had setled the Ark at Ierusalem and made that City the place of God's House and of Religious Worship and the Seat of Justice and Judgment There was the House of God verse 9. that is though the Temple was not yet built if this Psalm was composed by David as the Title of it signifies it was yet there was the Tabernacle and the Ark of God which formerly was in Shiloh and afterwards removed from one place to another till David setled it in Ierusalem Thither all the Tribes of Israel were to resort three times a year to worship God before the Ark of the Testimony 4 ver There was the Imperial Seat where David had built his Throne and Palace and where his Posterity were to dwell and govern Israel and therefore it was the Seat of Justice too as that must be where the Kings Throne and the House of God was placed There are set thrones of judgment the thrones of the house of David 5. ver These were the peculiar Privileges of Ierusalem above any other City in Iury. This was the reason of that peculiar affection and passionate concern which David had himself and exhorts all others to express for Ierusalem that he greatly rejoiced to go thither and to continue there I was glad when they said unto me Let us go into the house of the Lord our feet shall stand within thy gates Ó Ierusalem That he exhorts all people to pray for the peace and prosperity of Ierusalem and promises a Blessing to those who love it as it is in my Text Pray for the peace of Ierusalem they shall prosper that love thee peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces All this was not for the sake of the material Buildings the beauty of the place or the conveniency of its scituation but because it was the Center of Unity Which is builded as a City that is compact together whither the Tribes go up the Tribes of the Lord unto the Testimony of Israel to give thanks unto the name of the Lord 3. 4. ver Which shews in what respect he commends Ierusalem that it is built as a City which is compact together not with regard to the Uniformity and regular Order and Union of its material Buildings but that it was the Center of a Religious Unity and Order in Worship where all the Tribes of Israel met and united in the same Acts of Worship and Praise to God There was the House of God there were the set Thrones of Judgment So that to Love Ierusalem to Pray for the Peace and Prosperity of it is to love the House the Worship the Name of God to love and pray for the Unity Happiness and Prosperity of the Church for the flourishing State of Religion and the peaceful Opportunities of Worshipping God in his Holy Temple together with the equal and impartial Administration of Justice which is so much for the Publick Good to promote the Temporal and Eternal Happiness of Men that our Love to Mankind but especially our Love to the Brethren as well as our Zeal for God's Glory and Worship requires this of us For my Brethren and Companions sake I will now say Peace be within thee Because of the House of the LORD our GOD I will seek thy good v. 8 9. Thus I have given you a very plain and easy Exposition of this whole Psalm and therein have sufficiently Explained my Text. I have but one thing more to add to make way for my intended Discourse and that is to shew you that this Exhortation does directly and not merely by Accommodation and Analogy concern Us as well as it did the Iews For Ierusalem was but a Type of the Christian Church as the carnal Israel or the carnal Seed and Posterity of Abraham were of true and sincere Christians who are the Children of Abraham by Faith in Christ And therefore St. Paul expresly distinguishes between the earthly Ierusalem and the Ierusalem which descends from above 4. Gal. 25 26. For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to Ierusalem which now is and is in bondage with her Children but Ierusalem which is above or from above that is the Christian Church is free which is the Mother of us all Which in 12. Heb. 22. he calls Mount Sion the city of the living GOD the heavenly Ierusalem And 3. Rev. 12. it is called The city of GOD the new Ierusalem which cometh down out of heaven from GOD. And 21. Rev. 2. The new Ierusalem coming down out of heaven from GOD prepared as a bride adorned for her husband Which is a Description of the most reformed and purified state of the Christian Church on Earth So that this Exhortation To Pray for the Peace of Ierusalem does most properly belong to Christians because the Christian Church is the true Ierusalem the new the holy Ierusalem descending out of Heaven from GOD v. 10. By this time I suppose you understand the meaning of my Text and how much we are concerned in it and there are two parts observable in the words 1. The Duty to Pray for the Peace of Ierusalem or of the Christian Church Peace be within thy Walls and Prosperity within thy Palaces 2. The Encouragement to this They shall prosper that love thee It is the first of these I shall at present speak to The Duty to Pray for the Peace of Ierusalem wherein I shall consider two things 1. What we must Pray for 2. How necessary Prayer is to obtain these Blessings I. What we must pray for Peace and Prosperity Peace be