SERMON V1.
Lord, who hath belicved out report? I nw namcd to you no book, no chapter, no verse, whcrc theso words are wrltten: but I ïorbore hot out of ïoretfuhmss, nor out of singularity, but out of perldexity rather, hecause theso words are written in more than one, in nmre than two places of the Bible. In your ordinary conversatiou, and couummicatiou with other mon, I ara sure you have all observed, that many mon haro certain forms of speech, certain interjections, certaiu suppletory phrases, whieh fall often upon their tongue, and which they repeat almost in every sentence; and, for the most part, impertinently; and tben, when that phrase conduces nothing to that whieh they would say, but rather disorders and discomposes tho sentence, and confounds, or troubles the hearer. And this, which some do out of slackness, and in observance, and infirnfity, many men, God knows, do out of impiety; many men have certain suppletory oatbs, with which tbcy fili up their discourse, when they are not only not the better believed, but the worse mderstood for thoso blasphemous interjections. Now this, which you may thus observe in men, sometimes out of itffirmity, sometimes out of impiety, out of an accommodation and commuuicableness of himself to man, out of desire, and a study, to shed himself the more fimfiliarly, and to infuse himself the more powerfully into man,)'ou may observe even in the Holy Ghost himself, in the Scriptures, which are the discourse and communication of God with man; therc are certain idioms, certain forms of speech, certain propositions, which the Holy Ghost repeats severai times, upon sereral occasions in the Scriptures. It is so in the instrumental authors of the particular books of the Bible; there are certain forms of speech, certain characters, upon which I would pronounce, that is Moses, and not David, that is Job, and hot Solomon, that is Esay and not Jeremiah. Hoxv often does Moses repeat his ririt Domimts, and eyo vivo, As the Lord lirtth, and as
BER. 'I.] ON THE NATIVITY. 107 [ lire, saith the Lord. How often dors Solomon repent hic eanitas aMtatum, !! anil? How often dors out blesoed Saviour repent his ame, amen? and, in another sense, than othem had used that word belote him so oen, as that you nmy rkon if thiy rimes in one evangelist; so often, as that that may hot ineonveniently be thought some reasou, why St. John cacd Christ by that naine, Amen, thus salth Amen, he ehose naine is AmenL H»w often does St. Paul, (espeeially in his epistles to Timothy, an,1 to Titu) repeat that phrase, TMs is a true anddthful t, yi»y? And how often, his juratory caution, b,fore the Lord; ets God is mit witne»s? And as it is thus for particular persons, and l,aicular phrases, that they are often repeated, so are there certain whde sentences, certain entire propositions, which the Holy {host does often repeat in the Scripturc. And, except we except that proposition, of which St. Peter makes his use, That God is no acceptt,r OE persom', (for flat is repeated in very many places, that every wheoe, upon every occasion, everv man might ho remembeoed of that, that (;od is no accepter of pcrsons; take heed how you presume upon your om knowledge, or 3ur actions, for God is no accepter of persons; take heed how you condcnm another man for an heretic, because he believes hot just as you believe; or for a repmbate, bause he lires hot just as you lire; for {od is no accepter of peroens; take beed how 3"ott rely rholly upon the outward means, that you are wrapped in the covenant, that you are bred in a rcformed chuh, for God is no accepter of persollS) except you will except this proposition, I scarce remember any other that is oe offert peated in the Scriptures, as this which is our text, Lord, who bath belieed out report? For, if is first in the prophet Esay. Theoe the prophct is in holy throes, and pangs, and alfies, till he be delirered of that pmphecy, the coming of the Messiah, the incarnation of Christ,lesus, and yet is put to this exclamation, Lord who bath beliered out rff»ort? AII«I then you bave these words in the Gospel of St. John ; where we are hot put un the conideration of a future Christ in propheey, but the evangelist exhibits Christ in person, actually, reaHy, visibly, evidently, doing great works, exeeuting great judgments, multi- Rev. . 14. e Ac x. 34. John . 3& plying great miracles; and vet put to the application of this exclamation, Lord, wo /at/ beliered tis report? And then you have these words also in St. Paul', where we do hot consider a prophecy of a flture Christ, nora history of a preseut Crist, but an application of that wh«»le Christ to cvery soul, in the scttling of a chul'ch, in that concatenation of means for the infusion of faith expressed in that chapter» sedi».,z, and l,r«ac/h.a, and urh.q; and vet for ail these powerful and falniliar assi.