our Psalmist had surely they frame to themselves such notions of a Deity as allow them with Iehu to drive on furiously in the ways of wickedness It will therefore be a piece of Charity to undeceive these deluded Wretches to shew them the weakness of those Principles they build upon and the vanity of those Reasons which so much emboldens them in their evil Practices and this was the Second General I proposed to speak to And First Atheism is one main Reason why many discover so little fear of God in their Lives and Conversations As the Belief of a Deity is the Foundation of all Religion and he that cometh unto God must first believe that he is as S. Paul speaks Heb. 11. 6. So on the contrary Atheism must needs be the spring and source of all Irreligion and Profaneness Hence is that of the Psalmist Psal. 14. 1 2. The Fool hath said in his Heart there is no God and then follows in the next words they are corrupt they have done abominable works there is none that doth good But how well doth he deserve the Title of a Fool who denies the Being of a God which the whole Creation is one great evident and undeniable demonstration of This vast and wonderful Fabrick of Heaven and Earth proclaims with a loud voice the infinite Power and Wisdom of that Glorious Being which did at first Create it For as the Roman Orator observed of old Should a Traveller come into a strange Country and find some vast magnificent Palace there tho' he should see nothing but Rats Weasels and such like Creatures in it yet he would easily conclude some Wise and Skilful Architect had been there even so the Heavens declare the Glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his Handy-work Hence is that of S. Paul Rom. 1. 20 The invisible things of God from the Creation are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his Eternal Power and Godhead so that they are without excuse The Atheist therefore must needs be in a very dangerous condition who denies that Almighty Being the whole Creation doth so loudly proclaim Secondly Infidelity of the Scripture is another great reason why Men discover so little fear of God in their Lives and Conversations Many there are that believe a God who do not yet believe those dreadful punishments which are threatned in the Scripture and therefore the hopes of impunity makes them run to all excess of riot For when there is an evil heart of unbelief there will be a departing from the Living God hence is that advice of the Apostle Heb. 3. 12. Take heed Brethren lest there be in any of you an Evil Heart of Vnbelief And what better remedy can there be of this Unbelief than a serious consideration of those Miracles which were wrought to confirm our Faith in the Gospel For as Miracles are the highest Evidence Heaven can give and the Truths of the Gospel have been confirmed by many prodigious Miracles so these Miracles have been attested both by Friends and Foes The Universal Tradition of the Church for more than 1600 years cannot but be a very substantial Evidence of these Miracles to all Christians and yet besides this we have the concurrent Testimonies both of Iews and Pagans Iosephus the Iew reports of our Saviour that he went about doing good and confirmed his Doctrin by Mighty Signs and Wonders Nay farther yet Pontius Pilate as Eusebius informs us sent a large Narrative of our Saviours Miracles to Tiberius Caesar who laid them up among the Records of the Empire and accordingly they are appealed to by the Ancient Fathers Let us not therefore be any longer faithless but believing We cannot have a surer Foundation for our Faith than the Evidence of Miracles and he must needs be a Miracle of Infidelity himself who doth not believe those Miracles which were wrought by our Saviour seeing they have been attested both by Friends and Foes and confirmed to us not only by Christians but also by Iews and Pagans Thirdly I shall name but one Reason more why many men discover so little fear of God in their Lives and Conversations and that is a dangerous opinion they have imbib'd of a state of Annihilation after death The Infamous Author of the Monstrous Leviathan has sadly debaucht this unhappy Age of ours by teaching That the Wicked after Death shall have no Resurrection no as he tells them they shall return to their Primitive Nothing and have no more sense of Pain than they had before they received their Being A Doctrin this most fatal to Piety and Vertue For if Wicked Men can once perswade themselves that they need not fear any severer punishment after Death than that of Annihilation then they will for certain run to all excess of Riot For this and no other was the use which was made of this pernicious Doctrin in the days of St. Paul this and no other was the language of Epicureans then as you may read in 1 Cor. 15. 32. If the Dead rise not say they let us Eat and Drink for to morrow we Die But what saith Solomon to such Sinners as these Eccles. 11. 9. Rejoyce O Young Man in thy Youth and let thy Heart chear thee in the days of thy Youth walk on in the ways of thy own Heart and in the sight of thine own Eyes yet know thou that for all these things God will bring thee unto Iudgment What a dismal day will the day of Judgment be to such deluded Sinners They will then at least find this Doctrin of Annihilation sadly confuted when they shall wish in vain that they had never been born and shall call upon the Rocks and Mountains to do them so much kindness as to crush them into nothing For certainly the gnawings of the Worm and the unquenchable burnings of Fire denote another state than that of Annihilation I hope by this time you will allow me to say with the Psamist in the Text Thou even thou O Lord art to be feared Believe it there is no contending with Almighty God Let the Potsherds strive with the Potsherds of the Earth but wo unto him that striveth with his Maker Cease therefore to do evil and learn to do well perfect Holiness in this fear of the Lord all the days of your lives and then that God who is able to destroy you will be found as able and much more willing to save you for the Merits of your dearest Saviour Jesus Christ to whom c. SERMON II. Revel ii 5. I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy Candlestick out of his place except thou repent ST Ierom says of this Book of Revelations that it hath as many Mysteries as Words and St. Austin gives a like Character of it when he tells us it will exercere mentes legentium that is set their Wits to work who set themselves to read it But notwithstanding all this what is said of the Scripture in
