SOME Genuine Remains Of the Late Pious and Learned John Lightfoot, D. D. Consisting of Three Tracts; VIZ.

  • I. Rules for a Student of the Holy Scriptures.
  • II. Meditations upon some Abstruser Points of Divinity, and Explanations of divers Difficult Places of Scripture.
  • III. An Exposition of Two Select Articles of the Apostles Creed.

TOGETHER With a large Preface concerning the Author; His Learned Debates in the Assembly of Divines, His Peculiar Opinions, His Chri­stian Piety; and the Faithful Discharge of His Ministry.

LONDON: Printed by R. J. for J. Robinson, at the Golden-Lion; and J. Wyat, at the Rose in St. Paul's Church-yard, MDCC.

TO THE RIGHT REVEREND Father in God, JOHN, L. Bishop of Norwich.

My Lord,

I Present this Book to Your Lordship in this Publick and Solemn manner, moved there­to by good Reasons: Knowing [Page] with what Respect and Honour You are wont to treat the Me­mory of the Reverend and Pious Man, the Author, and the great Esteem You express to have of his Studies. To whom there­fore the Sight of these Tracts, some Genuine Remains of that excellent Divine, will not, I know, be unacceptable.

I was willing also this way to express my Sense of Your Lordship's obliging Favours to­wards me, which You have been pleased to shew, not only upon Account of our antient Acquain­tance, and equal Standing in the Uni­versity, but chiefly in respect of those Studies I have of late addicted my self to; which You (a [Page] known Patron and Furtherer of all good Learning) have been always ready to assist and pro­mote. You have, my Lord, af­forded me the free Use of Your singular Library, stored with so many and so choice Manuscripts, together with such Antique, and to the present Generation scarce heard of, Books and Treatises, when Printing was but, as it were, in its Infancy. And besides, You have got me the sight of other valuable Manuscripts. Whereby I must gratefully acknowledge the considerable Improvements I have made in my Searches into the Historical Affairs of this Church, when it first began to reform Abuses, and to vindicate it self from Rome, and as it happily [Page] proceeded under our two first Pro­testant Princes. Which must be more amply owned, in case any of my Studies of this Nature here­after see the Light.

I beseech Your Lordship there­fore to take in good part this my Presumption, and to accept of the humble Respects of,

My Lord,
Your Lordship's most Obliged Servant, John Stryp.

THE PREFACE, Relating to the AUTHOR.

SINCE these Genuine Pieces of Dr. LIGHTFOOT might be of good use to such as are Studious of Divine Learning, I was unwilling they should lye any longer within private Walls. For as he was one of the deepliest Studied Men in the Learning of the Jews, whether you regard their Language, Phrases, Customs, Laws, Times, Worship, Temple, or Land, so he made it his main Bent and Business to render all that Knowledge he had therein useful; to contribute Light to the Sacred History, and to open the Inspired Writings of the Old and New Testament. In the doing whereof he had a happy Faculty, by his dextrous Application of his said Learning; whereby [Page ii] many Knots in Scripture have been untyed, many Difficulties explained, many abstruse Questions satisfactorily discussed, many Dis­locations restored to their right Places, and the Chronicle and Method of the Books laid in their due and proper Order.

This Learned Man's usefulness this way hath been so well known abroad, that there have been two or three Impressions of his Works there, since his Death. In the last whereof finisht at Franeker, Anno 1698. are added divers Tracts of his Remains. Which several of the Learned there, and particularly Remfertus the Professor, had ear­nestly desired of me, in order to the publish­ing of them, that no Notions of so great a Man might be lost. By which Encouragement I have since at my leisure lookt up together these further Remainders, that now appear. Which having carefully reviewed and consi­dered, and finding them according to my poor Judgment not less serviceable to the good Ends the Reverend Author designed in what he published himself, I resolved to pre­pare and give to the Press also. These Tracts are three. Concerning each of which I shall say something for the Readers satisfaction.

I. The First, viz. The Rules for a Student of Holy Scripture, was written compleat and fair by the Author's own Hand. And surely it is one of the pithiest and plainest Discourses that ever I met with of this Na­ture; in so narrow a compass, and in so fa­miliar [Page iii] a way, framed to instruct any ordinary Reader that comes with an honest Mind to read the Scriptures; whereby he may arrive not to some superficial Knowledge in them, but be admitted even into the Depths and Mysteries thereof. It was composed by him for the Use of some Person, who intending to read the Word of God with Profit, had desired his Counsel in his Access thereto. Who this Person was I cannot assign, but con­jecture it might be his Son John, who was Chaplain to Dr. Bryan Walton, late Bi­shop of Chester, the great and chief Underta­ker of the Polyglott Bible; or Anastasius his Second Son, who was a pious Minister in Hert­fordshire. Or for whomsoever else it was writ, the Author designed it for some, that desired to be good Textuists: As in Truth all that take upon them Holy Orders, and to preach and teach Religion, ought to be: The Holy Scriptures being the infallible Ground of all Divine Truth; whence all sound Doctrine is to befetched. And therefore if they be not first well, or at least tollerably, understood by the Preacher, he is likely both to deceive himself and those that hear him; and to teach Falshood and Error: Whereof hath sprung a great part of those Schisms and wild Opini­ons, that have created so much Disturbance in the Church. And for the foresaid pur­pose the Writer of this Tract doth these things. First, He directs to reduce the Books of the Bible into a continued Chronicle. [Page iv] Secondly, He sets down many cursory Notes for the Explanation of Things and Phrases not so obvious. Thirdly, He shews a Me­thod and Course for a distinct reading of the Scripture, according the Historical Order of Time, (which is not always observed by the Sacred Writers for special Reasons; whereby it comes to pass that many Chap­ters are dislocated) that so those Holy Books may be the more clearly apprehended and un­derstood, and read with more Profit and Be­nefit. And all laid down in a most plain and easie manner, as Instruction to Learners and Beginners ought to be.

This Discourse seems indeed to have been the Ground-plot of that Piece of the Author's Printed among his Works, intitled, A Chroni­cle of the Times of the Old Testament; and of those other Pieces of the Harmony and Chro­nicle of the New. But as they are larger, so this is more succinct, and may be used as a con­venient Manuduction into the other: Having also much in it, whereof the others are silent. So that they may serve all very well to illustrate and amplifie one another. And I am confi­dent, that were this Method of reading the Scripture pointed to in this Tract, and recom­mended by the Author, but practised dili­gently with due application of Mind, the Sense of Scripture would shine out more clearly, and the Remembrance of it be more firmly implanted in Mens Minds. Let the Pious Student of Scripture make the Trial. [Page v] And this I find is the Judgment of other Learned Men. And particularly his, whose Letter is lately Printed at the end of Bi­shop Barlow's Directions for the Choice of Books in the Study of Divinity: Where he saith, That he thinketh Dr. Lightfoot hath prescribed the best Method of reading the Scriptures, by digesting the Historical and Prophetical Books into the Order of Time. And I add, this will prove a better and more expedite way to come to the understanding of those Holy Pages, than all that pains he re­commends afterwards, viz. Reading the Text several times over, and observing the Difficulties, trying the Construction and Sig­nification of the Words, to see what can be made of it, and consulting Expositors: unless marking the Order of Time, and making use of Jewish Learning accompany.

II. The next Tract consists of Meditations on some Points of Divinity, and Explana­tions of certain difficult Places of Scripture. And these are nothing else but faithful Colle­ctions out of a great number of his Manu­script Sermons, never yet Printed. In these Discourses no small number of Places of Scri­pture are explained by our Author, offering such Elucidations as are out of the common Road, and scarce before heard of, to the pleasing Surprize, as well as Instruction of the Reader. I remember, once waiting upon the most Reverend Father in God, Archbishop Sancroft at Lambeth, he took occasion to talk [Page vi] with me about Dr. Lightfoot; for whose Studies and Learning he exprest a very great Esteem; and enquiring after the Papers he had left behind him, he told me it were pity but his Remains should see the Light. And when I had hinted to him the Jewish or other good Learning, and the excellent Light let into many Texts of Scripture, which might be found in his Sermon-Notes, he exprest a great concern that they should not be lost: And for the preserving of them, he advi­sed and encouraged me to extract out of the same Notes all such Pieces of Learning and Expositions of Holy Writ; and where the Sermons ran upon any Learned Argument, to abreviate them, taking the Pith and Sum thereof, and disposing them in some such Method as was used towards Mr. Medes Discourses: Or to digest his Interpretations of any part of God's Word in some such Method, as the Annotations of Cameron were published in his Prelections upon some Select Places of Scripture, and in his Myrothecium Evangelicum, or such like. I often afterwards thought on this Advice; and at length, as leisure served, endeavoured to attempt something that way in the Method that I now recommend it to the Readers. Which I have digested into three Decads. To which many other Discourses of that Nature might be joined. Let it be added, that these Diatribae were some of the Author's last Thoughts, and the Meditations of his Maturest Age; being the substance of what [Page vii] he Preached but a few Years before his Death.

III. The Third Part of this Book consists of two Discourses upon as many Select Arti­cles of the Apostles Creed. And great Pity it is, his Exercitations upon all the rest of the Articles cannot be retrieved: Which by these two, and one more, viz. That of Christ's Descent into Hell, printed among his Works, we may conclude to have been replenisht with very good Learning, and might have been of use to the World, and have imparted divers Notions peculiar to the Author's Learning. I have been Inquisitive after these, but cannot recover them. I conjecture they were embezzelled at Ely, where he Died.

AS for the Author himself, how well he merited of the Learned Christian World, is well known. And his Figure hath been drawn in part in his Life, set before his Works. To which more might be added; not a few Things remaining, worthy to be registred to the Memory of so Good and so Learned a Man. Let me detain the Reader a little longer, while I take this occasion to revive the remembrance of him in some Particulars. Dr. Lightfoot was a Scholar and a Divine, and (which is to be preferred before both) he was a solid good Christian. We shall consider him a little,

[Page viii]I, As a Scholar and a Divine. Of whose Scholarship and Judgment in divers Points of Divinity, I shall hereafter give some Instances, as they have occurred to me.

He was a Member of that noted Assembly called together by the Parliament Anno 1643. to consult about Religion: Whereby he had opportunity offered of shewing his great Abi­lities. I have seen his own Journal diligently kept, of the various Debates among the Lear­ned in that Assembly; where he put down as well his own Disputations as other Mens. Whence I am enabled to give several Specimi­na both of his Learning and of his Opinions. And indeed he was of great use in this As­sembly in regard of his Eminent Skill in the Jewish and Oriental Learning. For these Divines in their Enquiries into the Primi­tive Constitution of the Christian Church, and Government thereof in the Apostles Days, built much upon the Scheme of the Jewish Church; which the first Christians being Jews, and bred up in that Church, no question conformed themselves much to: And therefore these levelled at settling the like Government in the English Church. Lightfoot very often spake, and to good pur­pose, when things of that Nature were under Deliberation; and not seldom by this Lear­ning rectified Mistakes among them, ex­plain'd their Difficulties, and sometimes put to silence great Confidence. He spake likewise commonly, when Places of Scripture were [Page ix] produced to stand for Proof of such Points of Doctrine or Discipline as were under Decisi­on; our Divine being very thoroughly Studied in the Scriptures; whereby he often gave Excellent Interpretations of Controverted Places, sometimes misunderstood by most of the Assembly, who had propounded them to prove things, which in truth intended no such Matter.

But I proceed to some particular Instances of these things.

1. When some in the Assembly were for Gathered Churches, which must con­sist only of Saints, and produced a place for that purpose taken out of the Revela­tions, Chap. xv.3. Thou King of Saints; ( [...],) Dr. Seaman well objected against it; because the reading was doubtful, some Co­pies reading [...] instead of [...], i. e. Thou King of Ages, or Everlasting. And Lightfoot backed him, by shewing, that the Sy­rian and Arabick read to the same import [...] and [...] King of the World, or Ages.

2. When a Debate happened about the Persons that should read the Scripture in Publick; and some were for the Pastors do­ing it themselves; Gouge and Marshall seem'd to be for some expert sober Persons of the Laity: But our Divine proved at large, that none in the Synagogue read the Law and the Prophets, but publick Officers, and of the Levitical Or­der. [Page x] And that by these Arguments. First, By their multitude of Universities for the Edu­cation of the Levites for such Purposes, viz. Fourty Eight. Secondly, By their Curiosity, that not a Tittle of the Law should be mista­ken by those that Read it. But Mr. Reyner urged, that the Levites were not Types of the Pastors, but the Priests were. To this he answered, that the Levites in the Temple were one thing, and in the Synagogues ano­ther. For that though these at the Temple were Servants to the Priests, yet in their Syna­gogues they were their Pastors.

3. He seemed not to allow of the Ordina­tion by Presbyters only, disputing about that Place that was urged chiefly in behalf of it, viz. 1 Tim. iv.14. With the laying on of the Hands of the Presbytery. For after some had spoken dubiously of the Place, as Mr. Her­rick, who questioned whether it spake of Or­dination; and whether these Presbyters were Preaching Presbyters, or Presbyters, or El­ders of the Laity; and Mr. Sympson, who said that laying on of Hands was used in other things; Lightfoot, 1. Declared himself to be of Selden's Mind, saying his Interpretation must needs be right, and that it means [...] i. e. Admission to be an Elder. 2. That it would be hard to find a Presby­tery that might lay their Hands upon Timothy. This Text cost a great deal of Debate but at last being put to the Question, it was [Page xi] voted to pass. But our Divine, and some o­thers with him, gave their Negative. Yet,

4. To shew his Judgment in extraordina­ry Cases: When the Bishops, (whose Office was to Ordain) were voted out of the House, and their Jurisdiction laid aside; the Assembly brought in this Position con­cerning Ordination, That in extraordinary Cases, some things extraordinary may be done, until a settled order may be had. Divers spake largely upon this Pro and Con. Lightfoot was of this mind, shewing, that even some Posi [...]ive Laws of God gave place not only to Necessity, but even to Conveni­ence: As the steps to Solomon's Altar; and many Candlesticks and Tables in the Tem­ple. But when as a proof of it, that place was produced, 2 Chron. xxix.34. The Priests were too few, that they could not slay all the Burnt-Offerings, wherefore their Brethren the Levites did help them: And Bathurst spake to this place to prove it pregnant; and likewise out of Numb. xviii.4, 5, 6. and Levit. i. would prove that the Levites had nothing to do to slay the Sacrifices; Lightfoot gave Answer to him, and so did Coleman and Selden, two others well skilled in Jewish Learning; who shewed the con­trary. But being put to the Vote, it was carried for a pregnant place. But Lightfoot here gave his Negative.

[Page xii]5. Some in the Assembly called in Question Matthias his Equality with the rest of the Apo­stles; and that he was rather a Degree below them; because chosen by Lot, and not im­mediately called by Christ: So one Gibson. To this our Divine gave this Answer, That the Lot did argue his immediate Call. Be­cause the Apostles could not ordain him for an Apostle by Imposition of their Hands, but sought to the immediate Imposition of Christ's Hands by a Lot.

6. When the Assembly came to examine, whe­ther there were anciently in the Church Ru­ling Elders, (and they, as it seems, of the Lai­ty) which some had laboured for the con­firming of by certain Places of Scripture; one of the Assembly, named Baily, began to speak; professing seriously, that till the last year he had lived convinced by Bishop Bilson of the Jus Divinum of Bishops; till confer­ing with a Gentlewoman, who said to him that it was a wonder he could not see ground for Presbyterial Government, which all the Reformed Churches have; it struck him so, that he fell to study the Reformed Wri­ters, Calvin, Beza, &c. and by them was con­vinced. And then after this Preface, (as though he had been throughly studied in this matter, he fell upon the places of Scrip­ture, and that with some vehemiency and smartness, and would prove a Ruling Elder. And Mr. Rutherford, one of the Scotch Com­missioners, backed him, to make way to bring [Page xiii] in the Scotch Discipline into the English Church. Gillaspe, another Scotch Commissi­oner, said in behalf of his Ruling Elder, that this Practice of the Reformed Churches arose from a sure Light. But this found considerable Opposition in the Assembly; and that by the Learnedest Men, as Vines, Gataker, and our Divine, who began first; and after Rutherford had done, spake to this import: 1. That as for that place in 1 Timo­thy v.17. Let the Elders that Rule well be counted worthy of double Honour, especially those who labour in the Word, &c. The Apo­stle 'tis true meant hereby two sorts of Offi­cers; but that those were Pastor and Deacon; which he had spoken of before, as sufficient for the Church, in 1 Tim, iii. 2. That [...], (the word in another place urged for Ruling Elders) both in the LXX Tran­slators, and in the Syriac, are Praesidentes, and Praecedentes, though not in Government. 3. That [...], Helps, and [...], Governments, 1 Cor. xii.28. would enforce Dea­conry and Ruling Elders. Which Words when it was Debated, whether they signified Officers or Gifts; and Ny and Newcomen averred that [...] signified only the Act of Govern­ment; Lightfoot stood up, and shewed how the Word was taken by the LXX: Who used it in Prov. i.5. and xi.14. and divers other Places in that Book, to translate [...] which imported not the Act, but the Ability and Gifts fit to Govern. And that the other [Page xiv] Word, Helps, meant nothing else, but Helps to interpret the Language and Sense of those that spake with Tongues: As he shewed might be collected by Ballancing the two Verses in the Place in Hand together, viz, the 28 th, and 29 th. Then spake Mr. Vines upon the said Place, viz. 1 Cor. xii.28. Where he shewed, that the Apostle spake there of several things; and that those things were for the Benefit of the Church; and that they related to Per­sons; for he had before spoke of [...], Gifts: That it spake of several Gifts in several Persons: That [...] differed from [...]: That [...], signified without doubt a Prefecture. Yet grant all this, it was very questionable whether this Place proved a Ruling Elder. For that he conceived the Go­vernment was in the Hands of the Preaching Elder. And then he fell to the backing of Lightfoot's Interpretation; which he did fully.

Another Day they fell again upon the same Debate about Ruling Elders; when Mr. Lightfoot was again concerned. Wilkin­son began thus, If the Place alledged hold out so clear. a ground for the Ruling Elder; how comes it to pass it was never seen before Cal­vin? And for this he alledged Dr. Sutcliff; and related that Mr. Calvin having been ex­pelled Geneva, and recalled, he desired four Helvetian Churches to assist him; which they did: Yet they themselves retained not this Government. Mr. Callamy who was for these [Page xv] Ruling Elders, spake to it after this manner, viz. That there were Elders of the People joyned to the Priests and Levites, 2 Chron. xix.8. Acts. iv.5. He said, the Jews had two sorts of Consistories in every City; one in the Gate, and another in the Synagogue. And that their Synagogues were appointed for correction of Manners, as well as for Prayers. And that they had Ecclesiastical Censures in them, John. ix.22. That the word Cut off meant Separation from the Congregation, Exod. xii.15, 19. And that they had their Rulers of the People in the Synagogue, he went about to prove, 1. Because the in­ferior Judicatories were conformed to the greater. 2. Because they had their [...], Rulers of the Synagogue, Act. xiii.15. After Mr. Calamy had done, others laboured to confirm his Discourse. For this being a Prime Point, great pains were taken to carry it. But Lightfoot then stood up to confute the former Arguments, by shewing that the two Sanhedrins, and the two Consistories in every City, were not owned by the Jewish Authors. And for that he [...] alledged Maimonides at large; and pro­ved▪ three Courts in Jerusalem; and yet no difference of one Ecclesiastical, and the other Civil. And by his skill in Jewish History made it out, that there was but one Court or Consistory in every City else. He granted in­deed that there were Elders in the Sanhedrin, that were not Priests or Levites, but withal [Page xvi] they were Civil Magistrates, as it is in our Parliament. Of this last Saying Rotherford took hold, and answered, That the Parlia­ment, if they had intended to judge Ecclesia­stical things in an Ecclesiastical Way, would not have convened this Assembly. To which Lightfoot replied divers things; and there happened passages Pro and Contra. At length it was moved that they might come to draw up in what they agreed. And Dr. Burges tendred a Proposition, which cost some Ex­ceptions and Debates, viz. That the Consti­tution and Practice of the Jewish Church, as a Church, and not as Jewish, was to have some Elders of the People joyned with the Priests, to judge in Ecclesiastical Matters. To which Lightfoot again objected, that it was too large. And that he could produce divers Ecclesiastical Matters in which they did not judge; and that it would be hard to find, that they judged in any thing, but only about false Doctrine.

At last it was put to the Question, and our Divine stood up and desired that the Vote might not be lost because of the scruple. And therefore prayed that the Proposition might pass agreeable to the last they made, viz. That in the Church of the Jews there were Elders of the People joyned to the Priests and Levites in the Government of the Church. Which middling way was very well liked: And so it was put to the Question, and Voted Nemine contradicente. And Lightfoot by [Page xvii] his Prudent and Learned Management of this Point pleased all, unless it were perhaps the Scotch Commissioners.

But this Controversie came not so to a Con­clusion, For when some had held, that the Civil Elders in the Sanhedrin judged in all things, Lightfoot answered, that this was im­possible in the Point of Leprosie. For that it was infectious for all Israel, but only the Priests. And as for that place, Deut. xvii.8. a place proposed to prove the Proposition fixed upon, (upon our said Divine's Motion, as was shewed before,) Viz. That there were Elders of the People joined with the Priests and Levites in the Government of the Church, he shewed them his Judgment, that that place spake not of Appeals, but of Advisings; and not of Judicature, but of Direction. For that the Judges of inferior Cities were to go thither to inform themselves, if they stuck in any thing.

Gillaspe, the Scotch Man, laboured to prove two Courts from Deut. xvii.12. about one going up from one Court to another; that is, for Appeals, as he urged from hence, The Man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the Priests, that standeth to Minister before the Lord, or unto the Judge; even that Man shall Die: Making the Priest to hold one Court and the Judge another. But Selden, Gibson, and Lightfoot were against it. And thus Selden, ‘The Vulgar Latin, till with­in this Forty Years, read this Place, Qui non [Page xviii] obediverit sacerdoti, ex decreto Judicis morietur. i. e. He that shall not obey the Priest, shall Die by the Decree of the Judge. And if that reading be right, here is no shadow of two Courts. This place, he said, included all Cases. And if in any one of the inferior Courts, the Judges were at a stand, and those Judges went to Jerusalem, and were resolved of the Scruple, and went down again and would not Judge according to their Resolution they were to Die. And this was he which the Jewish Writers call The Rebelious Elder.’ Gibbon proved, they ( i. e. the Judges of the In­ferior Courts) handled Ecclesiastical Matters. And that because, 1. They had all Matters. 2. All Laws. 3. They handled the Matter of Jealousie. And for this he produced Maimony at large. Lightfoot then signified that he had yesterday hinted the Sense which Mr. Selden now gave. And that it was not in Appeals, but in point of Consultation, that the Judge was to go up. To which Herle gave only this Answer, I should be sorry if we should lose Appeals in this Place. But our Divine besought the Assem­bly, that they might Examine the Text before they fixed a Sense upon it; and that it might be taken into Consideration, whether this Place spake of Appeals or no: And affirm­ed that it little afforded two Sanhedrins: For that the Party was to consult with Judge or Priest, as the Case required; and they two sitting together in the Court. Which was urged in Opposition to Dr. Hoyl, that endea­voured [Page xix] to prove two Sanhedrins, because the Priest and Judge were named apart, and the Priest first.

This Debate held very long; and yet no­thing was concluded: When at last Lightfoot proposed that they might hasten the Materi­al Things that tended to Settlement; and to let these Speculations alone till leisure, and fall to Action. Which seasonable Admoni­tion was hearkened to, and followed.

7. It became a doubt among some in the Assembly, Whether those Deacons, Acts vi. were the same with those spoken of in 1 Tim. iii. And when Mr. Vines had smartly said, that some denyed those in the Acts to be Deacons, because they measured these by the Deacons of their own Times, and had been willing rather to deny these than their own: Lightfoot spake substantially to this place; 1. That these were Ministers, because it is said they were [...], i. e. Full of the Holy Ghost, before they had Im­position of Hands. He added, 2. That these Seven were appointed for the Seven Nations of the Western Dispersion; and we find none here for the Eastern. 3. That the Multitude of the Church in that place were all from home. This he said to prove, that this was not a proper Copy for future Times. To which he subjoyned, 4. That the Collecti­ons and the Deacons mentioned in the Epi­stles were for the Relief of the Church at Jerusalem. [And so no set Officers appointed [Page xx] to be in every Church.] Colman said, that that place in Timothy shewed the Qualifications of a D [...]acon, but not the Perpetuity. And of the same Judgment Lightfoot declared himself to be. But when the Place came to be voted, it was voted affirmatively. But my Mind, as he Writes in his Journal, was not with it.

8. A Question arose in the Assembly upon Excommunication; Whether it were to be done in a Presbytery, or in the Presence of the whole Church. And so the Inde­pendents would have had it, proving it from 1 Cor. v.4. [...]. When ye are gathered together, &c. Lightfoot answered this Place thus, That the Synaxis, i. e. The Ga­thering together, here, was in regard that there were Heart-burnings among them: And so they Triumphed one against another in this very Act of the Incestuous. Ergo, he com­mands them that they should convene in Affec­tion and in Place: And being so met, they should do it. And after two or three De­bates upon this Case of the Incestuous Per­son, Lightfoot again, That this Case of the Corinthians was such as cannot be among us. For they were hedged in with the Heathen; and the Apostle plainly tells, that there was an Iniquity among them more than Hea­thenish, ver. 1. [...], Such as is not among the Heathen. Therefore if he would have the whole Church to come together, and cast out this Member, for the Vindication of the whole Church, it is a [Page xxi] singular Example, and cannot be paralleled among us.

Still this Text of St. Paul divers Days af­ter was canvasing. Then our Divine again, 1. That the Phrase here used [...], differing from that cited, 1 Cor. xi.20. [...], when ye come together; and xiv.26. [...] When ye are come together (the Words being different) gives cause to susp [...]ct, that he means a difference in them. 2. That [...] i. e. From the midst of you, is used of all the Jewish Courts for taking away a Wicked Man, Deut. xiii. &c. Yet all the People might not need to be present at the Censure. 3. That Paul writ indeed to all the Church in Corinth; but every one must take out the Lesson, as it con­cerned him. As the King of Syria Writes to the King of Israel to heal Naaman; where­as Elisha was to have and take his share in the Letter that concerned him.

9. Further, several in the Assembly offered that Place, 1 Cor. v.2. for Excom­munication, and for excluding from the Com­munion; where that Incestuous Person is directed by St. Paul to be taken away from among them. But this Place, Lightfoot's Judg­ment was, concerned not at all Excommuni­cation. Of whose mind also was Whitaker: Who shewed that the Place did not prove a Cutting off from the Eucharist; and that [...], i. e. The Destruction of the Flesh, was not taken for Excommunication: [Page xxii] And that Traditio Satanae, i. e. Delivering over to Satan, seemed to be extraordinary. And that sorrow which this bred in the Per­son guilty, and in the whole Church, was most extraordinary. Many of the Greeks thought it Pain. This gave occasion to a Dis­pute that held all the Day. But notwith­standing, that Place was carried for a Proof of Excommunication. But Lightfoot gave his Denial.

Neither did he like the other Place brought for Excommunication, viz. Mat. xviii.17. If he shall neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as a Heathen Man and a Publican. Which after Colman (a Man that was against all Manner of Excommunication) had oppo­sed; and Gataker spake against the Propriety of this Place, Lightfoot conceived the Place, 1. To speak of Offence given from a Mem­ber to his Pastor. For from Mark ix.35. (which place by comparing both carefully, ap­pears to fall in with this of Matthew) it was plain this Speech of Christ was only spoken to the Twelve. 2. That it spake of Shaming an Offender, and not of Censuring. For that the Two or Three ( Take with thee Two or Three, ver, 16.) not the Church, had to do about the Offender. 3. That the Heathen and Publi­cans had Access Ad Sacra. But the Jews ab­horred their Civil Society. And this was to be as an Heathen Man and a Publican, to have no Society with such: But to be as a Publican in­cluded not Excommunication. Again, after [Page xxiii] Herle and Reinolds had spoke for this Place to prove Excommunication; our Divine answer­ed them, 1. With this Question, Are the Two or Three here named Witnesses, as they would have them? For 'tis plain, these must be Ad­monishers. 2. He shewed that that Text and Speech of our Saviour was upon Occasion of the Disciples Quarrelling. Now how impro­per is it, when he is speaking of Offence be­tween Brother and Brother, to conclude what such an one shall be to the Church, and not to the Party off [...]nded. For so, saith he, you understand, Let him be to THEE, that is, to the CHURCH. But notwithstand­ing this Place was carried for Excommuni­cation.

10. When the Dispute came on between the Independents and the other Party about Con­gregations, whether there were more than one in a City? And the great Enquiry was, What that Church was, that was at Jerusalem? Whether one Congregation only, or more: And Dr. Temple doubted whether there were many fixed Co [...]gregations in that City, and it seem­ed to him there were not; Lightfoot answered in many particulars. 1. That such a multi­tude of Pastors as were there at Jerusalem could not suit with one Congregation. 2. That there were divers Languages, that under­stood not one another. Therefore there could not be but divers Congregations. 3. That one part of the Church had Deacons, the other not. Vid. Sect. 7. Therefore we [Page xxiv] must distinguish of their Congregations. 4. In the Twelfth of the Acts there were [...], i. e. Many gathered together, ver. 12. And yet James and the Brethren were not there.

Burroughs and Lightfoot had a Controver­sie about the Five Thousand added to the Church, Acts iv. Whether they were new Converts, which our Divine averred, and Burroughs de­nyed. And when Lightfoot had done, Pal­mer backed him in it. Burroughs again questioned whether these Five Thousand or the other were of the Church of Jerusalem? Palmer answered, they were Dwellers in Jeru­salem, Acts ii.5. [...]. Lightfoot an­swered, they came Unbelievers thither, and being there, they sold their Lands. Good­win said from Mr. Mede, that they were not Dwellers at Jerusalem for that [...], Gen. xxvii. is abiding only for a few Days. Vines held that they were afterwards abiding, ha­ving come up to the Feast, Lightfoot answer­ed, that they came not to the Feast, but be­cause they looked that the Kingdom of God should shortly appear, Luke xix. therefore the Ground was false. Goodwin said, this Phrase [...] being joyned with [...], i. e. With one accord, import­eth the same place, Acts ii.1. Lightfoot an­swered, 1. That grant [...] to sig­nifie as he would have it, yet he must un­derstand Secundum Analogiam Fidei & ratio­nis: As all the Men of Sodom met at Lot 's [Page xxv] Door. This could not be. The Ark rested on the Mountains of Ararat. That could not be. Jephtha was buried in the Cities of Gilead. That could not be. Therefore these and such like Places must be expounded Secun­dum Rationem, i. e. according to Reason. 2. That the Lord's Supper was strange among the Jews, but Baptism was not; [For Goodwin had said, they had the Sacraments in the Tem­ple: And what did the Apostles care for affronting the Ceremonies in the Temple?] 3. That Peter, Acts ii. Preached not alone, and the rest stood by: Nor did he Preach alone, Acts iii.

Shall I be allowed to go on in my Narrati­on of this Controversie, which was one of the tightest that happened in the Assembly; and wherein our Divine bore a great part? Perhaps it may not be unacceptable to hear their Learning Pro and Con. Selden (and any Remainders of that great Name are worthy preserving wheresoever we meet with them) first excepted at the Expression [of the Presbyterians] that they could not meet [they were so numerous] in one place; but that they did not meet, he said, were proper. But that they met together in Christian Wor­ship [in the Temple, as the Independents had said] it was not to be made good. For where­as it was said that they were [...], i. e. Continuing in the Tem­ple, this cannot be understood, they were there as Christians. For as yet it was not [Page xxvi] condescended to by the Jews, that the Gentiles should come in, otherwise than as they came in to be Jews. They [ Jews] had now divers Sects, Scribes and Pharisees; and so were Christians now lookt upon, [ i. e. as a Sect of Jews]. And they may very well be understood by the Essaeans. Now the Jews at Jerusalem, that became Christians, did believe; that, concerning the Jews in Judea, they must observe Moses Law and Customs. And then it is no wonder if they came con­stantly into the Temple. And here he justified Lightfoot, saying, that Baptism was long before John. Now that they had par­ticular Congregations, he was very confi­dent. For if they would keep up Moses's Law, (as they checked Paul, Acts xxi. for disswading Men to walk in Moses's Law,) then would they do as the Jews did. Now in Megil. Fol. 73. it is said, there were 480 Synagogues in Jerusalem; and wheresoever were Ten Housholds, any one whereof was not a Piece of a Synagogue, they were to be cast into a Synagogue, or Congregation, Maimon in [...] And then it is most pro­bable that these Jewish Christians would cast themselves into several Congregations. And this, he added, seemed to be hinted at, Acts ii. Their going to the Temple was Jewish; their breaking Bread [...], i. e. From House to House, was Christian. In the Syriac Testament Breaking of Bread is expresly the Eucharist; and [...] may mean Beth Cineseth, i. e. [Page xxvii] the House of the Synagogue; and imported some House prepared for the purpose. Thus the Learned Selden.

The same Controversie came on again a­nother Day: Then Lightfoot shewed that the foresaid Phrase of Breaking Bread from House to House, was not, as some to evade the Ar­gument had asserted, meant of Common-Meals. Which Selden backed: And excepted against our Translation of [...], and clearly understood it of [...], i. e. Some Sy­nagogues or Meeting Places. All things he said, were now common among the Christi­ans at Jerusalem, both [...] and [...], i. e. Mobilia and Immobilia. And then what was it to be at home? For none had an House. But the meaning is, that they met at the same time in Publick Places.

Callamy enforced this further from Acts xii.5. Where Prayers are said to be made of the whole Church for Peter: But the whole Church was not met in one place: Therefore the Church is not one Congregation. Light­foot seconded him, urging that all the Churches of Judea, in the places alledged, are called one Church. For now it was Easter, ver. 4. and all the Churches of Judea were here met; and yet called one Church.

At length for the Proof of this, it was mo­ved in the Assembly to consider Lightfoot's Ar­gument that he had propounded some Days before about the Diversity of Languages. And the Assembly agreed to it. This Pinched [Page xxviii] the Independents. For Bridg would not have it fallen upon, unless the Assembly voted so to do: Which it did accordingly. Divers spake to it, and there was a long Debate up­on it. Dr. Temple said, that those that spake with several Tongues were only Jews, and so understood the same Language. Woodcock urged there must needs be but one Language of all these People met together, Acts ii. For Peter Preached but in one Language to all the Three Thousand that were Converted, Acts ii.41. and to the Five Thousand that heard them and believed, Acts iv.4. Also Vines questioned whether all the various Nations that were now come up to Jerusalem, Pa [...]ians, Medes and Elamites, &c. understood not one Language, and that the Hebrew. Here Lightfoot answered them both, to this Tenor: 1. That the [...], i. e. the Eleven stood forth as well as Peter, And the Story fixed more especially upon Peter because he was Minister of the Circumcision. 2. That Acts iii. Peter's Speech is set down, and yet Acts iv.1. it is said, [...]. They speak unto the People. 3. That though some of these Nations, and the Asian Jews understood the Hebrew Tongue, yet it was not so with others mentioned Acts ii. For the Asian Jews were the next Door to Jerusalem in comparison, and some others there menti­oned; and so might come every Year to Jeru­salem; but the others could not.

Selden also spake in answer to those that asserted there was one common Language that [Page xxix] all understood. He said, there was not one Language that was understood among them. As for their Sacra, it was not in much use of Language. They might use their Benedictions at the Temple in any Language that the Peo­ple present understood; some things only excepted: as the Words to the tryed Wife, and the Blessing of the Priests, Numb. vi. must be in Hebrew. 2. Again, the Hellenists, be they where they would, they in the Dis­persion used no doubt the Greek. It may be supposed Philo himself did not understand Hebrew, as is observed by Drusius. 3. No Judge might be admitted into the great Sanhe­drin unless he had Seventy Tongues, that is, many Languages. 4. The Synagogae Libertino­rum, Cyreniorum, &c. Acts vi. shew Diversity of Nations. And there is as little doubt of Diversi­ty of Languages. 5. That in Acts vi. there is a plain and evident Distinction of the Hellenists and Hebrews living asunder and severally, e­ven in the Time of having all things common.

11. Again, a great Controversie the Assem­bly had with the Congregational Men about Paul and Barnabas, their coming from the Church at Antioch to the Apostles and Elders at Jerusalem, Acts xv. to know what was to be done with the Believing Gentiles; since certain that came down from Judea thither had taught, that it was needful to circumcise the Brethren, and to keep Moses's Law in point of Salvation. Now by this Application of Paul and Barnabas about this Question to the [Page xxx] Apostles and Elders here, in the Name of the Church at Antioch; an Argument was raised, that that Church submitted it self to be or­dered and directed by the Church and Mini­sters thus met at Jerusalem. But to evade this, Goodwin, in behalf of the Congregational or Independent Party, moved to prove, that this Meeting was for the Government of Jerusalem only. For that there were some of the Sect of the Pharisees there, that were of the same Mind, v. 5. To him Lightfoot answered, that these Churches would never have sent for Determination in point of Government for them, had they not known the Presbytery constantly sitting at Jerusalem for Acts of Go­vernment of their own Church. Bridg to this answered, that then it was no Synod: And that they met for Acts of Government finally, to find out the Truth, but not formally to ex­ercise the Acts of Government. To this our Divine Replyed, That the Consequence did not hold, it was a Presbytery before, Ergo, no Synod now. 2. That their meeting about those Pharisees in Jerusalem, ver. 5. that were of the same mind with them at Antioch, as Goodwin had said, did make this Consequence, that then they met for the Government of their own Church. 3. That this did infer their Act of Government formally, that Paul and Barnabas, Ministers of the Uncircumcision, came to Jerusalem to question about a Business which concerned the Converted Gentiles. Now if it had been only to find out the Truth, [Page xxxi] Peter and James, Ministers of the Circumci­sion, had been most proper for to have deter­mined this Point with them. Why then should they convent the Elders, if not for an Act of Government?

12. When the Assembly was drawing up the Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, there were these Words used, The Bread and Wine being set before him [the Minister] in PLATTERS, the Word Platter was thought to be improper; and so it was altered, The Bread in comely and convenient Vessels. But Lightfoot liked not this Expressi­on, but opposed it. And when they had used the Word Sanctification of Elements, (be­cause they avoided the using of the Word Consecrate,) Lightfoot scrupled at that Word SANCTIFY, as an Hebraism, as Consecrate was accounted a Romanism: And therefore he offered the Word Set apart, as a Medium. Hence arose a Debate: But after a long time it was exprest, He shall begin the Act with Sanctifying and Blessing the Elements.

13. When Lightfoot had Discoursed Lear­nedly about the Sacrament of the Lord's Sup­per, and for General Admission to it; and ex­plained the institution of it from the Passover; and that therefore in Luke there is mention made of two Cups, as there was in the Passo­ver; Rotherford, the Scots Commissioner, that liked not our Divine (who in truth spared not often to thwart the Scots labouring in this Assembly to bring in their Discipline into this [Page xxxii] Church of England) took upon him to prove against him, that there were not two Cups meant by that Evangelist, Chap. xxii. but that it was an Hysterosis: And that there was no mention of a Cup in the Institution of a Passover, and no news of that but in the Rab­bins; speaking contemptibly, as it seemed, of that sort of Learning. But Lightfoot answer­ed, 1. That in all the Evangelists, there is hardly an Hysterosis in any one of them in so small a Compass. And that it is hard to find any Hysterosis in Luke at all, unless it be in one or two Places. 2. That it is true that Wine was not mentioned in the Institution of the Passover: For Israel was not in the Land of Wine. But when they came into the Land of Wine, why might they not take Wine to the Passover, as well as lay down some things that were circumstantial under the Institution: Adding, that there were divers things in the New Testament which we must be beholden to the Rabbins for the un­derstanding of them, or else we should not know what to make of them.

14. When the matter of a Synod lay be­fore the Assembly, divers would have the Members of a Synod to consist of Lai [...]y as well as the Spiritualty. The Proposition ran, Pastors and Teachers lawfully called, and (it was added by some) OTHER FITTING PER­SONS, are constituent Members of a Synod, The Scots opposed this Addition exceedingly, and so did Palmer, Seaman, and our Divine. [Page xxxiii] Those that were for it were Marshal, Vines, Herle, and the Independents, who grounded themselves upon, Acts xv.7, 13. where Pe­ter and James calls the Council, Men and Brethren; and ver. 22. It pleased the Apostles and Elders, with the whole Church, to send Chosen Men, &c. The Apostles and Elders, pointing out the Clergy; and the whole Church, the Laity. Where Lightfoot gave this Construction of the Words [...] and [...]: Viz. by [...], i. e. Brethren was meant the Uncircumcised Converts, as at ver. 1. and 23, they are understood. Now it is most like that the Uncircumcised Churches would send their Ministers, and not Laymen. And by [...] is not meant the Church, but that Meeting of the Council. Seaman took at Lightfoot, and followed largely. Herle applauded the Interpretation, but re­fused it, and gave some Reasons why, viz. Because [...], ver. 4. is taken properly for the Church. And the Men that brought the Letters to the Churches, could not be said to Send Greeting, ver. 23. The Apostles, and Elders, and Brethren, send Greeting unto the Brethren which are of the Gentiles. To this Lightfoot answered, That the Interpreta­tion of Scripture, is from the scope of the Place, as in the Hebrew word [that [...], Translates] it is apparent. Vines denyed his Interpretation of [...]: For that James and Peter called all the Company [...], i. e. Men and Brethren. But [Page xxxiv] Lightfoot shewed that that was a common Hebraism: As in Gen. xiii.8. [...] We are MEN BRETHREN.

In fine, so well did our Divine acquit him­self in this Assembly, and such was the Gene­ral Opinion of his Learning and Integrity, that when Much Munden in Hertfordshire was under Sequestration, and Mr. Sedgwick mo­ved that some one of the Assembly might be recommended to that Place; Lightfoot was Nominated, and it was ordered with Univer­sal Consent, that he should be recommended to the Committee for that purpose; which happened in Jan. 1643.

'Tis true, this Learned Man was noted for certain peculiar Opinions, differing therein from such as were commonly received and believed; and thereupon was disliked by some: Nor will I deny it; but yet I must add, that they were such Notions as were innocent, and did no harm; such as had no bad influence upon Religion, nor tended in the least to the Breach of the Churches Peace, (which he ever held very sacred); nor lastly, Such as abated the necessity of a Vertuous and good Life. And for evidence hereof I will mention some (if not the chief) of them.

First, That the Jews shall not be called, but are utterly rejected. And that the Time of their Rejection happened before the Times of Christ; and that it so happened to them for their fond and impious Traditions; ra­ther [Page xxxv] than, as it is commonly asserted, after Christ, for their Wickedness in Murthering their Messiah, and persecuting the Gospel, how grievous a Crime soever that was. And that their last and only Calling was in the Times of Christ and his Apostles; when some few of them, viz. A Remnant, were brought in to the Faith of Christ. But that neither then there was, nor ever shall be, any Uni­versal Calling of them. And that that p [...]ace in the Epistle to the Romans, Chap. xi.5. At this present time there is a Remnant, &c. was very unfit to prove this Calling of the Jews to be either Universal, or after a great many Ages.

Secondly, His mean Opinion of the Greek Translation of the Bible by the Seventy; that it was hammered out by the Jews with more Caution than Conscience, more Craft than Sincerity; and that it was done out of Political Ends to themselves. As that the Bi­ble might be represented after that manner to the Heathen, among whom the Jews dwelt, that they might have no occasion from any Passages therein to revile, or cavil with them; and that the Jewish Nation might live the more securely; concealing in the mean time, as much as they could, the Mysteries and Truths contained therein.

Thirdly, His Opinion concerning the Keys, that they were given to Peter alone: And this he openly h [...]ld in the Assembly of Divines: When a long Debate happenning, whether [Page xxxvi] the Keys were given to all the Church, or to the Apostles only; our Divine stood up, and granted, that in all Ages the Learned h [...]ld, that the Keys meant the Government of the Church; but that for his part, he held that the Keys were only given to Peter, according as Christ spake only to him; To THEE will I give the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: [But mark in what sense he meant it]: That is, to open the Gospel to the Gentiles; which was meant, he said, by the Kingdom of Heaven. And that it was to this purpose Peter spake, Acts xv.7. in an Assem­bly of the Apostles and Elders at Jerusalem; Ye know, how that a good while ago, God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my Mouth should hear, &c. [...], that is, from this Promise of Christ given to him. And,

Fourthly, He did not allow that Binding and Loosing related to Discipline, but to Doctrine. And that because the Phrases, to Bind and to Loose were Jewish, and most fre­quent in their Writers; and that it belonged only to the Teachers among the Jews, to Bind and to Loose. And that when the Jews set any apart to be a Preacher, they used these Words, Take thou Liberty to Teach, what is Bound, and what is? Loose. To which I might add,

Fifthly, His peculiar Interpretation of those Words of God to Cain, If thou dost not well Sin lyeth at the Door. SIN, that is not Pu­nishment, [Page xxxvii] to take hold of thee, but a Sin-offering, to make Attonement for thee; and that that was the common Acceptation of [...] i. e, Sin, in the Books of Moses. And that God did not intend to terrifie Cain by those Words, but rather to keep him from De­spair.

These, and perhaps other Notions and Expositions of Scripture, however Novel they seemed to be; yet as they were not with­out probability, so they never made any As­saults upon Fundamental Doctrines, or true Christian Holiness and Peace. And thus we have seen somewhat of his Learning and Divinity. But that which made it the more valuable, was his Integrity and Goodness. Which opens to us a second Scene of the Man, and brings us to the Consideration of him,

II. As a Good Christian. And for the the better evidencing of this, I shall use the same Method for the most part, as I have done before to shew his Learning; Namely, by looking into his Behaviour, while he sat a Member of the Assembly of Divines.

1. He was an earnest Promoter of the Peace of the Church. And because the breaking of the Communion of Christians by Schisms and Separations, and withdrawing from the National Church into distinct Churches, did effectually tend to kindle the Fire of Contention and Uncharitableness, and to beget Estrangements in the Family of [Page xxxviii] C [...]rist, where Love ought to be the great Badge; therefore he always set himself to op­pose those Practices. And for this pur­pose he would often urge how our great Master and Lord kept up constant Commu­nion with the Jewish Church, whereof he was Born a Member, and came up duly to the Temple at the Set Feasts, and observed the Churches Rites and Customs, however cor­rupt they were in many respects, and the Officers and Prime Professors of it very Dege­nerate and Hypocritical. Which Argument he hath managed well in his Discourse upon the Widow's Mite in this Book, as well as in other Places of his Printed Sermons, extant in his Works. To which I might add, that when in his Discourse upon one of the Se­lect Articles of the Creed, now published, he had occasionally said, that it might so happen that a Man might be excommunicate out of a true Protestant Church, and yet it were hard to doom such an one to Perdition; he pre­sently put in this Caution, That he spake not this to animate any to separate or withdraw from the visible Church wherein we live: Ad­ding withal his Grief at the Separations a­mong us, That for such Divisions of Reuben there were great Thoughts of Heart. And it is remarkable, that when once in the Assembly some began to move, whether the Church of England were a true Church, and the Mi­nistry of the Church of England a true Mini­stry; some would have waved it, lest it might [Page xxxix] have brought on the Business of Subscription to the Orders of the Church, which a great many of them had refused. But Lightfoot honestly said, that this was the Question betwixt our Saviour and the Woman of Samaria. And if she had directly asked him, whether the Church of the Jews were the true Church, he would doubtless directly have answered, it was. For otherwise God had no Church in the World. And yet was the Church of the Jews at that time in a worse Condition than any of them could think the Church of Eng­land then was.

2. He was no Innovator. He sat in­deed in the Assembly of Divines called to­gether by the Parliament, to consult upon Matters of Religion; and he came thither in the simplicity of his Heart, contributing his Service towards the Correcting of supposed Abuses in Religion. But still he had a respect to the good Laws of the Church; and dis­liked and declared against many Propositions brought in for Reformation, and opposed several things attempted to be introduced, not only by Independents and Antinomians, but such as were for transcribing the Model of the Scotch and Geneva Discipline. In their settling a Set Form for Religious Worship (the Parliament having laid aside the Com­mon-Prayer-Book) Lightfoot had an Eye to former Rubricks and Canons. To give one Instance hereof: When in the Directory for Baptism, the giving Ministers warning, when [Page xl] any Children were to be Baptized, was omit­ted, he moved that that might be taken order for; seeing that in our old Rubrick, said he, it is enjoyned, that warning should be gi­ven the Night before. And now he shewed, there was more need, since the Minister by the Directory, was to make an Exhortation, and to give some Instructions concerning Baptism. Whereupon this Clause was added, Warning being given to the Ministers the Day before. Again, he utterly disliked the bring­ing in a Rank of Women for Officers in the Church, viz. Widows. Which some had urged, grounding themselves upon that of the Apostle, Let not a Widow be taken into the number under Sixty Years old. Where Lightfoot shew­ed, that for that very thing he could not be of that Opinion: For that it was contrary to the Old Testament, where the Officers of the Temple were to be dismist at Fifty Years Old. And when Goodwin answered, that the Priests indeed were discharged of their Service at those Years, because of the Burthen of their Service: As particularly, carrying of the Ark, and the Labour of Sacrificing: Lightfoot re­plied, that the Ark was fixed after Solomon's time: So that there was no more Occasion to carry that. Neither were the Sacrifices any such Burthen; the Courses of the Priests were so full, as that no less than Eighty op­posed Vzziah. And he shewed it from Jose­phus; and that there were Five Thousand apiece at least in each Course; and that their [Page xli] Service was but one Week in half a Year: And therefore they could not be overladen with Work. Nevertheless when after much Debate it was brought to the Vote, whether Widows were Church Officers; it was voted in the affirmative: Yet only by one Voice, Lightfoot being then absent; which he calls in his Journal, His Misfortune; and adds, that the Proposition was utterly against his Mind, and far different from his Judgment.

3. He set himself especially against such as made use of Religion to supersede the Duties of Morality; and who upon pretence of higher Attainments in Christianity, over­lookt Truth, Honestly and Righteousness. He could not bear such as made Religion a Pander to Sin. And such Sects there were that shewed their Faces in his Time. There were some that had refined Religion to that Degree, that they went all upon Illuminati­ons, Revelations, and Spiritual Raptures, and talked of nothing but of their being acted by the Spirit of God, and doing all by some mighty Influences of that Spirit: Poring so much upon these Fancies, that they measured their own and others Religion, according as they were endued with these Enthusiastical Flights: In the mean time made little or no account of Moral Duties; and were much addicted to Unpeaceableness, Covetousness, Fraud, Lying, Deceiving, Slandering, and such like.

[Page xlii]There was one considerable Sect that then appeared, and got much ground, which was known and distinguished by this Doctrine, That Christians were not obliged by the Moral Law. Against this Party great complaints were at length brought into the Assembly of Divines; many of whom, (among which was our Divine) saw well to what a Decay all true Religion would soon come, if Men of this Opinion were tolerated. For, (to shew them a little to the present Age) these were Doctrines contained in the Books or Speeches of three of them, collected by Dr. Temple and offered to the Assembly, as I find them in Lightfoot's Journal.

1. ‘That the Moral Law is of no use at all to Believers: No Rule to walk by, nor to examine their Lives by. And that Belie­vers are freed from the Mandatory Pow­er of it.’

2. ‘That it is as possible for Christ to Sin, as for a Child of God.’

3. ‘That a Child of God needs not, nay, ought not, to ask Pardon for Sin; and that it is no less than Blasphemy to ask Pardon for our Sin. And one of them being told, that David asked Forgiveness of Sins, it was an­swered, it was his Weakness.’

4. ‘That God doth not chastise any of his for Sin. Let Believers Sin as fast as they can, there is a Fountain open for them to wash in. That not for the Sin of God's People, but for Swearers and Drunkards the Land is punisht.’

[Page xliii]5. ‘That there ought to be no Fasting Days under the Gospel; and Men ought not to afflict their Souls; no, not in a Day of Humiliation. And it being asked one of them, whether he Fasted in obedience to the Civil Command, he answered, That were to be the Servants of Men.’

‘6. That this Doctrine is false, If you Fast and Pray and Humble your selves unto God, then God will turn away his Judg­ments. Yea, if you Pray by the Spirit, you are not hereupon to expect deliverance from Judgments.’

7. ‘That when Abraham in outward ap­pearance seemed to Lye; in his Distrust, Ly­ing, Dissembling, and Equivocating, even then truly all his Thoughts, Words and Deeds, were perfectly Holy and Righteous from all Spot of Sin in the sight of God.’

8. ‘That if a Man by the Spirit know himself to be in a State of Grace, though he commit Murder or Drunkenness, yet God doth see no Sin in him.’

Lightfoot, with divers others of the soberer sort in the Assembly, were hugely concerned at these Men and their Doctrines: Because they well saw, and urged to the rest, how these Opinions opened a Gap to all manner of Licentiousness; struck at the very obedi­ence due to the Civil Magistrate; horribly scandalized all the Doctrine of Free-Grace and Justification; endeavoured to blast all [Page xliv] Faithful Ministers, calling them Legal Preachers: And that this Sect was the more dangerous, because their Preachers crept into the Favour of the Souldiers. And it was obser­vable, that when the Definition of Justification lay before the Divines (having under their Hand the Consideration of the Homily of Justi­fication) Palmer moved, that to meet with the Antinomians Repentance might go into the Definition of Justification; but it would not pass. But a Clause in the Homily was thought good to be inserted, Viz. Which though it do not exclude Repentance and Conversion to God, &c. Yet doth it not include them as Parts of the Works of Justification. And this Clause was voted affirmatively: But Lightfoot, think­ing it not sufficient, shewed, that the Phrase Doth not exclude Repentance, did not reach to meet with the Antinomians, and Profane ones who abused this Doctrine. And there­fore he tendred the Word, Required; and that it should run, though it do REQUIRE Repentance and Conversion, &c. But it was feared that word might be doubtful, and therefore they rather inclined to the former Phrase, Not excluding.

And as he shewed his Zeal against this Sect in the Assembly, so his Doctrine in his Sermons was to the same Import. These words he spake in one of them with much earnestness; ‘I have observed, and cannot but observe again to you, how much is laid in Scripture upon our discharging of our Duty towards [Page xlv] our Neighbour, upon dealing in Truth, in Righteousness, in Charity, and Integrity with Men; as if this were the very ALL we had to do. The Jews say, that all the Six Hundred and Thirteen Commands of the Law are summed up in those Eleven, Psal. xv. Reckon up those Eleven, and how ma­ny of them refer to our upright and righ­teous dealing with our Neighbour? Who shall abide in the Lord's Tabernacle? Who shall dwell in his Holy Hill? He that works Righ­teousness, and speaks Truth to his Neighbour; that takes not up a Reproach against his Neigh­bour; that keeps his Oath, though to his own Hurt; that takes not Vsury; that takes not Reward against the Innocent. He that doth these things shall never be moved. One would think, said he, the Answer to this Question, Who shall abide in the Lord's Tabernacle? should have been such an one as this, He that is Devout and Constant in Prayer: He that is a constant Hearer, and much in Medita­tion of the Word of God: He that is care­ful to keep the Sabbath, and so to relate to the Duties of the First Table. But ye see here, all referrs to our dealing Fairly, Truly, Up­rightly with our Neighbour. And so Mat. xix.18. If thou wilt enter into Life, keep the Commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus saith, Thou shalt do no Murther. Thou shalt not commit Adultery. Thou shalt not Steal. Thou shalt not bear false Witness, &c. So that if you ask the Way to Sion: If [Page xlvi] you enquire which Way shall I go to the Lord's Tabernable, to dwell in his Holy Hill? Why, Friend, you must begin at a perfect and good Heart toward Men; an so go along to a perfect and good Heart to­ward God; and so to Sion. God calls for such Duties towards our Neighbour, as it were to set us to our ABC, and Primer, to learn the first Elements and Lessons of Religion.’

Thus would he sometimes meet with the Antinomian, and pull down the high-flying Religionists, that were above these low Dis­pensations of Morality, Truth, Justice, and up­right Dealing with Men. These Doctrines there­fore and such like, broached by Men of unquiet Spirits, he liked not; and especially when they led Men away from that true Heavenly-mindedness, Meekness and Humility, which are the great Laws of the Gospel. This was one Reason made him no Friend to the Mil­lenary Opinion; which taught Men to look for an Earthly Paradise and Reward in this World: For these that dreamt of Christ's Per­sonal Monarchy here on Earth, imagined them­selves also to be some of those that must reign with him, and had the Best Right to the Pos­sessions of this World: Which was a Doctrine that opened a Door to Violence, Rapine, and all kind of Injustice; to the high Dis­paragement also of Christ's Holy Religion. On that account also he was no Friend to it; but as he had occasion confuted it. Those that [Page xlvii] embraced this Opinion, concluded that place in the Revelations, Chap. xxi.2. I John saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a Bride adorned, &c. for a Description of the Times when Christ should come and reign on Earth. But our Divine shewed no more to be meant by it, but the State under the Gospel. And that the New Jerusalem there meant no­thing, but the Christian Church, as might be shewed at large. ‘When the Old Jerusa­lem in Canaan, (at he spake in one of his Sermons) is destroyed, John sees a New Je­rusalem: When the Old Church of the Jews is cast away, he sees a New Church. And this Church is said to come down from Heaven. A Saint is Heaven-born, and is Heavenly while he is here upon Earth: From Hea­ven he comes, and to Heaven he must re­turn: He is born from above: Adorned and Drest from Heaven, and in a Heavenly Dress: And he is Drest for Heaven.’ The Millenaries made use also of that Ex­pression of the Apostle in the Acts, Chap. iii.21. That the Heavens must retain Christ, till the Restitution of all Things. Against whom thus he Armed his Auditors. ‘This encou­rageth the Millenary to Dream of Christ's Reigning here on Earth a Thousand Years be­fore the Final End of the World; and Swords must be then beaten into Plowshares, and Spears into Pruning-Hooks: Then an Univer­sal Peace, Concord and Tranquility, is to be [Page xlviii] restored to the Church, and all the Glorious Things the Prophets have spoken of, to come to pass, and be settled. But as to that Place the Doctor shewed, there were two manners of restoring things, viz. to their old Estate, or to a new and better. The Millenary himself dreamt not of restoring to any former Estate: And if it be meant of restoring to a new and better, that is done already, when Elias came, and resto­red all things, Mat. xvii.11.’ And our Divine shewed, that this Restoration, or Re­stitution, signified no more but that all things in the Prophets should be made good, or accomplished. This is learnedly treated of in the last Discourse of the Third Decad. To which I refer the Reader.

The Perfectionists that pretended to live without Sin, he saw wanted that Humility and Modesty, and constant dependence up­on God's Grace, that was necessary to the Christian State; and therefore by no means approved of them neither: And endeavou­red to Arm his People against that Doctrine. And what his Thoughts were of it may be seen in the first Discourse of the Third Decad. Where to pull down the Plumes of this Vain-Glorious Generation, he shewed, that a Saint of God in his imperfect Conditi­on, did exceed Adam himself in his unsinning Condition in divers respects.

[Page xlix]4. He was in fine one that had a migh­ty Concern for the Honour of God and Re­ligion: That God might be served in Spi­rit and Truth. Which was the true Cause that he was so serious, earnest and diligent in the Assembly of those Divines that he was called to sit with. For, whatever By-ends they were convented for, and divers of them perhaps drove at; yet his Designs were only what that Assembly was given out to be called for; Viz. The reforming of Religion. And he never one Day failed of being present at the Assembly from the first Session thereof, but ever shewed him­self there to discharge this Trust of Religi­on, till Jan. 22. 1643. (that is, about Five Months) that being the first time he went down to Munden, to enter upon his Living. It was from this Principle that he was ex­tremely concerned once, when certain blas­phemous Persons were brought before the Judges, who sent to the Assembly to know their Judgments in a Point of Blasphemy: Which was, That one Jane Stretton had said, that Christ was a Bastard. And one John Hart, a Soldier, said commonly, Who made you? My Lord of Essex. Who redeemed you? Sir William Waller. Who sanctified and pre­served you? My Lord of Warwick. The Answer the Assembly return'd was, That they had horribly blasphemed, and desired exemplary Punishment might be shewed upon them. And besides, Lightfoot and one [Page l] or two more moved, that such an Occasion being offered, they should present a Re­quest to the two Houses, that strict Laws and Penalties should be published against Blasphemy, which did increase. And a Com­mittee was chosen for that Purpose. And it was but a little after, that the Lord Pem­brook, Lord Admiral, came into the Assem­bly, being sent from the House of Lords, to hasten them in settling the Government of the Church, for that Opinions grew very many and blasphemous.

I might also add, That Mr. Chambers, one of the Assembly, related to them some Blas­phemies of one. ‘As on Gen. vi.6. he said, that it was untrue, that God repented he made Man: That the Soul dieth with the Body; and all things shall come to an end but God: That Christ came to live Two and Thirty Years, and nothing else that he knew: That God loves any Creature as well as Man: That we are not to be saved by that Christ that suffered at Jerusalem, but by a Christ formed in us, &c.’ Where­upon it was ordered presently, that this should be brought to the Lords, and they desired to send to apprehend them.

It sprang from the same Principle of his awful Apprehension of God's Honour, that when the Assembly had finished the Dire­ctory, and read it over, in order to the last Hand, Lightfoot observing, that the singing of the Psalms was quite left out, he moved [Page li] again and again, that it might be put in, and that such a material Part of Divine Worship should not be omitted. And at length it was done accordingly.

He had a great Concern at the Atheisti­calness of the Age, when Men began to shake the very Principles of Religion, and strove to make themselves and others believe no Existence of Spirits, nor any Being after Death; the great Curb to restrain the wick­ed Excesses of evil Men. To this I attribute the Pains he took to transcribe with his own Hand a notable Relation of a Spirit appear­ing in Driffield, in Yorkshire, that was sent to Mr. (after Dr.) Ezekiah Burton, then Fellow of Magdalen College in Cambridge, by Mr. Moore, formerly Fellow of the said College; and Mr. Blackwell, another Minister (as it seems) who took the Relation from the Woman's own Mouth, to whom the Spirit often ap­peared. And seeing our Divine took the Pains to transcribe it for his own use, I may be pardoned, if I offer it here to the Public from his Manuscript.

