into the World and has manifested himself to Men by him This Manifestation is the fullest and most glorious and so particular that it is a certain Mark to distinguish the true God from false Gods and the Worshippers of the one from the Worshippers of the other Jews Turks and Pagans and all those who worship their own Imaginations will readily say Blessed be God But none will add the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ but such as know and own the true God indeed Ever since this Manifestation of the true God he hath stiled himself by it and will have all to acknowledge him under this Title And they who own it not not only dishonour God and rob him of a great deal of Glory which thereby redounds to him but also they may be said to revolt from the Knowledge and Acknowledgment of the true God He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him saith Christ Iohn viij 23. And St. Iohn himself tells us Whosoever denieth the Son the same hath not the Father but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also 1 Epistle ii 23. Wherefore such Acts of Worship as do thus particularly discriminate the true God and are so appropriate to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that they are applicable to none other are very necessary For this Reason our Initiation into the Worship and Service of the true God is by baptizing us into the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost And for the same Reason we ought often to receive the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper for hereby we make an express and peculiar Acknowledgment of this one true God viz. the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. By this also it appears how suitable a part of Christian Worship the usual Doxology is and how proper to annex it to the Psalms of David whereby they are adapted to the New Revelation of the Gospel and rendered so much Christian that neither Jews nor any but Christians will join in the Use of them Having thus considered the Author of our Happiness the Motive which induced him to bless us comes next to be considered The Obligation which ariseth by the conferring a Benefit is more or less according to the Motive or Cause which prompted it if it was extorted by Force and Compulsion if one be so driven to it that he cannot shun a Courtesie scarce any Obligation accrueth thereby if it be done out of respect to after Requitals it is but a mercenary Kindness and tho' it obligeth somewhat yet the Obligation is none of the greatest it only bindeth us to make some Recompence and particularly that which the Person might have an Eye to if it be reasonable as the Services of Servants bindeth to the paying their Wages which is all they have before them and when that is done the Obligation of their Services ceaseth But if a Favour be conferred freely out of pure Love and good Will the Obligation is both perpetual and of the highest Nature Such a Favour ought never to be forgotten and if it be great in it self too it bindeth to the utmost Love and Thankfulness Now such is our Obligation to God for as he hath blessed us with the highest Blessings as shall be seen afterwards so he hath done it most freely meerly out of his abundant mercy as the Text saith And the same is intimated every where throughout the Scripture Through the tender mercy of our God the day spring from on high hath visited us said Zachary Luke i. 78. Of his own will begat he us saith St. Paul Titus iii. 5. and Rom. ix 15. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion so then that it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy Therefore in the same Chapter they who are saved and prepared unto Glory are called Vessels not of Justice or of Righteousness but of mercy to teach us that if it had not been for Mercy none would have been saved And indeed to what can our Salvation be ascribed but to the Mercy of God It cannot be said that he was constrained thereto by some external Cause for who can compel the Almighty Who can prescribe Laws to the absolute Sovereign of Heaven and Earth It was not the Hope of Profit that moved him for as Eliphaz said Can a Man be profitable unto God as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself Is it any Pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous Or is it gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect My Goodness extendeth not to thee saith David for if thou be righteous what givest thou him Or what receiveth he of thine hand Thy wickedness may hurt a Man as thou art and thy righteousness may profit the Son of Man But we cannot make God either better or worse He stands in no need of us nor is it possible for any either in Heaven or Earth to add or take from his Greatness Happiness or Glory for what can be added to or impaired from an infinite Being Suppose God was obliged to give those celestial Mansions to such as could merit them yet who could claim them even on that Account His Angels he chargeth with folly What is Man then that he should be clean And he which is born of a Woman that he should be righteous If he did enter into Iudgment who could stand What Man could be justified in his sight Whatever God would have been obliged to if Man had continued innocent yet sure considering us in our lapsed State it must be acknowledged that it is Mercy only which saves us unless we say that he is obliged by Rebellion Treachery impious Affronts wicked Insolencies and continued Provocations But being these can only be thought to irritate his Anger therefore we ought to conclude with the Scripture that it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed And that we are not only not consumed as we deserve but moreover called to Glory and eternal Life is not Mercy simply but abundant yea superabundant mercy as our Text speaks Would you but take a View of your Hearts and Actions for one Day and consider not only the lesser Follies and Impertinencies you are guilty of but the grosser Faults the unclean and wicked Thoughts which arise in your Hearts the rash and evil Words which proceed from your Mouth what Sins are committed and what Good is left undone in how many things you offend altogether and how light the best Actions would be if they were weighed in the Balance I say were those impartially examined the Guilt of one Day would be found exceeding great and then what would it be if the Sins of all the Days and Years we lived were added And seeing our Case is such tell me is it not Mercy only which tieth the Hands of Divine
their Hearts were swelled up with Grief their Souls were inwardly pierced with excessive Sorrow which abundantly appeared by all the ways by which People use to express their sorrowful Thoughts and sad Apprehensions smiting their Breasts and rending their Garments which the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth howling and mourning with the Voice which is the signification of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now it will be worth the while and very proper for the Day to consider what it was that moved them to all this Indeed the Hearts of Women by Nature are soft and tender and their Passions are sooner and more easily moved than those of Men but if we view the Object of their Grief we will not think it strange that these Women did thus bewail and lament it will be much more strange if we can restrain our Passions and refrain from weeping at the account of it and yet all know that the sight of a thing toucheth more sensibly than the hearing of it doth These Women had seen all which our Lord had hitherto suffered at the hands of wicked and sinful Men and had lively Apprehensions of what he was yet to suffer for the Death he was going to was known and ordinary but known only to be a vile shameful and most painful Death as upon other accounts so upon this that it was not a speedy but a lingering Death If they themselves were not Witnesses yet they well enough understood how he was seiz'd in the Garden as a Thief when he was most serious in Devotion and Prayer and dragged from thence to the High-Priest's Palace which ought to have been a Refuge to Innocence and a Safeguard against Indiscretions and an Unmerciful Threatment But alas even there they saw him unjustly used and most indiscreetly Handled falsely Accused illegally convicted of Blasphemy and other Crimes and all the rules of Discretion Civility and Good Manners broken in treating him He was Spit upon and Buffetted Blindfolded and smitten on the Cheek with a Prophesie who it was that smote thee By the break of Day he was hurried away to Pilate from him to Herod and back again to Pilate every one making their Sport of him After some Mock-Formalities of Law and Justice these Women saw him delivered to the Roman Soldiers a sort of Men who took Pleasure in Blood and Cruelty and then they beheld him dressed like a Fool with a Crown of Thorns a Purple Robe and a Reed instead of a Scepter because he was said to be the King of the Iews They saw him strip'd of these Ornaments of mocked Majesty and unmercifully Whipt and Scourged by the same Soldiers with Cords till Furrows were made in his Back and the Blood ran down his innocent Body And when all this would not satisfie the Malice of his Enemies they saw him given in exchange for a Villain and Notorious Robber and against all Law and Reason meerly upon the importunity of an unreasonable Multitude condemned to a Violent and Cruel Death and contrary to all Equity denied any respite or breathing time but instantly forced away to the place of Execution and made to bear that Cross on which he was to hang and pine away his Life in Pain and Torment Represent all this to your selves and consider if it be not sad and doleful who would not shed Tears at such a Sight May not this force Tears either from Man or Woman Suppose Jesus had been as bad and criminal as his Enemies would have made him yet such cruel and unmerciful Usage called for Compassion Quod non homini detur humanitati Even when it is necessary to satisfie the Law and to execute Justice Pity should be shewn to the Offender But if Pity and Compassion be due to Calamity and Misery even when there is guilt to deserve it what should be shewn when there is no Guilt at all If it should touch our hearts to see any of our Fellow-Creatures suffer though it be no more than the just Punishment of their Sins how should we be affected How should our Passions be stirred when unspotted Innocence and Vertue suffer These good Women knew that Jesus had no Crime they saw his very Enemies could not fix any upon him and that they were baffled when they undertook to prove any against him Nay he was not only innocent but also perfectly righteous he not only was guilty of no Ill but also he was one who went up and down doing good and had done many great and good and wonderful Works The Malice of his Enemies was not occasioned by any Fault of his but only by the Truth and Purity and Powerfulness of his Doctrine and by the Holiness and Integrity of his Life both which reproved their Errors their false Teaching their Hypocrisie and their Covetousness Add to all this his Quality which was the greatest in the World For tho' these Women were not yet instructed fully about his eternal Generation nor yet perhaps believed him to be the true Son of God equal with the Father as the Catholick Church doth teach and hath always taught and which must be believed if the Scriptures be true and genuine yet they believed him a Prophet and knew him to be a good Man mighty in Word and Deed they were perswaded that he was the Messiah and trusted that it was he who should have redeemed Israel Judge I pray you then what cause of Grief was here The greatest Dignity trampled upon and affronted The greatest Innocence condemned The greatest Righteousness punished The greatest Meekness reviled The greatest Charity and Beneficence persecuted The Man who preached the Word of God with Authority who shewed them the true way to Life who comforted them in their Affliction who cured their Diseases who restored their Children and Friends to Life who fed them with Miracles and from whom they expected the Salvation promised by all the Prophets to see this Man mocked scourged and put to Death before their Eyes Lord what matter of Grief was this What Occasion for Weeping Mourning and great Lamentation But though all this was more than sufficient to afflict and grieve the minds of these Women yet there was something more than all this which Jesus suffered which they knew not he suffered in his Soul and Spirit by the immediate Hand of God which none was sensible of save himself Inward Trouble and Disturbance of the Soul is much more sad and weighty than Pains and Torments in the Body The spirit of a man may sustain his Infirmity but a wounded spirit who can bear Jesus was at this time drinking the Cup of his Father's Wrath and Displeasure against Sin and the Sin not of one or two but of all Mankind What it was that he suffered in his Soul on this Account we do not know but that he did suffer in that part is certain and that he suffered heavily appears from his sweating Blood in the Garden in a cold Night from his praying three
