7 •\ ' Srom f ^e &i6rari? of (pxofcBBOx Wifftam differ Qpd-rton, ®.®., &&.©. fo f ^e fetfirarg of (Princeton t^eofogicaf ^eminar^ /:t./3 S E R M O N S Preached on feveral^^^T^^^^ SUBJECTS AND OCCASIONS By the R E V E R en 0 Ut. J ^ M E S CRAIG late Minifter of the Gofpel in Edinburgh. Vol. II. ~ EDINBURGH, Printed by Robert Fleming and Companyy and fold by Gavin Hamilton, and feveral other Bookfellers, Moccxxxiiit. Ill THE T E XT S O F T H E SERMONS Vol. II. SERMON I, II, III, IV. Heb. xi. 1 6. But now they de fire a better Country that is an heavenly. SERMON V. Matth. xxii. 4. All Things are ready, come to the Marriage. S E R. iv TTj€ Contents. s E R M o N VI. JottN t* 14. And ive leheld bh Glory* SERMON VII, VIII. Luke xiii. 24. Strive to enter in at the (trait Gate : For many^ I fay unto you^ will feek /• enter in^ and jh all not be able. SERMON IX. Revel; u ^, 6. Unto bint tbat loved us ^ and wafhed us from our Sins in bis own Bloody and hdtb made us Kings and Priefis unto God and his Fatber ^ to bim he Glory and Dominion for rter and ever. Amen. SERMON X, XI, XII. PsAt; xlii. II. IVby art tbou cafi down^ O my Soul ? And wby art tbou difquieted mtbin me ? Hope tbou in God^ for I /ball yet praife bim^ wbo is tbe Healtb of my Countenance^ and wyr Godi SERMON XlII. Luke xxiv. Ji. And it came to pafs, vtibile be llejfed tbem^ be was parted from tbem^ and earried up into Heaven. S E R- The Contents. r SERMON XIV. PsAL. cxvi. 12. What (hall I render unto the I^ord for all his Benefits toward n^e, SERMON Xr. 5^0 M. XV. 13. Now the God of Hope fill yoit with all Peace and Joy in believing^ that ye may abound in Hope^ through the Power of the Holy Ghoft. SERMON XVI. Jer. iv. 14. 0 Jerufalem^ wafh thy Heart from Wickednefs^ that thou may eft he faved : How long Ml thy vaitt thoughts lodge within thee ? SERMON XVII. PsAL. cxix. 113. I hate vain Thoughts \ hut thy Law do I love. SERMON XVIII. Is A. xxvi. 9. For when thy Judgments are in the Earth, the Inhabitants of the JVorld fhall learn Right eoufiKfs. S E Rr VI The Contents. SERMON XIX. Is A. XX vi. lo. Let Favour he Jhewed to the Wicked^ yet mil he not learn Kighteoufnefs^ in the Land of Uprightnefs mil he deal unjujily^ and will not behold the Majefty of the Lord, SERMON XX, XXI. I. Cor. i. 24. But unto them which are called^ loth Jews and Greeks^ Chriji ihe Power of Oody and the JVifdom of God. S E R SERMON I; Heb. xi. i6, But now they de/ire a better Country thai is an heaijenlyt K this Chapter, the Apoftic the Author of this Epiftle, is giv- ing an Account of the noble Performances of the Faith of Believer's in all Ages, from the Beginning of the World down to the Times of the Gofpei-dif- pfenfation. In the Verfcs pre- Ccedirtg our Text, he is fpeaking of the Patriarchs iiom Abel down to Abraham, and 'ver. 13. fays he, Tbefe all died in Faith not having received the Promtfes, that is, the Accomplillimenc of the Promifes, both with Reference to the earthly Ca- naan, and alfo the heavenly oi which the earthly Vol. II. A was i SERMON I. was as a Type and Figure : But having feen them afar off, that is, by their Faith having had a View oi the diftant and future Accomplifhment of thcfc Promifes, with Reference efpecially to the heavenly Canaan ; and were perfuaded of them, that is of the Truth and Certainty of them ; and embraced them, as the Objed of their Faith and Hope ; and confeffed that they were Strangers and Pilgrims on the Earth. The Words run in the Original, ^hefe all died in Faith, not having received the Promifes^ hut having feen them afar off, and having been perfuaded of them, and having embraced them, and having confeffed that they were Strangers and Pil- grims on the Earth : Where there feems to be a par- ticular Emphafis in the frequent Repetition oi the copulative Particle and, in the Variety of Claufes here conneded together ; both to fet off the Faith of thefe Believers with the more Advantage, and alfo to lay the fuller and ftronger Ground tor the Inference he makes, ver. 14. For they that fay fucb things, declare plainly that they feek a Country ; they that fay fuch Things, as in the preceeding Verfe he aflerts concerning the Patriarchs, that they died in Faith, not having received the Promifes^ but faw them afar off, and -were perfuaded of thetn^ and embraced them, and confeffed that they were Pil^ crims and Strangers on the Earth ; they that fay fuch things declare plainly that they feek a Country, that is another Country than any that can be pof- feffed on Earth. This is the plain Language of their Faith and Perfualion of the Promifes of God, by which he aifured them of a future Reft ; and of the Con- feflion they made of their being Strangers and Pil- grims on Earthy that they fought a Country diffe- rent mUeh XI. i6. ^ rent bti'th ilfdfii the Land of Canadfty the PoflTeflSon of whidi vVas dnly prDmifed to Ahrtiham'^ Pofteri- ty, and in which he himfelf lirtd only a^ a Stmn** get and Pilgrini ; and alfo a Country different from Ur of the Cd'de^s, out of which Ahirahdm came : f'or as he adds njer. 15. And truly if they had been mindful of that Country, if AbrdhdM, and the Pa- tti^rchs dcicended of him, had thought fit to take up with that Country, and had had no highet Views and Expcftations than making a Settlement thete, they might have had Opportunity to have rff- turned to that Country, there was nothing to hinder their returning to Ur of the Caldees : But now they defire a better Couritry by their leaving Ur of tht Caldees J and never attempting to return to it : By their profejlng themfelves Strangers and Pilgrims en the Earth, even while living in the Land of Ca^ maan, it plainly appears they defire another and bef^ ter Country^ that is, an heavenly, it plainly appears that Heaven itfelf, and nothing below it, was the Country that thefe Believers, the holy Patriarchs, jihraham, Jfaac and Jacob lived in the Faith and Expeftation of, and which they made the Ob- jed of their Defires and Profecutions : But now thty defire a better Country that is an heavenly. In thefe Words thtn we may obferve, I. That Heaven is fet forth under the Notion of a Country by the Apoftle, the Country of Believers which they defire and feek after j and II. This heavenly Country is by him declared to be a better Coun- try, better than any earthly .^Country, even better 'than Canaan itfelf.' I. Heaven is here forth by the Apoftle under the Notion of a Country and this is done, A a 1/ In 4 SERMON I. ifl. In an Agreeabknefs to the Scripture Way of ifpeaking concerning Heaven, by which in Conde- fcenfion to our Capacity, it is exprelTed by Figures and Metaphors borrowed trom fenlible and earthly. Things : As for the fame Rcafon it is called a C/- ty^ ver. lo. ot this fame Chapter, where it is (aid of Abraham^ Stbat he looked for a City which hath Foundations^ whofe Builder and Maker is God ; and in the Words immediately after our Text, iVhere- fore God is not ajhamed to be called their God, for be hath prepared for them a City : In like Manner we have it called a Houfe, John xiv. 2. /;/ my Fa- ther's Houfe there are many Manjlons, J go to prepare a Place for you ; and 2 Cor. v. i. For we know, fays the Apoftle, that if our earthly Houfe of this ^a^ hernacle were dijjbhed^ we haw a Building of God, an Houfe not made with Hands, eternal in the Hea- lens: It is likewife called a Kingdom^ a Kingdom that cannot he mcvedy^s in the 28. ver. of the follow- ing xii. Chapter of this Epiftle: It is called an Inbe^ ritance, the Inheritance of the Saints in Light, Col. i. 12. an eternal Inheritance, Heb. ix. 15. An In^ heritance incorruptible y undefiled, and that fadeth . not away, referred in Heaven for Believers, i Pet, i. 4. It is called a Paradife, a Kefi of God*s Peo- ple, and by many other Names that I Ihall noc row mention. zdly. Heaven is in the Text fet off under the Kotion of a Country, in Allufion to the Land of Canaan, which was promifed to Abraham as the Country and Poffeffion of his Pofterity : Which Country was confidered by the Jews themfelves as a Type of Heaven ; for, fays their Talmud, as a learned Commentator on the Text quotes it, ." The earthly Canaan, and the Promife of living ia $n Heb. xi i6. 5 '' fn It for ever, was a Parable reprefenting their " future Happinefs in the World to come." But I hope it will not be difagreeable to you, if I a little further explain the Notion the Apofllc here gives us of Heaven, by fhewing in what Re-* (peds it may be called the Country of Believers, as in the, I. Placc> Heaven may be called the Country of Believers, as being the Place of their Nativity, I mean their (piritual Nativity or new Birth ; Be- lievers are born from ahove^ as our Saviour tells, yobn iii. 3. they derive their Birth from Heaven : Heaven is their Country, and their native Country, with Refpeft to their Regeneration or new Birth ; according to what the Apoftle fays. Gal. iv. 26. ftbe Jerufalem which is above is free, which is the Mother of us all : Heaven is the Mother-city and Native-country of Believers, in Point of their new and fecond Birth. idly. Heaven is the Country of Believers, as be- ipg the Place y/here their beft, their deareft and neareft Friends live. There dwells God their heavenly Fa- ther, Jefus Chrifi their elder Brother, the Holy Spi- rit their kind and powerful Comforter ; the innu^ tnerable Companies of Angels, and the Spirits ofjufl Men made perfect. Thefe are the Believers beft Friends and deareft Relations : And the Place where they dwell may well be called his Country, there being none there to whom he is not united by the Ties of the deareft and ftrideft Friendihip. A Man may have fome Friends on Earth, efpecially in the Land of his Nativity ; but in Heaven, all the glorious and blelTed Inhabitants of it are the Be- liever's dear Friends, and where can his Country fo well be faid to be as there i A 9 idlif d S E R M ON I. g^ify, Heaven i$ the Believer's Country, or may be fo called, tjec^iif? there his beft Inheritance l^e?. Indeed,, properly fpeaking, Believers have no Inhe- ritaiice on Eaifh, they have all Reafon to confcf$ with the Patriarchs meq-ioned in the Context, thiat thqy are Pilgrims md Strangers on this Earth : Bur, tho' they fhould have the fame Title to earthly He- ritages that other Meni have, yet their true and beft Inheritarice \ks m Heaven, There indeed they ha,vp; an Inheritance that deferves the Name, SLti/nhiri- tatue incQrrtiptihJe and undefiled., and thaf fadeth not aw{tyy refer lecf far them, as the Apoftle calls it ift the torecite^ Place, i Pet. i. 4. An Inheritance which infinitely tranfends all the Eftates and Poflef- fions of Men. in this World : An Inheritance that l^^ll afford alldefirab^e good Things to the Poffeflpr, and that with equal Plenty and Variety to ^11 Eter- nity : An Inheritance that fhall flretch out with his Wifhes ; and be for ever as large, and full, and fa- tisfying as his Heart cj^n defire^ /\thly. Heaven may be called the Believer's Coim-. try, becaufe, as his future Inheritance lies there, fa his prefent Supplies are derived from thejice. When Men are travelling in a Foreign Country, 'tis from Home, from their own Country, that they receive thefe Remittances of Money that ferve to defray their Charges till they return: And Believers, who are here in a State of t'ilgrimage, Strangers on the Earth and Sojourners as all their Fathers have been ; they have communicated to them from Heaven, the Country above, thofe ncceffary Supplies of Grace, that ferve to carry them on thro' all the Steps of their Pilgrimage, till that they arrive at their Fa- ther's Houfe in Peace. on Heb. xi. 1(5. 7 ^thlyy Heaven may be called the Believer's Coun- try y becaufe there he is to live and dwell in the En- joyment ofeverlafting Reft and Bleflfednefs. Where- cver a Man fettles his Abode, with a Refolution to live there all his Life, that Place may be called his Country ; efpecially if he is naturalized, or invefted with all the Immunities and Privileges of the Country or Place where he thus fettles. And it being in Hea- ven that Believers are to live and dwell for ever : And, in order to it, they being by the Grace of God made Denizens of Heaven, tranflated from the Kingdom of Darknefs to the Kingdom of God's own dear Son ; where they jfhall enjoy all the unparallel- led Felicities of the Place, ererlafting Reft and Re- pofe after al! their Toflings and Wandrings thro' the Wildernefs of this World; where they Ihall be eafy, contented, joyful and happy above all that can be now imagined by them ; On thefe Accounts, I fay. Heaven may well be called the Country of Be- lievers. But I fhall now make Application of what has been faid in fome Inferences. ijiy Is it fo that Heaven is the Country of Believ- ers, then this fhould teach them to look upon them- felves but as Pilgrims on this Earth ; for thefe are reciprocal Confequences and natively infer one ano- ther: As they who confefs thonfel'veSy as the Apo- ftle fays of the Patriarchs in the Context, to be hut Strangers and Pilgrims on the Earthy do plainly there- by declare that they feek a Country, a better and a heavenly Country ; fo they who profefs to feek this hea- venly Country, do thereby plainly declare that they look upon themfelves to be but Pilgrims and Stran- gers on the Earth. Indeed all Men may be faid to be bm^Strangers and Pilgrims on the Earth, on Account '■'" A 4 of % S B R M O N I, of their fhort Continuance there: But Believers look upon themfelves asfuch, efpecially in the View they have of another and better and heavenly Country; where their State (hall be changed from that of Strangers and Pilgrims, unto that of the fixed Pro- prietors, and everlafting Pofleflbrs of Glory ^ Honour and Immortality. 2. Is it fo that Heaven is the Country of Believ- ers, hence we may infer that it is their Duty and Concern to mind this their Country, and to think much on it. When Men are abroad, at a Diftance from their own Country, where their Friends and Relations, their Intereftg and PofTelfions are, they will be naturally led to think much on Home, or the Flace where they have fo many dear and valuable Concerns : And furely much more does it become Believers to think much on Heaven, the Country to which they belong, where their deareft, moft valu- able and everlafting Interefts ly. Heavenly Mind- cdnefs well becomes thofe who profefs to belong to the heavenly Country, and has been the Temper of God's true Saints in all ' Ages : Nevertbelefs, fays pious ^fapby I am continually with thee, Pfal. Ixxiii, :i3 ; his Thoughts were continually with God in Heaven : IVhen J awake, fays the holy Pfalmift,' J am ftili with thee, Pfal. cxxxix. 18. and our Con- n)erfatioH is in Heaven, fays the blefled Paul, Phil. iii. 20. But alas! how nxich is it to be regreted, ihat there is fo little of this Temper of Mind now a Daysamongft Chriftians? Thenrft Chriftians, as we are told, were wont to fpeak fo much of the Kingdom of Heaven, that the Heathens, amongft whom they lived, and who underftood not theii^ Meaning, began to fufpefi. them of fome Defign a- gainft the Roman Empire : But alasi how little noW . a on Heb. xi. i6. 9 g Days is Heaven in the Thoughts of Believers whei^ alone ? And how rarely do they mention it when in Company with others? But furely it ought not to be fo, they ought to mind the heavenly Country. And, 3. As they ought to mind it, fo they ought todc- fire and feek it, and to be ftill travelling towards it. So fays the Apoftle of the Believers in the Text and Context, hut now they defire a hetter Comitry, that is an heavenly t and v. 14. they that fay fuch things plainly declare that they feek a Country : And it is the Apoftle's Advice and Command to ChriftianJ, Col. iii, 1, 2. If fe then he rifenwithChrift, feekthofi Itbing^ that are ahove, where Chrift Jitteth on the right Hand of God j fet your JffeBions on things a- ho*uey not on things on the Earth. And Olmy Brethren, if we were duely fenfible of the Excellency and Pleafure of fuch a Life, how little would we need any other Arguments to induce us to it ? Till we arc aftually and perfonally in Heaven, the next grcateft Excellency and Pleafure we are capable to fhare of, is to be there in our Thoughts, Meditations and Defires : This is the neareft Approach we can make to the Life of Angels, and the high eft Tafte we can have of the Pleafurcs of the Angelical Life ; Andjas Chriftians fhould mind and feck, and breathe their' iDefires after the heavenly Country j fo lliould they be ftill travelling towards it, and that in the Road of commanded Duty, going oti from Strength t9 Strength till they appear before God in the Zion above. But then again, 4. If Heaven , be the Country of Believers, they ought to maintain the Honour of their Country, and walk by the Laws and Rules of it. Men commonlj^ have a warm and zealous Concern for the Honour of fo SERMON I their Country, and cannot bear to have any Thing faid that reflefts Difcredit or Difhonour upon it : And fure it concerns Beh'evers to be much more, zealous for the Honour of the heavenly Country^ to^ be zealous for the Honour of God the King of the Country ; zealous for the Honour of Religion, which i§ the Genius of the Country, and that which, pre- pares Men for the Enjoyment and Pofleffion of it. Xnd they are in a fpecial Manner to maintain the Honour of the heavenly Country, by walking thenci- fdves by the Laws and Cuftoms and Manners of it. i Xhey are to fhow by their Life and Pra&ice to what Country they do belong; they Ihould put on a hea- V The Scripture makes ufe of them asFigures and Metaphors in Condefcenflon to our Capacities, and becaufe they are the Things of the higheft Value on Earth j but ftill they tall infinite- ly on Heb. xi; i(5. 17 iy fhort of the real Worth and Excellency of the Things dcfcribed by them. O the heavenly Country is an excellent Country ! better far, far better than any on Earth i That were but a poor Commendation to it, if it were not that Men fo highly efteem of this Earth, and, by thcit eager Purfuits of earthly Things, plainly fhew that they would be content to live on Earth for ever: But in therafelves, or when compared together, what a vaft, what an infinite Diflance and Difprd'^ portion is there between them, I mean between Hea- ven and Earth ; why, what is this whole Earth of ours on which We dwell, bat a fmall and remote Spark of the Creation, a Clod of Earth fwimming in the Air that furrounds it, as if it were not yet got out of the original Chaos ? So at leaft it may be reckoned when compared with the great and glo- rious Worlds above, and efpecially with the R«gi- ons of Light and Immortality where God dwells * There they have no fuch inclement Sky, no fuch dusky and troubled Air, no fuch black and lowring Clouds as hang about our Earth, and obftrud the Heat and Light of our Sun : There they feel no fuch Storms and Tempefts, no fudden and difagtee- able Changes in the Weather as we on this Earth are liable to : There their Day is not changed in- to Night, nor their Light into Darknefs, nor their Summer into Winter, as ours are, by fuch fwifc Revolutions arid Ihort-lived Periods: There the Ground is not burdened with a Curfe, nor does it produce thorns and l^hijiles, nor any other noxious Plant, nor nourifh any kind of noxious Beafl, as this Earth ot oiirs doel There indeed they live under a happy Climate, the lubahiiants of that Land do not [ay that they V6l. IL B ark iS S E R M O N II. ■CLre Sicky the People that are there are forgiven thek Jniquities : ^bere JImH he no more Death, Sorroixj nor Crying ; neither Jhall there he any more Pain. Canaan is called by the Pfalmift, PJal. cvi. 24. the pleafant Land, or the L^nd of Defire, as it is in the Original : But O ! how much more pleafant and defireable is Heaven ! "Tis a better Country, better in refpeft of the Situation and the unconceiv- able !^eauty and Sweetnefs or the Place. But then ^. The heavenly Country is a hetter Country, bet- ter than any on Earth, in refpeft of the Inhabitants pf it. There dwells God the King of the Country, and O I what a royal and fplendid Court does he yhere keep, having ten thoufand ^imes ten thoufand to minifter unto him, and thoufands of thoufands to ft and before him ? There dwells Jefus Chrift^ ths Brightnefs of his Father' s Glory, and the exprefs /- pta^eofhis Perfon : There he dwells in his aflum- ed human Nature, exalted on a throne of Glory at his Father's right Hand, far above all Principalities and Powers, having a Name given hi?n above every Name that is iiamed : There, as Jofeph was made Lord of all the Land of Egypt, fo Chrift as God- man and Mediator, has all Power put into hisHands both in Heaven and in Earth. There [^dwells the Holy Spirit, who concurs with the Father and the Son, as on Earth, fo in Heaven, to breathe down warm, divinely warm and refrefhing Influences of Light, Life and Joy on the whole General Ajjemblyi and Church ef the Firfi-born in Heaven. There dwell the innumerable Company of Angels, thefe glorious and happy Creatures, who f© much refera- ble their Creator in Holinefs and Goodnefs, and take fuch Delight to do his Will, thjit jt is their very Heaven to be fo employed. And there dwell alfo on Heb* :^\, j6. 19 alfoall the Societies oHbe Spirits of juft Men made ^^erfeBy ajl the redeemed of the Lord ; who are made "^i.ke wnto the Angels of God, in the Puriry of their Natures, the Service in which they are employedj and the exalted Pleafure and Happinefs they enjoy ^therein. Q ! whfit bleffed and glorious Inhabitants of the heavenly Country are thefe, down from the King on the Throne to the meancfl Subjed of that his heajvenly Kingdom ? O ! what an immenfe Oceaa of Glofy and BlefTednefs is difFufed amongft them ? The raeaneft Inhabitant of the heavenly Country is pofleft of far, far more Glory than all the Kings and Princes of the Earth have divided among them : A Ge/^r on his Throne, is as far below the meaneft Soul in Heaven, as the glimmering of a (jlow-worm is interior to the Light of the Sun. There, fays our S^aviour, Mat. xiii 43. Shall the Righteous pine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father * ' And O ! what fhall be the Glory of that Heaven, that fhallall be made up of fuchSuns, and fuch in- finite Numbers of them too, and God himfelf as the central Sun in the midft o[ them, flill infinitely more glorious than them all ? The Thought is too Big and glorious for our Conception, nor can we fpsak to any Purpofe of the State of the glorious In- habitants of the heavenly Country. From the Scripture we have Reafon to believe, that, as their Number is in a manner infinite, fo they are all of them with Chearfulnefs and Pleafure fubjeft to God, their Almighty King ; and could not think themfelves happy without obeying him* And it is certain that both Aneels and Saints are claffed into a vaft Variety of different Orders, Ranks and Societies : The Scriptures Ipeak of ^hrcnes^ B a Du' 20 S E R M O N II. Dominions y Principalities and Po«;^rj,which Names feem to denote the various Ranks and Orders of Angels, each of them under the Command of their own Arcbangely or chief Captain or Leader: And as to the Saints, the Apoflle plainly tells us, i Coir. XV. 41. That as there is one Glory of the Sun, ano- ther Glory of the Moon, and another Glory of the Stars } and as one Star differeth from another in Glory ^ fo alfojhall it be with the Saints at the Re* furreSiion of the Dead : Then it fhall be fo both as to their Bodies and their Souls, and, previoufly to the Pvefurreftion, as to their glorified Spirits ; which is alfo the obvious Meaning of thefe Words ot our blefl'ed Saviour, John xiv. i. In my Father^ s Houfe are many Manfions, I go to prepare a Place for you. How, and for what Reafons the Saints Ihall be clafled together in Heaven, is not for us curioufly to enquire : Infinite Wifdom will know how to do it, after the beft Manner and for the beft Ends ; with Reference both to the Glory of God, and the perfed Satisfaction and Happinefs of the Saints themfclves. And this is certain, that, however they are ranked and clafled, they are all perfectly contented with their feveral Stations. Since Satan was thrown out of Heaven for his Pride, not the leafl. Taint of that Sin enters in amongft the blefled Societies there : Ambition, Emulation and Envy, were from thence rooted out by the Fall of the a- poflate Spirits. There is one Spirit of Love, Peace, Concord and Harmony that unites and animates them all : The greater Society does not opprefs or bear hard upon the lower, nor does the lower envy or rebel againfl: the higher. And fo is it as to Individuals, the Chifcian or Leader docs not un- der- on Hcb. xi. 16. zi dc rvalue nor maltreat his Follower j nor does the Follower fpurn againft, or wifh himfelf to be in the Place of the Leader : And fucli as arc Ec^uals, ne- ver weary of their Parity, or wiih for a Change to their own Advantage : For indeed they are all as happy as they can defire ; and this is the Perfedion of their Happinefs, that their very Wiflics and Dc- fires are contented. Could we with our Thoughts travel over the hea- venly Country, and furvey the many Nations and Societies of blefl'ed Spirits that inhabit there ,• could v/e obierve the perfed Amity and Love in which they live, and the friendly Correfpondence which they keep one with another, and how much the Knowledge of the Happinefs of every one miniftcrs to the Happinefs of all the reft : O what an exalt- ed Idea of focial Felicity Ihould we thence derive ; and own at the fame Time, that the Perfection of it is no where to be found but in the heavenly Coun- try ? And now when we confidcr the vaft, I may fay infinite Number of the heavenly Inhabitants, the tranfcendent Glory and Happinefs of each of them, and the Perfedion of their Society, vyhat fhall we think or lay of the Tribes and Nations of Mankind on Earth ? How poor and mean and defpicable are the one, when compared with the other ? Why, as the Tribes and Nations of Pifmires, Ants and Wafps, are in refped of Men, fuch are Men on this Earth in refped of the glorious Inhabitants of the Jpeavenly Country. 5. The heavenly Country is a better Country in rc- fpcd of the Produce of it. Why, what are the Things the Earth produces for the Service of its In- habicat)ts } The Pfalmift mentions fome of the bs^ and mofl ufeful of them, Pfal. civ. 14, 15. He B. 3 caujetb ii SERMON II. caufeth the Grafs to^row for the Cattle, and, Herh for the Service of Man, thdt he might hing forth Food out of the Earth : And ti^ine that maketh glad thb Heart of Man, and Oyl to make his Face to Jhine, and Bread which dren^theneth Mans Heart. But what are thefe, compared \(rith the Produce of the heavenly Country; thefe blefled Fruits erf Peace, Comfort and Joy, on which the InhHibitants of that Country live an immortal Life ? The Pfalmift tells bow much, even a diftant and fcanty Taflc of thefe Fruits communicated to him on Elarth, could exhi- lerate his Soul, above what the greateft Plenty of the Earth's Produce can afford, in that fv. Pfalifi' '6i 7. ^here he many that fay who will Jhew us any ijood ? Lord lift thou up the Light of thy Counte- nance upon us ; thpu hafi put Gladnejs in my Hearty more than in the 'time that their Corn and their Wine encreafed. Canaan, to denote the Excellency of it, was fa id to be a Land that flowed with Milk and "Honey : But the heavenly Country flows with Streams of pure, divine and immortal Plcafures ; Jn God's Prefence there is Fulnefs of Joy ; and the Pleafures of Heaven are fecured for evermore at the right Hand of his Power. This Earth affords Food and Raiment to its Inhabitants : But what mean ^nd perifhing Things are they ? Meats for the Bel- ly, fays the Apoftle, and the Belli for Meats, hut Godfljall deftroy both it and them. And tho" a Man fhould have the Fruits of the Earth, not only to mi- nifter to his NecelTzties, but to furnifh out his Lux- ury and Wantonnefs ; and tho', as 'tis faid of the rich Man in the Parable, he fhould be cloathed tji Purple and fine Linnen, and Jhould fare fumptuoufly every Day : Yet what is this, even tho' a Man Ihould have an Eternity of it, compared with the Enter- on Heb. xi. 16. 1^ Entertainment of the Blefled above ? Where they feafl for ever on the beautifick Vifion and Fruiti- on of God; and all thefe immortal Joys which he, the immenfe Fountain of Bleffednels, communicates unto them t Where they are clothed with Robes of Light as bright as the Sun, according to that lof- ty Figure made ufe of with Reference to the Church, Kev. xii. i. yind there appeared a great Wonder in Heaven, a Woman clothed with the Sun, and the Moon under her Feet, and upon her Head a Crown of twelve Stars. The rooft valued Things that this Earth produces are Gold and Silver, which yet in themfelves are nothing but refined Clay, and have their Value chiefly enhanced by their Scarcity : But how happy is the heavenly Country where no fuch Thing as Gold and Silver is wanted, where every Thing is of infinitely greater Value ,• where if it were it would be trampled upon, as the Streets of the New Jerufalem are faid to be o'^ pure Gold. This Earth yields not its Fruits but by hard Toil and Labour ; In the Sweat of thy Face, lays God to Adam, (halt thou eat Bread till thou return unto ^he Ground : But the heavenly Country yields its Fruits of its own accord. The blefTed Inhabitants have all Things laid to their Hands, without any Toil or Pains of their own : 'Tis the true Paradife of God, where God makes to grow every ^ree that is pleafant to the Sight and good for Food ; the Tree of Life alfo in midfi of the Garden, yea all the Trees of this Garden may be faid to be Trees of Life ; and here they eat freely and without referve, and by their eating live for ever. On this Earth fome of Mankind have but a very poor Livelihood, they fcarce can have their daily Food, yea many a one has perifhed for the Want of it : But in the bea^ B 4 venly 14 S E R M O N II. *venly Country^ tho* fome have more and fome have lefs, yet all have enough, as much as fatisfies them, and what is Happinefs but Contentment? Rev.vii. 16 J 17. 'Tis fa id they Jhall hunger no more, nei- ther {hall they thirjl any more, neither Jhall the Sun light on them, nor any Heat, that is painful and fcorching : For the Lamh which is in the midfi of the throne (haU feed them^and lead them unto Having Fountains of IVaters, and God JImU wipe away all itears from their Eyes. There is nothing like Pe- nury, Want or Famine that ever invades the hea- *venly Country, there they live for' ever in a joyful Plenty of all good' Things: They mc abundantly fatisfied with the Fulnefs of God's Houfe ; he makes them drink of the Kfvers of his Pleafures. Here Men drive, wrangle, and fight about their earthly Goods and Poffcflions, Man againft Man, Society againft Society, and Nation againlc Nati- on, and fometimes they turn the Earth unto a Scene of War and Bloodlhed : But there are no fuch Contentions and Debates, no fuch Wars and Bat- tles in the heavcwly Country i there they live in per- fc6t Peace and Friendlhip, and each ones Happinefs heightens anothers, the Country is large enough for them all, and all have as much as they can defire to poflefs without encroaching upon his Neighbours right, or invading his PofTeffidn. All the various kinds of the Earth's Produce arc liable to injurious Accidents, they may be taken a- way from Men, or corrupted and fpoiled and ren- dred ulelefs to them; the Corns, and the Vines and other Fruits of the Earth may be corrupted and inarred by blafting and mildew, by nipping Frofts, or by exccflive fcorching Heats : Their Gold and ' their Silver may be worn with Ruft, or ftolen and car- on Heb. xi, id If carried off by Theft and Robbers. But it is not fo in the heavenly Country, their Enjoyments andPof- fclfions are ever new, ever frefh, ever fatisfying ; and they can never be deprived of them either by fecrct Stealth, or open Force : There the Moth dotb^ not corrupt nor uhienjes break through and fieal. The Fruits of the Earth ferve only for the Support of the animal Life, they nourifh the Body, which yet will foon return to the Duft out ot which it \ was formed : But the Fruits of the heavenly Coun-^ try are prepared for the Entertainment of the Soul, the better Part ; and by feeding on them it fhall- live for ever. And when the Body comes there it (hall be fo fpiritualized as to fland in no need of Re- pair for ever. O what a happy Country then is the heavenly Country, where they have Life in Per- feftion : Where their Health, Vigour and Beauty never decay ; where Sicknefs, Pain and Weaknejis never enter ; where the Infirmities, Wrinkles and Decrepicnefs of old Age are for ever prevented by the infallible Vertue of the Tree of Life ; where, to ufe the Apoftle's Expreflion, they ^xt fitted with all the Fulnefs of God j where, as the Prophet Zechary fays in another very flrong Expreffion, Zech. xii. 8. ^efeehk among themjhall he as David, and the Houfe of David as God, as the Angel of the Lord be- fore them ? The heavenly Country is a better Coun- try, better than any on Earth, in refpeft of its Si- tuation, in refped of its Inhabitants, and in refpeft of the Produce of the Country. Let us always remember that we are Pilgrims and Strangers on this Earth ; and blefs the Lord who has called us to the Hope ol another and better, even a heavenly Country. May the Lord help us to k^ep thi^ heavenly Country ever in our Eye, to be ' . tra. 3^5 SERMON II, 0'c. travelling toward it in the Road of commanded Dutyj and to be gohig on in bis Strengthy making mention of bis Kighteoufii^fs, even of bis only. Lee us be careful to fliow by every Thing about us, that We indeed feek this beavenly Country , and have a real and fincere Intention, through the Grace oj^ God, to arrive at it : Let us fear led d Promt fe Veing left of entering into bis Kefi, any of us fiouid feem to come (hort of it. The Lord forbid we Ihould terminate our Views, and fettle our Aftcdions ori this Earth, where there is nothing to be found that can afford our Souls that Happinefs they want and d€{ire, and where we are to continue but for fofliort fi Time j (ince he hath revealed to us a better Coun- trfy and opened to us fo clearly the Way that leads to it. The Lprd forbid we fhould be fo mean, fo foolilh and infatuated, fo regardlefs both of our Du- ty and Intereft, as to take up with the poor Enjoy- ments ot this Earth for our Portion. The Lord help us to think much of the beavenly Country^ to t^e travelling thither before-hand by our Thoughts and Meditations ; that the believing Views of its Excellency may fill us with a more ardent Love to it, and with more vehement Defires and vigorous Endeavours to attain to the Poffeflion of it. Lord blefs for that End what at the Time has been fpo- ken from thy Word. S E R- »7 SERMON IIL Heb. xi. i6, jBut noio they defire a hetter Country thai , is an hea'Deltlj. EndeavourM, on a former Occa{ioti> to {hew that the heavenly Country is d hetter Comtry, far better than any oil Earth, i . In refpeft of its Situadoft^ 2. In refpeft of its Inhabitants, 5. Iti refped of the Produce of it. I coMe now to fhew in the fourth Place. That the heavenly Country is s Veiter Country in Rtf^ d of the Employments 6t it: As 'tis but little of Heaven we now can know ill any Refped, fo the noble and eialted Employ- ments are vaftly beyond our Comprehenfion. We may well believe that there is an infinite Variety o£ them oi which we have now no Notion at all ; and that even thefc of them, of which wc have lome Hints in the Holy Scriptures, are but very imperfectly con- ceived by us. Who that never faw any Thing better thaii zS S E R M O N III. than his own Cottage, can conceive aright of the Glory and Splendor of a King's Court, and the Variety of honourable Offices and Employments there : When we conlider of what Extent fome earthly Kingdoms and Empires have been, what Number of Subje(3:s they have contained, into what various Provinces they have been divided, into what various Ranks and Orders of Men they have been diftinguillifd, and what a Multiplicity of Offices and Employments both civil and military have tak- en Place amongft them ; both for the Ornament and Order and better Government of the Common- Wealth : How fhall we be able to conceive of the Glory and Greatnefs of the Kingdom of God above, , and the infinite Variety of Orders, Offices and Employments both o{ Saints and Angels there I The Angels are the native Inhabitants of the heavenly Count rf : How that Country is peopled and repie^ nilhed by them, and what glorious and important Services they are employed in performing to God their Almighty Sovereign, is what we cannot ima- gine. And when God tranflates his Saints from Earth to Heaven, and plants them as Colonies in that heavenly Country: We cannot either conceive what exalted Stations he advances them to, and what glorious Employments he puts into their Hands : God, no doubt, has many noble Purpofes, and glorious Employments for his Saints in Heaven, which we now can have no Notion of; and even thefe that the Scripture gives us fome Hints of, vaft- ly tranfcend our Conception, as well as any Refem- blance that is to be found thereof on Ec^rth. In t\izfirft Plac-, there they are employed iq the Contemplation of God, his Nature, Perfeftions and V/orks. But O I to what a tranicendant Degree of en Heb. xi. i6- 2^ of Knowledge do thefe Contemplations carry thelh above what can be attained to on Earth i Nowy fays the Apoftle i Cor. xiii. X2. We fee in a Glafs dark^ ly^ hut then Face to Face j Now I know in Part, but thenjfjall I know even as Jam known : And fays the Apoftle John, i Ep. iii. 2. We know that when he Jhall appear, we Jh all be like him, for we jhali fee him as he is. O what a clear and fatisfying Know- ledge will this be ! when he unvails himlelf before the Eyes of Angels and Saints ; and, h'ke the Sun in his Glory darts abroad thefe Emanations and Rays of Divine and uncreated Light, which fill their Minds with glorious Difcoveries of himfdf; and v/hen alfo their Minds are enlarged and ftrengthned, not only to bear them, but to bear them with a rap- turous Pleafure and Delight ; when as the Pfalmift cxpreffes it, In God's Light they are made to fee Light, and are perfectly fatisfied with his Likenefs, Truth is the entertaining Objeft of the Mindj as 'tis agreeable to the Eye to behold the Light, fo 'tis delightful to the Mind to difcover Truth. But God is the inexhaufted Fountain and Source of Truth, his Nature comprehends infinite Treafures of Truth : How blefstuUy then will the Mind be employed, when it is fixed in the Contemplation of thefe ever new and glorious Truths, that in a perpetual Suc- cefTion flow out upon it from God, the unbounded Fountain of Truth? What a large and exalted Knowledge of God will the Mind then have ? And what a raviftiirtg Pleafure and Satisfaftion will ac- company this Knowledge, which flows into the Mind without any, Pain or Fatigue in the Purfuit of it, without any Poflibility of Miftake, without any , Mixture of Obfcurity or Doubtfulnefs ; but flill grows |0 SERMON III ^rows clearer and clearer, more compreheniive and Satisfying to all Eternity ? In Heaven alfo they jfliall behold the blefled Re- 4eemer, and with eternal Tranfports of Admiration and Joy contemplate his exalted Glory. O ! hpvv much of the >Glory of God will rbey fee iJhining forth in the Face oi Jefus Chrifl? Tho' God Should give them no immediate Difplays of his Glory, here, as in a Mirrour, they will fee fo much of it -refleded upon them, as will fill them with eternal Ravilh- mcnt and Wonder: /^ beheld Ms Glory^ fays the Apoille, John i. 14. with Reference to the Glimjpfe which he and the two other Apoflles, Peter and yames^ hadot it on the Mount of Transfiguration ; But oh ! what a faint Difpky of the Redeemer's rGlory was this, compared with what they fliall be bleft with in Heaven ? This )is the Felicity of his Saints which he prayed for fo warmly before his Paffion, John xvii. 24. Father J wiU that they dfo .'pjhom thou haji given me, may he with me where I :^m, that they may behold my ji them to join together their loudeft Praifes, we c^n not now tell : But it feems plain from Scripture, that to contemplate the Works of God, and to admire the Wonders of Wifdom, Power and Goodnefs, Juflice, Truth and Faithfulnefs, that Ihine forth in them, I mean in the Works of Creation and Providence, and Redemption, and to celebrate them with their loud Praifes, is a Part of their Employment, according to what is hinted in Ke'v. xv. 3. where it is faid, ^heyjlng the Song of Mofes the Ser'vant of God, and the Song of the Lamb, Saying great and marxellous are thy Works, O Lord God Ahnigbty, jufl a?id true are thy Ways, thou King of Saints. We may well believe that every Thing beautiful and wonderful in fhe Works of God, the Myfteries both of Nature and of Grace, (hall in Heaven be laid open to the View ot the Saints j and that they fhall read the Myfteries of Nature and Grace with as much Eafc and Pleafure, as we now behold the Light ; for in God's Light they fhall fee Li^ht : And that the high-p eft Degree of Knowledge that now can be attained to, is as much below theirs, as the Knowledge of a Child is below that of the profoundeft Divine or Philofopher, yea incomparably more fo. And it is highly probable that the Knowledge of theBlefled in Heaven perpetually increafes : For every one cf the Perfedions and Excellencies of God is infinite, and their Number is paft finding out, and who knows the Variety and Extent of the Works of God which declare the Glory of his Power, Wifdom, Good- nefs, Holinefs, Juftice, Truth, and many other Per- fcftions ot which we can now have no Conception ? But the Capacities and Faculties of the mcft exalted Creatures are finite and limited, and they miift re- ceive the Knowledge of Things fuccelfivdy : And tho' ^1 S E R M O N III. the Saints, at their Entrance into the Kingdom o^ Glory, have their Capacities enlarged, and their Powers ftrengthned beyond our preferitConceptions, and the Refurredion will certainly add confiderably to their Happinefs; yet they (hall always have new Matter for everlafling Contemplation prefenred to them, and God may be pleafcd from Time to Time, by an immediate Revelation, to give them new Dif- coveries of his adorable Excellencies, In bis Light Jhall they fee Light, they JJoall know him as hejhall make them know him. So their Knowledge will be perpetually increafcd ; and with the Increafe of their Knowledge, their Love, Praife and Adoration, and confequently their Pleafure and Happinefs will be perpetually heightned. And this leads me to t\iQfe- eond Head, ^dly. As in Heaven they are employed'in contem- plating God, fo alfo in loving him, and breathing out their Defires after him as their chief Good. But O 1 how much in this alfo do they excell what is known or attained to here on Earth ? Here as our Knowledge of God is very narrow and limited, fo our' Love of him is very faint and languifhing : But in Heaven both are raifed to the highefl Degree of which their exalted Powers are capable, and the one always in Proportion to the other ; the more they know of God, the more they fee of his Beauty and Goodnefs, the more vehemently ftill do they love him : And 0 1 how intenfe mufl that Love be, which has always the immediate Prefence and Vifi- on of the chief Good toenflame it? There they lonj^ God with all their Hearts and all their Souls ; and can not choofe to do otherwife, when they have the powerful Charms of infinite Beauty and Goodneft always before their Byes, and by the Force ol their on Heb. xi. id j^ irrefiftible Allurements always calling forth their Af- fedic-ns, and where too there is no rival Objed of their Love. O how little ot the Love of Go*.: ukes Place on Earth ? It grows there only as a dwarhfh Plant; it is ftarved at the Root by the Nvighbour- hood of many noxious W^eJs and Phais, not of the heavenly Father's planting; the Ltift of the Fhjb, the Lufi of the Eyes, ahd the Prtde of Life^ that have too ttiuch Place in the Hearts even of th 'eft Men, mightily obftrud the Grdwth and Tncreaic of the Love of iSod. But in Heaven the Lovt ot God tifes perpetually to more and more Peikdton as their Knowledge of his Excellencies, artd 't his Work, which declare- his Glory, increafes. They love him and delight in him and nave their Hearts filled with an over-flowing J y in tctic row jncoti- ceivable Ways by which he communicates of him- felF, and thereby imparts Bleffed'v.fs to thenii, ibc filling all the largefl Defires of their enamoured S^^uls.; Again, ^dl^j In Heaven they are empl<^yed in praifing God. Bile O 1 how far do their Praifes excel! our^ onE^rth? There they have the Objtd of thcit Praifes immediately before them, and the Sight of his Pcrfedions didates and infpires their Fraifcs: There indeed they praife him in the Heights, as you have the Expreflion Pjal. oxlviii. i. Heie his Saints, in their moft elevated Strains, but iilp ^^ tit his Prailes; 'cis but oilf of the Mouths of Bahes and Sucklings ^ that their moft exalted Praifes proceed. bi\^ m Heaven they praife him to a Pitch, with all 'be Ve- hemence and Ardour, with all the Elevation and Rapture, that thehigheft Admimtion, Love and Thankfulhels can infpire them with. There they ^eary not of his Praifes, as it is faid, Rev. h. 8; yoL. IL e ^be^ ^4 SERMON III. ^hey refi not Day and Nighty Jaymg, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. There they praife him without any Mix- ture ot thefe vain Thoughts, carnal AfFeftions, Wanderings^ of Heart that pollute and enfeeble our Praifes. ' There, as the Pfalmift exprefles it, ^fal. Ixvi. 2. they make his Praifes glorious, they praife him in a folemn glorious Manner, in a Way fuicjible to, and worthy of the glorious Objed of their Praifes :, There, i|}, their Praifes, they fpeak of the glorious Honour of his Majefty, and of his wondrous Works; They fpeak things which it is mt lawful or pofliblc for a Man to utter on Earth. Sthe heavenly Country is a better Country, I fay, in Refped of the Employments of it, even thefe Employments of it whereof we have fome Refem- Igjlance on Earth: But, as I obferved before, it is i|ot poflible for us now to imagine what other glori- ous and blefled Employments are there affigned to the Saints, the Spirits of juji Men made perfeSl. pod, who is infinitely wife and good, and in all whofe other Works there is fuch a marvelous Varie- ty to be obferved, we may well believe, has alfo provided a vafl Variety of blefsful Employments for the Saints in Heaven, of which we now can form no Idea. We narrow our Notions of Heaven too much, when we think that the Happinefs of it wholly confifls in beholding, loving and praifing God : For tho' thefe are chief Inftances of the Hap- pinefs of the heavenly State, yet there may be ma- ny, many other bleil'ed Employments and Exerciies perfedly confiilent with theie, which afford an un- conceiveable Pleafure and Satisfadion both to the Angels and Saints in Heaven. But this leads mc to a fitUi Particular. Itbly, on Heb. xi. i6. J5 %tllyy The heavenly Country is a better Country in Refpeftof the Enjoyments and Pleafures of it. In- deed the Pleafures of this prefent Life arc fo pooc and mean, that they are not worthy to be compared with the Pleafures of the heavenly State : The Plea- lures of the animal Life, fiich as eating and drink- ing, and gratifying the bodily Appetites and Senfes,, are what Men have in common with the Brutes j and as a Brute is below an Angel, fo much thefe Pleafures are below thefe of the angelical and heaven- ly State. Intellei5tual Pleafures indeed, fuch as pro- ceed from the Exercife of the rational Faculties on worthy Objeds, are more noble and refined: But yet while the Soul is fo much confined by its Im-. prilonment in an earthly Body and the Exercife oi its Faculties thereby fo much retarded, limited and confined, the Pleafures that flow from theuce mud alfo be low, feeble, and fueh as but faintly aflfei^ the Mind : Yea even fpiritual Pleafures, the Plea- fures of the fpiritual and divine Life, tho' they arc of a Kind with the Pleafures of Heaven, and the Beginning thereof, yet they are enjoyed but in a io\Br Degree and fcanty Meafure by the Saints on Earth, compared with the Height and Plenitude cf thent that they ihali attain to in Heaven. There indeed their Pleafures are of an exalted Nature, fuch as the immediate and full Enjoyment of the chief Good aftords them : There, their Capacities are enlarged, and their Faculties are ftrengthen'd and made ca- pable of a divinely (frong and exquifite Pleafure^ and they have Floods of this Pleafure continually poured into their ghd and raviftied Hearts. There their Pleafures are pure and unmixed, free of any Degree of Mud or Allay. There they drink of the fwre River of Water of Life^ which poceedeth out of C 7. tb9 ^6 SERMON III. tbe throne of God and of the Lamh, as you have it called, Rev. xxii. i. Here, there is no State of Life, but what has with its Pleafures a Mixture of Cares, or Sorrows, or Trouble of one Sort or another : But in the heavenly Country they enjoy a pure and un- mingled Felicity : There, as it is faid, Kev. xxl 4. God JJoall wipe away all ^ears from their Eyes, and there Jhali be no more Deaths neither Sorrow nor Crying^ neither (hall there be any more Pain j for the former things are fajjed away. There their Pleafures, as they are pure, fo they are uninterrupted, they never cloy, they never fa- tigue their Spirits fo as to make them fland in need oF any Relpite : But on the contrary at once delight and refrefh their Minds, fo as they are able to bear them for ever, and to bear them at a height ; and no doubt there is fuch a rich Variety of them, as contributes not a little to heighten and perpetuate the Relifh of them. Indeed the Pleafures of the heavenly Country are Confumraate Pleafures, and e- very Thing there concurrs with another to make the Inhabitants as happy as their Hearts can defire : The Nature, Beauties and Riches of the Country, the glorious Beauties that dwell there, the happy Society in which they live, the blefled Work in •which they are employed, and infinitely more than we can imagine, are all inexhaufted Sources of ever new and ravifliing Pkaiures to them ; but all our Thoughts and Conceptions tall infinitely fhort of the Bleflednefs and Glory of the heavenly State, For Eye hath not fecn, nor Ear heard^ neither hath it entered into the Heart of Man to conceive what God hath laid up for his Saints in Heaven. The Apoftle fpeaks frequently of the Riches of God's Glory, par- sicLilaily Eph. j. 18. where he prays for them, that the en Heb. xi. i6. 