Lord and is highly offensive upon many accounts to Almighty God Who hath appointed Him to take care of our affairs who loves us better than any Saint or Angel can do because he dyed for us and therefore is more inclined to have compassion upon us because he hath that feeling of our infirmities which no Angel was ever touched withal nor any Saint in such a degree as he was Who can also do more for us than all the Angels in Heaven put together being the Lord of Glory Ninthly Which is another thing here clearly revealed the Power and Glory of the Lord Jesus at the right Hand of God We all with open face without any Veil drawn before our Eyes behold as in a Glass the Glory of the Lord as St. Paul speaks 2 Cor. III. ult The Gospel that is which he preached and which we read represents his transcendent Majesty so evidently that our own Face doth not appear more clearly to us in a Glass than Christ is set before us there as advanced far above all Principality and Power to use his words in another place I. Ephes 21. and Might and Dominion and every name that is named not only in this World but also in that which is to come God having put all things under his Feet and given him to be Head over all things to the Church What may we not expect from so great a Prince who hath all things at his command and that for the good of his Church if we faithfully address our selves to God by Him alone Tenthly I might say the like of the rest of the Articles of the Christian Faith which are here plainly taught But I shall only add that as the way and means whereby Christ procured and doth dispense the Divine Grace to us is evidently declared in the Holy Scriptures so is the means whereby we may hope to obtain the Benefit of his Sacrifice Satisfaction and Intercession with God for us Repent and be converted and your sins shall be blotted out III. Acts 19. are words plain enough to be understood And so are these Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will refresh you Take my Yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your Souls XI Matth. 28 29. And these In Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Vncircumcision but Faith working by Love a new Creature or keeping the Commandments of God For in all these terms for the greater clearness sake and that no man may be mistaken is this matter declared by St Paul 1 Cor. VII 19. V. Gal. 6. VI. Gal. 15. And therefore that the Grace of the Gospel teaches us that denying Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present World 2 Tit. II. 12. is as clear as the Sun Nor are the particular duties which belong to every ones place and state less clear and conspicuous than these general lines of our Duty which the Apostle hath drawn in those comprehensive words For when the same Apostle St. Paul directs his Speech as he doth commonly in the latter part of his Epistles unto Masters of Families and Servants unto Husbands and Wives Fathers and Children his Rules are as plain and easie to be understood by us now as they were to those persons who first received them So plain and easie they are unto all Ages so familiar especially to men of meaner rank that I much doubt saith a great Champion of our Church in his Comments on the Creed * Dr. Jackson Lib. 2. Cap. 12. whether the Pope himself and the whole Conclave of Cardinals would be able in this present Age to speak so plainly unto the capacity or so familiarly to the experience of men of their Quality unto whom the Apostle wrote For setting aside the absolute Truth and Infallibility of his Doctrines the manner of delivering them is so familiar so lowly so heartily humble so natural and so well-befitting such mens disposition in their sober thoughts as were impossible for the Pope to attain unto or imitate unless he would lay aside his Court-State and for seven years addict himself unto familiarity with such men in a Pastoral Charge The same may be said concerning his way of speaking when he sets down any other Christian Duties whether private or publick No man could ever pretend any difficulty in this part of the Holy Writings which treat of a Holy Life All the difficulty is in mens wills to be perswaded to consent to be governed by these Laws which they cannot chuse but well enough understand And that they may be perswaded Christ hath left us exceeding great and precious Promises which contain the greatest part of the Gospel-Grace the very end of which is to move us to live soberly righteously and godly Having therefore these promises dearly beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God 2 Cor. VII 1. What words can be more perspicuous than these And with the same clearness these Books pronounce the indispensable necessity of a holy life without which the riches of God's Grace cannot save us Follow peace and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord XII Heb. 14. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers c nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. VI. 9 10. Now the works of the flesh are manifest mark that word adultery fornication uncleanness lasciviousness Idolatry witchcraft hatred variance emulation wrath strife seditions heresies envyings murders drunkenness revellings and such like of which I have told you before in times past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God But the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance against such there is no law And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts If we live in the Spirit let us also walk in the Spirit V. Gal. 19 20 c. What shall I say more All the Promises of God which put us in hope and all his Threatnings which are designed to put us in fear upon which two Hinges all Religion turns are you see already declared so expresly and clearly that there can be no dispute about them For this is the promise which he hath promised even Eternal life 1 Joh. II. 25. and the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness I. Rom. 18. For He will render to every man according to his deeds to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for honour glory and immortality eternal life But to them that are contentious and do not obey the truth but
