before thou be sick and in the time of Sins shew Repentance Let nothing hinder to pay thy Vows in due time and defer not till Death to be justified The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ c. SERMON VIII Luke xxiv 43. To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise THE Occasion of which Words we may easily learn from the Context We find Ver. 33. that our Blessed Saviour was Crucified betwixt two Theives or Malefactors Tho' he was without Sin yet as the Apostles speaks he appeared in the likeness of sinful Flesh and as the Prophet Esay tells us was numbred with the Transgressors Chap. 53. 12. Now one of these Malefactors begins to rail on our Saviour saying If thou be the Christ save thy self and us vers 39. It is an Argument of desperate Wickedness to insult over such as are in Misery it is no less than to defie Almighty God who is the Protector of such as are in misery and uses to avenge their quarrel And therefore the other Malefactor rebukes him ver 40. saying Dost not thou fear God especially since thou art in the same Condemnation Such as are in Prosperity do ordinarily forget God but in time of Adversity most men will consider When they are approaching towards the Gates of Death they are then generally serious the Thoughts of another World and the prospect of a Future State usually strikes an awe into their Souls But this Thief is so desperately wicked that even on the Cross and when Death was near at hand he despises God and reviles our Saviour But the other Thief gives ample demonstrations of his sincere Repentance and Faith in the Messiah For he does not only rebuke his Fellow Thief and endeavours his Conversion but he also acknowledges his Fault aud patiently submits to the Punishment as a just reward of his evil deeds ver 41. If such scandalous persons that are amongst us would when they are upon their Death-beds thus take shame to themselves by a free Confession of their Faults If they would send for such persons whom in the time of their Health they have endeavour'd to debauch either by their Example or Counsel and acquaint them with the danger of Sin and the bitterness they then find in it they would give the World much better demonstrations of their sincere Repentance and much surer grounds to hope their Eternal welfare And as this poor Thief gives such ample demonstrations of his sincere Repentance so he gives also very good proof of a true and stedfast Faith in Christ for ver 42. he says unto Christ Jesus Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom Ye see he believes Christ to be the Lord and to have a Kingdom tho' not in this World which was more than Christ's own Disciples did Nay farther he owns Christ upon the Cross and when in the lowest degree of his state of Humiliation even when all the Iews were mocking and persecuting him yea when his own Disciples forsook him and St. Peter one of the Chiefest had deny'd him thrice Nay farther yet how wonderful was his Humility He only desires that Christ would remember him in his Kingdom He does not presume to ask that he might sit on Christ's Right hand or on his Left in his Kingdom but only that he would remember him A true penitent humble Soul will think the least degree of Mercy great enough or too great for him I have the rather noted all this because too many encourage themselves in their Wickedness by the Example of this poor Thief They think they may live as they list and yet be saved if they repent on a Sick-bed and at the Hour of Death But how rare is it that God does give such Presumptuous sinners so much Grace in the time of their Sickness How seldom do they give such ample demonstrations of their Faith Humility and sincere Repentance Now what Answer doth Christ return to this honest Thief The Text will give you a fair account of this Then said Iesus unto him Verily I say unto thee to day shalt thou be with me in Paradise In which Words we have a fair description of the happiness of pious Souls after they are departed from this wretched Body I shall consider the Words in the same order that they lye And First They assure us That pious Souls are immediately admitted to the actual possession of Happiness upon their departure from the Body To Day saith Christ. Secondly They do farther assure us of the greatness of this Happiness they shall be with Christ and they shall be in Paradise To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise First These Words assure us that pious Souls are immediately admitted to the actual possession of Happiness upon their depature from the Body There are a sort of Men in the World they call Psychoparruychites who hold that the Soul after its departure from the Body sleeps all the while till the General Resurrection and consequently is neither in a state of Ioy nor Misery till the Day of Iudgment when it shall be reunited united to the Body and sent with it either to Heaven or Hell But it is plain from the Text that the Souls of Good men are immediately after their departure from the Body admitted to the actual possession of Eternal happiness For Christ does here promise this honest Thief that he should be that very day with him in Paradise Paradise is a place of Joy and Bliss and to be with Christ is to be in a state of Happiness Now in such a place and in such a state was the Thief to be that very day So Act. 7. 56. St. Stephen saw the Heavens open'd and the Son of Man standing on the Right hand of God He knew the Heavens were open'd for him and that Christ stood there ready to receive him into Glory and therefore he prays ver 59. Lord Iesus receive my Spirit So again 2 Cor. 5. 8. We are confident I say and willing rather to be absent from the Body and to be present with the Lord. It seems the pious Soul as soon as it is absent from the Body it is present with the Lord and consequently in a state of Bliss and Glory Again Revel 14. 13. I heard a Voice from Heaven saying Write blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them Ye see here the Godly are said to be blessed as soon as they dye and not only to rest but also to receive the reward of their good Works I shall add but one Text more which you 'l find Phil. 1. 21 22. I am in a strait betwixt two saith St. Paul having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you As much as if the Apostle should have said I cannot tell whether I should desire to live longer or
