The Beſt Fee-Simple, Set forth in a Sermon at St Peters in Cornhil, before the Gentlemen and Citizens Born in the County of Nottingham, the 18. day of February, 1657.
Being the Day of their Publique Feaſt.
By Marmaduke James, Miniſter of Watton at Stone, in the County of Hertford.
LONDON, Printed by J. M. for J. Martin, J. Alleſtry, T. Dicas, and ſold at their Shop at the Signe of the Bell, in St Paul's Churchyard, 1659.
I Will not injure your Lordſhips Temperance, in giving you a Surfet of the Feaſts of the Ancients; their kindes, Military, Civil, and Sacred; upon Births, Marriages, Covenants, Travels, Inaugurations, nay,Cutting of Teeth. with ſome common (yet proper too) Feaſts at their firſt fleſh-breaking. The Scripture gave the Jews their Regalim:〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉Buxt. Syn. And Primitive Chriſtians had their Agapae: And, through your Lordſhips quickning and encouraging influence, our Countrymen too, for theſe three years paſt, have been no Heteroclites from good Preſidents in their Yearly Meetings, Copied out from our own, and other Nations.
Many actions that ſeem petite, are great in conſequence (as ſmal Stars have mighty influence.) This mingling, helps humility:Cael. Rod. Antiq. and uniting, ſymbols frugalility: this Traffique of hearts, amicability: from theſe Aſſociations, men deriving a reſpect one for another, as the Loadſtone and Needle do by contact: Thus Men (like Virginal-jacks) are tyed together by the Teeth: and Bag-pipe like, commonly make beſt Muſick, when they are firſt blown full.
Yet all this is but a Herd at Paſture (for Beaſts can claw one another) till the Minde and Soul be conteſserate: For though ſome Seraphique Fantaſtiques, would have the Soul, like the Philoſophers Sphere of Fire, to eat nothing; yet this is found a popular Errour, as well as that of the Camelion:Dr Brown. for ſhe has a mouth, nay two for failing, placed indeed ſomwhat ſtrangely; one in the Ear,Herodot. the other in the Eye. To treat which came in that first Courſe at the Aegyptians Table,A dead mans Scull. viz. A Head that ſpake without a Tongue. Buxt. Syn•. 〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉Joſ. contr. App.The Jews Chidoth, as appears by Sampſons Riddles (at his Feaſt:) Our Saviours Parables at his Swain Entertainments: Nay, our very Cheeſe-trenchers have got the parings of old ſentences on them, as if thereby they intended to Preach at Dinner. It was then very fitting at a Feaſt of Chriſtians, the Soul ſhould be careſſed, and firſt ſerved with her ſpiritual Viands; which was the true occaſion of both theſe Sermons: the Publication whereof (as additional to what is ſaid elſewhere) is no more, then by the Simpoſiaque Laws, as it were to paſs the Cenſor:Pancirol. and as Fronts and Porches are uſually ſet before Buildings, fairly Adorned with ſome Great Coloſs, or Gyant, Bowing under their pretended Weight; ſo are theſe Epiſtolary Praeludiums prefixed, which do no leſs Attaque commonly ſome Fair Name; with this difference only, That there the Houſe ſuſtains the Sampſon that ſeems to pillar it, but here the Patron doth reallize the contrary.
And now my Lord, I am like the Sun in his Perigee, or ſlow Motion, at my hardeſt task: to account to your Lordſhip, why Conon, or his Rape, ſhould be a Perſon, or Preſent for the Court: How a Pilot, ſo obſcure for parts, and ſo little known for Perſon, can vouch ſo high a Name: Or that this Fraight, that conſiſts neither of the Gold of Ophir (to wit, any deep Speculations) nor ſo much as the painted Peacocks of Eloquence, ſhould yet ſo boldly addreſs to an Engliſh Solomon.
In this great ſtrait (my Lord) if the Queen Reaſon ſhould ſeem to withdraw her preſence for a while, I am ſupported by the miſſion of her next Attendant, and principal Lady of Honour, I mean, Excuſe.
For grant it true, that the Comets only ſhine for Emperours, and Princes; yet the Fixed Stars do influence the deſpiſed Peaſant as much as them; and and the meaneſt Swains are in••qual Wardſhip with them, to the brighteſt Angels. Gafferel.Let the Taliſman Profeſſors mourn over their loſt Art of attracting the vertue of a Star, to Conſtellate a Vegitable therewith; yet we of inferiour Orbs are comforted by what we ſee the Chymiſts do, viz. Extract the ſweeteſt Virtues better by courſe Dung, then by the Suns moſt Noble and Fiery Beams.
And certainly, Honour, the Jewel of the High can be Forged•nly (like Jewels) by the black hands of thoſe below, in whom it ſeems more Fountainouſly to reſide, then in the perſons honoured; inſomuch,Ariſt. Eth. l. 1. that the very•eity it ſelf,•lled with all perfections, wanted this, till a Creation: As the Longitude of the Earth is taken by Eclipſes,Carp. Geog. juſt ſo (methink•) Your Orators obſcurity doth give aym to take the Dimenſions of Your Lordſhips Excellence.
Neither ſhould this ſeem ſtrange in him, though Cloyſtered up at home, and removed far from the practical knowledge of your Lordſhips actions, any more then the man immured from viſibility in his dark Optick Cell, is helped by that Blackneſs, through the little•unnel in his Window, to Landskip all thoſe floating Figures, and flying ſpecies,Aquil. Opt. that ſeem to loſe themſelves in the wandering Ayr.
And though (My Lord) Munificent Bounty, with Learned and unparalleld Charity, concentring in a Perſon Nobly ſtreaming from Ancient Progenitors, ſets You up to ſhine in an high ſphere; Yet alas! the dire blaſts of Envie often waſte thoſe Lights, Torching in a bluſtring Ayr, while blinde Vaults preſerve the burning Lamps for many Centuries:Plin. Nat. Hiſt. If ſuch effect ſhould from theſe papers happen, how much ſhould he rejoyce in that obſcurity that preſerves Your Glory? That, as a Corps wrapt up in Balm, and Spice, by the Retaliating power of Your Name, will be kept ſweet, and whole, in deſpite of the teeth of Time and Envie: For, though the Tropicks and Poles move on their own little ones; yet in Menſuration, recourſe must be had to the greater Circles: So mens valuations paſſing by theſe Atomes of Work and Perſon, ſhall take the Riſe of their Judgments from the greatneſs of Your Noble Protection.
Yet beſides theſe wide ſhoes, Laſted for many Feet, there are ſome more proper for mine; I being a poor twig of that Corporation, that drew much ſap from the Roots; and ſo long joyed under the ſhades of Your Grandfather, of Dear Memory, and your late Departed (the Veſpatian of that Town and Country) Brothers Boughs;Amor ac deliciae humani generis. Suet. in vit. Tit. V•ſp. both whoſe Fruits there (when other Families are conſumed in the Maw of Time) in the peoples choiſeſt affections will be preſerved. And now (My Lord) we Your Countrymen look upon You as that Sun, into whoſe boſom their flames have ſhed their lights; as ſomtimes the expanded ſtreams of Brightneſs came in, and made a Periwig of Glory for Heavens greateſt Luminary, on the fourth of the Creations day: of which we are daylie more aſsured, whilſt by Your great Humility (though an Eagle of the higheſt Ayr) yet You diſdain not to fly in the Train of the meaner Birds of your Country, to perch with them, and feed in their Avearies (their late Feaſts) and ſhew them an example of imping their large Plumes, in pious, and charitable extenſions, towards the feathering, and feeding of many other naked and hungry Birds of the ſame Covie. Among others, your Orator is in Arrears, as for your Attendance on, and Countenance, encouraging his work; ſo for ſomthing hid in the bowels of the ſubject of both his Diſcourſes.
The firſt repreſented David, a great Man, putting himſelf into Gods Inns of Court, and there Profeſſing himſelf a Student of the Divine, as you in great Condiſcention have done of the Common Law. Thy Teſtimonies I have &c.
The ſecond ſhewed Jeſus Chriſt, that Lapis Theologicus (as the Scripture calls him) in whoſe queſt we never labour in vain; Deſtin'd by Heavens Colledge of Phiſitians to be Bruiſed, nay Calcind to Duſt, and burnt up in the Furnace of his Fathers wrath; that ſo the World might boast at laſt of an Ʋniverſal Medicine, for all Patients whatſoever. Thus have we ſeen Blood iſſuing from one part of the Body, ſtopt by opening the Cock, and letting the Sluce fly from another Vein. It pleaſed the Lord to bruiſe him.
In which Noble Science as in all others, the End crownin the Action, is not obſcure to the very Hoſpitallers, who pray that your Lordſhip may amply receive your Fees from Gods (not earthly, but) heavenly Angels: And if your Lordſhip (as 'tis not doubted but you do) to the Law and Phiſick, and Davids ſtudy of Gods Teſtimonies, and Iſaiahs ſublime Chymiſtry, you will without all peradventure be Entitled by poſterity, the Engliſh Triſmegiſtus.
But I am afraid, leſt dealing too long in Phiſick, I ſhould make your Lordſhip a Patient: If any thing in theſe Sermons, or this Epiſtle be ill reſented, as Luther was ſaid by ſome to call S. James Epiſtle,Camp. dec. rat. Epiſtola ſtraminea; well may be ſit down quietly then with a worſe character of his, that deſires to be numbred amongſt the faithfulleſt of them that honour your Lordſhips Virtues, and is in the work of the Goſpel,
THe ſhortneſs of the dayes, the coldneſs of the ſeaſon, and the remoteneſs of our Countrey, ha's prevented, I ſuppoſe, the ſupplies intended for you; which ha's occaſioned my being here upon ſhort warning to ſerve you this day, as one out of due courſe, both beſides yours, and my own expectation; which I truſt will plead excuſe, if you have not a diſcourſe ſo well digeſted, as ſo honorable, and ſolemne an Aſſembly might ſeem to challenge.
Concerning our Countrey, much more cannot be preſumed as additional to what ha's been ſpoken in the two years paſt, without ſome injurie to the bounds of modeſty and truth, which by no meanes ought to be offered from the Pulpit: yet mee thinks it is not handſom, that ſuch a Solemnity as this is, ſhould paſs without ſome glance at leaſt upon the preſent occaſion, which in a particular or two, I ſhall (by Gods aſſiſtance, and your patience) diſpatch.
The firſt is, that not many years paſt, you heard from a learned Perſon, that in the Memorables of our Countrey, there was none found that had poſſeſt the chief Magiſtracy of this City: But now behold one in the Chair, that is not onely by his Office Gods Steward, and the Protectors, and this great Cities, but your Countries Steward alſo; an Honour that few Countries in England of late years have arrived to, viz. That a Steward has been their Supreme Magiſtrate.
