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<DATE>2012-05-15</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Simon Charles</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed.</ITEM>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>XXXI. Select Sermons, PREACHED On Special Occa&s;ions; The Titles and &s;everal Texts, on which they were Preached, follow.</P>
<P>BY <HI>William Strong,</HI> That Godly, Able and Faithful Mini&s;ter of Chri&s;t, lately of the Abby at <HI>We&s;tmin&s;ter.</HI></P>
<P>None of them being before made publique.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>R. W.</HI> for <HI>Francis Tyton,</HI> and are to be &s;old at his Shop, at the &s;ign of the three Daggers neer the <HI>Inner Temple</HI> Gate. 1656.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<OPENER><SALUTE>Good Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_THere is a double way of edification now in u&s;e in the Church of God, either by <HI>long Tracts,</HI> or by <HI>&s;hort</HI> and <HI>pithy di&s;cour|&s;es:</HI> Tis not for us to determine which is mo&s;t profitable: <HI>Treati&s;es</HI> have their u&s;e, &amp; &s;o have <HI>&s;ingle Sermons:</HI> &s;ometimes tis good to &s;ee truths, not by <HI>piece</HI>-meal, but in their <HI>depen|dance</HI> and <HI>frame,</HI> that the whole Doctrine may be brought together, and dige&s;ted into a method: On the other &s;ide, to &s;ay all that may be &s;aid in an argument, is a <HI>burden</HI> and a <HI>prejudice</HI> to the common &s;ort of hearers, who when they find one point &s;o much dilated and in&s;i&s;ted upon, think that the knowledge of divine truths will be &s;o long and tedious a work, that in a de&s;pair of attaining thereunto, they &s;it down with any &s;light apprehen&s;ions in the things of God, and &s;uch thoughts as rather <HI>come upon them,</HI> then are <HI>found</HI> and <HI>&s;earched</HI> out by them. It concerneth the mi|ni&s;ters of the Go&s;pel then, to u&s;e all methods to gain &s;ouls to God: Sometimes to launch out into the <HI>common-place,</HI> and <HI>larger di&s;cu&s;&s;ion</HI> of truths, that they may at once &s;ee the whole latitude and breadth of them in one <HI>intire draught</HI> and <HI>delineation;</HI> at other times to con&s;ine them&s;elves to the <HI>expre&s;s &s;cope</HI> of that particular place which they have in hand, that the point and branch of Doctrine proper thereunto may be more earne&s;tly and in|du&s;triou&s;ly inforced: In the fir&s;t method we may di&s;cern both the <HI>harmony</HI> and <HI>rich</HI> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Adoro ple|nitudinem Scripturae. <HI>Tertull.</HI></NOTE> <HI>fulne&s;s</HI> of Scripture, while&s;t we &s;ee how much God hath &s;poken in a little; and
<PB REF="3"> how a few words <HI>of His,</HI> (like a &s;mall piece of gold) may without any forcing and violence, be beaten out into &s;o large an explication: in the other method, truths many times come in <HI>fre&s;her</HI> and <HI>&s;weeter</HI> upon the &s;oul, as being drawn more immediately from the fountain, and without the intervention of <HI>our Logick</HI> and <HI>di&s;cour&s;e,</HI> eviden|cing their deduction to the con&s;ciences of men.</P>
<P>In both the&s;e methods, did that worthy &s;ervant of the Lord <HI>Mr. Strong</HI> excell: In a <HI>Treati&s;e,</HI> who more <HI>copi|ous</HI> and <HI>full?</HI> In <HI>&s;horter di&s;cour&s;es,</HI> who more <HI>quick</HI> and <HI>&s;inewy?</HI> Of his excellency in the former kind, the world hath had a ta&s;te in what of his hath been already divulg|ed, more of which kind al&s;o is intended for the Pre&s;s: now thou ha&s;t pre&s;ented to thy view, a collection of &s;everal choice Sermons upon &s;pecial occa&s;ions, &s;ome more <HI>publique,</HI> others more <HI>private,</HI> and therefore though in that re&s;pect there may be &s;ome difference between them in <HI>beauty</HI> and <HI>fre&s;hne&s;s of colour,</HI> yet they all have the <HI>character</HI> and <HI>impre&s;s</HI> of <HI>Mr. Strongs</HI> &s;pirit in them, and do plainly di&s;cover what hand hath pa&s;&s;ed upon them: the <HI>exceed|ing u&s;efulne&s;s</HI> of the particular &s;ubjects, and that <HI>piety</HI> and <HI>judgement</HI> that &s;hines forth in the management of them, cannot but recommend them to the re&s;pects of the godly wi&s;e, and therefore without any longer detaining thee, (only to a&s;&s;ure thee that the&s;e are from his own notes) <HI>we commend thee to God, and the word of his grace, which is able to build us up, and give us an in|heritance among them that are &s;anctified.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Thy &s;ervants in the Lords work,
<LIST>
<ITEM>Thomas Manton.</ITEM>
<ITEM>John Rowe.</ITEM>
<ITEM>George Griffith.</ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>To the Reader.</HEAD>
<P>_THE Learned Author of the&s;e Sermons had he lived to have put the la&s;t hand to his own elaborate works, they would have been better commended to the world, then any care or diligence of Friends is able to perform. The&s;e Sermons &amp; &s;ome other Tracts formerly &s;et forth, were left by the Author under his own hand in &s;uch a character as none was acquainted with but only that Lady (of whom I could &s;peak as great things with as much truth, as of any, did not my own nearne&s;s of Relation, &amp; her own mode&s;ty forbid me) who made it her bu&s;ine&s;s to learn his character before his death,
<PB REF="4"> and &s;ince to tran&s;cribe them, by which means tho&s;e <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> left by the Author under lock and key (as it were) of an unknown hand, are brought forth and expo&s;ed to publick view, for common benefit. Tho&s;e that knew him mu&s;t needs &s;ay, that the&s;e Tracts were his own, they are &s;o like the Father; for as <HI>Seneca</HI> &s;aith of &s;uch as write books, they pre&s;ent to the World <HI>morum &s;uorum &amp; ingenii Chrirographum:</HI> &amp; our Author hath left his own picture drawn with his own hand, to the life, by which, though dead, he yet &s;peaketh. His Sermons and tracts are not &s;uch, of which we may &s;ay as <NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">. Pharmaca multa qui|dem bona mixta &amp; noxia multa. Praetereat &s;i quid non facit ad &s;to|machum. <HI>Martial.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Homer</HI> did of <HI>Egypt,</HI> and which may be too truly affirmed of many writings that are publi&s;hed to the world: <HI>A mi&s;cellany of drugs, good and bad:</HI> We have Antidotes in him, but no poy&s;on: and as <HI>Putean</HI> <NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Sine peri|culo ullo electionis decerpere omnia &amp; li|ber&egrave; liceat.</NOTE> &s;aith of <HI>Cicero,</HI> we may more truly &s;ay of our reve|rend Author; <HI>you need not u&s;e any great caution and care to pick and chu&s;e, you cannot chu&s;e ami&s;s.</HI> He hath an excellent vein in his Sermons, as one &s;aith in the like kind, <HI>plenius re&s;pon&s;ura fodienti,</HI> the farther you &s;earch, the richer trea|&s;ure you are like to find. It was the great infelicity of divers of the Ancients, that
<PB REF="4"> though they had <HI>magna ingenia,</HI> yet they had <HI>mixturam</HI>&mdash;I will not add the other word: they had <HI>magnas virtutes,</HI> and they had <HI>mag|na vitia</HI> al&s;o; Their rai&s;ed Parts were attended with &s;uch gro&s;s infirmities, as rendred them very obnoxious to cen&s;ure. And therefore <HI>Hierom</HI> &s;peaking of <HI>Origen,</HI> writes thus. <NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg"><HI>Epi&s;t.</HI> 72. ad <HI>Tranq.</HI> Ego origi|nem propter eruditionem &s;ic Interdum legendum arbitror, quo|modo <HI>Ter|tullianum, Novatum, Arnobium, Apollinarem,</HI> &amp; nonnullos Eccle&s;ia&s;ticos Scriptores, Graecos pa|riter &amp; La|tinos ut bo|na eorum eligamus, vi|temu&s;que contraria.</NOTE> <HI>I think</HI> Origen <HI>may for his learning be &s;ometimes read as other Eccle&s;ia&s;tick Writers, &s;o that we cull out what is good in them, and avoid the contrary;</HI> and he <NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. 13. ad <HI>Paulin.</HI></NOTE> pa&s;&s;eth a &s;mart cen&s;ure on <HI>Cyprian, Lactantius, Arnobius, &amp;c.</HI> And <HI>Hierom</HI> him&s;elf which hath cen&s;ured others, is by &s;everal paid home in the &s;ame coin: For <HI>Bellarmine</HI> <NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg">Lib. 3. c. 6. de Rom. Pontif.</NOTE> ob&s;erves &s;everal contradi|ctions in <HI>Hierom,</HI> and <HI>Alphon&s;us a Ca&s;tro</HI> <NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg">Lib. 6. ad|ver&s;us haere|&s;es tit. <HI>Epi|&s;copus;</HI> Ap|paret. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">. <HI>Hie|ronymum</HI> &s;ibi ip&s;i minime con&s;tare.</NOTE> &s;aith, that in the bu&s;ine&s;s about a Bi&s;hop and a Presbyter, Hierom <HI>doth not at all agree with him&s;elf;</HI> nay, <HI>Bellarmine</HI> <NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg">Lib. 4. de <HI>Euch.</HI> c. 10. art. 9. Non po&s;&s;umus ex Patrum &s;ententiis aliquid certi colligere quando inter &s;e non conveniunt.</NOTE> &s;aith thus, <HI>We can gather no certainty out of the Opinions of the Fathers, when as they them&s;elves are not of one mind.</HI> And <HI>Io&s;eph Scaliger</HI> <NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg">Lib 6. de Emend. Temp. &s;ed cum delectu ejus &s;cripta legenda e&s;&s;e non dubitabit qui&s;quis attentius legit, quam ip&s;e Scripta veterum.</NOTE> &s;peaking of the mo&s;t learned <HI>Eu&s;ebius,</HI> pa&s;&s;eth this &s;entence,
<PB REF="5"> <HI>without doubt a choice is to be made in the reading of him.</HI> But I am very much mi&s;taken, if this our Author may not pa&s;s without any &s;uch cen&s;ures, and may be read now in print, as he might have been heard when he was in the Pulpit, without &s;uch provi&s;o's and cauti|ons as are u&s;ually given in reading of many of the Ancients. That which made his Ser|mons pa&s;s with &s;o great approbation of the mo&s;t judicious hearers when he was alive, and will be a pa&s;sport to his writings though po&s;thumous, was, he did follow the ad|vice of the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> to <HI>Tim.</HI> 2 <HI>ep.</HI> 2.15. he did &s;tudy to &s;hew him&s;elf <HI>approved to God, a workman that need not be a&s;hamed, rightly dividing the word of truth:</HI> he made preaching his work and bu&s;ine&s;s: he did not go to that <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> or as a <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, but he counted it his greate&s;t <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, the work God gave him to do, as Chri&s;t &s;peaks, <HI>John</HI> 17.4. He was of <HI>Me|lancthons</HI> mind, who had wont to <NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg">Tres labo|re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> e&s;&s;e dif|ficillimos; Regentis, Docentis, Parturientis.</NOTE> &s;ay, <HI>Three &s;orts of labour are mo&s;t difficult: that of a Gover|nour, of a Teacher, and of a Woman in travel.</HI> He was often in travel to be delivered of his Sermons, and he made that good, <HI>qui alios docere velit &s;uo &s;udore Auditores irrigare conten|dat;</HI>
<PB REF="5"> An in&s;tructor ought to &s;pend him&s;elf upon his Auditory. He was &s;o much taken up in this work, that (to my knowledge) he was often in watchings a great part of the night, be&s;ides his pains in his day-&s;tu|dies. What <HI>Seneca</HI> reports <NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg"><HI>Epi&s;t.</HI> 8. Nu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">lus mi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters"> per otium dies exit, partem noctium &s;tu|diis vendico; non vaco &s;omno, &s;ed &s;uccum|bo; &amp; ocu|los vigilia fatigatos, cadente&s;que in opere de|tineo.</NOTE> of him&s;elf, may be affirmed of this our Author; <HI>I &s;pend all the day and much of the night in &s;tudy, not &s;etting my &s;elf to &s;leep, but only falling into it;</HI> and he goes on, and <NOTE N="l" PLACE="marg">Volup<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">a|ti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;om<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">, vitae de|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">xerunt &s;umm<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> Illi Viri quod nobis im|penderunt, po&s;teris nat<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &amp; occupati.</NOTE> adds, <HI>Great men of old be&s;towed the be&s;t part of their life upon us, as if born for po&s;teri|ty:</HI> But be&s;ides that very great diligence and travel of head and heart, and that <HI>in|tempe&s;tivum &amp; pertinax &s;tudium</HI> that he laid out in his Sermons, he had a &s;pecial faculty of keeping clo&s;e to his Text and bu&s;ine&s;s in hand; which as it is very requi&s;ite in a Preacher, &s;o it is very advantagious to com|mend a di&s;cour&s;e to the mo&s;t judicious car. What <HI>Plinius &s;ecundus</HI> <NOTE N="m" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ci<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">t, &s;i mate|riae immo|ratur, non e&s;&s;e lon|gum; lon|gi&s;&s;imum, &s;i aliquid accer&s;it, atque attrahit. Vides, quot ver&s;ibus <HI>Homerus,</HI> quot <HI>Virgilius,</HI> arma hic <HI>Aeneae, Achillis</HI> ille de&s;cribat; brevis tamen uterque e&s;t, quia facit quod in&s;tituit.</NOTE> &s;aid to <HI>Apollinaris</HI> in his Epi&s;tle to him concerning a Writer, is true of a Preacher, that he &s;hould often veiw his title, I &s;ay, his Text; That which did &s;ur|ther
<PB REF="6"> ther contribute to his excellency in preaching, was his skill which he had, and his deep in&s;ight into the my&s;terie of Godlin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;s, and the Doctrine of the free Grace of God; and as to the my&s;terie of Iniquity within us, he was well &s;tudied in the &s;ouls Anatomy, and could dextrou&s;ly di&s;&s;ect the old man: Then there is the my&s;terie of Iniquity without us, of Satan and Antichri&s;t, which he under&s;tood very well, and by his knowledge in the&s;e my&s;teries, he was able to advance the King|dom and Honour of our Lord Chri&s;t in the hearts and lives of his Hearers; and to di&s;cover the <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.24. <HI>Satans depths,</HI> and to di&s;appoint his <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.11. <HI>His plots and devices;</HI> as al&s;o to unvail the Whore of <HI>Babylon,</HI> and to render her vile and contemptible in the eyes of all. There was one thing more which did add very much unto him, and to his labours in preaching, and make him &s;ucce&s;sful in clearing many dark places, and &s;earching further into the deep Mines of the Word, and piercing into the &s;ecret Oracles of God, and that was his con|&s;tant recour&s;e to the Originals, in which he had good skill. By the&s;e means he went be|yond
<PB REF="6"> mo&s;t of his brethren in the work of the Mini&s;try; &s;o that his Sermons had always &s;omething above the rdi nary reach and pitch: &amp; a certain &s;train, which did <HI>&s;apere &s;aeculi &s;ui foelicitatem,</HI> an&s;wering the advantages and happine&s;s of the age in which he lived, which was more then <HI>Ca&s;aubon</HI> could &s;ay of <NOTE N="n" PLACE="marg"><HI>Exercit.</HI> 34. <HI>in Baron.</HI> Vulgat<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;unt in his, nihi quod &s;aeculi &s;ul foelicitatem &s;ap<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">at.</NOTE> <HI>Baroni|us</HI> his Annals. The want of &s;ome or any of the&s;e Particulars render Preachers very lame, and their Sermons thin and lean: of many of which, it may be &s;aid as of <HI>Anaximenes</HI> when he began to &s;peak, that there was <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>a flood of words, a drop of &s;en&s;e;</HI> and in like manner <HI>Clem. Alexan|drinus</HI> complains of &s;uch, that they utter <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>a flood of in&s;ignificant words:</HI> Such Preachers <HI>multa locuti parum dixi&s;&s;e viden|tur, talk much and &s;ay little;</HI> There was &s;o great weight both of words and &s;en&s;e in this our reverend Authors Sermons, and &s;o much of worth, that they did appear as good upon a narrow di&s;qui&s;ition, as they did &s;eem to be when they were delivered: whereas the Ser|mons of many are like the Orations of <NOTE N="o" PLACE="marg">Cuju<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> c&ugrave;m in dicendo copla &s;peci|e&s;que aur<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">|bus pla<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> oculorum judicio &s;per|nebatur: multumque legentibus de&s;ideratum q<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">d audl|entibus pla|cui&s;&s;et.</NOTE> <HI>Hor|ten&s;ius, Many tickle the fancy, whil&s;t plau&s;ibly, and with &s;ome Pomp and O&s;tenation delivered, but being
<PB REF="7"> &s;cann'd</HI> by a &s;everer repetition, they prove to have been <HI>vox &amp; praeterea nihil,</HI> they vani&s;h into a <HI>notion</HI> or <HI>nothing.</HI> The ignorance, or at lea&s;t the not &s;o clear knowledge of the Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace, Gods rich and free Grace, in the bu&s;ine&s;s of our &s;alvation was the cau&s;e anciently, and is &s;till, of many errours in the Church. The Author of the&s;e Sermons had arrived to an excellen|cy and height in this doctrine, beyond the mo&s;t that ever I read or knew; Had he lived to have perfected his labours about the Co|venant of grace, I pre&s;ume I may &s;ay they had &s;urpa&s;&s;ed all that went before. Herein was the great defect of many of the ancients: <HI>Ca&s;aubon</HI> <NOTE N="p" PLACE="marg">Non nega|ri po&s;&s;e vide|tur doctri|nam de ju&s;tificatione peccatoris &amp; cau&s;&acirc; meritori&acirc; &s;alutis pri|mis Eccle|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">ae tempori|bus &amp; fer&egrave; ante <HI>Au|gu&s;tinum,</HI> vix &s;atis dilucid&egrave; fui&s;&s;e expo&s;itam; con&s;tat &s;an&egrave; apud ve<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">u&s;ti&s;&s;imos Patrum &amp; nonnulles etiam po&s;teriorum <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ju&s;medi &s;ententias interdum occurrere, quae ni&s;i benign&acirc; interpretatione molliantur, &s;er<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">i non p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;unt, <HI>Exerc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">in Baron.</HI> 1.</NOTE> attributes the gro&s;s errours in the fir&s;t times of the Church about the me|ritorious cau&s;e of &s;alvation, to ari&s;e from the ignorance of the Doctrine of the free Grace of God in the Ju&s;tification of a &s;inner. Nay, <NOTE N="q" PLACE="marg"><HI>Concord.</HI> 159. Graecos ni&s;i caute le|gantur &amp; intelligantur praebere p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;e ecca&s;ionem errori <HI>Pelagiano.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Ian&s;enius</HI> goes further; and <HI>E&s;pencaeus</HI> <NOTE N="r" PLACE="marg"><HI>Epi&s;t.</HI> 2. <HI>Tim.</HI> 2. <HI>d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;s</HI> 10.</NOTE> &s;peaks to the very &s;ame purpo&s;e, that divers of the Greek Fathers from this ignorance, gave
<PB REF="7"> occa&s;ion to the <HI>Pelagian</HI> here&s;ie. What <HI>Chry|&s;ostom</HI> and <HI>Ca&s;sianus</HI> his &s;cholar thought and wrot of the grace of God, and al&s;o <HI>Cyril</HI> of <HI>Hieru&s;alem,</HI> may appear out of their wri|tings: <HI>Ca&s;sianus</HI> <NOTE N="&s;" PLACE="marg">Nos inquit primum bo|na <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ligere oporter, &amp; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">unc offert Deus quae &s;ua &s;unt.</NOTE> &s;peaks their &s;en&s;e, <HI>We fir&s;t choo&s;e what is good, and then God offers the help of his grace,</HI> and determines our will up|on the motion of it fir&s;t. Nay, <HI>Vo&s;sius</HI> &s;peaks out indeed to this purpo&s;e: <HI>if any think that &s;ome who lived afore the breaking forth of Pelagiani&s;m, did attribute faith or the begin|ning of it to the &s;trength of nature, we will not contend with him.</HI> <NOTE N="t" PLACE="marg"><HI>Lib.</HI> 4. <HI>Hi&s;tor. Pe|lag.</HI> Si quis putet allquos eorum qui ante exor|tam <HI>Pelagii</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">aere&s;in vixerunt fi|dem vel inl|tium &s;idei, conver&s;ion<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s de&s;ideri|um, certum &s;pel &amp; poe|nitentiae gradum na|turae viribus tribui&s;&s;e; nolumus cum co du|cere conten|tionis fu|nem.</NOTE> All this was to be imputed chiefly to that little knowledge which tho&s;e Ancients had in the Doctrine of the free Grace of God. If a Divine be lame in this point, it is no wonder though he halts into Arminiani&s;m, and fals into tho&s;e Popi&s;h errors of the merit of good works, the corner &s;tone of the <HI>Babel</HI> of <HI>Rome.</HI> There is another defect which hath brought much prejudice to the Church, and that is igno|rance in the Originals, the Mother of errors. <HI>Lud. Vives</HI> <NOTE N="u" PLACE="marg"><HI>De cau&s;is Corrupt. Art l.</HI> 7. <HI>de corrupto Iure.</HI> Magnam cau&s;am corrupt<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">larum mana&s;&s;e ex imperiti&agrave; Linguarum, qui|bus ip&s;um in&s;criptum e&s;t.</NOTE> &s;aith, <HI>The rea&s;on of the corruption of
<PB REF="8"> the Law,</HI> and the &s;ame may be &s;aid of Divinity, <HI>is, becau&s;e tho&s;e that were Students and Practitioners in it, did not under&s;tand the Languages in which it was written.</HI> D. <HI>Rey|nolds,</HI> &s;peaking of this pa&s;&s;age of <HI>Lud. Vives,</HI> adds: <NOTE N="x" PLACE="marg"><HI>Apocryph. lect.</HI> 3. Sine dubio &s;i &s;crip&s;i&s;&s;et <HI>Lud. Vives</HI> de cau&s;is Theologiae corruptae, no|tare potui&s;&s;et hoe in The|ologia &s;aepe u&s;u veni&s;&s;e ut haliucina|rentur, quo|niam Grae|cum id e&s;&s;et in quo ver|&s;abatur.</NOTE> <HI>Doubtle&s;s if</HI> L. Vives <HI>had written the Cau&s;es of Corruption in Divinity, he might have ob&s;erved the occa&s;ion of errors herein, was the hand|ling of it in Greek:</HI> And <HI>E&s;pencaeus</HI> &s;peaking of the ignorance of former times, complains how that <NOTE N="y" PLACE="marg"><HI>Tim.</HI> Circa reformati+onis initia eam inter Clericos gra&s;&s;atam fui&s;&s;e lin|guarum originalium ignorantiam &amp; barbariem ut in latinis authoribus Graec&egrave; no&s;&s;e &s;u&s;pectum fuerit, He|baric&egrave; prope haere|ticum.</NOTE> <HI>it was <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">eemed as a fault in the Latin Writers, if they under&s;tood Greek; and if Hebrew, a haere&s;ie.</HI> What mi&s;chiefs have come upon the Church, upon the unskilfulne&s;s of divers of the Ancients in Original languages, would be too long to &s;et down. Thus I have en|deavoured to &s;hew wherein the &s;trength of this Author did lie; as al&s;o the &s;ad con&s;e|quents that follow upon the defects and want of tho&s;e particulars fore-mentioned. There be divers other things which I might mention concerning this Author, but the&s;e were the chief, which out of my ob&s;ervation and my intimate acquaintance I took notice of in him; by which he came to be of very great note, &amp; cried up beyond his brethren; by
<PB REF="8"> rea&s;on whereof, had not God given him much grace, he might have been puffed up. For it is mo&s;t true, <HI>non minus periculum ex magna fama quam ex mala, great fame is no le&s;s dangerous then a bad one:</HI> and perhaps this might be one great rea&s;on, why the Lord was plea&s;ed to let loo&s;e the &s;landerous tongues again&s;t him: for <NOTE N="z" PLACE="marg"><HI>Quint. Dialog.</HI> Ne|mo codem tempore a&s;|&s;equi pote&s;t magnam fa|mam &amp; magnam quietem.</NOTE> <HI>no man can enjoy a great fame quietly.</HI> It was a great affliction to him, and &s;o much the greater, by how much the nearer they were to him, which were at the greate&s;t defiance again&s;t him, as <HI>Tac.</HI> <NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>Hi&s;t.</HI> 1. Cui deer<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> inimicus, per amicos opp: e&s;&s;us.</NOTE> &s;aith, <HI>He that wanted an ene|my &s;uffered by his own friends.</HI> My own familiar friend&mdash;that was the &s;harpe&s;t dagger and wounded deepe&s;t Whatever <NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg"><HI>Tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s in Terent.</HI> Si ego digna hac contu|melia &s;im maxime, at tu indignus qui &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ceris tamen.</NOTE> one may de&s;erve, yet a friend &s;hould not be the executioner. But however his Adver&s;aries did very much endeavor to a&s;per&s;e him, yet he proved them to be fal&s;e and unju&s;t <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">; by the bright|ne&s;s of his conver&s;ation he did live down tho&s;e evil reports. It was not with him, as it was <NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">Pro&s;per<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters"> eloquentia quam mo|rum fama.</NOTE> &s;aid of <HI>Domitius Afer,</HI> That he was a <HI>better Speaker then Liver:</HI> he was as happy in the purity and innocency of his life, as he was for the power that through Grace he erected in his preaching.
<PB REF="9"> What <NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg">Simul fuls virtutibus &s;imul vitils aliorum in ip&s;am glori|am praeceps agebatur.</NOTE> <HI>Tacitus</HI> &s;aid of <HI>Agricola,</HI> being under &s;ome calumnies, is true of him; he was carri|ed with much more &s;peed towards glory, both by the malignity of others, and his own excellencies. Thus I fear I have detained thee, Reader, too long in the entrance; but I hope thou wilt have a keener edge to the dainties, that thou &s;halt meet with in the book. <HI>Farewel.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Henry Wilkin&s;on</HI> of Chri&s;ts-Church, Profe&s;&s;or in Di|vinity for the Lady <HI>Margaret</HI> in the Vniver&s;ity of <HI>Oxford.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="9">
<HEAD>A Table of the Names of &s;uch Sermons, where, and when they were Preached, &s;et down in &s;uch order as they follow: toge|ther with the texts of Scripture in&s;i&s;ted upon in this following Book.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>SPiritual Barrenne&s;s.</HI> Preached at <HI>Pauls,</HI> a <HI>Spittle</HI>-Sermon, upon <HI>Ezek.</HI> 47.11. Pag. 1.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Holine&s;s the way to Happine&s;s.</HI> Preached at <HI>Pauls,</HI> upon <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.14. p. 31.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Babylons utter ruine, the Saints Triumph.</HI> Preached at a Thank&s;giving for the victory of <HI>Ireland,</HI> again&s;t the <HI>Iri&s;h, Augu&s;t</HI> 29. 1649. upon <HI>Rev.</HI> 18.2. p. 63.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>Go&s;pel order, a Churches beauty.</HI> Preached when Mr. <HI>Strong</HI> was cho&s;en Pa&s;tor, <HI>Decemb.</HI> 9. 1650. upon <HI>Col.</HI> 2.5. p. 91.</ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>Church-Officers, according to In&s;titution.</HI> Preached at the Churches choo&s;ing of Officers, upon <HI>Heb.</HI> 13.17. p. 109,</ITEM>
<PB REF="10">
<ITEM>6. <HI>Communion with God, good in bad times.</HI> Preached at <HI>Pauls, October</HI> 14. 1647. Before the Lord Maior and Aldermen, upon <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 73.28. p. 133.</ITEM>
<ITEM>7. <HI>The Saints inheritance.</HI> Preached for Mr. <HI>Caryl</HI> on his Lecture day at <HI>London</HI>-Bridge, upon 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 3.22. following p. 163.</ITEM>
<ITEM>8. <HI>The great day.</HI> At a private fa&s;t, upon <HI>Ierem.</HI> 30.7. p. 164.</ITEM>
<ITEM>9. <HI>Grace abu&s;ed.</HI> At a fa&s;t for abu&s;ed liberty, <HI>Feb.</HI> 28. upon <HI>Iude</HI> 4. p. 187.</ITEM>
<ITEM>10. <HI>The ju&s;t mans end.</HI> At the funeral of <HI>William Ball</HI> E&s;quire, a member of the hou&s;e of Commons, upon <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 57.1. p. 209.</ITEM>
<ITEM>11. <HI>God with us while&s;t we are with him.</HI> At a publike fa&s;t before the Parliament, <HI>Iune</HI> 9. 1652. upon 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 15.2. p. 231.</ITEM>
<ITEM>12. <HI>The doctrine of the Iews vocation.</HI> Preached at <HI>Gre|gories</HI> Lecture, upon <HI>Rom.</HI> 11.26. p. 267.</ITEM>
<ITEM>13. <HI>Heedle&s;s &s;ervice unacceptable.</HI> Upon 2 <HI>King.</HI> 10.31. p. 289.</ITEM>
<ITEM>14 <HI>Go&s;pel-Exaltation.</HI> Upon <HI>Mat.</HI> 11.23. p. 309.</ITEM>
<ITEM>15. <HI>The two Covenants.</HI> Preached in <HI>Bartholomew</HI>-lane, <HI>Iune</HI> 22. 1652. Upon <HI>Gal.</HI> 4.21,22. p. 333.</ITEM>
<ITEM>16. <HI>Fle&s;h &s;ilenced by Gods ari&s;ing.</HI> Preached before the Lord Maior, Aldermen, and Commons of <HI>London,</HI> on a Thank&s;giving day at Chri&s;t-Church <HI>London, Iuly</HI> 26. 1651. upon <HI>Zach.</HI> 2.13. p. 357.</ITEM>
<ITEM>17. <HI>The duty and dignity of Magi&s;trates.</HI> Preached at <HI>Laurence-Iury, Sept.</HI> 29. 1651. at the Election of the Lord Maior, upon <HI>Zach.</HI> 10.4. p. 389.</ITEM>
<ITEM>18. <HI>Perfect clean&s;ing;</HI> upon 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 7.1. p. 421.</ITEM>
<ITEM>19. <HI>A &s;et time for Iudgement.</HI> Upon <HI>Ierem.</HI> 8.7. p. 443.</ITEM>
<PB REF="10">
<ITEM>20. <HI>One heart and one way.</HI> Upon <HI>Zach.</HI> 14.9. p. 465.</ITEM>
<ITEM>21. <HI>Grace is wi&s;dom, and wi&s;dom the principal thing.</HI> Preached at a meeting of the company of Black-Smiths, <HI>Octob.</HI> 29. 1647. in <HI>Fi&s;h-street, London,</HI> upon <HI>Prov.</HI> 4.7. p. 493.</ITEM>
<ITEM>22 <HI>The danger of being wor&s;e by mercies.</HI> Upon <HI>Deut.</HI> 32.15. p. 513.</ITEM>
<ITEM>23. <HI>Unruly thoughts quieted, by divine con&s;olations.</HI> Preached at <HI>Pauls, Iune</HI> 9. 1653. upon <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 49.19. p. 541.</ITEM>
<ITEM>24. <HI>Gods Throne erect, in the A&s;&s;emblies of his Saints.</HI> Preached at a fa&s;t; upon <HI>Rev.</HI> 4.6. p. 567.</ITEM>
<ITEM>25. <HI>The Keepers of the Vineyard, mu&s;t keep their own Vineyard.</HI> At a fa&s;t before the Parliament, <HI>Iune</HI> 13. 1650. upon <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ant.</HI> 1.6. p. 589.</ITEM>
<ITEM>26. <HI>State pro&s;perity, in keeping clo&s;e to the Word.</HI> At a fa&s;t in the Parliament Hou&s;e, <HI>Iune</HI> 31. 1653. upon <HI>Io&s;h.</HI> 1.8. p. 617.</ITEM>
<ITEM>27. <HI>Chri&s;ts in&s;trumental fitne&s;s for his Fathers ends.</HI> Preached at <HI>Bartholomew</HI>-lane, upon <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 42.2. p. 637.</ITEM>
<ITEM>28. <HI>The my&s;teries of Providence.</HI> Preached at <HI>Pauls, Augu&s;t</HI> 18. 1650. upon <HI>Ezek.</HI> 1.16. clo&s;e of it, p. 657.</ITEM>
<ITEM>29. <HI>Chri&s;ts care in glory, for his Churches good on earth;</HI> upon <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.1. p. 681.</ITEM>
<ITEM>30. <HI>Gifts and Talents &s;hall be accounted for.</HI> Preached before the Parliament on a day of Thank&s;giving, <HI>Sept.</HI> 3. upon <HI>Luke</HI> 12.48. p. 705.</ITEM>
<ITEM>31. <HI>The upright heart, and its darling &s;in.</HI> Upon <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 18.23. p. 735.</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="list of scriptures">
<PB REF="11">
<PB REF="11">
<HEAD>The Table of the Scriptures handled, ex|plained, and opened in the&s;e fol|lowing Sermons.</HEAD>
<P><TABLE>
<ROW>
<CELL ROLE="label">&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL ROLE="label"><HI>Chapter.</HI></CELL>
<CELL ROLE="label"><HI>Ver&s;e.</HI></CELL>
<CELL ROLE="label"><HI>Page.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="3"><HI>Gene&s;is.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>19</CELL>
<CELL>528</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>17</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>741</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>159</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Exodus.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>482</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Numbers.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>24</CELL>
<CELL>741</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="6"><HI>Deutronomy.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>301</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>9</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>313</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>32</CELL>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>515</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>516</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>517</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>15</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ib.</HI> 518, 5<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">1</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="2"><HI>Io&s;hua.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>617</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>24</CELL>
<CELL>19</CELL>
<CELL>297, 703</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Iudges.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>687</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="3">1 <HI>Samuel.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>29</CELL>
<CELL>522</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>302</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>241</CELL>
</ROW>
<PB REF="12">
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="3">1 <HI>Kings.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>31</CELL>
<CELL>472</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>32</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL>28</CELL>
<CELL>544</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="3">2 <HI>Kings.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>31</CELL>
<CELL>289, 292</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>484</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>15</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>1 <HI>Chronicles.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>15</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>92</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>2 <HI>Chronicles.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>15</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>231</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="5"><HI>Iob.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>547</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>22</CELL>
<CELL>21</CELL>
<CELL>138</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>28</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>495</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>34</CELL>
<CELL>17</CELL>
<CELL>414</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>30</CELL>
<CELL>49, 633</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="20"><HI>P&s;alms.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>141</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>505</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>69</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>See pag. 146 follow. p. 163</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL>23</CELL>
<CELL>735, 739, 742</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>23</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>See p. 153 follow. p. 163</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>27</CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>697</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>30</CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>293</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>44</CELL>
<CELL>23</CELL>
<CELL>365</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>47</CELL>
<CELL>9</CELL>
<CELL>401</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>68</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>692</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>74</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>375, 490</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>80</CELL>
<CELL>17</CELL>
<CELL>640</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>90</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>496</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>94</CELL>
<CELL>19</CELL>
<CELL>542</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>107</CELL>
<CELL>34</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>110</CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>318</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>119</CELL>
<CELL>126</CELL>
<CELL>459</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>127</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>550</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>140</CELL>
<CELL>11</CELL>
<CELL>See p. 152 follow. p. 163</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="7"><HI>Proverbs.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>504</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>493</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>276</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>30</CELL>
<CELL>678</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>15</CELL>
<CELL>24</CELL>
<CELL>503</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>31</CELL>
<CELL>450</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="4"><HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;tes.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>725</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>294</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>687</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>462</CELL>
</ROW>
<PB REF="12">
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="6"><HI>Canticles.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>593, 597</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>318</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>321</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>145</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>116</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="18"><HI>I&s;aiah.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>321</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>17</CELL>
<CELL>520</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>00</CELL>
<CELL>515</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>9</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>171</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>314</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>26</CELL>
<CELL>20</CELL>
<CELL>464</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>28</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>17</CELL>
<CELL>726</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>29</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>236, 707 534, 723</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>30</CELL>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL>See page 155 follows page 163</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>33</CELL>
<CELL>21</CELL>
<CELL>732</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>42</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>637, 638</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>44</CELL>
<CELL>25</CELL>
<CELL>671</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>49</CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>717</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>52</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>690</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>57</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>209</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>60</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>563</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>66</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>35</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="5"><HI>Jeremiah.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>33</CELL>
<CELL>459</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>690</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>30</CELL>
<CELL>33</CELL>
<CELL>290</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>31</CELL>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>277</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>9</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Lamentations.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>20</CELL>
<CELL>398</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="11"><HI>Ezekiel.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>571</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>657 661, 664</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>20</CELL>
<CELL>315</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>13, 401</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>116</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>39</CELL>
<CELL>321</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>37</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>713</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>24</CELL>
<CELL>640</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>25</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>47</CELL>
<CELL>11</CELL>
<CELL>1, 9, 704</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="16"><HI>Daniel.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>44</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>660</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>17</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>400</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>526</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>11</CELL>
<CELL>79</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>281</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>278</CELL>
</ROW>
<PB REF="13">
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>25</CELL>
<CELL>403</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>563</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>27</CELL>
<CELL>288</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>10 to 12</CELL>
<CELL>692</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>20</CELL>
<CELL>371</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>11</CELL>
<CELL>40</CELL>
<CELL>286</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>44</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>11</CELL>
<CELL>281</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="8"><HI>Ho&s;ea.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>526</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>11</CELL>
<CELL>168</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>15</CELL>
<CELL>68</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>276, 728</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>483</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>472</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>9</CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>516</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL>561</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Ioel.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>168</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Amos</HI></CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>484</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="3"><HI>Micah.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>468</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>720</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>462</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Nahum.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>671</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="4"><HI>Habbacuck.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>184</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>550</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>17</CELL>
<CELL>148</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="3"><HI>Zephaniah.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>169</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>554</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>559</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="16"><HI>Zachariah.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>359, 365,</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>143</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>701</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>114</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>449</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>9</CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>394</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>58, 558</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>391, 396</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>11</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>482</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>668</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>278</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>276</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>21</CELL>
<CELL>475</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>23</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>9</CELL>
<CELL>468, 469</CELL>
</ROW>
<PB REF="13">
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Malachi.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>168</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="16"><HI>Matthew.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>312</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL>430</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>21</CELL>
<CELL>144</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>23</CELL>
<CELL>200</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>11</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>422</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>23</CELL>
<CELL>311, 312</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>52</CELL>
<CELL>98</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>15</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>111</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL>118, 216</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>19</CELL>
<CELL>122</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL>20</CELL>
<CELL>700</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>15</CELL>
<CELL>119</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>24</CELL>
<CELL>9</CELL>
<CELL>688</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>30</CELL>
<CELL>278</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>31</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>51</CELL>
<CELL>305</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="2"><HI>Mark.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>24</CELL>
<CELL>303</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>30</CELL>
<CELL>149</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="6"><HI>Luke.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>76</CELL>
<CELL>689</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>27</CELL>
<CELL>430</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>41</CELL>
<CELL>705, 710</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>32</CELL>
<CELL>48</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>24</CELL>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>295</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>25</CELL>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="8"><HI>John.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>102</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>34</CELL>
<CELL>715</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>35</CELL>
<CELL>710</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>273</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>15</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>22</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>157</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>625</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>20</CELL>
<CELL>21</CELL>
<CELL>124</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="4"><HI>Acts.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>28</CELL>
<CELL>168</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>55</CELL>
<CELL>369, 560</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>9</CELL>
<CELL>11</CELL>
<CELL>43</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>20</CELL>
<CELL>28</CELL>
<CELL>112</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="7"><HI>Romans.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>343</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>28</CELL>
<CELL>712</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL>364</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>11</CELL>
<CELL>12 to 15</CELL>
<CELL>287</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>25</CELL>
<CELL>269</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>26</CELL>
<CELL>267</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>716</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="11">1 <HI>Corinthians.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>22</CELL>
<CELL>712</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>118</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>124</CELL>
</ROW>
<PB REF="14">
<ROW>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>11</CELL>
<CELL><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">1</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>117</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>28</CELL>
<CELL>112</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>26</CELL>
<CELL>411</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>32</CELL>
<CELL>413</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>15</CELL>
<CELL>24</CELL>
<CELL>660</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>28</CELL>
<CELL>71</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>52</CELL>
<CELL>279</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="7">2 <HI>Corinthians.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>15</CELL>
<CELL>270</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL>317</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL><HI>Ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>712</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>573</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>421</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>717</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="5"><HI>Galatians.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>194</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>19</CELL>
<CELL>339</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>351</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>21</CELL>
<CELL>333</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>22</CELL>
<CELL>334</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="7"><HI>Ephe&s;ians.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>20</CELL>
<CELL>408</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>21</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"></CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>715</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>11</CELL>
<CELL>95</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>46</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>483</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="3"><HI>Philippians.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>716</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>11</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>269</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="4"><HI>Colo&s;&s;ians.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>117</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>26</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>91</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="2">1 <HI>The&s;&s;alonians.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>271</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>101</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="3">2 <HI>The&s;&s;alonians.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>477</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>124</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="3">1 <HI>Timothy.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>15</CELL>
<CELL>329</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>96</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>694</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>2 <HI>Timothy.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>26</CELL>
<CELL>30</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Titus.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>330</CELL>
</ROW>
<PB REF="14">
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="2"><HI>Philippians.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>195</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>19</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="7"><HI>Hebrews.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>92</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>9</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>See p 247 after p. 248</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>27</CELL>
<CELL>18</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>31, 38</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>27</CELL>
<CELL>377</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>57</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Iames.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL>696</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="3">1 <HI>Peter.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>35</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>743</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>271</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="2">2 <HI>Peter.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>44</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>11, 194</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="6">1 <HI>Iohn.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>529</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>545</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL>206</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>271</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>19</CELL>
<CELL>42</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>21</CELL>
<CELL>483</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>2 <HI>Iohn.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>54</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="3"><HI>Iude.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>189, 192</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>191</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>550</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL ROWS="27"><HI>Revelation.</HI></CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>682</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>20</CELL>
<CELL>686</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>685</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>582</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>21</CELL>
<CELL>452, 579</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>716</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>4</CELL>
<CELL>00</CELL>
<CELL>579</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>3</CELL>
<CELL>682</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>567</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>6</CELL>
<CELL>22</CELL>
<CELL>669</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL>683</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>12 to 14</CELL>
<CELL>723</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>8</CELL>
<CELL>27</CELL>
<CELL>688</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>9</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>196</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>2</CELL>
<CELL><HI>ibid.</HI></CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>197</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>&nbsp;</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>718</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>10</CELL>
<CELL>7</CELL>
<CELL>288</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>15</CELL>
<CELL>196</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>00</CELL>
<CELL>190, 378</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>9</CELL>
<CELL>11, 80</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>17</CELL>
<CELL>12</CELL>
<CELL>73</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>18</CELL>
<CELL>2 to 13</CELL>
<CELL>63, 70 78</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>19</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>84, 358</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>21</CELL>
<CELL>22</CELL>
<CELL>3, 4</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>22</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
<CELL>282</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="publisher's advertisement">
<PB REF="15">
<PB REF="15">
<HEAD>Books Printed for, and &s;old by <HI>Francis Tyton</HI> at the three Daggers neer the <HI>Inner Temple</HI> Gate.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>THE &s;everal following books of Mr. <HI>Richard Baxters.</HI> Aphori&s;ms of Ju&s;tification, with their explication annexed; wherein is opened the na|ture of the Covenants, &s;atisfaction, righteou&s;ne&s;s, faith, works, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> in 12^o.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The Saints everla&s;ting re&s;t, or a Treati&s;e of the ble&s;&s;ed &s;tate of the Saints in their enjoyment of God in glory, in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Plain Scripture proof for Infant-Bapti&s;m, in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The right method in 32. directions, for getting and keeping &s;piritual peace and comfort, in 12^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The unrea&s;onablene&s;s of Infidelity, manife&s;ted in four di&s;cour&s;es, the &s;ubject of which follows; <HI>viz.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. The Spirits Extrin&s;ick witne&s;s to the truth of Chri&s;tianity, on <HI>Gal.</HI> 3.1,2,3. With a deter|mination of this Que&s;tion, Whether the miracu|lous works of Chri&s;t and his Di&s;ciples do oblige tho&s;e to believe who never &s;aw them.</ITEM>
<PB REF="16">
<ITEM>2. The Spirits internal witne&s;s to the truth of Chri|&s;tianity, on 1 <HI>John</HI> 5.10.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. For prevention of the unpardonable &s;in again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t, a Demon&s;tration that the Spirit and works of Chri&s;t were the finger of God, or the Holy war between Chri&s;t and Satan, on <HI>Mat.</HI> 12.22,23.</ITEM>
<ITEM>A Po&s;t&s;cript again&s;t Mr. <HI>Lyfords</HI> exceptions.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. The arrogancy of rea&s;on again&s;t divine revelati|on repre&s;&s;ed, or proud ignorance the cau&s;e of In|fidelity, in 8^o^.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>Chri&s;tian concord, or the agreement of the a&s;&s;ociated Pa&s;tors and Churches of <HI>Worce&s;ter&s;hire,</HI> with Mr. <HI>Baxters</HI> explication and defence of it, and his exhor|tation to unity, 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>A defence of the <HI>Worce&s;ter&s;hire</HI> petition for mini&s;tery and maintenance, 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The Quakers Catechize, 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>An Apology again&s;t the mode&s;t exceptions of Mr. <HI>T. Blake,</HI> and the digre&s;&s;ion of Mr. <HI>Kendal;</HI> whereunto are added animadver&s;ions on a late di&s;&s;ertation of <HI>Ludiomeus Colvinus,</HI> alias <HI>Lodovicus Molineus, M. D. Oxon.</HI> and an admonition of Mr. <HI>W. Eyre</HI> of <HI>Sali&s;bury,</HI> with Mr. <HI>Crandons</HI> anatomy, in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>A confe&s;sion of faith, e&s;pecially concerning the intere&s;t of repentance and &s;incere obedience to Chri&s;t in our Ju&s;tification and &s;alvation; in 4^o^.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Parliamenti Declaratio,</HI> 23. May 1649.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Duke <HI>Hambletons</HI> ca&s;e argued by Mr. <HI>Steel,</HI> now Lord chief Baron of the Exchequer, in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The Levellers de&s;ign di&s;covered, by <HI>Henry Denn,</HI> in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<PB REF="16">
<ITEM>The Collection of Orders of <HI>Chancery,</HI> with the alte|rations and additions agreed on by the Lords Com|mi&s;&s;ioners of the great Seal, and Mr. of the Rolls, in 8^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The anatomy of <HI>Iohn Lilburns</HI> &s;pirit and pam|phlets, in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>A &s;hort di&s;cour&s;e between Monarchical and Ari&s;tocra|tical Government, in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The grand Ca&s;e of Con&s;cience &s;tated, in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>A di&s;cour&s; concerning the engagement, or the northern &s;ub&s;cribers plea, in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Heart-bleedings, for profe&s;&s;ors abominations, in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>An Engli&s;h tran&s;lation of the Scotti&s;h Declarati|on, in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>A di&s;covery of &s;ome thoughts wherewith many precious &s;ouls are burdened; by <HI>Daniel King,</HI> in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Engli&s;h Law, or a &s;urvey of the hou&s;hold of God on earth, with an E&s;&s;ay of Chri&s;tian Govern|ment, <HI>folio.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The fal&s;e Brother, in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>The ri&s;e, growth and fall of Antichri&s;t, together with the much de&s;ired and waited for &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t: by <HI>Edward Haughton,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Word.</ITEM>
<ITEM>A vindication of Infant-Bapti&s;m, and &s;inging <HI>P&s;alms:</HI> by Mr. <HI>Sydenham,</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Newca&s;tle.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Go&s;pel-my&s;terie.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Go&s;pel-life and light: by <HI>Dorneford.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<ITEM>A Commemoration Sermon on the fith of <HI>November</HI> before the Parliament, in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<PB REF="17">
<ITEM>A Commemoration Sermon on the fifth of <HI>November,</HI> before the Lord Maior, called a Voice from Hea|ven, in 4^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Heavenly Trea&s;ure, or mans chiefe&s;t good, in 12^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Communion with God in Ordinances, the Saints privi|ledge and duty, in 12^o^.</ITEM>
<ITEM>XXXI. Select Sermons on &s;pecial occa&s;ions, in 4^o^. All by <HI>William Strong,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the word of God.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<ITEM>The horrid bloody <HI>Spani&s;h</HI> Inqui&s;ition, in 12^o^.</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon collection">
<PB N="1" REF="17">
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<HEAD>Spiritual Barrenne&s;s.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>EZEK. 47.11.</BIBL>
<P>But the myrie places thereof, and the mari&s;hes thereof &s;hall not be healed, but be given to &s;alt.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THey are great things which the Lord hath &s;poken of the latter days, which are called by the Apo&s;tle, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.11. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">. The ends of the world, &s;o you render it: but <HI>Grotius</HI> ren|ders it <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.10. <HI>The fulne&s;s and perfection of times.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Grotius.</NOTE> <HI>Deus in omnibus actionibus pri&s;ci &s;eculi &s;emper ob oculos habebat tem|p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">r a Me&s;siae, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>In which there &s;hall be a perfection of Ordinances, and of Churches, and of Prophe&s;ies; for <HI>the my&s;terie
<PB N="2" REF="18"> of God is in the latter days to be fini&s;hed,</HI> Rev. 10.7. There is <HI>a Kingdom of God which the Lord will &s;et up</HI> (or cau&s;e to ari&s;e) <HI>Dan.</HI> 2.44. Which though it &s;hall begin in the days of tho&s;e Kings, in the times of the Roman Monarchies; yet it &s;hall be the great In&s;tru|ment in the hand of God to de&s;troy the Monarchies: for <HI>Iacob is in the hand of the Lord as a thre&s;hing in|&s;trument in the middle of the Nations;</HI> either <HI>as dew from the Lord;</HI> or <HI>as a Lyon among&s;t the Bea&s;ts of the Fore&s;t; the Angels they poured out the &s;even vials full of the wrath of God, which are the &s;even la&s;t plagues, they came out of the Temple,</HI> Rev. 15.6. And this King|dom of God &s;hall not come to perfection, it &s;hall not ari&s;e unto its greatne&s;s, <HI>till judgement &s;it, and dominion be taken away from the fourth bea&s;t, to con&s;ume and de|&s;troy it unto the end,</HI> Dan 7.26,27.</P>
<P>Its true that the Church of Chri&s;t hath a mighty efficacy upon the world, but it is &s;ecret, invi&s;ible, and <HI>comes not under humane ob&s;ervation. Ni&s;i oratione &amp; do|ctrina &s;u&s;tentaret Eccle&s;ia mundum, uno momento peri|rent omnia.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luther</HI> on <HI>Gen.</HI> 30</NOTE></P>
<P>But there will come a time when the power and glory of the Church &s;hall be vi&s;ible; <HI>The mountain of the Lords hou&s;e &s;hall be exalted on the top of the mountains:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Lactantius.</NOTE> when the prophe&s;ie of <HI>Lactan.</HI> p. 579. &s;hall be fulfilled, <HI>Confundetur omne jus, &amp; leges interibunt: non fides in hominibus, non pax, non pudor; neque &s;e|curitas, neque Regimen; &amp; hujus confu&s;ionis haec erit cau&s;a, quod Romanum nomen quo nunc regitur orbis, de terr a tolletur:</HI> And it is the duty of the people of God to eye the prophe&s;ies, and to look out for their ac|compli&s;hment; for <HI>the day of the Lord draws nigh; then &s;hall the Lord be King over all the Earth, and Iehovah
<PB N="3" REF="18"> &s;hall be one, and his name one,</HI> Zach. 14.9. The mo&s;t glorious and perfect prophe&s;ie of this Kingdom of God, which <HI>he &s;hall &s;et up</HI> in the latter days, we have, <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.22. So in the la&s;t eight chapters of <HI>Ezekiel;</HI> which that I may give you a little light in|to, There are three things mainly to be explained: Fir&s;t, what is meant by the <HI>City and Temple,</HI> here &s;po|ken of? 2. Unto what time this prophe&s;ie doth be|long? 3. What the <HI>waters</HI> are <HI>which i&s;&s;ue out of the &s;anctuary?</HI> which being explained, will be as a key to open all the re&s;t of the my&s;teries that are therein contained.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, unto what time is this prophe&s;ie to be re|ferred? for its a great part of a Saints skill to be able rightly <HI>to di&s;cern and judge of times,</HI> that they may know what to pray for, and what to expect, and when to co-operate and <HI>work together with God:</HI> Now the times to which this prophe&s;ie relates, are the times of the calling of the Jews, when <HI>their coming in &s;hall be as life from the dead;</HI> and a new Re&s;urrecti|on in the world, which will appear to us by four Arguments.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, it &s;hall be after the Jews &s;hall be converted; for it is &s;aid, <HI>The hou&s;e of I&s;rael, &s;hall defile my holy name no more as they have done by their abominations, &s;etting their thre&s;hold by my thre&s;hold, and their po&s;t by my po&s;t: and by this means there was a wall of &s;eparation between me and them, and in my anger I con&s;um<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">d them,</HI> chap. 43.7,8,9.</P>
<P>Secondly, It &s;hall be after the Tribes &s;hall be uni|ted. <HI>After the &s;ticks of Io&s;eph and of Iudah &s;hall be|come one in the Lords hand,</HI> Ezek. 37.19,20,23. And therefore the Land is now divided among&s;t all the
<PB N="4" REF="19"> twelve Tribes of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> Chapter 48.</P>
<P>3. It &s;hall be after the glory of the Lord is re|turned; for <HI>the name of the City &s;hall be Jehovah Sham|mah, the Lord is there,</HI> chap. 48. ult. and he &s;aith, <HI>I will dwell in the mid&s;t of them for ever,</HI> chap. 43.9. <HI>I will &s;et my &s;anctuary in the middle of them for ever|more,</HI> chap. 37.26. For when he doth return in to them again, he will never for&s;ake them; <HI>he did</HI> indeed <HI>hide his face in a little wrath, and for a moment; but with everla&s;ting kindne&s;s he will have mercy on them,</HI> I&s;a. 44.8. Ezck. 39.29. <HI>Neither will I hide my face any more from them, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>4. It &s;hall be before <HI>Gog</HI> &s;hall be de&s;troyed; for <HI>he &s;hall come up again&s;t the people of I&s;rael when they are planted in their own land, and when they dwell &s;afe|ly,</HI> chap. 38.14,15. <HI>Then he &s;hall come again&s;t them as a cloud, and cover the land, and the Lord &s;hall give un|to Gog a place of graves in I&s;rael, &amp;c.</HI> Therefore I&s;|rael mu&s;t be planted fir&s;t in their own land, and dwell there &s;afely: therefore I conceive it to be the &s;ame time with that <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.22. when <HI>Jeru&s;alem &s;hall come down from God out of heaven;</HI> and when <HI>the glory of the Lord &s;hall be in the middle of them: the Tabernacle of God &s;hall be with men, and he will dwell with them:</HI> And after they are &s;etled in their own land, and the people of God have re&s;t for a thou&s;and years, <HI>then &s;hall Satan be loo&s;ed,</HI> who before was not bound from temptation, but from per&s;ecution; that he could not &s;tir up men to per&s;ecute the Saints; but as &s;oon as he is loo&s;ed he &s;tirs up this la&s;t and great enemy, and he doth compa&s;s the Tents of the Saints, and <HI>this holy City;</HI> and then the Lord &s;hews him&s;elf eminent and glorious in his de&s;truction: So that after Antichri&s;t
<PB N="5" REF="19"> &s;hall be de&s;troyed, Satan &s;hall be bound, &s;o that the per&s;ecution of the Saints &s;hall cea&s;e; then &s;hall this City and Temple be built, which &s;hall continue till the &s;econd coming of the Lord, <HI>till the Heavens be no more:</HI> the time therefore is to come; do you long for it, and pray for it.</P>
<P>Secondly, What is meant by the <HI>City</HI> and the <HI>Temple</HI> prophe&s;ied of Here? fir&s;t, it cannot be un|der&s;tood literally of a material City or Temple. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Peter Gala|tinus.</NOTE> <HI>Pe|ter Galatinus</HI> tels us, that the Jews do commonly &s;peak of a threefold Temple. Fir&s;t <HI>the Temple of So|lomon.</HI> 2. <HI>The Temple of Zerubbabel.</HI> 3. The Temple of <HI>Jacob,</HI> which they &s;ay God &s;hewed unto <HI>Iacob</HI> when he had the vi&s;ion of the Ladder. Now it can|not be &s;poken of the Temple of <HI>Solomon;</HI> for that was de&s;troyed before the captivity, and therefore be|fore this prophe&s;ie was revealed, that was burnt with <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">re: and for the Temple of <HI>Zerubbabel,</HI> the mea&s;ures and dimen&s;ions do no way agree thereunto: for <HI>the glory of the latter hou&s;e was inferior to the former,</HI> Ezra 3.12. <HI>in many particulars, as that the waters i&s;&s;ue out of the Sanctuary, and the trees that grow upon the Ri|ver &s;ide, and fi&s;hes in the River,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>quae in &s;ecundi Templi in&s;tauratione nunquam fuerunt:</HI> under the &s;e|cond Temple the&s;e things were not. The materials &s;hall not be in the Letter: <HI>Foundations of Saphirs, win|dows of Agats, gates of Carbuncles,</HI> I&s;a. 54.11. and for the dimen&s;ions al&s;o, <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.16. <HI>the height of the city &s;hall be a thou&s;and furlongs,</HI> which could not be in the letter fulfilled: and for the Temple, there &s;hall ne|ver be a re&s;titution of the Jewi&s;h wor&s;hip; only the Lord doth, as it is u&s;ual, expre&s;s Go&s;pel Ordinances and Wor&s;hip, according unto the Ancient pattern.</P>
<PB N="6" REF="20">
<P><Q REND="inline">Secondly, it cannot be under&s;tood of heaven, for the&s;e Rea&s;ons. 1. <HI>It is new Ieru&s;alem that comes down from God out of heaven,</HI> Rev. 21.2. There is no Prince in Heaven: but here <HI>the prince &s;hall oppre&s;s the people no more.</HI> 3. <HI>There is no prie&s;t in Heaven,</HI> nor no Ordinances, nor &s;et times of wor&s;hip, which is plain: here theres the Prie&s;t, and their &s;everal portions, and &s;et times of wor&s;hip, that <HI>when the people go in, the Prie&s;t mu&s;t go in; and when the people go forth, he mu&s;t go forth.</HI> 4. There is no mea&s;uring in heaven: <HI>a city and a temple that is mea&s;ured,</HI> becau&s;e its built, <HI>chap.</HI> 40.12. but this is a hou&s;e not <HI>made with hands,</HI> that cannot be mea|fured. 5. They &s;hall in this City be a&s;hamed of all their former abominations, but in Heaven <HI>there is neither &s;in nor &s;hame,</HI> chap. 43.11. 6. This City &s;hall have enemies that &s;hall encompa&s;s it, as we &s;ee, <HI>Rev.</HI> 20.9. <HI>They &s;hall compa&s;s the Tents of the Saints, and of the holy city,</HI> &amp;c. 7. And the <HI>waters that do i&s;&s;ue out of the &s;anctuary are healing waters,</HI> and <HI>the fruit of the Tree of life is for meat, and the leaves of it is for medicine;</HI> now there will be no healing at the la&s;t day; in Heaven, <HI>there are the &s;ouls of ju&s;t men made perfect,</HI> and they need no heal|ing.</Q></P>
<P><Q REND="inline">Thirdly, &s;eeing it cannot be under&s;tood literally of a material Temple, nor &s;piritually of heaven, it mu&s;t then be under&s;tood <HI>my&s;tically,</HI> of the <HI>Church</HI> of Chri&s;t made up <HI>of Iews and Gentiles, when they &s;hall be one fold under one &s;hepherd:</HI></Q> <HI>Agno&s;cunt &amp; Haebrei, quod ad futurum &s;eculum, hoc e&s;t, ad Regnum Me&s;siae haec pertineant:</HI> Oecolamp. <NOTE PLACE="marg">I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">m.</NOTE> <HI>Nos ad Chri&s;ti re|ferimus Eccle&s;iam, &amp; quotidie in Sanctis aedificari cerni|mus.</HI> St. Jerom.</P>
<PB N="7" REF="20">
<P>But it is not a Temple that is always building, and a City: but its a City that &s;hall be built after &s;uch a time: and therefore I conceive it not to be the Church of the whole New-Te&s;tament, but barely the Church in the latter days of the world, which is commonly called <HI>The city of our God:</HI> but this in a &s;pecial manner, <HI>Rev.</HI> 3.12. is called &s;o, becau&s;e of an Almighty hand of God in rai&s;ing it, and a glori|ous and &s;pecial pre&s;ence of God dwelling in it: and by the Temple is meant tho&s;e glorious ordinances of wor&s;hip, which &s;hould be exerci&s;ed in this Church in the latter days: which is &s;et forth by expre&s;&s;ions according to the Jewi&s;h pattern: as the manner of the pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t among&s;t the people under the Go&s;pel is &s;et forth by his pre&s;ence among&s;t his people of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in the Tabernacle, <HI>Rev.</HI> 4. &s;o all the wor&s;hip of God is &s;et forth to us according unto that Standard, <HI>pro ritu Templi;</HI> there is <HI>a Temple,</HI> and <HI>Al|tars and incen&s;e,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>And that Ordinances of wor&s;hip, the in&s;titutions of Chri&s;t, &s;hall continue in this glorious Church un|to the worlds end, thats plain: for,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, it is &s;aid, that <HI>the tabernacle of the Lord is with men,</HI> Rev. 21.3. and that was a place for wor|&s;hip: if the Lord will have a Tabernacle among&s;t men, he will have among&s;t men in&s;tituted wor&s;hip &s;till.</P>
<P>Secondly, the pre&s;ence of God among&s;t men in this City is but <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, <HI>a Lamp, Rev.</HI> 21.23. there|fore it &s;hines in a dark place, it is not &s;uch a pre&s;ence as makes it <HI>a perfect day</HI> as it &s;hall be in Heaven; there will be no more the light of the candle, &amp;c. And therefore it is a light in Ordinances: for in them as
<PB N="8" REF="21"> in a Lamp, the Lord gives unto his people light, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.10.</P>
<P>Thirdly, there &s;hall be all manner of Ordinances in this City of God. Fir&s;t, there &s;hall be preaching; for there &s;hall be <HI>abundance of fi&s;hers,</HI> chap. 47. Se|condly, there &s;hall be the Sacraments; for <HI>the Lord is with them baptizing to the end of the world:</HI> and they <HI>are to &s;hew forth the Lords death till he come.</HI> Thirdly, there &s;hall be di&s;cipline; for <HI>without are dogs, and they that love and make</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>that lie,</HI> or do incline to it; and there &s;hall be a greater Spirit of di&s;cerning poured out this way, then upon any of the former Churches of the Saints. Fourthly, there &s;hall be Of|ficers in this Church; for <HI>fi&s;hers</HI> there are the Mini|&s;tery, <HI>Eph.</HI> 4. and they are to la&s;t <HI>till all the Saints be gathered and perfected;</HI> and there is a right and a pri|viledge that belongs to them, and not to others: they that have <HI>a right to the Tree of life,</HI> and may <HI>en|ter in at the gates of this city;</HI> which every one had not a right to do; for <HI>the dogs are without,</HI> as having no right to enter, <HI>Rev.</HI> 22.14,15.</P>
<P>3. What is meant <HI>by waters that i&s;&s;ue out of the San|ctuary,</HI> which flow from the pre&s;ence of God in the middle of his people? it is to be under&s;tood fir&s;t of truths; <HI>A river of the water of life clear as Chri&s;tal,</HI> Rev. 21.2. <HI>Hic fluvius uberrima doctrina Chri&s;ti.</HI> So <HI>Brightman,</HI> Zach. 14.8. in that day, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Brightman. <HI>Zac.</HI> 14 8.</NOTE> <HI>Living waters &s;hall go out of Jeru&s;alem;</HI> that is, <HI>Evangelii doctrina;</HI> &s;o <HI>Dru&s;. Rev.</HI> 12.15. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Drus. <HI>Rev.</HI> 12.15.</NOTE> <HI>The Dragon</HI> is &s;aid <HI>to ca&s;t out of his mouth a flood after the woman:</HI> what is this flood? his doctrine; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mede.</NOTE> he ca&s;t out <HI>Doctrinam pe&s;tiferam, Aria|ni&s;mum &s;cilicet, &amp; &s;obolem ejus:</HI> Mede.</P>
<P>2. Becau&s;e the effects that are here attributed to
<PB N="9" REF="21"> the&s;e waters, cannot belong unto the waters alone; therefore I do not only under&s;tand the truths of the Go&s;pel, but the graces of the Go&s;pel, and the gifts there be&s;towed, <HI>Joh.</HI> 7.38,39. <HI>Out of his belly &s;hall flow rivers of living waters,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Joh.</HI> 4.14. <HI>Who&s;oever drinks of this water &s;hall thir&s;t again; but he that drinks of the water that I &s;hall give him, &s;hall never thir&s;t, but it &s;hall be a well of water &s;pringing in him into ever|la&s;ting life:</HI> its true, that there is not a healing ver|tue, nor a quickning vertue in the word of it &s;elf: <HI>Where&s;oever the waters did come, they were healed, and every thing did live:</HI> but yet it is by the word, that the Lord doth work the&s;e great effects, and by which the healing and quickning vertue of the Spirit is con|vey'd: for it is a good rule that of <HI>Luther,</HI> All things in the Church are to be mea&s;ured by the word; <HI>Flo|rente verbo omnia florent in Eccle&s;ia,</HI> &amp;c.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luther.</NOTE></P>
<P>But if all places where the waters come are not healed, the Truths of God have not the &s;ame power and effect upon all; there are &s;ome myrie and mari&s;h places; Fir&s;t, what is meant by the&s;e myrie and mari&s;h places? the word <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> doth &s;ignifie dirt or mire, &s;uch as man &s;inks into, that is, can neither go forward nor backward, <HI>Ier.</HI> 38.22. thy feet are &s;unk in the mire; and it is &s;uch a place where waters &s;tand and have not a free pa&s;&s;age, <HI>Iob</HI> 8.11. <HI>Can the ru&s;h grow without mire?</HI> and the other word <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;ignifies a <HI>ditch, lacuna,</HI> a &s;ink, or a pit for dirty and foul water, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 30,14. <HI>There is not a &s;heard to take water out of the pit:</HI> and the re&s;emblance between men that live under Ordinances unfruitfully, and mari&s;h and myrie places, is very plain in three things. Fir&s;t, in a mari&s;h place the water hath not a free pa&s;&s;age, but it &s;tands,
<PB N="10" REF="22"> and &s;etles there: it hath not <HI>affluxus</HI> and <HI>re&s;uxus,</HI> it meets with many a &s;top, and a dam: &s;o it is with &s;uch a &s;oul al&s;o: therefore the Apo&s;tle prays, that <HI>the Go&s;pel may run and be glorified,</HI> 2 The&s;. 3.1. Now when is the word &s;aid to run? Fir&s;t, when it meets with no &s;top, no oppo&s;ition, but it hath a free pa&s;|&s;age, <HI>Cum libere propagatur:</HI> Secondly, when it goes through the whole man, and the will of God commanded is &s;ubjected unto, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 47.15. when the word runs very &s;wiftly, that is, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gla&s;&s;.</NOTE> <HI>Cum voluntas Dei per|agitur, &amp;c.</HI> Gla&s;&s;.</P>
<P>So that when it hath no &s;top either in the mouth of the Mini&s;ters, or in the hearts of the Hearers, then the word is &s;aid <HI>to run and be glorified:</HI> but when there are &s;ome truths of God that men cannot receive, the heart makes up a &s;top, a dam again&s;t them, they pa&s;s not through the whole man, <HI>to bring into &s;ubjection every thought,</HI> 2 Cor. 10.6. but men <HI>impri&s;on truth in unrighteon&s;ne&s;s, Rom.</HI> 1.18. and will not &s;uffer it to pa&s;s through the whole man, through the whole &s;oul, this is <HI>a mari&s;h place, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, when the waters and the earth do mix together; this makes the myre; when the Truths of God do mix with the corruptions of men; that either men can hold &s;ome Truths, and yet keep their lu&s;ts: they can &s;tand for truths, and yet they live in their &s;ins; and &s;o &s;hine as lights, and have their lamps, and yet be unclean all the while; or el&s;e when men do make u&s;e of the Truths of God to ju&s;tifie their &s;ins, and they do plead the word of God to maintain their lu&s;ts; they can &s;tand for the Truths of God, yet will not leave their lu&s;ts, but &s;eek to cover them under it, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Clem. Alex.</NOTE> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">. <HI>Clem. Alex.</HI> for|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ing
<PB N="11" REF="22"> the Scriptures to their lu&s;ts: <HI>Voluptatem &s;equi, non quam audit, &s;ed quam attulit.</HI> Au&s;t. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Au&s;tin.</NOTE> 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.16. <HI>They do wre&s;t the Scriptures,</HI> and make them to &s;peak that which the Spirit of God never in|tended in them; and all is to favor &s;ome lu&s;t or other; <HI>following the hidden things of di&s;hone&s;ty,</HI> they do <HI>handle the word of God deceitfully,</HI> and make it <HI>&s;peak peace when the Lord</HI> in the word <HI>doth &s;peak terror, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, the longer men continue, the more filthy they grow; the longer the Truths of God lie upon the heart of a man, and if they reform not, they make him grow the more filthy and the more polluted: it makes a mans lu&s;ts the more hatefull, and the more defiling; for Ordinances do ripen mens &s;ins as well as their graces; and in this re&s;pect they may the more fitly be called <HI>myrie places.</HI></P>
<P>N<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">w the judgment is, <HI>They &s;hall not be healed, they &s;hall be given unto &s;alt.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>They &s;hall not be healed;</HI> they had the waters flowing in upon them, and by them many were heal|ed, but they were not healed under them; and now in judgement the Lord &s;aith, that <HI>they &s;hall not be healed:</HI> tho&s;e healing Ordinances which work a very great change upon other men, and re&s;tore their &s;ouls, they &s;hall take no place upon them; that which was their &s;in &s;hall be their plague: <HI>they would not be healed, they &s;hall not be healed; they would not be purged, they &s;hall not be purged: they will not come when they are in|vited, they &s;hall not ta&s;te of my Supper.</HI> A man cannot have a greater plague befall him, then to be given up unto his own &s;in, and that which is the natural fruit there of: Men that have lived under the Truths of God, and have not been healed by them, the Lord
<PB N="12" REF="23"> gives them up as incorrigible in judgement: <HI>they &s;hall not be healed;</HI> that makes the <HI>Anathema Maranatha; re&s;erved</HI> they are <HI>as incorrigible for the judgement of the Lord at his coming;</HI> for this is that cur&s;e upon them which is denounced by God mo&s;t properly: its Gods ordinary way to deal with &s;inners; that &s;hall be their puni&s;hment which they cho&s;e to them&s;elves as their way of &s;inning; <HI>He that is ignorant &s;hall be ignorant &s;till: and he that is filthy &s;hall be filthy &s;till;</HI> he that will not be healed, the Lord &s;ays, <HI>he &s;hall not be healed,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>They &s;hall be given to &s;alt,</HI> which hath a double interpretation given of it: Fir&s;t, they &s;hall be given up unto a perpetual barrenne&s;s, <HI>Deut.</HI> 29,23. <HI>The whole land is brim&s;tone and &s;alt; it is not &s;owen, and neither gra&s;s nor any thing grows therein.</HI> So <HI>Abimelech</HI> dealt with <HI>Shechem, he beat down the city and &s;owed it with &s;alt,</HI> Judg. 9.45. P&s;al. 107.34. <HI>a fruitfull land he turned</HI> <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>into &s;altne&s;s,</HI> that is <HI>barrenne&s;s:</HI> and &s;o <HI>Jerom, given to &s;alt, Ut in perpetuum frugibus ca|reant,</HI> that they may not bear fruit for ever.</P>
<P>Secondly, Given to &s;alt, <HI>ut alios condiant exemplo|rum &s;ale:</HI> that is, he &s;hall be given up unto &s;ome exemplary judgement, that may teach all other men to beware: <HI>For he that built his hou&s;e, and not upon a rock, when the rain falls, and the winds blow, he will fall, and the fall of that hou&s;e will be great.</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="doctrine">
<P><LABEL>Doctrine.</LABEL> <HI>Some men that live under the pure&s;t and the mo&s;t powerful Ordinances, are in judgement given up unto a perpetual barrenne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>For the explication of this, there are the&s;e &s;our par|ticulars. Fir&s;t, that God doth by the Go&s;pel execute
<PB N="13" REF="23"> &s;piritual Judgements, as well as confer &s;piritual ble&s;|&s;ings: Secondly, that of all judgements tho&s;e that are &s;piritual are the mo&s;t dreadfull. Thirdly, why the Lord doth in Judgment give men up to a barrenne&s;s under the Go&s;pel. Fourthly, the manner how the Lord doth this, and how the&s;e Judgements are exe|cuted in an ordinary way.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the Lord doth by the Ordinances of the Go|&s;pel execute &s;piritual Judgements, as well as confer &s;piritual ble&s;&s;ings: there are the greate&s;t cur&s;es as well as the greate&s;t mercies come out of <HI>Zion:</HI> all Judge|ments both temporal and &s;piritual, come out of Or|dinances: for as they have <HI>the promi&s;es of this life that now is, and that which is to come:</HI> &s;o there belongs to them al&s;o the threatnings of the life that now is, and that which is to come: temporal Judgements come out of ordinances, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 10.2. <HI>Take fire from off the Altar, and &s;catter over the city:</HI> they thought that the fire of the Altar had &s;erved for nothing el&s;e but <HI>ad expianda &s;celera:</HI> Calvin. To expiate their &s;ins; but the Lord doth let them &s;ee, that it will burn their City al&s;o, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.30. for this <HI>cau&s;e many are &s;ick, and many weak, and many are fallen a&s;leep;</HI> and when the day of Revelation &s;hall come, that the Coun&s;els of God and the hearts of men &s;hall be made mani&s;e&s;t, we &s;hall then &s;ee that many of the Judge|ments that now we complain of, will be found to be <HI>fire taken off the Altar,</HI> and to be inflicted for the ne|glect and abu&s;e of the Go&s;pel, which now we do ve|ry commonly attribute unto other cau&s;es, every man according as his own fancy or party leads him: and al&s;o &s;piritual Judgments, as <HI>Rev.</HI> 4.5. <HI>there are before the throne the &s;even &s;pirits of God:</HI> all &s;piritual gifts
<PB N="14" REF="24"> and graces are poured out in Ordinances: and <HI>there are out of the throne thundrings, and lightnings, and voices,</HI> which note the terrible ways that the Lord has of puni&s;hing wicked men for their contempt and neglect of the Go&s;pel; <HI>Fulgura &amp; tonitrua terribilia &s;upplicia &s;ignificant, nec ullo modo vitanda.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Br<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ght|man.</NOTE> Judgements from Heaven &s;hall be poured out immediatly upon the &s;pirits of men, and that from Heaven, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 28.13. <HI>The word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, and line upon line, here a little, and there a little,</HI> that is, <HI>&s;ummacum indu&s;tria &amp; indulgentia.</HI> He did it daily, and he did it with a great deal of meekne&s;s and for|bearance, &amp;c. but what was this for? to what end did the Lord do all this? was it for their &s;piritual good? no, it was in Judgement, <HI>that they might fall ba<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">kward, be broken and en&s;nared:</HI> there are no people liable unto &s;uch terrible Judgements as they that live under Ordinances, and who&s;e plagues flow from them, <HI>Heb.</HI> 6.6,7,8.</P>
<P>There are many that live under the Go&s;pel, and by the grace of it they come unto the highe&s;t pitch of common works, they <HI>are inlightned and ta&s;te of the heavenly gift, and are made partakers of the holy Gho&s;t, ta&s;te of the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,</HI> yet <HI>afterward they fall away,</HI> and that with a malitious and final Apo&s;ta&s;ie, with de&s;pight and re|venge: the rea&s;on is given of it: <HI>For the ground that drinks in the rain, and brings not forth fruit an&s;werable, is nigh unto cur&s;ing:</HI> for the cur&s;e is an&s;werable unto the ble&s;&s;ing; and therefore they that live under the offers of the greate&s;t &s;piritual ble&s;&s;ings, if they be ne|glected, and are unfruitfull under them, they are neerer to cur&s;ing then other men; which is the rea|&s;on
<PB N="15" REF="24"> why in judgement they are given up after &s;uch great and common works to apo&s;ta&s;ie and final im|penitency; becau&s;e they have drunk in the rain of Ordinances and influences, and have not brought forth fruit meet for him that dre&s;&s;ed it; as its &s;aid of Chri&s;t, <HI>Luk.</HI> 2. it is true of the Go&s;pel al&s;o; it is &s;et <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>for the fall as well as the ri&s;ing of many in I&s;rael:</HI> and let me tell you, the more &s;piri|tual Ordinances are, the more &s;piritual &s;hall the judg|ments be, as we &s;ee it in the Ordinances of the Go|&s;pel; as they were more &s;piritual, &s;o were the judge|ments that were executed by them more &s;piritual: as the more &s;piritual any mans light grows, the more &s;piritual will his temptations grow: &s;o the more &s;pi|ritual Truths grow in any Age, the more &s;piritual Judgements grow; for an&s;werable to the mea&s;ure of &s;piritual ble&s;&s;ings, &s;uch &s;hall be the mea&s;ure of &s;pi|ritual plagues: and as the more &s;piritual Ordinances are, the more de&s;irable; &s;o the more &s;piritual they are, if abu&s;ed, the more dangerous.</P>
<P>Secondly, there are no Judgements of God like unto &s;piritual Judgements: tho&s;e are of all other the mo&s;t dreadfull, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 13. <HI>Why &s;hould you be &s;mitten any more? ye will revolt more and more.</HI> Ho&s;. 4.14. <HI>I will not puni&s;h your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your Spou&s;es when they commit adultery,</HI> &amp;c. Impunity in &s;inning is the greate&s;t puni&s;hment that can befall a &s;inner; but the people that do not under&s;tand &s;hall fall; that is, &s;hall &s;in without re&s;traint, without con|troul. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dru&s;ius.</NOTE> He that is filthy, let him be &s;o. <HI>Dru&s;ius.</HI> And the grounds of it are the&s;e.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, becau&s;e every &s;piritual Judgement is in it &s;elf a &s;in; it is a judgement as from God, but in us
<PB N="16" REF="25"> they are &s;ins al&s;o: now as there is not a wor&s;e evil then &s;in, for &s;in is the greate&s;t evil, &s;o it cannot be puni&s;hed with any thing wor&s;e then it &s;elf: the Apo&s;tle cannot call it by a wor&s;e name then it &s;elf, <HI>Rom.</HI> 13.7. <HI>&s;inful &s;in;</HI> and God cannot inflict a greater puni&s;h|ment then it &s;elf; and therefore after this life though the demerit of &s;in &s;hall cea&s;e, the obligation of the Law cea&s;ing, as binding unto further puni&s;hment, when a man is actually under the &s;entence of condem|nation; yet there is an obligation to the precept of the Law &s;till: for thou art bound to the precept as thou art a creature, and to the cur&s;e only as thou art a &s;inner; now the nature of &s;in &s;hall remain, though the demerit of &s;in hath an end after this life, and yet in Hell, <HI>pertinet ad damnationis poenam:</HI> As all holi|ne&s;s and obedience in heaven, <HI>pertinet ad beatitudinis praemium.</HI> The one is a part of a mans torment, as the other is part of a mans reward.</P>
<P>Secondly, becau&s;e of the &s;ubject on which it lights, is the &s;oul; the &s;oul is far more precious then the bo|dy; and as any mercy to the &s;oul is far beyond any ble&s;&s;ing unto the body; &s;o if <HI>the &s;oul pro&s;per, and the inward man be renewed,</HI> it is no great matter what be|come of the outward man: though there be <HI>crus in nervo, &s;i animus in coelo:</HI> for it is in the &s;oul that the Lord dwells, and in the excellency of the &s;oul that he doth delight: therefore <HI>let the hidden man of the heart be adorned:</HI> there is no adorning like it. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertul. Bernard.</NOTE> <HI>Aliter pigmentatae &s;unt ve&s;tes: Indutus purpura, cum con&s;ci|entia panno&s;a.</HI> And if the beauty of the inward man be &s;o glorious, then there is no defilement like to that of the inward man, nor no puni&s;hment I ke to that upon the &s;oul: as the Schoolmen &s;ay of Spiritual
<PB N="17" REF="25"> it is to be preferred before corporal: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Aquinas.</NOTE> <HI>Eleemo&s;yna cor|dis major quam corporis; &s;pirituales Elcemo&s;ynae &s;unt corporalibus &s;impliciter praeferendae:</HI> So may we &s;ay of Spiritual Judgements; there are no judgements of God &s;o much to be feared as Spiritual Judge|ments; as there are no mercies &s;o much to be de&s;i|red as &s;piritual mercies: the pro&s;perity of the &s;oul &s;hould be unto a Saint the mea&s;ure of all pro&s;perity; and the mi&s;ery of the &s;oul and judgements upon it, &s;hould be the mea&s;ure of all mi&s;eries and Judgements what&s;oever.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Spiritual Judgements are an argument of the greate&s;t wrath and di&s;plea&s;ure of God: its true its a judgement that God doth &s;ometimes inflict upon his own people, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 63.17. <HI>Why ha&s;t thou cau&s;ed us to erre from thy ways, and hardened our hearts from thy fear?</HI> but yet it is a greater te&s;timony of his di&s;plea|&s;ure, then God doth &s;hew towards the men of his good will; there is no &s;uch evidence of his wrath in the world, as this is; and &s;o it is to wicked men al&s;o; for God <HI>to give them up unto their own hearts lu&s;t,</HI> and <HI>to deliver them to Satan,</HI> as we &s;ee Chri&s;t did <HI>Judas:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Au&s;tin.</NOTE> <HI>Parcit iratus: &amp; iratus Deus dat amanti quod male amat.</HI> Au&s;tin. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jerome.</NOTE> <HI>Magna e&s;t ira Dei, quando peccantibus non ira&s;citur Deus.</HI> Jerom. In the afflictions of his people, <HI>Emendationi in&s;tat Deus.</HI> It is to re&s;train us, and reclaim us, &amp;c. But in &s;piritual Judgements the Lord doth give a man up to &s;in, and leave him in the power of &s;in, and under the dominion of &s;in, as if he did never intend to do him good more.</P>
<P>Fourthly, its the &s;adde&s;t evidence of a mans re|probation, and a mo&s;t dreadfull earne&s;t of a mans damnation.</P>
<PB N="18" REF="26">
<P>Fir&s;t, its a &s;ad evidence of a mans reprobation; for there are three con&s;equents of reprobation, and both of them are &s;piritual Judgements.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Permi&s;sio peccati:</HI> the permi&s;&s;ion of &s;in.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>In peccato derelictio:</HI> the being left in &s;in.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>Traditio Satanae,</HI> to leave a man in the power of Satan, to give him over unto Satan, <HI>to carry him ca|ptive at his will;</HI> and all the&s;e are &s;piritual Judgements, <HI>Rev</HI> 13.8. and <HI>Rev.</HI> 17.8.</P>
<P>How came men to be in&s;nared with the Doctrine of Popery? and carried away with <HI>that doctrine of devils?</HI> they were given up in Judgement to it, as an evidence of their reprobation; for <HI>they wor&s;hipped the Bea&s;t, and received his mark and his image, who&s;e names are not written in the Lambs book of life,</HI> &amp;c. for as Spiritual ble&s;sings are pledges of election, &s;o &s;pi|ritual Judgements are dangerous &s;igns of a mans re|probation.</P>
<P>Secondly, they are a fearful earne&s;t of a mans damnation, 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 2.12. <HI>He gave them up to believe that lye, that all they might be damned, who believed not the truth, but had plea&s;ure in unrighteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> Heb. 10.27. We read of an <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>A receiving of a &s;entence,</HI> an eternal judgement in a mans own &s;oul; when a man carries in his own heart the &s;entence of his own condemnation; and there is not a greater earne&s;t of it in the world, then for a man to be given over by God unto &s;piritual Judgements: for that is the portion that all the Heirs of Hell have from the Lord; and as by the works of the &s;pirit of adoption upon the &s;oul, there is <HI>an earne&s;t</HI> of Heaven; &s;o by the work of the Spirit of Bondage on the &s;oul in judgement, there is an earne&s;t of Hell: the approaches
<PB N="19" REF="26"> of God are in the one, and the de&s;ertions of God are in the other.</P>
<P>Thirdly, con&s;ider what a great evil it is to be gi|ven up unto this judgement of a perpetual barrenne&s;s: the &s;ins again&s;t the Go&s;pel mu&s;t be e&s;pecially requi|ted by &s;uch judgements; for the Lord will have the judgement hold a proportion unto the &s;in; now the more &s;piritual &s;ins are, and the more &s;piritual Ordi|nances are, the more &s;piritual mu&s;t the judgement needs be: now as there are no &s;ins, nor no Ordinan|ces &s;o &s;piritual as tho&s;e under the Go&s;pel, &s;o there are no judgements that are &s;o &s;piritual: and therefore, as <HI>God is a &s;pirit,</HI> and hates &s;piritual &s;ins mo&s;t, &s;o it is mo&s;t agreeable unto him, the &s;oul being a &s;pirit, and ha|ving the main hand in the &s;in, to load that with &s;piri|tual judgements.</P>
<P>But why will the Lord puni&s;h the neglect of the Go&s;pel with a perpetual Barrenne&s;s? <HI>Why &s;hall the mari&s;h places be given to &s;alt?</HI> The grounds are the&s;e.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, con&s;ider of all Spiritual Judgements this is the greate&s;t; of all judgements the greate&s;t are &s;pi|ritual judgements; and of all &s;piritual judgements, to be given up to barrenne&s;s is the greate&s;t: for it is that unto which all other Judgements tend, and in which they all end and center. There are many other &s;pi|ritual Judgements, as there is a <HI>Judicial blindne&s;s</HI> and <HI>hardne&s;s of heart,</HI> a <HI>&s;eared con&s;cience,</HI> a <HI>reprobate &s;en&s;e;</HI> but what is all this for? it is that we might <HI>bring forth no fruit to God;</HI> and that nothing that is good might grow thereupon; and therefore it is that the <HI>Devil doth catch away the good &s;eed,</HI> Matth. 13.19. <HI>That we might be as the high-way ground,</HI> unfruitful: we com|plain
<PB N="20" REF="27"> of a barren earth by rea&s;on of the cur&s;e, <HI>Cur&s;ed be the ground for thy &s;ake; when thou tille&s;t it, it &s;hall not yield thee fruit;</HI> but there are three &s;orts of Spiri|tual Barrenne&s;&s;es, which are far beyond this, and are the fruits of a far greater cur&s;e; and they are barren Churches, barren Ordinances, and barren hearts; there was never a more terrible monument of tempo|ral wrath, then the Lord &s;hewed upon <HI>Sodom</HI> and <HI>Go|merrah, and tho&s;e Cities of the plain which are now turn|ed into the &s;alt &s;ea, and their &s;moak a&s;cends continually, where nothing lives, where nothing grows, neither fruit nor gra&s;s,</HI> Deut. 29.23. and therefore called the dead Sea, as <HI>Jerom</HI> &s;aith, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ierome.</NOTE> <HI>Quia nihil in &s;e vitale habet: unde nomen mortis &s;ortitume&s;t.</HI> And if a fi&s;h be at any time carried out of <HI>Jordan</HI> into it, <HI>Statim moriuntur: nth<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">l utilitatis in &s;e habet: ut &s;implex &s;ermo te&s;tatur:</HI> the fi&s;hes pre&s;ently die therein. Now take an unrege|nerate man a barren &s;oul, and he is compared here un|to the dead &s;ea: for it is &s;aid that fi&s;hers &s;hall &s;tand from <HI>Engedi</HI> to <HI>Eneglaim: Eneglaim in principio e&s;t maris mortui, ubi Iordanum ingreditur: Engedive|ro, ubi finitur, atque con&s;umitur:</HI> As great, yea a far greater monument of Judgement, God gives unto a barren heart, then is that of the dead &s;ea: which is nothing el&s;e but a barren land, and barren waters, as they bring forth nothing that is good of them&s;elves: &s;o neither is there any thing that can live or thrive or grow in them: but if it come into it, it immediatly dies: and &s;o it is with any thing of God or the Spirit of God that comes into the barren heart, it is like un|to the dead &s;ea; what truths or motions &s;oever are ca&s;t in, they die immedi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">tly.</P>
<P>Secondly, This is the greate&s;t judgement, becau&s;e
<PB N="21" REF="27"> hereby thou lo&s;e&s;t the fruit of thy union with Chri&s;t, and the comfort of it: for the end of union with Chri&s;t is fruitfulne&s;s; and it is a plain argument that he that brings forth no fruits to God, was never mar|ried unto Chri&s;t: for <HI>Rom.</HI> 7.4. <HI>We are &s;aid to be mar|ried unto Chri&s;t, that we may bring forth fruit to God:</HI> There is a double end of Marriage, <HI>convictus &amp; pro|les:</HI> Cohabitation and propagation; and therefore there cannot be a greater evidence that thou art not yet married unto Chri&s;t, then this, thou art barren; for the Spou&s;e of Chri&s;t is fruitfull, and he hath no further a delight in them then as they bring forth fruit; for it was the very end of his coming, <HI>That they might bring forth fruit, and that more abundantly, and that their fruit might remain.</HI> Now to be much in fruitfulne&s;s, <HI>to be rich in good works,</HI> is a great mercy. <HI>Si mihi daretur eptio, eligerem unius Chri&s;tiani ru&s;tici opus &s;ordidi&s;simum, prae omnibus victoriis &amp; triumphis Alexandri Cae&s;aris,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Quando fidelis es, Deo placent etiam Phy&s;ica, corporalia, &amp; animalia officia.</HI></P>
<P>And how great a comfort is it, <HI>to bring forth fruit to God?</HI> becau&s;e it is <HI>fruit abounding unto our accounts,</HI> at the la&s;t and the great day; now as fruitfulne&s;s is a certain evidence of our marriage to Chri&s;t: &s;o bar|renne&s;s is a certain evidence that thou art not yet married unto Chri&s;t: and to be given up in judge|ment to barrenne&s;s, is an earne&s;t thou &s;halt never be married to him; and fruitfulne&s;s is an argument and a pledge unto a mans heart that Chri&s;t will delight in him, as <HI>Leah</HI> &s;aid, when &s;he had born a &s;on, <HI>Now my husband will love me; now he will be joyned to me, now I have born him this &s;on al&s;o.</HI> So may a &s;oul rea&s;on it out with Chri&s;t: Now I &s;hal have his love, he wil love me,
<PB N="22" REF="28"> he will delight in me, he will dwell with me&punc; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ow I have yielded him fruit; for <HI>he doth delight in the fruits of his plea&s;ant things,</HI> Cant. 5.12.</P>
<P>Thirdly, there is nothing that &s;tands between &s;uch a &s;oul and wrath: for <HI>Ioh.</HI> 15.2. <HI>Every branch in me that bears no fruit, my father takes away,</HI> that is, he is ca&s;t out of the vine, of which he did &s;eem to be a branch: <HI>and he withers,</HI> and is thereby prepared for to be fuel for the fire: its true, if there were the lea&s;t fruit, or the lea&s;t hope and expectation of it, it would be reprieved: for, if there be <HI>but a clu&s;ter, I&s;a.</HI> 65 8. the Lord &s;aith, <HI>&s;pare it, for there is a ble&s;sing in it:</HI> but when Chri&s;t comes to expect fruit, and findeth nothing but leaves, no fruits thereon, then there is a cur&s;e neer, <HI>Never fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever.</HI> And by &s;uch a cur&s;e the man withers at the root immediatly. <HI>Chry&s;o&s;t. de poenit.</HI> doth allude to the manner of men. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chry&s;o&s;t.</NOTE> <HI>Romanae leges poenam praeg|nanti deferunt:</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, If the Laws of men &s;pare for the fruits &s;ake, how much more will the goodne&s;s and the mercy of God do it, if there be <HI>but a clu&s;ter?</HI> but where there is no fruit, there is nothing now between that and the fire: there is nothing &s;o much as to defer the judge|ment.</P>
<P>There is a double cur&s;e upon a barren tree: not only the original cur&s;e which is the ground and cau&s;e of barrenne&s;s: but there is a particular cur&s;e, when the Lord pronounceth a &s;entence of perpetual barrenne&s;s to this very end, that the &s;oul being cut off may <HI>wither,</HI> and may thereby be prepared for the fire: and it is &s;aid, they are withered, and men gather them: they are ca&s;t into the fire, and they burn:
<PB N="23" REF="28"> the fire of Hell burns &s;o fiercely upon none as upon them that are ca&s;t out as withered branches in judg|ment for their unfruitfulne&s;s.</P>
<P>Fourthly, why will the Lord give men over to a perpetual barrenne&s;s, that they &s;hall never more bear fruit, but as it is &s;aid, <HI>Iude</HI> 12. <HI>They are without fruit, twice dead, and pluckt up by the roots:</HI> as there is no fruit for the pre&s;ent, &s;o there is no hope of fruit for the future: for the Tree <HI>is pluckt up by the roots;</HI> the&s;e are men given up to perpetual <HI>barrenne&s;s;</HI> and the grounds of it are &s;uch as the&s;e.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, if any thing would make them fruitful, the go|&s;pel would: for we &s;ee that if <HI>the waters that i&s;&s;ue out of the &s;anctuary,</HI> run out into the dead &s;ea, the waters &s;hall not be healed: and that there is as little hope of fruit from &s;uch, as there is of the dead Sea, that it &s;hould be yet fruitful, and therefore <HI>Zach</HI> 14.8. <HI>Living waters &s;hall go out from Ieru&s;alem towards the fir&s;t &s;ea:</HI> this <HI>mare primum</HI> is nothing el&s;e but <HI>mare mortuum,</HI> or the dead &s;ea: and why are they called living waters? not only <HI>formaliter,</HI> or as they are <HI>aquae perennes,</HI> &s;uch as do always flow; but <HI>effective,</HI> becau&s;e they do beget life where they come: and <HI>all things where the waters come do live;</HI> and there are <HI>trees for fruit on every &s;ide,</HI> becau&s;e the waters do come thither: yea, even when there was as little hope either of life, or fruit as there it now in re&s;pect of the dead &s;ea.</P>
<P>Secondly, there is no other u&s;e to be made of them: they mu&s;t be either for fruit, or el&s;e for fuel: for men that live unprofitably under the Ordinances, are good for nothing: as it is with a vine, if it be not fruitfull, it is u&s;efull for nothing el&s;e in the world: for <HI>a man cannot take a pin from it,</HI> Ezek. 15.3. tho&s;e that are
<PB N="24" REF="29"> branches in the vine: fruitfulne&s;s doth prepare it for pruning and &s;oiling: <HI>for every branch in me that bears fruit, the father purgeth that it may bring forth more fruit:</HI> &s;o barrennes &amp; unfruitfulnes doth prepare it for lopping, that it be cut down, that it may be profitable one way; for all the garden of Paradi&s;e the Lord hath re&s;erved for one of the&s;e ends: &s;ome of them, becau&s;e he would not have them all peri&s;h, he hath re&s;erved for fruit; and &s;ome when he hath a long time expected fruit, and <HI>indured with much long pati|ence and &s;uffering the ve&s;&s;els of wrath, prepared for de|&s;truct<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">on,</HI> now he cuts them down, and lays them up for fuel; for <HI>Prov.</HI> 16.4. <HI>he made all things for him&s;elf;</HI> and he will make &s;ome advantage of all the creatures to his own glory; they &s;hall be &s;ome way or other &s;erviceable, either as <HI>ve&s;&s;els of mercy,</HI> or <HI>as ve&s;&s;els of wrath,</HI> either to honor or to di&s;honor.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the Lord doth this becau&s;e therein are &s;everal provocations, that they are unto him.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, he hath be&s;towed much labour upon them: for <HI>the father is the husband-man;</HI> and his eye is in re|ference unto fruit, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 49 45. <HI>I have laboured in vain, and &s;pent my &s;trength in vain:</HI> When he hath dunged and digged about it, not only the barrenne&s;s, but the lo&s;s of his labour then is a provocation: then the Lord lays a man out of his hand: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 6.29.</NOTE> <HI>Then reprobate &s;ilver &s;hall men call them, when the Lord hath rejected them: I would have formed you, I would have purged you, but now you &s;hall never be formed or purged.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, the Lord expects fruit, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 5. <HI>I looked for grapes:</HI> for though nothing is hid from God, yet he &s;peaks after the manner of men, through his patience, and long &s;uffering, waiting upon them, that never
<PB N="25" REF="29"> bring forth fruit; now it is a dangerous provocation to deceive his expectation, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 5.12. <HI>I looked for mourning, but there was rejoycing with the harps, &amp;c. This iniquity &s;hall not be purged from you till you die.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, they di&s;honor the Lords vineyard, that there &s;hould be found fruitle&s;s trees; and therefore the Lord is provoked again&s;t them to take them away, which he doth by giving them up to perpetual bar|renne&s;s: this Judgement is that which the Saints fear and bewail, as <HI>Beza</HI> &s;aith, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE> <HI>Tanquam mon&s;trum in|ter filios Dei &s;to: inutile lignum:</HI> to &s;erve for nothing but to fill up a room to the di&s;honour of the vineyard, and that is very dreadfull: <HI>Culcate me &s;alem in&s;ipidum:</HI> good for nothing, neither for the land, nor for the dunghil; and upon the&s;e grounds, the Lord gives up men to live under the Ordinances of the Go&s;pel un|profitably, that they have no &s;aving effect upon them; he gives them up a perpetual <HI>barrenne&s;s; they are gi|ven to &s;alt.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P><LABEL>U&s;e.</LABEL> Ye that live under the Go&s;pel, and glory in it as the Jews did under the Law, fear le&s;t the Lord give you over to this Judgement; for <HI>many are called, but few are cho&s;en:</HI> A very dangerous thing it is to live under &s;piritual Ordinances and influences with carnal hearts: and to this end, let me exhort you to fear the &s;everal &s;teps and degrees by which commonly God doth give men up to it; and they are &s;uch as the&s;e.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, men mi&s;s of Chri&s;t, who is the only fruit|full Root: for it <HI>is in him only that you bring forth fruits,</HI> Joh. 15.5. <HI>without him you can do nothing;</HI> when men begin their Religion with duties and per|formances,
<PB N="26" REF="30"> without a work of <HI>regeneration,</HI> which tends unto <HI>Union</HI> with Chri&s;t, for <HI>the term of vocation is union;</HI> they were never cut off from their old root, and never had experience of an ingrafting work, ne|ver knew what it was to be <HI>tran&s;lated,</HI> Col. 1.13. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, <HI>Verbum deductum ab iis qui colonias transferunt e natali &s;olo:</HI> Its a Metaphor taken from tran&s;plant|ing of Colonies: They are in him by profe&s;&s;ion on|ly, without any real implantation; for Chri&s;t as he is a vine upon earth, has in him many <HI>unfruitfull branches,</HI> though as he is a head in Heaven, &s;o he hath no dead members; and this is the great ground of all bar|renne&s;s, and &s;o all that a man doth is but <HI>building upon the &s;and</HI> when it flows not from Chri&s;t, through the union of faith, which is the ground of all fruitfulne&s;s: <HI>Non &s;emper ore, non &s;emper meditor, &s;ed ve&s;tio, dormio, bibo, comedo,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Haec omnia &s;i in fide fiant, tanquam recte facta divino judicio approbantur:</HI> As are my pray|ers, &s;o my eating, drinking, &s;leeping, and clothing my &s;elf; they are all <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luther.</NOTE> <HI>fruit abounding to my account in Chri&s;t;</HI> Luther, <HI>Gen.</HI> 33.</P>
<P>Secondly, he gives them up unto a heedle&s;s &s;pirit in the things of God; &s;o much of Religion as &s;hall uphold a form they take up, but they regard not the <HI>keeping of their hearts,</HI> and the approving of them|&s;elves unto God in &s;ecret; there is a <HI>cultus con&s;cientiae,</HI> that is wholly neglected, 2 <HI>Kin.</HI> 10.31. <HI>But Jehn took no heed to walk in the Law of the Lord God of I&s;rael with all his heart:</HI> what &s;hew &s;o ever they make of Religion, and how great &s;o ever their pretences are, yet <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, <HI>Heb.</HI> 2.3. <HI>They neglect,</HI> or they care not for <HI>the &s;alvation that is offered therein.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> <HI>Vita uniu&s;cuju&s;que non cogno&s;citur ni&s;i in con&s;cientia.</HI> Bernard. A mans
<PB N="27" REF="30"> life may &s;eem as fair in a hypocrite, and as fruitful as in a godly man; but it is the inward frame of the heart, and the con&s;tant care of that, in which Re|ligion doth con&s;i&s;t; and if a man do duties with a Spirit of inadvertency, they are none of them fruits but leaves, and make way for a judicial barren|ne&s;s.</P>
<P>Thirdly, he gives them up unto new opinions, and the&s;e do ingro&s;s the heart, and take up the &s;trength of the man, by conte&s;ts of this nature; whereas <HI>the kingdom of God con&s;i&s;ts not in meat and drink,</HI> Rom. 14.17. and when men are given up to this, then <NOTE PLACE="marg">Hylar.</NOTE> <HI>quas volumus doctrinas coaptamus: Hylar.</HI> That mu&s;t go for true doctrine which is agreeable to their appre|hen&s;ions; and there is more pains taken in contend|ing for, and in maintaining of &s;uch opinions and things which we have made our own, then there is about knowing or practi&s;ing all the Truths of Chri&s;t, and the duties of godline&s;s be&s;ides: and &s;o the whole practice of godline&s;s is neglected, while the man is &s;infully bu&s;ied in novelties and unpractical curio&s;ities; and &s;o <HI>urbem produnt dum ca&s;tella defen|dunt:</HI> when as <HI>in ab&s;oluto &amp; facili &s;tat aternitas.</HI> The things nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation are ea&s;ie; and as for le&s;&s;er di&s;putes, be not much in them; &s;ay, <HI>Elias cum ve|niet:</HI> Let us leave this unto the day of Re&s;urrection, which will declare of what &s;ort every mans work is, whither it <HI>be gold, or &s;ilver, hay or &s;tubble;</HI> and the truth is, this is a grave in which Satan hath buried many a &s;oul, cau&s;ing men to fall in love with their own births and apprehen&s;ions, and thereby to take them off from the things which are of eternal con|cernment in the things of God, which turn
<PB N="28" REF="31"> men commonly from Idolatry to Here&s;ie.</P>
<P>Fourthly, the Lord gives them up to have their thoughts &s;et much upon other things, as it was with the thorny ground: <HI>the thorns</HI> &s;ucking in the &s;trength of the &s;oil <HI>choaked the &s;eed,</HI> Matth. 13.</P>
<P>One is taken up about getting an e&s;tate; and ano|ther about rai&s;ing a building of honor; and another he is bu&s;ied in the great affairs of a Commonwealth, and he talks of making of Laws, defeating of ene|mies, &s;aving of Kingdoms, &amp;c. and in the mean while he him&s;elf is lo&s;t, <HI>Matth.</HI> 7 22. There is a man <HI>bu&s;ie preaching to others, whil&s;t he him&s;elf is a ca&s;taway;</HI> and ca&s;ting out devils out of other mens bodies, when he him&s;elf is all the while in his inward man po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of the devil; and &s;o while <HI>he is made a keeper of the vineyard, he neglect to keep his own vine,</HI> Cant. 1.6. And &s;o many a great State&s;man gives the &s;ame accompt at his death, as <HI>Luther</HI> brings in <HI>Cicero</HI> complaining: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luther.</NOTE> <HI>Olim fru&s;tra me &s;apientem putatum: vo|cem indignationis &amp; de&s;perationis pleni&s;s<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">mam,</HI> &amp;c. So that men never con&s;ider, by their gifts, and places, and powers, they bear fruit among men, and be u&s;e|full to a Civil State; they never think of being u&s;e|ful to the people of God, and &s;aving of their own &s;ouls: but its one thing to live fruitful towards God, and another to be thought &s;o by men: as its &s;aid of <HI>Jeroboams</HI> &s;on: <HI>There was found &s;ome good thing in him towards the Lord God of I&s;rael:</HI> Therefore con&s;i|der, that may be good among men, which is not good towards the Lord God of I&s;rael.</P>
<P>Fifthly, After this the oath of God pa&s;&s;es on the man: there is <HI>a &s;wearing in his wrath</HI> again&s;t men now, as there was again&s;t I&s;rael
<PB N="29" REF="31"> of old, <HI>Hebrews</HI> 3. and therefore we al&s;o mu&s;t take heed; for this is the mo&s;t dreadfull Judgement can come among men: and this oath though it be &s;ecret, yet it hath this effect, that the Spirit of God in the common works and gifts is by degrees with|drawn: for though there be a decree that pa&s;&s;eth up|on every mans eternal e&s;tate, as an act of the Sove|raignty of God: <HI>Iacob have I loved, and E&s;au have I hated:</HI> and <HI>the foundation of God remains &s;ure, the Lord knows who are his:</HI> yet there are many &s;trivings of the &s;pirit of God about a mans eternal e&s;tate, be|fore the <HI>Lord &s;wear in his wrath he &s;hall never enter in|to his re&s;t:</HI> for <HI>my &s;pirit &s;hall &s;trive</HI> with that man <HI>no more,</HI> Gen. 6.3. for as the Lord will not always &s;uffer his Mini&s;ters to &s;peak in vain: therefore &s;ometimes he &s;aith, they &s;hall be a reprover unto &s;uch a people no more: and therefore he will change the orb in which the &s;tars &s;ometimes &s;hine; he that hath them in his right hand; &amp; &s;o <HI>he will not always &s;uffer his &s;pirit to &s;trive in vain:</HI> and therefore he doth call home this Spirit as his extraordinary Emba&s;&s;ador, when he prepares open war again&s;t that man; and all Trea|ties of peace are at an end; the Lord will treat with him about the matter of reconciliation no more.</P>
<P>Sixthly, after this there comes upon a man from the Lord as a fruit of this oath, <HI>a &s;pirit of &s;lumber, and a heart that cannot repent,</HI> I&s;a. 29.10. the word in the Hebrew is <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> the &s;ame thats u&s;ed of <HI>Adam</HI> when the Lord took out his rib, that though the man be in never &s;o great danger him&s;elf, he is not appre|hen&s;ive of it; nothing doth awaken him: and by this means he is put into the condition of the devil; for he is made perfectly like unto the devil, and is deli|vered
<PB N="30" REF="32"> over into his power; for 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.26. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, the word is properly to return to him|&s;elf after drunkenne&s;s; but now the Devil hath not only a power to make that man drunk, but to keep him &s;o, that he never return to him&s;elf again to his dying day: and as the devil &s;ins without remor&s;e, &s;o &s;hall he. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> <HI>Peccare humanum e&s;t, &s;ed in peccato per&s;everare Diabolicum e&s;t.</HI> He that per&s;everes in &s;in, is as the De|vil him&s;elf. As the fire of hell is <HI>unquenchable fire,</HI> &s;o is the &s;in of Hell unquenchable &s;in; and the Repent|ance of a man &s;o given over by God is not <HI>medicinalis</HI> but <HI>paenalis:</HI> its a Repentance in re&s;pect of Judge|ment, not of &s;in: and as it has judgement its cau&s;e, &s;o &s;hall judgement be its companion; that very re|pentance &s;hall be an aggravation and part of his grea|ter plague. By &s;uch dreadfull &s;teps as the&s;e (which a wi&s;e heart will tremble to hear) are men <HI>given to falt.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="31" REF="32">
<HEAD>HOLINESSE The only WAY to HAPPINES.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>HEB. 12.14.</BIBL>
<P>And Holine&s;s, without which no man &s;hall &s;ee the Lord.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THE times in which we live are truly &s;tiled doubtfull times: full of doubt|full expectations, and doubtful di&s;pu|tations; <HI>incerta &s;unt omnia.</HI></P>
<P>Of doubtful expectations; there is no man looks upon him&s;elf as &s;afe; but different parties unite them&s;elves, and different
<PB N="32" REF="33"> plots are laid, and different intere&s;ts carried on: and by this men think to be e&s;tabli&s;hed; but men of the &s;tronge&s;t parts, and that have the highe&s;t power, do not many times attain their hopes and ends; <HI>The race is not to the &s;wift, nor the battel to the &s;trong:</HI> becau&s;e <HI>times and changes come upon all:</HI> there are changes of condition, which <HI>the mo&s;t High</HI> appointed unto all men, <HI>who rules in the kingdoms of mortal men,</HI> which are unto them contingent, ca&s;ual and unexpected; and by this means men are made like unto a wheel; that which is now uppermo&s;t, becomes &s;uddenly the lowe&s;t: <HI>Summa cito fiunt ima,</HI> Eccle&s;. 9.11. And by this means the mi&s;ery of man, by rea&s;on of this un|certainty is great upon him, <HI>that he eats his meat in darkne&s;s, and his heart takes no re&s;t in the night:</HI> &s;eeing this is the &s;tate of things, my aim is to put you upon that which is the only &s;ecurity: <HI>Nulla &s;atis magna &s;e|curitas dum periclitatur aeternitas,</HI> there is no &s;ecurity unto any man, while&s;t his eternity is in danger: there|fore &s;ecure eternity, &amp; you &s;ecure all; its only holine&s;s thats the way to &s;ee the Lord, and will &s;urely attain that end, <HI>and thereby</HI> make us everla&s;tingly happy.</P>
<P>And our times are doubfull, becau&s;e of doubtful di&s;pu atations; it is with us as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14.26. <HI>Every one has his P&s;alm, his Doctrine, his Revelation, his Interpretation:</HI> and by this means their minds are bu&s;ied, and their judgements puzled, whil&s;t their fancies are &s;tupified with &s;ome novel and un|practical curio&s;itie; and &s;o whil&s;t men &s;pend their whole &s;trength <HI>about Mint, Annice and Comin, the great and the weighty things of the Law</HI> are neglected: there|fore my aim is to call you off: <HI>Ne diver&s;itas praecep|torum
<PB N="33" REF="33"> rectum iter impediat.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Lactan.</NOTE> Lactan. The way to eter|nal life is not in curious di&s;putations, but in a holy walking: <HI>in ab&s;oluto &amp; facili &s;tat aeternitas:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Hilar.</NOTE> as <HI>Hilary</HI> &s;aith: therefore let us all pitch upon that in which all concur, and which all mu&s;t grant, that it is holine&s;s only that is the way to happine&s;s: and that <HI>without holine&s;s, no man &s;hall ever &s;ee the Lord.</HI></P>
<P>Here are two things to be opened.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, what this holine&s;s is which the Text &s;peaks of, without which no man &s;hall &s;ee the Lord.</P>
<P>Secondly, what it is to &s;ee the Lord, and what this vi&s;ion of God is, thats here &s;poken of.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, what holine&s;s is, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, without which, &amp;c. holine&s;s in the creature, as well as truth, is, <HI>Conformi|tas cum Archetypo:</HI> as there is a principle from which it is derived, &s;o there is a nature unto which it is con|formed: and in this conformity holine&s;s doth con|&s;i&s;t.</P>
<P>There is a twofold holine&s;s.</P>
<P>1. There is a legal holine&s;s, which was a perfect conformity in heart and life unto the will and holi|ne&s;s of God manife&s;ted in his Law: and this was the holine&s;s that was in <HI>Adam</HI> in his innocency, and is the holine&s;s that is now to be &s;een in the holy Angels in glory: an exact and perfect conformity unto the will of God, as manife&s;ted to them, or to be mani|fe&s;ted: for they were conformable unto the will of God <HI>in revelatis</HI> and <HI>inrevelandis:</HI> This holine&s;s, as it was immediatly derived from God without a Media|tor, &s;o it was perfect: they knew the will of God perfectly, and had in them a principle of perfect conformity thereunto: but if this be the holine&s;s here &s;poken of, no man &s;hall ever &s;ee the Lord: for
<PB N="34" REF="34"> <HI>by one man &s;in entred into the world;</HI> this holine&s;s was lo&s;t in <HI>Adam.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Greg. Pro&s;per. p. 349. <HI>Omnes queal Adam perdid<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">t, per|diderunt.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Totum genus humanum in radice &s;tat.</HI> There is therefore an Evangelical holine&s;s, which is not barely a conformity unto the will of God in his law, but al&s;o unto the image of God in his Son as Me|diator; he is the principle from which our holine&s;s is derived: it is <HI>from his fulne&s;s:</HI> and he is <HI>the pattern un|to which it is to be conformed:</HI> for <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.29. <HI>He hath pre|de&s;tinated us to be conformable unto the image of his Son:</HI> &s;o that the holine&s;s now required, is <HI>the Law written in the heart:</HI> its not a conformity to the Law immedi|atly, but as <HI>the Law of the &s;pirit of life</HI> is found in Je&s;us Chri&s;t: and its not derived from God immediatly: for we can, being faln, receive nothing from him but by a Mediatour: and its not a perfect conformity in all things unto Chri&s;t: &s;incerity is Go&s;pel perfection; a full conformity we expect and pray for, and tend to, that we may be <HI>like him,</HI> but that we &s;hall never attain till <HI>we &s;hall &s;ee him as he is.</HI> So that the holine&s;s thats here &s;poken of, is a &s;incere conformity to the I|mage of God, &amp; of the <HI>Law</HI> that is to be found in Je&s;us the Mediatour, though it be here but in part, and but begun, and &s;hall never be perfect till we &s;ee God: yet this is the holine&s;s that will bring us to that vi&s;i|on, and without which no man &s;hall &s;ee him.</P>
<P>Secondly, What is it to &s;ee God? Some expound this of Chri&s;t; it is <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">. Chri&s;t is made of the Father Lord and <HI>Chri&s;t.</HI> For the Learned do make the word to be of the &s;ame extent with <HI>Adonai</HI> in the Hebrew, which they do generally interpret of Chri&s;t. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Par. <HI>Chri&s;ti vi&s;ionem vi|detur Sanctis promittere.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Adonai dominationem denotat, &amp; plane filio con|gruit, per quem Deus pater ut fecit mundum, &s;ic mundum moderatur.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">And. Ma|&s;ius.</NOTE> <HI>Andr. Ma&s;ius in Jo&s;h.</HI> 7. There &s;hall be
<PB N="35" REF="34"> vi&s;ion of Chri&s;t in glory: and in the vi&s;ion of him, and full communion with him, our holine&s;s &s;hall con|&s;i&s;t, 1 <HI>John</HI> 3.3. <HI>When he &s;hall appear we &s;hall be like him, for we &s;hall &s;ee him as he is:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Au&s;tin.</NOTE> twas <HI>Au&s;tins</HI> wi&s;h to have &s;een <HI>Chri&s;tum in carne:</HI> if it were &s;o de&s;irable to have &s;een Chri&s;t in the fle&s;h, in his humbled e&s;tate, how much more de&s;irable to &s;ee him in his glorified: to <HI>&s;ee the King in his glory:</HI> Chri&s;t glorified, and our &s;elves as partaking with him in the &s;ame glory? for we <HI>&s;hall enter into our Ma&s;ters Joy: Enter into the Joy of our Lord.</HI> That <HI>as he &s;ate down with the Father upon his Throne,</HI> &s;o we &s;hould &s;it with him upon his throne: and this was the happine&s;s that <HI>Job</HI> expected, <HI>I know that my Redeemer lives, and that I &s;hall &s;ee him with the&s;e eyes:</HI> or el&s;e we may under&s;tand it of the vi&s;ion of God: for it is that only that is the <HI>beatifical vi&s;ion,</HI> for God being the ultimate object of our faith, Chri&s;t is but the intermediate object: <HI>through Chri&s;t we believe in God:</HI> he mu&s;t be the ultimate object of our hap|pine&s;s, and &s;o to See is an Hebraei&s;m, and implyes both <HI>vi&s;ion</HI> and <HI>fru<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">tion:</HI> in vi&s;ion; for to know a thing in the mo&s;t perfect way, is called &s;eeing in the Scripture, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.12. <HI>The Angels de&s;ire to look into:</HI> that is, to have a through and a perfect knowledge of them; and it implyes <HI>fruition, I&s;a.</HI> 53.11. <HI>He &s;hall &s;ee of the travel of his &s;oul and be &s;atisfied,</HI> I&s;a. 66.14. <HI>Ye &s;hall &s;ee and your hearts &s;hall rejoyce</HI> (that is) of this you &s;hall have experience; and &s;o to <HI>&s;ee the Kingdom of God,</HI> is to po&s;&s;e&s;s it, to enjoy it, to have a part and a portion in it, &amp;c. And this vi&s;ion of God is double: Fir&s;t <HI>fiducial,</HI> which is by faith here, for every believer mu&s;t be fir&s;t a <HI>Seer, John</HI> 6.40. <HI>He that &s;ees the &s;on and believes in him.</HI> So <HI>Mat.</HI> 5.8. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are the pure in
