shines the brighter when others are unsettled by the turn of the Times or by the crafty subtilties of Schismaticks and Hereticks And the honourableness of such stedfastness will appear more at large by these few Particulars 1. This Steadfastness is an Argument that men have formerly taken just pains to inform themselves about matters of Religion As Ignorance is a Stain to Human Nature so Knowledge on the contrary must be the Honour and Glory of it This is one of the greatest perfections of the Soul without which as Solomon tells us the Mind cannot be good and as Knowledge in the General is thus honourable so no Knowledge is so Honourable as the Knowledge of Religion Religion is the chiefest concern of Mankind and consequently ignorance of this is the most shameful brand and yet such ignorance as this for the most part are they guilty of who prove unfaithful to the Church of God Hence St. Paul 2 Tim. 3. 6 7. speaking of some who suffered themselves to be perverted by Seducers he calls the silly Women such as are ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth Nay elsewhere he styles them Children in understanding who are tossed to and fro with every wind of Doctrin For a man therefore to be steadfast in the Truth must needs be Honourable because it argues him to be a Knowing Man and that in matters of the highest importance 2. Stedfastness in Religion must needs be honourable because it is an Argument of the greatest Wisdom To be accounted wise is a piece of Honour men have always been covetous and ambitious of and there are none think they have a better title to it than such as change their Religion to serve their Temporal Interests Indeed our Saviour tells us That the Children of this World are in their Generation wiser than the Children of Light It must be acknowledged they are wiser as as to worldly Affairs and by renouncing their Religion they may make better provisions for the remainder of their Life here But alas What is a man profited if he gain the whole World and lose his own Soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his Soul Esau in the judgment of St. Paul was a very prophane Person when he sold his Birth-right for a Mess of Pottage and Iudas made but a sorry Bargain when for thirty pieces of Silver he betrayed his Saviour and his Soul together such worldly Policy is not the best sort of Wisdom He is truly the wisest man who prefers his Soul before his Body Heaven before Earth and Eternity before a Moment Now none is such a Wise Man as this but he who adheres stedfastly to the Church of God and values his Religion above Estate Life and all the fading Enjoyments of this transitory World 3. Stedfastness in Religion must needs be Honourable because such shall be honoured by Christ in an especial manner at the day of Judgment God has promised that those that honour him he will honour Now we have no better way to honour God than by owning his Truth and adhering to his Church Religion is the great concern God has in the World for the Honour and Advancement of which all those Miracles were wrought which are recorded in the Bible It is not therefore possible to please God more than by being true and faithful to Religion Hear what Honour our Saviour promises to put upon such at the day of Judgment Whosoever shall confess me before men saith Christ him shall the Son of Man confess before the Angels of God Luke 12. 8. However sincere Christians may be reviled and evil intreated by a wicked World it seems they will be own'd and honour'd by their Dearest Saviour and if there be one Crown of Glory larger than another he will bestow it on such as are faithful to the death I might if the time and your patience would permit add several other Arguments to shew the Honourableness of those Persons who continue stedfast in the Communion of God's Church but these I am confident will suffice at present I shall therefore conclude with a word of Exhortation beseeching you to continue stedfast in the Communion of the Church of England It will not be prudence in me to make any Reflections on other Churches but this I hope may be said without offence that I know not any Church this day upon Earth with which we may more safely Communicate than with the Church of England The Church of Rome is deservedly reckoned one of the Ancientest Churches in Christendom and yet if we may believe Baronius one of the best of their Historians the Church of England is Senior to it more than five years The Government of this Church is known to be Episcopal That Government which was instituted by Christ and was the only Government in the Church for fifteen hundred years after the Times of the Apostles And as this Church is governed by Bishops so we have had a continued Succession of them from the very beginning to this present day as may be learned from Godwins Catalogue of Bishops and Parkers Antiquitates Britannicae The Faith which our Church professes may be found in her Creeds which are the Apostles the Nicene and the Athanasian Creeds the only Creeds which were owned by the Primitive Church so that if we may be saved by that Faith which was thought sufficient by the Apostles and the best of Christians we need not seek a new one from any Church in Christendom No Church can pretend to more Loyal Principles or recommend it Self more to the Favour of Princes by the constant Fidelity of its Members than the Church of England This also is that Church which enjoyed Lucius the First Christian King and had the honour to have born in it the First Christian Emperor and Empress namely Constantine the Great and the most Religious Helena These are great and signal Honours such as no other Church is able to boast of and I shall add one greater than them all namely that the Religion of our Church was sealed by the Blood of King Charles I. the first Royal Martyr that ever was in the World This certainly is a Church none of us have the least reason to be ashamed of and as little reason to be afraid to own since we are so well assured of their present Majesties Gracious Protection I shall therefore conclude this Discourse as St. Paul does the 15th Chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians VVherefore my Beloved Brethren be ye stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the VVork of the Lord for asmuch as you know that your Labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. To God the Father c. SERMON VI. Luke xxiii 39 43. And one of the Malefactors which were hanged railed on him saying If thou be Christ save thy self and us But the other answering rebuked him saying Dost thou not fear God seeing thou art in the same condemnation And we indeed
