GOSPEL-RECONCILIATION OR CHRISTS TRVMPET OF Peace to the World Wherein is shewed besides many other Gospel Truth 1. That there was a Breach made between God and Man 2. That there is away to make up this Breach 3 Reconciliation opened in eight Particulars Twelve blessed Consequences thereof How to know whether a Mans peace be made with God Five Helps to make our peace with God 4. God begins the Work of Reconciliation with man 5 Our Reconciliation with God is by Christ How Christ is a fit Reconciler Christ hath undertaken 1. To satisfie Gods Justice 2. To bring our hearts and subdue them to God 6 Gods reconciling the World to himself 7 Why God will not himself immediately dispence this Gospel Reconciliation 8 The Ministers of the Gospel are Embassadors of Christ What kind of Ministry God speaks most in How we ought to hear the Word The horrible wickedness of those that are idle in the Ministry 9 The exceeding willingness of God and Christ to be reconciled to sinners Sixteen Arguments manifesting Gods exceeding willingness to be reconciled to sinners 10 Christs willingness to be reconciled to sinners further opened 11 Objections Answered concerning the exceeding willingness of God and Christ to be reconciled to sinners To which is added two Sermons By JEREMIAH BURROUGHS Published with a Testimony By Thomas Goodwin William Bridge William Greenhil Sydrach Sympson Philip Nye John Yates William Adderley London Printed by Peter Cole Printer and Book-seller at the Printing-press in Cornhil neer the Royal Exchange 1657. A Testimony to the World concerning several Books of Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs that are Printing and wil shortly be Published WHat we have by way of Preface set before the several Books already published of this Reverend Author Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs may sufficiently serve for all that are come forth So that we only need now to give Letters Testimonial to the World that these viz. The Sermons on the 2 Corinthians the 5. chapter the 18. 19. and 20. verses Hos 2.14 Prov. 16.31 Math. 11.28.29.30 Which are or wil shortly be Printed We avouch likewise to be the painful and profitable Labors of the same Author and published by the best and most Authentick Copies Thomas Goodwin William Greenhil William Bridge Sydrach Simpson Philip Nye John Yates William Adderly The Names of Books printed by Peter Cole Printer and Bookseller of London and are to be sold at his Shop at the sign of the Printing-press in Cornhil neer the Royal Exchange Mr. Hookers New Books in three Volums One in Octavo and two in Quarto These Eleven New Books of Mr. Thomas Hooker made in New-England Are attested in an Epistle by Mr. Thomas Goodwin and Mr. Philip Nye To be written with the Authors Own hand None being written by himself before One Volum being a Comment upon Christ's last Prayer in the Seventeenth of John wherein is opened The Union beleevers have with God and Christ and the glorious Priviledges thereof Besides many other Gospel Truths there is also shewed 1 That the end why the Saints receive al glorious Grace is That they may be one as the Father and Christ are one 2 That God the Father loveth the Faithful as he loveth Jesus Christ 3 That our Savior desireth to have the Faithful in Heaven with himself 4 That the happiness of our being in Heaven is to see Christs Glory 5 That there is much wanting in the knowledg of Gods Love in the most able Saints 6 That the Lord Christ lends dayly direction according to the dayly need of his Servants 7 That it is the desire and endeavor of our Savior that the dearest of Gods Love which was bestowed on himself should be given to his faithful Servants 8 That our Vnion and Communion with God in Christ is the top of our happiness in Heaven The first eight Books of the Application of Redemption By the effectual Work of the Word and Spirit of Christ for the bringing home of lost Sinners to God In which besides many other seasonable and Soul-searching Truths there is also largely shewed 1 Christ hath purchased al spiritual good for HIS 2 Christ puts al HIS into possession of al that good that he hath purchased 3 The Soul must be fitted for Christ before it can receive him And a powerful Ministry is the ordinary means to prepare the heart for Christ 4 The work of God is free And the day of Salvation is while this Life last and the Gospel continue 5 God cals his Elect at any Age but the most before old Age. 6 The Soul is naturally setled in a sinful security 7 The heart of a Natural man is wholly unwilling to submit to the Word that would sever him from his sins 8 God the Father by a holy kind of violence plucks His out of their corruptions and draws them to beleeve in Christ The Ninth and Tenth Books of the Application of Redemption by the Effectual Work of the Word and spirit of Christ for the bringing home of lost sinners to God Besides many other seasonable and Soul-searching Truths there is also largely shewed 1 The heart must be humble and contrite before the Lord wil dwel in it 2 Stubborn and bloody sinners may be made broken-hearted 3 There must be true sight of sin before the heart can be broken for it 4 Application of special sins by the Ministry is a means to bring men to sight of and sorrow for them 5 Meditation of sin a special means to break the heart 6 The same word is profitable to some not to another 7 The Lord somtimes makes the word prevaile most when its most opposed 8 Sins unrepented of makes way for piercing Terrors 9 The Truth terible to a guilty conscience 10 Gross and scandalous sinners God usually exerciseth with heavy breakings of heart before they be brought to Christ 11 Sorrow for sin rightly set on pierceth the heart of the sinner throughly 12 They whose hearts are pierced by the Word are carried with love and respect to the Ministers of it And are busie to enquire and ready to submit to the mind of God 13 Sinners in distress of conscience are ignorant what they should do 14 A contrite sinner sees a necessity of coming out of his sinful condition 15 There is a secret hope wherewith the Lord supports the hearts of contrite sinners 16 They who are truly pierced for their sins do prise and covet deliverance from their sins 17 True contrition is accompanied with confession of sin when God cals thereunto 18 The Soul that is pierced for sin is carried with a restless dislike against it Six Books more of Mr. Hookers in two Volums in Quarto are printing Twenty one several Books of Mr. William Bridge Collected into two Volumns Viz. 1 Scripture Light the most sure Light compared with 1. Revelations Visions 2. Natural Supernatual Dreams 3 Impressions with and without Word 4 Light and Law within 5. Divine Providence 6. Christian Experience 7. Humane Reason 8.
