him that day One of the two was 〈◊〉 who finding his 〈◊〉 Brother Simon both told him this joyful News We hav found the 〈◊〉 and brought him to Jesus I prais and magnify thy Name O Christ For thine exemplary Clemency and ready Condescension to entertain such as own thee their Master and enquire where thou dwellesf tho it be about the tenth hour Lord incline my Heart not only upon thy gracious Invitation to Com and 〈◊〉 the place where thine Honor dwelleth but to take up mine Abode with 〈◊〉 who hast given us a Taste of thine Omniscience in that thou couldst say to Andrew's 〈◊〉 as soon as thou hadst 〈◊〉 him without any previous Inquiry or human Information Thou art Simon the Son of Jona thou shalt be called Cephas which is by interpretation Peter §. 2. The day following Iesus going forth into Galilee 〈◊〉 Philip who was of 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 unto him Follow me wherupon he believed Iesus of 〈◊〉 the Son of Ioseph to be 〈◊〉 of whom 〈◊〉 in the Law aud the Prophets did write as he soon after acquainted 〈◊〉 using it for a cogent Argument to draw him also to Jesus I prais thy H. Name O thou Redeemer of Israel For the magnetick Power of thy Life and Doctrin by virtu wherof Men are thus drawn to follow Thee like one Link after another in a wel compacted Chain Draw me O Lord we wil run after thee that as wel by mine Exampl as Arguments I may induce others to partake of that Blessedness which those happy 〈◊〉 enjoy who are admitted to convers with Thee 〈◊〉 believing Thou art He of whom the Lord spake unto his Servant Moses on this wise I wil rais them up a Prophet from among their Brethren like unto thee and I wil put my words into his mouth and whosoever wil not hearken unto my words which he shal speak in my Name I wil require it of him §. 3. O B Jesus Becaus thou saidst unto Nathanael I 〈◊〉 thee under the Figg-tree he that had lately questioned Can there any good 〈◊〉 com out of 〈◊〉 did believ and confess Thou art the Son of God Thou art the King of Israel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou wast pleased to encorage and confirm with a Promise that he should see greater things than these making this plain Declaration of what sort they should be Uerily verily I say unto you Hereafter ye shal see Heven open and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man I magnify thy Name O thou tru Jacob's Ladder in whose Person Heven and Earth are united for whose sake the Celestial Spirits minister to the Saints who shal be Heirs of Salvation and by whose Order they either vouchsafe us their hevenly Aid and Protection or withdraw its sacred Influence from us Lord wheras thou sawest Nathanael before that Philip called him when he was under the Fig-tree and which is yet a greater Miracl didst discern his Heart before thou hadst seen his Face make me always apprehensiv that Darkness or Distance hideth not from Thee who knowest my Downfitting and mine Up-rising and understandest my Thoughts afar off til the awful Consideration of thine Omnipresence render me an Israelite indeed in whom is no Guile And I beseech thee let these early Manifestations of thy Divinity so quicken and confirm my Faith in Thee that Thou maist go on to reward thine own Gifts in Me with greater Graces til my present Knowledg of thy sacred Person and saving Office be crowned and compleated with that unspeakabl Priviledg reserved for the Sons of God when it doth appear what they shal be for then we shal see him as he is §. 4. When these Good Men had seen and spoken with the Lord it seems som if not all of them soon after left Him and tho his first Conference with them laid a sound foundation of Faith in their Hearts yet it restrained not their Hands from returning to their former Occupations I prais and magnify thy Name O Christ For graciously dispensing with thy Servants Necessities wherby thou hast given us a satisfactory Intimation that to believ in Thee as a privat Discipl is not at all inconsistent with the honest prosecution of our Secular Emploiments thy Wisdom Justice having made it our Christian Duty as wel as Liberty to be diligent in the business of our lawful Callings However let me never I earnestly beseech Thee yield mine Ear to be bored in the servil Drudgery of any anxious Cares or useless Vanities of this present World having once found Thee whom my Soul loveth Cap. III. Of his turning Water into Wine §. 