-:tances, Lord, w/w t)att) beliered t/at r, port? o that now beloved, you cannot sav that you bave a text without a place for you have three places for this text:)'ou lmve it in the great prophet, in Esay, iii the great evangelist, in St. John and in the great apostle, in St. Paul. And becausc in ail thrce places, the words minister usefid doctrine of edificatiom we shall, by yours and thc time's leavc, con.ider the words in all three places. hl al| thl'ec the words arc a sad and a serious expostulation of the minister of çod, with God hinlsel| that his means and his ordinances powelçully committed to llim, heing faithfully traitsmitted bv hiln to the peoi»le, were nevertheless fruitless, and inei fectual. I do, Lord as thou biddest me, savs the prophet Esav; I prophesy. ] fol'etell the coming of the Messiah, the incarlmtion of thy Soit tbr the salvation of the world, and I know that none of the]ll that hear Ine, Call imagine or cnceive any other way fbr the redemption of the worhl, by satisthction to thy ju.tice, but this, and)'et, Lord, t'ko katk beliered n!! report? I do, Lord, as thou biddest lne, savs Christ himself in St. John; I corne in persoit, I glorify thy nanle, I do thv will, I preach thy gospel, I confirm Iny doctrine with evident miracles, and I sea! those seals, I confirnt those miracles with my blood« and yet, Lord who latlt b«liered m!! report? I do Lord as thou biddest me, savs every one of us, who, as we have received mercy, have received the ministry; I obey the inward calling of the Spirit, I aecept the outward calling of the ehurch; furlfished, and established with both theoe, I corne into the world, I preach absolution of sins to every repentant soul, I offer the seals of reconciliation to every contrite spirit; and yet, Lord u'ho kath belietd ny rtTort? ]ndeed it is a sad contemplation, and must necessarily produce a
.v.R. vt.] o, rnF: xrvtrv. 109 serious and a vehement expostulation, when the predictions of I od's fitture judgments (so we shall final the case to bave been in the words in Esay) when rite execution of God's present judgments, (so we shall final the case to have been in the wort[s in St. John) when the ordinanees of Goal, for the relief of any soul, in any judgment, in his church, are no believed. T,» say I ],elieve you hot, amouuts to a lie; hot to believe God's warning before, hot to helieve God's preseut judgmeuts, hot to helieve tbat God hath established a way to corne to him in ail distresses, this is to give God the lie; and with this is the world charged in this text, Lord zt'ho bath beliered our report? First then, where we find these words first, the prophet reproaehes their unbelief amd lmrdness of heart in this, that they do aot believe fiture thln.,_,s, tture calamities, titure judgments; for that is intended in that place. For, though dais 53rd of ]saiah be the continuation, and the consummation ot" that doctrine whieh the prophet began to propose in the chapter immediately preeeding, which is, the comin of the Messiah (in general, the comfortablest doctrine that could he proposed) though this chapter be especially that place, upon whieh St. Hierome grounds tht culogy of Isaiah, that lsaiah was rather an evangelist than a prophet, because of his particular declaration of Christ in this chai,ter; though upon this chapter out expositors sometimes sa)', that as we cite the Gospel aecording to St. Matthew, and the Gosl,el according to St. John, so here we may say, the Go.pel according to the prophet Isaiah;)'et though this be a prophecy of the comimg of Christ, and so, the comtbrtable.t doctrine tlmt cm be proposed ia the general, anti la the end, and fruit of that coming, yet it is a prophecy of the exiuanition of Christ, of the evaeuation of Christ, of the inglorious and inominious estate, the calamitous, and contumelious estate of Chrig: their Messias they should have; but that Messias should be reputed a malefactor, anti as a malefactor crucified; which miseries, and ealamities being to fall upon him, for them, they ought to have been as sensible, and as much affected with those miseries to be endured tbr them, as if they had been to have fallen upon themselves. The later Jews
Il0 PRE,CHED ON C||RISTMAfl D,".'. [SEll. and their rabbins since the dispersion, do hOt, will hOt bclieve this pmphecy of miseries, and calamities to belong to their Messias. They do hOt, they will hOt believe, that which is said, Tere la no form, no baaut, no com,line in him, so that men should long for him belote, or desire to look upon him after, should bave any reference to their Messiah, whoIn they expect in ail outward spiendour and glory; nor that whieh is added there, That fie shall fie de.ied, and rected of , a man of orrou's, and acquainted with 9ri, should belong to him, in whoso proeeedings in this world, they look for eontinual vietorie and triumphs. But they wiH need understand these miserles, and ealamifie prophesied here, tobe those ealanities, and those miseries, whieh have fallen, and dwelt un their nation, ever sinee their dispersion after ChrisoE's death. Now let it be but sueh a propheey as that; take it either way; the Chfistian way, s ppheey of ealamities upon the Messiah for them; or the Jews' way, of ealanfities upon them for the Mesiah; still itis a ppheey of future ealamities, fiture judéments, of whieh they ought to have been sensible, and th whieh they ought to bave been affted, and vere not: and so that is their ehae, they did no believe the pphet's repoS, they were not moved with God's judments denouneed upon them, by those prophets. Now, this so heinous, not to believe prophet [ The office and thnetion of a pvl,het, in the rime of the law, wa hot so evident, nor so ordinary an oee, as tlle oee of the pfiest and minister of the gospel now is; there w hot a constant, an ordinary, a visible ealling in the ehnreh, to the oee of a prophet. Neither the hlgh-priest, nor the eeeleiastieal eonsistory, the synedrinm, did by any imposition of hands, or other collation, or deelaration, ve orders to any man, o that thereby that man w ruade a prophet. I know me men, of mueh indury, and pepieaey toe, in searehing into those Seàptures, the sense wheof is hot obvious to every man, bave thought that the prophets had an outward and a constant deelaration of their ealling. And they think it proved, by that whieh i aid to Efijah , when God eommands him to anoint Hazael, king of Syria, and to anoint Jehu king of Israel, and to anoint Elisha « er. 2. v I K xv 15.