within thy Walls and Prosperity within thy Palaces Now the Peace of the Church signifies two things 1. The Unity and Agreement of Christians among themselves 2. The Preservation of the Church from external Oppressions and Persecutions 1. The Unity and Agreement of Christians among themselves When they profess the same Faith and join in the same Worship when they love like Brethren and have a tender affection and sympathy for each other as Members of the same Body This all Christians confess to be a great and necessary Duty and pretend to lament the many scandalous Dissentions and Divisions of the Christian Church This I am sure that though Divisions and Dissentions are destructive to all Societies yet there is no Society suffers so much by it as the Christian Church This destroys Love and Charity which is the true Spirit of the Gospel and the Badge and Cognizance of our Profession By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye love one another This turns the Christian Church into a School of wrangling Disputes and makes men more concerned what they believe than how they live this gives great offence to the World representing the Christian Faith as very doubtful and uncertain and Christianity it self as a great Disturber of the Peace of Mankind this overthrows all Government and Discipline in the Church and makes its Censures despised and scorned when the most
we suffer for if God has not sent them they can bring us no Message from God And yet most Men are in some degree infected with this Disease We suffer many Evils which we are not willing to ascribe to God and then we learn nothing from them but a little Worldly Policy and Prudence to take better care of our selves and our Affairs to be jealous and distrustful of Men or it may be to watch our Opportunities to revenge the Injuries we suffer and to return them with Interest And yet we profess to believe a Providence though it were as Honourable to God to deny his Providence as to deny his Sovereign Disposal and Government of all Events or rather they are both an equal Reproach to him For a Providence which does not take care of Creatures is little worth and we cannot say that God takes care of his Creatures if any Evil befals them without his Will and Appointment But Natural Conscience sees the Hand of God in all the Evils we suffer Whatever the visible and immediate Causes and Instruments of our Sufferings are a guilty Conscience takes notice of the Divine Vengeance the Terrors of God take hold upon him and he trembles before his Judge though he do not see him he is afraid of God when he feels only the Hands of Men. And what is the meaning of this What is the Language of these guilty Fears but that whatever the Rod be that strikes it is moved and directed by a Divine Hand that the Wickedness and Injustice the Wrath and Fury of Men is no other than the Vengeance of God For why should the Evils we suffer from Men so terrifie a guilty Conscience had we not a Natural Persuasion that all these Evils are sent by God whoever are the Instruments of them Thus it is natural in all such Cases to fly to God for help Atheists themselves cannot wholly prevent this but when they are surprized with any sudden Dangers Nature is too quick and too powerful for their Philosophy and surprizes them into an Acknowledgment of God and a Providence which they must do Penance for when their Fright is over Sinners who forget God in Prosperity fly to him in their Distress remember that God is their Rock and the High God their Redeemer And if this be a Natural Acknowledgment of Providence as it certainly is it owns the Hand of God in our Sufferings as well as his Power to save for both equally belong to the Supreme and Sovereign Lord of the World and it is not meerly his Power to help which makes Sinners fly to God in their Distress but a Sense of his Anger in what they suffer They do not fly to God as Men do to a powerful Patron but as Criminals do to the Mercy of a provok'd Father or Prince When they fly to God it is to implore his Mercy as humble Penitents to appease his Anger that he may remove his Judgments and when we fly to the Mercies of God to remove the Rod it is an Acknowledgment that it is â—…e that strikes as well as he alone that can save And that Conscience judges right in all this however some Men may attribute it to a Superstitious Education is evident from Scripture which expresly tells us That God doth whatsoever pleaseth him both in Heaven and in Earth That none can stay his Hand or resist his Will or say unto him What dost thou That there is no Evil in the City which the Lord hath not done If Iob be stript of all his large Possessions in a day it is the Lord that gave and the Lord that taketh away If the mighty King of Assyria invade Israel and lay waste their Cities and Country he is the Rod of God's Anger and the Staff in his Hand is his Indignation Isa. 10. 5 6. Affliction cometh not forth of the Dust neither doth Trouble spring out of the Ground but God is the Iudge he putteth down one and setteth up another Psal. 75. 