Asia Now hee speaks of the Holy Ghost in the same number because that one and the same Holy Ghost is severally and intirely powred upon them all The Spirit of God was in Ephesus and the Spirit of God was in Smyrna and the Spirit of God was in Pergamos and so in Thyatira and so in Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea and therefore hee calls him the seven Spirits of God though hee bee but one and the same Spirit Thirdly hee calls him the seven Spirits of God by a common Metalepsis of putting the effects for the cause because there bee many and sundry gifts and graces of the holy Spirit of God the number seven being put to signifie the perfection of them and the universallnesse of them Now that the seven spirits of God are nothing else but that one and the same holy Spirit of God is plain out of Rev. 1. 4 5. John to the seven Churches in Asia Grace bee unto you and peace from him which is and which was and which is to come and from the seven Spirits which are before his Throne and from Jesus Christ which is the faithfull witnesse Which words are Saint Johns saluting of the seven Churches in Asia wherin hee wishes them all grace from the blessed Trinity q. d. Grace bee to you and peace from God the Father and from the holy Spirit of God and from the Lord Jesus Christ the faithfull and true witnesse Calling the Father which was which is which is to come and the Lord Jesus Christ the faithfull and true witnesse and the Holy Ghost the seven Spirits of God It is the very self same salutation that Paul uses in all his Epistles in effect saving that this is more full and more lofty and august Now then by the seven Spirits of God hee cannot mean any creature or creatures as Angels or so but hee must needs mean the Holy Ghost because hee prayes for grace from the seven Spirits of God which no creature is able to give Yee know God onely can give grace God onely is the Authour of all grace Hee onely can justifie and sanctifie and quicken and give a man eternall life as James Every good and perfect gift commeth from above Jam. 1. 17. It were Idolatry in John to wish to the Churches grace from the seven Spirits of God if hee meant by them any Angels or any other creatures Wee might worship the Angels if they were able to give us grace wee might pray to them and serve them and feare them and adore them if they could bee the Authours of grace to us Now this is Idolatry Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serve Matth. 4. 10. Of him and through him and to him are all things to whom bee glory for ever Amen Rom. 11. 36. Yee know it is the glory of God to bee the Cause of all grace Now what saies God I am the Lord that is my Name and my glory will I not give to another Isa 42. 8. Well then you see what is here meant by the seven Spirits of God even the holy Ghost himself that one the same holy Spirit of God These things saith hee that hath the seven Spirits of God that is these things saith Christ that hath the holy Spirit of God to give him to whomsoever hee pleases Not as though that were all that Christ hath the holy Spirit of God for so Paul had the holy Spirit of God I suppose also that I have the Spirit of God 1 Cor. 7. 40. so Peter and David and all the Saints all the people of God have the holy Spirit of God nay a man is dead in trespasses and sins and is a meer carcasse like a dead body without a soule that hath not the holy Spirit of God therefore that is not all the meaning of it that Christ hath the holy Spirit of God for so all the children of God have him and are quickned by him up to all goodnesse But Christ hath the holy Spirit of God that is hee hath him to give to whomsoever hee pleases But it may be objected is it not God the Father that gives the holy spirit to all his poore children I Answer Yes it is very true Hee hath him to give to whomsoever hee is pleased to give him for the Holy Ghost is his Spirit as well as Christ hee flowes from them both And therefore saith our Saviour How much more shall your Heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask him Luk. 11. 13. so that the Father gives the holy spirit to whom hee will but it is in Christs name Christ is the store-house of this gift When the Father gives his holy spirit unto any man it is onely in Christs name as himself speaks The Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name Hee shall teach you all things Joh. 14. 26. Mark it is onely in Christs name Well now wee see the point That Christ onely hath the Holy Spirit of God to give to whom hee pleases If any poore creature would fain have the holy spirit of God to be in him hee must come to Christ for him Though the barrell bee never so full of good Wine yet when it is hoopt round about if one would have any hee must draw it at the tap so Beloved the Lord hath hoopt himself up from men hee hath closed himself up from all men by reason of mens sins hee hath shut himself up no man can have any of his holy spirit but hee must come and draw it at the tap hee must come to Jesus Christ the Lord vents himself onely in him as Christ saith hee that beleeveth on mee as the Scripture hath said Out of his belly shall slow rivers of living water What is that this spake hee of the spirit which they that beleeve on him should receive Joh. 7. 38 39. Mark Christ is the tap yee must come to him by true beleeving or yee cannot receive any of Gods holy Spirit Hee only hath him to give to them that doe imbrace him From him proceed all the graces of the Spirit that any men doe injoy This is his Roialty as being the only King and Head of the Church and the opened fountain that all that would bee saved must repaire unto Hee is the beginning of the Holy Ghost the Holy Ghost proceedeth from him as hee is the Son of God and as hee is man hee is anointed with him The Spirit of the Lord is upon mee saith he Luk. 4. 18. Ho every one that would have him come unto mee for him Away with your sins and take mee abhorre all your own waies see what damnable creatures yee are in your selves whether your lusts and corruptions carrie you what will become of you if yee goe on in your own paths if yee would have grace and mercy and life and salvation come to mee The Spirit of the Lord is upon mee to powre him upon
not signes there are foure signes that people take to bee signes and are not First a civill Life when a man is a mercifull man kind to the poore quiet and peaceable among his Neighbours gentle affable courteous well-conditioned These are no signes of having Gods holy Spirit True they are very commendable and they that have the Spirit of God must have them and better than them But a man may bee without the holy Spirit of God and yet have all these Paul shews that the very Barbarians shewed him no little kindnesse they kindled him a fire though they were meer naturall men Act. 28. 2. Our Saviour Christ shews that some are chaste by nature that are born so so many are temperate by nature and loving by nature and meek by nature patient by nature therefore these are no supernaturall graces these are no signes of the holy spirit Secondly the profession of Religion This is no signe of the Holy Spirit neither for many professe they know God and yee are reprobate to every good work Tit. 1. 16. that is many professe Religion they will heare the Word they will have prayers in their families they will be of the better side in their Parish where they are if there be any godly ones they will be of their Company if they can and seeme to to doe as they doe and yet they have a carnall heart they doe very good workes every day but they have a Reprobate and unapproved heart in them They doe not doe them right Thirdly Every kinde of repentance is not a signe neither we read that Pharaoh Confessed his sin and desired the prayers of Gods people Exod. 9. 27. Saul wept for his sinnes 1 Sam. 24. 16. Judas made restitution Esau bought repentance with teares The world think certainly these were times of Gods Spirit no no They were onely Common effects of the spirit The wicked may in a sort repent of their sinnes and beat them downe too but the truths is they doe not mortifie them Like as if a man should come into a garden and see how a mole hath cast up the earth and made a fowle stirre in the Alleyes and in the Garden knots if hee tread it onely downe with his foote and doe not kill the Mole anon after it will be as bad as before so many wicked men may doe they may beat downe their sinnes every day but they rise up still as bad as before now they beat them downe and so their lusts like the Mole cast up againe Thus the Mole is not killed This is no signe of the Spirit But a godly heart he kils the Mole he mortifies his sin indeed new Moles may breed and cast up again but he riddes his soule more and more Fourthly Every kind of faith neither is not a signe of Gods holy Spirit yee know the stony ground Believed Luk. 8. 13. Secondly Now for those signes that be First When a man is soundly convinced of his sinnes This is an act of Gods holy Spirit Joh. 16. 8. When a man hath the unction from the Holy one The Text sayes that abides for ever where it is The anointing which yee have received of him abideth in you 1 Joh. 2. 27. Secondly When a man hath had a sound prick for his sins this lets in the Holy Ghost as Peter told his hearers That were prickt in their hearts Act. 2. 37. he told them they should receive the Holy Ghost Thirdly When a man hath had an unsatisfiable desire of reconciliation with God as it is said of Paul that when hee was rightly toucht by the spirit indeed hee could neither eat nor drink Act. 9. 9. hee could not be quiet till Ananias came and told him hee was reconciled with God Fourthly When a man is another and a new creature Whosoever is in Christ is a new creature 2 Cor. 5. 17. the Spirit of God where ere Hee is Hee is a new spirit and Hee carries with him a new heart Ezek. 36. 26. Hee works a thorow change and hee renews minde will and affections inclinations memory appetite members and all Hee does not onely new-plaster them over but hee pulls a man quite down and builds him up a new habitation of God as Christ told the Centurion if I come I will heale thy servant so if Christ doe once come with his spirit into any mans heart hee heales it hee works a mighty mutation in that man into another man as Paul tels the Corinthians Yee were drunkards but now yee are washed yee were railers yee were adulterers yee were covetous yee were unrighteous But now yee are washed 1 Cor. 6. 9 10 11. As Paul sayes I was a blasphemer and I was a persecuter but blessed bee God now I have obtained mercy Now I am not the man that I was I was a lyer but now blessed bee God I have the lip of Truth I hated them that were godly but blessed bee God now they are the dearest people to mee in the world Fifthly when a man does supernaturall good things naturall good things a naturall man may doe without the holy spirit of grace when you see a man list up a hundred or two hundred pound weight you will say I this hee may do by nature But if you should see a man lift up five thousand pound weight you will say there is more then nature in him so beloved when you see a man loves sin and comes to bee vaine and cannot abide to bee strict if hee bee strict a little hee is soon weary of it and layes it aside you may know this man hath not the spirit of God in him but if yee see you love holinesse and hate every evill thing that nothing humbles you so much as sin nothing takes you up so much as how to please God now yee may know the spirit of God is in you Why This is above Nature This then is another Use Lastly Hath Christ the seven Spirits of God to give them to all that will come unto him then what may Christ say to them that are contented without him that have no care at all to come at him that like not his government that will not draw water at his Well Hee hath taken paines to procure a stock of grace for them to provide Merits enough for them a salve broad enough for all their sores spirit enough to powre into all their hearts and when hee hath done all this they regard other things more than him Truely he may say as David did when he was told of Nabals churlish answer Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the Wildernesse 1 Sam. 25. 21 Even so may Christ say surely in vain have I suffered for these men in vaine have I come out of my Fathers bosome for them in vain did I die upon the crosse They will have none of my ware they respect not my graces they will not come at mee for my holy Spirit c. Revel 3. 1. And
is all our preaching and dressing up of our Sermons like the riging of the sayles that 's nothing except the wind blow The Spirit of Christ is the winde except hee blow upon you we are nothing the tampering on the Organs is nothing but when the breath comes then there is musique So we may keep adoe to turne your hearts but till God breath into you there is nothing done True the preaching of the Gospel is a very powerfull thing I when Christs arme goes along with it it is the sword of the Spirit but if the Spirits arme be not with it we may brandish it here every week and doe little as Scanderbagge said One hearing what mighty feats Scanderbagges sword had done sent for it and when he saw it he made nothing of it Is this the Sword that hath done such great exploits what 's this Sword more than other swords O sayes Scanderbagge I sent thee my sword but not my arme that did handle it So my Brethren the word which wee preach is but Christs sword God sends you his sword many times when he keeps his arme to himself and so nothing is done So then we are nothing and therefore all successe is of Christ First our wills are nothing to doe it we may will to doe you good but Converts cannot bee made by our wills as the Evangelist sayes Joh. 1. 13. Secondly our paines and labours are nothing we may labour and take paines but look Esa 49. 4. Thirdly our gifts are nothing who had better gifts than Christ had as hee was man and yet that would not doe it Joh. 12. 38. Fourthly our Prayers are nothing they may doe something sometimes but except God be pleased to give successe they are nothing Jeremiah prayed Jer. 14. 7 8 9. yet the Lord told him that should not doe it ver 11. Secondly the Conversion of Soules is a supernaturall work we that are Ministers preach to make men new creatures to turn Leopards into Kids as if we should preach to make Blackamores white the dead alive which is a work for God alone to doe and therefore the successe must needs be from him Alas what are we able to doe as the Apostle sayes You are Gods wormanship in Christ Jesus created to good works Ephes 2. 10. we are his instruments that 's true indeed but yee are his workmanship you are the Epistle of Christ administred by us Writen not with Inke but with the Spirit of the living God 2 Cor. 3. 3. The Epistle of Christ but ministred indeed by Christ his is the hand wee are but the pen when we bid you repent and beleeve and be holy and godly and heavenly minded men deny your selves be dead to the world and alive to God come out of Satans power come into Christs Kingdom it is like Ezekiels bidding of the dead bones to gather flesh and stand up living men All the successe must needs be of God And therefore what does this teach us The Use of it is First That we that are the Ministers of God can but make tryall whether we can convert our people or no as the Apostle speaks proving if at any time God will give them repentance 2 Tim. 2. 25. so it is in some of your Bibles so we must make proofe we must try come into the Pulpit every week and try sharpen our nailes as sharp as we can and strike them as farre in as we can and so try often try as the wiseman speaks in another case In the morning sow thy seed and in the evening let not thy hand rest for thou knowest not whether shall prosper this or that or both Eccle. 11. 6. So Jeremiah did hee would try first hee went to the poorer sort to see whether they would hearken unto him when he had no successe there then thought he I will try the great men I will get mee to the great men Jer. 5. 5. we should make assayes we doe not know may be God will give us good successe we must make assayes as it is said of Paul and Silas That they assayed to goe into Bithynia but the Spirit suffered them not Act. 16. 7. O thought they here bee a great many soules in this Countrey we will try whether there be any for Christ yea or no. Indeed they found that they had no successe in their attempt But they made an assay though Secondly This teacheth us to wait though we have not successe presently yet we should wait all successe is from Christ and therefore it is fit we should wait for it and therefore a Minister is commanded to be patient The servant of the Lord must be gentle to all men apt to teach patient 2 Tim. 2. 24. q. d. he hath not the successe in his own hands to have it when he will no though he doe no good yet nor yet hee must be patient He is not apt to teach poore people else except he be patient as he is not fit to teach a dull Schollar that is over-hasty And therefore my Brethren though we have lost all our labour hitherto on the most of you yet now again we speak to you come will ye yet go to heaven come are ye yet in the minde to hearken and obey wee come to you once more will ye yet c. as Jeremiah sayes Woe unto thee O Jerusalem wilt thou not bee made clean when shall it once be Jer. 13. 27. Beloved wee are dull Schollars in Religion and people are hard to take their learning in this kinde and therefore if we would be apt to teach wee must be patient what though we see no good yet this must not make us out of heart or to grudge our paines we must bee patient still wee are to think may be the next time I preach God will give me good successe Isaiah and Paul gave not over though they had cause to complain Thirdly This may serve to condemn all the world whether the Gospel comes and specially us hereabouts that doe not let Ministers have any good successe you will say how doe I make this use of it If all the Ministers successe be from Christ then one would think this were an excuse unto people I answer no the meaning of the Doctrine is this that the people are so contrary to the Word such enemies to the wayes of Jesus Christ that a Minister can look for no successe except the Lord turn their hearts This is the meaning of the point Does this excuse any what does your enmity against Christ and all goodnesse afford you any excuse nay this aggravates your sin Now this is the meaning of it As Saint Paul when he spake how little successe he and all the rest of his fellow-Apostles had hee layes the blame upon the people All the day long I have stretched out my hands against a disobedient and a gainsaying people Rom. 10. 21. So the Prophet Isaiah from whom these words are taken complaines of the unfruitfulnesse
