art from God, and what thy &s;inful e&s;tate is naturally, that ha&s;t &s;uch thoughts as the&s;e.</P>
<P>But &s;econdly, If thou woulde&s;t have thy &s;oul &s;aved, break
<PB N="309" REF="155"> off the acts of thy &s;in at lea&s;t; you will &s;ay, why do we &s;peak to men to break off the acts of their &s;in? &mdash; why, certainly wee may well &s;peak, for God doth give men power for out|ward acts very far; thou can&s;t not do it of thy &s;elf, that is true, but there is a common work of Gods Spirit, that doth inable men and women for outward acts very far: <HI>Let him that &s;tole &s;teal no more.</HI> A man now at the day of judgement cannot &s;ay, Lord, I continued in theft, becau&s;e I was not able to forbear it; though thou can&s;t not change thy heart indeed, yet forbear the outward act thou can&s;t: one that is dumb might &s;ay, if hee could &s;peak, Lord, I was no &s;wea|rer, becau&s;e I could not &s;peak, otherwi&s;e thou art ready to &s;ay, I cannot help it, but God will finde it otherwi&s;e at the great day: Certainly, if thou woulde&s;t but put thy &s;elf upon what &s;trength God gives thee, thou maye&s;t as well go to a Sermon, as to an Ale-hou&s;e; It is a very fal&s;e rea&s;oning of people, that becau&s;e they have not true grace, therefore God inables them to do no outward acts; therefore do what in thee lies to break off the outward acts of thy &s;in: Thou that art a company-keeper, a Sabbath-breaker, a &s;wearer, an unclean per&s;on, take heed of continuing in the outward way of &s;inning again&s;t God, re&s;olve this day again&s;t tho&s;e outward acts of thy &s;in; do but do thus much, becau&s;e thou thinke&s;t thou can&s;t do nothing, do but profe&s;s thus to God in his pre&s;ence, when thou art gone, get alone, and &s;ay, Lord, it is true, I can do nothing-without thee, but here I do in|gage my &s;elf to joyn with what&s;oever thou ha&s;t given mee, or &s;halt give mee to ab&s;tain from tho&s;e acts of &s;in, which I have lived in, and this Lord I ingage my &s;elf to do, as ever I expect to bee &s;aved in the day of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; can&s;t thou not &s;ay the&s;e words? expre&s;s thy &s;elf but thus to God, and certainly the&s;e things thou maye&s;t &s;ay, and that is &s;omewhat; That man and woman that &s;hall wilfully go on in tho&s;e vile gro&s;s acts of &s;in that are again&s;t the very light of nature, and the light of their con&s;ciences, for them to come and &s;ay, <HI>What &s;hall I do to bee &s;aved?</HI> and yet &s;till continue in their &s;ins, it is but a trifling with God, and taking Gods Name in
<PB N="310" REF="156"> vain, except it bee with a re&s;olution to go thus far.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Thou mu&s;t labour to take off thine heart as much as thou can&s;t from the things of the world, from the&s;e outward contentments here, from &s;eeking after them as thy greate&s;t good; that that was thy chief de&s;ire heretofore, thou mu&s;t labour to take off thy heart from, and po&s;&s;e&s;s thy &s;oul vvith the <HI>one thing nece&s;&s;ary,</HI> to conclude thus with thy &s;elf, it is not nece&s;&s;ary that I &s;hould be rich, that I &s;hould bee ho|nourable, that I &s;hould have the&s;e and the&s;e outward com|forts in the world; but it is nece&s;&s;ary that I &s;hould look to the &s;alvation of my &s;oul; when God hath a purpo&s;e to &s;ave, hee doth take the heart off very much from creature-com|forts; Oh, if peoples hearts were but taken off from the world, to &s;eek after &s;alvation in a con&s;tant way, as they are at &s;ome fla&s;hes, when they hear &s;ome truths that come near to their hearts, or when they are upon their &s;ick-beds, Oh how far might they have been gone in the way of &s;alvation! but the thoughts of the world hath taken their hearts, and all other things have vani&s;ht and come to nothing.</P>
<P>Fourthly, If thou woulde&s;t have thy &s;oul &s;aved, thy great care and indeavour mu&s;t bee to acquaint thy &s;elf with the knowledge of the My&s;teries of the Go&s;pel of the covenant of grace, of the way that God hath chalkt out for &s;alvation; let a man or woman have never &s;o good meanings, never &s;uch good de&s;ires and affections, live never &s;o fairly and civilly in the world, yet if they bee not acquainted with the way that God in the Go&s;pel, and in the Covenant of Grace hath revealed for the &s;alvation of &s;ouls, they may pe|ri&s;h for all that, God hath appointed but one way to &s;ave &s;ouls, and hee is &s;et upon it and determined, that who&s;o|ever mi&s;&s;es that way, mu&s;t peri&s;h, what&s;oever good thoughts and de&s;ires they have otherwi&s;e.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="311" REF="156">
<HEAD><HI>The Eighth SERMON ON</HI> The Excellency of the Soul.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matthew 16.26.</HI></BIBL> For what is a man profited if hee &s;hall gain the whole world, and lo&s;e his own &s;oul?</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>Que&s;t. _NOw you will &s;ay, <HI>What is it in the Go&s;pel, and in the Covenant of Grace that wee mu&s;t la|bour to inform our &s;elves in, that wee may bee &s;aved?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Fir&s;t, Thou mu&s;t labour to inform thy &s;elf of the ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity of &s;atisfa|ction to divine Ju&s;tice, that is revealed in the Go&s;pel, and that thou mu&s;t come to know, I am a &s;inful wretched crea|ture, my &s;oul is in a damnable condition; now that that mu&s;t &s;ave mee mu&s;t &s;atisfie Gods infinite Ju&s;tice, I may not bee &s;aved meerly by my crying to God for mercy; no, if there were nothing el&s;e but my crying to God for mercy, yea, put all my good deeds into the &s;cale, put what I have done, what I can do, what I can bee inabled to do, all
<PB N="312" REF="157"> my prayers, my cries, this will not do. &mdash; It is true, there is not enough in mee, but will not Gods mercy eke it out? &mdash; No, it is neither what thou doe&s;t, or can&s;t do, or can&s;t be inabled to do, and put Gods mercy meerly without any more, that doth it, but it is a &s;atisfaction to ju&s;tice, a price paid for the &s;oul; no &s;oul is ever &s;aved, but it is &s;aved in the way of a price, that is paid for it; and this thou mu&s;t ac|quaint thy &s;oul with, which thou&s;ands of people are igno|rant of; yet they hope to bee &s;aved, but how? they will pray to God that they may bee &s;aved, and that God would have mercy upon them; and is here all? certainly this is not the way of the Go&s;pel; but the way of the Go&s;pel it is that that reveals unto the &s;oul the price that is paid for a &s;oul, even the blood of Chri&s;t: That in Chri&s;t the great Me|diatour of the &s;econd Covenant, there is a perfect &s;atisfa|ction to Gods Infinite Ju&s;tice; this indeed is a great part of the My&s;tery of the Go&s;pel; this is the &s;aving truth of the Go&s;pel, and thou mu&s;t acquaint thy &s;oul with this truth if thou bee &s;aved. &mdash; And when thou heare&s;t of this truth, perhaps thou can&s;t not under&s;tand it for the pre&s;ent, Oh then thou had&s;t need go to God in &s;ecret, and bee crying to him that hee would reveal this truth unto thee. &mdash; But you will &s;ay, it is not our crying; &mdash; It is true, it is not meer|ly our crying, but there is &s;omething of God further: But God hath made many gracious promi&s;es of an&s;wering our cries, and now that &s;o hee may make good his promi&s;es, hee will further reveal this My&s;tery of the Go&s;pel to thee, that there is a nece&s;&s;ity of &s;atisfaction to divine Ju&s;tice for thy &s;in that hath brought thy &s;oul into a lo&s;t condition.</P>
<P>Secondly, And further, A nece&s;&s;ity of a perfect Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s; wee will not &s;peak of any thing controver&s;al about it, which way it comes to bee applied; but this all will grant, that there is a perfect Righteou&s;ne&s;s that wee have need of; the way of &s;alvation is a perfect Righteou&s;ne&s;s, thou mu&s;t have a &s;urety that mu&s;t have a perfect Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s for thee.</P>
<P>Thirdly, And then the way of &s;alvation is this, it reveals
<PB N="313" REF="157"> an ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity of the Application of the &s;atisfaction and Righteou&s;ne&s;s of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; the Application of that, that it mu&s;t bee made thine &s;ome way, that thou mu&s;t have thy part and &s;hare in it, by thy union unto Chri&s;t; and by being made one my&s;tically with him through Faith, &s;o that the &s;oul is not meerly &s;aved through mercy: Nor thus, that Chri&s;t hee hath come and done &s;uch and &s;uch things, and therefore &s;aith God the Father, for the &s;ake of Je&s;us Chri&s;t I will &s;ave thee, for hee hath &s;atisfied mee by what hee hath done: No, but there is &s;omewhat more; I confe&s;s it is true, in the conclu&s;ion wee are &s;aved for the &s;ake of Chri&s;t, but it is by our union with Chri&s;t, wee are united to Chri&s;t, and made one with him, and &s;o what Chri&s;t hath done for our &s;alvation, is tendred up to the Father as ours, wee be|ing one with Je&s;us Chri&s;t: &s;o that now, if thou &s;houlde&s;t know thy mi&s;erable e&s;tate by nature, and thereupon inquire after &s;alvation, and cry to God that hee would bee merci|ful unto thee; that is not enough, but the Go&s;pel reveals further. Suppo&s;e thou come&s;t to know more than thou can&s;t under&s;tand by the light of nature, but yet the Go&s;pel doth reveal to thee, that not onely thou mu&s;t bee &s;aved by Chri&s;t, but thou mu&s;t bee united to Chri&s;t by Faith; there mu&s;t bee a &s;piritual marriage between the Son of God, and thy &s;oul; thou mu&s;t have Chri&s;t to bee a head, and thou a member; hee thy husband, and thou his Spou&s;e; thou mu&s;t inquire after this union, and that is the way of beleeving, and the &s;ub&s;tance of the Apo&s;tles words to the Jaylor, when hee cryed, what hee &s;hould do to bee &s;aved, why &s;aith hee, <HI>Beleeve in the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and thou &s;halt bee &s;aved:</HI> It mu&s;t bee through Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the great Mediatour of the &s;econd Covenant, by thy beleeving in him, and being made one with him that thou mu&s;t come to bee &s;aved.</P>
<P>Fourthly, And then the Go&s;pel it reveals further as ne|ce&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation, a nece&s;&s;ity of Regeneration, of being <HI>born again,</HI> of having the Image of God renewed in the &s;oul, by the Spirit of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, of being a new Creature, the want of which, if the &s;oul &s;hould now depart, it mu&s;t
<PB N="314" REF="158"> certainly peri&s;h under, but now if it come to bee &s;aved, it mu&s;t have this revealed to it; for in the Go&s;pel there is held forth the great work of God in begetting that &s;oul a|new to him&s;elf, that hee doth intend to &s;ave, in putting a new life into it, in &s;ending the Spirt of Je&s;us Chri&s;t into it, whereby it lives, and acts, and works, being now carried on, not by its own &s;pirit, but by the Spirit of the Son of God; this is nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation, to do acts of Regeneration: &s;o Chri&s;t tells <HI>Nicodomus,</HI> hee mu&s;t bee <HI>born again,</HI> and this onely the Go&s;pel reveals; and thus our &s;ouls &s;hould labour to acquaint them&s;elves with the great things of the Go&s;pel; and as the wi&s;e man &s;aith concerning in&s;truction, in <HI>Prov.</HI> 4.13. <HI>Take fa&s;t hold of in&s;truction, let her not go, keep her, for &s;hee is thy life.</HI> So I &s;ay of the&s;e in&s;tructions that are re|vealed in the Go&s;pel, keep them, for they are your lives; do not think that God, though hee is infinitely merciful, yet that hee will &s;ave &s;ouls any other way, for God hath &s;et this way, and it is an infinite mercy that wee are to admire at, and adore, and prai&s;e his Name for, that there may bee &s;alvation any way; and if there may be &s;alvation any way, oh you poor wretched children of men! know, that you &s;hould be re&s;tle&s;s, till you come to under&s;tand further that one way; Oh that wee could make it to bee the great bu&s;ine&s;s of our lives, to &s;earch into the Go&s;pel, and finde out the&s;e things, for it is through this that we come to have eternal life.</P>
<P>Fifthly, A fifth rule for the &s;alvation of your &s;ouls, (If God hath put it into your hearts to &s;eek to have them &s;aved) you mu&s;t walk with fear and trembling before the Lord all the daies of your lives; the fear of God mu&s;t bee mighty and &s;trong upon your &s;pirits, if you would bee &s;aved, and you mu&s;t labour to keep the fear of the great God upon your &s;pirits; that place is famous for this, in <HI>Phil.</HI> 2.12. <HI>Work out your own &s;alvation with fear and trembling; for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do, of his own good plea&s;ure.</HI> As if the Holy Gho&s;t &s;hould &s;ay, you had need walk with fear before the Lord, for the truth is, hee hath you at &s;uch infinite advantage, as you are not able to &s;tir
<PB N="314" REF="158"> one foot to do any thing for the deliverance of your &s;ouls from eternal wrath, without the work of God upon you; you had need take heed what you do, that you do not provoke this infinite God that hath you under his feet, that you are able to do nothing towards your &s;alvation if hee withdraw him&s;elf from you.</P>
<P>I appeal to you, &s;uppo&s;e you did &s;o depend upon any one man in the world, that your life lay at his mercy, and if hee &s;hould but &s;peak a word you were a dead man or wo|man, would you not when you come into his pre&s;ence come with fear, le&s;t you &s;hould di&s;plea&s;e him? would you &s;ay, what do I care for him? let him bee plea&s;ed or not plea|&s;ed, what is that to mee? you would not dare to do it: Now, &s;hall wee have le&s;s fear, becau&s;e hee with whom wee have to do is the Lord? if wee had dependence upon any man in the world, as wee have upon God, wee would fear him: Now I &s;ay, &s;hall God have the le&s;s fear, becau&s;e hee is a God? hee &s;hould have the more fear; <HI>Fear him,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>that when hee hath killed the body, can likewi&s;e kill the &s;oul; Yea I &s;ay unto you, fear him;</HI> Chri&s;t puts an <HI>I &s;ay</HI> upon that; and truly, that &s;oul begins to bee in a way of &s;alvation, that begins to have the fear of the great God to fall upon him. Mo&s;t people in the world they walk boldly, and pre&s;umptuou&s;ly in the pre&s;ence of God, as if God had nothing to do with them, and as if they had nothing to do with God. Alas! the&s;e go on in the waies of death and de|&s;truction: but that &s;oul that God hath a purpo&s;e to &s;ave, hee begins to reveal his glory to it, and to &s;hine upon it, as hee did upon <HI>Saul,</HI> when hee did &s;hine from Heaven in a glori|ous manner, and &s;topt him in his way when hee was riding po&s;t unto Hell and de&s;truction; hee cries to him, <HI>I am hee that thou ha&s;t &s;inned again&s;t, I am hee that thou per&s;ecute&s;t,</HI> then <HI>Saul</HI> falls down trembling, and &s;aith, <HI>Lord, What wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t thou have mee to do?</HI> as if <HI>Saul</HI> &s;hould &s;ay, Lord, I did not know thee, but I &s;ee thee now to bee a great and a dread|ful God, I &s;ee that I am in thy hands to &s;ave or de&s;troy, as thou plea&s;e&s;t; and therefore <HI>Saul</HI> comes with a trembling
<PB N="316" REF="159"> heart, and cries to God, <HI>Lord, What wilt thou have mee to do?</HI> I, hee was in a good way of &s;alvation; and &s;o when a vile &s;inner that hath gone on without the fear of God upon him, &s;hall now come in trembling, beholding the dread|fulne&s;s of the Infinite God, that eternal fir&s;t-beeing that it hath to deal withall, and now &s;hall have his fear &s;trike into it, this &s;oul is in a good way of &s;alvation, it is &s;topt in the way of de&s;truction, and it is in a good way of &s;alvation; and that is very ob&s;ervable further in the Text, <HI>Work out your own &s;alvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that works in you.</HI> That is a place that many people gro&s;ly a|bu&s;e, they think they need do nothing; but mark how bold|ly do the&s;e people cro&s;s the Spirit of God in the Text, for the Spirit of God makes this Argument, do you work out your &s;alvation, becau&s;e God works, and &s;ay they, It mu&s;t bee God that works, and therefore I will do nothing; Oh! if you &s;hould wilfully go on in waies of provocation to God, and upon your &s;ick-bed, and death-bed, cry, Oh Lord! that now thou woulde&s;t bee plea&s;ed to work upon my &s;oul, as thou u&s;e&s;t to work upon tho&s;e that thou intende&s;t to &s;ave; If God &s;hould make this an&s;wer, Thou a bold wretch, that ha&s;t provok'd the eyes of my glory all thy daies, and do&s;t thou now cry to mee to do it? If any of you do think that there will ever bee a time when you will &s;tand in need of Gods mercy to &s;ave your &s;ouls, you had need walk with fear and trembling before this God; Now I put this to the &s;oul of every one here, do&s;t thou not think, O thou &s;inful &s;oul, that there will bee a time that thou &s;halt &s;tand in need of the mercy of God? and what cour&s;e do&s;t thou take now before-hand? is that cour&s;e that thou take&s;t before-hand a continu|al provocation of God? is that a good preparation to that time? if there were a man that you lived neer, though for the pre&s;ent you care not for him, but &s;lighted him, yet if you knew that there would bee a time that you mu&s;t &s;tand in need of that man, &s;o as if hee &s;hould for&s;ake you, you would bee a lo&s;t man, would you dare to provoke that man? wee all know what need wee &s;hall have of the mer|cy
<PB N="317" REF="159"> of God, and therefore wee had need walk with fear and trembling before him.</P>
<P>Sixthly, Further, If thou woulde&s;t have thy &s;oul &s;aved, attend upon tho&s;e means that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">od hath appointed to &s;ave &s;ouls, wait at wi&s;domes po&s;ts. Now this one direction being clearly &s;hewn out of Scripture, will be enough to confute all that talk again&s;t doing: If God hath appointed means to &s;ave, then &s;urely hee hath appointed that wee mu&s;t attend upon tho&s;e means. Now in <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.16. The preaching of the Go&s;pel there is called, <HI>The power of God to &s;alvation.</HI> Now if you would bee &s;aved, you mu&s;t bring your &s;ouls un|der that which is the power of God to &s;alvation. Becau&s;e the Lord in the Mini&s;try of the Go&s;pel doth u&s;e to put forth his Almighty Power for the &s;aving of &s;ouls, therefore it is that the Go&s;pel is called the power of God to &s;alvation; you cannot be &s;aved without the Almighty Power of God, and where is that put forth but in the preaching of the Go&s;pel? <HI>To whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed?</HI> That is, the Arm of God in the preaching of the Go&s;pel; &s;o you know what the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, in <HI>Rom.</HI> 10. <HI>Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.</HI></P>
<P>You will &s;ay, can wee do any thing towards our &s;alva|tion? yes, you may hear, it is the duty of us as creatures to come and hear the Word; and Faith comes by hearing: &s;o then Faith comes by &s;omewhat that wee do, but not &s;o that God hath tied him&s;elf to give Faith to every one that hears, I would not bee under&s;tood &s;o: But thus, God hath appointed, that hearing &s;hould bee a means for the work|ing of Faith; It is true, it is the ble&s;&s;ing of God in hearing, but hearing is the way that God hath &s;et; God indeed can convey Faith from Heaven to any &s;oul immediately; I but where there is the preaching of the Go&s;pel, there do I ex|pect that the&s;e creatures that do intend that I &s;hould work Faith in them, &s;hould come and attend upon the preach|ing of the Go&s;pel: Chri&s;t could have opened the blind mans eyes, without &s;pitting upon the clay, and anointing his face, but hee would have that done, and that mu&s;t bee the
<PB N="318" REF="160"> means by which hee will open his eyes: So if God will have hearing the Word of the Go&s;pel to bee the means by which hee will work Faith in the &s;oul, take heed how this bee neg|lected, <HI>Act.</HI> 20.18. <HI>Paul</HI> was &s;ent to preach, to what end? <HI>To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkne&s;s to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgivene&s;s of &s;ins, and inheritance among them that are &s;an|ctified by Faith that is in mee.</HI> Saith the Lord Chri&s;t to <HI>Paul,</HI> I will &s;end thee to open the eyes of men, and to turn them from darkne&s;s unto light, and from the power of Satan un|to God, that they may receive forgivene&s;s of &s;ins; and this is the great ordinance that I intend for this end, and that I will accompany to tho&s;e that I purpo&s;e to &s;ave at any time. Therefore when you come to hear the Word, you &s;hould come to it as the great Ordinance that God hath appointed to &s;ave &s;ouls by. Is there any &s;oul that begins in this Con|gregation to bee awakened, and to think with it &s;elf, Oh Lord, <HI>What &s;hall I do to bee &s;aved?</HI> I tell thee, that every time thou come&s;t to hear the Word preached, thou &s;houlde&s;t come to it with &s;uch thoughts as the&s;e; Now am I going to that great Ordinance that the Lord hath appointed to convey his power thorow, to the &s;alvation of tho&s;e &s;ouls that are appointed to eternal life; I am going to the <HI>Pool of Bethe&s;da,</HI> and there will I wait until the Lord &s;hall bee plea&s;ed for to &s;end his <HI>Angel</HI> to &s;tir in my heart, and I have begun to feel &s;ome power of Chri&s;t already, which doth incourage mee to hope for further power; There is ma|ny a &s;oul hath met with Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and hee hath brought it from the power of Satan, to his own Kingdome of light, and why may not my &s;oul meet with the &s;ame power of Je|&s;us Chri&s;t? however, I am re&s;olved, that as long as I live, I will wait upon God in the way that hee hath appointed; Oh the Word it hath a great deal of efficacy for the &s;alva|tion of &s;ouls, therefore if thou woulde&s;t have thy &s;oul &s;a|ved, attend upon it for that end. I &s;hall apply one Scrip|ture, which may bee for the preparation to what remains.&mdash; You are about inquiring how you &s;hould bee &s;aved, and
