perfect and promulge the intent and meaning of his Laws that we might not be be-wildred in Fancies and Illusions grovel in the Dark and perish in Ignorance If notwithstanding this Pharos or great Illuminary which would light and guide us to Heaven's Gates we still wander and stray from the Truth expecting a miraculous Revelation that God will convert us by some other means which we have no warrant for nor have the least reason to suppose we shall be grosly deceived and obstinately plunge our selves into remediless Ruine he having appointed no other means for our Conviction Conversion and Salvation than his Holy Word which he has commissioned his Ministers to preach and propagate And thus much may suffice for the first thing which I proposed to speak to namely That the Word of God is the only Means appointed to convert and bring us to the enjoyment of him Which is the Argument Abraham urges to the rich Man to excuse the grant of his request That Lazarus might be sent to his Brethren to testifie unto them No they have Moses and the Prophets the appointed means for Salvation let them give heed to them It is but in vain for them to expect extraordinary Revelations and for you to desire them From hence I proceed to the second general Thing namely Secondly That it is too plain an argument of a seared Heart and strong Infidelity when the Word of God doth not take place convince Men of their Sins and happily bring them from under the power of Satan unto God And this Abraham implies in his Answer to the rich Man Thy Brethren have Moses and the Prophets who are sufficient to reclaim and work a reformation in them unless their Heart be like an Adamant stubborn and impenetrable For their Commission is immediately from God and that which they preach is by his special Inspiration St. Paul asserts Heb. 4.12 That the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged Sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of Soul and Spirit that is it is convincing and influential of mighty force and sagacity active and searching Now it evidently follows that Men must be prodigiously hardened and arrived to a very high pitch of Infidelity when this quickening and converting Word of God loseth its Vertue and seems no more than an idle Tale to them For no more it is in effect while Men continue in sin and live secure and thoughtless under the sound and preaching of it The Eunuch who had but a small sense of God as he was journying accidentally pitching upon Isai 53.7 where he read He was led as a Sheep to the slaughter and like a Lamb dumb before his Shearers so he opened not his Mouth In his humiliation his judgment was taken away and who shall declare his generation For his life is taken from the Earth Being affected with the Expression asketh Philip of whom the Prophet spake Philip answered Of Jesus and preaching him to him and the necessity of being admitted into his Fold he seeing a large Pool saith What doth hinder me to be baptized And Philip said If thou believest thou maist He answered I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and was immediately baptized Acts 8. from 30 to 39. Of such Force and Energy is the Word of God when it is read with Care heard with Attention and received into a flexible and unprejudiced Heart While St. Peter was Expounding and preaching the Scriptures about three thousand Souls at once were converted from Judaisin and made eminent Proselites of the holy Jesus Acts 2.41 While St. Paul was preaching to Felix the Governor concerning Righteousness Temperance and Judgment to come the Text saith he fell a trembling Acts 24.25 The Word preached searched him to the bottom and filled him with a sense of his own guilt it dictated to him that he was the Man tho' his own perverseness defeated its healing Operation upon him It is Mens infidelity and stubbornness of Heart which they have contracted by customary sinning which choaks the Word that it becometh unfruitful Or otherwise could they read and hear God speaking to them to break off their Sins and exert new and vertuous Habits beseeching and intreating them to be wise for themselves that God who can every moment by an invisible and irresistable Power revenge himself on disobedient Man and send him roaring into the infernal Pit I say could Men live under the constant sound of the Word of God and yet remain unconvinced and unaffected unless they were seared against Reproof and impregnable to good Advice did a Man absolutely without any reserve believe that God will certainly punish all proud Contemners of his Laws that his threatnings without any respect of Persons will be executed upon every one that shall be found in Rebellion against him would he think you dare to love his Sins and spend his time in vain Sports and Pastimes Would he not rather presently bethink himself change his mind and resolve to be conformable in Action and Affection to the Word of Truth Did a Man fear God as he ought which implies a belief in him in the construction of the Scriptures he would dread his displeasure and prudently withdraw himself from those Vices which will incur it As a Man fears thee so is thy displeasure says the Psalmist Psalm 90.11 Or more plainly according as Mens Thoughts are of God so are their Lives And from hence we may without being censured as uncharitable conclude whether Men revere or contemn God by the general course of their Actions It is an andeniable Argument of a profound love belief and fear of God when a Man makes the Scripture his Rule when he avoids those things it interdicts and chearfully doth those it commands As on the contrary when Men Swear blaspheme God and and his Religion Cheat Oppress Lye commit Adultery and the like and allow themselves herein with delight and complacency This is Proof beyond all contradiction that God is not in all their Thoughts that his Word is as a Cypher that they either conclude him a Being which does not disturb himself by taking cognizance of Things committed here below or if he does yet will not be so rigid to call them to Account and thus give themselves encouragement to follow their own Inventions and to sin without Concern or Thought And when once Men are deaf to the Calls of the Gospel despise its Promises and contemn its Threatnings when neither Moses nor the Prophets nor Christ Jesus nor his Substitutes can work upon them to renounce their Impieties and to order their Conversation as becomes Christians I say if these mighty Helps prove ineffectual it is is to be reasonably presumed that nothing besides no not an Angel from Heaven nor a damned Spirit from beneath could ever reach or have any influence upon them And thus much for the second Thng namely That it is too great an Argument of a seared Heart and strong