shall see the King of Kings in all his beauty Esay 33. 17. Indeed the Soul here below like the Spouse in the Canticles seeks her Beloved only in the dark beholds his Back-parts in the Glass of his Creatures reads a little more of him in the Holy Scripture and tastes a litle more of him in his Comfortable Ordinances yet still she sees him but darkly and through the Lattice and all is able to do no more than to make her sick of Love But hereafter we shall see God face to face and we shall know him even as we are known 1 Cor. 13. 12 We shall not then sit down content with the School-mans Negative Knowledge and be proud when we know only what God is not No we shall then have a Positive Knowledge of him and as St. Iohn phrases it see him even as he is 1 Joh. 3. 2. What strange Expressions are these How clear and how full a Knowledge of God do they import We shall no longer read of God in the Scripture or hear of him by his Ministers but we shall see him with our Eyes yea and we shall see him as he is in all that wonderful Glory which is the Light and Sun of the highest Heavens Now how much such clear Knowledge of God will increase our future happiness we may learn in some measure from the Story of the Queen of the South The Q. of Sheba heard indeed some imperfect Reports of Solomon's Wisdom in her own Country but when she came and saw his Person heard his incomparable Wisdom and had been an happy Spectator of all the Pomp and Royal Magnificence of his Court she was then sweetly astonished so that there was no more Spirit left in her Even so when the pious Soul shall come to the Court of Heaven and there see God as he is cloathed with Majesty and Honour infinitely beyond and above all she ever heard of him by his Ministers or read of him in the Scripture when she shall behold the Attendance of his Throne even ten thousand times ten thousand Angels and comprehend all those ineffable Glories which neither Eye hath seen nor Ear heard with what pleasing Ecstasies of Admiration will she then be transported But this is not all For 2dly Our happiness in Paradise will not barely consist in the clear and perfect Knowledge of God but also in the enjoyment of him unto all Eternity Knowledge without Fruition can only give us the Happiness of Moses upon Mount Nebo at best but a fairer prospect of the Heavenly Canaan but we are assured in Scripture that we shall not only see this Land of Promise but we shall taste the Milk and the Hony of it We shall not only see and know God but we shall also enjoy him This Enjoyment of God is elegantly set forth in Scripture by the Metaphor of a Feast because Friends usually enjoy themselves most when they Feast together Now what strange Expressions to this purpose are those which we read Rev. 19. 9. where the Angel bids S. Iohn write thus Blessed are they which are called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. They used to have their greatest Feasts at Supper but the happiness of Heaven is here set forth not only by the Metaphor of a Supper but also of a Marriage Supper to denote that more intimate and pleasant enjoyment of God and Christ the Saints may expect in Heaven And lest we should in the least doubt of this these Emphatical words are added which perhaps ye do not use much to take notice of but now I desire you to do these saith the Angel are the true Sayings of God So that we may well believe the Saints shall enjoy all this happiness I have spoken of Tho' this which I last mention'd be a most comfortable Text yet I think you 'l find one fuller to this purpose Luk. 12. 37. Blessed are those Servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching Verily I say unto you that he shall gird himself and make them sit down to meat and will come forth and serve them Here again the happiness of Heaven is set forth by the Metaphor of a Feast and our Saviour alludes to those Feasts among the Romans which they called their Saturnalia when the Masters were obliged to provide sumptuous Feasts for their Servants and to gird themselves and come forth and serve It seems God will deal thus with his poor unworthy Servants He will prepare as great a Feast for them as Heaven can afford and will come forth himself and serve them In this World he makes use of Angels as Ministring Spirits and imploys them for the good of his People But in the other World the happiness of the Godly will be so great and so infinite that Angels being but finite Creatures cannot serve any longer as Conduits to convey it to them No God himself as he will be the Feast so he will be the Entertainer too and in a word All in all Thus I have shewn you how great our happiness will be in respect of God himself we shall have a clear and perfect knowledge of him and his infinite Excellencies and we shall also have a full Enjoyment of him unto all Eternity I proceed now to the last thing proposed namely to consider the greatness of this happiness with reference to the place Lastly We shall not only be with Christ but we shall be with Christ in Paradise To be with Christ in any place cannot but be happiness Had our Saviour took the Penitent Thief along with him when he descended into Hell there to have seen him Triumph over Principalities and Powers and all our spiritual Enemies this had been a blessed and most pleasant sight But to carry him along with himself to Paradise the pleasantness and glories of the place could not but add to the happiness of it To this end you 'l find the Holy Ghost in Scripture exceeding large in the description of this place and it is set forth by such Metaphors as denote the most incomprehensible both beauty pleasantness strength splendour and glory for pleasure it is in the Text called Paradise for Magnificence a Kingdom yea a Kingdom of Glory too It is styled an House not made with hands but by God himself to denote both its strength and workmanship For Magnitude it is called a Great City For Purity the Holy and Heavenly Ierusalem Would we some Evening take a walk with Isaac into the Fields and there view how God has garnished these upper Regions of the World how many are those Stars which sparkle there And they are also most of them of such an incredible Magnitude as to be more than an hundred times bigger than the Earth and yet this Firmament as glorious as it is is only the outside of the Pavement of that Ierusalem which is above What incomprehensible Glory then must shine within it We read in the Book of Revelations that the very Streets are of pure
