you can call your own but your Sins therefore have you nothing of your own to be proud of or to glory in unless you will glory in your Shame your Sins are yours and your Corruptions are yours and your inward Thoughts are full of Rottenness and can you boast of this And what you have besides this is none of yours but God's And will you be proud of that which Free-grace hath bestowed upon you Doth not the Apostle say Who is it which makes thee to differ And what hast thou which thou hast not received You yet retain the Essentials of a Church whilest others have lost theirs and you yet stand when some other Churches are dropt to the Ground you yet retain the Soundness of the Doctrine of the Gospel and good Discipline according to the Order of the Gospel is upheld amongst you when both Doctrine and good Discipline are almost worn to nothing in some other Churches Oh! be not High-minded but fear Oh! remember that you are as liable to fall from your Stedfastness as any Church which hath fallen before you and you are liable to the worst of Errors and Corruption both in Doctrine and Discipline as well as others and you stand by Faith saith the Apostle Oh! take heed because you are never nearer Ruine than when your Gifts Parts and Priviledges do lift you up Luke 10. 15. And thou Capernaum which art exalted to Heaven shall be thrust down into Hell Secondly Let it teach us Fruitfulness because there is nothing which will preserve your standing more than this not to receive the Truth in the Love of it is the ready way to lose it and to be given up to believe Lies that you may be Damned 2 Thess 2. 11 12. and not to hear the Word mixed with Faith is the ready way to lose the Faith at last it 's the Barrenness of the Vineyard which makes the Husbandman to throw it open to the wild Beasts which was the Threatning of God to his Israel of old Isa 5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ver. therefore look to it that your Hearts and Lives be fruitful God will not be put off with the fruitless Leaves of an empty outward Profession Matt. 21. 19. When once we let go the Power and Life of Religion and think to please God with an empty Form of Godliness he will sâ—ew such Churches or particular Church-members out of his Mouth Rev. 3. 16. Oh! let us labour for a spirit of Zeal and Fervency in all we do for God let the Heart-searching God see more of our Sincerity Faith and Love to him in all the Duties of our Obedience which we direct to him with more of our Self-denia Meekness Mercy Charity and Holiness in our Conversations before him Oh! account not your selves truly safe longer than you are answering the ends of your spiritual Priviledges you have had much from God many choice Ordinances many a precious Waterings many rich Gifts and Graces all which do call sor great Fruitfulness Oh! have a care that for these golden Doilars you pay him not off with a sew brass Counters again at last Thirdlâ— Let it learn you the Duty of Thankfulness to God that you are yet a People bearing his Name upon you and that you are yet Churches and Houses standing in the Faith of our Lord Jesus and especially let us bless God for this namely in that he hath made such provision for our Preservation to keep us from that Corruption which hath so much endangered other Churches which Provision lieth in that Precept of his Rev. 18. 4. with 2 Cor. 6. 16 18. requiring our Separation from other infected Churches that will not be â—â—aled What a sad condition had the reformed Churches been in who lived in the Bowels of the Roman Apostacy if they might not have had liberty to separate from them But you hear it was not only their Liberty but their commanded Duty so to do You have also seen in the â—evitical House which was a Tipe of the spiritual Houses of Jesus Christ the Prieit was to command that the things in the House not infected should be all brought forth that they might be preserved from the Leprosie within which was a merciful Provision to be embraced with Thanksgiving Oh! therefore be you truly thankful to God First In that you may separate your selves from â—â—prous Churches for your own Preservation Secondly Be thankful that it is not your Portion to be separated from by others for your own Pollution that the red Cross is not yet fixed upon your Church-doors to be a Warning to all others to stand off from you Oh! how doth this call upon all such Churches for Thankfulness to God for his hither to preserving of you and to cry out with David Let us take the Cup of Salvation and give Thanks to thy Name and see to it that it be not a Lip-thankfulness only but a Life-thankfulness principally Let your Obedience to God be the Interpreter of his Goodness to your Souls because he delighteth more in Obedience than in whole Burnt-offerings or Sacrifices of the fattest Lambs Fourthly Let this Truth teach us Watchfulness wakeful Christians are usually the safest Christians safest from the Errours and Pollutions which secure Christians and Churches are endangered by The Watchman's sleepy Season was the Evil Ones seeding Season Matr. 13. 25. the Devil by whose hand the Churches of Christ are defiled is a wakeful Enemy who doth but watch when Christians are secure then is his time to work and plot their Ruine St. Peter well understood this therefore gave the Churches this Admonition 1 Pet. 5. 