57 tie Eyes of their Underfianding being enlightenedy they might know what is the Hope of his Callings and what the Riches of the Glory of his Inheritance in the Saints : Who can conceive what rich Treafures of Glory and Bleflcdnefs the infinitely g;reac and good God has amafled together, for turnilhing out to his Saints an evcrlafting Felicity, worthy ot his Diving Munificence to beftow ? Why, when they are pof- feft of himfelf, an infinite Good, and enjoy him in all thefe Ways ot Communication which his infinite Wifdom can contrive, but we can not now con- ceive ; muft it not be owned that their Felicity is immenily great, that the Fund of it is incxhauftible, and fuch as will be enough for them to live upon, with all the Amplitude of Glory and Bleflednefs that their Hearts can defire, and that to all Eternity ? And this is another Thing, in Refpeft whereof the heavenly Country is a better Country , better than any on Earth, that as the Pleafures and Felicities of it are greater and better in themfelves, fo they ar^ everlafting. Here our Life and all the Pleafures of it, are very fliort and tranfitory, Death foon ftops the Springs of both, and we become as if we never had been, as to all Participation of Life or S^nfc of Pleafure here : But in Heaven, they enjoy everlaft- ing Life and Happinefs, their Life and their Hap- pinefs is the fame ; An endlefs Pofilffion of all thefe exalted Pleafures and Felicities, which God, the Fountain of Life and Happineis, lliall communicate to them, and that to all Eternity. O what an exceir lent Country is the heavenly Country, Where we fhall live for ever, live in the Pofleffion of perfed Life ; where it fhall indeed be worth the while to live, where we fhall know the true Purport of Life ; and where it iliail mightily enhance the Value of this Lite, and C 3 be p SERMON III. be a fixed Ingredient of the Happinefs of it, that we know that it is to lail for ever more ? Life hers has fometimes been a Burden to Men tliro* the va- rious and fharp Afftidions that have imbictered it to them , fob expreflfes himfelf weary of it, / would not live always^ Jdb vii. 1 6 : But fhall flich a Com- plaint be heard of the happy Lite above ? There they are pcrfedly pleafed with their Life, and fo much the inore To, that they know it is everlaft ing ; and that they feci the exalted Pleafurcs of it perpetually hightened, in Proportion as their Knowledge and Love of God increafe. I might add in the 6th Place, that the heavenly Country is a better Country in Rcfped of the perfed Innocence, Peace and Holinefs that dwell there. The worft Thing on this Earth, and the Caufe of all other Evils there to be found, is the Sin and Wickednefs that defiles it; The Number of wicked Men on Earth, fince the Fall, has flil! been greater than that of the Good j and even the bell Men have a great Deal of Sin and Impurity cleaving to them, whilfl they arje on the Earth : O how much better then is the heavenly Country, where perfect Innocence and Pu- rity dwell ? 'Tis faid of the new Jerufakm, Rer. xxi. 27. There Jhall in noways enter into it any ^hing that defileth -, And he who began Defilement there, Satan with his rebellious Hofls, was imme- diately thrufl out : And the Apoftle Peter, 1 Ep. i. 4 calls the heavenly Country , an Inheritance w- corruptible and uJidefiled. Why, truly 'tis this as much as any Thing, that makes the true Saint of God reckon the heavenly Country a letter Cotmtry^, and breathe after it as fuch, that there he fhall get out of thefe noxious and hateful Stains of Sin and Impurity, in the midft of which he is made to live, whilfl on Heb. xi. id. J9 whilfl dwelling here in a World that Ueth in Wick- ednefs : And what afteds him yet more nearly, is, that there he may get free of that indwelling Sin and Corruption that cleaves to him, and is the Caufe of much Grief of Heart to him, both upon Acx:ount of its own Enormity, and that of the many Mif- carriages and Errors of his Life, of which it is the Source and Caufe ; And that, by his arriving at thefe pure celeftial Regions, he may be brought to the defirable State of being for ever holy, for evct righteous, innocent and good, and find nothing in him or about him to offend his God or difpleafc himfelf. O happy, happy Country indeed ! where the hateful Weed of Sin grows not, where nothing either of moral or natural Impurity pollutes the Air, where the Tongue of the Blafphemer is not heard, nor the Staggerings of the Drunkard feen, where the Senfualift is excluded, and the unrighteous can not inherit : But without are DogSy and Sorcerers, and IVhore mongers, and Murderers, and Idolaters, and whofoenjer lovetb and maketh a Lie. O happy Country ! where there is not the Sin of one vain Thought or idle Word, nor fhall be to all Eternity ; where they are holy as God himfelf is holy, holy to Perfedion, without the leaft Mixture of finful Im- purity I where there is nothing that hurtetb and de^ fileth in all Gods holy Mountain ; where perfed In- nocence, Purity and Peace, with the moft ardent Love to God and one another, is the reigning Ge- nius of the Place, and the very Element, as it were, in which they live, and move, and have their Being : Where Hatred, Envy and Difcord, Sowrnefs or any Thing a Kin, never enter ; But one Law of Love governs all, and one Spirit of Peace and Har- mony unites and animates them all : And, whicf^ C 4. \^ 4Q SERMON m.(fc. is theif higneft PerFedion and BisfTednefs, wher? they are made all one tn God and in Cbrift, accord- ing Vj that Prayer of our Saviour, Jahn xvii. 21. l.nis UiHon obiains in fome good Meafureon Earth, but it is made perfo^ft in Ht.aven. O 1 let us blef? ^he Lord, who hath called us to bis Kingdom an^ Glory; ler pspray. that the Eyes of our Underfiand^ ing heing enlightened we may know what is the Hope of his CaUing, and what the Riches of the Glo- fy of his Inheritance in th$ Saints. May the Lord hcW us to more lively and exalted Views of the heavenly Country, rhat we may breathe more ardent- ly after the P -fleiTion of i^, and make a more vi- gorous and ferious Preparation for it. liovj fooi^ do we fee at;} End of nU Perfe^ion here ,- // in this Life only we had Hope^ we would be moji 7niferahle : O bleiied be God who has revealed to u-s another and better Life; a Life oF G/ory, Honour and Im- mortality. Lord call out our Souls, and make theiti ^love heavenward in the Defire and Purfuit of thi^ cverlafting Life and Happinefs : And blefs for tha^ •End what has be..n now fpoken from thy Word. 3 E R-: 4« SERMON IV. Heb. xi. i6. But nozv they defire a better Country^ that is an hed'oenly. ; Endeavoured formerly to fhew you that the heavenly Country is a better Coun- try, tar better than any on Earth, I. In Refped of its Situation. 2. In Refpc^ of its Inhabitants. 3. In Refned of the Produce of it. 4. In Refpeft of the Employments of it : I fhewcd you that the bleffed in Heaven are employed in the Contempla- tion of God, his Nature, Pcrfedions and Works ; and that their Knowledge perpetually increafes : That they are employ'd in loving, praifing and a^ doring God, in Proportion as their Knowledge of his Excellencies and of his Woiks increafes : And that they may be exerqifed jn many other blifsful Employments, of which we can now form no Idea. J . I llicwed that ,the heavenly Country is a better Country, in Refpect of the Enjoyments and the exalted Pleafures of it, which are pure, uninterrupt- ed, and everlafling. 6. That the heavenly Country is 41 S E R M O N IV. is a better Country in Refpeft of the pcrfed Inno- cence, Peace and Holinefs that dwell there. I pro- ceed now to the Application in fome Inferences. ifi. Is it fo that" the heavenly Country is a hetter Country y then let us admire and adore the infinite Riches of God's Bounty and Grace in providing fuch a Country for us : Eye hatb not feen, fays the Apoftle, quoting the Words of the Prophet Ifaiahy Ixiv. 4. nor Ear beard, nither hath it entered into the Heart of Man to conceive the things iiDhkh God hath prepared for them that love him. Indeed the Excellency of the heavenly Country is fuch, as vaftly tranfcends the utmoft Stretch of our Thoughts and Conceptions : And, tho' it holds commonly true as to the Things of this Earth, that are much talked of and extolled by Report, that, prefentia mi' fittit. famamt that the Prefence and Sight of them makes them appear lefs than the Report did ; yit to be fure, of the heavenly Country, when ever we come there, we fhall be made to fay, as the Queen of Sheha did of Solomon's Wifdom and Magnifi- cence, behold Half the Truth was not told us : Nay as an Unit is to the longeft Range of Millions, fo fhall all that we can conceive of the heavenly Coun- try be found to be, when compared with the real Excellency and Glory of it. What Reafon then have we to admire the Riches of God's Bounty and Grace, in providing fuch a Country for us ? What Reafon have we to fay in the Words of the Pfalmift, Pfal xxxi. 1 9. O how great is thy Goodnefs which thou haft laid up for them that fear thee, which thou haft wrought for them that trufl in thee? The Pfalmift admms the Bounty of God as it isexprefs'd towards Man in his prefent State ; and at the fame Time that he recounts the chief Inftances thereof, owrts on Hcb. xi. i6. 4j owns that his Admiration was mightily height- ii€d as well as awakened by the Coufideration o£ thefe heavenly Bodies, which fhew forth fo much of the Grandeur and Magnificence of God the Crea- •tor, Pfal viii. Ver. 3, 4, 5, 6. If hen I confider thy Heavens, the IVork of thy Fmgers, the Moon and the Stars 'which thou haft ordained j IVhc-s is Man, that thou art mindful of htm ? And the Son of Man, that thou vifiefi him P For thou haft made him a little lower than the Angels, and haft crown- ed him with Glory and Honour, ^ou haft made him to have Dominien over the Works of thy Hands ; thou haft put all things under his Feet : But O my Brethren could we difcover the Heaven of Hea-^ vens where God dwells ; ould we iurvey the Glo- ry and Felicity that the Saints are there poflelTed of, where they are indeed made but a little lower than the Angels, yea in many Refpefts equal to them ; where they are crowned with true Glory and Honour, and Jhine as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father, and as the Stars for ever and ever : How much more Reafon fhould we have to admire the Goodnefs of God towards them ? And to fay in the Pfaljnift's Words, Lord what is Man that thou art mindful of him, and the Son of Man that thQuJhould'd vifit him, by making him the object of fuch tranfcendent Bounty ? 2. Is it fo that the heavenly Country is a letter Country, hence wc may learn how to accounr for the Wifdom as well as the Goodnefs of God's Con- dud towards his Saints, in making their Life and Abode in this World fo fhort and tranfitory. Why, the fooner they die the better for them ; when they %o hence they go to another and better that is a» ifeavenly Country. Death is in Scripture called the 44- SERMON IV. Believers Change • All the Days of my appointed 3'imey fays Jol^j zvill I wait till my Change come : And O what an happy Change does the Believer make by Death, when he goes from this to another .'Country^ that is an heavenly ? And how, my Bre- thren, Ihould the Confideration of this reconcile Death to us, and fwecten to us the Death of our deaj: Chriflian Friends and Relations ? Why, it is to us and them a Change, but a defireable and happy Change, a Change from an earthly to a bet- ter and heavenly Country, and why then fhould we be unwilling to die ? Would it not have been ftrange if Jofeph had refufed to come out of the Pri- fon, and to be preferred to all that Glory and Ho- nour he was poffeft of, when made Governour of all the Land of Egypt ^ and had none but Pharaoh on the Throne greater than he, when he was array- ed in a Vefture of fine Linnen, ^c. Why, my Bre- thren, what is this World in which we live, but a Prifon, a Dungeon, or a Dunghill, when compar- ed wiih Heaven, thefe Regions oi Glory Honour and Jmmortality above ? And what were all thefe Ho- nours of Jofeph compared with thefe of the Saints in Heaven, where they are all made Kings and Priefts to God and their Father ? Their Honour and Glory is as much above that ot JofepFs or Pharaoh's, or all the other great Men and Princes of the World, as theirs is above that cf Infefts or Worms. And fhall we be unwilling to leave this Earth, ^nd go to that heavenly and better Country, when the Change fhall be fo much to our Advantage, even infinitely more than now can be cxprcffed, or even conceived by us ? Let therefore, my Brethren, the Faith and Confideration of the heavenly Country re- concile us to Death, and render the Thoughts of it ' ' fami- on Heb. xi. i^; /j.5 familiar, yea and the Approaches of it welcome to us : Better, fays Solomon^ is the Day of a Mans Death than that of his Birth; (o furely it is to the Believer and true Chrillian, when Death fends him Home to that better and heavenly Country, which before was the great and terminating Objed of his Hopes and Defires ; according to what is faid of the Patriarchs in the Text, But now they defire a letter Country that is an heavenly. 3. Hence we may fee the Folly of thefe who va- lue the Things of this World at fuch a Rate, as for the Sake of them to forego the Hopes of the hea- •venly Country, and all the tranfcendent Felicities and Glories of it; the Folly of fuch is not to be ex- prefTed by Words, nor can it be put oft' by nny Comparifon : As the Things of the hea'venly Coun- try are of infinitely greater Worth than thcfe of this Earth, fo the Folly of parting with the one lor the other, is I may fay a Folly infinitely foolilh. That Saying of our Saviour is of inexpreflible Weight and Emphafis- Markx'in. i6. What Jhoiild it profit a Man tho^ he fhould gain the World ^andhfe his own Soufi Or what (hall a Man ginje in exchange for his Soul ? By the Lofs of the Soul, we are to un- derftand the Soul's falling lliort of Heaven and the everlafting Happinefs of it, and its being funk at the fame Time into the endlels and infufterable Mi- feries of Hell ; even the firft of thcfe alone imports an incomparable Lofs, and prodigious Folly. O my Brethren, will you think what poor and mean Trifles and tranfitory Things they all are, the Things, I mean, of this Earth, which fo engage the Efteem and attraft the Atfeftions of Men, as to make them run the Hazard of lofing all the invaluable Felicities of th« heavenly Country : What arc all the Riches, Ho- 4<5 SERMON IV. Honours and Pleafures of this World ? Who had ever a larger Share of them than Solomon ? And what is the Account he makes of them after the ut- moft Experience of the Satisfaftion they are capable to afford ? Vanity of Vanities^ all is Vanity and Vexa- tion of Spirit. Is there any Thing on Earth fufKci- cnt to make the Soul happy ? Is not Happinefs or Contentment commonly as far removed from thefc who have the largei^, as from thefe who have the Imallefl Share of earthly Things ? Have not all Ranks of Men, and all States of Life, their own Vexations and Troubles ? What a poor and low Plcafiire is it that arifes from the beft of earthly En- joyments ? Is not even Indolence or a Freedom from Pain and Uncafinefs a chief Part of the Hap- pinefs that we enjoy here ? What a Blefling do we reckon Sleep to us, which yet differs little while ic lafts from Death or Non-exill:ence ? How foon do all the Pleafures of Senfe cloy and fatigue us, and how glad are we of refpite from them ? But what moft of all difparages the Enjoyments of this prefent Life, and fliould render them contemptible in. our Eyes, efpecially when compared with the Bleflings of the heavenly Country^ is that they are fo fhort- lived and tranfitory : For the Fafhion of this Worlds fays the Apoflle, paffeth away. And tho' a Man were thisDay at the top-moft pitch of Honour ; tho' he were richer than he himfelf could tell, yea or A- rithmetick account; tho' his Pleafures were the - highefl that ever were tafled on Earth, and with- out any Abatement or Alloy of Trouble or Pain; the' he were polTeil: of all that the fulleft Notion of earthly Happinefs can reprefent to us : Yet behold To-morrow, or a few Days after, comes Death,and lays him in the Duft, and then all his Glory and Hap- on Heb. xi. 1(5. 47 Happinefs is cvanifhed. O then my Brethren, fhall we for the Sake of any Thing that bears the Name of Riches, Honour or Pleafure on this Earth, when the Enjoyment is fo fhort-lived and tranfitory, Ihall we be fo foolifh as for the Sake thereof to forgoe the immenfe Bleffednels, the immortal Glories and Fe^ Ijcities of the heavenly Country ? 4. Hence we may fee what a wife Part they aft, who make choice of the heavenly Country for their Country, and defire it and feek it as fuch. The Soul craves a greater Happinefs than this World can afford : God, out of his infinite Bounty and Grace, . has provided for it a Happinefs, as greaC as its Wilhes can defire, in the Country above. Q how wife then are they ? What a wife Part da they aft, who feek for their Happinefs where it is only to be found ? This indeed is Wifdom fwm a^ hove : 'Tis only the Grace of God that can make Men thus wife unto Salvation ; he that hath pre- pared this Happinefs for his Saints, and revealed it unto them, he alfo it is that raifes their Hearts to the Love and Purfuit of it : As our Saviour (ays to Peter ^ in Reference to the Contefllon he had made of his being the Chriji the Son of God^ UeJfeS art thou Si7nonBarjona,for Flefb and Blood hatb not revealed it unto thee, hut my Father which is in Heaven ; fo it may be laid of God's Saints, with Reference to the heavenly Country^ and the Choice they make of it as their Country, Bleflcd are they, tor Flefli and Blood hath not revealed it unto them, nor engaged their Hearts in the Love and Purfuic of it, but their Farther which is in Heaven. They who are worldly wife may account them Fools, be- caufe they do not aft by the Maxims and Rules of their Wifdom, which admits of nothing to pafs for' Wif, 48 S E R M O N IV. Wifdom, but what contiifeutes to make a Man rich and great, and to minifler to his Pleafure arid Sa- tisfadion in the World : But there is a Day com- ing when, iVifdonty rrue Wifdom, ihall be jufiifiedy not only of her Children^ but even of her Foes and Defpifeis; and all Men JJmU fay, in the Words of the Pfalv-iift^ Perily there is a Reward for the Righ- teous ^'verify there is a God that judgeth in the Earth : When the Choice of Heaven, tho' accompanied wi:h the Lofs of all defireable Things on this Earthy yea with the fevered Afflidions and Hardfhips that can be imagined, fhall be reckoned triie Wifdom, aiid rHe only Wifdom worthy of, and pofTefTed by thefe who are enligbtned from above -, the Wifdom which is the Child of Grace, and the Produd of taith. Such a Wifdom was that of Mofes^ of "whom it is laid, Heb. xi. 24, 25, 25. That by Faith iii)heit he was come to TearSy he refufed to be called the Son of Pharaoh's Daughters, choojing rather to fuffer Agi'i^im with the People of God, thaU to enjoy the Pleafures of Sin for a Seafon ; efieeming the Reproach of Chrijl greater Riches than the ^rea- fures in Egypt : for he had refpeSi unto the Kecom- pence of the Reward. But then again 5. Is it fo that the heavenly Country is a bettet GountrVj then let us all take Care to be of the Num- ber of thofe who defire and feek after it 'Tis the Charafter which the Apoftle gives of the Patriarchs, •u. 14. That they fought a Country y and again in. our Text, that they defire a better Country that is an heavenly. Why, my Brethren, let us alfo take Care to be of the Number of thofe who feek and defire this heavenly Country : And to engage us to it, in an Agreeablenefs to what has been (aid alrea- dy, let us confider I. How on Heb. xi. i6. z|.9 T. How incomparably better the heavenly Coun^ try is than any on this Earth ! Why, indeed it is a mighty Diiparagement to the one to compare it with the other. O my Brethren, what a poor World is this in which we live now? How foon do we fee an End of all PerfeBion here ? If God had not provided better Entertainment for ws elfe- where, how juftly might we cry out in the Pfalmift's Words, IVby hafl thou made all Men in vain? Could it be thought worthy of infinite Wifdom and Goodnefs, to have made us, fuch Creatures as we iare, for no higher Ends and Purpofes than thefe of' the little, low, narrow and tranfitory Life we lead here ,• and for rafting no higher a Felicity than what the Enjoyments of this Life afford? How poor and low a Notion of Life and Happinefs muft they have who can think fo? Efpecially might true Chriftians complain of the numerous Hardihips and Sufferings of their Lot in this World, if they had not the Happinefs of another Life to look for : Ac- cording to what the Apollle fays of himfelf and o- ther fufiering Saints, i Cor. xv. 19. If in this Life we only have Hofe tn Chrili, we are of all Men moft tniferable. But, my Brethren, blelTed be our God for it, there is another and better Country^ that is an ijeavenly, abiding us, where we fhall live indeed, live to all the noble Purpofes of Life ; where it fhall be worth the while to live, where we fhall know the full Import of the Blefling of Life; where our Life fhall be occupied in thefe blefstul Employments and Pleafurcs of which we now can have no Noti- on, or but a Very faint one, as I was obferving to you laft Lord's Day ; where we fhall live in the PoflefTion of ^exkd Life and Happinefs and that for evermore. Vol. XL D And 50 SERMON IV. And is not this, my Brethren, a Country to be dcfircd, a better, O how infinitely better a Country, than any on this Earth. Let us therefore defire it, and feek after it : O could we conceive how much better a Country it is, we could not choofe to do other wife, I mean than to love it, delire it, and feek after it ; O let us therefore defire it, dcfire it really and in good Earneft. Alas, how many are there that will pretend that they defire Heaven as their Country, and yet give them their Choice, they would be content to live on Earth for ever ; whence elfe thefe fo eager Purfijits of earthly Things, as it they had an Eternity to provide for here ? Whence elfe that immoderate Love of LiFe and Fear of Death that they difcover, thefe anxious Precautions to pre- ferve the one and award the other, thefe fecret Tremblings and Shudderings that lliake their Hearts when Sicknefs attacks them ; thofe Terrors which commonly attend the Apprehenfions of their being made fiiddenly to leave this World ? Whence does all this proceed, but from Want of a true Senfe and real Defire of Heanjen, that better Country ? Did we really feek and truly defire the hea-venly Country^ V?e would rejoice at the Thoughts of going heme to it ; who is afraid of changing a worfe State for a better ? Let us, I fay, defire the heavenly Country really and in good Earned ; and let us defire it pre- ferable to our being here ; J have a Defire, fays the Apoftle, to depart, and to be 'With chrift which is far better. Alas, it we confult our own Hearts, we will find that we defire to be in Heaven only, when we can live no longer on Earth ; or we de- fire it chiefiy as a Rci'uge from the Calamities and Afflidions of this prefent Life : 'Tis true we are allowed to defire it under this Notion, and on this 4 ^^- on Heb. xi, id yx Account ,• but did we dcfire it as we fhould do, we would defire it even preferably to our bping here; we would deilre Heaven for its own Sake, rr tor the Sake of that Happinefs thac \s there laid up for us, in the Enjoyment cfpecially of our G"d and Saviour, Tis true wc are to be refign'd to the Will of God, as to the Time of our living in this World J but yet a prevailing Defire of our being in Heaven is not inconfiftent with this Refigna- tion, nor is this Refignation inconfiftent with that Defire : Tho' there may be a Struggle betwixt them, yet they may dwell together in the fame Brcafl j an Inflance whereot we have in the Apoflle, who tells us of the Difpofition of his Heart m. this Cafe, Philip, i. 23. lam in a Strait betwixt two, having a Defire to depart, and to be with Chrifi^ which is far better : Neverthelefs to abide in the Flefh^ is more needful for you ; And that Confideration made him refigned as to the Time of his going to Heaven, And indeed 'tis only fuch a Confideration can cx- cufe a Chriflian's not vehemently defiring and long- ing to be in Heaven, namely his Purpofe and De- fire of being further ufeful and fetviceable to God, and the Interclt of his Glory in the World : But to defire Life merely for the Sake of living in this World, is a poor and fordid Thing, below the nobler Hopes and Expedations of a true Chriflian, who beli'ives there is a H:;aven, and defires ic as another and better Country. Let us therefore defire the hea'venly Country, let us defire it really and in good Earned ; Let us de- fire it preferably to our being on this Earth, in To fiar as is confiftent wich the Refignation that we owe to the Will of God : And let us defire ic with a holy Ardour and Warrnth of A^^ttion, in fomc 'Da :f Man-^ 51 SERMON IV,a'f. Manner fultable to the tranfcendent Excellency o^ this heavenly Country : Why, would we attain to it ; then, as much as the heavenly Country is bet- ter than any earthly, with as much Vehemence and Ardour of Afteftion (hould we delire and breathe after the one more than the other ; but this being above our Reach, we ftiould at leaft defire the heavenly Country with all the Ardour and Vehe- mence of Affedion that our Souls are capable of. We difparage the heavenly Country, and indeed . iliow our felves unworthy of it, when we love and defire it but faintly : And when, through the matchlefs All-fufficiency of Chrift and his Grace, we are brought there, we would be made to wonder at that Dulnefs and Stupidity of our Hearts ; and that interfeiring Love of earthly Things, that fo fcftrcd and entangled our Afiedions, and made them move with fo much cold Indifterency towards the heamenly Country. 'bA2i.y our Lord Jeftis Chrift hhnfelf, and God even our Father^ who hatb loved us, and hath given us everla fling Confolation, and good Hope through Grace of a better and hea'venly Country, comfort our Hearts andftablifJy us in enjery good IVord and Work. ■ May his Grace enable us to walk worthy of God, wha hatb called us into his Kingdom and Glory : And to feek for Glory, Honour and Imf?iortality, by a patient Continuance in Well-doing ; that, when he has /«/- filled all the good Pleafure of his Goodnefs concern- ing us in this vain World, and made us meet to be Partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints which is in Light, he may give unto us eternal Life in Hea- ven. STo bitn be Glory and Dominion for ever and 9iiet. Amerh* S E R- \ 53 SERMON V. Matth. xxii. 4. 'Jll Things are ready : Come to the Mar^ riage. HE IVords of the wife^ fays Solomon^ that Royal Mafter ot WUdom, are as Goads y and as Nails fafiened by the Majlers of AJfemblies. In ancient Times, Parables were much ufed, as a Way of Inilruftion equally pleafant and profitable. Parables, when well chofen and rightly adapted, have a Beauty and Force in them that charm the Mind, and give ic a clearer Perception, and a more lively and lading Impreflion of Things, than when they are prefented to it only in their naked Truths. This holds true, Spe- cially with Refped to Divine Truths, which never are conveyed into the Mind with fo much Advan- tage, as when cloathed with proper Allegories, and embodyed, as it were, with earthly and familiar Similitudes : According to that ancient Maxim of the Jew'ijlo Cabalifts, heavenly Light does not de- D 3 fcend ^4 SERMON V. Jcend without a Vehicle or Cloathing. Hence it is that our blefled Lord and Saviour, who was the true and lubftantial Wifdom of God, the great Mafler and Teacher of Ifrael, hence, I fay, it was that he made Choice of this parabolical Way of teaching, and ufed it fo frequently in his Difcourfes to his own Difcipks, and the People who referred to hear his Sermons : 'Tis true, there was another Reafon of this his Choice, 'viz. the AcGomplifhmcnt of Jjatah's Prophefy, with Reference to the Generality of the Jews of his Time who believed not. in him, that feeing they might fee and not perceiie, and hearing they might hear and not underftand. But yet to his better difpofed Audience, and efpecially to his own Difciples, this Method of teaching by Parables, upon his explaining the Meaning of each Parable to them, was a moft proper and effedual Way for furnifhing their Minds with the Know- ledge of luch Divine Truths and Myflerics, as he thought fit to acquaint them with. As to this Parable, whereof our Text is a Parr, the Scope and Defign of it is plainly and chiefly this, . tinder tne Metaphor of a Marriage^ or Marriage- feaft, (for the Word in the Original promifcuoufly (ignifieth both, and chiefly the latter, and therefore the Word is in the plural Number ; becaufe amongfl the Jews the Marriage- folemnity ufually lafled for ieven Days j and tho' the Marriage was but one, the Marriage-feafls or Entertainments were many.) I fay, the Defign of this Parable is to fet forth that gracious Ofier of Mercy and Grace, w^hich was made by God to the Church and People of the Jews by the Appearance of Chriil the MeJ/ias, on the lerms of their believing in him : But when they were io {Irangely infatuated as to rejeft, and for on Matth. xxii. 4. $$ for their fo doing were themfelves rejeded of God» and their Nation made the Theatre of his Divine \''engeance ; the Gentiles^ who had been formerly uegleded in the O Economy of Grace, were now called in and made Sharers of the rich Mercies and happy Privileges of the Gofpcl-difpenfation. This is the primary Scope of the Parable, as you will fee by confidering it at your own Leifure. But it has moreover a further View to the State of the New Teftament Church in all fucceeding Ages of it ; and may very well be underftood to have a Reference to the different Reception and Entertainment, which the Call and Otfers of the Gofpel meet with from Perfons living in the vifiblc Church : Some foolifhly and wickedly make light of them ; and others are fo wife and happy as to be prevailed on to comply with them. Yea, the whole of the Parable may very well be applied to that particular Ordinance of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, of which ye have fo near a View : In which Ordinance the Marriage-Covenanc be- tween Chrifl and Believers is tranfai^ed and fo- lemnized, and all the rich and royal Dainties of Heaven are in a manner provided and brought forth for their Entertainment. And in this Senfe it is, efpeciaily that I ihall confider tliefe Words of the Parable which I have chofen for my Text, All 'Things are ready : Come to the Marriage. Having already hinted that the Word in the Original fignifieth either the Marriage itfelf, or the Marriage-feaff , in this Senfe I fhall ufe the Term, as prom ifcuou fly denoting both : Yet, as Things really ate in the new Covenant- Difpenfa- tion, it necefTarily implies that all true Believers are called to the Fellowfhip of Chrifi, and made ' D 4 . Sha!i::r8 5<5 SERMON V. Sharers of all the Bleflings of the new Covenant, which in the Parable before us are reprefented either under the Notion ot the Marriage Tranfadion, ot Marriage Feaft and Entertainment : And to this Marriage Solemnity and Entertainment all Perfons living in the vilible Church, and who he^r the Call oi the Gofpel, are invited to come ; to come, not only as Guefls while the Marriage-Covenant is fo- lemnized between Chrift and others ; but to come alfo as Brides and Parties themfelves, who are to conclude and folemnize the Marriage Tranfadion between the Royal Bridegiocm of Souls and them- felves. For tho' in the Parable they are only in- vited under the Notion of Guefls j (Sim ilies being always dcfedive, and not able to bear two Faces at once) yet their being invited to come as Gucfis n.e-- CefTarily includes their coming as Parties andSpoufes too: For none are, or can be worthy Guefls at Chrift 's Table, who are not his Brides and Spoufes alfo. Having thus far explained the Words, and prp- pofed the Senfe in which I delign to conlider them, I fhall, I. Tell you very britHy what this Mar- riage-Covenant or Tranfa£tion betwixt Chrift and Believers, his myftical Spoufes, doth denote, II. I Ihall tell you of fome oi the Caufes, or Mo- ' tiyes of the believing Soul's ferious Choice and Acceptance of Chrift in a Covenant-Tranfadion. . III. I Ihall ihew with what Affei^ions the Soul ac- cepts of him and tranfads with him in this Cove- nant. IV. I fhall tell 'you why this Covenant i§ called a Marriage-Covenant. V. I fhall tell you of fome of the Preparations that are made for fo- Icmnizing this Marriage-Tranfaftion. And then, VI. and /<2//y, Shall urge the Invitation in the Text, en Matth. xxii. 4. 57 Text, All things are ready : Cajue to the ■Mar--, riage. LI fay, I Ihall tell you very bjriefly, what this Marriage-Covenant or Tranfaftion betwixt Chrifl. and Believers doth denote. And in fhort it is no- thing elfe than the believing Soul's folernn and fe- fious Choice and Acceptance of Chrifl for its Sa-, yiourand Redeemer upon the Terms of the Gofpejj' That is, its accepting of him in all his Offices of Prophet, Pried and King ; and in ^11 the feveral Fundiions and Operations of thefe Offices : Its Acceptance of him by Faith, Rcfignation, and a promifed Obedience to him, not only giving an AfTent to all the faving Trpths revealed in the Gofpel, and embracing him and his Righteoufnefs ^s the only Caufe of the Soul's Juftification before God ', but alfo refigning itfelf intireiy tohisConduft ^nd Difpofal, with a Refolution to adhere to him j and honour, love, obey and ferve him in all Things, and that for ever. This is in brief what we are to underftand by the Marriage-Covenant and Tran- fadion betwixt Chrift and Believers. But perhaps you may fay, if this be all the Mat- ,ter amounts to, are we not all in Covenant with Chrift already ? Do we not all believe in him, and own him for our Saviour ? True, you are fo, and do fo, I mean externally and by Profeffion : But you muft give me Leave to tell you, that if you have no more to plead for your being in Covenant with Chrift, but your being baptized in his Name, and living in the outward Profeffion of the Chriftian faith, when there is nothing to tempt you to deny or forfake it, you muft allow me, I fay, to tell you, that this comes far fiiort of the Soul's ferious j^nd fokmn Choice and Acceptance of Chrift. All Chrifti^ns 58 SERMON V. Chriftians are indeed externally in Covenant with Chrift by their being baptized into his Name : But this being done in their Infancy, by the Promife of their Parents or Sponfors, whilft they have no Senfe of the Thing themfelves ; unlefs, when they come to capable Years, they ferioufly and perfonally renew their Baptifmal Covenant, it is all but an un- finifli'd Work, and like a Foundation wanting the proper and defignM Superftrufture. For however God may deal with Infants before they arrive at the Years of Difcretion, and may accept of the En- gagements of their Parents to intereft them in the Benefits of the Covenant : Yet if fuch as are come Uo Age renew not their Covenant Engagements themfelves, and particularly by their taking the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper as the Teftimony and Evidence thereof, their Baptifm can be of no Avail to them. And even, tho' Men continue in the Pr'^fefllon of the Chriftian Faith, and pay an external Regard to the Ordinances and Infticutions of Chrift, and particularly do join with their Chri- ftian Brethren in the Celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper upon the Occafions thereof ; yet if there be no more than this, they are far from being acquainted with that Covenant-Tranfadion between Chrift and their Souls, that in the Text, and other Places of Scripture, is reprefented under the Notion of a Marriage- Covenant. This, as I faid before, implies, or rather doth confift in the Soul's ferious and folemn Choice and Acceptance of Chrift in all his Offices to be its Saviour and Re- deemer : Which, alas I many of thofe who are called Chriftians, and livs in the vifible Church, are wholely Strangers to. They were, indeed, bap- tized into lbs Name ofCbriJl by the Felicity of their Birth I : on Match, xxii. 4. 59 Birth ; they live ^n the Profeffion of the Chciftiiiv Faith as the Way of their Forefathers, which they are noc tempted to change ; they frequent Ordi- nances, and cake Sacraments as Things in Fafhion; but yet for all this, they never ferioufly made Choice of Chrift in a Covenant Tranfaftion for their Lord and Redeemer, according to the Terms of the Go- fpel. And therefore to Ihew you how defe^iv© fome of you may be in this Matter, tho' perhaps you are apt to fufped nothing like it. I Ihali pro- ceed to the II. Thing propofed, namely to tell you of fome of the Caufes and Motives of the believing Soul's ferious and folemn Choice of Chiift in a Covenant Tranfadion, which are chiefly thefe two I. A Senfe and Perfuafion of its utter and inevi-» table Ruin and Mifefy upcn Account of Sin, and the Wrath of G®d to which it thereby (lands expofed. For when the Sinners Confcience is awakened and pierced with a Senfe of Guilt and Wrath, this makes him fee his Need of Chrift, and readily and witti all his Soul to accept of him as his only Saviour^ and clofe with him upon the Terms of the Gofpel for Relief in this his Cafe of Extremity, in which he fees there is none either in Heaven or Earth can help him. This makes him cry out as in an Agony, IVhatJhaU J do to be faved! Oh the heavy Burden of Sin ! Oh the Pain and Torment of Guilt ! Oh the Terrors of divine Wrath 1 Oh for the cooling Waters of Mercy ! Oh for the Blood of fprinkling ! 0 for the Balm of Gilead 1 O for the Pbyjkian there ! Who can dwell ivith de'vouring Fire, who can dwell with everlafting Burnmgs 1 Oh for a Saviour, for a Saviour I What would I not do, what would 1 not give to bi faved ! Well then, had you ever fuch do S E R M O N V. fuch a wounding Senfe of Sin, fuch an alarming Scnfe of Wrath, as made you thus fee the Need you have of a Saviour ; and convinced you of your utter and inevitable Mifery till you fhould obtain an Interefl in hira ? If not, you have Reafon to fu- fped that you have never yet accepted of, and clofed with Chrill; for the whole need not, value not, em- ploy not, the Phyfician, hut they that are fick. 2. Another Caufe and Motive of the Soul's feri- ous Choice and Acceptance of Chrift in a Covenant Tranfadion with him, is a Difcovery of his charm- ing Excellencies and jPerfedions as Mediator, and the infinite Advantages that lliall redound to the Soul by its being united to him in a Covenant Re- lation. For when the Soul gets a Difcovery of this amiable and charming Objed, and what an infi- nite Fullnefs of all Soul-good is lodged in him, in whom dweUs all the Fullnefs of the Godhead bodily, it cannot, as it loves itfelf and its own Happinefs, but defire to have an Interefl in hira, and to be p.ofTefTed of him by the furefl Title, and cloflefl Tie of a Covenant-relation. Well then again confider, whether ever you had fuch a Difcovery of the ami-? able and charming Excellencies and Perfeftions of Chrifl ; whether ever the 1 ime was, that you ac- counted him the Chief among ten ^hou/ands, yea the Chief of ten Thoufand Worlds ; fairer than the Sons of Men, yea altogether lo'vely ; and couldfl fay with the Apoflle, Phil. iii. 8, 9. Tea douhtlefs, and I count all things but Lofs, for the Excellency of the Knowledge of Chrift Jefus my Lord : For whom I have fuffered the Lofi of all 'ithings, and do count them but Dung that J may win Chnft, and le found in him, not having my own Righteoufngfs, which is of the Law^ but that which is through the on Matth: xxii. 4. 