Providences his is Praise and Glory surely the wrath of Man shall praise thee First The Rage of the Wicked against the People of God is very great This is the very Nature and Disposition of Wicked Men as the Psalmist tells us Psal. 37. 12. The Wicked plotteth against the Iust and gnasheth upon him with his Teeth Nay so great is their Malice that the Holy Ghost in Scripture compares them to Fire and VVater to Briars and Thorns to Lions Bulls Dogs Vnicorns VVolves and the like You 'l find this Truth also confirmed by a thousand Examples How did Cain hate his Brother Abel What wrath did boil in Esau against Iacob How cruelly were the Israelites treated by the Egyptians I should be too prodigal of the time should I reckon up all those Examples of Holy Writ which are recorded for this purpose I shall therefore content my self at present with the Example of Sennacherib to which the Text as you hear alludes Now how did this Bloody Emperor swell with Rage how full was his Heart of Wrath The Prophet Esay speaking of this proud Assyrian Chap. 10. 7. tells us that it was in his Heart to destroy and cut off Nations not a few And what the Prophet avers of him in the general is confirmed more particularly of him by Berosus an Antient Historian which has left this Character of him Sennacherib qui apud Assyrios regnabat omnem Asiam Egyptum Bello infestabat Sennacherib saith he King of the Assyrians infested all Asia and Egypt with War But tho' other Nations felt the weight of his Wrath yet none more than the People of God For the Scripture tells us that he waged War three years together with the King of Israel whom he took at last and carried him with the ten Tribes into the Land of Captivity Eight years after this his Rage brake forth against good Hezekiah for we read 2 Kings 18. That he came up and seized into his Hands all the frontier Cities of Iudah Whilst he was at Lacish one of the frontier Cities Hezekiah sent Ambassadors and purchased an Ignominious Peace at a very dear rate for Hezekiah was forc't to give him all the Silver that was found in the House of God and in the Treasures of the Kings House nay all the Gold that was upon the Doors and upon the Pillars of the Temple And yet all this would not satisfie his Wrath but he presently sends Tartan Rabsaris and Rabshakah with a great Host against Ierusalem and with words of Blasphemy against God himself Nay Rabshakah threatens the People that they should be forced to eat their own Dung and drink their own Piss If all this be not sufficient to shew the Anger the Wrath and the Rage of this proud Assyrian I shall add one instance of it more out of the Book of Tobit where we find that after the slaughter which the Angel made in Sennacheribs Army he was forced to return home and dwell at his great City Niniveh his Fury which was stopt at Ierusalem brake forth against the poor Iews the Ten Tribes which were now Captive at Niniveh and therefore Tobit tells us Chap. 1. 18. That when King Sennacherib slew any of the Iews after he was fled from Judea I buried them privily for saith he in his wrath he killed many Here was the remainder of his Wrath here was that which made it Rages in the plural number But even this remainder of Wrath did God restrain for this wicked King was soon after killed by his own Sons in the House of Nisroth his God as I shall shew you afterwards And as we have seen Anger and Wrath in the Text so may we see much more in the Day and find the Rages of the Papists far exceeding all the Rage of these Barbarous Assyrians It is the saying of St. Gregory Dilatat Behemoth Caudam suam in fine Mundi nequius which Latin I cannot English better than in those known words of the Revelations Wo unto the Inhabitants of the Earth and of the Sea for the Devil is come down with greater wrath because he knoweth that his time is short The Malice of Hell never appeared unto the World with more Rage and Fury than since it has been managed by the Church of Rome Who can recount without horror and detestation the Barbarous Murders of the Albigenses the Massacres of France the Wars of Germany and the most inhuman Cruelties of the Spanish Inquisition Here is presented a large Field to range in and a Field of Blood too but the time would fail me to give a tolerable account of that Wrath and Rage which they have exercised from time to time against this poor Church of England since the Reformation We may justly take up the words of the Psalmist and say Many a time have they fought against us from our Youth up yea many a time have they afflicted us from our Youth from the beginning of the Reformation may our Israel say How many were those Funeral Piles which were kindled by them in the reign of Queen Mary How well did Ignatius deserve his name which signifies Fire when several hundreds of Innocent Protestants were sacrificed to the Moloch of their Rage in the space of less than four years Nay our late Historian of the Reformation tells us that like Wild Beasts they preyed upon the very Carkasses and dead Bodies of God's Saints for they digged up the Bones of Wickliff and exercised the utmost of Malice upon the Ashes of Bucer and Fagius If we pass on to the reign of Queen Elizabeth our English Deborah we shall find Anger and Wrath and Rage enough Indeed for well nigh eleven years they were pretty quiet hoping to gain Queen Elizabeth by their politick flatteries But as soon as these failed they erected three Colledges for English Seminary Priests one at Doway another at Rhemes and another at Rome and indeed these proved the Seminaries of all those Treasons and Rebellions which were acted afterwards And now the Popes Bulls begin to roar the Queen is Excommunicated her Subjects absolved from their Oaths and now see their Wrath and Rage in the Rebellion of the unhappy Earls of Northumberland and VVestmorland in the Treasons of the Stanlies in Darbyshire and of 120 Priests and Jesuits such as Sanders Brislow Parsons Campian and the like You may see more of this Rage in the Plots of Somervile Mayne Ntlson Tompson and the rest of that Crew and of Payne and his fifty Resolutes hired by the Pope to murder the Queen What need I speak of Throgmorton Paget Moody Parry with several others when the Invasion of 88 proclaimed their Wrath and Malice to the full For in their Ships they had great Knives with this Inscription as Bishop Andrews reports Cut English Throats they had also Whips of Cord and Wire which Don Pedro de Valdez one of the Commanders confessed were intended to whip us Hereticks to death and being asked by the Council what they
eternally to follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth and admire the Lustre and Beauty of the Glorified Jesus So we are told 2 Thess. 1. 10. where it is said that when Christ shall come in the Glory of his Power he shall come to be Glorified in his Saints and to be admired in all them that believe 2ly The Godly shall be with Christ in respect of his Divinity In Heaven we shall enjoy the Glorious presence of the Divine Majesty Here we shall see God and which is more we shall see him as he is Here it is that we shall see the King of Heaven in his perfect Beauty and we shall not only see him but we shall also enjoy him and have sweet and ravishing Communion with all the persons of the ever blessed Trinity And this is that which is the very height of bliss To enjoy the Company of Saints and Angels is happiness great beyond our utmost imagination and yet they are but as little drops if compared to that Ocean of Bliss which will flow into the Soul upon the enjoyment of God himself It was a noble saying of Luthers that he had rather be in Hell with God's presence than in Heaven without it And if the presence of God be thus able to convert even Hell it self into Heaven the enjoyment of this will certainly make Heaven become what it is styled in Scripture an Heaven of Heavens This therefore is the Flower of Joy the Quintessence of Comfort the Crown of Blessedness and the very Soul of Heaven For whilst we enjoy God we must needs enjoy all things All that is good did at first flow from him and therefore is more eminently to be found in him as in its Fountain and Original All that can delight our Souls or ravish our Hearts all that is lovely and desirable are here to be found in their greatest perfections Well then might the Psalmist say Psal. 16. 11. In thy Presence there is fulness of Ioy and at thy Right Hand there are Pleasures for evermore But because so Copious so Pleasant and so edifying a Subject does deserve better than to be lightly toucht in the close of a Sermon I shall reserve the fuller handling of it till the next opportunity Thus ye see the top of our Happiness in Heaven consists in our enjoyment of the Blessed Trinity And since these things are so give me leave to exhort you to acquaint your selves with this great Mystery of the Trinity The more we know of the Trinity here the more capable shall we be of enjoying Communion with the Father Son and Holy Ghost hereafter When therefore ye go home meditate on the Lessons and other Portions of Scripture which our Church this day recommends to your serious consideration This is the way to be well acquainted with the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity and prepare your selves for the happy enjoyment of them in Heaven which God grant SERMON IX Luke xxiv 43. To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise I Have formerly made some entrance upon these Words and hope now to finish them The Method I proposed was First To shew you that the Souls of the Godly are immediately admitted to the actual possession of Happiness upon their departure from the Body Secondly The Happiness is exceeding great for it is said here in the Text That they shall be with Christ and they shall be in Paradise First The Souls of the Godly after their departure from the Body are immediately admitted to the actual possession of Happiness There are a sort of Men in the World they call Psycho-pannicletes who hold the Soul after its separation from the Body sleeps all the while till the general Resurrection and consequently is neither in a State of Joy or Misery But how do these men err not knowing the Scripture For here in the Text our Saviour says unto the Thief to day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Paradise is a place of Joy and Bliss and to be with Christ is to be in a state of Happiness Now in such a place and in such a state was this honest Thief to be that very day I named several Texts for the clearing of this Truth but I shall only name one of them at this time which you will find Phil. 1. 21 22. I am in a strait betwixt two saith St. Paul having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better Nevertheless to abide in the Flesh is more needful for you As much as if the Apostle should have said I cannot tell whether I should desire to live longer or die sooner being prest with Arguments on both sides If I consult my own good it is doubtless better for me die and enter presently into Happiness but then if I consult your convenience it were better I should live longer in the World to be serviceable to your Edification Now I think it is evident that if the Apostle could have supposed that his Soul should have slept after Death and not presently have entred into the fruition of Bliss there could have been no strait in the case nor any dispute but that it was better to live still in the World to continue in the Comforts of a good Conscience and of doing good to others rather than to be in a constant Sleep or in a sensless state of Stupidity and Inactivity From these places of Scripture it is most plain that the Souls of good Men do not sleep after Death but are immediately received into Bliss as Lazarus was into Abrahams Bosom and this honest Thief in the Text into Paradise Secondly This Happiness of the Godly is exceeding great for they are said 1st To be with Christ. And 2ly To be in Paradise 1. The Godly after Death are said to be with Christ and how great is the Happiness which lies couched in these words For we cannot be with Christ but we must be with all the Saints and with all the Angels of Heaven nay further we must enjoy the sweet and ravishing Communion of all the Persons of the ever Blessed Trinity So much may be gathered from Heb. 12. 22 23. We shall come saith St. Paul to the General Assembly of the First-Born to the Spirits of Iust Men made Perfect to an innumerable company of Angels to God the Iudge of all and to Iesus the Mediator of the New Covenant From this place it is most plain that we cannot be with Christ but we must be with God with Angels and with the Spirits of Just Men made perfect And sure such Glorious Company cannot but make the Happiness of Paradise exceeding great 1. I shew'd you that we shall in Paradise be with all the Saints in Heaven nor shall we barely be with them but we shall know them If the Three Disciples who were admitted to Christ's Transfiguration knew Moses and Elias whom they had never seen before no doubt but we being fully illuminated and perfectly Glorified in Heaven shall know all