to himself by him I say so that the Apostle would put an emphasis on this that we are reconciled by Christ By him Saith he and he was not satisfied in saying of it once but he repeateth it again by him I Say whether they be things on Earth or things in Heaven There are two difficulties in this Scripture first in that it is said God hath reconciled al things to himself in Christ how doth God reconcile all things to himself in Christ we are now speaking of reconciling those that shal be Saved eternally but here the Apostle speaks of reconciling of all things God may be said to reconcile not only Saints but al things unto himself in this regard In that al things were lyable to distruction through mans Sin and it is in Christ and through Christ that any thing in the world is preserved in a good Condition When you behold the Heavens and the Earth and the Sea and al these things and see the preservation of them in any good Condition you must know it is al through Christ and had it not been in regard of Christ al things would have come to ruine and confusion presenly and so God reconcileth al things to himself in Christ Further Al things are reconciled in Christ too in this regard In that now al things are through him come to be made Serviceable to those that are his Saints and reconciled ones and in that regard al things may be said to be reconciled to God because they are reconciled to Gods friends whereas before al Creatures were enemies tâ— us through Sin and now through Christ they come to be made useful to us and so unto God by us A Second difficulty in this text is How God hath by Christ reconciled al things in heaven what things are there in Heaven that are Reconciled to God by Christ We must understand that the things in Heaven that are said to be reconciled are especially to be meant of the Angels But you wil say How can the angels be reconciled to Christ there was never a falling out never an enmity between God and them I Answer That though in a proper sence as reconciliation Concerns man there is no reconciling of Angels unto God yet because there is a neerer and a further and a more firm union made between God and the Angels through Jesus Christ than ever there was before or than ever there should have been for ought we know if Christ hade not been in that regard reconciliation may be said to be of things in Heaven God and them being now by Christ more firmly made one than ever they were before And again though the Angels had never Sinned against God and so were no actual enemies unto God yet they were in a capacity of sinning for they being but Creatures they could not but be frail in themselves and so lyable to fal from God and to sin against him as wel as those that did fal therefore in regard of the establishment which they have now through Jesus Christ because they are now confirmed in such a condition that they are in an impossibility of falling from God God having so taken them to himself and they being so one with God that they can never fal from him in this regard also they may be said to be reconciled For notwithstanding al the perfection of their Creation they might have fallen into the same condition that those did that are now reserved in Chaynes to the Judgment of the great day But now God hath so reconciled al things in Heaven by Jesus Christ that the Angels themselves are more firmly made one with God than they were before And further the Lord doth receive them into a more intire affection of love in and by Jesus Christ than he did before the Lord looking upon the Angels in and through Christ there is a more through firme intimate intire affection of God towards them to establish them and to accept of them in Jesus Christ And besides they are reconciled to God or unto us rather because they are come to be our friends whereas at first they were our enemies so that in that regard there is a kind of Reconciliation but because I conceive the text doth not so much intend that we shal let it pass Thus you see how God was in Christ reconciling to himself even in some sense the very Angels themselves This then is the first thing the very thoughts that God had of entering into any tearmes or parly with man about peace is by Christ that the Lords heart was inclined to man it is from Christ that the Lord would be willing to accept of any satisfaction it is through Christ that we have an access to God any way it is through Christ There is nothing from the one end of the work of Reconciliation to the other but it is al through Christ For further opening of this great point there are these things to be propounded First Briefly to shew you the necessity of Christs coming in in order to our Reconciliation with God and likewise that it could be no other way but by Christ Secondly How Chirst comes to be a fit Reconciler Thirdly What it is that Christ hath ingaged himself to and performed according to his ingagement for our Reconciliation Fourthly How that which Christ hath done comes to be made over to us and that we come to have the fruit of it for our Reconciliation with God Fiftly The Consequences that flow from this Namely that our Reconciliation comes through Christ Sixtly The reasons why God wil be reconciled to us through his Son rather than any other way And Lastly To make some Application of al. These particulars might hold us some time but because we often meet with much of this Doctrine of Reconciliation and have divers times before and are likely if God lengthen out opportunities stil to do it therefore I intend to present al these seven particulars before you in a very short view CHAP. 13. The necessity of Christs coming in for our Reconciliation FOr the first The necessity of Christs coming in for our Reconciliation and surely this is that which is to be in culcated and beaten upon you again again for you neither know God nor Christ nor your own estates except you know the necessity of Christs coming in to undertake in the work of Reconciliation I suppose if we should ask any of you how you hope to be saved you wil presently answer by Jesus Christ But the understanding of the absolute necessity that there was of Christs coming in to reconcile us and God together is not so ordinary therefore I beseech you seriously weigh it The necessity of it in a word is this There was such a distance made between God and his Creatures through sin as did put a necessity upon a Mediator to come between the distance was so great for God being the infinite first being and we being his Creatures the distance must
name of the King of Heaven in the name of Jesus Christ and there is a kind of a representation even of the person of Christ in them And that wil appeare more fully when we come to the next point Fiftly An Embassador must give an account of his Embassage he must according as there is occasion send to the country from whence he comes of what business he hath done so the Ministers of the Gospel comming as Embassadors they are ever and anon to send to heaven to give an account how they speed in their Embassage and when they come to declare any message to the people they are to send to Heaven to tel God whether it be received or rejected and it is a very sad thing to any people when a minister of God shal have any Just cause to send up to Heaven his complaint and say O! Lord thou hast sent me with a blessed Embassage of peace and reconciliation to this people but Lord they reject it they wil rather have their lusts than al that Glory of thine in Jesus Christ Heaven and eternal happiness is a light thing unto them When a Minister makes this complaint do you not think it wil be a hard thing to those that do reject it And al faithful Ministers do this And if he be a faithful Minister he is sollicitous about his Embassage he looks whether it be entertained and accordingly he gives notice to heaven not only weekly but dayly how his Embassage is entertained and at the last day he must give a ful account before the Lord and Jesus Christ Sixtly And Lastly it is against the Law of al nations to abuse an Embassador though he should come upon never such a threatning message yet you must use the Embassador civily So it is against al laws of religion that can be to abuse a minister of the Gospel though he should come with a threatining But much more when he comes about an Embassage of peace then they are to entertaine him It is against al sence and reason and against al relegion and those people are most prophane and reprobate to every good work that shal abuse an Embassador comming from Jesus Christ unto them Now a little by way of application CHAP. 47. Vse 1. The Ministers of the Gospel are sent from the greatest Prince in the world and so they are to be looked upon Now then if the feet of those that do but bring glad tidings of peace should be beautiful how much more the feet of the Embassador of peace An Embassador is another manner of thing than one that brings good tidings O! my bretheren do not give cause for any complaint to be made but rather give you cause to those that come amongst you to send up a comfortable account unto God and to tel God Lord thou hast been pleased to send to such a place to preach peace to such a people and Lord how readily yea how greedily do those poor souls receive this Embassage Lord never did any Minister come into any place where this Embassage was so entertained Oh! they cry out for peace with thee and above al things in the world this is the desire of their souls that they long after is that they might have peace with their God Oh! this would be a joyful account if we could send up our account thus unto God Oh! let not any that come to you as the Embassador of Christ be like unto those in Isay 33.7 The text saith it is spoke of I confess in another case but we may apply it here truly there is cause in many Congregations that the Embassador of peace should weep and that bitterly the Lord keep you from giving any such occasion though it would be sad to their hearts yet it would be more greivous to you Thus much from the Metaphor CHAP. 48. The second Doctrine Propounded in the 45. Chapter prosecuted Doct. 2. That a Minister of the Gospel when he comes is an Embassador he comes in Christs stead and what