swa. v[.J os rHz SArvITY. prophet in his own room: therefore, say they, tho prophet had as much ovidenco of his calling, the mini«ter hath, for that untion wgs as evident a thing, as out impofition of hands is. And it is true, it w so, whcre it w actua]]y, and rlly executed. But thon, nothing is moro evident, than that this word, MesMac, which sigmifies anoininy, that very action, a rem unction, but frequently transferred, and comnmnicated in a Scfipture use, to every kind of declaration of y election, any institution, any iuauguration, any investiture of any peon to any place; and less than that, of any appropriation, any application of anything to any particular u. Any al)pointing was un anointing; as in particular (tbr manv other places) xx-bere St. Hieromo reads, ArriTite clypeos', bucble your shields to flou, whieh was an alarm to them, m arm, the original hath it, and hath out translation, anobli your shidds; to apply them to their fight uoe, was ealled an anointing. And when God calls the king of Persia, unct«m suum, his anoint«d; it were weakly, and improperly argued fmm that word, that Cyrus was king of Persia, was literally, actually anointed; for that unctio was peculiar to the kings of Israel; but Cyrus was the anointed of the Lord, that is, declared and avowed hy the Lord, to be hic ehosen instrument. Neither could Elijah literally exeeute this nuuandment, for anointing Hsael king of,qria; for Hasael o king of tria could hot be anointed hy the pmphet of the Lord, for such unction was peculiar to the kings of lsael. And for e kin of lsrael themselves, their o rabbins tell us. that they wem hot ordinarily anointed, but only in those cases, where thero arose mo question, and difference, about the succession; as in Solomon's case, becauso Adonijah l,retended to the succession; to make ail the more sure, David preeded with a solemnity, and appoind an anoiutiug of Solomom which, OEherwise, say dmir rabbins, had hot heen done. But howsoever if may have been for their kings, thero seems fo bo plain distinction betwoen them, and the prophets in the Psahn °, for this ovideneo of unction; Touch hot mbw anointed, says God there: they, they that wero anointed, constitute one tank, one class; mad then tbllows, And do my TroThets no arm: Isninh xi. 5. t i. 1o Psa er. 15.
]]0 PIIE,çIED 0. çllP.ISTMA.q ri.t.v. [,q,q,l. vI. they, they who were hot anointed, the prophets, eonstitute another elass, another rank. o that then an internal, a spiritual, unetion the prophets had, that is, an application, an appropriation to t]mt office from God, but a constant, an cvk|cnt calling to that funetion, b.v any external act of the chureh, thev had hot, but it was an extraordinar.v office, and imposed fmmediately by God; and thefore the pple might seem the mooe excusable, if they did hot believe a prophet I»resently, bec,use the oce of the prophet did hot carry with it such a manitçstation by an)oEhing evidently donc up,,n him, and visible fo them. that by that, that man mu»t be a l,rol,het. But. as God clothes himself with light, as with a garment; so God clothes, and apl,arels his works with light too: tbr, savs St. Ambrose, (;od bath nmde creatures to no l,mose, if he had not ruade light to sec them bv. Theretboe when (;od does anv extraordinarv work, he aecompanies that work with au extraordinary light, bv whieh he tbr whose instruction God does that work, mav know that work to be his. So when he sent his l»rophets fo his people, he aecompanied their mission with an effectual light and e'idence, bv which that peol,le did aeknowle, lge in their own hem'ts, that that man was sent bv God to them. Thcretbre they called that man at first a seer, one whom the S a«knowledged to hare been admitted to the sight of I;od, in the dlm'ation of his will to them: fin" so we have it in Samuei, H that is now call«d a 1,rophet, it'as bbretlme called a seer ». And then that addition of the naine ot" a l»rophet, gave them a furthcr qualification; tbr, nabi, whieh is a pt'ophet, is from niba; and niba, i renire.tàclo, to cause fo make a thing to eome fo I»ass. So that a prophet was hOt only rçtàtor, but prqctor; IIe did hot only présag, but prrdain; that is, there was such au intMlibility, inevitableness in that whieh he had 8aid, as that his very saying of it, seemed to tm some kind of cause fo the aecomplishing thereof. For, hence it is, that we have that phrase so often in the New Testament, this and this was thus and thus donc. that such and 8uch a prophecy might be fulled; they never went to that heizht, that 8uch or such a sred purpo, or unvealed decree of God might be ffilled; but they rested in the declaration which God had ruade in his chuoeh, and i am. ix. 9.
