of waiting For waiting enlargeth the capacity and desires of the soule to receive more it commendeth the happinesse afterwards And therefore God keepeth the best for the last because he will never interrupt the happinesse of his children when they be in heaven there is a banishment of all cause of sorrow Hee will have a distinction between the Church-militant and Triumphant He will traine up his children here before he bringeth them to heaven he will perfume his Spouse and make her fit for an everlasting communion with him in heaven The third thing is that as there be promises and these promises are not presently fulfilled which put us in a state of waiting so God giveth grace to uphold in waiting Waiting is not an empty time to wait so long and no grace in the meane time but waiting is a fitting time for that we are to receive afterwards We see in nature In the winter which is a dull time to the spring and harvest and the times are very cold yet it ripens and mellowes the soile and fits it for the spring There is a great promotion of harvest in winter it is not a meere distance of time so between the promise and heaven it selfe it is not a meere waiting time and there is an end but it is a time which is taken up by the spirit of God in preparing the heart in subduing all base lusts and in taking us off from our selves and whatsoever is contrary to heaven The time is filled up with a great deale of that which fits us for glory in heaven The gracious God that fits us for heaven and heaven for us fits us with all graces necessary for that condition As faith to beleeve patience to wait for and to depend on that which he seeth not to be above sence a grace of hope to wait for that which he believeth to be an anchor to his soule in all conditions whatsoever And then a grace of patience to wait meekly all the while And then long-suffering patience lengthened out As the tediousnesse is long between us and heaven so there be lengthening graces We would have all presently How long Lord how long We are so short even David and others and therefore God giveth grace to hold out and lengthen our spirituall faith and hope and perseverance and constant courage to encounter with all difficulties in the way When the spirit of a man beholds heaven and happines and God it makes him constant in some sort as the things he beholdeth for the spirit transformeth him to the object Now he beholds a constant Covenant And as faith looks upon a constant God constant happinesse and constant promises it frameth the soule suitable to the excellency of the object it layeth hold upon And then the spirit of God in the way to heaven subdueth all evill murmurings and exceptions in suffering us not to put forth our hands to any iniquity though we have not what we would have he keeps us in a good and fruitfull way for to wait is not only to endure but to endure in a good course fitting us for happinesse till grace end in glory In the fourth place God will performe all his promises in time As the Church saith here This is the Lord we have waited for him Now he hath made good whatsoever he hath said To inlarge this point a little As there is a time of waiting so there will be a time when Gods people shall say Lee this is the Lord we have waited for him Why God is Jehovah a full and pregnant word a word of comfort and stay for the soule in this word Jehovah He is a God that giveth a being to all things and a being to his word and therefore what he saith he will make good He is Lord of his word Every mans word is as his nature and power and abilitie is the word of a man or the word of an honest man but being the word of a God he will make all good And then he will make all good because he is faithfull God he saith it and he will doe it you need no more reason then pitty to his people his bowels of compassion the hearts of people would faile if he should stay too long And therefore out of his bowels in his time which is the best time not only because he is faithfull but because he is loving and pittifull he will make good all his promises And then he will doe it for what is grace but an earnest of that fulnesse we shall have in heaven What is peace here but an earnest of that peace in heaven And what is joy here but an earnest of fulnesse of joy for evermore And wil God lose his earnest Therfore we shall enjoy what God hath promised and we expect because we have the earnest It is not a pledge only for a pledge may be taken away but an earnest which is never taken away but is made up in the full bargain Grace is made up in glory as beginnings are made up with perfection Where God layeth a foundation he will perfect it Where God giveth the first fruits he will give the harvest But it will be a long time before because he will exercise all grace to the uttermost You see how Abraham was brought to the last In the mountaine God provideth for a sacrifice when the knife was ready to seise on Isaacks throat We should answer with our faith Gods dealing that is if God deferre let us wait yea wait to the uttermost wait to death He is our God to death and in death and for ever If God performe his promise at the worst then till we are at the lowest we must wait And therefore one character of a child of God from others is this Give me the present saith the carnall beastly man the world but Gods people are content to wait he knoweth what he hath in promise is better then what he hath in possession The gleanings of Gods people are better then the others harvest The other cannot wait but must have present payment Gods child can wait for he liveth by faith And therefore we should learne patiently to wait for the performance of all Gods promises And to direct a little in that remember some rules which every man may gather to himselfe as Gods time is the best time Deus est optimus arbiter opportunitatis The best descerner of opportunities And in the mountain will God be seen Though he tarry long he will come and not tarry over-long and then all the strength of the enemy is with God Robur hostium apud Deum The strength of the enemy is in his hand he can suspend it when he pleaseth Then though God seemes to carry things by contrary wayes to that he promiseth which makes waiting so difficult yet he will bring things about at last He promiseth happinesse and there is nothing but misery he
midst of all their mirth of their mortality wich practise of the Heathens condemnes the ranting jollity of some loose professors in these times But here Christ serves in Deaths head as David the head of Goliah the head of a slaine and conquered death Our Sampson by his owne death hath destroied Death and hath thereby ransomed us from the hand of the grave and hath redeemed us from Death and the slavish feare of it All which is at large handled in these following Sermons for thy comfort and joy that thou maist triumph in his love through whom thou art more than Conqueror 4. Because it is a merry heart that makes a continuall feast and that this feast might be a Gaudy-day indeed unto thy soule Christ doth here promise to wipe away all tears from off the faces of his people The Gospel hath comforts enough to make glad the hearts of the Saints and people of God the light of Gods countenance will refresh them with joy unspeakable and glorious in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death A truely godly person can weep for his sinnes though the world smile never so much upon him and though hee be never so much afflicted in the world yet hee can and will rejoyce in the God of his salvation In these Sermons thou hast this Gospel-promise sweetly opened and applyed wherein thou shalt finde directions when and for what to mourne and weep and the blessednesse of all true mourners whose sorrow shall be turned into joy 5. In these Sermons you shall further finde that though Jesus Christ respect his people highly and entertaine them bountifully yet they have but course usage in the world who are wont to revile them as fooles and madmen as seditious Rebels troublers of Israel proud and hypocriticall persons But blessed are they that doe not stumble at this stone of offence that weare the reproaches of Christ as their Crowne and by well doing put to silence the ignorance of foolish men for let the world load them with all their revilings yet the spirit of glory rests upon them and in due time he will rowle away their reproach and bring forth their judgement as the light and their righteousnesse as the noon-day 6. And because a Christian here hath more in hope than in hand more in reversion than in possession walkes by faith rather than sense and lives by the Word of God and not by bread alone Thou shalt have here Christian Reader a sweet Discourse of the precious promises of Christ which hee hath left us here to stay the stomack of the soule till wee come to that feast of feasts in heaven that by this glimpse wee might in part know the greatnesse of that glory which shall be revealed that the first fruits might be a pawne of the Harvest and the earnest of the Spirit a pledge of that full reward wee shall have in heaven where we shall be brim-full of those pleasures that are at Gods right hand for ever Christ hath given us promises to uphold our faith and hope till faith be perfected in fruition and hope end in vision till Jesus Christ who is here the object of our faith be the reward of our faith for ever 7. Now because the comfort of the promises is grounded in the faithfulnesse of him that hath promised This godly and learned man hath strongly asserted the Divine Authority of the holy Scriptures proving that they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that they are the very Word of God that they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worthy of all acceptation and beliefe for their owne sakes A truth very seasonable for these times to Antidote thee against the poysonfull errors of blasphemous Antiscripturists 8. Lastly because that God often takes a long day for performance of the promise thou shalt finde herein the Doctrine of waiting upon God excellently handled A duty which wee earnestly commend unto thy practice as suitable to these sad times Say Oh say with the Church In the way of thy judgements Oh Lord we have waited for thee and with the Prophet I will wait upon the Lord that hideth his face from the house of Iacob and I will look for him And rest assured that none of the seed of Iacob shall seeke him in vaine he will not disappoint their hope nor make their faces ashamed that waite for him Thus we have given you a short prospect of the whole a briefe summe of that treasure which these Sermons containe Wee need say nothing of the Author his former labours sufficiently speak for him in the gates his memory is highly honoured amongst the godly-learned He that enjoyes the glory of heaven needs not the prayses of men upon earth If any should doubt of these Sermons as if they should not be truely his whose Name they beare let him but observe the stile and the excellent and spirituall matter herein contained and he will wee hope be fully satisfied Besides there are many Eare-witnesses yet living who can cleare them from any shadow of imposture They come forth without any Alteration save onely some repetitions which the Pulpit did well beare are here omitted The Lord make these and all other the labors of his Servants profitable to his Church And the Lord so destroy the vaile from off thy heart that thou maiest believe and by faith come to this Feast the joy and comfort whereof may swallow up all the slavish feare of death dry up thy teares and rowle away all reproach and the Lord give thee a waiting heart to stay thy soule upon the name of the Lord to believe his Word and his faithfull promises that in due time thou maist rejoyce in the God of thy salvation This is the earnest Prayer of London Apr. 19. 1650. ARTHVR JACKSON JAMES NALTON WILL TAYLOR AN Analyticall Table of the Princicipall Contents in these Sermons upon ISAIAH 26. 7 8 9. The TEXT Page Vers 6. ANd in this Mountain shal the Lord of Hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things a feast of wines on the Lees of fat things full of marrow of wines on the Lees well refined 1 V. 7. And he will destroy in this mountaine the face of the covering cast over all People and the vaile that is spread over all Nations 33 V. 8. He will swallow up death in victory and the Lord God will wipe away teares from off all faces and the rebuke of his people shall hee take away from off all the earth for the Lord hath spoken it 55 97. V. 9. And it shall be said in that day lo this is our God We have waited for him and he will save us This is the Lord we have waited for him we will be glad and rejoyce in his salvation 111 Coherence between the judgements threatned in the former Chapter and the comforts promised in this Chapter 1 2 The Text opened 3 The Church is an