Judge at the last Day and he comes because he is the Son of Man It will not be amiss to enquire briefly into the Reasons of it 1st God has committed the Judgment of the last Day to the Son of Man because he has appointed it should be Visible This is fairly hinted in the Text where it is said they shall see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven God himself is a Spirit and consequently invisible but the Son of Man is Visible and therefore he is appointed to Ride the Circuit that he may be seen of all his Enemies And that we might take the more notice of this Reason it is repeated again Chap. 26. 64. where Christ tells his Enemies that hereafter they shall see the Son of Man sitting on the Right hand of Power and coming in the Clouds of Heaven It seems the Son of Man shall come and his Enemies shall see him and be confounded at the sight of him This may be farther confirm'd from Act. 1. 11. where you 'l find the Angels preaching this Doctrin This same Iesus who is taken up from you into Heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven The Comparison is here made between our Saviour's Ascending into Heaven and his returning again to Judgment Ascendit visibiliter descendit visibiliter He Ascended saith Gerhard in a visible manner and he shall descend to Iudgment in a visible manner too 2ly God has committed the Judgment of the last Day to the Son of Man for the reward of his Obedience and greater exaltation of his Human Nature It is but Justice in God to make this Son of Man Judge the World seeing he came into the World and was judged by it It is but equal to invest Christ with a power of Absolution and Condemnation seeing he was Condemned by us to dye and dyed that he might be in a capacity to Absolve us It is but reasonable that all the Sons of Men should bow before his Throne and submit to his Judgment who disdain'd not for our sakes to stand before the Tribunal of wicked Men and receive the Sentence of Condemnation To this purpose are those Expressions of St. Paul Phil. 2. 8 9. Being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto the Death even the death of the Cross Wherefore God also has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the Name of Iesus every knee should bow He that came at first to save us must it seems come at last Judge us And it is but just that he who before carried a Reed in his hand and was derided by his Enemies should hereafter sway a Scepter of Righteousness and break his Enemies in peices with a Rod of Iron But 3ly God has committed the Judgment of the last Day to the Son of Man for the greater Comfort and Consolation of the Godly What a joyful sight will it be unto all sincere Penitents when they shall see the Advocate become their Judge and none but their Saviour siting on the Throne of Glory For he knows all the Frailties and Infirmities of our Natures He knoweth our frame and remembreth that we are but Dust Yea he will be yet more ready to pity us seeing he was pleased to assume our Natures bear our Infirmities and to be tempted in all things like as we are Well then may the Godly be said in Scripture to long for this glorious appearance of the Lord Iesus Well may the Bride in the Revelations cry Come Lord Iesus come quickly seeing this Day of Judgment will be to her no other than the Day of Nuptuals A Day in which Christ will be married to his People and admit them unto the nearest Union and Communion with himself and that unto all Eternity 4thly God has committed the Judgment of the last Day to the Son of Man for the greater Terror and Confusion of the Wicked The Angels who were present at our Saviours Ascention tell his Disciples Act. 1. 11. that the same Iesus who then ascended into Heaven should descend in like manner as he then ascended up into Haeven Now we know our Saviour when he ascended into Heaven carried along with him the print of the Spear and all those Scars that were made by the Nails and Thorns And these it seems he will bring along with him when he returns to Judgment How then will the wicked mourn as we are told in the Text when they look upon him whom they had formerly pierced Those Wounds which were at first opened to heal their Souls will now open their Mouths and call for Vengeance on them Christ's Eyes saith St. Iohn will now become flames of Fire and such as will certainly consume them his Feet like fine Brass burning in a Furnance and cannot but destroy them Well may the wicked call then upon the Rocks to cover and the Mountains to hide them since the presence of the Lamb will be infinitely more dreadful than the presence of the fiercest Lion For unto such as have trampled this Son of God and Man under foot unto such as have counted the Blood of the Covenant an unholy thing unto such I say there will now remain nothing but a certain fearful looking for of Iudgment and fiery Indignation which shall devour these Adversaries Thus I