were satisfied in tho execution of iris dccrees, in his vi.ible ordihantes. Therefi»re the incrcpation which the pr,l»het la-s upou the people hem, (Lord, wo ath b«lieed oto" rq, ort) is hot, that they did hot believe those prophe to b prophets, (for thouCh that were an extraordina- ofce, yet it was acccompanied tdth an extmordinary light) neither was it, that they did hot bdie'e that those things which wcre prophesied b-them, shouhl corne fo pass, (for they believed that man to be ro«h, a seer, one that had oeen the counsels of God concernmg" " dem; aud they hclict-ed him to be mbi, enire ;tri,'ntem, oue upon whose word they,night as infallibly rely, as upon a cause, tbr an effect;) but this was the sin ofthis people, this was the sorrow o" this prophet, that they did not belie'e these predictious to belong to them, they did hot believe that these judgm,eus would fidl ou in their rime. one word, psent security was their sin. And was tha so heinous] So heinous, as that tha is it, with which God was so highly ineenoed ', and with whieh he mean so deeply to afFec his people, in that considerable passage, lu that remarkable, and rehement place, whe,'e ho expostulates thus with thcm; II«ar, ye scoroEtd men, (ye that make a jest, a scorn of tk,ture judgnents) llear?le scortl men, t,«t rt& thls eol,&, (says God there) (you that hare a power over the affectims of the people in the pulpit, and can persuade what you will, or a power over the wills ot" thc people in your place, and can co, mnand what you will) tdl the» (says the prophet there) we ha«e ruade a coe»ant wlth deatA, a»d are at a ayreemet u'ith hell, (tar you nothing, let us alone; ambitions princes shall turn their frces another way, a,,tiehristian plots shall be practised in other nations)yott tant tell them (says he) wheu the oz'eflowinlt scotrffe shall Tass thro,tyh, it all hot corne to ffo«, (howsoever superstition be established in other 1)loees, howsoe'er prcvailing a,'mies be multiplied elsewhere, y you shall have your religion, and your peace still; tbr we have ruade a covenant with death, and with hell, we are at an agreement) Hear ye scoroEd men (says God)?lori that put this scor on my redictions, your corenant u'ith death shall be disaulled, and llo««r areement cith death sall hot stand , (the fait promises of others to you, your own promises to yourselv : Iaidt xxviii. 14. ta Iiah xxvii[. 18. VOL. I
]][4 PREACHED ON CHRIb-'TMAfil DAYo [SEI. VI'o shall deceive you) and the throu.ok you all,.for you, (you seorntl men) skall be trodden clown by it; and, (as it follows there, in an elegant, and a vehement expression) it skall be a ea'ation, only to uderstand tke report: you that would not believe the report of the prophet, that for these and these sins, sneh and such jnd.qnent should fall upon you, shall be conibunded even with the report, the noise, the news, how t]fis ove«,wlng scourge bath passed through your nei.,hbonrs round about you; how much more with the sense, when you yourselves.]]all be trodden dorn by it. There is scarce anv of the prophets, in which God does hot drive home t]is incrêpation of their s«.nrity, and insensibleness of future calamitiês. As in Isaiah, so in Ezekiel God says , lVhat s tkat ]»roerb «klch ye ka'e i tke /and of I.,'rad? (it wus, if seems, in every man's mouth, proverbially poken bv all) what was it. Thi.. The da!/o are prolo».qed, and ecer!/ vision failo ; the vision.,«hick ke s«!ls, is for man!/days to corne, and he prophesieth of the rimes afar «ff: But, (a3 God there) In your days, 0 rebellions kouse,,«ill I sa//the «ord, and perform it: not say it in our days, and perform it upon onr ehildren; but God will speak, and strike together, we shall hear him, and feel him at once, if we be not seriously aflëeted with his predietions. The sanie vay God goes in Jeremy, as in Isaiah, and in Ezekiel. I hare sent unto yot, all ny servants, tkê prophets , (says God thcre)God hath no other.servants, to thi. purpose, but his prol,hets: if your dangers bave been, by God's appointnient, preaehed to you. God hath done. You nmst hot, as Dives did in the behalf of his brethren, look fbr messengers from the state of the dead; you must hot stay for instruction, nor for amendment, till you be pro mortuis (as the apostle speaks) as good as dead, ready to die; you must hot stay till judgment fall, and then presume of understanding by that vexation, or of repentanee by that affliction; for, this is to hearken after messengers, from the st,te of the dead, to think of nothing till we be ready to joln with them; but as Abraham says there to I)ives, Th bretkren kae tke laz«, and theTroTh«t, and that is enough, that is all; so
God says here, I that is enough, that is all: especially, wheu, (as God adds there) He at riaen warning timo enoih, before the ea]amity eomo near out o gares. But when they rejected, and despised all his prophecies, and denunciations of future judents, theu fo]lows the sentence, the final, and fearfid ntenee, Te Lord atlt fomaken, and 'ected tem; thni; W]lOm As it fbllows iii the sentence, Tke Lo kat foraaken, and rected te eneratloz of the generation of ]ris wrath there is more horror, more consternation in that manner of expreing that reeion, thau in the rejeetion itse]f there is rot insupportable weight in that word, lI;a rath: but evcn that is infinite]y ag.eravated in the other, The yeneration f his u'roth. God hath forgot that Iroel son, and his fl;*t-born'°; so he avowed him fo be in Moses" commission fo Pharaoh. God hath foot that Ile rebuked for Ms sabe; that he testies to have dono iu his behalf, in David; God hath forgot that tht 'ere heirs accdinff to the promiset; that is their dignification in the apostle; fort that they wero the oTile " hls oen eye , that they were as the d:/net qon his dear son, that he is a l,leasi9 &ild, a ckild bou'ds n'ere troubled; God bath tbrgot all these paternities, all these filiations, all these iueorporatin, all these inviseeratious of Israel into his own bosom, and ]srael is beeome the (/teration kis rath. No the subjeet o his wrath; people upon whom God would exereise some one aet of indignation, in a temporal ealamity, as eaptirity, or so; or multiply aets of" indignation, in one kind, as adding ot" penu U or siekness to their eaptivity; nor is it only nmltiplying of the kinds of eaIamity, as the aggravating of temporal ealamities with piritual, oppression of body and stte, with sadness of heart, and dejeetion of spirit; for ail ese, as many as they are, are dctermined in this lire; hu that whieh God threatens, is, that he will tbr their grievous sins, multiply lires un them, and make them immortal for immoal torments; they shall be a 9eneration t" kis u'rath; they shall X'er. 29. o Exod. iç 22. Psm er. 15. e Gal. iii. 29, Deut. xxii. 10. Hagg. il. 23. fier, x. 20.
