and duration and so could not give us a just measure of the demerits of sin 3. If we consider the sufferings of Christ they will prove that the evil of sin is unmeasurable they were such as could not be expressed and therefore the Ancient Christians used in their Prayers to beg of Christ that he would deliver them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by thy unknown torments Lord deliver us And hence we may infer that the Love of Christ must needs be unmeasurable because he delivered us from unmeasurable wrath by unconceivable torments 2. The Love of Christ to sinners is unmeasurable for these Reasons 1. Reas We have no scale in nature in which we can weigh no line in created things by which we can measure it § 1. If we examine the love of Relations we find them all limited and bounded and they ought to be so The love of a Father to a child is an intense love the love of a Father to an undutiful child a rebellious child may stretch the line somewhat farther yet this will fall vastly short of the Love of Christ to sinners The highest instance of this love that I remember was that of David to his rebellious Son Absalom expressed 2 Sam. 18.33 O Absalom my son my son would God I had died for thee O Absalom my Son my Son Here is Paternal love strained up to the highest pitch imaginable That a King should desire to die for a Rebellious Subject that a Father should be willing to die for the most disingenuous and rebellious of Sons This was great but yet we find this love extended but to a natural death he would have been unwilling to have died a Cursed death to have been made a Curse for him to have been made sin for him And yet the torrent of this impetuous love soon dryed up it was founded in passion rather than judgment and perhaps in cool blood he would have been unwilling to have died that such a wretch might live I question much whether David durst deliberately advisedly and premeditately have laid down his life to save that of a vitious debauched Son yet such was the Love of Christ who laid down his life for sinners the greatest of sinners 1 Tim. 1.15 And laid it down voluntarily when none could take it away John 10.18 and not only died against the persuasions of his friends to save his life Mark 8.32 but against that bitter malice of his Enemies which always sparkled and at last flamed out in the most cruel bloody implacable fury that ever was in the World nay against the just displeasure of God as a Judge all which he had a clear prospect into and yet gave this great pregnant proof of his unconquerable Love that he not only poured out his Soul in tears Luke 19.41 his Soul in prayers Luke 23.34 Father forgive them but his Soul in sacrifice too unto the death Isa 53.12 But if the love of a Father to his Son will not measure this Love of Christ perhaps the love of a Mother to her Son may And this is indeed naturally the more soft and passionate Sex and of this love the case is put Isa 49.15 Can a Woman forget her sucking Child that she should not have compassion on the Son of her Womb The case is put exceeding strong A Child a sucking Child that hangs upon the breast and is always crying for pity in its natural dialect the Son of the Womb that 's more than the Child of the breast she can hardly forget that at any rate which she brought forth at such a dear rate yet the circumstances may be such that this tender Mother may forsake and forget nay kill and destroy too this innocent Child such exigences they have been in that Nature has prov'd unnatural or Nature in one instance has overcome Nature in another A Mothers hunger has caus'd her to forget her pity to the Child of her Womb Lam. 4.10 The hands of the pitiful Women have sodden their own children to forsake to forget to kill to cook and at last to eat is certainly the greatest stemming of the current and stream of natural affection that we can conceive of but Christ's Love will not suffer him to forget to forsake he has oftens forgotten himself to remember them he has forgotten his own food that he might provide for their Souls John 4.34 he has forgotten his own approaching death that he might provide for their life 1 Cor. 11.23 The same night in which he was betrayed he took bread c. And yet perhaps the love of the Husband to his Wife may come up to this example of Love Ephes 5.25 Husbands love your Wives as Christ loved his Church and gave himself for it Here 's an argument indeed to enforce that conjugal Love and here 's a president for conjugal Love to look upon but that As is not a note of equality but of some general similitude for the Husband gives himself to his Wife but will not is not bound to die for his Wife he cannot be persuaded to have her sins charg'd upon his Soul How short are all the Loves the Affections of Relations to give us a pattern and example of the Love of Christ But possibly we may find a love in Nature more strong than any of these And that if any where must be amongst some of those great instances of Love which have been amongst friends It is indeed said 1 Sam. 18.1 3. That Jonathan loved David as his own Soul and in Deut. 13.6 The friend is said to be as a Mans own Soul But yet when we come to examine these expressions they fade away and signifie nothing but the life where is the friend that will make his Soul an offering for sin Isa 53.10 However this is the highest flight that ever humane love took to lay down life for a friend but Christ has put this quite out of countenance John 15.13 Greater love has no man than that he lay down his life for his friend but a far greater Love than this had Christ that he laid down his life for enemies Christ laid down a better life for them that were worse And this is proposed to our consideration as that which has out-done all the love in the World Rom. 5.7 8. Scarcely for a righteous Man will one die No I think it s out of question that none will for who would be so friendly to him that walks by the rules of strict justice that will do no wrong yet shews no mercy but peradventure for a good Man some would even dare to die If there be an instance found in the World of any that has laid down his life for another it must be for a good Man one that is a publick blessing to the age wherein he lives some one may throw away his private life which is not very useful for so generous a Person that is a Common good to his Country but if such an instance be found which
here the feast is reserved for hereafter wrath to come and life to come are unconceivable and therefore unexpressible we can neither order our Speech by reason of our inward darkness nor of that ineffable Light thoughts fail us words fail us we are lost in the thoughts of future blessedness as well as in those of our former misery What therefore we cannot perfectly understand let us silently and reverently Admire and Adore What a prodigious height did Man fall from when he fell from his God What a desperate Abyss of misery did he fall into when he fell into sin And therefore what a stupendious height is that which Love shall raise him to in Glory All we can do is to put no bounds to our Love to Christ The true measure of our Love to Christ should be to Love him without measure and the true degree of our Love to a Redeemer is to Love him in the highest Degree But alas Where is our Love to Christ How weakly do we express our Love to him who has given us the fullest clearest demonstrations of his to us beyond all expressions His was stronger then death ours ready to die the water-floods coulds not quench his a few drops extinguish ours he shed blood for us with more freedom than we a few tears over him and his bleeding almost dying interest in the World he loved sinners better than we can love Saints he died for us with more flame of zeal than we can live to and for him Let us be ashamed that we can find a love so vehement for our perishing comforts nay for our killing corruptions and yet have so indifferent affections for a Saviour How shall we be able to Love our enemies for his sake when we can neither Love him with an intense Love for his sake nor our own Let us mourn therefore bitterly that the Love of Christ should be unconceivable and invisible and that our Love to him should be so too upon such different accounts his for the greatness of it ours for its smallness II. Prop. There is a sufficiency of the Love of Christ to us that may be known The Love of Christ to sinners may be considered either in the cause or as in the effects in the Spring and Fountain or in the streams that flow from thence into Souls Love as it was in the heart of Christ is unmeasurable the Spring the original cause and reason of it was his own unaccountable Love and can only be measured by the Love of the Father to his Son which is equally unmeasurable John 15.9 As the Father has loved me so I have loved you But Christs Love in the effects that it has been pleas'd to produce in and upon our Souls may be understood and in some good measure apprehended If we cannot fix our eyes immediately upon the body of the Sun in its meridian glory yet we may comfortably refresh our selves with its beams and feel the healing warmth of the Sun of righteousness arising and shining upon our Souls If we cannot measure Christs Love when it dealt with God in making his Soul an offering for sin nor what that Love was wherewith he loved us and gave himself for us Gal. 2.20 yet we may know that Love wherewith he loved us and washt us from our sins Rev. 1.5 The Love of Satisfaction passes knowledge the Love of Sanctification may be known As that poor Man John 9.15 tho' he could not give a Philosophical account to the Scribes and Pharisees how Clay and Spittle should contribute to the opening his Eyes yet could say This one thing I know that whereas I was born blind I now see So may a renewed Soul say Tho' I know not from what unmeasurable Fountain this Grace and Mercy did proceed tho' I am ignorant of the manner of its working yet this one thing I can say Whereas I was a lover of sin I now hate it and whereas I have been a despiser of Christ I now prize and love him as the chiefest of Ten thousand I can say That that vanity that corruption which sometime had a mighty power over me is now subdued and conquered More particularly 1. Altho' we cannot perfectly know the Love of Christ yet may we know so much of it as may raise our desires to know more As he that meets with a Vein of precious Metal tho' it be small yet it gives him hopes of meeting with more and those hopes encourage his labours to dig deeper and search further so that little we can attain of the knowledge of Christs Love in our wayfaring state makes the Soul labour and strive and hope and pray that it may come to fuller knowledge of that love in its own Country As that sight which Moses had of God encouraged him to pray Exod. 33.18 I beseech thee shew me thy glory So that view we have of Christ in a glass darkly serves to engage our endeavours and sharpen our desires to see him face to face in glory As we gain upon the knowledge of Christ so we grow and as it were encroach upon him still if God will condescend and come down to visit the Soul the Soul will make an argument from thence that he would take it up to himself A taste of Christs Love whets the Spiritual appetite after a feast 1 Pet. 2.2 As new born babes desire ye the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby If so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious 2. However our knowledge of Christs Love is imperfect yet we may know so much as may shame us that we have loved him no better we know the Love of Christ carried him out to suffer most dreadful things upon our account and may hence reflect upon our selves with great shame that our love has been so weak as not to carry us out to suffer for his Name he endured the cross we are terrified at the sight of it The argument is very strong 1 John 3.16 Thus if Christ laid down his life for us we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren But how weakly does it work upon us How little a matter can this love constrain us to lay down for their sakes And it s a most concluding argument Col. 3.13 that we should forbear and forgive one another if any man have a quarrel against any as Christ forgave us but alas how little does this instance of the Love of Christ prevail upon us That Love which prevail'd with him to forgive us Talents will not does not prevail with us to forgive our brethren a few Pence Matth. 18.27 28. The Love of Christ was a conquering a triumphant Love it bore down what-ever stood in its way It grapled with the displeasure of God with the malice of Devils the fury of unreasonable Men and with the unkindness of his Friends it broke through all Discouragements and trampled upon all Oppositions the waters could not quench it the floods could not drown
Christ is most gratefull and most forcible 1. It must be most Acceptable unto God being it speaks the Soul truly affected with and sensible of God's Free Grace and Mercy It does not come to God with any Purpose to deserve at God's hands Psal 103.1 2. but with a What shall I render With many blessings of God for his pardoning of his Iniquity and healing his diseases 2. Thankfulness as low as sin hath sunk Man is yet left as visibly engraven on the Nature of Man Hence the Heathen could account Unthankfulness as the summ of all vices Isa 1.3 and Scripture makes the unkthankfull Man worse than a Beast Now if Thankfulness remain and be cogent what can oblige more than the Mercies of God in Christ If we serve them that give us Food and Rayment what Service is too much for Him that gives us all things Nay that gives us Christ and with him all things Oh! there is a vast difference in having Christ the Peace and Love of God through Him in having Christ his Spirit to enable us to improve what we have from God and not having Christ with our present Enjoyments Methinks when we see our Children or Servants run or go where we would have them do any thing to please or gratifie us we cannot but blush to think how little we do and how awkward it is what we do for God Who is it that considers the Love of God in Jesus Christ and can forbear crying out with the Psalmist Truly Lord I am thy servant I am thy servant Psal 116.16 Away with all formal Pops It is ingeminated because of our Obligation to God's service from our Redemption as well as from our Creation And if thou dost say so as thou doest in effect in every Prayer let not God find thee with a Lye in thy mouth God's and Christ's Love constrains us 3. Love unto God for all his glorious Excellencies especially for his Mercy in Christ Jesus is the best Principle of Holiness and our departing from Iniquity Prov. 23.26 God requires his Children to give him their Heart And indeed in all the Acts of Religion and Devotion what the Heart does not doe is look'd upon by God as not done at all Nay it were well for the Hypocrite that all his outside Services and formal Professions had never been 2 Thes 3.5 This made St. Paul to pray for the Thessalonians That the Lord would direct their Hearts into the Love of God Cant. 8.7 Now Love is as a Fire which many waters cannot quench Difficulties will be overcome and Obedience will be permanent where true Love to God is And this Love in the Soul to God is begun by and flowes from God's Love first unto the Soul 1 John 4.19 as Fire kindles Fire he loved us first and had it not been a very great Flame it could never have thawed and warm'd our frozen Hearts We do but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Love when we are beloved but when we are made sensible of Christs Love the freeness efficacy and usefulness of it I know not what to say first or last concerning it 2 Cor. 5.14 it passeth Knowledge then we are constrained that is as effectually thô inwardly forced as any strong man can by his strength force us to do any outward act He that acts according to any of Gods Commandments out of hope to merit by them may act out of Love indeed but it must be then self-love to obtain as he vainly thinks by his Obedience Eternal Happiness Our Love of God should exceed Self-love as far as God himself exceeds us which is infinitely Our Love of God is a Vertue and the Foundation of all the rest Our Love of our selves thus taken is a sin and a Mother-sin the Cause of all the rest of our sins To hear a penitent and believing Sinner exulting in his Praises unto God professing his deep sense of his Mercies considering what Returns he shall make unto God Psal 51.12 for the Spirit of God is a free and ingenuous Spirit it were the pleasantest and desirablest Musick on this side of the heavenly Quire Thou mayst set about it thy self and make this Melody in thy own Heart Eph. 5.19 Ruminate on what God hath done for thee and what he daily does What thou owest for the Mercies of every Day and Night and Moment and what suitable sense thou oughtest to have of them and to thy poor power thy little all what Returns thou oughtest to make for them But when thou settest thy self as in the sight of God to consider what thou shouldest return to thy God for his Mercy in Christ Jesus thou wilt find that thy self thy Service thy All is too little but you must cry out with Mr. Herbert Alas my God I know not what APPLICATION I cannot wholly omit Application Applicat though I have in a great measure prevented my self Take what remains in these few Uses 1. This Justifies God For no Doctrine Instruct This justifies God no Dispensation of his did ever countenance Sin Nay nothing does shew so plainly Gods hatred of Sin as the Gospel does If we take a walk in the Garden where our Saviour sweat those drops of Blood Luke 22.44 Matth. 27.46 or be within hearing of that lamentable Cry My God my God why hast thou forsaken me If we ask Why does the Son of God thus cry out what makes him thus sweat The Gospel informs us that it was our Sin that press'd this Blood out of him and forced this bitter Cry from him Luke 23.31 And if this be done in the green tree what shall be done to the dry It discovers vain Pretensions 2. This discovers the groundless Pretensions and vain Confidence of most men who live in Sin and yet hope or would seem to hope to live with God Oh! Know ye not your own selves Read the whole Testament over either that is not the Gospel or you cannot receive comfort from it Not one good word is there in it to any in whom sin reigns unless those Threatnings of Hell and Destruction may be call'd good Oh that they might prove so to awaken you to a due sense of your Condition and be as a Schoolmaster to lead or drive you to Christ to take him for your Lord as well as for your Saviour if he be not both 2 Pet. 1.11 Ch. 2.20 he is neither unto you You cannot be saved by your Book could you read it and understand it never so well unless you practise it also Christ must be in you Coloss 1.27 2 Thess 2.16 his Spirit entertained in your Heart or there is no Hope of Glory for you All good Hope is through Grace Thou flatterest thy self that God is thy Father and so thou callest him in thy Prayers but if thou beest not like him 2 Pet. 2.4 if thou partakest not of His divine Nature thou takest his Name
