Angel tells the Virgin Mary that the Holy Ghost should come upon her and the Power of the Highest should overshadow her and therefore that Holy Thing which should be born of her should be call'd the Son of God And this our Saviour means by the Father's sanctifying him and sending him into the World For which Reason he says he might justly call himself the Son of God John 10.35 36. If he call them Gods unto whom the word of God came and the Scripture cannot be broken Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the World Thou blasphemest because I said I am the Son of God If there had been no other Reason this had been sufficient to have given him the Title of the Son of God that he was brought into the World by the Sanctification or Divine Power of the Holy Ghost 2. Christ is also said in Scripture to be the Son of God and to be declared to be so upon Account of his Resurrection from the Dead by the Power of the Holy Ghost His Resurrection from the Dead is here in the Text ascribed to the Spirit of Holiness or the Holy Ghost And so in other places of Scripture Rom. 8.11 If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the Dead dwell in you And 1 Pet. 3.18 Being put to Death in the Flesh but quickned by the Spirit that is he suffer'd in that frail mortal Nature which he assumed but was raised again by the Power of the Holy Ghost of the Spirit of God which resided in him And upon this Account he is expresly said in Scripture to be the Son of God Psal 2.7 I will declare the decree The Lord hath said unto me Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee to which perhaps the Apostle alludes here in the Text when he says that Christ was decreed to be the Son of God by his Resurrection from the Dead To be sure these Words This day have I begotten thee St. Paul expresly tells us were accomplish'd in the Resurrection of Christ as if God by raising him from the Dead had begotten him and decreed him to be his Son Acts 13.32 33. And we declare unto you glad Tidings how that the Promise which was made unto the Fathers God hath fulfilled the same unto their Children in that he hath raised up Jesus again as it is also written in the second Psalm Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee He was the Son of God before as he was conceived by the Holy Ghost but this was secret and invisible and known only to the Mother of our Lord And therefore God thought fit to give a publick and visible demonstration of it so as to put the matter out of all question he declared him in a powerful manner to be his Son by giving him a new Life after Death by raising him from the Dead and by this new and eminent Testimony given to him declared him again to be his Son and confirmed the Title which was given him before upon a true but more secret Account of his being conceived by the Holy Ghost And as our Saviour is said to be the Son of God upon this twofold Account of his Conception by the Holy Ghost and his Resurrection to Life by the Spirit of God So the Scripture which does solicitously pursue a Resemblance and Conformity between Christ and Christians does likewise upon a twofold Account answerable to our Saviour's Birth and Resurrection call true Believers and Christians the Children of God viz. Upon Account of their Regeneration or new Birth by the Operation of the Spirit of God and upon Account of their Resurrection to Eternal Life by the Power of the same Spirit Upon account of our Regeneration and becoming Christians by the Power and Operation of the Holy Spirit of God upon our Minds we are said to be the Children of God as being regenerated and born again by the Holy Spirit of God And this is our first Adoption And for this Reason the Spirit of God conferred upon Christians at their Baptism and dwelling and residing in them afterwards is call'd the Spirit of Adoption Rom. 8.15 Ye have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby you cry Abba Father And Gal. 4.5 6. Believers are said to receive the Adoption of Sons God having sent forth the Spirit of his Son into their Hearts crying Abba Father That is all Christians for as much as they are regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God and have the Spirit of God dwelling in them may with Confidence call God Father and look upon themselves as his Children So the Apostle tells us Rom. 8.14 That as many as are led or acted by the Spirit of God are the sons of God But though we are said to be Children of God upon account of our Regeneration and the Holy Spirit of God dwelling and residing in Christians yet we are eminently so upon account of our Resurrection to Eternal Life by the mighty Power of God's Spirit This is our final Adoption and the Consummation of it and therefore Rom. 8.21 this is called the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God because by this we are for ever deliver'd from the Bondage of Corruption and by way of Eminency the Adoption viz. the Redemption of our Bodies We are indeed the Sons of God before upon account of the regenerating and sanctifying Virtue of the Holy Ghost but finally and chiefly upon account of our Resurrection by the power of the Divine Spirit So St. John tells us that then we shall be declared to be the Sons of God after another manner than we are now 1 Jo. 3.1 Behold what manner of Love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God Now we are the Sons of God that is our Adoption is begun in our Regeneration and Sanctification but it doth not yet appear what we shall be we shall be much more eminently so at the Resurrection We know that when he shall appear we shall be like him But the most express and remarkable Text to this Purpose is Luke 20.36 where good Men after the Resurrection are for this Reason said to be the Children of God because they are the Children of the Resurrection But they who shall be accounted worthy to obtain that World and the Resurrection from the Dead neither marry nor are given in Marriage neither can they die any more for they are equal to the Angels and are the Children of God being the Children of the Resurrection For this Reason they are said to be the Children of God because they are raised by him to a new Life and to be made Partakers of that which is promised to them and reserved for them For all that are raised by the Power of God out of the Dust of the Earth are not therefore the Children of God but only they that have part in the blessed Resurrection to Eternal Life and do inherit the Kingdom prepared for
both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth But see the strange power of Prejudice to blind the Eyes even of good Men in the plainest matters The Disciples of our Saviour for all they had entertained a new Religion yet they retained the old Pride and Prejudice of their Nation against the rest of the World as if none but themselves had any share in the favour of God or were to have any part in the Salvation of the Messias Our Saviour did so far consider this Prejudice of theirs that he never in his life time acquainted them with this matter so as to make them fully to understand it because they were not able to bear it And it is very probable that this is one of those things which our Saviour meant John 16.12 13. I have yet many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now Howbeit when the Spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth That is he should lead them into the knowledge of those Truths of which they were not then capable And tho' our Saviour after his Resurrection seems to have declared this sufficiently to them yet by their practice after his Ascension it appears that they understood all this only of the Jews namely that they were to preach the Gospel first to the Jews that were at Jerusalem and in Judea and then to those that were dispersed in other Nations for 't is clear from the History of their first Preaching recorded in the Acts that they preached to none but to the Jews and the Proselytes of the Jewish Religion So strong was their Prejudice that they had not the least suspicion that this Blessing of the Gospel was intended for the Heathen World nor were they convinced to the contray 'till St. Peter had a special Vision and Revelation to this purpose and the Holy Ghost came upon the Gentiles in miraculous gifts as he had done before upon the Jews that were converted to Christianity And thus the Spirit of God led them into this Truth and then they understood this Command of our Saviour's in a larger Sense And to this St. Peter plainly refers Acts 10.42 where he tells us how that Christ after his Resurrection appeared to them and commanded them to preach unto the People So likewise do Paul and Barnabas Acts 13.46 where they speak thus to the Jews It was necessary that the word should first be preached to you but seeing you put it from you lo we turn to the Gentiles for so hath the Lord commanded us Now he no where commanded this but in this