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A42766
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A sermon preached before the Honourable House of Commons at their late solemne fast Wednesday, March 27, 1644 by George Gillespie.
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Gillespie, George, 1613-1648.
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1644
(1644)
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Wing G757; ESTC R24966
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43,436
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52
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Church a Enlarge the place of thy Tent and let them stretch forth the curtaines of thine habitations spare not lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left b A great encrease of the Church there was in the Apostles times but c a farre greater to be yet looked for d Though the enemy did come in like a flood the spirit of the Lord hath lift up a standard against him e The Sea saw it and fled Jordan was driven back But when the Gospel commeth like a noise of many waters as the Prophet calls it vers 2. signifying an irresistible encrease it is in vaine to build bulwarks against it God will even break open f the fountaines of the great deep and open the windowes of heaven and the Gospel will prove a second flood which will over-flow the whole earth though not to destroy it as Noahs did but to make it glad g for the earth shall bee filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the Sea Thirdly in this Temple beside the Holy of Holies h were three Courts the Court of the Priests the Court of the people commonly called Atrium Israelis and without both these Atrium Gentium the Court of the Heathen so called because the Heathen as also many of those who were legally uncleane might not only come unto the mountaine of the house of the Lord but also enter within the utter wall mentioned Ezech. 42. 20. and so worship in that utter Court or Intermurale Unto which did belong as we learne from i Josephus the great East porch which kept the name of Solomons porch in which both Christ himselfe did preach Io. 10. 23. and the Apostles after him Act. 5. 12. by which meanes the free grace of the Gospel was held sorth even to Heathens and Publicans and uncleane persons who were not admitted into the Court of Israel there to communicate in all the holy things k For the sonne of man came to seek and to save that which was lost This utter Court of the Temple is meant when l it is said that the Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery into the Temple and set her before Christ Now all this will hold true answerably of the spirituall Temple For first as m the uncircumcised and the uncleane were not admitted into the Temple among the children of Israel so all that live in the Church of Christ are not to be admitted promiscuously to every ordinance of God especially to the Lords Table but only those whose profession knowledge and conversation after triall shall be found such as may make them capable thereof yet as Heathens and uncleane persons did enter into the utter Court and there heare Christ and his Apostles so there shall ever be in the Church a doore of grace and hope open to the greatest and vilest â—…nners who shall seek after Christ and n ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward Secondly there shall be also somewhat answerable to the Court of the children of Israel o God can raise up even of the stones children to Abraham he will not want a people to trade in the Courts of his house and to enquire in his Temple Thirdly and as in the Typicall Temple there was a Court for the Priests so hath the Lord promised to the Church p Thy teachers shall not be removed into a corner any more but thine eyes shall see thy Teachers And againe q I will give you Pastors according to my heart which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding Fourthly and as there was a secret and most holy place where the Ark was and the Mercy-seat and where the glory of God dwelâ—… so Christ hath his owne r hidden ones s the children of the marriage chamber t who with open face beholding as in a glasse the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord There is also a time comming when God will open the secrets of his Temple and make the Ark of his Testament to be seene otherwise then yet it hath beene which shall be at the sounding of the seventh trumpet Revel. 11. 15 19. The fourth thing wherein Ezekiels Temple representeth the Church of Christ is in regard of the great strength thereof u It stood upon a very high mountaine The materiall Temple also in Ierusalem as it is described by Iosephus was a very strong and impregnable place Interpreters think that Cyrus was jealous of the strength of the Temple and for that cause gave x order that it should not be built above threescore cubits high whereas Solomon had built it sixscore cubits high The Romans afterward when they had subdued Iudea had a watchfull eye upon the Temple and placed a strong garrison in the Castle Antonia which was beside the Temple the Commander whereof was called y the Captaine of the Temple And all this for feare of sedition and rebellion among the Jews when they came to the Temple Now the invisible strength of the spirituall Temple is clearly held forth unto us by him that cannot deceive us Upon this rock z saith he meaning himselfe will I build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevaile against it The Princes and powers of the world are more jealous then they need of the Churches strength and yet which is a secret judgement of God they have not beene afraid to suffer Babylon to be built in her full strenth a There were they in great feare where no feare was for when all shall come to all it shall be found that the Gospel and true Religion is the strongest bulwark and chiefe strength for the safety and stability of Kings and States Lastly the glory of this Temple was very great insomuch that b some have undertaken to demonstrate that it was a more glorious peece then any of the seven miracles of the world which were so much spoken of among the Ancients But the greatest glory of this Temple was that the glory of the God of Israel came into it and the earth shined with his glory vers. 2. Christ c the brightnesse of his fathers glory walking d in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks is and shall be more and more the Churches glory Therefore it is said to her e Arise shine for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee Surely as it was said of the new materiall Temple in reference to Christ so it may be said of the new spirituall Temple which yet we look for f The glory of this latter house shall be greater then of the former saith the Lord of hosts and in this place will I give peace saith the Lord of hosts Christ will keep the g best