it Cant. 8.7 So much we know and may blush that our Love to Christ is so easily quenched discouraged and disheartned 3. Although our knowledge of Christ be imperfect yet so much we may know as may serve to guide and encourage our obedience to him All our knowledge of Christ is vain all our love to him is a pretense if we know him not that we may love him and love him not that we may keep his Commandments 1 John 2.4 He that saith I know him and keepeth not his Commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him for as that is not reputed with God to be any obedience which is not performed by a principle of love so neither is that accepted as any love that is not productive of obedience The Authority of Christ over us is the reason of our obedience but the Love of Christ in us is the true principle of that obedience John 14.21 He that hath my Commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me Christ will not acknowledge any Man to love him that does not serve him And as the Love of Christ was an universal Love it extended to all our Spiritual necessities so must our Love to Christ be as universal and have a sincere respect to all his Commandments And upon lower terms than these Christ will not own our love to be any thing John 15.14 Ye are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you 4. Although we cannot perfectly understand the Love of Christ in this our present state yet may we know so much of his Love as shall be of more true use and worth than all we know besides we may know something of God and know it to our terror and confusion There may be such rays of Divine knowledge let into a guilty Soul as may make it wish it could shut them out again And hence it is that sinners say Job 21.14 Depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways The most ungrateful unwelcom thing to an impenitent sinner in the World is to see God and to be convinced that God sees him That Gods omniscience looks into his rotten heart and the sinner must needs sit very uneasie under this knowledge of God till he can see God reconciled to him in Christ and have the light of that knowledge comfortably shinning into his heart in the face of Jesus Christ 2 Cor. 4.6 There is no knowledge to be compared with the knowledge of God no knowledge of God comparable to the knowledge of God as reconciled in Christ no knowledge of Christ to be compared with the knowledge of his Love nor any knowledge of his Love to be compared with that knowledge of it which subdues our hearts to his obedience transforms our Souls into his likeness and raises up the Soul to aspire after his enjoyment Thus it is that we joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have now received the atonement Rom. 5.11 All other knowledge may swell the head sooner than better the heart or reform the life A Man may go silently down to Hell by hypocrisie he may go triumphantly thither by open prophaneness and he may go Learnedly down to Hell with great pomp and ostentation what-ever he knows if he knows not the Love of Christ ruling in him and giving Laws to him and conforming him both to the Death and Resurrection of his Saviour And let this suffice to have spoken of the second Proposition That tho' the Love of Christ in its highest elevation passes all perfect knowledge in our present dark imperfect state yet there 's enough of the Love of Christ that may be known to engage our desires and endeavours to know more to shame us that we know so little of what may be known to engage our hearts to him and make us confess that whatever else we know without this is not worth the knowing Come we now to the second part of the Text viz. the Apostles Prayer for Grace the End That ye might be filled with all the fulness of God wherein we meet with a second 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or something that implies a contradiction in appearance The Apostle prays that the Ephesians might and certainly we ought to add our Prayers to his that we may and to second our Prayers with endeavours that God would fill us with all his fulness And yet we are here aground again To be filled with Gods fulness With all his fulness seems rather the object of our Despair than of our Prayer 't is that which startles Faith discourages Hope which supersedes Prayer and Endeavour for how can our finite grasp his Infinite Our narrow vessel comprehend the Sea of his Divine perfections We can no more comprehend the incomprehensible of God than we can apprehend the unapprehensible Love of Christ Our hearts must needs be narrow because our minds are so we can see but little we can love no more than we can see what the Eye cannot behold the Hand cannot hold For the solution of this I shall only observe at the present That as there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which may be known of God Rom. 1.19 and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which cannot be known of God in which respect we are like the Athenians and erect our Altar 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the unknown God Acts 17.23 so there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which may be comprehended of God and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which cannot be comprehended in which respects we are all scepticks and must confess 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I cannot comprehend it For the clearing therefore of this difficulty perhaps we may have some relief from the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we may render thus That ye may be fill'd unto all that fulness of God There is a measure of Grace unto which the Divine Wisdom has appointed Believers unto that measure that degree of fulness we ought to aspire and to pray that God would fill us with it which seems to be the purport of that other Prayer of this Apostle for the Thessalonians 2 Thes 1.11 We pray always for you that God would fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God is the Fountain his Saints are Vessels These Vessels are of several capacities God according to his good pleasure has gaged these Vessels now it is our duty to pray and strive to strive and pray that God from the inexhaustible Fountain of his goodness would fill these Vessels with Grace up to the brim and that according to that capacity which God has graciously bestowed he would graciously fill up that capacity For if you should pour the whole Ocean upon a Vessel yet it receives only according to its own Dimensions And this is the Interpretation of Theophylact who when he had recited and rejected some other interpretations fixes on this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I conceive says he this
of that fulness of God which is attainable even in this life Many might have had more grace if they had not been under the delusion that they had grace enough already The dream of Perfection attained has prejudiced the perfection which is attainable As Tully observes Multi ad sapientiam pervenissent nisi eo jam se pervenisse putassent Many Men had arrived at a high degree of Wisdom had they not fondly conceited that they had already reacht the top of it The Apostle's frame was most excellent and imitable Phil. 3.12 13. Not as though I had already attained either were already perfect but I follow after it that I may apprehend that for which I am apprehended of Christ Jesus He considered more what was before than what he had left behind that is he more lookt forward to what he had not yet attained than backward to what he had 2. Let us pray that we may know more of the Love of Christ to us as the proper mean to be filled more with the fulness of God in us This is the expedient of the Text and what greater encouragement can there be to love serve obey and glorifie our God than that he has so freely wonderfully loved us in Christ 3. Let us strive to keep our vessels pure and clean tho' they be small and narrow that however they are of a narrow capacity yet being pure and clean God may delight to fill us and to enlarge our hearts that we may receive more of his fulness Matth. 5.8 Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God The sight of God which a pure and holy heart qualifies us for is the enjoyment of God i. e. Gods communicating his love in its sanctifying and saving effects and so we shall find if we compare John 3.3 Except a Man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God with vers 5. Except a Man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God 4. Labour to experience poverty of Spirit The way to be rich in Grace is to be poor in Spirit which poverty of Spirit does not consist in having little Grace but in a sense that whatever we have little or much it s not of or from our selves but from the fulness of God The more we empty our selves in that sense the more God will fill us Luke 3.5 Every valley shall be filled The humble valleys are often fruitful when the high hills are commonly barren self-sufficiency discharges and disobliges the all-sufficiency of God Luke 1.53 The rich he sends empty away Now as by the Rich we are here to understand such as are rich in their own conceit tho' they be really poor so by the poor in Spirit we are to understand them that are convinced of their own original indigency though by the Grace of God they are enriched and their spiritual wants supplyed Phil. 4.20 This poverty of Spirit tho' it pretend not to merit yet has a meetness for the fulness of God Jer. 31.25 I have satiated the weary Soul and I have replenished every sorrowful Soul 5. From this Spiritual poverty arises a Spiritul hunger and thirst after more of the grace of God which temper of Soul lies directly in the way of that promise Matth. 5.6 Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled for 't is upon him that is thirsty that God promises to pour out water and 't is the dry ground that God promises to satisfie with the floods Isa 44.3 6. Attend in Conscience and Faith with constancy and perseverance upon all the Ordinances of the New Testament you read Zech. 4.12 of two olive branches that through the two golden pipes empty the golden oyl out of themselves Let the two Olive branches be the Person of Christ in two Natures the golden oyl will then be his precious Grace and the golden pipes the Ordinances of Christ by which he empties out of himself that precious Grace into holy and clean tho' earthen vessels Amongst many other terms which the Ancients gave to the Lords Supper they called it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The perfect or the perfection so Zonoras 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To come to the Perfection is to come to the holy Eucharist And indeed where do believers find their choicest derivations from God their sweetest Communion with God but in that Sacred Ordinance worthily received 7. And lastly To all these we must add and with all these we must joyn fervent and believing Prayer which as it glorifies God God will glorifie it and make it the means of conveying down to our Souls such a measure of fulness as may serve us in the time of our need we can never be poor whilst we can pray He that is the Spirit of Supplication in us will be th◠Spirit of Grace to us Let us therefore pray with the Apostle Rom. 15.13 That the God of hope would fill us with joy and peace in believing Let us pray that the God of all Grace would make us perfect stablish strengthen settle us 1 Pet. 5.10 That the God of Peace would sanctifie us wholly 1 Thes 5.23 And let us pray that the same God the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ would give us to know the Love of Christ which passeth knowledge that we may be filled with all the fulness of God Quest How are the ordinary means of Grace more certainly successful for Conversion than if persons from Heaven or Hell should tell us what is done there SERMON VII Luke XVI 31. And he said unto him If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead WHether the Narrative of our Saviour beginning at the 19th verse of this Chapter concerning the Rich-man and Lazarus be an History relating really matter of fact or a simple Parable representing the matter by way of similitude Or an useful discourse by way of Delineation partaking of both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Just Martyr viz. a Parabolical History or Historical Parable Hath been variously determined both by the Ancients and Moderns * Voss Thes Dispt 5. One †Lomierus indeed would go further and have it to be a Prophetical Parable representing by Dives Judaism and by Lazarus Gentilism This latter as he thinks from the name Lazarus imports one before Christ came that had no help forsaken of all kept out of doors amongst the Dogs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They who conceive it to be an History argue it from the proper Name of Lazarus others who judge it to be a Parable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dr. Lightfoot c. alledge that the Talmudists do frequently use Lahazar contractly for Eleazar yet here not as a proper Name but common denoting a destitute beggar indefinitely or him who of himself is bereft of help or one to whom help should be shew'd As Rachel is used Appellatively
cause that will pass for just and sufficient at the great day before they resolve upon a total separation from their Brethren 8. Christ is to be followed in his great humility and meekness Mat. 11.29 Take my yoak upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your Souls Pride overcame the first man he affected Divinity and would needs be as God but behold the Lord Jesus who is the Eternal God and he humbled himself and became Man Humility was the constant attire and ornament of the Man Christ Jesus Though this great Redeemer be the chief of all the ways of God though more of God is visible in Him than in the whole Creation besides Though he glorifies his Father more than all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth put together and though he is exalted far above all Principalities and Powers and Might and Dominion no◠only in this World but in that which is to come Yet our Lord never was in the least High-minded Humility is one most remarkable feature in the image of Christ therefore resemble him in being humble Be not proud of Habit Hair and Ornaments 1 Pet. 5.5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Etymologists derive the word from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies nodus a knot Be cloathed or be knotted with Humility I wish that other knots were less and this which is incomparably most becoming were more in fashion Let not your Estates puff you up Riches are not always to men of understanding and there may be a great deal of Gold in the Purse where there is no true Wisdom in the Head no Grace at all in the Heart Let not your natural parts your acquired endowments your spiritual Gifts though never so excellent make you to look upon others with contempt upon your selves with admiration you owe all Glory to that God from whom you have received all Let Humility look out at your Eyes a proud look is one of the seven things which the Lord hates Prov. 6.16 17. Let Humility express it self at your Lips let it attend you in all your addresses to God and beautifie your whole behaviour and converses with Men. The more humble you are the more of every other Grace will be imparted to you the more Rest and Peace you will have within your selves and since you will be ready to give him all the Praise the Lord is ready to put the more honour upon you in making you useful unto others 9. Christ is to be followed in his love to God great care to please him and fervent zeal for his Name and Glory Joh. 14.31 The World may know says Christ that I love the Father and as the Father gave me Commandment even so I do He obeyed that first and great Commandment and loved the Lord his God with all his Heart and Soul and Mind and Strength Christs love made him do whatever his Father pleased Joh. 8.29 He that sent me is with me the Father hath not left me alone for I always do those things that please him Christs love was stronger than Death no Waters no Flouds could drown it neither could the Baptism of blood quench it Christ was consumed with Divine and Holy zeal and he matters not what befal him so he might but glorifie his Father and finish the work which was given him to do Oh let us bring our cold and careless Hearts hither to the Consideration of this Great Example that the frost may melt care may be awakened and there may be something in us that may deserve the name of Warm zeal for God Let us be importunate in Prayer and restless till we feel the constraints of the Love of God forceable till we find really the greatest delight and pleasure in doing that which pleases him and aiming at his Glory we think not much of labour difficulty and hazzard that this our end may be attained 10. Christ is to be followed in his Sufferings and Death and unto this my Text has a more particular reference Christs Faith was strong though he was under a dismal Desertion The Sun of Righteousness did set in a dark cloud He submitted to his Fathers will and being confident of a joyful Resurrection he endured the Cross and despised the shame When Christians come to die their Faith should be most lively as being near finishing it should by no means fail when there is most need of it Though he slay me says Job yet will I trust in him Job 13.15 Christians should submit when the Lord of time will grant no more time to them and they should gladly enter upon a holy and blessed Eternity When the body is about to be sown in corruption by Faith they should see that its lying there will be to advantage for it will be raised in Incorruption and Glory 1 Cor. 15.42 43. Let Death be more natural or violent it is yours in the Covenant if you are true Believers 1 Cor. 3.22 Fear not to follow our Lord Jesus through that dark passage into the House not made with hands eternal in the Heavens And all the while you remain on Earth study a Conformity to your Lords death by crucifying the Flesh and dying to the World The more dead you are with Christ in this sense you will live to the better purpose and die in the greater Peace In the third place I am to produce some Arguments to perswade to the imitation of our Lord Jesus 1. Consider the greatness of the Person that gives you the Example Christ has this Name written on his Vesture and on his Thigh King of Kings and Lord of Lords Rev. 19.16 A Roman Historian commends a Prince who is maximus imperio Velleius Paterculus l. 2. exemplo major greatest in authority and yet greater by his example Every thing in Heaven and Earth and under the Earth does bow and is subject to the Lord Jesus and yet whose obedience ever was so exact as his was He gives us precepts and he himself is the great Pattern of performance Claudian the Poet has a notable passage concerning the examples of Monarchs and what a mighty influence they have Tunc observantior aequi Fit populus nec ferre vetat cum viderit ipsum Autorein parere sibi componitur Orbis Regis ad exemplum nec sic inflectere sensus Humanos edicta valent quà m vita Regentis Kings have many observers who very much Eye them and their high estate both awes and allures their Subjects to the imitation of them If they keep within the bounds of their own Laws their Subjects will be the more unwilling to transgress them Christ is the universal Soveraign who commands both Heaven and Earth and has the whole Creation at his beck He has kept the Laws he gives his Church 't is duty 't is interest 't is reasonable 't is honourable to resemble him in obedience 2. Remember the Relation wherein you that are Saints do stand unto the Lord
