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
which shall be to all People Unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord Luke ii But to be more particular This was done to declare and demonstrate the infinite Love and Mercy of God who rather than that Mankind should perish would suffer his own Son and his only Son to be thus abased and humbled God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son unto it that the world through him might not perish but that those who believe might have eternal life John iii. 16. and Rom. v. 8. It is said That God commendeth his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us Mankind is but one part of the Creation And though he make a considerable Figure in this lower World yet if we knew all the other parts of the Creation and their Inhabitants perhaps we should find him contemptible and inconsiderable he is certainly inferiour to the Angels what a Demonstration therefore is it of the Mercy of God to his Creatures that he would not suffer such inconsiderable ones to perish But to prevent their eternal Ruin was pleased to give his Son to do and suffer so many things for us And how doth it heighten his Love to us the Sons of Men that he has shewed more Kindness to us than to the Angels who by Nature are so much better than we He passed by the Angels and has had pity on us he has left them to perish in their Apostacy and Disobedience but has sent his Son to save us Secondly Hereby God hath declared his Justice his uncontroulable Authority the Vigour of his Laws and the Certainty of his Threatnings By this it appears that God is just and will not clear the guilty that he will not suffer his Authority to be contemned nor his Laws to be broken and that what he peremptorily threatens to the breakers of them shall come to pass Heaven and Earth may pass away but one Jot or Title of the Law shall not fall and rather than the Transgression of it escape unpunished he will make his own Son an Example Like that King who having threatned the Loss of both Eyes to such as should be guilty of Adultery And his Son having committed that Crime he to keep his Royal Word to maintain the Vigour of his Laws and to strike Terrour into his Subjects but withal to shew some Mercy to his Son pulled out one of his Son's Eyes and gave another of his own God would not remit the Punishment of Sin but to save Sinners he laid the Weight of the Punishment on his own Son Thirdly Hereby is declared the heinous Nature of Sin how odious it is in the Sight of God how impossible it is to be reconciled to him or to expect his Favour unless it be expiated Let Fools now make a mock of Sin if they dare Let Men consider what the Son of God hath done and suffered to take away the Sins of the World let them call to mind what Obedience what Agony what Shame and Pain the Holy and Innocent Jesus hath been put to what it hath cost him to take away the Guilt of it and to free Men from the Punishment of it And when they have seriously considered all this let them say if they can whether Sin be to be sported with whether it may be safely cherished and indulged Fourthly This setteth forth the Dignity of the Humane Nature How highly is that to be esteemed which God has thought worthy of so strict an Alliance with himself and to save which the Eternal Son of God the Second Person of the blessed Trinity he who thought it not Robbery to be equal with God even he was pleased to make himself of no Reputation to take upon him the Form of a Servant to humble himself and to become obedient unto Death This is Immortal Honour unto Mankind which the Devils envy and which the highest Angels admire and therefore it is said that even they desire to look into it This is the Glory of Man and that which sets him farthest above all his Fellow Creatures in this World The Bodies of other Animals are not much inferiour to ours for they are all of almost the same Nature Composition and curious Contrivance and whatever be the inward Principle of their Life and Actions whatever it be that guides them their Actions are more regular than ours and certainly the Effects of greater Reason Knowledge and Wisdom than what we can by Speculation Study or Experience arrive at But neither Cherubim nor Seraphim nor any of the Celestial Order of Intelligent Beings can boast a Privilege above or even equal to what Man hath by the Incarnation of the Son of God and what followed upon it He took not on him the nature of Angels but the seed of Abraham God has espoused our Nature and thereby made us more honourable than other Creatures and as we have by this the highest Honour so all the Happiness that can be desired For what greater Happiness What can we desire more than what the Love and Friendship and Favour of God can bestow Fifthly As this shews the Dignity of the humane Nature so wherein the Perfection of it consists even in a perfect Obedience unto God such as we shewed that Jesus Christ did pay unto him Adam ruined the humane Nature by his Disobedience Jesus Christ has repaired it by being entirely obedient even unto Death and no Man can arrive at Perfection but by the Imitation of Jesus in a perfect Subjection to the Will of God To make Provision for the Flesh to fulfil the Lusts thereof is never to aim higher than Beasts and inferiour Animals to walk by Sense will stifle our Reason to follow the Imaginations and Devices of our own Hearts or only what our