God read it as the word of God A company of prophane wretches you shal have the scums and basest of the people that will discourse and to grace their Discourse they must have Scripture phrases but whose word is it it is the word of the great God Eglon was a Heathen King and yet when a Message came from God hee arose up and made obeysance Wee should never read the Word but with reverence considering whose book it is and that we must be judged by it another day If it be the word I beseech you consider what we say and know that God will make every part of it good there shall not a jot of it faile nothing of it shall miscarry God speaketh all these words And therefore if you be blasphemers you shall not carry it away guiltlesse God hath said it if you continue not to obey you are under Gods curse unlesse you repent you shall perish every threat God will make good you must repent and get into Christ else perish eternally God hath said it and we may confirme it in the unfolding and reading of it the time is comming for the execution of it and then God is peremptory Now God waiteth our leisure and intreateth us but if wee will not repent wee shall have that Arrow in our sides that will never be gotten out till we dye in hell whose sinnes are condemned in Scripture they are condemned by God and whom we shut heaven to by opening the Scriptures God will shut heaven to The opening of the Scriptures is the opening of heaven If the Scripture saith a man that liveth in such a sinne shall not be saved heaven shall be shut to him he is in a state of death he is strucken and remaineth in danger till he repenteth How many live in sins against Conscience that are under the guilt and danger of their sinnes they be wounded they be struck by the word there is a threat against their sinnes although it be not executed and they be as much in danger of eternall death as a condemned Traytor onely God suffers them to live that they may make their peace they have blessed times of visitation O make use of it it is the word of God and know that God will make every part of his word good in threats as well as in promises Take occasion from hence likewise to shame our selves for our infidelity in the promises when wee are in any disconsolate estate we are in Jobs case being in trouble the consolation of the Almighty seemed light to him These be the comforts of God When we come to comfort some though the sweet promises of the Gospell be opened yet they doe not consider them as being the word the consolations of the Almighty and therefore they seem light to them But it should not be so Consider they be the comforts of the word and therefore we should heare them with faith labour to affect them and shame our selves Is this Gods word that giveth this direction that giveth this comfort and shall I not regard it Is it the consolation of the Almighty and shall not I embrace it Therefore we should be ashamed not to be more affected with the heavenly sweet things promised of God than we are A man that refuseth heavenly Comforts to imbrace comforts below how should hee reflect upon himselfe with shame Hath God promised such things God that cannot lye and shall I lose my hope of all these glorious things for the enjoying of the pleasures of sin for a season I professe my selfe to be a Christian where is my faith where is my hope A man must acknowledge either I have no faith for if I had faith believing God speaking these excellent things I would not venture my losse of them to get the enjoyment of poor temporary things here for the good things promised in another world Labour therefore to bring mens hearts to believe the word and desire God to seale it to our soules that it is so I will give one direction Labour for the Spirit of God that writ the word that indited the word Beg of God to â—eale to our soules that it is the word and that he would sanctifie our hearts to be suitable to the word and never rest till wee can finde God by his Spirit seasoning our hearts so that the relish of our soules may suit to the relish of divine truths that when wee heare them we may relish the truth in them and may so feele the worke of Gods Spirit that we may bee able to say hee is our God And when we heare of any threatning we may tremble at it and any sinne discovered wee may hate it For unlesse wee by the Spirit of God have something wrought in us suitable to the word we shall never believe the word to bee the word And therefore pray the Lord by his Spirit to frame our hearts to be suitable to divine Truths and so frame them in our affections that we may find the word in our joy in our love in our patience that all may be seasoned with the word of God When there is a relish in the word and in the soule suitable to it then a man is a Christian indeed to purpose till then men will Apostatize turne Papist turne Atheist or any thing because there is a distance betweene the soule and the word the word is not ingraffed into the soule they doe not know the word to bee the word by arguments fetched from the word and therefore they fall from the power of the word But if we will not fall from divine truths get truth written in the heart and our hearts so seasoned by it and made so harmonious and suitable to it that we may imbrace it to death that we may live and dye in it To goe on In that day shall it be said loe this is our God we have waited for him Here is a gracious promise that shutteth up all spoken before He spake of great things before And now here is a promise of a day wherein hee will make all things promised good to the soule of every believing Christian In that day it shall be said this is our God wee have waited for him he will save us It is an excellent portion of Scripture to shew the gracious disposition that the Spirit of God will worke in all those that imbrace the gracious promises of God The time shall come when they shall say Loe this is our God wee have waited for him and now wee enjoy him The points considerable are these First of all by supposition that there bee glorious excellent things promised to the people of God Rich and precious promises of Feasting of taking away the vaile of conquest over death by victory of wiping away teares and removing rebukes great things if vve goe no farther than my Text. Secondly these have haâ— day vvhen they shall bee performed vvhich is not presently for
the end of a promise is to support the soule till the performance God doth not onely reserve great things for us in another vvorld but to comfort us in the vvay doth reach out to us Promises to comfort us till vvee come thither There is a time when he will performe them and not onely a time but there are likewise promises of performance at that time the promises of these great things shall be performed The next thing is that God will stirre up in his Children a disposition suitable That is the Grace of waiting As great things were promised before so the soule hath a grace fit for it Wee have waited for thee And as they wait for them while they are in performing so they shall enjoy them Wee have wayted for thee and wee will bee glad in thy salvation We shall so enjoy them that we shall joy in them Good things when they be enjoyed they bee joyed in Againe wee shall rejoyce in our salvation wee shall glory in our God After they bee a while exercised in waiting then commeth performance then they bee enjoyed and they bee enjoyed with joy in glorying in God For that is the issue of a Christian when hee hath what hee would enjoy when hee enjoyeth it with joy when the fruit of it is that God hath his glory and therefore the heart can rejoyce in his salvation Then there is a day as for the exercising of his people here by waiting So there is a day of performing promises In that day That is a day of all dayes When that day commeth then all Prophecies and Promises shall be accomplished to the uttermost But before that great day there is an intermediate performance of Promises assisted by waiting to drop comfort to us by degrees He reserveth not all to that day there be lesser dayes before that great day As at the first comming of Christ So at the overthrow of Antichrist the Conversion of the Jewes there will be much joy but that is not that day these dayes make way for that day VVhensoever Prophecies shall end in Performances then shall bee a day of joying and glorying in the God of our salvation for ever And therefore in the Revelations where this Scripture is cited Revelations 21. 