SERMONS Preach'd on several Occasions BY Iohn March B. D. Late VICAR of NEWCASTLE upon TINE The last of which was Preach'd the Twenty Seventh of November 1692. Being the Sunday before he Died. With a Preface by Dr. Iohn Scot. The Second Edition To which is added a Sermon Preach'd at the Assizes in New-Castle upon Tine in the Reign of the late King Iames. LONDON Printed for Robert Clavell at the Peacock in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1699. Imprimatur C. ALSTON R. P. D. Hen. Episc. Lond. Ã Sacris Julii 3. 1693. THE PREFACE THE Reverend Author of the following Sermons was a Person of that great Worth and Excellency that among those who knew him they need no other Recommendation than his own Name for besides that they carry in 'em a certain strain of serious and unaffected Piety and this imbellished with such Clearness and Perspicuity such strength and vigour of Expression such solidity of Argument and Discourse as must have rendered the perusal of them very pleasant and profitable to all well-disposed Readers though their Author had been Anonymous besides which I say the truly Pious and Learned Author of them was a Person of such great Accomplishments both Moral and Intellectual as would have justly given Credit with all that knew his Personal Excellencies to much meaner Performances than these The main Objection this degenerous Age had against him was that he was a faithful Son of the Church of England and a zealous Asserter of its Doctrine and Discipline and one would think for a Man to be true to his Profession to that which he hath ex animo subscribed his Iudgment and declared his unfeigned Assent and Consent it should be so far from being reputed a Fault in him by those who pretend either to common Honesty or Modesty that it should rather be esteemed his Glory and Excellency As for his Conversation it was in all respects so Sober and Regular so Pure and Uncorrupt as that though he had but little reason to apprehend himself concerned in that Denunciation Wo be to you when all Men speak well of you yet so far as I ever heard even those who spoke worst of him durst never bespatter him with an Immorality He was a very diligent Pastor of the Flock committed to his Charge and that not only in the course of his Publick Ministry from which without some necessary Occasion he very rarely absented himself but also in his private Converses For besides that every Lord's Day in the Evening he generally spent a considerable Portion of time in Instructing the Youth of his Parish from which Pious and Charitable Exercise he very rarely suffered himself to be diverted even by the Visits of his best and greatest Friends besides which I say his known Abilities in resolving Cases of Conscience drew after him a great many good People not only of his own Flock but from remoter Distances who resorted to him as to a common Oracle and commonly went away from him intirely satisfied in his Wise and Iudicious Resolutions and by these his excellent Qualities and Labours he hath not only purchased to himself a Crown of Glory in Heaven but also so indeared his Memory upon Earth to all that are Virtuous and Good that like the Leaves of Roses still retain their Fragrancy though the Rose it self is withered and dead and that being dead he may yet speak to his surviving Auditors and that the Memory of his good Example and Doctrin may ever flourish among them it is the earnest desire of his Friends that these Sermons of his may be made Publick which though they have not that accomplished Accuracy as they would have had had they had his last hand to them and been prepared for the Press by his own skilful Pen yet as they are they are rightly worthy the Christian Readers perusal and as such I recommend them to his View and remain his Affectionate and Humble Servant Iohn Scot. SERMON I. Psalm lxxvi 7. Thou even thou art to be feared and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry I Know no Motives nor Arguments more likely to awaken Sinners to their Duty than a due consideration of Gods Infinite Goodness and Almighty Power Knowest thou not saith St. Paul that the goodness of God leadeth thee to Repentance Transcendently great is the Goodness of God towards poor Sinners He freely gave us his Son to Purchase Heaven and Eternal Happiness for us He sent down his Holy Spirit to dwell with us that he might sanctifie our corrupt Natures and make us meet to partake of the vast Inheritance of the Saints in Light and he excites us to a due improvement of these assistances of the Spirit by proposing the most glorious Rewards of Heaven and Eternal Happiness Thus God draws Sinners to their Duty by the bands of Love and the cords of a Man that is by Arguments of such an obliging Nature as are most likely to prevail with men whom he hath endowed with Reason and Understanding But how few are there who have so much ingenuity as to be won by kindness The greatest part of Mankind must be treated with severer methods according to the observation of St. Austin Plures sunt quos terror corrigit pauciores quos allicit amor Such saith he is the corruption and degeneracy of our Natures that very few are drawn to their Duty by the Bands of Love the generality of men must be driven to it by the fears of Punishment For this reason the wiser Heathens made Hercules their God of Power their God of Eloquence too intimating that no Arguments are more forcible or more prevalent than those which alarm our fears Now God who is never wanting in any thing that may conduce to our Salvation is observed in Scripture frequently to urge these powerful Arguments upon us Fear-not them saith our Saviour who can do no more than destroy the Body but fear him who is able to destroy both Body and Soul in Hell Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we perswade men saith St. Paul 2 Cor. 5. 11. To the same end and purpose we find Asaph the Author of this Psalm magnifying the power of God in the defeat of Sennacheribs Army Thou hast broken the Arrows of the Bow the Shield and the Sword and the Battel ver 3. The Stout hearted are Spoiled they have slept their sleep and none of the Men of Might have found their Hands ver 5. At thy rebuke O God of Jacob both the Chariot and Horse are cast into a deep sleep ver 6. Those expressions of our Psalmist relate unto Sennacherib King of the Assyrians this Monarchy in Daniels Vision is for its strength compared unto the Lion and it was at its Zenith in the reign of Sennacherib whose very name signifies a fierce Warrier and whose Subjects the Assyrians are deservedly stiled by our Psalmist the Stout-hearted because being flush'd by many Victories they feared neither Man nor God himself whom
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
the great advantages of Prayers Sermons and Sacraments other Judgments may the better be dispensed with Famine is another very sore Judgment when this rages God is said to march through the Land in indignation Hab. 3 12. and we will not stick to believe it when we consider the direful effects and consequences of Famine We read in our Chronicles that there was formerly such a dreadful Famine in this Island that when Malefactors were lead out of Prison towards the place of Exeeution the poor hungry People would presently fall upon them and tearing them in peices eat them up And we will not wonder at it when we read Ezek. 5 10. Of Fathers eating up their Sons and Sons their Fathers And which is stanger and more unnatural yet we find Lamen 4 10. Tender compassionate Women forced by the extremity of hunger to seeth their own Children These are horrid instances of a dreadful Judgment and yet we have a sadder instance of it and Famine is said to be such a devourer as causes a man to devour himself as you may read Isai. 9. 20. where every man is brought in eating the Flesh of his own Arm. Thus great and heavy a Judgment is Famine yea by some it is thought to be one of the sorest Heaven can inflict and yet it is inferiour to this of the Text when God in wrath removes our Candlestick out of his place when he takes his Gospel away from us and deprives us of all the priviledges and advantages of his Holy Ordinances No less than this is asserted Amos 8. 