34The next thing that I would commend to you is, two places of Scripture, which I ſeldom reade, but the freſh thoughts of Nottingham, and Nottingham-ſhire come in; both of them are in the Pſalms ſpoken of Canaan, and Hieruſalem. That of the Countrey, in the 144th Pſalm the four laſt verſes, That our Sons may be as plants, our Daughters as corner-ſtones, our garners may be full, our ſheep bringing forth thouſands in our ſtreets, our oxen ſtrong to labour, and that there be no complaining in our ſtreets; happy are the people that are in ſuch a caſe — yea, happy is the people whoſe God is the Lord. The other is ſpoken of the City, in the 48th Pſalm the three laſt verſes; Walk about Zion, tell the towres thereof, mark well her bulwarks, conſider her palaces, that you may tell it to the generation following — for this God is our God for ever, and ever, &c. In theſe two Scriptures you have a deſcription, and a correction; when David had deſcribed the proſperity of the Countrey in their Sons, Daughters, Sheep, Oxen, Plenty, Peace, hee begins to pronounce proſperity upon them; but as one that had forgot himſelf and left out the main, he corrects himſelf; yea rather, happy is the people whoſe God is the Lord. Juſt thus in the other Scripture, when he had deſcribed the ſcituation, beauty, and ſtrength of Hieruſalem, hee brings in the preſence of God one would think ſtrangely, and independently, as the complement, perfection, and ſummum totale of all that Cities happineſs; for this God is our God for ever, and ever. Truly, Gentlemen, this is the work that you and I have to do this day, viz. to look upon all the35 reported beauties and virtues of your Countrey, but as ſo many ſingle figures, till God the eternal Circle of Bleſſedneſs be added to them to make up the ſum: and therefore let it be our joint prayer, that God may be our God, & our Countreys God for ever, & ever.
It is no difficult matter to ſhew, that the obligements of God are as much upon you to be his people, as ever they were upon Judah, and Hieruſalem: to tell you, (if time would give leave) that your Countrey doth match the Land of Canaan in plenty, and pleaſures, and how farr that Town of Nottingham doth run parallel with Hieruſalem. Was Hieraſalem ſet upon precipitious hills, and is not Nottingham ſo? and as the mountains ſtood about Hieruſalem, Pſal. 125. do they not ſo about Nottingham? and as there were two famous Aſcents in Hieruſalem, Mount Moriah, upon which the Temple ſtood, and Mount Zion, where ſtood that lofty Tower of David, incomparably perching over City and Countrey, and is it nor ſo in Nottingham? where, upon one high rock, as upon another Moriah, ſtands that fair Church (if my rule fail not) ſome cubits bigger than the Temple; and upon another, yet higher mountain, (like that of Zion) ſtands that ancient Caſtle, over-topping Town and Countrey, the loweſt ſtone whereof (before it's diſmantling) was higher than the top ſtones of many others in the Land; whoſe climbing Towers, ſcituate upon thoſe perpendicular rocks, did aſcend to ſuch a ſtupendious height, like another Zion, as if the Spectators ſhould believe that they intended to peer into the clouds, or to pick36 a quarrel with the Moon. Upon the higheſt part whereof, in the beginning of the paſt miſerable broyles, was the Standard Royal, of unhappy, and too late, (alas!) too late lamented Majeſty lifted up; which Caſtle, had not the diviſions been homebred, might have ſaid unto all her Enemies, as ſometimes the Jebuſites, truſting to the ſtrength of Zion, jeeringly told David; That they would ſet up the lame and the blinde to keep that Tower againſt him. Further I could tell you, how that cryſtalline River Trent, like another Jordan, or that little River Line, like that Brook Kydron, trilling down by the foot, and as it were waſhing the toes of that Hieruſalem, do ſport their ſtreams in the laps of thoſe Virgins meadows, whoſe beds (without a metaphor) are green, over whom this fair Town ſits as the delicate Spectatreſs, ſmiling upon the ſcene, while the hills crowd upon her ſhoulders, as if over them they would ſteal a ſight of thoſe Valley delightfull pleaſures: and to conclude, like another Hieruſalem, at what a diſtance does Shee preſent to the gazing traveller a ſtately and majeſtick Aſpect? upon whoſe fore-head, as upon a Jewiſh frontlet in Capital letters, ſeems to be written that of the Pſalmiſt, Walk about this Zion, mark well her bulwarks, conſider her palaces, that yee may tell it to the generation following, &c.
But why loſe wee time in ſpoiling the goodly face, and native beauty of that Town and Countrey, by the vain depictions of fooliſh Art? thoſe that are doubtfull of the truth of theſe things, have ſuch an37 anſwer ready, as ſometimes incredulous Nathanael received from non-plus't Philip about the perſon of Chriſt in the firſt of John, Let them go and ſee. But here (Sirs) lies not our buſineſs, which is at this time to indeavour, that as God was in Judah, and Hieruſalem, ſo hee may be the God of our Countreymen, and their guide unto death. But (alas, Sirs!) as the ignorance of God in many parts of our Countrey, has formerly been too apparent, and much lamented; So now in theſe dayes of light, and reformation, ſo call'd, 'tis ſad to hear of thoſe monſters in Religion, I mean the Seekers, Ranters, and Quakers, how they have over-ſpred the beautifull face thereof. Juſt as the Sun, when hee diſplaies his pleaſant ſpring beams upon Orchards, and Gardens, and thinking thereby to warm, and draw forth the fruits of the earth for the comfort of man: then do the ſnakes, adders, and ſuch poiſonfull creatures come forth of their holes, turning up their bellies, and beaking themſelves in the ſweet beams thereof; So hath this Vermin crept abroad in our Countrey, to the diſparagement of the light of the glorious Goſpel of Chriſt ſhining on them: and though 'tis out of queſtion that the Divel, and the Jeſuite is at the bottom, yet many well meaning people, that both ſome of you, and I know, are led away with thoſe pernicious errors, who are to be pitied, and for whom wee ſhould have continual ſorrow in our hearts, for theſe our Kinſmen (as the Apoſtle ſpeaks) according to the fl•ſh, that have a zeal of God,Rom. 10. but not according to knowledge.
38I need not tell you that the ſoul of man is a precious thing, and the loſs thereof ſad in any Countrey: Yet mee thinks in the aguiſh parts of Kent, and Eſſex, where I have ſeen ſometimes a whole Pariſh ſick together, the ſouls that miſcarry thence, ſeem but to go from Purgatory to Hell; But thoſe that periſh out of Nottingham-ſhire, go from Heaven to Hell; And Thou Capernaum that art exalted to heaven, ſhalt be cast down to hell; and as ſometimes when that mighty tyrant Nebuchadnezzar fell, the nations flocked together,Iſa. 14.10, 14. and wondering ſaid, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble? that did ſhake Kingdomes? Art thou alſo weak as wee? Art thou become like one of us? So, when a ſoul miſcarries out of Nottingham-ſhire, mee thinks in melancholy Viſions, I ſee thoſe Infernal Spirits flocking about it, and ſaying, What art thou fallen from thine Excellencie? Art thou come from thoſe pleaſant mountaines to theſe Stygian Lakes? from that Lightſom, and ambitious Air to theſe darkſom Cells? Art thou alſo weak as wee? Art thou become like one of us?
The ſerious conſideration of theſe things ha's put mee upon a plain practical Sermon, lately delivered to my people in the Countrey; which God grant may be preached more to your hearts, than eares; and that I may (though the unworthieſt of Gods Servants) be as a guide this day to lead you from your earthly, to that Hieruſalem that is above; and from your pleaſant Ur of the Chaldees to the Land of Canaan, to that Countrey, and thoſe Cities39 that have foundations, whoſe builder and maker is God, and whoſe rock is Chriſt.
This is life eternal (ſayes S. John) to know thee the onely true God, and him whom thou haſt ſent; and therefore have I taken a Text which holds out to you the knowledge, both of the Father and the Son, and that in the moſt excellent, and ſaving act, that ever was done for the children of men.
THeſe words do contain that eternal Covenant which was made between God the Father, and the Son, for the redemption of mankinde, wherein you have the Work, and the Wages.
40The work, or what Chriſt was to do, or rather ſuffer, was death, When hee ſhall lay down his ſoul an offering for ſin.
The wages is laid down in the latter part of the verſe, in theſe three particulars: Firſt, hee ſhall ſee his Seed; Secondly, Hee ſhall prolong his dayes; Thirdly, The pleaſure of the Lord ſhall proſper in his hand. Theſe two I ſhall open a little to you, and firſt of the firſt.
Wee reade in the verſe before the Text, it is ſaid, that hee had done no violence, neither was there deceit in his mouth, yet it pleaſed the Lord to bruiſe him. This was ſtrange, yet, that a juſt, and a righteous God ſhould greatly delight (for ſo the word ſignifies) to bruiſe an innocent perſon. 〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉All that I can ſay to it is, that the heart of God was ſo ſet towards mankinde to ſave it, that it became unto him a very pleaſant thing to limit his own Son in order to that ſalvation. But leſt that God, while hee is thus mercifull unto man, ſhould ſeem cruel to his Son, there are two things in the text, which clear up the juſtice of God. The firſt is, that it was done with his own conſent; and therefore it is read by ſome Tranſlations, Si poſuerit animam pro peccato. If hee will lay down his ſoul an offering for ſin. Et volenti non fit injuria. Secondly, that hee ſhould not be without ſome remuneration for this work; for hee ſhall ſee his ſeed, prolong his dayes, and the pleaſure of the Lord ſhall proſper in his hand.
If hee will lay down his ſoul, &c.
41May ſome man ſay, was it a queſtion? did God the Father, or did the Prophet that writ this, doubt of this thing? No, beloved, but it is uſuall to expreſs the great Acts of Chriſt the Mediatour by an If, thus ſpeaking of his death ſayes he, If I be lifted up I ſhall draw all men after me. Of his aſcenſion,Jo. 12.32. If I go, it is to prepare a place for you. Jo. 14.3.Non contingentium eventus, ſed conditionem pacti certis ſimè implendi ſignificat, ſayes one very well: which manner of expreſſion doth not ſignifie the contingency of the event, but points out the nature of a covenant. Thus much of the firſt. The next thing which is the wages promiſed, is in three things; firſt; he ſhall ſee his ſeed: which is a Metaphor drawn from plants, which being ripe, do ſcatter their ſeed for the propagation of their kind; thus from one grain of wheat ſown, doth ariſe up a whole eare, which being ſown again thence ariſes many more, till a whole barne is filled with the increaſe of one corn. Chriſt was that grain of wheat caſt into the ground, and dying, hath brought forth a plentifull crop of Chriſtians; this expreſſion therefore doth import the plenty of the Chriſtian Church. Now the Analogy holds in theſe particulars.
Firſt, as one corne brings forth many; ſo from one Chriſt hath ſprung up many Chriſtians.
Secondly, as the ſeed that comes up is ſpecifically the ſame with that that was ſown, and is ſo like it, both without and within, that it cannot be diſtinguiſhed from it; ſo are Chriſtians like unto Chriſt without, and are therefore ſaid to be conformed to42 his Image, within, ſaith the Apoſtle, Little Children of whom I travel in birth, till Chriſt be formed in you? Thirdly, as the ſeed ſown, though it be pure ſeed, there ariſes up with it many weeds, as Poppy, May-weed, Tinetare, Cattailes, &c. Which on the one hand either ſtarve, or on the other burn up the ſeed. So in the Church of Chriſt are there many weeds of prophane Perſons, on the one hand, and Hereticks on the other, which much injure the Church; for where God hath his Church, the Devill will have his Chappel: Maſter (ſaith he) didst thou not ſow good ſeed in thy Feild?Mat. 13.27. whence then are the tares? Why ſayes he, the evil one hath done it.
