very name of the Gospel Church * Esa 48.35 what would it signifie if it were an useless Presence Christ stands upon Mount Sion his Throne is in the Church when the great things in the World shall be acted for the Ruin of Antichrist * Revel 14.1 Gods Presence in his Church is the Glory and Defence of it As the presence of the King is the Glory of the Court Zech. 2.5 For I saith the Lord will be unto her a wall of fire round about and will be the glory in the midst of her Her presence is a Covenant-presence Isa 41.10 Fear not I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God whence follows Strength Help and Support I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my Righteousness that is with my Righteous Power with my power engaged to thee in a Righteous Covenant His Presence and Providence in the World is in a way of Absolute Dominion but in his Church in a way of Federal Relation He is the God of Israel and God to Israel or for Israel * 1 Chro. 17.24 yea and a God in the midst of Israel Every one of them sufficient engagements to protect Israel and provide for Israel and govern every thing for Israels good God is under an Oath to do good to srael will he violate his Oath tear his Seal break his Covenant who never broke his League with any of his people yet 8. A Eightly The Prayers of the Church have a might force with God to this end God is entitled a God hearing Prayer and what prayers should God hear if not the prayers of his Church which aim at Gods Glory in their own good Though the prayers of the Church may in some particular fail yet in general they do not because they submit their desires to the Will of God which always works what is best for them When God would do any mighty work in the World he stirs up his people to pray for it and their prayers by his own appointment have a mighty influence upon the Government of the World For when they come before him in behalf of the Church in general he doth indulge them a greater liberty and boldness and as it were a kind of Authority over him than upon other occasions of their own Isa 45.11 Thus saith the Lord the holy one of Israel and his maker ask of me things to come concerning my sons and concerning the work of my hands command you me God would be more positively considently and familiarly dealt with about the concerns of his sons though they were things to come to pass in after Ages And indeed the prayers of the Church have a powerful and invisible efficacy on the great actions and overturnings which are in the World The Being of the World is maintained by them from sinking according to the Jews saying sine stationibus non subsisteret mundus standing in prayer was their usual prayer-gesture And that they have actually such a force is evident Rev. 8.3 4. An Angel hath a golden Censer with Incense to offer it with the prayers of the Saints upon the Altar which was before the Throne And ver 5. the Censer wherein their prayers were offered was filled with the fire of the Altar and cast into the Earth and there were Voices Thundrings Lightnings and Earthquakes When the prayers of the Saints were offered to God and ascended upon before him that is were very pleasing to him The issue is the Angel fills the Censer with fire of the Altar and thereby causes great commotions and alterations in the World signifying that the great changes of the World are an answer unto those prayers which are offered unto God for fire is taken from that altar upon which they were offered and flung into the World And it must needs be that the prayers of the Church should have an influence on the government of the World 1. Because God hath a mighty delight in the prayers of his people The prayer of the upright is his delight and he loves to hear the Churches voice Cant. 2.14 O my dove let me hear thy voice for sweet is thy voice Chaldee thy voice is sweet in prayer In the times of the Gospel God promises that the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem should be pleasant to him Mal. 3.4 When Christ shall sit as a refiner v. 3. what is the issue of those prayers v. 5. I will come near to you to Judgment and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers c. Prayer awakes providence to judge the Enemies of the Church A Parent delights not in the bare crying or the voice of his Child simply considered in it self but in the significations and effects of it He delights in the matter of their prayers it being so agreeable to his own heart and will and in the sence they have of the sufferings of the whole body 2. Because Prayer is nothing else but a pleading of Gods promises Unto this they are directed by that Spirit which knows the mind of God and Marshals their petitions according to his will Now as God turns his own decrees and purposes concerning his Church into promises to them so the Church turns those promises into prayers for them So that promises being for the good of the Church and there being an exact harmony between those promises and the Churches prayers all those providences which are the issue of those promises and the answer of the Churches prayers must needs be for the Churches good 3. Because there are united supplications and pleadings both in Heaven and Earth all the hands of the whole Family in Heaven and Earth are concerning in their petitions 1. Christ intercedes for the Church who alwaies desires mercy and deliverance for them in the appointed time Zech. 1.12 How long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and the issue is alwayes gracious For v. 13. God answers him with good and comfortable words and thereupon Carpenters are raised to cut off the horns which had scattered Judah v. 20. 2. Angels in all probability plead for the Church as we have already heard 'T is likely they offer and present that to God which makes for his glory and that is the good of the Church Angels surely desire that which their head doth who is * Zech. 1.12 described as one of their own order and called an Angel Do they rejoyce at the repentance of a sinner and do they not likewise triumph at the happiness of the Church which is part of that Family they are of And we know that the greatness of our joy is suted to the measure of our desires where our joy is most triumphant it implies that our desires before were most vehement 3. Glorified Saints are not surely behind The rich man in the Parable desired his Friend on Earth might not come into that place of torment * Luk. 16.28 If
with the Lord and promising to make of him a great Nation * Exod. 32.9 10. and the Lord said to Moses I have seen this people and behold it is a stiff-necked people now therfore let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them and in such terms that one would wonder at Now therefore let me alone As if God did fear Moses's interposition would prevent him and disswade him from it Do not you stand in the way my wrath will cool if you interpose your self as much as to say God could not do it unless Moses gave his consent Moses would not be quiet but pleads the providences of God which had been all for them the promise of God made to Abraham concerning them And he would not leave till God repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people v. 14. If Angels as Calvin saith are Gods counsellours in Heaven Believers are as it were his Counsellors on Earth 5. God has given the choicest things he hath to his people He hath given his Law The Church is the Sphere wherein the light of the Gospel is fixed and wherein it shines from whence its beams do dart out to others Isa 2.3 out of Sion shall go forth the law The oracles of God the great things of the Law as it is phrased Hosea 8.12 his Covenant and the counsel of his will are intrusted with the Church Now this being a mercy which exceeds all other things in the World is therefore comprehensive of all other as the greater comprehends the lesser And the Psalmist considers it as the top-stone of all blessings for after summing up the Providences of God he shews how God had distinguished Jacob by more eminent marks of his favour Psal 147.29 30. He shews his word to Jacob his statutes and his judgments unto Israel he hath not dealt so with any Nation he hath not left so rich a Legacy to any or given any so much of his heart Others are ordered by the word of his power for that is meant by word in the foregoing verse but Jacob hath the word of his grace too And this being the choicest piece of affection which God hath shewn to the Church implies the making all lesser providences subservient to it The Church wherein God hath laid up his Gospel and those Souls which are as the Ark wherein God hath deposited his Law shall be shadowed with the wings of his merciful providence in a perpetual succession of all true blessings All the providences of God are to preserve his Law in the World his