<PB N="319" REF="160"> wee are about an&s;wering, Oh take heed that you bee not found in this, like unto tho&s;e wretched Jews (which God forbid that there &s;hould bee any one in this place found like unto) that would fain have the Prophet <HI>Jeremiah</HI> be inquiring what the mind of God was concerning them, and they profe&s;t, that what&s;oever the Lord &s;hould reveal by him, that they would do, but when it came, loe they fling off all, and it was to no purpo&s;e; the Scripture is in <HI>Jer.</HI> 42.5. Then they &s;aid to <HI>Jeremiah, The Lord bee a true and a faithful witne&s;s between us, if wee do not even according to all things, for the which the Lord thy God &s;hall &s;end thee to us.</HI> Wee de&s;ire thee to go and know the mind of God, and tell it us, and here wee profe&s;s and call God to wit|ne&s;s, that wee will do what lies in us to perform all that the Lord thy God &s;hall require; This was a very fair pro|mi&s;e, and I hope there are &s;ome &s;ouls, if not generally all of you, have &s;uch a kinde of di&s;po&s;ition. Oh let his &s;er|vant &s;earch his Word, and finde out what &s;hould be done, and what&s;oever hee &s;hall &s;peak according to his Word, that will wee do, and God forbid it &s;hould bee otherwi&s;e; it were ju&s;t with God that our &s;ouls &s;hould peri&s;h, if wee &s;hould do otherwi&s;e; but there is a mighty deal of deceit|fulne&s;s in the hearts of men; <HI>Jeremiah</HI> went, and did as they de&s;ired him, but mark, <HI>chap.</HI> 44. 16. and you &s;hall &s;ee what a different di&s;po&s;ition there was in them, to what there &s;eemed to bee before; fir&s;t you &s;hall finde in <HI>chap.</HI> 43. they begin to wrangle at what <HI>Jeremiah</HI> &s;pake to them, all the proud men began to wrangle at what <HI>Jeremiah</HI> &s;pake, mark, it is all the proud men, they are proud &s;pirits that do contend with Gods Word, but mark, fir&s;t they wrangle, <HI>chap.</HI> 43.2. and then they grow re&s;olute and &s;tubborn, <HI>chap.</HI> 44.16. As for the word that thou ha&s;t &s;poken to us in the Name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee; why, what, are the&s;e the men that called God to witne&s;s, that what&s;o|ever <HI>Jeremiah</HI> &s;hould declare in the Name of God, they would do it? and yet now, fir&s;t they wrangle at what he &s;aith, and then they re&s;olve, that as for what hee hath &s;poken to
<PB N="320" REF="161"> them in the Name of the Lord, they will not hear it: Now God forbid that ever there &s;hould bee found among any of you &s;uch wrangling &s;pirits with the Word of God; certain|ly God will ju&s;tifie the words of his &s;ervants that they &s;peak in his Name one day, and will make them good upon you, and they may lye heavy upon the &s;oul that &s;hall neglect them; but then where there is fir&s;t wrangling at the Word of God, there u&s;ually grows an impudent, proud, &s;tubborn, ca&s;ting off the Word of God; <HI>As for the word that thou ha&s;t &s;poken unto us in the Name of the Lord, wee will not hearken unto thee.</HI> Why &s;hould not wee do what wee have a mind to? why &s;hould not wee take our liberty on the Lords day, as vvee vvere vvont, and follovv our bu&s;ine&s;s as vvee vvere vvont? let them &s;ay vvhat they vvill, vvee vvill do as vvee vvere vvont to do, and vvee vvill keep our com|pany, as vvee vvere vvont to do; let them &s;peak vvhile their heart akes; this vvas the very guize of this people that made &s;uch a profe&s;&s;ion before the Lord, but oh the Lord for|bid that it &s;hould bee &s;o vvith any of you.</P>
<P>But Seventhly, If thou vvoulde&s;t have thy &s;oul &s;aved, thou mu&s;t take heed of re&s;ting upon fal&s;e hopes of thy &s;al|vation, you mu&s;t ra&s;e down even to the very ground all your fal&s;e hopes of &s;alvation; there is nothing in the vvorld hinders the &s;alvation of &s;ouls more than fal&s;e hopes; vvhen men dare build their eternal &s;alvation upon every &s;leight and vain hope that they hold, <HI>The hope of the Hypocrite,</HI> the Scriptuie &s;aith, <HI>is like the Spiders-webb,</HI> &s;pun out of thine ovvn conceits, but every little touch is enough to &s;trike it dovvn again: Oh the poor things that people thus venture their &s;ouls upon! I &s;hevved you in the opening of vvhat did cau&s;e the lo&s;s of &s;ouls, that one thing vvas by venturing, and their vain hopes vvas one; novv the&s;e mu&s;t bee ras'd dovvn; you vvill &s;ay, vvhat are tho&s;e vain hopes that mu&s;t fir&s;t bee ras'd dovvn? and vvhat do you mean by ra&s;ing of them dovvn?</P>
<P>That I may &s;peak plainly in this thing, that concerns the poore&s;t and meane&s;t, that is of the meane&s;t capacity in the
<PB N="221" REF="161"> world, as well as the mo&s;t able or learned (for the poore&s;t hath a &s;oul to &s;ave, as well as the riche&s;t, and the weake&s;t, as well as the learned&s;t) if &s;uch a one &s;hould &s;ay, What are tho&s;e things that are to bee ra&s;ed down? to that I an|&s;w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Such hopes as are not Scripture-hopes, if they bee not Scripture hopes, they mu&s;t bee ra&s;ed down; <HI>Rom.</HI> 15.4. <HI>What&s;oever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that wee through patience and comfort of the Scripture might have hope.</HI> Wee have hope through patience and comfort of the Scripture; how doth the hopes of tho&s;e that &s;hall bee &s;aved ari&s;e? &mdash; Why, they ri&s;e thus, either by reading, or hearing &s;omething out of the Word of God, and God darting &s;ome light, &s;ome truths into their &s;ouls through his Word, they come to receive it, and there it lies working in them, till at length their &s;ouls reli&s;h it, and they ta&s;te the &s;weetne&s;s of the Word, and come to have comfort in it, and &s;o through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, their hope comes to bee rai&s;ed; the Scripture in rai&s;ing hopes, fir&s;t it works patience, it u&s;ually beats down the &s;oul fir&s;t, and &s;peaks hard things to it, and the &s;oul that God over-powers to him&s;elf, it is willing to lye under the power of the Scripture, and bee patient, notwith&s;tanding the Scripture doth reveal &s;uch hard things, and puts it upon ne|ver &s;uch hard duties, the heart, I &s;ay, yeelds to it, and at length the &s;oul comes to finde &s;weetne&s;s out of the Scrip|ture, and &s;o hopes comes to bee rai&s;ed, that is, the &s;oul &s;ees &s;ome eternal truth out of the Word of God, the truth of God him&s;elf that is eternal, a divine truth that it dares ven|ture its eternal e&s;tate upon, and upon this it doth rai&s;e its hope; it is able to give an account from &s;ome place of the Scripture, upon what grounds it doth hope. &mdash; I hope that God will &s;hew mercy to mee, and &s;ave my &s;oul in the day of Chri&s;t; will &s;ome &s;ay, I but what ground have you for your hopes? Now, if your hopes bee right, then there is &s;omewhat in this Book of God to bee &s;hewed as the ground of this; and indeed you can have but little comfort of your
<PB N="322" REF="162"> hopes, except you bee able to hold forth &s;ome Scripture of other upon which you build your hopes, for when you &s;ay you hope, you may not mean that you think and a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e per|&s;waded that it is &s;o, but what Scripture have you for i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> you will &s;ay, what Scriptures have any to ground their hop<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s of &s;alvation upon? what Scriptures? a great many; I will give you but this one that many have to ground their hope<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> upon, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.1. <HI>There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, who walk not after the fle&s;h, but after the Spirit.</HI> Upon this now &s;aith a &s;oul that God brings to him&s;elf; What do<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h God &s;ay in his Word (that word upon which my &s;oul &s;tands, and mu&s;t bee ca&s;t one day for eternity) that tho&s;e that are in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, &s;hall ne|ver bee condemned? I but who are they? &s;uch as walk not after the fle&s;h, but after the Spirit, &s;uch as the bent of who&s;e hearts, and the indeavours of who&s;e &s;ouls are not after fle&s;hly things, the comforts of this world, but after &s;pi|ritual things; &s;uch whom the Lord hath made to be &s;en&s;ible of &s;piritual things, and &s;uch as the Lord doth act and guide by his holy Spirit in their waies and conver&s;ations, God &s;aith, &s;uch &s;hall never be condemned; then upon this I will build my hopes, for I feel that the Lord hath been plea&s;ed to work &s;o on mee, as to bring mee to Je&s;us Chri&s;t to &s;ee him, to clo&s;e with him, and to relye upon him, and I feel the fruit of the Spirit of Chri&s;t in mee, that whereas before I walked after the fle&s;h, and &s;piritual things I did not &s;avour, now I finde that the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h are mortified, and I &s;hould wrong the grace of God, if I &s;hould deny the actings, and the guidings of the Spirit in my &s;oul; and therefore I will build my hopes, and re&s;t upon this Scripture. &mdash; And the more any &s;oul re&s;ts upon any Scripture (if it re&s;ts truly) the more &s;hall it finde the power of that Scripture upon it: &mdash; Therefore you &s;hall know the difference between an hypo|crites re&s;ting upon Scripture, and one that re&s;ts through the work of Gods Grace; an Hypocrite re&s;ts upon &s;uch a Scrip|ture, and conceits that his heart is according to the Scrip|ture; but now hee doth not finde, that the more hee re&s;ts,
<PB N="323" REF="162"> the more his heart is wrought upon by the Scripture, and dai|ly grows to bee liker and liker to the Scripture, to come nearer and nearer to what is required in the Scripture; but now when a gracious heart doth re&s;t upon Scripture, it findes that daily it doth grow nearer and nearer to the Scripture, and that works daily more and more upon it; and indeed this is the way to grow in &s;anctification, and to make our hearts like to the Scriptures. Fall upon &s;everal places, and let your &s;ouls re&s;t upon them for eternity, and &s;o you will finde your hearts to grow more and more like to tho&s;e Scriptures, and the power of tho&s;e Scriptures will appear more and more in your hearts and conver&s;ations. This is the way of the Saints that have hopes to bee &s;aved.</P>
<P>Secondly, Again, tho&s;e hopes that are to be ra&s;ed, are hopes that are not wrought in the &s;oul by the power of the Holy Gho&s;t: in the forenamed Chapter, <HI>The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in beleeving, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Gho&s;t.</HI> That hope that is right for &s;alvation, is &s;uch a hope as is wrought through the power of the Holy Gho&s;t: Now then, that hope that is in men and women, which is born with them, and hath lived with them all their daies, that &s;prings from the root of nature, for &s;o that that is born with us, and grows up with us all the daies of our lives, I &s;ay, it &s;prings from a root of na|ture, and &s;o the hopes of mo&s;t people, they are no other but &s;uch as &s;prings from a root of nature; come from one to another, and ask them, do you think to bee &s;aved? I, I hope &s;o; how long have you hoped &s;o? ever &s;ince I can remember, I thank God; I, I thought &s;o; it is a hope that &s;prings out of the root of nature, and therefore you have had it alwaies, whereas the true hope of the godly for &s;alvation, it is a hope wrought in their hearts by the Al|mighty power of the Holy Gho&s;t.</P>
<P>And I appeal to you now, what Almighty power of the Holy Gho&s;t have you felt in your hearts to rai&s;e up tho&s;e hopes that you have in you? &mdash; For certainly the grace
<PB N="324" REF="163"> of hope hath a difficulty in it, as well as any grace what&s;oe|ver; now all people almo&s;t finde an ea&s;ine&s;s in that; but here the Scripture makes it to bee the glory of the Holy Gho&s;t, to rai&s;e hopes in any creature; therefore tho&s;e hopes that ari&s;e from a root of nature, that are not wrought by an Almighty power of the Holy Gho&s;t in the heart, mu&s;t bee ra&s;ed down. &mdash; Do but put your &s;ouls to this que&s;tion, I have hopes to bee &s;aved, but Lord, how are they wrought? what power of the Holy Gho&s;t hath been in my heart to rai&s;e the&s;e hopes? Suppo&s;e there were no Holy Gho&s;t (as they &s;aid in the <HI>Acts,</HI> that they had not &s;o much as heard <HI>whether there were any Holy Gho&s;t or no</HI>) yet might not I have &s;uch a hope as I have in Gods mercy? Oh the hope that will bring to &s;alvation is &s;uch a hope as is rai&s;ed by the power of the Holy Gho&s;t. &mdash; Now if our hopes bee rai&s;ed by the power of the Holy Gho&s;t, then they will have much of the Holy Gho&s;t in them, and &s;utable to your hopes, &s;o doth the Holy Gho&s;t come into your hearts, and dwell in your hearts, and if it comes in and dwells in your hearts, then it doth inlighten your hearts, it doth act and guide you, you are lead by the Holy Gho&s;t in your way; Now, can you &s;ay, that in the cour&s;e of your lives, it is the Holy Gho&s;t that guides you, that you are carried on by the Holy Gho&s;t, and not by your own &s;pirits; It is true, the be&s;t of all may bee acted by their own &s;pirits, in &s;ome time of temptation, but for the cour&s;e of their lives they are acted and guided by the Holy Gho&s;t, their lives are &s;uch, as tho&s;e that live by them may &s;ay, here is one that is acted and guided by the Holy Gho&s;t; Now, can you &s;ay &s;o? certainly if you have true hopes for &s;alvation, it is rai&s;ed by the Holy Gho&s;t, and if it bee rai&s;ed by the Holy Gho&s;t, it doth act your lives in the waies of holine&s;s.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Tho&s;e hopes mu&s;t bee ra&s;ed down that are not lively hopes, and purging hopes, I will put them both toge|ther. &mdash; That are not lively, that you have in 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.3. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed bee the God and Father of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a
<PB N="325" REF="163"> lively hope, by the re&s;urrection of Je&s;us Chri&s;t from the dead.</HI> Here is a great deal in this Scripture; Fir&s;t, that the hopes of the Saints are lively hopes, that is, a hope as is mightily working in them, it will not &s;uffer their hearts to lye dead in any way of wickedne&s;s; Indeed, it may bee with the hearts of the Saints, as it is with a fountain of living water, that may have &s;ome dirt ca&s;t into it, but it being a living &s;pring, it works out that dirt; &s;o the children of God that have &s;ome lively hopes, may have &s;ome dirt ca&s;t in by temp|tation; &s;ome &s;in, I, but if their hopes bee lively, it will work it all out. &mdash; And mark, <HI>you are begotten,</HI> therefore you &s;ee that the hopes of life and &s;alvation it is that that is not bred with us (as I &s;pake before) but it is that that follows from our new birth. &mdash; And this is by the re&s;urrection of Je&s;us Chri&s;t from the dead. The power and the virtue of the re|&s;urrection of Je&s;us Chri&s;t from the dead being in the &s;oul, and putting a new life into the &s;oul, begets it to this lively hope.</P>
<P>And then it is a purging hope, 1 <HI>John</HI> 3.3. <HI>And every man that hath this hope, purifieth him&s;elf even as hee is pure.</HI> Mark, you think, what need men bee &s;o pure and &s;trict? are there none of you that ever have &s;corn'd at purity, and preci&s;ene&s;s, and holine&s;s? if you have, con&s;ider of this text upon which your &s;ouls lies; every man that hath this hope, that is, to &s;ee Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and bee made like unto him, hee doth here in this world purifie him&s;elf, as Je&s;us Chri&s;t is pure, that is, hee doth make Je&s;us Chri&s;t to bee his pattern in all that hee doth, and aims at no le&s;s purity, than the very purity of the Son of God; hee doth aim at it, hee makes it his work, though hee cannot come fully to it, and that very hope that is in him doth work him to this; Now what hopes you have had that are not &s;uch, mu&s;t bee ra&s;ed down to the ground, if ever you would bee &s;aved at la&s;t.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="326" REF="164">
<HEAD><HI>The Ninth SERMON ON</HI> The Excellency of the Soul.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matthew 16.26.</HI></BIBL> For what is a man profited if hee &s;hall gain the whole world, and lo&s;e his own &s;oul?</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>Que&s;tion.</P>
<P><HI>_YOu will &s;ay, Ra&s;ed down to the ground, what is that?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> By that I mean this.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, You &s;hould bee willing to &s;eek to God, and that earne&s;tly, that hee would never let you bee at quiet in any fal&s;e hope, be earne&s;t with God in prayer: O Lord, I &s;ee that the matter of my &s;al|vation, is a matter of infinite con&s;equence; if I &s;hould mi&s;|take, if I &s;hould mi&s;carry in it, it had been better for mee never to have been born; O Lord! therefore help mee in this thing above all, that I may never re&s;t my &s;alvation up|on any fal&s;e hopes, that &s;o I may not at the la&s;t bee di&s;|appointed of my la&s;t hopes; bee earne&s;t thus with God, and bee willing to know the wor&s;t of your &s;elves; Lord, if
<PB N="327" REF="164"> thou &s;ee&s;t the work bee not yet done let mee know it, let mee know it now, before it is too late; It is better to know that yet the work is to begin, while you have time to work, than to know it after when the time is gone: And then, bee willing to examine your hopes, to lay them to the rule of the Scripture, and that very narrowly: And if you finde your hopes cannot &s;tand with the Word, then re&s;olve thus with your &s;elves, the work is yet to bee done, the very laying of the foundation of that great work, of the &s;aving of my &s;oul, it is to begin: &mdash; I but you will &s;ay, God forbid this, wee have not lived all this while, to begin to lay the work for the &s;aving of our &s;ouls now, that were an ill thing indeed: &mdash; O I would to God it were not &s;o! but this very thought that &s;ome have, that they are not now to begin the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">aying of the foundation in &s;aving their &s;ouls, is that that doth de&s;troy them, whereas, though a man or woman have lived many years, yea though they have been Profe&s;&s;ours of Religion, yet if upon examination they can finde that the &s;aving work of God is not wrought in their hearts, and upon that can conclude, Lord it is to begin, for ought I know, I mu&s;t be|gin the work again, and better it is to begin twice, than bee damned once, therefore what&s;oever becomes of mee, I will begin again; this were a good &s;ign: Suppo&s;e you &s;hould begin again, and it may bee you thought too ill of your &s;elves, for it may bee there was &s;ome truth in your hopes, or hearts, that you could not &s;ee, yet there is no great danger in this, that that was good will hold, though you do not &s;ee it; it is the &s;afe&s;t way for men and women there|fore to bee willing to begin often, yea and &s;ometimes it is the be&s;t and the readie&s;t cour&s;e for people that have lo&s;t their evidences for &s;alvation, and they can &s;ee no clear evi|dences out of Gods Word to &s;ettle their hearts upon, for the great matter of their &s;alvation; I &s;ay, it is the readie&s;t way for them to do as if they were to begin again, rather than to &s;pend time in looking out their old evidences; as a man perhaps that hath lo&s;t his evidences may have them renewed with le&s;s charge and co&s;t than hee can &s;eek them out, and
<PB N="328" REF="165"> &s;o &s;ometimes it is with the &s;oul when it hath lo&s;t its eviden|ces for &s;alvation, it may get new in le&s;s time, and with le&s;s charge, than to &s;eek out the old. It may bee thou looke&s;t to &s;ee whether thou ha&s;t not been an Hypocrite all this while, or formal: Suppo&s;e upon examination thou can&s;t not finde any thing to &s;atisfie thy &s;oul, but that it hath been &s;o, yet now, what hinders but that thou maye&s;t this in&s;tant throw thy &s;oul upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t? I but I am afraid that when I have come to Chri&s;t, I have not come rightly. &mdash; I but per|haps thou maye&s;t come to Chri&s;t in that time that thou maye&s;t know whether thou ha&s;t come rightly, yea or nay: &mdash; But now the be&s;t way for tho&s;e that are mightily troubled and &s;olicitous about evidences whether their e&s;tate bee right or no, I &s;ay, let tho&s;e, rather than &s;pend too much time in di&s;couraging of their own hearts, begin the work a|gain; let &s;uch a one pre&s;ent Je&s;us Chri&s;t now as a Saviour for lo&s;t man, who&s;e grace is infinitely full, and infinitely free; and there is nothing hinders thee but that thou maye&s;t at this very in&s;tant ca&s;t thy &s;elf upon him to bee thy Saviour, both to &s;ave thee from &s;in, and from condemnation.</P>
<P>I but you will &s;ay, I may pre&s;ume, and who hath right to do any &s;uch thing?</P>
<P>To that I an&s;wer, that there is nothing can give thee right to Chri&s;t, but by ca&s;ting thy &s;oul upon him, by beleev|ing in him, that right that wee have to Chri&s;t, it is by beleeving: It is not by any work before beleeving that gives thee right to Je&s;us Chri&s;t: So that by this you &s;ee what I mean by ra&s;ing down the old foundation.</P>
<P>The next is, by laying the new foundation of this great work of thy &s;alvation, and bee &s;ure thou lay that &s;ure.</P>
<P>You will &s;ay, lay it &s;ure, what is it?</P>
<P>Chri&s;t is the foundation, <HI>No other foundation can bee laid but Chri&s;t him&s;elf;</HI> lay it there: &mdash; And then that that is next to Chri&s;t the foundation, it is the true work of Faith, and the true work of Repentance; the true work of Faith that is next, that is the foundation of what is wrought in our hearts; Chri&s;t is the foundation fir&s;t, but of any work