have dispatch'd the Third General and shewn you that this Son of Man must come at the last Day to judge the World and the Reason of it I come now Fourthly In the Fourth place to shew you that He will come with great Power and Glory This is plainly deliver'd in the Text Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven with Power and great Glory And 1st He will come with great Glory And 2dly He shall come with Power 1st Let us consider the greatness of that Glory with which this Son of Man shall come to Judge the World Tho' his first coming into the World was mean and contemptible clouded with Poverty and Grief and such other humble Circumstances as were proper for his state of Humiliation yet his second Coming will be splendid and glorious as will appear from these following Particulars 1st Let us consider the immediate Fore-runners and Harbingers of our Saviour's Second coming Kings and Princes have their Harbingers and so has this King of Kings too St Ierome tells us of an Antient Tradition of the Iewish Doctors namely that for fifteen Days together before the great Day of Judgment there shall be transacted upon the Stage of Nature a continued scene of fearful Signs and Wonders The Sea shall lift up his mountainous billows and make a fearful noise with its rouling Waves The Heaven shall crack night and day with loud and roaring Thunders The Earth shall groan under hidious Convulsions and quotidian Earthquakes The Air shall blaze with portentous Comets The Moon shall shed forth purple streams of
St. Iohn mentions in the three first Chapters of this Book of Revelations Are they not utterly ruin'd and destroyed And dwells there any thing in these places but Ignorance Barbarity and Mahumetanism Thus ye see it is most plain that tho' the Catholick shall never fail yet the Church of any particular Place and Nation may Tho' he will not remove his Candlestick quite out of the World but will always have a Church in some place or other yet it is not certain it shall be in this or that Nation He may remove his Candlestick from England or Holland or any other particular Nation which has filled up the measure of their Iniquity In such a case he deals with them as our Saviour threatens to deal with the Iews Mat. 21. 43. Therefore I say unto you the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof Thus Christ threatned and because the Iews did not repent he dealt with them accordingly for they are now become Lo-ammi no more a People but wrath is come upon them to the uttermost I cannot dismiss this point without an Inference or two And 1st If every particular Church may fail then the Church of Rome is vain in boasting so much of her Perpetuity and Indefectibility We know she is but a part of the Catholick Church and a very corrupt part of it too and therefore in vain do they fancy that the gates of Hell shall never prevail against them St. Paul gives them better advice Rom 11. 21 22. Be not high minded but fear for of God spared not the natural branches take heed lest he also spare not thee This Epistle ye know is written to the Church of Rome and if this Church of Rome had been Infallible and Perpetual St. Paul had mightily fail'd in his Logick for he makes them subject to the same fate which befell the Iews and that they might fail as well as they had done 2ly Since particular Churches may fail then this should make them study their preservation and use such means as may be effectual to that purpose If the Professors of Christianity in any Nation shall become vain in their imaginations exchanging plain and wholesome Truth for fond Speculations and Opinions if they shall turn Factious and Schismatical neglecting their Spiritual Guides and Pastors if they be Dissolute in their Manners and confute their Religion by their Lives they will provoke God to remove his Candlestick and bring confusion upon them Christ is so far from promising safety and protection to any particular Church and People who neglect their own safety that he threatens ruin and destruction to them except thou repentest I will come unto thee quickly and remove thy Candlestick out of his place How careful then should we of this Nation be to preserve the Gospel among us left God carry it away from us unto a People that will better bring forth the fruits thereof And to excite us all to this study and carefulness I proceed in the third place to Thirdly Shew you that it is an heavy Judgment to have this Candlestick removed out of his place It is in the Text threatned as an heavy Judgment to the Church of Ephesus Except thou repent saith Christ I will come unto thee quickly and remove thy Candlestick out of his place So our Saviour threatens it as an heavy Judgment unto the Iews Mat. 21. 43. Therefore I say unto you the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof And the greatness of the Judgment will appear at large from these following particulars 1st It deprives a Nation of its chiefest Honour As it is the highest Honour in this World to be related to an Earthly King so it is a much higher Honour to be related to the King of Kings Hence is that of the Prophet Isay Chap. 43. 4. Since thou wast precious in my sight thou hast been honourable Now all this Honour is lost when once a Nation loseth its Relation to God Thus God dealt with the Iews Hosea 1. 9. Then said God call his name Lo-ammi for ye are not my People and I will not be your God When God removes his Candlestick and rejects a Nation from being his People they become then as contemptible as Heathens and Infidels as vile and despicable as the Iews have been in the World ever since God disowned them for his People 2ly This heavy Judgment does also deprive a Nation of God's special care and providence We know God's Church and People are as dear to him as the Apple of his Eye and he is as he has promised a Wall of Fire round about them Now a Wall of Fire is both Defensive and Offensive and denotes that God by his special Providence does not only defend his chosen People but also offends and destroys their Enemies Behold saith the Psalmist Psal. 33. 