own Reason suggests we shall never surmount a natural imperfect State nor have any other Perfection than what cometh from our selves But if we give our selves up to the Conduct of God if we will follow his Will and Providence and never dispute or cavil at his Pleasure we shall far out-grow our natural State our minds shall receive the Light of Divine Illumination our Spirits shall be fortified by the Almighty Spirit of God and we shall at last become Partakers of the Divine Nature which is as high as any can aspire Sixthly I will only give one Instance more which is that the Incarnation of Jesus Christ his Obedience and Sufferings were appointed to the end that he might merit the Glory Honour and sovereign Power which God had design'd for him before the Foundation of the World Wherefore as it follows our Text God hath highly exalted him and given him a Name which is above every Name that at the Name of Iesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Iesus
of those Sublunary and perishing things How much should we despise and undervalue those empty and fading Vanities seeing we have such infinitely better things prepared for us and waiting upon us Doth he who is called to a Kingdom mind Sticks and Straws Trifles and petty inconsiderable things Remember O Christian what thou art and what thou art called to keep up the Decorum that is suitable to the dignity of thy Person and walk worthy of the Vocation whereunto thou art called Do not creep upon thy Belly and lie groveling upon the Ground lift up thy Head and let thy Heart be where thou seest thy Treasure is Be not like the foolish Indians who sell their Gold and their Pearls and other precious things for Brass and Iron and Glass Beads Do not seek to fill thy Belly with Husks when thou mayst have fulness of Bread in thy Father's House Do not grasp so fast but let go those painted Vanities those mere shadows of Delight and make sure to thy self that fulness of Joy and those Rivers of Pleasure which are at God's Right hand for ever and ever Secondly Consider those things that thou mayst have Comfort in thy Afflictions that thou mayst bear up with a chearful Spirit under all the Crosses that are laid on thee The hopes of Heaven do lighten the burthen of Affliction they take away the heavy pressure thereof How light should we consider our Affliction which is but for a moment seeing it is followed by a far more exceeding and Eternal weight of Glory Look unto Iesus the author and finisher of our Faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God Now if we suffer with him we shall be also glorified together with him And I reckon saith St. Paul that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us Thirdly Consider what a mighty Encouragement this Blessed life is and what a powerful inducement it should be to Prayer Meditation to all Holy Duties and in a word to a hearty compliance with the whole Gospel We are not commanded those things in vain for naught all the pains we are at this way shall be well rewarded Do we toil and sweat for the Bread which perisheth And shall we not labour for that which endureth to Eternal Life Do Men venture upon Merciless Seas Do they throw themselves upon the Points of Swords and before the mouths of Cannons for a little Gain or some small piece of Honour And shall we refuse to walk Circumspectly to live Soberly Righteously and Godly for Heaven and Eternal Life Be ashamed O Christian of thy Sloth and Laziness blush to see some taking more Pains for Earth than thou art for Heaven for Perishing thant hou art for Eternal Riches You see your Labour is not in vain be stedfast therefore and immoveable and always abounding in the Work of the Lord run with Patience the Race that is set before you and run so that you may obtain Do not faint and weary in well-doing but persevere therein to the very End Be thou faithful unto the death saith Christ and I will give thee a Crown of life Finally Let what hath been said raise your Appetite and stir up in you a Holy and Sincere Desire of this Sacrament of the Lord's Supper which strengthens your Faith cherishes your Hope gives you the Encrease of Grace here and is to you a sure Pawn and Pledge of Glory hereafter For this Holy Sacrament is the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus not the Sacred Symbols and Representations thereof only but the conveyance of the Merits of his Death and Sufferings also Now Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood ye have no life in you Eat therefore O Friends Drink yea Drink abundantly O Beloved that your Souls may be satisfied and live for evermore Now unto him who hath loved us and given himself unto the Death for us and who hath opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers even unto Iesus Christ with the Father and Blessed Spirit the Glorious and Incomprehensible Trinity be all Praise Honour and Glory for ever and ever Amen SERMON VIII ON EASTER-DAY 1689. 