SERMONS Preach'd on several Occasions BY Iohn March B. D. Late VICAR of NEWCASTLE upon TINE The last of which was Preach'd the Twenty Seventh of November 1692. Being the Sunday before he Died. With a Preface by Dr. Iohn Scot. The Second Edition To which is added a Sermon Preach'd at the Assizes in New-Castle upon Tine in the Reign of the late King Iames. LONDON Printed for Robert Clavell at the Peacock in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1699. Imprimatur C. ALSTON R. P. D. Hen. Episc. Lond. Ã Sacris Julii 3. 1693. THE PREFACE THE Reverend Author of the following Sermons was a Person of that great Worth and Excellency that among those who knew him they need no other Recommendation than his own Name for besides that they carry in 'em a certain strain of serious and unaffected Piety and this imbellished with such Clearness and Perspicuity such strength and vigour of Expression such solidity of Argument and Discourse as must have rendered the perusal of them very pleasant and profitable to all well-disposed Readers though their Author had been Anonymous besides which I say the truly Pious and Learned Author of them was a Person of such great Accomplishments both Moral and Intellectual as would have justly given Credit with all that knew his Personal Excellencies to much meaner Performances than these The main Objection this degenerous Age had against him was that he was a faithful Son of the Church of England and a zealous Asserter of its Doctrine and Discipline and one would think for a Man to be true to his Profession to that which he hath ex animo subscribed his Iudgment and declared his unfeigned Assent and Consent it should be so far from being reputed a Fault in him by those who pretend either to common Honesty or Modesty that it should rather be esteemed his Glory and Excellency As for his Conversation it was in all respects so Sober and Regular so Pure and Uncorrupt as that though he had but little reason to apprehend himself concerned in that Denunciation Wo be to you when all Men speak well of you yet so far as I ever heard even those who spoke worst of him durst never bespatter him with an Immorality He was a very diligent Pastor of the Flock committed to his Charge and that not only in the course of his Publick Ministry from which without some necessary Occasion he very rarely absented himself but also in his private Converses For besides that every Lord's Day in the Evening he generally spent a considerable Portion of time in Instructing the Youth of his Parish from which Pious and Charitable Exercise he very rarely suffered himself to be diverted even by the Visits of his best and greatest Friends besides which I say his known Abilities in resolving Cases of Conscience drew after him a great many good People not only of his own Flock but from remoter Distances who resorted to him as to a common Oracle and commonly went away from him intirely satisfied in his Wise and Iudicious Resolutions and by these his excellent Qualities and Labours he hath not only purchased to himself a Crown of Glory in Heaven but also so indeared his Memory upon Earth to all that are Virtuous and Good that like the Leaves of Roses still retain their Fragrancy though the Rose it self is withered and dead and that being dead he may yet speak to his surviving Auditors and that the Memory of his good Example and Doctrin may ever flourish among them it is the earnest desire of his Friends that these Sermons of his may be made Publick which though they have not that accomplished Accuracy as they would have had had they had his last hand to them and been prepared for the Press by his own skilful Pen yet as they are they are rightly worthy the Christian Readers perusal and as such I recommend them to his View and remain his Affectionate and Humble Servant Iohn Scot. SERMON I. Psalm lxxvi 7. Thou even thou art to be feared and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry I Know no Motives nor Arguments more likely to awaken Sinners to their Duty than a due consideration of Gods Infinite Goodness and Almighty Power Knowest thou not saith St. Paul that the goodness of God leadeth thee to Repentance Transcendently great is the Goodness of God towards poor Sinners He freely gave us his Son to Purchase Heaven and Eternal Happiness for us He sent down his Holy Spirit to dwell with us that he might sanctifie our corrupt Natures and make us meet to partake of the vast Inheritance of the Saints in Light and he excites us to a due improvement of these assistances of the Spirit by proposing the most glorious Rewards of Heaven and Eternal Happiness Thus God draws Sinners to their Duty by the bands of Love and the cords of a Man that is by Arguments of such an obliging Nature as are most likely to prevail with men whom he hath endowed with Reason and Understanding But how few are there who have so much ingenuity as to be won by kindness The greatest part of Mankind must be treated with severer methods according to the observation of St. Austin Plures sunt quos terror corrigit pauciores quos allicit amor Such saith he is the corruption and degeneracy of our Natures that very few are drawn to their Duty by the Bands of Love the generality of men must be driven to it by the fears of Punishment For this reason the wiser Heathens made Hercules their God of Power their God of Eloquence too intimating that no Arguments are more forcible or more prevalent than those which alarm our fears Now God who is never wanting in any thing that may conduce to our Salvation is observed in Scripture frequently to urge these powerful Arguments upon us Fear-not them saith our Saviour who can do no more than destroy the Body but fear him who is able to destroy both Body and Soul in Hell Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we perswade men saith St. Paul 2 Cor. 5. 11. To the same end and purpose we find Asaph the Author of this Psalm magnifying the power of God in the defeat of Sennacheribs Army Thou hast broken the Arrows of the Bow the Shield and the Sword and the Battel ver 3. The Stout hearted are Spoiled they have slept their sleep and none of the Men of Might have found their Hands ver 5. At thy rebuke O God of Jacob both the Chariot and Horse are cast into a deep sleep ver 6. Those expressions of our Psalmist relate unto Sennacherib King of the Assyrians this Monarchy in Daniels Vision is for its strength compared unto the Lion and it was at its Zenith in the reign of Sennacherib whose very name signifies a fierce Warrier and whose Subjects the Assyrians are deservedly stiled by our Psalmist the Stout-hearted because being flush'd by many Victories they feared neither Man nor God himself whom