them for else we shall not use due care not to cross them in our Doctrine if we cross them in our Deeds but rather be content that by false glosses upon other places where the fraud will be less discernable the Light of those glorious Truths should be obscured and the power and force of them enervated and broken For what will not men say and do to defend themselves in their sins even against the clearest Convictions of Gods Holy Word which their bad assections teach them to oppose nay make it their interest to resist And here it may be fit to take this occasion to give a few directions for the right understanding of the Holy Scriptures which if we observe in our reading them we shall not only be preserved from dangerous mistakes but reap great benefit by them And I shall the rather do it because it will be a good introduction to the Third Part of this Discourse I. The first of them is a Rule which is necessary in all Sciences or parts of Knowledge viz to learn easie things first We can have no sound Understanding in the Scriptures unless we will follow their own Method which is to learn first to fear God and keep his Commandments for therein lies the beginning of Wisdom as he often tells us It is against the very direction which the Scripture gives us to be so confident as to venture presently into all the depths that are in it and to lose our time in puzzling our minds to unty the knots of difficult places For they are not to be salved but by those who are well acquainted with what the Scripture principally aims at which it teaches us in plain and easie words and therefore they must be first learnt as our Guides to those things which are of higher contemplation And he who is resolved upon this Method will find plain Truths enow to busie and imploy an honest and pious mind a long time by which he is to prepare and sit himself for more difficult inquiries if it be needful for him to make them Though the truth is ordinary Capacities may safely pass by those things that are hard and obscure and content themselves with the knowledge of easie and perspicuous Doctrines without any further search consulting thereby best for their own ease and quiet and for the Peace of the Church of God And as for those whose profession it is to devote themselves to the study of all Holy Writ even they must be sure for their own safety and others to lay the Foundation well here by thoroughly digesting the Doctrines which are after Godliness and deeply tincturing as I may say their minds therewith before they meddle with other matters For a sense of true Goodness will be as a Light to guide us in the interpreting those things which seem dark and need something to illustrate them And what can we imagine that should be but something contained in the same Book even the true Light of Life the Light which chases away all mens evil desires and the deeds of darkness which makes the Soul pure and without prejudice which disposes it to know God and to love him and to love all men for his sake This will instruct us how to interpret all the rest and not suffer us to entertain any sense of them in our minds which is repugnant to the Nature of God and hinders the practice and increase of true Godliness or prejudices Charity and disturbs Christian Society but conform all our thoughts unto a happy agreement with those great and obvious Truths Which therefore let us observe and mark as the very Life and Soul of Religion nay let us imprint them on our minds as the most necessary to be known and remembred and carried constantly in mind that we may never admit any thing to their prejudice For unless we be thus disposed we shall not only trouble our selves to no purpose but confound all things and overturn the whole Frame of Religion We shall be just like that Fool whom Melancthon speaks of whose work it was to carry fuel daily to the Kitchin and coming to a great Pile of Wood where little pieces lay uppermost and the greatest below he would needs begin at the bottom for which he gave this wise reason That it was good to do the hardest work first and then he should be better able to deal with that which was easie I need not make the application to those who love to perplex themselves with some deep and I may say dangerous Points if not well understood before they are well studied in the common Doctrines of Godliness and have learnt what it is to be a Christian This is a preposterous course contrary to the clear light and guidance of the Holy Books which teach us in the first place to make this inquiry What shall we do to be saved And we are sure none can be saved but they who are obedient to the Lord Jesus whose Faith therefore teaches us to study his Precepts before we meddle with other matters And these Precepts as they are not grievous to those that obey them so they are not hard to be learnt in order to that obedience But whatsoever concerns our Duty to God and Man and the Duty of every particular person in the relation wherein they stand of Parents and Children Husbands and Wives Masters and Servants Princes and People Teachers and Learners are all I have shown delivered here with such plainness and simplicity that no Book in the World ever taught them in this manner About these therefore in all reason together with the common Principles of Christian Faith we must imploy our most earnest care to settle them in our minds and make them the Rule of all the rest But it is not enough to bring these things into our minds I must add another Rule no less necessary than this which is II. That to do what we know is the way to know more what we have to do This I have suggested already in the body of the foregoing Discourse and therefore shall only commend the serious practice of one particular Duty which is so frequently mentioned in the Holy Scriptures that from thence we ought to conclude it is of exceeding great moment It is Humility not to think of our selves more highly than we ought to think nor to be wise in our own conceits but to think soberly and to be lowly in our own eyes There is a number of Precepts of the same import with these the meaning of which he ought to study diligently and then heartily obey who would advance to a higher degree of knowledge for the meek i. e. the humble will he guide in judgment and the meek will he teach his way If a man begin at first to think wrong of himself he is not like to hit right in other things but the easier mistake in them when he hath suffered such a cheat to be put upon him as to have a