4. is meant the Conversion of the Jewes and the glorious estate they shall enjoy before the end of the world We have waited for our God and now we enjoy him I but what saith the Church there Come Lord Iesus come quickly there is yet another come Lord till wee be in heaven So that though intermediate promises bee performed here yet there is another great day of the Lord to be performed which is specially meant here The last thing considerable in the words is the manner of expression They are expressed full of life and with repetition to make them sure and more certaine In that day it shall be said this is our God wee have waited for him he shall save us He bringeth them in speaking these words of affection Indeed when wee come to enjoy the performance of Gods gracious promises if we should live to see the fulnesse of the Gentiles come and Jewes called wee should speake of it againe and againe Affections are large and few expressions will not serve for large affections It will be no tautology to say This is our God wee have waited for him Beloved times are yet to come which may much affect the hearts of the Children of God Howsoever we may not live to see the performance of these things yet wee shall all live to see that day of Judgement and then we shall say This is our God wee have waited for him VVee now see God in the Promises and then wee shall see him face to face whom wee have waited for in the Promises and we shall see him in heaven for ever Loe this is our God we have waited for him VVhile we live here we are in state of waiting wee are under Promises and a condition under promises is a waiting condition a condition of performance is an enjoying condition VVe are in a waiting condition till our bodies be raised out of the grave for when vve dye vvee vvait for the resurrection of our bodies VVe may say as Jacob vvhen he vvas dying I have waited for thy salvation VVe are in a vvaiting condition till body and soule bee joyned together at the day of judgement for ever And therefore vve should labour to have those graces that are suitable for this condition The things vve vvait for are of so transcending excellency as glory to come that they cannot bee vvaited for but the spirit by the things vvaited for fitteth us to vvaite for them A man cannot vvait for glory of soule and body but the Spirit that raiseth up faith to believe and hope to vvait vvill purge and fit and prepare him for that glorious condition He that hath this hope purifieth himselfe as hee is pure Oh it is a quickning waiting and a purging waiting it is efficacious by the Spirit to fit and purifie his soule suitable to that glorious condition hee waits for Where that is not it is but a conceit a very slender apprehension of the glory to come will make men better He that hath hope of heaven and happinesse under glory it will make him suitable to the place hee looketh for THE Eighth Sermon ISAIAH 25. 8. He shall swallow up death in victory and the Lord God will wipe away teares from off all faces and the rebukes of his people shall he take away from off all the earth for the Lord hath spoken it And it shall be said in that day loe this is our God wee have waited for him and be will save us this is the Lord we have waited for him we will be glad and rejoyce in his salvation TO come closer to the particulars It shall be said in that day loe this is our God The mouth of the Lord hath spoken gracious things before hath promised a Feast and an excellent Feast Gods manner is first of all to give promises to his Church why his goodnesse commeth from his goodnesse his goodnesse of grace commeth from his goodnesse of nature He is good and doth good Now the same goodnesse of disposition which we call bounty that reserveth heaven and happinesse for us in another world the same goodnesse will not suffer us to be without all comfort in this world Because the knowledge and revelation of the glory to come hath much comfort in it Therefore in mercy he not only intendeth performance of glory but out of the same fountaine of goodnesse he intendeth to reveale whatsoever is good for his Church in the way to glory So that promises of good come from the same goodnesse of God by which he intendeth heaven For what moved God to come out of that hidden light that no man can come into and discover himselfe in his sonne The word in his promises to reveale his
minde to mankinde and make knowne what he will have us to doe and what he will doe to us but onely his goodnesse is the cause of all And therefore the end of promises in Gods intention is to comfort us in the way to heaven that we may have something to support us they are promissa quasi praemissa They are promises and premises and sent before the thing it selfe Now here it commeth that the glory to come is tearmed the joy of heaven and the glorious estate to come You have need of patience that you may get the promises heaven and happinesse is called the promises because we have them assured in promises The blessings of the New Testament are called promises as the children of the promise yea the heires of glory because all is conveyed by a promise therefore all happinesse is conveyed by a promise Now the promises are of good things They are for the spring of them free from Gods free goodnesse for the measure of them full for the truth of them constant even as God himselfe that promiseth And therefore wee may well build upon them Before I goe any farther I beseech you let us account the promises of the good we have to be our best treasure our best portion our best riches for they be called precious promises not onely because they be precious in themselves but because they are from the precious love of God in Christ to us They are likewise for precious things they are laid hold of by precious faith as the Scripture calleth them and therefore they are precious promises Let us not onely account of our riches that wee have for what is that we have to what wee speak of to that wee have in promise A Christian is rich in reversion rich in bills and obligations Christ hath bound himselfe to him and he can sue him out when he pleaseth In all kinds of necessitie he can sue God for good hee can goe to God and say Remember thy promise Lord wherein thou hast caused me thy servant to trust and can binde God with his own word But I take this onely in passage as the foundation of what I am to speak From the mouth of God you see the great promises delivered and now we have waited for them That which answereth promises is expectation and waiting The second thing therefore between the promises wherein God is a debter and the performance is that there is a long time a long day oftentimes God takes a long day for performing of his promise as 400 yeares Abrahams posterity went to be in Egypt And it was 4000 yeares from the beginning of the world till the comming of Christ which was the promise of promises the promise of the seed a great long day And therefore Christ is said to come in the latter end of the world Abraham had promise of a sonne but it was not performed till he was an old man Symeon had a promise to see Christ in the flesh but hee was an old man ready to yeeld up the ghost before it was performed God taketh a long day for his promises long to us not to him for to him a 1000 yeares are but as one day The promises of God are long in performing for to exercise our faith and our dependance to the full to take us off from the creature and to indeare the things promised to us to set the greater price upon them when we have them Many other reasons my be given if I intended to inlarge my selfe in that point A Christian hath a title to heaven as soon as he is a Christian he is an heire to heaven perhaps he may live here twenty or fourty yeares more before God takes him up to glory why doth he defer it so long The reason is God will fit us for heaven by little and little and will perfume us as Esther was perfumed before she must come to Ahasuerus there were many weekes and moneths of perfuming So God will sweeten and fit us for heaven and happinesse It is a holy place God a holy God Christ is that holy one and for us to have everlasting communion with God and Christ in so holy a place requireth a great preparation And God by deferring it so long will mortifie our affections by little and little and will have us die to all base things here in affection before we die indeed David had title to the Kingdom as soone as ever he was anointed but David was fitted to be an excellent King indeed by deferring the performance of the promise till afterward So in our right and title and possession of heaven there is a long time betweenl Our Saviour Christ was 34 yeers before he was taken up to heaven because hee was to worke our salvation And he was willing to suspend his glory for such a time that he might doe it to suspend his glory due to him from the first moment of his conception For by vertue of the union glory was due to him at the first but because he had taken upon him to be a Mediator out of love hee would suspend his glory due to him that he might suffer And so God by way of conformity will suspend the glory due to us that we may be conformed to Christ Though wee have right to heaven as soon as wee are borne yet God will suspend the full performance of it because he will by correction and by length of time subdue by little and little that which maketh us unconformable to our head And can we complaine for any deferring of heaven when wee are but conformed to our glorious head who was content to be without heaven so long But to goe on As there be gracious and rich promises and they have long time of performance to us and hope deferred makes the soule languish So God vouchsafeth a spirit to fit that expectation of his a spirit of hope and waiting And this waiting hath something perfect in it and something imperfect it is a mixt condition There is good because there is a promise for a promise is the declaration of Gods wil concerning good But because it is a promise of a thing not performed there is an imperfection So there is a mixture in the promise and a mixture in the grace hope and expectation and waiting is an imperfect grace That there be glorious things it is perfection of good that we have them not in possession that is the imperfection So that hope is somthing but it is not possessed a promise is something but it is not the performance A seed is somthing but it is not the plant Thus God mixeth our condition here of perfection and imperfection hee will have us in state of imperfection that wee may not thinke our selves at home in our Countrey when wee are but in our way Therefore he will have us in a state of imperfection that wee may long