Pain or Ease Light or Darkness Sweetness or Bitterness c. are as one hours experience of your own will do Men that are born blind have not by all the advantages of reading to them or discoursing with them such clear discerning of light as a little opening of their own Eyes will help them to Beauty and Melody are and must be seen and heard before they can be duly understood but as far as I am able I shall adventure to describe it thus Love is the Pleasure of the Heart or Will in the discerned and valued excellency of its object So as delightfully to make it accommodate it self unto the Nature Pleasure and concerns thereof Or it is the endearment of apprehended excellence so as to sweeten all our contemplations and esteem thereof our motions towards it our reposes in it our sufferings and adventures for it and our reposes and abode therein Here we may briefly note these things 1. When its Object doth evidently transcend our reach and pitch in excellence then the formal Act of Love is a delightful Admiration of Perfection Infinite Wisdom Power and Goodness cast us upon the heighths and depths of wonder and astonishment and entertain us with the highest satisfactions in our severest and most awful Contemplations thereof these ravishing views or thoughts of the incomprehensible source and abyss of Perfection which is Essential Goodness and the very heighth thereof for what is Goodness but the heighth of Excellency affect us with the most reverend sence thereof 2. Where excellency appears as capable of being shadowed forth by imitations and resemblances and challenges our Conformities thereunto the formal act of Love is a pleased attempering of it self unto its much valued and endeared object joyfully loving and endeavouring a correspondency and agreement with all the communicable excellencies and allurements of such a valuable and admired pattern and exemplar thus love is an ambitious imitation of admired worth pleasing it self in all it 's gradual approaches to it's Object in it's attainments of what most resembles him whose mirrours we so much long and please our selves to be Thus our Christian love our Love to God and unto Christ his Image in it's nature it's operations and attainments is but the impress of Divine Perfections upon our selves with all the solaces which arise in and from our thus transformed selves 3. When excellency appears upon the Theater shewing it's lustre in exquisite performances and Productions bearing the Signatures of that Name whose works they are as the Invisible things of God are known by the things that are made even his Eternal Power and Godhead Rom. i. 20. Then the formal Act of Love is Pleasure in our notices and observations of the eminencies of the cause appearing in the effects thereof and in our delightful searches thereinto 4. When excellency appears upon the Throne of Government the formal Act of Love is our delightful acquiescence and satisfaction in and our chearful comporting with all the Laws and Interests of such Government Thus I delight to do thy will O God Psal xl 8. And this is love that we keep his Commandments i Joh. v. 3. And this is my meat to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work Joh. iv 34. Authority owned Laws obeyed disposals rested in and all with chearfulness And then 5. When Goodness appears communicative designing and dispensing kindnesses directed and designed to the benefit and welfare of the Recipients of it's Communications The formal Act of Love in the thus befriended Persons is their thankful acceptances chearful acknowledgements and faithful improvement of what they thus receive in the service according to the Pleasure and Order and to the praise of him that gives them and as these favours are of several sorts and sizes Such as our beings and their receptiveness of Divine kindnesses and the kindness shewed us to make us good to do us good and to capacitate us to do good to others and to receive further good from God according to our different capacities stations relations opportunities and advantages conditions and other circumstances so hath our Love it 's diversified actings expressions and effects according to it 's various objects considered in their own proper Excellencies their several Relations to us their postures towards us and their concerns with us and ours with them which I here cannot mention much less enlarge upon even as they and we are related and concerned with the essential source of all communicative Excellence or Goodness and therefore I leave it to the deeper thoughts and further searches of better Heads and Hearts than mine 6. When Excellence espouses evidently some great Interests and Designs such as the recovery of lost Souls the reparation of declined Holiness the shaming and abandoning of all Sin the utter extirpation of Satans Interest and Kingdom the erecting of his Gospel House and Kingdom the Exaltation of his Son and the Edification of his Children in Christian Knowledge Holiness and Comfort and in all things fit to make them acceptable to himself and approved of men and to make them regular and easie in themselves When God designs and prosecutes the spreading of the Gospel the Sanctification of his Name in and before the eyes of all and the compleating the Divine Life and Nature in his own What then can be the formal Act of Love hereto in us but the endearment and espousal of these things to us as matters of the highest consequence and importance to the World the Church and us and as things more valuable and delightful to us in our contemplations and pursuits thereof than all our personal Interests and Pleasures in this World 7. When Excellence communicates it self discernibly to others then Love rejoyces in this Gift and Grace to them 8. When Excellence appears communicable to others and that through one another as appointed means and instruments for this end then Love is so far thankful and it covets enterprizes designs and prosecutes the thing and so it grieves or joyfully Triumphs as it discerns the matter to succeed or to be defeated or delayed and it forms and cherishes and exerts it Sympathies accordingly 9. When Excellence is rivall'd confronted and opposed then Love turns Jealous and Enraged and puts on fortitude and resolution to stand by it's darling Object and concerns in all the Agonies of Contention for them which they need and notwithstanding all the hazards cost and difficulties which attend them And 10. It accounts and uses all as Friends or Enemies as they appear against or for it's Object 3. The Genuine Practice and Productions of this love Here they are called Good Works a correspondent practice with this Divine and Active and diffusive Principle All Instances and Effects of this delightful conversation with God and man according to the Rules and Principles of Christianity must savour of illustrate and subserve this Principle and Grace Thus Love God and keep his Commandments think and speak of him
I live than speak a word to gratifie scoffers at Religion who scornfully twit those that are better than themselves with their Hearing so many Sermons but yet I dare not sooth up those in their Hypocrisie whose Religion lies all in Hearing of Sermons as if there were no other Duties to be minded no Family Duties no Relative Duties whereas only Hearing will make at best but rickety Christians 2. They are also to be reproved that only go to See a Sermon What went ye out into the Wilderness to see What To see Fashions They can give a more exact account of every fantastical Dress than of any one savoury Truth they heard whereas 't is said of Christs hearers (f) Luk. 4.20 the Eyes of all that were in the Synagogue were fastened on him A wandering Eye is an infallible evidence of a wandring Heart But I 'll come closer to the Case in a Use of Exhortation With Directions to all sorts of Hearers that they would sorthwith set upon the practice of this great comprehensive Duty to give Christ a satisfying account why they attend upon the Ministry of the Word Every one must give an account of himself to God That you may do it with Comsort take these or such like Directions Dirâ—ctiâ—n 1. Set your selves towards the removing of those Hinderances whiâ—h tiâ—l you iâ— good earnest set upon the removing of them you can never give a good account to your selves much less to Christ of any Soul-business I 'll name but four and with the naming of them give a word of Direction how to attempt their removal e. g. 1. The state of Vnregeneracy is a dead weight to the Soul it keeps it down from lifting up it self Heaven-ward One dead in sin blesseth himself that his Conscience is not troublesome i. e. 't is neither squeamish to boggle at sin nor inquisitive after the danger of it The only Remedy I shall name is this viz. Mind Conversion as far as 't is possible for an unconverted person to mind it How far is that Thou canst never tell till thou hast tryed Query Whether ever any pusht this forward to the utmost and missed of Conversion Not that any thing an Unconverted person can possibly do can merit Grace but the Soul 's holding on in its attempt and in some measure breaking through the Corruptions and Temptations that way-lay it is a token for good that the Spirit of Grace is hopefully at work to bring over the Soul to Christ the Spirit of God saying to that Soul what David said to his Son Solomon (g) 1 Chr. 22.16 Arise and be doing and the Lord be with thee 2. The second hinderance is love of Ease Persons don't love to meddle with that which they apprehend will be a troublesome business What To be always upon our watch To be always examining why and to what end we so much as hear a Sermon This is wearisome and intolerable For Remedy Rouze up thy Soul as thou would'st do thy Body in a Lethargy thou wouldst then be jogg'd and pull'd and shook there 's more need in thy Soul-Lethargy 'T is the voice of him that deserves to be thy Beloved that calls thee do not give an answer directly contrary to Christs Spouse (h) Cant. 5.2 I am awake but my heart is asleep 3. A third hinderance is Vnbelief As to this I speak not now of the state of Unbelief but they do not believe this to be so needful as 't is represented The truth is if we run up sins into their causes we shall find Vnbelief to be the most teeming Mother of most omissions and of more than omissions e. g. Why do you omit such a Duty I do not believe it to be necessary Why do you not reflect upon the Duties which you do not omit I do not believe God requires it For cure Consider you have more grounds and Motives for Faith in this matter than you have for any thing you practise e. g. You Pray I hope you do I would not have my supposition fail me 't is more your Duty to reflect why you Pray and how you Pray than 't is meerly to Pray you may teach a Parrot to speak words of Prayer but 't is a special exercise of Grace to Pray aright as to the manner of it So you believe 't is a Duty to attend upon the Word 't is more your Duty to propose a right End and to reflect how that end is pursued attained or lost than 't is barely to hear Pardon me if I use a nauseous Metaphor to set forth an odious sin Some of you bring your Dogs with you and they hear the sound of words lye still and depart when the Sermon is ended Upon reflection you 'l be ashamed to do no more 4. A fourth hinderance is the satisfaction that natural Conscience takes in a little tiny Devotion Natural Conscience requireth a little and but a little a little will satisfie it so it be but something Doeg (i) 1 Sam. 2.7 was detained before the Lord. It had been better for him to have been sick in 's Bed than to have been quieting his Conscience with such circumstantiated devotion For cure Do but review what thy natural Conscience takes satisfaction in and thou wilt be more dissatisfyed bring but thy Conscience with thy Duty to the Rule and then examine it To act only like (k) Gal. 4.30 a Slave that desires no more than to turn his Work off hand to do no more than he needs must this leads to rejection whereas a Conscience guided by Scripture will put you upon doing all as a Child that the Manner of it may please your heavenly Father and this will qualifie you for an heavenly Inheritance This is the first Direction remove hinderances Direct 2. Call your selves to an Account before in and after the hearing of the Word to what End thou camest and how the end is pursued or dropt 1. Before you hear Solomon adviseth thus (l) Eccles 5.1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the House of God and be more ready to hear than to offer the sacrifice of Fools be more ready to receive Instruction and to accept of what God says which will be thy Wisdom than to offer Sacrifice and neglect Obedience like foolish Hypocrites And a greater than Solomon (m) Luke 14.28 31. our Lord Jesus Christ cautions us by a double Metaphor at his School-door when we come to be his Disciples viz. That spiritual Edification will be in this like worldly building cost more tha we imagine and our Spiritual warfare will be in this like the carnal more costly than at first we conceive 't will cost us more careful thoughts more waking nights more painfull days more Prayers and Tears more Self-denyal and Contempt of the World than inconsiderate persons will believe For your care before you hear I shall propose but three things 1. Renew your Repentance of the Sins of your hearing the
Custom that when two fell at Contention their Leaders would appoint them a meeting before Sun-set and cause them to embrace one another But we have many to push us on and few to moderate us in our Contentions We tear one another in pieces and if any interpose he is stigmatiz'd for a Neuter or else meets with the Parter's portion to wit blows on both sides he finds Livie's Observation but too true that Media via neque amicos parit nec inimicos tollit Hear Holy Augustine in the like Case to Hierome and Ruffinus who were in Contention Woe is me that I cannot find you nearer together how am I moved how do I grieve what fear am I in I would fall down at your feet I would weep and begg each for himself each for the other yea for others sakes especially the weak that look upon you to their great hazard Combating as it were upon a Theater But where hath this Holy Man left his healing spirit I am sure this would become those in each Function and turn to their honour and comfort both here and hereafter 4. Our Common Enemy is ready to devour us The Holy Ghost observes that when Abraham said unto Lot Let there be no strife I pray thee between me and thee for we be brethren that the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land Gen. 13.7 8. that if the Relation of Brethren would not sway his Kinsman yet the reproach and the danger that might fall upon them both from the Canaanite and the Perizzite might check any further breach between them We have the Canaanites both within the Land and without that are ready to make one morsel of us and who after we have condemned one another for Superstition and Schism will truss us all up for Heresie without the infinite Mercy of God Now even Antipathies are laid aside in common dangers as it is probable that all the Creatures though of contrary dispositions agreed in the Ark And yet we cannot in this our common peril agree with our own Countrey-men Luther tells of two Goats that meeting upon a narrow Plank over a deep River whereby they could neither turn back nor pass by the one of them lyes down that the other going over him they might both escape the danger If meer Nature can teach these poor Creatures to yield so far to one another to prevent the Ruine of both furely Reason and especialy God's Grace being superadded should teach each different Party in common dangers to strive which should submit to other in what possibly they can to preserve the whole It is evident that we all have a watchful and an unmerciful Enemy who as they have long abetted our Divisions so they build their greatest hopes upon the continuance of them and although they may carry fairer to one side than to another yet even such must only expect to be used by them as Vlysses was by Polyphemus to be devoured last What unaccountable folly then is it for us with Archimedes to be taken up with drawing unnecessary lines and figures while in the mean time the City is taken and the Romans come and take away both our place and Nation Vse 4. Let us all then be intreated conjured and perswaded to forbear biting and devouring one another If there be therefore any consolation in Christ if any comfort of love if any fellowship of the spirit if any bowels and mercies be ye like minded having the same love be of one accord of one mind Let nothing be done through strife and vain-glory Philip. 2.1 2 3. Leave off this bruitish Behaviour towards one another To which end Consider 1. The Greatness and baseness of the Sin 2. The Certainty and sadness of the Danger that attends it 3. The best Method to Cure the Sin and prevent the Danger For the first the Greatness and baseness of the Sin 1. You break the great Command of God's Law which is Love For next to the Love of God is the Love of our Neighbour and they are so conjoyn'd that the one cannot exist without the other For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen 1 Joh. 4.20 When therefore you think you are zealous for God by this kind of managery you are breaking his Laws Yea you break the Royal Law which Commands you to Love your Neighbour as your selves Jam. 2.8 and no other Devotion Preciseness or Charity will answer for this Defect as it follws ver 10. Whosoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point referring to this very fault he is guilty of all 2. You trample upon the great Precept of the Gospel which is Love 1 Joh. 3.23 And this is his Commandment that we should believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us Commandment See here Commandment in the beginning of the Verse and Commandment again in the end of it and then it 's joyn'd and goes hand in hand with Faith in Jesus Christ so that you may as safely be without the one as without the other And again 1 Joh. 4.21 And this Commandment have we from him that he who loveth God love his brother also Now what Love can there be in the Heart when there is nothing but reproach contempt and rage in the Tongue in the Pen and in the Carriage It is certain That out of the abundance of the Heart the Tongue speaks and the Lungs must needs be corrupt within when such purulent matter is expectorated Say not that your Love to the Truth or to the Publick Good must regulate your behaviour to particular Persons For neither the Truth nor the Publick good do need your uncharitable words or behaviour Our Blessed Saviour had great Truths to declare and great Errors to oppose yet He did not strive nor cry neither did any man hear his Voice in the streets Mat. 12.19 And as Lactantius argued with the Heathens Vel Ethnici Christianos sapientes judicant vel stultos tamen non vel sapientes imitantur vel stultis parcunt So either your Opposites are either wise or foolish If wise you should comply with them respect and reverence them if foolish you should forbear and pity them But whatsoever they are you ought intirely to love them 3. These Contentions do bring great dishonour to Jesus Christ. He is the Prince of Peace the true King of Salem the great Promoter of Peace and the great pattern of it When he came into the World Peace was sung when he departed out of the World Peace was bequeathed Now this quarrelsome temper in his Servants doth grievously reflect upon him For he saith John 17.20 21. Neither pray I for these alone but for them that shall believe on me through their word that they all may be one That the world may believe that thou hast sent me As if he had said Their dissentions and quarrels will tempt men