know that already and no body will deny it we are Christians I answer this is the hypocrisy of men hearts their hearts will confesse it to be a truth but in their workes they do deny it The Prophet David speakes of men that were in the visible Church of God aswell as we and that would confesse this truth aswell as we and yet he sayes of many an one of them He hath said in his heart God hath forgotten he hath hid his face he will never see it Psal 10. 11. And the truth is this is the cause of all the boldnesse of people to goe on in their sinnes or to yeeld to sinne at any time they put this out of their bosomes that God sees them As Ezekiel speakes the land is full of blood the City is full of perversnesse for they say the Lord hath forsaken the Earth and the Lord seeth not Ezek. 9. they say so in effect they put God afar of and they doe not consider that hee sees them Beloved there 's none of us all but hath need that this truth shoud be urged upon us that God beholds all iniquity and evill we can never doe amisse but he takes notice of it Thirdly another use is is it so that God sees all mens sins Then this is a terror to all that goe on with a selfe condemning heart O consider what the Apostle sayes if our heart condemne us God is greater then our heart and he knowes all things 1 Joh. 3. 20. q. d. if we have a selfe condemning heart how much more shall we find a selfe condemning God If our own heart can find us out if that can find out our worldlines or our irreverence or our carelesnesse of God how much more wlll God find us out He knowes all our sins better then we our selves and therefore O let us quake all of us to goe on with a selfe-condemning heart it is a bad badge it is a prodigious token of the fearefull judgement of God if wee doe not get our sins done away by the blood of Jesus Christ and by his sanctifying Spirit God will finde us out for hee knowes what we are and what wee doe daily and how we live every day and howre Againe this is a terror to them that are Hypocrites If God could not see a rotten heart he should speed as well as the best O but sayes God I the Lord search the heart J try the reynes even to give every man according to his wayes and according to the fruit of his doings Jer. 17. 10. and therefore wo be to such as are otherwise within then they seeme to be without without they are painted sepulchers but within they are full of rottennesse they professe godlinesse but they suffer within a Worldly spirit a guilty conscience a vaine minde an unbelieving heart no love of God no zeale to his glory no feeling of the Churches misery no compassion with the Saints no delight in them that feare God indeed and yet they will goe for Christians forsooth God sees all their workes and will unmask them in his due time either in this world or in the world to come and will poure everlasting contempt on them Fourthly this is comfort to good people for if God see all mens sins then he sees all mens goodnesse much rather what a comfort is this in prayer to consider that he that searcheth the heart knowes what is the minde of the spirit Rom. 8. 17. Hee knowes all thy groanes Hee knowes all thy desires what a comfort is this when ever an honest soule is put to it soundly in temptation when the soule is accused by Satan hardly thought on by men and God lets bitter temptations to come on I say what a comfort is this that God knowes all the good things that are in man all ones affections all ones endeavours ail ones combats against sinne all ones griefes for corruption as Peter sayd Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee Joh. 21. 17. Peter was put to it soundly at that time But yet this was his comfort that God did know all things Hee had many tokens of Gods gracious goodnesse about him hee had love to Jesus Christ hee had deepe desires to doe all that hee bade him O sayes hee and thou knowest it Againe this is an excellent comfort in time of affliction When Iob was in affliction and his friends scorned him then did hee goe and poure out his Teares unto God and this was his comfort Behold my witnesse is in Heaven and my record is on high Job 16. 19 20. Againe this an excellent encouragement to serve God in these bad and sinnefull times people generally never looke after God nor holinesse the World lookes after their pleasures and their profits and preferments and friends and the like but Religion and Devoutnesse and Godlinesse of living few people looke after that as though God did not regard what people doe Now beloved when wee heare that God sees all that men doe and markes it and will call all men to accompt what an encouragement is this to serve God as David sayd to Solomon Know thou the God of thy Fathers and serve him with a perfect heart for the Lord searcheth all Hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts 1 Chron. 28. 9. Againe what a comfort is this against false accusations Hee knowes all our innocency when our Neighbours say all manner of evill of us Hee knowes wee doe that in simplicity which others thinke wee doe out of a sinister respect or out of pride or popularity or for applause What a comfort is this when wee can appeale to God as Paul sayes the Lord knowes that J lye not as David sayes I have not refrained my lips from Preaching thy Righteousnesse O Lord thou knowest Psal 40. 9. Hee knowes the uttermost endeavours and desires of our hearts is to be as good as wee seeme though the World take us for Hypocrites Hee knowes wee be true men that reverence every power that is of God though the World esteeme us factious and humorous Little does the World thinke what the Saints doe every day what wrastlings with God what conflicts in their mindes they indure this is sufficient the Lord knowes Againe what a comfort is this if wee desire to know our sinnes God is able to shew them unto us Hee can open our eyes to behold them for our humiliation that wee may say with the Prophet I know mine owne iniquities and my sinne is ever before me if we want a right sight of our sinnes at any time it is but going to God Hee knowes them all hee can helpe us to see them aright Fifthly does God know all mens sinnes then this should make us afraid to doe evill at any time or in any place yea in the secretest wee can never do any evill but God will spy us out wee cannot have a thought in our heart but hee does discerne it nor
and then the promise is to them in these words They shall walk with me in white that is I will give them the grace of repentance and I wil keep them unspotted unto my heavenly Kingdome and glory And he addes a reason in these words For they are worthy not as though they did merit repentance and glory no but they are worthy in Christ and Christ hath made them meet to be made partakers of this mercy Thus you see the matter of the Epistle The fourth and last thing is the conclusion of the Epistle and that is in the fifth and sixth verses He that overcometh shall be cloathed in white raiment c. In which words we have the conclusion of the Epistle and it consists of two parts First a promise to every one that overcometh He that overcomes c. Secondly a precept to command every gracious Saint to attend to these things The promise First it is to be considered to whom it is made it is made to him that overcometh that is ye know there is to be a holy warre against all manner of sin and all temptations and all the policies of Satan and all the alluring baits of the world and all the inclinations of the flesh Now he that overcomes all these which is no other but one that is born of God who alone is able to overcome He that overcomes this is the party to whom it is promised Secondly what it is that is promised Here bee three things that are promised to him that overcomes First White raiment He shall be clothed in white raiment that is he shall be preferred to everlasting blessednesse and hee shall walk in triumph in a conquerours robe Secondly a permanent and lasting name in the Booke of life I will not put out his name out of the Book of life that is there be many hundreds that are written in the book of life in the judgement of men and in the hope of men but in the end the Lord blots them out he makes it appeare that their names are not there But this man shall never bee blotted out thence As he hopes his name is enrolled there so it shall for a certain appeare to be enrolled there and it shall never be crossed out Thirdly Christs confessing of that mans name before his Father and his holy Angels And I will confesse his name before my Father and his holy Angels that is I will acknowledge him to be mine Thus you see the first thing the promise which is made to him that overcomes The second part of the conclusion is a precept to command every gracious Saint to attend to these things and that is in the sixth verse He that hath an eare to heare let him heare what the Spirit saith unto the Churches Of these in their order and first of the Inscription And to the Angel of the Church of Sardis write By the Angel he means not the Angels of Heaven no nor the Angels of the bottomlesse pit he does not mean the Angels of heaven because they are perfectly holy they have no sinne in them Now the Lord Jesus speakes of such an Angel here as hath much sinned for he reproves him exceedingly Neither does he mean any Angel of the bottomlesse pit because they are perfectly evill they have no spirituall goodnesse at all in them Now the Lord Jesus speaks of such an Angel here whom though he reproves for many things amisse yet he commends him too for some gracious things and therefore he can be Angell of the bottomlesse pit It remains then that a Metaphoricall Angel is here understood and that is the Minister of the Church Now as the Angels are called Ministers Blesse ye the Lord all ye his Hosts ye Ministers that doe his pleasure Psal 103. 21. So the Ministers are called Angels An Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim c. Judg. 2. 1. that iâ— a Minister Phinehas or some Prophet or other as it seems came and preached unto the people The point then is this That Ministers are to be Angels as it were They are Angels in some sense 1. Angels are Spirits yee know they are spiritual substances as the Psalmist speaks He maketh his Angels spirits Psal 104. 4. they are spirituall creatures their communion is spirituall their food is spirituall their delights are spirituall their affections minds are spirituall so a Minister though he be a Body as well as his people yet he should be a spiritual man I confess every true Christian is spiritual as the Apostle sayes If any man be overtaken in a fault ye that are spiritual restore such a man in the spirit of meeknes Gal. 6. he speakes to every true Christian he is a spirituall man But a Minister should more especially be spirituall nay our own phrases will rise up in judgement against us if we be not spirituall Doe not we call our selves the Spiritualty as though the people were carnall in comparison of us Now if we should be more carnall then they out of our own mouthes the Lord will condemne us The truth is many of us may be called spirituall men if we will but we are mad spirituall men as the Prophet Hosea speakes The spirituall man is mad Hosea 9. 7. Mad spirituall men indeed when we are nothing lesse then what we professe our selves to be when we are spirituall men in a mockery yee know what a mock is brought up upon this name people call a spirituall Pig that is the poorest of all the ten that hath no substance in it that is given to the Minister so many of us are spirituall in a mockery having no reason why we should be so tearmed but onely because there is no substance in us no goodnesse no holinesse at all in us whereas we should exceed others in it We should be spiritual in a special manner we should be like animae separatae like spirits sequestred from bodily things taken up with spirituall affaires holding forth the fruits of the spirit we should be as Angels in our Parishes labouring to draw people from all their carnal courses endeavouring to breed in them a savour and a relish of all the things of the spirit of God our Sermons should not be onely moral but spiritual our carriage should be a spiritual walking where we come our discourse should be spirituall we should be like a company of spirits for so the Apostle calls us Try the spirits whether they be of God 1 John 4. 1. that is try your Ministers whether they be of God yea or no whether their doctrine be the doctrine of life that wil make the soul live whether their conversation be after the spirit lest ye follow a false guide whether their Ministery be the Ministery of the spirit If any man think himselfe to be a Prophet or spirituall 1 Cor. 14. 37. We cannot think our selves Prophets except we be spiritual men When our courses are carnal we sin
against our callings for we are to bee as Angels by our places in this sense lest our own profession hit us in the teeth at the last Secondly the Angels are creatures of another world not of this world though they walk up and down on Gods errands here yet they are creatures of another world and therefore they are called the Angels of Heaven Matth. 24. 36. Heavenly souldiers Luke 2. 13. True every child of God is a heavenly creature but a Minister should be in a more special manner a creature of another world crucified unto this as Paul sayes I am crucified to the world and the world unto me The preaching of the word is called the Kingdome of heaven so we that are the Preachers of it should be of heaven too not only in regard of the news we bring but we our selves that bring it should be heavenly ones When our Saviour Christ had told Nicodemus that he must be begotten from above O sayes hee art thou a Teacher in Israel and knowest not these things How beautiful upon the mountains The Ministers of the Gospel should be men aloft the world should bee a vally to them beneath they should not bee Secular men What care Angels for fine houses or great livings They had rather be in the prison with Peter then with Herod at the Court. Doe Angels care for outward things No no more should Ministers Paul was all for Jesus Christ I determined not to know any thing among you but Jesus Christ and him crucified 1 Cor. 2. 2. He cared not though the great Philosophers of Corinth took him for a Dunce in all human learning Jesus Christ and him crucified Paul included all his learning in that Thirdly the Angels stand before God as Daniel sayes Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him Dan. 7. 10. So the Ministers of God are to stand before God as God saith to Jeremy Thou shalt stand before me Jer. 15. 19. The Ministers of God are to stand before God to know what his pleasure is unto the people what message he hath for them Again the Angels are Ministring spirits sent forth for the good of them that are heirs of salvation Heb. 1. 14. So Ministers they are to minister unto them that are the heires of salvation to watch over their souls to be usefull unto them in all their wayes Again the Angels pitch their tents round about them that are good as the Prophet speaks so the Ministers they are the Churches Angels Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas all are yours they are not their own But as they are Christs so next under him they are theirs that are Christs they are Ministers by whom they beleeve helpers of their faith they are Gods servants to bring Jacob again to him Angels are Gods messengers they never come but when they are sent from God so it is said of Ministers There was a man sent from God whose name was John John 1. 6. The use of this is First Here we see that the Ministery is no base Office the world makes a matter of nothing of Gods faithfull Ministers vile men will Sirra them at their pleasure and take them up as if they were their dishclouts But beloved here we see they are as it were Angels of God Christ himselfe the Apostle makes bold to call him a Minister Rom. 15. 8. Now I say sayes he that Jesus Christ was a Minister the Apostle knew it was no disparagement unto him Solomon when he would chuse him his Title and might have called himselfe The King of Israel and Judah yet he rather takes this as honorable enough The Preacher Thus saith the Preacher Eccles 1. 1. The office of a Minister is an Angels office When Zachary perceived that his child should be a Minister though yet he were a little babe lying in the cradle he admires him And thou child shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest for thou shalt goe before the face of the Lord to prepare his wayes to give knowledge of salvation for the remission of sins to give light unto them that sit in darknesse and in the shadow of death to guide their feet in the way of peace Luke 1. 76 77. The Angels of heaven never go on greater errands then these When they came to the Shepheards what did they doe they did but tell them of the birth of Christ of peace on earth and good will towards men Now this is the Ministers duty let the world think what they will of us as though our calling were mean and they care not much whether they heare us or no they will not regard what we preach O beloved consider what an office we have we are Gods Angels unto you to declare unto man his righteousnesse Job 33. 23. to pray men in Christs stead to be reconciled unto God 2 Cor. 5. 20. to gather together the saints Ephes 4. 12. These are no small things no mean imployments to treat between God and Man about eternall life to be Christs Paranymphs and the friends of the Bridegroom to deale about the getting of a wife for the Lamb to cater for heaven to bring in custome for the Kingdome of God The whole world hath not a greater office in it yee cannot despise neither our persons nor our message and be saved as Paul sayes Let a man so esteem of us as of the Ministers of Christ and the stewards of the mysteries of God 1 Cor. 4. 1. q. d. O take heed how yee slight us or our Ministery yee cannot have the mysteries of grace without us yee cannot have saving knowledge nor regeneration nor faith without us I doe not speak what God may doe extraordinarily but this is Gods ordinary way How can they beleeve on him of whom they have not heard and how can they heare without a Preacher Rom. 10. 4. and therefore our office is no mean office we are as the Angels of God unto you and people should honour our Ministery when a Minister comes into the Pulpit even as if an Angel did appeare It is said when Samuel came to Bethlehem the Elders of the town trembled at his coming 1 Sam. 16. 4. Secondly are Ministers Angels then they must be holy ye know the Angels are holy When the Son of man shall come in his glory and all his holy Angels with him Matth. 25. 31. They are holy all of them so should the Ministers be holy otherwise they may be Angels indeed but they are evill angels angels of darknesse they are Devils if they be not holy Every ignorant gracelesse and unconscionable Minister is ready to presse the dignity of his calling and what an honorable office he hath but hee never considers what a Minister then he must be If we be Angels brethren why then as we like this honorable Title we must have a care to be holy or else I say we are Devils Those Angels that are not holy are Devils Nay our very calling supposes us to
O be quickned the Lord will not endure a dead people get life if yee be wise it is but a folly to have a name to live except yee be alive indeed Now the way for us to quicken our people is First If we be good our selves When Jehosaphat would encourage the Levites to quicken up the people Sayes he The Lord shall be with the good 2 Chron. 19. 11. Hee will blesse your labours hee will strengthen your Sermons to doe good though not to all for the greatest part are not of God yet unto his people Nay if we were good indeed wee might have hope do too much good as it is said of Barnabas he was a good man and much people were added to the Lord. Act. 11. 24. Againe Secondly wee should bee earnest with God to quicken all our hearts that so we may the better quicken our Brethren as Christ sayes to Peter when thou art converted strengthen thy Brethren so we should desire God to quicken us that we may quicken our Brethren that wee may wash our hands of our people What an excellent comfort was that unto Paul When hee could take his people to record that hee was pure from the bloud of all men Act. 20. 26. Thirdly We should marke which of our people are dead Ezek. 8. 6. And then thinke what are not we guiltie of his deadnesse Fourthly Let us lay about us soundly that we not may be guilty of their sinnes in any kinde Fifthly Another Use is to let us see What a great danger Ministers are in they may be guilty of all the evill in their Parish if they doe not their duty which is a great thing to doe they have all the sinnes of their Parish lying at their doore This should keepe us from security and from pride many grow proud that are Ministers but alas they know not what an Office they have that doe so Our very Calling should make our hearts tremble and quake to think what a charge is imposed upon us This made Moses and Aaron and many a good man more so fearfull to enter upon this function No man takes this honour unto himself saith the Apostle meaning no godly man no man in his right wits no man that is well-advised what hee does but hee that is called Heb. 5. 4. as our Saviour Christ saith Pray yee the Lord of the Harvest that hee would send forth labourers into his Harvest Matth. 9. 38. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so it is in the Originall that hee would thrust forth labourers into his Harvest q. d. God will have no good labourers otherwise those that are good are not over-forward to enter into the Ministery as a Father sayes it is a burden that the very Angels shoulders would tremble under as the Apostle said Who is sufficient for these things If there were no other Argument but this in the Text it might sway all Ministers hearts in the world lest wee bee guilty of our own deadnesse and of others too Another Use should bee to the people that they would bee forward and willing to hear and greedy to drink in the word of life The want of this is the deading of many a Ministers heart I was in much bitternesse saith Ezekiel but the hand of the Lord was strong upon mee Ezek. 3. 14. that is I had had no heart at all to preach but that the hand of the Lord was exceedingly assistant unto mee whereas the forwardnesse of people is a great meanes to quicken up their Ministers When the whole City flocked in to heare Paul though the wicked were mad at it The Text saith Hee grew bold Act. 13. 44 45. When the people crowded in upon our Saviour that hee had not so much as time to eat bread Mark 3. 20. the Text shews that he so be-stirred himselfe there that his own Kinssolk thought hee had been mad Vers 21. Revel 3. 1. And unto the Angell of the Church in Sardis write these things saith hee that hath the seven Spirits of God c. WEE have done with the Inscription And unto the Angel of the Church in Sardis write Wee come now to the Subscription and that is in these words These things saith hee that hath the seven Spirits of God and the seven Starres Which words contain a description of the Lord Jesus Christ from whom this Epistle is sent unto the Church and hee is described very gloriously to the intent that what hee saies may bee the more reverently and seriously regarded The Description sets forth two admirable properties and royalties of our Lord Jesus Christ First That hee hath the seven Spirits of God that is hee hath the Holy Ghost to give to whomsoever hee please Secondly That he hath the seven Starres that is the Pastours and Ministers of the Church Christ hath them all in his hand to send them to gift them to assist them to preserve them to vouchsafe them to a people or to take them away as hee lists and the Ministers are called Stars because they are to shine in the firmament of the Church First then the first royalty of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is that hee hath the seven Spirits of God by the seven Spirits of God hee meanes the Holy Ghost you will say the Holy Ghost is but one Spirit By one Spirit wee are all baptized into one Body 1 Cor. 12. 13. There is one Body and one Spirit Ephes 4. 4. Through him wee both have an accesse by one Spirit unto the Father Ephes 2. 18. The Spirit of God is but one Yee know there is but one God in three persons one Father one Sonne one holy Spirit There bee three that bear record in Heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these three are one 1 Joh. 5. 7. there is but one Father and one Sonne whom the Apostle there calls the Word for so hee is often called in the Scripture The Word was made flesh that is the Son of God was made flesh so there is but one Holy Ghost one Holy Spirit Why then does the Text here say of Christ that hee hath the seven Spirits of God I Answer yee may know that the Revelation uses peculiar phrases august and mysticall Now the reason why John speaks thus in the plurall number is First because hee alludes to the manner of his Visions now in his Visions the holy Ghost was thus represented unto him as yee may see Rev. 4. 5. where he saw seven Lamps of fire burning before the Throne which are the seven Spirits of God So again Rev. 5. 6. where hee saw a Lamb as it had been slain having seven hornes and seven eyes which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth So that this is one reason why hee calls the Holy Ghost the seven Spirits of God because hee speaks after this manner of the Vision that hee saw Secondly another reason is because hee was to write to the seven Churches of