2ly We shall find yet more reason to fear the Lord our God if we consider seriously that great power he exercises over the Souls and Consciences of men It is a true Saying of Seneca if understood with respect to men In corpore exercentur supplicia animus ipse sacer aeternus est cui nequeat injici manus The Sword of Justice which Earthly Potentates carry before them as the Ensign of their Power can only hurt the Shell of Man insomuch that the greatest Tyrants are honoured in Scripture with no higher Titles than those of Masters according to the flesh For the Soul or Spirit is far enough out of the reach of their Power the Conscience is secure from their Rage and Fury and it is the Prerogative Royal of God as by his Omniscience to know the most inward thoughts so by his Omnipotence to be able to punish them When the Almighty pleases he breaks into the solitary Recesses of the Soul and lodges his revenging Furies in the Inner Man And now could we set a Casement upon the Breast of an Orestes or some despairing Sinner and there see those ictus and laniatus those gnawings of the Worm which prey upon all the Vitals of the Soul we should easily grant with Tertullian that an inraged Conscience is praejudicium judicii the Antedate of the last Judgment we might then see Hell seizing the Wretched Sinner here upon Earth at least inflicting some part of its Torments on this side the Grave Such a dreadful Monument of Vengeance was cursed Cain no sooner did he kill his Brother Abel but he became a wretched Vagabond he trembled at the sight of every Beast saith Iosephus and was forced to bear such incredible Torments as he himself confessed were greater than he could bear It is sad enough for the Sinner to have God Almighty and the whole World against him but his condition must needs be sadder when he becomes a Traytor to himself nay more his own Tormentor So much of Truth there is in that Saying of Seneca Nemini gravius imprecari potes quam ut seipsum habeat iratum Thou canst not saith he lay an heavier Curse or imprecation upon any person than to wish him angry or at enmity with himself And now I hope we will join with the Psalmist in the Text and say Thou even thou O Lord art to be feared and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art Angry Fearful we are to offend an earthly King how careful of our Words and Behaviour lest by Treason or any Misdemeanour we fall under his Displeasure But what I pray are Gibbets Racks or the most ingenious Torments they can invent to the sullen Lashes and silent Girds of an inraged Conscience Let Solomon if you please determin this matter Prov. 18. 14. The Spirit of a Man saith he can bear all his Infirmities but a wounded Spirit who can bear How many noble Martyrs have sung and danc'd amidst the devouring Flames But what Iudas what Spira what daring Sinner was ever yet able to bear the stings of a wounded Spirit What reason then have we to fear the Lord our God who can when he pleases wound our Spirits and fill our Souls with the ineffable Torments of black Despair But Thirdly We shall find yet more Reason to fear the Lord our God if we consider those most exquisite and eternal Punishments he is able to inflict both on the Bodies and Souls of Sinners in the Lake below If the bold Sinner has but courage enough to look beyond the Grave he will find prepared for him the eternal Tophet such a dreadful place of Torments as is most tragically described by the Prophet Isay Chap. 30. 33. Tophet is prepared of old saith he the Pile thereof is Fire and much Wood and the Breath of the Lord like a stream of Brimstone doth kindle it continually See how each word is armed with Thunder It seems there is Fire in this eternal Tophet yea there is a great Pile of Fire Now how dreadful how terrible is Fire Which the Persians of old were wont to call immanissima bellua a most fierce and devouring Monster And yet this Fire of Tophet is no ordinary Fire it is no such material Fire as we have in our Chimneys For the Scripture tells us it was originally prepared for the Devil and his Angels Now the Devil and his Angels being spiritual Beings cannot be tormented by any material or corporeal Fire The Fire therefore of Tophet must be some strange metaphorical Fire such as the Fire we use is only fit to be made a cold and faint emblem of it and we will the rather believe this when we consider that it is said to be kindled by the Breath of Almighty God The fiery Furnace of Babylon was dreadful enough tho' kindled only by the finite power of an earthly King How dreadful then must the Furnace of Hell be which has all the Treasures of Torment infinite Wisdom could invent If all this be not sufficient to make these Torments dreadful remember that they are said to be prepared for the Devil and his Angels We know these infernal Fiends are the most inveterate and most malicious Enemies of Heaven such as did not only at first endeavour to dethrone their Almighty Creator but have ever since imployed all their malice and subilty to affront God and draw Mankind into a conspiracy against him Sure then that Fire which was at first prepared for these inveterate and malicious Enemies of Heaven cannot possibly want any ingredients of Torture either Infinite Wisdom could invent or Infinite Power inflict And yet such devouring Flames as these are not only prepared for the Devil and his Angels but likewise for all impenitent Sinners How fearful a thing then will it be to fall into the Hands of the Living God And yet it will be more fearful if we consider the eternity of all these Torments For in Hell the Worm never dies and the Fire shall never be quenched When the Sinner has lain in Hell as many millions of Ages as there are Stars in Heaven or Sands on the Sea-shore he will be no nearer an End of his Torments than he was the first Moment he entred into that place of Torments Who then will not fear the Lord our God Who may stand in his sight when once he is Angry But it seems our Psalmist met with some in his days who had no fear of God before their Eyes who did set their Mouths against Heaven and bid defiance to the Almighty And are there not still too many in the World who discover little or no fear of God in their Lives and Conversations such I mean as are not afraid to spit in the Face of Heaven by their drunken Vomits who profane his tremendous Name by Oaths and Blasphemies deride his Ordinances and break his Holy Laws by their notorious Debaucheries But sure these men have other apprehensions of the Majesty of Heaven than