1 COR. XV. 19. If in this Life only we have Hope in Christ we are of all Men most miserable WHAT the Church Commemorates in this great Festival of Easter solemnly celebrated by all Antiquity St. Paul evidently proves in this Chapter viz. That important Article of our Creed the Resurrection of our Lord Iesus Christ. And from this necessarily he deduceth another most material Point which is the Certainty of our own Resurrection The firm Belief of both these Points are not only absolutely Necessary but also the serious and frequent Consideration of them is most useful that we may be strengthened and encouraged in our Temptations comforted in our Troubles and animated to a chearful Labouring in every work of the Lord. The certainty of an after state as well as the Quality thereof is only known by the Gospel it is Iesus Christ only who hath brought Life and Immortality to Light through the Gospel The Heathens had some knowledge thereof but it was very faint It was only as a Dream and Imagination for when our Apostle taught it at Athens he was counted a Babler and was mocked there even by the Philosophers themselves And among the Iews there was the Sect of the Sadducees who believed neither Resurrection nor Spirit St. Paul attacks these Epicurean and Sadducean Principles in this Chapter for it would seem that some of the Church of Corinth were corrupted with them and said That there is no Resurrection of the Dead though the belief of this point be so essential to a Christian that he ceases to be one who denies it The words of our Text are one of those Arguments St. Paul makes use of for evincing the Truth and certainty of our Resurrection and it is an Argument taken ex absurdo which is accounted a demonstration even in the strictest Science for there be many Propositions of the Mathematicks which cannot be otherwise demonstrated than by shewing the absurd Consequences of their being false I shall endeavour to demonstrate the strength and force of this Argument of St. Paul for another Life But first let us consider the Truth of his Assertion here that we that is Good and Sincere Christians would be of all others the most miserable if there were no more expected than what this Life doth afford St. Paul saith here that if Christians had no hope but in this Life they would be of all Men most miserable He doth not say they would be the only miserable Persons whereby he clearly insinuates that others as well as they are liable to Misery in this World As some Ignorant and Unjust Men charge
Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure The absolute necessity of Holiness will I suppose be acknowledged by all but I fear many mistake what it is and wherein it consists Some think that it lies in varnishing a little the outside the putting on a form of Godliness like the Pharisees whom our Saviour resembled to whited Sepulchers which covered rottenness and filth Some think they are holy enough if their Opinions be sound and that they are in Communion with an Orthodox Party and a Zeal to promote that Party which they think so is all the Sanctity which others aim at I heard of one who said of a certain Person That she was a Saint indeed because she had the Vocabula Artis What he meant thereby I do not well know except it was That she spake the Dialect and used the Phrases peculiar to some People Indeed he that is Holy will take heed to his words but I know no kind of Language sufficient to sanctifie one and if there were then there needed not great violence in taking the Kingdom of Heaven But not to pursue these manifold sad Mistakes of Men true Holiness regardeth God our neighbours and our selves As it regards God it consists in loving him sincerely above all things being ready to part with any thing rather than offend him In being zealously concerned for his Glory and Interest according to Knowledge and Equity For evil must not be done that good may come who doth so saith St. Paul their damnation is just to drive on things per fas nefas is so far from honouring God that it occasions him to be Blasphemed Finally he truly loves God and is holy towards him who makes Conscience of keeping his Commandments O that my ways were directed to keep thy Statutes Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect to all thy Commandments Psal. cxix 5 6. But Secondly He that is holy towards God will be holy also in all manner of Conversation towards Men these two God hath joined together by his Word and Men must not put them asunder Now Holiness towards Men is to honour all men and to love the brotherhood to deal with others as we would be dealt with to be unjust to none but to render all their due according to their several Places and Relations And if I have not quite mistaken the Moral of the Christian Religion it takes in Subjection and Obedience to our Superiours and lawful Governours in things lawful Moreover Holiness towards our Neighbour comprehends Mercy and Charity We ought to have Compassion upon him to relieve his Wants according to our Ability to forgive his Faults and to cover his Infirmities as much as possible A holy Man will not be hard-hearted and severe towards his Neighbour in his Transactions with him nor will he Treat him with the utmost Rigour especially when it cannot be done without his ruin And St. Iames tells us He shall have judgment without mercy that hath shewed no mercy James ii 13. Lastly To compleat our Holiness we must look well to our selves and carefully preserve our selves unspotted from this World we must walk honestly as in the day not in chambering and wantonness not in gluttony and drunkenness not in strife and envy nor making provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof Frequent or habitual Excess and Rioting Whoredom and Uncleanness Lascivious Looks and Speeches not only spoil the Beauty of Holiness but quite deface it As to our selves Holiness is Chastity and