<PB N="36" REF="35"> heart, for they &s;hall &s;ee God,</HI> Heb. 11.27. <HI>He &s;eeing him that was invi&s;ible.</HI> This is a fiducial vi&s;ion; and the truth is, without holine&s;s no man can thus &s;ee God; But that I &s;hall not re&s;train the text to: Secondly, <HI>beatifical,</HI> that is, to &s;ee God immediatly, and that with &s;uch a perfect vi&s;ion as the creature is capable of: Fir&s;t to &s;ee God as he is in him&s;elf. Secondly to &s;ee God as he is in your &s;elves: for our happine&s;s con&s;i&s;ts in both the&s;e: fir&s;t to &s;ee God as he is in him&s;elf, for, <HI>we &s;hall &s;ee him as he is:</HI> this is called <HI>&s;eeing him face to face:</HI> here we &s;ee God but by Negatives, <HI>via negationis,</HI> as he is not, denying unto God the imperfections you &s;ee in the creature: I &s;ay, this is rather to &s;ee him as he is not, then as he is: and by &s;hadows and re&s;emblances from the creatures, <HI>via cau&s;alitatis;</HI> and neither of the&s;e is to &s;ee God as he is, but rather what God is not, but as he is plea&s;ed to repre&s;ent him&s;elf unto our faith, its by way of re|flection not intuition: But we &s;hall &s;ee him then <HI>as he is:</HI> that is, by the&s;e helps and means, and through this gla&s;s no more, but immediately <HI>face to face;</HI> it is true that the infinitene&s;s of the divine nature, no crea|ted under&s;tanding is able to comprehend: none can know God to perfection but God him&s;elf: No not the Angels in Heaven: nor the man Chri&s;t Je&s;us; but yet all the Saints &s;hall know God, and &s;ee him unto their perfection, &s;o as to make them&s;elves perfectly happy, though they can never know him to his perfe|ction: for even a glorified under&s;tanding &s;hall be finite, and that cannot be capable of an infinite ob|ject; <HI>we &s;hall &s;ee him,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>that is infinite:</HI> but not <HI>modo infinito:</HI> and this is that which is commonly called <HI>beatitudo objectiva,</HI> ble&s;&s;edne&s;s in the object:
<PB N="37" REF="35"> Secondly, there is a &s;eeing of God in them&s;elves, when the Saints &s;hall &s;ee &s;uch a perfect image of the glory of God &s;tamped upon them, that they &s;hall &s;ee more of God manife&s;ted in them&s;elves of all his At|tributes, then they can &s;ee in the be&s;t of the creatures here below: more then in all the works of creation and providence be&s;ide: &s;ome weak appearances there are of the divine nature revealed in the Saints here: but then they &s;hall be full and glorious; <HI>they &s;hall &s;hine as the Sun in the Kingdom of my Father:</HI> there &s;hall be more of the glory of God &s;tampt upon their &s;ouls and bodies then there is brightne&s;s in the Sun; and this is another thing wherein the happine&s;s of the Saints &s;hall con&s;i&s;t; the perfection of the image of God in them&s;elves; and this is commonly called <HI>beatitudo formalis:</HI> to &s;ee God in them&s;elves, and to &s;ee God in him&s;elf: in this doth the fruition of God con&s;i&s;t: and the happine&s;s of the creature for ever: and ho|line&s;s is the means to attain to this vi&s;ion: there is no &s;alvation without it: it is only the holy man &s;hall &s;ee God: and they that think to attain it any other way, deceive them&s;elves: for the expre&s;&s;ion is exclu&s;ive; No man, be he what he will be; of what e&s;tate and condition &s;oever, high or low, rich or poor; be his authority never &s;o great; be his profe&s;&s;ion never &s;o glorious: let him make never &s;o fair a &s;hew among&s;t men; let him be of never &s;o great fame and repute, let him be never &s;o ju&s;t among&s;t men, and of a moral carriage and a good behaviour, that no man can ble|mi&s;h him; yet is he a holy man? if there be no ho|line&s;s in him, there is no vi&s;ion of God for him: he can never &s;ee God by a vi&s;ion of faith here, neither &s;hall he ever &s;ee him (that is) enjoy him in a vi&s;ion of
<PB N="38" REF="36"> glory hereafter; here there are great &s;hews of holine&s;s and &s;hadows which are not &s;o, that men do count holine&s;s; and many are cryed up for Saints in their generation: or (as is the foolery of this age) becau&s;e other men will not, they will canonize them&s;elves for Saints: but there is a <HI>holine&s;s</HI> of <HI>truth</HI> that the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of, <HI>Eph.</HI> 4. and &s;uch a holine&s;s it mu&s;t be, not in name only, but in truth, not in word, but in power; and it is ob&s;ervable that the Apo&s;tle here makes it exclu&s;ive, but only to the la&s;t particle; he exhorts you to follow peace and holine&s;s, but he adds <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, without which there may be a &s;eeing of God without peace (that is) a man may follow peace and not attain it, and yet &s;ee God, but without holine&s;s none can &s;ee him; it is commonly by Interpreters re|&s;trained unto the vi&s;ion of God in glory, and therefore &s;o I &s;hall con&s;ider it only at this time, and the ob&s;er|vation that it doth give us, is this:</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doctrine.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Holine&s;s is the only way to happine&s;s: there is no &s;eeing</HI> of God in glory without it; <HI>none &s;hall &s;ee God but the holy man:</HI> And here for the right under&s;tanding of it, we are to con&s;ider holine&s;s three waies.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t <HI>quoad principium,</HI> according unto the principle of it, and that is <HI>Regeneration,</HI> when the &s;eeds of holy|ne&s;s (that is) holy principles are &s;own, a new image is begun:</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>quoad incrementum,</HI> according to the in|crea&s;e of it: which is <HI>&s;anctification,</HI> by which he that is new born to God grows up to the perfection of tho&s;e habits received in the fear of God:</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>quoad exercitium,</HI> for the putting forth of tho&s;e inward improved principles in a way of holy walking: and this is in Scripture called <HI>obedience:</HI>
<PB N="39" REF="36"> without holine&s;s in all the&s;e, &s;uitable to the time and means that God doth vouch&s;afe man in a mea&s;ure of truth and &s;incerity, there is no hope to &s;ee the Lord.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t Holine&s;s <HI>quoad principium,</HI> which is common|ly called <HI>regeneration,</HI> and without this there is no &s;al|vation, <HI>John</HI> 3.3. <HI>Je&s;us &s;aid, verily verily,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>except a man be born again, he cannot &s;ee the Kingdom of God;</HI> we have fir&s;t the manner of the a&s;&s;ertion: fir&s;t, <HI>nota di|gnitatis,</HI> there is no truth but is a beam from the fa|ther of light; but there are &s;ome truths more <HI>preci|ous</HI> and of greater worth then others. Secondly, <HI>not a certitudinis,</HI> all his words are true, yet he doth &s;et a &s;pecial impre&s;s of truth for to be ob&s;erved upon &s;ome words more then upon others:</P>
<P>Secondly, the thing a&s;&s;erted, except a man be born from above, <HI>non unius partis correctionem, &s;ed totius na|turae renovationem de&s;ignat.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Calvin.</NOTE> <HI>Calv.</HI> Tis not the under|&s;tanding is blind, Labour to get it illightned: the mo|rals are ill, Labour to reform them: it is not the change of a mans way, or his leaving &s;ome &s;ins, and taking up the practi&s;e of &s;ome duties, but it mu&s;t be A new nature; as if he were new born into the world, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.17. thou mu&s;t have a <HI>divine nature: a new creature,</HI> there is nothing of the old building will &s;erve, all things mu&s;t become new: tis called therefore, <HI>the new creation of God.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, the univer&s;ality of the a&s;&s;ertion, <HI>aequiva|let univer&s;ali:</HI> what age, or calling, or condition &s;o|ever, though this man were one that lived in the Church, a Phari&s;ee, civil in his Conver&s;ation, a Saint in his generation, he was a man that had attained a more then ordinary pitch of knowledge, a teacher, and of a good di&s;po&s;ition, a man not bitter again&s;t
<PB N="40" REF="37"> Chri&s;t, as the re&s;t of his &s;ect were, and yet Chri&s;t &s;aith to him, he mu&s;t be born again: a man may be a mem|ber of a Church, of a loving and ingenuous di&s;po&s;iti|on, a fair and unblamable conver&s;ation, and a man of that eminency in knowledge that he may be a teacher of others, and yet this man mu&s;t be born again, <HI>or he cannot &s;ee the Kingdom of God.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, the nece&s;&s;ity he puts upon it al&s;o; the Kingdom of God is both the Kingdom of grace here, and hereafter of glory; and to &s;ee it, is <HI>frui</HI> to enjoy it, <HI>participem fieri,</HI> as <HI>ver.</HI> 5. <HI>he cannot enter in|to the Kingdom of God;</HI> &s;o that to &s;ee it, is to enter in|to, or to have a mans own part and portion in it, with the re&s;t of the Saints; &s;o that let a man be never &s;o great in the world, never &s;o eminent for profe&s;&s;ion, let his outward carriage be never &s;o upright, nay, Angelical, yet if he hath no birth but his fir&s;t birth, he is not in Gods account a member of this Kingdom of grace, nor hath any right to the priviledges of it here, or of the Kingdom of glory hereafter: <HI>he hath no part or portion therein.</HI> There are two parables by which Chri&s;t doth hold this forth to us clearly: fir&s;t that of the <HI>marriage of the Kings &s;on, Matth.</HI> 22. there is <HI>a gue&s;t that comes without a wedding garment,</HI> it is not a &s;leight thing to come to the ordinances in the Go|&s;pel in an unregenerate &s;tate; if there be but one, the King will come in to &s;ee the gue&s;ts; this wedding garment is&mdash;Chri&s;t put on by faith, in a work of vocation: and the image of Chri&s;t begins in a man in the work of regeneration: and he &s;hall be ca&s;t out from the wedding, that is &s;o in the day when the Lord &s;hall come and vi&s;it the gue&s;ts: &s;o that parable of <HI>the fooli&s;h Virgins.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Math. 25.</NOTE> Fir&s;t, Virgins they were, and kept
<PB N="41" REF="37"> their garments from gro&s;s pollutions. Secondly, they were Profe&s;&s;ors, and they joyned in &s;ociety wih the wi&s;e. Thirdly, in high e&s;teem they were, for they <HI>had oyl in their Lamps:</HI> they did <HI>&s;hine as Lights in the world.</HI> Fourthly, they held out with great expectation unto the coming of the Lord, for <HI>they went out to meet the Bride;</HI> and yet <HI>they were &s;hut out when the Bridegroom came:</HI> becau&s;e they had oyl in their Lamps, but none in their Ve&s;&s;els: the gifts of the Spirit of God are of two &s;orts, &s;ome <HI>qualifying,</HI> as the Spirit is <HI>forma a&s;si|&s;tens,</HI> and works upon them in acts; and this is oyl enough to cau&s;e them to make a profe&s;&s;ion, and to &s;hine as Lights in the world: but &s;ome are renewing, as the Spirit is <HI>forma informans, A &s;pirit dwelling in the Saints, as a fountain of living Waters, &s;pringing up to Everla&s;ting life.</HI> Now they that had the one without the other, were &s;hut out with <HI>I know you not, &amp;c.</HI> And we have one famous in&s;tance in the Scripture, and that is of <HI>Timothy;</HI> he was born in the Church, of godly Parents, there was <HI>faith unfeigned</HI> in his grandmother <HI>Lois,</HI> &amp;c. he was one Religiou&s;ly educated, for <HI>he knew the Scripture from a child,</HI> and he was a child of a great deal of forwardne&s;s, in &s;o much that the People of God had great hopes of him; there were many Prophe&s;ies that fore&s;pake him, that he would be an eminent and a ble&s;&s;ed in&s;trument in the Church of God: <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>according to the Prophe&s;ie fore&s;poken that went of thee:</HI> and yet for all this there had been no Salvation for <HI>Timothy,</HI> but that he was begotten by <HI>Paul</HI> through the Go&s;pel, <HI>He is my own &s;on in the faith,</HI> 1 Tim. 1.2.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="reasons">
<PB N="42" REF="38">
<P>And the rea&s;ons of it are two;</P>
<P>Fir&s;t it is in Regeneration that a man receives a new and another &s;pirit, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.12. <HI>We have not received the &s;pirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God. My &s;ervant</HI> Caleb <HI>hath another &s;pirit,</HI> &s;aith God, <HI>Numb</HI> 14.24. There is a double &s;pirit that acts all Mankind; all unregenerate men are under the power of the de|vil, who is the &s;pirit of the world: the world lies <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> 1 <HI>Ioh.</HI> 5.19. <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>In aliquo po|&s;icum e&s;&s;e, e&s;t &s;ub ejus e&s;&s;e pote&s;tate.</HI> Camer.</NOTE> And this &s;pirit acts and effects works in all the <HI>children of di&s;obedience:</HI> yea even in the elect before their conver&s;ion: before their rege|neration <HI>the &s;trong man armed keeps the hou&s;e, till a &s;tronger then he comes:</HI> but when <HI>the time comes that is appointed by the Father, that the &s;oul &s;hall be</HI> actually <HI>gi|ven unto</HI> Chri&s;t, who was in his purpo&s;e and in his co|venant given to him before the world was, for <HI>there was grace given us in Chri&s;t before the world began,</HI> 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.9. <HI>Now he &s;ends forth the &s;pirit of his &s;on into their hearts,</HI> and he takes po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of them for the Lord: and the &s;trong man that formerly kept the hou&s;e, is ca&s;t out: that he that was before the devils hou&s;e, he is now <HI>the Temple of the Holy gho&s;t,</HI> and <HI>the habitation of God through the &s;pirit:</HI> now there are none for whom the hou&s;e in heaven is prepared, but they that have been the habitation of God here: none &s;hal dwell with God hereafter, in whom the Spirit did not dwell here: the &s;ame &s;pirit, that as a &s;pirit of ho|line&s;s dwels in them here, it is the &s;ame &s;pirit that is in them as a &s;pirit of adoption and glory hereafter: therefore the great change in a man, the fir&s;t change as the fir&s;t fruit of electing love, is in the receiving of <HI>another &s;pirit,</HI> and that is only in regeneration: then
<PB N="43" REF="38"> <HI>is the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t &s;ent forth into the hearts of the Saints.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, in regeneration a man receives a new Principle: for by nature a man hath not in him a Principle of communion with God, or of obedience to him, <HI>Ioh</HI> 3.6. that is Chri&s;ts Rea&s;on, <HI>That which is born of the fle&s;h is fle&s;h:</HI> it is wholly corrupt, and that by which the &s;oul is no way fitted to <HI>walk with God:</HI> therefore marvell not that I &s;ay unto you, that thou mu&s;t be born again: grace is <HI>a new creature,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.17. <HI>Eph.</HI> 2.10. <HI>We are created in Chri&s;t, to good works:</HI> it is <HI>a new man,</HI> an inward man: and it is from this created infu&s;ed habit that all holy actions flow: let a mans duties be never &s;o many, and his outward beha|viour be never &s;o Saint like, if it doth not flow from a new man, an inward man, it can no ways plea&s;e God, or be accepted of him: its a <HI>Law written in the heart,</HI> &s;piritually enlightning the under&s;tanding, and effectually determining the will unto Objects &s;piritual and &s;upernaturally good: and before this be wrought in a man, there are no duties that are looked upon as duties by him. <HI>Behold he prays, Acts</HI> 9. &s;aith the Lord to <HI>Ananias</HI> concerning <HI>Paul:</HI> he was a Phari&s;ee, and they were much in prayer: but it was never looked upon and reckoned as a prayer by God, till he had a new principle, a new man: for the Lord looks to the heart; that is, he &s;ees actions in their principles: men can judge of principles only by their actions: but God doth judge of actions according to the princi|ples from whence they flow. The <HI>tree mu&s;t be good,</HI> or el&s;e to God the fruit can never be good, but as the apples of <HI>Sodom:</HI> they mu&s;t be good things that mu&s;t be brought forth from an inward Trea&s;ury. And
<PB N="44" REF="39"> take a godly man that is converted, when he doth not <HI>&s;tir up the grace of God that he hath received,</HI> &amp; acts it in duty, he doth perform it but barely as a natural man; and it doth not &s;tand upon account before God as a duty; no further then there is an exerci&s;e of the rege|nerate part, is any &s;ervice accepted of God; for it is the <HI>good work that is begun in us,</HI> that <HI>the Lord will perfect, Phil.</HI> 1.6. therefore grace is a <HI>good work in us:</HI> a principle in the &s;oul, fitting it for &s;ervice and com|munion; and it is this that is ordained unto perfection in glory. If there be not a new principle, <HI>a good work begun,</HI> never look to have it perfected in <HI>the day of the Lord.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;ee I am much prevented; I &s;hall but touch the re&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, Let us look upon holine&s;s <HI>quoad incre|mentum;</HI> and &s;o its commonly called in Scripture <HI>Sanctification,</HI> that is, the growth and improvement of that &s;eed, and tho&s;e principles that were wrought in a man at his fir&s;t conver&s;ion, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3 18. <HI>Grow in grace.</HI> 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.5. <HI>Add to your faith vertue; non quoad habitum, &s;ed actum &amp; gradum;</HI> add to the acts, and thereby add to the degrees of the habit; for acts do perfect habits: And <HI>Col.</HI> 1.12. it is not barely the having of grace, that is required unto Salvation, but it is the growth of it, and the improvement of it, that a man may be made meet for glory: I &s;ay, growth in grace is a duty, that is of nece&s;&s;ity to Salvation as well as truth in grace, where God gives light and means; I &s;peak not now of Infants, or &s;uch as dye as &s;oon as they are converted, <HI>Col.</HI> 1.12. <HI>We are made meet Inheriters with the Satuts in light.</HI> There is a double right that the Saints have to heaven.</P>
<PB N="45" REF="39">
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Jus haereditarium,</HI> an hereditary right, and that is at Regenration, when they are put into Chri&s;t, and &s;o are made <HI>Coheirs</HI> with him of his inheritance, having <HI>grace begun</HI> in them, the &s;ame Image of God which &s;hall be perfected in glory, and was given as a principle ordained to &s;uch a perfection.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Jus aptitudinarium,</HI> and that is a right of fitne&s;s, whereby we are qualified to receive &s;uch a mer|cy, and that is as an heir hath a right of Inheritance in his nonage, but he hath not a right of fitne&s;s till he comes to years, and be able to manage his E&s;tate, when he hath received it: And there is required in the Saints as well a right of fitne&s;s unto Heaven, as a right of inheritance, without which, I may &s;ay (after a &s;ort) they cannot be &s;aved, and that upon a double ground.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, there is no grace that is ordained unto glory, but growing grace; and if grace be true, there is a na|tural tendency in it unto growth: as there is in &s;eed that is ca&s;t into the earth; and &s;o much the more, be|cau&s;e <HI>they are planted by the rivers of water: the Trees of righteou&s;ne&s;s they grow upon the bank of the River,</HI> Ezek. 47.10. <HI>They &s;hall grow as Willows, they &s;hall grow as Calves of the &s;tall,</HI> Mal. 4.2. There is a great mea&s;ure of growth promi&s;ed unto them: and if true grace be nece&s;&s;ary to &s;alvation, then growth of grace mu&s;t be; for there is no true grace but growing grace, and there is no grace that &s;hall come to Heaven el&s;e: <HI>I forget that which is behind, not that I have already attained:</HI> Grace is not only <HI>donum,</HI> but <HI>depo&s;itum,</HI> and it mu&s;t be im|proved; it is a <HI>Talent</HI> that more mu&s;t be gained by, by Trading, &amp;c. it is a &s;park from Heaven that will never cea&s;e a&s;piring till it be joyned with the flame of glory <HI>Eternal in the Heavens.</HI></P>
<PB N="46" REF="40">
<P>Secondly, there is a pitch of grace that the Lord hath appointed unto his People that they &s;hall fill up while&s;t they live here, before they be tran&s;lated unto glory: there is a <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, Ephe&s;. 4.13. <HI>A fulne&s;s of the age of the &s;tature of Chri&s;t,</HI> a mea&s;ure that Chri&s;t hath appointed unto them, and with which he will fill and enrich them that are the body of Chri&s;t, of which every member is a part, and which he by the in|crea&s;e of his grace doth fill up: which is in this re&s;pect as it were imperfect, till the mea&s;ure of his Saints be filled, not only in &s;uffering, <HI>Col.</HI> 1.24. but in graces al&s;o. Now the Lord having appointed them a mea|&s;ure which they are all in this life to fulfill; as he will not de&s;troy wicked men till they have fulfilled their mea&s;ure; <HI>fill up</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t to the Phari&s;ees) <HI>the mea&s;ure of your fathers iniquities:</HI> &s;o neither will he tran&s;late the Saints, till they have fulfilled their mea|&s;ure, which is done by &s;ome &s;ooner, and &s;ome later: and when the mea&s;ure is full, as then <HI>Rev.</HI> 19. <HI>He doth tread the wine-pre&s;s of his Fathers vengeance</HI> upon the wicked: So when <HI>the Corn is ripe, he doth put in his Sicle and reap, and gathers it into his barn,</HI> &amp;c. therefore Job 5.26. <HI>Thou &s;halt come to thy grave in a good full age, as a &s;hock of Corn in his &s;ea&s;on:</HI> God will not reap till his har|ve&s;t be ripe; therefore the Lord hath appointed a mea|&s;ure, and what it is we know not; we &s;hould &s;et no bounds to our &s;elves, but &s;trive unto the uttermo&s;t, adding one degree of grace unto another: &s;o be &s;ure of this, till thou attain thy mea&s;ure, thou &s;halt never be received unto glory; and therefore unto the actual po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of grace, growth in grace is as nece&s;|&s;ary in &s;ome re&s;pects, as truth of grace is. What is the rea&s;on that a wicked man doth commit iniquity an hun|dred
<PB N="47" REF="40"> times, and his dayes are prolonged? it is becau&s;e he hath not filled up his mea&s;ure, <HI>Joel</HI> 3.13,14. So, what is the rea&s;on that &s;ome of the Saints are taken up betimes into Heaven, and others of the People of God are a long time in the world? Why it is becau&s;e they have not fulfilled their mea&s;ure; for the Lord would not &s;tay a day beyond his time in the one as well as in the other: the one is ripe for wrath, and the other is made meet for glory.</P>
<P>Thirdly, look upon Holine&s;s <HI>quoad exercitium,</HI> and &s;o its called <HI>Obedience:</HI> and this al&s;o is nece&s;&s;ary to &s;al|vation; that unto men grown, &s;trong Chri&s;tians; without the exerci&s;e of Holine&s;s in wayes of Obedi|ence they can never &s;ee the Lord: A man mu&s;t <HI>run</HI> be|fore <HI>he can receive the prize,</HI> 1 Cor. 9.24. <HI>And he mu&s;t fight the good fight of faith, and fini&s;h his cour&s;e, before he &s;hall receive the Crown of righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> 2 Tim. 4.8. <HI>To him that overcometh I will grant to &s;it upon my Throne, as I overcame, and am &s;at down with my Father upon his Throne, &amp;c.</HI> Rev. 3.21. Its called <HI>The Labourers are worthy of their hire:</HI> the hire is for the Labourers, and for none el&s;e; <HI>Opera non &s;unt minus nece&s;&s;aria, quam &s;ides ip&s;a,</HI> Luther: Obedience and good works are in &s;ome &s;en&s;e as nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation as Faith; I &s;ay as ne|ce&s;&s;ary, though not in the &s;ame kind, as the In&s;tru|ment of Ju&s;tification.</P>
<P>And there is al&s;o a double ground for it:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, becau&s;e there is a mea&s;ure of Obedience which the Lord hath appointed unto all the Saints before they &s;hall be tran&s;lated; it &s;hall not be <HI>till their Obedi|ence is fulfilled,</HI> 2 Cor. 10.6. as men &s;hall not take them away, <HI>The Witne&s;&s;es &s;hall not be &s;lain till they have fini&s;hed their te&s;timony,</HI> Rev. 11. So God will not take
<PB N="48" REF="41"> them away till they have <HI>fini&s;hed their cour&s;e,</HI> Joh. 17.2. &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>Father, I have glorified thee on earth, I have fini&s;hed the work that thou gave&s;t me to do:</HI> and a Saint &s;hall not be taken from hence till he be perfected: <HI>I work to day, and to morrow, and the third day I &s;hall be perfected:</HI> that is, in re&s;pect of the work that was given him to do: and the perfection of the &s;ervice, is the perfection of the man: the &s;ame is true of all the Saints, when they have brought forth their uttermo&s;t fruit unto God, and their work is ended, they &s;hall ne|ver till then be tran&s;lated.</P>
<P>Secondly, all men that are received into glory, they are received unto the degrees of glory unto which they are appointed; and though its true, that by Conver|&s;ion they are put into a right of glory; but degrees of glory are an&s;werable unto degrees of &s;ervice which men are in this life drawn forth for: though God will not reward men for their works, as if they were the meritorious cau&s;e; yet he will for degrees <HI>reward them according unto their works;</HI> and &s;o <HI>good works are a good foundation, by which men lay hold of eternal life,</HI> 1 Tim. 6.19. As <HI>Chri&s;t hath upon his head many Crowns,</HI> &s;uta|ble to the multitude of his Victories, <HI>Rev.</HI> 19.7.</P>
<P>Among&s;t the <HI>Romans</HI> there was a common Crown, and &s;ome Crowns that were more &s;pecial and peculiar; <HI>Corona Civica,</HI> and <HI>Navalis, &amp;c.</HI> So there is a com|mon Crown too belongs to the Saints, as they <HI>are in Chri&s;t,</HI> and &s;o <HI>enter into their Ma&s;ters joy;</HI> but there are &s;ome peculiar Crowns, which belong unto &s;ome more then to others, an&s;werable to the &s;pecial &s;ervices that they have performed upon Earth: <HI>As the Apo&s;tles &s;hall &s;it upon twelve Thrones, judging the twelve Tribes of I&s;|rael:</HI> There are &s;tars <HI>primae magnitudinis,</HI> though all
<PB N="49" REF="41"> <HI>the righteous &s;hall &s;hine as the &s;tars;</HI> yet it is ob&s;erved by our Divines in the Angels them&s;elves, that though there be no difference betwixt them <HI>in natura Angeli|ca;</HI> the Angelical nature is alike in all: Yet <HI>in of ficio,</HI> in office, there is a great deal of difference in the glo|ry of the Angels, as the Lord doth employ them, &s;ome in more high and excellent &s;ervices then others; and an&s;werable to that &s;hall their reward be; the e&s;|&s;ential glory &s;hal be all alike: but there is an additional glory that &s;hall be made out unto them an&s;werable unto the &s;ervices that they have performed; therefore its true of holine&s;s in this large extent of it, That with|out it no man &s;hall &s;ee the Lord.</P>
<P>There is but one U&s;e I will make of it, which is of marvellous concernment unto every one of you.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>The U&s;e &s;hall be of Examination; prove your &s;elves, for without holine&s;s there is no &s;alvation; it is that in which men are apt <HI>to deceive their own &s;ouls, Job</HI> 34.30. <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>an hypocrite: that the hypocrite reign not, lea&s;t the people be en&s;nared;</HI> the word &s;ignifies <HI>nu|bilus,</HI> a man in a cloud, or <HI>velatus pallio,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Aven.</NOTE> <HI>Av<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters"></HI> a man that covers him&s;elf with a cloa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">; men find out often-times artificial coverings for them&s;elves, and thereby de|ceive their own &s;ouls: it is not holding &s;ome opinions in matters of Religion, or going zealou&s;ly with &s;ome one partie; its not barely appearing for truth, for thou mai&s;t do all this and be unholy, <HI>a worker of iniqui|ty,</HI> and if &s;o, there <HI>is no vi&s;ion of God for thee:</HI> But how &s;hall a man know whether or no he be holy according to the &s;en&s;e of the Go&s;pel? I will give you <HI>&s;ix rules</HI> briefly. I be&s;eech you carry the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> home with you, and the Lord carry them to your hearts.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, a man that i; truly holy according to the &s;en&s;e
<PB N="50" REF="42"> of the Go&s;pel, is truly affected with the honor and di&s;|honor of God: for <HI>holine&s;s exalts God.</HI> I &s;ay, <HI>holine&s;s exalts God;</HI> in <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> 7.9. <HI>I&s;rael</HI> had fallen before the men of <HI>At</HI> their enemies; what is it now that troubles <HI>Jo&s;huah</HI> mo&s;t? <HI>I&s;rael flyes before their enemies; Lord, what wilt thou do for thy great name?</HI> truly, though we &s;hould peri&s;h, and our names be rooted out from under heaven, our names rot in the earth, it were no great matter; but thy name, Lord, &s;aith he, I am not able to bear the thought of it, <HI>what wilt thou do to thy great name?</HI> &s;o likewi&s;e <HI>David, The reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me;</HI> he could have born any thing better, then that God &s;hould have been di&s;honored; <HI>my cyes gu&s;h out with Rivers of water, becau&s;e men keep not thy Law; malo in nos murmur hominum quam in Deum,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> I remember it is <HI>Bernards</HI> ex|pre&s;&s;ion; rather &s;aith he, let men vent their di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t us then again&s;t God: <HI>bonum e&s;t mihi &s;i dignetur Deus me uti pro clypeo:</HI> if the Lord would plea&s;e to make u&s;e of me to keep off reproaches, and injuries from him&s;elf, it would be &s;atisfaction enough to me; let my name be blotted never &s;o much, if Gods name be not &s;potted: if his name be not profaned, it is enough: Now if I &s;hould put you to examine your hearts by this: Is Gods glory dear to you, and do you &s;ay, profaned be my name, &s;o as Gods name be honored; is there nothing better to you in this world like to this? my con&s;cience an&s;wers in the pre&s;ence of God to &s;uch a que&s;tion as this: Truly (my Brethren) I am afraid few of you can &s;ay in truth, that <HI>the Lord is thus exalted in your &s;ouls;</HI> how is it that the di&s;honors done to God, either we make matter of &s;coff, or other|wi&s;e it doth but draw out our envies, and invectives,
<PB N="51" REF="42"> but it is not matter of drooping continually upon our Spirits: there are few Ages that you &s;hall read of, wherein the name of God hath been higher, in a more impudent way di&s;honored, then in this Age, (I may &s;ay it with boldne&s;s) with more open face, a <HI>Whores forehead that cannot blu&s;h;</HI> and yet notwith&s;tanding, <HI>where be the morners in Sion?</HI> where be tho&s;e that do &s;ay, My e&s;tate doth me no good, and my honor doth me no good, nor never will while I enjoy it without God, while I &s;ee God di&s;honored? Well, certainly, &s;uitable to the mea&s;ure of holine&s;s that is in any man, &s;o will his affections be to the honor of God; and where this affection is not in truth, there is no holine&s;s in truth. This is the fir&s;t thing.</P>
<P>The &s;econd &s;ign that I &s;hall give you to examine your &s;elves by, is this. Where holine&s;s is in truth, there the heart is mightily affected unto the truth of God, which is the foundation of boline&s;s; <HI>&s;anctifie them by thy truth:</HI> it is the expre&s;&s;ion in <HI>Joh.</HI> 17. then Truth is the foundation of &s;anctification: when&s;oever holine&s;s is in truth, then the man is mightily affected to truth: &amp; I do reu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ember it was an excellent rule that <HI>Virenen|cius</HI> gave long ago, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Virenenc.</NOTE> <HI>quo quis &s;anctior, co promptior novellis contraire:</HI> the more holy any man is, &s;aith he, the more his heart goes again&s;t all humane inventions, contrary to the truths of God. Why now, &s;hould I put you up|on the tryal by this; have not you all Truths corrupt, even to the very foundation? tho&s;e in this City, that di&s;pute whether there be a God or no, to the very foundation: that deny the God-head of Chri&s;t, and of the Spirit: deny the truth of the Scriptures: why now, how I pray you do<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">h this &s;it upon your &s;pirits? how are you affected with truth? for truth is the mo|ther
<PB N="52" REF="43"> of holine&s;s; and I &s;ay unto you, it will bear a child-like affection thereunto: my Brethren, will you give me leave a little to &s;peak plainly to you; the great de&s;ign that Satan hath (I conceive) in this pre&s;ent age; the great de&s;ign (for he hath many) but I &s;ay, the Great de&s;ign, I look upon to be this: So to di&s;|pute all things, as that in matters of Religion men might look upon nothing as certain: di&s;pute all things, that &s;o you may be certain of nothing: for this hath been the great bu&s;ine&s;s: and truly I mu&s;t (though &s;ome of them go under the name of Saints) I mu&s;t &s;ay, they are highly the in&s;truments of the Devil in it: I fay, the great bu&s;ine&s;s of the&s;e latter years hath been this, it hath been to di&s;pute principles, and overthrow foundations. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;tine.</NOTE> <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> &s;aith, there are two waies by which the Devil draws men from Chri&s;t: one in a time of peace: and another in a time of per&s;ecuti|on: in a time of per&s;ecution, <HI>coget homines negare Chri|&s;tum,</HI> he compels men to deny Chri&s;t, in the time of per&s;ecution: But in the time of pro&s;perity, <HI>docet,</HI> he teacheth men then to deny Chri&s;t, he finds out &s;uch Doctrines as &s;hall teach men hand&s;omly to deny Chri&s;t, and to defend it when he hath done; O my Brethren, how doth this &s;it upon your Spirits? It was <HI>Luthers</HI> &s;aying, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luther.</NOTE> <HI>Spiritus &s;anctus Scepticus non e&s;t,</HI> the ho|ly Spirit is not a Sceptical Spirit, there is little of that Spirit in this Land; Chri&s;tiani&s;m is turned to Scepti&s;m, que&s;tion every thing, and di&s;pute every thing; and men look upon it as a great piece of Religion, to main|tain that there is no certainty in Religion; and truly this is the way of the wi&s;e men of our times: Why, now con&s;ider two things are added hereunto. One is to pro&s;ecute this de&s;ign, the Mini&s;try mu&s;t fir&s;t be un|dervalued,
<PB N="53" REF="43"> that by that means there may be way made that they may be &s;uppre&s;&s;ed; for while the&s;e men live, they do &s;ay in their own bo&s;oms &s;o much as <HI>Saul</HI> did of <HI>David</HI> to <HI>Ionathan, while the &s;on of Ie&s;&s;e liveth,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>thy Kingdom will never be e&s;tabli&s;hed:</HI> they do &s;ay &s;o, that the&s;e new waies of Religion will never be e&s;ta|bli&s;hed, &s;o long as &s;ome of the&s;e men continue: they do &s;ay, that this is the <HI>Heir, let us kill him,</HI> and the in|heritance will be ours; we &s;hall never be the great Preachers till then; nor our lights, and opini|ons will never be entertained for Go&s;pel till then; for &s;o what was the advice of <HI>Con&s;e|nus</HI> the Je&s;uite a great while ago; and truly this is the very truth; for as it is ju&s;tly to be feared you have a great many among you, &s;o tho&s;e that are acted among you, are acted very much by a Je&s;uitical principle; and what was his advice? he wi&s;heth them by all means to take away the Mini&s;try; but &s;aith, do it not all at once, but take away &s;ome fir&s;t, and di&s;grace the re&s;t: and &s;o by that means a way will be mace that you may lay them a&s;ide when you will; and he gives them his rea&s;on for it; take away tho&s;e that are able to main|tain tho&s;e Doctrines once, and then the Doctrines will fall of them&s;elves: <HI>Haere&s;is</HI> (for &s;o he cals the truth) <HI>cui patrocinium decrit, &s;ine pugn&acirc; concidet:</HI> alas, take a poor up&s;tart fellow now, that looks upon him&s;elf as a great Preacher, <HI>under&s;tanding not what he &s;aith,</HI> it is an ea&s;ie matter to make this man leave this truth, or that truth; but take another man that is able to a&s;&s;ert it: and alas, before &s;uch a man the&s;e men dare not appear: and therefore I &s;ay, that the&s;e Doctrines they cry down will never fall, &s;o long as they live to maintain them, therefore down with them.</P>
<PB N="54" REF="44">
<P>Another way that is effectual to further this great de&s;ign is this, which you cannot but &s;ee: who mu&s;t be imbraced, countenanced: I wi&s;h it be not &s;o with tho&s;e in authority here among you, I wi&s;h it be not &s;o; who mu&s;t be received as the men of their Councel, enter|tained at their table, why, who mu&s;t they be? truly, &s;uch as do maintain &s;ome abominable Doctrine in matters of Religion: that by this means &s;uch men be|ing countenanced by men in place and authority, tru|ly their ware may vent the better; that is the way I &s;ay, the ware may vent the better: and whereas, oh that the Lord would be plea&s;ed but to let men con&s;i|der that in the 2 Ep. of <HI>Iohn</HI> v. 10. <HI>He that brings not this Doctrine, receive him not into your hou&s;es, bid him not God &s;peed:</HI> have no conver&s;e, no communion with him; there is not &s;o much as common civility to be &s;hewed to him; <HI>a &s;tranger you are to take in,</HI> but <HI>an heretick you are not.</HI> Now I intreate you to con&s;ider &s;eriou&s;ly with your &s;elves; if truth be the mother of holine&s;s, and you &s;ee truth is &s;o much in danger, and &s;o much laid at, and the great de&s;igns of the times run this way, how are your hearts affected with it? Certainly, if thou ha&s;t holine&s;s in truth, thou wilt be mightily affected with truth that is the mother of holine&s;s. This is a &s;e|cond Rule. There are two or three more; but I am very fearful of tre&s;pa&s;&s;ing upon you.</P>
<P>One is; where there is holine&s;s in truth, that man is affected with &s;piritual &s;ins: that man is mo&s;t affected with &s;piritual &s;ins: you &s;hall find the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>Clean&s;e your &s;elves from all filthine&s;s of fle&s;h and &s;pirit:</HI> that is the aim of the holy man, the Godly man, in 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 7.1. but the great thing that doth affect his &s;oul, is &s;piritual &s;ins; that <HI>which no eye takes notice of,
<PB N="55" REF="44"> but the eye of God only;</HI> &s;o you &s;hall find in <HI>P&s;al</HI> 42.11. there the ba&s;e dejection of &s;pirit, how <HI>David</HI> is troubled at i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">; <HI>why art thou ca&s;t down O my &s;oul?</HI> &s;o likewi&s;e car|nal confidence; in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 80.7. he &s;aith, <HI>I &s;aidthon ha&s;t made my mountain to &s;tand &s;trong:</HI> grudging at the pro&s;perity of the wicked; <HI>&s;o fooli&s;h was I, and ignorant, I was as a Bea&s;t before thee:</HI> all my waies are bruiti&s;h; I am more bruti&s;h then any man. <HI>Paul the rebellion to the Law that was in his members. Hezekiah</HI> humbled him&s;elf for <HI>the pride of his heart:</HI> thus the people of God, they are more affected with &s;piritual &s;ins com|mitted in the eye of God, then they are in reference unto outward &s;ins committed before the eyes of men: they are more a&s;hamed before God, then they can be before men. Mr. <HI>Bradford,</HI> though he were a man had attained to a great mea&s;ure of holine&s;s, that Doctor <HI>Taylor</HI> cals him, That Saint of God <HI>Iohn Bradford,</HI> yet how doth he bewail his hypocri&s;ie!</P>
<P>Now do you examine your hearts by thi :if you be holy, you be not affected only with &s;ins before men, but that which &s;itteth &s;adlie&s;t upon your &s;pirits, is, that your hearts are defiled before God: you are more a&s;hamed before him, then you are before all the men in the world. That is a third Rule, which I do but name.</P>
<P>Secondly, where there is holine&s;s in truth, there the man &s;ets before him as his mark, the mo&s;t difficult du|ties in Religion: he doth not take up the ea&s;ie&s;t dut ies; but I &s;ay, though he fall &s;hort in performance many times, yet he &s;ets before him as a mark to aim at, the mo&s;t difficult duties of Religion. <HI>I pre&s;s hard to the mark,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Paul;</HI> a mark of an enlightned under&s;tand|ing which I conceive as well as that goal of glory:
<PB N="56" REF="45"> now as there are in the cripture &s;ome things that are <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, hard to be under&s;tood, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith: &s;o there are &s;ome duties too in Scripture that are <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, hard to be put in practi&s;e, very hard: now the ho|ly man, he hath an eye unto the mo&s;t difficult duties in Religion; for he knows that all the&s;e lie upon him as duties, and he &s;ets them before him as a mark that he aims at; and I will name &s;ome of them to you, that I may draw to a conclu&s;ion.</P>
<P>As fir&s;t: It is a hard thing, and yet a duty, to have a mans obedience at highe&s;t, when his comforts are at lowe&s;t: it was one of the great difficulties that <HI>Luther</HI> found; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luther.</NOTE> there were three things he found very hard, he profe&s;&s;ed, in Religion. One was, <HI>to believe that which was impo&s;sible:</HI> and another was, <HI>to hope for that which was delayed:</HI> and another was: <HI>to love God when God &s;hewed him&s;elf an enemy,</HI> &s;aith he, that my obedience &s;hould be highe&s;t when my com|forts are at lowe&s;t ebb: <HI>for a man to obey his voice, and &s;erve him, and yet all the while to walk in darkne&s;s, and have no light;</HI> as it is in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 50.10. truly my Bre|thren, this is a hard thing to &s;ay, <HI>I will love him though he kill me: I will tru&s;t in him though he kill me:</HI> this you will &s;ay is a hard duty: O, &s;uch things as the&s;e now, the holy man hath in his eyes, the&s;e are the marks he &s;ets him&s;elf to aim at.</P>
<P>Secondly, for a mans &s;oul to be lowe&s;t when his employment is highe&s;t: for a man to be like a Spire-Steeple, <HI>minimus in &s;ummo,</HI> to have his &s;pirit lowe&s;t when his imployment is at the highe&s;t; it was &s;o with <HI>Paul,</HI> in the 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.10. <HI>I have labored more abundant|ly then they all:</HI> cheife&s;t in &s;ervice, the greate&s;t of &s;er|vants, but <HI>the lea&s;t of Saints,</HI> the lea&s;t of Saints: why
<PB N="57" REF="45"> this is a hard thing: O, we do find, there is not a poor creature imployed in a bu&s;ine&s;s, if he be honoured above his Brethren, but pre&s;ently how doth his &s;pi|rit ri&s;e with his imployment! he grows &s;o proud pre|&s;ently, the earth cannot bear him: we &s;ee examples of it every day: but here is holine&s;s, my Brethren, that &s;ets him this pattern, his &s;pirit to be low, when his imployment is high.</P>
<P>Thirdly, holine&s;s &s;ets a man this pattern, to be <HI>contented with the things that are pre&s;ent;</HI> that is the A|po&s;tles exhortation, <HI>Heb.</HI> 13.5. <HI>be contented with things that are pre&s;ent, or be &s;ufficient with them:</HI> let the things that are pre&s;ent be &s;ufficient to thee: whether I have much or little, honour or di&s;grace, it is that that is pre&s;ent: Now for a man to &s;ub&s;cribe to the dealing of God, and to lay his hand upon his mouth, and to &s;ay, This is the di&s;po&s;ing of a wi&s;e Father, it is but <HI>in viaticum,</HI> it is not <HI>in praemium,</HI> it is but for my pa&s;&s;age, it is not for my reward: then I &s;ay for a man to &s;ay tru|ly, What&s;oever I have here, if it be but enough to land me &s;a&s;e in an other world, it is all I care for: O my Brethren, this is the pitch that the Saints of God now &s;et to them&s;elves: where there is holine&s;s, I &s;ay, the&s;e difficult duties the &s;oul propounds unto it|&s;elf. But,</P>
<P>Further yet, Where there is holine&s;s, it propounds this, To look upon &s;uffering as a gift: in <HI>Phil.</HI> 1.29. <HI>to you it is given, not only to believe, but to &s;uffer for the name of the Lord Je&s;us.</HI> Men can look upon imploy|ment as a gift &s;ometimes, if God will &s;et them in ho|norable &s;ervice: O but to look upon &s;ufferings as honorable, as if a man by that were to fill up that which is behind of the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t: this is
<PB N="58" REF="46"> that pitch which the Saints &s;et to them&s;elves: the mark they aim at, is &s;uch difficult duties as the&s;e are, to look upon &s;uffering as a gift, to &s;ay as in <HI>Jam.</HI> 1.9. <HI>Let the brother of low degree rejoyce that he is exalied;</HI> I, there is rea&s;on for that; <HI>I, but &s;hall the brother of high degree rejoyce that he is made low?</HI> Yes, that God hath called thee to any condition to do good: O that is a &s;piritual heart indeed, that is a holy heart indeed.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, there is yet another great truth, and that is, to have &s;uch a &s;pirit, willing to go alone in du|ties, and not to be turned out of the way: that if I am brought to duty, though I am left alone, yet notwith&s;tanding the duty is mine, the &s;pecial a&s;&s;i|&s;tance is Gods. Man is a &s;ociable Creature in|deed, and he is in a great mea&s;ure like a drop emp|tyed into the Sea, he is mightily apt to &s;wim down with the tide: O tis a hard matter for a man to be willing in duty to go alone: yet &s;o it was with <HI>Paul. At my fir&s;t An&s;wer all men for &s;ook me, no man &s;tood by me:</HI> for a man to &s;ay, One God is &s;ufficient, as M^r <HI>Cal|vin</HI> I remember hath it upon <HI>Zach.</HI> 9.12. <HI>Go to the &s;trong holds ye pri&s;oners of hope. Strong holds!</HI> they had no &s;trong hold, the City was burnt, and the Tem|ple de&s;troyed, and they had no &s;trong hold to be|take them&s;elves to, <HI>turn to your &s;trong holds: Satis prae|&s;idii in uno Deo:</HI> but yet notwith&s;tanding &s;aith he, there was &s;uccour enough in one God. So &s;aith the &s;oul, There is &s;ociety and communion enough in one God: if no man &s;tand by me in duty, yet notwith|&s;tanding the Lord will: for a man to go alone, and not to balk nor to be turned out of the way, becau&s;e he is de&s;erted by men, either by a principle of fal&s;hood or Cowardice: truly this is one of the difficulte&s;t duties of Religion.</P>
<PB N="59" REF="46">
<P>There is one thing more (I &s;ee I mu&s;t break off) I will but name this one thing; and that is, To have a mans &s;pirit rai&s;ed by oppo&s;ition, that the more he doth meet with oppo&s;ition, in a way of duty, the more re&s;olute he is for it: &s;o far is he from being afraid of the threatnings of men, of the frowns of men, he &s;hall lo&s;e this mans favour, incur &s;uch a mans di&s;plea&s;ure, and lo&s;e &s;uch an advantage and op|portunity: no, his &s;pirit ri&s;eth far more for it: it is with &s;uch a man as it is with the fire in winter: the fire burns the hotter becau&s;e of the coldne&s;s of the air; &s;o it is with &s;uch a &s;oul that is truly inflamed. Come to <HI>David</HI> and tell him, O there is a <HI>Goliah,</HI> and he is come out with a &s;pear like a Weavers beam, and there is one that bears his target goes before him; where is he? &s;aith <HI>David: I will fight with him,</HI> &s;aith he; his &s;pirit doth not fall by difficulties, but ri&s;eth: I am not afraid of any uncircumci&s;ed Phili&s;tim; my Brethren, this is a true noble &s;pirit; holy greatne&s;s of mind lies in this; when a mans &s;pirit is born up upon the greatne&s;s of his God, and the goodne&s;s of his Cau&s;e: it is a ba&s;e &s;pirit that is born up by the &s;trength of his party, I have &s;o many men on my &s;ide; ala&s;s my Brethren, that is a ba&s;e &s;pirit; but I &s;ay, here is a true noble &s;pirit, the greatne&s;s of his God, and the goodne&s;s of his Cau&s;e: and if that will not bear me out, &s;aith the &s;oul, let me &s;ink in it, I am con|tent to peri&s;h. I remember a godly man; the Lord, &s;aith he, will make <HI>Jeremiahs face like an Adamant:</HI> &s;aith he, like an Adamant, the harde&s;t of &s;tones? tru|ly then let the &s;torm come, and the Adamant that &s;hrinks not, it fears not, it changeth not its hue: no not a jot, the Adamant is the &s;ame. Certainly, my
<PB N="60" REF="47"> Beloved, this is the <HI>Motio</HI> of every truly noble &s;pirit; <HI>Nec &s;pe, nec timore,</HI> it is neither hope, nor fear that acts me; I can neither hope for any thing, ne ther truly am I afraid of any thing that man can do unto me; and he doth neither fear, nor faint, nor flie, but the more diffi|culties ri&s;e, the more doth his &s;pirit ri&s;e: I &s;ay ground|ed upon the greatne&s;s of his God, and the goodne&s;s of his cau&s;e; Now it ye be holy men, you do not pick and chu&s;e duties, but the more difficult duties are, the more you &s;trive to ri&s;e to bring up your &s;pirits to them; I that is holine&s;s, not to bring down the du|ty to you, but to keep up the Law, as <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>the Law is holy, and ju&s;t, and good;</HI> only labour you to bring up your &s;pirits to the rule of it. If you are holy men now, it will be thus with you.</P>
<P>Thirdly, a holy <HI>man hates every fal&s;e way,</HI> and fears it, and recovers out of it, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.128. <HI>Rom.</HI> 12.9. the word is <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, its to hate it as Hell it &s;elf. Secondly, he fears it, <HI>Eccl.</HI> 9.2. <HI>he that fears an oath,</HI> &amp;c. I fear no|thing but &s;in, &s;aies the holy man. Thridly, he recovers him&s;elf; he doth not lie in his &s;in; <HI>Peter</HI> &s;inned, but <HI>Pe|ter</HI> &s;orrowed for his &s;in; a good man is a <HI>living fountain,</HI> will never be drawn dry; grace is a living principle, it doth work out the mudd in the heart by degrees, as the Sun doth labour for &s;ome time with the mi&s;t, but di&s;pels it at the la&s;t, the longer any man lies in &s;in after a fall, the more unholy his heart is; to &s;in pre&s;ently after du|ty, is a &s;ign there hath been little communion with God in the duty: and to ri&s;e pre&s;ently after &s;in, is a &s;ign that God hath hold on the man, and <HI>that the root of the matter is in him.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, try it by this, if you hate your own ini|quity, if that be your great care, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 18.23. <HI>Ezech.</HI>
<PB N="61" REF="47"> 7.19. they &s;hall not &s;atisfie their &s;ouls becau&s;e it <HI>is the &s;lumbling block of their iniquity,</HI> &amp;c. 13. neither &s;hall any &s;trengthen him&s;elf in the iniquity of his life; that is, the whole comfort and delight of their lives doth come in by it: it is all the plea&s;ure and the joy they have; men looking upon the vanity of the world, every man hath his Trea&s;ure &s;omething that he doth chu&s;e to him&s;elf, either in his age, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.9. or in his calling, or in his acquaintance, in his cu&s;tom; and if ever a man do meet with an opportunity of temptation <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, it is then; he is to <HI>take heed to him&s;elf,</HI> as the exhortation is in <HI>Luke</HI> 8.13. you have been Conquerers, take heed now you be not overcome with the Devil: and you have fought for liberty, take heed you be not the wor&s;t of &s;laves, as that man is that is a &s;ervant to his lu&s;t: You have a&s;&s;erted the liberty of others, maintain your own liberty al&s;o, <HI>and be not the &s;ervants to &s;in.</HI></P>
<P>Fifthly, if you be holy, you will have <HI>re&s;pect unto all the commandments, P&s;al.</HI> 119.6. he that doth de&s;pi&s;e any one Commandment, makes con&s;cience of none; it is uni|ver&s;ality that is the great note of &s;incerity; now to live in the willing neglect of any known duty, and the Law of God comes in again&s;t a man, and the man is afraid to hear of &s;uch a duty, becau&s;e his guilt ari&s;es, and his trouble is renewed thereby, and therefore the man would &s;hift it off, &amp; would disburden him&s;elf of the &s;en&s; of it; &s;urely then that &s;oul has cau&s;e to fear, holine&s;s is not his aim: but now when the commandment comes, and the man is a co-worker with God as it were, and is willing it &s;hould be &s;et on upon his &s;oul, and is not wil|ling to give him&s;elf a di&s;pen&s;ation from it, but he &s;aith, I mu&s;t walk up to the extremity of the rule, and ob&s;erve
<PB N="62" REF="48"> it to the uttermo&s;t extent of it, for I mu&s;t be Judged by it, <HI>God will lay Judgement to the line,</HI> &amp;c. this is the &s;en&s;e of a holy heart.</P>
<P>Sixthly, if you are holy, your holine&s;s will an&s;wer the Law of God; for <HI>it is the Law written in the heart,</HI> that you mu&s;t come up to; <HI>you have obeyed from the heart that forme of Doctrine which was delivered to you; we are ca&s;t into it,</HI> as into a mold, and therefore it mu&s;t be a perfect form; there are the <HI>great things of the Law,</HI> Rom. 11.17. Heb. 13.8,9. and it was the &s;in of the Phari&s;ees that they only regarded le&s;&s;er things, and left the great things of the Law undone: and its the great &s;in of hypocrites whether it be in point of &s;in, or in point of duty, to be only zealous again&s;t le&s;&s;er things: therefore trie your &s;elves by the&s;e rules, for it is a matter of the greate&s;t concernment of your lives, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>By the&s;e may you know if you are in the way to the Beatifical vi&s;ion; by the&s;e may you judge of your <HI>holi|ne&s;s, without which no man &s;hall &s;ee the Lord.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="63" REF="48">
<HEAD>Babylons utter ruine, THE SAINTS Triumph.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>At a Thank&s;giving for the victory of <HI>Ireland,</HI> again&s;t the <HI>Iri&s;h,</HI> <DATE><HI>Aug.</HI> 29. 1649.</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>REVEL. 18.2.</BIBL>
<P>Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<P>_THE great works of the Saints in this life, are to believe Gods promi&s;es, and to &s;erve his providence, and reflect his prai&s;es; and it is the great thing that God doth expect as the fruit of <HI>all his marvellous works,</HI> that when <HI>his works do prai&s;e him</HI> (that is) give matter of prai&s;e, <HI>his Saints &s;hould ble&s;s him, P&s;al.</HI> 145.10. and for this cau&s;e there are three titles given unto the Saints in the Scri|pture.</P>
<PB N="64" REF="49">
<P>Fir&s;t, they are &s;aid to be <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> tho&s;e that take de|light in the works of the Lord: they being all of them wonderful and glorious, and only to be admired: where|as other men only &s;tudy the works of men, and be ta|ken with them, but they only take plea&s;ure in &s;tudying the works of God.</P>
<P>Secondly, they are called <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> taking plea&s;ure in them, they &s;tudy them and &s;earch into them, that they may find out all the excellency and glory that is in them; which at fir&s;t &s;ight no man is able to find out, <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 111.2.</P>
<P>Thirdly, they are called, <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>the Lords Recorders, I&s;a.</HI> 62.6. they received the promi&s;es of God, and their accompli&s;hment; &amp; of the&s;e things the hearts of the Saints are a faithful Regi&s;ter; his mercies are written in their hearts as well as his Laws: the one that they may &s;erve him; and the other that they may rejoyce in him.</P>
<P>Now you that have plea&s;ure in the works of God, ye are come before the Lord this day to enter an eminent National mercy upon publike record; and if ye &s;earch into it, after a diligent &s;crutiny ye will find there are the&s;e &s;ix things &s;pecially to <HI>be ob&s;erved there|in.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t; it is a return not only of late, but of antient prayers: It is one of the great Que&s;tions that the Saints of God have as matter to di&s;pute in all the mercies that they receive, whether they have them as effects of pro|vidence, or as the heirs of the promi&s;e: whether they have of them only <HI>a jus Politicum,</HI> or <HI>Evangelicum?</HI> the one indeed <HI>non fundatur in Grati&acirc;;</HI> but the other is: now if it be given in an&s;wer to prayers, it is a <HI>birth of the promi&s;e,</HI> which the prayers of the Saints help to de|liver,
<PB N="65" REF="49"> <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 37.3. but &s;pecially when mercies have been long delayed, and the an&s;wers of prayers have been long de&s;err'd: whe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Abraham</HI> had prayed for a child twenty years then to have the promi&s;e &s;peak: and when the|children of I&s;rael had prayed 70. year, then when they were even out of hopes, and gave their prayers for lo&s;t, now to be an&s;wered in them, made them to be like them that dream; to recover an old debt, and to receive a &s;hip &s;afe home and richly laden that hath been long at Sea, and we know not what was become of it, it comes home with the greater joy: Why doth the Lord de|lay the an&s;wers of the prayers of his people? not that he doth not intend to grant them; for <HI>Bernard,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> <HI>Priu&s;|quam engr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;a e&s;t oratto ex ore tuo, ip&s;e &s;cribi jubet in libro &s;uo.</HI></P>
<P>But he doth wait to be gracious. Now delaying of the mercy doth rai&s;e the price of it; now ye come to reap of the harve&s;t of many of your prayers that are pa&s;t and gone, that you even now gave for lo&s;t: there is a two|fold joy that the Scripture &s;peaks of as tran&s;cendent; the joy of harve&s;t, and the joy of &s;ouldiers when they divide the &s;poil: and truly there is matter of both the&s;e joyes in this mercy admini&s;tred to you; for you divide the &s;poil of the enemie, and with all you reap to your &s;elves the harve&s;t of all your former prayers and petitions: Oh how did the pulpits in times pa&s;t &s;ound with &s;uch words as the&s;e, <HI>Lord, remember bleeding and dying</HI> Ireland; <HI>Lord, this is</HI> Ireland <HI>that is a ca&s;t-out peopl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">, hat none cares for; but when thou make&s;t inqui&s;ition for blood remember them,</HI> &amp;c. and tho&s;e prayers which were put up from many a gracious heart, which are now an&s;wered, though now many of them haply are
<PB N="66" REF="50"> di&s;plea&s;ed and di&s;contented <HI>with the return</HI> of their own prayers.</P>
<P>Secondly, it is a mercy given in when all things were de&s;perate, and even all hope of a deliverance was gone: Now <HI>is God a help found in the needful time of trouble:</HI> when the enemies power and confidence was high, and they &s;aid <HI>Ireland</HI> is our own: we will pur&s;ue them, even take them and &s;atisfie our lu&s;ts upon them: we will &s;urely root out the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> name from among&s;t us, and we will try if they can &s;wim into <HI>England:</HI> it may be their faith will bear them up, as that partie hath alwayes &s;coffed at godline&s;s in all their &s;ucce&s;&s;es; but be no more mockers lea&s;t your bonds increa&s;e.</P>
<P>Now when you had not an Armie in the field, the whole Kingdom was their own, and not a Garri&s;on left in the whole Kingdom but one and that brought to the very brink of de&s;truction al&s;o, and mu&s;t have been &s;ur|rendred &s;peedily after they made their approaches to it; Now God gives in the mercy, now doth the Lord judge his people, and repent him concerning his &s;er|vants: when he &s;ees that <HI>their power is gone, and that there is none &s;hut up or left, Deut</HI> 32.36. when there is no Army in the field, no &s;ouldiers in garri&s;on: now is the time that the Lord doth appear, and <HI>take to him&s;elf his great power and raign.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, when the Lord doth therein exceed the ex|pectations of his &s;ervants; a deliverance they hoped for, but not &s;o great, not &s;o &s;udden, &s;o that when it came <HI>they &s;eemed as men that dream,</HI> and they can &s;carce believe that God would do &s;o great things for them, when the Lord is come to do them: <HI>when the &s;on of man comes, &s;hall he find faith upon earth?</HI> its a faith in reference to the
<PB N="67" REF="50"> coming of Chri&s;t for to take vengeance on the Churches adver&s;aries, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 64.3. <HI>thou did&s;t great things for us which we looked not for;</HI> for God doth not an&s;wer prayers according unto our hopes, but according to his own mercies; as he doth not reward our &s;ervices accor|ding to the mea&s;ure of our duty, but <HI>in the mouth of mercy, Ho&s;.</HI> 10.12. a man doth &s;ow in duty, but he doth reap&mdash;<HI>in ore&mdash;mi&s;ericordiae.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, when it is by the hand of tho&s;e whom they have oppre&s;&s;ed; when <HI>the witne&s;&s;es that were &s;lain &s;hall ri&s;e again, and they &s;hall de&s;troy their per&s;ecutors by the &s;word that comes out of their mouthes,</HI> then it is the greater mercy, and far the greater confu&s;ion unto the enemy; <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 41.15. <HI>When the worm</HI> Jacob <HI>&s;hall thre&s;h the moun|tains, and when the arm of the Lord &s;hould be made bare in it,</HI> and his hand more immediately &s;een, beyond the purpo&s;e, courage and intention of men, they are enga|ged before they are aware, and victorie is won before they know they are engaged in a Battle: when the <HI>Lord &s;hall bend Judah</HI> for him, <HI>and fill his bow with Ephraim,</HI> and they &s;hall have the honour of the conque&s;t, that have had their great &s;hare in their Torments, and were by the enemies de&s;igned for de&s;truction, and they &s;hall fall by their hand, it makes the mercy far the greater.</P>
<P>Fifthly, when it is &s;uch a mercy as lets us &s;ee &s;till that God owns the &s;ame cau&s;e, and however men warp and turn too and fro, yet the good old cau&s;e in which the people of God were engaged again&s;t the Antichri|&s;tian party, the Lord owns that cau&s;e &s;till, and gives un|to his people hereby hopes of a &s;ettlement: For the Lord Chri&s;t when he rides forth in the conque&s;t of the Go&s;pel, he doth ride forth <HI>conquering and to conquer</HI> (not
<PB N="68" REF="51"> all at once) but by degrees, and doth give to his people yet a ground of their faith to &s;ee, <HI>if they be of the &s;eed of the Jews before whom they have begun to fall,</HI> they &s;hall &s;urely fall; God hath given us therein, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 2.15. <HI>the vally of</HI> Achor <HI>for a door of hope;</HI> it is true that <HI>Achor</HI> was a plea&s;ant vally, and it was &s;weet in it &s;elf; therefore it was joyned with <HI>Carmel</HI> and <HI>Ba&s;han;</HI> but yet it was much more &s;weet in reference to the hope: for it was at the fir&s;t entrance into the Land of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and as the fir&s;t fruits gives them po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the whole.</P>
<P>Sixthly, it is &s;till a carrying on of the grand de&s;ign that the Lord Chri&s;t hath to do in the world in the lat|ter daies; for Chri&s;t in glory hath not only Saints to ga|ther home to him&s;elf, and to bind them all up in <HI>a bundle of life,</HI> and he doth raign for their &s;akes, for he is <HI>the head over all</HI> things for the Churches &s;ake: but the Lord hath al&s;o enemies to be &s;ubdued; <HI>he mu&s;t raign till he hath put all his enemies under his feet,</HI> and he will be faith|ful as the Fathers <HI>&s;ervant</HI> in the one, as well as in the other: therefore, <HI>Rev.</HI> 14. there <HI>is a harve&s;t of all the Saints to be reaped,</HI> and there is <HI>a wine pre&s;s of wicked</HI> men at the &s;ame time <HI>to be trodden,</HI> &amp;c. Now the great enemy unto Chri&s;t in the latter daies of the world is, <HI>that wicked one</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> that <HI>Baylon the great, the Mother of Harlots.</HI> Now &s;o far as this tends to the promoting of that great de&s;ign (as it doth exceedingly) &s;o far &s;hould the Saints of God rejoyce therein: for they mu&s;t by degrees <HI>go into p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">rdition:</HI> and though all the former &s;ubjects would be fit matter for our meditation through|out this day, and might have given us &s;everal Con&s;i|derations of very publike concernment in reference to the mercy of the day, yet at pre&s;ent I have cho&s;en this rather to draw out your prai&s;es thereby: concerning
<PB N="69" REF="51"> which I &s;hall pre&s;ent you but with the&s;e three con&s;ide|rations.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the lea&s;t return that you can make of a mercy, is prai&s;e to God for it; and it is all that the Lord doth expect of you. <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 14. <HI>and we will give thee the calves of our lips:</HI> it is all the promi&s;e, that the Lord would have his people make to him <HI>in the time of</HI> their &s;traits. Affli|ctions they are &s;tupefactive and of a confounding na|ture, and they clo&s;e the mouth, <HI>J<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">r.</HI> 8.14. <HI>let us enter into our fenced Cities, and let us be &s;ilent there, for the Lord our God hath put us to &s;ilence:</HI> but mercies they are of an expan&s;ive and dilating nature, and they open the mouth: as <HI>Hannah,</HI> not only her heart, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 2.1. <HI>was filled,</HI> but her mouth was enlarged al&s;o.</P>
<P>Secondly, if you do not return prai&s;es for mercies, God will &s;urely add Judgements unto mercies, and will turn his hand again&s;t you, <HI>do you evil after he hath done you good: Hezekiah</HI> received a mercy, but <HI>he did not ren|der according to the mercy:</HI> and this brought a Judge|ment upon him and upon the whole land, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> for let me tell you, of all things God can lea&s;t bear the de|&s;pi&s;ing and contempt of his mercies: there are two things that are very terrible to the Saints, and that they are afraid of, and would be pre&s;erved from. Fir&s;t that they reap not cur&s;es from the Ordinances of God, which are u&s;ually the great means of ble&s;&s;ing. Secondly, that they have not Judgements grow out of mercies, becau&s;e of their unan&s;werable walking under their pre&s;ent en|joyments.</P>
<P>Thirdly the prai&s;es of the Saints are as terrible unto the Churches enemies as their prayers: you think it is your duty to pray often: truly it is your duty to prai&s;e God al&s;o: for <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 8.2. <HI>out of the mouth of Babes and
<PB N="70" REF="52"> &s;ucklings he hath ordained &s;trength to &s;till the enemy and the avenger:</HI> it is &s;poken of Satan, and of all &s;piritual ene|mies. So the children of I&s;rael, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> when <HI>they prai&s;|ed God in the beauty of Holine&s;s,</HI> God &s;et ambu&s;hments, &amp; <HI>they de&s;troyed their enemies with the &s;word that proceeded out of their mouths, Orabilibus telis,</HI> and that is as much by their prai&s;es as by their praiers: therefore if you would not have the pre&s;ent mercy prove a future judgement, and if you would have the work go on, let me exhort you as you did give in your a&s;&s;i&s;tance in prayer for this beginning of mercy, &s;o let not your prai&s;es be wanting: with-hold not them for the perfection of it: <HI>So let all thy enemies peri&s;h oh Lord, but let them that love thy name be as the Sun going forth in its &s;trength.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="section">
<P>And now I addre&s;s my &s;elf unto the words: out of which I would &s;peak &s;omething as matter of your thankfulne&s;s and meditation &s;uitable unto this pre&s;ent occa&s;ion. <HI>Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen:</HI> there are in the words four things to be opened.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t who</HI> it is that &s;peaks?</P>
<P><HI>Secondly who</HI> this <HI>Babylon</HI> is of whom it is &s;po|ken?</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly why</HI> called <HI>Babylon</HI> the great?</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly why</HI> its put <HI>in praeterito pro futuro?</HI> is fallen: and why its &s;et down by way of <HI>ingemination? is fallen, is fallen,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t who it is that &s;peaks it, ver. 1. it is <HI>an Angel that came down from Heaven, having great power,</HI> &amp;c. By An|gels &s;ome do expound the heavenly ho&s;ts, tho&s;e <HI>mini|&s;tring &s;pirits, that are &s;ent forth for the good of the Elect:</HI> which are therefore called <HI>principalities and powers,</HI> be|cau&s;e of that great and that glorious government that
<PB N="71" REF="52"> the Lord hath committed unto them, during the Media|tor Kingdom of Chri&s;t, <HI>Ezech.</HI> 1. <HI>the &s;pirit of the li|ving creatures is in the wheels:</HI> &s;o that they have a great hand in the government and the admini&s;tration of all things below: and in this doth their degrees of glory con&s;i&s;t, <HI>in officio,</HI> in the office in which the Lord Je&s;us doth imploy them: they differ not in their nature at all, but only in their office, as <HI>Zanch.</HI> ob&s;erves: an&s;werable unto what the Lord Je&s;us will employ them in: for they are the great in&s;truments and officers in the ordering of all things; and when Chri&s;t &s;hall give up his Kingdom, then &s;hall they lay down theirs: for <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.15,28. <HI>he &s;hall put down all rule, authority and power,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Calvin.</NOTE> <HI>de principatu Angelico etiam intelligitur;</HI> all power and authority that was &s;et up by the oeconomical Kingdom of Chri&s;t, &s;hall at the giving up of that Kingdom be laid down: and therefore according unto the particular &s;ervices, in which God doth imploy the Angels, &s;uch a great work is committed unto one Angel, and another great work is committed unto another, 2 <HI>Dan.</HI> 10,21. <HI>Zach.</HI> 6.8. <HI>the In&s;trument of Vengeance went forth into the North:</HI> So <HI>Rev.</HI> 7. <HI>there are four Angels that held the four winds, that they mu&s;t not blow upon the earth:</HI> that is, <HI>motus belli|cos, &amp; Impetus ho&s;tiles:</HI> and &s;ome there are that &s;ound the Trumpet unto war, and then if the Angel go out be|fore them, he &s;tirs up all the In&s;truments among&s;t men, and all things &s;hall &s;ucceed accordingly to that &s;aying of <HI>Opera divinae providentiae Angelico admini&s;terio gerun|tur,</HI> an&s;werable unto the work; &s;o there is an Angel to whom the great care of it is by Chri&s;t committed; <HI>for they are mini&s;tring &s;pirits &s;ent forth for the good of the Elect.</HI></P>
<P>Some by Angels under&s;tand me&s;&s;engers and In&s;tru|ments
<PB N="72" REF="53"> rai&s;ed up among&s;t men, whether Magi&s;trates or Mini&s;ters; and &s;o <HI>Brightman,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Brightman</NOTE> <HI>vir aliquis prae&s;tans &amp; egre|gius, qui &s;ubito, nec expectatus adveniet, quemadmodum res quae coelitus delabuntur.</HI> Suddenly and unexpectedly, as if he had di&s;cended from heaven, &s;ome great in&s;trument that the Lord would unexpectedly rai&s;e up&punc; which I &s;hould not under&s;tand of any individual per&s;ons, and bring it down to this man and the other, as <HI>the &s;even An|gels full of vials</HI> unto <HI>Rome:</HI> not to &s;even individual per|&s;ons, but for &s;even &s;orts of In&s;truments, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">nd officers, that God would &s;ucce&s;&s;ively rai&s;e up for to fini&s;h that work, which &s;hould though they be many, all concurr as one per&s;on to effect that about which they are employ|ed. Now I &s;hall chu&s;e to put both the&s;e together, and to under&s;tand it of heavenly Angels, which the Lord Chri&s;t imploys in the&s;e admini&s;trations, which have the fir&s;t hand in the work: and al&s;o all men, all &s;orts of in|&s;truments and officers, that tho&s;e Angels do &s;tir up and imploy; for <HI>the Spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels;</HI> and <HI>when I am gone forth the Prince of grace &s;hall come:</HI> therefore the Angels, and the In&s;truments &s;tirrd up, and acted by the Angels, the Lord looks upon as but one per&s;on, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> So that fir&s;t the ruine of <HI>Rome</HI> and all the <HI>Roman</HI> power is committed unto an Angel; and therefore if all the power of the earth were engaged for it to &s;upport <HI>Rome,</HI> yet this Angel is a mighty Angel, and he will &s;urely de&s;troy it: and if an Angel hath un|dertaken it, he will not want in&s;truments, tho&s;e that he will &s;urely in all ages &s;tir up to effect it.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Romes</HI> ruine as it is the work and office of the Angel, &s;o it is unto the Angels matter of joy and triumph: for as the conver&s;ion of the Saints is joy to the Angels, &s;o is the de&s;truction of the enemies al&s;o;
<PB N="73" REF="53"> but e&s;pecially unto tho&s;e Angels that are employed as officers therein, as <HI>Ezech.</HI> 9.1. there are <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> unto the Angels the ordering of that great work was committed; and therefore they are &s;aid to <HI>have the charge of it;</HI> the Babyloni&s;h Armie did the work, but the <HI>Angel</HI> that had the charge of it ordered it.</P>
<P>Secondly, of whom is this &s;poken? it is &s;poken of <HI>Babylon, Rev.</HI> 17.12.3. there is <HI>a woman &s;een riding upon a &s;carlet-coloured Bea&s;t, full of names of bla&s;phemy, having &s;even heads and ten horns;</HI> and <HI>this woman hath written upon her forchead, my&s;terie,</HI> Babylon <HI>the great the mother of Harlots:</HI> who is it? ver. la&s;t, its <HI>that great City that reign|eth over the Kings of the Earth:</HI> Now this could not be litterally <HI>Babylon;</HI> for that was de&s;troyed many hundred years before <HI>Johns</HI> time; but this is <HI>Babylon</HI> in a my&s;te|rie; the City that now rules over the Kings of the earth, and that was only <HI>Rome;</HI> a <HI>woman that did &s;it upon many waters;</HI> (that is <HI>reigned over Kingdoms and Nations and people,</HI> &amp;c) and this woman is brought in <HI>riding,</HI> which is an Emblem and expre&s;&s;ion of power and au|thority throughout this whole book: Now what is the <HI>Bea&s;t</HI> that the woman rides upon? it is <HI>regnum &s;ive im|perium Romanum,</HI> which becau&s;e of its blood and its cruelty, hath been alwaies expre&s;&s;ed by a <HI>Bea&s;t with a &s;carlet colour,</HI> &amp;c. and this hath three names given to it throughout this book: for all the old enemies, that were ever any of the antient per&s;ecutors of the Church, is to be found in her, <HI>the blood of all the Saints;</HI> therefore <HI>is</HI> &s;aid <HI>to be found in her,</HI> becau&s;e in her was the cruelty of all former per&s;ecutors to be found, <HI>Rev.</HI> 11.8. <HI>&s;piritual|ly Egypt, &amp; Sodom:</HI> not litterally <HI>Sodom;</HI> for their filthine&s;s called <HI>Sodom,</HI> and for their <HI>Idolatry Egypt and Babylon:</HI> for there is all Idolatry, Sorcery &amp; Cruelty; &s;o that the evils
<PB N="74" REF="54"> that have been in all former per&s;ecutors, is to be found in them: and therefore it is called <HI>Babylon</HI> by way of al|lu&s;ion, as the <HI>Churches of Chri&s;t</HI> are called <HI>Zion</HI> and <HI>Jeru|&s;alem, and the I&s;rael of God, Rev.</HI> 7. the Lord keeping to the old names: &s;o the enemies al&s;o are called <HI>Egypt</HI> and <HI>Babylon,</HI> the Lord keeping unto the old names and an|tient re&s;emblances: So then <HI>Rome</HI> and the power there|of, is here meant by <HI>Babylon:</HI> for it is to be under&s;tood in a my&s;terie, or in a &s;piritual &s;en&s;e.</P>
<P>Thirdly, why is it called <HI>Babylon</HI> the great? I an&s;wer it is called &s;o upon a double ground.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, becau&s;e of the greatne&s;s of its &s;trength, and glory; it was the &s;tronge&s;t and the mo&s;t fortified place in the world; in &s;o much that when the Lord did employ <HI>Cyrus</HI> in the work, it was thirteen years &s;iege, that they were fain to cut the <HI>River Euphrates</HI> into chanels, and draw it dry, and enter the Citie by the chanels of the River; in that pit where <HI>Belt&s;hazer</HI> the King and the in|habitants of the City were found to be all of them bu|ried: and &s;he was the original of the Nations unto which they did all bring their glory: and &s;o it is with this Citie, <HI>the merchants and the great men of the earth trade with her,</HI> as <HI>Rev.</HI> 18.3. &s;o that to &s;ee <HI>Romam in &s;lore</HI> is one of the gloriou&s;e&s;t &s;ights that this lower world could afford, which <HI>Fulgentius</HI> admiring, rai&s;ed up his heart higher by this con&s;ideration, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Fulgentius</NOTE> <HI>Quantum &s;plendeat coele&s;tis Hieru&s;alem, cum adeo fulgeat terre&s;tis Roma?</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Secondly, it is al&s;o <HI>Babylon</HI> the great, becau&s;e of the greatne&s;s of their power, and dominion: She <HI>did &s;et up|on many waters,</HI> and <HI>did rule all the Kings of the earth,</HI> as <HI>Babylon</HI> did &s;ay of old, <HI>Are not my Princes altogether Kings?</HI> and therefore, becau&s;e of their dominion, they are cal|led the great City, and the great City that <HI>rules over the
<PB N="75" REF="54"> Kings of the Earth;</HI> and yet this great <HI>Lucifer, &s;on of the morning, mu&s;t fall from Heaven and be brought down un|to the du&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly how is it &s;aid, is fallen? put in <HI>praeterito;</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t it is put in the <HI>Preterperfect;</HI> and that is ordinary with the Hebrews.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly by</HI> way of Ingemination: and they do imply, Fir&s;t certainly: for it is a &s;peech of faith, &s;peaking of <HI>things to come as if they were</HI> already pa&s;t. Secondly it notes the &s;uddenne&s;s of it; it was at hand; as Chri&s;t &s;aid, <HI>it is fini&s;hed,</HI> that is, it was now neer to be ended; and &s;o, <HI>it is fallen:</HI> that is, <HI>&s;ubito ruitura.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly it notes an utter ruine and de&s;truction in the fall; for <HI>it is fallen, it is fallen;</HI> (that is) it is greatly, eminently, utterly fallen.</P>
<P>Fourthly, it is a de&s;truction generally publi&s;hed over all the world, and with a great deal of joy &s;poken of by the Saints, as appears afterward, <HI>when they give God the glory of taking vengeance of the great whore,</HI> &amp;c. for the repetitions in Scripture do really note great affection, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 22.1. <HI>My God, my God, why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken me? P&s;al.</HI> 137.7, <HI>Down with it, down with it to the ground:</HI> as <HI>Sam.</HI> 18.23. <HI>Ab&s;olom my Son, my Son:</HI> and <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 28.10. <HI>precept upon precept, line upon line,</HI> &amp;c. the expre&s;&s;ion is taken from <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 21.9. <HI>Babylon is fallen, is fallen,</HI> &amp;c. its &s;poken of antient and litteral <HI>Babylon,</HI> and it is applyed unto <HI>my&s;tical Babylon, Rev.</HI> 14.8. there we have a three|fold di&s;covery of Antichri&s;t. Fir&s;t, <HI>there is an Angel flies with the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel;</HI> and they do publi&s;h the Doctrine of the grace of God in <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> openly again&s;t all the inventions of men: and denounce Judgements again&s;t all Idolatry, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Secondly, <HI>Rome</HI> not repenting thereof, now the Lord declares it to be <HI>Babylon,</HI> and a
<PB N="76" REF="55"> Church of God no more, and now <HI>it is fallen. Jam Ruinae Babylonis jaciuntur fundamenta:</HI> and now the Lord having declared it to be <HI>Babylon,</HI> doth begin to pre|pare war again&s;t it. Thirdly, then the people of God ri&s;e higher, and declare no communion with her, and <HI>that whoever doth receive her mark and Image, he &s;hall drink of the pure wine of the wrath of God, without mixture:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luther.</NOTE> <HI>effici|am brevi ut Anathema &s;it e&s;&s;e Papi&s;tam:</HI> Luther.</P>
<P>But now the work is at hand; there is none of the enemies of Chri&s;t &s;o great as <HI>my&s;terie Babylon:</HI> and there is none of his enemies towards whom he hath u&s;ed &s;o much patience and long &s;uffering, bringing them to de&s;truction but by degrees: &s;everal <HI>vials</HI> have been pouring out upon her; degrees of wrath poured out upon them, and yet every one of the&s;e degrees is <HI>a fall of Babylon:</HI> but yet the la&s;t and utter ruine of it is to come: but it ha&s;t ens, for <HI>the word is gone forth of the mouth of the Lord,</HI> that he will have war with this <HI>Romi&s;h Amaleck,</HI> and never have peace with it, till it be de&s;troy|ed: <HI>He hath &s;aid, Great</HI> Babylon <HI>is fallen,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Hence the Ob&s;ervations are Three:</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Rome, <HI>my&s;terie Babylon &s;hall certainly fall.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Secondly, It &s;hall utterly fall,</HI> and be broken with breach upon breach, and de&s;troyed with a double de&s;truction.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly, The fall of it the Saints of God look upon as mat|ter of the greate&s;l joy and Triumph;</HI> Babylon <HI>is fallen, is fallen; it is a joyful voice to be heard in Sion by the inhabi|tants thereof, and they that &s;tand with the Lamb there|upon.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doctrine.</HEAD>
<P>The Doctrine from hence is: <HI>Rome,</HI> that is, <HI>my&s;tical Babylon &s;hall certainly fall:</HI> which will appear if you con|&s;ider the&s;e particulars:</P>
<PB N="77" REF="55">
<P>Fir&s;t, con&s;ider the enemie that hath &s;et him&s;elf again&s;t <HI>Rome;</HI> is one that is able to effect it, and that is the great and the Almighty God: and if he lift up his hand to reap, if he whet his glittering &s;word, he will &s;urely make a &s;laughter, <HI>Rev.</HI> 18.8. <HI>&s;trong is the Lord God who judg|eth her:</HI> it is true, <HI>Babylon</HI> hath all the &s;trength of the earth on her party, <HI>the Kings of the earth do bring their glory to her, and give their power and &s;trength to the Bea&s;t;</HI> it is <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, all their natural power and &s;trength is given to her, and all their civil power and &s;trength or authority: and therefore a man would think it impo&s;|&s;ible for any to <HI>make war with the Bea&s;t:</HI> But they have a &s;trong God again&s;t them, and he hath undertaken it, and the Lord will never make peace with <HI>Rome:</HI> this is that &s;piritual <HI>Amalek with whom God will never make peace from Generation to Generation:</HI> there be &s;ome of the enemies of God that &s;hall be converted in the latter daies: and many of tho&s;e Kings the Lamb &s;hall over|come, not by their de&s;truction, but by their conver&s;ion: for he will uphold them afterward, though they had been his enemies: but with <HI>Rome</HI> he will never have peace, but will be a profe&s;&s;ed enemy unto them for ever: the enmity between God and them is like the enmity between <HI>the &s;eed of the woman and of the Serpent,</HI> that &s;hall never be reconciled, never have an end.</P>
<P>Secondly, look upon the cau&s;es of their de&s;tructi|on: and they are mainly four, and all of them will bring eminent de&s;truction with them:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, becau&s;e they corrupted Religion, and that both in doctrine and wor&s;hip: they <HI>have made all the Nations of the earth drunk with the wine of her fornication;</HI> and this they have done <HI>in a golden cup:</HI> they make fair and &s;pe|cious pretences, and call them&s;elves the Church of
<PB N="78" REF="56"> God: <HI>Romae venduntur omnia: nihil tamen agas &s;ine lege &amp; formula &s;ancti&s;simi moris:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Lud. Viv.</NOTE> <HI>Ludov. Vives.</HI> Religion in Doctrine and wor&s;hip is very dear to God, and he will not have it to be corrupted: and therefore he is an utter enemy unto corrupters; but this is <HI>the mother of Har|lots;</HI> and of all the abominations of the earth.</P>
<P>Secondly, becau&s;e <HI>the Kings of the earth have commit|ted fornication with her; Rome</HI> hath been the great cor|rupter of Kings, and of all men that have been eminent in authority; and this is their la&s;t refuge, <HI>Rev.</HI> 16.14. they &s;end forth their <HI>Emi&s;&s;aries</HI> unto the Kings of the Earth, and of the whole world: it is a great influence that they have had upon the authority of the world: Now Kings they &s;tand in the place of God, and <HI>bear his Image</HI> in re&s;pect of government: to have them corru|pted is a great provocation unto God, and a great occa|&s;ion of de&s;truction unto the world.</P>
<P>Thirdly, by rea&s;on of her <HI>merchandize, the merchants of the earth are waxed rich</HI> through her delicacies: what is this merchandize? it cannot be meant of merchandi|zes in a litteral and proper &s;en&s;e: where it is &s;aid, <HI>ver.</HI> 11.12. <HI>the merchants of the earth &s;hall weep and mourn over her,</HI> &amp;c. not that men &s;hall merchandize no more for gold, and pearl, and precious things, which ordinari|ly merchants trade about: the merchandize of them &s;hall not cea&s;e when <HI>Rome</HI> &s;hall be de&s;troyed: for the world &s;hall continue, and trading &s;hall &s;till be. In the 13. ver. we read part of their <HI>merchandize to be the &s;ouls of men:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Brightman</NOTE> <HI>quae nullo modo in propria vocum natura haerere, &s;cimus nos.</HI> It is &s;poken of &s;piritual merchandize, making &s;ale of the things of God, and the Ordinances of God, and the &s;ouls of men for their own gain and advantage: which is unto the Lord a great provocation: <HI>Rome</HI> is another
<PB N="79" REF="56"> <HI>Tyre:</HI> as <HI>Tyre</HI> was the Mart of the earth for temporal things &s;o is this City <HI>nobile emporium rerum &s;pirituali|um,</HI> and men grow great and are advanced by this mer|chandize, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, for her cruelty, <HI>Chap.</HI> 18.24. <HI>in her was found the blood of the Prophets, and of all the Saints that were &s;lain upon the earth;</HI> and God will not &s;uffer the blood of his Sains to lie unrevenged the cry of blood the Lord cannot deny to hear, though it be but the blood of men: but much more the blood of Saints: for <HI>pre|cious in his &s;ight is their blood; he hath a bottle for their tears,</HI> much more will he <HI>make inqui&s;ition for blood:</HI> and if the blood of any one of his Saints be &s;uch a burthen that God cannot bear it at the hands of men; how much more when the blood of all the Saints &s;hall be &s;hed, <HI>the Prophets and Martyrs of Je&s;us?</HI> Specially con&s;idering that their cruelty &s;hall grow, and they &s;hall be mo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e bloody towards their end; for whereas, <HI>the witne&s;&s;es be|fore did but prophe&s;ies in Sack-cloth and a&s;hes:</HI> now they mu&s;t have a time <HI>to be killed,</HI> and that with the greate&s;t cruelty and revenge: they <HI>&s;hall rejoyce over them, and keep their dead bodies upon the earth, and no man &s;hall bury them.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, it is the great de&s;ign that Chri&s;t hath in the latter daies of the world, to de&s;troy this <HI>Bea&s;t; the la&s;t enemy,</HI> Dan. 7. <HI>is the fourth Bea&s;t: and in the fourth Bea&s;t there is a little horn that &s;hall be more &s;ierce then his fellows:</HI> and ver. 11. <HI>before that the words that the horn &s;pake, I be|held till the Bea&s;t was de&s;troyed:</HI> all the Roman power doth peri&s;h in the little horn: in the de&s;truction of Anti|chri&s;t, all the Roman power &s;hall be utterly broken: there were ten horns that did ari&s;e upon the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t, and there was government given them, and power
<PB N="80" REF="57"> &s;ucce&s;&s;ively: but when this little horn &s;hall be de&s;troy|ed: never a horn &s;hall &s;tand up in the place thereof any more; and therefore, <HI>Rev.</HI> 16. we &s;ee <HI>the vials</HI> that are <HI>poured out</HI> are but degrees of wrath upon <HI>Rome</HI> Antichri|&s;tian, and we have &s;een many of them in a very glori|ous and unexpected way already accompli&s;hed, and therefore we have great cau&s;e to tru&s;t Chri&s;t for the effecting of the re&s;t; and he will turn the heart of the <HI>Kings again&s;t them that they &s;hall hate the whore;</HI> they that did &s;upport her, they &s;hall become the greate&s;t in&s;tru|ments to de&s;troy her; as the &s;eals have had their ef|fect upon <HI>Rome</HI> Pagan, and the <HI>Trumpets</HI> upon <HI>Rome</HI> Chri&s;tian, &s;o &s;hall the <HI>vials</HI> upon <HI>Rome</HI> Antichri&s;tian; for this book of the <HI>Revelations</HI> doth mainly concern <HI>Rome:</HI> for there is a double prophe&s;ie; <HI>fata Eccle&s;iae &amp; Imperii:</HI> and they are the two great works Chri&s;t hath in de&s;ign after his a&s;cention.</P>
<P>Fourthly, it &s;hall &s;urely be de&s;troyed, becau&s;e they &s;hall never repent, <HI>Rev.</HI> 16.9,11. <HI>When the vial is pour|ed out upon the world, they were &s;corched with &s;ire;</HI> exceed|ingly enraged, <HI>and they bla&s;phemed the name of God which had power over the&s;e plagues, but they repented not to give glory:</HI> and upon the &s;eat of the Bea&s;t, <HI>they Bla&s;phemed God becau&s;e of their pain, but repented not of their evil deeds;</HI> and the ground of it is, becau&s;e mo&s;t of them generally, they that embrace the Doctrine and wor&s;hip, are reprobates: and the Scripture doth make it a dange|rous &s;ign of reprobation, <HI>Chap.</HI> 13.8.17.8. They that wonder, who are they? &s;uch who&s;e names are not wrote in the Book of life from the foundation of the world: Now if men be under the hand of God in wrath, and one judgement doth make way for another, God will puni&s;h them &s;even times more: &s;urely they mu&s;t be ut|terly
<PB N="81" REF="57"> de&s;troyed at the la&s;t: &s;o it was with <HI>Rome,</HI> one Judgement makes way for another: and one <HI>vial</HI> doth prepare and fit the &s;ubject for another: So that as un|to the Saints one mercy doth but prepare the &s;ubject, and open the door unto another, &s;o al&s;o to ungodly men one judgement makes way for another, and their hearts are hardned unto their own de&s;truction.</P>
<P>Fifthly, it is the expectation of Chri&s;t, and all the Saints, and all their prayers have been poured out this way. Fir&s;t it is the expectation of Chri&s;t, he is <HI>&s;ate down at the right hand of God, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, expecting</HI> the re&s;t, which God hath promi&s;ed him, <HI>that all his enemies &s;hall be made his foot&s;tool;</HI> and Chri&s;ts prayers &s;hall be heard, and his expectation &s;hall not be fru&s;trated, nor made void; and all the Saints have laid up prayers for it, for <HI>Rev.</HI> 16.1. <HI>the vials come out of the Temple:</HI> there is a double voice in this book, <HI>a voice from the throne, quod immediate a deo pro&s;ici&s;citur;</HI> and <HI>out of the Temple, cum precibus &s;anctorum Impetratur,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Brightman</NOTE> <HI>Brightman.</HI> There|fore all the degrees of wrath that <HI>Rome</HI> hath had upon her, hath been from the prayers of the Saints, and not by their Power, and it hath been their expectation long ago, that <HI>Rome</HI> &s;hould be utterly ruined: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Lactantius</NOTE> <HI>Horreo dicere, dicam tamen, quia futurum e&s;t, Romanum nomen de terra amovebitur.</HI></P>
<P>Now God that hath rai&s;ed this expectation in the hearts of his people, and drawn out this &s;upplication, he will not fru&s;trate their expectations, he will fulfill their petitions.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doct. 2.</HEAD>
<P><HI>All the Roman Power &s;hall utterly fall:</HI> they &s;hall be de|&s;troyed with double de&s;truction, <HI>Jer.</HI> 17.18. and the &s;word &s;hall be double upon them, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 21.14. <HI>Babylon is fallen, is fallen:</HI></P>
<PB N="82" REF="58">
<P>Fir&s;t the de&s;truction of <HI>Babylon</HI> as from God, it &s;hall be <HI>pure wrath, without mixture,</HI> Rev. 14.10. <HI>they had a cup of fornication with which they made all Nations to drink;</HI> Now God hath a cup of indignation al&s;o, that which they mu&s;t all drink, and it is poured out without mix|ture; if water be mixed with wine, it breaks the force of the wine, &s;o that it doth not &s;o &s;oon bring a man to drunkenne&s;s as pure wine does: this notes <HI>&s;ummum poenae &s;everitatem,</HI> judgement without mercy. Here the judgements of God that he exe|cutes upon men, have mercy mixed with them; there is a mixture of light with all their darkne&s;s, <HI>non dantur puraetenebrae:</HI> but in Hell there &s;hall be judge|ment without mercy, and fury without compa&s;&s;ion: and truly the judgement that &s;hall come upon <HI>Rome</HI> &s;hall have a great re&s;emblance of the Torments of Hell with it: and therefore their judgement is very ter|rible.</P>
<P>Secondly, it &s;hall be an utter de&s;truction, which &s;hall be the more Tormenting becau&s;e it &s;hall be in the height of their hopes, <HI>Rev.</HI> 18.7. <HI>when &s;he &s;hall &s;ay, I &s;et as a Queen, and am no widd<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">w, and &s;hall &s;ee no &s;orrow:</HI> the thoughts of <HI>Babylon</HI> have been and &s;till are high, and are eminently confident of victories and &s;ucce&s;&s;es, and yet ver. 8. <HI>her plagues come in one day,</HI> as <HI>Sodoms</HI> with fire and brim&s;tone, <HI>Rev.</HI> 14.10. <HI>they &s;hall be tormented with fire and brim&s;tone;</HI> God will as it were rain Hell out of Heaven upon them: he hath fire and brim&s;tone for this &s;piritual <HI>Sodom,</HI> that they &s;hall not know it till it comes upon them: when they think them&s;elves &s;afe, then &s;hall judgement come, and <HI>Babylon</HI> &s;hall fall into the Sea like a mill-&s;tone &s;uddenly and irrecoverably.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the judgement &s;hall come upon all parties,
<PB N="83" REF="58"> and upon all degrees and conditions of men that joyn with them; all tho&s;e that do partake of their &s;ins, &s;hall have a &s;hare of the plagues: there is <HI>a vial upon the earth,</HI> that is upon the common people.</P>
<P>Secondly upon the Sea al&s;o there is a vial, the juri&s;di|ction of <HI>Rome.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>upon the rivers,</HI> their mini&s;ters and In&s;tru|ments that advance this authority, all the mini&s;terie of <HI>Rome</HI> that carry abroad this power over the world.</P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>upon the Sun,</HI> all Princes and Magi&s;trates, and <HI>all</HI> powers &s;o far as they hold of <HI>Rome.</HI></P>
<P>Fifthly, there will be a vial al&s;o upon <HI>Rome</HI> it &s;elf, <HI>the throne of the Bea&s;t;</HI> in the Lords time, all this will be ac|compli&s;hed, and the day ha&s;tens apace, and there is no degree from the highe&s;t to the lowe&s;t that &s;hall e&s;cape: no place &s;hall protect a man; for the vial is poured out by the Lord, and there is no e&s;caping.</P>
<P>Fourthly, there is an utter de&s;olation de&s;cribed; it <HI>&s;hall become an habitationfor Devils,</HI> which love to be in &s;olitary and de&s;olate places, and it &s;hall be <HI>a cage for every un|clean and hateful bird;</HI> as <HI>Sodom</HI> was, it &s;hall be a monu|ment of wrath unto all the world, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 13.19,20. <HI>Rev.</HI> 18.22,23. <HI>The voice of Harpers and Trumpeters &s;hall be heard no more in thee,</HI> &amp;c. and <HI>the light of a candle &s;hall &s;hine no more at all in thee,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Fifthly, God will &s;tir up the In&s;truments of venge|ance to do their utmo&s;t to de&s;troy them; as he had before put it in the hearts of the 10. Kings to &s;et her up: &s;o &s;hal he al&s;o put it into their hearts to ca&s;t her down, <HI>they &s;hall make her de&s;olate and naked, and eat her fle&s;h, and burn her with fire,</HI> Rev. 17.16. and Rev. 18.6. <HI>reward her as &s;he rewarded you,</HI> double upon her double: and if the Lord put a principle of vengeance into the hearts of men, and
<PB N="84" REF="59"> command them to do it, &s;urely the de&s;truction may be exceeding fearful, when the Lord does bid and com|mand men to be cruel.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, it &s;hall make way for their eternal de&s;truction. For a man to undergo Temporal afflictions, though they be grievous, yet it were not &s;o much, &s;o <HI>his &s;oul might be &s;aved in the day of the Lord:</HI> but when <HI>death goes before, and Hell follows after,</HI> this is the greate&s;t mi&s;ery: Now this is the condition of all that <HI>follow the Bea&s;t, and re|ceive his mark, who&s;e names are not written in the Book of the Lamb;</HI> and therefore <HI>Rev.</HI> 19.20. <HI>the Bea&s;t was ta|ken and the fal&s;e Prophet, and they were ca&s;t alive into a Lake that did burn with fire and brim&s;tone:</HI> Truly then it is terrible when judgements do make way for a mans everla&s;ting de&s;truction, and eternal ruine.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doct. 3.</HEAD>
<P><HI>The de&s;truction of</HI> Rome, <HI>and every degree of it, the Saints of God do look upon as matter of joy and triumph:</HI> the righteous &s;hall be glad when he &s;ees the vengeance that &s;hall come upon <HI>Rome,</HI> and &s;hall with a holy &s;corn &s;ay, as they do upon the fall of litteral <HI>Babylon, I&s;a.</HI> 14. <HI>How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, &s;on of the morning:</HI> Rev. 19.1. <HI>There is a voice of much people in Heaven:</HI> Heaven that is put for the Church, <HI>&s;aying, Amen Hallelujah, becau&s;e the Lord had judged the great whore,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>But, what is there in their de&s;truction that is &s;uch matter of joy? to hear of the &s;hedding of blood, and the de&s;truction of many thou&s;ands, and tho&s;e many of them poor &s;ouls very unfit to dye? to &s;ee them <HI>in gar|ments rouled in blood,</HI> is this matter of joy? a man would rather think you &s;hould rather &s;it down and &s;igh, to the breaking of your loins. There are many things in it matter of joy and triumph unto the Saints; as fir&s;t they rejoyce in the Judgements of God, <HI>Rev.</HI> 19 2. <HI>True and
<PB N="85" REF="59"> righteous are thy judgements; for thou ha&s;t judged the great whore;</HI> they do ta&s;te a &s;weetne&s;s even in the judgements of God, as <HI>Ezek.</HI> 3.1. <HI>it was in my belly as honey;</HI> even that roll which contained nothing but bitter lamenta|tions, yet it was very &s;weet to him: the Saints love to &s;ee Chri&s;t <HI>with his &s;word girt upon his thigh: and cloathed with a ve&s;ture dipt in blood, and treading the wine-pre&s;s alone,</HI> travelling <HI>in the greatne&s;s of his &s;trength, I&s;a.</HI> 63.1,2.</P>
<P>Secondly, becau&s;e God hath appeared for the Chur|ches cau&s;e, and hath owned their quarrel, and <HI>hath aven|ged the blood of his &s;ervants</HI> at their hands, <HI>Rev.</HI> 19.2. when God doth appear for them, and doth not leave them unto the will of their enemies, but <HI>doth awake as a Giant</HI> in the behalf of his people, this hath alwaies occa&s;ioned &s;ongs and rejoycing in his people; <HI>the Lord hath triumphed gloriou&s;ly over the hor&s;e &amp; his rider, Exo.</HI> 15. not that they do triumph meerly upon the account of their own &s;afety: but they triumph becau&s;e God hath triumphed over his enemies: el&s;e to &s;ee &s;o many drown|ed in the mercyle&s;s grave, who would not have pittyed them?</P>
<P>Thirdly, of all the Churches enemies that ever were, this is the cruele&s;t enemy; <HI>the fourth bea&s;t</HI> is wor&s;e then any of the former; and in the fourth bea&s;t <HI>the little horn was more fierce then his fellows;</HI> they have been alwaies drunk with blood, and their endeavour <HI>was to weare out the Saints of the mo&s;t High.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, it &s;hall be the la&s;t enemy; for as &s;oon as they &s;hall be de&s;troyed, the <HI>&s;eventh Trumpet &s;ounds, and then &s;hall the my&s;tery of God be fini&s;hed:</HI> it hath been an enemy to the Church of longe&s;t continuance of any: their oppre&s;&s;ions have lain longe&s;t upon the Church
<PB N="86" REF="60"> of God; and the longer a burthen doth lie and hath been complained of, the greater mercy you would count it to have it taken off: if to be 430. years in <HI>Egypt,</HI> and 70. years in <HI>Babylon,</HI> be a long time for the people of God to indure: yet this is a bondage that la&s;ts 1260. daies in the greate&s;t tyranny and rage that can be: they <HI>Tread down the Temple,</HI> Rev. 11.1,2.</P>
<P>Fifthly, when this enemy &s;hall be de&s;troyed, the cup of her fornication &s;hall be removed, by which the men of the earth, but &s;pecially the <HI>Kings of the earth</HI> have been made drunken, <HI>Rev.</HI> 18.11. Now there is no man &s;hall be their merchants more: they had Chap-men abun|dantly before, but now there &s;hall be a dealing in that trade no more: the &s;ame God that did ca&s;t out Satan in the Pagan way of Idolatry, will al&s;o ca&s;t out Satan in the Antichri&s;tian way of Idolatry: but <HI>they &s;hall not de|ceive the earth</HI> by &s;uch &s;orceries <HI>any more:</HI> for there is by this means <HI>a cloud that hath filled the hou&s;e, and no man could enter into the Temple,</HI> Rev. 15.8. there was no con&s;i|derable number of menconverted, there was &s;uch a dark|ne&s;s and a &s;moake upon the ordinances of God and all his di&s;pen&s;ations: but all &s;hall be removed.</P>
<P>Sixthly, La&s;tly from the glorious fruit and con&s;e|quences that &s;hall follow upon the de&s;truction of Anti|chri&s;t, the people of God will have great cau&s;e to re|joyce and prai&s;e God: Ile name only the&s;e four.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t <HI>then the Kingdoms of the world &s;hall become the Kingdom of the Lord and of his Chri&s;t, Rev.</HI> 11.15. there &s;hall be multitudes converted unto the Lord.</P>
<P>Secondly it &s;hall be the inlet of all the promi&s;es: now Chri&s;t &s;hall be called, <HI>the word of God:</HI> he was &s;o before, but now he is called &s;o for the accompli&s;hment of it:
<PB N="87" REF="60"> as <HI>Exod.</HI> 3.6. <HI>by the name Jehovah God was not known unto them.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, then all per&s;ecutions &s;hall cea&s;e, <HI>Rev.</HI> 20. <HI>Satan &s;hall be bound,</HI> &s;o that he &s;hall not &s;tir up the world to the per&s;ecution of the Saints, as he had done in times pa&s;t.</P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>New Jeru&s;alm &s;hall come down from God out of Heaven;</HI> there &s;hall be that glory of the Church that <HI>the Kingdom and dominion under the whole Heavens &s;hall be given up to it, and they &s;hall po&s;&s;e&s;s it for ever and ever,</HI> Dan. 7. <HI>the mountain of the Lords hou&s;e &s;hall be exalted on the top of the mountains;</HI> there is a triumphant &s;tate of the Church that is yet to come in this life: when all the glory of the world &s;hall be brought unto the Church and people of God.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>Seeing God hath in a degree accompli&s;hed this in this late mercy, do you rejoyce with Triumph, and &s;ay <HI>great Babylon is fallen;</HI> for they are &s;ome of the mo&s;t blind and Je&s;uited Papi&s;ts in the world, and tho&s;e that profe&s;s o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">herwi&s;e, yet they do enter upon the Popi&s;h intere&s;t, and engage in the &s;ame quarrel with them; and take heed you be not deceived with vain words; we &s;ee how not only this, but the neighbor Nations do declare again&s;t them that &s;eek to promote that cau&s;e of tyrannie and oppre&s;&s;ion which you have hitherto fought again&s;t: let not your di&s;contents carry you to the quite contrary point of the compa&s;s: and your zeal again&s;t &s;ects and here&s;ies, make you to &s;uccor their prophane&s;s, and to enter upon their intere&s;t, and thereby to de&s;troy that which you have endeavoured to build, and to pluck down with your own hands, that which you have &s;o much with your pur&s;es and prayers laboured to &s;et up. Ile only &s;peak briefly to the&s;e five particulars, to
<PB N="88" REF="61"> quicken you in this duty of prai&s;ing God.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t it is a command that God doth give to all his Saints to rejoyce at <HI>Babylons</HI> downfal, <HI>Rev.</HI> 18.20. <HI>re|joyce over her thou heaven; univer&s;a &s;anctorum multitudo,</HI> all the <HI>Saints,</HI> but &s;pecially the <HI>Prophets</HI> and the <HI>Apo&s;tles,</HI> the &s;aithful Preachers of the word of God, let not them be la&s;t in their joy and prai&s;es, that had the great hand and were fir&s;t in praying for it: it is your duty, and it lies as a command upon you, and if you make con|&s;cience of other commands, do not for fancies di&s;pence with this.</P>
<P>Secondly, they be <HI>Romes merchants</HI> only that be &s;ad at it; let them &s;ay, <HI>Rev.</HI> 18.10. <HI>Alas alas that great City</HI> Babylon, <HI>that mighty City:</HI> this doth not befit the Sons of Zion, but the <HI>merchants of Babylon;</HI> and truly let me tell you, a <HI>man may receive the mark of the bea&s;t in his right hand,</HI> and may &s;trongly promote the Popi&s;h inte|re&s;t, that doth never wear<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">t by profe&s;&s;ion in his fore|head.</P>
<P>Thirdly, if <HI>Babylon</HI> &s;hall fall, <HI>then come out of her my people, &s;aith your God:</HI> when <HI>Rome</HI> doth fall, now is the time to preach that Doctrine: there may be many of the Elect of God that may <HI>delite&s;cere,</HI> and be en&s;na|red by <HI>Rome</HI> &s;ome way or other, that do not wholly fol|low the Bea&s;t, and <HI>receive his Image:</HI> but how ever now God goes forth in Judgement, <HI>come out of her:</HI> let me exhort you in the name of the Lord, do not cleave to <HI>Rome:</HI> now <HI>you will &s;urely partake in her plagues, if you do joyn with her in her &s;ins:</HI> and if you take part with her now, you come in at the wor&s;t time when it is falling, when Popery is falling: now ye that have been again&s;t it, prayed again&s;t it, fought again&s;t it, and now by a wile to be brought into it to &s;upport it, when it is falling,
<PB N="89" REF="61"> now its Judgement is at hand, it is the greate&s;t vanity that can be.</P>
<P>Fourthly: then a man were better with patience &s;uf|fer with <HI>Sion,</HI> and the Churches party a while: rather then joyn with the Romi&s;h partie and be ruined with them in his end, <HI>Rev.</HI> 14.12. <HI>here is the patience of the Saints;</HI> ye &s;hall &s;uffer a while and be trodden down by them, and you mu&s;t &s;tay for the full accompli&s;hment of this promi&s;e for your deliverance; <HI>but I will &s;urely come and will recompence all your patience;</HI> and therefore be nor di&s;couraged and faint in your minds, let not your hearts turn back unto <HI>Egypt,</HI> and hanker after <HI>Rome,</HI> and tho&s;e <HI>remnants of Baal,</HI> which God will &s;urely de|&s;troy.</P>
<P>Fifthly, how abundant &s;hould you be now in prayer for the&s;e two rea&s;ons?</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, becau&s;e the time draws neer, now your prayers &s;hall not be long unan&s;wered, <HI>Dan.</HI> 2.19. and ye &s;hall be &s;ure of a gracious an&s;wer.</P>
<P>Secondly, the Lord doth let you &s;ee, that he hath be|gun the work; now follow him: the Promi&s;es do begin to <HI>bring forth,</HI> let us not be wanting to a&s;&s;i&s;t them in the <HI>birth:</HI> if ever you would pray, do it now, when God is doing the mercy: and you may expect a pre&s;ent return: the Judgements of God upon his enemies and yours do invite your prayers.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, beg of God for your Governors, that they may never comply with Rome: which hath brought &s;o great mi&s;eries upon all Chri&s;tian Princes and e&s;tates, complying with Rome upon Politick re&s;pects, thoug not upon Religious: O let us abhorr it, and de&s;ire God to keep their hearts from it: for Rome &s;hall peri&s;h <HI>Babylon &s;hall fall;</HI> and truly there is no partie be the
<PB N="90" REF="62"> what they will be, and let his re&s;pect be what it will, that do comply with them, but they will fall with them; for they are the people of Gods cur&s;e, with whom God will never make peace, and therefore neither &s;hould we: Queen <HI>Elizabeths</HI> Motto was, <HI>No peace with Spain:</HI> So I &s;ay, <HI>No peace with Rome:</HI> and truly that is the way to have peace among&s;t your &s;elves, and to have your work carried on &s;trongly, when you do firmly <HI>&s;tand with the Lamb upon mount Sion;</HI> and be not &s;haken &s;ometimes this way and &s;ometimes that way: &s;avouring this way, and then another, as it &s;erves our Politick ends: <HI>God is with you while&s;t you be with him;</HI> and if you be through for him he will be &s;o for you; if you be not, the Lord will &s;urely leave you to peri&s;h by that hand with whom you &s;infully comply: as the people of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> did when they complyed with <HI>A&s;&s;yria:</HI> if they will go to King <HI>Jareb,</HI> or go to <HI>Egypt</HI> for help they &s;hall &s;urely by the &s;ame hand peri&s;h, and the Judgement came upon them from their helpers in the end.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="91" REF="62">
<HEAD>Go&s;pel Order, A CHURCHES Beauty.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>Preached when Mr. <HI>Strong</HI> was cho&s;en Pa&s;tor, <DATE><HI>Dec.</HI> 9. 1650.</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>Col. 2.5.</BIBL>
<P>For though I be ab&s;ent in the fle&s;h, yet am I with you in the &s;pirit, joying and beholding your order, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>_CAlvin</HI> upon this place &s;aith, that the Chur|ches perfection doth &s;tand in the&s;e two things, in their faith, and in their order: and indeed all things that are nece&s;&s;ary to its glory, that it may be <HI>pre&s;ented without &s;pot to God,</HI> are to
<PB N="92" REF="63"> be reduced to the&s;e heads: It is <HI>your perfection that I</HI> earne&s;tly <HI>de&s;ire,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.9. Therefore I &s;hall endea|vour to in&s;truct you in both the&s;e: that you may be led on to perfection by it. As for matters of faith, it hath been the con&s;tant cour&s;e of my mini&s;terie among&s;t you; Now I &s;hall &s;peak &s;omething to matters of order; that &s;o there may be no part of the councel of God that con|cerns your duty hid from you.</P>
<P>Now the order of a <HI>Church</HI> doth con&s;i&s;t in three things: and &s;o I find the word <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> u&s;ed in the Scripture. Fir&s;t it is put for the holy and orderly walking of every particular member, when they do all walk by rule, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.14. <HI>Warn them that are unruly, di&s;orderly,</HI> 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 3.6. <HI>Withdraw from every brother that walks di&s;|orderly:</HI> (that is) that doth not walk with a right foot towards the Go&s;pel: who&s;e <HI>conver&s;ation is not holy as becomes the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t:</HI> and &s;o order belongs unto mens conver&s;ion.</P>
<P>Secondly, it is put for the right admini&s;tration of all the Ordinances of God, according to the rules and In|&s;titutions of God, <HI>Heb.</HI> 1.5,6. <HI>The order of Melchizedeck,</HI> is nothing el&s;e but the In&s;titutions, or pre&s;cribed rules given unto <HI>Melchizedeck;</HI> and the <HI>order of Aaron,</HI> are the rules pre&s;cribed by God for the Prie&s;thood of <HI>Aaron:</HI> and &s;o <HI>Bezaon Hebrews,</HI> cap. 7.15. makes the word <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> and <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, to be all one: and &s;o we u&s;e it, 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 15.13. <HI>We &s;ought him not after the due order:</HI> that is, according to the rule, and to the in&s;titutions of God: &s;o that when all ordinances are admini&s;tred accor|ding to the Lords In&s;titution, that is <HI>the order of the Church;</HI> for then the order of God is ob&s;erved.</P>
<P>Thirdly, it notes the due &s;ubordination that is ap|pointed by Chri&s;t to be ob&s;erved in the Church: for
<PB N="93" REF="63"> that al&s;o <HI>is order,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.23. <HI>All &s;hall ari&s;e, but every man in his own order: Fir&s;t Chri&s;t, and then they that are Chri&s;ts</HI> at his coming: and &s;o order is oppo&s;ed to confu&s;ion, when no man knows nor keeps his own place and &s;tation in the body: When they that rule, keep their place, and they that are to be ruled keep their place: and they do it with &s;ubjection to Chri&s;t, as be|ing concluded under the Power of an In&s;titution, that is properly <HI>order:</HI> for the word <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, is military, and ta|ken from the order of an Armie: Now there are three things that make an orderly army.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that every &s;ouldier walks hone&s;tly, and doth not oppre&s;s and run out of their rank.</P>
<P>Secondly, that the Governors and Commanders do keep their places and do their duty in them.</P>
<P>Thirdly, that all that is to be done, be done accord|ing unto the rule of the Commanders; and by their the Souldiers do nothing of them&s;elves, and by their own appointments; and this is properly the order of an Armie: when every one doth keep his own rank, doth his own duty, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;hould <HI>&s;peak of</HI> the orderly admini&s;tring of ordi|nances. Secondly, the orderly walking of members: Thirdly, the orderly carriage that &s;hould be between officers, and members: each of them keeping their place, and unto each other performing the duty of their relation: and it is this la&s;t on which I &s;hall &s;peak of at this time.</P>
<P>You are met here at this time for the election of a <HI>Pa&s;tor;</HI> for no man is to take upon him&s;elf an office in the Church, but one that is &s;et apart by God thereunto: and the way by which God doth &s;et men apart for this office, is, by the election of the people: who&s;e power
<PB N="94" REF="64"> or who&s;e priviledge it is to choo&s;e their own officers that &s;hall be over them: as appears in that in&s;tance of the Deacons the lowe&s;t officers, <HI>Acts</HI> 6.5. they <HI>chu&s;e</HI> them, and the <HI>Apo&s;tles ordain them</HI> unto the office; and when the people chu&s;e tho&s;e per&s;ons that are qualified according unto the rules pre&s;cribed in the word, then they may conclude the&s;e are the <HI>officers that God hath &s;o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> over us:</HI> and <HI>the Holy-Gho&s;t hath made us over &s;eers,</HI> and the officers are to take it as a call from God, unto the employment: and being cho&s;en, it is not to be looked upon as a humane, but as a divine in&s;titution, and he that is cho&s;en is to be looked upon as an officer unto Chri&s;t: and to have his power from Chri&s;t, according to the rules of the word, over that people: It is ne|ce&s;&s;ary therefore in &s;o weighty a bu&s;ine&s;s, that you &s;hould know the grounds upon which you go: and what the office is unto which you are now to elect a per|&s;on: and what the <HI>Order</HI> is which the Lord hath &s;et down to be ob&s;erved between the <HI>Pa&s;tor</HI> and the <HI>people:</HI> that &s;o you may know what to expect from him in way of duty: and what he in a way of duty is to expect from you; that &s;o the <HI>order</HI> of God between both may be ob&s;erved.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, what is the office of a Pa&s;tor? The office of a Pa&s;tor is an In&s;titution of Chri&s;t: all that rule in the Church do rule under Chri&s;t, and therefore they mu&s;t have their office from him; it is not for men to make a new officer in the Church any more then it is for them to make new ordinances in the Church; as all offices in a State are appointed by the &s;upreme power, and there is no man is to take an office upon him that they do not authorize: &s;o al&s;o it is with the Church, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.28. <HI>he hath &s;et over them in the Church. Eph.</HI> 4.11. <HI>he gave
<PB N="95" REF="64"> gifts to men:</HI> that is, the office, and the gifts that did qualifie for the office: officers that are &s;et in the Church are of two &s;orts: &s;ome temporary, as <HI>Apo&s;iles, Pro|phets</HI> and <HI>Evangeli&s;ts:</HI> and their gifts were but for a time: the gifts did cea&s;e with the office: but there are &s;ome officers that are &s;tanding, and are to continue in the Church until the end of the world: for there is <HI>a work of the mini&s;tery</HI> that mu&s;t continue <HI>till we all come to the unity of the faith, for the gathering and the perfecting of the Saints;</HI> till we all come to the unity of the faith: that is, till all the Saints of God that are &s;cattered abroad all the world over, be gathered together to the unity of the faith: that is, if they be converted, and do all believe: For there is but one faith which all the Elect of God mu&s;t have, and till that be begun and their &s;anctification be perfected, till they all do become <HI>a per|fect man,</HI> and attain <HI>to the fulne&s;s of the &s;tature of Chri&s;t,</HI> that he hath him&s;elf appointed them in this life to at|tain to before they be tran&s;lated to glory; therefore &s;uch officers in the Church Chri&s;t hath in&s;tituted, and and he will continue them till the end of the world: &s;o long as there are any Saints to be gathered, or graces in them to be perfected.</P>
<P>Secondly, the election of a <HI>Pa&s;tor</HI> is the priviledge of the people; and in that the will of Chri&s;t is made ma|nife&s;t, and the call of Chri&s;t is to both the per&s;on cho|&s;en, and the people: its given them by Chri&s;t, and they are thankfully to accept it, and carefully to improve it, and pre&s;erve it, and not &s;uffer them to be taken from them; the Saints of God are to look upon priviledges to be &s;aved as well as promi&s;es, and they mu&s;t not part with any of them.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the <HI>Apo&s;tles, Acts</HI> 6.5. that had the highe&s;t
<PB N="96" REF="65"> authority under Chri&s;t, yet they did not take upon them to impo&s;e any officers upon the Churches, but <HI>they mu&s;t look them out,</HI> and <HI>they mu&s;t choo&s;e them,</HI> then the Apo&s;tles will ordain them; and &s;urely they that would not impo&s;e a <HI>Deacon,</HI> which is the meane&s;t officer, they will not impo&s;e any higher officer: and it is the rule that the Apo&s;tle gives, 1 <HI>Tim</HI> 3.10. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, they mu&s;t be <HI>proved</HI> fir&s;t: and al&s;o approved by the people: for the word &s;ignifies both to try a thing, and upon tryal to approve it.</P>
<P>Secondly, the ordering all things in a Church &s;tate doth plainly argue it: for every thing there is done by mutual con&s;ent; and there can be no union in the <HI>body,</HI> but by their own con&s;ent; for as con&s;ent doth unite us unto Chri&s;t, &s;o it doth al&s;o among&s;t our &s;elves: for in all things, as it is in the Church invi&s;ible, faith and ho|line&s;s in Truth makes a man a member of the Church invi&s;ible; &s;o the profe&s;&s;ion of that faith and holine&s;s makes a man a member of the vi&s;ible Church: con&s;ent of the heart makes a man a member of the Church in|vi&s;ible; and this con&s;ent profe&s;&s;ed makes a man a mem|ber of the Church vi&s;ible: and as it is between the members, &s;o al&s;o it is between members and officers: for all power is of three &s;orts: either it is natural, or voluntary, or tyrannical: now all Church power can|not be natural; and it mu&s;t not be tyrannical; therefore it mu&s;t be voluntary, and by the con&s;ent of parties; 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.12. <HI>Do not ye Judge tho&s;e that are within, &s;ays the Apo&s;tle?</HI> therefore they that were within came un|der this power of judgement, becau&s;e they had given con&s;ent unto that power to live under it, and to be ruled by it: whereas they that were without, and did not con|&s;ent to it, they were not &s;ubject to it, or bound by it.</P>
<PB N="97" REF="65">
<P>Thirdly, from this election of the people, there doth ari&s;e a voluntary relation between the Pa&s;tor and the people, <HI>Acts</HI> 20.28. <HI>The Elders of Ephe&s;us came to</HI> Paul, <HI>and he commands them to take heed unto them&s;elves, and to all the flock over which the holy Gho&s;t hath made you over|&s;eers:</HI> and <HI>Col.</HI> 4.12. it is &s;aid of <HI>Epaphras,</HI> that <HI>he is one of you:</HI> for he was Pa&s;tor of the Church of <HI>Colo&s;&s;.</HI> and &s;o, <HI>the Angels of the &s;even Churches:</HI> there were &s;ome general officers over all the Churches as the <HI>Apo&s;tles</HI> were, and &s;o were <HI>Evangeli&s;ts,</HI> and tho&s;e that planted Churches: but there are particular Church-officers that have a relation to &s;uch a people by vertue of their election, and their own acceptation: and they &s;tand in the relation of an officer unto that people only, and un|to none other; &s;o that though by vertue of their com|mi&s;&s;ion from Chri&s;t they preach as the mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel unto any people; yet by vertue of the election of the people they have the relation of <HI>Pa&s;tors</HI> to none but tho&s;e that cho&s;e them &s;o to be.</P>
<P>Fourthly, the office of a Pa&s;tor is to be reduced to two heads: Fir&s;t the duties that he doth owe to the peo|ple. Secondly, the di&s;po&s;itions with which tho&s;e duties are to be performed.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t the duties that he doth owe to the people, and which he is by vertue of his calling bound to perform; and the&s;e duties are,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t he is bound to in&s;truct them: <HI>Chri&s;t is the great Shephard of the Sheep;</HI> they are but Shepherds under him: <HI>Chri&s;t feeds the flock,</HI> and &s;o they mu&s;t do: <HI>Jer.</HI> 3.15. the promi&s;e is, <HI>I will give them Pa&s;tors after my own heart, that &s;hall feed them with knowledge and under&s;tand|ing:</HI> therefore, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.2. <HI>He that is a Pa&s;tor, he mu&s;t be able and apt to teach:</HI> he that is not able to feed a peo|ple
<PB N="98" REF="66"> with knowledge and under&s;tanding, he is not quali|fied for this office; feeding you know is a con&s;tant and a daily thing; he mu&s;t &s;upply them with new food from day to day, <HI>bring out of his Trea&s;ury things new and old,</HI> Mat. 13.52.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t he mu&s;t be one that hath a <HI>Trea&s;urie,</HI> a &s;tock to &s;pend upon, that will not be &s;pent or drawn dry. Se|condly he mu&s;t have all &s;orts of knowledge, <HI>things new and old:</HI> what ever may be either profitable, or taking to the people, he mu&s;t be furni&s;hed with: it is an allu|&s;ion, <HI>Par.</HI> ob&s;erves of new and old wine: &s;ome are taken with old wine, and &s;ome de&s;ire new; and &s;ome &s;ay, Give us both new and old: that is the knowledge of the Law, and of the Go&s;pel; or el&s;e it may be their meaning in new notions, and old experiences, and he mu&s;t bring them forth al&s;o for the people (&s;ilk worm|like) weave it out of them&s;elves continually.</P>
<P>And the Pa&s;tors duty in point of teaching is reduced to three heads.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, it is the duty of the Pa&s;tor to catechize them, and in&s;truct them in <HI>principles,</HI> in <HI>the foundations of the Doctrine of Chri&s;t; they that are unskilful in the word of righteou&s;ne&s;s mu&s;t have milk,</HI> Heb. 5.13. and &s;o the Pa|&s;tors office is &s;et forth, <HI>Gal.</HI> 6.6. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> and <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>he that is catechized in the word:</HI> and &s;o he is to take care of the weak ones in the Church, and of the children of the Church-members, that they be in&s;tructed al|&s;o.</P>
<P><Q REND="inline">Secondly, he is to <HI>lead them to perfection: Heb.</HI> 6.1. for their care mu&s;t <HI>be to build them up</HI> further, <HI>Acts</HI> 20.32. not that they &s;hould &s;tand at a &s;tay in knowledge, but <HI>grow in knowledge,</HI> that <HI>the whole conn&s;el of God</HI> may be known to them, and the <HI>word of God may dwell richly
<PB N="99" REF="66"> in them;</HI> their knowledge prai&s;ed, and thereby their graces improved; for the Pa&s;tors are debters unto <HI>men for meat, as well as unto babes for milk.</HI></Q></P>
<P>Thirdly, they are to <HI>convince the gain-&s;ayers, Tit.</HI> 1.9. that if there be corrupt tenents, and wicked Doctrines vented, the Pa&s;tor &s;hould take care to &s;trengthen, and &s;tabli&s;h the people again&s;t them, <HI>that they may not be as children carried away with every wind of Doctrine,</HI> Eph. 4.14. <HI>For it is while&s;t men &s;lept,</HI> through the carele&s;ne&s;s and negligence of the Pa&s;tors it is, that <HI>the enemies</HI> have &s;uch power and opportunity of <HI>&s;owing tares,</HI> as they have, <HI>Acts</HI> 20.30. <HI>he bids them watch again&s;t the Wolves.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, he is to pray for the people, <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.9. <HI>God is my witne&s;s, that I make mention of you alwaies in my prayers: Col.</HI> 1.3. <HI>praying alwaies for you:</HI> and in this, though <HI>Paul</HI> was an extraordinary officer; yet he is a &s;tandard and an example for our duty; we are to pray for the people; and to do all that doth belong to them to do for the Church; and here con&s;ider three things.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, they are to acquaint them&s;elves with the &s;tate of the flocks, that &s;o they may know their particular nece&s;sities and wants, that they may go to God for them for &s;utable &s;upplies: he that is a Shepherd, mu&s;t know the &s;tate of his flock.</P>
<P>Secondly, they are to pray for them not only <HI>ex charitate ut fratres,</HI> but, <HI>ex officio:</HI> the brethren are to pray for one another as brethren, it is their duty; but the Pa&s;tors they are to do it as men in office, and as tho&s;e that God hath appointed, and hath in&s;tituted unto that work: and therefore they may expect to be an&s;wered for them, in what ever petition they put up to God:
<PB N="100" REF="67"> they may look for a gracious return of their prayers; as we &s;ee under the Law it was enjoyned, <HI>Joel</HI> 2.17. <HI>Let the Prie&s;ts, the Mini&s;ters of the Lord weep between the Porch and the Altar, and let them &s;ay, Spare thy people O Lord,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Thirdly, they mu&s;t pray for particular per&s;ons ac|cording to their nece&s;&s;ities, and engage their intere&s;t unto God for them: <HI>James</HI> 5. <HI>Is any &s;ick among&s;t you? let them call for the Elders of the Church, and let them pray,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Labouring</HI> to keep the Judgement off from the body of any particular member of it; if any man be &s;ick, the <HI>Elders of the Church may pray over him, and they &s;hall &s;ave the &s;ick,</HI> and labour to attain the pardon of the &s;ins that occa&s;ioned the &s;ickne&s;s, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, he mu&s;t watch over them, <HI>Act.</HI> 20.28. <HI>Take heed of all the flock;</HI> not in a carele&s;s and a formal man|ner; for the <HI>Lord &s;ays, Son of man, I have made thee a VVatch-man, and thou &s;halt watch over this people,</HI> Ezech. <HI>For I will require their blood at thy hands;</HI> But how mu&s;t he watch over them? Fir&s;t he mu&s;t ob&s;erve diligently that they be not corrupted in Doctrine, and <HI>he mu&s;t contend carne&s;tly for the faith,</HI> that they be not turned away from the Truths of the Go&s;pel. Secondly, he mu&s;t watch over them that they be not defiled in their conver&s;ations, that there do no root of bitterne&s;s &s;pring up among&s;t them, that he neither <HI>&s;uffer</HI> the <HI>Do|ctrine of the Nicolaitans,</HI> or <HI>the woman Jezebel:</HI> one by Doctrine, and the other by practi&s;e, to corrupt the Church.</P>
<P>Thirdly, he is to ob&s;erve and watch that their graces do not decay: and that they do not <HI>fall from their fir&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">ve;</HI> but he is to quicken them in duty, and &s;tir them <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> from day to day, <HI>Eccl.</HI> 12.11. <HI>He is to fa&s;ten the
<PB N="101" REF="67"> goads and nails given by one Shepherd.</HI> Fourthly, if any be &s;ick he is to vi&s;it them; the <HI>Elders of the Church are to be &s;ent to them.</HI> Fifthly, if any of them be offended, or mi&s;-led he is to labour to reduce them; <HI>the wandering &s;heep he is to bring home upon his &s;houlders;</HI> if any be go|ing a&s;tray, he &s;hall &s;eek that &s;heep and bring him back again to the fold. Sixthly, if any be weak he is to com|fort them; <HI>he is to bear the Lambs in his bo&s;om,</HI> to mourn with them, and have compa&s;&s;ion over them: and this he is to do not only for &s;ome of the great ones, but he is to do it impartially over all the flock: For God makes no difference in re&s;pect of any mans title, or place, but he that hath the be&s;t heart, is the be&s;t man in Gods ac|count, and in Church members tho&s;e &s;hould be e&s;teem|ed by us, that have the greate&s;t graces, not the greate&s;t places.</P>
<P>Fourthly, it is the Pa&s;tors duty, if any man in the Church <HI>walk di&s;orderly or inordinately,</HI> he is to mourn for them, <HI>Jer.</HI> 13.17. <HI>My &s;oul &s;hall weep in &s;ecret for your pride:</HI> and <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.18. <HI>Now I tell you weeping,</HI> &amp;c. Their mi&s;carriage &s;hould be to him as the errors of a child unto a tender Father; he &s;hould bewail them with bitterne&s;s; to con&s;ider how they thereby go about to de&s;troy them&s;elves, &s;hould exceedingly affect the Pa&s;tor; as Chri&s;t when <HI>he beheld Ieru&s;alems &s;ins he wept over it;</HI> and many times there is nothing left for a mini&s;ter to do for a per&s;on but to &s;hed tears.</P>
<P>Secondly, he is to <HI>admoni&s;h them,</HI> and that authori|tatively, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.12. <HI>Know them which labour among&s;t you, and are over you, and admoni&s;h you in the Lord</HI> (that is) by vertue of the authority that is commited unto me by Chri&s;t, I do admoni&s;h you in the Lord: and this is to do a thing in <HI>the name of the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.4.