Gold the Walls and Foundations all of Precious Stones Such incredible lustre and glory is in it that the Sun shall not need to give his Light nor the Moon to shine in it for the Glory of God shall inlighten it and the Lamb shall be the light thereof for ever Thus happy shall the Godly be after they depart this Life they shall be with Christ and which is more they shall be with Christ in Paradise I come now to draw some practical Inferences from what has been delivered Application 1st Has the Holy Ghost in Scripture made such discoveries of Paradise and our future happiness then certainly they ought to fill our Souls with earnest Longings and vehement Pursuits after them When King Hezekiah had shewn to the Ambassador of Baladan King of Babylon the House of his Precious things his Silver and his Gold and all his Treasures we read these finite perishing Treasures proved Load-stones powerful enough to draw these Babylonians to War against Iudah How much more ought the infinite Glories of Heaven which God has revealed in the Scripture raise such violent Desires in us as may make us resemble the Spouse in the Canticles who is compared to a Pillar of Smoak mounting continually towards Heaven or them who lived in the dayes of Iohn the Baptist who are said to have taken the Kingdom of Heaven by violence Such a temper of Spirit as this we find in the Saints of God My Soul fainteth for thy Salvation I have longed for it saith Holy David Psal. 119. 81 It is a remarkable Passage of Cornelius a Lapide upon Gen. 47. where enquiring why the Patriarchs of old were so passionately desirous to have their bones buried in the Land of Canaan he gives this Reason God saith he had revealed unto these Holy men the Day of Christ they all as well as Abraham saw Christ Day and rejoyced Not only the Day of his Nativity but that more glorious Day of his Resurrection In which not only Christ himself should rise but others that slept should rise with him and attend upon him into Heaven at his Ascension These hopes of Rising with Christ and getting sooner to Heaven both in their Bodies and Souls than others made them thus careful and solicitous to be buried near the place where Christ was to rise How unlike these Holy Patriarchs are many amongst us whose heavy Souls move down to Earth as to their Center Neither God nor Heaven does ever so much trouble their Thoughts as to make them breath forth their desires after them But such as are true Believers and sincere Christians are in Scripture described by this known Periphrasis of being such as love the appearing of Christ such as desire to be dissolved that they may be with him such as earnestly groan to be cloathed upon with their House which is from Heaven and therefore pray often with the Bride in the Revelations Come Lord Iesus come quickly 2dly If we do earnestly and seriously desire this exceeding great happiness of Paradise we must be willing to use the Means which will bring us to it It is a known Maxim in the Schools Qui vult finem vult media ad finem He that effectually desires the End desires also the Means which lead unto that End If with the Thief upon the Cross we expect after Death to enjoy Christ in Paradise we must labour to imitate him and give such demonstrations of our Humility Faith in Christ and sincere Repentance as he did Our Saviour tells us that the wise Merchant in the Gospel had no sooner found a Pearl of great Price but he presently sold all he had and purchas'd it It is reported of Camillus that Famous French Commander that when he had tasted some of the pleasant Grapes of Italy he could never be at rest till he had raised a great Army and Conquer'd that pleasant Country God has been pleased in Scripture to present us with some of the Grapes of Canaan to give us some taste of the Heavenly gift and the Powers of the World to come How should this make us restless and unquiet till we arrive at this happy Country Should we not now raise all the Forces that we can to fight our Spiritual Enemies and conquer those Lusts which oppose our happiness Should we now spare any Sin tho' it were as dear to us as a beloved Ionathan Sure Heaven will recompence the loss of a right Eye and a right Hand should we pluck them off and sacrifice them to our Saviour And indeed we must thus forsake sin every sin the most darling sin if ever we hope to get to Paradise The Young man in the Gospel lacked but one thing and yet fell short of Heaven And if thou wilt still indulge thy self in thy Covetousness Uncleanness Swearing Drunkenness or any other known sin thou canst never expect to be with Christ in Paradise For Christ has told us plainly Mat. 19. 17. that if we will enter into Life we must keep the Commandments Which that we may all do God of his Infinite Mercy grant c. SERMON X. Matt. xxiv 3â— And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven and then shall all the Tribes of the Earth mourn and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven with Power and great Glory THE Office of our Blessed Saviours Mediatorship consists chiefly in three Parts his Satisfaction Intercession and Judging the World at the Last Day The First of these he performed here on Earth the Second he is still performing in Heaven and the Third he will perform in the Air When he shall come in the Clouds of Heaven with Power and great Glory We know he satisfied infinite Justice when he offered up himself a propitiatory Sacrifice on the Cross and he is still interceeding in Heaven at the Right Hand of God As he purchased Salvation for sinners by dying for them so he interceeds that this Salvation may be applied unto such as repent sincerely of their sins and believe on his Name The third part of his Mediatorship is still to be performed for he is not as Mediator to judge the World till the time appointed by his Father and then he will for certain Judge both the Quick and the Dead Indeed the Father himself Iudgeth no Man but hath committed all Iudgment unto the Son as our Saviour speaks Iohn 5. 22. and he gives the reason of it vers 27. because he is the Son of Man As he became the Son of Man that he might be in a capacity to save the Penitent So God has appointed the same Son of Man to judge the World that he may be able to punish the Impenitent Such as before would not accept him for a Saviour will now be forced to admit him as a Judge Hence we are told Act. 17. 31. That God has appointed a Day in which he will Iudge the World in Righteousness by that Man whom he hath