<PB N="329" REF="165"> in our hearts, the work of Faith, <HI>Beleeve, and thou &s;halt bee &s;aved:</HI> Now then, this work of Faith, thou mu&s;t rightly know what it is, and the way of thy beleeving; and how thou do&s;t receive Je&s;us Chri&s;t in thy beleeving; and the power of thy Faith how that is wrought; and what the work of it is upon thy heart; now thou having laid Chri&s;t for thy foundation, and under&s;tood the my&s;tery of the Go&s;pel, then when thou come&s;t to beleeve, in this great my&s;tery of the Go&s;pel, thou mu&s;t con&s;ider what is it that I am now to beleeve; why I am now to beleeve this, that the thoughts of God from all eternity were for the good of the children of men; and therefore hee hath &s;ent the &s;econd Per&s;on in Trinity into the world to take mans nature upon him, to die an accur&s;ed death for the &s;in of man: And for mee in particular, the thoughts of God were thus upon me from all eternity, to &s;end his &s;on into the world to take my nature upon him, and to bee made a cur&s;e for my &s;in, to pay a price for my &s;oul, and through him (when I beleeve) I do beleeve all my &s;in to bee pardoned, the infinite, holy, dreadful God to bee at peace with mee, my &s;oul to bee re|conciled; this wretched &s;inful &s;oul of mine to bee received into mercy, into the love of God, as the love of a Father, to bee made an Heir of God and Eternal life, when thou do&s;t beleeve, this is the Object of thy Faith; now this is a mighty work, a mighty thing to beleeve &s;uch things as the&s;e are: Con&s;ider therefore what thou doe&s;t, when thou &s;aye&s;t thou do&s;t beleeve in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, put that to th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;oul, can&s;t thou, O my &s;oul, clo&s;e with the&s;e things? can&s;t thou ven|ture thy &s;oul upon &s;uch things as the&s;e are? and when thou come&s;t to beleeve, what do&s;t thou? it is not that thou thinke&s;t that the&s;e things are true, but thou do&s;t in thy be|leeving receive Je&s;us Chri&s;t according to the condition of the Go&s;pel, that is, thy heart doth open to receive into it the King of glory; Oh it is Ch<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i&s;t that is the foundation of the New Wo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ld that God is to rai&s;e up; It is Je&s;us Chri&s;t that brings in all the good, and happine&s;s, and glory of God to the children of men, and it is hee that my heart
<PB N="330" REF="166"> opens to receive in, to imbrace, to bee &s;atisfied with all, as all the good and happine&s;s I expect; and it is Chri&s;t that my heart opens too to &s;ave mee from my &s;in, as well as from puni&s;hment, to unite mee to God, to bring mee to u|nion with him, that I may live for ever to the prai&s;e of the great God; and it is this Chri&s;t that I take into my heart to bee King and Governour, and now to rule: Sin, Satan, Temptations, Lu&s;ts, &s;hall not reign as they have done, but Chri&s;t &s;hall &s;et up his own Government in my &s;oul. &mdash; Now then, upon this mu&s;t needs follow wonderful and glorious effects upon the &s;oul, the &s;oul that doth beleeve &s;uch high things as the&s;e are, and doth open it &s;elf to receive Chri&s;t upon &s;uch tearms, certainly, I &s;ay, there mu&s;t needs bee wonderful effects wrought in that &s;oul; &s;uch things mu&s;t needs work the &s;oul up to God, to live to him in another manner than ever, and that is the rea&s;on of the Scripture expre&s;&s;ion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 5.17.</NOTE> <HI>Who&s;oever is in Chri&s;t, is a New Creature, all old things are pa&s;t away, and all things are become new.</HI> For why? the Lord hath revealed new glorious things to &s;uch a &s;oul, and the Lord therefore now acts and carries on the &s;oul to o|ther manner of objects than ever before it was wont to bee bu&s;ied about. &mdash; And &s;uch a kinde of work of Faith is this, that is the foundation of the great work of &s;alvation next to Je&s;us Chri&s;t him&s;elf, as the old mu&s;t bee ra&s;ed down, &s;o a new mu&s;t bee rai&s;ed up.</P>
<P>Now when you come to think of &s;alvation, that you hope to bee &s;aved, you mu&s;t have recour&s;e to &s;uch a kinde of work upon you, as this; how have I felt the power of the Holy Gho&s;t ra&s;ing down old things? and how have I felt the power of God, even that <HI>power by which Je&s;us Chri&s;t was rai&s;ed from the dead,</HI> to rai&s;e &s;uch a foundation as this is? &mdash; And upon this now followes the work of Humiliation and Repentance, that is, <HI>Godly &s;orrow;</HI> and &s;o to mourn, as to have the heart to bee taken from its former cour&s;es and waies, and bee &s;et upon the contrary good: &mdash; Now when the &s;oul finds &s;uch workings of God upon it (as cer|tainly the&s;e things cannot bee, and no notice at all taken
<PB N="331" REF="166"> of them) when the &s;oul takes notice how God comes in with power upon it, and beleeves, that now &s;urely the Lord intends &s;alvation to mee, the Lord hath laid &s;uch a ground-work upon my &s;oul, as I dare venture all upon it, and now I have cau&s;e to hope that the hazard of mi&s;carrying to all eternity is over. O this is that that is the <HI>joy of the Holy Gho&s;t, joy un&s;peakable and glorious,</HI> when the &s;oul upon good grounds can have hopes that the hazard of its mi&s;carrying to all eternity is over; now, <HI>My &s;oul return unto thy re&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 16.7.</NOTE> &s;aith &s;uch a one; &s;o that that is the next thing, the ra&s;ing down of the old, and rai&s;ing up the new foundation.</P>
<P>Ninthly, If thou woulde&s;t have thy &s;oul &s;aved, thou mu&s;t keep thy &s;oul under the authority of the Word, and maintain the authority of the Word, and the authority of con&s;cience over thee; this is the way, if thou meane&s;t to go in Gods way for &s;alvation.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, For the Word; The &s;oul that God intends to &s;ave, hee doth reveal unto it a dreadful authority that there is in this Book of God; this is that word, &s;aith God to the &s;oul, wherein I have revealed my mind to the children of men: Tho&s;e coun&s;els of my will that concern the eternal good of the children of men are in this book, and all your &s;ouls are to be ca&s;t by this book, by this word, for eternity: Now this being revealed to the &s;oul, the &s;oul &s;tands in awe of this word, and trembles at this word, fears the authority of it, looks upon every threatning in the Word, every command in the Word, every promi&s;e in the Word, as having a divine authority &s;tampt upon it, &s;ees the broad Seal of Heaven &s;tampt upon every thing in this Book, and dares not wilfully tran&s;gre&s;s again&s;t any thing in the Word, and &s;o continues in keeping its &s;elf under the dreadful authority of the Word; and that &s;oul is in a good forwardne&s;s to bee &s;a|ved, that is kept under the dreadful authority of Gods Word, in the con&s;tant cour&s;e of it: Now I appeal to you, you would fain have your &s;ouls &s;aved, but can you &s;ay thus? Indeed I have many &s;ins, yet God knows, (that knows all things) that my &s;oul it is kept under the dreadful authority of
<PB N="332" REF="167"> his Word continually, and this I labour to do more and more, and I am willing it &s;hould bee &s;o, I am not willing to have the authority of Gods Word ca&s;t off, but I am g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ad that ever God did di&s;cover to mee the dreadful authority that there is in his Word.</P>
<P>Secondly, And then the next thing is the authority of con&s;cience; if con&s;cience have any enlightening, it is that that will di&s;cover very much of the mind of God unto thee; there is nothing will di&s;cover Gods mind more unto the heart of a man or woman, than an enlightened con&s;cience, and it will di&s;cover it with power; a Mini&s;ter &s;peaks, and his words many times vani&s;h in the Air, but when con|&s;cience comes to di&s;cover Gods mind, it comes with power, and &s;peaks particularly to this &s;oul, and the other &s;oul, and con&s;cience (when it hath light) will bee pleading of Gods cau&s;e, and admoni&s;hing and plucking the &s;oul out of the waies of death and perdition, and it will not ea&s;ily bee put off; you may ea&s;ily put off the coun&s;els of &s;uch and &s;uch friends, but con&s;cience will not ea&s;ily bee put off, it will come with &s;uch maje&s;ty upon the heart of a &s;inner, that there is no gain-&s;aying of it; con&s;cience will not regard the vain &s;hifts that people have, but &s;till comes in a command|ing power: Oh keep the authority of con&s;cience, many men and women, becau&s;e they cannot go on freely in the waies of &s;in, where con&s;cience and the word have much authority over them, therefore they &s;eek to ca&s;t off the au|thority of the word and con&s;cience, but know this for a truth, that that &s;oul that hath ca&s;t off the authority of the word and con&s;cience, is going apace to Hell, is going apace to de&s;truction; All the while the word and con&s;cience kept thee under, thou wert in &s;ome forwardne&s;s towards the way of life, but if thou ha&s;t once ca&s;t off that, then Oh how doth the &s;oul grow hardened in &s;in! how ea&s;ily are the truths of God rejected! and then it goes with greedine&s;s to &s;atisfie the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h, and ten thou&s;and to one but &s;uch a &s;oul peri&s;hes eternally. Oh, if there bee ever a &s;oul in this place that had the authority of Gods word and con|&s;cience
<PB N="333" REF="167"> to bee over them with power, and now through the violence of their lu&s;ts have ca&s;t it off; Oh let &s;uch a one take notice of what is &s;aid unto them in the Name of God, Oh thy &s;oul is going apace to de&s;truction; But as for you that begin to feel any authority of the word, or of con&s;cience upon you, Oh keep it; for this it is that will carry and guide thee in the way that will bring to life at the la&s;t.</P>
<P>Tenthly, If thou woulde&s;t have thy &s;oul bee &s;aved, take heed of &s;inning again&s;t the price of thy &s;oul, again&s;t the blood of the covenant, and again&s;t mercy; take heed of the&s;e three things, take heed of &s;inning again&s;t Je&s;us Chri&s;t that paid the price, again&s;t the Go&s;pel, that revealed the price of thy &s;oul; Oh take heed above all things of turning the grace of God into wantonne&s;s! let not the free grace of God revealed in Je&s;us Chri&s;t bee turned to bee a means to harden thy &s;oul in &s;in, to think thou maye&s;t take the more liberty to have the &s;atisfaction of the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h, why, becau&s;e Je&s;us Chri&s;t came to &s;ave &s;inners; let mee &s;ay to thee, as <HI>Peter</HI> to <HI>Simon Magus,</HI> Oh <HI>Pray if it bee po&s;&s;ible that the thoughts of thy heart may be forgiven thee.</HI> If thou ha&s;t ever had &s;uch rea&s;onings in thy heart, why, Je&s;us Chri&s;t came to &s;ave &s;inners; and the grace of the Go&s;pel, that is free and full enough to &s;ave &s;ouls, though they bee never &s;uch great &s;inners, and upon that thou ha&s;t taken more liberty; Oh thou had&s;t need fall down before the Lord, and cry, If it bee po&s;&s;ible that &s;uch a thought of thy heart might bee forgiven thee; if you look into the Epi&s;tle of <HI>Jude,</HI> you &s;hall finde a dreadful pa&s;&s;age again&s;t &s;uch <HI>as turn the grace of God into wantonne&s;s;</HI> it is made a &s;ign of a Reprobate, and it is as black a brand of a Reprobate as any one, to turn the grace of God (and e&s;pecially that grace of God that is in the price that is paid for &s;ouls, to turn that) into wantonne&s;s is the mo&s;t dreadful hinderance of &s;aving of a &s;oul, that po&s;&s;i|bly can bee; Oh take heed of &s;inning again&s;t Je&s;us Chri&s;t the great Saviour of &s;ouls, but honour Je&s;us Chri&s;t all the waies you can; would you fain have your &s;ouls &s;aved? Chri&s;t is the great Saviour of &s;ouls, and you had need honour him, <HI>(Ki&s;s
<PB N="334" REF="168"> the Son le&s;t hee bee angry)</HI> and love him;<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 2.1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> you had need love his ordinances, and all his members, and all his people; you had need give all the re&s;pect that may bee to him, be|cau&s;e hee is the onely Saviour of &s;ouls: &mdash; And for the blood of the Covenant, take heed you &s;in not again&s;t that, let it not bee accounted as a common thing; Oh do not prize the &s;atisfying of your own lu&s;ts, rather than the blood of the Covenant, and all the good that was purcha&s;ed by that blood; when any wretched &s;inner &s;hall hear the Go&s;pel preached to him, and yet &s;hall prize the living in any ba&s;e wicked way of &s;in, I &s;ay, &s;uch a one doth trample the blood of the everla&s;ting Covenant under his feet, and the lan|guage of his heart and actions is nothing but this, what&s;oe|ver is &s;poken concerning the blood of the everla&s;ting Covenant revealed in the Go&s;pel, I do prize the &s;atis|fying the lu&s;ts of mine own heart, more than all the good that is in the Covenant; now do you think can &s;uch a &s;oul as this bee &s;aved? now you &s;in again&s;t the blood of the Covenant, when you come hand over head to the Sacra|ment, and thereby you come to bee guilty of the body and blood of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; People are mighty earne&s;t about coming to Sacraments, now do but read 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11. It is a Scripture which I know you that are acquainted with Scrip|ture, are not unacquainted with, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 27. <HI>Who&s;oever &s;hall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, &s;hall bee guilty of the body and blood of the Lord;</HI> And what then, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 29. <HI>Hee eateth and drinketh his own damnation.</HI> When you would have the Sacrament, as the &s;eal of the blood of Chri&s;t, and yet come in your &s;in and filthine&s;s, and do not di&s;cern the Lords body, you come to bee guilty of the blood of Chri&s;t, and &s;o to bee guilty of your own damna|tion; and &s;o many think to &s;eal their &s;ouls, by eating and drinking, the damnation of their &s;ouls; for there is nothing &s;et out in Scripture that furthers more the damnation of a &s;oul, than to &s;in again&s;t the blood of the Covenant: I know &s;ome make that Scripture their <HI>damnation to them&s;elves,</HI> that is, that they are onely to bee reproved and condemned for
<PB N="335" REF="168"> doing &s;o, but wee are to inlarge Scripture to the utter|mo&s;t that may bee; and &s;eeing the Scripture hath made the &s;in again&s;t the blood of Chri&s;t in other places &s;o dreadful, wee may very well under&s;tand that place in the mo&s;t dread|ful &s;en&s;e that may bee: Now if in ca&s;e you come unworthi|ly, you hear what the Scripture &s;peaks, it is guiltine&s;s of the blood of Chri&s;t, and eating and drinking your own &s;ouls damnation: &mdash; And then take heed of &s;inning again&s;t the mercy of God; let not mercy harden you, but let it &s;often your hearts; Oh that &s;oul is in a good forwardne&s;s to bee &s;aved, that every time it thinks of the mercy of God, it findes it &s;elf to melt before the Lord, and mourn bitterly for &s;in, when as it applies the mercy of God to it &s;elf, I, that is a good evidence; but now when you think or &s;peak of Gods mercy, you finde your hearts the more hardened in &s;in, Oh this is dreadful! for how can &s;uch a &s;oul be &s;a|ved, that &s;ins again&s;t the mercy and love of Je&s;us Chri&s;t? for who &s;hall hear and plead for thy &s;oul before God, when as thou art guilty of the blood of Je&s;us Chri&s;t? and what is it that &s;hall bee thine attonement before the Father? It mu&s;t bee blood; <HI>Without &s;hedding of blood there is no remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in:</HI> And what blood mu&s;t bee for the remi&s;&s;ion of thy &s;in, when as thou trample&s;t the blood of the Covenant under thy feet? and when thou &s;inne&s;t again&s;t mercy? what is it that mu&s;t recover thee, but the mercy of God, when thou come&s;t to God in the angui&s;h of thy &s;oul? Now if thy ca&s;e bee thus, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hall plead again&s;t thee, and &s;ay, Oh Father, Father, avenge thy &s;elf upon this wretch, that hath not onely &s;inned again&s;t thy work of Creation, but again&s;t the work of Redemption, that I went into the world to work; Father, let this &s;oul peri&s;h eternal|ly, that hath rejected mee, and received every ba&s;e wretch|ed lu&s;t before mee; now, &s;hall that &s;oul bee &s;aved that &s;hall have the blood of the Covenant cry again&s;t it, and mercy it &s;elf cry to the Lord again&s;t it, Lord, avenge my cau&s;e, for I have been mo&s;t abominably and cur&s;edly abu&s;ed by this wretch? when not onely the Law of Gods Ju&s;tice,
<PB N="336" REF="169"> and Satan accu&s;es thee, but Chri&s;t, and his blood, and the Go&s;pel it &s;elf, how &s;hall &s;uch a &s;oul bee &s;aved? now then, if you would have your &s;ouls &s;aved, take heed of &s;inning a|gain&s;t Je&s;us Chri&s;t, again&s;t the Go&s;pel, and again&s;t the blood of God, and again&s;t the mercy of God.</P>
<P>Eleventhly, If thou woulde&s;t have thy &s;oul &s;aved, take heed of &s;inning again&s;t the Spirit of Grace, the good Spirit of God, that mu&s;t draw thee to Chri&s;t, and guide thee in the way of &s;alvation, if ever thou bee&s;t &s;aved.</P>
<P>Now, take heed of &s;leighting the motions of Gods Spirit, oh do not &s;leight any motion of the Spirit of God; how do&s;t thou know, but when there comes in any motion of Gods Spirit, it comes in to &s;ave thee at this time? thou can&s;t not tell but that at any time when Gods Spirit doth a&s;&s;i&s;t his Word, thy &s;oul may depend upon that time, &s;o as God may &s;ay, had this &s;oul followed on the work at this time, it might have been &s;aved; but upon its not following it on, it &s;hall not bee &s;aved; doth Gods Spirit begin to move thy &s;oul, when thou art hearing the Word? Oh do not go into wicked company, and &s;o lo&s;e all again, but get alone in thy clo&s;et, and fall down even upon thy face, and cry to God, that hee would follow on the work of his Spirit, that hee hath begun in thee: Oh Lord, I lived a long time in a dead-hearted condition, never minding the good of my &s;oul, but thou ha&s;t begun to &s;tir mee, and Lord, I hope it is the beginning of thy &s;aving work upon my &s;oul; Oh that thou woulde&s;t go on with it. How many upon their &s;ick-beds and death-beds, would give a thou&s;and worlds (if they had them) that they could have &s;uch &s;tirrings of the Spirit of God, as &s;ometimes they have felt? Oh now when the Spi|rit &s;tirs, and temptation &s;tirs, take heed of li&s;tening to temp|tation, and rejecting the motions of Gods Spirit, but think of that that wee read on of the people of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> when they were going to <HI>Canaan,</HI> they were very near <HI>Canaan,</HI> and when they were upon the borders of it, they refu&s;ed to go into the Land, when God would have them, and upon that <HI>The Lord did &s;wear in his wrath,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al 95.10.</NOTE> <HI>that they &s;hould never enter
<PB N="337" REF="169"> into his re&s;t:</HI> So when the Spirit of God begins to bring thee near to &s;alvation, that it may bee &s;aid of thee, as Chri&s;t to the young man, <HI>Thou art not far from the Kingdome of Heaven,</HI> O take heed of hearkening to temptation, le&s;t the Lord &s;wear that thou &s;halt never enter into Heaven. The Spirit of God, which is like unto the Dove in the Ark, perhaps it comes into thy heart once, and it comes in again, and thou &s;ende&s;t it out again, but take heed of &s;ending it out the third time, le&s;t it &s;hould never come in to thee again;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 6.3.</NOTE> but that the Lord &s;hould &s;ay, Spirit, never <HI>&s;trive more</HI> with &s;uch a &s;oul: Oh when God begins to &s;tir, it doth concern you, to &s;ay with <HI>Samuel, Lord, &s;peak, for thy &s;ervant hears.</HI> You that have been forward heretofore, and have lo&s;t the work of Gods Spirit, you had need look about you, for it is a dangerous thing to draw back; <HI>My &s;oul,</HI> &s;aith God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.38.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hall have no plea&s;ure in tho&s;e that &s;hall draw back.</HI> And if the &s;oul of God will have no plea&s;ure in thee, how &s;hall thy &s;oul bee &s;aved?</P>
<P>Twelfthly, Who&s;oever would have their &s;ouls &s;aved, let them take this cour&s;e, account the preciou&s;ne&s;s of the time of your lives to con&s;i&s;t in this, that it is a day of &s;alvation; account it therefore a mercy of God that your lives are con|tinued upon this rea&s;on, not becau&s;e you may get great e|&s;tates, and live and have your plea&s;ures and delights, but becau&s;e God hath appointed the time of mans life here in this world, to bee the time to provide for his eternity; few men and women in the world know how to judge aright of the preciou&s;ne&s;s of their time, the time of their lives; and that man or woman that comes to know aright how to judge of the preciou&s;ne&s;s of this time of life, and of what doth depend upon it, &s;uch a one is in a good forwardne&s;s to &s;alvation.</P>
<P>Thirteenthly, The la&s;t thing that I &s;hall Name is this, bee &s;ure to go with tho&s;e that go in the &s;afe&s;t way, and the &s;traighte&s;t way; many of you, you que&s;tion about many things that others do, whether they need do &s;o or no; why can none bee &s;aved but tho&s;e that do &s;o? but I appeal to your con&s;ci|ences, do not you think the &s;tricte&s;t way of godline&s;s is the