‘I suppose you have heard the News of a Spirit appearing to a Woman [named Isabel Billinger] at Driffield, in this Coun­ty [of York.] I had this Relation, be it true of false, from the Woman her self. It is too long to write it to you, as I did it from her, but the chief things are these. That she saith, A Spirit did appear to her at several times, in several Likenesses. Af­ter [Page lii] some of the first Appearances she found in a low room, as she swept it out, a piece of a Stake; which she pulled up, and dig­ged there, and found some Teeth, Collar Bones, and a Skull broken. After this the Spirit, upon her demanding if it would have any thing, spake to her, and said, Fourteen Years have I wandred in this Place, suffer­ing Wrong three times: Seven Years I have to wander: One and Twenty Years is my time. Another time it appeared to her, and said, My Life was taken from me in the Chamber of this House by three Women, Mary Burton, Alice Colson, and Anne Harri­son, because of 23 l. which I lent to Ma­ry Burton Three Years before, and 23 s. which they took out of my Pocket, and three Rings, two of Gold, and one of Sil­ver, and other Writings and Bonds of the Money; two of the Rings were my Grand­mother's, and the Silver one my own Mo­ther's. They took my Life betwixt Eight and Nine a Clock at Night, and I received my Grave betwixt Twelve and One.’

‘It tells many Particulars, she says, (which I have writ) about the Place where it did live; its Father's Name, and Mother's, and other Kindred. She said, It bade her make a Fire, where she took up the Stake, and let Mary Burton be there, who came of her self to the making of it. (She only of the three Women is alive.) The Wo­man says, she sat by the Fire, till the Peo­ple [Page liii] in the Street said her Child cried in the other Room. But when she went, the Child was asleep, and the Spirit was standing within the Door where the Child was; and said, Blessed be the time, when this Fire was made, and blessed be they that gave Consent to the Fire-making. For the Stake begins to be as warm at the Root, as the Heart of me was when the Stake was struck thro' it. Another time it said, Send Mary Burton to the Goal, and I will be with her there. She says, she ask'd it how it should do for Witness when she came before the Judge of the Assize; and it said, Thou shalt never want Witness, as long as I can get either Mile or Miles. She says, it desired her to go to Mr. Crompton's, one of the Justices, and desire him to send to the Churches to pray for a wandring Soul, and pray for Prosperity of a Spirit, that will discover the Murder of it self the next Assize; which was done Fourteen Years ago, passing a Week before Midsummer last.’ [She accordingly did this Message to the said Justice, and related her Story to him.] ‘She says, Mr. Crompton desired to see it in the Day-time; but it said, he was not so good as his Word, to send to the Churches to get them to pray for a wandring Soul, and so it would not be seen by him in the Day, un­less the Dark were no Danger to him. She says, when she would have touched it, it said, Thou needest not take hold of me, [Page liv] for I am not evil. She says, they bade her ask it, Where it had been all this while, and what it lived on: It said, I remain in the Air, and the Quarters and Minutes are set down how long it stays on the Earth at a time, when it appears. And said more­over, I am sent from the Lord, to discover and disclose: And also said, I in my Like­ness will appear to divers, but have no Power to speak to any, but to thee. She says, it saith that it shall enjoy the happy Eternal; and that it had no Power to speak, till the Stake was taken up. She says, it appear'd to her the Night before I was with her. There is a great deal more of the Sto­ry; whereof some I heard there of her, and some since by others.’ To this is sub­joyned

The Relation of Mr. Thomas Blackwel.

Containing almost all that was in Mr. Moor's, Word for Word, and these Particulars besides.

‘ABout Lammas last 1662. it appeared twice like a Child of Two Years old in White; the third time like a young Man of Eighteen Years old. The Saturday fol­lowing it appeared in green Breeches, Dou­blet and Coat, bare-footed and bare-head­ed, with long Flaxen Hair, the upper part [Page lv] of the Doublet unbuttoned as she thought. She asked, What art thou? What wantest thou? What wouldest thou have? Then it came nearer. She said, If thou wouldest have ought, speak. It answered, Fourteen Years have I wandred in this Place, &c. (as in the other Letter) and vanished, and appeared again within a quarter of an Hour, and said, Be not thou afraid; I will never hurt thee; thou shalt never want [ Wit­ness, perhaps to be supply'd] and vanished. About Eight or Nine a Clock the said Sa­turday it appeared in White, and said no­thing, but moved to and fro, and went into the Room where the Bones were, and rat­tled them, and vanished. Tuesday, about Eight or Nine at Night, it appeared again, and said, My Life was taken from me be­twixt Eight and Nine, &c. (as in the other Le [...]ter.) After these things Isabel Billinger, to whom it appeared, went to the Justice, and related the Story to him. He wish'd her, when it appeared again, to ask its Name, and Father's, &c. and at the next appearing it answered, That its Name was Robert Elliot; his Father's Name Jacob, his Mother's Rebecca, his Sisters Jane and Ka­tharine. That he lived at West-Ham, Three Miles from London: And at another time it told further concerning his Relations to this Tenor; my Father was born at Chester, an Upholster by Trade, and came in his latter Days to keep a Hackney Coach in Lon­don. [Page lvi] And that his Sisters were both alive in London; the one at the Black Nags-Head in Southwark, and the other at the Horse-Shooe; that his Mother's Name first was Mrs. Rebecca Hutchinson, and they might find it in St. John's Church Register-Book in Lon­don.’

‘The Justice bade Isabel ask him, how he came to Mary Burton's House. The Spirit answered, that he came to Nusterton; and not finding her there, came to Driffield, and meeting with her, desired Lodging at her House; and she being unwilling, he said, he thought he might have craved such a common Favour from her for the Money he had lent her. She said, her House was unprovided of Victuals. He called for some Ale, and drank, and told her he came for his Money. She said, she had it not to give him. He said, he would either have it to morrow, or send for the Bailiff, and distrain. Upon that she uttered some vain Oaths and idle Words; and he called her Bloody Quean. Then she swore she could find in her Heart to drink as freely of his Blood, as she did of that Cup of Ale, and drank it immedi­ately. The next time it appear'd, it told further, that Mary Burton took the Writings with her, and went to West-Ham, and de­manded a Rug, and a Tankard worth a­bout — That his Sister Katharine being unwilling to deliver them, said, she had al­ready given him more than came to his [Page lvii] Part. That Mary Burton said, she had got Writings under his own Hand, and that he had gotten a House for his Life, and that now she was become a Friend of his. That thereupon his Sister deliver'd the Rug and Tankard to M. Burton; and that she sold them at London. And having discovered this, he vanish'd.’

‘The next time she asked what she should do for Witness; and it answered, as in Mr. Moor's Letter; and moreover bade Isabel de­sire the Justice to take no Bail of M. Bur­ton, but send her to Goal, and it would be there.’

‘ Isabel asked what the Fire should be made of, it said a bright Fire of Coals; and so vanished. Isabel said, that M. Burton came that Saturday to her House, with the Wife of Roger Baker of Driffield: And upon her Entrance said to Isabel, Good Woman, we are come to trouble your House. For I hear there is a great Accident befel, and that a Spirit appeared to you, and said, it was wounded here. And she desired Isa­bel to tell whom it accused. Isabel not know­ing that it was M. Burton, said, It accused one M. Burton, and Alice Colson, and Anne Harrison. Then M. Burton asked where it said it was put to Death? Isabel said, in the Chamber of this House. Then Mary said her Name was M. Burton; and that there was a Bed in that Chamber, but none ever lay in it, but only the Maid. And [Page lviii] clapping her Hands together, said, she ne­ver dipt her Hands in any Man's Blood. The Spirit said, that she knocked him on the Head, and no Blood appeared. Mary Bur­ton stayed in the Town all Night. The next Day being Sunday, the Fire was made, &c. as in the former Letter. M. Burton desired to see the Spirit, but it said to Isa­bel, M. Burton my great Enemy shall not see me till her last Day. Isabel told Mary what the Spirit said; who said she would sit no longer there to prate.’

‘ Isabel was first examined before Sir Tho. Remington and Mr. Crompton, and afterward her Examination was taken again by Mr. Crompton. Afterwards it desired her to go to Two other Justices, that they might take the Examination, and pointed with its Hand Eastward. Isabel told Mr. Crompton what it said: Who told her, that it mattered not for her going; for he would acquaint Sir Tho. Bointon and Mr. Pierson with her E­xamination. When she returned from Mr. Crompton, the Spirit was standing on the further side of the Bed where the Child lay, and said to her, Thou shalt go to the two Justices. Which when she told Mr. Cromp­ton, he advised her to go; and she was exa­mined before them.’

‘On the 11th or 12th. of September it ap­peared and spoke of other things; shewing of some Plot for betraying of King Charles: And of the time, viz. before Candlemas, un­less [Page lix] the Country, Magistrates, and his lov­ing Friends, writ to him in secret. Also the Person's Name that should betray him. Upon which Mr. Crompton bade Isabel ask the Spirit certain Questions relating thereto.’

‘ Sept. 28. It appeared at Sun-rise, and said, Thou told'st Mr. Crompton the Town where Anne Harrison lived was Redstone, but I told thee Barnstone.’

‘ Sept. 29. At Eight a Clock it appear'd, and the Woman said, In the Name of the Fa­ther, &c. How camest thou to be so long down, and not to appear? It answered, she said certain Prayers over me when they struck down the Stake, that I could not ap­pear.’

‘Upon Thursday, about Sun-rise, it appeared. Isabel asked what became of his Horse? It answered, My Horse was sold on Midsum­mer-day at Beverly to one Mr. Weldbread, that liveth in the South, for 5 l.’

‘ Octob. 4. It appeared to several of the Town of Driffield. But Isabel was not at home, and did not see it.’

‘It appear'd in White all the time, like one of Eighteen Years old.’

‘Some Gentlemen bade Isabel ask it, where he should abide after Seven Years were ex­pired? It said, I must enjoy the happy Eter­nity; and in the mean time the Lord is my Governour.’

Signed, Thomas Blackwell.

[Page lx]It is pity the Relation went no further: For one would have been glad to have known to what Issue this Business came; and whether this Woman, accused by the Spirit, ever came to her Trial. The Credit of this Story de­pended not upon Isabel alone; for it appears the Spectre was seen also by others, and the Circumstances were such as did mightily con­firm Evidence of her, to whom it chiefly re­veal'd it self and its Cause. And it appears that Crompton the Justice, a Person, as it seems, of Sobriety and good Judgment, slight­ed her not, but advised her to put divers ma­terial Demands to it. And the Story seems also to have found good Credit with our Divine, as well as others, in that he thought fit to transcribe the whole Relation, which I have here exemplified. And so I leave it.

I have one Demonstration more of his Piety to God; that he continued as long as he lived, constant and painful in the Word and Doctrine. And as he was an assiduous and excellent Preacher, so his Ser­mons ran very much upon a Strain of urg­ing Holiness, and a pure and good Life upon his Auditors; in a plain, but nervous Stile, teaching them substantial Virtue and Goodness; seldom meddling with Contro­versies, unless they were such as tended to obstruct the Necessity of a Holy Life, or to undermine the Purity and Humility required [Page lxi] in the Gospel, or enticed to a Revolt from the Protestant Religion.

Thus he shewed them, that it was no such easie Matter to be a Christian, but that it required long Pains and Diligence. ‘A Change from Sin to God is a continued Act, and requires Space and Time to ac­complish it. Our Fall was in a Moment; that Change from our Happiness to our Sinfulness and Misery, was in an Instant; but our changing back again requires time. A Man may fall off from an high Tower in a Moment, but to recover his Bruise, and to climb up thither again, is not so soon done.’ And because many were apt to de­fer their Repentance by the Example of the good Thief, hoping to have their great Work done in an Instant, and to find such Success as he did; therefore Dr. Lightfoot added; ‘That in all the Bible we have but one Example of a short Change, and that was the Thief on the Cross, who had his Work of renewing done in an Hour, or thereabouts. But it was at such a time as never was before, and never will be again. When the Son of God was undergoing his great CHANGE from Life to Death, and was purchasing the CHANGE of his People from Death to Life. If thou canst light on such a nick of Time, which is impossible, then thou mightest expect it possible that this Change should be wrought suddenly: Otherwise expect it will take [Page lxii] up no little time. We must distinguish of the first working of Grace, and of the Growth and Encreasing from thencefor­ward. That first Work of Grace doth in­deed translate the Person from one Con­dition to another; but Succession of Time, and Growing in Grace, is required to trans­form him thorowly from one Temper to another. Again, the first Work of Grace doth indeed make a Man capable of Hea­ven, but more is required to make him fit for Heaven.’

He puzzled not his People with propound­ing to them nice and critical Signs, to know whether they were in a State of Grace, but shewed the plain way to be satisfied therein. ‘Who is there, but if he will well examine himself, may easily tell whether he be in the Ways of God or no? Let him but try his Heart and Actions, whether God in his Word hath commanded, or allow­ed, such an Heart, and such Actions, as he carries and acts; or whether he hath for­bade, and cried out against them. Who, but his own Heart, will easily tell him, that God never commanded or allowed him to Lye and Deceive, to be Cross and Contentious, to be Proud and Scornful, to be Wanton and Luxurious, to be Envious and Revengeful, to be Worldly and Cove­tous? And therefore if he carry such an Heart, and if he practice such Practices as [Page lxiii] these, he must needs conclude, that he is under God's Blaming and Complaint.’

He checked those, that tho' they were none of the best, yet entertained a Confi­dence that they should do well, and bol­stered out themselves with good Hopes of their own Condition; using these Words to such, ‘That Man that hath ever gone in a sinful worldly Way, never minding any thing, but to satisfie his own Mind and Lust, and yet will not be driven out of Hope, that he shall be saved as well as the best; This is not Hope, but Drunken­ness. As you may perswade a drunken Man to very strange Hopes. This is Ra­ving rather than solid Hoping. For true and right Hope, wheresoever it comes, creeps out of Fear, as poor Israel did out of their Caves and Dens, when the Fear and Danger of the Enemy was past and over.’ And again, ‘Hope never comes, but where Fear hath been before. As the still Voice to Elias came not, but after Fire, Earthquake and Tempest. The Soul that will breed and bring forth a lively Hope, must, like Rebecca, bring forth the rough, rugged Esau of Fear, before it bring forth the smooth Jacob of Hope. There is first the Spirit of Bondage unto Fear, before there comes the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father. A Conscience that was never troubled, startled, or molested, but blith, debonair and fearless, is not Peace [Page lxiv] of Conscience, the Gift of God, but Dead­ness and Stupidity of Conscience, the Spi­rit of Slumber.’

He gave Men this wholsome Admonition concerning the Exercises of Religious Wor­ship: ‘Prayer, confessing of Sin, attending upon God's Service, these are Sacrifices that God requires; and they are Sacrifices with which God is well pleased, if they be well done. But there is one thing more that God requires, and without which these are nothing, and that is, that which the Apostle speaks of, Rom. xii. at the begin­ning; for a Man to offer himself a living Sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is his rea­sonable Service. In other things a Man may deceive himself: He may think he prays well enough, when it may be his Prayers are Sin: That he confesses his Sins well enough, when it may be he adds to his Sin by his Slightness of Confession. But in offering a Man's self to God, there can be no Deceit, if he do but do it. In the other he may offer but Words; let him offer himself, and there is Substance. This is the Sacrifice that God requires, Psal. xl.6. Burnt-Offering and Sin-Offering hast thou not requi­red. Then said I, Lo, I come to do thy Will. Do but observe the Apostle's Allegation of this Scripture, Heb. x.5. Sacrifice and Offer­ing thou would'st not, but a Body hast thou pre­pared me. That is the Sacrifice thou re­quirest; [Page lxv] viz. My Body, my self to be offer­ed to thee to do thy Will.’

He frequently urged the Obligation of keeping God's Commandments against the Antinomians and others; and that from the apparent Agreeableness of so doing to our Reason; and that since we are reasonable Creatures, we should live as such. ‘The very Equity and Justice of the Duties of the Moral Law is not only a Bond upon us to keep them, but an apparent and plain Reason, why they were given. What more rea­sonable thing in the World, t [...]an that we should love God and our Neighbour; that we should do Mercy, Justice, Piety, Honesty, and the like? Do not these things of themselves speak all the Equity and Reason in the World? Is it not most agreeable to Reason, that reasonable Creatures should live after another manner than unreasonable brute Beasts do? God hath made us Men; and must there be no Distinction 'twixt us and Beasts? What is that that must difference us? What? meerly this, that we have Reason, and Understanding, and Speech, which Beasts have not? The Scripture, you know, calls Men, that have these, by the Names of Beasts however. Herod is a Fox, in the term­ing of our Saviour; and Nebuchadnezzar a Lion, in the Speech of Jeremy. False Teachers are Wolves in the Language of the Apostle, and the Scribes and Pharisees [Page lxvi] Serpents, and a Generation of Vipers, in the Denomination of our Saviour and the Baptist. These Men had Reason, and Under­standing, and Speech, and Knowledge, as well as other Men; and they would have scorn­ed to have been thought short of other Men in these things. But it is living like reasonable Creatures, and not like unrea­sonable brute Beasts, that must distinguish us from brute Beasts. If a Man live like a Dog, a Swine, a Fox, a Wolf, tho' he can talk never so much Sense and Reason, does his having the use of Reason do him any Good, when he is neither good towards God, nor himself, nor other Men, but lives and dies, as the Apostle speaks, As natural brute Beasts, made to be taken and de­stroyed? 2 Pet. ii.12.’

He would at other times press upon Men So­briety and Obedience to God's Laws, out of In­terest to themselves, as tending to their own real Safety and Welfare so to do; and excellent Argument to perswade, if well managed. To this Purpose he spake once; ‘God's Laws are the Cords of a Man, and his Com­mands are the Bonds of Love, laid upon Men by God for their own Good, and without which it could not be well with them. Let me ask any one that desires to be lawless this Question; Wouldst thou that God should have nothing at all to do with thee? That God should leave thee in this Wilderness, thou art walking in, to [Page lxvii] thy self, and say, I know thee not, I will have nothing to do with thee? Nay, leave not all Care of me, would'st thou say: Withdraw not all Providence from me. For then I shall have neither Food nor Rayment; I shall have neither Com­fort nor Support. I shall have neither Health, nor Life; if God disclaim me, and Providence will have nothing to do with me. Why, Friend, I may say, in some Sense his Commandments are his Provi­dence, in which, and under which only thou mayest have Prosperity and Safety. As Solomon once to Shimei, Stay in Jeru­salem, and thou shalt be well; but know, that if e'er thou go over the Brook Kidron, thou art but a dead Man. Sinner, keep within the Bounds of God's Command­ments, and it will be well with thee, and God will be with thee. But transgress those Bounds, and thou art got where good Pro­vidence dwells not. God and his good Providence dwell, as I may say, within the Verge and Compass of his Commandments. As in Rev. iv.3. He and his Throne are en­compassed with a Rainbow, the Sign of his Covenant. Keep thou within the Bounds and Compass of his Commandments, and and thou art where God is, where Mercy is, where good Providence is. But get out of these Bounds, transgress his Com­mandments, thou art then where God is not, and where good Providence and [Page lxviii] Mercy have no Habitation. Shimei is gone over the Brook Kidron, and he is under Solomon's Protection no more, but under the Doom of Death and Danger.’

He mightily preached up a Conformity to the Will of God, shewing how this fitted, qua­lified and disposed to the highest Perfecti­on of Man's Nature. Thus speaking once of the Saints in Glory, he turned his Speech to them after this manner: ‘O happy Souls, you have attained now to that Perfection, for which God created reasonable Creatures; viz. To be resolved wholly into the Likeness of God, by having your Wills resolved into his. And could this ever be done, unless the Work were begun here. These blessed Souls, while here, made it their Work to do the Will of God, and still were striving that their Will might be a­greeable to his Will. And now they find, that what they did was worth all their La­bour. And the more they did of his Will, the more they were s [...]ting for this happy Condition. For do but consider, how keeping the Commandments, and do­ing the Will of God, does dress and prepare for the Enjoyment of God. I might observe here, how the more a Man keeps the Commandments of God, the less Guilt he contracts to himself, and the less Barr there is between him and Heaven. I might observe, that the more he keeps the Commandments, the more Com­fort [Page lxix] of Conscience he gets to himself, and the more Hope of Reward in Glory. Eve­ry good thing he does in doing the Wi [...]l of God, lays on a Brick towards the building up his own Hope and Comfort of a blessed Reward. But consider we only the thing. under this Notion, that the more a Man keeps the Commandments, the more he purifies himself, refines and fits himself for the Embraces of God, and his Enjoyment. No gross, corrupt, mud­dy, fleshly thing can unite to God. Flesh and Blood cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. For that is too gross and mud­dy, to come into that Place of Purity and Holiness. No unclean thing must come into the New Jerusalem, but what is refined, purified and holy.’

He taught what Troops of Evil attended Obstinacy and Wilfulness, and how it was a fatal Impediment to all Virtue, and ended in Destruction. And thus he thought fit to express himself concerning it. ‘The Will re­bels against the Law of God, against the Laws of Men; it rebels against Conscience, and against Reason; it rebels against God's Providence, and against Man's own Good. Ephraim is an untamed Heifer, not used to the Yoke; nor indeed will be. O how woful a Changling is that Soul, where Reason is changed into Self-will, and Self-Will is all the Reason that is there? As, God knows, it is the Case of the greatest [Page lxx] part of Souls in the World. Men are ea­ger to have their own Wills; and that breeds the great Blustering and Confusion in the World; and finally the Confusion of themselves. Self-will was the Plague that destroyed the Angels, and is proved catch­ing, and hath infected all Mankind. And that is the very Engine whereby the Devil works his end for Man's Ruin. Let him bring the Disease to boil up to this height, I will have mine own Will. (And who al­most in the World is otherwise minded?) and his Turn is served sufficiently. Has Ignorance killed her Thousands? Wilful­ness has her Ten Thousands. Has Weakness undone any? Wilfulness even undoes all.’

A close, base, selfish Humour, and an Un­concernedness how it fared with others, he set forth by th [...]se Pathetical Expressions: ‘It is a cursed Malady, that hath utterly banished all Humanity, and Respect to o­thers, as the Devil hath done. And if so be the Wretch serve his own turn, all Care is banished how it speed with others; the very Temper of the Devil, that will please himself in his Mischief, and cares not what others suffer by his Humor: A cursed Ma­lady, that hath eaten out that Royal Law, What ye would others should do to you, do ye also to them, and no otherwise. And instead thereof, hath written there, Do any thing that may serve your own Turn, and no matter how it speeds with others.’

[Page lxxi]He shewed whence substantial Comfort must be fetched for a Soul, seeking Peace to it self. ‘As the Rains from the Clouds that water the Earth, proceed from the Earth by their Evaporation and Attraction by the Sun; so the Comfort that must re­fresh and water any Man's Conscience, must proceed from the Conscience it self, that bearing Witness, that the Man does his Duty the best that is in him. And now, how many can answer my Question? What can thy Conscience tell thee thou hast done, and dost, that can any ways commend thee to God for his Favour? Thy Wealth, thy Strength, thy Parts, O Man, will not do it. Thy Beauty, thy Comeliness, thy Dress, O Woman, will not do it. What hast thou else to shew to God for Acceptance? Good Works, and a good Heart; these are the things that must recommend us to God. And what Stock can we shew of these? What can our Hearts say to us in this Case? Will it not be with the most upon Examination, as with them in the Book of Job, That in the Heat and Desert come to look for Water to refresh, and there is none, and they return ashamed, because there is none. It is very well worth our Consideration, deeply and daily, whether our Actions commend us, or condemn us to God: Whether they speak Good for us, or Evil. [Page lxxii] For if these commend us not to God, we have nothing else will do it, be our out­ward Priviledges never so great.’

He was for a great and awful Distance, and profound Rev [...]rence to be observed by Men towards God; and by no means liked that bold and free way that some used with him. ‘The least sinful, the least guilty Men ever have born the greatest Reverence and Humbleness before God; because they were most apprehensive of his Glorious­ness. How low did Abraham lye before God, when he was praying for Sodom; as low as Dust and Ashes. And could he lye lower? Gen. xviii.27. Behold, I have taken upon me to speak unto my Lord, who am but Dust and Ashes. And, Let not my Lord be angry, if I speak. In the 4th. and 5th. of the Revelations, the Four and Twen­ty Elders that are nigh unto God, and do encircle his Throne, They cast down their Crowns at his Feet, as he sits upon his Throne, and fall themselves upon their Faces, to adore him. And can they fall lower? Nay, in Esay vi. the Scraphims, the Angels that attend him, as with their Wings they cover their Feet, so with their Wings they cover their Faces, as not assuming Boldness to look upon him. As Moses, when God proclaimed his Name out of the burning Bush, hid his Face in his Mantle, and durst not behold.’ And again, ‘God requires to [Page lxxiii] be sanctified of those that draw near to him; and that they should come before him, and walk before him in Sense and Ap­prehension, what a glorious and dreadful God he is. The danger is, lest Men should be too sawcy with God. We are too ready to be too bold and daring against him. And therefore we can never have too high and dreading Apprehensions of God, to keep down that proud Flesh. Let it be our Work, when we come to worship God in his Appointments in public, or at home, to work our Hearts to as reveren­tial and awful Apprehensions of God, as we can. It will better our Services, and no way hurt them. For Men may come with Holy Boldness to him, for all such Apprehensions of him. For they may re­member his Promise of Grace, tho' they ap­prehend the Dreadfulness of his Glory.’

He warned Parents about the Education of their Children, by propounding to them the Consideration of the poor Children that were offered up to be scorch'd to Death in the Arms of Moloch. ‘Look upon those Parents that could deliver up a poor Child, their own Child, to such horrid and exquisite Torments. Do you count this a cruel thing in those Parents? What come they short of this, that either for want of good Education, or by evil Education, do make their Chil­dren the Children of Hell? Those Parents [Page lxxii] [...] [Page lxxiii] [...] [Page lxxiv] that either by Carelesness to educate their Children in the Fear of God, or by giv­ing them evil Example by their own wicked Courses, do accustom them to e­vil Ways; how little do these come short of offering their Children up to Satan, as those wicked Wretches did theirs to Moloch? Parents, either Father or Mother, that by Swearing or Cursing, or Lying, teach their Children to do the like; that by break­ing the Sabbath, and neglecting to attend the Public Ministry, do give Example to their Children to do so too; that by de­ceiving, base and unconscionable Dealing, set a Copy for their Children to write after. Or if they see them follow such Courses as these, and do not labour to teach and train them better; do not these, as much as in them lyes, devote their Children to Satan, as those did to Moloch? Are these any more merciful to their Children's Souls, than those were to their Children's Bodies? For he that trains not up his Child to God, for whom does he train him up, but the Devil? For is there any Mean between? What Complaint God taketh up against Is­rael about their giving up their Children to Moloch, may he not take up against Thousands in the World upon this Ac­count, Thou hast taken my Children, and de­livered them up, to make them pass through the Fire. That is, the Children which I have given thee, and which should have been mine.’

[Page lxxv]He warned Men against Lying and False-speaking by the Example of Ananians and Sap­phira, that were struck dead for it. ‘Which he called a fearful Judgment set up, as a Pillar of Salt, at the very entrance of the Gospel into the World; that Men might see, and hear, and fear, and not dare to Lie under the Gospel of Truth; especial­ly, not to the Spirit of Truth. And if you look upon Ananias his doing, you see him Deceiving and Lying; and if you observe Peter's Words, you may see he referrs his Lying and Deceiving to their proper Ori­ginal; Viz. That they both are the Work of the Devil. Why hath SATAN filled thy Heart to lye; and filled thy Heart to de­ceive, and keep back part of the Price of the Land. That if you will trace his Wicked­ness to the Spring-head, his Intent to de­ceive made him lye, and his base Covetous­ness made him deceive; and the Devil caused all.’

He gave this Rule concerning Apparel, and for the avoiding Pride in what Men put on. ‘God allows Men to wear good Cloths according to their Quality and De­gree; but if Pride be there, it is beside his Allowance. God allows us Cloths to keep us warm: He allows us Cloths to adorn our Rank and Quality; but if we lace and trim our Wear with Pride, there is a Le­prosie got into the Warp and Woof, that [Page lxxvi] rots all. God appointed the Jews to wear Fringes upon their Garments, to make them still to be remembring the Law: I am afraid the Fringing and Finery of two many have a clean contrary Effect: It doth but puff them up, and make them proud.’ And again; ‘If any should ask, What Cloths, and Hair, and Garb, may I wear, this may be a very direct and satisfactory Answer: Wear what you think good, so it be with­out Pride. And this I believe will shut out of Doors, 1. Wearing a Garb above one's Rank and Degree: For I question whe­ther one can wear a Garb above his Rank without Pride. And, 2. Affecting foreign, and strange, and few fangled Fa­shions. For tho' it may be possible for a Person to be in the Fashion without Pride, because he would not be hooted at for Singularity; yet certainly it is hardly possi­ble to affect new fangled Fashions without Pride. It is one thing to put on the Fa­shion to avoid Reproach, and another thing to dote upon Fashions, and to make them Bravery. He that makes his Cloths his Bravery, it is very suspicious he makes them his Vainglory: and he that dotes on the Fashion, it is to be doubted he dotes on the Pride of the Fashion.’

THESE Instances are enough to shew what a plain but fruitful Method of Teaching and Preaching Dr. Lightfoot took. But he also [Page lxxvii] took care of his People's Principles, to preserve them from warping from the National Church, (as hath been taken notice of before) and from the Church, consider'd as Protestant. Of which I shall proceed to a few Instances.

To arm his Auditors against Popery, thus he taught them. ‘Our Histories tell us, That when Austin the Monk came hither into Britain from the Pope, as to settle Religi­on; and when some of the British Christi­ans consulted with a grave prudent Man, whether they should close with him, and submit to his Rules: Yes (saith he) if he be humble, do. But if he be proud, he is not of God. Would you take a Measure of true Religion, no surer Token than these two, Humility and Charity. They talk, they will prove the Truth of their Religion by An­tiquity, Universality, and I know not what. Let them shew it by the Humility and Mercifulness of it; and we shall desire no more. But I doubt that Religion that teacheth the Merits of a Man's Works is too proud against God to be the true Re­ligion; and that that teacheth, that the Pope is above all Princes, is too proud against Men. And I doubt that Religion that stirs up M [...]n to murder Princes, No­bles, People, that will not be of that Re­ligion, is not the true Religion. I am sure Christ and his Apostles were never either of such Pride or Cruelty; but further [Page lxxviii] [...] [Page lxxix] [...] [Page lxxvi] [...] [Page lxxvii] [...] [Page lxxviii] from these Principles of Rome, than it is 'twixt Rome and Jerusalem.’

And as he warned them against Popery in general, so particularly, ‘Against a blind Zeal, Zeal without Knowledge, or Zeal in a wrong Way. It is good always to be zealous in a good Matter; but mischievous to be zealous in a bad. There was a great deal of Religious Zeal, for those Parents to offer their Children to Moloch, to be burnt alive in his Arms, in Devotion to that God of theirs. But it was blind Zeal, mad Religion, distracted Devotion. Their God was the Devil. St. Paul in one Place saith, That in Zeal he persecuted the Church: But in another Place he saith, He was ex­ceeding mad against the Church. That Zeal of his was mere Madness. It was blind and mad, cared not whither it went, nor what it did. Rom. x. The Jew hath Zeal, but without Knowledge, and that made him so to set himself a­gainst the Truth. You remember that, They that kill you shall think they do God Service. It was great Zeal, but as blind as a Beetle. It runs upon it cares not what, as a blind Man runs upon every Post, and falls into every Pit.’

And against Cruelty. ‘The Papists plead stoutly, that theirs, and none but theirs, is the true Religion. If that should be tryed by this very Touchstone, Is that, [Page lxxix] can that be true Religion, that makes it Religi­on to murder Men? None of you, but have heard of the bloody Days of Queen Ma­ry, and how many poor, innocent, holy Men were then put to the Fire, and there ended their Lives. And this forsooth done by the Papists, out of Zeal for Religion. Just such a Religion as they were spur­red by, that offered their Children to Moloch. For compare the things together, and what can be liker? Those Wretches out of that Devotion and Religion as they took on them, made their poor innocent Children pass through the Fire, a Sacrifice to Moloch. These Wretches, out of that Devotion and Religion as they took on them, made these poor innocent Souls pass through the Fire, a Sacrifice to the Pope. The Cruelty much alike; the Man­ner of the Death they put them to, much alike. And were they not Religious, think you, much alike? Such a Sacrifice to their Moloch would they have offered of inno­cent ones, when they would have sent away our Parliament out of the World in Fire and Gunpowder; and this for­sooth out of Zeal to Religion. And so they maintain it is lawful to Excommu­nicate, Depose, Murder Princes, out of Zeal to Religion. And so they made it lawful, nay, laudable, to murder so many innocent Souls in that Massacre in France.’

[Page lxxx]Against Transubstantiation. ‘I hope eve­ry one laughs at the Doctrine of Transubstantion, that will fetch Christ from Heaven at every Sacrament: The Master-piece of Delusion. Satan shews here how much Delusion he can practice in the greatest Ignorance. For a Man a­gainst Sense and Reason, Philosophy and Divinity, to believe a Priest can cal [...] Christ out of Heaven, and turn a piece of Bread into his very Body. The strangest Mad­ness in the World! I see it, feel it Bread, and yet must believe it Flesh. I know it was made yesterday by the Baker, yet now I must believe it turned into my Creator. I know Christ is in Heaven, and yet must believe that he is here on Earth. The Hea­then were never more blind.’

And against the immoral Doctrine of Equivocation. Whereof he thus vehement­ly express'd himself. ‘I cannot but ad­mire the Impudency, as well as abhor the Wickedness of the Jesuits Doctrine of Equivocation: A Doctrine that hath put on a Whore's Forehead, a brazen Face, and the Devil's Impudency it self before Men, as well as it hath clothed it self with horrid Abominableness before God. It is a Doctrine that teacheth Men to Lye, and yet will maintain they Lye not. And by their Doctrine there can be no Lying, Forswearing or Deceiving in the World, [Page lxxxi] though they Lye, Forswear, and Deceive never so deeply. A Trick beyond the De­vils: He turns Truth into a Lye: These can turn a Lye into Truth. A Popish Priest or Jesuite is brought before a Pro­testant Magistrate. He puts him to his Oath; Are you a Popish Priest or a Je­suite? They will Swear NO roundly, and make no Bones of it; having this Reserve in their Mind, I am not a Priest to you, or, I am not a Priest of the English Church; or, I am not a Jesuite to tell you, or be your Confessor; or some such lurking reserved Thought in his Mind. This Man hath not told a Lye, tho' he speaks not a Word true: He hath not taken a False Oath, though he hath Sworn Falsly. As the Devil changeth himself into an Angel of Light, so these a Lye into a Truth. But as he is a Lyar still, and is most dangerous, when he seems a good Angel, so is their Lye, when they thus Cloath it with the pretence of Truth. Into their secret let not my Soul come; and with their Counsil, my Glory, be not thou united.’

Finally, He shewed them the Preference of the Protestant Religion, before that of the Papists. ‘This is the Reason, saith he, that so many Protestants turn Papists, [This he spake in the Year 1674.] Because Popery opens an easier way to Heaven, a Thousand fold, than the Protestant doth. Add to [Page lxxxii] this, the Viciousness of the Times. And the more Viciousness abounds, the more will such Apostacy abound according to the in­timation of our Saviour, Matth. xxiv. Be­cause Iniquity shall abound, the Love of many (to God and his Truth) shall wax cold. Men would fain enjoy their Pleasures here, and yet go to Heaven too: They would fain have their Paradise here, and have Paradise hereafter. This Popery helps them too, almost with a wet Finger. Hath a Man committed Whoredom, Adul­tery, been Guilty of Deceit, Luxury, Un­charitableness, let him go and Confess himself to a Priest, and the Priest absolves him; and those Sins are gone, and there is no more danger of them. Or, Oh! For how many Thousand Sins, for how many Thousand Years, can the Pope Pardon him? How may Pilgrimage to such a Saint fetch him off? How may so many Fastings, so many Ave Maries, so often lying in Hair­cloth, so many Masses make all well, and out of Danger? That it is as easie almost with them to get to Heaven, as for a Man to do his ordinary Days Work.’

‘But the Protestant Doctrine makes obtain­ing Salvation a harder Task, according to the Truth of the Scripture. John vi. you read of divers that went away from Christ, because they thought his Doctrine a Hard Saying. So doth the poor Protestant Reli­gion [Page lxxxiii] lose Followers upon the same ac­count. None is of poor Michaiah's side, because he speaks Truth and Home. But let Ahab have the Four Hundred false Prophets, for they will be sure to make all well for him, let him do what he will. There are Four Hundred and Four Hun­dred false Prophets in the Popish Cause that will warrant the veriest Ahab, that ever was, Heaven: If he have but Money to fee them well, will Pray him to Heaven, Sing him to Heaven, Pardon him to Hea­ven; and he shall never see Hell, and it may be, not Purgatory. It is easie to see by this Comparison which is the truer and better Religion of the Two.’

By these, and such like sound and so­ber Discourses, he built up his People committed to his Charge in Truth and Godliness. So that it is reported he had not a Dissenter in his Parish. The People of his Flock Honest, Quiet and Industri­ous; his Church constantly and conscien­tiously repaired to, every Lord's Day with due Devotion.

And thus I have at length dispatched what I had to say, both of our Author, and these Remains of his which are now made Publick. And I, who have once more revived the Memory of this great Or­nament [Page lxxxiv] of Literature, and of our Church of England, shall I hope not only be Pardoned, but merit some Thanks from the Piously Learned, and Sober-Minded Rank of Men.

I had some inclination to have added a Fourth Tract of this Author's, Namely, A Chronicle of Events and Occurrences in the World under the Kings of France and the Ottoman Emperour, made by one Joseph a Priest who lived about the Times of Henry VIII. Being a Fair Translation out of He­brew into English done by the Doctor's own Hand. Which he seemed to have taken all this pains about, because the History is inter­spersed with what befel Jerusalem after the De­struction of it by Titus the Emperor, and with the Wars waged by divers Kings and Princes for the Gaining and Possession of that Place, once so famous for being the Spot of all the Earth appointed for God's Holy Temple to be built on; and for the Son of God to Con­verse, and Die, and Redeem the World in. And also because here is set forth by the Pen of a Jew himself the State and Condi­tion of the Jews in the latter Times, and particularly, the sad Persecutions and Cala­mities that befel them, by the just Judgment of God, in these Western Parts of the World, as well as in other Parts, by the German and French Nations. Whereby might be seen some History of that Desolate, [Page lxxxv] Forsaken People, and of the Scourge of God upon them in successive Generations, ever since they Rejected and Crucified their Messiah, and took the Guilt of his Blood upon themselves and their Children. The State of which People from Age to Age, since the Ruin of their Commonwealth, our Doctor was very Inquisitive after, and wisht some Learned Pen would give the World a fair Account of. But to prevent the swelling of this Volume, it was thought convenient to omit this Piece.

However for a Taste, I cannot but remark to the Reader, how that Jewish Author sets forth the Calamities and Unmerciful Destru­ctions that befel that People in the Year 1096. ‘That Year, he writes, was a Year of Affliction of Jacob. For they were opprest in the Lands of the Christians in all Places, whither they were scattered. For great and evil Afflictions found them out, even such are Written in the Law of Moses, and such as are not written in the Book. For against them arose up these abominable Peo­ple, the Germans and French Men, a Nati­on strong of Face, which respecteth not Persons, nor spareth Old nor Young. Let us, say they, avenge the Cause of our Christ upon the Jews that are among us, and cut them off from being a People; neither let the Name of Israel be remembred any [Page lxxxvi] more. Or let them Change their Glory, and become like to us. When the Synagogues which were in Germany heard this headlong Rumour, their Heart melted and became as Water. Fear took hold of them, sorrow as a Woman in Travail. They lift up their Hearts to the Rocks: They ap­pointed Fastings: They put Dust upon their Heads, and Girded with Sackcloth. And they cryed unto the Lord in their Af­fliction, but he covered himself with a Cloud, that their Prayers should not pass.’ Then he proceeded to shew the Massacres and Spoils committed upon the Jews in all or most of the Cities and Places where they had Synagogues; as at Spires, Worms, Mentz, Colen, Wabzlak, Meir, Trevir, Metz, Prague, and many other Towns. And how their Flights from Place to Place, and some­ [...]imes to the Bishop's House, for their safety, could not secure them, but were pursued and slain with Fire and Sword. Whereupon he makes this Conclusion. ‘Thus whithersoever they fled, the Stone out of the Wall cryed after them to confound and destroy them: For God had given Liberty to the Destroy­ers to Destroy in those evil Days.’

And one Circumstance in these Miseries of the Jews deserves to be more particularly ob­served, which methinks is a singular Evidence of the Judgment of God upon that People, [Page lxxxvii] (who once called for Christ's Blood upon them and theirs) that they were not only slaughtered by their Enemies, but that no small Numbers unnaturally perished by lay­ing Violent Hands upon themselves, and their nearest Relations: And this either to avoid being slain with the Sword of their Enemies, or to expiate with their own Blood any Compliances they had constrainedly made. Thus at Spires he mentioneth a Woman who took a Knife and slew her self, refusing to be defiled, that is, to become a Christi­an. At Worms (where Eight Hundred Souls were Massacred in two Days) many slew themselves, and each one his Brother, and Friend, and Son, and Daughter, Bridegrooms, and Brides: Nay, the tender Women slew their Children with all their Hearts, (saith the Author) and all their Souls; and the Children said, [...] i. e. Hear, O Isra­el, [Which was the beginning of one of their Prayers] when their Soul poured it self into their Mothers Bosom. The like was done at Mentz: and at Rincona two Men escaped who were forceably defiled, one Named Vri, and the other Isaac, the Son of David Parnes; and his Two Daughters were with him, but they returned unto the Lord. And Isaac slew his Daughters on the Even of the Feast of Weeks. His House also he set on Fire. ‘And thus saith this Jew, he of­fered a Burnt Offering unto the Lord. And [Page lxxxviii] he and Vri went into the Congregation of the Lord [ i. e. the Synagogue set on fire it seems by the Enemy] before the Ark, and Died there be­fore the Lord, as the Fire ascended. At Wabzlag they slew every one his Fellow, lest the Chri­stians should abuse them in the Pools of Water which were round about the City. And one Named Rabbenu Samuel, who had one only Son, this Young Man bared his Neck, and the Old Man took a Knife, and blessed over the Slaughter, and slew him: And the Young Man Answered Amen. And all they that stood by Answered and said, Hear, O Israel.’ Much more to this purpose is related there of the deplorable state of that People at this time, which he saith, he tran­scribed partly out of the Commentaries of Rabbi Eliezer.

I have but one thing more to add, (and so shall conclude this tedious Preface) which possibly may not be unacceptable to the Lovers of Dr. Lightfoot, and his Studies, to be in­formed of. That besides these Tracts now offered to the Publick, the last Year several other Posthumous Pieces of his were Printed in Holland in Latin; b [...]ing a new Addition to his other Works; as was hinted in the be­ginning. These were to the Number of XXI. Consisting of, Some Learned Thoughts of the Greek Translation of the Bible by the Seventy; An Inlet into the Talmud, and a Summary of the remarkable Matters contained [Page lxxxix] in it by way of Index: Some Remarks of the Places and Towns of the Holy Land: A Tract of the Spirit of Prophesie, as it was among the Jews, and afterwards ceased: Some memorable Matters under Ezra, and that which was styled the Great Synagogue: An History of the Jewish University at Japhne, that is, Joppa: Short Talmudical Notes upon Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, and Joshua: Some An­notations to be inserted into his Horae He­braicae & Talmudicae, in their proper Places. A Sermon in Latin Preached at Ely at an Episcopal Visitation before Bishop Lany in the Year 1674. that is, the last Year but one of the Doctor's Life: Some of his Exercises at the Commencement Anno 1655. when he was Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge. All these were writ by him in Latin. The Pieces follow­ing were in English, but Translated into Latin, viz. A short Tract of the Creation▪ The Mo­tions and Stations of Israel through the Wil­derness towards the Land of Canaan: A short and plain Exposition of some of the first Chap­ters of Hosea: A Dissertation, whether the Supper in which Judas received the Sop, were the Passover Supper: Another Discourse, whe­ther the Revelation was wrote by the Apostle St. John, or some other John: An Enume­ration of the Promises of God, collected out of the Old Prophets, to be fulfilled to the Jews in the latter Days: An Enquiry into St. James's Liturgy: Some Fragments of Ro­man [Page xc] and Christian History for the first Four Centuries. Lastly, A Collection of Letters of Learned Men, and upon Learned Subjects, to Dr. Lightfoot; among which is a Letter of the Learned John Buxtorph from Basil to Dr. Lightfoot, and another from the Doctor to him.

And thus beseeching God to encrease the Number of such useful and good Men, as this Reverend Divine was, I commend the Reader and my self to God.

I. S.

It is fit the Reader be Advertised, that whereas there be two References, noted by these two Marks ¶ and † at pag. 7. the former referrs to p. 47. the latter to p 87.

THE CONTENTS OF THE Rules for a Student of the Holy Scriptures.

SECTION I.
  • THE Language of Scripture one help for the explaining of it. pag. 3
  • To lay the Books and Chapters in their due Order, another. 4
  • The Way to come to this Skill is to cast the Bi­ble into a continued Chronicle. Ib.
  • The Benefit of it. Ib.
  • Eight Literal Observations for this Purpose. 5
SECT. II.
  • The Number of the Canonical Books. 11
  • The Apocrypha, the Work of some Jews. Ib.
  • Some Observations thereon. 12
[Page] SECT. III. The Old Testament.
  • The Method of reading the whole Book of GENESIS, with Explanations and Cur­sory Observations upon each Chapter; begin­ning at p. 12
  • The Order of reading JOB. 28
SECT. IV.
  • The Method of reading the Book of EXO­DUS, with Explanations and Cursory Ob­servations throughout the whole Book; be­ginning at p. 29
  • The Departure of Israel out of Egypt, laid Kalendar-wise. 31, &c.
  • The Tabernacle and Types of it. 37, &c.
  • The giving of the Law. 40
SECT. V.
The Method of reading the Book of LEVI­TICUS; with some useful Instructions concerning the Ceremonies enjoyned therein. The Laws of Leprosie, what they imported. 48, 49
[Page] SECT. VI.
  • Notes and Explanations upon each Chapter of the Book of NUMBERS. 49
  • A Summary of the Book of DEUTERO­NOMY. 52
SECT. VIII.
  • A Declaration of the Matters contained in the Book of JOSHUA, Chapter by Chap­ter. 53, 54
  • The Story of Caleb's taking of Kirīath Sepher, Chap. xv. why rehearsed in Judg. i. 54
SECT. IX.
  • The true Order for reading of the Book of JUDGES, with Explanations. 55, &c.
  • The Book of RUTH to be read near the begin­ning of this Book. 58
SECT. X.
Directions for the Methodical reading of the Books of SAMUEL, KINGS and CHRONICLES, with Cursory Ob­ [...]vations. Instructions where the PSALMS, [Page] PROVERBS, CANTICLES, ECCLESIASTES and JONAH fall in to be read. Some special Notes con­cerning the Book of PSALMS. 59, &c.
SECT. XI. The Prophetical Books.
A Rule where and how to lay them, as to Order of Time: And as to the Preceden­cy of the Prophets living under the same Reign. How to read the Prophets unto the Captivity. The Captivity-Books to be cast into a Chronicle. Scripture Chronology will direct to find what is not possible to express: And particularly the beginning of the Seventy Years Captivity. 65, 66
SECT. XII. The New Testament.
  • The Spirit and Glory of the Old Testament light upon the New. 66
  • Two things of singular Vse in reading of the New Testament. 1. In the Evangelists, to search out the true and exact Order. 2. In reading the New Testament, never to take the Eye off the Old. 67
SECT. XIII. Evangelium Mosaico-Prophe­ticum.
The Gospel and History of Christ to be traced in Moses and the Prophets. 68
SECT. XIV. The Order of the Evangelists.
  • The Four Evangelists laid in an intire continued Story, till within a Twelvemonth of Christ's Death. A Note concerning the Supper in the Nineteenth Chapter of S. John. 72, 73
  • The rest of the Tract in Forty-four Sections, shew orderly and distinctly how each Evan­gelist is to be read, according to the Order of Time; together with Notes and Observa­tions to prove the Order.

RULES FOR A STUDENT OF THE Holy Scriptures.

With Directions how to read the History of the Bible Methodically according to the true Order of Time; and consequently for the better Understanding, and more Profit.

RULES FOR A STUDENT OF THE Holy Scriptures.

SECT. I.

THAT the Scripture is the best Expositor of its self, none ever deny'd, but they that would not have the Scriptures expounded. The helps that it affords for explaining of its self, are various.

The first to be lookt after is the Language: The Spirit of God, upon the same Occasions, using the same Words in the Original. This observed, (which in Translations cannot be so well expressed) giveth Light to Things, which otherwise were obscure. The Groundwork of the Two Testaments is Hebrew and Greek, but upon Occasion flourisht with Chal­dee, Arabic, Syrian, Latine, &c. The Holy Spirit [Page 4] seldom or never using these, but intimating some­thing of Note, if our Eyes be but serious. So in Hos. V. 5. speaking of Israel's seeking God in Affli­ction, he useth the Chaldee Form; to teach where that Affliction and Seeking must be. So Psal. cxvi.12. the Benefits of God there spoken of are in Chal­dee Form for the same reason. To spare more, the very Language, wherein the Doom of Babel is writ­ten on the Wall, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin, (the ful­lest Piece that ever the World saw in so few Words) imports a great deal of Divine Wisdom. But every one that desires to read the Bible with Profit, cannot see this.

The first thing then for them, that only read Tran­slations, to be looked after in reading the Scriptures, is to lay the Books and Chapters in their true Order. The Holy Spirit hath, in divers Places, purposely and divinely laid Stories and Passages out of their proper Places for special Ends: The Evangelists especially witness this. Here the Skill of the Reader is, first to reduce each thing to his own Place: And secondly, to seek the Divine Reason, why it is mis­placed.

The only way to come to this Skill, is by casting the Story of the Bible into a continued Chronicle. Which, as the Spirit hath given undoubted Helps to draw▪ so being drawn, it is the most Satisfactory, Delightsome, and Confirmative of the Understan­ding▪ Mind and Memory, that may be. This set­tles Histories in your Mind: This brings the things, as i [...] done, before your Eyes: This makes you mark what else you would not; and this suffers you not to slip over the least Tittle of a Word: And sometimes in things of Doubt and Scruple, this Strikes all out of Question. The great Doubts in the Primitive Church about Methuselah's living in the Year of the Flood, and of Sem's being Melchisedek, as they grew from this Course, so from this Course (had [Page 5] it been truly followed) they had been soon resolved. I will not anticipate your Study; else could I shew in Hab. iii.2. Joh. xiii. and other Places, Doubts to be raised, not to be answered, but b [...] Skill in Scri­pture Chronicle, and being so answered, of great Weight and Sweetness. Two or Three Hours Oral Instructions from one that hath gone this way, would give more Readiness in Scripture-text, than whole Days before. For the present take these literal Ob­servations with you, which may something ease, and further you in your Entry upon this Course.

I. Observe, That the Scripture of the Old Testa­ment hath in gross Sums chained the Times toge­ther, from the beginning of the World, to the Death of Christ. These are easie to find; and, upon the find­ing, it is no hard Task to find out the several or spe­cial manner of reckoning of every Link. As between the Creation and Flood, the Years are reckoned compleat. In the paralleling of Judah's and Israel's Kingdom, most commonly current, but sometimes otherwise.

II. The Jewish Year consisted of Twelve Lunary Months. That is, one Month full, and another want­ing; or one of Nine and Twenty Days, and another of Thirty. Which Account came short of a Solary Year Eleven Days. Which Eleven Days in Three Years made a Month of Three and Thirty Days. So that Year had Thirteen Months; and the Emb [...]limean ▪ or Interca­lary Month, they set last, and called it Ve [...]dar. See how he Holy Ghost reckons the Year of the Flood, answer­ing this Account; but makes it a compleat Solar Year.

III. Their Year had a double beginning, Viz. From Tisri, from the Creation to the Departure out of Egypt: And from this Month the World and the Year of the Flood began. At their coming from Egypt, their Year began from the first New Moon, after the Vernal Solstice. And from this beginning they reckoned all their Ecclesiastick Accounts and [Page 6] Feasts, but one, Viz. the beginning of the great Jubilee; which was from Tisri, for special Type of good things to come.

IV. These are the common Names of their Months.

    Days.      
Nisan, containing 30 Tisri, containing 30
Jiar, 29 Marheshvan, 29
Sivan, 30 Cis [...]eu, 30
Tammuz, 29 Tebeth, 29
Ab, 30 Shebet, 30
Elul, 29 Adar, 29

Some of them have other Names; as Zin, Abib, Bul, Ethanim. But where you find these, you will find to what Month to lay them. Their Agreement with our Months was thus.

  • Nisan,
    • March.
    • April.
  • Jiar, Zin.
    • April.
    • May.
  • Sivan,
    • May.
    • June.
  • Tammuz,
    • June.
    • July.
  • Ab,
    • July.
    • Aug.
  • Elul,
    • Aug.
    • Sept.
  • Tisri, Ethanim.
    • Sept.
    • Octob.
  • Marchesvan,
    • Octob.
    • Novem.
  • Cisleu,
    • Novem.
    • Decem.
  • Tebeth,
    • Decem.
    • Jan.
  • Shebet,
    • Jan.
    • Febr.
  • Adar,
    • Febr.
    • March.

V. Their Festivals appointed by the Law Yearly were but Four, (their New Moons, Beginnings of their Year, and Sabbath excepted) Viz. The Passe­over, [Page 7] Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Expiation, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The two latter were fixed Feasts, always upon the same Days. As the Expiation Day was Tisri the Tenth, the Feast of Tabernacles the Fifteenth of the same Month, the reason see after at this mark ¶.

The other Two Feasts, the Passeover and Pente­cost, were movable; and the latter was moved by the first. The Passeover was at the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox. This considered, shews the Eclipse at Christ's Death to be supernatural. And it was indifferently upon any Day of the Week, but constantly upon the Fourteenth of the Month. The Fifteenth Day was a solemn Day; and for that called a Sabbath, Lev. xxiii.11. that is, a solemn Festival Day; as the Chaldee Translation of [...]kel [...]s, and the Chaldee Paraphrase of Jonathan Ben [...]zziel render it well. The Day after in the Morning be­time they offered the Sheaf of first Fruits: And thenceforward was all the Corn of the Land as san­ctified to them, and they might eat it. This Day is called the Day after the Sabbath, Lev. xxiii.11. that is, after the first Day in the Passeover Week, as Aben Ezra, R. Solomon, R. Mena [...]em, &c. do tru­ly take it, And this was on the Sixteenth Day of the Month in the Morning. Compare this with Christ. On the Passeover Day he suffered, the next Day he lay in the Grave, which was a Sabbath in­deed. And on the third Morning he rose again, The first Fruits of those that slept, as S. Paul from this Type calleth him, 1 Cor. xv.20.

From this Day of the First Fruits Offering they began their Seven Sabbaths to Pentecost. The first Sabbath was called [...] that is, the first Sabbath after the second Day, Viz. in the Passeover Week, Luke vi.1. The next Sabbath was cal­led [...] the third [...], &c. and so to Pentecost. See at this mark †.

[Page 8]VI. Their Harvest was half a Year long. Barley Harvest began in Nisan, and Wheat Harvest ended in Tisri, or before it. These and other like things, which seem but small, yet in reading the Bible pres­ly indeed, will prove of singular Use upon Occa­sion. The smallest thing is not to be neglected, that will give Instruction.

VII. Things of greater weight will shew them­selves. Such are the Computations of times from a date, but the date uncertain. Such is Absalom's, 2 Sam. xv.7 of forty years. The beginning of which must be fetched from the time of Israel's de­siring a King, 1 Sam. viii. Which Sin is here pu­nished upon Israel, in the Rebellion of Absalom. Such an one is that, 2 Chron. xxii.2. of two and forty years; taking date from the first of Omri: In whose Line Joram, Ahaziah's Father, married. And therefore his Son's Reign is reckoned from the beginning of that wicked House. Such is that, Esay vii.8. of threescore and five years, which is to be counted backward, and will be found to begin from Esay's prophecying at the first. Such an one is that, Ezek. i.1. of thirty years, beginning from Josiah's Passeover, and Helkiah's finding the Book of the Law; which put them in mind of Captivity, which is now accomplished. Here must your Circumspe­ction settle you.

VIII. In casting up the times of the Collateral Kingdoms of Judah and Israel, your only way is to lay them in Two Columns, one justly paralleling the other; and to run them both by Years, as the Text directs you. But here is Nicety indeed, not to see how strangely they be reckoned, sometimes in­clusive, sometimes otherwise, (for this you will ea­sily find) but to find a reason, why they be so reckon­ed. Some of them I will here present to you, thereby to explain my self.

[Page 9]

IUDAH.     ISRAEL.
Rehoboam made King. He reigneth Seventeen Years, 1 Kin. xiv.21. 1 1 Jerob [...]am made King. He reigneth Two and Twenty Years, 1 Kin. xiv.20.
2 2
3 3
4 4
  5 5
  6 6  
  7 7  
  8 8  
  9 9  
  10 10  
  11 11  
  12 12  
  13 13  
  14 14  
  15 15  
  16 16  
  17 17  
Abijam reigns Three Years, 1 Kin. xv.1. Asa reigns One and Forty Years, 1 Kin. xv.9. 1 18  
2 19  
3 20  
2 21 Nadab reigneth Two Years, 1 Kin. xv.25.
3 22
  4  
  5    
  6    
  7    
  8    
  &c    

Here in this Computation, which the Text layeth just thus, you may see these things to be observed. First, That Rehoboam's Seventeen Years are counted compleat. Secondly, That Abijam's Years are cur­rent. Thirdly, That whereas it is said, that Jerobo­am [Page 10] reigned two and twenty years, and his Son Na­dab two years, you find by this reckoning, that Na­dab's Two Years fall within the Sum of his Father's Two and Twenty. This may seem strange; but the Resolution is sweet and easie from 2 Chron. xiii.20. The Lord smote Jeroboam with some ill Disease, that he could not administer, or rule the Kingdom. So that he was forced to substitute his Son Nadab in his Life-time. And in one and the same Year both Father and Son dye.

Divers such Passages, as these, you will find in this Story of the Kings, if you will but cast it into An­nals after this manner, as be these. Ahaziah Two Years older than his Father, 2 Chron. xxii.2. Baa­sha fighting Nineteen Years after he is dead, 2 Chron. xvi.1. Jotham reigning Four Years after he is buried, 2 King. xv.30. Joram crowned King in the Seventeenth Year of Jehoshaphat, 2 King. i.17. compared with 1 King. xxii.51. And in the Two and Twentieth Year of Jehoshaphat, 2 King. viii.16. And after Jehoshaphat's Death, 2 Chron. xxi.1. Variety of such strange things are to be found by ta­king this course, which otherwise you can never see, nor doubt of. For Resolution of such Ambiguities, when you have found them, the Text will do it, if it be well searched. Conference with some Man or other, learned and practiced in this way, will soon resolve and remove all Scruples. One Month or two spent thus with a living Guide, will profit more than Seven Years Study spent according to the com­mon way of reading the Bible. This way attained to will guide you it self in what else is agreeable to profitable reading. As in marking those things that seem to be Contradictions in the Text, or Slips of the Holy Ghost; (in which always is admirable Wisdom) Parallels of Times, Places and Persons, &c. Which, if you once fix sadly to make a Scripture-Chronicle, you cannot slip unmarked; and it will [Page 11] be enough to me to see you Doubt. I know your Doubting will not rest, till resolved.

I have here briefly run before you the Order of Scripture, as I conceive the Continuance of the Hi­story requires it to lye. If you will but settle to make a Scripture Chronicle, this is needless; for that will search out the Order for you: So that you may spare your Labour of reading this that I have written; and then I need not to excuse my Confu­sedness in it for haste. Yet if you do read it, it may shew you the Necessity of that, that I so in­stantly urge, viz. Skill in the Chronicle. For if there be whole Chapters and Books laid out of their Places, and the reason thereof commonly most sweet, what may we expect in smaller Bulk of things, as Genealogies, Names, Speeches, Years, Quotations, &c. but strange Variations, yet always Divine?

Admirable it is to see, how the Holy Spirit of God in Discords hath shewed the sweetest Music. But few Men mark this, because few [...]ake a right course in reading of Scripture. Hence, when Men are brought to see flat Contradictions, (as unrecon­ciled there be many in it,) they are at amaze, and ready to deny their Bible. A little Pains right spent will soon amend this wavering, and settle Men up­on the Rock; whereon to be built is to be sure.

SECT. II.

THE Canonical Books of the Bible are Seventy, (if the Psalms be parted into Five) like the Seventy Souls, that built up the House of Israel.

The Apocrypha speaks for it self, that it is not the Finger of God, but the Work of some Jews. Which got it so much Authority among Christi­ans; because it came from them, from whom the [Page 12] lively Oracles of God indeed came also. But the Talmud may be read to as good Advantage, and as much Profit, and far more.

Leviathan reserved to be eaten, 2 Esdra vi.52. is Judaism ▪ in Targ. Jonath. in Gen. R. Sol. Elias [...] of all tastes in Wisd. xvi.20, 21. is Jewish, R. Sol. in Num. xi. Paradise created before the World is Judaism, in Targ. Jonath. in Gen. ii. Pirke R. Eliezer, R. Nephtali. Bel and the Dragon is a Jewish Parable from Jer. li.44. And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his Mouth, that which he hath swallow­ed up▪ &c.

[...] blessing Simeon, for the Slaughter of [...], is worse than Jewish▪ Jud. ix.2. &c. flat against Jacob, who curseth the Fact; and against Moses ▪ who for it leaves him out of his Blessings, Deut. xxxiii.