discolour'd Light The Sun shall shroud himself in perpetual Darkness and the rest of the Stars shall suffer themselves to be hid in dismal Obscurity Thus the whole frame of Nature shall be hung with Mourning a little before the approach of the Day of Iudgment Nor is this only a Tradition of the Iews but it is also the Prediction of our Saviour who tells us in the Verse foregoing the Text that in those days the Sun shall be darkened and the Moon shall not give her light and the Stars shall fall from Heaven c. and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man Such Harbingers such Fore-runners as these do abundantly declare the glorious coming of our Saviour to Judgment But 2dly His glorious coming to Judgment will yet farther appear if we consider the transcendant lustre of his own Person How beautiful how glorious is our blessed Saviour whilst he now sits at the right Hand of God He is now cloathed with Light as with a Garment and his Human Nature does far surpass the globe of the Sun for lustre What an astonishing description of his Glory is given Rev. 1. 13 c. In the midst of the seven Candlesticks was one like the Son of Man His Head was white as Wool and his locks were white as the Snow His Eyes were as a flame of Fire and his Countenance was as the Sun shining in his strength Thus glorious is Christ in his own Person Wherever he goes he carries Day along with him and therefore when at the Last Day he shall descend from the right Hand of his Father to that part of the Air where he will fix his Throne he will appear like a large walking Star sparkling with beams of Majesty and dazling Glory And this is called in Scripture Christ's own glory Luke 9. 26. When the Son of Man shall come in his own Glory But 3dly This glory of Christs own Person will receive additional lustre from the glory of his Attendants This Son of Man when he comes to judge the World he will not come alone but he will come attended with Myriads of Saints and Angels St. Iude has Recorded an antient Prophecy of Enoch's to this purpose ver 14 15. Behold saith he the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his Saints to execute Iudgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly of all their ungodly deeds Now how will the attendance of so many glorious Saints add to the lustre of this great Day We are told in Scripture that the Iust shall shine with the brightness of the Sun What an amazing spectacle then will it be to see this Son of Man descend from his Imperial Seat far above all Heavens and coming in the Clouds with a glorious Train of shining Saints all following him with Crowns of Glory on their Heads and the most ravishing Hallelujahs in their Mouths But he will not be attended only with innumerable of his Saints but Myriads of Angels will also augment his Train Hence in Luke 9. 26 it is said that he shall come in his own glory and in his Fathers and of his holy Angels All the Angels of Heaven will deck themselves with all their Ornaments of Light and wait upon our Saviour when he comes to triumph over his Enemies We know these glorious Beings attended on him at his Birth and when he was but in a state of Humiliation and therefore we need not question but they will add to the pomps and triumphs of his glorious Day Well then may our Saviour be said in the Text to come with glory when he shall come attended with all the Host of Heaven with an inumerable Retinue of glorious Saints and Angels But this is not all For 4thly The great Glory of Christ's coming to Judgment will yet farther apear if we consider the glory of his Throne According to the transcendant Majesty of his Person so shall his Throne be even a Throne of Glory Hence is that of St. Matth. Chap. 25. 31. When the Son of Man shall come in his glory and all the Holy Angels with him then shall he sit upon the Throne of his Glory Now what this Throne of Glory will be is fairly hinted in the Text where it is said that the Son of Man will come at the last Day in the Clouds of Heaven Christ will sit on a bright radiant Cloud when he keeps the General Assizes of the last Day This may farther be gathered from the Testimony of the Angels Act. 1. 11. where they tell his Disciples at his Ascention that the same Iesus who was then taken up into Heaven will so come in like manner as they saw him then go up into Heaven Now if you will know how he ascended into Heaven the 9th verse will inform you where it is said that He was taken up and a Cloud received him out of their sight Now as he rode up to Heaven on a radiant Cloud so will he in like manner come riding down from thence No wonder then if we read often in the Revelations of Thunderings and Lightnings coming out of the Throne of Christ For these roaring Meteors are ordinarily discharg'd from some terrible Cloud Christ therefore will sit on a bright shining Cloud when he shall judge the World And indeed this is the general Opinion of the Iews as Learned Men observe For this is a Common saying among them as Raimundus reports If ever the Iews deserve that the Messias should come he shall come gloriously according to the Prophet Daniel i. e. in the Clouds of Heaven Now how will such a bright shining Throne hanging in the Air add to the lustre of of our Saviours appearing For the Heathens when they would describe the glorious Majesty of their Deities were wont to bring them wrapt up in some bright and radiant Cloud Thus Homer represents one of the Gods coming to Diomedes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 With his Shoulders wrapt up in a Cloud And so Virgil represents Iupiter coming to assist Aeneas in a bright shining Cloud Thus both Iews and Gentiles looked upon a bright Cloud as a glorious sign and Character of a Divine Majesty Thus I have shewn you with what Glory and Majesty the Son of Man will appear at the last Day His appearing will be usher'd in with dreadful Harbingers and Fore-runners he will descend with all the glory and lustre of his own person He will come attended with a glorious Retinue of shining Saints and Angels and he will sit upon a Throne of Glory namely a bright and radiant Cloud All this will be sufficient to shew you that the Son of Man at the last Day will come in the Clouds with great Glory before I proceed farther I shall crave leave to draw one or two Inferences from what has been already delivered And First We may learn from hence the place which is appointed for the Judgment of the last Day This place it seems will be the Air for ye hear our
but of the Devils themselves For it is the known saying of our Saviour that Satan's kingdom if it were divided against it self it could not stand Unity indeed is such a blessing as the Church of God will earnestly desire and pray for but yet the Church of Corinth did not cease to be a true Church when it wanted this blessing and was torn in peices by divisions In vain also do some Men make Universality or largeness of extent a mark of the Church for we are told plainly in the Holy Scriptures that Christ's flock is but a little flock and it is at this day so far exceeded in Amplitude both by Mahometans and Pagans that if the whole World were divided into thirty Parts as Breerwood calculates in his Inquiries five only would be found Christians six Mahometans and nineteen Pagans As for Antiquity which some pretend is the mark of the Church tho' we may well allow it to be a great Ornament when attended with truth yet when this is wanting it is but vetustas erronis as St. Cyprian calls it not Age but dotage nothing but error of a longer standing and so harder to be rooted out Some also are fond of a long Series or uninterrupted Succession of Bishops in the Church but as St. Ambrose speaks those who have not St. Peters faith cannot succeed to St. Peters Inheritance and since the Pontificate of Aaron may sometime descend upon a wretched Caiaphas such an antient Pedigree as this may be more honourable in Heraldry than it can be in Religion But of all the marks which some make of the true Church that of Holiness best deserves the name for the Church of Christ should be holy like its Head but when we say the Doctrine of the Apostles and Prophets is the true mark of the Church we do not exclude but include Sanctity for since the Doctrine of the Apostles is as St. Paul defines it a Doctrine according unto Godliness where this Doctrine is preach'd in its greatest purity there substantial holiness free from from all Superstition and Hypocrisie is most likely to be found and if such holiness does not at all times flourish alike the fault is not in the Church but in the Professors of it These are reckoned by some the principle marks and Characters of the true Church but since they are so far from being true marks that without Apostolical Doctrine they signifie little I hope you will allow me to conclude according to the Sense of the holy Scriptures and the Ancient Fathers That the Doctrine of the Apostles and Prophets is the only foundation on which the true Church is built I come now in the next place to shew you That this Doctrine of the Apostles and Prophets upon which the true Church is built is sufficiently delivered to us in the holy Scriptures Whatever Doctrines are contained in these sacred Oracles are own'd by the Church of Rome as well as by us to be the Doctrines of the Apostles and Prophets but they are pleased to charge the holy Scriptures with imperfection pretending that they contain not all things necessary to Salvation but must be aided by their unwritten and uncertain Tradition but sure if there were any such Traditions handed down from the Apostles through the several Ages of the Church to this present Age these Traditions must needs pass thro' the hands of the Ancient Fathers before they could come to ours but the Ancient Fathers knew no such Traditions but every where assert the Perfection and Sufficiency of the holy Scriptures Ireneus calls the holy Scriptures such a Rule of Faith as none must vary from St. Chrysostome says that all things that are necessary are plain and manifest in the holy Scriptures Non credimus quia non legimus we believe no more than we read saith St Ierome I shall only add the Authority of St. Basil who saith it is contrary to Faith and a certain argument of Pride to reject any thing contained in the Scriptures or to impose any thing that is not written there Thus the Fathers knew nothing of any unwritten Traditions that were to cut out the holy Scriptures but they refer us to them as to a perfect Rule And well indeed they might since St. Paul tells us they are able to make us wise unto Salvation and he adds more fully yet if it be possible to do so when he tells us they are able to make the man of God perfect throughly furnished unto every good work Thus great is the perfection of these holy Oracles and thus plain it is that the Doctrine of the Apostles and Prophets on which the true Church is built is fully and sufficiently delivered to us in the holy Scripture I come in the Third place to shew you that the Church of England is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets King Charles the First as he was not unwilling to dye a Martyr for the Church of England so at his death he left her the richest legacy he could even the most honourable Character that could possibly be bestowed on the best of Churches for this advice he gave to his Royal Sons The best profession of Religion I have ever esteemed that of the Church of England I tell you I have tried it and after much search and many disputes I have concluded it to be the best in the World as coming nearest to the word of God for Doctrine and the Primitive example for Government Whosoever does but look into the Articles of our Church will find how well she deserves this most honourable Character For she professes to believe the Holy Scriptures which as I shewed above contains the whole Doctrine of the Apostles and Prophets She believes the same Faith and no other than that which is comprized in the Apostles Creed and explained more largely in those Creeds which are called the Nicene and the Athanasian And as for those Doctrines which are controverted between us and the Church of Rome a little examination will discover which Church is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets And 1. Let us examine that Supremacy which the Church of Rome does challenge for St. Peter If we look into the Holy Scriptures we shall find nothing there that makes St. Peter the chief of the Apostles For if Christ had ever intended St. Peter any such Power over the rest he would doubtless have declared so much when the Apostles were at strife who should be the greatest But so far is our Saviour from declaring St. Peters Supremacy that he chides them for their vain strife and contention yea tells them in plain terms that it should not be among them as in secular Kingdoms and Monarchies where one is chief And if St. Peter had at any time afterwards been made a Prince we cannot imagin St. Paul could have been ignorant of it and yet he tells us 2. Cor. 11. 5. That he was not behind the very chiefest Apostles