<PB N="102" REF="68"> <HI>Yea reprove them &s;harply:</HI> and &s;o <HI>Paul</HI> doth propo&s;e it unto the <HI>Corinthians, Whither he &s;hould come to them with the rod or in the &s;pirit of meckne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, if nothing el&s;e will do, they mu&s;t toge|ther with the Church, in which they are, have the main hand, they are to &s;tir them up to ca&s;t out &s;uch a per&s;on, and to repre&s;ent it to the Church according to the power that is committed unto them by Chri&s;t for the Churches edification, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.3. they mu&s;t not bear them that be evil, they mu&s;t be ca&s;t out; they &s;hould look upon it as their Burthen, that any among&s;t them &s;hould de&s;erve to be ca&s;t out from the Church, yet they mu&s;t do their duty: this is the <HI>rule that they have over you in the Lord, Heb.</HI> 13.17.</P>
<P>Fifthly, they mu&s;t walk as examples to the flock, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.3. <HI>Go before them in a holy life;</HI> 2 <HI>John</HI> 10. it is &s;aid, <HI>Chri&s;t is the Shepherd, and he goes before the &s;heep, and his &s;heep do follow him;</HI> the meaning is, he went before them in a holy conver&s;ation; for he <HI>hath in all things given us an example:</HI> a Copy to write after, that we &s;hould walk as he hath walked; Pa&s;tors &s;hould be a living Scripture, and walking Bibles, more then any other men; and yet ye are to take this as a rule, <HI>be you followers of us, as we are of Chri&s;t: and mark them who &s;o walketh as they have us for an example, Philip.</HI> 3.17.</P>
<P>Secondly, for the di&s;po&s;itions with which all the&s;e duties are to be done, which I will lay down in &s;ix par|ticulars.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, from a tender love and care; God doth put this care of the flock unto tho&s;e whom he calls to be their Over-&s;eers in mercy, and he doth give them graces &s;utable, Pa&s;tors graces, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 8.16. God did
<PB N="103" REF="68"> put the &s;ame care into the heart of <HI>Titus, Phil.</HI> 2.26. <HI>Epaphroditus,</HI> that was their Pa&s;tor, he doth long for them exceedingly, and his love was &s;o great, that he would not have them &s;o much as grieved, and therefore he was &s;orry that they had heard that he had been &s;ick: there was in the heart of our Lord Chri&s;t a Law of love written; <HI>thy Law is in the middle of my bowels;</HI> as there &s;hould be a love among&s;t the members, &s;o in a &s;pecial manner in tho&s;e that are Pa&s;tors and Fathers to a peo|ple, their <HI>bowels &s;hould yern over them.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, all this is to be done with the &s;pirit of meekne&s;s; in a way of Mini&s;try, and not in a way of Maje&s;ty: <HI>For we are but your &s;ervants for Chri&s;ts &s;ake: and we are not to rule as Lords over Gods heritage,</HI> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.3. and therefore pride, and imperiou&s;ne&s;s, mu&s;t be avoided; for all that we have to do is by the word, and we can rule no other way.</P>
<P>Thirdly, all things mu&s;t be done without &s;elf-re|&s;pects, and to make a gain of the people; we <HI>mu&s;t feed the flock not for filthy lucres &s;ake;</HI> that though <HI>the Pa&s;tor is to eat of the milk of the flocks</HI> and though it be the peoples duty: 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9.14. <HI>God hath ordained that they &s;hould:</HI> yet this is not to be the end propounded by the Mini&s;ter or Pa&s;tor unto them&s;elves: for them to have &s;uch a low end as this, <HI>put me into the Prie&s;ts office, that I may eat a piece of bread;</HI> no we are to &s;eek you, and not yours: <HI>and to expect our crown of glory, at the appear|ing of the great Shepherd of the &s;heep,</HI> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.9.</P>
<P>Fourthly, it mu&s;t be with faith: and an expectation that God will in a &s;pecial manner ble&s;s their endeavours and labours unto that people over which God hath put them: <HI>over which the holy Gho&s;t hath made them over|&s;eers:</HI> for with the call of God there doth go the
<PB N="104" REF="69"> ble&s;&s;ing of God: and if God do put a man into any office, he may expect a ble&s;&s;ing upon him in that im|ployment: he doth call Chri&s;t, and he doth promi&s;e him, <HI>the plea&s;ure of the Lord &s;hall pro&s;per in his hand:</HI> and Chri&s;t &s;ends forth the Apo&s;tles, and he promi&s;es to <HI>be with them to the end of the world Math.</HI> 28.19. the peo|ple are to expect a greater ble&s;&s;ing by them becau&s;e God hath put them over them, <HI>Heb.</HI> 13.17. <HI>they watch for your &s;ouls:</HI> So the Mini&s;ters al&s;o that go forth with faith to preach the Go&s;pel, the Lord will make them a ble&s;&s;ing to the people where he &s;ends them.</P>
<P>Fifthly, it mu&s;t be done <HI>as tho&s;e that give an account for your &s;ouls,</HI> that are the people committed to his care, <HI>Heb.</HI> 13.17. there are great accounts that men have to give for talents, and opportunities of doing good; and of Riches that God hath entru&s;ted them with, and Ho|nours, and the day of grace: but the greate&s;t ac|count is that of &s;ouls, which are precious unto all tho&s;e to whom their own &s;ouls are precious: and as the Lord Je&s;us him&s;elf comes in at the la&s;t day before the Father, <HI>Here am I and the children that thou ha&s;t given me, Heb.</HI> 2.13. So al&s;o this will be the work of the Mini&s;try at the la&s;t day, <HI>they will give an account of your &s;ouls:</HI> O what a great thing is it for a Mini&s;ter to be able to &s;ay, <HI>I pray|ed for &s;uch a &s;oul:</HI> I in&s;tructed &s;uch a &s;oul; he was blind before, and God u&s;ed me as an In&s;trument to convey light to him: I watched over &s;uch a &s;oul; for it is your &s;ouls only that we have to do with all: and its only with reference to your &s;ouls that we watch over you.</P>
<P>Sixthly, the Pa&s;tors of a people do their duty, as tho&s;e who&s;e crown of glory it will be at the la&s;t day, for us to deliver our flock well into the hands of the
<PB N="105" REF="69"> great Shepherd at the la&s;t day that he hath betru&s;ted them with, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 2.19.20. <HI>This is our glory and Crown of rejoycing: yea in the pre&s;ence of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t at his coming,</HI> &amp;c. to &s;ee their graces thrive, their &s;ouls pro&s;per, Chri&s;t gloried in it, <HI>he &s;ees the Travel of his &s;oul and is &s;atisfied:</HI> and it is a great &s;atisfaction unto poor Mini&s;ters in this particular al&s;o; and having given their charge &s;afe into the hands of Chri&s;t, they &s;hall then lay down the burden of their office, and they and their flock &s;hall be made happy together; and though the particular relation &s;hall cea&s;e between them, yet &s;hall they take more &s;pecial comfort and communion one with another as Saints in glory for ever: their relation that they had to each other here, will &s;weeten their glo|ry hereafter.</P>
<P>Secondly, Now to make up this <HI>Order of the Go&s;pel,</HI> al&s;o there is a duty that the Members do owe unto their Pa&s;tors that are in this manner cho&s;en by them: and they are the&s;e.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, it is the peoples duty to pray for them, as tho&s;e that God &s;ets in authority over them: if your Pa&s;tor prays for you as being over you, you &s;hould al&s;o pray for him as being over you.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, pray for their gifts and abilities, to go through their duty the whole compa&s;s of it. <HI>Eph.</HI> 6.10. <HI>and for me, &s;aies the Apo&s;tle, that utterance may be given unto me.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, for their pre&s;ervation. <HI>Rom.</HI> 15.30. <HI>That you &s;trive together in prayers, that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in</HI> Judea.</P>
<P>Thirdly, pray that they may have a &s;anctified u&s;e of all their afflictions, and of all Gods di&s;pen&s;ations, <HI>Phil.</HI> 1.19. <HI>I know that this al&s;o &s;hall turn to my &s;alvation through your prayers:</HI> when the prayers of Pa&s;tor and people meet
<PB N="106" REF="70"> together at the Throne of grace each for other, it is exceeding acceptable to God.</P>
<P>Secondly, honour them in your hearts; let it be an|&s;werable to the honour Chri&s;t hath given them in the Congregation, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.13. <HI>Know them and e&s;teem them highly in love for their works &s;ake:</HI> they are to look up|on them&s;elves <HI>as your &s;ervants;</HI> and to look upon you as <HI>the Lords heritage,</HI> and that they are not Lords of the flock: they are not to know in that re&s;pect their own honour, as <HI>Mo&s;es his face did &s;hine;</HI> it was &s;een of others, but not of him&s;elf: but yet there is an honour that is due from you unto them al&s;o.</P>
<P>Thirdly, &s;ubmit unto them, or be per&s;waded by them, <HI>Heb.</HI> 13.17. <HI>Attend upon their mini&s;trie, as tho&s;e from whom you may expect a &s;pecial ble&s;sing;</HI> though it may be they may not have &s;uch great parts and gifts as others, yet they are tho&s;e that God hath &s;et over you; and do you &s;ubmit to them: though they be in outward re&s;pects far inferiour unto you, yet as they are Pa&s;tors, &s;o they &s;tand in Chri&s;ts &s;tead; for remember they are &s;o by an In&s;ti|tution; and &s;o di&s;obedience unto them &s;peaking in the name of Chri&s;t, is a di&s;obedience unto Chri&s;t; <HI>he that hears you, hears me; and he that de&s;pi&s;eth you, de&s;pi&s;eth me;</HI> it is a very dangerous thing for a people to have their Mini&s;ter go to God again&s;t them, and bewail the con|tempt that is put upon them, and &s;ay, <HI>Lord, thou ha&s;t &s;ent me to a rebellious and gain &s;aying people:</HI> Chri&s;t &s;ays to &s;uch a one, <HI>Thou &s;halt kick the du&s;t of thy feet again&s;t them; it will be ea&s;ier for</HI> Sodom, <HI>then it will be for that man in the day of Judgement.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, encourage his labours: &s;trengthen his hands: &s;tand by him, look upon your &s;elves as concerned in all things that befall him, <HI>Phil.</HI> 2.26. <HI>Epaphroditus was &s;ick,</HI>
<PB N="107" REF="70"> and they were very &s;en&s;ible of it, though he were ab|&s;ent from them; and he was willing to venture his life for the Churches &s;ervice; and indeed the labour is bur|den&s;om, and continual; do what you may to make it ea&s;ie to him, that he may undergo it with cheerfulne&s;s; <HI>For if he give up his account with grief, it will be unprofit|able for you,</HI> Heb. 13.17. So if he do his work with grief al&s;o, it will be as unprofitable to you, as uncomfortable to him.</P>
<P>Fifthly, admoni&s;h him of what evil &s;o ever you &s;ee in him; if he do not walk with a right foot towards the Go&s;pel: or be negligent in the performing of his office: <HI>&s;ay to him, Take heed to thy Mini&s;try, Col.</HI> 4.17. It were a mi&s;ery for the greate&s;t officer to be exempted from that ordinance of admonition, which is a mercy to the mean|e&s;t member: and yet be careful, do not take up every flying report again&s;t him: for there are no men &s;o &s;ub|ject to the &s;courge of the Tongue as they are: but <HI>God as he will wipe all tears from their eyes,</HI> will al&s;o wipe off all blots from their name.</P>
<P>Sixthly, there is a &s;upply which you are to make to their wants, and it is your duty <HI>to admini&s;ter unto them of your &s;ub&s;tance,</HI> according to your ability, <HI>Gal.</HI> 6.6. You mu&s;t make him partaker of all good things: Fir&s;t you mu&s;t do it in obedience as an Ordinance of God. Se|condly, it mu&s;t be given proportionably to a mans abi|lity, for it mu&s;t be in all good things. Thirdly, not to think much of what you give them: if the mini&s;ters <HI>of the Go&s;pel &s;ow &s;piritual things, why &s;hould we count it a great matter if we let them reap of our carnal things?</HI> the&s;e things which are the truths that the Go&s;pel holds forth, as the Lord hath enabled me, I have endeavoured to give every one their portion, both Pa&s;tor and people:
<PB N="108" REF="71"> what remains further in relation to both, as God gives opportunity I &s;hall by his a&s;&s;i&s;tance &s;et before you: I &s;hall now beg your prayers that the Lord would teach me how to go in and out before you, that &s;o I may be given you in mercy and not in Judgement.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="109" REF="71">
<HEAD>Church-Officers, According to In&s;titution.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>Preached at the Churches choo|&s;ing of Officers.</DATELINE></OPENER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>HEB. 13.17.</BIBL>
<P>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 an account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THE Church of Chri&s;t is &s;ometimes called <HI>The Tabernacle, Rev.</HI> 11.1. <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And as in the Tabernacle all was by In&s;titution done <HI>according to a pattern,</HI> both Ordinances, and Officers, &s;o it mu&s;t be in the Church of God <HI>the</HI> &s;piri|tual
<PB N="110" REF="72"> <HI>Tabernacle of God among&s;t men,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.4,5,6. There are three things that are by the Lord exceedingly differenced in the Church: fir&s;t there are <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, <HI>all have not the &s;ame gifts,</HI> but the Lord <HI>divideth</HI> them accor|ding as he will Secondly, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, there are diver&s;ities of Offices: all the members in a Church have not one and the &s;ame office, or mini&s;tery, or labour. Thirdly, there are <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, different effects of tho&s;e offices and gifts: men labour in them with a different fruit and &s;ucce&s;s: Some more, and &s;ome le&s;s, according as the Lord is plea&s;ed to u&s;e them or ble&s;s them: and as &s;uitable to the Churches nece&s;sities; &s;o <HI>he doth give gifts,</HI> &s;o he<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> doth give Officers al&s;o: for no men are to mini|&s;ter in the things of God, without a call from God: therefore &s;uch Ordinances, and Officers as the Church doth &s;tand in need of, he hath appointed: and with the&s;e they ought to re&s;t &s;atisfied, and to fancy or create no more to them&s;elves: which was the error of the fir&s;t Churches when they began to degenerate and corrupt them&s;elves; when they brought in new Ordinances, then did they begin to &s;et up new officers immediately: and they that will lay a&s;ide the Ordinances of God, will bring in multitudes of their own, as we &s;ee it in <HI>I&s;rael, they multiplyed their Idols:</HI> and al&s;o they that wil lay a&s;ide the Officers of Chri&s;t, wilmultiply Officers of their own.</P>
<P><HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> &s;aith of the Church of God at fir&s;t, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Amb<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">o&s;e.</NOTE> It did nothing without the approbation of certain Elders thereunto appointed; but that being neglected, <HI>doctorum de&s;idia, vel potius &s;uperbia, dum &s;oli voluerunt aliquid videri,</HI> now they brought in all manner of new Officers to the great burden of the Church that under Popery they are as much burthened with officers as they are with Ordinances: therefore it mu&s;t be our care to have an eye
<PB N="111" REF="72"> to <HI>the pattern</HI> in the one as well as the other: for what ever is not of the Lords appointment, that he will nei|ther own, nor ble&s;s; it is of &s;uch that Chri&s;t &s;peaks of in <HI>Ioh, Every plant that my Heavenly Father hath not plant|ed &s;hall be rooted up:</HI> it is tho&s;e that did place them&s;elves in Offices in the Church, never planted by the Father. Here are in the words two things. Fir&s;t the Officers du|ty, and that is, fir&s;t to <HI>rule,</HI> and then to <HI>watch.</HI> Secondly, the object or &s;ubject of this authority, it is not over the bodies and e&s;tates of men, but <HI>their &s;ouls only.</HI> Thirdly, the great engagement and obligation that lies upon them &s;o to do, becau&s;e <HI>they mu&s;t give an account.</HI> Fourth|ly, here are the different accounts that Church Officers will give to God, and that is &s;ome <HI>with joy,</HI> and &s;ome <HI>with grief.</HI> Secondly, here is the duty of the people that are under their power. Fir&s;t, they are to <HI>obey.</HI> Secondly, to <HI>&s;ubmit them&s;elves.</HI> Thirdly, upon this ground, be|cau&s;e <HI>they are &s;uch as watch for their &s;ouls, and mu&s;t give an account.</HI> Fourthly, as knowing <HI>if it be with grief, it will be unprofitable unto them.</HI> And hence there are &s;everal propo&s;itions very u&s;eful to our pre&s;ent occa&s;ion, which I will &s;et down in their order. <HI>Fir&s;t, that the Lord Chri&s;t as head of the Church, hath appointed that there &s;hall be Officers in all the Churches:</HI> there is as well an In&s;tituti|on of Officers and offices, as there is of Ordinances; and it is in a mans power to con&s;titute the one no more then he may the other: and the neglect of one, is a neg|lect of the In&s;titution, and &s;o of the authority of Chri&s;t, as well as the other; it will appear that there hath gone &s;ome great hands unto this, and to manife&s;t this ap|pointment.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t Chri&s;t, <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.11. it is counted there as one of his <HI>gifts,</HI> which <HI>Chri&s;t gave</HI> upon his A&s;cen&s;ion: for he
<PB N="112" REF="73"> doth not only &s;ay that he gave the gifts that qualified men for that work; and that is a mercy when the Church is enriched with gifts, and the Lord doth pour out his &s;pirit upon many of them, that they be fitted for office if they be called to it, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.7. 2. in a Com|mon-wealth though there be but a few Magi&s;trates, yet there be many that are fitted to be Magi&s;trates: as in an Army when the &s;ouldiers are valiant, yet its not expe|dient that every one is able to command a party, or be an Officer, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> But it is not the gifts only, but the Of|ficers al&s;o that Chri&s;t hath given his Church, and they are to be looked upon as a &s;pecial gift of Chri&s;t, as a &s;pecial fruit of his taking po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Kingdom, when <HI>he &s;at down at his Fathers right hand;</HI> and though they were all given <HI>for the gathering and the perfecting of the Saints,</HI> yet &s;ome were but temporary, others were to abide to the end of the world, till all the Saints were gathered and perfected; and therefore it is &s;aid that <HI>he hath &s;et them in his Church,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.28. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, the word notes a con&s;titution, a firm &s;tabli&s;hment, that can|not be changed, <HI>Act.</HI> 17. <HI>the times and &s;ea&s;ons which the Father hath put in his own power,</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, by a firm ap|pointment and decree, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> 1 <HI>The&s;</HI> 5.9. <HI>God hath not ap|pointed us to wrath, but to attain &s;alvation:</HI> its the &s;ame word. So that the word &s;ignifies to appoint by a firm and a &s;ure decree, which cannot be changed; <HI>he hath &s;et them there,</HI> and therefore none &s;hall or can remove them.</P>
<P>Secondly, the Holy-Gho&s;t he al&s;o hath a hand in this Con&s;titution, <HI>Acts</HI> 20.28. <HI>Over whom the Holy-Gho&s;t hath made you over-&s;eers;</HI> it is &s;poken unto Officers when they meet with the Apo&s;tles, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and for the under|&s;tanding of it, we mu&s;t con&s;ider, <Q REND="inline">That the Spirit is the
<PB N="113" REF="73"> Mediatory Kingdom hath undertaken to be as it were a <HI>Prorex,</HI> to rule for Chri&s;t: therefore, <HI>before the Throne there are &s;even Lamps of fire, that is, the &s;even &s;pirits of God, Rev.</HI> 4.5.</Q> for in the gifts and graces the Spirit is given, the Go&s;pel its Preached <HI>by the Holy-Gho&s;t &s;ent down from heaven,</HI> &amp;c. Now there are two things main|ly that the Holy-Gho&s;t doth in this con&s;tituti|on.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the Spirit doth gift the men, and qualifie them for the work; <HI>for though there be diver&s;ity of gifts, yet it is the &s;ame &s;pirit that works in every man even as he will: to one man the gifts of wi&s;dom, to another the word of know|ledge, but by the &s;ame &s;pirit,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.7,8,9,11. that as before <HI>Bezaleel</HI> and <HI>Aholiab</HI> did &s;et upon the work of the Tabernacle, he was <HI>filled with all wi&s;dom</HI> by the &s;pi|rit of God, <HI>under&s;tanding and knowledge in all manner of work-man-&s;hip:</HI> and when <HI>Saul</HI> was called unto the Kingdom, <HI>the &s;pirit of the Lord came upon him, and he was turned into another man,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 10. Whether we do look unto the providential, or &s;piritual Kingdom, it is now in the hands of the Spirit, and he knowing what works he hath to accompli&s;h in both, he doth gift men for the work in which he will employ them: for though the gifts be common, yet they proceed from the &s;pirit as well as graces.</P>
<P>Secondly, when a man is gifted, and by the furniture of the man there is a ground to conceive God hath done it that he may employ him, yet it is not enough by and by for any man to &s;ay, I am gifted, and there|fore I will employ my &s;elf; but there is another work of the &s;pirit, and that is, he doth &s;tir up the hearts of men, to chu&s;e men, &amp; to call them forth unto the works whom he hath gifted, and qualified for it: and this draw|ing
<PB N="114" REF="74"> out of the &s;pirits of men, in that way that the Lord would have them, is a &s;pecial work of the &s;pirit of God, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 10.26. God having gifted <HI>Saul,</HI> he doth draw out the &s;pirits of men to call him to the office of a King, and to joyn with him in it, <HI>who&s;e heart God had touched;</HI> and the finger of God, is the &s;pirit of God, by whom the hearts of men are touched: and therefore <HI>Zach.</HI> 4.6,7. <HI>Not by power and might, but by my Spirit,</HI> that is, his &s;pirit that is working upon the &s;pirits of men, both in in&s;truments, and oppo&s;ites, rai&s;ing and elevating the one, and &s;ubduing the other: &s;o that the &s;pirit inclining and ordering, and over-ruling of the hearts of men in &s;uch a work, it is an evident te&s;timony of a call from the &s;pirit; for <HI>their hearts God had touched,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Thirdly, there is yet &s;omething more, and that is per|&s;ons being thus cho&s;en, there is a &s;anction, and a &s;tabli&s;h|ment from the Holy-Gho&s;t, that doth come upon them: that as all the duties of the office lie upon their con&s;ciences, by the command of God, that what&s;oever is required in that office, the Lord expects it of them; &s;o all the honour and dignity of the office is due to them, and that by a command from the Holy Gho&s;t: and <HI>men are to be &s;ubject for con&s;cience &s;ake,</HI> as an act of obedience unto God; as a wowan before &s;he hath cho&s;e a husband is at liberty to marry whom &s;he will, only <HI>in the Lord;</HI> but having once cho&s;en a husband, all the duties that belong to a husband, &s;he is to perform unto him, by vertue of the Covenant of God, and in obedience unto God: and as it is with a people in the point of the Magi&s;tracy, its true that civil government is appointed by God; but that it &s;hall be in this or in that form, he hath not appointed: and therefore though there be &s;everal forms of government, yet all are lawful,
<PB N="115" REF="74"> and may according to the rules of prudence be made u&s;e of in any &s;tate, as &s;hall be mo&s;t for the publike good: therefore all forms of civil government are cal|led, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.13. but having made choice of Magi&s;tracy in what form &s;o ever, the authority of God then comes upon it, and ye are to obey as unto God, and <HI>to be &s;ubject for con&s;cience &s;ake, Rom.</HI> 13.5. and &s;o it is here al&s;o; and upon the&s;e three grounds it is that the Holy-Gho&s;t is brought in for the Con&s;titution and e&s;ta|bli&s;hment of Church-Officers; and therefore it is that he hath &s;et, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">. <HI>Act.</HI> 20.28. He did con&s;titute them in that particular place where they &s;hould be.</P>
<P>Thirdly, for this cau&s;e the Apo&s;tles they took &s;peci|al care to &s;et up all the In&s;titutions of Chri&s;t, as well offices as ordinances: as the &s;tate and condition of the Church did require, and therefore they did not only gather them into bodies, but they did al&s;o &s;et Officers over them: <HI>Acts</HI> 2.14,23. <HI>They ordained Elders in every Church,</HI> and the &s;ame charge and employment they gave to the Evangeli&s;ts, who were appointed to this purpo&s;e, to <HI>confirm the Churches, and to ordain Officers in every Church.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, and we &s;ee that all the Churches of Chri&s;t accepted of Officers, and acknowledged them as &s;uch; as <HI>there were Elders in the Church of Ephe&s;us, Acts</HI> 20.28. and the <HI>Church of Jeru&s;alem had not only Apo&s;tles but El|ders al&s;o, Acts</HI> 15.2,22 and therefore the whole Church is brought under the&s;e two heads, <HI>them that rule over you, and all the Saints, Heb.</HI> 13.24. They are not all Rulers, all are not men in office, there be Rulers that are di&s;tingui&s;hed from Saints.</P>
<P>To what end are officers appointed in the Church? what need is there of them? they are appointed by
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<PB N="116" REF="76"> Chri&s;t for the&s;e ends: Fir&s;t <HI>for the Churches perfection,</HI> in the Con&s;titution thereof: for though a Church with|out officers be a true Church in re&s;pect of the <HI>E&s;&s;ence</HI> of it, when there is a &s;ociety of vi&s;ible Saints, united into one body by mutual con&s;ent, in the profe&s;&s;ion of the faith of the Go&s;pel, as appears <HI>Acts</HI> 6. there was a <HI>Church at Ieru&s;alem,</HI> before there were Deacons: and a <HI>Church at Antioch,</HI> before there were Elders, <HI>Acts</HI> 14.23. but yet it is nor a compleat Church in all the parts of it, as an <HI>Organical</HI> body: therefore it hath officers <HI>&s;uperadded,</HI> and therefore as &s;oon as the Apo&s;tle had converted a people to the faith, fir&s;t they did embody them, and then for their perfection they &s;et officers over them: they did not look upon them as compleat, while&s;t <HI>they were as &s;heep without a Shepherd:</HI> till there be &s;ome to rule, and to order them in the waies of a Church, and according to the In&s;titutions of Chri&s;t: and therefore in all ages the officers have been in a &s;pecial manner the glory of the Churches, as the Apo&s;tles were, <HI>Rev.</HI> 12.1. <HI>Upon their heads is a Crown of twelve &s;tars:</HI> and therefore <HI>Cant.</HI> 8.8. <HI>We have a little Si&s;ter, and &s;he hath no brea&s;ts,</HI> that is a &s;tabli&s;hed mini&s;tery, and &s;ettled officers, from whom <HI>the &s;incere milk of the word</HI> might be &s;ucked: <HI>brea&s;ts of con&s;olation,</HI> whereby they might be &s;upported: Now this tends to the perfection of a Church, as we &s;ee it de&s;cribed, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 16.7,8. <HI>Thy brea&s;ts were fa&s;hioned, and thy hair was grown:</HI> it notes coming unto maturity, and ripene&s;s of age: whereas a Church wanting officers, is but a little &s;i&s;ter yet in her infancy or minori|ty, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, Officers are appointed in the Church, <HI>to avoid confu&s;ion;</HI> therefore the Lord &s;aw officers to be nece&s;&s;ary, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14.33. <HI>God is not the author of Confu|&s;ion
<PB N="117" REF="76"> but of Peace, in all the Churches of the Saints:</HI> and <HI>Col.</HI> 1.2.5. <HI>rejoycing and beholding your order,</HI> according unto Gods order, when every man keeps his place, and rank: that is, they that rule keep their place, and they that are to be &s;ubject keep their place: for the Greek word <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, is a military term: and if either of the&s;e be wanting, there will be confu&s;ion in the Church: there|fore he will have &s;ome to rule, and others to obey, that there may be no di&s;order: and by this means no diffe|rences: for its di&s;order that is the ground of all diffe|rences, as it is order that is the ground of peace: break order in a Church, and you break the peace of it im|mediately.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the Lord doth it <HI>for the Churches edificati|on:</HI> that as <HI>he doth give diver&s;ity of gifts, and all of them to profit withal,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.7. It is not that any of them &s;hould lie idle, and be u&s;ed barely for a mans &s;elf, and his own advantage, as an ornament to him&s;elf, but for the good of the Church; &s;o the Lord doth al&s;o appoint <HI>diver&s;ities of admini&s;trations</HI> to officers in the Church, that according unto mens gifts, &s;o they may have &s;uit|able employments in the Church, in which they may encrea&s;e their gifts, and thereby having publike occa&s;i|ons, they may be more publickly u&s;eful, then otherwi&s;e ever their gifts could have been, had they continued on|ly as private Chri&s;tians: therefore the Lord having gift|ed men, and thereby fitted them for the publike good, he doth give unto them a call unto a publick office, that thereby they may have opportunity to exerci&s;e the&s;e gifts, that he hath given them: which el&s;e in a private condition mu&s;t needs in a great mea&s;ure lie idle, the man wanting opportunity to draw them forth as in an office he may do, and thereby improve them:
<PB N="118" REF="77"> &s;o then officers there are by the appointment of Chri&s;t, and we may not neglect them lea&s;t we de&s;pi&s;e any in&s;ti|tution, and lea&s;t we run into confu&s;ion, and be enemies to our own perfection and edification; and therefore it is a great fault in &s;ome Chri&s;tians that they are with|out them; &s;ometimes they are without a <HI>Preaching Officer,</HI> &s;ometimes they are without <HI>Ruling Officers,</HI> and all upon &s;ome curio&s;ities: they cannot have a man &s;o qualified as they de&s;ire, a man that hath eminent gifts, or a great name, an honourable repute: there is a great deal of pride and vanity that men do manife&s;t even in &s;uch things as the&s;e are, that are &s;piritual pride: as men glory in officers, <HI>in Paul, in Apollo,</HI> &amp;c. They are &s;aid to be <HI>puffed up one again&s;t another,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.6. that is, they were puffed up for their Teachers, and they grow proud, and boa&s;t, one again&s;t another, becau&s;e we have higher and more eminent officers then you: therefore they de|&s;pi&s;e one another, and &s;o they were in their boa&s;tings and glorying <HI>carnal:</HI> there is a great deal of pride and vanity in mens glorying in them carnally, when they have them; and its manife&s;ted in many, that becau&s;e their pride this way cannot be &s;atisfied, therefore they will chu&s;e rather to be without them.</P>
<P>Secondly, The&s;e officers have an office: there is an employment, and a power which is put into their hands by Chri&s;t, for the good of the Church: we read in Scripture of <HI>the power of the keyes, Math.</HI> 16.18. which is an En&s;in of Authority, put for the Authority it &s;elf: as to give a man a &s;word, is to put the power, of the &s;word into his hand: to commit authority to him, of which this is the En&s;ign: and &s;o it notes a Commi&s;&s;ion given by Chri&s;t, unto &s;ome per&s;ons to rule in his hou&s;e, according to the order, and the rules pre&s;cribed
<PB N="119" REF="77"> in the word: and this power in Scripture is three-fold: Fir&s;t it is Monarchical in re&s;pect of Chri&s;t the head: Secondly, it is Democratical in re&s;pect of the body of believers. Thirdly, Ari&s;tocratical in re&s;pect of the officers: So Dr. <HI>Whitaker,</HI> p. 2. pag. 519. there is a threefold power that belongs unto the members of a Church; fir&s;t a power of <HI>admi&s;sion of members,</HI> and of ejection of them: therefore the people are taxed, that <HI>they did not ca&s;t out the man;</HI> there is a <HI>virtus expul&s;iva</HI> belongs to the body, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.13. <HI>Take away from among&s;t you that wicked per&s;on:</HI> and the &s;ame is the Judgement of <HI>Peter Martyr, loc. com.</HI> p. 886. &s;ect. 9, 10. where he doth peremptorily deny, <HI>Ab&s;que Eccle&s;iae con&s;en&s;u quem|piam excommunicari po&s;&s;e,</HI> &amp;c. and if &s;o, <HI>eju&s;dem pote&s;ta|tis,</HI> the &s;ame power that can ca&s;t out, they only can admit; for if the officers may admit without the body, they may ca&s;t out without them al&s;o. Secondly, there is <HI>a power of Election,</HI> they have a power given them by Chri&s;t to chu&s;e their own Officers, that the Apo&s;tles would not interpo&s;e, but <HI>Acts</HI> 6. the Church do chu&s;e their Deacons, <HI>chu&s;e out among&s;t your &s;elves.</HI> Thirdly, there is <HI>a power al&s;o of admonition,</HI> Math. 18.15. <HI>Take two or three with thee and admoni&s;h them;</HI> and it is an autho|rative act, for it is in a way of proce&s;s, after a private admonition hath been refu&s;ed; and if there were not &s;uch a power given unto the Church, then, Fir&s;t if Officers abu&s;e their power, they have no remedy again&s;t them, they mu&s;t lie under it for ever; the Church ha|ving power to withdraw from any particular man, may al&s;o do the &s;ame to an Officer. Secondly, then that Officer is without any remedy him&s;elf, and he hath not the priviledge of the meane&s;t member; for if excomu|nication be an Ordinance, and is for edification, and to
<PB N="120" REF="78"> reclaim, if an officer go a&s;tray and per&s;evere in it, it is a mi&s;ery to be deprived of it; but yet there is a power and authority that belongs to the Officers, which mu&s;t not be intrenched upon by the Community; as to preach the word, admini&s;ter the &s;eals, ob&s;erve the waies of the Church, to vi&s;it the &s;ick, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> The&s;e are the acts of the Elders, which the whole Congregation are not to meddle withal: and though it is true that a private Chri&s;tian may watch over his brother, and vi&s;it the &s;ick, they are to do it, yet he doth it not as an act of office, but of brotherly love and Chri&s;tianity only: and there is a great deal of difference: as it is one thing for a man to give an alms, and another thing as a Dea|con, <HI>to communicate to the Nece&s;sities of the Saints, as every one hath need;</HI> the Church may chu&s;e the Deacon, but they cannot execute the office of a Deacon: they mu&s;t not give all of them their own alms, becau&s;e it is not the way into which Chri&s;t hath put it: there is a great deal of difference between the&s;e two, as it will appear in this; we pray one for another <HI>ex charitate ut fratres, non ex officio ut mediatores:</HI> out of Love, not out of office. It is very different to do the &s;ame thing as a bro|ther, and as an officer: the&s;e two powers mu&s;t be kept di&s;tinct, that as the Church mu&s;t not meddle with the authority and power of the officers, &s;o neither mu&s;t the officers ingro&s;s and take to them&s;elves the whole power of the Church; for in the primitive times it was not &s;o.</P>
<P>Now the&s;e Officers have a power committed to them; they are as the Churches &s;ervants, and &s;o they are to acknowledge them&s;elves: <HI>VVe preach our &s;elves your &s;ervants for Chri&s;ts &s;ake:</HI> and they are to manage it with all humility: therefore <HI>not as Lords over Gods heri|tage,</HI>
<PB N="121" REF="78"> for all is for the good of the Church, and &s;o <HI>the Angels are mini&s;tring Spirits,</HI> becau&s;e it is for the good of the Church, though the greate&s;t power and authori|ty under Chri&s;t, is committed unto them, in ordering of all things here below: but yet there is an authority committed unto them by Chri&s;t, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.8. there is an <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, an authority given them, <HI>for edification of the body,</HI> &amp;c. though to keep in, and ca&s;t out, belong to the body, yet they have a &s;pecial hand in it, and the manag|ing of all the bu&s;ine&s;s of the body belongs to them wholly, and therefore the names that they have, do note a great deal of power, and great authority, they are not only called <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.13. men &s;et before other men, and exalted above them: for in Church &s;ocieties, it is not outward honours, or wealth that exalts men; men may be great men, yet have but mean gifts, and of little honour and e&s;teem in the Church of God: but al&s;o they are called by terms of authority, they are <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, in this place, and <HI>v.</HI> 7. they are <HI>your Guides, Leaders and Commanders:</HI> and therefore,&mdash;it is taken from the Ma&s;ter or Pilot in a Ship, that turns it about to &s;teer it in its right cour&s;e, and therefore they were of old called <HI>The Ma&s;ters of A&s;&s;emblies, Eccl.</HI> 12. and this ap|pears &s;o much the greater, if you do con&s;ider al&s;o that they &s;peak to you in the name of Chri&s;t: for 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.12. <HI>They are over you in the Lord;</HI> and what they do re|quire by vertue of their office, they can do it in the name of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t; as an Emba&s;&s;ador hath great power becau&s;e he &s;peaks in the name of the King: and they can enjoyn you as you owe obedience to Chri&s;t, in who&s;e name we &s;peak, and who&s;e work we do: therfore <HI>he that rejecteth you rejecteth me,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.4. <HI>In the name of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t deliver &s;uch a
<PB N="122" REF="79"> man to Satan:</HI> if they did it in their own name, there were little power in it indeed, but in the name of Chri&s;t there is great authority: and there is this the more to be added, becau&s;e as it is a power given them by Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;t is de&s;pi&s;ed in them, &s;o it is a power given them by your own con&s;ent: now for a man to give con&s;ent to put power into a mans hand, and afterwards he denyes him the exerci&s;e of that power which he hath given him, it is for a man to <HI>Judge and condemn him&s;elf in the thing which he him&s;elf allows:</HI> therefore it layes a nece&s;&s;ity upon you of &s;ubjection to this power, both <HI>for con&s;cience &s;ake,</HI> and as a thing that was done by your own free election and con&s;ent: and &s;o there is not on|ly an authority that commands it, but a <HI>Law of love al|&s;o:</HI> as a woman &s;ubjects her &s;elf to her husband, not only as God hath commanded it, and given him autho|rity over her, but al&s;o from a principle of love, becau&s;e this is the man that I did chu&s;e to my &s;elf to obey, and to be &s;ubject unto all my dayes: therefore a double Law is broken in this re&s;pect: and this &s;till argues the greatne&s;s of an Officers power in the Church: Its cal|led <HI>the power of the keyes,</HI> which doth note a very great authority and office; <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 22.22. power in the hou&s;e, the ordering of governing of all the affairs in a family, &s;hall go through their hands: as it is &s;aid of <HI>Jo&s;eph, what ever was done in all the land of Egypt, he was the doer of it;</HI> &s;o it is true of them, what ever is done in the Church of God, it mu&s;t go through their hands, they mu&s;t al&s;o be the doers of it: and <HI>Math.</HI> 16.19. it is <HI>the keyes of the Kingdom of Heaven,</HI> which is meant both of grace, and glory, <HI>a power to bind and loo&s;e in the Church,</HI> by vertue of the In&s;titution of Chri&s;t and what they do bind and loo&s;e, or they remit or retain, &s;hall be &s;o done in the
<PB N="123" REF="79"> world to come, in the Kingdom of Heaven: &s;o that they &s;hall open Heaven to the Church, and if they &s;hut them out, heaven &s;hall be &s;hut out: if they binde upon their con&s;ciences, &s;o will the Lord al&s;o in the world to come in Heaven: and in this re&s;pect, it is a far greater power, then if a man had the keyes of the authority and Go|vernment of all the Kingdoms of the Earth.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>the &s;ubjects of this authority,</HI> it is not the bo|dies, lives of men, or their e&s;tates, but the authority is &s;piritual, and it relates unto the &s;oul only and this will appear: Fir&s;t becau&s;e it is managed only by &s;piritual means: as <HI>the Kingdom of Chri&s;t is not of this world,</HI> the management of things in the Church of Chri&s;t are not to be done in the way of the world; it is not by any out|ward power and greatne&s;s, or by authority and force of arms, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> but all is ordered by the word, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.5. <HI>The weapons of our warfare are mighty through God;</HI> for it is this that is the Scepter of the power of Chri&s;t, and all the authority that he doth exerci&s;e by his Mini&s;ters, and Officers under him, it is by the word only; and <HI>if they wil not hear</HI> the word, <HI>let &s;uch a man be unto thee a Heathen man, let him be Anathema Maranatha to the coming of the Lord:</HI> we mu&s;t leave him as a man incurable: we can do no more to him, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 16.22. if the word will not re|claim him, we have no way to deal with him, but to &s;et before him <HI>the Judgement that is written,</HI> which if he de|&s;pi&s;e, then Church-Officers have no more to do, but as they when they refu&s;ed the Go&s;pel, did <HI>&s;hake off the du&s;t of their feet: it will be ea&s;ier for</HI> Sodom <HI>and</HI> Gomorrah <HI>in the day of Judgement:</HI> they have no power either to impri&s;on, or afflict their bodies, or &s;ei&s;e upon their e&s;tates, if they obey not: they can only leave men to the Judgement of the Lord. Secondly, an&s;werable un|to
<PB N="24" REF="80"> the power, &s;uch are the cen&s;ures, and they are all &s;pi|ritual, they relate unto the &s;oul: they can inflict no cor|poral puni&s;hment upon men, but the Puni&s;hment in Scripture, and fir&s;t <HI>a binding of their &s;ins, Joh.</HI> 20.21. as they pardon &s;in in the con&s;cience and in regard of their Church-&s;tate by receiving them after &s;inning upon their repentance; So there is a binding of &s;in upon the con&s;cience, convincing a man of the guilt of &s;in, and al&s;o the putting him out of the &s;ociety, &s;o that the mans &s;in is bound in his own con&s;cience, and before the Church, and the Lord &s;aith, <HI>It &s;hall be bound in heaven,</HI> and &s;hall not be pardoned to him; or if he be godly, he &s;hall not have the &s;en&s;e of pardon till by this ordinance of Chri&s;t he be again received.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>they withdraw communion with him,</HI> 2 The&s;. 3.14. <HI>If any man obey not our word, note that man, and have no fellow&s;hip with him, that he may be a&s;hamed;</HI> all this is in reference to the &s;oul, that the man may be reclaimed; it is only, Mingle not with him, that when he &s;hall &s;ee all godly men to avoid him as a Pe&s;t, and his communion as &s;ome filthyne&s;s, he may thereby take &s;hame to him&s;elf.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>deliver him to Satan,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.4,5. Ordi|nances are means to inflict &s;piritual Judgements, as well as to convey &s;piritual Ble&s;&s;ings: ca&s;t him out by a Judi|cial act from the A&s;&s;emblies of the Saints; and &s;o be|ing ca&s;t out, he is in the world where Satan rules: he &s;hall have nothing to do with Ordinances more; and yet all this is with &s;pecial re&s;pect unto his &s;oul: it is <HI>for the de&s;truction of the fle&s;h, that the &s;oul may be &s;aved in the day of the Lord;</HI> therefore all power is for the good of the &s;oul, that is committed to the Officers of the Church.</P>
<P>Thirdly, all their power is <HI>for &s;piritual ends,</HI> all with
<PB N="125" REF="80"> relation to the &s;oul: Fir&s;t, <HI>for pre&s;ervation,</HI> they do <HI>watch over them,</HI> that they be not deceived with corrupt Doctrines, <HI>le&s;t being led away with the error of the wick|ed, they &s;hould fall from their &s;tedfa&s;tne&s;s;</HI> and becau&s;e <HI>VVolves will come in, watch therefore, take heed to your &s;elves and to all the flock, Act.</HI> 20.30. and al&s;o le&s;t they be corrupted in their practi&s;es, for <HI>a little leaven will lea|ven a whole lump,</HI> therefore <HI>Church Officers</HI> are made <HI>watch-men</HI> to di&s;cover the danger that is coming upon them, and to prevent it.</P>
<P>Secondly, for <HI>their edification,</HI> therefore S <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>The power was given for edification;</HI> that he had autho|rity in the Church, it was that he might have the greater opportunity to edifie the Church of God: and 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.12. <HI>They labour among&s;t you, and admoni&s;h and in&s;truct you: all is for the edification of the body of Chri&s;t, till we all come to the unity of the faith, and to a perfect man.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>for their &s;alvation;</HI> all is done, <HI>that the &s;pi|rit may be &s;aved in the day of the Lord,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.5. and therefore the great care of all the Officers mentioned in Scripture, hath been of the &s;ouls of men, and to &s;ee <HI>their &s;ouls pro&s;per,</HI> and their graces thrive; how ever it was with them in outward things, if they were <HI>rich in faith,</HI> and <HI>abounding in hope,</HI> and <HI>full of good works,</HI> though it went never &s;o mean with them in outward things, they were not afflicted with it; and therefore <HI>Paul</HI> is mightily troubled when <HI>they are turned away from the Truths of the Go&s;pel,</HI> and when any of them do walk &s;candalou&s;ly, to the endangering of the &s;ouls of the re&s;t of the body, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>Officers mu&s;t give an account of &s;ouls that are committed unto them:</HI> Here fir&s;t, every man mu&s;t
<PB N="126" REF="81"> give an account to God for his own &s;oul, and his own waies, for <HI>we mu&s;t all appear before the Judgement &s;eat of Chri&s;t,</HI> to this end, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.10. Secondly, every man &s;hall give an account of the &s;ouls of others, &s;o far as either they have been under his power, or he hath had a hand or been in&s;trumental in their de&s;truction: as the de&s;truction of I&s;rael will be charged upon <HI>Ieroboham, who made I&s;rael to &s;in:</HI> and <HI>Lev.</HI> 19.17 <HI>Thou &s;halt not bear &s;in for him. Ab alienis meis,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Au&s;tin.</NOTE> <HI>Au&s;tin:</HI> and it is a ter|rible thing to be In&s;trumental in any mans de&s;truction. Thirdly, but Officers in a &s;pecial manner, that do take the charge of &s;ouls, they &s;hall give an account for them, that is, according to the terms of the Prophet, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 3.17,18. <HI>If thou give him warning, he &s;hall dye in his &s;in: the blood &s;hall be upon his own head, thou ha&s;t de|livered thy own &s;oul: but if thou do not give him warn|ing, he doth peri&s;h, but his blood &s;hall be charged upon thee, it &s;hall be required at thy hands:</HI> it is the guilt of blood that is the greate&s;t guilt, and of all bloods, the blood of &s;ouls; yet this is that which lyes upon you, which <HI>Era&s;mus</HI> &s;aith, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Era&s;mus.</NOTE> are <HI>fulmina non verba;</HI> its a terrible thing to con&s;ider &s;uch a charge upon him with &s;uch a danger: A man that con&s;iders what account he hath to give of his own &s;ins, he would not be willing to take upon him al&s;o the guilt of other mens &s;ins, and give account for them. Fourthly, all that are imployed by God, there will come a time when they mu&s;t come unto God, and deliver up their charge for the talents that they have re|ceived; <HI>I had five Talents,</HI> here they are, and are impro|ved to five more: the unprofitable &s;ervant mu&s;t come al&s;o, that <HI>hid his Talent in a Napkin,</HI> and con&s;cience &s;hall give up its charge, when it layes down its viatory office, delivering the man up perfectly unto the grace
<PB N="127" REF="81"> of God; and Chri&s;t <HI>the Kingdom</HI> (which &s;ome (as <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom</HI>) do under&s;tand of the Church of the Saints, and that fitly, and truly) <HI>unto the Father: I have kept them through thy name:</HI> take them now to thy &s;elf, <HI>that they may be with me where I am;</HI> and &s;o for a man to lie down in the du&s;t with this account, and to appear before God with this truth, <HI>Of all the &s;ouls that thou ha&s;t given me,</HI> this is my account, that <HI>I have brought them unto thee &s;afe: here am I and the children thou ha&s;t given me:</HI> Fifthly, of all tru&s;ts in the world, that of &s;ouls is the greate&s;t: Fir&s;t, it is the great thing in the man, and the man is lo&s;t when his &s;oul is lo&s;t: and therefore in one place it is &s;aid <HI>loo&s;e thy &s;oul,</HI> and in another <HI>loo&s;e thy &s;elf;</HI> it is eternal de&s;truction, when the &s;oul is lo&s;t; it is more worth then a world: <HI>it will not profit a man to gain the world if he loo&s;e his &s;oul.</HI> Secondly, it is the great thing that Chri&s;t betru&s;ts us with, he doth prize it above all things el&s;e; all other <HI>Talents</HI> that he gives us are but for the good of the &s;oul; and it was in love to the &s;oul, that Chri&s;t did, and &s;uffered all that he did for poor lo&s;t man; it was meerly <HI>for the redemption of his &s;oul,</HI> the great thing that Chri&s;t hath an eye to is the <HI>&s;oul,</HI> the which he hath mo&s;t glory, and about which he hath laid out mo&s;t grace. Thirdly, it is that which Satan doth mo&s;t of all oppo&s;e, and de&s;ire to de&s;troy: he is indeed <HI>Abadon,</HI> he hates all man-kind, but his chief aim is at the &s;oul; <HI>he is a murtherer,</HI> but he will murther the &s;oul if he can: that is it which he doth charge all his volleys at, he cares not for mens e&s;tates and for their honours, it is their &s;ouls that is the great thing in his eye, therefore there is nothing is in &s;o much danger, and there is no &s;uch tru&s;t committed unto a man as the &s;ouls of men; it is a greater tru&s;t then to have the charge of all the
<PB N="128" REF="82"> Kingdoms of the world. Sixthly, &s;urely then they had need know the &s;ouls well that are under their charge, they had need of a very exact account of them, and to keep an account of them, that &s;hall give this ac|count before Chri&s;t at the la&s;t day; and therefore all that are heedle&s;s in this office, and that for low and poor ends undertake &s;uch a charge, and are negligent, and are wanting in that labour and diligence in it, it doth plainly argue, that men do judge the account of &s;ouls to be but a &s;mall thing, and that which may be ea&s;ily pa&s;&s;ed over; and truly as he that hath no care of his own &s;oul, will never take care of an others, &s;o he that makes no matter of giving up an account to Chri&s;t of his own &s;oul, it is no wonder if it be a &s;mall thing to him if he had the burden of all other mens &s;ouls upon him al&s;o: but he to whom the account of his own &s;oul is dreadful, he that hath known the terror of the Lord in him&s;elf, it is a terrible thing unto him to give an account of other mens &s;ouls al&s;o. Fifthly, there is <HI>a different account</HI> that Officers will give at the la&s;t day, &s;ome will give an ac|count <HI>with joy,</HI> and &s;ome <HI>with grief:</HI> there is a double connexion. Fir&s;t, <HI>they watch for your &s;ouls,</HI> obey that they may do their work with comfort, watch for your &s;ouls with comfort. Secondly, that <HI>they may give up their account with joy;</HI> for the obedience of a people is a ground of both; the greate&s;t joy of a faithful Mini&s;ter of God is in this, which was the great &s;atisfaction of Chri&s;t, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 53.10. <HI>To &s;ee the Travel of his &s;oul:</HI> the joy of harve&s;t is the greate&s;t joy; one &s;ows and another reaps; to receive the fruit of a mans labour, is as it were reaping it brings great joy, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 3.8. <HI>Now we live if you &s;tand fa&s;t;</HI> the great comfort of our lives comes in by it; for it is a comfortable living to &s;ee the &s;ouls of
<PB N="129" REF="82"> men committed to our charge pro&s;per, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 2.19. <HI>Ye are our glory and joy, our Crown of rejoycing in the pre&s;ence of the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, at his coming;</HI> ye are our glory and joy; next unto a mans intere&s;t in Chri&s;t, and the joy that he hath at his appearance, are the &s;ouls that he hath brought unto him: on the contrary what they do, if the people profit not, they do it, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>&s;u&s;piran|tes:</HI> its true, that there &s;hall be no &s;orrow of the Saints at the la&s;t day: for there &s;hall be no more &s;ighing; ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>tears &s;hall be all wiped away,</HI> but yet there will be &s;ome|thing that will be even matter of &s;orrow to them.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that they have lo&s;t their labour, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 49.45. <HI>I have laboured in vain,</HI> and the labour of the officers is great, it is the greate&s;t labour, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.12. it is <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, weari&s;om cutting labour, and to look up|on all this as lo&s;t in reference to the main end of it, is a grievous thing.</P>
<P>Secondly, that the &s;ouls of the people are lo&s;t, which was the greate&s;t care, that they &s;hould <HI>dye in their &s;ins,</HI> though their <HI>blood be not required a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> their hands;</HI> Oh it is &s;ad: for there is a great love in the Officers that are faithful unto the &s;ouls of the people: and they ought to walk in a high degree of love towards them; now to &s;ee tho&s;e &s;ouls lo&s;t for whom I put up &s;o many prayers, and about whom I took &s;o much pains; it is <HI>grieving the Spirit of God to &s;ee men turn his grace into wantonne&s;s, Eph.</HI> 4.30. And it will al&s;o exceedingly grieve them that are acted by the &s;ame Spirit.</P>
<P>Thirdly that I &s;hould be in&s;trumental in their Con|demnation, and be a means to heighten it: for <HI>it will be ca&s;ier for</HI> Sodom <HI>in that day;</HI> and the greater means men have had, the greater will their condemnation be; the
<PB N="130" REF="83"> greater pains any Mini&s;ter hath taken with a people, the greater will their Judgement be; <HI>they that have been ex|alted up to heaven, &s;hall be brought down to Hell,</HI> and in <HI>the day</HI> of <HI>Revelation, when the &s;ecrets of God as well as the hearts of men &s;hall be made manife&s;t,</HI> it &s;hall appear how Ordinances did ripen &s;ins, and how God did make u&s;e of them to pour out &s;piritual Judgements by them: the greate&s;t <HI>cur&s;es come out of Sion,</HI> as well as the greate&s;t ble&s;&s;ings.</P>
<P>Fourthly, that I &s;hould be brought in as a witne&s;s again&s;t them at the la&s;t day: <HI>Satan &s;hall be the accu&s;er;</HI> but there will be three very dreadful witne&s;&s;es again&s;t them. Fir&s;t, <HI>Chri&s;t: then &s;hall the King &s;ay,</HI> &amp;c. Second|ly, <HI>Con&s;cience:</HI> a mans own thoughts will accu&s;e him <HI>in the day that God &s;hall judge the &s;ecrets of men.</HI> Third|ly, the <HI>Mini&s;ters,</HI> when they that have been labouring for their good all their life time, &s;hall witne&s;s again&s;t them. <HI>There is one that accu&s;eth you, even</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>in whom you tru&s;t;</HI> when a man &s;hall bring in his accu&s;ation again&s;t a di&s;obedient and <HI>a rebellious people, Mark</HI> 6.11. <HI>Shake off the du&s;t of your feet for a te&s;timony again&s;t them; it will be ea&s;ier for</HI> Sodom <HI>and</HI> Gomorrah, <HI>then for them,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Sixthly, From all that hath been opened we may plainly by way of u&s;e gather, what manner of men Church-Officers ought to be: Fir&s;t, <HI>they mu&s;t be gifted:</HI> and it is this mu&s;t be the ground of the Churches choice: for as grace fits a man for communion with God, &s;o do gifts fit a man for the edification of the Church: and who ever is cho&s;en that is not gifted, was never appointed by Chri&s;t; for the Holy-Gho&s;t doth gift men, before he doth &s;et them over any people: therefore you are not to look only at the grace, but at
<PB N="131" REF="83"> the gi&s;ts of Officers: every godly man is not fit for an office. Secondly, <HI>they mu&s;t be humble men:</HI> for they have a power put into their hands, and an honour put upon them: now it will be a &s;nare to a proud man to be in ho|nour, and he will never u&s;e power well that is not hum|ble: the great care of officers &s;hould be that they might &s;o walk as <HI>not to Lord it over Gods heritage:</HI> they mu&s;t not exerci&s;e a Lord-like authority, but carry them|&s;elves in all manner of meekne&s;s and humility, or el&s;e it is dangerous to put &s;uch a &s;nare upon them: it is a tem|ptation for them to be in place. Thirdly, they mu&s;t al&s;o be <HI>holy men,</HI> &s;uch as have a care of their own &s;ouls, and rightly judge of the price of a &s;oul; for they that have no care of their own &s;ouls, will never have a care of yours. Fourthly, they mu&s;t be <HI>faithful men,</HI> that is faithful in labour: Laying out them&s;elves to the ut|mo&s;t without any re&s;pect to them&s;elves, or to their own ea&s;e: for the bu&s;ine&s;s which they are to do, concerns &s;ouls, and they mu&s;t <HI>be faithful in their account,</HI> tho&s;e that &s;hall do all things that their office requires of them upon this con&s;ideration, that <HI>we mu&s;t give an account for the &s;ouls that are committed to us:</HI> it is not an account un|to the Church that will &s;erve, but our account mu&s;t be <HI>unto him that &s;hall Iudge quick and dead.</HI> Fifthly, he mu&s;t be a man <HI>eminent in holine&s;s,</HI> for he mu&s;t be a <HI>Leader:</HI> Now there are many Saints that are not fit to lead: their Officers are to walk holily before them, that they may follow their example; and he mu&s;t al&s;o be coura|gious, or el&s;e he will never dare venture in dangers, to go before them, and if he be not &s;o, he will be a man apt to mi&s;-lead and pervert; there is nothing more dan|gerous then to have a man of great parts and eminent place in the Church, if he be a leader in an evil way:
<PB N="132" REF="84"> men will be ready to follow him: and therefore above all take heed of this, that he be a man eminent in holine&s;s and of an exemplary conver&s;ation. Sixthly, that he <HI>be well known</HI> and acquainted with you, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> if he have not all the&s;e qualifications, &s;ee the evil of it in the&s;e particulars; I wil but name them. Fir&s;t, you abu&s;e a Go&s;pel-priviledge, a power of Election that is put into your hands. Se|condly, in the end you will find the mi&s;ery of it by putting your &s;elves into the power of men, who &s;hall not u&s;e their power for your edification, but for their own honour and advantage, making Church-power to &s;erve their pride and lu&s;ts, which hath been the com|mon abu&s;e of it in all ages of the Church.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="133" REF="84">
<HEAD>Communion with GOD, Good in Bad Times.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>Preached at <HI>Pauls,</HI> <DATE><HI>Octob.</HI> 14. 1647.</DATE> before the Lord Maior, &amp; Alder|men.</DATELINE></OPENER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>PSAL. 73. <HI>ver.</HI> the la&s;t; the former part.</BIBL>
<P>But it is good for me to draw neer to God.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_WHen dangers are eminent, all men begin to look out for a refuge, that they may be able to make a certain and an honourable retreate: that they may in an univer&s;al de|luge provide an <HI>Ark;</HI> in a common confla|gration, a <HI>Zoar:</HI> and in a common Shipwrack that
<PB N="134" REF="85"> they may have <HI>tabulam po&s;t naufragium,</HI> that they may have &s;omething, that when danger hath done its wor&s;t, they may be able to lift up their heads and &s;ay, <HI>Terram video:</HI> I yet &s;ee an Haven to anchor in; I yet &s;ee an Haven to make to a &s;afe harbour. All natural and un|regenerate men, they have their refuges to which they retreate: <HI>the rich mans wealth is his &s;trong Tower: and his high wall is his own conceit.</HI> But the Holy-Gho&s;t hath told us, that <HI>when God &s;hall lay judgement to the line, and righteou&s;ne&s;s to the Plumet, the hail &s;hall &s;weep away the re|fuge of lyes, and the &s;torm &s;hall over-flow their hiding place, I&s;a.</HI> 28.17. But a godly man he hath his refuge al&s;o: grace makes a man <HI>partaker of the divine nature,</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, as <HI>Athen. Nazianzen</HI> expre&s;&s;eth it: it doth whol|ly re&s;olve the creature into God: <HI>God is to him allin all.</HI> God is his provi&s;ion, for <HI>he is a Sun.</HI> His protection is from him, for <HI>he is a Shield.</HI> His perfection lies in him: for <HI>he him&s;elf is his exceeding great reward.</HI> Thus <HI>the name of the Lord is a &s;trong Tower, and the righteous flye thither and are &s;afe; when the Branch of the terrible ones &s;hall be brought low:</HI> &s;pecially if we con&s;ider the time into which God hath ca&s;t us. As I know there is no duty, &s;o I know not of any Doctrine more nece&s;&s;ary then for the people of God, tho&s;e that have an intere&s;t in him, to be &s;tir'd up at this time in a &s;pecial manner to keep clo&s;e to him, that they may put on <HI>Davids</HI> re&s;olution in the Text, <HI>It is good for me to draw neer to God.</HI></P>
<P>In this <HI>P&s;alm</HI> you &s;hall find <HI>David</HI> lie under a great affliction, and a great temptation: an affliction, for he &s;aith, that <HI>he was plagued every day, and cha&s;tened every morning:</HI> and the temptation ro&s;e from his ob&s;ervati|on of the contrary pro&s;perity of the wicked. Here was a di&s;pen&s;ation of Providence that <HI>David</HI> could notunder|&s;tand;
<PB N="135" REF="85"> here was a Temptation of Satan, that <HI>David</HI> could not overcome; thereupon <HI>he goes into the Sanctua|ry of God.</HI> Truly, what&s;oever men may think, the ho|lye&s;t men, and the able&s;t men will &s;ometimes &s;tand in need of the Mini&s;try of the word: <HI>David</HI> went into the Sanctuary of God, and then the pa&s;&s;age of Provi|dence was clear to him, his mind was quiet, there is a pacifying vertue in the word, and the temptation vani&s;hed: and this the Lord did by di&s;covering unto <HI>David</HI> the ground of this differencing di&s;pen&s;ations in outward things, in regard of the different Covenants under which men &s;tand; and that both towards unre|generate men, and towards his own people: Towards unregenerate men, the Lord in his Sanctuary did di&s;|cover to <HI>David</HI> the&s;e Three things;</P>
<P>Fir&s;t of all, their outward pro&s;perity was but like a dream, but an Image, an appearance an out&s;ide, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, &amp; doth plea&s;e men no longer then while they are a&s;leep: it was but as a dream, when a man waketh, that all their outward pro&s;perity would certainly die.</P>
<P>Secondly, the Lord di&s;covered to him, all this glo|ry &s;hould end in their utter de&s;truction in time; and that this <HI>Jordan</HI> of content did but carry them down to the dead Sea; the Lord will &s;ay, they had <HI>their portion in this life: Son, remember that in thy life time thou had&s;t thy good things.</HI></P>
<P>In the third place; the Lord di&s;covered to him, that this common love &s;hould end in an eternal hatred: &s;o in the&s;e outward mercies there was a judgement: <HI>their Table was made a &s;nare,</HI> and to ripen their &s;ins, and by this means highten their judgement; and &s;o all the pro|&s;perity of the wicked to be an act of wrath, and not of mercy; and the Lord did advance them, that they
<PB N="136" REF="86"> &s;tand upon &s;lippery places. In all Gods di&s;pen&s;ations towards unregenerate men there is a judgement, even in tho&s;e things that are mercies: outward ble&s;&s;ings in them&s;elves, but cur&s;es to the men; becau&s;e this is a rule, <HI>Sine &s;ummo bono nil bonum:</HI> there is nothing good to a man that hath not an intere&s;t in God that is the chief|e&s;t good. The&s;e things being di&s;covered unto <HI>David,</HI> he under&s;tood the end of the&s;e men; but in the San|ctuary al&s;o God taught <HI>David</HI> &s;omething of his own people; and they were the&s;e three things.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that notwith&s;tanding their &s;ufferings. yet they had Gods pre&s;ence in them: though the Lord be pre|&s;ent with his people at all times, yet e&s;pecially in the wor&s;t times: when the Bu&s;h is in the fire, then in an e&s;pecial manner is <HI>the good plea&s;ure of him that dwels in the Bu&s;h</HI> there: <HI>Thou art with me</HI> (&s;aith <HI>David</HI>) <HI>thou holde&s;t me with thy right hand.</HI> And as he had Gods pre&s;ence: So he learned in the Sanctuary, that they had Gods guidance: as he did not bear the affliction alone by his own power, &s;o he did not go through it with his own wi&s;dom: <HI>thou &s;halt guide me with thy coun&s;el.</HI> And,</P>
<P>La&s;tly, he had Gods glory; <HI>for the&s;e light afflictions work for us a more exceeding exce&s;sive eternal weight of glory: thou &s;halt guide me with thy coun&s;el, and afterwards receive me to glory:</HI> and this <HI>&s;owing in tears</HI> &s;hall make way for a joyful harve&s;t. Now <HI>David</HI> having under|&s;tood the&s;e things in the Sanctuary, hence he begins again to lay claim to God, and that he had made the be&s;t choice. <HI>Whom have I in Heaven but thee? and who do I de&s;ire upon earth in compari&s;on of thee? &s;urely it is good for me to draw neer to God.</HI> Thus Gods people are gainers by all their afflictions, and they grow the &s;tronger
<PB N="137" REF="86"> by all their temptations: This being the Connection, The Ob&s;ervation then that I &s;hall de&s;ire to handle with|out any divi&s;ion of the words, is plainly in the Text.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doctrine.</HEAD>
<P><HI>In evil times it is good for the people of God to draw neer to God: The be&s;t cour&s;e a godly man can take in calamitious times, is to keep clo&s;e to God.</HI></P>
<P>In the handling of this truth, there are two things that I &s;hall de&s;ire to clear for Explication, and then we &s;hall come to Application.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, I de&s;ire to &s;hew you what it is for a man to draw neer to God; by &s;in every man he is departed from God; the fir&s;t de&s;ign of &s;in is to draw a man away, 1 <HI>Iam.</HI> 14. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, and the further a man goes in a way of &s;inning, the further he doth depart from God. <HI>Inde</HI> 18. and all the lu&s;tings of their heart <HI>are ungodly lu&s;ts.</HI> In this re&s;pect it is &s;aid, <HI>the Prodigal went into a far Country. Eph.</HI> 2.17. Now there is by rea&s;on of &s;in a double di&s;tance of enmity and e&s;trangement; The Apo&s;tle in <HI>Col.</HI> 1.21. puts them both together: <HI>VVe are &s;trangers and enemies in our minds through evil works:</HI> now an&s;werable to this double di&s;tance, &s;o mu&s;t our returning to God be: there mu&s;t be a returning by reconciliation to take away your enmity: and by Communion, to take away your e&s;trangement: for Chri&s;ts bu&s;ine&s;s is, <HI>to bring us back unto God again,</HI> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.18</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, for Reconciliation, that is not in Scripture cal|led <HI>drawing neer</HI> &s;o much as <HI>being made neer, Eph.</HI> 2.17. <HI>You are made neer that were a far off, by the blood of Chri&s;t:</HI> &s;o that by Reconciliation a man is put into a &s;tate of neerne&s;s and proquinquity. That is the fir&s;t thing whereby the creature returns to God; but now be|ing made neer, being put into a &s;tate of union, then</P>
<PB N="138" REF="87">
<P>Secondly, The &s;oul comes to draw neer, that is, the e&s;trangement mu&s;t be removed, which is done by com|munion, to exerci&s;e acts of communion; ob&s;erve it I pray. I &s;ay a man mu&s;t fir&s;t be put into a &s;tate of neer|ne&s;s, and made neer, before ever he can exerci&s;e acts of communion, and then draw neer. Now this drawing neer, is for a &s;oul to come to God from day to day, to improve his intere&s;t in him, grow into more and more acquaintance and familiarity with him: and you &s;hall find, that when a man is once brought into a &s;tate of uni|on, then the Lord calls him alwaies unto fellow&s;hip. <HI>Open unto me my Love, my Si&s;ter, and my Spou&s;e:</HI> there are continual knockings of the Lord as for a further entrance; there is a principle in us alwaies drawing back to perdition: and you &s;hall find that there is a Spirit with|in alwaies calling to draw neer unto God: <HI>the Bride &s;aith come, and the Spirit &s;aith come:</HI> the Spirit in the Bride. There is a great deal of di&s;tance between God and the be&s;t of the Saints; for 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. while we are at home in the body, we are ab&s;ent from the Lord. So <HI>Ignatius</HI> of old, he &s;aith, <HI>Aqua viva in me intrin&s;ecus di|cit, veni ad Patrem:</HI> that there was a living voice with|in him, that alwaies called upon him. And I be&s;eech you con&s;ider, a &s;oul that is once put into a &s;tate of commu|nion, and hath ta&s;ted what it is to draw neer to God, he de&s;ires a daily communion, he is never neer enough, he doth continually &s;et it as a &s;eal upon the heart. When a man is once by reconciliation put into a &s;tate of neer|ne&s;s; then in all Ordinances, in all waies of obedience, in his exerci&s;e of all graces, the &s;oul is &s;aid to <HI>draw neer;</HI> that is, to act, and increa&s;e his fellow&s;hip and communi|on with God. This I conceive to be the meaning of that expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>Ioh</HI> 22.21. <HI>Acquaint thy &s;elf with God and be
<PB N="139" REF="87"> at peace, &s;o goodne&s;s &s;hall come unto thee:</HI> acquaint thy &s;elf with him, <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>a&s;&s;ue&s;ce te cum illo;</HI> it is in the Hebrew, and is rendred by &s;ome, <HI>accu&s;tom thy &s;elf to be with him:</HI> a daily commerce with God, and an accu&s;toming of a mans &s;elf with fellow&s;hip and communion with him; this is properly to draw neer. So that as Reconcilia|tion taketh away your enmity, &s;o communion takes away your e&s;trangement.</P>
<P>But you will &s;ay to me, Can a creature draw neer to God? if you look upon man in his natural di&s;tance, <HI>God is in heaven, you are upon earth:</HI> can there be a draw|ing neer between finite and infinite? cna finite and in|finite have fellow&s;hip? nay, look upon man in his moral di&s;tance, as a &s;inner, and &s;o, <HI>can there be agreement be|tween light and darkne&s;s?</HI> can righteou&s;ne&s;s and un|righteou&s;ne&s;s have fellow&s;hip? Surely, <HI>God is a con&s;um|ing fire:</HI> and who can dwell, who can engage his heart to draw neer to him? Now give me leave (I be&s;eech you) to clear this to you, by propo&s;ing to you this con|&s;ideration.</P>
<P>There is a two-fold &s;tate of a &s;inner. There are &s;ome &s;inners that are in a &s;tate of e&s;trangement unto God: and who&s;oever you be that are here pre&s;ent, the enmity of who&s;e nature is not yet taken away, and de&s;troyed by a work of Reconciliation: I &s;ay to you, what&s;oever you be, you cannot draw neer to God: you may have com|munion with duties, you may pray, you may hear, but you can never have fellow&s;hip with God in tho&s;e duties, and that upon a double ground.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, becau&s;e the enmity of your nature remains; and <HI>two cannot walk together unle&s;s they be agreed:</HI> and &s;urely the neerer &s;uch a &s;oul comes to God in any duty where|in Gods people approach to him, the more God is pro|voked
<PB N="140" REF="88"> again&s;t him, and the more he is e&s;tranged from him: a &s;trange expre&s;&s;ion, that of the Prophet, <HI>I &s;aw him in</HI> Gilgal, <HI>&amp; there I held my peace; Gilgal</HI> was the place of wor&s;hip: the neerer any man comes, the more a mans heart ri&s;eth again&s;t him, and the more enmity doth en|crea&s;e: <HI>I &s;aw him in</HI> Gilgal, <HI>and there I held my peace:</HI> you cannot draw neer to God, the enmity of your natures &s;till remains. You cannot draw neer to God al&s;o</P>
<P>Secondly, becau&s;e you have another &s;ociety: <HI>your fellow&s;hip is with unfruitful works of darkne&s;s;</HI> and the fellow&s;hip, the amity, and love of the world, is enmity unto God. I remember, <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> complains concern|ing him&s;elf in the daies of his unregenerate condition, &s;peaking of the pride of the lu&s;ts of his Spirit: <HI>Ecce, hi &s;unt amici quibus con&s;ului, quibus credidi:</HI> the&s;e were the companions that I conver&s;ed with, the&s;e were my friends, and the&s;e were my Coun&s;ellors. Now, my Beloved, who&s;oever he be that hath <HI>Communion with the unfruitful works of darkne&s;s,</HI> it is no wonder if that man cannot draw neer to God. I have told you already, and I de&s;ire you would lay it to heart, you mu&s;t <HI>be made neer,</HI> or el&s;e you can never <HI>draw neer:</HI> you mu&s;t be in a &s;tate of communion, or el&s;e you can never have fellow|&s;hip with God. That is the fir&s;t thing.</P>
<P>But there are a &s;econd &s;ort of &s;inners, that are <HI>made neer by the blood of Chri&s;t:</HI> and the&s;e, though God be in heaven, and they are upon earth: though they be &s;in|ners, and the Lord be holine&s;s it &s;elf: nay, though they in their own apprehen&s;ions &s;hall &s;ay as <HI>Hooper</HI> once did, <HI>Lord thou art Heaven, I am Hell:</HI> yet they may draw neer to him, and that upon the&s;e &s;ix grounds: I be&s;eech you ob&s;erve them. A &s;inner put into a &s;tate of com|munion may upon the&s;e grounds draw neer to God.</P>
<PB N="141" REF="88">
<P>The fir&s;t is, Gods electing love: <HI>the Lord hath &s;epa|rated unto him&s;elf the man that is Godly, P&s;al.</HI> 4.3. <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, it is in the Hebrew, he hath gloriou&s;ly, and miraculou&s;|ly, wonderfully, &s;eparated to him&s;elf into fellow&s;hip: not only to him&s;elf for &s;ervice, but to him&s;elf for communion: and what is the ground? becau&s;e you are <HI>prede&s;tinated unto follow&s;hip,</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">. My Beloved, when you all fell from God as well as the Apo&s;tate An|gels, might not the Lord have left you in the &s;ame condition with them? and your doom &s;hould have been <HI>cur&s;ed,</HI> and therefore cur&s;ed, becau&s;e you mu&s;t <HI>depart;</HI> but if the Lord had been plea&s;ed to have been reconci|led; if he had &s;aid to you as <HI>David</HI> did concerning <HI>Ab|&s;olom, bring the young man home, but let him returne to his own hou&s;e, and let him never &s;ee my face:</HI> if the Lord &s;hould have &s;aid, I will not remember their evil again&s;t them to de&s;troy them, but they &s;hall never &s;ee my face more, they &s;hall be e&s;tranged to me for ever: you would have &s;aid, this had been a mercie, even your pre&s;ervation; but this doth not &s;atisfie Electing love: there is a double end that electing-love aims at, 2 <HI>Luke</HI> 14. it is, <HI>peace and good will;</HI> not only <HI>Reconciliation,</HI> but <HI>Communion:</HI> that God may take the creature into fellow&s;hip with him&s;elf, and empty him&s;elf (as I may &s;o &s;peak with reverence) into the bo&s;om of the creature. Be plea&s;ed now to con|&s;ider, you may then <HI>draw neer to God</HI> upon this ground of Gods electing love.</P>
<P>Secondly, you may draw neer to God, grounded upon the nature of the Covenant of grace under which you &s;tand. My Beloved, God deals with all mankind in a Covenant-way; and according unto the Covenant under which he &s;tandeth, &s;o are all Gods di&s;pen&s;ations towards him: and to that end the Lord hath made a
<PB N="142" REF="89"> double Covenant with a double head. The fir&s;t Cove|nant was made with the <HI>fir&s;t Adam,</HI> the &s;econd Cove|nant with <HI>the &s;econd Adam;</HI> and therefore God looks up|on all mankind, as if there were but two men in the world. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.47. <HI>The fir&s;t man was of the earth earth|ly: the &s;econd man is the Lord from Heaven Heavenly:</HI> God looks upon all mankind as coming under the&s;e two heads, <HI>the fir&s;t Adam,</HI> and <HI>the &s;econd Adam.</HI> Now the Covenant of grace which the Lord hath e&s;tabli&s;hed, it hath a double propertie. Fir&s;t, it is <HI>faedus amicitiae,</HI> a Co|venant of friend&s;hip; the Lord doth take <HI>Abram</HI> as his friend. <HI>Abram my friend: James</HI> 2.23. Now the School-men tell us of two &s;orts of relations; <HI>relatio di&s;|quiparantiae connotat dominium:</HI> that notes &s;ubjection and dominion, as between a King and a &s;ubject, a ma&s;ter and a &s;ervant; there is not &s;o properly communion: and <HI>relatio aequiparantiae quae denotat Communionem:</HI> now the proper end of friend&s;hip, is fellow&s;hip: for a mans friend is as his own &s;oul, and the Covenant of grace is a Cove|nant of fellow&s;hip &amp; therefore they may draw neer unto him, being taken by God into a Covenant of friend&s;hip.</P>
<P>2^l^y. the Covenant of grace is a matrimonial Covenant: <HI>faedus Conjugale: I betrothed her:</HI> in <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 2.9. you knowin this is the neere&s;t Communion, &amp; the &s;ure&s;t onene&s;s in this relation beyond al other in the world the greate&s;t friend|&s;hip by vertue of an Ordinance two made one. One that was heretofore a &s;tranger, &s;hall be dearer then Fa|ther or Mother, and this <HI>voluntary</HI> relation by con&s;ent, &s;hall by vertue of the Ordinance of God be more po|werful then a <HI>natural relation, and a man &s;hall leave Father and Mother, and cleave to his wife:</HI> and if there be this power in an Ordinance of God that is but civil, what efficacy &s;hall divine Ordinances and this &s;piritual Cove|nant
<PB N="143" REF="89"> have? Surely, <HI>thou &s;hall lie in his bo&s;om,</HI> and have the more intimate and full communion with him for ever. Now when the Lord will &s;et forth the neer Com|munion that his people may have with him by this Covenant this he calls a Matrimonial Covenant.</P>
<P>Thirdly, you may draw neer to God grounded upon <HI>your union with the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> The <HI>Apo&s;tle</HI> tells us, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.17. that <HI>he that is joyned to the Lord, is one Spirit:</HI> and <HI>by that Spriit we have acce&s;s to the Father, Eph.</HI> 3.12. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, the Apo&s;tle tells, that our way to God is <HI>through him;</HI> we have by Je&s;us Chri&s;t our <HI>manuduction:</HI> he is the great Favourite that leads us in by the hand into the pre&s;ence of the Father, <HI>Eph.</HI> 2.18. <HI>through him we have an entrance to the Father, by one Spi|rit.</HI> Chri&s;t is not only <HI>medium reconciliationis,</HI> but he is <HI>medium communionis</HI> al&s;o: by his &s;atisfacti|on the one; by his interce&s;&s;ion the other: Je&s;us Chri&s;t (my Beloved) hath a double refe|rence to us: in the work of &s;atisfaction, he is the means of Reconciliation: but in all our approaches unto God, being reconciled, Chri&s;t is the <HI>medium,</HI> he it is by whom we have Communion with the Lord. Be&s;ides,</P>
<P>In the fourth place, you may draw neer to God be|cau&s;e of your conformity to him: <HI>for we are made par|takers of the divine nature,</HI> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.4. and <HI>we live the life of God, Eph.</HI> 4.18. and <HI>we have his Image re&s;tored,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.49. Conformity is the ground of communion where&s;oever it is. <HI>Joh.</HI> 3.6. and the more Conformity, the more Communion we have: and when your Con|formity &s;hall be perfected, &s;o &s;hall your communion be. Take that place (and it is a choice Scripture) in that <HI>Zach.</HI> 3.7. <HI>If thou wilt obey my words, keep my charge, I will give thee places to walk in among tho&s;e that &s;tand
<PB N="144" REF="90"> by;</HI> <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>inter &s;tantes illos:</HI> who are the&s;e? Tho&s;e, interpreters conceive to be Angels: So <HI>Dru&s;ius, Po&s;t mortem anima tua in chorum recipietur,</HI> &amp;c. the Angels and the Saints they are taken into neere&s;t communion. So <HI>Calvin;</HI> &s;o that the more Conformity there is, the more a man obeyeth God; and the more he keepeth Gods charges, the more the Lord will delight to <HI>give him places to walk in among&s;t tho&s;e that &s;tand by.</HI> Nay,</P>
<P>In the fifth place, you may draw neer to God; for though God be in Heaven you may a&s;cend, and the &s;oul may be above in Heaven when the body is walking here below: there is a double way of the &s;ouls a&s;&s;ent: either in <HI>contemplation,</HI> or <HI>affection.</HI> In contemplation, the &s;oul may a&s;cend. <HI>John</HI> in <HI>Rev.</HI> 4. &s;aid, <HI>I &s;aw a door opened in Heaven, and a voice &s;aid, Come up hither: John</HI> in his body a&s;cended not, but <HI>John</HI> in contemplation of his heart was above, <HI>Col.</HI> 3 4. A man is worth as much as his love is worth. <HI>Ezekiel,</HI> when he was in <HI>Babylon</HI> by the River <HI>Chebar,</HI> yet he &s;aith, <HI>the Spirit of God carried him in the vi&s;ions of God to Ieru&s;alem, Ezek.</HI> 8.3. in his contemplation at <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> and yet notwith&s;tanding in his body in <HI>Babylon</HI> by the River <HI>Chebar:</HI> And the &s;oul may a&s;cend in its affection; <HI>Mat.</HI> 6.21. <HI>Where a mans trea&s;ure is, there will his heart be:</HI> and &s;urely where a mans heart is, there is his happine&s;s: and where his happine&s;s is, there is the man; <HI>mira &s;ublimitate tran&s;it amor in ama|tum. Niremb.</HI> Ob&s;erve it, <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> &s;aith concerning him&s;elf, his &s;oul a&s;cended up, and frequently ran and &s;aluted the Prophets, and vi&s;ited the Patriarchs, <HI>&amp;c. Anima a&s;cendit frequenter &amp; currit familiariter per plateas coele&s;tis Ieru&s;alem.</HI> Thus (my Beloved) may a mans &s;oul be in heaven, even while his body is here below, <HI>feed|ing
<PB N="145" REF="90"> upon the hidden manna,</HI> and bathing him&s;elf in tho&s;e rivers of <HI>plea&s;ures,</HI> that the Lord <HI>hath prepared at his right hand for tho&s;e that love him;</HI> then, though you be upon earth, you may a&s;cend, and therein draw nigh to God.</P>
<P>In the la&s;t place (I mu&s;t ha&s;ten) you may draw neer to God; for if you cannot a&s;cend to God, God will be plea&s;ed to come down to you, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 51.15. <HI>Heaven is my Throne, I inhabit eternity, I dwell in the high and holy place, yet will I dwell with the humble and the contrite heart;</HI> Luk. 13.15. <HI>If the Prodigal do but &s;ay I will go to my Father;</HI> the lo&s;t Son comes in, the compa&s;&s;ionate father runs: God deals with his people in this, in a way of reatliation; and when a man hath but a motion to return to God, why the Lord is ready to meet him, and embrace him: he hath to this end appointed Ordinances, and in them he tells you, he will meet you, <HI>Exod.</HI> 20.24. you need but come half way as it were; God &s;aith, <HI>he will meet you.</HI> My Beloved, it is true indeed, it is an imperfect, yet not|with&s;tanding it is a real communion: we do but &s;ee him indeed <HI>behinde a wall; and through the lattice:</HI> but yet we do rea&s;ly &s;ee. And it is &s;uch a Communion that the Lord is him&s;elf exceedingly delighted with; <HI>the King is held in the Galleries;</HI> it is that mighty expre&s;&s;ion of the Spirit, <HI>Cant</HI> 7.5. <HI>the King is held in the Galleries:</HI> there is a double Gallerie wherein Gods people take their walks with God, he, and they alone: the upper Gallerie is re|&s;erved for <HI>the &s;ouls of ju&s;t men made perfect:</HI> but there is a lower Gallerie wherein Gods people walk with him here: Je&s;us Chri&s;t is &s;aid &s;o to delight him&s;elf in this conver&s;e, that <HI>he is held there,</HI> and that by nothing, but by the cords of love; <HI>The King is held in the Galleries.</HI> Thus then let this &s;erve for the opening of the fir&s;t
<PB N="146" REF="91"> Branch; what it is to draw neer to God; and upon what ground, though <HI>God be in Heaven and you upon earth:</HI> though <HI>God be a con&s;uming fire,</HI> and thou as a &s;in|ner, but &s;tubble before him, being put into a &s;tate of com|munion, thou maye&s;t draw neer to him.</P>
<P>Now let us come to the &s;econd Branch of the open|ing of the Doctrine; and that is, why it is good for the people of God, yea be&s;t for them in calamitous times, then to draw neer, to keep a clo&s;e and a con&s;tant com|munion with him; truly the grounds of it are very weighty; take it in the&s;e particulars, as briefly as I am able.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place, this is the only means to pre&s;erve a man from the &s;in of evil fellow-&s;hip; therefore it is good to draw neer to God; you &s;hall alwaies find times of &s;uffering to be al&s;o great times of &s;inning: and men in them, they are not <HI>Tam mi&s;eri quam mali,</HI> as <HI>Salmon</HI> compares them. When God pours out his wrath, then doth Satan pour out his rage: then becau&s;e <HI>iniquity doth abound, the love of many waxeth cold,</HI> and men prove Apo|&s;tates and fall away. Now at &s;uch times there is the greate&s;t Apo&s;ta&s;ies, and back&s;lidings manife&s;ted then at any time: men fall from their former apprehen&s;ions in|to erroneous opinions: men fall from their former affe|ctions, and they <HI>lo&s;e their fir&s;t love.</HI> Men fall from their former conver&s;ations, and they <HI>glory in their &s;hame, and becau&s;e iniquity aboundeth, the love of many waxeth cold;</HI> and it is not &s;trange (I be&s;eech you mark it, for I &s;peak to you that fear God, that are put into a &s;tate of Com|munion, I &s;ay it is not &s;trange) that even the Godly &s;hould back&s;lide, and deny, and fall from the glory of their former conver&s;ation. <HI>David</HI> had <HI>his fir&s;t and his lat|ter waies.</HI> It is the expre&s;&s;ion in <HI>Chro.</HI> 17.3. <HI>Ieho&s;aphat
<PB N="147" REF="91"> walked according to the fir&s;t waies of</HI> David <HI>his father.</HI> A <HI>David</HI> may have his fir&s;t and his latter waies; and in &s;uch times as the&s;e for a man not to fall from his &s;ted|fa&s;tne&s;s (my Beloved) it is a mighty thing: <HI>when the Dragons tayl &s;hall &s;weep down the third part of the &s;tars,</HI> for you to abide fixed; there hath been in all ages a cour&s;e of the world: the world is a Sea, and every man is a drop emptied into that Sea, and he &s;wimeth in it; he is apt to run with the tide: there is a <HI>cour&s;e of the world, Eph.</HI> 2.2. and in every age of the world there is a &s;everal form of it: <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, <HI>Gal.</HI> 1.4. <HI>delivered from the pre&s;ent evil world:</HI> that is the redemption of the Saints to be delivered from the evil world that is pre&s;ent, and that way of wicked|ne&s;s that is common in their age, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Ye &s;hall ob&s;erve this in the fir&s;t three hundred years: then the generality of the world, they were <HI>the Dragons Angels that made war again&s;t the woman:</HI> but when <HI>the woman had brought forth a man-child, and he was advanced into the Throne of God,</HI> into the &s;tate of the Empire, then pre&s;ently the world becomes Chri&s;tians. In <HI>Con&s;tantines</HI> time then <HI>Sathan pours out a flood after the woman,</HI> the flood of the <HI>Arrian</HI> here&s;ie, and then the world became an <HI>Arrian,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jerom.</NOTE> <HI>totus mundus factus e&s;t Arrianus,</HI> as <HI>Jerom</HI> complains. This flood being in &s;ome mea&s;ure dried up, and after|ward &s;ettled in the Sea of <HI>Rome,</HI> then <HI>all the world won|ders after Rome: a new Bea&s;t ari&s;eth that had two horns like a Lamb, and &s;peaks like a Dragon,</HI> and re&s;erves all the cruelty of the Dragon, but only under a more promi&s;ing, under a more harmle&s;s and promi&s;ing &s;hape; by and by, I &s;ay, all the world wonders after <HI>Rome.</HI> And thus you &s;hall find <HI>men</HI> that <HI>mind</HI> nothing but <HI>earthly things,</HI> and that u&s;ually that they may enjoy the world, they are thus carried on by the cour&s;e of the world, in all
<PB N="148" REF="92"> ages; <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ju&s;t. Mart.</NOTE> <HI>Iu&s;tin Mart.</HI> Now what &s;hall pre&s;erve us? Oh, there is nothing now but keeping clo&s;e to God, that will <HI>keep you un&s;potted:</HI> In <HI>Gen.</HI> 6.9,10. <HI>Noah walked with God; &s;emper incedebat, eratque cum Deo perinde ut homo cum homine amico,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Au&s;t.</NOTE> <HI>Au&s;t.</HI> The Schoolmen put the que&s;tion how it comes to pa&s;s, that the Angels and the &s;ouls of men in Heaven are impec|cant, and without &s;in. They an&s;wer: that it is the Bea|tifical vi&s;ion, they have alwaies God in their eye: <HI>vi&s;io Beatifica impotentes reddit ad peccandum:</HI> truly, there is nothing in the world that will &s;tay the &s;oul like to it. If you will be pre&s;erved from the evil of the times, and be upright in a crooked generation, then take heed to walk clo&s;e with God. <HI>It is good for you to draw neer to God.</HI> But</P>
<P>Secondly, it is good for you to draw neer to God, when all things el&s;e withdraw them&s;elves from you: My Beloved, it is good for a Chri&s;tian to make &s;uch a &s;uppo&s;ition as the Prophet <HI>Habbakuck</HI> doth in <HI>Chap.</HI> 3.17,18. <HI>Though the Fig-tree &s;hould notblo&s;&s;om, though there be no fruit in the Vine, though the labour of the Olive &s;hould fail, and the fields &s;hould yield no meat: the flocks &s;hould be cut off from the folds, and the Herds from the &s;talls: yet I will rejoyce in the Lord, and I will triumph in the God of my &s;alvation.</HI> Mark, he doth not only pitch upon tho&s;e comforts that are rather for complement then ne|ce&s;&s;ity, but the choice&s;t provi&s;ion (as I may &s;o &s;peak) of the worlds making; here is the Fig-tree, the Vine, the Olive, the Field, the flock: and he &s;aith not, If any of the&s;e &s;hould fail, then they might be recompenced with the labour of the other; but if all the&s;e &s;hould fail to|gether, and con&s;pire to make man mi&s;erable: and not only to fail in hope, but even what you have already
<PB N="149" REF="92"> in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion. When doth a man think his flocks to be certainer, then in his folds; and his herds, then in his &s;talls? but though the flocks, and the herds &s;hould fail; what now will bear up his &s;oul? <HI>I will rejoyce in God:</HI> Oh, it is time to keep clo&s;e to God; let me tell you, <HI>the Land reels to and fro like a Drunkard;</HI> &s;ometimes leanes this way, you know it, and &s;ometimes that way: truly, when the Land begins to &s;ink under a mans feet once, foundations &s;hake, then it is time for a man to lift up his hands, and to take hold of heaven; <HI>re&s;tat iter coelo:</HI> for this will be the great cut to a mans heart when he &s;hall be &s;hut out of all things here below, as it was with <HI>Saul</HI> in his agonie: <HI>the Phili&s;tins made war again&s;t him, and God hides his head;</HI> the Phili&s;tines made war: &s;o they did many times before, and <HI>Saul</HI> got the better; <HI>Saul</HI> had now an Army in the field. I, but though he had an Army; <HI>Saul</HI> had lo&s;t his God, <HI>the Lord is departed from me, and an&s;wers me no more.</HI> This is the be&s;t way indeed to keep clo&s;e to God, it is time to draw neer to God, when all things el&s;e withdraw them&s;elves from you.</P>
<P>Thirdly, it is be&s;t, becau&s;e if you draw neer to God, God will certainly draw neer to you: he hath promi&s;|ed it, in <HI>Jam.</HI> 4.8. <HI>Draw neer to God, and he will draw neer to you:</HI> and the approach of God &s;umms up all, <HI>Gen</HI> 15.1. <HI>for in his pre&s;ence is fulne&s;s of joy.</HI> It is a mighty expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.7. that <HI>he that overcomes &s;hall inherit all things.</HI> I, and that of our Savtour, <HI>Mark</HI> 10.30. <HI>If a man for&s;ake father and mother, hou&s;e or lands, he &s;hall have a hundred fold more in this life:</HI> a hundred fold in &s;ome re&s;pect, he cannot have an hundred Fa|thers, or an hundred Mothers, but Interpreters &s;ay, it is not to be under&s;tood <HI>formaliter,</HI> but <HI>eminenter:</HI> he
<PB N="150" REF="93"> &s;hall have all the comforts in God that the&s;e could af|ford him, if they were a hundred times more: Oh then draw neer to God, and God will certainly draw neer to you. But, I but name things.</P>
<P>Fourthly, to draw neer to God is be&s;t; for by this means you &s;hall be pre&s;erved from the evil that other men &s;uffer, the evil of &s;uffering: The promi&s;e is in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 91.10. <HI>He that dwelleth under the &s;haddow of the mo&s;t high; no plague &s;hall come nigh him: he will give his Angels charge over thee;</HI> it notes a con&s;tant fellow&s;hip: thou &s;halt be the &s;pecial charge that the Angels have I &s;hall de&s;ire you but to con&s;ider, the Lord hath projects of providence for his peoples pre&s;ervation, as well as for his enemies de&s;truction. <HI>Noah</HI> walked with God, and had an Ark, when the re&s;t of the world of ungodly men peri&s;hed in the waters; <HI>David</HI> a man that kept con&s;tant communion, and we &s;ee how the Lord owns him in all his tryals and appears for him: <HI>upon all the glo|ry there &s;hall be a covering;</HI> and there are projects of provi|dence beyond the wi&s;dom of men or Angels; for, <HI>the Lord knows how to deliver the ju&s;t from all their trouble,</HI> and how to re&s;erve the wicked to the day of Judge|ment. The&s;e things now I am forced to pa&s;s over.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, (and &s;o we will ha&s;ten to the Application) It is be&s;t for men to draw neer to God, becau&s;e a clo&s;e communion keeps up in a mans &s;oul tho&s;e qualificati|ons as &s;hall make every afliction comfortable and ea&s;ie, be the times never &s;o bad: for the drawing neer of the &s;oul to God, is like the Sun to the earth, which by its heat and perfect influence puts life, vigour, and beauty into things dead and withered before, <HI>Cant.</HI> 1.12. Communion with God is the &s;pring-time of all
<PB N="151" REF="93"> grace: and therefore I will but name them.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Communion with God will keep a mans &s;oul in a &s;ilent humble frame: that was the fruit of <HI>Aarons</HI> Communion in <HI>Levit.</HI> 10.3. a great cro&s;s be fell him, he lo&s;t two Sons taken away by an immediate act of Gods hand, even in an act of &s;in; yet <HI>Aaron</HI> held his peace: <HI>Aaron held his peace:</HI> fellow&s;hip with God will certainly keep the &s;oul in a peaceable &s;ubmi&s;&s;ive frame, that be the affliction what it will be, the &s;oul &s;hall &s;ay, <HI>Gods will is the rule of goodne&s;s:</HI> when Judgement was pronounced again&s;t <HI>Hezekiah, good is the word of the Lord:</HI> and <HI>Iob, the Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken away.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, fellow&s;hip with God will keep a mans &s;oul in a holy independency upon the things below: there is nothing (my Beloved) puts a mans &s;oul out of band with the creature like communion: this is the way to have the <HI>Moon under your feet,</HI> as the expre&s;&s;ion is: for that in fellow&s;hip with God, a man that knows what it is to have clo&s;e communion, knows that he doth really &s;et his feet where other men &s;et their hearts: it puts the mouth out of ta&s;t to all creature comforts to him; <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chry&s;o&s;t.</NOTE> though the world were on fire about his ears, yet he hath lo&s;t nothing, for his portion is enough.</P>
<P>In the third place, as a holy independency, &s;o a holy magnanimity of &s;pirit; he &s;hall not think tho&s;e things great that other men think in&s;upportable. <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t endured the Cro&s;s, and de&s;pi&s;ed the &s;hame;</HI> and the &s;hame of the cro&s;s was the greate&s;t &s;uffering. Why do you weep and break my heart? <HI>I am ready not only to be bound, but to die for him.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luther.</NOTE> And <HI>Luther</HI> (I remember) when the enemies gave out that he had recanted, he writes in a Letter of his, that I will never recant: think that I will
<PB N="152" REF="94"> do any thing rather then recant, be the dangers and threatnings what they will be; <HI>they are not careful to an|&s;wer thee in this matter: omnia de me prae&s;umes praeter fu|gam, qui odium &amp; impetum totius orbis &s;u&s;tinui:</HI> Commu|nion with God keeps up a mans Spirit in this magnani|mity.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, fellow&s;hip with God keeps up a mans &s;oul in a holy &s;elf-&s;ufficiency: if it be in pri&s;on, God is his en|largement; <HI>a good man is &s;atisfied from him&s;elf, Solomon</HI> &s;aith; &s;o as he may enjoy God truly, he is able to &s;tand upon the ruines of the world, and &s;ay, that he hath lo&s;t nothing. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE> I remember it is <HI>Augu&s;tines</HI> expre&s;&s;ion of the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Nola.</HI> The City was taken and &s;acked by the <HI>Goths,</HI> that he did rea&s;on with him&s;elf, having lo&s;t all his e&s;tate, &s;hould he vex him&s;elf for the lo&s;s of &s;ilver and gold? <HI>domine, ubi omnia mea tu &s;cis.</HI> Lord, thou knowe&s;t where all my trea&s;ure is laid up: there is a holy &s;elf-&s;ufficiency in regard of a mans fellow&s;hip with God. Now this noble di&s;po&s;ition, communion with God will alwaies keep alive, and active in the &s;oul. Let this &s;erve for the Explication of the point. I &s;hall borrow but a little time for application, I &s;hall not hold you long.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>I would make but one U&s;e of it and no more. To exhort every one to put on <HI>Davids</HI> re&s;olutions in the times in which you live, <HI>It is good for me to draw neer to God:</HI> make it your bu&s;ine&s;s, to keep clo&s;e, and con&s;tant to him: truly, I fear many a man in publike employments (I be&s;eech you lay it to your own hearts, I &s;ay, I fear many a man) many a godly man in publike imployments his heart runs out &s;o much upon the things without him, that he hath cau&s;e to complain as the Spou&s;e doth, the Church doth, <HI>they made me keeper of the Vine-yards, but
<PB N="153" REF="94"> my own Vine I have not kept.</HI> I am afraid, many in publike employments do much remit their private duties. My Beloved, there is a cloud that hangs over all the Reform|ed Churches, and we have cau&s;e to fear, <HI>that the &s;word is already bathed in their blood,</HI> &amp; that great a <HI>con&s;umption is determined upon them all,</HI> whether we con&s;ider our ful|ne&s;s of &s;in, or our fearle&s;ne&s;s of Judgement.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, fulne&s;s of &s;in; for we have certainly, <HI>after pruning brought forth grapes of</HI> Sodom, <HI>and clu&s;ters of</HI> Gomorrah: truly, I know what&s;oever we may &s;uppo&s;e of our &s;elves, I know no terms that God offers to crea|tures but this: <HI>if you will not be cha&s;ti&s;ed of me, I will puni&s;h you &s;even times more, and &s;even times more till I have de&s;troyed you: in decretis &s;apientum nulla e&s;t Litura:</HI> And if <HI>Gomer begins once to bear,</HI> in <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 1. (you &s;ee the pedigree of judgement) &s;he will never leave bearing till <HI>&s;he</HI> hath <HI>brought forth Loammi,</HI> perfect de&s;truction: therefore if you look to the ful-ne&s;s of &s;in;</P>
<P>Secondly, If you look to the fulne&s;s of judgement: truly I may &s;ay, (though it be &s;ad to &s;ay it) <HI>Ephraim, England, is a &s;illy Dove without a heart; gray haris are here and there, and &s;he knows it not.</HI> Con&s;ider (I be&s;eech you) but the juncture of time into which God hath ca&s;t us. The time of the <HI>Witne&s;&s;es prophecying in Sack|cloth and a&s;hes</HI> draws neer to an end, and they do think by and by to put of their Sack-cloth; and &s;o &s;ome render that expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>when they are about to fi|ni&s;h their te&s;timony:</HI> and they thought they &s;hould by and by have put off their &s;ack-cloth and a&s;hes, and have put on the garments of prai&s;e and glory; then comes the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es This I de&s;ire you to con&s;ider; the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es &s;hall be &s;hortly before
<PB N="154" REF="95"> <HI>Romes</HI> ruine, <HI>Rev.</HI> 11. <HI>When they ri&s;e, the tenth part of the City falleth,</HI> which is whole <HI>Rome:</HI> that which now re|maineth being but the tenth part of what it was antient|ly, and therefore doth &s;yncronize with <HI>Rev.</HI> 18. <HI>Babylon being ca&s;t in the Sea as a mil-&s;tone:</HI> We have great rea|&s;on to expect this to be coming on; and then who are they that &s;hall e&s;cape that great tribulation, &s;uch as ne|ver befell the Chri&s;tian Churches, forrunning their great delivery: <HI>that &s;hall &s;tand with the Lord, with Palmes in their hands,</HI> as tokens of victory? none but tho&s;e that having <HI>gone through great tribulation, have wa&s;hed their garments white in the blood of the Lamb:</HI> and that is immediately before the &s;eventh Trumpet &s;oundeth: and certainly who&s;oever &s;hall ob&s;erve both the cour&s;e of the Hi&s;tory, and the cour&s;e of Gods di&s;|pen&s;ation of providence, mu&s;t needs conclude, it is not yet come. Now in this con&s;ideration, how good is it for to take this coun&s;el of the Prophet? <HI>It is good for a peo|ple to draw neer to God.</HI></P>
<P>But you will &s;ay to me: how &s;hould we draw neer?</P>
<P>A few directions with a word of Exhortation, and I conclude.</P>
<P>There are the&s;e five Rules that I earne&s;tly de&s;ire the Lord may write in your hearts, that you may know how the &s;oul ought to draw neer to God.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, be much in the u&s;e of all Ordinances, for in them you do draw neer, <HI>Lev.</HI> 10.3,4. <HI>God will be &s;ancti|fied in tho&s;e that come neer unto him;</HI> you do draw neer in Ordinances: this <HI>is the Bed wherein Chri&s;t and his Spou&s;e do &s;olace them&s;elves,</HI> and enjoy the &s;weete&s;t of plea&s;ures: and it is of flouri&s;hing Ordinances that the Ho|ly-Gho&s;t
<PB N="155" REF="95"> &s;peaks when he &s;aith in <HI>Cant.</HI> 1.16. But yet in all your Ordinances, pray ob&s;erve to take heed that you do mark the &s;pecial pre&s;ence or ab&s;ence of God in them; el&s;e you may have communion with a duty, when God withdraws him&s;elf: and know, that Gods withdrawing of him&s;elf from an Ordinance is a great judgement, <HI>when the glory of the Lord departeth:</HI> for then our Ordinances will be <HI>Wells without water; Bre&s;ts with|out milk:</HI> there is a vanity in Ordinances as well as in creatures, if God leave them. But as it is a great judge|ment; &s;o it is the fore-runner of Judgement. Oh that the Lord would &s;et on that place upon your hearts, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 10.2. the Lord &s;aith to the Angel, <HI>Go take fire from off the Altar, and &s;catter over this City;</HI> take fire from off the Altar. If the glory of the Lord depart from the Temple, then the fire of the Altar that before would &s;erve to expiate their &s;ins, will now burn the City, and there is no fire burns &s;o hotly as that which is taken from off the Altar. Nay, I de&s;ire you to take this with you, That as you mu&s;t u&s;e the Ordinances, and ob&s;erve the &s;piritual pre&s;ence or ab&s;ence of God in them: See</P>
<P>That your Ordinances be pure Ordinances, or el&s;e they will do you no good: See that they be without humane mixture and &s;ophi&s;tication: there is a great deal of vanity and pride in men: for truly, <HI>vain man would be wi&s;e, though he be born like a wild A&s;&s;es colt,</HI> and men love to exerci&s;e their wi&s;dom in nothing more then in the things of God, and therefore for matter of Ordi|nances they will pick and chu&s;e. <Q REND="inline">I de&s;ire you to con&s;i|der, and you will find this Rule: The le&s;s of Gods Order you have, the le&s;s of Gods pre&s;ence, and the
<PB N="156" REF="96"> le&s;s of Gods ble&s;&s;ing.</Q> That is the fir&s;t Rule for your drawing neer. Be much in the u&s;e of all Ordinances. But yet ob&s;erve the &s;piritual pre&s;ence, or ab&s;ence of God in them.</P>
<P>Secondly, if you will draw neer to God, Walk in a continual fear that God &s;hould withdraw him&s;elf from you. That is another Rule of Communion. Truly, all people that know what belongeth to walking with God, and drawing neer to him, know they mu&s;t be ac|quainted with &s;uch &s;piritual truths: walk in a continual fear of Gods withdrawing of him&s;elf from you. It was the Churches mi&s;ery in <HI>Cant.</HI> 5. <HI>I opened, and my Be|loved had withdrawn him&s;elf:</HI> my Beloved had with|drawn him&s;elf. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE> <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> I remember &s;peaks of a cha&s;t and of whori&s;h fear, a &s;inful fear, and he expre&s;&s;eth it by the di&s;po&s;ition of a Wife, and a Harlot; both &s;tand in awe of the Husband, of the man: but (&s;aith he) <HI>Haec virum timet ne veniat, illa ne de&s;cedat:</HI> one fears lea&s;t the Hushand will come, the other fears lea&s;t the Hus|band will depart; the&s;e are the di&s;po&s;itions (certainly) of a &s;oul that knows what belongs to Communion with God; a man that hath once obtained Communion with God to approach, but afterwards the Lord departs, it is uncertain whether ever he &s;hall obtain that approach of Communion again, or no. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> I remember it was <HI>Bernards</HI> ob&s;ervation (and truly it is a &s;ad one) &s;peaking of tho&s;e that did fall from their Communion; &s;aith he, <HI>Perpau|cos invenimus qui unquam redeunt ad gradum pri&s;tinum:</HI> we &s;hall find very few of tho&s;e that ever obtained their former approach of fellow&s;hip again: make this your bu&s;ine&s;s, walk in continual fears lea&s;t the Lord with|draw him&s;elf.</P>
<PB N="157" REF="96">
<P>In the third place; If you would grow in Com|munion, and draw neer to God, you mu&s;t grow in conformity unto him: for I have told you alrea|dy, that according as our Conformity is, &s;o &s;hall our Communion be; &s;o I be&s;eech you ob&s;erve it in <HI>Iohn</HI> 15.10. Chri&s;t &s;aith to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Keep my Commandments</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>and abide in my love, as I have kept my Fathers Commandments, and abide in his love:</HI> abide in his love; doth our abiding in the love of Chri&s;t &s;tand upon our keeping his Commandments? it is &s;poken here of abiding in the &s;en&s;e and the apprehen&s;ion of his love, walking in the light of his countenance: there is a double love of Chri&s;t unto the Saints: there is <HI>amor benevolentiae &amp; amor complacentiae;</HI> there is a love of benovelence, and that is the ground indeed; it is free grace is the ground of all grace what&s;oever: this is not grounded upon our conformity to Chri&s;t, for <HI>he loved us when we were enemies.</HI> But there is a love of delight, and that is grounded upon the image of God in us, and our conformity unto his: and the Lord &s;o much the more delighteth in the creature, as he &s;ees the more of his image in it. So then, if you would draw neer to God, grow into conformity, and your communion &s;hall grow.</P>
<P>In the fourth place; Ob&s;erve the times of fellow&s;hip: I be&s;eech you remember this: There are peculiar times when God draws neer to you; <HI>molli&s;sima tempora &s;andi:</HI> do you then draw neer to God: <HI>call upon him while he is neer:</HI> that is the expre&s;&s;ion: the Spirit of God (<HI>Tertul|lian</HI>
<PB N="158" REF="97"> ob&s;erves, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertullian.</NOTE> <HI>res delicata &s;piritus Chri&s;ti</HI>) is a delicate thing, a delicate Spirit, ea&s;ily provoked to depart when the Lord knocketh, and offers love, and men will not entertain it. Courtiers have their peculiar times of &s;peaking, when they may have Communion in all their reque&s;ts with grace: Ob&s;erve the&s;e times, the Lord thus draws neer you; cheri&s;h as your life the&s;e &s;ea&s;ons of times, and the&s;e &s;weet warblings of the Spirit of grace: ob&s;erve when God draws neer to you. That is a fourth Direction.</P>
<P>And in the la&s;t place, Take heed of all tho&s;e &s;ins that may interrupt your fellow&s;hip: it is true indeed, every &s;in &s;eparateth between us and God: and the &s;malle&s;t &s;in, the &s;malle&s;t body hath its &s;haddow: but yet notwith&s;tanding there are &s;ome &s;ins that in a more peculiar manner break a mans Communion, and hinder a mans comfort. And here let me give you to under&s;tand, there is a &s;in that the Scripture calls <HI>a mans iniquity, the &s;weet mor&s;el that a man hides under his tongue,</HI> and will not for&s;ake: a mans darling, his minion lu&s;t: for as in the new man though there be all grace wrought in a mans heart, yet there be &s;ome graces that are a mans peculiar excellency, that art more then others. <HI>Abrams</HI> peculiar excellency was his faith: in <HI>Io&s;eph,</HI> his cha&s;tity: in <HI>Iob,</HI> his patience: in <HI>David,</HI> his &s;pirituality: Now &s;o it is in the old man, though there be all &s;ins, yet notwith&s;tand|ing &s;ome lu&s;ts act more then others: and the up|rightne&s;s of a mans heart (as <HI>David</HI> ob&s;erves) lies in this; in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 18.23. <HI>I was upright before
<PB N="159" REF="97"> thee, and I kept my &s;elf from mine iniquity.</HI> Now there is no &s;in that ingro&s;&s;eth the heart like to this; therefore there is no &s;in keeps the heart &s;o much from Communion with God as this; therefore above all evils, as you do de&s;ire to draw neer to God, &s;o take heed above all &s;ins, keep down the darling corruption: for there is no &s;in (I &s;ay) that ingro&s;&s;eth the heart &s;o much: there is no &s;in that ca&s;teth &s;o much &s;hame in the face, and takes off the Spirit in all his approaches to God, as this: Then the&s;e be the Rules that I commend to your con&s;ideration, if you would keep clo&s;e Communion with God. Be much in the u&s;e of all Ordinances, walk in a continual fear lea&s;t God &s;hould withdraw him&s;elf from them. Grow in your conformity, and you &s;hall grow in your Communion. Ob&s;erve e&s;pecially tho&s;e times when God draweth neer to you. And in a &s;pe|cial manner take care to keep your &s;elves from your own iniquity.</P>
<P>To enforce this exhortation, take the&s;e few con&s;iderations:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, you may draw neer to God by rea&s;on of the neer Relations in which you &s;tand to him: the great promi&s;es of the Go&s;pel be per&s;onal pro|mi&s;es, <HI>I will be thy God, and give thee my Son and my Spirit.</HI> Now when God makes over him&s;elf by Covenant unto the creature, its a great ground of our coming to him: had he &s;aid I will be to thee a Father or a Husband, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> it would have but carried with it all the comforts that could have been in &s;uch a relation: but when he &s;aith, <HI>I will be thy
<PB N="160" REF="98"> God,</HI> that is, <HI>tant us quantus e&s;t:</HI> what ever there is in God &s;hall be as truly thine for thy good, as it is his for his own glory: my mercy to pardon thee, my power to perfect thee, my wi&s;dom to di|rect thee: my grace to heal thee, my glory to crown thee, and therefore <HI>David</HI> called him <HI>the God of my mercy,</HI> and <HI>the God of my life:</HI> and your intere&s;t in him may be a great encouragement to you to draw neer to him.</P>
<P>Secondly, the more a man draws neer to God, the more communion he hath with him, the more he &s;hall be acquainted with the &s;ecrets of God: for communion lies much in imparting of &s;ecrets. <HI>Abraham</HI> is called <HI>the friend of God:</HI> and he had gotten &s;uch an intere&s;t in him, that God can do nothing that he will hide from <HI>Abraham, Gen.</HI> 18. <HI>And Mo&s;es, God will &s;peak to him as a man with his friend &s;ace to face.</HI> 1 Sam. 9.15. <HI>The Lord told</HI> Sa|muel <HI>in his ear.</HI> In this re&s;pect it may be truly &s;aid, <HI>the &s;ecret of the Lord is with them that fear him:</HI> and <HI>his Urim and Thumim,</HI> with <HI>his holy ones; the&s;e lean upon the Lords bo&s;om</HI> from day to day, and that is the &s;eat of &s;ecrets as well as of love.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the more a man draws neer to God, the more acceptable will all his &s;ervices be; and therefore the more <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> appeared before God, and <HI>&s;tood in the gap,</HI> the more God delighted in him, and <HI>he turned away the wrath of God from his people.</HI> Job <HI>mu&s;t pray for his friends,</HI> and the Lord will hear him; though they were godly men, yet they were not contented that it &s;hould be only well with them,
<PB N="161" REF="98"> but they wre&s;tled with God for others, and God will honour them with the an&s;wer of prayers, for they that draw mo&s;t neer to God, and God draws neer to them, are the men of his good will; God will &s;ay unto them, <HI>Concerning my &s;ons, and the works of my hands, command ye me,</HI> &amp;c. and therefore <HI>Bernard</HI> &s;peaking of &s;uch times of Communion, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> <HI>Dulce com|mercium, &s;ed Breve momentum,</HI> &s;aith he; when it is &s;o with a man, then pray for me; <HI>cum talis fueris me|mento mei;</HI> for then his prayers will &s;urely prevail. <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> prays, <HI>Exod.</HI> 32. <HI>Lord pardon them,</HI> &amp;c. and <HI>God repented of the evil he thought to have done to his people,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>My pre&s;ence &s;hall go before thee, and I will give thee re&s;t; Lord &s;hew me thy glory; Thou can&s;t not &s;ee my face and live, but I will cau&s;e my goodne&s;s to pa&s;s before thee:</HI> God can in &s;uch approaches unto the &s;oul deny them nothing.</P>
<P>Fourthly, the more a man &s;hall pro&s;per in what|ever he doth undertake; <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> was a &s;ucce&s;sful man in all his undertakings; and the ground of it was, becau&s;e <HI>the Lord was with him, Gen.</HI> 39. la&s;t: he kept con&s;tant Communion with God: and &s;o <HI>Da|vid</HI> in all things that he did he pro&s;pered, <HI>for the Lord was with him,</HI> 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 11.9. <HI>Jo&s;h.</HI> 5. the ground of all <HI>Jo&s;hua's</HI> &s;ucce&s;s in war was, <HI>becau&s;e the Lord was with him;</HI> I know a godly man doth prize his &s;ervices above his comforts, his work above his wages: as one of the Martyrs &s;aid when he came to dye, Nothing did grieve him more, then that he was now going to a place where he &s;hould be for ever receiving wages, and never do any more work. Now if you would be employed by God, and would
<PB N="162" REF="99"> have the Lord to delight to u&s;e you, and pro&s;per you in your undertakings, keep clo&s;e to him.</P>
<P>Fifthly, the more fellow&s;hip you have with God, the more friend&s;hip you &s;hall find among men: In|deed the people of God are commonly the per&s;ons that are mo&s;t evil &s;poken of in the world; <HI>the evil eyes of vain men are &s;et again&s;t them</HI> and they will do what they can, to render them un&s;avoury; and they learn from their father the Devil, to ca&s;t a&s;per&s;ions on them: But yet notwith&s;tanding, they are the Lords darlings, and are precious in his &s;ight: the world may throw dirt on them, but it &s;hall not &s;tick or fa&s;ten there: and if it be good for them, they &s;hall be <HI>delivered from the &s;trife of evil tongues:</HI> and in evil times, when dangers come, when the enemy encamps the City, God will give them fa|vour in the &s;ight of their enemies. God gave <HI>Io&s;eph</HI> favour in the &s;ight of the Keeper of the pri|&s;on, <HI>Gen.</HI> 39.21. and <HI>Ier.</HI> 3.9,11. <HI>Nebuchadnezar</HI> gave charge concerning <HI>Ieremiah,</HI> a poor man in a danger, when the re&s;t of the great Princes were not con&s;idered: and among the godly, they have the highe&s;t place in their hearts: <HI>All my delight is in the Saints,</HI> &s;aith <HI>David. Zach.</HI> 8. <HI>ten men &s;hall lay hold of the skirt of a Iew, becau&s;e God is with him;</HI> Commu|nion with God here is the highe&s;t pitch of happi|ne&s;s, next to the beatifical Vi&s;ion in glo|ry.</P>
<P>Sixthly: La&s;tly, it is the highe&s;t pitch of happi|ne&s;s for any people to have God for their God: the People of God make this their great Boa&s;t, <HI>Who is a God like unto our God?</HI> and the neerer they come to
<PB N="163" REF="99"> God, the more they have of him, the fuller is their happine&s;s: and they are thereby encouraged, be|cau&s;e they know that God delights in Communion with them: he calls upon them for it: he proclaims it, to let the world &s;ee, that he that is <HI>God ble&s;&s;ed for ever, will have his Tabernacle among men:</HI> he will walk among&s;t them, <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.4. he calls them <HI>Hephzibah, my delight is in them:</HI> Communion is the fir&s;t fruit of fruition: therefore the people of God &s;hould labour for it: every act of fellow&s;hip is the morning-&s;tar, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.21. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, and doth a&s;&s;u|redly tell that the day is approaching: if it be &s;o great a matter to have the fir&s;t fruits of glory, what mu&s;t the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion be? Con&s;ider what hath been &s;aid, and the Lord give you under&s;tanding in all things.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="100">
<PB N="145" REF="100">
<HEAD>THE SAINTS INHERITANCE.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>At M^r <HI>Carryl</HI>'s Church at <HI>London-bridge.</HI></DATELINE></OPENER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>1 COR. 3.22.</BIBL>
<P>&mdash;Or things to come.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_OMitting the Context; The words contain in them, the <HI>Inheritance</HI> of a Chri&s;tian, with the <HI>Tenure</HI> thereof: The Inheritance is, <HI>all things;</HI> the Tenure is, <HI>ye are Chri&s;ts, and Chri&s;t is Gods.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the Saints have an Inheritance; Chri&s;t is by the Father <HI>appointed heir of all things,</HI> Heb. 1.13. As he is the Son, he is <HI>haeres natus;</HI> as he is the Mediator, he is <HI>haeres con&s;titutus:</HI> The one by <HI>Generation,</HI> which was an act of his Nature; and the other <HI>De&s;ignation,</HI> which was an act of his Will. Now the Saints being made Sons by the Son&s;hip of Chri&s;t, they are al&s;o made <HI>co-heirs with him</HI> in his Inheritance, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.17.</P>
<P>And his Inheritance being all things, &s;o mu&s;t theirs be.</P>
<PB N="146" REF="101">
<P>There are two things in Chri&s;t to be di&s;tingui&s;hed.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, a price payd, and thereby a &s;atisfa|ction given unto provoked Ju&s;tice; and &s;o Chri&s;t did fulfil the <HI>righteou&s;ne&s;s of the Law,</HI> and payd the cur&s;e thereof.</P>
<P>Secondly, there is <HI>Meritum,</HI> which is a purcha&s;e made as it was perform'd by a per&s;on that was not bound unto the Law. The Law indeed required it of Men, but not of him that was God and Man; and &s;o the excellency of the per&s;on is the ground of the Merit, and of the Purcha&s;e, and the Inheritance; for though it be true, <HI>Meritum Chri&s;ti habet in &s;e gra|tiam invi&s;ceratam,</HI> there is the free grace of God in all the merit of Chri&s;t: Yet there is nothing that is &s;o pure grace, but that there is a purcha&s;e al&s;o therein: That the Father may be truly &s;aid to give it, and Chri&s;t truly &s;aid to purcha&s;e it al&s;o. And this Inheritance is as full and large as could be de&s;ired; for it is <HI>all things,</HI> Rev. 21.7. <HI>He that ouercomes &s;hall inherit all things: All things are yours;</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">: our gifts are benefits given for your good. It's &s;aid of Chri&s;t, <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 86. <HI>That God hath put all things under his feet,</HI> that is, hath given all things into his power and dominion; <HI>In pote&s;tate tradere,</HI> &s;o as all &s;hall be his &s;er|vants at his command, and their utmo&s;t end &s;hall be his glory, and &s;o he hath put all things under the feet of the Saints; they are all &s;ubjected to them as their &s;ervants; &s;o that the highe&s;t end, next unto the glory of Chri&s;t, is for their good; <HI>All things &s;hall work to|gether for their good,</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, all things are for their u&s;e. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.10. <HI>As having nothing, and yet po&s;&s;e&s;sing all things.</HI> So that though the Saints do not ingro&s;s all things unto them|&s;elves by way of a Monopoly, yet as far as their nece&s;|&s;ity
<PB N="147" REF="101"> &s;hall require they may expect the u&s;e and the &s;er|vice of them all; &s;o that what&s;oever extraordinary experiment any of the antient Saints have had of the &s;ervice of the creatures when they have needed them, that they al&s;o may expect, as their exigencies and ne|ce&s;&s;ities &s;hall require: <HI>The Heavens to rain bread, and Rocks to give water, and the Sun to &s;tand &s;till, and the Moon to go badk;</HI> for the Saints are the Lords of all the creatures, and all things &s;hall be for their u&s;e, be|cau&s;e they have an intere&s;t in him that is the Lord of Ho&s;ts.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Fidelibus e&s;t totus mundus.</HI> Aug.</NOTE></P>
<P>Secondly, all things are the Saints for their com|fort, and they can ta&s;t a goodne&s;s, and a &s;weetne&s;s in them all; 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 6.17. He <HI>gives us all things richly to enjoy,</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">: And indeed in this re&s;pect, we mu&s;t onely, <HI>mundo uti &amp; frui Deo;</HI> for he is onely to be the re&s;t and delight of the &s;oul: <NOTE PLACE="marg">So the School|men tell us, <HI>fruitio e&s;t fi|nis.</HI></NOTE> In the utmo&s;t end attain'd, we have the greate&s;t comfort that a &s;oul can be capable of; it is <HI>nobli&s;&s;ima voluntatis actio,</HI> and &s;o as <HI>Heb.</HI> 11.25. <HI>Injoy the plea&s;ures of &s;in:</HI> Other plea|&s;ures enjoyed, become plea&s;ures of &s;in; all creatures enjoy'd, become the baits and the &s;nares to &s;in; but here, fruition, as one hath well ob&s;erved, &s;ignifies nothing el&s;e but <HI>cum laetitia rem aliquam perci pere,</HI> and &s;o God hath given a godly man the creatures, and all things, that he may take comfort in them: And this is the Saints portion, that they may have all the&s;e things as a <HI>Viaticum</HI> in their way to heaven: Though their happine&s;s lyes not in the&s;e things; the&s;e things are not the peculiar gifts of God to them; even un|regenerate men may have the creatures; <HI>For God gives the Kingdoms of the earth to the ba&s;e&s;t of men,</HI> but they have no comfort in them; they have only the &s;ting, the <HI>gall and the wormwood</HI> that is in them,