Tobit's Chronology is worse than Heathenish, Tob. xiv.4, and 15. making the Ruin of Nineveh by Nebuchadnezzar, to depend upon Jonah's Prophe­cy: Whereas since Jonah's Prophesie that City had been de [...]royed by Arbaces and Belosus, and built again, and stood the Succession of Seven or Eight Kings, and near about Two Hundred Years before it was taken by Nebuchadnezzar. So might one censure the rest; but Verbum Sapienti. Believe not every Spirit.

SECT. III. GENESIS.

CHAP. I. THE Law begins with the Creation; because by the Creature is our first Step to the Knowledge of God, Rom. i.20. Ps. xix. It [Page 13] teacheth the end from the beginning, the Resurrection from the Creation: For if God made Man of D [...]st, he can raise him; our Spiritual Union with God in Glory, even in our Body, by the Union of our Spirit and Body in Creation.

God not named Jehovah, till the Creation be per­fect, for special Reason.

The second Days Work not approved, but the third twice.

Heaven and Earth created in one and the same instant, as Center and Circumference.

The First Day.

The Heavens are made perfect, and move as soon as ever they are made, and with them are created the Angels. But the Earth is unformed and vast, all covered over with Water. And the Spirit of God, by the Motion of the Heavens, cherisheth the inferior Creature of Earth and Waters.

Twelve Hours did the Heavens move in Darkness; and then by God's Appointment Light appeared in that Hemisphere, in which God had decreed, that the Light of Religion should first shine. And there it gave Lustre for Twelve Hours more, declining by degrees with the Motion of the Heavens to the o­ther Hemisphere; where it also shone Twelve Hours. So that the first Day to that part of the World, was So long was Joshuah's Day, when the Sun stood still; and so long was Christ under Death. Six and Thirty Hours long.

The Second Day.

As soon as ever the Light was gone off from this upper Horizon, God commanded, that (instead of that Vacuity, which was between the Waters, that [Page 14] covered the Earth, and the Clouds, which were created full of Water in the same instant with the Heavens,) the Air should be spread abroad through­out the Universe. And in Four and Twenty Hours the Command is accomplished.

The Third Day.

The Waters, that cover the Earth, at God's Com­mand recoil Westward into those Channels, which God had appointed them. And still as they go a­way, and dry Land appears, Herbs, Plants and Trees, with their ripe Seed and Fruit upon them, grow instantly out of the Earth. This Day God plants the pleasant Garden of The Story of Eden, Gen. 11. ver. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. in proper Order should lye between ver. 12, and 13. of this Chap­ter. But Moses hath reserved the History of that to be handled at Adam's being placed in it. Because he would dispatch his Treatise of Generals before he come to Particulars. Eden.

The Fourth Day.

The Sun, Moon and Stars created. The inferiour Hemisphere first sees the Sun: Or else the Moon was made before the Sun.

The Fifth Day.

Fowl and Fish made. The Whale particularly named, to shew, that even the greatest Creature could not make it self.

The Sixth Day.

Beasts and Cattel created; and Man, Lord of the Creatures on Earth: Who come to acknowledge [Page 15] their Homage to Man, when they come for their Names. Which Adam giveth them, GEN. II. Begin to read this Chapter at ver. 4. This Chap­ter is a particularizing upon some Generals of the Chapter preceding. at their first Sight, according to their Natures. He seeth not amongst them all a Mate for himself. God pro­vides one for him of his own Flesh, marries them together, puts them into the Garden, gives them the Moral Law in few Words; and to shew to them their intire Dominion, as well over themselves, as over the Creature, he leaves them to their own free Will, with Power either to stand or fall. He gives his Angels charge over them, to be ministring Spi­rits for their Good. Some Angels despise this Office, and for that Pride are cast from their first Estate of Happiness, and are reserved in the Chains of God's Providence, under the Darkness of his Displeasure, unto the Judgment of the great Day.

No Comfort they have left them, but to have Company of the same Misery, and to bring Man into the same Perdition. GEN. III. This they soon enterprize; and having first obtained Leave of God, they assail the Woman by three Temptations, to the Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the Eye, and Pride of Life, as 1 Joh. ii.16. she being overcome bringeth the Man into the same Transgression. About Three Hours after their Fall, God cometh to censure them, but first he promi­seth Christ, a Redeemer. Which Promise Adam lay­eth hold on; and for that calleth his Wife's Name Eve, or Life.

God seeth his Faith, and teacheth him to Sacri­fice clean Beasts, as a Seal of his Faith in him, who should be sacrificed for him. With the Skins of which Beasts he cloatheth Adam and his Wife, and driveth them out of Eden, even on the Day of their Creation.

The Seventh Day.

After the end of Gen. iii. take in the three first Verses of Chap. ii. That Adam fell on the day of his Creation, were there no other Evidence, Gen. v. 2. were suffi­cient.The next Day God, by his own Example ordain­eth as a Day of Rest, for Adam and his Posterity to meditate upon these things.

Evil Concupiscence, generated in Adam by his Fall, doth readily forward Adam upon the present Necessity of Ge­neration of Children. GEN. IV. He hath two born at a Birth: First, that which was Natural, and after him that which was Spiritual. Their Mo­ther, upon the Birth of the first of them, shews her Apprehension of the Promise, and calls his Name Cain, a Possession or Purchase: The Original Words may well, if not best, bear this Sense. For, saith [...]he, I have obtained the Lord, to become Man. But the Purchase or Possessi­on of the Propagation of Original Sin, did most shew it self in the Nature of Cain. Because his Brother's bloody Sacrifice, which properly signified that of Chris [...] was visibly fired from Heaven, and his dry Sheaves of Corn, the likelier Materials to burn, are not, he falls into a desperate Discontent; which, tho' God him­self from Heaven would remove with The common Gloss upon ver. 7. Sin lies at the Door: That is, the Punishment for Sin is ready to seize on thee, is that, contrary to the Sense of the Verse going be­fore, and the latter end of that Verse. God comes not there to deject, but comfort him. The Word [...] translated Sin, sig­nifies the Sacrifice for Sin, all along Leviticus, which was brought to the Tabernacle Door. comfor­table Words, yet stick­eth it fast, even to the Death of his Brother. For which he is made a Runnagate, and hedg­ed in that he cannot die, as Job iii.21. tho' he begged of the Lord, Let any one, that findeth me, kill me. God gives [Page 17] him a Token, that no one should kill him. Upon which he grows resolutely wicked, as appears in the Discipline of his Children. One of which Lamech, the seventh from Adam in this Line, is notoriously wicked, and bringeth in height of Wickedness by his double Marriage. This Chapter undertaking to set down the Wickedness of Cain's Brood, runs on with the holy Line, till it stop at Enosh. In whose time that Wickedness began to be notorious. See 2 Pet. ii.5. Which Enoch, the se­venth from Adam in the other Line, prophesieth against, Jud. ver. 12. Yet Lamech boasteth in his Villany, and even underva­lues his great Grand [...]ire Cain. His Children give their Minds to Trades, that may further Luxury and Vanity; as fatting Cattel, Imagery, and Music. Thus is Cain's Generation scattered, and shall be utterly rooted out by the Flood.

But these are the Generations of Adam, that should hold out, and not fail. GEN. V. This Chapter is a a Chronicle of 1656 Years, from the Creation to Methuse­lah's Death. This time is cal­led, Early in the M [...]ning, or the dawning of the Day, Mat. xx.1. This Chapter, cast into a Chronological Table, giveth much Light to what went be­fore, to what follows, and to it self. In the Day that God made Adam, he crea­ted him in his own I­mage; even both the Male and Female he made in this Image; and blessed them with Pow­er of begetting Children, in the same Image also; but they fell on the Day of their Creation; so that God names them Earthly Adam, the Day that they were created.

And when Adam was an Hundred and Thirty Years old compleat, he begat a Son in his own Image, sinful like himself, and called his Name Seth. And all the Days of Adam were Nine Hundred and Thir­ty Years; a Thousand within Seventy: But now Seventy Years are a Man's whole Age, Psal. xc.10▪ [Page 18] In this long time Adam saw his Children's Chil­dren to the Ninth Generation. Enoch, the Seventh from Adam, is dedicated to God, as the Seventh Day, and God took him away, that he should not see Death, when he had lived as many Years as be Days in a Year. Enoch, before he was translated, prophesied against the Wickedness of the World, and foretold of the Flood. Which those that feared God believed; and therefore kept themselves long unmarried, because they would not beget many Children for the Waters. For Methuselah lived an Hundred Eighty-seven Years, and begat Lamech, and Lamech lived an Hundred Eighty-two, and be­gat a Son, and foresaw that to him should be given Liberty for all the World to eat Flesh; whereby they should be much eased of the Toyl which they endured in Tillage of the Ground; when hitherto they ate nothing but the Fruits thereof; and he cal­led his Name Noah. And when Noah was Five Hundred Years old, That Sem was Noah's second Son, collect from Gen. v.32. and vii.11. and xi.10. he be­gat Japhet, and Two Years after he begat Sem, and afterward he begat Ham.

GEN. VI. To Noah God determines the Date of the old World an Hundred and Twenty Years; and then should all perish, but himself, and Family. Who should be preserved in a large and spacious Ark; which Noah and his Sons make, and enter into in the Year of the World MDCLVI, GEN. VII. on the Seventeenth Day of Marheshwan, or the Second Month; having new­ly buried his Grandfather Methuselah dieth at the most not above Forty Days before the Rains begin. This Enoch foresaw, when he named him so. Methushelah, He dieth, and it is sent. Methuselah. With him he taketh of Birds, Beasts and Cattel; some for Preservation of the kind; of unclean Crea­tures [Page 19] only a Couple, but of clean three Couple for Breed, and an odd one to sacrifice upon his Deli­very. The Rains begin, and within Forty Days the Earth is as it was at the Creation, all covered with Waters. When the Wicked see Destruction begin, it is too late to pray. For when they would not make their Prayer to God in a time, when he might be found, in the Flood of Waters they could not make their Prayers to come nigh him, Psal. xxxii.6. They are soon wiped away with Waters. Job xxii.15, 16. Hast thou marked the old way, which wicked Men have trodden? Which were cut down out of time; whose Foundation was overflown with a Flood. And their Spirits are now in Prison. 1 Pet. iii.19. The Waters grow Fifteen Cubits above the highest Mountain. The Ark draws Water Eleven Cubits.

On the First of Sivan the Waters ebb, and but a Cubit in Four Days for Two Months together; but faster, GEN. VIII. being got within the Compass of the Mountains. Af­ter Noah had been a compleat Solar Year in the Ark, he cometh out, GEN. IX. and sacrificeth, and receiveth a Blessing, and The Doctrine of Transub­stantiation is against this Law of Nature and Nations. Liberty of eating Flesh, but with­out the Blood. The Rain­bow, that before was on­ly Natural, is now also The Rainbow the likeli­est Sacrament to be of Acci­dents, that ever was, yet are they in a subject. Transub­stantiation teacheth strange Philosophy. Sacramental. Man's Age is halfed. Noah many Years after the Flood is overtaken with Wine, and discovered. Sem and Japhet joyned in Religion. Cain cursed in his Son Canaan.

[Page 20]As before the Flood, so after, the Multitude grows wicked. The Children of Noah's Three Sons joyntly go about to build a Rendezvous for Idola­try. GEN. X, XI. These two Chapters may seem to lye wrong, in that the Dispersion of Nations is told, Chap. x. before the Cause of it; which was the building of Babel, Chap. xi. But the reason of reckon­ing thus is, to shew first, that the Sons of Sem, Ham and Ja­phet, were alike accessary to that Rebellion; and that when he had related the Story of Ba­bel, and the Dispersion, he might follow the Story of Heber, and that Family that held to the first Tongue. Which Work God disannulleth, by confoun­ding their Hebrew Tongue into divers Idioms. Our Father Japhet's Sons have every one a several Tongue, which Sem's and Ham's have not. This makes their calling home again to God to be the longer, by how much they are the further severed from that Tongue, in which only God was truly professed. At Ba­bel began Heathenism, and Men, as before the Flood, to be the Sons of Men, Gen. xi.5. And so are to continue, till Christ give Priviledge to them to be called the Sons of God, Joh. i.12. The Means must be by the Gift of Tongues, Acts ii. At Babel Ages are again halfed. Peleg dies the youngest Man mentioned, since the Creation. The Ages of these Fathers, before the Tower, are summed up, because there is no m [...]re to be said of them. Cast this Chapter into a Chronological Table, and you shall find Eber alive after A [...]raham is dead. In all this Chapter it is not said, [...], as Gen. v. till it come to Terah, and Terah died in [...]. In Gen. v. it is said of those Fathers, that they Died; to [...] ▪ that they were not swept away with the Flood. [...], with whom this Genealogy begins, is alive, and [...] the Name of Melchizedek, Gen. xiv. [...] the rest are not mentioned, till Terah; [...], to shew, that Abram left [...] Terah's Age at Abram's Birth [...]. 4. Gen. xi.3. His Father He­ber holds the Language and Religion of the Ho­ly [Page 21] Fathers from the beginning: But his Chil­dren swerve, especially Terah, who is Idolatrous in Ur of Chaldea: And when he is an Hundred and Thirty Years old, begets Abram, whom he traineth up in Idolatry also.

Christ is promised to Abram in a Heathen Town, which Promise in time was to concern the Heathens. GEN. XII. Terah and Abram both leave their Idolatry, and Country, and embrace the Promise. They go for the Land, which was promised, as an earnest of a greater Mercy. Terah dies by the way. Abram goes into Canaan, and builds two Altars Compare Deut. xxvii. and Josh. viii. with this., one upon Gerizim, and the other upon Ebal, by Faith taking Possession of that Land. Afterward by his own Sufferings he sheweth what they should suffer, that should in­herit that Land, before they come there. For Fa­mine drives him into Egypt; where, when Canaan wanteth Corn thro' want of Rain, the River Nilus supplies that Defect, and affords Sustenance. His Wife Sarai, a white Woman, is soon espied by the Blackamoors of Egypt, and commended, and taken to the King; but restored upon the plaguing of Pha­roah; a Type of Things to come.

Upon his return to Canaan, Let at Mount Ebal, the Hill of Cursing, doth wilfully alienate himself, and His, GEN. XIII. from the Communion of Abram, and the Church in his House.

For which he is justly punisht with Captivity, with the Sons and Curse of Canaan, and becomes a Prisoner to Chedorlao­mer, a Son of Elam, the Son of Sem; GEN. XIV. [Page 22] but is released by Abram; who by Promise was Lord of that Land, and suffers not the Spoil to go out of the Land, but at Dan, upon the Frontiers of Canaan, gets it again. In his return he pays Tythes of the Spoil to Melchizedek, or Sem. Who having seen the two fearful Plagues of the World, the Flood, and the Confusion of Tongues, had out of a Godly Fear and Zeal given himself up totally to the Service of God, and voluntarily was become a Priest. He now refresheth Abram's weary Compa­ny with Bread and Wine, and him with a Blessing.

Which Blessing God secondeth with Promise of Children numerous, like the The Tribes are Stars in Joseph's Dream, Gen. xxxvii. Stars, GEN. XV. and a new Promise of the Land of Canaan, with an evident Assurance by Vision, God himself passing in a Flame of Fire between the Parts of divided Beasts, as the Custom was in making Covenants, Jer. xxxiv.18. But withal sheweth Affliction by Egypt, before his Seed shall enjoy the Land. GEN. XVI. Which soon beginneth by Egyptian Hagar, that gendreth to Bondage. GEN. XVII. But the Son of the Freewoman must inherit the Promise. Which thing Abram believeth, and Cir­cumcision is given him, a Seal of his Righteousness by Faith. And for the more Assurance From this, that Abram hath a new Name given him, when the Command of Circumcision is given him, after-times used to give Names to their Children at their Circumcision, Luk. i.59. and ii.21. as Christians do now at Baptism. his and Sarai's Names are chan­ged.

The Trinity in visible Form ap­pears to Abraham, GEN. XVIII. and determines the time of the Birth of the promi­sed Seed.

[Page 23] Cham's Derision of his Father's Nakedness, shews it self in the filthy Nakedness of his Sons of Sodom; GEN. XIX. whose Flames of Lust are punisht with Flames of Fire, and even their Hell comes down from Heaven. Lot is delivered from the Ruin, but not from the Corru­ption of the City. God, that can bring Good out of Evil, brings a Mother of Christ according to the Flesh out of the Incest of Lot, viz. Ruth the Moa­bitess.

Isaac in his Mother's Womb taken by Abimelech, as Christ in Mary's Womb taxed by Cesar. GEN. XX. To this Story of Sarah's being taken and kept, and released by the Plagues of a Philistin, compare the Case of the Ark in the Land of the Philistins, 1 Sam. v.6.

Isaac born. In his being born above the Course of Nature, Abraham seeth the Day of Christ, and rejoyceth; GEN. XXI. and in token calleth his Son's Name Isaac, Laugh­ter. At Isaac's Fifth Year Ishmael mocketh: Then begin the Four Hundred Years Affliction exactly.

Isaac and the Ram, a true Type of Christ's two Natures; the one only Suffer­ing, and the other not; GEN. XXII. yet that that suffer'd not, giving Validity and Va­lue to that that suffer'd.

Sarah dieth, the only Woman whose Age is re­corded in Scripture. Abraham hath not a Foot of Land of his own in Canaan, but only a Burial Place. GEN. XXIII. In the last Chapter you have Tidings of Rebecca, be­fore the Death of Sarah; that one Sun may be ready to rise, before another set.

[Page 24] Isaac, having grieved Three Years for the Loss of his Mother, is comforted at last with Rebecca his Wife. GEN. XXIV.

Who of Necessity must be barren, that the Seed may be of Promise, and not of Na­ture. GEN. XXV. This Barrenness of Sarah and Rebecca, and others; and yet ha­ving Children at last, was as an Harbinger, to provide room for the Belief of Christ's Supernatural Birth. See Luke i.36. Jacob and Esau quarrel before they be born. Esau loseth his Interest in God in the sale of his Birthright.

The Genealogy of Abraham and Ishmael, their Age and Death, are set down here, because there is no more to be said of them. Howbeit, Abraham lived till Jacob was Fifteen Years old, and Ishmael till he was Sixty three.

At Abraham's Death, when Isaac is now just Se­venty-five Years old, the same Blessing is given to him, GEN. XXVI. that was given to Abraham, when he was Seventy-five.

At the same Age (probably) Jacob also getteth it from his Father, by taking on him to be Esau, GEN. XXVII. when he was Jacob. And by this means obtains the Bles­sing of his Father.

Which Blessing God seconds, giving him the same Promise, as he goeth to Ha­ran, GEN. XXVIII. that he gave Abraham, to bring him thence.

[Page 25]But his unlawful Means of compassing his Father's Blessing God punisheth in the same kind. GEN. XXIX. So that after Seven Years Service he embraceth Leah instead of Rachel, as he had pretended Esau, instead of Jacob. He serveth for this a Week in earnest, that he will serve Seven Years more for Rachel, and at the Weeks end he obtains her.

In Seven Years hard Affliction he begetteth many Children. God taketh Care of Pay­ment of his Wages: GEN. XXX. Types of what should happen to his Posterity. His Riches endanger him both to La­ban, XXXI. who seeth with him the Fruit of his Flock; and to Esau, XXXII. who now seeth the Effect of the Blessing got­ten from him, XXXIII. and the Benefit of the Birthright, which he had sold. But Jacob is Israel, A Prevailer with God, before he meets with Esau, and he cannot chuse then, but prevail with him.

Jacob's Remisness in the Discipline of his Family causeth the Rape of Dinah. Here Leah's tender Eyes have Cause to weep for her Daughter. GEN. XXXIV. Till now Jacob had hardly held touch with God in the Per­formance of his Vow, The Lord shall be my God.

And no wonder, if his Children miscarry. But at Bethel, where his Vow was made, GEN. XXXV. he purgeth his House from Idols; and there he again receives a Blessing, and is called an Israelite indeed now without Guile. Hos. xii.4. He found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us: That is, at this time, [Page 26] at Bethel, he calls him Israel, in Behalf of his Po­sterity: Who, while they should be, as his Fami­ly is here, purged from Iniquity, they should be Israel, powerful with God. Upon the naming of him Israel, which should concern all his Tribes, his Tribes are reckoned, upon the Birth of Benjamin, when they be now full.

Now the Story is to fall only upon Jacob, and his Children. Esau's Genealogy is reckoned; GEN. XXXVI. for no more is now to be said of him. Eight Kings of Edom before Israel had any; answerably Eight Kings of Israel kept the Kingdom of Edom.

Joseph sold by Judah to Midianites, Medanites and Ishmaelites. For which Fact Judah is justly punished in the Death of his Children, GEN. XXXVII, XXXVIII. and his own Shame. Seek earnestly in this Story, and you shall find Judah to have Chil­dren at the most at Twelve Years old, if not before.

Joseph sold into Egypt, is near ravishing by his black Mistress. His Coat is a­gain shewed to colour the Wick­edness of this Woman, GEN. XXXIX. as his bloody Coat was to colour that of his Brethren.

As for telling of Dreams he is sold, so by inter­preting of Dreams he riseth to honour; when he seeth and telleth, GEN. XL. how Plenty and Famine over Egypt should be caused by Nilus. XLI. And the Famine, he knew, came as a just Judgment upon Egypt, for keeping his Innocence so long in Prison. XLII. The same Justice is shewed upon Canaan, from whence he was sold. [Page 27] Which makes his Brethren to bow to him for Corn, as their Corn-Sheaves did to his in his Dream. XLIII. His Bro­ther Benjamin, who had no Hand in his Sale, yet is brought also to crouch to him, XLIV. to fulfil his Dream of his Mother bowing to him; for Ben­jamin cost her her Life. XLV. When all things, according to the fore significa­tion, are fulfilled, XLVI. Joseph reveals him­self to his Brethren, and sends for his Father; who cometh for Egypt. And then of his Generation, or that come out of his Loins, were Sixty-nine in number, and himself maketh the Seventieth.

He is presented before Pharaoh, who never saw so old a Man in all his Life. As he had nourished Joseph Seventeen Years before he was sold, GEN. XLVII. so Joseph nourisheth him in Egypt Seven­teen Years before he dieth. XLVIII. Before his Death he swears Joseph to interr him in Canaan, XLIX. blesseth his two Sons particularly, and himself with the rest of his Brethren. He dieth an Hundred Forty-seven Years old. Joseph Fifty-three Years after dieth himself, L. and is cossined up in E­gypt, to be carried to the Land of Promise, when Israel shall be delivered.

Before Joseph's Death Israel grows numerous in Egypt, if not before Jacob's, Gen. xlvii.27. And God chuseth them for his visible Church, Ezek. xx.5. And to his new chosen Church he appointed Levi to be Priest, to teach Israel the Ways of God, when their great Instructor, Jacob, is dead, 1 Sam. [Page 28] ii.27. His Repentance upon his Father's Curse, Gen. xlix.6, 7. obtaineth Pardon; and his Dividing in Jacob, and Scattering in Israel, becomes a Bles­sing. But after Joseph, Levi, and that Generation be dead, they forget God; as Judg. ii.7. They follow the Idols of Egypt, Ezek. xx.8. Jos. xxiv.14. They reject the Covenant of God, and Circum­cision the Sign of it, they utterly neglect; so that they are uncircumcised like the Egyptians. Jos. v.9. Exod. iv.24, 25. They make mixt Marriages with the Egyptians, among whom they live; as Lev. xxiv.10. And following the Customs of Egypt, they make prohibited Matches among themselves, as Exod. ii.1. Lev. xviii.3, and 12.

Thus when his Church grows thus degenerate in Egypt, God hath ready a Church to shew among the Heathen, IOB. After Genesis, in or­der of time, lies the Story, and Book of Job. Which to read here, before you begin with Exodus, will breed Interrupti­on of a continued Story. But when you do read Job, remem­ber his time; and withal exa­mine and mark, how he and his Friends speak closely of foregoing Stories. As of the Creation, Chap. xxxviii, xxxix, &c. The Fall of Angels and Men, Chap. iv. latter end, Chap. v.2. Cain's Case, who was hid from God's Favour, yet hedged in that he could not die, Chap. iii.21. The Fl [...]d and old World, Chap. xxii.6. Babel's Builders, Chap. iii.13. &c. V. 13. These and other such things you may find closely couched in their Speeches; which they came to know partly by Tradition, partly by living so near Israel, partly by Revelation; as Chap. iv.12. and Chap. xxxviii.1. (thereby to provoke Israel to Jealou­sie) even in the House of Job in Arabia. Whose like Israel had not, Job i.8. after the Death of Levi, and the Birth of Moses. God also cha­stiseth them by hard Af­fliction an Hundred and Twenty Years together, according to the time of the old World, Gen. vi.

SECT. IV. EXODUS.

THE Book of Exodus by the ancient Jews was called The Book of Redemption. Abarb. in Preface to Exodus. So the Work of Redemption is called Exodus, Luk. ix.31.

Israel's Sin causes hard Affliction: From which no Tribe is exempted; even the Royal one of Judah groans heavily under this Burden, EXOD. CHAP. I. To this first of Exodus, treat­ing of the sore Affliction of Is­rael in Egypt, read P [...]. lxxxviii, and lxxxix. which were made by two Men, Heman and Ethan, who then lived and felt that Affli­ction. These were Ezrahites, or immediate Sons of Zerah, 1 Chron. ii.6. And Zerah was one of those Seventy, that went down to Egypt, Gen. xlvi.12. So that those two Psalms are the oldest piece of Writing the World hath to shew. with the rest of his Brethren.

In these hard times is Moses born, a goodly Child, tho' his Mother were by Nature past the Course of Child bearing. EXOD. II. He is hid at his Birth, lest he should be slain; as he was also after his Death, lest he should be wor­shipped. His Mother is paid for nur­sing her own Child. EXOD. III. He lives Forty Years a Courtier; other Forty a Shepherd, spending his time in Divine Contempla­tion. In one of which Thoughts of God, God appears to him indeed, gives him Charge of the Delivery of his People, and withal gives him the Power of Mi­racles.

[Page 30]His Shepherd's Staff is turned into a Serpent for the Terror of Egypt, and Israel, if they rebel; EXOD. IV. but into a Rod again for Israel's Conduct, if they obey. His Hand is Leprous, to teach both them and himself, that not that impure Hand, but a greater, did those Miracles. Armed with these Powers he goes for E­gypt. The first Night he had like to have lost his Son, for want of Circumcision. Which when he had received, he is unfit for a Journey; and so he and his Mother and Brother are left behind.

Pharaoh upon Moses Message adds Affliction. But God will approve himself Je­hovah, EXOD. V, VI. faithful in Promise. The Genealogy of Israel undertaken to be reckoned, but stops at Levi: Which Tribe was shortly to be taken for all Israel.

Pharaoh plagued five times, and hardens his Heart, when he is punisht for Sin. EXOD. VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII. Therefore God hardens his Heart five times more: So that he sins for a Punishment. At last Israel is delivered by the Blood of a Lamb. All Egyptian First-born slain: For which Israel's First-born is due to God. Egyptian Gods are overthrown, and their Dogs struck dumb. From their coming out of Egypt to the end of Exodus, the Text hath so pointed out the Months and Days, that being laid Kalendar-wise to view, they yield more Facility and Delight.

[Page 31]

Year of the World MMDXIII. Days of the M. Nisan or Abib, the First Month.
  1 Some of the Plagues were at the beginning of this Month; at the least the Hail was. And Flax and Barley are now ripe. So is Rahab's Flax ripe in the same Month Forty Years after; and laid up­on her flat-roofed House to wither, Jos. ii.6.
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6 Rome is Egypt in Rev. xvi. and is plagued with Hail, for overthrowing Fundamental Points of Religion: Every Stone a Talent weight, ver. 21. answerable to the several Silver Bases for the Foun­dation of the Tabernacle.
  7
  8
  9
  10 The Paschal Lamb is taken up.
  11  
EXOD. X. 12 Darkness. Three Days
  13 Darkness. Darkness over Egypt, while Israel ga­thers to Raamses. Re­member the Three Hours Darkness upon the Jews at Christ's Death.
EXOD, XI.XII. 14 Darkness over Egypt all Day. The Passeover kept at Night.
  15 Israel comes out of Egypt. A Day of Unlea­vened Bread.
EXOD. XIII. 16 They come to Etham.
EXOD. XIV. 17 They come to Pihahi­roth.
  18 Pharaoh arms after them.
  19 Pursues them.
  20 Overtakes them.
EXOD. XV. 21 This Morning they sing Deliverance.
  22 From hence after three Days March they come to Marah. From hence to the Fifteenth of the next Month they remove but twice.
  23
  24
  25 In all their Journeys the Cloud of Glory lead­eth them. When they pitched, if sat down up­on Moses's Tent. When the Tabernacle was built, it flitted from Moses's Tent, and rested upon that. For Christ was first to be Glorious in the Taber­nacle of Moses, the Law, but more in the Gospel.
  26
  27
  28
  29
  30

Year of the World MMDXIII. Days of the M. Jiar.
  1 In the Institution of the Passover they are en­joyned to eat Unleavened Bread, till the One and Twentieth Day. For till that Day they are not quite free from the Dan­ger of Egypt. Therefore till then they are to eat the Bread of Affliction.
  2
  3
  4
  5 In the Three Days Darkness they are Cir­cumcised, being then se­cure of Egypt. And so both their Sacraments come together; as they did when they came into Canaan.
  6
  7
  8 After the first Year, or second, spent in the Wil­derness, the Passover is neglected, because Cir­cumcision was also.
  9 Both which taught by this their own end.
  10 Israel's Camp, when they enter Canaan, is for the most part uncircum­cised; yet of Israel, tho' they wanted the visible Sign of Admission. This pleads against Jewish hol­ding Perpetuity of Cir­cumcision, and Popish Visi­bility of the Church.
  11
  12
  13
  14
EXOD. XVI. 15 They come to the Wil­derness of Sin.
  16 They murmur. Quails are given at Even.
  17 Manna falleth in the Morning.
  18 They stay at Sin.
  19 They stay at Sin.
  20 They stay at Sin.
  21 They stay at Sin.
  22 They stay at Sin.
  23 They stay at Sin. By this their Stay at Sin, a serious Eye may go very near to find the Sabbath.
  24 They remove to Doph­kah, Num. xxxiii.12.
  25 They march to Alush, Num. xxxiii.13.
EXOD. XVII. 26 They come to Rephi­dim, Num. xxxiii.14.
  27 Water is given out of Horeb.

Here may you understand a place of S. Paul, 1 Cor. x. They drank of the R [...]k that followed them. Horeb and Sinai were at one Mountain. For the Law gi­ven in Sinai, Exod. xix.20. is said to be given in Horeb, Mal. iv.4. yet Exod. xvii. Israel is in Ho­reb, or under it, drinking Water: And Exod. xix.1. they go from Horeb to Sinai. Yet these two were the same Hill. The Hill had two Names; one side of it was called Horeb (Drought,) because it wanted Water, till this Miracle; the other side [Page 35] was called Sinai, (Bushy,) because of the Brambles there. In one of these did God appear in Fire. So that Israel's marching from Horeb to Sinai, Exod. xix.1. is no more but this, they had lien Four Days under the Hill Sinai, on the South-west side of it: Which side is called Horeb, from the want of Wa­ter there; but Moses smote the Rock, and Water came out, and the People drank their Fill. Then they removed thence, to the East side of the Hill, marching about the Foot of it. And the Brook of Water, that issued out of the South side, ran about the Skirts of the Hill, even to the place where they pitched on the other side, called Sinai.

This Rock was Christ, even as the Bread is his Body. Not really, for then Moses had had his Doom here of not entring Canaan, for striking of Christ really; and he had been as bad as the Roman Soldiers, that opened his Side.

Year of the World MMDXIII. Days of the M. Jiar.
  28 Amalek cometh against them.
  29 Amalek is overthrown.
    Amalek for this first assailing Israel, when they came from Egypt; and again in Haman, is cur­sed to Eternal Destructi­on, Num. xxiv.

The next Chapter, viz. Exod. xviii. is misplaced. Therefore when you have read the Seventeenth Chapter, go to the Nineteenth. For the proper Place of the Eighteenth is to come in between the Tenth and Eleventh Verses of Num. x. For this [Page 36] Election of Judges by the Counsel of Jethro was not till they were ready to depart from Sinai, Deut. i.6, 7, 8, 9, &c. Now the reason why the Story of Je­thro is laid here, is this; Amalek is cursed, Exod. xvii.14. Among the Amalekites lived Jethro, 1 Sam. xv.6. Now to shew that Jethro found Fa­vour both with God and Israel, immediately after the Curse of Amalek, it was fit that Jethro's coming to Israel should be set down, to shew that he fell not under that Curse.

Year of the World MMDXIII. Days of the M. Sivan.
EXOD. XIX. 1 Israel comes to Sinai.
  2 Moses goes into the Mount, and returns.
  3 He goes up again to re­late the Peoples Words.
  4 He sanctifieth the Peo­ple.
  5 The People still sancti­fied.
EXOD. XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII. 6 This Morning the Mo­ral Law is given; and be­fore Night those Cere­monials that have nearest Relation.
EXOD. XXIV. 7 The People enter into Covenant in the Mor­ning, and before Night Moses goeth into the Mount, and stays there Forty Days and Forty Nights fasting.
Moses his first Fast of Forty Days. 8
EXOD. XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX. XXX, XXXI. 9 God shews him a Glo­rious Tabernacle pitched in Mount Sinai, to be a Pattern of his, as his was to be of a better. Upon the making of his the o­ther vanisheth, as his was to do, when a better came.
10
  11
  12 The Tabernacle was a Figure of Christ's Body; so was the Temple, John ii.19. For this, they that were absent from Jerusa­lem looked always that way in their Devotions.
  13
  14 The Tabernacle was the Fountain of their Re­ligion: From which they were taught the Favour of God to Men thro' Christ; that Religion is the Heart of a State; the Easiness and Perspicuity of the Fundamentals of Religi­on; the Seven Bonds of the Church; the Mini­stration of Angels; the Mediation of Christ, and even every particular con­cerning his Nature and Function.
  15
  16
  17 The Fabric and Cere­monies of the Tabernacle, as they be hard to find; so being found, they give great Delight and Infor­mation. A serious Stu­dent may see the Fabric and Service of it almost as plain in the Text, as Moses did in the Mount. Take these Observations to help to facilitate.
  18
  19 1. The Cubits, by which the Tabernacle is measu­red, are but half Yards.
    2. Those that are tran­slated Boards, are Planks of a great Thickness.
  20 3. The Tabernacle was Fifteen Yards long.
    4. The most Holy Place Five Yards square every way.
  21 5. The Five and Five rich Curtains were looped together just over the Partition by the Vail. Here Geneva Notes fail.
  22 6. The Silver Founda­tions lay open to view.
    7. The Cherubins were Pictures of Children winged and bowing for­ward.
  23 8. The Pillars both in the East Entrance, and in the Division of the San­ctum, and Sanctum San­ctorum, bore out the two Vails to view. In this Sense the Church is the Pillar of Truth.
  24
  25 9. The Roof of the Sanctuary had four Co­vers: The Sides, till within three quarters of a Yard of the Ground, had two, half a Yard be­low that but one; and the Silver Foundation none at all. Such are Mysteries in Scripture; the Funda­mentals of Religion plain: Other things vailed under one Cover, others under two, and some Counsels of God past finding out.
  26
  27
  28 10. The Fabric and Service of the Taberna­cle, the Fountain of Ce­remonies, well looked in­to, will shew the Romanist most foolishly ceremoni­ous; and his Doctrin con­cerning the outward Wor­ship of God, impious.
  29
  30  

[Page 40]Fifty Days after Israel's Departure out of Egypt, they receive the Fire of a Law at Sinai, the Sixth Day of Sivan in the Morning. In the Afternoon he goes up to the Mount, and receives Fifty-seven Ce­remonial and Judicial Laws of nearest Relation to the Moral. That Night he writeth them in a Book, here is a piece of Writing older by Forty Days, than the two Tables. The next Day Morn­ing he causeth an Altar to be built▪ to represent God, and twelve Pillars, to represent the twelve Tribes. He commands the First born of Israel to of­fer Sacrifice, and Peace-Offerings. With the Blood he sprinkles the Altar, and the twelve Pillars. Which Here is a Figurative Speech in the first Covenant: So the Bread is Christ's Body in the second. because they represented the People, they are called the Peo­ple. And thus Israel enters into Covenant. Which when they were, their Elders draw near to God; which while they were out of Covenant, they might not do without Danger. Then did they eat a solemn Holy Dinner, eating those Parts of the Peace-Offer­ings before the Lord, which were left at the ma­king of the Covenant. And in the Strength of this Meat Moses was in the Mount Forty Days, and Forty Nights, and ate nothing, but lived by the Words that proceeded out of the Mouth of God. In Di­vine Contemplation he se [...]th Christ, as he was to be shewed to the Jews, till the time of Reforma­tion should come, under the Figures of a Tabernacle, and a Priest. The sight of which taught him Christ to the full, in his Natures and Off [...]ces.

In the Tabernacle were three Crowns, answerable to his three Offices; Viz. the Crown of the Law, the Crown of the Priesthood, and the Crown of the Kingdom.

[Page 41]The Crown of the Law was the Ark, a Chest gilded with Gold within and without, as Christ was pure from Sin both in Thought and Action. The Cover, a piece of massy Gold, called, The Mercy-Seat, because it hid the Law, and because God from it spake favourably to Men, from be­tween Cherubins, which once were Instruments of his Indignation, Gen. iii. ult.

The Crown of the Priesthood was on [...] of Incense: Which stood between [...] stick and Shew-Bread, and sanctified them both by Prayer.

The Crown of the Kingdom was on the Table of Shew-Bread; where a several Golden Dish, applied to every Loaf, shewed God's special Care of every Tribe in particular. The Measure of Meal, viz. Two Omers, put into every Cake, and the Cakes set before the Lord on the Sabbath-Day, put Israel in mind of their Sustinence in the Wilderness: When their Stint on the Sabbath was two Omers, Exod. xvi. For this, they might justly rely upon him for their Daily Bread.

[Page 42]

Year of the World MMDXIII. Days of the M. Tammuz.
  1 Consider these few things.
  2 I. The Angels in the Ta­bernacle-Curtains taught only their Attendance up­on the Church, not any Action of theirs in the Work of Mediation For they were only si­lent Spectators, while the Priest did mediate.
  3 II. The best and ho­liest of Israel's Men, (at least, that should have been so) the Priests; and the best Actions of the Priests, viz. Sacrificing, were not Holy in them­selves, but had their Sanctity from other. The Priest from his Gar­ments; the Sacrifice from the Altar; that Merits might be excluded, and inherent Righteousness only attributed to Christ.
  4
  5 III. The Priest never went to offer Incense, till he had offered Sacrifice. Teaching, that he only that sacrificed himself for Man, is to be his Me­diator.
  6 IV. There was no Sa­crifice without Blood. Incruentum Sacrificium is a Stranger to Moses, and to Holy Language.
  7 V. Moses is still above Aaron in Dignity, tho' he were the younger Bro­ther. This might teach Rome, Subjection to the Prince.
  8 VI. God's answering David by the Ephod without the Ark, teach­eth, that God is not bound to the Means himself, tho' he bind us. On the contrary, God, not answering Saul by the Ark without the Ephod, taught him to remember his Fact of slaying the Priests, which should have worn it.
  9
  10
  11 The Stones in Aaron's E­phod rightly understood, and readily remembred, give Light in many Pla­ces. As Revel. xxi. The Jasper is the first Foun­dation in the new Hieru­salem. This Stone was Benjamin's in the Ephod. This pleadeth for Paul of Benjamin, and not for Peter of Zebulon, to have Pre-eminence in building o [...] the Church of Gen­tiles. The Rainbow a­bout God's Throne, Rev. iv. is of Smaragd Co­lour. The Rainbow is the Sign of a Covenant, Gen. ix. The Smaragd in the Ephod was for Levi, the Priesthood. So here is the true Sign of the Church, the Rain­bow of Smaragd, the true Preaching of the Covenant by the Priest­hood.
  12
  13
  14
  15
  16
EXOD. XXXII. 17 Moses cometh from the Mount, and finds the Golden Calf newly made.
Moses Second Fast of Forty Days. 18 He goeth up again; and is there Forty Days more to beg Israel's Par­don, Deut. ix.18. He wisheth to be Anathema for his Kindred according to the Flesh. He obtains Respite of Punishment for the present, but can­not obtain, but that in time it shall fall upon them.
  19
  20
EXOD. XXXIII. 12 The Angel of the Co­venant is threatned to be withdrawn from them; and their Conduct to be committed to a created Angel.
  22
  23  
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  28  
  29  

Year of the World MMDXIII. Days of the M. Ab.
  1  
  2  
  3  
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  9  
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  28 He comes down from the Mount again.
Moses his Third Fast of Forty Days and Nights. 29 He goeth up with two Ta­bles ready made again, and stayeth 40 Days and Nights more; even all the next Month Elul, which consist­eth of Twenty-nine Days.
EXOD. XXXIV. to the end of the Book. 30

[Page 47]¶ And on the Tenth of Tisri, Moses cometh down from his third Fast. And now God is recon­ciled to Israel, and the Case is well with them. He brings down two new Tables; hath Commissi­on to begin with the making of the Tabernacle. The Cloud of Glory is restored to the Camp again.

And because all these good Tidings came to Israel upon the Tenth of the Month Tisri, for this that Day is set apart to be observed every Year, for the Feast of Expiation: When the High Priest entred into the most Holy Place with Blood; an exquisite Type of Christ, if it be searched to the Quick.

Because Moses had told Israel, at his coming down from the Mountain, of the making of the Sanctuary; by which they conclude it will be long before their Removal from Sinai; therefore on the Fifteenth of Tisri they begin to make themselves Mansions, and Booths to lodge in, till their Remo­val. For this, that Day is appointed for the Feast of Tabernacles to Posterity.

And now they begin to fall in Hand with the Work, in the same Month that the World began. And in it are Six special Works, like those of the Creation.

All the Men, from Twenty Years old and upward, contribute each one half a Shekel for the Silver Foun­dation. Some gave something else. And the Wo­men bestow their Pains of spinning and sewing, and their Looking Glasses.

These Six Months current are they busie. Against the first Month of the next Year all is ready. So on the First of Nisan, Anno Mundi MMDXIV. they begin to set the Tabernacle up: Which was Six Days in doing. When it is finished, the Cloud de­scends on it.

Thus ends Exodus in a Cloud; under which we are to look for a more perfect Tabernacle, not made with Hands: In which the Godhead should dwell bodily, as the Cloud here.

SECT. V. LEVITICUS.

OUT of the Tabernacle newly erected God giveth Ordinances for the Service of it in Sacrifice of all Kinds, the Office of the Priest, &c. CHAP. I, II, III, IV, &c. even all the Book. For these things were delivered to Moses in the beginning of the Month Nisan. On the Fourteenth Day they keep the Passover. There­fore read next Numb. Ch. ix. all the Chapter; and Ch. x. to ver. 11. Which his Sons missing in, dye by Fire; as also Shelomith's Son by Stones.

These Ceremonies of Moses, some were Doctrines of Faith, some of Manners, and some of both. Stu­dy them presly; for they are of infinite Sweetness, and Satisfaction. Measure the rest by the one Law of Clean and Unclean. Which, among other things, ground us in these Doctrines.

I. That nothing is unclean to be touch'd, while it is alive, but Man. See Mat. xv.11.

II. There are degrees of Uncleanness; Leprosie the greatest.

III. Every one that came to be judged of by the Priest, was unclean, tho' not Leprous.

IV. The Priests could not make, but only pro­nounce clean and unclean. The Power of the Keys is spoken of from this Place, and in this Phrase.

V. Every Priest had this Priviledge, as well as the High Priest. Hence must we understand, that Peter's Power of the Keys was not singular.

VI. He that was Leprous all over was to be pro­nounced clean. For it appeared that all the Poyson was come forth. But he that had any live Flesh, [Page 49] that shewed not Leprous, was unclean. A Doctrine against Merit, and the Power of Man to Good.

VII. No final Excommunication, but for Lepro­sie.

VIII. The Priests, that were to be Judges of Le­prosie, could not be tainted with it. Hence when Aaron and Miriam are both in the same fault, of murmuring against Moses, Miriam is struck with Leprosie, but Aaron is not. So when King Uzziah would be meddling with the Priests Office, God useth no other way to chastize him, and to shew him his Error, than by striking him with Leprosie, with which the true Priests could not be tainted.

SECT. VI. NUMBERS.

IN the beginning of the last Month the Sanctuary was pitched: CHAP. I, II, III, IV. And so is their Camp in the beginning of this second Month.

All Israel numbred▪ from Twenty Yea [...] old, and upward. None of this number are to enter Canaan. Levi was exempt from this Curse; and therefore they are numbred by themselves.

Their Camp is pitched. The Sanctuary in the middle; for Religion is the Heart of a State. The Levites at a distanc [...] pitch next it in a Quadrangu­lar Body, clean about it. At a greater distance, even about them, Two Thousand Cubits from the Tabernacle, pitcheth the Body of the Army in the same Form: Every side of the Square carrying its several Colours. Judah the Picture of a Lion: E­phraim a Bullock; Reuben a Man; Dan an Eagle. Compare this with God's dwelling in the Church of the Christians, Rev. iv.

[Page 50]The Law concerning the Unclean, and the suspe­cted Wife; that their new pitch­ed Camp might be pure. NUM. V, VI. And of Nazarites, the only Votaries of the Laity.

The Prince's Offer to the Sanctuary. More Ordinances about it. A­bout this time comes Je­thro to Moses. NUM. VII, VIII. His long Absence had been because of Distaste he took at Moses, Then should you go to Chap. x. ver. 11. But take in Exod. xviii. before. Then read Num. x. from ver. 11. to the end of the Chapter. for sending Zip­porah back, when he went for Egypt.

Israel removes from Sinai, having pitched there a whole Year within some few Days.

The Peoples murmuring causeth a Plague. Aa­ron's and Miriam's murmur­ing against Moses his Hea­thenish Wife, NUM. XI, XII. which was but newly come among them.

The Decree of their wandring in the Wilder­ness Eight and Thirty Years longer, NUM. XIII, XIV. and that all that were numbred at Sinai should not enter Canaan, Read here Psal. xc. which was made upon this Decree. cometh forth ir­revocable.

Some Laws given to those, NUM. XV. that should enter the Land.

[Page 51] Korah, Dathan and Abiram, murmur against the Function of Moses, and the Priest­hood of Aaron. NUM. XVI. They are punish­ed alike in kind, but not in degree. Korah's Sin was not altogether so heavy, as the o­ther. He was of the Priestly Tribe Levi; there­fore for him to affect the Priesthood was not so hei­nous, as for Dathan and Abiram, who were meerly Laymen. Answerably Korah's Punishment was not so heavy as theirs: For all their Children were swallowed up with them, but Korah's were not. Samuel came of Korah, and some Psalmists, that made divers Psalms.

Aaron's Priesthood is justified, by the budding of his withered Rod; as a Priest­hood should bud, NUM. XVII. when Aaron's was withered.

Upon this Approval, special Services for the Priests are appointed. Mi­riam dieth in their last wandring Year. NUM. XVIII, XIX, XX. Moses and Aaron excluded out of Canaan, for being more angry at Israel than God himself. This shewed, that the Promise aimed at better things, than the Land of Canaan; out of which even the Holiest among them they see ex­cluded.

Sihon and Og overcome. It is Six and Twenty Generations since the Creation. Answerably Psal. cxxxvi. doth Six and Twenty times extol the Mer­cy of God, His Mercy endureth for ever: NUM. XXI. Begin­ning the Psalm from the Creation, and ending it in the Overthrow of Sihon and Og. By which Israel first took Possession of the Land promised.

[Page 52] Balaam is hired to curse Israel, but cannot. He curseth Rome for Crucify­ing Christ. NUM. XXII, XXIII, XXIV. Chap. xxiv.24. This is the Groundwork of the Revelation.

Balaam, when he cannot curse, lays a Stumbling-block in Israel's way, by bring­ing Midianitish Women among them. NUM. XXV. By whom they fall to Lewdness; which procures a Plague among them, that sweeps away those that were yet left of the Account at Sinai.

When the old Stock is gone, they that must enter Canaan are num­bred. NUM. XXVI. Thus as they were delivered Moses by num­ber, From hence to the end of the Book, all things are facil, and in order. by number he deli­vers them up.

SECT. VII. DEUTERONOMY.

MOses, in the Eleventh Month of the last Year of their wandring, rehearseth and explain­eth precedent Laws and Stories. He blesseth all the Tribes, but only Simeon; giveth Judah Priority of Levi; dieth, and is buried by Christ; who was to bury his Ceremonies. The Cloud of Glory de­parteth upon Moses's Death.

SECT. VIII. IOSHUA.

JOshua of Joseph succeedeth him, to bring them into Canaan, as Joseph had brought them into Egypt.

This Book contains a Story of Seventeen Years, beginning from Nisan the Sixth, Anno M [...]ndi MMDLIII. The first Seven Years are spent in Wars; and then have they Peace, and set up the Tabernacle in Ephraim, and call the Town Shiloh, i. e. Peace­able.

God gives Joshua Authority, and even puts the Law into his Hands, as that was the manner of crowning their Kings, IOS. I. 2 Chron. xxiii.11. This was the Sixth of Nisan; that Day he makes Proclamation of Removal after three Days compleat; and withal, that Day sends two Men to spy Jericho; IOS. II. who take up their Lodging in a Victualler's House, called Rahab, an honest Woman, tho' of a scandalous Profession. But they come out again that Night. The Seventh Day they lye in the Mountains; the Eighth Day they return.

The Ninth Day the People march along upon Jordan's Banks down, till they come over against Jericho. IOS. III. The Ark lead­eth the Van.

They pass Jordan on the Tenth; the Waters be­ing divided four Thousand Cubits, besides where the Body of the Army marched in two Parts. IOS. IV

[Page 54]The Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth Days, they are busie about Circumcision. On the Fourteenth they keep the Passover; IOS. V, VI. and so are sensible of both their Sa­craments at once. Till the Twenty-first at Even is their Passover Week. From thence they strangely besiege Jericho, compassing it Seven Days, accor­ding to the Seven Generations, since the Land was promised. The Spoil of this Town must deserved­ly be, as the first Fruits of Canaan, due to the Lord.

Which Achan meddling with, makes Israel abo­minable. In the Valley of Achor, which is here the beginning of their Trouble, IOS. VII. must be the beginning of their Hope, Hos. ii.15. Joh. iv.

Ai taken, and the Spoil given to the Soldiers. And here they begin to take Possession of Canaan. IOS. VIII. Then Joshua builds an Altar, just where Abraham had done, when he took Possession of the Land by Faith, Gen. xii.

IOS. IX.The Gibeonites deceive by colour of Antiquity.

A miraculous Day of Thirty-six Hours long. A humane History, Sepher Jasher, cited, X, &c. as Paul cites Heathen Poets, and Talmudic Doctors.

From hence to the end of the Book is a Survey of the Land, and some few Histories interlaced; of no Scruple for Order: Only the Story of Caleb's ta­king of Kiriah Sepher, Chap. xv.14. is rehearsed Judg. i.12. as if it were after Joshua's Death; but [Page 55] in this Book it is in the proper Place. It is rehearsed in Judges, because there speaking, how Judah was appointed Captain by God, it relates this Story, to shew why Othniel was looked after rather than any other of Judah, because of his Valour tried before in this Action.

SECT. IX. IUDGES.

GOD, to make easier way for Israel's Possession of the Land of the Amorites, useth the Amo­rites for their Furtherance. So Sihon and Vahob, King of Moab, CHAP. I. fall to Wars; and Sihon taketh Land from Moab, that Israel might take it from him, that was an Amorite; for with a Moabite they might not meddle. So Adonibezek, and his Neighbour Kings, fall to civil Wars, and he conquers Seventy of them ready to Israel's Hand. So that when they have conquered him, they have conquered so many. They cut off his Thumbs and great Toes, and bring him to the great Town of the Kingdom, Jerusalem, and there for Terror to others do publickly kill him.

The things next related after the Overthrow of Adonibezek, as the taking of Hierusalem, Hebron, and Kiriath Sepher, were done in Joshua's time: But they are rehearsed for this reason, that we might see, that Judah was chosen General after Joshua's Death by God. That Israel might war under one, to whom they were used and acquainted. For Ju­dah was made General by Joshua, even in his Life­time. And this Matter of Othniel named here, to shew why he is made Judge afterward.

[Page 56]In the rest of the Chapter the Order is proper; only whereas some things are mentioned here, which are mentioned in Joshua's Book, as ver. 27, 29. about Israel's not expelling the Canaanites; it is to shew, that as it was not done before Joshua's Death, so neither was it done after.

For which they have heavy tidings from God. Joshua's Age and Death mentioned again, IVDG. II. to v. 11. then read CHAPP. XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, of this Book. to shew, that in his time, all was well with them. After the Tenth Verse of this Chapter take in the XVII, XVIII▪ XIX, XX, XXI. Chapters of this Book; for hereabout is their Order. For howsoever these these Stories be laid in the end of the Book, yet were the things, there mentioned, done before any Judge arose in Israel. For the evidencing of which, consider First the Connexion of the Passages there mentioned one to another. I.

Micah of Ephraim set up an Idol, as Jeroboam of the same Tribe did afterward. The Danites take it away, IUDG. XVII, XVIII. even in Mi­cah's Life time, and set it up publickly in Dan, as Jeroboam also did afterwards. And Jonathan, a Grandchild of Moses, is the first publick Idolatrous Priest. This Moses had for marrying in an Idolatrous Line. Dan for Idolatry first set up in his Tribe is not sealed, Rev. vii. among Israel. Upon Toleration of Idolatry all Iniquity follows; IUDG. XIX, XX. so that a City of Israel becomes Sodom. A­gainst this City all Israel goes by God's Permission to War; and yet Forty Thousand are slain by a most wicked Tribe. Thus did God avenge his own cause, when none of Israel would be zealous for him a­gainst [Page 57] the Idolatry newly set up; and yet all of them could be so sensible, and vindicative of Injury done to a Whore.

When God hath used Benjamin to execute his Wrath against Israel, for not pu­nishing Dan's and Micha's Idola­try; IUDG. XXI. he useth Israel to punish Ben­jamin, for not delivering up Gibeah to Justice for her Villany, Thus is the Story knit to it self.

Secondly, Consider, that the beginning of this Book is the proper place for these Hi­stories, tho' they be laid in the latter end. For, II.

1. The Israelites follow Idols after the Death of the Elders, Judges iii. Micah is the first that sets it up.

2. There is no King in Israel then; that is, before any Judge rose.

3. The Danites are not yet settled; that could not be long after Joshua's Death.

4. Phinehas is yet alive, Chap. xx.28 So that we must needs cast things into the Thirty-second Year, ascribed to Othniel's Judgeship, before Cushan afflict them.

Thirdly, Consider the Reason, why the Stories are so mislay'd. It is, III. that the Ele­ven Hundred Pieces of Silver, that made Dan's public Idol, Chap. xvii.2. and the Eleven Hundred Pieces of Silver from every Philistin Prince, Chap. xvi.5. that brought Sampson of Dan to his End untimely, might be laid together for secret In­struction to the Reader.

[Page 58]Then return to Chap. ii. ver. 11. and from thence to the end of the Six­teenth Chapter, IVDG. II. ver. 11. to the end of Chap. xvi. and to the end of the Book. But the Book of Ruth to be taken in near the beginning. there is no Scruple for Order. Only the Book of Ruth is to come in about the beginning of this Book; but the exact place where is not easie to find. RUTH. Thus near you may go. Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab, Mat. i.5. and Boaz married Ruth. Ruth, Ch. ult. Salmon came with Joshua into Canaan, and Boaz was in the next Generation. Allow Rahab to live two Years in Israel, before she had a Child by Sal­mon; and withal allow Boaz to be Seventy or Eigh­ty Years old, before he marry Ruth; yet is Ruth's Story then about Thirty Years before Ehud's Death. Their going to sojourn in Moab, Ruth i. is likely to be many Years before Moab be Israel's open Ene­my [...]dges iii.12.

In casting the Years of the Judges, observe that the times of the Afflicters are to be included in the times of the Judges. As Chap. iii. Cusham Risha­thaim oppressed Seven Years; and Othniel judged Forty. These Seven Years must be included in the Forty, and not be counted as Forty-seven. St. Paul reckoneth them at extent, Acts xiii.20. He gave them Judges about the space of Four Hundred and Fifty Years.

SECT. X. I. SAMUEL, &c.

THE Seventeen first Chapters of 1 Sam. lye without scruple of Interposition or Transposi­tion. CHAP. I. From the begin­ning of the Book to Chap. xvii. From the Seven­teenth Chapter forward, the Psalms, Proverbs, &c. fall in in their time and order.

As for the PSALMS, it is above the Reach of Man to bring all those to the Time and Occasi­on, Touching the Book of PSALMS. wherein and where­upon they were made. Sometime the Title resolves us, sometime the Phrase gives strong Presumption; in some we have no Light at all for these things. Those that are titled to Resolution you may easily lay in their Places. For the other, and for the whole Book of Psalms, take these Observations.

1. The Psalms are divided into Five Books, ac­cording to the Five Books of Moses: Where a Psalm ends with Amen, is the end of a Book: Com­pare them with Moses his Five Books, and you will see how sweetly they agree.

2. The Jews have this Rule for the Authors of such or such Psalms. Those Psalms which have not a Title to express who made them, are to be refer­red to the next Author that is named before. So Psalms xci, xcii, xciii, xciv, xcv, xcvi, xcvii, xcviii, xcix, c. by their Rule were made by Moses, the Au­thor next named before, in Psal. xc. in tit. The [Page 60] Subject indeed may inforce no less, the Psalms treat­ing concerning things done in Moses's time; as the Tabernacle, the Sabbath, the Temptation in the Wil­derness, &c. But Samuel is named in Psal. xcix. 6. but it is as David is in Psal. lxxxix.

3. There be Psalms, which have no Title, yet the Subject and Phrase, in divers of them, give strong Presumption upon the Occasion. As Psal. i. upon the Fall of Man, by the Counsel of the Ungod­ly, &c. And this shews his Reparation by the con­trary. So when Israel and Judah are parted, be­cause of Rehoboam's heavy Yoke, 1 Chron. xii. Christ, that must joyn them again, Hos. i. works it by the contrary, Take on you my Yoke, which is easie, and Burden light. Psal. ii. upon the Fall of Israel from David's House, whom God had appointed King in Sion. And thus the Fall of Adam and Israel are handled together. Psal. cxxxii. upon the bringing of the Ark to Jerusalem: Which when it was captived from Ephrata, or Shiloh in Ephraim, and stayed afterward 20 Years in Kiriathjearim, the City of the Wood, David provides it an Habitation in Jerusalem, &c. So in divers others, the occasi­on of it self shews it self: But I will not forestall your own finding of them.

4. Divers Psalms in the Original are Alphabeti­cal; but few of them have the Alphabet true, for some reason or other admirably Divine: So one Letter in Jeremy's Alphabetic Lamentations is al­tered constantly, for secret and sweet Reason.

5. For the Order of the Psalms, why they be so laid, in many of them the Reason shews it self, at the first sight; in others it requires a narrow­er Scrutiny.

[Page 61]The first and second Psalms made upon Occasions so far distant in time, yet laid together for special reason, as was touched before.

The Fiftieth Psalm, in ver. 8, and 14, 15. re­fuseth all Sacrifice, but Prayer. That the Fifty-first Psalm offers, ver. 16, 17. and easily shews, why these two be laid together.

Psalm cxxxvi. the Mercy of God brings them to Possession of the Land of Promise. Psalm cxxxvii. brings them into Captivity; and shews, that their living in the Land of Canaan was so sinful, that it was not to be mentioned.

These, and other Observations may be gathered out of this exquisite Book of the Psalms, conducing to further the Understanding in reading it. But your Eyes be their own Observers and Judges.

1 SAM. xvii. Here take in Psalm ix. made upon Goliah's Death.

1 SAM. xviii, xix. at ver. 12. take in Psalm lix.

1 SAM. xx, xxi. at ver. 12. take in Psalm lvi. and at the end of the Chapter, Psalm xxxiv.

1 SAM. xxii. here take Psalm lii.

1 SAM. xxiii. about ver. 24. comes in Psalm liv.

1 SAM. xxiv. at ver. 4. read Psalm lvii.

1 SAM. xxv, xxvi. at ver. 9. where David bids Abishai, Destroy not Saul, may seem to give Occasi­on of Psalm lxxv. as the same Words in the Cave did of Psalm lvii. which bears the same Title.

1 SAM. xxvii. between ver. 7, and 8. comes in the 1 Chron. xii. from the beginning, to ver. 23. Then return to ver. 8. and from thence to the end of [Page 62] the Book, is no Interposition; only with the last Chapter read 1 Chron. x.

2 SAM. i, ii. to the three first Verses, read 1 Chron. xi.1, 2, 3.

2 SAM. ii, iv, and v. to ver. 4. there take in 1 Chron. xii. from ver. 23, to the end. Then re­turn to

2 SAM. v. 4. to the end of ver. 10. and with it read 1 Chron. xi. from ver. 4, to the end of ver. 5. Then read 2 SAM. v. from ver. 11. to the end; and with it read 1 Chron. xiv.

2 SAM. vi. 1 Chron. xiii, xv, xvi.

2 SAM. vii. 1 Chron. xvii.

2 SAM. viii. 1 Chron. xviii. and at ver. 12. take in Psalm lx.

2 SAM. ix, x. 1 Chron. xix.

2 SAM. xi, xii. and 1 Chron. xx. 1, 2, 3.

2 SAM. xiii, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, xix, xx, xxi. to ver. 18.

2 SAM. xxi. at ver. 18. and forward, take in 1 Chron. xx. from ver. 4. to the end.

2 SAM. xxii. Psalm xviii.

2 SAM. xxiv. 1 Chron. xxi.

1 CHRON. xxii. to the end of Chap. xxvii.

2 SAM. xxiii. 1 Chron. xi. from ver. 10, to the end.

1 KING. i.

[Page 63]1 CHRON. xxviii, xxix, to ver. 26.