at any time prevail God will not condemn us They are innocent and clean according to the Gospel who inwardly hate and loath Sin and keep a continual War with it and who love Holiness and constantly aim and endeavour after it and he who is so clean inwardly will give an outward Manifestation and therefore it is added that we have In the last place our Bodies washed with pure water The former Clause as we have seen referred to the inner-Man and this relates to the outward Man for both must be made clean in the Sight of God We must cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of the flesh and spirit neither of them singly will do well God has united Spirit and Flesh together to make up one Person and therefore what God hath thus joined together ought not to be put asunder Our Minds and Spirits must ascend to God but the Body must not be left behind wallowing in the mire and filth of Sin and Uncleanness else the other will not speed they will not get Access unto God We ought to glorifie God both in Soul and Body for both are his therefore as under the Law Men were tied to frequent washing of their Body that they might be legally clean and fit to enter the Temple or approach the Altar from which they were debarred if they had any corporal Filthiness upon them or had touched any unclean thing so in Allusion to this the Apostle here exhorts us to purifie our Life and Actions to sanctifie our outward Conversation in the World by breaking off the Course of Sin and conforming our Words and Actions to the Word of God for that is like pure Water to cleanse us from all Spiritual Filthiness By what means saith David shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word Psal. cxix 9. Now until we be thus cleansed both inwardly and outwardly we are not fit to draw near to God nor throughly disposed for Reconciliation with him without holiness saith our Apostle no Man can see God There must be both outward and inward Holiness to render us worthy of Peace with God we must be endued with holy Minds and the Beauty of Holiness must appear in our Lives and Conversations and if the outward Man have not a holy Face and Countenance the inward Man is much to be suspected Scabs and Ulcers in the Skin betoken corrupt and impure blood in the Veins 'T is great Hypocrisie to pretend change of Heart when there is no Change of Life for Persons to say they are regenerate within when no Reformation appears without When Saul pretended a Performance of the Command which the Lord gave against Amalek Samuel said to him what meaneth then this bleating of the Sheep and the lowing of the Oxen which I hear For that was an Evidence against him So I would ask those who say their Heart is right they have a good Conscience towards God and yet walk in Sin what means their evil Speeches their Cursing and Swearing their Reviling and Backbiting their obscene Talk and immodest Behaviour Revellings and Drunkenness Injustice and dishonest Dealing Cruelty and doing Injury to others and the like Crimes For doth not our Saviour tell us that these proceed from the Heart He whose Heart is perfect and upright with God is always careful to do that which is good in his Sight 'T is true the beginnings of Conversion to God do not always visibly appear as the Recovery of the Body from Sickness is not at the first discernable to others But in Process of time a sincere Conversion will certainly manifest it self in the Life and Actions The path of the just is as the shining light which shines more and more unto the perfect day Men and Brethren Sin was the Cause why we were cast out of God's Favour and there is a Necessity of laying aside Sin before we can recover it Indeed Christ died to take away the Guilt of Sin but he has not taken away the intrinsick Evil of it that remains still he by his Death has made Sin pardonable but not allowable and therefore we must not continue the Servants of Sin We must quit a vain and wicked Conversation turn every one from his Iniquity die to Sin and live to God and yield our selves to be Instruments of Righteousness according to his Will and Pleasure and then we shall please him and he will greatly love us Wash ye make you clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well seek judgment relieve the oppressed judge the fatherless plead for the Widow and then come saith the Lord though your Sins be as Scarlet they shall be as white as Snow though red like Crimson they shall be as Wool Isa. i. 16 c. Thus we have explained the Conditions of obtaining Reconciliation with God and if you please to make Reflections on them you will find them most just and reasonable and as easie as can be required God could not pass these without renversing the Order of Nature and laying aside his Holiness and Honour which was impossible nor could any Terms be more proper for Man nor better accommodated to the State and Condition of all If many expensive Sacrifices rich Gifts or Summs of Money had been required what would become of the poor who make the greatest part of the World But now neither the Rich are received upon the Account of their Riches nor the poor rejected for their Poverty But both the one and the other are accepted according to their Faith Repentance and Obedience Some there are who will not allow us this Privilege whatever we believe or practise because we are not of their Church But as the Italian Proverb is Better be condemned by ten Physicians than one Iudge So certainly it is better to be condemned by any Number or Quality of Men than to be condemn'd by the Word of God the Word of God you see condemns none who has the Qualifications in the Text but encourages them to draw near to God and gives them Assurance of Acceptance If then through the Grace of God we come to be so qualified in the Union and Communion of the Catholick Church we need not fear what they say who themselves are Schismaticks from the Catholick Church We have all the reasonable Assurance we can have of our Salvation we may be more sure of it than if we had the Pope's Bull for it a thousand Indulgences ten thousand Masses daily sung for us and all the Church treasure of Merits bestowed on us And if we lack this that will not cannot be compensated with Pilgrimages Processions Pennances Bowings Prostrations before Altars Crossings and Sprinklings with Holy Water nor yet the Absolution of Priests for as our Apostle saith bodily exercises profit little as to Salvation and by what hath been said you may understand that the Religion which recommends us to God must be
Mens Hearts is only Sin and Wickedness God saw that the wickedness of Man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually Naturally Mens Hearts are hard and averse to all good The natural Man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned But as hard and bad as they are they may through the Grace of God be changed and improved to the better if due Pains be taken on them The Evil and Naughtiness of our Hearts will not excuse us from being or doing good tho' many pretend it What a silly Excuse were it for an Husband-man to turn his back upon his Labour that his Ground of it self yielded nothing but Briars and Thorns and other Weeds Should he not labour for all that and by Art and Industry make it do what of it self it cannot do So though our Hearts be as fallow Ground yet let us break them up and weed them let us by continued Care and Diligence bear down their natural Growth and render them susceptible of better things let us pluck up the Prejudices of our Nature throw away the choaking Cares of this Life and break off the Course of Sin Let us ply our Hearts continually with Prayer Meditation on the Word Use of our Reason the serious Consideration of our Ways and an Attendance on those Means and Ordinances God hath appointed and in Process of time through the Grace of God our Hearts will be broken and changed from their natural Barrenness to be fruitful in Holiness and good Works This is the way to break up our fallow Ground to make our Hearts tractable and obedient capable of receiving and nourishing the good Seed of the Word and unless this be done our Hearts will be as a Wilderness barren and altogether unfruitful in good Break up your fallow ground says Ieremy and sow not among Thorns What a Folly is it to sow in a Ground overgrown with Thorns and Briars and what can be expected from Men whose hearts are as hard as an Adamant who refuse to hearken and pull away their Shoulder and stop their Ears that they should not hear As the Prophet Zechariah speaks There are many Complaints now a-days against the Sower but there is more Reason to retort them upon the Ground I mean to cast the Blame of not profiting upon the People themselves rather than the Preacher you are oft-times indisposed your Hearts are not duely prepar'd therefore it is that the Word Preached hath so little effect in you Mortifie therefore your Lusts subdue your Passions daily cultivate your Hearts with Acts of Repentance and Contrition and the fore mentioned Exercises of Prayer Meditation c. That they may be softned and fitted for the Seed of the Word and that it may prosper and spring up and bear Fruit. Thus you see your Task and that we may be excited with all Speed and Diligence to go about it and also encouraged with Assurance of Success it is added For it is time to seek the Lord until he come and rain Righteousness upon you By seeking the Lord is meant the seeking his Favour which is the Ground of all our Comfort and Happiness or his Help and Assistance without which we labour in vain and all we do is ineffectual And we then seek both the one and the other when we heartily practise the Duties enjoin'd us for his Favour returns upon our Repentance and Obedience and his Grace and Assistance is bestowed as we labour and endeavour he worketh together with us Now saith Hosea It is time thus to seek the Lord which implieth first a proper Season or Opportunity for it Opportunity should be laid hold on every thing should be taken in its time and Men are encouraged to work and labour so long as the time of doing it is not past The Season for sowing and breaking up is all the time of Life while God allows the Use of Reason the means of Grace while he makes offers of Salvation and calls by his Providence it is time to seek him Seek the Lord therefore while he may be found and call upon him while he is near If any have been negligent if hitherto he has loitered and slept away his time neither laboured nor sown but let his Heart lie all this while fallow that it is quite overgrown with Weeds it is a great Fault and calls for mourning but it is no ground to despair nor Reason to lay aside the Thoughts of this necessary Work Art thou sensible that thou hast been too long a beginning Doest thou wish that thou hadst been more wise Arise the Day is not yet done work while it is Day the Season is not wholly past lay hold on it and double thy Diligence to recover mispent time which if thou dost it shall be yet well with thee according to the common but wise Proverb Better late than never Remember they who wrought but one Hour had their Hire If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed and keep all my Statutes and do that which is lawful and right he shall surely live he shall not die saith the Lord. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God and he will abundantly pardon But secondly by saying it is time the Prophet lays before them that it is full time and so not to be let slip it is now time but it will not be always so it is time but this time is ever running and will once be at an end and therefore Delays are dangerous It is indeed time yet but not to sleep and stand loitering it is high time to awake out of Sleep to gird up our Loins and to set about our Work lest the Night come in which no Man can work It is the great Folly of many that they think they have Times and Seasons in their own hand at least they act as if it were so But we neither have always Time and Opportunity nor can we always Command Grace to use it aright and therefore should take it when it may be had and fear to deferr and put it off Sometimes Men come to that that they can neither seek nor work have neither Strength of Body or Mind no Use of any Faculty so much as to desire what is good for them Sometimes they seek and find no Acceptance desire and endeavour but have no Success It is hard to tell peremptorily the precise time when it is so with any but the Scripture forewarns us of this and bids us fear it When you spread forth your hands I will hide my face from you yea when you make many prayers I will not hear I will bring evil upon them which they shall