they reviled in a horrid manner as appears by the Blasphemies of Rabseca And yet even these stout-hearted Assyrians were spoiled the Army of this great Monarch Sennacherib was miraculously defeated either by the Pestilence as Iosephus reports or by a destroying Angel as the Scripture relates Even Sennacherib himself tho' then the greatest King upon Earth was not able to stand in God's sight when he was angry he came to a fatal end and was slain in the Temple of his God by his own Sons Nay farther yet after his death he had a Statue erected in the Temple of Vulcan with this pious Lesson inscribed on it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is in English Whosoever beholdeth me let him learn Piety And since these things were so our Psalmist had good reason to make this Epiphonema in the Text Thou even thou art to be feared and who may stand in thy Sight when once thou art Angry From the words thus far explained I shall take occasion to shew you First That there is great reason to fear the Lord our God And Secondly The vanity of those reasons which cause most men to shew so little fear of God in their Lives and Conversations First Let me shew you what great reason there is to fear the Lord our God and this will appear at large by these particulars 1st We shall find reason enough to fear the Lord our God if we consider his Sovereign Power over all Creatures which he is able to command at his Pleasure and make them revenge his Quarrel upon impenitent Sinners As God Almighty by the bare speaking of a word created all things both in Heaven and in Earth so he can with as much ease command all Creatures to execute his Wrath and Vengeance upon Sinners It is the observation of the Eloquent Tertullian that God as soon as he had finished the great work of the Creation did then but not till then assume the dreadful Title of Lord of Hosts And it is further observed by others that this Dreadful Title is mentioned in Scripture more than two hundred times the better to deter Sinners from affronting Omnipotent Majesty It seems the Sinner cannot make War with Heaven but he must at the same time arm the whole Creation against himself he cannot fight against the Almighty but he must also fight against all those Creatures which are under the Command of this Lord of Hosts The Heathen Poet is able to tell us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. All the Elements saith he are full fraught with Evils and ready when God pleaseth to pour forth ruin and destruction upon Sinners Sodom and Gomorrah did no sooner kindle their impure flames but the Element of Fire descending in sulphureous Streams made them most dreadful Monuments of Eternal Vengeance As soon as Israel began to murmur against Moses the Element of Air mingled Pestilential Vapours with their Vital Breath and chastised their Rebellion with a dreadful Plague When proud Pharaoh gathered together all the strength of Egypt and furiously pursued the Children of Israel to the Red Sea the waters thereof soon swelled themselves into mountainous Billows as if they had been proud to be imployed in the service of Heaven and the destruction of the Egyptians The Earth also as dull and sensless as it seems to be is yet able to resent such indignities as are offered to the Almighty and when commanded by God will open its devouring Mouth and swallow down alive Corah Dathan and Abiram Thus all the Elements are at Gods command yea even rejoyce to be employed by Heaven in executing Wrath and Vengeance upon Sinners And whither now will the Sinner fly from this Lord of Hosts Will his Alliance with Hell protect him from the Almighty Or can he hope to hide himself from the heat of his fury in the shades below No certes he may as well seek Heaven in Hell as expect one single beam of comfort from these Regions of Darkness for from these black quarters it was that God of old commanded an evil Spirit to vex Saul and drew whole Legions of Devils to punish the degenerous Iews in the days of our Saviour Nor does our God rule only in this sublunary World in the Seas and in all deep places but he ruleth also in the Heavens For if the Almighty doth at any time frown upon the Sinner each Planet will put on its Malign Aspect and every Constellation shall foretel his destiny Thus the Stars fought in their Ranks against Sisera and as Iosephus reports poured down such prodigious showers of Hail as served instead of Shot to destroy his Army Thus also the Sun and Moon became fixt Stars in Heaven that the Israelites might not want the benefit of the light to compleat their Victory over the Amorites Thus the Elements the Heavens and Hell it self are at the Command of Almighty God and if there yet be wanting more Forces to fight these Battles of the Lord the Angels are still remaining those mighty Hosts of Heaven and standing Militia of the Almighty Indeed God doth not always draw forth these Trainbands of Heaven an Army of Lice serves sometimes to baffle a proud Pharaoh and a silly Worm when commissioned by God is able to spoil the Divinity of a Blaspheming Herod But when the King of Heaven appears as it were in Person against his Enemies then these Courtiers of Heaven attend the Divine Presence and putting on their Robes of Light add what Lustre they can to the Majestatick Appearance Hence it is that Christ when he shall come at the last day to destroy at once all the Works of Satan he shall not only have Angels for his Trumpeters but Matt. 16. 27. he is said to come in the Glory of the Father because he shall come attended with these Glorious Angels And now when all these Battalions of the Almighty shall set themselves in array against the Sinner when he shall not only fear with Cain lest he fall a prey to every Wild Beast but with Pashur in the Prophet Ieremy becomes a Magor Missabib that is surrounded with fears from all parts of the Creation then doubtless he will say with the Psalmist Thou even thou art to be feared and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry Our Saviour in the Parable makes him more stout than wise who having only ten thousand is not affraid to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand But sure every Sinner stands guilty of infinitely greater madness who with his single valour dares the Almighty and bids defiance to him who comes not only with twenty thousand but with the whole Universe against him O consider this all ye that forget God lest he pluck you away and there be none to deliver you Take our Saviours advice send and sue for peace whilst this Almighty Adversary is but yet on his way Labour by your Prayers your Fasting and Humiliation to reconcile your selves to this Lord of Hosts
2ly We shall find yet more reason to fear the Lord our God if we consider seriously that great power he exercises over the Souls and Consciences of men It is a true Saying of Seneca if understood with respect to men In corpore exercentur supplicia animus ipse sacer aeternus est cui nequeat injici manus The Sword of Justice which Earthly Potentates carry before them as the Ensign of their Power can only hurt the Shell of Man insomuch that the greatest Tyrants are honoured in Scripture with no higher Titles than those of Masters according to the flesh For the Soul or Spirit is far enough out of the reach of their Power the Conscience is secure from their Rage and Fury and it is the Prerogative Royal of God as by his Omniscience to know the most inward thoughts so by his Omnipotence to be able to punish them When the Almighty pleases he breaks into the solitary Recesses of the Soul and lodges his revenging Furies in the Inner Man And now could we set a Casement upon the Breast of an Orestes or some despairing Sinner and there see those ictus and laniatus those gnawings of the Worm which prey upon all the Vitals of the Soul we should easily grant with Tertullian that an inraged Conscience is praejudicium judicii the Antedate of the last Judgment we might then see Hell seizing the Wretched Sinner here upon Earth at least inflicting some part of its Torments on this side the Grave Such a dreadful Monument of Vengeance was cursed Cain no sooner did he kill his Brother Abel but he became a wretched Vagabond he trembled at the sight of every Beast saith Iosephus and was forced to bear such incredible Torments as he himself confessed were greater than he could bear It is sad enough for the Sinner to have God Almighty and the whole World against him but his condition must needs be sadder when he becomes a Traytor to himself nay more his own Tormentor So much of Truth there is in that Saying of Seneca Nemini gravius imprecari potes quam ut seipsum habeat iratum Thou canst not saith he lay an heavier Curse or imprecation upon any person than to wish him angry or at enmity with himself And now I hope we will join with the Psalmist in the Text and say Thou even thou O Lord art to be feared and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art Angry Fearful we are to offend an earthly King how careful of our Words and Behaviour lest by Treason or any Misdemeanour we fall under his Displeasure But what I pray are Gibbets Racks or the most ingenious Torments they can invent to the sullen Lashes and silent Girds of an inraged Conscience Let Solomon if you please determin this matter Prov. 18. 14. The Spirit of a Man saith he can bear all his Infirmities but a wounded Spirit who can bear How many noble Martyrs have sung and danc'd amidst the devouring Flames But what Iudas what Spira what daring Sinner was ever yet able to bear the stings of a wounded Spirit What reason then have we to fear the Lord our God who can when he pleases wound our Spirits and fill our Souls with the ineffable Torments of black Despair But Thirdly We shall find yet more Reason to fear the Lord our God if we consider those most exquisite and eternal Punishments he is able to inflict both on the Bodies and Souls of Sinners in the Lake below If the bold Sinner has but courage enough to look beyond the Grave he will find prepared for him the eternal Tophet such a dreadful place of Torments as is most tragically described by the Prophet Isay Chap. 30. 33. Tophet is prepared of old saith he the Pile thereof is Fire and much Wood and the Breath of the Lord like a stream of Brimstone doth kindle it continually See how each word is armed with Thunder It seems there is Fire in this eternal Tophet yea there is a great Pile of Fire Now how dreadful how terrible is Fire Which the Persians of old were wont to call immanissima bellua a most fierce and devouring Monster And yet this Fire of Tophet is no ordinary Fire it is no such material Fire as we have in our Chimneys For the Scripture tells us it was originally prepared for the Devil and his Angels Now the Devil and his Angels being spiritual Beings cannot be tormented by any material or corporeal Fire The Fire therefore of Tophet must be some strange metaphorical Fire such as the Fire we use is only fit to be made a cold and faint emblem of it and we will the rather believe this when we consider that it is said to be kindled by the Breath of Almighty God The fiery Furnace of Babylon was dreadful enough tho' kindled only by the finite power of an earthly King How dreadful then must the Furnace of Hell be which has all the Treasures of Torment infinite Wisdom could invent If all this be not sufficient to make these Torments dreadful remember that they are said to be prepared for the Devil and his Angels We know these infernal Fiends are the most inveterate and most malicious Enemies of Heaven such as did not only at first endeavour to dethrone their Almighty Creator but have ever since imployed all their malice and subilty to affront God and draw Mankind into a conspiracy against him Sure then that Fire which was at first prepared for these inveterate and malicious Enemies of Heaven cannot possibly want any ingredients of Torture either Infinite Wisdom could invent or Infinite Power inflict And yet such devouring Flames as these are not only prepared for the Devil and his Angels but likewise for all impenitent Sinners How fearful a thing then will it be to fall into the Hands of the Living God And yet it will be more fearful if we consider the eternity of all these Torments For in Hell the Worm never dies and the Fire shall never be quenched When the Sinner has lain in Hell as many millions of Ages as there are Stars in Heaven or Sands on the Sea-shore he will be no nearer an End of his Torments than he was the first Moment he entred into that place of Torments Who then will not fear the Lord our God Who may stand in his sight when once he is Angry But it seems our Psalmist met with some in his days who had no fear of God before their Eyes who did set their Mouths against Heaven and bid defiance to the Almighty And are there not still too many in the World who discover little or no fear of God in their Lives and Conversations such I mean as are not afraid to spit in the Face of Heaven by their drunken Vomits who profane his tremendous Name by Oaths and Blasphemies deride his Ordinances and break his Holy Laws by their notorious Debaucheries But sure these men have other apprehensions of the Majesty of Heaven than
our Psalmist had surely they frame to themselves such notions of a Deity as allow them with Iehu to drive on furiously in the ways of wickedness It will therefore be a piece of Charity to undeceive these deluded Wretches to shew them the weakness of those Principles they build upon and the vanity of those Reasons which so much emboldens them in their evil Practices and this was the Second General I proposed to speak to And First Atheism is one main Reason why many discover so little fear of God in their Lives and Conversations As the Belief of a Deity is the Foundation of all Religion and he that cometh unto God must first believe that he is as S. Paul speaks Heb. 11. 6. So on the contrary Atheism must needs be the spring and source of all Irreligion and Profaneness Hence is that of the Psalmist Psal. 14. 1 2. The Fool hath said in his Heart there is no God and then follows in the next words they are corrupt they have done abominable works there is none that doth good But how well doth he deserve the Title of a Fool who denies the Being of a God which the whole Creation is one great evident and undeniable demonstration of This vast and wonderful Fabrick of Heaven and Earth proclaims with a loud voice the infinite Power and Wisdom of that Glorious Being which did at first Create it For as the Roman Orator observed of old Should a Traveller come into a strange Country and find some vast magnificent Palace there tho' he should see nothing but Rats Weasels and such like Creatures in it yet he would easily conclude some Wise and Skilful Architect had been there even so the Heavens declare the Glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his Handy-work Hence is that of S. Paul Rom. 1. 20 The invisible things of God from the Creation are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his Eternal Power and Godhead so that they are without excuse The Atheist therefore must needs be in a very dangerous condition who denies that Almighty Being the whole Creation doth so loudly proclaim Secondly Infidelity of the Scripture is another great reason why Men discover so little fear of God in their Lives and Conversations Many there are that believe a God who do not yet believe those dreadful punishments which are threatned in the Scripture and therefore the hopes of impunity makes them run to all excess of riot For when there is an evil heart of unbelief there will be a departing from the Living God hence is that advice of the Apostle Heb. 3. 