severest judgments are to quicken up the law of nature in men that know no other 〈◊〉 the Law of his Gospel in men that 〈◊〉 under it And he hath given Châ—â—◠〈◊〉 Church and thereby hath given in earnest that still their good shall be promoted 'T is not to be thought that God will spare any thing else when he hath given them his Son The Second thing It must needs be that all providences are for the good of the Church Secondly 1. All the providence of God is for the glorifying his grace in Christ First The whole Oeconomy or dispensation of the fulness of time to the latter ages of the World is for the gathering all things together in him Eph. 1.10 that in the dispensation of the fulness of time he might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in Heaven and which are on earth even in him In him as their head This was the design in all his dispensations both before his coming and since ever since the promise made to Adam though it be more manifest in the latter Age. This the Apostle represents as the main purpose of God v. 9. This was the mystery of his will which according to his good pleasure he had purposed in himself that is purposed in himself as a thing he was mightily pleased with and ver 11. saith he 〈◊〉 works all things after or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the counsel of his own will or of that purpose which he had purposed in himself to gather all things in one in Christ All the things that God acts are referred to this as their end and ordered by this Counsel as their rule As it was the design of Gods providence to make way for Christs entrance into the World and all the prophecies in the old Testament tended to the discovery of it so since the coming of Christ the end of all is to advance him in respect of his headship Eph. 1.22 23. and hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church which is his body the fulness of him that fills all in all God would advance Christ to the highest pitch v. 21. far above all principality and power both in this world and in the world to come and there is still a fulness wanting to Christ to compleat him not only a personal fulness but a fulness belonging to him as a Head which is the advancement God designs him He is already advanced above all principality and power He is already given as a Head to the Church but the compleatness of it is not till all his members be perfected to which all his providences in the world doth ultimately tend Therefore if the design of God be to honour Christ and if the spiritual happiness of the Church be part of that Glory and fulness of Christ it must needs be carried on by God else he will want part of his compleatness as a Head But this shall not be wanting since as all things are squared according to that Counsel of glorifying Christ as Head so all things are acted for believers by that power whereby he raised Christ from the grave to be their Head which power is the Copy according to which all acts which respect the Church are framed v 19. and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him up from the dead God intended the good of the Church in this very act of glorifying Christ for he is made the head over all things to the Church As if God then had prescribed him that order that the glory he gave him should be also managed for the Churches interest Christ is Lord of the rest of the World but Head of the Church All things are under his feet but are not his members He is Head over all things to the Church and therefore to every member of the Church the least as well as the greatest and to the whole Church even that part of it which is on Earth as well as that part which is in Heaven who are compleated This Church is the fulness of Christ he would be bodyless without it therefore since Christ will be a head without a body if the Church be not preserved in order to the
world 5. Fifthly Vnequal dispensations do not argue carelesness A father may give one child a gayer Coat than he gives another yet he extends his fatherly care and tenderness over all According to the several employments he puts his children upon he is at greater expence and yet loves one as well as another and makes provision for all As the Soul takes care of the lowest member and communicates Spirits to every part for their motions So though God place some in a higher some in a lower condition yet he takes care of all God divides to every man as he will * 1 Cor. 12.11 Every man hath a several share according to Gods pleasure of a goodness in the world as well as of gifts in the Church 6. Sixthly Yet upon due consideration the inequality will not appear so great as the complaint of it If the wants of one and the enjoyment of another were weighed in the balance the Scales might not appear so uneven we see such a mans wealth but do you understand his cares A running sore may lye under a purple Robe Health the salt of Blessings as one calls it is bestowed upon the Labourer when many that wallow in abundance have those torturing diseases which imbitter their pleasures If some want those worldly ornaments which others have may they not have more wisdom than those that enjoy them the noblest perfection of a rational creature Pro. 3.13 14. The merchandize of it is better than the merchandize of Silver and the gain thereof than fine gold * Pro. 15.16 Pro. 15.16 better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith As some are stript of wealth and power so they are stript of the incumbrances they bring with them One hath that serenity and tranquility of mind which the cares and fears of others will not suffer them to enjoy and a grain of contentment is better than many pounds of wealth 'T is not a desirable thing to be a great Prince attended with as many cares and fears as he hath Subjects in his Empire He made a true estimate of greatness that said he would not stoop to take up a Crown if it lay at his feet But more particularly to the parts of the case I. It is not well with bad men here 1. Is it well with them who are tortured by their own lusts What peace can worldly things bestow upon a Soul filled with impurity In 2 Cor. 7.1 Sin is called filthiness can it be well with them that have nasty Souls Is it well with them who are rackt by pride stung with cares gnawn with envy distracted by unsatiable desires and torn in pieces by their own fears Can it be well with such who have a multitude of vipers in their breasts sticking all their stings into them though the Sun shine and the showers drop upon them You are the Spectators of their felicity but do you understand their inward gripes Prov. 14.13 even in laughter the heart is sorrowful Can silken Curtains or purple Clothes confer an happiness upon those who have a mortal plague-sore poysoning their bodies and are ready to expire Sin is their plague whatever is their happiness * 1 King 8.38 Sin is called the plague of the heart Their insolent lusts are a far greater misery than the possession of all the Kingdoms in the World can be an happiness II. Is it well with them who have so great an account to make and know not how to make it Those that enjoy much are more in God's debt and therefore more accountable The account of wicked men is the greater because of their abundance and their unfitness to make that account is the greater because of their abuse Would any reckon themselves happy to be called upon to give an account of their Stewardship for Talents and know not how to give a good account of one farthing Luke 16.2 give an account of thy stewardship III. Is it well with them who are the worse for what they have Is it an happiness to command others and be more slaves to the worst of Creatures than any can be to them The wicked man's well-spread Table sometimes proves his snare * Psal 5.22 and his destruction is bound up in his very prosperity Pro. 1.32 and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them Prosperity falling upon an unregenerate heart like the Sun and Rain upon bad ground draws forth nothing but weeds and vermin Would you think it your happiness to be Masters of their concerns and slaves to their pride Is a stubbornness against God so desirable a thing which is strengthned by those things in the hands of the wicked IV. Is it well with them who in the midst of their prosperity are reserved for justice Can that Traitor be accounted happy that is fed in Prison by the Prince with better Dishes than many a loyal Subject hath at his table but only to keep him alive for his Tryal and a publick Example of Justice God raises some for greater falls Miserable was the felicity of Pharaoh to be raised up by God for a Subject to shew in him the power of his Wrath * Exod. 9.16 'T is but a little time before they shall be cut down as grass and wither as the green herb Psal 37.2 None would value the conditionof that Soldier