11 12. Behold the days come saith the Lord God that I will send a Famine in the Land not a Famine of Bread not a thirst of Water but of hearing the Word of the Lord And they shall wander from Sea to Sea and from the North even to the East shall they run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord and shall not find it Thus a Famine of the Word is a sorer Judgment than the Famine of Bread and well indeed it may since the one destroys only the Body the other destroys the Soul If the Light of the Gospel be taken away worse than Egyptian darkness will ensue such as will cause us to fall and that into the bottomless Pit from whence there is no Redemption Thus I have dispatched the three Generals and shewn you that 't is an heavy Judgment to have our Candlestick removed out of his place For this heavy Judgment deprives a Nation of its Chiefest Honour and makes them become Lo-ammi or no people It deprives them also of God's special Care and Providence and renders them an easie prey unto their Enemies And lastly it surpasses the sorest of God's Judgments and a Famine of Bread is far more tolerable than a Famine of the Word These Considerations if any will teach us to value God's Ordinances at an higher rate than formerly we have and excite our greatest care and diligence to prevent such an heavy Judgment as this and to help us to perform this Duty the better I come in the fourth place Fourthly Briefly to consider some of those Causes which bring such an heavy Judgment upon a Nation And 1st Sin is the General Cause of this heavy Judgment we need no other proof of this than the Text it self where Christ bids the Church of Ephesus remember from whence she had fallen and repent and do the first works Nothing but our Iniquities can separate betwixt our God and us if we do not repent of them they will be our ruin For God will not continue his Gospel to a backsliding and disobedient People but will take it away and give it to a Nation that will better bring forth the Fruits thereof 2ly The contempt of God's Word and his Messengers is another Cause of this heavy Judgment This may easily be gathered from 2 Chron. 36. 15 16. Where we are told that the Lord God sent to the Iews by his Messengers rising up betimes and sending because he had compassion on his People and on his dwelling Place But they mocked the Messengers of God and despised his Words and misused his Prophets until the wrath of the Lord arose against his People till there was no remedy So Amos 8. where the Prophet threatens them with a Famine of the Word he assigns this among other reasons ver 5. namely because they prophaned his Sabbaths and despised his Ordinances And indeed when a Nation undervalues the Light of the Gospel and judg themselves unworthy of it it is but just with God to remove their Candlestick and carry his Gospel to a People more worthy of it 3ly Schisms and Divisions are another grand Cause of this heavy Judgment Historians tell us that this was it which opened the way to the Turks and Saracens to overflow the Eastern Churches and let Mahumetanism into the World It was this which brought that deluge of Goths and Vandals and other barbarous Nations upon the West And indeed we need not wonder at it since S. Iames tells us Chap. 3. 16. That where envying and strife is there will be confusion and every evil work Thus I have dispatched the fourth General and shewn you some of those Causes which provoke God to remove his Candlestick from a People and Nation Sin in the General is the Cause of it In particular the contempt of God's Messengers and his Ordinances and those Schisms and Divisions which rage in a Nation And if we should now reflect upon our selves I fear we should find so much wickedness and debauchery raging in the Land such gross prophanation of God's Sabbaths contempt of his Messengers and his Ordinances and withal so many dangerous Schisms and Factions amongst us as may justly cause us to dread the heavy Judgment of the Text. But I will not foretel your danger but exhort you to prevent it and that by Repentance as the Text directs Which Fifthly brings me to the fifth and last General proposed which is to shew you the Means to prevent this heavy Judgment Now this cannot better be learned than from that advice Christ gives the Church of Ephesus in this place remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first works Repentance therefore is the best means we can take to appease God's Wrath and prevent his Judgments If we repent of the evil of our ways God also will repent of the evil we have reason enough to fear he is bringing upon us Hear what is said to this purpose in the Prophet Jer. 3. 12. Return O back sliding Israel saith the Lord and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you for I am merciful What a gracious motive is here urged What will perswade us to repent if the hopes of Mercy will not In what a sad condition should we be if God should remove our Candlestick out of his place if he should take away his glorious Gospel from us and deprive us of all the
infelici fraude posuit If saith this Father we respect his Opportunities for attaining Faith his Repentance was not late but early he took the very first season As soon as ever he descried Christ and Religion he readily embraced them He did not wretchedly cheat himself of the Remedies of his miserable condition he did not adjourn the use of them to a late uncertain Futurity which seldom or never succeeds well Let now the bold Presumptuous sinners of our Times compare themselves if they please with the Example of the Text Let them see if they can extract any Comfort or Encouragement from hence Will they say indeed that they never had any Call to Repentance Will they pretend that there was never offer'd them any Opportunity to be acquainted with Christ Alas how oft has Christ been Crucified before their Eyes in the Ministry of the Word How oft have they seen him in the Sacrament bleeding for their sins Have they not had Line upon Line and Precept upon Precept Have they not had private and publick Admonitions How many National Judgments and Calamities have call'd aloud for their Humiliation How many publick Mercies and Deliverances have invited them to the Duty Sure then they cannot draw a parallel between their own Case and the Case of the Thief They cannot at the Hour of Death expect any Comfort or Consolation from his Example 2dly Consider how remarkable how wonderful how extraordinary the Repentance of this Thief was As Jewels contain vast Riches in a little room so his short Life of Penitency had a whole Age of Repentance in it Tho' his Repentance had but a little time to breath in yet how busie how active how vigorous was it in all the great and important parts of hearty Mortification 1. We may view here in the Text his deep sense and humble acknowledgment of his former sins We suffer justly saith he to the other Thief we receive no more than the due rewards of our former Deeds Magnum enim poenitentiae signum in poena sua acquiescere It is a great sign of true Repentance saith Grotius patiently to bear the Punishment which is inflicted or for the Malefactor to approve of his own Condemnation Confession is called by the Father the Vomit of the