1 KING. ii. to ver. 10, 11. read 1 Chron. xxix. ver. 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.

1 KING. iii. 2 Chron. i.

1 KING. iv. at the end of which come in the PROVERBS. PRO­VERBS.

1 KING. v. 2 Chron. ii.

1 KING. vi. 2 Chron. iii. to ver. 15.

1 KING. vii. from ver. 13, to the end. 2 Chron. iii. ver. 15, 16, 17. and 2 Chron. iv.

1 KING. viii. 2 Chron. v, vi, vii.

1 KING. vii. from the beginning, to ver. 13.

1 KING. ix. 2 Chron. viii.

1 KING. x. 2 Chron. ix. to ver. 29. Hereabout the Book of CANTICLES falleth in. CANTI­CLES. For it was made after the House of Lebanon was built, Cant. vii.4.

1 KING. xi. to ver. 41. ECCLE­SIA­STES. Here take in ECCLE­SIASTES, which was Solomon's Repentance after his grievous Fall.

1 KING. xi. ver. 41, 42, 43. 2 Chron. xi. ver. 29, 30, 31.

1 KING. xii. to ver. 25. 2 Chron. x, xi, to v. 5.

1 KING xiii, xiv. to ver. 21.

2 CHRON. xi. from ver. 5. to the end of Chap. xii. And with it read 1 King. xiv. from v. 21. to the end.

[Page 64]2 CHRON. xiii. 1 King. xv. to ver. 9.

2 CHRON. xiv, xv, xvi. 1 King. xv. from ver. 9, to ver. 25.

1 KING. xv. from ver. 25. to the end.

1 CHRON. Chap. xvii.

1 KING. xvi, xvii, xviii, xix, xx, xxi.

1 KING. xxii. 2 Chron. xviii.

2 CHRON. xix, xx.

2 KING. i, ii, iii.

2 CHRON. xxi.

2 KING. iv.v, vi, vii, viii, to ver. 25.

2 KING. viii. from ver. 25, to the end of Chap. x. And withal read 2 Chron. xxii. to ver. 10.

2 KING. xi. 2 Chron. xxii. from ver. 10. to the end of Chap. xxiii.

2 KING. xii. 2 CHRON. xxiv.

2 KING. xiii. Hereabout cometh in the Book of IONAH. IONAH.

From hence to the end of these Books, the Story of the Collateral Kingdoms, while they both stand, and of Judah's alone, when the other is fallen, are laid so orderly, that it is mere Transcription, and no more, to lay them here. And so indeed hath it been hi­therto; but I was willing to lead them thus, so far as they kept within their own two Channels. But now they branch themselves into more Heads, ( viz. [Page 65] the Books of the Prophets,) their Order, which the Text hath intire, without misplacing in these two Books, needs not to be looked at so much in it self, as these other to be brought to it.

SECT. XI. The Prophetical Books.

IN some Places the Titles of the Prophesies tell where to lay them; others, that are silent in that kind, the Jews have the like general Rule for, that they had for the Psalms: That an undated Pro­phecy is to be laid in the same time, that the next dated before is. As Joel to be contemporary with Hosea. Obadiah and Jonah with Amoz, &c.

Their Rule holds well for the general, but for particular Computation of the Precedency of Pro­phets, that lived under the same Kings Reigns, you must go into further Enquiry. As Jonah lived in the times of Amoz, according to their Rule tis true. But whether Jonah or Amoz prophesied first, is the Query. Upon Examination you will find Jonah be­fore Hosea himself; who is said, Chap. i.2. to have had the Word of the Lord first come to him. Of such things you may be your own Judge.

Those Prophesies, that be dated by the Reign of Kings, apply to the time; those that be not, apply to those Dates, and thus may you come to the Cap­tivity. Jeremy especially is punctual in pointing out his Chapters by such and such Years, till the Seventy of the Captivity begin, whereof he prophe­sied. The Captivity Books do the like for then time, but cannot be so well, nor to Satisfaction re­lished, as by casting into a Chronicle, which I do much urge, and desire of you.

[Page 66]By this you your self will find what is not possi­ble to express to you; especially the Sweetness of that obscure place, Hab. iii.2. Revive thy Work in the middest of Years. Which, if you grow a Scri­pture Chronologer, will be so far from Obscurity, and from requiring Light from other things, that it will give Light to them; especially to the settling of the beginning of the Seventy Years Captivity. Which when you have found, you have a Thread, whereupon to weave the most part of Daniel and Ezekiel. Then resolve what is meant by Cyrus his first Year, Ezra i.1. and where to begin your Seventy-sevens in Dan. ix. which must end in Christ's Death, and you have a Thread to lead you thro' Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zachary, and Malachi, till you come to the New Testament.

SECT. XII. The New Testament.

WHEN Haggai, Zachary, and Malachi were dead, the Talmud it self confesseth, that the Spirit of God departed from Israel, and went up. They in Acts xix.2. knew this Talmudic Speech, when they say, They knew not whether the Holy Ghost were descended again. This Spirit was restored in the various Gifts of Tongues and Pro­phecy, Acts ii. As the Cloud of Glory, that went up at Moses Death, was at the Transfiguration of Christ, Luke ix.32, 33, &c. So that the Spirit and Glory of the Old Testament is light upon the New▪ and so it hath a double Glory. And as the Cloudiness of the Old, so the Brightness of this, requireth a good Eyesight of the Mind and Under­standing.

[Page 67]In the reading of the New Testament I find two things especially of singular use.

I. In the Evangelists, as in the Old Testament, to search out the true and exact Order, which the Continuation of the History requireth. The Evan­gelists, being Four in number, and being all to write one and the same Story, must either not write the same things; or if they did, must not write them in the same Style and Order. Otherwise, had the Uniformity of their Story and Phrase been but Repetition, if not Confusion. But while they either vary in Matter or Phrase, or in Order, this breeds the best Consort. Their difference of Mat­ter and Phrase is easily seen, and easily reconciled. But their Change of Method and Order requireth some Skill to tune to an Unison. Like him in Plutarch, that would first play rude and harshly to his Scholars, before they should hear true Con­sort. So have I to you, after my rude and rough course, gone a little way before you in the Gospel in this Course; that your self may tune to your self more pleasing Music. Where I have laid the Evangelists together, you may see they tune them­selves, and the Music is sweet; let my Descant in­vite you to a better Strain.

II. In reading of the New Testament never take your Eye off the Old; for the New is but again that in plainer Phrase. God himself hath taught us by the writing of the Scripture, what is the best way to read. For he hath folded the Two Testaments to­gether; so that as the Law begins, so the Gos­pel ends; and as the Prophets end, so the Gospel begins; as if calling upon you to look still for the one in the other.

[Page 68] Moses and Elias, Law and Prophets, were Evan­gelists, as well as Matthew and the other: So that he that sees not Christ in them first in a Cloud, sees him not in the other in Glory. What did ever Christ do or suffer, which you may not see in the Law and Prophets? Which laid to the Gospel, shews the more Lustre. It were worth Study and Labour, to trace Christ throughout all the Old Te­stament, and to see a Gospel written by Moses and Elias, concerning Christ's Actions, Passion and Do­ctrine. To shew my Meaning, take here in brief what you may at Leisure and Study enlarge, as you read.

SECT. XIII. Evangelium Mosaico-Propheticum.

WHEN Adam had sinned, God promised to him one that should break the Head of the Serpent, who could be no other than God. Christ's two Na­tures taught in the Garden. But he should become the Seed of the Woman to do this, and so be Man. When the Fulness of time came, when the Scepter was even ready to depart from Judah, Gen. xlix. and the Stem of Je [...] even worn to the Root, Esa. xi. and the Feet of the great Image broken, and the other parts fal­len, Dan. ii. this came to pass. For when Cittim afflicted Eber, Num. xxiv. and Augustus taxed all the World, (and, among the rest, the Jews) Jesus is born; having been taxed in his Mother's Womb, as Levi paid Tythes in the Loins of Abraham. His Mother was a Virgin, yet bare him against the Course of Nature, as barren Women had done the [Page 69] like above it. Immediately after his Conception, she goeth to Hebron, where Abraham had his first Land, and David his Kingdom. There she keeps her swelling Belly undiscried three Months, as Mo­ses was hid three Months after he was born. Which when her Husband detected, he was incensed, till, like Tamar, Gen. xxxviii. it was clear she was without Fault.

In Tisri she brings forth her Son; at what time of the Year Sin came into the World; and at what time of the Year the solemn Festival of Expiation of Sin was; and what time of the Year the great Jubilee-Year began; a Type of him, who should work Release.

At two Years old he is visited and worshipped by Wise Men of Persia; who among the Records laid up there, had found Daniel's Prophecy of the time of the Messiah, Dan. ix. Upon the Appearance of a new Star they know the time is come▪ and from Persia, from whence Cyrus had done Good to Je­rusalem, they come thither. Herod of Esau perse­cutes Christ into Egypt: Whence Pharoah had per­secuted Moses; least Christ should surprize Herod of his Kingdom, as Jacob had done Esau of his Birthright and Blessing. For now had Esau shaken off the Yoke of Jacob, as Gen. xxvii.40.

At twelve Years old Christ shews his Wisdom in the Sanhedrin; at which Age Solomon had done his, deciding the Matter of the two Harlots.

At thirty Years old he is baptized and anointed by the Holy Spirit, and begins to publish the Gospel. At which Age the Priests entred their Office, Num. iv. Joseph his Honour, Gen. xli.46. And David his Kingdom, 2 Sam. v.4. He is tempted as Eve, to the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eye, and the Pride of Life; but overcometh, ha­ving fasted Forty Days and Nights, as did Moses, and Elias in Horeb. So did he in the very same place.

[Page 70]Upon John i.29. his Return by Jordan, John teaches the People, That he was the Aim of the Paschal Lamb, which every Year; and the Offering Lamb, which every Day, was sa­crificed. At John ii.9. Cana of Galilee, he turn­eth Water into Wine: That beginning with the Elements, and changing their Form; his working Miracles upon things composed of the Elements might be with­out Exception. So did Moses in his Won­ders in Egypt. At John ii.14, 15. the first Passover af­ter his Baptism, he casteth out Buyers and Sellers in the Temple; coming to his own House, purgeth it, and the Sons of Levi, Mal. iii.1, 2, 3. He John iii. teacheth what the Spirit moving upon the Waters, Gen. i.2. and the Brazen Serpent, Num. xxi. aimed at. In John iv. the Valley of Achor, Hos. ii.15. he telleth an Adulterous Wo­man, what Hosea's Adulterous Wives re­presented; and briefly and sweetly expound­eth to her all Hosea's Prophecy. He Mat. iv. chuseth Galileon Disciples of Nepthali, who must give goodly Words, Gen. xlix. and Zebulun and Issachar, who must bring Men to God, to offer Righteous Sacrifices, Deut. xxxiii.19. He healeth Diseases at distance, Psal. cxlvii, &c. He Mat. v. pro­nounceth the Blessings upon a Mount, which, upon their Entrance into Canaan, should have been pronounced with the Curses, and in number; but were not, Deut. xxviii. In his Sermon there he destroyeth the Do­ctrine of the Scribes, Pharisees and Sad­duces; the three Shepherds whom his Soul hated, Zech. xi.8. He Mark iii.3. would not own his Mother, nor acknowledge his Bre­thren, Deut. xxxiii.9. when they went [Page 71] about to hinder the Work of the Lord. He seeks to unite Judah and Israel under one Head, Hos. i.11. by tendring an easie Yoke, to them that were parted by the threatning of an heavy, 1 King. xii.

He opens his Mouth in Parables, as Psal. xlix.2. and from that very Psalm sheweth the State of Luxurious rich Men, Luke xvi. and giveth more to the Scriptures than to the Words of Apparitions, Luke xvi.31. from Esay viii.19, 20. Upon Luke ix. Mount Tabor, a place once of Offence, Hos. v.1. the Cloud of Glory, that departed at Mo­ses Death, is restored; and out of that Cloud a Voice proclaimeth him that great Prophet, to whom all must hearken, Deut. xviii.

When he had lived Thirty-two Years and an half, the time that David reigned in Jerusalem, 2 Sam. v.5. and had preached and opened the King­dom of Heaven Three Years and Six Months, the time that Elias shut Heaven by Prayer, Luke iv.25. he is sold by his Disciple Judas, as Joseph was by his Brother Judah, Gen. xxxvii. for Thirty Pieces of Silver, the Price of a Servant, Exod. xxi.32. Is apprehended a­mong Gethsemani in Hebrew sig­nifies A Press for Olives, to press out the Oil. the Oil-presses un­der Mount Olivet. And from thence begins to tread the Wine-press alone, Esa. lxiii.3. He is con­demned by the Policy of Rome, Num. xxiv.24. Rev. xi.8. Is delivered up to be crucified at the time of Adam's Creation, and setting in Eden. Is nailed to his Cross at the time of Adam's Fall. Dieth at the time of Adam's Censure. Is Six and Thirty Hours under Death, the length of the first Day of the World to one part of it. His Grave is as the Ark with an Angel at either end. He riseth [Page 72] the third Day after the Passover, and is as the first Fruits of the Dead. Liveth Forty Days after on Earth, and breatheth on his Disciples the Holy Spi­rit, as he had done upon Adam the Spirit of Life. Is taken up visibly, as Elias; and now offers up our Prayers to God, as the Priest did incense after Sacri­fice, &c.

These things raptim. But a deliberate sad Eye, with Leisure, might bring all the New Testament, or the most, both for Words and Sense, from the Old. And this I ever held the surest way to ex­pound both.

SECT. XIV. The Order of the Evangelists.

THE proper Order of the Evangelists, as they should be laid, to make an entire continued Story, I have laid before you, till you come within a Twelvemonth of Christ's Death. That last Years Story you will find to be like Moses his last Months Work, a Deuteronomy, or a Rehearsal of divers things, that went before. Ingenuity needeth not always to be led by the Hand. For the search of the last Year of Christ's Life, I have left to your self. By this you will conclude what it cost to lay the rest. But when you have done the Work, it self will pay you for your Pains.

Among other things, as you go, have a special Eye to the Thirteenth of John, about the Supper there mentioned. Which not well marked, hath lost Men themselves, while they have gone about to find what is not there to be found.

Great Doctors, having ex professo undertaken to write of that Chapter, have missed the first Verse, and so spoiled all. Concluding the Supper there [Page 73] spoken of to be the Passover Supper; when the first Verse plainly tells, it was before the Passover; and two Days, as St. Matthew explains. The Popish Tenet of Judas his real receiving of Christ, had been choaked here, had Men but had Eyes, and Minds to see and embrace Truth.

SECTION I.

Luke, CHAP. I. from the beginning of the Chapter to ver. 5.

Section 1.

Seeing that none of the Evangelists use a Preface, but St. Luke, his may fitly be a general Preface to them all.

SECT. II.

John, CHAP. i. from the beginning to ver. 15.

Sect. 2.

The Preface being made, the Story is to be­gin. And most properly Christ's Divine Nature is first to be handled.

SECT. III.

Luke CHAP. i. from ver. 5, to ver. 57.

Sect. 3.

The Order here shews it self.

SECT IV.

Matth. CHAP. i. all the Chapter.

Sect. 4.

The reason of the Or­der is to be seen by the Texture of the Story. Mary upon the Words of the Angel presently con­ceives with Child. She goes to her Cosin Eli­zabeth, to see the Truth [Page 74] of the Angel's Words, Thy Cousin Elizabeth hath conceived. She stays with her Three Months, Luke i.56. Then re­turning to Joseph, from whom she had been so long absent, he perceiv­eth her great Belly, as Gen. xxxviii.24. So that it is plain to see, how properly the 18th Vers [...] of Mat. i. follows in order of time the 56th Verse of Luke i. The [...]vangelist lays the Genealogy before, that every Reader might be his own Expositor upon those Words of the An­gel, ver. 20. Joseph thou Son of David. The last Verse, He knew her not, &c. is all that this Evan­gelist speaks about the Birth of Christ. This may be as a brief Relati­on, upon which suppose the two next Sections to be as Expositions.

SECT. V.

Luke, CHAP. i. from ver. 57, to the end of the Chapter.

Sect. 5.

When Mary departs to her own House, her Co­sin Elizabeth hath but one Month to go with Child. This makes this Dependance necessary.

SECT. VI.

Luke, CHAP. ii. from the beginning, to ver. 40.

Sect. 6.

The Coherence here is apparent of it self.

SECT. VII.

Mat. CHAP. ii. all the Chapter.

Sect. 7.

Observe, that Christ was Two Years old, when the wise Men come to him, ver. 16. and your own Eye will shew, and justifie the Order. What St. Luke saith, Ch. ii.39. They returned to Naza­reth, mean the same time, that that of Matthew doth, Ch. ii.23. But Luke speaks briefly, because he hath no more to say of Christ; till at Twelve Years old he bring him from Nazareth to dis­pute in the Temple.

SECT. VIII.

Luke, CHAP. ii. from ver. 40, to the end of the Chapter.

Sect. 8.

From Christ's Return from Egypt to Nazareth, till he was Twelve Years old, the Gospel mention­eth nothing of him. This makes the Dependance plain.

SECT. IX.

Mat. iii. all. Mark i. from the beginning, to ver. 12. Luke iii. from the beginning to ver. 23. Only the 18, 19, and 20. Verses, about John's Im­prisonment, are to be re­served to another place.

Sect. 9.

Compare the three E­vangelists together. One will help to explain a­nother. You see the Go­spel it self doth inforce this Order, by relating nothing since Christ's Twelfth Year old till his Baptism, when he was Nine and Twenty com­plete, or Thirty current. All the time of his Youth, till now, Christ was a Carpenter: But did now and then some Miracles privately in the House, for enlarging their Com­mons, when they were short. He is now Bapti­zed in Tisri.

SECT. X.

Luke iii. from v. 23, to the end of the Chap­ter.

Sect. 10.

How divinely S. Luke placeth this Genealogy at Christ's Baptism is to be seen by looking on the Promise, Gen. iii.15. Upon which, this, and that which follows in the next Chapter, is a Glori­ous Exposition. The Seed of the Woman shall break the Head of the Serpent, by the Power of the Go­spel. [Page 77] Which Gospel, when Christ beginneth to preach, as from his Ba­ptism he doth, the Evan­gelist shews thro' Seven­ty-five Descents, even from Adam, that he was that Seed promised to Adam; and in the next Chapter, how he begins to break Satan's Head, Luke iv.1, 2, 3, 4, &c.

SECT. XI.

Mark iv. from the be­ginning, to ver. 12.

Mark i. v. 12, 13.

Luke iv. from the be­ginning, to ver. 14.

Sect. 11.

That this Temptation of Christ was immedi­ately after his Baptism, Mark shews, ver. 12.

About the Order of the two last Temptations, Matthew and Luke dif­fer. Matthew's Order is the true. Luke inverts it, and sets his Temptation at Hierusalem last, and concludes, that the De­vil departed from him for a season. Intending to shew where it is, that the Devil returns to him again in sore Temptati­on, namely, at Hierusa­lem, in Judas, and the Jews. Or, he leaves him in his last Tempta­tion at Hierusalem, that you may look for him [Page 78] there, before he go into Galilee.

SECT. XII.

John, CHAP. i. from ver. 19. to the end of the Chapter.

Sect. 12.

After that the Holy Ghost, by descending up­on Christ, had evidenced him to be the Holy One of God, John Baptist publisheth this to all Comers, ver. 15. and an­swers no other thing to the Priests, that are sent to question him, ver. 19, to 28. The next Day, ver. 29. John seeth Jesus coming again out of the Wilderness to Jordan, &c. The next Day after that, ver. 25. Andrew and Peter fol­low Jesus.

SECT. XIII.

Christ's first Passover after his Baptism.

John, CHAP. ii. all the Chapter.

Sect. 13.

The first Words, And on the Third Day, are Evidence enough of Con­nexion.

SECT. XIV.

John iii. all the Chap­ter.

Sect. 14.

Jesus in Chap. ii. v. 13. is at Hierusalem at the Passover. Thereabout he continueth till Pentecost, and the Feast of Taberna­cles [Page 79] be over. For at those times also every Male Is­raelite must be at Hieru­salem. In this space is this Conference with Nicode­mus. And in this space Jesus travaileth Judea, and his Disciples baptize, as John also did till now, ver. 23.

SECT. XV.

Luke iii. ver. 18, 19, 20.

Sect. 15.

Conceive the Continu­ance of the Story thus. John baptized in Enon, as John iii.23. Multi­tudes resort to him. The ceremonious Jews begin to cavil about the Digni­ty of Mosaical Purificati­on, in Comparison of his Baptism and Christ's. He stands out for Baptism, and extols it from Christ, the Author. Here the Jews have a Quarrel a­gainst him, for crying down Moses Rites. This Herod readily embraceth, as a fit Opportunity for him to vent his Malice, which had been long con­ceived against John about the Matter of Herodias, but for Shame and Fear Herod could not execute it. Now when the Jews [Page 80] offer so fair an Occasion, Herod shuts him quickly up in Prison.

SECT. XVI.

John iv. all the Chap­ter.

Sect. 16.

Jesus soon heard of John's Imprisonment, and of the pretended Cause, because he had many Dis­ciples, to the Neglect of Moses. Now when Je­sus knew, that the Pha­risees heard, that he had more Disciples than John, and therefore was in the same Danger, he gets out of Judea. This links this Passage thro' Sama­ria to the foregoing Se­ction, and ver. 43, and 54. knit the Chapter to it self.

SECT. XVII.

Luke iv. from ver 14, to ver. 31.

Sect. 17.

The Connexion is ap­parent, the things prece­ding considered. The 14th Verse may be as an Epiphonema to the prece­ding Section; the first Word being changed from And to Thus Jesus returned, &c. With it, and with the same Inver­sion, may you take v. 12. of Matth. iv. THUS [Page 81] when Jesus heard that John was committed to Prison, &c.

SECT. XVIII.

Mat. iv. ver. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.

Mark i. ver. 14, 15.

Luke iv. the beginning of ver. 31.

Sect. 18.

The unkind Usage of his Townsmen, the Na­zarites, makes him to leave the Town, where he was brought up, to go to another, Luk. iv. ver. 30, and 31. shews the Coherence.

SECT. XIX.

Mat. iv. ver. 18, 19, 20, 21, 22.

Mark i. ver. 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.

Luke v. from the be­ginning, to ver. 12.

Sect. 19.

Matthew and Mark make the Order conspi­cuous. Luke hath put in two Miracles, between the last Section and this, viz. Healing a Demoni­ac in Capernaum Syna­gogue, and of Peter's Mother-in-law at home. Which were done after the calling of the Disci­ples. But S. Luke, men­tioning Christ's rejection by the Nazarites out of their Synagogue, brings him presently into Caper­naum Synagogue, doing this Miracle, that it might better appear, whom and what an one they had re­jected.

[Page 82]After these Miracles also in Capernaum, Christ goes abroad over all Ga­lilee. So that Luke, ha­ving nothing more to re­late of a long time done in Capernaum, brings these altogether at Christ's co­ming thither, that he might dispatch his pre­sent Story for that Town at once.

SECT. XX.

Mark i. from ver. 21. to ver. 39.

Luke iv. from ver. 31. to ver. 44.

Mat. viii. ver. 14, 15, 16. About the healing of Peter's Mother-in-law.

Sect. 20.

Mark doth so link this with the last, that there is no doubt of the Order. That Matthew lays this Story of Peter's Mother-in-law so far off, is strange. But this may seem to be the reason. Because Ch. iv.23. he speaks of Christ's Preaching and Teaching, &c. He first toucheth his Doctrine in the Sermon on the Mount: which for this reason he hath laid out of his pro­per place. Then begins to speak of Miracles. Of which he sets the cleansing of the Leper first, Ch. viii.2. which indeed was the first Mi­racle he shewed upon his Perambulation of Gali­lee, mentioned Mat. iv.23.

[Page 83]Then speaketh he of healing the Centurion's Servant. Which was the first Miracle Christ did after his Sermon in the Mount, Luke vii.1. This was done in Capernaum. Which Town when he cometh in mention of, he nameth the heal­ing of Peter's Mo­ther-in-law, because it was in the same Town, tho' not at the same time.

SECT. XXI.

Mat. iv. ver. 23, 24, 25.

Mark i. ver. 39.

Luke iv. ver. 44.

Sect. 21.

The Text it self at the first sight will clear the Coherence.

SECT. XXII.

Mark i. from ver. 40. to the end.

Luke v. ver. 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.

Mat. viii. ver. 2, 3, 4.

Sect. 22.

Mark and Luke shew the Continuation of the order. Matthew mispla­cing this Story, hath made some to conjecture, that the Leper in Mat­thew, was not the same with the Leper in Mark and Luke. Which tho' the same Words both of the Leper and of Christ refute, yet the Scruple still sticketh in this, that Mat­thew hath made his Le­per to come to Christ, as he comes from the Moun­tain; which in the other [Page 84] comes to him before his Sermon there. But the reason of this you see in Sect. 20.

Now whereas the two first Verses, And he came down from the Mount, And behold a Leper, lye so close, as that it may seem impossible to part them; the same manner of Phrase in Chap. ix.1, 2. hath taught us the Stile of the Evangelist.

SECT. XXIII.

Mark ii. from the be­ginning to ver. 15.

Luke v. from ver. 17. to ver. 29.

Mat. ix. from ver. 2. to ver. 10.

Sect. 23.

Mark makes the De­pendance, ver. 1. After a few Days. And the Con­nexion of Levi's calling to the Story foregoing, all the Evangelists con­firm.

SECT. XXIV.

John, Chap. v. all the Chapter.

Sect. 24.

The Continuation of the Story here is the dif­ficultest piece of all the Gospel; and therefore requires the more se­rious Study, to resolve those Doubts, that attend upon the laying of the History. Which Doubts are these.

[Page 85] Quest. I. Whereas the last Section ends with the calling of Levi, and all the three Evangelists have spoken of a Feast that Levi made for Christ in the very next Verse, as if it had been made the very next Day after his calling, if not on the same, what reason is there to part his Calling, and Feast, which the Text hath so nearly join­ed together?

Ans. As you find the time of Levi's calling to be as it is here laid, by the inviolable Continu­ance of the Story forward, as you have seen; so that the same was not the time of his Feast, we must find by the Continuance of the Story backward, as you may see from the retrograde Passage from Sect. 36, 37. unto this Place. Your own Eye at that Section will be your Judge.

Quest. II. What rea­son is there to lay the Fifth of John here ra­ther than any other Par­cel?

Ans. First, we are to prove, that Feast spoken [Page 86] of John v. to be a Passo­ver; which is easie to do from the first Words, And there was a Feast of the Jews, &c. None of the solemn Assemblies at Hierusalem are called Feasts simply without other Addition, but only the Passover.

The Chagigah, or their Festival Bullock, allowed them by the Law for that time, got it this Privi­ledge to be called the Feast. Any Talmudic, that should but read this Verse, would soon con­clude, that it speaks of the Passover.

This Ground then be­ing thus laid; that this was the Passover, we pro­ceed thus.

Mark and Luke, the two exactest for Order, have, next after Levi's Feast, and the Passages there, (which they have joined to his calling, be­cause they would dis­patch the mention of him at once, having no more at all to say to him) laid the Disciples pulling the Ears of Corn, as the next thing of Note to Levi's Calling. Now when it [Page 87] was, that they plucked the Corn, Luke hath made it plain, when he saith it was [...], that is, not as our English renders it, The second Sabbath after the first, but just contra­ry, The first Sabbath af­ter the second: That is, After the second Day in the Passover Week. As you see more fully, Page 7. at this Mark †.

So that a Passover was past, before they pulled the Ears of Corn; and this in John v. being the Passover, you see the reason why it is thus to be laid.

SECT. XXV.

Mark ii. from ver. 23, to the end.

Luke vi. from the be­ginning, to ver. 6.

Matth. xii. from the beginning, to ver. 9.

Sect. 25.

The Dependance is ap­parent from the former Section. S. Matthew's misplacing of this Story, and the following, is to shew the Opposition of Christ's Actions and Doctrine altogether, and by what degrees.

SECT. XXVI.

Mark iii. from the beginning, to ver. 13.

Luke vi. from ver. 6, to ver. 12.

Matth. xii. from ver. 9, to ver. 22.

Sect. 26.

The Evangelists them­selves shew the Connexi­on undeniable.

SECT. XXVII.

Mark iii. ver. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.

Luke vi. from ver. 12, to the end.

Mat. v, vi, vii.

Sect. 27.

This is the proper place of the Sermon in the Mount. Why Matthew lays it so forward, see Sect. 20, &c.

SECT. XXVIII.

Mat. viii. ver. 1. and thence leap to ver. 5. and from it read to ver. 14.

Luke vii. from the beginning, to ver. 11.

Sect. 28.

The Evangelists shew the Coherence. Mat­thew's reason of interpo­sing the Healing of the Leper, see Sect. 20.

SECT. XXIX.

Luke vii. from ver. 11. to the end.

Mat. xi. from ver. 2, to ver. 20.

Sect. 29.

There is no scruple for order, unless this Action in Simon the Pharisee's House be the same with that in Simon the Leper's. Which that it is not, is plain from Luke viii.1.

SECT. XXX.

Luke viii. ver. 1, 2, 3.

Mark iii. the latter end of ver. 19, and ver. 20, 21.

Sect. 30.

The Coherence is plain. The Virgin Ma­ry here shews her self actually sinful.

SECT. XXXI.

Mark iii. from ver. 22, to ver. 31.

Mat. xii. from ver. 22, to ver. 46.

Sect. 31.

By that that went be­fore, and what follows, this Connexion is justifi­ed. In the last Section his Friends come to take him off from preaching. In the next, they come to him as he is speaking the things of this Section.

SECT. XXXII.

Mat. xii. ver. 46, 47, 48, 49, 50.

Mark iii. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35.

Luke viii. ver. 19, 20, 21.

Sect. 32.

Matthew in ver. 46. makes the Dependance plain. Luke's setting this after the Parable of the Sower, is to instance in Hearers of the Word, according to that Para­ble.

SECT. XXXIII.

Mat. xiii. from the be­ginning, to ver. 54.

Mark iv. from the beginning, to ver. 35.

Luke viii. from ver. 4, to ver. 19.

Sect. 33.

Matthew and Mark join the Stories to your Hand.

SECT. XXXIV.

Mark iv. from ver. 35. to [...] end.

Luke viii. from ver. 22, to v [...]r. 26.

Mat. viii. from ver. 18, to ver. 28.

Sect. 34.

See Mark, ver. 35. and the Order is clear. The Story of Levi's Cal­ling makes Matthew so much to lay this before.

SECT. XXXV.

Mat. viii. from ver. 28. to the end.

Mark v. from the be­ginning, to ver. 21.

Luke viii. from ver. 26, to ver. 40.

Sect. 35.

The Text links it self.

SECT. XXXVI.

Mat. ix. ver. 1. Then leap to ver. 10. and read from thence to ver. 18.

Mark v. ver. 21. from thence go to Mark ii. and read from ver. 15. to ver. 23.

Luke viii. ver. 40. from thence return to Luke iv. and read from ver. 29, to the end.

Sect. 36.

Here we are come to the true and proper time of Levi's Feast. That it is so, is apparent by the next Section. At Levi's Feast the Questi­on about Fasting is pro­pounded: Which Christ resolves. And as he speaks about it, Mat. ix.18. Jairus comes to him. Now that Jairus cometh not till now, you see the Continuance of the History evinceth.

SECT. XXXVII.

Mat. ix. from ver. 18, to ver. 27.

Mark v. from ver. 22, to the end.

Luke viii. from ver. 41, to the end.

Sect. 37.

Matthew ties this and the last together: And the Continuance of the History you see lays this undoubtedly here.

SECT. XXXVIII.

Mat. ix. from ver. 27, to ver. 35.

Sect. 38.

In ver. 27. the Cohe­rence is sure.

SECT. XXXIX.

Mark vi. from the be­ginning, to the middle of ver. 6.

Mat. xiii. ver. 54, 55, 56, 57, 58.

Sect. 39.

Mark, joining this to his healing Jairus's Daughter, maketh the Connexion plain. Mat­thew inserteth what fell in the way.

SECT. XL.

Mark vi. the latter end of ver. 6.

Mat. ix. ver. 35, 36, 37, 38.

Sect. 40.

That piece of ver. 6. in Mark vi. is enough for the Dependance.

SECT. XLI.

Mat. x. all the Chapter, and ver. 1. of Chap. xi.

Mark vi. ver. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.

Luke ix. ver. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,

Sect. 41.

The Coherence is so plain, that it is not to be doubted of.

SECT. XLII.

Mark vi. from ver. 14, to ver. 30.

Matth. xiv. from the beginning, to ver. 12.

Luke ix. ver. 7, 8, 9.

Sect. 42.

[...]

SECT. XLIII.

Mat. xiv. from ver. 12, to the end.

Mark vi. from ver. 30, to the end.

Luke ix. from ver. 10, to ver. 18.

John vi. from the be­ginning, to ver. 22.

Sect. 43.

[...]

SECT. XLIV.

John vi. from ver. 22, to the end.

Sect. 44.

The Coherence of the preceding Sections need­ed no Demonstration. In the last Section▪ in John vi.4. he speaketh of Christ's third Passover be­ing near, when Christ doth this Miracle of mul­tiplying the Loaves, and walking on the Sea. In this Section you have him in Capernaum Synagogue; and from thence doubt­less he goes up to Jeru­salem to his third Passo­ver. And now hath he but one Year to his Passi­on.

—Non displicuisse meretur
Festinat — qui placuisse.

MEDITATIONS UPON SOME Abstruser Points of Divinity, AND EXPLANATIONS Of Divers Difficult Places of Holy Scripture.

In Three DECADS.

THE HEADS OF THE Ensuing Discourses.

DECAD I.

I. THAT the long Successes of some Sinners do not suppose a total Freedom from a just Sen­tence, but only a Deferring the Execution.

II. Sin as it exposeth to Punishment hereafter, so it is a present Punishment in the Act.

III. A Meditation explanatory on the Book of Ec­clesiastes.

IV. The Sin and Punishment of the Golden Calf explained.

V. How Israel was given up to Idolatry, and yet re­mained a long while after God's People.

VI. The Case of Widows marrying again, considered.

VII. Wantonness unchristian.

VIII. The Fear which seized our Saviour at his Pas­sion, innocent.

IX. The Case of Jacob, when he wrestled with the Angel, explained.

[Page] X. An Inquiry into the Reason of Hezekiah's Tears upon God's Message to him, that he must die.

DECAD II.

I. AN Inquiry, what Strength that was Da­vid requested, when he prayed to God to spare him, that he might recover Strength, Psal. xxxix.13.

II. The Necessity of Government explained from this Text, Judges xvii.6. In those Days there was no King in Israel: but every Man did that which was right in his own Eyes.

III. Who the SONS of God are, and the calling of the Gentiles, explained from Rom. viii.21. Be­cause the Creature it self also shall be delivered from the Bondage of Corruption, into the Glorious Liberty of the Children of God.

IV. The Christian's Holiness, as well as his future Happiness, stiled GLORY.

V. An Elucidation of Heb. x.26, 27. If we sin wil­fully after we have received the Knowledge of the Truth, there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sins, but a fearful looking for of Judgment, and fiery Indignation, which shall devour the Adver­saries.

VI. Some Description of the Death and Doom of an ungodly Man.

VII. A Meditation upon the Widow's Mite.

VIII. A Meditation and Explanation of the HOPE of Christians, according to the Apostle's Account of it, Heb, vi.17, 18, 19, 20.

[Page] XI. An Inquiry, why the Jews were so importunate with Christ for Signs and Wonders; and why he was so backward to gratifie their Curiosity therein.

X. An Explanatory Discourse of the Fall and Pu­nishment of Angels.

DECAD III.

I. An Inquiry, which is most to be esteemed Evange­lical Holiness, or Absolute Perfection.

II. An Explanation of those Words of our Saviour, That Servant that knew his Lord's Will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his Will, shall be beaten with many Stripes: But he that knew not, and did commit Things worthy of Stripes, shall be beaten with few Stripes, Luke xii.47, 48.

III. An Inquiry, why God appointed the Jews a Car­nal Ceremonious Institution.

IV. A Meditation upon the Length of Time the Se­cond Temple was in Building. Forty and Six Years was this Temple in Building, John ii.20.

V. How the Face and Back-parts of God, Exod. xxxiii.20, 23. are to be understood.

VI. An Inquiry, what that first Resurrection is, Revel. xx.5.

VII. An Examination into the Reason of that Eru­ption of the Apostle, O! the Depth of the Riches both of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God! Rom. xi.33.

VIII. Asa's perfect Heart how reconcilable with his Sufferance of the High Places.

[Page] XI. In what Sense the Apostle thanks God, that the believing Romans had been the Servants of Sin.

X. The Papists, the Millenaries, and the Traditi­onary Jews confuted from that Place, Whom the Heavens must contain, until the times of Restitu­tion of all Things, &c. Act. iii.21.

MEDITATIONS UPON SOME Abstruser Points of Divinity, AND EXPLANATIONS Of Divers Difficult Places of Holy Scripture. DECAD I.

I. That the long Successes of some Sin­ners do not suppose a total Free­dom from a just Sentence, but on­ly a Deferring the Execution.

IN Authors and Writings in the Chaldee Lan­guage we find a Thousand Times over the Word which we translate SENTENCE, in Eccles. viii.11. Because Sentence against an evil Work is [Page 100] not executed speedily, &c. But in all the Hebrew of the Bible we hardly find it above once more, be­sides the abovesaid Place; namely, Esth. i.20. where the Determination of A [...]asuerus for the un­queening of Vashti is termed [...] The De­cree of the King. The Word in the Chaldee doth primarily and properly signifie A Word, and [...] Words. And nothing is more frequent in that Lan­guage. Our English hath render'd it A Sentence in that Place of Ecclesiastes, and A Decree in that of Esther. Where the Chaldee Translator useth both Senses, and renders it [...] The Word of the Decree. I observe this the rather, because the Sentence of God against Evil is in his Word Uttered, and in his Mind Decreed. In his Mouth, and in his Heart. The Lord hath Spoken it, the Lord hath Decreed it.

How infinite in Scripture are Passages of this Na­ture and Purpose? Such and such Judgments shall come, For the Lord hath SPOKEN it. This is the PURPOSE of the Lord, the DECREE of the Lord, the WORD of the Lord, against such and such Sins. And do we read them, and can we doubt whether there be a SENTENCE against an evil Work? Do not all the Instances and Examples of Judgments and Vengeance executed in Scripture al­so prove this Truth from the Doom upon Cain in the Beginning of Genesis, to the Doom of Babylon in the End of the Revelations? And may not this be an Answer or Resolution about all the Judgments that have been in the VVorld, that they have been, because there is a Sentence against an evil VVork? VVhy the old VVorld perished by VVater, Sodom by Fire: Because there is a Sentence against an evil VVork. VVhy the Egyptians perish'd in the Sea, the murmuring Israelites in the VVilderness, the Sama­ritans by Lions, Bethel's Children by Bears: Be­cause there is a Sentence against an evil VVork.

[Page 101]But where is this Sentence, since Thousands and Thousands have abused the Holy Things of God a Thousand times, whereas Belshazzar did but once, and yet their Finger never aked for so doing? Ma­ny and many a Thousand have told a Thousand and a Thousand Lies, whereas Ananias told but one; and yet have escaped in a whole Skin. And there have been Thousands as proud in Heart as Herod could be, and yet not met with his Fate. It was these Men's hard Luck to speed as they did, but Millions speed better that do the same Things. Therefore where is this Sentence?

I answer, There, where it is sure enough. And let God himself tell you where. Deut. xxxii.34. Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up a­mong my Treasures? And what is it? Look before, and it is Vengeance, ver. 23, &c. and look at the very next Verse after it, and it is Vengeance, ver. 35. To me belongeth Vengeance, and Recompence: their Feet shall slide in due time. If you ask then, where is the Sentence of God against evil Works, when wicked VVorkers go on, and flourish, and prosper, and no Hurt comes to them? It is laid up in his Treasures. He hath writ it out ready, and laid it up in his Desk, till he see Time to take it out, and put it in Execution. In Job, Ch. xxxviii.22. there is mention of Treasures of Snow. Hast thou entred into the Treasures of the Snow, or hast thou seen the Treasures of the Hail? And Chap. xxxvii.6. He saith to the Snow, be thou on the Earth. Now, if one ask in the parching Heat of Summer and Har­vest, where is the Snow, you say, that God com­mands to be on Earth? VVhere is any Figure or Token of Snow now? But it is in his Treasures. He hath it in his Shop and VVarehouse, to fetch out, when he sees his Time. So is the Sentence against an evil VVork laid up with him.

[Page 102]If you will yet have a narrower Answer to the [...]estion; wher [...] is this Sentence whilst the wicked prosp [...] ▪ It is in his VVord; it is in his Will; in his Book▪ in his Bosom.

First, It is written and laid up sure in his VVord, Esay xxxiv. from ver. 8. forward, speaking of the Desolations of the Cities and Habitations of the wicked Enemies of God and Zion, it is said, that the Cor [...]rant and Bittern should possess them; the Owl and the Ra [...]en, and Satyre, &c. at ver. 16. he comes on thus▪ Seek ye out of the Book of the Lord and read: Not one of these shall [...]ail; none shall want her Mate; for my Mouth hath commanded it. Whilst these Habitations flourished, and their wick­ed Inh [...]bitants prospered and jovialized in them, they were ready to think in Heart, I shall never be moved, and this Prosperity shall never have end. But Seek in the Book of the Lord, and read, and there you find a Sentence of Desolation and De­struction of the Habitations of Wickedness. Is there not a Doom and Sentence in Scripture against every Transgression and Disobedience in Thought, Word and Deed? And unless you will make God a Lyar, and false of his Word, as Men are false, the Sentence is sure.

It is said, Tit. i.2. In hope of Eternal Life, which God that cannot lie promised. Is it not true on the other Part, about the Certainty of God's Threat­nings, that God that cannot lye, Threatned. God threatned Adam, In the Day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die the Death. But where was any sign of Death, when God so threatned? Adam was well, and immortal then, and no Sign of Death or Dis­ease upon him. But Death was in that Tree, if he meddled with it; and so it proved. What that Tree was to Adam, God's Commands are to us. It might be wondered at, what did that Tree in the Garden? It was as a Rule of his Obedience, a Tryal [Page 103] of his Obedience. But if he made bold with it, it would prove his Death, God's Commands are the same to Men: A Rule, a Trial of their Obedience. But if they make bold with God's Commandments, and meddle with them otherwise than God allow­eth, there is nothing but Death and Judgment. And the Apostle finds it, Rom. vii.10. The Command­ment which was ordained for Life, I [...]ound to be unto Death.

But many and many an evil Work is committed, and no Sign of Judgment, or Death. And then where is the Sentence?

The Preacher saith, that Sentence is not speedily executed. But in so saying, it tells us not, that there is no Sentence: but rather the contrary, that there is a Sentence in time to be executed, tho' not done speedily. Men mistake and deceive themselves, because they willingly will misjudge concerning God's Judgments, and his Sentence of Judgment, and construe it only of some Visible, Bodily, or Temporal Judgment. And many a time the Wick­edest meet with no such thing, from the Womb to the Grave. As Experience shews abundantly▪ and the Holy Ghost tells us, Psal. lxxiii.5, 6. They are not in Trouble as other Men, neither are they plagued as other Men. Therefore Pride compasseth them about as a Chain, Violence covereth them a [...] a Garment: And they think that Bravery and Jovia­lity shall never be changed. Whereas the Sentence of God against their Evil Works standeth, if they would but observe it.

Many things are wont here to be urged. That that I shall observe shall be only this, that sinning it self is a Judgment. The Sinners sinning is their present Punishment. And so the Word [...] in the Hebrew Tongue signifies both Sin and Punishment. For indeed sinning is no less than a Penalty. What else means that Passage, Ps. lxxxi.11, 12. My People would [Page 104] not hearken to my Voice, and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up to their own Hearts Lusts, and they walked in their own Councils. What is the plain English of this, but this, because they would not hearken unto my Voice, therefore I punish'd them, by giving them up to Sin, according to their own Lusts and Wills, to sin and spare not? God is the only Choice, Excellent, Infinite Good. VVhat, shall we set opposite for the only desperate deep-dy'd Evil? VVhat, is the direct contrary to God, as Black is to VVhite, as Darkness to Light? Nothing but Sin. The Devil indeed is desperately contrary to God, as he is his Enemy; and the Devil is most deeply dyed Evil. But it is Sin that makes him so, and that made him a Devil. Hell is a dreadful, hor­rible, deep Evil; but it is Sin that hath made it so. For if there had been no [...] there had been no Hell.

Now if Sin be so great [...] Evil, so deep, so de­sperate, as that it caused the Devil to be a Devil, Hell to be Hell, then certainly Sin it self is not a small Punishment to the Soul that sinneth: Not to speak of the Punishment that follows Sin hereafter.

II. SIN as it exposeth to Punishment hereafter, so it is a present Pu­nishment in the Act.

FOR it deprives of God, and brings under a Curse.

First, It deprives of God. It loses God; it sets at a distance from God. The Scripture stiles sinning [Page 105] a Departing from the Living God. Heb. iii.12. Take heed Brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil Heart of Unbelief in DEPARTING from the Living God. That is, in sinning against God. And it stiles sinning also a Coming short of the Glory of God, Rom. iii.23. which means not only coming short of the Glory of Heaven, but short of the Glo­ry of God, that rested upon Man before he Sinned. It was God's Threatning, Gen. ii.17. In the Day thou Eatest thereof, thou shalt surely Die. And yet when they had Eaten, they did not Die. Nay, they did not so much as Swoon; were not so much as Sick toward Dying. So that the Devil might vaunt, and perswade them, ‘You see, I told you true, when I told you, you should not Die. Lo! you see, it is no danger to follow my Counsel: For you see no sign of Death at all upon you.’ I, but Adam, look into thy Soul, and there God which was the Life of thy Soul is departed from thee. So the Secure, Profane, Wretched Heart may reason with it self: There is talk of Sentence against Sin, of Punishment of Sin, and I know not what: I feel no such thing, though I take mine own Courses: But I am Fat, and Flourish, and grow Rich, and Prosper, and to Day is as Yesterday, and to Morrow shall be as to Day, and much more abundant. But look, O wretched Man, at thy State within. Is God there? Is the Presence of the Life of God in thy Soul? No, Every Sin committed sets thee and him still at more and more Distance; looseth him, and Interest in him more and more. And if this be nothing with thee to lose God, what will be any thing?

This is the very Preface and Porch of Hell, the Loosing of God here; as the Preface and Porch of Heaven to the Saints of God here, is their enjoying and partaking of God here. Does any ask or question about the State and Torment of the Damned in Hell? This may be a full and adequate Answer, [Page 106] They have lost God. What is their Damnation? They have lost God. What their Torment? They have lost God. Whence their Howling? Because they have lost God. Whence their Hopelesness? Because they have lost God. Alas! How did they lose him? Ask them, and they may tell you; that their Sins have separated betwixt God and them. As Esa. lix.2. That every Sin they committed, set God and them further and further asunder, and de­prived them more and more of God.

Some Intimation of this you have in Ezekiel, Ch. x.18. The Glory and Presence of God departing from the Temple, and flitting away. And where is Israel, when God is gone from them? It is Saul's sad Complaint, 1 Sam. xxviii.15. God is departed from me. And you see what became of Saul. God and Sin cannot dwell together in one Soul: As the Bondwoman and her Son must have no abiding with the Freewoman and hers, in the same House.

Now if it be a Punishment, a sad Thing to lose God, to have God depart away from the Soul; then the very Sinning of a Sinner is a Punishment to him, because it strips him of God, and deprives him of that that should be the very Life of his Soul.

Secondly, Sin is a Punishment because it brings the Sinner under a Curse. It is not only a Privative mis­chief, depriving him of God, (though that is enough) but it is a Positive Mischief, bringing a Curse upon the Sinner. Read Deut. xxvii. ult. And Chap. xxviii. from ver. 15. and forward; and it needeth not more Proof. He saith not only as before in Chap. xxvii. Cursed is he that maketh an Idol, and setteth light by Father and Mother; that re­moveth his Neighbours Land-mark, &c. But Cursed is he that confirmeth not all the words of this Law: And Chap. xxviii.15. If thou wilt not hearken unto the Voice of the Lord thy God, to do all his Com­mandments and his Statutes; Then Cursed [Page 107] shalt thou be in the City and in the Field, &c. He that did not all the Commandments was Cursed; and all the People must say, Amen. And was not that a hard Task to say Amen to their own Cursing? For who of them had observed all God's Command­ments, to do them? Durst we do the like? And yet God requires the same thing from us, in the Sence he did it from them: And that was in a twofold Regard.

1. To acknowledge their own Guilt and Deser­ving of a Curse for what was past, in that they had not observed God's Commandments. And,

2. An engaging of their Hearts for the Time to come to Obedience of his Commandments, or let them be Accursed. And so the Word Amen signi­fies in a twofold Sense: Both an Assertion of a Thing, or Averring that it is true: And so they and we are to acknowledge, that he that continues not in God's Commandments, deserves a Curse: And Secondly, An Imprecation upon themselves, if they willingly did so transgress again.

Now what was this Curse? Or what is the Curse that Hangs over the Head of Sinners? 'Tis true, sometimes the Curse falls upon ungodly Men in Visible and Temporal Judgments; as upon the Old World, Sodom, the Egyptians, and Ten Thou­sand more such Direful Monuments. But this is not the Curse that he intends for the Ungodly. For ma­ny and many a Thousand live and die in Prosperity, and such horrid apparent Judgments never come nigh them. The Jews for their Rebellion had all these Curses against them, Deut. xxviii, and yet Thousands of them Prospered in the World, grew Rich and Great, and yet the Curse of God remained upon them for all that: Therefore the Curse of God is twofold; either to be inflicted in Temporal Judgments, or to be inflicted by turning all Things that seem Mercies [Page 108] to a Curse: The former lights not on all wicked Men; the latter does.

III. A Meditation explanatory on the Book of Ecclesiastes.

IN this Book, methinks, we may see Solomon setting down in deep Study. After all the Con­tents and Delights that he had, or could find in Earthly Things he is here set down with his Pen in Hand, casting up what all came to. And the Summa Totalis [...]f all, at the Foot of all, comes but to th [...]s, All is Vanity and Vexation of Spirit.

Brave Buildings Ortyards, Gardens, Pomp, Wealth, Pleasure, Enjoying One's self in this World in the fullest Delight possible. Solomon, what comes all to in the Total Sum? Vanity of Vanities, all is Vanity. Care to provide great Matters here, Rule, Dominion, Maintaining a brave Port and Retinue, Study and Prying into the Things of Nature, and Men's Actions: What comes this to? To nothing but Vanity and Vexation of Spirit. Like him in the Story, that had a great Iron-bound Chest by him, that he thought his Forefathers had filled full of Treasure for him; but when he comes to open it, it proved nothing but Stones, and Old Iron, and Rags, and such Trash.

The Title of his Book, as you see Chap. i. is Va­nity of Vanities, all is Vanity. Who would read such a Book, that carries no better, no more comfortable a Title? If the Title were Pleasure of Pleasures, Profit of Profits, Contentment of Con­tentments; [Page 109] here were a brave Book to Study that spoke of such things as these. As it is in the Pro­phet, Prophesie to us of Wine and Strong Drink: Such an one is a Prophet for this People. But a Book that goes about to shew me, that all that I set my mind upon, and take delight in, is but Vanity of Vanities, and Vexation of Vexations; away with such a Book: Like Jeremy's Prophesie with Jehoiakim, cut it with the Penknife, and cast it into the Fire.

Thus Flesh, and Blood, and Carnal Hearts, would be ready to Censure, and like the Papists with their In­dex Expurgatorius, dash out in all Writings they meet with, whatsoever was not to their own Minds. But what says the Heart of a Solomon in this Case? Nay, what says the Sacred Spirit of God in this Case? That there can hardly be a more useful Study for Worldly Men; nay, for all Mortal Men, than to Study, Find out, and be Satisfied, that all Earthly things whatsoever are but Vanity. That the Heart may be set to hearken after that which is more than Earthly, more than Vanity. And Solomon the great Student, the Wisest of Men, never shewed himself more Learned, more Wise, than in this Con­victive Impression upon his own Heart, that all things under the Sun are but Vanity of Vanities; Vanity of Vanities, all is Vanity.

And as he among the Heathen was accounted the VVisest Man among them that said, Hoc scio tantum me nihil; i. e. that he knew only this, that he knew Nothing; so shall he approve himself a VVise Man indeed, that can come Solidly, Throughly and Feelingly to know, and be convinced of this, that all Things here below are but Vanity of Vanities. Solomon doubles the Word, because he would heigh­ten and enhaunce the Sense. And if you Observe, you shall find also, that he takes the Word Vanity in a double Sense, viz. For Vanity of Things, and [Page 110] Vanity of Minds: As all Things here below are but Vanity, and Fading in themselves; and as the Minds of Men are but Vanity and Foolishness in their Desires and Thoughts. And so you shall find, that he takes the Word sometimes in one Sense, and sometimes in another.

That saying, Chap. viii.11. demonstrates this, and speaks to this double Sense, Because Sentence against an evil Work is not executed speedily, therefore the Heart of the Sons of Men is fully set in them to do Evil. The Verse before is this, There is a Time, wherein one Man ruleth over another to his own Hurt. And so I saw the Wicked Buried, who had come, and went from the Place of the Holy. And they were forgotten in the City, where they had done so. This is also Vanity. That is, some Men Oppress, Domineer, Tyranize over others. But at last I saw such come to the Grave. And then what proved all their Insulting, but a wretched Vanity? Nay, they went, or were separated, from Heaven, the Place of the Holy One. And their very Name rot­ted in the very Place where they had so Domineer­ed. And they were forgotten in the City where they had done so. A Vanity of Vanities, that they should lose Heaven, and lose their Name too; and all they had done and contrived to themselves, come to no better Issue. And then in the following Verse he speaks of the wretched Vanity that is in Mens Minds; That because Sentence against an Evil thing is not presently executed; therefore the Hearts of the Sons of Men is fully set in them to do Evil. One would expect, that Fear should move the Heart, that it should not be Evil, because there is a Sentence against an Evil Work; and that Fair­ness and Gentleness should move the Heart to be Good, because this Sentence is not speedily put in Execution. But Behold! Wild Grapes indeed; [Page 111] Behold the Vanity of Men's Minds; therefore the Heart of Man is fully set to do evil.

IV. The Sin and Punishment of the Golden Calf explained.

THE Golden Calf is oft laid in the Jews Dish, and that deservedly: That ever a People should so soon, so shamefully fall from God. It was not Fourty Days since the Law was given them, and the two First Commandments already broken. To turn the Glory of God into a Calf, as it is exprest, Psal. cvi.20. Was that the God that brought them out of Egypt? Expositors cannot tell what to say of their Intent. For they cannot think they were such Calves. And yet what can we say else?

Jonathan saith, The Devil got into the Metal, and fashioned it into a Calf. The Devil indeed was too much there, but it was in their Fancies more than in the Metal. The Jews will not suffer Aaron's Relation of this matter to be interpreted, Exod. xxxii.24. But the Thing stands upon Re­cord against them. Whether they made it in imi­tation of the Egyptian APIS, or of a Cherub. Compare Ezek. i.10. with Ch. x.14.

God Punisht this Sin, 1. With the Sword, Exod. xxxii.28. There fell of the People that Day about Three Thousand Men. And, 2. With a Plague, ver. ult. And the Lord Plagued the People, because they made the Calf. And, 3. Which is worse than both, God Punisht the Sin with the [Page 112] Judgment of giving them up to Worship the Host of Heaven, mentioned Acts vii.42. Then God tur­ned, and gave them up to Worship the Host of Hea­ven. The Verse immediately before speaks of their making a Calf in those Days, and offering Sacrifice unto the Idol, and rejoicing in the Works of their own Hands. THEN it was that God turned because they turned first. Hitherto God and Israel were Face to Face, but now Contra. As it is said of Moses, That he went out from Pharaoh in a great Anger, Exod. xi.8. So God turned away from them, and leaves them.

What did God Turn from? And VVhither? Did he turn from his Covenant? They broke it in­deed; but did he? In the Eighth Chapter to the He­brews, ver. 9. The Covenant that I made with their Fathers in the Day when I took them by the Hand, to lead them out of the Land of Egypt; because they continued not in my Covenant. They continued not in the Covenant; but did not he? Yea, he returned again, set up his Tabernacle among them, and brought them into the Land which he Promised them. Had he broke his Covenant, he had played quit with them. And the Covenant was not, but upon God's Conditions; and those not performed, he was quit from any Obligation to it. But how­ever God brake not his Covenant with them. And therefore the forequoted Place means not that, but it speaks of a particular thing.

In Egypt they were Idolators, Ezek. xx.7. Then said I unto them, cast ye away every Man the Abo­minations of his Eyes, and Defile not your selves with the Idols of Egypt. He brought them out, that they might be a People Serving the true God. But this Idolatry now committed by them, made him turn, and give them up to be as the Heathen.

This was a Critical Business, and set the Clock for future Ages in Judgment upon them, As Adam's [Page 113] eating the Forbidden Fruit brought Guilt upon his Posterity, so did this. Not that any particular Person was necessitated hence to Idolatry; but that God revoked the Priviledge he intended them, viz. That they should be a People not Idolatrous. So that in this Necessitatem non imposuit, sed Privilegia ab­stulit; i. e. God laid no Necessity upon them, but took away certain Priviledges from them. God took away that that should have stopped them from falling into Idolatry.

But might not they say for this as they did, Ezek xviii.2. The Fathers have eaten Sowr Grapes, and the Children's Teeth are set on Edge? No: whosoever was Idolatrous afterwards was not necessitated to it. God had paled them in with this Priviledge, You shall be a Holy People. Exod. xix 5. Now therefore if ye will obey my Voice indeed, and keep my Cove­nant, then ye shall be a peculiar Treasure unto me above all People. And ye shall be unto me a King­dom of Priests, and an holy Nation. They broke a great Gap in this Pale, and God breaks down all. This does not drive them out, but if they go out, it is of themselves. The Words are not, He made them Worship the Host of Heaven; but he gave them up; lest them to themselves; whereas till now he had charged himself with them.

But are they here bound over to Sin, to commit Idolatry? Does God punish the Sins of the Fathers in the Souls of the Children? He does indeed in their Bodies, in their Estates, in their Outward Con­cerns; but does he also punish the Children in their Souls for their Fathers Faults? I answer, First, God is the Cause of Sin to none. Giving up to Idolatry is not the Cause of Idolatry. If he were the Cause of this Sin, he were the Cause of his own Dishonour; which we cannot imagine. Second­ly, God Causeth not these to Sin, but suffered them to [Page 114] walk in the Ways of their Fathers. Thirdly, Their Idolatry is to be look'd on as a Punishment to their Children, and not as a Sin to them.

So that it was a Great but Just Penalty: Great, because Spiritual; Just, because he turned from them, when they first turned from him. He gave them up to what they would be. Read both in Psal. lxxxi.11, 12. My People would not hearken to my Voice, and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own Hearts Lusts, and they walked in their own Counsels. And yet he wisheth, ver. 13. O! that my People had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my Ways! Lord, thou couldest as easily make them so, as wish them so. So Luke xix.42. If thou hadst known in this thy Day the things which belong unto thy Peace: But Men put themselves out of a Capacity of God's doing for them, and necessitate him to do against them, if he will maintain his Truth and Justice. It is not the Question what God can do for them, but what he cannot but do, because of his Truth and Justice.

In the Penalty we may observe, 1. The proper Cause, Their Sin. 2. The Inflicter, God. 3. The manner of it, By giving them up. 4. The Being and Nature of it, To worship the Host of Heaven.

But it may be said that it seems not Parity, To worship the Host of Heaven, rather it should be, to worship Cats and Dogs, as the Egyptians did. But in answer hereunto, it is all one as to the thing it self, viz. the Worship of the Creature more than the Creator. One indeed seemed to be a more no­ble Deity than the other; but the Worship of either was abominable alike, in this Regard, that either was a worshipping of the Creature. The Egyptians worshipped Onyons, Garlick, &c. Israel would have a more noble Idolatry, to worship the Sun, [Page 115] Moon and Stars. But all alike abominable; all for­sook God alike; all worshipped the Creature alike.

The Cause of Idolatry is Misconception of God. So it is Rom. i.21. Because when they knew God, they worshipped him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their Imaginations, and their foolish Heart was darkned. And as there the Gentiles, so here Israel is given up upon the like Account.

Now to make some Observations.

1. The Want of the right Knowledge of God is the Root of all Evil. Right Knowledge of God? But he is unfathomable, will some say, past our Appre­hension to conceive or understand. Nay, Things in Nature are so. We know not how our Cloths keep us warm; much more can we know God. But there is difference 'twixt knowing God fully, and conceiving of God.

2. Observe upon the Sin it self, They made a Calf, how foolish Man is about the things of God, when left to his own Wisdom. Here is an Example most Pregnant.

3. Upon the Sin and the Punishment together ob­serve, that one may sin till there be no Healing, no Revocation of Punishment. So it happened to Is­rael, and so the Nation of the Jews, for the Sins of Manasseh.

4. Upon the Word Turned observe, that God turns not from Men, till they turn from him.

V. How Israel was given up to Idola­try, and yet remained a long while after God's People.

THAT the whole Nation of Israel was given up by God upon the Sin of the Golden Calf, is plain from Acts vii.42. God gave THEM up; that is, the whole People. But here two Things seem strange. First, That they should be a Cove­nanted People, and yet such a People given up. Secondly, That they should be given up, and yet re­main a People still. This was at the beginning of the State of the Jews, and they continued a Peo­ple still above a Thousand Years. Yet this Fate and Doom appeared all along in them, that they were an Idolatrous People. Only after the Captivity they were not; for then they were given up to Traditi­ons. But tho' God had thus given them up, yet he spared his Ordinances among them, yet he spared them from utter Ruin; and that for two Reasons.