nor value them Sayes the other These men are all either blinded with preferment or hunting after it their Parts are either utterly abus'd or quite blasted Thus the Ball of Contention is toss'd from one to another by the hands of Pride and Scorn Whereas Humility makes a Man think meanly of himself moderately of his own Notions and Apprehensions highly of those that deserve it and respectfully of all It was this which taught excellent Bishop Ridley when he was in Prison thus to accost honest Bishop Hooper However in some by-matters and circumstances of Religion your wisdom and my simplicity I grant hath a little jarr'd yet now c. More comfort to them if they had been on these terms in the time of their Liberty and Prosperity Humility is a great step to Unity Ephes 4.2 I beseech you that ye walk with all lowliness and meekness with long-suffering forbearing one another in love Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace Pray behold how these Graces are here link't together lowliness meekness unity and peace The humble man will not indure that his Reputation shall outweigh the Peace of the Church and therefore is more willing that Truth should be victorious than Himself Hee 'l go two miles for one to meet his Adversary in an honest way of Accommodation and when he cannot make his Judgment to bend yet his Heart shall stoop to you with all sincerity This Vertue made Aristippus come to Eschines when they were at fewd with this greeting Eschines Shall we be friends And this dictated his answer Yes Sir with all my heart But remember saith Aristippus That I being elder than you do make the first motion Yea said the other and therefore I conclude you to be the worthier man for I began the strife and you began the peace Let us all then be cloathed with Humility assume not in regard of your Learning Wit or Parts consider you are but Sharers in our Common Benefactor neither let your Riches or Dignities make you to speak or write otherwise than you would do without them and this will go a great way to prevent our biting and devouring one another 5. Apply your selves to the Practice of Real Piety By this I mean that we should imploy our chief care to procure and increase a lively Faith to exercise daily Repentance to strengthen our Hope to inflame our Love to God and to our Neighbour to grow in Humility Zeal Patience and Self-denyal To be diligent in Watchfulness over our Thoughts Words and Wayes in Mortification of our sinfull Passions and Affections in the Examination of our Spiritual Estate in Meditation in secret and fervent Prayer and in universal and steady Obedience In these things do run the vital spirits of Religion And whoso is seriously imployed in these will have but little time and less mind for unnecessary Contentions These will keep that heat about the Heart which evaporating degenerates into airy and fiery exhalations and leaves the Soul as cold as Ice to any holy desires It is a good thing that the heart be established with grace not with meats which have not profited them that have been occupied therein Hebr. 13.9 It is manifest what a sad decay of these hath followed our multiplied quarrels and how hard it is to be fervent in Spirit and withall to be fiery in Controversies He that walks with God and whose Conversation is in Heaven will be quickly weary of windy disputes with men and will be apt to conclude with one of the Ancients Lassus sum dum cum sermone atque invidia cum hostibus cum nostris pugno Which hath occasioned divers great Divines the more earnestly to long for Heaven that they might be out of the noise of endless and perverse disputations The serious Practice of Godliness hath the Promise of Divine Direction in all material points The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him and he will shew them his Covenant Psal 25.14 If any man will do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God John 7.17 And likewise he that lives in the Spirit and walks in the Spirit dares not bite or devour his Neighbour Let not us saith the Apostle that so walk be desirous of vain-glory provoking one another envying one another Gal. 5.25 26. 6. Follow after Charity Knowedge puffeth up but Charity edifieth This is the healing Grace and if this be not applyed to our bleeding wounds they will never be cured This suffereth long and is kind Charity envieth not Charity vaunteth not it self is not puffed up Pray read on and mark all these passages Charity doth not behave it self unseemly seeketh not her own is not easily provoked thinketh no evil Rejoyceth not in iniquity but rejoyceth in the Truth Beareth all things tolerable believeth all things credible hopeth all things possible indureth all things and as it follows indureth after all things 1 Corinth 13. That whole Chapter most fit to be read and often studied by all that love peace Charitas dicit aliorum bona certa meliora certa mala minora bona dubia certa dubia mala nulla An excellent Conclusion of Charity That it reckons the good parts qualities or actions that are certainly in others to be rather better than they are indeed and the ills to be less than they are indeed the doubtfull good things in them to be certain and the doubtfull evil to be none And how far would this Temper and Practice go to the promoting of Unity and Concord And how directly contrary do most of them proceed that make the greatest noise in our irreligious quarrels Not only putting the most invidious fence upon one anothers words and actions but also the most uncharitable judgment upon their persons upon their Spiritual and Eternal Estate We must know that as Faith unites us to the Head so Love unites us to all the Members and as we can have no Faith nor Hope without Charity so as any Man increaseth in Faith so he is inlarged in his Charity The more true Piety any man hath doubtless the more Charity still that man hath We that did hate one another saith Jâ—stin Martyr of the Christians do now live most friendly and familiarly together and pray for our Enemies If we must err one way as who is infallible it is safer for you to err by too much mildness than by overmuch rigour for Almighty God though he be Wise and Just yet he is most emphatically called Love 1 John 4.8 Beloved let us love one another for Love is of God and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God He that loveth not knoweth not God for God is Love And for you to reply That you do heartily love those that are every way Orthodox that is that agree with you in Opinion is nothing thank-worthy do not even the Publicans the same That may be nothing but self-Self-love but your Religion
tells us may be gained to Christ by his Wife thus a Servant that does his Service as to the Lord may convert his Master Oh! up and be doing your labour shall not be in vain No 1 Cor. 15.58 but great shall be your Reward in Heaven When you shall be taken up to shine as the Stars in the Firmament for ever and ever Dan. 12.3 Matth. 25.11 But if you shall neglect or refuse my Soul shall mourn in secret for you as knowing that the crying Lord Lord will not avail you nor any confident Profession of Christs Name stand you in any stead When the Deluge came how many perishing Wretches ran to the Ark and laid hold on it cryed earnestly for to be admitted into it but in vain Fac quod dicis fides est You know whom the Ark represented even this Christ in whom alone is Salvation Oh get into him by a true and living Faith and that to day whilest it is called to day 2 Pet. 2.1 least swift destruction come upon you 2 Cor. 5.11 May we all so know and consider the terrors of the Lord that we may be perswaded Quest What is that fulness of God every true Christian ought to pray and strive to be filled with SERMON VI. Ephes III. 19. And to know the Love of Christ which passeth knowledge that you might be filled with all the Fulness of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 THESE words are a considerable part of that excellent Prayer put up to God by the Apostle for his beloved Ephesians from vers 16. to the end And indeed Prayer was his tryed Engine by which he always could bring down supplies of Grace from the God of all Grace for his own and the Souls of others In this Branch of it you will easily observe he prays for Grace the End and Grace the Mean to reach that End 1. He Prays for Grace the End That ye might be filled with all the fulness of God This being the utmost of the Souls Perfection ought to be the height of its Ambition beyond this we cannot reach and therefore in the attainment of this we must rest 2. He Prays for Grace the Mean to compass that End viz. To know the Love of Christ which passeth knowledge As we grow up into a greater Measure of the knowledge of the Love of Christ to us we shall enjoy more of the fulness of God in us But here we meet in each of these parts of the Text with an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or a seeming contradiction in the Terms To know the Love of Christ which passeth knowledge What is that but to know what is unknowable And to be filled with all the fulness of God What is that but to comprehend what is incomprehensible The narrow vessel of our Heart can no more contain the boundless and bottomless Ocean of the Divine fulness than our weak intellectual Eye can drink in the glorious Light of that knowledge And yet there are many such expressions in the Holy Scripture Thus Moses Hebr. 11.27 saw him that was invisible 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He saw him by the Eye of Faith in the glass of a Revelation whom he could not see by the Eye of Reason in the glass of Creation And thus we are instructed in the Gospel how to approach that God who is unapproachable 1 Tim. 6.16 To approach that God by Jesus Christ according to the Terms of the New Covenant to whom considered absolutely in himself we could never approach Let us therefore first clear and remove the obscurity of the Phrases that we may more comfortably handle the Divine matter contained in them Always taking along with us this useful caution That we run not away with a swelling metaphor and from thence form in our minds rude undigested Notions of Spiritual things nor fancy we see Miracles when we should content our selves with Marvels 1. The former of these seeming repugnances is To know the Love of Christ which passeth knowledge If this love of Christ passeth knowledge why do we pray why should we strive to know it If it be our duty to pray that we may know it how is it supposed to pass knowledge Must we endeavour to reach that which is above all heights To fathom that which is an Abyss and has no bottom Or to take the Dimensions of that which is unmeasurable To remove this difficulty there have been many expedients found out 1. I. Some carry the sense thus To know the Love of Christ which passeth or surpasseth the knowledge of all other things There is an excellency an usefulness in the knowledge of Christs Love which is not to be found in the knowledgc of any thing else A man may know to his own pride to the Admiration of others he may have the knowledge of all Tongues and Languages may understand all Arts and Sciences may dive deep into the secrets of Nature may be profound in Worldly Policies may have the Theory of all Religions true and false and yet when he comes to cast up his Accounts shall find himself never the better never the holier indeed never the wiser never the nearer satisfaction till he can reach this blessed knowledge of the Love of Christ Only the excellency of the knowledge of the Love of Christ consists herein 1. It must be a knowledge of Christs Love by way of Appropriation to know with the Apostle Gal. 2.20 That he loved me and gave himself for me 2. By way of efficacious Operation Rev. 1.5 That he loved us and washt us from our sins in his own blood 3. By way of Reflection that his Love has kindled a mutual Love in our Souls to him 1 John 4.19 We love him because he first loved us 4. By way of practical Subjection when his Love subdues our Hearts to himself and constrains us to new obedience 2 Cor. 5.14 The Love of Christ constrains us it restrains us from sinning against him and engages us to obey him To know that we may know and make knowledge the end of it self is nothing but vain curiosity To know that we may be known is nothing but vainglorious arrogancy To know that we may make others know is indeed an edifying charity but to know that we may be transformed into the image and likeness of what we know of the Love of Christ this is the true the excellent the transcendent way of knowledge And this was that knowledge of Christ and of his Love which the Apostle set such a price upon 1 Cor. 2.2 when he determined not to know any thing save Jesus Christ and him crucified That he might there see the Love of Christ streaming out of his heart at his wounds in his blood and there see Divine Justice satisfied the Law fulfilled and thence feel his Conscience purified and pacified and his Soul engaged and quicken'd to walk in all new obedience This is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The transcendent
is but a peradventure we have that which will shut it out of all consideration and eclipse that which otherwise might have had some lustre vers 8. God commends his love to us that when we were yet sinners Christ died for us § 2. If the love of relations will not afford us a just Measure for the Love of Christ let 's see if there be any thing else in the whole scale of Nature that may furnish us with a line commensurate to it And we can no sooner think of making the Inquiry but we propose to our selves the height of Heaven the breadth of the Earth Prov. 25.3 The Heaven for height and the Earth for breadth but we must despair of finding any thing that may measure or circumscribe this love since the Apostle has assured us Ephes 3.8 that the riches of Christ are unsearchable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as we must expect no footsteps of in the whole Creation The Apostle might Preach it but could not fully reach it The treasures of Gold and Silver which wise providence has hid so deep in the bowels of the Earth yet the vein may be pursued so far till it s worn out but this treasure of Love in the Heart of Christ is so deep and is so rich that we can neither find out nor exhaust the fulness of it when God would give us some shadow of his Love he represents it by the height of the Heavens not that his Love reaches no higher but because there 's nothing in created Nature higher to represent it by Psal 103.11 As the Heaven is high above the Earth so great is his Mercy towards them that fear him The Love of God is only to be measur'd by it self that is by himself for God is Love 1 John 4.8 No Creature no Saint no Angel can fadom the Love of Gods heart Jer. 29.11 I know the thoughts that I think towards you And we must say the same of Christ's Love there 's one Dimension more in the Love of Christ than in the Creation Ephes 3.18 That you may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We are taught to distinguish between the measure of a Man and the measure of God All bodies have but three dimensions Rev. 21.17 He measured the City with a Reed twelve thousand furlongs the length the breadth the height were equal according to the measure of a Man but in the measuring Spiritual Heavenly things such as are the Love of God and of Christ there 's one dimension more So we have it in that sublime discourse of Zophar Job 11.7 8 9. Canst thou by searching find out God canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection It is as high as Heaven what canst thou do Deeper then Hell what canst thou know The measure thereof is longer then the Earth and broader then the Sea And thus we are taught modesty and not to limit God and his purposes of Love by our narrow conceptions Isa 55.8 My thoughts are not your thoughts for as the Heavens are higher then the Earth so are my thoughts then your thoughts saith the Lord. And 1. for the Breadth of the Love of Christ It reaches Jews and Gentiles it extends to all ranks of Men high and low rich and poor it reaches all the cases of Men's Souls the Tempted Deserted the Backslider and Persecutor it reaches the bruised Reed the smoaking Flax it extends to the pardon of all sins truly repented of so that we may say that his promises which are the vehicles of Truth and Love are exceeding broad as well as his Precepts which are the indications of his Authority and Power The Love of Christ is wider than Mans will Rom. 10.21 All the day long I have stretched out my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people It s wider than Mans power for John 6.44 No Man can come unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him And yet vers 37. All that the Father has given me shall come unto me It is wider than all our wants and necessities there 's more bread in his house than there are hungry Souls to eat more mansions in Heaven than there are Souls to fill it s wider than our capacities and we may sooner enter into our Masters joy Matth. 25. than that joy can enter into us 1 Cor. 2.9 It cannot enter into the heart of Man what things God has prepared for them that love him 2. The length of the Love of Christ An extent of Grace and Love that reaches Souls at the greatest distance It reacht Paul when he was in the heat and height of his desperate fury mad and desperately mad with an inveterate enmity against Christ It reacht Mary Magdalen when she was possest with seven Devils it reacht the Gentiles when they were far off from God estranged from the light and life of God by their Abominable Idolatries Ephes 2.13 Ye who sometimes were a far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ It reacht the Prodigal when he was far off Luke 15.20 And as it finds and reaches Souls at the greatest distance of sin and enmity so it reaches a length which we cannot with consistence of thought conceive of Hebr. 7.25 Able to save to the utmost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To the uttermost length of Gods Promise and the believers Faith and Hope to the uttermost extent of Gods Purposes and our Prayers to the uttermost duration of this Life and the next through all time beyond all time to eternity 3. The depth of the Love of Christ And here unless we could sound the depth of our Misery we can never fadom the depth of Christs Love unless we could know the power of Gods Anger Psal 90.11 we can never reach the power of Christs Love The Torments of Hell are unknown Torments and those Torments which Christ endured in his Soul to deliver us from thence were unknown Torments The Love of Christ does not only reach the depth of our Misery by reason of Sin but those depths of Sorrow into which sometimes even holy Souls are plunged by Desertion The Psalmist cryed unto God out of the Depth Divine Love heard him and reacht him there Psal 130.1 Jonah cryed unto God out of the belly of Hell Divine Love heard him there and deliver'd him thence Jonah 2.2 Heman was plunged in the lowest pit in darkness in the deeps yet Love reacht him in that sad and dismal condition Psal 88.6 4. The height of the Love of Christ All the measure of the height of Christs Love we can take is to say its unmeasurable It is high we cannot attain unto it Psal 139.6 his Love reaches the Soul on Earth and never leaves it till it has conducted it to Heaven he Loves Grace into the Soul and Loves the Soul into Glory what that Glory is Go and see The taste of it is to be had