l lG PREACHED ON ç|IIISTMA. DAY. [SER. Vl'. die in this world, in his displeasure, nd receive a new birth, a new eneration in the wor|d te corne, in a new capcity of new miseriesl they shall die in the next wor]d, evcry mhmte, in the privation of the sight of God and every minnte receive a new eneration, new birth, new capacity of real and sensible torments. Vhen God hath sent all his servants, the prophets, and se doue all that is necessary for premonition, and risen carly te send those prophets, warned them rime enough, te avoid the danger, and they are net affected with the sente of these predictions, God shall make them, us, any stte, any c]mrch, the generation of his wrath God shall ferret his former paternities, and our former liations ferret his mercies exhibited te us in the rcformation of religion, in the preservation of our state, in the augmenting and adorning of our church, and after all this, make us the.qeneration of his «rath. And this Inay well be eonceived te be the lamentable state deplored in this text, as the words are considered in their first place, the prophet Isaiah, ]Lord, wko katk belier«d our rqort? But this is brought nearer te us, in the second place, as we have thc words in St. John; where we de net consider things in u remote distunce, but Christ was in a personal and actual exercise of his works of power, and sovereignty, and)et the evangelist cornes te thls, Lord, u'ho bath belired tkis report.P That is true in a great part, whieh Irenoeus says, Prophetice, antequam effect«m kabent, a'ni.qmata surir, et ambi.quitates hominlbus, that propheeies till they corne te be fulfilled, are but elouds in the eyes, aud riddles in thc uuderstandin- of men. Se, many partieulars, eoneerninz thc ealling of the Jews, eoneerning the rime, and place, and person, and duration, and aetions of Antiehrist, eoneerning the general judgment, and other things, that lie yet, as an embryon, as u ehild in the mother's womb, embowelled in the womb of propheey, are yet'but as elouds in the eyes, as riddles in the understandings of the learnedest men. Daniel himself round that whieh ho found in the prophet Jeremy eoneerning the deliveranee of Israel frein Babylon, te be wrapped up in such a cloud, as that it is thirly eollected by seine, that Daniel himself at that time, did net clearly understand the prophet Jerem.v. But these clouds, for the most part, arise in
,ga. v.] os 'a. t¢'vn',z. 117 u8, out of our euriosity, that we will needs know the rime, when thes« prophecies shMl be fu]filled; when the ews shall be OElled, when Antiehrist shall he fully manifested, when th« ofjudment shall be: and , for sueh question8 as these, Christ enwrapped hot only his apostles, but himself in cloud; for that eloud whieh he casts upon them, It belons o to ou o tlme ad seasos, he spreads upon himself also, It belongs hot to me, hot me, as the Son of man, to know when the day of judgment shall be. But for that u of a prophecy, that thc prediction of a fitture judb¢nent shouhl induce a l,resent repentance, that was never an enimfical, a cloudy doctrine, but manifest to all, in ail prophecies of that kind. But this, this comnfination of future judgments, for present repentance, ought hot upon these men; but «, because they bave no changes, erefore they fear hot God: and , because senteuce against aa evil work is not executed speedily, theretbro their hearts are fully s in them to do evil. But now, in the manitstation of Christ, they saw cvident chauges; changes, and revolutions in the highest sphere; they saw a new king, and they heard strangers proclaim him; tbreign kings do hot send amhassadors to congratula, but corne in person, to do their homage, and ask their audience in that st)le, Were is e tat is born i» " te Jeu's hot an elective, hot an arbitrary, hot a conditional, a provisional king, but an hereditary, a natural king , bor ki» " te Jews. They hear strangers proclaim him, and they proclaim him themselves, in that act of recognition, in that acclamatory Hnnah, in this chapter, Blessed fs the King of Israel, tat cet i te a»e " te Lord . They saw changes; changes with which Herod was troubled, and ail Jerusalem with him , and they saw sentence executed; for as soen as Christ manifested himselt John Baptist says, w, now that Christ declares himself , te axe is l«id «to te foot " te tree, and now, says he , His «n is in is a»d, ad e 'ill purge Ms floor. And this sentence he executed, this regal power he exercised, hot only after that recognition of his subjects, in their Honnas in this chapter, (for, upon that, he did go into the temple, and cast t« Ps. v. 19. Ecdes. . 1!. Matt. ri. 2 Ver. 13. Iatt. il. 3. at 5Iatt. ifi. 10. bIatt, fil 12.
out tho buyers, and sellers)but somo years before that, at first manifestation oî himselî , and soon after John Baptisçs 'ow, now is the axe laid to the foot of the tree, did Christ execute this sentence, hot only to drive, but to seourge them out, that pr«»phaned the temple: whieh was tho second miracle, that wo aseribo to Christ. lndeed ail his miracles wero so many acts, not only of his regal power over somo [nen, but of his absolute prerogative over tho whole frame, and body of nature. Nor ean we conecive how the beholders of those miracles, eould argue to themselves, otherwiso than thus; the winds and seas obey this man, for when he sufl'ers them, the winds roar, and when he whi.pers a silence to them, they arè sileneed; the devils and nnelean spirits ohey him; for when he snfiërs it, they preaeh his glory, and when he refiases honour from 8o dishonourable months, they are silent. Death itself obeys him; for, when he will, death,vithholds his hand ri'oto closing that man's eye, that lies npon his last gasp, and the last stroke of his bell, and he does hot die; and, when he will, death withdraws his hand from him, who had been four davs in his possession, and redelivers Lazarus to a new lire. This they saw; and eouhl they chooso but sa)', the wind, and tho sea, the devil, and unclean spirits, and death itself obeys this man, how shall we stand beforo this man, this King, this God, yet for ail this voice, this loud voiee of miracles, (for when St. Chrysostom says, Omni t«tba clariorper opera demo»- stratio, Every good work hath tho voice of a trumpet, every miracle hath tho voice of thunder.) for all this loud voice, (as if is said in the verse before the text, Thou9h he had done so miracles belote them, yet the!l beliered hot on him) if is îain to como to that, Lord, who bath beliened this report? Tho first of those great namos which were ven to Christ, in the prophet Isaiah, was The wonder.fttl, the supernatural man, tho man that works miracles; for, of tho apostles i is said, by them great miracles wero wrought, but God wrought thoso miracles by them. Crist wrought his miracles himself; and his birth, and his lifo, and death, and resurrectlon, and ascension, wero all complicated, and elcmcnted of miracles. If he fasted himself, ho did that miraculously; and it was with a miracle, when ho aa John ii. 13.