the Enemies of Heaven It seems the Torments of this dreadful place is set forth by Fire one of the cruellest of the Elements Nay give me leave to observe farther to you that this Fire of Tophet can be no ordinary material Fire seeing we are told it was originally prepared for the Devil and his Angels For since they are Spiritual and Immaterial Beings they cannot be Tormented by any ordinary material Fire The Fire therefore of Tophet must be of such a strange and dreadful Nature that this Fire we use is only fit to be a cold and faint emblem of it and well may we conclude so much seeing it is said to be kindled by the Breath of the Almighty The fiery Furnace of Babylon was dreadful enough tho' it was kindled only by the breath of an Earthly King how dreadful then must the Furnace of Hell be which has all the Ingredients of Torture Omnipotent Vengeance can furnish it with This Fire of Tophet of Hell is said yet farther to be prepared for the Devil and his Angels Now we know these Hellish Fiends are the most malicious Enemies of Heaven These ambitious Spirits endeavoured at the very first to dethrone their Almighty Creator and since they failed in that black design they have ever since discovered their inveterate hatred of God by tempting Mankind into the same cursed Conspiracy against him Sure then that Fire which is prepared for these malicious Enemies of Heaven cannot possibly want any Ingredients of Torture Infinite Wisdom can invent or Infinite Power inflict Now such devouring Flames as these were prepared for obstinate sinners as well as for these fallen Angels There is one Consideration still behind which will make these Torments appear more dreadful and that is the Eternal Duration of them For here it is that the Worm never dies here it is that the Fire is not quenched When the sinner has lain in Hell as many millions of years as there are Sands on the Sea-shore he will be no nearer an end of his Torments than he was the first Moment of his entrance into them Who can read without trembling what St. Mark tells us Chap. 9. 49. Namely that the Damned shall be salted with Fire Such it seems is the dreadful Nature of the Infernal Flames that they do Torment but not Consume Like Salt they preserve those wretched Persons they seem to devour O cruel Mercy of Hellish Flames O Preservation worse than the most dreadful Destruction Thus great are those Evils we are delivered from and you will easily conclude how great that Salvation is which delivers us from them The Children of Israel did exceedingly rejoyce when they were delivered from the Tyranny of Pharaoh and the Slavery of Egypt But sure Hell is a more dreadful kind of Bondage than Egypts and Satan a worse sort of Tyrant than Pharaoh therefore the Salvation of the Text which delivers us from these dreadful and infinite Evils must needs be exceeding great 3ly The greatness of this Salvation will appear yet further if we consider that Infinite and Eternal Happiness it brings along with it This Salvation does not only deliver us from Hell and Eternal Damnation but it gives us also a Right and Title to the endless Joys of Heaven Even those Joys which Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither hath it entred into the Heart of Man to conceive If the sweet society of Saints and Angels if the most ravishing enjoyment of the Blessed Trinity if an uninterrupted and eternal fruition of the most desirable Pleasures if all this be sufficient to make the Salvation in the Text exceeding great then we may pardon St. Paul's Emphasis and allow him to call it so great Salvation for this is that Salvation which Christ has purchast and the Gospel publish'd to the World Hence Christ is styl'd the Author of Eternal Salvation Heb. 5. 9. and is said to have obtained Eternal Redemption for us Heb. 9. 12. Ioshua was deservedly accounted a mighty Saviour because having delivered Israel from their malicious Enemies he gave them a quiet Possession of the Earthly Canaan How great a Saviour is our Ioshua or Jesus who having vanquished our Spiritual Enemies has purchased for us the possession of the Heavenly Canaan 4ly The greatness of this Salvation will further appear if we consider the Extent and Amplitude of it This Salvation is an universal Salvation all Men have a Right and Title to it tho' Salvation of old was only of the Iews yet now Christ is a Light to lighten the Gentiles as well as the Glory of his People Israel God is now no respecter of Persons but in every Nation he that feareth God and worketh Righteousness is accepted of him They are highly injurious to the goodness of God and to that Salvation which was wrought by Christ who would have it restrained to a certain number of Persons For it is most plain from Scripture that God would have all Men to be saved Hear what the Angels said unto the Shepherds Luke 2. 10. Behold I bring you good Tidings of great Ioy which shall be unto all People Hence Christ is said to give himself a Ransom for all 1 Tim. 2. 6. as St. Iohn speaks 1 Epist. 2. 2. He is the Propitiation for our Sins and not for ours only but also for the Sins of the whole World If these places of Scripture be not full and clear enough St Paul will tell you that Christ tasted Death for every Man Heb. 2. 9. I shall add but one Text more to convince you of this Truth and it shall be that of St. Peter 2 Epist. 2. 2. where he speaks of False Teachers such as privily bring in Damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift Destruction It seems Christ bought those that are Damned as well as those that are Saved and consequently the Salvation or Redemption which he wrought must needs be Universal None are excluded from it but such as exclude themselves by their Obstinancy and Impenitency Now if we lay these Four Cnsiderations together namely The greatness of the Price which was paid for this Salvation The greatness of those Evils it delivers us from The Infinite and Eternal Happiness it brings along with it And Lastly The Extent and Amplitude of it which is so great as to include both Iew and Gentile we may safely conclude with St. Paul that it is great Salvation Thus I have dispatched the First General I proposed and proceed now to the Second Secondly Namely To shew you that those Christians who neglect this great Salvation must expect the severest punishments in Hell This may be gathered from the words of the Text where St. Paul delivers himself in these Emphatical Expressions How shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation As much as if the Apostle should have said Christians who disobey the Gospel must never hope to go unpunisht nay these of all others must expect the severest