who leaping into a River to save a Kings Crown and putting it upon his own head that he might be enabled to swim out with it was rewarded for saving it and executed for wearing it God rewards wicked men for their service and punisheth them for their insolence 2. Secondly Neither is it bad here with good men if all be well considered Other mens judgment of a good man is frivolous they cannot rightly judge of his state and concerns but he can make a judgment of theirs 1 Cor. 2.15 A spiritual man judgeth all things but he himself is judged of no man No man can make a sound judgment and estimate of a righteous mans state in any condition unless he hath had experience of the like in all the circumstances the inward Comforts as well as the outward Crosses For I. Adversity cannot be called absolutely an evil as prosperity cannot be called absolutely a good They are rather indifferent things because they may be used either for the honour or dishonour of God As they are used for his honour they are good and as used for his dishonour they are evil The only absolutely bad thing in the world is sin which cannot be in its own nature but a dishonour to God The only absolutely good thing in the world is holiness and a likeness to God which cannot be in its own nature but for his glory As for all other things I know no true satisfaction can be in them but as they are subservient to Gods honour and give us an advantage for imitating some one or other of his perfections
heart is most set upon and that which is last in execution What doth God do at the folding up of the World but perfect his people and welcome them into Glory Therefore God principally next to himself loves his Church The whole Earth is his but the Church is his treasure Ex. 19.5 If you will keep my Covenant then shall you be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people for all the Earth is mine Segullah such a treasure that a Man a King will intrust in no hands but his own all the Earth is mine is not a reason why the Church was his treasure but an incentive of thankfulness that when the whole Earth was his and lay before him and there were many people that he might have chosen and loved before them yet he pitched upon them to make them his choicest treasure And when the blessed God hath pitched upon a people and made them his treasure what he doth for them is with his whole heart and with his whole Soul Jer. 32 41 42. speaking of making an everlasting Covenant he adds yea I will rejoyce over them to do them good c. assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole Soul As though God minded nothing else but those people he had made an everlasting Covenant with which is the highest security and most pregnant expression of his affection that can be given to any not to give them a parcel or moiety of his heart but the whole infinite intire piece and to engage it all with the greatest delight in doing good to them That infinite heart of God and all the contrivances and workings of it center in the Churches welfare The World is a Wilderness but the Church is a Garden If he water the Wilderness will he not much more dress his Garden If the flights of Birds be observed by him shall not also the particular concernments of the Church He hath a repository for them and all that belong to them He hath a book of Life for their Names * Luk. 10.20 a book of Record for their members * Psal 139.16 a Note-book for their Speeches Mal. 3.16 A book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and a book of providence for their preservation Exod. 32.32 In the prosecution of this I shall shew 1. That it is so de facto First and hath been so 2. Secondly That according to the state of things and Gods Oeconomy it must be so 3. The improvement of it Thirdly By way of Vse 1. First That all providence is for the good of the Church de facto and has been so 1. Reason first It will appear by an enumeration of things First All good things Secondly All bad things are for their good First All good things I. The World II. Gifts and common graces of men in the World III. Angels I. The World First The whole World was made and ordained for the good of the Church next to the glory of God This will appear in three things I. The continuance of the World is for their sakes God would have destroyed the World because of the ignorance and wickedness of it before this time but he overlooked it all and had respect to the times of Christ and the publishing faith in him and repentance Act. 17.30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at God overlooked * 〈…〉 he looked not so upon them as to be provoked to destroy the world but his eyes were fixed on the times of Christianity therefore would not take notice in the extremity of his justice of the wickedness of those foregoing ages Believers are the Salt of the Earth * Mat. 5.13 which makes the World savoury to God and keeps it from corrupting 'T is meant not only of the Apostles but of Christs Disciples of all Christians for to them was that Sermon made v. 1. If the Salt have lost his savour if the Salt be corrupted and Christianity overthrown in the World wherewith shall the World be salted how can it be kept from corruption If they that persecuted the Prophets before you in Judea which is sometimes called the Earth in Scripture cannot relish you and find nothing grateful to their Palates in your Doctrine and Conversation wherewith shall they be salted How shall they be preserved from corruption The Land will be good for nothing but to be given as a prey to the Romans to be trod under their feet as being cast out of Gods protection They are the foundation of the world Pro. 10.25 the righteous are an everlasting foundation Maimonides understands it thus that the World stands for the righteous sakes When God had Noah and his Family lodged in the Ark he cares not what deluge and destruction he brings upon the rest of the World When he had conducted Lot out of Sodom he brings down that dreadful storm of fire He cares for no place Grotius on the place no nor for the whole World any longer than whilst his people are there or he hath some to bring in in time For the meanest believer is of more worth than a world therefore when God hath gathered all together he will set fire upon this frame of the Creation For what was the end of Christs coming and dying but to gather all things together in one Eph. 1.10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of time he might gather together in one all things in Christ When Christ hath summed up all together he hath attained his end And to what purpose then can we imagine God should continue the World any longer for his delight is not simply in the World but in the Saints there Psal 16.3 But to the Saints that are in the Earth in whom is all my delight not in the Earth but in the Saints there which are the only excellent things in it which Christ speaks of whom that Psalm is meant who knew well what was the object of his Fathers pleasure The sweet savour God smelt in Noah's sacrifice was the occasion of God's declaration for the Worlds standing Gen. 8.21 and the Lord said in his heart I will not curse the ground any more for mans sake That he would no more smite it with a totally destroying judgment It was his respect to Christ represented in that sacrifice and to the faith and grace of Noah the sacrificer What Savour could an infinitely pure spirit smell in the blood and flames of beasts 2. The course of natural things is for the good of the Church or particular members of it God makes articles of agreement with the Beasts and Fowls whose nature is raging and ravenous and binds them in sure bonds for the performance of those articles Hosea 2.18 And in that day will I make a Covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven and with the creeping things of the ground and will make them to lye down safely