mis-givings self-condēnings uncertainties about his later end doubtfulnesse whether any thing be sound yea or no and yet no heart of prayer no strainings after Christ to have the Holy Spirit of him Nay tittle tattle is preferred before comming about Christ and every idle busines more takes up our thoughts then how we may injoy Jesus Christ Thirdly where is the man well-neer that is holy some indeed are civill and not very many no not of them that would bee held for Professers For what Civility Honesty is there when people are palpably proud and palpably covetous and palpably malicious and spightfull and envious but put case many be Civill yet holinesse is hardly any where to be seene Where are any that are mortified unto sin Crucified to the world Pilgrims on earth Heavenly-minded taken up with God The Spirit indeed is a Spirit of Holinesse Rom. 1. 4. And Christ hath him to give but hee cannot have our custome We are not thirstie after such matters Fourthly Where is the Communion of Saints a Theme I spake of the last Sabbath day We are all like unto Ephraim Ephraim hath mixed himself among the people Hos 7. 8. that is they had no Communion of Saints there among them They were a mish-mash people there was a Chaos and a confusion and a medly among them If there be any that beare the name of Saints They are like Lambs feeding all alone in a large place Like Israel when they are scatterd Hos 4. 16. Lambes withour flockes Birds without mates As if they were all frighted asunder No Communion of Saints no Communion of graces nor duties nor hearts nor affections I confesse if we had the Holy Spirit of God we would make a communion among us As Paul sayes The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the Communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all Amen 2 Cor. 13. 14. He would make a Commuinon among us and Christ hath him too and there we might have him but we care not for him which is a most fearefull thing a signe of horrible deadnesse and livelesnesse in good as it is with the boughes of a tree when they are dead they fall off but they hang together as long as they are alive Though communion of Saints be an Article of our faith yet we let it dye We see in nature if we sling any meat to a Hen presently shee cluckes for all her Chickens to have part So looke what graces we get we should impart what we can the Lord hath appointed mutualgiving good example unto one another edifying one another exhorting one another admonishing one another comforting one another conferring one with another supplicating one with and for another As it is said Luke 5. 10. That Simon and James and Iohn were partners in their fishing looke what fishes they caught they divided among one another so Christians should be partners What they get at a Sermon they are to impart What they get in prayer or at Sacraments or in affliction there be others that should be partners with them as the Apostle sayes Looke not every man on his owne things but every man also on the things of others Phil. 2. 4. O sayes he if there be any fellow-ship of the Spirit thus it must be that is the Spirit would breed this fellowship and communion among you Now Beloved where is this holy Spirit to be had but in Christ I say wee are without excuse if we doe not get the Holy Spirit of God Because Christ hath him for us if we would resort to him and therefore wee can have no plea. First Wee cannot plead wee have no need of the holy Spirit of God what need wee have him as long as wee beleeve there is such a one Is it needfull wee should have him I that it is why else did God make his Son to bee the dispenser and the distributer and communicater of him O Beloved the Lord hath done this because wee cannot bee saved without the holy Spirit of God would wee bee regenerated and born again wee cannot without the Spirit That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit Joh. 3. 6. Wee can never bee spirituall without the Spirit of God none but spirituall men and women shall enter into the Kingdome of God Drunkards and adulterers and lyers and muck-worms and better men than they are carnall men Now to bee carnally minded is death but to bee spiritually minded this onely is life and peace so that wee cannot plead that Again Wee cannot bee justified without the Spirit of God Yee may say O wee hope to bee justified onely by Faith in Christ True but if yee have not the Spirit of God yee have no Faith none have true faith in Christ till first they have the holy Spirit of God and therefore it is called the spirit of Faith that is a spirit inclining a man unto Christ bowing of the minde and heart and soule to all heavenly things in Christ no man can bee justified without this as Paul tells the Corinthians But yee are sanctified yee are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God 1 Cor. 6. 11. Again Yee cannot have free-will to doe the will of God without the holy Spirit of God I confesse by nature no man hath free-will I but if yee bee not more then nature yee cannot bee saved Yee must have free-will to all the waies of God or yee cannot bee saved Now yee never can have this without the Spirit of God Can yee mortifie every wicked lust can yee resist the devill every day can yee keep out the world and ward off the temptations of the flesh yee can never doe it while the world stands in a holy course without the holy Spirit of God Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty 2 Cor. 3. 17. Mark there is free-will to all these things that man hath liberty to doe supernaturall things that hath the Spirit of the Lord and no man else Again Yee are none of Christs if yee have not the holy Spirit of Christ that is the Mark hee brands all his sheep with as a man saies when hee heares tydings of any of his sheep saith hee if they bee mine they have such a mark they have an A. and a B. on the left side or so so saies Christ if they bee mine they have my Spirit if any man have not the Spirit of Christ hee is none of his Rom. 8. 9. Hereby wee know that hee abideth in us saith John by his Spirit which hee hath given us 1 Joh. 3. 24. so that wee have need of the spirit and therefore this cannot bee our plea that wee have no need wee have such need of Gods holy Spirit that wee cannot bee saved without the having of him Secondly wee cannot plead wee know not where to have him For Christ saith hee hath him to give to all that will receive him The Spirit of the Lord
us weary But still wee should goe on a seeking of the holy Spirit of God Thus as wee know where to have the Spirit of God namely in Christ so wee know how too and therefore wee are without excuse if wee suffer our selves to bee void of Gods holy and blessed Spirit this is the second use Thirdly another Use is to you that doe indeed complain of great want of the Spirit here you see where yee may have supplies even from our Lord Jesus Christ hee hath the seven Spirits of God They labour to know Christ more and more this is the way to have more and more of the Spirit as the Apostle saith That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdome and revelation in the knowledge of him Ephes 1. 17. Get the knowledge of Christ more and more and thus the spirit shall come to thee more and more It is said of the Indian Gymnosophists that they would lye all the day long looking upon the Sun in the firmament so should Christians doe they should lye looking upon Christ the more spirit still they shall have if they doe so First May be ye want spirit to make you know the Lords will you finde your selves backward from day to day little or no heart to Gods Commandements look up to Christ and say Lord there is enough spirit in Christ and hee hath it for all them that doe want and would have the same O give mee some together with him as hee sayes I will put my Spirit into you and cause you to walk in my statutes Ezek. 36. 27. q. d. look up to mee I will doe this for you Secondly May bee yee want strength yee have many temptations and you have no strength to resist them they come in upon you like the breaking in upon you may bee yee are tempted to deny all and to say yee have nothing in you sometimes yee are tempted to give over all saying it is but a folly I shall one day bee damned and I were as good give over now as to doe it afterwards when it will bee worse and yee have no strength to hold out sometimes yee cannot meditate yee cannot pray yee are fain to break off in the midst with base feares with security and vain hopes you are tempted to doe as the world does and yee have no strength to oppose them Look up to Christ yee know the Spirit of Christ is a spirit of power and strength 2 Tim. 1. 7. and hee hath him for you Look up to him then and cry for his strong spirit Who knowes may bee you may bee able to say in the end as Paul does I can doe all things through Christ that strengthens mee Thirdly May bee yee want boldnesse to call God your Father yee are in a quandary whether yee should call him so or no yee are afraid hee is none of your Father and that yee are none of his adopted ones yee shall but blaspheme him to call him your Father or to expect of him a childes portion Look up to Christ hee hath such a spirit in him whereby yee may cry Abba Father Gal. 4. 6. Fourthly May bee yee want life and quickning you finde your selves very dead even as the Church of Sardis in this place I know thy works that thou art dead Look up to Christ as here hee does bid thee hee hath the seven Spirits of God and hath that which will quicken thee Christ himself when hee was naturally dead hee was quickned by his own spirit 1 Pet. 3. 18. That very spirit can quicken thy spirituall deadnesse to every good word and work His spirit is life and that will make thee lively though thy heart bee little better then a Timber-logge in duties yet if that spirit get within thee it will make thee agile and active in every good thing It is a horrible thing to see how little Christians know of Jesus Christ though they have been thought to know Jesus Christ so long a time yet they doe not know him Christ takes this very ill as hee told Philip Have I been so long time with you and hast thou not known mee Philip Joh. 14. 9. Christ could bee even angry with him for learning him no better what little spirit is there in Christians now adaies a signe though they have been a long time a learning Christ yet they hardly know him For if wee knew him Brethren wee could not bee at enmity with the holy Spirit Wee doe not look up to Christ You will say what is it to look up to Christ in all your wayes I Answer It is to follow Christ as where John said Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world The Text sayes That two of his Disciples went away and followed after Jesus Joh. 1. 36 37. O thought they is hee the Lamb of God does hee take away the sins of the world wee will follow him then John bade them look at him and they followed after him that is they lookt at him indeed as a man looks at one whom hee follows when a man so looks up to Christ that hee follows him when a man sees him his onely meanes to bee happy and godly and in the favour of God the onely meanes to doe well and to bee well and desires indeed to follow after him this is to look up to Christ when a man labours sincerely to follow the counsell and direction of Christ in all his wayes Hee bids him to deny himself and that is the thing that hee labours for Hee bids him to repent of all his sins and to ply himself to all Gods holy paths and to rely upon him for strength and acceptance and mercy and pardon and every blessing What-ever thing hee looks for at the hands of God hee sets himself to follow Christs counsell and to expect it in him If hee see his sins hee looks up to Christ and there hee sees his death to defray them when hee sees what power they have over him hee looks up to Christ for his Spirit to subdue them in the use of all those meanes that hee hath appointed Prayer Meditation Watchfulnesse Striving Purposing Endevouring and Fighting against all the lusts of his flesh And wherein soever hee failes hee labours to bee humbled and yet to look still up to Christ for forgivenesse and more help against another time This is to see the Son of God Every one that sees the Son hath everlasting life Joh. 6. 40. This is to look up to Christ to beleeve in Christ to have Christ to bee in Christ to dwell in Christ and Christ in him But you will say I am afraid I never lookt up to Christ then I never yet had him for I have not his holy spirit how shall I know whether I have the holy spirit I Answer first I will tell thee what bee not signes and then secondly what bee signes First What bee
of Sardis containing a description of Christ from whom the Letter is sent Now Christ is here described according to the matter in hand from two royalties of his first That he hath the seven Spirits of God that is he hath the giving of the Holy Ghost and all his gifts and graces to whomsoever he pleaseth Secondly that He hath the seven Starres that is hee hath the disposing of the Ministers of the Church And this I told you is to bee meant divers wayes Christ is said to have the Ministers of the Church five wayes First hee hath the sending of them they have their Mission from him Secondly hee hath the delegating of them they have their Commission from him Thirdly bee hath the gifting of them they have their abilities from him Fourthly hee hath the prospering of them they have the successe of their labours from him Fifthly he hath the keeping of them they are put into a place continued or removed they have their liberty from him and when they are put downe or silenced it is he that does doe it The two first I have handled already first that he hath the sending of them Secondly that he hath the delegating of them I come now to the third Hee hath the gifting of them look what good gifts and abilities they have they have them all of him As Paul sayes Hee hath made us able Ministers of the New Testament not of the Letter but of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3. 6. and this was one of the ends of his Ascension as the Apostle sayes Hee ascended up on high and led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men Ephes 4. 8. that is this was one end of his ascending up to Heaven that hee might send down gifts unto his Church Now what gifts does hee mean True hee sends gifts to all his true Members but he meanes the gifting of his Ministers as it follows And hee gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastours and teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministery and so forth ver 11 12. And the truth is it is not without cause for of all men wee that are the Ministers of Jesus Christ have need of singular and rare gifts and abilities First To open the Scriptures the Scriptures are a great deep and they have under the Letter much admirable spirituall matter encouched and many things are hard in them as Peter sayes And a Minister is to open them and to give out the sense as it is said of the Priests They read the Law distinctly and gave out the sense and made the people to understand the Reading Nehem. 8. 8. Now if a Minister have not gifts from Jesus Christ what madde work will hee make the Scripture will bee a clasped book unto him and a Fountain sealed up Like the Philistines that in three daies could not expound Sampsons Riddle It is said of Christ that he opened the Scriptures Luk. 24. 32. The Scriptures are shut and contain Mysteries folded and lapped up now the Minister had need of abilities to open them Secondly To Teach as a Minister is to open the Scriptures which requireth great gifts so he is to teach the people out of them to draw Doctrines out of the same and this requireth great gifts too to informe the judgement to let out the light of the Word to scatter the beames of the Sun of righteousnesse abroad to dispel the darknesse of mens minds to shine round about them in spirituall knowledge This is a work of much ability as the Apostle speaks to Timothy the things which thou hast heard of mee the same commit thou to faithfull men who shall bee able to teach others 2 Tim. 2. 2. and therefore it is called Prophecying Despise not Prophecying that is despise not Teaching a man had need of a speciall gift to be able to Prophesie so if a man would be a Teacher when Nicodemus would expresse what an able Teacher Christ was sayes hee Thou art a teacher come from God A man had need to be one that hath been with God that would teach aright There is a gift of fitnesse and aptnesse without which a man cannot doe it The servant of the Lord must bee apt to teach 2 Tim. 2. 24. the Apostle tells us there bee heapes of naughty teachers in the world a good teacher is a rare man it cannot bee without all wisdome as hee sayes Teaching every man in all wisdome Col. 1. 28. we are to teach people the learning of the holy how to know God how to fear him and love him Wee are to teach people how to pray how to walk in all holines and righteousnes of living the great things of Gods Law the deep things of the Spirit the mysteries of eternall life to open the wiles of Satan the mistakes of the hearts of men the many by-wayes of the soule ye know sin is covered over with pleasures and profits and carnall reasons and evasions and we are to lay it out naked as indeed it is Gracious and godly courses seem grievous and irksome and uncouth and vile and needlesse and we are to discover the inward pleasure and commodity and necessity and glory of them and therfore wee have need of abilities Thirdly to Convince yee know how the heart does use to put off the Word and if it meet with a doctrine or a reproof or a precept that it does not like it will deny it it will cavill and carp O it is false as Johanan and others said to Jeremiah it is false you doe not say true wee will never beleeve it When wee paint out a drunkards damned estate he is ready to gainsay it or an adulterers he is ready to except people contradict such passages of the Word as are against their lusts and they give us very little better then the lye many times therefore a Minister should bee able to convince that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gain-sayers Tit. 1. 9. when people are subject to condemn us for harshnesse and hard sayings and that we doe not preach placentia enough we must be able to use some speech that cannot be condemned Tit. 2. 8. when a Minister preaches weakly Sermons like wide nets or rotten threads that the Birds may get through or break this is not able preaching as Zwinglius said of Carolostadius when he heard him disputing weakly against consubstantiation O sayes he I am sorry that so good a cause should have such a weak defendant It is said of Apollos that hee mightily convinced the Jewes Stephen the University-men there that came huddling about him they were not able to withstand the Spirit and the wisdome by which hee spake Act. 6. 10. it is the promise of our Saviour I will give you a mouth and wisdome which all your adversaries shall not bee able to gainsay or resist Luk. 21. 15. Fourthly to move the affections Ministers have need