7 8. This shews us that whatever our Sufferings are it is God that appoints the Rod and then it must nearly concern us 2dly To hear the Rod what and to whom it speaks Now in this Case also Conscience and the Word of God are the best Interpreters of God's Judgments The Rod teacheth another way but teacheth the same thing that Conscience and Scripture teach us that is it proclaims aloud the Evil of Sin and God's Anger and Displeasure against it and calls us to Repentance and Reformation of our Lives When the Judgments of God are upon us Conscience knows their Errand and calls all our Sins to remembrance and sets them in order before us Nothing but Guilt makes us afraid of God and how quiet and secure soever Sinners are at other times the Judgments of God will awaken their guilty Fears and if Men will hearken to the Voice of an awaken'd Conscience it will certainly tell them why God strikes and we cannot take a safer Course than to reform those Sins of which our Consciences then accuse us All the Threatnings of Scripture are against Sin and all the Judgments there recorded especially Publick and National Judgments were inflicted for the Punishment of Sin and these are to be our Examples as they are the standing Rules and Measures of Providence God never punishes but for Sin though he may exercise particular good Men with difficult Trials and therefore when bad Men and a wicked Nation suffer they may certainly know the Cause they have sinned and God is angry and summons them to Repentance for this is the fruit of all to take away Sin The Voice of Judgments is the same with the Voice of Conscience and the Voice of God's Prophets Wash 〈◊〉 make ye clean put away the Evil of â—…our Doings from before mine Eyes Cease to do Evil learn to do well seek Iudgment relieve the Oppressed judge the Fatherless plead for the Widow Isa. 1. 16 17. This is plain enough and sufficiently known if it were but sufficiently laid to Heart and this is all that we are concerned to know of the Judgments of God The secret and hidden Deâ—…gns of Providence which many times surpize the World with unexpecteâ—… Events are the Care of God anâ—… belong not to us till the Scene oâ—… pens and we see what part is alloâ—… ted us in it Whatever God be aâ—… doing we have nothing to do but tâ—… amend our Lives which will removâ—… the Scourge from us and entitle us tâ—… the Care and Protection of Providencâ—… Whereas to busie our selves with Poliâ—… tick or Prophetick Guesses at unknowâ—… Events to paint our Imaginations witâ—… black and frightful or with gay anâ—… charming Scenes of Things as despondâ—… ing Fears or sanguine Hopes inspire thâ—… Prophet can do us no good but may dâ—… a great deal of hurt to our selves anâ—… the World This is not the Voice oâ—… the Rod which makes no new Reveâ—… lations to us but only awakens thâ—…
SERMONS Preach'd upon Several Occasions Some of which were never before Printed By W. SHERLOCK D. D. Dean of St. Paul's Master of the Temple and Chaplain in Ordinary to his Majesty LONDON Printed for William Rogers at the Sun over-against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet 1700. TO THE READER ALL the Account I have to give of publishing this Volume of Sermons is only this that most of them were printed before by public Authority or by such Applications as to me were equivalent to Commands And my Bookseller having a mind to reprint those Sermons which he had an interest in desired me to add some few more to make a just Volume The choice I have made of such as I have added was not for the sake of any curious Composition or new Conceits much less for Wit and Satyr But I chose such as I hoped might be most useful in such an 〈◊〉 as this And if they shall do any good which I heartily beg of God they may I have all that I aimed at Will. Sherlock ERRATA PAge 25. line 3. for been treated read be entreated p. 44. f. indispesanble r. indispensible p. 46. l. 27. f. owes r. our p. 193. l. ult for in r. and p. 239. l. 18. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 404. l. 21. f. they r. the. p. 413. l. 3. f. whensoever r. whencesoever â—…p 485. l. 8. f. nor r. not p. 526. l. 3. r. one thing r. Sermon 18 instead of 19. The CONTENTS THE Nature and Means of Church-Unity Sermon I. 122. Psal. 6 7. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem they shall prosper that love thee Peace be within thy Walls and Prosperity within thy Palaces The faithful and wise Servant a Funeral-Sermon Serm. II. 24. Matth. 45 46. Who then is a faithful and wise Servant whom his Lord hath made Ruler over his Houshold to give them meat in due season Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing The Measures of Providence towards the Church Serm. III. 77. Psal. 10 11 12. And I said this is my infirmity but I will remember the Years of the right hand of the Most High I will remember the works of the Lord surely I will remember thy wonders of old I will meditate also of all thy works and talk of all thy doings The Temptation of Christ in the Wilderness Serm. IV. 4. Matth. 