As upon our sin God can arm them against us so upon our obedience he can make them serviceable even against their natures as if he had made a Covenant with them and they had both the reason and virtue to observe it I do not remember any instance in Scripture that God went out of the usual tract of his providence and acted in an extraordinary manner but where his people were one way or other concerned It was for Joshua's and the Israelites sake that the Sun was arrested to stand still in the Valley of Ajalon that they might have light enough to defeat their Enemies and pursue their victory * Josh 10.12 13. The Sea shall against its natural course stand in heaps like walls of brass to assist the Israelites escape * Exod. 14.22 The fire is restrained in the operation of its nature even whilst it retains its burning quality when the lives of the three valiant believing Children are in danger * Dan. 6.22 The mouths of Lyons are muzled when the safety of his beloved Daniel is concerned * Dan. 6.22 And the shadow goes back upon the Dial for Hezekiah's sake * 2 King 20.11 When God would at any time deliver his people He can muster up Lightnings and Thunders for their assistance * 1 Sam. 7.10 He can draw all the Regiments of Heaven into battel-array and arm the stars to fight against Sisera when Israels condition needs it and make even the lowest Creatures to list themselves as Auxiliaries in the service God hath nor a displeasure with sensless Creatures neither is transported with strains of sury against such objects when he alters their natural course Hab. 3.8 Was the Lord displeased against the Rivers was thy wrath against the Sea that thou didst ride upon thy Horses and Chariots of Salvation No but he made those Creatures the Horses and Chariots to speed assistance and salvation to his people which the Psalmist elegantly describes Psal 114. All Creatures are his Host and that God that created them hath still the Soveraign command over them and can imbody them in an Army to serve his purpose for the deliverance of his people as he did against Pharaoh 3. The interest of Nations is ordered as is most for the Churches good He orders both the course of natural things and of civil affairs for their interest He alters the state of things and changeth Governours and Governments for the sake of his people For these causes God sent Elisha to Crown Jehu King 2 King 9.6 7. I have anointed thee King over the people of the Lord c. that I may avenge the blood of my Servants the Prophets and the blood of all the servants of the Lord at the hand of Jezabel For the sakes of the Godly in that Nation and the revenging the blood of the Prophets which had been shed was he raised up by the Lord. He sent such judgments upon Egypt that it was as much the interest of that Nation to let Israel go as it was before to keep them their vassals God orders the interest and affairs of Nations for those ends and according to this disposition of affairs Christ times his intercessions for his Church The Angels had been sent out to view the state of the World and found it in peace Zech. 1.11 behold all the Earth sits still and is at rest there had been Wars in Artaxarexes and Xerxes his time but in the time of Darius that part of the World had an universal peace which was the fittest time for the restoration of the Jews and building the Temple because it could not be built but by the Kings cost whose treasure in the time of War was expended another way nor would it consist with their policy to restore the Jews to their government at such a time when they had Wars with the Neighbour parts of Egypt See how God orders the state of the World in subserviency to his gracious intentions towards his Church The time of the Jewish captivity was now out according to the promise of God and God gives that part of the World a general peace that the restauration of the Jews and the rebuilding of the Temple might be facilitated and the truth of his promise in their deliverance accomplished Upon the news of this general peace in that part of the World Christ expostulates with God for the restauration of Jerusalem vers 12. How long O Lord wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judeah against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years The time of the Captivity determined by God was now expired The first reformation in Germany was back'd by reason of state as it was then ordered it being the interest of many Princes of that Countrey to countenance Luther's Doctrine for the putting a stop to the growing greatness of Charles the fifth who had evident designs to enslave them I might mention many more only by the way let me advise those that have an inclination to read histories of former transactions to which men naturally are addicted to make this your end to observe the strange providences of God in the World and how admirably he hath made them subservient to the interest of the Church which will be the most profitable way of reading them whereby they will not only satisfie your curiosity but establish your Christianity Calvin understands that place Deut. 32.8 He sets the bounds of the people according to the number of the Children of Israel that in the whole ordering of the state of the World God proposeth this as his end to consult for the good of his people and his care extends to the rest only in order to them and though they are but a small number yet he orders his whole government of the Worlds affairs as may best tend to their Salvation Therefore God sets the people bounds or enlargeth them according as they may be serviceable one way or other to this end And the reason is rendred v. 9. For the Lords portion is his people and Iacob is the lot of his inheritance Therefore God orders all the rest of the World in subserviency to the maintaining and improving his portion and inheritance 2. As the World Secondly so the gifts and common graces of men in the world are for the good of the Church which is a great argument for providence in general since there is nothing so considerable in government as the disposing of places to men according to their particular endowments and abilities for them And the bestowing such gists upon men is none of the meanest argument for Gods providential government of the World As 1. The gifts of good men The gifts conferred upon Paul were deposited in him not only to be possessed by him but used and laid out for the good of the Church Col. 1.25 Whereof I am made a Minister according to the dispensation of God which is given to me
aims at our Reconciliation as wrought by Covenant between them If by both be meant the two Offices of King and Priest and that the counsel of Peace be between them it will extend to all the Blessings of the Church to the good and Glory of the Church which is the fruit of his Kingly as well as the first Reconciliation was the fruit of his Priestly Office By Peace in Scripture is meant the confluence of all Blessings so that the intent of God in bestowing those Offices upon Christ and so great a Rule was for the good and advantage of that Church or Temple which he appointed him only to build And in Isaiah 11.9 where the Prophecy of the Government of Christ is the End is exprest to be that none should hurt or destroy in all his holy mountain And certainly since God set him at his right hand and confirm'd this power unto him after he had purged our sins it was certainly out of the high value God had for him and therefore must be the intent of God that he should govern all things in reference to the design of that death and for the good of those whose sins he had by himself purged For the possessing this Government was the very end why Christ died and rose again Rom. 14.9 For to this end Christ both died and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of dead and living If this were Christs End in dying and rising it was his Fathers End too who appointed him to Death and raised him by his mighty power And since he was delivered for our offences and rose again for our justification Rom. 4.25 The Government he is invested with being Lord of the dead and of the living must be for the sakes of those for whom he was delivered and for whom he rose His Regal power which was one end of his Death cannot cross the other main end the constituting a church and carrying on the good of them that believe The Government being in the hands not of God as Creator but in and through the hands of a Mediator and that Mediator which both died and rose again peculiarly for them therefore it cannot in the least be for their hurt but advantage The whole management of Christs Kingly Office in relation to the Church is prescrib'd unto Christ by God God reveals to him what shall be done in the World what acts he shall perform for the Church and gives him a History of all that was to be done upon the stage together with an order to communicate it unto his Servants Revel 1.1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him to shew unto his Servants to be communicated to the whole Church things that must shortly come to pass Whether this Revelation was made to the human nature of Christ at his incarnation as Tirinus thinks or rather upon his ascension is not material The whole Scheme of what was to be done in the World is revealed here by God to Christ And you find all the motions in the World relating to the Church and the end of all is the good of the Heavenly Jerusalem 3. All power thus given and intended for this end is actually administred by Christ for this end Christ as the head of the Church doth like a natural head It never sees nor hears nor exerciseth any act of sence only for it self but for the good of the whole Body The eye watches for the body the Tongue speaks for it the understanding contrives for it