12. Take heed Brethren lest there be in any of you an Evil Heart of Vnbelief And what better remedy can there be of this Unbelief than a serious consideration of those Miracles which were wrought to confirm our Faith in the Gospel For as Miracles are the highest Evidence Heaven can give and the Truths of the Gospel have been confirmed by many prodigious Miracles so these Miracles have been attested both by Friends and Foes The Universal Tradition of the Church for more than 1600 years cannot but be a very substantial Evidence of these Miracles to all Christians and yet besides this we have the concurrent Testimonies both of Iews and Pagans Iosephus the Iew reports of our Saviour that he went about doing good and confirmed his Doctrin by Mighty Signs and Wonders Nay farther yet Pontius Pilate as Eusebius informs us sent a large Narrative of our Saviours Miracles to Tiberius Caesar who laid them up among the Records of the Empire and accordingly they are appealed to by the Ancient Fathers Let us not therefore be any longer faithless but believing We cannot have a surer Foundation for our Faith than the Evidence of Miracles and he must needs be a Miracle of Infidelity himself who doth not believe those Miracles which were wrought by our Saviour seeing they have been attested both by Friends and Foes and confirmed to us not only by Christians but also by Iews and Pagans Thirdly I shall name but one Reason more why many men discover so little fear of God in their Lives and Conversations and that is a dangerous opinion they have imbib'd of a state of Annihilation after death The Infamous Author of the Monstrous Leviathan has sadly debaucht this unhappy Age of ours by teaching That the Wicked after Death shall have no Resurrection no as he tells them they shall return to their Primitive Nothing and have no more sense of Pain than they had before they received their Being A Doctrin this most fatal to Piety and Vertue For if Wicked Men can once perswade themselves that they need not fear any severer punishment after Death than that of Annihilation then they will for certain run to all excess of Riot For this and no other was the use which was made of this pernicious Doctrin in the days of St. Paul this and no other was the language of Epicureans then as you may read in 1 Cor. 15. 32. If the Dead rise not say they let us Eat and Drink for to morrow we Die But what saith Solomon to such Sinners as these Eccles. 11. 9. Rejoyce O Young Man in thy Youth and let thy Heart chear thee in the days of thy Youth walk on in the ways of thy own Heart and in the sight of thine own Eyes yet know thou that for all these things God will bring thee unto Iudgment What a dismal day will the day of Judgment be to such deluded Sinners They will then at least find this Doctrin of Annihilation sadly confuted when they shall wish in vain that they had never been born and shall call upon the Rocks and Mountains to do them so much kindness as to crush them into nothing For certainly the gnawings of the Worm and the unquenchable burnings of Fire denote another state than that of Annihilation I hope by this time you will allow me to say with the Psamist in the Text Thou even thou O Lord art to be feared Believe it there is no contending with Almighty God Let the Potsherds strive with the Potsherds of the Earth but wo unto him that striveth with his Maker Cease therefore to do evil and learn to do well perfect Holiness in this fear of the Lord all the days of your lives and then that God who is able to destroy you will be found as able and much more willing to save you for the Merits of your dearest Saviour Jesus Christ to whom c. SERMON II. Revel ii 5. I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy Candlestick out of his place except thou repent ST Ierom says of this Book of Revelations that it hath as many Mysteries as Words and St. Austin gives a like Character of it when he tells us it will exercere mentes legentium that is set their Wits to work who set themselves to read it But notwithstanding all this what is said of the Scripture in
advantages and priviledges of his Holy Ordinances Indeed our sins call aloud for such heavy Judgments Our Superiours both in Church and State have acknowledged for us that prophane Swearing Perjury Drunkenness and a violation of God's Sabbaths have sadly made this Land to mourn And may we not add a great contempt of God's Word a misusing of his Messengers a slighting of his Ordinances besides those Factions and Schisms which abound among us And may not God justly visit for these things Oh then it is time that we should all smite upon our Breasts and return unto the Lord with humiliation and repentance that our iniquities may not be our ruin but every kind of Repentance will not serve the turn the Greek word in the Text is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Lactantius translates mutationes mentis in melius that is a change of the Mind from worse to better not a change of the Looks or hanging down the Head like a Bullrush for all this may be done by a Pharisee or an Hypocrite It is not a change of our Apparel or a putting on of Sackcloath for such humiliation and repentance may be performed by a wicked Ahab but the Repentance of the Text denotes a real change of the Mind or as the Prophet Ioel describes it a turning unto the Lord with all our Hearts Chap. 2. 12. Such a Repentance as this will make us fruitful in every good word and work and pay an universal Obedience to all God's Commandments it will make us reform our Lives honour God's Gospel value his Ordinances and have no hand in the encouraging those Schisms and Divisions which are amongst us This is the Repentance Christ recommends and if it be carefully Practised by us we may prevent the heavy Judgment of the Text and procure the continuance of the Gospel amongst us which God Almighty grant for the sake of Jesus Christ c. The Grace of our Lord Iesus Christ and the Love of God c. SERMON III. 2 Pet. iii. 28. But Grow in Grace IT is a Famous Dispute among Papists and Protestants where St. Peter was when he wrote this and his former Epistle The Papists would have him to be at Rome that they may the better establish their Papal Monarchy and derive the Succession of their Bishops from that great Apostle But St. Peter himself tells us that he was at Babylon 1 Pet. 5. 13. The Church that is at Babylon elected together with you saluteth you Indeed St. Iohn in his Book of the Revelations takes Babylon in a mystical sense for Rome which well became his prophetick and mystical style but there is no reason to believe that St. Peter who in these Epistles writes no Prophesie but only plain Instruction for the dispersed Iews should take Babylon in any other than a Literal Sense namely for that Antient and famous City which was the Metropolis of Chaldea and indeed there are sundry Arguments to induce this belief As First St. Paul who about this time wrote this Epistle to the Romans makes no mention at all of St. Peters being then at Rome notwithstanding he sends Commendation to all that were of Eminency in the Church Secondly It is agreed on by both Papists and Protestants that the Apostleship of the Iews was in a peculiar manner committed to St. Peter as that of the Gentiles was to St. Paul This St. Ierom calls Principale Mandatum the main of their Commission from whence it necessarily follows that St. Peters chief imployment must be where the greatest numbers of Iews were Now it is certain that Babylon in Chaldea was the place where the Iews resided in greatest numbers after their Captivity Thirdly St. Peter directs his Epistles to the Iews scattered throughout Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia which all belonged to the Jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Babylon Fourthly St. Peter writing to these dispersed Iews rehearseth several Nations where they resided as Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia but leaves out Chaldea where they resided in greatest numbers which he would never have done had not Chaldea been the place from whence he wrote these Epistles I shall add but one Argument more from Acts 18. 2. where we are told that Claudius Caesar commanded all the Iews to depart from Rome so that we may conclude St. Peter would not keep his residence there where he wanted his Flock committed to his Charge and therefore it is more rational to believe he resided at Babylon where vast numbers of the Iews resided also I have premised thus much to prove that St. Peter wrote these two Epistles from Babylon in Chaldea because it will follow from hence that the Papists have not one Text of Scripture to found their belief of St. Peters being at Rome tho' on it depends their whole Papal Monarchy For this is the only Text they pretend to and you see how little it makes for their purpose so that they have nothing but human Testimony to build this great Article of their Faith upon and that such as is derived from Papias a weak credulous person as Eusebius stiles him By this time you will in some measure understand the Place from which and the Persons to whom St. Peter writes and being shortly as he tells them to put off his Earthly Tabernacle we need not doubt the excellency of those Instructions he bequeaths to the Iews All which he concludes with the most important words of the Text Grow in Grace For the better understanding of which First We will first consider the Duty it self Grow in Grace Secondly We will enquire what is that degree or stature of Grace a Christian must grow to before he can assure himself of Eternal Salvation Thirdly Whether any farther growth in Grace be attainable in this Life Fourthly What Reasons and Encouragements we have to endeavour after the highest degrees of Grace I begin with the first of these First Namely to consider the Duty it self which is to Grow in Grace A Christians life must be a continual progress in Holiness he must not with Hercules erect his Pillars and write a non ultra upon them saying hitherto will I go and no farther for true Grace is of a growing and multiplying Nature so that the good Christian must not be content with his present attainments but with St. Paul he must always be pressing forward forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before To this purpose is that Character Solomon gives of the just Man Prov. 4 18. The Paths of the Iust is as the Shining Light that shineth more and more unto the perfect Day He is not like Iosuahs Sun that stood still in the Firmament much less like Hezekiahs which went ten degrees backward but he is like Davids Sun which cometh forth as a Bridegroom out of his Chamber and rejoyceth as a Giant to run his Race Now this growth in Grace denotes at least these two blessings First The getting
come now Fourthly In the fourth place to shew you what Reasons and Encouragements we have to endeavour after the highest degrees of Grace And 1st Our serious endeavours after the highest degrees of Grace will be an excellent means to preserve that saving growth in Grace the pious Christian has already attain'd to There is a dangerous Opinion in the World that a man cannot totally and finally fall away from Grace According to these mens sentiments he that is once sincerely Righteous will infallibly hold on and persevere unto the end Now if this Opinion were true this exhortation would be vain But certainly nothing can be more contrary to the plain Doctrine of the Scripture Hear what St. Peter saith Chap. 1. of this Epistle vers 10. Give all dilligence saith he to make your Calling and Election sure for if you do these things you shall never fall You see he puts an if in the case such as fairly implies that we may neglect our Duty and fall from our own stedfastness For the same reason St. Paul gives this necessary Caution Rom. 11. 20. c. Be not high-minded but fear for if God spared not the natural branches take heed lest he also spare not thee Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God on them which fall severity but towards thee goodness if thou continue in his goodness otherwise thou also shalt be cut off But a fuller confutation of this dangerous Opinion we cannot desire than what may be gathered from the words of the Prophet Ezek. 18. 