he seems to cast them off God is not regardless of his people when he seems to be regardless of them To prove this Doctrine to you there are these two branches that I must make plain First That God doth sometimes seemingly cast off his people But then secondly That God doth not will not cannot really cast them off First I must prove that God doth sometimes seemingly cast off his people He sometimes seems to be so regardless of them and of their condition as if he had set them at a sad distance from his love Thus it was with these poor captives here in the Text that were carried away into Babylon with King Jeconiah and the Princes And thus you shall see the Church complains Psal 10.1 Why standest thou afar off O Lord why hidest thou thy self in times of trouble And thus David complains Psal 13.1 How long wilt thou forget me O Lord for ever how long wilt thou hide thy face from me And thus Job complains Job 13.24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face and holdest me for thy enemy And thus the Prophet Jeremiah complains Lam. 3. v. 8 and 44. Also when I cry and shout he shutteth out my prayer and thou hast covered thy self with a cloud that our prayer should not pass through But you may say Why doth God sometimes seem to cast off his own people I answer He doth it for these reasons First Reas 1 God would hereby teach us to live by faith and not by fight and sence onely if there were no tryals if there were no desertions nor temptations there would be no exercise of faith at all but now when a people can against hope believe in hope that is against hope of sence can believe in hope of the Promises and can depend upon God at that time when he seems to cast them off and can hang upon the Promises as the earth is said to hang upon nothing this is the life Job 26.7 this is the efficacie of faith indeed Secondly God doth it Reas 2 to teach his people to reflect upon and be sensible of their unkindness in turning their backs upon him and that therefore it were just with him to turn his back upon them for ever Thirdly Reas 3 God doth it for this end to teach his people how to prize his presence at a higher rate that he may indeer the mercy of his perpetual abode imprisonment makes liberty so much the sweeter and war we know makes peace so much the sweeter and health is most wellcome when it brings with it recommendation from sickness If it were with us as it is in Greenland or with those that live farre Northward that we should enjoy the light of the Sunne but onely for five or six moneths in the year how welcome would the Sunne be to us then so Gods hiding away his face sometimes makes his presence the sweeter and the more welcome to us And then fourthly Reas 4 God sometimes seems to desert his people that they may not desert him for should we alwayes enjoy the smiles of his face we should quickly grow proud and wanton and should cease to seek him so early as otherwise we would do and therefore God deals with us as the Nurse doth that hideth her self from her Childe to make the Childe cry after her so God sometimes leaves us that we may seek him the more earnestly and follow him the more closely Hos 5.15 I will goe and return to my place saies God till they acknowledge their offences and seek my face in their affliction they will seek me early 'T is true indeed our comfort consists in communion with God for if he hide his face from us the steps of our strength are streightned but yet this is as true that while we live here upon earth we can never enjoy a full and constant communion with our God because there is a mixture of corruption with grace We are in a mixt condition here below it is neither night nor day with us Zech. 14.6 but partly night and partly day and as long as we are in a mixt condition so long we have need of a mixt manifestation Fifthly and lastly Reas 5 God doth sometimes seemingly cast off his people and doth desert us that he may not desert us I mean God doth sometimes desert us in our temporal comforts that he may not desert us in our spiritual comforts and God sometimes deserts us in our spiritual comforts that he may not desert us in our spiritual graces and he deserts us sometimes in one grace that he may not desert us in another grace as for example God sometimes deserts us in prayer that he may strengthen the grace of humility in a word God deserts us for a while that he may not desert us for ever God deserts us in a little wrath that he may not desert us in everlasting wrath that wrath that burns in hell to all eternity Thus you have the first branch of the Doctrine opened to you That God doth sometimes seemingly cast off his people But now secondly God doth not will not really cast off his people though they may be sometimes cast down yet they are never cast off and though they may be dejected yet they shall never be rejected and though they may be left for a while yet they shall never be cast away Isa 41.8 9. But thou art Israel my servant Jacob whom I have chosen I have chosen thee and not cast thee away And Isa 44.21 Remember these O Jacob and Israel for thou art my servant I have formed thee thou art my servant O Israel thou shalt not be forgotten of me True indeed the righteous that is Gods own people may sometimes say the Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me as it is Isa 49.14 But see what God answers v. 15 16. Can a woman forget her sucking Childe that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb yea they may forget yet will not I forget thee behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands thy walls are continually before me Take but one Scripture more and it is a full Scripture Jer. 31.36 37. If those ordinances of the Sun Moon and Stars can depart from before me saith the Lord then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever Thus saith the Lord if heaven above can be measured and the foundations of the earth be searched out beneath I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done saith the Lord But that can never be the ordinances can never be changed saith God therefore I will never cast off my People And would you know the reasons of this second branch of the doctrine I shall give you these four briefly The first is drawn from the immutability of Gods Councel Reas 1 the foundation of God standeth sure having this seal the Lord knoweth them that are his 2 Tim. 2.19