Purity Modesty and Humility Temperance and Sobriety the taking care to suppress the Corruption of our Nature and to improve our selves in the exercise of every Grace Thus I have given you a true Scheme of that Holiness to which Eternal Life is promised And having such a Promise let us therefore Cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God 2 Cor. vii 1. By these things we must study to qualifie our selves for that other better life otherwise we do in vain expect it Whether it be fit and proper to imploy Wicked and Unhallowed hands in rearing up the Temple of God in this World I shall not now determine but sure I am such shall never inherit the Kingdom of God in the other Let Men be never so active and zealous for Christ's Kingdom upon Earth tho' they Prophesie in his Name and in his Name cast out Devils and do many wondrous Works yet if they be workers of Iniquity he will say unto them Depart from me I never knew you As the certainty of an after happy state is clearly demonstrated in Scripture so there is nothing more plain and evident than that holiness thorough Iesus Christ is the only way that leads to it What a strange thing then is it and how unaccountable that those who profess a Desire and Hope of this Life do not walk in this Way thereto We have at present a great deal of talk about Religion but there was never less of the Practice thereof There was never more Profession nor was there ever so little of the fruit of Godliness to be seen Religion and Truth are in every Bodies Mouth but very few endeavour a conformity to them Some are altogether careless of Holiness as if they knew some By-path or nearer or easier Way to Heaven Others as if they had no hope but in this Life are only concerned for a present Temporal Interest as if Christ's Kingdom were only in this World they only lay themselves out for advancing and establishing the external Policy of the Church And this too Quovis modo by any means whatsoever they will do ill that good may come and do think that the end will hallow the means tho' never so unlawful But my Friends be not deceived suffer not your selves to be cheated and deluded out of the hope of Heaven and Eternal Life And that you may not fall short hereof and lose this comfortable Expectation let me intreat you to talk less and do more be less anxious about the outward Forms of Godliness and be more careful to shew the power thereof in your Life and Actions trust God a little more with the Care of his Church and Truth and be somewhat more concerned to set up the Kingdom of Christ within you without which you shall both forfeit your part in that glorious Kingdom above and also the honour and privilege of his Kingdom here on Earth Therefore say I unto you the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof This Judgment we have deserved and we have great cause to fear it Nothing will prevent it but our timely and unfeigned Repentance a serious turning to the Lord and bringing forth the fruits of Holiness and Righteousness If we do this God will yet have mercy upon our Nation settle the State preserve the Church and render her illustrious in
and do justice on those who had been the Instruments of their Misery he would set them at Liberty and restore them to their Prosperity and Glory which is meant by bringing them to the Light And then to their great comfort and joy they should behold and understand his righteousness that is That he is just and righteous in all his ways true and faithful in his promises and wonderful in all he doth as David said I know O Lord that all thy judgments are right and that out of faithfulness thou hast afflicted me Psal. cxix 75. Thus I have explained and cleared the Text and shewn you the Occasion Sense and Scope thereof I proceed next to draw such Observations and Instructions as the words afford and as are useful and proper for our consideration And First To rejoice at the Calamities and Afflictions of others and to insult over them who are in Misery is a sign of a Prophane and Ungodly Spirit They who rejoiced at the Calamities of the Israelites were the Idumeans Chaldeans and Babylonians who were no greater Enemies to them than they were to God and the true Religion And Psal. lxix 26. among other Characters of the Wicked this is one That they persecute him whom thou hast smitten and talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded When Iob declareth his Integrity he giveth this as one proof thereof That he rejoiced not at the destruction of him that hated him nor lift up his soul when evil found him Neither saith he have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. To make God's Judgments on others tho' Enemies a matter of Laughter doth very much bewray a want of the Spirit of God and is inconsistent both with the true Fear of God and that Love and Concernedness for others which Religion requires and inspireth They who truly fear God will tremble to see him Angry tho' it be not against themselves but others When the Destruction of the Wicked is foretold it is said That the righteous shall see and fear And accordingly the Prophet Habakkuk foreseeing the Evils and Calamities that were to light upon the Tents of Cusham and the Land of Midian was so far from rejoicing and insulting thereat that he tells us when I heard my belly trembled my lips quivered at the voice rottenness entred into my bones and I trembled in my flesh Indeed it is added in