<PB N="338" REF="170"> &s;afe&s;t way for &s;alvation? now, if it bee the &s;afe&s;t, if you did but under&s;tand the infinite con&s;equence of the &s;alvation of your &s;ouls, there need bee no other Argument to per|&s;wade you to any &s;trict way of godline&s;s, but this; whatever it bee, whether ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary, or no, I am &s;ure it is the &s;afe&s;t way; and I am &s;ure there was never yet any upon his &s;ick-bed that did repent him that hee was too &s;trict and too preci&s;e, but I have known many that have repented them of being too loo&s;e, and too carele&s;s: Now in a mat|ter that is of great con&s;equence, you will bee &s;ure to take the &s;afe&s;t way: If there bee any people in the world that walk &s;o as your con&s;ciences tell you they are in a more &s;trict way than others, more holy, more clo&s;e to God, more &s;elf-denying, more faithful, it doth concern you to inquire af|ter tho&s;e, and to walk after tho&s;e, and joyn with them; &s;urely tho&s;e that go on in the &s;afe&s;t way for the &s;alvation of their &s;ouls, tho&s;e I will make a pattern to mee; I will not look what the common cour&s;e of the world, and the gene|rality of the world doth; The Scripture tells us that <HI>There are but few that &s;hall bee &s;aved;</HI> And therefore the fewne&s;s of men &s;hall never di&s;courage mee; bee they never &s;o few, bee they never &s;o mean, If I am per&s;waded in my con|&s;cience it is the &s;afe&s;t way, that is the way that I will walk in, and &s;urely it is the way for the &s;oul to have comfort at the great day, when it &s;hall appear before the great God and our Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t. I be&s;eech you con&s;ider of this, if you were all now to appear before Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to have your e|ternal e&s;tates determined of, in what mens conditions would you wi&s;h your &s;elves to be in? if it might bee at your liberty, and Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;ay, now I am to pa&s;s the &s;entence of eter|nity upon you for your &s;alvation or damnation; now what kind of mens e&s;tates would you wi&s;h your &s;elves to be in? who would you rather be like unto? who would you venture mo&s;t upon, to be dealt withall according as your con&s;ciences do think they are mo&s;t like to bee dealt with? I am per&s;wa|ded, if this were the ca&s;e, mo&s;t loo&s;e, and prophane, and ungodly men, would run and cling unto tho&s;e that now
<PB N="339" REF="170"> they &s;corn and contemn; unto tho&s;e that walk with the mo&s;t &s;trictne&s;s and holine&s;s in their conver&s;ations: Certainly if you would do &s;o <HI>Then,</HI> it is your wi&s;dome to do &s;o <HI>Now;</HI> that which will bee true then, certainly is true now; and therefore that is a good way for the helping to &s;ave your &s;ouls, to joyn with tho&s;e that walk in the &s;tricte&s;t and the holie&s;t way, to do that now, that if you were to die, you would wi&s;h you had done; and to bee with them now, that if you were to have the &s;entence of eternity pa&s;t upon you, you would wi&s;h you had been withall. But this &s;hall &s;uffice for what is to bee &s;aid concerning that great Que&s;tion, about the preventing the lo&s;s of our &s;ouls, and what wee &s;hould do to bee &s;aved: &mdash; Now for the conclu&s;ion; you have heard divers things already, about the way, and direction for the &s;aving of &s;ouls; I &s;uppo&s;e when fir&s;t the Que&s;tion was rai&s;ed, every one of you would bee greedy to hear an an&s;wer; There was never a one in this place but would fain have his &s;oul &s;aved eternally; what do you mean to do now? what are your thoughts? there hath been a que&s;tion, and I have indeavoured in the Name of God to an&s;wer it; Now this is that that I de&s;ire of you even before you &s;leep, get into the pre&s;ence of God alone, and give in your an|&s;wer to God, what you mean to do, are you re&s;olved upon it? will you ingage your &s;ouls now to God (this evening) that that little time that hee will let you live in this world, that your indeavours &s;hall bee according to tho&s;e particu|lars that have been opened unto you? Oh ble&s;&s;ed bee God if this bee but in any one &s;oul! but can any one think that among &s;uch a multitude as this is, but that the Lord would bee plea&s;ed to dart &s;ome thing or other into one or more. Let mee conclude at this time, as the &s;ervant of <HI>Naaman</HI> &s;aid to him, when the Prophet gave him direction what hee &s;hould do to bee clean&s;ed, hee began to bee angry, and was loath to do what the Prophet bid him; why (&s;aith his &s;er|vant to him) My Father, <HI>If the Prophet had bid thee do &s;ome great thing, woulde&s;t thou not have done it? how much ra|ther then when hee &s;aith to thee, wa&s;h and bee clean?</HI> So I &s;ay
<PB N="340" REF="171"> to you; con&s;idering what the worth of your &s;ouls is, and the danger there is of your eternal mi&s;carrying, how if God &s;hould have &s;aid this, That &s;o your &s;ouls may bee &s;aved, I require of every one of you that you &s;hould for forty, fifty years lie as a head-block at the fire burning; I, and if God &s;hould have &s;aid thus unto us from Heaven, wee had all cau&s;e to have fallen upon our faces, and have ble&s;&s;ed God for his mercy towards us; but now God doth not require any &s;uch thing as this at your hands, but requires the abandon|ing of your lu&s;ts, and the attending upon him in his Ordi|nances; and hee requires the keeping of your &s;ouls under his Word and Con&s;cience, and the following of the motions of his Spirit, and the beleeving in his Son; &s;uch things as the&s;e the Lord requires, upon which your &s;ouls may eternally bee &s;aved; and will not you accept? well, that &s;oul that God intends to &s;ave, hee will per&s;wade, and the Lord per|&s;wade your &s;ouls in the&s;e things, that &s;o you may bee &s;aved in the day of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="341" REF="171">
<HEAD><HI>The Tenth SERMON ON</HI> The Excellency of the Soul.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Matthew 16.26.</HI></BIBL>
<P>For what is a man profited if hee &s;hall gain the whole world, and lo&s;e his own &s;oul?</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_NOw then having done with that point, wee are to come to the la&s;t thing; That as the lo&s;s is great, as in all the re&s;pects I opened, &s;o it is &s;uch, that &s;uppo&s;e a man to have gained the whole world in a way of the lo&s;s of his &s;oul, yet that gain will never recompence it; <HI>Job</HI> 27.8. <HI>For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though hee hath gained, when God takes away his &s;oul?</HI> There are &s;ome men that &s;eek the world, and yet lo&s;e both the world and their &s;ouls, they neither gain the world, nor their own &s;ouls; and &s;ome there are that do gain the world and their &s;ouls both: But there is no nece&s;&s;ary connexion be|tween either gaining the world, or lo&s;ing ones &s;oul, or lo|&s;ing the world, and gaining the &s;oul, but one may bee &s;e|vered from the other.</P>
<PB N="342" REF="172">
<P>But &s;uppo&s;e God &s;hould let a man gain what hee will (though many men &s;eek for gain by &s;inful waies, and God cro&s;&s;es them in it, they have not their gain, and yet they are damned eternally for &s;eeking gain) but &s;uppo&s;e a man had gotten all the world, as hee would de&s;ire, and yet this man wicked and lo&s;ing his &s;oul, hee is a mo&s;t mi&s;erable man: Now this is the thing that I have to do, to &s;hew unto you what a poor gain a man hath that is wicked, though hee hath got the world, when hee hath ca&s;t up all his reckonings, it may bee &s;aid of him, as wee u&s;ually &s;ay of men that have got little, They may put all their gain in their eye, and ne|ver &s;ee the wor&s;e: So certainly, if thou ha&s;t &s;ought after gain in this world, in &s;uch a way as thou ha&s;t not provided for thine own &s;oul, when thou come&s;t to &s;umme up all thine accounts, thou wilt &s;ee that very little is got: There are many waies whereby a man may come to &s;ee all the glory in the world to bee but darkne&s;s: By &s;eeing the glory of God, the glory of Chri&s;t, and the infinite con&s;equence of an eternal e&s;tate; tho&s;e three things make the &s;piritual man to look upon all the glittering vanities of this world, but as meer darkne&s;s, and as nothing: &mdash; But now there bee three other things that may help a natural man to &s;ee the things of the world to bee as nothing, and the gains of it to bee very poor gain, (I mean one that is not &s;anctified, that hath no grace.)</P>
<P>The fir&s;t is, If God do but plea&s;e to wound his con&s;ci|ence, and terrifie him, hee will &s;ee all things to bee poor things indeed.</P>
<P>Or &s;econdly, When God laies his hand upon him in af|flicting of him, upon his &s;ick-bed, or upon his death-bed. It is reported of <HI>Mu&s;culus,</HI> that when hee lay upon his death-bed, and his friends coming about him, and &s;eeing what a poor condition hee was in, that had been an eminent wor|thy In&s;trument of God, and an excellent Preacher in his time, and they mourning for the &s;ad condition they &s;aw him to bee in, <HI>O quid &s;umus?</HI> &s;ay they; as hee lay in his bed hee over-heard them, <HI>Fumus,</HI> &s;aid hee; that is, O what
<PB N="343" REF="172"> are wee? <HI>&s;moak:</HI> Many a carnal man in the time of his &s;ickne&s;s, and apprehen&s;ion of death, will &s;ay, that all this world it is as nothing.</P>
<P>A third thing that may make even a carnal heart to &s;ee all the things of this world to bee as nothing, It is &s;trength of Rea&s;on; though there &s;hould not bee terrour of con&s;cience, nor any afflictions, yet &s;trength of rea&s;on may di&s;cover the gain of this world to bee as nothing, in comparing of it un|to the &s;oul; and this &s;trength of rea&s;on God is plea&s;ed &s;ome|times to &s;anctifie by his Spirit, when it is helped by the Word, by the &s;anctified rea&s;on that there is in the Word; I &s;ay, when it is helped by that, then God ble&s;&s;es it &s;o as to work off the heart from the world, to the things that con|cern the everla&s;ting good of the &s;oul; And it is that that I &s;hall &s;peak to at this time, to convince you what a poor thing the gain of the world is, even by &s;trength of rea&s;on, and yet &s;uch rea&s;on as is founded upon the Scripture. &mdash;I have already &s;hewn you the things that may make a &s;piritual heart &s;ee a vanity in all things in the world, as the excellency of God, and of Chri&s;t, and the con&s;equences of eternity; Now the other two, terrour of con&s;cience, and afflictions, they are Gods work, and God, when hee plea&s;eth to &s;hew the vanity of the World, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oth ordinarily bring them upon the creature; but now for the third way of God to di&s;cover to the creature by the &s;anctified &s;aving work of his Spirit, the vanity of all things; I &s;hall indeavour to &s;hew it you by &s;trength of Argument and Rea&s;on out of the Word.</P>
<P>As Fir&s;t, Surely though thou &s;houlde&s;t gain the world, and yet bee a man that art like to peri&s;h at la&s;t, thou ha&s;t gotten but little; and it appears fir&s;t in this, that all tho&s;e that ever came to have true wi&s;dome, and that are in Scrip|ture commended for men of true wi&s;dome, they have lookt upon all the things of the world as very poor things: &mdash; Fir&s;t, What do you think of him that was the wi&s;e&s;t man up|on Earth (meer man) even <HI>Solomon?</HI> that had the greate&s;t experience that ever man had, of what good, the honours, or plea&s;ures, or profits of the world could do; and yet after
<PB N="344" REF="173"> all his experience, &s;ee his te&s;timony of all, in <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 1.2. <HI>Vanity of vanity, &s;aith the Preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity.</HI> Ob&s;erve the&s;e five things in it: &mdash; Fir&s;t, The things of this world are not onely <HI>vain,</HI> but <HI>vanity</HI> in the ab&s;tract: &mdash; Secondly, They are an exce&s;&s;ive vanity, vanity of va|nities, &mdash; Thirdly, A heap of vanity, vanity of vanities, &mdash; Fourthly, All is vanity, &mdash; Fifthly, Hee adds his name to this, <HI>Saith the Preacher;</HI> Now the word that is tran&s;lated here <HI>Preacher,</HI> in the <HI>Hebrew,</HI> as tho&s;e that know the tongue, know, it &s;ignifies one gathered, and it is in the feminine gender, and &s;o &s;ome think it notes the &s;oul of <HI>Solomon,</HI> that gathered wi&s;dome after hee had been gathering vanity &s;o long: But this is the re&s;ult of it, that all things in the world are onely vanity, and that vanity of vanities, heaps of vanity; or el&s;e a &s;oul gathered to God, after all his departure from him, <HI>Hee</HI> &s;aith it is &s;o; herein <HI>Solomon</HI> is like a man that hath gotten to the top of an high hill, &s;uch a hill as there are perhaps hundreds of people of a &s;trong conceit, that upon the top of the hill are very rich trea&s;ures to bee had, and they are all &s;crambling up the hill, and treading even one upon another that they may get up the hill; Now <HI>Solomon</HI> had got to the top of the hill before the re&s;t, and hee &s;eeing men keeping a &s;tir to get up out of &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">h a conceit, cries out to them, Sirs you are all deceived, you are per&s;waded that if you could get e&s;tates, and honours, and promotions, that then you &s;hould have a great deal of content, why, I am got upon this hill, and I finde there is nothing but dirt here, there is nothing here that will an&s;wer all your toyl, and trou|ble, and expectation, but you will bee utterly deceived; this is the meaning of this Scripture: And then next unto <HI>Solo|mon,</HI> one of the wi&s;e&s;t and holie&s;t men that ever lived upon the earth, St. <HI>Paul</HI> in the New Te&s;tament; mark, as &s;oon as ever God did but work upon his heart, to &s;hew unto him better things, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.8. Hee profe&s;&s;es that hee did account <HI>all things but lo&s;s for the excellency of the knowledge of Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> ver&s;. 7. <HI>But what things were gain to mee, tho&s;e I counted lo&s;s for Chri&s;t, yea doubtle&s;s, and I account all things but lo&s;s for
<PB N="345" REF="173"> the excellency of the knowledge of Chri&s;t Je&s;us my Lord, for whom I have &s;uffered the lo&s;s of all things, and do count them but dung,</HI> but doggs-meat, <HI>that I may win Chri&s;t.</HI> This was the &s;leight e&s;teem that <HI>Paul</HI> had of all the things in the world, that men kept &s;uch a &s;tir about. &mdash; And &s;o when God did but begin to work upon <HI>Zaccheus,</HI> when hee did but hear of the &s;alvation of his &s;oul, when Chri&s;t did but tell him, <HI>This day is &s;alvation come to thy hou&s;e,</HI> pre&s;ently, (being a covetous rich man that had gotten his e&s;tate wrongfully) hee cries out, <HI>The half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have wronged any man by forged cavilla|tion, I will re&s;tore fourfold.</HI> And &s;o <HI>John</HI> the Beloved Di&s;|ciple of Chri&s;t, which lay in his bo&s;ome, and therefore knew &s;o much of the mind of Chri&s;t, you know what hee &s;aith in his fir&s;t <HI>Epi&s;t.</HI> 2.15. <HI>Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him: for all that is in the world, the lu&s;t of the fle&s;h, the lu&s;t of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father. The lu&s;t of the fle&s;h,</HI> that is plea&s;ures and &s;en&s;uality; <HI>the lu&s;t of the eyes,</HI> that is riches; <HI>and the pride of life,</HI> that is honours; the&s;e are not of the Father, but of the world, &s;aith <HI>John;</HI> you may think they are great matters, they may bee great in your eyes, but <HI>they are not of the Father,</HI> but of the world; <HI>And the world pa&s;&s;eth away, and the lu&s;t thereof; but hee that doth the will of God, abideth for ever.</HI> It were infi|nite to &s;hew you this both in Scripture, and likewi&s;e in the whole cour&s;e of the &s;tory of the Church, how &s;leightly the Martyrs did account all the things of this world, as &s;oon as ever God gave them any true &s;piritual heavenly wi&s;|dome; but becau&s;e that would co&s;t a great deal of time, therefore wee proceed to &s;hew by &s;trength of rea&s;on, fur|ther out of the Scripture; yet this may convince rational men, that that which the wi&s;e&s;t men in the world, that have had from God a te&s;timony of great wi&s;dome, have thought to bee a little matter, certainly hath no great matter in it; but they have thought the gain of all the world to bee as nothing; therefore certainly there is no great matter in
<PB N="346" REF="174"> getting the things of the world, however men e&s;teem of them.</P>
<P>Secondly, What if a man doth gain the world, but lo&s;es his &s;oul, he is never a whit the better for any thing in the world; we &s;ay &s;ometimes in our common language, &s;uch a man is the be&s;t man in the Pari&s;h, and I have the hands of the be&s;t men in the Pari&s;h; the truth is, wee mean the riche&s;t men in the Pari&s;h: but riches and honours make no man one whit bet|ter than hee was before:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 10.20.</NOTE> <HI>The heart of the wicked is little worth.</HI> Let a man have never &s;o great an e&s;tate, hee may have &s;o many hou&s;es that are worth &s;o much, but hee is worth no more than hee was; as a great letter makes no more to the &s;en&s;e of a word, than a little letter doth; &s;o great honours, and great places, make no more to the excellency of a man, than to bee without them; the&s;e things in the world they have no goodne&s;s in them any further than wee put goodne&s;s upon them; wee may indeed make good u&s;e of them, and &s;o by our good u&s;e wee may make our &s;elves better through Gods Grace; but the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing of them doth not make any &s;oul one whit better than it was before, they make many &s;ouls wor&s;e; thou&s;ands of &s;ouls grow wor&s;e than they were before, by the enjoyment of the world, but where have you one better? none can bee better by the things of the world, no, it mu&s;t bee by &s;ome grace of God that a &s;oul grows better, and not by the things of the world: I will give you for this, this demon&s;tration, you never finde in Scripture (that I know of) that ever any childe of God was wor&s;e for afflictions in the conclu&s;ion, but you may finde, that almo&s;t every childe of God that was in pro&s;peri|ty, was the wor&s;e for their pro&s;perity, there are very few to bee excepted: I confe&s;s wee read not of <HI>Daniel,</HI> nor of <HI>Ne|hemiah,</HI> and I know not any but tho&s;e two, but ever were the wor&s;e for their pro&s;perity, but not one wor&s;e for af|flictions, from <HI>Gene&s;is</HI> to the <HI>Revelation;</HI> therefore certainly there is no &s;uch great matter in the things of the world; That is a remarkable place wee have in <HI>Dan.</HI> 11.21. <HI>And in his e&s;tate &s;hall &s;tand up a vile per&s;on, and hee &s;hall obtain
<PB N="347" REF="174"> the Kingdome by flatteries.</HI> &mdash; A vile per&s;on, and yet have the honour of the Kingdome, how can this &s;tand? yes, it is by interpreters thought to bee <HI>Antiochus Epiphanes,</HI> hee was advanc'd to that mighty height, that I remember <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Antiq. l. <HI>12.</HI> c. <HI>7</HI></NOTE> that the <HI>Samaritans</HI> in their letter to him give him the Title <HI>of the mighty God;</HI> hee had that title given to him by tho&s;e that were under him, and <HI>Antiochus Epiphanes,</HI> which &s;ignifies illu&s;trious; Illu&s;trious <HI>Epiphanes,</HI> the Mighty God, and yet the Holy Gho&s;t gives him this title, a vile per&s;on; what good do a few herbs that are &s;trewn upon a Carrion do? do they make the Carrion to bee le&s;s corrupt and pu|trified than it was? truly all the bravery that wicked men have, it is at the be&s;t but a few herbs and flowers &s;trewn upon a filthy carrion, which makes them not to bee the bet|ter: The things of this world therefore in Scripture are cal|led the things of <HI>another mans,</HI> in <HI>Luk.</HI> 16.12. <HI>And if you have not been faithful in that which is another mans, who &s;hall give you that which is your own?</HI> You may know the mean|ing of it by the ver&s;e before: <HI>If therefore yee have not been faithful in the unrighteous Mammon, who will commit to your tru&s;t the true riches?</HI> The riches of this world are called unrighteous Mammon; now the&s;e are oppo&s;ite to the true riches, as if the&s;e were not <HI>True</HI> riches, and then in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 12. If you have not been faithful in that which is another mans, that is, in the&s;e riches of the world, who &s;hall give you that which is your own? &s;o that nothing is a mans own, to make him better, but grace; the good things of the &s;oul, they are a mans own, but the other things they are the worlds things, they are not a mans own; therefore what doth it profit a man that hee hath gained the world? for hee is never a whit the better man.</P>
<P>Thirdly, All the&s;e things, they are things beneath the &s;oul, things of an inferiour nature; what good is it for a man that hath gotten never &s;o much food, that hee hath laid up for his hor&s;es and doggs, but hee hath nothing for his chil|dren or for him&s;elf? So if a man hath gotten the world, hee hath gotten &s;omewhat for his body, his inferiour part; I but
<PB N="348" REF="175"> hee hath gotten nothing for his &s;oul that is above it: The&s;e are things beneath and under the &s;oul: what good would it bee for a &s;ouldier, if hee have gilt his &s;cabbard, but hee hath a broken ru&s;ty &s;word within, or but a wooden &s;word within? Therefore I finde in Scripture that the bodies of men and women are called the &s;heath of their &s;ouls, <HI>Dan.</HI> 7.15. <HI>I Daniel was grieved in my &s;pirit, in the midst of my body.</HI> So it is in your books tran&s;lated, but tho&s;e that un|der&s;tand the Original Text, they know it is a word that &s;ig|nifies a <HI>&s;heath,</HI> and &s;o <HI>Arius Montanus</HI> turns it, and like|wi&s;e in your Margents, in the mid&s;t of his <HI>&s;heath;</HI> and by comparing this Scripture with another, it is plain, that that is the propriety of the word, 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 21.27. Where the Text &s;aith, <HI>The Lord commanded the Angel, and hee put up his &s;word again into the &s;heath thereof.</HI> Now the word that is here tran&s;lated <HI>&s;heath,</HI> I finde by comparing of them toge|ther, that it is the very &s;ame word in the Original that <HI>Daniel</HI> tran&s;lates body; for the body is but as the &s;heath unto the &s;oul, and what will it gain a &s;ouldier to have a brave &s;heath, and in the mean time have nothing within it, or that that is of no u&s;e at all? thus it is with many, they &s;eek great things for their bodies, but their &s;ouls are left in the mean time without any &s;uccour or help, and in a mo&s;t mi&s;erable condi|tion; all things that are in the world &s;hould bee &s;ervants to thy &s;oul, for they are all inferiour to it. Wee account it a great di&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">onour to a man to marry his &s;ervant; a man of e|&s;tate in the world, if wee hear hee hath married his &s;ervant, which is very mean, wee account it a di&s;honour: Now for thy heart to mingle it &s;elf with the things of this world, as its chiefe&s;t good, what do&s;t thou but marry thy &s;oul to that which &s;hould bee thy &s;ervant? for all the&s;e things are but as &s;ervants to the &s;oul; and for the heart of a man to bee &s;et upon the things of this world, it is to have the cur&s;e of <HI>Cham</HI> to bee upon him; <HI>A &s;ervant of &s;ervants &s;halt thou bee;</HI> for the things of the world they &s;hould bee thy &s;ervants, and thou art their &s;ervant, and &s;o a &s;ervant of &s;ervants; the cur&s;e of <HI>Cham</HI> is upon thee, when thou art a &s;lave to thy e&s;tate, or