Honour Praise Thanksgiving and Obedience now henceforth and for evermore Amend SERMON IX Luke XVI 30 31. And he said Nay Father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And he said unto him If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead THE Rich Man still pursues his Request not being satisfied with that answer Abraham made him If one whom my Brethren knew was dead should appear and speak to them giving them a Relation that he saw their Friend in a very miserable and afflicted State covered with unquenchable flames from the head unto the foot and that if they did not reform and take up they must certainly undergo the like torments This would be an irresistable argument and have such a powerful effect upon them that they would presently bethink themselves change their lives and throughly repent of their past mis-spent time The slight and hollow speech of a Ghost would fright them into better manners and sensibly convince them To this Abraham replies If thy Brethren hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded tho' one rose from the dead If the standing Revelation of God so well attested be not sufficient to confute them of their errours and bring them to rights in all probability they would be as stubborn and inflexible if God should work a special miracle in order to their Conversion As for instance if he should dispatch a deceased Soul and charge it to testifie unto them that if they will not forsake their debaucheries and exert new and vertuous Habits they shall certainly fall as so many Victims to his Vengeance There is hardly any passage in Scripture which more asserts the stubbornness and inflexibleness of sinners hearts than this nor any text that looks more dismally upon persons sitting under the means of Grace reading and hearing the word of God and yet perceive not their hearts softned and brought to yield by its quickening and converting Power It is a very reasonable conclusion that if the Holy Scriptures which have brought many out of darkness and gross ignorance humbled many a perverse and molified many a seared heart and fetched abundance of Strangers home to Christ Jesus's fold I say if these convincing and influential means work not upon sinners to repent believe and live up to that express holiness which they require it is very much to be doubted whether any extraordinary Revelations would ever effect or reach them For though sensible demonstration be the greatest advantage imaginable to moral persuasion yet these things are under no Divine appointment to such an effect It is not so much to be wondred at that the intemperate see their fellow-sinners struck suddenly dead by an invisible hand and yet unconcernedly drink to excess and every day gratifie their luxurious and thirsty appetites with large and unlimitted draughts That multitudes of sinners are unexpectedly hurried into the other miserable world and their Companions not in the least affected with such instances of Divine Vengeance but obstinately persist in iniquity as if there was no God to condemn nor a Devil to punish them What can awake and rouze Men out of the sleep of sin if such sensible evidences as these such special demonstrations of Gods fury doth not alarm and strike them with fear and trembling but to the further prosecution of the Text The rich Man saith to Abraham Nay but if one ment from the dead to my Brethren they would repent Abraham saith unto him If they believe not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead That which is very naturally proposed to our consideration from the words is this Viz. That if men give no heed to the written word of God attested and confirmed by mighty miracles and astonishing nonders if they are not persuaded to quit their sine to change their evil minds and walk with care and circumspection by the Holy Scripture in all probability they would not be Converted if some mighty miracle was wrought in order to their Reformation As for 〈◊〉 If a departed Soul was commissioned by God to appear to them And this shall be the subject of my ensuing Discourse to prove And in order to this it is necessary to make out these two Things First That the fixed Revelation of Gods Will has more power and force to convince and reform men than a singular special miracle wrought to that purpose can have Secondly That should God condescend to gratifie a wicked Man's vain curiosity by causing one to rise from the dead and to testifie unto him that the course he takes without speedy amendment will be the eternal ruine of him and that the preparations in Hell are very terrible and insupportable yet he will invent arguments and propound reasons to fortifie himself that he may not be affected with and influenced by an such apparition and frightful Relation as he heretofore did to withstand the prevalent motives of Religion If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead I begin with the former of these two namely First That the fixed Revelation of Gods Will here in the Text termed Moses and the Prophets has more power and force to convince and reform Men than a singular special miracle wrought to that purpose can have The less may be said under this Head because I have very largely treated of the Scripture as the only appointed means for the Conviction Conversion and Salvation of sinners in my last Discourse wherein I urged that most excellent and comprehensive character the Apostle St. Paul has left upon record of Gods Holy Word 2 Tim. 3.16 17. It is profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness that the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works that is it will if good heed be given to it make a Christian as compleat as possibly he can be in this life As also that other most eloquent and affecting commendation the same Apostle elsewhere expresses of the Scripture Heb. 4.12 It is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of Soul and Spirit of the joynts and marrow and is a dijcerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart Meaning in brief That the word of God is so sagacious and searching that it is able to work a thorough Reformation in men not only with respect to their outward Actions and more visible Morals but with regard also to the I houghts and Purposes of their Hearts making them Pure and Blameless Holy and Innocent that so men may be absolutely prepared for Heaven being not only outwardly but inwardly vertuous But that which I shall further urge for the proof of this Point namely That the standing Revelation of Gods will here called in the Text Moses and the Prophets hath more
World esteemed good great and desirable was with-held from him so that since Providence had thus undeservedly crowned him with a plentiful Revenue he could not unless wraped up in the Womb of Ingratitude have denied a small part of so vast an Income to this importunate Beggar much less have refus'd him that inconsiderable Request of his namely The crumbs which fell from his Table such Offel which his Dogs blowed upon But brutishly forgetting from whence his Riches sprang and greedily fixing his Heart upon them concludes it Prodigality and ill Husbandy to part with any thing though it were but a Rag to cover the Flesh or a morsel to sustain the Hunger or a draught to revive the languishing Spirits of a fainting Soul Such dangerous temptations are Riches if Men are not guarded with Grace and well consider the Design of God in bestowing them Hence our Saviour pronounces That it is easier for a Camel to go through the eye of a Needle than for a rich Man to enter into the kingdom of Heaven Not that Riches are Evils in themselves but they become such by an imprudent Management when Men suffer their Hearts to be drawn away by them They are commonly Blessings they were so to Abraham Lot Isaac and Jacob to Job David and Joseph of Arimathea but such was the stupid brutishness of this Miser he contracted such an inordinate love to his Estate that he had quite lost all Humanity and Compassion His only care was to keep what he had drowning his Senses in Gluttony Drunkenness and all kinds of Sensuality never once thinking of a life to come but O sad Catastrophe and dismal change of Things Riches tho' they defend from Hunger Thirst and other exterior contingencies yet they cannot