1. Then was Iesus led up of the Spirit into the Wilderness to be tempted of the Devil The Charity of lending without Usury Serm. V. 4. Luke 35. But love your enemies and do good and lend hoping for nothing again and your reward shall be great and ye shall be the children of the Highest for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil A wounded Spirit an unsupportable Evil. Serm. VI. 18. Prov. 14. The Spirit of a Man will sustain his infirmity but a wounded Spirit who can bear St. Paul ' s Choice a Funeral Sermon Serm. VII 1 Phil. 23 24. For I am in a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you A Sermon upon the Queen's Death Serm. VIII 39. Psal. 9. I was dumb and opened not my mouth because thou didst it The Nature and Measure of Charity Serm. IX 2 Cor. 8. 12. For if there be first a willing mind it is accepted according to that a Man hath and not according to that he hath not The danger of corrupting the Faith by Philosophy Serm. X. 2. Col. 8. Beware lest any man spoil you through Philosophy and vain deceit after the traditions of Men after the rudiments of the World and not after Christ. TheFolly and Unreasonableness of Deism Serm. XI 14. Joh. 1. Ye believe in God believe also in me The Language and Interpretation of Judgments Serm. XII 6. Micah 9. The Lord's voice crieth unto the City and the Man of wisdom shall see thy name Hear ye the rod and who hath appointed it The Divine Presence in Religious Assemblies Serm. XIII 96. Psal. 9. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness The Use of Music in Religious VVorship Serm. XIV 81. Psal. 1 2. Sing aloud unto God our strength make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take a Psalm and bring hither the Timbrel the pleasant Harp with the Psaltery The nature and evils of a vicious Self-love Serm. XV. 2 Tim. 3. 1 2. This know also that in the last days perillous times shall come for Men shall be lovers of their own selves The Reasonableness of Faith and the Preference of unseen things Serm. XVI 2 Cor. 4. v. 18. While we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal The danger of confounding the Distinctions of Good and Evil. Serm. XVII 5. Isa. 20 21. Wo unto them that call evil good and good evil that put darkness for light and light for darkness that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Wo unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own Sight The Progress of VVickedness and the Difficulties thereof Serm. XVIII 5. Isa. 20 21. Wo unto them that call evil good and good evil that put darkness for light and light for darkness that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Wo unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight To the Right-Honourable Sir Iohn Chapman LORD-MAYOR OF THE City of LONDON My Lord IN obedience to the Order I received from your Lordship and the Court of Aldermen I Present you with this plain Sermon the whole Design of which is not to debate any thing nor to determine on which side the Truth lies in those warm Disputes which have been among us but to convince all those who Love and Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem how many Controversies there are which should be laid aside without Disputing and how a little condescention to each other may either happily Unite us into one Communion or at least Teach us to Live together in Love and Charity notwithstanding some different Apprehensions of Things and I hope so Charitable a Design as this will raise no new Disputes and Quarrels among us That GOD would preserve his Church restore Peace and Unity among Christians bless this Great and Populous City and direct your Lordship in the Government of it in these difficult Times is the hearty Prayer of MY LORD Your Lordship 's Most Obedient Servant WILL. SHERLOCK SERMON I. Preach'd before the Lord-Mayor at Guildhall-Chappel on Sunday November 4. 1688. CXXII PSALM 6 7. Pray for the peace of Ierusalem they shall prosper that love Thee Peace be within thy Walls and Prosperity within thy Palaces THough the particular time and occasion of Penning this Psalm is uncertain yet so much is plain that it was after David
to his Lord what Love was this to the Souls â—…f Men it is certainly the most perâ—…ect imitation of the Love of Christ â—…at is possible to Man Christ so â—…oved us as to come down from Heaven to live a laborious Life and â—…o die an accursed Death for us this great Apostle so loved his Lord and so loved the Souls of Men that â—…e made it his choice to stay some time out of Heaven and to encounter all the Miseries and Terrours of this Life to serve Christ and his Church Where is this Divine Spirit now to be found Let us my beloved Brethren who are entrusted also with the Care of Souls by the great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls blush to think how far short we fall of this Example let this inspire us with a flaming Love and Zeal for the Souls of Men for whom Christ died and make us at least contented to deny our selves some of the Ease and Security and Pleasures of Life to serve the Church of Christ which he hath purchased with his own blood But to keep my self within some Bounds I shall briefly Discourse on these two Heads which are very proper for this Occasion and very proper to my Text. First The great Rewards of faithful Pastors and Ministers of Christ and how much it is for their advantage to be removed