First, Because of his Covenant to their Fathers. This Reason is given, Ezek. xx. &c. But why? Was he in Covenant to do Good to their Children, whether good or no, whatsoever they were, how­soever they carried themselves? This were strange Drudgery that God would have bound himself to. And yet what say you to that, Rom. xi.28. As touching the Election they are beloved for the Fa­thers sake. [...]. He had a Remnant according to Election among them, Rom. xi.5. It was then for the sake of their Fathers, and for his own Name's sake too, Ezek. xxxvi. And that is the second Reason.

[Page 117] Secondly, He spared them for his own Name's sake. Consider we a little God's Covenant with Abraham, Gen. xii.1, 2. Now the Lord had said un­to Abram, get thee out of thy Country, and from thy Kindred, and from thy Father's House: and I wilt bless thee, and make thy Name great, and thou shalt be a Blessing. 1. Messiah must take Flesh of Abra­ham. God appointed it, that the Messiah should be of this Seed. Heb. ii.16. He took not on him the Nature of Angels, but he took on him the Seed of Abraham; and the rest of the Seed of Abra­ham God chose for the visible Church. 2. Having chosen it, tho' perverse, yet it had two Tyes upon him, to shew Mercy. First, His Covenant; and, Secondly, the Glory of his Name. This Moses pleads in Behalf of Israel. Upon this it is that God wisht, Psal. lxxxi.13. O! that my People had hear­kened unto me, and Israel had walked in my Ways. And Deut. v. 29. O! that there were such a Heart in them, &c. That is, that his Covenanted People for the Honour of his Name, would walk in his Ways, and be obedient, that he might not destroy them. From hence we make two Observations.

First, What a Canker stuck to this People in the beginning, and yet they lasted a long time after. This Sin and God's Doom laid on them, and yet they remained a People. Now wherein lyes the proper Cause of a sinful Peoples prospering, enjoy­ing of the Gospel, and all good things? Let Eng­land be the Example. How many profane People in it? How many that mind not God? What Sins are among us? And yet England lives. Wherein lyes the Cause? God's Covenant. With whom? VVith a peculiar People that fear him. How God's Cove­nant? God's Covenant is God's VVord of Promise, and the Conditions thereof that be brought to a Peo­ple. And why does this Covenant procure us this Good from God? Because there are some that do embrace it. For their sakes God doth well to a Na­tion; [Page 118] and yet they are commonly despised and per­secuted. So Lot was in Sodom. VVhy does the VVorld stand? That the Elect may be gathered.

Secondly, A Generation may sin to that height, as to bring a Guilt and Punishment upon succeeding Generations. God threatens, I will visit the Sins of the Fathers upon the Children. This oft proves true in whole Nations. As the Jews Idolatry with the Golden Calf had a sad Influence upon their Poste­rity. And so also had that Saying of theirs long af­ter, His Blood be on us, and on our Children.

VI. The Case of Widows, marrying again, considered.

CERTAIN VVidows were shrewdly taxed by S. Paul for marrying again, in 1 Tim. v. 11, 12. But the younger Widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ they will marry. Having Damnation, because they have cast off their first Faith. And the Rhemists hereupon make second Matriages a Fault little less, if any thing at all, than Adultery. I shall speak some­thing of such a VVoman's Case.

The Matter here at first Sight is obscure. VVe will therefore take up first the general Scope of the Apostle at this Place; and then particularly un­fold the several Clauses of these Verses.

Writing to Timothy, Minister of the Church at Ephesus, he gives Rules for ordering the Church there, as Chap. iii.14, 15. These things I write un­to thee, [...]ping to come unto thee shortly. But if I [Page 119] tarry long, that thou mightest know how thou oughtest to behave thy self in the House of God. And, First, in the Third Chapter, Rules for ordaining of Mi­nisters, and appointing Deacons, and what Persons they ought to be. And in this Chapter, Rules con­cerning poor Widows, to be taken to the Charge and Maintenance of the Church, and to be in some Office and Employment in it. They had their Xe­nedocheion, i. e. Hospital, and Widows in it, to look to the Poor, to get Strangers Meat, to take Care of their Lodging, &c. Rom. xvi.1. will illu­strate this, I commend unto you Phoebe our Sister, which is a Servant of the Church, which is at Cen­chrea. In ver. 9. they are not to be taken in under Threescore Years old. So that the Apostle allows Maintainance for Widows, poor Widows, and Aged. Widows, because they had not Familes to care for, as the Married had: Poor, that they might be re­lieved by the Church, and do the Church some Service: And Aged, because such would be grave, prudent, and sober. But the younger Widows re­fuse; for when they have begun to wax wanton a­gainst Christ, they will marry, &c.

The Rhemists brag here for the Vow of single Life; such as of Priests and Nuns. Because the Apostle saith not, They wax wanton, and play the Whore, but wax wanton, and Marry. Therefore they conclude it means the Vow of Chastity and single Life; and they extol that Vow, and cry out of the Marriage of such, who have made such rash Vows.

First, Observe that, Rev. ix.8. The Locusts have the Hair of Women; that is, long Hair as Na­zarites, pretending Vows.

Secondly, We may say, Wo to them that call E­vil Good, and Good Evil. What is their Doom, that call Vowing single Life, so great a Piece of Re­ligion, which is in it self evil. Chastity is good, [Page 120] and single Life good in some Respects, 1 Cor. vii.34. but to vow either is Evil, because it is to vow what is not in our own Power. Jer. iv.2. we are to vow in Judgment, as well as in Righteousness. Not only to vow that which is lawful, but what is in our own Power to do. For a Man to vow he will fly in the Air, walk on the Sea, &c. is a sinful Vow, because impossible; so to vow a single Life is for ought he knows as impossible for him, and to live chastly: And God hath evidenced his Curse upon this their wretched Vowing, by giving them up to horrid Uncleanness, and to the Murther of their Children.

But we will not insist on this; we are taught that Marriage is Honourable, and that all cannot at­tain to live single, and that it is better to marry than to burn.

But in the Case before us there is no Vow at all, but another Matter. A poor young Widow, if ta­ken in to be sustained by the Stock of the Church, and do some Service in it, as tending the Sick, &c. will be ready to hearken after being married, and so will be careless of the Charge committed to her; will be ready to be wanton, and so be a Scandal: Nay, may be ready to be wanton against the Reli­gion of Christ, and marry to an Infidel; and so cast off her first Faith. The Apostle makes Supposal what young Widows may be incident to. Their Age may incline them to marry; their Inclination to marry may incline them to Wantonness, Wantonness to Apostacy. And therefore it was not prudent to take such into Office in the Church, and to its Charge.

The Words admit two Senses.

I. Wanton against Christ, and the strict Rule of Christ, that they should be under. They will not endure the Yoke, as the wanton Heifer, but will marry to satisfie their own Will. Having Damna­tion, or Judgment; that is, being justly condemned, [Page 121] because they cast off their first Faith, or Trust com­mitted to them. So that the Apostle condemns not their marrying simply, for then he should go against his own Rule, It is better to marry than to burn; but provides that such Inconveniences accrue not to the Church.

II. Wanton in Religion. She may fall in Love with an Infidel, and wantonly may forsake her Reli­gion, and so become a Scandal to the Church, and Perdition to her self. As the Apostle cries down such Marriages, 2 Cor. vi.14. Be ye not unequally yoked together with Unbelievers. And God com­plains, Mal. ii.11. That Judah had profaned the Holiness of the Lord, and married the Daughter of a strange God.

VII. Wantonness Unchristian.

THE Vulgar Latin reads [...], 1 Tim. v.11. Luxuriantes in Christo, to no Sense at all. Others, They will marry in Christ, to as little. But the Words in the English are very proper according to the Greek, Wax wanton against Christ. The Greek word, as it properly signifies to be wanton, or to live delicately, and in Pleasure, and so rendred Rev. xviii.7. so in proper Derivation it signifies to shake off the Reins, as an untamed Horse.

Hence it may be observed, that Wantonness is a thing that is Unchristian, a thing that becomes not Christians. The Apostle allows it not in any to be employed in Office in the Church, in 1 Tim. v.11. [Page 122] and elsewhere, not in any other. Rom. xiii.13. Let us walk honestly as in the Day, not in Rioting and Drunkenness, not in Chambering, and WANTON­NESS, not in Strife and Envying. Observe hence two things. First, That Christians that live in the Day, and not in the Night, should walk as in the Day. Secondly, That they should walk [...], Honestly, Comlily. Men in the Night care not how they are dress'd, when none sees them; but in the Day they take Care of their Habit that it be de­cent, that they may appear comely before Men. And so it is with Christians, who are of the Day. The Apostle gives two general Rules for Christi­ans walking.

I. Negatively. Not to walk as Heathens, which are in Darkness, and walk they know not, they care not, how; Eph. iv.17. This I say and testifie in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the Vanity of their Mind. See with what Vehemency he speaks, I testifie in the Lord. I speak it from God, and charge you before him, That henceforth ye walk not as [...]ther Gentiles. Nil ultra: Now the Day is come, walk no more as Children of Darkness. 1 Thess. iv.3.4, 5. For this is the Will of God, even your Sanctification, that ye should abstain from Fornication: that every one of you should know, how to possess his Vessel in Sanctifi­cation and Honour: Not in the L [...]st of Concupi­scence, even as the Gentiles, which know not God.

II. Positively, as becomes the Gospel. Phil. i.27. Let your Conversation be as becometh the Gospel of Christ: That is, as is suitable to the Rule of the Gospel; and, as may be an Honour to the Gospel: And, as becometh Saints, Eph. v.3.

Now that Wantonness is Heathenish, and not becoming Saints, let us consider how it may be ta­ken, and that under two Considerations: First, [Page 223] As opposed to that Gravity, and Seriousness, that should be in Christians; and is agreeable to the Go­spel. Secondly, As opposed to Chaste Modesty; or that Wantonness that tends to Uncleanness, or is the same with Lasciviousness.

I.

It becomes not Christians to be foolish or toyish, or wanton in Word, Dress or Action; but to be of such Gravity as is far from Wantonning, and as becomes the Gravity of the Gospel. He that knows the Gospel, needs no proof out of the Go­spel; else I might produce the Rules particularly for all sorts of Men and Women: In all requiring Sobriety, Gravity, Modesty: Take but that Place, Eph. v.4. Neither Filthiness, nor Foolish Talking, nor Jesting, which are not convenient. Take up that Copy, As becometh Saints. Where do we ever find the least wanton Gestures in the Saints of God upon Record? VVhat Gravity, what sweet Se­verity in them? It is observed of Christ, that he wept, but was never seen to laugh. Nor do you find much mention of any such thing in his Disci­ples. It was an ingenious Answer of a Painter, that Pictured the Apostles of Ruddy Complexi­ons: Being asked why he so painted them; his An­swer was, because they would be ashamed to look on the Light, VVanton Carriage of many that cal­led themselves Christians.

The Saints commonly are called God's Fools; and the Reason is, because they will not be Fools before Men, but keep themselves to the Sobriety of their Profession. The Apostle saith, 1 Cor. iii.18. If any Man among you seemeth to be Wise in this World, let him become a Fool that he may be Wise. But it means, as to Reliance upon VVisdom, not to befool themselves, to make sport to Men. It was [Page 124] Sampson's Misery to be the Philistine's Fool, and make them Sport. But the same unhappy Misery too many do willingly take to themselves, spending their Life in VVantonness and Foolish Sporting. As those in Job. Ch. xxi.12, 13. They take the Timbrel and Harp, and Rejoice at the Sound of the Organ. They spend their Days in Wealth, and in a Moment go down to the Grave. And where are they then? It is the Speech of an Atheist, not a Christian, Let us Eat and Drink; for to Morrow we Die, 1 Cor. xv.32. But it is a Gospel-Counsel that follows, ver. 33, 34. Be not deceived: Evil Communications corrupt good Manners. Awake to Righteousness and Sin not. VVhat did God bring us into the VVorld to do? To spend away a Life; and in fine, to be Damned? VVhat are we admitted into the Gospel to do? To live in Pleasure and VVantonness, like those that know not God? How far is this from the End of a reasonable Soul? Of a Christian? Consider those Words, Wo! unto you that Laugh now, for ye shall Mourn and Weep, Luke vi.25.

But is no Mirth or Sporting allowed to Christi­ans? Is not that too severe, Eccles. [...]i.2. I said of Laughter it is Mad, and of Mirth, what doth it? And Eph. v.4. [...]here no Jesting is tolerated. Du­rus Serma, i. e. A hard Saying. To make some Reply to this,

1. Earthly Pleasures and Delights are more De­lights in Fancy and Opinion, than Reality, Psal. xxxix. Men walketh in a vain Shadow. No Sub­stance at all. Now a Solid Christian goes upon o­ther Grounds: His Delight is upon another Founda­tion. There is substance in the things he delights in. And, Secondly, a Christian's Delight in what he does is not founded in his own Mind, but in the Mind of God. This is the Will of God, even your Sanctifi­cation. And he applies to it.

[Page 125]2. What Profit does all our Fooling and wanton­ness bring? What Fruit had ye in those things, whereof ye are now ashamed? A serious Christian is bettered by his Holy Employment: A Gamesom Wanton, what is he bettered, when his Foolishness is over? It is woful to spend Time and Self, when the Issue is nothing but Wind: Nay, it is well, if it be nothing else. But in Truth, it is Guilt and Sorrow. Israel Sows the Wind, and Reaps the East Wind, viz. That that Blasts and Withers. A Toyish Wanton, when he comes to Die, then he looks in his Right Hand, and what finds he there? Nothing but a Lie. Did Abner die as a Fool? Intimating what it is to Die such an one. Unhappy he, whose Wits come not to him, till he is Dying: And then all his Wisdom is, to see that he hath been a Fool.

3. There is great Difference between Wantonness and lawful Mirth and Recreation. These are allowed to Christians, both for Body and Mind. But where is any allowance of Lightness or Fooling? There is Difference betwixt making some Sport a Recreation, and a Trade; betwixt Honest, Moderate Mirth, and Talk to recreate the Mind, and foolish Talk­ing. God hath allowed to recreate and be merry; but then the End is to be better fitted to serve God after. If Wantonness have that End too, let that be shewed also. But what Wanton ever aimed at that? Recreation also is to be but for a Time. How ma­ny are there that are Idle, and Sport, and do nothing else? And what say we to them that make Sporting, and Wantonness, and Foolish Talking their Trade? Such as Stage-Players, Fools in Plays, Common Fid­lers, Common Dancers upon the Sabbath. But Gravity becomes Christians.

II.

Having spoken concerning Wantonness, as oppo­sed to Christian Gravity, now we shall Consider it as opposed to Chastity: A Degree worse, because co­incident with Lasciousness, an inlet to Uncleanness, the very Bawd of Filthiness and Fornication. For so the Apostle makes it, Rom. xiii.13, 14. Not in Rioting and Drunkenness, not in Chambering and Wantonness — But put ye on the Lord Jesus, and make not Provision for the Flesh to fulfil the Lusts thereof.

Of this there are Divers sorts: Of every one of which we may say, it is a Cockatrice Egg; every one of them a Venemous Brood, which if it be let alone, will break out into Uncleanness; nay, is so already. I remember a Saying of the Jews, A Serpent, be he never so little, dash in pieces, for he is a Serpent. So these it behoves a Christian to dash betimes; for they cannot but prove Serpentine and Deadly.

I. There is Wantonness in Heart. When the Heart Frisks and Frolicks in Unclean Thoughts: And Men and Women Delight in it, and let it alone. How does many a Heart feed its Delight with walking, in his Thoughts, in the Garden of Pleasure, sporting with such Company as is Lascivious; realizing the de­light at least of Sin to themselves; though all but in Fancy. How many commit Whoredom with their own Hearts. As the Body may be Chaste, tho' defiled in Rape, because the Mind was Chaste; so the Mind may be Unchaste, though the Body want opportunity to commit Lust. It is sad when a Man forbears only to Act Sin for want of Opportu­nity. There should be another Bond to restrain us from Sin, than barely the want of Opportunity. It may be a Riddle; a Man Acts Sin before he Acts it; and when he hath Acted it, though he Acted it [Page 127] not. So a Man by these wanton Thoughts commits Uncleanness with his Heart, before he comes to his Whore? And he commits it again, when past, by Delighting to think of it again. As he that chews the Cud when he hath done Eating.

II. There is the Wantonness of the Eyes. Esay iii.16. The Daughters of Zion walk with stretched out Necks, and Wanton Eyes. Or, high Looks and wanton. The Chaldee reads, Painted. The Greek and Vulgar, [...], Nutibus oculorum. The nodds of the Eyes. The Hebrew, [...] De­ceiving with their Eyes, as it is in the Margin. They lay Snares with their Eyes to catch others, to satisfie their Lusts: Eyes that commit Adultery, Matt. v.28. Whosoever looketh on a Woman to Lust after her, hath committed Adultery with her in his Heart. Nay, 2 Pet. ii.14. Having Eyes [...], full of a Whore. A Whore hath taken Lodging in them; filled them that they can look at nothing else. Do I need to tell what this Wanton­ness is? It is twofold, or of a twofold Acting.

1. Eyes talking Lasciviously to our own Hearts; looking wantonly on Man or Woman, and desiring after them, and wishing to one's Heart the enjoyment of them. Thus Shechem was taken by looking up­on Dinah, Gen. xxxiv.2. And Amnon by his own Sister. Therefore Solomon's Counsel is good, Prov. vi.25. Lust not after her Beauty, in thine heart: Neither let her take thee with her Eye-lids. And Job xxxi.1. Made a Covenant with his Eyes, Why then, saith he, should I think upon a Maid?

2. Eyes talking Lasciviously with others Eyes▪ Wanton Glances 'twixt Men and Women; catch­ing each other with their Eyes. See Prov. vi.13. He winketh with his Eyes, speaketh with his Feet, teacheth with his Fingers. Too common such wanton Passages; I would it were not too common in the Church; And too many make nothing of [Page 128] it. Thus they, like the Fly Playing with the Can­dle, till at last her Wings are burnt at it. The workmanship of the Eye is admirable, but it is mi­serable▪ that it should be employed to so unworthy a use: It is better we were born Blind, than to make no better use of our Sight. [...] The Hebrew word for an Eye ▪ signifies a Fountain. It speaks Water; But it is so apt to kindle Fire, that it seems to be a B [...]rning Glass. Yet it ought rather to be a Foun­tain to weep for its Sins, as Jeremiah wished his. Ch. ix.1. Oh that my Head were Waters, and mine Eyes a Fountain of Tears.

Did this Man Sin, say the Disciples to Christ concerning the Blind Man, that he was born Blind? It may sadden one's Heart to think that Men should Sin by seeing; using Eyes to the destruction of the Soul, which God gave us for the good both of Soul and Body. How comfortable is the Sight of the Eyes! What excellent Ends was this Sense given us for? To look upon and Contemplate the Works of God, &c. But Wantonness spoils all. One said that he was made Ut coelum intuear, i. e. To look upon Heaven. So David makes use of his Eyes, Psal. viii.3. When I consider thy Heavens, &c. How con­trary is this use of them, to use them to wanton a­way God and the Soul? Their best Office now is to shed Tears.

III. There is the Wantonness of the Ears. As there be Itching Ears, so there be Wanton Ears; Ears that delight in Filthy Talk, Eph. v.3. Let it not be once Named amongst you, as becometh Saints; neither Filthiness, nor Foolish talking, &c. That is, 'tis not fit to be spoken of among Christians. Not fit for Christians to hearken to any such thing. Au­ribus Vestris medendum: Mens Ears do want a Cure. How many are there that endure not Serious, Grave Conference: But he that speaks Lasciviously, he is a Prophet to this People. Let these sayings [Page 129] sink into your Hearts, saith our Saviour. So do these wanton Discourses too much; they sink and drain down from the Ear into the Heart.

And therefore as it is reported of Ulysses, that he stopped his Ears against the Syrens, that they might not by their inchanting Voices insnare him; So should we decline such dangerous Discourses. It is a needful Lesson, Take heed how ye hear. See Prov. ii.16. The strange Woman flattereth with her words. And Ch. v.3. The Lips of a strange Woman drop as a Honey-comb, and her Mouth is smoother than Oyl. Satan by such talk is an Agent in the business. Evil words corrupt good Manners.

IV. There is a wanton Tongue. This is a Relative, a Husband to the other. This is a Broker to a wicked Heart, that vents from an Evil Heart to an Evil Heart. Some there are that have Tongues tipt from Hell; that delight in no other Language than Ribaldry. The Tongue and the Heart are cre­ated for Noble Ends. The Heart to be a Present for God, his Habitation, his Delight. And does the Heart become the Sink and Jakes of all Filthi­ness? The Tongue, that was created to be Man's Glory, Namely, to praise God; that was created to be the Interpreter 'twixt Men for Love and Friendship: this to be so much degenerate, as to be a World of Iniquity, set on Fire from Hell: To Curse, Blaspheme, Lie, Swear, Flatter, Boast, Talk filthily. Ah! what Mouths do too many carry! They that speak the Language of Ashdod were but Bastards. So they that with their Tongues say, they are Christians, and yet let their Tongues be wanton and unclean, they are but Bastards, no true Christians. How shall the tune of wanton Tongues be once changed?

[Page 130]V. There is a wanton Gesture. Courting, Dal­liance, mixt Dancing; what are these but Tin­der to Lust? Avoid all appearance of Evil. And these are the several kinds of VVantonness. To con­clude, Consider these two or three things.

First, VVhat proportion is there betwixt VVan­tonness, and the Purity of the Gospel?

Secondly, VVhat is the Fruit of VVantonning, but Guilt, and Sin, and Shame?

Thirdly, How unlike is this to the Divine Purity that is in Heaven?

VIII. The Fear, which Seized our Sa­viour at his Passion, Innocent.

FEAR to Die may be so circumstantiated, as it may be Sinful with a VVitness: But sim­ply in it self considered, it is not sinful at all. For Peter to be afraid to Die, so as that Fear put him up­on denying his Master; this was sinful and sinful again. But for his Master, who had no Sin, who could not Sin, to be afraid to Die, could that be Sinful?

Let us take up the Case of Christ, as to this Mat­ter, which will help to clear his Case the better. Consider that in Heb. v.7. Who in the Days of his Flesh, when he had offered up Prayers and Supplica­tions with strong Crying and Tears, unto him that was able to save him from Death, and was heard in that he Feared. The last Clause in the Original is [Page 131] short and doubtful, and by some read as you have it in the English Text, He was heard in that he feared; and by some as you have it in the Margent, He was heard for his Piety. This latter is undoubtedly true, that Christ's Piety and Devotion was such, as that his Prayers could not but be heard. But certainly the other is the Apostles Meaning, and more pertinent to his Discourse. The Greek is short, he was heard [...] from his Fear. Like that Ex­pression, Psal. xxii.21. Thou hast heard me FROM the Horns of the Unicorns: That is, thou hast heard me when I was upon the Horns of the Unicorns: Or, thou hast heard me so as to deliver me from them. So Christ was heard, when in his Fear, or heard so as to be delivered from it. But the Question is, in fear of what? Of what, but Death? That some will not allow, because it might seem to speak some Diffidence or Distrust in Christ. But as there is a Fear of Distrust, so there is a Fear in Nature: A Sinful Fear, and a Natural Fear without Sin.

Adam in Innocency, though Death was not then in Being, as the Wages of Sin; yet it was Natu­tural to him to fear every thing, that might be de­structive to his Body, or Person, or injurious to it. The Saints in Glory, 'tis true, are past any such Fear, because they are beyond the possibility of any such Danger. But wheresoever there is such a Possibility, 'tis Natural to have such a Fear. The Brute Beasts that are free enough of Sin, yet will they never be without such Fear; because Nature hath put into all Living Creatures, a Natural and Essential In­stinct, to seek and serve their own Preservation. And Christ had not been a true Man, had he not had such a Natural Fear of Death, as is Essential to Man, as he is Man; and was Essential to Man be­for he was a Sinner.

[Page 132]So that to fear to Die, simply considered, is not sinful; and answerably, to desire to have a Man's Life prolonged, simply considered, is not sinful nei­ther. It was not Sin at all for David to beg of God, O spare me a little, Psal. xxxix.13. Nor for the poor Afflicted in Psal. cii.24. to Pray, Oh my God, take me not away in the midst of my Days. But the Warrant, upon which a Man comes with such a Request, had need to be right and current, and indeed such as amount to a consideration above meer Living still.

IX. The Case of JACOB when he Wrestled with the Angel, ex­plained.

IT was the Angel CHRIST that wrestled with Jacob, Gen. xxxii.24. That he was then in danger of being killed by this Angel, is apparent enough by this, that his best come off was, that he was Lam'd by him to his Grave. And it is apparent also by what Hosea saith of his Demeanour at that time, that he Wept and made Supplication, Hos. xii.4. Jacob, why weepest thou? Thou art in the Arms of Christ himself. But he wrestleth with me, seeking to kill me: As it was in the case of Moses, Exod. iv.24. where the Lord is said to meet him, and to have sought to kill him. And what is it, that thou makest Supplication for? That he would yet spare me, and not take me away. And what is the mat­ter [Page 133] thou art so unwilling to Die? Because I have newly fallen into a Sin, and the Lord I see is of­fended at it; and it is worse than Death to me to be taken away in the Lords Displeasure. Jacob had newly fallen into the Sin of Distrust, upon his Fear of Esau, and his Faith was shaken. And for this he saw God was come forth against him in An­ger. And how terrible was it to him to be cut off by God in Anger? He wept. So did David, Psal. xxxix.12. Hold not thy Peace at my Tears. And he made Supplication. And his Supplication was much to the like Tenor with that of David in the Verse after, O spare me a little, that I may reco­ver Strength, i. e. That I may recover the Strength of my Faith, and the Assurance of God's Favour.

X. An Inquiry into the Reason of Hezekiah's Tears upon God's Message to him, that he must Die.

EZEKIAH is Sick of the Plague, and hath Tidings from God that he must Die of it. He receives the Tidings with much Bitterness and Passi­on. He turns his Face to the Wall, he Prays, he weeps, he weeps sore. And though it be not exprest, yet it may very well be conceived out of his Carriage, and the Issue upon it, that the Tenour of his Prayers and Tears was, that God would spare his Life, Esa. xxxviii.2, 3. Then Hezekiah turned his Face to the Wall, and Prayed unto the Lord, and said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in Truth, and with a perfect Heart; and have done that which is good in thy Sight: And Hezekiah wept sore.

Why, Hezekiah, why weepest thou? Art thou so unwilling to part with the World? No, his Mind hath never been upon the World, but upon Religion and God. Art thou not fitted to Die and meet the Lord? Why? He was never unprepared. Was he afraid of Judgment, and that his Lot in the other World would not be good? He was secure against that; for he fears not to Appeal to God, Remember, Lord, how I have walked before thee. Why? What ailes the Man that he Weeps so sad­ly? Many and many a Thousand Men of a less gra­cious Temper than Ezekiah, have taken the Tidings [Page 135] of Death with a great deal more Patience and less Passion: And what ails him to take it so bitterly? Certainly, no bare Concernment of his own. either in fear of his Soul or of his Body? In truth, the main Concernment that moved him, was the Con­cernment of God. Our Saviour once said, Weep not for me, but Weep for your selves. Ezekiah weeps not for himself, but, as I may say, he weeps for Christ; he weeps for God; for the Cause, In­terest and Concernment of God. For,

I. It was sad for him to think that he must Die of the Plague, a dreadful Disease, that destroys suddenly and fearfully; that separates from the Comforts of Friends, and that seems to carry with it Tokens of the Anger of God. And it might very well be bitter to him to think of being taken away with a stroke that sounded somewhat of God's Anger. But this was not all; Wicked and Profane Ones would be ready to scoff at his Piety and Reforma­tion, if he were taken away by so fatal a Stroke: See, this is he that hath kept such a Coil in pul­ling down Altars, purging the Temple, and setting up of Religion; and now, behold what is become of him. He has God's Tokens upon him, Signs of his Anger; and dies not the Common Death of all Men, but by the fearful Stroke of the Plague. It is no wonder if the horror of such Blasphemy as this against Religion, set very sadly upon the Heart of the good Man: And he was afraid ungodly VVretches would take occasion of such Blasphemings from the fatal manner of his Death. And thus it is the Concern of God and his true Religion, and not fear of his own Carcase that did stick so much upon this Holy Man's Thoughts under his dangerous condition.

A very pertinent and needful Desire for every Christian to beg of God, that his Death may not [Page 136] be such as to open the Mouths of Wicked Men to Blaspheme God and Religion.

II It was sad to Hezekiah to Die before he could see Jerusalem, and the People of God intirely de­livered from their Danger. If you well compute the Times of this King, you will find that that very Year that Senacherib was so busie, and cruel against the Cities of Judah and Jerusalem, was the Year of Ezekiah's Sickness. And observe that Pas­sage of Esay to him, foretelling him of his Reco­very, and of Fifteen Years added to his Life, Esa. xxxviii.6. I will deliver thee and this City out of the Hand of the King of Assyria. It appears there was danger abroad; and it grieved the good Man to the Soul to be taken away before he saw any Delive­rance.

A very just Cause to beg of God to spare Life: And it shews, that a Man does it not out of bare love of Life, or of the World, if he Pray to God with Submission to his Will, to prolong his Life; that he may See the Good of his Afflicted Chosen, and may rejoice with the Gladness of his Nation, and Glory with his Inheritance; as is the Psalmist's Petition, Psal. cvi.5.

III. Ezekiah was now but Nine and Thirty Years Old, in his Strength and Prime: Young in Compa­rison of the Ages at which divers then Died. And certainly you can hardly fancy a more probable Reason of his Unwillingness to Die, that related to him, than this, that he thought he had not done enough for God. He desired to be yet spared, that he might Reform more, set up Religion more, do more for God and his People. A Holy and Blessed desire, that aimed at God and his Honour, and his Peoples Good; regarding nothing the bare Life of this World, or his own Carcase, in comparison of this. Much like is that, Psal. lxxi.18. Now, Lord, when I am Old forsake me not, until I have shew­ed [Page 137] thy Strength to this Generation: That I may more Praise thee, more impart the Knowledge of thee, and thy Power to this Generation, and those to come.

DECAD II.

I. An Inquiry what Strength that was David requested, when he prayed to God to spare him, that he might recover STRENGTH, Psal. xxxix.13.

WHAT David's present Affliction was, we cannot tell, whether Sickness of Body, some Dejection of Spirit, or some sore Trouble from his Enemies. It seems most likely to be some sore Sick­ness of Body; at which his Enemies would rejoice, and so add to his Trouble. Imagine it his deadly Palsie in his old Age, when he could feel no Warmth either from his wearing Cloaths, or Bed-Cloaths. Be it which it will, do we think he prays heartily for the Recovery and Strength of his Body? Doubt­less, more especially for refreshing and strengthning in Soul, before God should take him.

That which is rendred Recover Strength in the Hebrew is [...]. Which Word is translated by several Words, much in Tendency to the same thing, [Page 138] or at least not much different. In Amos, Ch. v.9. it is used and rendred as here, That strengthned the Spoil­ed against the Strong. In other Places it is rendred, To comfort one's self; as Job ix.27.x.20, &c. The Greek hath rendred it here, Spare me a little, that I may be refreshed. The Syriac, That I may have Rest. We will take our English, and applying to the S [...]nse of other Transl [...]tions, we cannot better und [...]rstand it than of STRENGTH of Soul or Mind, Streng [...]h of Grace or Comfort: For we can hardly think, that sick or dying David, as he seems very near it in this 39th Psalm, should beg only Recovery of Body, to have his Health again, and then to die; but that, if he aimed at that, the Concernment of his Soul was especially in his Eye; viz. That God would spare him, that he might g [...]t a lively and fit Composure to die, without fainting or drooping in Soul.

This may justly call us to consider, what Spiritu­al Strength a Christian had need to have against he die. Men little consider, how much Christian Strength is requisite to encounter with Death; and few indeed have clear Apprehensions, what Dying is. And where are such Persons then, when they come to die? Rev. iii.10. Mention is there made of the Hour of Temptation, which should come upon all the World, to try them that dwell upon the Earth. It means a sad Persecution of the Church, raised by the Jews, not long before the Fall of Jerusalem. Of which our Saviour, Mat. xxiv.9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all Men for my Names sake. And of this you read, 1 Pet. iv.17. For the Time is come that Judgment must begin at the House of God. But that HOUR of Temptation may well be applied to the Hour of Death, which is an Hour of Temptation, or Trial indeed; and an Hour of Trial that goes all the Earth over, and [Page 139] none escapes it, tho' there be but few that consider it. And what Christian, Spiritual Soul-Strength is required to bear the Brunt of this Hour of Trial?

II. The Necessity of Government, ex­plained from this Text, Judg. xvii.6. In those Days there was no King in Israel: but e­very Man did that which was right in his own Eyes.

THIS is the Under-song; again in the last Verse of this Book, and in Preface to Chap. xviii, and xix, and still where mention is of some horrid thing a doing; here of the Idolatry of Micah. Chap. xviii. of the Idolatry of the Danites. Chap. xix. of the horrid Wickedness of Gibeah; as if it gave a reason of those Wickednesses: Why Micah set up Idolatry, because there was no King in Israel: Why the Danites set up Idolatry, because there was no King in Israel: Why the Men of Gibeah were so abominable, because no King in Israel.

These Stories were all before the time of any Judge, tho' set in the latter end of the Book: Among many Proofs for which, take these Four.

First, The Idolatry in Dan was the first public Idolatry: And therefore the Tribe of Dan is left out in Rev. vii.

[Page 130] Secondly, Phineas was at the War at Gibeah, Ch. xx.28. but he could not be alive then, unless it were before the Judges.

Thirdly, The Sin at Gibeah is spoken of as a be­ginning of Sin. Hos. x.9. O Israel, thou hast sin­ned from the Days of Gibeah.

Fourthly, Deborah speaks of the Idolatry of Dan, and the Loss at Gibeah, as things done and past, Chap. v.8. They chose new Gods, then was War in the Gates. Was there a Shield or Spear sound a­mong Forty Thousand in Israel?

And why no King in Israel? God had appoin­ted them another Government, the Sanhedrin. And that sat in those Days, but was corrupt: And there­upon God raised Judges: And when those were corrupt, he raised Kings. So that the Question is, whether the Words mean before there was any Judge, or any King: And it is indifferent, for it means before such a one stood up to rule, and re­form, which was God's Disposition of Israel, after they were seated in the Land of Canaan. Under the Sanhedrin the Land was conquered: They should have had no Enemy, had they been as they should; so God promised. They had only the San­hedrin, which was to see to Laws and Religion. But that was careless now. And so Wars arising, Judges stood up. And when Judges were evil, then Kings. Now this partly shews these Stories were before the Judges; and partly shews the rea­son of the Evil, because there was no Overseer or Reformer.

In the Words are two things severally expressed. First, There was no King. Secondly, All did what was right in their own Eyes. And a Third thing we may observe upon the Connexion. They did so, because there was no King in Israel.

God bids them create a King of their Brethren, Deut. xvii. and yet was angry when they asked a [Page 141] King; and he saith, He gave them a King in his Anger; and Zech. xi.6. I will deliver every one into the Hand of his King. How do all these hang together? He appoints how to appoint a King, and yet would not have one. He gives one, but saith, it is in Anger. He says, he will give every one into the Hand of his King; and yet saith, Evil was for want of a King. I answer,

It was God's Determination to set up a Glorious Kingdom, yet he liked not the People's asking a King in Imitation of the Heathen, and distrusting God's Providence for them, as he had shewed by the Judges. And he raised them Kings, and put great Charge in their Hands; and by those that were good, did great things; as under David, So­lomon, Ezekiah, Josiah. It was good that the People were in the Hand of those Kings. And it is said by way of threatning, Zech. xi. I will deliver the Men every one into the Hand of his King; and they shall smite the Land. But that means Caesar, that they had chosen in Opposition to Christ. For that Chapter is a meer Prophesie of God's Judgment upon the Leaders among the Jews, for their Reje­ction of Christ. It had been good for Israel now, had they been in the Hand of good Kings: But there was no King at all; and therefore every one did what was right in his own Eyes. And hence I raise this Doctrine.

That it is happy with a People where there is Go­vernment to restrain, that every one do not that which is right in his own Eyes. Even they that are for Liberty of Conscience will not deny this. Now to prove this.

I. The first proof of this is by the rule of Contra­ries. Unhappy the Sheep that are without a Shep­herd; like a Man without Conscience to govern and restrain him. Unhappy Family, where there is no Restraint. Such was Eli's. Unhappy City, [Page 142] where is no Restraint. Such was Sodom. This Man came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a Judge. A Judge, a Governor indeed they wanted. Unhappy with Israel here. For Idolatry now be­gan, because there was none to restrain it. And in the last Times of the City, when the Reins of Go­vernment were gone, what Murders, Robberies, Oppression, Confusion overspread all? And in a word, conceive what Outrages and Uproars would be in London, with Whoring, Thieving, Plunder­ing, if there were no Government to restrain.

II. Proof, when Men do what is right in their own Eyes, they do commonly what is not right in God's. This Phrase is put in Opposition to that, Right in the Eyes of the Lord; that is, that that he delighted, and took Content to look on. Evil he cannot behold, but that which is just and good, on that he looks with Delight. Man's Will and God's are Antipodes. If Christ say, I came not to do mine own Will, but the Will of God; making such a Dif­ference betwixt his Will and God's, what a vast Difference and Contrariety is there betwixt Man's Will and God's? That which is right in Man's own Eyes is what makes for his own Lusts: All seek their own, saith the Apostle, in Opposition to the things of Jesus. Oppression, VVantonness, &c. are right in the Eyes of Men, but most displeasing to the Eyes of God. So was the Matter of David with Bathsheba: But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

III. Proof. That which is not right in the Eyes of God, cannot be right, or happy for a Nation. As Happiness consists in the Favour, so in the Fear of God. Deut. xxviii. All these Blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken un­to the Voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the City, and blessed shalt thou be in the Field, &c. Please him, and prosper. God dwelt in [Page 143] the midst of the Camp in the Ark, and that was his Strength: But when any there was unclean, he departed. God bids Israel not to multiply Horses, to place their Trust in them, by their Strength to overcome their Enemies, but to fear God their Strength. This Book shews, when Israel did what was Good in their own Eyes, they still fell into Misery.

IV. Proof. There are but three things to restrain us from doing our own VVill; Conscience, Shame, and Fear of Punishment. How little do the two former prevail without the third. If the Govern­ment say, Let Ephraim alone, what would restrain him?

1. How rare are Men to be ruled by a good Conscience? Most live as if no Conscience be­longed to the Soul: that they have made Shipwrack of. The Apostle saith, Rom. ii.15. Which shew the Work of the Law written in their Hearts, their Conscience also bearing witness. Meaning the Ver­tuous of the Heathen; the rest were given up to [...], a reprobate Mind. So some are now led by a good Conscience, but most live as if there were no such thing in the VVorld. If there were no Let to Thieves, Cheats, Murder­ers, till Conscience restrain, where should we be? Phaeton's Horses let loose would fire the World. What would England be in such a Licentiousness? As one said of Free-Will, Perdidit nos libera volun­tas, Free-Will hath destroyed us; so may I say in this Case, such Liberty would undo all. They that are for Liberty of Conscience, would they have this? Tho' some Liberty be to be granted as to Religion, yet we should undo all, if it were so to Manners. Praestat nihil licere quam omnia. Better is it, that nothing should be allowed, than all things. You may observe in the Ten Commandments, that there is no Penalty; but barely, Thou shalt not do [Page 144] Murder, Thou shalt not commit Adultery, &c. shewing what proper Bond of Obedience Consci­ence and Duty is. But God saw that would not avail, and therefore added the Penalty of Death, Restitution, Retaliation, &c. 1 Tim. i.9. Knowing this, that the Law is not made for a Righteous Man, but for the Lawless and Disobedient. The Anti­nomians misconstrue here, that Righteous Men are exempted from Obedience to the Law: But the meaning is, the Law is not to punish the Righteous, that make Conscience of their Ways, but the Wicked, that will not otherwise be restrained.

2. Shame will restrain some that Conscience can­not. But that will not do the VVork neither. There be Thousands and Thousands that have no more Shame than Conscience. Could they be ashamed? A Whore's Forehead, a Brow of Brass. They could not blush. Many such Complaints in the Prophets. 'Tis ever so with the greatest part of every Nation. Rom. vi.21. What Fruit had ye then in those things, whereof ye are NOVV ashamed? Not THEN, before ye were converted. It is but wild, to be ashamed to do that before Men, that they are not ashamed to do before God and Angels. Yet some such there be: But many there are, that have no Shame for either. Such was the unjust Judge, that feared not God, nor regarded Man.

If we were left without Restraint of Law, would either Conscience or Shame make one Delinquent less than there is? One Thief, Whore, Liar than there is? And therefore Restraint by Power and Penalty is needful; as Physic is bonum necessarium, where there is no other Help. It includes good Sense, the Hangman is as needful in the Nation, as the Physician: Fear of Death to restrain from destroying the Commonwealth, as well as the Physician to recover particular Persons. [Page 145] God himself hath given Direction and Warrant in this case. He hath Mercies and Invitations; but he hath Curses also, and executes Judgments. Esay xxvi.9. When thy Judgments are in the Earth, the Inhabitants of the World will learn Righteousness. When Men will not learn Righteousness otherwise, Judgment makes them do it.

V. Proof. He set up Magistracy for this pur­pose. Rom. xiii.3, 4. For Rulers are not a Terror to good Works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the Power? Do that which is Good, and thou shalt have Praise of the same. For he is the Minister of God to thee for Good. But if thou do that which is Evil, be afraid, &c. There be many parts of the Magistrates Office, to relieve the Father­less, to execute Judgment, especially to break the Horns of the Wicked. This is the more needful part of his Office; to encourage and defend the Good is his Work; but those are but few; but numberless Numbers to be restrained.

In a word, this is a Deputation of Christ in his Kingly Office, as the Ministery is of his Prophetic.

The Use of this Discourse is threefold.

I. To set our selves another Rule for our selves, than our own Will; to prevent Magistrates Restraints, To be a Law to our selves.

II. To assist Magistrates with our Prayers.

III. To take Charge in our several Families to restrain Vice.

III. Who the Sons of God are, and the Calling of the Gentiles, explain­ed from Rom. viii.21. Be­cause the Creature it self also shall be delivered from the Bondage of Corruption, in-the Glorious Liberty of the Children of God.

AMong the Children of Men there are some Chil­dren of God. These Words speak something concerning them and their Condition.

The Prophets speak much of Multitudes to be brought in to be Sons of God. Esay xliii.6. I will say to the North, give up, and to the South, keep not back. Bring my SONS from far, and my DAUGHTERS from the ends of the Earth. And Ch xlv.11. Thus saith the Lord, the holy one of Israel, and his Maker, ask me of things to come concerning my SONS. Hos. i.10. And it shall come to pass, that in the Place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my People, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the SONS of the living God. And Caia [...]has, that prophesied but once, John xi.51. Prop [...]sied, that Jesus should die for that Nati­on: And not for that Nation only, but that also he should gather together i [...]to one, the CHILDREN of God that were scattered abroad. Therefore the [Page 147] Holy Ghost in the New Testament, sets himself to speak to this thing, and to shew who these Sons of God are.

John i.12, 13. shews who are, and who are not. But as many as received him, to them gave he Pow­er to become the Sons of God▪ even to them that believe on his Name. Which were born not of Blood, nor of the Will of the Flesh, nor of the Will of Man, but of God. As many as received him, those were Sons, of what Nation, Quality, or Rank whatsoever. Not born of Blood, nor of the Will of Man. The Holy Ghost sets the Regeneration, in Opposition to natural Ge­neration. In natural Generation Men are born of Blood▪ and of the Will of Man, but 'tis not so in this. Or else he sets the true Begetting and Birth of the Sons of God, in Opposition to those fancied Ways the Jews thought Men were made Children of the Godly. They concluded none were Children, but of Israel: And if they came to be of Israel, then undoubtedly Children. So Christ speaks ac­cording to their Sense, It is not meet to take the Children 's Bread▪ and cast it before Dogs. And the Apostle confutes this Arrogant and Erroneous Opini­on, Rom ix.7. Neither because they are the Seed of Abraham, are they all Children, but in Isaac shall thy Seed be called; that is, they which are the Chil­dren of the Flesh, these are not the Children of God. Now they thought they became the Sons of God, or Israelites, these Ways.

I. By being born of Blood, [...], Bloods, that is, long Descent of Blood of Ancestors, even to A­braham, or by Bloods of Sacrifice and Circumci­sion.

II. [...], of the Will of the Flesh: As they took many Wives, and desired many Chil­dren, accounting all Children of Promise.

[Page 148]III. [...], Of the Will of Man, as the Consessus or Sanhedrin did, bring in Prose­lites, and make them Israelites. Not this, nor that, nor that makes a Son; but he that is born of God; and he is so that receives Christ, and believes on his Name.

The Apostle is speaking of the same Subject in this Chapter, ver. 14, 15, 17. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God. For ye have not received the Spirit of Bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.—And if Children, then Heirs, &c. And then he comes on to shew, whence these Sons especially should come, ver. 19. The earnest Expectation of the Creature waiteth for the Manifestation of the Sons of God, &c. By Creature here, and whole Creation, ver. 22. is meant nothing but the Gentiles, or Heathen World. A Phrase among the Jews ordinarily put so to signifie. Mark xvi.15. Col. i.23. Now this whole Passage is to this Purpose. God had prophesied of Sons to come from the Heathen; and the earnest Expectati­on of the Creature, that is, of the Heathen, waited for this Manifestation of the Sons of God.

Two or three things there were, that might a­waken the Heathen World a little, to consider of their wretched Case. 1. It may be they had the Greek Bible. 2. Howsoever, the Jews scattered abroad among them might something convince them of their Condition. 3. We may conceive, that against their Call God had stirred up their Hearts by way of Preparative, to be weary of Idola­try, and groping in Darkness. As against the Re­formation by Luther all Christendom desired some Reformation; and as against the Coming of Christ, the People were in Expectation of the Mes­sias. Observe that, John iv.35. Lift up your Eyes, and look on the Fields, for they are white already to [Page 149] Harvest: By which Words he hinteth at that Mul­titude of Samaritans, and under them of Heathen, that were ready to be reaped by the Gospel. So the Earnest Expectation of the Heathen World waited now for the Manifestation of the Sons of God.

Ver. 20. For the Creature was made subject to Va­nity, &c. Not a few understand this of the Frame of the World, made subject to Vanity by Sin: But the Word [...], Vanity, means Vanity of Mind. So Rom. i.21. [...]. The Gentiles become vain in their Imaginations. Eph. iv.17. The Gentiles walk in the Vanity of their Mind: So the meaning is, that the Heathen were given up to the Vanity and Folly of their own Mind. [...], Made subject; put under such a Condition by the just Judgment of God; as the Apostle handles it, Chap. i. But they are put under in Hope, that in time it should be better with them.

For the Creature it self also shall be delivered from the Bondage of Corruption, &c. By Corru­ption is signified here, as generally in Scripture, sinful Corruption, not natural Corruptibility, or fa­ding away. 2 Pet. i.4. Having escaped the Corru­ption, that is in the World through Lust. And Ch. ii.19. Servants of Corruption. And elsewhere evil Men are stiled Men of corrupt Minds, and corrupt Communication. Meaning, that the Gentiles shall be delivered from their sadly sinful Condition into the Evangelical and Spiritual Liberty from Sin, that the Sons of God partake of.

Some understand it of the Change of the Frame of the World at the end of the VVorld, and think Peter speaks of the same thing, 2 Pet. iii.13. He does indeed in some Sense, but far from theirs, viz. A new State of Affairs in the Church, when the Gentiles shall be called. This is the new Hea­ven, and the new Earth, that they looked for; of [Page 150] their Calling the Text speaks, which was now in Agitation.

And of that let us first speak a little, partly for the observing of Providence in so great a VVork, and partly for the understanding of some Passages in Scripture.

I. The casting off of the Gentiles was at Babel, Gen. xi. where there were four Punishments inflicted on them. 1. Destroying their Building. 2. Con­founding their Tongues. 3. Scattering them. 4. The Loss of the true Religion, with the Loss of the Hebrew Tongue. And now all the VVorld are Hea­then, but one Family of Heber, and so to Abraham. VVhich was to all the VVorld, as Gideon's Fleece to all the Earth.

II. So were they given up above Two Thousand Years. An Hundred Years had been long, and how many Souls might have gone to Hell in that time? But there were an Hundred, or Two Hundred Years above Two Thousand. A strange mysterious Provi­dence! As their Calling was a Mystery, so indeed was their Casting off. Oh how few were the Sons of God? That in a manner all the VVorld should be born, to live in Blindness, to sin, and to be damned. Better not to have been born. Could not God have let them alone, and never brought them in the VVorld. As Israel said to God, VVhy dost thou bring us into the VVilderness to die? So might they say, VVhy hast thou brought us into the VVorld to sin and die?

For Answer to this.

1. As it is Rom. ix.20, 21. Nay, but, O Man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the Potter Power over the Clay, of the same Lump to make one Vessel unto Honour, and another unto Dishonour? Such things are not resolved by Reason, but into the VVill and [Page 151] Soveraignty of God. As other Points are above Reason, the Incarnation, the Resurrection: let Rea­son scan them; and as the Athenian Philosophers, Acts xvii. stiled Paul, a Babbler, when he treated of the Resurrection, so the same Reason will but laugh at them. But we must resolve them into the Power, VVisdom and VVill of God; and he knows not what God is, that believes them not.

2. I answer as it is, Rom. xi.22. Behold the Good­ness and Severity of God: on them which sell Seve­rity, but towards thee, Goodness. Admire at his Goodness to thee, in setting thee in so far better Condition: One of the Jews Thanksgivings is, I thank thee, that thou hast made me an Israelite, and not a Heathen. And we have cause to thank God, that we are not Heathens, if we consider,

First, That these are utterly out of the way of Salvation; thou in it, if thou wilt hearken to it.

Secondly, These never heard from God; he calls to thee continually. Once for all, if these were condemned, that never heard, how shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation? Heb. ii.3.

But we shall not speak to that Point of Contro­versie about their Casting off, but speak to the Text about their Calling. And first let us take up that of the Apostle, Eph. iii.5, 6. Which in other Ages was not made known unto the Sons of Men, as it is now revealed unto his Holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit: That the GENTILES should be Fellow Heirs, and of the same Body, and Partakers of his Promise in Christ, by the Gospel. VVas it not made known to the Sons of Men before? Did not the Prophets speak of this? God told it to Abraham, Gen. xii.2, 3. And I will make of thee a great Nation, and I will bless thee.—And in thee shall all the Families of the Earth be blessed. Jacob to his Sons, G [...]n. x [...]x.10. The Scepter shall not depart from Jud [...]h▪ [...] Lawgiver from between his Feet, until Shiloh co [...]: [Page 152] and unto him shall the gathering of the People be. Moses to Israel, Deut. xxxii.43. Rejoice, O ye Na­tions, with his People. And how abundant are the Prophets in this from end to end? But how it was not known may be considered, either in regard of the Persons, or the thing it self.

I. In regard of the Persons. First, It was not im­parted at all to the Gentiles before. It was not made known to the Sons of Men, in Opposition to Israel, who are called the Sons of God. They sat in Darkness, and never heard of Light, till it came among them, or very rarely; namely, such as had the Greek Bibles▪ And when it came, how they that never heard of it rejoyced? Act. xiii.48. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the Word of the Lord. And Secondly, the Jews would not endure to hear of it. Tho' they knew it▪ they would not know it; had not Patience to hear it. Take two Places and two Examples for this. The Places are Acts xxii.21, 22. And he said unto me, Depart, for I will send thee far hence unto the GENTILES. And they gave him Audience unto this Word, and then lift up their Voices, and said, Away with such a Fellow from the Earth; for it is not fit that he should live. 1 Thess. ii.16. Forbidding us to speak to the GENTILES, that they might be saved. The Examples are, Luk. iv.28. And all they in the Synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with Wrath. VVhy were they so angry? VVhat things had he told them? He had told them before, that there were many Widows in Israel, and unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta a City of Sidon, unto a Widow Woman there. And that there were many Lepers in Israel in the time of Elizeus the Prophet, and none was cleansed, sa­ving Naaman the Syrian. VVhy were they angry at this? They knew the things were true. But they hinted the Call of the Gentiles, as that VVi­dow [Page 153] and Naaman were. To that bent Christ's Dis­course: That Israel would not, but the Gentiles should, and would, hearken to him. And one Ex­ample we have to this purpose long before; and that is in Jonah; who would not go to Nineveh, lest they should be Converted; and so Israel cast off; for that stuck on all their Stomachs, Deut. xxxii.21. They have moved me to Jealousie with that which is not good, they have provoked me to Anger with their Vanities: And I will move them to Jealousie with those which are not a People, I will provoke them to Anger with a Foolish Nation.

II. In regard of the Thing it s [...]lf. The Doctrine of Pardon and Justification was not so plain before, un­til Christ and his Apostles cleared it.

This Delivery then of the Creature from the Bon­dage of Corruption is the Calling of the Gentiles. Those words, the Creature it self, deserve their Emphasis; and we ought to utter it with this ac­cent, The very Gentiles themselves shall be delive­red. &c. They that were so abominable, brutish, slaved to Sin. The glorious things in the Prophets, which many look for yet to be accomplished, are fulfilled long ago in the Call of the Gentiles. And take this with you in reading of the Prophets, that their aim is to illustrate this great Work. A Mat­ter which they, Acts xi.18. rejoiced at to hear be­gun: When they heard these things they held their Peace, and Glorified God; saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted Repentance unto Life. And for which we, upon the seeing accomplisht, have also cause to Glorifie God with them; both as to the magnifying of his Grace, as also for our own sakes and Interest.

The Ephesians cryed out, Acts xix.28. Great is Diana of the Ephesians; and could not tell for what reason; but we, when we hear of this, have known and solid cause to cry out, Glorious is the Grace of [Page 154] God; which brought such Slaves of Sin into the Glorious Liberty of the Children of God. Let me say as it is 1 Cor. xii.2. Ye know that ye were Gen­tiles carried away unto these Dumb Idols. Do you not? And consult Stories, and they will tell you of the abominable Blindness and Barbarousness of this our Britain. No Nation under Heaven went be­yond it in these things. And now look upon our Britain as under the Gospel; and find ye not Cause to Glorifie God upon the Promise in the Text now accomplisht, The Creature it self shall be delivered from the Bondage of Corruption, &c? Could you but read Tacitus, Caesar, and others, to observe how this Nation lived as Brutes, Worshipped Idols, Sacrificed sometimes Men and Women, went most Naked, were Barbarous above the most Barbarous: And look upon England now, and we have much like Cause of wonder to that, Luke viii.35. Where those who found the Man out of whom the Devils were departed clothed, and in his Right Mind, are said to be afraid. How great a Mercy does the Apostle speak in the Words of the Text! The Crea­ture it self shall be delivered, &c.

In it we have Night and Day, Darkness and Light; what the Gentiles were as Gentiles, and what as Called. Set the Contraries one against ano­ther; Bondage, Liberty; Corruption, Glory. For so it is in the Greek, [...], The Li­berty of Glory; which is not amiss rendred as we do, The Glorious Liberty (so some do that, Ephes. i.6. To the Praise of his Glorious Grace). But it bears a greater Emphasis to take it as the Greek hath it, Into the Liberty of the Glory of the Children of God. And what is meant by Glory? Learn this by the con­trary term. It is opposed to Corruption; as Liberty is to Bondage. And therefore as Corruption means Sinfulness, so Glory means Holiness. And that so it [Page 155] is taken in the Phrase of Scripture, the next Dis­course will shew.

IV. The Christian Holiness, as well as his Future Happiness, stiled GLORY.

A HOLY Christian hath a Glory here, and a Glory hereafter. So that may be taken, 2 Cor. iii. ult. We are changed into the Image of God from Glory to Glory. That is, from HOLINESS to HAPPINESS. In 1 Pet. iv.14. Mention is there made of the Spirit of Glory, and of God. If ye be reproached for the Name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of GLORY and of God resteth on you. We need not dispute what this Spirit of Glory is; take it for the Spirit of Holiness, and it gives it but its right Title, Rom. viii.30. Whom he Called, them he also Justified; and whom he Justified, them he also Glorified. Where is Sanctified? It is included in Glorified. Those that he Justified he endued with the Glory of Holiness here, and shall reward with Eternal Glory hereafter, Lam. iv.2. The pre­cious Sons of Zion, comparable to fine Gold, how are they esteemed as Earthen Pitchers? Jeremiah was one of them: He and the rest were now poor and contemptible in this sad Captivity; but they carried a precious Glory about them, a Value and Shining above the finest Gold.

[Page 156] Psal. cx.3. Thy People shall be willing in the Day of thy Power, in the Beauties of Holiness. Some take these Beauties of Holiness, to mean the Tem­ple: But take it in the Propriety of the Word, and 'tis a most fit Title for Holiness. And observe it is, not Beauty only, but Beauties, [...] which may well be rendred Glories: Not one Beauty, not one Glo­ry, but many joined together; or all Beauties are in Holiness, and none in any thing else.

Eph. v.27. That he might present it to himself a GLORIOUS Church. Alas! It was a Poor Per­secuted Church; but this made it a GLORIOUS Church, viz. The Glory of Holiness it was decked withal; for so it follows, That it should be Holy and without Blemish.

The Jews speak of [...] Cloaths of Glory that God made for Adam, and that they descended to the First-Born. This is the true Clothing of the Children of God, that God makes for them, as Jacob did for his Son Joseph, that they appear by their GLORY the Sons of God.

A View and Proof of this Glory let us take by comparing it with all other Glories set before you, as the Devil did before Christ, Luke iv.5, 6. All the Kingdoms of the World and the Glory of them; and then set before you a Child of God in the Glo­ry of Holiness, and what say you to the Com­parison?

1. 'Tis a Glory and Beauty that all the World cannot give. As Solon said to Craesus in all his Glo­ry, that every Peacock was braver. Every Lilly of the Field is finer than Solomon in all his Glory. But this is a Beauty above Art and Nature, when God Decks and Dresseth a Saint, and that with his own Divine Image, Ephes. iv 24. There you Read of putting on a New Man after God's Image: A New Creature Clothed in Righteousness and Holiness after God's own Image. 'Tis but a poor Glory that Satan [Page 157] can give, as that in Luke iv. the Kingdoms of the World: 'Tis but a poor Beauty that Art can give, as Jezebel's Face: 'Tis but a poor Lustre that Na­ture can give, as Skin-deep Beauty. That is the Glory that God alone can give, that is found no where but in his Treasury, Jewels in his Cabinet, the Dressings of his VVardrobe.

2. 'Tis a Glory and Beauty, that all the VVorld cannot take away: A Treasure that neither Moth nor Rust doth corrupt, nor Thieves break through and Steal. The pitiful Bravery of the World that is blasted in a Moment; either fading by its own Nature and Frailty, or by Thieves or Fire, or some other Occurrence, or by an immediate Hand of God. Ah! Glorious Holiness that nothing can undo, Luke x.42. Mary hath chosen that good part that shall not be taken away from her. This is a Treasure that all the Devils in Hell cannot Plunder from the Owner. He could Plunder indeed Job's Estate, but he could not his Holiness. It is Gold that the Fire of Persecution cannot Consume, but Refine. A Shining of the Beauty and Image of God in the Soul, that cannot be defaced: An everlasting Glory that never changeth, but to a greater Glory.

3. 'Tis a Beauty and Glory that God himself is in Love withal, Ezek. xvi. There Judah is said to be Lovely, not in the Eyes of Man, but of God. Holiness is a Dress that only pleaseth God.

V. An Elucidation of Heb. x.26, 27. If we Sin wilfully after we have received the Know­ledge of the Truth, there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sins; but a fearful look­ing for of Judgment, and Fiery Indignation, which shall Devour the Adver­saries.

THE Sin the Apostle speaks of here is not eve­ry Sin knowingly committed. For then how would David and Peter have escaped with their Falls? But it is an Apostacy from Truth once re­ceived; that is, the Gospel once professed; and an Enmity and Fighting against it. A Sin that at ver. 29. he calls a Treading under Foot the Son of God. And the Apostle John speaking of the very same Sin, calls it a Sin unto Death, 1 Joh. v.16.

The Apostle in this dreadful Passage hath two Allusions to some Passages in the Old Testament; One to VVords, another to Things. VVhen he speaks of Sinning past Sacrifice, he alludes to those Words, Numb. xv.27, 28, &c. If any Soul Sin [Page 159] through Ignorance, he shall bring a She-Goat of the first Year for a Sin-offering, and the Priest, &c. But the Soul that doth ought presumptuously, whe­ther Born in the Land or a Stranger, the same hath reproached the Lord, and that Soul shall be cut off from his People. No Sacrifice for the wilful Sin­ner, but he was to be cut off by Divine Vengeance. And when he speaks of Fiery Indignation, which shall devour the Adversaries, he alludes to those fearful Examples in the Old Testament, when un­godly Ones which have been Enemies to the VVays and Ministers of God, have been dreadfully devou­red by Fire; as in Num. xvi. and 2 Kings i.

The Adversaries.

OUR English hath well rendred the VVord, Adversaries. But there is a peculiar Phrase in the Greek▪ which is not easie to express in Eng­lish. It is not only, [...], which had been enough to signifie Adversaries, but it is [...], which makes it to speak Su [...]versarii, Un [...]era [...]versaries; that is, Adversaries under an Hood, as I may say; Adversaries under a Pretence: As the Pharisees un­der a Pretence of long Prayers devoured VVidows Houses; so these under a Pretence of Religion, were Adversaries to Religion: Under Pretence of Piety, were Enemies to [...]ie [...]y: Under Pretence of doing God good Service they Persecuted God's Servants: Under Pretence of [...] for the Law, they sought to Destroy the Gospel. And they were under [...]ood Adversa [...]ies. The Greek Word is used again Col. ii.24. [...], Contrary to us. The VVord precisely signifies Subcontrary, or Closely contrary to us. The Apostle speaks of Christs having can­celled [Page 160] the Ceremonial Law; which open faced seem­ed to be for them that used it; Sacrifices, to make their Peace; Purifications, to cleanse them from their Uncleanness: But closely also they pleaded against them: Sacrifices Slain shewed that they deserved Death; Purifications spake that they were unclean: And so other of the Rites of the Law.