6t Paith of Chnfiy the Rigbteoufnefs which is of God by Faith : ^hat I may know him, and the Power of his Re/urre^ion, and the Fellow fbip of his Sufferings, being made conformable to his Death ; Or whether ever you reckon'd him the Pearl of Pricey for the purchafing ot which you would be well content to fell all you had : Whether ever you reckoned his Fa^ vour better than Life ; and when others fa id, who willjhew us any Good ? If your Language was. Lord lift on me the Light of thy Countenance. Con- fider, I fay, whether you had ever fueh an high E- fteem as this of Chrift, or whether your Hearts do not fecretly fay of him, as the fews did of old, there is no Vorm nor Comelinefs in him that hejhould he defired ; weHl have no Part in David, nor In- heritance in the Son of Jeffe : Whether with Herod and his Men of War, you do not fet htm at nought i and, with thefe in the Parable, prefer your worldly Intereft to him, and make light of him and all his Offers. Why, if you never beheld the Glory of Chrift, nor were charmed with his tranfcendent Ex- cellencies, fo as to delire him above all Things, you may conclude you have not yet made a ferious and hearty Choice of him : For to them that believe ha is precious, yea, to them he is altogether lovely, Thefe are the two chief Caufes and Motives of tho Soul's Choice and Acceptance of Chrift, Proceed we now, III. To fhew with what Aftedions the Soul ac- cepts of Chrift, and tranfads with him in this Cq- venant. And, I. The Soul moves towards Chrift in this Tranf- a(5tion, with a humble and holy Dread upon it. It conftders what a great and glorious One he is to whom ic makes its AddreTs. It approaches him as the 6z SERMON V. the Woman in the Gofpel, faying, O if I might hut touch the Hem of his Garment ! It fays as Abigail faid to Davidy Behold let thy Hand-maid be a Ser- vant to waJJj the Feet of the Servants of my Lord, O Vm unworthy to unloofe the hatchets of his Shoes i -And what am I, or what is my Father's Houfe^ any of the Race of Adam, that I iTiould prefume thus far ? 0 rebuke me not in thine Anger ^ chajien Wf not in thy hot Difpleafme : O kt not my Lord be angry and I will [peak: I am a poor diftrefled Wretch who defires to fue to thee for Help, I have heard 4)f the King of Ifrael that he is a merciful King. 2. The Soul advances towards Chrirt with a ho- ly Importunity, and earned and impatient Defire. Lord Neceffity makes me urgent, Fm unworthy, 'but I muft adventure. The Avenj^er of Blood pur- faes, I muft, I muft to the City of Kefuge. O re- ceive and llielter a forlorn Criminal who flies into thy Protection. Thou haft invited all fuch as are it^eary and heavy laden to come unto thee ; behold I come unto thee in Obedience to thy Call O let m'e touch the Golden Scepter ! O let me kifs the Son left he he angry, and I perijh in the Way ! O that 1 might have a Share in thy Love ! O that thou wouldft fet me as a Seal upon thy Heart, as a Signet upon thy Arm \ O that I might be allowed to call thee my Gody my covenanted God and Saviour ! 3. The Soul moves towards Chrift with an en- couraging Meafurc of Hope. / have heard of the King of Ifrael, that he is a merciful King ; That there is Mercy and Forgivenefs with him and plente^ ous Redemption ; that thou wilt not break the hrnif ed Reed nor quench the fmoaking Flax -, that thou art found of thofs that feek thee not ; that thou bids all the Ends of the Earth look unto tbec and \ on Matth. xxii. 4^^ 6j he faved ; and to whom, O Lord, Jhall I go hut un- to thee? Sthou only haft the IVords of eternal Life. 4. Then the Soul comes up clofe to Chrift, and bv the Arms of Faith embraces him in the Promifes, faying, '^hou Lord art my God, I take thee for my Almighty Saviour ; and Life nor Death (hall never feparate between thee and me : Behold I refign my feU, Soul and Body, over to thee, and take thee for my Saviour and all : I venture my Soul upon thy all- fufficient Merits ; there I throw out the plight An- chor of my Soul ; and 1 know in whom I have ht' Iteved ', and Jam perfuaded that thou art able to keep that which J have committed imto thee, againft that Day. And then, 5. The Refult and Conclufion of this is, mutual Endearments, fweet and raviihing Intercourfes of Love and Communion betwixt Chrift and the believing Soul. / am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine : J fat down under his Shadow with great Delight, and his Fruit was fweet unto my ^afte. The Storm is now all blown over, and hufht into a Calm ; and the Soul enjoys a blefled Seafon of pure pleafant haicion Days, and can ling a fweet Requiem to itfelf, Rff- turn into thy Red O my Soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee: J have believed, therefore have I fpken, whatflmll I render unto the Lord for all his Benefits done unto me F This God is my God for ever and ever, he /hall he my Guide even unto Death : IVbom have I in Heaven but thee ? And there is none upon Earth that 1 defire hefides thee ; when my Fleflj and^ rny Heart d» fail Thou wilt he the Strength of my Heart and my Portion for ever. And then 6. Which concludes the Tranfaaion. When the Wcfled Lover and Saviour of 3ouls fees the poor be- lieving (^4 S E R M O N V. lievirig Soul thus humbly and earneftly prefllng to- wards him, and like the Man in the Gofpel crying out with Tears, Lord, I believe help thou mine Un- belief; tho' thou JJjGuldeft flay me yet will 1 truft in thee ; then by the Comtorc of foms Ptomife carried in and appflied to the Soul by the Teftimony of the Spirit, he befpeaks and welcomes it to him, and af- fures it of his gracious Acceptance, Fear not worm Jacobs J will help thee, faith the Lord thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Jfrael : Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not difmayed, for I am thy God ; I will ftren^then thee, yed, I will help thee, yea t will up- hold thee with the right Hand of my Kighteoufnefs : I will hold thee by thy right Hand, {^ym^ fearnot. Welcome, welcome to me poor eled Soul \ I will pledge my All-fufficiency for thy Salvation ; and fince thou haft accepted of me, reft facisfied, I will not caft thee off; fornone that come unto me will I ifi any wife cafi out. Can a Woman forget her fucking Child, that floe fljould not hav.e Compaffion on the Son of her IVomh ? Tea they may forget, yet will 1 not forget thee ; Behold I have graven thee upon the Palms of my Hands : And tho' the Mountains fhall depart and the Hills be remolded, yet my J^oving- kindnefs (Jj all not depart from thee ; neither fhall the Covenant of 7ny Peace be removed, faith the Lord that hath Mercy on thee. This now is the Way and Method how the Soul tranfads with Chrift, and clofes with him for its Saviour : And you may con- (ider whether ever you were acquainted with fuch Exercife. I come now IV. To tell you why this Covenant is called a Marriage Covenant, come to the Marriage. And not to multiply Particulars, it is fo called in: thefe three Refpeds. I. T© on Matth. xxii. 4. 6$ 1. To exprefs the Strldnefs of it, agreeable to thofe Figures made Ufe of in Scripture to exprefs the Stridncfs of the Union between Chrift and Re- lievers : As the Union between the Root and the Branches, the Foundation and Superftrudure, that between the Head and bodily Mrmbcrs, and the like ; that between a Sovereign and his Subjeds i and that between Man and Wife. 2. To exprefs the Sweecnefs of it. The conjugal Relation is of all others the fweetcil upon Earth. It admits of thefc peculiar Endearments, that do fac exceed all the other Comforts and Joys of human Life. The Life of Man is in a Manner imperted without it ; and therefore faid God at firft, It is not fit that Man Jhould be alone, let us mah a Help meet for him. Therefore to exprefs the divine and heavenly Pieafurcs that refult from the believing Soul's Union to Chrift and Communion with him. it is called a Marriage- Covenant. He is faid to betroth the Soul to himfelf in Loving- kindnejfes and tender Mercies^ and to re^ joice ever it as a Bridegroom rejoweth over his Bride : And the Soul poflefles an unlpeukable Delight and Satisfaction in its (piritual Intimacies and divine Converfations with him ; He brought me into the hanqueting Houfe, and his Banner over me was Love; fiay me with Flagons, comfort me with jipples^ for lamfick of Love. And this is the Joy of E/poufals, in which the believing Soul rejoices in Chrift as the blefled Objed of all its beft Aifeaions, counting him the Chief among ten thoufand, and altogether lovely , and Chrifl: rejoiceth over the Soul as the Bridegroom rejoiceth over his Bride, and gives it many endearing Pledges ot his Love: And be- lieve it, my Brethren, there is a reality in thefe Things, tho* they are Myftcaes to the World. yoL II. E ^ 3. ic SERMON V. 3. It is called a Marriage-Covtn^nt to expfefs the Indiflolvablenefs of it. The Marriage-Coveaanc can only be diffolved by Death. But here indeed the Figure falls far fhnrt of th- Truth ; for the Mar- tiage-Covenant between Chtift and Believers can Bcver be difl'olved, no, not by Death : When the Soul and Body, thefe dear Companions, lliall be difunited, when the whole Frame of Nature ihail be diifolvcd, and an univerfal Rupture fhall disband the Creation, yet this Union between Chrift and Be- lievers ihsiW itand firm and indifiblvable to all E- tetnity. But I fliall now come y;/To tcli you of fome of the Preparations that ^re made for folemnizing this Marriagc-Tranfadioti between Chrift and Believers, ^U things are ready ^ Com€ to the Marriage^ of which I (liall only menti- on thefe following, i The Father hath given his Confent. 2. Chriit hath won his Bride. 3. He has come from Heaven to Earth to court her Love. 4. The' Contra(5i; is fealed with his Blood. 5. He has purchas'd tor her. Royal Qiialicy and Orna- i^^t$: 6. He has fettled on her a large and royal Mare. 7. He has made ready a royal Feaft tor the Solemnity. All things are ready. I . The Father hath given his Confent. He, if I may ufe the Expreflion, was the fit ft that propos'd the Match. After that his adorable Wifdom thought gebd,- that the Royal Heir of all Things fhould e- •fpcufe fome inferior Nature, for producing a new ana more marvellous Oft-Ipring than, any that had as yet defcended from him, the great Father of Lights; and of which his darling Attribute, Mercy, fhould be the bleC-d and fruitful Womb (for the' Wifdom and Power did behold their beauteous Off- fpring, the great Family of Creatures that were - 4 made. y^cn MsLttb. xxii. 4. 6y made, yet Mercy was ftill a childlefs Attribute) when therefore I fay, tlie adorable Wifdom of God thought fit that his only begotten Son fhould be- troth foiTie in'-crior Nature, for raifing up Children to Mercy, he made Choice ot" the wretched Race of Adam for the Purpofc : Go my Son, fays he, (as with Humility and Reverence we may fuppofe him to have fpoken) Mercy cries for Children, and pleads that Ihe may not be the only barren A trrl- bute of Heaven ; Go, there is the falkn Race of Man, go recover and redeem them, and make them worthy of thy felf, and betroth them to thy felr in a Covenant of Grace and free Love, rhac Mercy alfo may have Children : There are two Natures, two Kinds of Beings equally guilty and miferable, fallen Angels and fallen Man ; but I make Choice of the latter, go then and redeem them, and make them thine own, for redeem them thou muft before thou canft make them thine own. And thus the Father hath given his Confent. And 2. Chrift has won his Bride. And this, as it was neceflary, fo was it indeed a great and hazardous Undertaking ; For Chrifl's Spoufe was a Criminal, a Captive, a Slave, a Prifoner in Satan's Chains; fhc was fhut up in Prifon by the Juftice ot God, and could never have made her Efcape of herfelf ; for the Walls of this Prifon were as high as Heaven, as deep as Hsil, and as ftrong as Omnipotence : There was no efcaping till Chrift, her ail conquer- ing Lover, came, and by a flrange Effort of his Love, fcal'd the Walls, beat open the Prifon Doors, and brought forth' the poor Prifoner of Hope. Chriit's Bride was a Criminal, condemned by the Sentence of the Law, and muft needs have laid iier Neck on theBiGck,and fubmitted to the fataiScroke; E 2 buc ^iv (58 S E R M O N V. but Chrift her Lover came and refcued her by fub- mitting himfelt to bear her Doom ; he gave his Life a Ranfom for her, and was wounded for her ^ranfgTejfmis, and hruifed for her Iniquities^ the Cbaftijement of her Peace was upon him, and by bis Stapes Jhe is healed, Chrift's Bride was ravifli- cd and led captive by A p p o l t y o n, the great De- ilroyer of Souls, who firil rob'd her of her Innocen- cy, and made her as black with Guilt as himfelf, and then carried her off as his Slave to dark and uncomfortable Regions of Woe and Mifery : But Chrift, her glorious and almighty Lover,purfued after, and by a matchlefs Effort of Valour and Love, invaded the Empire of Death, and vanquiflied the Prince of Hell in his own Territories; Hcfpoiled Princtpali- ties and Powers, and made a Shew of them openly y triumphing over them in his Crofs ; and by Death overcame him that had the Power of Death, even the Devil; ^n^ fo refcued the poor Captive he had a mind to efpoufe to himfelf. He has won her from the Hand of all her Enemies,and thereby purchased an un- deniable Claim to her beft Aftedions ; for which End, 5. He has come from Heaven to Earth to court her Love. After that he had recovered and won her by vanquifhing her Enemies, he next fets him- felf to win her by vanquifhing her Affedions ; which alas 1 and to her Shame be it faid, is the hardeft Task of the two. See how he complains : Te will not come unto me that ye might have Life : All Day long have IJiretcFd out my Hand, and no Man regarded : O 'Jerufalem Jeriifalemj bow of- ten would I have gathered thee as a Hen gatheretb her Chickens under her IVings, and ye would not. He went thro' Stitch with the former, no Oppoiiti- on was able to fland before him i he came traveU 4 " ''% on Matth. xxii. 4. 6^ fttg in the Greatnefs of bis Strength to fave her : And O but thjy were wide Steps be took 1 No Oppoficion was able to ftand before him ; he went thro' Flames and Floods,- all the Waters of the Abyfs, all the Flames of Hell could not quench his Love. In the Days oi his Flefti be courted Sinners in the moll melting Strains, Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy ladeUy and I wiil give you Refi. And iince his Afcenfion, he courts them by his Servants, the Minifters of the Gofpel, (and they meet with many Repulfcs as weU as their Lord and Mafter did) who are ftill calling u- pon Sinners, and perfuading them to embrace the Oft'ers of his Love ; we then who are Amhajfadors ofChrifty as tho' God did hefeecb you by us, we pray you in Chrifi's Stead be ye reconciled to God : This is the Work, Employment and Errand of all the Servants of Chrifl to Sinners, but yet alas 1 in this latter Attempt, f I mean to win her Aft'cdi.)ns) how often is he repulfed, notwithftanding that he ftands and intreats, yea obcefts and conjures her by the Miracles of his Lore to her, yet Ihc flights him and will not give him her Love. This furely is unpardonable Ingratitude to this great Lover of Souls, who has performed fuch heroick Heats of Love for her, and offers her his Love, and all the excellent Effeds of it in a Covenant fealed by his own Blood. Which leads me to the 4. Particular. The Contrad is fealed in his Blood, he not only offers us his Love and all the gracious Eflfeds of it ; but affures us of it by a Co- venant, and a Covenant fealed by his Blood : ^bis Cup is the New ^ejiament in my Blood, that is, the new Covenant is fealed and ratified by this Rite of the ihcdding of my Blood. Who can doubt the E 3 SiQCerity

0 her Feathers with yellow Gold : •He \yill beautifyTtiJiiidden Man oi her Hearr, and ad Irn her with all..»right and ihining Graces ; Sl^he Kjngs D aught eyt is all glorious within ; her cloatb- ing tsqf wrou^ Gold jhefhall be brought unto the Kmgm^aiim^t of Needle IVork, Ffal. xiv. 13, 14. 6., *He has. titled on her a large and royal E- .flatp. A P-Jiitv. worthy of him to give, who is the^ fole Monij^n of both Worlds : All the fare Mercies of Da^ti; the upper and the nether Springs of Blifs and FelioKy ; all temporal and all fpirituaJ^ all prefent and alt future and eternal BielTingSi he has entail'd on her a Kingdom, and enfured to he^ ~ "*" a Kingdom and a Grown of Glory, a vail ^ and endlefs Ihhericance ; an Jnberi- incorruptible, undeJmK^nd that fadeth n&t I Pet. i. 4. and ffohf. ^^^ 24. Fat he-/, Jwill that they whom thgXhafi giuen me^ ••Mere I am ; that tl^/^may behold ths 'ven ?^i^Hjplara Ver. 22. ^be n me^ J k^ye given them. lame Ryrpofcj John^^iv, it'g. Let* nofyour Heat b thou haft thou haj r^ad to e Begi^ lied< Boifc \^-y^T^otild have told you; I go 'Yor-^'you '^'And If I go and prenare a e in God, )feUevs alfo in c there are many Manfims ; If it to prepare Vkice for \ 7i S E R M O N or yoUy I will conte'^again^ and recetW^ou ,mto my *elf, that where Lam, there ye may Mpiifov And 7. He has prcA-idcd \ Royal t eau and Enter- tainment for making merry on the SolermiiJ£y. His ^ xen and his Fattlmgs <«% killed, an^nf^f^ings are ready. The ricneft Ifciincies ot Heaven are ibrought forth: And jefus Chrift is very liberal, n^i. All things are ready] riage. But to give yon a littl this Royal Entertainment and to hold forth--4he Splendor of it confider ^ I. The Royal Bridegroom f Divine glorious and gay 'Wcdd^ is this that comet b from . from Bezrah ? That ts tra'veling in the Gre ['peak in Ktghteoufite^ Glorious indeed is^ Royal Bridegroom ; red in the Wine of as it were ad maflfy Glory^ unto jrther riage-Feaft. fitting'lB his pparel.^^-&o iyed Garimnts his Apparel, 'engtk ? 'i that "''^iTlxiii. I. ig Apparel oj dyed ,our fied Saviour. 2. The bea' Bride, Jfa. Ixi, tny Soul &ah ^O0thed n:ei ff'ath coqjered ,^s^'h^rideg. am as a Bri,d& ;. The lations o and the [li rich Embr^idei:^ of viqur beconi<.a Jtori- ious Objeft to^ eddins-Ati Hh ,ovc ttb thr leth n^h himjjei iier/elf- vyrefi^t 'the Bf ideeroon^ hilli .'oyal?Compa!i\ :he Bfidegrooi ri^al Spirit ; the Frfet / Bride- grpoin ^ (j«fc'Matth. xxii 4. y^ i groom that rejoice to hear his }Ij2iec;\lih Mini" I {lers and Serr^ftand^^nhi: honourable Train of Saints and (mlfir^BiJleVErsr'w^ welcome and worthy GjJRs >srtttlieir Weading\Garments up^on them, ifBWiize the Marria^-C^Venant between the Royal Bridegroom of Soula and themlelves and other new.Gfiorerts of Grace. 4. ThelMM' Fcaft and tnte Where we may confi^er firfi, Som Dainties in parcicur^. idly, Some of t and Properties o^c Feaft in gekeral. FirfiSSomQ ojMhe Dainties m particul I ihai^f mcjfon thefe follovving. i.^Wievers|i:re here feafled wi^V the free and fiKl PardR of allfeeir Sins. A fweeiLand ravifhin^^ Daifty indeed l|l|^^« ^/^^l'^ Cbeer^^^^siirSms ara ' forgiven you ; atid^jo w bkfsJlIy does th»J||^ving Soul feed upon it ^^^ejje^ i^fhwhofe Stranj^effion is forgiven J mbpfi Sht is ^covered ; hlejjed is the Man^unto whom the \Lord tmputeth not Iniquity, W \ enti itfelf. £heavenly iities 74 S E R M O H V. you : Let not your Heart he troubled^ neither he afraidy John xiv. 27. , .^ .^ 3. Another Daihty, or rather aX^ompofition of all Dainties, with which Believers are^eafted on their Marriage-Day at a CommunioP^bie, is Communion with God the Father, and fwcet and intimace Fdlowihip with the RoyitJ'Bridegroom himklt. TJMtf'ather now takes the Believer as in- to his B^piiJ^m braces him.' in the Arms of his LoveJiHRiles him on the Kndbs of his Mercy, and givoHm all fweetf Tokens andW^fl'iiranccs of his LoVSI Dear beloved Soul how Ifeft tho^ngagcd my Heart to thee, in accepting <5ftthe ^Stk of my Son ; thou flialt never have Caufe t^ repent^t thy Choice, ni be an indulgent heaittnly Fat^r to thee, amj- tafrefs the^ with the^lBdereil Aftlftion and \}0^0*fthe Mounjains may (tepart, and the Hills l?e removedy hut m^Loving-^idnefs Jhall Jiever depart or decreafe towards thee. And the Royai Bridegroom himfelf rf;o/V^?£> too over Believei^^Jj a Bridegroora over his JBri^e ; How fair t^S^i^>Lo've my Sifter my Spoufe ^jjjfj^i haft rzuKjJhv^f^ i^edrt. my Sifter^ my with one Oj Cant. iv. ^il^^And^-ha himfelfin tli Iwill mentim" and the Pr^ifes 'd'hdtJi md"t tin. 7 Hi uje, and his Baii^er over^ me With Flagot^Sy comfort m cm pck of L^ve- ; his leff^Har. md bis rigSt Hand doth emhrai haft .ra-vifiM m/' Heart lov^jh^n of thy Necky ^eli^|BpH|$U|£Qb«^j;h God a^Bnis^^jifemer. ^dffejjes j^B^ Lordy fordiy^fto all that ^iv his'Mer' L^'ifing 'kindn^esy 0 *l3is J-Jiii.'quq/iu ,witu me, J charge you Oyt on Matth. xxii. 4. ''75? y ye Daughters of Jtnifalem^ by the Roes and b^ Am be Hinds of the Fields that ye Jitr not upy nor a- •? * mke my Love till he pleafe, Cant. ii. 4, 5, 6, 7^ ^ H But now, to menti )n (orne of the Proptrcies oi his Feafi: itl general. ; 1. It is a Royal Feall, made by the King of Seaven for the Marriage of" his Son j and all xbfS, Preparations are Royal and Ipicndid. 2. h is a free Feail, Jfa iv. i, 2, 5. Ho, every me that thirjleth, come ye to the U^aters, and he hat hath no Money , come ye, buy and eat, yea ome, buy IVine and Milk without Money, and witb^ mt Pric^ l^'herefore do ye Jpend Money for that 'xjhich is not Bread / And your Liibour for thM vhich 'fatisjieth not P Hearken diligently unto m&^ ind eat ye that which is good^, and let yotir Soul de- ight it felf in Fatnefs. Incline your Ear, and com$ mlo ?iie : Hear, and your Sou^JJmH. live, and I will nake an e-verlajling Covenant with you, even the lire Mercies of Da^vid. John vii. 57, 38. In thff aft Day, that great Day of the Feaft, fefus flood md- triedy ^ any Man thirft, let him come unto me^ md drin£\ He that belie^vet^ii^! me, out of his Belly f]j all flow Rivers of Hwiig iV^er. 3. It is.a i)s1frFeaft, and all that c^me to it •ightly prepared, are kindly welcome. It is a full Feaft. There is Variety and Plenty of all heavenly Dainties ; *'I'is a FeaJ^offat i'h'mgs, of fat 'things ^uU of Marf^, of ff-'mes.on the Lees well refined. STou may f^lt wicnoui Referve * VJ?!? O Frteijds, irink, yea drink abundantly O Beloi)ed. It fs ■ull Feaft, the whole' new Man and all the fpiritLfal ^enfes are fiere tcaft; d : The Ear is feafted with the fweet melodious Gofpel-Promifes, run'd, if I may To ■peak, to the feveral Tailes and Diipolicions of the Soul; n* 7<5 SERMON V. Soul ; in which may be heard the Voice of the af- fedionate Bridegroom befpeaking the Soul with the fweeteft Strains, and fofteft Rhetorick of his Love : The Eye is here feafted with many fweet^nd ravifti- ing Profpeds ; It fees the King in bis Beauty, it contemplates and beholds his Glory ; It fees King Solomon with the Crown upon his Head, wherewith he is crowned in the Day of the Gladnefs of his Heart ; It fees the Heavens opened, and the Son of Man ftanding on the right Hand of God. Here it reads the ftrange Adyenturcs of his Love. It fees him taking the Field with matchlefs Valour, and joining in Combat with all its Enemies ; ^d as the Trophies of his Vidory, it fees here Death lying dead, the Thrcatnings of the Law lying all dif- armed; on the one Hand Juftice {landing recon- ciled, and of a Foe made a Friend, on the othec the Prince of Darknejs routed and chain 'd to his triumphant Chariot. Yea, which is the ftrangeft and moft furprizing Inflance ot his Love, it kts himfelf dying on a Crofs, and Death d^ing with him. All this, as in a pleafant Lan4-skip, they behold in the Sacrlfa^nt. All the Senfes are reafted ; and they are ra^de lAiJle and fee that the Lord is good ; and while the King fittetb at his ^able, their Spikenard fendeth forth the Smell thereof y their Souls are filled with Marrow and Fatnefs : They receive marvellous* Manifeftatfons of his* Love and Favour ; How great is the Goodnefsjb Lord, thou ]^ prepared for *them that Jove thee, and wrouzht- i^Jor them that put their i'rufl in thee ! ^heypall Ve fatisfied with the Goodnefs of thy Houfe, even of thy holy temple -, Thou wtlt make them drink of the Rivers of thy Pleafures. They receive the fweet and rarilhing Senfe of heavenly Light and Comfort, and on Matth. xxii. 4.^ 7^ and are even made to rejoice with Joy mfpeakahle tnd full of Glory, Ttiiv eat the Grapes of Ljcol; Qfc teafted with an Antepaft of heavenly Bli{s, the Fruits of the heavenly Canaan, and, in a Word, are in Heaven while upon Earth. So has it fome- times been with Believers at a Communi(;n-TabIe, and fo may it be with you if you come rightly pre- pared to the Ordinance. It was the Saying of one to Chrift, Bleffed is be that Jhall eat Bread in the Kingdom of God : But here Believers, ChrilVs my- flical Spoufes, have a Heaven upon Earth ; they enjoy Communion with their God, and with Chrift their hy^nly Bridegroom, which is Heaven where- cver it is : They are alfo bleflcd with Fellowfhip and Communion with the Holy Spirit, the third Perfon of the ever bkfled Trinity, who, as he had fiift formed the Marriage-union betwixt Chrift and the Soul, fo he does confirm and maintain it until the great Marriage Solemnity be fully com- pleated in Glory. This then is the royal Feaft and Entertainment updfii the Pccafion of Chrift and Believers theic folemnizing the Marriage-Trantaftion. To which I may add in the End, as oge Partjof the Royalty of it, that the Marriage is^lolemnized by the Me- lody even of Angels, the Anthems and Hallelujahs of all the Quire ot Heaven, ^here is Joy in Heaven Vefore the Angels of God over one Smner that re^ fentetb. hjj^ fays John, Rev. xix. 6y 7. And 1 heard as iiTwere the ^oice of Jt great Multitude^ and as the Voice of many fVaters, and as the Voice of mighty fthunderir.gs, faying. Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth : Let us he glad and rejoice^ and give Honour to him, for the Marriage 78 S E R M O N V. of the Lamb is come^ and his Wife hath made her felf ready. But I now come in the VI. And laft Place, To urge the Invitation in the Text, All 1'hings are ready : Come to the Mar-. mage. And becau!e Vm as'raid I hai'e already rref- paiied too farupan your Patience, I iliall wrap it all np in a general Exhortation. Well then, feeing fuch Preparations are made for ■ttanfading and fokranizing the Marriage-Covenant between Chrifl: and Believers, let me exhort you all to comply with the kind and gracious Invita- tion and Call with which you are addn^C'd in the Text, All 'ifbings are ready : Come ^Sj| Mar^ riagey come not only as Guefls to Ihare oftlie En- tertainment, but come as the dear efpoufed of the Lord, to tranfad the Marriage-Covenant with him. J)o ye conlider, ray Friends, who calls you ? Even ihv glorious King of Heaven, the Blejfed and only potentate, the eternal Father of oiir Lord Jefus Chrtfi, who is willing to adopt you into his Fa- mily, to put you among his Children, to ^ow vou to call him your Father, your God^ youx^ather in Chrifi. He calls jj^^o come and folemnize a Martiage-Coveij|nt bqRixt Chrift his only begot- ten Son and you. Ana will ye di'{c)bcy his Call ? Confider what a marvellous Offer of Mercy and Grace is made to you when you are invited to ac- cept ot the Loi'e ot the Sen of .God : Shaj.1 he who is the Bofom and beloved Son of God, vjjg^honQ from all Eternity with all the Glocjes ol a Go^ and wore a Crown wiiofe every Gem was an Attribute, ftiall he leave the Bofom of the Father's Lov^^ and the Erightnefs of his Father's Glory, to come and^ourt your Love, and ah 1 will ye deny his Suit ? How piay the Angelsot Heaven, think ye, be aftonifhed at thiSj ^ ^. on Matth. xxii, 4. 79 Ills, who know the Excellency of the Lord whom ^c conremn ? And what fulkn Pleafure ihall it af- }ord to the apoltate Angels, to fee the Lord of t^lory, who pafl by thera, flighted in the OflfcTS. 'of his Love to the Children of Men ? Oh ! Can you lit lo much in your own Light as to rcfufe his Suit? Where can you meet with fuch another jOffer ? Search both Heaven and Earth there is not uch another for you as the Lord Jefus Chrift ;,; Jn all Things he has the Pre-eminence. Happy fhali ye be it ye accept of him, and relign your felves to him in 2i perpetual Covenant never to be forgotten* Neither the Tongue of Men or Angels can tell how great will be your Happinefs ; As the Apoflic fays in a Word, All ^'hin^s are yours, and ye are Chrift* s, and Chrift is God's. All things are yours^, whether Paul or Appollos^ or Cephas, or the IVorldy 6r Life, or Death, or 'things prefenty or Things to come, all are yours. O come tnerefore to the Marriage, come and. make a fare Bargain of it, come and tranfad; a Covenant with tiie Lord Jefus Chrift in the mod ferious and folemn Manner you can. O, beware of fetting him at nought, o^ making light of his Love, and of (lighting the Offer and Invitation that is now made to you. The Slighters ol Chrift, and ot his Calls and Invitations, will be reckoned of the fame Number with his Murderers, and iball have che fame dreadful Fate in the Eitd ; For hom Jhall they efcape who have negleSied fo ^reat a Sal^ vat ion ? Jf he that defpfed Mofes Law died under two or three IVitneftes, of how much forer Punifh" ment floall he he thought worthy, who bath troden under Foot the Son of God, aid counted the Blood 'ices. They that will not ftek God while be way he found fhall not find him at all. Confder this therefore ye that forget God, . left he tear you in Pieces when there floall le none to deliver you. 0 rejeSi not the Counfel of Cod againfi your fel'ves. All Things are ready on God's Part, O ftudy to have all Things ready on yours : Give an hearty Confent to the Terms of the Covenant ; have on the IVe ding- garment ; and come in the Strength of the Lord with whom you are to tran- faft, -fnaking 'mention of his Kighteoufnefsy even of his only : Ihat To To-morrow may be a Day of your Efponfals to the King of Glory, a Day to be remembered by you all your Life, yea a Day that ihall lay the Foundation of your Happinefs to all Eternity ; and that what is delivered in fo folemn Words, Kev. xix. 6, 7. (with which I fhall con- clude; may be verified in you ; ylnd J heard as it were the Voice of a great Multitude, and as the Voice of many Heaters, and as the Voice of mighty ^hunderings, faying Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reignetb ; let us he glad and rejoice, and give Honour to him, for the Marriage of the Lamb is corae^ and his IVife hath made herfelf ready. Amen S E R M* Sj SERMON VI. John i. 14. -^nd we beheld his Glory*' T was one of the mofl: glorious Days that C hi ill had while on Earth, thac when he was upon the Mount oi Transfiguration, his Face did Jhinc as the Sv/tiy and his Raiment -was white as the Light, and there ap- peared to him Mofes and Elias talking with him ; and his Divinity was proclaimed by a Voice from the Cloud, ^is is my bdoved Son in whom I am •ri'ell pjea/ed, hear ye him. This was the brighteft Conjunftion, and moft glorious Intctview that eyer was feen, betwixt Heaven and Earth, the Law and the Gofpel, the Church triumphant and the Church militant : The one reprefented by Mofes and Elias^ the other by Petery James and John; and Jefus Chrift the glorious Head and Union of them both in th« midft of them. This was the bright^il Scene thac cvrr this lower World faw, the moft auguft Af*- fembly that ever was convccned oj? Earth ; the F 2 • ?bl€l §4 S E E M O N VI. dsi^f of Prophets, ^nd the chief of Apoilles, the -oaeas AmbafladorG from Heaven and the oUiec tfeora Earth, to be prefent with the Son of God our HdOfed Redeemer, whilft, as dt were, be tried -ow the Robes of his future Olory, to fee how they w^d fit and -(it upon his Humanity. This \V3S ati .happy Moment to Chx'iik himfclf, and hap|>y iikewife to hk three favourite Difciples who beheld S bis excellent Oloij, -arid in -a Confusion of impcMt- ous Joy were made toy% rhey wifi 4iat weU what: fbfmdit is good fm' us to he ber-e, let as he ye make Shr^e tabernacle's. And Ol but mcthinks a Giimpfe of this excellent Glory, would do exceeding well amonglliK To- we (hall be able with more Fixednefs and Compre- henfion, to contemplate his Glory, feeing him no vifire darkly as in a Glafs^ hut feeing him Face to. Face, feeing him as he is, and kiwjiing him^ even as he fJjall make us to know him ; to which bright and rapturous Vilion of his Glory we fhould, by previous Views and Surveys thereof, be now pre- paring and training our Minds : I fhall adventure to fet before you, as I am able, frme true, tho' faint. Views and Profpeds of our Redeemer's Glory, And in the ijt Place, Could we with onr Divine Evangelifi:, in the Beginning of ri. is his Gofpel, and the Beginning of this Chapter, foar aloft above the Clouds and the outmoft Limits of the Creation, and direft our Pro(pe(5t backward before the Birth of Nature and the Beginning of Time, into that vafl Eternity which God alone poflcfl, before he made the World or any Creature for fhewing forth his Glory ; O what a glorious and ravifhing Profped fliould wc have of the Glory and Felicity of Chrift, whilft he on John i. 14. gy he lay from all Eternity in the Bofo?n of his moll blefied Father^ rejoicing always before him as the Brightnefs ef his Father's Glory, mid the exprejs Image of his Perfon. He was in the Form of God^ and counted it no Kobbery to be equal with God ; wearing a Crown,, whofc every Jewel was an At- tribute s infinite Wifdom^ Power and GoodnefSj and ail the other Divine Perfeftions, were but the. feveral Rays that fparkled about his glorious Head. /;; the Begimiing was the IVord^ mid the IVord was with Gody and the IVord was God, fays our Evan- gelift. Butch! Who can conceive what the Glory and Felicity of God is ? Who can imagine how glorioufly aud blisfuUy the Perfons of the God-head did enjoy themfelves from all Eternity ? If Eye hath not feen, nor Ear heard, nor the Heart of Man beeu able to conceive the Glory and Eleflednefs that God hath laid up and provided for us W^orms : Ah how infinitely, infinitely more inconceivable and tranfcendant muft be the Glory and BlefTednefs that God himfelf is poifeft of, and that from all Eternity. Of this divine and eternal Glory of Chrift, we are not capable to form Thoughts ; and therefore leaving it, let us defcend lower, and in the Second Place, Survey his Glory as brought more upon a Level with our Eyes, let us follow him de- fcending from Heaven, and contemplate his Glory of a lower Exaltation, as become Man, Goc? manifefied in the Fleflj, our glorious Mediator and Redeemer. And here I fhall fet before your Eyes a fhort and faint View. I. Of the Glory of Chrift's mediato- ry Excellencies ; II. The Glory of his mediatory Offices and Performances ; III. The Glory of his Life and Actions; IV. The Glory of liis Death F 4 and 88 SERMON VI. apd Sufferings ; V". The Glory of his Refurrcdion^ A(ceii(ion, Exaltation and coming again to Jucig- nlint ^ ; VI. His Glory di'fplay'd in his Ordinances': And iti all I ftiall be very fliort, prefencing you ori- Ij with a few Hints ; for to fpeak of thefe Things fully, would require not too niudi of your Time at prefcnt, but would be enough to erbjploy an Eter- nity. 1. The Glory of his mediatory Excellencies, and thefe I jdiall comprehend all within thefe three Heads ; i/?, His Aptitude or Fitntis, idly. His Ability, ^dly, His Willingncfs to be a Mediator and Redeemer to us. i/. His Aptitude or Fitnefs. And O! What ta fwcet Congruity, a glorious Conjunftion and Mixture of all necefiary and fuiting Qiiali/ications jjiavc we here, to fit and fiirnifh him lor being a ]M!ediator and Redeemer to us ? There are three grand and principal Outgoings of the God- head, each of them, by an excellent Congruity, peculiar to the Perfon of the bleircd Trinity ; there is firft Creation peculiar to the Father, the. firft P<;rfon ; there is fecondly Redemption peculiar to the Son, the fecond Perfon ; and tlure is thirdly Sanftiiica- tion peculiar to the Holy Ghoft, tiie third Perfon. Jn thefe three Outgoings of the God- head, each Perfon has his peculiar and diftinguifhing Shine, and the Second with a fpecial Congruity belongs to the Son. What more fie and congruous, when ic was refolved upon in the great Council of the God- head, that Mankind fhould be redeemed, arid mufl be redeeme4 by a divine Perfon, what more fit and congruous, than that, he who was the fccond and middle Perfon of the God-head, fhould be crnployed to mediate betwixt God and Man ? m Joliii ii 14. gi^ What more fie ^tid congruous, than that he who lay from all Eternity in the Bofortt of the Father- of Lights, intimate to all his Secrets and Counfels, ihould travel forth to publifli his gracious Inclina^ tions to a loft World ? What more congruous than that he whowaS?^ Brigbtnefs of his leather's Glory, and the exprefs Jmj^ge of his Perfia, ftiould emerge with fome Rays of that Gl6ry, and arifc upon the World as the Sun of KighteoufnefSy with Healing and Salvation tiitder his Wings ? Who fa fit to interceed with the Father in our Behalfv, as he who was the Bofom and beloved Son of the Father^ having a dear and prevailing Intereft with him ^ Again as he was God and Man in one Perfonj who fo fit as he to be a Mediator between Go4 and us ? Who by partaking of the Nature of both Parties, would be faithful to the Interefts of both, zealous for his Father's Glory, nnd at the fame Time tenderly concerned for the Welfare of Souls : Who, by his being God was able, and by his be- ing Man was capable, to make Satisfaftion to the Juftice of God for our Sins, in fuch a Manner as to maintain the Honour, and to difplay the Glory of all the divine Perfe(5lions ; and to purchafe for us, not only the Pardon o^ our Sins and an Exempt tion from Wrath, but alfo a new Claim to the di- vine Favour, a new Title to Heaven and everlafling Life ; together with the Gift of the Holy Spirit to fit and prepare us for the Enjoyment of it, in a Way decorous and congruous both to the divine Nature and our own. O thrre is a glorious Congruity ih it 1 Chrift "the Son of God his becoming Man td ellious, but he can reclaim them, and make them A mUing people in the Day of km Powet* : Yea were they never io much loft, never fb much the Cbildreif af Wrath, the Vaflals of Satan and Mehs of Hell, \?\it he can faye them and pluck them up even from the Brink of Hell ; yea when they feem to be feme length fallen into k, and the devouring Flames catching Hold upon> them j he can pluck them up from thence into the midft of his heavenly Para- dife and Glory. And O then ! is be not a. glori- cms> Saviour, and is not his Ability to fave a glo-. rious mediatory ExccUeacy and Perfedion. But; 3^y, Let us take a View of hisWiilingacfs, whkh. I mentioned as another of his mediatory Excellent eies. As he was fit and able fo was he willing, glorioufly willing to be a Mediator to us; aixJ. alas 1. v/hat would the other two have done without the third ? This latter adds a Lui^re and a Glory 50 the two former i what had become of us, and the she whole Race of Mankind, il^ in the grand Con- Silt of the Deity about the Redemption of a World, the Son of God had faid, as the Olive,, the ¥tg and the Vine faid in the Parable of Ja- tbam Jud. ix. SbaU J leave my Fafnefs, my Sweet- nefs and my IVme^ to go and be promoted over Jhem? Shall I leave my native Glory and Blef- fcdnefs, which I here enjoy %\ the Bofom of my Father, to go and be a Redeemer to thefe vile and. abjed Creatures of Clay,^ tlie Inhabitants of the Earth ? No I think them not worth my Paiiis ; $hey have ruined and undone themfelves^ and rc- ftore and redeem who v;ill, I will not ; they have thrown themfelves out of Paradife, and. for me they m John i. 14. ^| ^ali never be brought bad; again into it ; they have perfidioufly fur rendered thcmfclves to the Va^* fallage of Satan, and let them ftay in his Service and reap the Fruits of it, for I \yill not leave Hc&ven to bring them out of Heli. Ohi I fay, what had become of us and all the Pofterity of ytdatn, a the Son of God had thus declined an<| fefufcd, as juftly he might, to be a Redeemer to m ? The very Thoughts of it, even in mere Sup- |>o(itiofl, methinks, may be amazing and confound- ing to US: But Glory, Glory unto him for it, there was nothing of fuch Unwillingncfs in him ,• no ifooner was it moved in the great and eternal Coun- cil of the Godhead, that Man, fallen Man ftould fee redeemed, but immediately and voluntarily, with a glorious Promptitude and Alacrity, he undertook the Work, Father I am willing, heartily willing arsd weli-pleafed to go about this Bufinefs, for as di^.cuit and hazardous an Undertaking it is : I am v/eii content and fatisfied to obfcure for a Time my Godhead with a Vail of Flefh, to leav« ihefc heavenly Palaces, and go down to yon earth- ly Cotragcs, to put off my Crown of Glory and put on a Crown of Thorns ; to defccnd from the Throne and to mount the Crofs ; yea to go frcnt thy Bofom not only into the Bowels of the Earth, but even into the Heart of Hell in the Agonies and Torments I mull futier : All this will I chear- fuUy dp for the Sake of poor wretched Mankindg' whom I love and am heartily willing to redeem : Nothing, I' fee, but Blood, precious and divine Elood will redeem them, and Til go down and give my Blood a Ranfom for them, Q ^as not this glorious, glorious and amazing Willingntfs in ik^ S»n oi God, to become our Redeemer ? And 94 SERMON VI. O 1 ought we not, whenever we think on it, to admire and adore him, and afcribe Glory to glo* rious Chrill ? STo him who loved us, and ■wajhed us from our Sins in his own Blood, to him he Glo- ry for ever : Glory, Glory, Glory to this glorious Lover and blefled Friend ot" Souls, the eternal Blef- fings of Souls that were ready to periJJo be upon him ; who, when Sacrifices and OfferingSy Burnt- offerings and Sin-offerings of any other ijort could not do it, could not ranfom our Souls from Death and Hell, then faid Lo I come, lo I come willingly and chearfully, in the Volume of thy Book it is written of me^ I delight to do thy Will O my God. Glory to him tor his free, unmerit- ed and fcafonable Love and Wilh'ngnefs to fave us, jnft when we were upon the Brink of Ruin, and falling head-long into the Pit of Deftrudion, according to that Exprefllon ©f the Apoille, Heh. u. i6. For he took not on him the Nature of Angels^ but he took on him the Seed of Abraham : In the Original it is, i^y^iiQ^v^iAi. he caught hold haftily and feafonably of them, juft wlien tney were falling head-long into everlafting Ruin and Deftrui^ion. But proceed we now in the ^ II. Place to take a View of Chrift's mediatory OfHces and Functions, and the Glory that alfo Ihines forth in them : And here, indeed, we have a bright Conftellation, a milky IVay, I may fay, in this Firmament of Glory. His three Offices fit like a royal Diadem and fparkling Crown upon his princely Head, and are all of them Iweetly inter- woven one with another : He is a royal Prieft, and pricftly Prophet, and prophetical King, all in one ; next to the great Trinity of the Godhead, I may fay, there is not ruch another glorious Tiinity as this. -" But on John i. 14. 