Ps 73.28 but it is good for me to draw nigh to God it is good for me to keep close to God in wayes of righteousness if I keep my integrity my integrity will keep me canst thou thus make God thy refuge That is a third evidence whereby thou maist know thou art one of those whom God will not cast off And then fourthly Ask thy soul this question Who art thou willing shall be thy reward at the great day canst thou say my record is in Heaven and my reward also is in Heaven Psal 109.5 that though men render me evil for good and hatred for my love yet surely my judgment is with the Lord and my work with my God Isa 49.4 for it is observed that the same Hebrew word that signifies work 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies also a reward and it is a good observation that Gods work is our wages it is reward enough for us to do service for God Now-canst thou say what reward soever I have here on earth or what injury soever I meet with from men yet notwithstanding I have my reward in Heaven therefore if my enemy hunger I can feed him if he thirst I can give him drink I can overcome evil with goodness and all because I have my reward in Heaven But on the contrary most miserable is the condition of that man that hath his reward here on earth and his portion here below It is said Mat. 6.2 The Pharisees have their reward that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all that ever they can look for as the word signifies But then fifthly Ask thy soul this question Hath God the supremacy in thy heart hath he the highest room hath he the best room in thy soul hast thou set up a Throne for God in thy heart whereas heretofore self-love and the creature have been set up above God I but now whatever thou affectest or esteemest thou affectest and esteemest it onely in order to God and in him and for him canst thou say I am resolved I will not hinder nor break my peace with God to keep peace with men O God forbid I should do so as a common souldier doth not break the command of his Captain though he do not obey his Captain if the Generall command the contrary for the Generall must be obeyed though all the inferiour Officers be displeased so here God must be obeyed his voice must be hearkned to though all the world and all the Princes of the world should command the contrary Gods command must stand it is a good rule It is no prejudice to any humane authority to prefer Gods authority before it for if to preserve the dearest enjoyment we have in the world we break our peace with God the Lord is able to dash all the comfort we expect from that enjoyment and to make it either a dead contentment or else a torment to us that we shall have as he said the gifts of God without God himself Bona Dei sine boxo Deo we may have the shell of the mercy but shall never have the kernell of the mercy But on the contrary if we keep our peace with God we shall be sure to find in him whatever we deny for him riches honours friends liberty comforts or any thing we shall have all in him and all will be so much the sweeter to us as they spring from the Fountain and are not conveyed to us by the Cistern as they were before This is a fifth question I propound to you or an evidence whereby you may know whether you are Gods people Can you thus set up a Throne for God in your hearts that he shall have the supremacy and his authority shall be obeyed whoever be displeased or disobeyed Sixthly Can you be contented with God for your portion that is another evidence I would propound to you that if you were to choose a thousand times you would choose no other God but him Psal 73.25 Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee nothing but thy self O blessed God can give satisfaction to my immortall soul if I have but thee though I be as poor as Job upon the dunghill yet I am rich enough I will say with David Psa 16.6 the lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places yea I have a goodly heritage because the Lord himself is my portion Now if you can thus choose God you may conclude that God hath chosen you if you can thus love God you may certainly conclude tha God loves you and if you are his people you may be assured he is your God and will ever continue to be your God that is the sixth evidence In the seventh and last place Call your selves to an account and see whether ye be Gods Israel yea or no for you see God is the God of Israel God will not cast off his people Isa 44.21 his Israel thou art Israel my servant I will not cast thee away the place I named before Psa 73.1 and truly God is good to Israel even to such as are of a clean heart Gal. 6.16 and peace shall be upon the Israel of God Tell me therefore are you true Israelites are you Nathanaels in whom there is no guile can you turn the insides of your Spirits out unto God and say Psal 139.23 24. search me O Lord and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any way of wickedness in me I cannot deny but there is wickedness in me but see if there be any way of wickedness any course of sin in me so that I make a trade of sin he that is born of God doth not practise sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 John 1.3 9. he doth not say he doth not sin at all but he doth not make a Trade of sin as the word signifies Canst thou say Lord thou knowest in the uprightness of my heart I speak it there is not one Duty but I would submit to it and would willingly practise it there is not one sin that I allow in me I would abhor I would detest and reform every sin And can you strive more to be religious than to seem to be religious and do you endeavour to exceed the best opinion that ever any had of you and do you love a faithfull soul searching Ministry that is a great sign of sincerity when a man can say let the word pierce me let it smite me let it wound and cut me so it may cure me let it wound my sin so it may save my soul do you love that Ministry that comes most to the quick and that discovers most of your secret corruptions to you If it be thus with you it is a sign you are Gods Israel and therefore a people whom he will never cast off the Lord will be your God now and at death and after death and to all eternity But
the earth more easily than you can toss a tennis ball nay fear ye not me that can cast soul and body into hell fire Mat. 10.28 When there is a mighty Prince or Potentate that hath power in his hands to strip you of your liberties of your estates and lives and he is incensed against you O! what terrour and trembbling takes hold of you and how do you crouch and cringe and comply and make friends and study all the ways that ever you can to get the favour of that Prince or Potentate as you read Acts 12.20 When Herod was highly displeased with the men of Tyre and Sidon they got Blastus the Kings Chamberlaine to be their friend and beg tearms of peace for them Now art thou afraid of a mortall man whose breath is in his Nostrils and art not afraid of the great Creator of heaven and earth Isa 51 12.13 Who art thou that art afraid of a man that shalldy and of the Son of man which shall be made as grass and forgetest the Lord thy maker that hath stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth Consider this all you that are great ones or men of great estates and therefore think you may bolster up your selves in your wickedness no no know thus much this great Jehovah against whom you sin he is the great Lord he is greater than the greatest it is he that can visit with his anger and with his fury and with his indignation poured forth Nah. 1.5.6.7 The Mountains quake at him and the hils melt and the earth is burnt up at his presence yea the world and all that dwell therein who can stand before his indignation and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger his fury is poured out like fire and the