<PB N="148" REF="102"> all his dayes <HI>he eats his meat in darkne&s;s,</HI> Eccle&s;. And he hath &s;orrow with his dainties.</P>
<P>Thirdly, a godly man hath a &s;piritual fruit and be|nefit by them; all of them tend to his ble&s;&s;ing, and to the pro&s;perity of his inward man: They are <HI>&s;cala caeli,</HI> and the &s;oul climbs to heaven by them, as it's &s;aid of King <HI>Jeho&s;hahat,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 17.5,6.</NOTE> <HI>he had riches and honour in abundance, and his heart was encouraged in the wayes of the Lord,</HI> &amp;c. whereas to other men their Table be|comes a &s;nare to their &s;oul; it's to them as lime to their wings, that they cannot a&s;cend up to heaven: They are <HI>pondus,</HI> the weight that keeps the &s;oul groveling here below: There's a double evil befallen the crea|tures &s;ince that cur&s;e came upon them, <HI>Gen.</HI> 3.17. it's deceiving, and it's defiling.</P>
<P N="1">1. They deceive; they are them&s;elves empty, yet rai&s;e mens expectations from them: He that depends on them, <HI>&s;eeds on a&s;hes,</HI> I&s;a. 44.20. and comes under the Serpents cur&s;e, <HI>Du&s;t &s;halt thou eat:</HI> and when he de|pends mo&s;t thereon, is as he that wor&s;hippeth an Idol, <HI>who hath a lye in his right hand.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. They defile; <HI>Tit.</HI> 1.15. <HI>to the unclean all things are unclean.</HI> Now in the covenant that the Lord made with the creatures, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 2.19,20, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> God promi&s;es not onely that they &s;hall not be hurting, but that they &s;hall not be poluting to the &s;oules of the people of God Grace &s;hall make advantage by them all, and they &s;hal all of them work together unto a mans &s;piri|tual good, that the &s;oul &s;hal &s;hine, &amp; pro&s;per by them.</P>
<P>Fourthly they &s;hall all of them have an influence into eternity, and all of them &s;hall adde to a mans eter|nal account, and a man &s;hall have the fruit of them in his eternal inheritance; <HI>A man makes friends of the unrighteous Mammon, and therein makes him&s;elf bags that
<PB N="149" REF="102"> wax not old,</HI> Luk. 12.23. and thereby lays up a good foundation for time to come, that he may lay hold of eternal life; for we are but Stewards of what we en|joy, and we mu&s;t one day give an account an&s;werable to the improvement of tho&s;e Talents committed to us by God, &s;uch will our honour be at the la&s;t, <HI>thou ha&s;t been faithful in the Mammon of unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, and therefore the Lord will not fail to give unto thee the true Trea&s;ure.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, the <HI>Tenure</HI> is, <HI>ye are Chri&s;ts;</HI> for we hold all <HI>in Capite,</HI> all by virtue of <HI>Union; Omnes communio fundatur in unione;</HI> our communion with him is in his graces, in his priviledges, in his victories, in his &s;uf|ferings, in his inheritance, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> But whats the ground of it? It's from our union. It's the highe&s;t glory of a man, next the glory of God, that &s;uch a glorious creature as a woman &s;hould be made for his comfort and &s;ervice; <HI>for the man was not created for the woman, but the woman for the man:</HI> So the highe&s;t glory of God is Chri&s;t, as God-Man, that he &s;hould become &s;ubject to him: That he that was the Lord of the Law, &s;hould be <HI>made under the Law;</HI> he that was <HI>God equal with the Fother,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 11.3,4.</NOTE> and <HI>thought it no robbery</HI> &s;o to be. So Chri&s;t holds his right to all things from God, and we hold ours from Chri&s;t by vertue of union with him.</P>
<P>There is a double dominion; There is <HI>dominium politicum,</HI> and that is grounded upon the providential Kingdom, that Chri&s;t as the Lord hath be&s;towed up|on him by God all the &s;ervices of the creatures; for he hath bought all the creatures, even all the world of God; not onely the Saints, but ungodly men al&s;o; for, there are <HI>&s;ome deny the Lord that bought them.</HI> But he buyes them not all alike; but &s;ome as &s;ervants, o|thers
<PB N="150" REF="103"> as &s;onnes, &s;ome their per&s;ons, and others their &s;ervices onely; and as &s;ervants he doth give unto them a reward; and they have a right to it, but its onely a right of Providence, as they are &s;ervants: But now there is another right, which is <HI>dominium E|vangelicum,</HI> a right as &s;ons, as they be pledges of a mans eternal inheritance, and flow from a Fathers love, a right of the promi&s;e: and &s;o its onely union with Chri&s;t that gives &s;uch a right; <HI>fundatur in gra|tia,</HI> and can belong to none but unto the Saints; for, its the Covenant that is the ground of all our claim unto any of the creatures in a &s;piritual &s;ence; for that is the root and the center of all the promi&s;es; and its our union with Chri&s;t that brings us under the Cove|nant, and therefore makes us <HI>heirs of all the promi&s;es;</HI> and by this means the Inheritance of the Saints is theirs, becau&s;e, <HI>they are Christs, and Chri&s;t is Gods.</HI></P>
<P>We have here al&s;o an Inventory of the Saints, a particular enumeration of this <HI>all things,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>That which I am engaged in at pre&s;ent, is this <HI>(things to come.)</HI></P>
<P>Man being a creature both prudent, and provident, cannot be &s;atisfied that it's well with him for the pre|&s;ent, but his mind is taken up about what &s;hall be here|after, and concerning either the good, or evil things to come; doth rai&s;e up to him&s;elf va&s;t hopes or fears; for in both the&s;e the &s;oul goes out to things to come: The &s;oul is apt to &s;ay, I know how it's with me for the pre&s;ent, but my mind is taken up with what &s;hall be hereafter; my Mountain may prove but <HI>a mountain of &s;now,</HI> it may melt; what changes there may be I know not: All things here are compared to <HI>Wheels,</HI> Ezek. 1. that which was upmo&s;t one minute, is down the next; Wheels are <HI>in perpetuo motu,</HI> in per|petual
<PB N="151" REF="103"> motion; &s;ometimes compar'd to the &s;ea, <HI>Dan.</HI> 7.3. which is <HI>in perpetuo fluxu,</HI> in a continual flowing, and therefore how it may be with me hereafrer, I know not: Now to &s;ecure the &s;oul again&s;t any di&s;tra|ctions for the future, the Lord a&s;&s;ures the &s;oul of things to come: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Job.</NOTE> <HI>The thing that I feared is come upon me: I had not re&s;t, neither was I quiet, and yet trou|ble came.</HI> The heads of men are apt to frame &s;trange &s;uppo&s;itions to it &s;elf; and indeed it is a mans duty &s;o to do in reference to a preparation, that &s;o <HI>evil do not come upon him unawares;</HI> for, <HI>mala praevi&s;a min&ugrave;s &s;en|timus:</HI> Though as it's matter of dejection, it's a mans &s;in: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Hab. 3.18.</NOTE> <HI>Though the Fig-tree &s;hould not blo&s;som, neither &s;hall fruit be in the Vines; the labour of the olives &s;hall fail,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,</HI> &amp;c. <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm 46.1.</NOTE> <HI>Though the earth be moved, and the mountains be ca&s;t into the depths of the &s;ea.</HI> What if the Sun be darkned, and if the Stars fall from Heaven? What if the founda|tions be ca&s;t down? We know how things are for the pre&s;ent, and what our Inheritance in them is, but what if the face of things change? What may be my Inheritance for time to come, and in things to come, I know not: Therefore the Lord a&s;&s;ures the Saints, that they have not onely a pre&s;ent Inheritance, but al&s;o in things to come, that they are theirs al&s;o: <HI>Things to come are yours.</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doctrin.</HEAD>
<P>The Saints of God have an Inheritance in things to come; <HI>Things to come are yours.</HI> For the proof of it.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, God hath made over unto them things to come. The &s;ub&s;tance of all the promi&s;es, is <HI>things to come,</HI> whether they do refer unto the life that now is, or that which &s;hall be hereafter; 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.8. Now, the Saints <HI>Inherit the promi&s;es,</HI> Heb. 6.12. The Word of God is
<PB N="152" REF="104"> in &s;cripture &s;omtimes compared unto a Travelling wo|man, and there is a time of the birth of the threatning, and of the promi&s;e: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Zeph. 2.1,2,3. It is <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> which is <HI>decre|tum &s;criptum &amp; promulga|tum,, non occul|tum,</HI> &amp;c.</NOTE> The threatning, travelling with Judgement to come; and the promi&s;es, travelling with Mercies to come; and therefore <HI>Acts</HI> 7.17. We read <HI>of the time of the promi&s;es,</HI> that is, <HI>when the children are come to the birth,</HI> I&s;a. 37.3. Both Promi&s;es and Threatnings lye in the womb of the purpo&s;e, and ap|pointment of God a long time, but there is a birth time; and then <HI>the Vi&s;ion will &s;peak, and not lye, it will come, and will not tarry.</HI> And &s;ometimes it is compa|red unto one in pur&s;uit of another, <HI>Zach.</HI> 1.6. <HI>Did not my word overtake your Fathers,</HI> P&s;alm 140.11. <HI>Evil &s;hall hunt the wicked.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"></NOTE> It's a metaphor taken from bea&s;ts for which men lay &s;nares, and then hunt them, that they may be driven into tho&s;e &s;nares, and &s;o take them. There is a pur&s;uit of the threatning of God upon ungodly men; and there is al&s;o a pur&s;uit of the promi&s;es of God upon the Saints.</P>
<P>Secondly, upon this ground it is that the Saints are the onely men that have hope, and therefore they are called the <HI>pri&s;oners of hope</HI> in the greate&s;t calamity that is upon them, <HI>Zach.</HI> 9.12. Tho&s;e that have not onely a hope in this life, but in that al&s;o which is to come. Ungodly men do fancy unto them&s;elves hope, but its but kindling a fire of their own, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 50.11. <HI>and they compa&s;&s;e them&s;elves about with their own &s;parks, when they lye down in &s;orrow:</HI> It's not a living hope, it dyes with the man; but the Saints are <HI>begotten to a lively hope,</HI> 1 Pet. 1.3. Now hope is <HI>conver&s;ant about things to come,</HI> as fear is; but the one about good things to come, as the other is about evil things; there is this difference between. Faith and Hope, in eying of the promi&s;e, Faith gives a kind of <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, and pre&s;entia|lity
<PB N="153" REF="104"> unto the thing in the promi&s;e, and looks upon it as pre&s;ent, though they be <HI>things not &s;een, Heb.</HI> 11.1.</P>
<P>But hope looks upon it in the thing; and that looks upon it as to come: now if things to come were not theirs, there were no ground of the hope of the Saints, they were altogether vain hopes.</P>
<P>3. The Saints of God a&s;&s;ure them&s;elves it &s;hall be well with them in reference to things to come, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 23. <HI>la&s;t ver&s;. Surely Mercy and Truth &s;hall follow me all my days.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"></NOTE> The word doth &s;ignifie, to follow one; <HI>&s;ammo &s;tudio &amp; diligentia, &amp;c.</HI> it's the &s;ame word that is u&s;ed <HI>P&s;.</HI> 34.15. <HI>Seek peace and pur&s;ue it:</HI> Mercy &s;hall be to them as the Rock that followed them, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10. not only to releeve them at the pre&s;ent, but al&s;o for time to come; and therefore in the lowe&s;t condition, the Church of God do promi&s;e them&s;elves that the Lord will appear for them; they have yet an intere&s;t in things to come: <HI>The Lord will not hide his Face for ever,</HI> Mich. 7,7,8. <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 94.5.</NOTE> <HI>I will look to the Lord, and I will wait for the God of my Salvation, my God wil hear me Rejoyce not again&s;t me O mine Enemy: when I fall, I &s;hall ri&s;e: When I &s;it in darkne&s;s, the Lord &s;hall be a light unto me,</HI> &amp;c. He was in an afflicted condition: <HI>He went mourning all the day long</HI> for the oppre&s;&s;ion of his enemies: and <HI>the Lord hid his Face,</HI> And his &s;oul was dejected within him; but yet he had hope in God: <HI>For I &s;hall yet prai&s;e him who is the health of my Countenance, and my God:</HI> The Saints do comfort them&s;elves in their &s;adde&s;t condition, with their Intere&s;t in things to come; that the Lord will wait on them, and be gratious, and <HI>will not keep his anger for ever.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;ider the&s;e Eight thi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">gs.</NOTE> Secondly, But how &s;hall things to come become the Saints? In re&s;pect of good and evil things to come.</P>
<PB N="154" REF="105">
<P N="1">1. They are delivered from temptations to come: A man &s;hall be delivered from them, and not left un|to them; and there is a great deal of mercy in the pre|venting grace of God this way, in being freed from temptations: The Lord will not lead his People through the Land of the <HI>Phili&s;tines,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod.</NOTE> though it was the neere&s;t way to the Land of <HI>Canaan,</HI> le&s;t the people &s;ee it, and their hearts turn back again into <HI>Egypt, &amp;c.</HI> And indeed, the Lord doth &s;trangely order things in his Providence, that temptations may be hid from his Peoples Eyes. Satan de&s;ires continually to win|now the Saints; but the Lord rebukes him and all his temptations.</P>
<P N="2">2. If Temptations &s;ometimes a&s;&s;ault them, yet he doth make provi&s;ion for them again&s;t Temptation: <HI>Satan hath de&s;ired to winnow thee,</HI> &s;aith our Lord to <HI>Pe|ter;</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 23.31.</NOTE> <HI>but I have prayed for thee:</HI> The Lord lays in con|&s;olation for the future tryals of the Saints; and as the Temptation was fore-appointed, &s;o al&s;o is the Con|&s;olation, <HI>Jer.</HI> 10.11. When the children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> were in <HI>Babylon,</HI> and &s;hould have temptations to wor|&s;hip other Gods, they were bid to make this An&s;wer. <HI>The Gods that have not made the Heavens and the Earth, &s;hall peri&s;h from the Earth, and from under the&s;e Hea|vens:</HI> And 'tis very ob&s;ervable, that one An&s;wer God puts into their mouths, is wrote in the <HI>Chaldee</HI> Tongue, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> So the Saints &s;hall <HI>be able to with&s;tand them by vertue of</HI> the Interce&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Afflictions to come, either they &s;hall be deliver|ed from them, as <HI>Hezekiah; thou &s;halt,</HI> &s;aith God, <HI>be gathered into thy grave in peace:</HI> God had an Ark for <HI>Noah,</HI> and a Grave for <HI>Methu&s;alah:</HI> The Floud was appointed to come upon all the Earth, well, at the time appointed it comes: But fir&s;t, <HI>Methu&s;alah</HI> mu&s;t be
<PB N="155" REF="105"> delivered, for he lived until that very Year the Flood came, and God provides him a Grave; <HI>takes him away from the evil to come:</HI> him does God deliver from it: But <HI>Noah</HI> he mu&s;t abide the tryal; for him God pro|vides an Ark, and &s;afely carries him through it, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 4.5. <HI>Upon all the glory there &s;hall be a defence: The great water Floods &s;hall not come nigh unto thee;</HI> or el&s;e, if they be afflicted, they &s;hall be gratiou&s;ly &s;upported under them: <HI>The grace of God &s;hall be &s;ufficient;</HI> for he hath promi&s;ed, <HI>When thou goe&s;t through the fire,</HI> I <HI>will be with thee,</HI> I&s;ai. 43.2.</P>
<P>There is <HI>gratia perveniens &amp; a&s;&s;i&s;teus,</HI> in &s;uffering, as well as in &s;ins and duties. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 43.46. <HI>We will not fear, though the earth be removed; for there is a River, the &s;treams whereof &s;hall make glad the City of God.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Mercies to come to the Saints &s;hall prove Mer|cies indeed: <HI>Saul</HI> hath a Kingdom as wel as <HI>David,</HI> but it was a mercy to <HI>David,</HI> and therefore the Lord did qualifie him for it, and gave him Kingly graces, and weaned hii &s;oul from the Mercy before he had; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> <HI>Bern. Ecce paratum e&s;t cor meum; vis me con&s;tituere pa&s;torem ovium, aut regem populorum: My heart is as a weaned child,</HI> P&s;al. 131.2,3. And therefore it's &s;ayd, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 30.18. <HI>that the Lord waits to be gracious;</HI> he doth not de|fer becau&s;e he is unwilling to be&s;tow mercies upon us, but becau&s;e we are not prepared to receive Mer|cie; for Mercies to unprepared &s;oules, are like unto Cordials unto foul &s;tomacks, the which do but in|crea&s;e the peccant humours; and therefore the Lord never gives them till the &s;ea&s;on of them, and till he hath prepared the &s;oul to receive them. There is a double right that the people of God have to Mercy. Fir&s;t, there is <HI>jus haereditarium,</HI> a right of Inheritance, and that they have as &s;oon as they are converted; but
<PB N="156" REF="106"> yet they are but then as a child in its nonage. Second|ly, there is a <HI>jus aptitudinarium,</HI> a right of fitne&s;s that is wanting; and the Lord doth not give any Mer|cy, in Mercy, till both be found in the &s;oul; till there is a right of fitne&s;s as well as an hereditary right.</P>
<P>Fifthly, Sins to come. If God leaves under any temptation, that we are foyled by it (as that the be&s;t of Gods people may; for I know no &s;in but may o|vertake &s;uch but final impenitency, and the &s;in a|gain&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t) yet all things &s;hall work toge|ther for good to them that fear God. <HI>Et &s;i omnia, qui ni etiam peccata;</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug.</NOTE> Aug. If all things, then &s;in it &s;elf is not excluded. God makes a &s;trange u&s;e of &s;in, to his peoples good and benefit; either to di&s;cover unto a man what is in his heart, and &s;o to abate his carnal confidence, as the Lord did let <HI>Hezekiah</HI> fall to that end, that the work of Mortification may be perfected, and the Sword of Godly &s;orrow may go the wider, and the Plough of Repentance the deeper; and that &s;hall be the fruit of it, that the man may be more vile in his own &s;ight; or el&s;e to make him the more in&s;trumental in that kind to do good unto o|thers, being able to comfort them with the &s;ame con|&s;olation with which he him&s;elf was comforted of <HI>God:</HI> And being <HI>him&s;elf converted,</HI> he may be the better able to convert, and <HI>&s;trengthen the brethren,</HI> Luk. 22.32. And the Saints of God do &s;ee great Mercy even in their &s;ins to come, as well as in their &s;uffering; that as &s;ome of the Antients have ble&s;&s;ed God for the Falls of the Saints, tho&s;e <HI>Horrenda naufragia;</HI> by rea&s;on of the comfort, and &s;upport, and admonitions that they had from them: So they do &s;ee cau&s;e many times to ble&s;s God for that Grace that brings &s;o much
<PB N="157" REF="106"> good out of their &s;ins al&s;o; and &s;o much they may promi&s;e them&s;elves from a principle of Faith, in re|gard of &s;inning as well as &s;uffering.</P>
<P>Sixtly, in re&s;pect of the happy and glorious condi|tion of the Church that is promi&s;ed in the latter daies; there is a time coming, when <HI>all the kingdoms of the earth &s;hall become the kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Chri&s;t.</HI> Rev. 11.16,17. and <HI>unto the holy people of the mo&s;t high,</HI> Dan 17.27. <HI>And when the &s;moak out of the Temple &s;hall vant&s;h, and the Temple &s;hall be opened in heaven, and a man may &s;ee into the Court of the Te|&s;tament which is within the vayl.</HI> The darkne&s;s of the pre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ent di&s;pen&s;ation of God &s;hall be done away; and <HI>new Jeru&s;alem &s;hall come down from God out of hea|ven.</HI> When that <HI>Sea of gla&s;s</HI> Rev. 15.2. &s;hall <HI>be pure as Chri&s;tal,</HI> as it was in the Primitive times; now <HI>mingled with fire</HI> of contention and di&s;affection, then &s;hall <HI>Jehovah be one, and his name one.</HI> The&s;e pro|mi&s;es are all for the Saints; if they dye, and never &s;ee them fulfilled, yet <HI>they dye in the Faith of them,</HI> Heb. 11.13. &amp; Rev. 3. <HI>I will write upon him, the name of the City of my God, new Jeru&s;a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">em:</HI> That when the Lord &s;hall reckon up his people at the la&s;t day, and put every man with tho&s;e of his own rank, all they that dyed in the faith of it &s;hall be reckoned as truly to belong thereunto, as they that lived in the time thereof that enjoyed it.</P>
<P>Seventhly, in reference to the de&s;truction of the Enemies of the Church: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14.</NOTE> <HI>The Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath a Winepre&s;&s;e to tread, and a Vintage to gather. It's the Winepre&s;s of the fierce wrath of God, who is almighty, when the blood &s;hall be up to the briales of the hor&s;es,</HI> &amp;c. which is in the times of the third Angel, and it hath a more &s;pecial and peculiar a&s;pect upon the times in which
<PB N="158" REF="107"> we live; then the Saints &s;hall rejoyce when they &s;ee the vengeance and wrath of God upon the ungodly; <HI>and they &s;hall &s;ing Hallelujah, prai&s;e, and glory, and ho|nour be unto thee (O Lord) for thou ha&s;t judged the great whore, and avenged the blood of thy Saints,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Rev.</HI> 19.2.</P>
<P>Eighthly, the glory of Heaven is to come, but the Saints do rejoyce here in the hope of it, <HI>and do bathe them&s;elves in th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e Rivers of plea&s;ures which &s;hall be for evermore,</HI> &amp;c. By this hope, <HI>Anima a&s;cendit frequen|t&egrave;r, &amp; currit plateas caelest is Jeru&s;alem.</HI> By this doe they &s;ee God in a fiducial, though not in the beatifi|cal vi&s;ion. And a man <HI>having this hope he doth purifie him&s;elf that he way be made a meet partaker of the ble&s;|&s;ed hope that is &s;et before him.</HI> So that all things to come do make for the good of the Saints; &s;urely <HI>things to come are theirs.</HI></P>
<P>But what are the grounds of the intere&s;t that the people of God have in <HI>things to come?</HI> Con&s;ider the&s;e five.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the Lord hath ordered his eternal decrees con|cerning <HI>things to come;</HI> &s;o that they &s;hall not only make for his own glory, but al&s;o for the good of his peo|ple; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.11.</NOTE> for <HI>he doth work all things according to the coun&s;el of his own will.</HI> He did not onely from all eternity chu&s;e his peoples eternal e&s;tates, and chu&s;e them to glory, but he hath a decree that pa&s;&s;eth upon all things to come, in the government of this world, as may conduce unto this end, and as may further this great decree and grand de&s;ign of God: For though in the decrees of God, &s;ome Divines doe ob&s;erve, that there are not <HI>priora &amp; po&s;teriora,</HI> becau&s;e they are e|ternal, and <HI>in aeternitate non e&s;t prius &amp; po&s;terius,</HI> yet there are <HI>&s;ubordinata,</HI> one thing may be &s;ubordinated
<PB N="159" REF="107"> to another, as the means are to the end; <HI>for he hath cho&s;en us to glory and virtue,</HI> the one as the end, the other as the means, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.3. And &s;o the grand de&s;ign of God, is the glory, and eternal good of all the Saints; and he hath &s;ubordinated all things in the go|vernment of the whole creation of God unto this great and principal end, <HI>all things to come &s;hall work together for their good.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, it is for their &s;akes, that he hath commit|ted the world unto the government of Chri&s;t; <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 9.8.</NOTE> for it is by their Covenant that the world &s;tands; and 'tis for their &s;akes that he hath undertaken the Govern|ment of the world, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 1. la&s;t. <HI>He hath made him the head over all things to the Church.</HI> Chri&s;t is not a head over all things, as he is the head of the Church. He is a head of guidance unto all things; but he is a head of influence unto the Church al&s;o; and he did undertake the government of all things for the Elect &s;ake, <HI>That he might gather them all together under one head, even in him,</HI> Eph. 1.10. And he that doth rule all things for their &s;akes, they need not fear but he will over-rule all things for their good; and therefore all things which are in the government of Chri&s;t doe be|long wholly unto the good of the Saints.</P>
<P>Thirdly, hence Chri&s;t doth exerci&s;e a peculiar providence over his own people; which is a great mercy. There is a common providence which doth extend unto the meane&s;t creatures; <HI>not a &s;parrow doth fall to the ground, not a hair from off your head,</HI> without it. But there is a &s;pecial providence over all the Saints, <HI>he is the Saviour of all men, but e&s;pecially of them that beleeve.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 4.10.</NOTE> It's &s;poken of a temporal &s;alvation, and there is a &s;pecial providence over the Saints in re|ference to temporal things: Yet how apt are the peo|ple
<PB N="160" REF="108"> pie of God many times to di&s;tru&s;t the providence of God even in the&s;e: <HI>O ye of little Faith, are you not much better then many &s;parrows,</HI> &amp;c. Con&s;ider but the projects of this providence for the Saints good in reference unto things to come; 'tis exceeding re|markable how they have been over&s;haddowed by a &s;pecial providence, whil&s;t they live in this world: When the Saints &s;hall come to Heaven, and &s;hall un|der&s;tand all the dealings of God towards them whil&s;t they lived here below, and the grounds thereof, that they may give God the glory of it. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Suarez.</NOTE> <HI>Beatus in Deo vi|det res omnes accommodas ad &s;e pertinentes, &amp; omnes circum&s;tantias accommodatas,</HI> Suarez. Then when all things &s;hall be opened and layd together, then it will appear how gloriou&s;ly God watched over them for their good by all, <HI>things to come.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, hence it is, that in the <HI>oeconomical</HI> King|dom of Chri&s;t the Angels have their government, and they doe order things to come &s;trangely for the Saints good; for though no creature can know things to come of them&s;elves, yet by Revelation they do; for they receive from Chri&s;t, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 19.10.</NOTE> <HI>a &s;pirit of Prophecie,</HI> and they are employed as Officers under him in the government of all things, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 1. <HI>The &s;pirit of the living creatures is in the wheels,</HI> and that was the An|gels, <HI>chap.</HI> 10.20. and <HI>ver.</HI> 19. <HI>When the living crea|tures went, the wheels went by them, and when they were lifted up, the wheels were lifted up; for the &s;pirit of the living creatures is in the wheels:</HI> and this is, becau&s;e <HI>they are &s;ent forth as Mini&s;tring &s;pirits for the good of the Elect,</HI> Heb. 1.14. And when Chri&s;t gives up his kingdom to the Father, he will put down theirs; <HI>for he will put down all rule, and all authority, and power,</HI> for they were made <HI>principalities</HI> and <HI>powers,</HI> onely
<PB N="161" REF="108"> under the kingdom of Chri&s;t; and &s;o long their principality &s;hall la&s;t, and no longer, as we &s;ee <HI>Dan.</HI> 10.20. <HI>I goe forth and fight again&s;t the King of Per&s;ia, and then the Prince of Grecia &s;hall come,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Fifthly, God hath &s;ubjected things to come unto the prayers of his people, and thereby joyn'd them, as it were in the &s;ame commi&s;&s;ion with his Son, the Lord Chri&s;t, in the government of the world: <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 45.11. <HI>Ask me concerning things to come, concerning my &s;ons, and concerning the workes of my hands command you me,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>There are two things that the providence of God is extended to; and they are either matters of com|mon providence, and they are concerning the works of his hands: And al&s;o matters Eccle&s;ia&s;tical, which concern his Church, and <HI>all things to come;</HI> concern|ing both, he hath &s;ubjected unto the prayers of his people, and therefore <HI>ye that are the Lords remem|brancers, keep not &s;ilence:</HI> And therefore <HI>Revel.</HI> 4.5. it's &s;aid, <HI>out of the Throne proceeded thunder, and lightning, and voices:</HI> Out of the prayers of his people are the great Mercies and Judgements; the great turnes of the world are brought about and ac|compli&s;hed by this, the Saints working together with God; and therefore at the la&s;t day, when the cau&s;es of all things &s;hall be layd open, it will appear, all the&s;e great things that are di&s;pen&s;t either in a way of Mercy, or in a way of Judgement, were attain'd by Prayer.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;&s;e of ex|hortation.</HEAD>
<P>Exerci&s;e Faith about <HI>things to come;</HI> for this pro|mi&s;e, that <HI>things to come are the Saints,</HI> as it is a ground of Faith, &s;o al&s;o it &s;hould be a ground of
<PB N="162" REF="109"> Hope, and a rule of Prayer: Therefore let me ex|hort you in the name of the Lord, be not &s;infully dejected about <HI>things to come.</HI> I would not have you ignorant of the &s;igns of the times, nor &s;ecure: I would have you know the Judgement of your God; <HI>for he that is wi&s;e &s;hall know times and judgement;</HI> but yet I would not have you di&s;tru&s;t, and walk dejected|ly; for what if the Witne&s;&s;es be not yet &s;lain? that <HI>ultima clades ad huc metuenda?</HI> What if the Ene|myes of God prevaile once more, to ripen them for their greate&s;t and final ruin? What if &s;uch a temptation &s;hould befall a poor &s;oul, that he thinks he &s;hould not be able to with&s;tand? What if I be left by God unto &s;uch a &s;in? What if &s;uch a mi|&s;cry and calamity &s;hould befall mee, that GOD &s;hould take away my Friend, which is as my own &s;oul? and &s;uch a Relation that I took comfort in? &amp;c. What will become of the Church of GOD? What will become of the Ordinances of GOD? What will become of my Po&s;terity when I am gone, now the Enemy is &s;owing Tares among&s;t the Wheat? I have Friends few; where can a man find a faithfull man? Let the&s;e be the Queries of ungodly men, who&s;e enjoyments are onely pre|&s;ent, and have no ground of hope for time to come.</P>
<P>I &s;hould have given you a few directions; I can now only name two or three.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Rowle thy &s;elf upon the promi&s;e, <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 10.14. <HI>Jerem.</HI> 49.11. Leave thy fatherle&s;s children with me.</P>
<P>Secondly, the &s;ame Fountain of Love and Good|nes that was extended to the Saints of old, is extended
<PB N="163" REF="109"> al&s;o to thee. There's Mercy for the future as well as at pre&s;ent: As Faith will <HI>purifie the heart,</HI> &s;o al&s;o it will pacifie it, that it &s;hall <HI>not be afraid of evill tidings:</HI> But the con&s;ideration of the great Goodne&s;s of God will &s;upport the &s;pirit of a man in any calamity what&s;oever.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="164" REF="110">
<HEAD>THE GREAT DAY.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>At a private Fa&s;t.</DATELINE></OPENER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>JER. 30.7.</BIBL>
<P>Ala&s;s! for that day is great, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_GOD hath &s;ubjected all the works of his Providence unto the Prayers of the Saints; <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;a. 45.11.</NOTE> and therefore though we are met hereupon a particular occa&s;ion, and that private, yet I hope it is with ge|neral intentions to &s;eek God for the Publick al&s;o: Which per&s;wa&s;ion put me upon the choice of this Scripture, at this time. I &s;hall not detain you in the Context, though there may be many weighty ob&s;er|vations drawn from thence.</P>
<P>The words are, the words of the Lord; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 5.</NOTE> <HI>we have heard a voyce of trembling, and not of peace;</HI> and is there a voyce of trembling unto <HI>Jehovah, at who&s;e pre&s;ence the earth trembles, and before whom the everlast|ing hills do bow?</HI></P>
<P>There is a double apprehen&s;ion of the &s;peech.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that the Lord &s;peaks it in the per&s;on of his
<PB N="165" REF="110"> people, as taking part with them, being affected after the manner of men: as it's &s;aid, <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aiah.</NOTE> <HI>In all their af&s;lictions he was afflicted:</HI> So in their trembling, he may be &s;aid to travel al&s;o, to &s;hew that he was like affected towards them.</P>
<P>2. The Lord &s;peaks in the Per&s;on of his People, reproving them, and in&s;tructing them: reproving them, that though the Lord &s;aith, we heard a voice of trembling, <HI>&s;ocordiam exprobrat:</HI> It was in it &s;elf a voice of trembling, but the people trembled not: I and the people that fore&s;aw the calamity; yet they were &s;o unwi&s;e as not to tremble: <HI>A wi&s;e man fore&s;ees the evil, and he trembles;</HI> all that were wi&s;e hearted did tremble, but the generality of the people did not tremble; and to in&s;truct them the Lord directs them what they &s;hould &s;ay, and how they &s;hould be affect|ed with the calamities that were coming upon them: <HI>We have heard a voice of trembling,</HI> and the Lord would at the la&s;t extort that acknowledgment and confe&s;&s;ion from them, how &s;ecure and &s;encele&s;s &s;o ever they were under his pre&s;ent hand: and when they were brought into the &s;ence of it, they &s;hould cry out, <HI>Ala&s;s! for the day is great,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Here is fir&s;t <HI>Jacobs</HI> Affliction: <HI>It's the time of Ja|cobs trouble.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, His Con&s;olation; <HI>But he &s;hall be &s;aved out of it:</HI> Here fir&s;t we are to con&s;ider what is meant by <HI>Jacob: Jacob</HI> is commonly put for all the Tribes, they being all called by their Fathers Name, &s;ome|times <HI>Jacob,</HI> and &s;ometimes <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> We &s;ee it put &s;o, Mich. 1.5. <HI>For the Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of</HI> Jacob <HI>is all this, and for the &s;in of</HI> I&s;rael: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 32.9.</NOTE> What <HI>is the Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of</HI> Jacob? <HI>Is it not Samaria,</HI> &amp;c? <HI>The Lords portion is his People;</HI> Jacob <HI>is the Lot of his Inheritance;</HI> But <HI>I&s;rael</HI>
<PB N="166" REF="111"> was before the&s;e times carryed into Captivity, and God had by <HI>Salmana&s;ar,</HI> removed them out of his &s;ight; only <HI>Judah did yet rule with God, and was faithful with the Saints:</HI> There was a Remnant of the faithful of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> that rather then they would joyn in wor&s;hip with <HI>Jeroboam,</HI> &s;ome of the <HI>Levites,</HI> and the people, 2 <HI>Chron,</HI> 11.14,16. they left their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, and in the de&s;olation of the ten Tribes, they were pre&s;erv|ed; but when they had peace, what the Lord had done, they were neither moved by his Mercy unto them&s;elves, nor by his Judgments upon their bre|thren: But, <HI>They provoked the Lord, &amp; they ju&s;tified their Si&s;ter by their evil doings:</HI> Therefore tho&s;e that were pre&s;erved in the former calamity, there's a Judgment al&s;o remains for them; there's a rime of tryal that yet is re&s;erved for <HI>Jacob:</HI> and the&s;e were the people among&s;t whom the Prophet lived; <HI>For he was in the Court of the Pri&s;on when Jeru&s;alem was taken:</HI> and this is called <HI>Jacobs</HI> trouble, Lam. 1.17. <HI>The Lord hath commanded concerning</HI> Jacob, <HI>that the Adver&s;aries &s;hall be round about,</HI> &amp;c. therefore by <HI>Jacob</HI> here, is meant only <HI>Judah,</HI> that is, the two Tribes that did not de|part from God in the Revolt and Apo&s;tacy of the ten Tribes: and that tho&s;e of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> that for con&s;cience &s;ake, did leave their Habitations, and went and dwelt in <HI>Judah</HI> and <HI>Jeru&s;alem;</HI> yet <HI>there's a time of</HI> trouble for them al&s;o.</P>
<P>2. What's meant by the time of trouble? It's in the Original, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Hab. 3.16.</NOTE> <HI>tempus augu&s;tiae,</HI> a time of &s;traits; which is called <HI>a day of &s;traits, when the Lord did come up upon them and invade them with his Troops:</HI> for &s;o the Army of the <HI>Babylonians</HI> is called: when they &s;hould be led into Captivity by the will and command of others, for their Per&s;ons and E&s;tates to be made
<PB N="167" REF="111"> u&s;e of as a prey, to &s;erve the wills and ends of &s;tran|gers and &s;ervants: For &s;trangers, <HI>Jer.</HI> 30.8. <HI>Strangers &s;hall no more &s;erve them&s;elves of them:</HI> And for &s;ervants, <HI>Lam.</HI> 5.8. <HI>Servants rule over us, and there's none to deliver us out of their hands.</HI> Now when the walls of the City were broken down, the Temple de&s;troyed, the Wor&s;hip of God prophaned, and all the Ordi|nances of God trampled under foot, all Order &amp; Au|thority depo&s;ed, and all things &s;ubjected unto the wil and lu&s;ts of a conquering Army, now it was a time of &s;traits, great &s;traits in point of con&s;cience; for they would now be working them about to their way, and per&s;wading them to wor&s;hip their Gods, <HI>Jer.</HI> 10.11. Now to be under the power of men, and not to be &s;ubjected to their lu&s;ts, and &s;erve the lu&s;ts of men, it's a great &s;trait; and &s;traits al&s;o in re|&s;pect of the affliction, having their lives alway hang|ing in doubt; having <HI>their bread by weight, and their water by mea&s;ure;</HI> and in re&s;pect of &s;uccour, in a great &s;trait al&s;o, <HI>for there was no deliverer:</HI> Lam. 1.3. All her Per&s;ecutors overtook her, between the &s;treights, that there was no e&s;caping, no way to avoyd them; and therefore, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.5. <HI>The&s;e &s;hall be difficult times,</HI> in which men &s;hould meet with great and variety of &s;traits, that they &s;hould not know which way to turn them&s;elves, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly; it's called a great day, <HI>magnum pro formi|dabile,</HI> Cal. <HI>Terribilis aut mire calamito&s;a, &agrave; magnitu|dine &s;upplicii, magnus nominatur.</HI> Theodor. And we doe read of five Great Dayes in the Scripture.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the day of the Lord, &s;poken of in <HI>Malach.</HI> 4.6. <HI>I will &s;end you Elijah the Prophet before the great and terrible day <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">f the Lord:</HI> that is interpreted, <HI>Luk.</HI> 1.17. of <HI>John Bapti&s;t,</HI> who was to be the forerunner of
<PB N="168" REF="112"> Chri&s;ts coming: And this is called a great day, for the great manife&s;tations of God, <HI>wherein life and im|mortality &s;hould be brought to light by the Go&s;pel;</HI> the great changes of Ordinances, and the great de&s;tru|ction of the Enemies, the terrible Judgements that &s;hould then be poured out; for <HI>Mal.</HI> 4.1. <HI>The day cometh that &s;hall burn as an Oven, and all that do wicked|ly &s;hall be &s;tubble;</HI> that is, <HI>when the Sun of Righteou&s;|ne&s;s doth ari&s;e with healing in his wings,</HI> &amp;c. And for the terrible Judgements that under the Go&s;pel the Lord would pour out upon the world, and that is meant, <HI>Acts</HI> 2.28. <HI>Joel</HI> 2.3. <HI>The Sun &s;hall be turned into darkne&s;s, the Moon into blood, before that great day of the Lord come.</HI> It's &s;poken of the great Judgements that the Lord Chri&s;t would pour out upon the world, and thereby make way for the receiving the Go&s;pel publickly; for <HI>he doth &s;hake Heaven and Earth, and thereby makes way for the coming of the de&s;ire of all Na|tions; for out of the Throne, when Christ is exalted, comes thunderings, and lightnings, and voices,</HI> Rev. 4.5.</P>
<P>Secondly, there's <HI>the great day of Jezreel,</HI> Ho&s;. 1. la&s;t. That is, when the Lord &s;hall call home his anti|ent people; and <HI>gather together the outca&s;ts of I&s;rael:</HI> Which &s;hall be a day in which the Lord &s;hall appear in his glory; for when he doth build <HI>Zion,</HI> he doth appear in his glory; <HI>a day of the re&s;titution of all things,</HI> a day of enriching of the world, a day when <HI>new Jeru|&s;alem &s;hall come down from God out of heaven;</HI> and a day <HI>in which the kingdoms of the earth &s;hall be given to the Lord and his Chri&s;t;</HI> and <HI>there &s;hall not be any more any pricking bryer, or any grieving thorn in all the land: there &s;hall be no more a Canaanite in the land forever;</HI> all per&s;ecuting Powers &s;hall be &s;ubdued.</P>
<PB N="691" REF="112">
<P>Thirdly, there's a <HI>great day, when the battel Ar|mageddon &s;hall be fought,</HI> Rev. 16.14. When all the Powers of the earth &s;hall rally and gather to|gether their broken Troops again&s;t the Church of God; they &s;hall be the greate&s;t combination that ever hath been, and in which all the oppo&s;ite Powers &s;hall be utterly and finally broken; and thereby way &s;hall be made for the <HI>vial poured upon the air,</HI> which brings in <HI>the binding of Satan,</HI> chap. 20. Now this battel, with the i&s;&s;ue of it, we have <HI>chap.</HI> 19.19,20,21. Now from the great preparations that the enemies do make, and the great de&s;truction which then they &s;hall be &s;ure to find, and the great things which &s;hall follow upon this, and that in this day the Lord will make way for, therefore it's called, <HI>the great day of God Almighty;</HI> when the Lord &s;hall fulfil all his promi&s;es, and pro|phecies, and <HI>Chri&s;t &s;hall be cloathed with a garment dipt in blood, and his name &s;hall be called the Word of God.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>the day of Judgement</HI> is a great day al|&s;o, <HI>the Angels are &s;aid to be re&s;erved in chains of dark|ne&s;s unto the Judgement of the great day; for then &s;hall the &s;on of man &s;it upon the throne of his glory, and all Na|tions &s;hall be gathered together before him;</HI> and he &s;hall &s;eparate them one from another, as a Shepheard di|vides his Sheep from the Goats, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and he &s;hall then pa&s;&s;e a finall &s;entence, an eternall judge|ment upon the eternal e&s;tates of men, and &s;et a gulph between them for ever, which they &s;hall never pa&s;s; &amp; when he hath &s;o done, he &s;hall re&s;ign, <HI>or give up his kingdom unto God the Father,</HI> and then all the pre&s;ent wayes of admini&s;tration &s;hall cea&s;e.</P>
<P>Fifthly, when the Lord brings any &s;peciall judge|ment or affliction upon his people, that al&s;o is called <HI>a great day,</HI> Zeph. 1.14. <HI>the great day of the Lord is near,
<PB N="170" REF="113"> it's a day of darkne&s;s and gloomine&s;s, a day of clouds and thick darkne&s;s,</HI> that <HI>Trumpet and Alarum again&s;t the fenced Cities, and again&s;t the high Towers;</HI> it's a threat|ning of the &s;ame Judgement there which here the Prophet &s;peaks of, <HI>the captivity of Babylon;</HI> and its called the <HI>great day of the Lord,</HI> and &s;o it's here called al&s;o.</P>
<P>Fourthly, it's &s;aid that it's &s;uch a day that there is none like to it; that is,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, it is the greate&s;t evil that ever befell that peo|ple, they had been &s;mitten with Pe&s;tilence, with &s;car|city of bread, cleane&s;s of teeth, inva&s;ions of Enemies, but never any like unto this, and therefore does the Prophet call it, <HI>an onely evil,</HI> Ezek. 7.5,6,7. <HI>it's come;</HI> and it is not a high &s;ound, the eccho of the moun|tains, but it &s;hall be &s;o in truth, and in reality, in which the <HI>fury of the Lord &s;hall be poured out upon them;</HI> he would give the dearly beloved of his &s;oul into the hand of his enemies.</P>
<P>Secondly, there's none like it, if we al&s;o compare Gods dealing with them, and with other people: <HI>The Lord hath not dealt &s;o with any Nation, as he hath done with Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and therefore they are afflicted, and in captivity with the heathen Nations, who are at ea&s;e and &s;it &s;til, <HI>Zach.</HI> 1.13.14. <HI>For judgement mu&s;t begin at the Hou&s;e of God;</HI> and there is at the la&s;t a wor&s;e end remaining, <HI>for them that obey not the Go&s;pel, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, here's a con&s;olation al&s;o, <HI>Jacob</HI> &s;hall have his time of trouble, but it is yet but a time; the people of God never enter into affliction without a promi&s;e, and therefore they are <HI>pri&s;oners of hope, when they are in a pit in which there's no water, Zach.</HI> 9.11,12. There are three great promi&s;es that the Saints have under all their afflictions.</P>
<PB N="171" REF="113">
<P>Fir&s;t, they are promi&s;ed &s;upport in the affliction, <HI>I will be with you;</HI> and, <HI>there's a River, the &s;treames whereof do make glad the City of God;</HI> Gen. 15. there's <HI>a light that goes between the peeces, in the middle of the darkne&s;s: the bu&s;h in the fire is not burnt:</HI> a peculiar providence watches over them, to keep them from fainting under the affliction.</P>
<P>Secondly, they are promi&s;ed Sanctification: <HI>This is the fruit of the affliction, to take away their &s;ins: by this &s;hall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; they &s;hall be made partakers of his holyne&s;&s;e;</HI> and of his glory; <HI>for the&s;e light afflictions that are but for a moment, &s;hall work for us a more exceeding, and eternal weight of glory.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, there's a promi&s;e of deliverance out of affliction: <HI>I&s;rael</HI> &s;hall not dye in <HI>A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">gypt,</HI> though it be four hundred years before they come forth; <HI>though the Temple be trodden down of the Gentiles, and the woman be in the wilderne&s;s</HI> 1260. <HI>dayes,</HI> yet &s;he &s;hall not al|waies be in a wilderne&s;s e&s;tate; and though they be in <HI>Babylon,</HI> yet the Lord by the blood of the Cove|nant will <HI>&s;end them forth out of the pit,</HI> and <HI>he will break the yoke from off the neck of the anointing,</HI> &amp;c. And &s;ome think (as <HI>Calvin</HI>) that to be the meaning of <HI>I&s;.</HI> 9.1. <HI>Her dimne&s;s &s;hall not be &s;uch as was in her vexati|on, when he fir&s;t lightly afflicted the land of Zabulon,</HI> &amp;c. that was, in the inroads formerly made upon them by <HI>Tiglah Pile&s;er,</HI> and was that greater then the captivity when the City &s;hould be de&s;troyed, and the Temple burnt with fire, and there was no compari&s;on in the affliction, but yet the darkne&s;s &s;hould not be &s;uch; and the rea&s;on is this, <HI>huic certa permi&s;&s;ionem e&s;&s;e additam, cum in prioribus nulla e&s;&s;et,</HI> better be as low as Hel with a promi&s;e, then in Paradi&s;e without it; <HI>the darkne&s;s of
<PB N="172" REF="114"> the bottomle&s;s pit would not be utter darkne&s;s,</HI> if there were but the light of a promi&s;e, for the &s;oul to look upon, for <HI>there is a time of the pro ni&s;e</HI> Acts 7.17. <HI>when it will truly &s;peak, and not lye.</HI></P>
<P>But what are the grounds why God will not &s;pare his own people?</P>
<P>Hence the grounds are the&s;e two.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, God will not &s;pare his own people; there's <HI>a time of Jacoh's trouble,</HI> when even Gods own people &s;hall be reduced to extremity, and there &s;hall come upon them a time of &s;traits.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Jacobs trouble is but for a time; there's a day of deliverance for them,</HI> they &s;hall be &s;aved out of it.</P>
<P>The Doctrine is this.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doctrin.</HEAD>
<P><HI>There is a time of Jacobs trouble: Gods own deare&s;t: people are many times brought into a time of &s;traits.</HI></P>
<P>It's true, that through a mans whole life, <HI>Chri&s;tia|nus</HI> mu&s;t be <HI>crucianus, he mu&s;t take up his cro&s;s that will follow the Lord: There's no &s;on that he receives but he chv&s;ti&s;es.</HI> Affliction is a Childs portion in the ways of holyne&s;s; their correction is as truly from the hand of their father, as their provi&s;ion is. But my purpo&s;e at pre&s;ent is to &s;peak of &s;ome &s;pecial times of <HI>Jacobs trouble; a great day, a day of &s;traits:</HI> And God doth many times bring his own people unto this: It will appear to be true from all the dealings of God with the Saints; the children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> were in bon|dage in <HI>Aegypt</HI> long, and their affliction was great, but there was a time when the bricks were doubled, and the oppo&s;ition heightned, &s;o that they <HI>were as dead carrion ca&s;t out to the Ravens,</HI> Gen. 15. And though I&s;rael were hated of all the Nations, which God call|ed their <HI>evil neighbours,</HI> yet there were &s;ome &s;pecial
<PB N="173" REF="114"> &s;traits that befell them, as in the dayes of <HI>A&s;a,</HI> 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 14.9,10. <HI>When there came an Army of the E|thiopians, an ho&s;t of a thou&s;and thou&s;and men;</HI> and in the dayes of <HI>Hezckiah,</HI> when <HI>Senacherib be&s;ieged Jeru&s;a|lem, its a day of trouble, of rebuke, and of bla&s;phemy,</HI> I&s;a. 37.3. But yet there was a time of greater &s;traits, when they mu&s;t be carried into captivity, and the glo|ry of the Lord removed from his own habitation. And the Go&s;pel was no &s;ooner placed in the world, but the great Red Dragon rai&s;ed a per&s;ecution; the Heathen Emperours, and all the Powers of their Empire, <HI>Rev.</HI> 12.1,3. And that Power was no &s;ooner broken, and the Church obtained of God a Man|child, but immediately <HI>there was a flood ca&s;t out after the woman;</HI> the <HI>Arrian</HI> Here&s;ie, and they per&s;ecuted the Church more then the Pagans had done before; <HI>and then the Earth helped the Woman,</HI> &amp;c. Then doth Anti-chri&s;t ari&s;e, and the people of God do <HI>prophecie in &s;ackcloth and a&s;hes: Witne&s;&s;es</HI> they are, and <HI>two Witne&s;&s;es,</HI> for their paucity, and for their &s;ufficiency<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> and yet there is a time of greater &s;traights that re|mains for them; there is <HI>the time of their fulfilling, and of their killing:</HI> &s;o that God doth re&s;erve a time of &s;traits for his own people; <HI>theres a time of Jacobs trouble, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, becau&s;e the Lord will give unto them &s;ome eminent experiences of his providence, under which they walk; it's true that <HI>he is the Saviour of all men, but e&s;pecially of them that beleeve;</HI> and <HI>upon all the glo|ry there is a covering at all times,</HI> I&s;a. 4.5. but the grea|ter the &s;traits are, the more eminent &s;hall the prote|ction be; if <HI>Daniel be in the Lyons den, and the three children in the fiery furnace:</HI> the wonder had not been &s;o great, <HI>if the bn&s;h had not been in the fire,</HI> but to &s;ee
<PB N="174" REF="115"> it in the fire, and yet not to con&s;ume, that was the greate&s;t &s;ight that ever <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;aw before. <HI>When the Earth is removed, and the Mountains ca&s;t into the mid&s;t of the &s;ea, then there is need of a Song upon Alamoth,</HI> pro occultis, <HI>for Gods hidden ones,</HI> P&s;al. 46.1. <HI>If the Saints are in the pit in which there is nowater, now turn to your &s;trong holds ye pri&s;oners of hope,</HI> &s;atis prae&s;idii in uno Deo.</P>
<P>Secondly, Satan being <HI>the God of this world,</HI> he doth alwaies rule the pre&s;ent world, which God hath redeemed the Saints from, <HI>Gal.</HI> 1.4. And the <HI>children of di&s;obedience walk in the cour&s;e of the pre&s;ent world:</HI> The world is ca&s;t into variety of &s;hapes, but into what form &s;oever the pre&s;ent evil world is ca&s;t into, Satan is the god of the world, and he doth apply him&s;elf to rule the world under all the forms into which the Lord doth ca&s;t it. And therefore <HI>Hier om</HI> &s;aith wel, <HI>Erras, mi frater, erras, &s;i putas unquam Chri&s;tum per&s;e|cutione non pati, &amp;c.</HI> If the world be Pagan, Satan rules in the great Red Dragon, and &s;o brings the Saints into their time of &s;traits. If the face of the world change, and it turn Chri&s;tian, then Satan rules al&s;o in that, and ca&s;ts out <HI>a flood after the woman.</HI> If that Flood be dryed up, then Anti-chri&s;t doth ari&s;e, and he rules in him as a <HI>fal&s;e Prophet;</HI> and afterwards, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.1,2. If <HI>a form of godline&s;s</HI> be brought in, un|der that he will rule, <HI>and men be lovers of their own &s;elves, proud, boasters, treacherous, high minded, and de&s;pi&s;ers of tho&s;e that are good;</HI> and therefore there mu&s;t needs be &s;traits in all e&s;tates that &s;hall await the Saints of God.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the more &s;piritual light grows, the grea|ter are the &s;traits that the people of <HI>God</HI> are brought into.</P>
<PB N="175" REF="115">
<P>Fir&s;t, becau&s;e the more are their con&s;ciences &s;ea|red, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.2. It is not a cold Iron that will &s;eare the Con&s;cience, but when there is evident, clear con|vincing light, and men be told of it, and yet wil go again&s;t it, their Con&s;ciences are &s;eared by it, and in Judgement <HI>they are given over unto a reprobate mind.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, the more they are exa&s;perated again&s;t the Truths of God, becau&s;e they do come nearer unto the &s;in again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t, which is the Devils &s;in; and it doth con&s;i&s;t in malice upon a high and a rais'd light. No men were &s;o cruel as the Phari&s;ees, that did &s;in again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t; and therefore if <HI>prophecying in &s;ackcloth and a&s;hes</HI> would &s;atisfie the lu&s;ts of men in times pa&s;t, <HI>now killing</HI> is not &s;ufficient, but <HI>their dead bodies &s;hall not be buried,</HI> to expre&s;s their former malice and rage again&s;t them; and therefore in the latter times, the &s;traits of the people of God mu&s;t needs be greater then ever they have been in times pa&s;t.</P>
<P>Fourthly, God wil by this make way for an utter ruin of the Churches Enemies; the greater &s;traits they do bring the Saints into, the nearer is their de&s;truction, and the &s;ooner will God ari&s;e. <HI>I have &s;een the affliction of my people that are in Aegypt, and I have heard their cry:</HI> For the Churches Enemies mu&s;t peri&s;h by the Churches hand, and therefore they are &s;aid to be, <HI>a cup of trembling, and a burthe &s;ome &s;tone:</HI> The Church brought that mighty people into a condition fit to be con&s;umed: <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> was to them a cup of trem|bling; now they think to drink it off, and it proves their poy&s;on; and when they have brought them to extremity, that they thought all had been &s;ure, then they them&s;elves peri&s;h: It's by the Churches &s;traits that the Enemies are ruin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">d: <HI>When the ploughers plowd
<PB N="176" REF="116"> upon their backs, and made long their furrows, then will the Lord cut the cords of the wicked,</HI> P&s;al. 129.3.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="application">
<P>The U&s;e is for Con&s;olation to all the people of God; and this I will reduce unto three Que&s;tions.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, with what mind God doth bring his people into &s;traits? What the thoughts of God are to|wards them when he doth it? And here we &s;hall &s;ee that <HI>God thinks thoughts of peace to them all the while, and not of evil,</HI> Jer. 29.11.</P>
<P>Secondly, in what mea&s;ure will the Lord do it?</P>
<P>Thirdly, unto what end?</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t: With what mind does the Lord bring his people into &s;traits? What are the thoughts of God towards them when he doth it?</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, he doth it from a principle of Love, and their Afflictions are grounded on the Second Covenant, as their Mercies are; other mens afflictions are from the Fir&s;t Covenant, as a fruit of the Cur&s;e, <HI>Mich.</HI> 7.9. the Church &s;aies there, <HI>I will bear the indignation of the Lord,</HI> &amp;c. Why is God in indignation with his own people? indeed <HI>he is angry with the wicked eve|ry day.</HI> There is a double anger of God, <HI>&s;implex &amp; redundans in per&s;onam;</HI> he is angry at his peoples &s;ins, but yet he loves their per&s;ons; and he afflicts them from a principle of <HI>faithfulne&s;s.</HI> P&s;al. 119.75. For he hath covenanted to <HI>keep them from the evil of the world;</HI> he is to <HI>pre&s;erve them unto his heavenly Kingdom;</HI> and he does, as I may &s;ay, &s;ometimetimes pre&s;erve them in Salt, and &s;omtimes in Sugar, as we u&s;e to doe with &s;ome things that we would pre&s;erve.</P>
<P>Secondly, God looks upon your &s;uffering as the &s;uffering of Chri&s;t; the Saints being one with him, their &s;ervices are Chri&s;ts, and their &s;ufferings are Chri&s;ts, <HI>they bear fruit in him, they live in him,</HI> Col.
<PB N="177" REF="116"> 1.24. So <HI>they fill up what is behind of the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, whil&s;t he doth &s;mite them he is afflicted with them; <HI>in all their afflictions he is afflicted;</HI> though Chri&s;t be in heaven, yet he has the &s;ame nature there that he had here; and he &s;tands in the &s;ame relation to us now he is in glory, that he did here, <HI>he is not a&s;hamed to call us brethren;</HI> and therefore his com|pa&s;&s;ion &s;till remains: <HI>Jer.</HI> 31.22 <HI>Since I &s;pake again&s;t him, I remembred him &s;till: my bowels are troubled for him.</HI> The heart of God goes out unto all the Saints in their afflictions.</P>
<P>Fourthly, whil&s;t he doth afflict them, <HI>he doth wait to be gracious,</HI> I&s;a. 30.18. He doth not defer delive|rance becau&s;e he is not willing to be&s;tow it, but be|cau&s;e his people are not prepared for it, that's the rea|&s;on they are &s;o long out of glory, <HI>Col.</HI> 1.12. becau&s;e they are not yet <HI>meet to be partakers of the Inheritance with the Saints in life;</HI> and to make them &s;o, he doth &s;it by, <HI>as a Refiner, and he will only purge away their dro&s;s</HI> by their afflictions.</P>
<P>Fifthly, all the while they are in &s;traits, he doth take &s;pecial notice of their &s;ufferings, and he is deep|ly di&s;pleas'd with the In&s;truments that afflict his peo|ple, and he is preparing for their ruin all the while; for he takes &s;pecial notice of their wrong, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.2. <HI>I know thy work, and thy labour, and thy patience,</HI> &amp;c. Exo. 3.7. <HI>I know their &s;orrows: He hath a bottle for their tears.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, he is deeply di&s;plea&s;ed with the In&s;tru|ments: <HI>Zach.</HI> 1.15. He &s;ent his people into <HI>Babylon,</HI> but yet, <HI>I am &s;ore di&s;plea&s;ed with the heathen; I was but a little di&s;plea&s;ed, and they helped forward the affliction.</HI> So that whil&s;t God doth u&s;e them as <HI>the rod of his an|ger,</HI> he is angry with them.</P>
<PB N="178" REF="117">
<P>Thirdly, he is all the while the Enemies are afflict|ing of his people, preparing for their overthrow, <HI>Zac.</HI> 1.21,23. <HI>When he doth rai&s;e up horns, he doth provide Carpenters al&s;o.</HI> And Je&s;us Chri&s;t all the while is pre|paring for to be his peoples re&s;cue, though they &s;ee him not, yet <HI>he is behind the Mirtle-trees at the bottom,</HI> Zach. 1.8.</P>
<P>Sixtly, he will make their affliction to be the great means of their exaltation; <HI>Jacob &s;hall ari&s;e when he is &s;mall:</HI> The <HI>killing of the Witne&s;ses made way for their Re&s;urrection,</HI> the more glorious. The&s;e are the thoughts and the mind of God towards <HI>Jacob</HI> in the day of his trouble.</P>
<P>Secondly, in what mea&s;ure will he do this? <HI>Jer.</HI> 30.11. <HI>I will correct thee in mea&s;ure, but not leave thee altogether unpuni&s;h'd:</HI> And here con&s;ider the&s;e five particulars.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, it &s;hall not be according to the de&s;ert of your &s;ins, <HI>Ezra</HI> 9.13. <HI>I have puni&s;hed you le&s;&s;e then your ini|quities de&s;erve: He will not &s;tir up all his wrath,</HI> P&s;alm 28.38. <HI>It's the Lords mercy we are not con&s;umed.</HI> We might have been in Hel as well as in <HI>Babylon.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, it &s;hall be but according to the mea&s;ure of your nece&s;&s;ities: He doth afflict but <HI>when need is,</HI> 1 Pet. 1.6. And it &s;hall be no farther than need is, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 28.24. <HI>He will not alwayes be ploughing;</HI> there is a &s;ow|ing time, &s;o much breaking of the ground as wil pre|pare it for the &s;eed, and no more.</P>
<P>Thirdly, it &s;hall be proportionable to a mans place in the my&s;tical body of Chri&s;t: There are &s;ome ve&s;&s;els of Gold, and &s;ome of Silver, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.20,21. <HI>Chri&s;t the head was the fir&s;t born among&s;t many brethren,</HI> Rom. 8.29. And as all the brethren are not called forth to the like eminent &s;ervices, &s;o all are not called to the like eminent &s;ufferings.</P>
<PB N="179" REF="117">
<P>Fourthly, it &s;hall be proportionable to their &s;trength, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.13. <HI>He will not &s;uffer us to be tempted above what we are able:</HI> and he will give in &s;upplies of graces &s;uitable unto the &s;uffering, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.9. <HI>My grace is &s;ufficient,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 28.27. <HI>He doth not turn the cart wheele on all the Corn, but he hath a staffe for the fitches, and a rod for the cummin,</HI> &amp;c. He takes mea&s;ure of your graces, of your &s;pirits, and of your &s;trength, and he doth give it unto you proportionable to your need.</P>
<P>Fiftly, there are alwaies &s;ome mitigating circum|&s;tances, that do abate and &s;weeten the affliction; <HI>non dantur purae tenebrae, there is a light between the peeces,</HI> Gen. 15.17.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, God doth &s;ometimes give them favour in the eyes of their enemies, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 10.6.96. he made them to pitty them that carried them captive. <HI>Jo&s;eph &s;hall find favour with the Keeper of the pri&s;on,</HI> and <HI>Daniel</HI> with <HI>the chiefe&s;t of the Eunuchs.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, what is wanting in outward ble&s;&s;ings, he will make up to them in&s;piritual ordinances; <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 20.20. <HI>Though he doth feed them with the bread of af|fliction, and the water of trouble, yet their eyes &s;hall &s;ee their Teachers.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, if they have none of the&s;e yet they &s;hall have his gracious pre&s;ence with them inlarging of their hearts; that <HI>with Paul and Silas they &s;hall &s;ing in a pri&s;on,</HI> and be able to &s;ay, <HI>it was good for me that I was afflicted:</HI> As one of the Martyrs &s;ayd, <HI>I was in pri&s;on till I came into pri&s;on;</HI> nil crus &s;entit in nervo, dum animus e&s;t in coelo.</P>
<P>Thirdly, unto what end doth the Lord do this? Every wi&s;e Agent works for an end, and the more wi&s;dom he hath, the higher ends he aims at in every
<PB N="180" REF="118"> action, and the more ends he doth make to meet in every thing that he doth, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 30.18. <HI>The Lord is a God of Judgement:</HI> It's there put for Wi&s;dom: <HI>He orders and moderates all things,</HI> in reference unto the end that he doth aim at; and as the Lord in all his waies <HI>is wonderful in wi&s;dom and coun&s;el;</HI> &s;o he is in all the af|flictions of the Saints; there is much wi&s;dom &s;een in his high ends, that he has in afflicting his people, and in making many ends to meet. I'll name four great ends.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the Lord doth bring his people to &s;traits, to prevent &s;in.</P>
<P N="1">1. In the ri&s;ing of lu&s;t, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.9. <HI>that I might not be exalted,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P N="2">2. The acting of lu&s;t if it doth ari&s;e, <HI>Job</HI> 33.17. <HI>He doth chasti&s;e a man with &s;trong pain, it is to keep man from his purpo&s;e, and to hide pride from his eyes:</HI> When he hath taken up an evil purpo&s;e, there is a cro&s;s inter|po&s;eth, <HI>interactum primum &amp; &s;ecundum.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. For the fini&s;hing of &s;in, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 2.6,7. <HI>He hedg'd up their way;</HI> they were going on in it, but God doth put a &s;top in their way, as men do to bea&s;ts, their way is hedg'd up.</P>
<P>Secondly, the Lord doth bring his people to &s;traits for their In&s;truction, <HI>Mich.</HI> 6.9. <HI>There's not a rod but it hath a voice.</HI> Bea&s;ts feel the rod, but the Saints they hear it.</P>
<P N="1">1. God does it, to let them &s;ee the evil of &s;in; for <HI>a man is held with the cords of his own &s;in,</HI> Prov. 5.22. Ezek. 7.10. <HI>As pride doth bud, &s;o doth the rod blo&s;som.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. God doth it to let them &s;ee the emptine&s;s of the creature, <HI>Gal.</HI> 6.14. <HI>I rejoice in the cro&s;s of Chri&s;t, for by it the world is crucifyed unto me, and I unto the world:</HI> He was thereby enabled to look upon the world as a
<PB N="181" REF="118"> crucified thing, that they may &s;ee they are <HI>but &s;trangers and pilgrims,</HI> and therefore <HI>&s;hould &s;eek a country,</HI> and ha&s;ten home.</P>
<P N="3">3. To let them know what it is <HI>to have fellow&s;hip with the &s;uffering of Chri&s;t,</HI> Phil. 3.10. There's a fel|low&s;hip of the &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t, that the Saints de&s;ire to know experimentally in them&s;elves; that as Chri&s;t was &s;upported under &s;uffering, &s;o may they; and as he was <HI>perfected by &s;uffering,</HI> &s;o may they al&s;o be; <HI>for he did in &s;uffering leave him&s;elf an example,</HI> 1 Pet. 2.21. as well as in dying.</P>
<P>Thirdly, for their &s;anctification.</P>
<P N="1">1. To purge their corruption; <HI>the bundle of folly the rod of correction mu&s;t drive out,</HI> Zach. 13,8,9. <HI>Two parts &s;hall be cut off and dye, and the third part &s;hall pa&s;se through the fire, to refine them as &s;ilver, and they &s;hall call upon my name, and I will hear them.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. To improve their Graces; for he doth it to <HI>make them partakers of his holyne&s;s,</HI> Heb. 12.10. And he will do it in a higher way, by a cro&s;s &s;ometimes, then by an ordinance he will make the way foul, and the &s;oul fruitful, <HI>Jam.</HI> 1.3.4. <HI>Tribulation works pati|ence, and patience experience, and experience hope,</HI> &amp;c. There's a &s;weet influence in the&s;e &s;howres of affliction that ripen the graces of the Saints.</P>
<P>Thirdly, it's to prepare them for &s;ervices, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.5,6. <HI>He comforted us in all our tribulation, that we might be able to comfort others with the &s;ame con&s;olation.</HI> 1 King. 4.31. Heman <HI>is counted one of the wi&s;e&s;t men of the world,</HI> and in <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 88. we &s;ee how he attained it, by being <HI>train'd up in the &s;chool of affliction;</HI> and God doth ca&s;t &s;ome men into great afflictions, that thereby he may fit them for high and eminent &s;ervices after|wards: <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> had never been &s;o fit to have been a
<PB N="182" REF="119"> Governour in <HI>Egypt,</HI> if his foot had not been hurt in the &s;tocks; nor <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to have been a leader of the people of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> if he had not been ban&s;hed forty yeares in the Wilderne&s;s; and <HI>David</HI> his Crown had never &s;ate &s;o well, if he had not been <HI>hunted as a Par|tridge upon the mountains.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, that the Lord may have &s;ome to give their te&s;timonies unto his truth; that it may appear, that there are &s;ome that do &s;tand for God, and dare appear for him; <HI>when the world wonder'd after the Bea&s;t, there are &s;ome that &s;tand with the Lamb upon mount Zion,</HI> Rev. 14.2. <HI>There are two Witne&s;&s;es.</HI> The Wit|ne&s;&s;es of God are but a few, yet &s;ome there are that God will rai&s;e up in all Ages, &s;o that corruption in Doctrine and Wor&s;hip &s;hal not go unte&s;tified again&s;t; for the Lord will not leave the world without witne&s;s; and hereby the Lord will endear his Witne&s;&s;es, and rai&s;e them up in the hearts of the Saints, it will make them dear, and their names precious in the Churches, for none have been &s;o precious in their names as they that did not count their blood precious, they thought not their lives dear to them, they loved not their lives to the death: How precious was <HI>Peter</HI> in his &s;uf|fering? When all the Church ingaged their intere&s;t unto God for him, <HI>Acts</HI> 12. As Ro&s;es are &s;weeter in the Still then upon the &s;talk, &s;o it is with the Saints in all their &s;ufferings in the apprehen&s;ion of the Churches.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="application">
<HEAD>U&s;e 2.</HEAD>
<P>Is it &s;o, that there is a day of trouble to <HI>Jacob?</HI> Then do you look for a day of trouble al&s;o, and to that end it's your wi&s;dom to di&s;cern the &s;igns of the times, <HI>Mat.</HI> 16.3. God hath &s;tretched the <HI>expan&s;um</HI> of his Word over the rational world, and as by the heavens a man may di&s;cern in the natural world, &s;o by
<PB N="183" REF="119"> the Word, if a man be skilful in it, a man may <HI>di&s;cern the &s;igns of the times</HI> in the rational world al&s;o. In the Word there are two &s;orts of rules.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, antient Predictions.</P>
<P>Secondly, pre&s;ent Di&s;pen&s;ations.</P>
<P N="1">1. Antient Predictions, <HI>Rev.</HI> 10.7. <HI>cum finituis &s;int,</HI> when they were about to fini&s;h: The 1260 daies are not yeares fulfilled; therefore the killing time is to come; for the Bea&s;t receives his Kingdom with the &s;even Kings &s;ince the <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> was removed.</P>
<P N="2">2. There was never yet that perfect Victory, that <HI>they did &s;ay, they are dead;</HI> there were none that did vi&s;ibly appear to bear witne&s;s again&s;t them, therefore it is yet to come.</P>
<P>Secondly, pre&s;ent di&s;pen&s;ations compared with the rules of the Word.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t when there's a general decay of Wi&s;dom in Rulers, and <HI>children and babes rule over a people,</HI> I&s;a. 27.14. <HI>I will do a marvellous work, the wi&s;dom of the wi&s;e men &s;hall peri&s;h, and now I will di&s;tre&s;s</HI> Ariel.</P>
<P>Secondly, when there is poured out upon a people <HI>the &s;pirit of a deep &s;leep,</HI> as <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 29.10. that nothing could awaken them, but as men &s;leeping upon the top of a Ma&s;t, though the Sea roar, and the Wind make a noi&s;e, yet they &s;leep &s;til; when men are &s;ecure, then <HI>the di&s;tre&s;s of Ariel is near; I will &s;earch Jeru&s;alem with candles,</HI> and <HI>the men that are &s;etled upon their Lees,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Thirdly, when there is a general oppre&s;&s;ion and mercile&s;ne&s;s in the Rulers, <HI>Zac.</HI> 11.5. <HI>When a people be|come the flock of the &s;laughter,</HI> Mic. 7.3,4. <HI>the Judge asketh for a reward:</HI> now &s;hall be their perplexity.</P>
<P>Fourthly, when there are general neglects of Go|vernment and order among&s;t a people, <HI>every one does whats right in his own eyes, when the ba&s;e doth pre&s;ume a|gain&s;t
<PB N="184" REF="120"> the honourable, and the children again&s;t the anti|ent,</HI> I&s;a. 3.5. then pre&s;ently there is a ruin coming, <HI>ver.</HI> 8. <HI>Jeru&s;alem is ruin'd, and Judah is fallen:</HI> Iudg. 18.7. <HI>When there was no ma&s;ter of re&s;traint in Lai&s;h, their ruin was near.</HI></P>
<P>Fiftly, when there are bitter envyings and parties, the people &s;hall <HI>be as fuel for the fire,</HI> I&s;a. 9.19,20. <HI>No man &s;pares his brother, but every man eats the fle&s;h of his own arm,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Jer.</HI> 8.7. <HI>My people know not the judge|ment of the Lord.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doctrin 2</HEAD>
<P><HI>Yet Jacobs trouble is but for a time, then &s;hall deli|verance be,</HI> Mich. 7.9. <HI>Though I fall, I &s;hall ari&s;e, and the Lord will be light about me; the rod of the wicked &s;hall not alway lye upon the lot of the righteous.</HI> The Witne&s;&s;es though they be killed, yet they &s;hall not alwaies lye dead, but <HI>they &s;hall ri&s;e again,</HI> &amp;c. I cannot now &s;tand to prove this Doctrine, but &s;pend the remainder of the time I have to &s;peak in a &s;hort u&s;e to all the people of God.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>U&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>live by faith</HI> in this time of trial; the <HI>Lord doth but wait to be gracious,</HI> and he &s;aies, <HI>ble&s;&s;ed be tho&s;e that wait for him,</HI> Hab. 2.4. <HI>The ju&s;t &s;hall live by his Faith.</HI> The meaning is, he &s;hall live comfortably under the cro&s;s; for it is an expre&s;&s;ion like that of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Now we live if ye &s;tand fa&s;t.</HI> And the acts of Faith that we &s;hould now exerci&s;e &s;hould be the&s;e: Ile name two or three.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, commit your &s;elves to him quietly; <HI>leave your &s;elves with him,</HI> P&s;al. 114.14. As you have com|mitted your &s;oules to him, &s;o <HI>to him al&s;o commit your way,</HI> Dan. 3.17. Be not <HI>careful in this matter,</HI> he that hath ca&s;t me into the fire, will a&s;&s;uredly watch over me in it, becau&s;e he hath promi&s;ed to bring me out of it.</P>
<PB N="185" REF="120">
<P>Secondly, wait for him till he be gracious, and <HI>doe not make hast; he that beleeves does not make ha&s;t.</HI> Doe not u&s;e unlawful means out of pride of pa&s;&s;ion, be|cau&s;e you will not wait Gods lei&s;ure, nor do not u&s;e compliance with carnal men to deliver thee, for that is not the way of faith.</P>
<P>Thirdly, look towards God in thy prayers, under this con&s;ideration; that he hath undertaken delive|rance, 2 <HI>Chron</HI> 22.12. <HI>We have no might, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are towards thee;</HI> for it is the exerci&s;e of Faith that doth procure deliverance, <HI>Gen.</HI> 49 21. <HI>His bow abode i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">re g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">;</HI> that is <HI>invictum ro|bur;</HI> it's by this that the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> of God prove victori|ous in their &s;ufferings.</P>
<P>But how may a man know when deliverance is near? Are there not rules for that as well as the other. I will only name there three rules.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, when the people of God look towards him and return; if not, <HI>Lev.</HI> 26.24,25. <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e will puni&s;h them &s;even times more, till he hath de&s;trey'd them;</HI> for there is a pedigree of judgement, <HI>Ho&s;</HI> 1. <HI>Jeel</HI> 2.14. <HI>Rent your hearts, and no your garments,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Prepare to m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">et thy God, O I&s;rael.</HI> There is no going to God in the way of his judgement, but by meeting of him, and that is not in a way of oppo&s;ition, but in a way of &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>Secondly, when the hearts of the enemies and their &s;ins are grown unto a height, <HI>Rev.</HI> 14.18. <HI>when the grapes are fully ripe,</HI> when men do add unto al their &s;ins contempt of God, and &s;ay, <HI>Who is the Lord?</HI> it is an argument they are not like to &s;tand long, that doe <HI>&s;tretch their mouthes out again&s;t heave<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> and their tongues run through the earth: When In&s;truments doe ri&s;e again&s;t their maker, <HI>and the axe is again&s;t him that hews with it, then I will &s;end among&s;t the fat ones
<PB N="186" REF="121"> &s;aith the Lord, and kindle a burning under their glory.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, when the hearts of the people of God are low, and their &s;pirits do fail, and they &s;ay <HI>our bones are dry, our hope is past, and we are cut off,</HI> Ezek. 37.12. <HI>When the Son of man comes &s;hall he find faith upon earth?</HI> Men will not beleeve it, <HI>Luk.</HI> 18 8. And though ye &s;ee no waies or means of deliverance, yet remember, <HI>It is not by power, nor by might, but by my &s;pirit,</HI> Zach. 4.7. <HI>And the earth did help the woman.</HI> The Lord can make u&s;e of any In&s;truments for the Redemption of his &s;ervants: The barborous Nati|ons came in for their &s;uccour, which I fear will be the Judgement upon this Nation.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="187" REF="121">
<HEAD>GRACE ABUSED.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>At a Fa&s;t for abu&s;ed Liberty, <DATE><HI>Febr.</HI> 28^t^h^.</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>JUDE 4.</BIBL>
<P>Turning the Grace of God into wanton|ne&s;s, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THE word propounded for this daies hu|miliation is, that we may take &s;hame to our &s;elves before God, for that horrible abu&s;e of that Go&s;pel liberty which God hath given us, which is the fruit of the Prayers, the Tears, and the Blood of the ancient Saints of God among&s;t us: <HI>Rara qui&s;quam circa bona &s;ua &s;atis cautus;</HI> it's a very rare thing for men to walk worthily under Mercies that they have earne&s;tly de&s;ired, when they are enjoyed.</P>
<P>There are two things that mo&s;t men de&s;ire, and they are, Power and Liberty; and when they have attained them, I may &s;ay they are unto men, as they de&s;cribe waters, <HI>&s;uis terminis difficil&egrave; continentur.</HI> They are ea&s;ily apt to run over in what ve&s;&s;els &s;oever you put them in. I can my &s;elf remember, when
<PB N="188" REF="122"> Arminiani&s;m did fir&s;t invade this Nation, how much the old Puritans (for that was then the term of re|proach) were affected with it; how the Mini&s;ters preached again&s;t it, and writ again&s;t it, and the Saints fa&s;ted, and prayed again&s;t it, as that which they looked upon as the inlet of Popery; for if you will receive it fir&s;t in its doctrine, the &s;ame per&s;ons will quickly begin to &s;et it up in its wor&s;hip al&s;o: And it was &s;o much layd to heart by the godly Patriots of the Nation, that I have been a&s;&s;ured from good hands, that they drew up an Act of Parliament to be pa&s;t again&s;t it in the Parliament at <HI>Oxford,</HI> which they did intend to have &s;tood upon, and by an Act of the Civil Authority to have &s;uppre&s;t it, had not the Parliament been in a &s;udden, &amp; in an untimely manner broken up; and yet now we can cry out again&s;t Po|pery, and yet maintain with open face the Doctrines of Popery, and that under the notion or name of the greate&s;t liberty that can be, and I can remember al&s;o that in the Bi&s;hops time, when the people of God could not have liberty to meet without danger, or the name of a Conventicle, though it cro&s;s <HI>Tertullians</HI> notion; for he &s;aith, <HI>cum boni coeunt, non e&s;t factio di|cenda &s;ed curia,</HI> &amp;c. and in danger of a High Com|mi&s;&s;ion: How would the people of God have rejoy|ced at the Liberty that now they may enjoy? and how &s;ad it is to &s;ee how they are neglected by &s;ome, and &s;trangely prophaned by others they cannot be <HI>liberi</HI> unle&s;s they be <HI>Sacrile<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">i,</HI> as <HI>Augu&s;tin</HI> again&s;t the Pela|gians, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And this being the work of the day, to humble our &s;oules for the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e corrupt opinions, and abhominable practi&s;es, that under the notion and conceit of abu&s;ed Liberty, are broken forth among&s;t us; that which the Lord requires of us, is this, That we
<PB N="189" REF="122"> &s;hould not only cry out again&s;t it as many of us doe, but have our hearts &s;eriou&s;ly affected with it, and de|&s;ire the &s;ame for our Governours al&s;o, that do injoyn this Fa&s;t, that they may be humbled for that, for which they do enjoyn upon us a day of Humiliation; for every new Fa&s;t is a new obligation both to them, and to us; again&s;t this evil; not onely to &s;peak a|gain&s;t it, and pray again&s;t it, but al&s;o to endeavour to reform it in our places, to the utmo&s;t of our power; for there is not any thing that is a greater provocation unto God, then a cloak of Religious duties drawn over any corrupt intention: Of a <HI>Jezebels</HI> Fa&s;t, and a Phari&s;ees long Prayers; the one to &s;hed innocent blood, and the other to devoure the e&s;tate of an in|nocent per&s;on; and both are an abhomination to the Lord. And this being that w^c^h is appointed for the humiliation of this day to help you therein, and to admini&s;ter &s;omthing unto your thoughts, I have made choice of this Scripture now read unto you.</P>
<P>The grand exhortation in this Epi&s;tle, is &s;et down <HI>ver.</HI> 3. <HI>Contend earne&s;tly for the faith once given unto the Saints.</HI> The thing that you mu&s;t &s;trive for, is the Faith, the Doctrin of Faith, the Doctrin of the Go|&s;pel, which ye cannot keep without contention; <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, the word &s;ignifies, <HI>pro viribus,</HI> it is to &s;trive with all their might; or (as &s;ome render the word) it's to &s;trive one after another, in your places, and &s;uc|ce&s;&s;ive Generations; <HI>in &s;uper certare;</HI> or <HI>certamen re|pet<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">re:</HI> It's not enough to &s;trive once, and to a&s;&s;ert the Truths, but ye mu&s;t do it again, and again, after one another, as often as the Truth of God is oppo&s;ed</P>
<P>And he gives the rea&s;on of this exhortation.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, becau&s;e it is a <HI>depo&s;itum,</HI> that the Lord hath in
<PB N="190" REF="123"> mercy delivered unto the Saints, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.2.</NOTE> which the Lord re|quires them to keep: You are but Stewards of it, it is committed unto you, that you &s;hould tran&s;mit it unto po&s;terity.</P>
<P>Secondly, it was but <HI>once given,</HI> and therefore you cannot expect, that if you part with it, the Lord will again be&s;tow it unto you: It's like the fire upon the Altar, that was at fir&s;t kindled from heaven, and was there by the indu&s;try of the Prie&s;ts to be kept alive, and was never to go out; it was but once given, it was Gods free Grace to be&s;tow it, and he doth ex|pect that it &s;hould be our care and work to pre&s;erve it.</P>
<P>Thirdly, he doth pre&s;s this from the danger of it, in regard that the enemies lye in wait, there are cer|tain men crept in unawares, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t fal&s;e Teachers; they doe not ru&s;h in, for then they would be ob&s;erved, but they creep in &s;ecretly, and in an unob&s;erved manner, <HI>Rev.</HI> 13. <HI>A bea&s;t ri&s;ing out of the earth:</HI> There's a temporal power of the Pope; for he is repre&s;ented under a double vi&s;ion, of two Bea&s;ts.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, a Bea&s;t with &s;even heads, and ten horns, that is, he did claim a power over the ten Kings to depo&s;e them, and relea&s;e their &s;ubjects from obedience unto them; and this was a power that the ten Kings did give unto him, and this <HI>did ari&s;e out of the Sea,</HI> from the wars, and trouble, and commotions that were in the world: But there is another de&s;cription of the Pope, as he is the <HI>fal&s;e Prophet,</HI> which relates unto the Eccle&s;ia&s;tical power, that he takes to him&s;elf; and &s;o <HI>he hath two horns,</HI> one as a <HI>Lamb,</HI> an embleme of Meekne&s;&s;e and Innocency, and he <HI>ari&s;eth out of the earth,</HI> that is, <HI>&s;tirpium more,</HI> as things doe
<PB N="191" REF="123"> grow out of the earth in a &s;ecret and unob&s;erved way.</P>
<P>Secondly, the thing that they trade in, is the Truths of God, and the &s;ouls of men; <HI>therefore contend ear|ne&s;tly for the Faith;</HI> for when fal&s;e Teachers come, it is the Faith that they do mainly aim at, and Satan is the grand deceiver in them.</P>
<P>And the Apo&s;tle comes al&s;o to a de&s;cription of the per&s;ons with whom your contention was to be.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, they are de&s;cribed by the act of God upon them, what they are in Gods Predetermination.</P>
<P>Secondly, by the act of &s;in within them, and what they are by their own corruptions.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, by the act of God upon them; <HI>they were of old ordained to de&s;truction.</HI> The Greek word is, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>prae&s;cripti,</HI> they are pre&s;crib'd, fore-writ|ten, becau&s;e there is an act of God in revealing of them, that is pa&s;&s;ed upon them from all eternity. It is unto this damnation that they are appointed: And &s;ome read the words, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>ad hoc judici|um;</HI> for to be given over into &s;uch a way of &s;inning, it's the greate&s;t &s;piritual judgement that can befall a man in this life, and doth flow from a &s;entence and a decree pa&s;&s;ed upon him by God; for he that hath ordain'd men unto damnation, hath by a permi&s;&s;ive (though not an effective will) appointed al&s;o the means by which he &s;hall come unto that end, that &s;o he is ordain'd to be damn'd.</P>
<P>Secondly, by the power of &s;in within them: All ungodly men, pretend what they will, <HI>they have no fear of God in them,</HI> nor any re&s;pect unto God, they are men that are <HI>&s;trangers unto God,</HI> and <HI>live without him in the world,</HI> that's their generall de&s;cription; they are <HI>ungodly men that have no feare of God in their hearts,</HI>
<PB N="192" REF="124"> and that do what&s;oever they do, without any re&s;pect unto God, though they are many times great preten|ders, yet of them all it's &s;aid, that <HI>their God is their beily,</HI> and all that they doe is for &s;ome low end; it's with no re&s;pect unto God.</P>
<P>Secondly, they are more particularly de&s;crib'd.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, by their de&s;perate opinions; <HI>they turn the grace of God into wantonne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, by their devilli&s;h conver&s;ations; <HI>They deny the Lord God, and the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> it's &s;po|ken in re&s;pect of their lives and wayes: 2 <HI>Tit.</HI> 1.16. <HI>They profe&s;s they know God, but in works they deny him,</HI> &amp;c. And we &s;hall ever find, that mon&s;trous opinions are ever accompanied with mon&s;trous corruptions.</P>
<P>It's the de&s;cription of the&s;e men according unto their wicked opinions that I am to &s;peak of at pre&s;ent, and there are in the words three things to be ex|plain'd.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, what is meant by the Grace of God?</P>
<P>Secondly, what is meant by Wantonne&s;s?</P>
<P>Thirdly, what it is to turn this Grace into Wan|tonne&s;s? <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, what is meant by the Grace of God? As given unto us, Grace is taken two waies in Scripture, either for the Go&s;pel, <HI>the Word of his Grace,</HI> as it is called <HI>Acts</HI> 20.32. and &s;o it is taken 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.1. <HI>We as workers together with him, doe be&s;eech you not to receive the grace of God in vain.</HI> It's &s;po|ken of the Doctrine of the Go&s;pel, which the Lord had &s;ent among&s;t them; and <HI>Tit.</HI> 2.11. <HI>The Grace of God that bringeth &s;alvation hath appear'd to all men,</HI> &amp;c. It's &s;poken of the Doctrin of the Go&s;pel, <HI>the Word of his grace.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, it's put for the impre&s;s of this Word up|on
<PB N="193" REF="124"> the heart; for it's <HI>the word writ in the heart;</HI> they are the habits of Grace in us, it is <HI>into this mould we are ca&s;t,</HI> Rom 6.17. and it is <HI>by looking into this Gla&s;s that we are transformed,</HI> &amp;c. 2 Cor. 3. la&s;t v. <HI>It's the Word ingrafted</HI> that doth change the man: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jam. 1.21.</NOTE> And &s;o we are &s;aid to <HI>receive from Chri&s;t Grace for Grace,</HI> Joh. 1.16. <HI>The unction in us</HI> being an&s;werable to that of tho&s;e that are in Chri&s;t; and that <HI>gratia habitualis</HI> in us, an&s;wering that which was in Chri&s;ts humane na|ture; for he had the &s;ame &s;pirit<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> dwelling in him, and working habits in his humane nature, that we al&s;o have; but it's not this latter that is meant here; for the Devil him&s;elf cannot turn Grace into Wanton|ne&s;s though corruption will endeavour to m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ke ad|vantage of Grace, but Faith it &s;elf is the new crea|ture, the devine nature, it's <HI>that which is born of God which cannot &s;in,</HI> Joh. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> And therefore it mu&s;t here be meant of the <HI>Word of his Grace,</HI> the Doctrin of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>Secondly, what is m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ant by Wantonne&s;s? the word <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, &s;ignifies a wanton, vam, licentious, and un|ruly di&s;po&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ion of heart: It is by <HI>Zanch.</HI> de&s;cribed to be <HI>effraenis quae<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">am peccandi libido: <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">eing pa&s;t feel|ing they gave them&s;elves over unto la&s;civiou&s;n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;s</HI> 1 Pet. 4.3. it's &s;aid, <HI>Whil&s;t they were Gentiles they did walk in la&s;civiou&s;ne&s;s, exce&s;s of wine,</HI> &amp;c. It notes all manner of lu&s;t and filthine&s;s, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.19.</NOTE> For all men doe not &s;in with the &s;ame lewdne&s;s, nor with the &s;ame re&s;olution of &s;pirit, that other men do, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 29.13. <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> cogita<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">o, con&s;ilium, machinatio, &amp;c.</HI> The more thought rulne&s;s that there is in &s;inning, and upon the greater grounds mens lu&s;ts are bottom'd, with the more confidence, and fearle&s;ne&s;s, and re&s;olution of &s;pirit they do com|mit
<PB N="194" REF="125"> them; and this loo&s;ne&s;s of &s;pirit and re&s;olution in any way of &s;inning, without any check, or relu|ctancy of &s;pirit, this is called <HI>Wantonne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, what is it to turn the Grace of God into Wantonne&s;s? The word is <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, it &s;ignifies to tran&s;po&s;e a thing, and put it out of its place; to turn away a thing or a per&s;on, and puts it out of its for|former condition, as <HI>Heb.</HI> 11.5. it's &s;aid of <HI>Enoch,</HI> that <HI>the Lord tran &s;lated him;</HI> put him out of his pre|&s;ent earthly condition in which he was, and removed him out of his place to heaven, <HI>Gal.</HI> 1.6. <HI>Why are you &s;o &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">on carried away by another Go&s;pel?</HI> The fal&s;e Teachers had tran&s;lated them, and put them from their &s;tation, in which beleefe they &s;tood before they removed them from it; and &s;o when <HI>the doctrine of the Grace of God, that did teach men to deny un|godline&s;s and worldly lu&s;ts, and was given to make the man of perfect unto every good work,</HI> when this grace is by the lu&s;ts of men perverted to a quite contrary end, this is to tran&s;late the grace of God to another end, then that for which the Lord appointed it, when men do father their lu&s;ts upon the Word of God, and bear them up by it; and this has always been the cu|&s;tom of a I fal<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e Teachers; 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.16. the word is, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, they doe put the Scripture upon the Rack, and bending them unto their own bow, they &s;hall &s;erve their turn which way &s;oever their lu&s;ts work; there &s;hall be found &s;omething in Scripture that they can lay hold of for it: And when men doe make u&s;e of the Doctrines of the Go&s;pel to &s;erve their own lu&s;t, and do grow more loo&s;e and licentious under them, this is to pervert the Go&s;pel of Grace unto an end for which it was never appointed; <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">. <HI>Ju&s;tin M.</HI></P>
<PB N="195" REF="125">
<P>Hence there are two things to be ob&s;erved.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that there is a Wantonne&s;s that goes with corrupt Teachers; where&s;oever they are, corrupt do|ctrines and wicked practi&s;es go together. There are no men that &s;in with &s;o much wantonne&s;s, that is, with &s;o much licentiou&s;ne&s;s, liberty and impudency, as cor|rupt Teachers do.</P>
<P>Secondly, they wil wre&s;t the Word of God, and of his grace unto this end, they wil &s;trengthen their lu&s;ts by the word, and &s;o pervert it to an end unto which it was never appointed.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doct.</HEAD>
<P><HI>There is a wantonne&s;s in corrupt Teachers; there is both wicked doctrines and wicked practi&s;es,</HI> for they both go together in the &s;ame men.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, this will appear by the de&s;criptions every where given of them in the Scripture, they are de&s;cri|bed and placed in the highe&s;t rank of wicked men, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.2.19. <HI>Degs they are;</HI> that is unclean creatures that return unto their vomit; and they are joyned with e|vil workers, <HI>their God is their belly,</HI> they meerly &s;erve their own lu&s;ts in all that they do; and they do it with a great deal of impudencie, which is the highe&s;t pitch of &s;inning, they glory in that which &s;hould be looked upon as their &s;hame: The Apo&s;tle had &s;ayd, 2 <HI>Peter</HI> 2.14.18,19. That there &s;hould bee <HI>fal&s;e Teachers among&s;t them, that &s;hould privily bring in damnable,</HI> (or de&s;tructive) <HI>Here&s;ies;</HI> and hee de&s;cribes the men, <HI>having eyes full of Adultery, and cannot cea&s;e to &s;in, having their hearts exerci&s;ed with covetous practi&s;es, cur&s;ed children;</HI> and they allure through the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h, and much wan|tonne&s;s: It is this that is the bait, for it is <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">: They do allure as with a bait, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.13. <HI>Evil men
<PB N="196" REF="126"> and deceivers grow wor&s;e and wor&s;e:</HI> There is no &s;tay, when men once are deceived them&s;elves, and do be|come deceivers and &s;educers of others, the Lord doth commonly give them up in judgement <HI>unto all exce&s;&s;e of Riot,</HI> and they &s;all to all <HI>manner of la&s;civiou&s;|ne&s;s,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Secondly, it mu&s;t needs be &s;o, if wee con&s;ider from whence doth Here&s;ie come. We have the ri&s;e of it, <HI>Revel.</HI> 9.1,2. <HI>And I &s;aw a Starre fall from Heaven unto the Earth, and to him was given the Key of the bottomle&s;&s;e pit, and hee op<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">ed the bottomle&s;s pit, and there aro&s;e a &s;moak out of the pit, &amp;c.</HI> It's &s;po|ken of the Judgement of GOD poured out upon <HI>R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">me,</HI> Anti-chri&s;tian in the Ea&s;terne part of the Em|pire. And the bottomle&s;&s;e pit is opened, and that by a Starre that. fell from Heaven: For <HI>Mahomet</HI> was at fir&s;t a Chri&s;tian, and did pro&s;e&s;&s;e the Chri|&s;tian Religion, till at la&s;t meeting with <HI>Sergius,</HI> a wicked and corrupt Monk, they made up between them this fardle of Here&s;ies and Follies, by which they have deceived the world: Now <HI>this Star fall|ing, opened the bottomle&s;&s;e pit:</HI> That is, it was the In|&s;trument <HI>to let out the &s;moak thereof.</HI> And &s;o the Armies of <HI>Mahomet</HI> are called, <HI>Re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">el.</HI> 12.15. <HI>The Serpent ca&s;t out of his mouth a flood after the woman;</HI> that's meant of the <HI>Arrian</HI> Here&s;ie. Now con&s;ider what can come out of Hell: And what can come out as &s;moak out of the bottomle&s;&s;e pit, but it mu&s;t needs be full of filthine&s;s and uncleanne&s;s; but hence it is that all fal&s;e Doctrines come out of the mouth of the old Serpent, who is uncleanne&s;s it &s;elf.</P>
<P>Thirdly, they are in Scripture re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">embled unto the wickede&s;t men that ever were, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.15. as
<PB N="197" REF="126"> <HI>Balaam, it's &s;aid they followed the way of Balaam,</HI> who was him&s;elf a Witch, and one that would be ea&s;ily hired to cur&s;e the people of God for a re|ward, and they are <HI>Jannes</HI> and <HI>Jambres,</HI> 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.8. who were two famous Egyptians of <HI>Aegypt.</HI> There are not a more wicked generation of men in the world, nor men given up to wantonne&s;s and loo&s;ne&s;s more then they.</P>
<P>Fourthly, no men are &s;o <HI>indu&s;triou&s;ly</HI> wicked as they are, and <HI>they will compa&s;&s;e Sea and Land to make a pro&s;elite, and make him tenfold the child of hell when they have done, more then he was before:</HI> Revel. 9.10,18,19. <HI>They had tayles like to Scor|pions; of the&s;e were the third part of men killed;</HI> that is, <HI>of the fire, and &s;moak, and brim&s;tone that came out of their mouths: For their power is in their mouths, and in their tayls:</HI> It's &s;poken of the <HI>Mahu|metans,</HI> who as they did conquer, u&s;ed their utmo&s;t power to promote their Religion, and the corrupt principles thereof by which they have wholly de|filed even all the Ea&s;terne Chuches, they had the Heads of Lyons, but they had a <HI>&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ng in their tayle,</HI> where&s;oever they came, they left a &s;ting behind them, and they did kill not onely by their hands, but <HI>by the &s;moak that came out of their mouthes:</HI> Their power was not onely in their mouthes, but in their tayles al&s;o; they did a greater mi&s;chief by their corrupt Doctrines then they did by all their power and force of arms, and the men were in better condition that were killed by their hands, then they that &s;urviving were de|&s;troyed hy their tayles.</P>
<P>Fiftly, the people of God have abhorr'd them
<PB N="198" REF="127"> as the wickede&s;t men that ever were in the world, and therefore there is no &s;ort of &s;inners that the Spirit of God hath &s;o &s;et him&s;elf, and the Spirit of his Saints &s;o much again&s;t, as the&s;e; <HI>Tit.</HI> 3.10. <HI>A heretick reject,</HI> &amp;c. And we are exhorted, <HI>to be|ware of fal&s;e Teachers; for they come in Sheeps clothing, but they were ravening Wolves: By their fruits ye &s;hall know them: They be thi&s;tles, and ye &s;hal never gather grapes off them they are thorns, and therfore you &s;hal ne|ver gather figs off them,</HI> 3 Joh. 10. We are charged <HI>not to receive them into our hou&s;es,</HI> not communicate a word with them, not to bid them, God &s;peed: It was the title that <HI>John</HI> gave to <HI>Cerinthus, I know thee to be</HI> primogenitus Satanae, <HI>the fir&s;t born of the devil:</HI> Hereticks are they that have received a double portion of this &s;pirit.</P>
<P>Sixthly, they are &s;uch &s;ort of &s;inners as mo&s;t im|mediately acted by the Devil, of any men in the world; they have the mo&s;t immediate influences from Hell; and therefore <HI>Revel.</HI> 16.13,14. <HI>The unclean &s;pirit came out of the mouth of the D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">a|gon.</HI> They are &s;ent forth by his command, and they doe receive a commi&s;&s;ion from him in ano|ther manner than any other &s;inners doe, being as Officers employed under him: As it is in per|&s;ecution, it is the Devil that doth act per&s;ecutors immediately, <HI>Revel.</HI> 2.10. <HI>The devil &s;hall ca&s;t &s;ome of you into pri&s;on.</HI> So al&s;o it is in Here&s;ie, <HI>for it is a floud out of the mouth of the Serpent,</HI> Rev. 12.15. And it appears to bee a highway of wickedne&s;s, and that which brings all others with it, becau&s;e Satan did put more confidence in it, then by any other way to carry on his de&s;ign; and
<PB N="199" REF="127"> when he was not able to uphold his power any longer in a way of per&s;ecution, as he did in the fir&s;t three hundred yeares, now he thinkes to re|paire all by a way of Here&s;ie; for let Chri&s;t ca&s;t the world into what &s;hape he will, Satan ap|plyes him&s;elf unto that &s;hape, that &s;o he may be <HI>the ruler of the darkne&s;s of it,</HI> &amp;c. Now there being a great influence from Hell upon this; and Satan putting a greater confidence in it, it doth plainly &s;hew, that there are more depths of wickedne&s;&s;e in this than in any other way of &s;inning what&s;oever, and it mu&s;t needs be, if wee con&s;ider with our &s;elves the&s;e three things.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the Under&s;tanding is the leading fa|culty, and therein are layd down the rules for the whole life. In the practical under&s;tanding that is the common trea&s;ury of all the rules of practice, and according unto the&s;e a mans whole life is formed; corrupt but the principals of a man, and his whole life will quickly be corrupt; for no man is better than his principles, neither can he be: There's many a man would be bet|ter if he had higher principles; and therefore the Lord when he &s;hews mercy to a man, and doth increa&s;e his Grace, he doth u&s;ually rai&s;e his prin|ciples, and then as a mans light doth ri&s;e, his Graces will increa&s;e; for it is <HI>claritas in intellectu parit,</HI> and every man will &s;trive to live up to his principles; a godly man doth, and he blaming him&s;elfe that he doth fall &s;hort; and a wicked man &s;hall daily be put upon it, and therefore many of them, they cannot be &s;o wicked as their
<PB N="200" REF="128"> principles would lead them to; they &s;ee there is &s;o much fle&s;h in them, that they cannot yet bring them&s;elves to be per&s;waded, that there is no Re|&s;urrection of the dead, nor no life after this life, no puni&s;hments nor rewards; but <HI>if the eye be darkne&s;&s;e, how great is that darkne&s;s?</HI> By the Eye is meant the Under&s;tanding, or the practical Judgement, which is the guide of a mans way, as the Eye in the body is, and if that be darkned in the principles of it, the whole body, the whole life mu&s;t needs be full of darkne&s;&s;e; the blind|ne&s;&s;e in the Eye cau&s;eth a darkne&s;&s;e all the body over.</P>
<P>Secondly, it mu&s;t needs be &s;o, becau&s;e this takes away whatever &s;hould re&s;traine the lu&s;ts of men; for there is <HI>a &s;ea of corruption in the heart,</HI> I&s;a. 57.20. As the raging Sea, onely there are bounds &s;et to it, and what is that but the light that God doth put into their con&s;ciences; and men are overawed by it, they cannot be &s;o wicked as they would; now if lu&s;t can once by a corrupt Doctrine ca&s;t off this bridle, what kind of evill can they be withheld from? What is it they dare not doe? <HI>Rev.</HI> 92. <HI>The Su<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ne and he aire were darkned by the &s;moak, luce vintatis prer&s;us extinera.</HI> Neither in the Sunne, nor in the Aire is there any light, now all light being taken away that &s;hould di&s;cover the way of death to a man, and there is an impul&s;e of lu&s;t within, that puts the man upon acting: And whither will not that man run, that hath no principle within to re|&s;train him? <HI>He will commit all iniquity with gree|dine&s;s.</HI></P>
<PB N="201" REF="128">
<P>Thirdly, There is a ju&s;t judgment of God upon them in it, that they do di&s;honour God in his Truths, God &s;hould give them up, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, Rom. 1.26. <HI>to that lu&s;t</HI> which &s;hould bring that di&s;|honour upon them that &s;hould make them vile and abominable, and hateful before men; Satan comes with <HI>the deceivablene&s;s of Unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, becau&s;e they had plea&s;ure in Unrighteou&s;ne&s;s:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;&s;. 2.10.</NOTE> they were &s;uch Doctrines as did in judgement draw out their lu&s;ts; for God doth many times in judgement &s;end men Teachers according to their lu&s;ts: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Micha.</NOTE> <HI>If any man will prophe&s;ie of Wine, and &s;trong Drink, he &s;hall be a Prophet to this people:</HI> So the Lord doth fit them with Doctrines according to their lu&s;ts, that &s;hall be a means to draw them forth, Ezek. 20. <HI>I gave them Statutes that were not good:</HI> It's &s;poken of the &s;tatutes of <HI>Omri,</HI> and all their Idolatrous commands, which God gave them in judgement, and their lu&s;ts were drawn forth by them, and they peri&s;hed in them: For there is a reciprocation between the head and the heart, and a con&s;tant communion. An evil heart commonly makes an evil head, and then an evil head doth very much add unto the ro<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">enne&s;s of the heart: And by this means <HI>Deceivers in Judgement grow wor&s;e and wor&s;e;</HI> 1 Tim. 1.9. <HI>Faith and a good Con&s;cience</HI> mu&s;t be kept together; and there is no hope of keeping the one without the other; for a good Con&s;cience is the ve&s;&s;el wherein Faith is pre&s;erved, and if that be once &s;plit, Faith (that is the lading) will &s;uffer wrack; There mu&s;t be a mutual pre&s;ervation of both, for they mu&s;t be kept together, or they will &s;urely be lo&s;t together.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="doctrine">
<PB N="232" REF="129">
<HEAD>Doct. 2.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Men take &s;pecial care that the Word of God &s;hould be brought in to patronize their lu&s;ts.</HI> They will be wanton, but they would al&s;o wre&s;t and pervert the word of God the Father, and have that coun|tenance it.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Carnal Rea&s;on is lu&s;ts Councellor, and the <HI>&s;trong Holds of &s;in</HI> lies therein; <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"></NOTE> It is a great Pleader for &s;in; <HI>Men &s;ought out Inventi|ons,</HI> Eccle&s;. 7.29. 2 Cor. 10.5. there is a great contribution that corrupt rea&s;on gives to lu&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, But never &s;o much as when it is from the Word of God, that being the rule of a mans actions; let lu&s;t have &s;omthing from it to &s;atisfie it, and then the man &s;ins &s;ecurely; it's true that of Rom. 10.18. the Lord hath &s;tretch|ed forth the <HI>Expan&s;um</HI> of his Word, and many men (it may be) will not dare to &s;in with freedom again&s;t the a&s;pects of it, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> but if the Word do &s;eem to countenance it, and they can catch at any thing, it &s;hall &s;uffice; <HI>They wro&s;t the Scriptures to their own damnation,</HI> 2 Pet. 3.16. The Divel him&s;elf will come with, <HI>It's written:</HI> and the fal&s;e Prophets, with <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord,</HI> and then men can &s;in &s;ecurely, and without fear, becau&s;e the Word doth ju&s;tifie them, and bear them out; and therefore the fir&s;t, the mo&s;t continued here&s;ies that can never be &s;tubb'd up, but there are fibrae of them do appear in all ages; as we &s;ee it in Arminiani&s;me, Pelagi&s;me; it is becau&s;e they have much Scripture that they can alledge to defend it; the greate&s;t plot that ever the Divel had: and &s;o it is with Popery, they'l alledge the &s;ame Scriptures together with us.</P>
<PB N="203" REF="129">
<P>Secondly, The bittere&s;t enemies that ever the Church of God had, have been tho&s;e that have owned the &s;ame Scriptures with them&s;elves; as the Samaritans and the Jews, and the Papi&s;ts unto us; for hereby wickedne&s;s comes under the title of a Duty, John 16.2. <HI>They &s;hall &s;uppo&s;e that they do good &s;ervice:</HI> and <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>I verily thought that I ought to do many things again&s;t the name of the Lord Je&s;us;</HI> he did <HI>it in Duty, and did</HI> Sin con&s;cientiou&s;ly as I may &s;ay, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P><Q REND="inline">The Lord hath given you Liberty in many things, &s;uch as we could not have expected that ever our eyes &s;hould have &s;een done: Now let me exhort you, <HI>Do not turn this Grace of God into vantonne&s;s: U&s;e not your Liberty as an occa&s;ion <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">o the fle&s;h:</HI> Take heed of this way of &s;inning above all other, to make the Word of the holy God a Patron of Lu&s;t, abhor tho&s;e men above all other men, next the Divel, that are be&s;t skill'd in Scripture to this end, that they may ju&s;tifie an evil way; Truly I &s;hall &s;ay, better our old bondage or &s;uffering again, if this be the u&s;e we make of it, if our new li|berty be a liberty in &s;inning: One di&s;putes for Free-will, and Univer&s;al Grace, and he hath Scripture for it; another he di&s;putes again&s;t the regulating power of the Law, and he hath Scripture; another again&s;t Prayers but when the Spirit moves him, and he hath Scripture, another again&s;t the Sabbath; and others for all manner of wickedne&s;s; for they &s;ay, we live in God: and others plead for &s;wearing, for it's an Ordinance of God; <HI>Thou &s;hall &s;wear by
<PB N="204" REF="130"> his Name:</HI> and others plead for mixt multitudes in Ordinances, and they have Scripture; and others act for every ignorant and confident fel|low to preach in our publike Congregations; for &s;ay they, the Scripture &s;ays, <HI>as every man hath received the gift, &s;o let him mini&s;ter,</HI> &amp;c. whereas we know the publike mini&s;tery is <HI>an Office, and it is committed unto &s;ome, and not to all,</HI> 2 Cor. 5.17.</Q></P>
<P>Con&s;ider but the&s;e four things, and I have done.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Is this the return you make for all the goodne&s;s of God towards you?</P>
<P>Con&s;ider the evil of it; Fir&s;t, hereby you do di&s;honour God, in that which is highe&s;t to him, and which he has mo&s;t exalted next to his Son; P&s;alm 138.2. <HI>His Word is exalted above all his Name:</HI> Now to lay the Word of God a&s;ide, and to count it as a &s;trange thing, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 8.12. is a great evil; much more to turn it again&s;t the Lord, and gather rules from the Word, to ju&s;tifie that which the Lord him&s;elf abhors.</P>
<P>Secondly, Hereby you do gratifie the Divel for that hath been his great De&s;ign: Fir&s;t, when the Lord hath at any time powered out a higher mea&s;ure of light, as in <HI>Luthers</HI> time, then ro&s;e up abundance of here&s;ies, and &s;o in the days immedi|ately &s;ucceeding the Apo&s;tles, and when the Lord works any great changes tending to Reformation, for ca&s;t Satan down in one kind, and he will ri&s;e in another; as when <HI>Rome</HI> Pagan was ca&s;t down; now there is a floud upon <HI>Rome</HI> Chri&s;tian, &amp;c. and by degrees, to be at la&s;t gathered together into the See of <HI>Rome.</HI></P>
<PB N="205" REF="130">
<P>Thirdly, No men brings on them&s;elves greater de&s;truction, then the&s;e men do, who turn the grace of God into wantonne&s;s, by bringing into the Church damnable here&s;ies; 2 Pet. 2.3. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, they are men <HI>ripe for de&s;truction:</HI> and as I have told you, the Lord will make it eminent|ly appear, that they are the greate&s;t enemies to his glory, and his Churches good; and therefore God re&s;erves them for wor&s;e puni&s;hment then other wicked men &s;hall have: God looks on them as <HI>men of Blood,</HI> Bloody men, that are drunk with the blood of &s;ouls; <HI>the &s;ons of perdition, men of &s;in;</HI> 'tis an Hebrai&s;m that &s;ignifies an eminency in every one of tho&s;e kinds of &s;in, that wicked men are guilty of; and it is not only re&s;erved for them hereafter, God will not &s;tay till he gives puni&s;h|ments and rewards at the day of Judgement, as he will do to all men, both good and bad, but they &s;hall receive an earne&s;t of damnation here in a &s;pecial manner, as well as hereafter; God will exalt their damnation above other mens; <HI>Primo|genitus Sathanae.</HI> Hereticks are the fir&s;t born of the Divel, and they &s;hall have a double portion with the Divel in his Inheritance.</P>
<P>Fourthly, This is a dangerous fore-runner of de&s;truction to any Nation or Church: Truly if if you bear with the woman <HI>Jezabel,</HI> God will not bear with you, for he is tender of his Truths, and prizeth them above all the world; <HI>Heaven and Earth &s;hall fail, before one tittle of that &s;hall fall to the ground;</HI> Chri&s;t made that the great &s;igne of the de&s;truction of Jeru&s;alem, that it was neer, <HI>There &s;hall ari&s;e fal&s;e Chri&s;ts, and fal&s;e Prophets ma|ny;</HI>
<PB N="206" REF="131"> and &s;o 1 John 2.18. <HI>There are many Anti|christs, and hereby we know it,</HI> is: <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">: and its not &s;poken of the end of the world, but of the de&s;truction of the Jewi&s;h &s;tate; and it drew very neer upon this ground, becau&s;e many Antichri&s;ts had turned the grace of God into wantonne&s;s, and made u&s;e of the Word of Chri&s;t, to the di&s;|honour of Chri&s;t, <HI>in opprobrium Chri&s;ti:</HI> and it was the over-&s;preading of here&s;ie that did give the Sara&s;ins footing in the Ea&s;tern Empire; and &s;ee|ing they are willing to be deceived, the Lord let out that floud upon them; therefore, oh all you that fear God, that de&s;ire to &s;erve him as he has revealed him&s;elf in his Word; who&s;e &s;pirits God has drawn forth to prize the truth of the Go&s;pel; <HI>Take heed of fal&s;e Teachers: Hold fa&s;t the Faith that was once delivered to the Saints. For if damnable here&s;ies do creep in among&s;t you.</HI> Con|&s;ider nothing threatens de&s;truction &s;o much as they do.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="131">
<PB REF="132">
<PB N="209" REF="132">
<HEAD>THE Ju&s;t Mans End:</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>AT THE Funerall of <HI>William Ball</HI> E&s;quire, a Member of the Hou&s;e of <HI>Commons.</HI></DATELINE></OPENER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>ESAY 57.1.</BIBL>
<P>The Righteous peri&s;h, and no Man lays it to heart.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_IN the&s;e words are four things to be con|&s;idered. Fir&s;t here's a godly man de&s;cri|bed in his life, and that either in re&s;pect of his inward di&s;po&s;ition, or his out|ward conver&s;ation. In his di&s;po&s;ition of &s;oul, hee is a <HI>Righteous man</HI> and a merci|ful man al&s;o. A <HI>Righteous man</HI>] hee had need have good eyes that finds out &s;uch a one; for <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 53.4. <HI>The Lord looked down from Heaven upon the children
<PB N="210" REF="133"> of men, and he found none righteous.</HI> Indeed in a legall &s;ence there is none, but hath an allay in a Go&s;pel &s;ence, there is arighteou&s;ne&s;s that is imputed upon ju&s;tification, and there is a new image infu&s;ed upon &s;anctification; and both the&s;e mu&s;t concur in the righteous man, and the merciful man, <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> the man of mercy who hath attained mercy him&s;elf, and who is ready to &s;hew mercy unto others. <HI>The &s;pirit of God came down in the likene&s;s of a Dove.</HI> A Dove as it is without guile, &s;o is it without gall al&s;o; and a righteous man is not only thus within, but in his conver&s;ation, <HI>his light &s;hines before men, he is alwayes walking in his uprightne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, In his death, and &s;o he is &s;aid to peri&s;h, <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> the word in the Hebrew is either put for temporall or eternal death. <HI>Iohn</HI> 3.16. <HI>that they &s;hould not peri&s;h but have everlas;ting life,</HI> but here it's meant of temporal death, the di&s;union between the Soul and the Body, and &s;o to peri&s;h is to dye, <HI>Matth</HI> 8.25. <HI>Ma&s;ter &s;ave us, el&s;e we peri&s;h.</HI> And it's &s;aid al&s;o they are taken away, <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>in unum colligere:</HI> They are gathered unto their Fathers: here in this world they are &s;cattered, and &s;ome live in one place, &amp; &s;ome in another, but death is a gather|ing; &amp; there is <HI>fa&s;ciculus viventium even a bundle of the li|ving:</HI> as the <HI>tares are bound in bundles</HI> &s;o is the wheat al&s;o.</P>
<P>Thirdly, After his death: the Soul in this life is full of trouble: here in this life but a little peace enters into him, <HI>my peace I give unto you,</HI> but, then after this life he &s;hall enter into peace; here, a little joy enters into him, but then <HI>he &s;hall enter into the Ma&s;ters joy,</HI> for ever: and for their bodys, they &s;hall re&s;t in their beds, as the grave is commonly called: it <HI>being the &s;weet &s;leeping place,</HI> as 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 16.14. it is &s;aid of <HI>A&s;a that he &s;lept with his Fathers; and they buried him in his own Sepulcher,</HI> and laid him in a bed which was filled with &s;weet odors <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<PB N="211" REF="133">
<P>Secondly, Here is a publick lo&s;s bewailed, <HI>the righ|teous peri&s;h, and there is no man that doth apponere cor.</HI> Mich. 7.1. <HI>woe is me for I am as the Summer-gatherings; the good man is peri&s;hed out of the Earth,</HI> the taking away of the godly is the great lo&s;s and matter of great mour|ning unto tho&s;e that &s;urvive.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Here is a publick and a common evil repro|ved, the fooli&s;h and unthankful world is no whit affected with the lo&s;s of tho&s;e of whom the Lord &s;ays, <HI>the world was not worthy of:</HI> and this want of affection is grounded upon the want of con&s;ideration, <HI>no man lays it to heart, no man under&s;tood that they were taken away from the evil to come.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, Here is a &s;ecret of providence di&s;covered: godly men are taken away, <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>&agrave; faciebus mali,</HI> from the evil to come: there being a &s;torm coming, <HI>the Lord doth ha&s;ten</HI> to <HI>gather in the Corne into the barne,</HI> before-hand.</P>
<P>That I &s;hould &s;peak unto al the&s;e, cannot be expected at this time; there are only three points that I <HI>&s;hall</HI> pick out of them all.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Godly men dye not as other men doe: it is peculiar unto them, <HI>to enter into peace, and</HI> re&s;t in their bed, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, Godly men are u&s;ually taken away in <HI>mercy,</HI> before an evil come.</P>
<P>Thirdly, When they are taken away, it &s;hould be unto them that &s;urvive, matter of &s;erious Con&s;ideration, Affliction, and Lamentation.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, This is made the peculiar portion of the righteous and mercifull men, at <HI>their death, they &s;hall enter into peace.</HI></P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doctrine.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Godly men dye not as others doe;</HI> there's a great diffe|rence between them, and others in their death.</P>
<PB N="212" REF="134">
<P>There is indeed a great deale of difference between men in their lives: they are <HI>men of another &s;pirit, of another generation,</HI> they walk by other principles, they aim at other ends, they live upon other comforts then others doe, and therefore they are men of another value, and e&s;teem, <HI>they are the excellent ones;</HI> when the greate&s;t among&s;t men (if they be wicked) are <HI>vile per&s;ons,</HI> they are among&s;t men, as gold among&s;t the du&s;t of the Earth, and as diamonds among&s;t the common pebles in the &s;treets.</P>
<P>But the great and the grand difference between them is in their deaths, there is &s;omething in a &s;pecial maner in death peculiar to the Saints, and this we are &s;pecially to ob&s;erve. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 37.37. <HI>the end of that man is peace:</HI> this <HI>Balaam</HI> could ob&s;erve <HI>Numb.</HI> 23.10. There is a death peculi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">r to the righteous, <HI>Proverbs</HI> 14.32. <HI>The wicked &s;hall be ca&s;t away in his wickedne&s;s, but the righte|ous hath hope in his death:</HI> The oppo&s;ition &s;hews the difference. When a godly man &s;hall be gathered, a wicked man &s;hal be de&s;troyed, ca&s;t away; and when the godly man dyes, he dyes in hope, but the wicked man at death he breaths <HI>out his &s;oul,</HI> his life, and hope together.</P>
<P>But &s;eeing they do both dye, the righteous man as well as the wicked; we &s;ee al&s;o that wi&s;e men dye as well as <HI>tho&s;e</HI> that are fooli&s;h: and for the manner of their death, to outward view there is a great re&s;emblance: <HI>Eccles.</HI> 2.16. <HI>as dyes the fool, &s;o al&s;o dies the wi&s;e man:</HI> yet there is a great difference; <HI>Ahab, and Io&s;iah,</HI> a wicked, and a gracious King, they both dyed &amp; for the manner of their deaths, it was much alike, they dyed both in War, with the &s;ame words in their mouthes, <HI>turn thy hand for I am wounded;</HI> and yet its &s;aid of the one, <HI>he dyed and was gathered to his fathers in peace,</HI> though he dyed in War. What is therefore in death that is peculiar to the
<PB N="213" REF="134"> Saints? how dyes <HI>the wi&s;e man?</HI> this will be &s;een in three things. <HI>Fir&s;t, in</HI> re&s;pect of the per&s;ons dying, <HI>Secondly</HI> in re&s;pect of death it &s;elf, <HI>Thirdly in</HI> re&s;pect of the fruit and the con&s;equence of death.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, In reference unto the per&s;on dying, for a <HI>godly man dyes in the Lord.</HI> Rev. 14.13. <HI>he doth &s;leep in Ie&s;us,</HI> 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.18. which implies two things. Fir&s;t an union with him, a being in him,</P>