<PB N="349" REF="175"> thy honours, or to thy bruti&s;h lu&s;ts, a &s;ervant of &s;ervants art thou.</P>
<P>Fourthly, They are &s;uch things as God in his ordinary ad|mini&s;tration of providence hath denied to the choice&s;t of his &s;ervants, &s;pecially in the times of the Go&s;pel: Many of the choice of his &s;ervants in former times were in very low and mean conditions; but for the times of the Go&s;pel, how did Chri&s;t him&s;elf, who was the Son of God, live? hee had not <HI>a hole to hide his head in; The fowls of the air had ne&s;ts, and the Foxes had holes, but the &s;on of man, not whereon to lay his head.</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that was infinitely beloved of the Father; and all the Apo&s;tles, they were in a poor mean condition, every one of them died a violent death, but one|ly <HI>John;</HI> wee have records of their &s;everal &s;orts of death, &s;ome crucified, &s;ome &s;toned, and &s;ome other kinds of death, but all put to death, &s;ave <HI>John,</HI> and read but the latter end of the eleventh of the <HI>Hebrews, Tho&s;e that the world was not worthy of,</HI> how <HI>they wandered up and down, In &s;heep-skins, and goat-skins, and dens, and caves of the earth.</HI> That was a little before Chri&s;ts time, hee &s;peaks of tho&s;e in the time of the <HI>Macchabes:</HI> Now certainly, if God hath &s;o ordered things in his general admini&s;trations, towards &s;uch as are mo&s;t dear in his eyes, as to deny them the&s;e things, that they &s;hall have but little of them, there is no great matter in them, &s;urely if there were any great matter in them, God would not deny them to his &s;ervants; when a wicked rich man &s;hall look upon a poor man that walks humbly before God, and would not commit the lea&s;t &s;in willingly for a world, meethinks &s;uch a man &s;hould think thus, Oh Lord! what a difference is there between &s;uch a poor man and I, and yet my con&s;cience tells mee, that God hath more honour from him in one day, than hee hath from mee in all my life; &s;urely there is no &s;uch great matter in the things of the world, that God hath denied them him: If there were any great matter in them, certainly &s;uch as walk mo&s;t humbly with God, and mo&s;t clo&s;e with God, &s;hould have them if they were ab&s;olutely good. &mdash; And indeed, this is one great
<PB N="350" REF="176"> rea&s;on that Gods own dear &s;ervants &s;hould have &s;o little of the world, and others &s;o much, it is, that hee might hold this forth to all the world, that the things of this world have but little in them.</P>
<P>Fifthly, And con&s;ider but the next Argument which fol|lows upon this, and is of a near kin to it, That all the things of this world, the plea&s;ures, profits, honours, they &s;urely have no great matter in them, for they are no more than may &s;tand with Gods eternal hatred of his creature. Now cer|tainly, tho&s;e things that have no higher excellency in them than may &s;tand with the eternal hatred of the Infinite God, certainly they have no great excellency in them; tho&s;e things that Reprobates may have, &s;urely have no great mat|ters in them, that that you give to your Swine, you make no great matter of it; take all the things of the world, they are no more than God gives to Swine, than God gives to Re|probates, than God gives to &s;uch as hee doth eternally hate; I remember that <HI>Luther</HI> hath &s;uch an expre&s;&s;ion as this of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Empire, It is but a crum that the great Ma&s;ter of the family ca&s;ts to his Dogg: Now if all the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Empire be no more than a bit of bread that you would ca&s;t to your Dogg, then what is <HI>your e&s;tate?</HI> The Lord who is &s;o infi|nitely rich in mercy, hee can afford &s;uch bones for Doggs as the&s;e are, &s;urely there is no great matters in the&s;e things that Reprobates may have as well as children; therefore you that are poor people (and yet godly) that want the&s;e things, do you quiet your hearts, what though you have not &s;uch an e&s;tate as others? Oh do not murmure! why, it is no great matter you want, you want but that that God gives to Reprobates; Suppo&s;e a man gains the world, if hee lo&s;e his &s;oul, what gets hee? hee gets a bone that Doggs have, for the lo&s;s of his &s;oul.</P>
<P>Sixthly, Take this Argument, That the things of this world, they have no reality in them at all, no real good in them, according to the language of Scripture, what are the things of the world divided into? take the divi&s;ion that you had before of St. <HI>John, The lu&s;t of the fle&s;h, the lu&s;t of the eyes,
<PB N="351" REF="176"> and the pride of life.</HI> Take plea&s;ures, and riches, and ho|nours, do but &s;ee what the Scripture &s;peaks of them all.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, For &s;en&s;ual plea&s;ures, you think they have a great deal of reality in them, why in the Scripture phra&s;e <HI>they are nothing,</HI> in <HI>Amos</HI> 6. compare the former part of the chapter with <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 13. <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 4. <HI>That lye upon beds of Ivory, and &s;tretch them&s;elves upon their Couches, and e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> the Lambs out of the flock, and the Calves out of the mid&s;t of the &s;tall, that chaunt to the &s;ound of the Viol, and invent to them&s;elves in|&s;truments like David, that drink Wine in bowls, and anoint them&s;elves with the chief ointments, but they are not grieved for the afflictions of Jo&s;eph.</HI> Here is the plea&s;ures that the&s;e men liv'd in, de&s;cribed; but mark what hee &s;aith, in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 13. <HI>Yee which rejoyce in a thing of nought:</HI> You do rejoyce in that which is nothing; all the&s;e plea&s;ures, the&s;e brave merriments, when you get into a Tavern, there you drink, and vaunt, and have plea&s;ure and mu&s;ick, and what a brave life is this? I but, yee that rejoyce, &s;aith the Holy Gho&s;t, in a thing of nought, it may bee a great matter in your eyes, I but the truth is, it is nothing; that is for Plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>Secondly, For Riches, &s;ee the te&s;timony of the Holy Gho&s;t concerning them, in <HI>Prov.</HI> 23.5. <HI>Wilt thou &s;et thi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e eyes upon that which is not?</HI> That which hath no being at all; no, it is onely grace and godline&s;s, that is that that hath a beeing, <HI>Prov.</HI> 8.21. That I may cau&s;e tho&s;e that love mee to inherit &s;ub&s;tance, <HI>Junius</HI> turns it, to <HI>inherit that which is;</HI> you think that the things of grace are but imaginations, and onely worldly things are real, no, the things of the world are but fancies, and the things of grace are real.</P>
<P>Thirdly, And then the third is for Honours, <HI>Act.</HI> 25.23. <HI>And on the morrow when Agrippa was come and Bernice with great Pomp;</HI> With much fancy, it was but all a fancy,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> and the truth is, the excellency that the&s;e things of the world have, it is an excellency that our fancy puts upon them; as a peece of gold that heretofore was but twenty &s;hillings, it is rai&s;ed up to two and twenty &s;hillings; I but though men may rai&s;e it up in their fancies to bee worth more, the gold
<PB N="352" REF="177"> is the &s;ame: So the things of this world, wee may rai&s;e them up very high by our fancies, but there is no more re|al good in them than there was before they are but &s;ha|dows, and though a mans &s;hadow bee longer or &s;horter, yet a man grows not longer and &s;horter with his &s;hadow; &s;o though a mans e&s;tate bee more or le&s;s, yet his happi|ne&s;s doth not grow more or le&s;s according to his e&s;tate; therefore &s;till, what doth it profit a man if hee gains the world? why hee gains a &s;hadow, hee gains that that hath nothing in it, hee gains a fancy, a dream, and hee lo&s;es his &s;oul for all this.</P>
<P>Seventhly, Further, &s;uppo&s;e there were &s;ome reality, yet there is nothing that can &s;atisfie the heart, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 55. <HI>Why do you lay out your mony for that that is not bread and for that that &s;ati<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">fies not?</HI> Onely Grace is that that &s;atisfies the &s;oul; the&s;e things have &s;o much mud at the bottom, that you cannot have a full draught of them. &mdash; And be&s;ides, there is a cur&s;e of God upon them, that they &s;hould not &s;atisfie; yea God hath &s;o fa&s;hioned the hearts of the children of men, that they &s;hall never bee &s;atisfied with the&s;e things: And the eager de&s;ire after the&s;e things, comes from a great di&s;temper; ju&s;t as Maids and Women that have green-&s;ickne&s;&s;es, or that long; you &s;hall have them long for coals, it may bee, and dirt, and &s;o green fruit, but though they long for it, yet this cannot &s;atisfie them, why, becau&s;e it is but tra&s;h: So the heart of a man or woman that longs for the things of this world, why it is in a di&s;temper, as one that longs to feed upon dirt, they may feed upon them, but ne|ver bee &s;atisfied with them.</P>
<P>Eighthly, Yet further; how can the gain of the world make up the lo&s;s of any &s;piritual good? for one that goes on in waies of loo&s;ene&s;s, that &s;oul, whatever hee gets in the world, hee hath it without God, God in his ordinary providence may ca&s;t it in, but hee hath it without the ble&s;|&s;ing of God with it: What if a man had never &s;uch fine flowers in a Garden, if the Sun &s;hould never &s;hine upon them? truly &s;o it is w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">th many wicked men, they have brave
<PB N="353" REF="177"> and fine e&s;tates, but they never have the Sun-&s;hine of the ble&s;&s;ing of God upon any thing they have; yea that that they have in a way of &s;in, they have it with a cur&s;e of God to|gether with it: That that wicked men feed upon, it i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">will, and like Hoggs-meat that is wrapt up in the dirt; their meat is filthy and &s;tinking it &s;elf, but when it is wrapt up in dirt, then it is wor&s;e, and &s;o their e&s;tates; the Scripture calls all in the world but as doggs-meat, and it is wrapt up in their &s;in, and the cur&s;e of God is upon it. Suppo&s;e that that thou doe&s;t feed upon had no cur&s;e of God upon it, yet it is but as a peece of carrion, but now it is wrapt up in thy &s;in, and &s;o long as thou goe&s;t on in thy &s;in, the cur&s;e of God is upon it: But now, the good of all the things in the world con&s;i&s;ts in this, the communication of Gods goodne&s;s towards mee in them, and Chri&s;ts ble&s;&s;ing of them to draw my heart nearer to God, and to bee in&s;tru|mental for mee the better to &s;erve God; but Oh how few men do know wherein the true chief good of the&s;e things doth con&s;i&s;t: I have more of the things of the world than others have, I, but wherein am I more happy? wherein? Oh! I &s;ee God letting out of him&s;elf to me in the way of his good|ne&s;s, and hee gives mee this to do him more &s;ervice than others that are poor; Oh, if thou coulde&s;t &s;ay thus, this were a &s;ign of a gracious heart indeed. A man that lo&s;es his &s;oul, and gets the world, hee gets dogs-meat wrapt up in dirt and filth. Oh poor price for an immortal &s;oul!</P>
<P>Ninthly, And then be&s;ides, wee mu&s;t &s;hew you &s;ome|what about the uncertainty of all the&s;e things. <HI>Charge tho&s;e that are rich in the world,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 6.17.</NOTE> <HI>that they tru&s;t not in uncertain riches.</HI> The whole wo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ld is as it were upon a wheel; the Scripture &s;aith, that the tongue &s;ets on fire the whole cour&s;e of nature, it is in the Original, the <HI>wheel of nature;</HI> all the&s;e things are turning up and down, as it were in a wheel you have heard of the wheel of him who was a great King, and having overcome others &s;et them to draw his Charriot, but he ob&s;erving of them as they drew his Charriot,
<PB N="354" REF="178"> took notice how they continually look'd back unto the wheel, and asking them what the rea&s;on was, why &s;ay they, wee by this &s;ee the turning of the things of this world, the nail that is now on the top, is by and by on the bottom, wee were high enough within a while, but now are low enough; and the con&s;ideration of this did abate the pride of that great Prince that made four Kings to draw his Charriot: So it is but a wheel of nature, and wilt thou venture thy &s;oul for the&s;e things that have no certainty in them? I re|member <HI>Philip de Co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ines</HI> reports of a Duke of <HI>Exeter,</HI> which married one of the Kings of <HI>Englands</HI> Si&s;ters, and yet hee &s;aith, that hee was &s;een in the Low-Countries begging his bread bare-foot; Oh therefore would a man venture the lo&s;s of his &s;oul for the gaining of the&s;e things that are &s;o fading and pa&s;&s;ing away! All fle&s;h is gra&s;s, and as the flower of the field, it pa&s;&s;es away, and comes to nothing; yea at tho&s;e times when wee have mo&s;t u&s;e of the things of the world, then they are gone from us, as <HI>Ab&s;alom</HI> when hee was caught by the tree, and had the mo&s;t u&s;e of his Mule, then his Mule left him, and leaves him hanging by the hair of the head; &s;o worldly things are mo&s;t out of the way, when you have the mo&s;t need of them; and will a man venture the lo&s;s of his &s;oul for the gaining of the&s;e things that will leave you when you have the mo&s;t need of them; when you lye upon your &s;ick-bed and death-bed, what good will it do you to think that I wore fine cloaths, and I had &s;o much riches coming in yearly: <HI>Riches a|vail not in the day of wrath; but Righteou&s;ne&s;s, that delivers from death.</HI> All the&s;e things are but fading, and will fail a man when he<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> hath the mo&s;t need of them. I remem|ber our Chronicles tell a &s;trange &s;tory of <HI>Richard the third</HI> King of <HI>England,</HI> and you that have them, it is worth your reading; I do not know that ever I read of a more magnificent Coronation for a King, than of his, &s;et out in abundance of glory, hee had one Earl that bare before him his Crown, and four Earls carrying four &s;words before him, one a &s;word of &s;tate; and another without a point, to be|token
<PB N="355" REF="178"> mercy, and two glittering &s;words, one in re&s;pect of the Temporalty, and the other in re&s;pect of the Clergy, and four Barons bearing a Canopy over his head, and him&s;elf in a long Purple Velvet Robe, and his Queen in all her Pomp and State; him&s;elf had a Duke to bear up his Train, and his Queen &s;hee had a Counte&s;s to bear up hers, and divers o|ther particulars that might bee &s;hewn to &s;et out the grea|te&s;t pomp and glory almo&s;t that could bet conceived for a man to bee in; but behold the revolution of things, within &s;ome two years and a little more after this, this glorious Prince was &s;lain, and his body lying naked to the view of all, and carried on a Hor&s;e with his hands and head hanging down on the one &s;ide, and his heels on the other, as Butchers carry Swine or Calves, and &s;o hee was carried to <HI>Leice&s;ter,</HI> and there lay divers daies above ground naked and contemptible, and the very &s;tone in which his body was laid, was afterwards made u&s;e of to bee a Trough for Hor&s;es to drink at, at a common Inne; &s;uch hatred did they &s;hew to him, which a while before was in &s;uch a glorious condi|tion: Thus wee &s;ee that the&s;e things which are here, will not hold long, and for one to &s;eek to make his re&s;t in the&s;e things, is, as if a bird &s;hould build her ne&s;t in a little bu&s;h, that is floating up and down in the Sea; the&s;e things will carry you a little way, but not far; wee have all to provide for eternity. If a man had a Voyage to the <HI>Indies,</HI> and hee &s;hould provide a little Boat that &s;hould carry him from <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter</HI> to the Bridge, it were a poor provi&s;ion; &s;o when wee pro|vide for outward comforts, and no more, wee little think of the great Voyage that wee have to go; wee have all of us to &s;ail to eternity, and what is a Boat of the&s;e outward comforts to carry us that long Voy|age? The things of this world may well bee compa|red to a Tree in the time of a &s;torm; when you are travelling in the way it begins to rain, and you ride under an Oak or an Elm-Tree; Now if there falls
<PB N="356" REF="179"> but a little Rain, it may keep you dry, but if it rains much, the longer you &s;tand under the Tree, the wor&s;e you will bee: So the things of this world may comfort and quiet us again&s;t a little trouble, but <HI>Riches,</HI> as I &s;aid, <HI>Avail not in the day of wrath.</HI> They will not keep off the dreadful &s;torm of Gods wrath; all the&s;e things are uncertain, and will di&s;appoint us.</P>
<P>Now the&s;e and divers other Con&s;iderations that might bee added, are the &s;trength of Rea&s;on ground|ed upon the Scripture, to convince a man of the va|nity of all the things of the world. Now put all the&s;e Con&s;iderations together, and well may wee &s;ay, as it was &s;aid of the price that was given for Chri&s;t, that <HI>Zechariah</HI> prophe&s;ies of, <HI>tho&s;e thirty peeces, a goodly price</HI> that was given for him. You hear &s;ometimes of <HI>Judas</HI>'s &s;in, that hee betrayed Chri&s;t for thirty peeces, a goodly price; I may well apply this to your &s;ouls, you that venture the lo&s;s of your &s;ouls for getting the world, though you could po&s;&s;ibly get all the world, con&s;idering what hath been &s;aid, it is a goodly price; do you not &s;ee what a goodly price is given for your &s;oul? if the&s;e things bee but made real to you, it would bee of marvelous u&s;e to help again&s;t any temptation to any thing of this world. Now you have &s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n what darkne&s;&s;e is upon all things, how they are all but glit|tering vanities, and not worth the venturing of the &s;oul for, take heed of hazarding your &s;ouls upon any of the&s;e things, you will cur&s;e your &s;elves hereafter when it is too late; Oh cur&s;ed wretch that I was, that I &s;hould yet venture upon &s;inful waies that I was told would in-danger the eternal de&s;truction of my &s;oul! and not|with&s;tanding I heard what a vanity was in all the&s;e things, yet for &s;uch a vanity I was drawn a&s;ide to lo&s;e mine own &s;oul; well, you &s;ee the up&s;hot of all, that to venture your &s;ouls for the gain of the world, it is to venture the lo&s;s of pearls for pebble &s;tones, to venture Gold for dirt, yea for dirt that hath a great deal of
<PB N="357" REF="179"> poi&s;on in it, for &s;o it hath; all the&s;e things in the world being &s;eparated from God, they are not onely dirt, but there is poi&s;on in them. Now then, the&s;e things being laid together, you &s;ee the point cleared, and all that doth remain it is but to binde up this in &s;e|veral U&s;es and Applications; If all the&s;e things bee &s;o poor and mean, what u&s;e are wee to make of all the&s;e Me|ditations and Con&s;iderations?</P>
<P><HI>USE.</HI></P>
<P>Then for U&s;e, If the&s;e things bee &s;o, in the fir&s;t place wee learn, not to envy at the pro&s;perity of ungodly men, whatever it be, let them ruffle it out for a while here in this world, and carry all before them; let man have his day here in this world, there is no great cau&s;e to envy him, if hee bee going on in &s;uch a way as hee is like to lo&s;e his &s;oul; poor mi&s;erable wretched creature that hee is, better ten thou&s;and times hee had never been born: Poor people that are wicked, (as many are) they have the cur&s;e of God mingled in water, and rich men that are wicked, they have the cur&s;e of God like poi&s;on in their Wine; now wee know, of the twain, the poi&s;on will work more &s;trong|ly in Wine, than in Water, and &s;o of both, certainly un|godly rich men, that have mo&s;t of the world, are the mo&s;t mi&s;erable creatures, for they have more to an&s;wer for than others have, and their e&s;tates are u&s;ually fuel for their lu&s;ts, and &s;o their condition is wor&s;e than the condition of any beggar that begs his bread from door to door; And certainly there is no wicked rich man upon the earth, but if &s;o bee that hee dye &s;o, hee will hereafter cur&s;e the time that ever hee had an e&s;tate, and wi&s;h hee had been a beggar, and gone begging up and down in his raggs, for then hee had not had &s;o much to an&s;wer for before God. O hee is not a man to bee envied at! What man is there that would envy at a malefactour condemned to dye, though hee have on brave cloaths? would not any one of