consistent 88 Wee must justifie God in all 25 K. KNOVVLEDGE True knowledge is transforming 52 Desires to know more 51 Practise what wee know 49 L. LIGHT Naturall men want light 36 Naturally their light without heat 39 M. Majestie of the Scriptures 101 Christ compared to Manna 13 Religion makes not melancholy 26 Why Christians are melancholy 26 Christians have a mixture here 82 Church compared to a Mountaine 4 Mysteriousnesse of Scriptures 101 P. Plenty at the Gospell-feast 11 Preparation for this feast 16 Wee must purge the soule of sinne 16 Practise of what we know 49 Of Gods promises and their performance 107 Promises free and full 112 Promises long before performed why 113 114 Promises shall bee surely performed 121 152 Time of performance in Gods hand 152 Gods time best of performmance 154 Reason of Gods performance 152 R. Of the Rebukes of Gods people 89 Christ and his Members subject unto Reproaches 90 Christ will rowle away Reproach 93 How to carry our selves under Reproach 94 15 How wee must Relish the Word 22 Scriptures may bee proved to be the word of God by Reason 103 Christ a Rock 14 S. Sacrament of Lords Supper a feast 15 Sense of sinne 17 Soule hath her senses 21 Men naturally want sight 36 We must not judge by sight 79 Scandals against Religion 92 Holy Scriptures Word of God 99 Are supreame Iudge 100 Searching power of the Word 102 Spirit indited and interprets the Word 106 Sinne greatest cause of Sorrow 85 No Sorrow in heaven 84 Comfort in Sufferings 81 Naturall men see not things spiritually 38 Spirituall things are mysterious 35 36 Church excellent society 3 Wee must walke in the strength of Spirituall Refreshment 23 T. Of spirituall Taste 22 Wee have but a Taste here of what wee shall have hereafter 115 TEARES vide WEEP God will wipe away Tears 77 78 Signes of right Teares 86 87 88 Thankfulnesse to God for removing vaile 25 for Christs Conquest over Death 62 for accomplishment of promises 156 Gods Time of performance set best 154 Types of the Gospel 12 13 14 15 V. A Vaile over mens hearts 35 Unbeliefe is that Vaile 40 God onely can take away the Vaile 42 43 Meanes to have the Vaile removed 46 47 There is variety in Christ 10 Unbeliefe in every sinne 41 Christs victory over death 55 57 W. Of WAITING Our duty to waite upon God 115 It s hard to wait on God 118 Waiting overcomes all 119 120 Many graces exercised in waiting 116 117 Why God will have us to wait 150 151 Incouragements to waite 153 154. Good men apt to weepe 72 73 74 75 Though wee cannot weep yet wee must mourne 86 Spirit witnesses that the holy Scripture is Gods Word 101 Gods Word is to bee heard as the Word of God 104 God will make all his VVord good 16 FINIS The principal subjects handled in these Sermons 1. Of the Marriage-feast between Christ his Church Prov. 9. 2. Matth. 22. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isai 55. 1. Rev. 22. 17. Gen. 49. 20. Super omnia vultus accessére boni 2. Of the vail of ignorance and unbeliefe and the removall of it 3. Of Christs conquest over Death Heb. 2. 14 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hos 13. 14. 4. Of the Christians teares and the wiping them away 5. Of the Rebukes and Reproaches of Gods people and the taking of them away 6. Of the Promises 7. Of the holy Scriptures and the divine Authority of them 8. waiting upon God Isai 26. 8. Isai 8. 17. The connexion of the Text. 1 Observ The Church the most excellent of all societies The Church built upon the strongest foundation 2 Obs Of the visibility of the Church The Mountaine is the Church God makes a Feast for his people The Lord of Hoasts the founder of the Feast This Feast is for all people Christ the chiefe dish in the Feast Why Christ with his benefits is compared to a Feast 1. Because the favours we have by Christ are choice ones 2. There is variety of favours in Christ Christ like the Indian plant Coquus good for all things 3. There is sufficiency and fulnesse in Christ 4. As a Feast for many so Christ is a feast for the community of Saints 5. Because we have the glorious attire of Christ as men put on choice garments at Feasts 6. Because he was resembled by the Paschal Lambe which was choosen foure daies before out of the flock 2. By Manna to which Christ answers in many particulars Surely those that are spirituall taste Christ 3. By the rock in the wildernesse 4. By all the Jewish festivalls 5. By the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Use Be prepared for this Feast 1. Labour for large hearts to receive much 2. Labour for spirituall appetite First means to get appetite soure herbes sense of sin and misery Second Means Third Means Fourth Means Acquaintance with those that are good Fifth Means We know not how long wee have to live Wee should hold out against hunger to come â—… 3. Get a spirituall disposition of soul to heavenly things The soule hath her senses Two things in spirituall tast Vse 4. Wee must labour for a digestion of spirituall things Vse 5. Wee must walk in the strength of spirituall favour Consequents of this Feast is spirituall chearfulnesse 2. Thankfulnesse 3. Justifie the waies of God against carnall slanders Object Religious people are melancholy Answ It s because they are not more religious A man may be ignorant of his comforts A Christian at the worst is happier then a worldling at the best Labour to partake of this Feast All invited We are sure to perish without Christ Honour God by taking alotted comforts The Spirit of God must work us to a relish of spirituall things We must bring something to the Feast though not of our owne Wee must bring empty soules and a spirit of Faith and a spirit of Love The services of this Feast Obs There is a vail over all mens spirits by nature A two-fold vaile 1. Of the things themselves 2 Of the souls not seeing or not beleeving 3 There must be a light to make things visible All things in religion are mysterious 1. There 's a vaile of ignorance on all naturall men Naturall men know not spirituall things in their proper species A godly man sees spirituall things intritively The light of the godly is a light with influence the light of the wicked is without it Simile Simile Simile There is a vaile of unbeliefe over the unregenerate Ignorance and unbeliefe act in all sinnes 2. Obser God only can take off the vaile of ignorance and unbeliefe Reas Because of the unsuitablenes between the soule and spirituall things Foure things required in sight Foure degrees of discerning things Reas 2. Reas 3. And a disproportion also Reas 4. No creature Angels or men can bring light into the soule 3 Obs It s peculiar to the Church to have the vaile taken away It s
excellent society 3 Is a Mountaine 1. Hath strong foundations 4 2. Is in some measure visible ib. Of the Marriage feast between Christ and his Church 5 The Lord of Hosts is the founder of this feast 6 Some of all sorts invited to this feast 1. Iewes 2. Gentiles 7 Christ is the chief dish and greatest chear at this feast 8 Christ and his benefits fitly compared to a feast 8 1. Because all we have in Christ is of the best things 8 2. Much variety in Christ 9 3. Fulnesse and sufficiency is to be had in Christ 10 4. Because there is much company here 11 5. There is rich attire worne at this feast 12 This Gospel-feast was typed out 1. By the Paschall Lamb. 12 2. By Manna 12 3. By the Rock 14 4. By the Jewish festivall 15 A comparison between Christ and Manna 13 The sacrament of the Lords super is this feast specially 15 We ought to be prepared for this feast 1. Get large hearts 16 2. Spirituall appetite 16 Means to get spirituall appetite to this feast 17 1. Sense of sinne 17 2. Purge the soule from sinfull corruptions 18 3. Spirituall exercise and activenesse for God 19 4. Holy company 20 5. Consideration of the danger of Spiritual famine 20 We must get a spirituall taste and spirituall sences 21 1. To relish what is good 22 To disrelish and reject what is evill 22 We must get a spirituall Digestion 23 and wait in the strength of this heavenly feast 23 Consequents of the Gospel-feast are 24 1. Chearfulnesse 25 2. Thankfulnesse 25 3. Iustifying of the wayes of God and Religion 25 Religion doth not make people melancholy 26 A Christian at his worst condition is better than a worldlings best 27 We must labour to have a part and portion at this feast and to honour Gods bounty 28 29 We must bring empty soules unto this feast 32 Connexion between the sixth and seventh verst 33 Of the Vaile that is over mens hearts 35 All men naturally have such a Vaile 35 There is a Vaile over spirituall things for they are hid 35 36. Naturall men 1. Want spirituall sight 36 light 36 2. Are ignorant 3. See not spirituall things spiritually 38 4. Have light without heat 39 5. Are unbelievers 40 Ignorance and unbeliefe acts in every sinne 41 God onely can take away this vaile 42 Men nor Angels cannot remove it 42 43 44 Onely Gods people have this vaile removed 44 Where this vaile is removed there is a Feast 45 We ought to use meanes to have this vaile taken off 46 47 1. By attending upon Ordinances 48 2. By practising what we know 49 3. By praying unto God 50 When the vaile is taken off from the heart then 1. A Christian will wonder at the things of faith 51 2. Desire more and more to know them 51 3. This vaile hath been removed by the Word 51 4. A Christians knowledge is a transforming knowledge 52 Of Death and Christs victory over Death 55 Death is 1. The King of Feares 56 2. Spares none 56 3. Is let in by sinne 56 4. Is attended on by Hell 56 Christ swallowes up death in victory 1. By satisfying for sin 57 2. By his suffering death 59 60 We ought to believe that death is conquered to us 60 We ought to be one with Christ crucified 61 70 We must be thankfull unto God 1. For victory over death 62 2. For benefits by death 62 The slavish feare of Death is unbecomming a Christian 62 63 67. Death is conquered to a Beleever though he die 63 64 Death is terrible to wicked men 64 Duellists foolishly out-brave death 65 Death to Gods children not onely a conquered enemy but is made a friend 66 c. Of Christians Teares 72 Good men are apt to weep 1. For sinne of others 74 75 2. Miseries of others 74 75 We ought to weep 74 and yet to rejoyce 76 God will wipe away all teares 77 78 God is a God of tender mercy 79 Christians are not to bee judged by appearance and by their sufferings 81 Christians have a mixt condition and a mixt disposition 82 There was no sorrow in Paradise and shall be none in heaven 84 Sinne is the greatest cause of sorrow 85 Mourning accepted from them that cannot weep 86 Then a Christians teares are right when 1. They spring from the love of God 86 2. When we weep for our owne sinnes 87 3. When they are secret 87 4. When they are reforming 88 Of the Rebukes and reproaches of Gods people 89 Christ and his members subject unto reproaches 89 90 Wicked reproach the godly from the enmity of 2 seeds 91 Wee must not be scandalls to Religion nor scandalized at the reproaches of it 92 Christ will take away reproaches from his people and will vindicate them 93 Directions how to carry our selves under Reproaches 94 1. Be patient 94 2. Innocent 94 3. Couragious 95 4. Sincere 95 5. Pray much to God 95 6. Rejoyce and glory in them 96 Of the Holy Scriptures 99 God is the Author of them 99 The scriptures sole supreme judge of controversies 100 The Scriptures may be knowne to be Gods VVord by 1. The Majesty of them 101 2. Their mysteriousnesse 101 3. From Reason 103 4. From Experience 101 5. From the witnesse of the Spirit 102 6. From their efficacy 101 1. In warning the soule 101 2. Changing the soule 101 3. Casting down the soule 101 4. Searching the soule 102 5. And comforting the soule The holy Scriptures are and have been preserved from Corruption 103 VVe ought to heare the word as the word of God 104 God will make good all his promises if we believe 105 We must pray for the Spirit that indited the Scriptures that so we may relish them 106 Of Gods Promises and the performance of them 107 to 112 Gods Promises are full and free and spring from his bounty and are our greatest treasure 111 112. We ought to be ashamed of infidelity in Gods promises 105 It is somtimes long between the promise performāce 113 1. To exercise our faith 113 2. To waine us from creatures 113 3. To indeare the things promised 114 4. And to fit us for the enjoyment 114 Of Waiting upon God 115 We have but a tast here of what we shall have hereaft 115 Waiting carries with it all other graces 116 1. Patience 117 2. Long-suffering 117 3. Contentment 118 4. Silence from murmuring 118 5. Watchfulnesse 118 6. Faithfulnesse 118 Want of waiting cause of much wickednesse 119 All is overcome with waiting 120 God will perform his word to all true waiters 121 152 God keeps the time of performance in his own hands 121 God fully performes his promises in heaven 122 123 124 The things hoped for uphold the heart in waiting 125 God will have his people continue waiting 150 1. That we may live by faith and not by sight 150 2. VVhen we are fitted for what is promised wee