that we know can't abide them Which among us when we pray and have base roving thoughts would not be ashamed that a man should see our thoughts rove which of us that are unsetled and dead-hearted would not blush that men had a casement to see how dead he sits at a Sermon and how dead at a Sacrament how dead in other of Gods Ordinances what base and impure thoughts sometime doe arise in his minde if he did thinke that any man should see them he would not hardly be able to shew his face among men Let but an adulterer that is naught with a whore have but a few men or but one man come and take him in the act O how it will gall him and vex him to be seen 〈◊〉 as Iob speakes if one know them they are in the terror of the shadow of death Job 24. 17. they abhorre the light they cannot abide to be brought out to be knowne Now beloved if this be our disposition by nature that we cannot abide that so much as a man should know us nay not a child of six or seven yeeres of age then O what a terror is it that the God of Heaven and Earth should know us that he should see all our lusts all our sinnefull and vile thoughts all our uncleane and noy some affections all our by ends and carelesnesse of God! O what a powerfull thing is this to worke upon the heart except it be delivered up to a reprobate sense to sleight God and care lesse for him then for a little Boy or a mortall man so then yee see this is a powerfull meanes to work upon a soule to know that God knowes all his workes though the Woman of Samaria stood jesting and playing and contesting with our Saviour a good while yet when she perceived that he knew all her villany this burst her heart O saies she this is no other then Christ he hath told me all that ever I did Joh. 4. 29. The use of this is First here we see they are desperato that this point cannot worke on its certaine they are gracelesse that can heare that God sees all their workes and yet it does not purge them from day to day it s an evident argument that a man contemnes God and makes nothing of him When David had shewed that the wicked care not for Gods eye they make a matter of nothing of it tush God does not see Psalm 19. 11. say they that is they knew he saw indeed but they made nothing of it as long as men did not see them they counted Gods seeing as nothing now marke what followes wherefore doe the wicked contemne God Psalm 13 Secondly is it so that this is such a powerfull meanes to worke upon our hearts let us not harden our hearts but let us consider of it that it may cut between the bone and the marrow and devide between the soule and the spirit God sees all our workes This point should fall upon our hearts like the almighty hand of God as it did upon Job I know thou canst doe every thing and that no thought can be hid from thee Job 42. 2. REVEL 3. 1. That thou hast a name that thou livest and art Dead WE are come to the subject matter of this example and First we meet with the reproofe that Christ gives to the Church of Sardis the reproofe is either in generall I know thy workes i e. I know them all to be starke naught for the generall and then in particular first their hypocrisie thou hast a name that thou livest secondly their deadnesse indeed and art dead The generall reproofe we spake of the last day I know thy workes and there ye heard that God knowes all the sinfull courses that any man takes he is privy to every mans sinnes though men carry them never so closely and cleverly yet he knowes them First he sees all mens sinfull actions as Elihu speakes his eyes are upon the wayes of man and he sees all his goings there is no darknesse or shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves Job 34. 21. 22. people cannot get out of his sight they cannot sinne so in private but he seeth them they may goe into a secret roome and shut every living creature out but they cannot shut God out Secondly he knowes every syllable that men speake I have heard what the Prophets said they prophecy lies in my name Ier. 23. 25. the Lord can tell what men speake under the rose looke what the King of Aram spake in his bed chamber he could tell Elisha As Enoch speakes he knowes all the speeches that wicked men speake and will have them up at the day of judgement against them Thirdly he knowes every sinfull thought that is in mens hearts as Moses sayes God saw the wickednesse of man was great upon the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually Gen. 6. 5. though mens thoughts be slie things and are out of mens eyes and Angels eyes and Devils eyes yet they are not out of his eye he sees what men thinke Fourthly he knowes all that ever a man hath done as the woman said of Christ come see one that hath told me all that ever I have done Joh. 4. 29. Fifthly he knowes all the evill that ever men will doe hereafter the Lord told Moses what Pharaoh would doe before he went to him I know he will harden his heart and will not let them goe Exod. 3. 19. while the Children of Israel were in the wildernesse he knew what they would doe when they came into Canaan I know their imaginations even now before I have brought them into the Land which I sware to give them Deut 31. 21. Sixthly he knowes all the evills that men would doe in such and and such circumstances he knew Abimelech would have taken Sarah if he had not hindred him he knew that the men of Keilah would betray David if David should stay there 1 Sam. 23. 12. he knowes what a rich man would doe if he were poore what this or that poore man would doe if he were rich one dies in his infancy he knowes what he would have done if he had let him live to be a man her 's a man that lives in a good family and may be carrieth himselfe very squarely but the Lord knowes what he would doe if he lived in another place Seventhly the Lord knowes mens dispositions their natures their qualities their projects their intentions he knowes how many are rotten though they professe never so much he knowes mens persons he knowes vaine men Iob. 11. 11. I told you the reason of this First because he is omniscient and knowes all things his understanding is infinite Psal 147. 5. let a man set as good a colour as he can upon his wicked devices God can discover him let a man have never so many excuses though
they passe for currant among men yet God sees what they are men may pretend what they will and deny what they will and set an impudent forehead and face on the matter and go unperceived among men but they cannot goe unperceived by Allmighty God his understanding is infinite Secondly as he is omniscient so he is omnipresent he is everywhere whether can any creature goe from his presence if he goe into the street or ale-house or drabhouse or his house or his closet or his privy chamber he can goe nowhere but where God is and therefore how can he doe ought but God must needs see him can any hide himselfe in secret places that I should not see him doe not I fill Heaven and Earth saith the Lord Ier. 23. 24. Thirdly the Lord hath his providence in every thing nothing is done without his concurrence or sufferance if it be good it is done by his assistance if it be evill it cannot be done without his permission and disposition therefore he must needs know every thing He knew whether the Devils should enter into the herd of swine for they could not enter in untill he suffered them he knew all that Iudas and Pilate and Herod and the Jewes and the High Priests did against Christ because they did nothing but what his hand and counsell had determined before to be done Act. 4. 28. Fourthly the Lord knowes every mans sinnes because he hath a candle in every mans bosome The Spirit of man is the candle of the Lord searching all the inward parts of the belly Prov. 20. 27 that is a mans conscience that 's the Lords Candle well if Hee have a Candle standing in every mans bosome what can bee done there in the darke Fifthly because He is judge of the whole World O Lord of Heasts that judgest righteously that tryest the Reines and the Heart Jer. 11. 20. Hee could not judge every man righteously else A man may doe well and yet seeme to doe evill againe a man may doe very evill and yet seeme to doe well yee know the heart is all in all now if God did not know all mens hearts all mens lookes and aymes and intents and meanings the circumstances and every thing that men doe Hee could not judge every man according to his workes as hee will for a certaine Hee will judge every man according to his works and therefore Hee knowes what every mans workes bee The use of this was First To confute Averroes and others that say that God does not know mens sinnes O say they God sees all things by looking on himselfe now there is no such thing to be seene in himselfe Beloved here you see that this is a blasphemous Doctrine for God knowes what ever men are or thinke or speake or doe or have done or shall doe or would doe in any case and though sinne be not in God yet the suffering of it is in God and Hee may suffer it in his just judgement and wisdome though the commiting of it be wicked yet his suffering of it is good and just The Eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evill and the good Pro. 15. 3. But I let this passe Secondly to condemne the most sorts of men that doe not consider of this truth for though men will grant that God knowes all the evill that they doe yet this vile Atheisme is lurking in mens hearts they either make God as the Epicures hold that hee sits in Heaven and regards not what men doe or at least God will not require it Psal 10. 13. they doe not charge this truth on their hearts This is the cause that men are so daring to doe evill Thirdly this is a terror to all that doe evill This is a terror to them that have condemning hearts as John sayes if our heart condemne us God is greater then our hearts and Hee knowes all things 1 Joh. 3. 20. againe this is a terror to all Hypocrites if God could not see a rotten heart then a Hypocrite should speed as well as the best But God sees what men are seeme they what they will He sees what they be Fourthly this is comfort to good people for if God see all mens sinnes then Hee sees all mens goodnesse what a comfort is this in Prayer to consider That Hee that searcheth the Hearts knowes what is the minde of the Spirit Romans 8. 27 Hee knowes all thy groanes and sighes though thou canst not utter what thou wouldst in Prayer yet Hee knowes what thou wouldst have What a comfort is this in temptation in the midst of the accusations of Satan when a man is pitifully put to it in spirituall conflicts that God knowes what is in us all our secret affections our mournings after him our private seekings of him all our hidden meanings to him all our combats against sinne all our griefes for corruptions as Peter sayes God thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee Joh. 21. 17. Peter was put to it soundly at that time yet this was his comfort that God did know all things and as Hee knowes more evill by us then our selves so He knowes more good by us then our selves Againe what a comfort is this against the nick-names and false judgings of wicked men Hee knowes all our innocency when men say all manner of evill of us Hee knowes wee doe that in sincerity which men thinke wee doe in Hypocrisy Hee knowes our simplicity when men judge that wee doe it out of by and sinister respects what a comfort is this when wee can appeale to God as David sayes the Lord knowes that I lie not as David sayes I have not refrained my lips from preaching thy Righteousnesse O Lord thou knowest Psalme 40. 9. little does the World think what the Saints doe every day what wrestlings with God what goings out unto him they have this is a comfort the Lord knowes Againe what an encouragement is it to serve God in these bad and sinnefull times People generally never looke after God nor holinesse as though God had forsaken the Earth most people are of the minde that if a man bee precise hee is little the better and if hee be not so precise as some be hee shall never be the worse for that as though God cared for no such matter Beloved when wee heare that God sees all that men doe and markes and will call all men to an accompt what an encouragement is this to serve God as David sayes to Solomon Know thou the God of thy Fathers and serve him with a perfect Heart for the Lord searcheth all Hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts 1 Chron. 28. 9. This was the first pont And then the Second point was this The consideration of this that God knowes all our workes is a powerfull meanes to all Gods elect to doe them good and to quicken them and to make them take heede of all
you that yee may bee saved I say Christ is anointed with him the Lord hath given him his Spirit in abundance hee hath enough spirit to infuse into all that lay hold upon him as John saith God hath not given the Spirit by measure unto him Joh. 3. 34. No hee hath the holy Spirit without measure hee hath all store of spirituall graces to afford to them that lack a Treasurie of all heavenly blessings to inrich all his poore distressed Members The Reasons of this Point why Christ onely hath the holy Spirit of God to give where hee will are three First Because there is none but hee that God is well-pleased in God is out with all the sonnes of men by reason of sin and wickednesse they are all hatefull unto him they are odious in his sight and the whole world cannot make him and them friends again that ever hee should give them grace and favour much lesse his holy Spirit There is none in whom God is well-pleased but in his Son This is my well-beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased Father and Holy Ghost Both came and rested upon him saying This is the onely Hee in whom I am well-pleased Mat. 3. 16 17. q. d. If yee get him to bee your Advocate take him and come unto mee with him then I will bee friends with you hee may help you with reconciliation with mee hee may get mee to give you my holy Spirit I am well-pleased in him and in none but him This is one Reason so that Christ onely can put his holy Spirit into thy heart and so send thee to his Father As Paul put a loving mediating letter in Onesimus his pocket and so sent him to his Master then hee will bee well-pleased with thee when thou haste Christs Letter of commendation about thee then thou mayest goe to God from day to day and bee accepted with him None can doe this for thee but onely Christ hee onely can put a mediating Letter in thy hand hee onely can give thee the intercessions of his holy Spirit Thousands goe to God in mans duties from day to day and because they are without this Christ hath not given them his holy Spirit therefore they are not accepted God is not pleased with them they pray without his spirit they cry God mercy without his spirit they seek to enter in without his spirit and so they are not admitted Now when a soule comes to Christ God is well-pleased with Christ and therefore Christ can give him this love-token Christ can give him the holy Spirit and so hee shall bee admitted into favour with God God is well-pleased in him As Pharaoh was in Joseph and therefore Joseph could present his Brethren unto Pharaoh Gen. 47. 2. If any bodie else had presented them they should never have found favour but Joseph could put acceptance upon them Pharaoh was well pleased in him So God is well pleased in his Son and therefore he can doe it and none but He. Secondly Another Reason is Because the Holy Spirit of God will never enter into man more except Gods Justice be satisfied God is resolved he will not put up those indignities that men offer unto him except they bring with them one in whom his wrath is appeased As Saint John sayes The Lambe slaine hath seven eyes which are the seven Spirits of God Rev. 5. 6. That is hee hath satisfied Gods Justice and therefore he hath the Holy Spirit of God so given the Holy Spirit of God will goe to those men that he hath satisfied Gods justice for I say the Holy Spirit of God will not goe to any man without satisfaction if any one will shew him satisfaction then the Spirit of God will say I will goe where you will have mee onely let mee have satisfaction Now Beloved Christ onely can say to the Holy Spirit come a-long with me to this man here 's a satisfaction unto Justice Therefore he only hath the Spirit at his dispencing And therefore if any man would have Gods Holy Spirit he must bring the Lambe Divine slaine with him to God Lord here I have the Lamb slaine and now let me see thy face now let mee have thy Spirit as David said to Abner bring me Michol or never thinke to see my face 2 Sam. 3. 13. q. d. never come to me except thou bring mee my Michol with thee The bringing of Michol with him this might helpe him to see the Kings face So Beloved when a man getteth the Lord Jesus Christ and brings him with him to God this may helpe him to Gods Holy Spirit Bring him along with thee and thou shalt see my face thou shalt have my holy Spirit Neither will God send thee his Holy Spirit neither will the Holy Spirit come to thee otherwise Christ onely hath him to give Have Christ and have him Thirdly another Reason is why Christ hath the Holy Spirit to give Because he is flesh of our flesh and Bone of our Bone and wee may goe to him hee is the fittest to have him to give because he being man aswell as wee wee may make bold to goe to him My Brethren wee are not able to goe to God for any thing much lesse for his Spirit wee are not able to looke upon him immediately as a man is not able to looke upon the Sun-Beames in their strength specially if hee have sore eyes But let him get a Scarfe or a Cypresse and now hee may Now the Sun-beames will shine upon him through the Cypresse and not hurt him The Scarfe is able to convey unto him the Sunne-beames without dazling of him So beloved Christ is able to convey the Holy Spirit of God into any man our sore Consciences may look up to God through him he moderates Gods looke hee can make us looke God in the face in a comfortable manner Now we may aske any thing of him even his Holy Spirit and he will give him as the Apostle sayes By him we have boldnesse Eph. 3. 12. O beloved they are great things that we need We have need of such great matters that when the Conscience is awakened it can have no hope to obtaine that God should pardon such vile wrecthes as we that he should accept of such poore services as ours that he should love such filthy ones as wee are that he should give us a Kingdome and his owne Holy Spirit to enliven us to establish our hearts to be an earnest of Heaven to us how can we hope he will give us such infinite mercies Now the Lord hath put all these Blessings into the hands of his Sonne Jesus Christ that is flesh of our flesh and bone of our bones Now we may boldly goe to him for them As Moses when his face shone Aaron was afraid to come neare him Exod. 34. 30. Therefore hee put a vaile over his face Now Aaron and others were able to come nigh him so before none were able to come to God for any thing
but now the Lord hath put a vaile of flesh upon himselfe by incarnating his owne Son now we may make bold The use of this is First Is it so that Christ hath the seven Spirits of God Then what hath he not He is an all sufficient Saviour He is Gods Steward God hath put all his goods into his hands No man can be assured of any thing that is good but by comming unto him All things are delivered to me of my Father Mat. 11. 27. That is I have all my fathers goods in my hand Favour Pardon Mercy Grace Comfort Heaven it selfe yea and his holy Spirit and all I have the distributing of them all He is the store-house whither all needy soules are to goe He is full of all manner of good things as John saies Of his fulnesse have we al received Joh. 1. 1â— Looke what grace any of the Saints have they have it all of him he is Gods Conduit-pipe the Lord opens himselfe only in him he is the tap he lets out Gods Blessings and Graces and Spirit like a sluce Hee is the Lord Treasurer of Heaven and Earth As Joseph in Egypt if any one would have Corne they must goe to Joseph for it if they came to Pharaoh but for a pecke or a gallon presently he sent them to Joseph so the Lord sends all that will have any drop of mercy to his Sonne if yee will not goe to my Sonne yee shall not have one drop yee shall dye in your sinnes This is my welbeloved Sonne sayes hee looke yee heare him hearken to him obey him be ruled by him bow down unto him doe as he bids you if ye anger him and will not stoop unto him if your hearts will not burst if your minds will not off from the world and other things and be wholly intent unto him if yee slight him and suffer vain things to draw away your affections and thoughts and meditations from him there is no redemption for you No Salvation but onely by beleeving in his name he hath all the seven Spirits of God no Spirit of Grace at all can be had but onely of him he was the Rocke that Moses must stand on that the glory of Gods goodnesse might passe before him Secondly Another use is hath Christ the seven Spirits of God then wee are without excuse if wee be without the Holy Spirit of God Christ hath him to give and yet how few will seeke him of Jesus Christ as Christ sayes Yee will not come unto me that yee might have life Joh. 5. 40. That is if yee would come unto me I would make your dead hearts to live I would quicken you to all goodnesse I would powre my Holy Spirit upon you But you will not come unto me for it This makes us without excuse That Christ hath the Spirit in him for all that have a minde to him and wee have no minde How few among you to this very day have gotten yet Gods Holy Spirit Yee pray but yee have not the spirit of supplieation to pray by to lift up your hearts to enliven your desires to be able to wrestle with God to any purpose no Spirit of grace stirring in you When ye come to the house of God ye heare Sermons but the Holy Ghost does not fall upon you to make them effectuall and mightie in operation to convert you to God to knocke off your base lusts yee are dead in all holy duties voide of all Heavenly graces dull to every good thing even as the Body without the spirit is dead Nay the Spirit of the world dwelleth in most men tying and glving them to the things here below and will not let them savor and rellish the things of Heaven Whereby they cannot cease from sinne nor work the works of God Rare is that man now-a-dayes that hath the Holy Spirit of God remaining in him in any measure nay if people were asked whether they have the Spirit of God yea or no their owne Conscience could answer No they have not they never felt any such Divine ghuest their earthlinesse and lumpishnesse of heart in all the ordinances of God their unaquaintednesse with God their unsettlednesse and nakednesse and blindnesse in all the wayes of peace plainely does declare it and yet they will not come unto Christ that they might have life he hath the seven Spirits of God and yet they cannot finde in their hearts to be instant and earnest with him when Pharaoh appointed Joseph to distribute corne to all comers Goe to Joseph sayes he Gen. 41. 55. the Text sayes all Countries came to Joseph for Corne because the famine was sore in all lands But God hath appointed his own Sonne to be a dispencer of the Spirit and there is a sore want of the spirit every where in all Townes and Parishes and yet hardly any will come in Certainely this is the condemnation that men intend their pleasure and their profits and every outward thing and never seeke to Jesus to have the Holy Spirit of God For First many of us have hard hearts that cannot melt at our owne sinnes nor the publike provocations whereby God is provoked nor the generall calamities of the Church our hearts are like a stone and wee are not affected nor can be affected no relenting at the Word no bleeding in any other good dutie nothing moves us the spirit could soften yea and take the stone away and Christ saies hee would give him unto us if we did desire him I will put a new Spirit within you and take the stony heart out of the flesh Ezek. 11. 19. Hee hath spirit enough in him to doe it and yet we will not sue to him but in a feigned manner and so a hard heart possesseth us still which marres all our familie-duties and all that wee doe in the publike assemblies nothing comes of all that wee doe If our foolish hearts would come downe to be fervent after Christ this might be be remedied He hath the seven Spirits of God for the nonce But a spirit of slumber bewitches us and and nothing can awaken us to this very day Never was there a more hard-hearted time never more hard-hearted Christians nummed and past feeling wishing indeed the things mought be mended but never putting forth our hand to have them mended Secondly scarce any of us can pray but in a blunt-hearted-wise our prayers never stirre Heaven never give so much as a lift to any of our lusts neither are they any whit answerable to the miseries that are on us whether Personall or Nationall the spirit could helpe us and enlarge us as Paul saies of the good Romans Yee have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby yee cry Abba Father Rom. 8. 15. and Christ hath this Spirit in his hand to give But we would rather sit woulding and yawning then be downe on our knees before God Every one almost hath heavy things that he is consciencious of terrible guiltines horrible