9^ But let us furvcy a little the Glory of his media- tory Offices each of them by itfelf, nnd I. His prophetical Office, what fvvcct and ami- able Rays of Glory do fparkle from thence? With what a Luftre doth he fhine in his prophetical Of- fice ? He is the Light of the IVorld, aU the ^rea- fures of IVtfdom mid Knowledge are hid in him : He is the great Apojlle of our ProfeJJiOHy and Ah- ^el of the Covenant j the Ambailador of Heaven, the Mejfias and anointed of the Lord whom the Father employed for making himfclf known to the World, No Man hath feen God at any ^me, the only begotten who is in the Bofom of the Father^ he hath revealed him. He aflifted, bimfelf, at the great Council of the Godhead that gave him his Inftrudions, he was cloathed with the ampleft Pow- ers of the Deity ; he was lurnifiisd for his Work with a divine and plenary Unftion, he received not the Spirit by Meafure. When he appeared, God himfelf appeared in ail his moft lovely Per- fedions, I'he Word was jpade FleJJj, fays our Text, and dwelt among uSy and we beheld his Ghry, the Glory as of the only begotten of the Father fuU of Grace and Truth ; full of Grace and Truths as full as an overflowing Fountain is full of Water. The Sweetncfs of Heaven was, I may fay, opened up and difplayed in him : The divine Compafllons gave full Vent to themfelves by him; Infinite Mer- cy dwelt upon him difplaying the Charms of hec lovely Face, he well might be called the Mercy- feat : He w^s full of Grace and fuU of ^ruth. AU Trutli was lodged in him, in him are hid all the ^reafures of IVifdom and Knowledge. In him was feen the Truth and Accompliftimcnt ci all the Purpofes, all the Revelations and Promifcs of God, coil- 9<5 S E R M O N VI. cpnpeyning that grand Defign of Man's Rcdempti-«. on ; and in him was feen the Truth and Sub- ftance of ail thefe Types and Figures, by which it was (hadowed out under the Law. Full ofGraci (Lj^d, ^rutb, a lovely Conjundion^^ and both fhone with their fw^eteft Spleni^qr in tj^e Face of Jefu^ Chrift. ', "^ • When he was upon parth, how maTveloufly did he teach and preach ? He taught with Authority^ 'and not as the Scribes : t|e cigrmed his Audience with the fweet and heaveiily Strains of his Dextrine, All bore him U^^ituefs, and wQudered at the gracious WofdSy that proceeded oi{t of I? is Mouth. He was the fVay^ and the "truth and the Lite, the Life as well as the Light of the If'orld, He has brought Life and Immortality to Light by his Gofpel. He is ihe great Mailer of Rabbles and Teachers ifi Ifrael; the great Head of Prophets, Apoflles, evangelical J?aftor^ and Teachers ; The Hope of Martyrs, and the Author an^ PiJii/her cf the Faith of Be- lievers. What a glorious divine Revelation has he bleft the \Vorld with ? VVhat a happy Change does it make wherever it fhitTies } Men that were fitting in D0yk-nefs and in the Shadow of Death are made to fee the Light : They are called out of Darknefs into lis marvelous Light ,- marvejions Light, that dif- covers fuch marvelous Tilings, the marvelous My- fteries of God, of his Nature, Counfels, Covenants and Works, efpecially the Myfteries of Redempti- on ; which Things even the Angels defire to pry into. 0 1 He is a gloiious Prophet who ^;t^5 Eyes to the Blind, Ears to the Deafy Lips to the Dumb, and even fpeaks Life unto the Dead. That was a fweet Prophecy of him, and which he glorioufly ha« ia all Ages accomplilhedj Jfa. Ixvi. i. ^kf Spirit on John i. 14J 97 spirit of the Lord God is upon me^ becaufe the Lord hath anointed me to preach good I'lJaigs unto the meek, he hath fent me to bmd up the broken ht^u:- . f i, to proclaim Liberty to the Captives^ and the opening of the Prifon to them that are bound. He is a gj »- rious Propher to his Churcti. wiiL rereirued not the Spirit by Meafure^ but in whom dweUs all the Fuluefs of the Godhead bodily. Mofes, Elija and El:Jha^ David, Jfaiah 2iS\iiJere>ntah Daniel, Ezekiel a-td John the Baptifi, and John :tic Divine, and ah the Reft oi the honourable Ttai:- of Prophets, whether under the Old cr the New Ttllanicnt, they were all but Icfler Lights in the Sphere of T rophc^ts, who borrowed their Light Irom him,andreflcata it back upon him. O thou eternal Light, the Light that Itghtnetb every one that ccnieth into the World, fhint in upon our dark and contuicd Minds with one Ray of thy heavenly Ligh:, that in thy Light we may be made to fee Light ^ and be helped to conceive and fp^ak aright ot thee. But then, zdly^ Let us contemplate a little the Glory of ChrilVs prieftly Office. The High rrieft of cid, who was a Type (S^ him, was certainly a very gvxjd- ly Perfonage, when attired in all the gorfuPcais Robes of his Fundion, and the whole Levitical Prieilhood and Service was very pompous and folemn : But yer, thefe \yere all but very faint Shadows of the real and fuperlative Glory of cur immortal New Teftament High Prieft j they all pointed at him, they all paid Homaee to him, and, 'in John the Bapttfi's Language, confeft and faid, He that comet h after us is preferred before us. Chrift was then like young Jofeyhy cloathed with a party coloured Coat of Vol. ir. . G Types 58 S E R M O N VI. Ty^e^aiM Rites and Figures, which his Fathcfr ^as pleated to put upon liim during the Nonage, 4 may fay, of divine Revelation : But when the 'J'ttbiefs of Stime was cvme^ and the riper Yeats oi the Gofpel were arrived, Ghrift then appeared a ^^rfeS High Prkfi, and took perfonally upon him the Execution of his Office, and O but he aded -glorioufly in the Execution cf it ! When Mamab offered Sacrifice, *^udg. xiii. the Angel of the Lord, ^tis ia?d, did 'wonderfuliy : And O but oti-: bt^b '-'PHefif the Angel cf the Co'venaut a As the Apoflle (nys.Heb. iv.i4,i5. Seeingthen that we have a great Htgb Frieftj that is gaffed into thff on John i. 14; iox tie Heaveus, Jefus the Son of God, let us hold fafi our Profejfton. Let us therefore, come boldly unto the throne of Grace, that we may obtain Mercy, and find Grace to help in I'tme of Need. How does this endear Heaven to the Believer, make him lift up his Soul to ic, and with Pleafure range over the Fe- h'cities and Glories of it -, and long for the Day when he fhall be tranflated thither, where, when he comes, he (hall not be conddered as a Stranger, but be received into the Arms of his kind Redeemer and bed Friend, and live and dwell with him not only as a Spedator but a Sharer of his Glory for ever? How did it encourage old Jacob and his Sons to go down to Egypt, when they knew o£ Jofeph's being before him, and the Power and Jntereft he had in the Land, and the kind Enter- tainment they fhould meet with from him ? And 0 1 how comfortable may it be to Believers to think oi going to Heaven, when they know it is the Kingdom of their elder Brother JefuSy and that he is there before them, and has prepared a T lace for them, yea that, having loved them, and wafhed them from their Sins in bis own Blood, he Ihall make them Kings and Pnejis to God and his Father. But I proceed in the III. Place, To take a Ihort View of Chrift's Royal Office, and the Glory with which he is crowned as a King ; He is indeed the King of Glo- ry. The Kings ot the Earth pretend to Grandurc and Glory, and are apt to boafl enough of it, as Nebuchadnezzar did, in the iv. oi Daniel, ^over. Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the Houfe of the Kingdom, by the Might of my Power^ and for the Honour of my Majefty ? But ah 1 Whac are they all when laid in the Balance with Chrift ? P 3 What 101 S E R:M ON VI. What is their Glory compared with hi?? Like fo inany Glow-worms compared with the Sun. He is the King of Glory, And O! What a glorious and royal Court does he keep above ? How {lately and magnificent is his royal Palace in the higheft Heavens, the new Jerufakm ? You have it de- fcribed by high Metaphors in the 21^? of the Revff' lation. What a dazling Throne of Glory does he (it upon ? With what Glory and Majefty is he ar- rayed ? What a fparkling Crown of Glory does he wear on his Head ? How glorious, as well as nu- merous, are his Attendants ? ^bonjands of thou- fands minijler unto bim^ mid ^en thoufand S[imes ten thoufand fiand before htm^ he is the Lord of ■Hods, O die glorious Armies of Saints and Angels, that ambicioufly wait his Commands and perform his Pldafure ! He ff.is on the right Hand of the Ma- jefiy on high, on the right Hand of the Power of God, Angels and Aitthorittes and Powers being made fttbjeSf to htm. He has a Name given hi?n above every Name that is natned. Prince of all the Hier- archy of Heaven, great Captain of all the Armies of Heaven, glorious Head of the General Affe?nMy of the Ftrfiborn ; the adored Leader of all thefe dear Saints, who, having wafljed their Garments in the Blood of the Lamb, are cloatbed with long "johtte RobeSy and do follow the Lamb^ as his glo- rious Train whcrefoenjer he goes. And is it not a glorious Interceflion he there makes in Behalf of his younger and tenderer Members on Earthy his Saints in Minority nnd yet under Pupillage ? And are they not glorious Miflions of the Spirit, plen- tiful and r^lorious Erfafficas ot his Graces and Blef- (ings, which be bellows upon them i making his Angels fty in Difpacgh through ail the Quarters of the on John- i 14? IQ^ the World h their Bebaii^ and foi' miniftring to an4 carrying fafely nome thefe Darling Heirs of Glory^ that fo ac lafi: his Body myflicai may hs, Fully made up and compkated. He istbe Kmgof Gkry^ and it is not pojGTibk for lis rjow lo have any rigte-t- Concept! in ot the Glory either of his Pctfoa ot» Kingdom : As the Qiken of Sbei^a^s Heart (ail^. her, when ihe faw tiie G/f?}^ <^ Sokraiou's Courfy foL dijjr Spirits flag and frnk, when we begin, to think of the all-tranfcending and inconceivable GSopy of Chrift and his Kingdocp, our Spirits are not able k)r the Contemplation. But he is not only a glorious King in that highes and more illuftrious Part of his Kingdom above, but he is alfo a glorious King in the Exercifc of his regal Power upon Earch. How glorious . is he sa the Day of his Power, when he girds bis Sivotd u- pon bis Tk^igh with his Glory and with Ms Majefiy^ and rides- profperoufy in the Chariot of the Gofpe), cGHquemig and ta conquer i How glorious is he when he enters the Sinner's Soul with a triumphan£ Solemnity ; when he mounts the Throne of hi? Heart, makes all his Powers pay willing Homage' to him, and the whole Man rejoice for the happjji Revolution ? Hov/ glorious was he when he enters^ the Lills with all the Believers fpiritual Enemies^ and came off with Viftory and Conquefi: ? Whca he fpoiled Principalities and Powers^ and, ^saking s Shew of them openly^ triumphed over ihem on tin Crofs? When ht flew Death and buried the Grave, and made the Viftory lo estenfive, as that all his People can triumph over them too by Viitue o^ his Conqueft, O Death where is thy Sting / O Gnrje where is thy Vt^ory I thanks be to God who giijeth us the l-Wory through cur Loyd J&fus Qbnfi f How ■ ^ • ■ G 4 glo- 104. SERMON VI. gl rims has he many Times been, even in the tem- poral Deliverances of his People, the great Salvati- ons he has wrought for them, and the notable O- verthrows he has given their Enemies ; fo as his People have been made to fay thereof, This ts the Lord's doing and marvellous in our Eyes i O he is the Lord (irong and mighty^ the Lord mighty in Battle! And how happy is it for his People to be under the Proteftion of fuch an Almighty King ? He is a glorious King, glorious even in the Laws by which he governs his People, and the Duty and Service he requires of them. Holinefs is the Sum thereof, and that is a glorious Thing, He is glorious in Holinefs himfelf, and fo are his La^'/s and hii Sefvije : Holinefs hecometb bis Houfe for ever. He is a glorious King, and efpecially will he appear to be fo in the End, when he comes to judge the World at the lalt Day i chat will be a ei'Tious Adminiftrarion or his regal Power. His fi ft Coming was obfcure in the Form of a Servant : But his fecund Coming will be glorious, infinitely glorious. He wHl^come in the Glory of his Father and all his holy Angels with him: Heaven (hall be unvalled, and all the unfeen Glory of it brought forrh , the Curtain of the Clouds lliall be drawn aflde, and forth fhall com: the Son of God in a glorious and amazing Solemnity, aggrandized with all the Glory of his Fath«.r, and attended with all hismighiy Angels. If ever you have feen in a clear and (iknr Night, the Heavens all rhrcng'd \ with gie.iming Stars, iaingine that for each of thefe Stars yoa law a Noon-tide Sun, and one Sun in the midfl of them, as bright and dazling as all of tbcm, and this but faintly can give you a Con- ception on John i. 14. 105 ccptlon of the infiaite Glory of Chrifl at his fecond Coining, when he conies in the Glory of his Father and all bis holy Angels with him. O how glorious will be his Work in thac Day ? When the Son of Man Jhall come in the Glory of his Father and all his holy Angels with him, then fhall he fit on the Hhrone of his Glory i and before hmt jhall be gathered all Nations, and he Jhall feparate them one from another^ as a Shepherd divideth his Sheep from $he Goats. O how glorious ! How ravifliingly glorious will the Sight of him be to Believers, when he comes tn be glorified in his Saints, and to he admired in all them that believe in that Day ! And hew glorious, terribly glorious will hs be to the Wicked, who fhall be punijhed with everlafiing De(lru£iion flowing frofn the Prejence of the Lord and the Glory of his. Tower ! And thus now I have endeavoured to give you fome Profp.cts of the Glory of Chrift, Firft, Of the Glory of his Mediatory Excellencies ^ And, idly, Ot his Mediatory Offices and Fundions. I (hould now proceed to confider the Glory of his Lite and Actions, the ^ Glory of his Death and Sufferings, for there is even a Glory in hisdarkeft Clouds, a So- lemnity in his Wo, Viftory in his Death, Con- qiieft on his Crofs ; And then I iliould proceed to conlider the Glory ot his Refurreftion, Afccnfion, Exaltation and coming again to Judgment : But becaufe the Time calls upon me to be done, and I have already touched m3ll of thefe Things in yPart, I fhall pafs the more particular Confideration of them, and' only touch very briefly the Glory of Chrifl difplaycd in his Ordinances, and then con- clude. Let io6 S E R M ON VI. Let US then, m a few Words, confidcr the " re-' fk^cd Glory of Chrift as difplayed in his Ordi- nances. The Ordinances of Chrift, efpecially that of the Sacrament, which we are this Day to fo- lemnize, are the Mirrors in which the refltfted Rays ^ his Glory are difcovered and beheld by his Saints. . ^he King is held in bis Galleries : A glo- rious high Throne from the Beginning is the Piace of our Sand'iary : Tbey banje feeii tby Goings^ O Gody even the Goings of my God my King in the San5iuary; Glorious Ibings are fpoken of tbeCy O thou City of God; tby IVay^ O God, is in the ^anBuary, who is fo great a God as our God ? ^hoa art the God that dod IVonders. O lavilliingly bright and blifsful are the Difcoveries of the Glory of Chrift, which he fometimes vouchfafes to his Saints in his Ordinances : He makes all his Glory to pafs before them ; he caufes them to fay, as yacoh laid of Bethel^ this is the Houfe of God, this is the Gate of Hea'ueni he makes them to fay with peter i and y antes and yohn on the Mount, Majier it is good for us to he here, let us here make three Ta- lernacles ; he there opens a Door to them in Hea- ven, and makes them think that they are caught up into the third Heavens, and there fee the throne ef God andbifn that Jits thereon, and the Lamb of God on his Right Hand ; and hear the Hallelujahs of Angels and of" Saints, ^be Tet^ thoufand times S'en thoufand, and 9^boufand cf l^bon/ands that fand hefore the throne, and fay, BlcJJing, and Honour, and Glory, and Power, be unto- him that Rtteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever. And O ! that on this prefent Occalion and Ordi- nance we could get fuch a Difcovery of the Glory c[ our Redeemer Jefus Chrift i O 1 that To-day on John i. 14. 107 we could fie the Kin^ in his Beauty ^ and behold our King initb the- Crown of Glory upon his Head-, 0 1 tnat we could fee one oi the Days of the Son of Man ; 0 / that the Arm cf the Lord might he re^. vealed among us ; O ! that his Glory might fill oaf ^a^ernacle ; O ! that we might fee the Son of Man walking in the midft of the golden Candlefttcks ; Ol that we could fee the Mailer of our Feaft fitting at the Head of his own Table, giving chcarful and hearty Welcome to his Guefts, faying, Eaty O Friends, yea drink abundantly, 0 beloved; O ! thae we did ly, with the beloved Difciple, in his Bofom,. that we faw and felt what we never might forget, and might all be made to go away, faying. Surely the Lord was in yonder Place, furely Chrift was at that Communion, and we indeed beheld bis Glory. And therefore, now to conclude with a Sentence or two for Application, after the faint Reprefenta- t'ion you have had of the Glory of Chrift, I hope there are none among you who have not now moll high and honourable Thoughts of him, who do not admire and adore him, and count him the Chief among 'ten thoufandy yea the chief of Ten thoufand Worlds ; and who are not ready to queftion your own Felicity, that fuch a glorious Perfcnage (hould daign to come under your humble Roof, and to fay, with David, And will fuch a God indeed dwell with Men? And yet behold he comes, and all the Train of his Mediatory Glories with him^ ready to take up his Abode with you, and to lodge him- felfin the poor Cottages of your Hearts: Behold h» ftands at the Door and knocks, if any Man will open unto bitn, be will come in and fup with him ; O ^ive him ready Accefs, lift up your Heads O ye ''""■'." '^ ' Gates, to8 SERMON VI,efc.- Gates, and be ye lifted up ye everlaftmg Doors, that the King of Glory may come in i Prepare, prepare ye the Way of the Lord, and make his Paths Jlraight, let every Valley be filled up, every Mountain and Hill brought low, let the crooked Ways be made ftraighty and the rough If ays fmooth ; And ye /hall fee the Salvation of God. Behold the Brtdegroora- Cometh, awake attd trim your Lamps ye Virgins and go ye out to meet him. Rejoice greatly O Daughters ef Zion, fioout O Daughters ef Jerufalem, behold your King comet b unto you, he is jufi and having Salvation : Let your Hearts run before and welcome him ; Cry Hofanna to the Son of David, bleffed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord, Hofanna in the higheft. Even fo Lord Jefus come quickly. And now tmto the King immortal, invijible^ the- only wife God, be Honour and Glory for ever and. ever. Amen. S E R- 109 1 M AiL^^kU M '^^■nf^ m SERMON VII. Luke xiii. 24. Strive to enter in at the Jirait Gate : For many., I fay unto ycu^ will feek to etiir ter in-, and Jh all not he able. S there are thofe in the Chriftian Church who conceive the Way to Heaven to be mucli more difficult than, through the Grace of God, ic \%'y fo there are others who in their own Imaginations fo fmooth and plain this Way as to leave in ic little or no Difficulty at all : Both thefe Extremes are to be avoided, and Men are to be equally guarded againft the one and the other. And fee- ing, perhaps, there are not fewer who imagine that the Way to Heaven is eaficr than indeed it is, than there are who think ocherwife, I have made Choice of thefe Words of our blefTed Saviouc as the Subjed ot my Difcourfc to you ; that by fpeaking from them I may reprefent to you the Difficulties that indeed occur in the Way to Hca- Ksxi and eternal Ljfc : Not to difcourage you, ot to iio SERMON VII. to make you Ihrink at the Thoughts of encounter- irtg them, but to guard you againft Sloath or Ne- gligence in a Matter of fuch vail Importance to you, and to excite you with all fuitable Rcfoluti- on and Vigour to face thefe Difficulties, and to ftrugglc and ftnVe with them till ye have over- come themi according to the good Advice or Command of our bleffcd Saviour in the Text, Stfi'be to enter in at the fir a it Gate, for many I fay tints you will feek to enter in ahd Jloall not be able. That our Saviour here fpeaks of Mens AdmifGon into Heaven, under the Notion of entering in at the llrait Gate, is plain from what is told us in the preceeding Verfe, as the Occafion of his fpeak- ing after this Manner, ^hSn faid one tmto hirriy JjOfd are there few that Jhali be faved? And he faid unto thetn, by Way of Reply, Strive to enter in at the firait Gate, for many I fay unto you >wiU feek to enter in and flpaU not he able. Some think, and not without Reafon, that our blefled Saviour in this Figure ot the firait Gate, and entring by it, fpeaks in Allufion to the Cu- ftom of the Jews, on Occafion of their Matriage- fotemnities, or Marriage-feafts, when, for keeping out the Croud that gathered about the Doors of the Houfe where the Marriage was foiemnized, the larger Gate was kept (hut, and only a ftrait Gate or Wicket opened, for letting in thofe who were invited to the Marriage; and by which they could not enter without flriving and iUuggling, by Rea- fon of the Croud that thronged the Doors. And this feems plain from the following Context, I mean that our blefled Saviour makes fuch an Al- lufion, from ver, 25. down to the 31. IVhen once the Mafier of th^ Hotffe is rifen up, and hath (hut t9 of2 Luke xiii. 24.^ ill to the Door, and ye begin to ftand withonty and t9 knock at the Door, faying. Lord, Lord, open un- to us ; and he ilmll anjwer and fay unto you, I hiow you not whence you are : ^hen {hail ye he^ pn to fay, l^e haue eaten and drunk in thy Vre- fence, and thou haji taught in our Streets. Bta be {hall fay, I tell you, J know you not whence you are ; depart from me all ye U^orkers of Iniqui- ty. 1'Jbere (loail he weeping and gnajhing of Teeth, when ye Jhall fee Abraham, Jjaac, and Jacob, and all the Prophets in the KiJigdsfn of God, and ^ou yoUrfel-ves thruft out. And they Jhall come from the Eaji, and from the IVeft, and from the Nerth^ and from the South, and Jhall fit down in the Kifigdoin of God. And behold, there are laft which JImU he firfi, and there are Jirfl which Jhall he iafl. But this Figure of a firait Gate, and as you have joined with it a narrow Way, Matth vii, i j, to denote the Difficulties of the Way of Reh'gioii and VirtuCj in order to Mens arriving at true Felicity, was not peculiar to the Jews, nor on- ly made Ufe of by our blefled Saviour ,* fome of the Heathen Philofophers fpoke much in the fame Strain, and particularly Cebes*s Tabula is an Al- legory wholly of this Sort. Strive to niter in at the firait Gate: Strrve, the Word in the Original is very ftrong, agoniZe or ftrive as in an A gony, like the Wreftlers Ivi the Olmypick Games, who ftrove and ftruggled with their iitmofi: Agility and Force for the Viftory over . their Antagcjn ids. But,\vitnout infifting further on the ; Explication of the Words, in them we have our blcf- fed Saviour, //, Hainly fuppofing, or, if you, will,in- . timaring, that there are Difficulties in the Way to Heaven and etetnai Life, according to the Figure . . .. ■ "of ill SERMON VII. of entmng in hy the Jlrait Gate here ufed by him r idly. We have him enjoining us rcfolu^ely and vi- goroufly to encounter thefc Difficulcies till we have "overcome and maftered them, in order to our being admitted into Heaven and made Partakers of eter- nal Life: And -^dly. We have an Argument to en- gage and excite us to this, namely, that faint En- deavours of this Sort, which will be found to be the Cafe of many, will be of no Avail ; for many J fay unto you, will feek to enter /;/, and floall not he able. In difcourfing on this Subjed I fhall, I. Shew you that there are Difficulcies, many and great Difficulties, in the Way to Heaven and eternal Life, and whence efpecially they do arife : IL I fliall ofter fome Coniideratii-ns, by Way of Argu- ment to engage and excite you with a fuitablc Refolution and Vigour to encounter thefe Difficul- ties ; or, as our Saviour exprefles it in the Text, to ftri've to enter in at the ftrait Gate : And, amonf^ft others, I (hall bring in the Argument or Reafon in the Text, Many will jeek to enter in and (hall not he ahle : IIL I Ihall fubjoin fome Things further by Way of Advice and Diredion. L I fliall fliew that there are Difficulcies, many and great Difficulties, in the Way to Heaven and eternal Life; and whence they do arife. ift, That there are Difficulties, many and great Difficulties, in the Way to Heaven and eternal Life. And this is what is expreily aflerted, oc plainly intimated in many Places oi the Scriptures, efpecially thofe of the New Teftamenc. I ffiall dirttt you but to a few of them. And the tiril is that parallel T^xt in the vii, of Matth. 13, 14. where fays our S'aviour, Enter ye in at the ftrait Gate, on Luke xiii. 14; xij Gate, for ivide is the Gate^ and hroad: is the V/ay that leadeth to Defini6fion,a:2d Tnany there^le which go in thereat: Becaufefiraitisthe Gate and jjarroixt is the iVay which leadeth tmto Life, 'and few there be that find it ; the Word in the Original imports a Way in which one is prjlTed, preflcd with Difficulr ties and Hardfhips on every Sid^. ' ; Another Text importing tiie .Oiffici>Ities that arel in the Way to Heaven, is that, of the Evangdiit, Mat. xi. 12. where fays our Saviour, /ro»^ ^^f D^jVJF of John the Baptift until vow, the Kingdom <^' Heaven fuffereth Violence, and the Violent take - it hy Force : 'Tis true, that this Saying of our Savi- our has a more immediate Refpeti: unto rhe'King- dom of God on Earth, or die Gofpei State, com- mencing from the preaching of John the Baptift^ and the remarkable Urgency and Ardor with which fo many preiTed forward into the Belief and Profef- fion of the Doftrine of the Gofpei, as taughc.firft by John, and afterwards by Chrift and his Apoftles. But as the Kingdom ot God on Earth is always to be conftdered as a Type of, or Introdudion to^ the Kingdom of God in Heaven, and what is faid of the one is more fully accompliihed with Refe- rence to the other : So thefe Words of our Saviour, in which he fays that the Kingdom of Hea^ven fuf" fereth Violence, and the Violent tah it by Force, may well be taken to import, that as there are great and conftderable Difficulties in the Wuy to Heaven ; lO thefe Difficulties cannot be oVcccome and removed but by a holy Violence, and he thar vi^ould be pof- feft of Heaven and eternal Life mud take hnid thereof and grafp it with a rapacious Rand, as the Word in the Original imports. Vol. II.. H Ano- 114 SERMON VII. Another Text I cite to this Purpofe is that of the Apoftie to the Pbillipians ii. 12. therefore my 'S^lovfd^ as ye have always obeyed mt as in my Pre- fence only, but now much more in my Abfejtce, work out your own Salvation with Fear and Strembling : Where the Apoftie exhorts them to work, not only at the Work oi their Salvation, but to work it out, and that with Fear and S^rembling ; leaft after all they did they ftiould be found to have done too Uttle t Which plainly imports that there are great ^IfEculties in the Way of Salvation, which are not to be furmounted and overcome but by great La- bour and Pains, work out your own Salvation with ■Fear and trembling. Agreeable to what the Apoftie to the Hebrews fays, Heb. iv. i. Let us therefore fear, fefi a Promife being left us of entering into bis Keft, any of youjhouldfeem^ fo much as fcem or be in iiny Hazard o{ coming Jhort of it. And fays the A- poftle Peter, i Ep. iv. iS. ylnd if the Righteous fcarcely be faved, where JhaU the Ungodly and Sin" iter appear: He fuppofes a fcarcely, a Difficulty and Hazard even in the Salvation of the Righteous. And to the fame Purpofe, or to intimate the fame Thing to us, arc ail thefe Figures made ufe of in Scripture, which import vaft Labour and Pains as ncceffary in order to our attaining to Heaven and eternal Life: As that 6i fighting a Fight, Tun- ing a Race ; wreftling not only with Flefh and Bloody i^ut with Principalities and Powers, and the Rulers of the D^kne/s of this IVorld, and the like : The Import of all which Figures is, that as there arc great Difiiculties in the Way to Heaven, fo it 'i& not without great continued Labour and Pains that we can expeft to overcome them. This was alfo held forth in the Type or Figure of the Qiildren of 4. ' Jfiael' on Luke xiii. 24' ji^ Jfrael their traveling through the Wilderncfs to the Land of Reft . promifed to them : As the earthly Canaaii was to them a Type and Figpre of the hea- venly i (o the IVildernefs through wnich they trayel- cfl was a Figure of thcfe Difficulties, Hardfhips and TrialSj through which all that hope to arrive r^S Peaven muft be forcing their Way whilft they arc in this World, prefflng forward^ as the Apoftle i?^«/fays, towards the Marky for the Prize of the High Calling of God in Cbrift Jefus ; and, as our Saviour exhorts in the Text, finave Expe- rience of the Thing will more efpeciaUy be fenfible of, by which you have the Pain and Sorrow, and Agony of a true and thorow Repentance expreft^ Zecb. xii. 10. And they JJjall look upon me whom they have pierced ; and they JhaU tnoufn for hitft, as one mournethfor his only Son, and jhall be in Bit-" fernefs, as one that is in Bitternefs for his Firfi-hom* Now, my Brethren, this Work of Repentance, except it be in the Cafe of thofe whom the Graco of God has early prevented, fo as to keep thedt from being deeply engaged in a (inful G)urfe, \i the firft Step that Men can make in the Way to Heaven and eternal Life : They muft be coil-* verted, turned about from the Ways of Sin to the Ways ot God and Religion ; and their Con- vetHon implies, or, if ye will, confifts m their Re-* pentance for their pall; Sins, that is, their deep and hearty Sorrow for them, and their Refolutioti to forfakc them, and walk in the Ways of nev» Obedience for the future. And not only is Re** pentance neceflary at a Man's firft entering on the Way of Religion and Holinefs, or the Way to Heaven and eternal Life ; but ic is neceifary every Pay afterward upon Account of his daily Sin$> tvhtch he muft be purging off by a daily Repentance t And cfpeeially when, as often will be his Cafe, he is involved in the Guilt of more hainous Sins, through the prevailing Power of Temptations, and his own Corruptions joining Iflue together ; cfpe* dally then is he, by a deep and fpeedy R^entaftce^ to recover \\\mk\i out of the Snare of the Deeply to purge off ihz Guilt of his Backflidings, and get oim^if rellorcd to the favour of God^ and i>ut ~ " ~ " again 124 SERMON VII. again in a Capacity to purfue his Way Heaven* ward. And, my Brethren, that Repentance that is neceflary for recovering the Godly from their ^ackllidings, in Poinf of Pain, AiHidion and Agony of Mind, falls little ihort of what of this Sort Men feel, even at their iirft Converfion ; as witnefs thefe Expreflions ot the Pfalmift I haye al- ready mentioned. And now, my Brethren, when Repentance is fo difficult a Work, (and I hop? none of you doubts but it is neceffary, abfolutely necelTary, in oider to one's obtaining the Remiflion of his Sins, and a Right to eternal Life, fince the holy Scriptures ot Truth fo plainly declare it to b^ fo) when, I fay. Repentance is fo difficult a Work j fo hard, fo painful and grievous to Flcfh and Blood, or the corrupt and unrenewed Natures of Men, mufl it not be owned that it is no eafy Matter to be faved, that firait is the Gate and narrow is the Way that kadeth unto Life ; and that particularly upon Account of the Difficulty of the Work of true Repentance, the Way to Heaven is a difficult Way? ■ 2. Mortification, that is another neceffary and difficult Work that makes the Way to Heaven a difficult Way. This is plainly held forth by oui: blelTed Saviour in what he fays, Matth. v. 25?, 59. touching the plucking out oj the Right Eye, and cutting off the Right Hand : And if thy Right Ey? offend thee, pluck it out, and, caji it from thee ; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy Menthers Jhouldperijh, and not that thy iphole Body Jhould he cafi into Hell: And if thy Right Hand offend thee^ cut it offy and caft it from thee ; for it is profitable fw thee that one of thy Members fhould perijjj, and mt that thy imhok Body (hoiild be caft into Hell : Now on Lake xiil 14. lij Now that by the KigU Eye and the Right Hand, our Saviour means our Lufts that are deareft to us, and that we love moft to gratify, is plain from what he fays in the preceeding Verfes concerning the adulterous Look of the Eye, and the adulterous Luft of the Heart. And indeed there is not any Thing more recommended to us, and with ftrongcr Enforcements, in the holy Scriptures, than that Duty or Work of Mortification. See what the Apoille Paul fays, Rom. vi'd. 12, 13. 9'herefore, Brethren, we are Dehters, not to the Flefhy to livff after the Fkjh : For if ye live after the Flejh, y& (hall die ; hut if ye through the Spirit do mortifie the Deeds of the Body, yefhall live. And Gal, vi. 7, 8i Be not deceived ; God is not mocked .* For what/b" ever a- Man foweth, that JJmU he alfo reap. For he that foweth to his Flefh, Jhall of the Flefh reap Cor" ruption .' But he that foweth to the Spirit, (hall of the Spirit reap Life everlajling. And'Col. in. 5, 6^ S, pj 10. Mortifie therefore your Members which are upon the Earth; Fornication, Uncleannefs, in^ ordinate Affection, evil Concupfcence, and Covet ouf" nefs, which is Idolatry ,• for which Sthings Sake^ the Wrath of God comet h on the Children of Dif^ obedience : But now you alfoput off all thefe ; Anger ^ Wrath, Malice, , Blafphemy, filthy Communication out of your Mouth ; Lie not one to another, feeing that ye have put off the old Man with his Deeds ; and have put on the new Man, which is renewed in Knowledge, after the Image of him that created him. Kow, my Brethren, is Mortification an eafy Work ? Is the Amputation of bodily Members and Limbs eafy ? Is Death, even the cruel Death o£ Crucifixion eafy ? And yet this is what we arc called to endure with Reference to our Corruptions and n6 S E R M O N VII. $nd Lufts, Qal. y. 24. ^bey that are Cbr^*Sy ba%9 crucified the Flep, w'ftb the Jffe5fions and Lufis ^ And Rom. vi. 6. fays he to tl^e fame Purpofe, KnoW;: ing that our old Man ii trucified with bitn, thd^ the Body of Sin might be defiroyed^ that henceforfbl V^e /Jjould not ferve Sin. : 3. Self-denial and the bearing the Crojs are qtlfei b^rd apd difHcujp Inflances of Chridian Duty, th^t make the Wgy to Heaven ^ difficult Way. Jf any M<^n ^^^ be my Difiiple, or come after me, let him deny himfelf, and take up his Crofi and follow me, fays our :J^vioui:, Mark yiii, J4; Self- 4eaial, even with Re&rcnce to our Mit^d^, is not c»fily attained to, the Pride of hunian Undetftand- iag gainfays and re(}ft3 it ; apd they who have 119 overweening Conceit pi fheir rational Epwersi arc |K>t eafily captivated to th,e Faith^ and Obcr (iicttce of the Gofpel, apd a hiearty Gomplia^^pe VFith the ^ay of Salvation tlierein revealed : This 9Uide the Heathep Philofophers co|Liiit the preachr mgof a crucified Saviour Foolifhnefs, as the Apo^l^ cells, I Cor. \. 23, And there are» alas 1 too too many, even at thi^ Day, wh,o thropgh the Pride of their fliallow ^.eafon will not admit oi better Senti- ments, will not forfootli believe the Truths of Di- vine Revelation, beqiufe they cannot cpmpreherid theni : ^elf-denial, I fay, even with Reference to our Minds, is not cafijy attained to. And as little is it with Reference to pur Wills, in Point of fl^at Refigiution and Obedience t;o the Will of Cod that is our Duty, apd by which we ought to fee bounded and governed In the vrholc of our Bcr baviour ; allowing our felves to do no Manner of Adion, Hpr to ufe any Kind of Epjoymejjt or GratificAtion \,hsit \^ teioi;bi44e9, ph} how difficult on Luke xiii. 14; 11^ dliRcuk is it {or Men to deny their own Wills, and to be circumfcribed and governed by the Will o€ God ? This is the Source of all their Difobedience and Rebellion againft God, that they will not, qc cannot deny their own Wills, and rcfign them to the Will of God. The proud and ftubborn Wifl of Man cannot eafliy bear Reflraints, it is apt to fey in PbaraoFs Words, iVho is the Lord that f Ihould obey bim ? ihe carnal Mini, fays the Apoftir, Kora. viii. 7. « Enmity againft God, for it is ijs$ fubjeB to the Law of God, neither indeed can bei and the fame may be faid of the carnal or unre- newed W^ill : And indeed the Expreffion include^ both the carnal Mind and Will, as Enmity agaiufi God ; for it isnot fubjedi to the Law ofGody neither indeed can be, viz. whilft it remains unrenewed, u^ is not yec fubdued by the Power of Divine Grace. And as Self-denial is a difficult Work in theft Refpc^&s, fo alfo is it in Point of that SubmlffioQ to the Will of God, which our Saviour, in the forecited Text, exprefles by a taking up of one's Crofs: if any Man wtU come after me, let him deny himjkf^ and take up his Crofs and follow me. By taking up of one's Crofs, we arc to underfland nothing other than a willing and patient Submiffion to the Will of God, in bearing the AiRictions and Trials, and Sufterings, of whatever Kind or Meafure, that God thinks fit to vifit and exeicife us with whilft we are in this Life. But is this, my Brethren, an cafy IThing? Are any Aillictions or Trials eafy to be born; efpecially thefc more grievous Amii^ions and Sufferings which our Biefled Saviour compares xo a Crofs and the hearing oi it ? Has a Crofs aay Charms in it, to make a Man willing either to bear hi ot to be born o^t ic ? And are chcre not fudi grievous 148 SERMON VII. grievous Affl-idions that Men are to lay their Ac- Count with in the Way to Heaven and eternal Life ? Does not the Apoftle Paiti teil us, ^Sfs xiv. 2 2. That it is through much tribulation we mufi tnter into the Kingdom of Heaven ^ And fays not the Apoftle Peter ^ i Epift. ii, 21. That even here- unto we are called^ hecaufe Chrift alfo fuffered for us, ieaving us an Example that we (hould follow his Steps. And on Account of ail this muft we not own that the Way to Heaven is a difficult Way ? Conftdering, 4. The frequent and fervent Exerciks of Devo- tion, the holy Vigilance, fpiritual and heavenly Difpofition of Mind, the lively Faith and fervent Love towards God, the Purity and Sandity of Heart, with a Reccfs from the World, and an Abftradion of Heart and Aftedion from it, that Chriftians are called to maintain in order to their making Progrefs in the Way to Heaven and eternal Life. Alas ! my Brethren, we are apt to con- ceive of Chriftianity by Halves, nay by Parcels, and thefe fmall Parcels too ; we are apt in our Thoughts and Imaginations to reduce it to a very narrow Compafs, and to think that the whole of it lies in a few fmall Parts of it ; we are for an eafy Religion, and are inclined to make a little of Re- ligion ferve our Turn ; we ihape our Notions of Religion, according to our own Liking, and then we adapt our Behaviour to the little narrow Model that we have formed of it. But if we appeal to the Law and the ^ejiimony, and conceive of Re- ligion according to the Account given of it in the Word of God ; if we meafure Chriftianity by the Rules and Precepts of the Gofpel, we Ihall find that true Religion is a far more extenlive Thing than - wc on Luke xiii 24.' II9 SXre are apt to irtiagine, that to be a true Chriftiaa implies a great many Things that we are willing to overlook and rake no Notice of ; and that the Praftice of Ghriftianity is a far more arduous and « fame Inftances of holy Obedience, that are re- quired of i\% under the new Covenant, that Man was boimd to under the old -, not indeed as whaC can now entitle us to eternal Life and Happinefj. but what are abfolutely ncce0ary to j^epare aiid qualify us foj: the Enjoymd?nt thereof, As4 1^6 SERMON VIII. ^ And Teeing it is, my Brethren, through the In- difpoficion and Corruption of our Natures, in Con- ftqueiice of our Apcflacy from God, thai the Per- formance of thefe Duties ': j.come difEcult to us : Tnis furely fh ould not only filence all Objeftions, and make us forbear compiaining of the DifHcul- tics and Hardihips thac now occur to us in the Way to Heaven and eternal Life; but fhould rather, tho' there were no more, for very Shame's fake generally roufe and awaken us, and engage us with the utmoft Rcfolution and Vigor to encounter thefe Difficulties, that lo we may, as far as poffible, retrive both our Honour and Inrereft, and make the beft Amends we can for the Injjry we have done both to God and our felves. The confcious Senfe that, in other Cafes, a Man has of his having mifmanaged a Mat- ter of great Importance, both to himleif and others, will make him with greater Diligence and Vigor apply himfelf to get Things fet at Rights again: Every generous Spirit will be knlible of the In- fluence ot this Motive ; and furely, if we have a juft Senfe of Things, we cannot but from the Con- (ideration of o.:r having our felves made the Way to Heaven fo difficult, whereby we have at once trefpaHed againft our Duty to God and our own Intereft ; we cannot, I fay, but from the Confide- ration of this be engaged, with all fuitable Refo- lution and Vigor, to encounter thefe Difficulties that we our felves have raifed in the Way to Heaven, and do our beft to overcome them. 2. Ye would confider, that whatever Difficulties there are in the Way to Heaven and eternal Life, they mufi of Necelfity be encountered, grapled with, and overcome, unlefs we would forego out -Hope of Heaven : and rather choofe to lofe the Reward m Luke xiii. l^ i^y Reward of Glory^ than undergo the Labour by which we muft arrive at the Enjoyment of it : To ufe the wife Man's Words in the prefent Cafe, T'here is no Difcharge in this JVarfare. The Scrip- tures tell us plainly, that we mu^ fight before we can obtain the ViBory over our fpiritual Enemies ^ that ■we muft lab. ur and work in order to our arriving at everlailing Reft ; that we muft run the Chri- ftian Race, and/o run as we may obtain the Prize; that we muft give all Diligence to make our Calling and E legion Jure ; and, as our Text has it, Sirfve to enter in at the jiratt Gate, effe we fhall never be able to enter. And in the Nature of Things, as well as by the Divine Conftitution, it muft needs be fo; for Heaven is rsther a Nature than a Place, and we muft be before- hand formed into that Na- ture, and trained to the Exercifes of that happy State, and have cur Minds difpofed to relifti the divine and exalted Pleafures of it. And this is not to be attained but by a Work of Regeneration upon our Hearts, followed with a conftant vigorous Exercife of all the Virtues and Graces of the Di- vine Lite, in fpight of all the Oppofition that fhall be made to us by Satan, the World and the re- maining Corruption of our own Natures. And can "we think it fit or reafonable, my Brethren, that wc fhould get to Heaven, and be poffeft of eternal Hap- pinefs, without Labour and Pains? God has made us aftive as well as rational Creatures, and we can- not chufe bur to be employed in the Profecution of fome End or other ; And is there any End fo worthy of our Purfuit as a Fdieaven of immortal Glory and BlefTednefs, efpecially when the Means by which we purfue it, are thefe by which wc, at the fame Time, promote that other and yet higher 158 SERMON VIII. End of our Being, the Honour and Glory of God? ^Tis by the conftant and vigorous Prafticc of true Religion and Godlinefs that we promote both thefe Ends, the Glory of God and our own Happinefsj and can we think that the Labour and Pains that we are bound to bellow this Way, can on any Ac- count be fuperfeded, of the Want thereof cxcufed ? No, my Brethren, the Pradicc of Godlinefs, the thorow Praftice of Godlinefs, whatever Difficult ties it is attended with, is abfoluttly ncceffary in order to our arriving at Heaven, and out being poffeft of eternal Life and Happinefs. Let the Difficulties of Religion, the Difficulties that occur in the Way to Heaven and eternal Life, be never fo many and great ; they mull: of Neceffity be encountered, grapied with, and overcome, it on rational Grounds we exped to attain to Heaven in the End. Now, my Brethren, in other Cafes Neceffity ufes to over-rule all other Confidcrations : When a Man has any important and difficult Work to do, which of Neceffity muft be done, or elfe he fuftains fome great and irreparable Damage, this powerful Argument of Neceffity will roufe him, and make him fet about the Bufintfs with fnitablc Application and Vigor, however averfe he was otherwife to it. Neceffity will make the Sluggard work, the Coward fight, the Cripple run, at leaft as faft as he can : Neceffity h a powerful Principle of Aftion ', when a Man fees he muft either do or die, what Difficulties fo great, but what he will encounter ? Yea and fometimes, when pufhed on by Neceffity, he will mafler fuch as feemed infuper- abk. But now, my Brethren, what Neceffity fo ftrong and fo urgent as what we are prelfcd by, to make on Luke xiii. 14: 1 5^ make ns encounter and graple with the Difficulties in the Way to Heaven and eternal Life till w€ have overcome them ? Our very All is at Stake, the eternal Salvation and Happinefs of our Souls is put ta the Iflue, we have a Heaven of immortal Joys to win or lofe ; and not only fo, but a Hell of endlefe Wo and Mifery to be faved from or plunged into, as the Fruit and Confequence of our Struggling, oc not ftruggling with the Difficulties of Religion ^ a little while : Or, according to the Expreffion ia the Text, of oar JiriviKg or not fir rving to enter m at the firaif Gate. Surely if any Thing is to be reckoned a Necellity this is, ^tis the flrongefl and and moft cogent NecefSty that can be imagined. Let us therefore, ray Brethren, fince Neceffity obliges us to it, let us up and be doing, and ply the Work of our own Salvation with the utmoft Earncft'- nefs and Vigor : Let us refolutcly purfue the Way to- Heaven and eternal Life, and whatever Difficul- ties occur to us in that Way, whaitever Enemies rifi» ap to oppofe us, let us never fear their Faces, but undauntedly fet our felves to encounter them, aod graple with them, 'till, through the powerful AC* fiAanee of Divine Grace, we have overcom** them. 5. Ye would confider that whatever Difficclries arc in the Way to Heaven and eternal Liky it is well worthy of our Pains to combate them, and graple with them all our Days, that fo in the End we may arrive at the Pofleffion of immortal Glory and Bleffcdnefs. O, my Brethren, Heaven is 4 defirablc Place ! wc can but faintly imagitic it; and all th« Defcpiptions which the Scripture give* of the Glory and Bicdednefs of it, are but Shadows Of the Truth and Exfielkncy of the Tilings them- icive^ i60 SERMON viir. felves, The things that are aho've where Chrifi Jtt^ teth at the Right Hand of God. How defirable a Thing muft it be to dwell for ever in tlie reviving Prefence of God, the inexhaufted Source oi Blifs ; to drink of the River of his Pleafures, and in his Light to fee Light .? How happy a Thing muft it ht for Chriftians, for ever to enjoy the Prefence and Company of Chrift their glorious Lord, and not only to fee, but to fhare of his Glory ? How comfortable muft be the State of the Saint's ever- lafting Reft, where he fhall not only be free of the leaft Degree of Evil, either of Sin, Sorrow, Pain or Trouble of any Sort ; but fhall be pofleft of the higheft Degree ot Felicity that his Nature is capable of, by a fweet Succefllon and Encreafe thereof to all Eternity ? Kingdoms, Crowns and Triumphs j Grandure, Riches, Treafures ; Glory, Honour and Immortality, are but Names by which the holy Scriptures, in Condefcenfion to our Capacities, de- fcribc the Felicities and Glories of the heavenly State : As the Apoftle John lays. It doth not now appear what we fhall he, or how happy we fhall' be, when we come to Heaven ; and are pofleft of all thefe good, and great, and glorious Things^ which God out of his immenfe Bounty and Kind- nefs has laid up in Store for them that love him : Things which, as the Apoftle Paul iays. Eye hath not feeny nor Ear heardy nor the Heart of Man been nhle to conceive. And now, my Brethren, when we have fuch a Heaven in our View and in our Offer, when wc are called to the Hope of it, and may afluredly ex- ped to be p.jfTtftof it, fhall any Labour or Pains, within the Compafs of our Power, be reckoned too great in order to our arriving at the Enjoyment of it?