are now ashamed is not the end of these things death for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Iesus Christ our Lord. Let not therefore sin reign any more in your mortal bodies that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin but your members as instruments of righteousness unto God Be not afraid or discouraged at his Laws for there is none of them grievous saith the Apostle St. John The law of the Lord is perfect saith David Converting the soul his statutes are right rejoicing the heart they are more to be desired than gold yea than much fine gold sweeter also than honey or the honey-comb And in keeping them there is great reward For if being made free from Sin we become Servants to God and have our fruit unto Holiness our end shall be everlasting Life to the which God bring us all in his good time Amen SERMON XI A PREPARATION TO THE Holy Communion HEBREWS X. 22. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience and our bodies washed with pure water THese Words are an Inference or Conclusion drawn from a Doctrine formerly delivered as appears from the illative Particle Therefore in the 19th Verse And there you have also the Summ of the Doctrine it self viz. That there is now free access unto God through Iesus Christ which the Apostle declareth in figurative Expressions with an Allusion to the Jewish Temple not only because he was writing to Hebrews but also because that Temple and the way of entering thereinto was a Type of this great Truth which is revealed by the Gospel That Iesus Christ is a true and the only Mediator betwixt God and Man that by him Men may confidently draw near to God and hope for Acceptance St. Paul has asserted and endeavoured to make out in the former part of this Epistle and indeed he hath proved and made it most evident so that there can remain no doubt thereof except in those who obstruct their own Conviction not desiring to be convinc'd Now the proper and practical Improvement of this certain important and most desireable Truth is what you have in the Words of our Text For they contain an Exhortation to lay hold on this gracious Privilege and with all they shew us how and after what manner we should do it so as to obtain it I shall first speak to the Exhortation it self next of the Qualities here required of such as design to comply with the Exhortation and lastly make Application of all to the present business of the Sacrament To begin then with the Exhortation which is in these words Let us draw near To what or whom we should draw near is not here express'd but is to be gathered from what goeth before whereby we understand that it is God to whom we are here desired to draw near And seeing it is so by drawing near here cannot be meant any Motion of our Body towards God for as to his Glorious and Majestick Presence in the Heavens we cannot approach it though we would and as for his other Essential Presence neither can we avoid it though we would too for he fills both Heaven and Earth Whither shall I go from thy Spirit Or whither shall I flee from thy presence said David If I ascend up into Heaven thou art there If I make my bed in hell behold thou art there To draw near to God therefore is a metaphorical Speech and must be understood not of any natural Action of the Body but of some moral Action of the Soul viz. The Desires and Endeavours after Peace and Reconciliation with God For because those who are Enemies and at variance together use to keep a Distance and shun each other's Company therefore in Scripture they who never think of God take no Care to please him and those who make no Difficulty to offend him are said to be far from God and to go a whoring from him And on the other hand because those who lay aside their Enmity and are desirous to be made Friends usually meet and resort to one anothers Company therefore drawing near to God in the Scripture Language is put for the Inclination of our Souls toward him the seeking to have all manner of Enmity betwixt God and us quite removed and that a true firm Peace be made up with him Sin is the Cause and Occasion of that Enmity which is fallen out betwixt God and Man And one would have thought that all the Difficulties of Reconciliation with God should have been on his part That his Justice his Honour his Authority should have interposed and not only not suffered him to accept of Peace but also to have obliged him utterly to destroy those despicable silly Creatures who had the foolish Insolency to rebel against him and to counteract his Will and Pleasure But behold Jesus Christ hath removed all Difficulties on God's Part he hath found out means to satisfie the Justice and to salve the Honour and Authority of God though Man be not destroyed though his Sin be passed over and pardoned God's Wrath is pacified he now looks favourably upon Man and is willing to receive him into Favour and to renew a Covenant of Grace and Peace with him whereby he obligeth himself to deal with Man as if he had not sinned as if he had never rebelled against his Maker Now could it have been expected that such a gracious Offer should not have been readily embraced But which is unaccountable Man stands out and will not be reconciled to God God hath made great Condescension and Man will make none God wooes and intreats and Man draws back and runs away God calls and sends Message after Message and the other will not hear he stretcheth forth his Hands but no Man regardeth he waits but they will not come or draw near Thus each acts as 't were not his own part but what in all Appearance doth more properly belong to the other God acts as if he were in Man's stead and Man behaves himself as if he were in the Place of God for as if God were the poor the needy the inferiour and miserable Party he sues and humbles himself first and as if Man were an independent Sovereign and All-sufficient Being who needed no Aid from any he rejects all the Treaty and disdains this proffered Friendship O! Wonderful Condescension of God And O the Stupidity and Foolishness and Madness of Man What Words are sufficient to hold out either of these And how hard is it to determine which of the two is most astonishing Whether God's Behaviour towards Man in seeking him offering Pardon and Peace or Man's Behaviour towards God in refusing and slighting the same Do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish People and unwise O ye sons of men how long will ye turn my glory