Thousands in the VVorld pretend to Love God, to walk Fair, to be Religious; yet underhand are God's Adversaries and Enemies, as those Under-ad­versaries spoken of in the Text before us. None will own that he is any Enemy of God, but he will speak well of God, praise God, will be for God; whereas there is not one of a Thousand, but underhand is God's Enemy.

These Adversaries then, of whom the Apostle here more particularly speaks, were Apostates that had professed the Gospel, and had backslidden from it, and were become bitter Enemies and Persecutors of it.

Fiery Indignation.

THE Greek is something Emphatical, but some­thing Difficult▪ [...]. Verbatim thus, Zeal, or Jealousie, or Anger, of Fire shall eat up the Adversaries. Our English hath well rendred it, Fiery Indignation shall devour. And so the Apostle calls God himself, in reference to his consuming of VVicked Men. Heb. xii. ult. our God is a Consuming Fire.

As we may distinguish between the Anger of God, that he is sometimes provoked to by the Sinning of his own People, and the Anger he is provoked to by his Enemies: So may we distinguish upon the Firiness of this Anger. God's Anger, when he is [Page 161] displeased with the Sins of his own People, is a Fire indeed, but it is not a Consuming Fire, as it is towards the VVicked. That Expression, Esay xxvi.11. The FIRE of thine Enemies shall Consume them, is an intimation that there is a Fire which is not the Fire of God's Enemies, or such a Fire as devours them. His Anger indeed many a time scorch­ed his own People very sore; sometimes in their own Conscience; sometimes by outward Affliction: But it is to Refine them, not to Consume them. But to the Enemies of the Lord, his Indignation is a Fire that consumes them.

But to review this Fire more particularly, let us first consider upon some Places that speak to the same purpose.

Job. xv.34. The Congregation of Hypocrites shall be desolate, and FIRE shall consume the Taberna­cles of Bribery. VVhat? Does it mean their Hou­ses shall be burnt down? Oh! what Fires would then be seen abroad in England, if all that take Bribes should have their Houses burnt down? But in Ch. xx.26. There is mention of a Fire not blown, that shall consume such wicked Ones. All Darkness shall be hid in his secret Places, a Fire NOT BLOWN shall consume him: It shall go ill with him that is left in his Tabernacle. A Fire not blown, that is, not such a Fire as those we blow; a Fire that needs no blowing, but when God kindles it; is Hot enough, and Flaming enough; even the Fiery Indignation of the Lord.

Esay. ix.5. For every Battel of the Warriour is with confused Noise, and Garments rolled in Blood; but this shall be with BURNING, and Fuel of FIRE. The Prophecy is concerning the Destruction and Overthrow of the great Army of Senacherib, of which the Story is so Famous: That whereas other Armies are not routed and overthrown without a great deal of Fighting, Confused Noise, and Gar­ments [Page 162] rolled in Blood; this Army should be consu­med with the Burning and Fire of the Lord's Indignation. And it was Fiery Indignation that de­voured 185000 Soldiers in one Night.

Our God, saith Moses and Paul, is a Consu­ming Fire: And Esay's Question is, Who among us shall dwell with the Devouring Fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting Burnings, Ch. xxxiii.14. Yes, in the next Verse, He that walketh Righteously, and speaketh Uprightly, and despiseth the Gain of Oppressions, that shaketh his Hands from holding of Bribes, &c. such an one shall dwell with the De­vouring Fire, and it shall not touch him; as the Fiery Furnace did not touch an Hair of the three Children. But look at the beginning of Verse 14. The Sinners in Zion are afraid, Fearfulness hath surprized the Hypocrites; who shall dwell with the devouring Fire? &c. Not they, but they shall be de­stroyed and devoured by that Consuming Fire; as those that cast the three Children into the Furnace were consumed by the Fire, though they came not into it.

The Fire and Burning that St. Peter speaks of, that should consume the Jewish Church, and State, and Religion, 2 Pet. iii. means not so much the Fire that the Romans burnt their City and Tem­ple with, as that dreadful Fire and Fury of God's Indignation that consumed all. But the Day of the Lord will come as a Thief in the Night, in the which the Heavens shall pass away with a great Noise, and the Elements shall melt with fervent Heat; the Earth also, and the Works that are there­in, shall be burnt up, Ver. 10.

And in that dreadful Passage concerning the Damned, Their Worm never dieth, and their FIRE never goeth out: We need not dispute what kind of Fire the Fire of Hell is; whether Material Fire; whether it gives Light; whether it is of our [Page 163] Fire-colour. With such Disputes some needlesly trouble themselves and others: God's Indignation is Fire enough, and Hot enough to devour those wretched Souls; and we need look no fur­ther.

VI. Some Description of the Death and Doom of an Ungodly Man.

I. IF any ask what it is an Ungodly Man Dies of, it may very well be answered, of the Lord's Indignation. It was the Threatning of God to Adam, Moriendo morieris, Thou shalt Die the Death. The Ungodly Dies, and Dies the Death Natural and Eternal. And in his Natural Death he Pays two Debts; a Debt to Nature, because of the Sin of Adam; and a Debt to God's Anger, be­cause of his own Sins.

The Chaldee Paraphrast renders those Words, Deut. xxxiv.5. [...] At the Kiss of the Lord; which we read, At the Word of the Lord: And the Jews speak much of Dying at the Kiss of God; thereby not only expressing a Person's Dying in his Favour, but to shew how sweet the Death of God's Saints are to them: They are at the Kisses, in the Embraces of God, as they are Dying: They reap Sweetness, Comfort, Happiness from him, even in Dying. But where are the Ungodly at that Time? Under the Flaming of his Fire, and the Scorching of his Wrath. As it is, Psal. lxxxviii [Page 164] 31. The Wrath of God comes upon them, and slays the Fattest of them. It is the Wrath of God that tears the Soul from the Body, and devours the Life like a Lion, and there is none to deliver. It is Wrath that cuts him off to make an end of his Sinning.

You oft meet with Cutting off threatned to such as commit such and such Sins; as that in Numb. xv.30. That Soul shall be Cut off from among the People. Some conceive it means nothing but Cut­ting off from the Congregation by Excommunication; but it means God's Cutting them off by his Wrath and Vengeance. And the Expression is Emphatical, to shew their Thread is cut, which they would have drawn out in Sinning ever, if they might have been let alone. Thus every Ungodly Man, even in his Death, carries God Tokens, Dies of God's Anger.

II. As we have considered the Wretch Dying, and having given up the Ghost; now let us con­sider the Soul Departed out of the Body. Ah! VVretched Soul, where art thou? Come into ano­ther VVorld, into a strange VVorld, and such an one as he never Dreamed of, and is now confound­ded to see: Into what a World he is fallen? A World where there is neither VVine, nor VVomen, nor Sport, nor Pleasure, nor use of any Creature. And what a case is that Carnal and Voluptuous Soul in then? A worse Place than that that Israel complains of, Numb. xx.5. How are we come into this evil Place? It is no Place of Seed, nor Figs nor Olives, nor Pomgranates, nor any Water to Drink. Nay, this is a Place where is no Sun, nor Moon, nor Light; a Place where there is no Friend to Comfort, no Creature to Refresh, no use of any Thing that is Earthly and Bodily. This must needs be a sad Change to that Soul that never took any [Page 165] Delight, that never thought it lived, but in the use of such.

But this is the least part of Indignation that such a wretched Soul meets withal. The Holy Souls of the Saints of God meet with the like Deprivation of the Use of Earthly Creatures; and if they had always made them their Life and Delight, and had nothing else to feed upon but Meat, and Drink, and Money, and Pleasure, the Case would be much the same. But there is the Indignation from the Creator meets the Cursed Soul, as well as the De­privation of the Creature; and that we shall consi­der in these several Particulars.

First, Think of that, Luke xvi.22. And it came to pass that the Beggar Died, and was carried by the Angels into Abraham 's Bosom; the Rich Man also Died, and was Buried. And do you not think the Devils carried the Soul of the Rich Man to Hell? In the Text indeed is not exprest so much; but that left it to be gathered by the Rule of Contrary; if Angels carry good Souls to Heaven, Devils carry bad Ones to Hell.

Acts i.18. Falling headlong he burst asunder, and all his Bowels gushed out. The Devil had been two or three Days Bodily in Judas; and when he burst in sunder the Devil broke out of him, ha­ving torn him: And do you not think he carried his Soul with him, as well as took away his Life?

It is true indeed, that the Devil is not in the Un­godly so Bodily as he was in Judas, yet he is said, Eph. ii.2. To work in the Children of Disobedi­ence. Their Souls are under his Acting and Power, to carry them into all Evil. He is the Mover and Actor of their Souls to do his Will.

VVell, when they are Dying, is not the Devil busie there, waiting for his Prey, and for what he hath looked for all along? Is he not busie to keep that Soul for his own, and that it be not taken out [Page 166] of his Hand? Psal. xlviii.14. For God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our Guide unto Death. He that hath made God his God for ever, he may be sure to have God his Guide even to and in his Dying. And on the contrary, he that hath made the Devil his God, and Ruler, and Guide, all his Time, he must expect that he will be with him at his Death. As the terrible Apparition to Brutus in Italy told him, he would be sure to meet him at Philippi, where he was to Die.

VVell, the Ungodly VVretch Dies. The Devil hath Led, and Ruled, and Acted him to the last Gasp: And now the last Gasp hath slipt the Soul out of the Body, is not the Devil there still looking after his Prey? Do you think the Devil hath done, and looks after that Soul no more? No, then is the time that he hath got his Prey, and now is seized on the Game that he had been ever hunting after. The Dragon, Rev. xii.4. stood waiting before the VVoman to devour her Child as soon as it was Born. And when the Child was delivered, he was frustrate of his Prey, because God took care of the Child and Mother; for both Child and Mother were his Beloved. But in this Case, this great Red Dragon waits till the Soul be delivered out of the Body; and as soon as it is delivered, he grasps it, and seizes on it; for God hath forsaken it, and utterly cast away all Care of it. God hath forsaken it; Persecute and take it, for there is none to deliver.

Consider seriously of these two Things.

I. That Sinful Souls departed are never under pre­serving Providence more.

II. That they are given up to the Power of Satan.

I. They are removed from under God's Preserving Providence. True, they are kept in Being, that they may be kept in Punishment; but this is Aveng­ing Justice rather than Preserving Providence, Mat. [Page 167] ix.49. For every one shall be Salted with Fire. Every such Soul shall be Salted with Fire. The very Fire of its Torment shall be as Salt to keep it from Consuming. It shall be kept in Being, that it may be kept in Fire. But first God hath cast away all Care of it, and secondly, exerciseth nothing of preserving Providence towards it, 1 Sam. xxv.29. But the Soul of my Lord shall be bound in the Bundle of Life with the Lord thy God; and the Souls of thine Enemies, them shall be sling out, as out of the middle of a Sling. VVhere she intimates, that a David, a Good Man his Soul is bound up in the Bundle of Life with the Lord: But Evil Men, their Souls be slung out, as out of a Sling. God casts them, flings them away from him; Fly where they will, Light where they will, Sink or Swim, he looks no more after them. VVhile VVicked Men were here, Providence Preserved them, Fed them, Clothed them, Strove with them with Patience, and kept the Soul and Body, that the Devil did not run away with the Man Bodily: But when the Cursed Soul is departed out of the Body, Patience no more, Care no more, Restraint of the Devil no more, but take him Devil and do thy worst. VVhich is the Second thing to be considered.

II. That VVicked Souls are given up to Satan's Absolute Power. You read of giving up notori­ous Sinners to Satan here, that, if possibly they might be amended. 1 Cor. v.5. To deliver such an one unto Satan for the Destruction of the Flesh, that the Spi­rit may be saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus. 1 Tim. i. ult. Whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to Blaspheme. But when a Soul is now past all Amending, all hopes of Amending, conceive with Fear and Trembling, how God gives up that Soul to the Roaring Lion to tear and spare not.

[Page 168]And here is one dreadful Symptom, and Evi­dence of the Fiery Indignation, that God in Anger gives up the Soul to Satan: And this is a Second degree of its Misery; that as it hath lost the use of the Creature, so also it hath lost the Care and Preserving Providence of the Creator.

VVe have an Emblem of both in the Egyptians sitting in Darkness; which conceive of by reading two Places, Exod, x.21, 23. It was Darkness that might be felt. They saw not one another, neither rose any from his Place. And Psal. lxxviii.49. where, when the Holy Ghost should mention the Plague of Darkness in its order, he Characters it in these terms, He cast upon them the fierceness of his Anger, Wrath, and Indignation, by sending Evil Angels among them. Moses saith, that he sent Darkness; the Psalmist saith, Evil Angels or Devils: And both most true, Darkness and Devils: Devils in the Darkness. Moses saith, They saw not one another. The Psalmist intimates, that they saw Devils; and yet could not stir from the place where they sate, to run from the Sight of them: Chains of Darkness that tyed them fast that they could not stir. So that the Devil may Roar, and Rage, and Terrifie, and the VVretches not able to stir an Inch from under his Power and Terror.

The Fearful Estate of Damned Souls in Scripture is called Darkness, utter Darkness, Chains of Darkness. I need not to cite Places. And why Darkness? Because the Sun, Moon and Stars shine not there, as they do here? Because no Candle there? The other World hath nothing to do with such Bodily Lights as these. These are Lights for Bodily Creatures, not for Souls and Spirits. The Holy Ghost tells you, that in Heaven, where there is all Light, yet there is nothing to do with such Lights as these, Rev. xxii.5▪ And there shall be no Night there; and they need no Candle, neither [Page 169] Light of the Sun: for the Lord God giveth them Light. Is there Darkness in Hell, and utter Darkness, where is so much Fire, and such Flames? Luke xvi.24. There Dives speaks of his being tormented in Flames: Fire and Flames, and yet Darkness. It is the Fire of that Indignation, mentioned in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that consumes them, and that very Fire brings that Darkness with it. Dark­ness; for there is not one Spark of God's Favour appearing there, nothing but Indignation, Indigna­tion. And not one Beam of Favour appearing thro' any Chink there. Everlasting Burning, and no Intermission. The VVorm never dies, and never but gnawing; and the Fire never quenched, and never but scorching.

And it is Darkness, because there is no common preserving Providence, shining or appearing there. God's shews not himself in the least Glimpse of his Care, or Tenderness, or Preservation there. Their State is call'd Outer Darkness, Mat. xxv.30. not Utter Darkness only, as we say, Utter Extremity, &c. but Outer Darkness. The Phrase is very con­siderable. It may be understood, Darkness that is without; that is, Darkness that is out of Heaven: As the Heathen are said to be without; that is, were out of the Church; but there the Expression is only [...], Those that are OUT. But this Expres­sion is [...], Darkness, that is OUTER; as if he should say, that Darkness that is beyond the other Darkness. And we may very well interpret it, the Indignation of God against the Wicked in Hell, beyond the Indignation of God against them here; his casting them off, and casting off his Care of them in Hell, beyond his casting them off, and casting off his Care of them here. His Wrath and his casting them off here, is very black and dark; but there it is Outer Darkness, a Darkness beyond this Darkness.

[Page 170]And now think with your selves, how fearful a Surprizal that Soul is surprized withal: When it is just departed out of the Body, it is as it were mid­wived into the other World by the Devil; and the first thing it sees there, is, that it sees it self in the Paws of the Devil. It makes me remember the Sto­ry in Saligniacus. A Company of Travellers, that went to visit the Holy Land, would needs, for Re­ligion-sake, forsooth, bathe themselves in Jordan, there where John Baptized. And as they were re­freshing, sporting, and delighting themselves in the Water, and swimming, suddenly there comes a Crocodile, a dreadful Dragon of the Waters, and lays hold of a Frenchman, by Profession a Physici­an, snaps him up, and devours him. How misera­bly and unexpectedly was that poor Man surpri­zed! So how does the unhappy Soul we are speak­ing of, find it self surprized, when it suddenly finds it self in the Clutches of the Great Red Dragon, rea­dy now to be devoured by him.

VII. A Meditation upon the Widow's Mite.

OUR Saviour, sitting in the Second Court of the Temple, called commonly by the Jews, The Court of the Women, but by the Gospel, The Treasury, (because there stood the Thirteen Chests, into which the People put their Freewill Offerings;) sees the rich Men casting in largely, and of their Abundance. But there comes a poor Widow, and casts in a poor Pittance, Two Mites, that make but One Farthing; a despicable Gift, and such an one as those rich Men would make a Puff at, to see such a poor Business offered. And, as God in another Case, Mal. i.8. offer such a Pittance to a great Man, how would he scorn it? But God seeth not as Man seeth, God weigheth not as Man weigh­eth, but he seeth and weigheth the Mind and Heart. And our Saviour seeth, that this Woman had put her Heart into the Treasury with her two Mites; that she had cast in her Heart, and her whole Li­ving with her Farthing in the Chest she had chosen to put it in; and accordingly he weighs, values and estimates her Offering according to the large Heart wherewith she had given it, as the largest Gift that was given; nay, larger than all the Gifts that were given. Of a Truth I say unto you, that this poor Widow hath cast in more than they all, Luk. xxi.3.

A Woman to outvye all the Men in her Offering: A Widow all the great married Dames and Ladies; and a poor Widow all the rich and wealthy Ones, [Page 172] with all their Abundance. It is very fortunate for Women to bear the Bell for Piety and Devotion in the Holy Story, and none to go beyond them in Zeal and Religion; or rather they to go before all. The Virgin Mary, Martha, Mary Magdalen, Joan­na, Susanna, the Syrophaenician Woman with her great Faith, and this poor VVidow with her great Offering. That as Peter's Zeal and Earnestness in promoting the Gospel is more especially recor­ded in the Acts of the Apostles, to give Evidence and Assurance of his Recovery out of his great Fall, in denying his Master: So the noble Zeal and Pie­ty of several VVomen is recorded in Holy VVrit, to be an Evidence of the Recovery of that Sex out of its foul Guilt of bringing Sin into the VVorld, and being first in the Transgression.

As the Apostle speaks something towards such an Observation, 1 Tim. ii. ult. Adam was not decei­ved, but the Woman being deceived, was in the Transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved by Childbearing, i. e. by the Birth of Christ; a Child born to be a Saviour: Tho' Pangs in Child­bearing were laid upon her, as a sad Punishment for her Transgression.

VVe might enquire whether this VVidow were a true Believer, or whether she were still in the Jewish Religion and Belief, but only more sincere­ly Pious and Religious in that way, than others were. And the Reason of this Enquiry is, that if she were a true Believer, or had received the Gospel, it may seem strange, that she would contribute to the Jewish Service. And if she were not a true Be­liever, it may seem strange, that Christ should give such a Testimony to her Offering, if it were not of­fer'd in Faith.

Whether she were the one or other, this Act of hers was certainly a Pious Act. For observe with me these few things.

[Page 173]I. Observe, that all the Offerings or Gifts, that were thus put into the Temple-Treasury, were laid out for the maintaining the Service of the Altar and Temple. To buy Wood to maintain the Fire of the Altar, to buy Sacrifices for the Altar, Salt for the Sacrifices, Oil for the Lamps, Wine for the Drink-Offering, &c. VVhatsoever was offered in the Temple went to the maintaining the Service and Religion of the Temple.

II. Observe, that the Service and Religion of Temple and People was now grown exceeding Corrupt; and many things of Humane Invention and Tradition were added to God's Institutions there. So that our Saviour sticks not to say of the Temple, that they had made it a House of Merchan­dize, nay, a Den of Thieves; and himself with a Whip drives Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple: And yet,

III. Observe, that Christ himself contributed to the Maintenance of the Service of the Temple, tho' such Corruption crept into it. For that Tribute-Money that is demanded of him, Matth. xvii.24. and which he works a Miracle to pay, finding the Money in a Fish's Mouth, was the Half Shekel, that every one was bound to pay Yearly; and the Money went towards buying the Sacrifices for the Altar, and for the maintaining of the Service there. And as himself did in that Payment contribute to that; so he commends this Widow, who in her Gift did shew the like Contribution to the same thing. For,

IV. Observe, that Good might be gathered out of the Service there, tho' such Corruptions were crept in; because God's Institutions were there, and he had set up his Candle there, his VVorship, which he had not taken down. And every Humane Inven­tion doth not presently destroy a Divine Institution, tho' it doth pollute it. And the seven Churches of Asia [Page 174] are Golden Candlesticks still, tho' God find foul Corruption in all of them.

They that will pay nothing to our Churches, that will not come at our Churches; nay, will not a­bide to be buried in our Church Yards, do they see any abominable thing in the Service of our Churches, worse than the Corruptions that were crept into the Jewish Religion; worse Superstition, worse VVill-worship, worse Corruptions? If they do, let them shew it; if they do not, why do they so de­spise our Churches, and the VVorship there? VVhen Christ himself refused not to be present at the Temple, and to contribute to maintain the Service there. Let me ask them, and the negligent Comers to Church, (tho' they do not quite refuse it) do they think that our Saviour ever let a Sabbath-day pass in all his time while here, but he was present at the Public Service, either in the Temple, or in the Synagogue? Look the Gospel thro', and see by the Current of the Story there, whether ever he absented himself from the Public Congregation on the Sabbath-day.

Read that, Luke iv.16. to spare more; He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and, as his Custom was, went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up for to read. It was his Cu­stom to go to the Synagogue, to the Public Service, and Congregation, on the Sabbath-day; and he ne­ver fail'd of it. And he stood up for to read in his own Town Synagogue; as owning himself a Mem­ber of that Congregation. For it is not recorded, that he read in any Synagogue beside. It was his Custom to go to the Public Congregation on the Sabbath-day; it is these Men's Custom not to come there. He never absented himself from the Public Meeting, these Men account it Religion to absent themselves ever. Is our Public Service more cor­rupt than theirs was then? If it be, let them shew [Page 175] it. If it be not, let these Men give a reason why they go so directly cross to our Saviour's own Pra­ctice.

VIII. A Meditation, and Explanation of the HOPE of Christi­ans, according to the Apostles Account of it, Heb. vi.17, 18, 19, 20.

THAT there is such a thing, the Apostle con­firms, and what a thing it is he illustrates, by two Particulars apiece.

I. The Sureness of this HOPE he confirms espe­cially by these two things.

First, It is made certain by God's Promise, and his Oath. Two immutable things, in which it is impossible God should lie.

Secondly, That Christ is gone into Heaven be­fore, as an undoubted Pledge of the Hope for us, that is laid up there.

II. The Nature or Quality of this Hope, he sets out especially by two things also.

First, That it is an Anchor of the Soul, Sure and Stedfast.

Secondly, That it entreth into that which is within the Vail.

The Hope that is here spoken of, the very VVords in which it is mentioned do shew what it means; viz. not the Hope in us, but the Hope set before us. [Page 176] To lay hold of the Hope set before us. Not the Acting of our Hope, but the Object of it, or what is hoped for: As the Scripture when it mentions Faith, frequently means the Object of Faith, or the thing believed.

This Distinction of Hope in us, and Hope set be­fore us, see by comparing 1 Pet. iii.15. with the VVords we have in Hand: Be ready always to give an Answer to every Man that asketh you a Reason of the Hope that is in you. That they might do, but of the Hope set before them, it was not so rea­dy to give a Reason: Because it is above all Hu­mane Reason, that such Hopes should be set before poor, sinful Men; therefore the Socinians that would have all things believed to be measured by Humane Reason, alledge that Place of S. Peter to little Purpose. For it speaks not of giving a Rea­son why such things were to be hoped for, (for that is alone to be resolved into God's Grace and Goodness, which is unfathomable to our Reason) but to give a Reason and Account, what Ground they had to hope for such things. Which Reason must be fetched from their own Conscience and Conversation, as well as from God's Grace and Promises.

Now what these things hoped for are, I need not spend time to reckon. They are whatsoever God af­fordeth for the Blessedness of the Soul here, or here­after, Grace and Glory, Redemption and Salvation; the Spirit of God here, and the full Enjoyment of God for ever. And accordingly this Hope is called The Hope of Eternal Life, Tit. i.2. The Hope of Salvation, 1 Thess. v.8. The Hope of Glory, and the Hope of the Gospel, Col. i.23, 27. That is, whatsoever the Gospel holds out, as declared for, and of Man's Blessedness: As Col. i.4. For the Hope which is laid up for you in Heaven, whereof ye heard before in the Word of the Truth of the Gospel.

[Page 177]One peculiar Hope, which indeed is the Cause of all the rest, we shall observe by and by.

So that to speak of this Hope, I might Discourse of the Excellency, Dignity and Certainty of these things hoped for. But I shall but touch the Nature of them, as the Apostle gives a Character of it: Viz. That this Hope is an Anchor of the Soul; that it is sure and stedfast; that it entreth into that with­in the Vail. Every one of which Particulars hath its Worth and Weight.

I. The Expression, that it is the Anchor of the Soul, supposeth that a Soul in this World is as a Ship at Sea, ready to be tumbled, and tossed, and carried with every Wind, if it do not anchor up­on the Hope that is set before us within the Vail. And blessed be the God of all Hope, that hath pro­vided such an Anchor for poor Souls. That he hath not left us to the Mercy of the Merciless Sea, and Blasts of this World, but hath shewed us where we may lye at Anchor, and be safe.

II. This An [...]hor is sure and stedfast in it self, and no Moveableness or Weakness in it; but like him that laid it up there, without any Change or Sha­dow of turning. And here I might shew, that it is sure, in regard of him that laid it up, in regard of it self, and in regard of the certain Promises that he hath made of it. I shall cite but this one Place for all, Tit. i.2. In Hope of Eternal Life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the World began. It is most sure, because God hath promised, because God that cannot lie hath promised, and because he hath promised before the World was; that is, before the Law.

III. This Hope that is set before us, entreth into that within the Vail. You see there is a plain Allusion to the High Priests entring into the most Holy Place within the Vail once a Year. And that very Hint doth intimate what the Apostle mainly [Page 178] aims at, when he speaks of the Hope set before us, Viz. The Blood of Christ, or the Merit of his Blood in Heaven. As the High Priest went into the most Holy Place with Blood. And that was the great Day, Time, and Manner of Atonement for the Sins of the People.

So that indeed the Blood of Christ, or the Merit of his Death, is the HOPE we have in Heaven. And that is the proper Cause of all the other things that I mentioned, Grace, Glory, Redemption, Sal­vation; all purchased for his People with his Blood. The Blood of Christ was shed on Earth, but the Merit of it is with God in Heaven. One Deep cal­leth to another through the Noise of the Water-Pipes. The Deeps of his Sufferings and Sorrows here, speak, and have their Claim above in Heaven. As the Prophet Esay speaks, I have laboured in vain, and spent my Strength for Nought, but my Reward is in Heaven.

This that our Hope hath to anchor in, is the Blood of Christ, brought in within the Vail; the Merit of Christ placed before God, to answer for us, to plead for us, to pay for us. So that we may have strong Consolation, and a sure Hold, if we cast Anchor there.

IX. An Inquiry why the Jews were so importunate with Christ for Signs and Wonders: And why he was so backward to gratifie their Curiosity therein.

THE Apostle tells us, The Jews require a Sign, 1 Cor. i.22. And the Evangelists attest it, when they give a particular Account of their so do­ing from our Saviour, in divers Places. And he him­self confirms it, John iv.48. Jesus said, Except ye see Signs and Wonders, ye will not believe. The Person there consider'd, to whom he spake, it may be, may illustrate the thing the more. Our English in the Text calls him, A Noble Man; in the Mar­gin, A Courtier, ver. 46. And the Original Word, [...], signifies, that he was one, that belong­ed to the King, one of Herod's Courtiers. Now in that Court time was, when John Baptist was heard, reverenced, and followed, Mark vi.17. But John did no Miracles, shewed no Signs, John x.41. therefore at last John's Head goes to the Block.

Now the reason why the Jews were so requiring of Signs and Wonders, besides their Hardness of Heart, that would not believe without a Miracle, was, because they had not had a Prophet among them of so long a time. It was full Four Hundred Years since the Spirit of Prophecy departed from the Nation. For since the Death of Zachary and Malachi, there had been no Prophet among them, [Page 180] till these times; no, nor any that had taken upon him to be a Prophet; therefore it is no wonder, if when Christ came among them in the Evidence of a Prophet, they require him to shew some Won­ders, that they might thereby be confirmed, that he was a true Prophet, and not a false.

Here now at his first coming into his Temple, af­ter his entring into his Publick Ministry by his Baptism, he reforms and refines, as the last of the Prophets, before Prophecy ceased, had foretold. Mal. iii.1, 3. The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his Temple. And he shall sit as a Purifier, and Refiner of Silver, and he shall purifie the Sons of Levi. He overthrows the Tables of the Money-Changers, and whips the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple, in the Authority of a Prophet, or Mes­sias. I, say the Jews, Dost thou these things so authoritatively? I pray thee, what Sign shewest thou to prove, that thou art either Messias or Pro­phet?

Nay, Secondly, they were so urgent in requiring Signs from him, that they require a Wonder, when they had newly seen a Wonder; nay, Wonder af­ter Wonder, like him in the Poet's Fiction, that stood Chin deep in Water, and was still thirsty, and seeking after Water. Observe but two Passages.

1. In Mat. xii.22. there is a Man blind and dumb, and possessed with a Devil, and Christ heals him. Three Miracles in one: And to have done any one of them, either to have given Sight to the Blind, or Speech to the Dumb, or to dispossess one possessed, had been enough and enough again to have convinced any, much more, when he wrought all these things at once. And yet at ver. 38. Cer­tain of the Scribes and Pharisees say to him, Ma­ster, We would see a Sign from thee.

[Page 181]2. In John vi. at the beginning of the Chapter, he feeds Five Thousand Persons with Five Loaves, and Two Fishes. Who that had seen such a Sign and Miracle, but would have said as they do, ver. 14. This is of a Truth, that Prophet that should come into the World? And yet some of those very Men, that had seen that Miracle, eaten of that Miracle, and confessed him, that of a Truth he was that Prophet, &c. yet are at it, ver. 30. What Sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and be­lieve thee, &c. Why? What would these Men have? Can they tell themselves? Yes, and I will tell you. Their foolish and blind Traditions had taught them to look for these two Signs and Wonders from the Messias, when he came.

First, That he should raise the old Prophets, and the old Holy famous Men from the Dead.

Secondly, That he should bring down Manna from Heaven for them. In their old Writings and Records they speak much of these two things of their Expectation. And I might shew some Hint in the Gospel, that they expected such things. Therefore let Christ do never so many Miracles, yet they will not be satisfied, unless they see him do one, or both these things; but are still urging and requiring, What Sign shewest thou?

Now they are not so urgent to ask a Sign, as our Saviour is backward to satisfie their Curiosity in such a thing. And to observe, what Return he made to their Demand of a Sign, which was a second thing I mentioned to speak to, let us consider these two things.

First, That he never did, nor never could be brought to shew them a Sign, as a meer Sign. You remember his own Words, A Wicked and Adulte­rous Generation require a Sign, but no Sign shall be given them, Mat. xii.39. I call that a meer Sign, which is barely a Sign, and nothing else: [Page 182] A Wonder shewed [...]owa [...]d confirming the Doctrine or Authority of him, that shews it; and it proves no mo [...]. The [...]urning of Moses Rod into a Ser­pent, and th [...] Serpent into a R [...]d again, was a bare Sign or Wonder to confirm M [...]se [...] Authority, and it was no more. B [...]t the Signs and Wonders that he wrought after, in turning Water into Blood, bringing Frogs, &c. were more than Signs; for they were also Plagues on [...], as well as Mira­cles. So the Miracles and Wonders which our Sa­viour did, healing the Sick, cleansing Lepers, cast­ing out Devils, were more th [...]n meer Signs; for they were for the Bodily Benefit of those, upon whom they were wrought. But meer Sign, which was barely a Sign, and no more, he never shewed, never could be brought to shew among them.

And I remember not more than one meer Sign, spoken of in all the New Testament; and that was Paul's shaking the Viper off his Hand into the Fire, and feeling no Hurt by her. Which the Church of Rome might have done well to have considered of, before they had made Miracles so great a Sign of their Church as they do.

Secondly, To their requiring of a Sign, our Savi­our once and again returns an Answer about his own Resurr [...]ction, Mat. xii.39. There shall no Sign be given unto it but the Sign of the Prophet Jonas. Meaning, as Jonas was Three Days and Three Nights in the Whale's Belly, and at last cast out of his Belly on the Shoar again; so Christ should be Three Days and Three Nights in the Grave, and then should be restored to Life again. And John ii. when they require a Sign, he returns a like An­swer, Destroy this Temple, and in Three Days I will raise it up. That is, this shall be an undeniable Sign to you, that I am he that is to come; that when you have destroyed this Temple of my Bo­dy, [Page 183] and put me to Death, in Three Days I will raise it up again. Which was to be the great Proof and Sign, whereby he evidenced himself to be the Son of God, or the Messias; namely, by his Resurre­ction from the Dead, Rom. i.4.

X. An Explanatory Discourse of the Fall and Punishment of Angels.

WE look not now upon these Creatures in their Brightness and Lustre, in the Perfe­ction of their Nature, and Nobleness of their Crea­tion: Angels, Morning Stars, Courtiers of Hea­ven, Attendants in God's own Chamber of Presence: But are to see them in a clear, contrary, dismal, and dreery Condition. They had not been so glo­rious before, but now they are as horrid; not so bright before, but now as uggly; and not so happy before, but now as miserable and ruined. For S. Peter shews them sinning, hurled from Heaven, cast into Hell, and damned there to Chains and Darkness, and Judgment for evermore. 2 Ep. Ch. ii. Ver. 4. God spared not the Angels that sinned, but cast them down to Hell, and delivered them into Chains of Darkness, to be reserved unto Judgment.

As God once said to Abraham, Lift up your Eyes to Heaven, and mark these Stars; and, if you can, number them. What could be more Bright and Glorious than they by Creation? And what an infinite number of them was made, and fell, when a whole Legion of them, several Thousands, when they were fallen, dwelt in one poor possessed Man? And yet these Glorious Creatures, Bright [Page 184] Morning Stars for Excellency, parallel to the Stars of Heaven for number; you may see them all fal­ling from Heaven at one time, and tumbling into Ruin, Perdition, Misery and Hell.

And what is that, and where is that, that hath wrought this Mischief, and such a Desolation? Oh! it is this wicked Haman, this cursed thing call'd Sin; that never does better, that never will do better; and whose Trade is only to ruin and destroy. The Angels that SINNED, God spared not, but cast them down to Hell.

Their sinning, which is so shortly express'd here, is uttered by the Apostle Jude, That they kept not their first Estate, but left their own Habitation. Now their first Estate was Righteousness and Ho­liness, and their own Habitation was Heaven and Happiness. And when they kept not the one, and left the other, what Estate did they then come in­to; and what Habitation did they then find out? Instead of Righteous and Holy, they became horrid­ly sinful; and instead of Heaven and Happiness, their Habitation now is Hell, and Chains of Dark­ness.

As great a Change, as it was possible to be, and as it is possible to imagine, unless you should ima­gine, that God should be changed. Great and sad was the Change of Adam, when from all innocent he became all sinful, and from all happy to all mi­serable. But this Change of the Angels, that fell, was more, by how much they were once more hap­py, as being in Heaven already, and Adam but just setting out for it. And in that they being once fal­len, had no Possibility of Recovery, but Adam had.

And was not their changing from Angels to De­vils a greater, vaster, and more astonishing Change, than if they had been changed from Angels to no­thing again? For if their Change from Angels to [Page 185] nothing had been a strange Change, their changing from Angels to worse than nothing was much more strange. And by the way, may we not say, that they wrought in themselves such a Change, as God himself could not have wrought in them. His Power did change them from meer nothing to Angels. And the same Power could have changed them from Angels to meer nothing again; but God could not change them into Devils, that was their own Work. For the most Holy God cannot work a Creature to Wickedness. 'Tis far from the acting, (I may say, from the Power) of the All-holy God, to work or make Wickedness in any Creature.

Well, by their own Wickedness, from Angels they are become Devils; from bright Morning, shining Stars, they are become as black as Darkness it self; and they that were lately in the highest Heaven, are cast into the lowest Hell, and delivered into Chains of Darkness, to be reserved unto Judg­ment.

And now, how may we look upon such a Spe­ctacle, and Change as this? Job's three Friends, when they first came to him, Misery and Sickness had so changed the poor Man, that they knew him not. But when they did know him, they lift up their Voices, and wept, Job ii.12. Can we know these Creatures now? Are these they, that were lately so illustrious and resplendent Morning Stars, and shone so gloriously in their Sphere and Orb? Are these they, that were once of God's Privy Chamber, and among his choicest Nobles and Prin­ces attending upon him? Are these they, that are while, were singing, praising, and rejoicing, and ere now in Hell in Chains and Darkness? Shall we lift up our Voices, and weep for them? It may be some question, whether that may befit us, because they are become Devils. And we may take up a more [Page 186] proper Rule and Practice, Weep not for those, but weep for your selves.

Well, shall we rejoice at their casting into Hell and Damnation? That may be some Question, whether that may befit us, tho' they be Devils. But certainly we have a more proper Work to do, upon the Sight and Consideration of their Case: That is, To hear and fear, and tremble, and to learn Wisdom, from their Madness and Folly.

In the Words before us you see an Intimation of their Sin, and of their Punishment. The former very briefly related, that they sinned; the latter largely express'd, and in several Particulars, Viz. That they were not spared: That they were cast into Hell, delivered into Chains, and reserved unto Judgment.

I. As to the former, it is expressed that they sinned: but what their Sin was, is not expressed, neither here; nor indeed is it spoken out in plain terms in other Places of Scripture. And yet out of other Places, and Reason and Argumentation from Scri­ptur [...], it may be reasonably collected and con [...]ctured, what it was, and for Search of it, let us begin here.

1. Angels could not sin at a lower Rate, than wilfully, or of Pride, or Malice, or of both, or of all. And indeed they could not sin at a higher Rate than they did. Not at a lower Rate, because of their Nature, as they were Angels; and not at a higher, in regard of their Sin, which was aggra­vated, that nothing could be added.

Ignorance, or Weakness, was far from them, they were created in so noble and excellent a Perfection. And deceived into any sinning, they could not be; partly, because of the Greatness of their Knowledge and Wisdom; and partly, because there was none to deceive them. And there can be no deceiving in the World of Spirits. It may be probable, that [Page 187] there was a Chief, and a Captain of them that fell? As there was a Chief or Captain of them that stood, viz. Our Saviour. For you have mention of the Devil and his Angels, and the Dragon and his Angels, a Chief and Subordinate. But it is hardly probable that their Chief did deceive them into their Rebellion, though he was Ringleader in it. As Demetrius led the rest of the Silver-Smiths, that made the Insurrection in Ephesus, but deceived them not; for they were all of the same Princi­ples.

They were every one their own Tempters. And therein was their Sin so much aggravated above the Sin of Adam. And what Stumbling-block they found in Heaven, was only in their own Hearts; and that not so much any Ignorance, or Weakness, or being Deceived, as Desperate Wilfulness to have their own Will contrary to the Will of God.

2. Now in what particulars this their Wilful­ness centered, and what it was, in which they would have their own Minds, contrary to the Mind of God, may be the better conjectured, by tracing them a little from their Creation to their Fall.

They were Created, as is most probable, at the very first b [...]ginning of the Works of God, when he laid the Foundation of the Earth, the very first instant of the Creation. Moses indeed does not mention their Creation at all, because he would treat only of things Visible: The Great Book of Nature, and the Letters of that Book which Men see, and from them read the Invisible things of God, His Eter­nal Power and Godhead, Rom. i.20.

Upon their first Creation they break into Singing and Praising God; upon the Sight of the Glory of him that Created them; upon the Sense of the Gloriousness in which themselves were created; and upon Observation of the Infinite Power of the the Creator: From that first instant, they were [Page 188] Spectators of God's proceeding in the Six Days Creation. They see him make the Firmament, and the Sun, Moon, and Stars of Heaven: They see him command the Waters, that covered the Earth into their Bounds and Channels; and they Obey him: They see him lay the Earth dry, and plant it with all manner of Trees and Vegetables, and Beasts: They see the whole Progress of the Creation; and Sing, and Praise, and Shout for Joy all along. For no cause why they should rebel hi­therto can be imagined.

But at last, and the last of his Creation, God makes Man in his own Image, in as Happy a Con­dition as an Earthly Creature could be capable of. He makes him Lord of all the Creatures: Nay, he chargeth the Angels themselves to attend upon him, and to be Ministring Spirits to him for his good: As the Apostle tells us their Charge and Employ­ment, Heb. i. ult.

This some of them embraced with all willingness of Mind; partly out of most ready Obedience to God, for whom they saw they could never do too much, who had done so much for them; and part­ly out of pure love to Man, whom they saw God had made their Brother; having stamped him with his own Image, as well as themselves.

Now as to the others, that fell, what can we imagine to have been the reason of their Fall, more probably and properly, than that they envied this Honour and Dignity of Adam, and scorned to obey the Command and Charge that God had laid up­on them, to attend upon him? What? Must a Piece of Clay be so Honoured, as to be Lord of the whole Creation? Must a lump of Earth be waited on by Angels? And he that is but Dust and Ashes must he be attended on by such Morning Stars; the Attendents of Heaven? No, they scorn this Ser­vice: They account themselves too good to do it: It [Page 189] is a business below their Dignity. And so for this Malice against Man, and his Honour, and their Pride against God, and his Command, from An­gels they become Devils, and from Heaven they are cast into Hell; and Reserved there in Chains of Darkness, to the Judgment of the last Day.

For a more proper Reason and Means of their Fall, I suppose, can hardly be given. And their continual Malice and Hate to Mankind, doth very much confirm it: And I believe Eliphaz, Job. v.2. doth speak something home to it. He had said, Ch. iv.18. That God put no trust in his Servants, and his Angels he charged with Folly. Much less might he put trust in poor Man that dwelleth in a House of Clay, &c. And then he comes on and says, Call now if there be any that will answer thee: And to which of the Saints wilt thou look? For Wrath Killeth the Foolish, and Envy Slayeth the Silly one.

The Papists would fain wrest this passage, to prove the Invocation of Saints Departed, because there is mention made of Calling and Looking to the Saints. But the meaning of the Holy Man looks clean another way, viz. to this Tenour, ‘Call, and look about to all the Saints, and Holy Ones whatsoever: And where can you find any that God may put trust in? For Wrath killeth the Foolish, and Envy slayeth the Silly One. Wrath against God, and Envy against Man Killed the Foolish and Silly Angels.’ So that God did justly charge them with Folly.

And very justly indeed, take Folly in its most common acceptation. And let this, that we have mentioned, be their Sin and Fall, or be it some­thing else, (as some other Reasons are given,) they were Fools to purpose to forsake Heaven, when they might have kept there: To leave their own Habi­tation, saith the Apostle Jude, and might have inhabited there still. To be in so Blessed [Page 190] Company, God and Holy Angels, and would for­sake it. In so Blessed Employment as Praising, and Singing, and would leave it off. In the Blessed Presence of God, in his Favour, in his Enjoy­ment, and weary of these things. Have I been a Wilderness to Israel, saith God, and a Land of Dark­ness? Is Heaven become a Wilderness, a Land of Weariness and Tyring, that they that are there should be weary of it?

What could be in these Creatures Minds, to make them so Mad and Desperate, so Foolish and Besot­ted? The Raze-brain'd Prodigal to forsake his Fa­ther's House, where it was so well with him, and to go to wander he knew not whither: Had he been asked a Reason, why he would do so, he could have given no better than this, Because I will do so. And these could be moved by no other Reason, than this unreasonable one; they were desperately bent to have their own Will though to the defiance of the Will of God. Be that their Sin, that we have spoken of, or be it what else it will, it was without all doubting, their crossing of the Will of God, to have their own Wills; and viola­ting some of his Commands, upon some wilful bent to have their own Mind. It was not Ignorance of what he would have them to do: For they knew his Will, as well as those Angels that stood in Obedience; but they would not do what he would have them. It was not of Weakness or Disability to do what he would have them; for there is no Reason to think otherwise, but that they had the same ability of Obedience that the other had.

But it was a desperate Wilfulness, and a sturdy Resolvedness to have their own Wills, let the Will of God be what it will. Had one been there to have questioned these Rebels, when they first set upon their Rebellion; what do you think to do? Do you think to better your Estates by crossing him, [Page 191] that set you in your happy Estate? Or do you think to cross God that made you, and he not to meet with you? Or do you think your Malice to Adam will any whit abate God's Favour to him? Well, be it what it will in event, we will take our own Course, and have our own Will. And this de­sperate Wilfulness was the Cursed Stumbling-Block, that they laid in their own Heart; at which they stumbled and fell, and were ruined; and must never rise more.

II. Hitherto we have seen these Angels Sinning and Rebelling against God. Now let us see them Punished and Rewarded, as they deserved. God spared them not, but cast them down into Hell, and delivered them into Chains of Darkness, to be reser­ved unto Judgment.

It is Related in the Story of the Witch of Endor, that when she saw Samuel appear in his Mantle, she cried out for fear: And her reason was, Be­cause I see, saith she, Gods Ascending out of the Earth. Are Gods arising out of the Earth such a terror to Her? What terror may Devils falling from Heaven be to Men? Satan like Lightning fal­ling thence, and his Angels with him; Thousands, and Ten Thousands, a Number numberless. Such another passage is, Rev. xii.9. and forwards, The Dragon, the Old Serpent, the Devil is cast ou [...] of Heaven, to the Earth, and his Angels with him; and this Voice follows them, Wo to the Inhabitants of the Earth, because the Devil is come down among you, having great Wrath. And it hath been VVo to the Earth, ever since he came down up­on it.

Their Punishment you see is expressed in seve­ral Particulars, and all Dreadful. The first Word, God spared them not, is the General, which in­cludes all the rest of the Particulars; and which may give a reason of all the rest. VVhy did God [Page 192] cast them into Hell? Because he would not Spare them. VVhy did he deliver them into Chains of Darkness? Because he would not Spare them. And upon the same reason he reserves them to Judgment; because he will not Spare them.

The Expression, he spared them not, is like the Trumpet and Voices of Sinai; from lower and milder, growing louder and louder; and becomes as a Thunder-clap, out of which came all the Thunder-Bolts following, viz. That they were cast into Hell, into Chains; because God spared them not.

1. It signifies in its mildest and lowest Sense and Degree, that he let them not go unpunished, tho' they were what they were. Though Angels, though in Heaven, though Attendants upon him, and so nearly related to him; yet he suffered them not to escape Scot-free: He spared them not from Punishment when they Sinned: But,

2. The signification of the Expression riseth high­er; and it means not only, that he would not let them go unpunished, but that he punisht them home, sorely, and severely. And so you have the Ex­pression signifying in several other Places, Deut. xxix.19, 20. The Man, that saith, I shall have Peace, though I walk after the imagination of mine own Heart; the Lord will not SPARE him. VVhere the meaning is not only, the Lord will not let him go free, and unpunished, but the punish­ment of the Lord shall light sore upon him; as it follows in the next VVords. But the Anger of the Lord and his Jealousie shall Smoke against that Man, and all the Curses, &c. Job. xvi.13. His Archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my Reins in sunder, and doth not SPARE. His meaning is, not only, he lets me not be in quiet, but he pays me home with sad Affliction, Esa. xxx.14. He shall break it, as the breaking of a Potter's Vessel, [Page 193] which is broken all to pieces: He shall not SPARE. And so in our common Language, when we incite any one to vex or beat another, Oh! spare him not. Which in our Meaning is not only, Let him not go free, but lay on Load, and pay him home.

And so we may very well understand, nay, indeed we cannot but understand the Expression her [...], He spared not the Angels that sinned; that is, he let th [...]m not escape, tho' they were Angels, but paid them home with severe Indignation; for he cast them down into Hell, and delivered them into Chains of Darkness, &c.

The first Lash, that God's Severity whipt them with, is not expressed in plain Terms, but included in the Terms that follow. There is no mention of his casting them out of Heaven, and yet that is plainly enough intimated, when 'tis said, He cast them into Hell. And there is no mention how spee­dily this was done, and yet the Quickness of the Words intimates, and all reason confirms, the Quick­ness of the thing. They sinned, and he spared not, but instantly cast them out of Heaven into Hell. For would God suffer such abominable ones to dwell any more with him? They sinned in Hea­ven, but Heaven was no Place to hold Sin and Sin­ners. It is a Country, where no Venemous thing can live and subsist; and when they are Sinners, they must be there no more.

The Case minds me of King Uzziah's Case, when he was struck Leprous in the Temple, the Text tells us, that the Priests thrust him out: yea, that he himself hasted to go out. For they knew, and he knew very well, that the Temple was too clean, and holy a Place, to hold Leprosie, and a Lepe [...]. Hea­ven cannot hold a Sinner, no, not a Moment: But, as soon as ever, even the Angels are become Sin­ners, away with them; there is no staying for them there.

[Page 194]Nay, could Heaven have been Heaven to them, if it might be supposed they might have stayed there, where they could see God only angry, and frowning on them; and the Angels, that stood, loathing them, and abhorring their Company? There they could see nothing, that could be plea­sing and contentive to them, when God and the Ho­ly Angels were become their Enemies; and they had lost their Interest in them both, and they had lost their own Purity and Glory. It was time for them to pack out of Heaven, even of themselves, when now it was become another kind of thing, than Heaven to them. But God packs them out; and when they had forfeited Heaven, the Severity of the Lord takes the Forfeiture, and away with them out of Heaven.

Israel in the Psalm despised the pleasant Land; and therefore God excluded them for ever coming there. These Rebels despised that which the plea­sant Land signified; and therefore they must be hurled thence, that they be no longer there.

It is the Opinion of some, that there were so many of these Angels that fell, that their Number equal­led the Number of all the Men, Women and Chil­dren, that must be saved. And that God elected so many for Salvation, to supply and fill up the room of these Angels, that had lost Salvation. Not to insist upon the just Number, it is without all question, that it was a vast Number of them that fell. And do but imagine you saw such an infinite Company of Morning Stars, not so much falling from Heaven, as thrown from Heaven; and not lighting upon Fountains and Rivers of Water, as the Star Wormwood doth in the Revelations; but lighting in Hell, and Chains of Darkness. And the very Imagination may reasonably read to you the dreadful Signification of the Expression, God spa­red not the Angels that sinned.

[Page 195]Upon their Sin, and Fall, and Punishment, how many useful Thoughts and Meditations may be ta­ken up, partly of Speculation, partly for Practice. Let us but take a Taste of two or three.

I. When you read of Michael or Christ, and his Angels, and the Devil and his Angels, Revel. xii. and to the like Tenor, tho' not in the same Terms, otherwhere, you cannot but fairly conjecture these two things.

1. That there was an Head of those that fell, as Christ was the Head of those that stood.

2. That doubtless the Head of those that fell was created a most noble Creature indeed; that was set parallel to Christ in this respect, that he was the Head of the one Company, as Christ was of the other. And I see neither Absurdity nor Danger, if we should conceive, that he was crea­ted the noblest of all Creatures; and only Christ, who was no Creature, was above him. And I see no reason why not to conceive, that the Angels that fell with him, were of as noble a Frame and Per­fection by Creation, as they that stood.

This then may raise this Question and Meditati­on, what might make the Difference, that some of the Angels fell, while the other stood; and some stood, while the other fell. The Resolution of which I know not where to lodge so properly as in this, viz. That they that stood, were under Christ's Headship; and they that fell, only left to their created Perfection. Which, like a Glass, was shi­ning and resplendent, but brittle, and soon broken. But,

II. It is very considerable, that these Spirits that were in Heaven could not keep there; and yet the Spirits of just Men made perfect, being once gotten thither, cannot fall thence. That Angels in Hea­ven, should not stand, and that Saints got to Hea­ven, cannot fall. Nay further, that Angels [Page 196] that were in Heaven could not keep there, and that a poor sinful Creature should get from hence thi­ther, and to keep there for ever.

There was a vast Difference between the Case and Condition of Adam, and these Angels, and both their Falls. They in Heaven already, he but just setting out for it. They tempted themselves, or they had no Tempter: He tempted by them, or he had not fallen. They upon their Fall are cast from Heaven, and must never more come there again: He upon his Fall recovered for Heaven, and in Despight of all their Power and Malice get­eth thither.

Such is the blessed Privilege of being in the State of Grace, and having [...]terest in Christ. Both which these w [...]nted, being bottomed only upon the Perfection of their own Nature, in which they were created. It might seem strange, that Adam in the State of Innocency, when he had Power of perfect Obedience, and of standing in his Innocency, in his own Hand, should be shaken with the very first Temptation, and lose all. And yet when he was fallen, and became sinful, he should break through a Thousand Temptations, and recover Heaven, which he had lost, when Innocent. But Grace and Interest in Christ made the Difference. For where before he had no Support, but barely himself, and the Per­fection of his created Nature, now he is supported by Christ, and the Spirit and Grace of God. But,

III. We may see by this Dealing of God with the very Angels, his own Courtiers of Heaven, how dreadful and terrible God is in his Severity against Sin and Ungodliness.

The dreadful Severity of God towards these Re­bels you may observe in these three Things. Of which the Words of S. Peter give some Intimation.

I. That he not only cast them into Hell, and damned them, but that he dealt thus with them for one Dis­obedience, [Page 197] and Violation of his one Command. The Angels that SINNED he cast into Hell: That is, for the very first Sin, and suffered them not to strike a second Stroke on this side Hell.

II. That which follows necessarily to be observed upon this, viz. That he gave them not a Minutes Space of Repentance, but he takes them at the very Rebound; and as soon as ever they have sinned, they are damned.

III. That he did not only give them no Time, and Space of Repentance, but that he excluded them from all Possibility of Benefit by Repentance, and Hopes of Recovery. For he not only cast them in­to Hell, but he reserves them in Chains for further Judgment. No Reprieve, no Hope, no Pardon, ever waiting for the Day of Execution.

Now look upon them, and let us reflect upon our selves. And first, consider seriously why it should be so exceeding severe with Angels, and not with Men. That they should be past all Par­don, all Recovery, and it should not be so with sin­ning Man. Where can we lodge the proper Reason of this Difference? And what can we say to the Cause of it?

I. We might observe, that the Angelical Nature is uncurable, if it be diseased, and no Way but Death with it. And that old Saying, Corruptio optimi pessima, to take Place deeply here; and their Na­ture the more deeply corrupted, when it became cor­rupted, by how much it had been the more pure before.

II. We might observe, that whereas they being in Heaven, despised Heaven, and vilified the Delights there, it cannot be imaginable how ever they should recover Heaven again. Poor Man was making for Heaven, and stumbled, and fell at his first setting out. And it is a great deal more like­ly, that he might get up, and get onward his Journey [Page 198] again, than they that had wilfully cast themselves from Heaven, whither he was making.

III. We might observe their Sin to have been ag­gravated with whatsoever might make Sin unpar­donable. They sinned in Heaven; they sinned with­out a Tempter; they sinned as wilfully, proudly, ma­liciously, as it was possible to sin. And therefore the less Wonder, if it were impossible they should ever repent, and be pardoned. The Sin of Man was not of so very deadly Aggravation; and yet we must not lay the Reason of his being pardoned there, but in the infinite Mercy of a Gracious God. It was not so much, for that Man was less sinful than these Angels were; that he was therefore pardoned, and they not; but because God was the more merciful. And whereas to them that so sinned he shewed Se­verity, to thee he sheweth Goodness; if thou conti­nue in his Goodness, as the Apostle speaks in ano­ther Case.

Lastly, Let us more nearly yet reflect upon our selves. Let your Thoughts at once look up towards Heaven, and down towards Hell, and see the Angels sinning in Heaven, and instantly cast into Hell for it, upon their first sinning, and upon the very instant of their sinning. Now who can give a Reason, why we Sinners are not thrown after them? Who among us all but hath deserved Hell as well as they, if God should take Vengeance on us, according to our De­servings, as he did on them? What have we then to say of the Patience and Mercy that hath so for­born us?

DECAD III.

I. An Inquiry, which is most to be esteemed, Evangelical Holiness, or Absolute Per­fection.

THERE is a Generation among us, that talk of their Perfection, and Pharisaically Boast, that they are perfect. In which you can hardly tell, whether they bewray more Arrogance and Pride, or more Ignorance and Folly. Folly, in that they think they pay such absolute Perfection; which it is impossible for poor sinful Man to pay; and Ignorance, in that they do not know that God does not require such Perfection as they dream of, and talk of in their Dreams.

Well, what then is it the Lord requires? I might give the Prophet's Answer, Mic. vi.8. To do justly, and love Mercy, and walk humbly with God. But I may give it in one Word, HOLINESS. It is Holi­ness that the Lord requires, and not such Perfection of Pharisee or Quaker, that the Lord requires. It was Holiness to the Lord, that was written in the [Page 200] Forehead of Aaron, in a Plate of Gold, and it is Holiness, that God would have his to be marked with. Need I to cite Scriptures that speak his Mind? Levit. xi.44. Ye shall sanctifie your selves, and ye shall be Holy, for I am the Lord Lev. xix. 2. Ye shall be Holy; for I the Lord your God am Holy. 2 Cor. vii.1. Perfecting Holiness in the Fear of God. 1 Thes. iv.3. For this is the Will of God, even your Sanctification, or Holiness.

And this his requiring Holiness abates much of requiring absolute Perfection. For perfect Obedi­ence is one thing, and holy Obedience another. It is utterly impossible to pay absolute Perfectness, but it is not impossible to pay Holiness. Thou­sands of holy ones, that have done it, are a Cloud of Witnesses. And hereupon this Point I may pro­pose to you one or two things that may seem Pa­radoxes and strange things; but yet, which carry with them Truth and Soberness.

I. That Holiness, tho' cheaper than absolute Per­fection, yet is more precious than the absolutest Perfection that ever Man attained to here; and that was Adam's in Innocency. It is cheaper▪ because it may be attained to here, which absolute Perfecti­on here cannot be▪ and yet it is more excellent, because being attained to, it will never fail, which Adam's Perfection did in three Hours.

God aimed Man at an absolute, unchangeable Perfection in Heaven; and in Tendency hereunto he created Man in a Perfection on Earth, but changeable. And his Perfection was so soon chan­ged, that it lasted but about Three Hours. And it so sore changed, that it became most absolute Im­perfection. And where is poor Man now? What is now become of that most absolute Perfection, to which God aimed him in Heaven? Who will bring me into the strong City? Who will bring me into Edom? What will now bring him to Heaven? [Page 201] What will now bring him to his unchangeable Per­fection? The poor Man that is travelling 'twixt Jerusalem and Jericho, and fallen among Thieves, and wounded, and left half dead; how will this poor Man get home, or to his Journeys end? A Priest passes by, and he helps him not. His Na­tural Perfection, in which he was created, can help him nothing; for that is quite lost and gone. A Levite passes by, and helps him not. The natural Faculties and Abilities, that are left in him, they can help him little. For they are grown now but [...]nfirmities and Imperfections. But it is the good Samaritan that must do the Work. It is Holiness that we speak of, that must heal and recover. For in it is the Work of Christ, and the Holy Ghost, as well as any Work of the Saint himself. Whereas in the greatest Perfection of Adam in Innocency, there was only the Strength of created Nature.

I might in many things shew the excellent Estate of a Saint endued with Holiness, above the State of Adam in Innocency; but I shall only briefly menti­on these two things.

1. That a Saint of God in the State of Holiness that we speak of, hath a better Will toward God, than Adam had in Innocency; and a better Obedi­ence toward God, than Adam had in Innocency. This you will say is strange, since Adam then had no Mixture of Sin in him, and a Saint of God, be he never so holy, hath. Do but consider this. A Saint of God desires with all his Soul, to keep in with God; labours with all his Endeavour to obey God. If Adam would have done so, he could have done it. If he had desired with all his Soul to have kept in with God, he could have kept in with God. If he had used his Endeavour to have obeyed God, and not to have sinned against him, he could have done it. So that his Will clave not so close to God as a Saint's endued with Holiness doth. And a [Page 202] Saint, tho' sinful, yet sins not so wilfully, so wil­lingly as Adam, when he might have stood. He sins, because he cannot help it: Adam could have helped it, and yet he would sin. Now guess whose Will and Mind was in better Condition.

2. How much more desirable the State of a Saint in Holiness is, than the State of Adam in his Perfecti­on in Innocency, guess but by one Particular, to spare more. And that you may take up from those Words of the Apostle, 2 Pet. i.4. Whereby we are made Partakers of the Divine Nature. And so Adam was not: He was made Partaker of the Divine Workmanship, but not of the Divine Na­ture. He was not made Partaker of the Holy Spi­rit in the VVork of Sanctification, as a Saint of God is. But all his Holiness, all his Perfection was rooted and grounded only in his own excellently created Nature.

So that by this you see the Truth of the Para­dox I proposed, that tho' Holiness is cheaper to come by, than absolute Perfection, (for it may be come by, and the other cannot) yet it is more Excellent, Precious and Advantageous.

II. A second Paradox I have to propose upon this Point, is, That God in requiring Holiness doth not require that we should be sinless, (for that he knows is impossible) but he requires that we should not sin. Go, and sin no more, is what Christ required of the Man, healed at the Pool of Bethesda, and of the VVoman taken in Adultery: And it is the All he requires from us, Go, and sin no more. I, and it is enough and enough again you will say; for who can do it? Sin no more? Is not that impossi­ble, while we are sinful? And in many things we sin all, as the Apostle tells us, Jam. iii.2. Sin no more; that is the State of Heaven, where the Saint is got above all Corruption and Temptation: But little one may think to find any such thing on Earth.

[Page 203]But I will not be afraid to say, that the Mean­ing of sinning no more in a Gospel Sense is to sin no more wilfully, to sin no more knowingly, custo­marily, habitually; to leave off to be a Sinner, and to be Holy. He that cloths himself with Ho­liness, sins no more.

But doth not Holiness suppose Sinlesness? For the Comfort of some good Men under any Scru­ples or Fears of Conscience occasioned hence, con­sider two Things.