Commission which he gave them before his Ascension Secondly You have here a particular declaration how they were to manage this work of making Disciples to the Christian Religion 1. By baptizing them into the Chrstian Faith 2. By instructing them in the Precepts and Practices of a Christian Life 1. By baptizing them into the Christian Faith which is here call'd baptizing them into the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost Baptism is a solemn Rite appointed by our Saviour for the initiating of Persons into the Christian Religion But it was a Ceremony in use before both among the Jews and Gentiles The Heathen observed it at the initiating Persons into their Religious Mysteries and the Jews when they admitted Proselytes to their Religion at which time the Males as Maimonides tells us were both circumcised and baptized the Women were only baptized One Circumstance of the Baptism of grown Persons was that standing in the Water up to the Neck they recited several Precepts of the Law And as the Jewish Writers further tell us this Ceremony did not only belong to them that were of grown Years but to the Children of Proselytes if it were desired upon condition that when they came to Years they should continue in that Religion Now tho' this was a religious Ceremony used both by Jews and Gentiles and without any Divine Institution that we know of our blessed Saviour who in none of his Institutions seems to have favour'd unnecessary Innovations was so far from the superstition of declining it upon this account that it had been in religious use both among Jews and Gentiles that he seems the rather to have chosen it for that very reason For seeing it was a common Rite of all Religions and in it self very significant of that Purity which is the great design of all Religion it was the more likely to find the easier Acceptance and to be most suitable to that which he intended to be the universal Religion of the World As for the form of Baptism into the name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost it plainly refers to that short Creed or Profession of Faith which was required of those that were to be baptized answerable to the reciting of the Precepts of the Law at the baptizing of Proselytes among the Jews now the Articles of this Creed were reduced to these three Heads of the Father Son and Holy Ghost and contains what was necessary to be believed concerning each of these And this probably is that which the Apostle calls the Doctrine of Baptism Heb. 6.2 viz. a short Summary of the Christian Faith the Profession whereof was to be made at Baptism of which the most ancient Fathers make so frequent mention calling it the rule of Faith It was a great while indeed before Christians tied themselves strictly to that very form of Words which we now call the Apostles Creed but the Sense was the same tho every one exprest it in his own Words nay the same Father reciting it upon several Occasions does not confine himself to the very same Expressions A plain indication that they were not then strictly bound up to any form of Words but retaining the sense and substance of the Articles every one exprest them as he pleased So that to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is to perform this Rite or Sacrament by the Authority of and with special Relation to the three Persons of the blessed Trinity Father Son and Holy Ghost as the chief Objects of the Christian Faith whereof solemn Profession was then made So that upon this form in Baptism appointed by our Saviour compared with what is elsewhere said in Scripture concerning the Divinity of the Son and the Holy Ghost is principally founded the Doctrine of the blessed Trinity I mean in that simplicity in which the Scripture hath delivered it and not as it hath been since confounded and entangled in the Cobwebs and Niceties of the Schools The Scripture indeed no where calls them Persons but speaks of them as we do of several Persons and therefore that word is not unfitly used to express the difference between them or at least we do not know a fitter word for that purpose By baptizing then in the name of the
Father Son and Holy Ghost is meant the initiating of Men by this solemn Rite or Ceremony into the Christian Religion upon their profession of the necessary Doctrines of it concerning the Father Son and Holy Ghost and a solemn Stipulation and Engagement to live according to those Doctrines Which promise of a suitable Life and Practice was likewise made at the same time as Justin Martyr and other of the ancient Fathers do testify But before I leave this Head it is very fit to take particular notice what use the Anabaptists make of this Text so as in effect to lay the whole stress of their Cause upon it as if by virtue of this Command of our Saviour's and the manner wherein it is exprest all Infants even those of Christian Parents who are themselves already admitted into the new Covenant of the Gospel were excluded from Baptism because it is here said by our Saviour Go ye and disciple all Nations baptizing them from whence they infer and very clearly and strongly as they think that none are to be baptized but such as are first throughly instructed in the Christian Religion and made Disciples which Infants are not but only those who are grown to some Maturity of Years and Understanding But the Opinion and Practice of the ancient Church in this matter is a sufficient Bar to this Inference at least to the clearness of it And indeed it cannot reasonably be imagined that the Apostles who had all of them been bred up in the Jewish Religion which constantly and by virtue of a divine Precept and Institution admitted Infants into that Church and to the benefits of that Covenant by the Rite of Circumcision and likewise the Infants of Proselytes by Baptism as I observed before I say no Man can reasonably imagine that the Apostles could understand our Saviour as intending by any consequence from this Text to exclude the Children of Christians out of the Christian Church and to debar them of the benefits of the New Covenant of the Gospel The Children of Christians being every whit as capable of being taken into this new Covenant and of partaking of the Benefits of it as Children of the Jews were of being admitted into the old Unless we will suppose which at first sight seems very harsh and unreasonable that by the terms of the Christian Religion Children are in a much worse condition than the Children of the Jews were under the Law So that the parity of Reason being so plain nothing less than an express Prohibition from our Saviour and an exception of Children from Baptism can be thought sufficient to deprive the Children of Christians of any Privilege of which the Jewish were capable For the plain meaning of this Commission to the Apostles is to go and proselyte all Nations to the Christian Religion and to admit them solemnly into it by Baptism as the Jews were wont to proselyte Men to their Religion by Circumcision and Baptism by which Rites also they took in the Children of the Proselytes upon promise that when they came to Years they should continue in that Religion And if this was our Saviour's meaning the Apostles had no reason from the Tenor of their Commission to understand that the Children of Christian Proselytes were any more excluded than the Children of Proselytes to the Jewish Religion unless our Saviour had expresly excepted them for it is a favourable Case and in a matter of Privilege and therefore ought not to be determined to debar Children of it upon any obscure consequence from a Text which it is certain was never so understood by the Christian Church for 1500 Years together I have done with the first part of their Commission which was to disciple or proselyte all Nations to the Christian Religion and to admit them into the Christian Church by the Rite or Sacrament of Baptism I proceed to consider the Second part of their Commission which was to instruct Men in the Precepts and Duties of a Christian Life teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you You see how their Commission bounds and limits them they were to teach others those Precepts which Christ had taught and deliver'd to them they had no Power by virtue of this Commission to make new Laws which should be of universal and perpetual Obligation and consequently necessary to the Salvation of all Christians they were only to be the Publishers but not the Authors of this new Religion And therefore St. Paul when the Corinthians consulted him about several things relating to Marriage and Virginity he only gives his advice but would not take upon him to make a Law in those cases that should be binding to all Christians And for the same Reason Christians do generally at this day think themselves absolved from the Obligation of that Canon which was made even in a Council of the Apostles as to all those Branches of it the reason whereof is now câ—ased