Fourthly, Though the Seed be ſown pure Seed, cleared and winnowed, or ſcreened from all chaffe, and rubbiſh; yet it grows up with ſtalk, eare, ſpire, and, blade mufled as it were about with chaffe; So though Chriſt was a pure Corn, yet that Seed, thoſe Chriſtians that ſpring from him, grow up with ſtalk, ſpire, and blade; that is, with ſinfull corruptions, blades indeed that war againſt the ſoule, which is invelloped and ſet round about with infirmities. Heb. 12.1.Not to be too Poſtillous.
Laſtly, Seed is of a perpetuating nature; As we ſee from the creation of the World to this day, there is nothing of thoſe vegitables loſt, which God created at firſt; becauſe every thing hath a Seed, a ſtring, or ſhadow, whereby it doth propagate its kind. So is it with the Seed of Chriſt, which never did, not never ſhall fail totally, from the beginning of the World to the end thereof; and though the Archers43 have ſhot at this Joſeph, and ſorely wounded him, yet hath his bowe abode in ſtrength,Gen. 49. •3. and thus, Sanguis Martyrum eſt Semen Eccleſiae; the blood of the Martyrs hath been the Seed of the Church.
Secondly, He ſhall prolong his dayes. Some men may ſay, how is that poſſible that he that was Eternall with his Father ſhould have his dayes prolonged? This phraſe therefore is ſpoken to Chriſt as Mediatour,Iſaiah 9.6. alluding to the Seed of Abraham under the Jewiſh Pedagogy, which worſhipped God under divers Shadows, Ceremonies, and carnal Ordinances for a time; Now ſaith God, if thou wilt dye,Heb. 9.10. thou ſhalt pur an end to thoſe ſhadows, and ſhalt have a people to worſhip thee in Spirit, and in truth to the end of the World, and from thence to eternity. Burnt offerings and ſacrifice thou wouldſt not have, but a body thou haſt prepared me. Pſal. 40.6.
Thirdly, The pleaſure of the Lord ſhall proſper in his hand: Which is, the work of mans redemption ſhall certainly be accompliſhed; the ſame thing for which it is ſaid, It pleaſed the Lord to bruiſe him, &c. This is that which is meant by that which Chriſt almoſt every where expreſſeth; He was come to do not his own will, but the will, and pleaſure of his Father: And hence it is that he ſaid, He had not loſt one that his Father had given him, but the Son of Perdition. And thoſe laſt words of his, when he gave up the Ghoſt, Conſummatum eſt, it is finiſhed, 'tis done,Jo. 17.12. 'tis done.
Theſe words thus opened, you ſee the higheſt Mercy, and the higheſt Juſtice kiſſing each other;44 Juſtice, in that man having finned, man muſt ſuffer, though it be the Son of God;Rom. 3.25. That he might be juſt, and the juſtifier of him that believes in Jeſus: Mercy every word in the Text is big withall, as David ſaid, Thy mercy is over all thy works:Pſal. 145.9. even as oyle that being put into milk, or wine, or water, ſwims at the top, ſo mercy ſeems here to have got above juſtice, triumphing over it.
Firſt, It pleaſed the Lord, &c. It ſeems then there was no neceſſity in God to ſave man, only it was his pleaſure, ſo that the redemption of man is reſolved into the ſame accompt that his creation was;Rev. 4.11. for thy pleaſure they are, and they were created.
Secondly, It pleaſed the Lord. It ſeems then there was no previſed merit in man; nothing in man to attract the affections of a God to him, only it pleaſed the Lord.
Thirdly, to bruiſe; not by one blow to cruſh him, as Corn under the milſtone, but by a gradual death, to bruiſe, or pound him as Corn in a morter, as a man of ſorrows, to be worne away by degrees; by a living death, or a dying life; for ſo it is rendred, Conterere eum in infirmitate.
Fourthly, Him, viz. that was the Son of God. God has many Sons; ſome by creation, as the Angels; ſome by adoption, as the Saints; but he hath but one Son by generation, and this was he; ſo, God ſo loved the World,Jo. 3.16. that he gave his only begotten Son, &c.
Fiftly, His ſoul. Not only his body, but his ſoul; the greateſt part of mans ſin lay in his ſoul; and45 therefore his greateſt ſufferings were in his ſoul: or elſe what meant thoſe Grumi, thoſe great drops of blood? Why elſe ſo troubled? ſo heavy unto death? many Martyrs that have not had the thouſand part of his ſtrength, have gone to the place of execution, as to the bride chamber, kiſſing the chain, and ſtake, and hugging death (as it were) about the neck with joy; becauſe their ſufferings were only in the body, when their ſouls were comforted: the ſoul of Chriſts ſufferings was in his ſoul.
Sixtly, For ſin. Firſt, that he knew not. Secondly, that he hated. Thirdly, for ſin in the indefinite, that is, all ſin, none excepted. Hence it is that he was called a Winebibber, a friend of Publicans, a Traitor, a Conjurer, one that dealt with Divels; 'Tis true, unjuſtly by man, but juſtly by God; becauſe he had taken the ſins of ſuch miſcreants upon him: Mary Magdalen had ſeven Divels, and yet ſaved by Chriſt.
Laſtly, If you look upon all thoſe promiſes which the Father made to his Son, (viz.) He ſhall ſee his ſeed, prolong his dayes, and the pleaſure of the Lord ſhall proſper in his hand. Theſe I ſay deeply looked into, prove more redundant to the advantage of the Church, then of Chriſt himſelf; as if the Deity could look beſides it ſelf as the higheſt end, and was reſolved to make man the treaſury and the ſtore houſe of all his loves; which ſtupendious mercy the Angels are ſaid to ſtoop down (as the original bears it,1 Per. 1.19.) wiſhly to look into.
You ſee we have here a large Field; but my purpoſe is to point unto you only one plain propoſition,Doct.46 which you hear of every day (viz.) That the Lord Jeſus Chriſt hath laid down his ſoul an offring for the ſin of man, or Chriſt died for the ſins of his people.
That he died; is plain, or elſe, why did the Earth tremble? and why did the Sun hide his face, as if he was aſhamed to ſee what was done to the God of Nature? and why did the graves open, and the bodies of the dead ariſe, and walke up and down the holy City?
That he died for ſin, is as plain; for there is no death without ſin:Rom. 6.23. The wages of ſin is death.
That he died for the ſins of man, is ſtill as plain; for he had no ſin of his own: 'tis confeſt on all hands, that he had done no violence, neither was there deceit in his mouth. Eſay. 53.9.
That he died as an offering for ſin, is moſt apparent: I might give you an hundred Scriptures; but ſhall one for all; And walk in love as Chriſt hath loved you,Epheſ. 5.2. and hath given himſelf an offering, a ſweet ſmelling Savour. As if the Apoſtle ſhould ſay, before Chriſt died, all the World ſtunk in the noſtrils of God; ſuch ſtinking, and poyſon us vapours did the ſin of man ſend up to Heaven: but after Chriſt died, then was the Scene changed; the World began then to ſmell like the Spring of the year, of Hony-Suckles, and Violets, and Roſes: He gave himſelf an effering, a ſweet ſmelling Savour: And indeed he was the ſubſtance of all thoſe typical offerings, and Sacrifices, which were from the beginning of the World; for they were either of things without life,47 or things that had life; he anſwereth them all.
Things inanimate were either dry, or moiſt; if dry, as the ſhew bread, then it was broken in pieces (for an offering was ever the deſtruction of the thing offered) Thus Chriſt was broken; It pleaſed the Lord to bruiſe him, (ſaith the Text) This is my body that was broken for you: Things moiſt, thoſe were either wine,Mar. 26.26. or oyle, and they were poured out before the Lord; thus it is ſaid, that he poured out his ſoul unto death. Iſa. 12.53.
If of things that had life, then was the heart bloud taken from them; for without ſhedding of blond, there was no Remiſſion: Thus was Chriſt ſaid to be a Lamb ſlain from the beginning of the World:Heb. 9.22. Hence it is that John the Baptiſt upon the ſight of him ſaith,Rev. 13.8. Behold the Lamb of God,Jo. 1.29. that taketh away the ſins of the World.
The Lamb of God; why not the Bullock, the Goat, or the Ram, or the Calf of God? ſeeing all theſe were Sacrificeable Creatures; not onely becauſe (as ſome would have it) a Lamb for innocency, though that be true; nor onely as others, the ſubſtance of that typical anniverſary Lamb, the Paſcal Lamb; but becauſe the Lamb was the daily ſtanding Sacrifice of the Temple; every morning, and every evening through the year was there a Lamb Sacrificed at the Temple, as the ſtanding Propitiation for all Iſrael. Thus much for the Doctrinal part, We come now to the application.
Uſe 1If it be ſo, that Chriſt bath made his ſoul an Offering for ſin; then they do very ill that bring ſtrange Offerings to the Lord. What elſe do the48 Papiſts, when they tell us that a man may not onely merit for himſelf, but ſupererogate for others? and poor ignorant people amongſt our ſelves, who think to be ſaved by their good meaning, by their good thinking, and by their good ſerving of God, as they ſay; 'tis true, theſe are good things, and to be incouraged, but not truſted unto in point of juſtification. We are all,Iſa. 64.10. ſaith the Prophet, as an unclean thing, and our righteouſneſſes as filthy rags: our beſt actions are rags, but pieces of that perfection the Law requires, there is no whole cloth in them, they fail in their quantity: again they are filthy rags, polluted with original ſin, and ſo fall ſhort in their quality, and alas! how are theſe things to be truſted to?
It was the Law when any brought his ſacrifice unto God,Deu. 15.19, 21. verſ. He was to bring the firſtling male of the flock, but if it were halt, or lame, or blind, or had any blemiſh, he was not to offer it unto the Lord. What do theſe men do that truſt to their own works, but bring the halt, and the lame, and the blinde, when there is a firſtling male in the flock, whoſe ſoul was made an offering for ſin?
Uſe 2Was Chriſt made an offering for ſin, ſurely then there is no ſmall comfort for humbled ſinners? Hath the Lord affected thee with the ſence of ſin? Chriſtian look up to this offering!
It is with a man in the ſtate of ſin, as with one looking through a Proſpective Glaſs, while he looks at the wrong end, things that are great, and nigh, ſeem little, and afar off; but when he looks through49 the right end, then things appear in their dimenſions at the very end of the Glaſs: Juſt thus it is while a man is in the ſtate of ſin; though his ſins be great, yet they ſeem little, and afar off is the danger;Pſal. 10.5. verſ. Thy Judgements, ſaith David, ſpeaking of the wicked, are far out of his ſight: even as the Stars, though they be bigger then the Earth, ſeem, but by reaſon of their diſtance, like the ſnuffe of a Candle. But when a man begins to turn unto God, then thoſe ſins that formerly he hath accompted little, begin to appear in their dimenſions, and affrightingly to ſtare him in the face. Well Chriſtian, hath God turned the right end of the Proſpective to thee? hath he awakened thy Conſcience? hath he written ſuch bitter things againſt thy ſoul, that thou now beginneſt to read the ſins of thy youth upon the Curtains of thy bed, and upon the windows of thy houſe? I mean, that every Circumſtance puts thee in mind of thy ſinnings againſt the Lord.