shall then enjoy it 151 3. God will have us have the best at last 251 As there is a time of our waiting so there will be a time of Gods performance 152 The present grace wee have is an earnest of what wee shall have 152 Incouragements to wait upon God 153 1. Gods time is best and it is set 154 2. God will effect the thing promised though by contraries 154 VVhat we should doe when God hath performed promise 1. Be thankefull to the Lord. 156 2. Be joyfull in the Lord. 158 159 Interest in God is the cause of all our joy 160 161 162 THE Marriage Feast BETWEEN CHRIST and his CHURCH ISAIAH 25. 6. In this Mountaine shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all people a Feast of fat things a Feast of Wines on the Lees of fat things full of Marrow of Wine on the Lees well refined IN the former Chapter the holy Prophet having spoken of the miseries and desolation of the Church in many heavy sad and dolefull expressions as the Vine languisheth the earth is defiled under the Inhabitants thereof because they have transgressed the Lawes changed the Ordinance and broken the everlasting Covenant therefore the earth shall be accursed and they that dwell therein shall not drink Wine with a Song c. Here you see all sweetnesse and rejoycing of heart is departed from them yet even in the middest of all these miseries God the God of comforts makes sweet and gracious promises to his Church to raise it out of its mournfull estate and condition And therefore the Prophet in the former part of this Chapter speakes of blessing God for the destruction of his Enemies and for his great love to his Church And when he had spoken of the ruine of the enemie hee presently breaks out with Thanksgiving breathing forth abundant praises to his God as it is the custome of holy men guided by the motion of the blessed Spirit of God upon all occasions but especially for benefits to his Church to praise his Name not out of ill affection at the destruction of the Adversaries but at the execution of Divine Justice for the fulfilling of the truth of his promise as in the first Verse of this Chapter O Lord thou art my God I will exalt thee I will praise thy name for thou hast done wonderfull things thy Counsels of old are faithfulnesse and truth When the things that were promised of old were brought to passe the Church was ever ready to give God the glory of his Truth Therefore rejoyce not when thine enemies fall but when the enemies of the Lord are brought to desolation then we may nay we ought to sing Hallelujah to him that liveth for ever and ever I will now fall upon the very words of my Text. In this mountaine shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all people a Feast of fat things c. These words they are Propheticall and cannot have a perfect performance all at once but they shall be performed gradually The promise of a new heaven and a new earth shall be performed The conversion of the Jewes and the bringing in of the fulnesse of the Gentiles shall gradually be brought to passe All the Promises that ever God hath made before the second comming of Christ to Judgement shall be accomplished God hath made his peace with us in the Gospell of peace and when all these Promises shall be fulfilled then all imperfection shall be done away and wee shall never be removed from our Rock but our joy shall then be full nay even in this life we have some degrees of perfection we have grace and the meanes of grace the Ordinances of Christ and a testimony of everlasting glory In this Mountaine will the Lord of Hosts make a Feast In these words yee have set downe a glorious and royall Feast and the place where this Feast is to be kept is Mount Syon the Feast-maker is the Lord of Hosts the parties invited are all people the issues of it and the provision for the Feast are fat things and wine of the best a Feast of the best of the best a Feast of the fat and of the Marrow a Feast of wine on the Lees well refined Here you may see that God doth veile heavenly things under earthly things and condiscends so low as to enter into the inward man by the outward man for our apprehensions are so weak and narrow that we cannot bee acquainted with spirituall things but by the inward working of the Spirit of the Almighty This mountaine is the place where this Feast is made even Mount Syon which is a type and figure of the Church called in Scripture the holy Mountaine for as Mountains are raised high above the earth so the Church of God is raised in excellency and dignity above all the sorts of man-kinde As much as men above Beasts so much is the Church raised above all men This Mountain is above all Mountaines the Mountaine of the Lord is above all other Mountaines whatsoever Thou O Mountaine shalt stand immoveable when all other Mountaines shall smoak if they are but touched this is the mountaine of Mountaines The Church of God is most excellent in glory and dignity as ye may see in the latter end of the former Chapter how the glory of the Church puts down all other glories whatsoever The Moon saith the Prophet shall be confounded and the Sunne ashamed when the Lord of Hosts shall reigne in Mount Sion and in Jerusalem and before his Ancients gloriously So that the brightnesse of the Church shall put downe the glory of the Sunne and of the Moon Thus you see the Church of God is a Mountaine Reas First Because God hath established it upon a stronger Foundation than all the world besides It is founded upon the goodnesse and power and truth of God Mountaines of Brasse and Iron are not so firme as this Mountaine For what sustains the Church but the Word of God And being built upon his Word and Truth it may very well be called a Mountaine for it shall bee as Mount Syon which shall never be removed it may be moved but never removed Thus in regard of the firmnesse and stability thereof it may rightly bee termed a Mountain Again we may here speak in some sort of the visibility of the Church but here will arise a quarrell for the Papists who when they hear of this Mount they presently allude it to their Church Their Church say they is a Mount so saith the Scripture I answer 1. Wee confesse in some sort their Church to be a Mount though not this Mount for Babylon is built on seven Hills but if this prove her a Church it is the Antichristian Church Secondly That the Catholick Protestantiall Church had alwayes a being though sometimes invisible The Apostle writing to the Romans exhorts them not to bee high-minded but feare for saith hee if God hath broken off the naturall branches perhaps
of the former Verse I will now speak of the next that followeth And I will destroy in this Mountaine the face of covering cast over all people and the vaile spread over all nations to swallow up death in victory the Lord will wipe away teares from all faces and the rebukes of his people shall be taken from the earth for the Lord hath spoken it These depend one upon another being the severall Services of the Feast He promiseth a Feast in the sixth Verse And what be the severall Services He will destroy in this mountaine this Church the face of covering cast over all people c. Hee will take away the vaile of Ignorance and unbeliefe that they may have speciall sight of heavenly things without which they cannot relish heavenly things they can take no joy at this Feast And then because there can be no Feast where there is the greatest enemy in force and power he swallowes up death in victorie Death keeps us in feare all our life time that that swalloweth up all Kings and Monarchs the terror of the World Death shall bee and is swallowed up by our head Christ and shall be swallowed up by us in victory In the meane time we are subject to many sorrowes which cause teares for teares are but drops that issue from that cloud of sorrow And sorrow we have alwayes in this world either from our sinnes or miseries or simpathy in teares of that kinde Well the time will come that teares shall bee wiped away and the cause of teares all sorrow for our owne sinnes for our own misery and for simpathizing with the times wherein we live Our time shall bee hereafter at the day of the resurrection when all teares shall be wiped from our eyes God will performe that office of a mother to wipe the childrens eyes or of a Nurse to take away all cause of grief whatsoever else it cannot be a perfect feast I but there is reproaches cast upon Religion and religious persons it goeth under a vaile of reproach and the best things are not seene in their owne colours nor the worst things they go under vizards here But the time will come that the rebukes of his people shall be taken away The good things as they are best so shall they be knowne to bee so And sinne and base courses as they are bad and as they are from Hell so they shall be knowne to be every thing shall appear in its owne colours things shall not goe masked any longer And what is the seal of all this The seal of it is The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it truth it selfe hath spoken it and therefore it must needs be Jehovah that can give a being to all things he hath said it Wee have heard why the Church is called a Mountaine He will destroy or swallow up as the word may signifie the face of covering or the covering of the face the vaile which is the covering of the face and particularly exprest in that terme alwayes the vaile that is spread over all Nations God will take away the spirituall vaile that covers the Soules of his people that is between them and divine truths It hath allusion to that of Exodus 34 about Moses when he came from the Mount he had a vaile for the people could not behold him hee had a glory put upon his face that they could not look upon him with a direct eye and therefore he was faine to put a vail upon his face to shew that the Jews could not see as Paul interprets it 2 Cor. 3. 