every part of the head is active for the whole body Now Christ as head is more bound to act for the Church militant than for the Church triumphant because the greatest part of his work for the Church triumphant viz. the bringing them to Heaven is already performed And they are above the reach of all things in the World and all the actions and motions in the world cannot touch or disorder them But the command of God concerning the other part behind is not yet performed and even they are the members of Christ as well as those in Heaven The Apostle * Col. 1.16 17 18. seems to refer both Christs creation and the preservation of things to this title of headship All things were created by him and for him and by him all things consist and he is the head of the body the Church and therefore the conservation and government of all things shall be subservient to the Church which is the body of this governing Head The chief seat Christs Soveraignty is the Church Psal 2.6 yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Sion And he stands upon Mount Sion Rev. 14.1 The Church is the proper Seat and Metropolis of his Empire the Royal Chamber of this Great King All the conquests of Princes redound to the advantage of that place where they fix their Residence He is King of the World but for the sake of Sion Christ did manage this charge anciently for his People when Joshuah had passed over Jordan and first entered upon the conquest of Canaan he sees a man over-against him with a sword drawn in his hand Joshua 5.13 14. And Joshua said unto him Art thou for us or for our adversaries and he said Nay but as Captain of the hosts of the Lord am I now come This was Christ that came armed for his People according to his charge as their Captain and General It was not an Angel because Joshua worshipped him ver 14. An Angel did not use to receive any Worship from Men and he accepts the Worship and commands him to loose his shooe from his foot for the place whereon he stood was holy ver 15. And the same Person Josh 6.2 is called Jehovah and there he gives him orders how he should manage his War Christ came here to direct his People in their concerns He employs his Wisdom for his Church as well as his other excellencies He is called a Counsellor * Isa 9.6 't is one of the great Letters in his Name and this as the rest there mentioned hath a relation to the Church For unto us a Child is born unto us a Son is given And the first use he makes of his Power after the confirmation of it to us upon his Resurrection is for the Church Matth. 28.18 All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth all Authoritative Power over Angels and the affairs of the World Go you therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them c. and lo I am with you always even unto the end of the World He commands the Apostles to gather a Church among all Nations and doth by Vertue of this Authority committed to him promise his Presence with them in all such services they should do to this End even to the end of the World He promises his Spirit and his Providential Presence as his Power should endure to the end of the World so the exercise of it for this End should
run Parallel with the continuance of it There should be no alteration or change in this great end of his as long as the World lasts How can Christ be with them and that to the end of the world if all the parts of his providential government were not ordered to serve this end the good of the Church For the Church is the fulness of him that fills all in all Eph. 1.23 that fills all in all places all in all actions and motions for the good of his Church which is his body 3. God in the church discovers the glory of all his attributes Thirdly 'T is in a mans house where his riches and state is seen 'T is in the Church God makes himself known in his excellency more than in all the world besides Psal 76.1 In Judah is God known his name is great in Israel in Salem also is his tabernacle and his dwelling place in Sion 'T is in his Church he doth manifest his power 'T is called therefore a glorious high throne Jer. 17.12 a glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary Kings use to display all their Glory and Majesty upon their Thrones in this sense Heaven is called Gods Throne Isa 60.1 because the prospect of the Heavens affords us discoveries of the wisdom and power of God more than in any other visible thing both in their essence magnitude and motion So is there a greater discovery of Gods attributes in the Church which is also stiled Heaven in Scripture than in the whole World besides There it is that the Angels look to learn more of the Wisdom of God than they understood before * Eph. 3.10 'T is there the day of his power dawns Psal 110.3 'T is there his Saints see his power and his glory Psal 63.2 the Sanctuary is called the firmament of his power Psal 150.1 The glory of Gods attributes is centered in Christ in a higher manner than in the creation and in that work did excel themselves in what they had done in the framing of the world and the Church being the glory of Christ all those attributes which are glorified in Christ do in and through him shine forth more clearly upon the Church than upon any other part of the world He stiles himself their Creator as much as the Creator of the whole frame of Heaven and Earth Isa 43.15 I am the Lord your holy one the Creator of Israel your King As though all the attributes of God his Power in Creation his Holiness in redemption were designed for none else but them And indeed by virtue of the Covenant they are to be so for if God be their God then all of God is theirs What wisdom power sufficiency grace and kindness he hath is principally for them If God he their God it is in their concerns he will glorify himself as a God in the manifestation of all his perfections This cannot be without the ordering all providences for their advantage 4. There is a peculiar relation of God and Christ to the Church Fourthly upon which account this Doctrien must needs be true God is set out in all relations to manifest his great care of his people He is a Father to provide for them * Isa 68.5 A Mother to suckle them * Isa 49.15 Chrit is a Husband to love and protect them * Eph. 5.29 A Brother to counsel them * John 20.17 And when all these Relations meet in one and the same person the result of it must be very strong Any one relation where there is affetion is a great security but here all the relations are twisted together with the highest affections of them in God to the Church A Father will order all for the good of his child a Mother for her Infant a Husband for his Wife and one kind Brother for another So doth God for his People and what soever those Relations bind Men to on Earth in respect of Care Love and Faithfulness that is God to his Church The Church hath that Relation to God which none in the World have besides They are his Jewels therefore he will keep them they are his Children therefore he will spare them * Mal. 3.17 They shall have protection from him as they are his Jewels and compassion from him as they are his Sons The Church is Christs Flesh as dear to him as our flesh is to us as much his as our flesh is ours Eph. 5.29 No man hates his own flesh but nourisheth it as Christ doth his Church No man can have a higher value for hsi own flesh than Christ hath for his Church The Church as Tertullian speaks is nothing else but Christus explicatus Christ unfolded and as considered in union with Christ is called Christ 1 Cor. 12.12 'T is the Apple of his eye Zech. 2.8 A tender and beloved part The Church is Christs Spouse the contract is made the Espousals shall be at the last Day the Members are pick'd out one by one to be presented to the Lamb at last as a Glorious Bride for him Rev. 21.2 And all Gods dealings with them in the World are but preparations of them for that State Upon the making of the Match God promises a communion of Goods Hos 2.20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness which is a fruit of Marriage the Wife being invested in her Husbands Estate When God hath given the blood of his Son for the Church he will not deny her the service of the Creatures but Jointure her in that as one part of her Dowry In that day will I hear the heavens c. ver 21. In what day in the day of betrothing in the day of the Evangelical Administration when the contract shall be made between me and my Church Heavens Earth Corn Wine and Oil the voice and motions of all Creatures are for Jezreel which signifies the seed of God This great Prince he hath a care of all his subjects somore peculiarly of his Spouse and Princess which is his seed too and all Creatures shall be her Servants This Fatherly Relation and Affection is strong and pure not as the love which acts an ambitious man to Ambition or a covetous man to Wealth which respects nothing but the grasping and possessing the Objects they dote upon and have nothing of love for the Objects themselves therefore deserves not the name of Love But it is the love of a Father whose love is pure towards his children He seeks their good as his own Consider these two things 1. God hath a peculiar love to his very Relation and often mentions it with delight as if he loved to hear the sound of it in his own Lips Cant. 8.12 My vineyard which is mine is before me Me My Mine The Church is always under his Eye seated in his Affection and God is pleased with his propriety in them God never calls the World My World though he created it sometimes
