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duty_n	christian_n	day_n	lord_n	1,759	5	4.1527	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51916	Sermons preach'd on several occasions by John March ..., the last of which was preach'd the twenty seventh of November, 1692, being the Sunday before he died ; with a preface by Dr. John Scot ; to which is added, A sermon preach'd at the assizes, in New-Castle upon Tine, in the reign of the late King James.	March, John, 1640-1692.; Scott, John, 1639-1695.	1699 (1699)	Wing M583; ESTC R18158	123,796	330

justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this man hath done nothing amiss And he said unto Iesus Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom And Iesus said unto him Verily I say unto thee to day thou shalt be with me in Paradise AS Repentance is owned by all sorts of Christians to be a Duty of absolute necessity and consequently most seasonable to be performed at all times so they do not deserve the Name of Christians who refuse to set about a Duty of such great importance in this time of Lent I have already pressed this Duty on you by several Arguments One you may remember was taken from that Obedience which we owe to our Lawful Superiours He has not the least spark of Loyalty in him who does not acknowledge our Obedience is due to those Commands of our Superiours which concern indifferent things And sure then he must not pretend the least tittle to Loyalty who lives in actual disobedience to the known Commands of his Superiors when they require things of the greatest importance and most absolute necessity Now we all know that our Superiours call upon us to Repent in this season of Lent and I hope we will all acknowledge that Repentance is a Duty of greatest importance and most absolute necessity Where then is that Loyalty we use to boast of Will he think you obey his Superiors in smaller matters who denies obedience in matters of greatest concernment and of Eternal importance to his own Soul But because I know it is easie for some to boast of their Loyalty when in truth they either know not what it means or at least are unwilling to give the truest demonstrations of it I have urged other Arguments drawn from the consideration of that Glorious Prize God proposes unto sincere Penitents and those Dreadful Punishments which are threatned the Impenitent Hope and Fear are the great Hinges on which Human Nature is made to move And one would think Arguments which alarm two such powerful Passions of the Soul should not want success but prevail with sinners of what size soever to ingage themselves in this important Duty And yet experience sadly informs us that neither Heaven nor Hell neither the Hopes of the one nor the Fears of the other can perswade the generality of Men to repent of their sins Sure then there is some considerable Stumbling block in the way something more than ordinary that makes men so careless and negligent in the performance of this Duty And indeed there is a very great Stumbling-block in the way For tho' all Christians acknowledge Repentance to be a work of absolute necessity yet they believe it may be done sufficiently when they are a dying They think they may safely dedicate the fair Blossoms of their Youth to Sin and Satan provided they are careful to bequeath their Souls to God in their last Will and Testament and they are highly incouraged to this vain and most dangerous belief by the Example of the penitent Thief in the Gospel For this Reason I have chosen this portion of Scripture at this time all the Parts of which I do not intend to examine at this time but only shew you from them these two things First That there is no encouragement at all for a late Death-bed Repentance in the Example of the penitent Thief And Secondly From the Example of the Impenitent Thief shew you that a late Repentance is a thing most dangerous if not in some sort impossible First Let us Enquire what little encouragement there is for a late Death-Bed Repentance in the Example of this penitent Thief Indeed this famous Story of the penitent Thief seems at first view to give great encouragement to a late Death-bed Repentance It is I confess a Relation of a Dying-man one laden with many and great sins Sins of such an heinous Nature as deserved by his own Confession the greatest of Punishments to wit that of the Cross. As he had spent his whole Life in Robbing and Stealing sins which seldom want the company of other Enormities so when he was upon the Cross he joyned also at the first with the other Thief in reviling our Saviour hence the other Evangelists tells us in the Plural Number that the Thieves reviled him So great so notorious a sinner was this poor Thief and yet upon his turning to God at the last gasp upon his humble Confession of his Faults and expressing his sorrow for them his Pardon is sealed the Arms of Mercy open themselves wide to embrace him and Christ gives him a Promise that his Soul should be with him that very day in Paradise And since these things are so who dares now bode ill to the Clinicks of our Age those I mean who add drunkenness to thirst and thirst to drunkenness who labour daily to swear God Almighty out of Heaven who with Solomon's Young-man rejoyce all the days of their Youth walk in all the ways of their own Hearts and in the sight of their own Eyes Why should we say they disturb our Mirth and Jollity with