24. VVhen the righteous man turneth away from his righteousness and committeth iniquity and doth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doth shall he live saith the Lord No All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned in his trespass that he hath trespassed and in his sin that he hath sinned in them shall he die Thus plain it is that a Christian may fall away from that saving state of Grace he has attained to And what I pray is more likely to secure his steadfastness than serious endeavours after the highest degrees of Holiness Our Apostle it seems thought so for having in the foregoing Verse given this necessary Caution Beware Brethren lest you fall from your own steadfastness he presently subjoins in the Text as the properest means to secure them from falling but grow in Grace It is the same in spiritual growths that it is in naturals For as a man by eating and drinking and other natural Actions preserves his natural Life so the Christian by serious endeavours after higher degrees of Holiness preserves his spiritual Life The Musician screws up his Peg to an higher pitch that he may be sure it will not fall lower than the true Note Even so the higher degrees of Perfection we aspire to the less danger shall we be in of falling lower than what is absolutely necessary And this certainly is sufficient encouragement to continue these our serious endeavours 2ly These serious endeavours after a further growth in Grace than what is absolutely necessary to Salvation will give the pious Christian a more comfortable assurance of Eternal Happiness It is no doubt a kind of Heaven upon Earth to be assured of Heaven whilst we are here upon Earth This is that hidden Manna mentioned in the Revelations which fills the Soul with all variety of Delights Now nothing besides a particular Revelation from Heaven can be more likely to create this full assurance in the Soul than these Heroick attainments of Grace and Vertue Grace is that Seal of the Spirit by which we are marked and sealed unto the day of Redemption And certainly the brighter and more evident that Grace is the more evident will it be to our own selves and the fuller our assurance of Heaven and Eternal Happiness Many good Christians are in a safe condition and yet their condition is not so comfortable by reason of those fears and doubtings which do often accompany these lower degrees of Grace But the more we abound in good Works and the more eminently our Graces shine the more comfortable will our Assurance be and the clearer our Title to Heaven and Eternal Happiness Read St. Paul's 11 Chap. to the Hebrews where he sets down a large Calendar of God's eminent Saints such as advanc't into the highest form of Piety and Vertue and you 'l find their Faith as great as was their growth in Grace and their assurance of Heaven bearing a just proportion to their improvements in Holiness For St. Paul describing their Faith ver 1. calls it the substance or subsistence of things hoped for the evidence or clear demonstration of things not seen 3ly These serious endeavours after the highest degrees of Grace as they will secure our Title to Heaven and give us a more comfortable assurance of it for the present so they will hereafter advance us to higher degrees of Glory in Heaven We know there are different degrees of Glory in Heaven even as one Star differeth from another Star in Glory so also saith St. Paul shall be the Resurrection of the Iust As St. Austin speaks Splendor dispar Caelum commune the Saints shall dwell together in the same Heaven but yet like Stars they shall shine with different Rays of Glory Now these higher degrees of Glory will be conferred on such who arrived at higher degrees of Grace Hence when our Saviour tells his Disciples John 14. 2. In my Fathers House are many Mansions Tertullian remarks thus upon the place Quomodo multae Mansiones si non pro varietate Meritorum Wherefore saith he should our Saviour mention many Mansions in his Fathers House if there were not several Rooms of different Size and Glory provided for his Saints according to the variety of their deserts Indeed Heaven has room enough to lodge all the Godly but as in other Magnificent Palaces so in this of Heaven there are higher and lower larger and lesser Mansions in which God's Saints shall be disposed of according to those Services they have performed upon Earth Their Rewards hereafter shall be answerable to their Obedience here See then what incouragement there is to endeavour after the highest degrees of Glory These it seems will create an Heaven in our Souls whilst we live here on Earth These will at our Deaths carry our Souls as high as Heaven nay which is more they will lodge them in the best Mansions there Hence is that of our Apostle Chap. 1. 11. If these things be in you and abound then shall an entrance be ministred unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ. Having therefore these Promises Dearly Beloved let us cleanse our selves from all Filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of the Lord. Let us go from Strength to Strength and grow from one degree of Grace unto another until we appear before our God in Sion I shall conclude all with St. Pauls Exhortation
this Book of Psalms If after such wonderful deliverances as you have heard this day we still indulge our selves in sin our most costly Sacrifices will prove an abomination the Lord will even spread the very Dung of them on our Faces See therefore with what passion Ezra exhorts the Iews to this Duty after their Deliverance from the Babylonish Captivity Ezra 9. 13. VVhen we have received such deliverance as this should we again break thy Commandments wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us We must therefore keep holiness in our Lives otherwise we shall not be fit to keep an Holy-Day to the Lord. It becometh well the just to be thankful let the high praises of God be in their Mouths and it will please him better than a Bullock that has Horns and Hoofs Let us therefore reform our Lives and being thus wonderfully delivered from the Hands of our Enemies let us serve without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our Life which God of his Infinite Mercy grant c. SERMON V. 1 Cor. xi 19. For there must be also Heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest among you COrinth being seated on the Peloponnesian Isthmus had the advantage both of the Ionian and Aegean Sea to bring into its Bosom all the Treasures of the World And indeed these Temporal Blessings flowed there in such great abundance that Corinth is styled by Homer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and by Pindar 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is in plain English the Rich and Happy City of Corinth And as Corinth was thus happy in respect of its Trade and Commerce so it was much more happy in having the Gospel planted there by the great Apostle S. Paul It was accounted the honour of these Primitive Churches to have some Apostle or other to be their Founder and the more eminent the Apostle was the greater was the honour of the Church he planted Now in this respect Corinth was inferiour unto none as being founded by St. Paul the great Apostle of the Gentiles one who is sometimes styled by the Antients Prince of the Apostles and who in that modest Character which he has left of himself in 2 Cor. 11. 5. tells us expresly That he was not a-whit behind the very chiefest Apostles The honour therefore of the Church of Corinth could not but be great since it was planted by this great Apostle St. Paul And the honour of it will appear yet greater if we add the observation of a Learned Author Super hac Ecclesia maxime triumphat Paulas St. Paul saith he tho' he converted several other Nations and planted several other Churches yet he seems to glory most yea even triumph in the Conversion of the Corinthians These he calls his special work in the Lord and the very Seal of his Apostleship Chap. 9. of this Epistle ver 1 2. And as the Church of Corinth had the honour to be planted by the Labours of St. Paul so it had also the happiness to be watered by the Eloquence of Apollo and the powerful Preachings of St. Peter Now one would have thought a Church thus happily Planted and Watred might if any in the World have promis'd it self an immunity from Schisms and Divisions at least so long as these Infallible Apostles and Unerring Guides were still alive But alas even Infallibility it self is so far from proving an Antidote against Schisms that it was a great means of raising and promoting them here at Corinth for in the first Chapter of this Epistle we find them crying out I am of Paul I am of Apollo and I am of Cephas And besides these Schisms which took their rise from the eminency of their Teachers we find in this 11th Chapter several other Divisions about the Sacrament Unity is indeed a signal Blessing yet such as the best of Churches may not always enjoy Corinth as Glorious and Eminent a Church as it was was rent in pieces by Factions and Divisions nay which is stranger yet St. Paul in the Text stamps an Oportet upon them there must saith he be Heresies or as he calls them in the foregoing Verse Divisions among you Satan and his Instruments will always watch their opportunity to sow these Tares And God it seems is willing to permit them that the rottenness of some and the integrity of others may be discovered So much St. Paul tells us in the Text for there must be also Heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest among you From which words I shall endeavour to shew you First That the best of Churches are subject to the Misfortune of Schisms and Divisions Secondly VVhat those Causes are which make Schisms and Divisions in some sort necessary Thirdly That God's design in suffering these Schisms and Divisions is to discover the Rottenness of some and Integrity of others Fourthly That those are truly Noble and Honourable Persons who continue stedfast in the Communion of God's Church amidst these Schisms and Divisions which arise in it These are the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the approved ones in the Text. There must saith St. Paul be Heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest I begin with the first of these First Namely to shew you that the best of Churches are subject to the misfortune of Schisms and Divisions He must be a very great Stranger both to Scripture and Ecclesiastical History who does not know that the misfortune of Corinth in the Text is the usual fate and misfortune of other Churches There is not any Church mentioned in the New Testament but what was sadly distracted with Schisms and Divisions We find at Galata such as preacht up Iudaism and bewitched the Galatians with a Dangerous Opinion of the necessity of Legal Rites St. Paul warns the Colossians of such as were ready to spoil them through vain Philosophy and bids them take care that no man beguiled them in a voluntary humility and worshipping of Angels When he wrote his Hierarchial Epistle to Titus the first Bishop of Crete It seems Hereticks were so numerous in that Church that he was obliged to give him this Apostolical Canon among the rest An Heretick after the first and second Admonition reject If we take a view of the Seven Churches of Asia recorded in the Book of Revelations St. Iohn will shew us a Synagogue of Satan in the Church of Smyrna Nicolaitans and Balaamites in the Church of Sardis Hereticks stigmatized with the name of Iezabel in the Church of Thyatira and in Ephesus the Mother Church Counterfeit Apostles who said they were Apostles and were not but upon trial were found Liars Tho' the Faith of the Romans was at this time so famous that it was spoken of saith S. Paul throughout the whole World yet they were not so happy as to be free from Divisions for our Apostle gives them this Advise Rom. 16. 17. I beseech you
the Patriarchs Prophets Apostles Saints and Martyrs and therefore our Saviour says expresly Luke 13. 28. That the Godly hereafter shall see Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God Thus we shall see and know all the Blessed Inhabitants of Heaven Nor shall we only know them but we shall have sweet Converse and Communion with them To this purpose is that Matt. 8. 11. Many shall come from the East and from the West and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven Sit down that is as the Original imports they shall feast with them And this sure does not only denote their mutual Knowledge each of other but also the highest Caresses of Love and Friendship such as this Metaphor of feasting is used in Scripture to denote And this sure cannot but mightily inhance the Happiness of Paradise David accounted the Saints of God the most excellent Persons here upon Earth and delighted in nothing so much as in their Society But in Heaven they shall be made perfect there they shall be freed from all those Human Infirmities and Imperfections which use to allay the solaces of their Conversation Yea on the contray they shall be adorned with all those Excellencies and Advantages which are requisite to make their Society most pleasant and desirable And indeed we find the Disciples at the Transfiguration were so satisfied with the Company of Moses and Elias two of these Glorious Inhabitants of Heaven that they presently cry out it is good for us to be here and would have built Tabernacles and have been content to have taken their rest on this side of Heaven How much greater will their Happiness be who shall enjoy the most ravishing Society of all the Blessed Inhabitants of Heaven But 2. We shall not only enjoy the Society of Saints but of Angels too So I have shewn you already from Heb. 12. 22. where it is said We shall come to an innumerable Company of Angels Angels are far more glorious Creatures than the Saints and therefore the enjoyment of them must needs be a farther addition to our happiness 3dly We shall also in Paradise be with Christ in respect of his Humanity To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise With me whom thou now seest hanging on the Cross. It was one of St. Austin's three famous Wishes to see Christ in the Body but it shall be our happiness in Paradise not barely to see Christ's Body but also to see that Glory God has adorn'd it with there To this purpose is that Prayer of our Saviour Ioh. 17. 24. Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my Glory which thou hast given me We shall there see Christ sitting on the Right hand of Power highly exalted above Seraphims and Cherubims and the sight of all this Glory will rejoyce us the more because our Human Nature is glorified in him 4thly The Godly by being with Christ in Paradise shall also be with God himself St. Paul therefore giving a full Catalogue of that glorious Company we shall enjoy in Heaven tells us Heb. 12. 22 23. that we shall not only come to the General Assembly of the First-born and to an innumerable Company of Angels and to Iesus the Mediatour of the New-Covenant but he adds to God the Iudge of all To enjoy the Company of Saints Angels and Christ as Man is Happiness great beyond our utmost Imagination But yet they are but as little Drops if compared to that Ocean of Bliss which will flow into the Soul upon the enjoyment of God himself It was a Noble Saying of Luthers That he had rather be in Hell with Gods presence than in Heaven without it Now if this Presence of God be able to convert even Hell it self into a kind of Heaven the enjoyment of this must certainly make Heaven become what it is styled in Scripture an Heaven of Heavens This therefore is the Flower of our Joy the Crown of Blessedness and the very Soul of Heaven For whilst we enjoy God we must needs enjoy all things All that is good did at first flow from him and is therefore certainly more eminently to be found in Him as in its Fountain and Original All that can delight our Souls or ravish our Hearts all that is lovely and desirable are here to be found in their greatest perfections Well then might the Psalmist say Psal. 16. 