is upon mee saith hee Esa 61. 1. that is hee is powred upon mee that hee may run down upon all them that come to be my members If Christ indeed had not come if God had not made him Vehiculum Spiritus if God had not put his spirit upon Christ like water in a Fountain to run out upon all that will hold their hearts under him then wee might have some excuse Lord â— wee know not where to have the Spirit But the Lord hath told us where wee may have him Wee may have him in his Son Jesus Christ Thirdly Wee cannot plead wee cannot tell how to have him For as yee know where to have him so yee may know how to have him too and yee all doe know if wee had a heart wee may have him foure waies First By the hearing of the Word you will say yee have heard the Word many times yet yee never received the holy Spirit yet I answer that 's certain but it is because yee doe not come to it with a greedy yerning heart with an open eare and a willing minde to bee guided by it For if ye came thus with this minde yee would quickly have the spirit Lord tell mee any thing I doe unfeignedly desire for to doe it reprove any thing in mee I doe sincerely desire to leave it Come thus to the Word I dare say thou shalt not bee one quarter of an houre without the spirit as Christ saith Turn yee at my reproof behold I will powre out my spirit un to you Prov. 1. 23. You will say this is strange and have I heard so many Sermons and never got the spirit yet I you never heard Sermons with an honest heart You shall see Cornelius and his company got the spirit at the first Sermon that they heard when Peter Preached the Holy Ghost fell on all those that heard the Word Act. 10. 44. How so yee may read there in the Context O saies Cornelius Wee are all here present before God to heare all things that are commanded thee of God Ver. 33. Now if wee have the Word daily preached and wee get not the holy spirit of God wee are without excuse Secondly By Prayer if wee did pray faithfully unto God wee should have the holy spirit as Christ saies If ye that are evill can give good gifts unto your children how much more shall your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask him Luk. 11. 13. You will say yee have prayed many a time and often and yet yee finde no such thing and no marvaile when a mans heart prayes onely by the by but if yee made it your businesse from day to day if yee would seek for him as for life and look upon it as more necessary then life it self then yee should quickly speed But when yee will give God the blinde and the lame and your hearts run a whoring after other things Heaven is not the main of all your care and study the Lord knows a hollow heart and can tell how to deny it none shall have his spirit that doe not desire him above all things and labour after him above all things and use all manner of meanes for him The Spirit of God is a great gift and wee must know its an infinite mercy to obtain him and therefore wee must seek him accordingly They that get him doe not goe dreamingly to work Thirdly By repentance this is another means to obtain the Holy Ghost as the Lord saith Rent your hearts and not your garments and turn to the Lord your God c. Joel 2. 13. what followes And after that I will powre my Spirit upon you saith hee ver 28. Never think to have Gods holy Spirit and live after the flesh or goe on in a forme or a carelesse way not onely drunkennesse and whoredome and capitall sins keep him out but any other lusts and corruptions that the heart clings unto Rent your hearts then let your drowzie doings pain you at the heart let all your security and unbeleef and luke warmnesse whereby yee part stakes with God let all these bee a burden unto you and you heavy laden with them this is the way-making for the Spirit of Gods comming in Fourthly Take no deniall let not ill-successe beat you off this is that which thrusteth back thousands They find little successe at the first and so they give over But Beloved this is it howsoever wee finde cold successe in our holy labours at the first yet wee must goe on though wee doe not finde our lusts die though wee doe not finde that speeding in Prayer that wee could wish that prevailing in our endevours that wee doe desire yet still wee are to goe on and still wait upon God in abounding in our care untill the Lord grant us better successe The hard successe that we have must not hinder us as the Apostle saith Let us not bee weary in well-doing for in due time wee shall reap if wee faint not Gal. 6. 9. That is let us not bee discouraged with hard successes or any other such like thing certainly if wee goe on wee shall speed When the Wisemen came seeking for Christ at Jerusalem they had no good successe there they did not finde him there yet they would not return back without him But they went down to Bethlehem and sought for him there When the Church had sought Christ in her bed shee had no successe for that time I sought him sayes shee but I found him not Cant. 3. 1. What would shee give over because of her bad successe at the first No shee trudged out into the Lanes and the streets she enquired of the watchmen and still shee had little or no successe But the Text saith shee would never give over till she litt upon him Beloved wee must take heed of this It is the impatience of mens hearts if they cannot finde a blessing at first dash they will seek no further then they strike into a former or a worse condition In the first of Haggai yee may read that when the Jews had been hindered by Cambyses from building of the Temple for a fit they gave over Because they had no successe they would build no more but fell a building their own houses ver 4. yee know it was their sin and the Lord plagued them for it Therefore Brethren it must bee our care although wee doe not speed at the first not to slacken or give in As Isaac would still bee building Wells hee built one and that had no successe hee built another and that had as bad still there fell out strife what then did he give over so No hee never would have done till the Lord gave him a Rehoboth a Well that there was no striving about Gen. 26. 22. so wee should never bee quiet untill the Lord give us his holy Spirit though wee doe not feele his workings in us at the first no bad successes though never so many should make
unto the Angell of the Church in Sardis write these things saith hee that hath the seven Spirits of God and the seven Starres I know thy works that thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead These things saith hee that hath the seven Spirits of God and the seven Starres THese words contain the Description of our Lord Jesus Christ from whom this Epistle is sent unto the Church in Sardis and in particular to the Minister there who is here called the Angell of the Church in that place And the description does instance in two royalties of our Saviour Jesus Christ First That hee hath the seven Spirits of God that is he hath the Holy Ghost and all his spirituall graces in his hands to give to whomsoever hee pleases for the quickning of them and the sanctifying of them that if any of his members want spirit or any spirituall good hee hath it for them These things saith hee that hath the seven Spirits of God This wee handled the last day Now wee proceed to the second Royalty of our Lord Jesus Christ That hee hath the seven Starres hee speaks of the seven Churches of Asia Christ hath all their Ministers in his hands and hee calls them starres First because the starres doe direct It s a great help when Mariners can see a starre in a dark night When Paul and they that sailed with him could see neither Sun nor Starre the company were without all hope of comming safe to Land Act. 27. 20. they knew not what to doe when there was not a starre to bee seen The starres serve for direction in the night So good Ministers are for direction unto people they serve to direct people to Christ Like the starre in the East When the Wisemen saw the starre they rejoyced with exceeding great joy Matth. 2. 10. that starre directed them to Christ it went before them all the way and shewed them where to finde Christ so a poore soule rejoyces to finde a godly Minister O thinks hee he is a starre to direct mee to Christ Secondly Because the starres doe shine so good Ministers doe shine forth and hold out a light to give light to them that sit in darknesse and in the shadow of death Yee are the light of the world sayes Christ Matth. 5. 14. when a man sits in a dark house hee cannot see to doe any thing but if one come and open a window or a casement and letteth in light now hee may see to goe about his businesse so Beloved people that dwell in dark Parishes where no sound Ministery of the Word is they know not what to doe to bee saved they erre they wander they grope they stumble and fall they see not how to bee godly and happy for evermore But when a faithfull Minister comes now light is let in and those that have a minde to goe to Heaven now they may see the way thither so that in this sense too Ministers are starres Thirdly Because starres have influence upon these inferiours bodies as God sayes of the Pleiades and Orion which are a company of starres in the heavenly Orbe Canst thou binde the sweet influences of the Pleiades or loose the bands of Orion Job 38. 31. the starres have influences into things here below The Pleiades open the earth they make herbes and flowres grow the spring is when they arise once Trees begin to sprout and the plants do waxe green Orion it produces cold the Winter comes when that shews it self the starres have a great influence into sublunary bodies so it is with Ministers Bad Ministers are like the starres of Orion they serve to coole peoples hearts and dead them to all goodnesse But good Ministers are as the starres of Pleiades no soule can have any minde in him to that which is good but they doe exceedingly help and further they quicken the heart they warme and fructisie the soules of Gods Elect. Againe the Starres doe hang high so the Ministers of Christ are set high they hang high that all the people may have the benefit of their glistering Zachany calls them the Prophets of the most High And thou childe shalt bee called the Prophet of the most High Luk. 1. 76. But I have handled this Point in effect when I spake of Ministers being Angels and therefore I will omit it now Thus yee see the Ministers are starres Now hee calls them seven because hee speaks of seven Congregations Ephesus Smyrna Pergamos Thyatira Sardis Philadelphia and Laodicea Seven Churches seven Congregations and every one had their severall stars Whence wee see that every Parish should have a particular faithfull Minister Paul appointed Titus to ordain Elders in every City Tit. 1. 5. The Apostles ordained Pastours and Elders in every Church Act. 14. 23. So it was in the time of the Law as the Text sayes Moses of old time hath in every City them that Preach being read in the Synagogues every Sabbath day Act. 15. 21. The Reason is first because those Towns that have not a faithfull Ministery in it generally doe all perish I doe not deny but some soules in such blinde places may come otherwise to bee converted and saved but generally they perish for ever that live in such places as the Evangelist sayes of Galile True they had sorry Priests but they had not a faithfull Ministery sayes hee The people sate there in the region and shadow of death Matth. 4. 16. that is till they had a better Ministery they were in a damnable estate So that it is a pitifull thing when any Town or Parish are without a faithfull Ministery no starre of Heaven shining among them Secondly because when people have no faithfull Minister of their own generally they care not for removing of their dwelling neither will they goe a mile or two for the meanes they content themselves with what fare they have at home though it starve them to death Like the people under the false Prophets they liked them well enough My people love to have it so Jer. 5. 31. Nay they love such prophets better than them that would deale plainly with them Nay there bee many that when they have a faithfull Minister at home will bee sneaking out to a drunken Minister abroad they would rather live under such a one Thirdly Another Reason why every Church should have its particular Starre every congregation had need of a faithfull Ministery of their own Because if there be any godly Soule or any one that desires the salvation of his Soule and lives under a blinde guide hee cannot goe out without giving very great offence it will bee thought a giddinesse and a flighting of their own Minister at home now if every Parish had a sound Ministery in it this would not bee When people came out of every Parish round about unto John they had no Pastour of their own but they came flocking unto John no question but this bred heart-burning against John I and ill-will against those
wretch leave they will have their owne wayes doe the Ministers of God what they can We can get none to be awakened none quickened none stirred none startled to any purpose Setting aside here one and there one that truely obeys the voyce of Gods servants the whole countrey lying in ignorance of God in the privation of his Spirit unreconcilednesse with heaven voydnesse of faith emptinesse of grace and life the nakednesse of an outward profession having no true quickening within nay the most in grosse wickednesse drunkenesse company-keeping unrulinesse disorder uncleanenesse lasciviousnesse covetousnesse mocking at the pure in heart malicious alienation of spirit against the holy wayes of God Nay since we have spoken to them in the name of the Lord yet none will hearken to any effect that their soules may live Fourthly therefore I pray you let me adde one use more doe but consider how the Lord taketh this at our hands that his Ministers are thus vilipended They are in more danger of their liberty for reproving then the wicked for committing of their sins Are his Ministers his Embassadors then he will never endure that his Embassadors shall bee abused When the King of the Ammonites had abused Davids Embassadors that he sent him in love 2 Sam. 10. Ye know what it cost it cost above 40. thousand mens lives The Romans slue the Illyrians and the Tarentines for mis-using of their Embassadors and as Cicero sayes our Ancestors sayes he for this very thing destroyed all Corinth For alas how could Princes deale with one another if Embassadours should not goe safe and be hearkened unto Therefore Embassadors must be regarded When Scipio Africanus tooke a ship full of Carthaginians though he meant to rifle all they had yet when they said they were Embassadors he would not meddle with them True they were not they did but counterfeit that so they might escape But yet you may see how inviolable Embassadors were the least indignity offered to them was punisht as if it had beene offered to the person of that Prince that they did sustaine Well then how doe we thinke will the Lord take it at peoples hands that his Embassadors are abused and disobeyed that people will not diligently come to them and acknowledge their errands and yeeld obedience to him no Nation under heaven hath had more Embassadors from Heaven then we have had and though some have hearkened to them yet for the most part they meete with Ammonitish dealings they are disfigured and mocked and laded with indignities denyed to deliver their message every paltry rascals complaint admitted against them none walke in so much danger as they none more shot at then they scarce any will heare them and submit to their Embassage and those few that doe are counted the only factious people and pestilent fellows in the land O what wrath is there against us for these things For this very cause the Lord plagued all Judah even because they would not listen to Gods Embassadors that he sent to them earely and late as the Prophet speakes Jer. 29. 17 18 19. Thus sayth the Lord of Hoasts Behold I will send upon thee the sword the famine and the Pestilence and will make them like vile Figges that cannot be eaten they are so evill and I will persecute them with the sword with the famine and with the Pestilence and I will deliver them to be removed to all the Kingdomes of the earth to be a curse and an astonishment and an hissing and a reproach among all Nations whither I have driven them Mark now what is the reason why God would doe thus Because they have not hearkened to my Word saith the Lord which I sent unto them by my servants the Prophets rising up early and sending them but yee would not heare sayth the Lord. This was the reason why God would plague them so grievously because they would not listen to his Embassadors that he sent them for their good The like we reade of the ten Tribes the Lord powred his vengeance on them too for this very reason because they would not heare his Embassadors therefore the Lord cast them out of his sight and flung them away from being his people and hee would never be their God more the place is 2 King 17. 13 14 15. The Lord testified against Israel Judah by all the Prophets Seers saying Turne ye from your evill wayes and keepe my Commandments and my Statutes according to all the Law which I commanded your fathers notwithstanding they would not heare but hardned their necks like to the neck of their Fathers and did not beleeve in the Lord their God and they rejected his Statutes and his Covenant that he made with their Fathers Mark this was the cause why the Lord was so angry with them and removed them out of his sight Because they would not doe as his Embassadors did command them in his name Now as God hath let out his fury upon them for not attending to his Embassadors so he hath done and daily doth and will yet more doe upon us For though for temporall Judgements God be patient and forbearing beyond all admiration we feele yet no Sword no Famine no Pestilence we may be astonisht to see how long suffering he his O if we had the grace to consider of it neverthelesse the Lord is effusing out upon us the very dregges of his Cup he fats us up for his eternall ire he hath done converting of our hearers he hath done blessing of our Sermons he hath made us Loammies and Toruhamahs turned us into a generation of his wrath You whose eyes God hath opened whose hearts God hath inclined unto him whose Consciences God hath purged and Sanctified and made you Saints Blesse him and praise his holy name and make more of his infinit grace and goodnesse For it is to be feared God will now adde no more to your mumber he delivers people now to a reprobate sence he resolves to be revenged on our land in fire and Brimstone for the contempt of his glorious Gospell that hath beene preached so long a time He lets men fill up the measure of their sins that those that are filthy may be filthy still those that are drunkards may be drunkards still those that are led with their lusts shall be so still to the intent that he may bring upon the world all the fiercenesse of his spirituall and everlasting wrath and that he may revenge the quarrell of his Covenant and the labors of so many Embassadors whom he hath sent unto you and ye would not heare O that this might move some of your soules that so ye might prevent this dreadfull judgement and be plucked out like Brandes out of the Burning Fifthly Another Use is are Gods Ministers his Embassadors then they must Preach no mercy at all unto such as wilfully stand out against Jesus Christ When Antony was a Rebell O sayes Tully it is not fit to send him