* on Luke iciii. 21? i6i it ? Shall any Difficukies m our Way to ir, be thought fo hard and unfurmountable, as to frighten us from encountering them ? Oh what little, filly fordid Souls muft we have, if this be the Cafe ! We fee by what arduous Enterprifes Men will pufh their Way to Fame and Glory ; by what incelfanc Labour and Pains they will purfue Riches, and toil to make an Eflarej and the Generality of Mankind fubmic to daily Labour in labouring even for theic daily Bread : And Oh ! ray Brethren, Diall we have nothing of that laudable Ambition and commen-* dable Avarice, it I may ufe the Word, fince the Apollle bids us co^et the heft, Gifts, by which wc Ihould be animated to fight the good Fight of Faitb^ to amafs 1'reafures to our fishes in Heaven, and to labour for the Meat that perifipeth not. How fillyt are our Souls while it is not fo with us ? Or rather» how unbelieving are our Hearts, which have no Senfe or Efteem of the real Worth and Excellency of the Things of the heavenly State, which Ihould be the Object of our moll: earneft and vigorous Pro- fecutions? But Men who know not what it is to live by Faith, contemn and defpife thefe great and glorious Things of the upper World; and prefec the Trifles and Vanities of a prefent Life before them, and reckon themfelves more or lefs happy in Proportion to what of a prefent World they enjoy : But Oh 1 that fuch abjeft Worldlings would call to Mind, with due Serioufnefs and Application, that awful Admonition of our blcffed Saviour, Mark viii. 36. IVhat is a Man profited ifhefhall gain the whole World, and lofe his own Soul ^ What a wretched Bargain do they make, who, for the Saks oftheperifliingThings of a prefent Life, let go a Heaven of immortal Glory and Bl^fledncfs ? i6% SERMON VIII. 4. Ye W011I4 confidei: that the Difficulties of Re- ligion are not fo great in themfelves, as perhaps ye imagine them to be : It is ulual for Men who ate Strangers to Religion, to run into two Extremes, as I obferved at the Beginning of our Difcourfe on this Subjed ; fome imagine the Way to Heaven to be fo fmooth and eafy, as to have little or no Dif- ficulty in it at all ; and others are apt to conceive it to be much more difficult than through the Grace of God it is : What I have all along faid on the Subjed has been defigned for correcling the Millake of the former ; and the latter, if there be any fuch here, I would advife to conlider Things narrowly and attentively, and not to fuffer them- felves to be annoyed and frightned more than there is Caufe for it, or not to be feared from the Pradice of Religion, from a Mifapprehenfion' of their own that the Difficulties attendins^ it are greater than indeed they are. So undoubtedly it is with fome, who magnify the Difficulties of Religion much after the fame Manner as the falfe Spies fpoke of the Land of Canaan, and any Attempt could be made by the JJraelites to conquer itj as you have it. Numb. xiii. 3 i. where, fay they, IVe le not able to go again/} the People, for they are fironger than we i the Land through which we have gone to fearcb it, is. a Land that eateth tip the Inhabitants there- of, and there we faw the Giants the Sons of Anak ; and :':xje. were in our own Stgh)t as Graflooppers, and fo.we were in their Sight: Now as it was the Gowardice of thofe Men, and their Diftruft in God that made them fpeak after this Manner,- fo ii is from the fame evil Principles, joyned with a fupine Sloth and Negligence with Reference to I'tligicus Matters, that Men commonly are made to on Luke xiii. Z4. 1(53 to magnify the DifEcuItfes in the Way to Heaven above Meafure, and look on chcm as n:iore formidable than indeed they arc : According to what the wife Man fairhj to reprefent the fame evil Efted of a prevailing Sloth and Indolence, Frov. ^y-^\i. 15. ^he PMhful Man falthy 1'here is a Lion mthoiit^ I Jjoall be /lain in the Streets ; ajid Chap. xxvi. 1 3. 3'heflothfiil Man faith ^ ^hsre is a Lion in the Ifay^ a Lton in the Streets ^ as the Door turneth upon his Hinges ; fa doth the flothful Man upon his Bed ; ^he jlothful Man hideth his Hand in his Bofo?}i, ip grieqjeth him to bring it again to bis Mouth : Very beautiful Similitudes to reprefenc the frightful Appre- heniion that a Sluggard has of Labour, and the ridiculous Excufes that his Slcth invents for icfelf. But, my Brethren, if the Difficulties of Religion be moi;e nearly viewed, efpecially if a Man through the Power of Divine Giace be once brought by a, vigorous Atttempt to graple with them, he will find them far lefs infr.perable than, when he vi£we4 them at a Diftance, he conceived them to be. When once a Man, by the converting Grace of God, is brought off from a (inful Way, and fairly entred on the Ways of Religion, and for a while enured and trained to the Pradice of it ; he will find the Difficulties that karred him fo much be- fore, in a great Meafure to evanidr, and the Way to Heaven, the further that he travels in it, will be- come not only the more fmooth and eafy, but the more pleafiuit and delightful : According to what has been the Experience of God's Saints in ail A- ges, and the Ttftiraonies they have left behind them of the great Pleafure they found in the Way of true Religion and Godlinefs; according to that "of the Royal Pfalmift, Pfal.cxix. 16 y Great Peace ha And yet alas ! my Brethren, how few of Mankind are they who beftow equal Fains for gaining Heaven, as they do for gaining the Things of this prefent Life ; tho' the one is of infinite Worth and Excellency, and the other, as every one muft Cvonfefs, trifling, tranfitory and periftiing ? O my Brethren, let us aft more ratio- nally : And fince Heaven is worth the outmoft Pains we can be at for attaining to it, let us not grudge that Pains, Let us Jlrive to enter in at the fir ait Qate ; and not be of the Number of thefe who only Teek by faint and enervate Endeavours to enter in, fuch as our Saviour tells us will never be able to the rich Glory that his Saints inheric in Heaven ; and let the Profped thereof infpire you with Refo- Intion and Vigor, to encounter all the DifficLilties that you can meet with In your Way to Heaven, till ye have overcome them. 4. Beware of magnifying the Difficulties of Re- ligion above Meafure, and thinking them greater than indeed they are : Let us not fancy that they are altogether infuperable ; they cannot indeed be overcome and furmounted by our Strength, but by Chrift's ftrengthning us we fJoall he able to do all S'hings. This is undoubtedly the Cafe of (bme, who, becaufe of the Difficulty of the Work, quite defpair of ever throughing it, and (0 are at no Pains in it. 5. Beware of diminifhing the Dilxlcukies of Re- ligion, or thinking them to be kfs than indeed they are t This is no doubt the Error and MiRake of o- thers, who think that Heaven may be attained to without any great Pains. They prefume upon the Mercy of God, and reckon that that makes the Gate to Heaven fo wide that ^.ny may enter in that pleafes ; yea they reckon that even their Sins lliall not be any great Bar in their Way, fince they have to do with a God of unlimited Mercy : Bun they do not confider that the Juftice of God can never be injured or wronged by his Mercy ; and that unlefs the former be rendered propitious to them, the latter will not afford a Sanduary to them ; That Mercy will never open the Gate o£ heaven to them, whilft Juftice Ihuts it upon them. • - - " ~ The^ on Luke xiii. 24; lyy They cannot be pcrfuaded that it accords with the Goodnefs of God to make the Way to Heaven fo thorny and diiEcult, as fome would reprefent it to be ; and fo they make his Goodnefs to combat his Veracity and Faichfulnefs, by which he has plainly declared in his holy Word, th^t fir att is the Gate, and narrow is the Way that leadetb unto Life^ and few there he that find it. Some again, by a moft grofs Abufe of the Grace of God, reckon they have nothing to do in order to their obtaining eternal Life, but to believe i "' the Lord Jefus Chriflj as if Faith were enough to fup- ply the Room of all the otner Parts of Religion ; but this is a wretched Miftake, which overturns the Dodrine of the Gofpel, or the Scheme of Salvation therein revealed. "Tis true that the Apoftk fays, Eph. ii. 8. By Grace are ye faved through Faitb, and that not of your felves it is the Gift of God. t But ^tis as true, that the fame Apoftie bids us in that forecited, Phil. ii. 12. work out your own Sal^ vation "Joith Fear and trembling ; for, as he adds, it is God that workeih in you, both to Will and to do of his good Pleafure. So that as the Grace o£ Qod, and the Operations of Faith^ have one greac Part of the Work of our Salvation to accomplifhj fo we our felves as rational and aftive Creatures, and as affifted by the Grace of God, have another great Part of the Work of our Salvation to perforni. Faith indeed in Chrift is abfolutely neceflary for Salvation,: But, as the Apoftie tells us, true Faitb worketh by Love ; and, as the Apoftie James fays. Faith without Works is dead, being alone. Beware therefore, my Brethren, of diminiihing on any Ac- count the Difficulties of Religion, or thinking them to be lefs than indeed they are : Study to maintain a Vol. II. M " juft 178 S E R MO N Vlir. juft Notion and Senfe of Things ; and confider the Difficulties of Religion to be indeed great, but not infuperabk, and tho' not infuperable yet great and not to be made light of. 6. Keep the Example of Chrift, the Captain of four Sulvaiim^ always m your Eye, to hearten and encourage you to encounter all your fpiritual Ene- mies, and aii the Difficulties of the Chiiftian War- fare, with due Refolution and Vigor, Heb. xii. 3, 3. Looking uiitx) f&fus the Author mid Fmi/Jjer of em Faith i who for the Joy that was fet before hinty endured the €rofs, defpijing the Shame, and is fet dotviH at the right Hand of the SThroue of God. For emifider him thai' endured fach Contradi6fion of Sin- ■ners againft bimfelf leji ye he ^wearied and faint in jGur Minds. And with his Example join that of his faithful Followers, according to that Exhortati- on of the Apoftle, Heh. vi. 12. ^hat ye be not fiothful^ but Followers of them, who through Faith and Patienee inherit the Promifes. '7. Pray earneftly for the AifiPtance of Divine Grace, to enable you to encounter all' the Difficul- ties in your Way to Heaven and eternal Life : For by this Affiftance only ye can be Match for the difficult Task required of you; according to thefe Words of the Apoftle, which I have once and a- gain quoted, Phil. ii. 12. IVherefore my Beloved y its ye have always obeyed, not as in my Pre fence vnly^ but now much more in my Ahfence ; work out your own Salvation with Fear and trembling. 8. If ye would refolutely encounter the Difficul- ties of Religion and graple with them, or Jlrive to enter in at the- ftrait Gate, then accuftom yourfelres to fuch religious Exercifes as will help you, in a fpe- cial Manner, to do fo with Succefs. And I. Ac- on Luke xiii. 24. VJS) 1. Accuftom your felres to a holy Sobriety and Temperance. Every Man fays the Apoftk, with with Reference to chofe Wreftlers in the (jrecian Games, every Man that flriveth for the Maftery, is temperate in all Things, now they do it to ob- tain a corruptible Crown, but we an uncorruptible. Temperance was no more neceflary to prepare the Bodies of thefe Athkticks for their Exercife, than it is necefTary to prepare the Minds of Chriftians for the vigorous Difcharge of all thefe Duties of the Chriflian Life, which in the Text is exprefl by a priving to enter in at the (irait Gate, Temperance is not only an elfential Part of Religion itfelf, but ic is^ I may fay, the Siib(irattmy or that which lieth under all the other Parts of it : Without Tempe- rance a Man can have no Religion at all. 2, If we would T^rii;^ aright to enter in at the (iraii Gatey let us maintain a holy Vigilance. I told you that as the Difficulties of Religion, the Difficulties m the Way to Heaven and eternal Life, proceed in Part from our Corruption ; fo they arife from the Oppofition that is made to us by Satan and the o- ther Enemies of our Souls : If therefore you would encounter thofe Difficulties with Succefs, ye would be careful to bear in Mindj and put in Pradice that Advice or Command of the Apoftle Peier^ 2 Ep. V. 8. Be fiber y be vigilant -, for your Adnjerfary the Devil, 4i d roaring Liony.walketb about feeking ^hom hie may devour, whom rejift fiedfaji in the Faith. And becaufe the World, as I told you, . is alfo reprefented as a great and dangerous Enemy to \xs, you Would cake Care like wife to hp armed and fortified againfl the Attacks both of its Goods and Evils, its Allurements and Aflrightments : You would entertain a jyft Contempt of all worldly M 2 Things ; iSo SERMON Vlir. *irhmgs ; and reckon that the Source either of youf Happinefs or Mifery lies higher than this Earth j and that ncitlier the having of earthly Things, nor the Want thereof, can give or take from you eithet the one bt the other, I mean true Happinefs or real Mifery. p. If ye would flrive to enter in at the ftrait Gate, ftrive regularly or lawfully: According to what the Apoftle fays, with Reference to thofc Wreftlers in the Grecian Giitcizs^ I have fo often mentioiied, and from which the Word in our Text rendered j^Wi;^ is borrowed, t ^im. ij. j. And if a Man alfo firi've for MaJierieSy yet he is not crown- ed except hejlrive lawfully, or accord irtg to Rules. And ye, in your firiving to enter in at the Jirait GatSy muft take care to obferve all thefe Rules of holy Obedience which are prcfcribed you in the Word of God t Your Strife liiuft not be a randorti Strife, it rnuft be governed by the Rules of God*s holy Word ; and then, as the Pfalmift fays of him- felf, yc /ball not he ajhamed when ye bave aKefpe6i mtto ail God's Commandments ; ye (hall not be a- fliamed, but in the End be crowned with Glor^y and Honour and Immortality. ID. If ye would ftrive to enter in at the ftrait Gate ilrive humbly : They will come beft Speed at Heaven's Gate who come and knock at it moft humbly, !fa. Ixvi. i, 2. ^hus faitb the Lord, the Heaven is my ^rone, t'he Earth is my Foot-Jiool.— ^'AU sbefe itings bath mine Hand made^ and all thefe things have beeHy faith the Lord: But to this Man wiM I look,even to him that is'yoor and of a con- trite Spirit y and trembletb at my Wordy Mart. v. j. BleJJed are the por in Spirit, for theirs is the King- ikm vf Heaven, 4 ' ' Ij.: Strive on Luke xiii. 14. igt II. Strive inceflantly. You have the Parable of the Importunate Widow, Luke xviii. 3. and alfo that of the importunate Friend, Luke xi. C. to teach Men that they ought always to pray and not to faint. Strive therefore inceflantly, in Seafon and out of Seafon^ to ufe the Apoflle*s Expreffion, that is at all Seafons. Our Importunity can never of- fend God, nay he is pkafcd with it j as the Prophet Ifaiah fays, If a. \'\i. 1?. O Houfe of David, is it afmall uhitjgfor you to [weary Msn^ hut will ye weary my God alfo ? i^. Strive perfeveringly, Irive to the End : For, as our Saviour fays, he that endureth to the Endy the fame fhall he faved : 'Tis not by a few tranfitory, tho' never fo warm and vigorous, Efforts, that a Man can expeft to enter into Heaven : No, ^tis hy a pa- tient Continuance in well-doing, that he muft feek for Glory, Honour and Immortalityy and in the End be poflcft of eternal Ltfe ,• according to that Advice and Exhortation of the fame Apoflle, i C(^, xv. 5 8. My beloved Brethren^ be ye fiedfafi, unmoveahle, always abounding in the ITork of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your Labour is not in vain in the Lord, and what he fays to the fame Purpofe, Gal. vi. p. Let us not be weary in weU-doing, fof in due Seafon vje (hall reap, if we faint not. And now, my Brethren, to conclude, accoftom your felves much to the Exercife of Prayer. Tis by rrayer the Chriflian wreftles with God as Jacob did to obtain his Bleffing : Tis by Prayer, earneft, frequent and fervent Prayer, that he llruggles and firives to enter in at thejirait Gate : *Tis by Prayer and Faith mixed together, that the Saints cry, and <:ry fo as to be heard, Lord^ Lord open unto us \ Their Flayers are not repulfcd lik? thoic of the Hy- " . -^^ 5. pocritcs: i^Z SERMON Ym,(S'c. pocrites in the Context,- No, he thatliath the Keys of the Kingdoin of Heaven will open imto them, and make good his Promife which he made, Mi^t' vii. 7, 8. yisk, and it JljaU he given you; fevky and yefiaUfind i knocks mid it fhall be opened mtto you : 'For enjery one that asketh, receivetb j and he that feekethjfindetb j and to him that knocketh it •JhaUbe opened. - May the Lord 'himfelf, the Hearer of Frayer^ 'flren^hin us with all Might in the inner Man, thatj by a conftant and needy Dependance on him, 'through the Merits of our Bkfled 'Redeemer, we may at U^finijh our Coiirfe with Joy, under all the Difficulties which attend it : And glor^ufly e7iter in through the Gates /7/fo the City, ,and be for ever ^crowned with Glory, Honour and Immortality, by 'the Hand of our glorified Saviour • who withthe Father and Holy Spirit is one God over all, blefled fpr ever, Jimeih ;§ E R^ •'} SERMON it; Revel, i. 5, 6» Unto hm that loved us^ and wajhed us from our Sins in his own Bloody and hath made us Kings and Triefts unto God and his Father ; to him he Ghty and Dominion for ever and e'Verl yfiHen* Y Brethren, the holy Sacrament of our Lord's Supper, which is this Day to be adminiftrated to you, is called by fome the Eucharifi or Thankfgivi^gj becaufe therein Chriftians do, in the mod folemn Manner, exprefs their Thanks to their God and Redeemer, for the great and matchlefs Bleflings ok their Redemption: And now, to a- waken and prepare your Minds for performing this Piece of folemn Service after the beft Manner you can, I thought I could not make Choice of any Words more proper for the Subjed of my Difcourfc to you flt this Time, than thefe I have now read ; which are a folemn Doxology or Thankfgiving of M 4 Jobtt 4 • i84 SERMON IX. 'John the Divine, the Author of this factcd and lUyflefious Book of the Revelation. In the firft three Verfes we have the Title of the Book, with a Ihort Dwfcription of the grand Intent of it, the tenman, and the Way by which the lylyft^ries of it were revealed to him, and his Fide- lity in teflifying w^hat was revealed ; to which is added, in the third Vcrfe, a Recommendation to read and believe the Prophecies of this Book. Frora the fourth Verfe we have John's foiemn Salutation to the feven Churches of A/ta, to whom this Book of Revelation is particularly addrefled ; and to whom, in the fecond and third Chapters, he writes particular Epiftles in the Name of the great Au- thor of this Book, the Lord Jefus Chrift. His Salutation, according to the apoftolical Way, is a foiemn Benedi6tior> in the Name of all the blefled Perfons of the facred Trinity : Grace be unto pu, and Peace from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; which is a Defcription of God the Father from his Eternity and Immutabili- ty : And from the feven Spirits which are before bis Uhrone; by which, paffing all other Gloffes, wc underftand the Holy Ghoft, who, tho* but one Perfon, yet ha,s manifold Operations, and is called feven Spirits, -to denote both the Variety and Pcr- fedion of his Operations and Graces ; feven being " a perfeft fcriptur^l Number : And from Jefus Chr$ who is the faithful l^ltnefs, the firfi begotten of f he JDead^ and the Prince of the Kings of the Earth. There are three l^ames or Charafters he here gives to our Lord Jefus Chrifl. I. ^he faithful Ifitnefs, that is, who hath faith- fully and fully revealed to Men all that was necef- fary to be known by them, concerning God and on Rev. i. 5> 6. i ^he Method of their Salvation by hhnfelf, in confe- quencc of that grand Tranfa<9:ion that was between the Father and the Son from Eternity ; who, in the Days of his Fkfh, witnefTed and teftified that he was the promifed Mejfias^ teftified it to th? Jews, and to Pontius Pilate^ before whom, die Apoftlc Paul fays, he witne^ed a good Confefjion^ in owning himfelf to be the King of the Jews^ and who came into the World for this End, that he might hear iVitnefs to the fruth : Who witnefled and teftified the Accoraplifhment of all the Pro- mifes of the Old Teftament, of all the Types and Figures of the Law ; witnefted and teftified this by the Tranfadions of his Life, Death and Refurredion : And who is now the faithful Witnefs of his People in Heaven, pleading the Acceptance of their fin- Cere Faith and Obedience, through his own Me- rits and Interceffion for them. 2. Our Lord is here ftiled the firft begotten of the Dead, that is, he whofe Prerogative it was to rife firft from the Dead by his own Divine Power, and to rife fo as to dy no more : And whofe Refur- reftion was the Precedent and Pledge, the Exemplar and meritorious Caufe of the Refurredion of his People, And, 3. He is ftiled the Prince of the Kings of the Earthy that is the fupreme Lord and Ruler of the World ; and that not only as he is God, to whom all his Creatures, of whatever Order and Degree, are fubjeft : But alfo as he is God-man and Medi- ator, whom, as the Reward of his Obedience to his Father's Will in accomplifhing the Work of our Redemption, God hath highly exalted, and given him a Name above every Name that is named ; that at the Name of Jefus every Kim Jlmdd bczv, of ' . things l8(5 SERMON IX. things in Heanjsn, and ^ings in Earth, mid SThings under the Earth, as the Apoftle Paul hp, Phil. ii. 9. Now John having thus mentioned our bieffed Redeemer, according to his noted Charafter of be^ ing the loving as well as the beloved Difciple, he breaks out immediately into a Rapture of f raife ; and before he can go any further, muft Hop, as it were, a little to pay a folemn Piece of Homage to his Lord and Mailer, by the Doxology in the Text : Unto him that loved us, and wajhed us from our Sins in his own Blood, and hath made us Kings and Priefis unto God and his Fatlier, to him be Glory and Dominion for ever and ei^er. Amen. Un" to him that loved us, to the matchlefs and glorious Redeemer, who loved us the Sons of Men, thofe "whom his Father hath giv^n him, fo as to walh u§ from our Sins, from the Guilt and Pollution of our Sins, and that in his own Bloody the Fountain opened to theHoufe of David and tJje Inhabitants of Jeru- falemfor Sin and for Uncleannefs i And hath made: us Kings and Priefis unto God and his Father^ hath . exalted us to the higheft Dignity, and poileft us of the greatefl Privileges and Honours, even thefe of Kings and Priefts ; which were always accounted the two mofl honourable Orders of Men ,• Kinis. and Priefis unto God and his^ Father, peculiarly confecrated to his Service, and to derive our chief Honour and Happinefs from him : To this our blcffed and glorious Redeemer, to whofe Love we are fo much indebted, he Glory and Dominion for ever and ever. Amen, Now, my Brethren, that which I chiefly intend from thefe Words, is to give you, after the bcft Jjvlaiuier I can, a lliort Reprefentation and View of the the bleffed Redeemer's Love ; that, hy the Con- templation of it, you may be the more, excited tq pay yonr Homage this Bay to him in the Saorar ment i and to join with Jalm die Divine in cele-t bracing his Love, with fuch a Doxology as that ir\ the Text, Unto him that loved us, and wtifhed .n^ in bis -own Blood, and hath made us Kingt; m4 priejis to God and his Father^ to him he Glory aj^ Bommion for ei^er and even /Imen. I fliall \ fay endeavour to give you a View of the bleffed Rer (ieemer's Love, by confidering it, L In its Rife» n. In its Progrefs and Workings. IIL In its Efr- itdcs and Iffucs. IV. in its Qaalities. Aftes which I '"fhali make a fhorc Application of v^\ together. j *"^ I. By confidering it in its Rife. And here w$ mnft look back beyond the Beginning of Time, and fee this Perrenial Spring ot Love, if I may fo call ic» burbling up in the Redeemer's Bofom, even from all Eternity ; Acwrding to that Defcription whid| we have of our Redeemer under the Name o£ Wifdom, in the viii. of the Proverbs from Verfe 22i, S^he Lord poffijfed me in the Beginning of his IVay^ before his Works of old. 1 was fet up from ever' lofting, from the Beginning, or ever the Earth was — down to ver. 30. ^en I was by him as one brought tip with him^ and I was daily his De- light, rejoicing always before him, rejoicing in tb^ habitable Parts of the Earth -^ and my Delights were with the Sons of Men. So that our Re- deemer's Love had its Rife from all Etetnity, it is co-eval with the Purpofe of God to make a World, and Mankind as a Species of Creatures in it ; and the View he had of the forlorn and wretched State Mankind would involve thcmfelves in, by their wilful Apoftacy l88 SERMON IX. Apoftacy from him in abufing the free Will he wa| to honour them with : From all Eternity did his Love go big of a vafl Delign of Kindnefs, to he manifefted to the Sons of Men in the feveral Pe- riods of Time, when the Years of Time fhould be- gin to run. His Love was from everlafting, and confequently altogether free and unmerited by us : It fprung up fponcaneoufly in his own Bofora, and made his Bowels yearn towards us long, long before; we had a Being ; and that notwithftanding all the odious Deformity and Vilenefs, he faw Sin would bring upon us, to make us the deferving Objeds. of his Hatred rather than of his Love i yet he loved us freely, freely and triumphantly, with a Love pe? culiar to himfclf, and infinite like himfelf ; a Love triumphing over all the powerful provoking Caufes of his Hatred, that he faw to be about us. H^ loved us freely, and in the Time of our Extremity, when he forefaw us reduced to that wretched Pals, that, unlefs he fhould help us, there was none in Heaven or Earth to pity or help us. So you have the Prophet Ezekiel reprefenting the Cafe, in the 3£vi. Chap, of his Prophecies, under the Figure of the wretched and miferable State of an expend In- iant, 'vet. 4. As for thy Nativity in the Day that ibouwajibortiy thy Navel was not cut, neither wafi thou wajhed in Water to fupple thee ; thou waft not falted at, all, nor fwadkd at all: None Eye pitied thee to do any of tbefe unto, tbe^, to have Compaffim tipon thee, but thou wa/i cad out in the open Fteld, to the loathing of thy Perfon, in the Day that thou waft born : And when 1 pajjed by thee, and faw thee polluted in thine own Blood, Ifaid unto thee when thou wall in thy Blood, Livq ; Tea Ifai^ antQ thee when thou waft in thy Bloody Liie-, and behold tbyt on Revi i. 5, 6. i%^ thy ^me, that is the Time of thy Extremity, WAS the ^me of Love. So that you fee the Source and Rife of our Redeemer's Love was fpontaneous and free, wonderfully generous and difinterefted, and that from all Eternity. Of which more here- after i proceed we now therefore, II. To confider this Love of our Redeemer in its Workings and Progrefs. And here again we mufi: caft our Eyes as far back as Eternity, and confider tiow our Redeemer's Love exerted itfelf in that grand Tranfaftion that was between him and the Father, concerning the Redemption of a loft Word, long before the Foundations of the World were laid. That there was fuch a Tranfaftion between the Father and the Son, feems plainly intimated by what is faid in the xlix. of Ifaiab, from the Be- ginning to the i^.Verfe: And alfo from our Re- deemer's own Words in the xvii. of John from the Beginning to the End, particularly, 'ver. 4, j, 6, i have glorified thee on Earthy I ha've finijhed the IVork thou gavefi me to do ; and now, O Father^ "glorify thou me with thine own felf with the Glory which I had with thee he fore the Iforld was ; I have manifefled thy Name unto the Men which thou ganjeft me out of the IVorld, thine they wercy and thou gaveli them me I And wr. 10. AU mine are thine, and thine are mine, aid I am glorified in them. Now in this Tranfadion between the Father and the Son, the Redeemer's Love difplayed itfelf in his Willingnefs to fulfill his Father's Will, in do- ing all that was fteceflary for bringing about the Redemption of ia loft World : According to what is reprefented in the xl. Pfalm 6. Verfe^ Sacrifice and Offering thou didft not require^ mine Ears thou hafi ^ofed; Btirnt-offering and Sin-offering thou had nof defire^ 190 SERMON IX. djjtired, then- [aid I, Lo I come, in the Volume of thy Rook it is written ofme^ J delight to do thy WiU^ O my God, yea thy Law is withm my Heart. There Ipay no Obligations on the Son of God to under- take the Work of our Redemption at any Rate, and Tar lefs to fubmit to thefe Terms by which it was brought about : But no fooner was it moved in the great Council of the Godhead, that fallen Man fhould be redeemed, but he willingly and chear- fully engaged to do the Work, and that on fuch Terms as wilJ be the everlafling Wonder of Saints ftnd Angels, iand acceiit the eternal Praifes of his People : To him that loved us, and waOoed us in his own Blood, and hath made us Kings and Priefis to ^od and his Father, to him he Glory and Dominion for e'ver. And- as he undertook this Work from Eternity, fo he failed not in the Execution of it in Time. ; Proceed we therefore to confider the Progrefs and Workings of his Love in Time. No fooner had M^n. broken the Covenant of his God, and for- feited his Life to his Jiiftice, and the Threatning of Death was ready to be executed upon him; but the Redeemer's. Love difplayed itfelf, in inter - pofing between God and the Oftender i and not only procuring a Reprive from Death, but found- ing in his Ears the Iweet and lurprifing Intima- tion ot Life, in that firft and early Promife, ST/jff Seed of the IVoman pall bruife the Head of the Set- pent. This was the firft Outgoing of Mercy, the firft Stream that ever flowed from the Fountain of redeeming Love ; before this it was as a Fountain lealed, till now the Redeemer's Love rolled in his own Bowels, but now it began to take Vent, and and this, was its firft Iffue : An early Promife, and ^ the en Rev. i. 5, (5. 191 the "Seed, as ic were, oi all the other fucceeding Promifes, out oi which they all grew ; S'he Seed 0/ the IVomm jhall bruife the Head of the Serpent, Now it was that the adual Mediation of Chrift commenced ; Now it was he began to pour his Oil and his Balm into the bleeding Wounds of Mankind, and to fliow himfelf the great Phyfician of Souls ; Now it was that the fecond Covenant, the Covenant ot Grace, was introduced, to repair the LoiTes, and to redrefs the Evils, that happened by the Breach oi tlie firft Covenant of Works. And could I trace all the Workings of the Redeemer's . Love, during the firft Difpenfation of this Cove- nant, I Ihould lead you through a wide and dsr lightful Field of Contemplation. I might (hew you with what loving Pains and Care he formed and preferved to himfelf a Church in all Ages, that fo his Love might never be with- out a Witnefs, till the Fulnefs of Time Ihould be come, when he was to give the moft full and blaz- ing Demonftration of it : That his Love having once begun to flow out, might never be ftopt in its Courfe, but ftiil running forward in an unin- terrupted, tho' winding and narrow'', Channel, till at laft the Streams of it fpread fo wide in the Times of the New Teftament, as to water the -whole- World, I might ihew you with what Ten- deniefs and Indulgence he treated the Patriarchs and their Pbfterity, the Children of Jfrael; how familiarly he appeared to them, and converfed with •them, with what Variety of Precepts and Inftitu- tions he inftru6ted them, what gradual Revelations he gave of himfelf to them, how many MelTages he fent them by his Prophets, how he managed and governed rhemi and- dwelt among them, how many Won- ipl SERMON IX. Wonders he wrought for them ; how many Bleflings and peculiar Fkvours he bellowed upon them, treat- ing them as his darling People, and governing them and honouring them with his own immediate PrefenCe ; For it is no ill- grounded Opinion, that the Lord, the Jebo'vah who dwelt arnong the Chil- dren of Jfraely who was their gteat Law-giver and King, conducting them out of Egypty and through the Wildernefs in the Pillar ofc Cloud and Fire, and afterwards taking up his Refidence in the Teitiple, was none other than the Son of God^ the fecond Perfonof the bklTed Trinity ; who afterwards took the human Nature perfonally upon him, to give new and fuller Proofs of his Love to Jvlankind. ., And this leads us on to confider and view the Redeemer's Love, the Progrefs and Workings of it^ in the Days of his perfonal Appearance : And O "what a glorious Scene have we here opening up to our View ? A Scene of wonderful and furpaffing Love indeed, when the "Pulnefs of ^ime was come, and the Promife of the Meffias was now ripened to Perfedtion, and the Womb of Mercy, the lirft Vir- gin Wbmb, I may fay, in which the Saviour of the World was conceived, was now to be delivered of the glorious IfTue with which it had long gone big : For fo much the Scriprure-ExprelTion, the Fulnefs of ^ime, feems to import, being an Alluiion to a Woman who goes big with Child till the full Time of her Delivery comes : IVhen the Fulnefs of 'time, I fay, was coine, then behold, as an amazing Proof of our Redeemer's Love, he comes forth from the Bofom of his Father, made of a IVoman^ made un- der the Law, to redeem them that were under the Law, that we raight receive the Adoption of Sons, O ! s^reat is the Myjieyy of Godlinejs, God mani- feM on Rev. l 5y (5. ipl fefted in the Flejh : What a wonderful Evidence o£ our Redeemer's Love was this, that he fhould ftoop to be born of a Woman, and in fo low and mtan a Condition ? Behold then his Love in his Incarna- tion. He who was the Bofom and Beloved Son of God, the Bright7iefi of Mi Fatber*s Glory^ and the exprefs Image of his Peirfon i He who was in ths Form ofGod^ and counted it no Kobbery to be equal with God : He made hiinfelf of no Reputation, and took upon him thi Formof a Servant and was made in the Ltkenefs of Men ; he was born, he bt ja !ie a Man, a poor and a mean Man, a Man of Sorrnum find acquainted with Grief Behold his Love in his Incarnation, and behold it in his Life, in the deep Abafement and Humiliation of his Life. If the Son of God had Come into our World, as the Jews expected thtir Mefjias, with all che Pomp and Grandure of an earrthly Monarch j If he really had been born of a King's Daughter, as Mojes v/as reputed the Son of Pharoah's Daughter ; ir he had been ulhered in to the World in a triumphal Cha- tiot, with all the Kings of the Earth proilrate be- fore him, or chain'd to his Chariot \^ heels j this had been forae Abatement to his mighty Conde- fcenlion in becoming a Man : But that he fhould be born of fo poor a Mother, educated as a Car- penter's Son ; expofed all his Life, to Want and Penury, to the Contempt of every fordid Wretch, and the perpetual Perfecutions of an ill-natured World ; O 1 what amazing Love was it that made him ftoop to fuch a ftupenduous Degree of Abafement? Blcfled Lord, when I confided with my felF, that once there was a Time when thou didft leave thy Father's Bofom, and came down to this Earth,where thou didft convcrfc with fuch poor Mortals as my fcU j and didft yoi. II. " - >i fn§c .y4 SERMON IX. fufe: tby {elf to be defpifcd aud perfecuccd by them, waaderkig about like a poor Man, naked and ddHtare of ali thdfc Comforts of Life I (o abund- aatiy enjoy ; and ali this that by thy Poverty I might he made rkb, by thy Mifcries I might be made haj^y : MethiirfvS this wondrous Prodigy of JLove, not only puzzles my Conception, but cvea outreaches my Wonder and Admiracion. Behold the Redeemer's Love in his Incarnation and Life. But ^ehold our Redeemer's Love, efpecially in the SuiJerings and Agonies of his Death : He hmahkd himfelf^ fays the Apoftlc, and became obe- ^ieat imto Death, even the Death of the Crofs, Tiut ever the Son of God fliould dy, if I may fo lay, by being made Man, was a wonderful Dif- penfation : But that he ihould dy over again, and that by the moft (hameful, painful and curfed Death that ever Mortal fuftered, is a Prodigy that would exceed all Belief, if Miracles had not been wrought to atteft the Truth of it. Behold the Re- deemer's Love in his Suflfering, behold it written there in flaming Charafters indeed, fie hatb leved as, and given bimfelf for us, Eph. v. 2. an Offering ami a Sacrifice to God for a Jweet fmeUing $Savout\ Had I Time to lead you through the various Scenes of his Sufierings, and were it pof- (ibie for me to reprefent them to you in their true Colours ; O i what afloniftiing Proofs of his Love (hould you all along be made to fee ? Why, my Brethren, take but thefe two ihort Views thereof, Firfi, In his Paffion in the Garden, And, Secondly, In the Spring-tide of his Sufl'erings on the Crofs. £. Behold our Redeemer's Love in his Agonies in the Garden. Oh ! how aflonifliing were his Agonies, when, as the Evangelifl Mark fays. He hgan on Rev. i. 5, (5. 195 iegan to before amazed y and to he very heavy, wijefj the Clouds of Wrath were gathering (o thick abeuc him, and fo overfhadowed his innocent Soul with their Darknefs and Terror, as to fill him wich A- mazemenc and Confternation : When he cxpv^fltd his inward Agony in that doleful Complaint %o his three favourite Difciples, whom he took along with him to be WirndTes CO this fad and difmal Scene, my Soul is exceeding forrow fill even unto Death -y not only forroisjful, but exceeding forr^doful , not only exceed- ingforrowful, but forro^'jjful'^njcn unto Death: When now the firllTaftes of the Cap of his Father's Wrath were fo bjcrcr to him, that clirice over he fell on the Ground and prayed. Father if it be pffihle let this Cup pafs from me: Wiicn now his Spiic was fo overwhelmed with a Cloud of Woe, that it was ne- ceiTary gi> Angel from Heaven fhould be fent to ftrengthen him, left he ihould altogether faint un- der the Opprellion oi ic ; when, notwithftanding of this Support, fuch was his Agony that he prayed more earneflly for Rcfpice, and his Sweat was, as it were, great Drops of Blood falling down to the Ground. O ftrange and unexampkd Cafe ! Tho' it was now boih cold Weather and Midnight, yet fcch was the Agony and Perturbation of our Savi- our's Soul, that, in this cold Seafon, it puts hu» Body into a Sweat, a Sweat of Blood, Drops of Blood falling down to the Ground. O how dire- ful was the Concuificn and Agony of his Soul within, that caufed fuch a flrangc and preter- natural Symptom without ! Now indeed he was making his Soul an Offering for Sin, now he was treading the IVtne-prefs cf his Father's IVrath, and of the People there was none with him: Now was bis Soul, 'u\ our Soul's Stead fuftaining his Father's 4 N 2 Wrathj^ ^5 S^ Imon IX. 195 Wrath, to the uttermoft Degree of Sorrow, ConfU* fion and Aftonilhment ; that Wrath, that muft have fwaiiowed us s^ colEternity, if the Storm had not broke and fperit iopf iipon him. Now was he fuffering to Purpofe, fufi'ering as much as his in- nocent human Nature, with all the Supports it re- ceived from its Union with the Divine, or from the Prefence of an Angel, was well able to bear :^ And *tis reafonablt to believe, that if his Sufferings had now gone one Degree higher, they had prevented what yet reiiiained of his Sufferings from the Hands of Men. Behold then his LoVe to us in his Suffer- ings and Agonies in the Garden i Let his Proilra- tions and Cries, his Blood and his Sweat, the Evi* dences oi his Agony, be alfo Evidences of his Love; for it was his Love that brought him to that difmal Pafs. Behold his Love in his Agonies iti the Garden. 2. Behold his Love in the Spring-tide ot his Suf- ferings on the Crofs. Atter he had gone through all the intermediate Scene of Wo and Suffering, in his Arraignment and Trial, and Condemnation ; and all the outragious and barbarous Ufage he met with from the Koman Soldiers and Jewi/h Rabble, in their mocking hira, buffeting him and fpitting in his Face, their fcourging him by the Governor's Command, arraying him with mock Purple and a Crown of Thorns : To finifh the Tragedy, they carry him to Golgotha^ and there ft rip him naked, (?nd iix him on the Crofs. Behold him then fu- fpended there on the Crofs betwixt two Male- Fadors, as if all their Villanies had centred in him^ and he had been the very worft of the Three : Be- hold him hanging there by the Hands and the Feet, fadned with Nails to the curfed Tree : Be- hold him in the Extremity of his Wo iiifulted, not only \ on Rev. i. 5, (5. 