11. In thy presence O God there is fulness of Ioy and at thy right hand there are Pleasures for evermore But because this will be the Quintessence of our happiness in Heaven we will enquire wherein it will consist But 1. Give me leave to premise this Caution That in this Vale of Misery we cannot fully understand those Joys which God has prepared for us in Heaven They are such saith St. Paul as Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither hath it entred into the heart of Man to conceive You 'l find also St. Iohn speaking the same Truth 1. Ioh. 3. 2. Beloved now are we the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him As God gave Moses the sight of the Land of Canaan only from Mount Nebo so he gives us a prospect of the Heavenly but it is at a distance So that we do not fully here understand the greatness of our happiness and it is some honour and advantage to it that it is so great as that we cannot fully comprehend it But so far as God in Scripture has revealed the happiness of Paradise to us it will chiefly consist in these two Observations 1st A clear and perfect Knowledge of God and his Infinite Perfections 2dly In the enjoyment of him to all Eternity 1st Our happiness in Paradise will chiefly consist in a clear and perfect Knowledge of God and his Infinite Perfections Knowledge was the fairest Fruit that ever grew in the Earthly Paradise and we cannot imagin the Paradise above should be compleat and perfect without it Knowledge is so sweet and pleasant to the Soul that the Roman Oratour calls it Naturale Animâ— pabulum the most grateful and palatable Food of the Soul It is dearer to us saith Aristotle than our Eyes which are usually wasted and worn away in pursuits after it Now as Knowledge in the general is thus sweet and pleasant to the Soul so the nobler the Objects are which we know the sweeter and more pleasant must the Knowledge be Now there can be no Object so noble and excellent as Almighty God He is Infinite in Perfections and therefore to have a clear and perfect Knowledge of his Infinite and Divine Perfections must needs make a considerable part of our future happiness Now it is plain from Scripture that we shall have a clear and perfect knowledge of God in Heaven Here it is that as the Prophet Esay speaks we
shall see the King of Kings in all his beauty Esay 33. 17. Indeed the Soul here below like the Spouse in the Canticles seeks her Beloved only in the dark beholds his Back-parts in the Glass of his Creatures reads a little more of him in the Holy Scripture and tastes a litle more of him in his Comfortable Ordinances yet still she sees him but darkly and through the Lattice and all is able to do no more than to make her sick of Love But hereafter we shall see God face to face and we shall know him even as we are known 1 Cor. 13. 12 We shall not then sit down content with the School-mans Negative Knowledge and be proud when we know only what God is not No we shall then have a Positive Knowledge of him and as St. Iohn phrases it see him even as he is 1 Joh. 3. 2. What strange Expressions are these How clear and how full a Knowledge of God do they import We shall no longer read of God in the Scripture or hear of him by his Ministers but we shall see him with our Eyes yea and we shall see him as he is in all that wonderful Glory which is the Light and Sun of the highest Heavens Now how much such clear Knowledge of God will increase our future happiness we may learn in some measure from the Story of the Queen of the South The Q. of Sheba heard indeed some imperfect Reports of Solomon's Wisdom in her own Country but when she came and saw his Person heard his incomparable Wisdom and had been an happy Spectator of all the Pomp and Royal Magnificence of his Court she was then sweetly astonished so that there was no more Spirit left in her Even so when the pious Soul shall come to the Court of Heaven and there see God as he is cloathed with Majesty and Honour infinitely beyond and above all she ever heard of him by his Ministers or read of him in the Scripture when she shall behold the Attendance of his Throne even ten thousand times ten thousand Angels and comprehend all those ineffable Glories which neither Eye hath seen nor Ear heard with what pleasing Ecstasies of Admiration will she then be transported But this is not all For 2dly Our happiness in Paradise will not barely consist in the clear and perfect Knowledge of God but also in the enjoyment of him unto all Eternity Knowledge without Fruition can only give us the Happiness of Moses upon Mount Nebo at best but a fairer prospect of the Heavenly Canaan but we are assured in Scripture that we shall not only see this Land of Promise but we shall taste the Milk and the Hony of it We shall not only see and know God but we shall also enjoy him This Enjoyment of God is elegantly set forth in Scripture by the Metaphor of a Feast because Friends usually enjoy themselves most when they Feast together Now what strange Expressions to this purpose are those which we read Rev. 19. 9. where the Angel bids S. Iohn write thus Blessed are they which are called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. They used to have their greatest Feasts at Supper but the happiness of Heaven is here set forth not only by the Metaphor of a Supper but also of a Marriage Supper to denote that more intimate and pleasant enjoyment of God and Christ the Saints may expect in Heaven And lest we should in the least doubt of this these Emphatical words are added which perhaps ye do not use much to take notice of but now I desire you to do these saith the Angel are the true Sayings of God So that we may well believe the Saints shall enjoy all this happiness I have spoken of Tho' this which I last mention'd be a most comfortable Text yet I think you 'l find one fuller to this purpose Luk. 12. 37. Blessed are those Servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching Verily I say unto you that he shall gird himself and make them sit down to meat and will come forth and serve them Here again the happiness of Heaven is set forth by the Metaphor of a Feast and our Saviour alludes to those Feasts among the Romans which they called their Saturnalia when the Masters were obliged to provide sumptuous Feasts for their Servants and to gird themselves and come forth and serve It seems God will deal thus with his poor unworthy Servants He will prepare as great a Feast for them as Heaven can afford and will come forth himself and serve them In this World he makes use of Angels as Ministring Spirits and imploys them for the good of his People But in the other World the happiness of the Godly will be so great and so infinite that Angels being but finite Creatures cannot serve any longer as Conduits to convey it to them No God himself as he will be the Feast so he will be the Entertainer too and in a word All in all Thus I have shewn you how great our happiness will be in respect of God himself we shall have a clear and perfect knowledge of him and his infinite Excellencies and we shall also have a full Enjoyment of him unto all Eternity I proceed now to the last thing proposed namely to consider the greatness of this happiness with reference to the place Lastly We shall not only be with Christ but we shall be with Christ in Paradise To be with Christ in any place cannot but be happiness Had our Saviour took the Penitent Thief along with him when he descended into Hell there to have seen him Triumph over Principalities and Powers and all our spiritual Enemies this had been a blessed and most pleasant sight But to carry him along with himself to Paradise the pleasantness and glories of the place could not but add to the happiness of it To this end you 'l find the Holy Ghost in Scripture exceeding large in the description of this place and it is set forth by such Metaphors as denote the most incomprehensible both beauty pleasantness strength splendour and glory for pleasure it is in the Text called Paradise for Magnificence a Kingdom yea a Kingdom of Glory too It is styled an House not made with hands but by God himself to denote both its strength and workmanship For Magnitude it is called a Great City For Purity the Holy and Heavenly Ierusalem Would we some Evening take a walk with Isaac into the Fields and there view how God has garnished these upper Regions of the World how many are those Stars which sparkle there And they are also most of them of such an incredible Magnitude as to be more than an hundred times bigger than the Earth and yet this Firmament as glorious as it is is only the outside of the Pavement of that Ierusalem which is above What incomprehensible Glory then must shine within it We read in the Book of Revelations that the very Streets are of pure
Gold the Walls and Foundations all of Precious Stones Such incredible lustre and glory is in it that the Sun shall not need to give his Light nor the Moon to shine in it for the Glory of God shall inlighten it and the Lamb shall be the light thereof for ever Thus happy shall the Godly be after they depart this Life they shall be with Christ and which is more they shall be with Christ in Paradise I come now to draw some practical Inferences from what has been delivered Application 1st Has the Holy Ghost in Scripture made such discoveries of Paradise and our future happiness then certainly they ought to fill our Souls with earnest Longings and vehement Pursuits after them When King Hezekiah had shewn to the Ambassador of Baladan King of Babylon the House of his Precious things his Silver and his Gold and all his Treasures we read these finite perishing Treasures proved Load-stones powerful enough to draw these Babylonians to War against Iudah How much more ought the infinite Glories of Heaven which God has revealed in the Scripture raise such violent Desires in us as may make us resemble the Spouse in the Canticles who is compared to a Pillar of Smoak mounting continually towards Heaven or them who lived in the dayes of Iohn the Baptist who are said to have taken the Kingdom of Heaven by violence Such a temper of Spirit as this we find in the Saints of God My Soul fainteth for thy Salvation I have longed for it saith Holy David Psal. 119. 81 It is a remarkable Passage of Cornelius a Lapide upon Gen. 47. where enquiring why the Patriarchs of old were so passionately desirous to have their bones buried in the Land of Canaan he gives this Reason God saith he had revealed unto these Holy men the Day of Christ they all as well as Abraham saw Christ Day and rejoyced Not only the Day of his Nativity but that more glorious Day of his Resurrection In which not only Christ himself should rise but others that slept should rise with him and attend upon him into Heaven at his Ascension These hopes of Rising with Christ and getting sooner to Heaven both in their Bodies and Souls than others made them thus careful and solicitous to be buried near the place where Christ was to rise How unlike these Holy Patriarchs are many amongst us whose heavy Souls move down to Earth as to their Center Neither God nor Heaven does ever so much trouble their Thoughts as to make them breath forth their desires after them But such as are true Believers and sincere Christians are in Scripture described by this known Periphrasis of being such as love the appearing of Christ such as desire to be dissolved that they may be with him such as earnestly groan to be cloathed upon with their House which is from Heaven and therefore pray often with the Bride in the Revelations Come Lord Iesus come quickly 2dly If we do earnestly and seriously desire this exceeding great happiness of Paradise we must be willing to use the Means which will bring us to it It is a known Maxim in the Schools Qui vult finem vult media ad finem He that effectually desires the End desires also the Means which lead unto that End If with the Thief upon the Cross we expect after Death to enjoy Christ in Paradise we must labour to imitate him and give such demonstrations of our Humility Faith in Christ and sincere Repentance as he did Our Saviour tells us that the wise Merchant in the Gospel had no sooner found a Pearl of great Price but he presently sold all he had and purchas'd it It is reported of Camillus that Famous French Commander that when he had tasted some of the pleasant Grapes of Italy he could never be at rest till he had raised a great Army and Conquer'd that pleasant Country God has been pleased in Scripture to present us with some of the Grapes of Canaan to give us some taste of the Heavenly gift and the Powers of the World to come How should this make us restless and unquiet till we arrive at this happy Country Should we not now raise all the Forces that we can to fight our Spiritual Enemies and conquer those Lusts which oppose our happiness Should we now spare any Sin tho' it were as dear to us as a beloved Ionathan Sure Heaven will recompence the loss of a right Eye and a right Hand should we pluck them off and sacrifice them to our Saviour And indeed we must thus forsake sin every sin the most darling sin if ever we hope to get to Paradise The Young man in the Gospel lacked but one thing and yet fell short of Heaven And if thou wilt still indulge thy self in thy Covetousness Uncleanness Swearing Drunkenness or any other known sin thou canst never expect to be with Christ in Paradise For Christ has told us plainly Mat. 19. 17. that if we will enter into Life we must keep the Commandments Which that we may all do God of his Infinite Mercy grant c. SERMON X. Matt. xxiv 3â— And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven and then shall all the Tribes of the Earth mourn and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven with Power and great Glory THE Office of our Blessed Saviours Mediatorship consists chiefly in three Parts his Satisfaction Intercession and Judging the World at the Last Day The First of these he performed here on Earth the Second he is still performing in Heaven and the Third he will perform in the Air When he shall come in the Clouds of Heaven with Power and great Glory We know he satisfied infinite Justice when he offered up himself a propitiatory Sacrifice on the Cross and he is still interceeding in Heaven at the Right Hand of God As he purchased Salvation for sinners by dying for them so he interceeds that this Salvation may be applied unto such as repent sincerely of their sins and believe on his Name The third part of his Mediatorship is still to be performed for he is not as Mediator to judge the World till the time appointed by his Father and then he will for certain Judge both the Quick and the Dead Indeed the Father himself Iudgeth no Man but hath committed all Iudgment unto the Son as our Saviour speaks Iohn 5. 22. and he gives the reason of it vers 27. because he is the Son of Man As he became the Son of Man that he might be in a capacity to save the Penitent So God has appointed the same Son of Man to judge the World that he may be able to punish the Impenitent Such as before would not accept him for a Saviour will now be forced to admit him as a Judge Hence we are told Act. 17. 31. That God has appointed a Day in which he will Iudge the World in Righteousness by that Man whom he hath