he shal deliver according to his Commission is to be looked at as if God and as if Jesus Christ did preach unto you For want of the right knowledg of this point it is that there are so many sermons lost If people had but this text in their hearts and looked upon al the faithful Ministers of the Gospel as if God and Jesus Christ were present speaking how much good would be done When God doth intend good to any Soul he wil cause it to look upon the preaching of the Gospel as the very voice of God and Jesus Christ to the Soul Though many a poor creature that perhaps hath heard a thousand Sermons looked upon preaching as what a man would say but at length when the time of love came he saw an authority and majesty of God himself and of Jesus Christ in the Ministry and did feel God speaking to his heart and then it did prevail that is plain in the text As though God did beseech you by us that that we do it is as if God did it and do we pray you It is in Christs stead Now this is not only the Ministers of the Gospel since Christs time but formerly what was done Those that were sent by God to be his Messengers it was as if God and Christ did it You have that proofe of it in the 1 Peter the 3. Chap. 18 19. vers For Christ also hath once suffered for sin the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God being put to Death in the Flesh but quickned by the spirit by which also he went and preached to the spirits which are in Prison That is vainly made use of by some to prove that Christs Soul did descend into Hell to go and preach to the damned in Hell but certainly that is a vain conceite if you observe the text you shal find that this is the meaning of it observe the 20. verse It was to those spirits which somtimes were disobedient when once the long suffering of God waited in the daies of Noah Those Spirits that did live in the daies of Noah and Noahs preaching unto them Now saith the text they are in prison Jesus Christ went preached to the spirits that were disobedient in the times of Noah that now are in pryson How did he go but by his Spirit by his Servant Noah by Noah The preaching of Noah was the preaching of Christ As if he should say There is such a Congregation so many a years ago had a faithful Minister Christ was preaching so many years to those Souls that are now in Prison now alas they are gone they are in Hel but there was a time that Christ was preaching to them I see I must not Name many texts I wil give you one text or two more in the 1 Thess 2.13 You did not receive it as the word of Man you looked beyond man But how did you receive it from God and therefore it doth
here is the first sound of the Trumpet of the Gospel and blessed are they that hear this joyful sound namly that there is a possiblity of being reconciled that the Lord is content to enter into parly with his enemies for God might have cast them off forever and never so much as parly with them as he hath done the Angels that sinned against whom he was so provoked that he resolved within himself and he hath kept his resolution since the beginning of the world and he will keep it unto all eternity that he wil not so much as enter into parly with those Creatures or be reconciled with them upon any tearms As when a man is so fallen out with an another as that if one should come to speak about terms of peace he cannot endure to hear of them no saith he I will never enter into treaty with him so long as I live about it So God wil never enter into treaty with the Angels he wil not hear of any terms of Reconciliation but is resolved to revenge himself upon them to al eternity therefore the Apostle saith they are reserved in chains to the judgmtnt of the great day But now Lord what shal become of man poor man might well fear when he hears what God hath resolved upon against the Angels he hath cause enough to shake at that for indeed man is a far more poore and mean and wretched Creature than those Angels are If it be so between man and man that when a great Prince is offended with some Noble man in his Court and so offended with him yea for his first offence as that all the men in the world cannot perswade that Prince so much as to vouchsafe to hearken to any terms of reconciliation and if some meaner officer some poore Groom shal have offended the King and provoked his wrath and hears of this that his Cheif favorite one that was neer unto him that was alwaies in his presence did but offend him once and yet the King should never hearken to any means of pacification surely this man would soon think with himself Lord what wil become of me Is there any hope that there shal be a parly between the King and me Certainly this poor man wil even be ready to have his heart sink within him and sit down altogether overwhelmed with fear and dispaire And so indeed should we all have done upon our reasoning within our selves concerning Gods dealing with the fallen Angels had we not had this glorious and blessed sound of the Gospel and hopes of Reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ we would all have sunk down into the battomlesse Gulf of dispaire and concluded certainly against our selves that there can be no peace between God and us we being such enemies unto him as we are by nature But though this be beyond our thoughts as farr as the Heaven is above the Earth and though this could never enter into the heart of man that ever God would parly with poor falen man after so great an emnity begot by sin yet know this is the message that is come from Heaven even from God himself that he is contented to parly with you yea so Contented as that he himself hath sent ambassadors to us to intreat us be reconciled But of that hereafter God I say is Content to enter into treaty with man concerning a Reconciliation and the making up of a peace between him and their souls for that indeed is the very scope of the Gospel If I should a little dwell here to inquire the Reason of this why the Lord should be willing to enter into this treaty with man-kind the truth is it is an unsearchable depth we cannot imagine any Reason why the Lord should rather chuse to parly with us and to treat concerning terms of peace with us than with the Angels There is something indeed which we may have in our thoughts As thus If God did not Reconcile himself to man and save him he should loose his whole Creature he did not loose all the Angels when they fell but if God should not provide a way to be Reconciled to man the whole kind of that Creature would be utterly lost now the Lord wil not cast away the whole kind of such an excellent Creature as man is But the truth is these are but guesses at this Reason in chusing to treat with us about salvation and not with the Angels But the main thing is God hath waies to glorifie himself that we know not of in reconciling himself to man-kind We know this that there are glorious intentions that God hath in this work but what these are we shal never know througbly til we come to Heaven and that indeed wil be the very work of Heaven it self to be praising of God to all eternity for that great act of his namely his willingnesse to be reconciled to lost man rather than to the fallen Angels We shal know some Reasons of that afterward for God doth things according to the Counsel of his wil and there is nothing he doth but he hath a great deal of Reason for which we must adore though we cannot now fully understand Only for the present let me hint this unto you let the Consideration of but thus much affect your hearts O should we be sent to preach to the Devils such a point as this is or to the Angels in Hell and say the Lord hath kept this Councel from you almost this six thousand years and his waies towards you have been â—o as if he would never enter parly with you but now God hath revealed his wil towards you that he is content to enter into a Treaty with you about the things that concern your peace and the reconciling of you unto himself what a message would this be to them think you but this never was nor never shal be preached unto them If God should send this message to the damned in Hel and say to them the Lord is content to enter into a parly with you about the reconciling of himself unto you what a message would this be to them but this cannot be this is only a message to those that are alive here in this world to that part of the children of men that are living upon the earth unto them only can this be preached that there is a possibility of Reconciliation between God and them Truly the consideration of a possibility is that which may satisfie the heart of man let the terms be what they wil. O! is it possible that God may be reconciled I wil never inquire about the terms out of fear that the hardnesse of them should discourage me O! let the terms be what they will this is the most acceptable news this is the best tidings to my soul more acceptable than it I were told that I had a thousand worlds given unto me even this that I hear that there is a possiblity of reconciliation betwixt God and my self