8. Be sober be vigilant because your Adversary the Devil like a roaring Lion goeth about seeking whom he may devour You know in pestilential Seasons when the Plague is hot in a Town or City then will Men keep Watch and Ward in those Towns and Cities which are free from the Disease that they may preserve themselves because otherwise a great deal of Hurt may acrue to such Places in a little space of time No less Security ought the Churches of Christ to take to preserve themselves because they live in a World of Danger the Plague is every-where round about them in every Heart in every House that they have to do with all the Plague of Hypocrisie Formality Pride Earthly-mindedness Errour Idolatry with all manner of lying Wonders with strong Delusions of deceivable Unrighteousness in every Place you can light upon or enter into all which calls upon all Christians and Christian churches to be watchful and narrowly to look to themselves And so we come to the second Ground of Discovery namely Why the Inhabitant of the leprous House was to go to the Priest and to say That it seemeth to me there is as it were a Plague in the House the Purpose of it was that the House might be healed Lev. 14. 41. And he shall cause the House to be scraped within round about and they shall pour
Thus having dispatcht the first part of our Discourse about the Subject contained in this 14 Chap. of Levit. which is the Leprous Person wherein you have seen the manner of his Cleansing with the Particulars which results from it concluding each particular Part with suitable Application Secondly We next proceed to the Leprous House about which you have these things observeable FIrst The Malady 2dly The Remedy 3dly If that failed then Lastly You have the total Ruine and Destruction of the leprous House laid before you But First As to the Malady you may observe these things First The Disease it self 2dly The Signs of the Disease 3dly What the Inhabitant was to do upon the breaking forth of the Disease And 4thly The Reasons of his so doing And Lastly The Application upon the Point But First Here you have the Disease of the House spoken of in the first place and that is a Leprosie which was a contagious Pollution an unclean Infection dangerous to the Inhabitants dwelling in it Levit. 14. 34. And when ye be come into the Land of Canaan which I give to you for a Possession and I put the Plague of Leprosie in a House of the Land of your Possession Secondly You have the SIgns of the House-leprosie described by these Notes as When it appeared in deep Spots reddish or greenish in the Walls of the House and if they were lower than the Wall that is if the Spots were fretted deeper than the Wall then was it to be counted a real Leprosie as Ver. 37 sheweth which litteral or material House with this Pollution cleaving to it may fairly figure out those spiritual Houses or Gospel-churches which our Lord Jesus Christ hath ever had in this World which while they are in this Life they are likewise subject to their spiritual Leprosies Defilement and Pollution by reason of Sin and that this may the better appear it will be necessary to consider the Resemblance which the Scripture gives betwixt a material House and a well-constituted Gospel-Church of Jesus Christ As First In a material House there are the Foundation-stones so there is the same belonging to the Churches of Christ 1 Pet. 2. 6. Secondly To a material House there belongs the chief Corner-stone which upholds all the rest of the Building so there is in the Churches of Christ Ephes 2. 20. Thirdly In a material House there are rows of Stones laid up upon the Foundation-stones so it is in the Churches of Christ Ephes 2. 20. Fourthly In a material House all the Timber-work which hath been fitted and framed for the Building is all laid up and coupled together so it is with the Churches of Christ Ephes 2. 21. Fifthly They agree also for Design and Purpose because the Design of Building a material House is for a Habitation to live in so are the Churches of Christ appointed for the like purpose even to the Habitations for Christ to dwell in Ephes 2. 22. with 2 Cor. 6. 16. Thus as the Scripture gives you the Resemblance betwixt a temporal House and the Churches of Christ so also doth it give the same Denomination to Christ's Churches calling them Houses and Habitations Heb. 3. 3 4 5. Who was faithful to him that appointed him as also Moses was faithful in all his House but this Man was counted worthy of more Honour than Moses inasmuch as he who hath builded the House hath more Honour than the House So Ver. 6. But Christ as a Son over his own House whose House are we if we hold fast our Confidence and the rejoycing of the Hope firm unto the end Thus you see how the Scripture makes a temporal House and the Churches of Christ to agree both for Name and Substance From all which we shall note these two Observations 1st Doct. That the spiritual Houses or Churches of Jesus Christ are subject to great Defilement and Pollution while in this Life 2d Doct That the Defilement and Pollution which the Churches of Christ are subject unto in this Life is many times very open and visible 1st Doct. That the spiritual Houses and Churches of Jesus Christ are subject to great Defilement and Pollution while in this Life In the prosecution of this first Observation I shall First prove the Point Secondly Give the Reasons of it And Thirdly Apply the same by waâ— of Use First For the Proof of it you will find that this was the Case of Christ's old Testament-church Isa 1. 