you catch any thing that can recompence your Labour Come hither therefore solace your selves and take your rest I hope none of us is so Unwise as not to know how precious and desireable rest is therefore let us be so Wise as to embrace the Call To day while it is called to day let us hearken and not harden our hearts lest the opportunity pass away and God swear in his wrath that we shall not enter into his rest I will not trouble you with any Exhortation to accept Christ's offer for there will be no need of it if we be sensible of Misery or feel our burden because then we will be forward enough this sense and feeling will prompt us and our Exhortation would be to no purpose if there be no sense or feeling of these things as yet But as I hope we all desire rest and are ready to embrace it so that we may not be disappointed let us qualifie our selves for it by embracing the terms and complying with the Conditions on which it is promised which is the last thing here to be considered Some of these are only implied here and supposed as necessary others are expresly required I shall begin with what is supposed necessary in order to the receiving rest and that is the being sensible of our own Misery and the groaning under it This is implied in the Designation of the Persons invited ye that labour and are heavy laden For these words not only point at the natural condition of the Persons Called but also at their sense of it and carriage under it The Conjunction And is to be taken causally here as frequently it is used So labour and heavy laden is to labour and grieve because being so laden it is to be wearied because burdened it is to groan by reason of the Misery which is felt In a word it is to have a deep sence of all that Misery we are born to and involved in whether Sin or Punishment Without this there can be no Expectation of this blessed Rest nor will Christ bestow it for then he would contradict his own Precepts which forbid to give what is holy unto Dogs or to cast Pearls before Swine When the worth of a thing is not understood it is undervalued and slighted and Men will not be sensible of the worth of this offer Christ makes until first they be sensible of their own Misery without it A Physician is welcom and acceptable to him who feels himself Sick but he who feels it not cares not for him When one's Brain is infected he not only doth not perceive his Distemper but he is in love with it and doth think himself happy in that for which others think him miserable Mad and Melancholy Persons love their Disease and spurn at those who would cure them Without therefore a sense of our Misery we are neither capable of Relief nor worthy of it What do you think Christ will bestow the rest which cost him so dear upon those who undervalue all he has done and suffered who think he troubled himself to no purpose as wicked worldly Men must do Shall we think that Christ will entertain such as glory in that which brought him to shame who hug and cherish those Sins which pierced his Soul which filled him with Agony and which created him a bitter and bloody Passion Let us not deceive ourselves the hardned impenitent and insensible Sinner shall never enter into God's rest nor yet they who mind Earthly things and aspire after no greater Happiness all such shall be kept out But you who are sensible of your Misery and who groan under your trouble you who are wearied at the Vanity of the World and long for some other Happiness than what can be had here you who complain of your Sins and who earnestly desire to have them pardoned and removed you whose hearts are broken upon that account and whose Spirits are rendered contrite for you and for you only is this rest prepared you are the Persons invited it is you whom Jesus means by them that labour and are heavy laden Come ye therefore unto him and he will give you rest Take his yoke upon you learn of him for he is meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest to your souls And for your Encouragement you shall find his yoke easie and his burden light Now unto him who hath thus loved us who hath Pardoned our Sins healed our Diseases Delivered us from our Fears eased us of our Troubles and purchased for us Everlasting Consolation and a good Hope even unto the Lord Iesus Christ with the Father and Blessed Spirit be all Honour Glory and Praise both now and ever Amen SERMON II. On Matth. XI 28 29. Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your Souls IF it be true that the full Soul loaths the Honey-Comb that Men use to despise that which they have no need of or are not sensible that they have then this gracious offer in the Text will not be much regarded by the World they will slight it for if we may take our measures from Mens outward Behaviour if by that we may adventure to guess at their inward state then we may conclude that the most are happy enough or at least think themselves so Few complain the most are merry and well pleased if not altogether with their own outward condition and circumstances yet at least with themselves They do not labour under spiritual Infirmities they do not groan because their Soul loatheth the Pleasures of the World and longeth and languisheth after better Dainties than what this World can afford Sometimes indeed they may be heard to grudge that the World goes not so well with them as they could wish and expressing fears of a change of their condition But help the one and guard against the other and then they would be at ease they would sing a Requiem to themselves their Souls would be at full rest and they would be as well satisfied as if perfectly happy Except when outward trouble is upon them few Persons are weary they are not sensible of other Misery they are not laden with their Sins nor born down with the dreadful Consequences of them The burden of Sin is commonly thought no burden at all Men bear it easily nay they can take on the heaviest load of it and walk as sturdily as if it were a light thing as if its weight lay merely in fancy This never troubles them nor upon this account would they seek rest to their Souls The Charms of the World lull Men asleep and render them insensible the noise and hurry of Affairs divert them from serious Reflections on their Misery even as Company keeps the Sick and Pained from the actual sense of their Disease and Pain But as
God I am saith Christ the way the truth and the life no man cometh into God but through me Ye believe in God believe also in me Him hath God the Father sealed And therefore he who doth not receive him nor believe in him giveth God the Lye If saith St. Iohn we receive the witness of men the witness of God is greater For this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son He that believeth on the Son hath the witness of himself he that believeth not God hath made him a liar because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son And again Who is a liar but he that denieth that Iesus is the Christ Whosoever denieth the Son the same hath not the Father To deny Jesus Christ will inferr a denial of God himself the same Prejudices against the one will obstruct a sound and sincere belief of the other They who have not had the Gospel offered unto them are not in the like Circumstances But they who do not believe after it has been duely and fairly represented to them are shrewdly to be suspected of Atheism as well as Infidelity Meer Deists are not far from Atheists The Truth of the Gospel and its Doctrine concerning Jesus Christ is almost if not altogether as demonstrable as the invisible things of God from things visible And to say That this vast frame of the World its various Parts and the variety of Creatures inhabiting those Parts was all the Effect of blind Chance and the Product of a confused jumbling of senseless Atomes to say this is no more absurd than to say that the admirable Harmony betwixt the Old and New Testament Books which were written by different Men at very distant times that the wonderful correspondence which the Life and Actions of Jesus Christ had to what went before that the Prophecies and their Accomplishment that all these I say were only the Dreams and Contrivances of Men the one choaks Reason as well as the other For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Iesus Christ but were eye-witnesses of his majesty For he received from God the Father honour and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy mount We have also a more sure word of prophecy whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day-star arise in your hearts Knowing this first that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost 2 Pet. i. 16 17 18 19 20 21. Having thus spoken to the First thing required in order to the obtaining rest viz. The coming to Christ and shewed both what it is and why it is exacted I proceed to The Second Condition or Means of Spiritual Rest which is said to be the taking Christ's Yoke upon us By Yoke in a Metaphorical sence is understood that Service which Superiours and Conquerours impose upon those who are subjected unto them Thus 1 King xii 4. The Service which Solomon imposed upon the People is called their Yoke So the Yoke of Christ is his Laws Precepts and Injunctions which he gives to his Disciples These are scattered up and down every where through the Gospels but most copiously set forth in the Sermon on the Mount to which we must add the Epistles of the Apostles which are infallible Commentaries upon the Divine Laws of their Master Jesus Christ. In a word The New Testament is the Codex or Corpus Iuris Christi the Body of the Christian Law which must be carefully studied by all who would know the Will of their Lord concerning them and the Duty which he requires of them And by this it clearly appears that Jesus has reinforced the Natural and Moral Law cleared it from the misprisions of Men discovered its full Latitude and brought it to all the Perfection which it is capable of So that to some it appears as if he had superadded to it and commanded Duties which Men were not obliged to formerly Whether it be so or not I will not debate it now But by the Laws of Jesus Christ all Sin whatsoever is forbidden the Sins of the Heart and Thoughts as well as the outward Man because both the one and the other fall under the Cognizance of Almighty God and are known to him And Sin is so peremptorily and severely Prohibited by the Christian Law that to shun it we are bid cut off our right hand and our right foot and pluck out our right eye that is to chuse to deprive our selves of the Nearest or Dearest or greatest Satisfaction rather than to run our selves into the danger of Sin by adhering to the same As all Sin is thus strictly forbidden so all Vertue and Holiness are expresly required The Laws of Jesus call for the greatest and most ardent love to God for an entire Submission to his Will a chearful Resignation to his Providence an active Zeal and Concernedness for his Glory and an anxious Care to please him They require a contempt of all Earthly things and the minding Heavenly things Contentment with every Condition and a Patient bearing of every Affliction Nay they exact the taking up the Cross that is that we suffer rather than Sin and freely undergo any trouble rather than either decline our Duty or offend God By the Precepts of Christ we are obliged to love our Neighbour that is all Men as our selves and to do to others as we would be done to We must abstain from all Injuries either to Soul or Body to Name or Estate and must lay our selves out to do all the good we can we must wrong no Man and Pardon those who have wronged us Whatever may seem to be the Voice of Nature or the Sentiments and Practices of Men Christ saith to us Love your Enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you And certainly Revenge is every way as inconsistent with Christianity as Theft Murder or Adultery and Whoremongers and Adulterers shall as soon enter into the Kingdom of Heaven as the Revengeful And unless the Gospel be a mere Sham or to be read backward neither the one nor the other shall be saved unless they have reconciled themselves to God by serious Repentance In a word the Doctrine of Jesus Christ teacheth us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world And finally whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoevor things are just whatsoever