6.12 Ye are not straitned in me but ye are straitned in your own Bowels Our hearts are narrow towards Spiritual and Heavenly things because they are so enlarg'd towards earthly and visible things when the heart is enlarged as Hell and death that cannot be satisfied Hab. 2.5 For these perishing things no wonder if there be little room for the Graces of the Spirit This is therefore our great concern to pray that God would enlarge our desires that he may satisfie and fill them 4. We ought to pray and strive That all the Powers and Faculties of the whole man may be filled according to their measures There is much room in our Souls that is not furnish'd much waste ground there that is not cultivated and improved to its utmost We might have more light in the Understanding more tractableness in the Will more heat in our Love and a sharper edge set upon our Zeal And we have warrant to pray for this measure of the fulness of God 1 Thess 5.23 Now the God of peace sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole Spirit Soul and Body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 5. Every gracious Soul ought to pray and strive for such a measure of Grace that he may be qualified for any Duty and Service that God shall call him to and engage him in The Hebrew word which we render Consecration or separation to an Office is Filling the hand Exod. 29.9 Consecrate ye Aaron and his Sons in the Hebrew Fill the hand of Aaron and his Sons Where God employs the hand he will fill the hand we have ground to believe that he will send us about no Errand but he will bear our Charges where-ever he gives a Commission he will bestow a competent qualification when we go about his Work we may expect his presence and assistance in the Work And Moses seems to stand upon these terms with God Exod. 33.15 If thy presence go not with me carry us not up hence As therefore there is great variety of Duties in our Christian Calling we may in Faith expect and from that believing expectation pray that we may be furnish'd with a suitable variety of Grace for the discharge of them 6. Every true Christian ought to pray strive for such a measure of Grace as may enable him to bear patiently chearfully and creditably those afflictions and sufferings which either God's good pleasure shall lay upon us or for his Names sake we may draw upon our selves We ought to pray that either he will lay no more upon us than our present strength can bear or if he encreases our trials he will encrease our Faith There 's no danger of excess in our Prayers when we confine them to the limits of his gracious promises Now here we have encouragement from his Word 1 Cor. 10.13 God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able but will with the temptation make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it 7. Every true Christian ought to pray and strive for such a measure of Grace as may bring the Soul to a settlement and stability that he be not soon shaken by the cross and adverse evils that he shall meet with in this Life And the Apostle Peter has gone before us in this Prayer 1 Pet. 5.10 The God of all grace who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after that ye have suffered a while make you perfect stablish strengthen settle you And herein especially let us keep an eye upon these particulars § 1. Pray that God would so stablish you in the truth that ye may not be blown away with every wind of Doctrin A sorry trivial Error many times oversets and puzzles a weak Understanding Now 't is our great Interest to pray and strive that we may reach such a clear distinct coherent Light into the Doctrin of the Gospel that every small piece of Sophistry may not perplex and stagger our Belief of it So the Apostle Paul Eph. 4.14 would have Believers be no more Children tossed to and fro with every wind of Doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive § 2. Pray also that God would so stablish you in the truth of the promises that your Faith may not be shaken with every wind of Providence We are apt to have our hearts tossed by contrary Dispensations So upon a rumour Isa 7.2 The heart of Asa was moved and the heart of his people as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind It argues great weakness of Faith that we cannot maintain an equality of mind under various Providences the only remedy of which evil is to pray that God would encrease and strengthen our Faith that we may be so firmly built upon the unmoveable rock that we may not be afraid of evil tidings having our hearts fixed trusting in the Lord Psal 112.7 And this was the glory of Job's Faith Job 13.15 That tho' God should slay him yet would he trust in him § 3. Let us pray and strive that God would so settle and stablish us in Love to himself that no blast of Afflictions from his hand may cool the fire of Divine Love in our hearts We want exceedingly the Faith that God carries on a design of Love under all his various and seemingly contrary dealings with us he can love and correct why then cannot we love a correcting God Whether he wounds or heals his love is the same and why not ours Can we not love God upon the security of Faith that he will do us good as well as upon the experience that he has done us good § 4. Pray we and strive that God would so settle and stablish us in our inward peace that no wind of temptation may overthrow it 'T is a slender and ill-made peace which every assault of the Tempter dissolves The Psalmist stood upon a firmer bottom when the terrifying Onsets from without made him fly more confidently to his God Psal 56.3 What time I am afraid I will put my trust in thee And we have Gods own promise to answer our Faith Isa 26.3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid on thee because he trusteth in thee And thus I have return'd some Answer to the second Branch of the Question What is the measure of the fulness of God with which every true Christian ought to pray and strive to be filled There will still remain an enquiry How we may reach to such a measure of the Divine fulness as has been described To which tho' the limits of this discourse will not allow a full and just Answer yet the importance of the Question will oblige me to point at some few things upon which your own Meditations may find matter of enlargement 1. And first it is necessary that we be convinced that we are very far short
controule the strongest temptations to sin against God A wicked believer is more guilty than a wicked infidel How could we conceive it possible were it not visible in their actions that Men who have judicative faculties to compare and distinguish things and accordingly be moved with desires or fears should with ardent affections pursue despicable vanities and neglect substantial happiness and be fearful of the shadows of dangers and intrepid in the midst of the truest dangers He is a desperate gamester that will venture a Crown at a throw against some petty advantage yet this is really done by sinners who hazard the loss of Heaven for this World they hang by slender strings a little breath that expires every moment over bottomless perdition and are insensible without any palpitation of Heart any sign of fear How strong is the delusion and concupiscence of the carnally minded The lusts of the flesh bribe and corrupt their understandings or diverts them from serious consideration of their ways and the issues of them From hence it is they are presently entangled and vanquisht by sensual temptations they are cozened by the colours of good and evil and Satan easily accomplishes his most pernicious and envious design to make Men miserable as himself How just is the reproach of Wisdom How long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity and fools hate knowledge The light of reason and revelation shines upon them they have not the excuse of ignorance but the righteous and heavy condemnation of those who love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil 'T is no mean degree of guilt to extenuate sin and make an apology for sinners The wisest of Men tells us Fools make a mock of sin they count it a fond niceness a silly preciseness to be fearful of offending God They boast of their deceitful arts and insinuations whereby they represent sin as a light matter to corrupt others But 't is infinitely better to be defective in the subtilty of the Serpent than in the innocence of the Dove A meer natural who is only capable of sensitive actions and is distinguisht from a Brute by his shape is not such a forlorn sot as the sinful fool What the Prophet Jeremy speaks of one who gets riches unjustly that he shall leave them and in the end die a fool will be verified of the wilful obstinate sinner in the end he shall by the terrible conviction of his own mind be found guilty of the most woful folly and how many have acknowledged in their last hours when usually Men speak with the most feeling and least affectation how have they in words of the Psalmist arraigned themselves So foolish have we been and like beasts before thee 2. From hence we may be instructed of the wonderful patience of God who bears with a World of sinners that are obnoxious to his justice and under his power every day If we consider the number and aggravations of Mens sins how many have out-told the hairs of their Heads in actual transgressions how mighty and manifest their sins are that the Deity and Providence are questioned for the suspending of vengeance and yet that God notwithstanding all their enormous injuries and violent provocations is patient towards sinners it cannot but fill us with admiration His Mercy like the cheerful light of the Sun visits us every Morning with its benign influences his Justice like Thunder rarely strikes the Wicked He affords not only the supports of life but many comforts and refreshments to the unthankful and rebellious 'T is not from any defect in his Power that they are not consum'd but from the abundance of his Mercy He made the World without any strain of his Power and can as easily destroy it he has an innumerable company of Angels attending his Commands and every Angel is an Army in strength one of them destroyed a hundred and fourscore and five thousand in a Night he can use the most despicable and weakest Creatures Frogs and Lice and Flies as instruments of vengeance to subdue the proudest Pharoah the most obstinate Rebels He sees sin where-ever it is and hates it where-ever he sees it yet his Patience endures thâ—â— crying sins and his long sufferance expects their repentance The Lord is not slack as some Men count slackness but he is long-suffering to us-ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance He spares sinners with such indulgence in order to their Salvation 'T is deservedly one of his Royal Titles the God of Patience Our fierce Spirits are apt to take fire and revenge for every injury real or suppos'd but the great God who is infinitely sensible of all the indignities offer'd to his Majesty defers his anger and loads them with his benefits every day What is more astonishing than the riches of his Goodness unless it be the perverse abuse of it by sinners to harden themselves in their impieties But altho his Clemency delays the punishment the sacredness and constancy of his Justice will not forget it when patience has had its perfect work Justice shall have a solemn triumph in the final destruction of impenitent unreformed sinners 3. The Consideration of the Evil of Sin so great in it self and pernicious to us hightens our Obligations to the Divine Mercy in saving us from our sins and an everlasting Hell the just Punishment of them Our Loss was unvaluable our Misery extream and without infinite Mercy we had been under an unremediable necessity of Sinning and Suffering for ever God saw us in this wretched and desperate State and his eye affected his heart in his pity he redeemed and restored us This is the clearest Testimony of pure Goodness for God did not want external Glory who is infinitely Happy in his own Perfections he could when Man revolted from his Duty have created a new World of Innocent Creatures for infinite Power is not spent nor lessened by finite Productions but his undeserved and undesired Mercy appeared in our Salvation The way of accomplishing it renâ—ers Mercy more Illustrious for to glorifie his Justice and preserve the Honour of his Holiness unblemish'd he laid upon his Son the Iniquity of us all This was Love that passeth all Understanding Our Saviour speaks of it with admiration God so loved the world and hated Sin that he gave his only begotten Son to dye for it that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life And how dear are our Engagements to Jesus Christ The Judge would not release the Guilty without a Ransom nor the Surety without Satisfaction and the Son of God most compassionately and willingly gave his precious Blood to obtain our Deliverance If his Perfections were not most aimable and ravishing yet that he died for us should infinitely endear him to us To those who believe he is precious to those who have felt their undone Condition and that by his Merits and Mediation are restored to the
Jesus You are espoused to Him and should you not consent to be like to him who has betrothed you unto himself in Loving-kindness Mercy and Faithfulness for ever Hos 2.19 20. Nay you are members of his body Therefore you should grow up into Him in all things which is the Head even Christ Eph. 4.15 You should discover such a mind as Christ had you should manifest the same Spirit and act as he acted when he was here in the World 3. Consider that God did fore-ordain you that are Believers to a conformity to the Lord Jesus Rom. 8.29 For whom he did fore-know he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son that he might be the first-born among many Brethren If you would appear with Christ in Glory you must be now changed into his Image Holiness and patient suffering will make you like him and is the decreed way unto his Kingdom 4. Walking as Christ walked will make it evident that you are indeed in him 1 Joh. 2.6 He that saith he abideth in him ought to prove what he saith and himself so to walk even as he walked To be in Christ is to be a new creature And these new Creatures do all resemble him for he is formed in them Naming the name of Christ will never demonstrate your Christianity unless you depart from iniquity which makes you so unlike unto your Lord. But likeness to him will prove you His in Truth And an evidence of this what strong consolation will it afford If you are in Christ how safe are you you are secured from the curse of the Law the stroke of vindictive Justice the wrath of the Destroyer the bondage of Corruption and Sin the sting of the first Death and the power of the second If you are in Christ His God is your God his Father your Father Joh. 20.17 You are loved as He is loved Joh. 17.23 That the World may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me And v. 26. That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them You are joint-heirs with Christ unto the same incorruptible inheritance how firm and sure is your title how certain and soon will be your possession and after possession is taken you shall not be dispossess'd unto Eternity 5. Your following the Example of Christ very much honours Him and credits Christianity 't is a sign that Christs death has a mighty vertue in it when it makes you to die to Sin and to be unmoved by the biggest offers that Mammon makes to you 'T is an argument that He is truly Christ when you are truly Christians that He is indeed alive when he lives in you and makes you to live to him and like him 'T is a demonstration that our Lord is risen indeed when you rise with him and seek those things that are above Col. 3.1 Christ is very much unknown and being unknown is undesired and neglected because so little of him is seen in Christians conversation How few deserve digito monstrari to be pointed at and to have such a Character given them There go the persons who discover such a Spirit who talk and walk too after such a manner that 't is evident Christ dwells and speaks and walks and works in them Be all of you prevailed with to honour your Lord Jesus by shewing the world what he was when here upon Earth and how powerfully he works in you though now he is in Heaven Chrysostom with great reason does call good works 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unanswerable Syllogisms and demonstrations to confute and convince Infidels The World would flock into the Church being struck with the Majesty and Glory shining forth