the melancholy Thoughts of Religion It is time enough to think of Heaven when we shall be allowed to stay no longer upon Earth A few salt Tears at the Hour of Death a little Confession to a Priest attended with sighs and groans will be a sufficient atonement for our former Miscarriages God's Mercy which was sufficient for this penitent Thief will also serve our turns at the last and therefore Ministers shall never make us out of love with our darling Lusts we are not such Fools as to be cheated so easily of all our Pleasures Let them if they can impose upon Vulgar Hearers we are too Learned ever to be perswaded to begin so soon to think of Heaven and Eternity But how sadly how fatally are such Presumptous sinners mistaken Tho' the Text be a Relation of a Dying man returning from great sins to God yet it is attended with extraordinary Circumstances such as will make even the boldest Sinner to tremble and I hope be so wise as to make more early Provisions for his Immortal Soul For in some things this Example is vastly different from their Condition and in many others it is above their imitation so that if they will but seriously consider all Circumstances they will find them so remarkable and so extraordinary that this Example can be no safe Rule for them to walk by For 1st Let us consider that in all probability this was the first Call that was given this Thief to repent it was the first opportunity that was offer'd him to be acquainted with Christ. The Scripture says nothing at all to the contrary and Ecclesiastical History may confirm us in this belief Hear what account St. Austin gives of this penitent Thief Ad consequendam fidem non fuit illi extrema hora sed prima Nec Religionem ante nec Christum scivit Non remedia status sui in momenta ultima

advantages and priviledges of his Holy Ordinances Indeed our sins call aloud for such heavy Judgments Our Superiours both in Church and State have acknowledged for us that prophane Swearing Perjury Drunkenness and a violation of God's Sabbaths have sadly made this Land to mourn And may we not add a great contempt of God's Word a misusing of his Messengers a slighting of his Ordinances besides those Factions and Schisms which abound among us And may not God justly visit for these things Oh then it is time that we should all smite upon our Breasts and return unto the Lord with humiliation and repentance that our iniquities may not be our ruin but every kind of Repentance will not serve the turn the Greek word in the Text is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Lactantius translates mutationes mentis in melius that is a change of the Mind from worse to better not a change of the Looks or hanging down the Head like a Bullrush for all this may be done by a Pharisee or an Hypocrite It is not a change of our Apparel or a putting on of Sackcloath for such humiliation and repentance may be performed by a wicked Ahab but the Repentance of the Text denotes a real change of the Mind or as the Prophet Ioel describes it a turning unto the Lord with all our Hearts Chap. 2. 12. Such a Repentance as this will make us fruitful in every good word and work and pay an universal Obedience to all God's Commandments it will make us reform our Lives honour God's Gospel value his Ordinances and have no hand in the encouraging those Schisms and Divisions which are amongst us This is the Repentance Christ recommends and if it be carefully Practised by us we may prevent the heavy Judgment of the Text and procure the continuance of the Gospel amongst us which God Almighty grant for the sake of Jesus Christ c. The Grace of our Lord Iesus Christ and the Love of God c. SERMON III. 2 Pet. iii. 28. But Grow in Grace IT is a Famous Dispute among Papists and Protestants where St. Peter was when he wrote this and his former Epistle The Papists would have him to be at Rome that they may the better establish their Papal Monarchy and derive the Succession of their Bishops from that great Apostle But St. Peter himself tells us that he was at Babylon 1 Pet. 5. 13. The Church that is at Babylon elected together with you saluteth you Indeed St. Iohn in his Book of the Revelations takes Babylon in a mystical sense for Rome which well became his prophetick and mystical style but there is no reason to believe that St. Peter who in these Epistles writes no Prophesie but only plain Instruction for the dispersed Iews should take Babylon in any other than a Literal Sense namely for that Antient and famous City which was the Metropolis of Chaldea and indeed there are sundry Arguments to induce this belief As First St. Paul who about this time wrote this Epistle to the Romans makes no mention at all of St. Peters being then at Rome notwithstanding he sends Commendation to all that were of Eminency in the Church Secondly It is agreed on by both Papists and Protestants that the Apostleship of the Iews was in a peculiar manner committed to St. Peter as that of the Gentiles was to St. Paul This St. Ierom calls Principale Mandatum the main of their Commission from whence it necessarily follows that St. Peters chief imployment must be where the greatest numbers of Iews were Now it is certain that Babylon in Chaldea was the place where the Iews resided in greatest numbers after their Captivity Thirdly St. Peter directs his Epistles to the Iews scattered throughout Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia which all belonged to the Jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Babylon Fourthly St. Peter writing to these dispersed Iews rehearseth several Nations where they resided as Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia but leaves out Chaldea where they resided in greatest numbers which he would never have done had not Chaldea been the place from whence he wrote these Epistles I shall add but one Argument more from Acts 18. 