rocks melt before him Psal 149.8 It is he that can bind Kings in chains and Nobles in fetters of iron It is he that is the Lord of hosts that hath all creatures in heaven and earth to avenge his quarel It is this great God likewise that can punish great and small without respect of persons and therefore they on whom God bestows great mercies if they abound in great sins they shall have great punishment inflicted upon them Potentes potentèr punienter as one said Mighty men shall be mightily tormented O whence is it that we no more fear this great God before whom the rocks melt nay the devils tremble Are our hearts harder than rocks Are we more fearless than devils Stand in awe then and sin not most men sin and tremble not but do you tremble and sin not Consider we are all in the hands of this great God as a little fly in the paw of a roaring lion we are all before him as clay in the hands of the Potter nay we are all before him as dry stubble before the consuming fire Do we provoke the Lord to jealousie Are we stronger than he 1 Cor. 10.22 Consider what advantage he hath against us and consider also what dependance we have upon him and then learn to sear him and to stand in awe of him This is the first Use it is the great God that hath the rod in his hand and he is the Author of all the miseries that come upon us therefore let us tremble before him The second Use is for instruction and admonition If God be the author of all the miserie that befals us then let us take off our eys from instruments and second causes look not so much at man at the instruments of our misery but look upon God who is the author of our misery O that every one of us could but say as that good woman Naomi Ruth 1.13 saies she the hand of the Lord is gone out against me Could we but look at God the author more than at the instruments of our misery we should have great advantage by it You will say what advantage there is a fourfold advantage we shall have by it First This will work the sweet effect of contentment and quietation in our hearts it will meeken and quiet and calme our spirits that we shall not fret and fume at any dispensation of God though it seem never so harsh and severe Psal 39.9 I was dumb and opened not my mouth because thou didst it and 1 Sam. 3.18 saies Eli when a heavy message came to him It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good Secondly This will root out that spirit of revenge that usually is in our hearts when they are burning and boyling against those that are the instruments of our misery We are many times like the Dog that snarles at the stone and looks not at the hand that cast it so we snarl and fret and boyl in our spirits against those who are the instruments of our troubles whereas did we but look at the hand that cast the stone it would take the spirit of revenge out of our hearts Such a spirit was in David as I shewed you even now he looked not at Shimei cursing him but at God that bid him curse and therefore would not be revenged on Shimei Such a Spirit was in Joseph Gen. 45.8 Saies he to his brethren It was not you that sent me hither but God Why may some say it was his brethren for did not they sell Joseph to the Ismaelites and by that means was he not carried into Egypt I but Joseph looks not to the instruments but to God and therefore though his brethren had misgiving thoughts surely our brother will remember this Gen. 50.15 and be avenged on us for all the wrong we did him yet Joseph answers them otherwise 't is true sales he you intended evil to me but God turned it for good therefore be not troubled I have no revenge in my heart and fear not for I will nourish you and your little ones He lookt at God in all And Thirdly this will provoke us to repentance and to return to God that smites us Hos 6.1 Come and let us return unto the Lord for he hath torn and he will heal us he hath smitten and he will bind us up As in the case of mercies if we do not look upon God as the author of our mercies we can never be thankfull and improve them to his Glory So likewise in the case of afflictions if we look not upon God as the Author of our miseries we can never be penitent and humble Fourthly We shall have this advantage also this will work our hearts to a patient and quiet waiting upon God with faith and confidence for deliverance 2 King 6.33 you read of King Jehoram a prophane King yet he taught a true doctrine saies he this evil is of the Lord. A true Doctrine but he made a false use and application of it therefore why should I wait upon him any longer For the reason holds strong on the contrary side this evil is from the Lord therefore I should wait
now on the contrary and pray mark it if you be such as choose the World for your Portion rather than God for your Portion if the world have the cream of your affections if it have the highest seat and room in your hearts if you be such as seek the world more than God earth more than heaven for as I have sometimes told you he that seeks earth more than heaven may well get earth but he shall never get heaven if you serve the world more than God and if you be such who trust in men more than you trust in God if you be as the Apostle speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Tim. 3.4 lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God in a word if you be hypocrites having onely a form of godlyness without the power of it if you be Apostates falling from your principles and from your own profession and draw back O! Heb. 10.38 saith God That man that draws back my soul shall have no pleasure in him If you be such as are impenitent and stubborn and unreformed under all corrections and under all instructions that The lead is consumed and the bellowes burnt Jer. 6.29 and all to no purpose if all means used for your reformation are ineffectuall that no good hath been wrought upon you after so many Sermons after so many warnings after so many corrections after so many checks of conscience after so many knocking 's at the doors of your hearts by the spirit of God if it be thus with you then you may fear you are in the number of those that God will cast off and castaway Jer. 6.30 Reprobate silver shall men call them because the Lord hath rejected them The Lord hath cast them off for ever O! that the Lord would make some of you your own judges by these seaven interrogatories I have now propounded to you by these and the like discoveries you may know whether you are in the number of those this Doctrine here speaks of that God will never cast off this is the first exhortation If you would have the comfort of this Doctrine make this sure to your selves that you are Gods Israel My second exhortation is this If God will never cast off his people his Israel as it is here in the Text he is the God of Israel when Israel is in captivity Then I beseech you let it be a powerfull perswasion to every one of us that seeing God is unwilling to cast us off that we would be unwilling to cast God off will not God cast off his people then let us who are his people resolve never to cast off him how sweet and savoury Josh 3.8 is