God upon thee You are afraid of souldiers why have you not all this while been afraid of the Host of the Almighty God God hath Souldiers enough even in your own house which he can raise up against you he can raise the very dog that is in your family to tear out your throat if he once give him a Commission for there is an enmity between every Creature and a sinful soul and it must be so If there be an enmity against the Generall and Commander in chief of the Army there must needs be then the like enmity against the souldiers Thou that art a sinful soul thou walkest up and down in the midst of Gods Host that are ready every moment to destroy thee and that stands waiting for a Commission from God the Lord of Host to revenge his quarrell upon thee But now being once reconciled unto God all this Host all the whol Creation is reconciled unto thee All the good Creatures the Angels they are now for thy good whereas before they stood ready waiting for a Commission from God to strike thee to the heart for the Angels do wait when God wil give them a command to execute upon those that offend him and they are gone pesently to put the same in execution and so it is with every other Creature But now being reconciled these Angels are become ministring spirits unto thee It is a great matter to have the Angels reconciled by being at peace with God they come to be Reconciled also unto thee and instead of being thy enemies they are as so many fair chariots to guard thee from whatsoever may hurt thee The same I may say of all evil Creatures too they are al so far reconciled to thee as that they shal do thee no hurt or prejudice But The Second Consequence Secondly A Second fruit that follows is Peace of Conscience whereas before thy Conscience terrified thee struck fear and dread in thy heart continually accused thee before God and was as Gods Officer to fill thy Soul with poysoned Arrows and to rend and tear thee But now thou being at peace with God thy Conscience is at peace too Rom. 5.1 Being justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ then follows those most sweet and comâ—ortable effects which we are afterwards to treat of But this is the fruit of Reconciliation Peace of Conscience which is worth ten thousand worlds For one to have his Conscience his enemy to have his Conscience continually to terrifie him it is a greater judgment than to have al the wild Beasts in the world to come and tear and rent his flesh Third Consequence Thirdly there is in the soul a Peace in all other faculties As thus Before the work of Reconciliation between God and man was done the Scripture saith there is no Peace to the wicked in regard of tumultuous workings of the many lusts that are in their hearts the one continally fighting against the other the Conscience telling one thing and the will of a man that opposeth Conscience and the affections they are all in a tumult one against another one lust opposeth another fighteth against another there is a disorder and a confusion and a tumult in the heart of a wicked man he goes against the light and the light against him and there is nothing but warring and combustion in his heart Your lusts saith the Apostle war one against another within you and you may easily find it to be so if you observe your selves that when your lusts are once up they breed such a woful disturbance in your heart that you are like the Sea that casts up nothing but mire and dirt Take a wicked man that hath but some darting in of any light telling him what the mind of God is his heart fights against this light and the light fights against his heart so that there are nothing but woful disturbances in his Soul and he is never at Peace No not when he seems to be most serene and quiet But now when we come to be at Peace wih God there is a blessed calme comes into the Spirit of a man the Conscience the wil and the affections are brought into a sweet and Comly order and things are in a great measure more quiet than ever they were The fourth Consequence 4. The fourth fruit is Joy in the Holy Ghost for God being at Peace with a soul the Holy Spirit comes and sheddeth abroad the love of God It is true somtimes we are not sensible of this joy but when once we come to know that we are Reconciled unto God then we come to feele the joy of the Holy Spirit shed abroad in our hearts This you have in Rom. 5. Having Peace with God we rejoyce in tribulation And more especially in Rom. 14.17 The Kingdom of God is nor meat and drink but Righteousness and Peace and joy in the Holy Spirit Joy in the Holy Spirit followes our Peace or our Reconciliation with God That is a fourth particular The fift Consequence 5. There is likewise this fruit of it Hence the soul comes to have free access into Gods presence with boldness Indeed when I look upon God as an enemy unto me and upon my self as an enemy unto God how can I come into Gods presence with boldness But being Reconciled I come to have access to God Adam could not stand in Gods presence when once he had broken his Peace with God but our Peace being made through Jesus Christ we may come into the presence of God and comfortably look upon his face and see no hatred no revenging wrath in it The sixt Consequence 6. Hence there may be a sweet and blessed trade between Heaven and Earth between God and the soul Reconciled As in Countries that are at Warr one with another there cannot be any traffique or trading between those Countries But if once there come to be a League and a Peace made up between the one and the other then trade is open So it is between God and the soul And the truth is there is no free trade made between Heaven and us till Peace be made we cannot trade to Heaven and fetch Commodities from thence we may speak to Heaven and Cry and say our Prayers as the phrase is but to fetch from thence the rich Commodities that are in that Country we cannot til there be a Peace Concluded Indeed a gracious heart that is Reconciled to God never sends up a prayer unto God but he doth as a rich man that sendeth a Ship to the Indies nay it is far more better for you may loose your Ship and your adventure that you send may miscarry But when a gracious soul trades with God and sendeth his Ship of prayer to Heaven he never fails of having a sweet and rich return The seventh Consequence 7. Now we come to injoy all the good we have in this world as upon a new right it is setled upon us and comes
your hearts when you come to hear of this Doctine be not gained upon be not drawn unto God it is a shrew'd argument that you are lost Creatures for God himselfe looks upon this way of reconciliation as the most gaining and prevaling argument that posibly he can use to gaine the heart of any man And except you finde your hearts gained upon by this you may take it as an argument of a most dangerous Condition in which you are I dare appeal to those whose harts God hath gained to himselfe let them Say what was it that gained their hearts what was it that broke their hearts most kindly at first and Caused them to fly unto God was it not the opening of this mistery of Reconciliation in Christ was it not Gods tender of his mercy to the souls of poore sinful creatures in Christ And woe to those Persons that shal Sit under the ministry of the Gospel the droppings of heaven and here the blesed tidings of Reconciliation in Christ and yet not find their hearts gained by this argument for this was one special end why God those this way of Reconciling himself to the world that he might by this gaine the hearts of the Children of men to himselfe for ever So that now you have had al these things opened in the point besides the proof of it in Scripture first you have had shewed unto you that there cold be no Reconciliation but in Christ secondly That Christ was a fit mediator to reconcile God and us together and in what particular thirdly what Christ hath undertook to do for the Reconciliation of us to God and what he doth to this very day Fourthly how we com to have Interest in what he hath done for our Reconciliation fiftly the several properties or consequences of this Reconciliation which doth discover to us what a kinde of Reconciliation it is And then the Reasons why God would reconcile the world to himself in this way rather then in any other way CHAP. 20. APPLICATION Vse 1. See the woful misery sin hath brought us unto humiliation for sin us ful THis improvment of al by application to our selves folows Indeed a great part of what hath been insisted on though it hath been by way of Explication yet it hath been Applicatory But there are yet further things by way of Application to be presented to you al flowing naturally from what hath been taught neither shal I need to be long in it because it is but only a working upon your hearts the same things which I have inlarged upon in the opening of the Point VSE 1 1. then from this point that God was in Christ Reconciling the world to himselfe Hence is presented before us the woful misery that sin hath brought us into There is nothing that sets out the Breach between God and man so much as this That the making up of that Breach must be in Christ There is a great question now on foot Whether humiliation be necessary or no whether men must be made senssible of their natural condition and so be humbled and that way be brought unto Jesus Christ There are a great many that Catch hold upon the abuse of this Humiliation so as wholly to exclude it but exceeding ignorantly because that some would make humiliation as if it were a Condition of the Covenant which indeed it is not and when they heare us say that it is not a Condition they presently Conclude that there is no need at al of it because say they Humiliation doth not at al interest us in Jesus Christ And because some perhaps wil trust two much in their Humiliation and rely upon it therefore others wil wholly take it away and exclude it But though humiliation is not the Condition of the Covenant though it is not that which doth give us an interest in Jesus Christ though it is not that which we are to rely upon yet there is very much need of humiliation and that we be made sensible of our lost Condition by sin and by that which hath been delivered you may see a necessity of it for Consider I suppose if you beleive that God wil pardon your sins and that he wil be Reconciled unto you you beleive it is in Christ Yea you wil say that is Certaine and therefore seeing Christ hath wrought our Reconciliation what need we be humbled for sin Certainly my Bretheren in that which you say if you understand what you say there is implied the deepest work of humiliation and the strongest argument thereunto that it is possible for any Creature to be Capable of in this world How is that you wil say Thus. I beleeve that God is reconciled to me in Christ what hath God wrought my reconciliation in his Son hath he brought it about by Jesus Christ and chosen that way above all other wayes to do it Then certainly such was the Breach between God and me through my sin that al the Angels in Heaven and al the men in the world could never make it up Such was the Breach that my sin had made between God and my soul as it is required so great a mistery of Godliness to make it up as the very Angels themselves are not able to comprehend And indeed it is the greatest work that ever God did do or that â—ver God wil do to al Eternity Consider what it cost to make up the Breach that sin had made between God and thy soul And againe If you beleive that you are reconciled to God in Christ you do not only see and are Convinced of the greatness of that Breach but you must be sensible of it too for can I go out of my self and exercise such a gloriouse act of Faith upon Christ as Mediator and yet not be sensible of what Christ hath done Certainly the work of faith can never be raised in the heart But it is raised so as the sinner knows what he doth when he doth beleive and is sensible of what he doth And if this be so take but these two things That when a man beleeves in Christ as Mediator that he knows what he doth when he beleeves and is sensible of what he doth take but these two things for granted and I wil warrant that foul wil be humbled it follows of it self and of its own nature it need not be required as a Condition it is as necessary to the work of faith as light in the Sun when it shines or as heate of the fire and indeed it is implyed As for example When I am to go to such a place or about such a business it is true going is not the condition required it is not required that I should travil so many stepps by way of Condition but that such an act should be performed that I should be at such a place at such a day to do such a business now though this be not expressed in a condition that I must go so many miles and the