197 only by the Rabble, but by the Jewijh Rulers, He faved others y himfelf he cannot fave ; if he he the Son of God, let him come down and we wiUbe^ Henje in him ; Behold him fufi[ering all Manner of Indignity and moft barbarous Ufage from the Hands of Men. But, which was infinitely more intolerable to him, behold him fuftering ftill from the Hand of his Father, who vails his Face, and withdraws all fenfible Communications of his Love from him, to fuch a Degree, as he is made to cry out. My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me ^ Now was the Son of God under a dreadful E,clipfe indeed, the Earth trembling under him, as unable to bear his Weight ; the heavens darkened over him, as Ihut againfl his Cries ; and his eternal Father, not only hiding his Face from him, but afRiding his Soul to the utmoft Degree of Anguifh, fo as he is made to cry our. My God, my God, why hafi thou forfaken me ? O doleful Cry ! in which every Word carries an Accent of Sorrow : My God, my God^ thou in whofe Embraces I did for ever ly, rejoicing always before thee ; and in Obedience to whofe Will it was I undertook this Work, which now I find fo hard and difficult for me ; Why bafi thou forfaken me? Now when the whole World has forfaken me, now when Men and Devils are doing their worft to me, now when I am in a clofs Graple with the King of Terrors, now when the Sins of an eled World ly with their full Weight upon me, and I fuifer Ten thoufand thoufand Deaths at once . Oh why am \ now forfaken of thee my only Support, my God ^nd my Father, WJjy haft thou forfaken me, thy only Son, thy Bofom and Beloved Son ? Where are thy fatherly Bowels now ? Oh they are quite ihut up againft me, ah 4 N 3 for: 198 S E R MON IX forlorn and abandoned me ! My Gody my God^ why haji thouforfaken me? Oh ! bleflld Saviour, how tender were thy Bowds I and how full was thy Heart with Love to us, when thou didit fuifcr all this tor us without fhrinking ! And fo you fee ro what a Length our blefl'ed Re-' deemef*s Love carried him ; And O 1 was it not a matchtefs all conquering Love that made him do and fuffer fuch Things for our Sake? And verily, me- rhiuks, when I reflcd on it, I am like one looking down trom a flupenduous Precipice, whofe Height fills me v;ith a trembling Horror, and even over- fets my Reafon : And all I can do is only to cry cur, 0 f the Breadth , and Lengthy and Depth y mid Height of the Love of Chrifiy which pajfetb Knowledge I Unte htm that loved uSy and wajbed us in hts own Bloody and hath made us Kings and Priejis to God and his Father, to him he Glory and jpomi- nion for e%er and ever. ^men. Having thus given you a fhort View of the Rife and P'rogrefs of the Redeemer's Love i without tracing it further, I come now, III, To confider it in its Effeds and Iflues, And here we have another large Field before us, where we mu{l take but a tranfient View of Things. Indeed the Fruits and Ef&ds of his Love arc wonderfully great and many, our Apoflle, John the Divine, here inflanceth in fome of them, his 'ivalhi?ig us from our Sins in his own Bloody and his making us Kings and Priefls to God and his F<«- /■^^r ; By which he feems to denote all the happy Advantages and Bleffings, which are the Fruits ana Iffues of the Redeemer's Love to us. I, He bath wajljed us from our Sins in his ewti ^M ; and this is a, bkiTsd Efte(S and Ftuit of his Love on Rev* i. 5, 6. i< Love indeed. It vas Sin that brought Death and all Manner of Woes and Miferies into the World, it was Sin that entaikd on Mankind the everlafting Wrath and Curfe of almighty God, that brought Ruin and Deflruftion on the whole Pbfterity of yidam : And to remove Sin, as it was the great Aim of all the Workings of the Redeemer's Lov^j fo ic is the great and chief Effeft and liTue thcreoif. He gave bimfeJf fer us, fays the Apoftle, that Is might redeeimfsfrom all Iniquity. The primary Part of our Redemption confifts in this, our being freed irom Sin j Thoujhalt eall bis Name JefuSy fays the Angel to Jofepb, Matth. i. %i. for he Jbail fa^e his People from their Siiis. Sin, as it was the ori- ginal and radical Evil, the Root and Source of al! other Evils, fo was it the moll obflinate and inye- terate Evil, which nothing in the World, for any Thing we know, could remove, but the Blood of our Redeemer. The Cure of this Difeafe was not to be found on Earth ; Men and Angels were both Phyficiaus of no Value ; but the blefled Redeemer knew where the great Spccifick was to be found, even in his own Bowels, and he applied it, even his own Bloody He liath ivafbed us from our Sins in own Blood, His Blood is the Fountain opened to the Houfe of David and the Inhabitants of Jerufa^ km y for Sin and for Uncleannefs; His Blood re- moves both the Guilt and the Pollution of Sin, andO ! but that is a great and bleffed Effed of his Love ! What had become of Mankind if a Re- medy had not been found for Sin ? Indignation and Wratby tribulation and Anguijh had been upon every Soul of Man for ever i we had been punifbed with everlafiing DeJiru6fion flowing /ro?;? the Pre- fence of the Lord, andfrerathe Glory of bis PoTier; N 4 HcU 200 S E E. M O N IX. Hell had been the Receptacle, ^nd Damnation th c Entertainment pf alf the Poftericy of Adam^ without E^^ceppion to all Eternity ! O ! what Reafon then have we to celebrate our Redeemer's Love, and to fing the Doxology in the Text, Untq lim th^t Ipv^d us, and wajhed ^s from our Sins in his own Bloody be Glory and Dominion for ever ? Confider but what are the Torments of the Damned In Hell ,• imagine your fclves but {landing on the jBrink of the bottomlefs Pit, and that there you fee the mingled Clouds of Smoke and Flame for ever ^fcending, that there you bear the horrible Noifc pf their Howlings and Tellings ; Who can dwell 'With devouring Fires > IVho can dwell with ever- lafting Burnings ? For ever the Fire rageth, and Millions of Millions of Ages pad are ftiU but the Beginning of Sorrows to them \ rending, as it were, the Sides of the Adamantive Cave, where they re- main chained to the|r Torments for ever. Con- iider, I fay, but this a little with your felves ; and then think how miich you are beholden to the Re- deemer's Love, who has paid a Ranfom for you, to prevent your going down to the Pit j and what Rea- fon haye you to fay, as in the Text, ^o him that loved HSy and w^Jhed us from our Sins in his own Blood, l>e Glory and J)o7mnion for ever and ever. %. He hi^th made us Kings and Priefis to God mid Ms Father i ^qi only has his Love ranfomed us from Sin and Mifery, but he has alfo advanced us ^o the higheft Dignity and Happinefs of which ouc l^atures are capable. He hath made us Kings ^ lyings for Freedom) Kings for Power, Kings for , Riches t^n^ (31ory. He hath freed us from the 'Thr-sldoRl Bnd Slavery of Sin and Satan, and Isroughl HS insp th§ glgrms Liberty rf ths Sens of - .m ....... «^ ^^^^ on Rev, i. 5, (5. ^oj Qoa, ; He hath given us the Vidory over all our fpiricual Enemies, Sin, Satan, the World and Death ; he has made us Kings and Conquerors, through hm that loved us; he has given us a Power to rule over our felves, to fubdue our Lulls and mafter our Cor- ruptions, and to preferve the Dominion oF our own 8ouls, which is better to us than ii he had given us a Power to rule over the Nations : he hath be- queathed on us a Kingdom and a Crown of Glory, Glory Honour and Immortality, immenfe Treafu-res and unfearchable Riches ; and, when we eome to the PoffelTion of this our Kingdom, then ihall we reign as Kings indeed. All the Inhabitants of Heaven are Kings; and the meaneft Saint there, is pofleft of more true Honour, and Glory, and Bleflednefs, than all the Kings and Monarchs of the Earth hare fhared amongil them. O then ! how much do we owe to our R.edeemer's Love, who has not only faved us from Hell, but entitled us to Heaven and Glory ; who of Aliens has made us Sons, and of Slaves has made us Kings to God and his Father. He has made us Prkfls to God and his Fathei-. Pfiefts were an honourable Order of Men ot old, they had the neareft Accefs to him, and the mod immediate and familiar Intercourfe with him ; the Priefts who waited on the Temple of God, they were, fo to fay, his Domefticks, his Secretaries, and Prime Minifters and Favourites : And even a- mongft the Heathens, the regal and prieiily Digni- ty were commonly joined in one Perion : And a? mong the Jeijijs, the Fritfthood was the diftin- guiihing Honour o^ Aarons Family, and the like Honour now have all his Saints. All Believers under the New Tef|;anient, who by a happy Effect of theif iol SERMON IX. Redeemer's Love to them, are made Priefis to God and bis Father^ they are honoured with a true and familiar Accefs to him, they have the Daors of his heavenly Sanduary always open to them , thsy may come boldly to the Throne of Grace, and obtain Mercy, and find Grace to help them in 'Time of Need ; they may ofter up the fpiritual Sacrifices of Prayer and Praife, and other Ads of Piety, Devotion and tltlignation, being aiTured that they Ihall be accept- ed in the Beloved. They have peculiar Intimations of the Will and Mind of God, they have pecu- liar and diftinguilliing Manifefiations of his Love and Favour made to them ; and they are allowed, with a holy Freedom and Imporcunity, to inter- ceed with him in behalf of themklves and others. They not only enter into the outter Court with the Reft of the Congregation ; they are not only Chri- ftians by Name and Profeffion, but they have Ac- cefs even unto the Sanduary, yea into the Holy of Holies ; they are acquainted with the more inward Myfteries and Secrets of Religion and Godlinefs. They not only minifter before him on Earth in exter- nal Duties and Ordinances^ but their Souls even fometimes enter into that within the Vail : They get forward xeven into Heaven, and to the more imme- diate and blisiul Prefcnce of their Lord and Mafter, and praife him, and love him, and rejoice in him, with fomething ot' that exalted and divine Pleafure and Delight, which is the happy Privilege of thefe who are the Priells and Minifters of his higher Temple. To which happy Station, all that mini- fter faithfully to him on Earth, fhall ere long be tranflated, and then, indeed, they Ihall be Priejis to God and bis Father for ever: Then fhall they be added to the glorious Throng of his heavenly At- tendants on Rev. i. 5, dJ. Id^ tendants and Miriiflers; for thoufands ofthtifands mnifter unto him, ten tboufand ^imes ten thoufanc^ fiaiid before bim. And happy, O happy the mean- eft that minifter there \ Happy they who are there but the Door-keepers of the Houfe of their Qody and have got the Length but of the Tfirelholdof Cilory; There they Ihall, indeed and in the ftrideft Senfc, he Priejis for ever : There they ihall be not only Priefts, but Pillars in the I'emple of their God, and [hall go no more out. The Courfe of their Miniftry" lliall never end, but they fliall dwell in the Houfe of the Lord for ever^ bearing their Part in the gerte- ral Halleluja of Heaven, and linging the DoxOlog^ in the Text, Unto him that loved uSy and wajbed us from our Sins in his own Blood, and hath made us Kings and Priejis to God and his Father ; to bint he Glory and Dominion for ever and ever. Amett. ' And fo now you fee what are the ble{!ed EffeftS and Iffues of the Redeemer's Love to us, even all the Bleflings of the new Covenant, all the good Things he has purchafe'd for his People, and be- queaths on them either in Time or to Eternity : Alt which our Divine Apoftle exprelTes in the Text by his wajhing us from our Sins in bis own Blood, and his making us Kings and PrieJls unto God and bis Father. I now come IV. To confider this Love of our Redeemer in its Properties and Qiiahcies. And I. As you heard before, it was a free, unmerited and difinterefled Love. Free in its Rife, proceed- ing allenarly of himfelf : And free alfo in its Choice, our blefled Redeemer took not upon him the Nature of Angels, he became not a Redeemer to them when they finned ; but he took upon him the Seed (f Graham, the poor- hopelefs hclplefs Race of Man- kind 104 \S E R M O N IX. kind were the Objeds of his Love, \\nd O I hov? juftly may this raife our Admiration of the Rc- deem;;r's Love ? Tnac he (hould fuffer thefe golden VeflelS; thefe bright and morning S^ars, to periih for ever ; and daign to refcue from Ruin and Mi- fery, fuch poor and defpicable Velfels of Clay, fuch mean and contemptible Potflieards of the Earth as we are. Surely we have Reafoq with Admiration and Thankfulntfs to cry out, not unto us, not unto. Its O Lord, but unto thy free fovereign rich and un-r merited Love be the Glory. idly. His Love was an efficacious Love, it did not remain as a pent-up AfFeftion in his own Bofom.^ Indeed that the Son of God fhould caft but an Eye of Pit:y on us in our Mifery ; that he fhould in the leaft Degree, have taken Notice of us, and found but his Heart warmed v/ith Compaffion towards us^^ "was infinitely more than we deferved : But ah 1 What manner of Love then v/as it wherewith he loved, us, which made his Heart not only inward- ly to glow with a fecret Affeftion ; but which gave Vent to itfelf outwardly in all thefe blefTed Ways of Workings for our Redemption from Sin and Mi- fery, of which you have been hearing ? His Love was an efficacious Love. And ^dly. It was an unexampled Love. Greater Love hatb no MaUy than that a Man lay down his Life for his Friendy but he out-did this Maxim, He laid, down his Life even for his Enemies. He loved us, poor unworthy us, in whom there were no Allurements of his Love, but every Thing to raife his Difguft ^nd to provoke his Difpleafure at us. He loved us, and O I What a Miracle of Love was it, that the infinitely glorious and blefled Son of God fhould love us poor Worms, poor, mean, (inful and wretched us, an4 on Rev. i. 5, 6. ' loy and love us afjier fo ftrange a Manntr, and to i.xh 6n aftonifhing Height as to die for us ? He lo'ved us^ dnd 'waped us from our Sins in his own hhod. So that ^thly. His Love was a very tender and hearty LovCj hearty Love indeed, which made him give his own Heart's Blood for us i He wajhed us front our Sins in bis own Blood. Had he ranforaed us by the Blood of all the Reft of the Qeation, had he given Cherubims and Seraphims to die for us, fup- pofing their Death could have preferved our Life ,• it had not been fo much to be wondered at, as that he gave himfelffor us^ and wajhed us from our Sins in his own Blood, his own precious Blood, of infini- tely more worth than Ten thoufand thoufand Worlds ^an be fuppofed to amount to. 0/ the Breathy ^nd Length, and Depth, and Height of the Loue of Cbrifi, which pa£eth Knowledge ! Who ever loved like him 1 and how are we nonplused, even to think hnd conceive of his Love : When we would furvey it, It goes infinitely beyond our Sight, it fwallows up our Thought, and leaves even our Admiration flagging behind. And therefore 5?/j/y, His Love was a Love peculiar to himfelf. All the moft noted Examples of Love to be found amongfi: us, are fcarce to be accounted Shadows, remote ot faint Refemblances of it. It was a Love which he could (how, who was infinite in all Per- fedions and Excellencies, and whofe Love was in- finite and incomprehenfible like himfelf : It was the Love of God, the Love of him who was the great and unbounded Fountain of Love ; of which we muft fay in the Prophet's Words, ^hy Ways 0 Lord are not as our Ways, fjor- thy thoughts as our S'bougbts^ aor thy Love af our Love i but as the Heavens zo^ SEfMON IX. fleavens are ahovi'tte Earth, fo are thy PTays ^- hoveour IVays, and tm thoughts above our 7'hougbtSy and the Methods anmMealures of thy Love above what ours can pretmato. For ethly, His L^Aras truly unmeafurable and im- menfe. Our l^ms may contain fome Drops of Love, and 'tis all they can hold ; but from him iffued furth, as it were, an Ocean of Love : The World is overflown with it j he loved like God with an immenfe and all tranfcending Love. -jthly, His Love was bold and daring. No View of Dangers or DiiBculties'aauld difheartcn or coojl his Love : It was ftrong as E^h. yea ftronger than Death ; raany Waters could ^m quench it. And O who can tell the ft range AdJHitures of his Love ; what be did, ^nd what he fuiSered out ofhismatch- lefs Love for us ? 'Tis in 'Heaven only the Story of his Love can be told aright, and we can only mint a,t it upon Earth. %thlyy It was a vidorious and triumphant Love. His Love went thorow all Dangers, and overcame all Difficulties that ftood in its Way : As he began fo he carried on and finilhed that great Work and Labour of Love which he undertook for our Sakes i he began and iinifhed it with a triumphant Power and glorious Succefs, both to himfelt and us. After he had fuftered, he entered into his Glory, being/^ on the right Hand of God, Angels and Authorities and Towers being made fuhjeSi unto him j and to fhare of this hi$ Glory, will he bring all thofe he redeem- ed by his Blood, that where he is, there they may }?e alfg. And fo ^thly. His Love is an evcrlalling Love, a Love that was from Eternity and will laft to Eternity too. on Revi i. 5, 6. 107 too, A Love that has laid up imraenfe and evcr- lalting Provision for oiir itiAcrtal Souls : And in the glorious Fruits and liluJf of which Love, the Redeemed of the Lcrd fhallr^It aiid triumph for ^'cr, fiagiivg with giad aua c^^ul Hearts, as in t(tK 'A;x,c, Utito him that /ciSWj, If»i ruafied us from our Sins in his oivn Blood, cind bath r.iade us Kings and Priejis to Gcd and bis Failser ; to bim be Glory and Dominion for ever and eve/. And now my Brethixn, afcef tlie'Tni-rc and faint R,€prcfcnt:acioa I have givv^n you of the bieiled Re- d.eeaier's Love, of whwJr whilll I liave been fptak- ing, methinks I ha\jMDeen like one labouring un- der a vaft and heav^Burden, for which he is nowife M^tch ; For indeedH is a SubjciS: of overwhelming Weight, the Tongue^^^enand Angeis are nc« ^bk for it : May I not ncKiii^^ you, my Brethren, what Opinion you have of me^edeemer's Love ? Does it not look vaftly big, ftupenduoully great and wonderful in your Eyes ? Have you been able to take a View of it in thefe difi'erent Profpeds I have given you of it, without being made to cry our, O the Height y and Depths and Breadth, and Length of his Love ^ Have you heard fo much on the Sub- jcft, without feeling your Hearts warmed with a Senfe of his Love : Without feeling fome fccrec glowing Motions in your Souls, inclining you to break out in his Pra ife. Unto hi?n that lo-ced us, and wajhed us from our Stns in his own Blood, and batb made us Ktugs and Priejis to God and hts Father ; to bim be Glory and Dominion for ever and ever. Amen? Why my Brethren, it your Hearts are yec quite infenlible of his Love, if tney have felt no fe- cret Kindlings at all, after all that has been laid ; furely they are ilrangely froz^ and Aupihtd. Can fuch lo8 SERMON IX. fuch a Subjcd be To oft mentioned, and your Ears and your Hearts, as it were, fo long chaffed with it, and no Sparks at all rife ? Oh what cold and dead Hearts mdft thefe be ! But now, my Brethren, if frorii v/hat has been faid, you feel any inward Rifings and Motions in your Souls, inclining you at once to admire and praife your Redeemer's Love^ O cherifh fuch Mo- tions, let them be gathering more and more Strength and Life in your Hearts, and bring them forward with you to the Lord's Table, when you ought to fit down, and, with Adrtiiration and ThankfulnefSj to celebrate his Love as in the Text, Unto him that loved us, and wadoed us from our Sins in bis own Blood, and hath made us Kings and Priefts to God and ffis Father ; to him he Glory and Dominion for e'ver. Amen". Why ? Ic is \\\ this Ordinance thac we ate efpecially to record and celebrate his Love. O then take care to do it in a becoming Manncfj with your beft Affeftions and mofl hearty Praifes ; let the Condderation of his wonderful Love to you, draw cut your Hearts in Ads of Love, Adoration and Thankfgiving to him \ let Love be the predo- mining PafTion in our Hearts, and praife the Chief ^nd over-ruling Work of this Day : Let us love him, and vow away our felves to him ; and (ince be /oT the wife Man's Obfcrvstion being thus verified aim oft in the Ex- perience of every one. Vanity of Vaitities^ all is Va- mtj and Vex^^tion of Spirit. Now thcfe three Heads I have touched upon arc tli)C Sum oi ail rhe other Corruptions and Weak- tit&s of Men : For. as the Apoftic John fays, All tlm is m she iVorld is the Lud of the Flejb, the Luft ef th£ Eye, and the Pride of Life. Men's Pnde, Senfualiiy and Worldly-mindednefs are the Sources, and the Sum of all their other Corruptions and Vices that lodge in their Hearts, or break out in their Lives : For the curbing, mortifying ^id reftraioing of which, God fends Afflidions ^id Troubles upon them, many fuch Things as very much difcourage and annoy their Hearts, and 6.i{^u.kt their Minds ; and therefore, having in- fbnced thefe in Lieu of ail others, I (hall not Ac- fccad to further Particulars upon this Head ; But proceed to a g. Reafon of God's fending AfHidions and Trials upon his People, and that is, for the Trial, Exercife and Increafe of their Graces ; by Means c£ which he himfclf may be much honoured, and them- on Pfal. xlii. ii. ivj themfelves rtap manifold Advantaged And, be- caufe I tnuft be a little more particular upon this Head, in the ift Place, God fends Affliaions, many dif- couraging and vexatious Things upon his People, for the Trial and Exercife ot their Humility, Pa- tience, Rclignacion and Submiflion. I pur them all together, becaufe they are Graces of great Af- finity one to another, and cannot be feparated in the Exercife of them. Now thefe Graces arc amongft the mofl; neceflary and cffential Graces o£ the Divine Life : And no Man is thorowly a Chri- ftian, or a tolerable Proficient in the Pradicc o£ Religion and Godlinefs, who is not furniihed with them, and that to a coniiderable Degree i Buc how is this either attained to or made known, but by the Exercife of them ? For tho' the Seeds and firft Principles of thefe Graces may be infufed, as well as others, by the Spirit ot God into the Souls of good Men : Yet the Growth and Increafc, Strength and Improvement of them, depends in at great Meafure upon the Exerciie of them ; thisbe- ing the Way by which all Habits arrive at Per- feftion. But AfRidions are a Pledge, I may fay^ of thefe Graces, the proper Means of their Exer- cife, and confequently of their Improvement an4 Increafe ; and thereiore it is that the Lord cafts them fo often into the Lot of his People. Af- flidions teach them to be humble, inure them to Patience and Refignation ; make them know their Dcpchdance upon God, their Subjection to him, and what Folly it is for them to contend with him, or to (Iruggle againft the Yoke he impofes upon their Necks ; and being frequently exercifed, they ' come to acquire the Habit of a humble, patient, 4 Pa quicc 2iS S E R M O N X. quiet aBd unconftrained bearing of, and fubmitting to the Will of God, which is one of the greatcft Attainmsnts in Religion, one ot the mofi: crown- ing Graces -of the Chriftian Life, even when Pa- tience comes to have her per fecf Work : Ot which th^ Apoftk James makes fo great Account, rluc Sic fecms to reckon it, as it were, ali in AM in Chriftianity, as you have it, Jam. i. 2. My Brethren count it Joy, when ye fall into diver/e temptations, knowing this that the trymg of yciir Faith worlieth Pattetice ; But let Patience have her perfe0 Work^ that ye may be perfect and entire wanting nothing ; as if he had laid, if you have Patience in Perfcdion, you want nothing in Chri- ilianity. And then again, As Aillidicns areneceiTary foe the Exercife of the Graces of Humility and Pa- tience, m order to their Growth and Improvement ; fo are they in order to their being difcovered and made known. It is a^i eafy Thing for one to pre- tend to thefe Graces, to think or to fay he has them ; it is an eafy Thing to bear AfHi<3:ions at a Diftance, to be humble and patient without Trial ; and the Hypocrite and Pretender to Reli- gion may herein go as great a Length as the real and advanced Chriilian : But when the Trial comes, then the Difference is known, the one ftrinks and retires with a faint and cowardly Spi- rit at the near Approach oi AjfHifiions, he is not able to look it in the Face, but choofes rather to fin than to fuflfer : Or, if the AfRidions be un- •avoidable, he frets, murmurs and complains, rag- ing againll God and every Thing that is ac- ceflbry to his Trouble ; and is even fometimes made to dcfpair under it, faying, ^his Evil is of X the' on PfaL xlii. ii. 2.29 ihe Lord^ whyjlmtld I wait a)iy longer ? J de well to be angry, even unto Death. But the other, the true Chriftian, as he lays his Account v?ith Af- flictions and Sufterings in this Life, and lives every Day in the Expectation thereof; knowing that even when he is eafed and delivered of one 1 rouble, fome other one or more will fuccecd in its Room, and that thus he mufl go with the Crofs on his Back to the Grave, and never have full Refpite till he come to Heaven the promifcd Reft of God's People : As he, I fay, thus lays his Account with the coming oF AfEiftions and Trials, fo when they are a(5tually come, he bears them thorowly with all the Fortitude and Gallantry of a heroick Chriflian Soul. And this exceedingly glorifies his God, in fiiewing how refigned he is to hij Dif- pofal : What Homage he can pay him in a Way ot Sufferinc^, honours his Saviour whom he follows in the Way of the Crofs ; and adorns his Pro- feffion, the ProfefHon of Chriftianity, which is more efpecially calculated for a fuflering State, thrives beft in it, and aftbrds Men invincible Succours and Supports, to enable them to fuffer with an un- daunted Refolution in Obedience to the Will of God. 2. God brings Afflictions and difcouraging Circuraftances and Events upon his People, for the Trial and Encreafe oi their Faith, and of their Love and Fear of God. I put thefe Graces aifo together, becaufe they are of great Influence one upon another ; and, in an ingenuous Chrifl;ian Soul, go always together. Now it is always the Duty of Men to believe in God , to reverence and con- fide in his Providence, and thcfc Perfcdions of his which are peculiarly employed in the Management XJO S E R M O N X. Gi it, his Wirdom, ^Goodnefs and Power. But thefc Afts of Faith arc rendered by much the more illuftrious, when the good Man can exert them, when Providence feems to go againll him as well as when it favours him, when it trowns as well as when it frailes. To believe in and depend upon the Providence of God, to be perfuaded of the Wifdom and Goodncfs of its Conduct, whilft we {hare plentifully of the benign Influences of it, whilfl, as the Apoflle Paul fays with Refped to the Gentile World, He lea'ves not himfelf without a IVitnefs towards nsy in that he does good, and ginjes tis Rain from Heauen and fruitful Seafons^ filling Ofir Hearts with Food and Glaanefs, ktcs xiv. 17. To believe in, I fay, and depend upon the Pro- vidence of God, whilft the Bleffings pt it thus drop down into our Mouths, and we have the fweet fenfible Efllfts of it to allure us into the Faith of !t, is no fuch tranfcendant Virtue • even the Jfraehtes thcmfelves, fnr as unbelieving as they were, could not disbelieve the Power and Good- nefs of God to provide Food for them in the Wil' ^erncfs, whiUi they were gathering up the Manna and the ^aiJs. But to believe and c\.nfide in the Providence of God, and to be perfuaded of the Wifdom and Goodnefs of his Management, when we are in forlorn and deftitute Circumftances ; when others who rejoice m our Mifery may fay in- fultingly, as the Pfalmift's Enemies did in the Con- text, If here is thy God P Where is now the Re- ward of thy Rcligirn ? Behold the Iflue of thy Hope in God on which you did lay fo much Strefs j if Providence had any Regard to thee, would it not more befriend thee, and look more to thy Welfare ? To believe thus, I fay, m God and his on Pfal x!ii. ir» Z|i his Providence, when ft treats us harfhiy as well as when kindly, whtn ir not cnly ieems to clcfeit us but to arm itfelf againft us, not only to «rail us oft* but even to ly heavy upon us ; this is a sioble and heioick Ad of Faith, worthy of a good Man and a Chrirtian, who has a real well- grouikkd Faith in God and his Providence, which none of the fceming and temporary Neglefts or Afperities of it can invalidate or ftiake. Thus 'tis faid of Abraham y in that Trial of Faith and Obedience in oftering up his Son Ifaac^ as well as with Re- ference 10 that improbable Promife that was made to him of, his Conception and Birth, that againj^ Hope be believed in Hopgy that he might hecoms the Father ofma»y Nations : He believed in Spighc of all the Repugnancies and feeming ImpolTtbilitieSj that ftocd in the Way of the Accomplifbment of the Promife. And thus, for the Trial of his People's Faith, God is pleafed to fend AjfRiftionS upon them, to the End it may be fecn, whsther they can believe in his Wifdom and Goodnsfs,, that all I'bmgsJJjall'work together for Good to them in the lUue, notwithftanding the prefent frowning Afpe(5t of his Providence towards them, yea and adual fmarting Senfe of its AfEidiws and Di!- penfaiions. And thus alfo, further, for the Trial of their Love as well as ot their Faith, is he pleafed to deal with them. For a Man to love God, when he is dandled by him as on the Knees, when he is treated as a Darling of Providence ; has nothing but Sweets put into his Cup, witnuuc the Mixture ot a bitter Ingredient ; is not a Thing very much to be acimired, for here one's Lo\'e, if there be any Ingenuity at ail in his Soul, is in a Maa- . . P 4 ner Zjl S E R M O N X. per ravifhcd, ^nd, by a flrong and fvveec obliging Force, neceflarily fiirrendercd as a jiift Debt to God. But tor the Chriftian to love God when he frowns, as well as when he fmiles; to blcfs his Hand when it Ihakes the Rod over his Head, yea ^nd lets him feel the Weight of it, as well as \vhen his Hand is ftreached out in difpenfing Blef- fings unto him ; when he can fay. Good is the Will of the Lord, in the worft Cafe as well as in the bsft ; ^he Lord giveth, the Lord taketb ; lleffed be the Name of the Lord : That, I fay, is the Proof a true, filial and ingenuous, as well as a ftrong and feraphick, Love ot God. As the Apoille to this Purpofe exprefles himfelf, Kom. viii. 35. to the Clofe. All which may be underftood asfpoken, not only of God ^s Love to us, but alfo of our Love to him. Yea by rhis Means alfi God tries and exercifcs the inj^enuous and filial Fear of his Children. The belt Men if Things went always with them tothtir Mind, would be ready to forget both God and therafelves,- and, through a finful Liberty, they would aflume, would do many Things alto- gether unworthy of them ; as we even ice they many Tim?s do notwithflanding all that can be done by ^A'ay of Prevention : And therefore a wife and merci'ul God, to awaken a more lively Senfe oi himfelf upon the Minds ot his Children, and to make them look the better about them, andconfider what they do, is pleafed frequently to chaftife and qorrcd them by the AfHidions he fends upon them. And then, for 1 hafte to be done, 5^/y, And lafrly on this Head, God is pleafed to fend up(^'"» his People A iHidions, to bring them many Times into difcoura^ing and perplexing Circum- ftangeSj on Pfal xlii. ii. zj^ ftaaces, for advancing them in Holinefs, Spiritu- ality and Heavenly-mindcdnefs : To make them more meet for, and more dtlirous of: being made Partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light i and arriving at that Reji of joy above, which is fee before them and promifed to them as the Recompence of their Faithfulnefs, and patient fubmitting to the Will of God in this Life. . A/flidions are in Scrip- ture frequently compared to a I'urnace^ becaufe they are of Ufe to refine Believers from their Corruption and Drofs, and to make them become more holy and fpiritual and heavenly-minded : This is among the happy Efteds of AiRictions to fuch as attain to the fanftified Ufe of them, they are thereby fandified themfelves, their Hearts are thereby humbled and fanftified, purified and refined, made more holy, fpiritual and divine, more fit for Heaven, and more defirous of coming at it. And, to be fure, in all Cafes, if our Afflidions do not make us better, they will make us much worfc -, if they do not mollify, melt down and purity our Hearts, they will have a contrary Influence upon us, to cement and confolidate, as it were, our Hearts and our Corruptions more firmly together. But happy the Man who comes to the fanftified, and, I may lay, fandifying Ufe of his Afflidions; who is thereby made more tame and humble, more meek and compofed, more patient and refigned, more holy, fpiritual and divine : Whofe AfRiftions convince him of the Vanity of the World, raife his Heart above it, inflame him wii:h the Love of Heaven as being the only Place of his Reft and Triumph, where all 'Tears Jh all be for e'ver wiped from his Eyes, and all Sorrow lliall be for ever ba- pilhed from his Hearty where Sighing and Sorrow fhall ZJ4 S E R M O N X. Ihall flee avyay for ever. But thefe Things I may have Occafion oi fpeaking to afterwards, and there- fore (hall not now infiil further upon them. I thought to have afligned fome other Reafons of this Adminiftration of Divine Providence, in permitting his Saints and People to come under many Aflli^ions, many di(couraging and dif- quieting Things in this Life. Such as this par- ticularly, that there might be no viftble outward Difference, to the Advantage of the Godly, be-^ tween their Lot in this World and that of the Wicked : Sohmoti long fince obferved, Ecclef, ix. 2. ^hat all things come alike unto all, there ts one Event to the Righteous and the U^ickedy to the Good and to the Clean, and to the Unclean, to him that facrificeth, and him that facrificetb not ; as is the Good^ fo is the Sinner, and he that fwearetb, as he that feareth an Oath, And by fuch a promifcuous Procedure does the Providence of God manage Things in this Lire, ^or various, wife and good Reafons that might be aifigned, belides thefe already mentioned. As, I. Hereby God maintains fuch a Meafure of Unity and Concord betwixt Men of both Sorts, I mean the Righteous and Wicked, as is necefiary for the Prefervation of Society and Government in the World. Whilll Men are thus promifcu:- oufly dealt wichal, and there is no external Badge of the Good-Will of Providence to the one more than to the other, the Wicked arc made lefs to envy and perfecute the Good for their Goodnef^ than otherwife tiiey probably would do, did Pro- vidence only fmile on them, and teftify its Regards to them : As we fee in the Cafe of the two Bro- thers, Cain and Abel\ the latter of whom^ and the on Pfal. xlii. il. ij5 the good Man, fell a Sacrifice himfelf to his BrocherV Hatred and Malice, becaufc God had, by fome Symbol or Expreffion, ttftiiied his Regard to his Offering more than to his Brother and Murderer Cam's. And the Godly again arc hereby kept from judging and condemning, and fleeing from the Wicked : So much as they otherwifc could not but do, were it by any viiiblc Mark of Diftindion made plain who are the only good, and who are reprobate and wicked. But whilft Things go on at fuch a promifcuous Rate, as they do in the Pro- vidence of God, the Godly are thereby taughc to judge charitably of the Wicked, and not to ihun innocent Communion with them ; becaufc God doth not yet make it to appear, who fhall be finally wicked and reprobate, and who not. Thus God will have the 'Tares and the Wheat to grow together in one Field till the Time of Reap- ing come, and then ihall be the great Day of Dif- criminacion, and the proper Seafonof Rewards and Puniihmencs. 2. God permits it to be, allows Things to befal good and bad Men in a promifcuous Manner ia this Life, to the End that Men's Choice of Reli- gion might be the more free, proceeding not fo much from Motives of temporary Advantage, as from the native Charms, the intrinlick Beauties and Excellencies of Religion and Godlinefs: To- gether with the chief Rewards of it, which are iiich as ly in another World ; which muft be em- braced by Faith, and are not the Objects ot pre- fent and fenfible Enjoyment. If the Wicked were the only happy Men in this World, 'tis to be fear- ed that more would be fcarred from Religion than yec are j and the bringing over one to the Pradicc z^6 SERMON X. oF GodlinefSy would be a much harder Conqucfi than yet it is : And if the Godly were the only happy in this World, tho^ the Number of the truly fuch would be the fame, yet the Clafs of Hypo- crites would be prodigioufly encreafcd. That there- fore Men may not be fcarred from Religion for the Want of temporal Encouragements, nor yet make Choice merely for the Sake thereof, he is pleafcd to adminifter his Providence in fuch a Manner, as none fhall know, if they look merely to external Advantages, who are the Godly, who are the "Wicked. Nay, that felfilli and worldly Principles might have the leail Intereft in Religion, and the Choice a Man makes of it, he hath call the Bal- lance much on the Side of the Wicked ; For, tho' Godlinefs ts profitable unto all ^hingSy and has the Promije^ both of the Life that now is^ and that which is to come; yet, generally fpeaking, they are the Ungodly who prufper moil in this World : And they are not to be much envied, it being all the' Heaven they have to expeft ; as our Saviour teaches in the Parable, where Abraham is reprefent- cd as faying to the rich Man, Remember Son, that thou in thy Lifetime receiuedfi thy good things, and likewife Lazarus evil 2'hings ; but now he is com- forted, and thou art tormented, I come now to make a few Inierences. I . Is it fo chat the Lot of the beft of God's People is to meet wirh many Things in this Liie, which difcourage and difquiec their Minds i Th'cn we may fee the infinite Wildom of God, in the Way which he takes in training up his Children for the En- joyment of their heavenly Inheritance. Some of us may be apt to imagine that God ihould deal with his People as they do with their own Children, fondljf w Pfal. xlii. 1 r. 2 jy fondly indulging them in whatever may gratify their peevifh Humour, and pkafe their untoward ivlinds.: But God's Ways are not as our IVnys, he is wifer for our Good than we our felves ; he knows tliat to indulge us in our Humours and Inclinations would be to ruin us, and that to make us fwim in con- ilant Pleafure, would be to fink us into everlafling Pain and Mifery; And therefore, wifely for us as well as for his own Honour and Glory, he [ecs £t to exercife us frequently witl^ Trouble and Paia, and makes it a flared Rule of his A dminiflration, th^t if we be without Chaftifement, whereof all his Qhildren are Partakers, then are we £ awards, arid not Sons. 2. This may likewife fhew us the Perverfenefs of our own Natures, who are fo backward and un- willing to fubmit to AfEiftions, when our heavenly Father, for fo wife and jufl Reafons, meafures them unto us. He in Faith tulnefs and Love to our Souls afHicis us, and we, like Bullocks unaccujiom^ sd to the Toke, are apt to withdraw our Necks from it, and even, by murmuring and repining, to kick againft him who puts it on in Love to our Souls. How ihall we be afiiamed when we Ihall afterw rd fee the Scheme of the Divine Adminiflratisjn com- pleated, and therein perceive that our Aiflidions were full as necefiary for bringing us to Glory as Eafe and Profperity. 3. From this we may learn what Habit of Mind we ought to be of while in this World. Every wife and good Man ought to (uit his Mind unto his Condition, and to endeavour to acquit himfelf as becomes him in the Circumftance in which he is placed. Now our infinitely wife God, has feeii fit to make our Life in this World a Life of Trouble and' ijS SERMON X. and Affliction : And therefore we ought always to be ready to fuflfer as well as to enjoy ; to endure Pain and Hardlhips as well as to fwim in Pkafure ; to exercife Patience under Calamities, as well as to rejoice in theSun-fhine of the Divine Favour : In a Word, as we are Pilgrims and Strangers in this our prefent State, we ought to be willing and con- tent to bear all the Inconvenicncics of a State of fo- journing, in the Hopes of our being fliortly admit- ted into our Father's Houfe, where all our Pains and Sorrows fhall be for ever ended, and everlaft- ing Peace and Joy fhall fucceed in their Place. 4. From this let us learn, not to defpife thofe who are in AiEidion, nor think the worfe of them upon Account of it. We fee that ic is God's ordi- nary Way with his People to vifit them with Trouble: Why then fhould we defpife our Bre- thren upon Account of it ? Indeed, AfRidion or Profperity make not a Man a v/hit more or lefs valuable : If he be profperous he is not, properly fpeaking, the better ; and if he be afflided he is not really the worfe: A Pearl in the Bottom of the Eaflern Ocean is not lefs valuable, than when it is ufed as an Ornament ; the real Worth of any Man does not confift in the Profperity and Splendor of his outward Condition, but in the inward Light and Purity of his Nature, and in the Hclinefs of his Life : A Man blelVed with thefe God-like Qiia- lities, is more honourable in Rags and Fetters than a Man deftitute of them (itiing upon a Throne 'm Purple Robes : Lazarus at the rich Man's Gate, loaded with various A/Eidions, was indeed more honourable, and his End more happy, than the rich Man himfelf doathed in Purple and fine Linnen, and faring fumpuoufly every Day. New on Pfal. xlii. il^ Ijp Now may God himfclf give us Grace and Wif- dom to form a juft Eftimate of Things as they really are, and not to be impofed upon by fpedous external Shews of Things ; and not to juage ac cording to outward Appearance, but to judge righte^ ous Judgment : And to be always firmly perfuaded, notwithflanding of cur ftrong Prejudices, that bleffed is the Man whom the Lord chajienetb, and teacheth out of his Law, SER- Z40 SERMON XI. PsALlf. xlii. II. Why art thou cafl dozvn, 0 my Soul ? And why art thou dif quieted within me^ Hope thou in God^ for Ifloall yet praife him^ who is the Health of my Counter nancey and my God, H E fecond Obfervatlon which I made from thefe Words, lad Lord's Day, was. That a good Man iliould oppo'fe and ft rive againil all his Difcourage- ments, and endeavour to reafon and chide himfelf out of them ; fo does the Pfalmifl in the Text, who expoliulates the Matter with his own Soul, and ftrives to overcome and furmount his prefent Difcouragements, by the Aliifiance of a firm and unfhaken Hope in God : l^^by art thou cafi dowjiy O my Soul ? IVH art thou difquieted within me? Hop thou in God, for I jloalljet praife him, who is the Health of my Countenance, and my God. And this has been the Praftice of others of God's Saints, particularly the godly Man ^faph, in on Pfal. xlii. ir.' i^x In that Ixxvii. Pfaltn, who, as ft appears from the doleful Complaints he makes there, was under great Difcouragements, very heavy Afflidions and Pr^fTures: Verfe 7th, U^^ili the Lord caji off for ever ? ^nd will he be favourable no more ? But how does he behave under thcfe his Difcouragements ^ Does he ly hopelefs and defpairing under tnem ? No, but he challengcth and corrcdech himfelf, and endea^ Vours to throw chem oft", as it follows Vtrfe 10, jind I faid this is mine Infirmity, thus to dcfpond and complain of God is my Weaknefs and ^y Fault ; / wiU remember the Tears of the right Hand of the moft High, I will remember the ^orks of the f,ordj furely I will remember thy Wonders of old : That is, I will refled on the Experiences which I, and others of his Saints, have had of his Goodnefs in former Times, and I will from thence encourage my felt ftill to confide in him. I had fainted, fays the Pfal mi ft, Pfal. xxvii. 15, 14. milefs I had be- lieved to fee the Goodtiefs of the Lord in the Land of the LivtJig : Wait on the Lord, be of good Courage^ and he fioaU ftrengthen thine Hearty yea wait, 1 fay, upon the Lord. And Pfal. xxxvii. i. he gives a very ufeful Advice much to the fame Purpofe, Fret not thy felf becaufe of evil Doers, neither be thou envious a^ainji the Workers of Iniquity, for they fhall foon be cut down as the Grafs, and wither as the green Herb ; ^ntft in the Lord and do good, fo (halt thou dwell in the Land, and verily thou palt he fed: And Verfe 7th, Kefi in the Lord, and wait patiently for him, fret not thy felf becaufe of him who pro/pereth in his Way, becaufe of the Man who bringeth wicked Devices to pafs. Now in handling of this Argument, all that I ihalk lio (hall be, I, To lay down a few Things, as the Vol. II. " Q. ' Pnn- 14.1 SERMON XL Pdnciples or Groubds, ort which a good Man ftiayj and ought to reafon and chide himfdf out ot his iDirfcouragements. IL To enforce the fame by a lessr Confiderations more to the fame Purpofe i UL Sui^'oin a few Advices for yoiw Diredioii. I. I Ahall lay down a few Principles or Grounds ce which the good Man may, and ought to reafon and chide himfclf out of all his Difcouragemencs. And / I. The ferious and firm Belief and Pcrfua- fion the In- fluence of it for the promoting and profpering of their Interefts ; but then, when Providence goes crofs to their Expedations, and they are difappointed of what they hoped to obtain through its favourable Influence, they are ready to fay of Providence, as Brutus m his chagrine Mood faid of Virtue, It is hut a Name. But Men would beware of entertain- ing, in the leail Degree, any fuch impious Refledi- ons on the Providence of God ; or doubting, in the leaft Degree, of the Being and Influence of k : For this tends not only to the making them lofe all the Comfiort of hoping in God, and confiding in his Providence ; but to the making them throw off Religion altogether, the great Foundation and Sup- port of which is the Belief of the Being and Provi«; dence of God. 2. Another Principle or Ground upon which the good Man ought to oppofe and ftrive againft his Difcouragements, and endeavour to reafon and chide himfelf out of them, is the Confidcration of our prefent State as Men and Chriftians; both which, the one by the Law of our Natures, and the other by the Law of our Religion, make us liable 0.5 «o 1^6 SERMON XL to AfRidions and Sufferings in common with o- Firfi, We are Men, and ic is the common Con- dicion of Humanity to beexpofed toAiRi(^ions and Sufferings. Man is bom to trouble as the Sparks fly upward, that is, by a natural and unavoidable Neceflity, and there is no Temptation or Trouble' befalls us, but what is common to Men. Omnid ijia, fays the Philofopher fpeaking of the common ^fEidions ot human Life, Omnia ijia in longa 'vita^ fuiit quomodo in longa via S pulvis S lutum t? plwvia. \ Thefe Things in a long Life are like Dufi: and Dirt and Rain in a long Journey ; which ic were a vain Thing -for a Man to think he could wholly avoid, but that he mull fomecime or other -have his Share of them. Man is a Being of a de-* p.erident;,Nature, .intirely fubjed to the Difpofal of God ; and who art thou 0 Man that replieji againfi God, JJmild not the Potter have Power over the Clay:. We claim a Power over the Works of our own Hands, and think it reafonable for us to do with our own as we pleafe, our Cloaths, our Houfes, our MtDuey, or our Lands, and other Things o£ which we are Proprietors, we ask no Man's Leave to difpofe of them at our Pleafure, to turn them in- to what Shapes, and to make them fcrve whac Ufes we think fit ; and muft it not be held as rea- fonable for God, the fole Proprietor of us and all Things, we derive our Being and Exiftence from him, to ferve his own wife Ends and Purpofcs by us without Controul ? God is greater than Man, lays; JElihu, Job xxxiii. ii. IVhy doft thoti Jiriv^ againfi him^. fy gives m Account of any of his Matters: As if he had faid, that Man doth ftrangely forgec •hisCo^ditionj who by murmuring or repining thinks on Pfal. xlii !!