like to this of Ezekiel that we must take speciall notice of it and make that serve for a Commentary to this And there was given me saith Iohn a Reed like unto a Rod and the Angeâ—…stood saying Rise and measure the Temple of God and the Altar and them that worship therein But the Court which is without the Temple leave out and measure it not for it is given unto the Gentiles and the holy City shall they tread under foot forty and two moneths This time of two and forty moneths must be expounded by Revel. 13. 5. where it is said of the Beast power was given unto him to continue forty and two moneths which according to the Computation of Egyptian yeares reâ—…koning thirty dayes to each moueth make three yeares and a halfe or 1260. days and that is e the time of the witnesses prophecying in Sackcloth and of the womans abode in the wildernesse Now lest it should bee thought that the treading downe of the holy City by the Gentiles that is the treading under foot of the true Church the City of God by the tyranny of Antichrist and the power of his complices should never have an end in this world the Angel gives Iohn to understand that the Church the house of the living God shall not lye desolate for ever but shall be built again for the measuring is in reference to building that the Kingdome of Antichrist shall come to an end and that after 1260 yeares counting dayes for yeares as the Prophers doe It is not my purpose now to search when this time of the power of the beast and of the Churches desolation did begin and when it ends and so to find out the time of building this new Temple onely this much I trust I may say that if we reckon from the time that the power of the Beast did begin and withall consider the great revolution and turning of things upside downe in these our dayes certainly the work is upon the wheele the Lord hath pluckt his hand out of his bosome he hath whet his sword he hath bent his bow he hath also prepared the instruments of death against Antichrist so saith the Psalmist of all Persecutors Psal. 7. 12 13. but it will fall most upon that capitall enemy Whereof there will be occasion to say more afterward Let me here only adde a word concerning a fourth thing which the holy Ghost may seeme to intend in this Prophesie and that is the Church triumphant the new Ierusalem which is above unto which respect is to bee had as Interpreters iudge in some parts of the vision which happily cannot bee so well applyed to the Church in this world Even as the new Ierusalem is so described f in the Revelation that it may appeare to be the Church of Christ reformed beautified and inlarged in this world and fully perfected and glorified in the world to come and as many things which are said of it can very hardly bee made to agree to the Church in this world so other things which are said of it câ—…n as â—…dly be applyed to the Church glorified in heaven as g where it is said Behold the Tabernacle of God is with men having come downe from God out of heaven and hee will dwell with them and they shall bee his people and God himselfe shall be with them and be their God h Againe And the nations of them that are saved shall walke in the light of it and the Kings of the earth doe bring their glory and honour into it But now I make haste to the severall particulars contained in my Text I pray God i saith the Apostle your whole spirit and soule and body be preserved blamelesse And what he there prays for this Text rightly understood and applied may work in us that is gracious affections gracious mindes gracious actions In the first place a change upon our corrupt and wicked affections If they be ashamed of all that they have done saith the Lord Secondly a change upon our blind minds Shew them the forme of the house and the fashion thereof c. Thirdly a change also upon our actions That they may keep the whole forme thereof and all the Ordinances thereof and doe them For the first k the word here used is not that which signifieth blushing through modesty but it signifieth shame for that which is indeed shamefull filthy and abominable so that it were impenitency and an aggravation of the fault not to be ashamed for it I shall here build onely one Doctrine which will be of exceeding great use for such a day as this If either we would have mercy to our selves or would doe acceptable service in the publike Reformation we must not onely cease to doe evill and learne to doe well but also be ashamed confounded and humbled for our former evill wayes Here is a two-fold necessity which presseth upon us this duty to loath and abhorre our selves for all our abominations to bee greatly abashed and confounded before our God First without this we shall not find grace and favour to our owne soules Secondly wee shall else miscarry in the worke of Reformation First I say let us doe all the good we can God is not pleased with us unlesse we be ashamed and humbled for former guiltinesse Be zealous and repent l saith Christ to the Laodecians be zealous in time comming and repent of your former lukewarmnesse What fruit had yee then in those things whereof now yee are ashamed m saith the Apostle to the Saints at Rome of whom n he saith plainly that they were servants to righteousnes and had their fruit unto holinesse but that is not all they were also ashamed while they looked back upon their old faults which is the rather to bee observed because o it maketh against the Antinomian error now a foot It hath a cleare reason for it for without this God is still dishonoured and not restored to his glory O Lord p saith Daniel righteousnesse belongeth unto thee but unto us confusion of faces Those two go together We must be confounded that God may be glorified Wee must bee judged that God may be iustified our mouthes must be stopped and laid in the dust that q the Lord may be just when he speaketh and cleare when he judgeth And as r the Apostle teacheth us that if we judge our selves we shall not be judged of God and by the rule of Contraries if we judge not our selves we shall be judged of God So say I now if wee give glory to God and take shame and confusion of faces to our selves God shall not confound us nor put us to shame But if we will not be confounded and ashamed in our selves God shall confound us and powre shame upon us If we loath not our selves God shall loath us Nay let me argue from the manner of men as s the Prophet doth offer it now unto