the forecited place That the righteous shall also laugh And Psal. lviii 10. it is said the righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance But hereby is meant that as the righteous is careful to remark all the Acts of the Divine Providence and in particular his exemplary Punishments on notoriously wicked Persons so he will Applaud the Justice and Equity of them and he will be glad to see such evident and convincing proofs of a Deity and Providence for silencing the Atheist and restraining the wickedness of men though still his joy is mixed with a secret regret at the occasion and such an aweful apprehension of the Power and Justice of God as forbids him to mock at the Effects and Expressions of his Displeasure Even as a wise and good Citizen rejoiceth at the good Government of his City and finds a satisfaction in the procedure and execution of Justice which are too grave and important to be mocked at Again the rejoicing at the Calamities of others is inconsistent with the Spirit of Religion which is a Spirit of Love and Humility and which requireth the greatest Love and Sympathy that can be among Men its Precepts are love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them that persecute you and despitefully use you Rejoice with them that rejoice and weep with them that weep If thine enemy hunger feed him if he thirst give him drink Now how little do they observe these Precepts and how little have they of that Spirit which enjoins them who can contrive and work Mischief to their Brethren and when it falls on them behold it with Pleasure We may say to such what our Saviour said to his Disciples who would have been calling for Fire from Heaven on those who would not receive them you know not what manner of Spirit you are of The Miseries and Distresses of others call for Pity and Compassion and one must have put off very much of the Man who draweth Pleasure from the Miseries and Afflictions of other Men tho' they be Enemies Our Saviour knew the Wickedness of Ierusalem and that he was to be crucified therein yet as he drew nigh to it he wept over it by Reason of those sad Calamities which were coming upon it It was David's Interest that Saul was dead yet he did not rejoice at his Death but because the manner thereof was deplorable he mourned for him As it makes Herodias infamous that she rejoiced to see the Head of Iohn Baptist in a Charger so it is recorded to the Commendation of Alexander and Iulius Coesar that neither of them insulted over the Defeat and Distress of their Enemies the first was touched with Compassion when Darius his Mother Wife and Children were taken Prisoners and brought to him and afterwards when Darius himself was killed And the other wept when Pompey's Head was brought to him I know some charge these Tears of Coesar with Hypocrisie seeing he was the Man who pursued Pompey to Death but who knows but the Bowels of Nature at that time overcame his Ambition and other Passions Thirdly They who insult and rejoice in this wise are ignorant of themselves and also of the End of these Divine Judgments they cannot know they are Sinners and that others are so and so punished in their sight to fill them with Fear and to lead them to Repentance otherwise they would make other Uses thereof and would behave themselves otherwise When a Father chastises a Child is it to give Mirth to the rest Or is it not that they may stand in Awe of him and forbear those things which may bring the Rod on their own Back When any Criminal is laid hold on and brought to publick Punishment should they who are equally guilty stand by and laugh either at the Misfortune of their Fellow or the Execution of Justice What Stupidity were this Should they not take Warning and Fear and forsake those Ways which are attended with such Shame and Pain When some told our Saviour of those Galileans whose Blood Pilate mingled with there Sacrifices he answered them Suppose ye these Galileans were Sinners above all others because they suffered such things I tell you nay but except ye Repent ye shall all likewise perish And in Truth they who set light of the Afflictions of others and entertain the Rods on other Mens Backs with Scorn and Derision shall hardly escape themselves Laugh no Man to scorn in the bitterness of his Soul for there is one
Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the father And for this Cause let us not with some rebellious Spirits quarrel at this Divine Oeconomy let us not dispute the Reasonableness of his eternal Purposes nor abdicate him to whom God has given sovereign Power let us not speak against his Person Merits or the Acts of his supreme Authority But as Interest and Duty oblige us let us be subject unto him let us love fear worship and obey him This is the way to work out your Salvation and if you follow this Method God will work in you to will and to do of his good Pleasure Now our Lord Iesus Christ himself and God even our Father which hath loved us and hath given us everlasting Consolation and good Hope through Grace comfort your hearts and stablish you in every good Word and Work Amen SERMON V. Preach'd at EDINBURGH ON GOOD-FRIDAY March 25. 