by the stopping of mens mouthes that they shal not be able to say another day O the Lord was terrible and he was a hard master and I durst not goe unto him Indeede my Conscience told me I had sinned against him but I durst not goe to him for mercy for I was afraid of him The mouthes of men shal be stopped another day that have heard this doctrine or God reconciling the world in Christ opened unto them and have not come in and layd hold upon it Indeed it is the plea of many a servant that hath offended his master when one comes to him and Saith why do not you goe and humble your self before your master O Saith he I dare not he is such a furiouse man that he wil fly upon me presently I had rather suffer very much then go to him and this they think excuse enough and many poor Servants wil rather wander up and down the Contry and perish then go backe to their master But noe sinner can say so of God let him be never so vild a siner that is departing from God if one should come unto him and say you wreched sinner whether are you going you are departing from God you are going away from him but behold God calls you to come in O goe and humble yor soules and lament your sin and lay downe al those weapons of enmity against God which you have taken up This sinner now cannot say how shal I dare to look upon God I that have been such a vild and wretched Sinner Surely God wil distroy me and consume me No the Lord propounds himselfe to you a God or mercy in his Son and tels you that he hath provided a meanes in his Son to be reconciled unto you and that his heart hath been so much upon reconciling himselfe to the chrildren of men as that he hath sent his son to do this worke and though it cost the very blood of his son yet he wil do it and therefore sinner if thou dost not come in but wilt go on in wandring from God and Continuing in wayes of enmity against him thy blood be upon thine own head Thou hast read this blessed doctrine of the Gospel opened that God was reconciling himselfe to the world and that he was reconciling himelfe to the world in his Son and that God excepted that when this message was brought to a Congregation the whole Congregation should come and fly unto him and that the world should be fill'd with Cries O! that we might be Reconciled unto him Our Lotd expects this day from some of you to heare you reflect this upon your selves by crying unto him for Reconciliation in his Son that should be the issue of such sermons as these are God ever after such preaching looks to heare some soul repeate in prayer to God and tel him what it hath heard in the Ministery of the word and upon that make a prayer unto him according to what it hath heard As in this manner The Lord expects that this day some sinner or other should get alone and be crying unto God in prayer Lord I have heard not only that there is a possibility for sinners to be Reconciled but there is such a glorious way of Reconciliation that thou hast done it in thy Son Such an honorable way and such a certaine way of Reconciliation and that thy heart is much in that way And Lord I have heard that this is a way that takes away all objections in the world al the discouragments that can be immagined and thou hast revealed it to that end that is that thou mightest break the hearts of sinners and draw them to come in and accept of that blessed covenant that thou hast tendred to them in Christ and to be reconciled unto thee Now Lord I desire to cast my soul upon this free grace of thine in thy Son O! that I might feel thy spirit inableing me to such a gloriouse work as this and O! that the Lord might heare such things as these from some of your Closets this day it wil be that which wil even cause the heart of God to rejoyce that ever he opened the doctrine of Reconciliation to you otherwise it wil turne to the quite contrary end it wil only serve to stop your mouthes at the great day That is another Use CHAP. 23. Use 4. Dispaire not of Gods making peace in this Nation YEt once more If there be such a way of Reconciliation between God and us if God hath wrought it so that it is in Christ Truly from hence we have no Cause to dispaire in Gods power and wisdome and goodness to make peace in this Nation God hath done the greater work You see that God is a God of peace and loves peace and to the end that he might be at peace with the wretched Children of men he hath wrought so wonderfully as to send his own Son into the world and provide such a way that he may be sure that peace may be made and by that way he hath done it He hath made peace between Mercy and Justice there is peace made between an infinite provoked God and wreatched sinful vild Creatures I told you before that this was a mighty difficult work yea the most difficult that ever was or can be in the world If God hath therefore wrought such a work so difficult in a way so gloriouse Then from hence learne not to dispaire but that God may worke even peace for us in this Nation and an honorable peace and a good peace too We are not only hereby incouraged to cry unto God for peace between him and our Souls but we are by this incouraged to cry unto him for peace in the Nation and that he would put an end to these woful times of destruction and misery and war which many of our Brethren have suffered and bled under And indeed those that do understand or have ever felt the work of God in working peace between his maiesty and their Souls they are those that have such intrest in God as if any people shal prevail with him for peace in the land it must be these they wil prove to be our peace makers in the conclusion howsoever people at present cry out of them as if they were the means and instruments of making the gratest debate and as if they were the enimies of peace No my Brethren they that have experience of this great work of God of making peace between himself and their Souls they are they that he at the Throne of grace continually crying unto him that is the prince of of peace to make peace in the Land We desire peace But you wil say How can it be done that way Why should we say how when God himself hath made peace between Heaven and Earth We see things so intricate that we know not how it should be done and we wonder it should ever be brought about that the Spirits of men being so
the Oyle of joy for mourning the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness that they might be called Trees of Righteousness the Planting of the Lord that he might be glorified that is in effect the same with this the Ministery of Reconciliation that is but a large expression of the Ministery of Reconciliation and as you see here it is a prophecy of Christ that first Christ is annoyinted this Christ is appointed by God the Father and the Holy Spirit for the Spirit of God is upon me because the Lord hath annoynted â—e there is the holy Spirit in it God the Father appoints him he only may be said to be the appointer and the Holy Spirit going to annoint Jesus Christ to be a preacher of the Gospel and he being the prime and the cheif Prophet of the Church he doth appoint others to exercise as it were some work of his prophetical office that is to preach the great Doctrine of Reconciliation hath committed unto us the Ministery of Reconciliation this you shal see is the commission that Christ gives in the last of Mark 15.16 verses And he said unto them go yee into all the world and Preach the Gospel to every creature he that beleeveth is baptised shal be saved and he that beleiveth not shal be damned Go ye saith he and preach to every creature he that beleiveth and is baptised shal be saved but he that beleiveth not shal be damned this is the Gospel the doctrine of Reconciliation by Christ he doth not give them a bare commission but he joyns his own power together to this commission and tells them that his power doth go along with them in it Math. 28.18 And Jesus came and speak unto them saying All power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth What followes in vers 19. Go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptising them in the name of the Father Son and Holy-Spirit What a commission is here what a preamble to the commissions is here I have received all power both in Heaven and in Earth And than he tells them Go and teach al nations as if Christ should say you are going about the greatest work that ever any creature hath been implyed in in this world for so it is certainly The Ministery of Reconciliation is next to the work of Redemption that Christ was employed about is the greatest work that any creature in this world was employed about whatsoever the world thinks of it no Angel in heaven was ever employed about a greater work then this and therefore being of so great consequence Christ makes this preface Al power is given