• SL47 to call God to an Account ; Why, he is the Su- preme Lord of allj and may da whatever he picafes. Befides, that being Meiv we arc boond by the very Noblenefs and Dignities of our Natures, to bear AfRidions with Decorum, and not to faint or fink under any temporary Difcouragement. God might have made us Worms inftead ok Men, fucb defpicable Creatures as are below common Notice : But when he has made us Men, but a UttJe lower than the- Angels, and Lords of the Creation, is k not a Shame for fuch an one to be a Slave to every flight Trouble ? That any light Affli^iofiy which is hut for a Moment, fhould make our Souls, which arc immortal, to bow down under it ? David was much afflided with the Thought of God's Conde- fcenfion, in taking any notice of the State and Af- fairs of Men, Pfal. viii. 4. Lord, What is Mem^ that thou art mindful of him? Or the Son of Man^ that thou Jhouldeft vijit him ? ""Tis a Mercy and a Condefcendon to be admired, that God doth fo much as take Notice of us, though with his Chaf- tifements ; and therefore ought not to be the Ground of our Complaint and Difcouragement, but of our Thankfulnefs and Admiration. We do not think our felves concerned to take Notice of every little Flie or Infcft, or the poor Worms under our Feet ; or, if they ofltcnd us or are naufeating to us, we are not at Pains gently to tame or chaftifc them, but cither defpife them or crulh them : And that the infinitely great God, who might either fuifer us to go on in our Sins without Reftraint till we had ruined our felves, without doing him any Hurt ; or who, when we difpleafe him, might deflroy us in a Moment 5 . that |ie Ihould daign with Gentienefs Q^ 4 and l^S SERMON XL and Patience to correft and chaftife us for our MiTd^-« ipeanours, and tha^ for our own Good as the End of it, is an A6t of Condefcenfion, which we ought; with humbk Thankfulnefs to admire and adore. But idly^ As we are Men, fo are weChiiftiansj And this is another, and chief Confideracion, that ihould quiet the Mind of every good Man in ouyp {)refent State, make him reafon and chid.e h.imfelf out of his Difcouragements, and bear his AfRidtif onsand Pre(Kjres with Patience and Refignation. Why now we are the Difciples of the Crofs andthofs for the Esccellency of the Knowledge of Cbrijl Jefus my Lord, for whom M have fuffered the Lofs of all things -, and do count them but Dung that I may win Chrifi, and be found in him. not having tnine own P^ighteoufnefs which is of the Law, but that which is through the Faith of Chrifi, the Kighteoufnefs which is of God by Faith : i'hat 1 may know him, and the Power of bis Refur' fe^iott, and the FellowJJnp of his Sufferings ; being made conformable unto his Death. And, to add no more, *tis Suffering here that -will fet the brighteft Crown of Glory on the Chri- (lian's Head hereafter. In that foreqited 1 Pet, iv. 150 SERMON XI. W. 1 2. Beloved, think it fto firange STbing concerning^ ihe fiery 1'rial which is to try you: And Kev. \\\, 14. *tis faid of the Saints in Heaven, who are ar^ rayed in white Robes, that thefe are they which camff cut of great Articulation, and have wafhed their Kobes and made tJjem white in the Blood sfthe Lamb ; after which you have their Felicity more fully defcribed, Verfe 15, 17, therefore &re thcf hefore the throne of God, and ferve him Day and Night in his 'item^le : And he that fitteth on tht throne (hall dwell among them. For the Lamb which is in the midft of the throne, Jhall feed them, and Jball lead them unto living Foimtains of Waters : And God Jhall wipe away all Tears from their Eyes, So that to fuffer in Obedience to the Will of God, is not only the Chriftian's Duty but his Privilege, his Honour and Happinefs, that which confers orj him the Honour of being like the Son of God, and that: "which will raifc him to a more full and tranfcendant Participation of his Glory : To him. that overcometb wiU 1 grant to Jit with me on my Throne, even as lalfo overcame, and am fet down with my Father on his Throne. Now the Confideration of all this furely Should be enough to make every good Man, every Chriftian, to bear his AfRidions and Trials with a triumphant Greatnefs of Soul, the very Heathens themfelves had an Apprehenfion of this ; at leaft ic fliould be enough to make him reafon and chide himfelf out of all Defpondency and Difcouragemcnts, upon the Account ot them. But then 3. A third Ground or Principle on which the good Man ought to oppofe and ftrive againft his Difcouragements, and endeavour to reafon and chide himfelf out of them, is the Confideration of the many wife and good Ends for which God fends AfELiftions on Pfal. xlii. Ii. 251 AfRidions and Troubles, many difquieting and dilcouraging Things upon his own People. I in- (ifted on this at conliderable Length laft Lord's Day : And Ihall only add, that when a Chriftiait conliders the wife and good Ends of his A/flidions, he ought furely, inltead of murmuring and repining or being dilcouraged under them, with all humble Thankfulnefs to entertain and improve them : He ought to pronounce favourably of them, and enter- tain them in no other Qtiality than that of Bleffings, and Indications of the Love and Favour and pecu- liar Care of God about him, Job v. 17. Beboli^ happy is the Man whom God corre^eth : Therefore defpife not thou the Chaflning of the Almighty. Pfal. xciv. 1 2 . Blejfed is the Man whom thou chafineft^ 0 Lord, ami teachefi him out of thy Law. I thought to have mentioned feveral other Grounds or Principles, on which the good Man ought to reafon and chide himfelf out of his Dif- coiiragements, upon Account of the Troubles and Afflictions that come upon him, fuch as I. That Aiflidions have always been the Lot o£ the b?ft of God's Saints, they have all had theic own Experience and Share of them. This I alfo infifted on laft Lord's Day, and, by a long Detail, Ihewed that it has always been the Lot of the bed of God's Saints to be involved in Difficulties, preflcd with Afflidlions and Hardihips, and to meet with many Tnings which have difcouraged and difquiet- ed their Minds. So that the Chriftian who now meets with any Trials, or labours under any Af- flidion or Trouble, cannot fay that his Cafe is fihgular and unprecedented ; no, many arc thofc who have gone before him ii\ a Way ot Sutfering; %Ri throifgh much 3^ribt*iation have entered into tht 1$Z SERMON XI. Kingdom of God : And therefore, from the Confi- deration of the glorious Examples they have kt be- fore him, he fhould reafon and chide himfelf out of his Difcouragements and Dffpondency. IVhy art thou cafi down, O my Soul ? IVby art thou difquieted within me ? This thorny Road has been beat by many of God's beft and deareft Saints before me : And, now tliac they are arrived at the promifcd Reft of God's People, I may imagine them as beckening to me from above. Fellow-traveller, Fd- low-fufterer, bend your Way hither ward ; there is your Labour, here is your Reft ; there are your Trials, here are your Triumphs : You have no more Difficulties to encounter with, no greater Aiflidti- ons to graple with, than we, whilft in your militant and pilgrimage State, had Experience of; but we overcame and furmounted them all, and now enjoy the b'.rlled Fruits of our Labours and Sufferings ; faint not, defpond not therefore, but follow us who through Faith and Patience do now inherit the Pro- inifes. Which fhould lead me to Another Ground ot Encouragement, whence the Chriftian may derive Comfort in his AfHiftions, and by Means of which he may reafon and chide himfelf out oi his Difcouragements, and that is the Confidc- ration of the Promifes of God, which he has made to his People for their Support and Comfort in Af- fliiflion. The whc ie Word of God is full of fuch Promifes : And there is not any troublous or af- flifted State that any Chriftian can be in, but he may find abundant Promifes faited to his Cafe, and it is both his Duty and his Intereft to apply them to that Purpofe. So the Pfalmift D^'vid tells us he did, PfcU. xciv. ip. In the Multitude of my thoughts within me, thy Comforts, that is, thy com- on Pfal. xlii. ii; 15^ comfortable Promifes, delight my Soul : And Pfal, cxix. 49. he fays exprefly to this Farpoff, B.emem' her the IVord unto thy SernjafUy upon which thou haft caufed me to hope ; ^/his is my Comfort in my Afflt^ion, for thy Word haib quickened or given Lite to me^ viz wlien I was like to taiiK with Sor- row and Defpondency. But proceed wc II. To enforce the Pradicc of the Duty obferved from the Text, luZ. That a good Man ought to reafon and chide himfclf out of hisDifcouragements, by a few further Confiderations, all to the fame Purpofe with what you have heard. And I. Confidcr whatever are your Affiidions and Troubles, and the Caufes of your Difcouragement j they are ftili far Ihort of what you deferve for your Sins : And therefore it is very unreafonable for you to lay them overmuch to Heart, or to be immode- rately difcouraged or dejeded under them. This is the Prophet Jeremiah's Argument, who was a Man fofficiently exercifed with Alilidions ; Lam. iii, jp. Wherefore doth a living Man complain, a Man for the Pun;Jljvient of his Sins : Wherefore doth a Ifving Man complain, intimating that if we are ftili living Men we are kindly dealt withall ; for the Wages of Sin IS Deatby all the Plagues that we are capable of,' either in this or in the other World, being but the due Reward of Sin. And therefore, as the fame Prophet fays in the fame third Chap, of the Lamen^ tatoHj 2 2. Fer. It is of the Lord's Mercies that we are not confumed, becaufe his Compaffions fail not : The Words are very emphatical. Mercies in the plural Number, intimating a Multitude of Favours in this one Ad of Forbearance ; and its Compafjions or Bowels for the Nature of them, which fignifies tcrider aftedionate Mercy : *iis of the Lord's Mercies 154 SERMON XL ^e au not confimed, he might juftly ftrike us dead in an Ad of Sin, and make us for ever and irreco- verably miferaWe. But we have Reafon to account y as the Apoftle Peter fays, that the long Suffering ef the Lord is our Salvation ; and to reckon, that wc are every Day redeemed anew from the deferved Strokes of his Juftice, by the friendly Interpofition of his Mercy : IVherefore doth a living Man com- plain, a Man for the PumJJment of his Sins: Which fcems to imply, that if he be but a Man, if be have but rational Principles, he muft needs ac- knowledge the Equity of being punifhed for Sin : Even the Thief on the Crofs, had fo much Ingenui- ty as to confefs it reafonable, that both he and his Fellow fliould fubmit to the juft Punilhment of their Crimes. But then when we are ptmijhed lefs than our JtUquities do deferve, when we bear not the thoufand thoufand Part of the mifery due to us for them, feirely this ought to flop the Mouth of all Com- jjaints, and make us with Submiflion and Thank- fulnefs acknowledge, with the Church Pfal. ciiu 8. 3'he Lord is merciful and gracious , flow to anger y and plenteous in Mercy -, he will not always chide, neither will he keep hts Anger for ever j he hath not dealt with us after our Sins, nor rewarded Its according to our Iniquities. That is a remarkable Story in tlie 42. Chap, of Genejts, to jQiew that this Conlideration of the Defcrt of our own Sins, is a very powerful Means to pacify our Minds againft all Impatience under Sufierings -, The Story con- cerning Jofeph^ Brethren, who coming into Egypt to buy Corn, were there very roughly treated, ac- cufcd for Spies, and clapt into Prifon ; fo that one would have thought, they had all Reafon to fret and rage at fuch hard and unjufl Dealing : And yet wc find en Pfal. xlii- ir, 155 find their Carriage to have been very humble and patient ; but what that was which made them fo, che 2 1 ft Verfe of that Chapter informs us, they re- membered their Cruelty to their Brother Jofiph, and that brought them to acknowledge this Dillrefs to be defervedly come upon them, bccaufe they had not pitied their Brother when he befought them m the AHgiiifif of his Soul. The like Confideratioa did ftop Job in his Complaint after all his high Pleadings and Arguings with God j he no fooner thought on his own Vilenefs but he was prefently ^lencedj Behold I am w/tf, what Jhall J anfwer tbee, I will lay my Hand upon my Mouth, So, I fay, you would confider the Defert of our Sins, and then it will appear that your Condition is not at any Time Co bad, but you have deferved it Ihould be worfe. 2. To preferve you from Impatience and mur- muring under your Afilidions, and to help you to rcafon and chide your felves out of your Difcourage- ments, as the Pfalmift does in the Text, confider and think on the Mercies you enjoy as well as the Evils you fufter, and you will find that the one doth far o- ver-balance the other. Tho' many are the troubles (f the Righteous, yet many are his Mercies and Com- forts too, and thofe both temporal and fpiritual : Yea commonly the former bears but fmall Proportion to the latter, for, befides the manifold temporal Advantages which every good Man is in fomc Mca- fure pofi'efl'ed of in common with other Men, how many and how great are the fpiritual Bleflings they partake of> or have a Title unto both in this Lite and in the Life to come ? As the Pfalmift fays, Pfal. xxxi. 19. O how great is thy Goodnefs which thou kafi laid ftp for tbevi that fear thee, which thou ha/l wrought X^6 SERMON Xr. wrought for them that trufi in thee before the Children cf Meni And Pjal. cxxxix. 17, 18. How precious alfo are thy Thoughts, or thy Kindnefs, unto me O ' Cod / How great is the Sum of them ? S'hey are inoe in Number then the Sand. Eye hath not feen^ Tjor Ear heard, nor the Heart of Man been able to concei^ve how great the things are which God bath prepared for them that love him; all the Treafures of Grace here and of Glory hereafter : And when the good Man is either podeflfed of or entitled to thcfe immenfe Riches, and boundlefs Felicities, ought he much to be annoyed for a little Flea-biting of tem- porary Affliftion whilft he is here ? y^U Thijigs are yours, fays the Apofth, i Cor. in. 22. Whether Pauly cr ApUos, or Cephas, or the World, or Life or Death, or Things prefent or Things to come; all ere yours, and ye are Chriji's, and Chrifi is God's : And (hall the Man to whom fuch a rich Charter be- longs, be forrowful and dejefted, for a little tern- porary Lofs or Inconvenience in this prefent World ? Yea, generally fpcaking, our temporay Comforts a- lone do far over-balance our temporary Afflidions and Troubles; and tho' there were no more, that ihould be enough to quiet our Minds, and make us contented with our State. That was an unwor- thy Temper in Ahab and Haman, to receive no Satisfaction in all their great PolleiTions and En- joyments, becaufe difappointed in fome one fmall Particular : And alas ! Men are too much guilty of their Fault, in fhewing commonly more Impatience and Difcontent under one Trouble and Difappoint- mcnt, than they do of Thanktulnefs for all their Mercies. Every Man is, as we fay, apt to think his own Crofs heaviefl, his own Trouble greateit» bfcaufe he feds it mofl : But fure I am, it the moft afEicted on jPfal. xlii. ir. fjjy afllided of us, were made to change Conditions with many otliers better than the beft of us, we ihould find, upon Trial, that we had made no Ad- vantage on the Bargain. For fuppofe all the Evils and Afflidions that are promifcuoufly fcattered up and down in the World, whether they concern Soul, or Body, fpiritual Elindnefs and Obduracy, Pover- ty, Slavery, Reproach, Shame, Sicknefs, Pain, bo- dily Deformity, with other Croffes and AfEiftionsj I fay, fuppofe all thefe were now to be equally di- ilributed amongft Mankind, fo as every one lliould have his Share, I believe there is none, at lead a- mong us, who would be content with this new Dx- ftribution. And if this be fo, certainly then ir muft be both an unreafonable and very ungrateful Thing, for fuch Men to be impatient, who enjoy more thati their Share comes to. No Man, I may fay, bue has fomething that makes him uneafyj but how ma- ny of Mankind are they that are defperately mife- rable ? How many are this Moment roaring on % Couch, under the Agonies of Gout and Stone, and other cutting Difeafes? How Ynany tugging at i Galley Oar, digging in a Mine, groaning under vile Servitude, weary of their Lives ? O did we fee alt the Miferies ot Mankind rcprefented to us at one View, as Satan fhcwed our Saviour in his Tempta- tion all the Kingdoms of the World and the Glory of them ; did we fee them, as we may fuppofe an Angel hovering Mid-way between Heaven and Earth fees them; but efpecially, had we fuch a Raked and immediate View of them, as the omnif- cient God has, we fhould all of us, even the moft afili^led of us, be. made to blefs our felves and our own State ; and thank God who has made us fo |iappy, compared with what is the Condition of ; X«£, II. R itxanf Z58 SERMON XI. many Millions of other Men. But fure I am the State of every one ot us is ftill better than that of our Blefled Lord was whilft upon Earth : Who of us can fay of our felves as he faid of himfelf, The Foxes have Holes, and the Birds of the Air have J^efis ; lut the Son of Man hath not where to lay his Head ? Who among us have it it to fay, that, like him, we are in an Agony, and that our Soul is eX' feeding forrowful even unto Death ? One Drop of that ^A^rath which fell upon him would have for ever overwhelmed the ftrongefl; of us ; And the Poi- fon ot it would have wholly drunk up our Spirits. If then our holy ^nd harmlefs Lord fufeied fo much' for us, without Murmuring or Dejedionj why Ihould we, who are fo guilty, complain or be call down when wc fuffer infinitely lefs ? 3. Confider, how much it tends to a good Man*s Honour to bear decently A^idions without Impa- tience or Difcouragement. The better Sore of Pa- gans had this Apprehenfion, that outward Trials and Sufferings, and Conflids with the greateft Hard- ships, were preparative to the greateft Honours and Dignities : Their Herculus was not put by them into the Number of the gods, till he had grappled with the Hydra, and fought other direful Monfters j They always led their brave and worthy Men thro' all Sorts of Hazards and DifHculties. God himfelf upon this Account feems, as it were, to glory and triumph over the Devil in the Behalf of Job^ Seefi thou my Servant Job, that there is none like him upon the Earth ; it was a high Elogium that, and tended much to his Honour. And the Apoflle TeteY tells us, I Ep. iii, 4. that a meek and patient Spi^ fit is with God of great Price : And in that, f jie- cited, 1 Pet. iv. 14. the Spirit of God and of Glory refi- ort P{al. xlii. ii. 255 rejietb upon fuch as endure Sufferings with Patience and Decorum. Why indeed, this is a Thing thaC at once glorifies God and mightily honours Man ; a decent Suftering brings the Son of God to be feen "with us in the Furnace, as in the Cafe of the three Children in Nehuchadnezafs Furnace : It fhows how mightily God works in us, what his Grace can make us able to do for his Sake, what Faith we hav$ in him, and what Homage we can pay to him ; This makes his Rod, like Aaron's Rod, to bloffom on our Backs, and Ihow what fair and peaceable Fruits of Righteoufnefs it can produce to the Praife and Glory of his Grace : This adorns our Profeffi- ofty is a Honour to our Religion, and one of the beft Means of fupporting and propagating it. The Heathens and their Idolatries were heretofore fubdu- cd, non a repugnanttbus fed a morientibus chriftianiSy as a Father fpeaks, not by the Kejifiance, but by the patient Suffering of the dying Chrijiians : So mighti- ly did this Grace conduce in the primitive Times, to the fpreading and Propagation of Chriftianicy through the heathen World. > / "Tis by this we imitate and honour mirSaviourj, and follow him in the Way of the Crofs to the heavenly Crown, ^he Captain of our Salvation was made perfe6f through Sufferings ; and all that fight under his Banner, mud rake the Way to Per* fc£tion that he has chalked out to them. J bear in my Body, fays the Apoflle in that Text I cited laft Lord's Day, the Marks of the Lord Jefus j he feems to fpeak in Allufion to the Veterans or old beaten Soldiers amongft the Romans, who com^ monly bore many Sears or Marks of Wounds which Jhey ^ad received in the Wars, and thefe were jpounted their great Honour : And fo it is to a Chri- ■"'"■■ . R ^ iti.iii^ Zdo SERMON XI. ilian, to fuffer with Chrift and for him, in Imitatien of him, as well as in Obedience to him. ^4. Confider how much it conduces to our inward peace, to overcome our Difcouragements, and to a humble quiet and patient Suflfering of fuch Afflidi- pns and Trials as wc meet with. Ducunt *volentem, fata nolentem trabum ; The flruggling with our Yoke will but gall us fo much the more, it will be greater Eafe tor us to follow it willitigly, and to be led by it, rather than to be dragged by Force a- long with it. And that Man who has fuch a Com- . mand of his own Spirit, as not to be much moved or troubled by any Thing that befalls him, docs, in a Manner, keep his Happinefs in his own Power : For he can bring his Mind to his Condition, and that is the only Remedy Things are capable of, "while we cannot bring our Conditions to our Minds. If a Man would be fure never to meet with any Difappointment in the Thing he delires or enjoys, never to be forced to any Thing againft his Will ; his only Way is never to be diftrefied with any fud^ den and unexpeded Event-, to conform his Mind throughly to the Will of God ; to fay, let him do 'what fee meth good unto him. And furely every wife Man lliould take Care, in fuch an evil World as wc live in, to be furnifned with fome powerful An- tidote, that may fecure him as much as poflible a- gainft the worft Things that can befal him : And I am pcrfuaded there is nothing of fuch a fovereign Virtue that Way as Refignatiort. It may be in the Power of others to difturb our outward Conditions; , but, as long as it is in our Power that they Ihall not difturb our Minds, we prefervc our Tranquility : And whilft we can do fo, we may be faid to be truly ^ feappy i for the fweet inward Peace that flows from Re- on P{al. xlii; ir. z6l Rcfignatlon and Contentment, is nothing but ano^ ther Name for Happinefs. ^Tis the nearcft Refem- blance of God, who finds his Happinefs in himlelf : And 'tis a Heaven upon Earth to the Man that is poffeft of it I ic gives him a Peace like that of the calm Regions above, like that of the chriftal Sea hefore the throne of God, which no unquiet Agita- tion difturbs ; it introduces a Man again into Pa- radife ; and makes him live in fome Meafure like the Angels, who are happy without the Things which this Earth affords; he can be without them and yet not want them, for a Man wants no- thing but what he defires. It makes him verify ia his Experience thefe Paradoxes of the Apoftle, 2 Cor. vi. 10. As forrowful^ yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich i as having nothing, and yet fojfejfmg all ^btngs ! In one Word, as I fa id be- fore, it is a Kind of Heaven upon Earth ,• whereas Impatience, Difquiet and Difcontent is a very Hell in a Man's Bofom, the very Gnawing of the Worm that never dieth : For Hell is all Mutiny, Tumult and Difcontent ; and they who indulge themfclves in that Temper, do in a Manner fit and qualify, and before Hand naturalize themfelves Members of the Kingdom of Darknefs. And when a good Mali gives Way in any Meafure to fuch a Temper, hs very much forgets his Duty, and ads a Part very unworthy of him; like that fretful Prophet Jonah, to whom God faid, Doft thou well to he angry Jonah, and he out ot his Fret would reply. Tea I do well to he angry even unto Death, which was a very un- feemly Saying from a good Man's Mouth. 5. Confider that it is but a very fhort while that you have to graple with Difficulties and Difcourage- iRents, to endiire AiRiftions and Trials ; and when R I tha l6i S E R M 6 N XL that Ihort while is over, you have nothing but Joys and Triumphs abiding you for ever. Now indeed we are in a militant State,, a State of perpetual Trials and Conflifts, in which wc are called tO; be conftantly combating with Dif- ficulties and Temptations, of one Sort and another; The Chriftian's Life is here a wreftling Life, a con- tinual Struggle with manifold AiEiiftions and Troubles : But this Time will foon be over, and then will come the Day of everlafting Peace and Triumph. When ever therefore your Souls begin to faint within you, lift up your Eyes to yonder blefled Regions,^ and confider the glorious Recompence of Keward that is prepared for you, contemplate the Crown of Glory that hings over the Gate, to en- courage you to run with Patience the Kace that U fet before you^ looking unto Jefus, the Author and finijher of your Faith, who for the Joy that was fet "hefore him, endured theCrofs, and de/pifed the Shame, and is now fet down on the right Hand of God. Have this glorious Prize much in your View, and you will find it ilrangely to invigorate your drooping, and to encourage your languiihing Souls ; and to make you unwearied in doing, and invincible in fuffering the Will of God, till you arrive at the Enjoyment of that Glory, Honour and Immortality that is pro- mifed to you. Often befpeak your .Souls in the Words of the Text, IVhy art thou caft down. O my Soul ? Ifhy art thou difquieted within me P Shall any temporary lliort-lived Affliftions be capable fo much to annoy thee, when thou haft a Heaven of immortal Joys fet before thee, to reward all thy Pains and Labours in doing and in fufiering the? Will of thy God ? Live in the Faith of Heaven, and of the tranfporting and raviftiing Joys which ^' • ■ ■ . • - ■' . afQ on PfaL xlii. ir^ 26} ire laid up for all fuch as are faithful tmto the Death : Realize thefe Things by Faith, and make them prefent to your Souls by believing Meditation ; and then fliall ye be able to bear up againft the greateft Floods of AfEidion, and to fay, from the inward Senfe and Feeling of your Souls, with the Apoftle, Horn. viii. i8. J reckon that the Suffer^ 0g of this prefent ^ime^ are not worthy to he cotU" fared with the Glory which floall be revealed in us. I now come, III. To fubjoln a few Advices for yonr Diredion, and further Affiftance in the Praftice of this Duty. And, I. If you would overcome your Difcouragements^ find be fortified under your Difficulties and Preflures of whatever Kind, labour to attain true Apprehen- fionsof the Divine Nature and Excellencies, his in- finite Power and Wifdom and Goodnefs, and of the Meafures and Condud of his Providence in the Government of the World. God's Providence is a Myftery in this Life : We cannot, while here, pe- netrate into the Motives and Ends of the infinitely •wife Governor ; we cannot perceive the Relatiois and Connexion that is betwixt the feveral Events of Providence, nor the Tendency of all of them put to- gether; we cannot trace to the Bottom the Divine Scheme of the Adminiftration of the World, nor find out the fecret Councils of the Wifdom of God contained therein : But if I believe that my God (its at the Helm of all Affairs, that all Things are managed by the wife Council of his unerring Will, that nothing comes to pafs by Chance, but all Things are wifely managed by his Diredion, may not I befpeak my Soul as in the Text, Why art thou fitfi. (iown, Q my Soul ? Aud why art thou difquieted R 4 Withitf l6^ SERMON XI. 'Within me ? liope in God^ for JJhall yet praife him, "who is the Health of my Countenance, and my God. 2. Beware of aggravating your Aiflidions beyond their due Proportion ; beware of magnifying your own TroLrbles. and thinking them greater than they are. Some of weak Minds, or who are lefs inured to Sufteiing, are ready to fink under that Afflifti- on, ' which another would bear without much Trouble : But hovv would fuch be able to bear a far greater Load, of AfEjdion, if it fhould come lipon them ? As the Lord fays to the Prophet, If thou hafl run with the Footmen^ and they have wearied thee^ then how canfi thou contend with Horfes ? ^nd if in the Land of Peace wherein thou trujiedji, they wearied thee ; then how wilt thou da in the Swelling of Jordan ? How would fuch be able to undergo the Trials and AiHifiions which many others have undergone, for the Caufe of God and Religion, and in Obedience to his Will ? Te have not yet re Med unto Blood, as the Apoftle fays, mid yet faint. What would ye do it it Ihould come td Blood ? Beware of multiplying by your own Imagination the Account of your Troubles, fo as from a fmall Foundation to raife them to an im- inenfe Height: Take heed that you do not apply to your felves, when ye have little or no Ground, the Words of the lamenting Church, Lam. i. 12. is it nothing to you^ all ye that pafs by ? Behold and fee ^ if there he any Sorrow like unto fny Sorrow y which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath af- fiicied nie in the Day of his fierce Anger. When we "thus aggravate our Afflictions, we are ingenious to add to our own Mifery, and are unthankful to pur merciful God, who does not afEid us near fo * xpucb onTGil. xlii. ir» t6s, much as our Iniquities deferye. Some there arc who are fo fondly aft'eded towards themfelves, a* not to be able to think with Patience that they fhould ever meet with AfEiftions, they are too' delicate to bear them ; But God will have none o£* his Children trained delicately. -; ^. Beware of rcfufing Comfort under your Af-;^ flidiions. God is fo gracious that he lays no Af- flidion upon us in this World, but he aftbrds us* Ground of Confolation under it from the Tenor of his Covenant, and the Experience of his People in . the like or in worfe Cafes : Yet many of us, undet." our Troubles, are fo peeviih and abandoned to Grief;' that we rejed with Difdain the Comforts that are ofifered us, to the Difhonour of God and our owp great Lofs ,• are the Confolations of God [mall with thee P O Chriftian I and wilt thou flight and defpifc the Long-fuffering and Goodnefs of God, whereby^ he daily loadeth thee with his Benefit Sy becaufe in; jTome Inftances he afflifteth thee ? God forbid ; i( thou do fo, thou provoked him to punifh thee feven* Times more for thine Iniquities. '-;''* 4. Do not chiefly regard the Inftruments and Kc:^^ condCaufes of your Troubles j but receive them antr- bear them all as proceeding from the Hand of a So-, vereign and wife God. The Patriarch Jofeph knew**- that he was fold to the J/bmaelites by his cruel Brc-^ thren, and that he was by the I/hmaelites fold to- Potiphar in Egypt: But he overlooks the unnatural" Cruelty of his Brethren, he takes no Notice of the • Covetoufnefs of the JJhmaelites, and rcfolves that- great Event of his coming into Egypt wholly into "^ the wife and gracious Difpofal of God, faying to- his Brethren, Gen, xlv. 5. God did fend me before''^ you to prefewe Life ; and Ver. 8. It was no$ you ' that i66 S E R M O N XI. that fent me hither^ but God. In like Manner Joh when he had loft his great Eftate in one Day by Robbers, and all his Children by a Tempeft, re- ceived all as by the Hand of God, Job i. 21. The Lord gcfve, and the Lord hath taken away^ bleffed ^e the Name of the Lord. So alfo did David when Sbimei curfed him; he imputed it not fo much td the wicked Man's Malice, as to the wife and juft Difpofal of God, 2 Sam. xvi. 10. And the King faidylfbat have I to do with you^ye Sons ofZeruiah'> So let him curfe, becaufe the Lord hath [aid unto ifim, Curfe David. IfhofhaU then fay. Wherefore tafi thou done fo ? After thefe great Examples, let lis look chiefly, not at the fecona Caufes of our Troubles, but at the firft, the Hand of God. y; Take heed of engaging your Defires upon the tranfient and perifhing Things of this Life. Learn to fay, from a firm Perfuafion and Senfe of the Truth of it, with the wife M^n.Eccl. i. 2. Vanity of Vanities^ Vanity of Vanities ^ all is Vanity. And with the Pfalmift, Pfal. Ixxiii. 25. IVhom have I in Heaven but thee, and there is none upon Earth tha$ Idepre bejides thee. 6. Take heed of being over folic itous about the "Events and Iffues of Things. The Means for ac- compliihing our Relief in Trouble are ours, but the Event and Sucefs of them is the Lord's: And if we Ihall at our own Hand count upon the Succefs of our Proje<^s, and with unbelieving Anxiety and Solicitude prefs for obtaining the defired Event ; we «dd to our AfRidion by our Anxiety, and pro- yoke God to continue ana increafe it by failing in our Refignation to his holy Will. It is our Duty and our Wifdom to be always refigned to the Will of on Pfal. xlii. ii. lejjjf of God^ and with the Pfalmift, to he dumhy and not to opeii Mr Mo'tiW, 'Mcmjh tftl Li'ntdoth it. . J. Often refled lipbh yotir torriitt Experiences bf thi Divine Mercy to ydu. How often has ydiic griicibiis God comforted you <(?fieti difci^liraged ? ralTedyoii up when you '^^'e ^diSifed dowit^^nd poiir^d the Gil of his Joy into the paihtui Wbftn'i^ of ydtir afilided Souls ? Let the Experience ot thcfe Things in Tinies paft, 2,wa!cen ahd confirfti y51jr Hope ten: the Time to copie^ add make you Ct^ witn th« Pfalmift in the Text, If'hy art thou caft downy O my Soul} And why ar4 thou difquieted within me} Hops thou in Gody for IJhall yet praife him^ who is the Health of my Ccfuntenancey and my Gdd^ \ -, ^, ^ ;. 8i Cherilh Hope when it begins to operate, ana fuflfer it not to be fwallowed up by the dark Clouds of pefpair and Defpondency : And if there ftould be nothing in this Life to hope for, Hope for eter- nal Life, for the Fuhtefs of Joy which is iH the Pre^ fence of God, and the Pleajures which are fecurecf for ever more at the right Hand of'his'PiiWert This will infinitely outweigh all your SdrrowSj and abundantly compenfate all your Paih^'^nd Suf- ferings. Hope to the End, for the Grace thnt^ is t» he brought unto you at the Kevelation of Jefur psrifiy I Pet. i. 13, S E R> t(S8 SERMOr^I XII. Psalm, xlii. ii.' Why art thou caft down^ 0 my Soul ? And why art thou difquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I/hall yet praife ffimy who is the Health of my Count e^ _ Hancef and my God, ^"'"f^'^'^HE third Obfervation which I made from thefe Words was, That to hope in God, is one of the beft Reliefs a good Man can have in his Difcourage- '•• ments and Troubles of whatever Kind. In handling of this Argument, I Ihall, I. Give you a fhort Account of this excellent Duty or Ad of Religion, to hope in God : II. I fhall prove the Obfervation, That to hope in God, is one of the beft Reliefs which a good Man can have in his Difcouragements and -Troubles of whatever Kind ; III. I Ihall recommend this Duty or Aft of Re- ligion to you by a few Arguments. I. I (hall give you a fhort Account of this Duty •r A^^f Religion, to hope in God, by telling yo« SERMON XII.C*?. 169 what it may be taken to import and imply. And, I. To hope in God implies a ferious aiid expe- rimental Senfe of our own Infufficiency and Weak- nefs, to fupport and relieve our felves under the many difcouraging Troubles and PrefTures we meet with in this our prefent militant State : That \r«- aire in our {elves too weak and feeble to bear up, •with any Meafure of Compofure and Quiet of Mind, under the many prelTing Loads of Affliction that come upon us : That we are in our felves un- able to ftand our Ground againft the many violent Shocks of Temptation and Trial, which we are here expofed to ; fo as to pojjefs ouv Souls in Pa- tiemey and to retain the Tranquility of our Minds; notwithftanding of them : That we are of our ielves impotent and indigent, weak and faint-hearted Creatures, foon made to fink and bow under our Aiflidions and Trials. 2. To hope in God implies a believing Perfua- fion of the Power and Sufficiency of God^ to help us under our greatefl Affliftions. 3. To hope in God implies a humble and con- fident Expectation, and Reliance upon his gracious Promifes, and abundant Mercy for Help and Com- fort, as our Neceffities require. But I come, II. To prove the Obfervation, That to hope vet God is one of the beft Supports, and greateft Re- liefs, which a good Man can have in hisDifcou- ragements and Troubles of whatever Kind. And here for Proof and Illuftration of this, confider only that it is fuitable and neceflary to bur prefent State, "whilft in this World, that there fhould be fomething for us to lean upon, and have Recourfe unto, as our Support and Refuge under our Difficulties and ^PrelTur^ : And that \ve are not fufficient for our owo lyo SpRM-OJSF XIL owii Support . and Comfort, we have neither Wif- dom nor Power fufficient for this Purpojfe : But that God alone is that all -fufficient Support and Help ; he alone has Wifdom and Power and FuU- liefs enough to uphold and relieve us. I come now, in the third Place, to recommend to you this excellent and ufeful Duty or A<51 of Re-:, ligion, to hope in Gody by a few Arguments. 1. Hope in God is one of the Ads and Duties even of natural Religion : Our Reafon itfelf, with- out the Help of Revelation, teaches us in our pi- ftreCfes to look up to that fupieme Being, who pre^ ferveth Man and Beaji, who is good unto all, i^jid whofe tender Mercies are over all his Works. 2. Hope in God is not more a Duty than it is a Privilege of our holy Religion, What a high ai;id happy Privilege is it for fuch poor, worthlefs an^ finful Creatures as we are, to be allowed to hope ir^ the Mercy of fo great and glorious a God ? That he declares himfelf the Hearer of our Prayers ; and noc only permits, but even invites us to trull in him, Pfal. Ixii. 8. I'ruft i}} hifn at all ^imes, ye People^ pour out your Heart before him, God is a "Kefuge for us. Selah. And ihall we flight fuch a Privilege j and, by our Unbelief and Defpondency, deprive our felves of the Benefit of it ? 3. This is a Privilege that affords great Com- fort to the Soul in the moft preffing Exigencies, an4 In Cafes of greateft Difficulty. When the Pfalmifi .was preflfed with heavy and painful Affiidions, ^ he yas relieved with this. My Hope is in theSy Pfal. kxxix. 7. when he was in Hazard of finking under his Burden he was comforted with Hope, Pfdh xxvii. 15, 14. / had fainted, unlefs 1 had be' lieved to fie the Goodnefs of the Lord in the Land if on Pfal. xlii.' li. iji Bf the Living : IVait on the Lord ; he. of good Courage, and he Jhall Jirengthen thine Heart ; waity J fa) J on- the Lord. And the Apoftles andprimi* tive Chriftians in the midft of their greateft Suf- ferings, not only bore their Sufferings with Pa- tience ; but even rejoiced in the Hope of the Glor^ (if God, Rom. V. 2. 4. Hope in God has a necellary Influence upo4 ftll the other A6ls and Duties of Religion. Hopd is a believing Delire and Expeftation of the Di- vine Favour, founded upon the Divine Perfedion? and Promifes : And when this is firmly rooted ux the Soul, what a mighty Influence mufl; it needi$[ have in the whole of the Chriftian Life ? It will, make our Prayers lively and fervent, our Praifes chearful and enlarged, and the whole of our Obe- dience ilcdfafl: and zealous. 5. It brings in the Honour of God and th^ Glory of his Perfeftions into our Intcreft, and to fmbarque with us in our Concerns. When we hope in God according to his Promifes, his Faith- Tulnefs is engaged that our Hope (hall not make us (ijhamed ; and that his infinite Mercy Ihall dra^ in his almighty Power to work Deliverance for iji^ and relieve us from the Sufferings and ,|?ains which ^e endure. We come now to the ^. IV. Olfervatiotty That the llTue of the gpo^ jVtan's Trouble will always be comfortable, and 'fuchas will afford him Matter of Praifegnd Thanks- giving to God. Tor I Jhall yet praife him. \ In handling of this Argum.ent all I fhall do fhaH be, I. To offer a fc>y Thing? for Proof and Ill.u- ftration of it j And, II. jo m\p Application ia i^fewlaferenj;es. HI Vfi SERMON Xir. 1. Ifliallofter a few Things for Proof and JlJu- ftration of the Truth, that the Iflue of the good Man's Troubles will always be comfortable, and fuch as will afford him Matter of Praife and Thankp giving to God. And in the lit Place, To this Purpofe we have it afferted iti Scripture, That tho' many are the Troubles of thi KighteotiSy yet the Lord deliveretb him out of them all i he keepeth all his Bones ^ not one of them is hroken^ Pfal. xxxiv. ip, 20. And Job, Chap. v. from ver. 1 7. fays Elipha2^, Behold happy is the Man whom the Lord correBeth, therefore defpife thou not the Chaftning of the Almighty j for he maketh fore and bindeth tip, he woundeth, and his Hands make ijubole ; He will deliver thee in fix Troubles, yea ill fetjen there Jhall no Evil touch thee: And, fays the Apoftle Peter, 2 Epift. ii. ^. ^he Lord knowetb how to deliver the Godly out of Temptation, and te feferve the Unjuft unto the Day of Judgment to he punijhed. Agreeable to which is that of the Apoftle Paul, 1 Cor. X. 1 3. There has no Temptation taken you, but fuch as is common to Man; but God is faithful, who will not fuffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the Temptation alfo, make a Way to efcape, that ye may he able to bear it : According to that general Conclufion oi th6 fame Apoftle, Kom. viii. 28. And we know that all Things work together for Good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his Puf^ fofe. And this, "• 2. Is the Thing that has been the Experience of many of God's Saints in all Ages : The IfTue of their Troubles has often been comfortable to them, even in this Life, and aftorded thera Matter df .VrdifcandThanli^fulnefs to God. I (hall inflance in on Pfal. xlii. ii.' %y^ *n thefe few : Firjiy Abraham in that fevere Trial of his Faith and Obedi:^nce in oftering up his Son Jfaac. : As ic could not but be a lore Shoke to a Father's Heart to be obliged to part with (uch an only Son, the Hope oi his Family, and the Heir of all the Promifes made to him ,• and to pare with- him in fo bloody a Manner, as the offering him up a Sacrifice wivh his own Hands, as you have the Commaiid given in that xxii. of Gen. and a. njet. And he [aid take now thy Sony thine only Son Ifaac^ fwhom thou lo-veft. and get thee into the Land of Moriah, and offer him there for a Hurnt cffering upon one of the Mountains which I will tell thee of: As this, I^fay, could not bur be a Iharp Irial to the good old Man Abraham ; fo the unexpected De- liverance he met with from it could not but be as furprifingly fweet and comfortable : Az the fame Moment his Hand was lifted up to put the facrH ficing Knife to the Throat of the deftin'a Vid:im,' ^he Angel of the Lord called to him out of Heaven^ and forbade him to lay his Hand on the Lad., and fliewed him a Ram caught in a 'Ihicket hy his Horns, which he ihould offer up in his Room. J his un- expeded Iflae of the Trial, I fay, could not but fin Abraham's Heart with a fweet and rapturous Joy ; and therefore we find that, as a Memorial of the Deliverance and of his Thankfulnefs ror it. lie calls the Name of the ?hcz Jehovah jtreh ; as it is faid to this Day, in the Mount of the Lord it fhall he feen^ Gen. xxii, 14, ^c. And how oft, in other Cafes, have the Saints of God been made to fet up Memorials of their furprifing Deliverances from fuch Troubles and Difficulties, as they feem'd for the prefent to be inextricably involved in, and which yet on the Sudden, by fome unexpected Turn . y^L, IL S ot Z74 S E R M O N XII. of Ptovidence, have evaniihcd quite away, fo ai they have been made to fay with Abraham, 'Jeho- ^ah-jireh, in the Mount of the Lord itjhall he feen ; or with the Pfalmift in that cxviii. Py}?