communicate the rayes of his love unto since he created it but his Church The men of the World hate him He can see nothing amiable in them for what was first lovely they have defaced and blotted out but the Church hath Gods comliness put upon her Ezek. 16.14 it was perfect through my comliness which I had put upon thee saith the Lord God and he did not lay those glorious colours upon her to manage his government or any part of it against her to deface her Besides their loveliness which is conferred upon them by God they have a love to God and no man will act against those whom he thinks to be his friends God being purus actus there being nothing but purity and activity in God his love must be the purest and highest love the most vigorous and glowing As fire which sets all other Bodies so this all other powers in the World in motion for them God cannot love them but he must wish all good to them and do all good for them for his love is not a lazy love but hath its raptures and tenderness and his affection is twisted with his Almighty Power to work that good for them which in their present condition in the world they are capable of Now it is certain God loves his Church For 1. He carries them in his hand * Deut. 33.3 and that not in a loose manner to be cast out but they are engraven upon the palms of his hands * Isa 49.16 that he cannot open his hand to bestow a blessing upon any person but the picture of his Church doth dart in his eye God alludes to the Rings wherein men engrave the image of those that are dear to them And the Jews did in their captivity engrave the Effigies of their City Jerusalem upon their Rings that they might not forget it * Sanctius in Isa 49.16 If his eye be alway upon the Church his thoughts can never be off it in all his works 2. He loves the very gates and outworks Psal 87.2 the Lord loveth the gates af Sion He loves a Cottage where a Church is more than the stately Palaces of Princes The gates were the places where they consulted together and gave judgment upon affairs God loved the assemblies of his Saints because of the truths revealed the ordinances adminstred the worship presented to him 3. Nay one Saint is more valued by him than the whole World of the wicked God is the God of all Creatures but peculiarly the God of Abraham and of his seed One Abraham is more deeply rooted in his heart than all the World and he doth more entitle himself the God of Abraham than the God of the whole World for in that style he speaks to Isaac Gen. 26.24 I am the God of Abraham thy Father much more the God of Israel The God of the whole Church of which Abraham was but a member though the Father of the faithful and a Feoffee of the Covenant God hath a greater value for one sincere Soul than for a whole City He saves a Lot and burns a Sodom Yea than for a whole World he drowns a World and preserves a Noah He secures his Jewels whilst he flings away the pebbles 4. He loves them so that he overlooks their crabbed and perverse misconstructions of his providence When the Israelites had jealous thoughts of him and of Moses his instrument when they saw that mighty Egyptian Army just at their heels and themselves cooped up between Mountains Forts and Waters God doth not upon this provoking murmuring draw up his cloudy Pillar to Heaven but puts it in the rear of them when before it had marched in the van * Exod. 14.19 and wedgeth himself in between them and Pharaoh's enraged host to shew that they should as soon sheath their swords in his heart as in their bowels and if they could strike them it should be through his own Deity which was the highest expression of his affection And though they often murmured against his providence after they were landed on the shore yet he left them not to shift for themselves but bore them all the way in his arms as a Father doth his Child * Deut. 1.31 and bare them like an Eagle upon his Wings * Deut. 32.11 and God loves them magnificently and royally Hos 14 4 I will love them freely * Hosea 14.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sept 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without any doubting without any reluctancy I will love thee without any repugnancy in my heart to draw me back from thee for mine anger is turned away as the streams of a River quite another way Now all this considered can the Governour of the World the King of Saints act any thing against his own affections Yea will he not make all things subservient to them whom he loves 2. His Delight See what an inundation of sweetning joy there was in him for which he had not Terms of Expression to suit the narrow apprehensions of Men Zeph. 3.17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty he will save he will rejoyce over thee with joy he will rest in his love he will joy over thee with singing He seems in his expression to know no measure of his delight in the Church and no end of it I will rejoyce over thee with joy Joy sparkles up fresh after joy 'T is his rest where his Soul and all that is within him centers it self with infinite contentment Joy over thee with finging A Joy that blossoms into Triumph Never had any such charming transports in the company of any he most affected as God hath in his Church he doth so delight in the graces of his People that he delights to mention them He twice mentions Enochs walking with him * Gen. 5.22 24. And certainly God cannot but delight in it more than in the World because it is a fruit of greater pains than the Creation of the World The World was created in the space of six daies by a Word the Erecting a Church hath cost God more Pains and Time Before the Church of the Jews could be settled he had both a contest with the Peevishness of his People and the Malice of their Enemies And his own Son must bleed and dye before the Church of the Gentiles could be fixed Men delight in that which hath cost them much Pains and a great Price God hath been at too much Pains and Christ at too great a Price to have small delight in the Church will he then let wild Beasts break the Hedges and tread down the fruit of it shall not all things be ordred to the good of that which is the Object of his greatest delight in the World 7. Seventhly The presence of God in his Church will make all providence tend to the good of it It would be an idle useless Presence if it were not operative for their good The Lord is there is the
will not alway be still and refrain himself he seems to do so for a while but when he doth arise he will destroy and devour at once * Isa 42.14 he will make but one morsel of them When God is angry with his people and gives them into the hands of men to execute his Justice upon them and punish them he will even punish those enemies for their Cruelty and going beyond their commission in satisfying there own immoderate Passions upon them Upon this account God threatens Babylon Isa 47.6 I was wroth with my People I have polluted mine Inheritance and given them into thy hand thou didst shew them no mercy Wherupon God threatens them afterwards c. so Zech. 1.15 God was sore displeased with the Heathen for when he was but a little displeased with his people they helped forward the affliction Vse 2. Is for Comfort If all the Providence of God be for the good of the Church If his eyes run to and fro to shew himself strong for them it affords matter of great comfort His Providence is continual for them * Zech. 4. he hath seven pipes to convey kindness to them as well as seven Lamps whereby to discern their streights His Providence is as vast as his Omniscience The number of Pipes belonging to the Candlestick of the Church is exact according to the number of Lamps The Churches Misery cannot be hid from Gods eye let it be in what part of the Earth soever for his eyes run to and fro throughout the whole Earth and his sight excites his strength Upon the sight of their distressed condition he watches only for the fittest opportunity to shew himself strong for them And when that opportunity comes he is speedy in the Deliverance of them Psal 18.10 He rode upon a cherub and did fly yea he did flye upon the wings of the wind He doth not only ride upon a Cherub but flye His wings are nothing but wind which hath the quickest and the strongest motion which moves the greatest bodies and turns down all before it What is for the good of the whole hath an influence upon every member of the Body 1. 