bribe and stave off Death neither insinuate with the Judge Christ Jesus for a favourable Trial nor purchase a Mansion amongst the Saints he dies and awakes in the midst of soorching flames and bituminous smokes scar'd at the gastly Spectrums and hideous Noises he meets with among Devils and damned Fiends Lazarus also dies and is carefully conveyed into Abraham 's bosom a safe Repository and never to Hunger Thirst and want more But this I shall treat of in its proper place The words of the Text are properly divided into two special Parts The First is A brief Narrative of a Rich Man's General Course of Living he cloaths himself with rich gay and costly Raiment and fareth sumptuously every Day The Second Part is A description of the Calamities that attend Poverty Lazarus was full of Sores almost Naked and Famished he begs for a little Sustenance and that of the meanest kind but was most uncharitably denied it Now these two Generals demonstrate to us First of all That Riches are strong incentives to Luxury and Riotousness this Rich Man fared Sumptuously every Day 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he Entertained himself every Day with Luxurious Delights Secondly That Riches tempt to Pride Haughtiness and Uncharitableness This Elated Miser thought it beneath his Grandeur either to look upon or commiserate afflicted and languishing Lazarus and therefore chides him by his Menial Servants and sends him away empty as he came Thirdly That Poverty is a despicable State and renders a Man most vile and mean in the Eye of others how much soever good he hath heretofore done with what God had blessed him with These are the three Topicks which will be the Subject of my ensuing Discourse only by the way it may not be improperly inserted That by the Rich Man and Poor Lazarus is figured out to us the different state of good and bad Men in this Life Good Men for the most part are in mean and low Circumstances and of small Account but are rich towards God precious in his sight and have their Portion treasured up with him according to that of St. James chap. 2.5 God has chosen the Poor of this World heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven The Wicked generally flourish the World's affluences tumble in upon them but they have their Portion in this Life hereafter Fire and Brimstone and an horrible Tempest shall be the Portion of their Cup Psal 11.6 But to proceed in order First Riches are strong Incentives to Luxury and Riotousness This Noble-man fared Sumptuously every Day he observed no Intervals for Mortification no time for holy Retirement for a strict Examination of himself for Prayer Repentance and other necessary Duties Nor was he so Morally useful to others as was St. Augustine who divided the Day into special Portions for needful businesses to reconcile disturbed Families and linck together enraged Neighbours in the Bonds of Amity to observe and minister to the Necessities of the Indigent to instruct the Ignorant counsel the less wary and such like No no this wealthy Wretch lived every Day to himself delighting his Palate with luscious Viands and Falernian Liquors loading his Stomach with Morsels without any regard to Moderation had no thoughts of nor any earning bowels after those who wanted and would be glad of the meanest bit at his Table After this Luxurious manner did he spend every Day such strong and irresistible temptations are Riches when Men are without Grace and consider not the wise and holy purpose of God in bestowing them for tho' they are the proper and peculiar Gifts of Heaven and were promised to and bestowed upon our Forefathers as illustrious instances of the Divine favour yet they are not to be prostituted solely to our selves that is to nourish and maintain our Lusts for then they change their nature and prove the manifest ruin of Soul and Body Upon which account it may not be improper to insert this Memorandum That they who are bless'd with Plenty and Store ought to be very importunate with God that he would moderate and rectify their Appetites keep and restrain their Hearts curb and limit their Desires that they may not be so taken up and charmed with their Wealth as to forget the Concernments of their Souls and suffer them to live out a long Eternity with the Damned Crew in the unhappy Residences of Misery Therefore our Saviour ever and anon is giving a special charge to Rich Men that they be very cautious and wary lest they should be Inchanted and betrayed by Superfluities which like the Syrens whom the Poets speak of as it were lie in wait for Men and seduce them by their pleasing and almost irresistible Charms It was an excellent Prayer that of Agurs Prov. 30.8 9. O Lord says he Give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with food convenient for me Lest I be full and deny thee and say Who is the Lord or lest I be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain Having weighed in an even Ballance both a prosperous and an adverse state and considering what inconveniencies the extream of either condition would bring men into the one tempting them to Luxury Drunkenness and Gluttony the other to Theft Lying
it not to me and in denying of them ye deny'd me and their cause I will espouse and therefore go ye carsed into everlasting fire But Thirdly From the death of Lazarus we learn to be content with our Condition tho' never so mean and to keep our selves in the Exercise of Religion tho' we are deprived of this Worlds goods Lazarus tho' he was Hungry and Thirsty his Soul fainted in him tho' he was Naked and full of Sores yet he murmured not but committed himself to God to whom his Soul was carried by the Angels as soon as separated from his Body It is excellent to be Poor and Virtuous for it argues the strongest Faith the best Hope and the best Affections because there are not those outward encouragements to Goodness in Adversity as Prosperity Poverty is look'd upon as a kind of Judgment as if God hates the Person and therefore makes him an Object of Scorn and Infamy so that he is apt to be discouraged and can do nothing else but bewail and lament his unhappy circumstances sit drooping and pausing on his low condition But however the Scripture has well inform'd us that God Almighty means no ill towards his Creatures and that when he changes things and removes Prosperity from the Door it is only to try them how they will manage themselves upon an alteration what kind of nature they will appear to have whether they will make application to him and carry themselves in all Duty and Allegiance towards him And since such is God's Wise design it is but very reasonable that we should be as Good and Vertuous when poor as well as when rich especially considering that we deserve nothing at the Hands of God nothing but Fury and everlasting Damnation Besides the advantage of Piety Is a Man poor and low in the World it doth improve and sweeten even that State It keepeth his Spirits up above dejection desperation and disconsolateness it frees him from all grievous solicitude vnd anxiety shewing him that altho' he seemeth to have little yet he may be assured to want nothing he having a certain Succour and never-failing supply from God's good Providence that notwithstanding the present straightness of his condition or scantiness of outward things he has a title to goods infinitely more precious and more considerable To conclude Let it be our main imploy to improve our Judgments and Understandings in things Spiritual that we may have right notions of