What doſt thou ſee? above, an angry God; below, a gaping Hell; on the one hand Conſcience, on the other Satan to accuſe thee? O direct thine eyes to this offering, to this lambe of God; that is a beloved, and an onely begotten Son; ſlain for ſin in the indefinite; for all ſin, that thou maiſt receive comfort from him.
Ah Sir, ſaith the ſoul, I am a great ſinner; you know not what a ſinner I have been, and of how ſcarlet a dye my ſinnes are. Why Chriſtian, if thy ſinnes be great, this offering is ſo. Sure I am, they can be but Infinite; this offering is ſo. Ah but ſaith the ſoul, if I50 had but a promiſe that God did in particular belong to me, I could believe this offering able to take away my ſinne: Why Chriſtian, thou haſt all the promiſes that Abraham, David, and Daniel, and Paul, and Peter, and all thoſe bleſſed Creatures, are now ſet down in heaven by; thou haſt the ſame promiſes that Idolatrous Manaſſeh; perſecuting Saul, and diabolical Mary Magdalen, are carried to Heaven by. How particular wouldſt thou have the promiſes? This is my body which is broken for thee; what wouldſt thou have more? If thou doſt think Chriſt an hard-hearted Saviour, yet thou doſt not think him a fool; Is it imaginable thinkeſt thou, that he ſhould be at all this coſt and ſmart to redeem a ſoul, and then refuſe it when it comes unto him?
To conclude, meditate upon theſe two Scriptures, John 6.37. He that comes unto me, I will in no wiſe caſt out. John 17.37. In the laſt day, the great day of the feaſt, Jeſus ſtood and cryed, if any man thirſt, let him come unto me and drink.
Mark how emphatical theſe words are; in the laſt day, As if they were the laſt words that Chriſt ſhould ſpeak; the laſt words of a dying man are hearty words. The great day of the feaſt; That is, of the Tabernacles, when the Tribes were met in Jeruſalem, when there was a whole Kingdom in one City, Jeſus stood and cryed, at other times he uſed to ſit, and preach: But now he ſtood, and cryed; If any man thirſt,Luk. 5.3. let him come unto me and drink, &c. If any man, though a great ſinner, be he Jew or Gentile, Turk or Chriſtian; If he thirſt, without all reſtriction,51 without all limitation, Let him come unto me and drink.
Uſe 3If Chriſts ſoul was poured out for ſinne, it teacheth us then with what eye to look upon ſinne. Many poor ignorant people when they read the ſtory of Chriſts paſsion, how angry are they at that Traytor Judas? that cruel Pilate? thoſe hard-hearted miſcreants, the Jews, for putting ſo innocent a perſon to death? Alas Chriſtian! it was not Judas, it was not Pontius Pilate; but it was thy ſin, and my ſin, that procured it. Sin was that which put upon his head a Crown of Thornes, that ſpat upon his bleſſed face; the Spear that pierced his ſide, Sin was the nailes that faſtned him to the Croſs; what remaines then, but that he that loves the Lord Jeſus ſhould hate Iniquity? Nevertheleſs, ſaith the Apoſtle; the foundation of God abideth ſure;2 Tim. 2.13. let every one that nameth the name of Chriſt depart from iniquity. The like Scripture we have in the fifth of the Epheſians the 3 verſe, Let not fornication, uncleanneſs, &c. be once named amongſt you, as becometh Saints. Let it not be done amongſt you, is good counſel may ſome men ſay; nay let not it be once named amongſt you, as becometh Saints. It is ſaid of Alexander, That he had a Coward in his Army, whoſe name was Alexander; ſending for him ſaid, What? art thou Alexander, and a Coward? either change thy name, or thy nature; either be not a Coward, or be not Alexander. What? a Chriſtian, and a Whoremaſter, a Drunkard, a profane Swearer, & c? Non bene conveniunt nec in unâ ſede morantur; theſe things ſeem to be incompetible52 in the ſame ſubject, and inconſiſtent with that love which a Chriſtian profeſſeth to bear unto this Saviour that dyed for ſinne. If a woman having her husband murthered by an Aſſaſſinate, ſhould take that knife imbrued with the gore blood of her husbands heart, and kiſs it, and put it in her boſome, and ſay, this knife will I keep in my boſome all the dayes of my life; ſurely you would ſay this woman never loved her husband, was guilty of the blood of her husband; Thus the Apoſtle ſets forth the monſtrous nature of a wilful ſinner, Of how much ſorer puniſhment, ſaith he,Heb. 10.29. ſhall he be worthy of, who hath troden underfoot the Son of God, hath counted the blood of the Covenant an unholy thing, &c.
The Heathens, ſuch as Socrates and Cato, might by moral reaſons cauſe a ſtupefaction of their ſinnes; but the true mortification of ſinne ariſeth from the death of Chriſt; and certainly, no conſideration under heaven doth more prevail with a gracious heart then this.
I have ſome where met with a ſtory of five Chriſtians, who uſed to confer Notes about this point: ſayes the firſt, When I am tempted to ſin, I think of the ſhortneſs of life, and uncertainty of the time of death, and this makes me to live every day as if it were my laſt day.
This keeps me from ſinne, ſaith the ſecond, I think of the Anomy, Ataxy, that confuſion, darkneſſe, that is in ſinne, when I think of the great and glorious God, preſcribing a rule unto his Creatures, whoſe wil is nothing but reaſon for their good, giving them being,53 and well-being, that they might obſerve it: Now to ſee a man thus carried in Gods arms, to ſpit in his face, methinks it is ſuch an unthankful and unworthy thing that I cannot but hate it.
But ſaith the third, when I am tempted to ſinne, I think of the day of Judgement, and methinks I hear that voice of the Archangel, with that Father, alwaies ſounding in mine ears, ſurgite, & venite ad judicium, Ariſe ye dead and come to Judgment: and methinks I open the Caſements of Hell in my meditations, where I ſee Cain, and Judas. and Jeroboam the Son of Nebat, &c. and all thoſe children of perdition, in thoſe bloody flames out of extremity of torments, curſing the day of their birth, the God that made them, and the womb that bore them, and the breaſts that gave them ſuck, this makes me afraid to ſin againſt him.
Saith the fourth, I think of the Joyes of Heaven; methinks there I ſee meek Moſes, faithful Abraham, patient Iob, &c. and all thoſe children of bleſſedneſs, that by faith and obedience do now inherit the promiſes; And this doth wean my ſoul from ſin. Theſe are all good Conſiderations.
But ſaith the laſt, which is beſt of all: when I am tempted to ſinne, I go up to Mount Calvary, and there methinks I ſee a ſweet Saviour hanging upon the Croſs, ſtretching out his Arms to Jew and Gentile, as if he would graſp in all the world to ſalvation; There methinks I ſee his bloody temples, hands, ſide, and feet; There I ſee him ſweating, and ſighing, bleeding, and crying, and dying under the weight of my ſins: Oh ſaith he, this is ſuch heart-conquering54 love, that I know not how to ſinne againſt it. This is that kindly repentance which God hath promiſed to his people;Zach. 10.10. Hoſ. 14.8. That they ſhall look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn for him as an onely Son: When repenting Ephraim ſhall ſee this, he ſhall ſay, What have I to do any more with Idols?
If Chriſt hath given himſelfe an offering for us, why then ſhould not we give up our ſelves an offering for him? 4thly.It is but reaſonable ſervice, ſaith the Apoſtle, as reaſonable as an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth;Rom. 12.1. but alas! men are very delatory about this work. The Covetous perſon ſaith, Let him but obtain an Eſtate of ſo many thouſand pounds, then he will repent, and turn to Chriſt: The voluptuous, would reſerve one ſeven years longer to enjoy the pleaſures of ſinne; and then he will offer himſelfe to Chriſt. Moſt men defer this to old age, and death; but conſider with thy ſelfe Chriſtian, hath Chriſt made it his firſt work to dye for thee? and wilt thou make it thy laſt work to come to him? Hath he given himſelf to death for thee? and wilt thou not give up thy ſelfe to life for him? Do but conſider the Advantages that thou wilt have by this Act: Many are the expreſſions in Scripture, which ſet forth the relation betwixt Chriſt and his Church: But there is none wherein the Spirit of God more delights, then that of marriage. Now there are three things (to name no more) which a woman that is well married receives from her husband.
Firſt, There is an exemption from all her Debts. 55If ſo be ſhe was five thouſand pounds in debt before and the Bayliffs come and arreſt her, ſhe tels them, that ſhe is not reſponſible, ſhe is now under Covert Baron; and that lis feminae non intenditur, is a maxime in the Law. Thus a believer pleads againſt his ſins, when Satan, and Conſcience come to arreſt him; Its true ſaith he, I was Gods debtor, but now my condition is changed; truly I am not reſponſible, I am under the coverture of the Lord Jeſus: Go ſin, Go Devil to him that is my ſpiritual husband, to him that hath lead captivity captive, and that is now ſet down at the right hand of God; he will pay you every groat, or elſe he will ſhew you thoſe acquittances that he took out for my ſin at his reſurrection. Bleſsed is the man (ſaith David,)Pſalm. 32.1. to whom the Lord imputes no ſin. He doth not ſay, to him that hath no ſin: for there is not ſuch a man in the World; but the man to whom the Lord imputes no ſin.
Secondly, A Wife partakes of all the honours, and riches of her husband: firſt the husband is the fountain of honour to the wife; if the husband be a King, ſhe is a Queen; a Marqueſs, ſhe is a Marchioneſs; a Knight, ſhe is a Lady, &c. Thus what Chriſt is in point of honour, his people are. What was the native honour of Chriſt, but to be the Son of God? why ſo are they; Beloved ſaith th' Apoſtle,1 Joh. 3.2. We are now the Sons of God, though it doth not appear what we ſhall be, &c. Though we be not glorified Sons, yet we are Sons as truly as he. What honour had Chriſt by Office? why he was a Prieſt, a Prophet, a King: ſo are they; Who hath waſht us in his blood,Rev. 1.5.6. and hath made us56 Kings and Prieſts unto his Father, &c. And that not in a metaphorical, but a real ſence, for every good man is a King; he hath got ſome victory over his corruptions, Et fortior eſt qui ſe, quam qui fortiſſima vincit maenia, he is a ſtronger King that conquereth himſelf, then he that conquereth a City; and he is a Prieſt, he can pray unto God for himſelf, family, friends, neighbours, &c. and God hears him.
Again, he is inſtated in all the riches of Chriſt; As where the husband hath a ſhilling, there the wife can ſay, is her ſix pence or groat for her benefit; the riches of Chriſt I have not time to open to you, temporal, ſpiritual, eternal. They would require a large diſcourſe; onely take one place of Scripture, which is the magna Charta of a Chriſtian;1 Cor. 3.22.23. Whether Paul, or Apollo, or Cephas, or the World, or life, or death, or things preſent, or things to come, all things are yours, and you are Chriſts, and Chriſts is Gods.