unto me in heaven and in earth go ye therefore as if Christ should say Be it knowen to you now that the power that is given to me by the Father shal go along with you and therefore be encouraged but they might wel have said who is sufficient for these great things But be not discouraged saith Christ my power shal go along with you to assist you to comfort you to encourage you it shal go along with you to make your Ministery proffitable unto them that do belong unto my election It shal go along with you to defend you from al adversaries The world wil be enraged against you When you come to preach this Doctrine But now my power shal go along with you to defend you from them al to strengthen you against al oppositions in the world and to enable you to suffer whatsoever shal be brought upon you and further saith Christ I am with you Alwayes even to the end of the world One would have thought that that should have been sufficient that Christ should have said I am with you to the end of the world But there is something more in this I am with you Alwayes even to the end of the world that is I wil not be only with you so as not wholly to leave you but there shal be no one moment of time to the end of the world but in it I wil be with you I wil not only overshadow you and send my presence with you but every moment every day every sermon you preach and then I wil be with you to the end of the world those were dead above 1500. Yeares agoe and yet Christ saith he wil be with them to the end of the world that is with those that should succeed them in the Minnistery of Reconciliation This is the commission And when they come to any house they are to begin thus You shal say Peace be to you when they come to any place that is the peace of God in Christ Now this doctrine of Reconciliation is that that must be understood by preaching We can read but very little of it scarce one letter in all the book of the creature we cannot come to understand it by any knowledg of our own but it must be taught us no nor by the creature But thus much may be understood by the creatures Gods continuing to the world and shining upon the just as wel as upon the unjust and abundance of Mercy heer doth this declare with a loude voice that there is some possibility for men to be reconciled unto God there is mercy for mankind there doth seem to be a loude voice in the goodness of God in the creature to sound out in the eares of al the world that man is in a better condition than the Devills for certainly if God had no intention to do good unto mankind he would not continue so many Mercies as he doth But now this cannot shew us what is Christ but it may shew us thus much that God hath a way of mercy for the Children of men and I think in part that text may be meant of this that we have in Rom. 10.18 Where the Appostle speaks concerning the Gospel but I say have they not heard Yes verily their sound went into al the world have they not heard of the Gospel that is here spoken of Hath not Israel heard the Gospel Yes verily their sound went into all the Earth and their words unto the end of the world And this text if you compare it with the 19. Psal We may have cause to wonder much at the quotation of it and there you have it a little different as in the vers 4. their Line that is the great characcter of the Grace of God that is written in the book of the creature as it were in a line that is gone out throught the earth and hath a kind of sound in it at least we may see it written but hence you see in the 19. Psalm It is clerly spoken concerning the works of God In the Sun and in the Heavens The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmant shews his handy work The creature hath a loude voice to cal us to God by repentance now there can be no calling of us to Repentance but it is a voice of the Gospel And the
not so capable of conversing with Angels as men we are not able to stand before them when an Angel hath somtimes appeared to a gratious Servant of God he hath not been able to bear the glory of it but to fal down and when the Angels came in the 2 of Luk. and said Glory to God on high c. The Angels struck the Shephards with amazment And in the second place the Ministrey of the Angels could not be so effectual Angels do not so fully understand the windings turnings of the hearts of men so as men do A Man is more conscious to the turnings and windings of his own heart then any Angel can be he may know his own heart more then Angels can and by knowing his own heart he may be able to speak more suitable we do not in read the word that Angels knew the thoughts of the heart of men any further then they are some way exprest nor the Devils That is made to be the property of God to be the searcher of the heart but a Man may search his own heart in a great measure furthen the Angels and so they may the better speak unto the hearts of others and so God in Wisdome rather commits the Ministery of Reconciliation to men then Angels But a third is this and that is a special one that the power of God may the more appeare in the conversion of souls unto Jesus Christ and in this one thing the power of God doth appear a great deal more then in making Heaven and Earth First The Doctrine of Reconciliation is the most high supernatural thing that is in the world it is above the reach of a creature Secondly It is that that doth beat down mans nature as much as can be But now that a few poor fisher men at first to whom was committed the word of Reconciliation and a few of the Apostles that were in a poore meane contemptible condition that sometimes had scarce raggs to hang upon them were whipt up down put in the stocks as if they had been the vilest Rogues that had been in all the world and yet that God should subdue so many nations upon the face of the earth and in time should bring the whole world in general to receive this Doctrine by such poor and weak meanes O! the infinite power and glory of God that doth appeare In this God uses weak meanes to shew the greatness of his power and for that you have a cleare text in 2 Cor. 4 7. But we have this treasure in Earthen Vessels that is the Ministery of Reconciliation O! it is a treasure indeed in earthen vessels the word is in the greek in vessels of shells there were some rich shells that had on the outside a plaine shel that when you came to the Sea-shore you should look upon them and they looked meanly as if they had not been worth a farthing but within the shel there was a pretious Pearle that was worth many thousands of pounds so saith he we have this treasure in a shel that is in a poor weak fraile vessel man a contemptible vessel we have this pearle And why so the Apostle gives the reason that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us There is a mighty power of God that goes together with the Ministery of Reconciliation Whensoever any soul is brought home to be reconciled unto God certainly there goes a mighty power yea there goes an hyperbolical power together with it Object But how wil this appeare that there is such a mighty power of God that goes with the Ministery of Reconciliation It appeares in this that there is such mighty things done by such poor weak and contemptible means that men should be willing to part with any thing in the world yea their very lives and beare the greatest torments of the most cruel Tyrants and that for the witness of this truth Now this appeares to be the mighty power of God and this seemes to be a secret answer to any objection in 3 Cor. Is it so that the Ministers of the Gospel are far more Glorious then the Ministers of the Law What is the reason that the Ministers of the Gospel are in such a meane condition so much meaner then the Ministers of the Law There was an high Priest and he had glorious Robes and had pretious stones upon his brest and shoulders now we have no such things Here is a company of poor Fisher-men weak meane men that the world regards not suerly the Ministers of the Law were more Glorious then these Ministers of the Gospel No saith the Apostle for al this we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power of God might appeare and not of man and we are willing as if the Apostle should say that the power of God may appeare more that the glory of God may shine bright we are willing to be Earthen Vessels Another Reason may be this why God committs this Ministery to poor Men rather than to Angels surely God hath a further end then wee imagine it is in just judgment to be a stumbling block to wicked and ungodly men whose hearts are opposite unto the Glorious Gospel that as we know Christ said he preached in parables that in seeing they might not see and in hearing they might not understand as a just judgment of God against the Pharisees and others whose hearts were wicked and unclean and opposite unto Christ that the glorious things of the Gospel might be hid under those parables So I make no question but the means of the Ministery of the Gospel which the world counts Foolishness and the mean condition of the professors of the Gospel is made by God as a stumbling block to ungodly men who God intends should perish eternally because their hearts are wicked and perverse I hate them saith God therefore wil hide this rich treasure from them But those that I love I wil open the inside unto them but others shal have nothing but the outside they shal only have the visible part But now there are others whom God intends to save and they come and the Lord together with their outward Ministery speaks to their hearts and opens the inward treasure to them and they se the Glory of it and admire at it and they come to tast the sweet promises of the Gospel and they adore God in receiving such things as these are so that God fetches about his ends this way but in his just judgment hides his Gospel from some and reveales it to others and therefore saith the Apostle in 2 Cor. 4. If our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost the ministery of the Gospel it is hid to some but it is to those that are lost he hides it from them by this outward meanes the outside Thus you see why God doth commit the Ministery of Reconciliation unto men rather then unto Angells CAP.