15. To this day saith hee when Moses is read there is a vaile put upon their hearts they could not see that the Law was a Schoole-master to bring to Christ the Ceremoniall Law and the Morall Law God had a blessed end by the curse of it to bring them to Christ They rested in the vaile their sight was terminated in the vaile they could not see through to the end and scope of it Neverthelesse when they shall turne to the Lord the vaile shall be taken away From the words consider first of all that naturally there is a vaile of ignorance upon the soule Secondly God doth take away his vaile and God by his Spirit onely can doe it Thirdly that this is onely in his Church And where this vaile of ignorance is taken off there is feasting with God and spirituall joy and delight in the best order And where it is taken off there is none of it First of all by nature there is a vaile of covering over all mens spirits To understand this better let us unfold the termes of vaile a little There is a vaile either upon the things themselves that are to bee seen or upon the soule which should behold them The vaile of things themselves is when they be hidden altogether or in part when we know part and are ignorant of part And this vaile upon the things ariseth from the weak apprehension of them when they are not represented in cleare expressions but in obscurity of words or in types When we see them onely in types or obscure phrases which hideth sometime the sight of the thing it selfe The manner of Speech sometimes casteth a vaile on things for our Saviour Christ spake in Parables which were like the cloud darke on the one side light on the other darke towards the Egyptians light towards the Israelites So some expressions of Scripture have a light side that onely the godly see and a darke side that other men good wit as naturall men see not Againe there is a vaile upon the Soule and upon the Sight if the things be vailed or the sight vailed there is no sight Now the soule is vailed when we be ignorant and unbeleeving when we are ignorant of what is spoken and revealed or when we know the termes of it and yet beleeve it not Now this vaile of ignorance and unbeliefe continueth in all unregenerate men untill grace takes away the vaile Besides before a thing can be seene the object must not onely be made cleare and the eye-sight too but there must be Lumen deferens a light to carry the object to the eye If that be not wee cannot see As the Egyptians in the three dayes of darknesse had their eyes but there wanted light to represent the object And therefore they could not goe neare one to another it is the light and not sight if there be sight and no light to carry and convey the object we cannot say there is sight That which answereth to this vaile is the vaile of Scripture whereby heavenly things are set out by a mistery a mistery is when something is openly shewed and something hidden When something is concealed as in the Sacrament they be mysteries we see the bread we see the wine but under the bread and wine other things are intended the breaking of the body of Christ and the shedding of his
glory that rested upon him and expressed himselfe to be the servant of God He that takes away from our good report if we be good he addeth to our reward Our Saviour Christ saith as much Blessed are you when you be ill spoken of for great is your reward THE Seventh Sermon ISAIAH 25. 8. And the rebukes of his people shall he take away from all the earth For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it THis is a great promise and I pray you be comforted with it For of all grief that Gods people suffer in the world there is none greater than reproach disgrace and contumely Movemur contumeliis plus quam injuriis We are more moved with reproaches than injuries Injuries come from severall causes but disgrace from abundance of slighting No man but thinks himselfe worthy of respect from some or other Now slanders come from abundance of malice or else abundance of contempt and therefore nothing stickes so much as reproaches specially by reason of opinion and fancy that raiseth them over high Our Saviour Christ endured the Crosse and despised the shame That shame that vaine people cast upon Religion and the best things they despise that and make that a matter of patience They knew the Crosse would not be shaken off Persecution and Troubles must be endured and therefore they endured the Crosse and despised the shame Now to bear Crosses take the counsell of the Holy Apostles look up to him consider Christ and whatsoever disgrace in words or carriage wee shall endure we are sure though wee shall never know it till wee feele it by experience The spirit of glory shall rest upon us and rebuke shall be taken away Ere long there will be no glory in heaven and earth but the glory of Christ and of his Spouse for all the rest shall be in their owne place as it was said of Judas that he went to his place Their proper place is not to domineere but to be in hell and ere long they shall bee there Heaven is the proper element of the Saints that is the place of Christ the head And where should the body be but with the head where the Spouse but with the Husband I say this shall come to passe that all the wicked shall be in their place and all the godly in theirs with Christ and then shall the rebukes of Gods people be taken away A great matter and therefore it is sealed with a great confirmation The Lord Jehovah hath spoken it therfore it must and will be so The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it This is not in vaine added for the Lord knoweth well enough we need it to believe so great things that there is such a Feast provided And that there is such a victory over death our last enemy and that there will be such glory that all the glory shall bee Christs and his Spouses that the wicked that are now so insolent shall be cast into their proper place with the Devill by whose Spirit they are led They bee great matters and there is great disproportion between the present condition and that condition in heaven and infidelity being in the soule its hard to fasten such things on the soule that so great things should be done but they are no greater than God hath said and hee is able to make good his Word The Lord hath said it and when God hath said it heaven and earth cannot unsay it when heaven hath concluded it earth and hell cannot disanull it The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it That is truth it selfe hath spoken it that cannot lye A man may lye and be a man and an honest man too he may sometimes speak an untruth it taketh not away his nature But God who is pure truth unchangable truth truth it selfe cannot lye When we heare of great matters as matters of Christianity be great matters they be as large as the capacity of the soule and larger too And yet the soule is large in the understanding and affection too When wee heare of such large matters wee need a great faith to believe them Great faith needeth great grounds and therefore its good to have all the helps we can When we heare of great things promised great deliverances great glory to strengthen our faith remember God hath spoken them He knoweth our weaknesse our infirmity and therefore helps us with this prop The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Let us therefore remember those great things are promised in the word of God in the word of Jehovah that can make them all good that gives a being to all his promises He is being it selfe and gives being to whatsoever he saith he is able to doe it Set God and his power against all opposition whatsoever from the creature and all doubts that may arise from our owne unbeleeving hearts The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it But yee will say the Prophet Esay saith it whose words they were I answer Isaiah was the Pen-man God the mouth the head dictateth the hand writeth Christ the head dictates and his servant writeth So that holy men write as they were inspired by the holy Ghost a better spirit than their owne Why doe yee look on me saith Isaiah thinke not it is I that say it I am but a man like your selves but the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it VVee should not regard men nor the Ministerie of men but consider who speaks by men who sendeth them with what commission doe they come Ambassadors are not regarded for themselves but for them that send them And therefore Cornelius said well We are here in the presence of God to heare what thou wilt speake in the name of God Acts 10. 33. And so people should come with that reverend expression VVee are come in the presence of God the Father Sonne and Holy Ghost in the presence of the blessed Angells to heare what thou shalt say in the Name of God by the Spirit of God VVe are not to deal with men but with God And therefore he saith The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Hence may this question be easily answered VVhence hath the Scripture authority VVhy from it selfe it is the Word it carryeth its owne Letters testimoniall with it Shall God borrow Authority from men No the Authority the Word hath is from it selfe It hath a supreame authority from its selfe And wee may answer that question about the Judge of all controversies What is the supreame Judge the Word the Spirit of God in the Scriptures And who is above God It is a shamelesse ridiculous impudency of men that will take upon them to be Judges of Scripture as if man would get upon the Throne and as a Judge there Judge The Scriptures must judge all ere long yea that great Antichrist Now an ignorant man a simple man that perhaps never read Scriptures must judge of
all controversies yea that that is the Judge of all and of himselfe the Word which is from the very mouth of God You will aske me how shall I know it is the Word of God if the Church tells us not A Carrier sheweth us these bee Letters from such a man but when wee open the Letter and see the hand and seale we know them to be his The Church knowes the Word and explaneth it and when wee see and feele the efficacy of the Word in it selfe then we believe it to be the Word for there is that in the Word that sheweth it to bee the Word the Majesty that is in it the matter that is mysterious forgivenesse of sinnes through a mystery forgivenesse of sinne victory over death life everlasting in the world to come great matters which eye hath not seen nor eare heard nor entred into the heart of man If it had not been revealed it could not have entred into the heart of Angels It containeth such glorious transcending mysteries And then againe the Word to all them that belong to God hath the Spirit of God by which it passeth rightly accompanying it witnessing to the soule of man that it is so and by a divine efficacy it is mighty in operation What doth it in the heart It warmeth the heart upon the hearing and speaking and discoursing of it As when the Disciples went to Emaus It hath a heat of Spirit going with it to affect the heart with heavenly joy and delight it hath power going with it by the Spirit to raise joy unspeakable and glorious It hath a power to pacifie the soule amidst all troubles When nothing will still the soule the Spirit of God in the Word will doe it by its divine power Yea it will change a man from a beastly or devillish temper to a higher and happier estate as you have it Isaiah 11. 