I. When God requires Holiness, as he justly re­quires it, he requires not of you what Holiness is possible for Man, but what Holiness is possible for you. There are Degrees of Holiness; and God re­quires not that every one should come up to every Degree, but every one to what Degree he can. Not every one to be a Bezaleel, to contribute so incom­parable skilful Work towards the Tabernacle, but every one to contribute the best he can. God mea­sures Holiness that he requires from us, not by any Men's Measure, but by the thing it self. He saith not to us, Be holy as Enoch, as Abraham, as Da­vid, as Paul: but he saith, Be ye holy, for I am ho­ly. It is true, the Apostle speaks of perfecting Ho­liness in the Fear of God, 2 Cor. vii.1. but his Meaning is not to bring it to as great Perfection as ever any did, but to bring it to as great Perfection as you are able.

There hath been many a good Soul, that hath sitten down in much Sadness, because they could not find they were so holy, so zealous, so fervent, so very pious, as others they have had their Eyes upon. That as it was the Pharisee's Pride, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other Men: So it is their Sadness on the other Hand, Lord, it grieves me, that I am not so good as such other Men. Such Emulation and Imitation is a good Perswader, but it is not a good Rule. It is a good Imitation to Ho­liness, [Page 204] but it is not a good Judgment concerning a Man's Estate. The Rule of so judging must be another Way.

I may compare Holiness to the Manna gathered and measured in the Wilderness. He that had gather­ed less than another, when it came to be measured, had as much as the other. The poor Christian that hath not so much Holiness as another, yet if he have true Holiness, it bears as full Measure in God's measuring, as he that hath more. For God judg­eth by the Truth and Reality of Holiness, not barely by the Degree. And,

II. For Truth and Reality, he looks at the Heart rather than the Action. As our Saviour look'd at the Heart with which the Widow in the Gospel of­fered her Mites, rather than at the Value of the Gift it self, which indeed was as good as nothing. And in that Passage of our Saviour to his Disciples, when they were asleep, while they should have been watching with him in his great Exigent, had he judged them by the Action, their Sleeping, it had been Wo with them; but he judgeth by their Heart and Spirit. The Spirit is willing, but the Flesh is weak. And in his Words you see, that the Willingness of the Heart is that that he looks af­ter: And the Holiness of a Man brought into that Circle, is reckoned according as his Will stands to Holiness, so is he Holy, or not Holy. And if his Failing be not in his Will, God passeth by the Failing of his Action.

II. An Explanation of those Words of Christ, That Servant that knew his Lord's Will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his Will, shall be beaten with many Stripes; but he that knew not, and did commit Things wor­thy of Stripes, shall be bea­ten with few Stripes, Luke xii.47, 48.

PREPARED not himself.] In the Greek it is only Prepared not, [...]; and the Word Himself not there. So that some construe it, Prepared not for his Lord those Things that his Lord would have him to prepare for him. But the Sense that our English gives it may very well ju­stifie it self, viz. That prepared not, nor set him­self to do his Lord's Will; Nor did it. As intima­ting to this Purpose, that tho' he was not able to do his Lord's VVill completely, as he should have done, yet did he prepare and set himself to do it the best he could? No, he did not. And the Syriac Tran­slator, leaving out the next Clause, Neither did it, [Page 206] shews that he understood this in this Sense; and that his doing his Master's VVill had been fair, if he had but set, and prepared himself the best he could to do it.

VVe might hence observe, that Men that will do the VVill of God, must prepare, bend, and set themselves to do it. They must take [...] as the Jews oft speak, Full Bentness and Purpose of Heart to do the VVill of God, if they ever hope to do it acceptably.

Many and few Stripes.] The mention of these may cause us to think of that Law that seems to stint Stripes to a set and certain Number. Deut. xxv.2. If the wicked Man shall be worthy to be bea­ten, the Judge shall cause him to lye down, and to be beaten before his Face according to his Fault, by a certain Number. Forty Stripes he may give him, and not exceed. Upon which Passage let us observe one or two things.

I. That whereas it is said, The Judge shall cause him to lye down, and to be beaten, the Psalmist al­ludes to it, when he saith, The Wicked, or Ungodly, shall not RISE UP in Judgment, Psal. i.5. For so the VVords are in the Original; they shall not rise up. Upon which some have concluded, that there shall be no Resurrection for wicked Men; and it were the better for them, if there were not. But the VVords are to be taken, as speaking in Allusion to that Practice. The Malefactor that was to be beaten, was to be laid, or bowed down, and so bea­ten. And in Allusion to the same is that, Rom. xi.10. Bow down their Backs always; as the Malefa­ctors is, when he is to be beaten.

II. VVhereas there is Speech of Forty Stripes, it means not, that whosoever was beaten had so many Stripes laid upon him; but for no Offence they were to exceed that number. And they, when they went to the highest, yet ever abated one of [Page 207] that Number, lest they should exceed. 2 Cor. xi.24. Of the Jews five times received I Forty Stripes, save one. For they had three Cords of the same length tied to a Handle; and with that threefold Lash they gave Thirteen Strokes, which made Nine and Thirty Lashings. But there was Abate­ment of Stripes according to the Abatement of the Offence; and the greater Offence had more Strokes, and the less, fewer. As it was a greater Offence for a Servant not to do his Master's VVill, when he knew it (therefore to be beaten with many Stripes) than to transgress against it, when he knew it not. Therefore that Servant was to be beaten with less Stripes.

III. He saith, He that knew his Lord's Will, and did it not: But he saith not, He that knew not his Lord's Will, and did it not. For it was not like­ly he should do it, when he knew it not. But he saith, He that knew not his Lord's Will, and com­mitted things worthy of Stripes. For he can do no otherwise that knows not his Lord's VVill, than of­fend, and do things that deserve Beating. VVhich is a Matter to be considered of about the Sins and Condemnation of the Heathen.

There be Four Things may be taken Notice of from these VVords of Christ.

I. The Bond and Equity, that should bind Men to the Obedience of the Lord's VVill.

II. The Bond and Equity, that binds them over to Punishment, if they obey it not.

III. The Distinction of the Sins of those that live under the Knowledge of the Law, and VVord of God, and those that do not.

IV. The Gradual Difference of their Punishment.

III. An Inquiry, why God appointed the Jews a Carnal, Ceremoni­ous Institution.

IF any ask that material Question, VVhy, since God requires to be worshipped in Spirit and Truth, did he set up a VVorship Carnal and Cere­monious, as he did among the Jews: Not the least part of the Answer must be, because they were a Carnal People, and gross to apprehend the Things of Religion, doting infinitely on Formal Services and Ceremonious Rites. The Apostle saith of the Hebrews converted to the Gospel, that they were dull af Hearing, Heb. v.11. Much more might he say so of them unconverted. They must have a Visible, a Gay, a Ceremonious Religion, or else no Religion will go down with them.

Remarkable is that Passage of the Apostle, Gal. iv.3. Even so we, when we were Children, were in Bondage under the Elements of the World. As an Heir, before he comes to Age, is under Tutors and Governors, ver. 2. VVhere you may observe these Two considerable Things.

I. That till the Gentiles came in, to make up the Church of God, the Church was in her Nonage, in her Minority or Childhood. But when they came in, to make up the Church, then the Church grew into Manhood.

II. That because of the Childhood of the Church then, best pleased with Childish things, God saw it requisite to set up such Childish, Carnal, Beggarly [Page 209] Rudiments among them, as the Apostle calls them; because of the Dulness and Grosness of their Hearts to apprehend better.

And what our Saviour saith of one Particular of their Law, Mat. xix.7. Moses, because of the Hardness of their Hearts, gave them Command­ment to give a Bill of Divorce: So Moses, be­cause of the Grosness and Dulness of their Hearts, gave them all those Ceremonies that made up their Religion.

IV. A Meditation upon the Length of Time, the second Temple was in Building. Forty and Six Years was this Temple in Building, John ii.20.

NOT to trouble our selves with the Disputes among Learned Men about the Compu­tation of these Years, it is enough that we have asserted by these Jews, who, no doubt, knew the Matter well enough, that it was so long in build­ing.

Six and Forty Years? A long time. Six times as long, and more than Solomon was building his Tem­ple; which yet was far a more noble Fabrick than this was. And so far more noble, that they which had seen that, and saw the Foundation of this laid, wept sadly to see the Difference. Ezra iii.12.

[Page 210] First, God raised up Cyrus King of Persia, pur­posely for this End, that he might be a Means for Building of the Temple, which the Soldiers of Ne­buchadnezzar had burnt down. See Esay xliv.28. That saith of Cyrus, He is my Shepherd, and shall perform all my Pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the Temple, Thy Foun­dation shall be laid. And Chap. xlv.1. Thus saith the Lord to his Anointed, to Cyrus, whose Right Hand I have holden, to subdue Nations before him; and I will loose the Loins of Kings, to open before him the two leaved Gates; and the Gates shall not be shut.

Secondly, Cyrus accordingly sends the Peo­ple out of Captivity, gives them Commissi­on and Charge to build the Temple, Ezra i.2, 3. gives Order for the Measures of it, and restores the Silver and Golden Vessels to it, that had been taken from the Temple, when the City was captived, Ezra vi. The People fall upon Work immedi­ately after their Return out of Captivity, Ezra iii. So that here was God's setting on, Cyrus his Concurrence, and the People's setting about the Work. Yet Forty Six Years was this Temple in Building.

If we look about to observe where the Reason lay, why the Work went on so slow, we must look Three Ways.

I. We may look upon the Enemies of the Jews, that put in all the Hindrance they could, as you may read in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. In Dan. ix.25. Gabriel tells Daniel, that Jerusalem, Street and Wall, must be built in troublous Times. And those two Books tell you, how the Enemies of the Jews round about were Troublous Hinderers all the Time.

[Page 211]II. You may look upon the Jews themselves, and find them faulty, and contributing to the slow going on of the Work, by their Coldness and little Forward­ness in it. They took more Care of Building their own Houses, than the House of God. Hag. i.2. This People say, the Time is not yet come, the Time, that the Lord [...]s House should be built. Ver. 4. Is it Time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled Houses, and this House to lye waste? They had got their own Houses ceiled; but the Temple of God, little or nothing at all done to that.

III. Now you may say, Where is God's Providence all this while? Which is a third thing to be lookt upon. Did he bring the Children to the Birth, and wanted Strength to bring them forth? Did he set his own Work of his House on Foot, and yet is it car­ried on with no more Speed than that Forty-six Years are taken up before it be finished? Nebuchad­nezzar could build the great Babylon in far less Time. And Alexander the Great could build I know not how many Alexandria's in a few Years above Six; which is the odd Number in this Ac­count. And the Work wherein God's own Hand was a first and chief Mover, to find such a Delay.

And so indeed God's Work of Building himself up a House; his Work of Reforming, Repairing a Church, a People, a Nation, hath ever gone but slowly on; and the Wheels of that Work ever dri­ven very heavy. Do I need Instances? We may take it too sadly at home.

Well, from this present Business of the slow Pro­ceeding that is hinted in the foresaid Words of the Jews, we cannot but think of God's Providence, and may very well be called to consider of it, since there came such interfering in this Business of Building God's own House. Which one would have thought Divine Providence would have carri­ed [Page 212] on with more Success and Speed. Strange Dis­pensation of Providence! That seems different, nay, contrary to it self; and one while to promote one way, another while the contrary. As if the same God that was well pleased with the Building of his House, and commanded it, seemed as well content, when the Building was hindred; and his Provi­dence would not remove that Hindrance. It was the Dispensation of God's Providence that this Building of it was begun and set upon; and it was not without the Dispensation of his Providence, that it went so slowly on, and was hindred. What is the Providence of God at Variance with it self? It was a Dispensation of Providence, that Cyrus the first King makes Proclamation for the setting upon the Building; and it was not without the Dispen­sation of Providence, that Artaxerxes the second King made Proclamation for the stopping of the Work begun. That great God that could build all the World in Six Days by Word of Mouth, could have carried on this Building with a great deal more Quickness, could have restrained all the Enemies that stopped it, and could have taken away all Stops. Therefore it was not without his Provi­dence, that it was so long in Building, as it was by his Providence that it was begun. Dispensati­ons of Providence, that seem contrary one to ano­ther.

To speak to this Point, we may first fitly begin with that, 2 Pet. iii.19. The Lord is not slack con­cerning his Promise, as some Men count Slackness. Here was a thing of a clean contrary Tenor. The Place we are upon speaks of Building the Temple; this of Peter of destroying it, the City and the Nati­on. God had promised and foretold of such a thing to come, and it was long first; and as yet not in Sight to the most Eyes. Thereupon ungodly Men begin to mock, Where is the Promise of his Coming to do [Page 213] that Work? All things continue as from the be­ginning: Here is no Sign, no Shadow of any such Matter. Well, saith the Apostle, yet for all this, God is not slack of his Promise, as you count Slack­ness. So God had promised concerning the Build­ing of the Temple, that all Mountains of Hindrance should before Zerubbabel become a Plain; and that he should bring forth the Topstone thereof with shouting, crying Grace, Grace unto it, Zech. iv.7. And that greater should be the Glory of that Temple than the former, Hag. ii.9. For that the Lord of the Temple himself, CHRIST, should come unto his Temple, Mal. iii.1. But where was the Perfor­mance of these Promises, when all the Reign of Ar­taxerxes the Work wholly ceaseth, and not one Stroke done of it all that while. Ezra iv.24? And yet the Lord is not slack of his Promise, as some count Slackness.

And how is that, that some Men count Slackness? As if God minded not his Promise, or drowsily and carelesly delayed to perform what he had promised? As that wretched Servant in the Gospel, My Ma­ster delays his Coming; and therefore he falls to eating and drinking, and being drunk, and beating his Fellow-Servants. And those wretched ones in Esay v.19. that make a Mock of the Promise, as if it would never be performed, because they saw it not performed already; they said, Let him make speed, and hasten his Work, that we may see it. But God is not slack of his Promise, as Men count Slackness. God's Work is still going on to­wards the End promised, tho' Men see it not, but account him slack, because they see it not. In that Case that S. Peter speaks of, the Promise of his Coming in Vengeance against Jerusalem, the Wick­ed mocked and laughed, and Where is the Promise of his Coming? Why? His Work towards that End was going on as fast as might be. He was gather­ing [Page 214] in his own by the Gospel out of that wicked Generation, that they should not perish with them. And when that Work is done, then his Promise will come with a Vengeance. So in this very thing we are upon, while the Building of the Temple is hin­dred, God's Work towards the finishing it is going on.

But to take Notice more particularly of God's Providence and Dispensation in such Cases, we shall do it from this Observation, that all Times and E­vents are determined with God. That nothing oc­curreth in the World without his Determination, his Predetermination. He had determined the Time, when the Temple should be finished; he had determined all the Events that should inter­pose before. Some have emblemed, or resembled God by a Circle. And a Circle is so comprehen­sive, that there is nothing in the World but is with­in the Comprehension of it. The everlasting Arms reach to all things, encompass all things, tho' not all alike by way of Embracing, yet by way of Com­prehending. Divine Providence is like the Uni­verse, nothing is on the outside of it, but all things within: Nothing occurrs without, or beyond the Bounds of Providence, but all within its Verge and Circumscription. I say, all Times and Events are determined with God: And to give Proof of this in reference to both Times and Events, need I to do any more, but only to remind you of the Prophe­sies in Scripture, wherein were foretold the Times and Events of Things that should come to pass Hun­dreds, Thousands of Years after? Did not God, that by his Prophets foretold these things, by his Providence determine, foredetermine of those things?

V. How the Face and Backparts of God, Exod. xxxiii.20, 23. are to be understood.

GOD is the best Definer of himself. And it is very remarkable there where God gives Ac­count of what he is, Exod. xxxiii. he tells Moses, that he cannot see his FACE, for none can see his FACE and live. But that he would hide him in the Rock, and cover him with his Hand, while his Glory passed by; and when that was past by, he would take away his Hand, and he should see his BACKPARTS, for his FACE could not be seen. Now what was this GLORY of God, this FACE of God, that could not be seen? It was the Dread, and Terror, and Severity of God, as he is a Consu­ming Fire. And when that Terror was past and over, then upon the Discovery of his BACKPARTS, Mo­ses hears this Character of him, The Lord merciful, and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in Good­ness and Truth: Keeping Mercy for Thousands, forgiving Iniquity, Transgression and Sin: Accor­ding to that Distinction, Chap. xxxiii.18, 19. Mo­ses said, I beseech thee shew me thy GLORY. And the Lord answers him, I will make all my Goodness pass before thee. His GLORY, that is, his Dread and Terror, is his FACE, his FOREPARTS; that that is first to be apprehended of us in our Conception of God, before we come to conceive of his Mercy.

[Page 216]We are to look on his Foreparts first, before we see his Backparts. As in his Discovery to Elias, he first came in Fire, in an Earthquake, in a great Wind; and then cometh a still, gentle Voice. The Terror of the Lord is first to be studied, to fit the Heart for the right studying [...] [...]is Mercy.

VI. An Enquiry, What that first Re­surrection is, Rev. xx.5.

THE Hour is coming, and now is, when the Dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live, John v.25. That this means not the general Resurrection at the last Day is plain enough by this, that he saith, The Hour is NOW when the Dead shall hear, &c. and he speaks distinctly of the General Resurrection at ver. 28. But the raising of the Dead that he means here, is the raising of the Heathen from the Death of Sin to the Life of Righteousness: The Heathen, that had lyen 2200 Years in Darkness and the Shadow of Death; that had been dead in Trespasses and Sins, Eph. ii.1. Buried in all Idolatry, Ignorance, Dark­ness, Wickedness and Abhomination, from the Confusion at Babel. When Christ came, and sent his Voice among them by the Gospel, these dead Souls lived, as it were come out of Death and the Graves, to the Life of Grace, Holiness, and the O­bedience of the Gospel.

And this is that first Resurrection, mentioned Rev. xx.5. when the old Serpent, the Devil, was [Page 217] bound up by the Chain of the Gospel: So that he could no more deceive the Nations; as ver. 3. That he should no more delude the poor Heathen with Idols, and Oracles, and Miracles, and such Delusi­ons, as he had done. This is the first Resurre­ction.

Here is a Resurrection; the great Work of Christ, and a great End of his Coming: But it is a Resur­rection of Souls, vile Souls, to make them Glori­ous, like his Soul: Souls changed with a great and blessed Change from Death to Life. This is the mighty Work of a Resurrection. Observe, how the Apostle sets it out, Eph. i.19. What is the exceeding Greatness of his Power to usward that believe; according to the working of his mighty Power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the Dead. God's bringing Men to believe, his changing them from the State of Nature and Unbelief into the State of Grace and Faith, is the great, exceeding great Work of God's Power. Such a mighty Working as that was, when God raised Christ from the Dead. A first Resur­rection. And take that withal, Rev. xx.6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the First Resurrection: On such the Second Death hath no Power. Either we must have a Part in the First Resurrection, the raising of the Soul from the Death of Sin and Un­belief, or never Blessed, never Holy, never escape the Power of the Second Death.

VII. An Examination into the Reason of that Eruption of the Apo­stle, O! the Depth of the Riches both of the Wis­dom and Knowledge of God! Rom. xi.33.

THE Cause of which Admiration lyes in the Verse before: For God hath concluded them all in Unbelief, that he might have Mercy upon all. A strange Conclusion! Doth it not almost speak to this Sense, they all became Unbelievers, that they might become Believers? He hath concluded all under Darkness, that he might bring them to Light. Like Elias pouring Water, where he meant to fetch out Fire. The 25th Verse of that Chapter will help to clear this Matter very pregnantly. Brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant of this Mystery, that Blindness in part is happened unto Israel, until the Fulness of the Gentiles be come in. Blindness [...], In Parts, is hap­pened unto Israel; for that is his meaning. And for the Observation of it, take notice of these two Things.

I. That the Apostle throughout the whole Chap­ter never names the Jews, but Israel. Because he is treating of the whole Seed of Israel: Not the Jews only of the two Tribes, but the Israelites of the ten Tribes also.

[Page 219]II. The Seed of Israel then considered in gene­ral had Blindness happened to them In Parts. First, The ten Tribes were blinded by Jeroboam's Idolatry; and that was their Ruin and Casting off. Then the two Tribes were blinded by their Traditi­ons: And that was their Ruin also, and Casting off.

Now this is the Mystery, which he would not have them ignorant of, that whereas the Gentiles were blinded also, as well as Israel, and before, and longer than Israel; and that there were many Prophesies and Predictions, that they should be at last unblinded, and come to the Light; it pleased God to conclude Israel under Blindness too, first the ten Tribes, and then the two, till the Gentiles should be unblinded by the coming in of the Light of the Gospel, and then Israel is unblinded also, Viz. That Remnant of them that belonged to the Election of Grace, as he speaks ver. 5.

Thus God concluded all under Blindness, all un­der Unbelief, that he might have Mercy upon all; the Gentiles under Unbelief, the ten Tribes under Unbelief, and the two Tribes under Unbelief; that at length he might, as he did at the bringing in of the Gospel, shew Mercy unto all, in bringing Jew, Gentile, and Israelite, to believe.

And observe what he saith in the next Verses be­fore: As ye, O Romans, who are Gentiles, in time past have not believed, yet now have obtained Mercy through their Unbelief: So these Israelites also now have not believed, that through your Mer­cy they might obtain Mercy. Their Unbelief hath caused God to hearken unto you, O Gentiles, for his Church; and to bring you to believe hereby was great Mercy to you. And through this Mercy to you, the Gospel rising and shining to you, (thus bringing you to believe) Mercy also ariseth to them in the same shining of the Gospel, that they [Page 220] also may believe. Here is Mercy to Gentile, Mer­cy to Jew, Mercy to Israelite. God hath concluded all under Unbelief, that he might have Mercy upon all. And therefore, O! the Depth of the Riches of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God.

VIII. Asa's perfect Heart how reconcile­able with his Sufferance of the High Places.

IT is said concerning Asa King of Judah, Ne­vertheless Asa his Heart was perfect with the Lord all his Days, 1 Kin. xv.14. A Humane Chro­nicler is not able to say, Such an one's HEART was perfect [...] because he is not able to discern, what the Heart [...] ▪ He writes the Story of a Man's Actions, he cannot write the Story of his Heart, because he cannot know it. But he that held the Pen, and wrote these sacred Chronicles, the Holy Ghost saw the Carriage of all Actions, saw the se­cret Frame and Temper of all Hearts; and he was able to give Judgment of them, whether they were good or evil; and he could not but give right Judg­ment. How happy then is this good Man, of whom he gives this true, and most noble Testimony, Asa his Heart was perfect with the Lord all his Days. A more renowned Memorial than what all your Chroniclers can say concerning Alexander the Great, Julius Cesar, Tamerlane, or the great Conquerors of the World. Their Story is like that Appear­ance of Elias at Mount Horeb, a dreadful Earth­quake, [Page 221] a tearing Wind, a devouring Fire. In their Story nothing but blustering in the World, and blundering of Nations, Sword, and Blood, and Fire, and Plunder. This is all the Noise and Sound of their Fame. But happy is he that comes off with such a soft, sweet, still Voice as this, Never­theless Asa 's Heart, &c.

The first Word Nevertheless doth bring in an Excuse, or Pleading for Asa in an Accusation that might be laid against him. Oh! he reforms and pulls down Images, and destroys Idolatry, and keeps ado; and in the mean while he lets the People go contrary to the Command of God, in offering Sa­crifices in the High Places. 'Tis true, they do so; and they should not do so; but it is not through any faultering of Asa in his Religion and Piety. For his Heart is perfect with God for all this.

The High Places were not taken away. And the High Places were taken away, if you compare the Story well together. 2 Chron. xiv.3. He took away the Altars of the strange Gods, and the HIGH PLACES, and brake down the Images, and cut down the Groves. There the High Places are ta­ken away; that is, High Places used for Idolatrous Worship. But in 1 King. xiv. the High Places are not taken away; that is, that were used to the Worship of the true God; even their sacrificing to God in every one of their own Towns and Cities, when they might not lawfully Sacrifice any where, but at Hierusalem. See Deut. xii.5, 6.

And yet you find that it was their common Pra­ctice to Sacrifice at their own Synagogues in their own Towns. And how oft do you find it in the Stories of the Kings of Judah, yea, of the good Kings, as is said of Asa here: Such and such Kings did right in the Sight of the Lord: Nevertheless the High Places were not taken away: the People [Page 222] still offered in High Places. And remarkable is that Passage, which I believe every one doth not observe, in 1 Kin. xix.10. Elias complains, The Children of Israel have forsaken thy Covenant, thrown down thine Altars, and slain thy Prophets, &c. Elias his Converse was with the Children of Israel of the ten Tribes, or of Samaria; and of these he com­plains, that they had thrown down God's Altars. They have thrown down THINE Altars. Why? God by his own Appointment had but one Altar, Viz. That that was at the Temple. And then how doth he speak of God's Altars otherwhere? It was of the Altars which they had set up at their own Synagogues, whereon to offer to the true God. Be­cause upon every Occasion they thought it too great a Journey to go to Jerusalem to offer their Offer­ings.

It might not be an impertinent Discussion to search out, under what Notion these High Places were yet standing, and in Use, even in the Times of some of the good Kings. Whether it were by God's Connivance and Toleration; as he connived at their Poligamy, which was besides the Institution of Matrimony; and as he tolerated their Divorces, because of the Hardness of their Hearts. Or was it done by the Kings themselves in the Way of Po­licy and Prudence; that the People might be eased as much as might be in their Religion, and not be compelled more than needs must, to travail to Je­rusalem; but that they might offer their Sacrifices at their own Parish Churches. But I shall not in­sist upon that Inquiry. Whatsoever Failing or Of­fence there was in tolerating these High Places, yet Nevertheless Asa 's Heart was perfect with the Lord. And it was not out of any faultering in his Religion, that these High Places were not taken a­way, nor out of any halting with God. For his Heart was perfect.

[Page 223]It may seem very hard to reconcile these two together, that he failed to reform thorough­ly for God, and yet that his Heart was perfect with God. Much more will it seem hard to reconcile what is besides said of him else­where, to what is said of him here, that his Heart was perfect. When Baasha King of Israel comes in War against him, he is shaken in his Confidence and Reliance upon God, and plunders all the Treasures of the Temple, to send Money to the King of Syria, to fight for him. Can we here subjoin the Words before us, Nevertheless Asa 's Heart, &c? Nay, yet worse, 2 Chron. xvi. When he is reproved, he claps up the Prophet in Prison. And can we write under such a Passage as that, Nevertheless Asa 's Heart was perfect? Nay, yet not much better, ver. 10. He oppressed some of the People at that time. And ver. 12. In his Age he grows diseased in his Feet, until his Disease was exceeding great: yet in his Dis­ease he sought not to the Lord, but to Physicians. And can the Undersong still be, Nevertheless Asa' s Heart was perfect?

That his Heart was so, is confirmed by the Mouth of two Witnesses, the Book of Kings and Chronicles; and the Mouth of the Holy Ghost hath spoken it twice over, here and there; and his Word is Truth, and no Falshood in it.

Therefore the Work is, to consider, How these things may be reconciled; How a perfect Heart may consist with such Failings, or such Failings with a perfect Heart: And here the great Matter is to consider what a perfect Heart is, which God re­quires and looks after.

I answer, as the Heart means not that Fleshly Part in our Bosoms, so called, but our Affecti­ons; so a Heart perfect with God means the Bent [Page 224] and Affections of the Soul perfect towards him; the Moving, the Inclinations of the Soul and Affections right towards him. As a Wife most dearly and intirely, and with all her Soul loves her Husband. From which Parallel I may take up in one Particular the whole Matter: name­ly, that a Heart perfect with God is a Man that loves [...]he Lord with all the Heart, and Soul, and Mind; and whose whole and intire Affections are laid out upon God. And where this is,

First, The Aim of the Heart will be perfect in reference to God's Law.

Secondly, The Frame of the Heart will be per­fect in its own Compactedness, as to things rela­ting to God. That is, when there is a Divine Consort in the Soul, when Understanding, Con­science, Will, Affections are all tuned together to the Work of God; when all act together in the Ways of pleasing and serving God.

This is a perfect Heart with God, tho' in it may be many Imperfections; as it was with Asa. Hence may be gathered two Conclusions.

I. That a perfect Heart may have its Failings.

II. That God passeth by the Failings of that Man, whose Heart is perfect with him.

IX. In what Sense the Apostle thanks God, that the believing Ro­mans had been the Servants of Sin.

GOD be thanked that ye were the Servants of Sin, Rom. vi.17. Had he said, God be thanked that ye were the Servants of Righteous­ness, it had been very proper; but to hear him say, God be thanked that ye were the Servants of Sin, may make us amazed. One would think this were almost next Door to Blessing an Idol, which is spoken of Es. lxvi.3. to bless God for Mens being sinful. But to clear the Apostle's Sense, consider two things.

I. We have some Men saying in Latin Authors, Fuimus Troes, sed miserum est Fuisse; i. e. We were of the City Troy, but it is our Unhappiness, that we must say, WE WERE; and cannot, Now we are. So in this Case, God be thanked that ye were the Servants of Sin; that it may be said, Ye were; but that now ye are not. But,

II. Since there is mention of Servants, take a Parallel, viz. an Israelite, saying thus, God be thanked that ye were Bondmen in Egypt. His meaning is especially to thank God for their Delivery out of Egypt, and what ac­crued to them upon their being Bondmen there. They had never seen so great Wonders, never seen so great Deliverance, had they not been Bondmen. [Page 226] And he thanks not God barely for their Bon­dage, but for the Good and Mercy that followed it. So, God be thanked that ye were the Ser­vants of Sin: Else ye had never known the Riches of the Grace of God; else ye had ne­ver come to prize the Infiniteness of his Mer­cy in your Deliverance. Ye had never been so careful to be Servants of Righteousness, but that ye have known what Slavery it is to be Ser­vants of Sin. So that he gives not God Thanks barely for their Slavery to Sin, but especially for what was come to pass with them upon their Sinfulness. He would not say to any upon Earth, God be thanked, that ye ARE so sinful; but he says, God be thanked, that ye VVERE, and are not. That God made your great Sinful­ness his Opportunity to shew you Mercy.

X. The Papists, the Millenaries, and the Traditionary Jews confuted from that Place, Whom the Heavens must contain, until the Times of Restitution of all things, &c. Act. iii.21.

HE shall send Jesus Christ to you, Act. iii.20. And yet the Heavens must contain him. A Paradox; unless Christ could be in many Pla­ces at once. VVhich the Papists would fain ju­stifie, that they may have his Body in every Sa­crament. And yet there is a great Truth in this Paradox, if we distinguish 'twixt the very Per­son of Christ, and the Influence that proceeds from him. As God dwelleth in the highest Hea­ven, and yet dwelleth in an humble Heart. As the Sun is in the Firmament, and yet the Sun in his Influence is on the Earth also. So Christ in his Body and Person is in Heaven; and the Heaven must contain him, till the Restitution of all things; and yet Christ is among Men in the Vertue of his VVord, and Influence of his Spirit. As the Prince is on his Throne, and yet the Dif­fusion of his Power, Justice, Clemency, is thro' his whole Kingdom.

[Page 228]The Presence of Christ is everywhere, as he is God; and his VVord and Spirit everywhere, where he pleaseth to send them. But that the BODY of Christ should be everywhere is utter­ly against all Philosophy, Divinity, Scripture, and the Nature of a Body. And the Doctrine that Christ's very Body is received by every one that receiveth the Sacrament, is clean against all these, and against the very Nature of a Sacra­ment. But the thing is not worth insisting on; tho' an Argument is commonly taken hence to confute that Doctrine.

Restitution.] This is a VVord of Difficulty, and requires some Resolution; and which being resolved will help the better to understand the rest of the Verse. [...], Restitution, or Restoring of all things. Times of Restoring of all things? Restitution? To what? To their old Estate? Or to a new and a better Estate? This Expression breeds the main Difficulty in this Place. And this encourages the Millenary to dream of Christ's reigning here on Earth a Thousand Years before the final End of the VVorld. For then they conceive the Jews shall be restored to be a People again, universal Peace to be restored to all the VVorld, and Swords beaten into Plow­shares, and Spears into Pruning hooks. Then an universal Peace, Concord and Tranquility to be re­stored to the Church, and all the Glorious Things the Prophets have spoken of, to come to pass, and be settled.

I. The VVord indeed in Greek Authors com­monly signifies Restoration to a former Estate. Hence Circuitus Solis, the Course of the Sun from the Vernal Equinox to that Point again is called the Restoration of the Year. And so is that to be understood, Acts i.6. Lord, wilt thou at this Time restore the Kingdom to Israel? That is, that Israel [Page 229] shall have a Kingdom, as heretofore. But how does this Sense agree here? The restoring of all things in the Prophets to their former Estate. What former Estate can here be meant to be the Pattern of another to come? And the Millenary will not agree to this Interpretation, who dreams not of restoring to any former Estate, but to such an one as never was before.

II. Therefore there may be Restoration, or Re­stitution to a better Estate. As Mat. xvii.11. Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. Now Elias in the Baptist restored not all things to the former Estate, but to a new and better. And it is said, He restored all things. Yet here all things are to be restored still, and the Restoration not yet effected. Therefore that Restoration cannot be the Restoration here meant neither. Therefore,

III. The meaning is Making good, Accomplishing all things. So Elias Baptist made good all things written of him, and that concerned his Office. And the Times are coming, when there shall be an ac­complishing, and making good all Things in the Prophets. And so the Arabic reads, Until the Times which shall confirm the fulfilling of all those things God hath spoken by the Prophets. And the Syriac not much unlike.

But it will be demanded then, When are those Times, when all things spoken by the Prophets shall be fulfilled? Truly Reason it self may an­swer, At the end of the World. For have not the Prophets spoke of the end of all things, and of the Resurrection both of the Just and Unjust, and of the Eternal Reward of both? Till that time then the Heavens must contain Christ. And where should we look for Christ at any time in any Gene­ration, but in Heaven?

[Page 230] All things that God hath spoken by the Mouth of his Holy Prophets.] The Apostle, in so saying, seems to face the saying of the Jews Traditions in this Case. To give you a brief Story of their Tra­ditions.

1. Before the Captivity they had Prophets, Urim, Visions of God, Apparitions of Angels: So that in Mat­ters of Doubt they resorted to a Prophet; as Saul and his Servant to Samuel: In Matters of State to Urim, as David did.

2. After the Captivity these ceased, viz. After the first Generation. No Vision, no Prophet more. So that in how changed a Condition were they now? How destitute of their great Priviledge?

3. Then the Devil saw his Opportunity, and stirred up some Instruments to foist Traditions up­on them, instead of Oracles. And they taught, that God gave a written Law, but an unwritten Exposition of it. And some Glosses, that they had invented themselves, they imposed, as the very Words of God to Moses at Sinai. So that every fond Invention of Men now went current, as the Oracles of God. And this is the undoing of the Nation to this Day. Against these our Saviour so declaimeth, Mat. xv.3. Why do you transgress the Commandment of God by your Tradition? And in other Places. And the Apostle, 1 Pet. i.18. where he speaks of their vain Conversation received by Tradition from their Fathers.

Now these Traditions in the two greatest Points of Religion, viz. Concerning Christ, and the Way of Salvation, had introduced Doctrines as contra­ry to the Prophets and Truth, as might be. They made the Way to Salvation so easie, that it was no strait Gate, nor narrow Way, that led thither, but a few Ceremonious Works, Washings, Purificati­ons, Sacrifices, would do the Business. By these they thought they could be justified. And how [Page 231] easie was it to perform these? As for Christ our Messias, they thought he should be a Temporal Deliverer, and would live always, and converse among them, and enstate and keep them in all Earth­ly Pomp and Prosperity.

To this it is the Apostle speaks here, God will send Jesus Christ among you, but not as your Tradi­tions teach, to be always bodily present with you; for he is now in Heaven, and Heaven must contain him, and there he must be, till the restoring, or accomplishing, of all things. But not of all things that are spoken by your Masters of Traditions, but which God hath spoken by the Mouth of his holy Prophets: According to the Sense of the Pro­phets, not your Traditions.

AN EXPOSITION OF Two Select Articles OF THE Apostles Creed. VIZ.

  • I. The Holy Catholick Church.
  • II. The Communion of Saints.

AN EXPOSITION OF Two Select Articles OF THE Apostles Creed.

I. I believe the Holy Catholick Church.

AFTER the Creed hath done with what is to be believed concerning God, it comes to speak of what is to be believed concern­ing other Matters of Faith. It teacheth the Tri­nity, and that we are to believe in Father, Son and Holy Ghost; and most largely what to believe con­cerning the Son, His Incarnation and Acting for Man's Redemption.

After mention of Faith in the Trinity, I believe in God the Father; In his Son Jesus Christ; and I be­lieve [Page 236] in the Holy Ghost; it first comes to teach what to believe concerning the Church, and that in this Article. I believe the Holy Catholick Church.

A Papist's Faith upon this Article comes to this, Credo in Ecclesiam Sanctam Romanam Catholicam, i. e. I believe in the Holy Roman Catholick Church. In which they speak Impiety, to believe in Men; Falshood, to call the Roman Church Holy; and Nonsense, to call that particular Church the Church Catholick, or Universal.

I shall not insist to confute their Belief in this Point; the first Part whereof is so plainly confuted by Scripture, that bids not to trust in Man; the se­cond by Experience and History, that tells of the abominable Unholiness of the Roman Church; and the third by all Reason and common Language, that tells it Nonsense, to call a particular Church the Church Universal.

I shall first unfold to you the Article, and then speak to what is observable upon the Meaning and Intent of it.

The Church you see is made the Object of Faith in it. But of what Faith, and in what Sense, the Articles following shew- Viz. To believe, that there is a Holy Catholick Church, as that there is a Communion of Saints; that there is Forgiveness of Sins, &c.

In the Article are three Things to be believed.

  • I. That there is a Church of God.
  • II. That it is Catholick.
  • III. That it is Holy.

The hardest thing is, What is meant by Catholick; and it is not easie to say, How there is a Holy Church, when there is so much Wickedness and A­bomination in the World. It is said by the Psalmist, Psal. xiv.2, 3. The Lord looked down from Heaven upon the Children of Men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek after God. They [Page 237] are all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy, there is none that doth Good, no, not one. And where then can you find a Holy Church? The Apostle Paul saith, Phil. ii.21. All seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's. And John saith, 1 Ep. v.19. The whole World lyeth in Wick­edness. And where can you then find a Holy Church? Diogenes searched the City throughout with a Candle at Noon day, and said, Hominem quaero, I seek for a Man. So search Jerusalem with a Candle, and how rarely can we find one that is Holy? And where then is the Holy Catholick Church?

First, As to the Word Catholick, it signifies Uni­versal. It is rendred General in the Titles of the Epistles of James, Peter and John. And those are call'd General Epistles, because not written to par­ticular Persons, Cities, or Countries, (as those to Timothy, the Romans, the Galatians, &c.) but generally to all, in many or all Countries. As S. Pe­ter to the Strangers in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. S. James to the twelve Tribes, wheresoever scattered. So the Catholick Church is first meant in Opposition to the particular Church of the Jews; and secondly, as meaning the Church of the Gentiles, of all Nations that truly profess Christ throughout the World.

The Jews under the Law cry'd, The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are these. So since the Gospel even hitherto, they cry, The Church of God are we. But the Scripture tells us, they are a Synagogue of Satan. And Scripture teacheth us to acknowledge a Catholick Church, the Church of God abroad in the World among all Nations at one time or other.

We shall take up the Words particularly and single. And first of the Word Church. And the [Page 238] Article doth teach, and call upon us to believe, That God hath ever a Church in the World.

I shall not insist upon the Signification of the Word in Greek and Latin; nor of the Deduction of it into our English Tongue. Some think our English is derived from the Greek Word [...], which signifies, Belonging to the Lord. As [...], The Lord's Supper, 1 Cor. xi.20. And [...], The Lord's Day, Rev. i.10. So [...], or Church, to mean the Lord's Portion; as Israel is called by that Title very oft.

There is none of you, I suppose, but know what is meant by the Church of God; viz. Those, or that Company, that worship and serve God through­out the World.

About the Definition or Description of the Church of God, is now, and hath been almost ever, under the Gospel, the greatest Controversie, one of them, in Religion. As at present, whether the Roman Church be a true Church. Which many Protestants deny. And whether the Protestant Church be a true Church. Which the Romanists deny. Whe­ther the Church of England be a true Church. Which Separatists deny. Whether Separatists be of the true Church. Which the Church of Eng­land denies. The like Scruple is made of the Greek, Russian, Jacobin, Abyssin, and other Churches. Into which Controversie I shall not enter. We are upon Catechistical Method, to instruct the Ignorant in the necessary Points of Religion. And according to that Task, I shall speak only to that which is plain, undeniable and necessary.

I. God hath ever had a Church since the begin­ning, and will have to the end of the World. As the Cherubins Wings touched both Sides of the House of the Lord, and met in the middle; so the Church touches both ends of the World, beginning and end, and continues all along the Space between. [Page 239] No Generation, in which there have not been some, that truly professed the Name of God, and belong­ed to him. For we may take that for a handsome Definition of the Church. 2 Tim. ii.19. The Foun­dation of God standeth sure, having this Seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his, and, Let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart from Iniqui­ty. It is a People that belong to God, call on the Name of God, and depart from Iniquity. I might trace in Scripture the Footsteps of such a People and Church from Generation to Generation, from Adam to Christ. But let the Apostle do it for me, Heb. xi. But how can we trace it from Christ to these times? This is the great Question of the Pa­pists, Where was your Church before Luther? How is it possible to trace Religion and the Church from Christ hitherto, but in the Church of Rome?

Why? That there hath been a true Church ever since Christ, and will be to the end of the VVorld, Christ hath assured us by that, Matth. xvi.18. The Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. And to that reflecteth that, 2 Tim. ii.19. The Foundation of God standeth sure. Not to be shaken down, not to be brought to nothing. And that speaketh to the same Tenor, that Christ's Kingdom should be everlasting, and have no end. Dan. ii.44. Which shall never be destroyed. And Psal. cxlv.13. Thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and thy Domi­nion endureth throughout all Generations. It is to endure throughout all Generations. No Generation to be, in which is not some part of that Kingdom.

II. But for clearing, we must distinguish 'twixt the Church visible and invisible, known of God, and seen of Men. The Apostle makes this Distinction, 1 Cor. i.2. To the Church of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be Saints, with all that in every Place call upon the Name of Jesus Christ. Sanctified and called to be Saints [Page 240] differ from all that profess and take on them to call on the Name of Christ. Psal. lxxxiii.3. They have consulted against thin hidden ones. Hidden from the Eyes of Men; that Men do not know, nor own them for the People of God, but he knows and sees them. 2 Tim. ii.19. The Foundation of God stand­eth sure, having this Seal, The Lord knoweth those that are his. They are under Seal, as a sealed Let­ter which Men cannot read; as a sealed Treasure, which Men cannot see. But God knows those that are his.

First, VVe must say, God hath ever had a Church, but cannot say he hath ever had a visible Church. Psal. xiv.1, 2, 3. The Fool hath said in his Heart there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable Works. There is none that doth Good, &c. VVhere was then a visible Church? Yet there was then a Church; Ver. 4. Have all the Workers of Iniquity no Knowledge? Who eat up my People as they eat Bread. There was a People of God; but the VVicked would devour them, and eat them up. Look before the Flood, Gen. vi.12. And God look­ed upon the Earth, and behold it was corrupt. For all Flesh had corrupted their Ways upon the Earth. VVhere was a visible Church? See ver. 9. These are the Generations of Noah. Noah was a just Man, and perfect in his Generations. And Noah walked with God. There was a poor handful in the Family of Noah, known of God, but despised of Men.

Look among Israel in Egypt. VVhere would you look for a Church but among them? Yet see Ezek. xx.7, 8. Then I said unto them, Cast ye away every Man the Abomination of his Eyes, and defile not your selves with the Idols of Egypt. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me. They did not every Man cast away the Abominations of his Eyes, neither did they forsake the Idols of [Page 241] Egypt. Where was a visible Church then, when the Nation generally followed the Idols of Egypt? Yet God had then his invisible Church, Cohath, Amram, Aaron, Moses, &c.

One for all, 1 Kin. xix.14, 18. I have been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts: because the Chil­dren of Israel have forsaken thy Covenant, thrown down thy Altars, and slain thy Prophets with the Sword, and I, even I only am left. Yet, saith God, I have left me seven Thousand in Israel, &c. Elias was quick-sighted to have observed one that served God, and one that did not; and yet he did not see one, that did, but himself. Yet God had Seven Thousand of his hidden ones; Knees, that had not bowed to Baal, and Mouths, that had not kissed him.

Secondly, There is no Salvation out of the Church, but there may be Salvation out of the visible Church. As Multitudes, that are in the visible Church, are not saved: So some out of it may be saved. I speak not this to encourage any to neglect being of the visible Church, but to shew the necessity of the Distinction we are upon, as to the right stating the Notion of the Church in Point of Conscience.

On one Hand there are some in the visible Church, that are more abominable than ever were the Hea­then. Are there not some of the Church of Eng­land, or Holland, that will be called Christians, that are as abominable Atheists, Drunkards, Whore­mongers, as ever were any of the Heathen? Of such kind of Christians the Apostle complained, 1 Cor. v.11. But now I have written unto you not to keep Company: If any Man, that is called a Brother, be a Fornicator, or Covetous, or an Idolater, or a Rai­ler, or a Drunkard, or an Extortioner; with such an one, no, not to eat. Implying, that there were some, called a Brother, a Christian, yet a Forni­cator, &c. and one that was not fit to be compani­ed [Page 242] withal. And Phil. iii.18, 19. For many walk of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the Enemies of the Cross of Christ. Whose end is Destruction, whose God is their Belly, and whose Glory is in their Shame, who mind earthly things. And Tit. i.16. They profess that they know God, but in Works they deny him; being abominable and disobedient, and to every good Work reprobate.

Is not the greatest Company in any visible Church either such open profane, or careless Christians, or downright Hypocrites? Are there not Ten, an Hundred of such for One, that truly fears God? Well, when we speak of the Holy Catholick Church, can we only think of that which is visi­ble, as to an outward Profession, in which Millions perish, and go to Hell for ever? No, we are to think of the Church invisible; the number known to God of his Faithful ones.

And on the other Hand, as a Man may be in the visible Church, and yet not be saved: So possibly a Man may be out of the visible Church, and yet may be saved. An Infant, not yet Baptized, is not yet admitted into the visible Church; but it were hard to say, all so dying were not saved. David's Child, not Circumcised, died, and yet who doubts of his Salvation. Consider David's Demeanor upon his Death, and compare it with the Demeanor of him, upon the Death of Absalom, 2 Sam. xviii.33. The King was much moved, and went up to the Chamber over the Gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, Oh my Son Absalom, my Son, my Son Absalom; would God I had died for thee, Oh Absalom, my Son, my Son. This for Absalom. But for his Infant, 2 Sam. xii.18. David 's Servants feared to tell him, that the Child was dead. For they said, Behold, while the Child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our Voice, how will he then [Page 243] vex himself, if we tell him, that the Child is dead? But how well he took it, see v. 23. Now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. He could not but doubt Absalom's Condition, because he died in Rebellion. But had he doubted so of the Child's Condition, could he have been so well a­paid upon his Death? Had he been of Popish Faith, to believe that Children are not saved, that receive not the Sign of Admission into the Church, could he have been so well satisfied?

And in another Case; a good Man may possibly die excommunicate out of the visible Church. It were hard to conclude such a Man's Damnation meerly upon that reason, John ix.34. The Jews there cast out a Man for arguing that Christ must be a true Prophet, because he cured him, who had been born blind. And ver. 22. The Jews had agreed already, that if any Man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the Synagogue. And Christ told the Disciples, that they should be cast out of the Synagogue. If they died in that Excom­munication out of that visible Church, did that prove their Damnation? How many Holy Men have died excommunicate out of the Church of Rome? Which so little argues their Damnation, that it rather ar­gues the contrary. Nay, it may come to pass, that a good Man may die excommunicate out of a true Protestant Church, neither for Heresie nor Impiety, and yet it were hard to doom such an one to Per­dition.

I speak not this to animate any to separate, or withdraw from the visible Church, wherein we live. For such Divisions of Reuben there are sad Thoughts of Heart. But that by observing this needful Distinction, you may the better observe the Intent of this Article.

[Page 244]Learn then this Distinction of Visible and Invisi­ble. As the Apostle hath it, All are not Israel, that are of Israel: So all are not the Church of God, that are of the Church visible. As we may say, every Minister is not a Minister, every Soldier is not a Soldier.

And let this be thy Meditation upon this Article, God hath a Holy Church, that serve him truly, whom the World cannot discern. And I must get to be of that number, or this my Profession will be greater Damnation.

This needful Distinction will help to answer that Cavil of Papists, Where was your Church before Luther? Answer, God saw his own, that profess'd his Truth in the midst of Popery. As there was a Lot in Sodom, and Seven Thousand that bowed not to Baal.

This also will afford an Answer to that reproach­ful Cavil, Do you think your Ancestors were dam­ned, that lived in Popery? And they think they have us in a Strait by this Argument. But we may answer, 'Tis not for us to judge. God hath His, whom Men cannot discern. I doubt not, but that many were in the Popish Church, that were not of it.

The Papists indeed brag of the Visibility of their Church. They will have it a City on a Hill; a Candle on a Candlestick, &c. Mat. v.14, 15. and make a puff at the Protestant Church, because it was not visible Two Hundred Years ago; and their Church hath been a Thousand Years. They tell us we had had no Scriptures, had not their Church preserved them. No Ordination of Ministers, had it not been conveyed all along in their Church. And such things as these they vapour, as if there could be no true Church but theirs, which hath been visible in all Ages.

[Page 245]I remember a Story; when one had proclaimed a King with a World of Titles, the King of France made his Herauld proclaim him nothing but King of France, King of France, divers times over; ac­counting more Dignity in that one Title, than in all the others. The Church of Rome proclaims her self pompously in her arrogated Titles, that She, She is the Mother Church, the Holy Church, the Catholick Church, the Only Church, and I know not what. The Protestant Church need to say of her self no more, than that she is the Church of God. The other brags of Antiquity, Universality, Visibility, Succession, and other Bravado's; where­as the Protestant Church hath but this to glory of, (and it is enough) That she is built upon the Pro­phets and Apostles. Ingenious was that Picture: In one Scale you see all the Trinklements of Popery, and the Pope and Friars hanging on; in the other the Protestants put the Bible, and it outweighs. This is the Glory and sure Friend of a Church, to be built upon the Holy Scriptures, altho' there be no Visibility of that Church to the Eyes of Men at all.

But that we may take up the Consideration of this thing the better, and that we may see how needful it is to take the Distinction proposed, observe these things.

It is true, the Church of Rome, if a Church, hath been visible a Thousand Years and more, when no Protestant Church was to be seen. So the World was visibly of one Religion Two Thousand Years, viz. Irreligious Heathenism; when, but only in one spot of Ground, one that served the true God was not to be found. Abraham in Chaldea, when he first hearkned to God, how might this Romish Argument have been used against him? What thou only of all the World not worship Gods of Gold and Sil­ver? Look thro' Europe, Asia, and Africa, and [Page 246] thou wilt not find one of thy Mind. Was Abra­ham's Religion ever the worse for being so lonely, or the other the better for being so universal? Mi­chaiah, and the false Prophets of Ahab; he One, they Hundreds: Were their Words ever the truer for their Multitudes?

'Tis true, that for some Hundreds of Years all this Western World was Popish, Italy, Spain, France, England, Germany; and no Religion visible in all these Countries but Popery. The Name of Protestant not owned; the Protestant Religion not to be seen: And where was then your Religion, say the Papists to us? To whom, to give a full Answer, let us com­pound these three or four things together. We must tell them, or else we speak not as the Truth is, that the Popish Religion was far from being the true Re­ligion, and the Popish Church from being the true Church all that time, or from ever being so.

I shall not insist upon many Arguments to prove this. I shall only give you one Argument from a Scriptural Reason, and one Consideration of a Scri­ptural Expression.

The Argument from a Scriptural Reason is this: That Church that is built more on Traditions and Doctrines of Men, than on the Word of God, is no true Church, nor Religion. But the Church of Rome is built more upon Traditions and Doctrines of Men, than on the VVord of God. Ergo. The Foundation of the true Church of God is Scripture. Eph. ii.20. And are built upon the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets. But if you look upon what the whole Frame of Popery is built, you will find it upon a Sand of Humane Tradition. That the Pope is Head of the Church; that he pardons Sin, rules over Princes; where find you this in Scri­pture? They are but Points of the cursed Inventions of Men. That Priests can sing Souls out of Purga­tory; that the Service of God should be in an un­known Tongue; that the Priests can change the [Page 247] Bread into a God; and generally the whole Rabble of their Romish Religion hath not so much as any one underpinning of Scripture Warrant, but all founded upon the rotten Trash of Humane Inventi­on, and Self-ends.

The Scriptural Expression to be considered is that Title of Rome, Rev. xvii.5. MYSTERY, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and Abominations of the Earth. For that it speaks of Rome, is plain, ver. 18. The Woman which thou sawest is the great City, which reigneth over the Kings of the Earth. And described even as the Roman Writers them­selves do describe her, ver. 9. The Seven Heads are Seven Mountains, on which the Woman sitteth. She is stiled, Mystery, Babylon. She was a Mystery of Iniquity. Babylon, while she takes upon her Sion; Mother of Harlots, and Abominations of the Earth, when she takes upon her to be Mother of all Churches, and the only Spouse of Christ in the World. A Jezabel, as Rev. ii.20. that takes on her to be a Prophetess, but is a Seducer.

And Mysterious is the Providence of God, in permitting such a Deceiver, that should se­duce all the Western World with a general Seduction. It is observed, that Popery and Maho­metism rose together; one overwhelmed all the East, the other the West. Where had been Glori­ous Churches, there this Smoke of the Bottomless Pit clouded and darkened all. And it is observable, that wheresoever the Gospel had been, these two came and spoiled all. And Popery the more abomi­nable than the other, because under the Name of Christ and the Gospel, it led Men from Christ and the Gospel. We may say upon Thoughts of both, as it is Rev. xvi.5. Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. Because they received not the Love of the Truth, that they might be saved, [Page 248] it was just with thee, Righteous God, to send them strong Delusions, that they might believe a Lie. That they all might be damned, that believed not the Truth, but had Pleasure in Unrighteousness, 2 Thess. ii.10, 11, 12.

So that to question, where was the Church of God before Luther, we must answer,

1. That the Roman Church was not it; for that was but Babylon, the Mystery of Iniquity, the Plague of God upon the World for not receiving the Love of Divine Truth.

2. Wheresoever there were any in that time, that kept to the Truth of God, they were the Church of God. Ubi Imperator, ibi Roma. So wheresoever the true Profession of the Truth was, there the Church was. Where two or three are ga­thered together in my Name, there am I in the midst of them. The Seven Thousand, that worshipped not Baal, were the true Church.

I shall not insist to shew, that even in the thickest and darkest Times of Popery, there were other Churches in the World, that were not infected with that Plague, as the Grecians, Abyssines, &c. But even Stories do shew, that even within the Compass of the Popish Church there were some in all Ages, that held to the Truth of God, and A­bominated the Wickedness and Delusions of the Church. But if any such could not be named, yet God never left himself without Witness; and it hath ever been the Glorious Providence of God to preserve a Noah in a wicked old World, a Lot in Sodom, an Abraham in an Idolatrous Chaldea, a Job in Heathen Arabia, and a Jeremy in a most wicked Jerusalem; a Church to himself in the worst Times.

But observe, that the Church of God is the least part of the World, and so the least part of the visi­ble Church. We must distinguish the Church in [Page 249] Opposition to the World, and in Opposition to Hy­pocrites, and carnal Gospellers: So the Scripture nameth Saints in Opposition to the Heathen, and in Opposition to unholy Christians. Now take the Word in this latter Sense, which is the most pro­per, and the true Church of God is the least part of the Church. I deny not, that the Church of England, Scotland and Ireland, is a true Church of God, in regard of outward Profession. But there are Multitudes in these, that are not the true Church, in regard of sincere Profession, but profane Hypo­crites, Castaways. Imagine a great Parish or Con­gregation, that meet together; and in the Church hear and wait on the Ordinances, and have the Word and Ordinances truly administred. They attend upon them in outward Attendance, but out of the Church are Profane and Ungodly. We cannot but say, here is a Church in Opposition to the Heathen; a true Church in Opposition to a false, where the Ordinances are not rightly administred. Yet we cannot say, this is a true and sincere Church of God; because they do but outwardly profess, and not at all Practice.

So Israel professed, went to the Temple, Es. i. had Ordinances rightly administred. This was a true Church so far. But they lied, sware falsely, committed Adultery, oppressed the Innocent, and such like. Can we then say, they were a true Church of God? See that Eph. v.25, 26, 27. Christ loved the Church, and gave himself for it. That he might sanctifie and cleanse it with the washing of Water by the Word. That he might present it to himself a Glorious Church, not having Spot or Wrin­kle, or any such thing, but that it should be Holy, and without Blemish. Let us take up all these Par­ticulars.

1. Christ loved his Church, and gave himself for it. What, for all that make an outward Professi­on? [Page 250] Adulterers, Fornicators, Drunkards, and the like? Doth he love such? Doth he give himself for such? Many and many better Professors shall be refused of Christ at the great Day; because they were not sin­cere in their Profession, tho' not so abominable in Conversation, Mat. vii.22, 23. Many will say to me in that Day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy Name, and in thy Name have cast out Devils, and in thy Name done many marvellous Works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that Work Iniquity. We cannot think that such were so abominable in their Conversation; but Christ found they were not sin­cere in Profession. The foolish Virgins, we can­not imagine that they were Whores; for they were Virgins: Or that they were abominable in their Lives; but they were foolish, drowsie, and negli­gent. Now if Christ is so far from owning such, as are so fair-carriaged, think you he owns, loves, and gave himself for horrid Wretches, that despise him?

2. The true Church is cleansed, sanctified, with­out Spot or Wrinkle. Look on the most, nay, al­most all in the visible Church, that make an out­ward Profession; and do they carry such a Mark? How few are there, upon whose Conversation is Holiness to the Lord? As Tit. i.16. They profess that they know God, but in Works deny him. At Christ's Table there was One Devil to Eleven Saints, in the visible Church it is well if there be one Saint to many Devils. One of a City, and Two of a Tribe, like a few Berries after beating the Olive-Tree.

I may use the Stile of Eliphaz, Job xxii.15. Hast thou marked the old way, which wicked Men have trodden? Mark the way of the World, which most Men walk in: Observe how unsuitable it is to the Gospel, to the Example of Christ, and the Discharge of a good Conscience: And then look [Page 251] upon these Marks of the true Church of God. And then judge whether it be not true, that the Church of God is the least part of the VVorld, and the least part of the Church visible. Our Saviour asserts the former in Fear not, little Flock, &c. Also the latter in Many are called, but few are chosen. Many in outward Profession, in the visible Church, but few truly the Church of God.

And so we may answer that Cavil of the Papists we spake of before, Where was your Religion all the time of Popery? Answer, In the Scripture. Had a Jew questioned a Heathen at his first Con­version, Where was your Religion heretofore? He might have answered, In the Scriptures. We profess nothing but what is in the Scripture. As Acts xxvi.22. Saying, none other things than those, which the Prophets and Moses did say should come. But where was our Church? It was; but invisible. Some there were that worshipped God according to Scripture; that he saw and knew, tho' invisible and unknown to Men.

That then that we are to believe in this Article is,

I. That God ordinarily hath had, hath, and will have a visible Church, for the glorifying of his Word and Name. But,

II. Tho' the Church be not visible, yet God hath always some that belong to him, and serve him. And this is the Church of God, tho' not to be dis­cerned of Men.

These most properly are the Church, as Ecclesia signifies; that is, Called out. A People called out of the World; tho' in the World, yet called out of it, so that they are not of it: Called off from the Course, Way, Doings of the World, as it were into another Climate. Many are called; that is, Have the Call held out to them, but they follow it not; called to, but not called out. But these, as the A­postles did, follow the Call of Christ, and forsake [Page 252] the World. Called to be Saints, and they become Saints, or Holy.

Now for further Explication and Illustration of this Article, I shall descend to enquire into two Questions.

I. Whether every Christian, who is bound to be­lieve, that there is a Church, is bound also to be­lieve, that he is of this Church.

II. How far Christians are obliged to believe the Church; that is, Councils, Synods, or Primitive Fathers.

I. Whether every Christian is bound to believe that he is of this Church. For certainly it seems strange for Men to believe as Standers by only, as if they were not concerned in the thing believed. I believe that there is a holy chosen number to be saved; that God delights in them; that they faith­fully serve him; and that they have Communion with God, Forgiveness of their Sins. But what is all this to thee? What art thou the better for it? And therefore certainly the Article hath further aim, than to intend only a bare Belief. But doth it reach to this, I believe I am of this number.

To proceed gradually, first let me observe two things by the way.

1. That nothing is to be believed as a necessary Point of Faith, but it concerns the Soul; therefore believing of it must be to benefit the Soul. Corde creditur ad justitiam. With the Heart Man believ­eth to Righteousness. It is not all, to believe the thing is true; but f [...]rther to believe so, as the Soul may have Advantage. Take an Instance: One of the first things in Religion to be believed is, That the Scriptures are the Word of God, and divinely true. This, who believes not? The Devil himself cannot deny it: Nay, he cited Scripture, as the Word of God, to our Saviour. And there are Thousands in Hell that never made doubt of this. [Page 253] Therefore the believing of this must have a further reach, that the Soul may receive Benefit upon so be­lieving.

2. The believing the needful Points of Religion is not an Act of the Understanding only, but of the Will and Conscience also. It is a Question, Whe­ther Faith be an Act of the Understanding, or Will: And it is concluded of both, especially the latter. I believe that there was a Julius Caesar, an Alexander Magnus. Here is only an Act of the Understand­ing, because I have no more to do with it, but only to believe it. But I believe, that Christ was born, died, rose again; that there is Forgiveness of Sins; that there is a God, an Heaven, a Day of Judgment. And in reference to these, I have something more to do, than barely to satisfie my Understanding, that the things are true. For I have to work my Will and Affections upon my Belief, that my Soul may be benefited to Eternity.