ss. v.] or TH X'ATtVTV. 119 feasted others. He ealed many tkat were slc OE dirers diea8e, and cast out many deril ', says St. Mrk; and St. Matthcw carries it greut deul further, He went about «ll the eities, and villaffes, heMin9 every siekness, md erert disease amon thepeople . Therefore Christ makes thut, (the evidence of his miracles) tire issue between them, If these nfighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, Tyre and Sidon would have rcpented; and therefore he places their inexcusableness in tiret, If [ kad hot e, and spoken to tkem, the[I had kad no sin ; nay, if ] bad no spoken fo them, in this loud voice, thc voice of mimclcs, they might hve had some eloak for their sin, but now they ]rave none, suys Christ lu that place; and, beloved, are not wc inexcusable in that degrce$ Have hot we seen chan.es, and oeen judents executed, and seeu miraculous dclivemnces, and yct, Zord, who katk belieeed tkese reTort? I would we eould but tke aright n mistakcn translation, and muk tht use that is offered us in others" error. Thc vulgar edifion, the translation of the Roman Chureh, reads tht place, in the 77th Psuhn and 1 lth verse thus, Nu»c cwpi, says David, ow I hv taken out my lesson tlm right way, now I have laid hold upou God by the right haudle, Nnnc coq, i, now ] bave all that I need to bave; what is it ïhis; IIac tutatio extrw Dei, this is to tak out lUy lcsson uright, to understa God truly, and to know, and aeknowledge, that this change whieh I oee, is an uet of the ri.EEhg hand of {od, and that it isa judgmeut. und not an eident. O, beloved, that we would hot be afi'aid of giving GM too mueh gloT; hot afmid of putting God into o mueh heurt; or of making God too imperious over us, by acknowledging, tllut all our e]lans are aets of the right hand of G, and eome ri'oto him. But we are hot Oll]y subjeet fo thc prophet's inerepation, that we do hot believe God warnings of future judgments, but to the evangelist's inerepution, in the person of Christ, we do hot believ present judgments fo be judgmen. An invincible navy hath been sent against us, and defeated, and we sacrifice to a easual storm for t]lat; we y th winds delivered us. A powder treasou bath been plotted, and diseovered, and we sacrifice to n esual letter for tllut; wo t Iark i. 34. Iatt, ix, 35, John xv. 2.
say, the letter delivered us. X devouring plague hath reigned, and gone out again, and we sacrifice an early iYost for that; we y, the eold weather delivered us. Domestie ineumbranees, personal infirmities, sadness of heart, dejeetion of spirit, oppresses us, and then wears out, and passe over, and we srifiee for that, to wine, and strong driuk, to music, to eomedies, to conversation, and to ail Job's miserable eomfbers; we say, it was but a me}aneholie fit, and good eompany hath delivered us of it. But when (;od himself says, Thêre is no eril donc ite tke cit?t, but I do it, we may bc bold to say, there is no good donc in the worhi but he does it. The ve ealamities are ri'oto him; the deliveranee t]'om those ealamities inneh more. All cornes fom God's hand; and fi'onl his hand, by way of hand-witing, by way of letter, and instruction to us..nd therefbre to ascribe things whollv to nature, to tbrtune, to power, to second caes, this is to mistake the hand, not to know God's hand; but to acknowledge it to be God's hand, and not to read it, to say that it is God's doing, and hot to consider, what God intends in it, is as much a slighting of God, as the other. Now, in every such letter, in every judent, God writes to the king; but it 1,eeomes hot me to open the king's letter, nor to prescribe the king his interprctation of that judgment. In every such letter, in every judbqncnt Goal writes to the state; but I will not open their letter, nor prcscribe them their interpretation of that judgment; (;od. who of his goodness hath vouchsatçd fo write unto them in thesc letters, of his abundant goodness interprets himsclf to their religions heas. But then, in every such letter, in evel3' judgment, Goal writes to me too; and that letter I wi]l open, and read that letter: I will take knowledge that it is God's hand to me, and I will study the will of God to me in that ]etter; and I will write back again to my (;od and return him an answer, in the amendment of my lift, an,l give him uy reformation fbr his information. Else I ara fhllcn lower than under the prophet's increpation, I bave hOt believed comminations of fitnre judgments, under Christ's increpation too, I do not believe judgments to be judments, or (which is as dangerous an ignorance) hot fo be instructive judents, mcdicinal and cathechi»tical judqnents to nie. And this may well be the
SER. W.J o rH: N^rVTV. explication, at least, the application and accommodation of these words, Lo'd, u'ho hat belier«d ur eport, in those places, the prophet Isaiah, and tbe evangelist St. Jbn. Tbcre remains in]y the tbird place, where we bave these words in the apostle St. Paul ;, and in them there we do hot consider a prophecy of future Christ, as in Isaiah, nor a history of a present Christ as in t..lohn, but we considir an application of ail prophecy and history, ail that was forctold of Crist, all that was done suflëred by Christ, in this, that there is a church instituted by Christ, endowed with means of reeonciling us to God, -hat judgrnents soever out sins have drawn God to threaten against us, or to infliet upon us; and yet for all these offers of ail these helps, the minister is put to this sad expostulation, Domine, credidit? Lord, t'ho bath beliered our relort? Here then the apostle's expostulation with God, and inercpation upon the people, may usefully be eoneeived to be thus earried; from the light and notification of God, which we ha,-e