that councel of Joshua to the Israelites but cleave unto the Lord your God as ye have done unto this day O! cleave to this God we live in times of Apostacy wherein some fall from their Principles others fall from their profession and others fall from the practise of a Godly life O! the wofull Apostacy defection and backsliding of these times of ours that which Eliphaz falsely charged upon Job may be truly charged upon many Professors in these days thou castest off fear Job 15.4 and restrainest prayer before God There are many in these dayes that cast off the fear of God and walk in wayes of libertinism and loosness and that cast off duty towards God and duty towards their Superiours and there are some that cast off love to Christ his truth and servants and that cast off his Ordinances too O! the Lord open their eyes that they may see what a Wilderness they have brought their poor souls into being without Gods great mercy at the very gates of death and everlasting ruine but I beseech you my brethren be not you of this number but as God speaks in the like case Hos 4.15 though Israel play the Harlot yet let not Judah offend so may I say though many Apostate and backslide in these daies yet be not you in the number of them be not you Apostates and backsliders I beseech you tell me what hath God done that you should cast him off come and testifie against him this day wherein hath he done you hurt what iniquity have you found in God that you are weary of him as our Saviour faith John 10.32 many good works have I shewed you from my Father for which of those works do you stone mee So may I say to you many mercies hath God bestowed upon you mercy upon mercy mercies of his right hand and mercies of his left hand mercies positive and mercies privative mercies in hand and mercies in hope now for which of all these mercies have you cast him off O hearken to that counsell 2. Chron. 15.2 The Lord is with you while ye be with him and if ye seek him he will be found of you but if ye forsake him he will forsake you if you cast him off here he will cast you off at that great day when you would give all the world for one smilē of his face The last Use of this Doctrine is this Vse 4 Doth not God really cast off his people when be doth it seemingly is he Israels God when Israel is in captivity this then is matter of unspeakable comfort to all Gods people to all true Nathanaels whose hearts are sincere and upright in the midst of all their streights and doubts and fears in the midst of all their troubles and tryals and dangers and distresses whatsoever what though God cast thee upon thy bed of sickness where thou maist meet with strong pains yet he will not cast thee off and what though God cast thee into prison yet he will not cast thee off what though God cast thee into captivity and into a Land of strangers and bondage yet he will not cast thee off Nay what though God cast thee into such a condition that thou art out of the reach of humane help as in the case of distraction and desertion in the case of distraction none can restore the use of reason but he that gave us reason and in the case of desertion none can take off wrath from the conscience but he that set it on What though God cast thee into such a condition that thou walkest in darkness and seest no light yet God will not cast thee off Nay what though God should let loose Sathan upon thee for a while to buffet thee as you know St Paul had an Angel of Sathan to buffet him so Sathan may be let loose upon thee to buffet thee to tempt thee with the batteries of hell why yet he will not cast thee off nay God will so order it that although his temptation may wound thy soul yet it shall not hurt thy soul Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall saith David speaking of Saul Psal 18.13 but the Lord helped me so Sathan thrusts sore at us O many a bitter stroak and many a poisoned arrow and
many a fiery dart Sathan seeks to wound us with at one time or other I but God is our help God will not cast us off for all that True indeed we are troubled on every side yet not distressed 2 Cor. 4.9 we are perplexed but not in despair It is an elegant expression in the Greek tongue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. perplexed but not in despair persecuted but not forsaken cast down but not destroyed Cast down I but not cast off we may be cast into adversity and be cast off by men and yet not be cast off by God for all that O what a consolation may this be to every one of Gods children That is an excellent Scripture Isa 54.10 For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed but my kindness shall not depart from thee neither shall the Covenaxt of my peace be removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee O comfort your selves with that Text of Scripture therefore as the Apostle saith triumphingly Rom. 8.35 to the end Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword nay saith he in all these things we are more than conquerers We conquer when kil'd kil'd and not destroyed death may make a separation between body and soul but it can never make a separation between the soul and Christ Neither things present nor things to come nor bonds nor imprisonment nor sickness nor banishment nor fiery Furnace nor Lionsden nor Principalities nor powers nor life nor death nor Devils nor any thing shall ever make a separation between God and his people he will never cast them off in any of these conditions O that we could but suck the sweetness of this consolation and lay it up as a Cordiall for a fainting day And thus I have done with the first Point of Doctrine gathered from the first branch of the Text the Author of this comfortable message it is the Lord the God of Israel he is Israels God when Israel is carried captive therefore though God may cast off his people seemingly yet he doth not cast them off when he seems to cast them off It remains I should come to the second branch of the Text and that is the message it self I will own them and acknowledge them saith God like these good figgs But of that I shall speak something by Gods assistance in the further prosecution of the Text. SERMON II. Jeremiah Chap. 24. Verse 5. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel Like these good Figs so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah whom I have sent out of this place into the Land of the Caldeans for their good YOu know what entrance I made into this Text two parts I shewed are considerable in it The Author of a comfortable Message and the Message self The Author of the comfortable Message is the Lord described here by his relation to his people the God of Israel and this first branch I have dispatched I come now to the second branch of the Text and that is the Message it self Wherein we have first the explication of a Type and then the application of it The explication of a Type in these words Like these good Figs where the Lord informs the Prophet Jeremiah what is the meaning of the Vision of the two baskets of Figs the one of good Figs the other of bad Figs Like these good Figs saith God so are all those good or godly persons whom I have sent away captive into Babylon so that God here compares the small number of godly ones that were yet carried captive to Babylon to Figs and he compares them to good Figs. But here it may be demanded first Why are these godly persons compared to Figs I answer For these three Reasons briefly First Because all the goodness they had in them was of Gods own planning Isa 60.21 The branch of my planting the work of my hands that I may be glorified Secondly They are compared to Figs because as Figs you know ever grow more and more till they come to a ripeness and maturity that they may be fit for the Gardiner that planted them so did these godly persons grow more and more in grace till they came to some ripeness and maturity that they might be fit for the service of that God who had bestowed this grace upon them fit to glorifie him here and fit to be glorified of him hereafter And then thirdly As Figs when they are ripe they are very pleasant and delightfull they were much esteemed and desired among the Jews as appears by Hosea 9.10 I saw your fathers saith God as the first ripe in the Fig tree so likewise these godly persons that had the Image of God stampt upon them and were now trees of righteÌ„ousness that brought forth fruit unto God they were very delightfull unto God God was well pleased with them Psal 147.11 The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him in those that hope in his mercy And by the way you may observe there a very sweet conjunction between fearing God and putting our trust in his mercy we must so fear the Lord that we still put our trust in his mercy lest we should despair and so put our trust in his mercy that we fear him lest we should presume but that I quote the Scripture for is this the Lord delights in them thaâ— fear him and it is very much that God should take delight in such poor despicable creatures as we are 〈◊〉 and we have a very strange expression 1 Chron. 29.17 I know also my God that thou takest pleasure in uprightness a wonderfull condescension that the great God of Heaven and earth should take pleasure in any service that such poor worthless worms as we are can performâ—â— that the Lord should take pleasurâ— in us or in any thing that is in us but we must know that uprightnesâ— is the work of Gods own Spirit iâ— our hearts and therefore God fiâ—â—â— bestowes the graces of his Spirit up on his servants which are call'â— the fruits of his Spirit and then hâ— delights in his own fruits according to that of the Psalmist Psal 104.31 The Lord rejoyceth in his own works that is in the works of his own Spirit that he hath wrought And St Austin hath a sweet Meditation upon it Lord saith he do not thou look upon my own works but look upon thy own works in my heart for if thou lookest upon my works I shall be cursed but if thou lookest upon thy own works I shall be crowned God takes delight in his own works he crowns his own gifts not our merits in us Thus you see why they are called Figs. But then secondly it may be demanded How these could be called good Figs when our blessed Saviour saith expresly Matth. 19.17 There is none good but One that is God To this I answer It is true
notwithstanding there was an Athanasius that did help to bear up the truth with courage and confidence against all opposition and you know in Queen Maries dayes when Popery was here set up by a Law yet there were then many faithfull servants of Jesus Christ that sealed the truth with their blood and were more willing to lay down their lives for Christ than many now adayes are to part with a little of their estates for Christ and for the Gospell so that you see in the worst of times and amongst the worst of men the Lord will have some that are good and that retain their goodness And if you would know the Reasons of it they are these First Reas 1 Because the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is an everlasting Kingdom of his Kingdome there shall be no end Luk. 1.33 Jesus Christ will have a Church here upon earth maugre the might and malice the rage and fury the plots and projects the craft and subtiltie of Sathan and all his instruments All the enemies of the Church may as well think to turn the earth off its hinges or pluck the Stars out of the Firmament or blow out the Sun with a pair of Bellows or shake the pillars of Heaven as to root out the number of the godly from off the face of the earth The gates of Hell Mat. 16.18 shall not prevail against the Church It is true indeed the Church of Christ is not tied to any particular place nor to a stinted number but yet like the sea though it lose in one place it gains still in another place and the Church of Christ being his spouse he will never lose his spouse he will alwayes have some even in the worst of times and in the worst of places that shall own him and his truth therefore you know he had a Church in Neroes House though Nero was one of the bloodiest Monsters that ever lived amongst men Phil. 4.22 All the Saints salute you chiefly they that are of Caesars houshold And he had some that did bear up his Name when Antipas his faithfull Martyr was slain and where the Devil had his Synagogue Rev. 2.13 That 's one Reason Secondly Reas 2 2 Tim. 2.19 The Foundation of God stands sure and therefore it is not possible that the Elect should be totally seduced our Saviour saies indeed there shall be such cunning seducers and impostors Mat. 24.24 that if it were possible they should deceive the very Elect I but that is impossible Gods Elect it is true may sometimes be hurried into ways of errour and sin by a Croud but then their hearts will still be God-ward just as the Needle of the Seamans Compass may jog this way and that way but the bent of the Needle will still be North-ward so their hearts will be God-ward and they will recover themselves the Spirit is in them like a springing water Joh. 4.14 that springs up to eternal life it is an immortal seed so that they cannot sin unto death 1 Joh. 3.9 and the fear of God is the aw-back of the soul it is such an awe upon their spirits that they shall never totally and finally depart from God Jer. 32.40 I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me And thirdly Reas 3 The intercession of Jesus Christ is very prevalent for all his Elect Luke 22.32 I have prayed for thee faies Christ to Peter that thy faith fail not and this prayer he made not for Peter onely but for all that shall believe in his Name to the end of the world as appears by John 17.20 Neither pray I for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word And then fourthly and lastly Reas 4 God will alwaies have a remnant of good ones of Godly Persons that shall retain their goodness even for this very end to convince gainsayers to stop the mouthes of wicked ungodly men that are ever blattering against the truth he will have some that shall bear witness against them that they shall not plead ignorance of that truth they so much scorn and contemn and of the ways of holiness which they so much abhor as God would have the Gospel preached if not