But notwithstanding this the Authority which our Saviour conferred upon his Apostles to teach his Doctrine does in the nature of it necessarily imply a Power of governing the Societies of Christians under such Officers and by such Rules as are most suitable to the nature of such a Society and most fit to promote the great Ends of the Christian Religion For without this power of governing they cannot be suppos'd to be endowed with sufficient Authority to teach and therefore in pursuance of this Commission we find that the Apostles did govern the Societies of Christians by such Rules and Constitutions as were fitted to the then present circumstances of Christianity And as they did appoint temporary Officers upon emergent Occasions so they constituted others that were of perpetual use in the Church for the instructing and governing of Christians and that in such a subordination to one another as would be most effectual to the attaining of the end of Government which subordination of Governors hath not only been used in all Religions but in all the well regulated Civil Societies that ever were in the World And this may suffice to have spoken of the second part of their Commission The Third and last thing in the Text is the Promise which our Saviour here makes for the encouragement of the Apostles in this Work Lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world that is tho' I be going from you in person yet I will still be present with you by my Power and Spirit And surely this must needs be a great Encouragement to have him engaged for their Assistance who had all power in heaven and earth committed to him as he tells them at the 18 th verse I shall endeavour therefore as far as the time will permit to explain to you the true meaning and extent of this Promise That it is primarily made to the Apostles no man can doubt that considers that it was spoken to them immediately by our Saviour and in regard to them the
if it be according to a Man's Estate and Quality and without intemperance is so far from being a fault that it is a commendable virtue But here was his Fault that he made all to serve his own Sensuality and Luxury without any consideration of the Wants and Necessities of others Whereas one of the great Uses of the plentiful Tables of Rich Men is from the superfluity of them to feed the Poor and the hungry Ver. 20. And there was a certain Beggar named Lazarus as if our Saviour had said for instance poor Lazarus whom ye all knew And here I cannot but take notice of the Decorum which our Saviour uses He would not name any Rich Man because that was invidious and apt to provoke He endeavours to make all Men sensible of their Duty but he would provoke none of them by any peevish Reflection for nothing is more improper than to provoke those whom we intend to perswade While a Man's Reason is calm and undisturbed it is capable of Truth fairly propounded but if we once stir up Men's Passions it is like muddying of the Waters they can discern nothing clearly afterwards But to proceed in the Parable There was a certain Beggar named Lazarus which was laid at the Rich Man's gate full of Sores and was desirous to be fed with the crumbs which fell from his Table moreover the Dogs came and licked his sores Here are three great Aggravations of the Rich Man's uncharitableness 1 st That here was an Object presented it self to him 2 dly Such an Object as would move any ones Pity a Man reduced to extream Misery and Necessity 3 dly A little Relief would have contented him 1 st Here was an Object presented it self to him Lazarus laid at the Rich man's Gate so that so often as he went out of his own House and came in he could not but take notice of him Good Men that are charitably disposed will enquire out Objects for their Charity and not always stay 'till they thrust themselves upon them But he is a very bad Man who when an Object of great Pity and Charity is presented is so far from relenting towards him that he stops his Ear to his Cry and turns away his Face from him He is an uncharitable Man who being Rich and hearing of the Miseries of others does not take them into Consideration But what we see with our Eyes is much more apt to affect us So that this was an Argument of a very cruel disposition in the Rich Man that having so many Occasions of seeing Lazarus he should never be moved to commiserate him 2 dly Here was such an Object presented to him as would move any ones Pity a Man reduced to extream Misery and Necessity Here was no common Object of Charity a Man not only in extream Want but in great Pain and Anguish and so helpless that he was unable to keep off the Dogs from being troublesome to him And yet this did not move him 3 dly A very little Relief would have contented this Poor Man and have been a great Kindness to him that which the Rich Man might have spared without the least Prejudice to himself He would have been glad to have been fed with the crumbs which fell from the Rich Man's table and yet the Parable intimates that the Rich Man was so hard-hearted as not to afford him these Ver. 23. And it came to pass that the Beggar died and was carried by the Angels into Abraham's bosom Here was a great and sudden Change He who when he was alive was neglected by Men and contumeliously exposed like a dead Carcass to the Dogs when he dies is attended on by the Angels and by them safely conveyed into a state of unspeakable Happiness He who lay at the Rich Man's Gate and could find no entrance there is admitted into Heaven The Beggar died and was carried into Abraham's bosom 'T is very observable that our Saviour in this Parable represents Men as passing immediately out of this Life into a state of Hppiness or Torment And as in no other place of Scripture so neither in this where it had been so proper does our Saviour give the least Intimation of the state of Purgatory which the Church of Rome hath devised and makes so much Profit and Advantage of which because it is so visible and apparent we may without Uncharitableness suppose to be the reason why they keep such a stir about it And was carried by the Angels into Abraham's bosom It was an ancient Tradition among the Jews that the Angels did attend good Men at their Death and carry their Souls into Paradice which is here call'd Abraham's bosom And this was a proper place for Lazarus who had been neglected by the Rich Man to be conveyed into Abraham's Bosom who was of a quite contrary temper and loved to entertain and relieve Strangers And Paradice is fitly call'd Abraham's bosom because the Jews had so great a Veneration for Abraham and that deservedly for his eminent Faith and Obedience that they gave him the first place among the blessed Hence is the Expression Matth. 8.11 of sitting down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God Now this Expression of being in Abraham's bosom is an Allusion to the Custom of Feasts among the Jews where the most esteemed and beloved Guest sat next him that was chief at the Feast and leaned on his Bosom Hence St. John is call'd the Disciple whom Jesus loved because when he sat at Meat he leaned on his Bosom John 13.23 Hence likewise is the Expression of our Saviour's being in the Bosom of his Father to signifie his dearness to him John 1.18 No Man hath seen God at any time the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father he hath declared him I proceed The Rich Man also died and was buried The Rich Man also died this is very elegant and emphatical insinuating to us what the Scripture so often takes notice of that Riches for all Men's confidence in them will not deliver from Death This Rich Man indeed was out of Danger of being starved and famisht as poor Lazarus was But Death had other ways to come at him It is probable enough that he might be surfeited by faring sumptuously every day The Rich Man also died And was buried And here again we may observe the strict Decorum which our Saviour uses in this Parable It is not said of Lazarus that he was buried but only that he died it is probable that he was flung out of the way into some Pit or other But of the Rich Man it is said he was buried And this is all the advantage which a Rich Man hath by a great Estate after he is dead to have a pompous and solemn Funeral which yet signifies nothing to him after Death because he is insensible of it Ver. 23. And in Hell he lift up his Eyes being in Torments and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus
Several Discourses Viz. Proving Jesus to be the Messias The Prejudices against Jesus and his Religion consider'd Jesus the Son of God proved by his Resurrection The Danger of Apostacy from Christianity Christ the Author Obedience the Condition of Salvation The Possibility and Necessity of Gospel Obedience and its consistence with free Grace The Authority of Jesus Christ with the Commission and Promise which he gave to his Apostles The Difficulties of a Christian Life consider'd The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus Children of this World wiser than the Children of Light By the Most Reverend Dr. JOHN TILLOTSON Late Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury Being The FIFTH VOLUME Published from the Originals By Ralph Barker D. D. Chaplain to his Grace The Second Edition Corrected LONDON Printed for Ri. Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1700. THE CONTENTS Of the Fifth Volume SERM. I. Proving Jesus to be the Messias MATTH XI 2 3 4 5 6. NOW when John had heard in Prison the works of Christ he sent two of his Disciples and said unto him Art thou he that should come or do we look for another Jesus answered and said unto them Go and shew John again these things which ye do hear and see The Blind receive their sight and the Lame walk the Lepers are cleansed and the Deaf hear the Dead are raised up and the Poor have the Gospel preached unto them And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me Page 1. SERM. II III. The Prejudices against Christianity consider'd MATTH XI 6 And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me p. 47 91. SERM. IV. Jesus the Son of God prov'd by his Resurrection ROM I. 4 And declared to be the Son of God with Power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the Resurrection from the dead p. 127. SERM. V. The danger of Apostacy from Christianity HEB. VI. 4 5 6. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightned and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come If they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame p. 155. SERM. VI. Christ the Author and Obedience the Condition of Salvation HEB. V. 9 And being made perfect he became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him p. 197. SERM. VII The Possibility and Necessity of Gospel-Obedience and its consistence with free Grace HEB. V. 9 And being made perfect he became the Author of eternal Salvation unto all them that obey him p. 231. SERM. VIII The Authority of Jesus Christ with the Commission and Promise which he gave to his Apostles MAT. XXVIII 18 19 20. And Jesus came and spake unto them saying All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth Go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you And lo I am with you alway even unto the end of the World p. 265. SERM. IX The Difficulties of a Christian Life consider'd LUKE XIII 24 Strive to enter in at the strait Gate for many I say unto you will seek to enter in and shall not be able p. 301. SERM. X XI The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus LUKE XVI 19 20. There was a certain Rich Man which was cloathed in Purple and fine Linen and fared sumptuously every day And there was a certain Beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his Gate full of Sores p. 343 379. SERM. XII The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus LUKE XVI 31 If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead p. 417. SERM. XIII The Children of this World wiser than the Children of Light LUKE XVI 8 For the Children of this World are in their Generation wiser than the Children of Light p. 447. SERMON I. Proving Jesus to be the Messias MATTH XI 2 3 4 5 6. Now when John had heard in Prison the works of Christ he sent two of his Disciples and said unto him Art thou he that should come or do we look for another Jesus answered and said unto them Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see The Blind receive their sight and the Lame walk the Lepers are cleansed and the Deaf hear the Dead are raised up and the Poor have the Gospel preached unto them And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me ABOUT the time of our Saviour's appearing in the World there was a general expectation of a Great Prince that should come out of Judea and govern all Nations This the Gentiles had from the Prophecies of the Sybils Vol. V. which spake of a great King that was to appear in the World about that time So Virgil tells us that the time of Augustus was the utmost date of that Prophecy Vltima Cumaei venit jam carminis aetas And Suetonius tells us that all over the Eastern Countries there was an ancient and constant Tradition that such a Prince should spring out of Judea And for this Reason it is that our Saviour is call'd by the Prophet the Expectation of the Nations But more especially among the Jews there was at that time a more lively and particular expectation grounded upon the Predictions of their Prophets of a Prince whom they call'd the Messias or the Anointed and those who were more devout among them did at that time wait for his appearance as it is said of Simeon that he waited for the consolation of Israel Hence it was that when John the Baptist appeared in the quality of an extraordinary Prophet they sent from Jerusalem to enquire whether he were the Messias John 1.19 The Jews sent Priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him Ser. 1. Who art thou And he confessed and denied not but confessed I am not the Christ The Sanhedrim to whom it belonged to judge who were true Prophets sent to know whether he was the Messias or not He would not take this honour to himself but told them the Messias was just at hand and the next day when Jesus came to be baptized of him he bare record that he was the Son of God and that he saw the Spirit descending and abiding upon him So that it is plain that he knew him and bare witness of him which makes it the more strange that here in the Text he should send two of his Disciples to enquire whether he were the Messias or not Art thou he that should come or do we look for another That is art thou the Messias or not for so he is call'd in the ancient Prophecies of him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he that should come Gen. 49.10
their Universal Expectation Thirdly As to his Miracles Fourthly His Conversation Fifthly The Prejudice that lay against him from the Opposition that was made by Persons of greatest Knowledge and Authority among them And Lastly That the Religion which he endeavour'd to introduce did abolish and supersede their ancient Religion as of no longer Use and Continuance though it was plain it was at first instituted by God First The Exceptions which they took at his Extraction and Original In relation to this they were offended at three Things 1. That his Original was known among them This you find urged against him John 7.27 We know this Man whence he is but when the Messias comes no Man knows whence he is This to be sure was no just Exception in reason against him For what if his Extraction were known might he not be from God for all that They owned Moses for the greatest Prophet that ever was and yet it was very well known from whence he was But they seem to refer to some Prophecy of the Old Testament which did seem to assert so much If they meant that his Extraction should be altogether unknown they knew very well and believed the contrary that he was to be of the Line of David and to come out of Bethlehem If they referr'd to that Prophecy that a Virgin should conceive and bear a Son and so understood that he should be without Father this was really true tho' they thought that he was the Son of Joseph And if he affirmed that he had no Father he did sufficiently justify it by his Miracles that being as easy to be believed possible by a Divine Power as the Miracles which he wrought which yet they could not deny because they saw them 2. Another Prejudice against his Extraction was the Meanness of his Parents and Breeding This you find mentioned Matth. 13.54 55. Whence hath this Man this Wisdom and these mighty Works Is not this the Carpenter's Son is not his Mother called Mary and his Brethren James and Jâ—ses and Simon and Judas And his Sisters are they not all with us Whence then hath this Man these things And they were offended in him And so likewise John 7.15 How knoweth this Man Letters having never learned A strange Prejudice and most unreasonable They could not believe him to be an extraordinary Person because his Parents and Relations his Birth and Breeding were so mean He had been brought up to a Trade and not brought up to Learning whereas in Reason this ought to have been an Argument just the other way that he was an extraordinary Person and divinely assisted who all on the sudden without the help and assistance of Education gave such Evidence of his great Wisdom and Knowledge and did such mighty Works This could not be imputed to his Breeding for that was mean therefore there must be something Extraordinary and Divine in it Thus another Man who had been free from Prejudice would have reasoned 3. The most unreasonable Prejudice of all in respect of his Extraction was grounded upon a spiteful and malicious Proverb concerning the Country where our Saviour was brought up and they supposed him to be born and that was Galilee John 1.46 Can any good thing come out of Nazareth And John 