<P>Secondly, A dying in him, by the power and efficacy of the &s;ame union: now we doe not only reade in Scrip|ture of our <HI>being in Chri&s;t,</HI> but al&s;o <HI>living in him, working in him, bearing fruit in him &amp;c.</HI> Now a man doth live in Chri&s;t, when by the Almighty working of the Spirit of Chri&s;t the Graces of Chri&s;t appeare in him, and he lives no more, according to Men in the Fle&s;h, but according to God in the Spirit: &s;o we are &s;aid to die in him, when by the Power of the Spirit of Chri&s;t, by vertue of our union with him, we do exerci&s;e the&s;e dying graces that were in Chri&s;t; for their be in him living, and dying, doing, and &s;uffering graces; and when by vertue of our Union <HI>living by the faith of the &s;on of God,</HI> a man doth exerci&s;e the&s;e Graces, then is a man &s;aid <HI>to dye in Chri&s;t, work in him, &s;uffer in him, live in him;</HI> &s;o <HI>that a godly man dies in the Lord,</HI> he is one with him, and even in death, the My&s;tical union is not di&s;&s;olved, and the dying graces that were in Chri&s;t, and which a Saint doth receive by vertue of union with him, tho&s;e graces he doth <HI>exerci&s;e as Chri&s;t</HI> doth, for <HI>he dies in him.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>He dies in Faith,</HI> Fir&s;t <HI>in re&s;pect of him&s;elf;</HI> he beleeves that death &s;hall be unto him a ble&s;&s;ing, and not a cur&s;e: 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.23. <HI>all things are yours</HI> (that is) <HI>in ordine ad &s;piritualia,</HI> whether life or death, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.8. <HI>Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s.</HI>
<PB N="214" REF="135"> 2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.1. <HI>We know, that if this Earthly hou&s;e of our Tabernacle were di&s;olved, we have a building with God &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>And towards the time of a Saints death, Faith com|monly puts forth the mo&s;t glorious acts, the Sun &s;hines brighte&s;t at its &s;etting: &s;o that the &s;oul can &s;ay with <HI>Am|bro&s;e, nec pudet vivere, nec piget mori,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>2 <HI>In re&s;pect of the Church:</HI> though he never lives to receave the promi&s;es, nor to &s;ee them accompli&s;hed, yet as they have exerci&s;ed faith upon the great things promi&s;ed, and have laid up prayers for after times, &s;o they dye in the faith of them, that they &s;hall be fulfilled in their &s;ea|&s;on, <HI>Heb.</HI> 11.23. <HI>God will &s;urely vi&s;it you, &s;aith Jo&s;eph:</HI> and therefore what difficulties &s;oever they &s;ee rais'd again&s;t it, yea the Archers &s;hoot at the Church, yet <HI>his bow abode in &s;trength,</HI> his faith holds out, and can look through all op|po&s;ition what&s;oever.</P>
<P>3 <HI>For their po&s;terity:</HI> Men are commonly troubled, what &s;hall become of the little ones they leave behind fatherle&s;s and friendle&s;s Orphans: but his fatherle&s;s chil|dren he can leave with God, and the widow that tru&s;ts in God &s;hal not be for&s;aken: although my hou&s;e be not &s;o with God, yet <HI>he hath made with me an everla&s;ting covenant, ordered in all things and &s;ure,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Luther</HI> in his Will &s;ays, Lord thou ha&s;t given me wife and children. I have neither Land to bequeath them, nor hou&s;es, nor portions to leave them: onely <HI>tibi reddo, nutri, doce, &s;erva, ut hactenus me, pater pupillorum, &amp; judex viduarum.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>The dye in obedience to God:</HI> Obedience is not real, if it be not univer&s;al; a &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to the will of God in doing as well as &s;uffering; in dying, as well as in living: <HI>Rom.</HI> 14.8. <HI>None of us lives to him&s;elf, nor none of us dyes to him&s;elf: but whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we dye, we dye unto the Lord;</HI> for
<PB N="215" REF="135"> grace having made God a mans utmo&s;t end, it is his glo|ry; and a &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion unto his will, that is the great th ing in that mans eye, whether in living, or in dying: if God will further u&s;e him, he is content to live; and if the Lord will tran&s;late him, he de&s;ires to dye; and &s;o God may be glorifyed in him whether in life or death, he pa&s;&s;eth not: and when he hath honored God in his life, he de&s;ires that he may honor God in <HI>his death</HI> al&s;o.</P>
<P>2 <HI>In reference unto death it &s;elf:</HI> and &s;o there is &s;ome|thing peculiar to the <HI>death</HI> of the Saints: take the&s;e three things:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Though death in it &s;elf be a fruit of the Cur&s;e, yet unto him it is turned into a ble&s;&s;ing; though it be a cur&s;e in the thing, yet it is a ble&s;&s;ing to the man; becau&s;e he having his Covenant changed, he is delivered from the Cur&s;e, <HI>Chri&s;t being made a cur&s;e for him:</HI> A <HI>Cur&s;e</HI> hath two things in it:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, &s;omething that is evil in it &s;elf:</P>
<P>Secondly, The wrath of God therein.</P>
<P>Now unto the Saints death is not evil, and therefore they have de&s;ired it: <HI>I long to be di&s;&s;olved and to be with Chri&s;t,</HI> neither is it a fruit of Gods di&s;plea&s;ure to them, but it flows from his fatherly, and eternal love, that it may be a pa&s;&s;age unto a better life; whereas all other men dye by vertue of that ancient Cur&s;e; <HI>The day thou eate&s;t there|of thou &s;halt dye,</HI> and <HI>in death the wrath of God abides up|on them.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, Unto the Saints <HI>death hath no &s;ting</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.55. Death is compared to a Serpent, which by nature we fear, and flye from, and the thing that is dreadful in it is the &s;ting: but if that be taken out, there is no fear of the &s;erpent now <HI>the &s;ting of death is &s;in;</HI> and this is taken off by the &s;urety, 2 Cor. 5.21. <HI>for he hath made him to be &s;in for us;</HI> and therefore there is no &s;in &s;tands upon our
<PB N="216" REF="136"> &s;core, that &s;hould cau&s;e us to fear the &s;erpent for ever: but other men <HI>dye in their &s;ins,</HI> Joh. 8.21. and have all their &s;ins to an&s;wer for before the judgement &s;eat of Chri&s;t; and not a drop of his blood &s;hall take one of them off his &s;core.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Over the Saints death hath no dominion, <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.14. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">. Now what is it that doth con&s;ti|tute death in dominion? that is, when it can put forth its utmo&s;t power, and there is none to control it, but there comes upon a man, <HI>quicquid mortis e&s;t u&s;&abque; ad novi&s;simum,</HI> it hath a power to keep them under for ever; but unto the Saints the dominion of death is controlled; for <HI>death entred by &s;in, and it reigns by it:</HI> therefore when the dominion of &s;in is broken, the dominion of death is al&s;o &s;o; and the Saints are freed from the dominion of him that (as an executioner) <HI>hath the power of death,</HI> that is, <HI>the devil,</HI> Heb. 2.15. P&s;al. 49.14. but for wicked men, death &s;hall feed on them, and there is none to deliver them; but for <HI>the Saints, the gates of hell &s;hall not prevail again&s;t them. I know that there is a</HI> Dalile interpretation commonly gi|ven and received from that &s;cripture, <HI>Mat.</HI> 16. Fir&s;t, gates is put for the power of hell, becau&s;e the &s;trength of Ci|ties was in their gates; but &s;urely, this &s;eems not to be the meaning, for by gates of hell is meant that power which &s;hould oppo&s;e the Church, and &s;urely gates by their &s;trength might be for defence unto them, but not for of|fence: unto them without they were <HI>propugnacula, non <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ppugnacula,</HI> they did not fight with gates. Secondly, Anciently Councils did u&s;ually &s;it in the gates, and &s;o it &s;ignifies all the council and the policy of hell, but that al&s;o &s;eems not well to agree with the word <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> here u&s;ed, which &s;ignifies to prevail and overcome by power, not by policy; by &s;trength, and not by art: but that which prevails mo&s;t with me, is, that our Divines have commonly
<PB N="217" REF="136"> a&s;&s;erted again&s;t the local di&s;tance, that <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> is never put for Hell, or the place of the damned, but either for the grave, or the &s;tate and condition of the dead: and if that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e true, then we read of <HI>the gates of the grave,</HI> Job 38 17. I&s;ai. 38.10. <HI>of the power of the grave;</HI> to keep <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ho&s;e that are under its po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and &s;o Chri&s;t doth ar|gue from the greate&s;t to the lea&s;t; no enemy &s;hall pre|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ail, becau&s;e even when you are brought under the Do|minion of death, and the power of the grave, yet you <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hall have a glorious Re&s;urrection, <HI>and the grave &s;hall <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ive up its dead: and being ri&s;en you &s;hall dye no more, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">th &s;hall no more have Dominion over you, the gates of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">e grave &s;hall not be able to prevail again&s;t you:</HI> and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">erfore no other oppo&s;ition or temptation what&s;oever; <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">meron.</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P>La&s;tly, In re&s;pect of the Con&s;equences, and I&s;&s;ues of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ath, &s;o al&s;o there is &s;omething in death peculiar to he <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ints: Fir&s;t, by death they are <HI>delivered from the pow|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of Satan<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> grace here in this life doth free a man from <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">e Dominion of Satan; but it doth not free him from <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">s temptations, and to be continually annoyed, with the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">llutions and &s;ugge&s;tions of this unclean &s;pirit, <HI>for the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">cked one to touch them,</HI> 1 Joh. 5. <HI>tactu qualitati<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">o;</HI> is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e great affiction of their lives: and it is that wherein <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">eir <HI>&s;piritual warfare</HI> doth mainly lye: it was not the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t part of the humiliation of Chri&s;t, for Sa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">an to have <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">ch an acce&s;s to him, and to propo&s;e &s;uch &s;ugge&s;tions, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s, <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and wor&s;hip <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word">;</HI> when he had but onely an acce&s;s unto Chri&s;t, by re|pre&s;entations from without; and not by &s;ugge&s;tions within; but he hath <HI>by rea&s;on of the darkne&s;s that is in us,</HI> a more immediate acce&s;s unto our &s;pirits; but our warfare &s;hall be at an end, and we &s;hall be for ever freed, not onely from the dominion, but the temptation of Sa|tan
<PB N="218" REF="137"> forever: Chri&s;t makes u&s;e of the Angels in <HI>Mini&s;terium,</HI> and the devils in <HI>exercitium</HI>&mdash;but both, but for the time of this life, and no more: and therefore in the world to come, after death, there &s;hall be no more of either to the Saints for ever.</P>
<P>2. From the being and in-dwelling of &s;in: which is the great mi&s;ery that the Saints complain of <HI>Rom.</HI> 7.24. <HI>but he that is dead is free from &s;in,</HI> that natural fountain of corruption, original &s;in, &s;hall be perfectly dryed up; and the &s;oul &s;hall never think a vain thought, never &s;peak an idle word, any more for ever: nay, they &s;hall not on|ly be freed from &s;in actually as <HI>Adam</HI> was; but even from a po&s;&s;ibility of &s;in al&s;o; that as the wicked after death are given up to &s;in as part of their torment, and are in <HI>malo obfirmati,</HI> &s;o the Saints &s;hall be in <HI>bono confirmati:</HI> not onely they &s;hall not &s;in; but be freed from the fear of a po&s;&s;ibility to &s;in for ever.</P>
<P>3 For the perfection of their grace; the Saints have here, the <HI>fir&s;t fruits of the earne&s;t of glory;</HI> and that is &s;o precious to them, <HI>that they &s;ell all to buy it, and count all things lo&s;s and dro&s;s in compari&s;on of it:</HI> and yet &s;till there are many <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, <HI>things wanting in their faith</HI> and their love, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> but 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.10. <HI>then that which is perfect will come, and that which is but in part &s;hall be done away;</HI> and <HI>the&s;e fir&s;t fruits &s;hall be &s;wallowed up of glory.</HI></P>
<P>4 They &s;hall be with Chri&s;t, and receive the reward that he has prepared for them; <HI>they &s;hall enter into their ma&s;ters joy:</HI> here in this life <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> is &s;aid to be <HI>with us,</HI> but after this life, <HI>we are &s;aid to be with him,</HI> yea <HI>to be ever with him: he &s;hall never hide his face more;</HI> but it &s;hall be communion without intermi&s;&s;ion, and with|out interruption for ever, &s;ays <HI>Bernard: Chri&s;tus e&s;t cum Paulo magna &s;ecuritas; Paulus e&s;t cum Chri&s;to &s;um|ma faelicitas.</HI>&mdash;.</P>
<PB N="219" REF="137">
<P>If a little of the pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t be &s;o &s;weet here, when we have it in his &s;pirit; O what will his eternal pre|&s;ence in glory be? thus <HI>dyes the wi&s;e man;</HI> thus <HI>he en|ters into peace:</HI> thus he re&s;ts upon his bed, having <HI>walk|ed before God in uprightne&s;s.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>2. Doct.</HEAD>
<P><HI>When the righteous man dyes, he is taken away from the evil to come:</HI> the Lord had formerly told them, that evil was prepared, a &s;word was already barhed in heaven, to make a &s;ore &s;laught<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">r; and in ver&s;e 9. of the former chapter, the Lord invites the bea&s;ts of the field to come and take their part of the prey; now the&s;e are &s;ome, that the Lord will hide in the day of his wrath, <HI>Zeph.</HI> 2.3. the Lord hath a double hiding place for his people in evil times; &s;ometimes he hides <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hem in his pavilion, and the &s;ecret of his Tabernacle upon the earth; his cham|bers of peculiar providence; and &s;ometimes, he hides them in the grave, even <HI>the chambers of death,</HI> in which in times of affliction Gods people do de&s;ire to be hid, <HI>Job</HI> 30.23. and many of them are hid in me<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">cy from the evil that is coming on the ear<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">h. Thus when a flood came upon the world. God provided an Ark for <HI>Noah:</HI> and as he had an Ark for <HI>Noah,</HI> &s;o he had a grave for <HI>Methu&s;alah,</HI> who is conceived to be taken away the &s;ame year that the flood came upon the earth. Gods u|&s;ual cour&s;e is, either his people &s;hall &s;tand in the gap to turn away his wrath and his judgements, which &s;ome|times are deferred for the elects &s;ake and, if the Decree of God be gone forth, and the judgement mu&s;t come, then the Lord takes his people out of the way before it come; &s;o the Lord dealt with <HI>Hezekiah,</HI> he defers the judgement till after his death, there &s;hall be peace and truth in his days, and <HI>Io&s;iah,</HI> the Lord &s;ays to him, <HI>be|cau&s;e thy heart was tender, Thou &s;halt be gathered to thy
<PB N="220" REF="138"> grave in peace, and &s;halt not &s;ee the evil that I will bring upon this place and the inhabitants thereof:</HI> therefor<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> the Lord, <HI>Rev.</HI> 19.13. having de&s;cribed the ri&s;e of An|tichri&s;t, and the general pollution ond corruption that &s;hould follow; all men &s;hould wor&s;hip the bea&s;t and wonder after him; ble&s;&s;ed are the dead, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> from henceforth; were they not ble&s;&s;ed before? yes all that dyed in the Lord are ble&s;&s;ed from the beginning of the world; but now, to be taken away in a time of &s;o great tryal, it is a more &s;pecial mercy; upon the&s;e three ac|counts chiefly.</P>
<P N="1">1 That they may be pre&s;erved from the pollution of the times in which they live: therefore the Lord takes them away; it is a very hard matter for Gods people to live in times exceedingly evil, and yet to pa&s;s through &s;uch times <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>un&s;potted,</HI> and and not to have a taint and tincture of the pre&s;ent corruptions upon them, to keep their garments white<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> now that the Lord may pre&s;erve his people un&s;potted from the world, he doth tran&s;late them before hand, takes them away from the evil to come.</P>
<P N="2">2 The Lord takes them away, that they may be freed from the vexations that his people are in, when the abo|mination of de&s;olation is &s;et up; as <HI>Lot</HI> when he lived in <HI>Sodom,</HI> they vexed his righteous from day to day with their ungodly deeds. Gods people are mourners in Si|on, and they do with that their eyes were a well of wa|ter, to weep for the &s;ins, as well as for the &s;ufferings of the times: and the Lord &s;ees that their &s;pirits cannot bear &s;uch di&s;honor, as is done to his great Name; and therefore he takes them away beforehand to better company: even the &s;ouls of ju&s;t men made per|fect.</P>
<PB N="221" REF="138">
<P N="3">3. God takes them away from the per&s;ecutions, and afflictions of the times: for he knows our frame, and in all our afflictions he is afflicted; therefore the Lord does as we our &s;elves would do in the &s;ame ca&s;e; if we had a child abroad at &s;chool, and we did fore&s;ee &s;ome great evil either of pe&s;tilence, or famine to be neer unto that place where the child was; we would &s;end for the childe home beforehand, that he might not partake in the mi&s;ery with the re&s;t; &s;o God hath put his people to nur&s;e, to &s;chool in this world; and if there be evil neer, he doth &s;end for his people home, beforehand, and cau&s;e them to go forth out of the world, to pr &s;erve them from the evil of it.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>3. Doct.</HEAD>
<P>Therefore, <HI>when godly men are &s;o taken away, it is matter of &s;erious con&s;ideration, and high lamentation unto them that &s;urvive; and its their &s;in if they do it not:</HI> it is that which <HI>David</HI> doth complai<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of and be|wail, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 12.1. there is not a godly man left, and the faithful fail among&s;t the children of men; and they were wicked ones that were exalted on every &s;ide; Mic. 7.1. the good man is peri&s;hed out of the earth; the godly men were taken away, &s;o that when the Pro|phet did come to &s;eek them, he was as men that did &s;eek grapes after gleaning, found here and there one; and as one that &s;eeks the fir&s;t ripe fruits, but finds none; for the good man is peri&s;hed, and there is none upright among&s;t men; for they all do lye in wait for blood, every man hunts his brother with a net; and when the world is preparing their nets to catch the Saints, then God withdraws them from the world; and their lo&s;s &s;hould mightily a&s;&s;ect us: Con&s;ider the&s;e three things;</P>
<PB N="222" REF="139">
<P><Q REND="inline">Fir&s;t, <HI>The Saints are our glory;</HI> as they <HI>are Gods Iewels,</HI> &s;o <HI>they are the excellent ones of the earth,</HI> and &s;o they &s;hould be to us: 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 8.23. it's &s;aid, <HI>they are the me&s;&s;engers of the Churches,</HI> and <HI>the glory of Chri&s;t;</HI> and tho&s;e that Chri&s;t glories in, we &s;hould al&s;o glory in: and as we &s;hould rejoyce in the addition of any one in|to the number of the Saints among&s;t us; &s;o we &s;hould look upon it with mourning, and grief of heart, that a|ny of that number be taken away: and the more u&s;e|ful any man is to the Church, the more honorable he &s;hould be in your eyes: they are <HI>ve&s;&s;els of honor, &s;itted for the ma&s;ters u&s;e:</HI> Now as &s;candalous profe&s;&s;ors <HI>are &s;pots in your fea&s;ts,</HI> &s;o &s;incere ones are <HI>&s;tars;</HI> and it is a great aba&s;ement, and the ecl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">p&s;ing of the glory of a Church, to have an eminent light put out of it.</Q></P>
<P>Secondly, When the Saints are taken away, it's a dan|gerous &s;ign that wrath is determined; becau&s;e, the Lord takes away and withdraws <HI>the pillars of the Earth,</HI> from off the earth: it was a &s;ign that <HI>Sam&s;on</HI> intended the fall of the hou&s;e, when he plu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">kt down the pillars; the Lord doth commonly before judgement come, make way for his indignation; and one &s;pecial way by which he doth it is by taking away tho&s;e <HI>that &s;tand in the gap</HI> to divert it: the Lord may &s;ay to <HI>Mo&s;es, let me alone;</HI> but yet <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> will &s;till <HI>wra&s;tle with the Lord:</HI> but when <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> is gone, now who &s;hall &s;trive with God for his people?</P>
<P>Thirdly, All our protection, defence, and ble&s;&s;ing de|pends upon the Saints that are among&s;t us; for it is by their Covenant that the world &s;tands, and that all the Creatures are continued <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">n their being: and let me tell you, after the Lord has gathered in the wheat into his barn, it will not be long ere he does burn he chaff with unquenchable fire; if he do but once &s;ay to his people, <HI>Come <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e ble&s;&s;ed; go ye cur&s;ed;</HI> to the wicked, they will
<PB N="223" REF="139"> quickly follow after: and therefore they do &s;o bewail the taking away of <HI>Elijah, as the Chariot of I&s;rael and the hor&s;eman thereof:</HI> their &s;trength and their fence was gone: for this is a truth, the &s;trength of a Nation, next to God, lyes in the Saints, they are the &s;hields of the earth: for if it be for their &s;akes that the world &s;tands; God will provide a place for them of &s;afety, when the re&s;t of the world is con&s;uming, as we &s;ee in <HI>Zoar,</HI> a place may be pre&s;erved for the &s;ake of the peo|ple of God: <Q REND="inline">and indeed they are <HI>the partition wall</HI> be|tween wicked men and temporal wrath, yea and eter|nal wrath; it is the Saints that keep the wicked &s;o long out of hell: whatever the world thinks of them, they are a ble&s;&s;ing to the world, <HI>Gen.</HI> 12.2. <HI>Mic.</HI> 5.7. as the &s;howers upon the gra&s;s are a ble&s;&s;ing, &s;o are the Saints by their prayers, and their Coun&s;els, and their pains, and their gracious example, and holy conver&s;ation, every way a ble&s;&s;ing: &s;o that as <HI>Nazianzen</HI> &s;aith of <HI>Iulian</HI> when he was &s;mitten and had a wound, it was to him indeed <HI>Lethale vulnus;</HI> But, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">.</Q></P>
<P><Q REND="inline">So we may invert it, and &s;ay this of a &s;aint that dyes, 'twas indeed a happy wound for him, <HI>for to be with Chri&s;t is be&s;t of all:</HI> but though a &s;aint have advantage by it, yet it is a mi&s;ery to the place, to the Church, to the Commonwealth, where &s;uch a one lived; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ea even the whole world is a lo&s;er by the death of a &s;aint,</Q> and therefore <HI>Iudah</HI> was &s;o &s;en&s;ible of the lo&s;s of gracious <HI>Io&s;iah,</HI> that they made a great publick mourning, yea a yeerly mourning for a long time after: <HI>&s;ine &s;upplicationi|bus non &s;taret mundus,</HI> is the Jews proverb; the world is upholden by the prayers of the &s;aints.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>Hence learn, <HI>that the ways of holine&s;s are the be&s;t ways;</HI> for that is the be&s;t way that leads a man to the be&s;t
<PB N="224" REF="140"> end: there is a double goodne&s;s in holy walking;</P>
<P>Fir&s;t <HI>ab&s;oluta:</HI> there is a goodne&s;s in it &s;elf, it being a conformity to the good will of God.</P>
<P>Secondly, There is a goodne&s;s in hol<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ne&s;s which is <HI>re&s;pectiva,</HI> in re&s;pect of the end unto which a man is thereby brought: and we &s;ee, <HI>finis dat mediis bonitatem amabilem.</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P>I know that the unworthy would have many prejudi|ces again&s;t the ways of holine&s;s; the Saints in their lives, are afflicted and cha&s;ti&s;ed every moment, and they go mourning all the day long, and they cannot put them|&s;elves in the glory of the world, cannot partake of the jollity of the times; as he &s;aith, <HI>&s;piritus Calvinianus e&s;t melancholicus:</HI> but look not upon their out&s;ide, but their in&s;ide; look not upon them in their life, but in their death; and then let me tell the greate&s;t gallant of you all, you will give a world to change e&s;tates with them at their death, in who&s;e life thou woulde&s;t by no tearms be con|formable unto. What would <HI>Dives</HI> have given after all his glory, all his delicacy, to have changed with <HI>Laza|rus</HI> in his death? let it be your work therefore to dye the death of the righteous: and to &s;et this the more home upon your &s;pirits, take the&s;e four con&s;iderations.</P>
<P N="1">1 Con&s;ider, the great end why we came into the world was, that we might learn to dye well, for <HI>Heb.</HI> 9 27. it is appointed to all men once to dye; but death comes not pre&s;ently, and the end of a mans life is, that he may <HI>con|&s;ider his latter end,</HI> Deut. 32.29. men do not live here to get riches, and injoy the good things that are pre&s;ent, and the plea&s;ures of &s;in are but for a &s;ea&s;on; this life is but <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, the &s;chool of death, which teaches men how to dye.</P>
<P N="2">2 It is the la&s;t act of a mans life, the clo&s;e of all his actions; and for a man in his life to burn as a Torch, to
<PB N="225" REF="140"> &s;hine as a light, and afterwards to go out in a &s;nuff, as the fooli&s;h Virgins, and the fooli&s;h Builders; in <HI>Iobs</HI> afflicti|on there was nothing de&s;irable, but yet there was in the end which God made with him, that which was very de&s;ireable: <HI>Iulius Cae&s;ar</HI> when he was taken in the Se|nate, he plucked down the robe he wore about him, <HI>Ut hone&s;t&egrave; caderet.</HI></P>
<P>It is the night that commends the day; mark the end of the righteous man, his end is peace.</P>
<P N="3">3 At death all outward excellencies will leave a man, <HI>Iob</HI> 4.21. their excellency goes away, and they dye with|out wi&s;dom: for, though there be a flower in the gra&s;s which has a glory in it, yet <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 90.11. it quickly comes to nothing: &s;o &s;hall all the excellencies that men &s;o pride them&s;elves in, their learning, parts, wi&s;dom and policie, knowledge in the Scripture, and in the common works of grace, it is all but fle&s;h, and will take its leave at death; and it will be &s;aid of you, as one of the Antients &s;aid of <HI>Cae&s;ar,</HI> who was one of the greate&s;t men in the world in his time; <HI>Ubi nunc pulchritudo Cae&s;aris? qu&ograve; abiit mag|nificentia tua?</HI></P>
<P>What is become of his glorious magnificence? his Armies, Triumphs, and Trophies?</P>
<P N="4">4 At death your <HI>eternal</HI> &s;tates are ca&s;t; it is <HI>aeterni|tatis o&s;tium,</HI> the door of eternity: there is a Double time &s;et to the &s;ons of men, 1 A time of working. 2 A time of rewarding. A time of working: here they toyl and labo, urbut at death, the Lord doth call the labourers to give them their hire; every man &s;hal have his peny; but af|ter death comes judgement: there is no more time of working, for after death remains nothing but judgement then for ever.</P>
<P>But what &s;hall a man do, that he may be ble&s;&s;ed in his latter end? I will &s;et before you the&s;e five things, and
<PB N="226" REF="141"> the Lord teach you to profit by them.</P>
<P N="1">1 Let me exhort you to get union with Chri&s;t, and thereby, thou art tran&s;lated from death to life: for this is a truth: no man dyes well, that doth not dye in the Lord. What a &s;ad thing is it to think, that a &s;econd death mu&s;t follow? death rides before, and Hell follows after; <HI>nihil facit mortem malam, ni&s;i quod &s;equitur mortem,</HI>&mdash;when death in &s;in went before, and eternal life is not begun in thee.</P>
<P N="2">2 Serve thy Generation, and thereby lay up a good foundation again&s;t that la&s;t day, <HI>Act.</HI> 13.36.</P>
<P>Fight the good fight and fini&s;h thy cour&s;e, be abun|dant in the works of the Lord; Its &s;aid of <HI>Saul,</HI> Sam. 13.1,2. he reigned two years over <HI>I&s;rael;</HI> he reigned twenty yeers, but after he was rejected of God, no more is counted of him: nor will it be unto all tho&s;e that &s;pend their lives unprofitably, that are but as empty trees, onely &s;erve to cumber the ground, are unprofitable both to God and man: <HI>vita fabula e&s;t, in qua non re|fert, quam diu, &s;ed quam bene.</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P N="3">3 Number your days, and con&s;ider your latter end, with <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> of <HI>Arimathea:</HI> walk with thy Tomb. A man &s;hall not need much Arithmtick to number his days, they are &s;o few, and yet he will need a great deal of grace to number them, they are &s;o evil: and &s;o death &s;hall come upon thee not as a &s;tranger, but as a friend, that brings peace along with him and re&s;t.</P>
<P N="4">&mdash;4 Exerci&s;e faith much on the dying graces of Chri&s;t and the promi&s;es the Lord made, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 16. to all Chri&s;tians, dying as well as living; <HI>of his fulne&s;s we &s;hall receive grace for grace:</HI> it is our bu&s;ine&s;s in this world, to <HI>be made conformable unto Chri&s;t,</HI> not onely in our life, but al&s;o at our death; and then the Lord &s;ays of his peo|ple, <HI>they &s;hall be mine,</HI> Mal. 3.17. what a glorious crea|ture
<PB N="227" REF="141"> will a Saint be in that day when God him&s;elf looks on him as <HI>a Iewel?</HI> 1 Cor. 3.21. <HI>all things are yours,</HI> then a Saint enjoys perfection enough when he has a full po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of God, <HI>P&s;a.</HI> 16.11. <HI>in thy pre&s;ence are fulne&s;s of joys, and on thy right hand are rivers of plea&s;ures for evermore:</HI>&mdash;and then when a Saint has &s;uch a glorious advantage by death &s;hall not we &s;ay, <HI>ble&s;&s;ed are the dead which dye in the Lord?</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P N="5">&mdash;5. Lay up a trea&s;ury of prayers, that thou may&s;t be <HI>fitted for this great change:</HI> if a man be in a|ny &s;traight or any &s;ad condition, nature will prompt him to &s;eek relief, and he will take any cour&s;e that may deliver him out of it; e&s;pecially &s;ince God hath made &s;uch a promi&s;e, <HI>Call upon me in a time of trouble, and I will hear you:</HI> and if a man be &s;o careful to avoid and pre|vent the&s;e le&s;&s;er changes, that they may not do him harm; how much more &s;hould he be indu&s;triou&s;ly care|ful touching this great change? <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 34. the P&s;almi&s;t begs that he may <HI>know his latter end:</HI> P&s;a. 90.12. <HI>&s;o teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wi&s;dom:</HI> &mdash; and therefore a man &s;hould lay up a trea&s;ury of prayers in his life time, and they will be as &s;o many com|forts to him on his death bed: he &s;hall then have a gra|cious an&s;wer of all tho&s;e prayers.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;&s;e. 2.</HEAD>
<P>&mdash;Let us lay to heart the lo&s;s of the righteous man; that we be not guilty of that &s;in condemned in the Text. I know it has been a thing condemned or at lea&s;t always &s;u&s;pected, funeral Panegyricks, as being a badge of the <HI>fal&s;e Prophet;</HI> and by a funeral Oration, we do as the Pa|pi&s;ts do, think to &s;end &s;ouls to heaven, after their death, even tho&s;e that have been po&s;ting to hell all their life: but yet, &s;eeing the <HI>name of the righteous is as a precious oyntment poured out,</HI> and that <HI>precious in the &s;ight of the
<PB N="228" REF="142"> Lord is the death of all his Saints:</HI>&mdash;and &s;eeing it was an Antient cu&s;tom to do the Saints of God honor at their death; I think it but our duty, to con&s;ider of our lo&s;s, in this brother at this time, though it be but to carry a torch after him to his long home; fir&s;t, he was a man of a gracious &s;pirit, in whom the Lord had wrought the <HI>good work,</HI> and a through work of Regeneration: he was one, <HI>that feared God above many;</HI> that had truly <HI>given up his name to Chri&s;t;</HI> one that <HI>had oyl in his ve&s;&s;el,</HI> and did not onely &s;hine by profe&s;&s;ion before men; one that was not indulgent to him&s;elf in <HI>his own iniquity; did not hide a &s;weet mor&s;el,</HI> but had re&s;pect <HI>to all the Com|mandments,</HI> and <HI>hated every fal&s;e way:</HI> Secondly, he was a friend to Reformation, in the purity and &s;pirituality of it; which con&s;i&s;ts, not onely in ca&s;ting out the old rub|bi&s;h of corruption in doctrine and wor&s;hip, but laying a new foundation; not onely an outward Reformation of Ordinances, but an inward reformation of members, <HI>Re.</HI> 11.1. The corruption of the Church is &s;o expre&s;s'd;</P>
<P>There are many when God is about to reform his Church will bear the name of Chri&s;tians, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 54.11,12. <HI>I will lay thy &s;tones with fair colours, and thy foundations with Saphyrs;</HI> when the Church of God &s;parkles in the eys of the world, as many times it does; it &s;hall have many followers. There is &s;aith <HI>Calvin,</HI> a double foundati|on: a foundation of doctrine on which the Church is built; and of members of which the Church is con&s;ti|tuted, and this he &s;aith, is meant here:&mdash;the Church &s;hall not be built of every ordinary and Common-&s;tone, but <HI>new-Jeru&s;alem</HI> &s;hall be built with <HI>precious &s;tones;</HI> and <HI>without &s;hall be dogs, and every one that loves and makes a lye;</HI> and in compari&s;on of what now it is, they &s;hall be all eminent Saints then; as it is &s;aid, <HI>thy people &s;hall be all righteous, every one of them:</HI> and this will di|&s;tingui&s;h
<PB N="229" REF="142"> in an eminent manner the Saints from the men of the world; and therefore no wonder if godline&s;s has &s;o few friends in the world, <HI>Color omnibus unus.</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P>&mdash;3 He was a man in all his relations of a very pub|lik &s;pirit; he was far from making tho&s;e private advan|tages to him&s;elf, that many do of kindred and friends; he was one had impoveri&s;ht him&s;elf for the publick &s;ervice, to my knowledge, and never &s;ought, and profe&s;s'd ne|ver would, recompence from the State.&mdash;Many men will &s;erve the kingdom whil&s;t they &s;erve them&s;elves up|on it; and the while they &s;erve the State, they have wrought well for them&s;elves: <HI>dives pote&s;tas pauperem facit Rem-publicam.</HI></P>
<P>'Twill be an honor in after ages, that a man hath made no advantage of his publick tru&s;t:&mdash;when every man is making gain from his intere&s;t, to promote him&s;elf and his family thereby.</P>
<P>4 He was a man very humble, of a meek, and a &s;weet temper; free from the common bitterne&s;s that is in men; he had much of the Dove, and of dovelike &s;implicity; and much of the wi&s;dom, though very free from the craft of the Serpent; a man full of &s;weetne&s;s and love: of an amiable and a winning conver&s;ation, which &s;urely are things, <HI>in the &s;ight of God in great price.</HI></P>
<P>5 He was a man of a very faithful &s;pirit; which truely now is very hard to finde. We may well &s;ay, <HI>the faithful man is peri&s;hed;</HI> fal&s;hood is now grown the wi&s;dom, and the policy of the times; for men to pre|tend grace, and intend nothing le&s;s; to look one way, and row another; to <HI>&s;peak words &s;moother then butter,</HI> when <HI>they have war in their hearts,</HI> and <HI>to betray his bro|ther with a ki&s;s,</HI> and <HI>with Ioab &s;tab him in an imbrace|ment:</HI> and he that can carry it with the greate&s;t fairne&s;s and &s;moothne&s;s, is the wi&s;e&s;t man; and this is the great policy of our times.</P>
<PB N="230" REF="143">
<P>6 La&s;tly, He was (and I wi&s;h all that are in places of tru&s;t would con&s;ider this) exceeding indu&s;trious and active in the care of the publick: much lay upon him, he did not &s;pare his pains, and his time, even to the neg|lect of his own nece&s;&s;ary affairs; yea, the nece&s;&s;ity of nature, for a &s;upport of nature many a time, as I can wit|ne&s;s; and the &s;ad condition of the kingdom lay very heavy upon him; he was willing to his power, to put men a work, ere he had wages for them, from the pub|lick: Many men are active, but it is, when there is &s;ome|thing to be gotten, that does oyl their Chariot wheeles; <HI>they love to tread out the Corn,</HI> but to plow in hope; and to labour barely for the publick good. I fear there are but few &s;uch in the kingdom: Ile appeal now to you that knew him: you knovv the&s;e things to be true; I doubt not but God <HI>has rewarded him according to his works.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="231" REF="143">
<HEAD>God with &V;s, whil&s;t We are with Him.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>At a publick Fa&s;t before the Parlia|ment. <DATE><HI>Iune</HI> 9. 1652.</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>2 Chron. 15.2.</BIBL>
<P>But if ye for&s;ake Him, He will al&s;o for&s;ake you.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THe Lord having rent the kingdom from <HI>Rehoboam,</HI> according unto the vvord that he had &s;poken, and left him only tvvo Tribes, that his &s;ervant <HI>David</HI> might have alvvays <HI>a light before the Lord in Ieru&s;alem;</HI> this remainder of the king|dom did he &s;eek to e&s;tabli&s;h &amp; to &s;trengthen him&s;elf in: but as <HI>Luther</HI> ob&s;erves, <HI>qui regit, &s;ignum e&s;t in quod Satan omnia jacula dirigit:</HI> therefore as he doth of men, en|deavour to corrupt the fir&s;t, the prime of their yeers; &s;o he doth al&s;o to Magi&s;trates, the prime of their Govern|ment, that he may lay corruption in the foundation, and
<PB N="232" REF="144"> <HI>therefore he for&s;ook the Law of the Lord,</HI> ch. 12.1. and men in Authority &s;in not alone, <HI>principum delicta &s;unt plano diabolica.</HI>&mdash;they have many that fall with them: therefore it is &s;aid, that he did not only for&s;ake the Law of the Lord; but <HI>all I &s;rael with him:</HI> having thus de|parted from the Lord, they now betake them&s;elves unto other Laws, having <HI>cho&s;en unto them&s;elves other Gods;</HI> for they for&s;ake God, that for&s;ake his Law; and they <HI>build high places, and Images, and groves upon eve|ry high hill, and under every green tree, and there were Sodomites in the land al&s;o, who did according unto all the abominations of the Nations,</HI> permittente <HI>Rehoboam:</HI> &s;o al&s;o he did give them a toleration: its true that he did not &s;et them up by authority, but he did connive at them, and let them alone: he did not look upon it as his duty to u&s;e his Authority, and turn the edge of it again&s;t them; but there was &s;omething el&s;e in it, for it was done <HI>nomine &amp; praetextu religionis,</HI> Pet. Mart. it being the way that the heathens did wor&s;hip their Gods, and who &s;hall limit the Con&s;ciences of men? that way of wor&s;hip which they &s;hall think fit that they are to u&s;e, and who &s;hall controll them? and &s;o &s;et them|&s;elves in the place of God: if men, as Sodomites or Ranters, will wor&s;hip God, who hath power to gain&s;ay them? for uncleanne&s;s in opinion will &s;oon bring in un|cleanne&s;s in conver&s;ation: and <HI>Abijam</HI> &s;ucceeded his fa|ther in all the&s;e abominations, for <HI>he walked in all the &s;ins of his father,</HI> that he had done before him; as <HI>Rehoboam</HI> did in the abominations of the heathens, which the Lord had ca&s;t out before them: for men may be the &s;ons of tho&s;e <HI>per imitationem,</HI> to whom by generation they have no relation: and they that ca&s;t others out of authority, and yet be their &s;ucce&s;&s;ors in the &s;ame abominations, they are in Gods account their &s;ons, though their po&s;te|rity
<PB N="233" REF="144"> be di&s;inherited by them: and this was the &s;tate and condition of the kingdom when <HI>A&s;a</HI> came to the Crown; and he being a gracious man, did turn from all the abominations of his fathers; and the land having peace for the fir&s;t ten years of his reign, he &s;pent that whole time in reformation: in reforming the corrupti|ons of Religion, and thought him&s;elf as a Magi&s;trate &s;o highly concerned in it, that he u&s;ed his power to take a|way the Altars of the &s;trange Gods, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> and his Au|thority was not onely de&s;tructive, as &s;ome would allow the Magi&s;trates to de&s;troy what they will, &s;o they build nothing; but it was a&s;trictive al&s;o, <HI>for he commanded Ia|cob to &s;eek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do his Law and his commandments.</HI> This glorious work of Reformation being begun, &amp; for about ten years carry|ed on (never was any great work &s;o begun in this world, but mighty mountains of oppo&s;ition have been rai&s;ed a|gain&s;t it): nowhere is an Army of <HI>Ethiopians</HI> rai&s;ed a|gain&s;t him, the greate&s;t that we read of in any &s;tory, of a thou&s;and thou&s;and; <NOTE PLACE="marg">chap. 14.9</NOTE> and though it may be it was not their direct aym to hinder the work of Reformation, yet this (doubtle&s;s) was Satans aym in &s;tirring them up: for as the aym of the good Angels is beyond that of the In&s;truments, which many times they u&s;e, <HI>Dan</HI> 10. la&s;t, <HI>and when I am gone forth, lo, the Prince of Graecia &s;hall come,</HI> He &s;hall fight with the Prince of <HI>Per&s;ia;</HI> but is over-ruled therein to another end then him&s;elf intended; So is the aym of the evil Angels al&s;o; but the Lord who delights in Reformation, and loves to &s;ee Temple-work go on, will not &s;uffer this good work to peri&s;h un|der &s;o great an oppo&s;ition; and therefore this mighty Army &s;hall not &s;tand before a Reforming Prince, and a praying people, but they were all &s;mitten before the men of <HI>Iudah,</HI> and they returned home to <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> laden
<PB N="234" REF="145"> with the &s;poil in great abundance. At this time the Lord &s;tirred up the &s;pirit of <HI>Azariah</HI> the &s;on of <HI>Obed,</HI> who went forth to meet them, he preached this Sermon unto the King, and unto the victorious Army: and he &s;aith, <HI>hear me O A&s;a, and all Iudah and Benjamin.</HI> Gods Me&s;&s;engers may require audience and obedience in the Name of God, from the greate&s;t men upon earth: and that, when they were in the height of their pro&s;perity and glory: for <HI>the Lord hath exalted his word over Na|tions and kingdoms, to root out, and to de&s;troy, and to build, and to plant;</HI> and it is not the lea&s;t charge given again&s;t <HI>Zedechiah, that he humbled not him&s;elf before Ieremiah, the Prophet &s;peaking from the mouth of the Lord:</HI> for though the men dye, yet their words wil live: and it will a|&s;uredly overtake men, though they may &s;eem for a while to e&s;cape it; Zach. 1.6. <HI>Did not my words take hold of the fathers?</HI> the &s;um of the Prophets Sermon is here laid down in three Doctrinal Propo&s;itions.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="doctrines">
<P>Fir&s;t, That the Lord is with You, whil&s;t you are with Him.</P>
<P>Secondly, If you &s;eek Him, He will be found of you.</P>
<P>Thirdly, If you for&s;ake Him, He will for&s;ake you.</P>
<P>Here is a Doctrinal Propo&s;ition, with a particular Ap|plication; the Propo&s;ition is this, That they that do for&s;ake God &s;hall be for&s;aken of God. 2 The Applica|tion is, that if ye for&s;ake God, he will al&s;o for&s;ake you, that he hath &s;o gloriou&s;ly delivered, and for whom he hath &s;o eminently appeared, <HI>riding upon the heavens, and his excellency on the skye, yet if he will turn his hand and con&s;ume you after he has done you good;</HI> this is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">o peri&s;h with a double de&s;truction: as, for a man to dye
<PB N="235" REF="145"> after he hath had &s;ome quickning works upon him, is <HI>to be twice dead:</HI> &s;o, for a man or a people to peri&s;h or be de&s;troyed after the Lord hath done them good, and &s;eemed to rejoyce over them, this is to peri&s;h with a double de&s;truction.</P>
<P>For the opening of this Doctrine, there are four things in the Text, which are to be con&s;idered. Fir&s;t we &s;ee, that the de&s;ertion of a people never begins in God; the Lord doth not for&s;ake them, till they for&s;ake him. There are two &s;orts of acts that God exerci&s;es over men; &s;ome <HI>Actus dominii,</HI> acts of &s;overaignty: Secondly, <HI>A|ctus ju&s;titiae:</HI> the one re&s;pects men as creatures, the other re&s;pects men as &s;inners.</P>
<P><HI>Preterition,</HI> is an act of &s;overaignty, and that begins in God: but de&s;ertion is an act of Ju&s;tice; and therefore mu&s;t begin in us: for the cau&s;e of all puni&s;hment, the meritorious cau&s;e, is to be found in the creature; and doth begin in us, and not in him. Its true, that all acts of mer|cy do begin in God; and they have no ground in the creature: <HI>he loves us fir&s;t,</HI> he &s;hews mercy freely, and what ever he doth it is for his <HI>own &s;ake,</HI> there is nothing in the creature that procures it. The ri&s;e and foundation of mercy is in him&s;elf; but acts of Ju&s;tice have their ri&s;e from us: for he doth in all judgements cleer this unto the creature, that <HI>he doth not without cau&s;e any thing that he hath done:</HI> and the Lord &s;aith of all judgements, ha&s;t thou not procured it to thy &s;elf? is not this the wages that you have wrought, and laboured for? is not this the harve&s;t which an&s;wers the &s;eed that you have &s;owen? for <HI>they that &s;ow to the fle&s;h, &s;hall of the fle&s;h reap corruption,</HI> &amp;c. So that the Lord doth never reject us till we reject him; he doth never for&s;ake us till we for&s;ake him, <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.23. <HI>the wages of &s;in is death, but the gift of God is eternal life:</HI> but acts of grace begin in
<PB N="236" REF="146"> God, and they are meer gifts, but all acts of Ju&s;tice be|gin in us, and are but the fruits of our own de&s;ervings: he rejects us becau&s;e we reject him fir&s;t, &amp;c. Secondly it may be &s;uppo&s;ed that they that have had the Lord much with them, and have had great and eminent expe|rience of his pre&s;ence going with them, yet they may for&s;ake the Lord and depart from him; <HI>I&s;rael</HI> did &s;o, <HI>they forgat God their &s;aviour who had done great things for them in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red &s;ea,</HI> as <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 10.6,21,22. and they that forget God will quickly for&s;ake God: a people may ari&s;e unto that fooli&s;h confidence in their own pre&s;ent condition, that they may &s;ay, <HI>Ier.</HI> 2.31. <HI>We are Lords, we will come no more at thee:</HI> a &s;trange expre&s;|&s;ion! and they may walk towards God, as if they were put into &s;uch an e&s;tate, that they &s;hould now need God no more; but that they could live without him: we have now no more need of fa&s;ting and praying; days of humiliation may now be intermitted, for not onely months, but yeers together. What is this but for a peo|ple to &s;ay. <HI>We are Lords, we will come no more at thee;</HI> we have not now the &s;ame need of God that we had in times pa&s;t: 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 26.15. <HI>Vzziah was marvellou&s;ly helped till he was &s;trong:</HI> but when he was &s;trong, his heart was lifted up unto his own de&s;truction, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 29.1. <HI>there is a woe for Ariel,</HI> the City where <HI>David</HI> dwelt, which Mr. <HI>Calvin</HI> renders, the Altar of God, becau&s;e the Sacrifices and Ordinances of God were there; but o|thers, (and &s;o in the Margent it is rendred,) the Lyon of God, <HI>quia tanquam Leo Gentes alienas &s;ubjuga&s;&s;et:</HI>&mdash;None could &s;tand before them;&mdash;There is a wo for them, becau&s;e they had in the greatne&s;s of their &s;trength and power, and victories, for&s;aken the Lord; and there|fore the Lord &s;aith he would bring di&s;tre&s;&s;es upon them,
<PB N="237" REF="146"> that he had formerly been with, and they had conquer|ed by his power and pre&s;ence: and they that in their pride did &s;peak loftily as if they had &s;poken from Heaven, the Lord &s;aith they &s;hould be brought down to the ground, and their &s;peech &s;hould be low as out of the du&s;t.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Former duties, nor former mercies &s;hall not &s;erve men, but if they do for&s;ake the Lord, they &s;hall be for&s;aken of him: fir&s;t former duties will not &s;ecure men: here is a gracious Prince that had laboured ten yeers in the Reformation of Religion, and that with great &s;ucce&s;s, and had met with great oppo&s;ition, and yet with re&s;olu|tion gone through all, yet the Lord tells them, that for all this, if after this they <HI>did for&s;ake the Lord, he would for|&s;ake them.</HI> There was in the days of <HI>Jo&s;iah,</HI> the mo&s;t glorious Reformation of Religion, that ever we read of in <HI>Iudah,</HI> he was <HI>&s;uch a King as like unto him was none before him, nor after him &s;hould ari&s;e the like:</HI> the people entring into a &s;olemn Covenant before God, that they would be the Lords people; and the Reformation went farther, for it was the taking away of the High places al&s;o, which other Reformers left &s;tanding: and they kept the Pa&s;sover unto the Lord, <HI>&s;uch a one as had not been &s;ince the time of the Iudges,</HI> and yet 2 King. 23.26,27. <HI>not|with&s;tanding the Lord turned not from the fiercene&s;s of his wrath.</HI> Here is a &s;ad and unexpected clo&s;e of this fa|mous &s;tory, and that not onely for old &s;ins; but <HI>Zeph.</HI> 1. the Land continued in the &s;ame evils &s;till, and there|fore the Lords controver&s;ie continued again&s;t them: there were <HI>the remnants of Baal</HI> in the hearts of the people &s;till, and there were <HI>tho&s;e that did &s;wear by God, &amp; by Malchom,</HI> that did endeavor &s;o to keep up a mixture in Religion; and tho&s;e that were Apo&s;tates, and <HI>were turn'd back from the Lord,</HI> and <HI>men that were &s;etled upon
<PB N="238" REF="147"> their lees,</HI> that did &s;ay, the Lord will neither do good nor evil, and for this cau&s;e <HI>will the Lord &s;earch Ieru&s;alem with Candles,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>2 Former mercies will not &s;ecure you, if you for&s;ake the Lord. Its true that former mercies are of a great en|gagement unto us to keep clo&s;e to God: the cords of love lay upon men the &s;tronge&s;t bonds; but yet if they do not oblige us, they are not binding unto God. Its true, that faith may make u&s;e of former mercies, as an argument to a repenting and returning people, as <HI>Num.</HI> 14.19. <HI>Pardon the iniquity of this people according un|to the greatne&s;s of thy mercy, as thou ha&s;t forgiven this people from Egypt even until now,</HI> but it is no prevailing Argument for a back-&s;liding people; but the Lord wil &s;ay, <HI>how long &s;hall I bear this evil Congregation?</HI> and there|fore <HI>the word is gone out of his mouth,</HI> and judgement &s;hall the &s;ooner and with the greater fury plead the cau&s;e of abu&s;ed mercy in former deliverances, <HI>Deut.</HI> 28.63. <HI>It &s;hall come to pa&s;s that as the Lord hath rejoyced over you to do you good, &s;o al&s;o the Lord will rejoyce over you to de|&s;troy you and to bring you to naught;</HI> the word <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> doth &s;ignifie to rejoyce, <HI>&s;ummo gaudio &amp; incredibili lae|titia.</HI> An&s;werable unto the joy and delight which the Lord &s;eem<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">d to take in ble&s;&s;ing a people, and in buil|ding them up; &s;uch will the delight be which he will &s;eem to take in ruining that people and de&s;troying them. If you be not bound by the <HI>cords of his law;</HI> let me tell you, he him&s;elf will never look upon him&s;elf as bound by <HI>the cords of his law:</HI> if they be no ingagement upon you, they will be found none upon him in the end. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 120.4. it is by &s;ome under&s;tood of the &s;landers of men; but it is by others under&s;tood of the judgements of God; <HI>there &s;hall be mighty and &s;harp Arrows, with coals of juniper,</HI> that is &s;uch as burn with greate&s;t fierce|ne&s;s,
<PB N="239" REF="147"> and longe&s;t la&s;ting, and &s;uch as yield a &s;weet &s;avor in the burning; there is no de&s;truction like unto that, when God &s;hall delight to de&s;troy a people, <HI>he &s;hall laugh at their de&s;truction, and mock when their fear comes.</HI> Fourthly, The Lord delights to deal with &s;inners in a way of proportion and retaliation; according to their dealing with him; and there &s;hall be the Image of the &s;in in the judgement that &s;hall be executed upon them: that the Lord will but deal with them &s;o, as they deal with him: if they for&s;ake him; this &s;hall be their judge|ment, he will al&s;o for&s;ake them. If men be invited to the marriage fea&s;t of the Kings &s;on, and they make ex|cu&s;es they will not come; their judgement is, they that were <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">idden &s;hall not ta&s;te of my &s;upper. If the people of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> will not (at the command of God) go up unto the land of <HI>Canaan</HI> to take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, they will not en|ter into Gods re&s;t; the Lord &s;aith, nay, he doth &s;wear in his wrath, that they &s;hall not enter: and if in the days of their pro&s;perity, men will &s;ay to the Almighty, depart from us; in the &s;ame proportion will the Lord &s;ay unto them in the day of their judgement, Depart from me, I know you not. In tho&s;e things wherein the &s;ons of men are, and their lu&s;ts acted and more drawn forth, in tho&s;e the Lord doth delight that their judgement &s;hould be. The people of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> were formerly weary of the Pro|phets, as we now are of Ordinances, and they did &s;ay to them, prophe&s;ie not, and cau&s;e the holy one of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to cea&s;e from us; therefore the Lord &s;aith, he will cau&s;e the Sun to go down upon the Prophets, and he makes the day to be dark about them, that there &s;hould be none that &s;hould under&s;tand or be able to tell them how long: and when they de&s;ired Teachers according to their lu&s;t, and did &s;ay, Speak to us &s;mooth things, and prophe&s;ie deceit; the&s;e rough-&s;pirited men we cannot
<PB N="240" REF="148"> away with them:&mdash;The Lord &s;aith, <HI>if any man will prophe&s;ie of wine or &s;trong drink, he &s;hall be a Prophet unto this people;</HI> yea even in hell the &s;ins of men &s;hall be their torment; and the Lord delights to make them &s;o; tis true, &s;in cea&s;es there, as it is <HI>paenae demeritum:</HI> for judgement pa&s;&s;es onely on men, <HI>for what is the fle&s;h:</HI> but, not <HI>&amp; paenae damnatio:</HI> for <HI>damnati bla&s;|phemant Deum &amp; in hoc peccant, &s;ed peccata pertinent ad damnationis poenam,</HI> &amp;c. for what the Lord doth, he doth in high di&s;plea&s;ure and indignation, and that doth delight him, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> to retaliate, that <HI>men may abundant|ly eat the fruit of their own ways, and be filled with their own devices;</HI> and the Lord makes in this retaliation a greater &s;peed with &s;ome men, then he doth with others, an&s;werable to the Mercies be&s;towed, and abu&s;ed: &s;ome mens &s;ins are <HI>as a basket of Summer-fruit: quia matu|ritatem &s;uam &s;unt a&s;&s;ecuti&mdash;</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Am. 8.12</NOTE> <HI>Dru&s;ius:</HI>&mdash;they that have &s;tood long under mercies, and under Ordinances, they do ripen the &s;ooner, and the Lord will &s;urely ha&s;ten his work upon &s;uch a people: <HI>habet &s;apientia ju&s;titiae &s;ua compendia;</HI> the Lord knows how to fini&s;h the work, &amp; to cut it &s;hort in righteou&s;ne&s;s: for <HI>a &s;hort work doth the Lord intend to make in the land,</HI> Rom. 9.28. How long &s;oever the work be that God makes with any other peo|ple, yet with an unthankful people, that lives in high a|bu&s;es of goodne&s;s, he will &s;urely make a &s;hort work with them. Fifthly, At the &s;ame time when we begin to for&s;ake God, he doth begin to for&s;ake us; for &s;o much mu&s;t be taken from the beginning of the ver&s;e, <HI>the Lord is with you, whiles you are with him:</HI> &s;o we and &s;ome others render it, <HI>dum fui&s;tis</HI>&mdash;There|fore the &s;ame date that our departing bears unto God, the &s;ame al&s;o doth the Lords departing bear unto us; at the &s;ame time when the Prodigal did but &s;et the fir&s;t
<PB N="241" REF="148"> &s;tep to return to his father, the father did &s;et forth to meet him: and at the &s;ame time that any man de|parts and turns away from God, at the &s;ame time doth the Lord turn away from him al&s;o, and though it be not pre&s;ently vi&s;ible; for our Apo&s;tacy from God is fir&s;t in the inward man, <HI>our &s;ouls draw back from him;</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 6.8.</NOTE> at the &s;ame time al&s;o <HI>his &s;oul departs</HI> or is dis-joynted from &s;uch a people: and in &s;uch ca&s;es the Lord is very exact in ob|&s;erving of the time, he keeps an account of it unto a day, as we &s;ee it in <HI>Saul,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 13 13,14.</NOTE> <HI>Now would the Lord have e&s;tabli&s;hed the kingdom upon I&s;rael for ever, but now thy kingdom &s;hall not continue;</HI> now <HI>Saul</HI> departed from the Lord, and from this time forth the Lord did for&s;ake him: and therefore 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 13.2. it's &s;aid that <HI>he reigned but two yeers over I&s;rael,</HI> that is, <HI>Legitim&egrave; &amp; non rejectus &aacute; Deo,</HI> &s;o <HI>Jun<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">po&s;t biennium a Shemu&egrave;le fuit:</HI> &s;o that though the kingdom did continue &s;o many yeers <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">fter, or he conti|nued in the kingdom, yet he reigned as King but two yeers, now <HI>he rejected God, and now the Lord re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ected him from being King over I&s;rael:</HI> and though men di&s;cern it not, yet there are &s;ymbolical precepts, by which the Lord doth try men even at this day; the Lord puts them upon &s;uch a bu&s;ine&s;s, puts &s;uch power, and &s;uch authority into their hands, which they abu&s;ing, and their heart, de|parting from God in it, they are under an evil a&s;pect from God from that time forward; that though their lives may continue, and though they may for a time conti|nue in their authority, yet from that time, he Lord de|parts from them, and they do by degrees wither and de|cay in&s;en&s;ibly; degenerate in their zeal for God and his people. Sad are the Records and the a&s;pects of God upon great men in this kind; &s;uch a day I tryed a mans integrity and his fai<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hfulne&s;s, I put power into his hand to honor me with it, and yet his &s;pirit departed from me,
<PB N="242" REF="149"> his heart was fal&s;e and un&s;table with me; therefore, from that day <HI>my &s;oul is disjoynted</HI> from &s;uch a man, will honor him no more: <HI>Saul</HI> reigned long after be|fore the people; but, from that time, no longer in Gods account.</P>
<P>Sixthly, In the &s;ame degree that a people do for&s;ake the Lord, will the Lord al&s;o for&s;ake them: and &s;o much the Hebrew word al&s;o doth &s;eem to import <HI>in exi&s;tendo vos cum eo,</HI> in your being with him, he will al&s;o be with you, and in your for&s;aking of him, he will al&s;o for&s;ake you. The Lord departs from a people <HI>gradatim</HI> by &s;e|veral removes, to &s;ee if there be any <HI>that will &s;tir up them|&s;elves to take hold of God.</HI> As <HI>the glory of the Lord de|parted from the Temple,</HI> Ezek. 10.11. <HI>fir&s;t he goes up from the Cherubins unto the thre&s;hold, and from thence to the middle of the City, and from the City unto the Mountain:</HI> and the&s;e removes of God from us are an&s;werable unto the degrees of our departing from him: for in the&s;e things the Lord doth exactly ob&s;erve a proportion. As it is in the matter of outward afflictions, &s;o it &s;hall be al&s;o in &s;piritual de&s;ertions: <HI>Ezek.</HI> 7.16. as pride doth bud, &s;o the rod doth blo&s;&s;om; violence doth ri&s;e up unto a rod of wickedne&s;s: their rod is taken out of their own &s;ins: their own wickedne&s;s doth correct them: and an|&s;werable to the growth of &s;in in them, &s;o doth the rod grow for them, that it may be corrected. And &s;o it is in de&s;ertion al&s;o; with the upright the Lord will &s;hew him&s;elf upright: if mens hearts be wholly with him, he will be perfect and intire with them: but if men be for God onely in &s;hew, he will be for them and with them onely in &s;hew: if they give unto him onely outward o|bedience, he will give unto them onely a temporal re|ward: if they do offer unto God but external &s;ervice,
<PB N="243" REF="149"> and that which is &s;eemingly &s;ervice, but really a &s;in; he will be&s;tow upon them outward ble&s;&s;ings, that is, that which &s;hall be &s;eemingly a ble&s;&s;ing, but really a cur&s;e: a ble&s;&s;ing in the thing, but a cur&s;e to the man. For the Lord will hold a proportion: as we for&s;ake him, &s;o he will in the &s;ame mea&s;ure and degree, for&s;ake us al&s;o. All the children of de&s;truction, are not born at once, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 1.</NOTE> <HI>the fir&s;t is Iezreel, and the la&s;t Loammi;</HI> yea and Gods own people an&s;werable unto their de|parting from God, &s;o they &s;hall find the Lords with|drawment from them; <HI>David</HI> had <HI>his fir&s;t ways,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chr. 17</NOTE> and the people of God have <HI>their fir&s;t,</HI> Rev. 2.4. and they that do decline from God in holy obedience, they &s;hall finde the Lord will depart from them in reference to a gracious pre&s;ence: it &s;hall not be with them as it hath been in times pa&s;t: they &s;hall remem|ber with bitterne&s;s after their departure from their former husband, that it was better with them then it is now.</P>
<P>2. Let us now look upon the grounds of this Doctrine, that upon our for&s;aking of God he will for&s;ake us; and they are different, according unto a double &s;tate of men in this life: &s;ome are in a &s;tate of Nature; and &s;ome are in a &s;tate of grace.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t they that are in a &s;tate of nature for|&s;aking God, &s;hall be <HI>utterly</HI> for&s;aken by him, and that for ever; for the Lord doth deal with men according to the tenor of the Covenant, under which he &s;tands; in all his admini&s;trations, he is al|ways mindful of his Covenant. Now all men in a
<PB N="244" REF="150"> &s;tate of Nature, are under a Covenant of works; for though this Covenant were broken in the fall, yet it was not aboli&s;hed, but &s;tands in force &s;till unto all unregenerate men, to the end of the world; its true, that being become weak through the fle&s;h, it can give life no more, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">3. but it commands duty as perfectly as it did unto <HI>Adam</HI> in the &s;tate of innocency; and &s;o far as a man falls &s;hort of perfect and per&s;onal obedience, &s;o far he &s;ins, and it threa|tens a Cur&s;e as dreadfully now, as it did in the &s;tate of innocence: and it is by vertue of this Covenant that &s;in is bound upon the Con&s;ciences of ungodly men for ever: and by vertue of this Covenant the Cur&s;e comes upon them in this life, in a degree, and hereafter in the perfection thereof. Neither is that Arminian Doctrine to be received, <HI>Lex prima ce&s;&s;a|bat primo foedere rupto per inobedientiam primi homi|nis;</HI> that men being con&s;tituted under the Cur&s;e, the fir&s;t Covenant being broken, all the debt of legal obedience which the creatures did owe unto God, did immediately cea&s;e; for then, there &s;hould have been no &s;in after the fir&s;t &s;in; for if the Law cea&s;ed, there could be no tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion: neither is it any way an|&s;werable unto Rea&s;on or Scripture, that becau&s;e man had lo&s;t his ability to obey, therefore God &s;hould lo&s;e his authority to command. Now in the fir&s;t Co|venant God dealt with man by way of retaliation, <HI>Gen.</HI> 4.7. if thou do&s;t well, &s;halt thou not be accep|ted? the be&s;t &s;ervices mu&s;t needs be rejected for the lea&s;t fayling; therefore in the creatures departing from God, he will al&s;o depart from him: and by the terms of the Covenant he is bound, if they for&s;ake
<PB N="245" REF="150"> him, he mu&s;t al&s;o for&s;ake them: his Ju&s;tice and truth do bind him unto it: and according to that Cove|nant, it is, <HI>bonum ex integro con&s;tat; malum ex quo|libet defectu.</HI></P>
<P>2 There are &s;ome men in a &s;tate of Grace, and the change of their e&s;tate depends upon the change of their Covenant: &s;uch a mans &s;tate is as is his Co|venant under which he &s;tands. He that is in a &s;tate of Grace, is therefore tran&s;lated into the Covenant of Grace; and then all the dealings of God with him are an&s;werable unto the tenor of the &s;ame Covenant: and this Covenant is <HI>an everla&s;ting Covenant,</HI> for <HI>he will write the law in their hearts, and put his fear &s;o into them, that they &s;hall not depart from him,</HI> Jer. 32.20. and therefore he will never for&s;ake them ut|terly: for he hath &s;aid, <HI>he will never turn away from them to do them good.</HI> We are far from that Doctrine as to conclude from hence, that the interchange of members between Chri&s;t and Satan, is frequent and ordinary; and that as Chri&s;t takes members from Satan, &s;o doth Satan al&s;o take members from Chri&s;t; that a man may be a member of Chri&s;t to day, and a child of the devil to morrow; now in a &s;tate of Grace, and by &amp; by in a &s;tate of &s;in; beloved of God to day, &amp; for&s;aken of God to morrow; for we read, <HI>that whom he loved once he loved unto the end;</HI> for he loves them not with a temporal, but with an everla&s;ting love: and as in reference unto a mans eternal conditi|on, there is a gulf fixed, which notes <NOTE PLACE="marg">Calv.</NOTE> <HI>aeternitatem &s;ta|tus;</HI> &s;o there is in reference to the change of a mans Covenant, a gulf fixed; and it is as po&s;&s;ible for the
<PB N="246" REF="151"> creature to pa&s;s from Heaven to hell; as it is for a man according to the rules of the word of God, who is under the Covenant of Grace to pa&s;s after|ward, or ever to return into the Covenant of works: yet, under the &s;econd Covenant, though there be not a final for&s;aking, yet there may be a real, and a gradual de&s;ertion: as well as affliction, is compatible with the &s;tate of a &s;on. I will vi&s;it their offences with the rod, but my loving kindne&s;s I will never take from them, nor &s;uffer my faithfulne&s;s to fail: I was wroth and &s;mote him, and hid my face, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> my beloved had withdrawn him&s;elf, and was gone, &amp;c. and there is a real di&s;plea&s;ure, though it be <NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant. 5.</NOTE> <HI>Ira paterna, non ho&s;tilis;</HI> and there is a de&s;ertion not onely in point of con&s;olation, but in point of &s;anctification al&s;o; that when a man comes to re&s;i&s;t &s;in, or to perform duty, he &s;hall not finde the &s;ame pre&s;ence, nor the &s;ame a&s;&s;i&s;tance, that he formerly had: men may go forth in the &s;trength of Grace received, and they may with <HI>Sam&s;on</HI> think to do as in times pa&s;t; but if they turn a&s;ide from the Lord, they &s;hall finde that the Lord is departed from them: for it is not being in a &s;tate of Grace, that carries the actual pre&s;ence of God with a man, but it is acting tho&s;e graces that he has received, and walking an&s;werable unto that e|&s;tate: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 14.23.</NOTE> If a man love me and keep my words; my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him; he will love him; we cannot love him unle&s;s he love us fir&s;t; there is a love of benevolence which begins in God, and hath re&s;pect unto nothing in the creature; but there is a Love of complacence, which though it
<PB N="247" REF="151"> flow from free Grace, yet it is acted an&s;werable un|to the Image of God in the creature, and as the creature walks with God, and is &s;erviceable unto his great ends; there is a pre&s;ence of God with us an|&s;werable to our care of keeping Communion with him: if a Godly Magi&s;trate &s;hall with <HI>Solomon,</HI> have his heart departing from the Lord, though the Lord have appeared to him twice, and hath given him formerly very gracious and &s;ignal te&s;timonies of his pre&s;ence with him, if he &s;hall <HI>turn a&s;ide unto crooked ways,</HI> he will &s;urely fail of his former pre|&s;ence, and a&s;&s;i&s;tance in his Government: <HI>a mans right Arm will wither, and his right eye will be put out:</HI> he &s;hall neither have that wi&s;dom in his Govern|ment, neither &s;hall he have that Authority and ruling power in the hearts of the people; and the rea&s;on is, becau&s;e God is not with him as in times pa&s;t: but he having for&s;aken God, he is for&s;aken of God: and if a Godly man who&s;e &s;oul is become an habitati|on of God through the &s;pirit, &s;hall now for&s;ake the fountain of living waters, and &s;hall dig to him&s;elf broken Ci&s;terns, &s;hall let his heart go out to the Creatures, and &s;hall forget the Lord, and his heart &s;it loo&s;e from him; he &s;hall finde that the Lord will withdraw him&s;elf, that he &s;hall not have that a&s;&s;i|&s;tance in &s;ervices, nor that comfortable and fruitful pre&s;ence in all his ways, but he &s;hall in a mea&s;ure walk without God in the world, even as the men of the world do: and if a &s;tate that have had a glorious pre&s;ence of God with them, that the Lord hath made bare his Arm in the &s;ight of the Nations, &s;o that the fear of them hath fallen upon all the Nati|ons
<PB N="248" REF="152"> round about, becau&s;e they &s;aw that God did fight for them, the Lord hath gone before them, and the God of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> was their rereward; and therefore he hath given them the necks of their enemies, and no weapon formed again&s;t them hath pro&s;pered; e|very tongue that did ri&s;e up in judgement again&s;t them hath he condemned: but if this &s;tate &s;hall now fall in love with her own beauty and greatne&s;s, and &s;hall &s;ay <HI>this is Babel that I have built, and my hands have gathered the riches of the Nations,</HI> if this &s;tate &s;hall <HI>now tru&s;t in an arm of fle&s;h</HI> and &s;ay wee'l have no more care of the truths of God, and the Ordinances of God, they are upon Civil and Politick re&s;pects that we &s;tand; the Lord will &s;urely depart from them: if they &s;hall &s;ay, <HI>we are Lords, we will come no more at thee; their Rock will &s;ell them:</HI> their wonted pre|&s;ence will depart from them, and the Lord will take plea&s;ure to bring them down whom he hath before exalted, <HI>and to de&s;troy them after he hath done them good.</HI></P>
<P>3 Yet for the further opening of this point, it is nece&s;&s;ary that we di&s;cover, what it is for a per&s;on or people to for&s;ake the Lord, and what it is for God to for&s;ake them, and when he is &s;aid in Scripture &s;o to do?</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, What it is to for&s;ake God, and when the Lord is &s;aid to be for&s;aken. Fir&s;t, they that for&s;ake the Law and truths of God, for&s;ake God; wicked men that live without God are de&s;cribed by <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 119 5<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> <HI>for|&s;aking the Law of God, the wicked that for&s;ake thy
<PB N="247" REF="152"> Law,</HI> Jer. 9.13. <HI>they have for&s;aken my Law which I &s;et before them, and have walked after the imaginati|ons of their own hearts, and after Baalim which their fathers taught them,</HI> &amp;c. For it is God that we have to do with in the word: the word is mighty, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 9.12 13.</NOTE> <HI>and all things are open and naked before him with whom we have to do;</HI> therefore the word hath (as it were) the properties of God attributed unto it, it is <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, <HI>a di&s;cerner of the &s;ecret thoughts and intents of the heart,</HI> which belong unto God onely: but it is not from the power of the word alone, but from the pre&s;ence of God therein; for in the word it is, <HI>him with whom we have to do:</HI> therefore if in the word we have to do with God, then they that do for&s;ake the word of God, for&s;ake God: and men do for&s;ake the Law of God; fir&s;t when they depart from the foun|dation: there is a twofold foundation that the S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ri|pture holds forth; <HI>fundamentum doctrinae, &amp; per&s;o|nae.</HI>&mdash;its true, a per&s;onal <HI>foundation can no man lay, any other then what is laid, Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> but there is al&s;o a doctrinal foundation, which is called <HI>the foundation of the Apo&s;tles and Prophets,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.20.</NOTE> and this is that pattern of whol&s;ome words that <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">. that <HI>form of Doctrine,</HI> and that which the Apo&s;tle mentions of <HI>the foundation which he him&s;elf hath laid,</HI> Heb. 6.1. and this the Church of Chri&s;t in the pure&s;t times &s;hall not depart from, for <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.14. <HI>the walls of the City &s;hall have twelve foundations, and upon them written the names of the twelve A|po&s;tles of the Lamb,</HI> &amp;c. that Antient &s;tanding of Truth, let it be pre&s;erved, and all &s;uper&s;tructures, let them tend to the cleering and e&s;tabli&s;hment, and not
<PB N="248" REF="153"> to the &s;ubverting of them; let men build as high as they can, &s;o as they hold the foundation; <HI>&s;it ver&egrave; pro|fectus fidei, non permutatio: Lyren.</HI> And in this the people of God have been always fearful; <HI>quo quis &s;anctior, eo promtior novellis adinventionibus contrai|re,</HI> &amp;c. we are now quite contrary: the more holy any man &s;eems to be, the more open h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s ears are, and the more ready he is to clo&s;e with every novelty, or call all into que&s;tion; Satans great de&s;ign in this age, is, to keep all men in uncertainties: two ways Satan hath, one way in the time of peace, and another in the time of per&s;ecution; in the one <HI>cogit homines ne|gare Chri&s;tum,</HI> in the other <HI>docet, Au&s;tin;</HI> he doth force them in the one, he doth teach them in the o|ther: but his great aym is at fundamentals; for there is &s;uch a connexion of the&s;e, that a man cannot deny one, but he overthrows all the re&s;t. It was the rule that <HI>Luther</HI> gave, <HI>Spiritus Sanctus &s;cepticus non e&s;t,</HI> and therefore it is to be feared, that under the&s;e great pretences of the Spirit, there is very little of the Spirit of Chri&s;t in men; when it tends to Scepti|ci&s;m, not to Chri&s;tianity.</P>
<P>Secondly, Men for&s;ake the Law by putting fal&s;e interpretations; for he that hath not the &s;piritual and true &s;en&s;e of the Law, is without the Law, <HI>Rom.</HI> 7.9. <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 11<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters"></NOTE> <HI>and &s;o men are &s;aid to make void the Law of God;</HI> <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> it is not <HI>Palam &amp; ex profe&s;&s;o,</HI> but it is fe|cretly &amp; under hand, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>ye have unlorded the Law by your traditions:</HI>&mdash;and they that take away the mind of the Law they do de&s;troy the Law; and this is the greate&s;t &s;acriledge in the world; men
<PB N="249" REF="153"> are called, by <HI>Nazianzen,</HI>
<Q><GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">,</Q></P>
<P>They that do &s;teale away the &s;en&s;e of the Scri|pture from the words of the Scripture, and take them not according to the &s;cope of the place, or the intention of the &s;pirit of God in them, but in Alle|gories and my&s;tical &s;en&s;es; now this way, and then another, as it chimes into their fancies. We blame the Papi&s;ts for making of the Scripture a no&s;e of wax; if ever it were &s;o, it is &s;o made by many of our Teachers at this day: and by this means, it &s;hall &s;erve to u&s;her in and to patronage any invention that our own hearts can pre&s;ent unto us; there are great pre|tences of love now held forth, that men &s;hould love one another, though they differ in opinion, upon the point of &s;aint&s;hip, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> the &s;ame thing we al&s;o &s;ay and pre&s;s, that we love one another, but let it be with the Apo&s;tles a&s;&s;ertion, 2 <HI>Ioh.</HI> 6. <HI>This is love, that we walk after his Commandments:</HI> and let it be al&s;o with the Apo&s;tles Injunction <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, truth it in love: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.15</NOTE> &mdash;&s;teal not away Truth from us un|der the &s;hews and pretences of love: in vain have the endeavours of <HI>Conciliators,</HI> been that have &s;ought to unite men, who&s;e principles in re&s;pect of Truth were contrary. It is a great honor to be as <HI>Nazian.</HI> of <HI>Athana&s;ius,</HI> he was <HI>di&s;&s;entientibus magnes,</HI> &amp;c. but yet &s;o as we are to con&s;ider, that Truth is <HI>primo-primum in Religione:</HI> without which all mo|tives unto union though in a moral con&s;truction good, and coming from a good intention, will never
<PB N="250" REF="154"> prove in any mea&s;ure effectual: it is &s;peaking Truth in love, that will onely make men grow up into one body in the Lord; and it was the di&s;honor of that great power, <HI>Rev.</HI> 9. <HI>that though they had faces like men, and the teeth of Lyons,</HI> a great &s;hew of meek|ne&s;s, and yet abundance of &s;toutne&s;s and courage joyned with &s;ucce&s;s in all their undertakings, for they were <HI>crowned Locu&s;ts;</HI> yet they had <HI>a &s;ting in their tails, diabolicam &amp; p&s;eudo-Propheticam propaginem denotat:</HI> all the power of their Conque&s;t was u&s;ed to no other end, but to leaven and poy&s;on all places where they came and conquered with their corrupt opinions: whoever they be that u&s;e their power in this manner, be their &s;ucce&s;s what it will be, they are in judgement, and for the Torment of all where they come, and <HI>&s;uch Locu&s;ts proceed out of the &s;moke of the bottomle&s;s pit.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, They for&s;ake God that for&s;ake his wor|&s;hip: <HI>ye are they that for&s;ake the Lord, that forget his holy Mountain, to prepare a Table for that ho&s;t,</HI> &amp;c. <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 65.11.</NOTE> Some expound it of the ho&s;t of heaven, and there is a great number of them; for they that for&s;ake the way of the Lord, they <HI>do find out many inventions,</HI> in Gods wor&s;hip. There is a double wor&s;hip of God, na|tural, and in&s;tituted; the one following upon the nature of God, and the other flowing from the will of God; and the latter the Lord did &s;ee nece&s;&s;ary in all ages, as <HI>medium cultus naturalis,</HI> it was nece&s;&s;ary unto <HI>Adam</HI> when he was in Paradi&s;e; <HI>the Sabboth,</HI> and <HI>the tree of life,</HI> and <HI>the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil,</HI> were then in&s;tituted; it was &s;o for the
<PB N="251" REF="154"> honor of God, that the Lord Je&s;us him&s;elf ob&s;erved it in the days of the fle&s;h, and <HI>did thereby fulfil all righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> and wor&s;hipped God according unto the in&s;titution of the Jew|i&s;h Church, and he hath left &s;uch In&s;titutions to be ob&s;erved in his Church to the end of the world: <HI>the Saints continued in the Apo&s;tles De|ctrine and fellow&s;hip, in breaking of bread and prayer;</HI> and now men are grown &s;o Religious, as they cry down in&s;tituted wor&s;hip, and &s;ay that they are but forms: it is true, that re&s;ted in they are no more, as the Ceremonies of the Jews were not: but as they are Forms, &s;o they are Duties; therefore to &s;ay men may u&s;e them or not u&s;e them, and that Chri&s;tians are &s;ometimes for &s;eeking under Formes, but there is yet a higher way; &s;ome that are un|wedded unto any Forme, that re&s;erve them|&s;elves &s;ingle for the immedi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">te embraces of their love: What is this but to for&s;ake the Lord; becau&s;e <HI>it is to forget his holy Moun|tain?</HI> to wor&s;hip God in any other way then he hath appoynted, that is Idolatry; and to neglect that way of Wor&s;hip that he hath ap|poynted his people to walk with Him in, that is prophanene&s;s. We complain of the prophanene&s;s of the people throughout the Nation; they are &s;uch Principles as the&s;e that are the great Grounds of prophanene&s;s: and from hence it goes forth into all the Land; for how ready will all they that were weary of
<PB N="252" REF="155"> Ordinances, and lookt upon them as a burden long agoe, how greedily will they imbrace &s;uch a Doctrine as this is; that may be a bribe unto their Con&s;ciences in their prophanene&s;s, and utter neglect of God; &s;urely it is a good rule, <HI>qui non e&s;t Religio&s;us, Chri&s;tianus non e&s;t:</HI> that man doth very much forfeit his Chri&s;tianity, that doth either in Doctrine or Pra|ctice in this manner decry the in&s;titu|ted Wor&s;hip of Chri&s;t: I am not wil|ling to &s;peak much of <HI>Officers</HI> now, which is an In&s;titution, as well as that <HI>of Ordinances; for the Lord hath &s;et them in the Church,</HI> 1 Cor. 12.28. and he hath appointed their term of con|tinuance, <HI>till we all come unto the u|nity of the Faith, unto a perfect man; till the whole body of Chri&s;t be gathered, and perfected; and the end,</HI> Ephe&s;. 12.14. why he hath appoynted them is, <HI>that we may not be carryed away with every wind of Doctrine;</HI> that
<PB N="253" REF="155"> was the end why God appoynted them, and this is the main rea&s;on why men oppo&s;e them; becau&s;e they cannot carry men away as they would, by this means; and there&s;ore it is a true ob|&s;ervation, that never any man did be|gin to overthrow and corrupt Religion, but he began with the Mini&s;tery fir&s;t. It is that which <HI>Adam Contzen.</HI> directs to the Mini&s;ters and tho&s;e that give their Te&s;timony to the Truths of God, &s;pecially &s;uppre&s;s them, <HI>&amp; error cui patrocinium deerit, &s;ine pugna concidet:</HI> &s;o calls he Truth; and there is a promi&s;e made to them, <HI>that God will be pre&s;ent with them to the end of the world;</HI> and a provi&s;ion is made for them to the end of the world; for the Lord hath ordered, <HI>that they that &s;erve of the Altar &s;hould live at the Altar;</HI> Cor. 1.9,14. though now a great part of the Religion of the times is to cry down a Mini&s;tery, and &s;o as <HI>Luther</HI> hath ob&s;erved, Satan hath had two ways to put out the light of the Go|&s;pel
<PB N="254" REF="156"> <HI>mendaciis, &amp; Inopia:</HI> And he &s;aith men do profe&s;s, <HI>Mini&s;tris nihil opus e&s;t:</HI> they were things not much to be regarded, though there is a ju&s;tice to be exerci&s;ed un|to them as men, how much &s;oever they are de&s;pi&s;ed as Mini&s;ters: but it were not much to be regarded, though you look upon them as men of all others the lea&s;t con&s;ide|rable, if God were not for&s;aken in it; but to for&s;ake Gods Wor&s;hip, is in the Scri|ptures account to for&s;ake God.</P>
<PB N="257" REF="156">
<P>Thirdly, we for&s;ake God by carnal confidence. The Lord &s;aies, <HI>Jer.</HI> 2.13. <HI>they have for&s;aken me, and they have digged to them&s;elves broken Ci&s;terns.</HI> Jer. 17.5. <HI>Cur&s;|ed is he that tru&s;ts in man, and makes fle&s;h his arm, and his heart departeth from the Lord:</HI> if the Lord be not ex|alted alone in the &s;oul, either <HI>&s;ub ratione boni, aut auxilii,</HI> the heart of man for&s;akes him, and leans on &s;omething el&s;e that is not God. Now if it be Coun&s;els of men, the power of Armies, the A&s;&s;i&s;tances of Confederates, &s;o far a man for&s;akes the Lord: therefore the Lord doth way lay all humane &s;uccours, that they &s;hall prove vain and un&s;ucce&s;sful; and men &s;hall be a&s;hamed of their Confederacies: <HI>thou &s;halt be a&s;hamed of</HI> A&s;&s;yria, <HI>as thou ha&s;t been a&s;hamed of</HI> Egypt <HI>thy con&s;idence;</HI> yea de&s;tructi|on comes out of it; they that &s;it down under the &s;hadow of a creature, it is but under the <HI>&s;helter of a bramble: fire will &s;urely come out of it to con&s;ume the C<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">dars of Lebanen;</HI> when men turn to God, they are taken off from carnal confidence, they &s;hall then &s;ay, <HI>A&s;hur &s;hall not &s;ave us:</HI> therefore men turn to the creature when they do for|&s;ake and depart from God.</P>
<P>Fourthly, men for&s;ake God in their conver&s;ation: when they neither <HI>walk with God,</HI> or <HI>worthy of God:</HI> the waies of &s;in are departing from God: <HI>going into a far Countrey, it is communion with Belial:</HI> and walking in waies of pride, oppre&s;&s;ion and uncleanne&s;s, it is <HI>living without God</HI> and therefore &s;urely it is a for&s;aking of him, a departing from him; and for&s;aking of his Truth and Wor&s;hip; is the only and &s;pecial means thereunto; our Saviour &s;ays <HI>John</HI> 17. <HI>Sanctifie them by thy Truth,</HI> &amp;c. Take away Truth, and ye de&s;troy Holine&s;s at the root: Let men pretend holine&s;s while&s;t they will, unclean opinions will ever be accompanied with unclean pra|cti&s;es;
<PB N="258" REF="157"> and therefore it is a vain thing for men to hope that a holy conver&s;ation can be maintained without truth, which is the in&s;trument which the Lord u&s;eth of mens &s;anctification, <HI>Job</HI> 6.14. <HI>he for&s;akes God, that for|&s;akes the fear of the Lord.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, What is it for a people to be for&s;aken of God? Fir&s;t, when God withdraws the influence of his Spirit from the Ordinances, that though the Ordi|nances continue, yet the influences are gone; it is the fir&s;t &s;tep of the Lords removing from a people, and this is properly the <HI>removing or departing of his glory from off the Temple;</HI> though the Lord is everywhere pre&s;ent, yet there was a gracious pre&s;ence there; <HI>Deus ubique e&s;t, &s;ed non eadem ubique prae&s;tat.</HI> And therefore there is a <HI>darkne&s;s that fills the hou&s;e, when the glory of the Lord was departed;</HI> its true, that the Temple, and the Sacrifi|ces did continue, but it was but barely an out&s;ide, for the pre&s;ence of God in glory and mercy was not among them; and therefore when the Lord returns to a people in mercy, the glory of the Lord doth in this manner re|turn unto their Ordinances, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 43.4. <HI>while he may be found, &s;eek the Lord;</HI> the time of the Spirits working in the means, <HI>is the day of &s;alvation, Heb.</HI> 6. unto that people; there is a ground that drinks in the rain, not only of Ordinances, but of Influences: and the Lord will &s;ay, <HI>My Spirit &s;hall not alwaies &s;trive;</HI> there is an oath that may go forth again&s;t a people, and then they are undone for ever: for <HI>the Lord is not as a man, that he &s;hould repent:</HI> and this is the greate&s;t Judgement that can befall a per&s;on or a people in this life: for if the Spirit of the Lord depart from them, and evil Spirit from God in Judgement comes upon them: a Spirit of gid|dine&s;s, a vertiginous Spirit, which doth cau&s;e them to
<PB N="259" REF="157"> err in all the works of their hands: there is by &s;ome a great talk of conver&s;ion, that abundance have been lately converted: it is true, if turning unto a new opi|nion, or being brought off from &s;uch a party be conver|&s;ion, there are abundance of &s;uch turnings in this Na|tion: but &s;uch a general conver&s;ion, that if we look into the conver&s;ation of men, yea even of them that do profe&s;s Religion and <HI>the power of godline&s;s,</HI> and the <HI>good old way</HI> of holine&s;s in the practi&s;e of it, is even whol|ly forgotten among&s;t us.</P>
<P>Secondly, he takes away the Ordinances al&s;o: the pre&s;ence of God is in them: he is by the&s;e &s;aid to <HI>dwell among&s;t us:</HI> now when God departs from a people, he is &s;aid to take away the Ordinances, which are the vi|&s;ible tokens of his pre&s;ence, <HI>Ier.</HI> 23.33. they &s;ay, <HI>the burden of the Lord:</HI> and they were weary of the Ordi|nances of God among&s;t them, &s;aies God, <HI>this &s;hall be your burden, I will for&s;ake you: Nulla po&s;thac erit Pro|phetia,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Calvin.</NOTE> <HI>Calvin.</HI> But what if it be &s;o? its that in a &s;pecial manner that we de&s;ire: but con&s;ider, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 7.20. <HI>I will ca&s;t this hou&s;e which I have &s;anctified for my name out of my &s;ight, and I will pluck you up by the roots out of my Land which I have given you:</HI> when God once for&s;akes his Ordinances, he will the Land too.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the Lord doth for&s;ake a people, by taking away the former a&s;&s;i&s;tances that they have had, and de|nying of them to his people: therefore the promi&s;e is <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 62.4. <HI>thou &s;halt be no more termed for&s;aken:</HI> whil&s;t they were under the power of the enemy, and given up into the hands of their oppre&s;&s;ors, &s;o long they were a people for&s;aken of the Lord, <HI>Io&s;h.</HI> 1.5. <HI>I will not leave thee, nor for&s;ake thee:</HI> when God for&s;akes them, they &s;hall not have the wonted pre&s;ence of God among&s;t
<PB N="260" REF="158"> them: the Lord will neither ble&s;s their coun&s;els, nor go forth with their Armies: but he will delight to make that people vile, that all their enemies &s;hould take encouragement thereby, and &s;ay, <HI>God hath for&s;aken them:</HI> per&s;ecute them, and take them, for <HI>there is none to deliver them;</HI> as the pre&s;ence of God is the great ter|ror unto all that are round about, <HI>he being a wall of &s;ire about them,</HI> and <HI>the glory in the middle of them;</HI> &s;o the greate&s;t encouragement to the enemies, is, when they &s;hall &s;ee that Gods people have not the wonted pre&s;ence or a&s;&s;i&s;tance of God with them: and they &s;hall be a deri&s;ion to all the Nations round about: ha, ha, &s;o would we have it.</P>
<P>Fourthly, God doth for&s;ake a people in re&s;pect of his returns of their prayers, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 22.1,2. <HI>My God, why ha&s;t thou for&s;aken me? and why art thou &s;o far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the day time, and thou heare&s;t not: and in the night &s;ea|&s;on am not &s;ilent;</HI> and this is the true greatne&s;s and the glory of a people, <HI>Deut.</HI> 4.7. that <HI>they have God nigh them in all that they call upon him for;</HI> and this hath been your glory in former times in the &s;ight of your adver&s;aries: that you could &s;ay, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertullian.</NOTE> <HI>Caelum tundimus, &amp; mi&s;ericordiam extorquemus.</HI></P>
<P>And the prayers of the people of God have been <HI>the fire that hath gone out of the mouthes</HI> of the people of God <HI>that hath con&s;umed your enemies</HI> on every &s;ide: as <HI>Rev.</HI> 11 5. We did no &s;ooner make our prayers, but we might as it were, with <HI>Stephen, lift up our eyes to heaven, and &s;ee Ie&s;us &s;tanding at the right hand of God: tanquam cau&s;ae &s;uae Judex &amp; vindex:</HI> But if God for&s;ake a people, they may <HI>cry, but the Lord will not hear them; he will &s;hut out their prayers in di&s;plea&s;ure, and will cover him&s;elf
<PB N="261" REF="158"> with a cloud, that they &s;hall not pa&s;s through:</HI> when God takes away the &s;pirit of prayer from his people, there is not a greater Argument that I know, that God doth intend to for&s;ake them, and to <HI>&s;hut out their prayers.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>Having thus &s;poken of the Doctrinal propo&s;ition, let us take the particular application to our &s;elves: <HI>If you for&s;ake him, he will al&s;o for&s;ake you:</HI> our own hearts cannot but te&s;tifie again&s;t us, that there is a great for&s;aking of God in the middle of us: look but upon the generality of the Nation, and for all manner of pro|phane&s;s we go beyond the wor&s;t of times: and under a pretence of liberty, <HI>every man doth that which is right in his own eyes;</HI> and there is <HI>no ma&s;ter of re&s;traint to put them to &s;hame;</HI> It may be the fault is immediately to be laid upon inferiour officers, but ye know their neg|lects, and yet you do not force your own Laws: <HI>mi&s;era vis e&s;t valere ad nocendum;</HI> it is woful liberty, a liber|ty of &s;inning, the horrible oppre&s;&s;ions, &s;uch as have not been heard of: you have made an act again&s;t it, and what hath been done upon it? is it only to quiet the &s;pirts of the people? and to &s;top their mouthes for a time only? The oppre&s;&s;ions among&s;t you are horrible: the delayes of Ju&s;tice, putting things out of one hand into another: So that men know not when to have an end, that they rather chu&s;e to &s;it down in de&s;pair, and loo&s;e all, then follow bu&s;ine&s;&s;es of the greate&s;t con|cernment to them. And which of you in authority that have abundance of outward beings, in compari&s;on of many of your Brethren, can abate any thing of what you can exact for any place or employment that you have, becau&s;e of the cry that is among&s;t us, as <HI>Nehe|miah</HI>
<PB N="262" REF="159"> did? <HI>Nehem.</HI> 5.15. where is <HI>Nehemiahs</HI> &s;pirit? <HI>Former governours were chargeable to the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, be&s;ides forty &s;hekles of &s;il|ver,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>but &s;o did not I, becau&s;e of the fear of God:</HI> what abatement is there of mens &s;allaries and payes? they that have abundance otherwi&s;e, that formerly never had, and could &s;carce ever have hoped for &s;o much as now they have, and yet they cannot for the nece&s;&s;ity of their brethren abate any of it; and how &s;trangely car|nally confident are we? and ready <HI>to &s;acrifice to our own nets,</HI> and to &s;ay, <HI>Our own hand hath wrought the&s;e delive|rances for us:</HI> and we think we have an Army, and a Navy, that is able to defend again&s;t all our enemies; but let me tell you, if you live upon the&s;e, though they <HI>be as the breath of your no&s;trils, yet it &s;hall be as fire to con|&s;ume you,</HI> &amp;c. I&s;a. 33.11. Now as for the truths of God and his Ordinances, how are they for&s;aken? all the world do witne&s;s again&s;t us at this day: and though much hath been pre&s;&s;ed that way unto a &s;ettlement, yet nothing is done: there are &s;ome <HI>that are enemies unto this building:</HI> all e&s;tabli&s;hment in the things of God avoid|ed: and indu&s;triou&s;ly its ob&s;erved by &s;ome (I hope it will not prove a Prophe&s;ie) that in this Age only, the de&s;tructive work hath pro&s;pered in the hand of tho&s;e that &s;it at the &s;tern: but for the de&s;tructive work, let it be undertaken by whom it will, yet it hath never pro|&s;pered in any hand: therefore its feared, that Gods in|tention in this thing is only to de&s;troy, and that he re|&s;erves the glory of the building unto the generations to come: But it will be objected, is there not power enough in Religion to avenge it &s;elf? <HI>Religio contenta e&s;t viribus &s;uis; nec &s;poliata e&s;t vi &s;ua, etiam&s;i nullum habeat vindicem.</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.6. our weapons are in a readine&s;s
<PB N="263" REF="159"> to avenge all di&s;obedience; and it will be &s;aid, have not we made Laws again&s;t them? Laws again&s;t here|&s;ie, Laws again&s;t Bla&s;phemy? but what are dead Laws to living examples? we are exhorted <HI>Ioh.</HI> 3. <HI>not to re|ceive them into our hou&s;es, and not to bid them God &s;peed,</HI> &amp;c. Yet you know <HI>they bring not this Doctrine:</HI> and yet who are the men of your coun&s;els? who are admitted to your hou&s;es? received at your tables as your chief|e&s;t friends but &s;uch men? and tho&s;e that you know to be &s;uch men, that oppo&s;e and are profe&s;&s;ed enemies to the truths of God, in &s;uch things that you your &s;elves know to be truths: And will that maxime of <HI>Mariana</HI> bear you out? <HI>Princeps nil &s;tatuat de Religione:</HI> its true, Con&s;cience will &s;eek a bribe, if the mind be upon any thing, it will colour it over with fair pretences: but it is but a <HI>fig-leafe,</HI> and will appear &s;o before God: &s;urely you &s;hould walk in the waies of Godly Magi&s;trates who have gone before you. <HI>Now to which of the Saints will you turn?</HI> When did ever any good Magi&s;trate plead, that in the things of God, as a Magi&s;trate, he was not concerned?</P>
<P>But it will be &s;aid; All this is but begging the Que|&s;tion. For this &s;uppo&s;es that the Magi&s;trate is concer|ned in matters of Religion, which is the thing in doubt: I look not on it as &s;ea&s;onable to di&s;pute the thing now; only crave leave to offer a &s;ew con&s;iderations to you about it.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that which may provoke God to for&s;ake a Na|tion, that certainly Magi&s;trates are concerned in: But the things of Religion are the great things that provoke God to for&s;ake a Nation, in <HI>Ezek.</HI> 8.5. the Prophet &s;aith, <HI>they have &s;et up an Image of jealou&s;ie to provoke me
<PB N="264" REF="160"> to depart from my &s;anctuary:</HI> And the next news you hear is, <HI>God departs from the City.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, that which laies the foundation for the overthrow of Governors and Government, that Ma|gi&s;trates are concerned in; but corruption in Religion doth &s;o: take but the example of a heathen, in <HI>Ezr.</HI> 7.23. <HI>What&s;oever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the hou&s;e of the God of heaven; for why &s;hould there be wrath upon the Realm of the King and his &s;on?</HI> Nay con&s;ider but one man, its a &s;trange in&s;tance that <HI>Lachi&s;h</HI> &s;hould be called <HI>the Beginning of &s;in,</HI> in <HI>Mich.</HI> 1.13. <HI>Why, Lachi&s;h the Kenite carryed away Michals Gods;</HI> they conquered <HI>Lachi&s;h,</HI> and &s;et up the Idols there: this began in one man, and never cea&s;ed till it had de&s;troyed the whole Nation, brought the Captivity at la&s;t.</P>
<P>Nay I &s;hould de&s;ire to add one thing more; the neglects in this kind hath brought the greate&s;t Judge|ments upon the Church and people of God in the world: two or three in&s;tances I &s;hall give: What brought the <HI>Goths</HI> and <HI>Vandals</HI> upon the We&s;tern Empire? the neglect of the Arrian Here&s;ie. Becau&s;e <HI>the woman was not relieved,</HI> the Lord brought in tho&s;e barbarous Nati|ons for her &s;uccour: What brought in the <HI>Saracens</HI> up|on the Ea&s;tern part of the Empire? why corruption in Religion: <HI>they wor&s;hipped Images, and they repented not;</HI> What brought in Antichri&s;t, <HI>the temple of God becoming an outer Court?</HI> there was a general neglect of the things of God: and by this means Antichri&s;t aro&s;e: And <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> &s;aith, this year <NOTE PLACE="marg">Au&s;tin.</NOTE> <HI>Libertatem perditionis promi|&s;it. Iulian</HI> did &s;uffer all men to u&s;e their own Religion with freedom: leaving every one freely to de&s;troy
<PB N="265" REF="160"> them&s;elves: Let the&s;e things be con&s;idered, and I doubt not but it will appear that Magi&s;trates are &s;ome|what concerned in the things of God: if you were pre&s;t to any thing that did not &s;avour of truth, or were any way un&s;utable to the Go&s;pel, happily &s;omewhat might be &s;aid: But that which hath been pre&s;t upon you, is only this: Give te&s;timony for tho&s;e truths that you your &s;elves profe&s;s, and di&s;countenance the contrary errors: And I am &s;ure they that are mo&s;t tender in the&s;e things and &s;peak lea&s;t in it, &s;ay, <HI>Igne charitatis haeretici &s;unt comburendi,</HI> we mu&s;t burn the heretick with the fire of Charity: Love the man, but hate the error: but not to countenance the error by countenancing the man.</P>
<P>I &s;hould now pre&s;s you to con&s;ider the mi&s;ery that will come upon you by Gods for&s;aking us. I will only now &s;peak briefly to three things concerning it.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, if God for&s;ake us, all the creatures will for&s;ake us: as when God became an enemy at fir&s;t to mankind, all the creatures al&s;o did become their ene|my: it were no matter for the de&s;ertion of all the neighbouring Nations, though <HI>we were as a &s;peckled Bird unto them</HI> and they all hate us: yet, <HI>if God be with us, who can be again&s;t us?</HI> but, <HI>Tolle Deum &amp; nullus ero;</HI> if the <HI>glory of the Lord departed,</HI> then <HI>the Che|rubims lifted up their wings, and are gone:</HI> as the voice that was heard to &s;ay in the Temple the night before <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> was taken, <HI>Migremus hinc,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Secondly; if God for&s;ake us, all the creatures will break in upon us: God hath for&s;aken him, pur&s;ue him and take him: for his hedge, his fence is taken away: <HI>I will take away the hedge thereof,</HI> &s;hall the Lord &s;ay, and
<PB N="266" REF="161"> then a poor creature may comfort him&s;elf as <HI>Saul</HI> did in the creatures, <HI>honour me before the people,</HI> when <HI>the Lord had rejected him;</HI> but it is but cold comfort for a man &s;o to do; for thy own &s;ervants will then become thy enemies.</P>
<P>Thirdly, there is no one thing that afflicts and affects a gracious heart more then de&s;ertions; either in Church or &s;tate, or his own &s;oul, he fears nothing el&s;e; all that <HI>David</HI> &s;till prayes for, is <HI>O Lord, for&s;ake me not: Oh for|&s;ake me not utterly; Lord be not thou far from me:</HI> there is this difference commonly between a godly man and a wicked man: the one fears Gods puni&s;hments: but the other fears Gods departure: and therefore <HI>Au&s;tin,</HI> It is as with a cha&s;t wife and a harlot: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Au&s;tin.</NOTE> they both fear their husbands; <HI>Haec ne veniat; illa ne decedat:</HI> And the rea&s;on is, becau&s;e the one &s;eeks only ble&s;&s;ings from God; and the other only &s;eeks communion with God; and if he had never &s;o much from God, yetif he be denyed to <HI>&s;eek his face denyed fellow&s;hip with him,</HI> and if the Lord do &s;o for&s;ake him, all things are bitter unto him, becau&s;e the joy of his heart is gone; &s;urely, if you go on <HI>to for&s;ake the Lord, he will for&s;ake you;</HI> but the de&s;ertion begins on your part; <HI>if you do not for&s;ake him, he will not for&s;ake you;</HI> therefore &s;o far as you have back|&s;lided from God, return to him, and you have this pro|mi&s;e, <HI>I will heal your back&s;lidings.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="267" REF="161">
<HEAD>THE DOCTRINE Of the Iews Vocation.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>Preached at <HI>Gregories</HI> Lecture.</DATELINE></OPENER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>ROM. 11.26.</BIBL>
<P>And &s;o all I&s;rael &s;hall be &s;aved, as it is written, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THe Apo&s;tle having &s;poken in the clo&s;e of the former Ch. of the vocation of the Gentiles, <HI>I was found of them that &s;ought me not;</HI> &amp; of the rebellious, under which is implyed the rejection of the Jews, <HI>all the day long have I &s;tretched out my hands to a di&s;obedient and gain-&s;aying
<PB N="268" REF="162"> people:</HI> he clo&s;es the Di&s;cour&s;e in this Chapter, and makes of this Chapter three parts; fir&s;t, <HI>Con&s;olatoria; he hath not ca&s;t off his people,</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>&egrave; con&s;pectu amo|vere:</HI> he hath ca&s;t them off, but not &s;o as he will never look after them again; he hath not &s;o ca&s;t them off: for there is even among&s;t them, and to come out of their loins, who are at pre&s;ent rejected, <HI>a &s;eed according to the election of grace,</HI> though tho&s;e four great Judgements threatned are come upon them: there is <HI>poured upon them the Spirit of a deep &s;leep</HI> unto this day: <HI>their table is made a &s;nare:</HI> and <HI>their eyes are darkned that they &s;ee not:</HI> and <HI>they do alwaies bow down their backs;</HI> but the&s;e Judgements &s;hall not alwaies lie upon them, becau&s;e they are dear unto God, <HI>according to the election of grace: the Lord hath not ca&s;t off his people whom he knew be|fore.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Hortatoria:</HI> If the Jews were broken off, that were <HI>the natural branches,</HI> yet let not the Gentiles boa&s;t again&s;t the branches broken off: <HI>be not high|minded but fear: for if God &s;pared not the natural branches,</HI> take heed le&s;t he &s;pare not thee al&s;o: behold therefore the goodne&s;s, and &s;everity of God; towards thee good|ne&s;s, if thou continue in <HI>his goodne&s;s; if not,</HI> thou &s;halt al&s;o be cut off.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>Prophetica:</HI> and that is of the grafting in of the Jews again, the natural branches, if they continue not in their unbelief of what the &s;tate of the Jews &s;hould be when the Lord again &s;hall return to them in mercy, and <HI>build up the Tabernacle of David that is fal|len down:</HI> and this he doth U&s;her in with a <HI>praemium,</HI> as being a great truth, and that which he would have &s;pe|cially ob&s;erved, <HI>I would not have you ignorant of this my|&s;terie:</HI> What is a my&s;terie? a my&s;terie is &s;omething
<PB N="269" REF="162"> made known by Revelation, and can be known no other way: it is from the word <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>Phil.</HI> 4.12. <HI>I am in&s;tructed from heaven:</HI> a truth which the Apo&s;tle had been taught by divine Revelation: and though much of this is &s;poken of and foretold in the Scripture, yet there is a &s;pirit of Revelation that mu&s;t go to the open|ing thereof, or el&s;e he could never have under&s;tood it him&s;elf, nor been able to reveal it or di&s;cover it to others: its true, it was abundantly revealed in the Scri|ptures: and when it was di&s;covered to the Apo&s;tles, they could &s;ee clear Scripture for it, but not till then: they are my&s;teries till the Lord plea&s;e to enlighten the under&s;tanding to know the&s;e my&s;teries: and therefore as the calling of the Gentiles is &s;aid to be <HI>a my&s;terie hid in God from Ages and from Generations,</HI> and made known only by Revelation, <HI>Eph.</HI> 3.4,5,6. <HI>&s;c.</HI> that the Gen|tiles &s;hould be fellow-heirs with the &s;ame body, and partakers of the Promi&s;e of Chri&s;t by the Go&s;pel; the calling of the Gentiles, though abundantly fore|told in the Scripture, was a my&s;terie unto the Jews, that they under&s;tood it not; and &s;o the calling of the Jews may &s;eem al&s;o a my&s;terie unto the Gentiles, till the Lord reveal it unto them; <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tom</HI> &s;o calls the Doctrine of the Jews calling, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chry&s;o&s;tom</NOTE> a paradox, and &s;trange thing; A &s;trange and a wonder|ful thing, and he that doth publi&s;h it, &s;hall &s;eem at fir&s;t to preach a paradox and a new Doctrine: But what is this my&s;terie? <HI>Blindne&s;s in &s;pirit is hapned unto I&s;rael, until the fulne&s;s of the Gentiles &s;hall come in:</HI> that is the my&s;terie: <HI>Blindne&s;s is in part come upon them,</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">. There are three Interpretations, and all true. Fir&s;t, <HI>non omnibus,</HI> it is not come upon all I&s;rael, but upon a part; and &s;o it is to &s;peak as the Apo&s;tles manner is, <HI>molli locutione,</HI>
<PB N="270" REF="163"> though it came upon a great part of them, and in com|pari&s;on, there were but a few converted unto the faith of Chri&s;t, yet he &s;aith it came not upon all, but upon part of them only, the whole Nation were not ca&s;t away, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>Chry&s;o&s;t.</HI> there are many of them now do believe, and many of them hereafter &s;hall believe: and therefore it is not come upon all the Jews, for God had mercy on many in tho&s;e primitive times; In&s;omuch that the fir&s;t glori|ous Chri&s;tian Church, was a Jewi&s;h Church: Blind|ne&s;s is therefore but in part. Secondly, <HI>non omnino:</HI> it is not a blindne&s;s in all things, but in re&s;pect of this one particular, to &s;ee Je&s;us Chri&s;t to be the Me&s;&s;iah, and the Saviour of the world, the con&s;olation of I &s;rael which they expected and waited for; in this re&s;pect they were under a judicial blindne&s;s: they that were other|wi&s;e, <HI>Ie&s;huron, the &s;eeing people,</HI> and they that had <HI>lived in the valley of Vi&s;ion,</HI> and knew more of the mind of God then all the Nations of the earth be&s;ides, for <HI>in Iudah is God known and his name is great in I&s;rael,</HI> &amp;c. &s;o that there is a particular blindne&s;s in Judgement; that as God may and doth hide &s;ome objects from a people, as he did <HI>Lots</HI> door from the <HI>Sodomites,</HI> and &s;o the Di&s;ciples that conferr'd with Chri&s;t, <HI>their eyes were held that they might not know him;</HI> &s;o the Lord doth in Judgement hide &s;ome Truths &amp; &s;ome Doctrines from men, that they &s;hal not &s;ee them; 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.15. to this day when <HI>Mo&s;es is read, there is a vail upon their hearts,</HI> that is, in reference unto Chri&s;t, and the things of Chri&s;t, which are foretold and &s;poken of in the Old Te&s;ta|ment; but when they &s;hall turn to the Lord, <HI>the vail &s;hall be taken away,</HI> &amp;c. and &s;o, though they know much of the Law and the mind of God, in re&s;pect of moral
<PB N="271" REF="163"> duties, and the wor&s;hip of the Lord required of them, yet the intent of the&s;e, either as Chri&s;t was hid in the one, or <HI>as the other was a Schoolma&s;ter to bring unto Chri&s;t,</HI> &s;o they had a blindne&s;s upon their hearts: <HI>a blindne&s;s &s;o in part was come upon them in re&s;pect of the object:</HI> thus we may often note; men may be knowing in &s;ome things, and yet have on them particular blindne&s;s in others. Thirdly, in re&s;pect of the time, it &s;hall be but in part, not a continual, or everla&s;ting blindne&s;s; though it hath been a long and dreadful de&s;ertion as ever came upon any people, never was any the like, therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>wrath is come upon them <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">wordE the uttermo&s;t,</HI> 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 2.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">6. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> which may be either under&s;tood of tho&s;e particular per&s;ons, as <HI>Beza</HI> &s;aies, who did oppo&s;e the pre&s;ent mini&s;terie, and &s;o wra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> might come upon them for ever to eternity: an everla&s;t|ing de&s;truction, refer'd unto the particular per&s;ons who did maliciou&s;ly oppo&s;e the preaching of the Go&s;pel; or el&s;e it may be under&s;tood <HI>de atrocitate paenae;</HI> and &s;o the word is u&s;ed, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.13. <HI>Hope to the end,</HI> or hope per|fectly; but the end is commonly put for the fini&s;hing of any particular di&s;pen&s;ation; &s;o the end of judge|ment upon the Jews, <HI>Dan.</HI> 9.24,26. and <HI>Luke</HI> 21.9. <HI>the end is not by and by;</HI> and &s;o the end of any Judge|ment or di&s;pen&s;ation; the end of the admini&s;tration of the Kingdom of Chri&s;t: 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.24. <HI>then cometh the end; Dan</HI> 12.9. <HI>Seal the Book till the time of the end;</HI> till the time that God hath appointed for the calling of the Jews, and the fulfilling of this my&s;terie, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 4.7. <HI>the end of all things is at hand;</HI> the total de&s;olation of the Jewi&s;h &s;tate and wor&s;hip, not of the end of the world is it &s;poken; So 1 <HI>Iohn</HI> 2.18. <HI>This is the la&s;t time;</HI> we read, This is the la&s;t hour; of what?
<PB N="272" REF="164"> of the world? no, but of this di&s;pen&s;ation to the Jewi&s;h &s;tate, before their utter ruine; So, <HI>wrath is come upon them to the end;</HI> till the time that the Lord hath appointed when they &s;hall be called, and then the Lord <HI>will cau&s;e his fury to depart from them;</HI> and that &s;hall be, <HI>when the fulne&s;s of the Gentiles &s;hall come in,</HI> then the wrath upon the Jews &s;hall end, and continue no longer; but when the fulne&s;s of the Gentiles is come in, then &s;hall the blindne&s;s of the Iews be taken off: and <HI>they &s;hall be again ingrafted into their own Olive-Tree,</HI> that is, they that were called <HI>Loammi,</HI> and were not a Church unto God, but were ca&s;t off and <HI>termed de&s;olate and for|&s;aken,</HI> they &s;hall become a Church unto God again, and <HI>&s;o all I&s;rael &s;hall be &s;aved.</HI> By all I&s;rael, there is a double &s;en&s;e of it.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, &s;ome refer it only to the Iews, and &s;o <HI>all I&s;rael,</HI> is as much as <HI>tota gens I&s;raelitica,</HI> that whereas before, even in the time they were broken off, and the Gen|tiles grafted in, and &s;urrogated in their place, there were many particular per&s;ons converted of the Jews, and they were brought home unto Chri&s;t, and added unto the true Church of Chri&s;t, but yet the Nation &s;till re|mained under blindne&s;s, as rejected by Chri&s;t &s;till; but now, that mercy which was before &s;hewed unto parti|cular per&s;ons, &s;hall now become National, and it &s;hall take in the body of the Iewi&s;h Nation, which is yet pre&s;erved in their di&s;per&s;ions in great multitudes, unto <HI>this great day of Je&s;reel;</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">So <HI>Beza. Par.</HI> &amp;c.</NOTE> and they &s;ay, El&s;e the Apo&s;tle had revealed no &s;uch great my&s;terie, to &s;ay, that when as blindne&s;s was removed from the Iews, then the ful|ne&s;s of the Gentiles that come in to the faith, &s;hall be &s;aved, and a great number of the Iews; for it was plain that the Gentiles were converted and brought
<PB N="273" REF="164"> home daylie; but the &s;ubject the Apo&s;tle had in the words, is to &s;peak of the coming in of the Jews which &s;hould be as a new re&s;urrection, and there|fore they under&s;tood it not of &s;piritual <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> but of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> according to the fle&s;h; others do under&s;tand it of the whole <HI>I&s;rael</HI> of God, that is, of the whole Church of God; which &s;hall be made up of Jewes and Gentiles, when it &s;hall be <HI>pre&s;ented by Christ unto the Father, without &s;pot or wrincle, &amp;c.</HI> And it is a &s;peech like unto that <HI>John</HI> 10. <HI>Other &s;heep I have which are not of this fold, them I mu&s;t bring in, and the&s;e &s;hall be one fold, and have one &s;hepherd.</HI> What is there &s;poken of the conver&s;ion of the Gentiles, is here &s;poken of the conver&s;ion of the Jewes, &amp;c. and yet there is a my&s;tery revealed in it al&s;o, not to &s;ay that the Gentiles converted &s;hall be &s;aved, that was a thing commonly known, but that at the comming in of the Jewes, there &s;hall be a greater fullne&s;&s;e of the Gentiles brought in, and that the Gentile Church &s;hall be great gaines by the Jewi&s;h convertion; that <HI>as their ca&s;ting off was the inriching of the wor<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">d, &s;o their comming in &s;hould be life from the dead;</HI> and that there &s;hould be a great addition to the comming in of the Gentiles, and a &s;econd fulne&s;s of them brought in at the conver&s;ion of the Iewes and &s;o <HI>all I&s;rael &s;hall be &s;aved,</HI> not onely natural <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and tho&s;e that were &s;urrogated and ingraffed into their Room, but al&s;o tho&s;e that are &s;upperaded unto both the&s;e; For as is &s;aid, <NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 60 3.</NOTE> <HI>the Gentiles &s;hal come unto thy light, and Kings to the brightne&s;&s;e of thy ri&s;ing. I will &s;end tho&s;e that &s;cape of them unto the Nations unto Ta<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;hi&s;h, Pull, and Lud to Tubal, and Javan, to the I&s;les a far off, that have not heard my fame, nor &s;een my glory, and they &s;hall de|clare my glory among the Gentiles,</HI> E&s;a. 66.19. So that
<PB N="274" REF="165"> when the fullne&s;&s;e of the Gentiles that God had ap|poynted before their call &s;hall come in; then blind|ne&s;&s;e &s;hall be take off from <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and they &s;hall be converted to the Lord in a great multitude, A national way, that they &s;hall become a Church unto Chri&s;t, being <HI>ingraffed into their own Olive tree;</HI> and then &s;hall there come in a greater <HI>fulne&s;s of the Gen|tiles,</HI> even of many that never heard of the name of the Lord, and &s;o <HI>all I&s;rael &s;hall be &s;aved;</HI> but indeed the en&s;uing promi&s;e doth &s;eem to re&s;train it onely into natural <HI>I&s;rael;</HI> For it <HI>is a Redeemer &s;hall come to Sion, and he that turnes away the iniquity from Jacob,</HI> E&s;a. 59.20. <HI>And this is the Covenant that I will make with them, when I &s;hall pardon their &s;ins;</HI> and &s;o it re|fers all unto <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> that is, unto the Iews; and <HI>all I&s;rael</HI> is ment not a &s;prinkling, &amp; &s;ome few fir&s;t fruits but the whole crop; and whereas before he had &s;aid that <HI>blindne&s;s came but in part upon them,</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, Now he &s;aith when their deliverance &s;hall come, it &s;hall come <HI>unto all I&s;rael,</HI> even unto the whole Nati|on, for <HI>their iniquities &s;hall be turned away</HI> by God, and <HI>they al&s;o &s;hall turn from their iniquities: All I&s;rael &s;hall be &s;aved:</HI> not every particular per&s;on, but a Na|tional conver&s;ion. <HI>All I&s;rael,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Beeing to treat of the comming in of the Iewes, when all <HI>I&s;rael</HI> &s;hall be brought in; there are many heads unto which all may be reduced, which orderly the Scripture &s;peaks there, which I &s;hall briefly in a &s;umme <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, &s;et before you at this time; that I may be at lea&s;t an occa&s;ion of enquiry into each of them, and thereby happily light may be encrea|&s;ed.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, there &s;hall be National conver&s;ion of the Iewes, wherein a great, if not the greate&s;t part of
<PB N="275" REF="165"> the Nation of the Iewes that are re&s;erved, &s;hall be turned unto the Lord. This &s;ome oppo&s;e, a Con|ver&s;ion they grant, but a National Conver&s;ion it mu&s;t not be.</P>
<P>Secondly, this Conver&s;ion &s;hall be in the height of their mi&s;ery, when there &s;hal be the greate&s;t mi|&s;ery and affliction upon them, that ever was &s;ince their di&s;per&s;ion; <HI>There &s;hall be a time of trouble, &s;uch as there never was &s;ince they were a Nation unto the &s;ame time; and at that time, Daniels people &s;hall be deliver|ed, as many as are found written in the book,</HI> Dan. 12.1. when they &s;hall <HI>be dry bones, and all hope &s;hall be pa&s;t with them,</HI> that they &s;hall &s;ay, <HI>our bones are dry bones, our hope is pa&s;t, and we are cut off for our part; then the dry bones &s;hall live, and they that &s;leep in the du&s;t &s;hall awake,</HI> Ezek. 37.11.12. <HI>Behold, Oh my people, I will open your graves, and cau&s;e you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of I&s;rael.</HI> That's the Lords time of love above all other times, when men lie wallowing in their blood; when their hopes &s;hall be lowe&s;t, their Redemption &s;hall be near.</P>
<P>Thirdly, when they are converted, they &s;hall re|turn unto Chri&s;t, and embrace him whom they for|merly crucified and rejected, &s;aying, <HI>we will not have this man to rule over us,</HI> and <HI>his blood be upon us and our Children;</HI> but there &s;hall come a time, when <HI>I&s;rael and Judah &s;hall be gathered together,</HI> (which ne|ver yet was &s;ince their rejection) <HI>and they &s;hal appoint to them&s;elves one head,</HI> Ho&s;. 1.11. and this head can be no other then Chri&s;t, whom they &s;hall then by their own election appoint to be as a Head or a King over them: its true that he was appointed by the Fa|ther in his eternal decree, and in the covenant made between the Father and the Son before the World
<PB N="276" REF="166"> was, as he him&s;elf &s;aith, <HI>I was &s;et up from everla&s;ting:</HI> it cannot be &s;poken of him as he is God, for it is <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> I <HI>was appointed,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov 8.2.3.</NOTE> whch mu&s;t refer into the of|fice into which he was de&s;igned from eternity by the Father, it is the &s;ame word u&s;ed <HI>P&s;.</HI> 26. <HI>I have &s;et my King upon my holy hill of Sion;</HI> but now their hearts &s;hall be brought about, and they <HI>that rejected the coun&s;el of God again&s;t them&s;elves,</HI> and would not have him to be their head, whom the Lord had ap|pointed; now they &s;hall al&s;o chu&s;e the &s;ame, and con&s;ent unto him; <HI>they &s;hall appoint unto them&s;elves o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e head, &amp;c. In that day &s;hall there be a Fountain o|pen unto the hou&s;e of David, and the inhabitants of Je|ru&s;alem for &s;in and for uncleanne&s;s, Zach.</HI> 13.1. it is &s;poken of the day of their conver&s;ion, as appeares by what goes before in the former Chapter; then &s;hall <HI>Chri&s;t become the glory of his people I&s;rael;</HI> hee was their glory, becau&s;e that <HI>of them, according to the fle&s;h Chri&s;t came, Rom.</HI> 9. But now they &s;hall chu&s;e him as their glory, and they &s;hall rejoyce and glory in him, and they &s;hall in their return <HI>&s;eek the Lord and David their King,</HI> Ho&s;. 3.5. that is, they &s;hall &s;eek God aright, according to the way of the Go&s;pel, and with Go&s;pel apprehen&s;ions, they &s;hall not onely &s;eek the Lord from whom they have grievou&s;ly re|volted; but they &s;hall &s;eek him in Chri&s;t, and they &s;hal come to him in the way that he hath appointed; that is, in Chri&s;t, and unto Chri&s;t &s;hall they come.</P>
<P>Fourthly, at their conver&s;ion, there &s;hall be wrought in them a great and a national humiliation <HI>Jer.</HI> 31.18.19. <HI>I was a&s;hamed and confounded be|cau&s;e I did bear the reproach of my youth, Ho&s;.</HI> 14.8. <HI>Ephraim &s;hall &s;ay, What have I doe any more with Idols? I have heard him and ob&s;erved him, &amp;c.</HI> Zach. 12.10.