<PB N="358" REF="180"> you rather &s;ave your Ru&s;&s;et plain &s;uit, or a Leather &s;uit, than a &s;uit of Velvet, and go to bee executed in it. I have read of <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom,</HI> who being invited to a fea&s;t, as hee was a going, hee met with one a going to execution, and it fell out that the way to execution was a very fair way, but the way that lead him to his friends hou&s;e, it was a dirty Lane, and hee makes this meditation of it, Oh how much better is it to go in this dirty Lane, to go and rejoyce with my friend, than in a fair plain way, and go as the other doth to execution! hee was not willing to go his way, though it were a fair and plain way, but rather to go his own, though a foul and dirty, hee con&s;idered that the end of the way was different: So do not look much upon men and women, what their pre&s;ent condition is, but look what their end is like to bee, and do not envy them. I &s;up|po&s;e you cannot but have heard the &s;tory of a poor &s;ouldier, that having a command from his General not to touch any thing upon pain of death, yet coming by a Vine, takes a bunch of Grapes; the General being very &s;trict, hee con|demns him to dye, becau&s;e of his di&s;obedience, and as hee was going to execution, hee went eating the bunch of Grapes; his fellow-&s;ouldier rebuk'd him, but hee gives him this an&s;wer, <HI>I pray yee do not envy my Grapes to mee, for they co&s;t mee dear:</HI> So truly wee have little cau&s;e to envy the men of the world their Grapes, that they have their mirth, their merry-meetings, what&s;oever they have, for it is like to co&s;t them dear, it is like to co&s;t them their &s;ouls, they indanger their eternal peri&s;hing; and therefore there is no cau&s;e at all to envy &s;uch. <HI>David</HI> indeed was troubled a while when hee &s;aw the pro&s;perity of the ungodly, but when hee went <HI>into the Sanctuary,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 73.</NOTE> <HI>there hee under&s;tood their end;</HI> Oh my Brethren, you are come into the Sanctu|ary, you are come now in the exerci&s;e of the Word thus to hear what is like to become of ungodly men, that injoy all the world for their portion, their end is like to bee the lo&s;s of their &s;ouls eternally; do not envy them; Thou do&s;t envy them, and &s;uppo&s;e that God &s;hould &s;ay to thee, well,
<PB N="359" REF="180"> it &s;hall bee with thee, as with them, that is, you &s;hall have as much as they, and there is all the good you are like ever to have from mee; would you not &s;ee cau&s;e to give a dread|ful skreek, if &s;uch a me&s;&s;age &s;hould come from Heaven to you? what a fooli&s;h thing were it for a childe that hath a loving Father, and a great Inheritance that hee expects from him, becau&s;e hee &s;ees a &s;tranger that comes and &s;its at the Table, and have better provi&s;ion than hee hath, to grumble and grutch, becau&s;e hee hath not &s;uch provi&s;ion made for him every day? Oh hee hath no cau&s;e to do &s;o, for the Inhe|ritance is re&s;erved for him. God, hee is a rich Hou&s;holder, and hee can give &s;uch things as the&s;e are to his enemies, as wee &s;peak of, but the Inheritance is re&s;erved for thee; en|vy not the ungodly in the enjoyment of the world, for the truth is, their portion it is but very little, it is but a poor pittance for an immortal &s;oul to have, though hee &s;hould have all the world. It is true, wee &s;hould bee &s;en&s;ible of our unworthine&s;s of the lea&s;t crum of any good thing, yet though wee &s;hould bee &s;en&s;ible of our unworthine&s;s, yet wee &s;hould not bee &s;atisfied with having all the world for our portion. It was a mo&s;t admirable &s;peech of <HI>Luther,</HI> when divers of the Princes of <HI>Germany</HI> made much of him, hee began to bee afraid le&s;t hee &s;hould have his portion in the&s;e outward things, and here &s;hould bee all, hee breaks forth in this expre&s;&s;ion, fearing le&s;t God &s;hould give him his portion here; I did, &s;aith hee, prote&s;t to God with all my power and &s;trength that hee &s;hould not put mee off &s;o with the&s;e things, hee would not bee content with them; that is the fir&s;t U&s;e; Little cau&s;e to envy at the men of the world; for the truth is, it is but a poor pittance they have, and they have made a mo&s;t mi&s;erable bargain: If you &s;hould &s;ee one that profe&s;&s;es him&s;elf to be a Merchant, and hee &s;hould venture many thou&s;and pounds, but bring home nothing but a fair painted bauble for children to play with, would you envy it to him? Ju&s;t thus it is with the men of the world, they flatter and plea&s;e them&s;elves with their baubles, but their &s;ouls are gone in the mean time.</P>
<PB N="360" REF="181">
<P>Secondly, Wherefore in the &s;econd place, let all tho&s;e that do &s;eek to get the world in tho&s;e waies wherein they are like to lo&s;e their &s;ouls, let them lay this Scripture to heart, and O that God would &s;ettle it upon their &s;pirits, that you might when you awake in the night &s;ea&s;on think of it; when you walk up and down, when you are in your &s;hops, in your bu&s;ine&s;s, think but of this Text; I remember I told you in the beginning, of one that coun&s;elled one of the Kings of <HI>Portugal</HI> to think of this Text a quarter of an hour every day, O that you would every time you awake, e&s;pecially you that have been &s;eeking after much of the world, think &s;eriou&s;ly of this Scripture, Am not I the man or woman that have hazarded my &s;oul for &s;eeking after &s;omewhat of the world? ha&s;t thou never &s;ought to gain any thing of the world in a way of &s;in, and to this day thy heart not thorowly humbled for it, nor repented? it may bee not to this day made re&s;titution? hath not the eager pur&s;uit after the things of this world taken thy heart up &s;o much, that thou ha&s;t not favoured the things of God and eternal life? thou looke&s;t upon the things of the world, as if they were the onely rea|lities, but for &s;piritual things, they are imaginations; have not the things of this world &s;o taken up thy &s;pirit, as made thee to have &s;leight thoughts of &s;piritual and heavenly things? ha&s;t not thou ble&s;t thy &s;elf in the injoyment of the&s;e things, though in the mean time God hath not made known to thee the riches of his Kingdome? yet thou ha&s;t thought thy &s;elf to have enough in the enjoyment of what thou ha&s;t; ha&s;t not thou often, when thou ha&s;t been at the Word, had thy thoughts and &s;pirits about the things of the world, as the things &s;uitable to thee, but the things of the Word thou ha&s;t not reli&s;ht? yea and any thing in the Word that hath come clo&s;e to that covetous corruption of thine, thy heart hath &s;ecretly derided it; there are no men in the world that do more &s;ecretly condemn and deride the things of God, &s;piritual things, than worldly-minded men. In <HI>Luk.</HI> 16.14. wee read that Chri&s;t preaching to the Phari&s;ees again&s;t their covetou&s;ne&s;s, and telling them <HI>That no man could &s;erve two
<PB N="361" REF="181"> Ma&s;ters, but either hee will hate the one, and love the other, or el&s;e hee will hold to the one, and de&s;pi&s;e the other, yee can|not &s;erve God and Mammon,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t: You cannot think to have your hearts &s;et upon the world, and your gain, and yet &s;erve the Lord; but if your hearts bee &s;et &s;o upon your e&s;tates, you will make bold with God, you will venture up|on the waies of &s;in, for the gaining of the things of this world; but mark, The Phari&s;ees al&s;o who were covetous,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> heard all the&s;e things, and they derided him; the word in the <HI>Greek</HI> is, They blew their no&s;es at him; as a man when hee &s;corns and derides another, hee will &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ew it by his no&s;e; &s;o they in a kinde of &s;peaking in their no&s;e, in a jeering, &s;corning way, they derided Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that talk'd after this fa&s;hion, What, that a man cannot &s;erve God and Mammon too, that a man cannot look after the things of the world, and the things of God too: Carnal hearts, they do hear things in Religion, as un&s;avoury things, who&s;e hearts are after the things of the world. And &s;o not onely for Riches, but for thy Credit: Ha&s;t thou not often ventured to lye, to &s;ave thy credit in &s;omething, and ha&s;t been more troubled when thou ha&s;t been di&s;covered in any thing that makes again&s;t thy credit, and e&s;teem, than in the &s;in that thou ha&s;t committed again&s;t God? Now by &s;uch kinde of evidences it is clear, that men injoy the world in &s;uch a way, as wherein they are like to lo&s;e their &s;ouls to all eter|nity; and now, Oh do but look upon your e&s;tates that you have, and do but think what they co&s;t you, and little com|fort you will have in them. It is ob&s;erved of <HI>David,</HI> when hee did long for the waters of the Well of <HI>Bethlehem,</HI> and there were men ventured their lives to get him the water; when it came to him, hee would not drink of it, Oh it is the price of blood! &s;o when thou looke&s;t upon thy e&s;tate, and fitte&s;t at thy table, and &s;ee&s;t that thou ha&s;t more there than other men, and looke&s;t into thy Che&s;t, and there thou ha&s;t plenty of Garments, and thy children are fine and brave, and the like; the&s;e are pretty things for a while to plea&s;e the fancy with, I but what do they co&s;t? as hee that would reckon
<PB N="362" REF="182"> his cloath, hee reckons that the dying and the &s;pinning it co&s;t him &s;o much, I but what co&s;t the wooll? why, that was his own, and hee accounted nothing of that: So, &s;uch and &s;uch things that thou ha&s;t, what do they co&s;t? they co&s;t thus much, and thus much, I but hath not thy &s;oul gone into the bargain? and can&s;t thou have plea&s;ure in it, when it co&s;t thee &s;o dear as it hath? <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 31.6. the &s;pirit of holy <HI>Da|vid</HI> ri&s;es up in indignation again&s;t &s;uch men as the&s;e are, <HI>I have hated them that regard lying vanities;</HI> My &s;pirit cannot but with indignation and abomination ri&s;e up again&s;t them; what? that men &s;hould follow after vanity, when there are &s;uch glorious things to bee followed after? when there is the ble&s;&s;ed God, and the glorious Riches of Grace and Salva|tion that are revealed in his Word that may take the hearts of the children of men, and yet they follow after vain things; men that have immortal &s;ouls, capable of eternal communion with the Lord in the highe&s;t Heavens, for them to follow after vanity, and &s;atisfie them&s;elves in &s;uch things, I hate them, &s;aith <HI>David;</HI> certainly it is the cur&s;e of God that is upon the hearts of men, that &s;uffers them to follow af|ter &s;uch things, and e&s;pecially in the times of the Go&s;pel, when &s;uch glorious things are revealed to their &s;ouls, I &s;ay the cur&s;e of God is upon them, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 44.20. <HI>Hee feedeth on A&s;hes, a deceived heart hath turned him a&s;ide, that hee cannot deliver his &s;oul, nor &s;ay, is there not a lye in my right hand:</HI> Hee feedeth of A&s;hes; A deceived heart hath turned him a&s;ide, that hee cannot deliver his &s;oul, there lies the &s;ore evil of it; <HI>A deceived heart,</HI> hee needs not ca&s;t it upon the Devil, but it is his own bare filthy corrupt heart that dares not tru&s;t God for his &s;oul for eternity, hee will have pre&s;ent things, come of it what will come; hee knows what the meaning of pre&s;ent things are, but what tho&s;e are that are to come, hee knows not; a deceived heart hath &s;educed him, and hee cannot deliver his &s;oul, nor &s;ay, Is there not a lie in my right hand? that is, is not the &s;trength of my indeavour &s;et upon fal&s;hoods? the chief of my &s;trength and indeavours, is it not &s;et upon a lie? <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome</HI> &s;aith, If
<PB N="363" REF="182"> hee were to preach to all the world, hee would chu&s;e that Text as &s;oon as any; <HI>Oh yee children of men, why do yee love vanity, and follow after lea&s;ing?</HI> And it were happy, if it were alwaies &s;ounding in the ears of every one, who&s;e hearts are after pre&s;ent things, &s;o that &s;uch a one may hear a voice behinde him, &s;aying, This is not the way, but <HI>this is the way, walk in it:</HI> Thou ha&s;t deceived thy &s;oul all this while, and wearied thy &s;elf, and that through the cur&s;e of God upon thy heart; as <HI>Hab.</HI> 2.13. <HI>Behold, is it not of the Lord of Ho&s;ts, that the people &s;hall labour in the very fire, and the people &s;hall weary them&s;elves for very vanity?</HI> Is not this of the Lord of Ho&s;ts? So when wee &s;ee men and wo|men, why they have under&s;tanding in the things of the world, yet for the matter of God, they have none at all; They are very indu&s;trious and laborious to get outward things, and outward comforts of this world, and tire them&s;elves; can &s;it up late, and ri&s;e early; Oh is it not of the Lord of Ho&s;ts that people &s;hould thus weary and tire them&s;elves? by way of &s;imilitude wee may apply it to the &s;pirits of men, that are wearying and tyring of them&s;elves after vanity; it is the Lords cur&s;e that is upon their hearts. It is &s;aid, I re|member, of <HI>Diony&s;ius,</HI> that when hee was upon his &s;ick-bed, hee hears <HI>Thales</HI> the Philo&s;opher di&s;cour&s;ing excellently a|bout divers excellent moralities, and hee cur&s;es tho&s;e plea|&s;ures and delights that had taken off his heart from attend|ing to &s;uch things: When thou come&s;t upon thy &s;ick-bed, what will comfort thee then? it cannot bee thy &s;ilver nor gold; therefore oh that the Lord would make thee now for the pre&s;ent to &s;ee thy vanity and folly before it be too late, and thou cur&s;e thy &s;elf, and there bee no hopes for thee! But it is this point &s;hews the folly and madne&s;s of tho&s;e that &s;eek after never &s;uch great things in the world with the hazard of their &s;ouls, but then, what &s;hall wee &s;ay to tho&s;e that will hazard their &s;ouls for every trifle? Wee &s;poke of that in the aggravation of the dreadfulne&s;s of the lo&s;s of the &s;oul, onely a word or two more of it here. In <HI>Amos</HI> 2.6. God complains there, that <HI>the righteous were &s;old for &s;ilver,
<PB N="364" REF="183"> and the poor for a pair of &s;hooes:</HI> That they put &s;uch a poor price upon righteous men, and upon poor men; as if God &s;hould &s;ay, Know, I put a greater price upon my righteous &s;ervants, than all the &s;ilver in the world; Oh now! the complaint may bee again&s;t many people, that &s;ell their &s;ouls for &s;ilver, yea even for a pair of &s;hooes, for a trifle, for a toy, for nothing; not for all the world, but for every little pittance; what is that that thou ha&s;t, or art like to have? why very poor things in compari&s;on of the world. I remember it is reported of <HI>Alcibiades</HI> a young Gallant, that <HI>Socrates</HI> comes in a jeering way unto him for his pride, and brings him a Map of the world, and &s;aith hee to him, Shew mee, I pray thee, where lies thy Land here: Now, if I were to &s;peak to Princes and Emperours, yet this Text would &s;peak dreadfully to them, that they &s;hould venture their &s;ouls for Kingdomes and Empires; but now for you that are never like to have any &s;uch things, for you to &s;et your hearts upon &s;uch trifles, and &s;o to damn your &s;ouls, what can you get? look upon a Map, and &s;ee what all <HI>England</HI> is: <HI>Europe</HI> is but a fourth part of the world that is known, I but then what is <HI>England</HI> to <HI>Europe,</HI> and then to all the world? and then what is one County in <HI>England,</HI> and one City, or one Hou&s;e? I have a great many Tenements, &s;aith one, in a Pari&s;h, but what is all this to the world, and all this world unto Hea|ven, and Heaven and the world unto God? but now to think that thou art ble&s;&s;ed, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t but a few rot|ten Tenements, Oh what a &s;educed heart hath deceived thee, that thou can&s;t bee &s;atisfied with &s;uch things as the&s;e are? this one meditation mee thinks might &s;ink into the hearts of tho&s;e that will venture their &s;ouls for every trifle: If ever thy &s;oul bee &s;aved, God mu&s;t &s;et &s;uch a price upon it, that hee mu&s;t give more than a thou&s;and worlds are worth to &s;ave it, hee mu&s;t give no le&s;s than the blood of his Son; and can&s;t thou think that the infinite God &s;hould prize thy &s;oul at &s;uch a high rate, when thou thy &s;elf do&s;t prize it at &s;uch a low rate? If &s;o bee that a man had lo&s;t any thing of his e&s;tate, and it could not bee redeemed without &s;ome
<PB N="365" REF="183"> great &s;umme of mony, If his friends come to know that hee doth not prize what hee hath lo&s;t, will any friend bee &s;o mad as to lay down five hundred pound to redeem that for his friend which hee knows aforehand that hee doth no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> prize at twelve pence? So, can&s;t thou think that that &s;oul of thine that thou prize&s;t at nothing, that the Infinite God &s;hould lay down &s;uch a price to redeem it?</P>
<P>Thirdly, From the con&s;ideration of the compari&s;on of the gain of the world, to the lo&s;s of the &s;oul; It is a U&s;e of exhortation, To teach us to an&s;wer all temptations, or to work this upon our hearts, the an&s;wering of all temptations to any way of &s;in, To an&s;wer all with this, you offer mee too little, what&s;oever you can offer mee, to draw mee to think well of &s;in, certainly it is too little, for it indangers my &s;oul; the thorow under&s;tanding of this point, and the working of it upon the heart, is a very great help again&s;t what&s;oever temptation &s;hould come to draw thee to &s;in.</P>
<P>Surely, If the&s;e things bee &s;o, then this can bee no Argu|ment for mee to neglect any duty that God calls for at my hands, or to venture upon any way that my con&s;cience tells mee is &s;in: Oh but if I do thus, it will indanger my e&s;tate, but if I do &s;uch a thing I &s;hall get &s;o much by it: Certainly there can bee no &s;trength in this, if what hath been &s;poken out of this Text bee true. But now when there comes a temptation and prevails over thee, thou do&s;t deny this Scripture to bee the Word of God, and thou &s;ette&s;t thy judgement again&s;t the truth of God; but now con&s;ider with thy &s;elf which is like to &s;tand, know, that God will make his Word &s;tand, hee will make it good, when thou and a thou&s;and thou&s;and &s;uch as thou art &s;hall peri&s;h for ever; and therefore, as you that are chapmen, when men offer you le&s;s than your ware is worth, you &s;corn and contemn them; &s;o you &s;hould do when temptation offers you le&s;s than your &s;oul is worth. Wee read of <HI>Saul,</HI> when hee &s;aw the people following <HI>David,</HI> &s;aith hee, What can the &s;on of <HI>Je&s;&s;e</HI> do for you? <HI>Can hee give you Olive-yards and Vine-yards,</HI> and the like? So when temptation to &s;in comes, ask it, what can
<PB N="366" REF="184"> you do for mee? can you &s;ave my &s;oul in the time of di|&s;tre&s;s? you would draw mee to &s;uch and &s;uch cour&s;es, &s;uch and &s;uch companions would draw mee to &s;uch and &s;uch waies, I but you may put them off with this, Is this the way to &s;ave my &s;oul? if it bee, then I will do it, but if it will not do that, God forbid that I &s;hould meddle; Oh therefore remember, remember, <HI>that the fa&s;hion of this world pa&s;&s;eth away,</HI> 1 Cor. 7.30, 31. The Apo&s;tle would take off the hearts of men from the things of this world, and bring this Argument, &s;aith hee, <HI>The fa&s;hion of this world it pa&s;&s;eth a|way;</HI> Therefore u&s;e the world, as not abu&s;ing it. That that you have in your Engli&s;h book, <HI>pa&s;&s;es away,</HI> it is (<GAP DESC="foreign">) and I finde two very learned Writers tran&s;late it by a word that &s;ignifies to <HI>deceive;</HI> The fa&s;hion of the world will de|ceive you at la&s;t, and another by a word that &s;ignifies, <HI>To go quite cro&s;s;</HI> The&s;e two &s;ignifications it hath, it doth de|ceive, or it goes quite cro&s;s; the outward &s;hew of the world, oh it doth deceive thou&s;and thou&s;ands of &s;ouls to their eternal perdition, and it goes quite cro&s;s; it &s;eems to promi&s;e thee thus and thus much, but it will go quite cro&s;s in the conclu&s;ion, and will bee thy undoing, if thou do&s;t not take heed; and therefore let not any thing in the world bee a temptation to thee, for the lea&s;t &s;in that po&s;&s;ibly may bee. I remember <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> in his book about an officious lye, hath this pa&s;&s;age; &s;aith hee, A man mu&s;t not tell an officious lye (that is, a lye without an intention to do any body hurt) for the gaining of the world, nay, for the gaining of all the &s;ouls in the world, the lea&s;t &s;in is a greater evil, than the gain of all the world is a good, becau&s;e that it is dangerous to the &s;oul, upon that very ground; and therefore it is &s;aid of <HI>Ba&s;il,</HI> when the per&s;ecutors terrified him with the lo&s;s of all that hee had, but that did not prevail, then they made him fair proffers, and great advantages that hee &s;hould have, I but <HI>Ba&s;il</HI> laught at them, and bid them go and proffer &s;uch things to children: So the &s;tory of the Mar|tyrs tells us of <HI>Au&s;tinius,</HI> that godly man, that having been a means to demoli&s;h a place for Idol wor&s;hip, The Idola|ters
<PB N="367" REF="184"> afterwards came upon him, and put him to extremity of torments, and &s;et children upon him to rake his fle&s;h with their knives, but at length they would bee content if hee would but give never &s;o little for the building up of the Idol Temple again, to let him go free, No, &s;aith hee, not one half-penny. Certainly this point will bee enough to ju&s;tifie any that &s;hall lo&s;e e&s;tate, or indure any thing in the world, rather than do any thing that may in the lea&s;t degree hazard their &s;ouls: And &s;o that Martyre&s;s <HI>Juletta,</HI> when one accu&s;ed her, and &s;aid, that &s;hee was a Chri&s;tian, nay, then &s;aith the Judge, you mu&s;t not have liberty of the Law, No, &s;aith &s;hee, then farewel riches, and life, and all; &s;hee would bee &s;ure to keep her &s;oul &s;afe, what&s;oever became of all other things.</P>