2. where we are told that Claudius Caesar commanded all the Iews to depart from Rome so that we may conclude St. Peter would not keep his residence there where he wanted his Flock committed to his Charge and therefore it is more rational to believe he resided at Babylon where vast numbers of the Iews resided also I have premised thus much to prove that St. Peter wrote these two Epistles from Babylon in Chaldea because it will follow from hence that the Papists have not one Text of Scripture to found their belief of St. Peters being at Rome tho' on it depends their whole Papal Monarchy For this is the only Text they pretend to and you see how little it makes for their purpose so that they have nothing but human Testimony to build this great Article of their Faith upon and that such as is derived from Papias a weak credulous person as Eusebius stiles him By this time you will in some measure understand the Place from which and the Persons to whom St. Peter writes and being shortly as he tells them to put off his Earthly Tabernacle we need not doubt the excellency of those Instructions he bequeaths to the Iews All which he concludes with the most important words of the Text Grow in Grace For the better understanding of which First We will first consider the Duty it self Grow in Grace Secondly We will enquire what is that degree or stature of Grace a Christian must grow to before he can assure himself of Eternal Salvation Thirdly Whether any farther growth in Grace be attainable in this Life Fourthly What Reasons and Encouragements we have to endeavour after the highest degrees of Grace I begin with the first of these First Namely to consider the Duty it self which is to Grow in Grace A Christians life must be a continual progress in Holiness he must not with Hercules erect his Pillars and write a non ultra upon them saying hitherto will I go and no farther for true Grace is of a growing and multiplying Nature so that the good Christian must not be content with his present attainments but with St. Paul he must always be pressing forward forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before To this purpose is that Character Solomon gives of the just Man Prov. 4 18. The Paths of the Iust is as the Shining Light that shineth more and more unto the perfect Day He is not like Iosuahs Sun that stood still in the Firmament much less like Hezekiahs which went ten degrees backward but he is like Davids Sun which cometh forth as a Bridegroom out of his Chamber and rejoyceth as a Giant to run his Race Now this growth in Grace denotes at least these two blessings First The getting

Curiosity is another unhappy Cause of Schisms and Divisions Christ has given us a Rule to walk by and the Holy Scriptures contain all things necessary to be believed in order to Salvation And so long as men hold fast that form of sound words which was at first delivered to the Church there can be no danger of Schisms and Divisions But curiosity makes men desire to be wise above what is written and consequently disturb the Peace and Tranquility of the Church This St. Paul foresaw when he commanded Timothy to charge some That they give no heed to Fables and endless Genealogies which minister Questions rather than Godly Edifying 1 Tim. 1. 4. and Chap. 6. 3 4. he condemns such as dote about Questions and Dispute about Words whereof cometh Envy Strife Railings and Surmises 4. Self-love is another unhappy Cause of Schisms and Divisions This is the strongest and most violent Passion of the Soul and therefore St. Paul gives it the precedence of all the rest 2 Tim. 3. 2. It is a true saying of Luthers Societies would continue longer than they do if it were not for this little Pronoun Ego I my self For whilst Men prefer their own Interest before the Publick whilst they seek their own things rather than the things of Jesus Christ and his Church they tear his seamless Coat in pieces and make unhappy Divisions among Christians To prevent therefore these Divisions St. Paul gives this Advice amongst others Let nothing be done through strife Look not every man on his own things but also on the things of others Phil. 2. 