1. THe Mother of Iesus being at a Marriage which was in Cana of Galilee both Iesus was called and his Discipls to the Marriage where the Lord of Eternal Purity did not only honor the Wedding with his Sacred Presence but also supply the Wants of the Nuptial Entertainment with 〈◊〉 that was made Wine and that in a very liberal proportion far beyond the stint of a niggardly Spirit for there were six Water-pots of Stone containing two or three firkins apiece which he caused them to fill up to the brim with Water and then bid them draw out thence for the Use of the Guests wherof when the Ruler of the Feast had tasted not knowing whence it was he gave the Bride groom this publick Commendation saying unto him Evry man at the beginning doth set forth good Wine and when men hav wel drunk then that which is wors but thou hast kept the 〈◊〉 Wine until now I prais and magnify thy Nâ—me O Christ the inexhaustibl Fountain of Goodness For this Beginning of Miracls which thou 〈◊〉 in Cana of Galilee wherin Thou hast at once so convincingly manifested forth thy Glory that thy Discipls believed on Thee and withal set a Mark of Honor as wel on the Married as the Virgin state of Life I beseech thee bless and sanctify all Persons joined in holy Wedlock visit them with thy supernatural Grace and Power turn their Water into Wine change their Natural Desires into Divine Affections exalt their sensual Pleasures into spiritual Delights and refine their transitory Enjoiments into an eternal Inheritance that by growing up from strength to strength in mutual Lov and joint Devotion their last Days may be their best §. 2. When the Mother of Jesus said unto him They 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 couching under that brief Intimation a tacit Request for the Supply of what they wanted Jesus saith unto her Woman What 〈◊〉 I to do with Thee Mine hour is not yet com As if by such a slighting Answer he seem'd to check her pretended Interposition and Authority in the matters of his Mediatorship which som blind 〈◊〉 hav since endevored to persuade the World is her undoubted Right I prais and magnify thy H. Name O my sole Mediator and Advocat For giving us this covert yet very intelligibl Expression of thy Fore-sight and Dislike of that idolatrous
the Preaching and Baptism of S. John §. 1. O My Gracious Redeemer thou didst send thy Servant John who grew and waxed strong in Spirit being in the Wilderness til the day of his Shewing unto Israel as a Messenger before thy face to prepare thy way before Thee by 〈◊〉 the Baptism of 〈◊〉 for the Remission of Sins wherin he exprest The Uoice of one crying in the Wilderness Prepare ye the way of the Lord make his Paths strait as it is written in the Prophets I prais and magnify thy Name For this suitabl Beginning of the Gospel of 〈◊〉 Christ the Son of God Let me learn I beseech thee from the Austerity of thy Fore-runner both in Apparel and Diet for the same John had his Raiment of Camel's hair and a leathern Girdl at 〈◊〉 his Loins and his Meat was Locusts and wild Dony so to comply with the Doctrin of Mortification and Repentance which he preached and practised that I may 〈◊〉 the Salvation of God And as the Peepl who went out to him from Jerusalem and Judea and all the Region round about were baptized of him in Jordan confessing their Sins so do thou baptize me with the H. Ghost and with Fire to the forsaking of mine that being effectualy warned to flee from the Wrath to com I may bring forth fruits meet for Repentance rather glorying to hav Abraham my Father in Faith than after the Flesh since God is abl of the very Stones to rais up Children unto him And now that the Axis laid 〈◊〉 the Root of the 〈◊〉 be graciously pleased to direct the hand that guides it to cut off the dead or luxuriant Branches of Sin and Folly that evry 〈◊〉 may bring forth good Fruit in stead of hewing down the whol Body to be cast into the fire §. 2. When the Peepl the Publicans and the Soldiers which came forth to be baptized of John asked him What shal we do Instead of requiring them to forsake their several Callings as unlawful or irreligious He recommends Charity upright Dealing and honest Contentment to their Practice in the du Use of them I giv thee Thanks and Prais O Jesus For making the Duties of Religion consistent with those of our Worldly Vocations Lord bless my conscionabl Industry in that lawful Emploiment wherunto thy Providence hath called me that by my honest Diligence therin I may do Thee Service in my Generation and working with my hands the thing which is Good may hav and hav the Heart to giv to him that needeth And yet let not my earnest Concernment for the things of this Life be pleaded in Excuse for my Neglect of a better but among all my most justifiabl Cares allow som Time and Thought so to attend on the Ministry of thy Word and the Administration of thy Sacraments as may best make a practical Expression of and giv a proper Answer to this Inquiry on the behalf of my Soul What must I do to be saved §. 