<P>The la&s;t U&s;e is an U&s;e of Incouragement to tho&s;e that will rather venture all in the waies of God, than to hazard their &s;ouls; thou art the <HI>wi&s;e Merchant,</HI> that art willing <HI>to &s;ell all for the Pearl,</HI> and ble&s;s thy &s;elf in God for this, that ever God hath put this into thy heart, to look to that which is the main chance, as wee u&s;e to &s;ay: If God had left thee to thy &s;elf, thou mighte&s;t have gone on in &s;uch waies as others do, but can&s;t thou &s;ay, the Lord hath cau&s;ed the fear of him&s;elf, and the fear of eternity to fall upon my &s;oul, and I can appeal to him, that whatever comes of mee in regard of outwards, mee thinks I can bee &s;atisfied, &s;o bee it all things bee well with my &s;oul; I &s;ay, ble&s;s thy &s;elf in God; a man is not to prai&s;e him&s;elf, but in God, that is thus, When thou do&s;t con&s;ider how God hath drawn thy heart to him, and thy intere&s;t in God, thou maye&s;t ble&s;s thy &s;elf in God, in the grace of God, that hath given thee a heart, taken off from creature-comforts, di&s;-ingaged from them, and &s;et upon the things that concern the eternal &s;alvation of thy &s;oul; ble&s;s thy &s;elf in God, and bee not troubled though thou bee&s;t cut &s;hort in the things of this world. One would think that that which hath been &s;aid about the vanity of the things of this world, &s;hould make people that are cro&s;&s;ed in them (if they bee godly) to bee &s;atisfied. What if thou
<PB N="368" REF="185"> art plundered of all, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a&s;t little p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ovi&s;ion for thy fami|ly, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a&s;t bread for one day, and knowe&s;t not where to get bread for the next? I but is thy &s;oul &s;afe? I remember wee read in <HI>Gene&s;is</HI> of the King of <HI>Sodome;</HI> hee could &s;ay to <HI>Abr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ham,</HI> Give mee the &s;ouls, and take the goods to thy &s;elf; though hee were but a Heathen King, hee &s;pake of their natural l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ves: So do you who&s;e hearts God hath in|clined to &s;oul-&s;aving waies; &s;ay to the men of the world, Do you take the riches, but let mee have the &s;afety and welfa e of the &s;oul: Oh if God have a&s;&s;ured thee upon good grounds that thy &s;o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l is &s;afe, thy &s;in pardoned, what great matter though thou ha&s;t not &s;ome of the lumber of this world? If a malefactour that were in danger to die, &s;hould go to &s;eek for a pardon for his life, well, when hee hath gotten it, and is coming from the pre&s;ence of the King, perhaps hee lo&s;es his glove or handkerchief up|on the &s;taires, were it not an un&s;eemly thing for &s;uch a man to fall a crying, and wringing of his hands, becau&s;e hee had lo&s;t his glove? Ju&s;t thus, for all the world, is the madne&s;s and folly of people that &s;ay, they have &s;ome comfortable hope that God will have mercy upon their &s;ouls, and will &s;ave them for ever, yet when they are cro&s;t and wronged, they cry out, they are undone; man and woman thou art not undone, for thy &s;oul is &s;afe. Lord &s;trike (&s;aith <HI>Luther,</HI> &s;trike, onely pardon my &s;in; And my Brethren, well may you bee incouraged to undergo any difficulties, and to bear the lo&s;s of the comforts of this world, for the &s;aving of your &s;ouls) for indeed the Lord hath granted to us the way of &s;alvation of &s;ouls at an ea&s;ier rate than our Forefathers had; If I &s;hould but tell you the way that many of our Forefathers had for the &s;aving of their &s;ouls, and many of the Saints of God in former times, you would have &s;aid then that it was a difficult way to &s;ave &s;ouls, and go to Heaven: As I will but give you an in&s;tance of one man, and another woman, how hardly they came to &s;alvation. That ble&s;&s;ed Martyr <HI>Ben&s;e&s;ius,</HI> &s;ee but what a way hee had to Heaven for profe&s;|&s;ion of Chri&s;tian Religion; The Per&s;ecutors came to him,
<PB N="369" REF="185"> and becau&s;e hee would not deny the Truth, they &s;trike his body in all his members out if joynt, and when they had done that, they make wounds in all parts of his body, then thirdly, they bring Iron combs &s;harpened, and &s;o rake upon his body thus wounded, and when they had done that, they laid him upon an Iron grate, and with in&s;truments of Iron open tho&s;e wounds, and after that they melt hot burn|ing &s;alt, and &s;trew it upon tho&s;e wounds being opened, and then they come with hot Irons; and fear him with tho&s;e hot Irons, and after that dragg him by the heels into a dungeon, where they had prepared &s;harp &s;hells, and there hee lay and peri&s;hed; here is one that went to Heaven upon hard terms, you will &s;ay; but God calls not you to do &s;o, but to deny your &s;elves in &s;ome ba&s;e lu&s;t, in &s;ome &s;inful and ungodly way, in &s;omething that you may &s;pare, that you may &s;pare as well as the water out of your &s;hooes, as wee u&s;e to &s;ay.</P>
<P>And then of a woman, that was of Noble birth, and yet &s;hee being convented for Religion, and an&s;wering boldly and re&s;olutely, and would not yeeld, after many tempta|tions and fair &s;peeches, they dragged her by the hair of the head from the &s;eat of Judicature, and having dragged her, they pull off one joynt from another, and having done that, get the teeth and claws of wilde bea&s;ts, and rake her fle&s;h from the bones, and having afterwards done that, then they came with hot Irons and Torches, and burning flames, one of one &s;ide, and another of another &s;ide, and &s;corch and burn her to death in &s;uch a way as that was, and yet &s;hee goes on con&s;tantly; &s;o bee it &s;hee might &s;ave her &s;oul, &s;hee was willing to indure all this mi&s;ery; wee do not know what God may call you to before you die; many of our Bre|thren have &s;uffered very hard things, and God may call you to hard things, Oh that this Text might prepare you! And now my Brethren, as it hath been a means to carry o|thers thorow temptations, and many difficulties in this world, &s;o if you would lay but the&s;e truths to your hearts, and if you cannot think of every particular pa&s;&s;age, yet do but think of the Text, and take but this one Note, and that
<PB N="370" REF="186"> is, that whereas God calls others to &s;pend their &s;trength in &s;uffering &s;o great evils, to &s;ave their &s;ouls; bee you willing to &s;pend the &s;trength that God &s;pares you, in doing, in &s;er|ving; &s;pend your &s;trength in active obedience &s;o much the more, by how much the le&s;s you are called to &s;pend it in the way of pa&s;&s;ive obedience, that &s;o you may have cau&s;e to ble&s;s God for ever in Heaven, when you &s;hall come to &s;ee &s;oul and body to bee ble&s;&s;ed and &s;aved eternally; you may ble&s;s God for ever in Heaven for revealing &s;uch a truth, and &s;etting home &s;uch a Text; <HI>What &s;hall it profit a man, though hee gain the whole world, and lo&s;e his &s;oul? and what &s;hall a man give in exchange for his &s;oul?</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</GROUP>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="publisher's advertisement">
<PB REF="186">
<HEAD>Books printed for, and &s;old by <HI>Tho|mas Parkhur&s;t,</HI> at the three Crowns o|ver again&s;t the great Conduit at the lower end of Cheap&s;ide.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="folios" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Folios.</HEAD>
<P>A Practical Commentary, or an Expo&s;ition with Ob|&s;ervations, Rea&s;ons, and U&s;es, upon the fir&s;t Epi&s;tle General of <HI>John.</HI> By that pious and worthy Divine Ma&s;ter <HI>John Cot<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">on,</HI> Pa&s;tor of <HI>Bo&s;tox</HI> in <HI>New-England.</HI></P>
<P>A Learned Commentary, or Expo&s;ition upon the fir&s;t Chapter of the &s;econd Epi&s;tle of St. <HI>Paul</HI> to the <HI>Corinthi|ans;</HI> being the &s;ub&s;tance of many Sermons formerly Prea|ched at <HI>Grayes-Inne, London,</HI> by that Reverend and judi|cious Divine, <HI>Richard Sibbs,</HI> D. D. &s;ometimes Ma&s;ter of <HI>Katherine-Hall</HI> in <HI>Cambridge,</HI> and Preacher to that Ho|nourable Society. Publi&s;hed for the publick good and be|nefit of the Church of Chri&s;t. by <HI>Tho. Manton,</HI> B. D. and Preacher of the Go&s;pel at <HI>Stoake-Newington,</HI> near <HI>Lon|don.</HI></P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign">; or Divine Characters in two parts, acutely di&s;tingui&s;hing the more &s;ecret and undi&s;cerned dif|ferences between 1. The Hypocrite in his be&s;t dre&s;s of &s;eeming vertue, and formal duties: And the true Chri&s;tian in his real graces, and &s;incere obedience. As al&s;o between the blacke&s;t weeds of daily infirmities of the truly godly, eclip&s;ing &s;aving grace; and the reigning &s;ins of the unre|generate, that pretend unto that godline&s;s they never had. By that late burning and &s;hining Lamp, Mr. <HI>Samuel Crook,</HI> B. D. late Pa&s;tor of <HI>Wrington</HI> in <HI>Sommer&s;et.</HI></P>
<PB REF="187">
<P>A Commentary upon the Divine Revelation of the Apo|&s;tle and Evangeli&s;t <HI>John.</HI> By <HI>David Pareus,</HI> &s;ometimes Profe&s;&s;our of Divinity in the Univer&s;ity of <HI>Heidelburg.</HI> And &s;pecially &s;ome things upon the twentieth Chapter, are ob|&s;erved by the &s;ame Author, again&s;t the <HI>Millenaries.</HI> Tran&s;|lated out of the Latine into Engli&s;h, by <HI>Elias Arnold.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="quartoes" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Quartoes.</HEAD>
<P>A Theatre of flying Infects, wherein e&s;pecially the man|ner of right ordering the Bee is excellently de&s;cribed, with di&s;cour&s;es Hi&s;torical and Phy&s;ical concerning them, with a Second part of Meditations and Ob&s;ervations Theological and Moral, in three Centuries upon the &s;ame &s;ubject, by <HI>Samuel Purchas,</HI> M. A.</P>
<P>Peoples Need of a living Pa&s;tor, at the Funeral of Mr. <HI>Iohn Fro&s;t,</HI> M. A. by Mr. <HI>Zach. Crofton.</HI></P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign">; or the Saint's Worthine&s;s and the World's worthle&s;ne&s;s, both opened and declared, in a Sermon prea|ched at the Funeral of that eminently Religious, and high|ly honoured Knight Sir. <HI>Nathanael Barnardi&s;ton,</HI> Aug. 26. 1653. By <HI>Samuel Faireclough,</HI> Pa&s;tor of the Congregation at <HI>Ketton.</HI></P>
<P>Holy things for holy men: or the Lawyers Plea non|&s;uited, &amp;c. In &s;ome Chri&s;tian reproof and pitty expre&s;&s;ed towards M. <HI>Prynn</HI>'s book, intituled, <HI>The Lord's Supper briefly Vindicated,</HI> by <HI>S. S.</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>An Antid te again&s;t <HI>H. Haggar</HI>'s poy&s;onous Pamphlet, intituled, <HI>The Foundation of the Font di&s;covered:</HI> or a re|ply, wherein his audaciou&s;ne&s;s and &s;ophi&s;try in arguing a|gain&s;t Infant-Bapti&s;m, Di&s;ciple&s;hip, Church-member&s;hip is detected, his cavils again&s;t <HI>M. C. M. B.</HI> and M. <HI>Hall</HI> are an&s;wered, &amp;c. By <HI>A. Houghton,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel at <HI>Prees</HI> in <HI>Salop.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="octavoes" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Large Octavoes.</HEAD>
<P>Four profitable Treati&s;es very u&s;eful for Chri&s;tian pra|ctice, <HI>viz.</HI> The Killing power of the Law; The Spiritual Watch; The New Birth: Of the Sabbath. By the Reverend <HI>Willian Fenner,</HI> late Mini&s;ter of <HI>Rochford</HI> in <HI>E&s;&s;ex.</HI></P>
<PB REF="187">
<P><HI>Enchyridion Judicum,</HI> or <HI>Jeho&s;aphats</HI> Charge to his Judges. Together with <HI>Cata&s;trophe Magnatum,</HI> or King <HI>David</HI>'s Lamentation, at Prince <HI>Abners</HI> Incineration. By <HI>Iohn Live&s;ey</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel at <HI>Atherton.</HI></P>
<P>The Journal or Diary of a thankful Chri&s;tian: a Day|book of National and publick, per&s;onal and private pa&s;&s;a|ges of Gods providence, to help Chri&s;tians to thankfulne&s;s and experience. By <HI>Iohn Beudle,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel at <HI>Barn&s;tone</HI> in <HI>E&s;&s;ex.</HI></P>
<P>Mr. <HI>Robin&s;ons</HI> Chri&s;tian Armour.</P>
<P>The Door of Salvation opened by the Key of Regenera|tion or the Doctrin of Regeneration opened and applied, by <HI>George Swinock,</HI> M. A. Preacher of the Go&s;pel at <HI>Rick|mer&s;worth</HI> in <HI>Hertford&s;hire.</HI></P>
<P>Heaven and Hell epitomized, the true Chri&s;tian Cha|racterized, by the &s;ame Author.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="small octavoes" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Small Octavoes.</HEAD>
<P>Catechizing God's Ordinance, in &s;undry Sermons by Mr. <HI>Zachary Crofton,</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Buttolphs Aldgate, London,</HI> the &s;econd Edition corrected and augmented.</P>
<P>The godly mans Ark, in the day of his di&s;tre&s;&s;e, di&s;co|vered in divers Sermons, the fir&s;t of which was preached at the Funeral of Mrs. <HI>Elizabeth Moore.</HI> Whereunto is an|nexed Mrs. <HI>Elizabeth Moores</HI> Evidences for Heaven, com|po&s;ed and collected by her in the time of her healrh, for her comfort in the time of &s;ickne&s;s. By <HI>E. Calamy,</HI> B. D. Pa&s;|tor of the Church at <HI>Aldermanbury.</HI></P>
<P>The Gale of opportunity, and the Beloved Di&s;ciple, by <HI>Thomas Froy&s;ell.</HI></P>
<P>The Wedding Ring fit for the Finger: in a Sermon at a Wedding in <HI>Edmonton,</HI> by <HI>William Seaker.</HI></P>
<P>Book of Emblems, with Latine and Engli&s;h ver&s;es made upon <HI>(Lights)</HI> by <HI>Robert Farly.</HI></P>
<P>Sion in the hou&s;e of mourning, becau&s;e of Sin and Suf|fering, being an Expo&s;ition on the fifth Chapter of the <HI>La|mentations,</HI> by D. S. Pa&s;tor of <HI>Upingham,</HI> in the County of <HI>Rutland.</HI></P>
<PB REF="188">
<P>The one thing nece&s;&s;ary; by M. <HI>Thomas Wat&s;on,</HI> Mini|&s;ter of <HI>Stephens Walbrook.</HI></P>
<P>A Plea for Alms; delivered in a Sermon at the Spittle, before a &s;olemn A&s;&s;embly of the City, on Tue&s;day in Ea&s;ter week, <HI>April</HI> 13. 1658. by M. <HI>Thomas Wat&s;on,</HI> Mini&s;ter of <HI>Stephens Walbrook.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Mo&s;es</HI> unvailed, or tho&s;e figures which &s;erved unto the pattern and &s;hadow of heavenly things, pointing out the Me&s;&s;iah Chri&s;t Je&s;us, briefly explained; whereunto is ad|ded the Harmony of the Prophets, breathing with one mouth, the my&s;tery of his coming, and of that redemption which by his death he was to accompli&s;h. To confirm the Chri&s;tian, and convince the Jew, very profitable and full of comfort. By <HI>VVilliam Guild,</HI> Mini&s;ter of God's Word at <HI>King-Edward</HI> in <HI>Scotland.</HI></P>
<P>The Sacred Ordinance of Ordination: by Impo&s;ition of the hands of the Presbytery. As it was <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ately held forth in a Sermon preached at the &s;olemn Ordination of Mini&s;ters in the City of <HI>Norwich, June</HI> 11. <HI>Anno</HI> 1656. By <HI>John Brin&s;ley,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel at great <HI>Yarmouth.</HI></P>
<P>Divine Principles, or a Scripture Catechi&s;m, &amp;c.</P>
<P>Good Company; being a collection of various, &s;erious, pious Meditations; u&s;efull for in&s;truction, con&s;olation, and confirmation. By <HI>J. Melvin,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel at <HI>Udimer</HI> in <HI>Su&s;&s;ex.</HI></P>
<P>A Religious Treati&s;e upon <HI>Simeon's</HI> Song; or in&s;tructi|ons how to live holily, and dye happily: by <HI>T. VVoodriff,</HI> B. D. Pa&s;tor at <HI>King&s;land</HI> in <HI>Hereford&s;hire.</HI></P>
<P>Five Sermons in five &s;everal wayes of preaching; the 1 in B. <HI>A.</HI> way, the 2 in B. <HI>H.</HI> way, the 3 in Dr. <HI>M.</HI> and M. <HI>C.</HI> way, the 4 in the Presbyterian way, and the 5 in the Independent way of preaching: by <HI>A. VV.</HI> Mi|ni&s;ter of the Go&s;pel,</P>
<P>The Reformation, in which is reconciliation with God and his People: or a Catechi&s;m unveiling the Apo&s;tles Creed, with Annotations; in which Faith, Ordinances, and Government are profe&s;&s;ed as in the Primitive times,
<PB REF="188"> in oppo&s;ition to all Errors and Here&s;ies. By <HI>VV. K.</HI> Mi|ni&s;ter of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>Pro&s;pering prophanene&s;s provoking Holy Conference, and Gods attention; &s;everal Sermons from <HI>Malachy</HI> 3.15, 16, 17. by <HI>Zach. Crofton.</HI></P>
<P>The Agreement and re&s;olution of &s;everal A&s;&s;ociated Mini&s;ters in the County of <HI>Cork,</HI> for the Ordaining of Mini&s;ters.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="twelves" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Twelves.</HEAD>
<P><HI>John&s;ons</HI> E&s;&s;ayes expre&s;&s;ed in &s;undry Exqui&s;ite Fancies.</P>
<P>The Life and Death of M. <HI>Igna&s;ius Jourdain,</HI> one of the Aldermen of the City of <HI>Exeter;</HI> who departed this life, <HI>July</HI> 15. 1640. The &s;econd Edition publi&s;hed and in|larged, by <HI>Ferdina. Nicolls</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel at <HI>Mary Acres, Exon.</HI></P>
<P>The dangerous rule: or a Sermon preached at <HI>Clonmel</HI> in the Province of <HI>Mun&s;ter</HI> in <HI>Ireland,</HI> upon <HI>Aug.</HI> 3. 1657. before the Reverend Judges for that Circuit. By <HI>S. L.</HI> Ma|&s;ter in Arts, and lately fellow of <HI>C. C. C.</HI> in <HI>Oxon.</HI></P>
<P>The Womans glory: a Treati&s;e, fir&s;t a&s;&s;erting the due honour of that Sexe; by manife&s;ting that VVomen are capable of the highe&s;t improvements. The &s;econd Edition inlarged. By <HI>Samuel Tor&s;hel.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="twenty foures" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Twenty foures.</HEAD>
<P>Groans of the Spirit, or a Trial of the truth of Prayer.</P>
<P>A Handkerchef for Parents wet Eyes, upon the death of their Children, or Friends.</P>
<P>There are going to the Pre&s;s &s;ome new pieces of Mr. <HI>VVilliam Fenners,</HI> late of <HI>Rochford</HI> in <HI>E&s;&s;ex,</HI> never yet prin|ted, pre&s;erved by a &s;pecial Providence, one of which is a &s;econd part of his wilfull impenitency; being five Sermons more that hee preached upon the 18 of <HI>Ezekiel,</HI> and the 32 <HI>ver&s;e.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="publisher's advertisement">
<PB REF="189">
<HEAD>Courteous Reader, the&s;e Books following are printed for <HI>Nathanael Brook,</HI> and are to be &s;old at his &s;hop at the Angel in Cornhil.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Excellent Tracts in Divinity, Controver&s;ie, Sermons, Devotions.</HEAD>
<P>THe Catholick Hi&s;tory collected and gathered out of Scripture, Councills, and Ancient Fathers, in an&s;wer to <HI>Dr. Vanes</HI> Lo&s;t &s;heep returned home, by <HI>Edward Che&s;en&s;ale</HI> E&s;q <HI>Octavo.</HI></P>
<P>The Quakers cau&s;e at the &s;econd hearing, being a full an&s;wer to their tenets.</P>
<P>Re-a&s;&s;ertion of grace? <HI>Vindiciae Evangelii,</HI> or the Vindi|cation of the Go&s;pel; a reply to Mr. <HI>Anthony Bridges Vindiciae Legis,</HI> and to Mr. <HI>Rutherford,</HI> by <HI>Robert Town.</HI></P>
<P>Anabapti&s;ts anatomized and &s;ilenced, or a di&s;pute of Mr. <HI>Tombs</HI> by Mr. <HI>J. Crag,</HI> where all may receive clear &s;atisfaction of that controver&s;ie, the be&s;t of that &s;ubject extant. <HI>Octavo.</HI></P>
<P>A Glimp&s;e of Divine light, being an explication of &s;ome pa&s;&s;ages exhibited to the Commi&s;&s;ioners at <HI>White-Hall</HI> for approbation of Publick Preachers, again&s;t <HI>J. Harri&s;on</HI> of <HI>Land-Chapel, Lanca&s;hire.</HI></P>
<P>The zealous Magi&s;trate; a Sermon by <HI>T. Thre&s;ces. Quarte.</HI></P>
<P>New <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> in a Sermon for the Society of A&s;tro|logers, <HI>Quarto,</HI> in the year 1651.</P>
<P>Divinity no enemy to A&s;trology; a Sermon for the So|ciety of A&s;trologers, in the year 1643, by <HI>Dr. Thomas Swadling.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Britannia Rediviva;</HI> a Sermon before the Judges, <HI>Aug.</HI> 1648. by <HI>J. Shaw</HI> Mini&s;ter of <HI>Hull.</HI></P>
<P>The Prince&s;s Royal, in a Sermon before the Judges, <HI>March</HI> 24, by <HI>J. Shaw.</HI></P>
<PB REF="189">
<P>Judgement &s;et, and Books opened, Religion tried whe|ther it be of God or Man, in &s;everal Sermons, by <HI>J. Web|&s;ter, Quarto.</HI></P>
<P><HI>I&s;raels</HI> Redemption, or the Prophetical Hi&s;tory of our Saviours Kingdom on Earth: by <HI>K. Matton.</HI></P>
<P>The cau&s;e and cure of Ignorance, Errour, and Pro|phanene&s;s: or, a more hopeful way to Grace and Salvati|on, by <HI>K. Young, Octavo.</HI></P>
<P>A Bridle for the Times, tending to &s;till the murmuring, to &s;ettle the wavering, to &s;tay the wandring, and to &s;treng|then the fainting, by <HI>J. Brin&s;ley of Yarmouth.</HI></P>
<P>Comforts again&s;t the fear of death; wherein are di&s;co|vered &s;everal evidences of the work of Grace, by <HI>J. Col|lins</HI> of <HI>Norwich.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;um of practical Divinity: or, the grounds of Re|ligion in a Catechi&s;tical way, by Ma&s;ter <HI>Chri&s;topher Love,</HI> late Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel: an u&s;eful piece.</P>
<P>Heaven and Earth &s;haken; a Treati&s;e &s;hewing how Kings and Princes, and all other Governments, are turned and changed, by <HI>J. Davis</HI> Mini&s;ter in <HI>Dover,</HI> admirably u&s;eful, and &s;eriou&s;ly to be con&s;idered in the&s;e times.</P>
<P>The Trea&s;ure of the Soul, wherein wee are taught by dying to &s;in, to attain to the perfect love of God.</P>
<P>A Treati&s;e of Contentation, fit for the&s;e &s;ad and trou|ble&s;ome times, by <HI>J. Hall,</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Norwich</HI></P>
<P>Select thoughts: or, choice helps for a pious Spirit, be|holding the excellency of her Lord Je&s;us, by <HI>J. Hall,</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Norwich.</HI></P>
<P>The holy Order, or Fraternity of Mourners in <HI>Zion;</HI> to which is added, &s;ongs in the night, or chearfulne&s;s under afflictions, by <HI>J. Hall,</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Norwich.</HI></P>