6 7 8 9. It makes Lions Lambs Leopards Kids And what is the ground of all In that very place the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. The knowledge of God reconciled is such a powerfull knowledge that it hath a transforming vertue to alter mens dispositions What was Paul before Conversion and Zaccheus Therefore it is the Word because it hath divine operation to heat the soul and raise the soule and change the soule and cast downe the soule as low in a manner as hell in sense of its owne miserie It will make a Foelix to tremble a man that it doth not effectually worke upon The Truths of it are so moving that it will make a carnall man to quake When Paul spake of judgement to come of giving account of all that is done in the flesh when a possibility of it was apprehended it made Foelix to quake It makes mountains levell and it fills up the valleyes The Word can raise up the soule when man is as low as hell and looketh for nothing but damnation the Spirit with the Word will fetch him from thence as the Jaylor Acts 16. there was little between him and hell What shall I doe to be saved Why believe in the Lord Jesus And with these words there went out an efficacy he believed and he afterward was full of joy The first Gospell ever preached in pardon was by God himselfe never was any creature so neare damnation as our first Father Adam cast from the greatest happinesse Miserrimum est fuisse faelicem for he that enjoyed before communion with God and his Angells having sinn'd and having conscience of his sinne considering his great parts and apprehension of the state he had beene in this must needs affect him deeply and being in this condition the promise of the seed of the VVoman to breake the Serpents head revived him There is a strange efficacy in the Gospell The Roman Empire was the greatest enemy that the Church ever had The ten Persecutions you see what they were and yet notwithstanding the VVord grew upon them and never rested the spreading of the Gospell and the Spirit with it till the Crosse got above the Crown as it did in the time of Constantine and so it continueth And must not this be a divine word which hath this efficacy to revive comfort change cast downe raise up againe search secrets search the heart to the bottome A poore Ideot that comes to heare the word of God when he heares the secrets of his heart laid open by the word he concludes certainly God is in you and you are Gods Ministers The word divideth betweene the marrow and the bone it arraigneth the heart before Gods Tribunall Seat Those that are saved it hath these effects in them that I have named And if you ask how they know whether the word be the Word A man may answer I have found it to be so raising me up comforting me and strengthening mee I had perished in my affliction if the word had not raised mee Principles are proved you know from experience for they have nothing above them There is no other Principle to prove the word but experience from the working of it How know you the light to be the light but by it selfe and that fire is hot but by it selfe Principles prove themselves onely by experience And this Principle is so proved by it selfe that there is no child of God but can say by experience that the word is the word If a man might goe to reason one might bring that which could not be easily answered for the satisfaction of an Atheist Let him but grant there is a God hee will grant one thing in Religion or another But let him grant there is a God and a Reasonable Creature then there must be a service a Religion and this service must bee according to some Rules prescribed for the superior will not be served as the inferior pleaseth he must discover what good the superior intendeth and what duties he expects this must be revealed in some word God and the Reasonable Creature and Religion make a necessity of a word and that must be the word we have or another and what word in the world is probable to bee the word but this You will say it may be corrupt The Jewes looked to the old Testament that it should not be corrupted for they knew every sillable in it and preserved every letter It is one part of their superstition and God blesseth that superstition to take away all such cavills For the New Testament the Jewes cared not for but Hereticks on their side watch over it that there should be no corruption they will so observe one another But what are these reasons to those which the soule of a gracious Christian knoweth by the operation of the Word upon the heart And therefore let us regard it as the word of God hear it as the word of
great day and of all the miseries that shall then be removed So there is a day when the Jewes shall be converted and the fulnesse of the Gentiles brought in and the man of sinne discovered and consumed by the breath of Christ And when the Church of God seeth them they may say Loe we have waited for the Lord and loe hee is come that we looked for is now fulfilled So that God reserveth not the fulfilling of all the promises to the great day of all dayes but even in this life hee will have a that day And it were very good for Christians in the passages of their lives to see how God answereth their prayers and delivereth them Let them doe as the Saints in the Old Testament that gave names to places where they saw God As Penuell hee shall see God and Abraham God will be seen in the Mount So Sampson and others they gave names to places where they had deliverance that they might be moved to bee thankfull A Christian taketh in all the comforts of this life to believe the things of the last great day Loe we have waited for him That shall be a time of sight and fruition of full power and full joy which is reserved for heaven then we shall say Loe behold this is the Lord. The more we see God here the more wee shall see him hereafter There be many wayes of seeing so as to say Loe this is the Lord. We may say from the poorest creature Loe this is the Lord here are beams of his Majesty in the works of his Justice and Mercy Loe here is the Lord. The Lord hath brought mighty things to passe the Lord is marvailous loving to this Children Behold and see the salvation of the Lord. We may say Loe here and see something of God in every creature no creature but hath something of God The things that have but meere being have something of God but the things that have life have more of God And so in some there is more in some lesse of God But in the Church of God specially wee may see his going in the Sanctuary Loe this God hath done for his Church And in the Sacraments we may say I have seen the Lord and felt the Lord in his Ordinance by his holy Spirit Wee doe all this before we come to see him in heaven but that is not meant specially We shall say Loe this is the Lord when we shall see him in heaven all sight here leadeth to that sight Faith hath a sight here but it is in the Word and Sacrament and so imperfect but the sight in heaven is immediate and perfect and therefore opposed to faith VVee live by faith and not by sight in heaven we shall live by sight not that we live not by sight here in some degree for the lesser sight leadeth to the greater sight But in comparison of sight in heaven there is no sight The Scripture speaketh of sight of God comparatively Moses saw God that is more than any other And Jacob saw God that is comparatively more than before but not fully and wholly VVee can apprehend him but not comprehend him as they say wee may see something of it but not wholly but in heaven we shall have another sight of God and then wee shall say Loe this is the God we have waited for wee shall see Christ face to face Beloved that is the sight indeed And if yee will aske me whether wee shall see God then or no Consider what I said before this is the God wee have waited for in obedience and fruitfully If we shall be ravished with the sight of God surely if we see him here we may see him there VVe see him with the eye of faith we see him in the Ordinance wee have some sight of God that the world hath not God discovereth himselfe to his children more than to the world And therefore they say thou revealest thy self to us not unto the world A Christian wonders that God should reveale his love and mercy and goodnesse to him more than to others And therefore if wee belong to God and shall see him hereafter wee must see him now as we may see him we must have some knowledge of him And if wee see God any way all things in the world will be thought of no request in comparison of the Communion of God in Christ As Isaiah 14. We have seen the Lord and what have wee to doe with Idols The soule that hath seene Christ growes in detestation of sinne and loatheth all things in comparison And then againe if we shall ever see God in glory in this glorious and triumphing manner This is the Lord This sight is a changing sight There is no sight of God but it changeth and alters to the likenesse of God When he calls to look up to him and he looks on us in favour and mercy The best fruit of his favour is grace of peace and joy for these be beames that issue from him grace as beames from the sunne But where-ever God lookes with any favour there is a conformity to Christ a gracious humble pittifull mercifull obedient disposition which is an earnest of the Spirit of Christ And there is a study of purity of a refined disposition from the pollutions of the world The pure in heart shall see God they that hope to see God for ever in heaven will study that purity that may dispose and fit them for heaven And there is such a gracious influence in it that they that hope for heaven the very hope must needs helpe to purifie them As there is grace suitable to waiting so there is an influence from the things hoped for to give vigor to all grace As all the graces of a Christian fit and inable him for heaven so hope of heaven yields life to all grace There is a mutuall influence into these things God vouchsafeth discovery of these glorious things to helpe us to wait to be patient and fruitfull and abundant in the work of the Lord. And the more wee wait fruitfully and patiently and silently the more wee see of heaven So that as in nature the seed bringeth the tree and the tree the seed so in the things of God one thing breeds another and that breeds that againe so that waiting and grace fit us for heaven and the thought of heaven puts life and vigor into all the graces that fit us for heaven What is our faith to those glorious things we shall see hereafter what is patience but for consideration of that what is hope but for the excellency of the object of hope And what were induring of troubles if something were not in heaven to make amends for all They help us to come to glory and the lively hopefull thoughts of those things animate and enliven all the graces that fit for heaven If ever we shall hereafter possesse heaven and say Loe this is he we have waited