There was a difference amongſt the Corinthians about their Preachers, ſome was for Paul, Paul ſay they was a moſt excellent Preacher, that Preached in the evidence and demonſtration of the Spirit of God;1 Cor. 2.4. Acts 18.24. But ſayes another ſort we like Apollo beſt, for he is a Rhetorical man, and mighty in the Scriptures, and he worked the beſt upon our affections; but ſaith the third we are for Cephas, he is an excellent Caſuiſt, and he reſolves our doubts the beſt; Why ſaith the Apoſtle, will you like Children divide your own, they are but your Chaplains; Chaplains might the Corinthian, ſay, theſe are fit to be Chaplains57 to the greateſt Emperours in the World; why? ſaith he, the World is yours, whether Paul, or Apollo, or Cephas, or the World, &c. but what good will the World do us (might the Corinthians ſay) if we cannot live to enjoy it? why (ſaith he) life is yours. But what good will the World do us when we come to dye? why (ſaith he) death is yours, that is for your advantage; but what will become of us after we are dead? All things to come (ſaith he) are yours: But might theſe Corinthians ſay, bleſſed Apoſtle, ſhew us the writings and the conveyances of this eſtate; tell us, how we hold it, that we may not live upon fanſies, and build Caſtles in the aire: why ſayes he, you-hold in Capite, you hold of the Heir apparent of Heaven, and Earth; for you are Chriſts, and Chriſt is Gods: the Argumentation ſeems to run thus, you know Corinthians, that God hath all things; well, that's true; you know that Chriſt is Gods Son and Heir, and therefore he hath all things; well, that is true alſo; and you are Chriſts ſpouſe, and therefore for your good, you have all things.
The third, and laſt thing is, Thoſe Comforts that flow from their Union with Chriſt. As a woman that loves her Husband, receives more joy from the perſonall fellowſhip and acquaintance with him, then from all his Eſtate beſides; ſo great are the Comforts that are received from Chriſt; which muſt needs be inexpreſſible, ſeeing the union from whence they flow is ſo great, that the moſt gracious and learned men in the world do not fully underſtand it in this life, which appears by that ſpeech of Chriſt to his58 people. Matth. 25.34, 35.Come ye bleſſed of my father, for I was an hungry, and ye gave me meat; I was naked, and you cloathed me; I was ſick, and you viſited me. Then ſhall the righteous anſwer, when did we ſee thee hungry, naked, or ſick, and viſited thee? As if they ſhould ſay, we confeſs Lord, that we have ſeen thy poor people hungry, naked, and ſick, and we relieved them; but did we do it to thee? to very thee? Yes, ſaith Chriſt, you did it to me, to very me; you have not yet underſtood the near relation that is betwixt them, and me; for in that you have viſited them, you viſited me, &c.
To conclude all, as the Love and Care of a friend or Father ſheweth it ſelfe moſt towards death, ſo we find the heart of Chriſt how it ſtood towards his people in that famous prayer before his death; That they all may be one,John 17.21, 22, 23. as thou father art in me, and I in thee; and the glory which thou gaveſt me, I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one: that the World may know, that thou haſt ſent me; and haſt loved them, as thou haſt loved me. See here what variety of expreſſions is uſed; thou in them, and I in them; and thou in me, and I in thee; backward, and forward; as if no one expreſſion was able to ſet forth this Union. Me think this is like the ſpeech of ſome young Heir, that having taken a wife againſt his fathers conſent, brings her in his hand to him, and ſaies, Sir, I confeſs this woman is below me in birth, breeding, portion, &c. But I have ſet my heart upon her, and have taken her for my wife, now good59 Sir, as ever you hope to have comfort of your Son, that you will own her as your Daughter, elſe what good will my life do me? That the ſame lodging, diet, reſpect, attendance, may be given to her, that is given to me; and that ſhe may as truly in all reſpects be taken for your Daughter, as you have taken me for your Son; and that not privately onely, but that all the Servants of the Houſe, and all the Tenants may ſee, that you have loved her, as you have loved me; that all the World, ſaith Chriſt, may ſee that thou haſt loved them, as thou haſt loved me. I have done, the Lord give a bleſſing.
The Everlaſting Covenant.
As it was Delivered in a Sermon at St Paul's, before the Gentlemen and Citizens of Nottinghamſhire, upon the 2d of December, 1658.
Being the Day of their Yearly Feaſt.
By Marmaduke James, Miniſter of Watton at Stone, in the County of Hertford.
LONDON. Printed by J. M. for J. Martin, J. Alleſtry, T. Dicas, and ſold at their Shop at the Signe of the Bell, in St Paul's Churchyard, 1659.
THe firſt of theſe Sermons being Copied out the laſt Year for the Preſs, after ſerious peruſal, the Requeſt for publication ſeemed to flow rather from a good opinion of, then any real worth I found therein: and further, being diſcouraged by this fooliſh, and Voluminous Age, wherein every man almoſt (abounding in his own ſenſe) if the product of his thoughts amount but to the worth of an Egg, is reſtleſs till he cackles it to the Preſs; the abhorrency from which practiſe did make abortive that Intention.
Yet afterwards being wearied with the many Why-nots both of City, and Countrey Acquaintance; I almost repented the retracted purpoſe; and beginning to reflect upon the Mode of the Times, found my ſelf in an errour, if the Directions of that Wiſe Man of France to his Scholar be true,Charron. to wit, That 'tis a great point of Wiſdom, moſt preciſely to obey the Cuſtoms of the place and age wherein we live, to prevent miſpriſion and popular diſdain, however irrational they may ſeem to us.
And truly Gentlemen, if you could read that honour I bear You in my heart, You would eaſily believe your Entreaty to have the force of a Command upon me, though it were to much inconvenience: yet in the circumſtance give me leave ingeniouſly to tell you, that I chuſe much more gladly to embrace the motion of the Preſs, then to endure the ſhock of another years Interrogatories; and the rather, becauſe I have not found, either ſince the revival of your late Meetings, or in times before their adjournment by unhappy War, any thing extant from our Country of this nature ▪ which preſumes the Virtues, and Beauties thereof are not ordinary, in that that comly Dame, and keeper of the virtues, Modeſty I mean, hath hitherto been ſo ſtrangely prevalent.
For the last, my notice (through failed expectation) being ſmall, and ſecular diverſions then upon me great, gave but one free day to recollect my ſelf: and I truſt a good interpretation will be admitted, in that this Goſpel-Text (ſeeing Neceſſity hath no Law) at that pinch was ready; otherwiſe a Text calculated for all the Countries under heaven.
Plainly as it was Preached, you have it Printed, without any alteration, ſave only the particulars in the Analogie of the ſeed; which was then named, but the proſecution nipped off by the coldneſs of the ſeaſon: Wherein you have, as from the Father, the higheſt contrivance of heaven to be at peace with man: ſo from the Son, an example of eternal admiration, in the acts and ſufferings of his love to effectuate that Deſign for you. There ſeems to remain nothing more, but that you in a double ſence Brethren, after the exemplar of this love, may learn to love one another: and to the end that the great acts of this love, both of the Father, and the Son, may be ſealed to your ſouls by his holy Spirit, Let all bitterneſs, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil ſpeaking be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another; even as God for Chriſt ſake hath forgiven you. That ye may be united and carried together in the bonds and arms of that laſt-born,1 Cor. 13.13. but never dying Grace, to your heavenly Country: where her twin-ſiſters, Faith, and Hope ſhall ceaſe, but that of Love abide for ever: Which is the hearty Prayer of him that is your moſt humble and faithful Servant and Countryman in the work of the Goſpel,
THis Pſalm is the moſt excellent Pſalm of David: excellent for the length of it, conſiſting of ſo many Octonaries, or parts, as there are letters in the Hebrew Alphabet; excellent for the matter of it, all the parts of verſes thereof conſpiring with one conſent to ſet out the dignity of the Law of God; And indeed there ſeems to have been all divine frames upon Davids heart when he writ this Pſalm: Sometimes we find him in ſuch raptures, as if he was already ſet down in glory; ſometimes proſtrate upon the earth in humble and penitential confeſſions of ſin, and deprecations againſt them; ſometimes wee finde him upon his legs, looking backward and forward; forward, telling us what hee would do for time to come, Having ſworn, I will perform it,Pſal. 119.106. that I will keep thy righteous Judgments; backward, telling us what hee had done in times paſt, to which this verſe is to be referred, Thy Teſtimonies have I taken, &c.
Theſe words contain Davids profeſſion of that2 high eſteem hee had of Gods teſtimonies, and the reaſon thereof; the profeſsion in the former part of the verſe, Thy teſtimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever; the reaſon in the latter part of the verſe, for they are the rejoycing of my heart.
The firſt of theſe which is Davids profeſsion, my purpoſe is to open to you, as the doctrinal part; the other, in the application of our diſcourſe.
The firſt which is Davids profeſsion, is one intire propoſition, in which wee have, as in every propoſition, theſe two things conſiderable: Firſt the ſubject or matter treated of, which is in the word Teſtimonies, ſet forth by their relation unto God, Thy Teſtimonies.
The ſecond, is the predicate, or that which is ſpoken of that ſubject, that is the word Heritage, ſet forth by its duration, An heritage for ever.
And firſt of the firſt: This word Teſtimonies is that that is ſometimes called, The Word of the Lord, The Way of the Lord,Pſal. 139.9. The Will of the Lord; ſometimes,Pſal. 143.10. Pſal. 119.1. The Law of the Lord, The Commandements of the Lord; ſometimes, The Fear of the Lord, The Statutes of the Lord,Pſal. 119.6. Pſal. 19.9. The Judgments of the Lord; ſometimes,Pſal. 119.8. The Teſtimonies of the Lord. And it is obſervable,Pſal. 119.13. that though there be an hundred threeſcore and ſixteen verſes in this Pſalm, yet there is not above two of them wherein one of theſe nine words is not named.
Some one may ſay,Object. What's the reaſon that David ſhould uſe ſo many words to expreſs one and the ſame thing? Frustrà fit per plura quod fieri poteſt3 per pauciora, ſaith the Philoſopher.
Truly (Sirs) I know not what better anſwer to give,Anſw. than that it is the property of Love to give ſeveral Epithets to the object beloved: thus when Chriſt was in love with his Spouſe; Thou art,Cant. 5.2. ſaith hee, my fair One, my Love, my Dove, my undefiled,Cant. 6.1, 10. terrible as an Army with banners. Thou art my fair One; I, but what if ſhee be fair, if ſhee be not chaſt? Thou art my undefiled; but what if ſhee be fair, and chaſt, if ſhee be a ſcold, a vexſome? I, but thou art my Dove, without all gall, without all bitterneſs; but what if ſhe be a Dove, if ſhe have never ſo much meekneſs, if that ariſe only from flegmacy and baſeneſs of temper, that ſhee is ſola ſocordia innocens; no, ſhee is full of ſpirit, life, and majeſty, ſhee is terrible as an Army with banners. Thus as Chriſt delights himſelf with various titles, to ſet forth the ſeveral excellencies of his Church, ſo it is with David; his heart is ſo in love with theſe Teſtimonies, that hee knowes not what to call them, Statutes, Lawes, Commandements, Judgments, &c. Sometimes when hee conſiders of them, in regard of the Author, the great God, from whence they came; thus hee calls them, The Word of the Lord, The Way of the Lord, The Will of the Lord; when hee conſiders the divine ſoveraignty that they have over all Gods rational Creatures, Angels and Men; thus hee calls them, The Law of the Lord, the Commandements of the Lord; when hee conſiders that great reſpect and reverence that a gracious heart yields unto them, thus hee calls them, The fear of the Lord; when hee4 conſiders their ſtability, and duration, as thoſe things which God hath ratified for ever; thus they are called, The Statutes of the Lord; when hee conſiders that great deciſion, and determination, that they ſhall make at the laſt day concerning the quick and the dead, thus hee calls them, The Judgments of the Lord; and laſt of all, conſidering that teſtification that theſe make concerning God and man, as I ſhall ſhew you by and by, thus they are called, The Teſtimonies of the Lord; Thy Teſtimonies have I taken, &c.