18. Behold take notice of this saith he namely that the Eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him Of these he takes a special Care and exercises a most tender and watchful Providence over them to deliver their Soul from Death and to keep them alive in the time of Famine thus happy are the People whose God is the Lord. But if by our Sins we provoke God to remove our Candlestick out of his place and reject us from being his People then shall we lose our right and title to this his special Care and Providence we shall soon then become a prey unto our Enemies a reproach and by word to all that are round about us When the Jewish Nation had filled up the Measure of their Iniquity a Dreadful Voice was heard in their Temple saying Migremus hinc migremus hinc let us go hence let us go hence intimating that God and his Holy Angels were then departing from them and withdrawing their Care and Providence over them And presently after this the Abomination of Desolation was brought upon them so that they have ceased ever since not only to be the Church and People of God but also to be a Nation being scattered and dispersed up and down the World and hated in all places But this will appear yet farther 3ly To be an heavy Judgment if we consider that the Holy Ghost in Scripture esteems it an heavier Judgment than others are Adversity and Oppression are heavy Judgments and yet but light in comparison of this So much may be gathered from Isaiah 30. 20. Tho' the Lord give you the Bread of Adversity and the Water of Affliction yet shall not thy Teachers be removed into a corner any more but thine Eyes shall see thy Teachers and thine Ears shall hear a Voice behind thee saying this is the way walk in it Tho' oppression and Adversity be heavy burthens yet are they nothing to the loss of Teachers and the deprivation of God's Ordinances So long as God's Candlestick shines amongst us and we enjoy
the great advantages of Prayers Sermons and Sacraments other Judgments may the better be dispensed with Famine is another very sore Judgment when this rages God is said to march through the Land in indignation Hab. 3 12. and we will not stick to believe it when we consider the direful effects and consequences of Famine We read in our Chronicles that there was formerly such a dreadful Famine in this Island that when Malefactors were lead out of Prison towards the place of Exeeution the poor hungry People would presently fall upon them and tearing them in peices eat them up And we will not wonder at it when we read Ezek. 5 10. Of Fathers eating up their Sons and Sons their Fathers And which is stanger and more unnatural yet we find Lamen 4 10. Tender compassionate Women forced by the extremity of hunger to seeth their own Children These are horrid instances of a dreadful Judgment and yet we have a sadder instance of it and Famine is said to be such a devourer as causes a man to devour himself as you may read Isai. 9. 20. where every man is brought in eating the Flesh of his own Arm. Thus great and heavy a Judgment is Famine yea by some it is thought to be one of the sorest Heaven can inflict and yet it is inferiour to this of the Text when God in wrath removes our Candlestick out of his place when he takes his Gospel away from us and deprives us of all the priviledges and advantages of his Holy Ordinances No less than this is asserted Amos 8. 11 12. Behold the days come saith the Lord God that I will send a Famine in the Land not a Famine of Bread not a thirst of Water but of hearing the Word of the Lord And they shall wander from Sea to Sea and from the North even to the East shall they run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord and shall not find it Thus a Famine of the Word is a sorer Judgment than the Famine of Bread and well indeed it may since the one destroys only the Body the other destroys the Soul If the Light of the Gospel be taken away worse than Egyptian darkness will ensue such as will cause us to fall and that into the bottomless Pit from whence there is no Redemption Thus I have dispatched the three Generals and shewn you that 't is an heavy Judgment to have our Candlestick removed out of his place For this heavy Judgment deprives a Nation of its Chiefest Honour and makes them become Lo-ammi or no people It deprives them also of God's special Care and Providence and renders them an easie prey unto their Enemies And lastly it surpasses the sorest of God's Judgments and a Famine of Bread is far more tolerable than a Famine of the Word These Considerations if any will teach us to value God's Ordinances at an higher rate than formerly we have and excite our greatest care and diligence to prevent such an heavy Judgment as this and to help us to perform this Duty the better I come in the fourth place Fourthly Briefly to consider some of those Causes which bring such an heavy Judgment upon a Nation And 1st Sin is the General Cause of this heavy Judgment we need no other proof of this than the Text it self where Christ bids the Church of Ephesus remember from whence she had fallen and repent and do the first works Nothing but our Iniquities can separate betwixt our God and us if we do not repent of them they will be our ruin For God will not continue his Gospel to a backsliding and disobedient People but will take it away and give it to a Nation that will better bring forth the Fruits thereof 2ly The contempt of God's Word and his Messengers is another Cause of this heavy Judgment This may easily be gathered from 2 Chron. 