3 4. Thus I have shewn you what are the Causes of Schisms and Divisions in the Church and so long as these Causes remain we must expect the fatal consequences of them so long as the Devil is allowed to go about as a Roaring Lion seeking whom he may devour so long as he has mens Lusts and Passions to join with him in the Work so long as he can imploy such Instruments as the Ambitious Covetous Curious and Lovers of themselves he will be able to disturb the Peace of God's Church Indeed God has power sufficient to prevent these Divisions he can create a firm and lasting peace among Christians But as St. Cyprian speaks Fieri haec Dominus permittit patitur manente propriae libertatis arbitrio The Lord saith he suffers these Divisions to be in his Church because he leaves men to act according to the liberty of their Wills God does not imploy his irresistible power in keeping men from Schism more than from other sins But having forbidden it with all the solemnity imaginable having discyphered the damnable nature of it and prest Christians by innumerable and those most powerful Motives to keep this Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace he leaves them to act for themselves in this as in other matters appointing a day in which he will judge and punish everlastingly such as dare to disturb the Peace of his Church We need not wonder then if men be Traytors to the Church as well as to the State if they rebel against Christ as well as against their Prince seeing God leaves men at liberty to commit this as well as any other sin Now if any should put the Question why God leaves men thus to their liberty Tho' I might chastise such curiosity with Solomons Answer Eccles. 7. 10. who tells such Curious Persons That they do not enquire wisely concerning this matter yet since St. Paul has furnisht me with a more satisfactory reply in the Text I shall return them this Answer in my third General Namely Thirdly That God's design in suffering these Schisms and Divisions is to discover the rottenness of some and the integrity of others This may easily be gathered from the Text where St. Paul tells us That there must be Heresies that they who are approved may be made manifest It is a Golden Sentence of St. Austin That God who is Infinitely Good would never suffer Evil but that being also Omnipotent he is able to extract Good out of Evil. When God suffers Schisms and Divisions to befall his Church his design is to discover to the World the Rottenness of some and the Integrity of others It may be said of Religion what good old Simeon said of Christ the Author of it It is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel So long as Religion prospers and flourishes in the World Hypocrites and the worst of Atheists will be content to own it But if at any time it falls into Distress or labours under Persecution then they fall off like Leaves in Autumn Indeed as St. Cyprian observes Nemo existimet bonos Ecclesia posse discedere None can imagin saith he that Good Men will abjure the Communion of God's Church as he goes on the Wind drives not away the solid Wheat but the Chaff the Storm may overturn the weaker Shrubs but the sturdy Oak gains strength and firmness by the Tempest To the same purpose is that of St. Iohn 1 Iohn 2. 19. They went out from us but they were not of us for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not of us Times of Division are times of Trial and do as the Father speaks in some sort anticipate the day of Iudgment for at such times the Tares will gather themselves into Bundles and leave the purer Corn without any mixture in the Field of the Lord Sound Believers will now be known from Hypocrites and though the Church may not be crouded with such numbers as it was before yet its greatest loss will be only of rotten Members It will now be able to discern its Friends from its Foes And tho' an Acacius an Ecebolius and such like Changlings may serve the Times and themselves more yet all sincere Christians will think it both their Duty and Honour to adhere couragiously to the Church of God which brings me to the fourth General proposed Namely Fourthly To shew you that those are truly Noble and Honourable Persons who continue steadfast in the Communion of God's Church amidst these Schisms and Divisions which arise in it These are the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the approved ones in the Text. The Greek word which is here rendred Approved is a Metaphor taken from Gold tried in the Fire We know such a trial makes its solidity and lustre shine the brighter yea it is now valued at an higher rate than it was before Even so Christians when they continue steadfast amidst Schisms and Divisions it renders them much more honourable than they were before There is an advantage saith Plutarch which men receive from their very Enemies had there been no Trojan Wars Hector's Valour had never been so renowned and the greater the violence of a Tempest is the more highly does it commend the skill of the Pilot Even so the integrity of Orthodox Christians

punishments He tells Christians in the foregoing Verse that the Iews for transgressing the Law of Moses were to receive a just recompence of reward how then saith he shall we escape if we neglect the much greater Salvation of the Gospel fairly intimating that Christians as they have greater Priviledges and Advantages than others so the abuse of them will bind them over to proportionably greater Punishments It is the observation of Menochus that Ioshua when he aggravates the sin of Achan plays the Herauld and gives an account of his Pedigree for we are told Jos. 7. 1. that Achan was the Son of Carmi the Son of Zabdi the Son of Zerah of the Tribe of Judah Had Achan been a poor Ignorant Heathen his sin even in these lower circumstances would have kindled the Wrath of Heaven and have pulled down heavy Judgments upon him But Achan that was a Iew and that no mean Iew but of the Royal Tribe of Iudah and descended from such Noble Progenitors as Carmi Zabdi and Zerah All Honourable Persons for him to commit a Trespass of this Nature his Priviledges and Advantages loaded his sin with the heavier Aggravations and rendred him obnoxious to a double Punishment to wit that of Lapidation and the other of Burning which were both inflicted on him as we read Ios. 7. 