God such as become the perfections of his Nature and the excellency of his Goodness that in whatsoever state and condition we are we may glorifie his Name And thus when we have conquer'd our selves and brought our Minds to a settlement in the ways of Holiness we shall resign our Concernments with more freedom to God's wise disposal and be submissive to his Laws whatever our condition be May God assist us by the influences of his Grace and blessed Spirit so to order and govern our Natures that we may love him freely believe in him stedfastly and serve him faithfully to our lives end And this for Jesus Christs sake to whom with the Father and ever blessed Spirit be given all Honour Praise Thanksgiving and Obedience now henceforth and for ever more Amen SERMON IV. Luke XVI part of the 22 Verse And was carried by the Angels into Abrahams bosom HAving in my last Discourse treated of the Death of Lazarus and particularly considered what were the immediate causes of his death the manner and circumstance of his dying and how his dead body was probably disposed of My Text now leads me to consider the state and condition of his Soul after separation from the Body It was carried by the Angels into Abrahams bosom Many differ in their sentiments about this Expression and have conceived Witty and Learned Notions of it but yet seem to agree in this that by Abrahams bosom is meant Heaven and the Reason of this phrase is Abraham is stiled The Father of the Faithful and while he lived a very Hospitable person to him was the Soul of Lazarus convey'd as a Sanctuary of Rest and Peace the just reward of his patience during his great want and heavy conflicts Some urge it as a Metaphor from Parents who imbosom and hug their Children when tired by running to and fro or have met with some hurtful mischance and come weeping and lamenting themselves A very adapt Parallel The Soul of poor Lazarus was grieved and wearied with Fastings and Miseries perplexed and overwhelm'd with sorrows for the cruel treatment he met with in the world it was therefore conducted by the Heavenly Courtiers into Abraham's bosom to be succour'd and made amends for past indignities He was carried by the Angels As if they contended who should usher it into Paradise Now Lazarus thou recountest with triumph the difficulties thou hast rubb'd through the afflictions thou hast endured the shame pain and ignominy thou hast undergone for Christs sake Now thou art made acquainted with the Arcana Imperii the secrets of the other happy World and rejoycest with joy unspeakable and full of glory Nothing shall interrupt thy peace nor call thee off from thy enjoyments but there thou shalt swim in rapturous pleasures for evermore This may serve to prevent those who are in sorrow trouble or any other adversity from reflecting upon the Divine Justice as if he unequally distributed his Mercies In this life it matters not whether his Servants be accommodated with sublunary affluences or no since he has prepared a wide and capacious Heaven to receive and replenish them wherein are all the instances of Joy all the ingredients of felicity and nothing else to the contrary all that can caress our powers all that can ravish our hearts all that is good lovely desirable is there to be compendiously enjoyed But to traverse the Text The Soul of Lazarus was carried by the Angels into Abrahams bosom or Heaven Which words afford us this matter First That the Angels are imploy'd to convey the Souls of true Believers into a fixed state of blessedness And to prove this granting that there are such Beings as Angels because the Scriptures often speak of them I shall First of all Undertake to shew their Offices as relating to God's faithful Children in this life Secondly The great love and kindness they have for mankind First then I am to distinguish their Offices as relating to God's faithful Children in this life They are called in Heb. 1. ult 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ministring spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be Heirs of Salvation The word Angel signifies an Ambassador which is sent upon another's Errand and in Scripture sense it is restrainedly taken for a select divine sort of Emissaries Spiritual Beings created commissioned and employed by and under God Now first it is part of the Angels Employment upon any urgency to reveal God's mind and will and to bring Embassies from him to us for our instruction and
power and force to convince and reform Men than a singular special miracle wrought to that purpose can have is this It is not only the appointed means but God has ordained no other to reclaim men He will not that they be convinced so much by Sense as by Reason not so much by Ocular Demonstration as Rational Conclusions And therefore it argues that those men who are not won and brought over by the insinuations of the Gospel but expect some extraordinary dealings to convict them are desperately hardened and must perish without remedy It would infinitely detract from the power and authority of Gods word and render it insignificant and invalid if when men out of a fond humour and perverse disposition refuse to hearken to and be converted by it God should deviate from the ordinary rule by permitting Spectrums or Apparitions to discourse with and persuade them to break off their sins by a timely repentance His promises and threatnings would take but little effect nay men would scarce have Faith enough to believe them if such extraordinary methods were commonly used to cure Men of their obstinate blindness and perverse infidelity But wherefore should God answer Mens vain curiosity Why should he confute them of their Errours by new and strange means when the truth of Christianity hath been attested by wonders and miracles by the blood of Martyrs who died for the Confirmation of it and by the Conversion of many thousands since It must be concluded that they were weary of their lives very soft and easie melancholly fanciful Persons who would thus embrace death relinquish their interests goods and possessions for the sake of the Truth of which they had no apparent testimony They must imagine the world has lain a long while in Ignorance and Darkness amused only with fictious Relations and vain Genealogies and that those who died long since in the belief of the Scripture are without hope Or otherwise how is it that the Oracles of God are not more credited by them Why are men so seared and impenitrable that the word of God which is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged Sword loseth its Vertue and its healing Operations upon them quit defeated And furthermore If God had discovered any insufficiency in his Holy Word that it was not able to turn mens hearts he would have used some other methods to that end and not have permitted so many thousands to have lived and dyed in their sins to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever He would not suffer poor Souls to run into the Labyrinth of Despair nor others to be hardened if his word alone which hath brought Life and Immortality into the world was not capable or had not sufficiency of Doctrine to instruct and guide them in the path that leads to Heaven Nor would our blessed Saviour have pronounced such terrible woes against the Unbelieving Jews nor had Divine providence cursed them who were once his peculiar People a chosen Generation a royal Priest-hood as he did by scattering them all the world over but no where incorporated into a Nation a standing and visible mark