<PB N="277" REF="166"> <HI>I will pour upon the hou&s;e of David, and the inhabitants of Jeru&s;alem the &s;pirit of Grace and &s;upplication, and they &s;hall look upon him whom they have pierced; and they &s;hall mourn for him, and be in bitterne&s;s for him, as for an only &s;on, as he that mourns for his fir&s;t b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">rn: There &s;hal be a great mourning, as the mourning of Ha|dadrimmon, &amp;c.</HI> Jer. 31.8,9. <HI>Behold I wil bring them from the North country, &amp; wil gather them from the ends of the Earth, and they &s;hal come with weeping, and with &s;upplication: I wil lead them to Sion, they &s;hal come, but with weeping and &s;upplications,</HI> &amp;c. But is not this &s;po|ken of their return from <HI>Babylon?</HI> How can it? did they come out of Captivity weeping? It cannot be meant fully of that return, though there are dif|ferent degrees of the accompli&s;hment of prophe&s;ies; but if we look to ver&s;e 1. <HI>At the &s;ame time, &s;aith the Lord, I wil be the God of all the Tribes of I&s;rael; and they &s;hal be my people;</HI> Which can hardly be imagi|ned unto the ten Tribes, in that return to be fulfil|led; for they did never return from the land of their Captivity unto this day. There were but two Tribes returned from <HI>Babylon,</HI> we never read of the return of the ten Tribes. They went into Capti|vity with weeping, and with weeping &s;hall they re|turn. But if &s;o it &s;hall be &s;orrow under &s;uffering in the one, and under the &s;ight and apprehen&s;ion of their &s;in in the other.</P>
<P>Fifthly, the Scripture &s;eems to &s;peak, as if the great meanes of their Conver&s;ion, &s;hould not be by the preaching of the Go&s;pel, as the Gentile Churches are brought home unto the Lord, but that it &s;hall be <HI>by &s;ight, and by a vi&s;ible appearance of the Lord Je&s;us unto them.</HI> I &s;hall a&s;&s;ert nothing po&s;&s;itively in it, onely give me leave to &s;et before you &s;ome Scrip|tures
<PB N="278" REF="167"> that &s;eem fully to &s;peak &s;o much, <HI>Zach.</HI> 12.10. <HI>They &s;hall look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn.</HI> And that it is not barely a &s;piritual looking upon him with an eye of faith, &s;uch as the holy Gho&s;t calls, <HI>Joh.</HI> 6.40. <HI>Seeing the Son, and belie|ving on him,</HI> but that it is a bodily vi&s;ion, and to &s;ee him with bodily eyes; for <HI>Dan.</HI> 7.13. there is the <HI>Son of man comming in the clouds of heaven brought to the ancient of days, to receive a Kingdome.</HI> What Kingdom; &s;ure his Davidical Kingdom, when he <HI>&s;hall &s;it on the throne of his Father David.</HI> When Chri&s;t receives this Kingdom, it is not as he receives the &s;piritual Kingdom, and entred upon the admini&s;tration of the providential Kingdom that was <HI>by his &s;itting down at the right hand of his Father,</HI> and &s;o enter as man actually, upon the admini&s;tration of all things: for its plain, that to receive this King|dom which &s;hall be after the four bea&s;ts are de&s;troy|ed, <HI>He &s;hall come in the Clouds of Heaven, and they &s;hall bring him unto the ancient of dayes:</HI> he comes atten|ded with the Angels, and they <HI>bring him unto the ancient of days;</HI> its true, that <HI>Gods comming in the Clouds, his riding upon the Clouds;</HI> its that which notes out the eminent, vi&s;ible, glorious appearance, of his Maje&s;ty: but its the appearance here of Chri&s;t, as he is the <HI>Son of man,</HI> which I conceive is never found to be &s;o u&s;ed in the Scripture, but at the la&s;t day, the <HI>Lord Je&s;us &s;hall appear in the clouds when he comes to judgement.</HI> As &s;poken of a vi&s;ible appea|rance; &s;o this al&s;o &s;hall be, and &s;o much haply is meant, <HI>Mat.</HI> 4.30.31. <HI>Then &s;hall appear the &s;igh of the Son of man in Heaven, and then &s;hall ye &s;ee the Son of man comming in the clouds of Heaven:</HI> I know its a perplexing Scripture, yet haply is meant this ap|pearance
<PB N="279" REF="167"> of the Son of man, not to judgement, but as a &s;igne that the judgement is neer: that which they may be as truly a&s;&s;ured of, as the husband-man can be, that the <HI>&s;ummer is neer, when he &s;ees the fig|tree put forth leaves, &amp;c.</HI> and therefore I &s;hould ra|ther conceive there is meant the appearance of Chri&s;t in the clouds for the conver&s;ion of the Iewes, and to receive a Kingdom, rather then his appearance at the day of judgement, when he mu&s;t &s;hortly give up the Kingdom; and I am induced rather to think &s;o, becau&s;e it follows, <HI>and he will &s;end the Angels with a great &s;ound of a Trumpet, and they &s;hall gather together the elect from the four windes.</HI> Which is, I do not conceive to be re&s;treined unto the day of judgement, though the Apo&s;tle doth &s;o &s;peak al&s;o <HI>of the general Re&s;urrection,</HI> 1 Cor. 15.52. <HI>The Trum|pet &s;hall &s;ound, and the dead &s;hall be rai&s;ed, the Lord &s;hall de&s;cend from Heaven with a &s;hout, with the voice of the Archangel, and the trumpet of God,</HI> 1 The&s;. 4.16. But when this Trumpet &s;hall &s;ound, all the Nations &s;hall be rai&s;ed, bad as well as good, Elect as well as Reprobate, and they &s;hall all awake unto judge|ment; but this is a Trumpet, that <HI>gathers onely the Elect from the four winds:</HI> therefore it &s;eemes that none &s;hall hear this trumpet but the <HI>Elect;</HI> and that it &s;hall &s;ound unto them as &s;uch, and &s;hall never reach unto the Reprobate, and that in&s;truments of mercy or judgement are called <HI>Angels</HI> is ordinary, and that what the Lord doth eminently, and pub|lickly and dreadfully make known his glory to them, with the &s;ound of a Trumpet, is clear, <HI>Rev.</HI> 1.10. &amp; 4.1. and therefore it may be &s;poken of the Lords gathering in the Elect of the Iewes, <HI>ha|ving not ca&s;t off whom he knew before,</HI> who are now
<PB N="280" REF="168"> &s;cattered, even into the four windes of Heaven: and therefore there is that which &s;eems to incline unto this, of the conver&s;ion of the Iewes at fir&s;t, &s;hall be by &s;ight and by appearance of the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t vi&s;ibly in the clouds of Heaven, and &s;o <HI>Pauls</HI> con|ver&s;ion &s;hould be as the fir&s;t fruits, the Lord &s;et|ting forth him as a pattern to the whole Nation; his conver&s;ion was by a &s;ight of Chri&s;t from Heaven: <HI>and a glorious light that &s;hone round about him:</HI> and &s;o its probable there &s;hall al&s;o be, but yet not all of them &s;o converted, but the Lord will take &s;ome of them, and make them to be as Prie&s;ts unto the Lord, and they &s;hall declare his glory among&s;t the Gentiles, and &s;hall be in&s;trumental in gathering of them, and they &s;hall al&s;o bring in their brethren, (that is) &s;ay &s;ome, the unconverted Gentiles, which &s;hall be as brethren, then all the differences between them, being taken away. Others more properly re|fer it unto the Iewes, the remainder of them not brought in the fir&s;t grand conver&s;ion of the Nati|on: for it is &s;aid, <HI>They &s;hall bring all their brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all Nations, upon Hor|&s;es and Charriots, and upon wild bea&s;ts unto my holy mountain;</HI> So that it may be &s;ome of them &s;hall be converted by the appearance of Chri&s;t, and others of them by the preaching of the Go&s;pel, by tho&s;e that are among&s;t them converted: that their brethren going forth to them, and declaring to them the re|turning of God in wayes of grace unto their Nati|on, and the great things that he hath done for them, and &s;o they having a <HI>&s;pirit of grace poured out upon them,</HI> &s;hall al&s;o be brought as an offering to the Lord.</P>
<P>Sixthly, The manner of their calling &s;hall be ex|ceeding
<PB N="281" REF="168"> eminent and glorious, unto the admirati|on of all Nations, that they &s;hall all &s;ee how the Lord hath honoured them, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 60.1. <HI>The glory of the Lord is ri&s;en upon them,</HI> Ho&s;. 1.11. <HI>Great &s;hall be the day of Ji&s;reel,</HI> it &s;hall be a glorious day, that which &s;hall make them honorable in the eyes of all the Nations of the Earth: that <HI>ten men out of every Nation under Heaven &s;hall lay hold of the &s;cirt of a Jew, and &s;hall &s;ay, we will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.</HI> P&s;. 10.2.16. <HI>When the Lord &s;hall build up Sion, he will appear in Glory;</HI> they &s;hall have glorious appearances of him, &s;uch as no people ever had, and this &s;hall make <HI>them to be the de&s;ire of all people,</HI> as they have had a great day of mi&s;ery, &s;o a great and glorious day of their delive|rance &s;hall come, to the a&s;toni&s;hment and amaze|ment of the Nations: and there are many great rea&s;ons that it mu&s;t be a great day; but I cannot in|&s;i&s;t upon them.</P>
<P>Seventhly, the time of their calling &s;hall be when <HI>the fulne&s;s of the Gentiles is come in, blindne&s;s &s;o long is happened unto them:</HI> when the four Monarchs are ca&s;t down to du&s;t in the period of them, <HI>Dan.</HI> 7.12.13.14. after the de&s;truction of Antichri&s;t, when <HI>the little horn is &s;lain, and his body given unto the burning flame;</HI> now <HI>he comes to receive a Kingdom of the ancient of days;</HI> and it &s;hall be when <HI>the &s;eventh Angels Trumpet &s;hall &s;ound,</HI> then <HI>the Kingdoms and Nations under the whole Earth, become the Kingdoms of the Lord and his Chri&s;t,</HI> Rev. 11.16. which is from the &s;etting up, <HI>the abomination of de&s;olation, the</HI> 1290. <HI>days,</HI> which &s;hal be the year of the Iews redemption, <HI>Dan.</HI> 12.11. which is to be fini&s;hed four thou&s;and year after which is 1335. daies, but the&s;e are times <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hat I cannot now &s;peak to.</P>
<PB N="282" REF="169">
<P>Eighthly, then &s;hall be among&s;t them a glorious Church, in which the pre&s;ence of the Lord &s;hall dwell, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 37.27. <HI>I will &s;et my Tabernacle among them for ever more.</HI> And el&s;ewhere, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 48. ult</NOTE> <HI>the name of the City &s;hal be, Jehovah &s;hammah, the Lord is there.</HI> Rev. 21.3. <HI>The Tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them;</HI> and it is not in Heaven, for it is <HI>new Je|ru&s;alem that comes down from God out of Heaven:</HI> and <HI>the Kings of the earth &s;hall bring their glory to it, and the glory of the Lord and of the Lamb &s;hall be</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>the light of it,</HI> and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 21.12.</NOTE> <HI>twelve Angels at the gates:</HI> and there &s;hall be no u&s;e of the &s;ervice of the Angels in Heaven, they are <HI>&s;ent forth as mini&s;tring &s;pirits for the good of the Elect.</HI> But when they are gathered in, as their Kindom begins with the Kingdom of Chri&s;t, &s;o &s;hall it end al&s;o; for he <HI>will put down all rule, au|thority and power:</HI> it is to be under&s;tood, <HI>Etiam de principatu Angelico,</HI> as well as of any other. And they &s;hall have the pure&s;t Ordinances, <HI>Rivers of water of Life, that is clear as Chri&s;tal, not running blood, not mixed with fire,</HI> Rev. 22.1. Not <HI>blood,</HI> as is the Doctrine of Antichri&s;t: nor mixt with <HI>Fire,</HI> either of affliction or contention, as are the doctrines of the reformed Churches, and then &s;hall be the ex|acte&s;t di&s;cipline, <HI>all that love and make a lye &s;hall be without:</HI> and the more of Gods order, the more of his pre&s;ence, and his ble&s;&s;ing: for they <HI>&s;hall &s;ee his face, and his name &s;hall bee written upon their fore|heads, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Ninthly, this Church of the converted Jewes &s;hall be the Mother Church, and &s;hall be exalted above all the Gentile Churches; <HI>the mountain of the Lords hou&s;e exalted above the tops of the mountains,</HI> Ezek. 16.61. <HI>then &s;halt thou be a&s;hamed when I &s;hall
<PB N="283" REF="169"> give thee thy &s;i&s;ters for daughters:</HI> all the Gentile Churches &s;hal know that they do receive, as the Law from them at the fir&s;t, &s;o now aboundance of light and nouri&s;hment; great di&s;coveries, of God and of his grace; <HI>for the light of the Moon &s;hall be as that of the Sun, and the light of the Sun &s;even-fold:</HI> and <HI>the Temple &s;hall be opened in Heaven,</HI> and <HI>you may &s;ee into the Ark of the Te&s;tament:</HI> all vailes &s;hall be taken a|way, both from the hearts of men, and the my&s;te|ries of God and the <HI>Abdita,</HI> the hidden things of God revealed, the which &s;hould then be made ful|ly manife&s;t. For he did not write the Word for the World to come, but for the Life that now is: and therefore <HI>there is nothing there hid, that &s;hall not be made manife&s;t;</HI> it &s;hall appear unto the world, that he wrote none of tho&s;e divine my&s;teries in the word in vain.</P>
<P>Tenthly, Then &s;hall follow great peace and pro|&s;perity in the world; all per&s;ecutions, either from Enemies without, or Tyrants within, &s;hall come to an end, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 34.25.26. <HI>I wil make with them a Co|venant of peace, and wil cau&s;e evil bea&s;ts to cea&s;e out of the Land, they &s;hall dwell &s;afely in the wilderne&s;s and &s;leep in the woods, E&s;a.</HI> 66.12. <HI>I will extend peace to her like a River</HI> that &s;hall never be dryed up: that when the enemies &s;hall look when it will be dry, it may be expected in vaine, <HI>Labitur &amp; labetur:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Zach. 14.11.</NOTE> <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> &s;hall be &s;afely inhabited, per&s;ecutions from without for the four Monarchs &s;hal bee de&s;troyed, and <HI>Satan &s;hall be bound, that he &s;hall not &s;tir them up to make war against the Saints,</HI> Rev. 20. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 45.8.</NOTE> becau&s;e their Princes before did &s;lay them, and not hold them|&s;elves guilty, make nothing of oppre&s;&s;ion, <HI>but now he &s;aith, my Princes &s;hall oppre&s;&s;e my people no more:</HI>
<PB N="284" REF="170"> a wall 12000 furlongs high, <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.16. and for pro&s;perity, E&s;a. 60.16.17. &amp;c, <HI>&s;he &s;hall &s;uck the milk of the Gentiles, and the bre&s;ts of Kings.</HI></P>
<P>Eleventhly, Over this people Ie&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hall in a glorious manner reign, and that in a more emi|nent manner then he hath done over the Churches of the Gentiles; for <HI>it is the Kingdom of David his Father</HI> which he is to &s;it on, a Kingdom which he is yet to receive, Ezek. 34.23.24. <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">zek. 37.25 Ezek. 21.26</NOTE> <HI>David my &s;ervant he &s;hall feed them, and rule over them: I will be their God, and David my &s;ervant as a Prince among&s;t them: when the dry bones are ri&s;en, David my &s;ervant &s;hall be their Prince for ever, remove the Diadem, &amp;c, he will overturn, overturn, overturne, and then will he come who&s;e right it is. The Scepter &s;hal depart from Judah, and they &s;hall be many days without a King:</HI> Any form of government of their own, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 34. and what then? <HI>they &s;hall &s;eek the Lord, and David their King. unto whom the Father hath committed all judgement, Joh.</HI> 5.22. and in a &s;pecial manner the Kingdoms and Nations over this people, that <HI>from his pre&s;ence their judgement is to go forth,</HI> and therefore he &s;hall in a more &s;pecial manner be <HI>be King of the Jews,</HI> as be|ing his own people, unto whom he hath a right of inheritance, more then he has over any people of the world be&s;ides, and yet I do confe&s;&s;e, I do not &s;ee light from the Scripture to a&s;&s;ert the per&s;onal reign of Chri&s;t upon Earth over them, and the Saints reigning with him in his per&s;on; I know <HI>Aliud e&s;t Chri&s;tu~ regnare in Sanctis; Aliud Sanctos regnare cum Chri&s;to:</HI> both &s;hall be in this life in &s;ome &s;en&s;e; but yet whether Chri&s;t &s;hall rule them by a per&s;onal re|&s;idence upon earth, is unto me &s;till a doubt; but this I &s;ay, the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t hath a peculiar right
<PB N="285" REF="170"> unto the Kingdom of the Jews, as he is of the &s;eed of <HI>David: And God will give him the Throne of his father</HI> David.</P>
<P>Twelfthly, The people &s;hall be exceeding ho|ly in this Church, walking in truth and &s;incerity; there is a <HI>form of Godline&s;s,</HI> but there is little of the <HI>power</HI> now, there &s;hall be much of the power of Godline&s;&s;e, of the life of Chri&s;t manife&s;ted in them; <HI>thy people &s;hall be all righteous, the branch of my planting that I may be glorified,</HI> E&s;ay 60.21. <HI>It is the Bride, the Lambs wife having the glory of the Lord upon her,</HI> Rev. 21.10,11. its true there &s;hall not be perfect holine&s;&s;e in the Saints, for <HI>there is a Tree of life for medicine as well as for meat,</HI> Rev. 22.2. and they &s;hall not be without Hypocrites, tho&s;e that &s;hall cleave unto them by flattery, but yet there &s;hall be a glorious &s;pirit of di&s;cerning even of them al&s;o, <HI>and they &s;hall be without,</HI> not onely <HI>that make,</HI> but <HI>they that do love a lie.</HI></P>
<P>Thirteenthly, This Church &s;hall have abun|dance of converts, and their Ordinances &s;hall be ex|ceeding fruitfull, to bring in &s;ouls into the Lord, Ezek. 37.9,10,11. <HI>Where the Waters come, every thing &s;hall live, and there &s;hall be a mul|titude of fi&s;h, even as that of the great Sea ex|ceeding many, thy Gates &s;hall be open continual|ly not &s;hut day nor night,</HI> that they may bring the riches <HI>of the Gentiles and their Kings &s;hall be brought, and they &s;hall flie as a Cloud, and as Doves unto their Windows,</HI> becau&s;e of the glorious Maje&s;ty of the Lord that is &s;een among&s;t them, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Fourteenthly, They &s;hall be brought home in|to their own land, and they &s;hall dwell there, they &s;hall dwell in their own Citie as in the days of
<PB N="286" REF="171"> old, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 12. Ezek. 37.25.</NOTE> <HI>Jeru&s;alem &s;hall be inhabited again in her own place even in Jeru&s;alem: they &s;hall dwell in the land that I gave to</HI> Jacob <HI>their father, wherein their fathers dwelt, they &s;hall dwell there even they and their Children, and Childrens Children for ever.</HI></P>
<P>Fifteenthly, There &s;hall be a perfect union be|tween the ten Tribes, and the two Tribes, and the hatred &s;hall depart, that breach was never yet made up, But then <HI>the &s;ticks &s;hall become one,</HI> Ezek. 37.19. <HI>The envy of Judah &s;hall depart, and</HI> Ephra|im <HI>&s;hall vex</HI> Judah <HI>no more: I wil gather them out of all Countries, whither I have driven them in my an|ger, and I wil give them one heart, and one way, and then</HI> Jehovah <HI>&s;hall be one, and his name one, &amp;c.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 32.39.</NOTE></P>
<P>Sixteenthly, They &s;hall be the great in&s;trument in the hand of the Lord, for to ruine and de&s;troy the Turki&s;h Empire, when the Lord &s;hall bend <HI>Judah</HI> for him, and fill his bow with <HI>Ephraim,</HI> Dan. 11.40.44. We read of <HI>the King of the South, whom tidings out of the North, and out of the Ea&s;t &s;hall trouble.</HI> There are &s;everal rea&s;ons, why by the King of the South, I conceive to be meant the Tur|ki&s;h Empire, as that which had the next power, and exerci&s;ed the next Tyranny over the Jews; and being come to a height, there is tidings from the Ea&s;t and North, troubling the gathering together of the Jews, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 37.7. when the bones came together, there was a great noi&s;e, and a &s;haking, and &s;tanding up, they became an exceeding great and formidable Army; and he &s;aith, that the&s;e bones are the hou&s;e of I&s;rael returning into their own land; here is the tidings that trouble the King of the South; there the Turk invadeth the glori|ous holy Mountain, and then he comes to an end,
<PB N="287" REF="171"> and none &s;hall help him: it is <HI>Euphrates mu&s;t be dried up to prepare the way for the Kings of the Ea&s;t,</HI> Rev. 16.12. that they may join them&s;elves with the We&s;tern Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P>Seventeenthly, At their returning to the Lord, there &s;hall be by them a wonderfull ble&s;&s;ing upon all the Gentile Churches, their gain &s;hall be much by it, they were gainers by the Jews rejection, their ca&s;ting off was the inriching of the World, their dimini&s;hing the riches of the Gentiles, <HI>how much more their fulne&s;&s;e,</HI> Rom. 11.12.15. it &s;hall be as life from the dead, it is not I conceive &s;poken of the Jews, that there comming in &s;hould be &s;udden|ly and by an act of almighty power as a re&s;urrecti|on, as it is re&s;embled, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 37. but it &s;hall be unto the Gentiles, as life from the dead; that is, as mi&s;ery is expre&s;t by death, &s;o all joy and happi|ne&s;&s;e is expre&s;t by life, it &s;hall be as it were a re&s;ur|rection, put a new face upon the world, that as it &s;hall be a glorious condition upon earth, when all the Saints &s;hall ari&s;e and &s;tand upon the earth with joy, being perfected in their graces, and in their faculties, &s;o &s;hall this be even unto the Gentiles, as well as unto the Jews, a re&s;urrection.</P>
<P>Eighteenthly, With the calling of the Jews, the Kingdome of the God of heaven &s;hall be &s;et up; that which is now &s;o commonly called the fifth Mo|narchy, &s;hall begin when the four Monarchies are de&s;troyed, which &s;hal be with the drying up the Ri|ver <HI>Euphrates,</HI> that is, the Turki&s;h Empire: Its true that Chri&s;t hath a Kingdome, during the rule of the Monarchies, in the dayes of tho&s;e Kings God doth &s;et up a Kingdome, but it is a little &s;tone and it breaks the Image by degrees, and then after|ward
<PB N="288" REF="172"> becomes a Mountain, and the Kingdome given unto the Saints of the mo&s;t high: Which in the Book of <HI>Dan.</HI> 7.27. its meant the Jews. who are every where called the holy people, not of the Gentile Saints, <HI>Dan.</HI> 8.24. and 12.7. and therfore it is they mu&s;t take the Kingdome and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e it, and it &s;hall be given to them, which is not wel applied by all that will call them&s;elves Saints and holy peo|ple, as if they were to take to them&s;elves the rule of all the Kingdomes of the world.</P>
<P>Nineteenthly, Unto this time the perfect ful|filling of all the prophe&s;ie of God doth belong: there are degrees of fulfilling the prophecies more or le&s;&s;e in all times; but its unto this that the per|fections of the World are re&s;erved, <HI>Rev.</HI> 10.7. its never before the 7^t^h Trumpet &s;ound, that the my|&s;tery of God is fini&s;hed; that is, all tho&s;e &s;ecrets that were in the bo&s;ome of God to perform, and which he revealed unto his &s;ervants the Prophets, all tho&s;e do not receive their full accompli&s;hment; all that God doth intend to do for his people in the advancement of his &s;on in this World, is now ful|filled and accompli&s;hed.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, And this glorious condition &s;hall continue unto this people unto the day of judge|ment; that they &s;hall &s;uffer no more, the Sun &s;hall no more go down, nor the Moon with|draw it &s;elf: <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 60.20. I will &s;et my Tabernacle in the middle of them for evermore, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 37.26. <HI>by an everla&s;ting covenant, and I will plant them in their own land with my whole heart, and my whole &s;oul:</HI> and <HI>I will never turn away from them to do them good; there &s;hall be no more &s;orrow, nor crying, all tears from their eyes &s;hal be wiped away, and no more cur&s;e as they
<PB N="283" REF="172"> formerly had,</HI> Rev. 22.4. <HI>they &s;hal be ca&s;t out of the land no more,</HI> &amp;c. There Sun did ri&s;e and &s;et, but now &s;hal go down no more: The&s;e things require fur|ther di&s;cu&s;&s;ing then one hour permits: But having laid down the&s;e things in the general, I hope it will ingage others to look further into them.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="doctrine">
<P>The fir&s;t by way of Doctrin on this time, <HI>There &s;hal be a great and a national conver&s;ion of the Jews unto the Lord;</HI> not here and there a man, but even multitudes of them, a whole Nation, all I&s;rael, the whole hou&s;e of I&s;rael &s;hal live, they that went before, were but as the fir&s;t fruits, Rom. 11.16. <HI>if the fir&s;t fruit be holy, &s;o is the lump,</HI> the harve&s;t, therefore all that have been converted is but as the fir&s;t fruits, in compari&s;on of the lump, the harve&s;t of that people are yet to come into God, I&s;. 66.8. <HI>the Earth brings forth in a day, and a Nation born at once,</HI> E&s;ay, 49.21. <HI>I was de&s;olate and left alone, who hath begotten me all the&s;e, where have they been?</HI> &amp;c. And the grounds are; Fir&s;t, they do many of them belong to the election of grace, <HI>God will not ca&s;t off his People whom hee knew before;</HI> and though we can &s;ee none, yet the Lord looks not as men look, he hath 7000 in <HI>I&s;rael, &amp;c.</HI> when a man cannot &s;ee one, and <HI>the Elect &s;hall attain mercy,</HI> for electing love wil follow a man til it overcome him, and pre|vail with him, and wil overcome.</P>
<P>2^d^l^y. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Au&s;trium Prede&s;tinatio electos ad gloriam u&s;&abque; producit.</NOTE> By rea&s;on of the covenant made with their fathers, <HI>they are beloved for their fathers &s;ake;</HI> its true God doth take children into their Parents co|venant, but they fir&s;t in the outward priviledges of the covenant, then God breaks them off from this al&s;o, but the Lord hath a time when the covenant &s;hal take place again, and it is by vertue of this cove|nant
<PB N="290" REF="173"> that they do attain mercy; the Lord remem|bring the covenant made with <HI>Abraham</HI> and with his &s;eed; and therefore he wil not ca&s;t away the whole &s;ociety in the latter dayes, he will return un|to them again, and a redeemer &s;hal come unto them there is a &s;eed of election runs through their fa|thers loyns, and when this &s;eed is brought forth, then for their fathers &s;ake they &s;hal be called.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>Such a conver&s;ion we &s;hould help forward by faith and prayer, and &s;o much the rather, becau&s;e the time approaches, the promi&s;es are even come un|to the birth, and they do draw on apace: Con&s;i|der the&s;e &s;ix things, fir&s;t how &s;weet wil the pre|&s;ence of God then be: 2. The Sun &s;hal be a&s;hamed and the Moon confounded, when the Lord &s;hal reign in Mount Sion, and in Jeru&s;alem and before his ancients gloriou&s;ly, <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 24. la&s;t. Then &s;hal it be &s;aid, <HI>the Tabernacle of God is with men.</HI> 2^d^l^y How glorious wil it be to &s;ee aboundance of Souls con|verted every one bearing twins, and not one barren among&s;t them, Rev. 15.8. No man was able to, enter into the Temple during the time of the Vi|als, now the &s;moke being gene many enter in. 3^d^l^y To &s;ee Grace acted in the life and in the glory of it, which is but little in the Chri&s;tian Church to &s;ee men walk in the povver of the holy Gho&s;t, be|ing as <HI>Ju&s;tin Martyr</HI> calls them, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, how lovely and amiable would the lives of Chri&s;tians be, it &s;hal be as life from the dead, as they that have known, nay, had experience in them|&s;elves of another re&s;urrection, &amp;c. 4^t^h^l^y To &s;ee &s;o many lie as dead, withered branches, upon whom the heart of God was &s;et, and were dear unto him, they pitied you, how much more &s;hould you pity
<PB N="291" REF="173"> them, that <HI>through your mercy they might attain mer|cy,</HI> Rom. 11.31. that is, by the &s;ight and the appre|hen&s;ion of the mercy that God hath &s;hewed unto you, they may be provoked for to look out for a part in the &s;ame mercy that was &s;hevved tovvards you, when you were lo&s;t, the &s;ame wil the Lord ex|tend unto them al&s;o, &amp;c. 5^t^h^l^y Con&s;ider that their comming in &s;hal be without your lo&s;s, your com|ming in was with their rejection, <HI>the natural bran|ches were broken off, that tho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> might&s;t be grafted in;</HI> we can knovv no rea&s;on for it, but admire the Wi&s;dom of God; as Chri&s;ts &s;pirit was not given, becau&s;e Chri&s;ts &s;pirit was not glorified, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> but novv you may be of <HI>the &s;ame Olive Tree,</HI> and you may be in <HI>the &s;ame fold,</HI> &amp;c. 6^t^h^l^y You have great benefits by it, you have much profit by their rejection, you &s;hal have more by their re&s;toration, <HI>even life from the dead</HI> to you, <HI>an inriching of the Gentiles</HI> with greater riches, then the Gentiles can inrich them, for the Lord Je&s;us will in a &s;pecial manner <HI>exalt the Kings of the Ea&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Some Objections are to be an&s;wered when God gives another opportunity. As then &s;uffer them to live among us, that they may have the Go&s;pel prea|ched to them, that's the way to their conver&s;ion, to bring them into our land.</P>
<P><LABEL>An&s;.</LABEL> Fir&s;t, if they be here, in providence we &s;hould not ca&s;t them out. 2. If the Jews did live among you, they were to have by the Law of God, no other liberty among Chri&s;tians, then the Jevvi&s;h Magi|&s;trates were to give the Heathens among the Jews: if they were here, as they were not, to &s;uffer the Gentiles among&s;t them, upon the account of aim|ing at their good, neither might we &s;uffer the&s;e a|mong
<PB N="286" REF="174"> us, not to abu&s;e their wor&s;hip, or &s;et up a fal&s;e wor&s;hip, prophane their Sabboth, or bla&s;pheme their God. This the Jews permitted not to the Gen|tiles, nor &s;hould the Gentiles now permit the Jews. 3. The &s;tage &amp; place of their conver&s;ion &s;hal not be in the We&s;tern parts of the world, where few of the~ are, but <HI>in the Ea&s;t and North,</HI> &amp;c. Dan. 11.44. its &s;aid, <HI>tydings out of the Ea&s;t and North &s;hal trouble them,</HI> as indeed their main re&s;idence is in tho&s;e parts. 4. It &s;hal not be by the preaching of the Go&s;pel, vvhich is the ordinary way for the Gentiles, but the Lord will do it in an extraordinary way, <HI>A Nation &s;hal be born at once;</HI> therfore the&s;e are but the weak plots or charitable mi&s;-apprehen&s;ions of men (in this) ignorant of the Scripture, and all Labours this way will be to no purpo&s;e, but let thy compa&s;&s;ion run out in faith and prayer, <HI>to bring the promi&s;e to the birth, &amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="289" REF="174">
<HEAD>Heedle&s;s SERVICE Vnacceptable.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>2 KINGS 10.31.</BIBL>
<P>But <HI>Jehu</HI> took no heed to walk in the way of the Lord God of I&s;rael with his heart: for he departed not from the &s;ins of <HI>Ieroboam</HI> which made I&s;rael to &s;in.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_IN the Text are three things principally contained. Fir&s;t, a great &s;ervice perform|ed by <HI>Iehu,</HI> both again&s;t the hou&s;e of <HI>Ahab.</HI> and the hou&s;e of <HI>Baal,</HI> with the Lords commendation of the &s;ame, ver. 30. <HI>that he had done well in executing that which was right
<PB N="290" REF="175"> in his eyes, and had done according to all that was in his heart.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, a great reward promi&s;ed by God in Re|compence of this &s;ervice; not <HI>ex precio operis,</HI> but <HI>ex lar|gitate donantis; thy children to the fourth Generation &s;hall &s;it upon the throne of I&s;rael:</HI> whoever is a labourer in Gods Vine-yard, &s;hall not go away without his penny, <HI>Mat.</HI> 20. God will &s;ay, <HI>Call the labourers and give them their hire:</HI> yea to &s;hew that he loves righteou&s;ne&s;s, the un|holy &s;ervices of un&s;anctified men &s;hall not go unre|warded; only, indeed, as their heart is not perfect with God in the &s;ervice, &s;o neither is his perfect with them in his reward: (<HI>for with the perfect only he will &s;hew him&s;elf perfect, P&s;a.</HI> 18.) but the reward &s;hall hold proportion to the &s;ervice: the &s;ervice un&s;anctified, &s;eemingly a &s;ervice, but really a &s;in: &s;o the reward &s;hall be in it &s;elf a ble&s;&s;ing, but unto them a cur&s;e: the &s;ervice temporal only: <HI>&s;o &s;hall the reward be.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, the per&s;on cen&s;ured by the Lord: though God approve, and reward that which is good; yet he doth not ju&s;tifie that which is evil: neither can his love to the one, blind his eyes towards the other: <HI>his eyes be|hold, and his eye-lids try the children of men.</HI> And there|fore though he had done this great &s;ervice, yet in all that he had done, the Lord &s;aith to him, <HI>he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not with a per|fect heart:</HI> he took no heed, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Grace is <HI>the Law written in the heart, Jer.</HI> 3.33. <HI>the Table fle&s;hly,</HI> the heart: the Mini&s;ters the pen, the Spirit the Ink, and Chri&s;t the Scribe, which is the Apo&s;tles Metaphor, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.2,3. the word is a mould, <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.17. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, or <HI>into which you were deliver|ed;</HI>
<PB N="291" REF="175"> therefore an&s;werable to the cutts in the mould, &s;uch mu&s;t be the impre&s;&s;ion of the thing moulded by it. Now in the Law, the mould, there are two things: Precepts enjoyning duty: and Prohibitions forbidding &s;in: now <HI>Jehu</HI> had not the Law written in his heart, and therefore his heart was not right with God in ei|ther of the&s;e.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, for the Precept, his heart was not right; for he took no heed, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, for the Prohibition, his heart was not right: <HI>for he departed not from the &s;ins of,</HI> &amp;c. The fir&s;t part of the cen&s;ure is upon the un&s;oundne&s;s of <HI>Jehu,</HI> in re&s;pect of the Precept: <HI>but</HI> Jehu <HI>took no heed:</HI> and therein are four things &s;etting forth his un&s;ound|ne&s;s.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, his inadvertency and incon&s;ideracy, <HI>he took no heed.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, his partiality, <HI>he took no heed to walk in the Law of the Lord: integritas objecti.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, his incon&s;tancy &s;ome &s;teps he did &s;et in this way, but it was not his <HI>walk.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, his in&s;incerity; he took no heed to walk <HI>with his whole heart;</HI> Many duties that his con&s;cience was convinced of, he neglected; there was his partiality: The duties which he did were perfunctorily performed, therein he was heedle&s;s; in the be&s;t duties that he did, he had &s;elf-ends, his whole heart was not in them, there was his in&s;incerity: and the duties that he did &s;et up, he did take them up and lay them down as might &s;tand with his own worldly and by re&s;pects: he did not walk in them, therein is his incon&s;tancy: and in them all his hypocri&s;ie.</P>
<P>Before I come to the&s;e particulars, I will &s;peak a word
<PB N="292" REF="176"> to the particle, <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> It may be rendered, <HI>And Iehu:</HI> but becau&s;e it &s;ets forth the un&s;uitablene&s;s be|tween Gods dealing with <HI>Iehu,</HI> and his towards God, therefore our Tran&s;lators have fitly made choice to ren|der it here by the di&s;cretive particle, <HI>but:</HI> God had of an ob&s;cure Captain taken <HI>Iehu</HI> from among&s;t his bre|thren, and &s;et him upon the Throne of I&s;rael: ad|mitted him to the highe&s;t earthly honour: neither was this honour per&s;onal barely as &s;ome of the Kings of I&s;rael was, but hereditary: God had as it were intailed it to his po&s;terity, and &s;pake <HI>of his hou&s;e for a long time to come, to the fourth Generation:</HI> for which <HI>David</HI> was &s;o thankful: <HI>but yet</HI> Iehu <HI>took no heed.</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="doctrines">
<P><LABEL>Doctrine.</LABEL> <HI>All the outward ble&s;sings in the world will never allure an un&s;anctified heart to &s;erve God in &s;incerity, unle&s;s Gods grace and Almighty Power go with them.</HI></P>
<P><LABEL>Doctrine.</LABEL> <HI>Not to &s;erve God with a perfect heart, after a man hath had experience of the Profitablene&s;s of the &s;ervice, is a wonderful aggravation of his &s;in.</HI> Who would not have rea&s;oned, God hath for one &s;ervice rai&s;ed me from a meer man to be <HI>the head of all the Tribes of I&s;rael;</HI> what will he do for me if I go on to &s;erve him? if a tempo|ral reward be &s;o &s;weet, what is an eternal if he &s;o far rewards an un&s;ound, what will he do a &s;incere &s;er|vice, wherein my heart &s;hould be perfect with him? &s;urely the Holy-Gho&s;t hath not &s;aid in vain, <HI>the mer|chandize of wi&s;dom is better then &s;ilver,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Prov.</HI> 3.15. <HI>and all thou can&s;t de&s;ire cannot be compared to it;</HI> and what cannot a man de&s;ire? Mountains of Gold, Alps of Gold, &s;holes of pearl: but yet the trading in it, and the returns by it, are more profitable then any tempo|ral thing a man can imploy him&s;elf in: yet &s;o blind is the heart of a natural man, that he cannot deduce out
<PB N="293" REF="176"> of &s;uch premi&s;es &s;uch a plain inference, &s;uch an ea&s;ie connexion.</P>
<P>Behold, fir&s;t a great engagement: we hold our &s;elves bound to all &s;ervices that are lawful unto our benefa|ctors; God had &s;et <HI>Iehu</HI> in the Throne, and then he took no heed, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, behold a great encouragement: he that hath found one way gainful, will be encouraged to the &s;ame again: and he that hath found a &s;ervice profitable, will afterward in the &s;ame &s;ervice be more abundant: and though he had found one &s;ervice &s;o gainful to him as a Kingdom, yet he took no heed either he took no care at all to do the &s;ervice, or el&s;e, which is more probable, he took no heed to do it acceptably, <HI>to &s;erve him acceptably with a reverent and godly fear,</HI> as the Apo|&s;tle &s;peaks, <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.28.</P>
<P>But I come to the words them&s;elves, and in them to the fir&s;t part of <HI>Iehus</HI> cen&s;ure, his inadvertency: <HI>he took no heed:</HI> in the original, <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> the word &s;ignifies to keep or ob&s;erve with exactne&s;s, or the greate&s;t dili|gence, that may be, <HI>Io&s;h.</HI> 6.18. <HI>and ye in any wi&s;e keep your &s;elves from the cur&s;ed thing, P&s;al.</HI> 30.3. <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>If thou &s;houlde&s;t ob&s;erve, or &s;traightly mark what is done ami&s;s, who &s;hall &s;tand?</HI> and the Septuagent puts <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, which is commonly u&s;ed by Chri&s;t in the New Te&s;tament, for all manner of heedfulne&s;s, dili|gence, and exact ob&s;ervation: <HI>Iehu</HI> did not take heed, he did not ob&s;erve, he did not &s;trictly and carefully mark what he did in the &s;ervice of God, that &s;o he might <HI>walk before him with a perfect heart:</HI> Here is there|fore, Fir&s;t, an evil thing he di<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> take no heed, and that was his &s;in. Secondly, an evil &s;ign, he took no heed, and
<PB N="294" REF="177"> therein did manife&s;t his hypocri&s;ie and un&s;oundne&s;s of his heart.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, it is an evil thing, he took no heed, and that was his &s;in: now becau&s;e <HI>omnis negatio fundatur in affir|matione,</HI> &amp; therefore here is the neglected duty &s;uppo&s;ed al&s;o.</P>
<P>And &s;o we have in this <HI>fir&s;t particular</HI> three things con&s;iderable.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, here is a duty implyed, and <HI>that is heed&s;ulne&s;s</HI> in walking towards God.</P>
<P>Secondly, a &s;in reproved, heedle&s;ne&s;s.</P>
<P>Thirdly, a &s;ign propo&s;ed, and that is, this is made a dan gerous &s;ign and note of hypocri&s;ie: A fal&s;e and un|&s;ound heart.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the duty implyed is heedfulne&s;s, carefulne&s;s, exact ob&s;ervation in all a mans dealing with the Lord.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t thing that the Text pre&s;ents to our view is this;</P>
<P><LABEL>Doctoine.</LABEL> <HI>He that will &s;erve God acceptably, mu&s;t &s;erve him heed|fully:</HI> we may ob&s;erve it enjoyned in the two great Ordinances of Hearing and Prayer: in the one God &s;peaks to us, and in the other we &s;peak to God. <HI>Eccl</HI> 5.1. the wi&s;e man directs us in the performance of all man|ner of &s;ervices towards God, &s;pecially tho&s;e that con|cern his own immediate wor&s;hip: and the rule is, <HI>look to thy feet,</HI> or keep thy feet, ob&s;erve thy feet; for the &s;ame word is there u&s;ed, <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>con&s;iderthy way,</HI> be well advi&s;ed in what thou do&s;t. <HI>Ponder the path of thy feet, Prov.</HI> 4.26. when thou come&s;t to perform a &s;ervice un|to God; this is the general rule: then in particular he de&s;cends to the duty of prayer, and &s;aith, <HI>be not ra&s;h with thy mouth;</HI> weigh well thy petitions and the na|ture of them and grounds of them, before thou venter
<PB N="295" REF="177"> to put up any in the name of the Lord: and <HI>do not ut|ter a ra&s;h raw</HI> indige&s;ted prayer before the Lord: and to this end, look well to thy heart, that is, be not ha&s;ty; for it is a ha&s;ty Spirit that cau&s;eth a man to be ra&s;h with his mouth: therefore let thy watchfulne&s;s begin there; for <HI>out of it are the i&s;&s;ues of life:</HI> heedfulne&s;s in the heart will prove a door to thy lips, and a bridle to thy tongue: So that here is all heed required, keep thy feet, be not ra&s;h with thy mouth, let not thy heart be ha&s;ty, <HI>let not thy mouth cau&s;e thy fle&s;h to err.</HI> The like direction is given concerning hearing, by him that is greater then <HI>Solomon, Mark.</HI> 9.23. <HI>Luk.</HI> 24.8.18. <HI>take heed how and what you hear: he that hath ears to hear let him hear:</HI> that is, &s;eeing God hath given his word, and great is the company of his Preachers, &s;eeing al&s;o he hath given you ears to hear, and under&s;tanding to profit by it, and &s;eeing your ears are allowd to hear &s;uch things, let your utmo&s;t diligence be &s;een in it; come not to hear unle&s;s you bring your ear with you: take heed that you hear; let not the duty be neglected; and when you hear, take heed both to the matter, and to the manner, take heed what, and take heed how you hear; and this heed the Apo&s;tle expre&s;&s;eth <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, or more exce&s;&s;ive heed, more abundant, lea&s;t at any time <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, we prove leaking ve&s;&s;els, and &s;o &s;pill &s;uch precious li|quor, <HI>Heb.</HI> 2.1. therefore to pre&s;s upon you the nece&s;|&s;ity of this duty: Fir&s;t, the right and &s;erious con&s;ide|ration of the nature of that <HI>God with whom we have to do, Heb.</HI> 4.13. will much inforce it, if a mans heart were but ballanced with it when he comes to perform the duty.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, if we con&s;ider his greante&s;s and maje&s;t; where greatne&s;s is among&s;t men (who if compared to him,
<PB N="296" REF="178"> <HI>are le&s;s then nothing and vanity,</HI> yet) they expect in &s;er|vices exactne&s;s an&s;werable; which is given by <HI>Solomon</HI> as a ground of it, <HI>Eccl.</HI> 5.2. <HI>he is in heaven, and thou art upon earth:</HI> therefore <HI>look to thy feet, and let thy words be few:</HI> Con&s;ider therefore, <HI>he is the high and lofty one that inhabits eternity, that dwells in the high and holy place, I&s;a.</HI> 5.7,15. <HI>Mat.</HI> 18.10. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 1. <HI>Job</HI> 16. there|fore Chri&s;t directs us in prayer to look upon God in heaven, <HI>Mat.</HI> 6.9. that beholding him in his greatne&s;s and glory, our hearts may be over-awed, when we come before him in his Ordinances, <HI>Rev.</HI> 4.2,3.</P>
<P>Secondly, if we con&s;ider his holine&s;s, therefore the Angels are &s;aid to be <HI>full of eyes round about,</HI> (that is) as it were made up of nothing but heedfulne&s;s and watchfulne&s;s in all the &s;ervices that they perform unto the Lord: and what makes them &s;o to be? it is be|cau&s;e they behold God in his holine&s;s and purity, <HI>I&s;a</HI> 6 21.</P>
<P>Thirdly, as a Judge, <HI>Rom.</HI> 2.14. <HI>Joh.</HI> 12.48. <HI>Gen.</HI> 9.15. and that for this cau&s;e <HI>he puts no con&s;idence in his Saints, he charges his Angels with folly, Job</HI> 4.18. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 2.13.</P>
<P>Fourthly, if we con&s;ider his &s;pecial Pre&s;ence; it is true, that becau&s;e he is everywhere pre&s;ent, therefore a man &s;hould <HI>walk before him and be upright, Gen.</HI> 17.1. but, when we come do to him &s;ervice, he hath promi&s;ed a more &s;pecial pre&s;ence: <HI>he walks in the middle of the Gol|den Candle&s;ticks, Rev.</HI> 2.1. <HI>in the Temple,</HI> it is &s;aid, <HI>the glory of the Lord was there, Ezek.</HI> 8.3,4. <HI>there he will meet, and there he will ble&s;s, Exod,</HI> 20.24. and to note his &s;pecial pre&s;ence, it is &s;aid, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6 16. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>I dwell in them,</HI> and that is not at once and no more, but at all times: Gods &s;pecial pre&s;ence: he &s;aith, <HI>I will &s;et
<PB N="297" REF="178"> them before my face for ever, P&s;al.</HI> 41.12. Now to neg|lect God when he is pre&s;ent, and <HI>to provoke him to his face,</HI> that is made a great aggravation, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 65.3. that &s;hews a man hath ca&s;t off all fear.</P>
<P>Fifthly, if you con&s;ider the jealou&s;ie of God, which is the argument u&s;ed by that good man <HI>Io&s;hua,</HI> 24.19. <HI>you cannot &s;erve the Lord, for he is a jealous God:</HI> his &s;cope is not to deterr them from &s;ervice, for he exhorts them thereunto, as we &s;ee <HI>ver.</HI> 15. but he &s;aith, ye cannot &s;erve the Lord; to &s;hew the difficulty, how hard it is to &s;erve him acceptably, that they might do it with the more fear, care, and heedfulne&s;s: and the ground of it is, for <HI>he is a jealous God;</HI> Now jealou&s;ie is exceeding ob&s;er|vant and quick-&s;ighted, takes notice of the lea&s;t neg|lects, not only from a Corrival, but al&s;o from the per|&s;on on whom God hath &s;et his love; &s;oon takes no|tice of the lea&s;t &s;light and neglect, and having once ta|ken notice of it, we know that it doth make deep im|pre&s;&s;ion upon the heart; for <HI>jealou&s;ie is cruel as the grave, and is as the rage of a man; Pro.</HI> 6.34 <HI>Cant.</HI> 8.6.</P>
<P>Secondly, yet to pre&s;s it further, Con&s;ider the rule of this &s;ervice; for as a Chri&s;tians &s;ervice mu&s;t be &s;piri|tual, &s;o it mu&s;t be regular, <HI>Gal.</HI> 6 10. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>according to this rule:</HI> it mu&s;t be canonical obedience in a &s;piritual &s;en&s;e; as the whole &s;ervice mu&s;t be rea&s;on|able &s;ervice, &s;o it mu&s;t be <HI>word-&s;ervice, Rom.</HI> 12.1. therefore <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> it may be rendered, either <HI>rea&s;on|able &s;ervice,</HI> or <HI>word-&s;ervice:</HI> and &s;o the &s;ame word is rendred by our Tran&s;lations &s;o in 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.2. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, Not <HI>the rea&s;onable &s;incere milk,</HI> but <HI>the &s;incere milk of the word, that we may grow thereby;</HI> Now <HI>Aqui|na;</HI> tells us, that if the Carpenters hand were the rule, he could never &s;trike awry; but becau&s;e it is not, but he
<PB N="298" REF="179"> hath a rule without, according to which every &s;troke mu&s;t be regulated, therefore unto that he mu&s;t take heed: &s;pecially, if we con&s;ider in this rule the&s;e four particulars.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, it is a &s;traight rule; there is no turning, no de|fect: for <HI>the Law is holy,</HI> Rom 7.12. <HI>perfect,</HI> P&s;a. 19.7. it omits no duty, it bears with no &s;in, it is <HI>a &s;traight gate, a narrow way, Mat.</HI> 7.13,14. there is no rule that ever man made, but it hath &s;till been too &s;hort, and there hath been &s;omething in particular not determined by that rule: its not &s;o here, neither in the actions, words, or thoughts of the heart: therefore <HI>David</HI> &s;aith, <HI>I have &s;een a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters"> end of all perfection:</HI> look upon the mo&s;t per|fect and exact Laws of men, and there be defects in them; a man may be able to look to the end of them, and &s;ee where they do fail; <HI>but thy commandment is ex|ceeding broad;</HI> it reaches to all per&s;ons, places, times, actions and thoughts; he could &s;ee no end thereof wherein it was defective, it had &s;uch a latitude, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.96. and the more &s;traight the rule is, the more we ought to take heed lea&s;t we &s;trike a&s;ide to the right or le&s;t hand: therefore in re&s;pect of this rule, if in any thing, that coun&s;el of <HI>Solomon</HI> is to be taken, <HI>let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eye lids look &s;traight before thee, Prov</HI> 4.25.</P>
<P>Secondly, it is al&s;o a &s;piritual rule, <HI>the Law is &s;piri|tual, Rom.</HI> 7.12. directs not only the motions of the body, but al&s;o of the Spirit; <HI>it is the candle of the Lord:</HI> the Spirit enlightned by this rule, <HI>&s;earching the inward parts of the belly, Prov.</HI> 20.27. opening the trea&s;ures of darkne&s;s, <HI>di&s;covering</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>the hidden things of darkne&s;s, and the coun&s;els of the Lord,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.5. <HI>di|viding between the &s;oul and the Spirit, the joynts and the
<PB N="299" REF="179"> marrow, and is a di&s;cerner of the &s;ecret purpo&s;es and intents of the heart, Heb.</HI> 4.12. Now the &s;oul of man being the act of the body, is far more active then the body, and the thoughts and motions of it are infinitely more in number, and more &s;uddenly and unob&s;ervedly break forth then tho&s;e of the body; therefore he that will keep clo&s;e unto the rule, had need as the Apo&s;tle ex|horts, <HI>give heed to it</HI> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.19.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Con&s;ider al&s;o the univer&s;ality, and reality of the Law; the Holy-Gho&s;t calls it therefore <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>Jam.</HI> 2.8. that which is in all things the highe&s;t Judge: from whence, though <HI>quatenus habet rati|onem foederis,</HI> there is, yet <HI>quatenus habet rationem regulae,</HI> there is no appeal; from the Law in the point of the Co|venant and cur&s;e there is: but in point of obedience there is no appeal: So that there is now but one Law, one God, and one Judge, and one Hell, to the highe&s;t as well as to the lowe&s;t: and there is no appeal from it; this <HI>Law binds Kings in chains, and Nobles in fetters</HI> as well as the meane&s;t, <HI>P&s;a.</HI> 149.8. Now had not a man need to give heed to &s;uch a Law, from whence there is no appeal, but if a man be ca&s;t, to the &s;ame Law he mu&s;t &s;till &s;tand?</P>
<P>Fourthly, Con&s;ider further the harmony and cohe|rence of this rule; they are like <HI>Ezekils</HI> wheeles, they do one involve and include another, <HI>Jam.</HI> 2.10. <HI>he that breaks one, is gu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">y of all:</HI> the whole Law, and the &s;ame authority is wronged; and the &s;ame di&s;po&s;ition of heart manife&s;ted in one, that would be in the breach of them all: and would &s;urely &s;hew it &s;elf if there were occa&s;ion, and opportunity to draw it out: and it is the want of this right knowledge of the rule, that makes men &s;et light by many &s;ins, and count them &s;mall, be|cau&s;e
<PB N="300" REF="180"> they look not upon the Law broken in re&s;pect of its harmony, and dependence, and &s;o &s;ee not them|&s;elves guilty of all but that man that &s;ees the great|e&s;t tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion in the lea&s;t, and &s;ees the whole Law broken in every deviation, will &s;ay that he had need take heed that he tran&s;gre&s;s not in one, lea&s;t he make him&s;elf guilty of all.</P>
<P>Thirdly, yet to pre&s;s it farther, Con&s;ider the per|&s;on who thou art, that do&s;t perform the &s;ervice, and if thou be but well-acquainted with thy &s;elf, thou &s;halt &s;ee great rea&s;on to be exceeding heedful when thou come&s;t before the Lord, and that in the&s;e particulars.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Con&s;ider, by &s;in <HI>we are become unprofitable, Rom.</HI> 3.12. dro&s;s and chaff, fit for nothing; and unto this add our enmity unto God; we are naturally <HI>ene|mies in our minds, through evil works, Col.</HI> 1.21. and this takes off a mans heart: that as by &s;in he is made un|profitable, &s;o he hath no mind to do God &s;ervice: for he is an enemy in his mind: now what a mans mind is not on, unle&s;s he give diligent heed, he will quickly va|ni&s;h in his own thoughts, and tender to God but his labour and bodily exerci&s;e, and no more.</P>
<P>Secondly, in all our &s;ervices unto God we are full of ignorance: <HI>we know not how to pray, or what to ask, Rom.</HI> 8.26 therefore Chri&s;t offers daily <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>Heb.</HI> 9.7. <HI>for the ignorance of the people</HI> in the &s;ervices that they do perform. Now the le&s;s acquain|tance a man hath with any thing, the more heed he had need to take; el&s;e immediately he is like to mi&s;carry: for ignorance is the mother of error: no man wonders to &s;ee the blind go out of the way.</P>
<P>Thirdly, there is in all our &s;ervices much forgetful|ne&s;s in re&s;pect of the things we do know: <HI>ye have for|gotten
<PB N="301" REF="180"> the exhortation,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.5. <HI>I thought good to put you in remembrance: though you have known &amp; been e&s;tabli&s;hed in the pre&s;ent truth,</HI> as 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.12. therefore a man had need recollect his thoughts, and take in the whole rule, that &s;o he may not afterward &s;ay, <HI>it was an over&s;ight;</HI> and his con&s;cience condemn him in his own account.</P>
<P>Fourthly, even in tho&s;e things that we do remem|ber, and actually Con&s;ider, yet there is much dulne&s;s, and deadne&s;s, and unmoveablene&s;s in the affections to|wards them: <HI>ye are dull of hearing, Heb.</HI> 5.11. there|fore a man had need take the more heed to &s;tir up him|&s;elf, and to awaken the&s;e, as <HI>Deborah</HI> doth, <HI>Awake, awake, Iudg.</HI> 5.12. and as <HI>David, Awake my glory awake lute and harp,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 57.8. therefore a man had need to whet and &s;harpen the rule upon him&s;elf as well as upon others. See <HI>Deut.</HI> 6.7. the word &s;ignifies to whet, &s;har|pen, to repeate often, and with intention.</P>
<P>Fifthly, there is much ra&s;hne&s;s and incon&s;ideracy in all things that a man puts his hand unto; &s;pecially in the &s;ervice of God: and therefore <HI>Solomon</HI> well &s;aw it to be an evil, and our nature was prone to evil; for he would never have given that preventing Phy&s;ick, <HI>Eccl.</HI> 5.2. <HI>be not ra&s;h with thy mouth.</HI> Whereas he &s;aith, <HI>the heart of of the Righteous teacheth his mouth, Prov.</HI> 16.2,3. he &s;peaks that &s;pecially, becau&s;e Gods word in his heart he hath well dige&s;ted: there is in the be&s;t men much precipitancy, many over&s;ights, much inadvertency: <HI>there is folly and madne&s;s in the heart of a man while&s;t he liveth; Eccl.</HI> 9.3. and both are ha&s;ty: therefore a man had need take heed to him&s;elf.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, there is much loo&s;ne&s;s and vanity in a mans thoughts, <HI>Ier.</HI> 4.14. <HI>how long &s;hall thy vain empty
<PB N="202" REF="181"> thoughts,</HI> that have nothing in them, <HI>lodge within thee!</HI> that when a man &s;ets about any duty, his thoughts will not keep to the thing in hand, <HI>he likes not to retain God in his knowledge, Rom.</HI> 1.28. the mind of man will ne|ver leave to&s;&s;ing from one thing to another, till it &s;hift out thoughts of God, and of the &s;piritual part of du|ty: al&s;o mans mind in a duty conver&s;ing with God, is like one that looks through an Optick-gla&s;s upon a &s;tar, with a pal&s;ey hand: it is long before he can ken and di&s;cern it, and as &s;oon as he hath found it, &s;o un&s;teady is his hand that he loo&s;eth it again; and &s;uch is the <HI>un|&s;teadine&s;s of our thoughts</HI> in the mo&s;t &s;erious &s;ervices. Now &s;eeing it is &s;o, if ever a man will &s;erve God ac|ceptably, he had need &s;erve him heedfully: <HI>take heed how you hear, watch unto prayer,</HI> Mar. 13.33.</P>
<P>Secondly, here is al&s;o a &s;in reproved, and that is heedle&s;ne&s;s; but <HI>Iehu</HI> took no heed, or <HI>did not diligently ob&s;erve to walk,</HI> &amp;c. hence,</P>
<P><HI>Heedle&s;ne&s;s in a mans conver&s;e with God, is a provoking evil.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, It is &s;o by the Lords own &s;entence and cen&s;ure, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 29.13. <HI>This people draw nigh to me with their lips, but their hearts are removed far from me. Ezek.</HI> 33.31.</P>
<P>Secondly, it is &s;o by the Saints own confe&s;&s;ion, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 64.67. <HI>Our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;es are as filthy rags; there is none to call upon thy name, and that &s;tirs up him&s;elf to take hold of thee.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, It is &s;o by Gods ju&s;t Judgement, as in 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 6.7. where <HI>Uzzah</HI> without due con&s;ideration did touch the Ark, not being thereunto called, it is &s;aid, <HI>the Lord &s;mote him for his errour,</HI> or as the word, <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>for his ra&s;hne&s;s and forgetfulne&s;s, and he dyed before the
<PB N="303" REF="181"> Lord,</HI> Now to pre&s;s this upon you al&s;o, I de&s;ire that the&s;e particulars may be well con&s;idered.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, ordinarily, according to your care and heed in the duty, &s;o will God mea&s;ure to you grace, and pro|fit by the duty, <HI>Mar.</HI> 4.24. <HI>Look with what mea&s;ure you meet, &s;hall be mea&s;ured to you again:</HI> that is, look what mea&s;ure of care and preparation you bring to the ordi|nance, &s;uch a mea&s;ure of fruit and profit &s;hall you carry from it.</P>
<P>Secondly, when either Judgement &s;hall come, or God thus open thy con&s;cience in &s;ickne&s;s or death, all the&s;e &s;ervices that thou ha&s;t heedle&s;ly performed, thy &s;pirit in them will fade away as leaves nipped with the wind, and a man &s;hall have no comfort in them at all, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 64.6. <HI>we fade away as a leafe in our iniquity:</HI> that is, the iniquity of our righteou&s;ne&s;s, <HI>the iniquity of our holy things:</HI> whereas the duties of godly men that have life, and care, and &s;ub&s;tance in them, <HI>their leaves &s;hall not fade, and their fruit &s;hall not be con&s;umed, Ezek.</HI> 47.12.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Con&s;ider the oftner a man doth perform duties in a heedle&s;s manner, the wor&s;e he will daily grow; and what good &s;oever he had in him before, will &s;urely decay, <HI>Luk.</HI> 8.18. <HI>Take heed how you hear; for to him that hath &s;hall be given; and from him that hath not, &s;hall be taken away;</HI> he that <HI>&s;tirs not up the mea&s;ure of grace</HI> that he hath in the duty, he will &s;urely grow wor&s;e after his performance: for in the Scripture &s;en&s;e, <HI>idem e&s;t non habere &amp; non uti.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, there is no &s;ervice that thou performe&s;t heedle&s;sly but thou art in danger of &s;ome temporal Judgement; we &s;ee <HI>Nadab</HI> and <HI>Abihu</HI> were con&s;umed with fire from heaven, <HI>Lev.</HI> 16.2. And <HI>Uzzah</HI> 2 <HI>Sam.</HI>
<PB N="304" REF="182"> 6.7. and who can promi&s;e him&s;elf &s;ecurity from the &s;ame puni&s;hment that doth go on in the &s;ame &s;in?</P>
<P>Fifthly, hereby thou &s;inne&s;t again&s;t a cloud of wit|ne&s;&s;es, the ble&s;&s;ed example of all the Saints: and it is in &s;ome re&s;pect a greater Aggravation of &s;in, to &s;in again&s;t Example then again&s;t Precept, becau&s;e the one hath a &s;tronger hand upon a man then the other; <HI>prae|cepta ducunt, exempla trahunt;</HI> look to <HI>Abraham the Fa|ther of the faithful,</HI> &s;ee how heedfully he walks with God, <HI>Gen.</HI> 18.27,30. <HI>Seeing I have taken upon me to &s;peak to the Lord that am but du&s;t and a&s;hes:</HI> and then by and by, <HI>Oh let not my Lord be angry, and I will &s;peak,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Iacob</HI> is humbled that he was not &s;o aware of the pre|&s;ence of God, as he ought to have been, <HI>Gen.</HI> 28.16. and <HI>David</HI> was afraid when the Lord had made a breach upon them, and cryes, <HI>Oh &s;hall the Ark of the Lord come to me!</HI> and dur&s;t not remove the Ark till he had en|quired of the mind of the Lord, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 6.8,9.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, it is a &s;in again&s;t great mercy; thou &s;houlde&s;t be <HI>a ve&s;&s;el of honour fitted for the ma&s;ters u&s;e;</HI> and in this re&s;pect godly men prize their &s;ervices above their comforts; And among&s;t the glorious promi&s;es, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 10 17. Con&s;ider this, <HI>he prepares the heart to pray, and cau&s;eth his ear to hear:</HI> he will accept the heedful &s;ervice, and will give much grace: <HI>to them that hear &s;hall more be given, Mark.</HI> 4.24. el&s;e <HI>Mar.</HI> 1.14. <HI>Cur&s;ed be that deceiver that hath in his flock a male, and offers to the Lord a corrupt thing,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Thirdly, this is not only an evil thing, but an evil &s;ign al&s;o: and &s;o here made by the Holy-Gho&s;t a &s;ign of hypocri&s;ie and un&s;oundne&s;s of the heart of <HI>Iehu:</HI> hence this Doctrine.</P>
<PB N="305" REF="182">
<P><HI>A con&s;tant heedle&s;ne&s;s in a mans conver&s;e with God, is a dangerous &s;ign of an un&s;ound heart, I&s;a.</HI> 29.13. <HI>they draw neer to me with their lips;</HI> but even while they did &s;o, they took no care to bring their hearts with them, but they were removed from the Lord: and this heed|le&s;s performance was a &s;ign of their hollowne&s;s and un|&s;oundne&s;s: So Chri&s;t &s;aith of the Phari&s;ees, their care was wholly about the out-&s;ide of the duty, <HI>making clean the out-&s;ide of the cup:</HI> Chri&s;t made this a &s;ign of their hypocri&s;ie; for hypocri&s;ie is but an out-&s;ide: like cloth of <HI>Arras,</HI> fair and beautiful without, but look to the in&s;ide, nothing but raggs and ends: now when a mans con&s;tant care is only for the outward per|formance, and never looks whether the heart an&s;wer within, that is an un&s;ound heart: but yet I &s;ay, con|&s;tant heedle&s;ne&s;s; for the be&s;t of Gods people are ma|ny times too ra&s;h, and ha&s;tie, and incon&s;iderate in their approaches unto the Lord but it is not con&s;tantly &s;o: neither do they re&s;t therein: but that man with whom it is &s;o, &s;urely he hath nothing but a form, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.5.</P>
<P>Now to apply this briefly, there are in it three Di|rections.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Be humbled for the hypocri&s;ie pa&s;t: &s;o doth the Church, <HI>I&s;a</HI> 6.4,6. <HI>they were a&s;hamed of their righteou&s;ne&s;s:</HI> Hypocri&s;ie is &s;o exceeding hateful to God, that he makes all their puni&s;hments to be mea|&s;ured out by that; <HI>they &s;hall have their portion with Hy|pocrites, Mat.</HI> 24.51. they &s;hall have <HI>their portion with the Devil, and his Angels:</HI> to &s;hew none &s;o neer to the Devil as they: no man &s;o hateful unto God or crea|tures but the Devil: and this is a mo&s;t common and ordinary way of hypocri&s;ie that can be: this makes the
<PB N="306" REF="183"> Saints groan in them&s;elves, therefore <HI>Bradford</HI> did write in his Letters to his friends, <HI>Iohn Bradford,</HI> a very hy|pocrite, a very painted hypocrite: look back with how little preparation, how vain thy thoughts, how thy eyes have wandered, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, Apply the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t for the pardon of this among&s;t other evils, <HI>Exod.</HI> 28.38. <HI>Chri&s;t mu&s;t have upon his forehead holine&s;s to the Lord, that he may bear the iniquity of your holy things;</HI> a great part of the holine&s;s of Chri&s;t is appointed for this, for the par|don of your unholine&s;s in &s;ervice.</P>
<P>Thirdly, be more heedful for the time to come; and to &s;tir you up to it, con&s;ider but only this, how heed|ful you have been in the waies of &s;in, <HI>Prov.</HI> 16.30 <HI>He &s;huts his eyes that devi&s;eth mi&s;chief;</HI> a man that will &s;tu|dy and be intent upon a thing, will &s;hut his eyes, that &s;o objects from without do not di&s;tract his mind, &s;o in|tent is this man in a way of deceiving, <HI>Iob</HI> 17.11. the thoughts of man are called the <HI>po&s;&s;e&s;sions of the heart,</HI> whereupon a mans heart doth dwell; now we know up|on any &s;inful projects and thoughts of evil, a mans thoughts are &s;o &s;ettled upon them, that a man cannot remove them, but there they dwell; but as for the things of God, a mans heart dwells in them as one doth that is in another mans hou&s;e, he is alwaies going and taking his leave.</P>
<P>Now let this heed be &s;een, Fir&s;t, in thy Preparati|on: <HI>prepare with all thy might,</HI> as <HI>David</HI> did for the mate|rial Temple, 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 29.2. and &s;ay in thy heart, as <HI>Solo|mon</HI> did, <HI>the hou&s;e mu&s;t be great and magnificent, for it is for the Lord,</HI> 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 26.6. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 12.3. Come to the Ordinances as <HI>wells of &s;alvation, as brea&s;ts of con&s;olati|on, I&s;a.</HI> 66.11. to &s;ee the face of Chri&s;t, and the go|ings
<PB N="307" REF="183"> of the Lord: Come to them as <HI>the mini&s;tration of the &s;pirit and a Doal of &s;piritual gifts, Rom.</HI> 1.12.</P>
<P>Secondly, when thou art come, take heed in the performance, <HI>be not ra&s;h with thy mouth, let not thy heart be ha&s;ty,</HI> Eccl. 5.1,2. when thou do&s;t, <HI>do it with all thy might,</HI> as <HI>David</HI> did, 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 29.17. act all graces, &s;tir up all thy affections, <HI>awake my glory,</HI> &amp;c. el&s;e when thou ha&s;t done, there will be an out-&s;ide of &s;ervice, but yet they will not be <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">. They will be em|pty works, hollow, no inward grace, or &s;trength, or af|fection to fill them out.</P>
<P>Thirdly, to &s;hew that thou can&s;t never take heed enough, after every &s;ervice go and humble thy &s;elf be|fore God for thy want of heed and watchfulne&s;s; &s;ay with <HI>Abraham, I that was du&s;t and a&s;hes did take upon me to &s;peak to the Lord:</HI> and with <HI>Iacob, How dreadful is this place, it is the hou&s;e of God, the gate of Heaven:</HI> God was here, and I was not aware, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>La&s;tly, and to enable thee &s;o to do, get the fear of the Maje&s;ty of God throughly planted in thy heart, and whenever thou come&s;t before God, &s;tir up thy fear, and all tho&s;e awful con&s;iderations that may be; for fear is the watch-man of the &s;oul, exceeding heedful and vi|gilant that is appointed as the remedy; <HI>be not ra&s;h with thy mouth, but fear thou God. Eccl.</HI> 5.7. and to this end, <HI>walk in the fear of the Lord all the day long:</HI> walk with God in his fear at other times: a &s;pecial cau&s;e why men are no more heedful in Gods wor&s;hip is, becau&s;e they give liberty to them&s;elves, and have no eye to his pre&s;ence at other times, therefore, <HI>be thou in it all the day long.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="184">
<PB N="309" REF="184">
<HEAD>GOSPEL EXALTATION.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>MATTH. 11.23.</BIBL>
<P>And thou <HI>Capernaum</HI> which art exalted up to heaven, &s;halt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in <HI>Sodom,</HI> it would have remained unto this day.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THE Lord hath not cho&s;en one fixed place for the Go&s;pel to re&s;ide in, unto which all Nations that expected any benefit there|by were to re&s;ort, as he did for the Jews at Jeru&s;alem: that only was <HI>the valley of Vi&s;i|on;</HI> but now its &s;ound is gone forth into all lands,
<PB N="310" REF="185"> and there is <HI>beauty in the feet of tho&s;e that bring tho&s;e glad tidings, I&s;a.</HI> 52.7. the Lord hath now made it an ambu|latory, an itinerary Go&s;pel, it walks from place to place, and comes home to the doors of tho&s;e who will &s;carce go out of their doors to it.</P>
<P>And where&s;oever it comes, it brings with it, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>A fulne&s;s of ble&s;sing, Rom.</HI> 15.29. It is to a place as the Sun to the world, a beam of <HI>the &s;un of righteou&s;ne&s;s, Mal.</HI> 4.2. It is the <HI>rain of the earth, Heb.</HI> 6.8. <HI>it is a fea&s;t of fat thing<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees, well-refined I&s;a.</HI> 25.6. it is the <HI>glory of God,</HI> and <HI>the gla&s;s wherein we behold it,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.18. <HI>it is the face of Chri&s;t.</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.6. <HI>the mini&s;tration of righteou&s;ne&s;s</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.9. <HI>it is the dole of &s;piritu|al gifts, Rom.</HI> 1.11. it is eternal &s;alvation it &s;elf, yea, <HI>great &s;alvation, Heb.</HI> 2.3. Here are garments to cover your nakedne&s;s, meat to &s;atisfie your hunger, medicine to cure your di&s;ea&s;es, armor to protect your per&s;ons, and a Trea&s;ure of <HI>precious promi&s;es</HI> and <HI>&s;ure mercies</HI> to provide for your po&s;terity, that &s;o there may be no|thing wanting to make it up, <HI>a fulne&s;s of ble&s;sing.</HI></P>
<P>But wherever the Lord &s;ends this Go&s;pel and the Ordinances thereof, he doth &s;end it with a threefold re|ference.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t as <HI>donum, with reference</HI> to our thankfulne&s;s.</P>
<P>Secondly, as <HI>depo&s;itum, which re&s;pects</HI> our faithful|ne&s;s.</P>
<P>Thirdly, as <HI>talentum,</HI> which re&s;pects our fruitfulne&s;s, that we may bring forth fruit meet for him of whom we have received it, that we fall not into the &s;in, and &s;o become liable unto the cen&s;ure of the unprofitable &s;er|vant; now the fruit which the Lord expects where he &s;ends the&s;e Go&s;pel-Ordinances, is, Repentance, and
<PB N="311" REF="185"> Conver&s;ion; <HI>Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand, Matth.</HI> 3.2. The Lord lights not up this can<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">le, but it is to find the <HI>lo&s;t groats;</HI> he goes not abroad in this, but it is to find the <HI>lo&s;t &s;heep,</HI> or to meet &s;ome <HI>prodigal &s;on:</HI> And though there may be fruit of an inferiour nature, civility and formality which men may bring forth, yet the Lord counts this nothing unle&s;s repentance and conver&s;ion go before them; as ciphers they be that &s;tand for nought, if &s;et alone; though they add to the Num|ber, if the figure of conver&s;ion go before. Chri&s;t &s;aith not unto them, <HI>Auditores, Spectatores, Admini&s;tratores ni fui&s;&s;ent, virtutem ejus divinam non laudavi&s;&s;ent, &amp;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> &s;aith <HI>Brugen&s;.</HI> plainly manife&s;ting unto us, that all the re&s;t without this is nothing worth in Gods account; becau&s;e this people was like unto <HI>the ground that had drunk in the rain</HI> that came oft upon it, and brought not forth herbs meet for him that dre&s;&s;ed it, not <HI>fruit meet for re|pentance,</HI> but rather bare thorns and bryars; therefore Chri&s;t &s;hews that they were <HI>nigh to cur&s;ing and their end was to be burnt, Heb.</HI> 6.8.</P>
<P>The words are the <HI>Exprobation</HI> of <HI>Caparnaum,</HI> and the &s;entence which the Lord Chri&s;t did denounce thereupon, becau&s;e they had neither an&s;wered the Lords mercy nor expectation. Fir&s;t, he looked for fruit, and there was nothing but leaves; <HI>he looked for grapes, and they brought forth wild grapes:</HI> he looked for repentance, and behold impenitency; <HI>no man repented of his wickedne&s;s, &s;aying, what have I done, but they held fa&s;t deceit and refu&s;ed to return, Ier.</HI> 8.5,6. Therefore <HI>he</HI> that <HI>upbraids none propter inopiam &amp; nece&s;sitatem, Iam.</HI> 1.5. before they do receive mercy, yet he doth upbraid them <HI>propter ingratitudinem,</HI> after they have re|ceived: he upbraids none <HI>re&s;pectu Dei dantis,</HI> as if he
<PB N="312" REF="186"> did it out of unwillingne&s;s to give; but <HI>re&s;pectu hominis accipientis,</HI> to &s;hame and fear the man who de&s;ires to receive. And to this end is this Exprobation u&s;ed by Chri&s;t in this place. In them we may con&s;ider, fir&s;t a conce&s;&s;ion, &s;omething is confe&s;&s;ed and acknowledged, which was that <HI>Capernaum was lifted up to Heaven:</HI> Secondly, <HI>a Commination;</HI> in them we may con&s;i|der this place, Fir&s;t, in its exaltation, and that is the highe&s;t, they were <HI>exalted up to heaven.</HI> Secondly, in its humiliation and aba&s;ement, <HI>and that is, they &s;hall be brought down to hell.</HI> Thirdly, the cau&s;e of both, the cau&s;e or means of their exaltation was the mini&s;te|ry of Chri&s;t, and his mighty works, <HI>ver.</HI> 20 and the cau&s;e of their depre&s;&s;ion, their impenitency under &s;uch a powerful mini&s;tery, and &s;uch glorious means, which is amplified by a compari&s;on by which Chri&s;t makes them to be more incurable then the wor&s;t of &s;inners, <HI>humani generis opprobrium,</HI> the Sodomites; for <HI>if the mighty works that have been done in you, had been done in</HI> Sodom, <HI>they would have repented and remained to this day;</HI> for that mu&s;t needs be implyed, though it be not expre&s;|&s;ed.</P>
<P>We have fir&s;t, <HI>Capernaums</HI> exaltation, and therein we are to con&s;ider the place, <HI>Capernaum.</HI> Secondly, the <HI>glory thereof,</HI> thou art exalted up to heaven. Thirdly, the means of this exaltation, the mini&s;terie of Chri&s;t and his mighty works.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the place was <HI>Capernaum,</HI> &s;ituate in <HI>Galile,</HI> a maritine Town neer to the <HI>lake of Genezareth,</HI> and as <HI>Andriconius</HI> conceives, in the half Tribe of <HI>Mana&s;&s;eh,</HI> and bordering upon the Tribes of <HI>Zebulon</HI> and <HI>Nap|thaly;</HI> and &s;o that place &s;eems to be under&s;tood, <HI>Math.</HI> 4.14. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>in the borders:</HI> Not in either of tho&s;e
<PB N="313" REF="186"> Tribes, but bordering upon them, and in the Tribe of <HI>Mana&s;&s;eh:</HI> The Lord Je&s;us was born at <HI>Bethlehem,</HI> and then in his infancy for fear of <HI>Herod,</HI> by Gods directi|on he was carried by <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> into <HI>Egypt;</HI> there he &s;pent as is conceived &s;ome years; then returning for fear of <HI>Archelaus</HI> the Son of <HI>Herod, Jo&s;eph</HI> took up his habi|tation in <HI>Nazereth, Mat.</HI> 2.23. and there Chri&s;t abode till the time that he was to &s;hew him&s;elf unto I&s;rael in the publike execution of his mini&s;tery; but when he began to preach, though he made choice of that Con|try <HI>Galilee,</HI> and not of <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> and <HI>Iudea,</HI> for to exerci&s;e his mini&s;tery, and there he &s;pent mo&s;t of his time and labour, yet he pa&s;&s;ed by <HI>Nazareth,</HI> and re&s;ol|veth not to make choice thereof as the place either to preach or live in; he leaving it made choice of <HI>Caperna|um, Mat.</HI> 4.13 and if you ask the rea&s;on why Chri&s;t pa&s;&s;ed by, and &s;hewed &s;o little re&s;pect to the place of his education the true cau&s;e is given, <HI>John</HI> 4.44. be|cau&s;e he knew he could have no honour there in his own Countrey; therefore leaving it he takes up <HI>Capernaum</HI> for the place of his chief re&s;idence and abode, there for to exerci&s;e his mini&s;tery, and to manife&s;t his power in mighty works unto the world, &s;o that during the time of his mini&s;tery, here he lived mo&s;t, and here he preached mo&s;t, and manife&s;ted forth his glo|ry.</P>
<P>Secondly, this place though in that dark Country <HI>Galilee</HI> of the Gent<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">les, yet I &s;ay this place was <HI>exalted up to heaven:</HI> which expre&s;&s;ion in Scripture notes the hige&s;t degree of Honour and Exaltation, as <HI>Deut.</HI> 9.1. <HI>Their Cities are fenced up to heaven;</HI> that is, exceeding high: <HI>A rage that reacheth up to heaven,</HI> that is the height and extremity of fury, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 28.9. <HI>Ezra</HI> 9.6.
<PB N="314" REF="187"> So <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 14.12. <HI>how art thou fallen from heaven O great Lucifer?</HI> Its &s;poken of the fall of the King of <HI>Babylon</HI> from the top of all earthly honour, in that day when Judgement &s;hould overtake him, and he is &s;aid to fall from heaven. So that his meaning is, that <HI>Caparnaum</HI> was exalted to a tran&s;cendent and a &s;uperlative degree of honour.</P>
<P>Thirdly, by what means was it thus advanced? How came this Town in this ob&s;cure Contrey of <HI>Galilee,</HI> to be &s;o highly honoured, rather then <HI>Jeru&s;alem?</HI> it was only as the glory of the &s;econd Temple was greater then the former, the Temple of <HI>Solomon, Hag.</HI> 2.9. not in the frame and fabrick, not in the curious &s;tones and goodly building thereof; in this the glory was of <HI>Solomons</HI> Temple, which made the old men to mourn, who had &s;een the beauty of the former Hou&s;e; yet the Lord &s;aith it &s;hould be greater, that is, greater by rea|&s;on of his Pre&s;ence that is King of glory, <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.1. <HI>The Lord &s;hall &s;peedily come into his Temple:</HI> So here it is true that <HI>Ieru&s;alem was the joy of the whole earth: Babylon the Lady of the world. Rome</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, yet <HI>Caper|naum</HI> an ob&s;cure Town in <HI>Galilee,</HI> which very name was a reproach, advanced above them all, by the pre|&s;ence, mini&s;tery, and miracles of the King of glory; &s;o much is intimated in the two former ver&s;es. Chri&s;t did upbraid tho&s;e Cities, becau&s;e in them mo&s;t of his mighty works were wrought, that is, there he had mainly exerci&s;ed his mini&s;tery; for though the miracles only are named, yet the mini&s;tery al&s;o in them is inclu|ded, and this was the ground of their honour, by this means it was exalted up to heaven.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doctrine.</HEAD>
<P><HI>The Ordinances of the Go&s;pel being &s;et up in their Power and Purity, are a great honour and advance|ment
<PB N="315" REF="187"> unto the meane&s;t people and the ob&s;cure&s;t places.</HI></P>
<P>For this cau&s;e Gods Ark is called <HI>the glory of I&s;rael,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 4. <HI>ult.</HI> and the Land of <HI>Juda</HI> therefore called, <HI>Dan.</HI> 11.16. <HI>the glorious Land,</HI> and this is made one end why God did &s;et up the Temple and the Ordinances therein among&s;t the Jews (as &s;ome interpret it) <HI>Ezek.</HI> 7.20. <HI>the beauty of his Ornament, he &s;et it up in Maje&s;ty, <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> ad excellentiam, ad magnificentiam.</HI> &amp;c that is, not only that there God might manife&s;t his own glory, and there he might be glorified by the Church, but al|&s;o for the glory, honour, and advancement of that peo|ple above all other Nations under Heaven: but where the Ordinances were corrupted, the place is polluted, <HI>Ier</HI> 32.34. and when they were removed, the Land was defiled, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 7.22. And if it were &s;o among&s;t the Jews, who had onely Typical Prefigurations of Evangelical Ordinances, we may &s;afely conclude it with the Apo&s;tle with a <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">. <HI>How much more mu&s;t the&s;e needs exceed in glory?</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3 9. <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.8. <HI>Their faith was &s;poken of throughout the world:</HI> there &s;eems to be as one hath ob&s;erved, <HI>tacita antithe&s;is fidei &amp; im|perii:</HI> and the Apo&s;tle &s;eems to intimate that they were never &s;o honoured by their Nation, as they were by their faith, throughout the world: as this is the wi&s;|dom, &s;o this al&s;o is the glory and honour of a people in the &s;ight of the Nations, <HI>Deut.</HI> 4.7,8.</P>
<P>If you ask me wherein doth this advancement con|&s;i&s;t that a people have by <HI>Ordinances?</HI> I an&s;wer, it doth con&s;i&s;t in the&s;e &s;ix particulars, all of them matters of great honour to a people.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, it is a great honour to any people for the Lord to avouch them publikely to be his people; this is the
<PB N="316" REF="188"> honour of the S^t^s at the la&s;t day; when the Lord breaks up the Hou&s;e keeping of this great world, he will leave the lumber of it, take it who will, but the Lord will him&s;elf own his <HI>Iewels,</HI> and he will take them and avouch them for his own before the world, <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.17. and this is the advancement of a people by the Ordi|nances; <HI>I entred into Covenant with thee, and thou be|came&s;t mine, Ezek.</HI> 16.8. upon this ground the Lord is plea&s;ed to &s;peak of them as a people that he did &s;peci|ally own: and of them as a people that had &s;pecial in|tere&s;t in him; therefore he is plea&s;ed to &s;tile him&s;elf <HI>the God of I&s;rael, the Rock of I&s;rael, the hope of I&s;rael,</HI> and all by rea&s;on of the Covenant that he had made with them, and the Ordinances that he had &s;tabli&s;hed among&s;t them: But when once by &s;in the Ordinances are either corrupted, or removed, the Lord owns that people no longer; <HI>Call them Loammi, for they are not my people, I will not be their God, Ho&s;.</HI> 1.9. In a common calamity it is &s;aid, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 4 1. <HI>that &s;even women &s;hall lay hold upon one man, and &s;ay, we will eat our own bread, and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach:</HI> if it were a reproach among&s;t men not to be called by the name of a Husband, what is it when the Lord &s;hall as it were give a people a bill of divorce and &s;ay, call them <HI>Loammi,</HI> they are not my people, I will be &s;tiled their God no more.</P>
<P>Secondly, it is a great honour and advancement un|to a people to have God pre&s;ent with them, and as it were to re&s;ide among&s;t them; this was the advance|ment of the Jews, <HI>What Nation is there &s;o great who have God &s;o nigh them, as the Lord our God is in all that we call upon him for? Deut.</HI> 4.7. there the Lord doth promi&s;e his pre&s;ence, and his divine ble&s;&s;ing: <HI>In the place where I
<PB N="317" REF="188"> record my name, I will come unto you, and there I will ble&s;s you, Exod.</HI> 20.34. And the Lord did never manife&s;t his pre&s;ence &s;o gloriou&s;ly as he hath done in the Ordi|nances of the Go&s;pel, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.16. <HI>Therein we behold as in a gla&s;s the glory of the Lord.</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.18. What is this gla&s;s but the &s;piritual admini&s;tration of the Go&s;pel, and the Ordinances thereof, the vail of carnal &s;tupidity be|ing taken from the heart, and we know <HI>Quod videtur in &s;peculo imago non e&s;t;</HI> they are the reverberated &s;pe|cies of the thing it &s;elf, and therefore &s;eeing in a gla&s;s is the cleare&s;t way of vi&s;ion, next to face to face: yet thus God vouch&s;afes his pre&s;ence to a people in Go|&s;pel Ordinances. And in the&s;e we have the pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t al&s;o; <HI>he walks in the middle of the Golden Candle&s;ticks, Rev.</HI> 2. when&s;oever you &s;eek him, be &s;ure <HI>he is gone down to the Gardens of the beds of &s;pices, to feed in the Gardens, and to gather Lillies, Cant.</HI> 6.2. in&s;omuch that the Go&s;pel and the Go&s;pel Ordinances thereof are called <HI>the face of Chri&s;t,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor</HI> 4 6. that is, that which doth as lively repre&s;ent his pre&s;ence unto us, as if he were pre&s;ent with us in the fle&s;h: &s;o that when a man &s;hall come to behold him in glory, and to &s;ee him as he is, he &s;hall be able truly to &s;ay, this is the face that long &s;ince hath in the Go&s;pel been exhibited unto my faith. What &s;hall be the advancement of all the Chri&s;tians in glory? it &s;hall be only the beatifical Vi&s;ion, when they awake to be &s;atisfied with his likene&s;s, to &s;ee him as he is; now if this be begun here in the Ordinances, that may be well counted the advancement of a people; that is unto them as it were the beginning of eternal glo|ry.</P>
<P>Thirdly, fruitfulne&s;s al&s;o is unto a people great ad|vancement; and on the contrary, barrenne&s;s is a re|proach,
<PB N="318" REF="189"> <HI>Gen.</HI> 30.23. <HI>The Lord hath taken away my re|proach;</HI> but they were never &s;o much honoured by the fruit of their bodies, though in that God made good his promi&s;e to encrea&s;e them as <HI>the &s;tars of heaven, and as the &s;and upon the Sea &s;hore,</HI> yet I &s;ay they were never &s;o much honoured by the fruit of their bodies, as they were by the fruitfulne&s;s of their Ordinances: They are therefore called <HI>the Bed</HI> wherein Chri&s;t doth em|brace his Church, and wherein &s;ouls are begotten to the Lord, <HI>Cant.</HI> 2.16. <HI>Our bed is green; glorious things are &s;poken of Zion the City of God:</HI> what be they? I will make mention of <HI>Rahab, Babylon, Phili&s;tin, Tyre</HI> with <HI>Ethiopia,</HI> it &s;hall be &s;aid this and that man was born in her, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> that is, though they were &s;trangers unto <HI>Zion</HI> in their fir&s;t <HI>birth,</HI> and &s;o children of other Con|tries; but yet for their &s;econd birth, their new birth, they &s;hall know it to be in <HI>Zion,</HI> by means of the Ordi|nances, and &s;he &s;hall be called the mother of them all: and this is made the glory of a Church <HI>under the</HI> Go|&s;pel; <HI>the dew of thy birth is of the womb of the morning, P&s;al.</HI> 110.3. that is, multitudes &s;hall be born unto it as the drops of the dew that are <HI>begotten in the womb of the morning.</HI> But when the Ordinances are either corru|pted, or removed, Chri&s;t meets his Spou&s;e in this bed no more; when the &s;on of righteou&s;nes with-holds his beams, this dew is not exhaled and a man &s;hall not find a drop falling from the womb of the morning; this is a great reproach unto a people: <HI>Cant.</HI> 4.2. <HI>Thy teeth are like a flock of &s;heep coming up from the wa&s;hing; they bear twins, and not one is barren among&s;t them:</HI> by the teeth of the Church &s;ome under&s;tand the Mini&s;ters, <HI>quos aliis erudiendis Chri&s;tus praefecit;</HI> for the office of the teeth is to chew and to prepare the meat that it
<PB N="319" REF="189"> may be fit nouri&s;hment for the re&s;t of the members, &s;o do the&s;e. <HI>Brightman,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Brightman</NOTE> <HI>Dividendo, di&s;tinguendo, nodos &s;ol|vendo, ob&s;cura illu&s;trando, dentium funguntur munere,</HI> &amp;c. The&s;e for their purity are like a <HI>flock of &s;heep newly wa&s;h|ed,</HI> and for their fruitfulne&s;s, <HI>they bear twins, and not one is barren among&s;t them,</HI> but by their labours they bring forth much fruit, and they bring home many a &s;oul to the Lord; but if once God withdraw his Ordi|nances, his people become barren: as it is in the Church of the Jews; and it is true of the &s;even <HI>A&s;ian</HI> Churches, and many other for&s;aken Churches of the Gentiles; <HI>the barren hath born &s;even, and &s;he that had many children is waxen feeble, I&s;a.</HI> 5.4.</P>
<P>Fourthly its a glory to a people to have &s;tore of all things in it, &s;o that they may be able to communicate to others in their nece&s;&s;ities, but need not borrow of any: this was the advancement that the Lord promi|&s;ed unto his people, <HI>Deut.</HI> 28.12. <HI>you &s;hall lend unto other Nations and &s;hall not borrow;</HI> this is that wherewith God hath exceedingly honoured this Nation of ours, and when that we many times vainly boa&s;t that we need not for outward things be beholding to any people; but much greater is this glory in things &s;piritual, and all this is by the Ordinances; if the embryos in the womb of the Church want nouri&s;hment, <HI>her Navil is like a round Goblet that wants not liquor:</HI> and by it the children in the womb are nouri&s;hed unto life, <HI>Cant</HI> 7.2 if babes want milk, they may &s;uck and be &s;atisfied with the&s;e <HI>brea&s;ts of Con&s;olation, I&s;a.</HI> 66.11. if the children want bread, <HI>the belly of the Church,</HI> the Sacrament of the Lords &s;upper, the belly which receives the &s;u&s;tenance for the re&s;t of the body, <HI>is like a heap of wheat &s;et about with Lillies, Cant.</HI> 7.2. if &s;trong men want meat, it is to
<PB N="320" REF="190"> be had in them, <HI>Heb.</HI> 5.12. and if they need water for their &s;piritual refre&s;hment, <HI>here are the wells of &s;alvation, I&s;a.</HI> 12.3. and that you may not think that in the daies of drowth the&s;e will be drye, the Lord tells you, that there are &s;prings to feed them; <HI>all my &s;prings are in thee, P&s;al.</HI> 87. <HI>ult.</HI></P>
<P>But when the Lord takes away the Ordinances, then the tongue of the &s;ucking child cleaves to the mouth for thir&s;t; then the children cry for bread, and there is none to break it to them; then they that fed delicately upon the pure&s;t Ordinances, they are de&s;olate in the &s;treets, and they that <HI>were brought up in &s;carlet imbrace dunghills;</HI> it is &s;poken by the Prophet of a bodily fa|mine, <HI>Lam.</HI> 4.5,6. it is much more true of a &s;piritual famine, when <HI>men &s;hall run from Sea to Sea to &s;eek the word of the Lord, and &s;hall not find it, Amos</HI> 8.12. this is not only a mi&s;ery, but al&s;o a di&s;honour unto any people.</P>
<P>Fifthly, its a great advancement when the Lord makes a people flouri&s;h in outward things, <HI>making them the head and not the tail,</HI> as the Lord promi&s;ed, <HI>Deut.</HI> 28.13 and how comes it to pa&s;s that a people do not flouri&s;h? all the outward pro&s;perity that we have, in which we &s;o much glory, it is only by the Ordinances, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 7.19,20. the Lord threatens that if they did for&s;ake his Ordinances, and &s;erve other Gods, then <HI>he would remove his Ordinances from them; and the Hou&s;e that I have &s;anctified for my name, I will ca&s;t out of my &s;ight,</HI> &amp;c. And what follows? then &s;aith the Lord, <HI>I will pluck them up by the roots out of the land that I have given them:</HI> when the Ordinances were removed, and the Lord called them <HI>Loammi,</HI> all their outward pro&s;perity did quickly vani&s;h, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 2.9. <HI>I will take away my corn in
<PB N="321" REF="190"> the time thereof, and my wine in the &s;ea&s;on thereof, and I will recover my wool and my flax given to cover thy naked|ne&s;s,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 16.39. <HI>I will break down thine eminent place:</HI> that is, the Temple, where they did play the Harlot, and &s;et up the Image of jealou&s;ie before the Lord, <HI>Cap.</HI> 8. therefore the Lord will remove the Ordinances; and what then? then they &s;hall &s;trip thee of all thy cloathes, and leave thee naked and bare: we therefore that count our outward pro&s;perity our glory, con&s;ider we hold it by the Ordinances.</P>
<P>Sixthly, its a great advancement to a people to be well fortified, &s;o as to be able in danger, both for de|fence and offence to &s;ecure them&s;elves, not to fear their enemies; this was the glory that God did vouch&s;afe the Jewi&s;h Nation, and was &s;ometime the glory of the Engli&s;h al&s;o, <HI>the fear of thee &s;hall fall upon all Nations round about, Deut.</HI> 2.25. The&s;e are &s;piritually the <HI>Towers of Zion, P&s;a.</HI> 48.12,13. that we are bid to tell, and <HI>the bulwarks</HI> that we are wi&s;hed to <HI>mark:</HI> it is becau&s;e of this that the Church is de&s;cribed to be <HI>terrible as an Army with banners. Cant.</HI> 6.10. that is, becau&s;e the <HI>weapons of our warfare</HI> in them are not carnal, <HI>but mighty through God:</HI> therefore they are as great a dread unto the enemies, as an Army &s;et in battle-array. But as they are either corrupted by a people, or removed from them, &s;o doth their defence depart, as the Lord threatens, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 5.5. <HI>I will take away the hedge thereof, and it &s;hall be eaten up; I will break down the wall thereof and it &s;hall be trodden down.</HI> Now what was this hedge and this wall? nothing el&s;e, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mu&s;culus.</NOTE> as <HI>Mu&s;culus</HI> interprets it, but the Ordinances, the Word, and Sacraments, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> which did &s;erve for two ends, as a hedge and a wall <HI>ad &s;epara|tionem &amp; ad munitionem:</HI> therefore when the Lord took
<PB N="322" REF="191"> away the Ordinances, their defence departed from them; and as men corrupt them, &s;o they break the Hedge and pluck down the wall of our protection; it is true, it may not fal at once, but one picks out one thing, and another another, till at la&s;t they make a plain way for the Bea&s;ts of the field to break in upon the Vine|yard of the Lord: In all the&s;e re&s;pects, and in many more, the Ordinances of the Go&s;pel in their purity and power are a great advancement to a people.</P>
<P>Surely then they are in an errour that e&s;teem the Ordinances in their power to be a matter of di&s;grace, a note of indignity upon any place or per&s;on. Fir&s;t, make it your glory. Secondly, walk toward it as your glo|ry: for that which is &s;o great an advancement to a peo|ple, mu&s;t needs be an honour to a per&s;on al&s;o; yet &s;uch is the enmity and the folly of our nature, that we are apt to glory in any thing (yea many times in tho&s;e things that are our &s;hame) <HI>the wi&s;e man in his wi&s;dom, the &s;trong man in his &s;trength, and the rich man in his riches,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Jer.</HI> 9. and pa&s;s by that as an a&s;per&s;ion, which indeed would make us truly honourable, and in compari&s;on of others advance us up to heaven: for any thing el&s;e to be pointed at, men count an honour, <HI>pulchrum e&s;t digito mon&s;trari,</HI> &amp;c. there goes a rich man, a wi&s;e man, a great Schollar, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> but to be pointed at, there goes a holy man, a diligent hearer, a con&s;tant frequenter of the Ordinances <HI>in the place where Gods honour dwelleth:</HI> this is an imputation, and a matter of di&s;grace: and this e&s;pecially in any of the higher and the greater &s;ort: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Salvian.</NOTE> It is that which <HI>Salvian</HI> in his time did complain of, <HI>p.</HI> 113. that if any Noble man or great man begun to be religious, <HI>&s;tatim honorem nobi|litatis amittit; quantus in Chri&s;tiano populo honor Chri&s;ti,
<PB N="323" REF="191"> ubireligio ignobilem facit.</HI> The &s;ame is the di&s;ea&s;e of the pre&s;ent times, that di&s;honour &s;ome men for no cau&s;e but becau&s;e they do honour God, of whom the world may truly &s;ay, Thy God hath kept thee from ho|nour.</P>
<P>It will appear in the con&s;ideration of the&s;e things: Fir&s;t, what a man counts a matter of honour, he will not be a&s;hamed to appear to be: <HI>Paul was not a&s;hamed</HI> to preach the Go&s;pel, <HI>but was abundant in it, laboured more then they all:</HI> why? becau&s;e he counted it the matter of his glory, <HI>Rom.</HI> 15.20. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> it was &s;o his labour, that he counted it his honour too, and that made him &s;o abundant in it, he was willing to appear &s;o to be: the Martyrs in the Primitive times counted Chri&s;tianity their honour, and therefore they were not a&s;hamed to profe&s;s with triumph before their cruelle&s;t per&s;ecutors, <HI>Chri&s;tiani &s;umus,</HI> &amp;c. but among&s;t us we find men are loth to be taken notice of for con&s;tant preachers, for diligent hearers, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> becau&s;e they count it will be a blemi&s;h to their names, and may be a &s;top to their honour, and preferment in the world, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Thus many a man is by this means kept off from the Ordi|nances which would be his glory, <HI>&amp; quodammodo mali e&s;&s;e coguntur, ne viles habeantur:</HI> they mu&s;t be evil, or el&s;e they &s;ay they &s;hall be vile: if they be not wicked, they &s;ay they &s;hall be men of no e&s;teem: Surely, all tho&s;e that are a&s;hamed to appear, or to be thought holy, they count the Ordinances of God their di&s;grace, and not their honour: for a good man is that <HI>Seneca, Epi&s;t.</HI> 81. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Seneca.</NOTE> <HI>boni viri famam perdidit ne perdiret Con&s;tantinus:</HI> let every man look into his own heart whether it be &s;o with him. I accu&s;e none, but as <HI>Salvian</HI> &s;aith, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Salvian.</NOTE> <HI>Si quis in &s;e e&s;&s;e novit quae loquor non &agrave; mea &s;ihi haec lingua dici ae&s;timet:
<PB N="324" REF="192"> &s;ed &agrave; con&s;cientia &s;ua:</HI> not my tongue, but his own heart is his accu&s;er.</P>
<P>Secondly, what a man counts his honour, that he will have recour&s;e to, or &s;etch comfort or encourage|ment from it in di&s;grace, or any other calamity what|&s;oever. When <HI>Mordecay</HI> refu&s;ed to bow to <HI>Haman,</HI> unto what did his heart recoyl in this contempt, as he con|ceived? <HI>He&s;t.</HI> 5.10. <HI>it is &s;aid, that he told his friends of his glory, riches, multitude of children, and all the things wherein the King had promoted him, and how he had advan|ced him above the Princes,</HI> &amp;c. and with this he bore up his own Spirit. So it will be with the Ordinances; if a man make them his glory, as the Lord him&s;elf tells his people, <HI>I&s;a</HI> 30.20. though they were not freed from outward afflictions, <HI>though they were fed with the bread of affliction, and the water of trouble, yet their Teachers &s;hould be removed into corners no more, but their eyes &s;hould &s;ee their Teachers,</HI> &amp;c. and with this the Lord &s;trives to uphold their hearts again&s;t all their outward calamities; they &s;hould be &s;ure of plenty of the bread of life, though they did want the &s;taff of bread; when a &s;oul is able to turn in upon him&s;elf, and in any calamity up|hold his &s;pirit herewith; It is true God feeds me with the bread of affliction, but yet my eyes do &s;ee my Teachers; and can he be hungry that is fed with <HI>the bread of life?</HI> can he fare meanly that is alwaies at a <HI>fea&s;t of fat things?</HI> No &s;urely; brown bread and the Go&s;pel is rich provi&s;ion. Can he thir&s;t that may at plea&s;ure <HI>draw water with joy out of the wells of &s;alvation?</HI> Can he be poor unto whom is daily offered <HI>the un&s;earch|able riches of Chri&s;t?</HI> Can he be &s;ick to whom <HI>the Sun of righteou&s;ne&s;s doth ari&s;e with healing in his wings?</HI> and can he be alone, who is come <HI>to the innumerable company
<PB N="325" REF="192"> of Angels, or the general a&s;&s;embly and Church of the fir&s;t born which are written in heaven, &amp; to God the Iudge of all?</HI> &amp;c. Thus we are by Go&s;pel-Ordinances, <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.22,23. <HI>Matth.</HI> 9.2. Chri&s;t &s;aith unto the poor man &s;ick of the Pal&s;ey, <HI>Son, be of good chear, thy &s;ins are for|given thee:</HI> A poor man in &s;ickne&s;s and in pain, how could he be of good chear? yea there is &s;ufficient in the Go&s;pel, and the Comforts and Ordinances thereof, to chear a mans heart, and to bear him up again&s;t all the outward &s;orrows, and calamities in the world; if a man do make the Ordinances of the Go&s;pel the matter of his honour, then they will be his chiefe&s;t joy in the be&s;t times, and his only joy in the wor&s;t.</P>
<P>Thirdly, a mans honour, and that which he glories in, he will lay all at &s;take to defend; the people of I&s;rael counted <HI>David</HI> a great honour to his Nation as indeed he was, and therefore they called him <HI>the light of I&s;rael,</HI> 2 <HI>Sam</HI> 21.17. and being in battle, there came <HI>I&s;hbebenob</HI> the Giant, and would have &s;lain <HI>David;</HI> but <HI>Abi&s;hai</HI> the &s;on of <HI>Zerviah</HI> interpo&s;ed him&s;elf, re&s;cued the King, and &s;lew the Phili&s;tine. Now when the Giants of the world &s;trike &s;ometimes at one Ordinance, &s;ometimes at another, and think &s;urely to <HI>quench the light of I&s;rael;</HI> Where is the man that hath interpo&s;ed him&s;elf, and born the blow that he might &s;uccour the Ordinances? Where is the man that is of Saint <HI>Bernards</HI> mind, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> <HI>Malo in nos murmur hominum quam in Deum; bonum e&s;t mihi, &s;i Deus dignetur me uti pro clypeo.</HI></P>
<P><LABEL>Objection</LABEL> But when you have &s;aid all, the world will never count the&s;e Ordinances an honour, nor tho&s;e that do frequent them to be honourable men, but either men of mean parts, or mean fortunes, the in&s;table multitude, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> or what ever a man was before, he &s;hall never be
<PB N="326" REF="193"> &s;o e&s;teemed afterward, <HI>Si honoratior qui&s;piam religio ni &s;e applicuerit:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Salvian.</NOTE> <HI>illico honoratus e&s;&s;e de&s;i&s;tit,</HI> Salvian. p. 113.</P>
<P><LABEL>An&s;wer.</LABEL> But con&s;ider, Fir&s;t, though the world will not &s;o count it, yet there is an honour that comes from God only, <HI>Iohn</HI> 5.44. and <HI>there is circumci&s;ion in the heart, and in the Spirit, who&s;e prai&s;e is not of men, but of God, Rom.</HI> 2. <HI>ult.</HI> There are indeed two great rate Books, or counts in which all the per&s;ons and actions of men be valued; Go<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s book, and the worlds; and they &s;et up|on per&s;ons and actions different rates, for that which is highly e&s;teemed among&s;t men, is an abomination in the &s;ight of the Lord, <HI>Luk.</HI> 16.15. and there is many a mans per&s;on and actions when they are weighed by the world, are conceived to be great weight, and yet when the Lord comes to weigh them, are found too light, and it is his Sentence mu&s;t &s;tand: he is prai&s;e-worthy, and that man is honourable, not whom him&s;elf, nor whom the world, but whom the Lord commends, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.18.</P>
<P>Secondly, for the world, we know it is unacquaint|ed with, and therefore unable to e&s;teem either the comforts or the honours of the Ordinances: for <HI>they are men of another Generation, Luk.</HI> 16.8. In e&s;tima|tion a great deal of wi&s;dom and art is &s;een, and that cannot be expected in tho&s;e whom the Scripture doth every where brand for folly: every man may &s;ee a pre|cious &s;tone, but he mu&s;t be a Lapidary that knows how to value it; every man &s;ees the Sun but he mu&s;t be an A&s;tronomer that &s;hall be able to mea&s;ure it, and take the quantity thereof: they that know no honour but the <HI>prai&s;e of men,</HI> its no wonder if they be not able to judge of the prai&s;e of God, <HI>Act.</HI> 17.11. whatever the
<PB N="327" REF="193"> world counts of honour and de&s;cent, the Lord &s;aith, they of <HI>Berea</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>they were better de&s;cend|ed then the re&s;t of The&s;&s;alonica, in that they received the word with readine&s;s of mind, and &s;earched the Scriptures daily,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Thirdly, though they &s;hould count it a di&s;grace, yet look upon the Ordinances alwaies as thy honour, and value not the Judgement of &s;uch men; &s;ay, <HI>its a &s;mall thing to me to be judged of you or of mans day:</HI> let it ap|pear that you as much undervalue their Judgement, as they do your waies; this was <HI>Luthers</HI> re&s;olution, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luther.</NOTE> <HI>Non ego opprobrium Bohemi cinominis metuo quae gloria e&s;t coram Deo. Ita concurrimus utrinque; illi extremo furore, ego &s;ummo contemptu; &amp; vincit mea audacia in Chri&s;to:</HI> for that thing and that per&s;on is honourable, and none el&s;e, who is precious in Gods eyes; &s;ince thou wa&s;t pre|cious in my eyes, thou ha&s;t been honourable, but never till then.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;&s;e 2.</HEAD>
<P>Strive &s;o to walk towards the Go&s;pel and all the Or|dinances thereof, that you may make it appear to the world you count it your honour, glory, and highe&s;t <HI>advancement</HI> in the world: <HI>This concerns,</HI> Fir&s;t tho&s;e that have it not. Secondly, tho&s;e that have it.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, you that have it not, &s;trive to get it at any rate, for your &s;elf, for the place in which you live: for it is <HI>a pearl of great price,</HI> and therefore you may do well to <HI>&s;ell all that thou ha&s;t to buy it:</HI> in other things men will &s;pare no co&s;t to &s;atisfie their ambition, give any thing for their honour, but in this men have no ambition. <HI>Infelix pror&s;us ambitio quae ambire magna non novit,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> <HI>Ber|nard.</HI></P>
<P>You that live in the dark places of the earth, and
<PB N="328" REF="194"> are like to <HI>Jerico,</HI> where it may be the Land is plea&s;ant, but the waters bitter, count it now not only the matter of your mi&s;ery, but al&s;o of your di&s;honour; &s;tir up your ambition in this re&s;pect, to have the Ordinances of the Go&s;pel, that may exalt you up to heaven, and what difficulty &s;o ever may &s;eem to &s;tand in the way, let them not deterr you, <HI>anime magno nihil e&s;t mag|num.</HI></P>
<P>What? God will ble&s;s your riches, honour and ad|vancement in outward things: do not you live without this; it was the complaint of <HI>Bernard</HI> of &s;ome, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> <HI>purpura induunturcum con&s;cientia panno&s;a&punc; fulgent monilibus, &amp; mo|ribus &s;ordent:</HI> it is the very condition of many places in this Kingdom: a &s;pecial ground of it is want of the Ordinances in their power: Nay if you have good hearts, all the&s;e outward things will do you no good if this be wanting: the poor woman, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 4. <HI>ult.</HI> though they told her, Be of good comfort, thou ha&s;t born a Son; yet &s;he an&s;wered not, neither did &s;he &s;et her mind upon it, but called his name <HI>Ichabod, the glory is departed from I&s;rael:</HI> the Ark of God, a type of Evangelical Ordi|nances, <HI>Evangelium &s;ub velo, the Ark of God is taken.</HI> And not only for the places you your &s;elves live in, but &s;trive to propagate the Go&s;pel unto others al&s;o. Not only your duty to God and to the Go&s;pel, your love to the &s;ouls of your brethren, but your reference to the Land it &s;elf calls for it: it is every Chri&s;tians duty to rai&s;e the Age, and as much as in him lies to ennoble and honour the Land and Nation where he lives: this is the only way to make this Land to become the glorious Land, and to name it <HI>Iehovah Shammah, the Lord is there, Ezek.</HI> 48. <HI>ult.</HI> You will &s;ay herein, what &s;hall we do<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"></P>
<PB N="329" REF="194">
<P>Fir&s;t, Con&s;ider and &s;trive to be &s;eriou&s;ly affected with the mi&s;ery and di&s;honour of tho&s;e that want the&s;e Ordinances, <HI>Cant.</HI> 8.8. <HI>we have a little &s;i&s;ter, and &s;he hath no brea&s;ts.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, Enquire, &s;tudy, &s;et your thoughts on work about it, whether you may relieve her; <HI>What &s;hall we do for our &s;i&s;ter in the day that &s;he &s;hall be &s;poken for?</HI> Can we do nothing by our pains, by our pur&s;es, by our friends? <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, re&s;olve thou wilt do thy utmo&s;t as they do: <HI>if &s;he be a wall, we will build upon her a Pallace of &s;ilver; if a door, inclo&s;e her, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, when you have done all, <HI>pray to the Lord of the Harve&s;t to &s;end forth Labourers, Mat.</HI> 9.37. pray that the <HI>Go&s;pel may run and be glorified, as it will:</HI> that it may go forth with &s;peed and &s;trength, prevailing over difficulties, and conquering all oppo&s;ition; that it may go forth, <HI>as the Sun when it goes forth in its &s;trength.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, you that enjoy the Ordinances of the Go|&s;pel, and by them are exalted up to heaven,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, prize it as highly as you do your highe&s;t ho|nour, it is worthy of all acceptation to be received, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.15. <HI>Acts</HI> 17.11. Say as S^t <HI>Chry&s;o&s;toms</HI> hearers, <HI>Satius e&s;&s;e ut &s;ol non luceat quem ut non doceat Chry&s;o&s;tomus,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Secondly, pre&s;erve it and defend it as you will do your honour: if men &s;eek to take it away, or to hinder the Go&s;pel in any kind <HI>contend earne&s;tly for the faith that was once given to the Saints, Jude</HI> 3. for the Go&s;pel is committed to the cu&s;tody of the Pa&s;tors of the Church to preach it, but to the Princes and people of the earth to defend it, to be a guard about it again&s;t al the oppo&s;i|tion
<PB N="330" REF="195"> and malice of the enemies: little do they con&s;i|der what the co&s;t of our poor fore-Fathers was to tran&s;mit the Go&s;pel, and the Ordinances thereof unto us; the blood of Martyrs &s;pilt, the blood of Mini&s;ters &s;pent, and all was to tran&s;mit it to your hands; <HI>Rom.</HI> 3.2. <HI>Rev.</HI> 13.16,17. take heed through carele&s;ne&s;s and cowardline&s;s we betray not the tru&s;t committed un|to us: but that we al&s;o by a publike profe&s;&s;ion, and an earne&s;t contention, in its purity, convey it unto our po|&s;terity; you take care that they &s;hall inherit their Fa|thers Liberties and Honours, be as careful that they in|herit their Fathers Ordinances al&s;o; el&s;e contend by prayers, put in thy &s;tock for them there al&s;o, <HI>Rom.</HI> 15.20. &s;ay not that it is too late now, 1 <HI>Kings</HI> 8.42.</P>
<P>Thirdly, honour it, <HI>Adorn the Doctrine of God and our Saviour in all, Titus</HI> 2.16. it is but rea&s;on that we &s;hould honour, it which doth &s;o highly honour us. Fir&s;t by &s;tudying it, de&s;pi&s;e all other knowledge in compari|&s;on of it; with <HI>the Angels &s;toop down to pry into it.</HI> Second|ly, prefer it above all your own coun&s;els, &s;et it up in your hearts as the only rule to walk by. Thirdly, have recour&s;e to it upon all occa&s;ions as your only refuge, as the Anchor of the &s;oul in every &s;piritual Tempe&s;t, as a &s;taff to lean upon in your great|e&s;t darkne&s;s, <HI>as the mini&s;tration of righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> for thy Ju&s;tification, the In&s;trument to convey grace for &s;ancti|fication, <HI>as the Golden pipes to convey the oyl of grace from the two anointed ones, Zac.</HI> 4.14. by looking into which gla&s;s thou art transformed from glory to glory, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3 <HI>ult.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, walk worthy of your honour, as it becomes the Go&s;pel, <HI>Phil.</HI> 1.27. great honours &s;tand not with
<PB N="331" REF="195"> ba&s;e cour&s;es; <HI>&s;edes prima, vitaima: dignitas in indigno, quid e&s;t ni&s;i ornamentum in luto?</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Salvian.</NOTE> <HI>Salvian.</HI> It is not agree|able to your honour who are exalted up to heaven, that you &s;hould walk as if you lived in hell: not for you that are honoured as Chri&s;tians, to live as Heathens: for know, the Lord is now come nigh unto you; for his truth, his Go&s;pel, and the honour thereof, if you walk not an&s;werable, will make your &s;ins more filthy: it is like a Taper in the hand of a Gho&s;t, which makes him appear the more ga&s;tly: it will ripen them the &s;ooner, <HI>they are like to &s;ummer fruit, Amos</HI> 8.1. and all the glory of it will be unto you but as pitch to the barrel, it will make you burn more fiercely in tho&s;e eternal flames.</P>
<P>Fifthly, &s;trive to have the excellency of every Or|dinance; there is a &s;pecial power in every one: power|ful preaching, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.4. <HI>Iam.</HI> 5.16. Content not thy &s;elf with the Letter without the Spirit; be of <HI>Eli&s;ha's</HI> mind, here is the mantle, but where is the God of <HI>Elijah?</HI> they are <HI>wells</HI> that mu&s;t be drawn, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 12.3. <HI>brea&s;ts</HI> that mu&s;t be &s;ucked, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 66.11.</P>
<P>Sixthly, be &s;en&s;ible of the &s;piritual ab&s;ence of God: the Ordinances continued, and they &s;aw no|thing, but the Prophet &s;aw the glory of the Lord departing, and he departed not all at once, but by de|grees; a &s;oul &s;hould &s;trive to be &s;en&s;ible of each degree of his removal; when the waters encrea&s;e, a &s;oul &s;hould take notice, and &s;o when they de|crea&s;e and grow low among&s;t a people, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 47.34.</P>
<P>Seventhly, La&s;tly take heed of tho&s;e &s;ins that may cau&s;e your glory to depart, and may provoke God to remove the Candle&s;tick; take heed of all; but there are
<PB N="332" REF="196"> &s;ome &s;ins in a &s;pecial manner, <HI>That cau&s;e God to go far from his Sanctuary, Ezek.</HI> 8.8.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, when men corrupt the Ordinances with hu|mane inventions, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 10.4. &s;et up the Image of jealou&s;ie.</P>
<P>Secondly, when the Ordinances <HI>become a burden to a people; this is the burden of the Lord, Jer.</HI> 33.33.</P>
<P>Thirdly, when men &s;et up their lu&s;t again&s;t them, <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 78.58,59. <HI>The Lord was wrath, &s;o that he greatly abhorred I&s;rael, and for&s;ook his Tabernacle in Shilo.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, unprofitablene&s;s and unfruitfulne&s;s un|der Ordinances: even <HI>that ground that drinks in the rain, and brings not forth fruit an&s;werable, is nigh to cur&s;ing, Heb.</HI> 6.8. even tho&s;e &s;ins which may &s;eem &s;mall in mens account for them, <HI>God will come and re|move the Candle&s;tick except you repent, Rev.</HI> 2.5. for know this in Conclu&s;ion, The foundation of all true peace and tranquillity in a Common-wealth, is from the Go&s;pel, and from them that &s;hew forth the power thereof; and therefore if by &s;in you pro|voke the Lord in the Go&s;pel to depart from you, you mu&s;t expect it will not depart alone, but all pro&s;perity with it, <HI>Rev.</HI> 4.5. <HI>Out of the Temple pro|ceeded Lightening, Thundering and Voices;</HI> the Lord &s;aith, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 10.2. before the de&s;truction of Jeru&s;a|lem, <HI>&s;ill thy hand with coals from between the Cheru|hims, and &s;catter them over the City.</HI> the Jews glo|ried in their Temple, and they thought <HI>Ignem Sacrum tantum valere ad &s;celera expianda,</HI> that it did &s;erve for no|thing but to expiate their &s;ins, but the Lord will mani|fe&s;t al&s;o that it will &s;erve to burn the City.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="333" REF="196">
<HEAD>The two COVENANTS.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>Preached in <HI>Bartholomew</HI> Lane, <DATE><HI>Iune</HI> 22. 1652.</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>GAL. 4.21,22.</BIBL>
<P>Tell me you that de&s;ire to be under the Law, do you not hear the Law? For it is written, <HI>Abraham</HI> had two &s;ons, the one by a bond-maid, and the other by a free-woman; which things are an Allegory, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_IT was &s;ometime the complaint of one <HI>Drex, de cultu. con&s;c.</HI> that this is a mi&s;ery that be|falls us in the Mini&s;terie above all other callings what&s;oever, that we can never find our work as we leave it: let a Plowman &s;ow his
<PB N="334" REF="197"> &s;eed, and as he leaves his field, &s;o he finds it af|ter; <HI>dolabra &s;emel dedolares,</HI> &amp;c. let a Joyner plain a board, and when he returns he &s;ees the fruit of his former la|bours; but if a Mini&s;ter &s;ow the &s;eed of the word, after his departure <HI>the enemie comes and &s;ows Tares;</HI> let him take never &s;o much pains to plain and fa&s;hion a people, yet after a while he finds a rough-ca&s;t of corruption over them: let him take never &s;o much care to lay firm the principles of the Doctrine of Chri&s;t, yet he &s;hall find them &s;oon <HI>moved away from the truths of the Go|&s;pel.</HI></P>
<P>It was the Apo&s;tles ca&s;e here; he had with much la|bour and many travelling pains planted this Church, but after his departure, <HI>there aro&s;e men of corrupt minds, &s;peaking perver&s;e things, defaming his mini&s;tery, and oppo|&s;ing his Doctrine:</HI> In this Epi&s;tle the Apo&s;tle ju&s;tifies his per&s;on again&s;t their calumnies, <HI>Chap.</HI> 1.2. and con|firms his Doctrine again&s;t all their Cavils, <HI>Chap.</HI> 3.4,5.</P>
<P>The principle that they oppo&s;e, is, Ju&s;tification by the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t, without an addition of the works of the Law: for it hath ever been the manner of fal&s;e Teachers, they have loved mixture: This principle the Apo&s;tle labours to confirm them in, in the&s;e words, by &s;etting before them the mi&s;erable con|dition that they mu&s;t needs be in that are under the Law in matter of Ju&s;tification; they thereby become <HI>&s;ubject to bondage, children of the bond-woman, and for|&s;ake the liberty wherein Chri&s;t hath made them free:</HI> and this he proves by &s;etting before them an antient and known hi&s;tory, wherein he tels them a &s;piritual my&s;terie was contained: the hi&s;tory this; <HI>Abraham</HI> had in a manner two wives of different conditions, the one bond,
<PB N="335" REF="197"> and the other free, and by the&s;e he had two &s;ons of like condition with their mothers; for the rule is, <HI>partus &s;e|quitur ventrem;</HI> the &s;on of the free-woman was a free|man, and the &s;on of the bond-woman was a bond-man. This, the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, is not to be taken barely as the letter &s;ounds and no more, but there is &s;omething el&s;e meant then the words them&s;elves do repre&s;ent unto a man <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> that is, <HI>continuata, or perpetua Me|taphora,</HI> that is, this is more then a bare hi&s;torical nar|ration: but here the Holy Gho&s;t had an intent to make the&s;e things in nature types and re&s;emblances of &s;ome|thing an&s;werable in the work of grace.</P>
<P>And the my&s;terie is this, the two mothers are types of the two Covenants the Covenant of works, and of grace, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>doctrina non e&s;t mater:</HI> the two &s;ons are a type of two &s;orts of men living in the Church, the one proceeding from the fir&s;t, and the other from the &s;econd Covenant; the one born after the fle&s;h, and the other born by promi&s;e: the one regenerate, and the other unregenerate mon.</P>
<P>The condition of the&s;e &s;ons an&s;werable to the con|dition of their mothers; the one bond, and the other free; that is, all unregenerate men, being the children of the fir&s;t Covenant, they are bond-men, in a &s;tate of bondage; for &s;ince the fall this mother hath ever <HI>gend<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">r|ed to bondage,</HI> that is, who ever were begotten and born by this Doctrine, they were alwaies in a &s;tate of bondage.</P>
<P>But all regenerate men that are born of the Cove|nant of grace, and are under it, they are free-men, and in a &s;tate of freedom, becau&s;e born of a free mother: for all a mans freedom or bondage doth flow from, and de|pend upon the Covenant under which he &s;tands.</P>
<PB N="336" REF="198">
<P>Would you &s;ee an example of both the&s;e &s;ons, the bond and the free? if you would &s;ee an example of <HI>I&s;mael</HI> the &s;on of the bond-woman, look upon <HI>Ieru&s;a|lem that now is,</HI> that is, the people of the Jews as they then &s;tood affected, who did &s;eek Ju&s;tification by their own righteou&s;ne&s;s, and expected eternal life by the works of the Law, and therefore they being under the fir&s;t Covenant, which genders to bondage, they were in bondage al&s;o: &s;ee an example of <HI>I&s;aac</HI> the &s;on of the free-woman; look upon the Church planted by Chri&s;t and the Apo&s;tles, in the dares of the Go&s;pel, which dare not &s;tand upon the righteon&s;ne&s;s of the Law for Ju&s;tification, but embrace the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t alone, and tru&s;t perfectly in the grace that God hath revealed in his Son; and this is called <HI>Ieru&s;alem that is above;</HI> as <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.22. becau&s;e begotten from above, and have above their conver&s;ation; and of all free men, all regenerate men, this is acknowledged to be the mother, and they &s;ons of this Church in <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> that is above.</P>
<P>Some Interpreters I know &s;ay, that the&s;e two Co|venants are not two in &s;ub&s;tance, but that it is meant of the Covenant of grace diver&s;ly admini&s;tred under the Old Te&s;tament and under the New: in the one they were under Tutors and Governors, and &s;o in bon|dage till the time of liberty came that was appointed by the Father.</P>
<P>I confe&s;s that this bondage is al&s;o &s;poke of in the be|ginning of this Chapter, <HI>v.</HI> 2, 3, 4. under the ceremo|nies of the Law, the rudiments of the world, and in compari&s;on of the Ordinances and liberties of the Go|&s;pel, <HI>beggerly Elements;</HI> but here the Apo&s;tle cannot &s;peak either that tho&s;e &s;ons, or tho&s;e mothers &s;ignifie
<PB N="337" REF="198"> the Covenant of grace diver&s;ly admini&s;tred for the&s;e two rea&s;ons.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, he &s;peaks of men under the Law as a Cove|nant under the &s;ame Covenant that <HI>I&s;mael</HI> was, being as he was the <HI>&s;on of the bond-woman,</HI> that did &s;eek Ju&s;tifi|cation by the works of the Law, according to the pro|mi&s;e of this Covenant, <HI>This do and live:</HI> But the peo|ple of God under the Old Te&s;tament, &s;ons under Tu|tors and Governors in their minority, and under the pedagogy of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> did not &s;eek to be Ju&s;tified by the Law, nor de&s;ire to be under it, neither were they un|der the &s;ame Covenant that <HI>I&s;mael</HI> was, therefore it cannot be meant of the &s;ons of God under the Old Te&s;tament. And this forceth <HI>Calvin</HI> to reject this in|terpretation, and to &s;ay, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Calvin.</NOTE> <HI>Fateor Paulum hic de talibus &s;i|liis non loqui:</HI> therefore it is &s;poken of two di&s;tinct Co|venants, the Covenant of <HI>I&s;mael,</HI> which was a Covenant of works, and the Covenant of <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> which was the Covenant of grace.</P>
<P>Secondly, the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of &s;uch as being in the condition of <HI>I&s;mael,</HI> were to expect no inheritance, but to be ca&s;t out at la&s;t: <HI>Ca&s;t out the bond-woman and her &s;on, ver&s;.</HI> 30. Now this is not true of tho&s;e that were under the Covenant of grace under the Old Te&s;ta|ment; for though they were for a time <HI>under Tutors and Governors,</HI> yet they were <HI>children of the free woman,</HI> as well as we under the Go&s;pel, <HI>the Church of the fir&s;t born written in Heaven, Heb.</HI> 12.23 and therefore <HI>were to abide in the hou&s;e for ever:</HI> and though not without us, yet <HI>together with us they were to be made perfect, H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">b</HI> 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>ult.</HI> taking the two mothers therefore, not for the Co|venant of grace diver&s;ly admini&s;tred; but for the two &s;everal Covenants that God hath made with mankind,
<PB N="338" REF="199"> <HI>the Covenant of works,</HI> and <HI>the Covenant of grace:</HI> the purpo&s;e of the Holy-Gho&s;t here I will &s;et down in the&s;e propo&s;itions, worthy to be &s;tudyed and enqui|red into.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, there are two &s;everal Covenants that God hath made with mankind, one of works, before the fall; and the other of grace, which &s;ince the fall God hath e&s;tabli&s;hed and revealed to the Church.</P>
<P>Secondly, all tho&s;e that live in the Church are the children of one of the&s;e Covenants (that is) they be under them; for <HI>Abrahams</HI> family was a Type of the Church, and there were two mothers and two &s;ons. All carnal unregenerate per&s;ons are <HI>&s;coffing I &s;maels,</HI> are the <HI>children of Hagar,</HI> they are under the fir&s;t Covenant, the Covenant of works: all godly and regenerate men are the children of <HI>Sarah,</HI> that is, <HI>born of the promi&s;e,</HI> and under the Covenant of grace.</P>
<P>Thirdly, all the liberty and bondage that a man &s;tands in, proceeds from the Covenant under which he &s;tands; he that is born of the bond-woman, whatever his pretences and priviledges be, he is a bond-man; and he that is born of the free-woman is a free|man.</P>
<P>Fourthly, the Covenant of works, though it was at fir&s;t given as a Covenant of liberty, and <HI>Adam</HI> under it was a free-man, yet unto man fallen it is a Covenant of bondage: and all unregenerate men that be under it are bond-men; but on the contrary, the Covenant of grace is a Covenant of freedom, and they that are un|der it are free-men.</P>
<P>Fifthly, to &s;tand under the Covenant of works <HI>which genders to bondage,</HI> is unto all unregenerate men a de&s;irable condition: <HI>they de&s;ire to be under the Law.</HI></P>
<PB N="339" REF="199">
<P>Sixthly, the Law it &s;elf which God delivered upon Mount <HI>Sinai,</HI> though God did publi&s;h it there with Evangelical purpo&s;es, and had no intention to &s;et it up as a Covenant of works, but only as a hand-maid, an appendix unto the Covenant of grace: and therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>whereto &s;erves the Law, if it were not &s;et forth as a Covenant by which man &s;hould attain life? Gal.</HI> 3.19. he an&s;wers, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, <HI>it was added,</HI> or put to, not &s;et up by it &s;elf alone, as a di&s;tinct Covenant, but added as a hand-maid to advance the glory, and to fur|ther the ends of the &s;econd Covenant; yet even this Law unregenerate men in the Church make unto them&s;elves to be nothing el&s;e but a Covenant of works, and &s;o though it were not given for bondage, <HI>yet in them it genders unto bondage.</HI></P>
<P>Seventhly, no man can &s;tand under both Cove|nants: no more then he can be born of two mothers; he that is born of <HI>Hagar,</HI> cannot be naturally the Son of <HI>Sarah;</HI> and therefore if a man be under the fir&s;t Cove|nant, there mu&s;t be a tran&s;lation, and that &s;upernatural, or el&s;e a man can never be a &s;on of the free-woman, can never be under the &s;econd Covenant.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doctrine.</HEAD>
<P><HI>All unregenerate men, men in a &s;tate of nature wherein they were born, are all under the fir&s;t Covenant, the Cove|nant of works; they be all the &s;ons of</HI> Hagar <HI>the bond|woman: I&s;mael</HI> is a Type of all unregenerate men.</P>
<P>A Covenant is a mutual agreement between two, voluntarily binding them&s;elves upon certain conditi|ons each to other.</P>
<P>Man is bound unto God by a double bond: Fir&s;t, by the bond of Creation. Secondly, by the bond of &s;tipu|lation;
<PB N="340" REF="200"> the one natural, and the other voluntary, that &s;o the Lord may bind the creature to him by all imagina|ble ingagements to prevent future apo&s;tacy: <HI>for the Lord knows our frame and whereof we were made:</HI> by the former we are only bound unto God; but by the latter God al&s;o is bound unto us, and as before I &s;aid, he did it to engage the creature: &s;o he doth this to encou|rage the creature to obedience: The Lord hath, as Creator, ab&s;olute and unlimited authority, and therefore might have commanded duty without reward: for <HI>when we have done all that is commanded, we are but unprofitable &s;ervants:</HI> or if he had intended a reward, he might have re&s;erved that unto him&s;elf, and have told the creature, you &s;hall tru&s;t unto me: if I think fit, I will reward you: but however I will be free: But the Lord doth not: but that man might not think much to be bound unto obedience, God him&s;elf is plea&s;ed to be bound to re|compence: <HI>Ha&s;t thou &s;erved God for nought?</HI></P>
<P>Now this agreement between God and man is two|fold, an&s;werable unto the two-fold &s;tate of man; Fir&s;t, in the &s;tate of integrity God made with man a Covenant expre&s;&s;ing mans duty, and promi&s;ing a re|ward unto his obedience, and this was <HI>faedus amicitiae:</HI> becau&s;e God and man were not at variance, like that be|tween <HI>David</HI> and <HI>Jonathan</HI> for the confirmation of their mutual loves.</P>
<P>Secondly, in a &s;tate of corruption after the fall, God entred into a new Covenant to take man into friend|&s;hip again, after God and man had by &s;in been &s;et at va|riance, and this was <HI>faedus mi&s;ericordiae,</HI> a Covenant of reconciliation.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the&s;e two Covenants were made with two &s;everal heads: with the <HI>fir&s;t</HI> and with the <HI>&s;econd Adam;</HI>
<PB N="341" REF="200"> for under the&s;e all mankind are included; and in them the Lord looks upon the whole nature of man; there|fore the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks as if there were but two men in the world, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.47. <HI>the fir&s;t man, and the &s;econd man:</HI> becau&s;e they are as the two common heads of all mankind.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t Covenant was made with the <HI>fir&s;t Adam, Gen.</HI> 2.9. <HI>God gave Adam all the Trees of the Garden for meat:</HI> but one was given as <HI>pabulum animae:</HI> called therefore <HI>non ab effectu,</HI> the tree of life: not becau&s;e of any natural power in it, either to beget or continue life: but, <HI>&agrave; &s;ignificatione qu&acirc; erat Sacramentum &amp; Symbolum vitae:</HI> as a &s;ign &s;ignifying, as a &s;eal ratifying and con|firming to him the a&s;&s;urance of that life which God had promi&s;ed unto his obedience: Now this was not a &s;eal &s;et to a blank: therefore it mu&s;t needs be given up|on &s;uppo&s;ition, and for confirmation of a fore-going Covenant.</P>
<P>The &s;econd Covenant was made with the &s;econd <HI>Adam; he &s;aith not unto &s;eeds, as &s;peaking of many; but unto one, which is Chri&s;t, Gal</HI> 3.16,19. he is called <HI>the &s;eed</HI> unto whom the promi&s;e, and with whom the Covenant was made: for as <HI>Adam</HI> was <HI>Caput cum faedere;</HI> &s;o is Chri&s;t al&s;o, therefore the Lord promi&s;eth that he will give him <HI>as a Covenant to the Nations, I&s;a.</HI> 4.2,6. for in this <HI>Adam</HI> was <HI>a Type of him that was to come,</HI> Rom. 5.14.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the fir&s;t Covenant was a Covenant of works, &s;o called from the condition of the Covenant which did require per&s;onal and perfect obedience; <HI>this do and thou &s;halt live, Ezek.</HI> 20.13. and that under a pe|nalty of a cur&s;e for the lea&s;t deviation; <HI>cur&s;ed is every one that continues not in all things written in the book
<PB N="342" REF="201"> of the Law to do them, Gal.</HI> 3.10.</P>
<P>Fourthly, this Covenant was made not only with <HI>Adam,</HI> but with the whole nature of man in him, for <HI>Adam</HI> was a publike per&s;on, a repre&s;entative head; and the tree of life was not a per&s;onal Sacrament, but a na|tural, which did belong unto the nature, and therefore the Covenant was made with the nature, and not with any particular per&s;on only; which doth appear plainly, becau&s;e the Covenant being broken, the cur&s;e of the Covenant doth &s;ei&s;e upon the nature, <HI>Gal.</HI> 3.10. for the duty of the Covenant mu&s;t needs be as large as the cur&s;e of the Covenant; therefore upon whom&s;oever the cur&s;e doth come, unto them the duty did belong, and none were bound unto the obedience of the Cove|nant, but they that were <HI>foederati,</HI> per&s;ons with whom the Covenant was made.</P>
<P>Fifthly, this Covenant is not aboli&s;hed by the fall, but remains and &s;tands in force. Not to give life and &s;alvation; that indeed it cannot do, becau&s;e <HI>it is become weak through the fle&s;h, Rom.</HI> 8.3. but it commands duty now, as perfectly as it did of <HI>Adam,</HI> and that mu&s;t be per&s;onal and perfect obedience: And if a man fail in the lea&s;t degree, it threatens the cur&s;e al&s;o. God &s;peaks unto <HI>Cain</HI> according to the tenure of this Covenant af|ter the fall, <HI>Gen.</HI> 4.7. <HI>if thou do&s;t well, &s;halt thou not be accepted? &amp;c.</HI> It is by vertue of this Covenant that the cur&s;e comes upon men here in a degree, and in perfe|ction hereafter. there is no rea&s;on, that becau&s;e we have lo&s;t power to obey, therefore God &s;hould lo&s;e his power to command.</P>
<P>Sixthly, La&s;tly all unregenerate men &s;ince the fall, do &s;tand under this Covenant with the Lord: it mu&s;t needs follow from the principles already laid: for if this
<PB N="343" REF="201"> Covenant were made with <HI>Adam,</HI> with the whole na|ture of man, and if it &s;tand in force &s;ince the fall, then where&s;oever the nature of man is, becau&s;e every man is a Son of the fir&s;t <HI>Adam,</HI> he mu&s;t needs become bound unto the terms and condition of this Covenant; for it was made with the nature of man, and therefore it mu&s;t be univer&s;al; yet that &s;ince the fall all unregenerate men are under this Covenant, I will further prove it by the&s;e Arguments</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, it will appear from the conveyance of the guilt of <HI>Adams</HI> &s;in, <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.12. <HI>As by one man &s;in entred into the world and death by &s;in, &s;o death came upon all; be|cau&s;e &s;in came upon all:</HI> how &s;o, &s;eeing there be many dye that do never &s;in? The Apo&s;tle an&s;wers, though they have never &s;inned in their own per&s;ons, yet in him as a publike per&s;on they did &s;in <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>in whom all have &s;inned:</HI> we were all in him, and therefore we all &s;inned in him: now how were men in <HI>Adam?</HI> they were in him two waies.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, legally by vertue of the Covenant which God made with him, we were parties therein; we were as well bound to the duty, had as true an intere&s;t in the mercy and life promi&s;ed, and were as liable unto the cur&s;e that &s;hould follow upon the breach of the Cove|nant as he, and therefore all mankind fell at once.</P>
<P>The Covenant it &s;eems, that God made with the Angels, he did not make it with the whole Angelical nature, and therefore &s;ome of them fell and others &s;tood, but ours being made with the whole humane na|ture, and we being all involved in one Covenant, when in <HI>Adam</HI> our Covenant was broken, we all fell in him, and therefore &s;peaking of this Covenant, Saint <HI>Chry|&s;o&s;tom</HI> tells us, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chry&s;o&s;t</NOTE> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, the hand writ|ing
<PB N="344" REF="202"> of <HI>Adams</HI> Covenant was ours, as truly as it was his.</P>
<P>Secondly, naturally, and &s;o we bear the Image of the earthly, receiving from him the &s;ame nature that he had, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.49. if he had &s;tood, he had conveyed unto us an undefiled nature, and we have from him a corrupt nature by the fall: &s;o that <HI>whatever is born of the fle&s;h, is fle&s;h, Joh.</HI> 3.6. now &s;eeing his &s;in is conveyed unto us, becau&s;e we &s;tood under the &s;ame Covenant with him, it mu&s;t needs follow, that &s;o long as a man &s;tands guilty of <HI>Adams</HI> &s;in, &s;o long he &s;tands under <HI>Adams</HI> Covenant, and that mu&s;t needs be till this &s;in be done away in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, to be freed from the Law as a Covenant of works, is in Scripture made a &s;pecial favour, vouch|&s;afed unto none but them that are in Chri&s;t, <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.14. <HI>we are not under the Law, but under grace, Rom.</HI> 7.1,2,3. <HI>the Law is brought in as a dead husband,</HI> that hath com|mand over a man no more, but it is <HI>Chri&s;t that cancels this hand-writing, Col.</HI> 2.14. it is <HI>a liberty wherein Chri&s;t hath made us free, Gal.</HI> 5.1. Now how hath Chri&s;t made us free from the Law? how is it done? and how are we not under the Law? the Law hath in Scripture divers u&s;es; <HI>E&s;t in&s;tar Paedagogi, regulae, fraeni &amp; &s;peculi,</HI> now in all the&s;e re&s;pects believers are under the Law: it is not a <HI>hand-writing cancelled</HI> in either of them, but <HI>&s;ub ratione pacti:</HI> &s;o they that are in Chri&s;t, are not un|der the Law, but under grace, that is, either for righte|ou&s;ne&s;s, or life, for <HI>Chri&s;t is the end of the Law for righte|ou&s;ne&s;s to every one that believeth, Rom.</HI> 10 4. If none are freed from the Law as a Covenant, but they that are in Chri&s;t, then all unregenerate men who are without Chri&s;t, they &s;tand under the Law as a Coevnant &s;till.</P>
<PB N="345" REF="202">
<P>Thirdly, God deals with all unregenerate men ac|cording to the terms of the fir&s;t Covenant: for God deals with and di&s;pen&s;eth him&s;elf unto men ac|cording unto the Covenant under which they &s;tand: and therefore we &s;hall find the dealing with tho&s;e, and with believers is exceeding different, according as they &s;tand under different Covenants.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, he expects perfect obedience in their own per&s;ons: indeed the Lord requires perfect obedience &s;till, and wherein we come &s;hort in the lea&s;t degree, we &s;in: but yet becau&s;e the perfection is not to be found in us, it is made up in the &s;econd <HI>Adam</HI> in the obedience of <HI>the beloved:</HI> for there is <HI>commutatio per|&s;onae,</HI> but not <HI>Ju&s;titiae:</HI> but this is not vouch&s;afed unto any unregenerate man: neither a change of his righte ou&s;ne&s;s, it mu&s;t be perfect: nor of his per&s;on, for it mu&s;t be per&s;onal righteou&s;ne&s;s: for this Covenant ad|mits no Mediator: &s;o that of all the obedience of Chri&s;t, not any goes to perfect their obedience, and of all his &s;ufferings not a drop of his blood goes to take away one of their &s;ins off the &s;core, for they are <HI>with|out Chri&s;t, Eph.</HI> 2.12. and it is <HI>in him alone that God is well plea&s;ed, Math.</HI> 3.17.</P>
<P>Secondly, he rejects their mo&s;t glorious works for the lea&s;t failing in them; See it in <HI>Jehu,</HI> 2 <HI>King.</HI> 10.30. God &s;aith of him: <HI>He had diligently executed what was right in mine eyes: and hath done unto the hou&s;e of Ahab according to all that was in my heart:</HI> and yet in <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 1.4. he &s;aith, <HI>I will vi&s;it the blood of Iezreel on the hou&s;e of Jehu:</HI> and in them, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 1,11,12. though they were things commended by God, yet <HI>he abhors them; if thou do&s;t evil, &s;in lies at thy door, Gen.</HI> 4.7. whereas it is not &s;o with them that are under the Covenant of grace:
<PB N="346" REF="203"> I per&s;wade my &s;elf many of their works are rewarded that have had (if you look upon the thing it &s;elf) as great imperfections as there have been in tho&s;e works that unregenerate men have been puni&s;hed for; if there be <HI>a willing mind,</HI> though the work be not an&s;werable, yet it &s;hall be accepted, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 8.12. and <HI>the good Lord will pardon a man though he be not clean&s;ed according to the purification of the Sanctuary,</HI> 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 30.18,19.</P>
<P>Thirdly, he hates their per&s;ons for their works &s;ake, <HI>Gen.</HI> 4.7. <HI>if thou do&s;t well, &s;halt thou not be accepted:</HI> the per&s;on's cur&s;ed for the works &s;ake, <HI>Gal.</HI> 3.10. but under the new Covenant it is the love of the per&s;ons that makes their Services be accepted: <HI>Abels</HI> offering was offered with &s;in as well as <HI>Cains,</HI> yet <HI>Gen.</HI> 4.4. <HI>God had re&s;pect to Abel, and</HI> then <HI>to his offering:</HI> but he re&s;pect|ed not <HI>Cains</HI> offering becau&s;e he had no re&s;pect unto his per&s;on: the weakne&s;s of <HI>Abels</HI> per&s;on made not his &s;ervices rejected, but &s;o it did <HI>Cains:</HI> God is angry in|deed at the &s;ins of the one: but there is <HI>ira &s;implex, &amp; ira redundans in per&s;onam:</HI> he doth never hate their per|&s;ons when he is angry with their works: but he deals with the wicked under the fir&s;t Covenant, hates their &s;ervices for their per&s;ons &s;ake.</P>
<P>Fourthly, all things are turned into a cur&s;e to them that are under the fir&s;t Covenant; for this Covenant de&s;erves nothing for the breakers thereof but the cur&s;e, <HI>Gen.</HI> 2.17. and <HI>they are cur&s;ed in the Basket and in the &s;tore Deut.</HI> 28.7. <HI>their Table made a &s;nare. P&s;al.</HI> 69.22. <HI>cur&s;e their ble&s;sings, Mal.</HI> 2.2. That Covenant being broken <HI>brings forth death:</HI> And the&s;e temporal Judge|ments are but the <HI>praeludia judicii futuri:</HI> but under the Covenant of grace, unto them all things are turned in|to a ble&s;&s;ing, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.28. <HI>all things work together for good,</HI>
<PB N="347" REF="203"> by their Covenant; <HI>all things are yours, whether life or death,</HI> &amp;c. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.22. Now this dealing of God with men living in the Church under the &s;ame Ordinances, and enjoying the &s;ame priviledges being &s;o different, there can be no rea&s;on given of it, but meerly the diffe|rent Covenants under which they &s;tand: for God hath been and is <HI>alwaies mindful of his Covenant,</HI> and accord|ing to it, doth alwaies di&s;pence him&s;elf to the crea|ture.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>Let it awaken every natural man to &s;eek for a tran&s;lation: Thy mi&s;ery by &s;in &s;tands in two things: Fir&s;t, that thou art under <HI>Adams</HI> Covenant. Secondly, that thou beare&s;t his Image: now we many times &s;ee our mi&s;ery by the one, the evil of our waies: but few are &s;en&s;ible of the other, the evil of our &s;tate; and that is the greate&s;t: for this makes thee a <HI>bond-man</HI> while&s;t thou live&s;t: for <HI>the Covenant genders unto bondage,</HI> and it cuts thee off from all hope of an inheritance here|after: for <HI>the bond-woman mu&s;t be ca&s;t out with her chil|dren.</HI></P>
<P>This is the tran&s;lation which the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of, <HI>being tran&s;lated into the Kingdom of his dear &s;on, Col.</HI> 1.1. this <HI>is the pa&s;&s;age from death to life, Iohn</HI> 5.24. In this pa&s;&s;age a of man there mu&s;t be a double change. Fir&s;t, <HI>mutatio moralis:</HI> a Relative change, as when of a bond-man, a man is made a free-man: of a &s;ervant he becomes a &s;on. Secondly, <HI>Phy&s;ica:</HI> a natural change: that is, when of a &s;ick man he is made &s;ound; the fir&s;t is the change of a mans Covenant, and the &s;econd a change of his Image: the one is done in Ju&s;tification; and the other in Sanctification: and by both the&s;e, <HI>old things are pa&s;t away, all things do become new,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor</HI> 5.17.