foundation as their Masters speak upon which all the precepts depend is this precept of learning the Law which no man can imagine how they should do to such perfection as Moses requires unless they had the benefit of looking into the Book of the Law as often as they pleased Of which that they might be put in mind he took care also that the Law should be read to them publickly every Sabbath day whereby likewise they that could not read if there were any such among them might be assisted to inform their Children by hearing God's Word read unto them in their own language For this is certain that in the Synagogues where they met not for the Ceremonial Worship of God which was performed only at the Temple but for his Moral Service Moses had those that preached him or pronounced his Law with a loud voice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from ancient ages or generations being read in the Synagogues every Sabbath day They are the words of St. James in the first Christian Council XV. Acts 21. Where Grotius observes that it is believed Moses himself was the Author of this practice which the Apostle affirms had been from old times i. e. from the time of the giving of the Law And so Josephus expresly writes in his second Book against Appion where he shews how Moses propounded to the Jews the most excellent and the most necessary of all other Learning viz. the Law not by letting them hear it once or twice or thrice but every seventh day laying aside their other works he commanded them to assemble together for the hearing of the Law and to learn it throughly and exactly For which end his Five Books were anciently divided into so many Sections as there are weeks in the year that the whole by reading one Section every week might be read over once in a year ending at the Feast of Tabernacles At which Feast in the Solemnity of the year of Release which was correspondent to the Sabbath because it was the seventh of years as that was of days Moses required that there should be a more General Assembly of all Israel called to appear before the Lord their God that the Law might be read to men women and children and they might hear and learn and fear the Lord their God and observe to do all the words of this Law as he speaks XXXI Deut. 10 11 12. Where Moses declaring what God had commanded him about this matter the Hebrew Doctors understand those words v. 11. Thou shalt read this Law before all Israel in their hearing to be the Command of God to Moses himself requiring him as he did the Elders and Priests under him to read the Law at this great Solemnity as the Ordinary Levites did every Sabbath day And thence they consequently enough conclude that Joshua after his time and the Judges and the Kings of Israel in succeeding Ages were bound to read publickly in this great Assembly to as many as the largest Court of the Temple would hold the principal things in the Book of Deuteronomy that the people might be moved to have an higher esteem of their Law and more reverently attend unto it For it was of mighty force to excite the people to Religion when the chief Authority in the Nation not only owned it but commended it unto them And because all Israel could not be contained in that Court of the Temple therefore while the King was thus reading there the Levites who were specially appointed for this work did the same in the City of Jerusalem after notice had been given of their intention by a solemn sound of Trumpets Thus care was taken that what he had enjoyned Chap. VI. 7. should not be neglected For if they did forget to whet the Law as the word there signifies upon their Childrens minds they themselves were excited and whetted to their duty by the sound of the Trumpets by this solemn Convocation by the Royal Majesty appearing to awaken their attention and by his Authority pressing the Laws of God upon their Consciences This was the constant work also it might be shown of the Prophets out of whose Books there were Lessons also added in after-times to be read together with those out of the Law of Moses How ancient this was we do not certainly know for some derive it from the times of Ezra others think it began after the Persecution by Antiochus Epiphanes Who forbidding the reading of the Law in their Synagogues they chose some portion out of the Prophetical Books as near to the sense of that Section which should have been read out of the Law as could be found to be read in its stead which when that Persecution was over they thought not fit to lay aside but continued the reading of them both But however that be this is a known truth That when our Lord himself came and as his custom was went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read He took a Lesson out of the Prophets for the subject of his first Sermon at Nazareth IV. Luke 16 17. And that it was after the reading of the Law and of the Prophets that St. Paul stood up and preached to the Jews at Antioch XIII Acts 15. From which Examples the custom of reading two Lessons one out of the Old Testament and another out of the New was very early taken up by Christians in their holy Assemblies and continued so long in the Church it appears by Isidore and Gratian that it was most worthily restored by our Learned and Pious Reformers whose study it was to form such an Order of Divine Service as was most agreeable to the Primitive Patterns Which publick Reading was not intended to hinder their private but to stir them up unto it Insomuch that it is a Maxim among the Hebrews That although a man had heard the Law read in the publick Assemblies on the Sabbath yet he was bound also to read himself the Parascha or Section appointed for that Week For this is the Character which David gives of that Blessed man who walks not in the way of the ungodly His delight is in the Law of the Lord and in his Law doth he meditate day and night Psal I. 2. That is saith the Commentary under the name of St. Hierom reads the Scripture perpetually that he may do the things contained therein And thus Isaiah calls upon them in after Ages saying Seek ye out the Book of the Lord and read no one of these shall fail c. That is when you shall hereafter see some of these things fulfilled get a Copy of the Prophetical Books if you want one seek it diligently as the word denotes till you find it and read and you shall see that there is not one word of what I have said that is not come to pass but events shall exactly answer to these predictions And it is well known that Moses himself in the very beginning took particular care that the