to you wretch that devise evill the Lord knowes your devilish intentions ye are thinking to be revenged but God will be revenged on you ye are minding to go by-and-by to such a piece of villany but the Lord will find you out This is preaching in season So when a soule cannot be cast downe but when he comes to a Sermon there he meets with his owne case his temptations are treated of wine and oyle is powred into his wounds this is to preach in due season O what gifts had a Minister need to have He had need of daily inflvence from God Daily instincts that God should guide his tongue and his heart Now Beloved it is Christ alone that gifts all his true Ministers I will be with thy mouth saies he to Moses The use of this is First here we see that a Minister had not need be a foole no no he that winneth soules is wise Pro. 11. 30. he must be a wise man that would be a Minister it requires more then humaine wisedome to catch soules when the heart hath so many put-offs so many deceits so many strongholds so loth to obey the word so subtill to invent excuses so crafty to thrust away the truth There is some wisdome required to catch fishes and birdes and vermine how much more to catch men who is sufficient for these things The best of us all may blush to thinke how unfit we are to be Ministers O how should we blesse God if he fit any of us in any suitable measure and when we have done our best we had need to goe home and downe on our knees and cry shame on our selves for not doing better Secondly Then they are none of Christs Ministers that are not gifted for this mighty worke Will he send a foole on such a waighty Message as this is He that sendeth a Message by the hand of a foole cutteth off the feet and drinketh dammage Pro. 26. 6. That is if a man have a businesse of any great importance He had not need to imploy a foole in it lest he suffer great dammage It is all one as if one should chop off ones feet then bid him go on our errand O Beloved preaching of the Gospell is a worke of infinit importance the humbling of mens hearts the convincing of consciences the converting of mens Soules these are great businesses doubtlesse they are no Fooles that Christ sends on such errands True all Christs Ministers are not alike gifted some have meaner gifts then othersome have but he that hath least he is fitted in some measure to dispence divine mysteries to call home Gods elect to build up the called to judge all his hearers to stop the mouthes of gainsayers to hew down the obstinate to shew unto men the things belonging to their peace to give the Saints their due and the wicked their due That a good man cannot come but he shall have heavenly meat to feed on Nor a wretch neither but his Ministery wil single him out give him his bit to chew upon He that cannot doe this in any measure he is none of Christs Ministers Surely he will not send such a Message by a fooles hand but either he makes him a wise able man or else he runs without his sending Thirdly then my Brethren hence we learn whether to go for gifts if we would be enabled to our calling let us goe to Jesus Christ that hath the seven stars in his hands he can make our inflvences strong and our light heate mighty he can give us a gift of boldnesse to feare no mens faces He can unty our stammering tongues that we shall have liberty in speaking He can make our tongues a sharpe sword He can make us sons of consolation unto some of thunder unto others If we want knowledge in the mysterie of Christ let us make our wants knowne unto him he will instill into us If we want words he can make them flow in unto us If we want affections he can purge away our iniquities fire our hearts lips While the Apostles were together at prayer Act. 1. 14. suddenly the Lord Jesus sent them the gift of the holy Ghost in fiery cloven tongues Act. 2. While Paul and Silas were praying in the prison the Lord backt them from Heaven made them instruments of turning the heart of the Goaler Let us pray then not only in our Pulpits before our Sermons but also in secret God giveth the greatest gifts in secret and like man revealeth himself apart as secret meales make a fat body so does secret prayer it makes a well-liking soule Again this should teach us to stirre up the gifts that hee gives us Wee should labour to put them forth a man may lose the benefit of Christs gifts for want of rouzing up himself and putting of them forth as Paul sayes to Timothy I put thee in remembrance that thou stirre up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of hands 2 Tim. 1. 6. wee must stir up the gift in us When Father Isaac would prophecy to his Sons hee stirred up his spirit with savoury meat When Elisha would Prophecy before the three Kings hee called for a Minstrell to stirre up the spirit of Prophecy in him Deborah cryes awake awake Deborah Awake O my soule sayes David When Christ would pray to his Father the Text shews how hee stirred up himself These things spake Jesus and lift up his eyes unto heaven Joh. 17. 1. He lift up his soule and his spirit as Sampson went and shook himself if his spirit had been in him it had been well but like a foole he had driven him away But it should seem when hee had the spirit in him this was his wont hee shooke himself as at other times hee used to stirre up the Spirit in him so wee should stirre up the Spirit in us wee should rouze up our gifts like sparks out of the ashes and bestirre our selves soundly remisse using of them lets them warpe and wane Again wee should labour to relye more upon Christ we trust too much to our notes but O if wee could trust more to Christ that 's warmest matter that comes down from heaven in the speaking not that wee should leave all without study till wee come into our Pulpits No prepare as much as wee can But then if we would trust in Christ for his present assistance and yearn up to him for prompting it would make our Ministery more lively When a Sermon is an effect of Faith that 's it that does most good then Christs Spirit Preaches and not wee as the Prophet David sayes The Spirit of the Lord spake by mee 2 Sam. 23. 2. Again this should teach the people of God if they would have their Ministers inabled indeed to doe their soules good that they should pray for them that Christ would mor furnish them How often does the Apostle tell the people that
Ministers might have greater gifts if they had a heart O sayes hee Pray for mee that I may have utterance and that I may speak boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel Ephes 6. 19. q. d. if yee have a heart to pray I doe verily think that I shall bee the more assisted a great deale Our Chariot drives the more heavily because it wants the wheels of your Prayers and the truth is God uses to punish people thus that because they are dead and dull and have no heart and are weary of the Word therefore hee with-holds from the Minister on purpose to plague them back again as God told Ezekiel Son of man thou shalt bee dumb and when thou wouldst reprove thou shalt be tongue-tyed thy tongue shall cleave to the roof of thy mouth now mark the reason why for they are a rebellious house Ezek. 3. 26. Mark it was long of Judahs sinnes that the Prophet Ezekiel was tongue-tyed and locked up An excellent Minister and yet straitned for the peoples sinnes O Beloved I will tell you what would enlarge our hearts and our gifts towards you First if you would more flock to the Word and attend It is said in Matth. 5. 1 2. That Christ seeing the multitude Hee opened his mouth that is he was the more inlarged to Preach upon the sight of such a great auditory Who would not cast his net amidst multitudes of sishes The Text sayes When Christ saw the multitude hee had compassion on them So if Ministers could see all their Parish come in all that might hear the sight of such a multitude would stirre up pity O would wee think O what a goodly company is here O it is pity but they should have somewhat O if I could win some of you There may bee a lust in this thing and wee must take heed of it too lest we be tickled with flockings or discouraged with thin Pewes This is pride but yet there is a truth in this What a shame is it that there should bee fewer of our own Parish every Lecture-day than of strangers is it not just with God to make the brests dry when the Children care not for sucking Secondly if God had more among you to bee saved as God said to Paul concerning Corinth Bee not afraid speak hold not thy peace I am with thee and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee I have much people in this City Act. 18. 10. this opened Pauls mouth this made him finde abundance of assistance from Christ because God had much people there Thirdly if you would hear with alacrity and with a ready and a greedy minde When Cornelius and his company were all listening and earnest to hear and to hearken O say they Speak Peter wee are all here before God to hear every thing thou speakest Then Peter opened his mouth Act. 10. 33 34. But when people look dully and blockishly and sit sleepily and drowsily as though they were weary of hearing and cared not whether they heard or no Nay this is the reason why the Devils instruments are so bold to oppose the Ministery of God they see they are not much cared for none but here one and there one a sort of precise fooles whereas if people would bee eager to hear over all the land they durst not meddle with them as it is said of our Saviour the Chiefe Priests and the Scribes sought to destroy him but they could not finde what they might doe For all the people were very attentive to hear him Luc. 19. 48. Fourthly if yee would bee fruitfull in obedience and in learning this would put life into our Prayers at home this would quicken our labours and paines in the Pulpit The very hope of having fruite made Paul very eager to come to Rome Rom. 1. 13. The very thought that the people are gracious and godly and fruitfull carries the Preacher beyond himself Nay it s strange to consider how when the Minister knows hee hath but one understanding judicious hearer one gracious Soule in his Parish it provokes him very much it makes him look about him the more a great deale How much more when there be many such But when a Parish is senselesse and heavy and froward it is unspeakable to consider how it straitens a Minister Let a man be to pray in a meeting where they bee gracelesse and dull and hardly any almost godly hee cannot tell what to say almost hee is not himself Whereas if he were to pray among them that hee knows can savour gracious things there hee hath more liberty to let out himself Revel 3. 1. These things saith hee that hath the seven Spirits of God and the seven Starres And the seven Starres THe Doctrine we continue yet in is That Christ hath the seven Stars he hath all the Ministers of the Church I told you he is said to have them five wayes First hee hath the sending of them they have their Mission from him Secondly hee hath the delegating of them they have their Commission from him Thirdly hee hath the gifting of them they have their abilities from him Fourthly hee hath the prospering of them they have the successe of their labours from him Fifthly he hath the disposing of them either for placing or removing for freedome or restraint The first three I have handled already the last whereof was this That Hee hath the gifting of his Ministers As Paul sayes Hee hath made us able Ministers of the New Testament 2 Cor. 3. 6. This was one of the ends of his Ascension Hee ascended up on high hee led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men Ephes 4. 8. Thus the Text sayes of the Apostles they preached every where the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signes following Mark 16. 20. So Paul had great gifts and abilities which he calls the signes of an Apostle Truely the signes of an Apostle were wrought among you in all patience with signes and wonders and mighty deeds 2 Cor. 12. 12. they that are not competently at the least gifted for the Ministery they shew no signe that they are the Ministers of Jesus Christ Christ gives all his Ministers a gift of utterance a gift of speaking to the Conscience a gift of dividing of the Word aright mighty deeds They may all say to the people Truely the signes of a Minister of Jesus Christ hath been wrought among you These gifts are the witnesses whereby he gives witnesse to a man that hee comes from God to a people as Paul sayes God also bearing them witnesse both with signes and wonders and with divers Miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own will Heb. 2. 4. I confesse such wonders and Miracles are now ceased I but the gifts of the Holy Ghost are powred out still upon all the true Ministers of Christ and these are Gods witnesses that people may know they are sent of Jesus Christ I shewed you how Ministers have
gifts by meanes but then if we would trust Christ for his present assistance and â—erne up to him for prompting it would make our Ministery more lively When a Sermon is an act of Faith that 's it that does most good then Christs Spirit Preaches and not wee then then God speaks and not our notes as the Prophet David sayes The Spirit of the Lord spake by mee 2 Sam. 23. 2. Sixthly this should teach the people of God if they would have their Ministers inabled indeed to doe their soules good to pray for them that Christ would more furnish them How often does the Apostle tell the people that Ministers might have greater gifts if they had a heart O sayes hee Pray for mee that I may have utterance and that I may speak boldly c. Ephes 6. 19. q. d. if yee have a heart to pray I doe verily think that I shall bee the more assisted a great deale The truth is God uses to punish people thus because they are dead and dull and have no heart and are weary of the Word therefore hee with-holds from his Minister on purpose to plague them as God told Ezekiel Son of man thou shalt bee dumb and when thou wouldst reprove thou shalt be tongue-tyed thy tongue shall cleave to the roof of thy mouth now mark the reason why for they are a rebellious house Ezek. 3. 26. But I will recapitulate no more of what I have delivered Thus ye have heard the third thing how Christ hath the gifting of his Ministers They have their gifts and abilities from him Now I proceed on to the fourth That he hath the prospering of them They have the successe of their labours from Iesus Christ Christ bids us preach Repent repent but it is he that must give the Repentance So Paul preached to Lydia and had good successe for the text shews how she was converted by his Ministery But it was God that opened her heart As Rebeccah cookt the Venison but Isaac gave the blessing So we may cooke the Word for you but the blessing is in Christs hands as the Apostle sayes We are Ministers by whom ye Beleeved even as the Lord gave to every man 1 Cor. 3. 5. that is when wee preached among you we had good successe you beleeved What as we would our selves No Alas we would faine have had you all to Beleeve but even as the Lord gave to every man the successe was as he would soto some he gave only conviction by the word to some onely knowledge to some good reformations to some a true faith It was as he was pleased to give to every man So when he preached unto other Gentiles he confesses looke what good successe he had he had from Jesus Christ I will not dare to speake of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me to make the Gentiles obedient by Word and deed Rom. 15. 18. that is as who should say that the Gentiles did heare me that they were brought to obedience in word and deed that I had so good successe in my labours God forbid I should say or thinke it was my doing I dare not say so for a world No no It was Christ and hee alone that did worke by me as his poore Instrument I have all my good successe from him The successe is meerly as he will If he will be pleased to give so good successe Peter shall convert 3000 at one Sermon But if he be pleased to deny a good successe the Prophet Esay shall preach in the reigne of 4 Kings about fourescore yeares and convert hardly one as he sayes to Israel as the Apostle quotes him All the day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and a gainsaying people Rom. 10. 21. All successes are of God and therefore much more successe here Let it be in any calling As for example fishing that when a man goes a fishing he sindes good successe this is of God Simon and his company toyled all night and tooke nothing But when Christ came and gave them good successe then they inclosed a great multitude of fishes two shipfull of fishes at one draught Luk. 5. 5. So when a man runnes who shall get the Goale the man may runne but whether he shall get the Goale that he cannot tell When a man fights the man may fight and be the better man of the two but whether shall overcome that is uncertain unto them the successe is of God as Solomon sayes The race is not to the swift nor the battaile to the strong nor riches to the wise time and chance happens to them all Eccle. 9. 11. that is not as though the swift doe not sometimes get the race and the strong the Victory and wise men riches yet they doe many times namely when God gives successe otherwise they doe not How many times doe men goe about businesses and in all likelihood they might hit well yet how often doe they not the Lord will have us see that successe is from him Now if it be so in outward things how much more here in other things the work is more in the mans hands and the thing is traceable to him but it is not so here VVee may labour to convert Soules but this work is not in our hands the using of the meanes the Lord Jesus Christ puts that into our hands but the doing of the deed the successe is onely from him First Because we are nothing in this worke We may be something at other workes we may study and in an ordinary providence we may make a Sermon But when we come to preach it is not an ordinary providence that will make us to convert soules no here we are nothing Paul may plant and Apollos may water Now marke what followes he does not onely say it is God that gives the increase Paul may plant and Apollos may water but God gives the increase 1 Cor. 3. 6. that is all their successe and all the fruit of their labour is from God That is not all he sayes But in the seventh verse sayes he Neither is he that planteth any thing nor he that watereth any thing but God that giveth the increase As if he should say as excellent gifts as these men had they did nothing in this worke the whole successe is of God Beloved we can but set before you life and death we can but tell you thus ye will be damned and thus and thus ye may be saved But it is God that must blesse this unto you Otherwise we can doe nothing We may preach our hearts out and yet you 'l to hell doe we what we can except the Lord break your careere Elisha's man could lay his Masters staffe upon the child but the child stirred not till Elisha came himselfe and then the child was raised So we can but lay our Masters staffe upon your dead soules But except our Master come himself ne're a dead soule will stand up what