in Her if She were but more like unto her glorious Head But when they who are called Christians are so like unto the World 't is no wonder if the men of the World continue still as they are 6. Christ frequently speaks to you to follow him and observes whether and how you do it His word is plain that you should learn his Doctrine and live after his example And his eyes which are as a flaming fire are upon Professours ways His Omniscience should be more firmly believed and seriously considered by the Church it self Rev. 2.23 All the Churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the Reins and Hearts and I will give to every one of you according to your works I shall here by a Prosopopeia bring in our Lord Jesus speaking to you and himself propounding his own Example that you may hear and heed and follow the Lamb of God To this effect Christ speaks to you Look unto me and be ye saved all ye ends of the Earth Look unto me and become like me all you that profess your selves to be my Members What Do you see in me that in any reason should turn away your faces or your hearts from me Blessed is He whosoever shall not be offended in Me. The Father is well pleased in Me and so should you as you value his favour and would consult your own interest I never took so much as one step in the ways of misery and destruction be you sure to avoid them I always trod in those paths which to you will prove pleasantness and peace though to satisfy for your deviations and going astray I was fain my self to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief Consider your Lord and Master you that call your selves my disciples Many look upon you that will not look into my word and will judge of Me by your practices Be not so injurious to Me by misrepresenting Me as if I allowed those evils which you allow your selves in Why should I be wounded in my honour in the house of my Friends Why should you crucify me afresh And put me to an open shame When you yield to Satans temptations are you like to me When you are eager after worldly wealth the applause of men and flesh-pleasing delights are you like to me When you are proud and haughty bitter envious and revengeful do you at all resemble Me When you seek your selves and please your selves and matter not how much God is forgotten and displeased Am I in this your example O all you upon whom my name is called content not your selves with an empty name Be my disciples in truth and let the same mind that was in me be in you also be my disciples indeed live as I did in the World to honour God and to do good to man let it be your business for I have left you an example that you should follow my steps 7. Follow Christs Example that you may enter into his glory For if we be dead with him says the Apostle we shall live with him if we suffer with him we shall also reign with him 2 Tim. 2.11 12. Be of good courage and conflict but do it in his Strength with your Spiritual enemies and
address your selves in your Devotions to him serve him and walk before him trust him and depend upon him all that you are and have design and do let it be suited to and worthy of that Glorious and fearful Name the Lord Your God whose eminent and perfect Name you love so well Hebr. xii 28. i Thess ii 10-12 Rom. xii 1 2. Mat. v. 16. Joh. xv 8. i Pet. iv 11. away with such mean Things and Actions such flat Devotions and such tantum non offensive Conversations and such lean and stingy Offerings to God or actings for him as must put Charity upon the Rack to observers of you for to conclude or think you love him Mal. i. 13 14. ii Pet. iii. 11. i Cor. xv 58. nothing below that cluster in Phil. iv 8. and that in Tit. ii 10-14 can escape its Mene Tekel in this balance of the Sanctuary rich in Good Works i Tim. vi 18. and rich towards God Luk. xii 21. and fruitful in every good work Col. i. 10. actings continually towards God and for him facing the Eyes and Consciences of all Observers with such illustrious and large Characters and Signatures of this Divine Principle of Love as to convince even the most critical Observers of you and to extort Confessions from them that none could act and live as you do did they not love God dearly and most entirely and constantly live to him and upon him as their all i Pet. ii 12. and iv 16 Hebr. xi 13-16 for I take not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here to import what may be barely Good but something generous and fit to strike the Beholders Eye and Conscience with some astonishing Convictions that what you do for God looks too majestically great to come from any ordinary Principle yea from any thing below your God enthroned in your best affections Love is the very Soul of Godliness the very Heart of the new Man a Principle so impetuous and charming as that it scorns where it is Regent to be confined to or signalized by any thing mean or base Such objects and concerns in its most intimate and close embraces and in its stated prospect and yet act sparingly sordidly or sneakingly for God! Love burns and blushes at the thought And Heaven it self ere long will irritate exert and shew the Purity and generous Vigours of this Grace in such a stated and inviolable series of great and generous actions so full of God and every way so fully for him and so worthy of him as that the life of God in glory shall evidence the force and excellence of that spring and principle whence it proceeds and yet even here even in this its Infant and Imperfect State it groans and labours to have God's Will done on Earth as it is in Heaven Well in a word such must your Actions and your Conversations be as that whatever you are conversant about or with the temper of your Spirits and the fervours and vigours of your love to God his Image Interest Son Spirit Gospel and all that do profess and own respects hereto every step you take and every thing you do ought to be great and exemplary and impregnated with what may speak the greatness largeness chearfulness and energies of your enflamed exalted and invigorated Souls through love to God Christ Souls and Christianity O to be exemplary in all Conversation to live each other into awakened Considerations of Spiritual concerns to dart forth all those glorious rays of Christian Wisdom of which we are told in Jam. iii. 17 18. to make men feel as well as see the force and flames of Christian Love to charm Exasperated Passions down by all the sweetnesses of true Wisdom Patience Meekness Gentleness and every way endearing Conversation with them to have the Law of Kindness always in your Mouths the notices of true Friendliness in your Looks the gifts and proofs of generous Charity in your Hands in constant readiness to minister to the Necessities of the Saints as God shall prosper your Endeavours in your lawful and regularly managed Occupations and Employments to have your Dealings and Commerces each with other accurately and severely just and yet sufficiently securing the credit and concerns of Christianity And in a word to be blameless and harmless as the Sons of God without rebuke shining as lights and holding forth the Word of Life to Universal Satisfaction and Advantage wherever groundless prejudice and partiality do not prevail and govern and to fill up every relation step and station with the fruits of Goodness Righteousness and truth these are the good and generous Works of Love whereto we are to be provoked For thus we do not love in word and tongue but indeed and truth i Joh. iii. 28. 4. The Intenseness of the principle and vigor of the practice called here as the designed effect of the prescribed means 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Provocation the warmth and vigour wherewith Love and Good Works are as it were to be inspired Zealously affected in a good thing Gal. iv 18. zealous of good works Tit. ii 14. the Motive so effectually Cogent as to fix and fortifie the Principle and the Principle so powerful as to go thorow with its great enterprize and concern Principles are the Springs of Action and Love importeth intimacy it is a Principle rooted in the heart and it lays its beloved objects deep therein warmth it is essential to it and where it is perfect or considerably grown it is serious and fervent It is a commanding thing and affects Regency over all the Actions Faculties and Passions it is peremptory in its Precepts fixt in the Purposes and Concerns which it espouses it is powerful in its Influences pressing in its Claims diffusive of it self through all that is performed by us Impatient of Resistances Denials or Delays and moved to Jealousies Indignation and vigorous Contentions when any Injury Affront or Rape is threatned attempted or pursued that any way is prejudicial to its object and its concerns therewith it claims and pleads it urges and provokes to diligence and to all eager prosecutions of what it aims at and endears unto it self and it entirely reconciles the whole Man to all the cost and difficulties of its Divine pursuits 'T is never well but in its motions towards its actings for its conversation with and its reposes in its Pearl of Price and hence its actions are invigorated it gives no faint blows in its holy War it runs not in its Race it deals not triflingly in its Merchandize for God and Heaven it is all mettle fortitude patience action desire and delight in every thing relating to its grand Affair and Scope and it makes all its actions and performances to bear their Testimony to its own fortitude and fervours and this is the Paroxysm of Love and Good Works 2. The things provoking hereto And here behold a Troop as it was said of Gad Gen. xxx 11. How do inducements and incentments spring
Entertain Accommodate and Improve to the great ends and benefit of the exhortation given 4. And the actuated knowledge of the approaching day must quicken us to and in the more serious and intense performance of these duties Exhorting by so much the more by how much the more as ye see the day approaching Let me but touch a little upon these things 1. Let us consider one another for this provoking work or in order to this Provocation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The word here in the Text imports strict observation of and great sollicitousness of thoughts about each other as to great matters for their Good So that we have 1. The Objects each other 2. The Act or Duty towards them Let us Consider 3. The end and scope To a provocation unto love and to Good works 1. The Objects One another 1. As to the great and Stated ends of our Creation and Redemption Such as the Divine nature and Life and Joy Gods image in us service from us and the delightful blissful and that eternal presence with us in the glorious discoveries and Communications of himself to us in heaven And as we are recovered redeemed by Jesus Christ So our loyalty gratitude and fruitfulness to him in all acknowledgements and improvements of his kind Conduct Government Providence and Grace unto the Fathers Glory through him As we are related to the Holy Ghost it is our correspondent Temper and Practice with Improvement of and our fit returns unto the Offered Accepted and Profest relations of the Spirit and his Communications to us his Operations in us and his Effects upon our Spirits that he might thereby suit us to the Concerns Priviledges of our Christian state and that we might be built up furnisht and possest as the Eternal Temple of the living God Linked and laid together and so related and obliged to each other dependant each on other and consequently useful and delightful in being heartily and practically faithful each to other unto the Edification of the whole in love that so God three in One may be eternally and evidently All to Universal Satisfaction For we were made and bought and are committed to the care of Christ and of the Spirit and we are accordingly entrusted with Gospel helps and means that we might hereby be the Mirrours of Divine Communicable excellencies and perfections the Monuments of prosperous and rich Grace and Instruments of special Service For these ends God Created and Redeemed us and in respect hereto are we to be considered each by other 2. As to our capacity of serving and reaching such Great Ends and Purposes The powers of our Souls the members of our Bodies and all our natural accommodations for these Ends. For we are men and so have faculties and powers naturally capable of and formed to a propenseness and appetite to the Supream Good and thereupon receptive of all the attractive influences of the first cause and were it not for our moral depravations and Corruptions and alienations of heart herefrom which we have sinfully contracted espoused and indulged considering Divine Discoveries Assistances and Encouragements procured for us and dispensed to us by Jesus Christ what hinders our return to God and unto those reciprocations of Endearments betwixt him and us to which by our rational Frame and Constitution we are so admirably suited Are we not capable of discerning what may excite enflame preserve and regulate our love and of the fixing and managing it accordingly We are capable of judgment choice and motion and reposes right objects being set before us in their apt illustrations and addresses So that we cannot speak to bruits and stones as we may do to men For nothing but sinful ignorance prejudice negligence and malignity or sad delusions and mistakes through inconsiderateness and unreasonable avocations and diversions can prevent the return of our first love and all these things may be redrest by our judicious well advised and warm discourses about these things duly attended to impartially considered and prudently and pertinently applied unto our selves Thus mistakes may be Rectified known Truths and Notions actuated Hearts affected Lives reformed and Love restored to its regular Fervours and Productions of Good works He that is capable of knowing what he is to do and why and of doing and being what most concerns and best becomes him deserves to be accordingly considered by us 3. As to our obligations and advantages as we are Creatures Subjects Favourites As we are redeemed to God by Christ so our obligations to the returns of Gratitude should be considered by us ii Cor. v. 14 15. We are Christs and Gods by him and so he must be glorified in the whole man i Cor. vi 20. And all the vast advantages of our Gospel day as they are talents and encouraging advantages put into our hands must be considered by us too and our selves and one another as Steward 's entrusted and accountable ii Pet. i. 3 4. i 4.11 So that we must regard each other as under ties and bonds to God and Christ and as greatly helped and furnished to be provoked thus if well considered and managed accordingly 4. As to our Spirits and behaviour according to our Christian Claims and Helps Relations Obligations and Professions Whether we foot it right or not Gal. ii 14. Whether professours value their Souls to their just worth or not in keeping them intent upon their great concern whether their furniture discipline temper and behaviour bear evidently their fit and full proportion hereunto How Gospel transforming and reforming work goes on with them Whether the Christian name and interest the Gospel and its Patron be credited and promoted or disgraced and hindred by us and whether our proficiency and improvements be answerable indeed to our advantages obligations and professions 5. Wherein our helps and hopefulness or our dangers mainly lye their Gifts and Graces and Encouragements and Advantages on the one hand Their Constitutions Customs Callings Company Temptations and secular Concerns and Hindrances on the other hand are all to be considered 2. The Act or Duty towards these Objects 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let us Consider 1. Bend your minds to observation of one another that ye may understand how matters are with one another concern your selves about the right knowledge of the principles tempers actions circumstances and concerns of persons so far as your duty towards them calls you to it For this injunction doth not countenance what we find elsewhere forbidden ii Thes iii. 11 12. i Tim. v. 13. i Pet. iv 15. So far as you may do or get Good prevent redress or allay evil under such circumstances relations and advantages as may notify that God then calls you to it and so encourages your expectations and endeavours of doing Good or preventing the sin and mischief which God would have prevented by you So far may others be inspected enquired after and observed by you But when it is and evidently appears to be to