36. 15 16. Where we are told that the Lord God sent to the Iews by his Messengers rising up betimes and sending because he had compassion on his People and on his dwelling Place But they mocked the Messengers of God and despised his Words and misused his Prophets until the wrath of the Lord arose against his People till there was no remedy So Amos 8. where the Prophet threatens them with a Famine of the Word he assigns this among other reasons ver 5. namely because they prophaned his Sabbaths and despised his Ordinances And indeed when a Nation undervalues the Light of the Gospel and judg themselves unworthy of it it is but just with God to remove their Candlestick and carry his Gospel to a People more worthy of it 3ly Schisms and Divisions are another grand Cause of this heavy Judgment Historians tell us that this was it which opened the way to the Turks and Saracens to overflow the Eastern Churches and let Mahumetanism into the World It was this which brought that deluge of Goths and Vandals and other barbarous Nations upon the West And indeed we need not wonder at it since S. Iames tells us Chap. 3. 16. That where envying and strife is there will be confusion and every evil work Thus I have dispatched the fourth General and shewn you some of those Causes which provoke God to remove his Candlestick from a People and Nation Sin in the General is the Cause of it In particular the contempt of God's Messengers and his Ordinances and those Schisms and Divisions which rage in a Nation And if we should now reflect upon our selves I fear we should find so much wickedness and debauchery raging in the Land such gross prophanation of God's Sabbaths contempt of his Messengers and his Ordinances and withal so many dangerous Schisms and Factions amongst us as may justly cause us to dread the heavy Judgment of the Text. But I will not foretel your danger but exhort you to prevent it and that by Repentance as the Text directs Which Fifthly brings me to the fifth and last General proposed which is to shew you the Means to prevent this heavy Judgment Now this cannot better be learned than from that advice Christ gives the Church of Ephesus in this place remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first works Repentance therefore is the best means we can take to appease God's Wrath and prevent his Judgments If we repent of the evil of our ways God also will repent of the evil we have reason enough to fear he is bringing upon us Hear what is said to this purpose in the Prophet Jer. 3. 12. Return O back sliding Israel saith the Lord and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you for I am merciful What a gracious motive is here urged What will perswade us to repent if the hopes of Mercy will not In what a sad condition should we be if God should remove our Candlestick out of his place if he should take away his glorious Gospel from us and deprive us of all the
which inclined the Heart of that Noble Lord to communicate the Letter which otherwise might easily have been slighted as the off-spring of some melancholy Brain Nay was it not our merciful God who at this time put a Divine Sentence into the Lips of the King and suffer'd not his Mouth to transgress in Judgment His Royal Breast at other times used to be free from Jealousie accounting it no less than a Badge of Tyranny But now Providence so ordered it that by an unnatural construction of an Aenigmatical Phrase he discovered that unnatural destruction which was hatching by his Enemies 5ly God does sometimes make the Wrath of Man to praise him by inflicting some extraordinary Judgments upon the Enemies of his People The Lord is known saith the Psalmist by the Iudgment he executeth the Wicked is snared by the work of his own Hands Psal. 9. 16. Thus God also chastised the Wrath of Sennacherib at the siege of Ierusalem by sending his Angel to destroy 185000 of his Army And tho' Sennacherib himself was spared that he might the better know the Power of that God whom he had despised and blasphemed yet because he was not throughly reformed by this first Judgment but his Wrath still remained when he came to his chief City Niniveh where he fell to persecute the Ten Tribes which were captive there God restrained this remainder of his Wrath by another signal Judgment and made him die an ignominious Death by the Hands of his two Sons and that in the House of his own God whom he had blasphemously opposed to the great Iehovah but was not able to protect him from the Hand of his Almighty Vengeance And did not God also Glorifie himself thus by those strange Judgments which he executed on the Powder-Traytors Was it not remarkable what hapned at Holbeach in Worcestershire where some of this days Conspirators being drying Powder to make Resistance one spark of Fire lighting accidentally amongst the Powder wounded them so sadly that they were forced to acknowledge the Justice and Vengeance of God upon them by that Powder wherewith they had intended the Destruction of so many After this Catesby and Piercy two Principal Conspirators were accidentally shot to Death by one Shot of a Musquet and so fell by the Hand of God taking revenge on them by Powder before the Justice of Man was able to seize them Add to this what we read in King Iames's Works how that God did secretly exasperate the Spirits of all Men against these Popish Traytors that in the Countries where they wandred some of them were killed others taken before any Proclamation could overtake them and before the People who seized them knew any thing of this particular Treason Thus God this day did make the Wrath of Man