I say what Humility would it be in such a Person for the good of his Subjects to divest himself of Majesty to lay aside the Pretensions to Royalty and Sovereignty and to put himself in the State of a Subject in which he should be obliged to obey the Laws and Orders which he had Right to give and which were in force only by Virtue of his own Authority How would men stand amazed at this And yet such and greater Humility has Christ shewed for us men for while he was Heir of all things he made himself empty and poor for us When he had a sovereign Authority over all in Heaven and Earth he became subject and obedient both to the Laws of God and men And it was for this very end that he became man therefore it is said of him Psal. 40. mine ears hast thou opened or bored alluding to that Custom of boring the Ears of those who resolved to be Servants for ever Which St. Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews Chap. X. 5. to render the thing clearer hath expressed thus a body hast thou prepared for me And in both it is added Lo I come in the volume of thy Book it is written of me to do thy will O God I take delight And as Obedience was the end why he became Man so from his Birth he payed a ready sincere and punctual Obedience to the Laws of Nature the Decrees of God the Acts of his Providence and the Statutes of Men. In his Infancy he was subject to his Parents when he was grown up he was obedient both to the Roman Governours and Jewish Magistrates he observed all the Law of Moses and was both in Civil and Religious Matters the greatest Example of a chearful and universal Obedience which ever the World saw He did all things without murmuring without Reluctancy he never disputed the Reasonableness of the divine Commands or the Justice of his Providence But knowing That God has an absolute Authority over Men and that he can command nothing that is not just therefore having put himself in the Condition of other Men that is in a State of Subjection to God he obeyed his absolute Authority without Reserve Nay rather than give Scandal or Occasion to any to refuse Obedience he would render it when it was not due and where it could not be without Rigour exacted nay when he could easily have avoided it Thus he would be baptized of Iohn the Baptist for fulfilling of all righteousness though Iohn refused it and that there was no need of it for him Therefore also after he had convinced Peter that he ought not to have payed Tribute notwithstanding said he to him lest we offend go thou to the sea and cast an hook and take up the fish that first cometh up and when thou hast opened its mouth thou shalt find a piece of Money that take and give unto them for me and thee Matth. xvii 27. It was his meat and drink to do the will of God Nor did he take Pleasure therein only when it was easie and about pleasant Matters but also when the Commands were severe heavy troublesome such as Nature struggled with and was averse to When his Soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto Death upon the sad Apprehensions of his Sufferings he went and prayed O my Father if it be possible let this Cup pass from me nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt And again O my Father if this Cup may not pass away from me unless I drink it thy will be done Sometimes free and independent Princes have subjected themselves to others but then it was for some noble Employment and general Command under them whereby they had a Prospect of getting to themselves Glory Praise and Renown in the Earth But behold Jesus submitted himself to the Condition of the meanest Servant to Misery Pain Shame Reproach Disgrace and all the evil vile and unjust Usage which the most barbarous and most wicked could invent and which an ingenuous and noble Soul would abhorr He yielded himself to be a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with Grief to be smitten of God and afflicted by Men to be despised set at nought oppressed and killed And yet he never opened his Mouth he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth He was obedient to the death And that we may the more admire this Obedience of his the kind of Death to which he submitted is set before us even the death of the Cross. This was a Death well known in those times in which the Apostle lived and wrote this Epistle And it was known to be the very worst kind of Death that the Laws of Men could inflict on the greatest Malefactors It was a painful Death and the more painful because it was lingering It was so vile and shameful that by the Laws none could be put to it except Slaves not a free man or any of honest Birth whatever might be their Crime This was the Death to which Jesus surrendered himself and he yielded to this Death not only when there was no Mitigation of the usual Pain Shame and Bitterness but also when extraordinary Pain Shame Torment and Agony were superadded Let any take a View of our Lord his Death and Passion what went before and what accompanied his Cross what Treachery and Ingratitude he met with with what Malice and Cruelty he was pursued what base Calumnies he was loaded with what horrid Crimes of Blasphemy Sedition and Conspiracy against Church and State were falsly charged upon him how he was deserted by his Friends mocked by his Enemies and despitefully used by every Body it will be found that never any Sorrow was like unto his Sorrow nor any Cross so grievous as his He sustained the Wrath of God the Weight of Sin the Malice of Devils and the Spite of Men. His Death was both base and bitter sad and shameful beyond all Expression But withal it was voluntary Which leads me to the last thing proposed Which was to shew the End and Reason why Jesus who was the Son of God thus abased and humbled himself and became obedient unto Death even the Death of the Cross. In Prosecution of this it cannot be expected that either I can mention all or insist at large on any for the time allowed will not suffice for such a Task I shall propose briefly some few which may satisfie and leave the Prosecution of them to your private Meditations In general then all this was done for setting forth the Glory of God and for effectuating the Redemption of Mankind therefore it is called the Mystery of Redemption and the Gospel which declareth it is called the word of Salvation And for this cause that admirable Person of whom we have been speaking is called our Saviour and Redeemer Behold said the Angel to the Shepherds I bring to you tidings of great joy