for conversion yet for conviction to be a testimony against them that received it not Mat. 24.14 saies Christ this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all Nations so likewise God will have some faithfull ones to be his Martyrs to lift up his name and to bear witness still unto his truth against them that oppose it and to rise up in judgement against those that are the desperate and implacable enemies of it Heb. 11.7 as it is said of Noah by building the Ark he condemned the world that is his righteousness condemned their unrighteousness his faithfulness condemned their infidelity his sincerity condemned their hypocrisie and his steadfastness condemned their apostacy so God I say will still have some to bear witness and to judge the wicked of the world when he shall have a little number that will own him when others do disown him and despise him Now for the use of this Point If it be so that God will still have some in bad times that are good and retain their goodness Vse 1 then I beseech you tell me are you good in bad times are you the better the the worss the times are my brethren I need not tell you that we live in sad and sinfull times for certainly iniquity atheisme and heresie are boyled up to a greater heighth in these three or four years last past than they were in forty years before now doubtless in such distinguishing and trying times as these are you will either be very good or else very bad you will be like one of these two baskets of Figs the good Figs were very good and the bad were very bad tell me then whether you be good Figs or whether you be bad Figs Jer. 24.2 Now to help you in this scrutiny there are but these three questions I would propound to you and I wish you would propound them to your own souls First Are you impartially good Secondly Are you sincerely good Thirdly Are you constantly good Let me speak to every one of these heads a little First tell me Are you impartially good have you respect to all the Commandments of God Psal 119.6 Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect to all thy Commandments Do you respect every command without partiality and without hypocrisie as the Apostle hath it 1 Tim. 5.25 Do you provide things honest in the sight of God and in the sight of men in the fight of God in the duties of the first Table and in the sight of men in the duties of the second Table do you study to be righteous in reference to the second Table as well as to be religious in reference to the
have stood to me in the hour of tryal and have kept thy Word Luke 21.28 John 17.6 9 10. they have kept their integrity and their garments clean therefore Father these are thine nay these are mine for mine are thine and thine are mine and I am glorified in them they have glorified me and let them be glorified with me Father I will that those whom thou hast given me may be with me where I am that they may behold my glory ver 24. O what an unspeakable comfort will this be to all you I say that are willing thus to own Jesus Christ and his cause and truth though in a sinfull generation though it be in times of apostacy and opposition of the truth or in times of trouble and persecution for the truth if you can own Christ he will own you And so much for the first thing by way of comfort that was tendered to this people I will acknowledge them saies God that are carried away captive of Judah The second particular wherein God speaks to them by way of comfort is this namely that he had sent them out of this place into the Land of the Caldeans I have sent them saies God as if he should say true indeed Nebuchadnezzar carried them away captive but he was but my instrument I was the author of their captivity Nebuchadnezzar was the rod wherewith I chastised them I but it was my hand ruled the rod. Now the Doctrine I would commend to you from hence is this That whoever are the instruments of our miseries and calamities Doct. yet God is the author of them Amos 3.6 Shall there be evil in a City and the Lord hath not done it he speaks not of the evil of sinne for certainly God is not the author of sinne that is a blasphemous doctrine to make God the author of sinne but he speaks of the evil of punishment and this is the doctrine Eliphaz taught Job Job 5.6 Affliction cometh not forth of the dust neither doth trouble spring out of the ground as if he should say Do not think O Job that it is chance or Fortune that doth toss or tumble things upside down here below as if God were an idle spectator in Heaven and were doing nothing there no saies he but God fits in Heaven and he is at the sterne and steers all the affairs of this world as it pleaseth him and all the afflictions that have ever befallen thee come not by chance but by the wise disposing hand of God Isa 47.7 saies God I form the light and create darkness I make peace and create evil I the Lord do all these things And this is the lesson Job had learnt Job 1.21 The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away The Lord hath taken away may some say why was it not the Sabeans and the Caldeans that robd Job they took away his Sheep and Oxen and they slew his servants with the edg of the sword I but Job looks not at them it is the Lord saies he that gave me all my riches and 't is he that hath taken them all away And David he had learnt this lesson 2 Sam. 16.7 Shimei railed against him with a black mouth and said Come out come out thou bloody man and thou man of Belial Abishai would have been avenged of him presently and would have taken off the head of that dead dog as he call'd him no no saies David The Lord hath sent Shimei to curse David and if God hath once said it who shall say wherefore hast thou done so For the Reason of this Doctrine that I may briefly wrap it up because I would not hold you long it is this because God hath an absolute independent and unlimited Soveraignty over all creatures in Heaven and earth This is the lesson God would teach Jeremiah and he sends him to the Potters house to learn it Jer. 18.2 3 4. God saies God to the Potters house and I will teach thee a lesson and Jeremiah goes and he sees the Potter making pots apace and he no sooner fashions one pot upon the wheel but he breaks it to pieces presently and what doth God teach them by this O house of Israel saies God cannot I do with you as this Potter with the clay cannot I make of a piece of clay one vessel of honour and another of dishonour cannot I save whom I will and destroy whom I will as the clay is in the hands of the Potter so are ye in my hands O house of Israel verse the 6th and therefore he tells them in the 7th 8th and 9th verses that it was in his power to do what he pleased saies he I can pull down Kingdoms and I can plant Kingdoms I can build up Kingdoms and I can throw down Kingdoms and Nations even as I please like as the Potter can do by the clay Nebuchadnezzar a proud man would not learn this lesson to know he ruled by God and that God was the absolute Soveraign of all creatures here below therefore God sends him to school not to the Potters house as he did Jeremiah but he sends him to the