to praise him to praise his Justice his Power in executing such strange Judgments upon these bloody unnatural Traytors But it is time I should shew you in the second place Secondly Who they are God makes to praise him I shall name two sorts of Men. 1st God by such means as these makes his very Enemies to praise him by acknowledging either his Power or his Justice in their Punishments Thus Pharoah and the Egyptians acknowledged God's Power in the Red Sea when they cried out Let us flee from the Face of Israel for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians It is very remarkable what Herodotus reports of Sennacherib the burthen of the Text namely that he had a Statute erected after his Death with this good Advice engraven on it Whosoever looketh upon me let him learn to be Pious and to fear God So Iulian the Apostate acknowledged the Power of Christ crying out at his death Vicisti Galilaee Thou art too strong for me O thou Galilean What Confessions and Acknowledgments has God also extorted from our Romish Adversaries Don Pedro seeing the terrible dissipation of that invincible Armado which was sent in 88. professed that now he perceived that God was turned Lutheran And on this very day Faux who was appointed to be the Black Executioner and Garnet the Priest that was to Consecrate the Plot did confess to the praise of God as well as the rest at their Execution the outragious wickedness and odiousness of their Hellish design But 2ly God does more especially receive Honour and Praise from his own People whom he wonderfully delivers from the Rage of Wicked Bloody Men Thus Israel when they saw the Egyptians dead upon the shore they sang praise unto God proclaiming him fearful in praises and doing wonders Thus Hezekiah sent this Psalm to the chief Musician on Neginoth that solemn Praises and Thanksgivings might be returned unto God for their wonderful deliverance from the Rage of Sennacherib Even so Religious King Iames did erect this day for a Pillar of Gratitude to our good God who did so miraculously preserve our King the Royal Family the Parliament with our Laws Liberties and Religion Let us therefore rejoyce in the Lord and again I say rejoyce let us rouze up our Spirits call up our Hearts and let all that is within us bless his Holy Name Sure if God extort praises from his very Enemies he may more justly inhabit the praises of his own People those that he has so wonderfully preserved Nay consider how he has restrained also the remainder of Wrath How many Plots of these Blood thirsty Papists he has since defeated If it had not been the Lord who was on our side when Men rose up against us they had swallowed us up quick when their Wrath was kindled so hot against us Let us therefore bless the Lord our God who has not given us over as a prey unto their Teeth And to help us a little in the performance of this Duty I shall conclude all with these two following Directions First If you praise God aright for the Mercies of this Day you must be zealous for that Church which God has hitherto so wonderfully preserved You have heard how that because God had so wonderfully preserved Hezekiah from the Fury of Sennacherib they brought Presents unto him and he was magnified in the sight of all Nations from thenceforth How ought we then to magnifie that Church which God has magnified How precious how honourable ought it to be in all our Eyes which God has honoured with so many Miracles We know this Church is the greatest Eye-fore of Rome and to use the words of the Author of the Review of the Council of Trent There has not been more woful Tragedies of the Papal Fury acted upon any Stage than this of England Yet how has God all along restrained their Wrath Well then may we own that Church and be zealous for her whom God has so signally owned and been at the expence of so many Miracles to preserve But Secondly The Life of Thankfulness does chiefly consist in the Lives of those that are Thankful He that ordereth his Conversation aright is said to glorifie God in
Curiosity is another unhappy Cause of Schisms and Divisions Christ has given us a Rule to walk by and the Holy Scriptures contain all things necessary to be believed in order to Salvation And so long as men hold fast that form of sound words which was at first delivered to the Church there can be no danger of Schisms and Divisions But curiosity makes men desire to be wise above what is written and consequently disturb the Peace and Tranquility of the Church This St. Paul foresaw when he commanded Timothy to charge some That they give no heed to Fables and endless Genealogies which minister Questions rather than Godly Edifying 1 Tim. 1. 4. and Chap. 6. 3 4. he condemns such as dote about Questions and Dispute about Words whereof cometh Envy Strife Railings and Surmises 4. Self-love is another unhappy Cause of Schisms and Divisions This is the strongest and most violent Passion of the Soul and therefore St. Paul gives it the precedence of all the rest 2 Tim. 3. 2. It is a true saying of Luthers Societies would continue longer than they do if it were not for this little Pronoun Ego I my self For whilst Men prefer their own Interest before the Publick whilst they seek their own things rather than the things of Jesus Christ and his Church they tear his seamless Coat in pieces and make unhappy Divisions among Christians To prevent therefore these Divisions St. Paul gives this Advice amongst others Let nothing be done through strife Look not every man on his own things but also on the things of others Phil. 2. 