<PB N="348" REF="204"> This tran&s;lation all the people of God that ever went to heaven had experience of; and this is that I de&s;ire all men in a natural &s;tate may be awakened to &s;eek after. But you will &s;ay, who be the men that &s;tand under this fir&s;t Covenant? I hope there be none &s;uch among&s;t us. You may judge your &s;elves by the&s;e two rules.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, he that is under the &s;econd Covenant, hath an intere&s;t in him who is <HI>the prince of the Covenant;</HI> he that was <HI>given as a Covenant to the Nations, I&s;a.</HI> 42.6. for we heard before that the two Covenants were made with two different heads; and it is union with them that brings a man under either Covenant; it is <HI>being in Adam</HI> that makes a man &s;tand under the one: and <HI>being in Chri&s;t,</HI> that gives a man intere&s;t in the other: for a man mu&s;t be in Chri&s;t as he was in <HI>Adam</HI> (that is) in him <HI>legally &s;tanding under his Covenant:</HI> and in him <HI>naturally, that is bearing his Image.</HI></P>
<P>Now if a man would know whether he hath an Inte|re&s;t in Chri&s;t or no, let him take the Apo&s;tles rule, and lay it unto his own &s;oul impartially, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.17. <HI>he that is in Chri&s;t, is a new creature:</HI> he is not barely new dre&s;&s;|ed, or hath gotten a new out-&s;ide, but he is <HI>within re|newed in the Spirit of his mind:</HI> he hath a new under|&s;tanding, new apprehen&s;ions of per&s;ons and things; and tho&s;e things which before <HI>he counted fooli&s;hne&s;s,</HI> now he doth know them to be his only wi&s;dom; and tho&s;e per&s;ons that he looked upon as the &s;cum and off-&s;cou|ring of all things, the&s;e they judge to be <HI>the excellent ones of the earth;</HI> and tho&s;e dark and carnal apprehen|&s;ions of the waies of God, and the my&s;teries of God|line&s;s, that he had before, they are now done and pa&s;t away, they have no affection to them: for it is not enough for a man to have new words, and new actions:
<PB N="349" REF="204"> there is many a man ab&s;tains from the practi&s;e of many &s;ins that their hearts love: and many a man for &s;ome re&s;pects takes up the practi&s;e of &s;ome duties that his heart hates: but &s;uch a man now loves that which be|fore he hated, and he now hates that which before he did love: that which before was to him the only mat|ter of his joy, now becomes the only object of his &s;or|row: thus <HI>he that is in Chri&s;t, is a new creature.</HI></P>
<P>If &s;o, then &s;urely they cannot take them&s;elves to be new creatures, that have not &s;o much as renewed their actions: that were drunkards and &s;o continue: were Sabbath-breakers, and Swearers, and U&s;erers, and Scoffers, and &s;o continue &s;till, the comfort of who&s;e lives comes in by evil: it is their meat and drink: <HI>they eat the bread of wickedne&s;s and drink the wine of violence, Prov.</HI> 4.27. Its their cloathing: <HI>Pride compa&s;&s;eth them as a chain, violence covers them as a Garment, P&s;al.</HI> 73.6. and it is their recreation: <HI>it is a pa&s;time for a fool to do wickedly, Prov.</HI> 10.23 and there be no recreations that have any plea&s;ure in them unle&s;s they be &s;weetned by &s;in: &s;urely thus walking in their old waies, it is impo&s;|&s;ible they &s;hould be new creatures; and not being new creatures, they are not in Chri&s;t; and not being in Chri&s;t, the Prince of the Covenant, they have no intere&s;t in the new Covenant.</P>
<P>Secondly, he that is under the fir&s;t Covenant, is a bond-man as <HI>I&s;mael;</HI> whereas he that is under the &s;e|cond Covenant is the &s;on of the free-woman, and re|ceives from the Lord by that Covenant a free Spirit, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51.12.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, he is in bondage by earthly engagements, he can have no engagement but it is a &s;nare to him: The
<PB N="350" REF="205"> fal&s;e Prophets were honoured by &s;ome of the Kings of I&s;rael: therefore they could not &s;peak the truth to him, neither to reprove his &s;in, nor to di&s;cover the mind of God. I mu&s;t do &s;uch a thing though it be again&s;t my con&s;cience, to give &s;uch a man content: I mu&s;t not reprove &s;uch a &s;in, becau&s;e it will di&s;plea&s;e, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> the Pro|phet <HI>Michaiah</HI> had a di&s;-engaged Spirit in this re|&s;pect.</P>
<P>Secondly, in bondage unto &s;in and under the power of their own lu&s;ts, that though they may &s;ee many evils in them&s;elves, and confe&s;s it, yet when occa&s;ion and opportunity &s;erves, and the lu&s;t repre&s;ents it &s;elf, they are no more their own, thy cannot re&s;i&s;t <HI>Eyes full of Adultery that cannot cea&s;e to &s;in.</HI> 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.14. <HI>and as men u&s;e to &s;ay, they cannot choo&s;e,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Thirdly, in bondage unto the creatures under the power of them, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.12. <HI>one man cannot live</HI> with|out his honour, another without his minion, another without &s;uch an e&s;tate: and all the thoughts of their hearts run out about &s;uch things, and are wholly bu&s;ied about meat, and drink, and cloathes, and money, and play, and this wholly drinks up their &s;pirits.</P>
<P>Fourthly, in bondage under the guilt of &s;in, and &s;lavi&s;h and &s;ervile fears; they go all their life long with a galled con&s;cience, filled with fearful apprehen&s;ions of death and Judgement: for <HI>they all their life long for fear of death are &s;ubject to bondage, Heb.</HI> 2.15.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider &s;eriou&s;ly of the&s;e particulars: and unto &s;uch men I &s;peak, as being as yet under the fir&s;t Covenant; and I exhort them to &s;eek to be tran&s;lated.</P>
<P>I &s;peak not this to make the fir&s;t Covenant which God made with <HI>Adam,</HI> vile in your eyes.</P>
<P>For fir&s;t, it was a great favour that God would be
<PB N="351" REF="205"> plea&s;ed to make a Covenant with the creature: for we did owe him &s;ervice, though he had never promi&s;ed a reward.</P>
<P>Secondly, the per&s;on with whom this Covenant was made, was the mo&s;t excellent of any meer man: never any &s;o full of perfections as he: &s;o fit to be head, and &s;o likely to convey grace unto us, as <HI>Adam</HI> was; and therefore the Lord made the be&s;t choice for us for the e&s;tabli&s;hing of this Covenant: for had we our &s;elves been to chu&s;e, &s;eeing his perfections, we would rather have put the keeping of our happine&s;s into his hands, then have kept it in our own.</P>
<P>Thirdly, there were great things promi&s;ed by this Covenant, <HI>Gen.</HI> 2.9. all the good things of this life, and eternal happine&s;s with God in the life to come.</P>
<P>Fourthly, it was the &s;ame Covenant that God made with the be&s;t of the creatures, even the glorious Angels: they &s;tood by it, and owe their happine&s;s to it at this day: which appears by Gods dealing with the Angels that fell: <HI>he ca&s;t them off for one tran&s;gre&s;sion, Jude</HI> 6. and they that &s;tood, &s;tood by vertue of the &s;ame Co|venant which they broke that fell: and by vertue of that Covenant being now confirmed in their e&s;tate, <HI>they daily behold the face of your Father which is in Hea|ven.</HI></P>
<P>Fifthly, to put an end to all: it is the &s;ame Cove|nant that the Lord Chri&s;t him&s;elf &s;tood under: <HI>for he was made under the Law, Gal.</HI> 4.4. that is, not only the Ceremonial and Judicial Law, as a Jew, but as a man al|&s;o under the moral Law, <HI>Gal.</HI> 4.4. being bound to his obedience, and to &s;uffer the cur&s;e thereof: for <HI>he was our &s;urety, Heb.</HI> 7.22. and the &s;urety is bound in the
<PB N="352" REF="206"> &s;ame bond with the principal; and therefore <HI>he was made a cur&s;e for us:</HI> which is the proper fruit of the Law as a Covenant of works, <HI>Gal.</HI> 3.13. in all the&s;e re&s;pects it was a glorious Covenant.</P>
<P>But men &s;hould be awakened to &s;eek to be tran&s;lated, whether we look upon this Covenant, and mans &s;tand|ing under it in his &s;tate of innocency, or in the &s;tate of &s;in.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, in the &s;tate of innocency, &s;o if he had &s;tood, he might well have de&s;ired to have been tran&s;l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ted out of this Covenant, if we con&s;ider it and compare it with the Covenant of grace.</P>
<P>Secondly, this was a Covenant made with a mutable head; <HI>Adam,</HI> though he were an excellent creature, yet he was but a creature: and it is true of all men, that <HI>they were given to change, Prov.</HI> 24.21. now for a man to have all his happine&s;s inbarked in a creature daily &s;ubject unto change, mu&s;t needs imply an imperfection in their condition: but the Covenant of grace is made with Chri&s;t an unchangable head, and therefore <HI>becau&s;e he lives, we &s;hall live al&s;o, Ioh.</HI> 14.19.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the Covenant it &s;elf was a changeable Covenant, and therefore by rea&s;on of &s;in there is a change thereof unto all that believe: and the Lord hath introduced a <HI>&s;econd and a better Covenant;</HI> but the Covenant of grace <HI>is an everla&s;ting Covenant, Gen.</HI> 17.7. <HI>a &s;ure Covenant,</HI> 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 23.1,2. &s;o that nothing can ari&s;e <HI>de novo,</HI> to di&s;annul it.</P>
<P><Q REND="inline">Fourthly, the promi&s;es of this Covenant were far in feriour unto tho&s;e in the Covenant of grace: it is <HI>a Covenant e&s;tabli&s;hed upon better promi&s;es, Heb.</HI> 8.6. in this indeed God did promi&s;e life here and hereafter, but he did not promi&s;e, <HI>I will be thy God: I will give
<PB N="353" REF="206"> thee my Son: and I will give thee my Spirit; I will be thy God:</HI> that is, all the Attributes that be in me, &s;hall be as truly thine for thy good, as they be mine for my own glory: thou &s;halt have my wi&s;dom to direct thee, my power to protect thee; if thou &s;in, thou &s;halt have my mercy to pardon, my grace to rule, and my glory to crown thee.</Q></P>
<P>Fifthly, the righteou&s;ne&s;s of this Covenant was a far le&s;s glorious righteou&s;ne&s;s; for it &s;hould have been <HI>the works of righteou&s;ne&s;s that we had done, Tit.</HI> 3.5. but the righteou&s;ne&s;s of a creature: but the righteou&s;ne&s;s of the &s;econd Covenant is the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God him&s;elf, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.21. not the e&s;&s;ential righteou&s;ne&s;s of God; but a righteou&s;ne&s;s an&s;werable unto the Law, un|to which the God-head gave both efficacy and excel|lency, <HI>Heb.</HI> 9.14</P>
<P>Sixthly, the Condition of this Covenant was le&s;s glorious: for it was Doing; but the Condition of the 2^d was believing; and this is mo&s;t glorious, becau&s;e it &s;ets a man upon the highe&s;t way of glorifying God; for all acts of obedience in <HI>Adam</HI> did but glorifie God in his Law; but this is glorifying of God in his Son; which is the highe&s;t glory, <HI>Ioh.</HI> 6.29.</P>
<P>Seventhly, La&s;tly, the power of performance was far inferiour: for that was to be done by man alone, by the &s;trength of grace received without any further &s;up|ply; and grace una&s;&s;i&s;ted, what can it do? but under the &s;econd Covenant, though the work be to be perform|ed by us, yet the &s;upply of &s;trength is Gods; <HI>it is God that works in us both to w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ll and to do, Phil</HI> 2.13.</P>
<P>Thus if we look upon man in his integrity under this Covenant, he hath rea&s;on, &s;eeing the new Covenant is offered, to de&s;ire to be tran&s;lated.</P>
<PB N="354" REF="207">
<P>Secondly, but if we look upon man as fallen, then all tho&s;e that &s;tand under this Covenant have rea&s;on to be awakened, to be tran&s;planted.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, by vertue of this Covenant, &s;in is imputed and laid upon a mans own &s;core; <HI>Noxa &s;equitur caput; the &s;oul that &s;ins &s;hall dye, Gen.</HI> 4.7. <HI>Sin lies at thy door;</HI> &s;o that thou though ha&s;t heard talk of the death and &s;uffering of Chri&s;t yet, not a drop of his blood &s;hall go to take off one &s;in, or one torment from thee: for thy Cove|nant admits no commutation.</P>
<P>Secondly, it is a Covenant without a Mediator: for then there needed no middle per&s;on; <HI>no daies-man to lay hold upon both, Iob</HI> 5.9. &s;o now &s;ince man is fallen, all that &s;tand under this Covenant conver&s;e with God im|mediately, they have no Mediator to bear their &s;ins, or to offer their &s;acrifices.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, to offer their &s;acrifices, &s;o that in all their &s;ervi|ces they come unto God immediately; Fir&s;t, thou ha&s;t none to bring thee into the pre&s;ence of God, whereas by the &s;econd Covenant we have <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>boldne&s;s and acce&s;s, Eph.</HI> 3.12. we have a manuduction to the Father by him.</P>
<P>Secondly, when we come to God we have no Prie&s;t to offer our &s;acrifices, and &s;o they can never be accepta|ble unto the Lord; for who&s;oever &s;hould offer a &s;acri|fice of him&s;elf without a Prie&s;t, <HI>that &s;oul was to be cut off from his people.</HI> Yet this is your condition under the &s;econd Covenant.</P>
<P>Thirdly, there is none to perfume them, and take away the failings of them; <HI>to bear the iniquity of your holy things, Exod.</HI> 28.38. to perfume your prayers, to wa&s;h your tears: <HI>Lava lachrymas meas Domine.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, if Satan object any thing again&s;t thee,
<PB N="35" REF="207"> thou ha&s;t none to make an&s;wer for thee, for thy Cove|nant admits no advocate.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, if any &s;ervices be required, thou ha&s;t none to help thee, but thy own might; no <HI>Chri&s;t to &s;trengthen thee;</HI> no <HI>Spirit to help thy infirmities, Rom.</HI> 8.26. as it is with the people of God in the Covenant of grace.</P>
<P>Secondly, none to bear thy &s;ins, or &s;ufferings; and &s;o wrath mu&s;t needs come upon thee immediately; it comes upon the godly under the &s;econd Covenant, and Chri&s;t the Mediator &s;tepped between, &amp; <HI>he bare the cur&s;e, being made a cur&s;e for us, Gal.</HI> 3.13. but when the Lord &s;hall come to pour out his wrath upon thee, thou maie&s;t rather hope to prevail with the <HI>Rocks</HI> and the <HI>Mountains,</HI> then with Chri&s;t; he will not ap|pear for thee, but thou mu&s;t wra&s;tle it out with the wrath of the great God for ever; and <HI>it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, Heb.</HI> 10.30,31. there mu&s;t needs <HI>be Iudgement without mercy, and fury without compa&s;sion,</HI> when the Lord will &s;tir up all his wrath, and none &s;tep in to bear one drop of this &s;torm for thee; for thy Covenant admits no Media|tor.</P>
<P>Thirdly, it is a Covenant under which unto man fallen there is no hope of reparation; Fir&s;t, it promi&s;|eth no repentance after &s;inning: it belon<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s to the &s;e|cond Covenant, that <HI>Chri&s;t &s;hall give repentance unto I&s;rael, Acts</HI> 5.31.</P>
<P>Secondly, it promi&s;eth no &s;pace to repent, but <HI>Gen.</HI> 2.17. <HI>the day thou eate&s;t thou &s;halt dye;</HI> and &s;o they had, had not Chri&s;t &s;tept in, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.21. &s;pace to repent is not from the fir&s;t Covenant.</P>
<P>Thirdly, if a man did repent, this Covenant promi&s;|eth
<PB N="356" REF="208"> no acceptation upon repentance; it &s;aith indeed, <HI>Gen.</HI> 4.7. <HI>if thou do&s;t well thou &s;halt be accepted:</HI> but it faith not, if thou do&s;t evil thou &s;halt upon after repen|tance be accepted: therefore this is a mans mi&s;erable condition, and this it mu&s;t be by this Covenant for ever therefore the Devils are in a hopele&s;s Condition, becau&s;e the Covenant under which they &s;tand offers them no mercy after &s;inning: and God hath not reveal|ed unto them any other Covenant; and the &s;ame is the condition of every man by this fir&s;t Covenant: only men have this priviledge, that they have a &s;econd Cove|nant offered unto them, upon which they may lay hold with hope of mercy: therefore neglect not the&s;e glo|rious offers: <HI>&s;eek the Lord while he may be found:</HI> clo&s;e with the grace in the new Covenant; <HI>know the day of thy vi&s;itation;</HI> for if thou be found at the la&s;t day under <HI>Adams</HI> Covenant and untran&s;lated, thou mu&s;t expect no other, but to bear thy own &s;in and &s;hame for ever.</P>
<P>Let this awaken you to &s;eek, fir&s;t for a change of thy Covenant; and then afterward for a change of thine Image: many men labour to change their waies, and to ab&s;tain from many &s;ins: but while&s;t thou art under this fir&s;t Covenant, thy Covenant promi&s;eth no grace to perform duties; thy Covenant promi&s;eth no acceptance; therefore the fir&s;t thing that a &s;oul &s;hould &s;et upon, is to &s;eek to God to be tran&s;lated out of that Covenant, that bondage under which by nature he &s;tands.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="357" REF="208">
<HEAD>FLESH SILENCED BY Gods ari&s;ing.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>A Sermon Preached before the Lord Maior, Aldermen, and Commons of <HI>London,</HI> on a Thank&s;|giving day at <HI>Chri&s;t-Church London,</HI> <DATE><HI>July</HI> 26. 1651.</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>ZACH. 2. ver. <HI>ult.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Be &s;ilent, O all fle&s;h, before the Lord, for he is rai&s;ed up out of his holy habitation.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_IT is the great honour of the Saints, that they are made <HI>the Temples of the Holy-Gho&s;t, and the Prie&s;ts of the mo&s;t high God,</HI> that they may <HI>offer to him &s;piritual &s;acrifices acceptable to him through Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> The &s;acrifices of the
<PB N="358" REF="209"> Jews were of two &s;orts. Some were <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, <HI>Propitia|tory Sacrifices,</HI> for the obtaining of pardon, and peace, and reconciliation after &s;ins committed: there were other &s;acrifices that were <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>peace-offerings,</HI> a re|turning unto God of thanks, and prai&s;es for ble&s;&s;ings re|ceived. When God did put into the hands of his peo|ple <HI>a cup of con&s;olation,</HI> for that is the Prophets expre&s;|&s;ion in <HI>Ier.</HI> 16. then did they <HI>take the cup of &s;alvation,</HI> the cup of benediction, and returned unto God again, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 116.13. You have both the&s;e &s;acrifices in the &s;piritual &s;en&s;e of them under the <HI>Go&s;pel;</HI> and the Lord delights in each of them in their &s;ea&s;ons: Sometimes the Lord calls his people to mourning, and it is dangerous to de|ceive the expectation of God. Sometimes he calls them to rejoice: Con&s;ider in <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.23. you are by the Go&s;pel taken into Communion with Angels, and your Communion with the Angels in a great mea&s;ure doth con&s;i&s;t in bearing a part with them in your prai&s;es; it is the action of heaven, and requires hearts in heaven to joyn with it: therefore the hearts of the Saints are &s;o de&s;cribed, <HI>Rev.</HI> 19.1. <HI>I heard a voice of much people in Heaven, &s;aying, Amen, Hallelujah;</HI> it is &s;poken of the Saints upon earth: it is u&s;ually in that book &s;tyled the Church of God in heaven: but how? when they prai&s;e God, they are a great multitude in Heaven. The Countries that have mo&s;t &s;taple commodities in them for exchange, you know they have the free&s;t and the fulle&s;t traffique: The mo&s;t glorious intercour&s;es be|tween heaven and earth, is in mercy: and the mo&s;t glori|ous return between earth and heaven, is in grace, prai|&s;es, and the returning of mercies into them&s;elves: <HI>ad lo|cum unde exeunt gratiae revertantur,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> &s;aith <HI>Bernard:</HI> it is a returning of mercy into the &s;ame fountain, the &s;ame
<PB N="359" REF="209"> bo&s;om of love from whence it flows: it is indeed the habitation of God, that next to heaven he delighteth to dwell in: <HI>he inhabiteth the prai&s;es of I&s;rael.</HI> The&s;e con&s;i|derations I de&s;ire to prem&s;e, that you may a little ob|&s;erve of what weight and importance the &s;ervices that you now go about are.</P>
<P>For the words that I have read to you, that you may find out the meaning and &s;cope of the Holy-Gho&s;t in them, it is nece&s;&s;ary that we look into the &s;tory, the context, and the connexion of the ver&s;e, which I &s;hall briefly give you, and I intreate you diligently to mark: The Babylonian Monarchie having trodden down the City of God, the holy City, and laid wa&s;t the Temple, and wor&s;hip of God for &s;eventy years: that time being expired, the Lord according to his promi&s;e, <HI>delivers his pri&s;oners out of the pit in which there was no water.</HI> De|liverance was proclaimed by <HI>Cyrus</HI> the fir&s;t King of <HI>Per&s;ia:</HI> this liberty &s;ome of the Jews undervlaued, and they &s;till cho&s;e rather to abide in the Land of their captivity: to them is the &s;peech directed in the 6. <HI>ver.</HI> of this Chapter, <HI>Ho, &s;aith God, come forth, and &s;tie from the Land of the North:</HI> they might have had liberty, but they embraced their former bondage: tho&s;e that did accept of deliverance, and returned into their own Countrie, they were no &s;ooner returned, but there ro&s;e <HI>a Samaritan faction,</HI> their neighbours, tho&s;e that were neither Gentiles by profe&s;&s;ion, nor Jews by religion: the&s;e did labour to their utmo&s;t to retard the &s;ettlement of this people newly returned into their own Land again, laboured to keep the City and Temple in their ruines, and to that end by their intere&s;t and power in forraign Nations, they had engaged again&s;t them, even the whole authority of the <HI>Per&s;ian Monarchie.</HI> Now,
<PB N="360" REF="210"> when the hopes of the enemy grew high, and when the hearts of the Saints fell low: what is the way God takes to remove them now? why now a Prophet mu&s;t go to them, he &s;endeth <HI>Zachariah the Prophet,</HI> and bids them, <HI>Return to your &s;trong holds ye pri&s;oners of hope:</HI> your &s;trong holds? why, their City was laid wa&s;t, their Temple burnt with fire: &s;trong holds they had none: <HI>&s;atis prae&s;idii, in un Deo,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Calvin.</NOTE> <HI>Calvin.</HI> There is enough &s;trength in one God, even then when walls and fortifications fall. Why now, that the Lord might bear up their Spi|rits in this condition, he reveals his mind (as the man|ner of the Lord was in tho&s;e times) unto his Prophet by &s;everal Vi&s;ions: in an e&s;pecial manner in this Chap. and the latter end of the former Chap. he doth it in a double vi&s;ion. In one, the Lord tels him, that be the powers of the enemy what they would be, though they &s;aw no help, none to oppo&s;e them: yet the Lord would rai&s;e up an adver&s;e power that &s;hould break them, though they knew not whence it &s;hould come: And he tels them in the 21. <HI>ver.</HI> of the former Chap. <HI>there were four horns that did pu&s;h Ieru&s;alem:</HI> and the Lord &s;aith, <HI>I will rai&s;e up four Carpenters, and they &s;hall beat them in pieces:</HI> equal to the horns, &s;o &s;hall the Carpenters be.</P>
<P>In the next place, in this Chapter, the Lord &s;hews him another vi&s;ion, <HI>a man with a line in his hand taking me a|&s;ure of the City Ieru&s;alem, and of the Temple,</HI> as the manner of Builders and Artificers is to do. Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth u&s;ually appear to his people according to tho&s;e great things that he is about to effect for them: when the people were to be carried into Captivity, Je&s;us Chri&s;t then appears <HI>cloathed in linnon, with a writers Inkhorn by his &s;ide, Ezek.</HI> 9.1,2. <HI>and when the in&s;tru|ments
<PB N="361" REF="210"> of vengeance come, Ie&s;us Chri&s;t comes in the mid&s;t of them: the man with a writers Inkhorn was in the mid&s;t of them:</HI> what to do? <HI>to mark tho&s;e that were written to life in Ieru&s;alem.</HI> Fir&s;t, before the in&s;truments of vengeance can &s;tretch out their hands again&s;t any, the man with a writers Inkhorn will &s;et his mark upon tho&s;e that are written for life: But when the people returned out of captivity, now Je&s;us Chri&s;t appears <HI>with a line in his hand,</HI> for he it is that mu&s;t build the Church: &s;o you have it in the 6. Chap. 12. ver. <HI>Be|hold the man who&s;e name is the Branch, he &s;hall build thee, he &s;hall build the Temple of the Lord:</HI> no wonder then, that when the Temple and City is to be built, Je&s;us Chri&s;t appears <HI>with a line in his hand.</HI> This is the Vi|&s;ion.</P>
<P>Now ob&s;erve in this Chapter three things, that I may bring you home to the words read to you.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, you have the Vi&s;ion it &s;elf: <HI>the man with a line in his hand.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, you have the interpretation of the Vi&s;ion: <HI>Ieru&s;alem &s;hall be built, and the City &s;hall be inhabited.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, you have a threefold Apo&s;trophe that the Lord infers from this.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, directed unto the Jews that yet continued in <HI>Babylon,</HI> the Lord calls them; <HI>deliver thy &s;elf Oh Sion, that dwelle&s;t with the daughter of</HI> Babylon.: It is barren|ne&s;s and lowne&s;s of &s;pirit not to accept deliverance: it is pitty but tho&s;e men that &s;ay <HI>they love their Task|ma&s;ters, they &s;hould have their ears bored,</HI> as a token of perpetual &s;ervice. The Lord calls upon them, <HI>Oh Sion that dwelle&s;t with the daughter of</HI> Babylon, <HI>deliver thy &s;elf.</HI></P>
<PB N="362" REF="211">
<P>Secondly, the next is to the enemies that were their neighbours: the truth is my Brethren, it was a good ob&s;ervation that of <HI>Tertullian</HI> unto the Church; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertul.</NOTE> there are <HI>tot ho&s;tes quot extranei;</HI> all that be &s;trangers, be ene|mies; now the Lord &s;peaks unto the&s;e, and tells them, <HI>I will &s;hake my hand again&s;t you, and they that &s;poyl you, they &s;hall be a &s;poyl to their &s;ervants;</HI> their own &s;ervants &s;hall &s;poil them.</P>
<P>The third and la&s;t branch of this Apo&s;trophe is in the words that I have read unto you; the words of the Text, and it referrs partly to the enemies; and partly to the people of God that were returned out of cap|tivity: <HI>be &s;ilent Oh all fle&s;h; for the Lord is rai&s;ed up out of his holy habitation:</HI> Let the enemies &s;ilence their mur|murings, &s;ilence their &s;landers: <HI>Be &s;ilent Oh all people.</HI> Let the Saints &s;ilence their frettings, &s;ilence their doubtings, <HI>for the Lord is rai&s;ed up out of his boly habita|tion.</HI></P>
<P>You have then in the words two things.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t a Propo&s;ition; <HI>The Lord is rai&s;ed up out of his holy habitation.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, an inference by way of Exhortation, or Command thereupon: <HI>Be &s;ilent before the Lord, Oh all fle&s;h.</HI></P>
<P>The Propo&s;ition is fir&s;t in nature, though it be la&s;t in place: and therefore I mu&s;t fir&s;t &s;peak of that, and then afterwards of the Application.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t then, the Propo&s;ition is this: <HI>the Lord is rai&s;ed up out of the habitation of his holine&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>Here are two things to be explained before I can come unto tho&s;e points that I purpo&s;ed to commend to you.</P>
<PB N="363" REF="211">
<P>Fir&s;t, I mu&s;t &s;hew you what is meant by <HI>the habita|tion of his holine&s;s:</HI> And,</P>
<P>Secondly, I mu&s;t &s;hew you how the Lord is &s;aid to <HI>be rai&s;ed up.</HI></P>
<P>The habitation of his holine&s;s is u&s;ed two waies in the Scripture. It is &s;ometimes put for heaven; in 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 30. <HI>ult.</HI> it is &s;aid, <HI>their prayer came up to his holy habitation,</HI> even unto heaven. So in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 63 15. <HI>look down from the habitation of thy holine&s;s, and thy glory:</HI> why then the habitation of the holine&s;s of God, is <HI>Heaven.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, it is many times put for the <HI>Temple,</HI> the place of Gods pre&s;ence among&s;t his people, manife&s;ted in Ordinances: &s;o <HI>the Tabernacle</HI> is called <HI>Gods habitati|on,</HI> in 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 2.29. And <HI>the Lord</HI> is &s;aid <HI>to be at Ieru&s;a|lem.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bru&s;ius.</NOTE> <HI>Bru&s;ius</HI> interpreteth it of the former. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Calvin.</NOTE> Mr. <HI>Calvin</HI> of the latter; we may very well by way of &s;ubordina|tion take in both, for I conceive the &s;en&s;e will be made up with both: all the Churches deliverances, as well as all the enemies de&s;tructions, they come out of hea|ven: <HI>the &s;word is bathed in heaven before it comes down upon the people of Gods cur&s;e in Iudgement,</HI> in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 34.3. and yet all the&s;e, whether deliverances, or de&s;tructions, are obtained by the prayers of the Saints in <HI>the Temple:</HI> &s;o that you may well a&s;cribe it to both. Ob&s;erve I be|&s;eech you, and it is a mighty truth: the Saints have as glorious a hand in the Government of the world, as they &s;hall have an eminent hand in the Judgement of the world. There is a threefold Authority that was erected by Chri&s;t when the government was taken into the hand of the <HI>Son</HI> as <HI>Mediator.</HI> Fir&s;t, a Govern|ment of Angels: <HI>the &s;pirit of the living creatures is in the wheels, Ezek.</HI> 1.20. Had not Je&s;us Chri&s;t had the
<PB N="364" REF="212"> Government in his hand, the Angels &s;hould never have been <HI>principalities and powers;</HI> their authority came in with the Government of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, the Authority and Government of Magi|&s;trates and Mini&s;ters came in with the &s;econd Cove|nant: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE> <HI>i&s;tud nomen culpa meruit non natura:</HI> &s;o <HI>Augu&s;tine.</HI> But there is, another kind of Government.</P>
<P>And that is, the Saints being taken into Covenant with Chri&s;t, they have a great hand with him in the Government of Chri&s;t: in <HI>Rom.</HI> 10.18. the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>their &s;ound is gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.</HI> This is &s;poken of the <HI>Sun,</HI> in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 19. how can this be applyed to the preach|ing of the Go&s;pel? I conceive the accommodation runs thus: As the great God hath &s;tretched out the <HI>Expan|&s;um caeli &s;uper mundum naturalem,</HI> the heaven over the natural world, &s;o he hath &s;tretched forth the glorious <HI>Expan&s;um verbi &s;uper mundum rationalem,</HI> the word over the rational world: Now be plea&s;ed to con&s;ider, when the people of God put Prophe&s;ies and Promi&s;es in &s;uit, beholding the &s;everal conjunctions &amp; a&s;pects of them in the world, truly, tho&s;e things that are done by Gods power, they are done al&s;o by their prayers: they have a &s;trange hand in the Government of all things. There is a double voice in the Book of the <HI>Rev. vox e throno: vox e templo:</HI> You read of <HI>a voice out of the Throne: and a voice out of the Temple:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bright.</NOTE> Mr. <HI>Brightman</HI> I remem|ber puts this difference, and hath this hint, <HI>vox e thro|no,</HI> &s;aith he, is that, <HI>quando immediate aliquid &agrave; Deo profici&s;citur,</HI> when any thing comes from God imme|diately: But <HI>vox e Templo, quando precibus &s;anctorum aliquid Impetratur:</HI> that is, when any thing is obtained by the prayers of the Saints, <HI>that is a voice in the
<PB N="365" REF="212"> Temple.</HI> Now I intreate you to ob&s;erve, this is the fir&s;t thing: This <HI>holy habitation is</HI> heaven, in the Text. The Lord &s;etteth &s;o high a price upon the &s;ervices of the Saints, that they have a very great hand with him in the Government of all things. It is <HI>Augi&s;tines</HI> &s;peech that I have met withal &s;ometimes in <HI>Luther:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE> he pro|fe&s;&s;eth, <HI>aliquid bonum opus licet agre&s;te &amp; &s;ordidi&s;simum e&s;t pretio&s;ius caelo &amp; terra:</HI> the mean&s;t good work of the Saints, be it never &s;o poor, never &s;o ordinary, he &s;aith, it is more precious then Heaven and Earth<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> there is more in it, becau&s;e it hath &s;o great a power with God: it is no wonder: then if the Lord be &s;aid to be rai&s;ed up in his Temple. Well, that is the fir&s;t thing.</P>
<P>Secondly, but how is God &s;aid to <HI>be rai&s;ed up?</HI> how can it be &s;aid that God &s;hould ri&s;e? the word in the Original that is here u&s;ed <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> it &s;ignifies <HI>E<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">&s;omno ex|citari,</HI> for a man to be rai&s;ed up out of &s;leep; the ve|ry &s;ame word that you have u&s;ed in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 44.23. <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>Awake Lord, why &s;leepe&s;t thou?</HI> awake Lord, or ari&s;e Lord: for it is &s;uch a ri&s;ing as is after an awaking out of &s;leep. How can God be &s;aid to &s;leep? and how &s;hould God be &s;aid to awake and ri&s;e? The ce&s;|&s;ation of acts of providence is Gods &s;leep: the put|ting of them forth is Gods ari&s;ing, Gods awaking: as when a man &s;leepeth, &s;leep bindeth up his &s;en&s;es in reference to their proper objects, that they cannot act: why &s;o? when the Lord doth not act, doth not appear for his people, then is the Lord &s;aid to &s;leep: when he doth act for them, and providence puts forth it &s;elf glo|riou&s;ly, now the Lord is &s;aid to be rai&s;ed up, God is awake. Now ob&s;erve I pray you: when the Lord breaketh the de&s;igns of the Churches enemies, when <HI>he bloweth upon their coun&s;els, &s;miteth them in the hinder
<PB N="66" REF="213"> parts,</HI> puts them to a perpetual &s;hame, why <HI>then doth the Lord ari&s;e as a Giant refre&s;hed with wine, P&s;al.</HI> 78.65. So that now the meaning is this; When the Lord doth appear for his people as a return of their prayers, when the Lord ari&s;eth gloriou&s;ly for them for their deliveran|ces, and their enemies overthrow, then it is &s;aid, <HI>the Lord is rai&s;ed up out of his holy habitation.</HI> But I mu&s;t ha|&s;ten.</P>
<P>The Ob&s;ervations that I &s;hall give you from hence, are two.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="doctrines">
<P><LABEL>Doct. 1.</LABEL> The fir&s;t is this, <HI>The great comfort of the Saints in all their &s;traits and difficulties lies in this, when they &s;ee God ari&s;eth for them;</HI> for here is that now that they have pitched upon to comfort them&s;elves with. I &s;ay, the great comfort of the Saints in all their &s;traits and op|po&s;itions, and difficulties, is in this, when they &s;ee God ari&s;e for them in his providential actings.</P>
<P><LABEL>Doct. 2:</LABEL> Secondly, <HI>Experiments of Gods ri&s;ing in acts of Pro|vidence are great grounds to his people to &s;tay their fait<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">, that God will go on, he will bring his work to perfection:</HI> for both the&s;e, (I conceive) are intended in the Text: <HI>God is rai&s;ed up,</HI> therefore fear not, though you have no men ri&s;ing; God already hath manife&s;ted that he is rai&s;ed up; do not doubt but he will carry on the work. The&s;e two things I conceive the Lord intendeth in the words: And this I mean to make the Doctrinal part of this Ser|mon. I pray ob&s;erve them.</P>
<P>I will begin with the fir&s;t: It is the great comfort of the Saints in the mid&s;t of all their difficulties and op|po&s;itions, to &s;ee God ari&s;e for them in his providential actings. In the opening of it I &s;hall &s;peak to three heads.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, there is a time when God &s;eems to &s;leep: when
<PB N="367" REF="213"> the Lord &s;eems to &s;et &s;till <HI>as a mighty man that cannot &s;ave;</HI> you know in <HI>Zach.</HI> 3.9. the vigilance of provi|dence is compared to <HI>&s;even cyes:</HI> and &s;ometimes the Saints of God do even think that all the&s;e &s;even eyes are a&s;leep together: but yet you mu&s;t know, <HI>he that keepeth I&s;rael never &s;lumbereth nor &s;leepeth:</HI> but as it is &s;aid of the Saints <HI>(I &s;leep, but my heart waketh)</HI> in their &s;piritual failings; So likewi&s;e it is true of the Lord in his providential actings, his heart awaketh towards his people, even then when every eye &s;eemeth to be a&s;leep. There is a time when God will bring his people low, and he doth it in de&s;ign. Ob&s;erve it, <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> is &s;ome|times put into a cup ready to be drunk off, that the ene|my &s;hould think, it is no more to devoure them then it is to drink, as you u&s;e to &s;ay to a proverb, <HI>I can do it as ea&s;ie as to drink,</HI> The &s;tate of the Church is brought unto that low ebb: But now mark, <HI>then &s;aith the Lord it &s;hall be a cup of trembling:</HI> there is a time when God &s;eems to lay all his power a&s;ide, <HI>Rev</HI> 11.16,17. <HI>he hath taken unto him&s;elf his great power;</HI> God is alwaies omnipotent; but for a great while the power did &s;eem to be in the enemies hands, as if God had put all power out of his hand: I, but he can rea&s;&s;ume it when he will: <HI>he takes to him&s;elf his own great power,</HI> and rai<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">eth him|&s;elf: it is a mo&s;t glorious Scripture, and full of all con|&s;olation, that in <HI>Zach.</HI> 1.8 Je&s;us Chri&s;t was on hor&s;e|back, he had an Army following him in battle array all in a readine&s;s; the Church &s;aw no &s;uccour all this while: the enemy came on: none appeared but the enemy: <HI>he was behinde the mirtle trees in the bottom,</HI> &s;aith the text: the Lord many times &s;eems to &s;leep, appeareth not, when yet notwith&s;tanding his heart is on the bu&s;ine&s;s: as I &s;ay the Saints &s;leep, but their hearts wake in their
<PB N="368" REF="214"> &s;piritual failings, &s;o doth the Lord towards his people in his providential actings. Well, that is the fir&s;t thing for the opening of the Doctrine.</P>
<P>Secondly, The great labour of the Saints in all their &s;traits is to awaken God, <HI>that God may ari&s;e;</HI> their bu&s;i|ne&s;s is not to rai&s;e armies, and forces, powers of men; no my Beloved; their great bu&s;ine&s;s therefore is to rai&s;e up God, <HI>P&s;al,</HI> 68.1. <HI>Let God ari&s;e, and let his enemies be &s;cattered:</HI> whether any body el&s;e ri&s;e or no, that is nothing: <HI>Let God ari&s;e;</HI> in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 44.23. <HI>Awake Lord, why &s;leepe&s;t thou? &s;tand up for my help, lay hold of the &s;pear:</HI> (I, God mu&s;t do it) <HI>and &s;top the wayes: O, &s;tand up for my help:</HI> the great bu&s;ine&s;s of the Saints hath al|waies been to rai&s;e up God; <HI>Awake, awake, put on &s;trength, O arm of the Lord,</HI> that is the Churches prayer. <HI>Art not thou he that did&s;t cut</HI> Rahab, <HI>and wound the Dra|gon?</HI> it is &s;poken of the de&s;truction of the King of <HI>Egypt:</HI> the great bu&s;ine&s;s of Saints hath been alwaies to get God to ari&s;e. There are two things commonly awaken God: two things cau&s;e him to ri&s;e up pre&s;ent|ly. The one is the prayers of the Saints; <HI>Becau&s;e of the crie of the poor, and of the &s;ighing of the needy, I will ri&s;e, &s;aith the Lord, P&s;al.</HI> 12.5. the truth is my Brethren, God cannot &s;leep when you pray: it was a golden &s;peech that of <HI>Tertullian,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertul.</NOTE> <HI>Deum orationibus ambimus, caelum tundimus, &amp; mi&s;ericordiam extorquemus:</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ba&s;il.</NOTE> <HI>Ba&s;il.</HI> We knock at Heaven gates, we environ God, beleguer God by our prayers, we as it were wre&s;t mercy out of his hands. Be plea&s;ed to con&s;ider this is one means: when the Di&s;ciples were in the &s;torm at Sea, what was their great bu&s;ine&s;s? their great bu&s;ine&s;s was <HI>to awaken Chri&s;t,</HI> and then im|mediately the &s;torm was over, <HI>and there followed a great
<PB N="369" REF="214"> calm,</HI> and they were at the Haven where they would be: God is awakened with the prayers of the Saints.</P>
<P>Secondly, the Lord he is awakened likewi&s;e by the bla&s;phemies of the enemies: truly, you have many times, even my Brethren, beheld how that the very end of Gods ri&s;ing for you, was becau&s;e of the rage of the enemy; <HI>I will awake and &s;et him at re&s;t from him that puffeth at him,</HI> becau&s;e of the rage of the enemy: the enemies cruelty doth cry loud in the ears of God, as well as the Saints prayers: Now this being the great end that the people of God propound, truly when God ari&s;eth they are &s;atisfied: let God ari&s;e, and they can &s;it down &s;ecure, be the difficulties and oppo&s;itions what they will be: <HI>in fine acquie&s;cit appetitus efficientis.</HI> It was a &s;trange &s;pirit that po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed <HI>Steven</HI> you will &s;ay, that he was able to lie down to &s;leep when the &s;tones flew about his ears: <HI>having &s;o &s;aid, he fell a&s;leep:</HI> what is the rea&s;on? why, <HI>I &s;ee heaven opened, and Je&s;us &s;tanding at the right hand of God:</HI> Chri&s;t was up for him: Chri&s;t &s;tanding; why, Chri&s;t is &s;aid to &s;it at the right hand of God; how doth <HI>Steven</HI> &s;ee him &s;tanding? &s;tanding <HI>tan|quam &s;ui &s;udex, &amp; vindex,</HI> as one that would judge, and one that would avenge his quarrel; and truly he could lie down and &s;leep &s;ecurely. <HI>Lord Je&s;us receive my Spi|rit; and when he had &s;o &s;aid he fell a&s;leep.</HI> The great bu&s;i|ne&s;s of the Saints then in all their difficulties is to get God to ari&s;e: that is the &s;econd thing.</P>
<P>In the third place: The con&s;olations of the Saints mu&s;t needs be very great from the ari&s;ings of God for them in his providential actings; though men do not ri&s;e, though Armies do not ri&s;e, yet I &s;ay, they are mighty con&s;olations to &s;ee God ari&s;e. And that
<PB N="370" REF="217"> upon the&s;e three grounds, Ob&s;erve them I pray you.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place: When the Lord doth ari&s;e, what|&s;oever &s;tandeth in oppo&s;ition mu&s;t fall: God will ri&s;e up alone, that a&s;&s;ure your &s;elves; what&s;oever &s;tands in oppo&s;ition I &s;ay, mu&s;t fall; yet many times poor crea|tures we look upon Armies, and multitudes of men, and we think now, Oh alas, here is now no hope, but the Church will pre&s;ently be overwhelmed: mark; you have &s;een &s;ometimes a black &s;moke ari&s;e out of a Chimney, that you would think it would threaten even to darken the Sun in its orb: but mark, in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 13.3. <HI>I wil&s;catter them &s;aith God, as &s;moke out of a chimney</HI> when you &s;ee Nations and multitudes combine, they are <HI>con|federate as thorns:</HI> when you &s;ee them confident, <HI>drunk</HI> with confidence <HI>as the Drunkard, then &s;hall they be con|&s;umed like &s;tubble fully dry, Nahum</HI> 1.10. it was a good intimation that of <HI>Cyprian,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Cyprian.</NOTE> <HI>ne attendas numerum:</HI> never ob&s;erve the number: they be &s;o many thou&s;ands, and &s;o many thou&s;ands: certainly when God ari&s;eth, what|&s;oever &s;tands in oppo&s;ition mu&s;t fall, for God will ri&s;e alone; that is the fir&s;t ground of the Saints con|&s;olation.</P>
<P>Secondly, when God ari&s;eth, he over-ruleth the &s;pirits of men, over-ruleth the malignity of the &s;pirits of men, &s;o as they &s;hall effect and accompli&s;h his end: <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters">ou may &s;ee, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 76.9,10. <HI>When God &s;hall ari&s;e to Judgment, the wrath of man &s;hall prai&s;e him: verily, and the mainder of wrath thou &s;halt re&s;train;</HI> my Bre|thren, though we con&s;ider little of it, yet we owe very much to re&s;training grace; I &s;ay we owe very much to re&s;training grace<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> in the Saints indeed I conceive re|&s;training grace and renewing grace to be one and the
<PB N="371" REF="217"> &s;ame habit, as Ju&s;tifying faith and Hi&s;torical faith is; the Saints owe very much to re&s;training grace; that in their own per&s;ons; but they owe much to re&s;train|ing grace in reference unto others. This is exerci&s;ed two wayes.</P>
<P>There are re&s;traints upon mens actions, and there are re&s;traints upon mens lu&s;ts: God re&s;trains not the Devils lu&s;ts, he lets them out to the utmo&s;t, but he re|&s;trains his actings: but for men, the Lord &s;ometimes re&s;trains their acts, and &s;ometimes their lu&s;ts: <HI>No man &s;hall de&s;ire thy Land:</HI> God would lay a re&s;traint upon their lu&s;ts: now when God ari&s;eth, then I &s;ay, he &s;o orders the &s;pirits of men, that &s;o much of their rage &s;hall be let out as &s;hall accompli&s;h his ends, <HI>and the re|mainder he will re&s;train.</HI></P>
<P>In the third place, the Saints have a great comfort in Gods ri&s;ing for them upon this ground; when God ari&s;eth, he hath abundance ri&s;e with him: I &s;ay, if the Lord old ri&s;e alone, he is able to do it; but when&s;oever he ari&s;eth, he hath aboundance ri&s;e with him: <HI>When the Lyon roars, all the Bea&s;ts of the forre&s;t trembl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">:</HI> Ob&s;erve I pray you: when the Lord comes to Judgement again&s;t a people, if he doth but &s;ay, <HI>cau&s;e the in&s;truments of ven|geance to draw neer, they come every man with a &s;laughter weapon in his hand immediately;</HI> Ezek. 9.1. &s;o when the Lord ri&s;eth up to execute vengeance upon an ene|my: I will give you but one place; but it is a very glo|rious Scripture, ob&s;erve it I pray you, <HI>Dan.</HI> 10.20. there is an Angel come to comfort <HI>Daniel,</HI> and in&s;truct him, and he tells you: now &s;aith he, <HI>I go forth again&s;t the King of</HI> Per&s;ia, <HI>and when I am gone forth, the Prince of</HI> Grecia <HI>&s;hall come:</HI> mark, <HI>God ri&s;eth up,</HI> as the Text tells you (for it referrs to the &s;ame) when God ri&s;eth up
<PB N="372" REF="216"> once, then truly there is an Angel up, and together with him, all the power of the Grecian Monarchie; <HI>When I am gone forth</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>then the Prince of</HI> Grecia <HI>&s;hall come;</HI> mighty wars there were between the <HI>Grecian</HI> and the <HI>Per&s;ian,</HI> until the <HI>Per&s;ian</HI> were &s;ubdued before him: Now, how came it to pa&s;s? the Angel went out fir&s;t to fight again&s;t the King of <HI>Per&s;ia:</HI> when God ri&s;eth up, then I &s;ay there be abundance ri&s;e with him. The&s;e are the grounds of the con&s;olation that the people of God did take from the ri&s;ing of God in his providential actings for them. There is a word more that I would &s;peak to. A que&s;tion will ri&s;e now in every one of your mouths.</P>
<P>Oh, But how &s;hould a people know? when by his &s;piritual eyes can he di&s;cern that God is rai&s;ed up? we &s;ee men ri&s;e, an arm of fle&s;h: but how &s;hall we be able to &s;ay, <HI>God is rai&s;ed up out of his holy habitation;</HI> that were comfort indeed, if we could conclude that: but what if men ri&s;e without God?</P>
<P>Why now, in an&s;wer to that, I intreate you give me leave a little. When God is rai&s;ed up for a people, he u&s;eth to cau&s;e <HI>magnam conjunctionem,</HI> a great combina|tion as it were, and a joyning together of the&s;e five things (ob&s;erve them, I be&s;eech you) and truly I think we may &s;peak it with thankfulne&s;s to the glorious prai&s;e of our God they have very far concurred in the Lords ri&s;ing among his people in <HI>England.</HI></P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place, When the Lord is awakened by prayer, that is the fir&s;t thing; prayer is Gods way by which he is rai&s;ed up, <HI>Iob</HI> 8.5,6. <HI>If thou make thy &s;uppli|cation to him, he will &s;urely awake for thee: If thou make thy &s;upplication to him:</HI> what is the rea&s;on that God was rai&s;ed up for his people here? he was rai&s;ed up by prayer:
<PB N="373" REF="216"> look into <HI>Zach.</HI> 11.12,13. <HI>the Lord Chri&s;t</HI> he comes, and prayeth, <HI>how long will it be ere thou have compa&s;si|on upon Ieru&s;alem, again&s;t whom thou ha&s;t had indignation the&s;e three-&s;core and ten years?</HI> why now what is the re|turn? <HI>The Lord an&s;wereth the Angel with good words, with comfortable words, I am jealous for Sion:</HI> as &s;oon as ever Chri&s;t prayeth, my Brethren, he prayes your prayers: if ever prayer ari&s;e, God ari&s;eth: <HI>I am jealous for my people.</HI> That is the fir&s;t. You &s;hall know when God ari&s;|eth, if he be awakened by prayer: and truly, we had cau&s;e to hope in the beginning of our troubles, that the Lord did pour a large mea&s;ure, a plentiful mea&s;ure of the Spirit of prayer upon his people.</P>
<P>Secondly, when the Lord defeateth the coun&s;els of the enemy, turns their plots upon their heads: I be|&s;eech you ob&s;erve; <HI>the Lord is known by the judgements that he executeth, when the wicked is &s;nared in the work of his own hands;</HI> when the Lord takes men, and burns them like Bees in their own Hive: truly that is an ar|gument God is up; men could not do that: God brings mens waies eminently upon their own heads: you have a Scripture very remarkable, <HI>Micah</HI> 4. (for I dare &s;peak nothing to you but what I have a word for I the ene|my &s;ay, <HI>that they would come together, and they would thre&s;h Sion;</HI> why now &s;aith God, <HI>they know not the thoughts of the Lord;</HI> the&s;e are their thoughts: I bu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> they do not know mine; why, what were <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> thoughts? Gods thoughts were to make their <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> again&s;t the people of God, to be the means of their own ruine: their own coun&s;els &s;hould de&s;toy them; for &s;o he &s;aith; <HI>they &s;hall be ga<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hered toge<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">er as &s;heaves in a flore: ari&s;e and thre&s;h O daughter of Son<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> they thought to come together to thre&s;h the Church: I, but &s;aith
<PB N="374" REF="215"> God, they them&s;elves &s;hall be thre&s;hed; they &s;hall be gathered together as &s;heaves to be thre&s;hed; it would be horrible ingratitude for any of us to overlook the manifold appearances of God in this kind in the&s;e latter daies, and not confe&s;s the Truth. That is a &s;econd ground, how we may know whether God ari&s;e for his people.</P>
<P>In the third place; when the Lord takes away the hearts of his enemies; truly, my Brethren, the di&s;ci|pline of Spirits is not in men, but in <HI>the Father of Spi|rits;</HI> when it &s;hall be truly &s;aid, <HI>the men of might have not found their hands</HI> when that &s;hall befall them that the Lord threatneth in <HI>Nahum</HI> 3.17. <HI>their Captains &s;hall be like the great Gra&s;s hoppers in a Sunny day:</HI> the Sun ari|&s;eth and they are gone; when <HI>their &s;trong holds &s;hall be like ripe figgs falling into the mouthes of the Eaters;</HI> when God &s;hall make the very names of men terrible to the enemies, certainly God hath the Di&s;cipline of Spirits: when it &s;hall be &s;aid, <HI>the &s;word of the Lord, and the &s;word of Gideon;</HI> and that as it is &s;aid, <HI>a Barley Cake &s;hall over|throw the Tent, this is the Lords doings.</HI></P>
<P>Certainly, God doth ari&s;e, In the fourth place, when the Lord acteth the Spirits of his people unto high, and noble and invincible re&s;olutions; draws them out to re&s;olutions more then men; when he guides their &s;trength, when he girds up their &s;pirits to the bu&s;i|ne<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s: in <HI>Zach.</HI> 4 6. <HI>Not by power, nor by might, but by my Spirit:</HI> how did the Spirit of God do it? truly, it is the Spirit of God working in the hearts of men, rai&s;ing up their hearts to encounter with the greate&s;t difficulties, to look a thou&s;and deaths in the face with boldne&s;s, and elevating the &s;pirits of men beyond what or linarily is in men, this is the Lord, the Lord ri&s;eth when it is &s;o.</P>
<PB N="375" REF="215">
<P>And then in the la&s;t place, when the Lord goes on in waies of mercy, and draws out his loving kindne&s;s, &s;ometimes the Lord may &s;tep forth for his people; and he may withdraw him&s;elf again, and then the mi&s;|givings of their hearts will be ready to &s;ay, it is the Lord is upon us: but when the Lord holds on a con|tinual tenor of mercies, when it &s;hall be &s;aid as it was to <HI>Io&s;hua there is no man &s;hall &s;tand before thee all the daies of thy life, I am with thee:</HI> Is it &s;o my Brethren? then all men mu&s;t conclude, &s;urely <HI>the Lord is rai&s;ed up out of his holy habitation:</HI> And this is the fir&s;t point.</P>
<P>The &s;econd I &s;hall &s;peak a little to, but very briefly, that I may come to the &s;econd general in the Text: I am loth to tre&s;pa&s;s, or to &s;traighten him that &s;ucceeds in the &s;ervice&punc; The &s;econd Doctrine that I propounded to you was this, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dostrine.</NOTE> <HI>That the experiments that the Saints&punc; have of the ri&s;ing of God for them in &s;ome Providential actings, are a &s;ure pledge to their faith that he will go on the will not leave the work till he hath brought it to perfection:</HI> &s;o ob&s;erve: I will give you but one Scripture, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 74.14. <HI>he &s;mote the head of</HI> Leviathan <HI>in the water, and he gave him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderne&s;s:</HI> the Lord here doth encourage them again&s;t tho&s;e great difficulties that they were to meet withal in the wilder|ne&s;s after they came out of <HI>Egypt:</HI> why now what is the u&s;e that they mu&s;t make of the affliction of <HI>Pharoah,</HI> and his Army called the head of <HI>Leviathan</HI> there, his power, his policy, his &s;trength? the Lord brake the ene|my: Why, the text &s;aith <HI>he gave it to be meat to the people:</HI> Why, did the people of I&s;rael in the wilderne&s;s feed upon the dead bodies of the Egyptians? No, that is not the meaning of it: but this; he gave it to be food to their faith, not to their bodies; for their faith to
<PB N="376" REF="218"> feed upon in all tho&s;e en&s;uing difficulties that they were to meet withal in a howling wilderne&s;s: <HI>in decretis &s;api|entium nulla e&s;t Litura,</HI> Wi&s;e men make no blots: when the Lord hath begun, he u&s;eth to go on: if he open the <HI>fir&s;t &s;eal again&s;t</HI> Rome <HI>Pagan,</HI> he never leaves till he comes to the <HI>&s;eventh &s;eal. If he &s;ounds the fir&s;t Trumpet again&s;t</HI> Rome <HI>Chri&s;tian, he goes on to the &s;eventh.</HI> So having begun to pour out &s;ome <HI>of the Vials again&s;t Antichri&s;tian</HI> Rome, &s;urely the Lord will never leave till the la&s;t vial be poured out. So it is a great encou|ragement to the Saints, the great experiments they have had of the Lords ri&s;ing for them in his providen|tial actings, that the Lord certainly will go on.</P>
<P>Oh but will you &s;ay to me, If we could be a&s;&s;ured of that: but what if the times &s;hould turn? <HI>there are chan|ges in the right hand of the mo&s;t high:</HI> what if we &s;hould &s;ee a new face upon things? I know the&s;e are the &s;up|po&s;itions of every heart here: Now I intreate you con|&s;ider: I confe&s;s there is an <HI>ultima clades adhuc me|tuenda:</HI> there is a great cloud that yet hangs over all the <HI>European</HI> Churches: pray ob&s;erve what I &s;ay: the <HI>killing of the witne&s;&s;es</HI> I cannot look upon as pa&s;t, be|cau&s;e I cannot find <HI>the time of the prophecying in &s;ackcloth and a&s;hes</HI> to be expired; and <HI>Rome</HI> Antichri&s;tian, as well as <HI>Rome</HI> Pagan under <HI>Iulian,</HI> &s;hall have its three years and a half; but yet for your comfort let me tell you, the experiments that you have had of Gods providen|tial actings may &s;ecure your hearts that they &s;hall ne|ver prevail, &s;o as to put out that <HI>l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ght of the glorious Go|&s;pel</HI> that God hath &s;et up among you, they &s;hall never prevail &s;o far. <HI>Rome</HI> hath a time of &s;eduction, and a time of per&s;ecution: the time of <HI>Romes</HI> &s;eduction is over,
<PB N="377" REF="218"> though it is true, the grand per&s;ecution is to come. <HI>Angu&s;tine</HI> (I remember) tells us that there is a three|fold per&s;ecution that the Church of God &s;hould under|go.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE></P>
<P>The fir&s;t is <HI>violenta,</HI> by force.</P>
<P>The &s;econd is <HI>fraudulenta,</HI> that is in a way of here|&s;ie.</P>
<P>A third &s;hould be <HI>&amp; violenta, &amp; fraudulenta;</HI> there &s;hould be a deceit mixt with force. Now I intreate you be plea&s;ed to con&s;ider: there be the&s;e three argu|ments that I have looked upon as a great &s;tay to my own thoughts in this re&s;pect; I &s;hall crave leave to propo&s;e them to you.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place, the Apo&s;tle <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.27. tels us, <HI>that the Lord doth &s;hake the things that are made, that the things that cannot be &s;haken may remain:</HI> he &s;haketh the things that are made, that they may be removed, that the things that cannot be &s;haken may remain: then the end why the Lord hath &s;haken in Church and State what&s;oever is of man, what the Lord will not have to continue, it is that he may remove it. Why now this is the great end then that the Lord hath, <HI>that things that cannot be &s;haken &s;hould remain:</HI> What&s;oever Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath removed, all the power of men &s;hall never exalt: for he did &s;hake it to that very end, <HI>that he might remove it:</HI> I &s;ay, what the Lord hath removed, as a thing made moveable, all the powers of men &s;hall never be able to e&s;tabli&s;h again. Je&s;us Chri&s;t will maintain the ground he hath won. That is the fir&s;t Argument. Yea,</P>
<P>In the &s;econd place: when <HI>Chri&s;t rides forth for to Conquer,</HI> he conquers not at once, but <HI>he will go on to conquer:</HI> that is another argument: you may &s;ee him
<PB N="378" REF="219"> going forth, <HI>Rev.</HI> 6.1,2. <HI>he rideth forth conquering and to conquer:</HI> he did not conquer all at once, but he car|ries on the victory. <HI>Luther</HI> (I remember) &s;aid when he began, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luther.</NOTE> <HI>brevi efficiam ut Anathema &s;it e&s;&s;e Papi&s;tam:</HI> it &s;hall not be long &s;aith he, but by the grace of Chri&s;t I &s;hall bring it about that it &s;hall be looked upon as a cur&s;ed thing to be a Papi&s;t: God hath carried on the work &s;till; and I remember it was the &s;peech of <HI>La|timer</HI> one of our Martyrs when he came to be burnt, <HI>I hope I &s;hall kindle a fire this day in</HI> England <HI>&s;hall never be put out; Romanum nomen de terra tolletur:</HI> Certainly, the Lord Chri&s;t will carry on his work for he conquers not all at once, <HI>he goes on conquering, and to con|quer.</HI></P>
<P>In the third place: Con&s;ider I be&s;eech you, <HI>the ten Kingdoms &s;hall de&s;troy the whore:</HI> that is my third argu|ment: the ten Kingdoms are the In&s;truments God will u&s;e. Antichri&s;t ri&s;eth in a double bea&s;t, <HI>Rev.</HI> 13. in his civil power; &s;o he makes up one bea&s;t with the ten Kingdoms. In his Eccle&s;ia&s;tical he makes up his ten Kingdoms in the Clergy: that is <HI>the Bea&s;t that hath two horns like a Lamb: he &s;peaks like a Dragon.</HI> Now ob|&s;erve I be&s;eech you; the&s;e ten Kingdoms the Lord will make u&s;e of to de&s;troy the Whore: therefore he mu&s;t re&s;erve a con&s;iderable party: Nay, a major party, <HI>that &s;hall hate the Whore:</HI> who &s;hall become <HI>cho&s;en, and faith|ful:</HI> the Lord hath been plea&s;ed to make this one of the ten Kingdoms: certainly the Lord will uphold a major party here: <HI>tho&s;e that &s;hall keep them&s;elves, that be Virgins, not defile them&s;elves with the fornications of Antichri&s;t:</HI> and the Lord will rai&s;e them up for this great &s;ervice: and <HI>they &s;hall &s;tand with the Lamb upon Mount Sion.</HI> Con&s;ider I be&s;eech you this: and then
<PB N="379" REF="219"> when you look about upon tho&s;e glorious providential acts of God for you, truly, you may comfort your &s;elves with this, <HI>the Lord is rai&s;ed up out of his holy ha|bitation:</HI> he hath begun, and he will carry on the work. And &s;o much now for the fir&s;t branch of the Text; the Propo&s;ition: <HI>the Lord is rai&s;ed up out of his holy ha|bitation.</HI> The inference that followeth upon it, I &s;hall &s;peak but briefly to: only I pray you lend me your dili|gent ear, and with that I &s;hall conclude. I would be loth to tre&s;pa&s;s in re&s;pect of time.</P>
<P><HI>The Lord is rai&s;ed up out of his holy habitation:</HI> what then? <HI>be &s;ilent Oh all fle&s;h before him.</HI> That is the in|ference: <HI>be &s;ilent O all fle&s;h before the Lord.</HI> The&s;e words Interpretets referr both to the Churches enemies, and to the people of God who were returned from the Land of their captivity. The particle, <HI>Interjectio e&s;t &s;ilenti|um Imperans,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jerom.</NOTE> <HI>Ierom.</HI> Oh, that is here u&s;ed, is a kind of Interjection by which the Lord commandeth &s;ilence, and not a &s;ilence of the tongue only, but &s;ilence of the &s;oul: <HI>My &s;oul keep &s;ilence unto God:</HI> There is a double &s;ilence in the world.</P>
<P>Some men keep &s;ilence in policy, becau&s;e they would not di&s;cover them&s;elves till a convenient time. But all the people of God that will approve them&s;elves, they mu&s;t keep &s;ilence in duty: Well,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t then: Let us look upon enemies, and as it is a direction to them, a command laid upon them, <HI>Oh all fle&s;h be &s;ilent before the Lord.</HI> I here is a double ground of all ungodly mens &s;ilence; and I find it u&s;ed &s;o in Scripture.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, there is a &s;ilence from &s;hame, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 31.19. <HI>let the lying lips be put to &s;ilence, that cruelly and de&s;pightful|ly &s;peak again&s;t the righteous;</HI> &s;ilencing may be by &s;hame.</P>
<PB N="380" REF="220">
<P>Secondly, there is a &s;ilencing of men wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">h fear, and a&s;toni&s;hment, <HI>P&s;al</HI> 107.41. <HI>he &s;etteth the poor on high with Princes; the righteous &s;hall &s;ee this and rejoyce, and all wickedne&s;s &s;hall &s;top their mouth;</HI> men &s;hall be amazed to &s;ee it. There is a &s;ilence from &s;hame, there is a &s;ilence from fear: then it is as if &s;o be the Lord &s;hould have &s;aid, unto all the Churchs enemies, for &s;hame, or if not for &s;hame, for fear &s;uppre&s;s your murmurings; away with your boa&s;tings, your cen&s;urings, your &s;landerings. <HI>Keep &s;ilence Oh all fle&s;h before the Lord;</HI> why now, give me leave to inforce it a little. All tho&s;e that are ene|mies unto Gods actings among his people, give me leave to &s;peak a word to you, if any &s;uch are here, as in mo&s;t of our Congregations it is like there are.</P>
<P>When <HI>the Lord is rai&s;ed up out of his holy habitation,</HI> doth gloriou&s;ly appear in providential actings for his people, then &s;ee that you <HI>keep &s;ilence;</HI> I &s;ay, away with your murmurings, your di&s;putings, your cen&s;u|rings, your &s;landerings; and let me inforce it upon the&s;e four grounds; remember them.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t know, the Lord hears all your murmurings; the Lord takes notice of all your cen&s;urings; &s;ome|times men in de&s;ign keep &s;ilence, becau&s;e they dare not &s;peak out; But remember what the Lord told his peo|ple when they murmured again&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es, Exod.</HI> 16. the Lord tells them, that they have not murmured again&s;t thee, at the 7. <HI>ver. they have not murmured again&s;t thee, but they have murmured again&s;t me.</HI> When God appears in In&s;truments, and you evidently &s;ee the hand of God with them: then, when you murmur at the&s;e In&s;tru|ments, you murmur again&s;t God: remember that, and the Lord takes notice.</P>
<PB N="381" REF="220">
<P>In the &s;econd place: It is a far greater Judgement for a man to be given over to a froward fretful &s;pirit under an affliction, then any affliction that can befall him: I de&s;ire that it may &s;ink deep into all your hearts: I &s;ay, to be given over under an affliction, to a froward, and a fretful &s;pirit, is a greater judgement then any affliction can befall him: for a man to be <HI>like a wild Bull in a Net, full of the fury of the Lord;</HI> the cro&s;s he cannot bear, and yet he cannot avoid it. I intreat you con&s;ider, it is wor&s;e then any other judgement can befall you; it is the Devils &s;in, and it is the Devils puni&s;hment: mark this I &s;ay, it is the Devils &s;in, and it is the Devils pu|ni&s;hment: the Lord cro&s;&s;eth him in all his de&s;igns, and yet notwith&s;tanding for all that, &s;till his &s;pirit ri&s;|&s;eth up again&s;t all his acting: and &s;o, envy is his &s;in, and his plague: now do you mark; it is true all &s;ins are from the Devil, but yet &s;ome are from him <HI>per modum &s;ervitutis:</HI> others <HI>per modum Imagini:</HI> in &s;ome &s;ins you do the Devils work, but in &s;ome &s;ins you bear the Devils image: and I be&s;eech you con&s;ider: this is the condition of every man, &s;o far as he is given over to a froward, fretful, perver&s;e, di&s;contented &s;pirit un|der the providential actings of God towards his people: Con&s;ider I be&s;eech you, it is this that makes Hell: this makes Hell, when a man is under the hand of God, that yet he cannot bear it, nor he cannot avoid it. It was a good &s;peech of <HI>Bernard,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> <HI>Ubi non e&s;t propria vo|luntas, non erit infernum:</HI> take away a mans &s;elf-will, and truly you take away hell: this is that my Brethe|ren makes it be &s;o: when an affliction lies upon a man, all that while his will continually ri&s;eth again&s;t the dealings of God, and he frets again&s;t the hand of God upon him, it is the greate&s;t Judgement could befal him.</P>
<PB N="382" REF="221">
<P>In the third place: This will certainly hinder your re|pentance. It is a &s;ad Scripture that, &amp; &s;o much the more &s;ad, becau&s;e it hath an a&s;pect upon the times in which we live, <HI>Rev.</HI> 16.9. you read of <HI>the Vial poured out upon the Sun:</HI> the highe&s;t authority in Church and State: &s;o far as it holds to <HI>Rome.</HI> Now the Text &s;aith, that <HI>men &s;hould be &s;corched;</HI> the &s;ame Vial that was poured out upon the Sun: I &s;ay now, that men &s;hould be &s;corched, exceedingly fretful, perplexed in &s;pirit: and what fol|lows? why, the text &s;aith, <HI>they bla&s;phemed God that had power over the&s;e plagues, and they repented not to give God the glory.</HI> My Brethren, there is not a greater Judge|ment befalls men in the&s;e daies, then through a fretful &s;pirit again&s;t the in&s;trument, to neglect the hand of God, and not repent and turn.</P>
<P>Yea, in the la&s;t place: that I may draw to wards a conclu&s;ion: This will provoke the Lord (I a&s;&s;ure you) for to bring greater plagues upon you: therefore take heed to it, to keep &s;ilence before him when you &s;ee Gods hand upon you, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 26.11. <HI>When the hand of the Lord is lifted up, they will not &s;ee, but they &s;hall &s;ee, and be a&s;hamed,</HI> for their envy at the people, &s;aith the Text. My Brethren, God worketh Judgements in le&s;&s;er cha|racters at fir&s;t; and truly if men cannot read it, he will write them in more eminent and capital Letters: &s;mall judgements, they will not open wicked mens eyes: tru|ly, neither will they &s;top wicked mens mouthes; and if they will not do &s;o, a&s;&s;uredly God will have a way for all wicked men to &s;top their mouthes: therefore if you would not have Judgements encrea&s;ed take heed when you &s;ee the Lord appearing for his Church providen|tially acting, the Lord is up then; Say to thy own &s;oul, <HI>Let all fle&s;h be &s;ilent before him:</HI> That is the fir&s;t: look|ing
<PB N="383" REF="221"> upon the&s;e words as referring to the Churches enemies.</P>
<P>A word I &s;hall add, looking upon the&s;e words as re|ferring to the poor di&s;tre&s;&s;ed Jews who were now re|turned out of the Land of their Captivity; but there was a mighty power of the enemy again&s;t them: why yet &s;aith the Lord, do you keep &s;ilence: &s;ilence your doubtings, &s;ilence your frettings.</P>
<P>Silence your doubtings. It it &s;aid of <HI>Abraham, Rom.</HI> 4.20. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>he did not di&s;pute the bu&s;ine&s;s, pro</HI> and <HI>con;</HI> and truly, neither mu&s;t you; if God be up, leave the work in his hand: leave off your doubtings, leave off your doubtings upon conjectures and &s;uppo&s;itions. That is the fir&s;t: <HI>Let all fle&s;h keep &s;ilence;</HI> &s;ilence your doubtings</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Let all fle&s;h keep &s;ilence:</HI> &s;ilence your frettings: &s;aith <HI>David, P&s;al.</HI> 39. <HI>I kept &s;ilence, I was dumb</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>for it was thy doings.</HI> A terrible Judge|ment befell <HI>Aaron;</HI> two &s;ons were taken away by an immediate &s;troke from Gods hand, and <HI>Aaron held his peace:</HI> his &s;pirit did not ri&s;e, and di&s;contentedly fret at the pre&s;ent di&s;pen&s;ation; Oh, ye that fear God, take heed, when the Lord ari&s;eth for his people; <HI>keep &s;ilence before him:</HI> &s;ilence your doubtings, &s;ilence your fret tings. That I pre&s;s by four con&s;iderations, and &s;o I &s;hall conclude; I be&s;eech you mark them You that fear God, that know his name, that expect an intere&s;t in all that mercy that the Lord intendeth for his people in the latter daies, take heed I &s;ay, that ye keep &s;ilence be|fore the Lord.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Con&s;ider but this: <HI>will you contend with God? will you I &s;ay, contend with God in Judgement?</HI> the Lord challengeth that; <HI>Who will appoint me a time? who will
<PB N="384" REF="222"> contend with me in Iudgement?</HI> Will you di&s;pute the bu&s;ine&s;s out with God? Con&s;ider, Gods Judgement is the la&s;t Judgement: and his Judgement is an eternal Judgement: from his Sentence there is no appeal: it is the wor&s;t cour&s;e that a man could take, that is to be Judged, to undertake to contend with his Judgement before God: therefore take heed of it you cannot con|tend with God in Judgement, <HI>Iob</HI> 9.32.</P>
<P>Secondly, &s;hould not the Sove<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">aignty of God put you to &s;ilence? though it may be all the actings of God be not according to your will, &s;hould not the Soveraign|ty of God (I &s;ay) &s;top your mouthes <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> hath not the Lord re&s;erved to him&s;elf the power of Kingdoms? <HI>De|point Reges, di&s;ponit Regna:</HI> he it is that di&s;po&s;eth Kings, he it is that di&s;po&s;eth Kingdoms: now I be&s;eech you ob&s;erve this &s;eriou&s;ly; this did &s;ilence <HI>David; I was dumb, and opened not my mouth, it was thy doings:</HI> truly, had I looked barely upon man, it was &s;uch a thing I could not have born, if I had looked only upon in&s;tru|ments; but when I looked upon him as my Sove|raign and ab&s;olute Lord, then (&s;aith he) <HI>I was &s;ilent before him.</HI></P>
<P>In the third place, con&s;ider this, A fretful &s;pirit, even in Gods own people, doth &s;trangely blind their eyes that they cannot &s;ee the goodne&s;s of God in the mer|cy, but take many times that which is a high and glo|rious mercy, they take it to be a cro&s;s and an afflicti|on: My Brethren ob&s;erve, envy will &s;trangely hood|wink a man: <HI>when the hand of the Lord is lifted up, they will not &s;ee:</HI> why? for their envy at the people, they text &s;aith; it is an evil frame of &s;pirit in a Chri&s;tian; a froward, di&s;contented, fretful &s;pirit, a &s;pirit ill becom|ing a Saint: your wi&s;dom &s;hould hinder it: <HI>Solomon</HI> tels
<PB N="385" REF="222"> you, <HI>a man of under&s;tanding is of an excellent Spirit,</HI> <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>frigidus &s;piritu,</HI> he is a man <HI>of a cool &s;pirit,</HI> a man of under&s;tanding: a great many men will &s;peak of their under&s;tandings, and their zeal many times: but know, that <HI>a man of under&s;tanding is of a cool &s;pirit.</HI> Con|&s;ider, the Spirit of Chri&s;t comes in the form of a Dove; be innocent as Doves, without gall, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, <HI>&s;ine felle, &amp; &s;ine dolo:</HI> &s;o the word &s;ignifies; the Dove is without gall, as well as without guil; and truly that is a &s;pirit becoming a Chri&s;tian; and the want of this my Bre|thren, makes many deny the mo&s;t glorious actings of God towards his people: when many times, even an Heathen man, a &s;tranger &s;tanding by, is ready to cry out as he did: truly, <HI>it is a glorious God, the God of the Chri|&s;tians.</HI> Alas, they will not look upon it, they cannot &s;ee it: envy I &s;ay, &s;trangely bleareth the eyes, take heed of it therefore.</P>
<P>In the la&s;t place, and &s;o I have done: Con&s;ider, <HI>doth the wrath of, man work the righteou&s;ne&s;s of God?</HI> the Apo&s;tle S. <HI>Iames</HI> tels you clearly the contrary: certain|ly, you that will maintain Gods cau&s;e, you mu&s;t do it by Gods means; the Lord needs no carnal weapons, no help of any body, no fle&s;hly intere&s;t to maintain his &s;piritual cau&s;e; no: I entreat you con&s;ider it: when if ever you will carry on the cau&s;e of God, let it be done by the means, and with that &s;pirit that God requireth. I dare undertake you &s;hall find that of <HI>Nazianzen</HI> a good rule, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Nazian.</NOTE> Let us be weak, that we may overcome; I, that is the way, the way to overcome men, or to man|nage a cau&s;e, though you &s;ay it is the cau&s;e of God: I &s;ay it is not to be done by humane heats, and fle&s;hly animo&s;ities; therefore this is that I &s;hall leave with you for the pre&s;ent, in the&s;e five con&s;iderations farther, and
<PB N="386" REF="223"> &s;o have done. Fir&s;t, God hath never &s;et up any autho|rity, or way of government, but he hath re&s;erved to him&s;elf in his providence a power to change it at his plea&s;ure, <HI>Zach.</HI> 21.10. <HI>Remove the Diadem, take away the Crown:</HI> God will &s;hew him&s;elf to <HI>be King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.</HI> Secondly, it is his ordinance that there &s;hould be a Magi&s;tracie; they are called <HI>the &s;hields of the earth: the &s;tay of your tribes; the foundations of the earth:</HI> and it is not good there &s;hould be an Anarchie: for <HI>God hath &s;et Rulers over men:</HI> &s;ome by providence, &s;ome by promi&s;e. But yet God &s;ets them over them: that &s;hould be enough to re&s;train men of giddy &s;pirits, who are like <HI>the children of Belial,</HI> without a yoak: therefore let us not go about to <HI>pluck up our own bedge, and de&s;troy our own foundations, Hab.</HI> 1.13. The fi&s;hes of the Sea have no Ruler over them, but devour one ano|ther: The <HI>Per&s;ians</HI> at the death of their Kings, have <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, on purpo&s;e that men might find the evil of it: therefore be not unruly, boy&s;terous &s;pirits, like the raging Sea. But be content to &s;ubmit to the bounds that God hath &s;et you. Thirdly, though this Government be an Ordinance of God: yet the ex|tent, and &s;pecification of it is but an humane creation, 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.13, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, and doth ari&s;e meerly from the compacts and agreements betwixt men: <HI>Rex debet e&s;&s;e &s;ub Deo, &amp; &s;ub lege, quia Rex Regem facit,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bracton.</NOTE> <HI>Bracton.</HI> 4^l^y. It is a Judgement God threatens on Magi&s;trates, <HI>Zach.</HI> 11.16. that <HI>their right arm &s;hall wither:</HI> they may lo&s;e their ruling power among&s;t men; and that ju&s;tly, both in reference to God, and men. Fifthly, in all difficult ca&s;es it is be&s;t to go the &s;afe&s;t way, that a whole Nation peri&s;h not through their own wilfulne&s;s: I &s;hall add no more. When the Lord ri&s;eth, <HI>when the
<PB N="387" REF="223"> Lord is rai&s;ed out of his holy habitation;</HI> then as all unre|generate men, let them &s;ilence their murmurings, &s;i|lence their &s;landerings, and cen&s;urings: So all you that fear God (for you are but fle&s;h) &s;ilence your doubtings, &s;ilence your &s;rettings before the Lord. And &s;o much now &s;hall &s;erve for this Text: <HI>The Lord give you under&s;tanding in all things.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="224">
<PB N="389" REF="224">
<HEAD>THE Duty and Dignity OF Magi&s;trates.</HEAD>
<OPENER><DATELINE>A Sermon Preached at <HI>Laurence Iury,</HI> <DATE><HI>Sep.</HI> 29. 1651.</DATE> at the Election of the Lord Maior.</DATELINE></OPENER>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>ZACH. 10. <HI>ver.</HI> 4.</BIBL>
<P>Out of him &s;hall come forth the Corner: Out of him the Nail: Out of him the Battle bow: Out of him every Op|pre&s;&s;or together.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_LAws are in Scripture called <HI>the foundations</HI> of the Common-wealth, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 11.3. Ma|gi&s;trates al&s;o they are the <HI>Pillars:</HI> when the Lord intendeth to go fotth in Judgement again&s;t any people, he goes forth again&s;t them in both
<PB N="390" REF="225"> the&s;e: <HI>he gives them Laws that are not good; and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">udge|ments by which they &s;hall not live, Ezek.</HI> 20.25. And he doth &s;end them Magi&s;trates al&s;o <HI>that &s;hall e&s;tabli&s;h ini|quity by the&s;e Laws, P&s;al.</HI> 94.20. But when the Lord re|turns unto a people in mercy, he doth give them righte|ous Laws, and gracious Rulers. In this Chapter you have the Lord returning unto his own people in mercy. There is a double vi&s;itation of God: One of his ene|mies in wrath; the other of his people in mercy. His enemies in wrath, in the former ver&s;e before the Text. <HI>I was angry with the Shepherds, and I did puni&s;h the Goats;</HI> it is &s;poken of tho&s;e former tyrannical Governors that ruled over them; &s;ometimes called <HI>Shepherds,</HI> in the 11. Chap. ver. 5. <HI>their po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors &s;lay them, and hold not them&s;elves guilty; and their own Shepherds pitty them not.</HI> Sometimes &s;tiled <HI>Goats:</HI> oppre&s;&s;ing Governors are commonly &s;o called in the Scripture, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 14.9. <HI>All the Rulers of the earth:</HI> it is the &s;ame word in the Original, all the <HI>Goats</HI> of the earth: for Goats feed high: they are of all creatures mo&s;t lu&s;tful: and yet among&s;t the creatures very unu&s;eful: <HI>nec ad bellum pro&s;unt, nec ad aratrum:</HI> a fit re&s;emblance of Oppre&s;&s;ors. This was the Lords vi&s;itation now of his enemies in wrath.</P>
<P>Secondly, he vi&s;iteth his people in mercy: and though the appearances of God in this vi&s;itation were glorious: for he was mightily &s;een in their deliverance: yet he makes them&s;elves to be the in&s;truments to effect it: God doth it, but he doth it by them&s;elves: <HI>I will make Iudah as a goodly hor&s;e in the battle:</HI> the excellency of the hor&s;e is in the battle, <HI>Iob</HI> 39.21. he meets, <HI>he goes forth to meet the armed man: he doth mock at fear, and he turneth not back from the &s;word, for thou ha&s;t clothed his neck with thunder;</HI> &s;uch a goodly hor&s;e now doth the
<PB N="391" REF="225"> Lord make his own people to be in the battle: it is or|dinary in Scripture for God to re&s;emble his people to all &s;orts of war-like in&s;truments, <HI>Zach.</HI> 9.13. <HI>I will bend</HI> Judah <HI>for me: and fill the bow with</HI> Ephraim: <HI>Iudah</HI> is the bow, <HI>Ephraim</HI> the arrows: as there they are re|&s;embled to a bow in the battle, &s;o here they are Gods charging hor&s;es, they are my goodly hor&s;es. It is true indeed, the Lord is the rider, the motions of the&s;e hor&s;es are ordered by him: and when the victory is, now it is not the hor&s;e wins, it is not the hor&s;e conquers, but the rider: yet notwith&s;tanding they are my goodly hor&s;es for the battle. Thus you &s;ee the Vi&s;itation of God. Fir&s;t, of his enemies in di&s;plea&s;ure. Secondly, of his people in mercy.</P>
<P>Now the words that I have read to you, &s;et forth a glorious promi&s;e that God makes unto his people when they were delivered; <HI>Out of</HI> Iudah <HI>&s;hall come forth the corner:</HI> for I &s;hould not read it as it is in your books: out of <HI>Iudah</HI> came forth <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> the word in the original is <HI>in futuro, out of</HI> Judah <HI>&s;hall come forth:</HI> this is the pro|mi&s;e, when God hath delivered them. <HI>Out of</HI> Judah <HI>&s;hall come forth the Corner: Out of him the Nail.</HI> Let us look into the meaning, and the difference of the&s;e words a little: &s;urely, <HI>all Scripture was written for our learn|ing.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t then, the promi&s;e is, <HI>Out of him &s;hall come forth the Corner:</HI> what is that? <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> the word in the original is, and is commonly a Metaphor u&s;ed for Magi&s;trates and Governors: I &s;hall give you &s;everal places. Look into <HI>Iudg.</HI> 20 2. <HI>and all the chief of the peeople came toge|ther:</HI> <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>All the corners of the people came together,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 14.38. <HI>draw neer hither all the Corners of the people;</HI> all the chief of the people; that is, all the cor|ners
<PB N="392" REF="226"> of the people. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 19.13. <HI>the Princes of</HI> Zoan <HI>are become fools, they have &s;educed</HI> Egypt; <HI>even they that are the &s;tay of their tribes,</HI> you read; it is in the original, <HI>they that are the corners of the Tribes:</HI> Then by the Corner is here meant Magi&s;trates. And there are three great Rea&s;ons thereof, or three things wherein the Analogy doth lie: why the Magi&s;trates &s;hould be called <HI>the cor|ners of the people.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the corner-&s;tone laid in the foundation, <HI>aedifici|um &s;u&s;tinet,</HI> it upholds the building: the main weight of the building lies in the corner-&s;tone: &s;o you &s;hall find it u&s;ed, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 28.16. <HI>behold I will lay in Sion a precious Corner-&s;tone;</HI> <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>a foundation:</HI> the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t is made the foundation upon which the building of the Church &s;tands: and there is the main &s;tre&s;s in the corner-&s;tone, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.6.</P>
<P>Secondly, the corner-&s;tone doth not uphold the building only, but <HI>parietes conjungit:</HI> the corner-&s;tone joyns and coupleth the wall; it is a uniting &s;tone: &s;o you &s;hall &s;ee the Metaphor u&s;ed, <HI>Eph.</HI> 2.20,21. <HI>Chri&s;t is &s;aid to be the Corner-&s;tone, in which all the building is fitly framed together,</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, fitly framed toge|ther.</P>
<P>Thirdly, and la&s;tly, the corner-&s;tone <HI>aedificium ornat,</HI> it adorneth the building: &s;o you &s;hall find the Meta|phor u&s;ed, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 144.12. <HI>Your daughters &s;hall be as corner|&s;tones, poli&s;hed after the &s;imilitude of a Palace;</HI> becau&s;e there is more labour &s;pent in poli&s;hing the corner|&s;tone, then in the ordinary &s;tones of the building; <HI>An|guli prae aliis aedificiorum partibus exornari &s;olent.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Meller.</NOTE> <HI>Meller.</HI> Now in all the&s;e re&s;pects &s;ee how fitly Magi&s;trates are called the corner: the weight of the building they up|hold. The &s;everal parts of the building they unite. And
<PB N="393" REF="226"> the whole building in both the&s;e they adorn. Then this is the fir&s;t, <HI>Out of him &s;hall come forth the corner.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Out of him &s;hall come forth the Nail:</HI> What is that? It is a Metaphor u&s;ed likewi&s;e for Governors. You have that clear place in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 23.23,25. there is the removing of one bad Governor and the &s;etting up of a good: <HI>Shebnah</HI> is removed: <HI>Eliakim</HI> is exalted: the Lord &s;aith of them both, they are a Nail fa&s;tned in a &s;ure place. <HI>A Nail fa&s;tned in a &s;ure place &s;hall be removed,</HI> &s;aith the Lord, &s;peaking of the di&s;placing of <HI>Shebnah;</HI> and <HI>I will fa&s;ten him as a Nail in a &s;ure place,</HI> &s;peaking of the exalting of <HI>Elikaim.</HI> There is a double Analogy, or propo&s;ition in that Metaphor.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Clavibus connectuntur, &amp; compinguntur inter &s;e trabes:</HI> the beams of the building are fa&s;tned, and uni|ted by Nails one to another: &s;o that the Corner-&s;tone doth not only unite the foundation: but the Nails they unite the roof.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>va&s;a &s;u&s;pen&s;a pendent;</HI> upon the Nails all the Ve&s;&s;els hang, that is the Metaphor u&s;ed there; <HI>I will fa&s;ten him as a Nail in a &s;ure place; and you &s;hall hang upon him all the glory of his Fathers hou&s;e;</HI> the off-&s;pring, and the i&s;&s;ue; all the Ve&s;&s;els, even from cups to flag|gons; all the nece&s;&s;ary Uten&s;ils of the hou&s;e, they all hang upon this Nail: &s;o then the meaning is this; That out of <HI>Iudah</HI> &s;hall come forth a Magi&s;trate, who &s;hall be as a corner-&s;tone to &s;upport; to unite; to adorn the Common-wealth of I&s;rael. And he &s;hall be as a Nail; he &s;hall be for union above, as well as a Corner|&s;tone below; and upon him all the building of the Common-wealth &s;hall hang, even from the highe&s;t to the lowe&s;t; <HI>all &s;orts of Ve&s;&s;els, even from flaggons to cups.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>Out of him &s;hall come forth the Battle Bow;</HI>
<PB N="394" REF="227"> the Bow was an In&s;trument of war, much in u&s;e in an|tient times, and therefore is here put for all the wea|pons of war all their ammunition for and all their di&s;|cipline of war: now the Lord had &s;aid before, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 1.5. <HI>I will break the bow of I&s;rael:</HI> and then there &s;hould be no &s;ucce&s;s in any of their undertakings there &s;hould not be any in&s;trument of war, nor any &s;ucce&s;s in the u&s;e of them; and &s;o that <HI>Zach.</HI> 9.10. its &s;aid, <HI>the Battle-Bow &s;hould be cut off from Ieru&s;alem;</HI> whereas formerly they had no &s;trength for war, but fell before their enemies continually, and were given to them as a prey; it was the Lord had broken the battle-Bow, and therefore they did hire in the neighbour Nations for to be their &s;trength; and <HI>&s;ometimes they are found in the way of</HI> Egypt, <HI>&s;ometimes of</HI> A&s;&s;yria; but when the Lord re|turns unto them in mercy for their deliverance, they &s;hould have &s;trength of their own again&s;t all the neighbour Nations; &s;o that <HI>out of them&s;elves &s;hould come forth the Battle-Bow:</HI> and they &s;hould be &s;ucce&s;sful in war, and <HI>tread down their enemies as mire in the &s;treets;</HI> becau&s;e the Lord is with them: So, that when the Lord did return to them in mercy, he would give them power for, and &s;ucce&s;s in war al&s;o.</P>
<P>Fourthly, Out of him every Oppre&s;&s;or, or Exactor, which I put both together, <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> the word properly &s;ignifies an Exactor, or one that gathers taxes or tribute of others, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 60.17. <HI>I will make thy officers peace, and thy Exactors righteou&s;ne&s;s:</HI> or el&s;e the word &s;ignifies to exact a mans work; as is u&s;ed of <HI>Pharoh,</HI> task|ma&s;ters, <HI>Exod.</HI> 3.7. <HI>I have heard their cry becau&s;e of their tack-ma&s;ters:</HI> an Exactor of labour, and of tribute, are both fitly to be under&s;tood here: for God doth not only deliver his people from the power of the enemy,
<PB N="395" REF="227"> but doth al&s;o put the enemies into their power, &s;o that they rule over them: for, that is the promi&s;e, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 14.2. <HI>They &s;hall take them for &s;ervants and for hand|maids;</HI> they &s;hall take them Captive, who&s;e Captives they were: and they &s;hall rule over their Oppre&s;&s;ors, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 60.5,6. <HI>The Rulers of the Gentiles &s;hall come unto thee: the Dromedaries of</HI> Midian, <HI>and the gold of</HI> Sheb|nah: <HI>They &s;hall bring Gold and Incen&s;e. The &s;ons of &s;tran|gers &s;hall build the walls; their Kings &s;hall mini&s;ter unto thee: and the Nations that &s;erve thee not &s;hall peri&s;h;</HI> &s;o that they &s;hall not only &s;ubdue their enemies, but rule over the Nations: this &s;hall be the glorious condition of the Church when <HI>the Lord &s;hall ari&s;e and have mercy on Sion:</HI> the <HI>fulne&s;s of which time</HI> is not yet come, be|cau&s;e <HI>the</HI> whole <HI>my&s;terie of God is not yet fini&s;hed:</HI> but it is <HI>Lactantius</HI> his ob&s;ervation, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Lactan.</NOTE> <HI>de divin. praem. l.</HI> 7. <HI>cap.</HI> 19 <HI>Cadet repente gladius e coelo, ut &s;ciant Ju&s;ti, ducem &s;anctae militiae de&s;cen&s;urum.</HI> There is a great &s;word fallen from heaven among&s;t all the Nations of Europe, yea even of all the world: which &s;hall be a &s;ignal to the Saints, that <HI>the Captain of the Lords ho&s;t</HI> &s;hall &s;urely come unto their full and perfect deliverance; and there|fore they are to <HI>lift up their heads, for their redemption draws nigh. Bellum &s;aepe renovabit Antichri&s;tus, &amp; &s;aepe vincet, donec con&s;ectis omnibus Impiis, debellatus:</HI> it is he hath drawn in all the wicked of the earth in his quar|rel: But that is now the work of the Lord that he is doing, making preparation for that great and la&s;t battle, <HI>the battle Armageddon:</HI> and you will find a confederacy of all tho&s;e of the Popi&s;h Intere&s;t, and <HI>that have re|ceived the mark, either in the right hand or in the fore|head:</HI> and they &s;hall &s;ome on one account, and &s;ome on another be engaged, that they may peri&s;h together:
<PB N="396" REF="228"> and, <HI>then the Kingdoms and Dominions under the whole earth, &s;hall be given to the Saints of the mo&s;t high:</HI> But that is not until the fourth Bea&s;t be de&s;troyed: <HI>The God of heaven &s;hall &s;et up a Kingdom by it &s;elf,</HI> and after the de|&s;truction of the fourth monarchy: and therefore that which now doth hinder the &s;etting up the Kingdom of God in the world, &s;hall be de&s;troyed with an utter de|&s;truction. This I conceive to be the meaning of the words.</P>
<P>You have then in the&s;e words the &s;tate of the peo|ple &s;et forth after their deliverance, what it &s;hall be, and that is double.</P>
<P>Look upon them fir&s;t <HI>in &s;tatu Politico:</HI> and afterwards <HI>in &s;tatu Polemico.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, in reference to their Politick &s;tate: &s;o (&s;aith the Lord) they &s;hall never want a Governor, a (faithful Magi&s;trate: but he &s;hall be to them <HI>as the Corner, and as the Nail:</HI> their enemies &s;hall rule over them no more, <HI>the Scepter &s;hall no more depart from</HI> Judah: they &s;hall have tho&s;e of their own that &s;hall be able to uphold the Government, and unite the Common-wealth.</P>
<P>Secondly, look upon them <HI>in &s;tatu Polemico:</HI> &s;o he &s;aith: <HI>Out of him &s;hall go forth the Battle-Bow:</HI> they &s;hall have all &s;otts of war-like provi&s;ions in them&s;elves: and they &s;hall be very &s;ucce&s;sful in war: they &s;hall tread down their enemies, and they &s;hall rule over their op|pre&s;&s;ors. The&s;e are the promi&s;es that the Lord makes of a glorious e&s;tate unto his people after their delive|rance. But it is the fir&s;t only that I am to &s;peak to, as be|ing only proper for the pre&s;ent occa&s;ion: <HI>Out of him &s;hall come forth the corner.</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doct.</HEAD>
<P>The Ob&s;ervation that I &s;hall deliver to you from thence is this; <HI>When the Lord returns to his people in
<PB N="397" REF="228"> mercy, he will give unto them Governors that &s;hall &s;upport them: that &s;hall be for the &s;upporting, for the uniting, and for the adorning of the Common wealth:</HI> I &s;ay, when the Lord returns to a people in mercy, he will give unto them Governors that &s;hall be for the &s;upport, the uni|ting, and adorning of the Common-wealth. Here are but two things that the time will give me leave to &s;peak to; Therefore I &s;hall omit the third.</P>
<P>I &s;hall &s;hew you, that when the Lord returns to a peo|ple in mercy, he gives them &s;uch Governors as &s;upport the Common-wealth; they &s;hall be as the Corner|&s;tone upon which the weight of the building may lie.</P>
<P>Secondly, he doth give them &s;uch Governors as &s;hall be as the Corner &s;tone, that may unite the Common|wealth.</P>
<P>I &s;hall begin with the fir&s;t. Fir&s;t, good Magi&s;trates are as the Corner-&s;tone to &s;upport the Common-wealth; it is true, all the &s;tones in the building do conduce to the upholding thereof; for as it is in the &s;piritual build|ing, &s;o it is in the Politick, <HI>men are built as living &s;tones;</HI> but I &s;ay, the main weight of it lies upon the Corner|&s;tone, becau&s;e the weight of the building, the burden of all lies upon the Magi&s;trate; therefore I &s;ay, he is here re&s;embled to a Corner-&s;tone. Now, that a Magi|&s;trates bu&s;ine&s;s is to uphold the Common-wealth, take notice of the&s;e four denominations in the Scripture.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Magi&s;trates are called the foundations of the earth, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 82.5. and <HI>Mich.</HI> 6.2. where he &s;peaks of the oppre&s;&s;ion of Magi&s;trates, he &s;aith, <HI>all the foundati|ons of the earth are out of cour&s;e: I have &s;aid yee are Gods:</HI> why? you that are the foundations of the earth: to pull up Magi&s;tracy, is to pluck up all by the foundati|on: <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>e&s;t qua&s;i</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">.</P>
<PB N="398" REF="229">
<P>Secondly they are called the breath of your No&s;trils, <HI>Lam.</HI> 4.20. <HI>the breath of our No&s;trils:</HI> it is &s;poken of <HI>Zedekiah</HI> who was an evil Prince, yet he hath this ho|nourable title given him by the Prophet: it is as po&s;|&s;ible for a man to live without breath, as it is for a Common-wealth to &s;ub&s;i&s;t without Magi&s;tracy.</P>
<P>Thirdly, they are called <HI>the &s;houlders</HI> upon which all the weight is born, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 22. <HI>I will give him the key of the hou&s;e of David: I will lay the key of the hou&s;e of David upon his &s;houlders:</HI> a key is <HI>Symbolum pote&s;tatis,</HI> an emblem of Government: Now &s;aith the Lord, I will not put the key in his hand, but I will lay it upon his &s;houlders, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 9.6. <HI>Unto us a child is born; the Government is upon his &s;houlder: Principes mundani onus gubernandi reji<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">iunt in humeros &s;ervorum:</HI> it is but to let you &s;ee the weight of Government: therefore it mu&s;t be laid upon the &s;houlder, and men mu&s;t lay their &s;houlders to it.</P>
<P>In the la&s;t place, Magi&s;trates are called <HI>the Arms of the people; the Arms of</HI> Moab <HI>are broken, Ier.</HI> 48.25. <HI>I am not able to bear this people alone,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Mo&s;es: Mo&s;es</HI> had not Arms &s;ufficient to bear &s;uch a weight. My be|loved, the great burden of all, I &s;ay, lies upon the Go|vernors; they are the Arms by which the people are born up. <HI>Unus tantum &s;ubditus in Civitate Magi&s;tratus e&s;t,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luther.</NOTE> &s;aith <HI>Luther:</HI> there was but one &s;ubject in a City, and that is the Magi&s;trate: the weight of all yes upon him And it mu&s;t needs be &s;o if you take his rea&s;on: for he &s;aith, <HI>Ante peccatum Politia nulla fuit, politia e&s;t remedi|um nece&s;&s;arium naturae corruptae:</HI> all civil Government was but a nece&s;&s;ary remedy, that was brought in for cor|rupt nature: Now if it be a remedy again&s;t corrupt nature, the burdens of corrupt nature are exceeding many: in &s;o much as the Lord him&s;elf complains in
<PB N="399" REF="229"> <HI>Amos</HI> 2.13. <HI>I am pre&s;&s;ed under your abominations as a Cart that is full of Sheaves:</HI> therefore I &s;ay, the weight of all, the &s;upporting of all lies upon the Ma|gi&s;tracy, they are the corner-&s;tone upon whom the weight of the building lies.</P>
<P>But the great enquiry will be: how are Magi&s;trates the corner-&s;tone of the Common-wealth? how do they, or how mu&s;t they &s;upport the Common-wealth, that their duty may an&s;wer their dignity? that they may indeed prove <HI>corner-&s;tones?</HI> I &s;hall give you five directions as briefly as I may.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that the Magi&s;trate may be a corner-&s;tone to &s;upport the building: he mu&s;t take care that he uphold Religion: that mu&s;t be his fir&s;t, that mu&s;t be his great care; that which &s;hould be mainly in our eye in praying for them, &s;hould be chiefly in their eye in practi&s;ing, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.2. <HI>Pray for Kings, and tho&s;e that are in Authori|ty, that you may lead a peaceable, and a quiet life in godline&s;s and hone&s;ty;</HI> peace without godline&s;s, is but a vain, and a mock-peace: but becau&s;e now this is made a contro|ver&s;ie, I &s;hal offer three con&s;iderations, which truly are to me unan&s;werable, that the Magi&s;trate is to take care of Religion: Nay, his great care, his fir&s;t care is to be of that: pray ob&s;erve them well, becau&s;e you are every where told now, <HI>Magi&s;trates have nothing to do with mat|ters of Religion.</HI></P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place; every Magi&s;trate ought to rule with God, <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> 11. ver. <HI>ult. Judah rules with God;</HI> the throne of the Magi&s;trate is therefore called, <HI>the throne of God.</HI> When <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> was exalted to the &s;eat of the Empire; it is &s;aid, <HI>he was taken up into the throne of God, Rev.</HI> 12.5. then the great care of Magi|&s;trates mu&s;t be, that they do not rule alone: but that
<PB N="400" REF="230"> they have God to rule with them: it is true, <HI>the mo&s;t high rules in the Kingdoms of mortal men, Dan.</HI> 4.17. but he rules but as he doth rule in the Kingdom of the Devils; he rules but by a way of providence; but you that fear God, &s;hould endeavour that God &s;hould rule among you as he rules among his Saints, in waies of grace; in waies of grace I &s;ay: Now I be&s;eech you con&s;ider; let Religion be neglected or corrupted, pre&s;ently God for&s;akes that people. Look but into the 10. and 11. Chapters of the prophe&s;ie of <HI>Ezekiel;</HI> it is true, the Lord doth not re|move all at once: <HI>but the glory of the Lord goes up fir&s;t from the Cherubims to the thre&s;hold of the hou&s;e, from the thre&s;hold of the hou&s;e to the mid&s;t of the City, and from <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">he City to the Mountains;</HI> my Brethren, if the glory of God leave your Ordinances once, be well a&s;&s;ured, he will leave your City next; the next move is that: there|fore what&s;over you do, if you would rule with God, take heed that by this means he be not provoked to depart; for a Magi&s;trate ruling alone, and a Mini&s;ter preaching alone is much alike: the one will never con|vert a &s;oul: and truly the other will never &s;ubdue a people: Nay mark what the Lord &s;aith; to convert &s;ouls, and to &s;ubdue hearts is his work. <HI>David</HI> acknow|ledgeth it, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 18.47. <HI>Thou art he that &s;ubdueth the people under me,</HI> &s;aith he; <HI>truly if a man in his per&s;on neg|lect Religion, he lives without God in the world; and if a Magi&s;trate in his Government neglects Religion, he rules without God in the world.</HI> That is the fir&s;t argument: and I never expect to have it an&s;wered, I look upon it as an unan&s;werable con&s;ideration.</P>
<P>The &s;econd is this, and pray mark it, for you had need endeavour to &s;trengthen your thoughts again&s;t
<PB N="401" REF="230"> &s;uch delu&s;ions as the&s;e are, that are everywhere &s;ug|ge&s;ted: I wi&s;h it were not in men in high places. In the &s;econd place. A Magi&s;trate ought &s;o to rule, as that God may not break in, in Judgement upon a people: Pray mark it: you ought to rule &s;o, as God may rule with you. Secondly, you ought &s;o to rule as that God may not in Judgement break in upon the people: my beloved, you that are Magi&s;trates, you are <HI>the &s;hields of the earth,</HI> called &s;o, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 47. <HI>ult.</HI> the &s;hields of the earth: Now con&s;ider, I humbly pray you: a Shield is a defen|&s;ive weapon, that the main protection of the people lies in: you are not only to protect them from injuries among men, but you are to protect them al&s;o from Judgements from God: and therefore when wrath goes out from the Lord, <HI>Mo&s;es &s;tands in the gap;</HI> when <HI>a plague is gone forth from the Lord,</HI> David <HI>intercedeth:</HI> Hezekiah <HI>prayes for the people:</HI> the Magi&s;trate is to be a Shield to them. But let the Magi&s;trate in his Go|vernment neglect Religion: what then? the Judge|ment of God breaks in upon the people immediatly: look into <HI>Ezek.</HI> 10.2. <HI>Go, &s;aith the Lord, take fire from be|tween the Cherubims, &amp; &s;catter over the City:</HI> here is a fire now to burn the City; whence comes it? out of what? Ordinances neglected; the fire is taken from between the Cherubims, it is taken from off the Incen&s;e Altar: it will not only &s;erve to offer the &s;acrifices, but the &s;ame fire will &s;erve to burn the City too; that is a Scri|pture that I de&s;ire you much to ob&s;erve, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 7.19,20. <HI>If you for&s;ake my &s;tatutes, and &s;erve other Gods,</HI> &s;aith he; be negligent in matters of Religion once: and what then? <HI>&s;aith the Lord, I will pluck you up by the roots out of the Land that I have given you:</HI> there be &s;ome men now that think to root you by the neglect
<PB N="402" REF="231"> of godline&s;s, and to root you by the neglect of Religion; this it not the way to e&s;tabli&s;h you: no, con&s;i|der, this is the way to pluck you up by the roots, even your Common-wealth before it hath &s;carce taken root.</P>
<P>In the third place, I be&s;eech you con&s;ider: Magi|&s;trates ought &s;o to rule as they de&s;troy not the founda|tions of their authority. You will &s;ay he is a fooli&s;h man that puls down his own hou&s;e with his own hands: then certainly Magi&s;trates mu&s;t &s;o rule as that they de&s;troy not the foundations of their own Autho|rity. My Beloved, if you uphold not Religion, you do &s;o, <HI>Rom.</HI> 13.5. <HI>you mu&s;t be &s;ubject,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>not only for fear of wrath, but for con&s;cience &s;ake:</HI> why all Divines give this as a rule, <HI>con&s;cientia immediate Deo tantum &s;ub&s;icitur:</HI> Con&s;cience is &s;ubjected immediately to God only: then we are to obey the Magi&s;trates, only becau&s;e it is an Ordinance of God: can any man rationally imagine, that men will obey the Magi&s;trate for con&s;cience &s;ake, who is an Ordinance of God, and to be obeyed immediately, that neglects this Ordinance of God in which this authority immediately is; can any man rationally imagine, I &s;ay, that men will obey the Magi&s;trate for God, that do not obey God for him&s;elf? my Beloved, this is the way to de&s;troy, and to pluck up by the roots, I &s;ay, all authority: it de&s;troies the foundation of all authority: it is the mo&s;t de&s;tructive opinion to Government that ever came into the world: and yet notwith&s;tanding, it is ob&s;ervable too, &s;ee how the Je&s;uites and &s;ome others meet in this thing, though upon different grounds: <HI>Mariana</HI> he &s;aith, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mariana.</NOTE> <HI>Princeps ni|hil &s;tatuat de Religione;</HI> Princes and Magi&s;trates have nothing to do with matters of Religion, &s;aith he: why? becau&s;e there he would e&s;tabli&s;h the authority
<PB N="403" REF="231"> of the Pope: now &s;ay &s;ome others; the Magi&s;trate he hath nothing to do in matters of Religion, becau&s;e though he will cry out again&s;t the Pope, yet notwith|&s;tanding he will make him&s;elf one, he will take &s;uch a licentiou&s;ne&s;s, that he will take to him&s;elf the Papal authority: thus I intreate you then to Con&s;ider: this is the fir&s;t thing wherein the Magi&s;trate &s;hould &s;hew him|&s;elf the corner indeed, to &s;upport the Common-wealth, let him uphold Religion. That is the fir&s;t. I &s;hall be more brief in the re&s;t.</P>
<P>Secondly, the Magi&s;trate is to be the corner to &s;up|port the Common-wealth, in upholding the Laws: <HI>the Laws are the foundations of the earth;</HI> they be &s;o called, <HI>P&s;a.</HI> 11.3. <HI>if the foundations be ca&s;t down, what can the righte|ous do?</HI> the Laws are the foundations; it is a note of ignominie &s;et upon Oppre&s;&s;ors, <HI>Dan.</HI> 7.25. that <HI>they</HI> labour to <HI>change times and Laws:</HI> they labour to change the times and Laws: the Law is the Rule between the Subject and the Magi&s;trate, that the one may know how to rule, and the other know how to obey: it is the &s;tandard between a man and his neighbour, by which all differences are to be tryed: therefore they that are in &s;upreme authority, they ought to take &s;pecial care to ob&s;erve the Laws: and they that are in &s;ubordinate au|thority, they ought to take &s;pecial care to execute the Laws; for this cau&s;e Magi&s;trates they ought to be well acquainted, make it their bu&s;ine&s;s to &s;tudy the Laws by which they are to rule; the truth is, my Beloved, a Magi&s;trate without the Law, and a Mini&s;ter without the Bible, they are equal ab&s;urdities: a Magi&s;trate unskil|ful in the Law, and a Mini&s;ter ignorant in the Scripture. <HI>Job</HI> &s;aith, <HI>I was an eye to the blind, and feet to the lame, and a father to the poor; I diligently &s;earched out the cau&s;e,
<PB N="404" REF="232"> &s;aith he, Job</HI> 29.15: I diligently &s;earched out the cau&s;e; it may be he had more &s;en&s;e to complain, then he had skill to explain; but <HI>I &s;earched it out &s;aith he;</HI> he that &s;hall do &s;o, mu&s;t be skilled in the Laws; there are in waies of &s;in many cunning conveyances. <HI>David</HI> tells us, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 58.2. that <HI>there are men that weigh violence in the earth; that weigh violence, that commit &s;in by mea&s;ure;</HI> they know how far they may go, and yet how far they incurr danger; by this means an unskilful Magi&s;trate many times <HI>ju&s;tifies the guilty, and condemneth the in|nocent:</HI> therefore its your duty I &s;ay, to pre&s;erve the Laws: it is your duty to be well skilled in tho&s;e Laws; this is certain, an ignorant Mini&s;tery wrongeth many a &s;oul, and an ignorant Magi&s;tracy undoeth many a cau&s;e; Therefore that is the &s;econd. It would be very honourable unto the Governors of this honourable and populous City that they would apply them&s;elves much the&s;e waies, that they may know the rules of their own judgements, and not be acted barely by tho&s;e that plead the cau&s;e; God will judge by Law my Brethren, when he comes to judge; and &s;o &s;hould you; <HI>he will judge the &s;ecrets of all men according to my Go&s;pel;</HI> he will not judge by prerogative, he will judge by Law, <HI>Rom.</HI> 2.16. That is the &s;econd; uphold the Laws, and you uphold the Common-wealth.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Magi&s;trates are to uphold their own autho|rity, and in &s;o doing they uphold the Common-wealth: I &s;ay, you are to uphold your own authority: to what purpo&s;e is the Legi&s;lative power, if there be not an exe|cutive power? the Magi&s;trate is to be <HI>the living Law;</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">. If once the authority of God fall in the heart of a man, the authority of his Law will quickly fall down: So if once the authority of the Magi&s;tracy
<PB N="405" REF="232"> fall before men, truly the authority of the Law exe|cuted by it will quickly come to nothing: therefore it &s;hould be your bu&s;ine&s;s to uphold your own authority. In <HI>Prov.</HI> 20.8. it is &s;aid, <HI>that a wi&s;e Ruler &s;cattereth the wicked with his eye.</HI> It is the Magi&s;trates duty to uphold their authority in the highe&s;t, <HI>to &s;catter the wicked with their eyes.</HI> There is a generation of men that are ene|mies to authority, and they talk of Levelling all every day: I de&s;ire that you would be plea&s;ed to con&s;ider, &s;upport your authority in the execution of Laws; for if you cannot do that, if you cannot &s;upport your own authority, you will hardly be able to &s;upport the Law, which is in it &s;elf <HI>a dead letter:</HI> true indeed, it is no won|der that the men of <HI>Belial</HI> &s;hould be willing to be <HI>&s;ine jugo,</HI> without <HI>a yoak.</HI> It is &s;aid, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 10. <HI>there were Sons of Belial that brought him no pre&s;ents;</HI> it is no wonder I &s;ay: for con&s;ider &s;eriou&s;ly, this is that which comes to pa&s;s &s;ometimes by the Sons of men, and &s;ometimes by the ju&s;t Judgement of God. <HI>Zach.</HI> 11 <HI>ult.</HI> it is &s;aid, <HI>the &s;word &s;hall be upon the right hand of the Ma|gi&s;trate;</HI> his ruling power &s;hall be taken away, he &s;hall have no authority, his authority &s;hall come to nothing, the &s;word &s;hall be upon his right hand: my Beloved, if the Lord engage your hearts to uphold holine&s;s among you, there is nothing will &s;trike that awe into the hearts of offenders, of the proude&s;t oppre&s;&s;ors, as that will, when Magi&s;trates bear a double image, the image of God in them as men, and the image of God upon them as Magi&s;trates. Uphold your authority; that is the third.</P>
<P>Fourthly, the Magi&s;trate is to uphold the peoples liberty, and in &s;o doing he upholds the Common|wealth: uphold the peoples liberties: the liberties
<PB N="406" REF="233"> among the <HI>Romans,</HI> were looked upon as &s;acred things, and of very high e&s;teem, <HI>Acts</HI> 22.28 <HI>with a great price bought I this freedom: but I was free-born, &s;aith Paul:</HI> your liberties my Beloved, have co&s;t much more then his could co&s;t: what expence both of trea&s;ure and blood? and therefore how great care, what great care &s;hould the Magi&s;trate take? tho&s;e that are <HI>Cu&s;todes li|bertatis:</HI> it is your honours to be Keepers of the Liber|ties of your City: it is your honour; <HI>aliud e&s;t obedire, aliud &s;ervire:</HI> it is one thing to obey as a &s;ubject, it is another thing to &s;erve as a &s;lave: therefore I &s;ay, the liberty of the people, that in an e&s;pecial manner &s;hould be pre&s;erved; you mu&s;t draw them with the cords of a man, drawn from Law and Love: or otherwi&s;e, who&s;o|ever he be that thinks to ride a people as a Bea&s;t, that Bea&s;t will with the fir&s;t opportunity ca&s;t his rider: and this is the true rea&s;on why &s;o <HI>many &s;tars have fallen from heaven;</HI> this is the true rea&s;on why you &s;ee at this very day &s;o many <HI>Princes walking like &s;ervants upon the earth;</HI> for &s;urely that Authority which entrenches on the peo|ples liberty, is not la&s;ting; <HI>nullum violentum e&s;t perpetuum;</HI> its the liberty of the people that equal Ju&s;tice be to|wards all, and that all have equal acce&s;s to it: and that it be admini&s;tred <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, without re&s;pect of per|&s;ons, or to &s;ervants, or friends: do not put a difference in the ca&s;e, out of partiality to any man: for all men &s;hould have the &s;ame intere&s;t in the Magi&s;trate as a Magi&s;trate: and all particular re&s;pects in Judgements &s;hould be put far away: the mo&s;t upright and wary Ma|gi&s;trates may &s;ometimes di&s;tribute unevenly: for the Ballances do &s;eldom hang even, when &s;ome per&s;onal re|&s;pects are put into one end: Con&s;ider that I be&s;eech you. That is the fourth particular.</P>