4 5 6. Ah! sinful Nation a People laden with Iniquity a Seed of evil Doers Children that are Corrupters they have forsaken the Lord they have provoked the holy One of Israel to Anger they are gone away backward Whâ— should ye be striken any more Ye will revolt more and more the whole Head is sick and the whole Heart is faint From the Sole of the Foot even unto the Head there is no Soundness in it but Wounds and Bruises and putrifying Sores they have not been closed neither bound up nor modified with Ointment The like we read hath hapned to Christ's Gospel-churches we read of an incestuous Defilement and sacramental Pollution which broke out in the Church of Corinth 1 Cor. 5. 1. with 1 Cor. 11. 20 21 22. We read of the Defilement of Fornication which broke forth in the Church of Pergamos yea and the Pollution of Idolatry too Rev. 2. 14. We read of the Pollution of false Doctrine which broke forth in the Church of Thyatira Rev. 2. 20. And also we read of the Defilement of carnal Security which hapned to the Church of Sardis Rev. 3. 1. and of the Pollution of a luke-warm Spirit which cleaved to the Church of the Laodiceans Rev. 3. 16. Lastly Do not we likewise read how the Gallatian Church was corrupted and defiled in the Doctrine of it confounding the Righteousness of Christ by Faith with their own personal Obedience Gal. 3. 1 2 3 4. with Chap. 4. 21. Thus you see the Point proved by clear Scripture-evidence and so we come to the Reasons of it The first Reason may be taken from the Ministers of the Churches and Secondly From the Churches themselves But first of all The Pollution and Defilement of the Churches of Christ many times do arise from the sleepy Drowsiness of the Ministers and Guides of the same We read that a Minister's sleepy Season is the Devil 's seeding Season whiles the Minister snores in his Sleep then is the Devil's Season to sow his Seed Matt. 13. 25. But while Men slept his Enemy came and sowed Tares among the Wheat and went his way This was the Unhappiness of the Church of God in the Prophet's Days to be given over to the Conduct of an ignorant lazy sleepy Ministry Isa 56. 10. His Watchmen are Blind they are all Ignorant they are all dumb Dogs they cannot bark sleeping lying down loving to Slumber yea they are greedy Dogs which can never have enough and they are Shepherds that cannot understand they all look to their
own way every one for his Gain from his quarter Hence it is that though we read of so much Corruption breaking forth upon the Seven Churches of Asia yet the Ground and Cause of it in some Measure was charged upon the Ministers of those Churches which were called the Angels of the same when Ministers are given up to an idle lazy Life to be remiss in nothing more than in and about their Duty to God and the Souls of their People no wonder if their Hearers do decline and wither as to the Spirit Life and Power of Godliness under their Hands Ministers are called Physicians and you know when a Physician grows careless and negligent in his Office towards his Patient no wonder if the Body of such a Patient abounds with corrupting Humours and the Malignity of their old Distempers returns back upon them again He that reads the Conversation of Israel's Pastors Isa 56. 10 11 12. need not wonder at Israel's Corruption which is exprest in Isa 1. 4 5 6. Secondly A second Ground of the Churches Corruption ariseth from the earthly-mindedness of their Ministers when Ministers through Covetousness shall make Merchandize of the Souls of their Hearers and set their everlasting Happiness to sale to fill their Treasures with worldly Gain I mean when they shall mind more their own worldly Wealth than their Peoples spiritual Health this opens a Door to let in bad Diseases upon their People it is a very rare thing to find a Minister greedy of the Churches Wealth in worldly things and the People to grow spiritually Wealthy under such a Minister Thirdly A third Ground ariseth from the Debauchery and bad Lives of Ministers this excludes the Presence of God and his Blessing from their Labours and leaves a Curse in the room of it such a Minister may Preach until he hath preach'd out his Heart before he shall do any good upon his People Jer. 23. 14 32. I have seen also in the Prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing they commit Adultery and walk in Lies they strengthen also the Hands of Evil-doers that none doth return from his Wickedness they are all unto me as Sodom and the Inhabitants of Gomorrah Ver. 32. They cause my People to err by their Lies and by their Lightness yet I sent them not nor commanded them therefore they shall not profit this People at all saith the Lord. Fourthly A fourth Ground ariseth from the Superstitiousness of a Minister when the blind Zeal of a Minister shall incline him to a greater eagerness to promote the Superstition of the Church than faithfully to promote the pure Institutions of Christ woe to that People which lives under the Charge of such a Man Matt. 15. 