is it to be like Jesus for he is the brightness of the Father's Glory and the express Image of his Person so that to be like him is to be like God By the Imitation of Jesus we recover what our First Parents lost and forfeited to themselves and us even the Image of God Therefore the Imitation of Jesus brings more Honour and Glory than any or all earthly Dignities Likeness to God is the highest degree a Creature is capable of therefore if we understood our selves and our interest we should be more ambitious of this than of all the Titles and Dignities which either Kings or People can bestow If the Imitation of Christ were impossible it would not have been enjoined us but neither is it so difficult as some at first may imagine besides that the Difficulties may be surmounted through the Grace of God the thing will become both easie and pleasant if we will but converse with Christ contemplate and meditate on him frequently They who converse much together we see use to slide insensibly into the Manners Fashion and Behaviour of one another Even so if we take this Method we shall soon find our selves changed into a resemblance with Jesus Christ. But we all saith the Apostle with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the spirit of the Lord 2 Cor. iij. 18. But now as it is our Duty our Honour our Interest to follow Christ and to labour to be like him So it is fit to consider wherein we should follow him Some Imitations are indiscreet unreasonable and so far from obliging that they provoke A King loves to be imitated by his Subjects because it is a Testimony of their Love and Respect and the greatest Honour they can put upon him But he would not have them to imitate the Peculiarities of Royalty and Sovereignty Imitation should not be in things peculiar but in these things which are common which may agree to and suit with both So we must not attempt to follow Christ in what was peculiar to him as the Son of God and the Saviour of the World we must not imitate the Acts of his Almighty Power or what was proper to his Mediatory Office It is no part of our Duty to imitate him in his Miracles in his walking on the Water commanding the Winds and Seas casting out Devils fasting Forty Days and the like What we ought to imitate is the Divine Vertues which shined forth in his holy Life and which appeared in all his Actions Wherefore he saith learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart These Words may also be considered as an Encouragement for coming to Christ taking up his Yoke and learning of him because he is a meek and lowly Person gentle and easy no wise rigid and severe therefore Men may come to him readily and ought to come willingly for they need not fear hard Usage he will not treat them roughly nor impose grievous Tasks upon them He is a kind and loving Master who consults the Good and Ease of his Disciples and who will not exact any Service which is not both reasonable and also for their Interest as is clearly insinuated in the last Words my yoke is easy and my burden is light But seeing Jesus requires us to imitate him and is frequently proposed as an Example to us and seeing in this very place in which he bids us come and learn of him he recommends himself as a meek and lowly Person therefore we ought to consider those Vertues of Humility and Meekness as particularly proposed for our Imitation Jesus Christ had all other Vertues as well as these he was a true Pattern of Love to God of Zeal Submission Obedience and heavenly Mindedness of Charity Mercifulness and good Will towards Men of Chastity Purity Sobriety Patience and Contentment and in a Word of every thing which is Praise worthy in the Sight of God or good Men. By his Life as well as Doctrine we may learn how to behave our selves in all Circumstances and Conditions in Poverty and Affliction under Contempt and Disgrace when we are hated and persecuted And though he possessed not outward Plenty and Grandeur yet several of his Actions shew the true end and use of these and do teach those who possess them to imploy them more for the Glory of God and the Good and Comfort of others than for their own private Satisfaction From his Practice and Example we may learn our Duty to Superiours Inferiours and Equals But tho' he be a Pattern of all Vertue and Goodness yet he instanceth only in Meekness and Humility either because these comprehend all other or are the chief and first to be learned and which if they be learned will draw all other after them All Vertue and Religion either respects Man or God and without Meekness and Humility it is impossible to carry our selves aright towards either of them But he that is truly humble and meek will certainly endeavour to please both Nay the very Exercise of these two comprehends all our Duty to God and Man as we may learn from Micah vi He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord thy God require of thee but that thou shouldest do justly and love mercy and walk humbly with thy God Meekness cannot be either better or more briefly described than in the Characters of Charity given by St. Paul It suffereth long is kind envieth not vaunteth not it self is not puffed up doth not behave it self unseemly seeketh not her own is not easily provoked thinketh no evil beareth all things believeth all things hopeth all things endureth all things For these Characters belong to Charity because it softneth our Natures and rendreth us meek Meekness is a Branch of Charity and naturally flows from it These two are inseparable and we may certainly conclude the one is not where the other is wanting Love smooths our Natures and carries off all Ruggedness of Temper it disposeth us both to please others and also to be well pleased with what they do it maketh the Persons and Actions of others acceptable and even when any thing is amiss in either it excuseth or censureth gently If Christian Love did abound more there would be more of Meekness and good Nature in common Conversation But because that is very much wanting therefore there is so little generous Complaisance to be seen The most are very selfish and have but very little Concernment for others and this is the Cause why they are so surly and morose so peevish and wrathful why their Temper is so stiff and uneasie and their Behaviour so rough and blustering they love themselves too much and others too little and therefore they can hardly condescend to gratify others and are but seldom satisfied with what is done to themselves As Meekness proceeds from Love so from Humility and therefore they are
affront and do violence to his Priesthood They who dispute the Justice Reasonableness and Necessity of his Laws they who refuse to walk by them and who resist the Motions of his Spirit even they do violence to him as King All of this Spirit and Temper would have concurred with the Iews in crucifying him they are Enemies to our Lord and as the Apostle saith crucifie him afresh and put him to open shame And who do thus crucifie him their Sin is rather more grievous and more provoking than that of the Iews before For St. Peter saith that through ignorance they did it And St. Paul that if they had known they would not have crucified the Lord of life and glory But now he has appeared with such Light and Evidence that he cannot but be made known to all who have Eyes to see or Hearts to understand or a desire to be informed And therefore great is the guilt now of crucifying him and putting him again to shame He that despised Moses Law died without mercy under two or three witnesses Of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God and hath counted the blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and hath done despite unto the Spirit of Grace Heb. x. 28. What then shall we think of these Nations and of our selves who are Chargeable with this very great Sin What cause of Mourning and what cause of Fear have we upon this very account I may say where has there been more clear and more frequent Instruction And where has it been less observed What contempt of God and Religion What open Profanity and avowed breach of the Laws of God have been among us How often and how horridly has the Sacred Name of God been Blasphemed both Publickly and Privately How little regard has been shewed to Jesus Christ or to any thing he did or suffered for us To what purpose has his Blood and Wounds his Agony and Passion been declared and set forth to us Whose hearts have they touched How few have been prevailed upon by these to forsake Sin but on the contrary even in spite of them they go on and continue in it And all the use which some make of them is to take occasion from them to forge New and Different Oaths for setting off their Prophane and Idle Discourse Have not some run up to that height of Impiety as not only in common Conversation to mock the Doctrine and Institutions of Jesus Christ to droll upon his Person and Actions but also deliberately in Writing to publish Blasphemies that could not be tolerated amongst Mahumetans How many Scandalous Pamphlets have been written of late which either by plain Assertions or clear Innuendo's divest him of his Godhead spoil him of the Merits of his Death represent him as an Impostor and all the System of his Gospel as a Cheat tho' the whole contrivance is not only highly worthy of God but doth as fully and as evidently set forth his infinite Wisdom and Power as the Universal Frame of this Material World But tho' all have not been so grosly wicked yet all Ranks and Orders of Men Rulers Pastors and People have one way or other less or more been guilty of grieving the Holy Spirit of God and the Righteous Spirit of Jesus Christ And therefore we have reason to fear that his Anger will break forth and fall down in some heavy Judgment upon these Nations as it happened to the Iews I do not pretend to any peculiar Privacy into the Secret Councils of God nor to be acquainted with his Purposes towards the publick state of these Kingdoms wherefore I shall not denounce any particular Judgments in the Name of God having no special Warrant for it but I must say that if his Word and the Methods of his Providence be a Rule if we may take any measures of Conjecture either from his Nature or his Threatnings or the Example of others there is too much reason to look for some grievous