7.41 Shall the Messias come out of Galilee And v. 52. Search and look for out of Galilee ariseth no Prophet But it seems Nathanael who was a good Man was easily taken off from this common Prejudice when Philip said to him come and see He bids him come and see the Works he did and then refers it to him whether he would believe his own Eyes or an old Proverb However it seems the Jews laid great weight upon it as if this alone were enough to confute all his Miracles and after they had shot this Bolt at him the Business were concluded clearly against him But prudent and considerate Men do not use to give much Credit to ill-natur'd Proverbs the good or bad Characters which are given of Countreys are not understood to be universally true and without Exception There is no place but hath brought forth some brave Spirits and excellent Persons whatever the general Temper and Disposition of the Inhabitants may be Among the Grecians the Beotians were esteemed a dull People even to a Proverb and yet Pindar one of their chief Poets was one of them The Scythians were a barbarous Nation and one would have thought no good could have come from thence and yet that Country yielded Anacharsis an eminent Philosopher The Idumeans were Aliens and Strangers to the Covenant and yet Job one of the best Men that ever was came from thence God can raise up eminent Persons from any place Abraham from Vr of the Chaldees and an Idolatrous People Nay as our Saviour tells us he can out of Stones raise up Children unto Abraham The wise God in the Government of the World does not tie himself to our foolish Proverbs It is not necessary to make a Man a Prophet that he should be bred in a good Air. If God sends a Man it matters not from what Place he comes Secondly Another Head of Exception against our Saviour was the meanness of his outward Condition so contrary to the Universal Expectation of the Jews The Jews from the Tradition of their Fathers to which they as the Church of Rome does at this Day paid a greater Reverence than to the written word of God were possest with a strong Perswasion that the Messias whom they expected was to be a great Prince and Conqueror and to subdue all Nations to them so that nothing could be a greater defeat to their Expectations than the mean and low Condition in which our Saviour appeared so that upon this Account they were almost universally offended at him But this Prejudice was very unreasonable For neither did their Prophets foretel any such thing as the Temporal Greatness of the Messias But on the contrary most expresly that he should be despised and rejected of Men that he should be a Man of Sorrows and Sufferings and at last be put to death which was directly contrary to what they expected from their ill-grounded Tradition Thirdly Against his Miracles they made these two Exceptions 1. That he wrought them by Magical Skill and by the Power of the Devil Which was so exorbitantly unreasonable and malicious that our Saviour pronounceth it to be an unpardonable Sin and for Answer to it appeals to every Man's Reason whether it was likely that the Devil should conspire against himself and assist any Man to overthrow his own Kingdom For it was plain our Saviour's Doctrine was directly contrary to the Devil's Design and therefore to assist him to work Miracles for the Confirmation of it must have been apparently against his own Interest and to the Ruin of his own Kingdom 2. They pretended that though he did many great Works yet he gave them no Sign from Heaven Matt. 16.1 it is said They desired
suffer nothing but Truth and Reason to weigh with them We generally pretend to be Pilgrims and Strangers in the World and to be all travelling towards Heaven but few of us have the Indifferency of Travellers who are not concern'd to find out the fairest and the easiest Way but to know which is the right Way and to go in it Thus it should be with us our End should always be in our Eye and we should chuse our way only with Respect to that not considering our Inclination so much as our Design nor chusing those Principles for the Government of our Lives which are most agreeable to our present Desires but those which will most certainly bring us to Happiness at the last and that I am sure the Principles of the Christian Religion firmly believed and practised by us will do Let us then be persuaded by all that hath been said upon this Argument to a firm Belief of the Christian Doctrine I hope you are in some Measure satisfied that the Objections against it are not such as ought much to move a wise and considerate Man If we believe that God hath taken so much care of Mankind as to make any certain Revelation of his Will to them and of the way to Eternal Happiness let us next consider whether any Religion in the World can come in Competition with the Christian and with half that Reason pretend to be from God that Christianity is able to produce for it self whether we consider the Things to be believed or the Duties to be practised or the Motives and Arguments to the Practice of those Duties or the Divine Confirmation that is given to the whole And if we be thus persuaded concerning it let us resolve to live up to the Laws and Rules of this Holy Religion Our belief of it signifies nothing without the Fruits and Effects of a Good Life And if this were once resolved upon the Difficulty of believing would cease for the true Reason why Men are unwilling to believe the Truths of the Gospel is because they are loth to put them in Practice Every one that doth Evil hateth the Light The true Ground of most Mens Prejudice against the Christian Doctrine is because they have no mind to obey it and when all is done the great Objection that lies at the bottom of Mens Minds against it is that it is an Enemy to their Lusts and they cannot profess to believe it without condemning themselves for not complying with it in their Lives and Practice SERMON IV. Jesus the Son of God prov'd by his Resurrection ROM I. 4 And declared to be the Son of God with Power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the Resurrection from the dead ST Paul in the beginning of this Epistle according to his Custom in the rest stiles himself an Apostle particularly call'd and set apart by God for the preaching of the Gospel the main Subject whereof was Jesus Christ our Lord Who as he was according to his Divine Nature Vol. V. the eternal Son of God so according to his Human Nature he was not only the Son of Man but also the Son of God According to the Flesh that is the Weakness and Frailty and Mortality of his Human Nature he was the Son of David that is of his Posterity by his Mother who was of that House and Line Made of the seed of David according to the Flesh v. 3. But according to the Spirit of Holiness that is in regard of that Divine Power of the Holy Ghost which was manifested in him especially in his Resurrection from the Dead he was demonstrated to be the Son of God even according to his Human Nature Declared to be the Son of God with Power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the Resurrection from the dead All the Difficulty in the Words is concerning the meaning of this Phrase of Christ's being declared to be the Son of God The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which most frequently in Scripture does signify predestinated decreed determined but it likewise signifies that which is defined declared demonstrated Ser. 4. put out of all Doubt and Controversy And in this Sense our Translation renders it As if the Apostle had said that our Lord Jesus Christ though according to the Frailty and Weakness of his Human Nature he was of the Seed of David yet in respect of that Divine Power of the Holy Ghost which manifested it self in him especially in his Resurrection from the Dead he was declared to be the Son of God with Power that is mightily powerfully demonstrated to be so so as to put the matter out of all Dispute and Controversy And therefore following our own Translation I shall handle the Words in this Sense as containing this Proposition in them That the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the Dead by the Holy Ghost is a powerful demonstration that he was the Son of God And it will conduce very much to the clearing of this Proposition to consider these Two things First Upon what Account Christ as Man is said to be the Son of God Secondly In what Sense he is said to be declared to be the Son of God by his Resurrection from the Dead The Consideration of these Two Particulars will fully clear this Proposition and the Apostles Meaning in it First Upon what Account Christ as Man is said to be the Son of God And for our right Apprehension of this Matter it is very well worthy our Observation that Christ as Man is no where in Scripture said to be the Son of God but with relation to the Divine Power of the Holy Ghost some way or other eminently manifested in him I say the Divine Power of the Holy Ghost as the Lord and Giver of Life as he is call'd in the Ancient Creeds of the Christian Church For as Men are naturally said to be the Children of those from whom they receive their Life and Being so Christ as Man is said to be the Son of God because he had Life communicated to him from the Father by an immediate Power of the Spirit of God or the Holy Ghost First at his Conception which was by the Holy Ghost The Conception of our Blessed Saviour was an immediate Act of the Power of the Holy Ghost overshadowing as the Scripture expresseth it the blessed Mother of our Lord And then at his Resurrection when after his Death he was by the Operation of the Holy Ghost raised to Life again Now upon these two Accounts only Christ as Man is said in Scripture to be the Son of God He was really so upon Account of his Conception but this was secret and invisible but most eminently and remarkably so upon account of his Resurrection which was open and visible to all 1. Upon Account of his Conception by the Power of the Holy Ghost That upon this Account he was called the Son of God St. Luke most expresly tells us Luke 1.35 where the