These things premised, let us apply to the thing in Hand. Then I am not only barely to believe that there is a Church, but my Soul is to be working upon this Belief for its Good; to be affected in Heart according to the Import of the thing believed. And this may be upon a twofold Reflexion. When I say, I believe a Holy Catholick Church, that there is always a Company of Holy Men, that truly fear God, Sursum corda; then lift up your Hearts.

First, To be affected with the Goodness and good Providence of God, that picketh out, and pre­serveth such a Company to himself. Not to think of the Church on Earth, but to have such a thought also towards Heaven; hereat to observe, admire, and be affected with God's wonderful Goodness in that regard. Such are the Apostle's Thoughts upon the Thoughts of the Church. He looks on the Church of Corinth once such a People as he de­scribes, 1 Cor. vi.9, 10. Fornicators, Idolaters, A­dulterers, [Page 254] Effeminate, Abusers of themselves with Mankind, Thieves, Covetous, Drunkards, Revi­lers, Extortioners. But now Washed, Sanctified, Justified. And where are his Thoughts? Up to­ward God. 1 Cor. i.4. I thank God always on your Behalf for the Grace of God, which is given you. So he looks on the Church of the Ephesians, Chap. i.3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Je­sus Christ, who hath blessed us with all Spiritual Blessings, &c. So on that of the Philippians, Ch. i.3. I thank my God upon every Remembrance of you. And so to the Thessalonians, 2 Thess. i.2. We give Thanks to God always for you all. And so should a Christian, presly thinking of the Church of God, have his Heart in Heaven, blessing the infinite Goodness, for chusing and preserving such a People to himself. In the Inundation of Sin and Damnation, to pick out a Number for himself, to escape Sin and Damnation; and in all the Tum­blings and Storms of the World, to keep a Church undrowned, and unoverwhelmed; an Handful in Noah's Ark in the midst of the Deluge of Sin and Troubles.

Secondly, To be affected with the Condition and Estate of the Members of the Church. He, that truly knows that and them, cannot but take up that of the Psalmist. Psal. cxliv.15. Happy are the Peo­ple, that are in such a case; yea, happy is that Peo­ple, who have the Lord for their God.

When you rehearse this, The Holy Catholick Church, in the Creed, let your Thoughts first recoyl to your Bibles, and see how the Holy Ghost pictures them there. Lam. iv.2. The precious Sons of Zion, com­parable to fine Gold. Mal. iii.17. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in the Day when I make up my Jewels. Then that, Psal. lxxxiii.3. They have consulted against thy hidden ones. They are the Treasure of the Lord's Cabinet laid up with [Page 255] him, tho' not minded of Men. Nay, yet the Di­vine Limner lays on more precious Colours. Joh. xv.15. I have called you Friends. Nay, 2 Pet. i.4. Partakers of the Divine Nature. Nay, further, 1 John iii.4. We are the Sons of God. And that is not all, but more, if more may be, We shall be like to himself.

Now, Christian, when thou repeatest this Arti­cle, write this Exposition of the Word, Church, in the Margin, These are the Lord's precious Ones, His Jewels, His Friends, His Sons, His own Similitude: These are His Delight, His Portion, His Chosen, and the very Apple of his own Eye. Deut. xxxii.10. And art thou not affected with their happy Con­dition? And affected for thine own Soul's Interest? I believe the Holy Catholick Church; that is, such a Happy, Blessed, Glorious Company; and dost thou not stir, O my Soul? No Life, no Holy Emu­lation, no striving to be like to these? A poor mi­serable Beggar sees the Wealth and Bravery of the great Ones, and he may haply envy it; but he can­not emulate or hope to equal it. But God hath shewn thee a Way, that thou mayest be like to these, and Partaker of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light; and art thou not moved?

Alexander weeps, because He was not so famous as Achilles, Julius Caesar, because not so famous as Alexander. And hast thou not a holy Emulation in thee, O Christian? Such and such, Holy, Blessed, Dear to God; and hast thou no Emulation to be so too? Ponder but that Title, Friend of Christ, and that Title, Child of God; and do we profess Christ and God? And are we not moved at it? To be a Child of God, carried in the Bosom of his dearest Affections. To be a Friend of Christ, always in his tender Affections and Remembrances, and smiled on by him at the great Day; and Heart, art thou so lumpish, as not to be warmed with such Thoughts?

[Page 256]This very Hint may answer the Question before us, viz. Is every one to believe that he is of the true Church? Answer, Every Heart here, is he not to believe that he should be of this Church; that it is not well, if he be not so? Nay, further, that he is to strive with all his Endeavour to be of it, or else he is not what he should be? Set this Church before you in the Picture of it, Mat. xxv.33. standing on the Right Hand, and Christ smiling upon it: Do you not believe you should be of that number? Do you not believe you ought to give all Diligence to be of it? This it the thing the Article calls to you for, when you repeat it. And let me be a little further its Interpreter, to shew you yet this Church its Meaning.

I. It would mind you, that that is the Church, that is a Church for ever. The Church of God is that that shall be the Church of God, when the World shall be no more. I may compare the Church visi­ble and invisible, to the Body and the Soul. The Body is visible, and at last shall come to Dust. But the Soul is invisible, and is immortal. Visible Churches have died Generation after Generation. Where are the visible Churches of Asia, Judea, &c. and time will come, when all the visible Churches of Europe must come to nothing. But still there was an immortal Soul in those Churches, a Com­pany of Holy Ones, that go to be a Church of God in another World, to praise, glorifie, and have Communion with God for ever. This Church in the World is like the Heart in the Body of Man, Primum vivens, & ultimum moriens, The first that lives, and the last that dies. It began to live in A­dam and Eve, when they embraced Christ; and when it dies, the World must die with it. When the last Saint is gathered, then even the Soul of the World, and of the visible Church is gone, and they die too.

[Page 257]The Life of the visible Church is the Word, and Sacraments, and Ordinances. Wheresoever these are, there the Church is alive. But if these are not rightly administred, the Candlestick is removed; it hath but a Name that it liveth, but is dead. And how hath God, or may God remove these? But the Life of the invisible Church is the Word and Spirit; and neither of these are ever to be re­moved. For both are settled in Heaven. Obser­vable is that Phrase, Jam. i.21. The ingrafted Word. It is fast joyned, and growing in the Heart. In the visible Church it is in the Hands, but to the true Flock of Christ it is in the Heart and Spirit, and there for ever.

II. This is the Church Militant here. Much is spoken of the Church Militant. And Scripture Warrants such a Title: Ye sight against Principali­ties and Powers. And, As a good Soldier of Je­sus Christ. Now how many Thousands are there in the visible Church, that never strike Stroke; that are Lookers on, nay, scarce so much; that mind not the Christian Warfare at all; and that ne­ver resist the Flesh, the World, or the Devil?

II. I come now to the second Question, How far to believe the Church; As the Church is sometimes taken for Councils, Synods or Convocations, or Pri­mitive Fathers. I mean not barely the Colliar's Faith, to believe as the Church believes, tho' he knew not what it was; but knowing throughly the Determi­nations of these, whether it be absolutely necessary for us to believe them, because they are the Deter­minations of the Church.

The Romanist saith, Yes: And he that believes not what Holy Mother Church determines, is a Heretick: He that believes not according to what the Council of Trent hath determined, let him be Anathema.

[Page 258] [...] answer, We first begin here: That the Scri­pture [...] co [...]ntain all things needful for Faith and Life. [...] in Es. viii.19, 20. And when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have familiar Spirits, and unto Wizzards, that peep, and that Mutter; Should not a People seek unto their God? — To the Law▪ and to the Testimony: If they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no Light in them. So may I say also in this case, if they say to you, Seek to Councils, Fathers, Ca­nons, Determinations of the Church; To the Law, and to the Testimony; to Scripture and Holy Writ, that contains every thing you need to enquire af­ter for Salvation: What to be believed, and what to be done. Psal. cxix.105. Thy Word is a Lamp unto my Feet, and a Light unto my Path. VVhi­thersoever you need to walk for the pleasing of God, doing your duty to Men, or to your own Souls, the VVord of God is a Light sufficient. In the Place before-mentioned, Es. viii.19, 20. Should not a People seek unto their God? For the living to the dead? To the Law, and to the Testimony. It is curiosity to enquire after Necromancy: But if we desire to know what is fit and needful, To the Law and to the Testimony. Mal. iv.4. Remem­ber ye the Law of Moses my Servant, which I com­manded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the Statutes and Judgments. Prophecy was then cea­sing. People might complain what shall we do for Instruction? VVhy, go to the VVord of God, which you have in your Hands; to the Law of Moses, that will teach you. Luke xvi. ult. Dives desires Abraham to send one from the Dead to teach his Brethren, that they might escape that Place of Torment. No, that needs not, Moses and the Pro­phets will teach all things needful. They have Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them. The Apostle speaks this fully, 2 Tim. iii.16, 17. All [Page 259] Scripture is given by Inspiration of God, and is pro­fitable for Doctrine, for Reproof, for Correction, for Instruction in Righteousness. That the Man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good Works.

The Papist saith, it is not sufficient to instruct in all things of Religion. True, not of the Romish Religion. For the Rags that patch that, you must go to some Broker: For the Divine VVardrobe of Scripture hath none such; viz. the Orders of Monks and Friars, Pilgrimages, single Life of the Clergy, Salt, Oil, Spittle in Baptism, Tapers at the Communion, Processions, Praying to and for the Dead, and a Thousand other Trinklements, and Trumperies: Scripture never knew such base VVare; we must go to some other kind of Shop for it. And that Pedlar with them is Tradition. VVhen they cannot find Authority to warrant them by Scripture, then they have Recourse to some Tradition. VVhen they have some Bastard-Doctrine or Practice, and want Scripture to father it, then they go to some old rotten Tradition. Just so did the Jews; and these are so like them, that Egg to Egg is not more. You know Christ's Accusation of those, Mat. xv.8, 9. This People draweth nigh unto me with their Mouth, and honoureth me with their Lips, but their Heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for Doctrines the Commandments of Men. And the very same Quarrel hath he against these. The Jews pretended a Thousand Traditions of the Fathers, so do these; they equalled them with Scri­pture, so do these; they spoiled all Religion, and made the VVord of God of none Effect; and so do these. As if God were a Niggard in his VVord, and did not afford Food for Salvation, but we must seek it in Dunghills.

[Page 260]The Scriptures are called the Scriptures of Truth, the Word of Grace, of Salvation, able to make Man perfect, throughly furnished to every good Work; and yet these forsooth must be patch'd out with Traditions, or they avail nothing. As Argo was patch'd till there was nothing of the old Ship left: So these Men have patch'd up a VVord of God, till there is nothing of the VVord of God left in it.

Secondly, The Scriptures are to be believed for themselves, and they need not fetch their Credit from any thing else. Dan. x.21. I will shew thee that which is noted in the Scripture of Truth. They are the TRUTH. See John v.39. Search the Scri­ptures, for in them ye think ye have Eternal Life; and they are they that testifie of me. Observe the Bent of Christ's Discourse. To clear that he was the Messias, he produceth the VVitness of John, ver. 33. Ye sent unto John, and he bare Witness unto the Truth. His own VVorks, v. 36. But I have a greater Witness than that of John; for the Works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same Works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. A Voice from Heaven, ver. 37. And the Father himself which hath sent me, hath born witness of me. But he concludes in Scripture, as the most undeniable Testimony. Search the Scri­ptures, for in them ye think ye have Eternal Life; and they are they that testifie of me. See also 2 Pet. i.17, 18, 19. For he received from God the Father Honour and Glory, when there came such a Voice to him from the excellent Glory, This is my beloved Son, &c. And this Voice which came from Heaven we heard, when we were with him in the Holy Mount. We have also a more sure Word of Prophecy. A Voice from Heaven might possibly deceive, (the Jews feigned such,) but the Word of prophecy is sure; that is a more sure Word.

[Page 261]The Reason of the Scriptures Credibility is, be­cause they are the Word of God, 1 Thess. ii.13. When ye received the Word of God, which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the Word of Men, but (as it is in Truth) the Word of God: which effectu­ally worketh also in you that believe. They recei­ved it as the Word of God. How knew they that? From the Scriptures themselves. Therefore it is said that they are the Formal Object of Faith, as well as the Material. They contain what is to be believed, and the reason why to believe them. And that is especially twofold.

I. The Majesty of the Spirit of God speaking in them.

II. Their powerful Working.

I. The Majesty of the Spirit of God speaking in them such things as Man cannot speak; 1 Cor. ii.10. The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. And we may say, the deep things of Man; yea, and the Depths of Satan; as Rev. ii.24.

1. How impossible is it for Man to reveal the deep Mysteries of Salvation? i. e. the Mind of God? 1 Cor. ii.16. Who hath known the Mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the Mind of Christ. In Scripture we have it. And ver. 7, 8, 9. of that Chapter, But we speak the Wisdom of God in a Mystery, even the hidden Wisdom which God ordained before the World unto our Glory. Which none of the Princes of this World knew. For had they known it, they would not have Crucified the Lord of Glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor Ear heard, &c. The hidden Wisdom of God. Let all the Wits in the World have conspired together, could they have told the secret Wisdom, and Mind of God about Salvation, God, Christ, and the Divine Operation of his Spirit, the Fruits of Grace, and the Weight of Eternal Glory? How [Page 262] blind was the Wisdom of all the World to these Mysteries? So far, that when they were revealed, they were accounted but Folly, 1 Cor. i.25. Because the Foolishness of God is wiser than Men, and the Weakness of God is stronger than Men. That is, as they took them. And that Opi­nion is transplanted into Papacy; which will find out a wiser Way to Salvation, than the Scriptures have directed.

Herein the Majesty of Scripture shews it self, because it speaks of those sublime, Divine hidden things, that Men's Wisdom could never find out. As they, John vii.46. are convinced that Christ was more than other Men, because he spake as never Man spake; so the Majesty of the Scriptures declares, that they are the Divine Word of God, because Men never spake, Men cannot speak as they speak.

2. The Majesty of the Spirit in Scripture appears, in that it reveals the very Thoughts, and commands the very Heart of Man. Heb. iv.12. The Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged Sword, piercing even to the dividing a­sunder of Soul and Spirit, and of the Joynts and Marrow, and is a Discerner of the Thoughts, and Intents of the Heart. And 1 Cor. xiv.24, 25. But if all Prophesie, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all. And thus are the Secrets of his Heart made manifest; and so falling down on his Face, he will worship God, and report, that God is in you of a Truth. It can discover a Hypocrite, can make an Atheist tremble, can pierce to the very Thoughts, and Imaginations of the Heart. That as the Woman of Samaria said, because Christ had told her the secret Wickedness of her Life, John iv.29. Come, see a Man, which told me all things that ever I did. So we must conclude of this, it is able to discern, check, regulate the very Thoughts of [Page 263] the Heart. Therefore not the Invention of Men, but the Powerful, Divine, Searching Word of God.

3. The Majesty of the Scriptures appears, in that it discovers the very Subtilties of Satan. We are not ignorant of his Wiles, saith the Apostle. How come we to know them? This Divine Light hath shewed them. It would have been hard to have known, that there is a Devil, had not this discovered it. And it would have been impossible to have discovered his Plots and Malice, and Temptations else. This Divine Word hath done it in despite of Satan. Would he ever have had his Plots discovered, if he could have hindred? That Men should know his Mis­chief, and Malice, and Subtilty. He would gladly have walked as an Angel of Light, that Men might not suspect his Delusions; but this Divine Word hath pulled off his Vizar, and shewed his Designs in open Light. It madded the King of Syria, that all his secret Stratagems against the King of Israel were discovered by the Prophet Elisha, 2 Kings vi.11, 12. It vexeth this King of Darkness, that his private Policies and Actings should be laid open. But this Sacred Word doth it, and he cannot pre­vent it.

Thus doth the Scripture reveal it self to be the Word of God, by its Divine Majesty, wherein it speaketh, and by the Wisdom, wherein it shews it self.

II. In its powerful Working; breaking Hearts, converting Souls, conquering the Kingdom of Sa­tan. How have the Scriptures gone through the World, and made Nations bow before them, and have cast out Satan, and his Power? So that if we should say, as they did, What Sign shewest thou, that thou art Christ? So what Sign shew ye, that ye are the Word of God? They may answer, Look through the World, how many Thousands have been converted and saved, how is the Idolatry [Page 264] and Blindness of the Heathen cast out; how hath Satan been bound, and many poor Souls taught and armed to resist all his Power?

Papists talk much what the Sign of the Cross, and Holy Water can do, for mastering the Devil. Fa­bulae aniles. But Thousands of Experiences have shewed, what the Divine Word of God in Scripture can do against him. And thus do they evidence themselves to be the Word of God; and so to be believed for themselves, because they are the VVord of God.

Then is no Man, no Company of Men to be be­lieved, but as what they say is agreeable to Scri­pture. No Council, Father, Church. If they speak not according to Scripture, it is because there is no Light in them; and not to be believed. Let God be true, and every Man a Lyar, saith the Apo­stle. So we are to say, in this case, VVhosoever speaks not according to the Truth of God in Scri­pture, he is but a Lyar, and the Truth is not in him.

You understand that I speak of things of Faith and Religion. In Historical, Natural, Civil, Mo­ral Things, we deny not, but that they speak much Truth. But that is to be tryed by our Reading and Reason. But in the things of Divine Concern­ment, there is no Truth, but that of Scripture, or what speaks agreeable to it. Gal. i.8. Though we, or an Angel from Heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you, than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

I might instance, how the Fathers themselves harp upon this String. Non quid Augustinus, nec quid Hieronymus, sed quid Scriptura. Not that which Augustine or Hierom say, but what the Scri­ptures say, is Truth. And, Non creditur, quia non scribitur. It is not believed, because it is not written. And, Non quid Hieronymus, sed quid, [Page 265] Moses, quid Paulus. Not that which Hierom saith, but what Moses, what Paul say.

Let us determine the thing by the Determination of this Question, Is any Man to be damned, if he believe not what the Church, Councils, Fathers have spoken? A Papist may chance say so; but will either Reason or Conscience say so with him? Let any Religious Conscience say, Can he think himself damned, because he believes not every thing that the Council of Nice hath decreed; or what Hierom, or Augustine have spoken? They have confest themselves Men subject to Error: I know they were so, and must I be bound, upon Pain of Damnation, to believe what it may be in time they believed not themselves?

And let R [...]ason speak, Must I be bound to believe every Tradition, that a Monk, Friar, or a whole Church of such hold out; fetched no one knows whence? Here is the Advantage of your Protestant Religion, here the Benefit of the Ministry; we re­fuse not, nay, we beg, that you try the Scriptures, whether we speak true or no. If not, spit in our Faces. Do you think the Apostle took it ill, Acts xvii.11. that the Bereans tried his Doctrine by the Scriptures? Luke hath honoured them for it, with the Title of, More honourable than those of Thessa­lonica. And it speaks the Mind of Paul, with whom he travailed, that he took it well too. Our Ministery begs this of you, that you consult their Bibles, whether we speak true or no; and we have but one Request more, that if you find it true, you would believe, embrace and follow it.

A Popish Preacher would tell you, you must be­lieve it, whether you understand it or no: VVhe­ther it be agreeable to Scripture or no. For the Church, such a Council, or Father, hath said it; and they know better than you. I may say, as it is 1 Cor. xv.19. If in this Life only we have Hope [Page 266] in Christ, we are of all Men most miserable. So we are in a miserable Condition, if upon the Penal­ty of Salvation we are to believe every Tradition, and Trash, that foolish, or ungodly Men would put upon us. But we have a sure VVord of Prophecy, and make much of Scriptures, and bless God for them, that we have what to rely on. Miserable Faith! to believe as the Church believes, we know not What; or if we do, we know not Why. But we know what we believe, viz. The VVord of God; and we know why we believe it, viz. because it is the VVord of God.

Object. But how do we believe that they are the Scri­ptures, but that the Church hath told us so? How do we believe that such and such Books were written by such and such Men, but by the Authority of the Church? And the Scriptures had never come to you, if it were not for the Church of Rome. Thus they plead.

Answer I. If the Church of Rome could have hindred, we must never have had the Scriptures as we have. Some of the Learned'st of them have called the Scripture a Book of Heresies, and wish'd that there were none at all. And they keep them from their own People; have put not a few to Death for reading them, for having Bibles. And would they let us have them, if they could chuse? They are sensible, that we by Scripture have dis­covered their Errors, and that we are thereupon withdrawn from them: and would they have con­vey'd them to us?

No, it was the VVork of the Lord, and the Mercy of the Lord; and it is marvellous in our Eyes, that all their Policy, and the Slight of Satan, could not hinder them from us. Like to that Picture, where you have a Candle burning, and Pope, and Friars, and the Devil blowing, and cannot blow it out. This Divine Light is the Sun in the VVorld, that cannot be so totally clouded, but that God [Page 267] makes it break out here and there. VVhat would the Pope give, that there were not a Bible in all the Protestant Churches? For then should we be led blindfold by them, as they would have it. But blessed be God, who hath shewed us Light; that Light is in Goshen. VVhich if at the Courtesie of Rome we must never have had it.

II. As far as we owe our receiving of Scripture to Men, we are least beholden to the Romish Church. They put us off with a Latin Translation, barba­rous and wild. But we have a surer VVord, the Sacred Hebrew, and Divine Greek. And the He­brew we owe to the Jews, and the Greek to the Greek Church, rather than the Roman. Rom. iii.2. Unto them [the Jews] were committed the Ora­cles of God. And from them we received the Old Testament. And not from them neither; for could they have prevented, we had not had it.

Consider how many Copies were abroad in the VVorld. The Old Testament was in every Syna­gogue. And how many Copies would Men take of the New. So that it is impossible, but still Scri­pture must be conveyed.

Could all the Policy of Satan have hindred, he had done it. For the VVord of God is his Over­throw. So that it was owing to a Divine Hand. And our Faith stands not on the Church to believe the Scriptures; but God hath carried the Authority of them from Age to Age. I receive not Testimony from Men, saith Christ. No more does his VVord. But the Scriptures themselves have overpowered the Belief of Men.

As to the Comparison commonly made from John iv, 42. They said unto the Woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying; for we have heard him our selves; and know that this is indeed the Christ: They first believed the VVoman; but then they believed not for her VVords, but for Christ's [Page 268] sake. So first, say some, Men believe the Scri­ptures are Scriptures for the Churches sake, but after for their own.

But it is not proper to say, we believe Scriptures are Scriptures, because of the Church, without di­stinguishing upon believing. As Augustin's, Non credidissem Scripturis, &c. I had not believed the Scriptures, had not the Church told me. That is, while he was unconverted. But we may satisfie this by an easie Distinction, betwixt believing that Scripture is Scripture, and believing that the Church all along hath taken them for Scripture.

To make this plain by a Comparison. Canones Apostolorum, and Donatio Constantini, are believed by the Church of Rome to be from the very Apo­stles, and Constantine. I believe that that Church believed them so, and yet I believe not a VVord of them to be so. My Belief, the Church held them so, is from the Church; but my Belief they are not so, is from themselves. A good Soul desires to build up its self by the Rule of Faith and Life. He finds, that the Church hath counted Scripture so; and that he believes. But as yet he believes not they are Scriptures upon that Account. But he reads, studies, meditates on them, finds the Divine Excellency, Sweetness, Power of them. And then he believes they are the VVord of God. And that now is not for the Churches sake, but for them­selves.

The Church of England in the Thirty-nine Ar­ticles hath determined such Books Canonical. VVhy? Because the Church hath ever held them so. That is some Furtherance to their Belief, but not the cause of it. They first believed the Church held them so, but they saw Cause and Reason in the Books themselves to believe they were so. As the Samaritans believed not at first that Christ was Christ for the VVoman's Relation; but they be­lieved [Page 269] she thought so, and believed he might be so; but that he was so, they believed upon his own Words. So we believe the Church owns the Scri­ptures; but he is but a poor Christian, that believes the Scriptures are the Scriptures upon no other Account. He may believe the Canons of the Council of Trent about Scripture upon such an Account. But he is a right Christian, that believes the Scripture is the Word of God upon Proof and Trial.

II. The Communion of Saints.

THIS Article harps upon the String of that before. I believe the Holy Catholick Church; and I believe that Church is in a Communion. It is a Church of Saints, for it is a Holy Church; and tho' it be Catholick, dispersed in divers Nations, yet there is a Communion of those Saints.

But to what is this Article material? What is it to me, whether there be a Communion of Saints or no? It is material in it self; and if thou beest a true Christian, it is material to thee. And there is no true Saint, but he blesseth God, that there is such a Communion; and he rejoyceth to be of that Communion; as in the opening of the thing you will see the Cause.

If I should say, there is a Communion of Devils, or a Communion of ungodly Wretches, Devils in­carnate, I doubt it would prove too true; and it might not be unprofitable to observe such a fear­ful Communion, to avoid it. But when I say there is a Communion of Saints, it is not only a Truth in [Page 270] Divinity, but it is a Comfort in Religion, and a Perswasive in Reason; that Men would strive to be of that Communion, if they did but understand what it meant.

It is not only, I believe there is a Company of Saints, for the Article before speaks that; but I believe there is a Sacred Union, Communion, com­mon Interest, among that Company; what is ad­vantageous to every Member, and to the whole.

What this Communion is, and wherein it con­sists, we must find out by these Considerations.

I. That Saints are very thin in the World: Here one of Christ's little Flock, there another; but very rare. Jer. iii.14. And I will take you one of a Ci­ty, and two of a Family; and I will bring you to Zion. There were many Thousands in the City, and but One of so many; and many Cities in a Tribe, and but Two of all these, the Lord's picked ones, to bring to Zion.

Take the Character of a true Saint of God, as David pictures him, Psal. xv. and how rarely is such an one to be found. Day was, when in all Je­rusalem, among Thousands of Persons such a Person was not to be found. Jer. v.1. Run ye to and fro through the Streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad Places thereof, if ye can find a Man, if there be any that executeth Judg­ment, and seeketh the Truth, and I will pardon it.

Cast out the Chaff, and Refuse that is in the World, and how very little Wheat is to be found? Openly prophane, and close Hypocrites; carnal Gos­pellers, and lukewarm Christians; covetous World­ings, and voluptuous Epicures; set these aside by themselves: and look at those that truly fear God, and eschew Evil; that deny themselves, and dare not break any Command of God; and how small is that Number? But Three Hundred in Gideon's Ar­my fit to do the Work of God, of Thirty-two Thou­sand. [Page 271] If there be Three Hundred of Three Hun­dred Thousand, that prove true Saints, it is well if there be so many, as it is sad there be no more.

Let me pose any one, or let every one pose their own Heart: Dost thou think thou art a true Saint of God? Every one will be ready to assume the Ti­tle; but sift thy Heart to the Bran, and what saith it? Is there no Love of the World? No Malice, Pride, Self-seeking, Coldness in Religion, Careles­ness of Duty there? I tell thee, a Saint's Heart is a rare Jewel; we may go a great way before we find one. Oh! that all the Lord's People were Pro­phets, as Moses said; so I say, Oh! that they were Saints. But it proves not so. A Saint is a rare Crea­ture, and they grow very thin in the World; here and there a Berry in the Top of a Bough; here and there a Plant of the Lord's planting, but very rare.

Therefore when the Creed speaks of the Catho­lick Church, meaning true Saints, that serve God in Truth, it speaks not Multitude, tho' it mean Uni­versal. But it speaks, that such are scattered up and down the World; here some in one Nation, there some in another; here One in One City, there another in another.

II. Therefore Communion of Saints cannot mean Personal, or Local Union, or Communion: Saints in one Place, or in one Lump together. Not a Col­lege of all Saints in one Place, but a Communion 'twixt them, as scattered here and there all the World over. As there is a Communion 'twixt two Friends, one in Turky, another in England; one in New England, another in Old.

The Jews little understand the Communion of Saints, when they construe Hos. i.11. Then shall the Children of Judah, and the Children of Israel, be gathered together, and they shall appoint them­selves one Head, &c. (and such other Places,) Lite­rally, of their Meeting together, and going to Ca­naan [Page 272] together, and dwelling there together. Where­as the Words mean their gathering into Communi­on of another Nature.

How would you understand that, Mat. xxiv.31. And he shall send his Angels with a great Sound of a Trumpet, and they shall gather together his Elect from the four Winds, from one end of Heaven to the other? By the Angels he means his Messengers the Ministers; by the Sound of a Trumpet he means the Gospel; by the whole he means, that after the Destruction of Jerusalem, of which the Speech is in the Verses before, God by the preaching of the Gospel, would fetch in his Elect among all Nations, or call home the Gentiles. But how gather them together? What? Into any one Place, or Country, or City? No, but into such a Communion, as we are speaking of, in the several Nations or Coun­tries, where they lived. One Saint in Judea, ano­ther in Assyria, another in Greece. All staying in the Place where they receive the Gospel, and yet all gathered together into one Communion.

III. This Communion is twofold. Doctrinal and Spiritual.

1. Doctrinal. As they do communicate in one and the same Faith, or Profession of one and the same Religion. So all Protestant Churches hold Communion in one and the same Doctrine of Faith, and, in regard of that, Disunion with the Church of Rome. Holland and We, tho' so disunited, in regard of civil Converse, yet we are at Communion as Christians, in the Profession of the same Religion.

But this is not the Communion the Article means. It speaks of Communion of Saints. Now every prophane, carnal Protestant, may hold such Com­munion in outward Profession of the same Religion. Thousands of prophane. Persons in England hold Communion thus even with the preciousest Saints, viz. That they acknowledge the same Articles of [Page 273] Religion, and yet are far from the Communion of Saints here spoken of. Therefore the Communion of Saints is,

II. Spiritual. A hidden Manna; a Communion that the World knows not; a Spiritual Interest, and Communicating, which they only partake of, and which they only are sensible of. Which we may discern the better, by observing these things.

1. That there is one and the same Spirit in eve­ry true Saint of God in the World. 1 Cor. xii.4. There are Diversities of Gifts, but the same Spirit. True, there are Diversities of Degrees of Grace, and of Operations, but one and the same Spirit, that worketh all in all. As Kinsmen have Commu­nion in Kindred, because the same Blood runs in all their Veins; so Saints have Spiritual Communion, because the same Spirit dwells in them all. As in that Comparison, that they are Members of the same Body, because the same Spirit of Life is in every one of the Members.

It was the Custom with the Jews to enter in­to Communion, by eating of the same Bread. To which the Apostle alludes, 1 Cor. x.17. For we be­ing many, are one Bread, and one Body: for we are all Partakers of that one Bread. And here­upon they might not eat with those, with whom they might not have Communion. So Christ feasts all his with the same Spirit, 1 Cor. xii.13. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one Body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free: and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. That it is that that gives their Souls Life and Growth, because they are all fed with the same Spirit.

This is the Hunger and Thirst of a Child of God, to be filled and refresh'd with his Spirit. And this is the feeding and refreshing God af­fords them. John vi.55, 63. For my Flesh is Meat [Page 274] indeed, and my Blood is Drink indeed. It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the Flesh profiteth nothing. The Words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are Life. And John vii.37, 39. If any Man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. But this spake he of the SPIRIT, which they that believe on him should receive. This was David's Hunger and Thirst, when his Soul was almost starved by his great Fall. Psal. li.11, 12. Cast me not away from thy Presence, and take not thine Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the Joy of thy Salvation, and uphold me with thy free Spirit. And this is a Trial, whether a Soul be alive and healthy, and whether a Person be a Saint or no, by his longing and hungring for the Spirit of God.

Examine your Stomach, what craves it? Lord, give me Corn and Cattel. After these things the Gentiles seek, not the Saints of God. But, Lord, give me thy Spirit, fill me with thy Grace, sup­port my fainting Soul with the Spirit of Grace. This is a blessed hungring and thirsting, which shall be blessedly satisfied. Matth. v.6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after Righteous­ness: for they shall be filled. Thus in the first place Saints have all Communion in the same Spi­rit of Christ; drink of the same Fountain, eat and feed upon the same Manna.

2. Thus all communicating of the same Spirit of God, they have by that Spirit Communion with God himself. 1 John i.3. And truly our Fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. A high Saying, blessed Apostle; Fellowship with God and Christ! Let Haman brag of his great Friendship with Ahashuerosh. Let Men b [...]st of their accompanying with this, and that great Man; their Friendship and Acquaintance with this or that noble Person; it is enough if I can say I am ac­quainted with God, I have Friendship and Fellowship with God, and his Son Jesus Christ.

[Page 275]Acquainted with God? Communion with Christ? Brave Company: That Man can never be alone, never want excellent Company. Ah! poor Paul, how dost thou do for Company in a dark lonely Prison? Daniel, how solitary art thou in a Den of Lions, when thou hast no Company but those cruel Creatures? Oh! nunquam minus solus, quam cum solus. I have God and Christ with me; they keep me Company, and I can have no better. And so God himself hath promised, When thou goest thro' the Waters, I will be with thee. Observe that Promise, Matth. xxviii. ult. I will be with you al­ways, even unto the end of the World. Alas! we shall be in Prisons, in Stocks. Ay, but then ye shall not be alone; for I will be with you to the end of the World.

What mean such Expressions, but that God is present, near to his own People in an extraordinary manner, different from common Providence. That Expression, Walking with God, doth hint special In­tercourse and Converse 'twixt God and the Saint, as 'twixt two Friends walking together. Observe a feeling Exposition of it, Psal. lxxiii.23, 24, &c. Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by thy Right Hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy Counsel, and afterward receive me to Glory. Whom have I in Heaven but thee, and there is none upon Earth I desire besides thee?

Here let us stay; and we may stand amazed, that poor sinful Men may have the Honour and Happiness of Communion with God. Will God dwell upon Earth? It was Solomon's Wonder▪ So may we wonder at this, that God should Con­verse, be in Fellowship, and in Familiarity with Men. If God should take Advantage of that, Be not unequally yoked, how far may this speak con­trary to such Communion? For what infinite Ine­quality is th [...]e 'twixt God and Man, Creator, [Page 276] and Creature, Dust and Glory? An Expression of this Communion you have, Rev. iii.20. If any Man hear my Voice, and open the Door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. And another, Es. lxvi.1, 2. Thus saith the Lord, The Heaven is my Throne, and the Earth is my Footstool. Where is the House that ye build unto me? And where is the Place of my Rest? For all those things hath mine Hand made; and all those things have been, saith the Lord. But to this Man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite Heart, and trembleth at my Word. I will look to such, have a friendly Regard, and Respect to him. Nay, I will come, and converse, and sup, and dwell with him. This was David's De­sire. Psal. ci.2. Oh when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk in my House with a perfect Heart. I will walk in my House; when wilt thou come, and walk and dwell with me?

Now this Communion 'twixt God and Saints we may consider in the Rise of it, the Nature of it, and the Means and Manner of it.

I. The Rise of it. It ariseth from the Union that is 'twixt God and the Saint. We can never have Fellowship with God, unless we be at one with God. Abraham was the Friend of God, and so he and God conversed: There is no Commu­nion 'twixt Enemies. Es. lix.1, 2. Behold the Lord's Hand is not shortned, that it cannot save: neither his Ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your Ini­quities have separated between you and your God, and your Sins have hid his Face from you, that he will not hear. Why, is God such a Stranger to you? You are his Enemies: But turn to me, saith the Lord, and I will turn unto you. Es. i.16, 17, 18. Wash ye, make you clean, put away the Evil of your Doings from before mine Eyes, cease to do Evil, learn to do well, seek Judgment, re­lieve [Page 277] the oppressed, judge the Fatherless, plead for the Widow. Come now, and let us reason together.

II. The Nature of this Communion is, that God imparts himself to the Saint, and the Saint to God. I your God, you my People. There is no Strange­ness 'twixt them. They do freely give up Hearts one to another, as they that are in Friendship, and tell their Minds one to another.

III. The Means of this Communion is by God's Ordinances ▪ and by his Spirit.

1. It is impossible to have Communion with God, but by way of his Ordinances; the Word, Prayer, Sacraments, and Meditation upon all. Communion is more than Union. A Man in walk­ing holily, walks in Union with God; but to come in Communion, or converse with God, is something more. Two Friends apart are at one, but their Converse together is by Letter or Conference.

[...] Set-Festivals signifie Meetings also; People meeting in Communion with themselves, and with God in these Appointments. Thou meet­est him, &c. Es. lxiv.5. As it is impossible to have Uni­on with God, but in virtue of his Covenant, so to have Communion, but in the Administrations of the Covenant. Exod. xxiv.11. And upon the Nobles of the Children of Israel he laid not his Hand. Also they saw God, and did eat and drink. By virtue of the Covenant, spoken of just before, they were at Peace with God, so that he laid not his Hand on them; and by the Administration of the Covenant, they were in Communion; They eat and drank with him.

There is a further striving in Attendance upon Ordinances, than meerly to do Work, to hear, to patter out some Prayers, and the like; but to taste and feel God in his Word, to send up the Heart to God, and to lay hold on him. Do you not do it here, and in your Closet, in Prayer, and in Read­ing? [Page 278] This is not to draw near to God, and hold Communion with him. How heartily doth a true Saint pour out his Heart, tell his Mind to God, his Failings, his Wants, as one Friend to another? This is the reason why we should pray, tho' God knows our Wants. Your Heavenly Father knows that ye have need of these things. Why then have we need to tell him? That we may shew our Communion with God, and that we trust him with our Hearts and Estates.

How doth a true Saint lay hold on every Word of God, as Benhadad's Servants by Ahab's. ‘Oh! this Instruction, this Reproof, this Exhortation, is God's Mind to me. This is as a Letter or Message sent to me for my Good.’ He owns God, as in Love and Friendship, imputing his Mind to him.

This is Communion with God in Ordinances; to tell God all our Soul in Prayer, to taste the Mind of God to us-ward in hearing, and Attendance upon Sermons. But,

2. Communion with God is by his Spirit. 2 Cor. xiii.14. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God, and the Communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. What does the Apostle wish for in these Words, [...], Commu­nion of the Spirit? That they always may have the Fellowship of the Spirit; and also by Commu­nion of the Spirit, Fellowship with God. Take one Example, Rom. viii.26. The Spirit it self ma­keth Intercession. Where is this Spirit? In Hea­ven? No, the Spirit of God in the Soul, stirring up, and enlarging the Heart. The Spirit of Grace and Supplication, Zach. xii.10. Here is the dou­ble Communion of the Spirit spoken of, the Spirit always with the Saint, and the Spirit helping him to converse with God in Prayer; bringing the Heart and God together. The Spirit maketh Intercession. Oh! how comfortable are the Prayers of a Saint? [Page 279] He hath a twofold Intercessor, Viz. The Spirit in his Heart, enabling him to pray, and Christ in Heaven, praying, or interceding for him.

So for Communion in other Ordinances. The Eucharist is called the Communion, not only of Receivers among themselves, but of the true Re­ceiver with God and Christ. God in it holds out the Benefits of Christ. The Holy Receiver by the Spirit and Grace of God, thanks him for those Be­fits, takes hold of them, and receives them at the Hand of God, and tastes the Sweetness of God's Gifts in them.

So in Hearing, the Heart owns God speaking, counselling, comforting. Oh! this is the Voice of my Beloved. And the Heart all along gives up it self to God's Counsel, Correction, and Admini­stration. This is Spiritual Communion with God in his Ordinances.

Besides what I have already said upon this Argument, consider but two Expressions, whereby Scripture sets forth the Union of a Saint with God; and then judge of the Communion.

I. Under the Notion of Marriage 'twixt the Soul and God. Es. liv.5. For thy Maker is thy Husband, the Lord of Hosts is his Name. Hos. ii.19. I will betroth thee to my self for ever. Oh! what Tydings are these to a poor Soul? The Lord espouse it, be an Husband to it? Awake up, put on thine Ornaments, O my Soul: Behold thy Bridegroom coming, go forth to meet him. Ah! dull, dirty Souls of ours, why do we sit among the Pots, and marry our selves to Earth and Dung­hills, when a Soul may have the Lord for an Husband, and be espoused to him for ever. Now Experience tells what Communion there is 'twixt Wife and Husband, as well as Scripture; tells us, what Union, Communion of Heart, of Estates, of Affections; neither is their own, but one another's. [Page 280] Such is the Communion 'twixt a Holy Soul and God: They are married together; their Hearts, as I may say, are interchanged, and intirely each others. Hos. iii.3. Thou shalt be for me, and not another: and I will be for thee, saith the Lord.

Observe that Expression, 1 Cor. vi.17. He that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit. Here is Union and Communion. Joined to the Lord, Beza ren­ders it Agglutinatus, There is Union. And Com­munion, One Spirit. He takes some Comparison before from a married Couple. But this is nearer; there must be an Union betwixt Man and Wife; nay, there is betwixt Man and Whore. Know ye not, that he which is joined to an Harlot is one Bo­dy? For two, saith he, shall be one Flesh. But it may be no Communion of Hearts and Affections. But he that is joined to God is one Spirit.

II. Observe this Communion by the Expression of the Members of his Body: Which the Apostle follows in 1 Cor. xii. especially see ver. 27. Now ye are the Body of Christ, and Members in particu­lar. Ye are the Body in gross, and every particu­lar Christian a particular Member. Now the Body and Members relate to the Head, which is Christ. Eph. iv.15. That ye may grow into him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ. From whom the whole Body fitly joined together. And Col. i.18. He is the Head of the Body, the Church.

So that here you may first see the Union 'twixt Christ and his Members, and then the Communi­on. The Union as the Head to the Body, the Com­munion as betwixt Head and Members. So what nearer Union or Communion can be in the World? And this asserts what I said, that Communion with God and Christ is founded in Union with God. No Member, if not in Union with the Head; and if a Member so in Union, it cannot but have Com­munion. Members cannot but derive Virtue from [Page 281] the Head; and cannot again but be serviceable all they can to it. Such a Communion is there 'twixt a Saint and God. And what the particular Nature or Virtue of it is, learn by observing how it comes, and how a Saint comes by it. For the Discovery of which, we will take up this Question to speak to.

Quest. How should I do to come in Communion with God? I know it is good and happy, but how shall I come by it?

Ans. Learn this from civil Converse 'twixt Friend and Friend. Abraham was the Friend of God, and he came into that Nearness after the manner as Friend doth with Friend. Observe two Expressi­ons in Scripture, Knowing of God. 1 Chro. xxviii.9. Thou, Solomon my Son, know the God of thy Father. And Acquainting one's self with God. Job xxii.21. Acquaint now thy self with him. So is the Case with two, that come to converse as Friends. I know such a Person, and I make my self acquainted with him.

I. So that the first Step to Communion with God is to know him. But under what Notion, or what Knowledge?

1. Not a distant Knowledge. As wicked Men know there is a God. This is far from bringing into Acquaintance. Every one of us know, there is a Turk and Pope, but this is far from being in Converse with them: Nay, nearer; we all know the King is our Soveraign, and own him so, yet this is far from conversing with him. It is said, God beholds the Wicked afar off. So they, tho' they knew him, they knew but afar off. As he, that was newly cured of his Blindness in the Gos­pel saw Men walk, but they seemed to him like Trees. As Balaam saith of his seeing of God, Num. xxiv.17. I shall see him, but not now: I shall be­hold him, but not nigh.

[Page 282]2. Nor is it barely to know God in his Attributes. That he is terrible, glorious, just. The Devils know all this; but as far from Communion with God, as Hell is from Heaven.

3. But so to know God is to love and desire him and his Communion. He that would be acquain­ted with one, looks not on him barely as one he knows, nor barely as one worthy to be acquainted with; but as by whose Acquaintance to have Com­fort, Benefit and Delight, and which he cannot com­fortably be without.

Such is that Knowledge of God, that begins Communion with God. To make it our Work to know God, as without Knowledge of whom, and acquaintance with whom, we are undone. To desire his Knowledge and Acquaintance above all things in the World, and to account nothing in the World worth our Study, Knowledge and Acquaintance, but himself. So the Apostle professeth over and over. 1 Cor. ii.2. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him cru­cified. For nothing else in comparison of him is worth the Study and Labour to know. And Phil. iii.8. Yea, doubtless, without any dispute, and I count all things but Loss, for the Excellency of the Knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord. This is that that makes me justly to move the Question, Do you seriously ask, how I may come in Communion with God? Because that requires the Preparative of the most affectionate Desires to come into Com­munion with him. Such a Desire breathes the Heart of a true Saint, Esai. xxvi.8, 9. The Desire of our Souls is to thy Name, and to the Remembrance of thee. With my Soul have I desired thee in the Night; yea, with my Spirit within me will I seek thee early.

[Page 283]II. The second Means to come into Communion with God is to be acquainted with him. Now to make your selves acquainted with God, be not strange to him. The Wicked are estranged from the Womb. Not only not knowing God, but not making himself known to God. The Word in Job xxii.21. which we translate Acquaint, is [...] Accustom thy self to God. The Word is used elsewhere, Num. xxii.30. The Ass said unto Ba­laam, Am not I thine Ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this Day? Was I ever wont, or accustomed, to do so unto thee? So that the Word signifies Accustoming, Frequent­ing. A Saint acquaints himself with God by fre­quent coming to his Presence, in Prayer, and hear­ing, and attending on him. As Acts iii.10. All knew the poor Creeple, which sat for Alms at the beautiful Gate of the Temple, because there he constantly sat; so God knows the Face of a Saint; he is ever and anon in the Presence of God. Oh! I know thee by Name, thou art always at my Footstool, thou art always in my School. I know thee, Moses, by Name, saith God. And very good Reason for it; he was always in his Presence. Ps. lxxxiii.23. I am continually with thee. Was it possible then but that God should know him?

God at the Judgment will say to the Wicked, I know you not. And no wonder, for he never saw their Faces in his Family. You are none of my Children: I never saw you owning your Dependance upon me, knowing me as the Father. None of my Servants: I never saw you doing my Work. None of my Scholars: I never saw you in my School, studious, and taking out your Lesson. Your Faces are Strangers to me: I never saw them look towards me, but away from me. Therefore, Depart, I know you not.

[Page 284]There is none but would desire to be owned at that great Day: Oh! acquaint thy self with God here, walk before him continually, tha [...] [...] may know thee. Be constantly in his House, about his Work, that he may know thee, and take Notice of thee. This was the Course of David, Psal. lxxxiv.9. Behold, O God, our Shield, and look upon the Face of thine anointed. Lord, I am here in thy House daily before thee, look upon my Face; know me, own me for one of thy Houshold.

Thus a Saint and God are come into Acquain­tance. The Communion betwixt them is yet some­thing more. That is the Holy Place, this the Holy of Holies.

Quest. But wherein doth it consist or appear? Is a Saint always sensible that he hath Communion with God? If so, why doth he so oft complain, that God hides himself, that he hears not, that he is angry? He cannot find, that he is at Peace and Union with God, much less in Communion.

Answer. To speak as to the acting of both Par­ties in this Case. For Communion is a relative or mutual thing, Viz. Of a Saint to God, and of God to a Saint.

I. A Saint's Communion with God is first, that he goes to God as to his only Friend, to impart his Mind and Heart to him, and to trust in, and rely upon him. Hence is mention of going with Confidence to the Throne of Grace: and of Boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus. Heb. x.19. As the High Priest went into the most Holy Place to converse with God. In all his Straits he goes with Confidence to God, as his only Friend; in all his Wants he goes to God, as his dearest one, whom to rely upon.

Object. But many a time he thinks God is become his Enemy; that he frowns as a Foe, and smiles not as a Friend.

[Page 285] Answer. True, but look all the Book through, and the Stories of Holy Men, and you never find a Saint fleeing from God, as an Enemy, but getting to him, as a Friend. The Child, tho' the Mother frowns, chides, whips him, yet he will not but still hang upon her. David feels God's Arrows stick in him, Psal. xxxviii.2. yet at ver. 9. he goes to him, tells him his Condition, as his only Friend and Re­lief. Lord, all my desire is before thee, &c. I tell thee my whole woful Case, as my only Friend, ver. 15. In thee, O Lord, do I hope, thou wilt hear me, O Lord my God. How doth he there hang on God, and will not leave him. He sees him frown, feels his Rod, yet will not run from, but hangs on him. Lord, I will hope in thee, I know thou wilt not be always angry, but wilt hear me. Tho' thou killest me, (saith Job) yet will I trust in thee.

Secondly, He communicates himself to God, in engaging his Heart to him, and his Ways, and his All to him. God calls, Jer. xxx.21. Who is this that en­gageth his Heart to me? I do it, saith the Saint of God, with all my Soul, to be thine, and only thine, and at thy Service. And this is the Saints Commu­nion with God.

II. We are to consider God's Communion with a Saint. How doth God evidence his Communion with a Saint?

He once did it visibly, as dining with Abraham, supping and lodging with Lot. He sometimes did it, by manifesting his Mind by Revelations. But since these ceased we must apprehend his Commu­nion in another manner. Therefore consider that Place of Scripture, Psal. xxv.14. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will shew them his Covenant. To which is parallel, Prov. iii.32. For the Froward is Abomination to the Lord, but his Secret is with the Righteous. Observe the Op­position, The Froward is Abomination to the Lord. [Page 286] God cares not for him, but hates him as his Enemy. But his Secret is with the Righteous, as a Friend. But how is his Secret with him? He imparts his Mind indeed to him by his Word, (and so he does to the Wicked too, if they would know it) But does he otherways impart his Mind by Revelation? Does he always evidence to him his Prayer is heard? Doth he ever whisper to him his Sins are pardon­ed; that he shall be delivered out of Troubles? Many a dear Saint prays long, and yet cannot attain to this Discovery; and yet the Secret of the Lord is with him. How? Ans. His Secret; that is,

1. The secret Influences of his Grace: As Psal. xvii.14. He fills the Bellies of Worldings with his hid Treasure, so he fills the Souls of his Saints with his hid Influences.

2. Secret Experiences. He teacheth the Soul to feel Spiritual Experiences, makes him taste how sweet Holiness is, and how good it is to serve God.

So that tho' God communicate not himself by In­fluences of Comfort, yet he does by Influences of Graces.

We have hitherto considered the Communion of Saints with God; now concerning their Communi­on among themselves. What their Communion is, since they are scattered throughout the whole World, let us search out, first, by considering wherein their Communion doth not consist; then wherein it doth.

I. Some have conceived it consisteth in Commu­nity of Goods, from Example of that in the Aposto­lic Times. Act. ii.44. And all that believed were together, and had all things common. And Chap. iv.32. And the Multitude of them that believed were of one Heart, and of one Soul: neither said any of them, that ought of the things which he possessed, was his own, but they had all things common. And Cloisters of Monks and Friars forsooth must imitate this, as a Saint-like Communion.

[Page 287]Do I need to speak any thing in Confutation of this Mistake, when both Testaments do allow, nay, do enjoin Propriety; and do not only tell, that there is a Meum and Tuum, but enjoin Men to look to their own, to provide for their Families, and not to usurp, nay, not to desire what is ano­ther's.

That particular Example in the Apostles time was upon a singular Occasion, of which we are not to expect any Imitation. The whole Church then in Jerusalem; most of them far distant from their own Countries. Thro' this Remote­ness there were many poor among them; there­fore it was needful that some special Provision should be made for these poor, lest Poverty should have caused them to Apostatize. And God stirred up divers to part with their Estates for such charitable Ends. And none of them knew how soon they and their Estates might be parted by Persecution. And Christ had told of an Univer­sal Deluge coming over the Nation. Therefore upon these Grounds they make Friends of the Unrighteous Mammon. A thing not obliging to Imitation, because there is not again the like Occa­sion.

II. Some seem to make the Communion of Saints no more than the receiving the Sacrament together, and will have none but Saints to receive it. You know the hot Disputes that have been about this. And for the Divisions of Reuben there are great Thoughts of Heart. Hence mainly are our Separations and Divisions in Religion. As in Jephtha's Case, his dear Daughter was his great­est Trouble. Judg. xi.35. Alas! my Daughter, thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me. So this precious Sacrament of Communion is unhappily proved the great Occ [...] ­sion of Division; but in the same Notion that [Page 288] Christ was a Stumbling-block. Which was not of any Fault of his, but of Men, in faultering about him.

'Tis true, receiving of this Sacrament is a Com­munion, but it is most especially external, in the Profession of the same Faith, and Doctrine of the Gospel. And the Communion of Saints in this Ar­ticle aimeth further.

I have formerly observed to you the Phrase, This is the New Testament in my Blood, 1 Cor. xi.25. Not only, My Blood of the New Testament, nor only, A Seal and Sanction of the New Testa­ment, but the New Testament. That is, A new Administration of the New Covenant; termina­ting Judaism, and binding over Receivers to the Profession of the Evangelical Doctrine and Religi­on. So this properly is the Communion, that Re­ceivers have in this Sacrament one with another: viz. That they join in the Profession of the same Christian Doctrine; and that not only among themselves, but even with the whole Church, that professeth the same Truth. And hence it was, that in the Infancy of the Church, they received the Sacrament almost daily; that those new Pro­fessors might thereby be held to constant Profession against revolting to their Judaism.

So that in this there is indeed something of the Communion of Saints, all professing the same Truth and Religion; but we must still look further for a Communion among Saints, to take up the full meaning of the Article before us.

For the Inquiry after which, we are first to con­sider, that Christ's Mystical Body the Church con­sists of all the Saints, that are or shall be in the World from the beginning to the end of it. And so it includes the Saints in Glory jointly with these, that are yet on Earth. Those in Glory, Mem­bers already above Water, as their Head also is; [Page 289] yet in the Waves of this troublesome World, and not got above them.

As it is said of Christ himself, Luke ii. ult. That he grew in Stature; so is the Mystical Body of Christ growing in Stature, till it shall be consumate at the last Day. Observe that, Eph. iv.13. Till we all come in the unity of the Faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect Man, unto the measure of the Stature of the ful­ness of Christ, or, the measure of the full Stature of Christ. Some fondly hence conclude, that all Saints shall be raised, as at the very Age and Sta­ture of Christ, when he was raised; which was at his very Prime, viz. Two and Thirty years and an half of Age. That Elect Infants shall not be raised Infants, but as of that Age and Stature: That the Aged shall not be raised as Aged, but as at their Prime of that Age and Stature. Which as it breeds confusion in the understanding of the Article of the Resurrection of the Body; so it is clean besides the Apostles intent there. He speaks not of our Bodies, but of Christ's Mystical Body, viz, That God had given Apostles and Teachers for the building up that Body, the Church, by degrees, till it came to its full Stature and Perfection in the Salvation of all that belong to it.

So Saints are building up daily; and those that are gone to Glory, so much of that Body is com­pleated; and the rest growing on to the same Per­fecting, till all be Compleated, and the whole Body Perfected. So that those compleated in Glory, and these compleating toward Glory here, are the same Body, though at present of a different condition. The Church Militant and Triumphant are not two Churches; not two Bodies, but one whole Church and Body of Christ, consisting of Members, some already Perfected, and some Perfecting. As Israel [Page 290] at the Temple in the two Courts, were not two Congregations and Churches, but one Congregation in two divers places, two Companies of one Con­gregation.

The Apostle in Heb. xi. ult. saith, God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. When some say, the Saints under the Law are not perfected in Glory till Christ's coming, but in Limbo. Whereas the Apostle speaks in the sense we are upon, viz. That those Holy Ones, without us under the Gospel, are not the perfect Body of Christ; but the Body was to consist of Gentiles, as well as Jews. Of some yet to be saved, as well as of them that are saved already.

Now is there any Communion 'twixt these two parts of the same Body, Saints on Earth, and Saints in Glory? I mean, is there any imparting of the one to the other, as there is 'twixt two Parties in Communion?

Some will tell you, Yes: We are to Pray to them, and they Pray for us. As he in the Prophet makes a God, and then falls down to it. So it is common in the Church of Rome, to make, whom they think good, Saints, and then to Pray to them that they would Pray for them to God. Whereas they can never clear the Praying to Creatures from Idolatry; and can never prove, that it is possible for a Saint in Heaven to hear one Speaking and Praying on Earth, much less to know the Heart with which he Prays. So can they ever prove that there is Praying in Heaven at all? The Church here is called the House of Prayer; but it is hard to prove that Heaven is so. There is Praising, and Thanksgiving, and Glorifying God, and Adoring the Lamb: But where do we ever read of Praying in Heaven? Nay, Can any prove, that Christ Prayeth [Page 291] there for his People? But he exerciseth his Mediation some other way. He offereth up the Prayers of his Saints, Rev. viii.3. And another Angel came and stood at the Altar having a Golden Censer; and there was given unto him much Incense, that he should offer it, with the Prayers of all Saints upon the Golden Altar which was before the Throne. But that he offers them, he Praying also, cannot be cleared.

But I shall not insist on this. The Article aims at the Communion of Saints upon Earth according to David's Style, Psal. xvi.3. To the Saints that are in the Earth. Saints scattered in the Earth, and yet have they Communion? We may think of that, Ezek. xxxvii.3. Can these dry scattered Bones come to­gether and Live? Yes, ver. 7. Bone came to his Bone, and Lived. So Son of Man, can Men dispersed in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, have Commu­nion? They know not one another, never saw one another, and they have Communion? Yes: There is an invisible Vein of Communion runs betwixt all Saints on Earth. Which we consider in these Parti­culars.

I. There is a Communion of Converse, and Com­munion of Affection. There may be the former, where there is not the latter. English Merchants have Communion of Converse with Outland Mer­chants, when they come among them, Buy, Sell, Eat, Drink together. When the Communion 'twixt them is meerly of Civil Converse, rather than of near Affection. And there may be Communion of Affection, where there is no Converse. Nay, there is, as it were planted in Morality, an Affecti­on of one Excellent Person to another. A Valiant Man loves a Valiant Man, though he never came near him. A Scholar loves a Scholar, that he hath only heard of. Much more is such an Affection planted in true Christianity in an Heart truly Religi­ous, [Page 292] be he who he will, where he will; though he never saw him. As Psal. xvi.3. My delight is in the Saints, and Excellent on the Earth, be they far off or near.

II. There is Communion in Common Interest, where, it may be, there is not Communion in Common Converse. Those that never saw, or heard of one another to Converse together, yet may have Communion in Common Interest. Eng­lishmen meeting beyond Sea, that never saw each other before, yet will take parts, and side together, as in the Common Interest of being Countrymen.

There is a Common Interest of all the Saints in the World, though at their never so great Di­stance and Separation, viz. Glorifying God, and Loving the Lord Jesus. As the Apostle saith, 1 John i.3. Our Fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. So the Fellowship of the Saints among themselves meets in this Centre of Loving the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ. And ask the same Apostle the Exposition of his Words in the same Epistle, Cap. ii.14. We know that we have passed from Death to Life, because we love the Brethren. He would tell you, It is a sign we Love God, and so are passed from Death to Life, because we Love the Brethren that Love God.

This is the special Centre, in which Saints meet, be they never so far asunder. And in this Sense, Their Gathering together, is to be understood, (of which there is so frequent mention;) not into one place, but into this one Circle of Loving, Fearing, Serving God, Zeph. iii.9. That they may call upon the Name of the Lord, and serve him with one Consent. In the Hebrew it is, With one Shoul­der. As if many were together shouldring up the [Page 293] same weight or burden: All in their places jointly putting to their endeavour to bear up the Name, Glory and Honour of God. East, West, North, South, every Saint joyning in this great Work, and Meeting in this Holy Point. As the Twelve Oxen under the Brazen Sea, their Faces to the Four Quar­ters of Heaven, but their Bodies all Meeting to bear up the Weight. Now,

III. They that are all of the same mind, all meet in this Common Interest toward God, cannot but love one another, though they knew not one a­nother. Judg. v.9. My Heart, saith Deborah, is toward the Governors of Israel, that offered them­selves willingly among the People. Did she know all their Faces and Persons? Could she call them by their Names? No, but she could not but Love them, be they whom they would, that put to their Hands and Shoulders to that Common Cause. We see, how Men are ready to Affect any that they hear to be of their Opinion, Humour, and Mind, though they never saw them. Much more does a Saint love a Saint that is, Partner with him in this Holy Work. Though he knew not where to find him, or Name him, yet if he be for God, he must have his Heart; and loving God, he cannot but love whosoever loves him.

IV. Accordingly they sympathize one with ano­ther, 1 Cor. xii.26. Whether one Member suffer, all the Members suffer with it; or one Member be Honoured, all the Members rejoice with it. They weep with those that weep, and rejoice with those that rejoice. They bear one another's burdens. It grieves a Saint, if it be ill with any Saint in the World; and he rejoiceth if it go well with him. His Heart is touched with his Case, as with his [Page 294] own. As we are affected with the well or ill doing of any Englishman in any part of the World, for Common Interest of Country sake.

Neh. i.4. And it came to pass when I heard these words, that I sat down, and wept, and mourned certain Days, and fasted and prayed before the God of Heaven. Why? Nehemiah, thou art well enough; thou art in place of Honour, Pleasure, Preferment. Oh! but it is ill with the People of God. And Psal. cxxxvii.5, 6. saith the Psalmist, If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my Right Hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my Tongue cleave to the Roof of my Mouth, if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. I can ne­ver forget Jerusalem.

V. Answerably they have one another's Prayers. There is not a Saint in the World, but hath the Prayers of all the Saints in the World. Any Child of God makes it Conscience to Pray for every Child of God on Earth. One Member cannot but do its best for another. Gal. vi.16. And as many as walk according to this Rule, Peace be on them, and Mercy, and upon the Israel of God. Pray for thy self, Paul, and for thine own Churches. Nay, but eve­ry Saint where-ever is a Member of the same Body that I am of; and therefore, I must Pray for them also. So Ephes. vi.24. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in Sincerity. Why pray so for them? Because of that Common Interest, that is betwixt all Saints. I love Christ, and cannot but love and pray for all that love him.

We may say, as Psal. cxxxiii.1. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell toge­ther in Unity. So, how blessed, how happy to be thus joyned together in this Common Union? If [Page 295] thy Prayers be weak, all the Saints in the World pray thee; if thy Estate be miserable, if thou beest tempted, still thou hast the Prayers of all good Men, through out the World. Oh! happy con­dition of a true Saint! Christ mediating for him in Heaven, and all the Saints on Earth Praying for him; as Acts xii.5. Peter was kept in Prison, but Prayer was made without ceasing of the Church of God for him. Chear up, poor Child of God; why walkest thou so heavily? Why? The Children of Belial curse me, revile me. Oh! but all the Saints of God pray for thee. And this is the true Com­municating of Saints one to another. And so much for the Communion of Saints with God, and one with another.

FINIS.

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