<P>The Cele&s;tial Lamp, enlightning every di&s;tre&s;&s;ed &s;oul from the depth of everla&s;ting darkne&s;s, by <HI>T. Fetisplace.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Excellent <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> Mathematicks, Geometry, of A|rithmetick, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nd other Arts, or Mechanicks.</HEAD>
<P>The incomparabl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">ati&s;e of <HI>Tactometria, &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> Tetag|menometria;</HI>
<PB REF="190"> or, the Geometry of Regulars, practically propo&s;ed, after a new and mo&s;t expeditious manner, toge|ther with the Natural or Vulgar, by way of Men&s;ural com|pari&s;on, and in the Solids, not onely in re&s;pect of Magni|tude or Demen&s;ion, but al&s;o of Gravity or Pondero&s;ity, according to any Metal a&s;&s;igned: together with u&s;eful ex|periments of Mea&s;ures and Weights, ob&s;ervations on gaug|ing, u&s;eful for tho&s;e that are practi&s;ed in the Art Metricald, by <HI>T. Wybard.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Tectonicon,</HI> &s;hewing the exact mea&s;uring of all manner of Land, Squares, Timber, Stones, Steeples, Pillars, Globes, as al&s;o the making and u&s;e of the Carpenters Rule, &amp;c. fit to be known by all Surveyors, Land-meters, Joyners, Carpenters, and Ma&s;ons, by <HI>L. Diggs.</HI></P>
<P>The unparallel'd work for ea&s;e and expedition, entituled, the Exact Surveyor, or the whole Art of Surveying of Land, &s;hewing how to plot all manner of Grounds, whe|ther &s;mall Inclo&s;ures, Champian, Plain, Wood-lands, or Mountains, by the plain Table: as al&s;o, how to finde the <HI>Area,</HI> or Content of any Land, to Protect, Reduce, or Divide the &s;ame; as al&s;o, to take the Plot or Chart, to make a Map of any Mannor, whether according to <HI>Rathburn,</HI> or any other eminent Surveyors Method; a Book excellently u&s;eful for tho&s;e that &s;ell, purcha&s;e, or are otherwi&s;e employ|ed about buildings, by <HI>J. Eyre.</HI></P>
<P>The Golden Treati&s;e of Arithmetick, Natural and Ar|tificial, or Decimals; the Theory and Practice united in a &s;ympathetical proportion, betwixt Lines and Numbers, in their Quantities and Qualities, as in re&s;pect of Form, Figure, Magnitude, and Affection; demon&s;trated by Ge|ometry, illu&s;trated by Calculations, and confirmed with variety of Examples in every Species; made compendious and ea&s;ie for Merchants, Citizens, Sea-men, Accomptants, &amp;c. by <HI>Th. Wilsford</HI> Corrector of the la&s;t Edition of <HI>Record.</HI></P>
<P>Semigraphy, or the Art of Short-writing, as it hath been proved by many hundreds in the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">don,</HI> and o|ther places, by them practi&s;ed, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">owledged to bee
<PB N="169" REF="190"> the ea&s;ie&s;t, exacte&s;t, and &s;wifte&s;t Method; the meane&s;t ca|pacity by the help of this Book, with a few hours practice, may attain to a perfection in this Art, by <HI>J. Rich</HI> Author and Teacher thereof, dwelling in <HI>Swithins-lane,</HI> in <HI>Lon|don.</HI></P>
<P>Milk for Children; a plain and ea&s;ie Method, teaching to read and write, u&s;efull for Schools and Families, by <HI>J. Thomas,</HI> D. D.</P>
<P>The Painting of the Ancients, the Hi&s;tory of the be|ginning, progre&s;s, and con&s;umma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ing of the practice of that noble Art of Painting, by <HI>F. Junius.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Excellent and approved Treati&s;es in Phy&s;ick, Chirurgery, and other more familiar Experiments in Cookery, Pre&s;er|ving. &amp;c.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Culpeper</HI>'s <HI>Semiatica &V;ranica,</HI> his A&s;trological Judge|ment of Di&s;ea&s;es from the decumbiture of the &s;ick, much enlarged, the way and manner of finding out the cau&s;e, change, and end of the Di&s;ea&s;e; al&s;o whether the &s;ick bee likely to live or die, and the time when Recovery or Death is to bee expected, according to the judgement of <HI>Hyppo|crates,</HI> and <HI>Hermes Tri&s;megi&s;tus;</HI> to which is added Mr. <HI>Culpeper</HI>'s cen&s;ure of Urines.</P>
<P><HI>Culpeper</HI>'s la&s;t Legacy, left to his Wife for the publick good, being the choice&s;t and mo&s;t profitable of tho&s;e &s;ecrets in Phy&s;ick and Chirurgery, which while&s;t he lived, were lockt up in his brea&s;t, and re&s;olved never to bee pub|li&s;hed till after his death.</P>
<P>The <HI>York&s;hire</HI> Spaw: or the virtue and u&s;e of that Wa|ter in curing of de&s;perate Di&s;ea&s;es, with directions and rules nece&s;&s;ary to bee con&s;idered by all that repair thi|ther.</P>
<P>Mo&s;t approved Medicines and Remedies for the di&s;|ea&s;es in the body of man, by <HI>A. Read,</HI> Doctour in Phy|&s;ick.</P>
<P>The Art of &s;impling, an Introduction to the know|ledge
<PB REF="191"> of gathering of Plants, wherein the definitions, divi|&s;ions, places, de&s;criptions, differences, names, virtues, times of gathering, temperatures of them, are compendiou&s;ly di&s;|cour&s;ed of: al&s;o a di&s;covery of the le&s;&s;er World, by <HI>W. Coles.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Adam</HI> in <HI>Eden,</HI> or Natures Paradi&s;e: the Hi&s;tory of Plants, Herbs, and Flowers, with their &s;everal original names, the places where they grow, their de&s;criptions and kindes, their times of flouri&s;hing and decrea&s;ing; as al&s;o their &s;everal &s;ignatures, anatomical appropriations, and particular phy&s;ical virtues; with nece&s;&s;ary Ob&s;ervations on the &s;ea&s;ons of planting and gathering of our Engli&s;h plants. A work admirable u&s;eful for Apothecaries, Chi|rurgions, and other ingenuous per&s;ons, who may in this Herbal finde comprized all the Engli&s;h phy&s;ical Simples, that <HI>Gerard</HI> or <HI>Parkin&s;on</HI> in their two voluminous Herbals have di&s;cour&s;ed of; even &s;o as to bee on emergent occa&s;ions their own Phy&s;icians, the Ingredients being to bee had in their own Fields and Gardens: publi&s;hed for the general good, by <HI>W. Coles.</HI> M. D.</P>
<P>The Compleat Midwives practice, in the high and weighty concernments of the body of Mankinde: the &s;e|cond Edition, corrected and enlarged, with a full &s;upply of &s;uch mo&s;t u&s;eful and admirable &s;ecrets, which Ma&s;ter <HI>Ni|cholas Culpeper</HI> in his brief Treati&s;e, and other Engli&s;h Writers in the Art of Midwifry, have hitherto wilfully pa&s;|&s;ed by, kept clo&s;e to them&s;elves, or wholly omitted, by <HI>T. Chamberlain, M. P.</HI> illu&s;trated with Copper-Figures.</P>
<P>The Queens Clo&s;et opened; incomparable Secrets in Phy&s;ick, Chirurgery, Pre&s;erving, Candying, and Cookery; as they were pre&s;ented to the Queen by the mo&s;t experi|enced per&s;ons of our times, many whereof were honoured with her own practice.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>True Hi&s;tory, and Divine Poetry.</HEAD>
<P>The Tears of the Indians: the Hi&s;tory of the bloody
<PB REF="191"> and mo&s;t cruel proceedings of the Spaniards in the I&s;land of <HI>Hi&s;paniola, Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru,</HI> and other places of the We&s;t-Indies; in which to the life are di&s;co|vered the tyrannies of the Spaniards, as al&s;o the ju&s;tne&s;s of our War &s;o &s;ucce&s;sfully managed again&s;t them.</P>
<P><HI>Harvey</HI>'s Divine Poems, the Hi&s;tory of <HI>Balaam,</HI> of <HI>Jo|nah,</HI> and of St. <HI>John</HI> the Evangeli&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Fons Lachrymarum:</HI> or, a Fountain of Tears; the La|mentations of the Prophet <HI>Jeremiah,</HI> in Ver&s;e, with an Elegy on Sir <HI>Charles Lucas,</HI> by <HI>J. Quarles.</HI></P>
<P>The Admirable ingenuous Satyr again&s;t Hypocrites.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Several other accurately ingenuous Treati&s;es, lately printed.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Themis Aurea,</HI> The Laws of the Fraternity of the <HI>Ro&s;ie Cro&s;s,</HI> in which, the occult Secrets of their Philo&s;ophical Notions are brought to light; written by <HI>Count Mayerus,</HI> and now Engli&s;ht by <HI>T. H.</HI></P>
<P>The Iron-Rod put into the Lord Protectors hand; a Prophetical Treati&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>J. Tradi&s;can</HI>'s Rarities, publi&s;ht by him&s;elf.</P>
<P>The Proceedings of the High Court of Ju&s;tice again&s;t the late King <HI>Charles,</HI> with his Speech upon the Scaffold, and other proceedings, <HI>Jan.</HI> 30. 1648.</P>
<P>The perfect Cook, a right Method in the Art of Cooke|ry, whether for Pa&s;try, or all other manner of <HI>All a Mode</HI> Kick-&s;haws; with the mo&s;t refined waies of dre&s;&s;ing fle&s;h, fowl, or making of the mo&s;t poinant &s;awces, whether after the French, or Engli&s;h manner, with fifty five waies of dre&s;&s;ing of Eggs, by <HI>M. M.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Admirable U&s;eful Treati&s;es newly printed.</HEAD>
<P>The Expert Doctors Di&s;pen&s;atory the whole Art of Phy&s;ick re&s;tored to practice: the Apothecaries &s;hop, and Chirurgions Clo&s;et opened; with a Survey, as al&s;o a cor|rection
<PB REF="192"> of mo&s;t Di&s;pen&s;atories now extant, with a judici|ous Cen&s;ure of their defects; and a &s;upply of what they are deficient in: together with a learned account of the vertues and quantities; and u&s;es of Simples and Com|pounds; with the Symptomes of Di&s;ea&s;es: as al&s;o pre|&s;criptions for their &s;everal cures, by that renowned <HI>P. Morellus,</HI> Phy&s;ician to the King of <HI>France;</HI> a Work for the order, u&s;efulne&s;s, and plainne&s;s of the Method, not to bee parallel'd by any Di&s;pen&s;atory, in what Language &s;o|ever.</P>
<P>Cabinet of Jewels, Mans Mi&s;ery, Gods Mercy, Chri&s;ts Trea&s;ury, &amp;c. in eight excellent Sermons: with an Ap|pendix of the nature of Tythes under the Go&s;pel; with the expediency of Marriage in publick A&s;&s;emblies, by <HI>J. Crag,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>Natures Secrets, or the admirable and wonderful Hi|&s;tory of the generation of Meteors, de&s;cribing the Tem|peratures of the Elements, the heights, magnitudes, and influences of Stars, the cau&s;es of Comets, Earthquakes, Deluges, Epidemical Di&s;ea&s;es, and Prodigies of Precedent times, with pre&s;ages of the weather, and de&s;criptions of the weather-gla&s;s, by <HI>T. Wilsford.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Helmont</HI> di&s;gui&s;ed: or, the vulga<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> errors of impartial and unskilful Practicers of Phy&s;ick confuted; more e&s;pe|cially as they concern the Cures of Feavers, the Stone, the Plague, and &s;ome other Di&s;ea&s;es, by way of Dialogue, in which the chief rarities of Phy&s;ick are admirably di&s;|cour&s;ed of, by <HI>J. T.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Books very lately printed, and in the Pre&s;s now printing.</HEAD>
<P>Geometry demon&s;trated by Lines and Numbers; from thence A&s;tronomy, Co&s;mography, and Navigation proved and delineated by the Doctrine of Plain and Spherical Triangles, by <HI>T. Wilsford.</HI></P>
<P>The Engli&s;h Annals, from the Inva&s;ion made by <HI>Julius Cae&s;ar,</HI> to the&s;e times, by <HI>F. Wilsford.</HI></P>
<PB REF="192">
<P>Sir <HI>Kerelm Digby,</HI> and other per&s;ons of Honour, their rare and incomparable &s;ecrets of Phy&s;ick, Chirurgery, Cookery, Pre&s;erving, Con&s;erving, Candying, di&s;tilling of Wa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ers, extraction of Oyls, compounding of the co&s;tlie&s;t Perfumes, with other admirable Inventions, and &s;elect Ex|periments, as they offered them&s;elves to their Ob&s;ervati|ons, whether here or in Forein Countries.</P>
<P>The &s;oul's Cordial, in two Treati&s;es, the fir&s;t teaching how to bee ea&s;ed of the guilt of &s;in; the &s;econd di&s;covering advantages by Chri&s;ts A&s;cen&s;ion, by that faithful Labourer in the Lords Vineyard, Mr. <HI>Chri&s;topher Love,</HI> late Mini&s;ter of <HI>Lawrence Jury;</HI> the third Volume of his Works.</P>
<P><HI>Jacobs</HI> &s;eed, the excellency of &s;eeking God by prayer, by the late Reverend Divine, Mr. <HI>Jeremiah Burroughs;</HI> the &s;econd Edition very much enlarged.</P>
<P>The Saints Tomb-&s;tone: or, the Remains of the Ble&s;|&s;ed. A plain Narrative of &s;ome remarkable pa&s;&s;ages, in the holy Life, and happy Death of Mi&s;tre&s;s <HI>Dorothy Shaw,</HI> Wife of Mr. <HI>John Shaw,</HI> Preacher of the Go&s;pel at <HI>King&s;ton</HI> upon <HI>Hull,</HI> collected by her deare&s;t friends, e&s;pe|cially for her &s;orrowful Husband, and &s;ix Daughters con&s;o|lation and imitation.</P>
<P>The &s;o well entertained Work, the New World of Engli&s;h Words: or, a general Dictionary, containing the Terms, Etymologies, Definitions, and perfect Interpreta|tions of the proper &s;ignifications of hard Engli&s;h Words, throughout the Arts and Sciences, Liberal, or Mechanick; as al&s;o other &s;ubjects that are u&s;eful, or appertain to the Language of our Nation; to which is added the &s;ignifica|tion of Proper Names, Mithology, and Poetical Fictions, Hi&s;torical Relations, Geographical De&s;criptions of the Countries and Cities of the World; e&s;pecially of the&s;e three Nations, wherein their chiefe&s;t Antiquities, Battels, and other mo&s;t memorable Pa&s;&s;ages are mentioned: A Work very nece&s;&s;ary for &s;trangers, as well as our own Countrey-men, for all per&s;ons that would rightly under|&s;tand what they di&s;cour&s;e, or read. Collected and pub|li&s;hed
<PB REF="193"> by <HI>E. P.</HI> For the greater honour of tho&s;e learned Gentlemen and Arti&s;ts that have been a&s;&s;i&s;tant in the mo&s;t Practical Sciences, their names are pre&s;ented before the Book.</P>
<P>The &s;o much de&s;ired, and learned Commentary on <HI>P&s;al.</HI> the fifteenth, by that Reverend and Eminent Divine, Mr. <HI>Chri&s;topher Cartwright,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel in <HI>York;</HI> to which is prefixed a brief account of the Authours Life, and of his Work, by <HI>R. Bolton.</HI></P>
<P>The way to Bli&s;s, in three Books, being a learned Trea|ti&s;e of the Philo&s;ophers Stone, made publick by <HI>Elias A&s;h|mole</HI> E&s;q</P>
<P>The Judges Charge, delivered in a Sermon befote Mr. <HI>Ju&s;tice Hall,</HI> and Mr. <HI>Serjeant Crook,</HI> Judges of the A&s;|&s;ize, at St. <HI>Mary Overies</HI> in <HI>Southwark,</HI> by <HI>B. Purre. M. A.</HI> Pa&s;tor of <HI>Camerwel,</HI> in the County of <HI>Surrey;</HI> a Sermon worthy of the peru&s;al of all &s;uch per&s;ons, as indeavour to be hone&s;t and ju&s;t Practitioners in the Law.</P>
<P>The Modern A&s;&s;urancer, the Clerks Directory, contai|ning the practick part of the Law, in the exact Forms and Draughts of all manner of pre&s;idents for Bargains, and Sales, Grants, Feoffements, Bonds, Bills, Conditions, Co|venants, Joyntures, Indentures; to lead the u&s;es of Fines and Recoveries, with good Provi&s;oes, and Covenants to &s;tand &s;eized, Charter-parties for Ships, Lea&s;es, Relea&s;es, Sur|renders, &amp;c. And all other In&s;truments and A&s;&s;urances now in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e, intended for all young Students and Practicers in the Law, by <HI>John Hern.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Moor</HI>'s Arithmetick, the &s;econd Edition much refi|ned, and diligently cleared from the former mi&s;takes of the Pre&s;s. A Work containing the whole Art of Arithme|tick, as well in Numbers as Species; together with many Additions by the Authour. To come forth at <HI>Michaelma&s;s</HI> Term.</P>
<P>Likewi&s;e,</P>
<P><HI>Excercitatio Elleiptica Nova,</HI> or a new Mathematical
<PB REF="193"> Contemplation on the Oval Figure, called an Elleip&s;is; together with the two fir&s;t Books of <HI>Midorgius</HI> his Conicks Analiz'd, and made &s;o plain, that the Doctrine of Coni|cal &s;ections may be ea&s;ily under&s;tood; a Work much de|&s;ired, and never before publi&s;ht in the Engli&s;h Tongue: by <HI>Jonas Moor,</HI> Surveyor General of the great Level of the <HI>Fennes.</HI></P>
<P><HI>America</HI> painted to the Life, the Hi&s;tory of the Con|que&s;t, and fir&s;t Original undertakings of the advancement of the plantations in tho&s;e parts, with an exqui&s;ite Map, by <HI>F. Gorges,</HI> E&s;q</P>
<P><HI>Culpeper</HI>'s School of Phy&s;ick, or the Experimental Pra|ctice of the whole Art, &s;o reduced, either into Aphori&s;ms, or choice and tried Receipts, that the free-born Students of the three Kingdoms may in this Method finde perfect waies for the operation of &s;uch Medicines, &s;o A&s;trologi|cally and Phy&s;ically pre&s;cribed, as that they may them|&s;elves be competent Judges of the cures of their Patients, by <HI>N. C.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Blagrave</HI>'s admirable Ephemerides for the year 1660.</P>
<P>Dr. <HI>Martin Luthers</HI> Treati&s;e of the Liberty of a Chri|&s;tian: an u&s;eful Treati&s;e for the &s;taring of the Controver|&s;ies &s;o much di&s;puted in the&s;e times about this great point.</P>
<P>The Key of Knowledge, a little Book by way of Que|&s;tion and An&s;wer, intended for the u&s;e of all degrees of Chri&s;tians, e&s;pecially for the Saints of Religious Fami|lies, by <HI>John Jack&s;on.</HI></P>
<P>The true Evangelical temper; a Treati&s;e mode&s;tly and &s;oberly fitted to the pre&s;ent grand concernments of the State and Church, by <HI>John Jack&s;on.</HI></P>
<P>The Book of Con&s;cience opened and read, by <HI>John Jack&s;on.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Williams Clowes</HI> his Chirurgical ob&s;ervations for tho&s;e that are burned with flames of Gun-powder, as al&s;o for the curing of wounds, and of the <HI>Lues venera, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>The Moderate Bapti&s;t, in two parts, &s;hewing the Scrip|ture
<PB REF="194"> way for the admini&s;tring of the Sacrament of Bap|ti&s;m, di&s;covering that old error of original &s;in in Babes, by <HI>VVilliam Baitten.</HI></P>
<P>Hi&s;tory and Policy Reviewed in the Heroick Tran&s;acti|ons on <HI>Oliver</HI> late Lord Protectour, declaring his &s;teps to Princely perfection drawn in lively Parallels to the A&s;cents of the great Patriarch <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> to the height of thirty degrees of Honour, by <HI>H. D.</HI> E&s;q</P>
<P><HI>J. Cleaveland</HI> Revived; Poems, Orations, Epi&s;tles, and other of his Genuine Incomparable pieces: a &s;econd Impre&s;&s;ion with many Additions.</P>
<P>The Exqui&s;ite Letters of Ma&s;ter <HI>Robert Loveday,</HI> the late admired Tran&s;latour of the Volumes of the famed Romance <HI>Cleopatra,</HI> for the perpetuating his memory, publi&s;hed by his dear Brother, Mr. <HI>A. L.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Englands</HI> Worthies, Select Lives of forty &s;even of the mo&s;t eminent per&s;ons from <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> the Great to the death of <HI>Oliver Cromwel</HI> late Protector: by <HI>W. Win&s;tanley,</HI> Gent.</P>
<P>The Accompli&s;ht Cook; the My&s;tery of the whole Art of Cookery revealed in a more ea&s;ie and perfect Me|thod than hath been publi&s;ht in any Language; expert and ready waies for the dre&s;&s;ing of Fle&s;h, Fowl, and Fi&s;h, the rai&s;ing of Pa&s;tes, the be&s;t directions for all manner of Kick-&s;haws, and the mo&s;t poinant Sauces, with the terms of carving and &s;ewing: the Bills of Fare, an exact account of all di&s;hes for the &s;ea&s;on with other <HI>A la mode</HI> Curio|&s;ities; together with the lively Illu&s;trations of &s;uch ne|ce&s;&s;ary figures as are referred to practice: approved by the many years experience, and careful indu&s;try of <HI>Robert May,</HI> in the time of his attendance on &s;everal per&s;ons of honour.</P>
<P>The Character or <HI>A la mode</HI> Pro&s;pect of <HI>France,</HI> to which is added <HI>Gallus Ca&s;tratus:</HI> or an an&s;wer to a late &s;landerous Pamphlet, called, the Character of <HI>England;</HI> as al&s;o a fre&s;h Whip for the <HI>Moun&s;ieur,</HI> in an&s;wer to his Letter, in vindication to his Madam, the &s;econd Edition.</P>
<PB REF="194">
<P>The Hi&s;tory of the life and death of <HI>Oliver</HI> late Lord Protectour, wherein from his Cradle to his Tomb are im|partially tran&s;mitted to po&s;terity, the mo&s;t weighty Tran&s;|actions, Forreign and Dome&s;tick, that have happened in his time, either in Matters of Law, Proceedings in Parliament, or others Affairs in Church or State, by <HI>S. Carrington.</HI></P>
<P>The Scales of Commerce and Trade, the My&s;tery revea|led as to traffick, with a Debitor or Creditor, for Merchants Accounts after the <HI>Italian</HI> way, and ea&s;ie&s;t Method; as al&s;o a Treati&s;e of Architecture, and a computation as to all the charges of Building, by <HI>T. Wilsford,</HI> Gent.</P>
<P>Three Treati&s;es, <HI>viz.</HI> of the Attributes of G<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d, of the ex|cellency of Chri&s;t, of the preciou&s;ne&s;s of the Soul, &amp;c.</P>
<P>The Joys of Heaven promi&s;ed to the Saints on Earth. Chri&s;ts Sermons on the Beatitudes, preacht in the Mount, being an Expo&s;ition of the fifth Chapter of <HI>Matthew,</HI> deli|vered in &s;everal Lectures by Mr. <HI>Jeremiah Burroughs,</HI> the la&s;t Sermons he preached a little before his death, at <HI>Giles Cripple-gate, London;</HI> the&s;e two volumes never before prin|ted are come forth, with the approbation of tho&s;e godly and learned Divines who were intru&s;ted for the publi&s;hing of his Works; the&s;e are printed for <HI>Nathanael Brook</HI> at the Angel in <HI>Cornhill,</HI> and for <HI>Thomas Parkhur&s;t</HI> at the three Crowns in <HI>Cheap&s;ide,</HI> over again&s;t the great Conduit.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<P>The&s;e are to give notice, that the true and right Lozenges and Pectorals &s;o generally known and approved of for the cure of Con&s;umptions, Coughs, A&s;tmaes, Colds in general, and all other Di&s;ea&s;es incident to the Head, are rightly made only by <HI>John Piercy,</HI> Gent. the fir&s;t Inventer of them; and who&s;oever maketh them be&s;ides, do but counterfeit them: they are to be &s;old by <HI>Nathanael Brook</HI> at the An|gel in <HI>Cornhill.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