Calamities to these Lands unless a speedy and Universal Repentance prevent it We are not the safer that we are secure Nay our Security is a sign that our Ruin and Calamity are not far off At this time when our Lord gave this Warning the Iews were very secure they thought of nothing less than the utter destruction of their Nation and State When God has been provoked to determine the Ruin of a People he useth to possess them first with a Drowsiness and to cast them into a Slumber that they may be incapable to prevent it Make the heart of this people fat make their ears heavy and shut their eyes least they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and convert and be healed said the Lord to Isaiah Isa. vi 10. God hath been of a long time punishing Nations and Kingdoms about us but the voice of the Rod upon others hath not awakened us for all this we have slept on in our Sins Wherefore he hath drawn a little nearer and he hath laid his Judgments at our own Door he hath shaken the Foundation of our State and with that shake tumbled many Persons from their Honours their Preferments their places of Ease Comfort and Subsistence and yet still there is little or no awakening As with Men who are suddenly interrupted in their rest and whose Sleep is hastily broken there is so much sense as to fret repine and complain of Uneasiness and to be angry with those who disturb us But there is no awakening to true Repentance no Rouzing up to Provide for our Safety and to prevent the Danger threatned He that mocked God and laughed at Religion before doth so still He that uttered Oaths and Blasphemies continues to do so the Drunkard continues his Drinking he that was Filthy Unjust or Unholy is so still every one continues his former wicked course and few break off their Sins by Righteousness or their Iniquities by shewing mercy to the Poor Surely it is meet to say unto God I have born Chastisement I will not offend any more that which I see not teach thou me If I have done iniquity I will do no more But who saith this Alas there be Few to stand in the gap to deprecate God's Wrath but too too many who by their hardness and impenitent heart treasure up to themselves and to the Nations Wrath even in this day of Wrath. If I had time I could draw a Parallel betwixt our selves and the Iews our Temper and Behaviour and theirs before all those Evils came upon them But God forbid that our End be as theirs or as some other Churches of the East who as they followed them in their Sins so they were Partakers of their Judgments But whatever be the Publick Fate of these Nations and tho' all may escape Temporal Judgments in this Life yet how do Impenitent and
that it answered every Man's Taste that is it relish'd according to each Man 's particular Appetite affording every one that Satisfaction in his Taste which pleased him best So the Joy afforded us upon the gaining this Spiritual Victory shall be most ravishing it shall fully answer all the Desires of our Souls and shall yield us that full Satisfaction they would be at wherefore it is called a Joy unspeakable and full of Glory and our Lord tells us that they who taste thereof shall not hunger or thirst any more Whosoever shall drink of this water shall thirst again but whosoever shall drink of this water that I shall give him shall never thirst Moreover as there was Plenty of Manna so we shall not have this Heavenly Joy in narrow and scanty Measures but it shall flow and abound beyond all Expression Therefore it is said in Scripture to pass all understanding that is the heighth and greatness thereof can never be sufficiently comprehended Finally as Manna was permanent it lasted all the while the Children of Israel were in the Wilderness that is so long as they needed it neither was it possible for their Enemies to hinder it so this Joy shall never cease our Enemies Malice and Power cannot reach it but it abideth for ever All earthly Goods are liable to Rapine and Violence our Enemies may bereave us of them But they cannot take away the Consolations of the Spirit of God here these we may enjoy in the midst of Bonds and Imprisonment and Afflictions and much less can any stay that joy and those Pleasures which shall be bestowed hereafter And as these are the Reasons why the Joy prepared for those who overcome is called Manna so it is called hidden Manna alluding to the Pot of Manna laid up in the Ark or else because the Nature and Quality and Excellency of this Joy is without the reach of Sense Our bodily Sense does not discern it nor can humane Reason scan it Strangers do not intermeddle with this joy None understand it but they who possess it Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of Man the good things which God hath laid up for them that love him But I said by Manna are not only set forth the Nature and Quality of those Delights he who overcometh is to be feasted with but also the particular Entertainment which affords such excellent Joy and Delight is pointed at And therefore by Manna here we are to understand Jesus Christ himself for Manna was a Type and Figure of him and he is expressly called Spiritual Manna 1 Cor. x. 3. And as a Pot of Manna was laid up in the Ark so Jesus Christ is kept and reserved in the Heavens which were figured by the Ark and therefore he is called hidden Manna Now they who overcome shall have Christ to feast upon not after a corporal and carnal manner eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood as some senselesly dream they do in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper nor yet sacramentally as all true Believers do in this World in the Elements of Bread and Wine For hereafter in Heaven which is here pointed at there is neither place for nor need of Types Figures and Symbols which would not be suitable Entertainment for such a pure and perfect State But the meaning is they shall feast on everlasting Bliss the Purchase and Merits of his Blood the Fruits of his Incarnation Birth Life Death Resurrection and Ascension and whatever he did or suffered to purchase Eternal Happiness for us There is no proper Food but this He who wants it is utterly miserable for nothing but the Enjoyment of Christ in Heaven can give Life or Pleasure to the Soul of Man And the Soul that is entertained in his beatifick Presence is entertained in the Fullness of Joy and cannot but be happy for there is no Grief or Sadness in that glorious Place where he is but perfect Delight Joy Pleasure and Satisfaction as will appear by what follows which is the effect of this Entertainment He who gets to eat of this hidden Manna shall also get a white Stone When St. Iohn had this Revelation he was in Patmos an Isle in the Egean or Egarean Sea and here he alludes to a Custom practised or well known there for in Asia and other Eastern Countries they were wont to give their Votes for acquitting or condemning such as were accused by casting white and black Shells or Stones the white as an Emblem of Innocency was for the Persons Absolution and Justification as the black betokened Guilt and declared for their Condemnation which Ovid has thus delivered Mos erat antiquis niveis atrisque lapillis His damnare reos illis absolvere culpa By the white Stone then is meant a Sentence of Absolution and so our Saviour here promiseth to absolve and justifie such as overcome from all that may be laid to their Charge He will take away their Guilt wash them from their Sins and deliver them from the Death that is due to them And O what a Happiness is this What matter of Joy is there in this Promise It is as Health to the sick Ransom to the captive and a Remission to him who is ready to be led forth to Execution If any be not affected herewith it is because they are not sensible of their Guilt and do not consider the heinous Nature of Sin or the Misery which attends it But they who have laid this to Heart will prize it exceedingly What would a troubled Conscience give for the least Assurance or smallest Hope of this Comfort O Who will deliver me from this Body of Death saith St. Paul and David who roared all the day long because of his Sin and on that Account found God's Hand Day and Night heavy upon him cries out Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose Sin is covered Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity Despair not because thy Sins are many and great for be they never so numerous or heinous Christ is able to take them away and here he promises to absolve thee Be of good cheer O Sinner thy Sins shall be forgiven thee for there is now no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Iesus who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit But there is here promised not only a white Stone the Sign of Absolution and a Deliverance from Death due to us but also something more which we could never deserve and which exceeds all Expression In the Stone there shall be a New Name which is still an Allusion to the Custom of these former times and Eastern Countries where Letters and Words used to be written also upon the Stones they cast into the publick Urn. What is the Importance of this New Name we will know when we have found out whose Name it is whether of him who gives it or of him who receives it
cannot agree with and with whose will and pleasure you can never comply You who are covetous and wedded to the World why come you to him who teacheth and commands to undervalue and trample upon all Sublunary Enjoyments You Proud and Vain-glorious why do you engage with a Master who is humble and lowly and who requires all his Servants to be so You who are Malicious and Disdainful and ready upon every occasion to slight and contemn others how can you take upon you to be the Servants of him who is Meek and Affable and who will have all his Servants to be kindly affectioned one towards another You who are easily blown up to Wrath and who cannot sit down with any injury without revenging it what a Presumption is it for you to become his Disciples who strictly Commands the loving of Enemies the blessing them that curse us the doing good to them that hate us and the praying for them that persecute and spitefully use us What reason have you who wrong cheat and defraud your Brethren to engage with Jesus Christ who hath established this as a certain Law amongst his Disciples that every one do as they would be done to Finally you who cannot be weaned from excess in Eating and Drinking and voluptuous Pleasures from Prophane Jesting and filthy Communication from licentious and ungodly Practices I say why do you call Christ your Lord Why pretend you to his Service seeing you know that he hates and hath discharged all these things and has enjoin'd that we be holy in all manner of conversation even as he himself who hath called us is holy What think you Doth Christ only require a large Muster-roll Doth he ask only that Men list themselves under him is he content they serve him by halfs only or think you he will be pleased that instead of doing his own Will they do the quite contrary If therefore you have no Mind to comply with the Will of Christ that is to be truly Just and Honest Sober and Temperate Good and Merciful Holy and Upright before God and Man You had better not own Christ not pretend to have any thing to do with him otherwise you shall draw greater Guilt and Punishment upon your selves for you have seen how much this doth provoke him and what dishonour and prejudice it doth to him It is our proper business and the proper business of this place to perswade Men to embrace Christ and to be reconciled unto God we are sent out upon this very Errand but if Men will not be perswaded to leave their Sins nor to turn Holy and Righteous we must intreat them not to embrace Christ we must desire them to profess Atheism Infidelity any thing they please except the Christian Religion And sure next to a hearty and real Compliance with the Laws of the Gospel this is the best Service can be done unto God For so long as Men deny Christ and will not own themselves to be his Disciples their fruitfulness in Sin and their barrenness in Good Works disappoint neither God nor Man