our Saviour John 10.36 Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the World Thou blasphemest because I said I am the Son of God And when he was arraigned before the Chief Priests they accused him of this and he owning this Charge that he call'd himself the Son of God upon this they judge him guilty of Death Matth. 26.65 66. Then the High-Priest rent his Cloaths and said He hath spoken Blasphemy what further need have we of witness Behold now ye have heard his Blasphemy What think ye They answered He is guilty of Death And when Pilate told them that he found no Fault in him they still instance in this as his Crime John 19.7 We have a Law and by our Law he ought to die because he made himself the Son of God Now this being the Crime which was charged upon him and for which he was crucified and put to Death God by raising him up from the dead and taking him up into Heaven gave Testimony to him that he was no Impostor and that he did not vainly arrogate to himself to be the Messias and the Son of God God by raising him from the dead by the Power of the Holy Ghost gave a mighty Demonstration to him that he was the Son of God For which Reason he is said by the Apostle 1 Tim. 3.16 to be justified by the Spirit The Spirit gave Testimony to him at his Baptism and by the mighty Works that appeared in him in his Life-time but he was most eminently and remarkably justified by the Holy Ghost by his Resurrection from the Dead God hereby bearing him Witness that he was unjustly condemned and that he assumed nothing to himself but what of right did belong to him when he said he was the Messias and the Son of God For how could a Man that was condemned to dye for calling himself the Son of God be more remarkably vindicated and more clearly proved to be so than by being raised from the dead by the Power of God And 2 dly God did consequently hereby give Testimony to the Truth and Divinity of our Saviour's Doctrine Being proved by his Resurrection to be the Son of God this proved him to be a Teacher sent by him and that what he declared to the World was the Mind and Will of God For this none was more likely to know and to report truly to Mankind than the Son of God who came from the Bosom of his Father And because the Resurrection of Christ is so great a Testimony to the Truth of his Doctrine hence it is that St. Paul tells us that the belief of this one Article of Christ's Resurrection is sufficient to a Man's Salvation Rom. 10.9 If thou shalt confess with thy Mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy Heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved The Reason is plain because the Resurrection of Christ confirmed the Truth and Divinity of his Doctrine so that the belief of our Saviour's Resurrection does by necessary Consequence infer the belief of his whole Doctrine That God raised him from the dead after he was condemned and put to Death for calling himself the Son of God is a demonstration that he really was the Son of God and if he was the Son of God the Doctrine which he taught was true and from God And thus I have shewn you how the Resurrection of Christ from the dead is a powerful Demonstration that he was the Son of God All that remains is briefly to draw some practical Inferences from the Consideration of our Saviour's Resurrection 1 st To confirm and establish our Minds in the belief of the Christian Religion of which the Resurrection of Christ from the dead is so great a Confirmation And therefore I told you that this one Article is mentioned by St. Paul as the Sum and Abridgment of the Christian Faith If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the Dead thou shalt be saved The belief of our Saviour's Resurrection doth by necessary consequence infer the belief of his whole Doctrine for he who believes that God raised him from the dead after he was put to death for calling himself the Son of God cannot but believe him to be the Son of God and consequently that the Doctrine which he delivered was from God 2 dly The Resurrection of Christ from the dead assures us of a future Judgment and of the Recompences and Rewards of another World That Christ was raised from the dead is a demonstration of another Life after this and no man that believes the immortality of our Souls and another Life after this ever doubted of a future Judgment so that by the Resurrection of Christ from the dead God hath given assurance unto all men of a future Judgment and consequently of the Recompences and Rewards of another World The consideration whereof ought to have a mighty influence upon us more especially to these three purposes 1 st To raise our minds above the present Enjoyments of this Life Were but men convinced of this great and obvious Truth that there is an infinite difference between Time and Eternity between a few days and everlasting Ages would we but sometimes represent to our selves what thoughts and apprehensions dying Men have of this World how vain and empty a thing it appears to them how like a Pageant and Shadow it looks as it passeth away from them methinks none of these things could be a sufficient temptation to any Man to forget God and his Soul but notwithstanding all the present delights and allurements of Sense we should be strongly intent upon the concernments of another World and almost wholly taken up with the thoughts of the vast Eternity which we are ready to enter into For what is there in this World this vast and howling Wilderness this rude and barbarous Country which we are but to pass through which should detain and entangle our Affections and take off our Thoughts from our Everlasting Habitation from that better and that heavenly Country where we hope to live and to be happy for ever 2 dly The Consideration of the Rewards of another World should comfort and support us under the troubles and afflictions of this World The hopes of a blessed Resurrection are a very proper Consideration to bear us up under the evils and pressures of this Life If we hope for so great a Happiness hereafter we may be contented to bear some Afflictions in this World because the Blessedness which we expect will so abundantly recompence and outweigh our present Sufferings So the Apostle assures us Rom. 8.18 We know that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the Glory that shall be revealed in us The consideration whereof was that which made the Primitive Christians to triumph in their Sufferings and in the midst of all their Tribulations