25. It seems God proceeds with Sinners according to the Rules of Distributive Justice He proportions his Punishments according to their respective Priviledges and Advantages Such as have enjoyed lesser Priviledges shall be beaten with fewer Stripes The poor Gentiles still find a cooler place in Hell than the Iews and the Iews than the Christians Hear what St. Paul saith Rom. 2. 12. As many as have sinned without the Law shall perish without the Law and as many as have sinned in the Law shall be judged by the Law As St. Austin speaks the Law of God which Moses delivered to the Jews as it did more clearly discover and forbid all manner of Sin so it did ingeminate or double their guilt The poor Gentile who wants the advantages of the Mosaick Law will have the Law of Nature only to answer for But the Iew at the day of Judgment will find himself condemned both by the Law of Nature and the Law of Moses and consequently his Guilt will be double and his Punishment so much the greater Hence St. Paul tells us in that same Rom. 2. 9. That God will render Tribulation and Anguish upon every Soul of Man that doth Evil of the Jew first and also of the Gentile It seems the Iew shall have the precedence of the Gentile in Hell a cursed kind of precedence and such as I fancy few will be very ambitious of Thus you see the Iew shall in Hell be beaten with more stripes than the Gentile And the Condition of the disobedient Christian will be worse than the Iews He has enjoyed greater Advantages than the Iew and must expect greater Punishments He has the Law of Nature the Law of Moses and the Law of the Gospel to answer for and therefore if the Guilt of the Iew be double in respect of the Gentile the Christians Guilt will be treble and render him worthy of much sorer Punishment Hence it is that our Apostle Chap. 10. of this Epistle Vers. 28 29. If he that despised Moses's Law died without mercy of how much sorer Punishment shall he be thought worthy who has trampled under Foot the Son of God It 's plain the Christians Punishment will be greater than the Iews even as great as the Salvation which was offered him in a word so great that St. Paul who had the gift of Tongues was not able to express it otherwise than in these most Astonishing Expressions of how much sorer Punishment shall he be thought worthy Thus you see that as there are diversity of Torments in Hell so the greatest of them will be the Portion of such sinners as do neglect the Salvation of the Gospel and you will more easily believe this Dreadful Doctrin when I have given you the true Reason of it And 1. The Gospel which bringeth this great Salvation was first Preacht and Publisht by Christ the Eternal Son of God and this does mightily aggravate the disobedience of Christians God he sent his Messengers his Prophets yea sometimes his Angels to publish and deliver the Law unto the Iews But he has sent his own Eternal Son to Preach and Publish the Gospel to the Christian World and sure such a wonderful Instance of astonishing Mercy and Condescention cannot but load the sins of Christians with the most dreadful aggravations Hear what our Saviour himself saith John 15. 22. If I had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sin but now they have no Cloak for their sin The same Argument is here urged by St. Paul in the Text How shall we escape saith he if we neglect so great Salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord As much as if the Apostle should have said the Gospel which we the Ministers of Christ Preach unto you it is Christs Gospel the very same that he in his own Person first Preacht and Publisht to the World Sure then you will reverence this Eternal Son of God Sure ye cannot but think it your Duty to obey his Gospel As he is the Lord he may command your Obedience and as he is your Saviour who died for you he does most deserve it Ye cannot therefore offend against this Gospel but you must affront the highest instance and demonstration of God's Love And what Punishments can be great enough to punish such Ingratitude The Heathens the Jews and Devils themselves who are now howling amidst everlasting Burnings they never sinned against such stupendious Mercy as Christians do Of how much sorer Punishment shall they be thought worthy who trample under Foot the Son of God 2. Another Reason why Christians must expect the severest Punishments if they neglect this great Salvation is because the Light of the Gospel is greater and clearer than that of the Law Esay Prophecying of the times of the Gospel Chap. 11. 9. Says That the Earth shall then be full of the Knowledge of the Lord as the Waters cover the Sea St. Peter 2 Epist. 1. 19. Compares the Light of the Law to a dim Light shining in a dark place alluding as 't is thought to those Candles which were always shining in the Temple because it was a dark place as having but very small Windows to let in the light of the Sun But the Light of the Gospel he compares to the Day intimating that the Light of the Gospel does as far exceed the Light of the Law as the Light of the Sun does that of a Candle We know the Vail was upon the Face of Moses and the weighty concerns of Religion were then wrapt up in obscure Types and Shadows But the Shadows being now vanisht the Sun of Righteousness is risen and Christ has