Soul it shews Sin to be bitter to us when we cast it up by such open Acknowledgments And now I pray what Comfort is there in this Example for such Presumptuous sinners amongst us who put off their Repentance to the time of Sickness How rarely do we find in them such a deep sense of their Sins and a serious Humiliation for them How lame are their Confessions and for the most part but General Ministers when they come to Visit them in their Sickness are forced to transgress the bounds of Modesty before they can extort a slender acknowledgment of their Faults Tho' they have sinned in an impudent manner and never were ashamed to dishonour God and affront their Saviour yet now they are unwilling to take shame to themselves but desire their sins may be buried with them in the same Grave Thus the Clinicks of the Age do generally fall short of the Example in the Text as to this part of Repentance But 2dly Let us Consider that this honest Penitent Thief was not only sensible of his sin and willing to make an open Confession of it but he shewed great Charity to his fellow Thief and labour'd to bring him to an hearty Humiliation for his Transgressions See how his Compassion to his Soul displays it self in his passionate Expostulation with him What saith he dost thou not fear God Is this a time for thee to revile this Innocent Person who has done nothing amiss It would better become thee to reflect upon thy former Life to call thy past Sins to remembrance and spend that little Breath which is left thee in suing for a Pardon at the Throne of Grace Sure thine Heart must be harder than an Adamant if Death that King of Terrours has no Darts that can pierce it What saith he dost thou not at such a time as this fear God Thus great thus remarkable was his Charity to the Soul of his Fellow-Thief But alas how cold is that Charity which the Clinicks of the Age express for the Souls of others Tho' they have been all their life time Factors for Hell and saved the Devil the labour of Tempting men to sin Tho' they have delighted formerly in putting the Bottle to their Neighbours mouth and even gloried when they have been able to drink them into Brutes Tho' they have enticed them to all sorts of Lusts and made them bear a share in all their Debaucheries yet in their sickness how seldom do they send for their boon Companions How seldom do they endeavour to rid their Souls of the guilt of other Mens sins If their Brethren in Iniquity come at any time unsent for and have so much Civility as to Visit them in their sickness how frothy at least how unseasonable is their Discourse When do we hear them reminding them of their former Debaucheries telling them the danger of them and by ghostly Admonitions labouring to draw them out of the snare of the Devil And since they are so unlike this penitent Thief in their Charity for the Souls of others they have little reason to encourage themselves by his Example But 3dly Consider farther what a strong prodigious Faith did live and act in this penitent Thief when he was a dying We find in the Text he believed Christ to have been a Iust Person even when he was numbred among Transgressors He pronounces that our Saviour had done nothing amiss notwithstanding the great Sanhedrim had pronounc'd him worthy of Death yea the Death of the Cross and fit to be hanged between two Thieves This was a strange prodigious Faith indeed And yet did it exert more prodigious Acts than these for he farther believed that Christ had a Kingdom and that a Kingdom of another World and therefore he saith to our Saviour at the point of Death Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom What a strong prodigious Faith was here The wisest of the Iews dreamt of nothing so much as a Temporal Kingdom yea his own Disciples were deficient in this great Article of their Faith They are for sitting at his Right hand and at his Left hand in some worldly Empire Nay after Christ had given several Checks to their misguided Ambition we find them still harping on this string and at the very time of his Ascension putting this foolish Question to him Lord Wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom unto Israel Act. 1. 6. But this penitent Thief desires no Earthly Glories he begs not to sit at his Right hand or at his Left but Lord saith he remember me after Death when thou comest into thy Kingdom These are strange and wonderful Acts of his Faith and yet not all that are here recorded in the
and conducted the Wise Men of the East to the Son of Righteousness At his Resurrection all the Graves were opened and those Patriarchs which had slept for many years had a Goal-delivery and graced the solemnity of our Saviours Resurrection The Holy Martyr Ignatius has left it upon Record that those very Saints who were with our Saviour at Easter had a share also in his Ascention upon Holy-Thursday What wonder then if we find one Penitent Thief converted in a miraculous manner to grace his Crucifixion Christ was now triumphing over Principalities and Powers he was now making a shew of them openly on the Cross That therefore he should bear off the Field the prey which he had taken out of the Jaws of the Enemy was no more than was due to the solemnity of his Triumphs Very pretty is St. Austin's Remark upon this passage Christ saith he in rescuing the poor Thief upon the Cross was but quits with the Devil for the Devil took Man from God out of the midst of Paradise Christ takes this poor Man from Satan when he was no less than in the very Jaws of Hell Satan ruin'd Man on the Forbidden Tree and Christ saves him on the Cursed Tree How proper for this occasion was such an Experiment of this Sovereign Balsom There is then no question to be made but this Conversion of the Thief was an extraordinary Act of Grace Novae insolitae quaedam Divinae Virtutis Efficacia it was saith Grotius an unusual Ray of Divinity which darting at this time into the Thiefs heart wrought such strange and wonderful Repentance in him And indeed the Conclusion will run thus high if we lay all the premised circumstances together that the Grace of God should work in this Thief such a deep sense of his sin such an open confession of it such wonderful Charity for his Neighbour such a miraculous Faith yea such a compleat change all on a sudden and that without means yea as you have heard against means and amidst the greatest Temptations to the contrary All these shew the Conversion of this Thief to have been perfectly extraordinary and such as was designed to Grace the Crucifixion of our Saviour And now I pray what comfort can this example afford to the Clinicks of the Age Do they think that God Almighty is obliged to work Miracles for their Conversion And yet it is a known Rule in Divinity that extraordinary Cases must not be made a Rule Because God did once translate Enoch into Heaven must any of us expect the same Honour and Dignity Because some Saints arose with Christ and ascended with him into Heaven is this any ground for our Faith that we shall rise before the General Resurrection So because God did once in a wonderful manner Convert a poor Thief at the hour of Death we must not presume upon such extraordinary Mercy It will better become us to be terrified at the example of the other Thief We read he was left unconverted and his Soul dropt into Hell sooner than his Carcase was taken from the Cross. If thou