brought Life and Immortality to Light through the Gospel 2 Tim. 1. 10. Thus great is the Light of the Gospel and therefore those sins which are committed against it are the more heinous and damnable sins against Knowledg have more of wilfulness in them and argue greater contempt of God Hence such sinners are said in Scripture to reproach the Lord Numb 15. 30. Yea to rebel against the Light Job 24. 13. Since therefore Christians sin against greater Light they must expect severer Punishments Fer he that knoweth his Masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with more stripes 3. Another reason why Christians must expect the severest Punishments if they neglect this great Salvation is because the means of Grace which the Gospel affords for the obtaining of this Salvation are now more plentiful than they were before St. Iohn tells us Chap. 1. 17. That the Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth came by Iesus Christ of whose fulness saith he Verse 16. we all have received and Grace for Grace or Grace upon Grace to denote the great plenty and abundance of it The Law could do no more than shew Man his Duty but the Gospel affords him Grace to perform it Hence the Preachers of the Gospel are styled Able Ministers of the New Testament not of the Letter but of the Spirit for the Letter killeth but the Spirit giveth Life 2 Cor. 3. 6. The Law is here called the Letter and is said to Kill because it shews our Duty and the Danger of neglecting it but gives no Grace to help us in the performing of it But the Gospel is called the Spirit because the Spirit of Grace does by his internal Operations accompany the outward Ministration of the Gospel and so gives us Life Thus you see what plentiful Means of Grace the Gospel affords us for the obtaining of this great Salvation And therefore if we do neglect these Means of Grace our Condemnation as it will be more just so it will be more heavy too This is plain from our Saviours threatning Chorazin and Bethsaida Mat. 11. 21 22. Wo unto thee Chorazin wo unto thee Bethsaida for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in Sackcloath and Ashes But I say unto you it shall be more tollerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of Iudgment than for you Thus Christians as they enjoy more plentiful Means of Grace than others so if all these be lost upon them they must expect the severer Punishments Thirdly I come now in the Third and Last Place to shew you that Ministers may very well be allowed to be mighty earnest and passionate in their Exhortations and Admonitions See how earnest and passionate St. Paul is in the Text with what Vehemency and Fervency of Spirit does he cry out How shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation St. Paul was one of the greatest Orators in the World And he never thought his Oratory better employed than in the winning Souls to Christ. Hence we find him in the Acts Preaching with such Zeal and Eloquence that the Men of Lycaonia fancied Mercury their God of Eloquence was come down from Heaven And as St. Paul was thus Fervent in Spirit serving the Lord and promoting the Salvation of Souls so 2 Tim. 4. 2. He charges Ministers to be Instant in Season and out of Season Reproving Rebuking and Exhorting with all long Suffering And in truth what Zeal what Vehemency can be thought too much for the Pulpit Indeed the Heathen of old said well Stultus labor ineptiarum It is a ridiculous thing said he to make a noise about Trifles But sure Life and Death Heaven and Hell these are no Trifles Men do not well consider the worth of Souls and the greatness of that Salvation Christ has purchast for them when they are offended at the Zeal and Earnestness of Ministers when they are angry at the seriousness of their Exhortations or the severity of their Reproofs But what pity is it that Hell should be hung with such rich Furniture as the precious Souls of Men And who would not employ their utmost Zeal to save such wicked sinners as are ready every moment to drop into Hell Fire Let me therefore with all seriousness intreat you to work out your Salvation with Fear and Trembling As you love your own Immortal Souls and value that Infinite Price which Christ has paid for them as you dread the everlasting Burnings of the infernal Tophet and earnestly desire the endless Joys of Heaven be perswaded to break off your League with Sin and make your Peace with Almighty God that when ye come to die your Blessed Saviour may see the travel of his Soul and be satisfied that he may then be as ready to Bestow on you as he was to Purchase for you that you may at last obtain this great Salvation Which God grant unto us all for the sake of Jesus Christ to whom c. The Grace of our Lord Iesus Christ and the Love of God c. A SERMON Preached at the Assizes in New-Castle upon Tine in the Reign of K. Iames II. Ephes. ii 19 20. vers Now therefore you are no more strangers and forreigners but fellow-citizens with the Saints and of the houshold of God Vers. 20. And are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets ST Paul having planted the Gospel among the Ephesians labours in this most excellent Epistle to confirm them in the same by sundry Arguments Some of these Arguments are drawn from the consideration of that wretched condition they were in before and some from the excellency and blessedness of their present State Their former condition is displayed in all its colours ver 12. of this chapter where he tells them that they were then without Christ they were then Aliens from the common wealth of Israel strangers from the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the World It seems such as are without the pale of the Church are no better than the Children of Wrath they are expos'd to all the dreadful effects of God's anger in this World and must hereafter be cast into everlasting burnings in the next But tho' this was the lamentable condition of these Ephesians before their conversion yet the planting of the Gospel had made a happy change for they were now no more strangers and forreigners but fellow citizens with the Saints they were now delivered from the fears of Eternal damnation and had a Right and Title to all these glorious Priviledges which Abraham and the other blessed Citizens of Heaven did actually possess And what was it which gave them a right and title to all this happiness If you please to look a little farther into the Text you 'l find it was because they were of the houshold of God or in plain terms Members of the true Church for this indeed is the true Gospel which