The Vsefulness of the worshipping Assemblies of Saints and Christians to this great and needful provocation must quicken us unto and keep us in these Courts of God Psal .xcii. 13. 15. Exod. xx 24. There God commands the blessing even Life for evermore Psal cxxxiii 3. There you have the openings of the Gospel Teasury there are these golden Candlesticks which bear the burning shining Tapers whose light and heat diffuse themselves through all within their reach who are receptive of them The Gifts and Graces the Affections and Experiences of Gospel Ministers are in their Communicative Exercises there God the Father sets and keeps his Heart and Eye there the Lord Redeemer walks by and amongst his Commissionated Officers and Representatives dispensing warmth and vigour through their Ministry to Hearts presented to him at his Altar There doth the Holy Spirit fill Heads with Knowledge Hearts with Grace and all our Faculties and Christian Principles with Vigour There Mysteries are unfolded Precepts explained and enforced Promises fulfilled in Soul improvements Incense is offered up in golden Censers and foederal concernments are solemnly transacted and confirmed in open Court And there through the Angel of the Covenant his moving upon the Waters of the Sanctuary are Soul distempers and Consumptions healed And there you are informed acquainted with and confirmed in what may instruct you in and encourage you unto this Provocation to Love and to good works And there Prayer gets fuel and gives vent to Love drawing forth all the Energies of Souls and Thoughts towards God And thus fervent Prayers and love quickning returns thereto are like the Angels of God ascending and descending from and upon the Heart while the deserters hereof grow cold thereto and starve their Love and practical Godliness thereby All there is known obtained and exercised There you may fill your Heads with Knowledge your Hearts with Grace your Mouths with Arguments your Lives with Fruitfulness your Consciences with Consolations and your whole selves with those experiences of Divine regards to Soul concerns which may inflame your Hearts with Love to God and Christ to Holiness and Heaven and fit you both to kindle and increase this holy flame both in your selves and in each other And indeed what greater advantages can be derived into our Souls to make our Altars burn than what our Christian Assemblies duly managed will entertain us with What understanding do the Inspirations of the Almighty here afford Such curious Explications of the Name and Counsels of your God Such large and full accounts of all the endearing Grace of Christ Such Critical dissections and anatomizings of the state of Souls Such over-shâ—dowings of the Spirit of God Such clear and full descriptions and accounts of the Divine Life and Nature in all their Strength and Glory How are desires invigorated and twisted to make them more effectual to our selves and others This Sanctuary Love is like the best wine going down sweetly and causing the Lips even of those that are asleep to speak Keep then to these Assemblies that you may duly know whom what how and why to Love and how to suit your selves in spirit speech and practice towards God your selves and towards each other unto this generous and noble Principle Thus will you grow exceedingly both in the knowledge and savour of what is most considerable and most deservingly affecting both as to Things and Persons for Christianity is contrived for Love and Godliness in all its Doctrines Laws and Ordinances and in assemblies you have the Explications and Enforcements of those Truths which will compleat the Man of God as to his Principles Disposition and Behaviour Here you may know your most holy Faith as to it's matter evidences and designs upon you and it 's improvableness by you to it 's determined and declared ends and services That Faith which is to illuminate your Eyes to exercise your thoughts to fix your holy purposes to form and cherish expectations to raise desires to embolden prayer to fire your affections and regulate them as to their Objects Ends and Measures and Expressions And when you there attend you are in the way of Blessings How oft and evidently are Divine Truths there sensibly sharpened and succeeded by the God of Truth Rom. i. 16. Paul and Barnabas so spake as that a Multitude believed of Jews and Gentiles Act. xiv 1. And thither must you and I resort and there attend for Doctrine Exhortation and Instruction in Righteousness The Priests Lips must preserve Knowledge how to speak of God with him and for him there Gospel luminaries are to diffuse their Light and there must we receive it and know what is considerable eligible practicable and encouraging to love and to good Works Why then should we forsake that 3. But let us exhort each other â—or consideration and attendance on Assemblies are for our own and others good for personal and mutual quickenings to Love to good works I know that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and thence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is sometimes used more largely for any pleading of and pressing home a thing pursuant to it's import and design whether by Counsel Comfort or sometimes it imports Consolation or Encouragement This is too well seen and known to need its Scriptural Instances and Quotations That which is here intended I offer in this Paraphrase Draw forth all the Spirit and Strength of what you know and have advisedly considered as to your selves and others of what you have seen and heard in your Assembling of your selves together concerning your obligations to attend them their fitness to advantage you and all the benefit derived or deriveable therefrom Draw forth the vigour of all your received Discoveries Directions Assistances and Inducements to do and be what is required and expected from you professed by you and of eternal Consequence and Concernment to you Plead this throughly with your selves and one another that so your Christian love be not extinguisht or abated but wrought and kept up to its genuine and just pitch of fervour and effectual Operations and Eruptions in Good works Drive home upon your selves by deep and serious thoughts and pertinent applications of them to your selves and warm debates about them with your selves the things which God hath manifested and proposed to you as credible acceptable and practically Improveable He that expects this flame upon his heart must be a thoughtful man severely contemplative and sollicitous about the things of the Kingdom of God and the Name and Interest and Servants of the Lord Redeemer How can that man be warm and active or zealous of Good works whose knowledge is not actuated by self-awakening Meditations and whose furniture Principles and Spirit are commonly neglected by himself What! are divine Truths Laws Promises and Institutions only to be with us or in us as empty Speculations or thin Notions Have Divine Revelations and Endearings no Errand to our Hearts and Consciences and no business there and no practical Vigours to
apprehension of the approaching day Now seeing the Text is Hortatory Directive and Encouraging hereto and hath as such been treated on accordingly I will wave all further application and only give you the Directions and Prescriptions for the curing of a luke-warm temper 1. Love-quenching and abating principles Interests and Practices are to be exploded and avoided If once you entertain hard thoughts of God as if he were morose and captious a barren Wilderness or Land of darkness and only careful to ruine and distress his creatures upon the meer accounts of Soveraignty and the Prerogative of Dominion tho a poor penitent lye prostrate at his feet for mercy in tears and shame and self abhorrence or in a readiness to do so were there but any hopes of merciful acceptance If you shall represent him to your selves as if he were so tenacious of revengeful purposes and of advantages put into his hands for the full executions of such deserved revenges through former crimes provoking thereunto Alas how can you think upon him or address your selves to him with hope and pleasure We find grace represented to us as Gods Image in his creatures we find that holiness in creatures makes them the sweetest of all persons in their dispositions and deportments and readiest to be charitable and abundant in benign and alluring and obliging remissions constructions and dispensations Such are most backward to make rigid interpretations and constructions of mens miscarriages and neglects when they arise from rather infirmity than malignity and from ignorance and surprize than from contrivance or perverse resolution They hate above all men every thing that savours of stinginess and of a sordid Spirit and they like not to retain revengeful purposes to ruin or disturb those criminals who seriously and pathetically implore their pardon and beg admission to their now much valued favour And doth grace make such persons better than their maker and is that Gods Image in them which hath nothing in God correspondent herewith Or can we think that the Image can exceed its Grand Exemplar Such black and dismal thoughts of God can never kindle love in us to him Did I not know and think that God is love how could I seek to him in hope and love him For my part I verily believe God sent his Son into the world to convince us of his love and goodness and to invite us to himself under the power of this alluring principle of Truth That God loves us dearly and that he will reject no sinner whose heart is touched with such love to him as makes it restless and uneasie in it self till it obtain his pardon image fellowship and presence See Heb. xi 6. And as for Jesus Christ the liveliest Image and the truest and most glorious Mirrour of the Invisible God that ever any Eye beheld or can behold How sweet indulgent humble gracious and endearing was he unto all and how ready to receive all that come to God through him O! do not then mistake his grace design or temper Love cannot live and do its work where Christ is not duly represented in his lovely Excellencies And yet on the other hand represent not God below himself as fond in his respects partial in his dealings slack and easie in his proceedings apt to favour us tho' neglected by us as one ready to indulge us in our sins and to connive and wink at our miscarriages or one that we may trifle with and fondly think that we can at any time procure his favour and extinguish or evade his anger and displeasure by some trifling applications to him or flattering Elogies of his name upon the knee or a copious verbose declaiming against our sins and selves in our stated or occasional addressings of our selves to him when pangs of Death horrours of Conscience or the tasts and expectations of his Wrath make us uneasie to our selves as if by complements and petty observances of God in lower matters we could turn and toss a ductile nature into any aspect shape or posture that may serve our private turns and please our arrogant and presumptuous humours and court God to strip himself of all the glories of his Name and Throne and prostitute his Interest and Honour Laws and Majesty unto the fond conceits of fools and sinners for this is blasphemy and presumption to the height both fit and sure to be punisht by the Judge Could God be Love or lovely in the eyes of sober and discerning men were he thus facile so as to be infuenced by the conceits and humours of sinners in their dotages He that would not signifie one thought of mercy to our revolted Parents before he had represented himself most awful in his Judiciary Process and that so guarded both his Laws and Throne with awful Majesty and Sanctions and that exacted so severe a satisfaction from his Son he surely neither will nor can debase himself and tempt his creatures by unfit relaxations of his Laws and Courses to think him despicable even by such unfit deportments of himself towards them That fool which takes Gods mercies and indulgencies to be at his commands so as to sin and pray and that makes such easie pardons and redresses the continual encouragements of sinful practices and hopes that fool I say again that is of this perswasion and deportment is no way likely to be cured of his luke-warm temper Deut. xxix 19 20. For so easie pardons and redresses would evidently and effectually mortifie the Spirit and defeat the glorious designs of Divine Government amongst men See Heb. xii 25-28 29. x. 26-31 Rom. ii 6-10 Gal. vi 7-9 i Sam. ii 2 3-29 30 ii Chron. xv 2. And if you take your Christianity to be a state of drudgery and disconsolateness if you degenerate into worldliness luxury or voluptuousness as in John ii 15-17 James iv 4. If you grow so tender of your selves as to be swayed more by what affects the outward than the inward man If you give way to partiality to jealousies heats and ferments to a censorious jealous and detracting Spirit or to the Spirit of domination and division or if you form your principles interests and actions according to the measures and concerns of this vain transient world and of the animal life This malady will prove incurable 2. Heart-warming objects are to be contemplated Such as the glories of Gods name The Grandeurs of his Majesty and Throne the Accuracies of his Government in all its Constitutions and administrations The Stores and Treasures of his Goodness with all their provident and yet generous distributions unto all his creatures the riches of his grace in his kindness to us by Jesus Christ the exhibition of his Son and all the amiable excellencies and endearing aspects and addresses made to us by him the life that is in Christ the grace and promises that are given us by him so great and precious all the fellowship and intimacies that we are hereby called and admitted to Gospel Treasures
necessary to our Common Weale Let us all cry Turn us O Lord and we shall or will be turned Frame your doings as men determined to turn unto the Lord. Set heartily to it with all your might for it 's hard work delay it not a moment Oh God bow our wills that the Land may jointly answer Lo we come unto thee Jer. 3.22 for thou art the Lord our God Can you pretend wherein shall we return Alas Mal. 3.7 wherein have we not departed from him All in a manner is out of frame every thing every person considerably needs amendment Let us all Unite in this and God will bless us with Light and Love for Union in other things This work needs all our hands let us make up that wherein others will be defective all striving to begin and outdo each other Oh that all emulation and strife were reduced to this which of us shall first and most Reform 3. If the generality will not be perswaded to repent of National Sins let not particular persons neglect it I am loath to descend so low yet this is better than none Who knows how many may be convinced by the Repentance of a few At least you may preserve your selves Ez. 9.4 6. and view the publick Calamity with more composure than other Men as having done your utmost to prevent them We know not but God may delay Judgments for the sake of a few remarkable Penitents though we may not commonly expect it Shall there be so great cause and none set themselves to it Hath God none among us that regard his loudest Calls Can there be so little Love to his Name and Honour in England that even a few will not afflict their Souls that he is so provoked that a few will not testifie against this common Apostacy Poor Nation that hast none that love thy wellfare that all will lose showers of Mercy for thee rather than sow in Righteousness Ezek. 22.30 Oh that some would resolve this day Let not God say I fought for a man but I found none Repent of your Personal Sins otherwise how can you repent of National Sins Examine thy self how far thou art infected with the National Provocations What hast thou contributed thereto Charge thy Soul therewith Say the measure is so much the fuller for my sake Bewail thy share mourn over the faults of others thou mayest grieve for what thou canst not reform but be sure to reform thy self to thy utmost reform thy Family yea set thy self to bring all thou art in thy place capable to amendment Do not judge of faults by the common Opinion let not the Example of others be thy Standard but set the Divine Rule before thee and review things thereby Resolve to stem the Tide and to judge and act in the face of it What though the multitude be against thee what though Bigots rail what though many Professors yea Men of thy own Party condemn thee All is nothing whiles God will accept and approve thee A Man must be singular that will reform himself in a degenerate Age he must be resolved that will attempt to reform others 2. Let us enquire whether we may expect National Mercies from our present frame and state I believe God will not forsake us but in time he will do us good But the Enquiry is meant thus Whether Mercy will be immediately enjoyed is the wrath of God turned away and will his progress in a way of Judgments be stopped Can we reasonably conclude though the Sword hath been furbished it shall not destroy Our Warfare is accomplished the Clouds are past the bitterness of Death is over Dare I say rejoyce O Land in the favour of a reconciled God For good only good shall presently be unto thee I shall by way of Objections give you what is matter of Hopes and in the Answer to those Objections give you the ground of my Fears and in the end declare my Thoughts Object 1. Are there not some Testimonies of National Repentance from whence we may hope Mercy is towards us As 1. Penal Laws against the Worship of God are as good as disannulled and Persecution is at a stop Answ 1. I wish the general remains of Malignity argue not a sorrow for that Liberty 2. I find most of them that were guilty of Persecution instead of repenting of it do justifie it as a just Prosecution though it was an Usurpation of the Rights of People as Men and as Christians 3. Are the Sacrament Test and Act of Uniformity removed 2. We had a publick Fast-day kept with outward Solemnity Answ I 'll judge of no Mans Heart yet I cannot but observe 1. The most polluting Sins of the Land were not solemnly owned much less bewailed Where was a publick acknowledgment of the sinful Silencing Two Thousand Ministers because they durst not profane their Office and plainly Lye and Perjure themselves I might name many such other sins alas general Confessions avail little 2. What publick Reformation in Life and Manners appears since that day What fewer Oaths Profaneness is no way abated Men are returned with the Dog to the vomit Now Fastings without amendment are but a mockery with God and profit not a people 3. Men are so far from Repentance that they cannot endure to be reproved for their sins They say you irritate if you mention their offences They like to hear others accused but abhor the least hint against their own faults Tell the imposer on the Church that uninstituted terms of Communion are sinful and rage is awakened Perswade the bitter Spirit to be Peaceable and his Tongue is soon envenomed and you shall be railed on as the great disturber Object 2. But a great part of the Land is innocent of some of the most notorious Crimes the sober Persons are many who share not in the Profaneness of the Land The persecuted and ejected cannot be guilty of the oppressions they were under and many of the Church of England never agreed thereto Answ 1. How little do such truly mourn for those sins of other Men How much more common is it to hear the better sort scoff and laugh at Profaneness than bewail it Persecutors are more railed at than mourned for By this we become guilty 2. Are not there iniquities with the soberer part of the Nation impenitently continued in to this day Do we see backslidings healed how much more Mortified Heavenly Circumspect Charitable or Fruitful are the hopefullest persons in the Land by all our Calls Yea our Complaints though so general little tend to alter us Isa 64.6 7. Our Righteousness is as filthy rags we fade as a leaf Object 3. But if we consider the Sovereign dealings of God with us may not we expect Mercy though we see not Repentance As 1. God hath lately wrought a great Deliverance when we were on the brink of ruin and that by a series of Miracles when we were as unworthy as we are now Answ