3 4. Thus I have shewn you what are the Causes of Schisms and Divisions in the Church and so long as these Causes remain we must expect the fatal consequences of them so long as the Devil is allowed to go about as a Roaring Lion seeking whom he may devour so long as he has mens Lusts and Passions to join with him in the Work so long as he can imploy such Instruments as the Ambitious Covetous Curious and Lovers of themselves he will be able to disturb the Peace of God's Church Indeed God has power sufficient to prevent these Divisions he can create a firm and lasting peace among Christians But as St. Cyprian speaks Fieri haec Dominus permittit patitur manente propriae libertatis arbitrio The Lord saith he suffers these Divisions to be in his Church because he leaves men to act according to the liberty of their Wills God does not imploy his irresistible power in keeping men from Schism more than from other sins But having forbidden it with all the solemnity imaginable having discyphered the damnable nature of it and prest Christians by innumerable and those most powerful Motives to keep this Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace he leaves them to act for themselves in this as in other matters appointing a day in which he will judge and punish everlastingly such as dare to disturb the Peace of his Church We need not wonder then if men be Traytors to the Church as well as to the State if they rebel against Christ as well as against their Prince seeing God leaves men at liberty to commit this as well as any other sin Now if any should put the Question why God leaves men thus to their liberty Tho' I might chastise such curiosity with Solomons Answer Eccles. 7. 10. who tells such Curious Persons That they do not enquire wisely concerning this matter yet since St. Paul has furnisht me with a more satisfactory reply in the Text I shall return them this Answer in my third General Namely Thirdly That God's design in suffering these Schisms and Divisions is to discover the rottenness of some and the integrity of others This may easily be gathered from the Text where St. Paul tells us That there must be Heresies that they who are approved may be made manifest It is a Golden Sentence of St. Austin That God who is Infinitely Good would never suffer Evil but that being also Omnipotent he is able to extract Good out of Evil. When God suffers Schisms and Divisions to befall his Church his design is to discover to the World the Rottenness of some and the Integrity of others It may be said of Religion what good old Simeon said of Christ the Author of it It is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel So long as Religion prospers and flourishes in the World Hypocrites and the worst of Atheists will be content to own it But if at any time it falls into Distress or labours under Persecution then they fall off like Leaves in Autumn Indeed as St. Cyprian observes Nemo existimet bonos Ecclesia posse discedere None can imagin saith he that Good Men will abjure the Communion of God's Church as he goes on the Wind drives not away the solid Wheat but the Chaff the Storm may overturn the weaker Shrubs but the sturdy Oak gains strength and firmness by the Tempest To the same purpose is that of St. Iohn 1 Iohn 2. 19. They went out from us but they were not of us for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not of us Times of Division are times of Trial and do as the Father speaks in some sort anticipate the day of Iudgment for at such times the Tares will gather themselves into Bundles and leave the purer Corn without any mixture in the Field of the Lord Sound Believers will now be known from Hypocrites and though the Church may not be crouded with such numbers as it was before yet its greatest loss will be only of rotten Members It will now be able to discern its Friends from its Foes And tho' an Acacius an Ecebolius and such like Changlings may serve the Times and themselves more yet all sincere Christians will think it both their Duty and Honour to adhere couragiously to the Church of God which brings me to the fourth General proposed Namely Fourthly To shew you that those are truly Noble and Honourable Persons who continue steadfast in the Communion of God's Church amidst these Schisms and Divisions which arise in it These are the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the approved ones in the Text. The Greek word which is here rendred Approved is a Metaphor taken from Gold tried in the Fire We know such a trial makes its solidity and lustre shine the brighter yea it is now valued at an higher rate than it was before Even so Christians when they continue steadfast amidst Schisms and Divisions it renders them much more honourable than they were before There is an advantage saith Plutarch which men receive from their very Enemies had there been no Trojan Wars Hector's Valour had never been so renowned and the greater the violence of a Tempest is the more highly does it commend the skill of the Pilot Even so the integrity of Orthodox Christians
Saviour is to have a bright shining Cloud for his Throne and is said accordingly in the Text to Come in the Clouds of Heaven To the same purpose is what we read 1 Thess. 4. 