beasts and he grases amongst the Oxen till he came to know that God ruled amongst the children of men and after seaven years he had learnt this lesson and makes an admirable confession Daniel 4.35 Behold saies he this great God doth according to his own will in the army of Heaven and amongst the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand or say unto him what dost thou Let me but briefly apply this Point and then I will end I have but three Uses and I will be very brief in every one of them First By way of Instruction and Admonition If God be the Author of all the miseries and calamities that befall us here below It should then teach us this lesson to fear this great God that hath the rod in his hand wherewith he can scourge whom he will and where and how long he will O! that you and I could learn to stand in awe of him and be afraid to sin against him against him who can send the sword the famine and the Pestilence to consume us from off the face of the earth as it is in the last verse of this 24. Chapter of Jeremiah I will send the sword the famine and the Pestilence among them till they be consumed from off the Land that I gave unto them and to their fathers So Jer. 10.6 7. There is none O Lord like unto thee thou art great and thy name is great in might who would not fear thee O King of Nations And Jer. 15.22 Fear ye not me saith the Lord will you not tremble at my presence who have placed the Sand for a girdle to the Sea by a perpetuall decree that it cannot pass it What do you not fear me that can chain up that great Monster the Sea in fetters of sand do you not fear me that can toss
upon him for ever This is a good conclusion for that God that hath smitten us will heal us if we wait upon him though he hide his face for a little while yet he will not always hide his face Isa 57.16 and though he contend for a little while yet he will not conend for ever lest the spirit which he hath made should faile before him The third and last Use is for consolation Is God the Author of all the miseries and calamities that befall us then it serves for the comfort of the people of God in this that God can order and overrule and he can bridle and restrain wicked and ungodly men in all their enterprises in all their plots and projects and in all their purposes and designs that they have against his people because he is the Author whoever be the instruments all wicked men are but the rod in his hand O Assyrian the rod of mine anger and the staff in their hand is mine indignation Isa 10.5 and if there were twenty rods in a room and never a hand to use one of them we would not be afraid of them the rod can do nothing unless their be a hand to use it instruments can do nothing if God do not make use of them or if he do restrain them God can still the rageing of the sea the noise of their waves and the tumult of the people Psal 65.7 and these two are joyned together the raging of the Sea and the tumnlt of the people implying thus much that though people should rage against Gods servants as much as the waves of th Sea yet God can restrain them he that saies to the waves thus far shall ye go and no further here shall your proud waves be stayed he can say to the rage and fury of the greatest oppressours upon earth thus far shall ye go and no further that God that doth whatsoever pleaseth him in heaven and earth he will order things so that we may be fure though his Church be oppressed yet it shall not be supressed and if he can do whatsoever pleaseth him Psa 31.15 then the enemies of the Church cannot do whatsoever pleaseth them My times are in thy hands saies David Ps 115.7 truly if the times of our troubles were in our own hands the rod would be taken away too soon and if our times were in our enemies hands our afflictions would be too long but now because our times are in Gods hands therefore he will order and over-rule both for time and manner and measure so as may make most for the glory of his own Name and for our comfort that though he do humble us and prow us yet it is that he may do us good in the latter end And this leads me to the third and last particular in the Text The third comfort that is tendered to these poor Captives saies God here I have sent them out of this place into the Land of the Caldeans but it is for their good for their spirituall benefit and advantage But of that God willing you shall hear in the after noon so much shall serve for this time SERMON IV. Jeremiah Chap. 24. Verse 5. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel Like these good Figs so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah whom I have sent out of this place into the Land of the Caldeans for their good I Have spoken to this Text as you may remember in three Sermons I will by Gods assistance finish it at this time I have done with the explication of the Type like these good Figs and am now upon the application if it and the application is wholly comfortable and that in three respects First God tels them that he would acknowledge them that were carried away aptive of Judah And secondly That he himself had sent them into the Land of the Caldeans and these two I have dispatched I come now to the third and last particular and that which is most remarkable in the Text and that is that God doth assure them here that this their captivity should be for their good for their spirituall profit and advantage I have sent them out of this place into the Land of the Caldeans for their good And the Point of Doctrine I would commend to you from hence is this That God in the severest of his proviences Doct. and the sharpest afflictions that his people meet withall doth yet intend their spirituall good To be carried captive into Babylon doubtless it was a very severe providence and a very sharp affliction if you consider either the antecedents of it or the consequents of it the antecedents of it what went before why blood and slaughter and the loss of many mens lives or if you consider also the consequents of it what followed their captivitie why the enslaving of their persons the loss of their estates the leaving of their Country and the Land of their nativity the scorns and reproaches the exultations and triumphs of their adversaries that would be ready to trample upon their misery whereas misery should be a loadstone for mercy and not a footstool for pride to trample upon but yet this they must look for to be trampled upon and triumpht over by their insulting adversaries as for example the Edomites said in the day of Jerusalem that is in the day of Jerusalems misery Down with it down with it even to the ground Psal 137.7 Yea they rejoyced over the Children of Judah in the day of their destruction and they spake proudly in the day of their distress as it is in the Prophesie of Obadiah v. 12. So likwise the Amonites you shall see how they insulted over them when they had carried them Captive Ezek. 26.6 saies God Thou hast clapped thine hands and stamped with the feet and rejoyced in heart with all thy despite against the Land of Israel Insomuch that the people of God complain Psalm 44.13 O Lord thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us These were the wofull consequences of that Captivitie and yet God saies notwithstanding he did intend their spirituall good This is that which God tels them Jer. 32.41 Yea I will rejoyce over you to do you good and I will plant you in this Land assuredly with my whole heart and with my wholesoul And how many testimonies might I produce to this purpose that God in the severest of his dispensations doth yet intend his Childrens good Dut. 8.15 16. When he led thee through that great and terrible Wilderness wherein were fiery Serpents and Scorpions and drought where there was no water c. It was that he might humble thee and prove thee that he might do thee good at thy latter end And Rom. 8.28 't is a known Scripture and as comfortable a Scripture as any in all the Book of God We know that all things work togather for good to