to think that I came not from thee who art the Mirrour of Wisdom and Love He imployed all his Sacred Breath to pluck men out of the power of the Devil the World and the Flesh to promote Faith Repentance and Holiness and to guide our feet into the way of peace And accordingly the Apostles tell us That the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost Let not us therefore dishonour our Redeemer let us not calculate a new Gospel let us not lay too great a stress on small matters let us not provoke men to think that our great Master came to tithe mint anyse and cummin who came about far other work and taught us far greater matters It is recorded of Alexander Severus an Heathen Emperour that seeing two Christians contending he forbad them to assume the name of Christians upon them for that by their quarrelling they disgraced their Master How many now by this Rule would be interdicted that worthy Name 4. These Uncharitable Contentions do grieve the Holy Spirit of God He descended like a Dove and cannot brook the gall of bitterness When therefore the Apostle had dehorted the Ephesians c. 4.30 from grieving the Holy Spirit of God he adds in the next verse Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil-speaking be put away from you with all malice and be ye kind one to another tender-hearted c. This sweet Dove will never lodge in a Vultures nest You heard the fruits of the Spirit are love joy peace c. And whatsoever pretences any may make to the Spirit if they do not verifie them by a meek loving and charitable behaviour to others they abuse the Holy Spirit and deceive others For as nothing is more grateful to this good Spirit than Love and Peace so nothing more distastfull than Wrath and Contention 5. These Contentions do stir up much Corruption both in the Aggressour and the Defendant There is a great deal of folly in the wisest and best of men and this either lurks in the habit or is produc'd into Act more or less as there is greater or lesser temptation Sin dwells in our Natures as the mud in the bottom of a glass of water when it is shaken it appears and stains the whole glass There is a world of pride anger envy and revenge in mens hearts and these Contentions draw them forth strengthen them and make them rampant Prov. 26.21 As Coals to burning Coals and wood to fire so is a contentious man to kindle strife So that the Wise Man concludes That he loveth transgression that loveth strife Prov. 19.19 And hereupon some have made observations upon the deaths of Bishop Ridley and Bishop Hooper that they suffered with more torture than others and that because of their Contentions together before 6. They do greatly hinder the Conversion of the Vngodly and the progress in Holiness of the Godly Whereas the great work of God's Ministers should be to instruct the ignorant to convince and reform the profane to build up God's Children in their Faith and Holiness this should be their study in private this their business in publick Now the ignorant and ungodly are left quiet in their sins the Sober and Pious are little improv'd in their Christian course and mens Talents of Time Parts and Pains are laid out in dry and unprofitable Controversies And then private persons who should imploy their converse together to their mutual edification they are perpetually irritating one another by these fruitless Contentions .. I have heard of a Monster born in Scotland in the Reign of James the Fourth with two Heads and one Body which two heads would be still arguing and knocking each other in eager disputes too fit an Emblem of this disputing Age But we that have but one Blessed Head yet the members are alwayes contending among themselves Instead of exhorting we are censuring instead of reproving we are reproaching instead of provoking to Love and good works we provoke one another to wrath and discontent And then for the devout use of Prayer doubtless these wrathfull Contentions must needs greatly disturb it For if Husband and Wife should maintain a constant amity that their Prayers be not hindred 1 Pet. 3.7 a continual contesting with our Brethren must greatly clog and damp them Whereupon Cyprian citing those words of our Saviour When two agree on Earth to ask c. hath this Observation Plus impetrari potest paucorum concordi prece quam discordi oratione multorum A few in concord shall obtain more than many in discord 7. These Contentions in Religion tempt men to be Atheists When they read and hear such unmercifull rage in Christians one against another and that they who profess agreement in nineteen things are ready to anathemize one another about the twentieth what a stumbling-block must it needs be unto weak and unresolved persons and tempt them to throw aside all Religion So Optatus observed of old in the like Case Vos dicitis Licet nos dicimus Non licet Inter licet vestrum non licet nostrum nâ—t ant animae populorum I say this tempts men but it is only a temptation For who that hath a present Journey to go for his Life will sullenly forbear to set forward because all his Friends in the Town are not agreed what a Clock it is at his setting out Every Man is bound upon peril of everlasting damnation to win Christ and be found in him to work out his own Salvation and to set about it without delay Now what a weak thing is it for any man to refuse or neglect this necessary work because some men are not agreed about a Gesture or a Ceremony Such fools shall dye in their sin but their blood shall be required at their hands who have been a scandal to them 8. These biting and devouring Contentions are Vncivil Inhumane and barbarous It hath been always reckoned for good Breeding not to be confident and peremptory in asserting any thing whereof any in the Company modestly doubts And on the other side if any cannot comply with the Sentiments of another to enter his dissent with all possible respect and without any reflexion or provocation We account it barbarous rudeness in discoursing yea or in discussing any point to signifie in civil company the least provoking gesture much more to fall into a rage or to express revenge And yet if you hear the Harangues and read the printed discourses of some Gentlemen you would conclude that they have but a small pittance either of good humour or of ingenious Education Man is a rational Creature and is not born with Teeth nor form'd with Sting or with Horns neither is he teachable or ductile by such boisterous methods When Love indites the reproof when that accompanies the argument it penetrates and prevails Dilige dic quod vis But there not only were Psal 52.2 but yet there are
tongues that devise mischief like a sharp Razour working deceitfully Ver. 4. Thou lovest all devouring words O thou deceitfull Tongue I should somewhat suspect their Divinity whose Ethicks are no better Thus you see the manifold Sinfulness and base Vileness of this sin truly but imperfectly described And now 2. Consider the Certainty and Sadness of the Danger You were assured of the Certainty of Ruine from these Contentions in the fourth Proposition that it is in vain to expect safety to be exempted from the calamity threatned Do but weigh this very Scripture and that determination of our Saviour Matth. 12. and you will conclude That nothing but a miraculous interposition of God's Power and Mercy can prevent it As when a Disease is in its nature and degree mortal the Physician adviseth the Man to settle his Conscience and Estate for his danger is imminent so when we see that Charity broken which is the Girdle that binds a Nation together when we see the black and blew spots of Rancour and Revenge on the faces and looks and in the words and carriage of so many it sufficiently proclaims our danger that if we escape more sudden and violent destruction yet we are sure of a Consumption Take heed ye be not consumed one of other And though you may be dead in your own Persons before this denunciation take effect yet you will so far as guilty herein intail ruine upon the Generation to come And if you would but consider that you must be sick and dye your selves at which time in all likelihood you will have different apprehensions of these controversies when Conscience shews you the History of your sinfull Life and discovers an Holy God before whom you must immediately appear and the strict account which you must presently give and the Ocean of Eternity which is just before you then you 'l see that these other points were but of small moment in comparison and not worth that heat and vigour you spent upon them And as the Danger signified by this word Consumed is sure so it is very sad and great For 1. It includes the Ruine of our outward Comforts We know not when we are well To have Houses Plenty Liberty Peace and Quiet are to be reputed for very great mercies but these fewds and quarrels tend to dispossess you of them Our sad Experience shews us how our Body politick languisheth by reason of the uncharitable Contentions of the Members thereof What Decay of Trade what breaking of Trades-men what sinking of the Rents of Land and what a general Consumption invades us The Judgments of God are already as a mouth to us well if they break not forth as a Lion upon us as was once threatned and fulfilled upon Ephraim Hos 12.14 We are rendred by our Contentions suspitious of one anothers Integrity doubtfull of one anothers Ability and some have proceeded to that height of Animosity as to forbear all dealing and commerce with those of an opposite Party Whither must this tend where must this end but in Desolation If the blood do not circulate the whole body will suffer for it and if but a part be miserable the whole cannot be happy And if all your present Adversaries were ruin'd and gone yet consider that the Benjamites were all save six hundred destroyed and that for maintaining a bad Cause and the Men of Israel had sworn in their fury that none of them would give his Daughter to Wife to any of them yet when their hot blood was cooled they lamented and said There is one Tribe cut off from Israel this day and then they used all their wits and policy to restore that Tribe again We shall be worse than Jews if we have not such like Resentments 2. It threatens the Ruine of our Religion the only true and safe Religion on Earth which should be dearer to every man than his Life Upon the occasion of such Distempers in his time Greg. Nazianzen cried out I fear Antichrist will come upon us And they drew from him that pathetical expression whereby he wisht that he might with Jonah be thrown into the Sea if thereby the tempests then in the Church might be calmed Our common Enemies are Powerfull Cunning and Malicious and they gape for our destruction This Island is the great shelter and bulwark of the Protestant Religion what madness then seizeth us to destroy our selves Who hath bewitched us Every wise woman buildeth her house but the foolish plucketh it down with her own hands Prov. 14.1 Would to God that we had but the honest policy of Aristides and Themistocles who though they were often jarring yet being imploy'd abroad together about their Countreys affairs made an agreement to leave their quarrels upon the Mountains which they were then travelling over till the common business was dispatcht which they wenâ— about and then agreed afterwards to examine them Let us be so wise and charitable as to let fall our contests against one another till our common Profession be out of imminent danger and then we may with more leisure and safety adjust our differences How shall we bite our Nails yea our very Tongues for indignation if we shall first exasperate and then weaken one another to that degree that the cruel Enemies of both shall have made an easie conquest of us It is no new thing for Truth like Christ John 5.13 to slip away in the throng of mens Contentions 3. This Destruction inferrs the Ruine of our Posterity They are imbark'd with us in the same Vessel and are in a fair likelihood to be sunk with us And this must greatly affect any considering person That your sinfulness should not only provoke God to deliver his Ark into his Enemies hands and deprive you of the Gospel but also that your Children and Posterity who have been faultless herein should be left to live in Egyptian darkness Inherit your Estates and the Curse that is intail'd upon them We have been contending about the Shadow of Religion and they must fuâ—â—er for the Substance of it The Providence of God hath several times most expresly called us to Unity to Charity and to Concord In the Year 1660. our general Union in Civils and our general Flexibleness to a mutual agreement in Religious matters was a plain direction of Providence to us to bury our debate and strife and to put up the Temporal and Spiritual Sword together But we have been biting and devouring one another ever since now almost thirty years When it pleased God to contend from Heaven with us by the Plague and Fire and to permit men to contend with us by Warr it was a sufficient Item to us to make our Peace with God and to be at peace among our selves but we have been biting and devouring one another for all that In the Year 1678 when there appeared deep and strong designs and endeavours to subvert Religion and to bury both Parties in the same grave Divine Providence did thereby
injoyns you to love your Enemies and it is but a sorry expression of this Love to bite and devour one another for unnecessary matters It were better as One sayes that Caesar should break all Pollio's curious Glasses than they should break the bond of Charity or that the breach of them should be the occasion of so much inhumanity of Brethren one against another Let Charity therefore guide the Magistrate in making and executing Civil Laws let Charity accompany Christ's Ministers in their Studies Pulpits and Behaviour to their People Let Charity be maintained by all the Laity towards one another Then shall we have that Vnity Peace and Concorâ—â— which we solemnly pray for this Dove will bring back the Olive-branch into the Ark of the Church 7. Avoid Extreams Do not labour to screw up one another to the utmost It is observed that every Peace that is concluded upon rigorous or disadvantageous terms endures but a while the aggrieved party will take the first opportunity of relief as an over-rented Tenant to throw up his Lease Conscience must be wary but it would be easie in matters of Religion and therefore should be directed but may not indeed cannot be forced contrary to it's Sentiments When a late French King had earnestly solicited a great States-man that was retiring from the Court to leave with him some of his most Politick Observations and to that end had lockt him up in his Closset only with Pen Ink and Paper It is said that he only took several sheets of Paper and wrote in the top of the sheet Modus in the middle Modus and in the bottom again Moduâ— advertising his Master thereby that the summ of all Prudence in Government was to observe a Mean in his Administrations Indeed if one Party have all the Truth on their side it is most fit the others should yield themselves to be their Prisoners But if that be not evident as it is scarce probable it is most equal that each do move toward the other as far as they can or else they will never come together If the things in question be any way necessary God forbid that ye should refuse them if they be not God forbid that ye should urge them It was King James his â—ence to Cardinal Peron Quare existimat ejus Majestas nullam ad incundam concordiam breviorem viam sore quam si diligenter separentur necessaria à non necessariis ut de necessariis conveniat omnis opera insumatur in non necessariis libertati Christiana locus detur That is The next way to Concord is to distinguish between things that are necessary and to endeavour a full Agreement in those and things that are not necessary and to allow a Christian Liberty in these Not that in disswading you from extreams I would commend Lukewarmness or halting in the course that men have chosen but that they so govern their Resolution by Wisdom and Charity that they may not unnecessarily provoke grieve or exasperate others who perhaps have as sound hearts if not as clear heads as themselves It was a Great and a Wise Mans Motto Mediocria firma and a true Proverb among the Vulgar Too-too will break in two 8. Mind every one his own business The Apostle gives this Rule 1 Thes 4.11 That ye study to be quiet and to do your own business as we have commanded you It is not a thing Arbitrary but Commanded And that upon good Reason for when men want imployment or have Imployments too mean for their spirits or having good Callings do neglect them they are fit Instruments to stir up Contention these permit their Tongues to walk through the Earth and will exercise themselves in things too high for them these collect and disperse all the invidious Narrations they can meet with and make no Conscience of wounding every man's Reputation that is on the other side By all which they greatly contribute to the heightning and exasperating the Differences that are among us and in short they are the seventh sort of People that are abomination to the Lord namely such as sow Discord among brethren Prov. 6.19 If therefore men would mind first and chiefly the business of their own Souls and exercise themselves in this to have alwayes a Conscience void of offence towards God and towards men if they would keep their own Vineyards weed up those tares which spring up in their own Hearts and stir up the Graces of God's Holy Spirit in them and then travel in birth with earnest endeavours for the Conversion and Salvation of their own poor Children and Servants and then be diligent in their temporal Callings they would have neither list nor leisure to wander about from house to house from Ale-house to Tavern from Tavern to Coffee-house as they do and are not only idle but busie-bodies speaking things they ought not like those Women which are reproved 1 Tim. 5.13 Every Man hath his particular Post and Province to attend and I grant besides his Domestick Concerns he is bound in Conscience to promote the good of the Town Parish City and Nation whereunto he belongs and in consequence thereto wisely and resolutely to asseâ— and preserve all the Priviledges belonging to any of them and conscionably to discharge the respective Duties incumbent upon him but this intitles no private Person to be correcting their Governours instructing their â—â—nisters turning the World upside down disquieting themselves and others and leaving bad impressions upon those they converse withall whereas our great business should be to have the Salt of Grace and Truth in our selves and to have and further peace with one another 9. Observe that good Old Rule Of doing to others as you would be done to You would have others to bear with you and why will not you bear with others you would have the best sense put upon your words actions and carriages and why will not you put the best sense on their words actions and carriages you would not be imposed on censur'd reproach'd back-bitten slander'd no more should you impose upon others or censure them or reproach or back-bite or slander them I may say to you as Chrysostom on that Mat. 7.12 Let thy own Will here be thy Law Let not this Rule which was reverenc'd by Heathens be trampled on by Christians It 's true Error cannot reasonably expect the same regard from Truth as the Truth may from Error yet erroneous Persons whose errors are not mortal should no more be devoured by the servants of Truth than those who have right on their side by those that are in the wrong Those who have not otherwise forfeited the repute of sobriety piety and honesty save only that they cannot be of your mind let them still be so esteemed and treated as you your selves desire to be esteemed and treated if any contrary Party should ever have Wind and Sun with them Remember how this melted Sesostris a Pagan into Compassion when he observed one of