dost reject the ordinary means of Grace which God does plentifully afford thee thou canst not promise thy self extraordinary mercy at the hour of Death in all probability it will fare with thee as it did with the Unconverted Thief SERMON VII Luke xxiii 39 43. And one of the Malefactors which were hanged railed on him saying If thou be Christ save thy self and us But the other answering rebuked him saying Dost thou not fear God seeing thou art in the same condemnation And we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this man hath done nothing amiss And he said unto Iesus Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom And Iesus said unto him Verily I say unto thee to day thou shalt be with me in Paradise I Told you the last Lords Day that I did not design to examine all the parts of so large a Text but only take occasion from them to shew you two things First That there is no encouragement at all for a late Death-bed Repentance in the Example of the Penitent Thief And Secondly Take occasion from the Example of the Impenitent Thief to shew you that a late Death-bed Repentance is a thing most dangerous if not in some sort impossible First I shew'd you at large the last Lords day that there is no encouragement at all in the Example of the Penitent Theif for a late Death-bed Repentance For this example in many things is vastly different from the condition of presumptuous Sinners in our times This in all probability was the first Call that was ever given to this poor Thief the first opportunity that was ever offer'd him to be acquainted with Christ whereas the Clinicks of the Age have had the means of Grace plentifully afforded them they have had Line upon Line and Precept upon Precept publick and private Admonitions to Repent I shew'd you further how wonderful and extraordinary his Repentance was We find here in the Text his deep sense of his sins his humble and publick Confession of his Faults his great Charity and Compassion for the Soul of the other Thief a Faith also strange and Prodigious such as pronounc'd Christ a just and innocent Person when the great Sanhedrim had condemn'd him for a Malefactor such as own'd Christ to have a Kingdom and that a Kingdom of another World such as made him address to Christ for Mercy own him in his lowest degree of Humiliation when all the World revil'd him and his own Disciples forsook him Such a change as this so sudden and so perfect could not be wrought without a Miraculous Power and was design'd as I shew'd you to grace the Passion and Crucifixion of our Saviour but not to encourage presumptuous sinners to delay their Repentance As therefore we cannot think God obliged to work Miracles for the Conversion of bold daring Sinners so we cannot administer any solid comfort to them at the hour of Death from this example of the Penitent Theif All the kindness the Text will allow us to shew unto bold presumptuous sinners is only to awaken them in the time of their health to a serious and timely Repentance from the Dreadful example of the Impenitent Thief This wicked Malefactor as he had lived a most wicked Life so he dies a most miserable Death his Body was not sooner buried in Golgotha than his Soul was hurried to the place of Torments All the Charity of the Penitent Thief is lost upon him all his Admonitions prove ineffectual he dies Reviling and Blaspheming his Saviour and consequently could not be long from receiving the just but dreadful rewards of such final impenitency I come therefore in the next place to shew you from this Example Secondly That a late Repentance is a thing most dangerous if not in some sort impossible The generality of Mankind are ready enough to acknowledge the absolute Necessity of
unfit to ingage themselves in any Religious Exercises Good Hezekiah as pious and excellent a Prince as he was was able in his sickness to do no more than chatter as a Crane Tho' none at other times knew better how to pray yet now it seems he can but chatter and is obliged by reason of his Infirmity to beg the prayers of the Prophet Esay And as it was with Hezekiah so it happens unto other holy Men which occasioned that advice of St. Iames Chap. 5. 14. Is any Sick among you let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him And if good men if such as Hezekiah be rendred by sickness unfit for Prayer and the other exercises of Religion how must sickness indispose the wicked who never were acquainted with these Religious Exercises before They of all men are most unfit to set about such Duties as these For besides those exquisite Pains they labour under besides all those indispositions both of Body and Mind which they have common with other men the sad remembrances of their former sins and the more dreadful apprehensions of an incensed Deity will now inhaunce their troubles they will fill their Souls with unspeakable horrors and even deter them from endeavouring to make their peace with Heaven And besides all this Satan we may be sure will be busie at this time to draw these sinners to despair Tho' he used to tell them in the time of their health that it was too soon to Repent yet this malicious Fiend will now suggest that it is too late he will tell them the Door of Mercy is now shut upon them and that God whom they refused to hear all their life long will now be as backward to hear them All these considerations laid together will I believe make a late Repentance a thing most dangerous if not in some sort impossible 3ly a late Death-bed Repentance will appear a thing most dangerous if not in some sort impossible if we consider what is required to the compleating and perfecting of Repentance Now Repentance doth denote our ceasing to do evil and our learning to do well Our rooting out all the inveterate habits of Vice and planting in our Souls the contrary habits of Vertue And this sure must be a work of great difficulty and consequently of time For sin as it grows up by degrees and gains strength by custom and continuance so it must be conquered by degrees abate by a long series and succession of contrary Acts. Every step we made forward must be repeated backward the Web we formerly spun must now all be unravelled And believe it we will find it a work of time and difficulty too to correct our impetuous inclinations to render our sensual Appetites obsequious to Reason our Passions regular and steddy and cleanse our Souls from vanity sloth perversness and all vitious distempers It takes good men many months and years to conquer one impetuous Lust and subdue one unreasonable Passion and do these presumptuous Sinners expect to conquer all their Lusts in a trice to blow them away with a little breath a Lord have mercy upon us and the like And as Vice is not easily conquered so neither is Virtue so easily obtained It is not like Ionahs Gourd which grows up in a night no it is a tender and delicate Plant it grows but slowly it needs much pains to cultivate it much care to guard it much time to mature it especially in the untoward Soil of corrupt Nature and the unkindly weather of this wicked World And if it be so hard a matter to obtain one single Vertue what pains what time is required to get the whole circle of them to add as St. Peter speaks to our Faith Virtue to Virtue Knowledge to Knowledge Temperance and so on Is this think ye the work of a dying hour the business only of a day or the short time of sickness The whole time of our life seems too little for it and would in truth be so if God were not so Merciful as to crown our imperfect Endeavours with his gracious assistance and render them in some sort perfect by his favourable Acceptance One thing more I shall add unto this Head which you may learn from Rom. 2. 