we are unprofitable Servants and have done nothing but what was our duty yet God is pleased to accept what we can do because it is sincere and to forgive the defects and imperfections of our Obedience for his sake who fulfilled all righteousness And besides all this we have the encouragement of a great and everlasting Reward infinitely beyond all proportion of any service and Obedience that we can perform And if God be ready to assist and strengthen us in the doing of our duty and be willing so graciously to accept and to reward at such a rate the Sincerity of our endeavours to please him notwithstanding all the failings and imperfections of our best service and Obedience what can we possibly desire more for our encouragement to patient continuance in well-doing and to be stedfast and unmoveable and abundant in the work of the Lord. Fourthly and lastly The consideration of what hath been said upon this Argument may serve severely to rebuke the groundless Presumption of those who rely with so much confidence upon Chrst for eternal Salvation without any conscience or care to keep his Commandments as if Salvation lay upon his Hands and he knew not how to dispose of it and were glad of any one that would come and take it off upon any terms No he came to save us from our Sins to redeem us from all iniquity and to purifie to himself a peculiar people zealous of good Works So that the Salvation which he hath purchased for us doth necessarily imply our forsaking of our Sins and returning to God and our Duty and his Death and Sufferings are not more an argument of his great Love to Mankind than they are a demonstration of his perfect hatred of Sin So that if we continue in the Love and practice of Sin we defeat the whole design of his coming into the World and of all that he hath done and suffered for us and the redemption which Christ hath wrought for us will not avail us in the least Salvation is far from the wicked says David Psal 119.155 If we have been workers of Iniquity the Saviour of the World when he comes to judge it will bid us to depart from him From all that hath been said it is evident that it is the greatest Presumption in the World for any Man to hope to obtain eternal Salvation by any device whatsoever or in the Communion of any Church whatsoever without Obedience and a holy Life For tho' our Obedience cannot merit yet it is necessary to qualifie and dispose us for it tho' it does not make us strictly worthy yet it makes us meet to be made partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light SERMON VIII The Authority of Jesus Christ with the Commission and Promise which he gave to his Apostles MAT. XXVIII 18 19 20. And Jesus came and spake unto them saying All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth Go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you And lo I am with you alway even unto the end of the World THESE Words are the last that our Blessed Saviour spake to his Apostles immediately before his Ascension into Heaven and there are these Three things contained in them Vol. V. I. A Declaration of his own Authority All power is given unto me both in heaven and in earth II. A Commission to his Disciples grounded upon that Authority Go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you III. A Promise to encourage them in this work And lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world I. Here 's our Saviour's Declaration of his own Authority All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth Here 's an unlimited Power and Authority given him over all Creatures in Heaven and Earth This the Scripture tells us was conferred upon him as a Reward of his Sufferings Phil. 2.8 9 10. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the Cross Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a Name which is above every name that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth that is that all Creatures Angels and Men and Devils should do Homage and acknowledge Subjection to him II. Here is the Commission he gave to his Apostles by virtue of this Authority Go ye therefore and teach all Nations The Commission which he here gives is founded in the Authority he had before received Having all Power committed to him he constitutes and appoints the Apostles and their Successors to manage the Affairs of this his spiritual Kingdom upon Earth and this seems to be the same Commission which St. John mentions in other words John 20.21 As my Father hath sent me even so send I you that is as my Father commission'd me before so now having received full Authority from him I commission you Now in this Commission which our Saviour gave to his Disciples I shall take notice First Of the general Import and Design of it Secondly A more particular Declaration how they were to manage this Design First The general Import and Design of this Commission Go ye and teach all Nations The word which we translate teach is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 disciple all Nations endeavour to make all the World Christians One would think here was a Power plainly enough given them to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews Which will more fully appear if we compare this passage in St. Matthew with the other Evangelists St. Mark oh 16.15 hath it Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature From which Text I suppose St. Francis thought himself bound to preach to Beasts and Birds and accordingly did it very often and with wonderful success as they tell us in the Legend of his Life But to extend our Saviour's Commission so far is want of Common sense in which St. Francis tho' they tell us he had other Gifts and Graces to an eminent degree was plainly defective But to proceed St. Luke ch 24.47 tells us our Saviour commanded that Repentance and remission of Sins should be preached in his Name among all Nations beginning at Jerusalem So that their Commission did plainly extend to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews only they were to begin with the Jews and to preach the Gospel first to them and when they had gone over Judea and Samaria then to pass to other Nations as St. Luke doth most expresly declare Acts 1.8 Ye shall receive power after that the holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me
meaning of it is plainly this that our Saviour would send down the Holy Ghost upon them in miraculous Gifts to quality and enable them for the more speedy planting and propagating of the Gospel in the World and that he would be with them and assist them extraordinarily in this Work And that this is the primary meaning of it in regard to the Apostles will be very plain by considering how this Promise is exprest by the other Evangelists Mark 16.17 instead of this Promise you have these words immediately after our Saviour had given them Commission to go and preach the Gospel Go ye into all the World and preach the Gospel to every Creature He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned And then it follows These signs shall follow them that believe in my Name they shall cast out Devils and shall speak with new Tongues And Luke 24.39 instead of Lo I am with you it is said Behold I send the promise of my Father upon you that is the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost for it follows in the next Words but tarry ye in the City of Jerusalem until ye be endowed with power from on high This St. Luke himself interprets of the Promise of the Holy Ghost Acts 1.4 5 He commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father which saith he ye have heard of me For John truly baptized with Water but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence And v. 8. Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the Earth So that no Man that compares these Texts together can doubt but that this was the primary meaning of this Promise as it was made to the Apostles But then it is as plain likewise that this Promise is to be extended farther than to the Persons of the Apostles even to all those that should afterwards succeed them in this Work of Preaching the Gospel and baptizing because our Saviour adds that he would be with them to the end of the world which Words because they reach far beyond the Apostles Times as I shall shew by and by must necessarily be extended to such Persons in after-Ages as should carry on the same Work There are two famous Controversies about the Sense of these Words in which this Promise is exprest The First is concerning the Circumstance of time mentioned in this Promise Alway to the end of the World The other concerning the Substance of the Promise it self what is meant by our Saviour's being with them In the first we have to deal with the Enthusiasts in the latter with the Papists I shall examine the Pretences of both these as briefly and plainly as I can First Concerning the Circumstance of time exprest in these words Alway to the end of the world The Enthusiasts would persuade us that the meaning of these Phrases is not to be extended beyond that Age and that this Promise is to be limited to the Apostles Persons and that the Sense of it is that Christ would be with the Apostles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all their Days so long as they should live and that would be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the end of that Age thus they translate it and with no worse design than to take away the Necessity of a Gospel-Ministry But this Pretence will vanish if we can make good these two things 1. That the Letter of this Promise extends farther than the Persons of the Apostles and the continuance of that Age. 2. However that be it is certain that the reason of it extends to all that should succeed them in their Ministry to the end of the World 1. The Letter of this Promise extends farther than the Persons of the Apostles and the continuance of that Age. I will easily grant that the Phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies only continually I will be with you continually but then the other Phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 until the end of the World is several times in Scripture undeniably used for the End and Dissolution of all things and cannot with any Probability be shewn to be ever used otherwise In this Sense it is unquestionably used three times Matth. 