of Vengeance upon them I say this people would not have been so severely dealt with upon the account of their infidelity If the word preached by the Holy Jesus and confirmed by miracles and unusual signs was not convincing and influential Wherefore it is sadly recorded of them John 12.40 That God hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart that they should not see with their eyes and understand with their heart and be converted From hence I draw this Conclusion That when men arrive to such a pitch of daring presumption as to give little or no heed to the written word of God all other means used for their Conversion such as Preaching friendly Counsel and Admonishment seldom affecteth or worketh a change in them Hence a Friend becometh anothers Enemy because he tells him the truth mildly reproves him for his sin sorrowfully tells him what a desperate condition he is in and what he must expect if he persists and dies in an irrepentant state By such Gods Ministers and their wholesom Discourses are reproached those Sermons which they should use as medicaments to heal their wounded Souls are made their sport and pastime fitting only to be Subjects of vain wit and frothy drollery It is a sad presage of final ruine when the standing Revelation of Gods Will doth not work upon men to the changing of their manners and turning them from under the power of Satan unto God In all probability neither an Angel from Heaven nor a damned Ghost from beneath could ever reach and overcome them For if that word which was ushered into the world with Thundrings and Lightnings delivered by the Prophets by God's special Order and Inspiration and to strengthen the credibility of it was rehearsed and promulged by Jesus Christ and that the knowledge thereof might be universally spread was delivered by the same Jesus to the Apostles and that succeeding ages might not be brought up in ignorance and live and dye without the knowledge of God and their Duty was handed down from the Apostles to Us That word that reformed three thousand Souls at one time Converted Heathens who had no other sense of their Maker than what they received from the Book of Nature and brought over multitudes to the Profession and Practice of Christianity who never heard of it before I say if this word of God which has abundantly evidenced its power and efficacy and is the means of that Piety and Religion practised in our days cannot prevail with men their stubbornness and wilful infidelity defeating its aptness and influence we may very reasonably conclude that if a special miracle was wrought to convert them it would be to no purpose But here notwithstanding what has been already urged some may yet say in the Language of the Text But if one rose from the dead we would repent The Motives and Arguments of the Gospel being still and the same and which by experience we find have not power enough to reclaim us some new method used for our Conversion as an Apparition or Ghost would above any thing else persuade us Now how little this would affect them I shall shew in the prosecution of the second Point which is Secondly That should God condescend to gratifie a Wicked Mans vain Curiosity by causing one to rise from the dead and to testifie unto him that the course he takes without speedy amendment will be the eternal ruine of him and that the preparations in Hell are very terrible and insupportable yet he will invent Arguments and propound Reasons to fortisie himself that he may not be affected with and instuenced by such an Apparition and frightful Relation as heretofore he did to withstand the prevalent Motives of Religion It is not to be disputed but that if a Spectrum or Ghost should appear to a very wicked man suppose it to
THE Whole Parable OF DIVES and LAZARUS Explain'd and Apply'd Being several SERMONS Preached in Cripplegate and Lothbury CHURCHES By Joseph Stevens Lecturer at both Publish'd at the Request of the Hearers And recommended as Proper to be given at Funerals LONDON Printed for Iohn Dunton at the Raven in Jewen-street 1697. To his beloved Hearers in the Parishes of St. Giles Cripplegate and St. Margaret Lothbury I Having been much importuned to publish these following Sermons preached on the Parable of Dives and Lazarus I thought I could not dedicate them so properly to any as to You who were constantly present when they were delivered by me I know that I must be subject to Censures but since these Discourses were well designed and if they take that effect I wish and heartily pray for I shall be the more easie under harsh Judgments I have not made any Alterations in them but have sent them abroad in that Dress they were preached in on purpose that the meanest Capacities may understand and be benefited by them And if so I shall think my self well rewarded for my Labours They may serve to acquaint you with the after state of good and bad Men and to prepare you for those blessed Mansions above And therefore I think it not improper if they were given away at Funerals to prevent those Discourses which are generally used by the invited Guests and to possess their Minds with the thoughts of another World very suitable to such solemn Occasions Here Persons that mourn for the Deaths of good Friends and Relations may receive Comfort their Souls being carried by the Angels into Abraham 's Bosom The Parable being so large and comprehensive I shall say the less concerning it but refer you to the serious and candid perusal of the several Discourses preached upon it Which that they may so affect as to reform and fit you for Heaven is the earnest Wish and hearty Prayer of your unworthy Servant Joseph Stevens THE PARABLE OF Dives and Lazarus Luke XVI Ver. 19. to the end Ver. 19. There was a certain rich man which was cloathed in purple and fine linnen and fared sumptuously every day Ver. 20. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gates full of sores Ver. 21. And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table moreover the dogs came and licked his sores Ver. 22. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom the rich man also died and was buried Ver. 23. And in hell he lift up his eyes being in torments and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom Ver. 24. And he cried and said Father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame Ver. 25. But Abraham said Son remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted and thou art tormented Ver. 26. And besides all this between us and you there is a great gulf fixed so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot neither can they pass to us that would come from thence Ver. 27. Then he said I pray thee therefore father that thou wouldest send him to my father's house Ver. 28. For I have five brethren that he may testifie unto them lest they also come into this place of torment Ver. 29. Abraham saith unto him They have Moses and the prophets let them hear them Ver. 30. And he said Nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent Ver. 31. And he said unto him If they hear not Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead SERMON I. Luke XVI Ver. 19 20 21. Ver. 19. There was a certain rich man which was cloathed in purple and fine linnen and faired sumptuously every day Ver. 20. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gates full of sores Ver. 21. And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich mans table moreover the dogs came and licked his sores THE Pharisees who were present at our Saviour's Conference with his Disciples in the former part of this Chapter were so netled at his pithy and home discourse that they mocked at and derided him viz because he exclaimed against those sins they were strongly prone to and wilfully allowed themselves in namely Covetousness and Uncharitableness He therefore to convince them of their Folly and if possible to reduce them to a more generous and humane frame of Spirit ushers in a very notable and affecting Parable adorned with illustrious Instances and furnished with memorable Characters There was says he a certain noble Man who lived softly had many Attendants full Tables a stately Palace every thing that was great good and desirable in this Life And there was a poor indigent Man called by the Name of Lazarus destitute of a comfortable Habitation his Belly pinched with hunger his Spirits languishing for want of reviving draughts his Countenance dejected and fading and his Flesh being exposed to stress of Weather not having wherewith to defend it from boisterous Winds and other common Contingencies broke out into Vlcers and putrifying Sores This miserable Creature makes to the rich Man's Seat and fills his Courts with the doleful Cries of a languishing Soul he begs not for Dainties and sumptuous Diet but only for waste Bread the refuse of the Servants or rather for the Crumbs which usually fall under the Table at Meals This was the poor Man's request that which is swept up with the rest of the litter and thrown out of Doors to the Dunghil was all that this distressed Lazarus most importunately desired to allay the gripes and gnawings which sharp Hunger had created within him But though his Necessities were so pressing his Request so modest and reasonable and his Sores so angry and painful enough to have melted down an obdurate Heart into pity and to have obliged the meanest Person to have spared from himself and nourished such an afflicted Soul yet this avaricious and impregnable Wretch turns a deaf'ned Ear casts a disdainful Eye upon and brow-beats this trembling Beggar and basely denies him that which his menial Servants scornfully rejected The Dogs which generally are currish and snarling ready to snap at and fly upon Strangers here change their Nature and as it were express their Pity by doleful howlings and as if this was too little medendi gratia linguas suas accommodant run hastily to him and endeavour the Cure of his Wounds by licking them with their soft and easie Tongues Thus these Creatures supplied the Necessities of afflicted Lazarus by the instinct of Nature more than their Masters by all the Tyes and Obligations of Reason He was blest with a flourishing Estate nothing that the
learn to humble our selves with the consideration of our own deserts Observe we our petulant Follies obstinate Perverseness and treacherous Infidelities Nay our daily wilful Miscarriages the many Affronts we offer to the Majesty of Heaven our unmindfulness of his good Providences our unthankfulness for his Benefits our neglect of holy Duties our backwardness in praying to and acknowledging our dependance upon him Were we but pregnant with such considerations as these we should not be so much puffed up nor value our selves upon Riches remembring they are the Emanations of Divine Goodness not the just Retributions of our Merits Should the quantum meruit be the Question how much the best of us deserve it may be answered Nothing but Hell and an eternal Separation from God and the sorest Punishments he can inflict a morsel of Bread a draught of Water even the least Blessing we enjoy is far beyond our Demerits Let not therefore Riches elate and swell but humble us like loaded Trees bend the lower In fine let the Christian Religion have its perfect influence upon us that the same Mind that was in Christ be also in us following his Humility his Meekness his Contempt of this World and Worldly things his Heavenly mindedness and all other his imitable Vertues that at length we may live with him be like him partake of his Glory and never be separated from him more Amen SERMON III. Luke XIV Ver. 22. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the Angels into Abraham's bosom THE former Part of this Parable has entertain'd us with the miserable and afflicted Life of Lazarus depainting it in all the Instances of Pity he was cloathed with Rags tormented with painful Sores and rack'd and griped with Hunger Such a comfortless Condition enough to make one weary of Life and wish for a sudden Exit and the more when Succour is deny'd From this poor wretch all outward comforts were with-held not so much as the crumbs allowed him which fell from the Rich Man's Table It encourages and bears a Man up under languishing circumstances when he is caress'd with pity and gets some relief tho' but the fragments of a Meal But such was the unfortunate Fate of poor Lazarus that notwithstanding his importunate cries ghastly looks shatter'd cloaths and ulcerated flesh none gave unto nor condol'd with him hungry and thirsty his Soul fainted in him no Friends nor wherewithal to support him in this his distressed condition But tho' he was thus inhumanely dealt with we read not that he reflected upon Providence or charg'd God foolishly but humbly submitted himself to him who disposeth all things patiently waiting for a happy change either a sufficient competency while he lived or a translation out of this World into a better My Text therefore presents us with a sudden but happy alteration of Lazarus's condition It came to pass that the Beggar died An end of all his wants sorrows and conflicts God has ever a gracious regard to the lamentable groans and afflicted state of his poor Servants and tho' he sometimes seem long ere he answers their request and expectation yet in a time besitting his most excellent Wisdom he graciously crowns them with their hearts desire Lazarus not only died but was carried by Angels into Abrahams bosom His Soul not his Body probably that was exposed to ravenous Beasts or Fowls or else to innumerable Vermine in the Grave if any were so charitably dispos'd to bury it tho' reason enough there is to believe the contrary For while he lived he could not get sustenance his hunger nakedness and sores no body regarded much less his dead Body to give it a decent Interment But no matter his Soul was return'd to him that gave it and his Body too tho' never so much mangled and dispers'd into never so many Atoms shall be compacted together made vivid and formable at the command of the great Creator Now the Text contains two Parts The First is A Description of the Death of Lazarus And it came to pass that the Beggar died The Second Gives an account of the condition and state of his Soul And was carried by Angels into Abrahams bosom From whence these two great Points are proved First That the Soul is capable of an Existence separated from the Body Let that fond conjecture then of those be condemn'd who imagine that the Soul together with the Body declineth in the Earth Secondly That the Souls of the Faithful when they depart from their Bodies immediately pass into a fixed state of Blessedness But that which I shall at this time treat on will be the Death of Lazarus and in descanting upon this I shall First of all Consider what were the immediate Causes of his Death Secondly What kind of treatment he met with while languishing And then Lastly What became of his Body after Death First then I am to consider what were the immediate Causes of Lazarus ' s Death And here if we reflect upon