7. where St. Paul tells us that we must by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality It seems we cannot expect Eternal life unless we conquer Sin and gain the contrary habits of Vertue yea which is more yet we must patiently continue in well-doing All this will certainly make a Death-bed Repentance a thing most dangerous if not in some sort impossible as the Prophet Ieremiah represents it Chap. 13. 23. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil 4ly A late Repentance will yet farther appear to be a thing most dangerous if not in some sort impossible if we consider how little it is such a Presumptuous Sinner is able to do in the Time of Sickness I grant such a person may express some Grief and Sorrow for Sin but since this Sorrow proceeds more from fear of Punishment than any real love of God and Vertue it cannot be that Godly Sorrow which worketh Repentance to Salvation never to be repented of I grant yet farther that such a sinner may with great earnestness beg pardon for his sins restore perhaps his Ill-gotten Goods and which is the most he can do make solemn Resolutions of Amendment and better Obedience if God should restore him to his former Health This is all such a sinner can possible do at the Hour of Death but will all this amount to a sincere and hearty Repentance Pray let it be consider'd what I told you the last Lord's Day namely that Experience has frequently declared these dying Resolutions to be but forc'd and feign'd and such Penitents when by God's Mercy they have been restor'd to their former Health notwithstanding all their Protestations have with the Dog returned to their Vomits and with the Sow to their wallowing in the Mire And have we any reason then to look on such Resolutions as these to be hearty Repentances Besides a Resolution to repent and amend is not properly to Repent and Amend Apply this to other Cases and you 'l easily find the falsity of it Suppose a man resolves to learn the Art of Sailing does this Resolution presently make him a skilful Mariner No more does a Resolution to repent and amend make a true Penitent or honest Christian Such a Change as this is not so easily wrought such a Reformation is not so suddenly produc'd The Mathematicks or any other Art may more easily be learned than the Art of Living-well because all Arts must be acquired by repeated Acts and since Corrupt Nature is more opposite to the Art of Living-well than to any other it is impossible it should be attained by a bare unactive
before thou be sick and in the time of Sins shew Repentance Let nothing hinder to pay thy Vows in due time and defer not till Death to be justified The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ c. SERMON VIII Luke xxiv 43. To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise THE Occasion of which Words we may easily learn from the Context We find Ver. 33. that our Blessed Saviour was Crucified betwixt two Theives or Malefactors Tho' he was without Sin yet as the Apostles speaks he appeared in the likeness of sinful Flesh and as the Prophet Esay tells us was numbred with the Transgressors Chap. 53. 12. Now one of these Malefactors begins to rail on our Saviour saying If thou be the Christ save thy self and us vers 39. It is an Argument of desperate Wickedness to insult over such as are in Misery it is no less than to defie Almighty God who is the Protector of such as are in misery and uses to avenge their quarrel And therefore the other Malefactor rebukes him ver 40. saying Dost not thou fear God especially since thou art in the same Condemnation Such as are in Prosperity do ordinarily forget God but in time of Adversity most men will consider When they are approaching towards the Gates of Death they are then generally serious the Thoughts of another World and the prospect of a Future State usually strikes an awe into their Souls But this Thief is so desperately wicked that even on the Cross and when Death was near at hand he despises God and reviles our Saviour But the other Thief gives ample demonstrations of his sincere Repentance and Faith in the Messiah For he does not only rebuke his Fellow Thief and endeavours his Conversion but he also acknowledges his Fault aud patiently submits to the Punishment as a just reward of his evil deeds ver 41. If such scandalous persons that are amongst us would when they are upon their Death-beds thus take shame to themselves by a free Confession of their Faults If they would send for such persons whom in the time of their Health they have endeavour'd to debauch either by their Example or Counsel and acquaint them with the danger of Sin and the bitterness they then find in it they would give the World much better demonstrations of their sincere Repentance and much surer grounds to hope their Eternal welfare And as this poor Thief gives such ample demonstrations of his sincere Repentance so he gives also very good proof of a true and stedfast Faith in Christ for ver 42. he says unto Christ Jesus Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom Ye see he believes Christ to be the Lord and to have a Kingdom tho' not in this World which was more than Christ's own Disciples did Nay farther he owns Christ upon the Cross and when in the lowest degree of his state of Humiliation even when all the Iews were mocking and persecuting him yea when his own Disciples forsook him and St. Peter one of the Chiefest had deny'd him thrice Nay farther yet how wonderful was his Humility He only desires that Christ would remember him in his Kingdom He does not presume to ask that he might sit on Christ's Right hand or on his Left in his Kingdom but only that he would remember him A true penitent humble Soul will think the least degree of Mercy great enough or too great for him I have the rather noted all this because too many encourage themselves in their Wickedness by the Example of this poor Thief They think they may live as they list and yet be saved if they repent on a Sick-bed and at the Hour of Death But how rare is it that God does give such Presumptuous sinners so much Grace in the time of their Sickness How seldom do they give such ample demonstrations of their Faith Humility and sincere Repentance Now what Answer doth Christ return to this honest Thief The Text will give you a fair account of this Then said Iesus unto him Verily I say unto thee to day shalt thou be with me in Paradise In which Words we have a fair description of the happiness of pious Souls after they are departed from this wretched Body I shall consider the Words in the same order that they lye And First They assure us That pious Souls are immediately admitted to the actual possession of Happiness upon their departure from the Body To Day saith Christ. Secondly They do farther assure us of the greatness of this Happiness they shall be with Christ and they shall be in Paradise To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise First These Words assure us that pious Souls are immediately admitted to the actual possession of Happiness upon their depature from the Body There are a sort of Men in the World they call Psychoparruychites who hold that the Soul after its departure from the Body sleeps all the while till the General Resurrection and consequently is neither in a state of Ioy nor Misery till the Day of Iudgment when it shall be reunited united to the Body and sent with it either to Heaven or Hell But it is plain from the Text that the Souls of Good men are immediately after their departure from the Body admitted to the actual possession of Eternal happiness For Christ does here promise this honest Thief that he should be that very day with him 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 the Thief to be that very day So Act. 7. 