It is obſervable, that David delights more in this word than in any of the reſt, and by theſe Teſtimonies is meant the Word of God at large, but more ſtrictly the Moral Law, or the Law of the Ten Commandements. You know, when God gave the Law, he writ it upon two Tables of ſtone, and thoſe two Tables are called,Exod. 31.18. The Tables of the Teſtimony: Then God took thoſe Tables of ſtone, and put them into an Ark,Exod. 25.22. and that was called, The Ark of the Teſtimony; Then God took that Ark, and put that Ark into a Tabernacle,Num. 1.50. and that Tabernacle was called, The Tabernacle of the Teſtimony; ſo that this was ſo famous a Teſtimony, that it calls every thing Teſtimony that toucheth it, and gives a denomination to every thing that comes nigh unto it; and it may be well called a Teſtimony,
Becauſe it was delivered with a Witneſs: when God came down upon Mount Sinai,Exod 20.29. the mountain ſmoked, and the earth trembled, and there was great thundering, and lightening, and the ſound of the5 trumpet, and hundred of thouſands of people that fled from it, ſaying, Let us not come near him, leſt wee die.
It may well be called the Teſtimonie; Becauſe as it teſtifies the perfection, and the holineſs of Gods will for ever, ſo alſo the Word of God witneſſeth the ſeveral Attributes of God unto the world; the book of Geneſis is a Teſtimony of Gods power, in making the world of nothing; his Juſtice, in drowning the world with water; his mercy, in ſaving Noah and his family, &c.
The book of Exodus is a Teſtimony of that curious and ſtupendious providence, that God exerciſed over his Church, in bringing her out of Egypt through the red ſea, and that vaſt howling wilderneſs into the land of Canaan, and ſo of the reſt.
It is called Teſtimony, in regard of that comfortable or diſmal report it ſhall make for us, or againſt us, at the laſt day: Whoſoever ſhall not receive you,Mark 6.11. nor hear my words, ſhake off the dust off your feet for a Teſtimony againſt them: and thus have wee diſpatched the firſt thing propounded, What is meant by Teſtimonies, and why ſo called.
Wee now come to the ſecond, which is the predicate, or what is ſaid of theſe Teſtimonies, that is, they are An heritage for ever; yet before wee come to that, wee may a little take notice of the copulation of theſe two together, in that word taken, which ſome read choſen, both the lections being emphatical enough to Davids purpoſe.
If the firſt, I have taken thy Teſtimonies, then6 thus, as if David ſhould have ſaid, I perceive the Lord hath a minde to give theſe bleſſed Teſtimonies to his Church, the greateſt gift that ever hee ſhall beſtow, except it be the Meſſiah to come, and ſeeing that the Lord hath a heart to give, for my part I am reſolved to have a hand to take, I have taken thy Teſtimonies: or thus, I have choſen thy Teſtimonies; As if hee ſhould ſay, The Lord hath laid before mee two excellent things: Here are my Crowns and Kingdoms on the one hand, and his Teſtimonies on the other; and if hee would put mee to my choice which I ſhould chuſe, and which refuſe, incomparably have I choſen his Teſtimonies as an heritage for ever.
An Inheritance.
This is the higheſt expreſsion almoſt that David could uſe, to teſtifie his reſpect to theſe Teſtimonies; hee had been a long time lifting and heaving at an expreſsion, but did never hit it till now: In his younger time (I ſuppoſe it was that) hee compares it to hony,Pſal. 19. and the hony-comb; Sweeter are they alſo than the honey and the hony-comb: hony is a fine thing, but money is better; money buy will hony, and ſugar, and a hundred things more; money anſwers all things; now David goes a little higher, and compares it to ſilver, but ſilver may be droſsie,Pſal. 12.6. ſeven times purified in the fire: I, but there is a finer thing than ſilver, and that is gold;Pſal. 19.10. why, faith hee, It is much more to be deſired than gold, yea than fine gold: I, but yet there is a finer thing than Gold, that is, Diamonds, Pearls, and Rubies, They are more precious than Rubies;Prov. 3.15. but yet ſuppoſe7 a man hath ſilver, and gold, and rubies, yet hee may not have all riches; there are Cattel, Camels, Horſes, Sheep, and Oxen, theſe were the ancient riches of the world,Pſal. 119.14. I have rejoyced in the way of thy Commandements above all riches. But yet there is one ſort of riches that is the ſweeteſt of all riches, that is ſpoil; when a ſouldier overcomes his enemy, and hath the pillage of the field, or falls into a Garriſon and takes the plunder thereof, this is of all riches the ſweeteſt; for here is a double luſt ſatisfied at once, not only Covetouſneſs, but Revenge,Pſal. 119.162. Thy Word have I rejoyced in more than in all ſpoil. But yet (Sirs) ſuppoſe a man hath ſilver, and gold, and pearls, and diamonds, and all riches, and all ſpoil: Suppoſe a private man ſhould arrive to an eſtate of twenty, thirty, forty, fifty thouſand pound; Pray (Sir) ſaith hee, can you help mee to a purchaſe, I would fain have an Inheritance? Alas! theſe things may be taken from mee in a night, I would fain turn my perſonal into a real eſtate, have an Inheritance ſettled upon mee to deſcend to my poſterity after mee; now David is come to the heighth of what a mortal man could expreſs, Thy Teſtimonies have I taken as mine Inheritance for ever. An Inheritance then is that ſummum totale, that dimenſum, that lot, that portion, or proportion of eſtate a man enjoyes in this world, whether it be bequeathed by gift, or deſcend by ſucceſsion, this wee call an Inheritance: now God, who hath given the world to the children of men as an Inheritance, hath reſerved a ſpecial ſpiritual portion for his people; in alluſion to which it is called, An8 Inheritance, which is no leſs than heaven, and glory, and that it might be ſure to them, hee hath conveyed it all manner of wayes.
Hee hath decreed it for them, In whom wee have obtained an inheritance being predestinated. Epheſ. 1.11.
Hee hath bequeathed it to them by will. Fear not little Flock,Luke 12.32. it is your Fathers will to give you a Kingdom.
It deſcends to them by ſucceſsion, and therefore they are ſaid to be born, and to be begotten to it; That hath begotten us to an inheritance incorruptible. 1 Pet. 1.4, 5.Hence it is that all the children of God are ſaid to be the firſt-born; there is no yonger brothers in heaven, to every ſon hee alloweth the liberty and the priviledge of primogeniture to the general Aſſembly and Church of the first-born. Heb. 12.22.
I,Object. but ſome will ſay, What is all this to our purpoſe: wee know indeed that heaven is a glorious inheritance; if David had ſaid, The kingdom of heaven O Lord, the kingdom of thy Glory, I have taken for an inheritance, that might be eaſily underſtood, but that hee ſhould ſay, Thy Teſtimonies are my inheritance, that wee cannot underſtand?
It is true indeed,Anſw. that heaven is the actual inheritance of Gods people, but it is as true, that the Word of God is their virtual inheritance; theſe teſtimonies are the deeds that convey this inheritance, and how ordinary is it amongſt men to call ſuch the inheritance? If one of you come with a breviat to a Lawyer, and hee be diſſatisfied in any thing, Pray (Sir) ſaith hee. will you ſhow mee the9 inheritance, that is, the main deeds that leads to the inheritance: and we know that many times theſe old duſty moth-eaten papers are as much worth as a whole Country: Now an inheritance doth but theſe two things.
It diſcovers the eſtate, what quantity of acres, the butting and bounding, &c.
It doth convey, make over, and aſſure the ſaid Land to ſuch and ſuch a perſon, and to his Heirs after him. Juſt thus doth the Word of God, it diſcovers heaven and glory unto us; it is the terrier of the celeſtial Canaan, it holds out all that bliſs, happineſs, and glory that is treaſured up there for the children of bleſſedneſs, that exemption that is there from ſin, ſorrows, temptations, tribulations, perſecutions, &c.
It conveys and aſſures all the eſtate unto them, inſomuch there was never any childe of God could ever lay claim to God, Chriſt, to the Spirit, to Grace, to Glory, but by theſe Teſtimonies: Hence David knew what he ſaid,Pſal. 19.11. Moreover by them is thy ſervant warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward: That reward is no leſs then Heaven it ſelf: Hence it is that the Word is ſo often called The Goſpel of the Kingdom: Yea, The Kingdom of heaven it ſelf: Repent,Mat. 4.23.Mat. 24.14. for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand:Mat. 4.17. The Kingdom of God is come unto you. Hence Paul,Luk. 10.9. when he bids farewel to the Miniſters of Miletus, I commend you, ſaith he, to God, and the Word of his grace,Acts 20.32. that is able to give you an inheritance amongſt them that are ſanctified; giving thanks unto God that hath made us10 meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light: Not only in the light of glory, but in the light of grace, and of theſe Teſtimonies; For thy Law is a light unto my feet,Pſal. 119.105. and a Eamp unto my paths. And thus have we done with the ſecond thing propounded, to wit, What is meant by this Inheritance, and in what ſenſe theſe Teſtimonies became David's Inheritance, and ſo we come to the improvement of all by way of Application.
Uſe 1If it be ſo, that the Word of the Lord is his peoples inheritance, Then we ſee the reaſon of its preſervation to this day, notwithſtanding all thoſe floods of malice that have been vomited out againſt it by Satan and his Inſtruments. What is the reaſon that the Aſſyrian and Perſian Monarchs, and thoſe bloody Roman Emperours, that would have blotted out the name of this Book from under heaven, could never effect it? What is the reaſon that that Fox, the Pope, by all his ſubtilty could never deſtroy it: ſomtimes ſetting the Church above it, ſomtimes corrupting it with falſe gloſſes, ſomtimes obſcuring it from the people? What's the reaſon that thoſe Locuſts that are come out of the bottomleſs pit, I mean, the Seekers, and Ranters, and Quakers, who crying up a light within them, to deſtroy this glorious light without them, could never effectuate? Why you have the reaſon in the Text, It is an Inheritance: It is no eaſie matter to divide betwixt an Heir and his Inheritance: A young Heir may be under a Cloud, or a Sequeſtration for a time, but Inheritances will revert: God's entails are ſtronger then man's; and11 ſo long as God hath an Heir, a Childe upon earth, it is impoſſible to deſtroy this Book, this Inheritance: Heaven and Earth ſhall paſs away, before one jot,Matth. 5.18. one tittle ſhall paſs from it.