usual in the Scripture St. Paul calls Believers God's husbandry or tillage 1 Cor. iii. 9. And here we have proper Directions how to manage it with Skill and Profit Plowing Sowing and Reaping are main parts of Husbandry and should be well looked to by all that would thrive at the Trade he that neglects them or is ignorant how to go about them will certainly come both to Poverty and Shame They are as essential in the Spiritual Husbandry as the Natural and therefore should be well studied by all who wish well to themselves I pray God we may learn and practise the Lessons here laid before us and we shall become both perfect and happy thereby The Prophet begins with Sowing tho' it be not the first part of Husbandry something must go before it however we will not change the Prophets words but take them as they lye it being no great matter what be first or last taught providing all be carefully heard and observed Sowing then in a Moral sense signifies Action whether internal of the Mind or outward of the Body for as Sowing is always followed with some Crop the Grain thrown by the Husbandman's Hand tho' it be covered with Earth doth not perish it riseth again and produceth an answerable Harvest So Mens Thoughts Words and Actions do not vanish as soon as they pass from them they remain as the Seed doth and will spring up again either to their Shame and Confusion or Comfort and Glory It therefore concerns us very nearly to look well to all we think do and say A good Husband man will not sow at random any thing that comes nearest him but will consider what is the best time and will choose out the best Seed So a wise Man will not live at random speak and do whatever is suggested to him or comes in his Head but studieth the fittest times and season of things and he taketh care to give every time and season what is suitable thereto As Cockle and Darnel is never to be sown so neither ought Sin to be sown at any time or upon any account but whether we eat or drink or whatever we do we ought saith the Apostle to do it all to the glory of God And therefore the Prophet here bids us Sow in righteousness or righteousness it self for we cannot carry on the Glory of God or sincerely intend it any other way God can and doth turn the Wickedness of Men to his Glory but when he doth so he is not beholden to us for it and therefore the only way we ought to seek his Glory is to adhere closely to Righteousness When the Prophet saith Sow righteousness or in righteousness which is all one for some make it To others leave out the Hebrew Particle as Redundant He holds forth the quality of the Seed or Grain we should sow And by Righteousness here is not only meant the vertue of Justice and Honesty in our dealings with Man but it is taken in a larger sense of equal extent with Holiness which includes all Acts of Piety and Devotion towards God of Justice Charity and Kindness towards Men and what is good and comely for our selves St. Paul's Injunction to the Philippians iv 8. is a good Paraphrase on Sowing in Righteousness Whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any virtue or any praise think on these things What things are so must be learned from the Scriptures the Word of God is the Rule of Righteousness it is the very good and precious Seed which we ought to sow and to sow in Righteousness is nothing else but to live and do according to the Word of God to practise what it teacheth Qui mandata veterit in opera seminat in justitia Jerom. Whosoever expresseth in his actions the Commands of God soweth in Righteousness And as we must thus look to the Quality of what we sow that it be Righteousness things agreeable to the righteous Word of God so we ought to take heed to the Quantity that we do not sow sparingly but plentifully This some will have to be the only meaning of the Words but there is more reason to refer the Expression to the Quality as we have done However this must be taken in too for he doth not sow in Righteousness sincerely and with delight that doth not abound therein His Heart is not right who serveth God by halves who doth only some few good things But he is a truly righteous Man who sets himself and gives all diligence to abound in the Work of the Lord. And we have all reason to do so for it is our Interest and Advantage Men use to ply well what redounds to their particular Profit what they think will certainly benefit them and truly we are sure of this it will fall particularly to our share It is remarkable that the Prophet calls the sowing righteousness a sowing to or for our selves as if nothing else could be reckoned so And indeed Men may be frustrated of all their other Labours but they can never be disappointed of this In the things of this World one may sow and another may reap what one builds and plants another often takes possession of Most Men labour for others If the most busied would cast up his accounts he should find but a very small part of his Travel and Projects to redound to himself It is not only the meanest sort of People that are to be esteemed Drudges to others but Men of all ranks from the highest are truly Servants of a different kind And the more Faithful and Diligent any one is in his Station or Imployment he becomes thereby only the more useful Servant to the rest of Mankind He only truly lives to himself who makes it his business to be found upright before God and to do that which is right in his sight He that neglects this quite neglects himself and carries away no Profit of all his Labour under the Sun What can the Wisest the most Industrious and most fortunate Worldling boast of at the best but a poor transitory enjoyment of perishing things In that Night his Soul is taken from him what reckoning can he make of his Barns Goods and Store whose are all these things not his to be sure and perhaps they fall into the hands of one who has little kindness for him or his Memory When he dieth saith the Psalmist he shall carry nothing away his glory shall not descend after him And then to how little purpose has he endeavoured to be made Rich and to get the Glory of his House increased But he that is stedfast and immoveable and always abounding in the Work of the Lord his Labour shall not be in vain the gain shall redound to himself What one doth in this is extra Fortunam not liable to any hazard runs not the fate of