56. St. Stephen saw the Heavens open'd and the Son of Man standing on the Right hand of God He knew the Heavens were open'd for him and that Christ stood there ready to receive him into Glory and therefore he prays ver 59. Lord Iesus receive my Spirit So again 2 Cor. 5. 8. We are confident I say and willing rather to be absent from the Body and to be present with the Lord. It seems the pious Soul as soon as it is absent from the Body it is present with the Lord and consequently in a state of Bliss and Glory Again Revel 14. 13. I heard a Voice from Heaven saying Write blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them Ye see here the Godly are said to be blessed as soon as they dye and not only to rest but also to receive the reward of their good Works I shall add but one Text more which you 'l 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
shall not only know all God's Saints in Heaven but we shall have more sweet and ravishing Communion with them Here a Nazianzin shall repeat the embraces of his beloved Basil a David for ever enjoy his Dearest Ionathan and the Pious Soul possess what Socrates could of old but wish for namely the intimate converses of all those Brave Heroes who have gone thither before him And you 'l easily believe there shall be most sweet Communion among the Saints in Heaven when you have considered the important Phrase by which it is exprest Mat. 8. 11. And I say unto you that many shall come from the East and West and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven In our Translation it is shall sit down but in the Greek it is shall lie down upon Beds as they used to do at their greatest Feasts So that there shall be much sweet and pleasant Communion among the Saints in Heaven as uses to be among Friends at their most solemn Feasts Hence also we read Luke 16. 22. That Lazarus was carried by the Angels into Abrahams Bosom It was the manner of the Iews when they feasted to lean in the Bosom one of another Thus St. Iohn when he sat to eat with Christ is said to lean in his Bosom So here Lazarus being laid in Abrahams Bosom denotes they have a continual Feast of Joy in Heaven they are constantly entertained with the Supper of the Lamb and consequently must needs have sweet and ravishing Society and Communion each with other And how does this inhance the Happiness of Paradise above Ask your own experience what sweetness you have found in their Conversation here below Did not King David account them the most excellent Persons upon Earth and delight exceedingly in the society of God's Saints And if so much delight be to be found if so much Sweetness be to be tasted in the Society of the Saints here on Earth How much more abundantly shall we be satisfied with their Company and Conversation in Heaven Alas here the very best of men have so many Imperfections and are subject to so many Misfortunes as do often make their Acquaintance troublesome and unpleasant to us Hence it was good Advice which was given by Aristotle namely that we should not greatly multiply Friends because their frequent falling into Miseries and Misfortunes would imbitter our Lives and make our Condition wretched and miserable But in Heaven we are told to our Comfort that we shall converse with the Spirits of just men made Perfect The Saints in Heaven will have no infirmities no imperfections to abate and allay the solaces of their Conversation But on the other hand they will have all those Excellencies and Advantages which are requisite to make their Company Sweet and Desirable and how great must this Happiness needs be When Christs Disciples at the Transfiguration enjoyed the Company only of Moses and Elias they were so well satisfied with it that they cried out bonum est nobis esse hic it is good for us to be here How much greater will their Happiness be who shall be with Christ in Paradise For they cannot be with him but they must be with all his Saints As soon as this Penitent Thief entred the gates of Heaven he was joyfully received with all the Honourable Companies and Troops above There did the Patriarch meet him the Prophets hug'd him and the Martys struck up their Harps and bid him welcome to the Celestial Regions such joy as this did enter his Soul when he did enter into the joy of his Master But 2ly To be with Christ is not only to be with all the Saints but also with all the Angels of Heaven St. Paul tells us Heb. 12. 22. That when we come to the Heavenly Ierusalem we shall come to an innumerable Company of Angels How great must the pleasure be of being acquainted with such Glorious Creatures How great the Happiness of hearing their ravishing Musick The Seraphims and Cherubims are continually Blessing and Praising God and their Heavenly Harmony consists of ten thousand times ten thousand various Voices So we read Rev. 5. 11. I heard saith St. Iohn the Voice of many Angels round about the Throne and the number of them was ten thousand times ten Thousand yea even thousands of thousands This is the true Musick of the Sphears and it will certainly be most ravishing since it is performed by such vast numbers of such Glorious Choristers This is the great Happiness of the Godly in Heaven they shall live with the General Assembly of the First-born and with an innumerable company of Angels crying out continually with them Thou art worthy O Lord to receive Honour and Glory and Power But this is not all for the Godly shall not only be with Christs Saints and Angels But 3ly They shall be with Christ himself Now the Godly in Heaven shall be with Christ. First In respect of his Humility Secondly In respect of his Divinity First The Godly shall be with Christ in respect of his Humility This day saith Christ shalt thou be with me As soon as Christ's Soul was separated from his Body it went to Heaven and the poor Thiefs went along with it But the Godly that die now they see not only the Soul but also the Body of Christ. Hence St. Paul describing the Happiness of the Godly in Heaven tells us That they shall come to Iesus the Mediator of the New Covenant Now Christ as Mediator was Man as well as God And it will be part of our Happiness to be with him as Man It was one of St. Austins three wishes that he might see Christ in the Flesh But in Heaven we shall not only see Christs Body but we shall see all that Glory God has bestowed upon it there To this purpose is our Saviours Prayer John 17. 24. Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me may be with me where I am that they may behold my Glory which thou hast given me How great will our Happiness be when we shall behold all Christs Glory When we shall see him sitting at the Right Hand of Power highly exalted above every Name yea even above the most Glorious Cherubims and Seraphims And this Glory of Christ will rejoyce us the more because our Nature is Glorified in him As a Queen that sees the Prince in his Glory delights the more in it because she looks upon it as her own So when the Church Triumphant shall see Christ her Husband in all his Glory she will rejoyce in it because it is her own Glory Who can express this part of our Happiness Blessed are the Eyes saith Christ which see those things that you see here If it were such a blessed thing to see Christ in his state of Humiliation How great will that Blessedness be when we shall see him in his State of Glory and Exaltation It will be the business of God's Saints in Heaven