nor is the occasion of any reproach unto the Christian Religion But when Men call themselves Christians it is still expected they will walk as such while they call unto Christ Lord Lord it 's hoped and believed they will do what he saith Even as Christ looked to have found Figs upon the Tree which brought forth Leaves and therefore if this Fruit be wanting in them they both mock God and delude Men. And will ye thus requite the Lord ye foolish people and unwise Will ye mock and deal deceitfully with him who hath done so many and so great things for you If ye do him no good I pray you do him no wrong If you will not glorifie him by your good Works I pray you do not dishonour him by your evil Deeds If ye will not serve him your selves do not hinder others that would His Love the laying down of his Life for you ought to melt you into Love and to engage you to Obedience but if you think him not worthy of such a Return I hope you will not think it just to render him Evil for Good Hatred for Love He deserves better usage at your hands than to have his Spirit wounded and grieved by you his Name reproached and calumniated and his Interest weakned and prejudged And yet all these things ye do unto him when ye call him Lord and do not those things which he saith Oh far be it from us to be guilty of such monstrous Ingratitude and to deal so inhumanely with the Lord Jesus Christ who hath shewed us such astonishing Love and Kindness and who is most desirous of our good and happiness Wherefore let us sit down and deliberate what we will do whether we will adhere to the Profession of Christ and join thereto Obedience to his Laws or if we shall renounce both together The First certainly would please him best but the Second would please him better than a bare barren Profession of his Name with the practice of Sin and Wickedness Chuse you then this day whom ye will serve whether Christ the Lord or the Devil the World and the Flesh Ye cannot serve him and them too No man can serve two Masters If you cleave to him you must forsake them If you will adhere to them let him go I know you will answer as the people did Ioshua when he put the like question unto them God forbid that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods But remember and consider what Ioshua said again unto them Ye cannot serve the Lord for he is an holy God he is a jealous God he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins That is he will not connive at them or bear with them he will by no means be induced to indulge you the practice of them If ye forsake the Lord and serve strange gods that is if while you profess your selves his Servants you obey any other and do any thing which is evil in his sight then he will turn and do you hurt and consume you after that he hath done you good Lay your hand therefore on your heart and resolve either to part with your Sins or with him whom you call your Lord. But what shall sin separate us from God Shall any thing be dearer to us than the Lord Jesus Christ Have we greater ties to the Devil the World and the Flesh than to him Shall we think our selves happier in their Service than in his God forbid Was it not by these that we were brought into misery and thraldom Shall we deliberate then to whom we shall yield our selves Servants whether of sin unto sin or of obedience unto righteousness Is the balance equal Is there not more weight on the one side than the other Why then do we not chuse why do we not preferr that which Reason Interest and Duty perswade to What fruit have ye in these things whereof you
are now ashamed is not the end of these things death for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Iesus Christ our Lord. Let not therefore sin reign any more in your mortal bodies that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin but your members as instruments of righteousness unto God Be not afraid or discouraged at his Laws for there is none of them grievous saith the Apostle St. John The law of the Lord is perfect saith David Converting the soul his statutes are right rejoicing the heart they are more to be desired than gold yea than much fine gold sweeter also than honey or the honey-comb And in keeping them there is great reward For if being made free from Sin we become Servants to God and have our fruit unto Holiness our end shall be everlasting Life to the which God bring us all in his good time Amen SERMON XI A PREPARATION TO THE Holy Communion HEBREWS X. 22. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience and our bodies washed with pure water THese Words are an Inference or Conclusion drawn from a Doctrine formerly delivered as appears from the illative Particle Therefore in the 19th Verse And there you have also the Summ of the Doctrine it self viz. That there is now free access unto God through Iesus Christ which the Apostle declareth in figurative Expressions with an Allusion to the Jewish Temple not only because he was writing to Hebrews but also because that Temple and the way of entering thereinto was a Type of this great Truth which is revealed by the Gospel That Iesus Christ is a true and the only Mediator betwixt God and Man that by him Men may confidently draw near to God and hope for Acceptance St. Paul has asserted and endeavoured to make out in the former part of this Epistle and indeed he hath proved and made it most evident so that there can remain no doubt thereof except in those who obstruct their own Conviction not desiring to be convinc'd Now the proper and practical Improvement of this certain important and most desireable Truth is what you have in the Words of our Text For they contain an Exhortation to lay hold on this gracious Privilege and with all they shew us how and after what manner we should do it so as to obtain it I shall first speak to the Exhortation it self next of the Qualities here required of such as design to comply with the Exhortation and lastly make Application of all to the present business of the Sacrament To begin then with the Exhortation which is in these words Let us draw near To what or whom we should draw near is not here express'd but is to be gathered from what goeth before whereby we understand that it is God to whom we are here desired to draw near And seeing it is so by drawing near here cannot be meant any Motion of our Body towards God for as to his Glorious and Majestick Presence in the Heavens we cannot approach it though we would and as for his other Essential Presence neither can we avoid it though we would too for he fills both Heaven and Earth Whither shall I go from thy Spirit Or whither shall I flee from thy presence said David If I ascend up into Heaven thou art there If I make my bed in hell behold thou art there To draw near to God therefore is a metaphorical Speech and must be understood not of any natural Action of the Body but of some moral Action of the Soul viz. The Desires and Endeavours after Peace and Reconciliation with God For because those who are Enemies and at variance together use to keep a Distance and shun each other's Company therefore in Scripture they who never think of God take no Care to please him and those who make no Difficulty to offend him are said to be far from God and to go a whoring from him And on the other hand because those who lay aside their Enmity and are desirous to be made Friends usually meet and resort to one anothers Company therefore drawing near to God in the Scripture Language is put for the Inclination of our Souls toward him the seeking to have all manner of Enmity betwixt God and us quite removed and that a true firm Peace be made up with him Sin is the Cause and Occasion of that Enmity which is fallen out betwixt God and Man And one would have thought that all the Difficulties of Reconciliation with God should have been on his part That his Justice his Honour his Authority should have interposed and not only not suffered him to accept of Peace but also to have obliged him utterly to destroy those despicable silly Creatures who had the foolish Insolency to rebel against him and to counteract his Will and Pleasure But behold Jesus Christ hath removed all Difficulties on God's Part he hath found out means to satisfie the Justice and to salve the Honour and Authority of God though Man be not destroyed though his Sin be passed over and pardoned God's Wrath is pacified he now looks favourably upon Man and is willing to receive him into Favour and to renew a Covenant of Grace and Peace with him whereby he obligeth himself to deal with Man as if he had not sinned as if he had never rebelled against his Maker Now could it have been expected that such a gracious Offer should not have been readily embraced But which is unaccountable Man stands out and will not be reconciled to God God hath made great Condescension and Man will make none God wooes and intreats and Man draws back and runs away God calls and sends Message after Message and the other will not hear he stretcheth forth his Hands but no Man regardeth he waits but they will not come or draw near Thus each acts as 't were not his own part but what in all Appearance doth more properly belong to the other God acts as if he were in Man's stead and Man behaves himself as if he were in the Place of God for as if God were the poor the needy the inferiour and miserable Party he sues and humbles himself first and as if Man were an independent Sovereign and All-sufficient Being who needed no Aid from any he rejects all the Treaty and disdains this proffered Friendship O! Wonderful Condescension of God And O the Stupidity and Foolishness and Madness of Man What Words are sufficient to hold out either of these And how hard is it to determine which of the two is most astonishing Whether God's Behaviour towards Man in seeking him offering Pardon and Peace or Man's Behaviour towards God in refusing and slighting the same Do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish People and unwise O ye sons of men how long will ye turn my glory
Mind for the East is not more distant from the West than sometimes the Heart of Man is from his Mouth his Intention and Affection from his Words and Actions But be not deceived God will not be mocked there is no deluding of him into a belief of what is not really true he knows well enough whether we be ingenuous and if Ingenuity be wanting he will have nothing to do with us As false deceitful Friends are more odious than profess'd Enemies so God hates Hypocrites as much nay more than Prophane Persons For in Scripture the portion of Hypocrites is mentioned as the dreadfullest Punishment they shall have their portion with hypocrites as if that were the very height of Misery If then ye draw near to God see that it be with true hearts for he desires truth in the inward parts Now what one seeks sincerely and in good earnest he values and prizeth highly he will spare nothing within his Power to the obtaining it and will labour to remove whatever may obstruct it Thus he who sincerely seeks and desires Health will be at any cost or pains for it will cautiously guard against that dyet and weather places or what else may prejudge it And he who is covetous reckons little of the greatest toil and drudgery if gainful nothing is sordid to him which brings Profit and he avoids and hates all actions and places which call him to lay out Money the like may be said of other things And hereby we may know whether we seek God with a true heart Do we in our hearts love God and value him aright that is above all things Can we prize God as a chief Treasure and count all things else in comparison as but loss and dung Are we ready to part with any thing rather than lose him or his favour Do we hate whatever offends him and is inconsistent with fellowship with him Can we freely embrace his Will his Ways his Word which are inseparable from him In a word do we love what he loves and hate what he hates and are his thoughts our thoughts If so then our hearts are true to God but otherwise they are not right they are not according to God's Heart and while they continue so no Peace and Reconciliation can be expected Many draw