17. where we are told that the Righteous shall be caught up in the Clouds and meet the Lord in the Air And indeed the Air is a most proper place for our Saviour to keep his great Assizes For being here advanced some distance above the Earth he will more easily be seen by all the Inhabitants of it Nay farther yet this is now the Seat of the Devils Empire Satan we know is called the Prince of the Air and the Infernal Fiends are styled Spiritual Wickednesses in high places Here therefore will the Son of Man fix his Judgment Seat here he will place his Throne That all the World may know that he has now spoiled Principalities and Powers and got a compleat and perfect Victory over these his malicious Enemies Then is the time when he will trample Satan under his Feet and put a full Period to that Tyranny which he has exercised so long over the Sons of Men. Secondly We may infer from hence what deep Impressions such Doctrins as these ought to make upon us The News of our Saviours coming to Judgment with all this Glory should cause us to take the greatest Care imaginable to fit and prepare our selves to meet him at this great Day We have a remarkable Instance to this purpose in Ecclesiastical History which is attested by many and great Authors It seems about Four hundred years after our Saviours Ascension one Gregentius a Bishop endeavour'd the Conversion of those Iews which liv'd in Arabia Felix after a tedious Disputation of three days continuance some of the Iews desired the Bishop to shew them Jesus alive and it would convince them Immediately upon this the Earth began to tremble and the Sky to shine and eccho with Lightnings and Thunder After these ceased the Gates of the Celestial Palace open'd and a bright serene Cloud appear'd darting forth Beams of an extraordinary lustre At last our Blessed Saviour shewed himself walking on this bright Cloud and a Voice was heard from this Excellent Glory saying I am he who was Crucified by your Fathers This glorious Appearance cast all the Iews prostrate on the ground and beating their Breasts they cried with a loud Voice Lord have mercy on us and afterwards were Baptized into the Faith of Christ. A like account we have of the Conversion of St. Paul Act. 9. 3 c. where we read that as he journied towards Damascus breathing forth nothing but Rage and Malice against Christians suddenly there shined round about him a Light from Heaven and he heard a Voice saying unto him Saul Saul why persecutest thou me Upon which he trembling and astonished said Lord what wilt thou have me to do Such effects as these are the Natural Attendants of such great and glorious Appearances as these And ought they not to have the same influence upon us What tho' they are not made to the Eye of our Sense yet in Scripture they are made to the Eye of our Faith If we are sincere Christians and do heartily believe the Gospel we have no more reason to doubt of this Coming of our Saviour with great power and glory than if we were actual Spectators of it Let us therefore bethink our selves what manner of persons we ought to be in all holy and godly Conversation If we were certain this great Day were near at hand I am confident we would walk more circumspectly not as fools but as wise We would then soon be perswaded to break off our League with Sin and endeavour by a sincere and speedy Repentance to make a firm Peace with our God and Saviour I shall not pretend to tell you the precise time of this Day of Judgment but this I can assure you that several Learned and Pious Divines who have lately enquired into the Scripture Prophesies with great accuracy and diligence do tell us that this great Day is even at the door and that we may expect this glorious Appearance of the Son of Man in a very short time But tho' they should be mistaken in their Conjectures yet this is most certain that it will come at last and that the time of our Life which is all the time we have to prepare for it is exceeding short Let us therefore beseech Almighty God that we all may be found such wise and faithful Servants as are described v. 46. then shall we with joy meet our Saviour in the Air and make a part of his glorious Train when he returns to the highest Heaven giving as is most due all Honour and Glory unto him that sitteth on the Throne and unto the Lamb for evermore Let us therefore beseech Almighty God to give us Grace so to redeem our time that we may be found in the number of his wise and faithful Servants then shall we at the Day of Iudgment meet our Saviour in the Air and return with him to the Highest Heavens singing Praises and Hallelujahs unto him that sits upon the Throne and to the Lamb for evermore Amen Amen SERMON XI Prov. xvi 9. A mans heart deviseth his way but the Lord directeth his steps WHat great Esteem and Veneration the Ancient World entertain'd of Proverbs may easily be learned from the Writings of Aristotle He tells in his Rhetorick that they always allowed them the next place to Oracles And in other parts of his Writings he gives them the noble Epithet of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if they were the very Extract and Quintessence of Refined Wisdom The Divine Solomon sets them yet higher and thinks them worthy to be placed in the very Throne for Prov. 86. he styles them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which tho' our Translation renders only Excellent words Gejerus and other Learned Criticks translate them more agreeably to the Hebrew Princes of Words Intimating thus much to us That these Divine Sentences which are called Proverbs excel as much other Schemes of Speech as Kings and Princes do their ordinary Subjects But tho' Proverbs in the general have so much of Majesty in them and have always challenged a particular veneration from the Sons of Men Yet the Proverbs of Holy Writ are farther commended to us from the very Inscription and Title Page of the Book It is a known Observation of Learned Men that neither the Books of Moses Ioshua nor other Pen-men of Sacred Writ are recommended to the World by the Name of the Author till we come to this Book of Proverbs as if the Holy Ghost had designed some extraordinary advantage to this Heavenly Book when in the very Front of it was prefix'd the most August Name of Solomon Son of David King of Israel and we may be sure the Queen of the South will rise up in Judgment against us at the last Day if we do not give our best Attention to these