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
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
us VVhat Plots and Descents has he detected and defeated How has he baffled the profoundest Policy of the subtilest Achitophel and made him prove according to his name in Hebrew no better than the Brother or Cousin-Germain to a Fool Oh then let us praise our God according to his excellent Greatness and being wonderfully delivered from the hands of our Enemies let us serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the dayes of our life This God of his infinite Mercy grant for the merits of his dearest Son c. SERMON XII Preached November 27. 1692. the Sunday before the Author died Heb. ii 3. How shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation SAint Paul in the former Chap. displays the excellent Glory and Majesty of our Saviour He styles him ver 2. the Son of God the Heir of all things and Maker of the Worlds He tells us us farther ver 3. that He is the brightness of his Fathers Glory the express Image of his Person and the upholder of all things In the following part of the Chapter he shews how far Christ transcends all the Holy Angels These he says are but Servants and Ministring Spirits but Christ he is the Eternal and only begotten Son of God These are all commanded to fall down and worship Christ but He has á Throne a Scepter a Scepter of Righteousness yea the Scepter of his own Heavenly Kingdom Thus great thus glorious a Person is Christ Heaven it self has nothing greater and yet as great as glorious as He is his Father thought fit to employ him in the work of Mans Salvation O the wonderful Condescentions of Heaven We may be sure God is most willing to save poor Sinners seeing he sends to them and that his own Son to beseech and entreat them to accept of Salvation Hence is that of St. Paul in the beginning of this Epistle God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the Fathers by the Prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son Had God spoken to us by the meanest of his Prophets it had been strange and wonderful Condescension but that he should send his own Son to preach the Gospel and intreat Rebel sinners to be reconciled to Heaven and accept of Eternal Happiness this is such an instance of stupendious Love and Mercy as does as much exceed our imaginations as it does our Deserts St. Paul having thus dispiayed the Excellent Majesty of Christ and the infinite Riches of Gods Free Grace and Mercy in that he sent his Eternal Son to be the first Preacher of the Gospel and tender Salvation to lost and undone sinners he begins the 2d Chapter with a serious and passionate Admonition We therefore saith he ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard lest at any time we should let them slip If God had conveyed the Gospel to Christians as he did the Law unto the Jews by the Ministry of Angels we could not have slighted it without gross ingratitude and our Disobedience as we are told ver 2. would have received a just recompence of reward Of how much sorer punishment shall we now he thought worthy seeing the Eternal Son of God condescended to be of the Order of Predicants seeing Christ Jesus himself vouchsafed to be the first Preacher of the Gospel how should we then honour and value this Gospel What earnest heed should we give to the things contained in it or preached from it Whatever Admonitions Exhortations or Reproofs Ministers give us out of these Sacred Oracles should not be look'd upon as the Words of frail Men but as they are in truth the Words of God and Christ. Christians therefore will be most inexcusable They of all men will deserve the severest Punishments if they shall neglect so great Salvation And because the danger is thus great our Apostle is the more earnest and passionate in his Exhortation He employs all his Divine Rhetorick to make Christians sensible of their greater Priviledge and consequently of their greater Obligations to obey the Gospel How shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation Having by this short Preface led you into the very Bowels of the Text I shall fetch from thence these Three Observations First That the Salvation which is published by the Gospel is exceeding great Secondly That those Christians which neglect this great Salvation must expect the severest Punishments in Hell Thirdly That Ministers may very well be allowed to be mighty earnest and passionate in their Exhortations of Obedience to the Gospel First I begin with the first of these namely to shew you that the Salvation which is published by the Gospel is exceeding great It is called Great Salvation in the Text yea the Apostle puts an Emphasis upon it and calls it So great Salvation Learned Men render it Eximiam ut mire magnam salutem i. e. Most admirable and most excellent Salvation And it will appear at large to be so from these following Considerations 1st The greatness of this Salvation will appear if we consider the greatness of the Price that was paid for it The worth and excellency of a thing is usually measur'd by the greatness of its price Now how great was that price which was paid for this Salvation St. Peter tells us we were not redeemed with such corruptible things as Silver and Gold but with the precious Blood of the Son of God Had we offer'd a thousand Rams and ten thousand Rivers of Oil Had we given the fruit of our Bodies for the sin of our Souls yea had it been possible for us to have sacrificed whole Hecatombs of Angels to the Justice of Heaven they would not all have been sufficient to atone for our Sins and purchase this Salvation Nothing could purchase it but the Blood of Iesus and that not only as he was Man but as he was God too Hence we are said expresly to be purchas'd with the Blood of God Act. 20. 28. We see an Infinite price was paid Heaven to purchase this Salvation And therefore we may well allow the Apostles Emphasis of so great Salvation 2ly The greatness of this Salvation will yet further appear if we consider the greatness of those evils it delivers us from It is an excellent saying of Seneca Lenocinium est gaudii antecedens metus the greatness of the danger uses to commend and inhance the greatness of the deliverance Now how great was the danger we were in how great those Evils we were exposed to The Prophet Esay gives us a most Tragical Description of the Infernal Tophet which was to be the Portion of the Rebellious Sinner Chap. 30. 31. Tophet saith he is prepared of old 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 arm'd with Terror It seems there is an eternal Tophet prepared for all