8 9. Ye Hypocrites well did Esaias Prophesie of you saying This People draweth nigh unto me with their Mouth and honour me with their Lips but their Heart is far from me but in vain they do Worship me teaching for Doctrines the Commandments of Men. Secondly The Reasons are also drawn from the Churches themselves that there is so much Corruption amongst them First of all It ariseth from their Negligence in not exercising of their Faith in the hearing of the Word Heb. 4. 2. For unto us the Gospel was preached as well as unto them but the Word preached did not profit them not being mixed with Faith in them that heard it Secondly It ariseth from a Peoples not receiving the Truth in the Love of it when a People shall rather hear the Word to please their Fancy than to feed their Faith when they shall hear more to get Head-notions than warm Affections or to grow in Gifts rather than to grow in Grace let such beware of that fearful Judgment spoken of in 2 Thess 2. 10 11 12. Because they received not the Love of the Truth that they might be saved and for this cause God shall send them strong Delusions that they should believe a Lie that they all might be damned who believe not the Truth but had pleasure in Vnrighteousness Mark There was a receiving of the Truth but not to a right end many there are and but too too many which are sick of this Disease viz. To hear much and read much to increase their Parts but not their Piety to be admired of Men rather than to be approved of God but when Men from a Spirit of Vain-glory attend the Ministry of the Word but not aiming at the Glory of God wonder not if such Mens Knowledge prove at last like the Wilderness-manna to the Israelites when â—athered and unlawfully kept Exod. 16. 20. It bred Worms and stank So woful have been the Effects of an unsanctifying hearing of the Word upon some Men. Thirdly It ariseth from the Peoples Unfruitfulness under the Word which they hear this was Israel's Sin which greatly increased their Corruption even the same Means which was sent to soften them turned to their hardning through their unfruitfulness under it Isa 5. 1 2. My Beloved had a Vineyard in a very fruitful Hill and he looked for Grapes and it brought forth wild Grapes But what was the Issue of this Read Isa 6. 9 10. Go and tell this People hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not make the Heart of this People fat and their Ears heavy shut their Eyes lest they should see with their Eyes and hear with their Ears and understand with their Hearts and convert and be healed Thus having given you the Grounds and Reasons whence it is that the spiritual Houses of Christ are so subject to their Defilement and Corruption in this Life we next come to the Application of the Point 1st Vse This serves then in the first place to inform us of the Duty both of the Ministers and Hearers First Of the Ministers who under Christ are the Owners of his spiritual Houses or Churches Would you know what his Duty was that was the Owner of the Levitical House when the Plague of Leprosie broke forth in it Read Lev. 14. 35. He was to go to the Priest and tell the Priest that it seemed to him that there is as it were a Plague in the House so in like manner ought every Pastor or Minister to do even by Prayer Fasting and true Humiliation to acquaint Jesus Christ the great High-Priest with the leprous Distemper which is broken forth in his Churches This is the Advice which the Spirit of God gave the Old Testament-churches as a means to cure them of their Pollution and Defilement Joel 2. 16 17 18. Gather the People sanctifie the Congregation assemble the Elders gather the Children and those that suck the Breast let the Bridegroom go forth of his Chamber and the Bride out of her Closet let the Priests and Ministers of the Lord weep between the Porch and the Altar and let them say Spare thy People O Lord and give not thy Heritage to reproach then will the Lord be jealous for his Land and pity his
in the Meditations of the Spotlesness of those heavenly Societies unto which you are a going Houses that never had the least of a Leprosie found in them nor the least spot of any Defilement or Pollution obstain them where you may be sure to find all clean and pure clean from Sin and Corruption or the least inclination thereunto where Hypocrisie and Heresie never was nor ever enters where Strife and Contention shall never shew its Face nor a Backbiter ever appear within the limits of that holy City which have so troubled and perplexed the Churches of Christ in this Life Oh! let the Thoughts of these things comfort your Hearts that it is your Father's good Pleasure to give you a Kingdom PART IX Thus having dispatch'd what related to the Disease of the House which was a Leprosie together with what the Inhabitant in it was to do upon the breaking forth of the Disease namely he was to go to the Priest and say It seems to me that there is as it were a Plague in the House WE next come to the Grounds and Reasons why the Inhabitant of the House was to make such a Discovery of the Plague to the Priest The Reason was this viz. To preserve the things in the House from the like Infection Lev. 14. 