/. Tfr. 2^. S'his is the Lord's doings it is marvellous in our Eyes, Another liiftance of this Kind, is that of Jofepby arid the happy liTue of his AfEiAions and I rials. How many various Scenes of Trouble did he go through ? How many, and how diverfe were the Changes of his Lot, and the Turns of Providence towards him ? How ofr were his Circumftances altered from better to worfc,and from worfc to better ? How often did he fecm to be reduced to Extremity, pad: all Hopes of Efcape or Relief, which yet came always very fnrprifmgly and un- expcftedly about, till the laft Rcfult oi all was his Advancement to be chief Governor of ail the Land of Egypty firft Minifter of State, and fecond in the Kingdom to Pharaoh hirafclf ? Which happy Pro- ihotion of his was, among other good Effects of ir, the Means of the Prefer vation of his Father's Fami- ly, and of the whole Stock and Race of the Chil- dren of JfraeL They who read that Story of Jo- fipb, will find as great a Variety of Events, and of fudden and unexpedcd Turns in the Management of Divine Providence, towards him and his Fa- ther and Brethren, who all bear a Part in the fame Scene ; as they will readily find in any artificial Gompofurc, on Purpofe contrived to entertain and amufe Men's Minds with a Train of odd and fur- prifing Events. And is it not very common for the baints of God, to have many Ups and Downs, fo to fpeak, many alternate Changes and Revolu- tions in their Life ? Providence fometimcs fmiling, 4 fome- on Pfal. xliu III 275 romctimes frowning on them ; all Things going wdl with them at ons Time, and every Thing Teeming to crofs them, and bear hard upon them at another: So that their Life is ^11 made up of various and m- tcrchanged^ Difpenfations and Events, like pay and Kight fuccceding by Turns upon one another j But ilill the IlTue and laft Refult of Things fhall be Comtortablc, As th^ Enjeni7}g and the Mornipg made the Day in the iirft Cr<:ation ; fo in the Chri- ftian's Lot and Life, th? joyful and comfortable part (hall outlive and triumph over the dark and melancholly: Yot Light is [own for the Rigbteotis, and Gladnefs for the Upright m Heart ; gnd this Seed of Light will, fooner or later, break up into a glorious and immortal Day. Another Inftance to this Purpofe, Lfhall men- tion, is that of Davidy who endured manifold fc- Vere A^iclions and Perfecutions from the cru?l, tho' caufelefs, Rage and Malice of Saul ; buc \was at lad happily delivered from them all, by his Advancement to the quiet and peaceful Poffcffion of the Crown and Kingdom of Jfrael : Whence, as a Memorial of his Gratitude, he penned that ele- gant xviii. Pfalm, in which he fo fully expreflcs his thankful Acknowledgments to God for his grett Goodntfs to him in this Refpeft ; as you may (ec by reading the Pfalm at y- ur Leifure. I Ihall only add one Inftance more, and it is that of our bleflcd Lord and Saviour himfelf, who was in the Days of his mortal Flefh a Man of Sor-" rows and acquainted with Grief ; who went through many different Scenes of Sufiermg, yea whofe Life was one continued Trad of Suffering, finifhed with the mod difmal Tragedy of a cruel and curfed and bloody Death : But who yet by his Rcfurredion 82 »nd 37'<> SERMON XII. and Afcenfion into Glory, triumphed over all the antecedent Sufferings of his Life, and is now fet down at the Right Hand of the throne of God, crowned with Glory and Honour, and in Confor- mity to him : And, by virtue of his Vidory and Triumph over all Enemies and Sufferings, fhall every good Man, at lead when he leaves this World, if not before it, obtain a joyful Iffue of all his Troubles, and fuch as Ihall afford him Matter of eternal Praife and Thankfgiving to God. For however God may adminifter Things to- wards his People in this Life, whether he keep them free of Trouble as much as any other Sort of Men, which fometimes he does ; whether, when he brings Troubles upon them, he removes them again in his own good Way and Time ; and making the Iffue comfortable, gives thtm fome in- termediate Refpite before he lays any new Burden upon them : Or whether he thinks fit to keep the Orofs -ftill on their Back as long they live, and never gives them a Difcharge from this Warfare, till Death intcrpoie and fet them free : Yet this is ft a certain Conclufion that may be depended upon, that all things, in the lafl Iffue and Refult of Things, fjjall work together for Good to them who hnje Gody to them wJjc are the called according to his Purpofe : whatever be the Refult of their Troubles in this Life, this is furc, that the Iffue of them fliall be comfortable in the Life to come, and fuch as fhall afford them Matter of eternal Praife and Thankfgiving to God. And therefore every good Man, whatever Trouble or Difcouragement he is tinder, may flill befpeak his ov/n Soul as the Pfalmift does in the Text, IVhy art thou caji down, O my Soul? IVb]/ art thou dtfquieted within we ? 4 Hopff on Pfal. xlii. ii. lyy Ho^e thou in God, for J JJoall yet praife him : My Trouble, my Aiilidion fhall have a comfortable Iflue ,• it not here, yet furely hereafter ; and the Good that ihall thence redound to rae, fhall afford mc Matter of eternal Praife and Thankfgfving to my God . Hope thou in Gody for I Jhall yet praife him. All that remains further to be faid on this Sub- je<5t is to make Application, which fhall be done briefly in two or three Inferences. And, I. Hence every good Man may be furnifhed wich one of the greateft Encouragements, and befl Helps in the World, to make him bear his Af- flidions and Trials with Patience, Refignation and Chearfulncfs, to the End ; becaufe the End of them ihall always be comfortable, and fuch as fhall afford him Matter of Praife and Thankfgfving to God : For tho' no Chaflningfor the prefent feemetb to be joyous, hut grievous, neverthelefs afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable Fruits of KighteoufnefSy to them which are exercifed thereby : And tho' many are the AffiiBions of the Righteous ^ yet the Lord de^ U'vereth him out of them all. And therefore the good Man, whatever Trouble or Difcouragcment he labours under, may ftill befpeak his own Soul in fuch Terms: Well, this A fHidion indeed is heavy, and my prefent human Wcaknefs cannot but be prcfl with the Senfe of it ; I pretend to no floical Apathy, I am a Man of like Paffions with others ; I am a Creature, in Part made up of Flefh and Blood, that cannot be without a Senfe of Feeling : But what then ? I fhall not fink under my Load, my Afflidion fhall not overfet me • my Religion fur- niOicth mc with many excellent Supports, far above dli that Reafon or Philofophy could fuggclt : An j vi% SERMON XII. tho' I had no more, this one Confideration is enough to make me bear my Trouble with Qin'et- ncfs to the End, that I know the End ot it Ihall be^Gom Portable, it ftiall ifl'ue in my Good, and afiord me Matter of Piaife and Thankfgiving to my God : Why then mt thou caft ^own, 0 YAy Soul? Why art thou difqmetecl ivithin me ? Hope thou ifi Godj for IJhaU yet p'atj'e him. Biit tl-jcn, 2. Hence wc may fee how much it is the Con- cern of every good Man to live in the Faith of this Truth, that the Iffuc of his Troubles (hall be Com- fortable, ^nd aftbrd him Matter of Praife and 'Thankfgiving to God. Why, it is living in this t'aitti, that anticipates the joyful I(Iuq of his Troubles, and makes it adminifler prefent Com- fort to him even whilft his Troubles do laft, an4 before the defirablc Ifliic of them does come : And 'becaup Hope deferred fnake's the Heart ftck, as the wife Man obferves, therefore tlie good Man fhould trequenuly confider the happy Ifiue of his Trouble as already come j and thus bcfpeak his own Soul, vrell, my Soul, thou dofl now flirink and complain, and the Bitiernefs of the Cup of AiHiftion is now difgufttul to thee ; But fuppofe thy Delivcranec were now come, as it will not furely belong a com- ing, what a delectable Rc|ifli will thou have of the Peace and Joy, and Comfort that thence refults tinio thee ? Faint not therefore, O my Soul, fix not thy Thoughts only on the prefent Sharpnefs of the pifpenfacion ,• fend thy Views forward, and con- sider the Good, the Advantage and Comfort, th^t thy infinitely wife and good God is by this Means bringing about to thee : And let the Faith of that make thee bear thy Trouble without wearying to fhc End j l^hy art ^bgu cafi down, Q my Soul ^ on Pfal. xlii. II. Z79 Why art thou difqttieted within me > Hope thou in God, for J fhall yet praije him : The Time is faft coming, when I ihall be fully fatisfied that this my prclenc Trial was for my Good, that my wife $nd merciful God did for that End bring it upon mc^ and I fhall have Caufe of rendering my hearty Praifes and Thankfgivings to him upon that Ac- count. Buc then,. 3. That your Faith of this may be the better fup- portcd, 1. Labour to fix upon your Minds a deep Scnfc of the many merciful Circumftances that are in your prefent Lot, aad the Advantages which you already begin to reap by your AfRidtion ; and confidcc thefe as the Earnefts and Pledges of the happy Iflup of it, 2. Meditate much and attentively upon the Ex- amples or' fuffering Saints before you, on Job, D(t^ vid, and our blefled Redeemer i all whofe Sorrows terminated in the grcateit Joy, and their darkefl Night was turned into the brighteft Day. And remember that he is the fame God who ordered their Lot, who continues ftiU to order and govern yours. Lajily, Plead the Promifes, by which God has engaged himfeif to bring the Troubles and Afflifti- ons of his People to an happy Iflue : Many are the Afiicitons of the Righteous ^ hut the Lord deliveretb them out of them all; tbo* the Righteous fall [even 7'imes a Day^ yet the Lord will raije him up : Faitb^ ful is be that has promifed, all bis Promtfes are yea and amen ; U^e know that all Things /ball "Work to- gether for Good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his Purpofe. Plead thefc and other like Promifes as the Ground and Founda- ; S 4 tion zSo SERMON XII. don of your Faith : / had fainted, fays the Pfalmift, unlefs I had believed to fee the Goodnefs of the Lord in the Land of the Living ; and therefore he fub- joins a very ufeful Direction, very proper to be re- garded and praj^ifed by us all, IVait upon the Lord; he of good Courage^ and he Jljall firengthen thine Heart; wait, 1 fay, on the Lord. Beware of li- miting the Holy One of Jfraely beware of prcfcrib^ ing Rules to him, as to the Time or Manner of your Deliverance from Trouble, or of your having them brought to an Iffue : IVait upon the Lord, and be refigned as to his Way and Time ; for he that will come, will come quickly^ and will not tarry , wait therefore upon the Lord, and he (loall firengthen iby Heart, yea wait y J fay, upon the Lord. V. Ohferuation, That it is fweet and comforts table to the pious Soul, to be able to plead an In- teieft in God, as its own God, and its gracious God: ff'bo is the Health cf my Countenance^ and my God. In handling of this Argument, all I fliall do, ihall be, I. For Proof and Ilkiftrarion of the Truth, briefly to account for the Matter, or to fliow you whence it is that it is fweet and comfortable to the pious Soul, to be able to plead an Interelt in God as its own God. II. To make Application. I. For Proof and Illuftration of the Obfervation, I fliall briefly account for the Matter, or l]iew you whence it is that it is fweet and comfortable to the pious Soul, to be able to plead an Int«rcft in God ^s its own God : And this, in Ihort, proceeds from the manifold Advantages wrapt up in this one great and general Privilege, ot having God for one's owi^ God, and being able to plead this with him. I fliall meiKion a few oi thsfe Advantages. '■'■■. ■ ■' ■ I,. Whei^ on Pfat. xlii. il. z8r f. When God is one's own God, he has a pecu- liar Intereft in the Proteftion and Care of Divine Prpyidtince, for his Security, Safety, Provifion, fup- port and Comfort in all States and Conditions of Life whilft here, and tor making all things work ta- gefher for Good to him hereafter. For tho' God makes the Benefits of his Providence to circulate all around, and beftows his Benefits promifcuoufly Vpon the good and the bad ; yet it is only to his own Children and People that he gives a proper an4 fure Title to his Favour and the Care of his Pro- vidence, to fuch to whom he is a God in Cove- nant : And hence it is, that thePromifesof God, foe all the good and kind EfFsds of his Providence, are made only to fuch as are truly godly, to fuch as can call him their o\yn God ; 'Tis promifed to fuch than he will never leave them nor forfake them^ that he V^ill keep them as the Apple of his Eye, and give his Angels charge over them, that their Bread /hall be given them^ and their Water he fure ^ that the young Lyons may lack and fuffer Hunger, hut they thap feek the Lord Jhall not zvant any good I'hing ; thai when they pafs through the IVater he will be with them, and through the Rivers and they Jhall not o^ verflow them ; when they walk through the Fire they Jloall not be burnt, neither pjall the Flame kindle upon them. No AfRidions fhall be able to overwhelm them, tho* m the IVorld they may have trouble, in l)im theyfyall have 'Peace ; for he will keep them in ' perfe6i Peace who/e Minds are Ji aid upon him^hecauje they put their 'J'ruji in him : Great Peace have tbcy that love God's Law, and nothing fhall offend them. With innumerable other Promifes, with relped to the benefits and Cc it forts of Divine Providence, which £i)ey wiio have God for their own God have a Tide ^ • ■ ■ ' ' and 28z SERMON XII. and Right unto ; which Benefits they fhall alwayj; be fure to enjoy, in fiich a Meafure as God feesmoii proper for his own Glory, and their trae, fpiritual and eternal Good : For he will make all things 'Work together for Good to them who love God. Now when che good Man refleds on the many Advantages he has thus a Title unto, by virtue of hb having God for his own God, muft it not be fwcet and comfortable to him to plead an Inrcreft in him as his own God ? When he can think and fay thus with himfelf, there is not one Promife in all the Word of God, and many a large, exceeding, great and precious one there is there, but there is not one of them all but what I have a Right unto, I can call them all my own; and the Bleffings with which they arc freight are my Patrimony and Inhe- ritance, as a Child of God, who can call God my own God : Yea when he can fay, not only are all the Promifes ot God mine, to which I have a Right and Clflim ,• but all the Perfections of God are em- ployed in my Behoof, in adminiftring his Provi- dence towards me, in fuch a Manner as ftiall mod cffedually contribute to my Good and Advantage in the Iffue ; his Wifdom, his Power, his Good- nefs and FaichfuIntTs, are all engaged to manage Things fo for ray temporal Advantage and Com- fort, as fhall be moft conducive to my everlafling Happinefs and Wellfare ; and nothing ihall be wanting to thcfe Ends, that the Wifdom of God can contrive, or the Power of God erfeft, when his Buqueftionable Goodnefs and Faithfulnefs fets them a w be, the Spirit of ^ruth is come, be will guide you into all 7'rutb : For he Jhall not fpeak of htmftlfi But whatfoever he Jl:) all bear, that Jhall bejpeak: And be willjhew you things to come. He Jhall glo- rifie me : For be Jhall receive of mine, and Jhall Jhem it unto you. Ana accordingly foon after our Savi-^ our's Afcenfiun, on the Day ot" Pentecofi, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Apoftles, a$ yoi|. read A£ls ii. trom the Beginning. Now this was a bkflla End of our Saviour's Af- cenfion, Tor which the.Chriftian World in all Ages, and we in particular, owe unto him our moft thank- ful Acknowledgments. O what a great Bleffing is' Divine Revelation to the World, efpecially fuch an one as wt have in the Writings of the New Tef- tament > V ith what Thankfulnefs of Heart ihould we blefs our Reaeemer foj the Purchafe and Gift of the Holy Spirit? V< ix\\ what warm Refentments of Love and Gratitude ihould we refled on his Afcen- fion, when, as the Fruit and Confcquence of it, he ga^sifhe had faid, I own I am bound to make thankiul Returns to God, 4 and on Pfal. Cxvr; 12: 513 and O that I could make fuch as might be worthy of him and his Benefits : But fuch as I can make fliall no: be wanting, I will render to him fo far as I am able, with all Chearfulnefs, according to his Benefits towards me. And this, my Brethren, is the Point I am to infift a little on from the Text, fviZ. Thar true Gratitude inclines and difpofes the Soul to raakc thankful Returns to C^od : And feeing it would be but a needlcfs fpending of the Time to infiil on proving a Point in itfelt fo evident and plain, all I Ihall do (hall be, I. To inftance in feme of thefe Returns, which truly gratetiil Soul finds itfeU bound CO make to him for all his Benefits. II I fliall give you a fummary View ot thefe Benefits of God towards us, for which a pious Gratitude will in- cline and difpofe us to make thefe Re. urns. And, III. Ifhall make Application. I. I fliall inftancc in fonie of thefe R ecurns which a truly grateful Soul finds icfcit inclined, as ic owns itfelf obliged, to make to God for hi^ Benefits to- wards it : And they fliall b: moftly taken out of this fame Pfalm, and that Example of a truly pKms Gratitude, which .the Pfalmill therein fees be ore us. And in the 1/2 Place, The truly pious and grateful Soul will find itfelf inclined, yea conftrained, to love the Lord, and that as a grateful Return it owes him for his Benefits. So fays the Pfalmift, with Rffeience to himfelf in the ift Verfe, / lo've the Lord, becaufe be hath beard my Voice andmy Supplication. Inuetd C^od merits the Love of all his rational Creatures, upon Account of his own amiable all tranfcending f er- fcdions and Excellencies ,• but his benefits beftcw- Has not God bkft fome of you with Wealth and Opiilency and other Inftances of a profperous State, far beyond the Generality of your Neighbours? And docs not every one of us enjoy far more Bene- fits, not only than we deferve, for indeed we de-* ferve nothing that can be called a Benefit ; but fa* more than happens to many others who deferve no •worfe than wc ? If, my Brethren, we fhould take but one Day ; for indeed a whole Life is of too wide a Compafs for us, to recoiled and gather together in our Thoughts all the Benefits and BlefTings of it, as the Pfalmift fays in that forcited Place, if we fhould offer to count themy they are moe in Number than the Sand : But if we Ihould, I fay, but take one Day and refled on the Mercies and Benefits of it, we fhould fee even from that how plentifully the Divine Good- nefs is poured out upon us, at what a vafl Expence it fupports and maintains us ; through what an ad- mirable Scene of Mercies and Bleffings we daily walk, and have them not only flowing in upon &s like Rivers and Streams, but encompaffing us like an Ocean. Who can tell how much wc are be- holden every Day for our Prefervation to fuperioc and invifible Beings the Angels ? Who can give an Ae- on Pfal Cxri. li: ^jy count of the Influence of the heavenly Bodies for making our Earth a habitable Part of the Uni- vcrfc ? How neceflary is the Riling of the Sun every Day upon us, for the Prefervation of our Life and Health? And if wc were either much farther ofif from him, or his Revolutions much longer delayed, how certainly would we ftarve and perifh ? What: a Mercy is it that the Elements ferve our neceffary Ufcs, and are kept in a due Temperament for that End? With what exquifite Art are our Bodies formed ? And by wha,c a mighty and kind Power of God are they prefcrved for a Day from Diflblu- tion ? Had we a juft Senfc of this, we would be made to fay not only in the Pfalmift's Words, that wc are fearfully and wonderfully made^ but wc arc alfo feariully and wonderfully preferved. Who can re- count the daily Mercies that attend our up-rifing and down^Iying, our going out and our coming in; that we fhare of when afleep and when awak?; and that are not only new to ks^ as the Prophet fay^ t'very Momingy but even eveiy Moment ? Every Moment having as it were a Clufter of them hanging upon it^ and fweetning it to us. The Life of Man is indeed a Thing maintained at great Coft, many Springs are opened to fupply that Stream and keep it running; and when any one of thefc Springs Is dryed up, our Life is either extinguilhed or rendered ib far uncomfortablcs. How thankrul then (hould we be to God, who daily loads us with his Benefits^ and gives us all 9^hings richly and freely to enjoyy who grants us Life and Favour, and -whofe kind \Vi fit ation pre ferve s our Spirits? For that indeed, is amongit the Benefits of God that we fhould by no Means forget, that he prcferves our Spirits m gcud Order, continues v/ith us. the Bkfling of a found yoL. y, Y Miiia 5J8 SERMON XIV. ilind and buffers qs not to grow either delirious ot itnpid : ' And, with the. right Excrcile of our intcl- Ic^ual Faculties, prefervcs alfo to us the right Ufc •lof our bodily Senfes, efpecially our Seeing and Hear- 'tng, the Want of either of which is fo great an In- convenience and fo heavy an Afili(3:ion. Thefe my Brethren are fome of the temporal Mercies and Be- nefits oi God towards us, which we fhould call to ■Mind, in order to our perceiving whether we have detained thefe Refentments of them, and made thefe thankful Returns to God for them, that becomes us, find t|iat a true Principle of pious Gratitude would j:eadily excite us to. But then in the — Second PlaqCy If wefhall alfo reflefton the fpiritual '.JBenefics and Favours of God towards us, what a \ponderful Profpeft fhall we have opened up to us ; 'and what infinite Numbers of Motives and Argu- •ments to challenge and excite our Gratitude, fhall •prefent themfelves to our View ? Look back then, my Brethren, as far as to Eternity, and fee how the divine Gompafllons then flowed out towards you : •>What kind Thoughts and Purpofcs of Love a mer- ciful God then entertained concerning you ; how, our of his infinite Wifdom and Grace, he contriv- 'itd the wonderful Method of your Redemption by his own Son, the Lord Jefus Chrift ; how he ele^^ edyou in him before the Foundation of the IVorld, 'fthat we fhould he holy, and without blame before him in Love ; and predefiinated you unto the Adoption of Children by Jefus Chrifi to himfelf, according to the good Pleafure of his IViU. O what an inconceivable Blefling and unfpeakable Gift of God h the Lord Jefus Chrift to the Children of Men I God fo loved iht IVorldy that he ga rrfb 0/; PfaL cxvi 12. IJ9 rifhy lut hanjc e'verlajiing Life: But what that/S imports, is above .he Tongue of Men and Angels to tell. 'Tis a warn? and Aiblime Doxology of the Apoftle, in which we have the grcateft ^eafon to join, Eph. I 3. Bkjed be the God and Fnther of our Lord Jefus Chrift, who hath bleffed us with all j'pi- ritual BleJ/ings in heavenly Places in Chrift : But who can explain thefe fpiritual and heavenly Blef- fings ? who can untold the unfearchahle Riches of Chrift ? But furely fuch as have ihared of his rich and free Grace in their Convcrfion, by which they are feparated from the unbelieving and ungodly, and brought out of the wretched Srate in which, they ly ; fuch as have Ihared of his Grace in theic Pardon and Juftificacion, and are freed from the guilt and dreadful Demerit of their Sins ,• fuch as have received the Adoption of God*s Children, and are digtiified, as with the Name, fo with all the Privileges of that high and honourable State j fuch as are fanflified by his Holy Spirit, made Partakeis ot a new and divine Nature, made conform to the Image of Chrifl, indued with a new and divine Life, made holy in fome Meafure as God is holy^ and fitted for the blifsful Enjoyment of him ; fuch, I fay, will readily own, that thefe are Benefits that challenge their ouLmofl Gratitude, and deferve the befl Returns they can make to God for them, even to all Eternicy. Efpecially when they coniider in the ^hird Place, How thefe fpiritual Bleilings here are Connected with, and given as the lure Pledge of thefe eternal Bleflings of the fame kind that Believers fhal! be poflefl ofhercafter. But thefe indeed arc of fo big an Import, they comprehend fuch an ineffable Glory and BlefTednefs, that to fpeak of them in the Language of mortal Men, is but to difparage them. y 2 The SERMON XIV. 3jhe Scripture tclis us, that Eye hath fiot fern, mr Est hsard, neither hath it entered into the Heart of Man to cmueivej the things that God hath laid ftp for the-m thai Jove him : And the Apoftk, when be would iiefciibe them, ufes a very extraordinary Expreflion, agreeable to the rablime Way of fpcak- ingofa fublime Subjeft, in the 2 Cor. W, 17. Our ligU jiffii£iim which is but for a Moment^ worketh fm m drfar more exceeding eternal Weight of Glory. Where he defcribcs the Happmefs of the heavenly State, as a far monce exceeding eternal IVetght of Gkry^ where Hyperbole is fet upon Hyperbole, noc only ill the Senfe, but in the very Terms of the Text f, to denote the immenfe and inconceivable Greatncfs of the Glory and Bieflednefs of the heavealy State- » Ajid thus, my Brethren, I have given you a fiiort .and impcrfeft View of thefe Benefits of God towards 3 cii, which call for your moft grateful Re- turns: Well then, think on them, and compare your Practice with them, thatfo you may fee whe- ther your Gratitude and the Returns thereof have hkherto bore any Thing of a fuitable Proportion to them; and if they have not, you mud by all Means ftudy to make better Returns for the future. Which leads me, by Way of Exhortation, to excite and pecfiiade you to make thefe Returns to God for his Benefits, which they indeed demand and merit, and which a truly pious Gratitude inclines and difp^^fcs the Soul to. What remains therefore is, to rccoiftmend a pious Gratitude to you ; and to excite and perfuade you by forae Conliderations, to make thefe Returns to -God which ye owe him for all his Benefits towards you: ■J See Vol. I. Serin. 21. Pag. 508 and 509. on PfaL cxvi. I2r j^r ym : And then to fubjoin a few Things by Way erf" Advice or Direction. ift. To excite and perfaade you to make ihefe Returns to God which ye owe bim for all bis Be^ nefits towards ym. i. Ye would condder that Gra- titude, in all the proper Expreflions of it, is an ex- cellent Virtue or Grace, that well becomes us and is jndifpeniibly required of us. Even the Heathens rliemfelves had a jult Notion of the Excellency o§ this Virtue, and reckoned the contrary QijaliCy aa Evid;:nce of a bafe and fordid Mind, and the Sum of ail that could be faid to a Man^s Reproach; Ji d'ixeris mgratum dixeris ojmjia, fays one, If you charge me with Ingratitude, you cnarge me with ail bad Thijigs, Gratitude is a Virtue that erery generous Soul has a Senfe of, and where it is want- ing, there is nothing ingenious to be found in a Man's Breaft : Yea even the Brute Creatures dif- cover fomerhing of Gratitude, and in this Scnfe the Lord Baem\ witty Obfervarion holds true. That a Mfln is as a God to his Dog, which not onlyaf- [umes Courage and Boldnefs from his Prefence, bue fawns on him, and attends him, and readily does his Bidding. And to the fame Purpofe, fays the Lord in the Prophet, in the Words I have once and again cited on this Subjefl, the Qx knoweth bis Owner, and the Afs his Mafier's Crib : Indeed there feems to be no Nature or Kind of Beings wholly dellitute of Gratitude, but that of ftupid unanimat- cd Matter; and the Devils whofe Nature is fo , wholly depraved, that no Degree of this or any o- ther good Quality remains with them. Bur now my Brethren, it Gratitude be an excellent and valuable Principle that God has planted in our Natures, towards whom ihould it be io much expreilcd as Y } to- 34i SERMON XIV. towards himfdf, oiir great and chief Beiiefador, the kind Author of our Beings and Lives, and all our other combrtable Enjoyments ? Hence it is that in Scripture we are fo often call'd upon and excited to exprefs oair Thanktulnefs towards him, as particularly Pfak c. through the whole of it : Of which Sort of Exhortatipns to a grateful Ac- knowledgment of God's Benefits, we have a vaft Variety in this Book ofPfiilms, as well as in o- ther Parts of Scripture, as will be obvious to every one of you that is in any tolerable Meafure ac- quainted therewith. And therefore I infift not oa them, and fhall only mention that Injunftion or Precept of the ApcfUe to this Purpofe, Col. iii, 15, And let the Peace of God rule in your Hearts, to the which alfo ye are called in one Body, and he ye thankful. And fhall we need, my Brethren, to be much exhorted and perfuaded to fo reafonable a Thing, as that of being thankful to God for hi^ Benefits, and fhowing our Thankfulnefs by all pro- per Expreflions of ix. ? Is not this what Reafon, Con-f fcience and Equity, as well as Gratitude requires of us ? If there be fiich a Thing as Reafon and E- quity, any plain and obvious Sentiment in which all Men agree ; any fixed Law or Rule refulting frorai the Nature and Order of Things, and their Rel^-» tionsone to another, for dircding and determining the Conduft of rational Beings ; muft it not be own^d to be the very firft Inflance of what is reafonable and jufl, that God who is the Author of allother Beings, and of all the good Things they enjoy, fhould be thankfully acknowledged by them for all his Bener fits towards thein ,• and that by all the Expreflions and Returns of Gratitude they are capable tQ make, or that h? requires of them ? Is not this as plainly on Pfal cxvi. 12. 545 plainly their ncceflfary and indifpenfibie Duty, as it is certain to them that God is, and that they depend on him for their Being, Life and All ? Is not this the Law of Nature as well as of revealed Religion, of which the Heathens themfelves had di Senfe, and which they fhewed by thefe Ads o£ Homage and Worfhip they paid to their Gods, and particularly by thefe Sacrifices of Thankfgiving that at Times they offered to them with fo much Pomp and Magnificence ? And how much the People of the true God have been thus employed in all Ages, is plain to any one that reads the Scriptures. Why indeed Gratitude is a chief Pare of that religious Worfhip and Homage we owe unto God : The Goodnefs of God was that Per- feftion of his which he defigned, after the rood ilkiftrious Manner^ to lliew forth in the Greatioa of the World ,• his Wifdoni and Power are thcreia alfo very brightly difplayed : But it is the Pfalmill'? Obfervacion, Pfal. cxlv. 9. ^be Lord is good to all^ and his tender Mercies are &ver all his IVorks : And his Wifdom and Power in the Creation of the World, as well as the Prefervation of it, may be faid to have ferved the Ends of his Goodnefs, his Goodnefs fet thefe Attributes to work. Now Gratitude is the proper Return that the Goodnefs of God requires and challenges from all the reafo- nable Creatures he has made, and particuiarly from the Children of Men ; according to that warm Addrefs and Exhortation that returns fo often in the cvii. Pfalnty and is the Joy and as it were the Bur- den of the Song, O that Men would praife the Lord for his Goodnefs, and for his 'wonderful IVorks to the Children of Men. According to what the l^fajjnifl tells us, will indeed be the Employment . . Y 4 4 J44 SERMON XIV. of Men ill whcm a Principle of pious Gratitude dwells, and are at Pains to make juit Refledions on the Goodncfs of God towards themfelves^ and others, in that forecited cxlv. Pfahn ver. 7. ^bey /hall abundantly utter the Memory of thy great Good- nefs, mtdjhalljlng of thy Right eoufne fs ; they fhall. dbundantly utter the Memory of thy great Goudnefsy or make it flow in Streams, as it is in the Origi- nal, that is, they (hall make their Praifes flow in diflfufive Streams, to emulate, tho' not to equal the Goodnefs and Bounty of God. Let us thereforcy my Brethren, dwell much in the Thoughts of God's Goodnefs to us, that we may be excited to cele- brate the Praiies o^ it ; and make all thofc other thankful Returns to God for his Benefits, that a pious Gratitude will readily prompt us to. Let us refleft on the various Inftances of God's Goodnefs, till wc find our Hearts warmed with the Scnfe of them, and be made to join with the Pfalmift in faying with a Heart tuU of Gratitude, What fhall "i render unto the Lord for all his Benefits towards me ? 1 0 which add tL?rchcr in the 2. Place, Ye would confider how acceptable cur Gratitude with the proper Returns thereof is to God. Indeed it might be reckoned of the Number ot his Benefits, and that a very confiderable one too, that he is pleafed to accept of fuch Returns as we can make for his Benefits : Qur Goodnefs extendetb not unto him, our Gratitude with all the beft Re- turns of it, cannot profit him ; What arc ouj warmeft Refentments and Praifes, our moft pious Thoughts and Words, but like rhe GlowingS and Hiflings of little Infeds before him ? What are our beft Services, but weak and feeble Efforts at fomethine that is vaff ly above . our Stieiigtb ? The on Pfal. cxvi. ii. 345f The utmoft we can do, is bur, as it were, to aim and mean well : And yet a gracious God is pleafed to accept of our grateful Returns, as if they were of Tome Worth or confidcrable Ufc to him ; he reckons himfelf to be honoured, and, as it were, magnified by them ; yea and fo far pleafed as to reward them, as '\'t they wtre of a very great Ac- count. IVhofo offerstb Praife, fays the PfalmilV, Pfal. 1. 2 ? . glorifietb me j and to bim that orderetb bis Converfation aright will J fhew the Salvation of Gci: Big Words and mighty Things on God^s Part, to be fpoken o^", and annexed to fuch fmall and inconfiderablc Things on our Part ! Shall the infinitely great and bleflsd God reckon himfelf glo- rified by our Praifes ? He who has Myriads of bright and immortal Spirits, innumerable Hofls of glorious Angels, ftill furrounding his Throne and celebrating his Praifes ; and is flill in his own Perfeftions infinitely exalted above all their Bleffings and Prailes : Shall he reckon himfelf glorified by the feeble Breath of fuch Worms as we are ? And fhall he promife tojhow us the Salvation of Gody Salva- tion and Happinefs worthy to have God for the Author of it i and that for our ordering our Convert fat ion aright, our regulating our Steps for a little as we pafs through this evil and enfnaring World, a Thing we are bound on To many other Accounts to do ? O how admirable is this Condefcenfion o£ God towards us 1 And how mightily may it en- courage and engage us, as well as it does oblige us, to honour and pleafe him with the beft Returns o£ a pious Gratitude we poffibly can make ? How ought it to awaken and excite us to be frequently calling upon our Souls, and fummoning all our Powers to confpire in his warm and aftedionatc Praise, J4f/- tho^ the Fig 'Tree fhould not hloffom, neither fJoall "Fruit be in the Vines ; the Labour of the- Qlive Jl^iall faillj and the Fields fh all yield no Meat -^ thePlock Jhall he cut off from the Fold^ and there pall be n6 Herd in the Stalls ; yet will I rejoice in the Lordy J will joy in the Qod of my Salvation : And fays the Vol. IL .A * Angei J70 SERMON XV. Angel that intimated our Saviour's Nativity to the Shepherds, behold J bring you glad 'iti^ings of great yoyy which Jhall be unto all People, to wit, who believe in him. The Joy of Believing is a great Jay in any Degree of it, but efpecially when it rifes, as often it does with true Believers, evert to Tranfporc and Extafy : According to what the Apoftle Peter fays in thefe forecited Words, Whom having not feen ye lovey in whom tho' now ye fee him not yet be- fieving, ye rejoice with Joy unfpeakable- and full of Glory. 2. The Joy that Believers have in believing is a pure Joy. It is not like the earthly muddy Joys of Men, that have always a Mixture of Alloy attend- ing them j efpecially finful Joys, that have common- ly as much of a Sting as ot Honey in them : But the Joy of believing is a pure and fincere Joy; they ,who have the Experience of it, may be faid to drink ti the pure River of Water of Life, that pro^ ceedeth Qut of the throne of God, and ef the Lamb^ Rev. xxij. I. 3. The Joy of believing is an invigorating ilrengthning Joy to the Soul. Tis the Obfervati- on of the wife Man, Proi;. xiv. i g . E'ven in Laughter the Heart is forrowful, and the End of that Mtrth is Heavtnefs : But it is not fo with the Joy of heliev- ingy the more a Man has of it, the more is his Heart refreihed, and his Spirits revived and invigo- rated. In this it partakes of the Nature of the Joys of Heaven, which as they raviHi, fo they ftrengthen the Soul to b^ more and more ravifhea by them. 4. The Joy of believing is a folid Joy. Let the Sccpticks fay what they will, it has nothing of Ima- gination and Fancy mixed with it ; it is no Whim oi: on Rom. xv; ij. 37 1 or Delu/ion, but a real folid Joy. As there is a Reality in Faith or Believing, fo there is a Reality in the Joy and Peace that proceed from it : As Faith, lo the Joy that proceeds from it, has a fure Foundation to (land upon, the Purpofes of God, the Promifes of God, the Covenant and the Oath of God, and the whole Mediation of the Lord Jefus Chrifl ; according to that of the Apoftle, Kom. viii. 35, 34. IVho (hall lay any Thing to the Chargs cf God's Ele5i ? It is God that jitftifieth , IVho is be that condemneth ? It is Chrift that died, yea^ rather that is rifen agaitty who is even at the right Hand of God, who alfo maketh Interceffion for us. Thefe are the Pillars of our Faith, and they arc alfo the unlhaken Grounds of our Joy in belienjing. 5. The Joy of believing is a peculiar Joy, the pcculiarPrivilegeof Believers, and this Joy Strangers intermeddle not with. Thefe ^hm^s write we to you that your Joy may be full, fays the Apoftle John to Believers, i Ep. i. 4 : But as tor Unbelievers, they have no Part or Lot in this Matter. And wit'i Re- ference to this Joy, wc may underftand thefe Words of the Lord, Ija. Ixv. 13, 14. Behold, my Servant i /ball eaty hut yejhall he hungry ; behold, my Servants jhali drink, but ye (hall be thirfty ; behold^ my Ser^ *vants Jhall rejoice, but ye Jhali be ajhamed ; Behold, fny Servants floaUfing for Joy of Heart, but yefhak cry for Sorrow of Heart, and Jhall howl for Vexation of Spirit : At leaft fo lliall it be in the End, when thefe who are deftitute of Faith in Chrift, Ihall alfo be deftitute of the Joy that refults from thence, and find themfelvcs in a wretched Pafs for the Want of It. The Joy of Believing is a lafting Joy, it lafts a$ Idiig as Faith, as long as Life; And even wh^n A a a bi.£h 372. SERMON XV. both thcfe are at an End, it enters with the Be- liever into the Joy of his Lord, and mingles itfclF with tnefe overflowing Joys of immediate Viiion and t ruinion, which are the happy Portion of the Saints above; for even there, the U^ork of Faith and La~ hour of Love will be remembered to add to the Be- liever's everlafting Joy. But for further opening up to you this 'Joy of be- lieving, I am ^dly, To hint to you fome of the "Ways by which it exerts and fhows itfelf. And I. It exerts itfelf in Ads oi Praife and Thank- fulnefs to God and the Redeemer ; whofe infinite C?race has given fuch happy Occilion both to be- lieve, and to have Joy in believing. When the Be- liever's Heart is full of this Joy, it cannot but vent it felf in cheartul Praifes and Thankfgivings, faying with the Churcii, Jfa. Ixiii. 7. / wiU mention the LovingKindnefs of the Lord,and the Praifes of the Lord according to aU that the Lord hath bejlowed on us j and the great Goodnefs towards the Houfe of Ifraely which he hath bejlowed on them, according to his Mercies^ and according to the Multitude of his Loving- kind- nejfes : And that Song of the Virgin Mother, Luke i. 4<5. My Soul doth magnify the L^rd, and my Spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour ; for he that is mtghty hatb done great things to me, and holy is his Name, 2 This Joy in belie ving exerts itfelf in A ds of Love to God and to Chrifl, For the Joy of believing is a Joy that warms the Heart ; and when a Man is under the lively Influence of it, he cannot but love the bleflcd Author ot it This is a natural Confequence of that Ingenuity and Gratitude, that Grace plants in the believing Soul ; that is the Fruit of Faith, and flou- rillies and abounds moft when under the Influence ot the Joy of believing. 3. The on Rom* xv. 15. ^75 5. The Joy of Faith exerts itfelf in Ads of Re- fignation and Sclf-dcdicatipn to the Lord. The believing Soul, when it is at any Time more under the Power of this Joy, thinks it can never often enough and heartily enough devote it felf unto the Lord ; when it has done with one Ad of Rcfigna- tion, it calls on itfelf to make another ; and had it a thoufand Souls, a thoufand Hearts, a thoufand Lives, it would furrender and devote them all to him. 4. The Joy of believing exerts itfelf in Ads of chearful Obedience to the Will of God. The true Believer, even from the Joy that he now finds in be- lieving, looks upon himfelf as lying under fuchObli- gations to his God and Redeemer, as thac he cannot, without being guilty ot the greateft Ingratitude, but do what ever is in his Power to pleafe and honour him, and particularly to obey his holy and righte- ous Commandments. 5. The Joy of believing exerts its felf in Ads of Love and Charity towards thofe who are Partakers of the fame common Faith, as it is faid of the Jews in Efiber*s Days, that after their Deliverance trom Hainan's Confpiracy, they had Days of feafting und Joy^ and of fending Portions te one another y find Gifts to the Poor. And what was it but this yoy of Faith, the Joy in believing, that made the nrft Chriflians fo charitable and kind one to ano- ther, fo as they had all Ihings cominon. 6. The Joy of believing exerts itfelf in Ads of Pity towards thofe who are yet in an unbelieving State, ai*d have no Tafte or Senfe of this Joy. The Joy of believing is of a generous Kind : It has its own firft Rife from the Divine Benignity, and it difpofes the Believer to pity thofe who are Strangers to n, A a 3 and 574 SERMON XV. and to wifh and pray for a Change of thcfir State. The third and laft Thing under this Head, is to tell you oi fome of the Times and Seafons when the believing Soul is more efpeciaily filled with thi$ And in the firft Place, it ufuaUy has a more full and affecting Senfe of this Joy at the Time of its firft believing. Things new are ufually moil furprifing, and if they be very good as well as new, they fill the Soul with a Surprize of Joy. And the Believer at his firft Converfion, having many new furprifing Views of Things he had little or no Notion of be- fore, which the Scripture expreffes by a Man's being brought o«/ of Darknefs into God's mar'ueUous Light ; and having then alfo many new and ftrong Imprelfion? oi Things he never felt before, made upon his Heart, which the fame Scripture exprcfles by a Man'j hu'V" ing tajled of the heavenly Gifty his being made a, Partaker of the Holy Ghofi, his having tafted the good IVord of God and the Powers of the If or Id to com; this makes his Joy in believing to be the more flrong, and full and raviihing. Befides that the Holy Spirit is wont then alfo to give the fulkr Com- munications of his Joys, as well as the Afliftances of his Grace, for endearing the Way of the Lord to the young Believer and Convert, and con- firming him in the State he is newly entered on. As there was a larger Effufion of the Holy Spirit ia the Beginning of the Gofpel, and firft Days of Chri- ftianity ; fo there ufes to be at the Time of a Be- Uv'ver's firft Converfion, and firft entring on hJs Chrj^? iiian Courfe. 2. Relievers are wont more efpeciaily to be fillec^ ^irh the j?(?y of believing^ upon their Recovery, '-• ' . througli on Rom; xv. IJ. f^jf through the Grace of God from deepBackflidings: For now their ftrft Convcrfion is as it were acte4 over again, now they hav€ the {arae Fear* and Sor- rows ipr their Sins ; a^d npw when their Faith, after much Labour and Pains, brings tl^m in th^ Intimation or Perfuafion of Pardon, they have th^ fame Joy in believing as at firft. 3. Believers are more efpecially filled with this y^y of believing, when they come wading out of th 1. You would erideavour to bring ypur Faith to the higheft Pitcfi, evert that-of 'Af!ur^nce ; for then efpecially it is that the .Bel'ie^f is filled with all Joy and Peace in Believing. 2. You would be much converfant in the holy Scriptures; in all ot which you may conceive you hear Chrift faying unto you, as unto his Difciples, John XV. II. ^hefe things have J fpoken unto you, that my Joy might remain in ycu, and that your Joy might he juU. 3- Xo» 381 S E R M O N XV. Cf. 3 . You would attend confcientioufly on the pub- lick Ordinances, and be fure not to negled the Occafions of the holy Sacrament of the Supper, vhich God has appointed for flrengthning the Faith, and encreafing the Comfort and Joy of his People. And 4. You would pray earneflly to God, that he may help you both to believe, and to be filled with all Joy and Peace in Believing ; according to what the Apoftle prays for the believing Romans in the Text. Now the God of Hope fill you with all Joy and Peace in Believing, that ye may abound in Hope through the Power of the Holy Gboft. Amen. SER. 38} SERMON XVI. Jeremiah iv. 14. O yernraknty toajh thy Heart from W'kked* nef/, that thou may eft he fa'ued I Horn long Jhall thy Dain Thoughts lodge 'with^ in thee* •aMIM«MMMM •«i»m»lHiinwK 1 H E Heart is the Life and Vigour both of Religion and Wickcdncfs : Out of it, fays the wife Man, are the IJfues of Life, and out of it are the Iflues of Death too ; whatever is the inward t)irpofition and Temper of the Heart, the fame is that of the outward Life and Adions of a Man. As the Streams derive their Bitternefs or Sweetnefs from the Fountain-head ; fo the Anions of a Man's Life are good or bad, pure or poliuted, according to the Difpofition of his Heart s For the Heart, in a natural Senfe, i§ no more the Source and Scat of ihe natural and animal Life, than it is, in a fpiritua! Senfe, the Source and Seat of the fpiritual and divine Lite. Here, I may fay, i$ formed the Life- blood 584 SERMON XVI. blood of Religion, that animates and infpires the ^hole Frame of the new Man : And here too ^e fown all the Seeds of thefe Diflempers and Difeafas, thefe Plagues of Heart, which, if they be not cured in Time, will ifluc in a Man's eternal Death ^d Ruin. It is not therefore without the grea^ft Reafon, that the wife Man advifcs us to keep out Heart with all keeping, becaufe that out of it are the Ijfues of Life, y