near to God as the Children of Israel came out of Aegypt they came forth with their Bodies but they left their hearts behind them and though they were necessitated to move forwards yet it was still with reluctancy and they would fain have return'd to the Onions and Flesh-pots of Egypt so many draw near to God but not cordially 't is somewhat unwillingly for they would be content to be freed of the necessity of seeking God and in the midst of their Religious Services they remember the Pleasures of Sin with some delight they cast favourable glances upon them and wish for a freedom to enjoy them God knows this and do you think he will be pleased Will he accept of such Persons No certainly the fate of these Israelites tells us their Doom for as those whose hearts were so glewed to Egypt and who in their heart despised Canaan were never suffered to enter it or to taste the Pleasures thereof So Hypocrites such as do not willingly and cordially draw near to God shall never find Grace in his sight they shall never be admitted into the Holy of Holies but shall be for ever thrust out The second Thing required in those who draw near to God is That they approach in full assurance of Faith In the Original it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Phrase is Metaphorical alluding to the Practice of Mariners who when they are bound towards any Port use so to order their Sails that the Wind may extend and fill them to the end they may have a pleasant and speedy passage for when the Sails flap and are not filled with the Wind the Ship neither makes speed nor keeps an even course Now seeing it is Faith which brings us to God and makes our Union with him for without faith it is impossible to please God for he that cometh to him must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him as the same Apostle tells us hereafter Chap. xi 6. and in the Third of this Epistle he plainly declares that to have an evil heart of unbelief is to depart from the living God and that some could not enter into God's rest because of unbelief Now I say seeing it is so seeing Faith is thus necessary to lead us to God therefore in the Text 't is required that we be full of Faith that we let Faith actuate all the Powers and Faculties of our Souls and enliven all our Actions that like a Ship whose Sails are full blown we may hold a steady and pleasant Course and at last obtain a safe and happy Arrival at that high and holy Port we would be at We are justified by Faith and have Peace with God through our Lord Iesus Christ Rom. v. 1. If you would know particularly what this Faith is it comprehends two things First A Belief of the Mysteries of the Gospel Secondly A Belief of our Acceptance with God First Our Faith must respect the Mysteries of the Gospel these we are to look upon as certain and undoubted Truths and that they are so might be easily made out If I were speaking to Infidels I could clearly shew that the Gospel is no human Device no cunningly devised Fable but a thing most sure and faithful as it is worthy of all acceptation it being every way agreeable to the Nature and Majesty of God and having clear Prophesies going before and manifold undoubted Miracles following after to testifie that it is from God But seeing my Auditory is Christian there is no need of proving what they already profess to believe at least such a Discourse would not be pertinent at this time But we ought not to consider the Mysteries of the Gospel as Truths only but as Truths of the greatest Importance and Concernment Great saith the Apostle is the mystery of godliness 't is not only true but a great weighty Truth in which the Wisdom the Power and all the Attributes of God are contained and which shews to Sinners the way how they should recover themselves and be saved from the Wrath that is to come This is life eternal to know thee the only true God and Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent Wherefore if we believe this our thoughts should be much taken up therewith we should frequently contemplate these Mysteries and be over-joyed with the Contemplation of them I believe the Wars of Iulius Coesar the Discoveries of the Indies those Transactions of Foreign Princes reported in our Gazettes and News-Letters and many other things but I think it not worth the while to ruminate much on these things I do not make it my Business to consider them and to talk of them
all his Promises Yea and Amen Why art thou perplext Why art thou cast down O my Soul Wouldst thou be reading thy Destiny in the hidden Books of Fate Wouldst thou fain know what these secret Decrees say of thee O foolish Soul Why so curious to know things too high for thee which are hid from thee and therefore hid because the Knowledge of them is of no Use to thee nor would it give thee any Satisfaction Whatever be the secret Decrees they do not they cannot contradict those Eternal and Immutable Purposes which are revealed viz. That they who repent and believe and obey the Gospel shall be saved this Sentence cannot be reversed Believest thou this if you believe do accordingly and there is no Cause of Fear whatever come of others you are surely predestinated to Eternal Life If thou canst believe all things are possible Blessed are they who believe for there shall be a performance of those things which are told them of the Lord. Some are not contented with this Assurance That God has certainly declared his infallible Purpose of accepting returning Sinners but they would be infallibly assured that they themselves are actually accepted and justified which I confess would be a great Comfort neither do I doubt but some Men have this Infallible Assurance but it is an unreasonable and preposterous thing for any to expect it at their first Approaches to God or in the beginnings of their Conversion This were to ask Fruit before the due time as if one should seek Fruit on the Tree he hath but newly planted This Assurance never goes before our Reconciliation to God though sometimes of his extraordinary Mercy it may follow after and therefore we cannot expect it let us desire it never so much until we have really performed the Conditions here required If thy Assurance be built on another Foundation 't is not to be trusted to and if thou knowest that this Foundation is laid if thou canst say that in all Sincerity thou hast done what was sought of thee what makes thee not to have a rational and comfortable Assurance All Doubts of our Salvation should only arise from our Doubts of performing our part And if upon a strict and impartial Examination of our selves we find that we have performed our part then we ought to have such a comfortable Degree of Assurance as may quiet our Consciences and support us against our natural Fears because God cannot but perform his most gracious Promises But that particular infallible sort of Assurance which some Men cannot be satisfied unless they have is an extraordinary Gift which God is pleased sometimes to give tho' he is not bound to give it He hath sometimes refreshed the Souls of Martyrs and Confessors with it to support them in the midst of their Torments but it is not of ordinary Dispensation and therefore not to be expected because it is a miraculous Gift which is not to be asked but with great Submission to the Will of God who knows when it is fit for the Support and Consolation of a pious Soul But to proceed The Third Qualification here is that we have our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience which with what follows is the inseparable Effect of the two former they cannot be first and the other cannot be without them we must have true and believing Hearts before we can be sprinkled from an evil conscience or have our bodies washen but once having this the other will follow for Light and Heat may be as well disjoined from the Sun as Purity of Heart and Holiness of Life from true Faith and a sincere Mind to God Many pretend Faith but the tree is known by its fruit hereby may it be known whether thy Faith be good if so be thy heart be sprinkled from an evil conscience In this Speech the Apostle alludes to the Rites and Ceremonies under the Law 't was the Custom then to sprinkle both the Priests and the People in their Solemn Approaches to the Lord sometimes with Blood sometimes with Water Oyl or Ashes But now these legal Ceremonies are laid aside yet the thing signified by them is still required viz. What the Apostle makes mention of here that our hearts be sprinkled from an evil conscience By the heart is meant the Soul or inner Man by the evil conscience those things which pollute the Soul which keep one from having a good conscience void of offence towards God and Man such as brutish Lusts inordinate desires unworthy Passions evil Thoughts and sinful Inclinations whether born with us or contracted afterwards All these must be mortified and purged out before we can be throughly reconciled to God for as Iehu said to Ioram when he ask'd Is there Peace what peace so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Iezabel and her witchcrafts are so many So I say to those who draw near to God how can they look for Peace from him while their Pride Vain-Glory Malice Wrath Covetousness and other filthy and ungodly Lusts live and reign in them God is willing to be reconciled to our Persons but not to our Sins we must part with them or if our Sins and we cannot be separated we must give up Fellowship with God Truly God is good to Israel but 't is to such only as are clean in heart He cannot love foul polluted Souls he cannot chuse but loath and hate them for he is not a God that hath Pleasure in Wickedness neither shall evil dwell with him As therefore when we entertain great Persons we use to remove all things nasty and unhandsome and whatsoever may readily offend them or shame our selves and are careful to have all things about us decent and fashionable so being to approach the holy Presence of God let us lay aside every thing offensive and unsuitable viz. the Love and Inclination to every Sin for he is of purer eyes than that he can behold iniquity he naturally abhorrs it and let us give all Diligence to adorn our Souls with holy Thoughts and heavenly Dispositions for the righteous Lord loveth righteousness his countenance doth behold the upright But if this be wanting we can have no Acceptance If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me saith David Psal. lxvi 18. Even David shall be rejected if he regard Iniquity Some will say if the Case be thus none can have Hopes or who can say their Heart is clean 'T is true in our present State our Hearts cannot be so clean as to have no Blemish there will be ever some Remainders of Sin in us and now and then perhaps some sinful Motions will arise in the best but this will not be imputed to us neither hinder our Reconciliation with God unless we regard them with Love and Delight cherish and follow them If we look on these Irruptions of our corrupt Nature with Sorrow and Regret if we take care to prevent and suppress them and are filled with Grief when they