36. Then the Priest shall command that they empty the House before the Priest go in to see the Plague that all that is in the House be not made Vnclean Now if we apply this to the spiritual Houses of Jesus Christ it will afford us this profitable Observation Doct. That it is the Duty of the Churches of Christ who are sound and healthy in the Faith in order to their Preservation to keep as much at a distance as they can from such Churches as are corrupted and will not be healed The Truth of this Observation appears both from the Old and New Testament First From the Old Testament when the ten Tribes became Corrupt with Idolatry through their Compliance with Jeroboam's Calves at Dan and Bethel who had several Prophets of the Lord sent to them to reduce them to their Obedience again but would not be reclaimed upon this Refusal God sends an Exhortation to the Church of Judah not to do as Israel had done Hosea 4. 15. Though Israel play the Harlot yet let not Judah offend But to prevent Judah from being defiled with Israel's Pollution a thorough Separation is enjoyned upon Judah that their Communion with the ten Tribes might not occasion their Pollution with the same Idolatry Hos 4. 15. with 17 Ver. Come ye not unto Gâ—lgal neither go ye up to Bethaven Ephraim is joyned to Idols let him alone I know that some are of the Opinion that this 17 Verse is to be applied to the Prophet Hosea he only was to let Ephraim alone so as not to Preach or Prophesie to them any more seeing they would still be a rebellious House but who ever shall compare Chap. 1. Ver. 9 with the 4 Chap. and the 15 16 17 Ver. must needs conclude that it was Judah's Separation from the ten Idolatrous Tribes which was principally intended in these Texts Secondly The like Truth will the New Testament afford us for if we consider the Church of Rome in its original and first Plantation none can deny but that it was a famous gospel-Gospel-church of Jesus Christ and one of the Golden-candlesticks amongst which he delighted to walk for we read that their Faith was spoken of throughout the World Rom. 1. 8. but withal you may read when they became a leprous Church and would not be healed are then all the sound People of God required to separate from her Rev. 18. 4. And I heard another Voice from Heaven saying Come out of her my People that ye be not Partakers of her Sins and that ye receive not of her Plagues Quest But what kind of Corruption is it which will warrant our Separation from any Church in order to our Preservation Ans That most of our Divines do agree in this that a Churches Corruption in the Doctrine of the Gospel and will not be reformed this gives Warrant for our Separation from such a Church And that a Separation from such a Church appears to be our Duty will appear from these Grounds First Because of the Reason which is given in the Case of the Levitical House Lev. 14. 36. Ye shall empty the House that all that is in the House be not made Vnclean But spiritual Pollution is the most dangerous of all it seizeth the spiritual part therefore the more to be abandoned Nature teacheth Men to avoid the Plague which only endangereth the Body and ought we not much more avoid that Plague which doth inevitably endanger our Souls to our eternal Dammage A corporal Leprosie doth only shut out the Diseased from Communion with Men but a spiritual Leprosie shuts Men out from Communion with God Isa 59. 2. But your Iniquities have separated between you and your God and your Sins have hid his Face from you that he will not hear God can Love us Comfort us and hold Communion with us under the greatest outward Pollution that can light upon our outward Man but he can neither Love us or Delight in us not hold the least Fellowship with us in our allowed Sins 2d Reason Why we ought to separate from corrupt Churches if unreclaimable because otherwise we make our selves Partakers with them in their evil Deeds for we ought not to partake with other Mens Sins Rev. 18. 4. Partake not with her in her Sins 3d Reason Because if we partake with others in their Sins we are liable to partake with them in the Punishment which God shall inflict upon them for the same Rev. 18. 4. Partake not with her in her Sins lest ye partake of her Plagues God hath Plagues for Apostatizing Churches and Punishments for those that shall ioyn with them Good Jehoshaphat's joyning with an Idolatrous Ahab was like to cost him his Life God will punish the Circumcised with the Uncircumcâ—sed if they be both found in one Transgression 4th Reason Why we must separate from unreclaimable corrupted Churches is because in so doing we are Witnesses for God against their evil Deeds You may read that when the Church of Rome became a corrupt Church first God gave his reformed People a Call to separate from her Rev. 18. 4. And secondly Stirs up his People to be Witnesses against her Rev. 11. 6. And so we come to the Application Vse From all that hath been said upon this Point let us learn these four Lessons 1st Let us learn to be Humble 2dly Fruitful 3dly Thankful And 4thly Watchful First Let us learn to be Low and Humble in our own Eyes many of us may have Parts Gifts and Graces enough to make us to forget our selves if the Lord by a strong Hand upon our Hearts did not keep us Humble Oh! remember that all your Advancements are of Free-grace you have nothing which