his circumstances while living we may soon conjecture For First He wanted the Staff of Life namely Bread He desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the Rich Man's Table but was uncharitably refus'd them Hunger is a sharp Thorn it dries up the Blood it decays those rarer Ornaments of Nature Beauty and a sanguine Complexion it preys upon the Spirits and makes them faint and droop In a word Hunger destroys the Marrow weakens the Bones and puts the whole frame of Nature into a grand disorder And here the griping pains the gnawings this poor wretch endur'd the lamentable sighs and groans he fetch'd the doleful complaints he made what a gbastly countenance be had reduc'd to such a degree of weakness that he could not stand for he lay at the Rich Man's Gates Such a condition as this doubtless makes Life burthensom and Death more eligible We observe by constant Experience that some who are of cholerick and furious Dispositions vent themselves in wishes for a speedy Exit when some less dangerous accidents befal them how much more therefore intolerable is it to live and if I may so say stand and see ones self die as properly speaking they do who suffer Hunger and have not intermissions of a reasonable satiety This was the ill fortune of poor Lazarus he was reduced to that extremity that he would have been glad of the crumbs the portiuncula the least and worst fragments which dropp'd under the Rich Man's Table It is to be presum'd that there are scarce any or at least very few who are in such extremity but doubtless this was one cause which hasten'd Lazarus's Death namely Hunger For since nourishment upholdeth Nature reviving the Blood recruiting the Spirits feeding the Bones and Marrow whereby Life is prolonged the want of this must soon decay and overthrow the whole frame of Nature Poor Lazarus So hungry and no body to feed thee Not one Morsel from a plentiful Table If the Master
thy sin purged Isa 6.5 6.7 When our dearest Lord was strugling in a mighty Agony that he sweat as it were great drops of blood when the bitter cup was presented to him of which he was to drink and which he prayed if possible might be removed from him in the midst of his conflicts the Angels his Attendants came and strengthned him When in the Wilderness set on and tempted by the Devil those Celestical Spirits came and Ministred unto him When Lot was in danger of being torn apieces by some of the vicious Sodomites two Angels haled him into his House from their fury and struck those that encompassed him with blindness Gen. 19.10 11. Shadrach Meshech and Abednego those true Servants of the most High God being condemned by that Tyrant Nebuchadnezzar to be scorched to death in a Furnace seven times hotter than ordinary they were thrown in bound hand and foot but behold an Angel indemnisied them they were not singed neither had the flames any power on them Did we not says Nebuchadnezzar Dan. 3.24 25. cast three men bound into the fiery furnace Lo I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire and they have no hurt and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God When Daniel was doom'd to the Lions Den in order to be devoured by them an Angel by an irresistible power restrains the appetites of those voracious Beasts that he dwelt in safety in the midst of danger My God saith he has sent his Angel and hath shut the Lions Mouths that they have not hurt me for as much as before him Innocncy was found in me and also before thee O King have I done no hurt Dan. 6.22 To name no more When Peter was imprisoned by Herod and a strong watch ordered to keep him safe Behold an Angel came to him and unloosed his Chains burst open the Prison-door led him through the Wards and coming to the main Iron Gate that opened of its own accord This miraculous deliverance did so amaze Peter that he could scarce believe the truth of it till coming to himself he humbly accknowledged saying Acts 12.11 Now I know of a surety that the Lord has sent his Angel and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the People of the Jews Thus these Celestial Spirits encamp round about them that fear the Lord. But Secondly I am to consider the great love these Heavenly Courtiers bear to Mankind And here doubtless their affection is infinitely great For when the Son of God descended from above and Ecclipsed his glory with humane Nature to work the Redemption of man these Celestial Ambassadors gathered together expressing their joy for the Restauration of lapsed Mortals by a general shout and then joyning in a Chorus Sang Glory be to God on High and on Earth Peace good will towards men Luke 2.14 They could not but celebrate this stupendious act of Condescension and loudly eccho it in the Shepherds ears They seemed as it were transported that they had a message of this kind to deliver to undone Mortals who were groaning under their own burden When a stuborn sinner returns from the errour of his ways bethinks himself alters his mind and becomes a new Creature these Heavenly Spirits are all in a Rapture and Exstacy they break out into loud acclamations of joy Luke 15.10 There is joy in the presence of the Angels of God over one sinner that repenteth And the Reasons of this are First Because their employment for God is encreased They are Ministring Spirits sent forth to Minister for those who shall be heirs of Salvation Secondly Because every converted sinner adds to their Communion In some respects even now Angels are a Saint's Familiar they have a special charge over them and pitch their Tents round about and Minister unto them but that which enhances their gladness they shall enjoy an everlasting Conversation with them Sing and praise the Lamb that sits upon the Throne together Behold the beauty meditae upon the glorious perfections of God and be swallowed up in holy wonder This it is which enjoins the Angels to take such care of the Saints in this life defending them from extraordinary mischiefs guarding them from the Power and Malice of the Devil directing them in ways of uncertainty and peril watching over them by night and conducting them by day namely that their Communion may be improved their Joys fulfilled in an everlasting harmony mutual concord And now if God has thus Commissioned his Angels to Minister to his Saints to defend and keep them to guard and shield them from dangers and mischiefs and if these glorious Harbingers bear so great a love to men as has been plainly proved doubtless they are very ready to receive and carry the Souls of good men into Heaven One of the Fathers calls the Angels Evocatores animarum The callers forth of Souls and such as shew them paraturam diversorii the preparation of those Mansions they are going to Hence we observe When good men are dying they are often in silent raptures and express a kind of impatience till they are dissolved And why because they spiritually see what they cannot utter as did St. Paul when he was wrapt up into the third Heaven There is a kind of a draught presented to them by their Guardian Angels of those transcendant joys they are almost ready to enter in possession of and therefore long and pine till they are conveyed into that place of Unspeakable Felicity These Heavenly Spirits succour and support them under their pain and sickness and when their Souls are stormed out of their Bodies they encompass and embrace them soaring through the Regions of evil Angels into Heaven As my Text speaks concerning Lazarus that he was safely carried by the Angels into Abraham's bosom And thus much for the Proposition I raised from the words of the Text namely That the Angels are employed to convey the Soul of true Believers as soon as separated from their Bodies into a fixed state of blessedness I now proceed to draw some practical Inferences from the whole and so conclude And here First We cannot but admire at Gods tender love to men that he should create such Beings to be our Guardians to help and succout us in the time of our Pilgrimage here What is Man that God should be so mindful of him or the Son of Man that he should so regard him What tongue can be silent upon a serious thoughtfulness of the honour God conferreth upon Man Let us then break out with St. Bernard Lord what is Man that thou thinkest thus on him Thou sendest to him thine only begotten Son thou sendest into him thy Holy Spirit thou promisest him the light of thy Countenance and that nothing in the Heavenly Region might be un-imployed in follicitude for him thou sendest forth also those blessed Spirits the Angels to Minister to us And with another of the