remember such Texts of Scripture as these Prove all things hold fast that which is good 1. Thess. 5. 21. Take heed lest ye being led away with the error of the wicked fall from your own stedfastness 2. Pet. 3. 17. Nay St. Iude carries the duty one step higher and tells us we must contend earnestly for the Faith which was once delivered unto the Saints Ministers must contend by their Tongues and Pens Magistrates and Gentry by their Power Interest and Authority and private Christians by their Prayers and open Profession of it And if St. Iude would have the Primitive Christians not barely own but even contend and that earnestly for the faith when they groaned under the heavy Persecutions of Pagan Emperours sure we have little reason to be afraid to do so who live under the Protection of a most gracious King And since these things are so I hope I shall need no more than these two Motives to back the Exhortation and to enforce the Duty 1. Let us consider The great happiness of such as continue stedfast in the Faith of Christ and Doctrine of the Apostles 2. The lamentable condition of those that shall dare to disown it 1. Let us consider the great Happiness of such as continue stedfast in the Faith of Christ and Doctrine of the Apostles As the Church of Christ is that Golden Candlestick which holds forth the light of the Gospel so it is the Treasurer of all the Riches of Heaven for to it belong the Adoption and the Glory to it appertain the Covenants the Service of God and all the Promises Here we may enjoy all the Ordinances of God and satisfie our Souls with the marrow and fatness of his Sanctuary Yea if we will believe our Apostle in the Verses following my Text every Christian does now grow into an holy Temple in the Lord he becomes an habitation where God vouchsafes to dwell and manifest his special Presence by the saving Operations of his Holy Spirit Happy Souls who have the Honour and the Privilege to lodge and entertain their God! What Joys and Comforts will now crowd into the Soul and attend this glorious Guest And yet all this is only a preparatory for much greater Happiness For these happy Believers as our Apostle speaks are now become fellow citizens with the Saints such are here of the houshold of God and if they make a just improvement of that Grace which is afforded them they shall hereafter be admitted into the Society and Fellowship of Saints and Angels And what Tongue is able to express this Happiness How great an Honour how great a Priviledge was it thought of Old to be a free Citizen of Rome and to have a right to all the Offices and Franchises of that Imperial City So highly valuable was this Freedom that the chief Captain in the Acts tells us he did not obtain it but with a great sum of Mony To these Priviledges S. Paul alludes when he tells the Ephesians and in them all Christians that if they are of the houshold of God and built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets then they are fellow citizens with the Saints that is Denizons of Heaven and free of that City which is above even the heavenly Ierusalem Glorious things are spoken of thee O thou City of God St. Paul tells us Heb. 12. That here dwell an innumerable company of glorious Angels the general Assembly of the First-born That is the Holy Apostles the First-born of the Gospel the Spirits of Prophets Martyrs Confessors and all those just men that are already made perfect Nay farther yet here God the Judge of all vouchsales his glorious Presence and Jesus the Mediatour of the New Covenant appears in all his Glory To be Citizens therefore of this Heavenly Ierusalem is to enjoy the most ravishing Society of Saints and Angels to be admitted to the Beatifick Vision of God himself and to live for ever in Paradise with the Holy Jesus It is to lye with Lazarus in Abrahams bosom feeding continually on the feast of the Lamb and drinking of those Rivers of pleasures which ran at Gods right hand for evermore This one would think should be argument enough to make us hold fast the profession of our Faith stedfast unto the end But if all this will not prevail with us I know nothing that can unless it be what I proposed to be considered in the 2d place Namely the Lamentable condition of those who dare disown and deny the Truths of the Gospel And I cannot give you a truer prospect of their sad condition than in the words of our Saviour Mat. 10. 33. Whosoever shall deny me or be ashamed of my words before men him will I deny before my Father and his holy Angels How many Woes are crowded into this one sentence I will deny him It is to say no more a compendious expression of Hell an Eternity of torments comprized in a word Oh the ineffable horror that will seize the poor Sinner when he stands arraign'd before the Tribunal of Heaven When at the great Assize at the last day he shall see his very Advocate become his Accufer and hear his Sentence pronounced by his merciful Saviour the very hearing of it will be a kind of Hell and the Promulgation of the Punishment anticipate the Execution And now if I could give you a lively representation of the guilt and horror on the one hand and paint out eternal Wrath and Vengeance on the other I might then hope to shew you the condition of such a Sinner as shall be thus disowned and denied by his Saviour But alas this is not all we shall find more ingredients of horror in this Condemnation if we consider that Christ threatens to deny such a Sinner before his Father and the Holy Angels If there could be any room for comfort after the Sentence of Damnation it would be this of being executed in secret But it seems the Sinners folly must be laid open before God and his Holy Angels and all his baseness ript up before the whole World Christ will now in the presence of God the Father of Men and of Angels compare himself who was denied and the Cause for which he was denied together he will now parallel his infinite Merits with a Lust and lay Eternity in the ballance with a Trifle he will now propose that worthy price for which he was denied he will hold it up to open view he will call upon Men and Angels saying Behold that piece of dirt that windy applause that corruptible dower that poor transitory satisfaction for which I was dishonoured and my Truths disowned for which Life Eternity and God himself was scorned yea trampled on by this vile wretched Sinner Judge all the World whether what he despised in the other Life he deserves to enjoy in this How will the vile wretched Sinner then crawl forth and appear in all his filth He will then call in vain upon the