it is in Christs stead saith the Appostle There wil be a time when thou wouldst fain have the eare of God to hear thee As you would have God to hear you then so do you hear him now marke that text in the 1. Prov. 24. against those that turn away their eare from hearing God speak Because I have called and ye refused I have streetched out my hand and no man regarded but ye have set at naught al my councels and you would have none of my reproofe howsoever you thought it was but the word of such and such a man yet you have set at naught al my councels and you would have none of my reproofe your hearts fretted and vext that such a man reproved you no it is my reproofe saith God and mark what a doom follows in the 26. vers you you shal cal Saith God and I wil not hear There was a time friend when I cald to you by such a sermon and you know that I spak to your hearts and you turnd a deaf ear to me you shal cal your hearts out and I wil not hear you and there wil come a time that you shal cal to Gods ministers to pray for you What would you have God to hear his ministers for you and wil not you hear his ministers from God It was a speech of Ambrose to Theodosius the Emperor saith he wil not you hear me seeing you desire that I should be heard for you you desire saith he that I should be heard for you and therefore be you willing to heare me now that was the speech to Theodosious after he hade fallen to a great sin comming to reprove him for his sin what saith he wil not you hear me you would be willing that I should be heard for you therefore be you willing to hear me so say I to al men that live in any way of sin Hear Gods ministers now for a day wil come when you wil be glad that God should hear his ministers for you O! hear us when we come in the name of God we would not have you to heare us if we speake our owne fancies This concerns those that neglect the word Now a word or two to those that disobey the word they wil set their judgments against the judgments of the ministers let him say what he wil it is but his opinion Do you know what you say this rebellion is against God against Christ as if there were this language in your hearts Christ saith I wil have this done thy lusts say they wil have this done O! this wil be charged upon thee one day that the voice of the divel was more strong with thee than the voice of Christ but specially it is to contemne the word to set at naught Gods councels to go away contemn the word Dost thou know what thou dost let me apply but these two scriptures to thee thou that Despisest and Scornest the word that canst go to company and there talke of what thou dost heare in a contemnning manner consider but of these two texts I pray first Consider of the text out of which the Point is Raised of Gods Speaking to thee thou dost despise and dost thou so Consisider what the text in Isa 39.23 Saith when thou gettest into company and there art warme with wine Oh! then thou liftest up the voice and laughest against whom hast thou lift up thy voice thou thinkest it is against Hezekiah No it is against the Holy one of Israel thou thinkest it is against such a man that preacheth such a day no it is against the Holy God and Jesus Christ and this is upon thy score written in Heaven here is one that hath reproached the Holy one and Jesus Christ In Luke 10.16 He that heareth you heareth me c. That is true not only of the desciples that were there for the present upon the earth but of al the faithful ministers to the end of the world for Christ saith when he sends them out I wil be with you to the end of the world They were dead more than a thousand years agoe and Christ yet had promised to be with them that is those that should succeed them he would be with them to the end of the world And this Text concerns every faithful minister as wel as the disciples of Christ al that time you despise Jesus Christ and God his Father when you despise the ministery of his word for the Lords sake take heed what you do when you have to deal with the word you have to deal with an edge tool it is that that wil either save you or destroy you for ever You that have been guilty of neglecting the word the Lord strike and humble your hearts and for a Cordial for time to come I wil apply but one scripture further to you and that is that in Heb. 12.25 What is that that in the faithful ministery of the word God and Christ speaks unto people Then take this exhortation So that yee refuse not him that speaketh If they escaped not who refused him that spak on Earth much more shal not we escape if we turne away him that speaketh from Heaven The Ministery of the gospel and the Ministery of the Law are compared One speaking from Earth the other from Heaven though the truth is they were both from Heaven But now in the Ministery of the Gospel God hath sent his own Son to you In the latter daies he hath spoken by his Son saith the Apostle in 1. Heb. the begining God who at sundery times spak in times past to the Fathers by the Prophets hath in these last times spoken to us by his Son c. In former times God spake by his Prophets there was the voice of God but it is not so cleer that there was the voice of God though it is true Christ did speak then by the prophets but in comparison Christ is not said to speak by them But now in these daies God hath spoken by his Son and God hath reserved the Ministery of his Grace and his eternal counsels concerning the Children of men God hath reserved this for his Son and not only his Son personally but his Son in the Ministery of his word Now you wil say If Christ did preach as you say he doth there would be more power We find that when Christ did preach that the Pharises derided him in the original it is they blew their noses at him and marke they that were covetous they derided him they even derided Jesus Christ himself A worldly heart that is growen rich that hath gotten from a low estate to a far greater he wil deride the most excellent preaching in the world Take heed that you do not despise the Ministery for certainly the voice of Christ wil prevaile one day If it doth not prevaile here in the word it shal prevail one day when Christ shal say depart from me yee cursed though thou dost not
upon their death beds when Gods justice is out against them and Gods wrath upon them and they see themselves plunging into the bottomless gulfe then they wil pray and cry for mercy Oh! thou shewest thy selfe to be a stranger to the waies of God and to the minde of God and to the covenant of God if thou wert one of Gods people then thou wouldest know that when God is in a way of Mercy then is the best time of praying for one Mercy lets in another and then is the best time of praying I would argue thus Is it more likely that God when the day of his patience and longe sufering continues to thee that then he should deny thee mercy I say is it like he should deny thee mercy then and yet when the day of his wrath and justice cometh then he should bestow Mercy upon thee what an absurd apprehension of things is here Thou criest God wil deny thee Mercy and grace now now is the day of his long-suffering patience and wil he deny it now and yet is he like to give it thee when the day of his wrath and justice cometh upon thy sick bed and death bed that may be the day of vengance of wrath If thou hast wisdome to thy soul seeke God whilst Mercy is coming and while he is in a way of Mercy that is the fittest time to pray and therefore take it this day and be convinced you carnal hearts that have no minde to pray but when they are in their afflictions but those hearts are most spiritual that can pray most when God is coming most in mercy to them but the time of affliction is the most unlikly time of getting any thing from God I had thought to have spoken divers things about that USE 2. If this be so when God is in a way of mercy one mercy wil let out another hence al the Saints of God are taught and admonished to observe and take diligent notice of the connexion of Gods mercies towards them for certainly this is Gods way to them one mercy maketh way for another and if thou belongest to God that hath been his way to thee all thy life time even from his Electing thee only now it is thy duty to be observant how God hath made one mercy a door of hope to another mercy and it is a special work to observe Gods waies towards a Christian a special work of the Sabbath many of you especially you that are not book-learned you say you know not how to spend the Sabbath after the publique exercise is done but must walk up and down the streets c. here is a work for them that are not book-learned to spend the Sabbath in If thou beest godly then sometimes every Sabbath recollect all the waies of Gods merciful providence towards thee ever since thy Youth and Childhood and how one hath had a connexion to another how one mercy hath let in another mercy and that lets in a third and that third a fourth and you shal see how the track of Gods goodness hath been towards you al your daies and that wil be a most sweet meditation for you wherein God shal have a great deal of Glory the 92. Psalme is a Psalme appointed for the Saâ—â—ath and you shal find that it is a Psalme of contemplation of the works of God and the waies of Gods mercies trwards his people it is a special way to understand the connexion of things and the connexion of causes how one cause hath dependance upon another cause and that upon another and that