for wee must see him here so as to undervalue all things to see him with a changing sight for the object of glory cannot bee revealed but it will stirre up a disposition suitable to glory if this bee not never hope for a sight of him in heaven And therefore let mee intreat and beseech you with the Apostle Paul to look to the end look to the maine chance that can come in this world and that shall come hereafter It is wisedome to looke to the end A man that buildeth an house will thinke of the end that is dwelling and habitation that he propoundeth We are for everlasting communion with God we are to be perfect as in grace so in glory Heaven is our element we rest not till then we are in motion till then that being our station Then thinke often of this never to rest in any intermediate Condition because we are in waiting till we come to that condition Let us so carry our selves that we may say this we waited for it is the glory wee expected It is our wisdome often to have the end of our lives in our eyes that wee may bee helped to waite patiently cheerefully and comfortably till the consummation come when all promises shall end in performance when all that is ill and imperfectly good shall bee removed a consumption of ill and a consummation of all good Oh have that day in our eyes that day of all dayes and the very thoughts of it will fit us for the day The thoughts of our end will fit and stirre us up to all meanes tending to that end Physicke is good if it tend to health The very thoughts of that prescribes order and meanes Wee read Seek the Kingdome of Heaven first and all other things shall bee added to you The thought of the end prescribes order to all meanes and it prescribes measure How to use the World as though I used it not for the thoughts of my end stirre mee up to use all courses suitable to that end And therefore the best wisedome in Christians is often to prefixe the end and to bee content in no grace nor comfort as it is in a way of imperfection but to look upon every grace every comfort every good as it tends to perfection David desired not to dwell in the House of God for ever because hee would terminate his desire in the house of God here but hee aimeth at Heaven And so when the Saints of God bound and terminate their desires and contentment it is with reference to the last day the rest of a Christian beyond which they cannot goe even communion with God himselfe THE Ninth Sermon ISAIAH 25. 9. And it shall be said in that day loe this is our God wee have waited for him and he will save us this is the Lord we have waited for him we will be glad and rejoyce in his salvation IN the worst age of the Church that the Church may not be swallowed up with fear in the worst times God doth prepare promises for his people It was the case of our blessed Saviour himself to his poore Disciples that they might not be overwhelmed with sorrow Therefore hee addeth Sacraments to Passeover and the New Testament to the Old and all to confirme faith knowing that our hearts are very subject to be danted The Lord promiseth here a feast of fat things and all things pertaining to a Feast the best of the best and removall of all that may hinder joy as taking away the vaile which hinders them from the sight of it And then death is swallowed up in victory as it is already in our head who is gloriously triumphing in heaven And then all teares shall be wiped from all faces There is a vicissitude of things they are now in a valley of teares but it will not be alwayes thus time shall come when all teares shall be wiped away and the cause of all teares are sorrow The rebukes of his people shall be taken away the scandall that lyeth upon the best things shall be taken away The worst things goe under a better representation and the best things under a vaile but one day as things are they shall be The God of truth will have truth to be cleare enough And all this is sealed up with the highest Authority that admits of no contradiction The Lord of Hosts hath spoken it We came the last day to these words Loe this is our God c. Wherein we may consider first of all That God hath left to his Church rich and precious promises such as is spoken of before A feast and removall of all hinderances whatsoever He not only vouchsafeth heaven when we dye and eternall happinesse but in this world in our way he vouchsafes precious promises to support our faith that we may begin heaven upon earth What these promises are we shewed the last day The second observation was in that Gods people are here in a state of expectation It shall be said loe we have waited for him We are in a condition of waiting while we live in this world because we are not at home our state requires waiting heaven requires setlednesse and rest There all appetites all desires shall be satiated to the full Our estate here is a passage to a better estate and waiting is a disposition fit for such a condition And in this there is good and imperfection good that we have something to wait for imperfection that we are to wait for it that we have it not in fruition and till we be in heaven we are in a state of waiting In the Revelations Come Lord Jesus come quickly there is a glorious state of a Church set forth but while all is done it hath not what it would have We cannot be in such a state in the world but there is place for a desire namely immediate and eternall communion with Christ in heaven And therefore it shall be said in that day loe this is our God we have waited for him I will adde a little to this state of waiting before I goe farther God will not have our condition presently perfect but have us continue in a state of waiting First of all it is his pleasure that we should live by faith and not by sight We have sence and feeling of many things he reserveth not all for heaven how many sweet refreshments have we in the way but the tenor of our life is by faith and not by sight God will have us in such a condition Again we are not fitted for sight of the glory to come here our vessels are not capable of that glory A few drops of that happinesse so overcame Peter in the transfiguration that he knew not himselfe God is so good to us that he would have us enjoy the best at the last the sweeter is heaven by how much the more difficult our way thither is Heaven is heaven and happinesse is happinesse after a long time
me yet my God still He is our God to death and hee is ours in heaven This is our God we will rejoyce in him And therefore well may we boast of God because in God is everlasting Salvation If we boasted in any thing else our boasting would determine with the thing it self but if we rejoyce in God we rejoyce in that which is of equall Continuance with our soules and goeth along with the soule to all eternity And therefore we should learne to rejoyce in God and and then we shall never be ashamed It is spoken here with a kind of exalting a kind of triumphing over all oppositions Loe this is our God Beloved this that God is our God and Christs is ours is the ground of rejoycing and of all happinesse All joy all comfort is founded upon this our interest in God and therefore we must make this good while we live here that God is our God and that we may doe so observe this Christ is called Emanuell God with us God in the second person is God-man and so God with us and the Father in Emanuell is God with us too So we are God the Fathers because we are his All things are yours saith the Apostle whether Paul or Apollo things present things to come why because you are Christs I but what if I be Christs Christ is Gods So we must be Christs and then we shall be Gods if Christ be ours God is ours for God is Emanuell in Christ Emanuell God is with us in Christ who is with us God is reconciled to us in God and man in our nature And therefore get by faith into Christ and get union and get communion by prayer open our souls to him entertaine his speeches to us by his word and spirit and blessed motions and open our spirits to him and so maintaine a blessed entercourse Make it good that God is our God by dayly acquaintance These speeches at the latter end are founded upon acquaintance before This is our God Grace and glory are knit together indissolubly If God be our God here he will be ours also in glory if not here not in glory There is a Communion with God here before communion with him in glory and therefore make it good that God be our God here first by union with him And then maintaine dayly acquaintance with him by seeing him with the eye of faith by speaking to him and hearing him speake to us by his spirit joyning in his ordinances And then he will owne us and be acquainted with us in heaven we shall say Loe this is our God We have had sweet acquaintance one with another He by his spirit with me I by my prayers with him Our Saviour Christ will not be without us in heaven we are part of his mysticall body and heaven were not heaven to Christ without us With reverence be it spoken we are the fullnesse of Christ as he is the fullnesse of his Church And if he should want us in some sort he were miserable he having fixed upon us as objects of his eternall love In what case were he if he should lose that object And therefore as we glory in him he gloryeth in us Who is this that cometh out of the wildernesse who his beloved And woman is this thy faith he admires the graces of the Church as the Church admires him This is the Lord. The Church cannot be without him nor he without the Church These words are spoken with a kind of admiration Loe this is the Lord we will rejoyce in him So I say as there is thanks and joy so their is admiration loe behold This is a God worthy beholding so he wonders at the graces of his Children Beloved there is nothing in the world worthy admiration Sapientis non est admirare It was a speech of the proud Philosopher A wise man will not admire for he knoweth the ground But in heaven the parts are lifted up so high that there is nothing but matter of admiration things that eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor hath entred into the heart of man to conceive of They be things beyond expression and nothing is fit for them but admiration at the great things vouchsafed to the Church And as with admiration so with invitation that is the nature of true thankfullnesse there is no envy in spirituall things no man envyeth another the light of the Scriptures but loe behold with admiration and invitation of all others This is the Lord. Let us therefore rejoyce beforehand at the glorious times to come both to our selves and to others be stiring and exciting one another to glory and rejoyce in God our salvation And therefore learne all to be stirred up from hence not to be offended with Christ or with Religion Be not offended saith Austin with the parvity of Religion Every thing to the eyes of the world is little in Religion A Christian is a despised person and the Church the meanest part of the world in regard of outward glory but consider with the littlenesse and basenesse and despisednesse of the Church the glory to come Time will come when we shall rejoyce and not onely see but boast with admiration to the stirring up of others Loe this is the Lord. And therefore say with our Saviour Christ happy is he that is not offended with me nor with Religion there is a time coming that will make amends for all Who in the world can say at the houre of death and day of judgment Loe this is my riches this my honours alas the greatest persons must stand naked to give account all must stand on even ground to hold up their hands at the great barre We may say to the carnall presumptuous man loe this is the man that put his confidence in his riches And none but reconciled Christians can say loe this is our God Therefore take heed of being offended with any thing in Religion Againe if time to come be so transcendently glorious let us not be affraid to dye let us not be over much cast downe for it shall end in glory And let us be in expectation still of good times waite for this blessed time to come and never be content with any condition so as to set up our rest here We may write upon every thing Hic non est requies vestra Our rest is behind these things are in passage And therefore rest content with nothing here Heaven is our centre our element our happinesse and every thing is contentedly happy and thriveth in its Element The birds in the aire the fish in in the sea beasts on the earth they rest there as in their center And that that is our place for ever it is heaven it is God The immediat injoying of God in heaven that is our rest our Element and we shall never rest till we be there And therefore he is befooled for it in the Gospell