<PB N="407" REF="233">
<P>In the la&s;t place, and &s;o I have done with this fir&s;t Branch, (I am &s;orry the time ha&s;tneth &s;o.) The Magi|&s;trate mu&s;t uphold the propriety of the people, and in &s;o doing he upholds the Common-wealth: he mu&s;t uphold their propriety, <HI>that every man may &s;it down un|der his own Vine, and under his own figg tree, Mica</HI> 4.4. That men may have &s;omething that they may call their own: not only their own in reference to the Subjects, but their own in reference to the Magi&s;trate: for we are to con&s;ider, <HI>univer&s;a &s;unt in Regis imperio, non in pa|trimonio;</HI> though you come under the Magi&s;trates com|mand, yet all is not the Magi&s;trates patrimony; he may not di&s;po&s;e of the &s;ubjects e&s;tates at his plea&s;ure: it is a dangerous thing when Magi&s;trates prove <HI>Nimrods, mighty Hunters before God,</HI> when they hunt many for the e&s;tates of the people: it was a &s;ad complaint, <HI>Hab.</HI> 1.14. <HI>Lord,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>why ha&s;t thou made men like fi&s;hes of the Sea that have no Ruler?</HI> where the great ones &s;hall de|voure the le&s;s without controul. The&s;e are &s;ad com|plaints when they come up before God: this is that that hath buried many a State in its own a&s;hes, that the propriety of the people hath not been pre&s;erved; for <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> complains of old, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE> that <HI>mundi regna,</HI> what were they &s;aith he, <HI>&s;ed magna latrocinia,</HI> the govern|ments of the world what be they? why truly, but great Robberies. Now I humbly de&s;ire you to con&s;ider: then is the Nation, then is a Common-wealth &s;up|ported, then do Magi&s;trates prove the Corner, when the Liberties, when the Religion, I &s;ay, the Law, the Authorities, the Liberties, the Proprieties of the peo|ple are pre&s;erved: and remember the promi&s;e: and we may look out for the time, in <HI>Ezek.</HI> 45.8. <HI>My Princes</HI> (&s;aith God) <HI>&s;hall oppre&s;s my people no more: my Princes they &s;hall
<PB N="408" REF="234"> give unto their people their portion in my Land:</HI> &s;aith he, they &s;hall not take all to them&s;elves, but they &s;hall be contented with their own portion: &amp; they &s;hal be con|tented that their Brethren &s;hall take their portion; My Princes &s;hal oppre&s;s my people no more: Now, my Belo|ved, then &s;hal you that are Magi&s;trates prove the corner-&s;tone to a Nation, or to a Common wealth, or to a Ci|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">y, when you do thus uphold them. And that is the fir&s;t thing: The Corner-&s;tone, <HI>aedificium &s;u&s;tinet;</HI> it upholds the building.</P>
<P>I would &s;peak &s;omething of the &s;econd, the Corner-&s;tone <HI>aedificium continet,</HI> it unites it: Magi&s;trates are not only to &s;u&s;tain, and to uphold, but they are to unite: Magi&s;trates be called <HI>Healers, I&s;a.</HI> 3.7. they mu&s;t bind up the wounds of the people. The Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, it is his glory and work, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>he doth unite them all under one Head: things in Heaven and things in earth, Eph.</HI> 2.20,21. <HI>in Adamo nos omnes uni &s;umus, Pro&s;p.</HI> that as in the fir&s;t <HI>Adam,</HI> &s;o it is true in the &s;e|cond <HI>Adam,</HI> it is in him they are made one and united: The Corner &s;tone is to unite as well as to &s;upport.</P>
<P>Oh, But you will &s;ay to me: It is union that we all long for: we are a divided people; &s;hall we alwaies <HI>eat the fle&s;h of our own arms? &s;hall</HI> Ephraim <HI>be again&s;t</HI> Ma|na&s;&s;eh, <HI>and</HI> Mana&s;&s;eh <HI>again&s;t</HI> Ephraim, <HI>and both again&s;t</HI> Judah <HI>&s;till? The &s;taff of bonds is broken</HI> among&s;t us: &s;hall it alwaies remain broken? what way is there that there might be a healing in this, that this breach might be made up?</P>
<P>Why truly, the hand of the Ruler mu&s;t be fir&s;t in this thing, that the mercy may be called by his name, the hand of the Ruler mu&s;t be fir&s;t in it: you that are the Corner &s;tones mu&s;t unite the building: you talk of
<PB N="409" REF="234"> per&s;wading the people to unite; I &s;ay the hand of the Ruler mu&s;t be fir&s;t in the union.</P>
<P>I, but you will &s;ay: how can that be?</P>
<P>I be&s;eech you, let me give you a few directions, and then I &s;hall from all make a &s;hort Application, and con|clude. The waies of union are the&s;e five: and I de|&s;ire you that are in Authority to lay them to heart.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place: Religion is the great bond of uni|on: therefore I &s;ay, let it be your great care that there be a unity in Religion; the greate&s;t breach is in that, <HI>Odia-religionum &s;unt accrbi&s;sima:</HI> no breach like that. You &s;hall &s;ee what began a breach between <HI>I&s;rael</HI> and <HI>Judah:</HI> it was Religion upon a Politick re&s;pect, <HI>when God rent the Kingdom from the hou&s;e of</HI> Rehoboam; but ob&s;erve, the Politick difference might have been made up, and <HI>Jeroboam</HI> out of his Devili&s;h &s;ubtilty fore&s;aw it, 1 <HI>King.</HI> 12.17. he &s;aith, <HI>if the people go up to Jeru&s;alem to wor&s;hip, their hearts will turn again to the hou&s;e of</HI> Da|vid, &s;aith he. The Politick difference would have been made up: therefore &s;aith he, <HI>I will make them two Calves, one in</HI> Dan, <HI>and the other in</HI> Bethel; and this &s;hall &s;et them at a perpetual di&s;tance: the difference, the Poli|tick difference might have been made up, the State dif|ference; but the difference in Religion would never: therefore this was the way to divide them perpetually. If ever you will unite the people, there mu&s;t be your foundation: So the Lord begins when he will unite his people, <HI>Zach.</HI> 14.9. <HI>Iehovah &s;hall be one, and his name one:</HI> you &s;hall have but one God, and you &s;hall wor&s;hip him one way, by one name: Now you have many Gods, and many names: <HI>Ichovah</HI> &s;hall be one and his name one, <HI>Ier.</HI> 32.39. <HI>I will give them one
<PB N="410" REF="235"> heart, and one way;</HI> one way: in what one way? in Re|ligion, that is the main thing he &s;peaks of: or as the Prophet &s;aith, <HI>Zeph.</HI> 3.9. <HI>They &s;hall &s;erve the Lord with one &s;houlder.</HI> I de&s;ire therefore, that no man would take delight in keeping up differences in matters of Religi|on; take heed of it, either upon this ground, becau&s;e you look upon it as policy to uphold parties, or el&s;e it may be, becau&s;e you dare not di&s;plea&s;e either party: take heed of it I &s;ay; <HI>be valiant for the truth upon earth:</HI> in this, <HI>contend earne&s;tly for the faith once given to the Saints:</HI> u&s;ually a girdle was an ornament belonging to the Magi&s;trates in former times: it is fit for tho&s;e that are Rulers to wear it &s;till: <HI>have your loins girt about with truth, Eph.</HI> 6.14. Beloved, it is true, I expect not that all men &s;hall be of one mind, one judgement. I know men &s;ee with different light: and I know, <HI>that while the &s;moke of the Temple la&s;teth,</HI> as it &s;hall be during the pouring out of the Vials, <HI>Rev</HI> 15. <HI>I know the Sea of gla&s;s will be mingled with fire:</HI> but in this you &s;hould be of one mind: you mu&s;t be in <HI>the fundamentals,</HI> that without which there can be no Religion, no Chri&s;tiani|ty; he that &s;peaketh again&s;t the&s;e, openeth his mouth wide again&s;t Heaven. Neither &s;ay I, that the Magi|&s;trates judgement in this &s;hould be the rule, as &s;ome men &s;ugge&s;t, <HI>then you will have the Magi&s;trates judge|ment to rule in matters of Religion?</HI> No, <HI>we have a &s;ure word of prophecy: and we know this &s;ure word of prophecy is not dark in that, in things nece&s;&s;ary.</HI> The Apo&s;tle tels us plainly, <HI>there is a pattern of whol&s;om words, to which we mu&s;t keep:</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> and though it is true, the gro&s;&s;|e&s;t errors in the world would &s;hroud them&s;elves under Scripture, and flie thither for a refuge: &s;aith <HI>Iu&s;tine Martyr,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ju&s;tine M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters">r.</NOTE> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> &s;uch a man expounds the
<PB N="411" REF="235"> Scripture <HI>&s;ecundum &s;en&s;um non quem legit, &s;ed quem At|tulit,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE> <HI>Augu&s;t.</HI> they would offer violence to the Scripture: they would flie thither for refuge; but upon examina|tion it would appear that the Scripture gives no &s;uch &s;helter. Well, that is the fir&s;t thing, if you would unite the great body, unite in Religion; <HI>Let Ichovah be one, and his name one.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, if Magi&s;trates would unite the people, then take heed: agree among&s;t your &s;elves, if you would have union among&s;t the people; I &s;ay, agree among&s;t your &s;elves: if the Corner-&s;tones once fall a|&s;under, you may ea&s;ily expect many cracks in the build|ing: differences among&s;t Governors mu&s;t needs cau&s;e &s;trange di&s;tractions among the people, for they are ge|nerally led by parties and per&s;onal re&s;pects: therefore if you would heal this breach now which you all &s;eem to complain of, begin with your &s;elves, <HI>Phy&s;itian heal thy &s;elf:</HI> heal your own differences fir&s;t, all divi&s;ions among&s;t your &s;elves; this is the way the Lord takes in <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 1. <HI>ult.</HI> he &s;aith, <HI>they &s;hall appoint to them&s;elves one Head:</HI> they &s;hould have many Governors united all un|der the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, they &s;hould be all under one head: I be&s;eech you con&s;ider it: how comes it to pa&s;s then, Governors in their Politick meetings meet with as great confu&s;ion, as they did in their Church, Eccle&s;ia|&s;tical meetings, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14.26. <HI>how is it</HI> (&s;aith the A|po&s;tle) <HI>that every one hath a P&s;alm, and every one a Do|ctrine, and every one hath a Revelation, and every one hath an Interpretation: let all be done to edifying:</HI> every man did &s;eek to &s;hew his gifts, and to lay out his own parts, without all re&s;pect to the edification of the Church: So many times it proveth in Politick meetings too. It is good advice to Magi&s;trates, though it be given general|ly
<PB N="412" REF="236"> to Chri&s;tians; <HI>My Brethren be not many ma&s;ters,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, in <HI>Iam.</HI> 3.1. When a ma&s;terle&s;s di&s;po&s;iti|on bears &s;way in Rulers, truly then if their pathes in every thing be not trodden, they are &s;o far from being Coun&s;ellors, that they are them&s;elves uncoun&s;ellable. My de&s;ire therefore to you is this; that &s;uch Breaches among&s;t your &s;elves may be made up, that among&s;t you there may be none &s;uch, if it may be. But I &s;hould further de&s;ire, that if any &s;uch be, you would with more wi&s;dom keep them among&s;t your &s;elves then you do: if &s;uch differences and breaches, what&s;oever they be among&s;t you in coun&s;els, come abroad, they cau&s;e great divi&s;ions among&s;t the people, and great animo&s;ities in the hearts of the people, &s;ome one way, and &s;ome another, as their party, or their fancy leadeth them.</P>
<P>In the third place labour for union among&s;t the Mi|ni&s;ters; that &s;hould be one thing that the Magi&s;trate &s;hould take &s;pecial care for: endeavour a union among the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel: they will have &s;till, and God would have them have a great influence upon the people. If there <HI>be jarrs between</HI> Paul <HI>and</HI> Barnabas, it is no wonder then, if <HI>one be for</HI> Paul, <HI>and another for</HI> Apollo: people pre&s;ently fall to parties: therefore I de&s;ire you to con&s;ider, in a &s;pecial manner, let it be your care that the Mini&s;ters be united: far be it that they &s;hould be men to &s;tir up &s;trife: and that they &s;hould cau&s;e divi&s;ions, or nouri&s;h them among&s;t the people: &s;urely, it is your duty, <HI>Rom.</HI> 14.19 to <HI>follow after the things that make for peace;</HI> and tho&s;e <HI>that will edifie one another.</HI> It is an ob&s;ervation that <HI>Bullinger</HI> hath, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Bullinger.</NOTE> I remember in a Tract that he hath written <HI>de per&s;ecutionibus Chri&s;tianae Eccle&s;iae,</HI> be &s;aith: that when&s;oever the Church had
<PB N="413" REF="236"> peace, <HI>auctae &s;unt di&s;&s;entiones praecipue inter Epi&s;copos &amp; Doctores quibus populus nihil aedificabatur:</HI> by and by there aro&s;e differences among&s;t the Mini&s;ters, and by this means the people were not edified but de&s;tracted: and what then? then the Lord gave them to &s;uch a per&s;ecution, and then to &s;uch a per&s;ecution, <HI>ad ab&s;ter|gendam aeruginem:</HI> and tho&s;e of us now that cannot pray together, nor give thanks together; no, by no means, we can neither pray for the &s;ame mercy, nor give thanks for the &s;ame deliverances: truly then we may go together in the &s;ame pri&s;on, and it may be die at the &s;ame &s;take; far be it therefore from the Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel, I &s;ay, that they &s;hould cau&s;e divi&s;ion or up|hold it: but if &s;uch a thing be, it was <HI>Nazianzens</HI> la&s;t reque&s;t to the Emperour before he left the Court, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Nazianz.</NOTE> that he would u&s;e all the Authority he had to reconcile the Mini&s;ters, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, Cau&s;e that di&s;&s;ention, cau&s;e that war to cea&s;e.</P>
<P>Oh, But you will &s;ay, how is it po&s;&s;ible we &s;hould do it, how can it be?</P>
<P>Truly, the Apo&s;tle hath a Rule, if it were we I un|der&s;tood, and as well practi&s;ed, would reach very far in it: you have it in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14.32. <HI>the Spirit of the Pro|phets is &s;ubject to the Prophets:</HI> the Spirit of the Pro|phets is &s;ubject to the Prophets: the Spirit of the Pro|phets, that is, the Doctrine which they did profe&s;s to &s;peak by the Spirit, this Doctrine is &s;ubject to the Pro|phets; how? <HI>prophetarum cen&s;uris,</HI> to their examina|tion, and to their cen&s;ure; they were to try it by the rule of the word, whether it were the word of God or no; Now, if the Spirit of the Prophets be &s;ubject to the Prophets, then certainly if men were to undergo &s;uch a tryal of Doctrine, they would not be &s;o ventrous both
<PB N="414" REF="237"> in the Pre&s;s and in the Pulpit, as now every where they are; but it is for want of this rule not being ob&s;erved, the &s;pirit of the Prophets is &s;ubject to the Prophets. That is the third direction. Reconcile the Mini&s;ters, and you will unite the Nation.</P>
<P>In the fourth place. I will but add a word of the re&s;t. Take away all oppre&s;&s;ion, and all partiality in judgement; there will never be a union till then; while there is oppre&s;&s;ion there will be divi&s;ion: it is a &s;ure rule; <HI>Ubi de&s;init judicium, ibi incipit bellum;</HI> war begins where judgement ends: a &s;ure rule; hold the reins of Government with an even hand: I &s;ay do not hold them &s;trait upon &s;ome, and loo&s;e off upon others: for if you do, there will be <HI>a heart-divi&s;ion that will ari&s;e:</HI> take but that Scripture (but mark) it is a notable Scri|pture, <HI>Job</HI> 34.17. <HI>Shall be that hateth right Govern?</HI> &s;aith he: the word is <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;hall he that hateth right bind up? &s;o it is in the Original, &s;hall he that hateth right bind up? truly that man that doth not admini&s;ter judgement righteou&s;ly in his Government, that man will never bind up the breaches of a Nation: he that hateth right will never bind up the &s;ore.</P>
<P>In the la&s;t place: pray for this mercy, you that are Magi&s;trates, pray for it: it is not only your duty to rule the people, but to pray for them. <HI>Hezekiah prayed for the people;</HI> and you find upon every occa&s;ion, <HI>Mo&s;es his hands were up:</HI> and <HI>Samuel</HI> &s;aith, <HI>God forbid I &s;hould cea&s;e to pray for you,</HI> &s;aith he. And God hath promi&s;ed to hear the prayers of the Magi&s;trates in an e&s;pecial man|ner; you pray <HI>ex o&s;ficio;</HI> you pray as men in office: their prayers are more then the prayers of any private and particular man, if they be godly. Con&s;ider, I hum|bly be&s;eech you: as it is in Church-Officers, <HI>Iames</HI> 5.14,
<PB N="415" REF="237"> 15. &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>If any man be &s;ick, let him &s;end for the Elders of the Church, and let them pray over him:</HI> why not for the Brethren as well as for the Elders? The Lord hath &s;pecial re&s;pect to men in office: and in an e&s;pecial manner let your prayers be by &s;trength of arguments of faith drawn from tho&s;e great promi&s;es, <HI>I will give them one heart, and one way: the two &s;ticks &s;hall become one in my hand:</HI> and by this means the Lord may make you <HI>the healers of the breach: the Corner-&s;tone to unite,</HI> as well as to <HI>uphold the people.</HI> This is the dignity and this is the duty of Magi&s;trates, that as Corner|&s;tones they uphold the building; and that as Corner|&s;tones they unite the building.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="application">
<P>Now I have a word of Application &s;uitable to the pre&s;ent occa&s;ion, and I have done. The U&s;e that I &s;hall make of it is unto you, my Beloved, that are to vote in this Election: it is a great tru&s;t that the Lord hath committed to you: the good, and the publick welfare of this great, rich, and populous City: I &s;ay it is a great tru&s;t that the Lord hath commited to you. You are now to make choice of <HI>a Corner-&s;tone,</HI> to re&s;t the weight of the building upon; a Corner-&s;tone in whom the &s;everal parts of the building be united. You &s;ee what manner of per&s;on he ought to be. You &s;ee what the office is to which he is called. I &s;hall now in the Apo&s;tles words give you <HI>a charge before God, and the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, who &s;hall <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">udge quick and dead at his ap|pearing, and in his Kingdom,</HI> that you do this without partiality, without re&s;pect of per&s;ons: making choice of &s;uch a one, of &s;uch per&s;ons as may be fit, and be&s;t &s;uitable in your con&s;ciences unto tho&s;e great ends that have been named, <HI>to &s;upport and unite the build|ing.</HI></P>
<PB N="416" REF="238">
<P>I, but you will &s;ay, What manner of per&s;ons mu&s;t they be, what manner of men mu&s;t they be now that will be fit for this great work?</P>
<P>Truly, I &s;hall but make choice barely of that dire|ction laid clearly down, <HI>Exod.</HI> 18.21. the common rule for Magi&s;trates which I &s;hall briefly offer to your con|&s;ideration, and conclude. They were to choo&s;e Go|vernors under <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> becau&s;e he could not bear the peo|ple alone: now &s;aith he, <HI>chu&s;e you able men, fearing God; men of truth, hating covetou&s;ne&s;s:</HI> mark ye: Fir&s;t, I &s;ay, make choice of <HI>men fearing God;</HI> have not re&s;pect to riches &s;o much, or to &s;eniority &s;o much, where there is not piety: Let that be the great thing you have in your eye: For I be&s;eech you con&s;ider, they that have not <HI>given them&s;elves unto God,</HI> they will never govern for God; they will never give up them&s;elves to the publick good, who have not in that great work of Regeneration denyed them&s;elves; they can never do it: and therefore I &s;ay, it is the greate&s;t wrong you could do &s;uch a man to chu&s;e him to an eminent place: for what do you do? You do but put into his hands a far greater occa&s;ion, an opportunity of &s;inning. Be&s;ides (I be&s;eech you con&s;ider) if they have not the fear of of God in their hearts, they will not have the pre&s;ence of God in their Government: I &s;ay, if they have not the fear of God in their hearts, they will not have the pre&s;ence of God in their Government: and &s;urely they will never rule well, that rule without God: in &s;tead of being a Corner to &s;upport the Common-wealth, truly they will be a means to de&s;troy it. Therefore that is the fir&s;t thing; have re&s;pect unto godline&s;s; let them be men fearing God; tho&s;e that have fir&s;t given them&s;elves to God,
<PB N="417" REF="238"> and then when they have given them&s;elves to Gods &s;ervice, they will give them&s;elves to yours: but never el&s;e.</P>
<P>Secondly, The &s;econd direction that is there given, is, they mu&s;t be <HI>men of courage; able men,</HI> you read it; it is <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> in the Original, it &s;ignifies &s;trength either of body or mind; they mu&s;t be men of &s;tout and re&s;olute Spirits. Magi&s;trates meet many times with matters of great difficulty: &s;ometimes they be ill looked upon by them that are above them: &s;ometimes they are ill &s;po|ken of by them that are below them. Now I &s;ay, this will require a &s;toutne&s;s, and re&s;olution of &s;pirit, that a man &s;hall not flatter the one, nor he &s;hall not &s;trive to plea&s;e the other, but go on in his duty, and not turn a&s;ide neither to the right nor to the left hand. I told you, Magi&s;trates are called <HI>the Shields of the earth;</HI> a Shield is a venterous weapon, receiveth all the Darts: and I &s;ay he had need be a &s;tout-&s;pirited man that mu&s;t undertake &s;uch an employment: he mu&s;t be a man of courage, that he may not for fear of them above him, nor that he may plea&s;e them below him, he may not &s;tep by, or beyond his duty. He may di&s;pi&s;e the mur|murs of the multitude, and he ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ay, <HI>Bene facere &amp; male audire, regium e&s;t,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Seneca.</NOTE> <HI>Seneca.</HI> It is the property indeed of a noble Spirit: for if you &s;hould chu&s;e now a weak|hearted man, one that is not able to encounter with difficulties, but is afraid of the appearance of every danger, when any oppo&s;ition pre&s;ents it &s;elf, his heart faileth, and he will be ready to turn with every wind; you have &s;een woful experience thereof: therefore I &s;ay, the next thing, as to be <HI>a man fearing God,</HI> &s;o in the next place, let him be <HI>a man of courage,</HI> a man of &s;trength and re&s;olution of Spirit.</P>
<PB N="418" REF="239">
<P>In the third place; let him be <HI>a man of truth:</HI> chu&s;e men of truth: that is, not only men that love the truthes of God, <HI>and are valiant for the truth upon earth</HI> in that re&s;pect, but men that love truth in judgement: men that love <HI>to execute true judgement,</HI> as the expre&s;|&s;ion is. My Beloved, a fal&s;e Judgement is a lye to Authority, and therefore the greater tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion: I &s;ay a wrong Judgement is a lye to Authority, and there|fore the greater tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion: there is a great deal of Art not only in &s;inning, but in concealing, <HI>Micah</HI> 7.3. <HI>So they wrap it up;</HI> &s;ometimes the forgery of a witne&s;s; &s;ometimes the &s;ubtilty of a pleader, there is a mi&s;t ca&s;t before the eye of the Magi&s;trate: and truly by this means many times wrong judgement proceedeth from him: which now if he be not a man that loves truth, he will never be diligent to &s;earch out the cau&s;e; and therefore that is the third thing: Chu&s;e <HI>men of Truth.</HI></P>
<P>And then in the la&s;t place, Let them be <HI>men hating covetou&s;ne&s;s:</HI> hating covetou&s;ne&s;s; not only he mu&s;t not be a covetous man, but mu&s;t be a man that hateth covetou&s;ne&s;s: Certainly my Beloved, <HI>that man that is greedy of gain, will tran&s;gre&s;s for a mor&s;el of bread;</HI> the poore&s;t circum&s;tances will turn this man out of the way of Judgement; <HI>a gift blindeth the eyes, Deut.</HI> 16.19. truly, the man cannot &s;ee with his own eyes, he cannot &s;ee with the eyes of the Law, nor he cannot pronounce the Sentence of the Law: &s;urely men will never take care for the publike profit, &s;o long as their eyes are &s;et upon their own private gain; it was an old ob&s;ervation of <HI>Salvian:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Salvian.</NOTE> <HI>Dives pote&s;tas pauperem facit Rempublicam;</HI> a rich Magi&s;trate commonly makes a poor Common-wealth; who make it their bu&s;ine&s;s to
<PB N="419" REF="239"> &s;erve them&s;elves upon it. Therefore in an e&s;pecial manner the&s;e are the directions I give you, and I lay it upon your con&s;ciences <HI>in the name of the Lord,</HI> that you make choice of &s;uch a one, and that will &s;erve for tho&s;e high and glorious ends that hath been mentioned to us, <HI>to &s;upport and to unite the building:</HI> by this means (my Beloved) the Lord &s;hall be with them, and with you in their Government: and by this means, <HI>your City &s;hall be called a City of righteou&s;ne&s;s, a faithful City.</HI> And &s;o much now &s;hall &s;erve for the opening to you this fir&s;t branch of the Text, how <HI>to &s;upport, and unite.</HI> Let us look up to God for a ble&s;&s;ing.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="240">
<PB N="421" REF="240">
<HEAD>Perfect CLEANSING.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>2 COR. 7.1.</BIBL>
<P>Having therefore the&s;e Promi&s;es (dearly Beloved) let us clean&s;e our &s;elves from all filthyne&s;s of the fle&s;h and &s;pirit, perfecting holine&s;s in the fear of God.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THE Apo&s;tle having in the former Chap|ter exhorted the believing <HI>Corinthians</HI> to ab&s;tain from all Communion and fellow|&s;hip with Idolaters: and having pre&s;&s;ed the Exhortation with divers Arguments, he comes at la&s;t to mention tho&s;e exceeding great and precious promi&s;es, of which by their holy calling they
<PB N="422" REF="241"> did partake in, <HI>ver.</HI> 16.17,18. having therefore the&s;e, he exhorts them to look upon them either as me<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters"> of holine&s;s, or as motives to perfecting holine&s;s <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> the fear of God. Fir&s;t, as means of holine&s;s; the whole word of God is operative, and doth produce real effects: <HI>I &s;peak the word &s;aith Chri&s;t; but my Father in heaven doth the works, Ioh.</HI> 14.10. therefore not a word &s;poken, but <HI>the word written, Heb.</HI> 3.8,9. leaving up|on the &s;oul an&s;werable di&s;po&s;itions, not barely an in|forming, but <HI>a transforming word,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.13. <HI>a word ingrafted:</HI> the change of the &s;tock into its own nature: not a tran&s;ient, <HI>Iames</HI> 1.21. but <HI>an abiding word,</HI> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.25. if you receive the&s;e promi&s;es aright, they will thus make you <HI>partakers of the Divine Nature,</HI> 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 4.4.</P>
<P>Holine&s;s here, as <HI>Cameron</HI> hath interpreted, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Cameron.</NOTE> <HI>ad modum creaturae, &amp;c.</HI> in ble&s;&s;edne&s;s hereafter, having &s;uch pro|mi&s;es that will transform you, <HI>Matth.</HI> 11.5. <HI>the blind re|ceive their &s;ight,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>and the Go&s;pel is preached to the poor:</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, the poor are Evangelized: that is both to the poor is the Go&s;pelpreached, and the poor receive the Go&s;pel, and be transformed thereinto, <HI>the poor are Evangelized;</HI> therefore <HI>clean&s;e your &s;elves, perfecting ho|line&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, As motives to holine&s;s, and that con&s;ider|ed three waies: either, Fir&s;t, As an honour put upon a man; and dignity &s;hould engage a man to duty: <HI>mon|&s;tro&s;a res e&s;t gradus &s;ummus, &amp; animus Infimus: Nehem.</HI> 6.11. <HI>Dan.</HI> 4.17. therefore having &s;uch promi&s;es, let us clean&s;e our &s;elves, and &s;tand upon our dignitie, as they did. Secondly, as an a&s;&s;urance that what&s;oever God promi&s;ed he will al&s;o accompli&s;h; for <HI>omne pro|mi&s;&s;um cadit in debitum;</HI> therefore, <HI>Matth.</HI> 10.7. it is &s;aid
<PB N="423" REF="241"> there, <HI>he will perform his truth to</HI> Jacob, <HI>and his mercy to</HI> Abraham: The promi&s;es (it is true) their ground is now <HI>in fieri:</HI> but it is truth <HI>in facto <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;e:</HI> &s;urely there|fore <HI>faithful is he that hath promi&s;ed and will al&s;o do it.</HI> Having therefore &s;uch promi&s;es, let us clean&s;e our &s;elves, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Thirdly, as rewards; for &s;o it is true, mo&s;t of the promi&s;es are rewards for &s;ervices going before: and as the Lord in his puni&s;hments doth u&s;ually puni&s;h &s;in with &s;in: &s;o in the waies of mercy he doth u&s;ually reward grace with grace: <HI>to him that hath &s;hall given:</HI> for <HI>recte feci&s;&s;e merce e&s;t;</HI> and knowing that a godly man de&s;ires no greater <HI>reward,</HI> but even that which comes <HI>in keeping the Commandment:</HI> and the Lord doth propor|tion the reward unto the work: <HI>he will reward every one according to the works here:</HI> For as hereafter in glory, &s;o he doth it in the life that now is: an&s;werable to a mans &s;ervice in reference to the promi&s;es, &s;uch &s;hall the re|ward from the promi&s;e be: <HI>For he will not forget any of the works and labour of Love, it &s;hall not be in vain in the Lord. Having therefore &s;uch promi&s;es, let us clean&s;e our &s;elves,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Here then is fir&s;t a duty pre&s;&s;ed, which is perfect &s;anctification, which con&s;i&s;ts of two parts. 1. Perfect clean&s;ing. 2. Perfect holine&s;s.</P>
<P>Secondly, here is the means and motive unto both; &s;anctifying truths, <HI>Having &s;uch promi&s;es;</HI> &s;econdly; &s;anctifying graces; <HI>in the fear of God.</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="observations">
<P>The Ob&s;ervations that might be gathered are di|vers, as;</P>
<P><LABEL>Ob&s;erv. 1.</LABEL> Fir&s;t, Sin is filthyne&s;s; that is, Fir&s;t it includeth in it all <HI>loath&s;om evil; there is malum turpe,</HI> as well as <HI>malum tri&s;te.</HI> Secondly, it is &s;o in its e&s;&s;ence, for it is in the ab|&s;tract: <HI>&amp; ab&s;tractum denot at e&s;&s;entiam.</HI></P>
<PB N="424" REF="242">
<P><LABEL>Ob&s;erv. 2.</LABEL> Secondly, it is an univer&s;al defilement both of life and &s;pirit: it is an over-&s;preading lepro&s;ie, &s;o that men have not only <HI>fle&s;hly members,</HI> but al&s;o <HI>fle&s;hly minds,</HI> 2 <HI>Col</HI> 18. <HI>Vainly puft up by his fle&s;hly mind.</HI></P>
<P><LABEL>Ob&s;erv. 3.</LABEL> Thirdly, this univer&s;al defilement remains in a great mea&s;ure, even in tho&s;e that have believed through grace; they mu&s;t clean&s;e them&s;elves al&s;o; they have not already attained, neither are they al&s;o perfect, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.12. the <HI>Apo&s;tle &s;aith, Not as though I had already attain|ed, neither was already perfect,</HI> &amp;c. But I &s;hall pa&s;s the&s;e by, and pitch only on tho&s;e things which the Apo&s;tle doth in the&s;e words mainly intend: which is to pre&s;s them to perfect &s;anctification, having promi|&s;es made unto them of the great perfection: the Doctrine which we &s;hall therefore &s;peak is this.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doctrine.</HEAD>
<P>As perfect holine&s;s hereafter &s;hall be the Chri&s;tians Crown, &s;o &s;triving to perfection here is the Chri&s;tians duty: <HI>perfecting holine&s;s in the fear of God.</HI></P>
<P>Here I will &s;hew you two things. Fir&s;t, what holine&s;s is: Secondly, what perfection of holine&s;s is, and &s;o come to prove this point. Fir&s;t, to begin with the fir&s;t: What holine&s;s is? The holine&s;s of God being ab&s;olute and independent as all his other Excellencies are, cannot as I conceive con&s;i&s;t in relation, but mu&s;t be an ab&s;olute and po&s;itive thing: which I conceive to be nothing el&s;e but the purity of the divine nature: but now holine&s;s in the creature being a dependent excel|lency, having its principle from another, and its pattern in another, that is in God, and in the Law: it mu&s;t con&s;i&s;t in conformity unto another, as the truth and goodne&s;s of the creature doth: &s;o that the holine&s;s of the creature is nothing el&s;e but a conformity of the
<PB N="425" REF="242"> creature unto the purity of God, manife&s;ted in his Law. I do not &s;ay the holine&s;s of God as in him&s;elf, but the holine&s;s of God as in the Law: in conformity whereto the holine&s;s of the creature doth con&s;i&s;t. Be|fore the fall, the holine&s;s required was only po&s;itive, con&s;i&s;ting in a conformity to the duty commanded: but &s;ince &s;in, there mu&s;t be a clean&s;ing from the &s;ins forbid: it was before only a conformity to the precept, but &s;ince it is a conformity to the holine&s;s of God in the prohibition al&s;o: &s;o that as in the Ju&s;tification of a &s;inner, there is more required then was required to ju&s;tifie the Angels, or <HI>Adam</HI> in innocency; not only a doing the duty, but a &s;uffering the cur&s;e: &s;o in the &s;anctification of a &s;inner al&s;o, there is more required to make us holy, then there was to make <HI>Adam</HI> holy: It is not now barely a <HI>creation of the new man;</HI> but al&s;o a <HI>mortification of the old,</HI> and a de&s;troying of the <HI>body of &s;in;</HI> not only &s;anctification and dedication to what is holy, but a purification and &s;eparation from what is un|clean: therefore here the Apo&s;tle &s;ets down both parts of holine&s;s; purification and dedication, <HI>a clean&s;|ing of a mans &s;elf from all filthyne&s;s, and then a perfect|ing holine&s;s in the fear of God.</HI> Secondly, the perfection of holine&s;s therefore con&s;i&s;ts in three things. 1. <HI>Per|fectio gradus;</HI> when corruption is perfectly clean&s;ed, and all filthine&s;s, and in all degrees, and in all faculties, both of the fle&s;h and of the &s;pirit. 2. <HI>Perfectio e&s;&s;entin:</HI> when grace hath attained its full pitch unto which it is appointed; <HI>the mea&s;ure of the age of the &s;tature of Chri&s;ts fulne&s;s to all might</HI> in every grace and every faculty. 3. <HI>Perfectio operationis:</HI> when tho&s;e perfect graces have their perfect works as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, <HI>James</HI> 1.4. <HI>Let patience have its perfect work;</HI> that you may be per|fect
<PB N="426" REF="243"> and entire, wanting nothing: &s;o that the point hath in it tho&s;e three branches.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, perfect purification, which &s;hall be hereafter our glory is in this life our duty: in that every one that is <HI>an heir of the promi&s;e, is to purge him&s;elf from all filthyne&s;s:</HI> and this perfection of purification con&s;i&s;ts in three particulars. Fir&s;t, in being purged from all kinds of &s;in, all filthine&s;s, <HI>Col.</HI> 3.5. <HI>Mortifie therefore your members which are upon the earth fornication, uncleanne&s;s,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Now the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h, the lu&s;ts of the eye, or the pride of life,</HI> can be di&s;penced with; neither &s;ins of ignorance, or &s;ins of knowlede; &s;ins of omi&s;&s;ion, or &s;ins of com|mi&s;&s;ion; neither in thought, word or deed: nay it &s;hall ri&s;e &s;o high, that a man &s;hould &s;trive not only that &s;in might not ri&s;e, but that &s;in might not be; an&s;werable to that prayer of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>I pray God that you do no evil,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.7. When a mans labour in purging holds corre&s;pondency with the purity of the Law: and is of equal latitude: <HI>thy Law &s;aith</HI> David, <HI>is very pure, thy Commandment is exceeding broad, P&s;al.</HI> 19.40. <HI>&amp; v.</HI> 96. when a man hath an inward principle of purity an&s;wer|able to the exact purity of the Law, and as broad as the Law, that a man <HI>hates every fal&s;e way: I was al&s;o upright before him, and I kept my &s;elf from mine iniquity: becau&s;e it is the &s;tumbling block of their iniquity, P&s;al.</HI> 19.28. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 18.23. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 7.19. Secondly, from all degrees of tho&s;e kinds of &s;in: &s;o to be clean&s;ed, <HI>as that he may be pre&s;ented not having &s;pot or wrinkle, or any &s;uch thing, but that he may be holy and without blemi&s;h, Eph.</HI> 5.26,27. when a man doth &s;trive, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, not only to purge, but to pull out <HI>the old Leaven,</HI> that a man may be <HI>in all things a new lump,</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.7. and this is required not only that a man &s;hould not <HI>lie in wickedne&s;s</HI> as the
<PB N="427" REF="243"> word doth, 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 5.19. that is to be wholly in the power of <HI>the wicked one,</HI> as that phra&s;e, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, doth import: but al&s;o that <HI>a man keep him&s;elf un&s;potted of the world;</HI> not a &s;pot of &s;in &s;hall be upon him: &s;in &s;hall not &s;eize on him in any degeee, <HI>James</HI> 1.27. <HI>he keeps him|&s;elf un&s;potted from the world.</HI> Eph 5.3. <HI>but fornication, uncleanne&s;s and covetou&s;ne&s;s, let it not be once named among you as becometh Saints.</HI> And &s;ee how a godly man is de&s;cribed in reference to the lea&s;t defilement of &s;in, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 33.15. <HI>he de&s;pi&s;eth the gain of oppre&s;sion, he &s;haketh his hands from holding bribes, and &s;toppeth his ears from hearing blood, and &s;hutteth his eyes from &s;eeing evil; he keeps him&s;elf that the wicked one toucheth him not;</HI> 1 <HI>Ioh.</HI> 5.18. he may, <HI>tactu &s;implici:</HI> and &s;o he did <HI>Adam,</HI> and &s;o Chri&s;t al&s;o, and a man cannot avoid it; but not <HI>tactu qualitativo,</HI> as a load-&s;tone toucheth a knife to leave an impre&s;&s;ion of its nature, to enable it to draw iron: as it doth to leave an impre&s;&s;ion of the &s;ame evil and devili&s;hne&s;s that is in him: <HI>&s;o he that is born of God, keepeth him&s;elf that the wicked one toucheth him not.</HI> Thirdly, and that in the whole man, when a mans purg|ing reacheth to all filthyne&s;s of the fle&s;h and &s;pirit, when a man makes it his bu&s;ine&s;s to have his heart clean&s;ed as well as his hands, <HI>Iames</HI> 5.8. <HI>hate a corrupt mind</HI> as well <HI>as an unclean conver&s;ation: the wills of the fle<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">h,</HI> as well as <HI>the lu&s;ts of the fle&s;h:</HI> to have a mans <HI>con|&s;cience purged from dead works,</HI> as well as his waies, <HI>Heb.</HI> 9.14. <HI>And put off the old man together with his deeds.</HI> Col. 3.9. <HI>When a man puts off all his filthy garments;</HI> will not leave a rag behind upon any part, <HI>Zach.</HI> 3.4. when a mans care <HI>is that his Spirit and &s;oul, as well as his body, may be pre&s;erved blamele&s;s unto the coming of the Lord Ie&s;us,</HI> 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.23. this is the perfection of purifi|cation,
<PB N="428" REF="244"> and we &s;ee it enjoyned in all the&s;e particulars; and he that &s;trives unto this, <HI>he doth purifie him&s;elf, even as God is pure,</HI> 1 <HI>Iohn</HI> 3.3.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="reasons">
<HEAD>Rea&s;ons.</HEAD>
<P>Now the rea&s;ons of the point, to mention &s;ome of many that might be brought.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, becau&s;e of the filthyne&s;s and &s;preading na|ture of all &s;in. 1. Becau&s;e of its filthy nature, <HI>it is an open Sepulchre, and the &s;tink thereof, Rom.</HI> 3.13. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 24.11. it is <HI>a&s;cum,</HI> it is <HI>a vomit.</HI> 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.20. <HI>it is dung:</HI> Nay to expre&s;s it to the highe&s;t, it is, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">, <HI>the very excrements of naughtine&s;s;</HI> &s;o that if there could be any thing wor&s;e and more filthy then naughtine&s;s it &s;elf, that is &s;in: <HI>Iam.</HI> 1.21. <HI>Wherefore lay apart all fil|thyne&s;s and &s;uperfluity of naughtine&s;s,</HI> &amp;c. What ever is loath&s;om in the world, it is all too little to give names to &s;in: and if &s;in be &s;o in it &s;elf, if filthyne&s;s in its e&s;|&s;ence, then all the parts of it is filthyne&s;s: and though there be but the remainders of &s;in in the godly, yet this is their nature; for every &s;park is of the &s;ame nature with the &s;ire: and every drop with the water, becau&s;e it is <HI>corpus homogeneum,</HI> &s;o is the body of &s;in al&s;o. Se|condly, and it is not more filthy then it is &s;preading: therefore it <HI>is rottenne&s;s, I&s;a.</HI> 1.6. <HI>from the &s;ole of the foot to the head, there is no &s;oundne&s;s in it;</HI> it is <HI>a lepro&s;ie, a gangrene,</HI> 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.8. it is <HI>the plague:</HI> the mo&s;t infe|ctious di&s;ea&s;e, 1 <HI>King.</HI> 8.38. <HI>it is a poi&s;on, Rom.</HI> 3.13. and therefore &s;o long as any remains, &s;o long there will be a continual infection: if a man hath but one lu&s;t in his &s;oul, this will &s;peedily conceive and bring forth all &s;in: for the birth of &s;in is mon&s;trous, it will not only bring forth lu&s;ts after its kind, but lu&s;ts of divers, nay of a contrary kind, <HI>covetou&s;ne&s;s is the root of all evil,</HI> 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 6.10. if there were but that one lu&s;t in the &s;oul, all &s;ins
<PB N="429" REF="244"> would grow out of it, even its contrary corrupti|ons.</P>
<P>Secondly, Becau&s;e Chri&s;t hath perfectly bought off all &s;in, in every kind and degree, and he is as well a <HI>fountain for the filthine&s;s of &s;in to wa&s;h it, Zach.</HI> 13.1. as <HI>a Sea</HI> for the guilt of &s;in to drown it, <HI>Mich.</HI> 7.19. And to this end, <HI>he gave him&s;elf that thou mighte&s;t be without &s;pot or wrinkle, or any &s;uch thing, Eph.</HI> 5.25,27. And &s;hould not a man &s;trive to have all the price out of the blood of Chri&s;t? con&s;ider the perfect clean&s;ing was the price of blood: it is a great undervaluing of the blood of Chri&s;t, and not the lea&s;t pitch of propha|ne&s;s, not to &s;eek after that which our high Prie&s;t hath purcha&s;ed at &s;o dear a rate; &s;hould it not grieve man to &s;ee lu&s;t po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing that which he &s;o dearly bought? <HI>Im|pius has &s;egetes?</HI> Nay let the Spirit of Chri&s;t come and take a full po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of what he hath purcha&s;ed. I might mention divers other rea&s;ons which will be brought in to the an&s;wering of this Objecti|on.</P>
<P><LABEL>Objection.</LABEL> This is to put men upon &s;eeking impo&s;&s;ibilities, which was never promi&s;ed, never attained, but as we know in part, and prophe&s;ie in part, &s;o our grace is but in part, and our purification in a mea&s;ure: <HI>Who can &s;ay, I have made my heart clean? I am pure from my &s;in?</HI> Nay the be&s;t men have tho&s;e &s;ores running upon them, and therefore have need of the <HI>balm of Gilead:</HI> the be&s;t are <HI>clad with filthy Garments:</HI> and need that the Lord &s;hould &s;ay, <HI>Take away the filthy Garments, and I will cloath you with change of rayment, as in</HI> Zach. 3.4,5.</P>
<P><LABEL>An&s;wer.</LABEL> Fir&s;t, perfect purity is commanded both in nature and life: the Law condemns each uncleanne&s;s with a cur&s;e
<PB N="430" REF="245"> <HI>To him that continues not in all things, Gal.</HI> 3.10. <HI>which are written in the book of the Law to do them;</HI> neither did Chri&s;t come to aboli&s;h the Law; but a ju&s;tified per&s;on is as &s;trictly bound to the Law for duty as <HI>Adam</HI> was, though not with &s;uch evil con&s;equences: he is bound under danger of contracting &s;in, though not under danger of concurring death: he that came to redeem men from &s;in, did never come to priviledge men to commit &s;in: he that <HI>was made a cur&s;e for &s;in,</HI> never came to be a cloak for &s;in: therefore, <HI>Mat.</HI> 5.18. <HI>Chri&s;t &s;aith, not a title of the Law &s;hall pa&s;s.</HI> One ob&s;erves, that the ex|pre&s;&s;ion notes <HI>Ab&s;oluti&s;simum legis complementum:</HI> the Jews &s;uper&s;titiou&s;ly conceived, that there were &s;trange my&s;teries in every point and prick in the letter of the Law: Chri&s;t &s;aith, I am &s;o far from de&s;troying the Law in regard of duty, that if the &s;malle&s;t letter, and the lea&s;t tittle of the Law had &s;uch hidden my&s;teries in it as you teach and conceit, yet every &s;uch title, and the my&s;teries therein &s;hall be fulfilled and perfectly accompli&s;hed: for this perfect purity we had in <HI>Adam, Eccl.</HI> 7.29. <HI>God made man upright, but he &s;ought out many inventions;</HI> our inability to obey, doth not take away Gods authority to command: and therefore he requires not the &s;ame <HI>duty</HI> only, but the &s;ame <HI>power. Luk.</HI> 10.27. <HI>Thou &s;halt love the Lord thy God with all thy might:</HI> that is not, thou &s;halt love him with all the &s;trength thou ha&s;t: and thou &s;halt re&s;i&s;t &s;in withal the &s;trength thou ha&s;t: but with all the &s;trength that I have given thee, and which thou wa&s;t to have: &s;o that the ability comes un|der the commandment, as well as the duty; and there|fore want of ability to re&s;i&s;t &s;in perfectly, is both thy &s;in and thy puni&s;hment. Secondly, Becau&s;e God hath commanded ab&s;olute perfection, to be perfectly freed
<PB N="431" REF="245"> from &s;in: therefore the godly have prayed for it: Chri&s;t taught them &s;o to do, <HI>Matth.</HI> 6.13. <HI>And deliver us from evil.</HI> And <HI>Paul,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.7. <HI>I pray God that you do no evil. Heb.</HI> 13.21. <HI>The God of peace make you perfect in every good work to do his will; the God of peace &s;anctifie you throughout; and I pray God that your whole &s;pirit, &s;oul and body, may be kept blamele&s;s,</HI> &amp;c. 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5.23. for I con|ceive, that the whole will of God is the ground of prayer, <HI>if we ask any thing according to his will, he hear|eth us,</HI> Joh. 5.14. therefore the precept is as well as the promi&s;e; only the precept requires perfection, be|cau&s;e it is the rule of obedience required under the fir&s;t Covenant, though not made &s;ub&s;ervient to the &s;e|cond: but the promi&s;e is not of perfection here, be|cau&s;e it an&s;wers only to the grace which the Lord in|tends to be&s;tow in the &s;econd Covenant. I know that the&s;e prayers of the Saints were never fulfilled here, but the be&s;t men have departed hence have &s;ouls im|perfect, much wanting of this purification: perfection is re&s;erved for time to come, <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.23. <HI>And to the &s;pirits of ju&s;t men made perfect,</HI> that is only in heaven: yet &s;uch prayers and endeavours be not vain, and all &s;uch &s;trivings after perfection is not to no purpo&s;e. Fir&s;t, becau&s;e here a man manife&s;ts his di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t &s;in, and his love to the Commandment: and though he hath brought upon him&s;elf a mi&s;erable nece&s;sity of &s;inning, yet notwith&s;tanding the evil that he doth he hates, and therefore cryes out, <HI>Oh mi&s;erable man: Who &s;hall deliver me from this body of death? Rom.</HI> 7.15.24. Secondly, hereby a man manife&s;teth the abundant &s;incerity of his heart towards the Lord Chri&s;t: That he would not only not have &s;in to raign, but al&s;o that it &s;hould not be; that not only his waies,
<PB N="432" REF="246"> but his nature al&s;o &s;hould be conformable to the Law in all things: and not only that Chri&s;t &s;hould rule, but al&s;o that he &s;hould rule in him without re&s;i&s;tance and controul: he would not have the Kingdom of Chri&s;t among&s;t his enemies here, but over his enemies: that <HI>every thing might be brought into &s;ubjection,</HI> 2 Cor. 10.5. <HI>That he might tread every enemy under foot,</HI> 1 Cor. 15.25. Thirdly, hereby a man doth his duty in &s;triving to perfection, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.12. <HI>Work out your &s;alvation Phil.</HI> 2.12. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, <HI>rem rudem &amp; informem expolire:</HI> and &s;o by doing his duty he makes his heart perfect with the Law, even in the imperfection of his obedience: for the Lord accepts the will for the deed: the duty be|longs to us, the &s;ucce&s;s to God: and he takes it ex|ceeding kindly that men &s;hould be willing, not only to, but, beyond their power, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 8.3. <HI>Abraham</HI> did his duty in praying for <HI>I&s;mael,</HI> and the Lord did graciou&s;ly manife&s;t the acceptance of his per&s;on and prayer, when he did deny the particular reque&s;t he asked of him. Fourthly, Though &s;uch prayers and endeavours be not an&s;wered in perfection, yet they &s;hall be an&s;wered in degrees; and if God add but a further degree, it is not lo&s;t; for Gods u&s;ual manner is to make one mercy to his people an an&s;wer to a former prayer, and an en|couragement to beg a further mercy: and it is not in vain if God in any degree <HI>give a man his hearts de&s;ire, and do not deny him the reque&s;t of his lips, P&s;al.</HI> 22.2,3. for as formerly Prophe&s;ies were truly fulfilled, though by degrees: &s;o prayers and endeavors are truly an|&s;wered, though but by degrees, yet &s;o as &s;till an an&s;wer in a degree is a &s;ure pledge that God will in his due time fulfil all our petitions. Fifthly, tho&s;e prayers and endeavours are not lo&s;t, which are for things not to be
<PB N="433" REF="246"> accompli&s;hed in this life: for as Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;s <HI>is an everla&s;ting righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> becau&s;e it <HI>is offered unto God by an eternal Spirit, Heb.</HI> 9.14. &s;o I conceive the prayers of the Saints being &s;acrifices unto God, be|cau&s;e they be offered with publick intentions, and by a publick and eternal &s;pirit, are eternally accepted, and of an everla&s;ting efficacy, though after a mans death to be accompli&s;hed in this world, or in that which is to come. <HI>David</HI> puts up a prayer by the &s;pirit again&s;t <HI>Judas, P&s;al.</HI> 69.8,9. and it took effect upon him many hun|dred years after he was dead, and had &s;een corruption. God hath promi&s;ed to <HI>bring forth Judgement to victory, and to pre&s;ent you without &s;pot or wrinkle:</HI> your prayers and endeavours; for this &s;hall add to your glory: and the&s;e promi&s;es &s;hall be accompli&s;hed in the Lords time: and then your names &s;hall be recorded in tho&s;e mercies, as tho&s;e that were co-workers with God, and preparing your own glory here for hereafter: and then you &s;hall rejoyce in them not only as Gods mercies, but al&s;o as an an&s;wer to your prayers: all the prayers of the godly are not for pre&s;ent fruit, yet &s;o as they bring a harve&s;t many years after; and then when it comes, a man hath the &s;weetne&s;s of the mercy, and the an&s;wer of the prayer, all come in together: if the Spirit that indites prayers doth &s;o here in this life, how will it do hereafter when he &s;hall dwell in a man for ever without grievance? how will a mans joy be great, when his joy &s;hall be as the joy of harve&s;t? oh how full will a mans joy be then!</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1+ letters"></HEAD>
<P>Let it therefore &s;tir us up to the practi&s;e of this duty, which is here exhorted, and that is <HI>perfect clean&s;ing:</HI> And now to awaken us to it the more, I will give &s;ome
<PB N="434" REF="247"> Rules by which men may judge, that they have great need of this exhortation, and that the work of clean&s;ing is very imperfect in them: Con&s;ider the&s;e &s;ix particu|lars.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, To &s;in much again&s;t knowledge, is an argu|ment of a very unclean &s;pirit, whether it be again&s;t principles, as <HI>Rom.</HI> 1. <HI>ult. Who knowing the Iudgement of God, that they which commit &s;uch things are worthy of death, not only do the &s;ame, but have plea&s;ure in them that do them:</HI> or again&s;t repeated admonitions, as <HI>Judas</HI> and <HI>Pilate</HI> did: or again&s;t the &s;ecret in&s;tructions of a mans own con&s;cience, <HI>the cha&s;ti&s;ement of his reins,</HI> as <HI>Darius</HI> and <HI>Herod</HI> did again&s;t <HI>Iohn</HI> the Bapti&s;t, <HI>Mark.</HI> 6.22. or again&s;t truths profe&s;&s;ed, as <HI>Saul</HI> again&s;t Witches: and truths glorified in us; the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>Thou art called a Iew, and make&s;t thy boa&s;t of God, and glorie&s;t in the Law; through breaking the Law di&s;honoure&s;t thou God?</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, The more &s;peedily lu&s;t takes away the man, the more unclean that man is; therefore the ex|pre&s;&s;ion is, <HI>A man &s;oon angry,</HI> Prov. 14 17. <HI>A man of a ha&s;ty &s;pirit, Eccl.</HI> 7.9. but on the other &s;ide, <HI>a man of under&s;tanding,</HI> that is, a holy mortified man, <HI>is of a cold &s;pirit:</HI> &s;o that though the fire of corruption blown long by Satan may kindle at la&s;t, yet it doth not &s;peedily, becau&s;e he hath a cold &s;pirit, not a Gun-powder di&s;po|&s;ition unto evil, <HI>Prov.</HI> 7.22. as &s;oon as the harlot made the motion, it is &s;aid, <HI>he went after her &s;trait-way:</HI> or im|mediately without any more ado, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And as it argues a heart the more perfectly &s;anctified, when it is <HI>&s;itted for a very good work, Tit.</HI> 3.1 for any honourable u&s;e; &s;o it argues a heart more exceedingly unclean when it is fit|ed to be u&s;ed by Satan in any evil work, when the heart is prepared as an Oven fit for any Batch, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 7.6.
<PB N="435" REF="247"> fit to <HI>be led captive at the will of Satan,</HI> 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.26. And the truth is, that makes a man &s;tubble to judgement, becau&s;e he hath been &s;tubble to &s;in fir&s;t: and there|fore lu&s;t in a mans heart is not only compared to fire among&s;t men that mu&s;t be fed with fewel, and &s;o it &s;ooner burns: but it is a fire that feeds it &s;elf without fewel, and therefore called the fire of hell, <HI>Iames</HI> 3.6.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the more &s;in pa&s;&s;eth through the whole man without controul, the more unclean the heart is; as in the performance of duty, the more the &s;oul is &s;ub|dued to the duty, <HI>and every thought brought into &s;ubjecti|on,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.2. the more &s;anctified it is: &s;o on the contrary, the more the heart is &s;ubdued by a lu&s;t, and the le&s;s re&s;i&s;tance it finds, <HI>Iude</HI> 11. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>v.</HI> So <HI>Ezek.</HI> 16.36. <HI>Thy filthyne&s;s was poured out to all thy Lovers:</HI> when &s;hame which is a doom to &s;ome mens lu&s;ts pre|vails not: when checks of con&s;cience, thoughts of death and Judgement, keep not mens lu&s;ts from over|flowing, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.4. it &s;hews a heart exceedingly de|filed.</P>
<P>Fourthly, the more un&s;atiable mens de&s;ires are in the commi&s;sion of any &s;in, the more unclean the man is: <HI>Hab.</HI> 2.5,6. <HI>Nebuchadnezar</HI> for his covetou&s;ne&s;s is compared <HI>to a Drunkard</HI> for his un&s;atiablene&s;s; for none cal fa&s;ter for wine u&s;ually then they that have had too much before: it is with greedine&s;s. <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.19. <HI>who being pa&s;t feeling have given them&s;elves over to work all uncleanne&s;s,</HI> 1 Pet. 4.4. <HI>with greedine&s;s, exce&s;s of riot, wherein they think it &s;trange that you run not with them to the &s;ame exce&s;s of riot.</HI> I&s;a. 5.14. <HI>As the grave, and as hell they weary them&s;elves, Ierem.</HI> 9.5 the members are weary in obeying, when the Law of the members is
<PB N="436" REF="248"> never weary exacting: <HI>Balaams</HI> lu&s;t was too &s;wift for the very bea&s;t, and mens lu&s;ts are often too va&s;t for their weakned and tyred ability to act them: therefore they <HI>load them&s;elves with thick clay, Hab.</HI> 2.4,5. enough to load them, but not to &s;atisfie them.</P>
<P>Fifthly, the more provi&s;ion a man makes for lu&s;ts before, and the more plots he hath going to accompli&s;h his lu&s;ts, the more unclean that man is, <HI>Rom.</HI> 13.14. As <HI>Iudas &s;ought opportunity to betray Chri&s;t, Mat.</HI> 26.16. And <HI>&s;ome do provide them&s;elves of nets and draggs before hand to catch men,</HI> as <HI>Hab.</HI> 1.16. <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 7.5. and 6.7. <HI>They have made ready their heart as an Oven:</HI> it is con|ceived to be &s;poken of the Princes of I&s;rael under &s;ome Idolatrous King: the hearts of the Princes and the Coun&s;ellers were ready as an Oven: they had pre|pared them&s;elves to receive and bring in any wicked|ne&s;s, or any Idolatry, and they were ready to bring the people into it, and they had their Agents went about to leaven the people that were not all of that mind: pre|&s;ently, in the mean time it is &s;aid, the &s;aker, the King &s;ome &s;ay, or el&s;e they that had the &s;pecial hand in this, he &s;leeps not at night, but he ob&s;erves how the plots take, and where the lump is leavened, and the people prepared to entertain the innovations that he did in|tend to bring in, and if they mi&s;s an opportunity of &s;in|ning they be &s;orry for it, 2 <HI>King.</HI> 5.20.</P>
<P>Sixthly, and la&s;tly, The more lu&s;t doth di&s;turb a man in holy duties: it did &s;hew indeed that <HI>Elyes &s;ons were &s;ons of</HI> Belial, <HI>that lay with the women at the door of the Tabernacle,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 2.22. It argued that <HI>Zimry</HI> was de&s;perately &s;et <HI>upon evil, when in a day of humiliation he dur&s;t bring a woman</HI> where all the Congregation were humbling them&s;elves before the Lord. So for a man
<PB N="437" REF="248"> to lead a lu&s;t through the whole &s;oul in the &s;pecial pre|&s;ence of God in his Ordinances, &s;hews a very unclean &s;pirit; if <HI>the heart of the people go after covetou&s;ne&s;s when they are hearing, Ezek.</HI> 33.31. and <HI>after vain glory in prayer, Mat.</HI> 6.5. for if ever grace have the advantage, it is then when a man &s;tands before the Lord; and that &s;in bear it down at be&s;t duties, it argues that lu&s;t is ex|ceeding powerful in a man, and he is exceedingly un|clean.</P>
<P>Now for &s;ome rules to judge of the perfection of this work, how a man comes neerer to it, take the&s;e five.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The more clearly a man di&s;cerns, and the more fully his heart is affected with &s;piritual &s;ins, the more clearly he can di&s;cern them: for as all &s;ins proceed from darkne&s;s &s;o every &s;in encrea&s;eth darkne&s;s: the more unclean any man is, the more blind he is: therefore <HI>Paul</HI> could not only &s;ee Satans pitched battles again&s;t him, but <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">; 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2 11. <HI>the &s;tratagems and ambu&s;hes</HI> that he u&s;ed: not only the temptation: it &s;elf, but Satans plots and purpo&s;es in tempting: <HI>the depths of Satan, Rev.</HI> 2.24. And the more he is affected with them, the more bitterly he doth condemn them, and mourn for them, as <HI>David</HI> for <HI>his ba&s;e dejection, P&s;al.</HI> 42.11. his <HI>carnal confidence in the creature, P&s;al.</HI> 30.6,7. <HI>his &s;ecret grudging at the pro&s;perity of the wicked;</HI> P&s;al. 73.21,22. Agur <HI>for his bruti&s;hne&s;s,</HI> in regard of &s;piritual things, <HI>Prov.</HI> 30.2. <HI>Surely I am more bruti&s;h then any man, and have not the under&s;tanding of a man:</HI> Hezekiah <HI>for the pride of his heart,</HI> 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 32.26. for as a mans graces grow more and more in the new man inward, in the old man &s;o will his lu&s;ts and temptations be: and therefore they that be &s;till exerci&s;ed about outward
<PB N="438" REF="249"> and bodily lu&s;ts, it argues a &s;mall clean&s;ing in them: but the more a man con&s;iders that <HI>God is a Spirit,</HI> and his eye is mo&s;t upon the Spirits of men, and that the&s;e defiling lu&s;ts before God make him mo&s;t like unto the Devil, who is <HI>&s;piritual wickedne&s;s,</HI> and he &s;aith, My hou&s;e, and land, and e&s;tate is worth &s;o much, <HI>but my heart is no|thing worth, Prov.</HI> 10.20. for con&s;ider if it were with me as with <HI>Maximenius</HI> and &s;ome of tho&s;e <HI>Roman</HI> Em|perours; through their exceeding gluttony their bodies bred vermine continually; how loath&s;om &s;hould it be for you to think, and to have rea&s;on &s;o to do? but <HI>I am a man of a corrupt mind,</HI> 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 6.5. and that continu|ally breeds vermine, and will at la&s;t <HI>the worm that never dyes;</HI> and this makes a man loath and abhorr him&s;elf; it is a good &s;ign of a clean heart.</P>
<P>Secondly, The more a man hates and is afflicted, and gos mourning for not only the raigning but the being of &s;in, as it was with the Apo&s;tle, that &s;in had never rebel|led, that it had never led him captive, yet <HI>his body of death</HI> makes him <HI>mi&s;erable, Rom.</HI> 7.24. the very being of it: when it is with a man in regard of &s;in, as it was with le|pro&s;ie the Type, <HI>Lev.</HI> 14.44,45. <HI>When they had &s;crapt about it, and carried out the du&s;t, then they &s;hall &s;weep it again; then if it break forth again the hou&s;e mu&s;t be pluckt down:</HI> So when a man hath done all he can by remo|ving the du&s;t, and by carrying out the rubbi&s;h, and yet lu&s;t will &s;pread, then to be contented, and de&s;ire to have the hou&s;e di&s;&s;olved, the hou&s;e of nature, that the building of &s;in might be de&s;troyed, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.2. it is an Argument of a great mea&s;ure of puri|ty.</P>
<P>Thirdly, The more &s;peedily a mans heart is awakned to turn to God after &s;inning: it was a &s;ign that <HI>Davids</HI>
<PB N="439" REF="249"> heart was in a clean frame, when his <HI>heart &s;mote him,</HI> a&s;&s;oon as he had <HI>cut off the lap of</HI> Sauls <HI>garment,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 24.5,6. and of <HI>Peter</HI> that <HI>immediately he went out and wept bitterly, Math.</HI> 26. <HI>ult.</HI> The fir&s;t note was, that a pure heart keeps it &s;elf, <HI>that the wicked one toucheth him not:</HI> but the &s;econd is &s;peedily to return and clean&s;e a mans &s;elf after falling: <HI>Davids</HI> heart was in a defiled frame, that he could lie well nigh a year in the &s;ins of Adultery and Murder, without repentance: <HI>the heart of a man is a fountain, Mat.</HI> 12.35. that pre&s;erves it &s;elf pure and in its fir&s;t glory as a fountain doth; but if mudd do at any time enter into it, it will be continually work|ing of it out: and it is as truly an argument of purity as the other: and when a man repents, that will al&s;o afflict him, that God was forced to u&s;e &s;o many means with him before he could be brought to repentance; that <HI>E|phraim</HI> bemoans, <HI>Ier.</HI> 31.18.</P>
<P>Fourthly, The more jealous a man is of him&s;elf up|on every occa&s;ion, <HI>Mat.</HI> 26.22. How far am I guilty in this &s;in? <HI>Is it I Lord?</HI></P>
<P>Fifthly, The le&s;s a mans heart is affected, and the le&s;s he is taken with worldly things, <HI>Gen.</HI> 15.1. <HI>Rev.</HI> 12.1. <HI>Hem Germana illa Be&s;tia:</HI> and as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Io&s;eph,</HI> prefer the good of the people of God before any world|ly advantage of their own.</P>
<P>Sixthly, The more truly glad a man is, and can ble&s;s the Lord that he hath been plea&s;ed to cro&s;s him in a way of &s;inning; let God cro&s;s <HI>Ahab</HI> and he is in a rage; <HI>better meet a Beare robbed of her whelps,</HI> then meet a wicked man God hath cro&s;&s;ed in a way of &s;inning, <HI>Pro.</HI> 17.12. cro&s;s <HI>David</HI> in a way of &s;inning, and he ble&s;&s;|eth the Lord. <HI>And</HI> David <HI>&s;aid to</HI> Abigail, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed be the Lord God of I&s;rael which &s;ent thee this day to meet me;
<PB N="440" REF="250"> and ble&s;&s;ed be thy advice, and ble&s;&s;ed be thou which ha&s;t kept me this day from coming to &s;hed blood, and from avenging my&s;elf with my own hand.</HI></P>
<P>The Motives thereunto are the&s;e five.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, this fits a man for communion with the Lord, and makes his communion more clear; for <HI>what com|munion hath light with darkne&s;s, Chri&s;t with</HI> Belial? and though a man be godly, and &s;o hath <HI>fellow&s;hip with the Father, and with his &s;on Chri&s;t,</HI> 1 Joh. 1.6 <HI>yet if we &s;ay we have fellow&s;hip with him, and walk in darkne&s;s, we lye:</HI> if therefore walking in darkne&s;s take away all fellow|&s;hip, then the more a man walks in darkne&s;s, the le&s;s fellow&s;hip he hath; therefore the promi&s;e to a clear com|munion, is unto &s;uch as <HI>&s;eparate them&s;elves;</HI> for <HI>then God &s;aith, I will receive you,</HI> <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>I will dwell in you,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.16,17. which notes clear and neer communi|on.</P>
<P>Secondly, It is a &s;pecial means to be imployed, that God &s;hould u&s;e a man, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.21. <HI>If a man therefore purge him&s;elf from the&s;e, he &s;hall be a ve&s;&s;el to honour, &s;an|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">tified and meet for the Ma&s;ters u&s;e,</HI> &amp;c. and &s;o <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.3. and Godly men be as happy in their &s;ervices as in their rewards: on the contrary, it is a Judgement to be de&s;pi&s;ed of God, &s;o as not to be u&s;ed; a ve&s;&s;el where|in he takes no plea&s;ure, <HI>Ier.</HI> 22.28. <HI>The earthen ve&s;&s;els leprous mu&s;t be broken,</HI> they are of no u&s;e.</P>
<P>Thirdly, this will make a man ready and willing to do &s;ervice; for it is corruption that is the clog that hin|ders from &s;ervice, <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.1. <HI>Let us lay a&s;ide every weight, and the &s;in which doth &s;o ea&s;ily be&s;et us. I&s;a.</HI> 6.6. and 7.8. when the Lord &s;aith, <HI>Whom &s;hall I &s;end?</HI> the Prophet &s;aith, <HI>&s;end me: non tardat uncta rota;</HI> but &s;ee the contrary in <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Ionah;</HI> and this makes men in all
<PB N="441" REF="250"> the duties God cals them unto, no longer then cor|ruption is bribed, to drive heavily.</P>
<P>Fourthly, This makes all our &s;ervices the more &s;weet unto God, the more clean the heart is in them, <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.4. <HI>Then &s;hall the offerings of</HI> Judah <HI>and</HI> Jeru&s;alem <HI>be plea&s;ant unto the Lord, &amp;c.</HI> P&s;al. 66.18. <HI>But if I regard iniquity in my heart, God will not hear me;</HI> the duty would be more valuable in Gods account. <HI>Luke</HI> 21.3. <HI>The poor widdow ca&s;t in more then they all;</HI> becau&s;e her mite came from a purer &s;pirit then their great gifts: therefore &s;uch &s;ervices of the Saints, Chri&s;t cals them <HI>the honey and the honey-combe, wine and milk:</HI> to &s;hew how accepta|ble they are, <HI>Cant.</HI> 5.1.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, con&s;ider the glorious motives and encou|ragements we have therein; as Fir&s;t the promi&s;es, <HI>Ezek,</HI> 47.8. and <HI>Zach.</HI> 13.2. Secondly, the Spirit of Chri&s;t to be a <HI>&s;pirit of burning, I&s;a.</HI> 4.4. and when the Church is in the pure&s;t condition, yet alwaies this &s;pirit is lead|ing her on to perfection &s;till; <HI>the &s;pirit and the Bride &s;aith come, Rev.</HI> 22.17. and Chri&s;t and the Father love the purity as well as the pro&s;perity of his people: and if we would &s;et faith on work, he hath promi&s;ed to mani|fe&s;t it, <HI>Iohn</HI> 14.20,21. <HI>In that day ye all know that I am in my Father:</HI> in his coun&s;el, in his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">o&s;om; one with him in Maje&s;tie and in power; and we have the &s;ame purpo&s;es and intentions towards &s;inners; <HI>and you in me;</HI> your nature and your infirmities, you are in my bo&s;om and in my heart, cloathed with me, and living with me: and while I live, you &s;hall live; I dyed your death, and you ro&s;e my re&s;urrection; I bear your in firmities, and you are filled with my fulne&s;s; I pray your prayers, and you weare my righteou&s;ne&s;s; <HI>and I in you,</HI> not only by my righteou&s;ne&s;s to ju&s;tifie you, but by my Spirit
<PB N="442" REF="251"> to purifie you: by my wi&s;dom to guide you: and by my power to keep you; and by my glo|ry to Crown you: <HI>You unto whom</HI> I will &s;ay, <HI>Enter into the joy of your Lord:</HI> the&s;e are the better pro|mi&s;es of the Go&s;pel; and it is the lowne&s;s of mens &s;pirits, want of Chri&s;tian greatne&s;s of mind, ground|ed upon the con&s;ideration of this, that is the true cau&s;e why Chri&s;tians lie fettered with their old failings, and out-grow their infirmities no more then they do.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="443" REF="251">
<HEAD>A Set Time FOR Iudgement.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>JER. 8.7.</BIBL>
<P>The Stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the <HI>Turtle</HI> and the <HI>Crane,</HI> and the <HI>Swallow</HI> ob|&s;erve the time of their coming; but my people know not the Iudgement of the Lord.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_EVery faithful Mini&s;ter of God hath a double reference.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, unto the particular Flock over which God hath made him an Over-&s;eer, <HI>Acts</HI> 20.28.</P>
<PB N="444" REF="252">
<P>Secondly, unto the Land in general where he lives, unto whom God hath made him a watch-man to fore|&s;ee danger, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 3.17. and <HI>a Trumpeter</HI> to di&s;cover it, <HI>Numb.</HI> 10.8.</P>
<P>For fir&s;t, every private Officer in the Church is to have a publike &s;pirit, and &s;o to perform his particular duty, as to have re&s;pect unto the general good; a Mini|&s;ter is &s;o limited to a particular Flock, as he mu&s;t al&s;o remember that he is the &s;ervant of the whole Church; and as every particular Church hath an intere&s;t in the gifts of all, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.21. &s;o every particular Mini&s;ter is to have a care of the good of all: though in a more peculiar manner of the Flock committed unto his own charge.</P>
<P>Secondly, there are not only Congregational and Per&s;onal &s;ins, and mercies, but there are National al&s;o; and there are times when God cals a people to be humbled for the one, and to be thankful for the other: and in both the&s;e, the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel mu&s;t be employed as Trumpeters to &s;ound forth the prai&s;e of God, and as watch-men to give warning of Gods di&s;|plea&s;ure, and of the time and approach of Judgement.</P>
<P>Being thus debters unto both, we mu&s;t pay both debts in their &s;ea&s;on, and be &s;o far careful of our par|ticular charge, that al&s;o we forget not to be faithful to the Nation, and Church wherein we are: for this is the common Ship in which we are all embarked, and if this in Judgement be ca&s;t away, whether da&s;hed again&s;t the Rock of any forraign power, or &s;wallowed up in the quick-&s;ands of dome&s;tick divi&s;ions, it mu&s;t needs hazard all the pa&s;&s;engers.</P>
<P>Or if you were &s;ure that for your parts you might be &s;afe, would it not be a bitter thing to you to &s;tand
<PB N="445" REF="252"> upon the &s;hore, and to &s;ee &s;o glorious a Ve&s;&s;el as this Nation is to be ca&s;t away: to &s;ee this glorions Land de|faced, the ble&s;&s;ed Go&s;pel polluted, the golden Candle|&s;tick removed, it cannot but affect men that have any bowels.</P>
<P>Or if this move you not, yet to &s;ee a &s;tranger to Lord it in thy habitation, and thy dwelling to ca&s;t thee out; for your delight&s;om dwellings, your plea&s;ant and well|tilled fields to be made a prey, and for you to &s;ow, and another to reap, <HI>Impius has &s;egetes, &amp;c.</HI> for the delicate woman upon whom the wind mu&s;t not blow, and that &s;carce dares venter to &s;et the &s;ole of her foot upon the ground for tenderne&s;s, <HI>Deut.</HI> 28.26. to be expo&s;ed to the lu&s;ts and cruelty of an enemy, and to be glad to flie away naked to prolong a mi&s;erable life: which they would be glad to part with for death, were it not for fear of the exchange; for the tender mother to look up|on the child of her womb, and con&s;ider, Mu&s;t this child in whom I have placed the hope of my age (for <HI>omnis in A&s;canio<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tat chari cura parentis)</HI> he that hath been &s;o tenderly bred up, mu&s;t he fall into the rough hands of a bloody &s;ouldier, skilful to de&s;troy? it had been well for me if God had given me a mi&s;carrying womb and dry brea&s;ts, rather then to bring forth children unto murderers: if you might be &s;afe, how could you endure thus to &s;ee the evil that &s;hould come upon your people, and <HI>the de&s;truction</HI> of your kindred? as it was her ex|pre&s;&s;ion, <HI>He&s;t.</HI> 8 6. I do not Rhetorize and fawn to draw your affections: your Brethren are a &s;ad Comment upon what I have &s;poken, and <HI>Ireland</HI> the &s;tage upon which you may &s;ee this Tragedy acted before your eyes.</P>
<P>And is this nothing unto all you that pa&s;s by, are you
<PB N="446" REF="253"> nothing concerned in the mi&s;ery of your Brethren? is not the Lord come neer un to you? and may not you be con&s;umed by the &s;ame fire? <HI>tunc tua res agitur. &amp;c.</HI> is not <HI>Iudah</HI> neerly concerned in the de&s;olation of I&s;rael? can we &s;ee the dealing of the Lord with our Brethren, &amp; &s;ay, <HI>I &s;hall &s;it down as a Ladyfor ever, &amp; I &s;hall &s;ee no forrow?</HI> &s;hal we &s;ay, when <HI>the over-flowing &s;courge &s;hall pa&s;s over,</HI> it &s;hall not come at us? <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 28.15. &s;hall we imagine that when the cup of fury that is in the Lords right hand hath gone round, and all nations have ta&s;ted of it, and yet that we &s;hall not drink thereof? <HI>Ier.</HI> 25.15. may it not be as truly &s;aid of us, as of our brethren, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 12.4. <HI>thou ha&s;t cau&s;ed thy dayes to draw neer, thou art come even unto thy years:</HI> there is a time for Judgement, the text tels you, upon a Nation; and he that is wi&s;e &s;hall know and di&s;|cern both time and Judgement, <HI>Eccl.</HI> 8.5.</P>
<P>Now as I have before &s;hewed you th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1+ letters"> Mini&s;ters are Servants, &s;o al&s;o they are the Prophets of the Nation, and therefore preaching is called <HI>prophecying;</HI> and the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel are called <HI>Prophets</HI> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.32. though not in &s;o full and compleat a &s;en&s;e as the Prophets antiently were, yet <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word">, <HI>quadam,</HI> by a true re&s;emblance and analogy, though not a fore-telling, yet a fore-&s;peaking things to come, for that God that had made all things by his word, doth <HI>uphold all things by the word of his power, Heb,</HI> 1.3. governing all things by the rules of the &s;ame, exactly di&s;pen&s;ing puni&s;hments and rewards according to the tenour of the promi&s;es and threatnings therein recorded, &s;o that as he hath ap|pointed the Sun Moon and Stars to rule by day and by night over this natural world, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 19. &s;o he hath &s;tretched forth the <HI>Expan&s;um</HI> of the Law over the ra|tional world, <HI>Rom.</HI> 10.18. all things being ordered ac|cording
<PB N="447" REF="253"> to the precepts, promi&s;es and threatnings there|of: Now as a man that is skilful in the one by ob&s;er|ving and calculating the influences, and a&s;pects, and conjunctions of the one, can foretel in many things what is to come in the natural world; So the other by ob&s;erving the promi&s;es and threatnings, and the &s;pecial a&s;pects that is in them both, can in a great mea&s;ure fore &s;peak what is like to come to pa&s;s in the rational world al&s;o: &s;utable hereunto the Prophet here tels <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s that there is, Fir&s;t, a time for Judgement. Secondly, that this time may be known. Thirdly, the ignorance of this time makes a man more bruiti&s;h then the un|rea&s;onable creatures.</P>
<P>For the &s;cope of the place &s;eems to be this, that &s;uch is the wi&s;dom of unrea&s;onable creatures, the <HI>Stork, Crane</HI> and <HI>Swallow,</HI> that in winter they flie from cold and hard places, unto tho&s;e where there is a more temperate and moderate air, they knowing the &s;ea&s;ons and the appointed times, for this they flie away before, and by the in&s;tinct of nature to make provi&s;ion for a natural life: Now God had made man wi&s;er <HI>then the Bea&s;ts that peri&s;h,</HI> above the bea&s;ts of the field, and he hath appointed a time for Judgement, and he hath foretold it &s;hall come; and yet man is not &s;o wife for him&s;elf, as either to prepare for it, or to flie from it; and this is meant by not knowing the Judgement of <HI>Jehovah,</HI> <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> The Judgement of God is either Directive, as the Law written in the Book, or <HI>the Law written in the heart,</HI> as <HI>Mat.</HI> 12.20. bring forth Judgementto Victory.</P>
<P>Secondly, Corrective.</P>
<P>Thirdly De&s;tructive; and this la&s;t is meant here; it is &s;poken of the Judgement of utter ruine and de&s;olation upon whom the former Judgements, neither the dire|ctions
<PB N="448" REF="254"> of the word, nor corrections of Gods rod had taken its due effect, its proper work.</P>
<P>Neither is it meant of the Judgement it &s;elf only, that it &s;hould be utter de&s;truction, the fatal blow, the la&s;t and utter ruine of that people, but al&s;o the time of this Iudgement which was at hand, and this the people knew not, and &s;o much the word in the Hebrew <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;ignifies, <HI>tempus certum &amp; con&s;titutum;</HI> a certain and an appointed time. <HI>Gen.</HI> 17.21. <HI>My Covenant will I &s;tabli&s;h with</HI> I&s;aac, <HI>which</HI> Sarah <HI>&s;hall bear unto thee <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> at this &s;et time in the next year:</HI> and this &s;eems to be intimated by the &s;ubjects; <HI>the</HI> Stork <HI>and the</HI> Crane <HI>know their times, but my people know not the Judgement:</HI> that is, not only the Iudgement it &s;elf, but not the time of Iudgement that is at hand: that which the Prophet had &s;o often told them, and that which they were continually admoni&s;hed that it was neer, <HI>cum in re tam clara &amp; dilucida coecutirent;</HI> there|fore here the Prophet doth ju&s;tly complain that they were more bruiti&s;h then the&s;e unrea&s;onable crea|tures, <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>they know</HI> not; <HI>verba &s;en&s;us &s;ignificant cum affectu &amp; effectu;</HI> In the count of the Holy-Gho&s;t in Scripture, a man knows no more then he believes, and is affected with, and makes u&s;e of: they knew not, they con&s;idered not, believed not, were not affected with, neither did they make u&s;e of it, either the Iudgement it &s;elf, nor the time of the Iudge|ment, either to fear it, or to flie from it: &s;o that the Iudgement and the time of Iudgement was appointed; this they &s;hould, and they might have known, belie|ved and been affected with, but they were more unwi&s;e for them&s;elves, and for their temporal and eternal &s;afe|ty, then the unrea&s;onable creatures; <HI>they knew not the Iudgement of the Lord.</HI></P>
<PB N="449" REF="254">
<P>Hence the ob&s;ervations that I purpo&s;e to in&s;i&s;t upon, are the&s;e two. <HI>Fir&s;t that there is unto a &s;inful Nation, a &s;et and an appointed time of Judgement.</HI> Secondly, <HI>that this time may and &s;hould be known</HI> or el&s;e in vain are they blamed for not knowing it.</P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Fir&s;t Doctrine.</HEAD>
<P><LABEL>Doctrine.</LABEL> There is unto a &s;inful Nation a &s;et and an appoint|ed time for Iudgement: a time when Iudgement &s;hall infallibly come, and God will bear with them no longer: God being the antient of dayes, he is the Lord of time, and the great Land-lord of the world, and he hath &s;et unto every thing a &s;ea&s;on, or an appointed time <HI>to every thing under Heaven, Eccl.</HI> 3 1. but in reference to the point in hand, it will be requi&s;ite that we con&s;ider of a &s;ix-fold time appointed by him that is Lord of time.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, there is a time of &s;inning, a &s;et and an appoint|ed time; for there is, Fir&s;t a fulne&s;s of &s;in, appointed by God that it &s;hall have its period, it &s;hall not grow <HI>in infinitum,</HI> Gen. 15.16 <HI>The iniquity of the</HI> Amorites <HI>is not yet full:</HI> and as there was a fulne&s;s, &s;o there is a time appointed to fill up this mea&s;ure, <HI>to fill the Ephah, Zach.</HI> 5.6. where the mea&s;ure of the &s;in of the people of I&s;rael is &s;et out for the greatne&s;s of it by an <HI>Ephah,</HI> the greate&s;t dry mea&s;ure among&s;t the Iews: and there was a time for the filling up of the <HI>Ephah,</HI> before it was car|ried into the Land of <HI>Shinar.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, there is a mea&s;ure of wrath which every ve&s;&s;el of wrath &s;hall trea&s;ure up (for all &s;hall not have the &s;ame mea&s;ure) and the Rea&s;on is, becau&s;e all do not trea&s;ure up the &s;ame mea&s;ure unto them&s;elves, <HI>Rom.</HI> 2.4,5. Now &s;eeing it is a Trea&s;ure that doth grow by degrees and &s;everal additions, there mu&s;t be a time for the filling and the gathering of this Trea&s;ure; &s;ome
<PB N="450" REF="255"> Exchequer daies when this Trea&s;ure is brought in; &s;o that the time in which men fill up the mea&s;ures of &s;in, and the trea&s;ure of wrath, this is that which I call an ap|pointed time of &s;inning.</P>
<P>Now as &s;ome men, and &s;ome Nations mea&s;ures and trea&s;ures are greater then others, &s;o God gives them an appointed time to fill it up; and being con&s;idered in it &s;elf, the greate&s;t Iudgement that can befall a man is for the Lord to give unto a man or a Nation a long time of &s;inning: as the time that man hath to &s;in is but &s;mall, only during the time of the body, for he &s;hall only give an account of the <HI>things done in the body,</HI> not tho&s;e that are done <HI>in &s;tatu &s;eparato,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.10. and to a man in the body, <HI>there is an appointed time under heaven, Iob.</HI> 7.1. a &s;hort time appointed for his being, and therefore a &s;hort time for his &s;inning. But the Devil hath a large time, from the beginning of the world, unto the end of it, to the day of Iudgement, which argues that there is much wrath re&s;erved and prepared for him, that mu&s;t have &s;o long time to enlarge the ve&s;&s;el, and fit it to re|ceive it; for as gray hairs are a Crown if they be found in the way of righteou&s;ne&s;s, <HI>Pro.</HI> 16.31. that is, it is a &s;pecial mercy to live long to add to a mans Crown. &s;o it is a &s;pecial cur&s;e for a man to go on in evil, and yet his daies to be prolonged, <HI>Eccl.</HI> 8.12.</P>
<P>Secondly, a time of patience, when the Lord holds his peace and reproves not, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 50.21. indeed <HI>God is angry with the wicked every morning, P&s;al.</HI> 7.11. there is not a day that he ri&s;eth, but a cloud of Gods di&s;plea&s;ure ri&s;eth over him, but yet he deferrs his Iudgement, holds his hand; there is a time, when <HI>he is pre&s;t under their abo|minations as a Cart is pre&s;t under &s;heavs, Amos</HI> 2.13. for to have men go on to &s;in again&s;t him, and becau&s;e <HI>Iudge|ment
<PB N="451" REF="255"> is not executed &s;peedily,</HI> therefore to have <HI>their hearts fully &s;et in them to do evil,</HI> and the patience of God to be made the ground and the encouragement of &s;inning, cannot be but a great and a heavy burthen to the patience of God; and yet there is a time when the Lord bears, and doth not by and by <HI>ea&s;e him&s;elf of his adver&s;aries,</HI> as he &s;aith in Iudgement he doth, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 1.24. and it is an ea&s;e to him, <HI>Ier.</HI> 32.31. <HI>the City of Ieru&s;alem,</HI> the Lord &s;aith, <HI>had been a provocation to him from the day that it was built,</HI> which was many hundred years, and yet the Lord had born it, and had not removed it out of his &s;ight according as he threatned for to do; for there is a &s;ea&s;on for God to glorifie all his attributes; he will make them all exceeding glorious in their time; now after this life there &s;hall be time to glorifie Iu&s;tice, Mercy and Truth; but the patience of God can have no place in heaven, nothing that &s;hall burthen Gods patience: and in hell he will &s;hew forth no patience: nothing but <HI>wrath to the ve&s;&s;els of wrath:</HI> it is <HI>the breath, the fury of the Lord that is a River of Brim&s;tone burning in it,</HI> <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 30. <HI>ult.</HI> therefore there mu&s;t be a time for the Lord to glorifie his patience, and a time for Chri&s;t <HI>to rule in the mid&s;t of his enemies;</HI> and a time for him to <HI>rule over them, when they &s;hall be made his foot-&s;tool:</HI> there mu&s;t be a time for the <HI>decree</HI> to conceive and to bear before it <HI>bring forth, Zeph.</HI> 2.1. The truth is, we con&s;ider not what a precious time even the time of patience is; to have a poor &s;oul that expects to be executed at la&s;t, but to have two or three years added to his life by way of a reprival, how great a favour doth he e&s;teem it? So for a man or a people to have de&s;erved death, for the Lord to cut ten or twenty years out of eternity, but to re&s;pit the Iudgement, and give a man
<PB N="452" REF="256"> but &s;o much time of ea&s;e, it is a &s;pecial and extraordina|ry favour. It is not time of &s;lackne&s;s, but time of pa|tience, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3.9.</P>
<P>Thirdly, there is a time of repentance, when God doth defer and re&s;pit the Iudgement after &s;inning, of purpo&s;e that man may return and come in, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.21. <HI>I gave her &s;pace to repent, and &s;he repented not:</HI> the words are Emphatical, <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span">; he gave it, and the principal and proper intent that God had in it, was this, that they might have time to repent, come in and make their peace in a time wherein the Lord calls men to repentance, by the mini&s;tery of the word, <HI>&s;tretching out his hands all the day long, Ier.</HI> 32.33. when the <HI>Lord calls to weeping, mourning, baldne&s;s and &s;ack-cloath, I&s;a.</HI> 22.7. a time when the Lord &s;trives inwardly with the &s;pirit of a man, to bring him to a &s;ight of &s;ins and &s;or|row for them: a time when, <HI>if men &s;eek him he will be found, I&s;a.</HI> 55.6. and when though the Lord do threa|ten never &s;o &s;everely, it is but with condition of repen|tance; and if then they will come forth and take hold of his &s;trength, and make peace with him, they &s;hall make peace according to his promi&s;e, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 27 5. when though there be a cloud of blood hang over a people, and grievou&s;ly threaten danger, but yet it is but conditional, and if they return and repent they &s;hall make their peace and God will be again reconciled, and the judge|ment &s;hall not come, as we &s;ee in <HI>Nineveh:</HI> for that on|ly I call time of repentance, when there is hope of mer|cy; el&s;e repentance will not profit; for it comes too late.</P>
<P>Fourthly, the time of patience and repentance have their periods; indeed the&s;e times are not of the &s;ame length to all: to &s;ome God &s;hew<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> but a little patience, and to others a great deal, riches of patience,
<PB N="453" REF="256"> and forbearance, that though they do evil a hundred times, yet their daies are prolonged: &s;o for repentance, &s;ome have but a winters, and others a &s;ummers day: but when the&s;e are longe&s;t, yet there is a time when they will expire, and <HI>time &s;hall be no more:</HI> they have their fixed and &s;et bounds, that they cannot pa&s;s.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, time of repentance; for though the <HI>&s;pirit</HI> may &s;trive and &s;trive long, yet he &s;aith, he <HI>&s;hall not alwaies &s;trive, Gen.</HI> 6.3. and though if in the day of repentance men do come in, <HI>he will turn from his fierce wrath, I&s;a.</HI> 55.6. Yet if this time be pa&s;t there is a time when the Lord will not be found. <HI>Ieru&s;alem had the day of her vi|&s;itation,</HI> wherein &s;he might have known <HI>the things be|longing to her peace;</HI> but a great while before the Iudge|ment came, <HI>they were hid from her eyes,</HI> Luke 19.42.</P>
<P>Secondly, it is true, the time of patience may la&s;t longer then the time of repentance: for God may with-hold his hand, even when Judgement is determi|ned again&s;t a people, but yet the time of patience will not alwaies la&s;t; the longe&s;t day hath its evening: there is indeed a long time &s;ometimes <HI>of whetting the &s;word, and bending the bow, and making it ready, P&s;al.</HI> 7.12,3. But there will be a time of &s;miting al&s;o; no &s;ouldier doth alwaies whet his &s;word, but becau&s;e he hath a pur|po&s;e to cut at la&s;t; though the decree bear long in its womb yet it will not bear alwaies: there is a time when it <HI>will bring forth, Zeph.</HI> 2.1. &s;o that the time of patience hath its period.</P>
<P>Fifthly, when the time of patience is expired, there is then a time for Iudgement, <HI>a day of recompence, a year of vengeance,</HI> a time for the expending of tho&s;e <HI>Trea|&s;ures of wrath</HI> that have been &s;o long laying in; becau&s;e
<PB N="454" REF="257"> there was by &s;inning a time of trea&s;uring: and &s;o there &s;hall al&s;o come a time of &s;pending, <HI>Rom.</HI> 2.4,5. a time for the wall that is &s;welled out to hang, but there will come a time al&s;o when it will fall, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 30.13. husband|men expect with much patience the ripening of the grapes; there is a time of ripening, and there is a time of <HI>pre&s;sing and treading the winepre&s;s, Rev.</HI> 14.10. The Butcher &s;tayes till the cattle be fat; there is a fatting-time, and there is a killing time: and then they &s;hall be plucked out as &s;heep for the &s;laughter, <HI>Ier.</HI> 12.3.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, when this time doth come, the Lord will for|bear a people no longer: this determinating of Iudge|ment in the time of it is exceedingly &s;et before us in the word, and that under divers expre&s;&s;ions.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the Lord doth expre&s;s it by a full and a pe|remptory re&s;olution that he will do it, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 21.27. <HI>I will over-turn, over-turn, over-turn, and it &s;hall be no more, I the Lord have &s;poken it,</HI> Chap. 24.14. <HI>It &s;hall come to pa&s;s, I will do it, I will not go back, neither will I &s;pare, neither will I repent, but according to thy waies and according to thy doings &s;hall they judge thee, &s;aith the Lord God;</HI> they are the expre&s;&s;ions of a great, and a full, and peremptory re&s;olution that will not be turn|ed.</P>
<P>Secondly, it is called a <HI>decree,</HI> or the <HI>bringing forth the decree, Zeph.</HI> 2.2. <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> properly &s;ignifies <HI>decretum</HI> or <HI>&s;ta|tutum &s;criptum,</HI> from the root <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>&s;crip&s;it:</HI> and &s;o it is commonly u&s;ed in the Scripture, and &s;o I conceive it to be under&s;tood, <HI>non de occulto con&s;ilio, &s;ed de decreto promulgato.</HI> Its true in that the word of God by the mi|ni&s;tery of the Prophets, there were many threatnings and judgements denounced, but <HI>faetus adhuc in utero latet:</HI> there is a time when all the&s;e threatnings will
<PB N="455" REF="257"> take place, for they &s;hall not be in vain, there is not a word that goes forth, but it <HI>&s;hall accompli&s;h the thing that I &s;peak, I&s;a.</HI> 55.11.</P>
<P>Now it is called a decree in a double re&s;pect.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t decrees are acts of authority.</P>
<P>Secondly, they are e&s;tabli&s;hed and firm, they &s;hall not be altered or di&s;annulled; therefore every judge|ment is a decree, and though it may be long hid, that a man doth not know what is in the womb of it, yet there will come a time for the Decree of God to be deliver|ed, and then there is no hope: men &s;hall be as chaff, and pa&s;s away in that day.</P>
<P>Thirdly, it is called <HI>&s;wearing in his wrath, P&s;al.</HI> 9.11. It is true that the word of God is as firm and &s;ure as his oath; <HI>for Heaven and Earth &s;hall pa&s;s away, ra|ther then one jot of it &s;hall pa&s;s away:</HI> but yet in the word there may be, and commonly is, an implicit and a tacit condition; as we &s;ee, <HI>Ier.</HI> 18.18. <HI>If I &s;peak concerning a a Nation or a Kingdom, to pluck it up and de&s;troy it, if that Nation turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them:</HI> but the oath of God &s;huts out all &s;ecret and tacit conditions what&s;oever, that no|thing &s;hall ari&s;e <HI>de novo,</HI> that &s;hall hinder the accom|pli&s;hment thereof; which mu&s;t not be conceived, as if it were peculiar unto that time, or unto this people, but that the Lord doth con&s;tantly the &s;ame again&s;t other people, and in other times al&s;o, as the Apo&s;tle plainly manife&s;ts to us, <HI>Heb.</HI> 3.11,12.</P>
<P>Fourthly, tho&s;e means that do u&s;ually prevail with God, and turn away Iudgement when it is threatned, In the time of Iudgement they prevail nothing with the Lord: and they are the&s;e.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, repentance comes too late; &s;o much the Pro|phet
<PB N="456" REF="258"> doth intimate, <HI>Zeph.</HI> 2.1,2. <HI>gather your &s;elves,</HI> that is, by repentance and publike humiliation, but what is the &s;ea&s;on? it mu&s;t be <HI>before the decree come forth</HI> imply|ing otherwi&s;e it would not avail; many there were no doubt in <HI>Iudah,</HI> that were <HI>the Basket of good figs,</HI> that did repent and humble them&s;elves but yet it came too late to keep off the Iudgement, they mu&s;t be carried into captivity as well as the bad: indeed repentance never comes too late, if it be true, to prevent the cur&s;e: but many times it may come too late to keep off the cro&s;s</P>
<P>Secondly, but if that to their repentance they add prayers, will not the Lord hear them? <HI>Prov.</HI> 1.28. <HI>they &s;hall call, but I will not an&s;wer: for there is a time when that the Lord will not be found, I&s;a.</HI> 55.6.</P>
<P>Thirdly, but what if to their prayers they add fa&s;t|ing, will not the Lord hear them then? No, <HI>Ier.</HI> 14.12. <HI>When they fa&s;t I will not hear their cry, but I will con&s;ume them by the &s;word, by the famine, and by the pe&s;ti|lence.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, but if God will not do it for their own &s;akes, yet it may be he may for &s;ome other godly mans &s;ake, if the godly pray for them; they may <HI>&s;tand in the gap,</HI> as we know <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did, and did hinder the break|ing in of Iudgement upon the people: No, then the Lord will not hear them, <HI>Jer.</HI> 7.16. <HI>Pray not for this people, neither lift up a cry or a prayer for them, for I will not hear thee.</HI></P>
<P>Fifthly, but yet if he will not hear one of the Saints apart, yet the united prayers of the godly may prevail far with him, and that may overcome; but the Lord names the mo&s;t powerful men with God that ever were, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 14.14. <HI>Noah, Daniel, Job,</HI> and <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI>
<PB N="457" REF="258"> and <HI>Samuel, Jer.</HI> 15.1. and yet the Lord &s;aith, if they did &s;tand before him (an expre&s;&s;ion of prayer and in|terce&s;&s;ion) yet his mind could not be towards that people.</P>
<P>There is therefore a &s;et and appointed time for judge|ment, and if that be once come, the Lord will forbear a people no longer; it will be ea&s;ier to weigh the fire, to mea&s;ure the winds, to recall the day that is pa&s;t, to change the Ordinances of heaven, and to re&s;tore the verdure of the withered gra&s;s, then to rever&s;e the Sen|tence and Decree gone forth again&s;t a &s;inful Nation; for as <HI>Samuel</HI> &s;aid to <HI>Saul, he is not a man that he &s;hould repent.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD>Doctrine.</HEAD>
<P><HI>This time of Judgement may and mu&s;t be known:</HI> for why are they blamed if they might not? and how ju&s;tly could they be blamed if they ought not to have known it? <HI>Mat.</HI> 16.3. It is that Chri&s;t reproves in the Pha|ri&s;ees, <HI>they could di&s;cern the true face of the sky, but could not di&s;cern the &s;igns of the times:</HI> one might have been done as wel as the other, if they had applyed them&s;elves to the like care and indu&s;try.</P>
<P>But may it be known? as the Lord governs the world by the Sun, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 19.1. <HI>Rom.</HI> 10.18. and in na|ture doth many times cau&s;e Comets and blazing Stars as tokens of &s;ome dangerous and di&s;mal accidents ap|proaching in nature: &s;o hath the Lord &s;et forth by the Book of the Word, &s;ome &s;igns al&s;o hat are as &s;o many Comets to the world, if a man doth wi&s;ely behold them by a &s;piritual eye and a right judgement re&s;ulting from them: for the waies of God are unchangable; he is not wearied with proce&s;s of time, neither can he be
<PB N="458" REF="259"> ever won to give his ble&s;&s;ing in one age, which he hath cur&s;ed in another: and therefore that which hath been a &s;ign of Iudgement in one age, mu&s;t needs be &s;o in ano|ther: for the word of God is like to a well-drawn pi|cture, that ca&s;ts an eye upon every per&s;on and every Nation alike. It is nece&s;&s;ary therefore to enquire what be the &s;igns foregoing Iudgement, which the Scripture doth &s;et down.</P>
<P>I will only mention the&s;e two, which I de&s;ire every one that is wi&s;e will lay to heart, that &s;o he may be able a little to di&s;cern the &s;igns of the times.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, a fulne&s;s of &s;in: that is made the &s;ign when Iudgement was to come upon the <HI>Amorites, Gen.</HI> 15.16. <HI>when their iniquity was full:</HI> and this is made the ground of bringing Iudgement, <HI>put in thy &s;ikle and reap, for the harve&s;t is ripe, Ioel</HI> 3.16. So <HI>Jer.</HI> 1.11,12. An Almond tree hath the fir&s;t ripe fruit of any tree, and it notes the ha&s;tening of them to ripen their &s;ins; and the Lord &s;aith, as they did ha&s;ten their &s;ins to a ripene&s;s, &s;o he would ha&s;ten to ripen his Iudgements, &s;o that this is a certain &s;ign foregoing Iudgement: But when is &s;in full? when is it ripe in a Nation? I know Divines commonly and truly &s;et forth the fulne&s;s of &s;in by its univer&s;ality, im|pudency and ob&s;tinacy, but I will not in&s;i&s;t upon the&s;e.</P>
<P>But let us look into this Nation of <HI>Iudah,</HI> of which our Prophet &s;peaks here, and &s;ee what did ripen their &s;ins, and brought them to that fulne&s;s that brought the Iudgement: &s;ee what it was among&s;t them that filled the <HI>Epha,</HI> and made way for <HI>the women with the wind in their wings to carry them away.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, when a people &s;eeks to make void the Law: then <HI>it is time for God to work:</HI> that is, to execute Iudge|ment;
<PB N="459" REF="259"> &s;o <HI>David</HI> &s;aith, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.126. the word in the original is <GAP LANG="heb" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> which &s;ignifies <HI>irritum facere, non palam ex profe&s;&s;o, &s;ed oblique:</HI> not by open oppo&s;ing, but by &s;e|cret undermining; it is fitly expre&s;t by our Saviour, <HI>Mat.</HI> 13.6. <GAP LANG="grc" DESC="foreign" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> <HI>ye have unlorded,</HI> taken away the ruling power of <HI>the Law by your Traditions;</HI> how this hath been done in this Nation, in the&s;e latter times, is not unknown unto them that know any thing of the Do|ctrine of this Church; &s;ometimes by oppo&s;ing Scri|pture to Scripture, &s;ometimes by &s;ubtile di&s;tinctions, grounded upon Scriptures in a &s;how, by mi&s;interpreta|tions and frigid expo&s;itions put upon Scripture, by fal&s;e conclu&s;ions and <HI>Paralogi&s;mes</HI> drawn out of Scripture, and by cu&s;toms and Church traditions put upon it as the practi&s;e of the Primitive Church, the Iudgement of the learned; and all that the wi&s;dom of men, and not the Law of God might rule; but when men come &s;o far that they dare not only to change the Laws of men, but to temper with, and un-lord the Law of God, it is time for the people of God to pray, and then it is time for God to work.</P>
<P>Secondly, corrupting the wor&s;hip of God by hu|mane inventions, that have a &s;how of wi&s;dom, and will|wor&s;hip to hold corre&s;pondency with Idolaters, <HI>Jer.</HI> 2.33. <HI>Why trime&s;t thou thy way to &s;eek love?</HI> he &s;peaks it of their corre&s;pondence with Idolaters: &s;ometimes with <HI>Egypt,</HI> and &s;ometimes with <HI>A&s;&s;yria<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> they did &s;o or|der things in Gods wor&s;hip as might be&s;t further their Politick ends; now this triming did plea&s;e, and then another, and all was to plea&s;e their Lovers. How much triming hath been u&s;ed in this Nation of late years? we mu&s;t have Altars, Crucifixes, Copes, Tapers, Ba&s;ons: &s;ometimes we have been taken with the <HI>French,</HI> &s;ome|times
<PB N="460" REF="260"> the <HI>Spani&s;h,</HI> and &s;ometime the <HI>Italian</HI> fa&s;hion; what is this but to trim our way to &s;eek love?</P>
<P>Thirdly, Confederacy with Idolaters of a contrary Religion. <HI>Ier.</HI> 2.36. <HI>why gadde&s;t thou about to change thy way?</HI> &s;ometimes they went down to <HI>Egypt,</HI> &s;ometimes they did &s;lie to <HI>A&s;&s;yria,</HI> &amp;c. this is called <HI>the fornication of the Nations Ezek.</HI> 16. The gadding of this Nation of latter times in this kind, I need not &s;peak of that; it is too well known unto mo&s;t Nations in the Chri&s;tian world; but all that ever we are like to get by it is the &s;ame that was the gain of this people; <HI>Ahaz</HI> made a confederacy with the King of <HI>A&s;&s;yria.</HI> 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 28.20. and he came and di&s;tre&s;&s;ed him, but &s;trengthened him not.</P>
<P>Fourthly, abu&s;ing the Me&s;&s;engers of God, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 36.16. <HI>They mocked his Me&s;&s;engers, and they mi&s; u&s;ed his Prophets, till the wrath of God ro&s;e up again&s;t them that there was no remedy.</HI> How far this hath taken place in the&s;e latter daies is not unknown to all; many of them im|pri&s;oned, di&s;graced, deprived: and tho&s;e that did en|joy their liberty for the mo&s;t part <HI>Prophecied in Sack|cloth, Rev.</HI> 11. in much affliction and full of doubts and fears, every one &s;u&s;pecting whether what he did would plea&s;e or no.</P>
<P>Fifthly, not laying to heart the afflictions of our Brethren, <HI>Amos</HI> 6.6.7. <HI>They drink wine in bowls, and &s;tretch them&s;elves upon beds of Ivory; therefore they &s;hall go into Captivity with the fir&s;t that go Captive:</HI> how far we have been affected with the di&s;tre&s;&s;es of our brethe|ren in <HI>France</HI> formerly, the de&s;olations in <HI>Germany,</HI> and the pre&s;ent unheard of cruelties in <HI>Ireland,</HI> our hearts know very well, and it will be well if in <HI>the day when the Lord makes in jui&s;ition for blood,</HI> &s;ome of this
<PB N="461" REF="260"> blood be not found bound up in our own skirts.</P>
<P>The&s;e were the evils that ripened the harve&s;t of &s;in with them, and moved the Lord to &s;ay unto the Execu|tioner of Judgement, <HI>put in thy &s;ickle and reap, oel</HI> 3.13. and how can we expect but that it &s;hall be &s;o with us al|&s;o? for God mea&s;ures all Nations with the &s;ame line, and the &s;ame plumet, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 28.17.</P>
<P>Secondly, the beginnings of Iudgement are an evi|dent token that the time of Iudgement draws neer: <HI>When the Fig-tree puts forth leaves you &s;ay &s;ummer is neer; &s;o when you &s;e the&s;e things come to pa&s;s &s;ay it is neer, even at the door. Lu</HI> 2.30 3 For he &s;aith in Judgement, <HI>when be|gin, I wil al&s;o make an end,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 3.12 as former mercies be pledges of future and meat for the &s;oul to feed up|on in the expectation of mercy; <HI>he gave them to be meat to his people in the wilderne&s;s, P&s;al</HI> 74.14. &s;o for|mer Judgements are meat al&s;o for the &s;oul to feed upon in the expectation of future; for the wrath of God breaking in upon a people, is like a breach in awall where the enemy will be &s;ure with all violence to break in if no man <HI>&s;tand in the gap</HI> to make re&s;i&s;tance: <HI>impo&s;sibile a patente porta iram Dei non procedere.</HI> For by a le&s;&s;er Judgement God makes way for his anger, for a perfect and an utter ruine, <HI>P&s;aul.</HI> 78.50.</P>
<P>Let us &s;ee whether the &s;ame way be not made with us as it was with them.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, all Nations about them were again&s;t them, <HI>Ier.</HI> 12.9. <HI>Mine inherit<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">nce is as a &s;peckled Bird;</HI> the Birds round about her are again&s;t her as a &s;trange Bird &s;eldom &s;een: the Birds u&s;ually fall upon and &s;et them|&s;elves again&s;t her; &amp; if we did wi&s;ely con&s;ider the e&s;tate of this Kingdom how it is a &s;peckled bird, and how the
<PB N="462" REF="261"> Nations about her are again&s;t her as a &s;trange bird, it were ea&s;y to conceive, and what expectations mo&s;t of them have from the pre&s;ent &s;tate of things among&s;t us it is not hard to gue&s;s.</P>
<P>Secondly, the general corruption and decay of truth and wi&s;dom of men in places of greate&s;t tru&s;t: <HI>their &s;il|ver becomes dro&s;s, and their wine mixed with water, I&s;a.</HI> 1.22. their Judges and Officers, and men in authority, growing daily more and more corrupt: <HI>the be&s;t of them is a Briar, Mich.</HI> 7.4. that is, a poor man flies to them for &s;helter as a &s;heep to a thorny hedge, and in&s;tead of defending, they do fleece him in; and what follows? <HI>the day of thy watchmen, and thy vi&s;itation cometh;</HI> now &s;hall be their perplexity; what hath been the condition of this &s;tate we all know; how <HI>&s;ervants have ruled over us, and there was none to deliver us out of their hands:</HI> men of &s;ervile birth and education, and &s;ervile &s;pirits, in &s;o much that there hath been no peace either to him that went out, or to him that came in; for God did vex us with all adver&s;ity, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 15.6.</P>
<P>Thirdly, the &s;ubver&s;ion of fundamental Laws of the Kingdom, which the Scripture calls the <HI>foundation</HI> up|on which a Kindom &s;tands: which was a bitter com|plaint of the Church of God in this &s;tate; <HI>all the foundations of the earth were out of cour&s;e, P&s;al.</HI> 82.5. what inva&s;ions have been made upon us, and our Laws, hath been abundantly of late di&s;covered: and <HI>Solomon</HI> tells us, <HI>that he that breaks a hedge, a Serpent &s;hall bite him, Eccl.</HI> 10.8. he &s;peaks it of this hedge by which a people are defended, and kept &s;everal, that all do not become fir&s;t a Common, and then a Wilder|ne&s;s.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, private and inte&s;tine divi&s;ions among&s;t us,
<PB N="453" REF="261"> the fore-running of Gods la&s;t and fierce&s;t wrath upon that people, <HI>Ephraim again&s;t Mana&s;&s;ch, and both again&s;t Iudah, I&s;a.</HI> 9. ult which the Lord &s;aith is as if one member in the &s;ame body &s;hould be injurious to ano|ther as if a man &s;hould <HI>eate the fle&s;h of his own arm;</HI> and how far the wrath of God is at pre&s;ent &s;tretched forth again&s;t this Nation, we all know and complain of; what &s;ecret whi&s;perings and murmurings, what jealou|&s;ies and fears there are one of another, and what par|ties, and how <HI>for the&s;e divi&s;ions there do ari&s;e great thoughts of heart,</HI> we can never &s;ufficiently bewail, which doth continnally threaten that the Lord will take us and da&s;h us one again&s;t another as <HI>Potters</HI> Ve&s;&s;els.</P>
<P>The&s;e were the fore-runners of Judgement with this Nation, which did &s;how them that the time of Judgement was at hand: and the&s;e are now the &s;ins of the times, which may ju&s;tly occa&s;ion us to conceive that the time of Judgement is at hand; let it not be our &s;in which is here reproved as theirs, that we &s;hould not know the time of the Judgement of the Lord.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P>U&s;e for direction only in five things.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, not to know the time is mi&s;ery enough: therefore men are taken &s;uddenly &amp; unawares <HI>in&s;nar|ed in an evil time, as birds in an evil &s;hare, and as fi&s;hes in an evil net,</HI> Eccl. 9.12.</P>
<P>Secondly, that you may know the time to improve this promi&s;e. <HI>Who&s;oever keepeth the Commandment &s;hall find no evil; a wi&s;e mans heart &s;hall di&s;cern time and Iudge|ment,</HI> Eccl. 8 5.</P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>a wi&s;e man fore&s;ees the evil, and hides
<PB N="464" REF="262"> him&s;elf; but fools pa&s;s on, and are puni&s;hed,</HI> Prov. 22.3.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>by a work</HI> of humiliation; <HI>Hab.</HI> 3.16. <HI>When I heard, my belly trembled; rottenne&s;s entred into my bones, I trembled in my &s;elf, that I might re&s;t in the evil day.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, a work of reformation, <HI>Zeph.</HI> 2.3. <HI>Seek righteou&s;ne&s;s, &s;eek meekne&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">; it may be you may be hid in the day of the Lords wrath.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, improve all the promi&s;es, that perfection to which you are called, <HI>I&s;a</HI> 26 <HI>ult come my people, enter into your chambers:</HI> the Promi&s;es and Attributes are the chambers of the godly; but you mu&s;t come into them, el&s;e they will afford no &s;helter: upon all the glory &s;hall be a defence.</P>
<P>Fourthly, be much in prayer; to lay in for this time, will be profitable for you; for know, prayer never proves ineffectual to a &s;piritual end: it never in this re&s;pect comes too late, becau&s;e God never comes too late. 1 <HI>King,</HI> 18.45. <HI>Luke</HI> 21.36. <HI>Watch therefore and pray continually, that you may be accounted worthy to e&s;cape all tho&s;e things that &s;hall come to pa&s;s: fidelibus orationibus Deum ambimus, coelum tundimus.</HI></P>
<P>Fifthly, betake thy &s;elf to the mediation of Chri&s;t, <HI>Mich.</HI> 5.5. for <HI>this man &s;hall be the peace when the enemy comes into the Land: he is a refuge from the &s;torm, a de|fence from the wind, a river of water in a dry place: and the &s;haddow of a great Rock in a weary Land, I&s;a.</HI> 52.2. therefore <HI>return you to your &s;trong holds, you pri|&s;oners of hope, Zach.</HI> 9.12. Remember his name is <HI>Shilo</HI> the peace-maker, and he is &s;o called everywhere; <HI>when the Scepter departs from</HI> Judah, <HI>Gen.</HI> 49.9. there mu&s;t needs be nothing but trouble: yet then he is the peace-maker, then <HI>doth Shilo come.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<PB REF="262">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