of his Ministery as being the peoples fault and therefore he complaines of them unto God Lord who hath beleeved our report Esay 53. 1. The conscience of man knows this to bee true for hee knows hee sinnes willingly and hee knows hee would not doe otherwise hee daily feeleth Gods Spirit haling him to good and telling him he ought to live thus and thus and yet he is loath and will not he inclines the other way and rather would do as he does then as he knows God would have him what is this but contempt and indeed this is the great sin of this Land the contempt of the Gospel people count it not a precious but a tedious thing Never merry world sayes some since we had so much Preaching as if the Sun shone too bright like the Israelites who stumbled at the plenty of Manna Nay they are akin to the Devils who asked Christ if hee were come to torment them they account the Gospel a torment because it crosseth their lusts and lets in so much light These can spend dayes and nights in vanity but an houre at a Sermon is tedious if they had any delight in the Word they would not care though their Minister stood somewhat long Though Zachary stayed long in the Temple yet the people waited for him till hee came out Luk. 1. 21. they marvelled indeed he stayed so long but the Spirit of God notes that they waited for him But our people sit upon thornes at a Sermon but they can lye soaking at an ale-bench as though they sate upon soft cushions The Onions of Egipt have a better taste with them than the Quailes of the Wildernesse They had rather live at the Hogs-trough than in their Fathers house With the Gadarens they parfer their Pigges before our Saviour Christ O say they we cannot live by Sermons Sermons are too holy and strait for them Bid them take up Christs yoake they care not for it except it were wider The Ministery hath no successe at all with them unto any purpose What a thing is this Brethren Whence is it that wee regard the Gospel no more The sooth is people know not their damned estate neither will they beleeve it though we tell them nay they care not whether they hear it or no. But if they knew the goodnesse of it they would run from East to West for it if drunkards and worldlings and such rabble knew their fearfull estate the Minister should be as welcome to them as bread to the hungry or a pardon to a Theif So that yee see this condemneth them deeply that the Word hath no successe with Thus yee see the Ministers of Christ have all successe from Christ if any one soule come in at their teaching it is an evident signe it is of Jesus Christ for otherwise people hold off some hold off altogether others yeeld a little way but will not yeeld full out if a man yeeld to us indeed it is meerly by Jesus Christ Now I will shew you that as a Minister hath all his good successe of his labours from Jesus Christ So if he be a true Minister of Christ Christ uses to give him good successe When Christ put Peter into the Ministery He told him from hence forth thou shalt catch men Luk. 5. 10. That is as I have made thee a Minister So thou shalt have good successe They shall have some good successe as we see in the sence though three parts fell into hard ground yet some fell into good ground Mar. 4. 8. Nay though Christs Ministers come into the most Desperate places that can be as we read in the Acts of the Apostles notwithstanding the places they went to were deepely rooted in Idolatry and full of persecuting Jewes and they were ready to be stoned to death the people were so madde against their Doctrine yet they never Preached any where but they had good successe with some When Paul came to Thessalonica the text notes some of them beleeved and joyned in Company with him Act. 17. 4. When he came to Athens though some mocked and some hung in suspence like Neuters that were neither fish nor flesh howbeit certaine men clave unto Paul and beleeved Act. 17. 34. So when he came to Rome Though some stood out yet some were perswaded Act. 28. 24. Yea when Philip came to Samaria though it was a Towne that was bewitcht full of sorcery and witchcraft and they had even given their soules to the Devill A Minister could hardly come into a worse Towne yet the people gave heed to those things that he spake Act. 8. 6. Nay the context shewes he had marveilous good successe the Lord maketh that precious account of the Ministers of the Gospell that he never bestowes it upon any place where he hath not some elect other blessings God bestows more promiscuously Reprobates have as great plenty as others All things come a like to all But this blessing he gives to no place where he hath not some to save Either some in the Towne or some there abouts The use of this is first Here we are to enquire then what may be the reason that Christs Ministers have so little successe now adayes First Some Ministers have the lesse successe by raysing up of others that have greater As Calvin after Luther Luther had admirable successe for a time and then when Calvin came he did increase and Luther did decrease So John observed of himselfe he had admirable successe for a time but when Christ came John had the lesse He must increase but I must decrease Joh. 3. 30. Againe it may be peoples unthankfulnesse for the Ministry of the Word When people have had the Word along time and yet they will not obey it may be God sayes to them as he did to the Fig-tree Never fruit grow on thee more while the world standeth Then God sends Esay to make the heart of the people fat Then Jeremiahs errands most an end to plucke up and to pull downe Then John is to say He that is filthy let him be filthy still Then Hosea cryes Ephraim is joyned unto Idols let him alone Thirdly Some Ministers may be have the lesse successe for their owne fault in not speading of the net when their preaching is little better then reading True it may be a man may be converted by reading as Luther sayes he was And John Husse by reading Wiclefes bookes Austen sayes he was converted by reading the 13. of the Romans and the 14. vers There is a Blessing that may be looked for by reading Blessed is he that readeth Rev. 1. 3. But this is very rare There may a fish or two hang on the net being let downe on a heape but that is a chance No no it is not the net lapped up together that bringeth in the draught but hayled out at length and spread all abroad this closeth in the fish So it is the spreading of the Word the stretching of it out upon
company of hypocrites and teachers of vanities what are these Preachers wee see little good they doe what becomes of all their Preaching factions and odde opinions in one Towne and dissolutenesse and all manner of licensiousnesse in another If the whole world should let us alone I verily feare God himselfe would put us down immediately in the end So many scandals so many thousand offences are given every day that its a wonder wee stand as we doe That the Lord of heaven lets any Minister in England come into a Pulpit more nothing but pride and self-conceits and selftrustings and feared consciences dead hearts and profanenesse unlesse it be a very little handfull O Beloved if where preaching is it were honoured as it ought to bee and obeyed as it should if people would doe as we teach I dare be bold to affirme wee might Preach long enough If our Townes would sweetly reforme set up good Government root out all disorders and cursed abuses live like Christians indeed be humble and sober and loving and dutifull to God and Man Giving to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are Gods If we would feare God and honour the King Reverence Gods Courts obey the voyce of his servants love Christ and his word above our appointed food this would lengthen the Ministery of the Land this would bee a meanes for the establishing of Gods Kingdome among us Christ would never repent that ever hee sent his Gospell unto us where wee have some wee should have more where we have more wee should have a hundred times more as the Apostle Peter sayes Who is he that will harme you if yee be followers of that which is good 1 Pet. 3. 13. Thirdly Another Use is is it Christ that takes away Ministers either by death or restraining or by any other way Then let it bee a meanes to exhort us to repent of our sinnes that Christ may still give a doore of utterance to his Ministers that they may still speak in his name This should move us to seek God When Peter was cast into prison O what fasting and crying and praying was there to God for him till hee was restored again Act. 12. 5. they did not goe to Herod to restore him No they knew Christ was hee that tooke him from the Church whoever were the instrument therefore they sought to Heaven for him again if any peoples Ministery bee gone this is the best way to fetch them again Paul knew this to bee true and therefore when hee was in prison at Rome hee writes to Philemon thus I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you Philemon v. 22. Nay hee is so confident that if people would but cry hard for him to God that hee should quickly bee enlarged Nay sayes hee prepare mee a lodging for I trust that through your prayers I should be given unto you q. d. I make no question but I shall out of prison if you will but bee earnest with God So also it seems the Authour to the Hebrews was restrained from Preaching Now mark what an exhortation hee uses Pray for us sayes hee and I beseech you the rather to doe this that I may bee restored unto you the sooner Heb. 13. 18 19. Thus I have finished this part of the Description of Jesus Christ That hath the seven Starres in his hand and the whole Subscription too These things saith hee that hath the seven Spirits of God and the seven Starres I come now to the Epistle it self I know thy works that thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead but of this more c. REVEL 3. 1. And unto the Angel of the Church in Sardis write These things saith hee that hath the seven Spirits of God and the seven starres I know thy works that thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead I know thy works c. Revel 3. 1. I know thy workes c. YE have heard two things concerning this Epistle First the Inscription that declareth the person to whom it was sent To the Angel of the Church in Sardis write That is it was sent principally to the Minister of the Church in the Town of Sardis and also to the Christians that were in that Church Secondly the subscription that declareth from whom it was sent These things saith hee that hath the seven Spirits of God and the seven Stars that is it was sent from Jesus Christ Now we come to the third thing and that is the subject matter of this Epistle which consists of three things First a Reprehension of the sins of the Minister and the body of his congregation Secondly a Direction or the shewing of the remedy for the curing of their sins Thirdly a Commendation of some particular persons in that Congregation that were not carryed away with the sins of the times The reprehension is either in generall I know thy works that is I know them all and I know them to be stark nought for the most part what-ever they seem they may seem to be very good but I tell you plainly I know them all what they be q. d. Generally they are stark nought And then in particular hee instances in two first the sin of hypocrisie or seeming to be good Thou hast a name that thou livest Secondly the sin of deadnesse of heart But thou art dead This is the reprehension or the reproof Then follows the Direction or the shewing of the remedy for he does not reprove them out of any ill will but for their good And therefore he prescribes them a remedy and the remedy is twofold The first is to strengthen the things that remain that are ready to dye v. 2. q. d. as many of you as are not quite and clean dead stir up your selves quicken up your hearts and this is first illustrated by shewing how they should doe thus Be watchfull sayes he q. d. that 's the reason why ye languish on this fashion and ye will languish more and more because yee are not watchfull therefore be watchfull and then it is urged by rendring a motive to use this remedy For I have not found thy workes perfect before God that is thou art hardly sincere a jot thou art full of hypocrisie and formality and thou wilt lose all thy labour if thou dost not look well about thee therefore shake up thy self and strengthen the things c. this is the first remedy The second remedy is to repent v. 3. and this is amplified by shewing how and that is two wayes 1. Remember how c. i.e. consider how thou hast been taught and bewail thy declinings for thou art horribly departed from what thou hast heard out of the Word 2. Hold fast i.e. so bewaile thy warpings and degeneratings that thou mayest get up again and hold thee fast there when thou art up Now lest they should neglect the using of this remedy the Lord Jesus sharpens his speech with
feeth wickednesse also will not he then punish it Job 11. 11. The reasons of this point that God knowes all mens sinnes and sinfull courses hee knowes all that they ever have done or doe doe or will doe or can doe or would doe are First because God is infinite in knowledge as David sayes his understanding is infinite Psal 147. 5 as the Prophet Esay sayes ther 's no searching of his understanding Isa 40. 28. well if he be infinite in Knowledge what can a poore Creature keepe close from him who can hide his iniquities from him who can set such a colour upon his wicked devises that hee can not discover them let a man excuse himselfe may be his excuses may passe currant among men but God must needs know the falsenesse of his excuses and that they are but Fig leaves men may pretend what they will and deny what they will with an impudent forehead and set a good face upon what they will and this may goe unperceived among men but Gods understanding is infinite and therefore hee knowes all that men do he knows how every man stands affected unto him he knows how people come to Church and whether they meane to doe what they have been taught whether they meane to reforme what they have been reproved for for He is infinite in Knowledge and therefore he is privy to all the sins of men Secondly as he is omniscient so he is omnipresent he is present every where whether can any Creature goe from his presence if hee goe into Bed or Chamber or Closet or Street or high way or Alehouse or Drab-house home or abroad hee can go howhere but where God is and how can hee doe ought but God must needs see him God himselfe argues on this manner Can any hide himselfe in secret places that I should not see him 〈◊〉 not I fill Heaven and earth sayth the Lord Jer. 23. 24. qâ—d if I be every where I must needs be able to see every where Thirdly the Lord is omniprovident as I may so speak hee hath a hand either in the making of all things or at least in the permitting and disposing of all things All that is good hee does it himselfe or else it cannot be done All that is evill hee must permit it to be or else it cannot be committed nothing is done without his concurrence or sufferance therefore he must needs know all mens sins he knowes what hee hath suffered to be or does suffer or will suffer not so much as the sinnes of men can fall out without him as Peter speaking of Judas his sinnes and the Iewes and Pilats and Herods they did nothing but what he knew they would doe why they did nothing but what his Hand and Counsell determined before to be done Acts 4. 28. therefore he knew the Jewes would be betray Christ he could tell the Prophet Zachary diverse hundred yeares before that hee would take 30 pieces of Silver to doe it He could tell the Prophet Esay that they would fmite him and buffet him that they would reck on him among transgressors he could tell the Prophet David that they should pierce his hands and his Feet and that they should offer him Vineger to drinke the Lord knew all these sinnes of yours why because hee had decreed them True hee did not decree that hee would make them commit them but he decreed that they themselves should be the agents of them it should be meerly their fault their covetousnes their malice their men-pleasing their wicked disposition I but he ordred these things and therefore he must needs know them The drunkard could not hold up the cup to his mouth if God had not intended to preserve his armes and his mouth at that time hee could not goe to the tipling house but that God intended to continue him his feet and his health no man could thinke a wicked thought nor speake a naughty word but that God upholds his heart and his tongue in the interim if God should forbeare his goodnesse to them he would be speechlesse and not able to thinke so much as any thought at all and this aggravates mans sinnes that hee hath need of Gods goodnesse at the same time and yet that he should sin against his Maker Fourthly the Lord knowes every mans sinnes because he hath a Candle in every mans bosome hee hath made mens hearts on that wise that he hath a Candle in them all Yee know there is a spirit in a man that we call conscience that is Gods Candle as Solomon sayes The spirit of man is the Candle of the Lord searching all the inward parts of the belly Pro. 20. 27. well if he have a Candle shining in every mans bosome what can there be hidden in the darke nay he knoweth mens hearts and wayes better then they knew them themselves as the Physitian can better judge of his Patients body then himselfe Christ knew Peters unbelieving heart when he knew it not himselfe though all men be offended in thee yet will not I Christ knew he would be offended in him that very night so hee knew Hazaels wicked life when the man that owned it would not believe it is thy servant a Dogge sayes he that I should be so wicked yet he knew he would be so wicked and cruell and therefore God can bring to a mans minde a thousand things that he never dreamt of before many a man deceives himselfe all his life time But when hee comes to sicken and die then God shewes him what he is and what he hath done and now he sees he is a damned wretch and yet before though all the Ministers in England had told him so much hee would not have believed it Fifthly he must needs know every mans sins because he is the Judge of all the World and he is to judge every sinner according to his deeds now if hee should not know all his sins he could not judge righteous judgement The Judge must know all secrets otherwise he cannot well judge Now beloved God is a righteous Judge and therefore no sin can scape him God shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evill Eccl. 12. 14. True it is he shall not want witnesses in the day for conscience shall be a thousand witnesses yet it is needfull that himselfe should have perfect knowledge of all the actions of men For why is conscience so ready to accuse a man when it is awakened it is onely because it is conscious that God knoweth all its doings now if God had not perfect knowledge himselfe conscience would not witnesse all then neither could it make a sinner confesse all But Gods knowing all this is it that will make conscience to speake truth The Psalmist being to dispute against a company of Atheisticall people that sayd tush God shall not see Psal 94. 7. marke how hee reasons against them He brings
heare with life use the ordinances in publike and private with life the naturall life that is in the soule it turnes it to God it turnes the man about as a ship is turned on the Sea that sayled before towards North now it sayles towards South So when grace comes into the soule ye know the man had life afore but it sayled towards the world and the things of the world but when grace does come in it makes it row and sayle and steere towards God so that when a Christian is dead he is as no Christian at all Secondly a dead Christian hath not Christ dwelling in his heart by faith he is no Christian indeed that hath not Jesus Christ dwelling in him by a truly and a lively faith It is the indwelling of Christ that makes one a true Christian now when Christ does dwell in any man Christ is a quickening spirit as the Apostle speakes the second Adam was made a quickening spirit 1 Cor. 15. 45. that is Christ he is the second Adam he is a quickening spirit where ever he dwels he quickens all the soule He makes it dead to that which by nature it was alive to and alive to that which by nature it was dead to he inclines the soule unto God he infuses a principle into it to shine with life towards God he does more and more hale the strength of the soule towards him though he doe not doe it at all once yet he does it more and more now when a man is still dead to God and all goodnesse he hath not Christ dwelling in him by a lively faith for if he were in once though the soule may complaine still of deadnesse as commonly those that are alive complain most of deadnesse yet it hath a supernaturall quickening and it shall have more and more Thirdly a dead Christian was never yet soundly wrought upon by the word the word of Christ is a word of life and it quickens where it doe effectually work and therefore though such a one have heard a 1000 thousand Sermons he never fed upon them in all his life as Christ sayes If any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever Joh. 6. 51. it is better then ordinary bread ordinary bread indeed if a man have a naturall life it will feed it and preserve it But if a man be dead it will not revive him But the word of God is such a bread that as it feeds a spirituall life in them that have it so it is able through the eternall spirit to quicken the dead it is able through God to put life into men that never had any and it does so to all that are of God sooner or latter now when a man is dead it 's a plaine signe that the word hath not yet wrought upon that man it may be it hath shaken him many a time yea but if he be yet dead it never wrought upon him soundly the oracles of God are lively oracles as Steven cals them Acts. 7. 38. they make their hearts lively that they come to worke soundly on though they were never so dead to God and good things afore yet now they waxe lively they make their hearts to receive a divine strength that now they waxe able in some measure to live towards God to hunger and thirst after God to delight in the seeking of him be their lusts never so mighty now they can compose themselves to oppose them and to swimme against the streame now they can pray and they cannot abide to have blockish hearts in that nor in any other duty they have a life that resists that same deadnesse that dwelleth in them So then this is another reason that a dead Christian is as good as no Christian at all the word hath never wrought soundly on that Man The use of this is first if the dead Christians in Sardis be as good as nothing what are the riff-raffe in the Towne that are not so much as Christians in name if a dead Christian be rejected of God what 's a dead drunkard a dead whormonger a dead prophanling if one that walkes in good courses be refused because he is dead in them then what shall become of them that will not follow good courses at all if such that are Saints to them cannot be saved where shall they appeare it is said that Christ loved the goodly fine carriaged young man Mark 10. 17. Christ is never said to love a drunkard a prophane wretch no he regards one that carries himself in a sayre civill honest way more then all the world besides except onely his own children and therefore if he counts meer civill men stark naught how much more does he thee that art a very beast compared with them thou art so vile that we that are men doe know thou art in a fearefull estate nay the Lord pronounes a woe upon them that dare speake well of thee these sinnes are to be punished by the Iudges if thou hast lived in Israel thou shouldst have been put to death a drunken Son should have been stoned an adulterer a fornicator should be burnt a blasphemer should be brained to death Thy sinnes are so palpable that pillaries and stockes and prisons and gallowes should be thy fare if thou wert well served Thou art not onely dead for the manner of thy life but for the matter too not onely the Saints doe abhorre thee but all that have any civility in them doe loath thy filthy doings and would not doe as thou doest no no for a world as Solomon sayes such as thou art are not onely dead but in the depth of hell Pro. 9. 18. There be many though they be not right yet they are so much reformed that the Saints of God cannot say but that they may be good Christians But thou art so foule that he that hath but one eye may see the devill leads thee there be some that a man may be to blame for judging them wicked but he that judges thee other wise hates his own soule poor creature does thy foolish heart promise thee hopes to finde mercy alas the devill does but lead thee in a string he knowes well enough though he will not let thee see it there is no mercy for them that goe on still in their wickednesse Thou hast not so much as a name that thou livest how dead then art thou Thou art dead and rotten and stinkest not onely in the nostrils of God but of all that have any common grace in them Others may be in a damned condition for all their profession but to be sure thou art in a damned condition there 's nothing between thee and hell but onely the poore thread of thy life How canst thou keep out of hell that canst hardly keep out of the Ale-house O heare this ye that have not so much as any face of Religion See the word of the Lord and thinke upon it for your good if ye have any