13. The Harvest is the end of the World v. 39. So shall it be at the end of the World v. 40. and v. 49. it is said that at the end of the World the Angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from the just and cast them into the Furnace which must either be understood of the end of the World and of the day of Judgment or there will be no clear Text in the whole Bible to that purpose and it is very probable that this Phrase is used in the same Sense Matth. 24.3 where the Disciples ask our Saviour What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world as will appear to any one that considers our Saviour's Answer to this Question the latter part whereof cannot without too much Violence be accommodated to any thing but the final Dissolution of the World Now if this Phrase be every where else in Scripture used in this Sense there is no reason why it should be taken otherwise in the Text only to serve the purpose of an unreasonable Opinion I know there are Phrases very near a-kin to this which are used in a quite different Sense namely for the expiration of the Jewish State and that we may know how to distinguish them it is observable that when the Scripture speaks of the end of the World it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the end of the Age in the singular Number but when it speaks of the Times before the Gospel it always expresseth them in the plural the reason of which is that famous Tradition among the Jews of the House of Elias which distributed the whole duration of the World into three Ages the Age before the Law the Age under the Law and the Age of the Messias and this last Age they looked on with great difference from the rest as the famous and glorious Age which was to be as it were the beginning of a new World And therefore the Jews in their Writings constantly call it the seculum suturum the Age or the World to come And therefore the Apostle in this Epistle to the Hebrews calls the State of the Gospel by that name as best known to them Heb. 2.5 But unto the Angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we now speak that is the Law was given by the disposition of Angels but the dispensation of the Gospel which is call'd the World to come was managed and administred by the Son of God So likewise Heb. 6.5 those miraculous Powers which accompanied the first
There is a worse Objection than all these made by some grave Men who would be glad under a pretence of Piety to slip themselves out of this Duty and that is this that it savours of Popery to press good Works with so much earnestness upon Men as if we could merit Heaven by them So that they dare not be charitable out of a pious Fear as they pretend lest hereby they should entertain the Doctrine of Merit But if the Truth were known I doubt Covetousness lyes at the bottom of this Objection However it is fit it should be answered And 1. I say that no Man that is not prejudiced either by his Education or Interest can think that a Creature can merit any thing at the hand of God to whom all that we can possibly do is antecedently due much less that we can merit so great a Reward as that of Eternal Happiness 2. Tho we deny the merit of good Works yet we firmly believe the necessity of them to Eternal Life And that they are necessary to Eternal Life is as good an Argument to perswade a wise Man to do them as if they were meritorious unless a Man be so vain-glorious as to think Heaven not worth the having unless he purchase it himself at a valuable Consideration And now let me earnestly intreat you as you love God and your own Souls not to neglect this Duty lest you bring your selves to the same miserable state with this Rich Man to whom the least Charity that could be askt was denied Our Saviour hath purposely left this Parable on record to be a testimony and a witness to us lest we being guilty of the same sin should come into the same place of torment And if any ask me according to what proportion of his Estate he ought to be charitable I cannot determine that Only let no Man neglect his Duty because I cannot and it may be no one else can tell him the exact proportion of his Charity to his Estate There are some Duties that are strictly determined as those of Justice but God hath left our Charity to be a free will Offering In the proportion of this Duty every one must determine himself by Prudence and the Love of God God hath left this Duty undetermined to try the largeness of our Hearts towards him only to encourage us to be abundant in this Grace he hath promised that according to the proportion of our Charity shall be the degree of our Happiness 2 Cor. 9 6. He that soweth plentifully shall reap plentifully But let us be sure to do something in this kind any part of our Estate rather than none I will conclude with that excellent Counsel of the Son of Syrach Eccl. 4. My Son defraud not the Poor and make not the needy Eye to wait long make not a hungry Soul sorrowful neither provoke a Man in his distress add not more trouble to a Heart that is vexed defer not to give to him that is in need Reject not the supplication of the afflicted nor turn away thy face from a poor Man turn not away thy Eye from the needy and give him none occasion to curse thee For if he curse thee in the bitterness of his Soul his Prayer shall be heard of him that made him Let it not grieve thee to bow down thine Ear to the poor and give him a friendly answer with meekness Be as a father to the fatherless and instead of a husband to their mother so shalt thou be as the Son of the most high and he shall love thee more than thy Mother doth SERMON XI The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus Sermon II. LUKE XVI 19 20. There was a certain Rich Man which was cloathed in Purple and fine Linen and fared sumptuously every day And there was a certain Beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his Gate full of Sores I Proceed to our Second Observation that a Man may be poor and miserable in this World and yet dear to God This beggar Lazarus tho' he was so much slighted and despised in his life-time by this great Rich Man yet it appeared when he came to die that he was not neglected by God for he gave his Angels charge concerning him to convey him to Happiness v. 22. The Beggar died and was carried into Abraham's bosom But this Truth is not only represented to us in a Parable but exemplified in the Life of our blessed Saviour Never was any Man so dear to God as he was for he was his only begotten Son his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased And yet how poor and mean was his Condition in this World Insomuch that the Jews were offended at him and could not own one that appeared in so much Meanness for the true Messias He was born of mean Parents and persecuted as soon as he was born he was destitute of worldly Accommodations The Foxes had holes and the Birds of the Air had nests but the Son of Man had not where to lay his head He was despised and rejected of Men a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with Grief God could have sent his Son into the World with Majesty and great Glory and have made all the Kings of the Earth to have bowed before him and paid Homage to him but the Wisdom of God chose rather that he should appear in a poor and humble in a suffering and afflicted Condition to confound the Pride of the World who measure the Love of God by these outward things and think that God hates all those whom he permits to be afflicted Now it was not possible to give a greater and clearer Demonstration of this Truth that Goodness and Suffering may meet together in the same Person than in the Son of God who did no Sin neither was Guile found in his mouth yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him and to put him to Grief Afflictions in this world are so far from being a sign of God's Hatred that they are an Argument of his Love and Care whom the Lord loveth he chastneth and scourgeth every Son whom he receiveth Those he designs for great things hereafter he trains up by great Hardships in this world and by many Tribulations prepares them for a Kingdom This course God took more especially in the first planting of Christianity the poor chiefly were those that received the Gospel Not many mighty nor many noble but the base things of the world and the things that were despised did God chuse Hearken my beloved brethren saith St. James ch 2.5 Hath not God chosen the poor in this world rich in Faith and Heirs of the Kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him Now this Consideration should persuade to Patience under the greatest Sufferings and Afflictions in this world God may be our Father and chasten us severely nay this very thing is rather an Argument that he is so God may love us tho' the world hate us 'T is but exercising a