most unseemly to pamper the Body is to ruin the Soul for thereby those Lusts are cherished and strengthned which war against the Soul and destroy it We need no greater Enemies of our Salvation than what are lodged within our selves If all the Enemies without were removed out of the way our own Flesh and Blood are enough to precipitate us into Perdition Have we not then great reason with St. Paul and Timothy to subdue the Flesh and to keep our Bodies under if these two eminent Saints did this lest they should have been Cast-aways certainly we should be afraid to neglect Abstinence and Exercises of Mortification whereby the Flesh is kept from rebelling against the Spirit or at least disabled from gaining a Victory over it If our Body be not kept in subjection if restraints be not put upon our Appetites they will turn unruly and at last involve us into utter Ruin As Bridles should be put into the Horses mouths so saith St. Augustine our Bodies should be bridled and kept in with Fastings Watchings and Prayer Nam quemadmodum aurigae si fraena laxaverint per praecipitia ducuntur ita anima nostra cum ipso corpore si ei fraenum non imposuerimus ad inferni praecipitia dilabitur The Wantonness of the Rich their insolence towards God their contempt of others and all their ungodly Dispositions and Actions St. Iames ascribes to their living continually in pleasure and to the nourishing their hearts every day as in a day of slaughter that is they make every day a day of Feasting and Rejoicing and set no days apart for Fasting and Mourning They let loose their Sensual Appetites and are still making Provision for the Flesh and its Lusts which carry their Thoughts quite from God and the things of another Life so that they are both prompted and induced easily to commit those Crimes which render them obnoxious to the Divine Wrath. God doth not grudge us the fat and sweet he doth not envy us Lawful and Innocent Pleasures And there are no Real Pleasures but such He is willing that every Man take his Portion that he enjoy his Labour and rejoice in his Works This says Solomon is the gift of God but also he requires us so to moderate the outward Enjoyments of this Life as that they may not be prejudicial to the Soul and its Eternal Happiness nor yet hinder those inward Spiritual Comforts which he is ready and willing to bestow and which put more gladness into the Heart than Corn Wine and Oil. You may feed the Body but in the mean time take care that you do not starve the Soul whose nourishment is deep and serious Meditations upon God and his Word to which a cramb'd and glutted Body is no wife disposed They whose Hearts are overcharged with Surfeiting and Drunkenness and the Cares of this Life are neither mindful of nor capable to use the means of Salvation Wherefore it is necessary to intermix Days of Fasting and Retirement from Worldly Business that we may have time for Prayer and Meditation for instructing our Minds and examining our Actions We should curb our Sensual Appetites and sometimes deny our selves the Enjoyments of this Life that our Desires after God and Heaven may be the more keen We should mortifie the Body by Abstinence and other suitable Exercises that it may not be a Clog to the Soul nor a hinderance to the right Performance of the several Acts of Religion Upon this account the Church in former times did wisely enjoin Vigils and Fasts and Times of Abstinence as Lent And the practice of Pious Men in all Ages do recommend Private Fasting once a Week or Month. While these things were observed Religion flourished a Spirit of Devotion appeared in People and they were susceptible of Impressions from the Truths revealed in the Gospel And the common Neglect of these things is one great Cause of the present Decay of Piety amongst us which Neglect did proceed from a blind and indiscreet Zeal against Popery which did not distinguish betwixt the due Use and Abuse of things But however useful it may be sometimes and for some persons to exercise Abstinence and other Acts of Mortification From what St. Paul adviseth Timothy here we learn in the next place that the use of these things should be always managed with Prudence and Discretion that they may neither prove prejudicial to our Health nor yet degenerate into Superstition Fasting and other corporal Austerities are not things in themselves absolutely necessary but become fit and good according as they are subservient to other things which are so they are to be accounted Religious Acts only when they serve to the great ends of Religion and as they further the attainment of those Vertues and Graces which Religion strictly enjoins When they are not profitable this way they profit nothing at all If they prove rather hinderances than furtherances of those Moral Duties to which either our general or our particular Calling obligeth then they are wholly to be laid aside An excess in the observance is no ways commendable and sometimes more hurtful than the total neglect of them The Flesh with its Lusts should be crucified but the Body by no means is to be destroyed It 's fit to keep the Body under but it ought not to be so enfeebled as that it cannot discharge the Functions of Life wherefore they bewray a great deal of Ignorance Weakness and Superstition who make a scruple of forbearing the Fastings and Abstinences which they prescribe to themselves when their circumstances seem to require it as when they are under any indisposition of Body or when abroad and cannot perform them without some signs of ostentation some more than ordinary trouble to themselves and inconvenience unto others for when by these or the like reasons things of the like Nature cease to be useful or prove noxious they also cease to be acceptable unto God Fasting Abstinence and Acts of Mortification are not of the Nature of Justice Charity Humility Meekness Self-denial and other like Christian Virtues which are good in themselves indispensably necessary and which ought to be practis'd at all times and in all places Nor yet are they like Prayer which as it is a Duty we are commanded to perform without ceasing so it is agreeable and proper to all Persons States Circumstances Seasons and Places Fasting and external Acts of Mortification are not valuable in themselves they are only commendable and Praise-worthy according to the Prudent Management of them and the Ends proposed by them Sometimes they are in no wise suitable and proper wherefore our Lord would not suffer his Disciples to fast while he was with them When Strife and Envy Vanity and Ostentation are the Motives they are to speak in the Scripture Phrase Abominations and they degenerate into Superstition when they are observed out of an opinion of any particular Merit in them or that they please God otherwise than as they
other things a Man is sure of it Sow Righteousness and ye shall sow to your selves none shall come betwixt you and the blessed Fruits which is produced by that sowing Wherefore it is here added and reap in mercy Because the Verb here is the Imperative Mood some will have this a Command for a farther Progress in doing that good we have explained to be contained under the first Head But this cannot be admitted for besides the Tautology we must put a strain'd and unusual sense upon Reaping Wherefore certainly in this Phrase is set forth the gracious Reward wherewith God will bless Sowing in Righteousness Reaping follows Sowing and is the natural effect thereof so who Sows in Righteousness shall Reap in Mercy tho' what they thus Reap be neither the necessary natural effect of what they sow nor yet the just desert thereof if they merited what they Reap it should not be called Mercy But it is so called that they may not think what is given them to be their due If Men would consider themselves and their actions impartially and lay aside all proud thoughts they would adjudge their merits to ' be small and that little belonged to them on that account However all who ply Sowing in Righteousness sincerely may look for Mercy as the Husband-man doth for a Crop after he hath sown nay they may assure themselves of it which he cannot do they may claim it as their Privilege by virtue of the Divine Promise which can never fail With respect to which Promise and the undoubted certainty thereof the Prophet bids them here Reap Mercy Reap is Imperative to denote the certainty of the thing as if there were no more requisite than to put forth the hand and take it in which sense the Imperative is usually taken in Scripture as Ezek. xviii 32. They have not the promise nor are they capable of Mercy who sow not in Righteousness Indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish shall be upon every soul of man that doth evil Rom. ii 9. As therefore Sowing must go before Reaping so Sowing in Righteousness must be previous to the Reaping in Mercy this is necessary not that we may merit but that we may be fit objects of Mercy And as naturally the Crop exceeds the measure of the Grain which was Sown so the Gifts and Expressions of God's Mercy towards righteous Persons shall infinitely exceed the Works done by them Wherefore a Iewish Doctor hath not ill express'd it Sow c. Do that which is good in mine eyes and the good Reward which ye shall receive of me shall be far greater than your good Works as he that soweth a Bushel hopes to reap two or more and therefore in the Command for sowing he useth the word Iustice but in the promise of Reaping the word Chesed Mercy or Benignity which is more than Iustice or what in strict Iustice can be required The Mercy which they who Sow in Righteousness shall Reap is like God himself the Author thereof infinite and so cannot be express'd We cannot particularize all the ways whereby God will shew his Mercy to such Persons It is written Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him 1 Cor. ii 9. As long before the Harvest the Husbandman is refreshed with the sight and savour of his Field so God comforteth and refresheth the Souls of the righteous even in this World and hereafter he Crowns them with unspeakable Glory and blesseth them with eternal Life The Light of God's Countenance even in this Life where its beams are often intercepted do yet afford more Joy than in the time of Harvest when Corn and Wine and Oil abound with Men And what will it do in the other World where it shines fully and clearly and without interruption and where there is nothing to obstruct the Power and Efficacy thereof Lord What Joy is there in the very prospect of this Harvest How happy and blessed are they who are sure of it What a kindness is it that we have liberty to throw in our poor stock into such a profitable Bank and a Privilege to Sow where we may Reap so much With what Face can any refuse the Occasion or what Excuse is sufficient Have Men by their many Inventions found out any higher Felicity than what God and his Superabundant Mercy can confer or is there a nearer way or more proper to this than that which the Prophet directs to the Sowing in Righteousness Is it better to labour for Temporal than Eternal things for that Meat which perisheth than that which endureth to Life everlasting Will ye plough Wickedness and reap Iniquity and eat the Fruit of Lyes that is will ye die rather than live This were a mad and shameful Choice and yet one of them we must make for there is no middle Course left us It is certain the Wages of Sin are Death and that there is no way to Everlasting Life but to have our Fruit unto Holiness Be not deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a Man soweth that shall he also reap He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting Gal. vi 7. The Prophet having told them what they would reap returns to exhort them to the Use of those means which are requisite in order to it and to the Performance of those Duties to which reaping in Mercy is promised which People have need to be put in mind of for ordinarily they are very slack and negligent Many would be at reaping but few set themselves to the Work and Labour that must go before it they would be putting in the sickle in Harvest-time though they have not sown nor made any Preparation for it But those who sow not shall not reap and that our sowing may be successful we are bid first break up our fallow ground for Interpreters make the Prophets Speech Elliptick and will have First or After that or some such Word to be understood If the Ground be not prepared sowing is to no Purpose the Seed was lost that fell on stony ground among thorns and in the high-way The good and precious Seed to be sown is the Word of God our Hearts are the Ground which must receive it and they cannot receive it till they be made honest and good as our Saviour speaks Luke viii 15. and in order to this they must be prepared Pains must be taken on them Break up your fallow Ground If the Husband-man did not till his Ground cast Furrows in it and root out the Weeds thereof he needed not sow and would in vain expect a Crop So our Hearts by their natural Constitution are like fallow ground which was never laboured which is indisposed for receiving Seed from the Sower and of it self brings forth only Thorns and Briars The natural Product of