3. As the Peepl were in 〈◊〉 and all men mused 〈◊〉 their hearts of John 〈◊〉 he were the Christ or not so that the Jews sent Priests and Levits who were of the 〈◊〉 from Jerusalem to Bethabara beyond Jordan 〈◊〉 he was baptizing to ask him Who art thou He denied not but confessed I am not the CHRIST nor Elias neither that Propher I indeed baptize you with Water but there standeth one among you whom ye know not He cometh after me and is preferred before me for He was before me tho born after me the latchet of whose shoos I am not worthy to unloos whose Fan is in his hand and he wil 〈◊〉 purge his 〈◊〉 and wil gather the Wheat into his Garner but the Chaff he wil burn with fire unquenchabl I prais and magnify thy Name O Christ For this Record of John who 〈◊〉 witness of Thee without seeking the Enhancement of his own Reputation by the envious Concealment of thy Person or Office Lord purge the floor of my Heart from all that Chaff of Vanity and Pride which renders me at any time inclinabl to deck my self with the spoils of that Honor which is only du to Thee that being littl in mine own Eys I may cheerfuly magnify Him who is mightier than I of whose fulness we hav all received even Grace for Grace which alone can fit us to be laid up in store for the Master's Use in his Hous not made with hands eternal in the Hevens for the Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ who being the only Begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father hath declared that God whom no man hath seen at any time And since the same John being a man sent from God came for a Witness to bear witness of the Light that all men throu him might believ let this his publick Testimony hav its designed Effect upon 〈◊〉 man that cometh into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not only confirming the tru Faith where it hath been already planted but creating it also where 't is yet wanting with so great a Power and Demonstration of the Spirit that altho the World which was made by him without whom was not any thing made knew him not while He was in the World yet it may never more be said He came unto his own and his own received him not but being now no longer born of Blood or of the Wil of Man but of God All Flesh may see thy Salvation and behold the Glory of the Word made Flesh as that of the only begotten of the Father who as verily was in the beginning and was with God and was God as he dwelt among Us ful of Grace and Truth And the good God of the Spirits of all Flesh grant that the Son of thy Lov in whom was that Life which was the Light of Men may shine in the Darkness that hath benighted the Children of this World til the Power or rather Priviledg to becom the Sons of God which He gave to them that believ on his Name 〈◊〉 graciously imparted to all the Families of the Earth by embracing the true Faith which hath saved as many as received him §. 4. Then cometh Iesus from Galilee to Iordan unto Iohn to be baptized of him having quitted his dear Relations and privat Occupation the more freely to begin and attend his Father's business I celebrat thy Name O my Dear Redeemer For leaving the Sweetness of a peaceabl Retirement to enter upon a State not only encumber'd with Sweat and Travel but also 〈◊〉 to Censure and Persecution for thy Church's sake I humbly beseech Thee let no Self-ends or more pleasurabl Enjoyments detain any one from undertaking such publick Duties as he is lawfuly called unto but when a more open Exposure may any way conduce to the general Good and Benefit of thy Peepl be a safe Retirement never so desirabl encorage us all to abandon our
be I magnify thy Glorious Name For speaking that Thou dost know and testifying that Thou hast seen tho we receiv not thy Witness I earnestly beseech Thee O Jesus how backward soever Thou findest us to believ when thou hast told us earthly things vouchsafe to tell us of hevenly things and to exhibit as wel the powerful Efficacy of thy whol Doctrin as the indisputabl Truth of the most abstruse parts of it help Thou our Unbelief That notwithstanding my inability to satisfy my Self or Others How the Birth from abov is wrought in my Heart yet I may palpably evidence to the whol World both in Word and Deed What it is to be a new Creature and make it appear that the Spirit of God hath breathed upon my Soul tho I cannot determin the precise Time nor describe the exact Manner of his graciousOperation §. 〈◊〉 O thou Son of Man which art in Heven whither no man hath ascended up but he that came down from thence who to convince us that whatever thou hast suffer'd upon Earth was of thine own voluntary Resolution and Praescience didst expresly foretel as wel the particular Circumstance as the gracious Design of thy Death in these plain Tearms As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but hav eternal Life I prais and magnify thy Name Becaus God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but hav everlasting life I humbly beseech Thee O Jesu since God sent not his Son into the World to condemn it but that the World throu him might be saved establish my Soul in this Faith and qualify me for that happy End of it by an unblamabl Conversation that Impiety may not temt me to Infidelity and Unbelief