no cause therefore either to fret or be disquieted at any passage of Gods Providence In times of presperity we should not be lifted up and in times of adversity we should not be too much cast down these are the four lessons by way of instruction Secondly Vse 2 Another Use I would make of this Point is for examination O! let every one of us call himself to account and see whether the providences of God in wayes of severity have wrought for our good yea or no hath sin been prevented hath sin been discovered hath it been imbittered hath it been weakned if not quite destroyed have our graces been tryed have they been exercised have we had more faith more patience more meekness more humility have our prayers been more fervent have our affections been more heavenly have we got good by every one of our afflictions To perswade you to this tryall I will use but this one Motive and remember it and take it for a rule It is a never failing evedence discovering a man to be in the state of grace when he finds every condition drawing him nearer to God for then it is a manifest sign you are in the number of those that are called according to his purpose and who love God and are beloved of God that is the second Use Thirdly Vse 3 and so to draw towards a conclusion It may serve for the unspeakable consolation of all those that are good good Figs those that are inwardly good that are impartially good that are constantly good that fear God and that love God those who are called according to his purpose I tell you my brethren this is that which may be a seasonable support to your spirits in sad and sinking times this very Doctrine may be a heart-ravishing cordiall which were it but rightly relished and digested by you might make your very hearts dance within you for joy O! that I were but able to convey the comfort the sweetness of this cordiall to your hearts and to my own certainly if you did but seriously consider this you would not be much troubled at any outward troubles that could befall you no trouble would be very troublesome to you I but saies one alas I am slandered and reproached I am reviled and scorned and am evill spoken of yea though I have not deserved it how can this tend to my good yes God can by this teach thee to live above the world above the credit and repute of men it may be thou didest rest too much in the applause of man and didest triumph too much in a good name now God will by this teach thee to seek that honour that comes from him onely and not that honour that comes from man It was that which our Saviour laid to the charge of the Pharisees John 5.44 saies he How can ye believe which receive honour one of another and seek not the honour that cometh from God onely And saies our Saviour Mat. 5.11 12. Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven It is a sweet saying of St Austin That man that willingly detracts from my good name he doth against his will adde to my Crown All the reproches of men will make our Crown so much the heavier O! but saies another I am very poor my estate and trade is gone I lie under a great deal of poverty I want bread for my family c. How can this ever tend for good yes it may be God by the poverty of thy estate would make thee poor in spirit would make thee humble and base in thine own eyes it may be God foresees that if thou shouldest be rich thou wouledst be proud and therefore he will keep thee poor that thou maist be humble and 't is better a thousand times to be poor in the world and rich in grace than to be rich in the world and poor in garce Jam. 2.5 God chooseth the poor in the world to be rich in faith and have other men greater estates than thou it may be they have greater snares than thou are they in higher places than thou then they are in greater danger of falling than thou the truth is the soul can better manage a state of adversitie than astate of prosperity and when the soul is under some abasement pray mark it it is usually at a lesse distance from God I but I have a body troubled with many infirmities with many diseases pains and aches how can this tend to my good yes God by this will put thee in mind of thy mortality that thou hast a poor tottering Tabernacle that ere long will drop into dust and that therefore thou must seek for a house on high a house prepared in heaven for thee and have other stronger bodies than thou it may be they have souls less weaned from the world than thou hadst thou a healthfull body it may be thy heart would be too much glewed to and set upon the world and this makest thee weary of the world so that thou longest to be with Jesus Christ where thou shalt be freed from all these pains and sorrows and sufferings mark it look wherein we are inferiour unto others in one kind God still makes it up in some other kind I but I am tempted and buffeted with Sathan and am disquieted in mind can this be for my good yes the great God of Heaven and earth can order all these temptations for thy good as David saies Psal 118.13 Thou hast thrust sore at me speaking of Saul that I might fall but the Lord helped me so though Sathan thrust sore at thee to wound thee yet God will so order it that he shall wound thy sin but shall not hurt thy soul 'T is an excellent saying of Saint Austin God saies he is so good that he would never suffer evil to be in the world were he not so wise that he could order all evil for the good of his own people Nay God is so infinitely wise that of poyson he can make an antidote against poyson God can order the sins of his own people for their good to make them more watchfull and to be more humble and abased in their own eyes and to long to be where they shall sin no more This is not an argument for presumption but a prop to keep us from despair O! what a comfortable what a blessed condition is this that whatever the state of Gods people is yet God can and will turn it all for their good What tongue of man or Angel can express the consolation the soul might sind in this Doctrine were it but rightly relished and digested But one Use more and I will have done and that is a use of exhortation as you have heard something for your comfort so you must hear something of dutie also If God in the severest of