Uſe 2If it be ſo, That theſe Teſtimonies are ſuch an Inheritance, then that man that hath an Intereſt in them, hath little cauſe to be diſcontented in his condition. If thou beeſt a rich man, then bleſs the Lord that hath given thee both a portion in this life, and that which is to come: And if we have any Countryman here that is a poor man, let him not ſay he is very poor, having an intereſt in that which David prizeth above all his Crowns; but let him ſay,Pſal. 116.7. Return unto thy rest, O my Soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.
Uſe 3If it be ſo, That this Word of the Lord be ſuch an Inheritance, What is the reaſon that in theſe our days it is ſo ſlighted, and the love of many grows ſo cold towards it? We have a ſaying, That rich men never want Heirs: they may want children, but they never want heirs. Take the moſt mortified man, and him that is the moſt withdrawn from the pleaſures and profits of this life, if he hear of any Inheritance fallen, preſently he ſaddles his Horſe, and rides away for poſſeſſion; for ſaith he, it is an Inheritance. If men did believe that this were ſuch, could they ſlight it as they do? When the Son of man comes, ſhall he finde faith in the earth? Truly Sirs, we have cauſe to think, that the laſt age of the world is upon us: I might ſtand here, and lament over the ſad Apoſtacy of theſe times, and might take up the expoſtulation12 of the Prophet Jeremiah,Ierem. 2.5. What iniquity have your Fathers found in me, that they are gone away from me? What evil (Chriſtian) haſt thou ever found in this Book, that thy ſoul ſhould loath it? What is the reaſon? Is it that of the Poet? Inopem me copia fecit: Hath plenty made thee poor? Or, Hath the abundance of this ſpiritual Manna given thee a ſurfet? Or is it that of the Philoſopher, Nimis ſenſibile deſtruit ſenſum? Art thou blinde by looking upon the Sun? Or hath the glorious light of the Goſpel of Jeſus Chriſt put out mens eyes? Well Sirs, Let others do what they will, you that are my Countrymen, you that fear the Lord amongſt them, hold faſt this Book; for it is your life, and the length of your days; and when any one attempts to ſeduce you from it, ſay unto him, as Naboth did unto Ahab; Ahab was a King,1 Kings 21.3. and he proffered a valuable conſideration, and it was but for a temporal inheritance, God forbid that I ſhould part with the Inheritance of my forefathers: Have all my Progenitors lived upon this eſtate, and ſhall I now debauch it? God forbid: There is Abraham, Iſaac, and Jacob, and Job, and David, and Daniel, and Paul, and Peter, and Latimer, and our Countryman Cranmer; and all theſe Patriarchal men, and thouſands more that are now ſate down in the Kingdom of Glory by vertue of this inheritance: God forbid that ever we ſhould part with the inheritance of our forefathers. And that I may faſten this Exhortation upon you, we ſhall a little open to you in the concluſion of our diſcourſe the famous example of David: It is to be conſidered13 either firſt in the Practique, or ſecondly in the Theory of it: The Practique is conſiderable, either firſt what the temporal eſtate that David had, was: Or ſecondly, what of theſe Teſtimonies David knew. For the firſt, I believe that David had the greateſt eſtate that ever mortal man had, except it was A dam in innocency: I know the ſtory of Darius, Alexander, Caeſar, Charlemaine, and thoſe great and mighty men upon the earth, yet, under favour, David ſeems to tranſcend them, if theſe three things be conſidered.
David had a conſiderable bredth of ground over which he ruled; he ruled over Paleſtina, which was ſomtimes the ſeat of ſeven Kingdoms, over the Philiſtims, over Ammon, Moab, Amaleck; &c. and if you compare 2 Sam. 8. with the Hiſtory of Joſephus, you will find him to be Lord of the greateſt part of the Eaſtern world: But
If you conſider the quality of his Subjects, which being good, is no ſmall addition to the glory of a Prince: What Nation (ſaith Moſes) is there in all the world ſo great and ſo glorious as thy people Iſrael? There was but one people in all the world that was the Lord's people, and David was their King, and God's King: He was not Rex Diabolorum, as they ſay the King of England was; the King of Divels: Neither was he Rex Aſinorum, as they ſay the King of France is; the King of Aſſes: Neither was he Rex Hominum only, as they ſay the King of Spain is; the King of men: But he was Rex Sanctorum, the King of Saints, wherein he aſſumes the very Title of God,Rev. 15.3. O Thou King of Saints!
14If we conſider the ſettlement of this eſtate upon David and his Poſterity; We think an eſtate ſurely ſetled, that is entailed upon the Crown; but alas, that Crown may fall in four or five hundred years, and then what becomes of that Entail? But David's eſtate was by God's Oath entailed upon the Son, Once have I ſworn by my Holineſs unto David,Pſal. 89.36, 37. that his Seed ſhall be as the Sun before me, and as the faithful witneſs in heaven. If you lay theſe things together, what an eſtate had David? Nay rather, what a heart had David to ſlight all theſe, for theſe Teſtimonies! We have not a drop to his bucket, to his Ocean, and yet alas, how do our ſmall eſtates draw our hearts from theſe Teſtimonies! Let us mourn over this diſtemper. Again,
If we conſider how ſmall a part of theſe Teſtimonies David had: David had but eight books of the Scripture; the five books of Moſes, Joſhua, Judges, and Ruth; this was all that David knew: David had the Law it is true, but he had none of the Goſpel, none of the Evangeliſts, or Apoſtolical Epiſtles: David had the Law, but he had not any of the Commentators, none of thoſe Prophets called great or ſmall, lived in his time: I dare be bold to ſay, that that firſt Sermon of Chriſt in Matth. 5. is worth more then all that David knew: David had the Letter that killeth; but you have the Spirit that giveth life: David ſaw through a Glaſs,2 Cor. 3.18. darkly; but you with open face behold the glory of the Lord: David lived in the Dawning of the day; but you in thoſe times when the Sun is in the full Heavens, in its Meridian:15 O what would David have ſaid, if he had ſeen the things that we ſee! as Chriſt ſpeaks,Mat. 13.17. Many righteous men have deſired to ſee the things that ye ſee, and have not ſeen them.
Well Sir, if you lay the greatneſs of this eſtate with the littleneſs of David's knowledge concerning theſe teſtimonies together, for, ſic magna parvis componere ſolemus, you will finde him a famous example, and worthy your imitation: But if any one ſhould ſay, what is the reaſon, or what was there that David ſaw in theſe teſtimonies, to lead him to his choice from ſo great an eſtate? You have it in theſe words, For they are the rejoycing of my heart. And thus am I come to the ſecond particular, and the laſt thing, that is, the Theory in David's example; For they are the rejoycing of my heart; wherein you have three things inſinuated, Firſt ſaith hee, they are my Joy: Joy is that flower that groweth out of every good; and ſo far do we account any thing good, as it is joyfull to us; As if David ſhould ſay, I profeſs I have found more joy in theſe Teſtimonies, then ever I did in my Crowns and Kingdoms: It is a miſtake, when men think that a religious life is a ſad, melancholly, cynical life; It is true, the life of a Chriſtian is a life of temptation, affliction, a life of ſorrowing, and teares for ſin; and yet it is a joyful life: for we finde joy in our very ſorrows: As dying, and behold we live;2 Cor. 6.9.10. as ſorrowfull, yet alwayes rejoycing. The Apoſtle brings in ſorrow with a ſicut ſicut Dolentes; as ſorrowful, as if our ſorrows were not reall ſorrows, as if they were but Analogical or ſimilitudinous16 ſorrows; But our joy real, verè ſemper gaudentes, alwayes rejoycing: and truly, if you look upon all the ſons of affliction in Scripture, you will finde they had their time of joy; poor Joſeph that was ſo innocently caſt into the dungeon, and thoſe heavy irons layed upon his young and tender legs, the text faith,Pſal. 106.18. the very irons went through his ſoule, yet he had his time of joy; and David, after hee was hunted by Saul, like a Partridge upon the Mountaines, had yet his time of joy; And Job, after Satan had diſcharged all the arrowes of his wrath upon him, had his time of joy; And Paul, in the midſt of thoſe many deaths, hee was, as ſorrowfull, but alwayes rejoycing; men may think what they will, but the ſtate of a Chriſtian is a joyfull ſtate, for they are the joy, &c.
The ſecond thing obſervable is, the intention of the deepneſs of his joy, for they are the joy of my heart; As if David ſhould ſay, my Crown, and Kingdoms, Wives, and Children, they are the rejoycing of mine eyes, of my ſenſual and beſtial parts, but truly my rational and deep joyes, they are from thy Teſtimonies, for they are the rejoycing of my heart. It is one thing to be merry ore tenus; this the men of the world have: it is another thing to be joyful; this only the Saints have; As the Poet ſpeaks of the river Nilus, that it is very deep, and the waters are very ſwift, and yet a by-ſtander would ſcarcely think they did move at all: The joyes of a good man are deep and ſwift joyes, and yet to others they are ſcarce ſeen to move; there was ſuch a difference in Davids comforts as there is betwixt the dew and the groundraine,17 you know Sirs, that in a hot parching ſeaſon, if there comes-a coole night, and a fine dew upon the graſſe in the morning, it is a great refreſhing; but alas! when the Sun is up an hour or two, that dew is gone; but if there comes a ground-rain that laſteth for eight and forty or threeſcore hours, that reaches the root of the graſſe and trees, what a new face doth it put upon the Creature? The comforts that David had from Abſolom, Amnon, Tamar, and his temporal concernments, were like the dew, for an hour or two, but then were ſcorched; but the joys hee had from theſe teſtimonies, are like unto the ground-rain, that reached his heart root; for they are the joyes of my heart.
The laſt thing obſervable is, how David doth place all the ſprings of his comforts in theſe teſtimonies: For they, They are the rejoycings of my heart. As if a good man ſhould fetch all his comforts from theſe teſtimonies: and certainely we forget our ſelves when we do otherwiſe, and therefore it is that God doth uſually blaſt all the other objects of our joy; Son of man, I will take away the delight of their eies;Ezek. 24.25. their Sons and their Daughters: and why? becauſe they were the delight of their eyes: Jonah greatly rejoyced under the Gourd, and the Gourd withered; God doth uſually diſappoint us in our comforts, that we might fetch them from his teſtimonies. We read that the Diſciples came to Chriſt, and told him what brave fellows they were: Lord,Luke 10.17. ſay they, the very Devils are ſubject unto us. Well ſaith Chriſt, Go on, tread upon Serpents, and Scorpions, and caſt out Devils; yet one thing let me tell you, do not rejoyce in theſe things: no, might they ſay, if ever mortal men had cauſe to rejoyce, we have: Have we not the18 power of God upon earth? the very Devils are ſubject unto us; No ſaith Chriſt, do not rejoyce in theſe things ▪ why, what then muſt we rejoyce in? that your names are written in Heaven.
I dare be bold to ſay, that no man ever yet entred into Heaven, whoſe name was not firſt written in this book; in the book of the Promiſes, in the book of Life; hence it is that you ſhall ſeldom read of theſe teſtimonies, but there is joy with them: if this word be preached, there is great joy;Acts 8.8. when Philip preached the word in Samaria, there was great joy in that City: if two Chriſtians do confer upon this word, there will be ſtrange motions of heart:Luke 24.32. Did not we feel our hearts burning within us, when hee ſpake unto us?