consign me to Damnation for as thy unerring Truth assures us he that believeth not is condemned already the preposterous Occasion of the Guilt being justly applied to aggravat and ascertain the Condemnation That Light is com into the World and yet Men loved Darkness rather than Light becaus their Deeds were evil for evry one that doth evil hates and shuns the Light lest his Deeds should be reproved wheras he that doth Truth who rightly believs and acts according to the Principls of a sound Faith cometh to the Light wherby his Deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God Cap. VI. Of His Baptizing in Judea and the Dispute that arose therupon between St. John's Discipls and the Jews §. I. AFter these things the H. Jesus and his Discipls came into the Land of Judea where he tarried with them baptizing Prais thou the Lord O my Soul For perfecting the Design of S. John's Baptism by the succeeding Administration of Thine even whilst he was also 〈◊〉 in Enon near to 〈◊〉 becaus much Water was there Giving us therby a tacit yet significant Intimation of thy forwardness to prosecute the Work of our Redemtion which would rather shorten the Night by the hasty Approach of thy Day of Grace than 〈◊〉 the Rising of the Sun til the Setting of thy Morning-Star for 〈◊〉 was not yet cast into Prison I humbly implore thee O Christ let us draw near unto thy 〈◊〉 Ordinances with a tru Heart in ful Assurance of Faith having our Hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience as wel as our Bodies washed with pure Water And Oh! that whol Rivers of Waters might be employ'd and 〈◊〉 for the baptizing great Multitudes of 〈◊〉 from amongst all Nations and Kindreds and Peepl and Tongs throu out the World to accomplish the Number of thine Elect and hasten thy Kingdom §. 2. Upon this Occasion there 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 between som of John's Discipls and the 〈◊〉 about Purifying and they came unto 〈◊〉 saying 〈◊〉 He that was with thee beyond 〈◊〉 to whom thou 〈◊〉 Witness behold the same 〈◊〉 and all men com to 〈◊〉 Wherupon thy Servant John gave this further Testimony 〈◊〉 Thee O Jesus publickly confessing in the audience of the peepl 〈◊〉 your 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 me Witness that I said I am not the Christ but that I am sent before him He that hath the Bride is the Bride-groom but the Friend of the Bride groom which standeth and heareth him rejoiceth greatly becaus of the Bride-groom's 〈◊〉 This my 〈◊〉 therefore is fulfilled He must increas but I must decreas for He that cometh from 〈◊〉 is abov all and altho He that is of the Earth is Earthly and speaketh of the Earth yet He that cometh from 〈◊〉 what He hath seen and heard that He testifieth tho no man receiv his Testimony But he that hath received his Testimony hath set to his Seal that God is tru for He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God which we may boldly rely upon in regard God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him nay the Father so loveth the Son that He hath given All things into His hand and resolvs our Fate shal be according to the Faith we bear Him for He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting Life wheras he that believeth not the Son shal not see Life but the Wrath of God abideth on him I adore thy Sacred Name O thou whom my Soul loveth For the great Understanding this thy Servant had touching the Knowledg of thine Eternal God-head and the whol Mystery of thine Everlasting Gospel which he hath thus clearly expressed in this his excellent Sermon left upon Record for my Instruction Lord I. beseech Thee since a Man can 〈◊〉 nothing except it be given him from heven 〈◊〉 such a measure of thy Spirit and the Grace he conveys from 〈◊〉 into the Hearts of the faithful possess and affect my Soul that I in Communion with thy Servant John may likewise rejoice in hearing the Bride-groom's Voice audibly utter'd in His holy Word and be ravished with delight in the privat Contemplation of the happy Union solemnized between my Lord Christ and his Spous the Church So as at last thou mayst vouchsafe to admit me into the Fulness of that 〈◊〉 which doth attend the Marriage of the Lamb and impart unto me the Interest and Affection of a Friend in the Consummation of thy Glory which wil qualify me as wel to taste of the Pleasures as congratulat the Perpetuity of thine Eternal Lov. Cap. VII On the Imprisonment of St. John the Baptist. §. 1. O My only-wise God and Savior who to render thy Messenger S. John the more conformabl to the Author and Finisher of that Faith which he was sent to usher in by his Ministry didst permit Herod the Tetrach to lay hold on him and having bound him shut him up in Prison that he might as wel be a Precedent of thine undeserved Sufferings as the Precursor of thy divine Person and Doctrin I prais and magnify thy Name For that undaunted