'T is comfort in Duties and special Services Nothing shall be wanting for encouragement to Duty and success in it when God calls any to it since all his Providence is for the good of the Church Let there be but sincerity on our parts in our attempts of service upon Gods call and we need not fear a want of Providence on Gods part God never calls any to serve his Church in anystation but he doth both Spirit and encourage them God hath in his common Providence suited the nature of every Creature to that place in which he hath set it in the World and will he not much more in his special Providence suit every one to that place he calls them to for the service of his Church He did not forsake Christ in redeeming his Church neither will he forsake any in assisting his Church When Joseph of Arimathea would boldly demand the body of our Saviour Providence made the way plain before him he meets with no check neither from Pilate nor the Priests * Mat. 27.58 Mark 15.43 2. In meanness and lowness 'T is one and the same God that rules the affairs of the whole World of the Church and of every particular Member of it As it is the same Soul that informs the whole Body the meanest Member as well as that which is most excellent Not the meanest sincere Christian but is under Gods eye for good The Spirit acts and animates every Member in the Church the weakest as well as the most towring Christian Baruch was but the Prophet Jeremy's Amanuensis or Scribe and Servant to Jeremy who was no great man in the World himself yet God takes notice so of his Service that he would particularly provide for him and commands Jeremy in a way of Prophecy to tell him as much Jer. 45.5 I will bring evil upon all flesh but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey whithersoever thou goest 3. In the greatect Judgments upon others In an Epidemical Judgment upon the whole Nation of the Jews God would have a special care of Baruch If he should cast his people far off among the Heathen and scatter them among the Countries yet even there he would be a little Sanctuary unto them His own presence should supply the want of a Temple so he is pleased to express himself * Ezek. 11.16 but how is it possible the great God can be but a little Sanctuary His eye is upon them to see their dangers and his hand upon them to secure them for it His Promise shall shield them and his Wings shall cover them * Psal 91.4 While he hath indignation he hath a secret Chamber for their security * Isa 26.20 An Almighty shadow under which they may abide * Psal 91.1 In times of the most devouring danger he hath a Seal to set upon their foreheads as a mark of his special Protection We never have so much experience of Gods care and strength as in times of Trouble Psal 37.39 He is their strength in time of trouble He is a friend who is as able as willing and as willing as able to help them whose watchfulness over them is as much above their apprehension as it is above their merits 4. In the greatest extremities wherein his people may be there are promises of comfort * Isa 43 2. Both in overflowing waters and scorching fires he will be with them His Providence shall attend his Promise and his Truth shall be their Shield and Buckler Psal 91.4 That surely is a sufficient support Christ thought it so when he only said to his Disciples 't is I be not afraid * John 6.17 18. What though there be a Storm a darkness and trouble 't is I am he The darkness of the night troubles not the Pilot whilst he hath his Compass to steer by If all his providences be for the good of them that fear him he can never want means to bring them out of trouble because he is always actually exercised in governing that which is for their good and till he sees it fit to deliver them he will be with them Great Mercies succeed the sharpest Afflictions * Jer. 30.5 6 7. c. When there should be a voice of trembling and men with their hands upon their Loins as women in Travel and paleness in their faces from the excess of their fears In that day God would break the Yoak from them and they should serve the Lord their God and David their King Though the night be never so dark yet it is certain the Sun will rise and disperse its light next morning and one time or other shew it self in its brightness We have no reason to despond in great extremities since he can think us into safety Psal 40.17 Lord think on
about him our eye cannot pierce through his darkness or see the frame of his counsels yet let these Principles be kept as the Center that Righteousness and Judgment are the habitation of his Throne * Psal 9.2 He is righteous in his darkness wise in his cloudiness though his Judgments are unsearchable to us and his ways past finding out by our most industrious inquisitions and a depth of knowledge and wisdom there is in them too deep for us to measure * Rom. 9.33 God was always Righteous Wise and Good he is the same still Though the motions of the Planets b e contrary yet the Sphere where they are fixed the natures wherewith they were created are the same still Though the Providences of God have various motions yet the Spring of his Counsel the Rule of his Goodness the Eye of his Wisdom the Arm of his Power are not altered He acts by the same Rule disposeth by the same Wisdom orders according to the same Righteousness he is unchangeable in the midst of the changeable effects of Providence The Sun is the same body which admits of no inward alteration keeps exactly its own motion though its appearances are sometimes ruddy sometimes clear its heat sometimes more faint at another time more scorching its distance sometimes nearer sometimes farther off He must be very ignorant that thinks the object upon which we look through a Prisme or Trigonal Glass change their colours as often as they are represented so in the various turnings of the Glass You see the undulations and wavings of a Clain which hangs perpendicularly one part moves this way and another that way but the hand that holds it or the beam to which it is fastned is firm and steddy 2. Distinguish between preparations to the main work and the perfection of the work between the motions of Gods eyes and the discovery of his strength his eyes move before his Power The neglect of this was the cause of the Israelites uncharitable Censures of the kindness of God they interpret Gods reducing them into the Straits near the Red Sea a design for their destruction which was but the preparation for their compleat deliverance in a way most glorious to God and most comfortable and advantagious to themselves He that knows not the use of the Grape Morn de verit Rel. Christian cap. 12. p. 210 211. would foolishly censure a man who should fling them into a Wine-press and squeeze them into mash which is but a preparation of them to afford that generous liquor which was the end of their growth God treads his Grapes in a Wine press to draw from thence a delicate Wine and preserve the juyce for his own use which would else wither upon the stalk and dry up to nothing We judge not the Hosbandman angry with his ground for tearing it with his Plow nor censure an Artificer for hewing his Stones or beating his Iron but expect patiently the issue of the design Why should we not pay the same respect to God which we do to men in their Arts since we are less capable of being Judges of his incomprehensible Wisdom than of the skill of our fellow Creatures God in his cross Providences prepares the Church for fruitfulness whilest he Plows it He may seem to be digging up the Bowels of the Church while he is only preparing to lay the foundation in Sion for the raising a noble structure and in what shape soever he appears in his preparations he will in his perfection of it appear in glory Psal 102.16 When the Lord shall build up Sion he shall appear in glory and evidence that he was restoring whilst we thought him destroying and healing whilst we thought him wounding As God hath setled a gradual Progress in his works of Creation so by degrees he brings his everlasting Counsels to perfection The seasons of the year are not jumbled together but orderly succeed one another the coldness of the Winter is but a preparation for a seasonable Spring and a Summer-Harvest We do not unrighteously accuse God of disorder in his common works why should we do it in his special works of Providence we do not disparage the Musitians skill for the jarring and unintelligble touches in the tuning Instrument but rather wait for the Lesson he intends to play If we stay for Gods fuller Touches of this great Instrument of the World in the way of his Providence it will like Davids Harp chase away that evil Spirit from us which is now too apt to censure him 3. Fix not your eye only upon the sensible operations of providenee but the ultimate end As in a Watch the various wheels have different motions yet all subservient to one end to tell the true hour of the day and the motion of the Sun so are all the Providences of God Should any have been preserved in the Deluge upon some high mountain who had not known the design of the Ark and had seen it floating upon such a Mass of Waters he would have judged the People in it in a deplorable condition and have concluded that it would have broke against a Mountain or been overturned by the Waves yet that was Noah's preservative Had any of us been with Christ acknowledged him the Saviour of the World and yet seen him Crucified in such a manner by men and judged only by that what wise and what just constructeion should we have made of that Providence much the same as some of his Disciples did Luke 24.21 We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel But the whole design is spoiled we were fools and he an Impostor Yet this which seemed to be the ruine of Redemption was the necessary high-way to it by Gods constitution No other way was it to be procured ver 26. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to have entred into his Glory His entrance into Glory to perfect our Salvation was the end of the sensible suffering wherein he laid the foundation As they charge Christ with imposture not considering the end so do we God with unrighteousness when we consider not his aim The end both beautifies and crowns the work The remarks of Gods Glory in the Creation are better drawn from the ends of the Creatures and their joynt subserviency to them than from any one single piece of the Creation We must not only consider the present end but the remote end because God in his Providence towards his Church hath his end for after times God acts for ends at a great distance from us which may not be compleated till we are dead and rotten How can we judge of that which respects a thing so remote from us unless we view it in that Relation Gods aims in former Providences were things to come his aims in present Providences are things to come As the matter of the Churches Prayers so the objects of Gods Providences are things to come Isa 45.11 Ask
for you The manifestation of the Spirit to any man is given to profit withal 1 Cor. 12.7 And this is the great end for which men should seek to excel viz. for the edifying of the Church 1 Cor 14.12 For as much as you are zealous of Spirtual gifts seek that you may excel to the edifying of the Church 2. The gists and common graces of bad men There is something that is amiable in men though they have not grace As in Stones Plants and Flowers though they have not sense there is something grateful in them as colour and smell c. And all those things that are lovely in men are for the Churches good the best life and the worst death things present let who will be the possessor all things between Life and Death are for the good of Believers because they are Christs 1 Cor. 3.22 Whether Paul or Apollo or Cephas or the world i.e. Whether the gifts of the prime lights in the Church or the common gifts of the world are all yours and ye are Christs and Christ is Gods God is the dispencer of them Christ is the Governour of them and all for your sakes As the medicinable qualities of waters are not for the good of themselves but the accommodation of the indigencies of men By the common works of the Spirit God doth keep his children from suffering much evil in the World For it cannot be supposed that the Spirit whose mission is principally for the Church should give such gifts out of love to men which hate him and are not the objects of his eternal purpose but he hath some other ends indoing it which is the advantage of his Church and people and this God causes by the preaching of the Gospel which when it works gracious works in some produceth common works in others for the good of those gracious ones As a seed of corn hath straw husks and chaff come up with it which are shelters to that little seed which lies in the midst so in the preaching of the Gospel there are some husks come up among natural men which God makes to be shelters to the Church as those common works and restraining men through the knowledge of Christ God gives gifts to them not out of love to them but love to his Church As Nurses of great mens Children are fed with better meat than the other Servants not out of any particular personal respect to them but to their office that the milk whereby the child is nourished may be the sweeter and wholesomer were it not for that Relation she must be content with the Diet allowed to the rest of the Servants Some stinking plants may have medicinal virtues which the Physician extracts for the cure of a disease and flings the rest upon the Dunghil God bestows such qualities upon men otherwise unsavoury to him which he draws forth upon several occasions for the good of those that are more peculiarly under his care and then casts them away These gifts are indeed the ruin of bad men because of their pride but the Churches advantage in regard of their excellency and are often as profitable to others as dangerous to themselves As all that good which is in plants and animals is for the good of man so all the gifts of natural men are for the Churches good for they are for that end as the principal next the glory of God because every inferior thing is ordained to something superior as its end Plants are ordained for the nourishment of Beasts and both Plants and Beasts for Men. The inferior men for the service of higher and all for the community yet still there is a higher end beyond those viz. the glory of God to which they are ultimately ordained which is so connected with the Churches good that what serves one serves the other 3. Angels the top Creatures in the Creation are ordered for the good of the Church If the Stars are not Cyphers in the World only to be gaz'd upon but have their influences both upon Plants and Animals As the Sun in impregnating the Earth and enlivening the Plants and assisting the growth of fruits for the good of mankind If the stars have those natural influences upon the sensible world the Angels which are the morning-stars have no less interest as instruments in the government of it The Heathens had such a notion of Daemons working those things which were done in the world but according to the will and order of the supream God The Angels are called Watchers Dan. 4.13 a Watcher and an holy one vers 17. this is by the decree of the watchers and the demand by the word of the holy ones they watch for Gods orders and watch for Gods honour and the Churches good There are orders of state among them for we read of their decree 't is called their decree ministerially as they execute it By way of approbation By way of Authority approbative as they subcribe to the equity and goodness of it As the Saints are said to judge the world not authoritative as in commission with Christ but as they approve of Christs sentence They seem to request those things of God which may make for his glory and they decree among themselves what is fit to be presented to God in order to his glory They cannot endure that men should trample upon Gods authority despoil him of his right and tread down his inheritance and therefore they send such requests to God to act so as men may acknowledg him and his govenment to the intent that the living may know that the most high rules in the kingdoms of men Their care therefore must be for the Chuch since God rules all things in order to that and since that is Gods portion and inheritance so that as they have a care of Gods glory they must also have a care of Gods portion and his peculiar treasure Exod. 25 1. The inward part of the Temple was to be adorned with Cherubims to note the speceial attendance of the holy Angels in the assemblies of the Saints As evil Angels plot against the Church Trap. on Numb p. 58. so good Angels project for it Though in the Scripture we find Angels sometimes employed in affairs of common providence and doing good to them that are not of the Church as one is sent to comfort Hagar and relieve Ishmael upon his cry though he had scoffed at Isaac the heir of the covenant when he was in Abraham's Family * Gen. 21.17 yet for the most part they were employed in the concerns of some of his special Servants Angels thrust Lot out of Sodom * Gen. 19.15 16. An Angel stopt the Lyons mouths when Daniel was in the Den Dan 6.18 My God hath sent his angel and hath shut the lyons mouths God emploies Angels in the preserving and ruining of Empires which is clear in the prophecy of Daniel and some understand Isa 10.34 And lebanon shall fall by