If a man (one of theſe long winter nights, when he cannot ſleep) doth but think of theſe Commandments, there is great joy; O how do I love thy Law, it is my meditation day and night. Pſal. 119.91.If a man doth but put forth his hand to execute one of theſe Commandments, there is great joy:Prov. 21.15. It is a joy to the juſt to do judgment, What joy have they that keep thy Commandments? And truly Sirs, there is one conveniency in theſe, above all other comforts; that they ſtand by a man, when others fail him: If a man hath a beautiful wife, towardly children, a great eſtate, and if God throws this man into diſtreſs, they do but tumble upon him, like an old houſe upon his head, and then it's his miſery that he cannot be miſerable himſelf, but he muſt make all his ſweet relations miſerable with him: but theſe Teſtimonies ſtand by a man in the ſaddeſt hours: This David well knew, when he made his choice, as appears by two verſes in this Pſalm.
Thy Statutes have been my Songs in the houſe of my Pilgrimage:Pſal. 119.54.19 Where was it that David was a Pilgrim? You know that David was a baniſhed King, he was hunted by Saul out of Paleſtina, fled to Achiſh, King of Gath,1 Sam. 21.12. poor man! lept out of the frying pan into the fire; at home he was purſued as a Traitor; abroad, was apprehended as a Spy; truly, it was a very fad condition: where was his ſupport now? Why, ſaith he, Thy ſtatutes have been my ſongs in the houſe of my Pilgrimage. The other is this.
I had then periſhed in my afflictions,Verſe 92. had not thy Law been my delight. I had then periſhed, when was that? Very probably at Ziklag: Ziklag was the greateſt diſtreſs that ever we read David was in; Ziklag was a Frontier Town belonging to the Philiſtims, and there they ſuffered David to live;1 Sam. 30. the Amalakites came and take away all their ſtuff, children, wives, and concubines, bag, and baggage, burnt the City with fire, and the worſt was, that his own ſouldiers mutined againſt him; nothing would ſerve them, but the ſtoning of David: the Text ſaith, That he wept, till hee could weep no more: But at the laſt he comforted himſelf in the Lord his God (poor man! little had he elſe to comfort himſelf in) that is, there was ſome Statute, ſome Judgment, ſome Teſtimony of the Lord that came into his minde at that time, that did comfort him: I had periſhed in my afflictions, had not thy Law been my delight. O happy is that man that hath an intereſt in theſe Teſtimonies, to comfort him in the ſaddeſt hour.
It is the uſual cuſtom at theſe Yearly Meetings, to ſpeak ſomwhat of the Country, the Soyl, Scituation, Antiquities Commodities, and Memorable Accidents thereof: How laudable this cuſtome is, I ſhall not here diſpute, but do purpoſe not to practiſe much of it at20 this time; for all them that are here preſent this day, are either of the Country, or ſtrangers: If the firſt, I can but tell them what by experience they better know; which ſeems to me, but as the carrying of coals to Newcaſtle; or the lighting of a candle to the Sun. If ſtrangers, they are prejudiced with the knowledge of that love every one bears to his Native Country, and they will think that we read them a Lecture more through the ſpectacles of Affection, then Judgement; and beſides, the Memorables of our Country were ſo well reaped the laſt Year, that paſſing what was then delivered, the gleanings will ſcarce be a handful to preſent you withal; and repetita ſordent: You had then at large the Chronological and Geographical Deſcription of it,M. Fuller. by him that is the Camden of our age for Antiquities, and our Engliſh Demoſthenes for Eloquence; neither is it conſiſtent with the modeſty of my Years and Parts, to attempt the poliſhing of that which he hath perfected; or with my trembling hand, to draw a line after that Apelles: Let it be the practiſe of others at theſe their Anniverſary Meetings, to Paint over their dirty and ſickly Countries, and by ſcraping here and there a clean bit together, to flatter and befool their Country-Citizens, with the figmentitious Landskips of their Countries Beauties: Our Country needs no commendation, that's all commendation; her praiſes are in the Gates; and fearful I am to enter the Confines of Her, being conſcious to my ſelf to be more able to ſully and darken the Beauties thereof, then to expreſs them; yet that She may not be altogether paſſed over in ſilence, give me leave to tell you a ſtory of a Learned and Obſervant Traveller, much redounding to the honour of21 our Country; and they ſay, ſomtimes a By-ſtander ſees more then the Gameſter.
Long ſince in Cambridge, I was acquainted with a young Gentleman, whoſe addictions were to Geography and Travels; whom after many years ſpent beyond Seas, it was my happineſs to meet with, ſoon after his receſs into England; and enquiring concerning ſome Italian Cities, and others of Fame in other Countries, which we much hear and read of; he affirmed, the magnificence and ſtately Buildings of ſome, the Riches and Trade of others, the pleaſant Scituation of others, &c. But ſince my return, ſaid he, I have been in your Country of Nottinghamſhire, and ſpent ſome time in the curious obſervation thereof; and do ſeriouſly profeſs, that for Delicacy of Scituation, and for all kinde of Conveniences reſpecting the life of Man, I never ſaw the like; and where, if the concernments of my Eſtate and Friends would admit, I could deſire to live and die in, above any Country that ever I yet ſaw in the European world.
A Country, in reſpect of the Sandy and Foreftical part, affording ſuch variety of pleaſures; of ſo dry, pleaſant, and healthful an Ayr, in reſpect of the other called the clay, and its contiguity to the rich Vale Belvoir, all ſorts of grain and corn, in reſpect of that famous River Trent, abounding with variety of Fiſh and Fowl, and the fertile Paſtures upon her banks, with all ſorts of fatted Cattel; a Country where the rates of all things carry that moderation, as not ſo low to be contemned, nor ſo high as to be refuſed; A Country, not only repleniſhed with wood for the Chamber, but that light and laſting culinary fire, the pit-coal; watred with the22 ſtreams of Trent, and other Rivers; bleſſed with ſweetneſs of Ayr, and richneſs of earth; as if all the Elements did conſpire to make her people happy.
In the Southweſt whereof, ſits the fair Town of Nottingham, delicately (like a Lady upon the Rocks) in collem ſub montibus, the beſt of all ſcituations, ſaith the Naturaliſt, her chair being flanked with the Hils, Eaſt, Weſt, and North, to keep off thoſe churliſh winds that might give her a cold in her Neck; her beautiful Face only diſplaid to the warm Southerly Sun, where ſhe beholds from on high the flowery Meadows, and the Trental ſtreams, with no ſmall delight; a Town ſcituate ſo near the River, that ſhe may have the conveniencies of Proſpect, Fiſh, and Navigation; and yet at ſuch a diſtance, as that ſhe is exempted from the crude, raw, and Aguiſh vapours thereof; the only inconveniences attending ſuch ſweet Streams; over againſt whom, after that ſilver ſtreamed River Trent, hath with marvellous celerity poſted out of Staffordſhire, begins here to halt, and demur upon her motion, and by various Meanders and twining circuitions, making one mile three, as if ſhe did greatly delight her ſelf in the views and counterviews of that beautiful Country, and the Metropolis thereof: And thus we take our leave of that fair Country, and Town of Nottingham, which Drayton calls The Norths Imperial Eye, and which indeed (conſidering her lofty Elevation, from whence ſhe looks into all her Neighbouring Countries) may rather be compared unto Wiſdom in Prov. 3. ſtretching forth her hands unto them, and ſaying, Come unto me all ye ſimple ones, and ye that lack underſtanding; for at my right hand is length of days, and upon my left hand, riches and honour.
23It was a witty and a cloſe anſwer that was ſomtimes given by an accompliſh'd Prelate of this Land to a fooliſh King thereof; who upbraiding his height in Church and State, with the meaneſs of his deſcent, to wit, that his Father was a Taylor; made this reply, That if his Majeſty had exceeded his Father, as much as he had done his, he had bin the braveſt Prince in Chriſtendom. The Solution is this, That if our Countrymen did exceed other Countrymen in their works of Piety and Charity, as far as our Country exceeds other Countries, you would be the braveſt men this day upon the Brittiſh earth: But alas! it is a ſad, an ancient obſervation of Divines, That thoſe Countries into whoſe boſom God hath poured the greateſt of theſe bleſſings, have been moſt unmindful of him.
Some think that God would have Abraham from Ur of the Caldees, as if the delicacy, pleaſures, temptations of that place, were inconſiſtent with that height of Piety that God would have the Fathers of the Faithful trained up unto; and certain I am, that Aàmah, Zeboim, &c. and thoſe other famous infamous God-forgetting Cities, were upon a Plain, which was like unto the Paradice of God: I would not here be miſ-interpreted, as if I came to upbraid our Countrymen; it is an ill Bird that defiles her own Neſt; but out of love, in majorem cantelam: for theſe things that are written, were written for an example to you in that delicate Country, that you might take heed: Though truly Sirs, let me be ſo far bold to tell you, It is a wonderment to ſome, to hear what other Countries have done at theſe their meetings, and nothing is extant from ours; neither is it to be doubted, but that there is as great a materia of24 goodneſs in you, as in any other of your Neighbors: Is there not ſome honourable perſon or perſons of our Country, the fame of whoſe Learning, Piety, and Charitable Actions of all kinds, is gone out through the Land? And for ought I know, the reſt of you in your inferiour Orbs are like minded; for generous Ayrs breed generous Diſpoſitions; but as Phiſitians ſay, That though blood be the life of the Body, yet the ſtrongeſt Conſtitutions do the ſooneſt periſh by the redundancy thereof: So Gentlemen, if theſe Meetings be longer continued, and nothing done, the fears are, leſt that your Charity ſhould die of a Pluriſie, I mean, for want of evacuation.
If it ſhall here be demanded, What is that good deſired? I dare not be ſo ſawcy as to preſcribe to your Wiſdoms; preſt I am much to ſpeak, and yet afraid to ſpeak: four and twenty miles have I come to ſerve you. this ſlabby weather; if I ſhould now offend you, how ſad would my return be home again? Extremo actu deficere turpiſſimum eſt: I ſhall only add one inſtance, and leave you to ſpell out the reſt: Are there not ſome of you of our Countrymen Citizens here? I know there are, to whom God hath given great Eſtates, and little or no Iſſue; that may as truly ſay (if they would ſpeak their Conſciences) of the River Trent, as ever Jacob did of Jordan:Cen. 32.10. Over this Brook came I with this Staff, and behold the Lord hath made me two Bands. And Jacob aroſe, and built there an Altar unto the Lord. I have done, the Lord give a bleſſing.
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The EEBO-TCP project was divided into two phases. The 25,363 texts created during Phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 January 2015. Anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source.
Users should be aware of the process of creating the TCP texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data.
Text selection was based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL). If an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in NCBEL, then their works are eligible for inclusion. Selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. In general, first editions of a works in English were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably Latin and Welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so.
Image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. Quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in Oxford and Michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet QA standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. After proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. Any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor.
The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines.
Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements).
Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site.
This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. Searching, reading, printing, or downloading EEBO-TCP texts is reserved for the authorized users of these project partner institutions. Permission must be granted for subsequent distribution, in print or electronically, of this EEBO-TCP Phase II text, in whole or in part.