Ordained and whereof he hath given us assurance in that he hath raised him from the Dead Tho' we are not certain when the day of Judgment will come that we may be alwayes preparing for it yet you see it is certain that there will be such a day and that Christ our Mediator is ordained Judge A happy day for all that are truly pious they need not fear this Judge who is no other than their Merciful Saviour But it will be a day of darkness and gloominess unto the Wicked these will then mourn when they shall see this Son of Man coming with great Power and Glory so much we are told in the Text Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven and then shall all the Tribes of the Earth Mourn and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven with Power and great Glory For the better understanding of these words we will enquire First Why Christ is called the Son of Man Secondly What is here meant by the Sign of the Son of Man Thirdly That this Son of Man will come to Judge the World Fourthly That he will come with great Power and Glory Fifthly That all the wicked of the Earth will then have just cause to Mourn First Let us briefly enquire why Christ is called the Son of Man Some learned Men observe that he is called so in the Scriptures more than forty times and there are two reasons of the Name 1st He is called the Son of Man in token of his Humanity Christ our Blessed Mediator was both God and Man and therefore as he is often called the Son of God to denote his Divinity so he is as often called the Son of Man to denote his Humanity 2ly He is called the Son of Man to denote that state of Humiliation to which he condescended for our sakes It was usual for the Jews to style Princes and Potentates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sons of strong Men but such as were poor they styl'd Beni-Adam Sons of Men. Christ therefore aspired to no higher title than that of Son of Man He was pleased to humble himself for us He as the Apostle speaks became poor that we might become rich Born he was of the poorest Parents such as neither had an House of their own to lay him in when he was born nor able to procure any place besides a Stable for his reception into this World And as he was born in this poor condition so tho' the Birds of the Air have Nests as he speaks yet whilst he lived he had not of his own where to lay his Head Nay further yet when he came to die we know he was beholding to the Charity of Ioseph of Arimathea for a room in his Sepulchre No wonder then if Christ be ambitious of no more Honourable Title than this of Son of Man since he made himself so vile so mean so contemptible for our sakes Thus I have briefly shewn why Christ is called so often the Son of Man it denotes the truth of his Humanity as also that state of Humiliation to which he condescended for our sakes I come now in the second place to enquire Secondly What is here meant by the sign of the Son of Man It would spend too much of our time to mention all those conjectures which learned Men have made concerning this Sign since it is a matter we may be safely ignorant of I shall only set down two of the best interpretaions I have met with 1st Very many learned Men both Antient and Modern do by the Sign of the Son of Man understand the Cross. St. Ierom St. Chrysostom and Venerable Bede upon this place affirm this Sign to be no other than that of the Cross. The Ethiopian Church is so peremptory in this matter that it is put into the Articles of their Creed as the Learned Gregory informs us There is hardly any thing the Antient Fathers are more unanimous in than this And to say the truth there is some tolerable Reason for this Antient Opinion For what can be more Honourable to our Lord and Saviour or more full of Terror to his Enemies than that the Cross of Christ which they counted foolishness and more than so esteemed the greatest reproach of the Christian Faith should at that day be made the Herald to Proclaim his Coming and call all Nations of the World to appear before him But tho' this interpretation be backt both with Reason and great Authorities Yet 2ly There is another interpretation that seems as plausible if not more plausible than it For the learned Vossius Mede Twisse Millet and several others do understand by the Sign of the Son of Man who is a Sign This kind of Dialect this manner of Speaking is frequent in the Scripture thus the Law of Faith is all one with Faith that is a Law the Law of Sin that is Sin it self which dwelling in unregenerate Persons reigns as it were by Law So the Sign of the Son of Man that is the Son of Man who is a Sign And that which gives the greatest Authority to this Opinion is that St. Luke in the parallel place interprets it so Chap. 21. 27. where the word Sign is left out and the Verse runs thus Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a Cloud with Power and great Glory And St. Mark renders the words the same way Chap. 13. 26. If therefore St. Mark and St. Luke may be allowed to be as good interpreters of St. Matthew as any other by the Sign of the Son of Man we may understand the Son of Man himself whose Glorious appearance in the Clouds will be a certain infallible sign that the day of Judgment is come Thus I have shewn you what Conjectures learned Men have made concerning this Sign of the Son of Man Some understand the Cross others Christ himself whose Glorious appearance will be a certain sign of the approaching Judgment I come now in the third place to shew you Thirdly That this Son of Man will come to judge the World None but that God who made us has any right to judge us As we have received all things from him so as Stewards must we render an account of all things to him Indeed this Judgment belongs originally to the whole Trinity but the outward administration of it shall be committed to the Son of Man So we are told expresly in the Text Then shall ye see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven Thus you see the Judgment of the last Day is committed to the Son of Man and indeed it is committed to him because he is the Son of Man our Saviour tells us so expresly John 5. 20 27. As the Father has life in himself so hath he given unto the Son to have life in himself and has given him Authority to execute Iudgment also because he is the Son of Man Ye see the Son of Man will come as
Judge at the last Day and he comes because he is the Son of Man It will not be amiss to enquire briefly into the Reasons of it 1st God has committed the Judgment of the last Day to the Son of Man because he has appointed it should be Visible This is fairly hinted in the Text where it is said they shall see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven God himself is a Spirit and consequently invisible but the Son of Man is Visible and therefore he is appointed to Ride the Circuit that he may be seen of all his Enemies And that we might take the more notice of this Reason it is repeated again Chap. 26. 64. where Christ tells his Enemies that hereafter they shall see the Son of Man sitting on the Right hand of Power and coming in the Clouds of Heaven It seems the Son of Man shall come and his Enemies shall see him and be confounded at the sight of him This may be farther confirm'd from Act. 1. 11. where you 'l find the Angels preaching this Doctrin This same Iesus who is taken up from you into Heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven The Comparison is here made between our Saviour's Ascending into Heaven and his returning again to Judgment Ascendit visibiliter descendit visibiliter He Ascended saith Gerhard in a visible manner and he shall descend to Iudgment in a visible manner too 2ly God has committed the Judgment of the last Day to the Son of Man for the reward of his Obedience and greater exaltation of his Human Nature It is but Justice in God to make this Son of Man Judge the World seeing he came into the World and was judged by it It is but equal to invest Christ with a power of Absolution and Condemnation seeing he was Condemned by us to dye and dyed that he might be in a capacity to Absolve us It is but reasonable that all the Sons of Men should bow before his Throne and submit to his Judgment who disdain'd not for our sakes to stand before the Tribunal of wicked Men and receive the Sentence of Condemnation To this purpose are those Expressions of St. Paul Phil. 2. 8 9. Being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto the Death even the death of the Cross Wherefore God also has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the Name of Iesus every knee should bow He that came at first to save us must it seems come at last Judge us And it is but just that he who before carried a Reed in his hand and was derided by his Enemies should hereafter sway a Scepter of Righteousness and break his Enemies in peices with a Rod of Iron But 3ly God has committed the Judgment of the last Day to the Son of Man for the greater Comfort and Consolation of the Godly What a joyful sight will it be unto all sincere Penitents when they shall see the Advocate become their Judge and none but their Saviour siting on the Throne of Glory For he knows all the Frailties and Infirmities of our Natures He knoweth our frame and remembreth that we are but Dust Yea he will be yet more ready to pity us seeing he was pleased to assume our Natures bear our Infirmities and to be tempted in all things like as we are Well then may the Godly be said in Scripture to long for this glorious appearance of the Lord Iesus Well may the Bride in the Revelations cry Come Lord Iesus come quickly seeing this Day of Judgment will be to her no other than the Day of Nuptuals A Day in which Christ will be married to his People and admit them unto the nearest Union and Communion with himself and that unto all Eternity 4thly God has committed the Judgment of the last Day to the Son of Man for the greater Terror and Confusion of the Wicked The Angels who were present at our Saviours Ascention tell his Disciples Act. 1. 11. that the same Iesus who then ascended into Heaven should descend in like manner as he then ascended up into Haeven Now we know our Saviour when he ascended into Heaven carried along with him the print of the Spear and all those Scars that were made by the Nails and Thorns And these it seems he will bring along with him when he returns to Judgment How then will the wicked mourn as we are told in the Text when they look upon him whom they had formerly pierced Those Wounds which were at first opened to heal their Souls will now open their Mouths and call for Vengeance on them Christ's Eyes saith St. Iohn will now become flames of Fire and such as will certainly consume them his Feet like fine Brass burning in a Furnance and cannot but destroy them Well may the wicked call then upon the Rocks to cover and the Mountains to hide them since the presence of the Lamb will be infinitely more dreadful than the presence of the fiercest Lion For unto such as have trampled this Son of God and Man under foot unto such as have counted the Blood of the Covenant an unholy thing unto such I say there will now remain nothing but a certain fearful looking for of Iudgment and fiery Indignation which shall devour these Adversaries Thus I have dispatch'd the Third General and shewn you that this Son of Man must come at the last Day to judge the World and the Reason of it I come now Fourthly In the Fourth place to shew you that He will come with great Power and Glory This is plainly deliver'd in the Text Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven with Power and great Glory And 1st He will come with great Glory And 2dly He shall come with Power 1st Let us consider the greatness of that Glory with which this Son of Man shall come to Judge the World Tho' his first coming into the World was mean and contemptible clouded with Poverty and Grief and such other humble Circumstances as were proper for his state of Humiliation yet his second Coming will be splendid and glorious as will appear from these following Particulars 1st Let us consider the immediate Fore-runners and Harbingers of our Saviour's Second coming Kings and Princes have their Harbingers and so has this King of Kings too St Ierome tells us of an Antient Tradition of the Iewish Doctors namely that for fifteen Days together before the great Day of Judgment there shall be transacted upon the Stage of Nature a continued scene of fearful Signs and Wonders The Sea shall lift up his mountainous billows and make a fearful noise with its rouling Waves The Heaven shall crack night and day with loud and roaring Thunders The Earth shall groan under hidious Convulsions and quotidian Earthquakes The Air shall blaze with portentous Comets The Moon shall shed forth purple streams of