upon another and this is the difference between Sence and Reason the bruit Beasts that have only sence they taste the sweetness of a thing but they never enquire after the cause but now the more rational any man is the more desires kindle in him to find out the connexion of causes If this be a sweet thing to a soul in a natural way to find out the connexion of causes O! how sweet is it to a gracious soul to find out the connexion and concatination of al the mercies and goodnesses of the Lord towards him in al the passages of his life and do it the rather because that the truth is Brethren this that I am speaking of now it is that wherein a principal part of the glorious inheritance of the Saints consisteth in the glory of Heaven wherein the happiness of the glorified souls there shal consist it wil be this that eternal Sabbath that shal be spent in Heaven wil amongst other things be spent in this work that I am speaking of in a contemplation of al the connexion and concatination of Gods merces towards those that are now in Heaven Now they have been connected and concatinated ever since they have had a being and so brought up to that height of glory Oh! what an infinite content the Saints shal have when God shal reveal al when they shal see into the councels of God and the wil of God so freely and into al his waies how they were chosen from al eternity and so to eternity and there they shal see every passage of Providence that they did not understand the meaning of before how it made way to such a mercy and that to another and that to another and so til they were brought to that fulness of glory they shal I say be eternally contemplating thus of the connexion of Gods mercies and praising and blessing of God that did thus work and coennex things together for their good If thou hopest to come to Heaven to be thus excercised to give God glory there Oh! begin this work here for we pray Gods wil may be done on earth now as it is done in Heaven As on the contrary it wil be a great part of the torment of the damned that they shal there see how one work of Justice made way for another how one passage of Gods Providence made way to one Judgment and that to another and that to another and so til they were plunged into the bottomless pit for ever and the very sight how God wrought from one to another wil be torment enough to them Wel that is the Second to consider of the connexion of Gods mercies A Third Use of the Point is this USE 3. If this be so hence we are taught to entertain every mercy of God kindly and to make much of al Gods mercies if we belong to God every mercy comes but as a Messenger of further mercy Oh! entertain it wel entertain it kindly imbrace it make good use of it Indeed when the Prophet Elisha knew the Messenger of the King came to do mischief to him he bids them entertain him roughly at the door hardly at the door but Brethren every mercy that cometh to us if we be godly it cometh as a Messenger of good tidings it cometh to bring more mercy with it and therefore let us entertain it kindly at the door let us
there is a blessing for this child that had such a Father why The very mention of thee that art Old is an honor to thy child after thee wherefore seeing God hath put a crown upon thee labor stil to brighten this crown more and more to make it more glorious before thou diest and that is the business I have to do and then I shal wind up all to shew to you what Old men should do to make their crown more glorious how they should exercise the work of righteousness so as indeed to be glorious when they live and when they die and so eternally afterwards The first is this 1. Bewail the sins of thy youth that is one worke that is a very suitable work for Old men wherein their righteousness should run bewaile the sins of thy youth and bless God that thou hast time to bewail them Thus David in Psal 25. Oh! remember not against me the sins of my youth Oh! the many evills of my youth that have passed from me Oh! happy had it been for me that I had begâ—n sooner in the waies of God It was Austins grievous complaint Domine nimis Sera c. Oh Lord I love thee too late said Austin when he was an Old man So al you that are Old and ancient look but to your former times whether you did beâ—â—â— to grow gracious when you were young if you have cause to say Oh Lord I began to love thee too late it had been happy for you had you begun sooner 2. Labor to redeem the time to do much for God while he continues thy time It is a little time thou hast to live Oh! let much be done in that time The best of you have neglected the fore-part of your times double now your diligence in the latter part of your times labor to redeem it by putting on others in the waies of Godliness that they may be more forward than your selves to leave a succession of Godliness after you are dead and gone Think with your selves what shal I go out of this world and do God so little service as I have done how little and poor service God hath had from me all my daies Again 3. Incourage those that are young that are to come after you as David come children and I wil teach you the feare of the Lord tel them what you have found in the waies of God how sweet and how good they have been to you labor with your servants and children that when you die you may die so much the more comfortably take heed of checking of young ones in their forwardness in the waies of God take not advantages against them that if they do offend thee in the least degree I this is your religion this is your forwardness this is your profession Oh! if you were gratious your selves you would be wary of checking of them in the waies of religion It is true if any of your servants or children make profession of religion more than others and yet shal be negligent in their duties they are to be rebuked so much the more sharply I but you must do it with Gravity and tenderness of affection and with sence of the name of God how that suffers and this would beseem you to speak to them as in the name of God to charge things solemnly upon their consciences and to sanctifie them by prayer but in every passion to be checking them for their forwardness in religion surly this is an evil If they should make their moan to God and appeal to God that thy indeavor to please you what they can but you take the rather advantage against them because of their forwardness in religion O! this wil be heard in heaven against you 4. You that are Oldl abor to beautify the crown of your glory blesse God that you live to see any manifestation of the name of God further than formerly you have done that you live to this day to see Christ appearing for his people and for his children and his ordinances more than formerly whatsoever many of you may think of it yet certainly if many of your fore-fathers were left to live again and to see these times in which we live they would bless God with their Faces upon the ground for that you live to see And I dare say There is no gracious Old man living this day in England but sees indeed cause of giveing God abundance of praise that ever they lived to see so much appearing of God as they do Do not because of some troubles and interuptions vex and fret Zachary 3. And the latter end that at the laying of the Foundation of the Temple the old men that were there they fel a weeping and crying the young men they shouted indeed and they praised God but the old men they cryed because they knew what was before so many young men now they shout and blesse God for what they see but many old men they weep because it is not as formerly they can remember a great deal more peace in Queen Elizabeths daies now there is such a deal of distraction dissention therfore they are ready to weep when the foundation of the Temple when the work of reformation is laid Oh! they are ready to weep because of so much distraction but put all together and certainly never any man since England was a nation no nor since the begining of the world hath seen more of God and of his gracious waies to a people than you have seen therefore be not froward for that which is amiss but give God the praise and glory for that that is wel begun 5. Shew your righteousness in this that you are willing to open your hearts to imbrace what truths God shal come further reveal to you Say not what shal we have now Shal we be wiser than our forefathers Take heed of such arguments from your fore-fathers you know that place in 1 Peter 1.18 Christ was said to come to lay down his life to redeem us from our vaine conversation received by tradition from our fathers therefore stick not so much to old customs to what was in your fore-fathers times but if God come to manifest any further truth be ready to imbrace it and bless his name for it for there are truths that do rise in several generations If your fore-fathers in time of reformation should have said as many of them said should we be wiser than our fore-fathers We should have continued in Popery stil and yet we did think wel that they before us did decline from their forefathers therefore we must look to the truths that are come up that are manifested in several Generations not that any truth is new but the manifestation of some truths are more evident in some generations than in others and therefore in 1 Peter 1.12 The Apostle speakes of being established in the present truth As in Luthers time there was a present truth the point of justification that was the