out of this World St. Paul was very sensible of this which made him desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better Secondly How necessary the Lives of such Men are to the Church and what a great loss it is when God removes them out of it Nevertheless to abide in the Flesh is more needful for you 1. Let us then consider in the first place the great Rewards of the faithful Ministers of Christ and how much it is for their advantage to depart and to be with Christ. Now I do not here intend a comparison between Heaven and Earth Good God! what different things are these and what Christian doubts whether Heaven be a happier Place than this World Heaven whither no Troubles or Sorrows can follow us no persecuting Sword no persecuting Tongue where we shall be delivered from all the Wants Necessities and Infirmities of the Body from â—…unger and Cold and Nakedness â—…m wracking Pains and languishing â—…cknesses where there is eternal Ease â—…d Rest and Joy without labour â—…ithout discontents without quarrels â—…here our Souls shall be perfected in â—…owledge and in love where we â—…all dwell in the Presence of God see â—…m as he is and know him even as â—…e are known where we shall dwell â—…ith Christ adore his Love behold â—…s Glory and be transformed our â—…lves into the likeness and image of â—…s Glory We have but obscure imâ—…rfect Conceptions of these things â—…w Heaven will out-do our highest â—…xpectations as much as the most â—…erfect state of Happiness in this World â—…ways falls short of what we expectâ—… and this is the case of all good â—…en it is a mighty happy Change â—…ey make when they remove from â—…arth to Heaven But there are different Degrees of Glory in the next World proportionâ—…d not only to our different attainâ—…ents in Virtue but to those different Trusts in Services which we have been employed in and have faithfully discharged here We read of the Reward of a Prophet that he who gives a Cup of cold Water to a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shall have a Prophet's Reward which must signify some peculiar Reward that shall be bestowed on Prophets We know so little of the other World that we cannot conceive what these different Rewards shall be The Prophet Daniel represents it by an external Glory 12. Dan. 3. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever But our Saviour represents this by a different degree of Rule and Empire 12. Luke 42 43 44. And the Lord said Who then is that faithful and wise steward whom his Lord shall make ruler over his houshold to give them their meat in due season This is the honourable Character of Gospel Ministers in this World that they are Rulers in God's houshold to instruct and feed them with the Word of Life and their Reward is proportioned to their Work Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing Of a truth I say unto you That he will make him ruler â—…ver all that he hath What this Rule â—…ignifies in the other World is a Mysteâ—…y to us especially since we have â—…ancied the other World to be only a State of Contemplation not of Actiâ—…n where we shall have nothing to do â—…ut to see God and to love and to praise him but no service to do for â—…im but we know there are different â—…orders of Angels who are employed in great Trusts and Offices Arch-Angels Angels Thrones Dominions Principalities and Powers which are names of Rule and Government though we know not what their Power and Authority is nor how they Govern in like manner our Saviour promises his Apostles Verily I say unto you that ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel 19. Matth. 28. The like we may see in the Parable of the Pounds and Talents He who hath gained ten Pounds had Rule over ten Cities and he who gained five Pounds had Rule over five Cities for these Servants to whom the Lord gave these Pounds and Talents to improve plainly signify his Stewards and the Ministers of his spiritual Kingdom for no other Persons have in so peculiar a manner this honourable Character of the Servants of Christ throughout the Gospel And if there be Order and Government among the Angels themselves Why should we think that there is nothing like this among glorified Saints If Angels are the Ministers of God there is no reason to think that Heaven is a State of meer Rest and Contemplation especially when Happiness consists in Action And if Christ have any Ministers of his spiritual Kingdom in the next World it is most reasonable to think that those shall have the greatest Authority and be employed in the noblest Services who have been his faithful Stewards and Ministers in this World For the Church on Earth and in Heaven is the same Church though their State be very different and therefore they do not lose their relation to Christ nor their station in his Church by removing to Heaven It is a Sacerdotal Kingdom our High Priest is King and therefore a Priest of Iesus how mean soever this be thought now will be one of the highest Characters in Heaven What the Happiness of this is we cannot tell but we know that there are no empty Titles in Heaven but every degree of Dignity there signifies a peculiar degree of Happiness