1692. LUKE XXIII 27 28 29 30 31. And there followed him a great company of people and of women which also bewailed and lamented him But Iesus turning unto them said Daughters of Ierusalem weep not for me but weep for your selves and for your children For behold the days are coming in the which they shall say Blessed are the barren and the wombs which never bare and the paps which never gave suck Then shall they begin to say to the mountains fall on us and to the hills cover us For if they do these things in a green tree what shall be done in the dry THERE is in many too great an Inclination after such Shews and Sights and such kind of Conversation as may divert them with Mirth and Laughter Whereas the Contemplation of that which doth affect the Heart with Grief and Sadness is more profitable For saith the Wise Man it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting Sorrow is better than laughter for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better And from hence he observes That the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth The Spirit of Fools is Light and Frothy and only fond of Airy things whence it is that they are in love with the House of Feasting where ordinarily there is more Noise than good Sence more of foolish Jesting and ridiculous Mirth than of solid Instruction But the Wise preferr the House of Mourning because it adds to their Wisdom rendring them serious and giving them a right sense both of themselves and other things Now to make us thus Wise the Reasonable Custom of the Ancient Church appointed this Season to be a time of Mourning and Sorrowing and the Practice of the Catholick Church at present proposeth to our Consideration this Day that which may and will if any thing can affect our Hearts and move the Passions of Sorrow and Grief for that Soul must certainly be stupid and senseless and incapable of Grief who doth not shew it upon the representation of the Cross of Christ his sad Death and Sufferings of which this Day is the Anniversary It is indeed long since this was done but yet it is never to be forgotten The Death and Sufferings of Jesus should carefully be kept in Memory for tho' these things happen'd many Ages ago yet we shall find that we our selves were Accessory to them and therefore if not upon Jesus's account yet at least upon our own we ought to lament and bewail his Death and Passion that the shedding of innocent Blood may be remitted and not charged upon us Some can look upon the Calamities and Disasters of others and never be concern'd they are only mov'd when Trouble and Misery draw near themselves Now even Persons of this temper may see it their Interest to mourn on this occasion for sad and heavy Judgments are ready to fall down upon those who are guilty of the Blood of Jesus and who do not repent of it So that if there be any who have such hard Hearts that they cannot be affected with the Cross and Sufferings of Jesus Christ if his Shame and Sorrow and Pangs will not pierce them yet sure they must not only be hard but lifeless without all sense and feeling if they be Proof against their own Doom and unmov'd at the sight of their own Calamities who will not commiserate the Sufferings of the Holy and Innocent Jesus may yet take Compassion on themselves if we will not shed Tears for his Sake Let us do it for our own as he advis'd the Women who follow'd him to the place of his Crucifixion Daughters of Ierusalem weep not for me but weep for your selves and for your Children The Cross of Christ has too large Dimensions to be commensurated all at once his Sufferings were so many and so great that we cannot take them up at one view nor is it possible to Discourse in one Hour the History of our Lord's Passion wherefore I have fix'd on one particular Passage for our present Meditation which hath this Advantage that it contains Instructions how to moderate our Grief and Passions on this occasion For the more profitable handling of this Passage and to make it work the better upon our Affections these particulars are to be observ'd First The Womens Behaviour and the Reason or occasion of it Secondly Our Lord's Check to their Grief upon his Account And Thirdly His requiring it and making it necessary for themselves and for their Children As to the First It is said of the Women that they bewailed and lamented him And it doth not appear that any other did so or if any besides them were affected with Grief they either conceal'd it or made no such Publick and Remarkable Expressions of it The City was full of People at this time because of the approaching Feast and as is usual on such occasions a very great Multitude followed our Saviour to the place of Execution some out of Curiosity merely to see what was done others to glutt and satisfie their Malice and Revenge But only these Women went out of Compassion His Disciples had forsaken him Nicodemus and other Persons of Quality who believed in Jesus absconded themselves at this time they dissembled their Sentiments and would not appear for him being over-aw'd by the fear of the Priests and Scribes and the giddy furious Multitude who were now gathered into Tumultuary Mobbs demanding him to be Crucified and who in this their Rage were ready to fall upon any that seemed to oppose it as Enemies to the Publick Good of the Nation None offer'd to Plead for him nor did there remain any to commiserate him save these Women in the Text who by their Weeping and Lamentation did Remonstrate against the Madness of the People and the Injustice of the Scribes Pharisees and Priests None of the Circumstances of either our Lord's Birth or Death are accidental but were ordained before-hand by the Infinite Wisdom