give you an acquittance when ye pay in onely wash duties clipt obedience if ye served God with life conscience would give you an acquittance when ye have prayed it would give you an acquittance when ye have done a dayes worke in his harvest it would acknowledge the receipt of it well done good and faithfull servant it is well done in some measure This made Paul full of life every day Herein doe I exercise my selfe to have always a conscience void of offence towards God and towards men Act. 24. 16. that is I doe not onely goe on in good duties both towards God and towards men but this I doe always I do even exercise my selfe that I may have an acquittance from mine owne conscience when I have done that my conscience may give me a true discharge well done I have done well in some measure now as long as we are dead-hearted and hollow in Gods wayes our conscience can never give us a discharge no marvell that so few of us have Peace of conscience when we are so dead-hearted as we are if we would stirre up our selves to serve God with all heart and life we should have Peace but till this will be once we can never looke to have Peace and comfort Fourthly Though we have comfort in time of prosperity yet we cannot have comfort in affliction if we be of a dead heart how many are there that seeme to have comfort while they are well but when they come to be sick and at deaths doore then they are all to peeces then they see they have no grace no faith no good cards to shew then they are stript stark naked then their conscience sees what they are O I am a wretch how have I deceived my self so beloved though we have comfort in time of prosperity yet if we be dead-hearted we can have no comfort in affliction As David sayes this is my comfort in affliction thy word hath quickened me Psal 119. 50. when the word of God hath quickened our hearts and made us lively in all manner of goodnesse this will yeeld us comfort in affliction But if we be dead to all spirituall wayes though we scramble up hopes now they will not hold when affliction comes now what a fearefull thing is 't we shall all come to affliction ere long for man is borne to trouble as the sparks that fly upward as Job speakes nay we know not how soone man knoweth not his time as Solomon speakes but as the Fishes are caught in an evill Net so are the Sonnes of men snared in an evill time when it falleth suddenly on them And God onely knowes what sore afflictions we may have the Cup of affliction is in Gods hand and he tempers it and powres it out as his pleasure is I say what a fearfull thing is it not to have comfort then then we have most need of comfort and if we have not comfort then we are utterly undone now my brethren it is not a dead dull profession will yeeld us comfort then Let us thinke of this as God sayes What will ye doe in your day of visitation to Whom will ye flye for helpe then Isa 10. 3. so may I say though ye can be quiet and comfortable enough now in the dayes of health and peace your deadnesse does not trouble you now but what will ye doe in the dayes of visitation doe but consider what a sorry comfort ye shall have then assuredly a dead heart will assord not a syllable of true comfort then Fifthly we can never blesse God with a dead heart a dead heart is not able to affirme upon any good ground that God is his or that the promise is his or that Christ is his the soule knowes Christ is a quickening spirit and they that have him are quickened up by him the promise is a promise of life and they cannot be dead that are the possessors of it we cannot blesse God either for love or mercy or grace or any thing else when we would blesse God for any of these things the deadnesse of heart it will be objected to us O I am so dead that how can I hope that these things belong unto me Let my soule live and it shall praise thee Psal 119. 175. when the soule is alive towards God then it can praise God then it knowes all the good it hath it hath it in mercy doubting and deadnesse doe ever goe together or it 's a great marvell And indeed what is deadnesse of heart towards Christ and all his holy Gospell but a secret doubting whether it have any part in it or no as when a poore man sees a rich treasure it does but dead him the more because he sees no interest he hath in it if he could see he had an interest in it this would quicken up his heart and put it out of it's dumps And is not this now a miserable condition when a man cannot praise God if he pray it is but in a sorry manner no life no heart at all But for blessing and praising of God that he cannot doe at all except he be in a fooles paradise and dreame of a false gift This is a dreadfull condition when we are hindred from that which God most delighteth in what is there that more delighteth God then to blesse him and praise him The Lord sayes we never honour him otherwise who so offereth me praise he glorifieth me Psal 50. 23. now we can never offer God praise except our heart live Sixthly Religion is a very irksome thing unto us as long as we are dead-hearted what is it that takes away the grievousnesse of it but a lively heart when the heart is dead it must needs be very tedious very tedious to be thinking of God to be meditating of death or the world to come to be imployed in prayer to be constant in the humbling of the soule or the abstaining from our naturall inclinations to be discoursing of repentance or studying of Gods heavenly Kingdome to be imployed in the word or to goe through dirty and frozen wayes to it to goe and repeate it in our Families or to urge it upon our hearts O what weary tedious duties are these when the heart is a dead heart This is the reason why the world lets them all generally alone and never troubles their hearts with them at all because they have no life in them and many that are better minded fend them very tedious because they are dead-hearted as Solomon sayes correction is grievous to him that forsaketh the way Prov. 15. 10. now as long as we are out of the way of life while we are dead-hearted we forsake the right way and therefore correction is grievous unto us nay all the commandements of God are grievous unto us does a dead heart rejoyce to goe to Prayer nay generally he is loth to goe to it is he glad that the Sermon Bell rings is he glad at an opportunity
Joh. 1. 4. in him we live and move and have our being and therefore it is a great sinne not to be thankfull to him for our naturall life David blesses God for his naturall life very often life is a very great blessing a poor thing that hath life a living dog is better then a dead Lyon A man will give skinne for skinne and all that he hath for his life I am sure many of us may be very glad of life for if it were gone now we should be in hell and therefore we had need to make much of our naturall life yea every houre of it least we dye before we be converted and brought home to God But this is not the life that we doe speake of we speak of spirituall life and God is the author of that more especially when a man is alive towards God he is the onely cause of it He spiritually moveth our hearts by the holy Ghost and begets us againe after a strange and an inessable manner by joyning his spirit to our spirits his minde to our mindes and his will to our willes he revives all the powers of the soule with his presence and therefore this life is called the life of God which the world are strangers to and aliens from being alienated from the life of God Eph. 4. 18. so likewise it is called the life of Iesus 2 Cor. 4. 11. He onely is the author of it Thus ye see the efficient cause of it Secondly the Instrumentall cause of this life is true faith this is the ligament that couples this life and a man together that now he is said to be a living man ye know God is the onely living God they that are not united unto him remaine in the congregation of the dead now faith unites a man unto him faith is the having of him He that hath the Sonne hath life and he that hath not the Sonne hath not life 1 Joh 5. 12. when a man cleaves unto God by a true and lively faith this man hath life as Moses sayes That thou mayst love the Lord thy God and that thou mayst obey his voyce and that thou mayst cleave unto him for he is thy life Deut. 30. 20. Though a man hath not that strong faith that some have whereby he hath a cleare evidence of Gods love and favour in Jesus Christ though a man have not this faith yet if he have a faith of adherence and cleaving unto God this man is a living Christian this man is joyned unto the true life This is the true God and even life and therefore whosoever cleaves to him hath life if he will not away from him he will still seeke him still pray unto him still make him his refuge though he have no feelings that is not it if a man will never give over seeking of God He beleeves God is the fountaine of all life and peace and grace and comfort and Gods way is the onely way he beleeves himselfe is a cursed wretch in himselfe and that all hope is in Christ now if this man have such a faith whereby he adheres though with never so much weaknesse this man is a live This is the faith whereby a Christian lives as Paul sayes the life that I live I live by the faith of the Sonne of God Gal. 2. 20. Thus ye see the Instrumentall cause of it Thirdly now for the parts of it The parts of it are three The first part is the life of Justification ye know every man by nature is a dead man as a malefactour that hath committed an offence that is death by mans Law we say he is a dead man so we have all offended God from the womb which is death by Gods Law and therefore we are dead men now when God hath justified a man freely by his grace when God hath given him a pardon in Christ Jesus now he is a live man and therefore Justification as ye heard is called Iustification of life Rom. 5. 18. now beloved this life is not in the man that does live but in Christ that he lives by this life supposeth no life in this party no it lookes upon him as a dead man in himself But God counts him alive in Jesus Christ as the Apostles sayes Christ is our life Col. 3. 4. q d this life is not in us but in Christ so that this life denominats aman alive as Christ denominated the demosel alive that was yet dead The Damosell is not dead sayes he Matth. 9. 24. ye know the Damosell was dead at that time when Christ said so and yet he said she was not dead because he had life for her she had life in him now when he raised her up then she had life in her too And so I come to the second part of this life and that is the life of Sanctification and this life is in him that doth live for though he were dead before to all goodnesse and holinesse and alive unto sinne yet now he is made dead unto sinne and alive unto God as the Apostle speakes likewise also reckon ye your selves to be dead indeed unto sinne but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord Rom. 6. 11. this life is called the life of grace and new obedience when a man is quickened up to all the wayes of God you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins Eph. 2. 1. and this is the quickening that I would faine open to you The third part of this life is the life of joy and comfort ye know when a mans eyes are opened to see his sinnes and his damned estate by reason of them the Law comes and that kils him his very heart dyeth in him now when God propounds to him a Saviour and causes him to beleeve in him this revives his heart againe this yeelds him some joy and comfort so that true joy is a life too we may see this in the Children of God let their joyes and comforts be all gone this makes them all amort this makes them very heavy and sad as if they had no life at all in them as the Church sayes Wilt thou not revive us againe that thy people may rejoyce in thee Psal 85. 6. Now my brethren all this is onely by way of preface to come then to the question what is it to be a quickened Christian a Christian that hath not onely a name to live but is dead dead towards God dead to all good duties no But is quickened up to them I answer that as death is taken in a metaphoricall sense when we say such a one is dead to God dead to the holy ordinances of God we doe not meane properly dead as if he were naturally dead and had no soule in his body but we take it in metaphoricall sense so is life here to be taken too namely for the activenesse of a thing when a thing is not active we use to say it is dead as
for his conscience he called it up every day he was active about it so that the stirrings that are in wicked men they are none of theirs but Gods meerly to pull them out of the bottomlesse pit if it might be in the meane time his conscience is as dead as himselfe Thus ye see what the life of the conscience is First there is a relative life of conscience the conscience is alive when the man is alive Secondly the conscience is alive when it makes duty so that it makes the man do his duty too when it does not onely check for evill and accuse for evill and condemne for evill and prompt a man that he should take heed of evill but it make a man doe his duty in all these so also when it does not onely urge a man to that which is good and excuse him and approve him but in all these it makes him doe his duty too so likewise when it counsels it does not onely counsell and dictate what is to be done and what not but it so does all these particulars that it makes the man to doe his duty in sincerity from day to day This is alive conscience Now that this is the live conscience I prove it unto you by five Arguments 1. Because conscience was made not onely to doe all these acts but to make a man to doe his so that when conscience does its own acts never so much that 's nothing to the life of conscience does thy conscience check thee and smite thee does it whisper never so much in thee this is no Argument it 's alive except it make thee to be obedient unto God Conscience was given man for this purpose and therefore then onely is it alive when it is for this purpose in thy Bosome when David would get up out of his temptations you may see how he got up by conscience I communed with my owne heart and my spirit sayes he made diligent search Psal 77. 6. that is he communed with his conscience what he knew about God and so got himselfe up this is thy consciences office to tell thee what thou hast heard out of the word and that is not all but to lead thee guide thee as the helme does the Ship It is given thee to be thy keeper as he sayes J was upright before him and I kept my selfe from my iniquity Psal 18. 23. that is this is my iniquity this is the sinne that I am most inclined to I must keepe my selfe from that Thus his conscience was his keeper under God Secondly another argument is because this is the way whereby godly people doe their duties their conscience makes them doe their duty it makes them beleeve it makes them feare God it makes them eschew evill and doe good from day to day Blesse the Lord O my soule and forget not all his benefits Psal 103. 2. when the Prophet would doe this duty he made his conscience presse it soundly upon him to doe it so when he would waite upon God he set his owne soule and conscience upon him to make him to doe it waite on the Lord be of good courage he will strengthen thy heart waite I say upon the Lord Psal 27. 14. Thirdly another argument is this is the description of those that have a live conscience they are such as make themselves doe their duties continually as the Apostle sayes He that hath this hope in him purisieth himselfe even as he is pure 1 Joh. 3. 3. that is he is a man that makes himselfe doe his duty his owne soule and conscience sayes thus unto him Christ is a pure Christ and I must be like him as ever I hope that he will bring me into his kingdom and this makes him doe his duty he purisieth himselfe even as he is pure I could quote abundance of places to prove this Fourthly another argument is when God speakes to any that are alive from the dead to doe their duties towards him he bids them make themselves to doe their duties on this manner so Saint Paul sayes Having these promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthinesse of the flesh and spirit perfecting holinesse in the sight of God 2 Cor. 7. 1. that is goe and aske your owne soule and conscience what have I not these and these promises why then I must labour to be cleansed from all manner of sinne I must perfect holinesse in the feare of God now sayes he let us make our selves doe our duties thus Nay fifthly when God speakes to them which are yet dead and would turne them home unto him he bids them doe thus in regard of the meanes turne your selves and live you Ezek. 18. 32. that is Let your owne soules and consciences consider this is the way to live ye cannot be saved without turning as ever I would live for ever I must be turned from all my sinfull courses make your selves doe your duties in this manner that is use all the meanes that the Lord hath given you to use make your selves goe about it not as though any man hath free will to turne himselfe But he speakes of the use of all meanes that he puts into your hands make your selves to use them nay no soule can ever look to be saved except he doe not onely let his conscience check him and tell him thus and thus his duty is but also let his conscience make him doe his duty too so that this must needs be the life of the conscience when it does not onely doe its owne duty to check and to whisper but also it makes a man to doe his The use of this is first then we see here how few have live consciences for people have consciences that doe onely tell them they should be more carefull they should give over such and such sins they should beleeve and they should be zealous and they should be more setled but O how few have consciences that make them doe their duties Numb 15. 40. that ye may remember and doe all my commandements and be holy unto your God REVEL 3. 1. And art Dead WE are come to speake of this necessary point when is a man quickened up towards God and all his holy wayes We have shewed you three things concerning this already First what the life of the minde is Secondly what the life of the heart is Thirdly what the life of the conscience is Now there remaines two more the one is the life of the memory the other is the life of the affections Fourthly then what is the life of the memory for the memory too may be dead and the memory may be alive First the memory may be dead when a man may be remembers if ye aske him a thing he can tell it aske him of a Sermon he can tell the Text and the points and the particulars that were delivered in the Sermon but here 's all it 's a dead memory he never remembers it to