whether in Gods Service or the Devils Drudgery and if upon an impartial survey we discover that we have hitherto erred from the right end of our Creation humbly to implore Gods pardon and to beg his grace for the time to come that joyning our own endeavours with it we may redeem the time we have lost by breaking off our sins and speedily applying our selves to the practice of true Religion It is very sad to continue in an unconverted state because we know not how soon it will be ere we be strip'd into naked Spirits and sent into an irreversible state And to be thus surprized and the Work of our Souls left unwrought would be the worst of evils and then what would we give if possible that we might have again such opportunities and advantages of being happy consider therefore in time repent and amend in this life of tryal shake off that impovidence which detaineth you make you a new heart and a new spirit mortifie and subdue your unruly will wean your affections from the pride of life manfully deny all ungodliness and wordly lusts and live soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for without wavering the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works May God grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by Faith that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the height breadth length and depth and to know the love of Christ that ye may be filled with all the fullness of God Now unto the only wise God and our Saviour Jesus Christ be given the Kingdom the Power and the Glory now henceforth and for evermore Amen SERMON VIII Luke XVI 27 28 29. Then he said I pray thee therefore Father that thou wouldst send him to my Fathers House For I have five Brethren that he may testifie unto them lest they also come into this place of torment Abraham saith unto him They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them THe rich man having received a slat denyal of that which he requested that Lazarus might be sent with a drop of water to allay the heat and throbbing of his parched tongue and sadly perceiving himself a pitiless miserable Object is here brought in intreating Abraham to dismiss Lazarus to his Brethren who were yet alive and to give them an account of his deceased Brothers wretched and woful State Let him assume his Body and go and relate what Torments I endure that he saw me in the midst of Flames my Flesh broiling my Tongue swoln with heat and pain That he heard me weeping and sighing and bemoaning my comfortless and irreparable Condition That he saw the damned Fiends imployed in vexing and tormenting me and that I have all the Scenes and Images of Terror always in view Let him tell them how I curse my Folly for living secure and careless without thought of another World or what would become of me after death Let him assert my Resolution That if I was admitted to re-enter the World and live my Days over again that are past I would not be charmed with the flatteries of Lust and Sensuality nor spending my time in eating drinking and soft delights in cloathing my Body with gawdy Raiment nor bend my study to invent Recreations for my Appetite I would limit my Will Desires and Affections and by a prudent management bring my Flesh under that it might be corrective and govern'd by the insinuations of Reason I would set an inestimable value upon the means of Salvation which I foolishly slighted and turned into wantonness That I would live in a constant expectation of Death and Judgment Such a Relation as this Father Abraham would astonish my Brethren scare them from their Sins and caution them against those Imprudences which were my destruction and remediless ruine This would rouse them out of sleep make them unravel all that they have done and put them upon other Methods But is there any Charity in Hell Are there any in the Abyss of Misery who wish the Conviction Conversion and Salvation of Souls on Earth Do they not rather envy the Privileges and Advantages of Happiness they enjoy and desire that they may be as miserable as themselves It is the Opinion of some sage and learned Writers That the rich Man here prayeth not so much for the reformation and final Good of his Brethren as for himself that his Torments might not be the more aggravated with the perpetual sight and company of those who in this World were his near Relations or familiar Acquaintance and who were led and influenced by his base vicious Examples It will greatly add to the Afflictions of lost Souls to see those in Hell who when in the Body were seduced and drawn away from Christianity by their loose Practices But to the Answer which Abraham makes to the rich Man's Petition Thy Brethren have Moses and the Prophets those exact Transcribers of God's Will their Manuscripts are Truths delivered by the Holy Ghost and therein is dictated whatsoever God exacts from Men and Directions how they may please their Creator He will not grant Men needless and extraordinary Revelations to gratifie their vain Curiosity since he has acquainted them with every thing that is fit for them to know and practise Thy Brethren cannot plead Ignorance when they are daily excited and admonished by God's Ambassadors And if they will not be reformed by these Means and mighty Helps they cannot reasonably expect that God should send departed Souls with a special Commission and compel them to accept of the Terms of Happiness against their will His Word is sufficient to prepare them for Heaven if they will but believe its Propositions and live up to the Rule of Life prescribed therein But if this prove not effectual there is no probability of their being saved They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them From which I raise these Doctrines First of all That the Scriptures are the only means appointed by God for the Conviction Conversion and Salvation of Sinners Abraham argues the unreasonableness and impertinence of the Rich Man's request that he would dismiss Lazarus to his Brethren by urging the advantages and fair opportunities they had of making themselves for ever They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them There is no need of extraordinary revelations since they have such an eminent privilege of hearing the Counsels and Instructions of those worthy Men commissioned by and imployed under God Secondly That it is too plain an argument of great Infidelity and hardness of Heart when the Word of God doth not take place convince Men of their sins and