in nature, to a clearer light, 'hich 'e haYe in the law and prophets, and then a clearer than that in the Gospel, and a clearer, at least a nearer than that, in thc church. First then, even thc natural man is inexcusable (says this apostle) if he do not sec the invisible God in the visible creature inexcusable, if he do hot read the law written in his own heart. Bnt then who hath belie-ed his own report. who does read the law written in his own heart. who does eolne home to ehurch to himselt; or hearken to tllc motions of his own spirit, what he hould do, or what will become of him, if he do still as he hath dole. or who reads the history of his own conscience, wllat he hath donc, and the judgments that belong to those fol'mer actions. Therefore we have a elearer li._-ht thau this, says St. Peter, we hare a ntore sure zcord oftltelrol, hets; that is, as St. Augustine reads that place, a more manifest, a more evident declaration in the prophets, than in nature, of the will of God towards man, and his rewarding the obedient, and rejeeting the disobedient to that will. ]Sut then, who bath believed the report of the prophet, so tr, as to be so moved and affected with a prophecy, as to su.-_pect himsclt; and apply that prophecy to lfimself, and to say, this judgment of his zr lom. x. 16. 2 l'et. i. 19.
].O PREAClIED ON CHRISTMAS DA'g. [@ERo V|o bclongs to this sin of mine. Therefore we have tt clearer light than this;God, who at sundry rimes, and in dirers manners, to the fathers b! tke propkets, at it these last days savoken to us by his son ', says the apostle; he spake personally, and he spake aloud, in the declaration of miracles; but who believed even lais report. did they not call his preaching sedition, and call his miracles conjuring. Therefore we have a clearer, that is, a nearer light than the written gospel, that is, the church. For, the principal intention in ChrisFs miracles, even in the purpose of God, was but thereby to create anti constitute, and establish an assurance, that he that did those miracles, was thc right man, the truc Messiah, that Son of God, who was ruade man for the re,lemption and ransom of the whole world. But then, that which was to We them their best assistance, that which was to supply all, bv that way. to apply this general redemption to every pmoEicular soul, that was, the establishing of a church, of a visible and constant, and permanent means of salvation, by his ordinances there, till the end of the world. And this is donc, says this apostle here; Christ is conte, and gone, and corne again; horn, and dead, and risen again; aseended, and sate at the right hand of his Father in our nature, and descended agaiu in his Spirit, the Holy Ghost; that Holy Ghost bath sent us, us the apostles; we have ruade Bishops; they have ruade priests and deacons; and m that body, that family, that household of tho faithful, by their ministry is nlade up. 'Tis true, says the apostle hêre, ]len cannot be saved without ealling upon God; nor call upon him acceptably,-ithout faith; nor believe truly without hearing; nor hear profitably without preaching; nor preach avowably, and with a blessing, without sending'°; all this is tl'ue, savs our apostle in this place; but all this is donc; such a sending, such a preaching, such a hearing is established; for, ask but fl,.is, says he, Haee they hot heard. Yes eril.l, tir sound went into ail the earth, and their words auto the end of the world «; and, for myself, says he, 1 hare strired to goreach the go.el, where Christ was hot named "; that is, to carry the ehurch thrther than the test had carried it, and nov ail is donc, says the apostle. So that here is the case, if the natural man say, Mas Heb. i. 1. o Ver. 14. t Ver. 19. om. v. 20.
SR. VL] OS Te ATVY. 123 thcy are but dark notions of God which I have in nature; if tho Jew say, alas they are but remote and ambiguous things which I have of Christ in the prophets; if the s|ack and historical Christian say, alas they are but general things, doue for the wholo world inditferent|y, and hot applied to me, which I read in tho Gospel; to this natural man, to this Jew, to this slck Christian, we present an estab|ished church, church endowed with a power to open the wouns of Christ Jesus, to receive cvery wounded soul, to spread the bahn of his blood u])on every bleeding heart; 3 church that nmkes this generl Christ particular to every Christian, that ma[es the Saviour of the world, thy Sviour, and my Saviour; that offers the original sinner baptism for that aud the actual sinner, tle body and l|ood of Christ Jesus for that; a church that mollifies, and entenders, and shivers the presumptuous sinuer with dcnouucing the judgments of God, and thon, consolidates and establishcs the diffident soul with the promises ofhis Gospel; a chur«h, in contemplation whereof, God may say, what could I do nmre for my people than I have done. first to send mine ouly Son to die for the whole world, and thon to spread a church over the whole world, by which that death of his might be lire to every soul. This we l»reach, this we propose, according fo that commission put into out hands, Ire, prw.dicate, Go, aM prt, ach the 17o.el to over!! creature, and yet, Domiw, qais credid#? Lord, who bath beleved or report. In this thon the apostle places the inflexible, the incorrigible stiffness of man's disobedience, in this ho seals up his inexcusablencss, his irrecoverableness, first, that ho is hot afraid of fitturc judgments, because they are remote; thon, that he does not belicve present judoments to be judgments, because ho can ma]e shift to call them hv a milder naine, accidents, and hot jud.gments, and can assign some natural, or moral, or casual reason for them. But especially in this, that ho does hot believe a perpetual presence of Christ in his church, ho does not believe an ordinance of means by which all burdens of bodily infirmities, of crosses in fortune, of dejcction of spirit, and of thc primary cause of all thcse, tll.'t is sin itself, may be taken off, or ruade easy unto him; ho does hot believe a church. 'ow, as in out former part wo wcre bound to know God's