Saviour is to have a bright shining Cloud for his Throne and is said accordingly in the Text to Come in the Clouds of Heaven To the same purpose is what we read 1 Thess. 4. 17. where we are told that the Righteous shall be caught up in the Clouds and meet the Lord in the Air And indeed the Air is a most proper place for our Saviour to keep his great Assizes For being here advanced some distance above the Earth he will more easily be seen by all the Inhabitants of it Nay farther yet this is now the Seat of the Devils Empire Satan we know is called the Prince of the Air and the Infernal Fiends are styled Spiritual Wickednesses in high places Here therefore will the Son of Man fix his Judgment Seat here he will place his Throne That all the World may know that he has now spoiled Principalities and Powers and got a compleat and perfect Victory over these his malicious Enemies Then is the time when he will trample Satan under his Feet and put a full Period to that Tyranny which he has exercised so long over the Sons of Men. Secondly We may infer from hence what deep Impressions such Doctrins as these ought to make upon us The News of our Saviours coming to Judgment with all this Glory should cause us to take the greatest Care imaginable to fit and prepare our selves to meet him at this great Day We have a remarkable Instance to this purpose in Ecclesiastical History which is attested by many and great Authors It seems about Four hundred years after our Saviours Ascension one Gregentius a Bishop endeavour'd the Conversion of those Iews which liv'd in Arabia Felix after a tedious Disputation of three days continuance some of the Iews desired the Bishop to shew them Jesus alive and it would convince them Immediately upon this the Earth began to tremble and the Sky to shine and eccho with Lightnings and Thunder After these ceased the Gates of the Celestial Palace open'd and a bright serene Cloud appear'd darting forth Beams of an extraordinary lustre At last our Blessed Saviour shewed himself walking on this bright Cloud and a Voice was heard from this Excellent Glory saying I am he who was Crucified by your Fathers This glorious Appearance cast all the Iews prostrate on the ground and beating their Breasts they cried with a loud Voice Lord have mercy on us and afterwards were Baptized into the Faith of Christ. A like account we have of the Conversion of St. Paul Act. 9. 3 c. where we read that as he journied towards Damascus breathing forth nothing but Rage and Malice against Christians suddenly there shined round about him a Light from Heaven and he heard a Voice saying unto him Saul Saul why persecutest thou me Upon which he trembling and astonished said Lord what wilt thou have me to do Such effects as these are the Natural Attendants of such great and glorious Appearances as these And ought they not to have the same influence upon us What tho' they are not made to the Eye of our Sense yet in Scripture they are made to the Eye of our Faith If we are sincere Christians and do heartily believe the Gospel we have no more reason to doubt of this Coming of our Saviour with great power and glory than if we were actual Spectators of it Let us therefore bethink our selves what manner of persons we ought to be in all holy and godly Conversation If we were certain this great Day were near at hand I am confident we would walk more circumspectly not as fools but as wise We would then soon be perswaded to break off our League with Sin and endeavour by a sincere and speedy Repentance to make a firm Peace with our God and Saviour I shall not pretend to tell you the precise time of this Day of Judgment but this I can assure you that several Learned and Pious Divines who have lately enquired into the Scripture Prophesies with great accuracy and diligence do tell us that this great Day is even at the door and that we may expect this glorious Appearance of the Son of Man in a very short time But tho' they should be mistaken in their Conjectures yet this is most certain that it will come at last and that the time of our Life which is all the time we have to prepare for it is exceeding short Let us therefore beseech Almighty God that we all may be found such wise and faithful Servants as are described v. 46. then shall we with joy meet our Saviour in the Air and make a part of his glorious Train when he returns to the highest Heaven giving as is most due all Honour and Glory unto him that sitteth on the Throne and unto the Lamb for evermore Let us therefore beseech Almighty God to give us Grace so to redeem our time that we may be found in the number of his wise and faithful Servants then shall we at the Day of Iudgment meet our Saviour in the Air and return with him to the Highest Heavens singing Praises and Hallelujahs unto him that sits upon the Throne and to the Lamb for evermore Amen Amen SERMON XI Prov. xvi 9. A mans heart deviseth his way but the Lord directeth his steps WHat great Esteem and Veneration the Ancient World entertain'd of Proverbs may easily be learned from the Writings of Aristotle He tells in his Rhetorick that they always allowed them the next place to Oracles And in other parts of his Writings he gives them the noble Epithet of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if they were the very Extract and Quintessence of Refined Wisdom The Divine Solomon sets them yet higher and thinks them worthy to be placed in the very Throne for Prov. 86. he styles them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which tho' our Translation renders only Excellent words Gejerus and other Learned Criticks translate them more agreeably to the Hebrew Princes of Words Intimating thus much to us That these Divine Sentences which are called Proverbs excel as much other Schemes of Speech as Kings and Princes do their ordinary Subjects But tho' Proverbs in the general have so much of Majesty in them and have always challenged a particular veneration from the Sons of Men Yet the Proverbs of Holy Writ are farther commended to us from the very Inscription and Title Page of the Book It is a known Observation of Learned Men that neither the Books of Moses Ioshua nor other Pen-men of Sacred Writ are recommended to the World by the Name of the Author till we come to this Book of Proverbs as if the Holy Ghost had designed some extraordinary advantage to this Heavenly Book when in the very Front of it was prefix'd the most August Name of Solomon Son of David King of Israel and we may be sure the Queen of the South will rise up in Judgment against us at the last Day if we do not give our best Attention to these
brought Life and Immortality to Light through the Gospel 2 Tim. 1. 10. Thus great is the Light of the Gospel and therefore those sins which are committed against it are the more heinous and damnable sins against Knowledg have more of wilfulness in them and argue greater contempt of God Hence such sinners are said in Scripture to reproach the Lord Numb 15. 30. Yea to rebel against the Light Job 24. 13. Since therefore Christians sin against greater Light they must expect severer Punishments Fer he that knoweth his Masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with more stripes 3. Another reason why Christians must expect the severest Punishments if they neglect this great Salvation is because the means of Grace which the Gospel affords for the obtaining of this Salvation are now more plentiful than they were before St. Iohn tells us Chap. 1. 17. That the Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth came by Iesus Christ of whose fulness saith he Verse 16. we all have received and Grace for Grace or Grace upon Grace to denote the great plenty and abundance of it The Law could do no more than shew Man his Duty but the Gospel affords him Grace to perform it Hence the Preachers of the Gospel are styled Able Ministers of the New Testament not of the Letter but of the Spirit for the Letter killeth but the Spirit giveth Life 2 Cor. 3. 6. The Law is here called the Letter and is said to Kill because it shews our Duty and the Danger of neglecting it but gives no Grace to help us in the performing of it But the Gospel is called the Spirit because the Spirit of Grace does by his internal Operations accompany the outward Ministration of the Gospel and so gives us Life Thus you see what plentiful Means of Grace the Gospel affords us for the obtaining of this great Salvation And therefore if we do neglect these Means of Grace our Condemnation as it will be more just so it will be more heavy too This is plain from our Saviours threatning Chorazin and Bethsaida Mat. 11. 21 22. Wo unto thee Chorazin wo unto thee Bethsaida for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in Sackcloath and Ashes But I say unto you it shall be more tollerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of Iudgment than for you Thus Christians as they enjoy more plentiful Means of Grace than others so if all these be lost upon them they must expect the severer Punishments Thirdly I come now in the Third and Last Place to shew you that Ministers may very well be allowed to be mighty earnest and passionate in their Exhortations and Admonitions See how earnest and passionate St. Paul is in the Text with what Vehemency and Fervency of Spirit does he cry out How shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation St. Paul was one of the greatest Orators in the World And he never thought his Oratory better employed than in the winning Souls to Christ. Hence we find him in the Acts Preaching with such Zeal and Eloquence that the Men of Lycaonia fancied Mercury their God of Eloquence was come down from Heaven And as St. Paul was thus Fervent in Spirit serving the Lord and promoting the Salvation of Souls so 2 Tim. 4. 2. He charges Ministers to be Instant in Season and out of Season Reproving Rebuking and Exhorting with all long Suffering And in truth what Zeal what Vehemency can be thought too much for the Pulpit Indeed the Heathen of old said well Stultus labor ineptiarum It is a ridiculous thing said he to make a noise about Trifles But sure Life and Death Heaven and Hell these are no Trifles Men do not well consider the worth of Souls and the greatness of that Salvation Christ has purchast for them when they are offended at the Zeal and Earnestness of Ministers when they are angry at the seriousness of their Exhortations or the severity of their Reproofs But what pity is it that Hell should be hung with such rich Furniture as the precious Souls of Men And who would not employ their utmost Zeal to save such wicked sinners as are ready every moment to drop into Hell Fire Let me therefore with all seriousness intreat you to work out your Salvation with Fear and Trembling As you love your own Immortal Souls and value that Infinite Price which Christ has paid for them as you dread the everlasting Burnings of the infernal Tophet and earnestly desire the endless Joys of Heaven be perswaded to break off your League with Sin and make your Peace with Almighty God that when ye come to die your Blessed Saviour may see the travel of his Soul and be satisfied that he may then be as ready to Bestow on you as he was to Purchase for you that you may at last obtain this great Salvation Which God grant unto us all for the sake of Jesus Christ to whom c. The Grace of our Lord Iesus Christ and the Love of God c. A SERMON Preached at the Assizes in New-Castle upon Tine in the Reign of K. Iames II. Ephes. ii 19 20. vers Now therefore you are no more strangers and forreigners but fellow-citizens with the Saints and of the houshold of God Vers. 20. And are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets ST Paul having planted the Gospel among the Ephesians labours in this most excellent Epistle to confirm them in the same by sundry Arguments Some of these Arguments are drawn from the consideration of that wretched condition they were in before and some from the excellency and blessedness of their present State Their former condition is displayed in all its colours ver 12. of this chapter where he tells them that they were then without Christ they were then Aliens from the common wealth of Israel strangers from the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the World It seems such as are without the pale of the Church are no better than the Children of Wrath they are expos'd to all the dreadful effects of God's anger in this World and must hereafter be cast into everlasting burnings in the next But tho' this was the lamentable condition of these Ephesians before their conversion yet the planting of the Gospel had made a happy change for they were now no more strangers and forreigners but fellow citizens with the Saints they were now delivered from the fears of Eternal damnation and had a Right and Title to all these glorious Priviledges which Abraham and the other blessed Citizens of Heaven did actually possess And what was it which gave them a right and title to all this happiness If you please to look a little farther into the Text you 'l find it was because they were of the houshold of God or in plain terms Members of the true Church for this indeed is the true Gospel which