]24 PREACHED ON CHRISTMAS DAY. [SEl{. hand, and then bound to read if, to acknowledge a judgment fo be a judent, and then to consider what God innded in that judcnt, so here we are und to know the true church, and thon to know what the true chur«h proposes to us. The tme chur«h is that, where the word is truly preached, and thc sacramcnts duly adminisred. But it is the word, the word inspired by the Holy Ghost; hot apocrhal, hot decretal, hot traditional, hot additional supplenmnts; and itis the craments, sacraments instituted bv Christ himselt and mt those supernumerary sacsments, those posthume, post-ati sacraments, that bave been nmlt]plied after: and then, that wh]ch the true church proposes, all that ]s truly necessary to salvat-n, and nothb}g but that, in that ¢lual]ty, as necessarv. So that problemat]cal points, of wh]ch e]ther side mav be true, and in wh]ch ne]ther side is fnndamenmlly necesry to salvat]on, those inargnal and ]nterlneary notes, that are hot of the hy of the text; opinions ra]sed out of s]ngularity in sonm one man, aud then nmintained out of part]al]ty and aflbct]on to that man, these pmblematical th]ngs should hOt be called the doctrb}e of the church, nor lay obligations upon meurs consciences they should hot disturb the general peace, they should not ext]nu]sh paicular charity towards one another. The act then that God rcqu]res of us, is to believc: so the words carrv it b all tlm three places: the object, the next, the nearcst object of th]s belet ]s ruade the church that is, to bel]eve that God bath establshed Ineans for the apl»l]cation of Crist's death, to all, b} all Christ]an congregat]ons. ll tM»s arepossib& to him that b«l«r«th , saith out Saqour in the word, and sacraments, there s sah'ation to eve soul, that believes there is so: as on the other side, we bave from the saine mouth, and the saine pen, H« tat belieret wt, is de«»ed «. Faith then be]ng the root of all, and God having vouchmfed to plant this roet, this faith, herc in his terrestrial pamd]se, and not in heaven in the manifest ministry of the gospel, and hot in a secret and unrevealed puose, (tbr fa]th cornes by hear]ng, and hearing by preach]ng, wh]ch are things executed and transacted here in the church) be thou content with those means which God bath 3Im'k Lx. 23. 4 31ark xvi. 16.
st,,.,.] o. r. Arvn''. 125 ordined, nd take thy fith in those means, nd bel]eve it to be iuxu uatorius, that it is n influence [ronl God, but an influence that works in thee by wuy of persuasion, and hot of compulsion; it convinces thee, but it doth hot eonstrain thee: it is, as St. Augustine says excellently, lcat& conrurt, It is the voice of God to thee: but, his voice them when thou art fit to hear, and answer tlmt voice; hot fitted by any exaltation of thine own natural faculties, before the comhg of gracc; nor fitted bya good husbanding of God's former grace, so as in rigour of justice to merit an increase of grace, but fitted by his preventing, his auxlliant, his concomitant grace, grace exhibited to thee, ut that time when he calls thee: for, so says that father, Sic e«m eocat, quo modo toit ci conr«ere, ut eocantem nog repuat: God calls him Oen, when he knows he will hot resist his calling; but he do not say, then, when he cannot resist; that needs hot be But, flere is pondts []&riw, as the apostle speaks, an eteral weipht of p&rll, which maa's understmding calmot comprehend so there is Tond«s.aratlw, u eeriu weight of grace, that God lays upon that soul which shall be his, mlder which that soul shall hot easil)" hend itself any way from Go,l. Thls then is the sure of this whole oetecllism, which these words in dlese thrce places do constitute: first, that we be trulv affted with God's forewarnlngs, and say there, Lord I believe tllat report, I believe that judment to be denounced against mv sin: and thon, that wc be dulv affected with present changes, and say tllere, Lord I believe that report, I believe this judment to corne ri'oto thee, and to be a lctter of thy hand; Lord enlighten othem to interpret it aright, for thy more public glory, and for my particular reformatiom And then, lastly, to be sincerely, and seriously aflcted with the ordiuanees of his ehurch, md to test in them, for the means of out salvatio; und to say there, Dombe credo, Lord I helieve thls report, I helieve that I cannot he saved without heliering, nor helieve without hearing; and therefore, whatsoever thou ht deereed to thyself above in heaven, give me a holy assiduity of endeavour, and peace of conscience in the exeeution of thy decrees here; and let thy spirit bear witness with my spirit, that I ara of the number of thine elect, because I love the beauty of th) house, beeause I eaptivate mine understanding to thine ordinances, because I suhdue my will to obey thine, because I £nd thy Son Christ Jesus ruade mine, in the preaching of thy word, and mvself ruade his, in the adnlinistration of his sacraments. And keep nm ever in the arms, and boscm of that church, which without any tincture, any nlixture, any leaven of superstition or idolatry, affords nm all tlmt is necessary to salvation, and obtrudes uothing, enforces nothing to be believed, by an)" determination, or article of hers, that is not so. And be this enough for the explication, and application, and complication of these words, in ail these three places.